"So, how did you two meet?" I asked. "You and Joyeuse, I mean."

We'd been at sea for a few days, and despite having a lot less space then on the transport I had been on, I was pretty comfortable. The seasickness never entirely went away, frustratingly, but I had gotten a little better at getting rid of it. Of course, mostly this just meant that I could be comfortable for hours, then stare in the wrong direction for a little too long and be leaning over the side again. I probably didn't make this better by responding by training my footwork every time it happened. I just kept thinking that this world was mostly water, and I was going to end up getting destroyed because I ended up in a fight on a ship. I was pretty jealous of Hudson. I knew he had been on ships longer than I had, but it was hard not to get a little irritated at his perfect sealegs.

Hudson had proved himself to be a pretty good sailor, thankfully. His time on a pirate ship had taught him a few things, and he took the lead in piloting the ship we were now on. Apparently, the possibility that he would have to escape was on his mind enough that he became a pretty good navigator as well. My relief at learning this information made me a little embarrassed that I knew so little about surviving on a ship, and I resolved to have Hudson teach me when he could.

"Interesting way of asking," he said, his jaw set in an impish grin. "Is referring to swords as people something you do all the time?"

"Only with a lady that fine." I joked. "It's interesting. I thought it was an ornamental piece of junk when I saw the handle, but after you actually drew it, I could see some fantastic steel."

"Well, if you must know, I got it from the belly of a whale." Hudson explained. "The whale had swallowed a mountain of treasure, and I sailed my crew down it's throat to chase after it. But things got dangerous, and this fantastic blade was all I could salvage before the whale dwelling imps got us. That...or it used to belong to Snakestache."

"Thanks for the truth," I said, laughing. "Like, tell tales about whatever you want, but swords are serious business. You tell the truth about swords."

"I'll keep that firmly in mind." Hudson said sarcastically. "But you're right. I'm not exactly an expert, but Joyeuse does look fantastic. It's probably wasted on me, but it honestly seems like it was wasted on Snakestache too. I'm honestly surprised you didn't try to take it from me." I just rolled my eyes at that.

"That's crap." I said. "People can grow into worthiness, y'know? Besides, I said Joyeuse was great, not that she held a candle to Sorahime."

"Fair enough," Hudson shrugged.

"Defend your sword when I insult her, Hudson."

"You are impossible."

We both laughed for a while. I was honestly having a pretty good time. Hudson might have put me through a frustrating ordeal back on Pumpkhan, but I really liked hanging out with him. He was fun, lighthearted, and seemed to have a story for every situation. Sure, he loved making himself the hero of these stories, but it wasn't like that little lie distracted me from how enjoyable they were. There were definitely worse traveling companions I could have.

"So, you know that there's a risk of traveling with me, right?" Hudson suddenly said. Ah, we were finally going to have this discussion. I was wondering when we were going to get here.

"I won't deny that you're a tough lady," Hudson said, "but you seem pretty open minded to traveling with a wanted man. I mean, as long as you're with me, people will have ten million reasons to start trouble with you."

"I sorta figure that being the best swordsman in the world means you're already throwing down the gauntlet to a ton of people," I said, shrugging. "I would not have started out on this road if I was afraid of people making trouble for me. I mean, you do remember my plan is to head to the Grand Line, right?"

"I know, I know," Hudson relented. "I was just thinking that I didn't want it to get in your way. I mean, as an actor, having a bounty is nothing but positive for me, but for you it might be obnoxious."

"Yeah, you mentioned that before," I countered, narrowing my eyes at him. "How exactly is being wanted by the government dead or alive good for your acting career? I would figure having people be legally able to arrest and kill you would have the opposite effect."

At this, he actually laughed.

"Ah, wonderful!" he said, grinning so brightly I had to cover my eyes. "I love explaining this to people. Let me tell you about the wonderful world of Pirate Theatre!"

Oh, this was gonna be good.

"See, to understand Pirate Theatre, you have to understand the OOC, or the Office of Oversight and Censorship. It's basically an intelligence organization that represses artistic expression that's considered 'societally dangerous' by the World Government."

"Okay, okay, I'm following," I said, nodding. "So, I'm guessing the OOC bans a lot of stuff."

"Oh, you have no idea." Hudson laughed. "They have so many rules it's ridiculous. And on stage it's a nightmare. Portraying pirates in a positive light? Banned. Portraying the navy in a negative light? Banned. Questioning the legitimacy of sanctioned kings and queens? You'd better believe that's banned."

"And don't you think you can be saved by metaphor," he continued. "See, the OOC is smart, at least at ruining fun. If one of their agents smells trouble, they comb through the whole work, sniffing around for anything that can be considered subversive. If they find anything, a few things can happen. Sometimes, they just shut you down without any explanation, and sometimes they have these really threatening smiles and talk to you really politely about a few changes you should make. At that point, you know they're watching you, so you either make the changes or close up shop."

"You know, I feel like if the World Government is that picky about freaking plays….I don't know, that just seems really insecure." I said, taking a drink of absurdly fruity grog and passing it to Hudson.

