THE NEW WORLD: APPROXIMATELY TEN YEARS AGO.
THE SHIP OF MARINE CAPTAIN KOBY AND LIEUTENANT COMMANDER HELMEPPO.
"Karai Bari might be a good start" said Koby, looking at the sea charts before him. "It was Buggy's base of operations. Of course, they may have moved on by now, but at the very least we might be able to get some leads."
"I really don't care for your ship," said Helmeppo, looking up at Koby's sails.
"This again, Helmeppo?"
"Why can't I get a sail that says HELMEPPO? It could fly...right above yours."
"Look I hate the giant 'KOBY' sail too," said Koby, rolling out a map. "But it's what they gave me. So, there are essentially two parts of the island. There's the south port and surrounding forest, which is where Buggy and his crew essentially kept camp. Then there's the village, just due north."
"I fail to see how it does much for the element of surprise," said Helmeppo. "If I pirate ship see a giant sail that says KOBY zooming across the water at them, it rather announces who you are."
"Helmeppo you're still on this?"
"I am...so listen," said Helmeppo, leaning against the ship's rail. He took a stealthy glance around, but most of the other Marines were below deck. He dropped his voice. "You think Alvida knows who you are?"
"What do you mean?" asked Koby, perplexed.
"Well...I mean, you're not Smoker or Garp or anyone like that, but our names have been out there," said Helmeppo quietly. "Do you think she knows 'that kid at Marineford' or 'the hero of Rocky Port' is the same Koby -"
He paused, taking another swift glance about the deck.
"You think she knows you're her old cabin boy?"
"I...I don't know?" said Koby. "Why not? Pink hair, same name…"
"Well, you don't really look like when we first met," said Helmeppo.
"Yeah, but I'm not that different."
"Koby, Luffy didn't recognize you."
"Oh, well that's Luffy," chuckled Koby. "He's...you know... Luffy. He didn't recognize you even after you told him your name! You're the one who's really changed Helmeppo!"
"Koby, you've grown about the foot and a half and you're buff."
"Oh now you're just being cute!" said Koby, giving Helmeppo an affectionate squeeze.
"I mean it!" said Helmeppo. "She might not know who you are, and honestly if that's the case, I think we should keep it that way."
"For the element of surprise?"
"Sure," said Helmeppo. "But mostly for your safety. I'm sure that it would feel well and good to reveal yourself to her all heroic like, but she can figure out who you are from the bottom of Impel Down with no one to listen to her. I'd rather have you safe and not let her reveal anything...compromising."
Koby was silent a moment, contemplating this.
"Look," said Helmeppo. "We've both worked hard, but you especially. I know this is really important to you and that's why I'm here to back you up, but I don't want her dropping your past. You know you can't pass a background check, and she could seriously compromise your ability to remain a Marine."
Koby felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He had not considered this.
"Right," Koby said, resolutely. "Understood. If she knows who I am, well, we'll just have to deal with it. Contain that information, limit her contact. We'll keep the rest of the squad's involvement as minimal as we can to be safe anyway. If she doesn't know who I am, then all the better."
"Good. So take down your dumb sail."
Koby laughed, and threw his arms around Helmeppo. "I'm so glad you're always looking out for me!" He said, savoring the protective swirl of emotions.
"Pfft, get off me! I'm only doing this so you'll take me to dinner!"
"Hmm, that's not my Observation Haki says!"
"Oh knock it off, Emotion Koby with your god-tier haki!"
THE NEW WORLD: KARAI BARI ISLAND
It was clear that the Buggy pirates had indeed at one point occupied a significant amount of Kari Bari Island. But what was left of "Buggy Town" was nothing but a few scattered and torn tents, and several empty barrels of liquor.
"I'd say they haven't been gone long, maybe less than a week," said Helmeppo, gingerly sniffing one of the barrels of ale. "This hasn't even gone off yet."
If it's that recent, they could still be nearby, they might not have fully formulated a plan," said Koby. "Perhaps we could head into town, ask some of the civilians."
"Right," said Helmeppo nodding. "It might be recent enough that even if they've left the island, they're likely still in the surrounding area. If someone knows where they went, we could catch up to them fairly fast."
"Should...just the two of us go?" said Koby, tentatively. "Just in case any of the crew might be around?"
Helmeppo again looked over the debris, running a finger down the barrel and gingerly smelling the leftover ale.
"I'll bring a den den mushi if we run into trouble," Helmeppo said. "We can call backup if need be. But yeah, I don't want to take any chances if any of the crew are loitering about."
"Oh Buggy's crew!" said one leathery-skinned shopkeeper. "Yeah, they had their camp nearby. Hell of a setup it was. You boys lookin' fer 'em? But they ain't recruiting anymore - didn't ya get the news? They repealed warlord immunity about a week ago."
