#like he's some sort of stand in for her now that zoro is an adult? sjdkdjd that's just

[general-cyno]

ngl I don't care if ppl prefer other ships but to act as if zoro's loyalty and devotion to luffy have no basis or don't make sense specifically in the animanga is definitely... a take. ig compared to other straw hats zoro doesn't have this huge ass trauma life altering reason to join luffy but it's not like he needs one? and this doesn't lessen his friendship with nor commitment to luffy/the crew? is it so hard to consider, perhaps, that in luffy zoro found and sees a good guy with an incredible crazy dream similar to his own who's definitely a kindred soul and that he just grew to genuinely care for him the more time they spent together? that luffy himself has as much faith/trust/devotion to him in turn and that's what their relationship is built on from the get go? idk. it's just kinda weird. if the argument is that his devotion doesn't make sense then you'd have to at least wonder if the problem is thinking that luffy has done nothing to deserve it... which couldn't be further from the story imo and. points at the m1hawk zoro fight. that exists early on for a reason yknow

[kazimakuwabara]

Fever, Fever, Go Away

Summary: Usopp dreams. Gets in an argument. Hallucinates. And then passes out. Post-time skip.

(So this is chapter two from a sick Usopp fic I’m working on, on A03. I really liked this chapter so I thought I’d post it here as a stand alone. The rest is on A03 under the same title if you’re interested ^^)

****

He was sleeping.

He wasn't sure how he knew he was sleeping, but he was.

A peal of breezy laughter floated in the air, light and soft, but somehow still able to cut through any noise. A laugh, which Usopp had not heard the likes of sense...

 Ah.

There it was.

That was why he knew it was a dream.

It was her laughter.

 Her.

His mother only existed in dreams.

Feelings and colors clarified; sounds smoothed out and settled into something understandable, and then the scene came into clarity.

Banchina, his perfect mother, was skipping down a hill. Not just any hill, but the hill below Usopp's family home. Syrup Village. This was Syrup village. He was home, no... no he was not home. He was just... remembering, or dreaming, or both, as the case was. He focused on his mother, her back so recognizable. From her strong posture, to her thin limbs, and her charming large hands which she used to make food, or make pottery, or when she was feeling especially industrious...

Mix chemicals.

She'd been a chemist, or something like it when he was a child. She even had a shed in the back, behind their house, that she used to mix all sorts of things together in. She had even taught him how to mix smoke bombs. There was a lot Usopp had gotten from his father... but there was a lot he'd gotten from his mother too. Usopp pulled himself back to the scene; back to his mother.

She hummed a tune as she skipped down the hill. One that Usopp hadn't thought about in a long time, but recognized immediately. Her hands were behind her back, one clasping her wrist loosely as she skipped and hummed, a few words slipping out as she half sang:

 "As the son of a son of a sailor    I went out on the sea for adventure...

   ...As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man    I have chalked up many a mile..."    

She did not sing the whole song, she stuck with humming mostly, seemingly only singing out her favorite parts or the song. But when she got to the chorus, her half meandering, half humming voice rose up, and she belted it out:

"Son of a son, son of a son Son of a son of a sailor Son of a gun, load the last ton One step ahead of the jailer!"

Behind her, screaming more than singing, a small child's voice echoed her. It was him. Little him.

He turned, or at least the scene shifted and then, a small boy, no more than five came running after his mother, tearing down this hill at a speed too fast for the slope. He was belting out the chorus too, eyes alight with delight as he thought of his father. The boy kicked up his heels when he got to, 'Ahead of the jailer,' and Usopp winced, knowing what would happen next. Little Usopp... tripped. And then, in a spectacular display of flailing, Little Usopp tumbled down, end over end, moving like a wild wheel down the hill, until his mother had stepped in front of him and caught him. Her face had been terrified during the moment, but now that she'd managed to stop the little boy's stumble, it smoothed out into a mask of calm.

She knelt to the ground, settling the little boy down about her lap, and in a soft voice asked, "Usopp! Are you alright?"

Little Usopp was shaking, half from fear, and the rest, from pain. The tumble had been quite dramatic, and would only get worse. Little Usopp hadn't seen it yet, but Usopp's knee was bleeding, and where it wasn't bleeding, it was scraped up raw, this skin stinging and irritated red.

Usopp, all grown up now, and nearing his twenties, still had the scar from this fall.

Banchina's eyes were on it, and she frowned with deep concern, and then Little Usopp spotted the injury. His eyes flooded with tears, and he took in a gulping breath---

But Banchina clapped her hands dramatically, and shouted, "Banchina... SPELL!!" She bellowed the word with a dramatic flourish, and then closed her eyes in deep concentration, and wiggled her fingers.

Little Usopp's head snapped to his mother, caught in rapt attention. Tears were still spilling down his cheeks, but his wail had been halted.

With an exaggerated grab at the air around Usopp's knee, and in a completely serious voice, Banchina began to chant, "Pain, Pain, fly away! Come again some other day!" She chanted these words over and over, each time her voice growing louder, more fervent, and more dramatic until she made a huge throwing motion, and tossed an unseen heavy load away from her son. Little Usopp sniffled and clapped for his mother's performance, and while he clapped, she removed a scarf from her neck and quickly tied it to his leg.

"Did that help?" She asked, still focusing on his bloodied knee.

"Yes," Little Usopp whispered, wincing as she tightened her makeshift bandage, "It still hurts."

"Yes... I think it will a little while yet!" Banchina whispered seriously, "You had a very big fall!" Once his knee was tied up, she scooped him up into her arms, and turned back towards the hill, "I shall have to cast more spells, but Usopp, you did very well! Brave boy!"

Little Usopp wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in her neck. She was hurrying on up the hill, where she would treat his knee, but it would still scar.

Usopp, the big one who was watching his younger self with envy, knew this to be true. Absently, he touched the pant leg, knowing under it was the slightly hooked raised scar. As a child, he used to draw on it, and turn it into a yawning crocodile's mouth.

This was a nice dream. A nice memory to have. But it was sweet agony. Nice to see his mother... terrible to know that when he woke up... she would be gone.

He couldn't recall the last time he had dreamed of his mother.

As she reached the top of the hill, she paused, and turned around.

It was as if the distance between them had faded away. She stared at him. A young mother staring into her adult, or at least something like it, son's face. In reality, she'd never know his aged face, but she was looking now. Maybe she could see it, and know it.

Usopp stood a little straighter, puffed up his chest, and held out his arms. Would she like what she saw? Be proud of it? Even recognize it?

"Wh-what do you think?" He stammered. He hadn't meant to stammer.

Banchina looked him up and down appraisingly, in the way Robin might look at an ancient item, and then she whispered, "Wake up Usopp."

He blinked.

That was not her voice.

Banchina opened her mouth again, and Zoro's angry voice emerged, "Oi! Usopp! Wake up!"

                                                        *******

Usopp took in a ragged breath, startled into alertness. No. No, he was not startled into alertness, he was terrified into it. He was thrust, terrifyingly into alertness, and even screamed as the hands at his shoulders, clamped harder.

"Ah! Come on Usopp! Shut up!" Zoro barked, shaking Usopp once more.

Usopp took in a deep breath, and coughed, choking on the scream he'd been about to let loose. When he managed to catch his breath, he rubbed his eyes. Looking about, Usopp felt confused by his place of sleep. This was not the men's room, nor was it his workshop.

"Where....?" He began to question and then stopped. He knew where he was. The answer had suddenly popped into his head.

This was the crow's nest, and he had been on duty. He... had slept on duty... and been awoken by Zoro.

 Oh, no!

Even though they had been docked at Marah (The name of the island, which Robin liked quite a lot for some historical reason Usopp could not recall) for over a week, Zoro had insisted they still keep up their night watch routine. There'd been a few begrudging moans, but everyone had agreed. Seemingly, nice tourist location or not, the Straw Hats needed to be vigilant. They were all wanted people after all.

And Usopp had fallen asleep on his watch, a huge slight by the crew's first mate's, standards.

Zoro crossed his arms and glared, letting Usopp know he was due for a lecture. And then probably a punishment, in the form of some workout routine.

And any other day, Usopp would agree. He took watch very seriously. He had never fallen asleep at watch, well, at least not since his Sabaody days, where the care of the group's well-being seemed to be taken a little more seriously overall. And Zoro, despite how often he napped, never fell asleep on watch, and was not one to let it go if any one else happened to fall asleep on a watch. Even Chopper had gotten a stern scolding from Zoro when the little doctor had fallen asleep, and Zoro was soft on him plenty.

Any other day, Usopp would accept a scolding from Zoro, and he'd whine, but he'd accept a punishment too.

But today was different.

He had dreamt of his mother and seen her with such aching clarity. Because of that, Usopp couldn't bear to be yelled at, scolded, or punished today. He needed to go hide, and... and... and something. Mourn maybe? But he needed to do something, and he needed to do it alone.

Remembering his mother was as painful as it was wonderful, and for the momentary joy he got in having that dream, his day was now ruined. Zoro needn't punish him... he was punished enough.

Because now he was back in a reality where she was dead and gone.

And it was such a bitter thing, worse than any pain Zoro could give him.

And so, with a bit of tremor to his voice, Usopp got up and muttered, "I recognize I fell asleep, and that was wrong, but I can't be yelled at just now."

Zoro raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "What was that?"

Usopp grit his teeth, but forced himself to unclench and relax his jaw. Not meeting Zoro's eye, Usopp cleared his throat and said louder, "I was wrong for falling asleep, there's no excuse for that. But lecture me tomorrow-"

"So you admit to being in the wrong, but want to weasel out of the punishment?" Zoro snapped, talking over Usopp.

