Ripples

Due to her position seated on the top of the wall surrounding the pool area, Fox was the only person to notice Admiral Aokiji's arrival. However since he had made good on his promise to buy her a beautiful new umbrella from San Faldo –he even bought one with a shikomi-zue handle and integrated blade– she let him have his conversation with Robin in private. He also complemented her on keeping 'Dracule Lisska' out of trouble; Kuzan was much more disillusioned about the government's so-called justice than either of his fellow admirals. Fox suspected his real reason for turning a blind eye had something to do with his odd attachment to Nico Robin, but to verify that she would have had to eavesdrop and that would have been rude.

Fox was also the only person to notice the arrival of Captain Attach of the Marine Photography Department the next morning; she ambushed him in the shrubbery.

"Fox thought she spotted a Seagull," she said with a smirk half-hidden behind her bandanna, one hand firmly gripping the unfortunate man's neck right over his pulse. "Why is Stalker here?" She removed the camera from his nerveless fingers. "Wait, Fox knows why. But Fox thought Stalker had taken enough pictures at Enies Lobby."

The Marine swallowed hard. "I'm two short," he admitted.

"Oh? Well, bounties are important to pirates too, so Fox will have to let you go." The woman pouted, adjusting her hat. "Captain would be disappointed otherwise. Captain doesn't like it when Fox kills people for things they haven't done yet." She did not however let him go just yet. "What is Fox accused of? Other than the murder of two thousand, six hundred and twenty three Marines at Enies Lobby."

"N-n-nothing," the Marine admitted. "Y-you've never been sighted before."

Fox struck little pose. "Fox has skill. Fox was on the Grand Line for three years before meeting her captain, but Fox was alone so Fox had to look after herself. Now Fox has a captain and crew Fox can afford not to kill all the witnesses."

Her captive's eyes widened. "Are you confessing?"

Fox frowned. "Bounties are important, so they should be accurate. Fox does not want to be misrepresented; Fox is a child of the Grand Line. Fox has no proof of past actions, so Stalker does not have to believe, but Fox can share if Stalker is interested."

The Marine produced a notebook and pen. Fox settled into a sitting position and let go of the man's neck. She would only confess to those incidents where she had used her Devil Fruit Ability to slaughter pirate crews or towns; no contracts or other business would be mentioned. This was part of building a persona: having a past.

"Fox was in Toroa twenty-six months ago," she started, knowing full well the marine would be able to connect her presence with the destruction of two whole towns and a slaving ring there. "Fox also met the Skinner Pirates on their way out of Mock Town four months later. Then she met the Ladykiller Pirates when they were visiting Pucci for the Valentines Festival last year;" she paused, "Fox made a mess that time." She shook her head. "Fox encountered the Thalassa Lucas on his way to Sabaody eight months ago with his entourage, while hunting Viri the Impaler. It was coincidence, but Fox believes it is better to be thorough than dead." It hadn't been a coincidence: King Lucas had been engaged in very shady dealings of a kind Fox objected to; Viri on the other hand had been a very happy accident.

Captain Attach was sweating slightly but he had taken careful notes.

"Fox wished to add that she hopes the hotelier in Pucci managed to remove the stain from the bathhouse ceiling, that the Governor of Toroa should not have been selling the children of the Gurando tribe to slavers, that both pirate crews had it coming to them and that she sent Lucas' heir a card expressing her condolences," Fox finished, "though of course Fox did not sign it: Fox is not stupid. The card had mermaids on." That should be proof enough for the Marines to cross-reference. "Now Stalker can go and take his pictures, but no coming back later, hm?"

The photographer nodded frantically, grabbed his camera and scuttled out of the shrubbery. Fox grinned and climbed back up onto the wall. Now she would have a proper bounty poster with actual crimes she had committed on it.

