CHAPTER SEVEN: Cal: The Firecracker of the Baratie!

I'm on the frontline,
Don't worry I'll be fine,
The story is just beginning.

I say goodbye to my weakness,
So long to the regrets,
And now I know that I'm alive.


Eri was happy. Unearthily so, considering the path that Del had set them on. "I'm not your friggin' navigator," she'd insisted, right after she'd screamed, "Turn RIGHT, not LEFT, you INCOMPIDENT INVERTIBRATE!" to Raiden, who'd had the unfortunate job of 'tiller duty' until further notice. "But you're pretty good with navigating. What's so wrong with it?" Eri sang, cheerfully oblivious to the glare her newly dubbed navigator was shooting her.

"I'm an EXECUTIONER, baka. Not a compass." Then, Del glanced hard at said object in her hand and screeched, "DID I SAY YOU COULD RELAX!" Raiden sweatdropped and pushed the lever farther to the right. Del oscillated between glaring at the compass and glaring at Raiden before nodding, satisfied. "Hey, whatever you say. So wait, where are we going again?" Del would've sweatdropped, if she hadn't been on the ship for a month and a half.

Yes, a month and a half. Of screaming at her stupid crewmates, of screaming at her even stupider captain, of nothing but pure sailing. Sure, they'd stopped in a few ports along the way, but Eri was set in her thoughts. She was gearing up to sail the Grand Line, despite their fruitless search for more members. Despite what the two powerhouse members of their crew wanted (i.e, Eri and the idiotic knifesman), Will and Del had managed to keep the (also newly dubbed) NS pirates laid low.

Though, their flag now proudly whipped in the wind- a custom jolly roger, done with metallic paint instead of white. One bone made of Raiden's ever-present #1 knife, the other a senbon needle (that was her's). The skull had a single, staring gray eye (Will), and was topped by Eri's hat. Neo Strawhats indeed.

Del climbed up the stray rope that dangled from the bird's nest, sighing. Will seemed to be her only accomplice on the entire ship. Not accomplice in a bad way, more the opposite. He was the only smart one aboard, and even then, he still had his musclehead moments. Sometimes he acted just as idiotic as the rest of them. Yet she couldn't help but feel a connection with him. He was searching for his sister, she was searching for her memories. Both in the same boat, if she dismissed the pun.

She grabbed the pilot goggles that rested around the cap of her Indiana Del hat (God forbid she forget to name it), and strapped it over her eyes. She hadn't known how bad her eyesight really was until she suddenly ran into a pole in one of the cities they'd visited and Eri'd made her see an optomitrist. Del sweatdropped; she remembered that occassion well, it having been one of here more embarassing moments in her memory.

FLASHBACK:

"Itaaaiiii..." Del muttered, rubbing her nose. She could practically TASTE the coming headache. Eri was, of course, laughing. "Nahaha, maybe we should take you to the doctor!" Del immediantly jumped to her feet at that and yelled, "HELL NO!" The merchants in the streets turned to stare at her, half-afraid of the short yet mighty girl. Del sweatdropped. "I-I mean, it's really not nescessary..."

Raiden and Will put their hands on her shoulder. "That pole was wider around than you. If you can't see it when you're walking normally, what do you think you'll do if you're in a fight?" Raiden reasoned calmly, though his eyes were dancing. "Are you afraid of the doctors or something?" Eri wondered, blinking blankly. "Well, why don't we find out?" Will suggested, eyeing her wickedly. This was, of course, one of his musclehead moments.

"Yep!" Eri agreed immediately, and with the boys help, tugged her towards a squat brownstone building at the edge of the village. The nicest building in the area, if it were up to Del. Though she immediately felt repulsed by it. "U-Uhm, maybe we can come back later?" she tried. Eri just laughed and gripped her hand tighter, as if daring her to try to run. Raiden pushed open the door with a flourish, announcing, "My friend is as blind as a bat!"

Eri stared. "Bats don't have eyes, Rojin-kun..." Raiden threw her an irritated look, flicking up his eyebrows. "Not the baseball kind, the animal kind," he corrected tersely. The woman behind the front desk, dressed in regular nurse apparel, eyed them like they were criminals. Which they were, but it was still rude. "I'll...set up an appointment?" she mumbled questioningly.

