Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(Name) is a 24 year old man who died.

Yes, died.

He enjoyed listening to music and joined the band club in junior high before joining the band at his high school. He is proficient at most instruments but mainly adores string instruments.

Especially the harp and violin. He's into the classics.

But most of all, he always carried a miniature harp and kalimba(finger piano) with him at all times to milk people of their money while performing on the streets—I mean—collecting donations from strangers.

(Name) hates sleeping. Unless he passes out unexpectedly, he'll stay awake for hours until he passes out from exhaustion.

He has sleep paralysis when he tries to wake up in the morning or at anytime in the night.

If feels like he is awake but his body won't move. It causes him to panic a lot in this state because he feels grounded when he knows his surroundings and it's hard to do if your eyes are closed and your body won't move.

He likes art though. He enjoys drawing as a hobby when he's not playing his instruments. He's been practicing more often since he graduated college.

Another thing he likes is anime.

He won't say he's obsessed, but he likes it none the less. It's funny watching people interact so bizarrely.

He likes action-adventure and romcoms.

He internally simps for random people on the street sometimes.

One thing he will proudly say with the utmost confidence is that anime men and women are superior to regular people.

He lives by this policy and would give anything to marry one.

Chapter Text

It was a truck.

...

It's always a fucking truck.

It could've been a plane, but no. It just had to be a truck.

And a fucking truck is what killed our poor Protagonist.

_____

(Name) (surname).

At 5, he started grade school.

Graduated at 11.

At 12 he started junior high.

Graduated at 15.

Started Highschool at 16.

Graduated at 18.

Started college at 18.

Graduated at 23.

A year later he died at 24 on April 1st.

How, you ask?

It's already stated, but you want an in depth explanation, don't you?

Well, it all began when poor (name) went to the housing supplies store to paint his new music studio...

"23.89." The old lady said with her gravelly voice as a frown adorned her wrinkled features.

He took out 25 dollars."keep the change."

"How kind." The woman said sarcastically as she placed the money in the cash register before slamming it shut harshly."Now skedaddle, my lunch break was supposed to start 2 minutes ago."

(Name) nodded nervously as he grabbed the 2 buckets of paint.

His car was parked in a parking building just across the street because the housing and renovation store parking lot was filled.

He sighed but then stopped his walking when he heard a rustle in the bushes.

Hesitantly, he turned his head and flinched when he heard the rustling again.

That's when a chihuahua popped out of the bushes like it just came out of a portal from the nether.

"What the fuck...?" (Name) muttered as e/c eyes clashed with demented black ones.

Those stupidly large eyes too big for its demonic head.

And then Wild West music started to play in (name)'s head as he narrowed his eyes at the little demon incarnate.

And then it started to shake like crazy and growl.

That's when (name) took it as his queue to leave. "Oh hell naw, this thing has rabies for sure. uh uh, I already had to deal with a scary old lady at the cash register which I'm pretty sure is a witch, I ain't dealing with you."

He did a 180 and began to walk faster, but the dog just followed closely behind, still growling like it was possessed and needed an exorcist to send its soul to wherever it came from.

The poor guy began to lightly jog as he made his way across the parking lot as sweat trickled down his temple, the buckets of paint feeling way heavier than before.

The dog was now running.

oh fuck no.

Nope, WE SPRINTING.

WE FUCKING SPRINTING.

(Name) began to dash in the direction of the garage building. And when I say sprint, I mean sprint.

Bro ran faster that Barry Allen. Faster than your dad trying to leave to get the milk. Faster than your mom could get the belt when you get a bad grade.

"Hakuna Matata! Hakuna Matata!" He screeched as his feet hit the pavement desperately trying to get away from Satan's incarnation. "Lord give me strength, I'm sorry for all of my wrong-doings!" He chanted in his head, completely ignoring the red light at the cross walk as he ran for his car. "THIS IS ALL JUST A BAD DREAM WHERE I'LL WAKE UP AT ANY MINUTE!—"

And his head hit the truck, BAM.

His last words were the following:

"I died on April 1st...? I guess I really am a joke."

Chapter Text

"You've gotta be shitting me right now..." The h/c man just lay sprawled out on the forest floor, not really giving a flying fuck right now and just wants an explanation.

"Reincarnation is so cliche I swear." He muttered, attempting to sit up but fell back onto the dirt as a sharp pain flashed through his entire being."God, I think I had too much Taco Bell..."

He slowly pushed himself off the ground and leaned against one of the trees.

He was on a trail of some sort and he could see a small town in the distance.

There's probably a hospital nearby if there's a town. It almost looks kind of cute. It looks like a historic town paused in time.

Which is weird considering I live in the city-

He brushed off the thought as he begrudgingly stumbled his way to the town.

People around him looked at him oddly. They were dressed weirdly, as if they were back in time and simplified.

He was wearing a normal white crew neck, jeans, and converse. He didn't know the big deal. It was them that was dressed weirdly.

"What the hell are you looking at?" He scowled at the people staring at him.

The men and women all flinched at resumed their previous actions and even some parents pulled their children away from him.

Good, I hate children.

He walked up to a tavern and saw a man on the porch with a beer in hand, the loud bustling in the bar echoing its way out onto the street.

And (Name) must admit, the man looked more handsome than most.

"Hey, mister." (Name) called out from the bottom of the steps."Do you know where the nearest clinic is?"

Red head only gave a stupid grin."No idea!"

"Don't you live here?!"

"Nope." The man said, popping the p.

The injured man sighed. "Ah, well, never mind then." (Name) muttered, internally sulking at how he has to endure the pain."Sorry for the trouble."

He clutched the railing and leaned against it to go ask another person down the street.

The red haired man was intrigued by the other."Hey."

This got the attention of the other as he awkwardly turned his head towards the voice, having to look over his shoulder since he was leaning against the wall.

"I'm pretty sure I heard a the guy from earlier say there was a doctor at the end of the street when another guy passed out at the bar." He said, using his right hand to point left.

"Oh, thanks mister." (Name) said sheepishly.

"Just call me Shanks." He called back.

(Name) paused dead in his tracks.

Shanks?

Like Akagami no Shanks?

He whirled around and the pirate was indeed, still there.

"You're Akagami no Shanks?!" (Name) whisper yelled.

Shanks burst out laughing."You're a smart one!"

The e/c man just sighed exasperatedly."Not really, you just said your name and have red hair..."

"You're funny!" Shanks laughed heartily."Tell me your name."

"Me?" After realizing he was talking to a fictional character, (Name) was too busy dying inside he had to take a second to register the words."I'm (Name)."

"Well then (Name), I hope we meet again sometime." Shanks grinned, talking a gulp of his drink and slamming it down onto the table.

"Yeah, me too." (Name) smiled back."See you around Shanks."

He limped his way down the street to the clinic and knocked on the door."hello? Is there a doctor? I've been injured..."

Not a second layer, a short old man opened the doors."And who might you be?"

"A traveler. I was robbed by some pirates a not too long ago." (Name) lied."I'm here to get my wounds treated."

"I see." The doctors eyes shimmered with glee."Sit down! Sit down! I barely get any patients nowadays after a new clinic opened up on the other side of town."

(Name) stayed quiet not wanting to engage in unwanted conversation.

"Where do you feel pain?" The old man asked gently, taking his stethoscope and placing it over (Name)'s chest.

"My stomach and ribs." The (h/c)ette replied.

"May you please lift you shirt?" The doctor asked.

(Name) complied and lifted his crew neck and flinched when he saw the extent of his injuries.

His skin along his ribs was a sickly purple and blue color and a large bump ran along the side of his stomach to ribs.

The doctor placed a finger on the edge of the bruising. He muttered a few incoherent words before going to a cabinet and taking out a pill and placing it in (Name)'s palm."Pain killers."

He nodded in thanks and popped it in his mouth and quickly swallowed it."Bleh."

"It's not as bad as it looks. It's just external and internal bruising. A few ribs are bruised which is causing the pain but a little bit of medication and ice should help the swelling." The short old man said, writing on a piece of paper.

He handed it to (Name) who was expecting it to be messy scribbles like most doctors but it was surprisingly neat."Thanks doc."

"I'm not done yet, I'm giving you bandages." The doctor snapped as he grabbed gauze and cotton along with some ointment. "Change these twice a day starting tomorrow."

(Name) nodded, lifting his arms and shirt so the doctor could do his job.

The old man gently rubbed the ointment onto the skin which got a few flinches from (Name) from pain and because it tickled.

Then the thin layer of cotton was placed on top and gauze was wrapped along his torso.

"Here's the bandages and cotton. Take an ice pack with you." A paper bag was shoved in his face."The ointment and painkillers are already in there. This is for free. The pain should subside in 2-4 weeks from now depending on how fast your body works."

"Thanks old man!" He grinned before carefully getting off of the seat."I'll repay you some time for sure!"

The old doctor gave a kind close-eyed smile as the man left the clinic.

(Name) was there much longer than he expected at it seems like it just turned dark out.

"I need a drink..." he muttered. He wondered if his bag is in the woods since it was on him when he was hit by that stupid truck.

Bag first.

He hit his fist on top of his palm. I'll get my bag and then get a drink.

And that was final.

He marched his way back to the direction of the forest where he magically woke up in.

He passed by stores that were now closing but the pub was still lively as ever. He glanced at the now barren porch.

I guess Shanks went inside. He wouldn't leave a bar this early anyways.

(Name) passed by a few more houses before leaving the town and going to the woods.

He looked around the tree he had leaned against that afternoon and hit the jack pot.

"Eureka!" He shouted, grabbing the black sling bag and practically ripping it open. He felt his eyes swell up from unshed tears as he he grabbed the beautiful kalimba sitting there untouched as he remembered. It's surprising because the truck should have crushed it.

I guess some things are better left a mystery.

(Name) stupidly grinned as he zipped the bag up and slung it over his shoulder.

"To the pub!"

He marched his way back into town and made a B-line into the bar. As soon as he made it to the porch he could hear the lively chatter through the swinging doors.

He smiled even wider as he swung the doors open.

It was even louder inside as people laughed, joked, and danced in drunken or tipsy states across the wooden floors.

His grin turned sly as he pick pocketed unsuspecting and unfortunate drunkards hitting on women. Serves them right, half the women were uncomfortable talking to the drunk men anyways.

(Name) sat down at the bar and waved a bartender over."Do you have any sake and beer?"

The bartender nodded with a smile."coming right up."

E/c eyes trained on the bartender and the drink being made until he heard his name being called by a familiar voice.

"Oi! (Name)!"

He snapped his head to his voice being called."Shanks?"

"Small world!" The red headed captain laughed gleefully."Let me buy you a drink!"

"No it's quite alright." (Name) refused."Want me to pay for yours?"

Shanks grinned widely."Really?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" (Name) felt that Shanks' smile was completely contagious and radiated warmth like the sun. It was so honest."What do you like? Beer? Gin and tonic?"

"Beer!!" He cheered, raising his cup with red dusted cheeks, an obvious sign he was at least tipsy.

"Bartender, could you hit us with a few beers?!" (Name) ordered loudly to be heard over the loud bar.

The bartender nodded and refilled Shanks's cup and filled a separate one and handing them to the captain. (Name) paid kindly with the (definitely not stolen) money he acquired.

"Thanks a bunch! You're a pretty cool guy, (N/n)!" He cheered happily. "You should totally join my crew!"

(Name) only laughed."Sorry, I'm not planning to join anyone until I get stronger. I'll gladly accompany you though!"

"HA HA HA." Shanks laughed joyously before he chugged his beer before slamming it on the counter. He glanced at the worldjumper and smiled. "What's your dream, (Name)?"

To date a hot man or women(maybe you, Shanks) and marry them before I die!

"To collect the rarest musical instruments in the world!" (Name) lied through his skin so well he believed himself for a hot second.

"What a cool dream! We could use another musician on my crew!" the other said as he downed the other mug of beer and pat (Name)'s back aggressively."Tha' hit the spot! My crew is leaving in the morning, You can tag along if you want!"

(Name) couldn't help but smile."I don't see why not."

This is where (Name) (Surname)'s adventure begins.

As the journey continues!

Chapter Text

"This is (name)! He's a stowaway!" Shanks announced with a big grin as the rest of his crew looked at him dubiously, questioning his stupidity once more.

(Name) slapped the back of Shank's head for his idiocy."I'm not a fucking stowaway! You literally said I was accompanying you!"

"Right, right," Shanks smiled sheepishly."He's our guest, so let's celebrate!"

The h/c man punched the red haired captain much harder than his original slap."You drank yourselves dry yesterday! We set sail today, you shit-head!"

Benn looked back and forth between his captain suffering the blows of this unknown guest and sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration."Look, we can take you as far as Alabasta where our estimated restock will be. We have an eternal pose leading there and we can get you to the river."

(Name) felt a shiver down his spine, he didn't watch all of One Piece, he just watched it if he didn't have anything else to watch. He only remembered Chopper joining in the middle of the Alabasta arc. He just knew Alabasta was a bad place to be in right now, but maybe this is before or after it fell to the civil war.

"I don't mind getting dropped off there." (Name) smiled towards Benn. The world-jumper put his index finger to his chin in thought.

"Do you guys have bread?" He finally asked enthusiastically to Benn as he decided to walk with him out of curiosity and admiration for the other. "Like, whoever created bread is a genius. It goes with almost everything."

Ben just shook his head but let a smile escape."Yeah, we got bread at the last island where we found you. I'll show you to the kitchen."

"Y'know, I never got your name." (Name) was bullshitting and he knew it, but it was worth a shot.

"Ben Beckman." The first-mate of the red haired pirates introduced briefly.

"(Name) (surname)." (Name) grinned.

They made there way to the kitchen on top deck and Ben rummaged through a few cabinets before his hand retreated with a bag with 4 small loaves of bread.

"From Candle Forge, the island we were just on. They specialize in candle making and pride themselves on it." Benn tossed the bag at the other.

(Name) fumbled with the bag at the unexpected toss and looking inside the paper bag where the 4 loaves were held."Thanks for the bread, love." (Name) said in a British accent.

"Love?" Ben questioned the odd phrasing, looking over his shoulder and paused his actions of closing the cabinets.

(Name) looked at him oddly before realizing these pirates probably didn't understand modern day expressions."It's a term for someone your close to."

Benn didn't question further but was rather fond of the idea of being liked by someone he just met. He was usually intimidating so it wasn't often he got subtle compliments much less someone saying their comfortable enough to the point they feel close to him.

The silence made (name) panic. He totally thinks I'm a weirdo now... he sulked internally for his stupidity and wanted to dig a grave to step into. If I die, I want my ashes in an hourglass so I can have the body I've always wanted though-

"How did you even end up here, (name)?" Benn finally asked, changing the subject which (Name) was grateful for but also not at the same time since he was caught in his train of thoughts.

Fake it til you make it I guess.

"Shipwreck during a storm and washed up in Candle Forge 2 days ago where I eventually met Shanks. Bought him a few drinks and he asked if I could accompany him." (Name) continued to bull-shit through his teeth, but let's just say his lying skills were better than Usopp's.

Benn nodded his head."Must've been rough. Glad you're not dead."

(Name) looked as Benn continued to tidy up the minor mess he made in the kitchen from looking for the baked dough he asked for. The younger took in the features. Ben was definitely muscular and was tall. If he were on Earth in (Name)'s world, he's betting Benn would pull lots women. And I mean lots.

Y'know what? Fuck it. I'm not even in the real world, so fuck proper conduct and manners. There's a hot and snazzy man in front of me and I'm not missing this opportunity.

(Name) stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and shoved the rest into his bag, careful not to damage his 2 instruments residing there. He then looked at Benn with an unreadable expression.

Benn stared back in confusion, wondering what was going inside of his head.

That's when (Name) unexpectedly reached his arms up towards Benn.

...

"What do you want...?" Benn looked at the raised arms pointed at him? "Is this another one of your weird things you do...?"

Name huffed through his nose as he out down one arm to tear the piece of bread off and said something along the lines of "G'v mei 'igy 'bk wide" as he chewed the baked good.

...

"What?" Benn repeated.

(Name) chewed faster and swallowed the food before clearing his throat, slamming a fist against his chest and raising both arms once more."Give me a piggy back ride."

Benn looked stare morphed into slight disgust and confusion."What? No."

"Yes!" Name said aggressively before he jumped at the taller man's back and took him in a choke hold, not letting go no matter how much Benn tried to command him to get off.

"Get off, you damned tree hugger!"

(Name) smiled wickedly."Nope, now carry my fat ass, I'm feeling lazy."

Benn sighed before giving up and muttering incoherent curses, not that (name) cared. He begrudgingly put his arms underneath (Name)'s legs which was responded with the smaller's body relaxing and just letting his weight drop onto Benn's arms.

Benn huffed before walking out of the kitchen."Where to?"

(Name) hummed in thought."No idea!"

Benn felt a vein pop up."You tell me to carry you for literally no reason?!"

"Yup." The e/c eyed man said, popping the 'p'. "I dunno, just carry me around wherever you want, I need to relax anyways."

Benn fumed at the carelessness of the guest, but didn't utter another word of protest as he just decided to walk around to deck, ignoring the questioning looks others gave him and the man on his back that was casually eating bread.

"Man, bread is a gift made from god. It's cheap and it's good. Not to mention it's great with milk and when filled with chocolate. Can't forget the many pastries made from bread like cakes, donuts, and pancakes." (Name) listed began to list the things that make bread a food made from heaven as Benn silently listened, just walking around, trying to tire out the younger by the steady pace.

Half an hour later, the curious stares died down because Benn seemed to have the situation under control, but it was an odd sight. And just as he wanted, the random facts about bread supremacy started to quiet down and become less and less repetitive and occurring as (Name) laid his head against Benn's broad back as he listened to the lapping waves against the boat's side.

(Name) forced himself to stay awake, not wanting to fall asleep. He forced his head up a few seconds later in retaliation. He hated his sleep paralysis. To keep himself attentive, he started to list more things about bread. It was his one of his favorite foods anyways(bare with me if it isn't your favorite, it's just for the plot). About his bread is easily accessible, different recipes on how to make bread, how bread originated, and the different types of soups and breads that go together.

Anything to stay awake.

Benn could feel (Name) was beginning to force the random facts about bread out at looked over his shoulder."You can relax y'know. You can take a nap. Your eyes look like shit right now. You need sleep. It's not good for you to stay up for so long."

He continued his random walk, trying to rock the other on his back to sleep since he was certain he would claw his way back to being carried if he set him down if (name) was awake.

Benn looked at the dark bags under e/c eyes wearily and muttered words only (name) could here"Sleep. I'm here."

(Name) felt his eyelids get increasingly heavier and he laid his head against Benn's shoulders once more, closing his eyes. He still felt nervous about the exhaustion pooling in his head. He was hit by a car, got little to no rest last night after drinking, and didn't want to meet his sleep paralysis demon tonight. He didn't even know if he still had his sleep paralysis in this world.

He was pretty sure it stuck with him because it's his body doing this to itself and not some external force from his old world.

Might as well try...

(Name) closed his eyes, letting the gentle rocking of the boat, Benn's breathing, and the steady and firm rhythm of steps take him into his unconscious.

This time, (Name) didn't have any nightmares when he fell asleep. It felt...nice.

Chapter Text

I'm awake.

I can't move.

I can't move!

I can't move!

Name was awake, but he couldn't move his body, couldn't open his eyes.

He struggled to try and move his fingers but he felt like he was in a coma but was aware of everything around him. It was like he was falling. His mind was awake but his body was being locked away, apart from him. Like a puppets strings being cut and needed to be tied together again.

A familiar feeling.

His sleep paralysis.

He didn't know if it felt like this for everyone, but his especially scared him.

Wake up!

Move!

Open your eyes!

It's frustrating. It's so frustrating it hurts.

These episodes happened often, but it never meant he got used to it or knew how to handle it over time.

That's when he felt someone shaking him.

Large hands.

He could hear the muffled voice of someone.

It was so familiar.

It was so close.

It was...panicked?

He was the one panicking...was it him? His own voice?

The voice got louder and louder of time, and like a switch was flicked on, (name) felt like he was harshly pulled out of a deep pool of water.

His hearing wasn't dulled anymore, he could see what was happening. He was able to move. He could feel.

He touched his face, not fully processing where he was but felt a slight rocking motion of the room.

He was on a ship right? The Red-haired Pirate's ship.

He reeled his hand back and looked at the tears and sweat that coated his fingertips, not registering the concerned voice asking him questions.

"-ame)!"

Where was he again? He swore he drank at least 2 cups of coffee this afternoon. Did he forget to take his 3rd cup?

"(Name)!"

He jolted in surprise, gears in his head now turning as he faced the person saying his name."...huh...?"

Shanks sighed in relief."God, I thought you were having a heart attack of something! You're body kept shaking and you were crying in your sleep." He said, voice laced with concern, hand on the younger's shoulder."Has this happened before?"

(Name) looked away and grabbed the blanket beside him."Sleep paralysis. It happens every time I go to sleep. When I wake up, I can't move my body. It sends me into panic and well...I react like how you just saw me."

Shanks nodded."should've told us, can't let a guest feel scared like that. You're gonna be okay here. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll fight that stupid sleep Palyses any day for you!"

(Name) gave Shanks a passive expression, obviously conveying how he thought the captain was an imbecile."Shanks...you can't fight something that affects someone's body. It's my brain. It won't let me use my body even though it's awake. Thank you for the effort though."

Shanks's mood brightened, only registering the mild compliment."I'll still try my best to help you! Maybe you just need more sleep? Wait-no, that's what you're trying to avoid..."

Shanks muttered different unlikely scenarios as (name) began to daydream about bread.

Who's room is this?

Bread would be nice right now.

Maybe with milk...

Milk and bread sounds good.

Is my bag with me? There's bread in there.

Whoever created bread must be worshipped. Bread's great.

That's when the door opened, revealing the 1st mate of the crew, Benn himself.

"Shanks? (Name)?" He questioned before glancing at his captain with a passive aggressive look a mom would give a child."Shanks did you wake him up?"

"What? No! Well-yes, technically, but it was all in good intentions!" Shanks sputtered with a nervous smile. He tried to explain himself but just ended up confusing the other even more.

(Name) put a hand on his shoulder which made him pause his antics and watched the h/c man.

"Shanks just wanted to wake me up from my sleep paralysis. I couldn't wake up on my own without him." (Name) explained, smiling brightly as if this weren't a concerning topic.

Shanks nodded exaggeratedly."That's right! What he said!"

Benn nodded, puffing out smoke from his mouth."Should've told me. Would've tried to help."

(Name) shook his head,"I have my medication with me. I'll be able to manage. I just forgot to take it."

Benn took the cigarette out of his mouth."Well, since you're the guest like our captain says, do you want anything?"

"Bread!"

__________

"Yasopp, you're pretty lame" (Name) commented on the sharp-shooter."Stop talking about your damn son for one second. He's fine, stop moping around."

"I'm not lame!" He yelled, grabbing name by the collar."You're the lame one!"

(Name) grabbed his arm and twisted it until Yasopp was apprehended and threw him in the other direction."I asked you for bread, and you kept spewing nonsense about some son you left behind!"

"He's around you're age too! About 18..." he muttered as he took a random mug of bear and drank solemnly.

"I'm 24!–wait, that's a compliment, you technically said I looked young–"

"Shut up!"

"Also, how the fuck did you get such a hot wife?!" (Name) interrogated, Yasopp now being the one held by the collar,"Like, who would want to marry your ugly ass! You're wife is beautiful!"

"I know she is! That's why I married her, you dimwit!" He shouted back, spit flying in (Name)'a face.

(Name) grabbed a napkin, profusely wiping his face with it before shoving it in the sniper's nose before stomping over to Shanks to cool off with some alcohol.

