Here's chapter 11: Party like a Pirate!
Another installment of Dawn of an Era, the last chapter before we hit Loguetown, mostly a bridge chapter, the crew celebrating Arlong's defeat, the conclusion of what will happen with Nami…
I know I said Loguetown next last time, but this time seriously, it's going to be Loguetown next time… Maybe.
And some guest cameos from some fan favorites!
As usual I do not own, make money off or in any way mean disrespect to the brand of One Piece, a story written and drawn by a God.
Enjoy!
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Cocoyashi village,
Kaito had found himself a good spot, feet dangling off the edge of the roof on one of the hut-like dwellings of Cocoyashi village. A bottle of homebrewed alcohol that wasn't half bad in his hand, as he watched the ongoing celebrations with a small smile playing at his lips.
The bonfires lit up the sky, and the smell of roasting fish, meat and fruit filled his nostrils, music and laughter could be heard across the island, but especially here, at Cocoyashi. His crew and the villagers mingling and partying like there was no tomorrow.
Whether Nami and Carina joined them or not, they'd done good work here. Sure, Luffy would have come here in another time, down the road - but how many more of those partying right now would be dead by then?
He fully believed in Shanks words. Kaito truly believed that those choosing to fight, to pick up that gun or sword - they were then entering that world of conflict and could not then whine about people firing back at them. But these villagers weren't pirates, they weren't marines, they weren't an army or a revolution. They were just fishermen, farmers, and villagers, doing their best to get by.
They were in essence, easy pickings, not anything a true pirate would ever bother hassling. Just simple people living a simple life.
What was done to them was nothing but petty cruel abuse, done by people too weak to call themselves real pirates. If anything, Arlong was a farmer of sorts. Hanging around, farming these people, watering them and cutting the chaff when he needed to, ending the bad seeds, as far as he was concerned anyway. Worst of all, was the fact that he was a bad farmer, squeezing more out of them then what they had, leading to diminishing returns.
Leaving nothing to plant for later, no room for growth, just pure wasteful stupid harvesting over and over again.
Kaito glanced at his bottle of booze with some consideration, this must be good stuff, I don't even know where I'm going with this farmer introspection bullshit… He thought.
Well… Either way, they hadn't been pirates in his opinion, bandits maybe. When you set out to sea, you told the world you were risking your life, tossing it all on the line. Those 'pirates' that just tortured and murdered civilians for the hell of it, weren't worthy of the name - they were just bandits or common criminals. Kaito wasn't nearly as much of an anime protagonist as Luffy and the Straw Hats - he certainly would plunder a well to do village or town. But this was not such a town, these were not such people.
He wouldn't rape and kill defenseless people no matter what, he wouldn't take everything they had and burn down the rest. Freedom and adventure was what he sought, and that sometimes necessitated some aggressive borrowing of supplies - something that should not necessitate a massacre.
Kaito knew at some point they'd come into conflict with civilians in such a manner, but he'd make sure it was wealthy ones. The kind that could afford a loss, the kind that grew fat lording it over the common man - the kind that needed to be taken down a peg.
Sure, some people were likely to put up a defense and some lives might be lost in the scuffle, but that was the thing about picking up a weapon, that's what you risked. He'd never be the first to fire against civilians. But he wouldn't let his crew be harmed either.
But there was also no need to be a douche about it all on their side. Buggy and Arlong are gone… Can't say East Blue will miss them any, he mused, feeling he'd done more for the ocean than the marines ever had, just by that.
Baiting Garp into East Blue probably knocked off some of the worst ones as well, as Kaito doubted Garp would simply sail past any known areas of pirate activity. Not when the man could literally take care of it all by himself while sleepwalking, with all his limbs tied behind his back. People in East Blue had a bigger chance at farting and accidentally exploding the moon - then they had at actually taking down Monkey D Garp.
Hell, most people in Paradise or the New World had the same chance. He was just that much of a fucking monster.
Again, that man was brought to this sea through his own actions though, so really, he could plunder his way through to the Grandline now and still come out as the nicest pirate in East Blue for all that he'd gotten done.
He took another deep sip of the alcohol, feeling it burn all the way down. That's how you knew it was a good homebrew, when you couldn't feel your throat or mouth after. Or so Wire had said when he'd shoved the bottle in his hand and told him to go get drunk and have some fun.
… And he'd ended up on a rooftop with random thoughts in his head, just watching the party instead. At least I'm drinking, he thought, taking another burning sip.
"Hey! Is there room for another on that roof?" Someone called out to him, and he looked down at the ground, recognizing the purple hair of Carina, a genuine grin popping up on his face as he could see right down her dress from where he was. " Nice!" He called out with a thumbs up, his eyes focused on the nice sight.
For such a thin girl, she was certainly stacked!
Carina raised an exasperated eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest, "Perv!" She huffed out, but stomped over to the ladder to climb up anyway, not waiting for a reply.
Huh, hadn't even noticed that, I just jumped up, he thought, wondering if people regularly used this roof to hang out. He smirked slightly, wondering if this was a teenage makeout location, probably not, he thought soon after, not unless there's some really exhibitionist teenagers in this village.
Kaito took another long sip of the cloudy booze, having not even given Carina permission to join him up here when he thought about it, but then just like Nami, this girl was pretty self assured and cocky most of the time and saw permission as something for other people.
How pirate like, he thought, but didn't say.
He'd save it for when it would be funnier to point it out.
Soon enough she sat down next to him, gesturing impatiently for the bottle, "Give!" She verbalized soon after, when he still hadn't handed it over.
"Take it slow." Kaito suggested with a half smirk on his face, as he handed over the bottle.
Carina gave him a superior look, cattily tossing her hair back, "I've been drinking for ages, I'm not some wet behind the ears rookie." Her words dripped with disdain and Kaito hid his anticipatory grin.
Kaito let out a full out belly laugh soon after, as Carina's eyes grew impossibly wide and she started coughing and hacking - after she'd chugged the bottle of what he was pretty certain was illegal amounts of pure alcohol - mixed with something sweet.
Or at least he assumed, he sure as hell couldn't taste anything, it had that kind of burn.
He didn't even mind overly much when she threw the bottle to the ground, smashing it, it was almost empty by then anyway. "Not a rookie, huh?" He teased, nudging her shoulder gently.
She huffed, still letting out a small cough as she rubbed her throat with one hand, her voice coming out a little raspy as she replied, "I thought you were drinking booze, not fucking fertilizer or something!"
Kaito shrugged, feeling a nice buzz that just made him mellow and happy, "Wire gave it to me."
