Last time, Luffy hides the morning away at Shakky's bar while Akainu is guided around his Marine Base.

The rest of the tour had been fine, efficient if eccentric. As much as Akainu dislikes the shady characters his student has impudently burdened the Navy with, they seem willing enough to do good work. Some of their programs seem unnecessary. Teaching carpentry? The music club? But he cannot deny that the Archipelago is still standing; rumors in HQ had bet for a lot less.

During it, Nico Robin remains noticeably absent. A smart move.

Whether for Akainu's convictions or the former wanted woman is debatable, he has learned the hard way not to underestimate the band of misfits for all their shenanigans.

Akainu is most definitely not surprised when Luffy is there for lunch. The younger man sits at the round table, pouting with his arms crossed. Whether he frowns because of his former teacher or because food has yet to be served is unworthy of speculation. He seems to be taking the inspection seriously enough, wearing long black pants and a bright green shirt, the sleeves are long, but as it always does, Akainu's gaze lands on his officer's coat. It had been his own, once upon a time.

Luffy looks, as always, like a child -ridiculous and unmeasurably young. The collar is a black smudge amongst all his colorfulness, and Akainu has long forgotten the itch to just rub it right out of existence. Who would Luffy be then? He has wondered.

It's not within his power though, what happens with Luffy's deal has never been Sakazuki's call. Not yet.

By the whim of fate, Franky is the only squad member who doesn't know Akainu. Unlike most of his crew, who'd been stationed two full terms in HQ, Franky had been at a Research and Development facility under Dr. Vegapunk -he only knows the Admiral by name and a truly concerning reputation. Beyond that, from the vague timeline some of the crew have put together when they gossip, Luffy's falling out with his former teacher occurred just before meeting Franky when he, Robin, and Coby had traveled briefly to headquarters. The cyborg doesn't really know what to expect from the inspector.

The recruits were nervous well before the Admiral docks. Franky surprises himself by trying to cheer them up. He's grown rather fond of the men in his division—all of them shipwrights or weapons officers. As the Defense Squad, they haven't seen much action considering Luffy's offense-heavy tactic for the Archipelago. Franky had taken full advantage with the free-time to pass on all the knowledge he's gathered.

At first, when a man refers to him as Master, Franky feels like he's escaped reality for a moment and then cried very manly tears because something in his heart aches. He never thought he'd get the opportunity to teach -much less legally! Though, there was some reluctance about it at first. Passing on Tom's kindness had been one of the most extraordinary things Franky could've done. It seemed to fill him with a peace the cyborg thought he wasn't capable of mustering since a long time ago.

Admiral Akainu's just as rude as Franky thinks he'd be, and in the end, he's thankful that -as an unranked marine- he can skip their administrative lunch. Franky makes his way to the treehouse slowly but steadily, keeping an eye on any possible tails. It wouldn't do for it to be located, especially not with their guests in town. He wonders at the expanse of mangroves trees as he rides up the bubble elevator, but the view pales in comparison to the one that greets him as he makes his way inside. Nico Robin truly is a beautiful woman.

Franky's mildly surprised to find Robin reading in the living room at first. It shouldn't have, though, when it had been agreed long before that it was only politically savvy to keep the former wanted criminal in their midst behind closed doors. Luffy had been upset about it, but Robin mentioning she would enjoy a vacation day assured their superior's compliance. Franky is always a little touched, how much Luffy cares about them in his own strange way.

I'm not ashamed that Robin's in my squad.

"Ah, Franky," Robin smiles in greeting, lowering her book and letting it rest on her lap as she straightens out from her slouch. Franky's caught her unaware, in a strange moment of complete relaxation, and it warms his heart. He likes knowing she feels safe in their home. This treehouse, built from a mystifying piece of his captain's past, means a lot to the crew—home away from home, or perhaps, their little secret from the world. Franky doesn't know why he's in such a pensive mood, but as he greets Robin, he's particularly glad that he's run into her. There's been something weighing on his mind.

"That Akainu guy is an asshole." The profanity brings forth a surprised chuckle from the archeologist. She tosses a black strand off her shoulder, turning to look at him fully as he takes a seat adjacent to the couch. It's a wide leather chair, and he's deemed it his spot, seeing as it's one of the few chairs Franky fits into.

"Did it not go well?"

"I don't think I can tell either way," the shipwright answers honestly, thinking of the unreadable countenance of the older marine. "I can't believe he was Luffy's teacher, it seems impossible. Luffy must've driven him super crazy." It's mind-boggling, really.

"I thought so too, at first," Robin tells him, "it was a fascinating idea. The unmovable object meeting the unstoppable force."

