"Listen up, you salty swabs because I'm only going to say this once!" The Ensign's sharp, rough voice gripped the whole of the ship. Every Marine on the ship turned their attention to Mara as she strode across the deck. Jeffords walked by her, as befitting the second-highest rank Marine on the ship and her second-in-command, but not one pair of eyes looked upon him with duty and respect.

Might as well be a fart in the wind to them.

"We've received a report of pirate activity from nearby. Going from the description, it's this scumbag," With a loud thud, Ensign Mara slapped a bounty poster on the mast for all the Marines to see. It was of a thin, clean-shaven man, dressed in a gilded furred coat and grinning while holding up a blade of pure gold, decorated with fine filigree.

'RELIC HUNTER' GEROLD

DEAD OR ALIVE

BOUNTY: 3,000,000 BERRI

Immediately, the atmosphere became thick with tension. Jeffords stared ahead with unflinching eyes, and kept his shaking, quivering hands behind his back. He and the Ensign stood together, but it felt as if a thousand miles existed between them at that moment.

"You're all adults, so I won't patronize you with a long, winded speech about your training and the dangers involved, or to remind you all of your duty to the Navy and the common person," Mara's voice barely rose above a mild tone, but it straightened the backs of every Marine that heard it.

"But this bandit of the sea has already raided three villages and dug up the bodies to steal anything from family heirlooms, forgotten treasure and old jewellery. Nothing is off the table to slate this bastard's greed, and we're the closest Marines to his last known location. Keep your eyes peeled, guns close and swords sharp. Dismissed!"

Ensign Mara's last word was sharp and quick, scattering the budding pressure amongst her crew with ease. All, except for one.

"Jeffords, I want you on hands. Make sure every Marine is armed and ready," The Ensign snapped at him as they descended into the brig's bowels. Theirs was a small ship, smaller than most Navy vessels. It had a musty, old smell to it, and some of the wood was old enough to rot and be a feast for termites.

They were the 52nd branch. The withered branch, the impotent bunch. Remembering this made Jeffords' stomach turn.

"It'll be done, Ensign," He was glad that Mara didn't bother to respond, or stop to look at him. If he had to salute, he wouldn't be able to hide his shaking hands.

When I opened my eyes, I didn't really know where I was. I thought I was back in the base's infirmary for a moment, but when I smelt the salt of the sea and heard waves lapping against wood, it all came back to me. The straw hat Jolly Roger grinning above me only enforced where I was.

My slow heartbeat spiked as I thought about Pete, all alone out there. I forced myself to sit up, but my body felt sluggish and slow. Even picking up my sword was a chore. For a moment, I thought that my sword had sunken deep in that abyss, but it was in my hand, as it always was.

Sitting up slowly, I noticed that I wasn't alone. I was laying down on the deck, near the mast and resting on it was the green haired man. The bridge of his nose was an angry red, and there was some dried blood on his upper lip, but that was it. Instead of his injury, my eyes drifted to the three swords propped by him.

Two of them, I didn't recognize. The third one, I did. It had a pure white sheath with a golden cover at the tip. Its handle was also wrapped in pristine white wraps. It was a modest blade, but I remember reading about it.

Wado Ichimonji. Apparently, it meant 'Straight Line through the Path of Harmony', and I didn't get it back then. Seeing it in person now though, I think I did. Everything about the blade was harmonic. It looked like it needed to be exactly where it wanted to be.

"See something you like?" A coarse voice broke me out of my thoughts, and one of the eyes of the man cracked open to stare at me.

"Your sword," I nodded at Wado Ichimonji, "It's nice."

The green man arched the brow of his open eye, and searched my face. After a second, he huffed, "Yeah, it is. Yours seems a bit big for you, though."

"It's perfect for me. And I can still grow," I told the green man, who had opened both eyes by this point, though he let out a yawn, "Is your nose alright, by the way?"

"No thanks to you, brat," The man grumbled and gingerly rubbed the bridge of his nose, but his voice was only tepidly warm. Compared to Jeffords back in the Eatery, it was nothing.

My heart panged at the thought that some stranger who I hurt was less mad at me than someone closer to me, though I forced through, "Sorry. How long have I been out?"

"An hour, give or take," I turned my head around to see Orange Lady behind me, walking down from the second floor of the ship. She looked down at me, her lips set into a thin line and her voice shifting and churning.

"Honestly, what were you thinking, jumping overboard like that? You know this is a pirate ship, right? It's not like we're under obligation to save you if you're just going to get yourself killed."

Despite her words and sharp glare, her voice swirled with worry. More than I expected from a pirate, honestly. I bowed my head slightly in apology to her, unsure of what else to do under her glare.

"I know. And thank you," For some reason, that seemed to only make the turmoil in her voice fluctuate, if only for a moment, "I just panicked. I didn't mean to inconvenience any of you."