He sat down ubruptly next to the captain and ordered a beer.

"Hey (Name)." He smiled happily."Just a beer? No sake? Not like I'm complaining though, it's your drink!"

Said man stayed quiet, just looking at Shanks and noted the smaller of details about the captain. Silently, he took his beer and drank from the bottle, still looking at Shanks with a scrutinizing expression.

"Uh, (Name)?" Shanks questioned, feeling a bit awkward under the intense gaze." You good there?

(Name) just nodded to himself, closing his eyes as if he came up with an answer to the worlds easiest problem."Yup. I've come to the conclusion."

"What conclusion?" Shanks asked excitedly like a little kid, stars radiating off of him.

Name opened his eyes and stared at Shanks with such a serious look that the red-headed captain began to feel a little weary, gripping his beer tighter.

"You totally get the women at first glance." (Name) said his conclusion out loud, nodding to himself with closed eyes.

The bar quieted down and looked at the 2.

Shanks had to pause. Huh? He's sure he heard it right but it still felt weird hearing it from someone. He's tried to flirt with women, but was often rejected for how carefree he was. He then smiled threateningly as he put a hand on the other's shoulder. "(Name), I'm gonna punch you if you're pulling my leg."

(Name) kept nodding to himself, simply ignoring the threat that might actually happen."You seem like the type of guy who hits on women but would get rejected. In all honestly, you have a good build, nice face, and you're strong. You're also well renowned."

(Name) listed more things like he knew Shanks his whole life. Mentioning small traits and habits to the crew didn't even realize their captain had that the newbie had learned in less than a full day on board.

Shanks snapped out of his initial daze and just laughed about the praise and how (Name) was really great at making peoples' day . He offered the guest to join his crew once more, which he kindly declined.

(Name)'s voice got serious again."And also..."

Shanks just kept smiling as he listened closely, the rest of the crew, including Benn, wanted to hear as well.

"Because you seem like a really nice guy, we should go out some time." (Name) offered.

...

Well...

That was unexpected.

"Bahahahaha! You're funny (Name)! Sure, I'll take that offer!" Shanks said sincerely, not really minding that it was a man that asked him out.

The rest of his crew looked dumbstruck. They would've never seen the day where Shanks was asked out. And by a man no less.

Benn let out a low chuckle which slowly grew into laughter as he threw his head back."Never would've thought I'd see the day where the captain gets asked on a date!"

"Hey! (Name) said I would be great with women!" Shanks argued back.

"He said you'd get women if you didn't act like a man-child!" Yasopp said in between wheezes as he slammed his hand on the counter over and over again hystarically before choking on air from wheezing too much and needing to be aggressively pat on the back by Lucky Roux.

(Name) just kept nodding to himself."The next time we meet, I'll be sure to take you to a bar and buy you more drinks."

Shanks's laughter died down but continued to grin, his smile a bit gentler now."It's gonna be a proper date, not just some lousy drinking at a bar. Besides, you already bought me drinks last time. I'll treat you when we go out. After though, we'll go drinking together!"

(Name) could't help but admire the man in front of him.

He clutched his chest, falling to his knees dramatically"Shanks, you're really too good for this world...who would've thought you were such a gentlemen..."

Said captain just laughed as the crew began to celebrate their captain finally being the one getting asked out.

Shanks didn't know (Name) much, but he already liked their guest more and more.

From his bread obsession to the way he could get along with people he meets so easily.

Shanks warmly smiled at the young explorer as (Name) conversed with Yasopp, Ben and Lucky about the topic of bread as Lucky and (Name) exchanged different bread recipes.

He felt his life was going to be much more interesting now that this e/c eyed fellow has boarded his ship.

And Shanks had a feeling he was going to like this change a whole lot.

Chapter Text

"..."

It's been a week since (Name) roomed with Shanks.

Not a surprise the captain practically lived like a pig if Benn didn't tell him to clean his room like the mother hen he is.

Not that this wasn't about that.

It's about (Name)'s all nighter he pulled again last night but somehow fell asleep because of the stupid gentle rocking of the boat.

No, this was about how he actually managed to wake up.

.

..

...

Crazy.

.

..

...

It all happened when Shanks decided to check on (Name) a little while after said man grabbed his 5th cup of coffee that day...

Rain could be heard pattering against the deck of the ship from inside the kitchen.

"(Name)!!" Shanks hollered down the hall. "(NAAAAMMMMMEEEEEE)!!!"

...

No reply.

This was odd because (Name) would usually yell back "Not now, I'm having an intense conversation with my coffee right now about world domination!"

Shanks raised an eyebrow, placing his beer down and slowly creeping down the hall on tiptoes and hiding between the walls like a deranged child playing ninja and trying not to get caught.

He slowly crept up to his room and hesitantly reached for the door knob from his crouched position with squinted eyes, preparing for another empty cup of coffee to be hurled at him like the last time.

Twisting the door knob, he soon found out it was unlocked and he slowly opened the door.

Peeking inside, Shanks only to saw a tuft of h/c hair against crossed arms and a book beside it on the bed.

By the looks of it, (Name) had fallen asleep again after staying up for nearly 2 days and a half days while reading.

Shanks got up from his crouch by the door and entered the room quietly and closing the door behind him gently as to not wake the sleeping man.

Sighing, the swordsman walked up to the sleeping figure and ruffled (Name)'s hair, silently observing him with his iconic warm smile as usual.

He decided against waking the poor guy up since he barely gets enough sleep in the first place . (And so he didn't have to hide all the bread for a little bit.)

Shanks chuckled nervously to himself at the last statement. They found the extent of (Name)'s bread and coffee obsession and have started to hide coffee grounds in bags inside closets and their bread in the farthest part of the pantry, but (Name) still finds them. The crew wondered if (Name) had a 6th sense for his favorite foods.

That's when Shanks felt the head under his hand shift.

He peered at (Name) curiously and with slight nerves, anticipating the shaking and sweating from before again. He didn't know how to wake (Name) up during these and he also panicked even though it's (Name) that should be panicking.

Benn usually comes in with the clutch during these moments though and reassures Shanks that (Name) won't die and keeps him calm until (Name) wakes up.

But this time it was different.

This time, there wasn't any shaking, or crying, or Shanks asking Benn is the world was going to end.

No, this time, there was none of that.

This time, (Name) managed to open his eyes.

"Am I dead? No-wait-that already happened-" (Name) muttered, still slightly dazed from his nap as he slurred his words sleepily. Lethargically lifting his head, his eyes were squinting from the sunlight through the window."Did I ascend? Has my sleep paralysis demon finally perished~?"

Shanks retracted his hand from (Name)'s head and slowly backed away from the bed, wondering if he was possessed.

This...This was weird...

"No~"(Name) whined weakly, like a sick child as the comforting warmth from his head disappeared. His eyes were closed once more but he was definitely awake."Come back...your hand was warm..."

Shanks stared at the other like (Name) was an alien.

"Benn! I think (Name)'s possessed by something! He wasn't shaking like usual!!"

_______

"It's safe to say that (Name) is slowly losing the affects of sleep paralysis." Benn explained in the simplest way possible, voice cutting over the pattering of the rain hitting the side of the ship."I've noticed that his recent paralysis episodes have become shorter and shorter over time by a few seconds."

Shanks looked at the sleeping figure on the bed clutching his only hand as he sleeps."It's a good thing, right? (Name) will eventually stop shaking and stuff?"

Benn blew smoke out from his mouth and lowered his cigarette."To put into simple standards, yes."

Shanks nodded and squeezed the hand in his own and smiled gently."That's good, I was worried it would always happen and (Name) wouldn't get enough sleep for the rest of his life."

Benn closed his eyes, placing the cigarette back in his mouth."Don't get your hopes up too high. It could come back in the future, but for now, let's let him sleep. He needs it."

The 1st mate placed his other leg down on the ground, heaving himself up from the bed and walking towards the door."I'm certain he won't have another episode though. It's also a weird change for him too, so don't freak out too much captain."

Shanks only nodded, whispering a thank you as the door closed, leaving the 2 of them alone.

He looked at (Name) fondly but his smile wavered after he realized their stop at Alabasta was growing closer as the need for supplies grew over the last week.

He liked (Name). He was fun to be around and his crew liked him too.

"Hngggg....."

Shanks looked down as (Name) turned his head a bit, his free hand rubbing his eyes lazily before dropping at Shank's own hand and pulling it closer to him and falling back asleep.

Shanks couldn't help the bright grin spreading across his face as (Name) continued to sleep peacefully, a relaxed look painted on his features instead of furrowed brows and a thin coat of sweat on his forehead when asleep.

Shanks let out a relaxed sigh as he took off his sandals and coat before he laid across the bed next to (Name) and closed his eyes as he rested his head against the pillow.

If Shanks was going to be here for a while to watch over (Name) he might as well get comfy.

(Name) on the other hand, lazily opened his eyes at the sudden movement, still obviously out of it from not being used to waking up like a normal person. Shanks cracked open his eyes and observed the e/c eyed man's actions calmly.

(Name)'s head slightly swayed from discombobulation, trying to stay up but failed as he let it fall onto the pillow once more.

He lifted his head again and moved his it against Shanks's arm while maneuvering his body to curl into the taller man's side where the most warmth was. (Name) felt content with the warm position next to the Yonko and fell fast asleep a second later against him and the cushions.

Shanks, on the other hand, was surprisingly handling this well and just smiled at the curled figure beside him and closed his eyes once more, laying his head back against the pillow.

There was no blanket over them, but it was still warm as they slept peacefully without a care in the world, even as there was screaming and dishes being broken heard from top deck.

Today was a rainy day after all, and rainy days were lazy days. Lazy days are the best days to sleep in and take a nap.

Chapter Text

"We'll see you again some time (Name)!" Yasopp yelled from the Red Force down at the waving man below.

They finally arrived in Alabasta. The red haired pirates arrived early in the morning and restocked at a nearby port that managed to hold down the fort even through the drought and civil war. Now it was time to leave.

"Yeah! See you again soon! Hope you don't get even uglier the next time we meet, not that it's possible!" (Name) yelled back, a shit eating grin plastered on his face as he immediately hid behind Benn as a bullet was planted at the spot he was standing mere seconds ago.

"Beeeeeennnnn, Yasopp shot a bullet at me!" (Name) whined childishly, pointing at the smoking dent on the wooden dock.

Benn blew smoke from his mouth and began to rethink his life choices."(Name), stop provoking Yasopp. You know he's too simple minded to know it's sarcasm."

"Hey!" They said simultaneously.

Shanks burst out laughing at that remark and hit Benn's back over and over again."We should throw a going away party for (Name)!"

The crew cheered except Benn and (Name).

"I already got my bread and coffee, what more do I need? Definitely not a party, but it would be nice to have one and rub it b/n face at how I'm special." Name muttered the last part of his announcement under his breath.

The cheering died down and was replaced by dejected "Aws".

"We party on the fateful day I return!" (Name) bargained enthusiastically, regaining the cheers of the pirates.

The shorter man turned to Shanks.

"And the next time we meet, it'll be our date, right?" (Name) said seriously, almost desperately. 'I really need a love life' he cried in his head

Shanks grinned."Of course. I'll be sure to take you out somewhere nice. Then we'll go drinking after."

(Name) felt an arrow pierce his heart. He fell to his knees dramatically and clutched the fabric of where his heart should be and cried comical anime tears."Shanks, you're such a nice guy...We should get married already!!!"

(Name) crawled over and grabbed onto Shanks's cloak and cried ugly tears of sadness and cried into the cloak, getting tears and snot on it but Shanks was just laughing it off as usual.

(Name) wanted to stay with the Redhaired pirates longer. He was eventually pried off of Shanks and dragged away by Benn as (Name) sobbed dramatically about how he would die alone before he was thrown onto the sand like a teenager being kicked out of the house as soon as they graduated high school.

"Shut up. Like you said, you got your bread and coffee, the essentials. That means you can survive a few days until you arrive at Rainbase. It's a prospering town only a days total walk." Benn said, walking back to the ship while dragging Shanks with him who was being a pushover and begging Benn to let (Name) stay a bit longer. The first mate just threw Shanks onto the ship without giving (Name) a second glance."We'll see you the next time you find us. Already packed you a map, money, food, water, and a tent. Now get going before it gets dark."

(Name) sniffled and felt another pang in his heart at how Benn was acting so caring like a housewife bidding her husband goodbye as he goes to work."You would be such a caring husband y'know that Benn?! You seem like such a mean guy at first glance but you're actually really nice! After my date with Shanks we should go on one too!"

Benn rolled his eyes as Shanks gasped, feeling his heart shatter in the depths of his soul as he hid in a corner, sulking in a crouched position as he drew circles on the ground.

"You'll get a date if you survive Shanks's." Benn replied, glancing back at (Name)."And I highly doubt Shanks's date he mentioned will be as nice as he promises."

The ladder was raised from the dock as Benn, Shanks, Roux, and Yasopp waved good bye along with the rest of the crew.

(Name) got up, wiping his tears and sniffled dramatically before waving his arm vigorously in the direction of the fleeting ship.

"I'll see you guys again and I'll be 10 –no, a hundred times stronger than I am now! That's a promise!" (Name) yelled at his friends.

Shanks's sad mood was forgotten and he grinned wildly in (Name)'s direction as he leaned over the rail and waved." Be sure to keep that promise, (Name)!"

Those were the last words spoken as the ship finally sailed off and disappeared into the sea.

(Name) wore a smile as he reached into his white cloak and pulled out a map.

"Next stop, Rainbase!—wait, there's a casino there?! Daddy's gonna go gambling!"

—8 hours later. 4:15 pm. Approximately 2/3 away from Rainbase.—

"I'm never going to underestimate a sand storm again..."

Sand was so deeply rooted into h/c hair that it was practically crustier than Patrick's house—and it's made out of sand!

(Name) looked like shit.

I'm not even gonna beat around the bush on this.

Just now, our poor protagonist of the book got caught up in a sandstorm and let's just say, it didn't end well.

A good 10% of his bread stash was destroyed and he got sand in places where sand shouldn't be at all.

This is why he hated the beach. He liked the idea of the beach like water fights, surfing, ice cream, sunbathing, beach volleyball, and sand castle building, but he hated the after math.

The way your hair was stiff and dirty after swimming in the ocean of when there's sand in the place between your thighs and it itches down there.

Yeah–no. He hated sand, and he just so happened to be brought to an island where there's sand.

Lots of it.

(Name)'s eyes were scratched from the wind blowing up sand as sweat trickled down his forehead.

One foot in front of the other. Come on (Name), you outran a chihuahua, survived kneeling in raw rice for 2 hours, and accidentally caught the belt during a whooping, you can take an 18 hour walk to a casino.

—5 hours later. 9:15 Pm. Approximately 1/4 away from Rainbase—

(Name) wanted to unalive himself already.

He was a city boy. Grew up in the city his entire life.

He knew how to get connections at random bars and get free drinks.

He knew how to flirt with taxi drivers so he didn't have to pay.

He knew how to find random money lying around arcades and pick pocket unsuspecting strangers.

What he didn't know was how it gets this cold in the desert at night.

If he knew that, he wouldn't have gotten rid of his thicker clothes a few hours earlier.

And the other worst part was that there wasn't even a town nearby to even buy clothes.

Not to mention he passed a few human skeletons in the sand back at the abandoned town he saw.

He shivered at the memory. They didn't even have any good clothes on their corpses for him to steal and use.

It was already dark out. He should probably set up camp somewhere. He decided against it since he was already so close and could just crash at a hotel when he reached the renowned city where the infamous Crocodile lived.

Yup, just going to the place where one of the 7 war-turds are and hope I don't look suspicious and get killed...

If he managed to stay up for nearly a week without sleep and finish 2 projects, he could manage walking for 3 more hours.

Chapter Text

"I-huff-finally—ARRIVED!" (Name) shouted as his hands were on his knees, still drenched in sweat from the heat as he was fanning himself with one hand. The people in the lobby looked at him like he was a mad man. It wasn't entirely inaccurate. His hair was grainy and dry and his lips were starting to get chapped. He had his usual bags under his eyes and his skin was dry and ashy from the sun.

(Name) trudged tiredly to the front desk, placing down 5,000 beli silently and held out his hand.

A second later a key was now in his dirty palm from the clerk who didn't even seem fazed by the condition he was in.

The man briefly nodded his head in thanks and walked(more like swayed) to the elevator down the hall.

People around him avoided him as he made his way past them, clearing a path to stay as far away from the strange newcomer as humanely possible.

(Name) ignored all of them. He couldn't give a flying duck right now. He just wanted to sleep. He never thought he would even think of wanting that.

His sleep paralysis had started to fade as the lack of stress and anxiety (Name) had carried from his original world diminished. He was still unsure of sleeping but he found it easier to accept the rest than before.

After coaxing from Shanks and getting knocked out by Benn on multiple occasions, (Name) has come to terms that his sleep paralysis has nearly faded completely.

He used the key to unlock the door in front of him.

Room 44.

(Name) opened the door and walked into the dark room and pulled the string connected to a light bulb on the ceiling.

It wasn't the nicest room, but it did it's job.

(Name) breathed in the fresh aroma of a hotel suite before dropping his bag on the ground, grabbing pair of clean clothes, and immediately heading to the bathroom and stripped himself down. He stepped into the shower and turned on the water.

________

Crocodile couldn't help but feel...off.

He knew that the Straw hats and the princess were eliminated and nothing stood in his way. Nothing at all.

Yet he felt something make the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

He stubbed out the cigar in his mouth and lit another one and placing it where the 1st one once was. A second later he puffed smoke from his mouth. He didn't like this odd feeling at all, and he was going to get rid of the source as soon as gets his hands on it.

"Is something the matter? You seem more irritated than usual."

Crocodile turned his head to his partner, Miss All-Sunday. She was a pretty woman with a good figure and usually had a cowboy hat adorning the top of her head.

"Just wondering if Mr.2 has finished his assignment already. He's one to drag out missions for his own entertainment. As for the millions, you've already stationed them, no?" Crocodile dismissed her first question and redirected the topic elsewhere.

"Indeed. 2,000 lining the river by Albarna where they should be able to hold off any royal guards or marines for now." She confirmed.

"Good." Was the only reply she received."After this, Alabasta will be mine."

_________

"Holy shiiiiit...."

(Name) was looking at the pyramid with a huge crocodile at the peak from across the bridge. He didn't know the casino was this...whatever this is. He wasn't sure if he had too much sleep and it was making him high or he was just high in general. For reference, he slep the whole day away after the shower and it was currently around 6 o'clock.

"Yup! This definitely belongs to the boss man himself. What a stuck up bastard." (Name) snickered at Crocodile's casino before strutting across the bridge. He was given strange looks because of his choice of clothes once more.

He was literally just wearing a white tank-top, cargos, and boots plus his usual bag (filled with bread). And they're wearing thick ass suits in the middle of Alabasta, which is like, 90 degrees out. The air conditioning can't be that good here. And they wore that shit for the whole day.

(Name) shook his head, ignoring the odd stares and walked into the casino and basked in the sound of slot machines spinning mixed with joyous cries and many curses of people who've won and lost.

Ah yes, it was gonna get hectic.

His plan of playing in the square to get money has changed. Every rich person doesn't go to the town square when in this city. No, they go to this casino.

And if every rich person is here, he might as well play here as well as well. Wherever the money goes, he goes.

(Name) walked up to what seemed like a security guard and tapped his shoulder. The man turned around.

"Do you need anything sir?" the security guard guy asked (name).

The other nodded and gave a smile indicating friendliness and a carefree attitude. "I'm actually looking for the manager."

Relaxing at the laid back attitude, the guard smiled back slightly. He lifted his hands and pointed towards the entrance where a short man with a mustache was standing."That man over there with a mustache and small build is the guy you're looking for. Hope that helps."

(Name) nodded enthusiastically, feigning appreciation as he immediately started walking in that direction before looking over his shoulder. "Thanks a lot man! Hope I can buy you a drink some time."

The security guard nodded back and couldn't help the stupid grin that was growing on his face as he though about the man heading towards the doors. He might take up that offer for a drink some time.

On the other hand, (Name) continued on his walk to the manager while maneuvering around guests while snagging a few winnings from unsuspecting players.

At that point, he had about enough to fill his sling-bag half way. He had to rearrange it a bit so he had the bread on top though for easy access though.

Finally, he walked up to the manager with a friendly smile plastered on his face.

The manager turned his head towards the taller man and felt himself being overwhelmed by the friendly aura he was giving off. "E-em, what can I do for you today? Are you having fun? Would you like the cash out your winnings or make a review?"

This made (name)'s  e/c eyes twinkle mischievously. It was mistaken as joy in the manager's own eyes. "I just wanted to get a gig with your band that's playing this evening. Wanted to make some quick cash and I'm not a bad player myself."

The manager was beginning to lose the affects of the friendly aura and his face contorted into one of empathy. "I'm very sorry, but the band we have right now is sufficient enough and they're playing for the rest of the night."

(Name) cursed internally but carefully covered up any traces of anger and only showed a slight look of disappointment and a bitter-sweet smile as a facade."I see, I'm sorry for any trouble...I just thought my talents would be appreciated here..."

(Name) wiped away a fake tear that was going to roll down his face and redirected his attention from the manager and took a step back and showing withdrawing trust and conform he put into the poor manager.

The manager panicked a bit, feeling a bit bad at making the guest cry and wondering if it would affect his and the casino's reputation if the h/c haired man left a review.

"Oh-um, if you really wanted to play that badly, you can ask if the band playing tonight will tell you play. Technically you would be part of the contract." The manager negotiated as he suppressed his worry.

And like a snap of someone's fingers, (Name)'s former attitude was down the gutter."Really!? Thanks so much Mister manager!"

And he was already walking away as soon as the mustached man blinked.

The manager blinked a few more times. Did I just get...played? He cursed himself inside for not realizing it sooner but gave props to the stranger for his good acting.

(Name) walked up to the stage where the band was playing rather bland upbeat music of jazz and a little bit of marimba at some points. They used saxophone, piano, a cello, and a bass guitar. Nothing too out of his comfort zone.

How boring. We need a little spice in the mix. Maybe a few music compositions from modern day wouldn't hurt too much.

A s/c hand waved in front of the stage to get the attention of the 4 player band.

The bass guitar player paused before turning to his band and gestured for them to keep playing before squatting down to the edge of the stage. The guitarist had golden-brown skin, curly hair, and had sunglasses sitting at the bridge of his nose.

"What do you need." He asked gruffly, not beating around the bush. He didn't seem like a friendly guy either.

"I came here to join your band for tonight. Y'know, quick cash like you guys." (Name) smiled, eyes slightly narrowed at the leader's perceptive eye.

(Name) couldn't see the guitarist's eyes through the darkly tinted sunglasses but could take a guess and say he was squinting in thought by how his eyebrows were furrowed.

He turned to his band and walked to the pianist and whispered something in his ear. The piano player nodded ad this continued to the saxophone player and cello player.

The man with sunglasses crouched back down to the edge."You're in, but only if you can prove you can actually play."

(Name) grinned before sticking out his hand."Hand me a guitar."

________

Nimble hands deftly set up the microphone to his mouth and adjusted the guitar strap around him to fit around his shoulders and waist comfortably.

He thought of a few composition but decided on one as he thought of the vibe this casino and kingdom gives off. A carefree, classy, pop, and a a bit of latin.

The guitar was hooked to a speaker to be heard all through out the building. (Name) turned to the band's lead vocalist/guitarist.

"You mess this up, all of our paychecks are down the drain, Pal. The vibe tonight is Latin, jazz, and marimba." The guitarist pointed an accusing finger at the young man, listing off the genres the casino fits as if he rehearsed it many times.