One night and one eye exam later, Del was picking through a wall of eyewear in a shop that looked every bit as sterile outside as it did inside. All of the frames looked ugly to her, and ON her, and she was just about to give up hope when Will flung something in her direction. She caught it and stared. "Swim goggles?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "No, they're glasses. You can put them on your hat and you won't have to wear them all the time," he explained.
Del ended up buying those goggles, and never regretted it. They all lived happily ever after, the end.

END FLASHBACK

Okay. It hadn't worked out all that splendidly. Paperwork was a bitch, the fine was bigger than the lease of a house, and Eri was so goddamn adamant that they spend no more than five hundred beli that they'd ended up staying there for four hours. Del had made sure the captain paid for that later.

"I see... a fish?" she yelled, narrowing her eyes. It literally looked like a huge fish, just floating in the middle of nowhere. But there was something artificial about it. "OOO! DINNER!" Eri whooped in excitement. "No wait... it's a... restraunt?" Indeed, its sign had come into focus. 'Baratie'. "Sounds italian," she remarked to herself. "OOO! DINNER!" Eri repeated, every bit as loud as the last time. Raiden, who'd escaped 'tiller duty', knocked her on the head, his fist making the hit audible.

"I"M GONNA BE DEAF BY THE TIME WE REACH THE GRAND LINE!" he roared. Del sweatdropped, 'does he realize his own voice was louder than her's?' "I'm hungry! Let's stop there, ne?" Will said, appearing from below with a wet head and his clothes pulled haphazardly over his body. The blue haired executioner dropped to the deck below, barely wincing as her ankles protested, and said, "I agree. And also, your shirt's inside out."

Will politely turned around to fix the problem.

"Anyway, we'll be there in like, five minutes," she announced, turning away with her ears tinged red. What? She liked what she liked, and those shoulder bladeswere definately a LIKE. "Well I better go get my eatin' pants on!" Eri exclaimed, and dashed away, kicking up a dust cloud in her wake. Raiden sighed in annoyance. "Her 'eating pants'?" he mumbled, rubbing his temples. "How come you wear that hat all the time?" Del blurted.

And to her surprise, Raiden glared at the ground, his cheeks turning an angry shade of pink. "...Bad haircut." Not without deliberation, he lifted his hat for a nanosecond, revealing silver hair that was growing out at awkward angles. It was still short enough to be considered a buzz, but long enough for its choppiness to be evident. He slapped the hat down again as Will finished with his shirt. Del chuckled. Who knew that the supposed 'cool as a cucumber' knifesman could be so shy?

"Ah, we all get screwy haircuts from time to time," she empathized, shooting Will a wink. He just gazed curiously at Raiden's hat, as if wishing it off. The back of his head didn't actually look all that awkward, and it didn't even hint at anything amiss on the top. "Am I the only one without a hat?" he muttered. "Take pride in your lovely tresses, Chero. Because our captain sure doesn't." Raiden was right.

Eri had chopped off at least half her head of hair, leaving it almost boyishly short, about two weeks ago. "It gets in the way," she'd complained, before going at it with the scissors in the kitchen. "I GOT MY EATIN PANTS ON!" Eri announced, exploding from the door. She wore an oversized black tee that hung from her shoulders, probably Raiden's, and large gray sweatpants that she was busy tying tighter, probably Will's.

"God forbid she wear her own clothing," Raiden muttered under his breath, shooting her a look that went unseen. T'was true- before, she'd been in Del's striped tank and Raiden's khaki shorts. It seemed she just didn't like her own wardrobe. And the clothing that WAS in the trunk under her hammock, Del had found, didn't include a single pair of shoes. Eri was barefoot even now, but thankfully her toenails weren't caked with dirt. Del had sheared them close enough to where no dirt would ever be able to hide not a week before.