"It is so much worse than that." he said. "I mean, if it was just 'don't question Authority', that would be irritating, but doable. But there's so much else. All pirates appearing on stage must be punished for their actions by the story's end. The World Government's practice of slavery cannot be acknowledged. References to human/nonhuman racial mixing are forbidden, any characters of nonstandard sexual presentation must be punished by the end of the story -"

"Wait, what?!" I said suddenly. "I was kind of following until those last two. What the hell?!"

"For the first, it's because some of these rules just get decided on in Mariejois and are never explained to anyone." he began. "And as for the second...I think it's mostly just because there are a whole lot of okama pirates."

"No wonder there are, if that's what they're dealing with." I grumbled. "It's not even the same thing...I don't understand how you can make theatre interesting with a bunch of crap like that."

"Well, here's the thing…you can't." Hudson explained. "What you end up with is a ton of propaganda, as well as what clever directors can sneak below the surface. But all of that assumes that you're engaging in legal theatre. And hence, we have Pirate Theatre."

"Pirate Theatre is the only reason the theatre is still alive as a medium, honestly." he said, a wistful smile on his face. "People love it, too. It's like, take the aura of danger that comes from doing something you know you're not allowed to do, and then add that it's almost always more entertaining than the official stuff. Helps that it's only illegal to write and perform it, not to watch it. Every actor worth a damn ends up doing it at some point. So you could say I was a criminal even before I joined the pirates."

"I'm guessing you did a lot of it," I said.

"Not as much as I would like," he said, shaking his head. "I mean, plenty, sure. But this is still the East Blue. Everyone still kind of tries to be good boys here. But that Grand Line...that's a different story. Most impressive theatre scenes in the world, from what I've heard. And a LOT of the actors out there are wanted by the law, because they're experienced enough to have done this a lot. So, granted, my bounty was from piracy, not cutting edge acting, but I think it should open a few doors for me out there."

"So, you're going to come with me to the Grand Line...for theatre." I said.

"Why not? It's the best place to practice my passion, and it might be better to go there in the company of someone who can watch my back." he explained. "Besides, there's no way I could go back to paying my dues with propaganda pieces after the adventures I've had. I need more excitement in my life, more meaning."

"I mean, I can think of stupider reasons to do that," I admitted. "I mean, once again, my plan is basically to sail around picking fights, so I'm not really one to talk."

"Wait, really?" Hudson said, laughing. "Is that really all there is to becoming the world's greatest swordsman?"

"Well, obviously, there's a little more than that," I explained. "I'm also looking for ways to get stronger, find unknown secrets, that kind of thing. But the best way to actually improve is through practice, and the best way to practice is through experience. That's honestly kind of the reason I'm not that worried about traveling with you. I severely doubt that going down this path is going to keep me out of trouble."

"Well...you could become a bounty hunter," Hudson said. "I've heard there's good money and a ton of violence in that."

"Yeah, I could," I said, shaking my head. "And to be honest, I don't really have a problem collecting on assholes. But I'm really not sure I want to subcontract for the navy as a full time job."

"Oh, sorry, I just realized what I did," Hudson joked. "No matter what happens, I never want to be responsible for the 'what are you doing with your future' conversation."

We both laughed, but he had a point. What the hell was my plan? I guess I had just never said it out loud until now, and now that I had, I realized how ridiculous it sounded. I mean, what, was that really what I wanted? Becoming the greatest swordsman in the world was a goal, to be sure, but it wasn't really a plan.

The problem was, I couldn't exactly think of a better one. And that's when I realized something stupid.

"I don't think I want to be a pirate," I mused.

"What?" Hudson said, looking over at me.

"Sorry, just thinking out loud." I said. "It just crossed my mind that I've been thinking about my future in a stupid binary."

"Run it by me," Hudson said, standing up.

"I don't have a problem being on the wrong side of the law." I explained. "Despite what you saw, I'm not an amazing fan of the navy, or the marines, or justice or whatever. But...I don't really want to sail around looting and plundering either. And I guess I've just realized, I've kind of been thinking about my future like it's either one or the other. Which is, of course, ridiculous, because the world has as many things to do as people who exist."

Hudson considered my words for a moment, then nodded.

"I get it." he said. "I mean, I don't, but I think I've gone through something similar. Society tries to push people into neat little spaces, and it can be hard to understand that you have other options. For my part, I'm having a hard time deciding what my options even are. I didn't love being a pirate, but...I can't deny that it felt good knowing that my actions would improve the lives of others, even if it was done by trickery. I just think...look, when I was younger, I used to have this silly dream."

"Pretty sure someone told me once that calling dreams silly was against maritime law." I joked.

"I...well...Kuina, have you ever heard about the Revolutionary Army?" he suddenly blurted out.

Oh. This.

"I have." I said. "I also know it's basically the only way to get the government to hate you more than being a pirate."

"Yeah, yeah," Hudson said, waving his hand. "Probably why I didn't have the guts to commit. But let me tell you, show me a group of actors, and I'll show you a hotbed of revolutionary ideals. We'd drink absinth and raise toasts to free men living the way they pleased, unfettered by the judging eyes of power. Pretty sure I've read as many anti-government manifestos as I've met actors...though to be fair, some of those actors wrote a lot of them."