(Name) rolled his eyes."I know what I'm doing."

The band didn't seem convinced.

The newcomer rolled his eyes before walking towards his bag and squatted down to unzip the main pocket. He pulled out a small red folder and puller out 7 small sheets of paper and placed 2 on the pianist's stand, 2 on the saxophone stand, and 3 on the Trumpet stand. The cello player knew how to play trumpet and switched when (name) told him to for the song they're singing.

It was sheet music for the song Sway, by Michael Buble. It fit the Latin genre with a bit of modern pop. The sheet music was from an old assignment back in college by making compositions from songs and turning it into your own (I don't know if this is accurate, I know very little on the music industry much less college courses on it.)

"Follow the sheet music and it'll work out." (Name) said with full trust in his musical capabilities and the papers he handed out. He had a few more ideas for the Latin and jazz themes tonight but he definitely wanted to incorporate a bit of modern R&B and soul. Maybe even other genres, but he didn't want to split too far away from the theme.

(Name) tapped his foot on the ground as he readjusted the mic. He turned to the 3 behind him and nodded, indicating he was going to do a count off soon.

The other 3 musicians nodded back.

(Name) turned his head to face the crowd again and tapped his foot a few more times as he closed his eyes and lifted his hand and strummed the first few notes and cords.

The others soon followed after as the lyrics easily flowed from his mouth.

"When marimba rhythms start to play, dance with me, make me sway..."

A few gamblers stopped to look at the newly arrived singer and admired the voice before going back to gambling a few seconds later.

People at the bars looks towards the stage and began to take their dates with them to the area surrounding the stage to offer more drinks and appreciate the new music choice.

"Like a flower bending in the breeze. Bend with me, sway with ease..."

The manager that had helped the foreigner had his eyes wide and looked at his fellow coworkers who just shrugged as if saying 'he's getting customers, so there's no point in getting him off the stage.'

The security guard that had assisted (Name) had his jaw slacked as his eyes were as big as saucers from behind his sunglasses."no fucking way...I definitely need to take his offer to a drink."

Then there was an instrumental solo. It had been roughly a year since (Name)had practiced this and he was sweating a bit at how his wrist slightly cramped at the changing fingerings for the chords. Then again, he wondered how the other musicians were keeping up with the solo he made. It was a bit complicated.

As the 1st song was reaching the end, (Name) quickly left the stage and brought out more sheet music for the next songs to play. The crowd wouldn't wait forever and a casino needed constant music.

Time to spice it up.

By the end of the 1st song, the tables surrounding the stage were nearly full as couples and strangers alike were gathered around to listen to the enticing and captivating change in music. The mixed and muddled sounds of gamblers and players betting angrily or nervously soon died down and was replaced by friendly bets and eagerness.

A change of pace in the building was made after the one song (Name) composed. It wasn't just the guests either. It seemed to get the attention of a specific pirate who decided to check on his casino that night after hearing word of a brilliant unnamed musician who stole the show at his own building.

Chapter Text

It was nearing around 9:00 when (Name) decided to resign for the night. He was payed a hefty 25,000 beli for how entertaining he was plus a few tips he received.

That's when he decided to hit the bar.

"Can I get a Jameson on the rocks?" (Name) slumped into the bar stool, massaging his calloused fingers a bit.

The bartender glanced at him wearily."What brand is that?"

(Name) eyes widened in horror. They didn't have the same alcohol brands as his world.

"Um, a margarita? Mai Tai? Rosé? A Piña Colada?" The poor traveler desperately named any a familiar alcohol and mixed drinks.

The bartender stared at him dubiously."Are those...brands of alcohol?"

(Name) slammed his head against the countertop, making the surrounding drinks vibrate at the impact and a few startled drinkers scooted away. He just wanted a nice drink to end the night, but no. He just had to be at a dumb casino without any good drinks. He doubted these guys even had gin and tonic.

"Y'know what? Why not just let me mix my own drink. I make a mean Piña colada." The musician's voice was muffled from still being face down on the table at a final attempt to get some proper alcohol. The bartender just stared at him as if he were an alien. He always got flirted with with random customers and had many strange requests, but nobody offered to make their own drink.

"If you're willing to pay for the alcohol and stuff used to make it, I guess you can." The bartender shrugged, side glancing his boss who shrugged back as he was getting more beer for another customer.

(Name) didn't need to be told twice. He shot his head up, his forehead was graced with a red mark from the blow just a minute ago before he jumped the bar counter and started making his drink.

He grabbed what was close to a poco grands glass and turned to what he could guess was the main bartender."You got pineapple juice?"

"By the ice..." the response was flat as the man didn't even glance at the newcomer, seemingly unfazed.

(Name) found the ice bin and saw a pitcher of orang-yellow liquid with pineapples floating inside.

First he grabbed the shovel shaped scooper and just dumped a good amount of ice inside. He was too tired to do measurements and just decided to eye ball it in laziness. The amounts put in would be good enough and at this point he just wanted a drink.

After putting in ice, he turned back to the previous bartender from before."Where's your rum?"

"Look with your eyes and you'll find it." The same flat voice responded, this time a bit more annoyed.

"Geez, ok." (Name) muttered, looking at the back counter and finding the bottles labeled rum. He grabbed 2 that looked similar to the ones back at home. He poured about a total of half in the glass and closed it before placing it back. He reached for the pineapple juice and poured roughly half the glass minus like an inch from the top as well and let a few pieces of pineapple pour into his drink because why the hell not?

"You got coconut milk? (Name) called back as his eyes trained on the countertops looking for a specific can with some type of coconut on the label or cover.

The answer came a bit later than the last 2. The other was probably making another drink for a person."Cabinet under the garnishes used for cocktails."

(Name) responded with a quick thanks before opening the cabinet and finding a box of canned coconut milk residing in the far corner. He grabbed on before reading the expiration date.

Expired yesterday. Meh, it was only yesterday, I'll survive...hopefully.

He shrugged off the thought before placing the can next to his drink and struggling with the tab for a hot second. After the managed to grab the tab, he opened the can and poured it the the top.

"Holy duck, that took a lot more energy than I thought." (Name) yawned as he placed a straw in his drinks and swirled it around before taking a sip, his face practically melting into complete content as flowers practically blossomed in his aura.

He didn't acknowledge the chatter dieing down to low whispers as a figure sat down in front of the musician across the counter.

"I'll take whatever you're having." A deep voice demanded. Already seeing the change in atmosphere to fear and admiration, (Name) didn't have to look up to know the guy in front of him had power.

"Ah! Crocodile-San, what are you doing here? We weren't given a call before hand about any orders for drinks. We couldn't have brought them up!" The main bartender seemed slightly panicked, which sort of confused the temporary bartender. The head bartender seemed really calm and collected when talking to him so what's different by this guy?

(Name) lifted his head ever so slightly from his drink after his 1st sip of heaven. The man in front of him was tall. And he means tall. He was still taller than him even sitting down.

"Is it strange for the owner of the casino to come down and check up on the guests he's housing?" The tall man revealed himself to be the owner. He didn't seem all that engaged in the conversation, eyes trained on e/c one's.

The bartender just smiled a bit forcefully."A-ah, there's nothing strange at all! You can get your drink right away." He stared intensely at (Name) waiting for him to carry to ruse.

The other nodded knowingly before taking another sip of his drink. He decided to at least lighten the mood just a bit.

"What? But then I would have to pay for this guy's drink too..." (Name) lightly complained, a sly Cheshire smile escaping as his eyes slightly narrowed. He didn't mind faking it for the bartender. The new guy's aura was just pretty sketchy by how he carries himself.

The owner seemed didn't seem to be amused, but still managed to put on a fake ass smile for now.

Deciding to not mess with a person he could tell hold lots of power and authority here, (Name) decided to agree."Fine whatever. It's not like the bill could be that much."

He snagged a quick sip of his own piña colada before setting it down on the counter near the ice before grabbing another poco grande glass and starting the tedious process all over again.

Sadly, he had to put effort into the measurements being made so he had to use a tin measuring tool to help get the ounces correct.

After roughly nearly 3 minutes, the drink was finished.

"Here's your piña colada mister." (Name) slid the drink in front of the tall man, carefully taking in his features now. Slicked back black hair, tall, hook hand, scar across face, and cigar.

He took a sip and (Name) surprisingly couldn't tell what the stranger's thoughts on the drink was because of a trained poker face. He was kind of frustrated from the lack of response after making it. He just rolled his shoulders and decided to call in for tonight before making his way to the head bartender and handing him 2,000 beli for the drinks and supplies used as promised. He hopped over the table, fixing his sling bag and walked was about to walk to the exit with his drink in hand before he heard a voice call out behind him.

"Hey."

(Name) glanced back at the owner guy who was still holding the freshly mixed drink."You're musical capabilities are unique. The drinks you make are decent. Come by again tomorrow, I'm gonna need another one."

The man stood up and walked towards (Name) before stopping in front of him. The shorter male could now see the height difference up close and it was kind of intimidating."Here's my business card. I'd like to try more drinks you might have up your sleeve. Your music as well. From the way you didn't react, I'd have to guess you don't know who I am, do you?"

(Name) quizzically pried the card from the owner flipped it in his fingers carefully."I'll be sure to think about the offer. As for who you are, no, I don't know, sorry."

The taller man's expression didn't seem to change that much but it showed signs of some sort of curiosity as he smiled(which was kind of intimidating for (Name))."The name's Crocodile. The offer stands until tomorrow evening."

(Name) turned to face the exit once more, a bit tired of all the vents from today."Don't get too excited. I don't like staying in one place for too long"

He said nothing more as he continued his walk back to his hotel, piña colada in hand as a rather interested warlord watched attentively to the fleeting musician.

Chapter Text

"Ah what the hell..." (Name) was contemplating all life choices when he saw a bunch of drunk fucks chilling outside the hotel he was staying at. He avoided any and all eye contact and held his bag a little tighter as he decided to just stroll by and pretend to be small and confident.

He released a breath through his nose when he managed to walk by with minimal stares.

...

"Hey you. The one with the bag."

Oh shit. Never mind. He was fucked.

(Name) turned around, awkward grin on his face as he looked for a ledge to place his elbow on casually. This ended up being awkward when there was no ledge and he just decided to stand there with his arms crossed when he nearly fell."huh? Me? Oh yeah, I'm the one with a bag!"

He awkwardly clutched his bag closer as he slowly sidestepped closer to the entrance.

"Toss the bag." The guy that seemed to be the leader demanded.

...

Toss...the bag...?

If it was one thing the musician didn't want to do, it was hand over his hard earned cash.

So instead of handing over his bag...

He ran.

Faster than the time where you tried to impress your elementary school crush by being the fastest in the class. Faster than spitting out hot water when it burns your tongue. Faster than the slipper flying towards you mid air.

Yup, faster than all of those.

The leader had to take a double take to realize he had been juked of his money."H-hey! Grab him!"

Yeah, let's just say it was too late and (Name) was already at the stairs and on the 2nd floor, fumbling with his pockets to get his key.

Yup. Definitely too late for the group to catch him.

He unlocked the door and slammed it shut behind him and locking it. A few seconds later he heard the sound of many foot steps running down the hall outside the door and an angry employee cursing about how inconsiderate the new generations are.

__________

"I'm here, BITCHES!"

(Name) aggressively kicked the door open, many security guards trying to prevent him from doing so but he just used his slipper to whack all of them.

"Get back! I SAID BACK!" He continued to fend off the security guards(or were they savages?) with a slipper gripped tightly in his hands."I BET YOUR MOTHER THOUGHT YOU WERE SO UGLY SHE WANTED YOU TO GO BACK INTO THE WOMB AND GET AN ABORTION!"

"My mom loves me just the way I am!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOUR MOM SAID TO ME LAST NIGHT!" (Name) cackled, throwing his slipper at the speed of light at the guard who said that.

He quickly got through the doors and slammed them behind him, successfully locking it and the people on the other side out before slumping against said door as aggressive knocks and curses flew through one ear and out the other. (Name) was laughing hysterically, hand clutching his stomach as labored gasps were mixed in. A sadistic aura radiated off of him as he remembered the terrified faces as soon as pulled out the slipper.

It must've triggered some childhood trauma. He snickered as he turned to look at the person who witnessed it all.

"Oh, hey Mr.Crocs!" (Name) waved happily with a stupid smile on his face. "Sorry, I may have wrecked a few vases in the hallway..."

Crocodile was now contemplating why he chose this brain dead man-child to be his personal musician and bartender.

"Who names their child 'crocodile'? I wonder if someone accidentally gave you a nickname like Croc and accidentally called you cock or crotch before..." (Name) pondered, genuinely intrigued at the intrusive thought he said out loud before one of the 7 Warlords.

"You're late." Crocodile completely ignored the last statement. He already felt a headache starting to form.

"By 2 minutes!" (Name) grinned enthusiastically as he made finger guns at the older man, not at all concerned that he was late to a meeting with a fucking warlord."I'm usually late by 5 or more, so you're lucky! Besides, your ass wasn't being chased by some stuck up men you call security guards."

I'm the head of Baroque works, one of the Seven Warlords, and had an 81,000,000 beli bounty on my head...and I've resorted to this low-life to making my alcohol..."Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now after wrecking priceless vases and you're unruly and disrespectful introduction, you damn bastard."

There was an awkward silence that ensued the question with the underlying threat.

"Because I have a great personality...?" (Name) guessed.

"Say your prayers."

Sand began to dart toward the poor musician? Bartender? Whatever floats your boat.

"I MEAN–Erm, you won't be able to have any more good drinks or music if I'm dead...?" He defended weakly, an awkward smile on his face as he leaned against the door with crossed arms.

Crocodile retracted the sand back into his body. He had to admit, whatever the kid gave him yesterday did work wonders for his tastebuds. Might've been drugged to make the alcohol taste better, but hey, it's better than managing warlord and Baroque Works stuff.

"Ok..." (Name) muttered, locking the door as he ignored the fading knocks."Well, let's get to the music!"

He opened his bag and took out his kalimba. Crocodile, not knowing what a kalimba even is, eyes the instrument suspiciously.

That's when the first note rang out in the room and it seemed like the time paused for a split second. It was a lovely sound to say the least.

"Let's go with..." (Name) thought out loud. "Some Celine Dion...My Heart Will Go On."

The knocks outside quieted down and retreating footsteps echoed down the hall.

_______

Crocodile was in a rather good mood that evening, although he'd never admit it to the stupid musician's face. The guy was too much of a stuck up bastard to take that information seriously and he doubts he would be able to live through the snobby teasing thrown at him.

After hearing the different genres the newcomer played as easily as breathing, he decided he somewhat enjoyed his decision in taking the guy in.

Again, he would never admit that.

"It's almost 12." (Name) muttered aloud, he paused his playing which silenced the rather calm room. He arrived around 9 that evening. He made Crocodile a Mai tai around 10 when he demanded drinks, too."my fingers hurt like hell and it's late, I'm signing out for tonight."

He placed his Kalimba into his bag before taking out a piece of bread. He held the bread in his mouth as he zipped his bag and threw it over his shoulder."I'll be at my hotel then."

As he made his way to the door, a sudden voice made him pause dead in his tracks.

"I expect you back here tomorrow at the proper arranged time. If you're late, I'll butcher you myself. Sleeping quarters will be arranged here by then." Crocodile announced from his seat on the sofa.

(Name) turned back and wondered if Crocodile actually liked him or he just met him on a good day. Maybe both...? He didn't know, but he was ecstatic at knowing he wouldn't have to pay for a room.

Speaking of pay...

"Do I get payed for this?" (Name) asked.

"Don't press your luck."

"...Yessir."

Chapter Text

"It all changed when the Fire Nation attacked."

(Name) began grimly, face void of any emotion. He had his fingers laced together as he faced Crocodile and Ms.All-Sunday as the other number agents surrounded him. It was his 3rd day on the job.

"Fire Lord Sozin initiated the War between the other elemental kingdoms consisting of Earth, Water, and Air." He continued as the 2 people in front of him stared at him weirdly(it was actually in anticipation).

(Name)'s looked between the 2 before taking a drag of his lollipop(you can't tell me you haven't pretended to smoke a lollipop before)."He wanted to spread his nation's prosperity to the rest of the world. He decided the best way to do it, was I don't know take over the fucking world."

They didn't seem fazed by the explicit language usage, but Robin—ahem—Ms.All-Sunday, narrowed her eyes in warning. Crocodile just stayed silent as he listened on.

"The avatar, the only person in the world who could manipulate all 4 elements, was the person who is supposed to keep the balance in the world. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." (Name) exaggerated as he clapped his hands and slowly parted them while wriggling his fingers to demonstrate vanishing.

"No." Ms.Doublefinger said unbelieving, taking a drag of her pipe with slightly widened eyes.

"You bet your ass he did." (Name) said matter-of-factly."Vanished. For a HUNDRED years."

"Wouldn't that mean he's dead?" Mr.One interrupted.

"Nobody asked for you bloody input, mR.oNe." The musician said in a childish taunt as he blew a raspberry at the agent.

The number agent scoffed and glared at him but stayed silent otherwise, an obvious sign to continue.

"So basically, he was a 12 year old air-bender from the Southern Air Temple where he grew up with other air nomads. After he found out he was the avatar and people treated him differently, he ran away with a flying bison named Appa during a storm." He said, a dark look overshadowing his eyes. The others seemed unnerved and began to feel themselves move towards the edges of their seats.

"He was blown down and into cold water where he was trapped there for 100 years in ice. He was freed by 2 teenagers named Sokka and Katara who were part of the Souther Water Tribe. Their mother was killed by Fire Nation soldiers and their father went to fight in the war years earlier." (Name) explained.

"Wouldn't that mean he froze to death?—" Mr.2, Bon-Clay, pondered aloud but he was interrupted by loud shushing from his peers.

"It's plot armor, don't question it." The newcomer dismissed with a wave of his hand."So basically, after lots of fights and shit, they encounter a bratty disowned child of the current Fire Lord who has to capture the avatar and regain his honor to be adopted again by his mentally fucked up family."

"That's pretty fucked up." Crocodile said, puffing out smoke from the corner of his mouth, taking a sip of his strawberry margarita brewed by yours truly.

"I know right?!" (Name) said with look of respect towards the warlord."He also has this gnarly scar on the right side of his face when his father challenged him to a duel because he disrespected him. So basically, this goes on for roughy 3 seasons until he realizes he's done being a prissy emo shit and takes his own path and becomes friends with the avatar and trains him."

"Woah, plot twist." Mr.One muttered, taking a swig of his Gin and tonic.

"Also, during those 3 seasons, they met an earth bender named Toph who taught Aang, the avatar, how to earth-bend. They also made lots of allies and enemies and Sokka's girlfriend got turned into the moon and they broke in and out of a prison." (Name) grinned."So a year or so later, they decide to finally break into the Fire Nation and defeat the Fire-lord with all the allies they gathered. Also, I forgot to mention Zuko, the son of the Fire Lord, has a crazy sister that has hallucinations and has a superiority complex. The war ends when Aang seals away Fire-Lord Ozai's bending forever. He also hooked up with Katara. The end."

There was a small applause circling the room as (Name) bowed.

After standing up straight again, he raised a finger."Uncle Iroh was the MVP for making Zuko less of an emo and for being the most sane by trying to settle down. Not to mention how he came in with the clutch with the White Lotus during the war."

Agreeing nods were exchanged.

"I-I-I-I was kind of rooting for the Fire-Nation." Ms.Merry-Christmas said dejectedly.

Let's just say, lots of food and cigarettes were thrown at her.

How did this story start in the first place, you ask?

While (Name) was playing on his harp as usual and everyone was sitting at the long table discussing a plan about taking over Alubarna, he suddenly burst into tears as they burned their papers containing their orders. "Iroh deserved so much better! He loses his son and his throne was taken from him!" As he aggressively punched air.

"Shut your mouth before I cut off your damn jaw." Crocodile glared.

(Name) completely ignored the threat entirely."Man, if Zuko wasn't such a rebel teen, him and his uncle could've just ran that tea shop in the Earth Kingdom..."

Earth Kingdom? Is that an island in the Grandline? The number agents around Crocodile glanced at the musician as if he just murdered someone(they looked at him unfazed).

Ms.All-Sunday had her usual smile."Please explain to us what you're talking about. We can't just guess what you're implying like a child."

Robin is such a mom! (Name) thought internally at how wholesome Robin could be in such dire circumstances, the calm smile blinding him.

And now you're all caught up.

Oh yeah, (Name) was daydreaming about Avatar The Last Airbender as Mr.Three was casually becoming a dried chicken nugget and thrown to Crocodile's pet crocodiles.

"Head out. Our utopia is near at hand ." Crocodile took a drag of his cigar."Go have fun. Ms.All-Sunday, make contact with the Bilions stationed at Katorea and give them the orders and get an update."

They all nodded before getting up from their seats and each exited the room with their respective partners. Robin simply replied with a simple "Right away." And was off to get a den den mushi.

As soon as the door closed, (Name) shot out of his seat.

"Crocy~" (Name) whined dramatically as he made grabby hands towards him.

"Go die."

Crocodile just rolled his eyes as he stubbed out his cigar and lit a new one muttering about how immature and stupid this was under his breath.

___

Meanwhile, certain captain got into a fight with a blue haired princess which resulted in them making a vow of putting all of their lives on the line.

Talk about "If we go down, then we go down together" am I right?

"What's the point in trying to keep everyone safe at the cost of your own life?! Atleast let us all risk it together, aren't we nakama?!" Luffy shouted as Vivi paused in her barrage of futile attacks on the young captain.

Her fists unclenched as tears built up in her eyes. The rest of the Strawhats all looked at her with complete agreement with their captain.

"Everyone..." Vivi muttered as she lifted her head."Luffy's right! I made up my mind. We're heading to where Crocodile is."

______Back at Rainbase:______

"Did you feel that?" (Name) said seriously.

Crocodile glanced up from a map laid in front of him."Felt what?"

(Name) looked weary as he looked at the ground as he paused his strumming on the harp."I think I felt an earth quake."

"No there wasn't, I can feel vibrations in the sand–"

"Because you just rocked my world."

The Warlord just stared at him with an unreadable expression."Get the fuck out."

"But now that you're in my life, I don't want to leave." (Name) wore a shit eating grin as he spilled out the corny pick up lines and felt satisfaction at how the older man's face contorted into disgust.

"God, this is annoying. I'm tired of having to deal with you and it's only been 2 days." Crocodile said darkly.

"Nah, I think you're just tired because of how much you've been running around my head."

"Whatever all mighty being that rules this world is really testing me today." Crocodile muttered as he clenched his fist, ready to swing at the musician as he tried to hold back his frustration.

Said musician just covered his mouth to suppress the snickers from escaping which was a futile attempt."PFFFTTTTT—"

The older looked confused.

"HAHAHAHA OH MY GOD THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE 'get the fuck out.' " (Name) cackled as he clutched his stomach and fell out of his seat as he punched the floor over and over again. He laughed at his impression of Crocodile and continued to roll around as tears slipped from his eyes as the Warlord's ears turned red.

"You dare mock me?" Crocodile sneered, standing up from his seat so harshly that it fell behind him.

(Name) cackled even harder when he recalled the time Thor said that to Quil in Avengers.

"HAHAHA 'you dare mock me.' " he said as he lowered his voice an octave.

At how he was being both teased and laughed at, Crocodile couldn't help but feel a small smile creep into his features at the contagious laughter that escaped the musician.

Minutes later, the anger he once held had been erased and a small chuckle escaped.

The laughter paused right after and the world-jumper looked like he was content with his life and was about to ascend into heaven.

"Crocodile, your laugh is so attractive." (Name) said out of the blue. "I can die happily."