Carina coughed again, wincing, "And you're absolutely sure it wasn't an assassination attempt?" She joked weakly.
Kaito laughed, looking over the square where most of the crew was dancing and carousing, "Nah, Wire would stab me in the face if he wanted me dead, besides I'm a pirate, pirates can't die from too much booze." He said matter of factly, giving her a conspiratory grin, like he was sharing some secret with her.
Carina looked at him oddly, her cheeks still flushed from her coughing fit earlier, "That's…" She was obviously going to say something scathing, but managed to switch gears pretty smoothly, although not smoothly enough Kaito didn't notice. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way." She said diplomatically instead.
"As a pirate captain, it works how I say it works." Kaito said easily, "When you get to the new world, that's literally how the world works, you say something, and the world bends around you to conform to your view." Well, the Yonko anyway…
Carina looked a mix between amused and disgruntled, Kaito thought the way she wrinkled her nose in annoyance was pretty cute, and promptly said so.
Carina just put her head in her hands slowly, groaning, "I wanted to have a serious conversation, but you're drunk!" She bitched, looking absolutely unimpressed with the situation.
Kaito scratched his nose, pondering that for a moment, before he tilted his head in slight confusion, "Aren't you a con artist anyway, shouldn't you want your target drunk?" He asked.
Carina growled into her hands, before raising her head again, two red spots on her cheeks, "One, you're not a target. And two… You can't do that if they know you're doing that!" She complained, looking even more flustered.
Kaito nodded seriously, "Right. I've totally forgotten you're a con artist now, it's out of my mind, and I'm just sitting here minding my own business on my lonesome." He said, before snapping his fingers at her, "Go!" Giving her an encouraging look.
As a captain, he should be helpful with all attempts to get better at criminal activities that his crew mates wanted to attempt, or crew guests or whatever he could classify Carina as, he supposed.
Carina looked to the sky, as if praying for divine intervention. Kaito joined her, squinting up at the stars, raising an arm to point at one, "It might just be the booze talking, but I think that one might listen to you, it's wiggling in a funny way." He suggested helpfully.
"Ohmygod!" Carina groaned piteously, pinching the bridge of her nose, "We need a doctor on this crew to check you over for brain damage." She bitched.
She isn't wrong… About needing a doctor on the crew at least. She's wrong about the other thing, I'm not brain damaged, my mom had me tested. Kaito thought, not verbalizing it all, not wanting to tell her she's half right.
"I'm fine." Kaito insisted instead, giving Carina a friendly pat on the back to soothe her silly worries. Oops! He thought immediately after, wincing at his mistake.
A piercing shriek sounded briefly through the night cutting through the noise from the ongoing party - as Kaito misjudged his strength and catapulted Carina off the roof, the buildings thankfully not built very tall in Cocoyashi.
"Are you alive?" He called down, unable to stop the grin from forming, seeing the girl utterly done, laying on the ground with an expression of utter hatred for the world. I didn't mean to, but it was still funny, he thought, hastily covering up a laugh with one hand over his mouth.
Blackjack and a couple crew members nearby didn't have the same politeness, breaking out in loud laughter while pointing at the mud covered girl.
Carina slowly sat up, running her hand through her hair and freezing still as she noticed the amount of mud and dirt in her purple locks. "I'm going to fucking kill you." She said calmly.
Whatever she needed to talk about was pushed to the backburner, as she quickly enlisted a similarly drunk Yoruichi to play a game of tag.
Well… At least Kaito and Yoruichi treated it like a game of tag, to Carina's uttermost frustration when Yoruichi kept falling over giggling instead of doling out any righteous punishment.
It ended up with all three of them muddy and sitting against a wall, drinking even more of the homebrew, Carina getting more used to it the more she had. Or getting too drunk to care about the burn.
Eventually Yoruichi wandered off, a group of people seemingly attempting to drag her off, before Wire bowled through them all to bitch at Yoruichi for something, the crowd dispersing.
Leaving Kaito and Carina drinking by their lonesome.
"You had something you wanted to ask?" Kaito said, snatching the bottle away from her unsteady hands to take another sip himself.
Carina sighed, "Just shut up and drink, Captain." She added a weird intonation on the last word, but Kaito was too buzzed to overly ponder it.
Kaito did as he was told instead. And there was much rejoicing.
And only a slight amount of puking.
Pff, lightweight.
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Some hours later,
The party was still going strong, even as they pushed into the middle of the night, the villagers outshining even the pirate crew in their eager celebrations, the yoke off their back leading to people throwing all caution to the wind.
And they definitely threw all caution to the wind.
Kaito grinned as he walked towards where he'd been directed, politely turning his head away from where another of his crew members were being politely thanked for his heroic actions. Without pants, and with no need to reach a house first.
Noice!
Kaito surreptitiously gave the man a thumbs up, and kept walking, having to give another thumbs up and avert his eyes as two women were enthusiastically violating legal allowances when it came to what one could do in public with fruits and vegetables.
I had no idea Venom could be so bold. He thought, wondering if the booze this island produced was maybe a little dangerous.
They weren't the only ones, as alcohol and the pure joy running through the veins of the villagers were leading to pairings all across the village. Villager to villager - or the cases of villagers with crew mates of his, it didn't seem to matter to the suddenly inhibitionless people of Cocoyashi.
This was a very different celebration than he remembered about the straw hats, but then they'd seemed more like kids, then what his crew was like.
He arrived at the location he'd been directed to, rapping his knuckles at the door.
"Who is it?" A cheerful woman's voice sang out. Kaito was pretty sure it was Nojiko, which likely meant he was at the right place.
"It's Kaito, I'm looking for Nami." He called out, the door swinging open before he could even finish speaking.
"You must be Nojiko, nic-" Was as far as Kaito got, before Nojiko stepped forward, fisting a hand in his hair, bringing his head down, and locking her full lips against his.
Kaito lost the trail of his thoughts, as Nojiko pressed up against him, lifting one of her legs across his right hip as his hand subconsciously went down to grasp her by the thigh to hold her steady against him as she ground herself against him. Her tongue invaded his mouth shortly thereafter, his only thought on the faint citrusy taste to her lips, on sucking her invading tongue as she enthusiastically said hello.
Nami cleared her throat loudly, and then did it again, to absolutely no effect. Kaito didn't notice if she did it anymore after that, his mind was busy teasing out what kind of citrus flavor he was tasting.
It was yummy.
"NOJIKO!" Nami yelled finally, sounding annoyed and exasperated, stomping a foot down hard and growling at them, when they made no effort to stop.
