Lunch, Gambling, & Thieves

With his arm slung over the back of his chair, Sanji carefully watched with kneaded eyebrows as Neo walked through the room then suddenly paused at the door for no apparent reason. His body tensed when the door started to open and Neo still didn't move. The talking, laughing and clanking of dishes faded away from his ears when a heaviness settled over him. Something, or someone was coming. That had to be the reason why she didn't move. He pulled his arm from the chair when a guy dressed in purple opened the door. He continued to watch, debating whether or not he needed to go to her. She wasn't freaking out, yet, but he was still concerned with her not moving. Thinking it would be best to go to her, he stood up. He was able to take one step but stopped when Zoro appeared behind the old man. He relaxed and sat back down, but continued to watch the small group of three as they exchanged words. His heart skipped a beat when Neo's legs gave out on her. Still, he remained in his seat and decided to let Zoro handle this since the swordsman kept her from hitting the floor.

But his resolve to let his crewmate deal with it quickly vanished when the green haired man let Neo walk off from him. He jumped up from his seat and rushed towards Zoro just as Zoro came towards him. Sanji hissed angrily at him from his clenched teeth. He said, "You stupid swordsman! What's the matter with you?! We can't leave her alone like that!"

"Just relax. She's fine," Zoro asked, casually. "She's just going to freshened up a bit."

"I don't care! She about collapsed to the floor a second ago! What was that about?!" Sanji demanded.

"She just felt a bit dizzy," Zoro replied like it as no big deal.

"And you let her walk off on her own?!" Sanji shrieked, earning a few annoyed glances from other customers.

"Will you stop shouting?" Zoro asked, twisting a finger in his ear. "What are you? Her babysitter? All she's doing is stepping into the bathroom to freshen up a bit. There's no need to baby her. We can easily see the bathroom door from the table you all picked out. It's not like anyone can sneak in there without us noticing. Besides, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"Yeah, I know. But…" Sanji's voice trailed off while his eyes shifted over to the bathroom. Zoro did have plenty of good points. They could easily guard the bathroom door from a distance. And Neo is a big girl. As long as no one corners her or touches her, she would be just fine.

"Plus, would you really be man enough to follow her into the ladies bathroom?" Zoro smirked at Sanji. "Do you really thing Trafalgar would like you following her in there?"

Sanji's cheeks flushed. He shoved his hands into his pocket and huffed, "Fine."

"Good. The matter is settled then," Zoro said before he weaved through the tables and chairs, keeping a secret watch on the bathroom door, just in case. Taking a glance at the table everyone else was at he knew the two empty seats besides Luffy were reserved for Neo and Sanji. So when he reached them, he skirted around the table and headed for the only other empty seat with Franky and Kin'emon. He preferred this spot anyway. He could easily see the old man from this side of the table as well as the door to the restaurant. No one would be able to come and go without him seeing them. He plopped down on the chair then crossed his arms and legs.

"Huh? Where's Neo?" Luffy asked upon noticing their female wasn't with Sanji and Zoro.

"She went to the bathroom to freshening up," Zoro replied. "She felt a bit dizzy."

"Good afternoon," a cheerful waitress said with a warm smile and bright green eyes. She plucked a pencil and a small notebook from her apron then looked at the pirates. "Are you ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?"

"Wow! You're gorgeous!" Sanji chirped. He ran his heart shaped eyes over the curvy, black haired woman. "We're so lucky to have decided to sit here!"

The waitress laughed. "You're cute. But don't get too excited. I'm about done with my shift."

"Too bad. I'd like to have gotten to know you better," Sanji said with a wink.

"Must you flirt with every woman on the planet?" Zoro grumbled.

"Just shut up!" Sanji hissed.

"Should we wait for Neo?" Franky asked.

"No, let's go ahead and order," Sanji replied. "I know what she likes well enough."

"Very well then!" the waitress chirped. "What can I get for you all?"

Neo glanced around the bathroom as soon as she stepped inside of the small room. There were three stalls to her right, all empty which she was grateful for, and three sinks to her left. She tilted her head in confusion when her eyes landed on a light brownish orange couch directly across the room from her. On each of its sides was a small round table. One of the tables held a box of tissues while the other held a small potted plant that looked like it hadn't been watered in quite some time.

"Good grief. People want plants but then won't take care of them. Why bother?" She grumbled while planting her hands on her hips. She huffed in annoyance at the dying plant before walking over to it. She glanced over her shoulder and stared at the door to make sure no one was coming. Once she decided no one was coming towards her, she summoned an earth crystal and a water crystal. Beaming down the earth crystal's glow, she enriched the dirt then refreshed it and the plant with her water crystal. She smiled when the plant sprung back to life and the brownish green vines perked up into a bushel of beautiful white azaleas. "There. That's better. Sorry they forgot about you, little plant."

