Note of the author:

This story is the first I post so please let me know if things are a mess or if the writting isn't good.

English isn't my first language so sorry for the miss translation or the grammar.

If you want to take some part of the story or else, please let me know. Don't be shy to let me some reviews and comment if you like it or not. I want to inprove.

I'll post as I feel like it but I have chapters already written so, feel free to ask if you want to know what happens next.

The story will follow the main event from the End of Punk Hazard to the beginning of Wano (more or less)
I follow the story and the events but I twist them a little since the story is based on what my original character is doing while the story that we know happened.

If you have any questions about the story or anything regarding the story, please ask.

I don't own the OP characters, only my Ocs.

Some chapters can contain some language warning and such.

I hope you'll enjoy it as I enjoyed writing it.

The Informer
Seventh chapter

They had been at sea for a week and the atmosphere was tense, almost heavy for some Strawhats crew were worried for their captain, he hadn't been as joyful as he was and they didn't know what to do about it. He spent half of his time on the head on the lion at the front of his ship looking at the vast sea without saying a word. They knew that the confrontation with Kate had reopen something in him, in all of them. Speaking of the woman, she went away with the surgeon to be treated and despite sailing together no one had seen or heard the woman once since that moment on the beach. She was hiding in the submarine and would let anyone come into her room. Only the little doctor had been authorized to come in once to look at her wounds and give her some medication. His report was neither good or bad but, he had found her impassive. Even the swordsman had tried to talk to her but she had only open the door to grab the bottle of sake he had brung with him. And now, Luffy was acting the same, barely talking, not playing with the others and not asking for food every two minutes. That was when he had stopped asking for meat that everyone knew that his state was serious.

Every Strawhats took time to sit with him, trying to make him talk a bit about anything, trying to cheer him up. It worked a bit, he laughed a few times but at the end, he would stay alone on the lion's head. The surgeon had talked to him to, about their alliance. They had won and nothing obliged them to stay together anymore. So, after a week and two days, the surgeon had announced that the alliance was done and that the Heart Pirate would sail to their next destination in a few days. No one was really happy about it, they had become attacked to the other crew and they didn't want to go separate way. The surgeon had took everyone by surprise by telling that they were still friend and could count on each other no matter what. His crew had cried and the Strawhats had started to celebrate. After everything they had been through together becoming enemies again was unthinkable for any of them to the displease of the surgeon. The party had last one day and two nights, everyone had drunk, ate and danced till collapsing happy as ever. Even Luffy had joined them when they started an eating contest and had spend the rest of the party dancing and laughing. The navigator and a few others had tried to bring Kate out on the desk but after an hour they had lose hope of her joining the festivities.

From her room she could hear the music and the laughing but despite being asked to join, she knew that her presence would turn the party down for many. It took her another day to finally left her room. She had slowly walked into the metallic hallways of the submarine before to step on the deck. The party had ended a few hours earlier and most of the crews was asleep on one deck or the other. Kate looked around, amused to see the surgeon asleep under a pills of bodies that belongs to his crew. She was glad to see that despite his cold look he had been able to find people that devoted to him. She jumped on the other deck, finding it almost empty expect for food leftovers and empty bottles everywhere. She walked around, taking a bit here and there before to find some bottles still full. She slowly smile before to grab two and walked at the back of the ship. She had spend almost of her time here when she had been sailing with them and she had liked the place. She had found the cook and the robot lay down on the kitchen table fast asleep. She knew that they both had cleaned a little before to fall asleep exhausted and drunk. She had slowly took out of the blond hands a plate that was about to fall and put back the robot head on the table before to walk on the desk again. She walked around some more, finding the navigator asleep on the floor, using the little doctor as a pillow and the sniper as a mattress. She went to grabbed a pillow and a blanket from them before to found the swordsman and the musician fast asleep around empty bottles and swords. They must have dueled a little before to fell asleep she thought. She had put back the swords to safety before to head to the front of the ship after stepping above the fisherman. She climbed the few steps and look around, seeing Luffy asleep on the head on the lion, still his arms and legs cross from his sitting position. She hesitated a bit before to carefully walk to him, climbing on the head too.