Nojiko giggled against his lips, detaching herself with one last slow lick against his upper lip, stepping away from him with a coy look, licking her own lips after, as she winked at him, "Just saying thanks to my sister's savior." She practically purred out, looking very pleased with herself.
Kaito let go of her thigh, almost sheepishly right after, allowing Nojiko her leg back, as she'd drawn his attention to it, by wiggling it in his grip, an amused smirk on her face.
Nami looked over Nojiko's shoulder at Kaito, looking incredibly flushed, "I'm not thanking you that way, just making that clear from the beginning." She blustered, hands nervously playing with nothing as she tried to find something for them to do, displaying some nervous energy.
Her nervous attitude lessened as she glared at her sister, "Neither should she!" She barked, "You've never even met each other."
Nojiko let out a tinkling laugh, looking over her shoulder at Nami, "Don't worry, sis, I'll thank him as many times as is needed!" her grin turned wicked, "Over and over and over, no previous meetings required, sometimes it's not a situation of stranger danger, just… Stranger, oops, my panties disappeared."
She looked over at her sister, completely unabashed, "You know? Casual wild monkey sex?"
"Gross…" Nami said, making a face, one hand going straight to the patch over her new tattoo again, drawing Kaito's attention to it even more.
So she's gotten it replaced… Good. Kaito thought, smiling at her, before returning his gaze to the blue haired beauty before him, "I'm Kaito, and since I've already tasted those beautiful lips, may I have your name?" He said gallantly, while leering at her. He could be gallant and a pervert at the same time - it was a skill.
Not one he'd had much practice with, granted, but it also didn't look like he needed much skill in this situation.
Must be something in the water… Or the booze.
"My name's Nojiko, I'm Nami's very grateful sister… And my bedroom is over there." She pointed to the left, casually stepping back to let him inside. "Just thought you should know…" She added, giving him another lascivious wink as he entered their home.
Kaito chuckled in amusement, even as Nami shrieked at her sister. This girl is not shy, I wonder if she'd done the same for Luffy if not for his obvious lack of interest?
"No thanks are needed, Nami deserved to be free and it was within my power. Whether she chooses to come with us or not, I was always going to do this, help her cut her chains." Kaito explained, sending a soft smile Nami's way, the girl looking if anything, annoyed at his words.
Nojiko whistled lowly, shaking her head as she gave Kaito another hungry once over, "You know, saying it like that makes me want to thank you, even more." She pointed out, laughing as Nami started swatting at her with both hands in a weak effort to deter her sister. "Hahaha, I'll leave you both alone." She promised, stepping back with her hands raised in the air, before she smirked lasciviously at Nami, "~ Don't do anything I wouldn't do ~ baby sis!"
"Shut up Nojiko!" Nami yelled after her sister, before shaking her head, muttering about being surrounded by perverts.
Kaito cocked his head, smiling, "You have a pretty cool sister there." He said softly, stepping closer, seeing how much more… Relaxed Nami was, just being here. Being free. A certain tautness to her muscles, a hunch of her shoulders - wasn't present anymore. "Are you doing okay?"
Nami sighed, a smile blossoming onto her face even as she tried to keep an annoyed look. "She is pretty awesome." She agreed, before giving him a dry look, "When she isn't trying to suck someone's face off."
"That isn't the only thing I su-" Came from the bedroom before a flustered Nami yelled over her, "Shut up, Nojiko!" And threw a tangerine at the door, only laughter coming from the other side.
Where is she even getting tangerines from, Kaito thought in bemusement.
Kaito couldn't help but laugh either way, finding their byplay amusing, especially with how flustered it was making Nami. He put his hands in front of him as if to ward off an attack, as Nami threw him an annoyed glare, "Sorry, sorry, but it is funny, your dynamic - although I wouldn't have pegged you as the prudish sister…" He flashed a look at her minimal top.
Nami definitely wasn't shy about her body, dressing in a way that showed plenty of skin.
Nami scoffed, "We are not talking about this." She said with a warning tone to her voice.
Kaito flashed her a knowing smirk, but let off on his teasing, it was probably not the best time to tell her he could still taste citrus on his lips. Or to ask her if he knew what kind of lip gloss her sister used. "Well, we could talk about something else… You know why I'm here, apart from checking that you're handling everything alright?"
Nami sighed, rubbing her arms, walking over to a couch in the living area, gesturing with one arm for him to sit.
Kaito sat down next to her, both of them just sitting in silence, Nami heavy in thought, a small frown on her face, Kaito willing to simply wait until she was ready.
"I don't know." Nami finally said, voice heavy, looking down at her hands which were nervously tapping her knees. "I just don't know…"
Kaito smiled, tapping her wrist briefly, getting her to look up at him, her eyes so unsure, so unlike the brash woman she showed herself as most of the time. "I'm not here to force anything, you're amazing, and I'm talking about you, the woman, not you the navigator - which is just another whole level of amazing. We all want you aboard, but you're free now, you can choose whatever you want, no hard feelings." He met her eyes trying to impart just how serious he was through his gaze, "I mean it, Nami. You can choose whatever you want."
A smile briefly flickered onto her face, her face almost shy for a moment, her eyes averting from his - then she frowned minutely, hands twitching, " Everyone, huh?" She challenged him, sounding skeptical.
Kaito had spent a lot of time after Arlong died, talking to his crew, making a point to speak to every single one of them. Bringing up Nami and Carina, asking for their opinions.
A majority had been overwhelmingly positive, which had already been building on the journey over to Cocoyashi. Some were a little more on the cautiously optimistic side, but notably, this time, no one had said no.
"Everyone." He confirmed firmly. "Wire grumbled and grouched for a long time, while pointedly refusing to say no." He grinned suddenly, "The man might look like a hard ass but he's really a sugary sweet teddy bear underneath."
Nami gave him such a look of absolute denial and skepticism he couldn't help but laugh. She'll learn, if she comes along, he thought, knowing that if she ever so much as skinned a knee - she would be shocked to see how much Wire could fuss over her.
Nami squirmed slightly, looking cautiously hopeful, like she hadn't dared to believe she could actually be accepted, "What about… Duel and Apple?" She asked, as if bracing herself for bad news.
Kaito pulled her hands into his, frowning at how they were shaking slightly, "Nami." He pressed firmly, forcing her to meet his eyes, "Everyone wants you. Everyone." He stressed. She shook her head, and he continued, "Duel specifically is busy crafting you a weapon instead of partying it up, because, and I'm quoting her here, 'Nami is a pussy, needs firepower'."