Satisfied with her work, she turned and stepping over to the sink. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her disguise clearly. She didn't think it made her look more like a child. In fact, for some reason, she thought she looked older, more mature somehow. She shook her head. With no idea on why she would feel that way, she turned the cold water on, cupped her hands under the running water, and then splashed the cool liquid on her face a couple of times while thinking about the old man she ran into a minute ago.

That old man… he's clearly a devil fruit user. I have no doubt about that, but was all the power coming from the fruit or from him? He's clearly a strong opponent, but I feel like there's something else there. He was checking me out. I bet he has observation haki too. That would be the only reason he was looking at me like that through blind eyes. But still, what about when Zoro said my name? His eyebrows lifted up. Perhaps he's followed along with our adventures. My name has been in the papers quite a lot since I got my bounty. I wonder if he's possibly a bounty hunter. Or, worse, a marine. He wasn't wearing a soldier's uniform, but that doesn't mean anything. He could have left it behind so he could check out the town without drawing attention to himself. Neo shook her head. Stop. Don't worry about it. You'll only stress out yourself and put Law on alarm if you do. You've already worried him enough today. Just put it out of your mind. Who ever that old man actually is, he's not an immediate danger to the Straw Hats or me. So we're fine. Let it go for now.

With a deep breath, she summoning a wind crystal and turning the water off. She floated a light breeze around her face to dry off the water droplets left behind. She took one last glance in the mirror before heading back out to her friends. Opening the door to the bathroom, she was met by a middle aged woman carrying a child. Both women were startled at the sudden appearance of the other. The woman said, "I'm sorry. You startled me."

"I was startled as well. Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have opened the door so quickly. Here, let me hold it open for you," Neo said, her eyes dropping to the black pigtailed girl in the woman's arms while she stepped to the side. She tilted her head when an image of herself holding a baby popped into her head. It made her heart flutter with excitement and fear. Her breath hitched in her lungs.

"Thank you very much," the woman said.

"Ank ou!" the child chirped.

"That was very good, Mia," the woman praised. "You're growing up to be such a polite young girl. Isn't it refreshing to hear young children with good manners? I could be biased, since I'm her aunt, but still. Hey, are you okay? You look a bit pale."

Neo forced herself to release the breath she didn't know she was holding. She smiled then said, "Yes, I'm okay. I was just… I'm not really that good with kids. But, yes, manners are a good thing."

"Indeed it is. Have a good day," the woman said as she disappeared into one of the stalls with the child.

"Yeah. You too," Neo mumbled. She walked away from the bathroom, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. That was so weird. This whole day has been weird. First I walk off without Law and without a word to him, then that whole thing with that old man, now seeing myself holding a child? I think I'm going to need a seriously long nap after we leave Dressrosa.

"Hey! There you are!" Luffy said once she got close enough. He patted the empty seat beside him. "We saved you a seat!"

"Thanks, guys," Neo replied. Just as she stepped up to the table, Sanji pulled out the chair for her. "Thanks, Sanji."

"My pleasure," Sanji replied. "We went ahead and ordered. I hope that's okay. I knew you were really hungry and wouldn't want to wait very long."

"That's fine," Neo said, glancing down at the drink before her.

"We got you sweet tea since that's your favorite," Luffy informed her.

"I hope it's not too sweet for you," Sanji added.

Neo picked up the glass. She brought the straw up to her lips and took a small sip of its faded brown liquid. She let the drink linger on her tongue before swallowing. She said, "It's not too bad, just a bit sweeter than I usually drink it, but it's very nice. If I'm not mistaken, the brand of sugar used is really high quality."

"Really?" Sanji asked.

"Yup." Neo nodded. "Thank you for ordering it for me."

"Glad to hear it," Sanji said.

"Are you feeling better, Lady Neo?" Kin'emon said. "Sir Zoro informed us that you were feeling ill."

"Yes, I'm fine," Neo replied with a smile for the samurai.

"What happened?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not really sure. But you should know something about that old man that came into the room a few minutes ago," Neo said. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at the old man. He was still at the gambling table.

"What about him?" Sanji asked.

"He's a devil fruit user," Neo replied, quietly.

"Seriously?" Zoro asked. His eyes shot over to the old man. "No wonder I had a strange feeling about him before."

"What kind of devil fruit does he have?" Franky asked. "Can you tell?"

"I'm not really sure, but I think it has something to do with gravity," Neo replied.

"Gravity?" Sanji questioned. He glanced back over at the old man.

"I felt a really heavy feeling from him when he was outside of the door. There's something dangerously strong about him," Neo said. She gave each of her friends a look of concern. "I don't believe we're in danger from him, at least right now, but if it does turn out that we have to fight him, please be careful."

"Don't worry, Neo. We'll be careful," Sanji said.

"I wonder how strong he really is," Luffy said.

"You idiot!" Sanji, Zoro, and Franky shouted with a smack to Luffy head. "Don't you dare!"

"What? What'd I say?" Luffy asked, turning his eyes back to his friends.

"You're so silly, Luffy. A strong person approaches and you want to attack it head on whether or not they're a threat," Neo said, suppressing a giggle. "You and your crew's style is definitely different from my own crew. We're way more cautious than you guys are."

