More than a bit surprised at the inspiration that just flowed today :o You all shall enjoy it!
A follow and a favorite so far make me happy :D

Also a thanks to reviewers Maltwarrior and OtakuForLife! I really enjoy the feedback and it is always fun to see what is on everyone's mind.
+ Maltwarrior: This idea has been in my head for months. Literally had a character sheet and tropes figured out and I just decided fuck it. Let's post it and see if anyone likes ^_^
+ OtakuForLife: I have been in a rather Kizaru mood myself! The fact my husband can imitate most of his phrases is a bit enjoyable but just makes me think how there needs to be more written about him!

I do not own One Piece - That is property of Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 2 - Past: Meeting

"My childhood spat back out the monster that you see" – My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark – Fall Out Boy

Borsalino grinned as he looked at the bright day greeting them before he heard his friend Sakazuki groan at him with annoyance. "Why did you drag me out here? The orientation isn't for a few hours, Borsalino."

"Huh, and you're the one being super picky about wanting to be the best marine possible. Thought you'd be a bit more excited, hmm?" The lax recruit dodged a fist but merely heard the growl his friend gave off and held his hands up. "Hey! Save the attitude for the other recruits. I'm your friend, remember?"

"Sometimes I wonder how the two of us got grouped together in the barracks," Sakazuki muttered as he pulled down the marine cap he was given over his eyes. "And it's too damn bright. If we're going to be awake in this sun, at least let me grab some breakfast or you owe me some sake for putting up with this shit."

"So moody, Sakazuki. Fine, breakfast it is," Borsalino sighed as he waited for his friend to follow him to a café near the civilian port since as it was before orientation, they were not yet allowed in the marine mess hall. "So… you excited?" He attempted broach the question as he saw his friend cool off slightly after they placed their order.

A thin brow was raised as the bulkier of the duo dug into some rice and fish. "I suppose. Good to finally be able to join. Wish I was able to before but your parents sponsoring both of us here does help a bit."

"Eh, sorry you had to wait til I was ready," the thinner man apologized as he smeared some cream cheese onto a bagel. "But at least we're finally here, right? And we'll kick ass so fast, that our ages won't even matter."

"Whatever you say, old man," Sakazuki muttered but before Borsalino could retort with an equally inaccurate insult, the door of the café opened to reveal a group of females engaged in chatter. Or rather, most of them were chatter.

There were seven of them in total but one of the girls hung near the back of the group, seemingly bored or uncaring of what her companions were chattering about. "Look at that girl, Sakazuki. She's a looker."

"Huh?" The younger man glanced up and looked at the women then shrugged and returned to his food until his friend elbowed him again. "What?"

"The one near the back that looks pissed off at the world." Rolling his eyes, Sakazuki glanced to see who his friend was going on about and raised an eyebrow slightly.

She had blonde hair in two pigtails that hung down over her shoulders rather than sticking straight out from her head but what caught the marine recruits' eyes were her own eyes. The emerald green hue was even beyond the hard stoniness that Sakazuki's had but they looked annoyed, even being among obviously familiar company. She was fairly tall, similar to Borsalino and Sakazuki, to the point she made the rest of her companions look like dwarves in comparison but her build was rather lean to the point she was comparable in bulk to Borsalino if he was a woman. "Ty-chan, look! They have the cream cheese type you like."

At being addressed, the blonde woman raised her eyebrow and moved her head to look at the one who called her. "I hate that nickname," she muttered before turning to address the cashier for the café.

"Looks good doesn't she?" Borsalino murmured as he chewed on the bagel he had. "Her friends seem a bit more of my type though."

"You already sold the last bagel?" the woman's clear voice rang out through the café. Although quiet, it had a terse type of authority that it made the two marine recruits pay attention. "I see… I'll meet you all later."

"Ty-chan, you're really not going to get anything just because of a stupid bagel?" One of the women said, causing the blonde to turn sharply.