It seemed like Del herself was the babysitter. Usually it would be Eri- sometimes Raiden. She found she had nothing to do with Will- he took care of himself like he was used to it. Which she was grateful for- two five year olds was enough. Especially when one of them was a boy, whom she blatantly refused to remind to bathe, even though he usually needed to. Eri was easy enough to keep clean- though she was more tomboyish than anyone she'd ever met, Eri was still even a TAD feminine, however buried deep in her soul that may be.

Yes, she didn't smell like a sewer. And neither did Raiden- he smelled like seawater, having taken it upon himself to deep-sea dive for a fish dinner yesterday. Del was perfectly clean- a bath every other day. She cared about her own upkeep. Nobody would ever peg her as a pirate- sure, she dressed in dark clothing, but she was small enough to not look like a threat. Nobody would think she was an assassin.

However greenhorn-ish an assassin she was.

Del was jerked out of her thoughts when Eri announced, "FOOOOOOOOD!" The girl was jumping excitedly on the figurehead, doing a little jig while she was at it. The Baratie bobbed ahead of them, much larger than what it had been when she spotted it earlier. Raiden and Will were rushing around, tying up the sail and throwing anchor before the ship crashed into the place. Del tore her goggles from her eyes, letting them hang around her neck. She hated the red rings that appeared if she wore them too long.

The NS pirates jumped down onto the Baratie with excitable smiles. Or at least, most of them. Raiden was just as broody as ever. "I AM SOOOOOOO HUNGRY!" Eri announced, waltzing in. Richly clad people glanced up in shock, their utensils halfway to their mouths. Some of them scrunched their noses in disgust, some quickly looked away in recognition, and some simply stared. A rather old man materialized in front of them.

"Come, come!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and ushering them between tables. They arrived at one near the back, set with expensive looking diner wear and a large blue candle flickering in the center. Eri threw herself down into a chair, her crew following suit. "Well, you just read over this menu and decide what you want," the man said, passing out four leather-clad menus and disappearing, an odd look on his face.

Del decided on the dumpling soup. Because partly, she liked dumplings. And partly, she was on a diet. Eri was pointing to various things and mumbling, "Want that, that... that, and OOO, that.." under her breath. Raiden and Will were deadpanning, though she could see their eyes pop at the high prices. Del smiled secretly, patting her pocket lovingly. She had enough money to cover everyone's meals, though she wouldn't tell THEM that. It'd took forever to get this much money.

Instead of the waiter from before, a different person appeared. She was tall and lean, clad in a standard black suit with a white shirt underneath. Her shoes were polished men's loafers. She wore white gloves on her hands, and somehow reminded Del of a butler. There was something oddly strong about the conviction in her stormy blue eyes, the set to her jaw and the way her lips were clasping her cigarette. The way she wore her hair, pulled into a half-assed braid that allowed a few shaggy locks to escape, suggested a sort of laziness that Del only wished she herself had.

"Well?" she demanded tersely, removing the cancer stick from her mouth to speak. She tucked it behind her ear, blonde bangs immediately parting for it. "Well what?" Eri asked, confused. "WELL, have you figured out what you're going to order?" the girl ground out, her one visible eyebrow twitching. "OH! Yeah." Eri showed her the menu, and pointed to various pictures. The girl's eyes bulged, and for a moment, she looked like a fish out of water.

The next moment, she was scribbling hurridly in a notepad with a short pencil, hand moving too fast for her to see. "And the rest of you?" she prompted, flexing the hand. "I want the dumpling soup," Del piped up. The girl looked a tad relieved at the normal order, and flicked her eyebrows up at the boys. They said in unison, "Pansotti alla genovese." Then shot eachother rivalric glares. "I want the venison ke-babs," they growled.

"Buridda!" they shouted, shoving from the table to go forehead to forehead, cracks of blue electricity eminating from their eyes. In one smooth movement, the once-writing waitress conked them in the heads with her elbows. The force was enough to have them sprawled on the floor, out like a light. Her nose twitched in irritation, and she seemed not to notice the admiring look that Eri was shooting her. "Keep your voices down in my restraunt, or I'll let you all sink to the ocean floor," she threatened, staring at the two girls as if they'd done something as well.

