"Hey, Chrysanthemum." the shapeshifter smirked at the barmaid. His barmaid was just slightly shorter than him in the two inch heels she wore, her hair tied up in a blonde bun, and carrying a 32DD rack. Honestly, Thatch was just plain perverse when it came to the sweet and cheery woman.
"Hello, Thatchy~!" she practically sang. "What brings you here this time? Our next date night isn't for a few more days." the woman was a little confused, but happy to see him. She worked a bit more quickly in order to finish up her work for the day. The blonde had sensed an air of importance radiating off her lover when he came in.
Thatch hummed. "I know, but I need some information and you talk to quite a lot of people who enter this bar. I was wondering if we could talk in a little more privacy, the matter is quite urgent."
"I understand, let me finish with these last few tables and we can go to my house." She smiled at the shapeshifter. Once the tables were done, she changed out of her work clothes in the changing room and followed her lover out. Once they were in a secluded area that was leading to her home, Thatch nonchalantly groped the female. Chrys had slapped at his hands and looked at the man, who in turn looked away and whistled. Chrysanthemum rolled her eyes at this.
The two reached Chrys' home and entered, making sure all windows were closed and locked and the doors. Thatch sat down on the couch and Chrys sat in a chair across from him. "So, what type of information do you need?"
"What can you tell me about a girl named Annabell?" Thatch got straight to the point. He fixed his eyes on Chrys.
"Well, Annabell is the prettiest girl in town. Practically every man wants to be her husband, but Ann is not stupid and turns everyone of them down. The marines want her dead simply because of her father, Gol D. Roger. He was a fearsome pirate not to be messed with and once he was killed, the marines didn't want any of his blood to remain living. Her mother, no one knows where she came from or who she was. She died while giving birth to Ann." She sighed. "Why do you want to know this? Are you leaving me, Thatchy?"
"I'm not leaving you. It's just that one of my brothers has fallen for her and we have been keeping her with us. Apparently her family does not want her returning home, do you know why?" Thatch was thinking of many reasons, but couldn't settle on one.
"Marine admiral Akainu has stopped paying a veteran, Ann's grandfather, and will only pay him if the old man agrees to give Annabell's hand in marriage to Akainu. Of course, the real reason for this is so the marines can make her death look like an accident." Chrysanthemum became uneasy. "Don't tell me you and your family are about to do something reckless, Thatch."
"We aren't. Not until we come up with a plan." Thatch reassured the younger woman. "Thank you for your time today, Chrys. Sorry if I accidentally upset you." he stood up, walked over to her and kissed her. He left immediately after.
Back home, when Thatch, Haruta, and Marco met up, they shared what they had learned, Thatch being the one with the most information. Upon trying to ask Annabell who her parents were, she became distant and angry. Izo soon shooed the three away and comforted the young woman. So, the next best thing was to ask Pops if he knew anything of the infamous pirate.
Pops had known Annabell was Roger's daughter. She looked too much like him to not be. Pops explained the lengthy story of Roger and the middle initial of D. Once his sons seemed satisfied, they left and began to make a plan. First, Marco went to see Annabell.
Anna was still upset with him for pressing so much about her family, she was also still pissed about him seeing her nude and touching her when she had yet to put clothes on after bathing. It caused her to glare at Marco when he came to see her, but Izo had left the two of them alone.
"What do you want now?" she huffed.
Marco sat down in front of the woman. "I went and saw your brother today to find out why you can't go home. Haruta went to the marine base and Thatch went to gather intel from a bar." he slowly told her.
Ann took a few minutes to process this information. "Sabo wouldn't give out information to just anyone. Not unless he got frustrated. What did you do to my little brother?" she growled.
Marco sighed. "Don't get mad, but I sort of told him I was your lover and he flipped out on me. He basically called me trash and a marine scum that wanted you dead. He shut up pretty quick when I transformed though…."
Annabell's eyes widened. "Why would you tell him something like that?! What makes you think I'd date you? If you transformed in front of him then he knows that I found what I was looking for…" Ann had gotten up from where she'd been sitting. "I need to go home! I must see my grandfather!"
Marco quickly got up. "Then I'm going with you. Annabell, you are in danger. The marines want you dead and plan on getting you to marry the admiral by the name of Akainu so they can make your death seem like an accident!"
"I'm going alone!" Ann was quick to make her escape after that. Curiel had to hunt her down, but Ann was much quicker than they originally thought. It didn't help that going down the mountain helped with speeding her get away up.