Usopp rubbed his head, a vein in his brow pulsing. His head hurt. His heart hurt. The scar on his knee, long recovered, hurt.

"Not now, Zoro," Usopp muttered, trying to get himself back into the present. Trying to readjust to being motherless. Why did it still have to hurt so much, years later? Why did tears still prickle at his eyes?

"What?" Zoro growled, his eyes narrowing as he tried to take on a frightening countenance.

But Usopp couldn't do with it today. He brushed past Zoro, and without a word, began to descend the rigging.

That was the wrong move apparently, because Zoro was soon descending after him, making a scene. Shouting his name over and over, and demanding for Usppp to stop. Usopp did stop, when his feet hit the deck, his teeth grit hard, and his head throbbing as Zoro continued to yell. The rest of the crew was looking from their own positions, and a few were starting to drift towards the scene, clearly curious as to what was going on.

"Do you think you can just walk away from this?" Zoro barked out when he was on deck. But he did not stop when his feet hit the deck, he kept walking, shoving his chest against Usopp's and glaring into the Sniper's eyes when he, at last, looked up.

Usopp had not been expecting the contact, and when he was met by Zoro's chest, he pressed back, surprising himself by doing it. Zoro too, looked surprised.

And it was probably Usopp pressing back against the riled-up Zoro that had Sanji calling out, "Oi! Moss-head! What are you doing over there to Usopp?"

Sanji's face was set in a protective frown, and he was stomping over, Luffy already ahead of him, although he only looked interested at the scene, and not upset.

"Usopp," Zoro spat, poking a hard finger to Usopp's bare chest, "Fell asleep on watch."

Sanji's eyebrows shot up, and he set his mouth in a hard line. He didn't have anything to say to defend Usopp, but his face said he clearly didn't like Zoro being so angry about it.

Usopp's head throbbed more, now embarrassed and ashamed to have the whole crew hear his missive.

"Usopp fell asleep?" Luffy asked, coming to stand near his First mate and Sniper. His voice held that innocence it usually did, but it had an edge. An edge that he was listening in now as a Captain, and not as a friend.

Usopp swore under his breath, shoulders sagging. This day was turning out into a real mess, "I know. I know I fell asleep. It was wrong. And I'll take full responsibility-"

"You'll take it, now!" Zoro snapped, "Not tomorrow, or not later when you feel like it!" He jabbed Usopp several more times with his finger as if driving a point into Usopp.

Usopp's jaw was beginning to hurt from how hard he was gritting his teeth, and Zoro's last jab, actually made Usopp stagger.

"Oi! Marimo, quit being a prick!" Sanji snapped, making a move to walk forward, but Luffy held out his hand and stopped the irate cook.

"If Usopp fell asleep, he needs to get scolded," Luffy said his tone cool but authoritative in that way that only Luffy could manage. He was staring unblinkingly at Zoro and Usopp, peeling back the layers of the scene, assessing something Sanji could not. There was something suspicious in Luffy's gaze, like he had an idea forming, but wasn't quite sure of it yet.

"This isn't about me trying to avoid responsibility-" Usopp tried to say, his chest hurting as his anger built. His heart was rattling inside his chest, and it felt like a panic attack was brewing inside of him.

 "Pain, Pain, fly away!" His mother sang in his ear.

"You, will stand there and listen to me!" Zoro said folding his arms, his voice leaving no more room for argument, "You fell asleep on watch, which is as stupid as it is dangerous. Anyone could have picked you off, or snuck on the ship and picked us off! Your life, and our lives are in your care when you are on watch. And do you know how terrifying it was for me to wake up to the dawn? I had third watch! You were supposed to change out with me, and so when I woke up, I thought something had happened to you! I thought you were hurt, or sick, or anything but asleep on the job!"

 "Come again some other day!" Usopp's mother sang.

Usopp, whose head was barely lifted as it was, sagged downwards. His head was pounding. His mother was still dead. He had made a mistake, but could Zoro just wait? His mother had been long dead. It shouldn't still hurt. His heart felt too small in his ribcage. It was tight. Why did Zoro have to chew him out in front of everyone? Couldn't he wait. Just a little while longer? He was so embarrassed already, so ashamed, he was not his mother's brave boy.

"Usopp!" Zoro barked for attention.

"Hey..." Sanji began to talk, his hand reaching for Zoro's shoulder, "Stop! I think-"

"Usopp!" Luffy breathed, voice sure, and eyes knowing something, in the way he always knew, "Do you feel sick?"

Usopp lifted his pounding head to look at his Captain, confused by the question. Looking at Luffy took a strange amount of effort, and it made Usopp's head hurt worse. He squinted at his Captain, confused by his change of voice, when a loud, heavy wet sound caught his ear.

The deck went silent, and the air got heavy.

Usopp looked down at the deck below his feet. A startling large amount of blood was at his feet, and there were clumps in it. Great big clots were in the wet puddle, and Usopp cringed in disgust taking half a step back. It was then, he realized the blood was coming from his nose, as his movement caused his still dripping nose to be at the right angle to drip onto his chest. This was not the only problem. That half a step back, had also thrown off his equilibrium, and he was falling.

"Usopp!"

He was falling... but everything has already gone white anyways so... so...

 Oh.

Usopp was unconscious.

[shikkearu]

Part 24: Anniversary

- "Come to Buu!" Moria cheered. - "No Mamma!" Hancock clapped her hands. - "You gotta choose, Pappa." Shanks shouted from the side.

Mihawk sighed loudly.

They stood in a row just waiting for Perona release Zoro. She had come up with the idea while they waited for the rest of the people to show up to their little gathering on a beach she had gone a lot to with her husband. Mihawk had thought it was a stupid idea, have a competition like this of who was Zoros favourite grandparent. It was demeaning to call him like a dog so he took no part other than stand there. Everyone else had gotten excited by the idea. They had actually bet on who was the favourite. Most money went onto Mihawk since he spend the most time with him, but Moria was a close second.

- "Ok, Zoro. Just go to your favourite grandparent." Perona softly whispered to him and released her hold of him. Zoro toppled forward and looked at the cheering adults. Then he started to walk. Morias and Hancocks cheers got even louder whilst Mihawk rolled his eyes. Zoro walked and then he turned and walked away from all of them. Everyone held their breath. He walked a bit forward and then stopped. He looked around confused.

- "Where are you going idiot?" Ace ran to Zoro and turned him around to face the adults again.

But Zoros pride had gotten hit and he sniveled. He ran straight back to Perona and hugged her. Everyone pretty much laughed. Zoro had inherited his bad sense of directions from his father.

- "Zoro just got distracted. He's got a lot on his mind." Perona hissed protectively. - "Did anyone bet on Perona because she is clearly the winner here." Shanks laughed loudly.

Everyone shook their heads and Shanks laughed even louder.

- "Just me then. Okay, pay up."

Mihawk glared at Shanks. Even if the thing had been stupid he should have bet on him.

- "Sorry, Hawky. Nothing personal."

Muttering people paid up. Hancocks sisters drove to the parking lot. They had picked up Chiffon, Lola and Absalom. Absa rushed out of the car as quickly as he could, followed by Lola. She would have chased him around, but was stopped by Chiffon, who just shook her head. The two Boas were visibly bothered by the car trip. Another car drove up. From the passenger side stood up Cindry. She rushed off to hug Perona who had let Mihawk take Zoro from her. It had been awhile since the last time they had seen each other. Her acting career was sky rocketing at the moment so she was very busy most of the time. From the drivers side stood Law which surprised Perona.

- "Oh, you know Law?" She wondered outloud. - "Yes, but we're just friends. I was gobsmacked when he told me you two had gotten into contact." She looked at Perona and petted her hair slightly. "Are you jealous?" - "Of who?" Perona looked at her in a bit of disbelief. - "I came here with a dashing male and you wont even lift a brow." She smirked. "Quite cold." - "Well I came here with a dashing male as well." Perona tilted her head towards Mihawk. - "Perona, I didn't know you were into dilfs." Cindry gasped dramatically. Perona laughed and shook her head.

- "Seems like everyone is here. Let's head to wards the beach." Hancock announced excited. - "Is that the Empress?" Cindrys eyes glittered and she headed towards Hancock.

- "Hey." Law came to Perona. - "So you and Cindry are friends?" - "Sort of." He smirked. "She didn't seem too excited of our relationship." - "There is no relationship, stupid." - "Oh we aren't friends?" He was amused. - "I didn't mean it like that." Perona snarled and blushed slightly.

Law patted her head and started to go down to the beach with the others. Absa came to Perona quickly.

- "Why is he here?" - "We are friends. I've been messaging him this spring." - "I don't really like him." - "Because he is not a womanizer like you?" - "Ouch. But he definitely is one. He's just sneaky about it." His face went a little disgusted. "Not very sure if he's even trying to hide it." - "Well good thing I'm not planning on a romantic relationship with him." Perona huffed. "He's ok if you get to know him, just has a little bit of a jerkish side to him." - "Jerkish is mildly putting it."

- "C'mon you two! Don't keep us waiting." Lola shouted loudly.

- "In a bit!" Perona shouted to her, before looking back at him. "You need to turn her down properly." - "I've tried." he groaned. - "Not in a joking banter way. Proper sit down way." - "Yeah, I'll try." he sighed and started to moved down to the beach.

Perona looked the scenery over and sighed. - "Is there a beach like this where you're at?" She wondered in her head as she trekked down

----

They were sitting at a small wooden dock with their feet in the water. The tadpoles nibbled their toes. There was a gap between them, large enough for a person to sit between them with ease and maybe a little space to spare. Anxiously he kicked the water and looked at her coyly.

- "I- Can I hold your hand?"