"What happened between them?" He's been curious in passing before, but after meeting the Admiral, he feels like he really needs to know what went on there. Robin closes her book, settling her full attention in the upcoming conversation. She pursues her lips as if carefully choosing her words.

"He and Luffy got into a fight after his promotion party, that time I got pardoned. As far as I can tell, Luffy's never told anyone why exactly they argued, but they've never spoken to each other since. I've always thought Zoro probably knows."

"Zoro?" Franky has great respect for the swordsman, but he's hardly the obvious choice when in need of emotional support to the cyborg. Instead of explaining, Robin just nods solemnly. She continues with the story, so he lets it go.

"Before that, at the party, Luffy had been moping. Coby told me Luffy tends to get sad when he gets promoted and that he didn't know why."

"I heard something like that too once, Nami said it," Franky mentions, recalling the navigator's distraught rant about Luffy's complete disrespect to the Navy, "I thought it was just an exaggeration." Luffy is such a relentless force of nature, Franky figured he just didn't like the formality or something equally inane. How well does he really know his captain? "Is it always like that?"

"So far, yes. I had just joined the crew, so I was still a little shocked at everything, but Luffy immediately lit up when Akainu came up to us. He was beaming and babbling a mile a minute. I thought the Admiral would be displeased. "

"What did he do?" Robin smiles enigmatically at the memory, bringing hands to cup her cheeks in a it was cute expression. Now, from experience, Franky can tell there will be nothing adorable in the occurrence. Robin's sense of cuteness is... questionable.

"His glare may have softened, and then he called Luffy a brat."

"By the sea, why do you find this positive, Robin?" Franky laughs. Robin's serious, delivering the retelling in a no-nonsense tone, entirely out of touch with the scene she describes.

"Coby tells me that it is the Admiral's equivalent to a pat in the head and a 'well done,'" she states solemnly, and Franky laughs again. Robin grins back at him and asks, "what did he think of the student program?" Even now, Franky puffs out his chest in pride at the mention of the side project turned life mission. It'd been bittersweet at first, sharing Tom's knowledge with the organization responsible for his death -something Franky still holds close to his heart. To be honest, Franky hadn't been enthused with the idea of having marine pupils.

"He seemed displeased that we had the free time to do it," and really, Franky's still confused about that, but who knows what goes through the Admiral's head? "But I'm proud of the work we're doing. We're giving so many opportunities to people who truly need it, it feels like it's the type of thing the marines should always be doing instead of..." He trails off a little. If it's in the name of his own grief or Robin's, he's unsure.

He leans back as much as he can, the feeling of leather at his back a little foreign when so much of him is metal. In her eternal ability to read other people a little too well, Robin doesn't give him an out of the conversation.

"Hmm?" she prompts.

"Does it not bother you?" He hopes she won't make him specify. Franky is a man who believes in feeling, he is. Denying feelings and your heart is for weaklings, true men are not afraid to cry, but... what happened with Tom and now working for the Navy, Franky's just not sure he can put it into words. "Helping out the people who..." Franky's mentor had been killed. Franky can accept that Tom wasn't exactly innocent; aiding criminals is a crime. But what they did to Robin's family, to her home... Sometimes, Franky's a little dumbfounded by the magnitude of what she lost and the life she's lived. Yet, here she is.

"I think," she tells him, "that these marines aren't the ones who destroyed my home. They're innocent still and they can learn what it means to want protection Justice. I think about all the people who need protecting, and don't have anything else to turn to but this shameful system. They don't deserve to suffer." It feels like a musing, almost more to herself than to him. "It's also my way to help Luffy, after all he's done for me."

As a former crime lord, Franky will most likely never really be considered for a promotion as a marine officer. Forever to be used by a system that refuses to acknowledge grey existences like him, only turning a blind eye because of talent. It's not where he thought life would take him. He eyes Robin again, thinks of Luffy's easy to forgive and blinding grin. As long as he gets to keep sailing with Luffy, who can inspire loyalty from people like Robin and him, Franky thinks he's in the right place.

Helmeppo doesn't mean to overhear the conversation between his superior and Luffy, he doesn't but trapped in the office, and with them speaking right outside, it's difficult to avoid. He'd known this was coming, ever since they'd first gotten this assignment, but he had wished really hard to not be caught up in the yelling match that was soon to occur. After sitting through the most awkward, belligerent lunch of his life, he'd foolishly escaped to the ship to stay clear of the upcoming doom. His plan has now backfired.

"...you see our carpentry classes?" Luffy's voice drifts through.

"Yes," Admiral Akainu's much lower tone clashes immediately with the overly excited tone that precedes it.

"And the greenhouse?"

"Yes." As his boss shifts the lock, Helmeppo panics, and heads to the adjacent office. He prays to everything he holds dear for the arriving pair to stay in the reception room and not head into the actual office because he has no way to correctly explain the mixture of dread and genuine curiosity that has his ear plastered towards the door.