"Hold on a second there, kid," Zoro said. "We are cautious. It's our brainless captain that throws caution to the sea kings."

"That's super true. Luffy's always dragging us into trouble," Franky said, leaning back in his chair he put his hands behind his head and thought about all the trouble his captain had pulled them into. "But, at the same time, it's fun. And we're still alive so I can't really complain."

"See? It always works out!" Luffy grinned.

"Only because we're extremely lucky!" Sanji and Zoro shouted.

"Hey! Neo! Watch this!" Luffy said before taking the straw of his drink into his mouth. He drew in air then blew bubbles into his drink.

"Geez. He's such a child," Zoro scoffed.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded. He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He smiled at his captain and the young woman sitting between them. "But at least he's keeping Neo entertained."

Neo had her arms crossed over the table, her straw was in her mouth as she intently watched Luffy blow bubbles into his drink. She watched as he blew rapidly until the bubbles almost spilled over the top, let them drop back down, then bubbled them up again. Smothering a giggle, she started blowing into her own drink. Both her and Luffy's eyes sparkled with a silent challenge. They then started blowing bubbles into their drink to see who could reach the top without causing their drinks to spill over. They were so drawn into their game they didn't notice the samurai with them growing aggravated. Neo jumped, spilling a bit of her tea, when the samurai slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

Luffy also jumped at the sudden loud bang. He asked, "What are you doing?! What's wrong?!"

"I do not have time for this kind of foolishness!" Kin'emon replied. "I need to look for Kanjuro as soon as possible!"

"Whoa-whoa, relax," Franky said. He reached out and patted the samurai's shoulder. "I know we need to hurry, but we can't just take off through the town. We need information on this place. Besides, you startled Neo with that outburst and caused her to spill her tea."

"Apologizes, Lady Neo." Kin'emon sat back down and bowed his head to her. "I did not mean to startle you. It's just that I…"

"No need to apologize," Neo said, her tone soft and understanding while she mopped up her mess with her napkin and forced herself to ignore his bowed head. "I can understand your frustration. I hate it when my crew gets separated from me and I don't know where they are or what's happening to them. It's natural that you feel so impatient. But, Franky's right. We need to find information on the factory. If we don't, we could be walking into trouble or just wandering the city aimlessly. I promise, we will find him."

"I understand," Kin'emon said. He gave Neo another bow of his head before sitting back in his chair. "You are very kind and patient."

"And speaking of patient," Sanji said while he looked around the room at all the happy people and toys. "Don't you find it strange how the people are being so calm? I mean their king just abdicated from the throne this morning. I was sure there would be more confusion and chaos through out the town. But everyone's carrying on like it's just another day of the year."

"Is it possible that they don't know yet?" Neo asked.

"No, that's not possible," Franky replied.

"Why not?" Neo questioned.

"The people seem happy to have Doflamingo as their ruler. So, if he were to suddenly leave the throne, then they would be upset and be demanding answers," Franky explained.

"I'd assume it would be like how the elementals felt when you refused the throne to your own kingdom," Sanji whispered while leaning closer to Neo's ear. "People tend to get pretty upset when their royalty suddenly abandons them without any answers as to why."

"Oh." Neo nodded. She stared down into her tea and thought about how upset her people were when she refused to take the throne. "My people were upset when I didn't want to rule over them. But they did calm down after I told them the reason why I didn't want to stay on Luminous and got to know me, Law, and our crew."

"Let's just ask someone then," Luffy said, turning to the man at the next table beside them. He reached for the man and called for him. "Hey, pops! I've got a question for you!"

"Don't do that, you idiot!" Sanji screamed.

Neo ducked down just as Sanji stood up and dropped his foot on top of his captain's head. With a nervous blink at Sanji's leg in front of her face, she said, "Uh…"

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Luffy demanded, rubbing his throbbing head while turning a sharp glare at his cook. "I was just going to ask what was happening here! Nothing wrong with that!"

"Why don't you think for once?! Your ugly mug was on the front page of the newspaper this morning!" Sanji shrieked. "We're not supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves!"

"Says the one who kicked our captain and is shrieking at the top of his lungs," Zoro said, casually.

"What did you say?!" Sanji demanded. "Do you wanna take this outside?!"

Before Zoro could answer, and escalate their fight, cymbals bang together right next to their table. The group looked up to see another marionette toy, a monkey styled one, holding their meals in his hands and arms. He said, "Here's your order. Thank you for waiting… or not."

"Finally! Here it comes! I couldn't wait any longer!" Luffy exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Dress Shrimp Paella! Rose Squid Ink Pasta! And Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho!" the toy said as he placed the dishes down on the table.

"Wow! Everything looks so yummy! Let's eat!" Luffy said, already with a plate of food in his hands. He scooped up a fork and started shoveling it in at an impressive speed. "Yum-yum! So good! Hurry up and try some, Neo! It's incredible!"

