A/N: So, I don't need to tell any of you that One Piece is a bit overcrowded with material. As Age of Wonder is to reflect that level of detail, save a few corners cut, some snippets and vignettes are going to pop up here. Plot bunnies - you can't cage 'em! Reading these are not mandatory for the main story, nor are they AU; just little bits and pieces to make the world brighter.
Memoirs of Pride
You find yourself looking out to the ocean in thought. After picking up two bounty hunters, Johnny and Yosaku, and seeing the horrors of Scurvy firsthand, it's clear the Going Merry will need a chef of the sea to make sure none of them suffer the same fate.
The hunting pair said they knew of a place that has the best chefs in East Blue, but... "It'll take three days to get to our destination," you lament, bored out of your gourd. "What should I do until then?"
Nami went into your – well, her room now, Ussop was working on something... was Silk free? You find the brown-eyed girl in the Crow's Nest. "A restaurant on the ocean…You can't wait to see it too, right!?" she grins, clearly excited for the crew's next destination. You ask her if she has some time. "Hm? Really? Sure, I guess."
The two of you meet up at the front of the ship, where the sheep figurehead sits. "So…" Silk says, before just trailing off.
You scrutinize her in the silence. Why's she so nervous? "What's the matter?"
Silk looks shocked but recovers quickly. "Crap, you saw right through me, huh?" She looked down for a moment before looking at you sheepishly. "I, er, how do friends talk…exactly?"
You give her a teasing smile. "Never had any, huh?"
Silk scowls at that. "You didn't have to say it so bluntly!" She looks at the ocean like she's trying to see something beyond it. "At home, people treated me nicely and all, but…when it came to what I found interesting and what…other girls found interesting…I was pretty much made to be an outcast…" She chuckles humorlessly. "You must find me silly, wishing to protect a place where there are people who would step around me than sooner look at me…"
For some reason, the thought that Silk could be so down on herself set you off! Time to cheer her up! "Actually, I think that's pretty awesome!" As you catch Silk off-guard, you continue. "You're an amazing person, Silk!"
She looks at you with a bland face, before turning away from you. "T-t-thank you!"
"Pretty cute…" you chortle at her reaction.
Silk turns around, ready to swing Dorado! "Stop teasing me, or Nami and Ussop will have to trawl the ocean floor for your body!" Despite the threat, there's a thankful aura coming from her…
Still, you spend the rest of the afternoon, running from a thoroughly-fed-up Silk... Who knew she could run so quickly!?