She looked at him wondering. Any other guy she had dated had never asked permission for such a thing. But he was shy and kind.

- "Why?" She teased him. - "I don't know- Or I do but- Aargh!" He blushed and covered his eyes with his hands. "I've been thinking all day how pretty your hands are."

She blushed slightly. He couldn't even look at her. What a cute and sweet boy.

- "Never mind. I don't think I'd be able to. You're too much for me. Gotta built up my resistance." He looked far into the ocean.

He set his hands on his side. What she could see of his face, was deep red in color. She slowly inched closer to him. He was shaking. He knew she was moving closer, but didn't turn or say anything. She took his hand into hers and he started shaking uncontrollably. He curled into himself. His face was even deeper red.

- "Horo horo horo! You're so cute." He looked at her in agony. - "You're the cutest!"

She too blushed and looked away. It must have looked silly to a passerby. Two people barely holding hands and dying out of embarrassment.

He was the kind of guy she never imagined she would fall in love with.

----

That day was a bit cold and she stood on the same dock as they had been years earlier. She had wished for a finer weather, but you couldn't choose it in advance. At least it wasn't raining or awfully windy. Maybe it might get warmer as the day progressed. Mihawk walked to her only wearing a white dress shirt and long dark pants. She had to wear a cardigan over her shirt not to feel cold.

- "What are you doing here by yourself?" - "Just reminiscing the first date." - "What did you do here?" He looked down at the murky waves thrashing against the poles of the small dock. - "Just sat and talked. You know he was awfully shy back then. Couldn't even hold my hand properly." - "Sounds like him." Mihawk hummed.

They stood there on the dock and for a moment it all was serene and calm.

- "The others have set the things already. They're wondering where you are." - "It's a bit... suffocating." She sighed "To be there surrounded by so many people... Dunno. Maybe I'm just being sensitive today."

Perona started to swallow tears. The idea had been so good, but right now it felt weird. Weird to be happy and talk of all the memories of her husband. After all it was the day he had died a year back.

Mihawk pulled a tissue from his pocket and offered it to Perona. Grateful she took it and blew her nose. At least Mihawk knew how she felt and even if he didn't, he was there and that mattered the most.

- "Please." She whimpered and moved towards him, lifting her hands as a sign for him.

He met her halfway and closed his arms around her. She grabbed onto his shirt and sniveled. Heavy tears fell onto his shirt as she pressed her cheek against his chest.

- "Let's go back to the others. I don't think he would have liked us to wallow in grief like this." - "He probably wouldn't have." Perona snorted squeezing against him. - "No, he would have." he let out a short bitter laughter. "I've told you how much he was like Hancock. He would have died of a broken heart."

Perona separated from Mihawk and looked at him. How could he say such things?

- "He was stronger and better than me." - "Well he was better than you in many ways, but..." Mihawk slightly brushed her cheek. "He could have never been as strong as you have been. Such mental strength doesn't run in the family. I hope Zoro got some of that strength from you." - "But I've been leaning onto you all this time. You've lend me your strength." she insisted.

Mihawk shook his head. He had quickly found it to be quite the opposite. He lend strength from Perona more than he wanted to admit. He turned and started to walk away.

- "Let's head back."

She rushed to his side and took a hold of his hand, but he shook it off. Perona pouted unhappily.

- "Just today. Please, Mihawk." - "I don't want people to make false assumptions of our relationship." Especially one certain red head." he scoffed. - "So mean." Perona huffed and tried to grab onto his hand again. - "I'm not your personal comfort pillow." he grunted, "Didn't you invite that Law-guy here for that?"

Mihawk hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped. He didn't understand why he felt so angry and jealous thinking about that man. When Perona had said they should invite Law too, the surge of pure hatred, that filled his heart, was unreal. He didn't know this man enough for such hatred to be righteous, though he could remember what Absalom had said of him of him during Christmas and it had been concerning.

- "I've told you there's nothing going on between us." she frowned at him. - "Sorry, I'm just worried that's all." - "Ugh, don't be. I can handle myself."

She took a couple of skips to make some distance and went to talk to other people, some of her husbands friends were there too, which was nice considering how they hadn't really been in touch the past year aside from the funeral. Law was the only one, so Mihawks reaction just angered her more. Stupid old man, she can handle herself just fine. Didn't need him sticking his nose to everything.

Zoro rushed to Perona and demanded to be picked up. The amount of people was starting to tire him and Buu or Mamma were not as good as Mommy. Perona lifted him up and sat down at the table. Law came to her.

- "You want something to drink?" he asked politely. - "Oh yes, please." she sighed still bit annoyed by Mihawks antics.

Law quickly returned with two beers.

- "Aren't you driving?" - "I won't tell, if you won't" he held a finger to his lips. - "Please don't. You know how I feel about alcohol these days." She chastised him. - "It's because of him, isn't it?" Law nodded towards Mihawk who was drinking some juice as he talked to Shanks. Shanks had volunteered to take pictures and was showing his equipment to him. - "Or maybe it's because of you." Perona rolled her eyes. - "Fair point. Alright I go take these back. Would you rather have some juice then?" - "Yes, please. Oh and some for Zoro too."

Law quickly returned with some juice. Dragon was busy barbecuing and soon there would be some real food.

- "You seem close to him." Law remarked as he handed her her juice. - "Well Zoro is my wonderful little bean." she looked at the child on her lap and smiled. She did not want to take part in what Law was insinuating. - "No, your father-in-law." he kept going. - "Today is some sort of weird jealousy day, instead of a day to commemorate my husband." she groaned and threw him a glare. - "Hmm? I'm not jealous. It just seems weird." - "Nothing weird about us being friends." - "Does he know that? I saw how he hugged you back there at the dock." He cringed. "I was coming to get you and saw that." - "Can we talk of something else?" She looked back down at Zoro. "All these people rather talk about relationships than your daddy and it's quite tiring." she kissed the top of his head. - "Daddy?" Zoro looked at her confused. - "Umm here." She picked her phone and showed a picture of him and his father. "That's you and that's daddy."

Zoro fumbled a bit with the phone, carefully looking at the picture. But as he did, he accidentally swiped the picture away. Zoro didn't really understand why it made him feel so distressed and he started to sniffle.

- "Oh no, Zoro. Please don't cry." she tried to calm him.

Law sighed and picked up Peronas phone and put the picture back.

- "There's your dad. He went nowhere."

Zoro calmed down and looked at the picture again. Looking at the man made him feel happier, but he just didn't remember ever meeting this person called Daddy. Maybe he would meet him someday. Mommy at least liked him a lot.

----

Soon the food was served and everyone started to converse as a group. They listened to stories, cried and laughed remembering this person who had touched all of their lives, even if by little. Once they were done and it was starting to become a bit darker, they decided to go to the grave yard. Most people had brought something to the grave and it looked similar to the way it had been during funeral. Perona felt like crying. Mihawk was beside her holding Zoro and she tried reaching for his hand, but before he could react, it was Law who grabbed and squeezed her other hand. She looked at him confused, but then smiled. She whispered a small thank you and looked back at the grave. Mihawk felt like his heart had suddenly been eaten by a black hole. He shouldn't be so jealous, why was he like this?

They bid everyone a farewell and everyone left as they had gotten there. Mihawk and Perona were the last ones to leave.

- "This day was really good after all." She sighed. "My heart feels somewhat lighter."

Mihawk hummed in agreement.

- "You know it's nearly been a year you two started to live with me." - "It's been good even though the circumstances were not." Perona smiled a little bit. "I don't think we should hold a party for that."

Mihawk smiled and he took hold of her hand as a sign of solidarity. It felt so warm and good to hold it, but she shook herself off way too soon for his liking.

- "I'm tired. Let's go home."

[merrylog]

Marine Parents

A new fic I’ve written which I hope anyone reading will like. If there’s anything you want to comment about feel free to do so! I’m open to constructive criticism.

Main Characters: Trafalgar D Water Law and Nami (No Shipping)

Secondary Characters: Ussop, Smoker, Tashigi

Mentioned Characters: Corazon, Belle-mere, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Momonosuke, Kinemon, Doflamingo

Genre: Very light angst, humour, general

Summary:  Law overhears Nami talking to Ussop about Belle-mere leading to Law talking to Nami about their marine parents. Set in canon timeline on the first night that they leave Punk Hazard.

Word count: 2,288 words

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Room"- Law had just finished extracting the NHC-10 poison from the children's bodies when the Strawhat navigator strolled into the room brazenly whilst the sniper toiled behind her.

"I thought I said that no one should peek in until I say so" said Law nonchalantly tinged with an undercurrent air of authority.

"How are you feeling kids?" Nami grinned at the children before she tilted her head and flicked her hair in his direction to acknowledge his words. Law should have expected the strong-headed navigator to ignore his thinly veiled irritation just as the other Strawhats had before her. "Sorry, Nami was just worried" said the sniper in a soft tone.

Taking a last look at the children's blood composition using his scan he moved to walk out of the room and cast a glance at the beaming woman taking pleasure in talking with the kids and the sniper standing to her side recounting some sort of fable. He will not be saddled with children whilst going on a dangerous mission no matter what Strawhat said and he steeled himself to tell Strawhat just as much if he even suggested a detour. Not for the first time Law questioned where this alliance will lead him and if he'd made a mistake.

Just as he was walking out of the room he passed by the female marine he had humiliated earlier in the day. She raised her head, took a look into his eyes and willed herself not to grimace, "I take it that you're done" she spoke in clipped short tones. Standing straighter Law smirked in place of an answer. He might have saved those children but he still had a reputation to uphold. Huffing in response Tashigi moved past the surgeon and into the room.