"Yeah, well," Orange Lady's shoulders slumped a bit, "As long as you don't fling yourself overboard again. If it wasn't for Luffy, I'm not sure that we could've rescued you so easily."

"Who's Luffy?" She pointed past me, towards the head of the ship, and I saw Straw Hat sitting on the ship's horned figurehead. His voice was energetic and alive, shining brightly. I also heard three more voices by him, one of which I recognized as Long-nose's.

"Pretty sure we're long overdue on introductions, especially if you're going to stowaway on our ship," The Green Man grunted, and pinned me with a poignant stare.

"Casair," I told them, getting up to my feet, "Casair D. Wolfe, with an E."

"D.?" Orange Lady repeated after me, her forehead creasing with a slight frown before it was replaced by a small, welcoming smile, "Well, I'm Nami, and the idiot whose nose you broke is Zoro."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," I bowed my head slightly, and the Green Man, Zoro, grunted in reply.

"Weird name. And why do you have an E at the end of Wolfe?"

"I dunno," I shrugged at Zoro, "But I know that it's there."

"So, is it Wolfy or is the E silent?" The Orange Lady, Nami, arched a brow at me, and I tilted my head at her, thinking it over.

"Either works. People call me both, whether I want them to or not," I gave up when miss Raku and that crybaby Riku kept calling me Wolfy. It wasn't important enough for me to really care.

"Wolfy it is then!" Nami giggled softly, her brown eyes glinting. Her voice changed flavour, sucking greedily as she approached me, "So Wolfy, I have a question for you."

I blinked at her slowly, "Okay. What do you want to ask me?"

"How much is your life worth to you? If you catch my drift?" She asked bluntly, leaning closer to me. She was taller than me, I noticed now that we're on even footing, and her lips parted somewhere between a grin and a smirk. She made some strange gesture with her hand, connecting the tip of her index finger and her thumb, rubbing them together.

"Uhhhh… I don't know? If there's a lot of you, I won't amount to more than just lunch, I guess?"

"Huh?" She said dumbly, her grin fading.

"I'm not as skinny as before, but I don't really think I have a lot of meat on me," I looked down at myself, and I noticed that I was still in my old clothes, soggy with seawater.

Bleh.

"Wha-No! We're not going to eat you! Why the hell is that where your mind goes!?" She screeched while Zoro snorted, the corner of his lips tugging upwards

"But you asked me how much my life is worth, so I thought you were asking how much meat was on me. Like, 'if we took your life, how many meals could we make out of you?'"

Was I wrong? I didn't know what else she could've meant by what my life was worth. To me, my life was my life. It was invaluable, but to other people, my life wasn't their concern. So if she wasn't asking how many meals she could make out of me, what was she asking?

"No! No, just…! No!" For the first time, Nami's voice matched her expression which was aghast and fraught with confusion, "Berri! M-o-n-e-y! That's what I was hinting at!"

"Oh," I tilted my head at the shouting lady, "Why didn't you just say so? You're pretty weird, miss Nami."

"Oh, you little-" Her hands reached up, opening and closing as if squeezing something. Her expression reminded me of the tigers back in Rockshi, though she was prettier to look at, even if she was baring her teeth in a snarl.

"Well, we could do with some new meat. Nothing, but rations for a couple of days now. Plus, still gotta pay you back for this," Zoro pointed at his reddish nose with a hungry grin, his hand reaching out for his sword. And yet, his voice seemed more targeted at my own sword than me.

"I don't want to be eaten, so I can reward you with some berri, if you want? We'll have to go Rockshi though for it," I told them, and it was fascinating to see Nami's expression go from scowling to interested without skipping a beat.

"Rockshi Island? Is that where you're from?" She asked me, and I didn't really know how to answer that. Was it worth to explain? No, not really. It would just complicate things, and it wasn't really wrong from a certain point of view.

What other home do I know of?

"Sure," I told her, but I could tell that she noticed my pause, "I can get some berri back there if you want a reward. But you'll probably have to be careful, because of the Marine base."

"... How much berri are we talking here, exactly?"

"A hundred million. Maybe?"

"A hundred thousand?" Nami bit the tip of her thumb, her brow furrowed in thought at the completely wrong thing I just said. What hundred thousand?

"That's not a bad amount, but we'll have to contend with a Marine base. I'm sure Zoro and Luffy can just demolish-"

"If you harm a single Marine or person on Rockshi, I will stop you myself," I cut her off, and both of their voices flashed briefly, her with slight fear and him with surprise, "I appreciate that you saved my life, but that doesn't mean you get to hurt people I care about."

"You think you could? It wouldn't be the first base we've trashed," I turned my eyes to see Zoro moving up to his feet, and he was placing the swords through the stash around his waist. A lop-sided grin followed his goading words, and I turned to face him fully. I tilted my head, regarding him for a moment.

"There's a clear difference between then and now."

"And what is that?"

I placed a hand on the handle of my blade. His grin grew wider, and his voice churned with a thirst.