"Sanji? What's Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho?" Neo asked as she inspected the dish in Sanji's hands just as curiously as he was. "I've never heard of it before. I see onions, tomatoes…"

"I haven't heard of this particular dish either. But Gazpacho is typically a soup made of raw vegetables and served cold," Sanji replied. He then turned to the toy that brought them their meal. "Excuse me, uh, sir, but what exactly is Fairy Pumpkin Gazpacho?"

"Um, that's… in this country, we still believe in a myth about fairies!" the monkey toy said. "Or not! That dish was named in their honor."

Neo watched and listen to the toy with peaked interest while she filled her plate with some of the pasta dish that it brought. She then picked up her fork and twirled it into her pasta before taking a bite. She chewed on it thoughtfully as she thought about the toy's words. Swallowing before she asked, "Fairies and myths?"

"What kind of myth?" Luffy asked through his mouthful of food.

The toy banged its cymbals before he said, "Well, people around here claim to see fairies! Or not!"

"They see fairies?" Sanji asked. "No way. Fairies don't exist."

Feeling suddenly playful, Neo poked Sanji in the ribs and gave him an innocent grin when he looked at her. Whispering she said, "I can be considered a fairy."

"Uh." Sanji blinked and laughed nervously. "I suppose you are correct. I'm sorry."

"Yes! It is interesting, is it not?" the toy said, bent down to Sanji's face, getting a little too close for the cook's comfort. It banged its cymbals multiple times while speaking. "This has been going on for centuries! Even though most of us haven't seen them, they do exist! People call those fairies the guardian deities of Dressrosa! Or not!"

Taking more bites of her food, Neo watched the toy carefully. Her body was still riddled with a ton of playfulness. She ran her eyes over the toy as if she was trying to figure out how the thing was moving and talking on its own. Suddenly, she dropped her fork then turned around in her seat. Getting up on her knees, she leaning over the back of her chair and grabbed a hold of the toy's mouth. Pulling it towards her, she said, "How are you talking?"

"Huh?!" Sanji, Zoro, and Kin'emon gasped at the sudden, out of character, bold move that Neo just did.

"Ha ha! She's so funny!" Luffy laughed at Neo's antics.

"Super cute!" Franky added with a laugh of his own.

"W-at ar- u do-ng?" the toy tried to ask while simultaneously trying to escape from her grasp. The wiggling caused Neo's chair to tip over onto its back legs. Sanji gasped. Throwing out his arms, he grabbed a hold of the chair's back with one hand while wrapping his free arm around Neo's waist.

"Neo! What are you doing?!" Sanji asked.

"I want to know how you can talk like that and move like that!" Neo said while trying to peer inside of the toy's mouth. She tugged on its jaw, its arms, and its strings before going back to its mouth. "Are you a robot? Or maybe a cyborg? Or someone in a costume? There's so many of you around the town! Tell me how this is possible! I really, really want to know! Did someone make you all?"

"Oh, isn't that cute!" a woman squealed. "The little girl wants to play with the toy!"

"Well, she's in the right place for that," the man beside the woman said. "But she's playing a bit too rough, don't you think?"

"Leave her alone, dear," the woman said, she smacked her apparent husband on the arm. "She's not hurting anything."

"I think the toy would disagree," the man grumbled.

"Do something, you stupid cook!" Zoro hissed, glancing at the people around them. "She is drawing attention to us!"

"Don't call me stupid, moron! I'm trying!" Sanji said, still trying to keep Neo from falling over. "Neo, please, leave the toy alone now!"

"But I want to know how this thing is speaking and moving on it's own!" Neo replied, keeping her eyes and hands on the toy. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"I d-n't kn-w! N-w et nee go!" the toy pleaded.

"Did he say he didn't know?" Zoro asked.

"If these toys are intelligent, how could they not know?" Franky asked. "Didn't someone tell them?"

"I do not know," Kin'emon said.

"Come on! Tell me! Please?" Neo asked, turning on her charms. She tugged the toy closer to her face and batted her eyelashes at it.

"Good grief," Sanji said with a huff as he struggled to keep Neo from falling out of her chair and on top of the toy. If that happened, he wasn't sure what Neo would do to the toy. "Neo, if you do not release that toy right this second… you… you will not be allowed to play with the next dog you see!"

"Huh?" Neo stopped pulling on the toy and looked at Sanji. "I won't get to play with the puppies?"

"No, you won't," Sanji said, loosening his hold on her when it was clear she wasn't going to struggle away or pull on the toy anymore. "Now, are you going to release him and behave? Your meal is getting cold."

"Okay!" Neo relented. She released the toy completely and it scampered away from them. She sat back down in her chair with an innocent, almost angelic, smile. "I'll behave! I'll behave! I promise!"

"Good girl," Sanji said with relief. He patted her on the hat before sitting down himself.

"Ah! Well, you travelers, please take care of yourselves! Or not! I'm out of here before she decides she wants to tear me apart!" the toy screamed as it stumbled back from the pirates.