"And the music room?" Luffy continues.

"Yes."

"And the-"

"I saw everything."

"... it's cool, isn't it?" Helmeppo can tell they've passed by the office door, probably taking a seat in the nearby sitting room. His heart seems to steady somewhat, now that the worst-case scenario has been avoided.

"It... meets the requirements." Helmeppo snorts. If by that, his boss means passed with flying colors, then yeah, sure.

"So... cool?"

Helmeppo's boss lets out a long-suffering sigh.

"Yes."

"Yahoo!" Luffy cheers, most likely sporting his signature grin. "You know, I... like it here. I thought I wouldn't, I like being at sea but... I don't know, there are cool people here."

"What peop... no, forget it, I'd rather not know."

"Shishishishi! Nothing bad, sensei, promised!" From the ensuing silence, Helmeppo's going to go out on a limb and guess that the Admiral must be wildly unimpressed.

"I don't believe you," the older man deadpans.

"Ehh!" Luffy acts surprises. "Sensei, you are a meanie," the Rear-Admiral informs him.

"And you need to take better care of yourself, no bending of the rules!"

"Yes, yes, I would never..."

"Do not start with that nonsense!" Akainu sounds, very suddenly, truly angry. "Being my student barely outweighs your father," Luffy's father? "and the rumors surrounding Whole Cake Island do not help you. Do not mistake your stationing of Sabaondy as a vacation, it is not."

"Mahhhh, you worry too much, sensei. I've beaten the bad guys up before, and I'll beat the bad guys up again," Luffy's tone betrays his shrug. "It'll be fine."

"For your sake, I hope so. Otherwise, you'll..."

"I'll rot down forever in Impel Down?" Luffy snickers as he interrupts the Admiral. Helmeppo is in awe in the face of his sheer audacity. He's always known his friend has a death wish, but his interactions with Akainu always bring that knowledge to the surface. Helmeppo spends most of his time with Admiral Akainu; no one -not even the Fleet Admiral- speaks to him so casually or dismissively.

"I get the distinct impression you're taking all of this too lightly."

"You think so?" Luffy's question is genuine, which says a lot about the dynamic between them: that Luffy would reflect on his actions at all. Akainu has done more sighing today than he does on a regular week combined.

"Whitebeard has a new commander," Helmeppo's brain halts at the sudden change in subject. He knows about 'Fire Fist' Ace, but why would Admiral Akainu suddenly bring him up like that? Besides, it's not really news at this point.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughs delightedly, "I know!" There's a long pause, a piece of communication that -excluded a wall away- Helmeppo is not privy too. He has a mixed sense of relief and frustration. "Oh," Luffy finally voices, voice a little sad. "No, sensei," he says, "it doesn't change anything."

"You're incorrigible," Akainu mutters, his tone heavy with disappointment; Helmeppo flinches reflexively at the tone and then berates himself. If he gets caught now, his boss will murder him.

"Incor- incuh-what?" Luffy repeats, puzzled.

"It means you are impossible to correct," Akainu explains patiently, but from the even tones, whatever measure of warmth that had sneaked into their conversation is dissolving now in the face of their reality. Helmeppo has almost forgotten, but around HQ, the knowledge that Luffy and Admiral Akainu's falling out is legendary. Helmeppo hasn't seen them direct a word to each other since... a long time ago.

"Hmmm," Luffy ponders, "I'm doing the right thing, though."

"You are ruining your life."

"I'm happy."

"Are you?" Akainu challenges, "will you be when you have to face the storm heading for Sabaondy? Where's that Straw Hat of yours?" Straw hat? Helmeppo almost wants to interrupt the pair and ask a very long list of questions. Luffy's father? And why does a hat merit such a reaction? Why did Akainu - who reviles him - bring up 'Fire Fist' Ace? And one thing Helmeppo knows many before him have wondered, what caused Luffy and Akainu to fight in the first place?

"That's not fair, sensei," Luffy reacts, "I will protect him."

"He doesn't need protection! He made his choice." By his tone, Helmeppo guesses that Akainu isn't a fan of whatever choice was made.

"And I made mine."

Well, Helmeppo thinks, that wasn't ominous at all.

Hi :D

I'm not really focusing on this story right now, not gonna lie. House of the Lost is wrapping up super fast (though chapters keep popping up for some reason) and Justice and Freedom has the stakes through the roof right now. Alas, some of this was written and I received this heart-melting review for WWW a couple days ago, so, I was feeling it hahahah.

It is by no means abandoned, and I have every intention of finishing it up. Hope you enjoy this update. What did you think of Luffy and Akainu's conversation?