"Me."

"Hey! You two, cool off for a minute!" My stare off with the pirate was broken by Nami getting between us and holding out a hand to both of us. She snapped to Zoro and planted a pointed finger on his chest, making him cringe slightly.

"You stop picking a fight with our one hundred thousand berri meal ticket-"

"I wasn't picking a fight-"

"-Or so help me, I'll break your nose myself," She didn't miss a beat as every word was another thrust of her finger on his chest. He merely grumbled, and I couldn't help but share his discontent.

A small part of me was looking forward to crossing blades. Why though? I didn't feel like this when I was hunting, or when I cut down the tigers. What was different this time?

"And you," She snapped around to me, breaking me out of thoughts. She didn't plant a finger on me, but in both her eyes and her voice, there was a shifting of emotion and a trickle of warmth. Not to me, not to herself, but somewhere far and distant.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to imply we were going to just come and pillage your home, but these guys are pirates, and I know Rockshi Island has a Marine base. Come to think of it, how exactly do you have a hundred thousand berri?"

"First, it's not hundred thousand. I said a hundred million. Maybe," Nami's voice suddenly froze and her whole body stiffened. Her eyes scoured every inch of my face, searching for… Something, I didn't know what.

"And do you know what a Devil Fruit is?"

"Oh yeah. I ate one."

"Right," I nodded at Straw Hat standing by me, "The Navy has this bounty for Devil Fruits if you hand them over. Back on Rockshi Island, I found a Devil Fruit, and the Marine Captain is holding onto it for me, because I couldn't decide whether to eat it or not. But considering you saved my life, I don't mind selling it and giving you a reward."

Nami didn't say anything in response at first, and it was only then I realised that there were more people around us now. I turned my head and I saw Straw Hat and Long-Nose, the former grinning wide, the latter watching me warily from a distance.

"Hello. How long have you been there?"

"Since Nami yelled," Straw Hat shrugged, "And you're alive! Geez, why'd you jump in if you can't swim?"

"I didn't know I couldn't swim. It was the first time I've been in the water, as far as I can remember."

"Shishishi, you really are funny!" Straw Hat laughed, but it was hard to tell if it was directed at me or not. Even his voice was fluctuating and wild, hardly ever focusing on one thing at a time.

"If you think so. Hello, by the way. My name is Casair D. Wolfe, with an E. Thank you for saving me," I bowed my head towards Straw Hat, Long-Nose and the other two men.

"Don't worry about it, Wolfy. I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet'cha!"

"D.? Are you two related…?" Long-Nose spoke up, and both me and Straw Hat turned our attention to him. We looked over each other with a frown, and while we shared the same colour of hair, mine was more straight and longer, reaching slightly down below my shoulder blades. That was about the only similarity we shared, as he had round, black eyes while mine were lightning-blue and he had a pretty round, soft looking face compared to my thin, sharp face.

"We could be, but we don't know each other. Right?" I asked Straw Hat who shook his head.

"Mmmmmmmm, nope! Never seen you before."

"Right. There you have it."

"Why did you ask it like it was a question…?" Zoro muttered, but I didn't respond. It would take too much time to explain.

"W-Well, I am the great Captain Usopp!" Long-Nose started going off, but I was too distracted to really take any more notice of what he said.

Miss Nami's voice was overpowering, even as she impassively stared at me.

"So, you ate the Gum-Gum Fruit?"

"Yep!" Luffy hooked a finger into his mouth and stretched his cheek unnaturally for me to see. The three of us, me, Luffy and Usopp, sat on the edge of their ship, which I was told was the Going Merry. With Luffy sitting between me and Usopp, whose voice was still trembling and quaking, we waited for fish to take the bait from our fishing rods.

I didn't mind doing this. They had agreed to take me to the Baratie, where I would wait for Pete to show up. It was helpful that we were all going to the same place, otherwise I didn't know what I was going to do.

"What was it like?" I asked him, while keeping my other sense sharp for fishes. They didn't have a large, powerful voice, but I could tell when one of them was going to go for a bite.

Luffy stuck out his tongue, and his smile fell into a disgusted grimace, "Awful! It was gross!"

They don't taste good? Hmmm, maybe I really should just sell it then. If it tastes bad, why would I eat it?

"Hey, you aren't thinking of seriously just giving us all that berri, right?" Long-Nose asked me, shooting me a side-eye, "Because, I'll have you know that it's pocket change to us! We have amassed so much treasure that a whole island glitters with gold!"

"That sounds awful," Long-Nose's smile fell sharply into a dejected look, "If a whole island is made out of gold, how do any animals live on it? How do you eat?"

"W-Well, there's special animals that eat gold on the island!"

"That doesn't sound very sustainable. It's not like gold grows on trees. If they eat enough, does the island sink?"

Obviously, Long-Nose was lying. I didn't even have to hear his voice to know the truth, but he was a really good liar. And it was fun listening to him. It was like being told a story that I could interact with.