"I'm kind of shocked that worked. Why didn't you just forbid her from having dessert if you were going to treat her like a child?" Franky asked. He pushed his sunglasses up from his eyes and took a closer look at Neo. "That was extremely odd behavior for her. I never expected her to reach out and grab anyone, toy or other wise, like that."

"Well, it looks like she's completely comfortable with the toys now," Zoro said before taking another bit of his meal. He chewed on it while watching Neo happily devour her pasta while humming to herself. "And that's a good thing… I think. Might not be if she's going to go around assaulting toys like that."

"Neo's not big on sugar since she didn't grow up eating it," Sanji replied to Franky. "That's why she only drinks lightly sweeten tea. If she eats too much of it, she'll get sick. So forbidding dessert really wouldn't have much effect on her. It was much simpler and more effective to ban her from what she really loves. And that would be animals, besides Law and her crew. As for her behavior, I believe playfulness is part of elemental, uh… you know. That thing we were talking about earlier concerning her."

The pirates and samurai carefully glanced at Luffy. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the rubber man was far too interested in his food than their conversation. They all then lean in towards each other over the table. Franky said, "That makes sense. No point in forbidding dessert if she doesn't want it to begin with. But what did you mean about the playfulness being part of an elemental pregnancy?"

"It's mostly a guess. Law mentioned it when he was listing off Neo's odd behavior back on the Sunny when we were talking about this," Sanji whispered.

"So her pregnancy symptoms are going to be different from a human's?" Kin'emon asked.

"Some is, I assume. Some that Law listed off when we were on the ship were identical to human symptoms," Sanji replied. "But considering she's not human, it makes sense that her some of her symptoms will be different from what we're use to."

"This is just so weird," Franky said as they all turned their eyes to the inhuman woman with them. "I think I'm going to want to read up on her culture. It sounds like it might have some super interesting events in it."

"Yeah. I think I want to as well," Sanji said with a nod. "It might be best for all of us to do that, especially since we're in an alliance now."

"Don't you think that's a little presumptuous?" Zoro asked.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked.

"We're only allies with the Heart Pirates until we take down Kaido," Zoro pointed out. "She might have offered books to you and Robin, but they haven't even told us where her home island even is. They might not want us to know about her culture since we'll go back to being enemies after our common goal is finished."

"You're forgetting one thing," Sanji said with a frown.

"I'm not forgetting anything!" Zoro snapped.

"You're forgetting our brainless captain," Sanji said. He jerked his thumb towards their glutton of a captain. The men turned their glazes to the rubber man just as he shoved an entire lobster into his mouth then gave Neo a lobster smile before chewing and swallowing it. Neo smiled and clapped for Luffy eating the thing and not choking on it.

"Watch this, Neo!" Luffy said. He forked the lobster and shoved it into his mouth.

"Eek! Don't choke, Luffy!" Neo gasped.

Luffy smiled at her. He chewed the lobster up and swallowed it then smiled again at Neo.

"That was incredible!" Neo clapped. "You're crazy, Luffy!"

"You think so?" Luffy laughed.

"I know so. You eat food like Godfather drinks alcohol," Neo said.

"Probably. Shanks and his crew sure can drink," Luffy replied.

"He's never going to let her go now, is he?" Franky asked.

"Not a chance," Sanji said with a sigh. "Especially since he knows that she's Shanks' goddaughter."

"But you two pirate groups are technically enemies," Kin'emon said. "How are you going to be friends and enemies?"

"Trust me, Luffy can easily pull that off," Sanji replied. "He has plenty of friends who are also enemies. It'll be difficult when the time comes for our two crews to fight, but Neo and Law are our friends. Our fight will probably be more of a friendlier, let's see who's the better fighter, type deal. And I highly doubt Neo will fight us herself. She clearly isn't the time to fight someone head on, at full strength, unless they hurt someone she cares about."

"It's going to be interesting to see how this all works out," Zoro said. He sat back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I can't wait until she becomes a better swordswoman so I can spar with her again."

"Is that all your thinking about?! Your next sparing session with her?!" Sanji growled.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Zoro glanced at the cook. "She offered to fight me with her crystals. I want to see how I stand up to her when she's stronger and has more will to fight me head on."

"You are an idiot," Sanji glowered.

"But that reminds me, her pregnancy is why you were so concerned about our sparing session back on the Sunny, wasn't it?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

"So you've pretty much known about this whole thing since she and Trafalgar set foot on the Sunny?" Franky asked.

"Pretty much," Sanji replied.

"I don't believe it!"

"How is that possible?!"

"He got it right again! That's fourteen times in a row!"

"So what's going on over there? It's a kind of noisy," Franky said when several people shouted out over the other calm chatter in the room.

"It's just a roulette game. Some blind man is on a winning streak," Zoro replied.

"Huh?" Neo, catching the mention of a blind man, looked to her left towards the excited chatter of the roulette game. Her eyes landed on the purple clad old man that she had run into before. She placed her elbow on the back of her chair and rested her head on her hand while watching the old man. "It's that old guy again. Is he really winning?"

