Transience

Fox spent most of the time it took them to reach Water Seven either sleeping, sitting in the kitchen with Sanji or on Swift Hunter. Zoro monopolised her time whenever she wasn't chatting to Sanji, so the rest of the crew didn't get much of a chance to talk to her about what Admiral Aokiji had revealed.

Chopper and Usopp weren't really bothered, just confused, as neither really knew what was so important about her surname anyway. The sniper knew it meant something but couldn't place it and the reindeer was totally ignorant. Nami was worried, but not overly so: though she guessed Fox was closely related to Dracule Mihawk it didn't bother her in more than an abstract manner as she had not actually seen the man in action, nor realised he was one of the Shichibukai.

Luffy simply didn't care. Fox wasn't her father any more than Ace was his, so that Hawk-eyes was Fox' dad just wasn't relevant to him.

Robin was conflicted. The archaeologist knew in her bones that Fox was the most powerful, most experienced and most dangerous member of the crew and that she was the daughter of the only Shichibukai to have attained the position through just his own strength and skill only made her more dangerous. Tangled up in that fear was genuine attachment born of Fox' acceptance and kindness as well as gratitude for her attempt to defend Robin from the admiral. That Fox was familiar with said admiral did not help Robin determine whether she wanted to stay as far away from the white-haired woman as possible or linger more closely. Fox was an enigma edged in blades and protected by a labyrinth of mirrors.

Sanji was the only member of the crew other than Zoro to have twigged that Fox was a goldmine of useful information and had immediately laid claim to a portion of her time to ask questions, engage in debates and generally get to know her better. He knew she was completely crazy about the shitty swordsman –and he about her, amazingly– so toned the flirting down as much as he could, which was really hard considering her sincere and highly sensual appreciation of his food. As a compromise he invited her to talk to him while he was cooking, as that meant he could listen while working rather than placing her at the centre of his attention.

He had learnt a lot in the past three days, about Fox, the Grand Line in general, various foods she had eaten and people who had cooked for her, rare ingredients and delicacies she could get hold of –some of which she had fetched from Swift Hunter for him to try for himself– and why she was on friendly terms with an admiral. The chef knew Zoro had been listening in on a lot of those conversations from where he was ostensibly lifting weights on the deck, but didn't care so long as the seaweed-head's paranoia didn't upset Fox.

What concerned Sanji was how dozy Fox had been since Long Ring Long Land: she was sleeping almost eighteen hours a day, mostly leaning against or wrapped around Zoro, which really wasn't normal or healthy. He could tell the swordsman was concerned as well, but the marimo seemed to know what the problem was as he didn't seem worried per se, just resigned. All Zoro would say on the subject was "We need that shipwright," leading Sanji to believe it was something to do with the Merry.

Fox had been mostly awake the day the island was sighted, her head leaning on Zoro's shoulder as her arms around his waist to keep herself upright. Her swordsman had been very worried about how much energy she was expending keeping them afloat and refused to wander very far from her, even at night. He had taken to sleeping in her cabin and would have curled up on the floor had she not told him that the futon was big enough for two. He also touched her more often rather than simply letting her touch him, possibly to gauge her wellbeing through their now extended awareness of each-other. Fox knew that fatigue was something that shone through rather easily if you knew what you were looking for and the way Zoro would catch her wrist or place a hand on the back of her neck suggested he was keeping a very close eye on her health. He also got more aggressive at the dinner table, serving her more food and fighting off Luffy's attempts to take it for himself.

Fox had also taken him to see the inside of Swift Hunter and shown him her Log Pose workshop. The swordsman had admired her work, however he had been more interested in the Dojo that took up half the lower level of her ship and the weapons displayed on the walls, especially when she admitted to being able to use most of them. He had managed to tease a promise out of her for some spars in the future so he could see what it was like to fight different kinds of weapons users.

As the nature of Water Seven became more distinct and they sailed around the island in search of a place to anchor, Fox let Zoro all but carry her back to her cabin so she could get changed.