"Ah ha! That's the secret! The island floats-!"

"No way, it does?!"

Wait. Straw Hat believes him?

"It does! You see, I once fought against the Mountain Bandit, Jiroo, who was as large as a mountain and could touch the bottom of the oceans with his feet!" Long-Nose's nose proudly pointed to the sky as he basked in Luffy's twinkling, slack-jawed expression. A large fish was aiming for my bait, so I fished it out and strung it up along with the others on a rope we were using.

"After an intense battle and brutal battle, I showed him clemency-"

"You showed him clams?"

"Mercy, he means," I told Straw Hat, and I tilted my head, "I've never eaten clams, actually. What do you think they're like?"

"Probably bad. They're not big, so we'd have to eat loads."

"Hmmm, true. But I read once that on the Grand Line, there are giant clams that can swallow a man whole. If you gather a bunch of them, maybe they'd be more filling?"

"Oooooh, that sounds way better!"

"You two-" Long-Nose suddenly wrestled with his own fishing rod as his prey took his bait. The struggle lasted all one second before the fish ran away with the bait.

"Or was it a whole ship? Maybe both," I hooked a new worm on the end of my rod, and passed it to Long-Nose when I was done, "How do you plan on getting there by the way?"

"We've got a map that we stole from a clown. But I still need one more person before we leave!" Luffy told me as he eyed his own fishing rod with intent. There wasn't a single fish going for his bait, though.

"A crew of seven? You must be looking for strong people then."

"What are you talking about? You've already met everyone on my crew! Can you not count?" Luffy asked me as his fishing rod bent. With an excited yell, he hoisted it high and from the sea, a clump of wet seaweed came crashing down right on Long-Nose's head.

"Gah, Luffy! You little-!"

"Was I wrong? There's you two, miss Nami and mister Zoro, and two more down below in the brig."

"Woah, we have stowaways already!?"

"No, you idiot, he's talking about Johnny and Yosaku," Long-Nose grumbled as he removed the dripping clump of seaweed from his head, covered in salty sea gunk, "And how do you know about those guys anyway? You mentioned something like that before, which was pretty creepy…"

"I can just tell. It's hard to explain," I frowned slightly in thought, "So, it's not seven people then, but five?"

"Yep! I want to find a cook and then we're off to the Grand Line!"

"That's sensible. A cook is arguably one of the most important parts of a crew."

"I can't believe you want us to go to the Grand Line without a doctor or anyone like that," Long-Nose bemoaned with a shake of his head as he cast out his line again, "You know, I heard that the Grand Line is full of diseases that can make your bones explode or turn into dust!"

"Then just don't get ill? I've never been ill, as far as I know," I told Long-Nose as I caught my second fish. He just gave me a look before he muttered something under his breath about 'checking out'?

What a weirdo.

"Same!" Luffy laughed, and his body followed with a low growl. His grin faded into a weak, pitiful look as he let out a whine.

"Ugggh… I wish a sea king or something would come along. I'm starving!"

"Luffy, you're always starving. Don't just wish for a monster to attack us so you can eat it!" Long-Nose responded, and Luffy stuck his tongue out at his crew mate. I could tell from Usopp's voice that he was getting hungry as well. I looked at what we had caught, and it was about eight or so fish of varying sizes and types, along with that clump of seaweed. A quick glance up at the sun, and it was about midday or so.

"If you want, I could make some lunch out of what we've got so far," I told them, and both of them snapped to me, with varying levels of interest. I hadn't known Luffy for long, but his eyes became like dinner plates and they shone like a star.

"You can cook?" Usopp asked me, but I shook my head.

"I've never set foot in a kitchen before, as far as I know. But I'm interested in it," After all, I would like to try a lot of different foods from different parts of the world at some point. Being interested in how to cook food was only a natural follow up, I thought.

"W-Well, as the Captain-"

"Wolfy, go and make us all lunch! And make it good!"

"I'll try," Was all I said as I gathered the seaweed and fish. I was pretty sure we could eat seaweed if it was dried and clean, so maybe there was something I could do there. I made my way up to the galley, and there I found a table for eating, a cooking area, a refrigerator and a stove.

Confident, I started with seaweed and cleaned it under a sink. One of the books I read was about cooking while on a boat, and they said to clean the seaweed because it was covered in grit and other nasty stuff.

When I was finished, I hung the seaweed above the stove and turned it on. With an almost practised ease, I grabbed a sharp kitchen knife and started gutting and scaling the fish. It felt… Weird.

It felt old. Like I've done something like this before. Maybe I was a cook before? But that didn't explain that memory I had. Even calling it a memory felt overly descriptive, because all I remembered was that I fought against beasts and people laughed and jeered at me.

The only crystal clear feeling I knew for certain was that they all hated me. Every single one hated me and wanted to see me dead. If they hated me so much, how did I manage to escape? How did I manage to survive?

