AN: Well, that took a while!

First off, a big thank you to everyone who's been voting! The votes as they stand currently can be broken down to 16 for 'Luffy lives' and 9 for 'Luffy dies'! I'm not going to reply to the comments that were just votes one way or the other beyond this big thank you, it makes me really happy that you all care enough to vote on it! The voting will remain open until I post the next chapter to make sure everyone gets a chance to vote.

As always, before we begin, Reviewer Replies!

Genesis09: Yeah, I think a lot of people were really surprised by how well Shiki did.

BalBlazer: Very glad you enjoyed!

Home of the Brave: That was a pretty common sentiment, but it did help me decide what to do with the first part of this chapter!

vadrulesall: Yep, he canonically speaks in the dub with a thick Jamaican accent and a cigar in his mouth at basically all times. The fleet didn't get scuttled because Tsuru, Garp, Zephyr, Kizaru and Aokiji were sleeping on the job, it got scuttled because Shiki did it that dang quick. And no, CP0 was not involved.

Sultan Asil Arslan-Hiatus: Read on and find out! (^_^)

Tyufvfv: I'm glad you're enjoying! (^_^)

OsmiumBookmark: I'm very glad you're enjoying! Hearing that people enjoy it is what makes putting all this to paper worth it (^_^)

MrBrownOptometrist: Very glad you're still enjoying!

gabrielgrayson812: Mmm...I'm not so sure about that (^_^)

DJ Toku: Yeah that's been a fairly common sentiment, I think a lot of people are going to find this chapter quite interesting. (^_^)

Greer123: Thank you, I'm really pleased with how that scene went, I really wanted to make sure he had that 'Old Guard BOSS' energy. Yeah, things are still not quite how I'd like them to be, but today at least went really really well. (^_^)

SBS Piece: Ask away! I'll answer! (^_^) Cover art I can't do on here though, no pictures on FFN ( -.-) AO3 where I crosspost all this on the other hand...maybe at some point. Art is hard.

Curveball: Today's a good day then isn't it? (^_^) Yep, I think I picked out a really good selection for the World Tour Pirates founding members. They're gonna be fun. I'm really glad you enjoyed the scenes related to Shiki, Strong World was an awesome movie, I really wanted to make sure I did the epicness justice. Yeah, Shiki doesn't make a sound when he flies if he doesn't want to, so he was able to hang in the air right behind Jabra and hear everything. Shiki still would've wrecked house anyway, but having that little bit of forewarning let him pull off that incredible ambush. Can't say too much about what'll happen with Luffy and Bones yet, the voting is still open, but I will reassure you that I have plans for every possible option. Nnnope. There were actually two things involved in making Blue Chasm possible. Yes it would be a Devil Fruit I came up with myself. I had been planning to keep it under wraps and have the reveal waaaaay later in the story, but since everyone's so curious (and I came up with something really REALLY good to do for the reveal), I'ma do that thing instead. Can confirm now, Lily Enstomach will NOT be a Strawhat. Regarding your hopes on the Seraphim and Doc Vegapunk, all I can really do is chuckle because you haven't guessed it yet, but I think you'll like it when it happens. *Glances at the Jabra shaped hole in the ground* Yes I do wonder whatever happened with Jabra's Devil Fruit? I actually already have the name of the ship. (^_^)

Thicc-Chungs: Bones x Harem. Sabo x Koala. Usopp x Kaya. Luffy x ?. Zoro x Kuina.

Xanxouz: Nope, you're not reading too deep into it at all. Luffy, especially super early in, really is a much better friend than captain. Keep in mind, this isn't our modern lovable goofball. This is the same Luffy that went after Zoro with legit intent to kill in Whiskey Peak. I have a plan for the Kidd Pirates. Urouge I do not have a plan for (yet). I want to see a bit more of him before I start planning in earnest. I'm very glad you're still enjoying! (^_^)

FunkoHero15: Very glad you're enjoying, and all in good time, all in good time.

FanfictionFan2014: Very glad you're enjoying! Yep, can't go wrong with such a classic! (^_^)

Laughing Spectre: Glad you enjoyed! Yeah, every fic I've read with Nojiko being even a moderately major character I've liked her, so I see no reason for her not to tag along (also I get to implement some of my plans from my previous scrapped attempts at a One Piece fic for her, so yay there too!). Regarding what happened to Ain, read on and find out! (^_^)

Dr. Devil Fruit: Well it definitely won't be the Doku Doku no mi, I like Magellan too much to bump him off.

LazyServant: What happened to Ain? Read on and find out! (^_^)

Guest: Well, perhaps not as soon as any of us hoped, but here we go! (^_^)

Rick: Glad you're enjoying! Regarding Luffy's behavior, keep in mind, this isn't our current lovable goofball from the manga who's gone through all that and grown up a lot. This is the same idiotic early Luffy who went after Zoro with intent to kill him in Whiskey Peak.

TheWolves1331: Wait no longer, for here it is!

Without further ado, please enjoy...

Chapter 14

…

…Meanwhile…

…

"You don't have to come if you don't want to Nami. It's just, you're my friend, and I don't want to lose a friend. I promise I won't be angry. I was scared, aside from my brothers, I haven't had any friends since I was a kid. I just… I don't wanna be lonely no more…I'm really sorry if I scared you. You're my friend. I want you to be happy Nami. No matter what you decide, I'll stand by it, and you'll always be my friend."

Reiju stood still and silent behind the tree she'd concealed herself behind as Luffy walked away, Nami and Nojiko following a few moments later. None of the three had noticed her, something she was profoundly glad of as being spotted despite her years of training would've been a simply mortifying embarrassment. Her brow furrowed in thought and her tongue slipped out as she brought her hand to her lips, discretely licking the poison from her fingers. It seems he's come back to his senses, she mused, Good. Even if he'd been threatening Nami, Sabo wouldn't have taken his death well.

It was a very subtle poison Reiju had produced, but never the less an incredibly dangerous one. It was simply put, a super clotting agent. One of the same ones she'd used to treat Zoro after his duel with Mihawk, it could also be injected with her ability and induce lethal complications. As strong as Luffy's healing was, this particular poison would've killed him extremely quickly by turning that superhumanly robust vitality back on him in a way that she could've passed off as an unforeseen complication of my breaking his jaw and sending him flying.

She took a deep breath and let it out as a frustrated sigh, Everything was going so well too. I barely managed to talk him down from his fury over Zoro and Sanji spurning his help. Judging by his reaction, he'll probably never forgive Luffy. Not that I blame him, I'd have killed Luffy without a second thought if I'd been in his position.