"Looks like it," Sanji replied.

"He did it again!" a voice cried out. "That's fifteen times in a row!"

"Fifteen times, huh? Sounds like he has just as much luck as I do when I play poker with the crew," Neo said, thoughtfully before a small wave of homesickness washed over her. "I miss them. Geez. I hope I don't start crying."

"You have good luck in poker?" Franky asked.

"So I've been told," Neo replied with a smile. Her homesickness faded thanks to the cyborg's question. "I won fifteen times in a row before."

"Remind me to never play with you then," Zoro said. "I'm broke often enough as it is."

"No worries. Law doesn't let me play for money anyway," Neo replied.

"He doesn't?" Zoro asked. His eyebrows lifted up on his forehead.

"Nope. I don't mind. I don't want to take my crew's money anyway. They're my family. I'd feel guilty for taking their money that I'd just give it back at the end." Neo smiled. She reached across the table and plucked a shrimp off the plate then popped it in her mouth. She chewed it sadly while thinking of her crew again. She swallowed then said, "I wonder what they're doing right now."

"Probably missing you like crazy." Sanji placed his hand on top of Law's hat. "Don't get sad now. A little bit longer and we'll be leaving this place. Then we'll be setting sail to Zou where you'll be reunited with your family."

"Yeah. I'll try not to get sad." Neo nodded. She grabbed another shrimp then turned back to watch the old man with curiosity. While nibbling on her shrimp, she watched the old man receive gratitude from those he helped get rich and offerings of some of their winnings. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck perch up when the old man looked in her direction. Or she thought he looked in her direction. With him being blind and still talking to the group around him, she wanted to deny that he really did glance her way. But she could tell that he did. He was looking right at her.

Strangely feeling calm, she settled her chin back on her hand and continued to watch the old man until a group of shady looking men and women walked into the room. At the head of the group was a tall, blonde man wearing a black mask of decent build. He spoke to another man who was stand at the door before they gathered around the old man. Her instincts instantly picked up on the fact that this particular group of people was up to no good. Their overconfident smirks and leering gazes reminded her of a predator locking its gaze on its prey with an intense desire to sink its teeth into the warm blood of its victim. It's a look she has seen many times in other pirates and bounty hunters, a look that Law taught her to keep a close eye out for.

Soon the clicking of the roulette game refilled the air. From where she was sitting she saw the old man place down his bet and call out the color white. When the clicking stop, she could tell just by the looks on the groups faces that the old man really won the round. She didn't have to hear them call out the wrong color to know the truth, but the apparent leader of this group called out the color black. She watched it happen again. One more time, two times, three, four, five times they said the old man lost.

"What's the matter with them?" She heard Sanji asked. But she didn't look at him. She didn't look at anyone. She let Law's hat brim fall over her eyes. Casting a dark shadow over her eyes while her crystals appeared up by the ceiling and the wind picked up outside. She gritted her teeth as a low rumble of thunder released from her. She shot up to her feet. Before she could take a single step, a familiar hand clasped onto her shoulder. She glanced at the owner of the hand.

"Luffy?"

"I'm going with you," Luffy said.

"Thanks, Luffy," Neo replied with a smile. She closed her fingers around his hand when he slipped his warm palm into hers. She then walked off with him without giving the others a glance.

"Is it safe for her to go off with him like that?" Kin'emon asked. "We have no idea who those people are. Or how strong they are."

"She'll be fine. Besides, we're here to back them up if needed," Zoro replied, keeping his eyes locked on Neo.

"Still, I think I'll walk a little closer," Sanji said, standing up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off in Luffy and Neo's direction. "Just in case."

"Geez. They're doing it again," Neo grumbled while her and Luffy walked closer to the gambling table. She scanned her eyes over the people ripping off the old man. Carefully studying their shapes and sizes and possible skill level, she knew she could instantly beat them with her crystals. But they were trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. And using her crystals would really draw attention to them. And none of them looked to be devil fruit users, so she figure she would be fine facing them in hand to hand combat if it came to that. Besides, she had the Straw Hats and Kin'emon behind her. So she let herself relax and follow Luffy's lead while keeping her sense open to make a move if necessary.

"White!" Luffy said, making Neo jump from her thoughts.

"Huh?! Who the heck are you?!" Neo glanced up at the man who spoke. It was the blonde man with the black mask who had been the main one lying to the old man. Her eyes slightly widened when she sense another man closing in on her from her right side.

"Hey! You two! Get out of here!" the second man said.

Neo whipped around just as the man started to reach out for her. She clenched her fists, her heart on the verge of taking erratic beats when Sanji's hand shot out and slapped the man's hand away from her. She gasped, "Uh, Sanji."

"Keep your filthy hands to yourself," Sanji said with a sharp glare at the man. "A gentleman should know better than to grab a young lady like that."