Law should make his way to where food was being served and yet he hid in the shadows right outside the room. He might have teamed up with Smoker on this island but that didn't mean that he trusted the marines. The navigator's attitude towards him was irksome but he'd be damned if his alliance burned before it started just because he let his guard down and allowed a sword-wielding marine get close to the unsuspecting duo. Should the female marine move suspiciously he will bind her before she caused damage. Law was confident that his ally could subdue Smoker if the conflict grew. He raised his hand and posed his fingers "Roo-"

"I beg of you!! Please allow me to take care of those children!"

That startled Law for half a second before he dropped his hand back down. He decided to observe for the time-being. Nami turned around, planted her feet widely on the ground, crossed her arms and looked down on the still-bowing Tashigi. Despite her scantily clad body, in that instant, Nami looked ferocious and Tashigi, whilst still bowing to a pirate, drew her shoulders together in shame and plea. Judging by the look on the orange-haired girl's face Nami was going to explode in anger at Tashigi's request- and rightfully so! It was the marine's fault that the kids were in danger for so long in the first place. Ussop was in the back trying to calm down the children and allow the adults to...negotiate.

A small and forgotten part of Law seethed in anger at the presumptuous marine for even thinking that they could make up for their mistakes without consequence. Taking a quick breath he buried his anger and watched with bated breath for what the navigator would do. The seconds trickled by and Law watched in fascination as the knots in the navigator's brows unfurled and her clenched teeth relaxed. Puffing out air in resignation she calmly said "Okay" and grabbing the shocked sniper's arm moved past Tashigi to walk towards the door.

Law was dumbfounded but he managed to recover quick enough to move past the shadows and towards the congregation of marines and pirates before the Strawhat duo noticed him. Nami and Ussop joined in and the cook took off his coat and offered it to Nami. The surgeon took a bowl of soup for himself and another one for the marine Vice Admiral sitting on an uprooted rock some distance away from the mayhem. Sitting contently on a wooden crate he talked with Smoker.

"I know you're planning to use the Strawhat to start something" said Smoker with an air of resignation. Out of the corner of his eye Law spotted Nami walking away from the mess and towards the deck of the tanker with Ussop following her. "Use, huh...I wonder who's using whom..." he answered distractedly. Law got up, threw his bowl, and walked in the same direction as Nami and Ussop but not before he glanced back at Smoker and added "Anyway, I'm planning on heading to Green Bit now, but....I wonder if I'll be able to manage Strawhat-ya's crew...".

Law stood behind the mast of the tanker and watched on as the Strawhat shipwright was expertly fixing the deck. He could clearly hear Nami and Ussop's conversation and while he was not one for eavesdropping he was curious as to why the navigator relented the children to the marines -the ones who've wronged them in the first place- so easily when it was clear how protective she was of them.

"Did you figure out everything with the marines? Concerning the children I mean" said Ussop jovially and Nami answered in a wistful voice "I'm no match when facing down a marine woman...". Law was confused to say the least. Why would a pirate be weak towards a marine? And why a female marine of all things? "Ah, that's right. Your mother...she was a marine!" exclaimed the sniper in a chipper tone. Suddenly Law understood and he willed himself to walk away whilst internally berating himself for giving into his curiosity. He cannot afford to be distracted like this.

Soon the festivities came to an end, the marines and the children sailed away in the newly fixed tanker and Law boarded the Strawhat crew's ship to sail to Dressrosa. After recounting the plan to the rest of the Strawhats and affirming their alliance the crew fell into an easy rhythm until night took over. Law chose to take first watch with Franky while the others went to rest. Luffy, Brook and Zoro took to the bunks in the men's room while Nami, Robin and Momonosuke took to the bunks in the women's room. Sanji and Kinemon decided on some midnight drinking to will away their jealousy towards the child and Ussop and Chopper frightfully decided to keep watch all night.

Some hours passed by and the rotation of watch switched. Sanji and Kinemon had passed out from drinking while Franky, Ussop and Chopper had gotten exhausted and retired to the men's bunk room. Brook and Nami got up to take second watch. Law opted to rest on the grassy deck instead of retiring in the men's room because this was still a rival ship and pirate alliances were riddled with betrayal. Brook took to keeping an eye on the front of the ship whilst Nami walked to the back of the ship to keep watch.

After a while Law got exhausted from the grassy deck and decided to find something to eat or drink from the galley so he got up and trucked his way towards the stairs. Once he climbed the stairs he heard a faint wheezing sound coming from behind the galley and while Law would have been perfectly fine ignoring the masked coughs; he decided against his better judgement to see if the navigator was alright because he was still a doctor at the end of the day. Making his way around the galley he saw the orange-haired navigator hunched down next to the ship rails with her hands at her mouth trying to stifle a cough raking her body.

She had yet to notice him but we made his way towards her "Oy! are you getting sick?! Let's get you to the infirmary. Can you get up on your own?". Noting the crumpled cigarette and the ashes at her feet he put two and two together to make four. It seems that he was unnecessarily worried. The girl had taken a smoke and it must have been a new thing for her. Wondering what would spur her to try smoking was wasted effort; he didn't know her personally enough to judge what would be out of character for her.

The coughs came to an end and Nami raised herself from the ground with the help of the rails. Taking a final clear breath and ignoring his concerns again she said to herself "Blegh! How could Sanji stand this stuff? It's disgusting! Belle-mere too! I swear-" She stopped herself from continuing when she finally noticed that it wasn't any of her crew members who was standing in front of her. "Torao!....I thought you were - nevermind; did you want something?" and she straightened her back masking her slip with an air of confidence.

Before Law could catch himself he heard his own voice ask "Is Belle-mere your mother's name?". He watched as Nami's brows furrowed, jaws hardened and her hand moved to grip tightly at her bicep where her tattoo rested. "Where did you hear that?!" She retaliated. "I swear if those idiots are going around blabbering their mouths!! Aghhh Was it Ussop?? It was him wasn't it? That idiot with a penchant for stories! I'm going to go teach him a lesson right now!!". Law had to rectify his slip of tongue before this escalated "Wait. It wasn't long-nose-ya - or anyone from your crew - I just overheard you and him talking yesterday."

Puffing out the air she trapped in her lungs Nami gripped her arm tighter and answered curtly "I see".

Law gripped his hat and cast his eyes down deciding that he wouldn't divulge everything with her but still continued on "My caretaker was also a marine....". "Was?..." she questioned. "He died 13 years ago" And this time she loosened her grip and answered sympathetically "I see...mine died 12 years ago" And Law was startled again; he had assumed that her mother was safe and alive; fulfilling her marine duties just as Strawhat-ya's grandfather has.

Nami planted her hands at her hips and with a large cheshire grin declared to Law "I bet my mom could have wiped the floor with your dad! My mom was the strongest marine!" She continued to beam at him; he raised his head and let out a short chuckle "She probably could have. Cora-san was too clumsy to be able to fight for any length of time". Feeling a kindred spirit within her he continued "So, your mother was a smoker too? I hope she wasn't prone to burning herself with one!" A look of confusion crossed Nami's face before she caught on "That clumsy?! Wow! No, Belle-mere was rowdy but stable on her feet".

They laughed for a bit before settling down. Wiping the mirth from his voice he asked "So what made you want a smoke after 12 years?". Nami, too, sobered up "Ah, I found some in Sanji-kun's jacket and the kids reminded me of Belle-mere so I thought I'd give it a try to see what's fun about it" scrunching her nose "I don't recommend it.....Ah, but I guess a doctor would know better!"

They fell into a comfortable silence and Nami started up "I was actually wondering....are your tattoos for....?" Law took a look at her tangerine-pinwheel tattoo and the tangerine trees up above them before answering "Yeah.....you could say so....Yours?"

"Yup! Ah, but mine's also for my father of sorts.... He's back home with my big sister!"

Law thought back to Lami and his parents and felt a swirl of regret and sadness wash over him. He wishes that Lami was still alive and that he could talk with her, take her to her favourite festivals, eat ice cream with her, anything....anything, just sit by her side, hold her hand, read her books..."...ao.Torao. Torao, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, just thinking" Nami pursed her lips and hesitated "I see, I'm sorry about your family Torao"

"Me too" he answered

Letting some air out Law asked the question he had wanted to ask her since he learned that her mother was a marine "Do you think she would have approved? You being a pirate I mean?"

Nami leaned her back into the rails and fiddled with the ruined cigarette "I don't know..." she tilted her head up towards the moon "I'll never know but I think she would have liked me living freely as I am now. Marine, pirate, civilian...whatever it takes me to map out the whole world!!"

And Law thought back to Cora-san and the lengths he went through to keep him alive, the risks he took, the people he betrayed...all for Law. He'll never know if Cora-san would approve of his revenge or his status as a pirate but maybe...maybe he would at least not hate him for it, maybe Cora-san would be saddened or disappointed but at least he won't hate him....

"I see...I hope you fulfil your dream Nami-ya"

"You too Torao! Ah, but if you want to become Pirate King then give it up, only my captain will be one!" She declared with the confidence of a thousand armies.

Smirking in response he started making his way to the galley for that drink he came up for but paused and answered in a cool tone "We'll have to take care of Kaido first...then we can think about Pirate Kings!"

Maybe this alliance wasn't so bad after all.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well that was the longest fic I’ve written to date! I hope you enjoyed reading it! This is un-bteaed so if you catch a mistake please let me know!

[creative-type]

Why Tony Tony Chopper is my Least Favorite Straw Hat

I feel conflicted when I see people list characters from greatest to least favorite. Cut and dry lists in general - whether featuring power levels, most attractive, saddest backstory, etc - tend to elicit this reaction, because they’re so subjective and I think if an author has done a good job then the audience shouldn’t be able to make the list at all.