Honestly, I knew Luffy was dumb but I didn't think he was THAT stupid. Of course, Bones probably wouldn't have joined us anyway. Power like his and what the papers say his wife has too, on top of the reputation they're undoubtedly already amassing following their raid on High Town, they'll almost certainly have a full crew before they reach a place they could meet up with us again in the Grand Line. Given the choice, the average person willing to become a pirate would follow those two over Luffy in a heartbeat. Luffy would have to share or surrender the captaincy if a whole crew attempted to join like that unless he could win them over. Luffy may have the Color of the Supreme King, but is he any good as a captain?

Reiju thought about it for what was probably actually quite a while, trying to recall any instance where she'd followed Luffy for any reason other than because it would lead her to Sanji, and then to save Nami who she'd honestly grown quite fond of. Why did Zoro join him? Reiju mused, before realizing, Zoro only joined because I told him it would lead him to Mihawk. What about Usopp? …Usopp would've joined anyone who'd take him, especially after we sent the Black Cat Pirates packing and saved his home town. Sanji only came because of me and Nami. Nami came for a chance to be rid of Arlong. Gin followed us because… why DID Gin come with us? Is it because of what I said to him about the Grand Line?

Holy shit, she settled back against the tree she'd been propped in the shadow of, Nobody's actually here because of Luffy. We're all only here because of things BONES told us about! He could've scooped up the entire crew himself at any time he wanted! The only reason he didn't is because of… "Me…" Reiju breathed quietly as it dawned on her, "The only reason he didn't take everything from Luffy before Luffy ever even knew it was there be taken is because he cared more about getting me to trust him! But… but why would he…"

The answer came from a treacherous little voice in the back of her mind. It was just a whisper of a suspicion, but it was enough. For the first time since her father had done his level best to surgically seal away her emotions, she sank to the ground with tears of shock and horror in her eyes as she remembered the most important part of her final assessment of me before we parted ways in Shellstown, "What the hell did I throw away?"

Then she jumped at the sound of wood more or less exploding. To her shock, there in the moonlight was one slightly dazed Sanji shaking splinters out of his hair as the tree he'd apparently just run straight through collapsed behind him. He knelt down and offered her a concerned smile, "Reiju, are you okay?"

Reiju wiped her eyes, a smile forming despite her confusion, "How…?"

Sanji's smile took on a hint of pride, "A true gentleman never turns a deaf ear to the tears of a lady. Besides, I'd be a pretty shit excuse for a brother if I didn't come to check on my sister when she was crying. Do you want to talk about it?"

Reiju took a deep breath, "If I hadn't been here, and you hadn't known Nami was in danger, would you have followed Luffy?"

Sanji thought about it for a moment and then sat down to take a deep breath, "Having second thoughts? And no, definitely not. I'd have stayed at Baratie to repair whatever damage Don Krieg did and make sure the old geezer was alright. Luffy wouldn't have been able to drag me out of there. What brought this on?"

Reiju took a breath, nearly twenty years of instinct warring with the need to trust her baby brother with the truth. After a second she sighed, "I just realized, Bones could've taken our crew for himself very easily. I haven't told you how I met Bones and Zoro yet have I?"

Sanji bit back the surge of overprotectiveness, "No, I don't think so."

Reiju smiled, "I woke up in a tiny rowboat off the coast of Shellstown with Bones passed out in the other end of the boat. I took his revolver and used it to interrogate him when he woke up. He had no idea where we were until I told him my name. Then he realized where we were and claimed to have spent a wish to save me from Father because he thought life had dealt me a shitty hand and I deserved better." She let out a little snort of laughter, "I shot him point blank in the base of his spine when he said he knew where you were, it didn't even leave a mark. That's what he was comparing your kick to."

Sanji thought about what he'd seen the gun at Reiju's hip do to Don Krieg at twenty paces and thought about what it would do point blank, "I'm no longer offended by my kick being compared to that."

Reiju snorted, "Good. It was a very high compliment. Anyway, when that didn't work, I wrapped him in a headlock so I could poison him if he tried to fight back. He didn't even try to get out of it and just told me where you were even though I hadn't asked him yet. He apologized for whatever granted his wish being hamfisted about it and scaring me. Then, when I asked him why I was naked, I sleep in the nude whenever I can, don't freak out, he immediately offered me his jacket and shirt to cover up with and refused to look until I told him I was dressed."

She shook her head slightly and glanced up at the moon, "When he saw me… Sanji, I've never had anyone look at me like that. The people of Germa look at me with the utmost respect and admiration but… he gave me the same look you gave those pictures of Viola and the mermaid princess. Like I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. I still didn't trust him, but no matter how many times I threatened to kill him, aside from pointing out that he'd fight back with everything he had if I tried, he was nothing but cordial, friendly and affectionately teasing. That last one admittedly drove me up the wall because I thought he was mocking me, but in retrospect he was just trying to be as jovial and comforting as he could. He cleared an entire busy street to give me a moment of privacy when I needed it and looked genuinely horrified by the thought of me hurting myself as a coping mechanism. I don't, but he didn't know that and does know how guilty I feel about all the deaths I've caused."

She took a deep breath, "When I asked him to write down his supposed future knowledge and leave so I could verify the truth without any chance of him interfering, he wrote all of this," she pulled the papers I'd left her from their hiding place beneath her shirt, "visibly agonizing over making sure he didn't forget a single thing, and then he left, with nothing but an offering of his sincere best wishes for my future even if he was wrong about everything."

Sanji took a drag of the cigarette he'd lit while he listened and then let it out, "Okay. So, he's head over heels in love with you. Or, at the very least he was at that time," he mused, "Given that he got hitched a few weeks later." He tilted his head back and thought for a moment, "Shit, he's just like me."

Reiju started slightly, "What?"

"At least in his response to beautiful women," Sanji clarified, "Think about it. He did all that for you, and then ran hard and fast enough to run on the surface of the sea for what sounds like nearly an entire day to keep Arlong from having even a ghost of a chance of getting at Nami. If everything's the way you've said, then yeah, I'd say it's pretty safe to say he loved you. Might still honestly, I've got enough love for all the ladies in the world. It wouldn't surprise me if he does too. I've never had anyone reciprocate, but if I did…" he took a light drag of his cigarette, "I'd do anything in the world for her, but I'd still help out any beautiful woman in need."

"So, what do you think?" Reiju asked quietly.

