She left the quarter deck, greeting the few members she met while passing through the corridor. She wondered just how long she could put off climbing up that ladder. In her eyes, the ladder was about thirty feet long, if not longer. With each step she took higher it creaked under her feet, leaving her mind feeling sorry for Richie. She wondered if she will ever reach the top. Going down was easy, yes, but crawling up was one hell of a job. Reaching the boat deck, she was about to crawl out when her eye met with others. Mohji leaned his hand towards her, not speaking a word. She took his hand and he pulled her up on her feet.

With a soft sigh leaving her lips as she muttered, "Thank you." She watched the man nod and go, and then turned her attention to the next person. Did Buggy forbid them to talk to her? They used to be livelier around her. She shrugged and looked around.

The weather had been perfect so far with blue skies, no clouds, and hot sun. She liked to warmth feeling of the sun on her skin, it reminded her of her mother's embrace. There were no clouds to compete with it in the pale blue and unforgiving sky. No birds sang. She leaned against the rail, looking down into the water. On the side of the ship she saw figures leaning lazily, staring across the waters. She furrowed her brows.

She remembered Buggy's words, when she was a child and played on the ship, he called her useless since she did nothing but play. Seeing his crew members made her wonder if he ever called them that way too, probably, but she wasn't sure.

She shrugged and fixed her eyes on the blue beauty in front of her. She felt relax, she could hear the sounds of her body until she could hear the air moving through her lungs and the sound of her blood pulsing in counterpoint to her breath. She closed her eyes, let the wind play with her chestnut locks, the sound of the ocean filling her with nothing but peace. She could hear each wave hitting the other one. Hearing the waves crash on the ship, sending white spray of water up high in the air like a geyser.

She giggled when she felt few water drops fall on her face. The ocean was something she loved, something she respected. Just like her father did. She opened her eyes, placing her elbows on the wooden rail as she leaned her head into her hands. The way the sun shone off the rippling water, its unsteady golden light warped in the twisted glass waves was truly stunning.

Her father would always describe the ocean as his old, unsteady friend. It brought him the finest days where he could recklessly do as he pleased, having banquets all day long until dawn, tempting him to trust her fully. But he was no fool. In a blink of an eye he knew he had incurred her wrath and she would rise her waves to punish the reckless man for intruding her calm sleep during night.

She wasn't sure if her father was sober while telling this story to her, but she did not care. She treasured each story he told her, the time they spent together was at minimum. A little sigh left her lips as she accepted that those days were long gone. She was already an adult, which means she could visit him anytime she pleased. Or so she thought.

She was brought back to reality when she felt eyes on her, she felt uncomfortable. She looked around and saw the Funan trio looking at her. She gave them a smile and waved her hand in a friendly way, as soon as she did that, they turned their back on her and walked away. She clicked her tongue in obvious annoyance and her hand turned into a fist now. She yanked her fisted hand aback as if she was going to hit them. She groaned and instead, swiped her hand across her face.

The sun had set. It was totally dark outside. She walked into the kitchen, feeling hungry, she decided to feel the lion in her stomach. If she would be outside, she couldn't even see the tip of her nose, giggling she imagined how she would now squeeze Buggy's nose to turn on the red light. As she met his eyes she abandoned that idea, obviously he knew what had crossed her mind. Sometimes she didn't know what she was eating, how it tasted, or how much she had consumed.

Now she was sitting in the kitchen table, eating porridge from a small black bowl. Or so it looked like. The colour was light grey, with a light brown mixture in it, and the taste? Well, it had no taste. She couldn't explain it. She did not want to insult the cook, she just smiled and continued eating until nothing was left.

"You know…" She said, looking at Buggy. The cook took the dirty plates and started with cleaning. When she noticed that the blue-haired clown is paying no attention to her she cleaned her throat.

"Uncle Buggy!" She chirped, she was well aware of how he disliked being called that way, especially if someone was around. The man's eyes widened and his mouth formed a hard line. He blinked and tossed the spoon down onto the dead ground below as he gazed into the girl's eyes. She watched his jaw muscles tighten.

"Don't you ever say it again. I'm nothing like that to you, are we clear?!" He growled, clearly offended. She picked the spoon off the ground, leaned her elbow on the table and placed her head into her hand. Buggy grinned and followed her with his eyes. With the other side of the spoon she poked him into his stuffed cheek. The man's smile vanished. His face dropped, and his eyes widened.

"Uncle, don't be so mean. What would Shanks say?" She was well aware of Buggy's disliking towards her father, she enjoyed teasing him as she enjoyed teasing others.

"I don—" He was cut off by her, once again.

"You know… As a kid I used to like you, it was always so much fun with you around. But now as you got older you are so grumpy and no fun." She was teasing him a bit, making him think, and giving him time to think, because she didn't want him to say something so she continued.

"Well anyway, could you please tell me some stories with my father? I know you used to be crew members but, that's it probably." She looked at him with hope and forced him to make eye contact. He looked around the kitchen, making sure that there are only the two of them. He knew he had no chance of escape, she would most probably follow him around like a little puppy until he would give in.

Buggy took a deep breath, exhaled and started from the very beginning.

Her delight was evident; it showed in her eyes, the childlike gaze of excitement.