"Now, now, Calandra*, what did I say about starting fights in the restraunts?" The three girls simultaniously whipped around, to find a tall man towering over them with a wicked glint in his eye. He looked suspiciously like the blonde girl. The blond girl, or Calandra, glared, her hands disappearing into the waistband of her dresspants. When they emerged, they held two rather large handguns. She took aim, but before she could shoot...

The man's leg arched up and smashed down on her head with a resounding 'KLUNK'. The girl wavered, and almost seemed like she was going to make it, but wilted to the floor after a moment. The blonde man sighed, shaking his head. "If she fought like I taught her to, maybe she'd be able to last," he tsked, then his eyes fell on them. His eyes grew into hearts, and he pounced like a jungle cat, hands curling around both of their shoulders as he ducked his head in between them.

"I'm sorry my poor daughter was causing a ruckus. Are you two lovelies alright?" he cooed. Del's mind instantly screamed, 'PERV ALERT!' Eri just raised her eyebrows. "You're that guy," she said, not bothering to elaborate. 'That guy' leaned back, eyes now narrowing in suspicion.

"You know me?" he asked, crossing his arms. Eri dug around in her pocket a moment, before unveiling the crinkled old photo she'd shown Zoro before. Eri offered it up. The man glanced at them, and gave it back, eyebrows raised. "Figures. The first really beautiful ladies I get this morning and one of em just HAS to be related to that idiot," he muttered, throwing a dirty look at the wall as if it'd disgraced him.

Calandra now jumped to her feet, shaking a fist at the man. "Don't CALL me CALANDRA! It's just Cal, get it? C-A-L!" The blond man didn't spare her a look, and thumped down into a chair across from them. "Please pardon my dear charge. She's a bit loud sometimes. I assume you're here to take her off my hands?" The girls stared in syncronization. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THEM, GODDAMN IT!" Cal demanded, shaking his shoulders from behind.

The blond man reached up and flicked her in the forehead. "Well, one of em's the daughter of a guy I used to sail with," he explained. "And you just want them to TAKE ME OFF YOUR HANDS? I don't even KNOW them! They could be PIRATES, or something!" Obviously, Cal was blind to the show she was putting on for the other patrons. Suddenly, Raiden's #5 blade was biting into the flesh of her neck, and she was rendered immobile.

Blond man just watched the exchanged with an amused smile. "We are pirates. And YOU, just gave me a major headache." Raiden's drawling voice was low and cold, the kind he adapted when he was annoyed, but not necessarily mad. "P-PIRATES!" she squeaked, frozen. "I told you I used to be one, didn't I?" her evident father looked honestly confused. "NO!" Raiden's blade crept closer to her neck, biting into the skin just enough to crack the surface.

A small droplet of blood rolled down her pale neck and disappeared under her pristine white shirt. Her eyes seemed deathly calm as she spun and went at him with the triple blade of one of her sai. Raiden jumped back, a cocky smirk on his face. He was rearing to charge and set her in her place when Will came in, ducked low to the ground. His legs swished under Raiden's, and he toppled to the ground. Will popped up, giving Raiden an irriated look. "No fights in the restraunt," he critisized. "Ah! See, those're the moves you should be using, Calandra! Tell me, who taught you, kid?" The blond man looked honestly excited. "...My sister?" Will answered hesitantly. "Well, anyway. I take it you're NOT here to relieve me of the brat?"


The Baratie closed at midnight, and only the NS pirates, Sanji, and Cal remained. The orange sky turned an inky black, and stars popped up brightly, yet still they stayed and conversed at the table. "I honestly had no idea you'd be here," Eri confessed, chugging some kind of juice from her glass. Sanji, who's name Del had learned hours before, waved a hand. "Small world, huh? Anyway. I know you might not be looking for anybody at the moment-" Before he could finish, Eri interrupted with a, "Hell yeah we are. We're goin' to the Grand Line. Any help would be nice."

"-but I need you to take Calandra with you," Sanji finished. "Oh, that's good. Calandra, pack," he commanded. The blond girl snapped her cigarette in half and smashed it into the carpet as she flung up from her seat. "I don't even know these people! Why the hell would I want to leave HERE? I have everything I need-" Sanji glared at her, stopping her in her tracks. "That's complete bull, and you know it. You've told me all the time that you, 'just can't wait to find the All Blue like Dad did!'. So don't sit and blatantly lie to me when really, you're scared out of your wits."