Sanji ground his cigarette between his teeth a little in thought, "I think I'm still missing something. You clearly didn't miss how he felt about you, so it's not some big revelation to you right now. You mentioned Mosshead at the start of all this, what's he got to do with anything?"

Reiju blinked and then realized she'd gotten sidetracked, "Oh, right. So, Bones and I arrived at Shellstown, a day before Luffy did. If I hadn't been so paranoid and just trusted him, Bones and I could've sprung and recruited Zoro ourselves and then taken off and done everything we've done with Luffy. The crew, the ship, everything. Everything that's gone smoothly, and aside from the fight with Buggy the Clown which Bones even specifically warned us about because he suspected how dangerous Buggy could actually be, everything has gone smoothly… because of the guidance Bones left me in these pages."

Sanji nodded as understanding dawned on him, "So you're kicking yourself for chasing off the apparently oracular and highly competent captain that loved you and getting stuck with the moronic amateur."

"Luffy's, not a bad person," Reiju mused, "But… be honest Sanji, do you think he could've gotten us this far? Is he capable of leading a crew in the Grand Line?"

"Is he even leading us now?" Sanji asked dryly, "If everything's as you've said, then he's not the one leading us. Bones is, through you."

To say the notion hit Reiju like a wagon of bricks would be an understatement. For her, everything made a sudden, shocking sense as all the pieces to the puzzle of my behavior fell into place.

By giving her knowledge of the route they could take and what they'd find on it, I'd charted the Strawhats' course through the East Blue by making it the surest route available. I'd picked the members and laid out the circumstances that would result in their recruitment. By making her paranoid about my influence, I'd given her reason to warn the others about the source of her information and in doing so ensured that they knew their constant and overwhelming success was due to my help. What better resume to lead them could I give than leading them to success without even having to be there?

Then on top of all that was the rash of calls I'd made to them over the last two days to establish my honesty and genuine concern for them. After that, the insane undertaking of literally running across the East Blue to help them against Arlong, and upon arrival my display of power that was impressive even by the standards of the New World, with my friends Sabo and Koala there to ensure they knew how impressive it was. After that, my restraint in dealing with Luffy when I could've killed him on the spot, to prove that I wasn't unreasonable and had better self-control than he did before openly stating my intention to take his crew.

Lastly and possibly most diabolical of all, I'd openly declared that I'd no longer be providing information except by request. The path paving information I'd provided had just dried up, meaning that now any failures would be blamed on Luffy's incompetence as a leader. Meanwhile, any advice I gave would be enjoying the benefit of my future knowledge, and as I'd left the line open to everyone but Luffy for requests, the crew could quickly come to see me as the same sort of unparalleled resource that Reiju had once she'd begun to believe me… and an amazingly good alternative to Luffy.

"I've had extensive training in how to be a magnificent bastard."

Reiju covered her mouth to keep in the little shriek of shock as my words echoed in her mind, and a moment later breathed, "Holy shit… This is what he meant…"

"About… what?" Sanji asked curiously.

Reiju took a steadying breath, "When Bones told me what he used to do for a living, I accused him of being a good liar to start with and having been trained extensively to be a manipulative bastard. He fired back that he'd had extensive training in how to be a magnificent bastard, like being called merely manipulative was underselling his abilities. I just realized what he meant," she looked Sanji in the eyes and for the first time in nearly twenty years looked genuinely scared, "Sanji, I think he's been planning to take our crew for himself this entire time."

Sanji raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"…and the worst part is that I don't even know if I'd mind!" Reiju exclaimed, "He's made his case Sanji! Without ever even being here, he's led us to nothing but success after success, and when he did show up, he effortlessly slaughtered one of the strongest forces in the East Blue as an olive branch to us before showing us the path to dodging the potential backlash from the government that we weren't even aware we were in the line of fire for! What's Luffy led us to? What's he done? Luffy's a powerful fighter, but he's not better than Zoro or me or you! He's certainly nowhere near as formidable as Bones,and that's literally all he's good for! Sanji, you're right! Bones has been using me as his proxy to undermine Luffy's chances of remaining captain this whole time, but he is better than Luffy for the position! And I…"

She pulled up short for a second before asking with a faint tinge of desperation, "Sanji, am I a horrible friend for thinking all this?"

Sanji took a deep breath as he considered his answer and then sighed, "Well, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that you're not wrong about Luffy. I think you're overestimating Bones though. Things are playing out in his favor if his goal really is to take our crew into his own, I'm not going to deny that, BUT," he added sharply, "…I don't think he intended that from the beginning though. Could you see his face when Luffy said he didn't want him around?"

Reiju thought for a moment and then shook her head, "No, I couldn't."

"I did," Sanji declared quietly, "He just looked confused when he landed, like he half expected to wake up flying through the air. When Luffy said that he didn't want Bones around though? Bones looked utterly devastated. It was quick, but I could see it in his face. For just that first second before he spoke, he looked like how I felt when I heard those two girls I told you about laughing at me. If you want my opinion, I think he wanted to be Luffy's friend, and Luffy rejecting him turned all that good will into fury and hate.

"Did you notice he wasn't angry at any of us except Luffy, even though I'd tried to knock his head off?" Sanji asked before pointing out, "Hell, you made a very credible bid to kill him yourself, and by your own admission threatened to repeatedly. Koala says she threatened to kill him when they first met. None of that's made him angry. When Zoro and I actively tried to convince him to leave us alone though? That actually pissed him off enough to claim he was done with us until you talked him down.

"Trying to kill him doesn't upset him and I think words spoken in fear don't either," Sanji surmised, "But us saying we didn't want him around? Especially Luffy, since Luffy had just declared him trustworthy and a good guy? That actually really hurt him."

Then he remembered something, "And! You remember when you were talking to Mihawk? He said Bones and World Tour both wanted to join Luffy's crew in Loguetown! Now that I think about it, he sounded really upset when he said he was taking Zoro's girlfriend to get surgery instead of joining us in Loguetown. Reiju, he wasn't trying to convince us to join him…"

"He was trying to join us…" Reiju finished quietly, "That's what he's wanted this whole time!" She threaded her hands into her hair and looked up at the stars, "How did I not see this? He told me how lonely he was in his old life! How he felt like he was just a hollow shell going through the motions! And he was so excited about meeting Luffy and Zoro at Shellstown! He was doing everything he could to get us to like him because he wanted to be our friend more than anything!"

"…Do you think there's any chance of him forgiving Luffy?" Sanji asked after a moment.