At her surprised, he was fully awake. She stood next to him for a bit, feeling his eyes on her. She grabbed on of the bottle she had found and handed it to him. He had took it as she sat down too and offer a cheer. They stayed silence for an hour, enjoying the early ray of sunshine and the sound of the wave on the ship. A few birds passed them and they watched them fading away as they flew away.

"I need to talk to you…before I leave." He turned to her without saying anything. Kate felt as if he had been waiting for her to come. "I should have done it years ago. I would like to apologies too."

"You don't have to. I know." He said to her before to smile and stroke his bottle to hers. "You don't have to apologies and you don't have to explain anything if you don't want to either. I don't need to know what happened to know that you cared about him." She looked at him for a moment, wondering how he could be so at peace with everything, how he could nice to her.

"I think the first think he told me about him was that he had a little brother." She stated fondly as she remembered about a time that no longer existed. "I met Ace in Logue Town. I don't remember what happened but we ran into each other there. I was trying to get to Grand Line for a month now and I was broke. Moreover, I was searched by the marine. Your brother offered me his helped if in return I found him a few guys he had heard about." She explained as Luffy had completely turn his body to her listening carefully. "A few days later, we were in Grand Line. I thanked him and he left me one the first Island they anchored on. We had spend a week together. I knew anything about him expect that he had a little brother named Luffy that would become Pirate's King." She said as he smiled with her. She took a few sip of sake and continued her story. "We ran into each other three months later. We really ran into one another. I didn't remembered his name so I called him Luffy's brother and he laughed for so long and so loudly. I left the Island with him and his crew and he dropped me off the next island like he did the first time. Grand Line is vast but we always ran into each other every few months and I would always set sail with them after. It had became a routine." He watched her as her eyes lost itself on the sea, playing with her finger on the bottle looking sad or mostly nostalgic about that time. "I…we became friends. To the point were we never said goodbye, ever. We knew that in a few weeks or months we will be seeing each other again. I was with them when they enter the New World and they would have all perished if I hadn't been there. Don't take this the wrong way but even if he was a good captain and navigator he didn't know a think about sailing into the New World and what was happening there." She said, holding back a laugh. "So, for a month or two, I sailed with them, teaching them, especially him. He wanted to find Whitebeard. I knew that if I let him to he would have sailed after the yonko right away without knowing a thing about him."

"Did you knew?" Luffy suddenly asked. "About his father?" He added quietly. She smiled at him before to duck her head to look at her hands.

"My job is to obtain information. With what I had stolen from the marine about the former Pirate's King and the little I knew about Ace…I figure it out soon enough. He hated the man but he acted more like him that ever."

"Did you…"He didn't have to finish his question for Kate to know what he wanted to ask. She looked up at him, noticing how tense he had become about the subject. She understood, she had always been tense when the subject was broad up too.

"I didn't told anyone. Not even him." She slowly responded. "I should have, maybe he would have started to notice that it didn't matter. His father didn't have anything to do with who he was."

"Ace is Ace." Added Luffy softly.

" I should have told him that I didn't cared."

"It wouldn't have changed a thing. Sabo and I we kept telling him that it didn't matter but,…he kept asking…"

"What if the Pirate's King had a son…"Kate cut him, telling the sentence she had heard so many time coming out of Ace's mouth. She sight before to take a few more sip, holding high her bottle before, as a toast.

"You are the one who told Whitebeard about him, right?"

"In a way." She answered before to put her bottle down and wiping her mouth. "He used me though." She said with a smirk. "I let the customer come to me If they needed anything, I rarely delivered messages at the time and not threating one."

"What made you do it then?" He asked her immediately.

"Since the first day he told me about his plan to fight and win against the strongest man alive. I told him that he would die trying. I knew that he was strong and that he had became crazy stronger since he had ate the fruit but, it was Whitebeard and Ace was my friend. I couldn't let him do something that stupid."

"You were there when he ate the fruit?!"

"Who do you think told him what it was...that man I swear, as clueless as a new born." She laughed. "He was to stubborn to even listen to me. We argue a lot at that time. I was doing everything I could to not let them perish in the New World and the only think he wanted was to go fight a lost battle against a Yonko." She explained some anger in her voice. "I would have thrown him over board if he wasn't turning into a fire each time I tried to punch him."

"You punched Ace?" He asked, quite surprised.