Cal fell silent for a moment, cheeks flushed in embarassment and frustration. "How the HELL would YOU know ANYTHING?" she burst out, before speeding away her destination being the spiral staircase that led to the kitchen. Sanji was lax in his seat for a moment, taking deep breaths, before he shot off and followed her, yelling a, "Stay put!" over his shoulder.

She ignored the tears that dropped on the cutting board as she peeled the skin of the shrimp in her hands. A large discarded pile of the same thing was steadily climbing in the corner of the cutting board as she put the meaty part into the green mixing bowl at her elbow. Cooking had always been a... lifeline, so to speak, of her's. When she was happy, she baked cookies, pies, or cakes. When she was content, she made any entree and raced her father, though he always seemed to win. When she was sad, she skinned shrimp.

There wasn't anything more calming than peeling shrimp after shrimp, and mixing them into some delicious soup, or inserting them into summer rolls, or mixing them in with her famous gumbo, or perhaps substituting the octopus in takoyaki for the prawn. An endless bin of the dead critters was at her hip, which was easily accessable- she didn't even have to bend over. "You're sullying the meat," a voice chastised behind her. The gentle rolling voice of her father that always used to sooth her.

This was not one of those times.

Her shoulders tensed and she nearly dropped the shrimp in her hands. "Not like they'll ever make the table," she muttered, dropping the sucessfully squashed piece of meat into the bowl. The Baratie was known for Sanji, and Sanji only- though he was known simply as 'Chef' to save him from assassins. Her food only met the lips of the workers, and even though the insisted that each meal was just as good as Sanji's, it hurt. Hurt to know that the food she worked so hard to prepare, the recipes that she'd followed painstakingly and memorized as per her father's orders, would never see the light of day.

"Come, now. You know everyone loves your cooking," her father said, watching over her shoulder as she worked. "Or perhaps they're just afraid that you'll stomp them into next Wednesday if they don't say it tastes damn amazing. Never will we know, eh?" she spoke bitterly. Sanji remained silent. "Look. I can't lie and say that someone other than Chef added the finishing touches. The patrons out there don't know about your cooking technique- if they did, they'd ask for you too."

Cal whirled on him, shrimp flopping forgotten onto the cutting board. "I've followed EVERY recipe. You say everything's just perfect. How the HELL would they know the difference?" she snapped, raising her voice. At Sanji's warning look, she exhaled loudly and returned to the prawn. "That's not even what I'm mad about AT THE MOMENT. Why the hell do you want me off your hands so bad?" It'd hurt when he'd stated that so casually. When it was the first thing that popped into his mind.

She was his DAUGHTER. Shouldn't he WANT to spend time with her? "Personally, I'd love to keep you here and never let you go," Sanji confessed bluntly. She shot him a suspicious look. He didn't seem to be lying. "But I know that in your heart, the SEA is where you belong. It was where I did, as well. I had so much fun, made so many memories. I just don't want you to lose that. I don't want you to not accomplish your dreams, because if you're anything like me, you sure as hell want to get out of here more than you want to stay."

Cal gazed sullenly down at her dripping hands, not bothering to pick up another sea creature. She shifted to the sink, and her father annoyingly followed her, watching her clean off her hands under the steaming hot water. He seemed to read her mind. Sure, she would LOVE to stay and make food and live with the people she loved, but there was something in her heart that died every time her food didn't pass the employee workroom. Something that ached to leave and have other people experience her food, tell her honestly that it was the best thing they'd ever tasted and hey, could she make some more?

The All Blue was just a bonus. Her father had already told her that it was there, somewhere. Hadn't told her where, but he'd been there, and he said it was wonderful. What else could be better than every delicacy in the sea gathered in one place? "Give me one good reason why I should go." She turned to stare him down. Sanji looked taken aback for a moment, before grinning that childish grin. "Go grab the onions," he ordered.

