Author's Notes: I guess last chapter was too mushy romantic, so we'll go back to chaotic moments with the Spades instead. :/ Oh, well. Good learning lesson, though. It doesn't look like you, guys, have a problem with Nesi and Ace's relationship. It's more you prefer the "unspoken feelings" part of it as you're simultaneously learning about Nesi. So, note taken. I'll keep that in mind going forward.

This clip's a funny one as there's no romance, just a bunch of bros playing with a girl's clothes. XD If I get anymore supporters, I'll do another clip of Shanks since Nesi does travel with him for a while. I won't do the clip with Boa Hancock, after all. It gets into the main story's politics, and I'd rather save that for the future if I can get more people interested. In the meantime... Enjoy! ;-D

~ ... Nee-san's Panties ... ~

Laundry day on the Bloody Doubloon usually wasn't so bad; in fact, every now and then, one of the boys would simply visit Nesi's laundry room or the cannon room, where a few of her belongings were being moved out in favor of storage for cannonballs and other equipment, to smell her fragrances or just chill around her while she folded their clothes. On this night, however, they got curious. No one's ever seen Nesi outside of her clothes, not even in the bathing room. She pretty much covered up in her tub or dressed in men's attire with exception to her skirt. On this night, it was a wintry night, so Ace and his chosen few went out to find shelter outside of the ship. Although the upgrades to the ship were nice, those walls were not weather resistant. Ace figured he'd just find a vacant cave to setup camp in since that's how he met up with Shanks, and the party he threw in his when Ace revealed he was Luffy's brother was pretty cozy. The boys agreed that it was a nice little setup, so they went in search of a nice cave during the day. Nesi and Baragon were frequently occupying the kitchen and laundry room for fires when it got too cold. She had been complaining about feeling much colder than usual, especially since she typically loved winter and being able to frolic in the snow. Now, she felt paralyzed and stiff.

Nesi was wearing warm, thick clothes as opposed to the boys. She was able to stitch warm pants for everyone during the tail end of summer, but Discount was such a large fellow of the Spades crew. His seven-foot height made for some large pants! Trying to fit Discount for winter attire while constructing doors for the potential shelter of caves proved to be quite the challenge for Nesi. Luckily, she had Deuce and Corale as helpers while Triska watched Baragon in the kitchen. He had to package the foods in boxes anyway. The Spades were definitely interested in how Nesi was going to build their camp for the harsher winters when they couldn't travel due to icy waters, but they remarked in the privacy of their talks that Ace almost always tried to shower with Nesi and/or be around whenever it was laundry day. They had yet to discover Ace's type of girl, so they came to the assumption that Nesi must be stacked or something. There had to be some reason beyond friendship for Ace, a fairly handsome youngster, to want to stick around Nesi, a cute prude.

Ace and his group succeeded in finding a rather large cave. The captain took great joy in battling the beasts within said cave, so, of course, the ship rattled and groaned when he unleashed his powers on the miserable souls. Nesi went to work scaling the cave with Ace to make tunnels and install doors where necessary. The cave was inside of a small mountain, so the two had to be careful not to blast too much and have the supporting roof topple on them. While they were away, the boys raided Nesi's belongings.

"Man, this is so lame!" Deuce groaned, tossing up a shirt in the air. "Nee-san's got nothing good in here! It's all dude stuff!"

"Didja check the captain's cabin?" Cuatro asked.

"Twice," Deuce grumbled, flopping on his butt. "Triska already went through the laundry and her room. Nothing!"

"Didn't Discount steal like three ladies' magazines with catalogs in them?" Cuatro asked, raising his eyebrows at the 'catalogs' part. "She had plenty of inspiration to stitch a few things."

"Geez, guys, let her dress comfortable. She's the only girl on here. She probably thinks it's weird having that stuff around," Corale defended.

"You're just as curious," Deuce and Cuatro said simultaneously with a deadpan look in their eyes.

"Oh, whatever!" Corale remarked, turning away from them to gather all of the thicker blankets and sheets. Idiots. "How long are we hidin' out for the winter anyway?"

"'Til it's safe to sail without freezin' the man-berries," Deuce replied, packing away all valuables in case of raiders.

"... Think nee-san will be mad if we wore her clothes?" Triska asked, sitting down with his legs and arms folded. The men just looked at him like he had gone mad before he asked with a raised brow, "What?"

"You wanna wear lacy panties?" Cuatro asked.

"No! I... just wanna wear the skirt, honestly," Triska replied, scratching his head. Was that really so weird? "I mean it's fluffy as all hell, but it looks comfortable. Nee-san wears regular pants underneath it anyways. An apron on top if she's cooking. Maybe that's the secret to her food tastin' so damn good."

"When you relate it to the food, possible. Anything else, questionable," Deuce said.

"You don't think captain has her girly underwear, do you? Nee-san did make that wardrobe closet for him. I wouldn't think to look in there," Corale suggested, putting a fist to his jaw with thought.

"Dudes! Get in here!" one of the older crewmates most loyal to Ace shouted. His name was Shinzō, a man with a good heart who was impressed by Ace's strong will when they met. He was in his younger captain's cabin, waiting for the boys to trickle in, and raised a prize find in his hands. It was a pair of lace, black panties. He then said, "Behold..."

"Dude..." Cuatro responded after a long silence.