It was weird. There wasn't any great need in me to solve these memories of mine, but it did make me think. What sort of person was I to make so many people hate me? To be made to fight against animals?

Was I a bad person? Did I do something wrong? Was I-?

"Are you seriously cooking lunch for a bunch of pirates?"

I blinked slowly as I saw Nami's head peeking around the door, giving me a scrutinizing look. Without even realizing it, I had gutted and scaled every fish, my knife halfway chopping a head.

"Oh. Hello, miss-"

"Ugh, please stop calling me miss. You make me feel old. Just call me Nami, okay?" She entered the galley, and sat down at the table, keeping me in her view the whole time.

"Alright then. Hello, Nami," I shrugged, and chopped off the first fish head. I threw it in the bucket with the guts.

"Yeah. Hey. So, cooking. What's up with that?" She rested her cheek on her hand, and stared at me intently.

"Luffy, Usopp and I were getting hungry, so I offered to make lunch. Would you like some?"

"You know, you don't have to do this. You can just wait until we get to the Baratie tomorrow."

"I enjoy helping people and being useful. It's no big deal," After cutting off the heads, I sliced the knife down the spine of a fish until I felt bone. The knife's edge glided across the flesh as I fileted a fish and moved onto the next.

Huh. This was easier than I was expecting.

"... Well, do what you want. You seem to know what you're doing at least," I wasn't looking at Nami, but her voice felt uncertain. As if she couldn't decide on what to feel, rapidly switching between hope, greed, frustration, hunger and more.

"But that's not why you're here, right?" I didn't have to look back to feel Nami's shock, her voice suddenly skirting back from me, "You have something you want to ask me, I think."

A second of silence passed before she answered, "Yeah, I do. This whole Devil Fruit bounty business. Do you really believe it?"

"Mister Lorick wasn't lying to me when he told me, and Pete seemed to believe him."

"And that's good enough for you?"

"Yes."

A derisive scoff came from behind me, "You're being played. I bet that fruit is already long gone. Do you really think that, even if it were true, that they wouldn't just eat it themselves? Or hell, just sell it?"

I turned around fully to face her, and I found her eyes ablaze with a dark flame. Her voice was harsh and cutting, twisting and eating itself even as a small warmth fought to stay alive.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your friend, Pete? He abandoned you," She shook her head at me, but she couldn't look me in the eye.

"By the sounds of it, he's a Marine, and you're telling me that as soon as he saw us, he decided to have a nap? He didn't even wake up when we were hit by a sea king or a wave or whatever it was. As soon as he got the chance, he abandoned you and I bet you right now, he's on his way back to Rockshi Island. If that Fruit is still back there, it's either going to be in someone's stomach, or sold off."

"You think because he's a Marine that he's trustworthy, but you're wrong. Marines can be just as scummy as pirates, and the sooner you learn that, the better," She carried on when I didn't speak or respond to her, and her blistering voice was starting to lash out now. Though she never moved or yelled, every word came out like a sharpened knife.

She stopped talking, and I guessed she was waiting for me to respond. And there was something I wanted to say in face of her spiteful, harsh voice.

"I'm sorry that you were hurt by people meant to protect you."

For the first time I met her, Nami's voice was totally silent. Not forcefully tepid and still, but truly and utterly silent. Her lips thinned and her eyes became sharper, but no words came.

"Thank you for looking out for me, Nami, but I don't trust Pete because he is a Marine. I trust him because he's my hero. It's as simple as that."

"Some hero. He didn't even bother staying awake to protect you when pirates were around."

"And I'm perfectly safe from all of you," I told her, and she looked away from me, "Because none of you want to hurt me."

And I would kill them all if they had tried something. But it was probably best if I didn't say that.

"You…" Her expression contorted as if it was painful to even speak. Eventually, her shoulders slumped, and she rested her head in the crooks of her arm, on the table.

"Fine. Do what you want, it's no business of mine anyway. But I still don't believe this whole Devil Fruit bounty business. It sounds too good to be true, and it's the first I've ever heard of it."

"Do you interact with Marines enough to know what they do with Devil Fruits?" I asked her plainly, and she opened her mouth to respond, but her brow was furrowed in thought, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"... Okay, fair point. But, for the sake of the argument, let's say that this is all, miraculously, true. That, yes, someone is a big enough idiot to not only hold onto a Devil Fruit for you. That they don't just take it for themselves at the first possible moment. How do you actually plan to give us this berri? And what if the Navy found out that you just paid pirates millions of berri? Forget about being a Marine, they'll probably just slap a bounty on you!"

"I dunno."

Nami stared numbly at me, and her voice boiled over with frustration. I turned my attention back to the fish, and the seaweed, to make sure they weren't burnt to a crisp. It would be a shame for all of this food to go to waste because of this. A pinch of salt, some light seasoning, felt right so I did just that.