"You little…" the man started to say. He flinched when Sanji's already sharp glare sharpened to daggers. He stumbled back. "S-sorry! I won't do it again!"

"Good," Sanji said. He stepped closer to Neo, making sure to keep enough open space for her to escape from if she felt like she needed it.

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said, relieved that no one stranger was going to touch her. She turned just in time to see Luffy raising his fork up high. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought he was going to ram the pointed object into the blonde man's face. She released her held breath when all Luffy did was fork himself another bite of his food. She mentally chuckled. I should have known. Luffy cares more about his food than picking a fight. Besides, he's not the type to stab someone with a fork like that.

"Look again! It's black, you idiot!" the blonde man screamed.

"It's white! Old man, you win!" Luffy shouted.

"What?!" the old man asked.

"You jerk! Stay out of this!" the blonde man hissed.

"That's right! This is none of your business!" a woman said.

"Do you want to get your butt kicked?!" a bald man asked as he and his friends pulled out swords and guns. They aimed them at the pirates.

Neo's eyebrow twitched at the move. But she kept herself calm while eyeing the enemy and possible battle strategies.

"D-did I really win?!" the old man asked.

"Yeah, you win," Luffy replied.

"I don't know who you are, but thank you for your kindness!" The old man smiled.

"No problem. Neo was the one who really wanted to help. Besides, I just said what I saw. That's all," Luffy replied. "I'm glad for you. But, old man, you look really strong-"

"What you're doing is so senseless, you brat!" the blonde man shrieked. "I said that it was black! That means it is black! He can't see anyway so it doesn't matter!"

"You're so annoying!"

"Go away!"

"You jerks! It does too matter! You were cheating him!" Neo shouted, her anger building up in her chest. "How can you act like that?!"

"Shut up, you brat!" a man said. He pointed his sword at her then charged.

Neo flinched when the man ran at her. She jerked to her right when the man swung his sword at her. Great. How am I going to fight him without using my crystals? I can't touch him or I'll freak out. I need some kind of weapon. But what could I use? I don't want to break anything in here.

"Hey! You leave her alone!" Luffy and Sanji shouted.

Neo jumped to her left. She turned to do a roundhouse kick on the man, but stopped when the guy tripped and fell to the floor. She blinked. "Huh? What happened?"

"Oh no, did I trip a boar or something? If so, I'm sorry," the old man said. He then turned in Neo's direction, causing her to flinch. "Are you all right, young lady?"

"Uh, yeah." Neo nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the old man said with a nod of his own. "Please, go back with your friends. I do not wish to harm you with what I'm about to do next."

"Uh, sure," Neo said. She kept her eyes on the old man while skirting around him then glanced around at all of the men surrounding him as she walked over to Sanji and Luffy. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"Dunno," Sanji replied. "Guess we'll see soon enough."

"This is no good. Young man, would you and your friends mind stepping back? I'm going to send these people to hell," the old man said before pulling out a sword from the stick he guided himself with.

"Huh? That walking stick is a sword?" Neo asked.

"Looks like it," Sanji said, guiding her a few steps back from the old man.

"Kill him!" the blonde man shouted.

Neo blinked. She watched as the old man easily dodged the group's attacks and disarmed them with just a few short seconds. Then he just turned around and started walking back through the group in a very calm manner while slowly sliding his sword back into its sheath before his attackers fell to the floor. Crackling and creaking slipped into everyone's ears.

"What did he just do?" Sanji asked.

"Uh." Neo's eyes widened. She stumbled forward.

"Neo!" Sanji shouted. He shot out his arms and grabbed her. "What is it? Are you feeling dizzy again?"
"N-no," Neo stuttered. Struggling to lift herself up, she glanced at the old man. "It's his devil fruit. He used it just now. I can feel the pressure of the gravity he's released. I'll be okay. I just need to adjust to the pressure. There's just so much of it."

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a bit pale," Sanji said, running his eyes over her with concern.

"Yes, Sanji, I'm sure. See?" Neo stood up straight again. "I'm fine. I just need to adjust. I've gotten more use to how devil fruit powers feel, but something, some of them are so strong that I still need a minute to adjust to their power."

"Devil fruits really effect you like that?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why though," Neo replied with a shrug. "I guess it's because a human is manipulating the element of nature, just like that old man did, instead of nature doing it itself. It bothers me a bit when Nami manipulates the weather."

"I think I understand," Sanji said.

"Brace yourself," Neo said. "The floor's about to cave in."

Sanji didn't get a chance to reply. The floor's creaking increased and suddenly broke apart with loud snaps. Screams from the men and women sound out through the room before they fell into the hole that was now occupying the middle of the floor. He put his arm out in front of Neo, guiding her and himself back from the hole even more just in case the damage was greater than the old man had intended for it to be. "What the heck?! What's wrong with that old man?!"

"Well, at least it's ove-Huh?" Neo blinked when she felt the presence of the little creature she felt outside again. She looked around the room for the creature.

"Excuse me, young lady," the old man said.