"Your stupidity can't be trusted." Crocodile said with a dead-pan expression, turning away as his ears turned red from the unexpected compliment.

He could hear more snickers behind him.

"I never took you to be a tsun tsun." (Name) hid his smirk under his hand and it only made the other slightly more embarrassed and angered.

"Shut the hell up!"

"You got flustered!" The younger teased.

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"DID NOT."

(Name) kept teasing the poor Warlord who could only try to ignore that stupidly addicting voice of his subordinate. He tried to focus on planning for the mission but would always have his attention going back to that obnoxious musician over and over again.

He tried to convince himself he didn't like the company, but in then end, it felt like he was just denying it.

Chapter Text

"Yo, Crocy." (Name) shouted back at the Warlord.

Crocodile blew smoke out his mouth."What."

"Will the Strawhats actually fall for the trap?" He asked with hints of doubt.

Crocodile rolled his eyes. "Their captain is too idiotic to not fall for it."

"Fair."

As if on queue, the trapdoor leading into the seastone cage opened up and dropped in 4 unsuspecting Strawhat pirates and a marine captain.

"Huh, you were right." The musician breathed out with wide eyes."They really are idiots."

He was sitting on the armrest of Crocodile's large chair and was leaning against the taller man while playing his kalimba to I Want It That Way(because that song slaps).

Luffy tried to punch his way out but his attempts were in vain, maybe because it's a seastone cage.

Then Zoro tried to slice them.

"Don't bother, the cage is made out of Seastone. It's as hard as diamonds and repels devil fruit users."

Slam!

The grand doors burst open revealing the blue haired princess."Crocodile!"

"Ah, Nefertari Vivi. You've come to join us." Crocodile replied smoothly, a sickening smile replaced his usual mocking expression.

(Name) could feel the tension in the atmosphere and started to play dramatic boss music.

Vivi flicked out her peacock string rings thingies(are they yo-yos?)

Then she started making very weak attacks while calling out her attack names literally as she's making her move.

Seriously, what is up with anime's calling out their attacks? They literally tell their enemy their next move. It's kind of concerning.

After many futile attempts at landing a decent attack on Crocodile, an unexpected twist happened.

Crocodile's head burst into sand after it was hit.

"I wonder, if you can manipulate like, anything related to sand...If I just like called your name and had a jar of your crusty ass sandy body, would I basically be summoning you like fucking Naruto?" (Name) asked out of boredom.

As usual in 'dire and important' situations, the poor protagonist of this book was wholeheartedly ignored.

Damn why you so cold to me Crocy? (Name) cried in his head as he watched the Warlord sit down beside him, explaining his plan of Utopia and taking of Alabasta and all that boring shit. Then dropping the 'key' to the cell into the pit full of 'nana gators.

"Get the key!" Luffy screeched.

"I can't!" Vivi shouted back."Banana gators are vicious creatures! They even prey on sea kings!"

"Omfg." Nami groaned from the other side of the bars.

"If only I were stronger I could cut through this cage." Zoro's scowled at his weakness.

"Are you stupid Zoro? We can't get out without the key!" Luffy said matter-of-factly.

"I know that."

Crocodile interrupted."Now then."

Then he went on about a guy in Yuba and sending his sandstorms and stuff.

"How terrible." Vivi whispered with pure horror laced in her statement.

Luffy grit his teeth and slammed his body against the bars, which only took more energy out of him.

Smoker just sat by the wall ready to accept his fate like the ice queen he is in that episode.

Usopp was panicking with Nami like the bitchy besties they are.

Zoro was scolding himself for being too weak to cut a cage as hard as diamonds. Low self-esteem go burr–

Crocodile was smiling in wicked satisfaction as water began to fill the room and Vivi was practically bodied by the banana gator.

Robin was just standing off to the side like a person doing some sort of mannequin challenge.

And (Name) was playing the slow version of the Super Smash Bro's theme song with his eyes closed in remorse for the pirates and princess. Y'know, the song that plays when you loose against a boss?

Yeah, that one. The depressing one with the piano.

Then the phone rang.

The phone. The phone is RINGING–(pls get the reference)

(Name) remembered this part very vividly from the memes of the phone call between 'Mr.Prince' and Crocodile.

He grabbed the phone before the non-hook hand could answer it. Crocodile just glared but dropped it as he saw the mischievous glint in the musician's eyes.

The marine captain raised an eye-brow at this. Why was Crocodile acting so docile to a subordinate?(gee, why are you so docile when you're about to drown? Tf?)

(Name) cleared his throat a few time before holding the microphone towards himself.

"Hello? Hello? Is this the line going through?"

"You're a millions, correct?" (Name) mimicked Robin's line with a sickly sweet voice as he bat his eyelashes flirtatiously.

Crocodile coughed into his hand to cover up his snicker at the scene before him.

"Hey there. You've called the damn restaurant."

The captives bristled at the term of a restaurant.

"Could it be?"

"SANJ-"

Usopp covered Luffy's mouth from saying their cook's name. "Shush Luffy! They don't know about him yet! He never met Mr.2!"

"Alright, I'll ask you this one time. What master do you serve?–pft." (Name) said the quote as evenly as possible but hand to cover his mouth to prevent himself from rolling around in laughter.

Crocodile once again coughed into his curled fist, looking away. He had been forced to watch Infinity War by the kid, and he forced away his chuckles.

"Me? Well, I don't serve anyone, but you can call me Mr.Prince."

"Sir I think you got the wrong number, this is Wendy's–" (Name) had to set the den den on mute as soon as he got through the line so he could freely cackle at the confused noise coming from the end of the line.

Now Crocodile just scoffed with a bored smile as he unmute the snail.

As if on queue, pleas were made from across the room.

"Mr.Prince! Help!" The rubber captain yelled very very loudly.

"We've been caught! We're gonna die in no time!" The sharpshooter screamed.

Nami shouted out and faked a needy voice. "Mr.Prince! Come rescue me!"

"Sounds like my crew is close by and doin' fine. In that case-"

A gunshot was heard.

"That bastard!" Zoro's eyes widened at the sound."he better be alive!"

"SANJI!" Luffy screeched with his hands on his head in horror. Usopp was running around frantically behind him.

Nami had her hands clasped dejectedly with comical tears running down her face."Our hope."

Then Vivi continued to get completely mauled by the oversized gator as her friends tried to get out of the cage once more.

It got pretty intense and stuff.

"Ooo!" (Name) visibly winced as Crocodile attacked the princess with sand. "It's like I can feel the sand in my hair-"

"I'll drag your measly Mr.Prince out here!" Crocodile roared. "I hope you don't mind him coming back as a corpse!"

There was a cough heard from behind the Warlord.

"That was so dramatic." The shorter musician said aloud and he could see the realization sink into the taller man as his ears visibly turned red.

"Shut up!" He growled with a glare directed at (Name) standing in the distance.

"I'll never shut up if it's you I'm talking about." (Name) replied flirtatiously.

Robin decided to dip at that moment and walked off without them to the end of the hall.

Smoker wasn't sure if he's the only one with working ears after he heard that line and only he reacted with curiosity.

"Yo!"

The white haired marine turned his head toward the shorter figure beside Crocodile.

"Hah?" He questioned, puffing out the smoke accumulated in his lungs from his cigar.

(Name) grinned brightly. "Can I have a cigar?"

Crocodile immediately picked the young man up from his collar and threw him over his shoulder. "No. You're too young."

"I'm 24!"

"Young enough."

"Then that makes you an old man!"

"I'm going to personally murder you and throw your corpse into the ocean."

"If it's you then I don't mind<3"

The Warlord had a disgusted face as he dropped the musician onto the tile floor and walked off as he muttered something along the lines of  "Fucking masochist-masochistic bastard-go die in a hole-I'm taking your bread privileges."

(Name) was writhing in pain on the tile floor before snapping up to attention when he heard that his bread privileges were going to be confiscated. He made a salute and reacted obediently after.

Smoker just watched in amusement at the flustered Warlord and stupid flirt.

"Honestly, I'm not even complaining if that's the last thing I'm going to see." He said finally as he saw the retreating figures walk down the hallway. He ignored the Strawhats were panicking more about the flooded room than the employees that have to handle Black-Friday at the mall.

Chapter Text

"And why do I have to be tied up while you guys get to visit the cool ancient cave?" (Name) pouted. He really wished he had some Taco Bell but then shook his head at the thought when he remembered the last time. He's 69% sure the taco he ate from there sent him to this universe. Whatever they put in there tacos is something he doesn't want to know. "Why can't Cobra and I be tied together so I can have company?"

Our protagonist is currently tied to a pillar at the old ruins of Alubarna next to a...camel?

Crocodile just finished tying the rope holding the young musician. "You're tied here because I said so. And Cobra will not be here because you need to suffer alone here and hopefully get rope burn."

"Kinky—ANYWAYS, That's not a valid reason!" Said musician shouted, kicking his legs, the only part of his body free of ropes.

"It's plenty reason if it's you we're talking about." The taller glared, standing up and taking ahold of the battered King Cobra once more from Robin's grasp.

So basically, lots of fighting happened that the author deems irrelevant enough to not write about. The last eventful thing that happened was Luffy beating up Crocodile for like 2 minutes before turning into a burnt chicken nugget.

And then Crocy decided to make this whole speech about turning Alabasta into a military powerhouse.

[(Name) was playing dark music in the back ground with his harp when this happened(because a harp sounds more dramatic)]

"Look, can I at least have my popcorn back?" The musician whined, weakly kicking his legs. If he was going to wait in the blazing hot sun for a 30 minute fight scene, he needed something to go with it.

The Warlord just forced himself to take a deep breath before tossing the bag of popcorn at (Name)'s feet. "Now stop being annoying."

"Yessir!" He grinned back happily as the 3 walked down through the secret passage way.

Then he realized his arms were tied. That meant he can't grab the bag sitting at his feet.

Dammit.

"Oh come on!" He shouted angrily, trying to grab the paper bag with his foot.

The camel across from him watched in utter amusement.

Because it was blazing hot and he was getting annoyed by the gunpowder in the air and war cries in the background, the world jumper decided to swallow his pride for the sake of popcorn.

He turned to the camel and made a disgusted Tanjiro face for a second before training in his face muscles to focus on his request.

"Erm, look, I know this is weird and all...but could you get that bag for me please? I'll give you some." He muttered the last part dejectedly. He didn't want to share, but he didn't have anything else to repay the camel. His bread stash was destroyed back at the palace from fucking cannonballs.

Can you believe it? Now he has to find more bread somehow. He didn't even have any ingredients T-T.

If only he left it in his bag and not by that damned pillar.

He cried internally but was snapped back to the present when the camel began to wear a smug ass look.

"Nuhur. Ner rur."

...

"I'm sorry, what?"

The camel rolled his eyes before abruptly standing up and walking towards the tied man.

He bowed his head down, grabbed the bag, and placed it on (Name)'s lap before rummaging through it and taking some for himself.

"Y'know what. I take back what I said about this being a stupid idea. I'm actually a genius."

The camel rolled his eyes once more before biting the bag and raising it to (Name)'s face and poured some into his mouth.

The sounds of crunching filled the empty ruins.

Then a certain rubber man passed by, completely ignoring the 2. Then again, they also ignored the young captain, favoring the popcorn to take away their stress.

They just sat like this for a good 5 minutes until the ground exploded like 20 feet away from them.

They remained unfazed. After meeting the Warlord and the rubber captain, neither seemed to be impressed easily anymore at this point.

So there they were. Just eating popcorn and shit. Y'know, appreciating the little things in life.

"Ooh!" (Name) and Lashes(he learned the camel's name) visibly flinched as Crocodile got punched in the stomach and spat.

"C'mon! You got this Crocy!" The man sitting cross-legged cheered on, shaking his fist in encouragement.

He had managed to escape the ropes thanks to the help of Lashes. Even when they just met like 10 minutes ago, they're easily relating to each other about how they got roped into pirate business.

"You!" The Warlord turned to the musician while mid-air."Shut up!"

"Nah!"

Because of the distraction, Crocodile got decked in the jaw by a rubber fist and then a barrage a moment later.

"Y'know what, ignore me! Just keep doing what you're doing!" (Name) shouted over the barrage of punches beating skin. He took out some popcorn from the large bag and watched the battle in peace with Lashes, ignoring the ground cracking and breaking underneath them.

He then glanced down at the crater and saw Robin down there beside Cobra. They looked like they were having a conversation.

"Robin!" (Name) called to the archeologist.

No reaction.

Damn, was he getting ignored?

"MOM!" He screeched.

Robin finally turned toward the younger and tilted her head in question.

"Get your ass up here if you want some popcorn!" He offered loudly. "We're gonna finish it without you! You said you wanted some when we were making it!"

Robin just smiled and shook her head in refusal to the popped treat before standing up with Cobra to exit the ruins.

(Name) felt so unappreciated. He made the popcorn for Robin and himself:(

"Nermer neurgh."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Lashes. She can make her own. Because of how nice you are to me, you've been promoted to best friend status." (Name) smiled at the camel, mood switching from sad to happy just as fast as it came.

"Urnerugh."

"You're welcome."

He looked back at the fight and felt a blast of wind and dust envelope all around them.

The next thing he saw was Crocodile falling from the sky unconscious.

He felt sadness as he watched his defeated friend.

He didn't worry too much because he knew he would be back in business after Marineford and escaping Impel Down.

But it was still sad to see his longest friend in this universe be defeated by the main character.

He looked away before he could watch the body hit the ground.

...

"Damn, you really decided to leave me alone to suffer, huh?" (Name) muttered about the fallen Warlord. "Well, at least you gave me my bag before practically deciding to straight up drop like a fly."

He glanced at the beaten up bag tied beside him and sighed.

"Now what's the next arc?" (Name) pondered for bit before realization smacked him in the face harder than his ex ever smacked him the ass.

"IM A FUCKING IDIOT!"

Lashes just continued to eat popcorn, but his attention was now on (Name).

The musician grabbed his bag, taking out his items and placing them on the ground.

Kalimba.

Harp.

A now useless wallet filled with 50 bucks.

Some clothes from Crocodile.

Random art shit.

Random music shit.

He lifted up the small pocket's cover which held his smaller important things.

He raised the bag and shook it violently. An old pack of cigarettes that are probably 4 years old, his car keys, a random face mask, a pack of gum—

AHA!

He pulled out his phone that was at 92%. It's screen shown brightly in the desert.

(Name) then began to rub his face across the glass screen and said in a sing song voice,"Oh my love, how could I forget you?~"

Lashes just scooted away a bit from his friend, a bit creeped out now at how he's caressing a shiny metal box.

"Now, what's the next arc?" His newfound excitement was replaced by happy curiosity as he typed his question into handy dandy Google.

"Jaya? Sky island? THERE'S AN ISLAND IN THE SKY?!" He screeched the last part and had to put his phone down to comprehend. Island? In sky?

How the fuck is there an island in the sky? Is that heaven?

Then he remembered the most iconic moment in that arc.

The most iconic moment that had been passed down to different characters all throughout One Piece like a torch.

Enel's face.

"Pft-HAHAHAHA-" (Name) laughed out loud as he searched up the meme and began to laugh even harder when he saw it again."oH goD! His FACE! IT DEFIES ANIME LOGIC!"

Lashes looked over the musician's shoulder and spat out his popcorn at the picture as he guffaws at the technological wonder in the palm of his friend's hand.

Wiping away tears, (Name) finally came to his senses and went to Netflix just to know exactly what happens so he knows what to do next.

"You wanna watch with me?"

"Guer namurrre."

"What do you mean 'watch what?'-OH,  you haven't been exposed to Netflix. Fear not, for I shall introduce you to the wonders of the future."

"Ner nurgh."

"Look, just watch and find out, dipshit."

"...murgh."

Chapter Text

"A WHOLE NEW WOOOOORLD!" (Name) waved an imaginary microphone(his mechanical pencil) toward Robin.

They are currently on the way to the destination of where the Merry is docked.

Robin sighed before diverting her attention away, her usual smile was dropped hours earlier, a more relaxed look of longing in her eyes. She really wished she had her coffee right now, but alas, it was left behind at Rainbase. "...A dazzling place I never knew..."

(Name) kept jamming to himself as he sang the rest of the chorus, making head bangs almost as aggressive as Deku's when he watches All Might.

Lashes didn't get paid enough for this shit. He was currently carrying the musician and archaeologist on his back in the desert. He was only tolerating the shorter man because he brought along Robin.

3 hours later:

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, be patient."

...

A few seconds passed.

...

"How about now?"

"No:) "

"What abou-"

"Ask one more time and I'll throw you off this camel right now and I'll order him to trample all over you." Robin smiled innocently, but her aura was clearly pissed.

...

"Never mind..."

2 hours later:

"I'm boreddddddd." (Name) groaned, sprawled in his seat. He gave up on carpool karaoke an hour ago when the heat made the strings and metal bars of his kalimba and harp too hot to play without searing his fingers until they were medium rare.

Robin took a deep breath, held it for 6 seconds and breathed out as she smiled once more."I roughly estimated our arrival within 2 more hours."

The musician kicked his legs with a pout as he dragged out his sentence. "That'll take foreverrrrr."

‘Then you can go fuck yourself to pass time.’

"Shut up Lashes, you damned pervert camel."

‘Don't call me tha-‘

"PERVERT CAMEL."

’THIS FUCKING HOE REALLY TESTING ME-‘

"PERVERT CAAAAMEEELLLL!!!"

2 hours later:

"This is the Merry? It's bigger than what I expected—that's what she said." (Name) said aloud, looking at the looming figure head in front of him.

"It'll suffice for now." Robin slid off of Lashes and walked towards the Going Merry, using her devil fruit power to sprout arms and hoist herself up onto deck.

(Name) felt his eyes tear up and began to dramatically sob, latching his arms around Lashes tight enough to practically suffocate.

‘Get off me, you fucker!’

"LASHES, I KNOW WE ONLY MET 24 HOURS AGO, BUT YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT GUY!!!"

That shut the camel up.

He felt smug now, witnessing the musician grovel in sadness.

"I'll miss you! Send me letters! Don't talk to strangers!" (Name) profusely wiped away his snot and tears before sliding off of Lashes and looking him in the eyes.

Those sad, sad e/c eyes bore into the camel's onyx ones.

‘Hurry up and get on the boat. If I cry and ruin my eye liner, I'm suing. This shit is too sentimental for me.’ Lashes turned away dramatically to hide away his tears.

"I'm the one that did your eye liner! And besides, if I wanna be sentimental, then I'll be sentimental, you asshole!"

‘Just go already!’

(Name) felt tears prick the edges of his eyes as he waved a final farewell before pumping his fist into the air. "To dissing the pirates we met!"

Lashes nodded with a determined look. ‘To dissing the pirates.’

The musician gripped the hand that was sprouted on the side of the Merry and was lifted onto deck beside the archaeologist.

The 2 outlaws just looked at each other in awkward silence.

"So, ya like jazz?"

________

"Pass me the hammock nets, please." Robin said.

"Yeah sure I'll get it-"

Right before he could reach for it, an arm already sprouted from the wall by the hammock nets and grabbed it, tossing it to their creator.

"It's fine, I already got it. Just get the coffee maker running."

(Name) nodded enthusiastically. "Yes ma'am–"

"Never mind, I already did it with a pair of arms." Robin dismissed blandly, setting up the last to sleep for that night. "You can get the chest of blankets we found earlier."

(Name) didn't answer, prompting to get the chest in hope of actually doing something useful for the beautiful woman.

A pair of arms sprouted and slid the chest along the wooden floor to the person that manipulated them.

"You know what, I've got it under control." Robin said hurriedly as she waved (Name) off and sighed. "Its like I have to do everything around here."

"You won't let me do anything!"

"Nonsense."

And this is why (Name) is convinced Robin is a mom.

They always give you multiple tasks and ask why you aren't done with them 5 minutes later. And then there's you. You're trying to do all the 10 tasks she's given you in the span of 5 minutes at the same time.

______

Meanwhile: At the palace, a celebration was being held for the victory of the Strawhat pirates that would last 3 days until the princess's coming of age ceremony.

______

The 2nd day:

Robin finally decided to indulge in the musician's antics.

"So, what genre are we doing?" (Name) was leaning on the door way of the kitchen, fingers cupping his chin in thought. "You seem like the person to like classical and soul with a hint of pop and maybe rock?"

Robin just sipped her cup of coffee.

"ALRIGHT!"

A pair of hands slammed down in front of her. She continued to sip her coffee.

"We're listening to Pure Imagination." (Name) concluded with a smile.

He got up from leaning over the dining table and tapped on his phone. He hasn't used it since he and Lashes were at Alubarna. He was at 90 percent.

"Here's the lyrics-oh wait, I should probably look up the music video so you know that tune." He tapped and slid his fingers over the screen a few more times.

The song began to play and the nice tune filled the quiet dining room.

"It's nice. I like the theme." Robin commented. "But does this really apply to me? I'm more of a realist and it doesn't seem to match me that well like you say it does. It's about imagination. I'm more of a historical person."

"Well, it's not a literal interpretation." (Name) made hand gestures as he tried to find the words. "The song is like, talking about how your imagination can bring you anywhere in the world like a kid."

Robin was slightly intrigued. "So am I perhaps a child?" She tilted her head innocently with a questioning smile.

"No of course not." (Name) waved off the suggestion. "I'm just saying, you're Nico Robin." He pointed at her as if she were very important.

"I know I'm Nico Robin." She chuckled, setting down the coffee mug she was holding.

"Not like that. It was all over the newspaper. The only survivor on Ohara after a Buster Call at the age of 8. You had your childhood, creativity, and youth taken away from you." (Name) looked into her eyes, face relaxed as he spoke so casually of her past.

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly. "And what does my past that you shouldn't even know, have to do with this song?"

(Name) turned his gaze away, the edge of his cheeks slightly turning red in embarrassment. "Well, I thought it kind of would like, I dunno, resonate? You had to grow up so fast and deceive so many people that you never had time to truly dream. Like the poneglyphs. You keep trying to find them, but have you ever imagined what the history would be when it's all put together? Have you ever let yourself imagine what paradise would be like with people by your side to help you dream?"

The archeologist's eyes widened as she looked at the shorter musician across the table who was nervously playing with the ring on his pointer finger that Crocodile gifted him before he departed. The last gift from the Warlord he received.

She looked at him in slight wonder. She never knew his song choices and decisions could be so...thorough when the young artist actually put in effort, and she was slightly moved at how much he actually paid attention to her.

Robin smiled at the young man. "Thank you for the input. I guess I should close my eyes from time to time and think of the possibilities."

(Name)'s eyes widened as he turned to the taller woman once more, recovering from his initial embarrassment. "O-oh. Well, let's start now! What do you think would be fun to do as you travel around finding poneglyphs?"

"I didn't think this would turn into an interview." Robin laughed.

"It's a real question!" He slightly pouted at being mocked.

"Well if that's the case." She closed her eyes and the room was silent for a few moments.

"I want to sail the world and find people who would want to help me achieve my dream." She smiled, opening her eyes.

"That's not a dream, imagination, or goal!" (Name) slammed his hands down on the table angrily.

Robin was slightly taken aback.

(Name)'s angered expression didn't calm. "It's already happening! What am I to you then?! I want to help you achieve your dream! Aren't we friends?!"

The archaeologist felt completely shocked. He wanted to help her? Be her friend through all her solitude?

As if reading her thoughts, the musician scoffed. "You gave me a choice to go with you to the Merry, and don't you ever think I went because it was convenient. I went with you because it was you who was taking me. I want to go on an adventure with you. I might not be around you all the time in the future, but you sure as hell better not think for a second that I would ever give up on you, your journey, or your dream."

Robin felt her eyes water a little as she but her lip to stop herself. "You're right, I should have never doubted you or our friendship for a second."

