Viske scrunched up his face and inhaled a deep breath through his nose. Rolling onto his back with a groan, he rubbed a hand over his eyes and scrubbed the sleep from them. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he did know one thing; He was hungry and ready to eat.

Stretching his arms and his back, he sat up and looked around the room through blurry eyes. He still couldn't figure out why Mae picked the smallest room in the house, but he never bothered to pester her about it. She usually just told him that it was her choice and that it shouldn't effect anyone else.

With a yawn, he rubbed at his eyes some more. When he heard a soft snore next to him, he snapped his mouth shut and blinked his eyes to his sister.

She was still passed out. And he was positive that she'd be asleep for at least two more hours. Mae always took advantage of sleep after reappearing from her missions.

Grinning, almost laughing, he watched her for a few seconds. She wasn't a pretty sleeper, that was for sure. Her knotted brown hair was strung across her face with an arm laid against her forehead. And her mouth was wide open with drool dripping down her chin.

Grabbing the blanket that she put over him while he slept, Viske tossed it aside and slid off the bed as quietly as he could. Mae loved him, but she also loved her sleep. And she hated being woken up. The last time he woke her up, she almost tore him a new one.

Covering her back up with the blanket, he carefully stepped back from the bed with his hands held out as if telling an animal to stay. Then he tip toed out of the room and headed down the hall.

He knew the layout of the house like the back of his hand, so it didn't take him long to find the dining hall. Before he could open the door though, someone appeared behind him and grabbed his wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Viske raised a single eyebrow and turned around. "Huh?" When he saw that it was Jessabel holding onto him, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's just you."

"You need to go back upstairs," she said, ushering him away from the dining room.

"Why don't you go back upstairs and hide that ugly face of yours?" He suggested cheekily, sidestepping around her and walking back towards the dining room.

Taking in a calming breath, Jessabel closed her eyes and cracked her neck. When she opened her eyes back up, she reached out and pinched her fingers around his forearm, purposely trying to hurt him.

"I told you," she snapped quietly, bringing him to her side, "that you need to go back upstairs."

Viske bit at her, trying to pull his arm free. "But I'm hungry and Granny said that she was making a feast for us to celebrate another successful mission!"

Jessabel shoved him to the floor with unnecessary force. She always made it a habit to hurt him any chance she could. "I said that you need to go back upstairs."

Viske wasn't effected by her rough touch. Crawling across the floor, he put distance between them and then stood back up. Dusting his brown slacks off, he poked his tongue out at her. "And I said that I'm hungry."

She resisted the urge to rip his tongue out. The only reason that he was around was because of Mae. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't even be alive. Which to Jessabel, wouldn't have been a bad thing. She despised Viske and every other child in the world.

With her back to him, she threw a hand over her shoulder and walked away. "All right, go. What do I care."

When she was finally out of sight, Viske swung the dining room door open and pranced in. But he immediately came to a stop when he noticed two unrecognizable men at the table.

Bitsy held up a hand and ended her conversation with the men when she saw Viske. Standing up, she pulled out the chair next to her and waved him over.

"How was your nap, Viske?"

"It was okay," he answered, lingering by the door.

"Come on then," Bitsy pulled the chair out even further, "join us. You must be hungry."

Viske was hesitant. He'd never seen these men before and it was rare to have guests. Slowly turning an eye to Bitsy, he frowned. "Who are they?"

Bitsy opened her mouth to answer, but Luffy jumped in before she could speak. "I'm Luffy," he introduced, "and that's Zoro!"

Viske eyed them. "Are you marines?"

"Nope!" Luffy grinned through a mouthful of food. "We're pirates!"

"Pirates?" Viske had a look of surprise. He had never seen a pirate up close before.

"Yup!" Luffy nodded.

Unexpectedly, Viske jumped up and punched a fist into the air. "Awesome! I've never met a real pirate before!"

"Heh," Bitsy laughed under her breath. "I figured you'd enjoy their company."

Viske moved around the room and plopped down on the chair next to Luffy. "What're you doing here?"

"Our ship-"

Bitsy interrupted Luffy. "They're visiting."

"Did you invite them?" He asked.

She tilted her head back and forth like a gentle wave. "Not at first."

"What's Mae think about this?"

"Oh," she tisked and shook her head with a wink, "we aren't going to tell her about them."

"We aren't?"

"What do you think she'd do?"

"Ha," Viske forced out a laugh, "okay, I won't say a word."

Bitsy smiled. "Perfect, now eat. I know you're hungry. And don't worry about saving any for Mae. She has a plate in the fridge."

Viske pressed his lips tight together and nodded. Grabbing a plate, he started to pile anything and everything onto it. From rice, to sticky rolls, to shrimp. The more food he stocked up on, the more his stomach jumped with joy.

Still dumbfounded by the fact that pirates were in his house, he couldn't help but ask, "So you guys really are pirates?"

Luffy nabbed the last of the sticky rolls and shoved them into his mouth. "We are! I plan to be the King of the Pirates one day!"

Viske could barely contain his excitement. Biting down on a forkful of shrimp, he chewed it quick. The second it went down his throat, he started to ask all sorts of questions.

"Have you seen the entire world?"

"Have you killed someone?"

"Have you ever been caught by the marines?"

"Of course you haven't, or else you wouldn't be here..."

"Are you stranded?"

"Why are you even here?"

"Are there only two of you?"

"When-"

"Viske," Bitsy waved her hand, "give him time to answer one question before going onto the next."

Luffy swallowed his food and chugged down some water. After a loud burp, he turned in his chair, faced Viske and started to answer every question that he had.

And the questions and answers kept coming and going. Their conversation lasted for quite sometime. But finally, after the two of them finished off the last bites of food on the table, they both leaned back in their chairs and took a breath.

"Woooo," Viske sighed, "Granny makes the best food! She's the greatest cook in the world!"

"That was good!" Luffy wiggled back and forth in his chair. "But you should try Sanji's cooking! He's the best!"

"Sanji? Is he your cook?"

Luffy puffed out his chest with pride. "He sure is! I picked him out myself!"

When Zoro realized that another conversation was about to start up, he moved next to Luffy. "We should get going."

"Already?" Viske's heart broke at the thought of them leaving.

"Yeah," Luffy pitched in, "already?"

Viske didn't give Zoro a chance to speak. Standing up, he yanked on Luffy's arm. "Before you go, let me show you my fort! Please?!"

Luffy stood up quick, his large stomach bouncing against the table. "A fort?!"

"Yeah, it has lots of rooms and contraptions! I built it myself!"

Zoro crossed his arms and looked at his captain with a sharp eye. He decided that now was the best time to explain to him whose home they were in. Before he could say anything though, Luffy and Viske were already up and dashing out of the room.

"Dammit, Luffy!"

Bitsy couldn't hold back a smile. Viske's excitement for their company was intoxicating. She knew that he would take to them. He always had a fondness for pirates. Cleaning up the table and piling dishes onto a cart, she looked at Zoro and nudged her head towards the door.

"His fort isn't hard to find and if you leave now, you'll be able to catch up with them."