Nami let out a laugh that barely covered a sob, the girl smiling through it, her hands holding onto his tightly. "Sounds like her." She choked out, her smile growing more playful, more Nami like - if he was to describe it, "Didn't know she cared…"
"We all care, Nami. It might have started out on the wrong foot, and yes, some of the crew are still mad at you, and it will take time to heal," He admitted, not wanting to give her an impression that everything was forgotten, "But they all agree you're one of us if you want it." Kaito reiterated firmly.
"And Apple?" Nami asked again, her face more vibrant and colorful now, seeing her fears being unraveled before her. Kaito had known even before Arlong, that she'd enjoyed herself even with the issues between them all, that she'd fallen into the camaraderie, the fun and partying, even the workouts.
Had seen on her face when he arrived, that she'd expected to be rejected, had dreaded it. And now she was coming to the realization Kaito meant what he said.
"Apple is onboard, she said you two already patched things up as far as she was concerned, without even talking… I'm not sure how that worked…?" He let his question trail off, hoping Nami would enlighten him. Apple had been less than helpful on that.
Instead Nami blushed red to her roots, shaking her head wildly, "N-no that sounds good, no need to talk about it!"
Now I really want to know… Kaito whined internally.
They sat in silence, Kaito still holding on to Nami's hands, watching the girl as she seemed to go through several conflicting emotions.
"Carina already joined, so I guess I might as well." She finally said, playing it off flippantly, a cocky smirk back on her face.
Kaito laughed, letting go of her hands, pulling her into a surprise hug, the girl squeaking out in surprise as he pushed her into his chest, cheering, "YES! World's best navigator on MY SHIP!"
Nami settled into his embrace, blushing again, "Calling me that isn't going to butter me up for your next bout of stupidity, Captain!" Even pressed up against him as she was, she couldn't hide the big stupid grin on her face however.
"I'm proud of my stupidity, thank you very much." Kaito insisted, releasing her, laughing at her as she swatted at him playfully.
Then something she said finally registered, "Hang on, when did Carina join? I was going to talk to her next!" He asked, flabbergasted.
Nami gave him a pithy look, "She went to talk to you earlier tonight, wanted to have a conversation about it, she came stomping back here later to say you were too stupid, and she just went and talked to Wire about joining up instead."
Huh, is that why she came up to the roof? My bad… Kaito thought, scratching his chin thoughtfully, feeling a bit bad now about giving her a mud bath. "I honestly wasn't sure if she even wanted to join." He admitted out loud.
Nami gave him a wry look, "Both you and Yoruichi have mentioned to her about how you know where the invisibility devil fruit is, and can give her a shot at it." She snorted, a playful smirk popping onto her face, "You haven't been at all subtle." She teased, before continuing on, "With Carina having the delusional idea that she's the world's greatest thief, she wants that fruit."
Kaito cocked his head, a challenging smirk on his face, already knowing where this was going, "Oh, why is she delusional, Nami?" He asked.
She gave him a look that said with clarity that she considered him a bit on the slow side, "I'm on another level and clearly a much better thief." She said slowly, the unheard, obviously, not hard to parse, if one looked underneath the underneath.
Kaito just smirked, "Guess you'll have to come along and prove it." He challenged.
Nami tilted her chin up, a proud look on her face, "Please, like it will be hard." She scoffed. "But whatever, I'll come along, Captain."
Kaito shuddered dramatically, rolling his eyes back in his head, "Yes, call me captain again!" He cried out jokingly, "Ohhhh, yeah I'm your captain!"
Nami scooted back on the couch, away from him, half laughing and half disgusted, "Don't say it pervy like that!" She yelled at him, once she could get her giggles under control.
"Sooo… You guys are done now, right?" Nojiko asked, sticking her head out from her bedroom, interrupting matters.
Nami sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, "Oh god…" She moaned out, before gesturing at her sister with her other hand, "Were done, Nojiko…" She admitted warily, the gesture clearly indicating she wanted her sister to go away anyway.
There was silence for a few moments, before, "So I can fuck him? Or do you want him…?" Nojiko asked, meeting her sister's eyes, a teasing glint in them.
Kaito frowned slightly, "Hey, you're not even asking if I want to!" He complained, pouting slightly.
Sexism!
Both women turned to him with the most scathing type of look, before scoffing loudly, simultaneously - turning back to each other without even bothering to dignify his statement with a response.
Kaito thought about it for a moment, before nodding. "Fair. Carry on." Tapping his knee nervously, this was definitely an odd situation.
He opened his mouth to tell Nami he didn't want to do anything that made her uncomfortable, but she noticed and cut him off with a gesture, giving him a thankful look, but shaking her head at him.
Nami stood abruptly after that, having communicated silently with her sister somehow. She marched resolutely towards the door, "I'm not here, I don't care what happens, I don't know what happens, it is not necessary to tell me what happens." She repeated loudly, as if to herself, disappearing out the door.
Before she left, she called out one last thing, "Don't eat him alive, Nojiko…" Before she was gone, the door shut behind her.
Kaito could still hear her muttering to herself as she walked away. He briefly felt bad for kicking her out of her own house, for all that she hadn't exactly lived here for years.
Then his mind got distracted.
Nojiko laughed, stepping out of the bedroom, wearing absolutely nothing but a kinky smile. "I've had nothing but stress and heartache for years now… Then you come and save not only all of us, but make my baby sister smile again." She stepped forward, fully confident in herself as she displayed everything, "You, you big bad pirate you…" She sashayed forward, in a predatory manner, "You're going to be thanked so thoroughly, your entire crew is going to be walking funny!"
Kaito wanted to laugh at the corny line, but quite frankly,
He had better things to do.
…
Afterwards, if there was anything he could use to describe Nojiko with, it was the words,
Pent up.
So very very, pent up.
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Red Dawn ship, anchored outside Cocoyashi village,
Apple sat on the railing, a notepad in her lap, as she played around with a piece of charcoal fashioned into a stick, between her fingers, not caring about the soot on her fingertips.
Half the time she was covered in paint in some manner anyway. Hell, half the bras she owned weren't even original colors anymore from some spill or another.
She'd been drawing the revelers, the island itself in relief against the bonfires that had sprung up, the moon shining across the lapping waves and anything else that popped into her mind.
Well… Some of the things she'd drawn were those things. She sighed as she looked down at the pages, flicking through them, at least half of them were different sketches of the same thing. All in different poses, some just of a face, some just the eyes, some… She definitely was never showing anyone, she thought, a tint of red appearing on her cheeks.
"Ugh, that's sickening." Wire complained, leaning over the railing next to her, a grimace on his face as he spied her drawings, his normally well kept Mohawk frizzy and unkempt.