Reiju thought a moment before sighing, "Probably not. Even as angry as he was when you and Zoro tried to chase him off, he was only ready to cut ties with us. He flat out declared war on Luffy. I don't think he'll be satisfied until he makes Luffy feel as crushed as he did. He knows Luffy, and I don't believe for a second he needs any of us. I think he threatened to take us and Luffy's dream because he believes that'll hurt Luffy worse than any amount of beating he could give him. You, didn't read the future he saw for the Baratie," Reiju mused as she pulled out the pages in question and handed them over, "I'm inclined to agree with him. If Luffy can really shrug off all of that, then nothing Bones can do short of dismemberment is going to even slow him down."

Sanji read through the pages fairly quickly, his face going pale as he read the lengths Don Krieg would've gone to in order to win, as well as just how much punishment Luffy could actually take. When he finished, he handed the papers back, "If all that's what would've happened if you hadn't shot that guy, then I owe you a cake or... something. I, kind of feel bad having to ask, but what's your favorite food?"

Reiju blinked and then laughed lightly, "Apples. Armored Stonefish poison from the New World is an incredible delicacy that I'd say ties with apples, but its LD50 for humans other than me is less than a microgram, and it's only found in the New World."

Sanji nodded as he started reviewing recipes in his head, "Apple tarts, apple pies, tarte tatin, apple cakes…"

Reiju snorted with a smirk, "Little brother, if you keep talking sexy like that, I'm going to think you're flirting with me." She burst out laughing as Sanji gave her the blankest look of incomprehension she'd ever seen before blushing as red as the apples he was planning to cook. In that happy little moment, things didn't look quite so bad.

…

…Meanwhile, Marineford…

…

"JIIIHAHAHA!" Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, Zephyr and everyone else who heard it jolted awake as they heard the Golden Lion laugh. When they saw the light shining in from outside they rushed to the balcony and found that someone was using a Vis-snail, projecting onto the walls of Marine HQ.

Though they had been drinking in their sorrow, they were far from drunk, and all four of Marine HQ's most respected veterans quickly moved to get a view of what was being projected. Tsuru nearly fell out of the air in surprise as she realized what she was seeing.

"So, you're de one who pooled an entiah fleet out of nowheah dis mohning and then saved theyah ahses when I tried to sink dem huh?" Shiki asked with a grin and a psychotic light in his eye as he hovered before the Vis-snail that was transmitting back to Marineford. With the moon and clouds behind him he struck an imposing figure in the light of the fires burning below and behind him, "Ahnd now you've wiped out all o' my Hell Beasts ahnd my troops, evacuated all o' mah slaves wit' yoah powuh, set fiah to mah fohtress ahnd ship, ahnd come to poot an end to me once ahnd for all? Hahve I got all dat right little girl?"

"I'd say that's the gist of it," Ain replied calmly, her Marine uniform coat flapping in the wind.

"You've got guts Girly! I like yoah style!" Shiki laughed, "It takes some real bolls to stahnd up to me like dis, especially aftah seeing wot I did this mohning. Nohmally I'd offah you a spot in mah crew for de sheer bollsiness alone, ahnd I'd make you mah right hand foh all you've accomplished right ondah mah nose, boht I hope you undahstand…"

Shiki's entire demeanor changed in an instant as the islands floating behind him surged forward into the shape of flying lions, "THAT YOU'VE JOST RUINED A PLAHN TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING! I'M GOING TO FOHKING KILL YOU, YOU STINKING BRAAAAAAAAAT!"

Nobody could see it because the camera was behind her, but Ain smirked, "Flash Modo." And in a flash of pink light, Ain was gone.

Shiki's eyes bugged half out of his head in the split second before Ain's Armament blackened foot slammed into the side of his head with enough force to send him careening through the air, right into another kick to the face that actually broke and bloodied Shiki's nose. As Shiki careened through the air, Ain kicked off the air and conjured that pink light into her hands with a grin, "Eraser… MODO!"

Credit to Shiki, he managed to yank an entire island between him and the river of pink time reversal pulses. He was hidden from the Vis-snail's view for a moment and it was impossible to tell if Ain's attack had succeeded or not. Then the entire floating archipelago of Merveille shook and nearly fell from the sky as Shiki bellowed in pain.

Ain and all those watching her dared to allow themselves a moment of hope. Then the shuddering and descending islands steadied as Shiki's laugh echoed out of the giant dust storm now forming in the center of the floating archipelago, "JIIIIIIIIIIHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!"

"I owe you a debt o' tanks Girly…" Shiki declared, the very archipelago itself seeming to speak with his voice. "Foh de first time in neahly t'irty years, I cahn tink cleahly. So, ahs a sincere tank you, I'll give you dis singulah honah…"

The island between the camera and Shiki was suddenly slashed apart by an attack that Ain only narrowly dodged out of the way of. An instant later, Shiki was right in front of her, swords in his hands, his feet regrown, and even his head free of the steering wheel that had been lodged there in his fight against Gol D. Roger at the Battle of Edd War. He slashed down at her and even though she blocked it with a hastily drawn bowie knife, the force of it still sent her flying back onto the floating island she'd left the Vis-snail on, "De singulah honah of being de last person evah to get to face Golden Lion Shiki IN HIS PRIIIIIME!"

Ain flipped back to her feet and grinned as she sheathed her knife and her hands started glowing again, "I wouldn't have it any other way. ERASER… MODO!"

The pink light roared out, and then Shiki appeared in the blink of an eye right behind Ain, "Nice try." BOOM!

Ain went skipping and rolling away as Shiki's kick slammed into her side, the ground falling away below her as Shiki disintegrated the floating island below her with a snap of his fingers. In an instant, the dust and debris that had seconds before been an island became a hail of massive spears that hurtled through the air like bullets after Ain's falling form.

"I figyuhed it out," Shiki smirked, "Yoah powah allows you to rewind the things it hits in pulses, I'd guess a little ovah a decade per hit. If you cahn hit me with enough of them, you'll erase me. Dat's why you fiah dem in barrages, but that won't help you against somet'ing as old as an island being t'rown aht you."

Then he nonchalantly ducked as Ain reappeared next to him, torquing out a kick laced with pink light at his head. Shiki's sword lashed out and Ain sucked in a hiss of air to keep from screaming in pain as he scored a deep cut across her thigh and knocked her from the air, slamming her to the ground and pinning her there with one of his swords buried clean through her shoulder. She'd only just barely managed to jerk out of the way of the sword skewering her heart or lung. Then he had to shoot away in between blinks as Ain unleashed a wave of pink light in all directions.