"I don't like eggs in the morning and as appealing as bacon and sausage are, I cannot just eat meat by itself. Balance!" she scowled before sweeping away from her friends, past Sakazuki and Borsalino's table.

"You could, you know, offer her one of the five bagels you bought?" Sakazuki muttered quietly but the words seemed to reach the blonde woman as before she left the café, she gripped the door frame tightly before departing finally.

"So?" Borsalino replied cheekily. "Maybe if she came over and asked, I'd ask her on a date in exchange."

His friend shook his head in disbelief. "You're such a child sometimes. You know, she's likely a recruit."

"Like how all of her friends are too? Don't make me laugh Sakazuki."

-Orientation-

"Sakazuki, you're a cruel bastard," Borsalino whined slightly as he stared at Admiral Zephyr look over all of them with an appraising eye. Sure enough, all the women that were in the café were new recruits but the most memorable of them was also there and had been shooting the lanky recruit the dead eye since they started.

"You brought it on yourself," his friend muttered before turning away to pay attention to the admiral's words.

"Like I said, maggots, today I want to see you all spar and squirm. This way, we can match the potential of the marines to who they are closest in terms of ability and power. Growing together is our goal but also we want to make sure that you form close bonds with those of similar power. After all…" The admiral then stared down each of the marines and even the female from the café seemed to straight slightly from his gaze. "I have high expectations for each and every one of you. Let's show the future how the marines are!"

Cheers erupted and even Sakazuki cracked half a smile for this. "Look at that, Sakazuki. You look motivated."

"You know damn well I am," he growled in annoyance. "So you think anyone will be grouped with us, power wise?"

"Doubt it," the lanky man shrugged as he looked their fellow recruits over. "I mean, look at how we're a few years over the rest of the recruits. Half of them look like they barely got out of diapers."

"Just cut the chatter and spar with me," Sakazuki rolled his eyes at his friend's behavior. Despite the jovial and joking attitude, he knew well that Borsalino could back up his talk. "Don't blame me if you aren't the top dog around here."

"Oh?" Borsalino smirked as he parried one of his friend's punch with a kick that sent the jab to the side but Sakazuki pulled back his arm in an attempt to elbow in retaliation. The force of the kick however had sent Borsalino far enough back to avoid the elbow and his smirk only widened as he motioned with his hand for Sakazuki to continue. "Is that all?"

A fire seemed to have lit in regards to Sakazuki's motivations and his fists were in a flurry, putting his mouthy friend on the defensive. "You know plenty well it isn't!" Sakazuki roared in anger before he finally connected before frowning upon realizing that his friend caught his fist. Barely but still, a catch was a catch. "Damn it."

"Your turn," Borsalino practically sang as he gave a spinning roundhouse kick and almost caught Sakazuki's arm but the bulky man blocked the attack before pushing the leg away from him just to get tripped up by a sudden, sweeping low kick. "You got nothing on my speed."

From where he had been knocked down, Sakazuki rolled into a crouch. "Maybe I'll get serious now," he sneered before leaping up towards his friend while Borsalino lifted his leg to do an axe kick before his leg and Sakazuki's right fist were caught by Admiral Zephyr.

"Impressive you two but I'll need to mix it up a bit. We have an odd number of recruits and you two seem closer to her abilities than the other recruits."

Her? Both of the men gave each other a glance and Borsalino immediately looked at the blonde female recruit that followed the admiral.

"My name is Serenity. Pleased to meet you, gentlemen," she bowed deeply before looking both men in the eye. "I'm sure we'll have quite a bit of fun."

"I'm Borsalino and my scowling friend is Sakazuki," the grinning man introduced them as he reached out with a hand, intending to shake hers.

"So who do I spar with first? Chuckles or Bagel Boy?" she replied with a slightly raised eyebrow as she glanced between the two of them in an attempt to measure them up.