Luckily it wasn't those drawings, or she'd have to kill him. Either way… He'd regret saying that about her shit!
She gave him a blank look at first, holding her immediate thought of dumping him in the drink in, before she slowly reached over and shoved the piece of charcoal she'd been drawing with, into his mouth, a tick mark appearing on her forehead as she let out her annoyance and yelled, "You don't say that kind of shit about my art, philistine!" Pushing her hand forward even as Wire cursed loudly, slapping her hand away, spitting and coughing.
Apple sniffed imperiously, looking down at her drawings, "Serves you right, can't appreciate beauty." She muttered.
Her shit was good, everyone thought so. She knew Wire was just messing with her though, but that just made it fair game for her to mess right back. Dumbass, she thought fondly, flipping through a few pages to a safer drawing, the shadows of people dancing around a massive bonfire. Nothing he can say about that!
Wire grumbled, even as he wiped at his tongue, giving her a dark look, "Fucking crazy woman, don't go shoving shit into people's mouths…" She noticed how he gave an approving hum afterwards though, glancing at her drawing, having gone through similar routines several times over.
Despite the little tussle, they hung around in silence, just watching the slowing down revelers, Apple giggling slightly as she spotted Dice being dragged into a house, trying to protest, but the lady was very insistent. She pointed it out to Wire, "Look!" And if her voice was slightly gleeful, well…
Blackmail material was worth its weight in gold amongst friends.
Wire snorted, slamming a hand down on the railing, "Who knew he had a thing for MILFs." He crowed, a leer popping onto his face, "I'll never let him live this down!"
Apple sent him a sly side eye, "At least he's out there getting some, what's wrong Wire? Now that you can… Detach it… Don't need women anymore?"
She felt dirty immediately afterwards, making a face, almost wanting to wipe her mouth, she didn't even want to think about that, why in all the seas had she said it? Blech, now she'd never get that picture out of her head.
Wire just gave her a disgusted look, "Don't even fucking start with me woman, I get enough of that shit from Duel." He glanced down at the drawings, she hadn't even noticed she'd switched back to the beginning pages. "'Sides, don't give me guff about my lovelife, not with how fucked yours is." He said bluntly.
Apple laughed, tracing her drawing with one finger, sending him a wry look of acknowledgement, because he was right, her situation was foolhardy and fucked up. Getting a crush on a girl that used you, what kind of idiot does that kind of thing?
That stupid oaf of a captain had been right in the end. Even as Apple still held some hurt feelings over everything, it was really hard to stay mad. Seeing that Nami had been enslaved by the monster that killed her mother, forced to do everything she was doing to just keep her sister and village safe… Yeah, staying angry had become impossible, because they all understood, Apple… She could relate somewhat, so she just couldn't stay mad.
Made her eat the words she'd told Kaito, how everyone had a sob story, how it didn't mean anything different. Fine enough in theory, when it was just words. Seeing it all, seeing it happen, the people crushed under the boot, the fresh graves that dotted the island. That was harder to ignore.
She hated being wrong about something.
"If you're here to give me support, you're not being very supportive." She said teasingly to Wire, not overly sensitive about it all, she's made of sterner stuff then that, she's definitely not going to cry about it or anything.
It is what it is. She has a crush, it's an inappropriate one considering everything, it's probably not gonna happen… It is what it is, no point getting upset.
Apple was a realist, perhaps funny to say about an artist, but she didn't have her head stuck in the clouds, she knew it wasn't going to happen. Telling feelings about logic just didn't work very well, stupid feelings.
Wire gave her an arch look, leaning down onto the railing further, resting his head on his forearms, "Look, Apple, I'll support you in tapping that ass if it's what you want, but I fucking want you to think things through, because it ain't going to end well once you stick your tongue up her."
"Way to go super crude, Wire." Apple said, grimacing slightly, well used to it due to the gang being mostly male, but still, "Could you have said that in any way more disgustingly?"
Wire raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth, and Apple slapped her hands over it, a cross look on her face, "That was not an invitation, you jackass!"
Once she let go, silence took over again, the distant sounds of the few remaining partygoers barely reaching the ship.
Wire rolled his shoulders, straightening up, "Whatever." He tsked, patting her awkwardly on the back, "We got your back either way, Apple, just don't be a fucking idiot about it. She's crew now, unless she fucking says no."
Apple appreciated the support, even as crude and stupid as it was put forward, she quirked a devilish grin at the quartermaster, "Thanks, Wire, you've absolutely not been helpful at all, go suck your own dick." She said cheerfully.
She might not know as much as she thought, but Nami saying no… She found that unlikely, despite everything.
Although she had a habit of being wrong lately, so who knew?
"Yeah fuck you too." Wire said fondly, ruffling her hair, making her roll her eyes at him. Stupid man, thinking he's their big brother or something.
"Nice drawings… You should show her." He said as a parting shot, walking off, even managing to not curse in the whole sentence, which was almost impressive.
Apple didn't answer until long after Wire had disappeared, scoffing lightly to herself.
She let the notepad fall from her lap, disappearing into the waves, watching it go with a conflicted expression.
Art was her great escape, it was also the easiest way she had to express how she really felt about anything.
She wasn't going to lay her heart bare like that, she wasn't putting that on the girl.
She sighed, sliding off the railing, heading to bed, with one last look at Cocoyashi village,
I won't pressure her like that, put expectations on her…
Friends are good, friends will be enough…
＊＊＊
Dawn, Cocoyashi village,
No one had slept, the party had lasted all night, and now everyone was trudging back to their homes, or ship in the Red Dawn's case.
Kaito had been invited to something different, standing quietly at the back as Nami, Nojiko and Genzo paid their respects to Bellemeres grave.
Despite the enthusiastic night he'd shared with Nojiko, his mind was on Nami, the orange haired girl kneeling in front of the grave, a smile on her face even as she shed a tear or two, describing decent events to her mom.
She was younger then the Canon Nami he'd known and paradoxically, she was both harsher and softer then that version. Canon Nami was perhaps older and more skilled, more self assured - and therefore further removed from the memory of having to do more… Distasteful things to get ahead, which had left this Nami more jaded, with a harder edge as it was her present circumstances - she didn't have the benefit of two years or so of time to make it a dull memory.
Yet… She was also not as self assured, as cocky and over the top as in canon - still having those same self consciousness issues and self defeating thoughts most teenagers had. Except perhaps when it came to body issues - Nami had plenty of confidence there.