Which wouldn’t stop people from trying, but still. 

Using One Piece as an example, there are certain characters that resonate with me personally, the chief of whom is Nico Robin. I’m a total sucker for the misunderstood badass bookworm - Raven from the original Teen Titans cartoon, Tris Chandler from Tamora Pierce’s works, Roald Dahl’s Matilda, and Thistle from Daughter of the Lilies are just a few examples of this in other media.

But apart from Best Girl Robin, my feelings about the cast of One Piece tends to vary depending on how you define “favorite”. I love Luffy as a main character, but would hate to meet him in real life. I appreciate Zoro’s place in the crew, but find him boring and long wistfully for the days when he was allowed to be a goofball. Nami, Usopp, and Vivi grew on me over time, and if I could graph my feelings on Sanji over the course of the series it would look like I have ventricular tachycardia 

And then there’s Chopper. 

Just as I’ve liked Robin since her first appearance, I have never liked Chopper. I know typing it is akin to blasphemy amongst the One Piece fandom, but I was left unmoved by his backstory, and he’s never grown on me in the hundreds of chapters since then. The first thing I thought when I first saw his unused concept art was “what a wasted opportunity”. 

 A lot of this is subjective. I work in health care, so the quack doctor Hiliruk rubs me the wrong way on a purely professional level, which in turn makes it really hard for me to care when he dies. I dislike Chopper’s “mascot” status and how it’s affected his character design. I wish he would do more onscreen doctoring. I find his naivete annoying. I think his post-timeskip transformations look dumb. And so on and so forth, ad nauseum.

At the same time, Nami is never shown drawing maps and I regularly have her in my top 3-4 Straw Hats. Usopp and Luffy are just as stupid, but their antics don’t bother me half as much as Chopper’s do. When I decided to sit down and write about Chopper, I had to figure out what made me less tolerant about him specifically when there are plenty of others who share his same flaws. This is what I came up with.

Want vs Need and Forgotten Development

In his book The Anatomy of Story, John Truby describes the difference between a character’s want versus their need. While written with writing screenplays in mind, many of Truby’s techniques can be used regardless of medium. It’s an excellent tool for would-be writers, and I highly recommend it.

When looking at Chopper through the lens of want and need, it’s pretty easy to see what Oda had in mind.

Chopper wants to become a doctor who can heal any illness, but he needs to reconcile his human and reindeer natures and see himself as a complete person. Ironically, in doing so he willingly becomes the “monster” he was so afraid of.

 Since this transformation is for the sake of and with the support of his friends, it’s coded as positive when before it was negative. Chopper is no longer isolated and lonely, but an accepted and important member of an infamous pirate crew. Compare the above to his fight on Fishman Island

So Chopper does have a complete character arc through the first half of the series, and it’s a good one - simultaneously unique to him while bolstering the themes of One Pieces as a whole. Good job, Oda.

At the same time, I think there’s a secondary need that’s overlooked by the narrative, and by this point I doubt will be relevant to the story, and that’s the fact that Chopper needs to grow the fuck up.

To be fair, Chopper is only 15 at the start of the series, had spent the first years of his life as a reindeer and the rest isolated from the world for his own safety. It is understandable that he’d be naive. Dr. Kureha points this out for herself when he first joins the Straw Hat Pirates

What sets Chopper’s immaturity apart from, say, Luffy’s is that it is presented as something that he needs to overcome. This is especially true during the Skyepiea arc.

Remember that early on in the arc Chopper is left alone to guard the Going Merry. Chopper fails, losing quite badly to the Priest with all the strings whose name I can’t remember. Even with Gan Fall’s intervention it was plot armor sheer luck that kept the both of them from being killed. 

This loss nicely sets up Chopper’s battle with Gedatsu, which ended with Chopper’s first solo victory of the series. 

Chopper screams to the heavens that he’s a “real” pirate, which in context refers to reliable, brave, and strong. Note that this ties into his main need of self-actualization as the chapter before Chopper calls himself a monster just before hitting Gedatsu with his finisher. 

In doing so, Oda is effectively saying that Chopper needs to mature before he can become a complete character. In this way Chopper is like Usopp, whose desire to become a brave warrior the sea necessitates that he face his problems head on instead of run from them.

Later during the Davy Fight Back, Chopper is temporarily lost to the Foxy Pirates. He is understandably upset, but he goes overboard with his hysterics, causing Zoro to call him out.

Zoro in essence tells Chopper to man up. Now, masculinity as defined by One Piece is a pretty broad topic, and this isn’t the only time Chopper is told how to act “manly” by other members of the Straw Hat crew, one of the best examples I can think of being Sanji telling Chopper that “a man doesn’t believe a woman’s lies” when Robin tries to leave the crew. In this instance, however, I think “being a man” is interchangeable with “acting like an adult”, specifically in the area of taking responsibility for one’s actions. 

So we have the problem of Chopper’s naivete brought up by Kureha, the first steps of maturity seen during Skypiea, and the exposure that Chopper still has a long way to go during the Davy Fight Back. There’s even a moment during Thriller Bark when he has to deal with the realization that one of his idols is an evil dirtbag of Spandam-like proportion - a loss of idealism that most go through as a normal part of growing up.

The development isn’t fast nor especially profound. It’s never the main focus of Chopper’s arc because it’s not his primary need, and in a gag-happy series like One Piece I think Chopper’s childishness would always be the brunt of some sort of joke. But there is a sense of steadily marching forward toward a goal, and if things had kept trending in that direction I think it would have been enough to elevate Chopper from his dubious position as my least favorite Straw Hat.

But immediately after the timeskip we have this abomination of a scene

Words cannot express how much I hate this scene. Every other Straw Hat gets an awesome reintroduction. Nami and Usopp, who along with Chopper make up the so-called “weak trio”, even get to beat the crap out of some of the Fake Hat Pirates. 

Chopper mistakes creepy cucumber lady for Robin and runs away crying, undoing hundreds of chapters of development in one fell swoop. It’s stupid on so many levels I can’t even articulate enough to type them all out. The gag falls flat and makes it impossible for me to take him seriously going forward. I will admit that I’ve not done a lot of rereading of recent chapters to double check, but where Usopp and Luffy get plenty of moments post-timeskip to display a new-found maturity while maintaining their fun-loving nature, Chopper does not. He’s the same old Chopper.

I don’t have any way to confirm this, but I think part of this stagnation of character is due to Chopper’s status of cute mascot. To disrupt this status quo is to lessen his marketability. There is a reason why Chopper’s so damn cute when Oda originally wanted him to be kind of ugly. I mean, say what you want about Oda’s use of realistic body proportions, but there was a time when Chopper’s head wasn’t bigger than his torso.

Whether I’m right or not, I don’t think that it can be disputed that Chopper has gone through what I call “forgotten character development”. He’s just as immature (and in some places more so) as he was early in the series, and personally I can’t stand that kind of character. 

And again this is a highly subjective thing, but I don’t even think he’s that cute anymore. It’s a serious problem when your mascot ceases to be adorable and has no development to fall back on.

In the larger picture of One Piece, the loss of Chopper’s secondary development is a small thing, but it’s enough for me to not care about him at all. Sanji, for all his polarizing actions, at least makes me feel something. These days Chopper is just...there. 

I will admit that I might have let my initial distaste cloud my objectivity, so let me know what you think about Chopper’s development, or if there’s any other character that everyone else seems to like but you can’t stand. I’ll commiserate with the burden of having an unpopular opinion.

[bux-blurbs]

Genre: comedy, action, adventure, fantasy.

It is an ongoing anime. 1. EAST BLUE SAGA The saga starts off with a flashback of Gol D. Roger's execution. Whoever claims the "One Piece" will be named the new pirate king. Before he dies, he tells the crowds to go out and search for his treasure. This sparked the Golden Age of Pirates in which countless pirates raise their flags and set off to find One Piece.