Cal was nervous. Oh, so nervous, though she kept her expression schooled into a look of apathy as they descended the stairs, two platters to each person. The Neo Strawhats were still there, thankfully, though Eri and Raiden had passed out and the other two looked on the verge. At the scent that wafted towards their noses, the four jumped to attendance, staring at them in apprehension.

"I give you... shrimp dejonghe, as an apology for keeping you waiting," Sanji announced, making Cal flush and glare at the back of his head. "That's not what we agreed on saying," she grumbled under her breath. They plopped a dish in front of each pirate, and barely took their hands away before they were digging into the cassarole. The blond duo sweatdropped and exchanged looks. "Well, I guess they DID come here for food..." she mumbled.

Cal could feel her heart warming as the food steadily disappeared from the plates. The plan was simple. Cal was to make the cassarole with no help, and they'd bring down the food without announcing who made it. If they congratulated Sanji on a job well done, than she was packing her bags and leaving. Pretty clever. Soon enough, everyone's plates were empty, and they were silently (and rudely) proffering the dishes with expectant glances.

Sanji winked at her and took the plates, diving away to refill them. It was a good thing she'd made enough to feed a small army. Hey, they didn't vocally ask for more, but it was close enough. She hid a grin by lighting a cig and clapping it between her lips. The people before her looked wide awake now, and they were staring at her, concern and curiousity mingling in their eyes. Her heart stuttered again. Concern? "You're alright, right? You ran off really quick," Eri said suddenly, pushing her eyebrows together. Cal waved a hand and said, "I'm fine."

Sanji returned with more momentarily, and yet again, the food disappeared. The knifesman stretched his arms behind his head in a yawn, and said, "As expected of the Baratie." The others nodded in agreement. "Y'know, I don't really like shrimp. But that was awesome," Del said, patting her stomach with a look of contentment. "Couldn't have made it better myself," Will confessed. "Mnhm," Eri grunted, raising her plate again.

Needless to say, Eri was suddenly ground to her neck into the floor with her knifesman brandishing his fist above her. "We're not MADE of money, Stupideri!" he growled, veins bursting in his head. Del leaned away from him with a scared expression. "Itaaaai...headache," Eri grumbled, ripping her arms up and thus causing more damage to the floorboards. She emerged from the hole and casually pushed his leering form away.

"Yeah, we're not made of money, Naifu. So why'd you do that." Will pointed at the hole, raising his eyebrows. Raiden looked taken aback for a moment before glaring in the opposite direction, a furious blush rising to his face. Del pushed back her seat and slugged him in the face, hard enough that he flew back and crashed into a lump yards away. "I'm surrounded by goddamn IDIOTS." Del sent an angry look towards her other companions, as if daring them to do something else.

Sanji and Cal once again exchanged looks. Sanji's eyes were dancing in mirth, and Cal was more like staring in shock. "Ah, don't worry about it. On the house, and my daughter does more damage than this to the Baratie." Del relaxed out of her stance and sent them a relieved smile. "So can I sleep here cause I'm kinda going to sleep now..." Eri's voice mumbled. She'd seated herself across two of the chairs, face-down, and didn't look like she'd ever move again.

Will, who'd been watching the exchange quietly, merely crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, closing his eyes. "I'll be seeing you in the morning," he said, before going limp. Del sweatdropped. "...How..." she mumbled. Raiden didn't look like he was going to get up either, probably taken out by Del's fist. "I guess we've got no choice here..." Sanji said, and wrapped an arm around Cal, pulling her away.

He spared Del a look as the two blondes left. "You should get some shut eye too," he advised. As soon as they were out of sight, Del took off her hat, and flopped onto the floor. "Good idea," she murmured. It would be nice to have an actual bed, but she was too tired to care.


They were awoken by footsteps. Staff waking up in their rooms and hustling about above their heads. Eri stood up and cracked her back, wincing. That wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep in the world. She was only slightly surprised to see that Will and Del were already awake, sipping on some kind of brown substance that looked like coffee. They nodded their heads in syncronization towards the knifesman, still balled up on the floor.

"Wake him up," Del commanded. Eri scrunched her eyebrows. "Why didn't you guys do it?"

The crewmates exchanged looks.

"He tried to shear off my head when I tried," Del confessed.