(Name) closed his eyes, took a deep breath and relaxed. Then he opened his eyes again to look at Robin with a bright grin. "You better not forget it."

_________

The rest of the night, they sang karaoke, phone battery be damned.

_________

DAY 3:

A loud groan was heard from underneath piles of blankets and pillows.

(Name) threw the first layer of blankets off his face, body aching and groggy. He wasn't used to sleeping in a hammock for so long.

Light was beaming through the circular window of the Merry, shining on the musician's eyes. He rubbed them profusely and yawned.

He looked towards the other end of the room where Robin slept that night and didn't see her there reading a book as usual.

The young man sighed before finally getting up and lifting his arms into the air and stretched before he let his body hunch over once more.

"She probably went to get coffee of something..." (Name) muttered as he dropped down from the hammock, sluggishly walking to the door after throwing on an oversized shirt over himself.

He opened it and rubbed his eyes at the bright sun.

His gaze was met with Robin's back.

"Huh?" (Name) muttered in question before looking around her and seeing the Strawhat Pirates.

"It's way too early for this shit." He said impassively before yawning once more, pinched the end of Robin's sleeve tiredly, being dragged along as she moved across the deck.

To put simply, the pirate crew panicked.

"What are you doing here?!"

"It's an enemy attack!"

"Are you here to avenge your fallen organization?!"

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

The next second, weapons were pointed at the 2 stowaways.

Chopper looked between the unknown woman and man. "Who are they?"

The blonde cook had lustful eyes. "Who cares? One's the beautiful woman from before!"

Arms bloomed from the weapons and slapped them out of their owner's hands.

"Didn't I tell you not to point such dangerous objects at me?" Robin smiled as she looked over her shoulder.

"Mhm, what she said." (Name) slurred as he stumbled on tired feet behind the taller woman, still half asleep. Or is it half awake?

"How long have you been here?" Nami interrogated, taking a guarded stance.

"I've been here since the end of battle with Crocodile." Robin said as she unfolded a folding chair. "These're your clothes, right? I hope you don't mind me borrowing."

"Just what are you trying to do?!" Nami shouted angrily as she waved around her arms.

Robin completely ignored her and looked to the young captain. "Monkey D. Luffy."

Luffy perked up at his name.

"Don't say you haven't forgotten what you did to me." She said in feigned accusation.

Sanji looked furious as he grabbed his captain's collar. "Luffy! What did you do to this beautiful woman?!

Luffy looked a bit confused and frustrated. "Hey! Don't lie, I never did anything to you!"

Robin denied it calmly, unfolding a second chair for her companion as he dumped himself on the it, finally having some sense at the situation at hand and listened in. He was feeling a little shy underneath the accusing and suspicious stares directed at him so he prompted to shuffle behind the archaeologist.

"Yes, you did do something to me. What you did to be was unbearable. You must take responsibility." Robin closed her eyes and crossed her arms behind her head as she sat down on the chair.

Sanji kept screaming at Luffy and demanding what he did to the woman as Chopper was terribly hiding and Usopp was talking into a megaphone and saying to call the navy on her.

"I don't get it?!" Luffy said with confusion. "What do you want me to do?!"

Robin opened her eyes and put her arm on the table and leaned her chin in her hand. "Let us...join your crew."

"Don't drag me into this. You guys are my part time Uber." (Name) raised his hands in innocence. "I never said I wanted to join forever. I want to explore by myself and get stronger too, y'know. Not saying it's a bad thing. I just have other goals in mind" Like meeting Ace and Mihawk–

"Excuse my phrasing–let me join your crew with a guest." Robin rephrased smoothly.

"WHAT?!"

"You saved me when I wanted to die. That is your crime." Robin said with an impassive smile as usual. "In return, you must let me join your crew since I have no where to return to."

Luffy just stared at her nonchalantly. "I see. I guess we have no choice then, welcome to the crew."

"LUFFY!"

"I can play music." (Name) piped up with a bored tone.

"Like that helps!"

"I was just putting it out there." The musician shrugged before his eyes landed on Nami. "Hey, I know this is sudden, but can I buy you dinner some time?"

"Gee I don't know, you just stayed our ship for 3 days under our noses, so sure, I don't see why not." She smiled brightly.

"Really?" (Name) was surprised by the sudden answer.

"Of course not!"

"You tell him Nami-swan! You're so courageous!"

Oh, I guess I should've seen it coming." He sighed before looking at Zoro. "How 'bout you? I can buy you a few drinks."

Zoro was actually kind of swayed by the offer of booze before snapping out of it and glared at the 'guest'. "No."

(Name) sighed dejectedly, muttering nothings like "Shanks and Benn said yes–why can't anyone have fun these days?–Robin I need advice-"

Robin blatantly ignored the musician.

Usopp seemed to be the only one who was confused.

"Wait, are we not gonna talk about how he just asked a guy on a date? Not to mention Zoro at that."

(Name) glared at Usopp darkly. "Hah? You got a problem with me liking men, you long-nosed cock sucking bastard?"

The sniper quickly scurried back and waved his arms frantically. "Nope! No problem at all! Captain Usopp is accepting to all people!"

"That's what I thought." (Name) huffed as he looked around to see if anyone else had a problem with it.

Safe to say they were chill based on their arguing with each other about if Lunch should be now or later.

"Yup. Definitely too early for this shit." (Name) muttered.

Robin passed him a black beanie. He gladly took it and put it on his head ad pulled it down to cover his eyes.

"I'm taking a nap. Wake me up when we reach Jaya." Was the last thing (Name) said before passing out on the spot.

Chapter Text

Thump.

"ACK! WHAT THE FUCK!"

(Name) was smack dab in the middle of the room. He had just fallen from the hammock after the Merry made an unexpected turn towards...the sky?

He rubbed his head as he adjusted to the shift in gravity as he stood against the wall. Or is it floor now?

He scratched his head. This probably meant they were on their way to Skypeia. He managed to watch until Enies Lobby with Lashes last time.

He climbed the windowsills towards the door that was now on the ceiling.

You got this (Name). You didn't play all of that volleyball because of Haikyuu and take Taekwondo to look badass for nothing.

He threw his hands behind him and swung forward to leap onto one of the hammocks before he climbed the nets the rest of the way to the door.

After what felt like forever, he made it to the door and reached for the door knob to open it. He felt like he finished the Olympics from how much he moved around.

That's enough cardio for today. He gasped as the door flew open.

And then a person fell right on top of him, causing him to tumble back to square one, screaming the following during his descent. "Holy FUCK! Cock sucking, bastard, bitch, fuckwad, shit eater, vaginal crust, dick shitting, asshole, bitch ass pussy!"

(Name) groaned from the impact, pushing Chopper off of him as he laid on his back. "Oh god I think I broke something..."

He looked at the adorable little ball of fluff as he recalled all of the vulgar swear words he just recited like the back of his hand. Lord forgive my sins for what I did to this cinnamon roll's ears–

"S-stay back!" The reindeer scrambled to his feet and hid terribly behind a fallen barrel, seemingly unaware of the list of profanities just moments before.

Oh god, my prayers were answered. The musician rubbed his head as he lifted his upper body using his elbows. "Look, did we already take the stream going towards the sky?"

"Why are you saying that so casually?!"

(Name) yawned. "Look Chopster-"

"It's Chopper."

"Yeah, whatever." The older waved it off. "How long was I out?"

"We tried to wake you up for 2 days!"

"Oh, so not long enough. Wake me up in a few more hours." Ever since he's gotten over his sleep paralysis, (Name)'s been taking advantage of it and basking in the glory of sleep.

Chopper grabbed (Name)'s arm and struggled to drag him towards the door on the other side of the room. "We gotta get to the others! They thought you were dead."

"Sleep is just death without the commitment. It's close enough." He shrugged at the doctor as he reached into his pocket to get his phone.

Chopper looked utterly horrified. Is the new guy ok? He shook his head. He worked for one of the Seven Warlords, I can't underestimate him.

"Woah, I don't remember this app." (Name) tapped on the white app tab with a green grocery basket on the front.

...

"Ain't now way I have instant grocery from that one anime I saw." He dead-panned as he scrolled through the online grocery app before pausing at one of the sections.

"Holy shit, this app is like the one from the anime but on steroids! It's literally called World Jump Shipping!" He looked at the fucking armory and upgrades category listed on the app.

Chopper was confused. "App? Anime? World Jump?"

Thunk.

The Merry became level once more with gravity.

"MY PHONE!" (Name) screeched as he scrambled to his feet. The small electrical box had gone flying across the room and out the open window from the sudden gravity shift. "NOOOOOO-wait wha-?"

His phone reappeared in his hand a second after he saw it disappear into the back rooms. Considering it's not a Nokia, he didn't think it was indestructible.

...

"Well that's not weird at all considering I now have Amazon instant delivery and downloads in an app on my phone in a world that isn't supposed to be real. Nope, not weird at all."

"W-what is that thing?!" Chopper had stars in his eyes at the mysterious black box with a screen in the musician's hand.

(Name) felt slightly smug. "This, young padawan, is a phone. The greatest technological creation in all of man kind."

"WOW THAT'S INCREDIBLE!"

"RIGHT?!"

Chopper followed the tall man out through the door on deck, still in awe at this phone thingy.

"You should show it to Usopp! He could try and recreate this invention!" Chopper suggested excitedly.

(Name) paused in slight fear of that. If that was going to happen, he needed to delete his search history.

"Erm, we could do it some other time, we finally arrived in the sky, right?" (Name) laughed nervously.

Chopper nodded with stars practically manifesting in his aura as they made their way across the room.

(Name) dramatically opened the door.

Then he saw a guy with a straight up rocket launcher on his shoulder charge after them while skating on clouds.

Zoro an Sanji we're already on the move but got deflected by weird shells the masked man used.

(Name) whistled. "At least he got that mask for Covid. He be prepared."

Then the rocket launcher guy went straight for the now unemployed musician.

"Oh fuck; that was NOT supposed to happen in the anime!" (Name) clutched his eyes closed and got into a fighting position, swinging his arm forward and was surprisingly met with flesh.

Wait, flesh? He actually hit someone?

He peeked open his eyes and noticed the rocket launcher guy on the ground, groaning from the impact of a very un athletic person decking him in the jaw.

(Name) blinked. Once and then twice before closing his eyes and wearing a shit eating grin, crossing his arms triumphantly. "Yup! I just did that!"

Then an old wrinkly guy showed up fully decked in armor on a bird and beat(intimidated) the masked guy's ass until he fled.

Everyone was in awe.

"Woah! Who are you!"

"ARE WE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT MY PUNCH?!"

The wrinkly man struck a daring pose as he landed on the deck as everyone ignored the musician. "Call me the Sky Knight!"

"Yup. Someone spiked my drink." (Name) rubbed his eyes. The old god looked way wrinklier in person.

They all looked at the newly awoken member dubiously before looking back at the old man.

(Name) ignored all of the awed chatter and prompted to drag his feet across the deck and tap on Sanji's shoulder.

"Hah? What do you want?" The cook asked with narrowed eyes.

"You got bread?" (Name) asked dejectedly, still sulking about how no one appreciated his protection of decking the rocket launcher guy into the ground. "I've starving. Could you whip somethin' up please?"

Sanji seemed to malfunction. "A man here actually has manners?!"

"I am right here!" Usopp shouted accusingly from the deck.

"You don't give respect to me for shit, Usopp!" Sanji growled before taking (Name)'s hand and bowing. "Allow me to escort you to the kitchen."

What a gentleman. It's too bad he's into woman. Imma change that soon enough tho-

(Name) was escorted to the dainty kitchen on the Merry and was rather surprised by its cleanliness considering their captain is...yeah.

"And you said bread, correct?" Sanji asked as he rummaged through the pantry.

"Yup." (Name) confirmed, popping the 'p' at the end, flipping onto the bench and pulled out his phone and opened up the World Jump app on it.

"Do you want it toasted with avocado or with butter?" He cook asked as he sliced the loaf.

The musician waved off the suggestions." Any is fine, whatever you recommend. Whatever you make will taste good."

A comfortable silence between the 2 and the sound of a few dishes clattering and the aroma of butter sizzling on a pan spread around the room.

Ok. This is weird. Why is the app built like Amazon? (Name) tapped on a pair of headphones listed on the "Customary Items" category.

2000 beli? I have to pay? He was slightly disappointed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag of gold coins and held it in front of the screen.

Is this how it works?—WHAT THE SHIT–

The sack of coins disappeared in the blink of an eye. The poor musician looked around frantically. Did-did my phone just rob me?!

He glanced at the screen and saw a pop up.

Would you like to start your online account on World Jump today? For only 10 dollars(1000 beli), you'll get a lifetime guarantee of the necessities to survive this fucked up world you've been sent to!

Yes                                                                              No

(Name) skimmed over it and just yawned before he clicked yes, because why the hell not? He wanted to survive long enough to make his harem grow(you ain't slick Croco-boy, we know you're part of it).

The screen changed to a profile page already filled with his information(creepy but not unappreciated) At least I don't have to do it myself.

He clicked next and it showed his online balance was 45,000 beli in the top right corner.

His cart showed the pair of headphones and he clicked on it once more. This time, a box appeared beside him with confetti and his balance was now 43,000 beli.

(Name) remained unfazed. Shit, he got his headphones, now let him listen to music in peace, dammit!

Come to papa–that's what she said. He ripped open the box hungrily like those discord predators that are hungry for little children because they have no future in life besides disappointment.

He felt the bubble wrap and had to do a double take.

Getting side-tracked, he started to aggressively pop the air bubbles.

No! Be strong soldier! (Name) shook his head as he set aside the bubble wrap reluctantly and dug around the box some more.

Aha!

He pulled out the pair of grey headphones and placed it on his head and plugged it into his phone faster that you could say noodles.

"Alright, you got buttered garlic bread and–what the hell is that?" Sanji stopped his meal presentation and stared at the pair of headphones like it was a parasite.

"You ain't ever seen a person listen to their music?" (Name) asked with slight offense at the disgusted look on the cook's face.

"No, I mean, what is that on your ears?" Sanji clarified, placing the plate down in front of his guest.

"This," (Name) waved the electronic hearing device in front of Sanji's face enthusiastically. "Is a pair of headphones. They keep sound inside so when you put it on, you can listen to the sound and not disturb people around you."

Sanji gestured to it.

"Here." (Name) placed the headphones over the cook's head and found a song on his playlist that wouldn't spook the cook due to blaring profanities(I'm looking at you CPR).

'Georgia
wrap me up all your
I want ya
in my arms oh let me
Hold ya
I'll never let you go again'

The curly browed cook's eyes widened as he listened to the music inside the headphones.

"Y-you can't hear it?" He asked as he looked at (Name) who shook his head. Sanji looked back at the phone the chord was connected to. "That's incredible."

Looking closer at the chef, (Name) now noticed the small details about him as he listened to the music.

Well kept hands, sharp jaw, goatee, the way his shocked face melted into relaxation.

Prince Charming  material if he wasn't such a Simp. (Name) thought as he looked at the adorable expression made when Sanji heard the chorus of the song.

(Name) hummed the song and closed his eyes as he drummed the beat onto the bench he was sitting on with his fingers.

When it got to the pre-chorus, he felt the music and began to quietly sing it to not disrupt the chef.

Little did he know, the chef wasn't focused on the music anymore, he only had eyes for him right now.

Watching (Name) sing so smoothly and calmly with the music he was listening to in the headphones as if he could hear it too. It was incredible.

'I'll never let you go again
Like I did
Oh I used to say
I would never fall in love again until I found her
I said I would never fall unless it's you I fall into
I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her
I found you'

(Name)'s face contorted into a smile as he opened his eyes as the song ended. It was such a nice lyrics but the backstory of it is sad. He glanced at Sanji and suppressed the urge to become a tomato.

The chef was staring right at him with a gentle smile of his own. Fondness reeking from his aura.

Then the Merry accelerated out of no where making the 2 topple to the ground.

The headphones came off of Sanji's head from the sudden movement and (Name) used his reflexes to grab it before 2,000 beli went down the drain.

"NOT THE BREAD!" The musician screeched as he caught the plate mid air as he and the chef stumbled from the unexpected boost of speed. (Name) squeezed his eyes shut waiting to let the wooden floor and his body to collide in a very painful way.

The chef and musician both came tumbling to the floor.

(Name) expected to feel the hardwood flooring of the Meery, but he was cushioned as he heard a grunt from under him.

The musician cracked open his eyes before they widened to the size of saucers as he saw the position he and Sanji were in.

Sanji groaned as his eyes were screwed shut from pain before opening them only to be met with e/c orbs(yes, I put that forbidden word there to piss you off).

(Name) bat his eyes flirtatiously like Flynn Rider did to Rapunzel before looking directly at Sanji. "Hey–"

Then the Merry came to an abrupt stop, flinging the 2 into the air once again.

"MERRY, STOP RUINING MY RIZZ!" (Name) screamed as he flew threw the air again, clutching his phone and headphones to his chest to protect them and shut his eyes tightly once more.

This time the impact with the floor did occur.

"Shit, cock jerking, anal fucking, bitch ass pussy—that hurts!" (Name) hissed as he felt the back of his head slam the tile floor of the kitchen, pain immediately ringing from the back of his head as the rest of his body followed.

He forced one eye open and was met with a blue-grey one above him.

Sanji was leaning over (Name)'s body with his legs straddled around the musician to avoid crashing him into the floor.

Ah yes. The classic fall and straddling position in romance animes.

"Hey shawty." (Name) said robotically from underneath Sanji, unfazed by the stereotypical shojo manga scene.

"E-erm." Sanji muttered, frozen in place as his ears turned red.

As if the situation finally sank in, (Name) felt the blood rush into his face faster than running away from that one sibling or cousin that tries to put their boogers on you. Faster than getting off your phone when your parents ask you "are you listening to me or do we need to take your phone away?". Faster than hitting snooze on your alarm on a Monday.

Yup, faster than all those.

"Oh god, get off me before someone walks in a thinks your parking a truck in my garage as Cardi B. says." (Name) laughed awkwardly as he turned his head away, face as red as Shanks's hair. He shook his head, shaking off his embarrassment and sucking it up like a man. "People catching us isn't such a bad idea though."

Somewhere in the New World, a certain Yonko sneezed.

The cook felt his face heat up at the suggestive smirk on (Name)'s face. "Nope! I mean, erm, no, I'm good. I'm good. Definitely fine." Sanji sputtered as he quickly readjusted himself from straddling the older man and reached his hand out to assist him.

Slightly disappointed, (Name) reluctantly took Sanji's hand and was hoisted up like a sack of potatoes. He wasn't surprised considering how monsterously strong everyone was in this verse besides him.

He wants to get stronger! He can't just be the one playing boss music all the time and singing WAP when he's bored.

Robin's already heard him sing that shit 2 hours straight during the trip here, she'd rather not do that again.

"We should probably go on deck and see what all the fuss is about." (Name) suggested, changing the topic since he felt kind of bad for teasing the poor guy.

Whoops and excited shouts could be heard from outside the door.

"Woah, did I smoke too much when I was younger or is it hard to breathe?" The musician squinted from the bright white cloud sea reflecting the sunlight.

"We're thousands of feet in the sky, I would expect so." Sanji said, lighting up another cigarette.

"Hey! Robin's son!" Luffy shouted from the figure head of the Merry, looking over his shoulder to see (Name).

The H/c haired man turned towards Luffy. "What's good, Lloyd."

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy? Who the heck is this Loy-loy guy?" Luffy asked quizzically.

"No no, I named you. Its L-loyd." (Name) said as he suppressed his laugh.

Luffy tilted his head with furrowed brows. "What are you talking about? I'm Luffy."

(Name) just smiled, deciding to not confuse the poor guy anymore. "Ok, ok. What is it Luffy?"

Luffy perked up at his proper name. "Play music for us! Be our musician!"

(Name) flinched at the request. He already knew Brooke was going to be the next musician for the Strawhats. Nobody can replace Brooke. Not to mention he still had to meet Mihawk and Ace and train to get ready for his own journey into the New World.

"Nah, I still have to have my own journey too. You can understand, right?" (Name) leaned against the rail of the Merry as they approached cloud islands.

Luffy nodded as if it clicked. "Oh! Ok. That sucks. Still, play music while you're here!"

(Name) nodded as he ran into the cabin to grab his bag before darting out on deck once more, Kalimba in hand.

"OH! I know one! MY MAN ELTON JOHN!" The musician grinned, standing at the base of the Figure head where Luffy was sitting. "Let's start at the chorus because it's just so MPH y'know?"

Luffy just smiled in confusion.

"You'll know what I mean when I sing it. We're starting with the chorus because YES." The musician said excitedly, flicking the first few chords the get song started. He tapped his foot to the beat.

'Don't you know I'm still standin' better than I ever did?
Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid
And I'm still standin' after all this time
Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind'

Robin looked up from the book she was reading and the navigator, doctor, and sharpshooter all looked up from the White Sea of clouds. Zoro cracked an eye open from his sleeping position down by the main mast.

'I'm still standin' yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standin' yeah, yeah, yeah'

Chopper began to hop from one foot to the other excitedly as he laughed at the beat. Usopp joined in with the dancing soon after. They were both dancing around eachother happily to the lyrics.

'Once, I never coulda hoped to win
You're startin' down the road, leavin' me again
The threats you made were meant to cut me down
And if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now

You know I'm still standin' better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid
And I'm still standin' after all this time
Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind'

Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and smiled as he tapped his foot to the lyrics. Robin let a smile creep up her face as he rocked her head from side to side.

Zoro finally decided to open his eyes and looked at (Name)'s smiling and singing self, freely walking around the dance circle Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy made. The swordsman smirked as he closed his eyes, content with the upbeat vibe on the ship as they approached the shoreline of the cloud islands.

Nami smiled from the railing she was standing by, finally feeling relaxed at how (Name) got along so well with the others. Maybe he wasn't so bad aside from the flirting.

On the other hand, (Name) kept singing and dancing around the crew, happy that he could freely do what he loved with such enthusiastic people who wouldn't judge his art.

They didn't realize they finally hit land because they were too busy dancing and singing once they caught onto the lyrics.

Even a certain god was humming along with the song the musician was playing.

Chapter Text

"EEEEEK!!!" (Name) shrieked in excitement, rushing up to the angelic woman with the harp. The Strawhats and himself had just arrived and docked on the solid cloud islands of Skypeia. "OH MY GOD YOU PLAY ON A MINI HARP TOO?!"

The blonde Skypeian smiled excitedly at hearing this as she stopped her playing of the entrancing music. "I DO!"

"OH MAH GOD! WE SHOULD HAVE DINNER TOGETHER!"

"WE SHOULD!"

Conis and (Name) we're jumping up and down excitedly at their common interest like little kids, totally ignoring the fact they are total strangers from different parts of the world that just met.

(Name) dramatically placed his hand on his forehead."Nobody appreciates the harp anymore. They're always playing guitar, piano, or violin."

Conis nodded sadly. "I know right, they're so uncultured. They don't even know the pain of having to pluck the strings for hours when practicing with bare hands because bandages are too inconvenient when playing."

"For real."

"So for real."

Whack!

"OW!" (Name) clutched the back of his head in pain.

Nami blew the steam off her hand and then smiled at Conis who was somewhat concerned for her stranger-turned-best friend writhing in pain in the clouds(or sand?).

Conis finally acknowledged the others on the beach and turned to them and smiled. "Welcome to Skypeia's Angel Beach."

She noticed the green melon Luffy was holding that he had dropped on Usopp's head moments earlier and pointed to it. "Would you like me to open that?"

"Oh, sure." The Strawhat captain handed the melon to her.