When Monkey D. Luffy was young, a group of pirates came to East Blue and used the place as their base. The captain of the pirates, "Red Haired" Shanks, became Luffy's role model.One day, Luffy ate the Gum Gum Fruit, a treasure Shank's pirates discovered. The Gum Gum Fruit made his body rubbery so he can stretch and twist his body out in any way. He loses his ability to swim though. The same day, mountain bandits came and kidnapped Luffy because he made fun of them. The mountain bandit threw Luffy in the sea and was about to get eaten by a huge sea monster. But Shanks saves him in time, losing his left arm to the sea monster. After that, Shanks crew decided to leave Fuisha Village. Upon leaving, Shanks gives Luffy his prized straw hat. He asks him to one day give it back to him when he becomes a great pirate. With this promise, Luffy is determined to become the Pirate King!He sets off sailing to the Grand Line while recruiting members of his crew.Luffy gets acquainted with an oppressed cabin boy, Coby, who was later set free by Luffy. Coby’s dream is to become a Marine. [Shells Town, a Marine base] Luffy meets the famous pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro who hunted down pirates’ head for money. Luffy and Coby bid farewell as the latter wants to pursue his dream to be a Marine. Zoro becomes Luffy’s first crew mate. He wants to become the world's greatest Swordsman because a promise he made to his friend.[he uses Three-Sword-Style, in other words, he uses three swords in combat. He wields the third sword in his mouth, which could be very deadly.] [Orange Town] They meet the pirate Buggy the Clown and his crew. Buggy is also a Devil Fruit eater giving him the power to detach his body parts, separating into sections, rendering him invulnerable against sharp objects such as swords. They also met a girl named Nami who happened to be a specialist at robbing the pirates. Nami "join forces" with Luffy and Zoro shortly after the defeat of Buggy. She didn't want to become a pirate because she hated them (see her past). The reason why she "joined forces" is because they were after the same goal: treasure. But making friends with Luffy changed her view on pirates and officially became part of her crew after the Arlong Arc. Nami becomes the crew's navigator and helps them through the ocean. She dream, when she was young, was to back a map of the whole world.Nami lived in the village of Kokashya, with her foster mother Belmeil and sister Nojiko. One day, the Arlong pirate group invaded the village and took over. Arlong made them pay him money every month, or they would get killed. It was 50,000 berries for a child and 100,000 for an adult. Nami's family was poor, and they only had 100,000. Her mother used that money for her two daughters and she was killed. From then on, Arlong took Nami captive because he saw her map making skills. So she was forced to become a pirate. To save the village, Arlong and Nami made a deal. If Nami could collect 8 Million Berries, Arlong would leave the town for good. So she's been collecting treasures from pirates for 8 years to achieve this goal. [Syrup Village] The trio went there looking for a ship and also met with the local village liar,Usopp whom they befriend with when Luffy discovers he is the son of Yasopp, one of the pirates in Shanks' crew. Usopp’s friends Kara rewarded Luffy’s crew with a ship ‘Going Merry’ for saving the village from the bad pirates.Usopp wanted to sail with Luffy because he wants to meet his father one day. Usopp is the crew's sharpshooter. He can take any sort weapon (gun, cannon, slingshot etc.) and hit its target with ease.  Usopp's main weapon is a slingshot with all different kinds of pellets, like smoke, fire, and pepper. [Baratie Arc] the restaurant ship Baratie, a sort of "floating oasis" in the middle of the ocean where they meet Sanji. However, a pirate admiral named Don Krieg sets his sights on the Baratie as a replacement for his devastated fleet, and the restaurant soon comes under siege. Sanji remembers his dream of the All Blue and finally agrees to join Luffy's crew.He becomes the cook of the Straw Hat crew. Sanji has an amazing talent to make fine dishes, though he very touchy about how you treat his food. Also, he'll do anything for any cute women which sadly is his main weakness. When it comes to fighting though, Sanji lets loose with his impressive kickboxing skills thanks to training his legs to have become lethal weapons. After all, he does need his hands to make his fine cuisines.They met Dracule "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, one of the Shichibukai, and the best swordsman in the world. Zoro decides to try and defeat Mihawk to gain the title of the best swordsman in the world but is clearly outmatched by Mihawk's strength.Nami double-crossed them and stole their ship and treasure, to eventually land on a dangerous island. [Arlong Park Arc] The crew pursuing Nami, also land on Cocoyasi Village, Nami's hometown ruled by the tyrannical Fishman Arlong. There, Nami’s past and true motives come into light. [Loguetown Arc] The Straw Hat Pirates stop at the island that the city of Loguetown is on, the birth and death place of Gol D. Roger, to get supplies before heading to the Grand Line.Luffy goes to check the execution stand where Gold Roger was executed. While he climbs and admires the view from the stand, a woman calls out to him, seemingly recognizing Luffy, though he has no idea who she is. When part of the fountain in the town square breaks off and hits her, the debris just slides right off her. She then reveals herself to be Alvida, the first pirate Luffy came across on his trip. Only now, she has eaten the Sube Sube no Mi, causing her figure to change dramatically. She is not alone either, as another familiar pirate makes himself known: Buggy. Cabaji ambushes Luffy on the platform and puts him in shackles, while Buggy's pirates hold the town square hostage. Buggy then explains that this is Luffy's execution.At the Marine base in town, one of the men reports to his captain about the pirate ongoings in town. It is here where we meet Captain Smoker, who never lets a pirate leave his town uncaptured. He decides to wait for Luffy to be executed before moving in.Monkey D. Dragon saves Luffy from Smoke anonymously.

2.  ALABASTA SAGA The Straw Hat pirates finally enter the Grand Line only to be targeted by the criminal organization Baroque Works. They meet Nefeltari Vivi, and decide to help save her country, Alabasta. Making their way across the Grand Line, they fend off Baroque Works' assassination attempts while meeting Luffy's older brother, Portgas D. Ace, as well as a pair of giants named Dorry and Brogy, and gaining a new crew member: Tony Tony Chopper.Tony Tony Chopper, also known as "Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper, is the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates. He came from Drum Island where he learned how to be a doctor, which also makes him the only member of the Straw Hat Pirates who was born on the Grand Line. Chopper is a reindeer that ate the Hito Hito no Mi (Human-Human Fruit) which is a devil fruit that allows its user to transform into a human hybrid and a full human at will. He is a Zoolingualism since is originally an animal, Chopper can understand and communicate with other animals, thus allowing him to serve as a translator between animals and humans. Like all Zoan Devil Fruit users, Chopper possesses the ability to turn into three forms. These forms are called Walk Point, his normal form, Brain Point, his human hybrid form, and Heavy Point, his human form. In addition to his three forms granted by his Devil Fruit, Chopper has also invented a yellow jaw-breaker like drug called the "Rumble Ball", through some research. This drug has the power to distort the wavelengths of the Devil Fruit's transformation, allowing him access to additional transformations for three minutes.

3.   SKY ISLAND SAGA Nico Robin joined the Straw Hat Pirates in the beginning of this Saga. In the royal crypt, Nico Robin had lost the will to live when her dream to know about the True History was not realized. But Luffy saved her anyway by taking her away from the crumbling room in the Alabasta royal palace. As a payback, she asks them to join their crew. Robin is interviewed by the Straw Hats in order to know if their former enemy can become one of their crew. Being a clever woman, she succeeds easily.Nico Robin, also known by her epithet "Devil Child" and the "Light of the Revolution", is the archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates. She is the first member to have once been an antagonist (in the Alabastar Saga). Her dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the true history.She ate the Hana Hana no Mi (Flower-Flower Fruit). The Hana Hana no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to replicate and sprout pieces of their body from the surface of any object or living thing. As further allusion to this, pinkish-white petal-like particles form at and then swirl away from where the parts sprout and vanish, as well as around the user itself.  "Hana" is the Japanese word for "Bloom" and "Flower", and reflects the nature of the user's power to sprout their body parts like a blooming flower. A ship hundreds of years old falls from the sky, and from the evidence contained inside, the crew begins to wonder if an island in the sky can really exist as the legends say. With help from Montblanc Cricket in Jaya, the Straw Hat Pirates manage to reach Skypiea. There they face the false God that rules the sky, Enel, who is later defeated by Luffy.

4.    CP9 SAGA (WOLRD GOVERNMENT SAGA) After their adventure in Skypiea, the Straw Hat Pirates land safely back in the Blue Sea, only to find themselves confronting Foxy the Silver Fox in the Davy Back Fight, and soon after, Aokiji, one of the Navy's three Admirals. Narrowly escaping Aokiji, the crew reaches Water 7, a city of carpenters, and begins searching for a shipwright to join the crew.They soon fall into trouble though, making enemies with both the Franky Family: a ship dismantling group, and the Galley-La Company: a shipbuilding company which employs some of the top carpenters in the world. They also learn that the Going Merry is dying, and because of this, Luffy decides to get a new ship. Usopp disagrees with the decision and leaves the crew. Meanwhile, CP9 of the World Government captures Robin by her will and flees to Enies Lobby, while the crew attempts to get Robin back. Finally, they get her free and get a new crewmate: Franky, who is their shipwright. As they are leaving, Usopp apologizes and is welcomed back into the crew, and so the Straw Hat Pirates are ready to set sail with a brand new ship and shipwright, Thousand Sunny and Franky, along with Robin and Usopp back in the crew.

    5. THRILLER BARK SAGA The Straw Hat Pirates travel to the ghost island of Thriller Bark, where they encounter the Shichibukai Gekko Moriah. Using his Devil Fruit abilities and the surgical skills of his subordinate, Dr. Hogback, Moriah uses Luffy's shadow to revive a legendary giant, Oars. With the help of a skeleton named Brook the Straw Hats fight and defeat Moriah and Oars. Brook also reveals himself to be the former captain of the Rumbar Pirates and longtime friend of Laboon, a whale who the Straw Hats met at Reverse Mountain. After Moriah's defeat, Brook joins the Straw Hat Pirates as their musician.

6.  SUMMIT WAR SAGA A massive war unfolds between the World Government and the Whitebeard Pirates, which was set in motion by the defeat of Portgas D. Ace at the hands of Marshall D. Teach, and climaxing at Ace's execution at Marineford. Upon reaching Sabaody Archipelago, they are separated and sent to different parts of the world by Bartholomew Kuma, another Shichibukai. Luffy is sent to Amazon Lily, where he befriends the Shichibukai Boa Hancock, who falls in love with him. Upon learning of his brother's impending execution, Luffy makes the difficult decision of rescuing his brother first before reuniting with his crew. Hancock takes him to Impel Down where Luffy breaks in and, upon discovering he is too late, breaks out of the great prison with the aid of Emporio Ivankov with his Okama party and two former Shichibukai, Crocodile and Jinbe. They escape and arrive at the battle at Marineford, with Luffy allying himself with the Whitebeard Pirates. The war ends with the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard, the former breaking Luffy physically, mentally, and emotionally and the latter creating a change in the world forever. After being rescued and taken back to Amazon Lily, he is shaken away from his depression by Jinbe. Luffy decides to train and become stronger with the aid of Silvers Rayleigh in order to go to the New World. However, before doing this, he sends a message to his crew mates that they must become stronger too, and that they will reunite again at the Sabaody Archipelago after two years of training.