"Oh god," She mumbled in a muffled voice, "You're an idiot."

I wrapped the crispy seaweed around the grilled fish pieces, before placing them down onto a plate. There were several bits, barely enough for everyone, but that was fine. Outside, I felt Luffy and Usopp's voices barrelling towards the galley.

"Stop worrying about things you can't do anything about, and deal with it when the time comes. Not everything has to be done at once, you know," I placed the plate down in front of Nami and her eye peeked out from under her orange hair. With a huff, she took a fork and ate a lump of the fish, its flesh flaky and wet. She chewed it slowly, and swallowed.

"Maybe instead of being a Marine, you can be a cook instead," Was all she said before the door slammed open. Her words brought a smile to my face, and I got to setting out plates as Usopp and Luffy scrambled over each other.

Such a lively ship.

"This is a pirate ship, after all. Why wouldn't he fire on you guys?"

"He pummelled Yosaku and Johnny!"

"They tried to kill him, though?"

"Try isn't exactly the word I'd use," Zoro grunted, his arms crossed and his three blades by his side. At his feet were two bleeding, bloody bodies of his friends, Yosaku and Johnny. He gave them a small nudge with his foot, and they groaned painfully.

"They'll live," He commented with a shrug.

"So what happens to the rest of you? Isn't Luffy your Captain?" I asked the three of them as we waited on the Going Merry. After the Marine Lieutenant that called himself Fullbody fired a cannon at the pirates, which Luffy directed into the Baratie's roof with his powers, a bunch of angry cooks more or less kidnapped him when he said it was him who did it.

It was quite the sight, especially because I knew for a fact that Luffy could just escape if he really wanted to. But he didn't, for some reason.

Well, it was no business of mine at the end of the day.

"Worse comes to worst, we just fight our way out," Zoro cast a long gaze over the Baratie before they settled on me, "Unless the would-be Marine is gonna stop us."

"I might. Depends," I met his gaze with my own, the corner of his mouth forming a taunting grin.

"Y-You t-two, stop it! O-Or I will stop you myself!"

We turned to look at Usopp who was currently hiding behind Nami, not looking too pleased herself at being used as a human shield.

"... That ruined it," I sighed as Nami's fist smacked into Usopp's head. Zoro nodded slightly, and all the build up vanished flaccidly.

"No fighting while we're still here, got it?" She snapped at the both of us, "I don't want to find another cannonball heading straight for us because you two can't calm down for two seconds."

"Or at the Baratie. I really want to see what it's like," I turned my attention to the main attraction, which was a large ship, the biggest I've ever seen. It had three floors, and a giant fish at the front. The top floor seemed to be a cabin, which was currently smoking and had a giant hole in it, courtesy of Luffy.

And it was filled to the brim with people. More voices than I'd ever heard at once, all congregating into one place. Even Rockshi wasn't as loud as this place.

"Well, we should probably go and check on Luffy. And grab a bite to eat, right?" Usopp rubbed the top of his head, but he wore a carefree smile. The other two agreed, but I glanced at Nami. Like always, her voice was forcefully tepid, but there was something else now. A small red-hot coal at the centre, smouldering with resentment and fear. Not expressed at any of us, but far off, and also near. At a fallen piece of paper, on the deck.

It was one of the bounties Johnny dropped when he was beaten by Fullbody.

"Thank you for taking me here, and I hope everything goes well for you in the future," I told the pirate crew who looked at me strangely, "But I'm going to go and look for someone. I might have to stay here for a few days, depending on what happens."

"You're not going to eat with us after you went through so much trouble? I had to warn Yosaku and Johnny so you wouldn't grab their faces!"

"I wouldn't have grabbed their faces like I did with you. I just would've said something. And it's not like I hurt you."

"You scared me half to death!"

"You get scared easily, though?" Usopp's mouth flapped opened and shut like a gasping fish, but he eventually hung his head dejectedly when Nami gave him a pitiful look that was somehow incredibly mocking.

"So what about that reward you promised us?" Zoro asked me with an arched brow, but I shrugged at him.

"Your Captain seems to care more about going to the Grand Line than the berri I promised. We'll see what happens. I might still decide to eat it, after all."

"Well, do what you want," Nami's voice was calm, but there was a chilly undercurrent to it, "Just don't be surprised if we leave without you, okay?"

"That's fine. Thanks for everything," I bowed my head to them, and with that, I leapt to the figurehead of the ship, Luffy's 'special seat'. I really wanted to sit here at some point, but he was very protective of it. Using that, I leapt to the second floor and my hand caught the wooden railing, which I used to pull myself up.

I saw that there was a window that showed a large dining room. There was a group of people eating some of the yummiest looking food I had ever seen. They were staring at me with wide eyes, their jaws hanging loosely.

I waved at them, and then I jumped up to the top of the cabin. I landed on the roof, or what was left of it, and I looked all around and the surrounding sea. There were other ships anchored, but none of them were Pete's sloop.