Kaito smiled wryly, remembering all the times she'd teased his crew mates over the last few weeks. That kind of confidence she displayed without issue. Well… Mostly. He thought, knowing a lot of what she showed people was a mask welded tightly on by experience, emotions not a helpful thing to the thief amongst Arlong's pack.
He crossed his arms, feeling like an outsider in this little family gathering, starting to get a little uncomfortable as the three of them crowded in together, talking quietly.
Nami would not be as she had been 'destined' to be, she was rawer, and as he'd noted, both softer with her soft side, and harsher with her harsh side, none of the edges having been polished by two more years of experience.
Kaito personally thought he'd lucked out with the better Nami, one more willing to fight, more used to scrambling in the dirt for every last Beri, unlike a Nami who had already reached almost the apex of being a scam artist, no longer needing to frequent the same dingy bars and seedy people on the regular.
He smiled as Nami hugged Genzo and Nojiko tight, knocking their heads together, a bright grin on her face.
She ambled up to him after, acting all cocksure and confident. "I'm ready to set sail, Captain!" She chirped, looking like a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders.
Kaito clapped her on the shoulder, "Good enthusiasm miss Navigator! But everyone is either drunk or hungover, and we're not going anywhere for a while yet." And he gently pushed her a step back, towards her family, "Go enjoy yourself, that's an order."
Nami pouted, before letting off a long drawn out sigh, lifting her hand, displaying two wallets, "I guess I don't get to do the fast send off I had intended." She complained, tongue in cheek.
"NAMI!/NAMI!" Two voices yelled from behind her as Nojiko and Genzo patted themselves down and came to the realization it was their wallets she was holding.
Kaito grinned, oh this I'm totally down with… "Bet you can't steal every wallet in town." He said challengingly.
"What's the bet?" Nami said, an excited glint in her eye, even as Nojiko and Genzo took back their wallets, trying to appear stern, but both of them unable to hold back fond grins.
Kaito hummed in thought, eyeing the trio. He really didn't want to ruin what little family time they had left, but he also knew Nami wouldn't want it to get mushy…
Never let it be said that he wouldn't come through for his crew mates!
"You steal every wallet in town - while spending the entire time with your family, mind you, and I'll give you the first pick of our next treasure haul." He offered, knowing bling would draw Nami in.
Nami's eyes turned into Beri signs, Kaito was amused to note that it was actually a thing, somehow.
Nojiko just sighed with fondness, putting one hand to her cheek, "It's just like old times."
Genzo spluttered slightly, "That's not a good thing!" He said, with the weakest attempt at disapproval Kaito had ever seen.
"Race you to the village!" Nami shouted in exhilaration, sticking her tongue out at them all as she took off.
Nojiko laughed, giving Kaito a small wave, before she slowly ambled after her sister, of whom only a dust cloud could be seen.
Genzo harrumphed, before turning to glare at Kaito, "You ever make her cry I'll kill you." He warned.
Kaito gave him a dry look, "I made sushi out of Arlong without even trying very hard, don't kid yourself old man."
He looked after the dust cloud that was dissipating, knowing Nami was going to enjoy pissing off several very hungover people, a small smile appearing on his face. She'd fit in so well with his people. He turned back towards Genzo, "But I'll take it as it's meant anyway, I'll protect her to the best of my ability, and she'll be happy, no matter what comes."
Genzo stared at him critically, "And no funny business!" He added sternly, before walking off, Nojiko already cresting the hill on the distance and going out of sight.
"No promises!" He yelled out, laughing at the dirty look he received back.
No need to tell the man that from all appearances, Nami did not have beefcake on the menu at the moment.
I'll save it for her bounty poster, he thought, cackling evilly.
Nami the Sapphic thief?
He'd workshop it.
Couldn't get worse than Yoruichi the Sin Eater..
She was still giving him shit for that one.
God he loved his crew.
＊＊＊
Late afternoon, Cocoyashi village.
Kaito jumped eagerly on-top of the railing, overlooking his people, his crew, his friends. "It's that time, people! We're two new friends stronger, and we're heading to the grand line!" He shouted with glee, getting a roar of approval back from the crew members who hadn't over indulged…
So it was more of a quiet mumble than a roar, but Kaito took it as the same anyway. "First mate, any words of encouragement?" He called out to Yoruichi.
She rolled her eyes at him, lounging by the mast, Archer by her side, "We're all way too hungover, Kaito, and besides…" She jacked a thumb over her shoulder, "You're still missing three crew members."
Kaito frowned, glancing through the crowd, "I could have sworn they were just on the ship." He complained, before cocking his head, doing another headcount, "Wait, three? Who's the third?"
Duel, Wire and Yoruichi all spoke up at the same time in the same deadpan tone of voice, "Blackjack."
Kaito crossed his arms, "Damn, why is he not on the ship?" He gave them all a judgemental look, "You all better have kept an eye on him last night, he's a bit too young for some…" He trailed off, "Stuff…" He finished lamely.
Tears laughed, looking like he hadn't just had an all night bender, "I'm more worried about the fact he's missing with Nami and Carina than for his virtue." He drawled, nudging Dice, who stood next to him, "Imagine the hellion being taught by those two?"
Dice groaned at the same time as Wire cursed, Kaito frowning at them all, "Hey… Alright that is bad." He admitted, not going to bullshit his people, well not this time anyway.
Duel had slipped a rifle off her back, and stomped over to the side of the ship, looking through the sights. Kaito did a quick shave to appear at her side, "You're… Just using that to spot them, right?" He asked, seeing her finger tease the trigger.
Duel seemed to think it over, a playful tilt to her lips, "Warning?" She asked innocently.
"No you can not shoot off a warning shot, don't shoot at all." Kaito said dryly, "Crew mates, remember, no shooting crew mates."
She sighed dramatically, but he knew she was just playing, she lacked the snarls and furrowed brows of an angry Duel. "Three together." She reported.
Kaito chuckled, figuring Nami was doing some silly goodbye ritual, since he'd already had her steal all the wallets in the village beforehand. He wasn't sure why Carina and Blackjack were involved, but it was probably hilarious. "What are they doing?" He asked, curious.
Duel stepped away, gesturing at her rifle, allowing Kaito to step up and use the sight, guiding him so he'd find the same spot. Not that his concentration was all there when he had Duel pressed into his back, her arms on his to guide him. Boobies!
He spotted Nami and Carina easily enough, the two women standing in front of a crowd of villagers, saying something, Nojiko and Genzo hugging Nami goodbye. Huh, so nothing too untoward then… Wait… Where is Blackjack?