Karai Bari had turned out to be a lively place, a bustling merchant port keen to hawk its wares. The shopkeepers and citizens were out in full force, buying and selling, and a handful of children were running up and down the street at play.
"Kehhehehe, they were a buncha hooligans but they kept half of Karai Bari employed!" laughed nearby fishmonger, who was slicing a long dragon tuna. "We couldn't import the liquor and food fast enough!
"Always ordering new clothes, new weapons," said a wizened old carpenter, whittling a block of wood while a young girl watched with bright eyes. "Our port has always done decent business, but they really kept us booming and warded off any rival pirates. They weren't saints mind you, but as far as pirates go they took care of the locals pretty well," he added.
"Mister, I like your hair!" said the girl, smiling at Koby. "It's my favorite color!"
"Thanks!" said Koby, grinning back.
"There you are, Grace, I was looking for you," said a middle aged woman walking up with a basket of silk flowers. She was impeccably dressed in embroidered silks and had an eyepatch.
"Aunt Lily!" cried the little girl, standing up and hugging her skirts.
"This is Lily, she's one one of the best tailors this side of the New World," said the fishmonger, nodding at her. She took a long swig from a hip flask.
"Yes, I was considering early retirement," 'Aunt Lily' said, patting the little girl on the head. "Then Captain Buggy and that Lady Alvida showed up and I couldn't make enough clothes."
Koby nearly dropped his notebook.
"Oh, do tell," said Helmeppo in measured tones.
"Well, I daresay I'm the only one who knows Buggy's actual measurements," she said with a satisfied smile. "Though I'm afraid he made me swear to take that information to the grave, boys."
"I like Alvida!" said the little girl. "She's very fancy and strong. And I like Ritchie the lion."
"Hahaha, she sure is big spender! Bought a custom backgammon board from me," laughed the carpenter. "Finest workmanship I ever made. Rosewood and mahogany, with a mother of pearl inlay, and an extra panel in the back for storin' things."
"I want to be like her when I grow up!" said the little girl, twirling on the spot.
"No, you don't," said Helmeppo.
Koby knelt down by the little girl.
"Why do you want to be like someone like Alvida when you grow up?" he asked, perplexed.
"Cause she's strong and cool, duh," said the little girl, hands on her hips. "And she has the nicest clothes. She's fancy."
"Lots of women in the Marines are strong and cool too," said Koby. "There are female swordsmen and fighters and Vice Admirals. Sometimes they wear cool things too. And they do really cool things like protect people, instead of being pirates who hurt people."
"But Alvida is better. And she hangs out with a lion."
"That doesn't make her a good person," said Koby, almost imploring the little girl. "The world has lots of people who are cool and look strong, but that doesn't mean they are nice people."
"Alvida is nice," said the little girl, hands akimbo. "When she comes to Aunt Lily's, she lets me try to pick up her mace. I'm not strong enough yet to pick it up, but I will be someday like her! And I went and got a book at the library about med-ee-val weapons, and she told me about them. I wanna have a claymore someday!"
"Oh no," groaned Helmeppo. "She's gone from kidnapping the youth to corrupting them."
Lily looked them up and down sharply. "You boys Marines?" she asked, unsmiling.
"We are, ma'am," said Helmeppo, albeit a bit brusquely.
She clucked her tongue in displeasure. "A shame. Buggy and his lot aren't all bad folk. Suppose we can't stop you boys from doing your jobs though."
The little girl gaped at him. "You're Marines? Are you going after Lady Alvida and Ritchie?"
Koby opened his mouth uncertain what to say.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" she shouted. "I DON'T LIKE YOUR HAIR ANYMORE!"
She punched Koby in the shin with a tiny fist and ran off down the street, her aunt trailing behind her with a reproachful look back at Koby and Helmeppo.
"Well…" said Koby, looking down at his shin.
"S'too bad," said the carpenter. "I liked Buggy and his lot. It's too bad they have to go."
"I'm sorry...what?" said Helmeppo, pausing in the middle of writing in his notebook. "Are they...still here?"
"Aye, they're down at Lilith's Tavern," said the fishmonger quietly. "A bunch of 'em took off after the amnesty was repealed, but the rest of 'em are still here." He shook his head. "I know how you lot operate, I ain't about to get in the way of obstructing justice. You boys look decent I suppose. Treat 'em fairly."
"I hope they give you hell," muttered the carpenter.
"For what it's worth, we're not here for all of them," said Koby. "Just one."
(Let's play "find the Pushing Daisies reference" that I ubiquitously slip in all my fics. I almost named the girl Chuck but that would have been too obvious.)
I swear I will finish uploading this. I swear. I don't care about reader traffic, I just hate have incomplete works floating around on my profile. Please just go read my A03. There's new stuff there. This fic is a year old.