"I tried. All I was punching for sometimes was hot air or flames." She said, looking at her right fist. "It never burned me." She added, still wondering how he was doing it. "One day, I had enough of him not listening and I left. I ran into Jimbe, who was looking for that hothead and I told him where to find him. Even though he was a Warlord it was better than Pops." She explained. "But, He needed me to bring some information to Whitebeard. Work being work I obtained his support if I ever needed him and went to find Whitebeard. By the time I found him, your brother was already fighting with the fisherman." She looked back, searching the said fisherman with her eyes as he was still laid on his stomach below them fast asleep. "So, I land on the whale ship with the message and information, thinking that for some reason it was obvious that I didn't come to fight. But, as people already told me, I don't have a friendly face." She heard him laughed out loud before to put both of his hands on his mouth, trying to be quieter. He kept laughing but once he became calm again he looked behind him, making sure he hadn't waken up anyone. "I hadn't even had the chance to explain myself that Marco attacked me right away. That flaming bird kicked my ass. I didn't let myself being punched around but as the first commander he had me locked down on the floor in no time. I thought that they would killed me. It had been the first time I had really been scared to die." She confessed. "I felt so small standing in front of Whitebeard, my hands and feet were cuffed and my weapon had been taken away. The crew were standing around me, so I hadn't a chance to escape and Pops was…he was in his chair, tubed in at some machine but his aura was so strong. I laughed and I couldn't stop myself." She explained trying to hold back a chuckel. "At first it was by nerve but I really became to laugh thinking about Ace and his plan to take him down. If I had been so quickly neutralize I knew what would happened to him. I'm not saying that I was stronger than him but, I won a few match against him before he got his fruit so…I knew how he fought and how he thought. And they were no way he could have won, never."

As she kept talking, Luffy were stretching his arm to the middle of the deck, grabbing food. He offered her an apple but she gestured him no. "The crew were so mad at me for laughing to the face of their captain but I couldn't stop. In the end I had been able to deliver the information and they let me go since Jimbe had written down the news he had to share. Whitebeard had asked me to deliver a message too and I couldn't really say no. So, I went on my way, searching for another Yonko and his crew. It took me three days to come back to Whitebeard with another information. I mostly dealt with Marco and every time he would kicked my ass before I step on the deck. I learnt that Ace was still fighting Jimbe when someone asked me if I want to bet money on who would win and how long the fight would take. I did another job for them and when I went back Pops had been gone to look after your brother. I wanted to go look after him too. Ace was a crackhead but we were friends for years now, I was worried." She said before to pause a bit enjoying the silence.

She remembered how Marco reassured her telling her that the next time she'd came around they would have another brother. It hadn't reassured her on bit, not at all. She had known that Ace would have done anything to take the head of their captain. She had just asked Marco if they had another job for her, not wanting to be around if Ace were bring into the ship. It had been a long job, it took her two months to head back to Paradise and delivered the information to some allies. On her way she did others job, bargaining some information here and there and spent a little time on Sabondy waiting for her boat to be ready for the dive. She didn't have heard about what happened to Ace, not once. The only information she had had been that he had been defeated. She had came back on the ship in a hurry and spend a few hours, enough to talk with Marco and Whitebeard about her job and she was gone again.

"I hadn't seen him in over two months since I have left them. I had a job to finish for Whitebeard so, I came back to the Whale ship. I stepped on the ship and I went to see Pops who was in his big chair in the middle of the deck. I was doing my report when I saw your brother, sneaking behind Whitebeard a knife in his hands. I don't know why but one second I was talking to Pop the other I had threw one of my knife at Ace, missing Pops head by a few inch. I had been surprised that no one had jumped at me but Ace raged screamed might have been the reason. I have never seen him like that. So lost and mad at everyone. Marco had been the one to explain that he had been trying to kill pops since he had been bought to the ship. I remembered seeing him putting out my knife from his shirt before to run to Whitebeard again. I don't know what had happened inside his head but he had attacked me instead." She said, a nostalgic smile on her face. "He was mad that I had ruined his plan." She laughed. "We yelled at each other for a bit and fought too. Probably by annoyance Marco had thrown us overboard. Ace sinking like an anchor the moment he touched the water. I took advantage off his weakness once on the deck, it wasn't everyday I could hit him." She explained all smiling. She remembered that day vividly. She had been fuming the minute she had seen him on the ship.