He moved the sight towards the crowd, trying to spot the little shit. Letting out a laugh as she spied him slipping between people, a sack at his side. "Oh you fucking bitches!" He said out loud.
He stepped back, giving the rifle back to Duel, who easily slipped it onto her back again.
"Everyone, get ready to set sail immediately!" He roared, sending the crew into a scramble as everyone got to their positions.
Yoruichi, Archer and Wire came over to him, Archer the first to ask, his tone as dry as the desert, "What are they doing?"
"From the looks of it, keeping all the attention on the two pretty girls talking to the crowd, while Blackjack robs the shit out of them." Kaito stated, an amused smile on his face.
Good for you, you little shit. He thought about Blackjack, speaking out loud, "I'm not sure why exactly Nami is doing this, or why Carina is going along with it, but I have a feeling we should be leaving post haste when they make their way to the dock."
Similar to how she left with Luffy, except with an accomplice and an understudy, he thought, wondering if he should nip that in the bud or not. He thought it over as his officers bickered slightly over the delay, nah, Blackjack learning from them will surely only be good, he decided.
"Just what we need, for fucking Blackjack to be even more of a pain in the ass." Wire complained, but without any heat.
Archer clapped him on the back, "Look on the bright side, friend. He'll be their hassle if they take him under their wing." He pointed out reasonably.
Wire did brighten at that, a smile growing slowly into his face, "Yeah… Yeah! If they wanna teach the brat, they can be responsible for him!" He crowed, looking like he'd seen nirvana.
Yoruichi shook her head, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, "Or…" She taunted, her golden eyes glinting as she stepped into Wire's space, poking him in the chest, "He'll be a hundred times as annoying, learning from the two of them." She said sweetly.
Kaito laughed as Wire's face dropped, "Why the fuck you gotta ruin it for me, Yoruichi?" He complained.
Yoruichi sniffed, turning around swiftly, her ponytail catching cursing Wire across the face, "Because, Wire… You ruined my night! Accept the first stage of your punishment."
"The fuck?" He mumbled, Kaito and Archer sharing a confused look.
Yoruichi just smiled mysteriously, "Wouldn't you like to know~." She sang, walking away to see to the readiness of the ship.
Wire looked at them both blankly, "I have no fucking clue what she's talking about."
Archer shrugged, "Try asking Duel, women talk." He eyed her thoughtfully as she walked away, "She was with me for most of the night, so I'm not sure what was ruined?"
They all heard the commotion just then, a roaring crowd, all heading their way.
"Time to go! Beg for forgiveness later, Wire!" Kaito laughed, before he soared into the sky, latching onto the mast, looking ahead to where three figures were running ahead of a flood of villagers.
"I haven't done anything!" Wire roared, before giving up with a disgusted look on his face as he walked off to help the crew.
Kaito almost fell off the mast as Archer joined him up there. "What the fuck!? Since when can you do that?"
Archer smiled broadly, "Succeeded last night." He bragged.
Kaito gave him a weird look, "So while everyone was drinking, partying and fucking… You were training?"
He looked away, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly, the other holding on to the mast, "Yoruichi was there for part of it too!" He defended himself.
Kaito shook his head, a smirk on his face, "You're a terrible pirate." He teased, "You gotta live it up a little when we get the chance, Archer!"
Archer smiled at him pleasantly, "I could also switch to a fully vegan menu." He threatened.
Kaito scoffed, "Where at sea, there's no such thing as a no seafood menu." Nonplussed by the unachievable threat.
Archer smiled, and it held some viciousness to it, "Seaweed is enough, grind it down and make it into a slurry for your eating pleasure, Captain."
Kaito shivered slightly, as he noticed the three were getting close enough to be ship to see the exhilaration on Nami's face, and the annoyance on Carina's. With Blackjack he couldn't tell what his expression was, but considering he was running behind the two women, he could guess. "Alright, Archer, I won't make fun of your boring ways, stop making my stomach cry."
To the others he shouted, "Set sail!" Everyone was in motion as they began to move shortly after, just as the three came running up the dock.
Nami and Carina made the jump, just barely getting their feet onto the railing, both of them crying out, "SAFE!"
Blackjack, with shorter legs, and a bag of loot on him, had a hilarious look on his face as he missed the ship, falling towards the water.
Yoruichi grabbed his arm just in time, hauling him over her shoulder and tossing him none too gently onto the deck.
Kaito jumped down to meet them, giving Nami an amused look, even as the crowd started yelling their goodbyes, mixed in with threats. "So you decided to steal their wallets twice?" He asked.
Nami held up her fingers in a peace sign, "The kid needed to learn how it's done."
Carina looked exasperated, as she laid an arm around Nami's shoulder, knocking her head together with the orange haired girl, "What she's failing to say is that everyone expected her to pull some shit, so she pulled in me and the kid to pull it off."
Blackjack laughed as he laid on the deck, holding the loot bag aloft. "My loot! All mine!" He cried.
Nami and Carina shared a look, both of them smirking in a way that got Kaito laughing, several crew members quickly understanding that something funny had happened and looking towards Blackjack.
"You might wanna check that loot, boy." Dice said dryly to the youth, poking him with his boot.
Blackjack quickly sat up, opening the bag to pull out his loot, his face comically surprised as the bag was filled with old boots. "What the fuck!" He shouted, glaring at the two giggling girls.
Yoruichi had a cheshire-like grin as she bent over the young pirate, patting him on the head, "Sorry to say, Blackjack, but they switched your bag while you were on the run, I saw it, they were never going to keep it."
"How did I miss that?" Blackjack cried in dismay.
Carina waltzed forward, smiling smugly, "Next time, brat." She said, poking him on the nose, "Keep your eyes on the loot, not on my perfect behind."
"Nah, that kid has his priorities straight." Needles, one of the crew members, said with a laugh, getting plenty of agreeing comments.
"My loot." Blackjack protested, looking forlornly at the bag of boots.
"Look on the bright side, kid." Kaito told him, as they left Cocoyashi village behind, sailing off towards the Grandline. "You've learned the most valuable lesson of all. Never trust a woman!"
He should have probably stood somewhere else when he said that. The three lumps on his head from Yoruichi, Nami and Carina proved that his statement hadn't been the safest to make.
But Nami was smiling so widely, and so unrestrained of any worries - that he didn't give one shit about any bumps.
This was his crew.
And they were going to rock the world!
＊＊＊
Dusk island, East Blue.
Portgas D Ace felt pretty pleased with how things were going, as he impatiently waited for the overworked barbecue restaurant worker to deliver his order of a thousand meats.