The impromptu nicknames however prompted a laugh from Sakazuki. "This will be interesting. I'll volunteer if you show this much spunk in a fight."

The woman grinned widely but she dodged a butterfly kick from Borsalino. "No way, Sakazuki. While you were glaring at me during our spar, I was paying attention. She's much closer to my way of fighting."

"Kicks huh?" When Serenity nodded to confirm Sakazuki's words, he shrugged. "This will be interesting then. I'm willing to wait." He dropped down to give one armed push-ups. "Don't lose," he commented lightly as he sped through the workout.

"I won't," Serenity promised with a smirk as she glanced towards Borsalino and they began circling around each other, bouncing lightly on their feet.

"I believe he was speaking to me," Borsalino said smoothly as he dashed forward and tried to perform a sidekick.

"So why did he wink at me?" Serenity smirked as she spun out of the way and caught the man's leg before changing her stance and attempting to spin and hurl her fellow recruit but he pushed against the ground and flicked his foot towards her chin, causing her head to snap up. "That was jarring."

"I appreciate your honesty," the Borsalino laughed but did not expect her to appear behind him and knee him in the side. "Gah!"

"Wouldn't want to lie to my comrades, would I?" Serenity smiled brightly but a few drops of rain poured over them, causing her to look up. "We'll continue won't we? It'd be a shame to stop now, wouldn't it?"

"You two didn't realize it but Zephyr-sensei dismissed us for the day," Sakazuki commented almost brightly as he held up an umbrella against the rain. "It's almost lunch time and I want some curry. Serenity-san, shall we escort you and your roommate?"

"Don't have a roommate, Sakazuki-kun." He lifted an eyebrow at the casual form of address. "But I wouldn't say no to an escort. Zephyr-sensei wouldn't have put me with you two if we weren't going to be grouped together or am I wrong?"

"Why no roommate, eh Serenity-chan?" Borsalino attempted to lean onto the female marine recruit but she sidestepped him, causing him to fall against Sakazuki's umbrella.

"Odd number of recruits this year plus none of my acquaintances wished to room with me. Matters not. More privacy for me," Serenity commented offhandedly as she walked slightly ahead of the two men before turning back. "Lunch?"

"You cooking it?" Borsalino grinned but the woman scoffed.

"You wish I was cooking for you. I believe Sakazuki-kun mentioned curry."

"I've known Sakazuki for ages for ages and he eats too damn much of that dish."

"Are you dissing on curry?" Sakazuki and Serenity said at the same time, sporting identical glares towards the lanky man.

"Figures a moody woman would get along with you," Borsalino growled as he received a scowl and glare.

"You're just jealous, Borsalino-kun."

"I could ask one of your friends if they'd want me to escort them to lunch," he sniffed in annoyance.

"They'd want that a bit too much and they aren't my friends. The minute they made it clear to me that they all are here to husband shop rather than saving lives and eliminating pirates, I lost interest in keeping a friendship." This caused both men to look at her due to the raw, pained tone and both were surprised at the oddly vulnerable look she was giving off. "Actually, excuse me. I've found that I have lost my appetite." She turned away and left them without a further glance back.

"That was exceedingly awkward. I felt like I was wading in a pool of ice," Borsalino commented lightly.

"It's none of our business," Sakazuki shrugged before his friend sighed.

"We're grouped with her now, remember? It's going to be our business now."

-A Week Later-

"Scoring high on the exam, eh Sakazuki? Strategy is your thing I suppose."

The bulky man did not bother to look at the posted results and instead, flipped a page in the book on geography he was browsing through. "Did I beat her?"

"Tied actually. But I beat both of you. Wonder how the hell that happened. She usually scores higher than us by a few points but I suppose this recent test did have a few… moral dilemmas."

"Well aren't you just the shining star of us all?" Serenity drawled as she walked up to observe the results. "Better than I had previously predicted."

"Oh?" Borsalino could not help but be curious as Serenity had shown some aptitude towards the more studious side than he did.