He was back a second later after throwing a rock through the Eraser Wave to disperse it. With furious contempt he hammered a vicious stomp into her head, "Unfohtunately foh you, yoah powah moves much slowah than you yohself do, so you haf to get in close onless you want yoah attack to be dodged by an opponent wit' greatah mobility."

Then Ain vanished from under his foot and reappeared behind him in another flash of pink light. Shiki spun, his blades lashing out and narrowly missing her as she disappeared and reappeared behind him again mid turn. Ain grinned and discharged one of the twin single-handed blunderbusses she carried into the back of his head with her good hand. The fist sized round shot knocked him reeling, but it didn't kill him the way she'd hoped it would. Instead, the ground erupted beneath her in a sculpture of a hand flipping the bird, said bird catching her right in the ribs with enough force to crack them. Then the hand sculpture levitated and flicked her away like a bug.

"Somet'ing else yoah powah allows you to do is move instantaneously frohm one location to anothah, ahnd bring t'ings ahnd people wit you. At fuhst I t'ought you might be simply dat fast, boat now I see dat's how you moved dat fleet dis mohning," Shiki mused as he waited for the next attack. He didn't have to wait long as a torrent of pink light rocketed forward from the shadow of one of the floating islands. Shiki just smirked and with a flick of his finger raised a wall of earth between him and the pink light that would erase him. He only barely managed to hurl himself back out of the way with his Devil Fruit power as the earthen wall vanished when Ain's attack hit it, the rest of the beam flying on through unimpeded.

"So you cahn move t'ings yoah powah hits wit'out having to touch dem yoahself huh?" Shiki mused before realizing he had just flown into the center of an omnidirectional barrage of thousands of Ain's Eraser Bolts that were all converging on him.

He allowed himself a split second to be impressed, "Now dat's impressive…boat not good enough!" he roared as he shot headlong into a section of the Eraser Bolts, letting his swords soak them up in a flurry of blows as he hurled two of the floating islands together behind him to soak up the rest in case she could control them after they were fired.

What followed was several minutes of Shiki being out of the Vis-snail's line of sight as streaks of pink light raced through the air trying to hit him. Swaths of earth and sea surged and writhed through the air to take the blows for him as he continued to race through the sky. Every time he thought he had a shot, Shiki lashed out with flying slashes from his swords that cleaved the floating islands they hit in half. The most amazing thing though was that the little Vis-snail was still broadcasting.

"Come on Ain…" Tsuru whispered, searching the feed for any sign of her granddaughter, "Don't you lose to that old blowhard!"

Zephyr chuckled, "You haven't seen it yet, have you?"

Tsuru and Garp looked at him in surprise, but a second later Sengoku started chuckling too. "Well now that you point it out Zephyr, I do believe she's got this in the bag."

Tsuru looked at Sengoku, "What?! Pointed what out?!"

"Every time he blocks with his Float-float powers, she's getting rid of more and more of his cover, and she's corralling him into the center. The instant he runs out of cover, or Ain gets rid of enough of it to blast through everything that's left, Ain wins," Zephyr declared with a fiercely proud grin, "And Shiki hasn't realized it yet."

Then, the entire world seemed to glow pink on the display and Ain's voice was distantly audible for those with the sharpest of ears as she revealed her trump card, "TRUE ERASER MODO… STAR STORM!"

Then the feed cut out as Merveille, and everything in its vicinity, was reduced to dust and debris and scattered to the breeze. This was the power of the final and strongest technique I had devised for her: True Eraser Modo, a hailstorm of narrow displacement bolts that would only displace what they touched… not what was attached to what they touched. In short? A disintegration cannon she could make big enough to decimate an entire island.

The Vis-snail feed cut back on again a moment later, revealing that Ain had teleported the Vis-snail to her shoulder at the very last second. The snail opened its eyes just in time to show Ain snatching Shiki's swords, the sheathes for them that Shiki hadn't used in over thirty years, and his severed and startled looking head out of thin air. As the floating archipelago of Merveille collapsed back into the sea, sending sea water splashing hundreds of meters into the air, Ain teleported back to Marineford.

She waved Shiki's head with a tired, wan smile as Tsuru, Zephyr, Garp and Sengoku landed in front of her at the base of Marine HQ. Her eyes were trying hard to slide out of focus and it was clearly only sheer grit and determination keeping her upright as she stumbled forward, "Hi Grandma, I won…"

She'd cut it far closer than anyone would've liked, and gotten herself terribly hurt, but as she collapsed into Tsuru's arms and finally let herself pass out, Tsuru wasn't sure she had ever been more proud of her. Then as Tsuru laid her down and her three best friends called for a medic, she went to check the wounds she knew she had seen Ain take, and found to her shock that they were gone.

Not 'healed', gone. Almost as though…

"Eraser Modo…" Tsuru muttered in wonder, before glancing up as Zephyr peered over her shoulder in concern. "She rewound herself and then popped back to completely heal her wounds, just like your arm!"

Zephyr started slightly in surprise, "That's new. I wonder who came up with that, and all those other new tricks she pulled out of her sleeve," he added before musing, "It's the sort of out of the box thinking the most versatile and dangerous devil fruit users exhibit… and no offense to her, but Ain's never been that out of the box. Even her Location Return ability is something she discovered by complete accident thinking about that little hole in the wall barbeque joint she found on shore leave in Burger Kingdom."

Tsuru thought about snapping at him in defense of her granddaughter, then gave a little shrug as she admitted to herself that he was right.

Ain was many things, but overly creative had never been one of them. She was by the book, through and through. Even with her ability allowing her to make a rendezvous at any location she'd ever visited, she'd only been able to take over handling the Marines' circle of informants because she'd inherited Tsuru's playbook, which had been long praised as one of the most comprehensive in the history of the organization.

The only way to fluster Ain, which was never the less guaranteed to do so, was to find something she didn't have a set mental protocol for. Being aware of her granddaughter's nature, Tsuru had trained her very thoroughly and taught her very well, so such circumstances were incredibly rare. That had still done absolutely nothing to help when Ain had stumbled into one of Garp's more extreme bouts of shenanigans one day. The poor girl had been confused and fretting herself nearly to tears within twenty minutes over what she'd seen.

It was a rare enough occurrence that it wasn't considered an issue, in large part because anybody who could put up with nonsense of Garp's level without batting an eye was almost guaranteed a deployment to the New World. Half the reason Sengoku let Garp continue with his nonsense was as an impromptu litmus test for everyone's sanity and capacity for improvisation. Ain had passed the sanity portion of the test at least.

