Timeframe: Post Alabasta, Pre Jaya
Spoilers: Nope
Rating: K+

Summary: Robin's interrogation did not end when the ship fell from the sky, and now she has to justify why the Straw Hat Pirates should let an archeologist on their ship.

"So…what is it you do again?"

Robin looked up from her coffee, just barely managing to contain her amusement to a quirk of the lips. Long-Nose was sitting across her, looking rather perplexed. He rubbed his nose thoughtfully, the action pulling the cartilage to a nearly ninety degree angle.

"I am an archeologist by trade."

He shook his head. "Yeah, I get that, but we're…you know…pirates. How does that work, exactly?"

"Ah, I understand your confusion. All you need to know, Mr. Long-Nose, is that I am very, very good at finding things.

"Hurry up! The damned marines will be here any minute."

Ten year old Nico Robin shot the pirate a glare, doing her best to hide her nerves. The treasure had to be somewhere close; all the evidence pointed to this very spot on this very island. The question was where, and Robin knew if she didn't produce answers—and quickly—the band of pirates she had allied herself with would kill her.

Calling on her power, Robin spread her eyes everywhere, her growing panic overtaking her sense. She hadn't learned how to take in so many images at once, and the barrage of sensory input very nearly brought her to her knees. An instant, searing pain ripped through her head, throbbing in time with her heart.

Robin staggered, and in the back of her mind she knew she would regret showing such weakness. But right now it didn't matter, because she had found what she was looking for.

"X marks the spot," she said coolly, pointing to the tree line where two palms grew in a most peculiar way, their trunks crossing in a very distinctive shape. Robin was willing to bet her life that "Wild" Joe's treasure could be found under those trees.

Actually, Robin realized as the pirates rushed to start digging, she was betting her life on some ridiculous treasure of no consequence. Balling her hands into fists to hide her frustration, Robin waited for the day she could chase her dream without fear.

"So, you're a treasure hunter?" the doctor asked, eyes gleaming with awe. "That is so cool!"

"Aren't all pirates treasure hunters?" the swordsman groused from his corner.

"It's a little bit more complicated than that, I'll admit," Robin admitted with a small smile. "I'm also very good at identifying the things I do find."

"Like a detective, then," the navigator offered, leaning forward thoughtfully in her chair.

"It's a copy," Robin said flatly, tossing the worthless stone at the pirate's feet. She crossed her arms in front of her, calling upon her power. "You lied to me. That was a very foolish thing to do."

"I-I didn't know, I swear Miss All Sunday!" the billion stammered, eyes bulging out in a way that was nearly comical. "The…the appraiser! He said the diamond was the real deal!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" The man balked as arms grew on his shoulders. "Not only have you lied, you've failed Mr. 0."

"G-give me another ch—argh!"

"Baroque Works needs funds, not bottom feeders trying to leech their way to the top. You had your chance, and you failed. Unfortunately for you, billions are very replaceable. Clutch!"

The man's neck snapped easily. Robin released her power as he crumpled to the ground and stared impassively at the other employees present. Then she left without saying another word. She would let his death be an example to the rest.

Robin nodded, unsure of how such a simple conversation had garnered so much attention. "In a way, yes."

"Treasure hunter-detective…" Long-Nose muttered. "That's a little more piraty, I guess."

The cook came out of the kitchen, looking for all the world like a love-struck puppy. He danced towards them with an unusual amount of grace while managing to balance a stack of trays at the same time. "A snack, my sweet?"

"But that doesn't explain the thing you did with that dead guy," Long-Nose continued. "You just looked at him and knew…everything!"

"Don't you dare insult Robin, shithead!" Sanji snarled as he placed the tray down. He turned back to Robin, sickly sweet smile back in place. "My dearest Robin, don't feel like you have to respond to this ignoramus. Every true gentleman knows that a lady has her secrets."

"I don't mind. Mr. Long-Nose, the short answer to your question is that I have many years experience looking at an end result, taking in the available evidence, and putting together the different puzzle pieces in such a way that I can reasonably guess how something came to be."

"So you're basically guessing," the swordsman said

The cook looked like he was ready to attack, but Robin only shrugged. "I've made mistakes in the past, but I've made sure to learn from each and every one in order not to repeat them."

This was a terrible idea. Taking over a country, stealing the rain, dealing with Warlords and Ancient Weapons…

Robin went over it again and again, trying to figure out how in the world she was going to get out of this one. It was so damn risky, but she had little choice. Crocodile had already marked her, and trying to fight directly against his empire was just as impossible as fighting a hurricane.

So she would have to go with the current, setting up roadblocks along the way in hopes of redirecting the Warlord from his goal. There would be casualties along the way, but that didn't matter so long as she got a chance at the poneglyph.

It went against every instinct she had built up over the last twenty years, but Robin couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

"So how do we know you're not wrong now?" the swordsman challenged. The little doctor's eyes went wide as his gaze flickered between his idol and his new crewmate. Long-Nose scuffed his foot, the cook looked positively murderous, and the navigator pointedly returned to her pruning.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Robin was about to answer when the captain bounded out from the kitchen, food crammed into every pocket.

"It doesn't matter! We're going to Sky Island! Nami's gonna get us there, and Sanji's gonna pack us lunchboxes, and Chopper will talk to all the animals, Usopp's gonna go adventuring with me, and Zoro's gonna get lost, and Robin's gonna get him unlost, 'cause she's smart like that. And it's gonna be the best adventure ever because I've got the best crew ever! Shishishi!"

The tension broke. The three younger boys began dancing enthusiastically while the cook shouted at the captain about rationing their food supply and the swordsman resumed his nap. The navigator rolled her eyes, but didn't interfere. Robin settled back in her seat and forced herself to relax. Most of the crew seemed accepting of her presence, with the exception of the swordsman. He was dangerous but contained by his captain, similar to a rabid dog on a leash. There was no reason to think of abandoning ship just yet.

After a while, Long-Nose disentangled himself from his game and approached Robin nervously. "You know, this archeologist stuff sounds interesting. It's kinda like when you've got a broken tool, except you don't know how it's broken and you have to take it all apart and put it all back together, right?"

"That's one way of thinking of it."

"Neat. Creepy, but neat." The captain's elastic arm suddenly wrapped around his waist, pulling him back into the fray. "Eek! Gotta go, but we should talk about this again…!" Long-Nose shot backwards, and anything else he might have said was cut off. Robin chuckled into her coffee cup and resumed her book, surprised despite herself. There weren't many who took a genuine interest in her work, and she found it strangely touching that there was even one aboard this ship who wanted to know just how an archeologist could be a pirate.

AN: Can you believe it's been five chapters since I've done something Straw Hat related? Well, it's been five chapters. I imagine this as a continuation of Usopp's "interrogation" from chapter 218 (which is still one of my favorites).

Until next time!