7.  FISHMAN ISLAND SAGA It takes place two years after the Straw Hat Pirates are separated after the events that took place at Marineford. It begins with the Straw Hats reuniting with each other at Sabaody Archipelago to prepare to set sail for the New World, but in order to enter there, they must first go through Fishman Island. They defeat the New Fishman Pirates and Flying Pirates, who planned on conquering and destroying the island, and make a declaration of war to the Yonko, Big Mom. 8. DRESSROSA SAGA The Straw Hat Pirates finally enter the New World, but soon receive a distress call from Punk Hazard island, home to a former laboratory of Dr. Vegapunk. They become entangled in the illegal experiments of Caesar Clown, and form an alliance with Trafalgar Law in preparation for dethroning Kaido of the Yonko. They challenge Donquixote Doflamingo and uncover a decade-long conspiracy on Dressrosa island. Their resulting actions against the Shichibukai send a massive shockwave throughout the world and result in the birth of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.In this saga, Luffy met Rebecca, a female gladiator, during the tournament at the Corroda Coloseum. He decided to participate upon hearing that the prize is Ace’s Devil Fruit Mera-Mera no Mi.  He also made acquaintance withCavendish, the Captain of the Beautiful Pirates.  Luffy also met up with his childhood friend and brother, Sabo who claimed to win the Devil Fruit. Sabo and his girlfriend Koala, who is Robin’s sister, turn out to be from the Revolutionary Army. 9. YONKO SAGA The Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance is formed to take down Kaido of the Yonko and the shogun of Wano Country, and Luffy becomes entangled with another Yonko, Big Mom, as he seeks to retrieve his crewmate Sanji from her plans.

[ongoing saga] - To Be Continued

[shikkearu]

Irreplaceable Part 19: What is he up to?

Wattpad  AO3

- "Can we meet up?"

Perona didn't know how to feel about Laws request. Something about him still scared her, even though she knew him better now and they had been talking of her late husband, who seemed to have been a very dear friend to Law. Talking seemed to help him as the negative tones in his messages were disappearing. So of course she couldn't just bluntly say no to him in fear of driving him away. Law was a lot of work to befriend.

- "The tests for the schools are coming up so I have to concentrate on those. Maybe after them." - "Of course. Good luck with your tests."

She sighed. It wasn't straight up lying, but she was deceiving him. It was the start of March and she had sent her forms and was waiting for invitations to hearings, not for tests. To tell the truth she wasn't interested in hearing from the schools anyway. She simply didn't care that much, just wanted to keep living like this with Mihawk and Zoro. Mihawk on the other hand was very keen on knowing if she gets an invitation, though he was rather good at hiding it. Maybe he could sense that she didn't want to talk about it.

Perona opened the dryer pushing thoughts of her school away as well. She pulled the fresh laundry in her basket and then promptly pushed her face in it taking a deep breath. Nothing beat the warmth of just dried clothes in the middle of cold winter. She finally lifted her face up and turned to go sort them out, but stopped when she noticed Mihawk leaning by the door. He seemed amused and Perona blushed embarrassed to have been caught like that.

- "Do you want to go practice driving?" Mihawk asked out of the blue. - "Right now?" She looked down at her basket. - "In the weekend. I was thinking of renting out a car, because Zoros safety seat is a pain to remove. We could spend the whole Saturday and Sunday driving." - "What about Zoro?" - "I'll drop him off to Morias on Saturday morning before getting the rental." - "It's still winter out there." - "The roads are perfect. I've tested them."

Perona glared at him. He was being too pushy, it was fishy to her. - "What's going on? Why are you so keen on going now?" - "No reason." - "Mihawk." She lowered her voice demanding and could swear he was starting to sweat. - "Nothing really. You want to go?" - "What if I say no?" - "It's actually not an option."

Perona looked at him in disbelief, but he was as stoic as ever.

- "I don't know what you're planning, but fine."

He seemed pleased and walked off.

----

Mihawk was sitting on the sofa watching TV with Zoro on his lap. The small boy was enchanted by the show leaning towards it and Mihawk had to push him back so he wouldn't fall of off his lap. It soon changed into a bit more boring one and Zoro leaned back still not taking his eyes off of the TV. He looked at Mihawk for a second and waved his feet.

- "Massage?" Mihawk asked and Zoro waved his legs a bit more eager.

Mihawk took hold of Zoros feet and started to gently rub them. They didn't really know why Zoro liked to have his feet massaged, maybe he had some growth pains. Perona walked in doing some hand sewing on a ripped seam and sat next to them.

- "Massage time again?" She asked.

Mihawk hummed joyfully while rubbing the boys feet. Perona sewed for a moment while watching TV. She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

- "The kids shows get worse every year. They were much better when I was a child." - "Have you thought that maybe kids shows haven't gotten worse, you just look at the old shows through golden glasses of nostalgia." - "Umm, excuse me?" She scoffed offended. - "I've always felt kids shows were a bit stupid." - "Oh and they were so much better in your youth?" - "We didn't have a TV in my childhood. Shanks parents did have one, but I didn't watch it much since there was more interesting things to do with him." - "I've always thought you were posh even as a child." - "Just because my lineage is long doesn't mean we were rich." - "What did your father do for a living?" - "He was an electrician." - "Eh? I thought he was a lawyer too." - "No, just me." - "So why did you become one?" - "Because he wanted me to." - "So it's a case of living your parents dreams?" - "No, he just wanted me to do well in life. And I like being a lawyer."

Zoro then decided he had had enough and wanted to be on the floor so Mihawk helped him down. Zoro went to pick up a stuffed toy and sat down leaning against Mihawks feet.

- "Seems like you're not going anywhere." Perona sneered.

Mihawk just shrugged.

- "Can I lean against your shoulder." She asked with a playful tone. - "No." - "C'mon, please." She begged a little.

Lacking the earlier freedom in touching Mihawk, was killing her slowly. It was to help her in letting go of her husband and have a more healthy relationship with Mihawk, but to be denied the simplest touch just because she wanted to be close with him for no reason, felt draining.

- "Zoro's already filled my touch capacity for the day." - "You need to buy some additional space for it. Feels like it runs out before I get to use any." - "Are you jealous to your own child?" He laughed softly. - "Watch out or I'll return you to the shop for malfunctioning." She grumbled and returned to her sewing.

They all sat silently watching the TV show, which wasn't really made to keep the adults entertained so Mihawk turned his head to inspect Peronas craft. He was just silently watching, but she felt bothered by it. Somehow it felt warm to her and she wasn't used to being looked at so intensely. Well not by Mihawk anyway.

- "Can you stop, I'm trying to concentrate." - "Hmm, you know they're going to watch you work at the school too." - "If I get into any." - "I know you will. When will the replies arrive?" - "When you stop asking." - "Are you angry at me?" - "Just stop asking the same thing over and over. Somewhere around March and April." - "Seems like someones nervous." He sneered and turned back to the TV.

Perona rose from the sofa. She was frustrated and stormed off.

----

Perona was washing the dishes and Mihawk sat by the table. He was trying to look through the news, but couldn't quite stop looking at her work. He liked the way she moved when she lifted something up to dry. The subtle changes in her stand. The delicate hand holding onto something as she inspected it's state of cleanness. Somehow it was fascinating to watch her work. She turned and he was quick to shift his gaze back to his tablet. He felt ashamed looking at her in secret, like it was something to be ashamed of, when there was absolutely nothing wrong in watching a family member go about their day.

- "So what is so special about next weekend?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. - "Nothing." He was planning something, but wanted to keep it a secret just to to see all the different emotions she went through trying to figure him out. - "C'mon, tell me." She whined while lifting her chin up. - "We are going to train your driving skill, nothing else." - "Ugh! You're driving me crazy." Perona spun back to the dishes.

Mihawk chuckled.

He liked being near her, because of how amusing she was and how her and Zoros company made him feel less hurt than he was. They kept him busy. When he felt she was completely consumed by her task his gaze wondered back to her.

----

Finally the weekend was there. Mihawk had taken Zoro to Morias and had gotten the rental car. Perona was waiting anxiously to go and was spacing around the house. She wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. Mihawk walked up to her with a bag on his shoulder. He looked amused.

- "Can we go now?" Perona asked through gritted teeth. - "You need to pack first." - "Pack? For a car trip?" - "Were going to be on it over night, so you need your pyjamas, and change of clothes. Preferrably clean. And what ever else you think you might need sleeping in a motel." - "Whaat? Why such a long trip. Wouldn't it be smarter to practice city driving since it's harder than on the country side?" - "We're doing both don't worry. You trust me, right?" Mihawk looked at her warmly. - "Yes" Perona stuttered and blushed. Why was she blushing all of a sudden? - "Then go pack." He chuckled.

----

Straight away they started to drive out of town. Mihawk said it was safer to start from the easy part first. She followed his directions and answered his questions about the rules of traffic. He seemed to be impressed by her good memory, since it had been so long since she last drove. They stopped sometimes to practice things like parking and filling the tank.

They finally arrived to a small rural town and Mihawk seemed to be looking around searching something and keenly following his map. Finally they arrived at their destination. It was a rather large bath house. Mihawk told her to park there and they got off the car. She looked around with her mouth hanging open. All the cars seemed to be expensive and she nearly gasped when they got to the reception. It was so high end.

- "Why?" Perona asked in agony as they were walking to their rooms. - "Because today is my birthday and I wanted to to something nice and not worry." - "Eh? Your birthday? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have gotten you something." - "And ruin the surprise? Your face is a gift enough." He chuckled. - "Ru-rude! And what about Zoro? He doesn't get to participate." - "Sometimes it's good to spend time just between us adults." He hummed. "Also he's a bit too young for this place. All the time would go according to his needs and I figured a whole day of activities would be more fun than changing diapers and hoping he doesn't get a tantrum or pee in the kiddie pool."