"Sensei wrote quite a few remarks, in a red pen even, that my attitude towards pirates is a red flag and my moral priorities are rather skewed."

This made Sakazuki pause in his page flipping. "Even I didn't have any remarks despite being scored down on that particular question. I even tried to be sarcastic."

"Even more than usual, Sakazuki?" Borsalino had a frown on his face as he watched Serenity's eyes darken quite a bit before she stiffened quite a bit. "Look, whatever the question is, it's not like they'll kick you out of the marines or anything."

"It'd be a waste of Vice Admiral Garp's time then. He did scout me back in Pucci after all," Serenity commented quietly as she crossed her arms.

"You were scouted too?" Borsalino beamed before sighing. "That grump Sengoku scouted the two of us."

"He's a rather badass admiral though," Serenity murmured quietly. "I do enjoy his lessons but he did write a bit heavily on my essay though." Her eyes hardened though as she tightened her jaw. "But even marines like me are necessary."

"What kind of marine are you?" Borsalino asked with curiosity as he could not help but eye her up and down. "You aren't just here for your looks after all."

"Keep dreaming, Borsalino-kun." Sakazuki noticed however that despite the tone, her eyes softened for half a second before turning hard again. "Flattery won't win you over with me."

"But Sakazuki's cruelty does." This caused both Sakazuki and Serenity to look at each other and snort.

"No way in hell."

"Just get ready for Zephyr-sensei's workload. He's making us… diversify," Sakazuki commented with a groan as he remembered the conversation he overheard.

"Eh. Could be worse. Get through this and I can make it to the florist's shop," Serenity shrugged as she readjusted her pigtails.

"Why…?"

"Don't be nosy," the female marine scowled as she stomped away, leaving two confused men next to the results.

"What was that about?" Sakazuki asked before turning back to his book.

"I was going to ask that. How would I know?" He glanced towards where Serenity had gone off to but noticed she was out of sight anyway. "So… How about we just follow her?"

"No. I have no interest in stalking her about flowers."

"Sakazuki, that reaction was rather tense. You know there's got to be something interesting to make that elegant babe gloomy."

"She'll get very tired of those comments. Especially if she finds out that you've been flirting with Elyse."

At that, Borsalino nearly choked on air. "She doesn't call Elyse a friend anymore so whatever. It's not like Serenity gives a shit about what we do anyway. So long as we're alive to spar with her, she's not happy or content but rather… Shit, what do you call it? Peacefully apathetic."

"Still, respect her. She does hold some respect for you…" Sakazuki's eyes widened as he thought on it. "Deep, deep, deep down. Somewhere." He then cleared his throat and sighed. "Alright, moving on."

"Sakazuki, I want to know why she is so secretive about her past for. Is that so bloody bad?"

Stowing his book away, Sakazuki led the way to the training grounds. "Just ask her about it. Without being a pest."

"I resent that. I do not pester. I am going to politely inquire about it."

"Inquire about what? And about time you two showed up. Zephyr-sensei was giving me a foul look for not knowing when you two would show up," Serenity droned with boredom as she stretched her arms. "I need to practice my punches today. Sakazuki-kun, be my punching bag?"

"I feel so neglected," Borsalino whined as he dramatically placed his hand over his heart. "How will I ever recover?"

"Call your mother on the Den Den Mushi and have her kiss it for you. Both of you then. Now," Serenity sneered as she dashed forward with her right fist ready.

-A Week Later-

"I feel bad now," Borsalino thought as he slumped onto a park bench a few blocks away from where they had followed Serenity to. "Like, she actually has a heart."

"I admit, seeing her place flowers on the graves of children and dead marines is a bit… Unexpected. But doesn't it only prove the point of you can't judge a book by its cover?" Sakazuki murmured as he sipped a cup of coffee he had grabbed before being literally grabbed to follow their comrade on her little flower errand. "We should leave before she spots us."