After ensuring that Captain Attach really had left Water Seven, Fox spent another day wandering around the town and finishing up her business deals. The World Government had come through with her 800 million, most of which she converted to gold and put into Swift Hunter's lower hold to use as ballast. She presented ten million to Nami, so the navigator could buy nice furniture for the ship Franky was building for them. She then abducted Zoro for a the rest of the day to make good on their mutual promises made on the way to the Sea Train: they spent the night in Swift Hunter and had a great deal of fun getting to know each-other better. Fox also promised to lend him money for a sword if he could find a really good one; when the island's shops failed to produce anything as fine as what he had just lost she let him handle Zanchou in her ship's dojo to cheer him up.

What she didn't tell the Straw-Hats was that, while visiting St. Poplar for a day, she had spotted the CP9 agents performing in the street for money. The reason she kept quiet about it was that the encounter had been a touch embarrassing for her: she had spotted the giraffe and dashed over to cuddle it before registering that it was actually Kaku in Zoan form. He had been cautiously amused, and at the end of the day had accepted a wad of money from her towards Lucci and Fukuro's hospital bills. He had also accepted a flying fish letter case –a small, portable version of her Sea King ship that could deliver itself between pre-arranged recipients– so the now rogue agents could buy information from the Grand Line's extensive Black Market.

Fox did not tell him she was the maker of said letter cases; she did not need that particular target on her back any time soon. As far as anybody knew, her ship had been bought at very high cost through intermediaries. Nor did she mention that her mother and 'aunts' had cornered the market on information about a decade ago and ran it jointly out of a pair of teahouses on Sabaody and a café on Fishman Island. That kind of information did not need to be shared.

The other thing Fox did was hunt down Franky. She recognised that he wanted to keep the ship a secret, but there were a few things she had to make sure he understood before he finished it.

Fox cornered Franky down at the edge of Shipwreck Island.

"Fox needs to talk to Star before ship is finished," she explained, making a point to sit with her back to the partly-built vessel, "because Fox had things to explain which affect the ship. Fox hopes Star is willing to listen."

Franky sat down on a rock opposite her. "Go ahead, Cowgirl," he told her, face serious.

Fox frowned; this wasn't easy. "Fox… Fox was sharing a dorm with eleven other girls at the time she was force-fed Devil Fruit," she began, voice soft; this was one of her worst memories. "As Star saw, Fox' Devil Fruit lets her kill with a touch. Fox had terrible nightmares after eating it as Fox' mother is a mermaid and Fox knew she had lost the sea forever. But when Fox' dorm-mates tried to wake her they died when they touched her. When someone finally threw a bucket of water over Fox there were only four other girls in the room that were still alive." Fox paused. "Fox was moved to a private room after that. Fox cannot share a room with other women, because Fox always gets nightmares again. Fox has tried. Fox can share a bed with others, but cannot share a room unless she is also sharing a bed, and Fox can only sleep safely with certain people she trusts. Fox cannot share with Blackbird and Cloud. Fox could share with Greenie, but that is at Captain's discretion as it is Captain's ship. So Fox needs a private room. Fox would also like a work room to do things in, but Fox can manage without if Star can only squeeze one room in." She waited.

Franky sniffed, then sobbed, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Dat's so sad!" he wailed, before wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I'll make sure you have your own room, Cowgirl, and fitting in a little workshop won't be any trouble. Is there any particular kind of bed you'd like?"

"A double bed, if Fox can," Fox requested candidly. "Fox is very grateful." She bowed.

Franky reached over and patted her shoulder. "You're a good kid, Cowgirl," he told her seriously. "Don't let your past weigh you down."

Fox smiled a small smile. "Fox does her best, but some things linger," she replied equally seriously. "Fox will see you when Ship is finished." She left at a run, wanting to distract herself from the horrors revisiting that memory had stirred up. Hopefully Zoro would be willing to distract her.

Fox does not just lie around doing nothing while waiting for the Log Pose to reset and for Franky to build them a ship.