Perona could not argue back. The rare day off from parenting was more compelling to the alternative.  Mihawk gave her a list of activities and she felt giddy reading through it. She compared hers to Mihawks. There was a few things that seemed to collide such as dinner, sauna, swimming and sleep.

Swimming?

She didn't have a swim suit and just as horror started to settle on her face Mihawk chuckled and dug her swim suit from his bag.

- "I hope this fits." - "Thanks a lot! You're horrible." She snatched it off of his hands.

He just laughed and went to his room. Perona went to hers and was in awe of the luxury. She jumped on the bed and realized it was a water bed. She had never been on one. She carefully eased off of it and then tried on her swimsuit, a frilly spotted bikini. It seemed to fit perfectly which was a small miracle since the last time she's used it was before her pregnancy. She did have a newer one piece she had used at baby-swimming classes with Zoro, but Mihawk probably hadn't found that one. She looked at the silver lines on her belly and sighed. She felt self-conscious, even after she had been able to loose all that baby fat, but there was no way she would miss out on the pool. She looked in the locker and took the bathrobe from it putting it on. She tied her hair in a bun. She exited the room and Mihawk was waiting there for her since the first thing they were going to was the pool. He too was wearing his bathrobe and flip-flops that came with. Perona blushed. She was slightly angry to have been tricked like this.

- "You liar." She hissed. - "The only thing I lied about was the motel, nothing else." Mihawk looked at her amused. "We did go practice driving, didn't we?"

She blushed a deeper red as she followed him. There were people there that took care they would stay on schedule as it was a popular resort. They took their bathrobes and flip flops as they entered the pool.

- "What if I want to dry myself?" She squeaked. - "You ask one of the workers for a towel." He didn't really look at her.

Perona felt now extremely self-conscious. All the people around seemed so beautiful and rich. Meanwhile she was so basic and had scars and was dirt poor. If anything she should be working here.

- "I shouldn't be here." She whimpered. - "What? You can't swim?" Mihawk looked at her slightly worried.

Just as he looked at her, her hands shot over her belly and she blushed the same pink shade her swimwear was. She looked away embarrassed. Mihawk looked her over. The way she tried hiding her stomach was a tell tale signs of bad body image. He felt bad for surprising her like this.

- "I'm sorry about the swimsuit. Of surprising you like this. You don't need to go swimming if you don't want to."

Perona shook her head and looked longingly at the pools and the various elements added to them.

- "Then what troubles you." Mihawk moved a bit closer to her. - "I don't really belong here. There's just rich and beautiful people here." - "Not all the people here are rich, you're imagining it. Some people safe money to make a trip like this." Mihawk calmly explained. - "Well they're mostly pretty people like you." Perona pouted.

Mihawks eyes widened and he coughed a bit before clearing his throat.

- "Everyone is self-unconscious of their bodies. Who wouldn't be?" - "You... Hancock." - "Hancock has stretch marks too. On her breasts, belly and thighs. She is actually so self-conscious she has built a persona of a scary empress to hide her insecurities." - "Really?" She looked at him and relaxed a bit. - "Yes. Now, let's have a nice weekend." Mihawk pointed at a tall water slide. "Son used to love that. Let's start with it." - "Okay." Perona answered shyly.

Perona followed Mihawk and looked at him. All she could think about was how strong and good he looked. It felt a bit wrong to think like that, but there was no harm in appreciating silently. Mihawk usually wore an open shirt so she was used to seeing his chest, but she really liked his back too. He climbed onto the slide. As he did it he lifted his left arm and Perona could see a scar on his chest usually hidden by his arm and clothes. He slid down before she could say anything. Where was that scar from?

She didn't get to think long as it was her turn to slide down. It was horrifying and she screamed all the way down and chomped on a lot of water. Mihawk was waiting down for her and let her take a hold of himself as she coughed some of the water away. She sniveled and looked at Mihawk angrily as he led her to the side of the pool so her legs reached the bottom.

- "How can someone enjoy something like that?" - "Maybe not that but from here you swim down a small stream made to look like an actual river, but without the nastiness that comes with it." He seemed to be enjoying himself. - "It can't be that fun." She snorted. - "I like to be here, but the best part is, that there's a chance, that as we speak Shanks is staring at a note on the door of my study." Mihawk remarked cheerfully. - "That's mean. He's a friend who cares about you." - "Maybe, but he is also a thorn on my side." He laughed quietly. - "Talking about your side, where's that scar from?"

Perona lifted his arm to get a better look. It was most definitely an old surgical scar. The placing was unusual for basic surgery, maybe an accident had happened. But while she looked, Mihawk took a hold of her arm and lifted it up.

- "Hey, what are you doing?" - "The same as you." He looked sternly at her. - "What happened to your chest?" - "None of your business." - "No, it's definitely my business." - "Well, you tell me, ex-nurse."

She stared back at Mihawk and he looked angrily at her. They both kept still and stared at each other, holding the others arm up. But then he eased his hold letting go of her arm and she did the same. And his eyes changed from cold and angry to soft, sad and warm.

- "Please, Perona. Please let it go."

She looked away ashamed of herself. How could she let her curiosity take over like that. Of course something behind a scar was a bad memory. It was not her business at all. She took a hold of his hand.

- "I'm sorry. It's your birthday and I'm asking you to remember something that hurt you." - "It's alright. I know you can be prone to worrying." He squeezed her hand and started to lead her forward. "Come. The day is not completely lost yet."

And for a second he had the most softest and sweetest of smiles and she couldn't help, but feel her heart flutter.

----

The trail was interesting and fun. Perona would have wanted to do it again, but there were other things to try out before their time would end. Mihawk was somewhat more playful than usual. He seemed to be letting go of his reservations in order to feel at ease with Perona and it caught to her. They got into a water fight so big, an attendant had to come and tell them to tone it down.

- "That was so much fun." Perona smiled happily.

Mihawk smiled back at her while putting on his bathrobe.

- "So next is sauna. Do you think you could beat me?" She giggled and started to put on her robe. - "I'm sorry, Perona, but we'll be seeing again at the dinner." - "But I thought some of the things would be done together." - "Yes, but from here on out I had our activities divided." - "Huh? Why would you do that?" - "You actually want to see me naked?" Mihawk raised his brow.

Perona turned deep carmine red and turned away from him as he started to laugh.

----

- "I feel like I'm melting."

Perona sighed as they sat in the dining hall waiting for a waiter to come pick their order. The pampering had been heavenly. Her skin was soft and smooth and it felt like all of her bones and muscles disappeared from her body, so relaxed she was. It was all even better because she was now wearing comfortable clean clothes, would soon eat something delicious and then get to sleep on soft clean sheets with a thick blanket. Mihawk was looking relaxed as well. His cheeks were flush and eyes closed.

A waitress came to take their order and it didn't take long for their food to arrive. It was simply divine. A sigh escaped her lips as they finished their food.

- "I think I'll need to roll out of here." - "Hmm."

But they were able -albeit slowly- to make their way to their rooms. She was dead tired, but looked at him.

- "You won't mind if I spend a moment in your room?" - "Not at all."

She bounced onto his bed and laid there as he went to brush his teeth.

- "Water beds are weird. They're wobbly and make you loose balance easily. But it feels like you're weightless once it settles down." - "I guess so." Came in his reply and then the sound of his electric toothbrush.

Perona closed her eyes for a moment and made the bed lull. She giggled at the feeling. It was nice and calming.

- "Maybe you should go to your own bed to sleep." Mihawk looked at her from the edge of his bed. He had at some point finished brushing. - "I wasn't asleep." She chuckled. - "But you will be soon, if you continue like this."

Softly he glanced over her body and she blushed. Why was he making her heart flutter so much? Clumsily she wobbled out of the bed. She was so tired. But there was one thing she still had to do.

- "Mihawk come here." She beckoned him closer.

He went to her and looked at her confused. Sometimes she forgot how tall he was and cursed in her mind.

- "Lean a bit lower." She acted coy.

Mihawk looked at her a bit suspicious, but leaned down. Then Perona gave him a warm hug holding him tightly. He shuddered when he felt her warm breath against his skin and she softly whispered "Happy birthday" before letting him go. She giggled when she saw his face and ears red. Mihawk rarely blushed deeply and it was fun to know he was an ear blusher. Mihawk looked away rubbing his cheeks and patted her on the head as a thanks. They bid each other good night and Perona went to her room.

She was putting the alarm to wake herself and checked the messages she had gotten. One was from Moria, a voice mail telling that all was good. And a couple from Law.

- "Saw this cat video. Reminded me of you." - "Just something to lighten the mood." - "Too much studying is not good. You need to rest well too."

Perona felt a light sting in her heart. Law thought she was studying, when in reality she was out here having fun. She didn't feel good about lying to him at all.

- "Hey, the cat video was cute, definitely me. Today I was at a spa relaxing. Mihawk tricked me here. I'm sorry I haven't been completely honest, but I'm actually waiting for invitations to hearings not tests. I'm just not completely comfortable with meeting you just yet. You did make me feel really unsafe."

She waited for a moment for Law to reply, seeing him start to type then stop and start again, but  in the end he didn't. She laid on the bed and tried relaxing, but she felt bad. She was right in being cautious of him, but still it felt bad since he had been nice now that they were messaging. She sighed deeply, but remembered how Mihawk had looked at her. The memory felt warm and she slipped into sleep.

Mihawk on the other hand, was laying on his bed and felt uncomfortably warm. Peronas hug had made him so happy, he didn't feel it could be possible. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his cheeks and tried to drive the thoughts of her away. She was making his heart flutter and he didn't know what to do. It hurt and made him nauseous. No one had made him feel like this ever before.

He could not understand her anymore.