"Kumo-kun seems to think you can't use Armament," Rayleigh remarks to his wife, amused and curious.

She takes a light drag of her cigarette, blowing smoke out to the night sky with a smile while the heady scent of burning tobacco teases his nose. "He's never asked."

"I can't imagine he'll be too happy once he finds out."

Shakky's smile dims. "He won't."

Quirking a brow, Rayleigh leans against the banister and regards his wife with expectation. Her eyes cut to him as she takes another puff, though she says nothing.

"Would you like me to refrain from teaching him?"

"No," she murmurs. "If you deny him, I fear he'll clip his own wings."

"Why did you keep strength from him, then?"

Her lips quirk down another fraction. "He's never asked."

Rayleigh sighs, carding a hand through his greying hair. "And here I thought you quite liked your little pupil."

His wife turns to him then, a full frown marring her gorgeous face. "Ray…"

"I'm just trying to understand."

"Kumo-kun would be a danger on the battlefield."

"Isn't that reason to push him forward? Five years and not a word from you about awakening his Armament." He pauses. "Can he be trusted?"

Shakky snorts, scorn in her eyes that he accepts gracefully. Right. His wife is never wrong about these things.

She takes a long drag, a cloud of smoke billowing from her lips and obscuring her face for a moment. When it clears, there is a spark in her eyes that he hasn't seen in a very long time. "The boy is brilliant. His mind, his creativity, his prowess, his hunger. A diamond in this coal mine." Shakky takes another drag. "I didn't teach him Observation," she says suddenly.

"Oh?"

"He robbed a merchant, the little ruffian," she says fondly. "I wanted to be a good Samaritan—" Rayleigh doubts this—"and teach the boy that even looters can get looted." There it is. "He ran by me when I made to grab that sack of coins off him, then he moved out of the way. Sight unseen!" she laughed. Shakky's eyes lose the haze of memory as she continues, "Do you know when he awakened his Observation, Ray?"

"When?"

"Nine months old. He still remembers it." Rayleigh's eyebrows shoot to his hairline. She hums, a small and affirmative thing. "He's upset with his range."

"That young man seems to be perpetually upset with most things," he remarks.

"Bitter beyond his years. Still, I've pushed myself to Observe a whole grove's area." He smiles, duly impressed by his wife. She makes the motion of a kiss with a cute wink. Rayleigh is a Haki specialist, but Shakky has him beat in Observation.

"He can't be pressed to be at your level in such a short time."

At that, she laughs. "Kumo-kun can see under an umbrella of two groves."

"Really?!"

"His acumen will only grow in the coming years. If he fights, he'll be commodified."

"The children must lead in the new world order, Shakky."

"Must they all? There are many children with many abilities. Shanks-kun is making a name for himself. Hancock-chan will lead Amazon Lily soon. Roger's son, Dragon's son. This one… he doesn't need to be part of the bloodshed. Centuries' worth of information for him to learn and people for him to help, not hurt."

"How will he protect his dreams? Conquer bigger problems in his future?"

"Through knowledge."

"What is knowledge without the strength to protect it?"

She makes a sound too elegant to call a grunt, but the closest she'll get to one. "Tell me, Ray, where do war hawks thrive?"

"War rooms."

"He's a child. Twelve years old! He doesn't belong in the war room."

Rayleigh sighs. "Why would he be?"

"Kumo-kun's greatest weapon is his mind. To offer him the power of battle… Others will see what I've seen, and they'll thrust him into it."

"So you sequester him in your study and refuse to teach him techniques to improve his Haki."

"He's never asked." Shakky takes the last puff of her cigarette and flicks it into the terracotta pot by her feet. "Is it too much for me to keep him sheltered from any more of this world's cruelty? I truly don't think it is, Ray." The man can't necessarily disagree; Sabaody has taken its toll on the boy already. Bitter beyond his years is quite right.

"Now that he's approached me, why won't you offer him guidance alongside me?"

"Kumo-kun cannot find out I kept this from him. I'll lose his trust. Truth be told, I may never see him again after that." Her smile is sad. "Such a volatile boy."

"If he eventually does?"

"I still get the time I have with him until then."

"Quite selfish of you, love."

"I was an empress and pirate; selfishness is my nature."

It's not the first time he's heard those words from his wife. It likely won't be the last.