"What's the use? She can't hate me more than she already does," Borsalino said quietly as he looked down at his hands. "I know you heard what I heard, Sakazuki. We both have really good ears but as loathe as I am to admit it, yours are better."

"But did you hear what I heard? 'I swear, I'll make up for just watching while your deaths were in front of me?' That's a bit grim and I'm even saying that now. Like she doesn't really know my background either but damn. Wonder who died in front of her."

"I'm going to tell you to take your own advice. Ask her," Borsalino sighed. "The shoe is on the other foot now."

"Just because she talks to me sometimes doesn't mean she'll say anything. Besides, she's rather moody today, even for her. Do you know why?"

-Earlier That Day-

As Serenity stepped into the women's showers to wash the sweat that had coated her from the day's training, she scowled on hearing a few words from her former friends. "Why does Ty get everything handed to her? It's just not bloody fair."

"Elyse, she could be here," another female voice murmured softly but Elyse merely scoffed.

"Why do I care, Hana? It's not like she even wants to hang out or anything. Too good to go to the bar with us or anything. She got so stuck up since leaving Pucci. I swear if Kaito-kun was still alive…"

Serenity wrapped her hair as she was as finished with the conversation as she was with her thankfully brief shower. "Elyse, this is where I stop your senseless babbling. Kaito has nothing to do with…"

"At least he kept you from being a stick in the mud. Nothing was wrong when you were with him," Elyse retorted as she flipped a lock of shimmering blonde hair over her shoulder in disdain. "You had something good with him but a simple thing…"

She could no longer speak as Serenity's hand closed over her throat as Elyse was pushed onto the walls. Female squeals of alarm and hysteria spread until Serenity's cold voice intoned darkly. "That's enough. You know well enough what happened." She released her former friend before glancing at all of them. "What?"

"Ty-chan… Why do you hate us now?" Hana spoke up, a rarity in itself as she often went with whatever Elyse had ordained and rarely stood up to anyone.

"I don't hate you. Any of you. I however disapprove as you're using a noble organization like the Marines to scout for potential husbands," Serenity's voice came out almost like an accusatory hiss. "Even you're guilty of that, Hana."

"Can you blame us?" another girl spoke out before covering her mouth.

"Why Cho? You're good with guns so you could earn a lot of respect with your marksmen skills but no. Instead, you flirt with so many of the men here that it is rather shocking. You used to be a sweet, shy girl but what now?" Serenity's voice echoed almost hollowly in the showers. Sadness tinged the tone almost like a brush with oil. "Are you all so scared?"

"We're not strong enough like you Ty-chan that we can just stand up to everyone. You always had to bail us out before in the orphanage when something happened."

"So, was I just the convenient protector until something better came along?" The pigtailed blonde's tone seemed to crack for a second before she tightened her fist and hardened her eyes. "You don't have to worry about using me anymore if I'm not around." Turning quickly, she was soon out of reach but not out of her hearing range as she could still the whispers until she was several meters away. Why won't they stop fucking talking? And they had to bring up Kaito!

"Nity-chan," Borsalino practically sang but then he had to dodge a rather irate chop to the side. "Whoa there. Someone's a bit grouchy."

"Call me that and I'll rip out your voice box," the blonde muttered. "And get out of my way please. Not in the mood at all."

"I can kiss it and make it all better?" he offered. Usually the flirty taunting would get a snappy remark out of her and they would be back to the banter that he almost enjoyed but instead, she actually sighed.

"Just please no." A sniffle followed which almost made Borsalino's jaw drop because he saw what looked like sadness on his comrade's face. "Please excuse me."

She ran past Sakazuki who had barely emerged from the men's showers, causing the bulky marine to throw his best friend a cautious look. "What happened? She looks like someone kicked her puppy."

"No idea. I'll ask Elyse since she's coming out of the showers now."