"You need to keep a bit more energy to yourself," he scolded her gruffly as she swayed on her feet; "We're practically there now. Stop being so difficult about it."

Fox reluctantly thinned her connection to the Merry as much as she dared before rummaging through the mish-mash of garments Zoro had brought up from Swift Hunter while she was asleep. It was an eclectic collection: plain, dark-coloured trousers in canvas and leather that allowed plenty of movement without being visibly loose, numerous floral and patterned tops from long-sleeved shirts to little vest tops, numerous scarves and large kerchiefs to cover hair or wrap around her neck, a few pairs of sunglasses, three different jackets in a variety of lengths and styles, two pairs of boots, a dozen belts and:

"A cowboy hat?" Fox lifted it out of the bag and gently smoothed out the creases. "I don't even own a cowboy hat." It was black felt with a string of turquoise discs marking the band and looked well-worn. However it was the twin dips in the front of the brim that jogged Fox' memory:

"This is Ace' spare hat."

"Then why was it on the top of your mirror?" Zoro asked, coming up behind her.

"Because Ace is a messy person and only keeps track of his possessions on dry land," Fox said wryly. "I know I have some more clothes that are technically his in my wardrobe, including a few shirts. In fact I may have all the shirts he actually owns; he certainly never wears them anymore."

"Why in your room?" Zoro grumbled.

"Swift Hunter only has one bedroom, Zoro," Fox reminded him. "It's not like the bed isn't big enough for four." The bed was in fact big enough for twelve, provided those twelve didn't mind squashing up a bit and six of them put their heads at the foot of the bed.

Zoro subsided, turning his back once more as she changed into a comfortable pair of brown leather trousers and a floral tank top in shades of orange, picking out a battered green pea coat to go over the top and a pair of sturdy ankle boots to go with them. Next she quickly braided her hair into three tails, pinned them closely to her skull and tied a bright floral bandanna over the top, concealing her hair completely. Then she put on a pair of blue-tinted, rectangular, rimless spectacles and added Ace' spare hat to her ensemble, tying another bandanna loosely around her neck to disguise the line of her jaw.

"How's that look?"

Zoro tipped his head on one side. "Not immediately recognisable," he conceded. Fox grinned, added a belt with appropriate accessories and knives to the sheathes integral to the coat she had chosen then pushed everything else back into the kitbag.

"There; done," she declared, grabbing her messenger bag and looping it over her head. "Are we there yet?" she added, sensing a change in the ship's motion.

Zoro dragged her out of the cabin just in time to see that they had reached a deserted peninsula and were preparing to pull up the sail. The swordsman immediately pitched in, only for the mast to break as he tugged on a rope.

"I didn't think the Merry was in quite that bad shape," he admitted aloud as Usopp berated him for damaging the ship. It was a very short scold however as Sanji mentioned they should be alright here so long as they were customers –ie paid for things– and the sniper tried to dash off with Luffy to see the sights. Nami caught them however and had them escort her to the Iceberg guy the old lady at the floating train station had given them a letter for.

"What about you, Fox-chan?" Sanji asked.

"I actually have business contacts here," Fox admitted, "so I'm going to go and persuade tight-fisted merchants to part with their money. Want to come, Zoro?"

"I'd rather nap," the swordsman admitted.

"Fair enough," Fox said easily. "Sanji? I'll be taking Swift Hunter around as I've quite a lot of valuables to trade on board, including those spices from Skypeia which should fetch a pretty penny. You could trade in the recipes you got from Conis' father, if you wanted. You could even charge a commission for them."

The chef looked interested. "Sounds like fun; I'll come and do some shopping, too. I'll do the heavy lifting for you as well, so you don't strain yourself!"

"If you want," Fox shrugged, dropping off the deck onto Swift Hunter's head. "Come on then."

"You aren't going inside," Zoro noticed.

"Why bother? It isn't far," Fox shrugged, crossing her legs on her perch on the top of the Sea King's nose. "See you when we get back!"