"You owe me an apology Portgas." She had said to him after being thrown into the sea.

"Like hell. I owe you nothing." He had spatted, trying to regain some strength, laying on his back. She stood before him, blocking the sun from his face, letting the drop a sea water from her hair pour on him.

"I spend months telling you that it was stupid, I told you that it was reckless and dumb. Didn't I told you that you would lose everything trying to take his head? And look, here you are, acting like a brat."

"If you came to gloat go away, I'm not in the mood for one of your lecture." He had said, trying to stand up helping himself thank to the wall next to him. She had kicked his legs making him fall again on his back. He yelled at her for that, trying to attack her. "Fuck you!" She punched him once more, swearing at him, letting her foot on his torso glad that he hadn't restrain his strength yet.*

"You are right, I'm gloating." She had said from above him.

"I went back to work a day later." She said to Luffy after a few sip, finishing her bottle. "I was trying to see him at least once every two weeks but that brother of your was insufferable. We spend our time yelling at each other the rare time we had together. One day, a year after everything I think, I came back from a job rather difficult. I hadn't been on the ship for months and…I had missed it. While your brother was trying to kill everyone on board I was making friends for the first time. Marco even trained me a few time and the cooking, you would have loved the cooking." She said, beginning to tell him about the meatballs and Thacht. She could see some sparkles in his eyes has she described the dishes. "I hadn't even been there for an hour that Whitebeard offer me a place on his crew, calling me his daughter. I refused even thought I wanted to say yes so badly."

"Why didn't you?" She didn't responded. She couldn't think about a single thing that would make sense. She had never been crew material, she was better going on her own and doing things by herself. She had thought about it the more he had asked her, and after a while, even thought he knew that she would say no; it wasn't the same. Everyone knew that despite the negative respond she was part of the crew, Pops knew, Marco knew, Ace knew, the crew knew. She was one of theirs.

"As I said no, someone had yelled telling me that how was mad to not say yes. As the person began to explain why I should agree, I saw Ace walking to me in rage. He asked me all sort of questions about how I felt being around them, how I felt about being here and went on and on. He could not understand why I had said no. This is when I realized that he wasn't trying to kill anyone. He had joined and I have never seen him more proud."

"Give me one single reason Kate!" He had said to her, grabbing her by the shoulders with his two hands, shaking her a bit.

"Well. First, I don't want to. That a pretty good reason." She had respond, grabbing his hands into hers to let him go of her arms. "Secondly, you still owe me an apology and a big one Portgas." She had responded firmly.

"I owe you nothing." He had replied, crossing his arms around his chest. They had argued for a while to the pleasure of the people on deck who had started to enjoy their bickering. They both were proud people, very proud, but Kate was the only one who would admit being wrong if she was (thing that rarely happened). But Ace would not apologies, especially to her. He knew he had been wrong but admitting it would never happened.

"He never apologies and I never join the crew."

"Would you have join if he had said that he was sorry?" Luffy had asked after a time of silence. She thought about it before to smile to him.

"No…but it would have been very joyful to see him bow to me." She said laughing. "Your brother was so annoying at time, I am glad that I could go and leave as I please." Her laughed die a little as she lowered her head. Luffy saw her wiped quickly a tear falling on her cheek, Kate tried to smile a bit but he knew the pain.

"I miss him too." He said, looking at the horizon. He didn't looked at her more, knowing that more tears were falling without her controlling it. He cried too sometime at night, while the others were asleep. He would sit alone in his spot and remember. It was painful at first, but the more he did the more he found himself smile through the tears.

"After that…"She began again after a few minutes. "I spent more time on the ship that anywhere else. Every minutes of every day I was fighting with your brother. I have been around him enough and we had handle each other rather well before but…I couldn't anymore. He was so irritating and annoying, every little thing he did or said was raging. I would spend a month with them until Marco asked me for a job. It was more of an excuse to have me out of the ship and spare everyone of our arguments really but; I was more than glad to go."

"Was it because he hadn't apologies?" He asked her. She turned to look at him, surprised to see him putting another bottle in front of her. She smiled a bit before to open it and taking a sip before to hand the bottle to him. "I mean. I was mad at him too sometime when he was punishing me for getting eaten by a crocodile again." He said, pouting a bit as he remembered it. Kate laughed, frankly. "No matter what I would say, he would yell at me and hit me. He was such a meanie." He said before to laugh with her. At that point, either of them cared if they were waking people up.