"Sounds like a blast," I said. Honestly, it sounded like some of the college parties I'd been to. I guess some things are just universal.

"Far too dangerous, of course." Hudson said. "Even if I had that kind of power, it's not like I know where to find them."

"So that leaves two of us, afloat in the middle of the sea, with only the vaguest of destinations, and no idea what to do with our lives." I joked. "At least you can navigate, so someone else will be to blame when we get swept off course."

"Oh, don't give me that!" Hudson laughed. "We may not know what the future holds, but I definitely have a course set for us. And I think you're going to enjoy where it leads."

"Guessing it's not Loguetown," I said, looking off at the glittering waves beneath me. "Feel like it would have come up earlier in conversations."

"All good things to those who wait," Hudson said with a smile. "You made a tactical error, Kuina. You told me that you've basically spent your whole youth in isolated dojos, training yourself to be the best. As far as I can tell, you've certainly benefited from that, but I'll bet there's a lot you haven't seen. Wonders and excitements, delights unknown to one of your monastic existence. You saved my life, and I'd be a poor traveling companion if I didn't pay it back."

"It's not like I lived in a cave." I complained. "I lived in an abandoned temple, in a forest, in the mountains...and yeah, okay fine."

"Trust me, Kuina," he said, almost buzzing with excitement. "You're really going to love this. We should be there in a little less than a day."

"So where are we going?"

"I'd tell you, but with your provincial perspective, I'm not sure you'll fully understand."

"Screw you."

00000000000000

The rest of the day of traveling was pretty uneventful, but I tried to keep myself busy. Hudson was pretty easy going about showing me some of the ins and outs of sailing, and I actually helmed our ship for a while, though he would constantly give me pointers as we went. Despite my unease, I picked up the basics of what he was showing me pretty quickly. It didn't hurt that he seemed to get excited when it seemed like I was figuring something out.

Over the last few days I had learned something about myself and sailing: I loved to be on a ship at night. There was something about the cool light of the moon and stars reflected in the waves that I really couldn't put into words. It was the kind of beauty that made me forget I was absolutely terrible at writing poetry, and made me want to put what I was seeing into words somehow. A glittering sea of lights, seemingly suspended in an endless darkness. That night, as Hudson climbed onto deck, and told me that he'd take the wheel for the rest of the night, I almost didn't want to go to sleep.
When I awoke the next morning, however, it was to Hudson's excited voice.

"Kuina, you're not going to want to miss this!" he said excitedly.

"Hudson?" I murmured, pulling myself out of the sleeping bag I'd been lying in. Even though I wasn't undergoing Nahaje's brutal training anymore, I was still in the habit of waking up early, so I knew Hudson had to have just not slept the night before.

"Trust me!" he insisted, barely able to contain his glee. Sighing, I rolled out of my sleeping bag...and my breath was taken away.

At first, I thought that it was snowing, though it was just as warm as it had been the night before. But then I realized that what I was seeing was actually a steady rain of white blossoms, slowly drifting down onto the water around us, illuminated by the rising sun. We seemed to have sailed into some kind of narrow bay or inlet, and on either side of us towered massive trees, all with those petals blooming.

I stood up, trying to get a better grasp of what was going on, and I realized that I hadn't even seen the best of it. Off in the distance, I could see several other ships moored, some big and some small. They were docked at what looked to be a gigantic, multi-tiered pagona, stretching up above the sea and losing it's top among the ocean of white blossoms. From it, I could smell sweet scents emanating, things like saffron and incense.

"Hudson," I said, still looking directly at the palatial pagoda before us. "I get why you didn't tell me where we were going. This is a hell of a surprise. But at this point, context would be nice."

"Of course!" He said, as our boat pulled up to the dock. "You see, twenty years ago...actually, wait. He can probably explain it better than me."

Hudson gestured to the dock, and I saw someone waiting for us. A young man stood on the dock, walking away from some other visitors he had finished greeting a moment ago. His features were androgynous, and his hair was long, black, and silky. He wore long, flowing white robes, and a white headband was wrapped around his forehead. In one hand, he held what I thought was a spear, though it seemed to be made of a single material, and was marble white. And on his face was a warm, sincere smile."

"Greetings, weary travelers!" He said, offering a short bow to us, his voice soft and lyrical. "I hope the seas have been kind to you, and if they have not, it is my sincere hope that we may wash away some of the world's tragedy in our healing waters. Have you been here before?"

"She hasn't." Hudson said before I could say a word.

"Then allow me to welcome you!" he exclaimed. "You have set foot in a place of peace and tranquility, a place of healing and introspection. The monks have transformed this place from an abandoned hot spring lost to the sea into a spiritual retreat, resort, and spa with no equal. "My name is Initiate Saito, temple guardian, and I would be honored to show you to one of our many relaxations."

"Welcome, wanderers, to the Monastery of Kind Winter!"