Meanwhile, (Name) glared at the pirate crew from his sitting position on the ground from afar as he ginergly rubbed his head. That'll leave a bruise...

He perked up when noticed the bearded man on a waver as it ran through clouds.

"Hey, something's coming." Zoro pointed out. The swordsman was also looking who was also looking at the bearded man.

"That's my father." The angelic harp player said as she continued to pet Su the sky fox.

"Heso, Conis!" The man, known as Pagaya, called to his daughter as he maneuvered the waver...

...Before ultimately crashing the waver into a tree.

"Are you guys okay...?" He groaned as he struggled to get up from the impact of the tree.

"We should be asking you that!" Zoro shouted at the newcomer. "You literally crashed into a tree!"

"Woah, What is this thing!" Nami gushed at the small boat with a shell attached to the back, completely ignoring the other 2.

"That's a waver." Conis began. "It takes years to ride one and I've only recently started myself."

"So the concept is like Ace's Striker." (Name) muttered to himself. He's rode a jet ski before, so it couldn't be that much different.

The now recovered Pagaya trudged over to the 2 young woman. "The waver is hard to use. It took me 10 years to get where I am today. You have to know how the White Sea reacts and the smallest waves can deter your course."

Nami turned to her captain. "Hey, isn't that like what Luffy found from that shipwreck back on the sea surface?"

"Huh, it is!" He said as he stepped onto the waver and immediately accelerated as he stepped on the pedal as he desperately tried to hang onto the handles.

"WAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Luffy screamed before getting flung off and flopping into the water.

"I'm sorry! I should've never let him use it!" Pagaya panicked as he turned to his equally distressed daughter.

(Name) looked at the sinking and struggling captain frantically thrashing his hands to swim with boredom. He eyed the man in the water and turned to Zoro. "Do you think he'll float? It's a different sea."

The first mate shrugged. "Who knows."

Chopper looked between the 2 in utter horror.

And then Luffy's thrashing arms dipped underneath the surface of sea clouds.

"Shit." Zoro groaned as he dived into the water.

Chopper followed suit as he desperately attempted to save his captain.

"Uh uh, Chopper may be cute, but he not worth the trouble to get drenched. No siree." (Name) shook his head as he watched Usopp dive in to save the Reindeer.

A second later, Soro emerged from the water with his captain.

"Huh. So he doesn't float." Sanji said.

Zoro felt a vein pop."SHUT UP! YOU GUYS DELAYED ME WITH YOUR STUPID CONVERSATION!"

"At least I don't have sister issues." (Name) muttered with a glare.

Zoro then became eerily calm as he glared absolute daggers at (Name). "What the hell did you just say?"

"Pft–me? I was talking about how amazing bread is." The musician played off coolly as he narrowed his eyes at the moss-head. "What did you think I said?"

The swordsman continued to glare at the other as he dropped Luffy onto solid clouds. (Name) stared at him, not wavering an inch at the look Zoro gave him that could literally kill.

"Tch." The first mate broke eye contact as he followed the others to Conis's house.

(Name) smirked in utter triumph as he jogged to catch up to Zoro and nudged him.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey–"

"What?!" The teen whirled around and glared (Name).

In return, he got a shit eating smirk. "I'm sorryyyyy. Stop being so meannnnnn."

"The shitty swordsman was bullying you?" Sanji said dangerously.

"Nah. He's just being emo." The musician wiped away a fake tear dramatically. "He's in his rebellious phase."

"I am not!" Zoro seethed as he glared at the 2.

The duo merely gave each other a look before smirking.

"He's in denial." Sanji mocked.

"I am not in denial, fucking pervert cook!"

(Name) closed his eyes solemnly as he shook his head. "He's such a rebel."

"He thinks he's so cool when he's always so serious." Sanji joined as he shook his head in disappointment.

"I bet he sits in the corner at family reunions because his heart is so cold." The musician theorized solemnly.

"He has a heart?" Sanji gasped in exaggeration before turning to Zoro.

The swordsman looked so done with their shit. "I hate you guys."

(Name) dropped the act and grinned. "Love you too, hun."

They continued to walk up the stairs as Sanji and (Name) snickered whenever Zoro would give a snarky reply back at their antics.

"Can you guys ever shut up?"

"No<3."

"You can go fuck yourself, moss-head."

Zoro grumbled at that and chose to ignore the 2.

The mocking silence was interrupted by Luffy.

"How the heck is she so good at using the waver?" The captain pouted as his black eyes followed the navigator who was using the waver like a natural.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "I hope you fall—OW!"

Sanji grabbed his captain's shirt roughly after kicking him. "Don't you dare say that about Nami-San!"

(Name) cackled at the chef practically harassing his captain as Zoro merely rolled his eyes at their antics.

Robin was merely listening to Pagaya as he explained the origins of the cloud islands.

"It's made during volcanic eruptions." He explained. "Depending on the density of the clouds, they either become island clouds or sea clouds."

"Mooooooommmmmmmm." (Name) whined. "Why are there so many staaaaiiiirrrrrssssss."

Robin glanced at the musician milling and stumbling along the many steps and shook her head in exasperation. "You want to become stronger yet can't handle a flight of stairs. I can't understand you." She cracked a smile at the scowl she got in return.

"I'm postponing my awesome training until later." He declared with a yawn. "I'll be way stronger the next time we encounter each other!"

"Okaaaay...if you say so." She gave dubious side eye.

"Take me seriously!"

Pagaya coughed into his hand.

"Huh?"

They all turned to the oldest in the group.

"We've arrived." The Skypeian announced.

"Woahhhh, AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed as he dashed inside.

"This is awesome!" Usopp gasped.

Sanji looked at Pagaya. "Can I see the kitchen?"

"Of course." The old man said enthusiastically. "I'd be happy to show you."

The other were examining the architecture of the other buildings before entering.

"Cool." (Name) gave a thumbs up at the house before them before turning to Conis. "You wanna exchange sheet music?"

She brightened immediately. "Of course!"

The world-jumper immediately had a 180 shift in energy from lazy to jumping up in excitement.

"Show me! I wanna know what Skypeian music sounds like!" He grinned.

"Follow me!"

They hurried into the house, leaving the 3 remaining pirates out on the door step.

"Did they just leave us?" Chopper turned to Zoro.

He yawned. "Yup."

"Then we'll just welcome ourselves in." Robin said as soon as she stepped into the building.

________

"And this sheet of music is Never gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley." (Name) finished.

Conis clapped her hands in awe.

They had just finished showing off each other's music sheets and songs from where they came from.

"I've never heard such complicated and upbeat music before!" Conis's eyes aura had literal stars in it.

"Skypeian music is so calm and mellow yet so strong a beautiful." (Name) gushed.

"But blue sea music covers so many genres and varieties I've never heard of!"

"You guys use many original and different instruments you can't find in the Blue Sea."

They gushed over each other's music tastes, different instruments, ensembles, beats, tunes, and many more music related things.

"Are they just gonna ignore us?" Usopp questioned.

"Yup." Luffy said, popping the 'p'.

"Hey, how come the waver can move without wind or sails?" Usopp finally asked Conis, not wanting to hear about musical stuff any longer. He felt like his ears would pop off if he didn't change the topic.

"Oh, you guys don't know about dials?" She asked over the Zoro's snores.

"Dial?" Luffy tilted his head.

The young Skypeian woman walked over to Luffy after grabbing a sea shell. (Name) pouted at having his music friend go away.

"Here." She placed the dial into Luffy's palm. "Say something to it."

Luffy thought for a moment before saying. "Usopp's stupid!"

"Why are you always making fun of me?!" The sniper whined.

"Now press the shell's apex." Conis said.

Luffy's face scrunched up in confusion. "Apex? What's that?"

Usopp slapped a palm against his face. "It's the tip of the shell."

"Oh!" The captain shouted in understanding has he pressed the full spike on the dial.

"Usopp's stupid!"

His eyes grew as wide as plates. "Woah! The shell insulted Usopp!" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"No!" Usopp shouted at the Strawhat wearing pirate. "It recorded the sound."

Conis nodded in confirmation. "Dials store and release specific things at will. That dial is a tone dial. It can store sounds."

She walked over the a drawer and picked up a flat shell and walked back to the balcony where the others were.

"Yo is there a vibrating one–"

A sprouted hand slapped over the musician's mouth before he could finish his question.

He turned to the person who summoned the hand only to find Robin glaring daggers at him with a frown. She was pointing at Chopper and shook her head

He nodded in understanding and the hand unclamped itself from his face. "Got it. No more inappropriate jokes in front of the cinnamon roll." He gave a thumbs up with both hands and Robin just shook her head in exasperation once more as she turned to Conis who was explaining another dial.

"This is a jet dial. It stores air." She pointed the opening of the shell to a group of wind chimes and pressed the button.

Air blew out of the opening and made the wind chimes move and clang against each other.

"Woah!" Luffy grabbed the dial from Conis's hand and whined up his arm over and over again to gain more wind.

"H-hey! Is this a dial too?" Chopper pointed to the large shell sitting on the coffee table.

Conis nodded. "It is. It's a light dial."

She pressed the apex and the gaps in the shell were filled with light.

"Uwah!" Chopper gasped.

(Name) looked at the case of dials displayed on the wall. "Hey, is that an impact dial?"

He was pointing at the palm sized purple shell on the glass case as Conis nodded slowly.

"It is, but it's dangerous." She warned.

(Name) grinned. "I mean, I can take it off your hands. I like danger."

She shook her head. "You can ask my father, but I won't allow it."

"Oh come on!" He weakly whined as he flopped onto the open seat beside the swordsman. "I'm like the weakest on the team right now–almost on the same level as Usopp!"

"I am right here!" The sharp-shooter said in offense.

Conis ignored Usopp's comment. "I'm sorry, but you need to ask my father." She smiled in apology.

(Name) waved his hand. "Nah, I'm just playing with you. You can keep it for now."

"Food's ready!" Sanji burst through the door and many plates were served onto the coffee table.

"Thanks Sanji!" Luffy grinned as he jumped onto one of the cloud couches and stuffed food into his mouth.

Usopp immediately snagged some lobster. "Woah! I never knew lobster could taste this good!"

(Name) looked at the abundance of food with an uncertain look and prompted to look around the room instead to dampen away the sudden urge of guilt he felt at even looking at the meal set out before him.

"Hey, do you know where Nami is?" (Name) changed the topic suddenly, almost desperately to get the others out of the awe of the food.

Zoro glanced at him at the sudden shift in the musician's mood just now but shook it off.

Sanji merely walked onto the balcony and looked towards the sea of clouds. "I don't see Nami. You think she's okay?"

"She probably went farther out to explore." Robin said.

Conis gave her father an uncertain look.

(Name) caught the glance and eyed them carefully. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh," Conis said with worry. "It's just that, there's a place where none of us are allowed to set foot on just south of this island which is a short sail by waver. It's a Holy ground where god lives. I'm afraid your friend might be there."

(Name) grimaced. He forgot about that part. By now, Nani's probably already searching that abandoned boat by Jaya.

"It's ruled by the almighty God, Enel. He knows everything that goes on in Skypeia."

"Everything?" Usopp asked in astonishment.

"He always has his eyes on everyone." She said grimly.

"Really?" The sniper stood up.

"Right this very moment?" Luffy said in shock.

"Yes, he is."

(Name) smirked. Enel probably heard him singing Meghan The Stallion songs earlier. And screeching curses. He snickered to himself.

"That's creepy! I don't like people watching me when I can't see them!" Chopper looked around frantically.

"If someone's watching me then let me just say, I'm up for having a sugar daddy...or mommy." (Name) suggested to said God. Chopper just stared at the musician like he was an alien.

"God, huh?" Zoro said as he sipped his water, ignoring the last comment entirely.

Chopper stopped his panic and stared at Zoro. "You mean, you don't believe in god?"

"I've never seen him and I don't see proof of it one way or another. It's never been a matter of belief or whatnot and I don't really care to." Zoro explained to the young doctor. "If you want to, go right on ahead."

"Conis, if this guy lives so close by, you must've seen him before." Sanji said to the other blonde.

"Oh no, it's forbidden to go to Upper Yard. It's sacred ground. " She waved her hands in denial.

"It's literally just dirt." (Name) rolled his eyes at the amount of importance Upper Yard holds.. "And maybe some trees, birds, and a lost city."

"Oh, I see. It's a place we're not allowed to go to at all because it's forbidden." Luffy grinned mischievously.

Usopp grabbed his red vest and shook him vigorously from the collar. "Oh no you don't! I know that look in your eyes! You're gonna drag us into trouble again. We're not allowed to go there because it's sacred ground or something! We can't go there then!"

Luffy merely grinned even wider. "Oh come on. I understand. Do I really look like I guy who would go there?"

Everyone looked at him with an impassive look. "Yes. Yes you do."

(Name) looked at Luffy with a deadpan expression. "You're the type of guy who says they'll pay for their food and then dash as soon as you get the bill, so yes. You would go to some forbidden island and not regret anything."

"Uwah! How did you know?!" He gasped.

"See what I mean." (Name) looked at the others as he said this. They all nodded.

Luffy shook his head and moved onto the next topic.

"Hey, if he's god, then isn't he supposed to forgive or something?" He asked as he stuffed his face with more food. "I mean, stepping on an island doesn't seem that important to me."

Conis gasped. "Oh no, no, no! Breaking any rules our god sets for us is forbidden and people are therefore sacrificed."

"Ok, that's fine" Luffy said nonchalantly in between chews.

Chopper looked at him in horror. (Name) just laughed at the lack of seriousness that the young captain displayed.

Robin took a sip of her wine and looked at Conis. "So, about the consequences of entering Upper Yard. What are they?"

"I do know them." She replied solemnly. "They are not the most appealing to others..."

"Well, what are they?" Zoro asked, setting down his cup of water.

Pagaya looked down sadly. "Whoever goes there, doesn't return alive."

"So, everyone dies?!" Usopp shrieked in horror.

"Sounds about right." (Name) nodded. "Again, I don't mind a sugar daddy." He suggested to the sky(Enel) with a knowing look.

The sky began to turn dark. Conis glanced at it wearily.

"(Name) please step outside." Conis pleaded frantically as she saw the shift in the clouds.

"Huh? Why?" He asked in confusion.

"It's God's judgement! He heard you!" She said over the gusts of wind that suddenly started blowing in and out of the room from the balcony.

"Ok! Ok! Chill! He's just getting me an Uber!" He raised his hands  in acceptance to settle down Conis. "Take a chill pill, I'll go." He walked towards the balcony.

"Don't leave, (Name)!" Chopper looked like he was on the verge of tears when he was just about to witness a murder.

Robin was desperately trying to sprout arms but they weren't strong enough to withstand the wind. "(Name)!"

"Don't worry." The musician looked over his shoulder at the others who stood up and struggled to get past the aggressive winds with a lazy smile. Somehow, the gales and roar of the wind let the musician through.

"I'll see you in Upper Yard. If not there, then I'll see you on the other side." (Name) grinned happily. "See you guys around. Save me some food Lloyd." He made finger guns at Luffy as he said the last line.

"Oi! Get your ass back down here! I still gotta beat you up for calling me an emo rebel!" Zoro demanded angrily with an underlying tone of sadness as he was being punched back by the invisibility bow force.

Sanji's face scrunched up as he recalled the laid back moments he had with (Name) back on the Merry. "What happened to showing me more music, huh?!"

"My name is Luffy! You're supposed to be our substitute musician!" Luffy screamed loudly, just audible for (Name) to hear.

The screams and begs of the others not to leave was drowned out by the raging winds.

The next thing everyone saw, was a bolt of lightning engulfing the musician.

Chapter Text

"So like...Now what?" (Name) asked the God standing before him. He was somewhat intimidated by the man before him.

...

Pft—yeah right. This is (Name). The dumbass bitch who thought it was a good idea to ask Yonkos and Warlords on dates using corny pick up lines. Like he's gonna be intimidated by this guy.

Enel had an impassive, almost amused expression as he relaxed on his throne.

The God shrugged as he answered (Name)'s question. "I don't know. You're the one that wanted to be here."

Okay, (Name) didn't expect to actually get an Uber to Enel himself. Again, he thought he was going to become a burnt chicken nugget from the lightning bolt. Last thing he saw just 30 seconds ago was the balcony and then the flash of light. Like come on, he thought the heavens were calling for him.

"Well...have you ever wondered, if you ever get a bigger bed, you have more bedroom, but less bedroom." (Name) suddenly awkwardly said the fact to the God. The overbearing silence was getting annoying.

There was an awkward silence that ensued.

The servants were beginning to bet money on how long the foreigner would last before he was burnt to a crisp.

"Why not just get a bigger room?" Enel suddenly said after a solid minute, face completely serious.

(Name) relaxed at how the god reacted into his questions. "True. But ok, actual question, would you be able to see through your eyes if you're invisible?"

Enel perked up at the question and thought for a minute before answering. "Yes, because they're literally transparent."

(Name) grinned. "That's what I was thinking!Anyways, you wanna listen to Elton John? Or maybe Camila Cabello. You seem like the type to listen to them."

Enel raised an eyebrow. "Listen to what? Music? Well, I liked the one you were singing on the ship on your way here with your, what's it called? Ah yes, crew."

The musician visibly brightened and looked at the lightning logia with a shocked face. "Elton John it is."

He pulled out his phone and went to his playlists before tapping on I'm Still Standing.

The servants were shocked at the nonchalant and normal conversation the stranger at their almighty god were having.

They were even more shocked when 20 minutes later, they were having karaoke to My Oh My by Camila Cabello like they were sassy teenagers. They were even acting out the lines like flirts!

"So do we ask them about what we were called for...?" One of the Priests, Shura, whispered to the 3 other priests as he looked at their esteemed god and a complete stranger singing bashfully to the Hispanic Artist like they were old friends. The 4 priests were summoned here but it seems the meeting is on hold considering the sight before them.

"And get burnt to a crisp by Lord Enel? No thanks." The other priest, Satori, said nervously.

"We'll come back later, then–"

"Y'know it's not everyday someone commits mass genocide to get a place in some fucked up organization like God." (Name) mused as he basked in the afterglow of the song once it finished, unintentionally cutting off Gedatsu.

Enel glanced at the foreigner. "Really? Have you met another person who's committed mass genocide to their own people–basically eradicating them–to take a spot and make the people fear them? I thought it was just me."

"Well there's this guy named Itachi that I've seen before. Murdered his whole clan to get into this criminal organization to protect his whole village. But he didn't do it for funsies, y'know?"

Enel's eyes blasted open in shock. "Wait, so he didn't murder his family, friends, and home town to become a renowned villain for fun?"

(Name) shook his head hastily. "Oh, no. His story's real complicated. Y'see, because of the bad treatment of the village, his clan was planning a coup..."

The other 4 priests settled down on the clouds and listened in on the story of Itachi Uchiha from the enthusiastic story teller.

They could deal with crucifixion and punishment later. They needed a bit of a break anyways. Plus, it should be fine if they follow their God's lead in listening.

"So this douchebag, ahem, the 2nd leader of the village, was racist." (Name) said bitterly. "Itachi's clan, the Uchiha, were basically the black sheep of the whole village after the 2nd's ruling. So the Uchiha wanted to set up a coup against the village because of the mistreatment against them. Itachi didn't want this because it would lead to pointless bloodshed one way or another."

"Pft, weak." Enel scoffed and was about to criticize the other fictional character further but a finger abruptly put to his mouth shushed him. (Name) glared at Enel like a mother would to an interrupting and noisy child.

The 4 priests tensed at the misdemeanor of the newcomer. How could he shush a person who had the power to turn you into a burnt chicken nugget?

To their bewilderment, Enel merely shot (Name) an offended and frustrated look but stayed quiet otherwise.

"He rose through the ranks in the village–mind you, they're ninjas–and came under the tutelage of Danzo Shimura. A fucking prick who doesn't deserve to live. BUT that's besides the point." The Blue Sea human waves off. "That stupid bastard gave Itachi 2 choices."

The musician raised one finger. "1, let the Uchiha initiate the coup to release the kyuubi–an incredibly strong fox with other worldly powers–and allow the clan and many other people perish," he lifted another finger. "Or 2, kill off the clan himself  but let his younger brother live."

"Damn. What a messed up guy to order a kid to do that to his family." Ohm muttered as he pet his dog, Holly.

(Name) pointed at Ohm aggressively. "You, shut up. I'm in story mode right now. I can't lose my focus no matter what."

Ohm scowled. How dare this pitiful kid make orders for him? "Look, I don't care if Lord Enel tolerates you bu–"

Enel shot the priest a look and Ohm immediately shut up and tensed. The God was rather protective and lenient with the guest it was scary.

Recovering from the initial shock, the dog trainer just glared at the oblivious man telling the story as the other priests made faces of 'oooooooo, he got in trouble' towards the Priest of the Ordeal of Iron.

"So after he does this, he becomes a rogue ninja and then this elite criminal organization recruits him because of his 'ruthlessness'." (Name) explained plainly. "So, timeskip a few years later. His younger brother he spared, Sasuke, hates him for killing their clan and parents and made it his life mission to kill his older brother."

Enel just listened on as he ate the popcorn (Name) bought from his Doordash app, his full attention on him.

"But here's the thing, Itachi had a sickness so he was relatively easy to defeat for Sasuke. So yeah, Sasuke finds out Itachi's story and then no longer hold any hatred to him afterwards. The end. Itachi was a real one."

The 4 priests clapped in a gentle applause and some of the servants listening also clapped their hands at the enticing story they had just heard.

Enel was rather curious about one thing. "So this Sasuke kid was just an emo revenger?"

"Yup."

"Huh, lame."

"Yeah, and later on in the next generation, he lost so much power. Like, his awesome eye that gave him awesome abilities was taken away and he resorted to using his other special eye on a weak ass dinosaur." The musician scoffed at how Sasuke's legacy was mid in Boruto.

Enel laughed at the hatred dripping off of the guest's voice. It was a new emotion he'd come across and it was entertaining to see (Name)'s face scrunch up in distaste.

"Who would win in a fight? Me or him–"

"Sasuke."

Damn. Didn't even sugar coat it.

"Ok." Enel scoffed in irritation and offense. "First of all, ouch. Second of all, I think I'm perfectly capable of fending for myself."

"He can make illusions so vivid, a year would be a second in reality." (Name) said with a do you really think you could beat that monster? Look. "Plus he can basically see a few seconds into the future with his special eye. Not to mention his combat skills and power."

Don't get him wrong, Enel had so much potential in this universe, but Sasuke's abilities were straight up hax in general.

"Again, ouch." Enel said in feign hurt before straightening up all of a sudden. The priests attention were one again directed at their leader.

"Ohm, go handle the intruders at the crucifixion altar. Satori, handle the other bugs that have entered  your Ordeal." Enel commanded when he sensed the Strawhats with his mantra wreaking havoc on the island.

(Name) watched as the 2 priests were dismissed before taking his phone and going to the World Jump app and skimming through the options in the power up category.

His scrolling abruptly stopped when he saw the best power introduced to man. He looked at the description of the power and fell in love.

Power-up:Kirby's inhale and copy ability.

Allows the user to touch the desired opponent and be able to copy all of their abilities and use them at will. You may store these copied abilities and use later. This includes Devil Fruit user abilities, strength, agility, and Haki. The drawbacks is that you can only copy and store 2 copied abilities at a time. The time limit for these powers are 30 minutes and you MUST wait these 30 minutes before touching that same person and copying their abilities again. You are only able to copy 2 people's abilities and save them for later and use 2 at the same time at most. You cannot pause the time limit once it starts.

The other draw back is that when the you use the ability more than 10 times a day, you morph into Kirby's body due to overexertion of the power and are only able to copy one power at a time in this form.

Price:32,000,000 beli.