Before Borsalino could go along with his plan of flirting some information out of the female recruit, Sakazuki grabbed his elbow. "Hold on there, lover boy. I have a gut feeling that asking her about this is a bad idea."

"Nonsense," he said smoothly as he sauntered over to the blonde. "Hey Elyse-chan, what was up with Serenity?"

Even without the speed he possessed or the awareness he had of his surroundings, he saw the slap coming a mile away and thus easily avoided it. "I haven't talked to you all day and you ask about her?"

"Uh yeah. She is my teammate after all," Borsalino reasoned but he was answered with an angry huff.

"Why do all the guys care about her? What's so fucking great about her? Kaito was all over her. You two constantly follow her like puppies and even our senseis love her. What is up with that?" Elyse roared, reminding the two men very much of dragons.

"Maybe not tugging your shirt line to push up your chest whenever Zephyr-sensei is looking at you would help?" Borsalino advised but without glasses, it was obvious what held his eyes' attention. "As much as I appreciate a good pair every now and then, now it's a bit much. Especially when you fight like crap in comparison." Sidestepping the next slap, he called to Sakazuki who was doing his damn hardest to avoid this awkward conversation like the plague. "Let's go, Sakazuki. I found out something."

"You made sense of that?"

Borsalino raised an eyebrow. "Well, other than her friends not really giving two shits about her apparently and having inferiority complexes as well as in general jealousy, we get to find out who this Kaito person is."

"This is a bit too personal though," Sakazuki pointed out, obviously out of his comfort zone when it came to dealing with anyone's past, particularly a woman's.

-A Week Later-

"Elyse, why do you keep flirting with Borsalino-kun? Even if he does stare at your chest, that doesn't mean he's interested," Serenity sneered as she passed her former friends on the way to her favorite shower stall. "It's a bit pathetic now actually."

"Why do you care? You don't realize what a great team you've gotten between those two," her fellow blonde hissed but Serenity merely rolled her eyes as she pulled the shower curtains closed, separating the two. "I mean seriously, I would kill to see either of those two without a shirt."

"You couldn't even kill a fly," Serenity pointed out with a clucking tongue. "And death is a bit much for you to stare at someone isn't it?"

"It's a damn expression. Just because you can't appreciate their masculinity, doesn't mean no one else can look," Elyse proclaimed before leaving the locker room.

Fool. Sakazuki would never give her the time of day and even I heard about that slap she attempted to give Borsalino-kun. It was amusing when he asked me if she went insane or something. Odd that we agreed on something but it was bound to happen eventually. Serenity poured some shampoo into her hands and ran it through her hair, humming almost melodiously. She massaged her scalp but could not help but think on Elyse's words. I guess they both would look rather nice… Better than nice actually. But I think I'd actually prefer… Gah, what am I thinking? Serenity quickly changed the water's temperature as she felt her cheeks flush at her thoughts. No! No perving on Borsalino. Stupid Elyse. Why did I have to think of him first? Just why?

Stepping out of the shower after a few moments of pouring ice water, she dried her hair and sighed as she stepped out of the locker room. She tied her hair as she went into her signature pigtails but she did not get the peace she was thinking of. "Serenity-chan," she heard a voice that normally was filled with enthusiasm be quiet and almost serious.

"Borsalino-kun. Want to rub it in more how sensei cut me off from kicking your ass?" she replied almost automatically before wincing at how she sounded. "Sorry," she said quietly before seeing the smile that erupted on his face.

"For what? That was pretty good though. You know, the reason he cut you off was how you pinned me or are you intentionally blocking that out, eh Sere-chan?"

Memories of that morning's spar suddenly were relived in Serenity's mind, making her flush red. She had decided that day would be the day she pulled a fast one on Borsalino and decided when she managed to ground him, that she would straddle him to keep him pinned long enough for her to land a punch. She then remembered all too well how her comrade had frozen in shock but she was so hyped up on actually being close to beating him that the nature of the pose did not strike her… until now. "I… Sorry," she flushed even deeper crimson. "That explains Sakazuki's face and why he laughed."