"How was he?" She asked him. He looked at her, a bit confused by her sudden question. "I heard so many stories about you doing crazy things but, he never told me about his younger self."

"He was the best." He said before to tell her about their childhood from his point of view. She had heard stories, so many of them and it was always around Luffy and his way of attracting trouble. She regretted to not have asked Ace about his childhood before Luffy, before Sabo. Hearing Luffy telling her about how rude and misbehave he was made her laughed. Him who was so polite for a pirate despite the fact of being a hot head. He told her so many things about him, how he was the one taking care of them, making the decisions, keeping them safe. How he was the strongest even though he was the most scared. He told her about the anger he had, he told her about the little he knew about him leaving alone with the bandits before he arrived. He told her about how he tried to kill him. He had laughed at each stories and had made her laughed too. Talking about his brother wasn't something he did often, mostly because of the pain but also because, even if his crew had meet him they didn't know him. Telling a story was always something pleasant but sharing it with someone who knew who was Ace was liberating in a way.

"Kate?" He asked unexpectedly. "You loved him, didn't you?" At his question the woman turned away avoiding his eyes on her, looking as far as she could hoping to see an island or another ship. But nothing, only the calm and blue ocean. She had been friend with Ace the minutes they had met. It had been immediate. She had known that he was honest and true. Thinking about their time in the Grand Line Kate had been obliged to recognize that it had been more than that after. She would not have spent months with him and his crew if it hadn't be for something more. She had took her time to understand why he was so annoying and why the minute she would leave she would miss him despite their constant fighting. Then, she look back at Luffy sadly smiling to him.

"I did." He stayed silent for a moment, visibly thinking about what it meant. She was about to add something when he took her by surprised.

"I understand now." He said before to grab the bottle and to take a few sip.

"Understand what?"

"Why you hit me that day. And why you gave up on your heart." She stayed silent, slowly nodding, half surprised by his words. "I would have done the same. I would have ripped mine out of my chest if it wasn't for my friends. It must have been hard for you. I am sorry." He said to her before to hand her the bottle back.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." She said to him before to finish the bottle in one go. "I'm the one who should apologies. For hitting you and acting like a bitch toward everyone." He chuckled a little at that. "When I saw you laughing with Jinbe and the others I…I lost it. I…I didn't comprehend how you could be happy while I was…I thought I was about to die. I wanted to. And here you were, acting as if…as if he was…I hated you."

"I understand." He calmy said. "I almost didn't…I overcome it thanks to my crew. I couldn't let them. They give me hope." He explained to her.

"I am happy that you overcome it." She said, a small smile on her face.

"It took time. It still hurts. But it not the same painful feeling anymore." They stayed in silence for a moment, just appreciating the other company and the sun. Luffy had grabbed another bottle and more food. After a while, they could hear some people waking up and walking around. Kate sighed before to stand up, looking at the ocean one last time before to look down at Luffy who was stuffing his face with some leftover he had found.

"Thank you Luffy." She said before to leave, not waiting for his response. Kate jumped on the deck and took the stair stepping above Jinbe who was still asleep. Once on the main deck she saw Zoro from afar, she simply put the bottle high for a moment as a sign of greeting at which he nodded. Kate jumped on the submarine deck avoiding some crew members who had rolled into the middle of the deck in tehir sleep. She looked around, noticing that the surgeon wasn't were she had found him and enter the submarine, walking to her "room". She was wondering the hallways taking a detour by the kitchen to see if she could grab another bottle on her way. That is were she found him, sitting alone at a table a cup of coffee in front of him. Kate almost laughed when she saw him half asleep. She put her bottle on the table slowly before to sit next to him, watching his head slowly falling off his hand. She looked at him for a minute before to shake him a little.

"You should go to bed." She softly said. The surgeon immediately opened his eyes looking around for a threat but put his head back on his right hand once he saw that it was only Kate.

"You shouldn't wake up people like that." He simply responded, shutting his eyes again.

"Next time I'll hit your head on the table then." She said, a little laugh escaping her mouth. He smirked a little at her words before to take a sip of his coffee.