(Name)'s soul left his body when he read the price. He only has 40,000 beli left after buying headphones, clothes, and food. It's way too expensive to get a power-up—

That's when it hit the World Jumper harder than the fucking belt during whoopings.

He has a fucking sugar daddy.

He glanced at Enel who was watching him for who knows how long. It was kind of creepy but oh well.

The lightning logia had a look in his eyes that was practically saying 'what do you want now?'

"Well so there's this thing I wanna buy in the app on my phone I showed you..." (Name) said slowly and nervously.

"How much? I can spare a couple million for you." Enel yawned in boredom.

The musician was pleasantly taken aback. "Oh, uh, 32?"

There was a silence as the logia user seemed to be thinking for a second. (Name) felt a bit nervous. Was his request too much? They just met–

"See it done." Enel said with a smirk, interrupting the foreigner's train of thought. At the snap of a finger, the clouds in another part of the sky farther away began to shift and create a bolt of lighting. As soon as it struck, dozens of bags of gold coins were beside the God.

"Take what you need. I find you entertaining so I wouldn't mind paying." Enel said as he felt a ticklish feeling in his stomach at the guest's amazed and dumbstruck look. Yeah, he'll admit, he enjoyed the guy's company. It got a bit bored being god from time to time.

"WOAH THAT'S SO COOL!" (Name) gushed as he looked at the 4 large bags of gold coins in front of him. They almost reached his hip! He wouldn't be surprised if there were literal stars emanating in his eyes.

Enel hummed in amusement at the other's reaction. "It's some leftovers from the golden city of Jaya."

(Name) felt like he was about to cry. "Thank you so much for doing this!"

The God was a bit taken aback. His subordinates feared him. They didn't respect him. The people and citizens were the same. Ruled by fear and suffering was their teacher. He had his mantra, but even he didn't expect (Name) to thank him so sincerely.

"O-oh, it's fine." Enel muttered and cursed himself in his head for stumbling over his words. He never met a person who was so genuine to him before. Who actually enjoyed his company without feeling forced. It felt...nice.

Meanwhile, (Name) was still profusely thanking him and Enel...didn't know what to do.

"You can stop now..." It was getting overwhelming to the lightning user. "It's just gold..." he muttered when he felt deflated and realized (Name) was probably happier about the money and priveledges he gave him.

"But you didn't have to!" The musician insisted with a groan in exasperation. "It's almost insulting how much you gave me. Like, it's too nice. That's way more than 32 mil. I don't need all of this, so keep it!" He felt kind of bad for taking advantage of the God's kindness.

Enel again, was flabbergasted at the reaction. "No, you can keep it. I don't really need it anyways..."

"B-but it's so much money. And for me." (Name) looked rather conflicted and Enel could sense it.

The God glared at the guest and the World Jumper flinched. "I gave you this because I wanted to. I enjoy the feeling of your company when you're with me. If anything, this is nothing compared to what you probably are owed."

There was a heavy silence and Enel though he might've gone too far and began to internally panic. Of course, he hid it with a poker face though.

That's when (Name) started to straight up ball his eyes out. "I can't believe you're so niiiiicccceeeeee." He wailed as he wiped away his tears. "Even though I did more for Croco-boy, he still didn't pay me this much!"

Enel's features softened as he looked at the show of gratefulness and shook his head. "You're an ugly crier, so hurry up and buy what you want. What I gave you is much more useful."

After recovering from his episode, (Name) sheepishly nodded and whipped out his phone once more. And held the glowing screen in front of the 4 bags of gold.

They were zapped into the screen one by one and (Name) turned the screen around and nearly dropped it  from the shock when he saw the everything totaled up.

60,045,009 beli.

Holy shit.

He turned to Enel and felt the tears prick his eyes once more. He was about to say words of gratitude once more but Enel cut him off.

"If you thank me one more time I will throw you off this cloud." Enel said in a sarcastic tone when he noticed the shift in expression of the guest's face.

"...sniff...sorry..." (Name) wiped away the tears of happiness and realized something.

He hadn't taken a shower in nearly 4 days.

I probably smell like shit. He panicked and turned to Enel with a somewhat embarrassed look.

"What else do you need?" The God asked. His tone indicated he would literally get the musician anything.

"O-oh, just a place to shower. I probably stink right now." (Name) asked nervously and he shuffled in the place where he was standing.

"Of course." The God mused at the embarrassment of the guest and turned to a servant.

"Lead him to the bath." Enel demanded coldly and enjoyed the way the young woman flinched and nodded with a nervous smile.

"Of course Lord Enel!" She said hurriedly as she quickly walked to (Name)'s side and grabbed his hand hastily.

"H-hey! Let me get my bag first. It has my clothes." (Name) tugged his arm away and grabbed his satchel holding his extra pair of clothes and turned back to the woman with a warm smile.

The servant flushed from the kind smile, but immediately apologized when she saw the look Enel gave her from her reaction.

"Right this way." She quickly paced to the back gate and opened it for the foreigner.

They both walked through the gate and were met with a door and a building where it connected to.

"Here." She turned and gestured to the door. "This is the bathroom and showers. Please, make yourself comfortable. Soaps and towels are already supplied."

(Name) nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, miss."

She felt her cheeks tinge with red and hurriedly waved her hands. "It's nothing, you should get going now."

The musician nodded and opened the door to the building.

Inside were fancy sinks, showers, and toiletry.

(Name) explored a bit before setting his things down beside the shower he chose after grabbing one of the supplies towels.

It wasn't until he turned on the water did he realize how filthy he was.

He was wondering how Enel and the servants didn't tell him. They're too nice to point it out. He sulked as he scrubbed his body to thoroughly get rid of any stench, dried sweat, and dirt.

His hair was oily and beginning to get matted and he wondered why nobody told him to go shower.

Like damn. It's not that rude. You can tell he's fucking dirty.

He huffed as he rinsed the soap off his body and began to add soap to his hair. And like any other normal person, he sang in the shower to another song from his world as usual. It's that shower music that makes you sound like an angel ong.

His face scrunched up as the water was begainning to turn a brownish color when he rinsed the soap off his head. Ew. Crustier than Luffy's fingers after he picks his nose–

(Name) kept rinsing his hair until the water became clear before turning off the shower. He opened the tinted glass door of the shower and grabbed his towel and dried himself off.

He had bought clothes earlier on the Merry and shoved it in his bag along with Lucci(his stuffed cat Robin made for him.)

Sighing, the musician finally finished drying his body and until his hair was damp. He threw on his clothes and shoes before walking to a mirror where a jet dial was.

He pressed the button and warm air was released. (Name) blow dried his hair for a few minutes because he felt motivated today. It wasn't everyday you got to pamper yourself with sky gadgets.

When he finished, his hair was completely dry. The musician grabbed his bag holding his dirty clothes and took out Lucci to hold.

(Name) exited the building refreshed and clean.

When he returned, he saw Enel conversing with his servants about a time limit.

He placed his bag on the ground and set Lucci on top of it. As he listened in on the conversation, he heard something about a time limit and a servant estimating the survivors.

Oh. He's probably making bets on the game. (Name) thought as he discreetly moved back to Enel's side.

"What about you, who do you think will be left after 2 hours?" Enel turned and asked the new arrival.

The young man pretended to think for a bit. "10."

Enel seemed intrigued. "Hm. I still predict it'll be five."

"We'll see how it turns out then." The Guest had plopped himself on the floor beside Enel and took out his phone as his finger hovered over Kirby's power.

Fuck it.

(Name) shut his eyes tightly and tapped the screen.

He opened his eyes hesitantly and huffed when he noticed he missed the button. Ok, from the top.

He shut his eyes once more and quickly pressed the screen with his thumb.

He cracked open one eye and noticed his total.

28,049,009 beli.

Congrats! You just purchased your first power-up! You have now obtained Kirby's "Inhale and Copy" ability!

(Name) let out the breath he was holding and felt his hands shaking from adrenaline and nerves. He just bought powers.

God, this app is so broken was his thoughts as soon as he saw the purchase.

The God was just looking at him weirdly, a calculating gaze aimed at the man sitting on the floor. "What did you get?"

"Oh, A power-up." The musician answered vaguely.

Enel was interested in this so called power-up now. "What does it do? Does it give you anything?"

"Oh, it gives the ability to copy other people's abilities..." (Name) muttered.

Enel hummed. "I see. How does it work?"

God, he's nosy. (Name) thoughts but decided to answer anyways. Enel could've smoked him with a lightning bolt or with his bare hands. He might as well repay his kindness with simple information.

"So basically, when I tap a desired target, I can copy their powers for roughly 30 minutes." The musician explained from memory when he read the description of the power.

"Try it out." Enel held out the hand he wasn't resting his head on towards the other.

(Name) wasn't sure what to do. That easy?

Either way. He grabbed the taller man's hand and pulled away after a few seconds just to be sure he copied the abilities properly.

It said I could use the power at will. I don't know if I can control it though. The musician hesitantly looked at his hand and tried to think of something to do with the power.

Enel watched tentatively from the side in curiosity.

After a solid few minutes, both of their hopes died down and Enel began to loose interest. (Name) seemed to visibly deflate at no reaction and almost gave up at trying to get a reaction.

That was, until white electricity sparked to life atop his fingers of and danced around his hand.

Chapter Text

"Oh, I think I need more bread..." (Name) shook his bag that carried his bread that was now empty.

"Can you at least try and look engaged?!" Enel shouted as he and Luffy continued to fight.

(Name) rolled his eyes as he slung his bag around his shoulder. He turned to Lucci. "Can you believe this guy? I already warned him that I would be neautral during the fight."

The cat didn't respond.

"Same. The audacity, right?" The pirate jeered.

Enel just scowled in the direction of the pirate sitting calmly on his throne. "I'm really starting to regret giving you money right now..."

E/c eyes rolled once more as lazily stretched his arms. "Fine."

Luffy was too engaged in throwing punches to notice the conversation.

It was too late to notice (Name) move at the speed of lightning and grasp his hands onto Luffy's torso.

He then started to tickle the very injured captain.

"H-HEY! STOP IIIITTTT!!!" Luffy screeched in between gasps and choked laughter.

Before he was ultimately thrown off the ship.

(Name) leaned over the side of the flying vessel and whistles at how high it was. "DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY LLOYD!"

The musician already knew Luffy would survive from a fall like that. Heck, it happened in the anime.

Enel let out a huff as he let his body topple onto the floor as he looked at the dark sky above.

(Name) tried to "zap" back to the throne to take a nap, but the copied power didn't work.

He sighed in exaggeration before lazily walking to Enel and poking him to copy his abilities.

"Mirror Immitation." (Name) yawned tiredly as he felt the odd surge of familiar energy that Enel's power possesses. Like many other people with powers, he had to name his moves, so he called his ability to copy

He didn't bother to use the power to get to the throne and plopped himself down. He wanted to save the power for Jaya(in the Blue Seas) anyways. He wasn't the only one who had plans for his journey that would soon get into full swing after this arc.

Enel finally sat up as soon as (Name) decided to take a nap.

I have to do everything myself. The God scoffed as he decided to get back to his plans on the ship and fix it after that damned tuxedo blonde kicked the gears out of place.

____________

"Yo, where the fuck am I?"

...

The musician woke up to the sound of a...slithering?

(Name) looked to be in what seemed like a dark tunnel with stone ruins, scattered pieces of gold relics, and the remains of the ship he was just on.

The last thing he remembered was plopping down on Enel's throne and passing out. So where the hell is he?

Don't tell me I slept through the fight scene...

He groaned in frustration before clumsily hauling himself up as he carefully stumbled down the debris of stone, gold, and wood from the ship and ruins.

He checked his bag and Lucci, his bread, and his necessities were still in tact.

But getting his priorities straight, he quickly flipped out his phone and tapped on his very broken and OP app.

Then he started to deposit all of the gold he could find in the vicinity into his account. It would be a waste to just ignore the valuables when he could very literally just yoink them. It's for safe keeping...yeah...

As soon as he finished in this area, he ventured off and felt the 'cave' move under his feet as he searched for more treasure to save into his phone. After scavenging in that area for a half hour his total amount of Beli became roughly 38,000,000.

I wonder how I can get out without mortally wounding this ancient snake thing? (Name) pondered and determined whether it would be a good idea to use Enel's power just to escape.

"Meh. I'll just ask." The World Jumper shrugged. Knocking on the wall of flesh beside him, the snake shifted from the sudden vibration of knocks.

(Name) took a very deep breath, feeling the abundance of oxygen enter his lungs before opening his mouth to holler."HEEEEEEYYYYY!!!"

The snake stopped its slithering and the musician had to adjust to the sudden stop in movement before continuing his hollering. "CAN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH SO I CAN GET OUT OF YOUR STOMACH?! I'M WITH THE STRAWHATS!"

...silence.

That was, until the end of the hall of ruins and flesh erupted in a bright light.

"Sweet." The Kirby pirate grinned as he jogged to towards the light of the outside world and hopped over the snake's tongue and avoided the acid fangs so he wouldn't be reduced to mush.

(Name) hopped off onto a tree branch next to the entrance of the snake's mouth and turned to look at his savior who fortunately devoured him before the ship and himself were destroyed. How he didn't wake up, he didn't know. Sleep was an unknown thing to him now that he could actually do it.

"THANKS FOR THE RIDE!" (Name) waved with a smile as he hopped down the other branches as the snake slithered away after a curt nod.

"God. I wonder how mad Lloyd will be when he sees me." (Name) pondered as he pondered whether or not to use Enel's power to find Luffy.

He decided it should be fine since he could foot any of the other Strawhat's abilities.

Screw it. (Name) enabled the Goro Goro no mi(Rumble rumble fruit) and immediately sensed hundreds of living beings around him like a radar.

He used Enel's observation haki, or mantra, as he calls it, so search for the celebration that should be going on for the Strawhats.

He felt the many haki signatures in the center of the island underneath him and (Name) used a ray of lighting to drill a hole into he ground to go crash the party.

Ok, let's go! He decided to be dramatic as the copy human did a backflip a few hundred feet above the where the celebration was being hosted in Jaya.

"LLOYD! DID YOU SAVE ME FOOD LIKE I ASKED?!" (Name) grinned widely and felt his cheeks hurt from the wind hitting his face as he squinted his eyes to search for the rubber captain.

He zapped himself to the ground only to see the vacant ruins. The pirate could sense around 30-40 people surrounding him but he couldn't see them. Getting used to observation haki is weird.

"You can come out now. I'm looking for Strawhat Luffy." (Name) called out to the people in hiding.

One of them stepped out and (Name) could identify him as Wyper by the tattoos on his face and the Mohawk trailing down his back along with his bazooka.

Wyper, also known as the masked guy who (Name) decked in the jaw on the Merry.

"Wait, weren't you last seen in chapter 14? How long was I out? Where's Lloyd and mother dearest?" (Name) tried to sense them but no one was around.

Soon, the other Shandians came out of their hiding spots, all clad in their traditional clothing and weaponry.

"They left this morning. Now who the hell are you?" Wyper sneered with a piercing gaze.

"Oh, me? I'm Candice." (Name) introduced himself.

"Candice? I've never heard of that name." Aisa, the young Shandian girl with a loose fur dress and off-white cap that covers her shirt brown hair said as she hid behind Rika.

The musician said the next lines with a straight face. "Candice dick fit in your mouth?" Then he doubled over in a fit of laughter as the winged natives looked at him in utter disgust.

It took a solid minute before he finally calmed down and finished wiping his tears away. "Well, I'll just have to look for them then!" He chimed in happily.

The leader of the Shandians stepped forward in a defensive stance. "We won't let you. You'll have to defeat us first before you can even lay a finger on Strawhat."

"Bitch please, I've watched all of the Kung-fu Panda movies and finished the Demon Slayer Manga, are you sure about this?" (Name) asked with honest concern as he scratched the back of his head in reluctance.

Wyper didn't answer as he charged forward. Because he didn't have his rocket launcher, he had to resort to hand to hand combat.

(Name), being true to his word, got into a fighting stance and redirected Wyper's punches and kicks much like the water breathing style before landing his own punches and kicks. Even with his heigh advantage, Wyper wasn't able to land a complete hit.

The others stayed away from the fight and watched their chief try and land a solid hit only to have his clenched fists and kicks be redirected or meet air.

(Name) spun around his opponent and Wyper whirled around to try and backhand the musician.

The Worldjumper caught his open hand and switched to just one of the Shandian's fingers in a hold before lifting his pinky up.

Wyper was taken aback at the smirk painted on the infiltrator's face.

"Skadoosh."

The musician brought his pinky down and at the exact same time, he made an electrical current flow from his hand into Wyper's body, successfully electrocuting him and causing a fatal explosion of awesomeness.

The winged man's body convulsed in a white light of electricity for a few seconds before he slumped down to the ground, many burns covering his body as his pupils rolled into the back of his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told him I watched all of the movies. He should have never underestimated me." (Name) looked at Wyper in pity at his body that had dropped to the floor from being shocked by the musician's awesomeness.

"W-Wyper!" Aisa screamed in horror. He was their village's strongest warrior, but was defeated by a measly stranger who just claimed to be passing by!

"He's fine. He's got a few burns here and there and the electricity just caused his body to go into shock and be paralyzed. He should be okay in a few hours if his wounds are treated." (Name) waved off.

A tall woman with long black hair pulled into a ponytail rushed to Wyper.

"Get the medics! Why are you all just standing there?!" She shouted in frustration to her fellow people. She turned to (Name) with a dark look.

"I don't know what your motives with Luffy are, but you'll pay for this!" She seethed with pure malice in her gaze as they glared daggers at the newcomer.

"I don't even know you!" He said as he barely dodged a bullet she had shot at him. "I just said I'm looking for Lloyd!"

"Who the hell is Lloyd!?"

"I already told you, the captain with the strawhat!" The musician said in frustration. He already went over this! Why couldn't they understand?

The woman just continued to glare before reminding herself of her friend as she helped lay him down on a stretcher and get carried away.

The musician peered at the battered leader and sighed. "I can help." (Name) suggested after he got over his previous fit. he knew he was already on the village's bad side, but it was worth a shot.

Rika scoffed and continued to glare, much like the other villagers.

(Name) glanced at his phone and the time remaining for the power is 20 minutes.

"You guys don't know how to treat burns like these since you guys live in the sky where there are no thunder storms. I know how to treat them though." His face went steely and serious when he got a better look at Wyper's condition. It was pretty bad. He may have shocked him for too long.

Rika seemed to be having an internal battle with the offer.

Aisa was on the verge of tears. "Please save him! Save Wyper!"

The World Jumper nodded. "I can't do this without authority permission." He glanced at Rika who looking at him warily.

The Shandian sighed. "I'll let you treat him. Save Wyper. Please."

The musician nodded resolutely as he strode towards the injured man. He started this. He might as well end it.

He flipped out his phone and went to the Healing catalog filled with different medicines ranging from Tylenol and Advil to the damned edo tensei.

What he was looking for was a long scroll down so he went to the search bar and typed in hair

The Shandians watched in desperation for their leader to be saved.

"What are you waiting for?!" Rika scowled as he grabbed (Name) by the shoulder and made him look at her.

The musician looked her dead in the eyes as he glanced back at his screen and tapped on the desired item.

You have just purchased:Orihime's Hair Pins(6 Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield)

Allows the user to summon the 6 fairies for attack, defense, or healing after reciting their kotodama and "I Reject" following. After advancing this power during training, you can use the Fairies power at will without reciting it. Unlike the anime, these fairies are unresponsive and only mimic their given move set, rendering them dolls of a sort.

Your balance is now:22,030,000

He grimaced at his balance but not a second later, a small box appeared in the palm of his hand.

(Name) opened it, and the snowflake-flower like hair clips resided there. He clipped them to the strap of his bag and said the kotodama written on his phone.

It's been a few years since he's watched Bleach, and he's basically forgotten all the logistics of it including all of the abilities.

"Twin Sacred Return Shield." He recited the words on his phone and 4 of the petals on one of the clips disappeared and there stood 2 fairies. Both were female, one blonde with green wings and red clothes and the other had black hair with red wings and a pink kimono.

They immediately turned into bird like fairies and flying to either end of Wyper's body and an oval of orange light was wrapped around him.

The other villagers watched in anticipation and awe as the orange light seemed to heal their leader's body to how it was before the battle even started.

After a mere 2 minutes, the magical healer pulled away from his patient, the 2 fairies zapping back into the pin on his bag.

"He needs rest." Was all he said. (Name)'s face was oddly blank but his brows were furrowed as if thinking about something.

Rika was grateful yet still didn't completely trust the foreigner. He injured their leader for fun, then he's serious about healing him all over again! Just who did he think he is?!

"I appreciate you help, but we'll take it from here." She said coolly when she gestured for the medics to finally carry him away to the other tents where other healers were stationed. "To voice our appreciation, we'll let you go."

The other Shandians were circled around and none of them looked friendly. Some had an envious look in their eye. Those who did were previously injured in the battle and wished (Name) was there to heal them too, but they didn't voice it.

(Name) frowned at the remark Rika made. "Hey, that's not very nice. I may not be a doctor but I've already sort of committed to this, so I at least have to make sure he makes a full recovery." He said with a condescending smile.

This kid! Rika glowered. "I won't let you anywhere near Wyper."

"I literally said I was just going to watch him wake up to make sure he's okay." He threw his hands up in response.

Aisa was looking between them in worry. "Um, Rika...?"

Rika turned to look over her shoulder at the sound of her name and raised a brow in question.

"He...he didn't mean any harm. I mean, he was just looking for Strawhat, right? And he didn't start the fight, it was us..." Aisa muttered strongly even though she was scared of the unknown man's strength. "So, it should be okay for him to watch over Wyper?"

Rika huffed at the words and her face shown obvious distaste in her words. "Fine he can stay..."

Aisa lit up and ran towards the stranger and looked up nervously. They walked together out of the circle as people started to disperse to their homes.

She was still rather scared of him after witnessing his powers, but she swallowed her pride to thank him. "Thank you for healing him! We've never seen those types of burns before...I don't know how we could've treated him..."

(Name) smiled. He usually didn't like kids, but Aisa seemed okay. She was more bashful and prideful in the anime and manga, but she's probably weary after seeing the extent of his copy ability.

"Well then, I appreciate you having my back over there." He smiled down at the smaller girl.

She beamed and grabbed the hem of his pants/shorts/skirt to lead him to the tent where Wyper was being held.

2 people that seemed to be medics were in the room monitoring his condition and Rika was still be his side.

They all looked at him and Rika just gestured the medics to keep monitoring their tattooed leader's vitals.

(Name) sat down on a chair and opened his bag as Rika eyed him carefully, anticipating a single slip up for a reason to kick him out.

He just pulled out his battery pack cord and phone. The phone was in one hand, power bank in the other after he plugged it in.

He still had roughly 10 more minutes until the power was up and his phone was at 30 percent.

The electricity was transferred into the power bank which flowed into the phone, recharging it much faster than normal chargers found on normal Earth.

The raven haired Shandian studied (Name)'s relaxed movements before finally deeming him not a threat.

"Do you know what skateboarding is?" The foreigner asked out of the blue.

Rika kept her cold gaze but slightly tilted her head in curiosity. "What is a skate-boarding?"

(Name)'s eyes widened as he grinned before pulling up YouTube and typed in skateboarding videos.

"This is skateboarding. It's somewhat of a hobby of mine back on the Blue Sea." He said as he pointed to the board the person was standing on. "The skateboard is what you ride. You push yourself on it and you shift your weight on your feel to turn. It's lots of fun, and once you learn how to do that, you can do tricks."

She watched the screen in awe as her serious facade broke and fascination was visible on her features. Her jaw slightly parted incredulously as she watched the woman on the skateboard do a trick to get down the curb.