All that in mind, Tsuru started considering what could've prompted Ain to suddenly develop and implement what she counted in her head to be no less than half a dozen major new techniques with her Devil Fruit. She was incredibly pleased about it of course. Ain would almost certainly net at least one rank promotion for beating Shiki and saving as many as possible of the Task Force sent to deal with him along with all the civilians. On top of that, her new abilities made her a tactical asset on par with or possibly even surpassing the three admirals if used properly. It still bore thinking about though, what happened?

No, Tsuru mused, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully as she moved back to let the medics work, Ain wouldn't have come up with all this on her own. So who did? Was it one of her subordinates? Or maybe one of her informants? She has a good enough repertoire with them to call and ask for… advice…

Then it clicked. Who would Ain call for advice about an upcoming fight? The person she thought would have the best intel on the opponent, especially if that person had an axe to grind with said opponent… like the person who set up the fight in the first place. Tsuru's hand dropped limply to her side and she went nearly as white as her hair. Zephyr noticed and looked at her in concern, "Tsuru? What's wrong?"

"We can NOT let him get his hands on a Paramecia…" Tsuru declared numbly, before casting her gaze to the heavens, "Please God, let him find a Logia or a Mythical Zoan type with simple SET powers instead that he'll think is good enough and eat immediately!"

Zephyr put two and two together and crossed his arms, already bracing for the worst, "Okay Tsuru, which of Ain's informants told her how to do all that?"

Tsuru met his gaze and Zephyr held back a minor flinch as she told him in a faintly haunted voice, "Whitebeard Jr."

Zephyr considered the prospect of me with the unpredictable, off the wall and just flat out insane abilities even a harmless sounding paramecia could grant and grimaced, "I see your point."

…

…The Next Morning, Shore Near Shimotsuki Village…

…

With Yama-chan going all night at the forge, I hadn't had any real measure of time. My only cue for 'go to bed now' was Yama-chan being there.

The rest of the crew had all gone to sleep in hammocks Jango had picked up in town and slung between trees, but I'd intended to work just a bit longer. Despite having been working at a manic pace all day, I was nothing like tired. I'd been keeping it down, but with all of them asleep and my focus on my work, I'd had no idea so much time was passing by.

I was faintly aggravated with myself as I resigned myself to sleeping through most of the morning. I actually had been intending on getting some sleep, and sleep I was going to get. It really wasn't an option. Even if I wasn't physically exerting myself as hard as I had on the run to Cocoyashi and back, I'd still been thinking nonstop, and the last thing I needed was to get loopy from sleep deprivation.

This ship was going to be our home, fortress and safe haven, in addition to being our primary means of transportation. I knew I'd improve it constantly as need and possibility arose, but considering the complexity of what I was building? The base structure had to be damn near perfect. I couldn't guarantee that if I wasn't at 100%, especially since I was really the only one working on it.

Now the sun was coming up and a News Coo was sitting on the edge of the deck I was building.

I blinked at the News Coo.

The News Coo blinked at me.

I rummaged in my pocket and found a 100 beri coin. After dropping the coin into the News Coo's little pouch, I accepted the paper he pulled out with his beak, "Thank you."

I unfurled it and if I had been tired, I'd have been woken straight up by the headline:

HERO OF MERVILLE: COMMODORE AIN OF MARINE HQ DEFEATS GOLDEN LION SHIKI!

…

…Three Hours Later, Cocoyashi Village…

…

"Wait, hold up," Koala asked sharply over breakfast, "You're going to the Grand Line with only six crewmembers?!"

Those native to the East Blue (plus Sanji and minus Sabo and Gin) blinked in confusion. Reiju nearly choked on her omelet in surprise and Gin did choke on his tangerine juice.

Luffy's only response was a confused, "Yeah?" Despite having mostly healed from his broken jaw and having somehow regrown the teeth I'd knocked out of him, he was still eating only soft foods for another day or two.

Sabo shook his head, "Nope, absolutely not. Even as small as the Merry is, you need more crewmates."

Luffy gave Sabo a look and then started counting, "But I've got a navigator, a doctor, a cook, a sniper and a Zoro."

Sabo took a deep breath, "Yes, and what will you do if one of them gets sick or injured?"

"I'll beat up anyone who hurts my crew!" Luffy declared sharply as he raised his fist and clapped his bicep, "…And my crew won't get sick, they're strong!"

Reiju's fork suddenly bent in half between her fingers with a squeak of protest as her eye twitched, "Luffy, strength does not determine health. Even the strongest people in the world can get sick."

"But I've never been sick," Luffy protested.

Reiju let out a very aggravated sigh and glanced at Sabo as she bent her fork back straight, "Has he?"

"Not that I've ever seen," Sabo noted, his face twisting slightly with concern as he started wondering how to explain to Luffy how serious getting sick could be since he knew Luffy wouldn't understand if it wasn't explained properly.

"Is getting sick really that bad?" Luffy asked.

Reiju thought for a second and then, "Luffy, do you remember how your jaw felt when Bones hit you?"

Luffy gingerly prodded the still tender area of his jaw, "Yeah? Is being sick like that?"

"Imagine that but all over your body," Reiju instructed, "That is what being very sick can feel like. It can also make your nose run like you've eaten something really spicy to the point you have trouble breathing. It can make your head feel like Bones is inside it trying to punch his way out. It can make you cough and sneeze and your eyes all caked up with gunk to where you can't see. It can make you feel like you're on fire as your body tries to fight the sickness off. It can make you vomit until you starve or have to use the toilet until you shrivel up and die. Your skin can turn red and itch nonstop or break out in open sores like you've been scraped up. You could end up like Yosaku was when we found him, with your teeth falling out and all your old wounds opening up. Your internal organs can just straight up die. You could just straight up die! It's usually at least a few of those all at once. Those are just some of the things that can happen when you're sick, and it can happen to anyone."

To call Luffy's expression 'gob smacked and horrified' would be putting it quite lightly.

Reiju nodded, "And while I can probably get a member of our crew through any of that, it would take a few days. What happens if we've got two or three people too sick to help when a storm or fight arrives? If we only have seven people to begin with, then we'd only have half our crew to get through it. We've got a very high quality crew, you're not wrong about that. Any one of us is probably as good as any five, maybe even ten other people in our respective strengths, but even if we're each equal to a thousand, that does not mean we can afford to skimp out on recruitment."

"Stronger people than us die in the Grand Line daily, weaker ones die by the dozens," Koala added somberly, "You can't go in there assuming nobody on your crew is going to get hurt or sick Luffy. You need to have somebody to pick up the slack if someone's hurt or sick, because no matter how strong you are, you can't protect everyone from everything."