"What do they feel like, uncle?" Deuce asked, mouth open at the fabled underpants of the lone female crewmember.

"Soft," Shinzō replied, stretching the fabric a bit.

"What do they smell like?" a voice whispered.

Shinzō took a sniff and then replied, "Vanilla and honey. Oh, like my shirts actually. I like the almond milk that goes with that. Calming."

"Nice," Nesi hissed, summoning a grotesque amount of haki out of fury.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

BAM! POP! SMASH!

The floor scrubber sighed frustratedly as she tossed a perfectly fine pair of underwear in her personal fire for warmth. Her own captain, a traitor. He promised not to do anything to her, and he goes and steals her undergarments out of "curiosity". Why didn't he put them back if that was the case? Oh, yeah, because he thought she'd cry. Well, no, Ace! She's not crying! In fact, she finally has her own "room" in this stupid cave! Nothing's sacred on this stupid ship anymore. She was doomed to wearing men's clothes forever. Locking all her cave doors, Nesi cuddled in her bed to read while Baragon made noises to try to talk to Nesi.

"Oh, don't stay up for my sake, snookums," Nesi said sweetly, scratching under his chin. "You've been so tired since winter came. Your species must hibernate around this time. Why don't you sleep, my Baragon? I'll protect you."

Baragon scrunched up his nose at the suggestion, but his eyes drifted closed to rest as he sat up. Eventually, Nesi would join him in slumber. She reasoned that with her transformation from the fake Devil Fruit came a hibernation period that she had to adhere to, so she would do all she could before nature inevitably consumed her. Step one to being a Baragon, start. A knock on the door disturbed them both, and they turned to it with suspicion. Nesi closed her book, rose to her feet, and opened the door's flap to see... Ace. He was pouting.

"Yes, captain?" she asked, squinting her eyes with some residual anger from before.

"... I'm sorry..." Ace grumbled, shoulders slumping from having to do this.

"For?" Nesi questioned.

"Hoarding your underwear," he replied like a punished child.

"Why did you even think it was a good idea to keep 'em? I get the whole 'boys being curious' thing, but that doesn't mean I want to be part of that or that I'm excusing you from that. You want me to see you like a man? You're going to have to be accountable. That kind of stuff is dangerous to a girl! We're already looked at as inferior. Don't make it worse! What gives?" Nesi asked, making Ace flinch a bit.

"I wasn't doing anything with it! I just found 'em sticking out of your trunk and couldn't put 'em back without a key!" Ace replied, arguing much like a scolded child. "I forgot about it afterwards! I promise!"

"You could've told me yourself. That's not good enough," Nesi replied, threatening to close the flap.

"But Makino!" Ace pleaded. He made a cute face that stopped Nesi and made her see the child in him for a change. She closed the flap, opened the door fully, and folded her arms to wait. He did look sorry, but she didn't recognize the name he said, and he seemed more embarrassed that he said it. "I meant Nesi."

"That your mom's name?" Nesi asked softly.

"She took care of me growing up, so I guess so," Ace replied, looking down at his feet. "She always bought me clothes and helped me change out of 'um. I never really saw her change clothes either. She's a bit like you sometimes. You just sew what she would typically buy. You use your money differently."

"... Jolie Clockgale. That's my mother's maiden name," Nesi admitted, making Ace lock eyes with her in surprise. He knew about Nesi's parents but not as much as their names. "She taught me how to sew. Do you miss Makino sometimes? Since you left from home?"

Ace blushed, remembering the times spent in his childhood with her, and said so softly it may as well have been a sweet whisper, "Yeah."

"I'll forgive you this one time since you're being so sweet. I catch you rifling or hoarding my underwear again, I won't hold back on your beating. Understood?" Nesi questioned.

"... Fists of love, you mean," Ace corrected, smirking a bit at the memory of his dysfunctional but beautiful family.

"Aye, fists of love then," Nesi corrected, smiling warmly at her captain. "If you don't mind, I'd like to finish reading my bible. I'll be done with church in two hours."

"Church?" Ace questioned.

"I'm late for communion," Nesi said with a nod.

"What's all that for? I didn't know you were religious," Ace said with a frown.

"To keep my relationships with my family strong and with the Father stronger," Nesi replied, rubbing her arms to warm them. "I shouldn't be long, captain. I don't like to impose my beliefs on others, so I do this in private when you're sleeping. I would've gotten a 'fist of love' myself if I ever crossed the line on things like this. Daddy did a lot of his praying at night. Easier to focus and be calm."

"Isn't that kinda controlling?" Ace questioned.

"Have I ever called you a heretic? heathen? welp?" Nesi asked, earning silence. "Tried to control you or make you convert?"

"No."

"Then you've nothing to worry about. I chose to believe in this. It wasn't forced on me. Daddy respected a lot of people and their views when he was a pirate and sought the same respect from others for his religious choosing as a commoner. He gave me time and space to ask questions so that I could decide how to move spiritually," Nesi explained, blowing air into her hands to warm them. "It wasn't a hard decision to make."

"... Did the angels make panties then?"

"Eh?" Nesi questioned, seeing the conundrum in Ace's eyes. He was really thinking on it.

"Who made underwear? Angels or people?" Ace asked, making Nesi laugh.

"People..." she answered finally.