The sea was stormy that night, and the crew had stayed below deck. They were finally en-route to Fishman Island, but it would take two weeks to get there. Sometimes, Robin wondered if her crew would be able to survive together on this small ship. No one had much of their own privacy, and it had been a long time since they had seen each other. Despite being nakama, they had all changed and matured in the seven years they spent apart.

Robin's glasses tilted a fraction, but she pushed them up, continuing her reading. The book was nearing its end with only a couple pages between the page she was on, and the back cover. Robin finished the book quickly. If she had to be honest, it wasn't a very good book at all and Robin had barely given it the time of day, only skimming down the page. There had only been two problems with the book; it was slow and had too basic of a plot.

Most of the crew was sleeping, she noticed, but Robin couldn't find the tiredness or the will in her to lie down and get rest yet. The overwhelming events of the past few days had sent her mind into a sort of blank state, where she absorbed information but didn't process it enough. Perhaps it was because she longed for Jack so much that Robin couldn't function without him. She'd never thought her love for him was this deep. But maybe it was also because of the shock. Her nakama, Luffy.

Robin put the book back on the shelf quietly, sliding it back in its place. Her fingers left the soft leather cover of the book and she just stood, wondering what she could read next. Something had to keep her awake. Keep her mind working.

A voice awoke Robin from her thoughts. "If you liked that book, you could try Great Expectations," Chopper said, appearing by her side. Even indoors, he wore his hat and was wrapped in a large, fluffy robe. He looked up at her, "But I don't think you liked it."

Robin gave him a soft smile. "You're not going to sleep? Everyone else has already gone to bed," Robin said with a motherly tone.

"Yeah, I noticed. But I think it's because I've been sleeping so much lately that I can't seem to sleep now," Chopper explained matter-of-factly. "But you have dark circles under your eyes. You look tired, Robin. As a doctor, I can only suggest you to get some rest. But as your friend, I can see you either don't want it, or don't need it."

Robin walked back her to her chair and gestured for Chopper to take a seat in front of her which he did without hesitation. On the table between them, was a pot of freshly brewed tea that Robin had made for herself a while before. She poured the tea into two separate cups and pushed one to Chopper. "You're a good friend, Chopper."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Robin sighed and undid the ribbon that held her hair together. Her black, luscious locks tumbled down gracefully. It was elegant, just like every part of her and everything she did. Chopper had always looked up to her. He looked up to everyone in his crew. She started to tell him what happened in Dressrosa, spilling every worry and every though she had at that perilous time. It felt good to let it all go, Robin didn't want to feel anything right now. Chopper nodded, like he understood. And even if he didn't, Robin didn't care. Chopper was a good listener, but he started to tell of his own story too. Then, their quiet chat about their feelings turned to a normal conversation between friends.

It did them both good.

Fujitora breathed in the fumes of his strongly brewed tea. It had been made just a few minutes ago, so it was still hot. Not to mention that the brewer had not forgotten to put it in his favourite cup. The Fleet Admiral felt around the cup until his fingers found the handle and curled around it, bringing it to his lips.

With one sip, he put it back down. "This is good, Coby. No wonder Garp promoted you here," Fujitora joked, "You make good tea. Better than the person who used to make it for me."

Garp, having retired as the hero of the Marines, had passed along his young trainees to other admirals. Helmeppo now worked under Kizaru, but seemed to be slightly unhappy with it, and Coby trained under the current Fleet Admiral - Fujitora. He knew he still had much to learn before he could even try to be anyone important in the Marine rankings.

Coby cleared his throat. The question prickled from the back of his mind. He knew that it would eventually spill from him even if he didn't want it to. Right now, the whole world was waiting with their breath held in - waiting for the Fleet Admiral to respond. "What are you going to do now?" Coby took a seat in front of Fujitora's desk. "What are you going to do about the new movement of the Straw Hats?"

Having personal ties with the pirate group's captain, Coby couldn't keep his feelings in. But he knew what he wanted - Coby wanted to see them succeed. Since the day he had started working under the marines, he'd wanted to see Luffy and his pirates grow to Emperor level and Luffy become the Pirate King. It was as simple as believing in them, and hoping that one day he could be on the same stage, fighting them even.

"I have a plan," Fujitora admitted, "It is currently in the working, but I am sure it will work. As Fleet Admiral, I cannot let them roam free. No matter what. Even if I might've liked seeing their friendly captain's face, I know I must see it behind bars. Or dead even." He paused. "Let me ask you something, Coby. Who do you think has had impacted the world the most? The two Pirate Kings. Gol D. Roger who found the One Piece, discovered the history of the world and launched the Great Pirate Era? Or Monkey D. Luffy, who also found the One Piece and discovered the history of the world, but his response has shaken the world and will continue to be a legend for centuries to come?"

Coby was silent, unable to answer Fujitora. His eyes were downcast. "What have you done?"

Fujitora had a grave expression on his face, "I have summoned an event that will either start a war, or end an era. Perhaps it will do both."

Shakky looked at the long list of names on the table. They were scrawled in messy writing, much like her own but different. She didn't write with a blue pen. Shakky strictly used black pens. It was something she had established with her boss earlier when they had started thei business. Shakky gave it one last glance, memorising the names on the list before she pushed it aside put her plate of breakfast in front of her.

A full bento set, complete with rice, teriyaki, and everything she liked, was set on the table in front of her. Shakky had made it specially for herself today. It was her birthday, and she intended to treat herself until she was content. Shakky had a full day planned, so when she was done stuffing the food in her mouth, Shakky left the kitchen and headed to her room.

She dress herself with a simple navy blouse, a leather jacket embezzled with gemstones and denim jeans. Shakky barely did her hair, simply brushing it quickly, before she adorned herself with two pearl earrings. Her earrings stood out from her short, dark bob. The outfit, plus her golden buckle boots, was already much more flashy than she what would wear on an average day.

The streets were full with people, children playing with the bubbles that floated up from the very ground. Shakky missed the times when she'd do the exact same thing. Her late older brother never liked the bubbles. He would always blame it on her when the stickiness of the bubbles got on him. Shakky smiled. Sometimes, she missed the older days. Sometimes, she knew it was better to move on.

On the side street, were a few people dressed up in a strange way. Shakky's eyes drifted to where they stood, in the middle of a semi-circle of people. There were more and more people gathering to watch the actors. Shakky found herself stopping to watch them. They reminded her of someone... No, more like some people.

Ah, that's right.

"I'm Luffy, the man who's going to be the pirate king!" the man in the middle shouted triumphantly. He'd dyed his hair black specially for the occasion, and he even had the same red top and straw hat. Of course they didn't look the same, but it was similar enough that everyone understood that he was trying to act as Luffy. The Pirate King.

The act went on for a while longer, and when it finished, the people cheered, clapping. The children who had been watching in awe, now jumped up in joy, screaming for an encore. The actors had set up a flimsy curtain that they could hide behind to change in between scenes. Now, they ducked behind it again, getting ready for the next act.

Shakky was bored so she left. This wasn't how she had planned to spend her day and now nearly half an hour was gone. She couldn't say it was a waste of time though. "Rayleigh-san would've loved to see that..." she murmured to herself. "It's too bad."

Thank you so much for the sudden surge in reviews! I love reviews and I'm so glad that so many people are enjoying this! Thank you! Just to name one of the people who commented over the last few days: BananaFromTheWest! Thank you so much! If you would also like to be mentioned as one of my beloved reviewers please review and also be signed in! (There are a lot of guest reviews that I can't exactly mention due to their lack of username but still, thank you so much all of you unknown supporters!) XD