"I saw you. Going on the lion earlier." He opened his eyes again, trying to fight the desperate need to sleep.

"You were still alive then. I thought your crew had suffocated you." He smirked again a little before to grab her bottle and pour a little bit of sake into his coffee, hoping that it would wake him up.

"I thought you were finally going to murder them in their sleep." He joked as she stood up to grab a cup and the pot of coffee in the kitchen before to come sit next to the surgeon again. She chuckled as she poured him some coffee into his cup.

"I should have. They were all past out somewhere." She said remembering how she had found the strawhats this morning. "Expected Luffy. He was wide awake. It was like he was keeping them safe."

"He probably was." The surgeon looked at her while drinking, trying to figure out something. She didn't complain, letting him do it as long as he pleased. He chuckled one more time before to turn his look on his cup again.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, after all this time spent with Strawhat I'm a little bit disappoint to see you without any more injuries." He said pointing with one fingers at the fainted bruises from their fight a few days ago. She smirked a bit too, knowing what he meant.

"We talked."

"I thought so. I heard you laughing from the deck."

"It felt good." She explained him as he drank. "Talking about him, It was hard sometime but…sharing it with Luffy felt good. Who would have thought."

"He is not that bad to talk too. When he is not jumping and screaming every two seconds he's pretty descent." She nodded before to drink her coffee too. The surgeon kept glaring at her from time to time, finding her more at peace with herself, almost relieved. Just the fact that she was somehow happier gladded the pirate. He had only known her at her lowest and seeing that just by talking she seemed more open and free was a good started. He knew that the pain and remorse were still there, but she didn't have the weight on her shoulder anymore.

"I didn't tell him. I couldn't." Breaking the silence, Katee knew that she didn't have to explain more for him to understand what she meant.

"You don't have to." He replied looking at her playing with her drink, making the rest of her coffee turn around in the mug. An habit she took from quit a while when she was remembering.

"I…"She started to say before to stop, her voice cracking. She put one of her hand on her mouth before to take a deep breath, gaining control on her emotions.

"Kate." The surgeon said grabbing her left hand into his, showing her some support. it was almost normal to do so. "You don't have to tell him if you don't want to. You don't have to tell anyone. What happened…No one should face something like that and certainly not the way you had to face it." He explained to her as best as he could. "Don't force yourself because you think that he is involve because of his brother."

"But…he should know, right? If you were him…"

"I am not."

"If you were him, would you like to know? Would you be mad if I…"

"Kate. You owe him nothing. Don't torture yourself. If you want to tell him, do it. But don't force yourself on doing so, especially if you are not ready." He said firmly to her with his docotr voice. She looked up, not caring if he saw a few tears in her eyes. He squeezed her hand one last time before to let go, serving himself another cup of coffee and grabbing the untouched bottle of sake she had bring with her. He poured some into her mug and into his. He took his drink into his hand, showing her to do the same.

"What are you going to do now?" Kate put her drink down and grabbed the bottle, gladded for chanigng subject. She didn't know why she had bring it up and why it seemed so easy to talk to him about what happened. Maybe it was because he was the only one to know the truth or because he was a doctor. No matter what you might think about Trafalgar Law, he was trustable.

"I have work to do." She simply answered, pouring them another drink. This time, she didn't put coffee into her mug.

"I would have been surprised if it wasn't the case."

"Do you mind if I tag along for a bit? I need to find a ship." She asked him.

"You should have taken one when we left." He said, finishing his drink, not answering her demand.

"I wasn't in shape to do so." She reminded him. "So, can I?"

"You should travel with the other. Luffy would be more than happy to have you around I am sure." He stated, still not responding.

"It's not because with have settle our situation that I suddenly can stand him. He is still a brat and I already spend to much time around them. If I spend more time with them I'll go crazy." She explained pouring them the last drop of sake from the bottle.

"I know what you mean." He said to her, a small laughed coming out of his mouth.

"So?" She asked after finishing her mug.

"So what?" He asked.

"Are you authorizing me to stay on your ship for a few days? Until you stop at the nearest island with a boat seller?" He stood up, looking at her from above before to take his drink into his hand and finishing it in one go, putting it upside down on the table.

"Agreed." He authorized before to leave. Kate rolled her eyes before to leave as well, joining her room as planed in the first place.