That was alright. I expected that. He might arrive later, maybe tomorrow. The problem was, what was I to do until then? I can't really just loiter around here for days and do nothing. Maybe I could work in the kitchen? I might learn a thing or two in cooking, if I did. I could even learn something about my past.

But would they even let me? I just wanted to meet with Pete, and share a meal with him. I wanted to enjoy our time together, but I messed it all up. If I just thought more, if I was just faster, or smarter, then I wouldn't be in this situation.

But I was, and complaining about it wouldn't fix anything. So, what do I do? I decided to sit down for the moment, and think. While I did so, my eyes travelled to the Marine ship anchored by the Going Merry.

It was large, of course, bigger than the Going Merry. It looked more rigid, more imposing than any other ship I'd seen before. Not only that, but it had three masts, two with normal sails and one with a lateen sail. From here, I spotted six cannons sticking out of the hull of the ship.

The sails held the symbol of the Navy displayed proudly: A simplified, but recognizable seagull taking flight. I had asked Pete why a seagull of all things was chosen to represent the Marines.

"Because seagulls are bleedin' everywhere, lad," He told me as I finished up another meal brought to me, "Don't matter if yer in the North or South, Grand Line or what have ye, yer gonna find those flying rats everywhere. Supposed to mean that there ain't no corner of the world that pirates and the like can run to, ye understand? Don't matter the waters, we'll sail through it all the same."

As he talked, I noticed there was a tightness to his tone. A strain in his neck. But then he carried on, and he relaxed slightly, his harsh eyes growing wistful.

"But I'd like to think 'bout it more positive like, ye know? That it don't matter where ye be, that ya can turn to the Marines, and they'll do their damndest to make things right."

Out of the two, I liked Pete's version better. After all, wasn't that what happened to me?

I wondered, briefly, what would happen if I ate the Devil Fruit and underwent the officer training. Would I command my own ship one day? With my own crew?

What would that even look like? Who would I even have? I would want strong people, but-

"And what the hell do you think you're doing up there, brat?"

"Huh?" I turned my head to the voice of harsh sand-paper, and it was an old man, dressed in white and with a tall chef's hat. He had a trimmed blond beard, and a long twirled mustache that went below his jaw. They were tied with two blue bows at the ends. He stood tall, but only on one foot. His other leg was a peg-leg, like mister Lorick's.

"Oh. Hello. Who are you?"

His brow twitched as the lines on his face grew deeper, "You first, brat. Didn't your parents ever tell you it was rude to not introduce yourself first?"

"I don't know. They might have," I jumped down from the rooftop and into the room below. I looked up at the old man who glared down at me.

"My name is Casair D. Wolfe, with an E. I was looking to see if someone was here."

"And you couldn't have walked through the front door?"

"I could've, but this was quicker."

Another twitch, but this time it was more of his whole face than an eyebrow, "You wouldn't happen to be involved with that bean sprout that blew this hole in my home, would you?"

"Oh, Luffy? I was on his ship, but I'm not part of his crew, no. How did you know?"

"A hunch," The old man grunted, and thrusted his thumb behind him, "Now do me a favour and piss off. I have enough on my hands without babysitting some wild dog."

"There's a dog around here?" And another face twitch. His voice was already burning before, but now it felt like I was standing in front of an open bonfire.

"Brat, I won't ask again. Get out."

Right. He wasn't happy about me being here, and it's not like I had any reason to stay. But there was something I might as well ask him.

"Before I go, do you know where I can find the owner?"

His frown deepened, and I wondered if he was just naturally like this, "And what the hell could chop liver like you want with the owner?"

"Apparently, he's friends with my friend, Pete. Something about a favour?" And suddenly, it was as if water was poured onto him. His broiling voice calmed down, though it was still rife with frustration. He glared down at me, and I felt his eyes scan over every inch of my face. Eventually, he ran a hand down his face and gave out a low groan.

"Pete Switx? The Marine?"

"Yeah, him. Do you know him?"

"... Fine. Follow me."

Without another word, he turned around. My curiosity stoked, I followed the old chef downstairs. We walked to the second floor, and I was bombarded by voices from below. They were all varying levels of satisfied hunger, buffeted by contentment and eager anticipation.

He eventually led me to an empty table, wide and round. It was by a window, looking directly over the ocean, with the sun's rays bouncing off the blue waves. It was a beautiful view, all things considered.

"Sit," The peg-legged chef told me sternly, and so I did. Wordlessly, he slid a menu towards me and pinned me with a hard stare.

"My name is Zeff. I am the proprietor of the Baratie. And if Pete is calling in his favour, and he isn't here for it, it is his own damn fault. Pick what you want, and I'll cook it."

I blinked up at the old man, "So you're his friend?"

"No."

"Oh," I looked at the menu, and I read through it carefully. From corner to corner, from top to bottom and front to back. When I was done, I placed it down and looked back up at the chef.

