Franky

.

"AaaaandBOOOM!"

The young Cutty Flam was hunched over a scrap of paper, frantically drawing lines and muttering small explosion noises to himself. From his own position where he studied, Iceburg scoffed.

"What are you doing, Bakanky?"

Scowling at the nickname, the blue haired boy's head shot up.

"Shut up! Baka-burg! I'm making plans for the new ultimate Battle Franky machine!"

The elder boy scowled, slamming the book shut.

"When are you going to stop building such stupid machines? They're going to hurt someone one day. You should focus on building proper ships like Tom-san."

The old fishman in question looked up from his designs, chuckling.

"I don't think that Franky will ever stop designing his battleships Iceburg. But as long as he creates them with a don, then I'm sure they will be excellent seafaring vessels."

Frustrated at the so familiar conversation, Iceburg stood up and pointed accusingly at his younger companion.

"But Tom-san! You know as well as I do that those ships are nothing but trouble. If Bakanky spent more time studying proper ship mechanics from you, he could help us make some of the greatest ships ever to sail the seas!"

Tom smiled at his apprentice before his eyes shifted to his younger, more exuberant, charge. True, the boy did waste his ship building talents on machines so full of firepower they explode on the first trip. But they are fantastic ships nonetheless. The shipbuilder knew both his boys would go far one day, even if they did need the occasional nudge in the right direction.

Shifting his large body off his stool, Tom waved his hand in greeting at the pair of arguing boys,

"I'm off to work, no one bother me for a while!"

For a few weeks after, Tom would frequently shut himself off in his workshop, and forbid either of his students from entering. When the pair complained, Kokoro would only laugh, and point them in the direction of the calendar; showing the countdown to Christmas. Soon, the boys would check it every day; waiting to see what Tom-san had produced.

Christmas came round, and the makeshift family were in the depths of the workshop, enjoying the season privately. Tom-san was sitting on a large sofa, a new bottle of sake from Kokoro in one hand, inspecting the high quality ship building tools his apprentices had bought for him. His mermaid assistant was happily clutching three bottles of wine, and watching the two younger boys open their gifts.

Young Franky ripped open the wrapping covering his box; as enthusiastic as ever to see what was inside. A new hammer maybe? Or a component for the next Battle Franky?

The box wasn't too large; and it rustled inside like something heavy was being protected. Franky quickly eased off the lid and immediately froze when he saw what was inside. Dropping the lid, he delicately reached down and withdrew the gift reverently.

The Oro Jackson. A perfect replica of the Pirate King's ship; strong enough to sail the world, scaled down to miniature size. Franky could see the mechanics making the rudder move when he shifted the wheel, saw tiny pieces of rope which tied up the rigging; everything was there to the perfect detail.

It was beautiful.

The boy snapped out of his daze when a shadow fell over him and his gift. His mentor stood behind him, grinning somewhat victoriously.

"That is what you get, when you make things with a Don. Maybe one day you can make a ship like that too."

Smiling, Tom ruffled Franky's hair and left to boy to play with his Christmas gift. Though he may say so himself, the merman thought he gave one hell of a present to the boy.

After all, what was a better gift than hope.

...