They'd said they didn't have that much, but Ace had insisted, leading to their employees making a mad dash to the nearest butcher. A thousand plates of meat should be enough to feed him, and give his crew a few plates as a treat as well. They'd be arriving soon he knew, taking a break from fixing up their ship.
Ace didn't exactly have enough money for all of it, but he'd put down a deposit, as the owner refused to even entertain the order otherwise - that would be enough, right?
He needed to teach his crew the traditional way to dine and dash, as an homage to his brothers, anyway.
Getting stranded on Sixis hadn't been part of the plan he'd had setting out from Dawn island, but he'd gotten out of it with a friend and new crew mate in Deuce, and a kick-ass power to boot, so he could hardly complain.
They'd managed to recruit a few more crew mates already and just barely put up a flag the day before, their own Jolly Roger. The ship, a stolen merchant vessel, repurposed as their transportation while they set out to rebuild it to a more suitable pirate look. The Spade pirates were officially a thing, and he was the Captain.
Yep, he thought, salivating as trays of meat were paraded out of the back, heading his way, Everything is going my way!
An almighty smash drew shrieks around the restaurants, but more importantly to Ace…
"My meat!" He roared in agony as the servers dropped it to the ground, trays slipping out of their fingers as they twitched in place in shock, covered in dust and debris.
"Who is the dead stupid fu-!!!!" Ace' beginning rant got cut off as he swallowed his tongue, his tanned face going as pale as a ghost.
There… In the dust cloud that was slowly clearing up around the hole in the wall, stood his worst nightmare, in the flesh…
"ACE!" Garp the Hero bellowed, a fierce grin on his face, Masked Deuce, his first mate, tightly grasped in one hand, dangling, barely holding on to consciousness. "When this one here mentioned your name, I just knew it was you, you ungrateful little brat!"
Civilians scrambled to get out of the way, running out of the restaurant's front door or into the kitchen to use the back door, quickly leaving the three of them alone. The doors swung wildly as if they were in some saloon standoff, the cacophony of the rushing crowds settling into tense silence within a minute.
Only the dusty wind was between them as Ace and Garp's eyes met, sparks flying as they both grit their teeth, both of them pissed off with the other, for different reasons.
"Ace… 'm 'orry!" Deuce cried out, his pummeled face barely able to force out the words.
Ace felt a zinging burn rush through him, and it had nothing to do with his logia power. Garp had harmed his crew… "Gramps… Release my friend." He bit out, his hands turning into fiery fists as he put them up in front of him.
Garp stuck a finger into a nostril up to the knuckle, carelessly waving the hand that held his friend and crew mate around, "EH?" He called out, making Ace pump out more flames as his anger flared up. "Is that any way to talk, Ace… To think I'd arrive in East Blue to find that you were trying to duck out on your responsibility…"
Ace smirked playfully, tipping his hat up briefly with one finger, to showcase his face, his eyes however, were burning with anger, as he stared at the Hero of the Marines. "I'm not responsible for your delusions, Gramps." His face hardened, "Now let my friend go… Or else…"
"Bwahaha!" Garp laughed, letting Deuce fall to the ground, clapping his two large hands together in a thunderous clap, blowing smoke out of his nostrils as he took one step forward that shook the building. "Or else what? Brat?" He said, humoring him.
Ace concentrated hard, pulling himself into his Logia form, preparing to throw everything he had. "Or else you'll be burned." He gritted out between clenched teeth, before his face turned into flames.
Garp only grinned, "You're a thousand years too early, brat!" He warned, cracking his knuckles, his grin widening even further, "Count yourself lucky that I still have your enlistment papers, ensign."
"GRAMPS!" Ace bellowed as he shot forward in a great conflagration of fire. Black smoke billowed around him as he set the entire area aflame in his passage.
Garp tsked, pointedly raising one finger, the appendage turning pure black, as he flicked Ace in the forehead as soon as he got close, making him crumble to the ground. "You and your friends will make fine Marines." He told the unconscious boy.
Garp looked around at the burning and torn apart restaurant. "Oh… Uh… My names Sengoku, if you're looking for who to send the bill to, I like goats and umm, seagulls I guess?" He called out sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh and crackers! No, wait, shit that's me!"
He made a face, lips puckering slightly as he forced out, "I actually hate crackers, they're stupid, no one likes them, bleh. Go, seagulls…"
He looked around again, two unconscious pirat- Marines, at his feet, and fires raging through the restaurant.
He blew the fires out with one big breath, because he's fucking Monkey D Garp! He then looked for any type of paper, finding a server's pad at the bar, before scrawling a small note with the information needed to bill… Sengoku, that dastardly restaurant smashing bastard.
To think he'd run into this troublesome boy because some hotshot rookie had been heading straight for the Goa kingdom and Dawn island. From all appearances the Red Dawn pirates had changed course anyway, so now was as good a time as any to set out back to Loguetown, and then Marineford.
He looked down at his unconscious troublesome grandson, frowning deeply, Logia, huh? That could be good, or bad, as far as his marine career went, considering things... "At least I'll have someone able to grill my hot dogs for me wherever I am, Bwahahaha!" He laughed loudly, before stiffening up as part of a wooden ceiling beam fell on his head, cracking in half, calling out once again, "Just confirming again, this is Sengoku, send all bills to him, I mean me! It's spelled S-E-N… " He trailed off, scratching his chin, "And the rest is Goku, got it?"
There was no reply to his loud declarations of responsibility, the owner not daring to leave the kitchen, fearing death by fire, or by the obviously insane marine.
Not until there had been no noise for an hour did he crawl out, inspecting the damages.
Of the people that had been fighting, there were no signs.
＊＊＊
Loguetown, East Blue.
"This isn't Goa? Stupid ass islands moving around all the time!"
＊＊＊
Author's note:
Canon? What Canon?
Garp rushing into East Blue just as Ace was working through his East Blue journey will have interesting effects. How long can Garp keep a leash on Ace? How long can he be a marine before someone (Akainu) decides he'd look better as a charcoal brisket?
Will Sengoku pay the bill?
Either way, it's not anything to do with Kaito, so you'll find out when the horrible consequences end up affecting the Red Dawn too. He better hope he gets through Loguetown before Garp comes back through…
Next chapter - Loguetown.
Now I don't really write porn, so figured I'd skip making a sex scene with Nojiko and just do a fade to black scene, who knows, maybe at some point I'll add a lewd snippet thread with all that kind of content, but at the moment, I'm not sure enough people even want that kind of content.
Or that I wouldn't suck at it.
Cheers
JollyHippopotamus