Luffy seemed to shrink in on himself a little at the thought and then it was like a light bulb clicking on as he made up his mind, "Right, so how do we get more crew members, and how many do we need?"

Nojiko cleared her throat, "Um, you've got one more. I'm coming with you. Genzo's going to look after the farm until we come home. Nami didn't spend the last ten years collecting all that money just for us to split up now."

She and Nami missed the way Sanji's head snapped around and the obvious excitement on his face because he was behind her, but nobody else did.

"I don't have any particularly amazing talents like Nami," Nojiko clarified, "But I can learn, and you do need the extra hands."

Luffy looked at Sabo, Koala and Reiju in excitement, "We've got…! Um…" He glanced down at his fingers and tried to count before holding up eight fingers, "Eight! How many more do we need?"

Sabo held up ten fingers with a very serious expression. He saw Luffy open his mouth to question it and cut him off, "A small crew is twenty people. Ten more will put you two people short of that, but tolerably close."

Luffy thought about it for a moment and then, "So where do we get ten more people?"

Sabo opened his mouth to reply and then froze, a thought almost visibly crossing his mind before his face settled into a grin that even Luffy found sightly unnerving. The most telling reaction though was from Koala who immediately leaned away, "Oh my god, Sabo, no. Whatever you're thinking, n-YOU PUT THAT SNAIL AWAY RIGHT NOW!"

Sabo was out the door in the blink of an eye, running and dialing with Koala hot on his heels as he called, "GIMME A FEW MINUTES LUFFY, I'VE GOT AN IDEA!"

"IT'S A BAD ONE!" Koala shouted.

Silence reigned for a few minutes and then as Sanji passed out the fresh batch of biscuits he'd just pulled from the oven, then Gin spoke up, "I don't think I should join your crew Luffy, I'm already a known and wanted pirate. Your best bet for recruiting other than whatever your brother's cooking up is going to be Loguetown, and if you have a known pirate with you when you reach Loguetown, Captain Smoker will absolutely demolish you."

Reiju sat up in surprise, "Captain Smoker is in Loguetown?"

Gin looked at her, surprised she didn't know such a common bit of information, "Yeah? Loguetown is his domain, he's the reason that nobody makes it to the Grand Line from the East Blue. Even the Krieg Armada only made it because we stayed far away from Loguetown. Every pirate worth their salt knows that if you've got a bounty or anything that marks you as a pirate, you stay the hell away from Loguetown."

Reiju nodded, "That makes sense. There're probably very few people in the East Blue who could handle Smoker. Not many people in the first half of the Grand Line could handle Smoker."

"Is this Smoky guy really that tough?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I've heard of him," Zoro noted as the discussion jogged his memory, "Smoker the White Hunter. He's supposed to be the strongest Marine in the East Blue."

"As well as the only Logia the Marines have below the rank of Vice Admiral," Reiju clarified, "He was Germa's escort to Reverie eight years ago."

Sanji flinched, "Oh shit…"

Everyone except Reiju looked at Sanji in surprise, "What's a Logia?" Nami asked in concern.

"A Devil Fruit that turns you into an element," Sanji clarified, "The way Luffy's rubber? Smoker's a natural element. Guessing smoke from the name?"

Reiju nodded, "That's right, and he carries a Seastone baton that can shut down other peoples' Devil Fruits. Unless you have Armament Haki or Seastone, you'd be literally fighting an angry cloud that you can't hit while he can casually beat you to a pulp. My brothers decided to test themselves against him because they'd never met a Logia before, and once my father gave him permission, Smoker trounced all three of them at once without breaking a sweat."

"What's Haki? Are your brothers strong?" Luffy asked, a serious expression on his face despite the way his cheeks were bulged out from how much food was stuffed into his mouth.

"It's the technique Bones used to hit through your immunity to blunt forces," Reiju clarified, "I'm aware of it, but I've never learned it myself. Sabo probably knows it. Your grandfather Garp definitely does. And for perspective, they're all as strong as Sanji with extra abilities comparable to Devil Fruits."

"No, Grandpa uses Fist of Love, not whatever this Haki stuff is," Luffy replied, "So this Smoky guy's really strong huh?"

Reiju paused just before taking a bite and gave Luffy a very dry look, clearly contemplating the difficulty of convincing Luffy that his Grandpa knew it, "Fine then, Garp uses Fist of Love. Sabo still probably has Haki, and yes, Captain Smoker is extremely formidable even by the standards of the first half of the Grand Line."

"Do you think he can teach me?" Luffy asked.

"If we avoid fighting Captain Smoker though, then we won't need it right?" Usopp pointed out.

"And Smoker currently has no reason to come after us because we're not officially pirates," Nami mused, "So as long as we don't call ourselves pirates or outright state we're recruiting for a pirate crew, we can just poke around Loguetown with impunity."

"And no, Sabo will not be teaching you Armament Haki so you can go pick a fight with a guy known for wiping out pirate crews ten times as big as yours in seconds," Koala added sharply as she dragged a dazed looking Sabo with a bloody nose back in by the collar, "And neither will I!"

"What was his idea?" Zoro asked curiously.

"A very bad one that could've gotten a lot more people hurt than helped if things went wrong," Koala declared, "Don't worry about it. See who you can find in Loguetown. If you have to wait a little longer to go to the Grand Line, it's worth it to not have you all dead!"

.

…Meanwhile, Shores of Shimotsuki…

.

"The fuck was that?" Ulti asked with a raised eyebrow in response to me jerking like I'd been jabbed in a soft spot with an icicle.

"Just a twitch," I replied calmly to ease the concern in my crewmates' faces, "Don't worry, they happen. Interesting to know that damn cat's still around."

"Which cat?" Jango asked curiously.

"The one that's been running back and forth over my grave periodically for years," I replied, "If I ever find the damn thing it's gonna wish I hadn't."

"What's that got to do with you suddenly jumping like that?" Maria asked curiously, now having mastered the trick of being shrunk down to normal people size.

"It's an old superstition where I'm from," I explained, "Like if you sneeze it means somebody's talking about you, and if it hurts when you sneeze, they were talking shit about you."

"I've heard that one," Page One noted.

I nodded, "Well if you ever get a twitch like that, it means a cat ran over your grave. Or so the superstition goes."

"Must not be any cats on the island where I'll die," Ulti noted.

"Same," Maria, Page and Jango agreed.