"I value my limbs, thank you," Will added. Eri sighed, and trudged over. She kicked him in the stomach. "Oi." He grunted, and turned over. "Oi." Again. Same results. "Oi." Raiden's fingers grabbed hold of one of his knives, and he slashed awkwardly outwards. "Goddamn. Keepyafeettoyerself," he mumbled, narrowly missing Eri's shin. The captain giggled, "Up, Rojin-kuuuuun." She kicked, again.

His slated eyes popped open to blearily glare at her. "The fuck you doin' in our side uh- the ship," he slurred, striking out again with his knife. Eri nimbly dodged, grinning blithely. "We're not on the ship," she told him. With a glazed look in his eye, Raiden looked around for the first time. "Oh." The knifesman struggled to his feet and sheathed his weapon. Will and Del were crouched behind the table, watching him with wary eyes. "You're very brave, Eri-sama," they chorused.

Ten minutes of vegitating around later, the first few people trailed down, in various stages of wakefulness. They took one look at the pirates and started shrieking something about robbers. "Scum! The Baratie doesn't open until ten!" The door greeter from yesterday growled, hand twitching into the pocket of his apron. Del saw a glint of metal, before she was pushed to the ground. Something whistled by her ear not a millisecond later.

Eri released her protective grip on her executioner and sent the greeter a venomous glare. A thin cut along the side of her cheek made it evident that she'd narrowly escaped the weapon as well. "What's this about, so early in the morning? Eh?" Cal stomped down the stairs in her duck pajamas, pillow creases on her face and her blonde hair sticking up in tufts. She sent the greeter an irritable glare, who seemed to unconsciously shiver.

Cal stared at the knife imbedded in the wall, to her new (and furious) acquaintences, to the man. "The hell you been throwin knives for?" she grumbled. The greeter stuttered, "W-Well, t-these pirates b-broke in, a-and..." he trailed off at the withering look she gave him. "You seriously think my dad and I would've slept through a break-in?" Cal strode past Will, and tugged the knife free. She tomahawked it back to the greeter.

"Trust me, these idiots can't find their way out of a paper bag. They're harmless," she said, mind flitting back to the brawl the night before. Del was the only half-sensible person in their crew, she decided. "I resent that! Don't you agree, captain?" Raiden protested, nudging Eri roughly. The captain, who was inattentively making two random forks go to war, just jumped in surprise and blinked.

"Yeah, what he said," she said hastily, twining the tongs of the forks together and making small roars under her breath. 'Point proven,' Cal thought.

The door was wide open, held so with heavy concrete blocks. Outside, it was the perfect weather- a clear sky, with a slight breeze. "A perfect day for customers," Cal mumbled under her breath, wheeling her suitcase down the stairs with annoying thumps. So why was nobody coming? The sight that greeted her eyes wasn't what she'd expected. Her father was seated at a table, waiters crowded around, with a DenDen Mushi held aloft.

"...direct course...stay safe..." she only caught bits and pieces, but it was enough to go on. Sanji had connections with people all over- which means, if there was trouble brewing in his neck of the woods, he got warnings. It'd helped them alot in the past, though they hadn't gotten a call like this in a long time. Cal leaned her suitcase against the wall and shouldered through the crowd of people to look over her father's shoulder.

He was writing the message down, a paper coated with his hasty chicken scratch. "You have terrible handwriting," Cal said under her breath. His face was deep in thought, worry etched into his eyes. Uh oh. The last time he looked that freaked out was when she was seven and one of the Eleven Supernovas paid a visit. Over a decade ago.

He muttered a quick, "I see. Thank you," and hung up. Eri materialized beside Cal, looking mildly intrigued. "Party planning?" she guessed. Sanji shook his head, and the sky seemed to darken outside the windows as he said, "We're being targetted. By the Lupus pirates."


A/N: I'm seriously considering having the Lupus pirates turn into werewolves at the full moon. Also, note that the song choice sucked. I had literally no clue what to set this to so obviously, Diamond Eyes was the go-to song. *Sarcasm*

*Calandra: means 'skylark' in italian. I've been watching too much KHR!... R+R please?