Everyone had said their goodbye, some had even cried in both crews. The sniper had shed a few tears as the little doctor had said his goodbye to the surgeon, thanking him for all the knowledge he had shared with him during their journey together. When the surgeon had responded by saying that it was him who was glad to have worked with him, the little doctor had started to cry, insulting the surgeon at the same time. When he had report to his crew member about the kind words of the surgeon, the sniper had cried to, as the cyborg. Kate had smiled a bit, watching everyone from afar on the deck. She had noticed the navigator walking to her, still smiling for the scene she had also witness.

"Kate." She had started to say, a little bit hesitant. "I would like to apologize, for my behavior toward you. And for my words and action that day."

"No need." Kate said, a small smile forming from her lips. The navigator had been about to talk again but Kate had took her into her arms, giving her a warm hug. "Take care of those imbecile okay. Next time we meet I'll be sad to see if one of them are missing." The navigator had been shocked from her words and only smiled to her as a response. Before to leave, the redhead had give her their number, if she ever needed anything. Kate had also said her goodbye to the others, saying to them to take care and stay safe as much as possible. The swordsman had laughed a bit before to offer her one last bottle of sake. The archeologist had laughed when she had seen the exchange between the two before to say her goodbye as well. The little doctor had started to cry again when Kate had hugged him tightly, petting him for the last time. Then, the cook, the skeleton and the cyborg also said their goodbye in their strange way. Kate would never told anyone but, she was kind of fond of them.

"Take care of you Kate." Said the fishermen. Kate nodded with a small smile before to hugged him too.

"Try not to let them corrupt you into their madness."

"I already recognized Luffy as my captain. I think it's too late for that." He said to her before to leave as well, joining his new crew on the desk of the lion ship. Speaking of his captain, Kate hadn't been able to contain her laugh as he had wrapped the surgeon within his arms, hugging him goodbye as the surgeon was trying to shove him away. Then, he had let him go before to stare at Kate. He had stayed put for a moment before to walk to her, putting back his hat on his head.

"Try to stay out of the problem for a bit. Now that you…."She had started to say when he had put his hands on her shoulder, looking at her seriously.

"Come with us." He asked her. A good part of his crew yelled out of shocked as many of the Heart pirates. As far as people knew, him and Kate had had a severed fight a few days ago. Some would say that they had tried to kill each other. Kat put her head down and grabbed his hands into hers, slowly putting it off her. "Come on, join my crew." He added which was followed by more yelling, especially from the lion boat.

"What make you think that I want to be part of your crew?" She asked him, finally looking at him, knowing why he was asking.

"Because you're family." He answered with a big smile as if everything was simple and that it was the only logical explanation. Yet, it had taken Kate aback instantly, her mouth had even open a little in shock. "Come one Kate!" He yelled grabbing her by the shoulder again, rocking her a bit.

"No." She had finally been able to say. Everyone had, once more, yelled a bit in shock. The strawhats knew that, despite the negative response, their captain you have Kate in his crew no matter what. It happened to all of them before so why would he changed now. Him who would always have what he wanted despite the other need or say. Luffy had always been like that and people who knew him well were able to say that nothing will come between Luffy and his will.

"Come on! Join us!" He repeated at her, dropping his smile.

"I said no." Kate answered again. Then, he had suddenly became serious again. Most of the Heart pirates were holding their breath, fearing the worst. Even the surgeon was curious about Strawhat reaction, wondering what would happened.

"Okay, I'll asked next time!" He responded smiling again. He had hugged her briefly before to jump on his ship, waving goodbye to everyone. Kate watched him for a moment before to wave back, smiling a bit. Everyone looked at the strange exchange that had happened.

"We're diving in 5 minutes!" Suddenly ordered the surgeon to his crew. He stayed on the deck while everyone was running inside, getting ready. Kate stayed on the deck too, watching as the lion ship was sailing away. She was almost sure that, if the wind were blowing toward them, that she would hear Luffy asking for some meat. She chuckled a bit before to turn to the surgeon who was walking to her.

"I'm not asking you to join my crew." He said as he invited her to come inside. She laughed a bit, walking into the submarine as he closed the door.

"As if I wanted to join you." She responded before to part with him.

End seventh chapter.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to tell me what you think :)