"I think Sakazuki wouldn't have been affected by you doing that but maybe if I did… Who am I kidding? He'd kill me if I tried," Borsalino sighed dramatically. "Anyways, you seem a bit… out of it. Need some ice cream?"

"I'll buy," Serenity attempted to offer but Borsalino put his hands up.

"I'd rather pay for the lady, hmm? Unless you don't think you're one?" At her silence, he grinned. "Besides, I want to ask you a few things."

Serenity tensed and she felt the annoyance she normally carried for this man surface until she saw him roll his shoulders and then the blush she had barely forced down threatened to reemerge. Damn those muscles. His shirt makes him look so… Gah. "What questions?" she asked cautiously as she tried to school her expression into its normal mask of indifference.

Well then, there was some flickering of emotion there. "Well, since Sakazuki is studying for the navigation exam like the mad man he is, I thought I could get to know you better. Since we're grouped up and all. A bit of quid pro quo or whatever."

Serenity wanted to turn down the offer, even with the promise of free ice cream but from a strategic viewpoint, she knew there was no reason to not to. I might get to learn a bit about both of them too… "Sure. Question for question and only after I have ice cream in front of me."

"I suppose that's fair, eh?" Borsalino put his arm around her and she stiffened at the contact but did not blush. She merely looked surprised and even a bit shocked. "Stop looking like I'm going to bite your head off. "

"I'm just unused to this. I mean, look at us. We're actually not at each other's throats… yet." This caused the lanky man to roar with laughter.

"Yet. Although you're making me see you in quite a different light due to this morning. You do have a rather elegant neck, Sere-chan."

She did not know why she did not feel like correcting him on the nickname but she thought on how he said it. The way he makes my name roll very slightly… Damn it, not again! "Thank you. It's nice to know that I could use that against you."

"Oh? Dazzle me a bit in the next spar and beat me? Then Sakazuki would be left out!"

She snickered slightly but then she thought of their teammate and smiled. "What is the story between you two, anyway? It's obvious you know each other before joining the marines."

"Already forgot that you wanted ice cream before the questioning, hmm? Or so eager to hear my voice? I know it's amazing."

"And overestimating your own value yet again," she fired back automatically before both of them laughed. "Why do we rile each other up? I don't get the point now that I think on it."

"If Sakazuki was here, he'd likely say something about trying to psych the other person out. And I suppose we both kind of have dominating personalities." Serenity's eyebrow rose and he chuckled as he began to explain. "I have a louder and in your face kind of personality but you are a background type of person that everyone just knows is there. Different but still commanding."

"So that's why back then Elyse and the rest of them used to listen to me? Makes sense I suppose," Serenity sighed. "We're all orphans from Pucci. Some pirates had gone rampant and we all suffered from the same attack. Thus, we got stuck in the same boat so to speak and ended up looking out for each other."

"I see. You have more in common with Sakazuki than I thought. Surprised the rest of those girls aren't more motivated then to be a proper marine." Serenity could not help but smile at Borsalino's assessment of her former friends.

"They used to be, don't get me wrong. It used to be really enjoyable, dreaming about how we were going to help out everyone and make sure that no one has to lose their family again…" Serenity's voice shook slightly at that. "I don't know when it began. Us drifting apart or rather, me drifting away. But I… I can't stand pirates, Borsalino. You know that more than anyone. The reason that exam back then was marked down for me is because of that very reason. Sensei believed that the bloodlust I have when it comes to a pirate would put others at risk. It's how Vice Admiral Garp had scouted me. I had turned in the dead body of a pirate."

"That pirate's name?" Borsalino wondered but then Serenity's eyes hardened as she was about to silence herself again but then he reached out for her wrist. His next question however put her slightly at ease. "You'll remember it for the rest of your life, won't you?"

"His name… The crew he was affiliated with… Everything."