When they finally made it to Cocoyashi, Brynlee bid goodbye to the crew, who promised to pass on her well-wishes to Mister Jason's family (anonymously). She then left with Mister Jack, who insisted on accompanying her to the village.

"… Mister Jack?"

"Hm?"

"I lied. I don't have any family here."

"Yeah, I figured. But you probably wanted to come here for something, right? It's okay."

"… thank you. For bringing me."

"Take care, kid."

[SUBQUEST COMPLETE!]

Safe Haven

Congratulations! You found your way to Cocoyashi Village! Hopefully you'll be safe, there.

Reward: 5 million berries

When Brynlee went to Genzo to ask for a place to stay, the man was surprised, but not unwelcoming. He didn't ask her about her family, but he did insist on the fact that children couldn't legally be allowed to live on their own and, since she couldn't buy a house without being registered, this was an issue. But he was kind, and he directed her to an abandoned cabin in the woods, not too far from the village and the tangerine groves, and he offered it to her for free since no one was using it, anyway.

It was small and dusty, and it would need some serious repairs, but Brynlee was already ready to call it home. There was just enough space for her to be comfortable, and she couldn't help but feel more relaxed now that she had reached her destination. Sure, there was a marine base located on the other side of the island, but she wasn't really worried about them – they weren't exactly known for their diligent work, after all.

Well, welcome home I guess.

"Hey! Who're you?"

Brynlee was only half-surprised when, barely two days after her arrival, two familiar girls showed up on her doorstep. She could feel their curious stares lingering on the weird shapes protruding from underneath her cloak, which she'd hurriedly thrown on before opening the door, but she ignored it and offered them a friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm Brynlee! Who're you guys?"

"I'm Nami, and that's Nojiko!" beamed the smaller, orange-haired girl.

"And this is our secret playing spot," huffed Nojiko, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, it's my home now, but you guys are welcome to play anytime."

They were small and thin, visibly underfed. She knew Bellemere was trying her best to feed and care for the girls, and she remembered Nami's upbringing in a poor household, but she hadn't realized it was this bad. Honestly, it looked like a single gust of wind could blow them right off their feet.

"Hey, do you wanna come in? I've got some cake we can share. Let's be friends!"

Nami's eyes immediately sparkled as she let out a cheer and hurried inside. Nojiko hesitated, but she wasn't about to let her little sister go alone in a stranger's house, so she eventually followed suit. With another smile, Brynlee closed the door, feeling both giddy and nervous. Time to make some friends!

"Bellemere! Bellemere! Look what we brought you!"

"What is this…?"

"It's chocolate cake!" beamed Nami, who'd clearly indulged in said cake, if the crumbs spread over her face were anything to go by. "We brought you a slice!"

"Where did you find this?" asked curiously Bellemere, albeit a bit wary.

"It was a gift," answered Nojiko, smiling slightly. "There's a new girl living in the woods. She said she wanted to be friends and gave us cake and when we told her about you, she said we should take back some cake for you, too."

"Brynlee is super-duper nice! We're gonna be best friends!" exclaimed Nami.

Surprised, Bellemere then smiled softly, ruffling her hair. "Is that so? Tell me more about this new friend of yours."

Getting accepted by the village community wasn't too hard, and her friendship with Nami and Nojiko evolved relatively quickly. Bellemere was a blast to be around, and she'd immediately taken upon herself to try and look after Brynlee, no matter how many times the girl assured her that she was perfectly fine on her own and could take care of herself. Though her worry might derive from the fact that Brynlee acted the part of a crippled hunchback who adamantly refused to go and see the doctor. However, with the marines lurking nearby, Brynlee couldn't risk revealing her secret, no matter how uncomfortable or impractical hiding it could get.

(And there was no denying that a part of her was worried. Though she knew Bellemere and the other adults were kind, there was still a risk that they wouldn't accept her non-human origins, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her new home, of losing the people she now considered dear to her.)

Though, there were more important things to worry about – such as Arlong's inevitable take-over of Cocoyashi.

Brynlee needed to be ready.

There you go: welcome to Cocoyashi! Brynlee won't be meeting any of the other Straw Hats for a while - I only slipped Sanji in because the Baratie is canonically located near Nami's island. Anyhow, we're about to start an interesting little Arc, so please look forward to it!