I shrugged, "It's probably actually just some sort of crossed wire in my nervous system, but the superstition's more fun. Ah, speaking of fun, anyone have any particular requests for the ship?"

"Can I have a fishing perch?"

"Dance floor?"

"Tornado Potatoes?"

"A king sized bed big enough for ten plus me?" We all did a small double take over that one and looked at Maria who blushed, "It's not that big a request is it?"

"Ten guys at once Mari, really?" Ulti asked dryly.

Maria blinked in confusion and then realized how it had sounded, "WHAT?! NO! I mean, that would be insanely hot yes, but I just like cuddle piles and I toss and turn a lot in my sleep when I don't have anyone to cuddle!"

"I'll cuddle with you Mari," Page volunteered, "You know it won't be a sex thing with me."

Ulti went ghostly pale and then before Maria could thank Page, she demanded, "WHO TAUGHT PAYPAY THE SEX WORD?!"

"The sex word?" Jango asked in confusion and narrowly concealed amusement.

Page sighed, "Ulti, we had a brothel on Onigashima! Mari ran it! I know what sex is! And if you must know it was Queen."

"I AM GONNA KILL THAT FAT POMPOUS PRICK!" Ulti roared indignantly.

"Why?" Page asked in confusion and exasperation, "I had a great time with the girls he introduced me to."

Before Ulti could flip out any further, I interjected, "Honestly Mari, I thought you were just referencing that song."

That was sufficient to distract everybody from Ulti learning Page had a sex life, including Ulti. "I wasn't aware there was a song with a line like that," Mari admitted, "How's it go?"

I got up, went, got my guitar and came back, trying to remember the notes before whistling out the start of it and beginning to strum and sing,

"I'm through wiiith… standin' in line to pubs I'll never get in,

It's like the bottom of the bilge and I'm never gonna win!

This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be…

So tell me whatcha want.

I want a big sail that can hold the squalls,

And a big black ship, with some cannon balls!

We'll send 'em all to Davy Jones 20,000 leagues under the seeea!

So how ya gonna do it?

All of us love a good party, and with me singing, dancing and generally cutting up, the others quickly joined in and we had quite a good time. Unsurprisingly, the pirate sea shanty version of 'Rockstar' became a favorite tune among our crew. I had to improvise the lyrics a bit, but thankfully I'd heard a sea shanty version of 'Rockstar' before and had something to go off of.

.

…That Night, A Certain Bar In A Certain Town…

.

The bar was a small one, frequented in more recent years only by a small eclectic handful of people, mostly oddballs, but all who enjoyed the quiet... and the local Marine Captain who occasionally dropped by to talk to the owner/bartender. Tonight was the one night a week all the oddballs dropped by, and for once one of the normal folk had come too, and brought his son and young daughter along. In addition, the local Marine Captain had come too as a favor to an old friend.

The man's son was having his first drinks, in a quiet safe bar rather than a loud and rowdy one. This was at the request of his father who knew very well how dangerous his son could be if the drink were to take him wrong. This was also the reason the Marine Captain was there. The man, a veteran bounty hunter and former Marine Sniper, was an old friend of his. Daddy Masterson knew very well that no matter how fearsome a fighter his son Nathan might be, Captain Smoker would be able to handle him easily if he got out of control. His young daughter Carrol was there too as Masterson was a single parent and couldn't just leave her at home alone.

They'd thought to have a peaceful and quiet evening, but they'd run into an unexpected form of entertainment. One of the regular oddballs, part of the group that came by every Thursday evening, was well known among all who knew him for telling the tallest of tales. Upon realizing he had an eager listener in young Carrol Masterson, the slightly tipsy man had ordered a water and begun to tell what all his friends would later agree to be one of his tallest tales yet.

Smoker normally wasn't the sort for such frivolity, but as he calmly and quietly sipped his rum, he had to admit the scruffy dockhand did have a knack for telling tales.

"And then, before their very eyes, the wishing star began to glow!" the scruffy man narrated, "The wizard couldn't believe his eyes! After all his hard work, his wish would finally be granted! But then as the star grew brighter and brighter, he heard a noise. Crick! CRICKCRICKCLINKCRAAASH! The statues the wizard had made to keep him company exploded!"

Carrol gasped, "Oh no!"

"The wishing star made his statue friends explode?!" Nathan demanded in every bit as much shock as his little sister.

"VOOOOBABOOOOOOM!" the story teller threw his hands to the air, "Before the pieces even hit the ground, great pillars of light erupted from them as the wishing star flashed! In a mighty whirl of magical lights and color, the wizard knew, his wish had been granted! But not the wish he sought! His friends were alive!"

Smoker raised his eyebrow and cracked a small smile, he hadn't been expecting that.

"When the lights and whirling colors faded, the wizard looked around, and though his friends had vanished, scattered to the four winds… he knew what he had to do: 'I must go find my friends!' And so he set off, to find the friends he'd wished to life on the adventures awaiting on the way to the land of Dawn! The… Beginning!" the story teller finished with a smile.

Later that night, after Captain Smoker and the Masterson family had left, the story teller had resumed drinking himself to his happy place. "Ya know Boin, *hic* I wonder how my little sister's doing?"

"Oh she's probably alright," the flower and smoke shop owner Boin replied with a smile, "Why don't you go see her some time? You've got a lot of time off saved up don't you Pochi?"

"You're right…" Pochino mused, "I really should go see her some time… I wonder how my nephew's doing…Oh hey, how's your new helper doing at your shop?"

"She's as sweet and helpful as can be!" Boin replied, "Can't talk about Smoker around her though, she tries to hide it, but I think she's still super upset about it. Anytime he comes in for a new pack of cigars, she goes and hides in the back, won't meet his gaze or speak to him…not that he tries to talk to her. He just acts like she isn't even there!"

"Well can ya blame her? Those two were inseparable!" their friend Minatomo pointed out.

"I just wish I knew what happened," Boin mused with a frown, "I mean, really, what could've made them have a falling out that bad? Smoker knew what she was like and never cared! What the heck happened?"

"I'm sure she'll be willing to talk about it eventually," Pochino smiled, "In the meantime, just be there for her. That's what young folks like her really need is just someone to be there for them."

"Hmm…I guess you're right," Boin agreed, although anyone could tell that the matter wasn't settled well. Then shaking his head he raised his glass, "One last toast for the night! To the youngin's!"

"To the youngin's and the adventures they'll have!" Pochi agreed.

"To the youngin's!" Minatomo agreed.

The three men clanked their glasses together, drained them and headed off into the night.