Naia couldn't decide if things were going well or crumbling when she had returned to the cabin the night before; there weren't two sounds of breathing but three. Naia had peaked into the boy's room to find their beds pushed together. Bandages were half haphazardly wrapped around their bodies, but the wounds didn't look life-threatening. From that moment on, the three of them did just about everything together. What changed? Naia had no idea. As far as she knew, Bluejam hadn't made a move, and neither had Sabo's parents, so when Naia asked, all she got were quiet giggles and a staring contest. Ace still seemed to hold reserves toward Luffy and her, but he was present for the lessons and wasn't glaring at everything. The boy was more open to Shanks, however. All three would sit for hours to listen to the man's stories about sailing, his battles, and his time as a cabin boy with Gol D Roger.

"Ace seems to be lightening up," Benn mused, "He's not as angry as he once was."

"I don't know what happened, but the boys came back one night, all three of them, practically inseparable." Naia shrugged. "I'm not going to question it. I'm just glad Ace is no longer trying to kill Luffy."

"Trying to kill him?!" Benn choked out. Naia nodded solemnly.

"Naia! You've got mail!" Makino shouted, coming to a halt next to her. Naia pressed her brows together in confusion. No one should know she was here, and Garp had a Den Den Mushi to contact her with, but the seal on the envelope showed it was from the Marines.

"Naia? Aren't you out of work for the time being?" Benn asked as he studied the envelope.

"I am, and Garp has other ways of contacting me." Naia flicked out a small knife before tearing open the letter.

To: Moriarty V Naia,

The newly appointed Admiral, Akainu, requests you to accompany him to the Annual Marine Summer Ball. He will be awaiting your response. Please send it as soon as possible.

Naia crushed the letter in her hands. She knew he was taking an interest in her but this invite? It didn't feel like he invited her, but more of his subordinates changed the language to make it seem like a request when it was a demand.

"What is it?" Shanks attempted to pluck the letter from her hand, but Naia tightened her grip.

"Don't you know it's rude to try and steal people's mail!"

"Yeah but you don't look happy to have it, so I was going to take it off your hands," Shanks smirked. Naia glared at him but instead shoved it into the pocket of her skirt.

"Boys! Let's finish today's lesson and then you can bug this idiot until midnight!" The boys cheered as they followed her out of the bar. Naia could feel the heated glare of Makino as she walked out. She had hoped the fun she had had with Benn during Ace's welcoming party would have given her someone else to cling to, but apparently, Makino was still holding onto her jealousy over the red-haired pirate. Naia shook her head at such thoughts. It was best to keep her mind on the lesson ahead. The boy's studies had evolved to include: strategic planning, literature, navigation, even some lessons in cooking, and while Luffy grasped some of these concepts, he was someone who needed a full crew. Ace was in a similar boat, but Sabo seemed to grasp everything thrown his way.

At some point, some of the Red Hair Pirates had started to join in on her lessons. They all seemed to love her lectures on literature and poetry, coming to crowd around the little boys as they listened to her read. Shanks would keep a slight distance away, but his body angle suggested he was listening carefully. Today was no different as she set about opening their reading books. They had moved from picture books to smaller chapter books. Naia had settled on a few fairy tales to help inspire the boys while teaching them to read.

"Once upon a time, while riding, a brave, young prince dashed merrily ahead of his friends, and after galloping across a ploughed field, turned his horse's head down a grassy road leading to a wood. For some time, he cantered easily along, expecting any moment to hear the shouts and halloos of his friends following after; but they by mistake took quite another road, and no sound except the pounding of his courser's hoofs reached the Prince's ear. Suddenly an ugly snarl and a short bark broke the stillness of the pleasant forest, and looking down, the Prince saw a gray wolf snapping at his horse's heels," Naia recited. She waited a moment before she had the boys repeat a sentence back to her, letting them stumble across a word, showing them how to break it down and imply its meaning. They were making quick progress; although, Sabo was years ahead of them. She kept him on the same stories, just advanced versions or older versions with difficult wordings.

"Though the horse, wild with fear, threatened to run away any instant, the Prince leaned over and struck the wolf with his whip. Hardly had he done so, when an angry voice cried, 'How dare you strike my pet?' A little distance ahead, a wicked old witch stood at one side of the road. With its tail between its legs, the wolf cowered close to her skirts and showed its long yellow fangs.'Pet, indeed!' cried the Prince. 'Keep him away from my horse, or I will strike him again.' 'At your peril, Prince,' answered the witch. And then, as the Prince turned his horse's head and galloped back, she called out, 'You shall rue this day! You shall rue this day!'"

The pirate crew slowly made their way closer to the small group, trying to hear the story better. Shanks ended up taking a spot next to her, leaning into her side as she read. Makino stayed up on the hill as her customers filtered out to listen. Her eyes filled with anger and her skin took on a green hue as she watched.

"Now, by the time the Prince had arrived at the ploughed field and the great road again, his friends had galloped on so far that they were lost to sight. Thinking that he might overtake them by following a shorter road, he turned down a byway skirting the wood in which he had encountered the enchantress-"

"Does anyone need any refills or anything to eat?" Makino's voice cut through the comfortable silence that had befallen the crowd. Naia glanced up at the barmaid, who was all but glowering down at her. "Naia, shouldn't you be teaching the boys not performing a pirate crew. What would Garp say?"

Naia felt Shanks tense next to her as the air stilled with Makino's anger. Naia tilted her head in confusion, as did Luffy, highly unusual. Makino rarely let her emotions get the best of her.

"O-Of course. Boys, let's continue this at the cabin and leave the crew to their… Whatever they were doing before we swooped in." Naia felt Luffy grip her hand as they made their way through the village.

"That wasn't very fair of her," Ace stated.

"Or nice. All you were doing was reading," Sabo agreed.

"All is fair in love and war," Naia quoted.

"Are you at war with Makino?" Ace gazed up at her. "I thought you were friends, and friends don't turn their backs on each other."

"Makino likes Shanks, but Shanks like Naia," Luffy hummed. "I think she's conflicted, though; her voice sounds off. Benn's too."

"Her voice?" Naia echoed. Luffy nodded, and Naia was perplexed. Wouldn't he show this power? This intuition until later in life? Naia guessed being 24 in the body of a 7-year-old could progress certain aspects a lot quicker by having a developed mentality. Naia's hand reached into her pocket for the letter. Luffy would want to see it, no doubt. Her hand slipped in only to feel nothing but fabric. Naia's eyes widened. The letter was gone! Not good!

"Naia! Let's finish the story." She would have to go searching for it later. Luffy tugged her into the living room, where they settled onto the couch, books in hand.

Story:

The Enchanted Elm From "The Firelight Fairy Book" by Henry Beston