"Huh? What?" Neo blinked again. She brought her attention to the old man who was now standing in front of her.

"I apologize for the disruption I have caused you," the old man said. "I hope I didn't do any damage to you or yours."

"Damage? Uh, no, I'm not hurt," Neo replied. "None of us are."

"I'm glad. Have a good day," the old man said, turning from her and Sanji. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Maybe. You have a good day too," Neo replied. She watched in confusion as the old man headed walk away from them, stop at the front desk to hand the cashier a piece of paper, before heading for the door. "That was weird. It was kind of like back on Sabaody when the Dark King apologized for using his haki around me."

"Hold on a second, old man! You're really strong! Just who are you?!" Luffy asked.

"I think that it would be better for both you, the woman, and myself if I didn't answer that," the old man replied before disappearing out the door. The door shut with an ominous click, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Quickly following was a tension breaking crash and an angry shout.

"What the heck?! Are you blind?!"

"I-I'm sorry. Did you get hurt?"

"I wonder why he said that," Sanji said. "Do you think he's extraordinarily infamous or something?"

"Whoever he is, he is not an ordinary man," Zoro said.

"Ah! My bag is gone!"

"So is my watch!"

"I can't find my wallet!"

"Oh no! My jacket got stolen, too!"

"Stuff got stolen? In broad daylight? Must have happened while there was dust everywhere!"

"People got robbed?" Neo asked.

"So that old man was a thief?" Sanji wondered.

"But how? We were watching him the whole time. He didn't move from our sight," Neo said. She suddenly gasped. "Ah!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"I forgot! I sensed that creature again!" Neo replied.

"Creature?" Luffy and Sanji asked.

"That strange creature I felt outside just before coming in here," Neo replied.

"Ah! There are only two here!" Zoro then shouted.

"What's the matter?" Kin'emon asked.

"One of my swords is missing!" Zoro replied, picking up his remaining two swords. "My Shusui! It was here just a minute ago!"

"What?! The national treasure of the Wano Kingdom?!" Kin'emon screamed. "Where did it go?! What are you going to do?!"

"They stole from everyone," a drummer toy said. He pounded on his drums before speaking again. "It was fairies who took your stuff."

"What are you talking about?!" Zoro demanded. "Is that the name of a group of thieves?!"

"Fairies are fairies. All you can do is laugh it off and let it go," the toy replied.

"Laugh it off?! I can't just do that!" Zoro snapped. "It's my sword and I want it back."

Guardian deities? Fairies? Why would anyone just look away from someone stealing from people like that? What if they stole something very important? It doesn't make sense. I wonder if there's more behind this whole thieving fairies thing. I bet there is. People are far too relaxed about this. Neo blocked out the people in the restaurant at that point. She scanned her eyes over the room, trying to locate the creature that she knew was still there. It's moving so fast. But what is it? She then found the creature heading towards the window. She shot out her hand and grabbed Zoro's sleeve with one hand while pointing towards the window with her other hand. "Zoro! There!"

"Huh? What?" Zoro asked, turning from his argument with Kin'emon.

"Your sword!" Neo replied.

"Huh?" Zoro looked to where she was pointing. He blinked at a brown bag bouncing across the floor then leaped up to the open window where it got caught because of his sword. He dashed off towards the supposed fairy. "You got far too greedy, fairy! You won't get away from me!"

"Zoro! Where are you going?!" Luffy asked.

"Zoro! Wait! I'll come with you!" Neo announced while running after him.

"What?! No!" Sanji freaked. He ran after the two as fast as he could. "Neo! Come back! If you go with him, you'll get lost and we'll never see you again!"

"Wait a second, Zoro! Geez! He's so reckless!" Neo gasped as Zoro ignored her calls and busted right through the window. She followed him without thinking. Tapping her foot on the window sill, she leaped out the window and landed on the ground with ease. She shot herself back up and quickly followed after Zoro through the town. "Hey! Zoro!"

"Neo! Where did it go?!" Zoro demanded.

"Left!" Neo replied, catching up to the swordsman when he paused. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down the alley where the creature was heading.

"I see it! Your skills sure do come in handy!" Zoro said.

"Thanks. I can fly us, if you want," Neo said. "It would be fast than running."

"Hold off on that for now! I won't let that thing get away from me!" Zoro replied.

"Neo! Wait!" Sanji cried from behind them.

"Sanji!" Neo smiled over her shoulder. "You followed us!"

"Of course I did! Do you have any idea how lousy Zoro is with directions?!" Sanji replied.

Neo smiled at the cook before turning her eyes back in front of her. She locked her senses onto the creature to make sure she didn't lose it.

Silver Pride: You are correct. That's why I had Mingo say to wait until Luffy was in the coliseum. When I get the chance I'll fix that part of the chapter so it's more clear.

Inazumame1997: Okay. We'll have to see when we get there where that part goes.

Apple Bloom: More coming.

Suteruben: If you see this, I PMed you from your comment. So my reply for you is there.