"You said I can pick what I want, right? I don't have any berri to pay with, though."

"Don't worry. It's not you I'll be billing, brat," Zeff's smile deepened the lines on his face, his skin stretching like leather. I nodded slowly, and then placed the menu down.

"Then could I make a request?"

"Depends," He grunted, "What do you want?"

And so I told him.

Lorick, Captain of the Marines, sat silently in his office. The only noise was his pencil scribbling a report. An inane thing of how nothing had changed in their little corner, how everything was peaceful. He made mention of his Ensign's patrol, but nothing else.

When he was done, he placed his pencil down. He rolled his old, aching shoulders and pushed away from his desk. Kneeling down, he opened a compartment of his desk. In there was a safe, thick and made from wrought iron. The Marine Captain twisted the knob one way, and then the other. It clicked open, and inside were a few things of note; a neatly folded peach-coloured robe with floral patterns, a photo of a woman, a man and a child, and the Devil Fruit.

With slow, deliberate movement, Lorick's fingers graced along the photo. But his hands found the Devil Fruit, and he placed it on his desk. He looked at it, and it was if the gloom of his office was enhanced by the presence of the legendary object.

Where his leg used to be, suddenly panged with a burning agony. The only indication of the pain was the clench of his throat, as he reflexively tried to flex toes that were only phantoms. His hand brushed against the smooth wooden replacement, as if to calm down the nerves that were alight with pain.

When the sensation passed, Lorick let out a slow breath, and he looked over the Devil Fruit. And not for the first time, he thought to himself:

All it would take is one bite. One bite, and I could wield a sword again. Maybe even better than before. Maybe the pain would even stop.

The temptation moved his hands as he clasped the fruit, and brought it close. Its white fangs reflected the dim lamp light, making the electrical blue streaks all the more striking.

And, with a sigh, placed it back into the confines of the safe. As he did so, he heard tiny pings hitting his window. The ailing swordsman glanced back to see rain hitting the window. Faintly at first, but quickly ramping up until the Marine base itself was under assault by droplets as big as a bullet.

"Another storm so soon…?" He mumbled to himself, and with a shake of his head, closed the safe. It locked shut, the Devil Fruit's white teeth illuminated until the darkness covered them utterly.

Hello hello, a new day and a new chapter. This one was a weird one to write, but I'm satisfied with it, for the most part. I intended for more action originally, but I decided against it. Originally, I planned for Zoro and Casair to spar, but when I got to the scene, it just didn't flow well. There was also the issue of 'oc character beats one of the main characters at their own thing' which is immensely cringe.

The point of the scene would've been to show that, at his core, Casair is a terrible swordsman in terms of actual skill and swordplay. But not only have I already shown that (somewhat) in past chapters, Zoro is a bad match overall for that sort of thing. He's too weak at this point in time, and the actual reason would've been too contrived for my tastes.

I did have a thing planned for Yosaku and Johnny, but let me tell you. I, for the life of me, could not think of an unclunky way to introduce them, and even if I could, there was nothing interesting enough to really put down to words. They show up, introduce themselves, and take up space and air, basically.

So, I just ignored them and re-wrote some stuff. The main meat of the chapter is probably the interactions between Nami and Casair. I always enjoyed Nami, perhaps more than the other Strawhats, and at this point, she presents a very different viewpoint to Casair's idealism: That he was tricked, that the Marines aren't the paragons he thinks they are, and he was thrown away like shit stuck to a shoe.

Notably, Casair doesn't refute what Nami said. He's very in-tune with people's emotions, their feelings and their words, so he knows that Nami isn't just trying to hurt him, or is making stuff up. He simply cuts straight through the matter, and apologizes that she was let down by people meant to help her. After all, Casair has only experienced the best of the Marines in the forms of Pete, Lorick and Mara. For Nami, it's (probably) been Nezumi who you could argue ruined her life just as much as Arlong has. If Nezumi actually did his job like he was supposed to, Jimbei would've torn Arlong apart, long, long before.

But that's neither here or there. That whole conversation is one that I look forward to in the coming chapters.

In this chapter as well, I decided to shine a light on what's going with Lorick and Jeffords while Casair is away. Nothing much, but just laying down the ground work for the future chapters, while giving insight into their character. Despite Lorick's past indication, he is tempted by the idea of the Devil Fruit and what it could bring him. A lot of power resting there, and only a few people that know about. Power that, realistically, he could easily take and abscond with.

But he doesn't, in the end. A stark contrast to Jeffords whose first instinct is to just use it, whether that's selling or eating. I feel like there's an argument for both sides as, in the end, Casair is dragging his feet regarding the Devil Fruit. He is indecisive in what he really wants from it, and this is meant to reflect something that'll pop in the coming chapters.

For now, I've yapped and yapped enough. Thanks for reading up to this point, and I'll see you guys later. Until next time.