"That's-that's common down on the blue sea?" She guffawed, pointing at the small screen in his hand.

"Yeah! It's incredible, really. I was looking for Lloyd to travel with him a bit longer to get one in this worl–I mean, in this part of the sea." He quickly covered up his mistake of being a world jumper when he explained his alibi to her.

She nodded. "I see. I apologize for our misunderstanding earlier. It's just that we've been rather antsy since we got our homeland back that we're still waiting for someone to March in and claim it's not ours." She sighed as she said the last part and sat on a stool across from him.

"Nah. I should've known. I was there during the battle but I just slept through it. It was my fault for bathing in unannounced." He waved off.

"Uggghhh."

A groan was heard from the other side of the ten where Wyper was laying.

The Shandian leader blearily blinked his eyes open and lifted an arm to grip his pulsing head.

"Wyper! Don't get up!" Rika quickly got off her stool and rushed to her friend to settle him back onto the bed.

"I can't! That bastard is still out there." He slurred.

The woman sighed. "It's fine. Just a misunderstanding. He's a friend of Luffy's."

Wyper blinked at her with an unbelieving gaze.

"It's true." (Name) chirped and blinked owlishly when Rika glared at him.

"You–" Wyper began fiercely but was cut off.

"I'm actually here to ask you something!" The musician clasped his hands as he grinned wildly."

"Huh?" Both Shandians and the medics guffawed.

"JOIN MY CREW!”

Chapter Text

Wyper looked at the musician with utter disgust after hearing the offer.

"Ew. What the fuck. No." Wyper said with a scrunched up face as if he smelled something funky.

"Ouch, okay." (Name) said as an arrow pierced his heart at being turned down really hard. He shook off the rejection(because he was used to it after confessing his eternal love to many people but got turned down).

"Well. Guess that's that." (Name) said casually. He brushed his hands together before setting them on his knees to push himself up.

"That's it?" Rika said, dazed at the sudden turn of events.

"Well, if he doesn't want to join, he doesn't have to join." The foreigner shrugged.

"What he said." Wyper piped up.

Rika sighed in exasperation. So they were both idiots, huh?

Wyper then seemed to widen his eyes as if remembering something.

"You." He shouted towards the man who was about to exit the tent.

"Hm?"

"Let me spar with you before you leave." The Shandian leader said with a determined look in his eyes. "I can't let my name along with my people's be stained by my loss."

Rika felt her jaw slacken. "Are you crazy?! Did you not see his power?! He could kill you!"

(Name) shrugged before a lazy grin took over his face. "Sure."

Wyper was radiating gratitude and determination as he hastily got up from the bed.

"Wha–hey! Get back to bed!" Rika shouted in frustration as she tried to grab her friend's arm only to be swatted away like a fly(F in the chat for Rika).

"I'll beat him for sure, no matter the tricks he has up his sleeve." He said with a grin.

Rika's eyes widened before she sighed and gave up on stopping the 2 reckless idiots. "Fine. But if you get severely injured, you have to ask Candice for help."

(Name) just looked at her owlishly before trying to hold back his laughter. He coughed into his hand to cover up his laugh. There is no fricking way they actually believed that was his name!

He recovered with a gasp which he covered with one last cough. "My name is actually Sugondeez." He corrected dramatically as he mimicked a hair flip towards Rika.

"My apologies, Sugondeez." She snipped in agitation as she falsely corrected herself.

Sugondeez nuts. (Name) snickered internally but just continued to cough into his hand...which eventually turned into aggressive hacking and wheezing as he doubled over in a coughing fit for oxygen.

"Is he ok?" Wyper whispered to the black haired woman beside him with a weirded out look.

"I'm not sure." She answered back in a hushed voice, both watching the man before them struggle to breathe.

After a hot minute, (Name) finally got his breathing under control. He hastily straightened up after the 2 people before him were looking at him with scrutinizing gazes.

"Ahem, ok, we can go now." He huffed as he lazily strode outside the tent...

Only to trip over a small girl who was eaves dropping on their conversation.

"God fuck Davy Jones!" The musician stumbled over Aisa and tumbled down the steps to the tent not so gracefully.

He laid there on the floor for a solid minute as the 3 just watched him expectantly before he sighed and pulled himself up.

"Ok. Now where are we going. Lead the way..." he said in forced enthusiasm. He needed a coffee with 3 shots of espresso for sure after this. And a beer.

"Right this way." Rika decided to take the lead as she stepped down the stairs like a normal person and tracked down the dirt path, the others following close behind after.

They walked in an awkward silence, at least, it was awkward for everyone except (Name)...

He's staying behind the group. Is he going to sneak up from behind? Wyper eyed the suspicious man accusingly as he squeezed Aisa's hand a bit tighter.

The little girl flinched at the sudden grip but shook it off as she felt the tension between the group.

I wonder how old these trees are... (Name) was looking at the thick vegetation and gigantic trees and shrubs surrounding them from all directions, seemingly never ending.

Rika stopped her walking and turned around to face the 3 others. "Here."

She gestured to a wide open area. "This is where you will spar. Rules are simple. No weapons, no powers, and no underhanded tactics such as spitting. Only hand to hand combat and you may not leave the open area."

"Sounds good." (Name) gave a double thumbs up.

Wyper just silently nodded in confirmation. Aisa took it as her queue to unclamp their hands as she ran to the edge of a tree where there was a clear view of the field.

"Do I keep my bag here or can I leave it on?" The shorter man gestured to his sling bag.

"Go ahead, but if it's used as a weapon of any sort, then you're disqualified and Wyper wins by default." Rika said as she followed Aisa by the tree. "Take your positions. You may start at any time."

Oh shit. I'm dead. (Name) laughed inside his head as he looked at Wyper's form and unreadable expression. He's probably pissed after I electrocuted him...

(Name) took a wider stance, one hand by his stomach curled in a fist as the other was stretched out towards Wyper, palm to facing ground as he leveled his stance, waiting to take the defensive like before.

From what he could tell from the anime, Wyper's legs were agile from cloud skating while his arms were strong from hauling a rocket launcher around all the time and the damage from the reject dials.

Just as he expected, Wyper immediately began to take step to land a strike, but even after foreseeing the attempt, (Name) grunted in pain from the force of the punch as he blocked with his arms.

Wyper took advantage of this and swiped his left leg underneath (Name).

The musician blocked using his shin and kicked the foot aiming to hit him back and used the advantage to use it as a step to knee Shandian in the face.

Wyper redirected (Name)'s incoming attack and moved to evade it.

The took a few steps away from each other and debated whether or not to attack first after they leveled their opponent.

God, I wish I had a pencil or pen to John Wick his ass... the pirate sighed as he already felt a thin layer of sweat slowly seep into his back.

It didn't take long for Wyper to get on the offensive once more.

This time, a combo of attacks. First starting with a barrage of punches and kicks which (Name) was forced to evade and redirect at an overwhelming speed.

Shit! (Name)'s center of gravity tipped backward when his leg stumbled on a stray tree root at the edge of the field.

He couldn't stop himself from toppling over, Wyper swiping his leg from under him and making him collapse onto his back.

The musician's eyes strained as they blasted open as the air was knocked out of his lungs when his body met the dirt.

Wyper was above him, straddling him so (Name) couldn't move and was about to to land a punch on his discombobulated opponent.

The Worldjumper regained his sense of self from the daze as he moved his head out of the way, the curled fist of his opponent hitting the dirt where his head was a second ago. The impact left a shallow dent.

God, it's like he's trying to kill me! (Name) felt a cold sweat dribble down his forehead as a sudden chill ran down his spine.

He quickly slipped his legs under Wyper's own and curled his body when they were free and knocked the Shandian on the back of the head with a kick, back still against the ground.

Wyper stumbled forward over (Name) from the sudden hit and the musician used the momentum from his kick to switch their positions.

"Yield?"  (Name) had his fist pulled back, practically panting harder than a dog after a run, some of his hair sticking to his face from the sweat(if you imagine your character without hair/hair covered, ignore this.)

Wyper was in no better condition. The perspiration and soot in his hair not doing much for his looks. "Never."

The chief kicked his opponent dead center in the sternum...

...only, he kicked him towards a large hole in the ground.

"HOLY SHIT!—" (Name) stumbled back, falling into the hole and falling, his screams and shouts of horror echoing back up to the surface.

Wyper, Rika, and Aisa all gave each other a shocked look.

"Welp, he's dead." Rika shrugged before lending her hand towards Wyper. "Ok, let's go get lunch."

Wyper nodded and grunted as grabbed her head and pulled himself up.

Aisa looked at them with a horrified expression, jaw practically to the floor as she looked at the hole where there were still faint screams and then back at her 2 idols. What just happened?

Chapter Text

Aokiji was just taking a nap over by a rock on an uninhabited island after a long day of scouting and look out...

Until his peace was rudely interrupted when he sensed someone's haki coming in from above. Who the hell falls from above? Above him especially.

Which is not how most people approach him, but oh well. Now it's his problem because someone decided to fuck with his nap time. Now he has to save this falling degenerate because it's his 'job' to save people in the name of justice.

The marine lazily pulled his sleeping mask up and pushed himself to his feet as he casually caught the screaming and thrashing man that practically fell from the heavens, the weight not even deterring the strength in his arms.

Although this time it was neither an Angel, nor was it a prophet that fell from the clouds of God.

The unknown stranger(friend or foe, even Aokiji has no idea as of right now) finally stopped screaming his bloody lungs out and cracked open his eyes which surprised the ice user since they were shut so tight he thought they were glued down.

"I have been falling, for THIRTY MINUTES!" The stranger shouted.

(Name) looked up only to be met with an aloof and inert expression of an admiral before he seemed to finally grab ahold of his wits once more as though he hadn't just fallen thousands of feet from the heavens.

"Hey shawty." The Kirby user said coolly as he struck a pose in the admiral's arms. "What's good, man."

Before he was immediately dropped faster than when he was as a baby.

Aokiji huffed in slight frustration as he swiftly pulled his mask back down and proceeded to literally flop to the ground to sleep. He just wanted a nap.

"Okay, ouch. Second rejection of the day, but I shall not falter!" The stranger said before he imitated a hearty laugh following his gallant statement, hands on his hips as he dramatically laughed.

"I don't feel like arresting you right now. It's nap time, so scram." Aokiji yawned as he adjusted his position on the grass. He furrowed his brows when he felt the haki of the person that just fell out of the sky lay down beside him. Yup, just sat his ass down as if he didn't just fall from the fucking sky.

"Davy Jones this grass is soft." The stranger gasped in slight awe as he brushed his hand over the vegetation. "No wonder why you take naps in places like these."

"Please shut up. It's nap time." Aokiji sighed in a weak plea once more. He was reaching the ends of his patience, and he has a lot of patience. But apparently with this stranger, he feels more agitated. He didn't appreciate the guy who practically crashed nap time.

And nobody crashes nap time and gets away with it unscathed.

"Leave." Aokiji demanded, a speckle of frustration slipping into his request.

"Nah." (Name) denied the request just as fast as it was asked. "I wanna take a nap too. It's been a long month."

"Really couldn't be as bad as patrolling an area where there hasn't been any reports of trouble for nearly a decade in paradise." The marine scowled.

"I was basically enslaved as a bartender/musician to a pirate for a week, survived being blown into the sky, had a so called god as my sugar daddy for half a day, and fell out of the sky after I mis-stepped on a cloud. All of this in the span of 3 weeks. Try me." (Name) snorted with a bored look as he gazed at the clouds.

That...

Was not what Aokiji expected to hear. Look, he's met his fair share of drunkards, stoners, and mentally unstable people and have put them where they belong(in mental institutions, jail, or rehabilitation) but never had he heard of a story this far fetched.

"Mhm. And I'm a pirate." He scoffed. The admiral rolled his eyes underneath his mask as he eventually fell into silence which slightly offended the stranger from what Aokiji could sense from him.

...

"Could you, hypothetically, make snow cones?" The stranger asked him not even 5 minute after getting over his initial emotional fit.

Aokiji proceeded to ignore the stranger turned annoyance.

...

"What came first, the chicken or the egg?" The newcomer asked another question to the devil fruit user.

Once more, he was completely ignored.

...
..
.
..
...

"Why do towels gets dirty if they dry clean bodies?

"Can you shut the hell up? It is fucking nap time."

"...Valid reason. Keep ignoring me."

____

And this continued for a good hour. The stranger who Aokiji still doesn't know the name of, just kept asking more questions and wanting answers from the admiral, but even he was left with more questions than answers after hearing the intrusive thoughts.

He was a high ranking admiral, not a genius dammit!

"If you drop a bar of soap on the floor, is the floor clean, or the soap dirty?"

"How the hell should I know?" The admiral was at his wits end as he pulled up his eye mask and glared at the stranger.

"Well, it's a rhetorical question, so there's technically no right or wrong answer no matter what." The stranger shrugged. Then all of a sudden, he seemed to jump as if startled.

Aokiji just raised a brow at the sudden gesture.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm (Name)." The stranger now known as (Name) said with a blinding grin. "So, how about you and I start bitching about Akainu?"

Now that caught Aokiji's attention. He perked up as he finally looked at the stran–ahem–(Name) with an intrigued gaze. "Just to pass the time." He confirmed as he cleared his throat to prepare for the insulting.

The shorter man smirked deviously as he began to spew his opinions on the Magma Admiral, literally slandering his name.

"Akainu is the type of kid in school who is given a school project in history, but he loves science so much he makes the project on science instead of history. His excuse is:I like science, so I made the project about science." (Name) blabbered.

Aokiji rolled as he decided to finally sit up right to face his new acquaintance. "Nah, he's that one guy who sits with the cool kids and thinks he's the shit when he really isn't."

"That seems much more accurate." The shorter man nodded in satisfied agreement. "But let's be honest, he uses the term 'justice' whenever he needs to have a cover up for something he did."

"He spams the justice card so much it's kind of concerning. Justice this, Justice that. I'm fine with people having their own type of Justice, but with Akainu, he overdose it." The admiral huffed in agitation and frustration as he recalled the obliteration of Ohara and the way Akainu killed innocents instead of just taking them in for interrogation to confirm their intentions.

It wasn't fair to have all of those lives snatched away on a whim in the name of Justice.

"Uwoh!"

The 2 startled at the new voice coming from the edge of the grass clearing. They both hadn't noticed the Strawhat captain since they were too busy spilling their frustrations on the Red Dog of the marines.

Aokiji was quite surprised by the appearance of the captain as well. He had been so engrossed in talking shit about his fellow coworker he didn't sense the rookie captain.

"Hey! It's the musician guy who keeps calling me L-loyd!" Luffy pointed at (Name).

(Name) looked behind him to make sure Luffy was talking to him and not someone behind him.

It's like when you think a person waved at you and then you wave back only to realize they were waving to a person behind you and you just waved for no reason. Yeah. It's like that.

"Hah? You're not dead?" Zoro had a tight grip on Wado Ichimonji but it loosened once his eyes fell on the formerly 'deceased' musician.

"Oh yeah! You threw me off that ship! It's not nice to tickle someone. That's just messed up." Luffy huffed as he crossed his arms in exaggerated anger.

"Yeah, yeah Lloyd. Look, I got paid for it, besides, you're strong so I doubted you would die from that height with your devil fruit." (Name) waved off and Luffy furrowed his brows.

The young captain was conflicted. Music guy was saying he was strong enough to survive, but he betrayed him for money!–wait, never mind, I guess Nami rubbed off on him. The captain concluded with a nod as he acknowledged his smarts.

Meanwhile, all the people had to watch his internal conflict as his expressions changed every few seconds.

Usopp glanced at Robin. "O-Oi, Robin, you ok?"

Nami looked back at Robin and felt a chill go down her spine.

Robin's eyes were blasted open, her jaw slack and the look of horror on her face didn't look like it was going to be leaving anytime soon.

"T-that's Aokiji Kuzan, one of the 3 admirals right below Fleet Admiral..." she archeologist stuttered out in a nervous voice, poorly covering her terror.

"Shits about to go down..." (Name) smirked as he began to play slow boss music on his harp to fit the mods of the stare down.

Don't ask how the harp appeared. It just did. Don't ask questions.

Chapter Text

"Holy fuck. Did Robin just get Anna'd?" (Name) said as he recalled Anna being turned to ice in front of Prince Hans in Frozen. He was intensely strumming the harp as the Strawhats were battling Aokiji(and getting absolutely destroyed by the admiral. It was kind of brutal.)

Wait—who am I supposed to be rooting for? (Name) pondered, pausing his strumming for a second before regaining his senses to continue playing.

If I root for snow cone man, then I could team up with him and go with my initial plan to save Ace and meet Mihawk at Marineford. But if I root for Luffy and his crew, we could still be allies. But if I root for Elsa, then they'll think I'm a traitor.

He must've been thinking longer than he thought, since most of the Strawhats were already making their escape, half their crew frozen in certain parts of their body and one completely frozen.

"Hey, they're gone already. And do you happen to have a devil fruit? There's smoke coming out of your ears." The admiral addressed lazily as he picked up his discarded bike.

Huh? Smoke...? WAS MY THINK BRAINING TOO HARD?!

(Name) hopped off the rock he was sitting on and looked around. Low and behold, Kuzan was right, no one was around anymore, only remnants of ice spikes scattered here and there along the clearing.

"Oh. Ok. Could you make me a snow cones please?" (Name) asked nonchalantly.

"Sorry, but short stack over here wants to have a duel with me. I'll be done in roughly..." he glanced down at his watch before looking back up. "I'll be done in roughly 3 minutes if he tries hard enough."

(Name) nodded as he plucked at his strings, yawning at the sudden turn of events. He decided to stay with Aokiji.

Why? Because I don't want to directly fuck up the main plot with the marines than if I were with the Strawhats. Also, if I ditched Aokiji right then and there, I wouldn't have anyone who I could bitch about Magma Meathead with. But then again, if I went with Luffy, then I could introduce my cat Lucci to real Lucci––

His train of thoughts were cut off when he took note of Aokiji walking away from a now frozen Luffy.

The dark haired captain was frozen in a punching motion.

"Take this as a repaid debt that I don't kill you in your vulnerable state right now. Us marines owe you one after taking care of Crocodile back in Alabasta." Aokiji walked by the rock his newfound acquaintance was sitting on and made a gesture to follow him.

Of course, having the will to live(not really), the musician hopped off the boulder and quickly followed suite behind the freakishly tall admiral.

He had to speed walk just to catch up to that guy. Every step Aokiji took, (Name) had to take 3, so you can imagine the work out.

Don't look over your shoulder, don't do it (Name)! He internally ordered himself as he neglected the urge to check up on one of his favorite characters.

"CAN YOU SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!? LIKE, I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE NINE-FOOT-SOMETHING ASS IS SO FUCKING TALL, SLOW DOWN GOD DAMN!" (Name) shouted angrily.

"That sounds like a you problem. Just get taller."

"OH FUCK OFF! I MAY BE SHORT BUT I SURE AS HELL KNOW TO BITE YOUR FUCKING ANKLES UNTIL YOU BLEED!"

What? The guy hasn't caught a break since he woke up in the snake's stomach, can you really blame him? I mean, he hasn't even had his coffee yet.

"Like you could even reach my ankles." Kuzan rolled his eyes in offense.

"BITCH——" (Name) pounced forward and grabbed the admiral's white dress pant, punching it over and over again and very literally gnawing at the area where his ankle would be.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Aokiji shook his leg in a vigor, still slightly taken aback that you actually followed through with your words.

After a few seconds of ferocious, blind biting, Aokiji finally managed to throw off (Name)'s grip on his ankle.

He gingerly curled up the hem of his pant leg and grimaced at the shallow bits marks. His eyes landed on a small gopher that popped out of the ground a few feet away from him and showed it his leg. "Does this look infected to you?"

The gopher proceeded to dive back underground, completely ignoring the marine's question.

Kuzan scoffed. Rude.

(Name) was currently cursing up a storm, such profanities spewing out of him that even a sailor would blush.

As Aokiji listened on and on he was wondering if this explicit dictionary would ever end, because he was starting to become concerned for his own ears at the vulgarity of it.

"——putrid rat sucking piece of manure foot smelling shithole fuckturd asskissing PRICK!" (Name) shouted at the top of his lungs in blinded fury, tearing out pieces of grass in fist fulls.

"Are you done?" The marine asked.

"NO!"

"How about now?"

"FUCK OFF!"

Aokiji sighed before rubbing his temples before opening his eyes once more with a defeated expression, eyeing the man before him still snatching pieces of grass as if it were someone weave. "I'll get you the snow cones you wanted..."

"Bet, where he headed?"

"How the——" Aokiji slightly jumped when the musician appeared by his side with an innocent smile with stars and flowers spewing from his aura. "You know what, I think it's better if I don't ask. Let go."

The admiral grabbed the back of (Name)'a collar and sat him on his shoulder.

"Is this what it's like to be tall and look down on the misery of those around you in the excuse you call a world?" (Name) pondered aloud in fascination as he balanced himself on the shoulder of the marine.

"Yes. Yes it is. Now shut up before I throw you into the ocean." Aokiji demanded, reaching out to pick up his discarded bike by a tree.

"Not until I get my snow cones." The man sitting on his shoulder shot back in earnest, obviously at his wits end.

"First, get a goddamn bowl so it can hold the ice. You don't want it to freeze your hands off or melt onto your arms." The admiral sat down on the bike, (Name) gripping the cloth of his white vest to keep from falling.

"But what if I don't have a goddamn bowl."

"Oh well then. No snow cones for you."

"This is why I say you're mean. You literally said we were getting snow cones." (Name) groaned in frustration.

"No, I said we would get snow cones if you had a bowl. This is how I know you're literally deaf at this point."

(Name) rolled his eyes. He looked down at the rubber tires and now watching in anticipation as they inched closer to the water's edge the longer Aokiji pedaled.

As soon as the bike hit the water a thin line of ice appeared, preventing it from tipping it over the edge and being consumed by the ocean currents. (Name) watched in complete awe at the work of the Ice-Ice fruit and it's wielder.

Aokiji, being a literal admiral, could sense the surprise and astonishment in the haki signature next to him in almost tangible waves. He hid a smile at the sudden change in personalities of the musician going from a deranged mad man to an excited child.

Of course, the atmosphere was too sappy, so he had to burst the happy bubble. "We're still not getting snow cones until the next naval fortress."

"Didn't you just tell me to shut the hell up? You really had to bring it up when I was just starting to forget it?"

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Man, that's so messed up."

"That's why your music sucks."

"That's why yo mama dead."

Aokiji immediately faltered in his pedaling of the bike, looking at the musician in great offense and astonishment.

"Dead as hell." (Name) continued in a sassy tone, looking the admiral directly in his eyes. He smirked haughtily and crossed his arms. "What music was playing? What music was playing when they lowered her casket?"

Aokiji had to snap out of his stupor to continue pedaling but he was even more shocked at the next words that exited (Name)'s mouth.

"That's why your granny ain't got no knees. Can't pray to Jesus." (Name) finished.

Aokiji regained his senses and glared back at the man on his shoulder. "Where's yours? I bet your mom wanted to be the one in the casket after she saw your face when you were born."

(Name) eyes the admiral with a scrutinizing gaze. So he's fighting back? "Nah, you right, she left me." He nodded in agreement to end the roast battle.

Aokiji wasn't having it. There is no way in hell he is taking that beating only for it to end right there. "I see your shitty attitude is coming back."

"I see your mama ain't." (Name) leers with a glare.

"I will drop you into the ocean right now."

"At least I can swim."

"Wanna see how long you last?"

"...no thanks."

"That's what I thought, asshole."

The ride back was awfully quiet with (Name) just playing his kalimba tiredly to the Up theme and Aokiji pedaling the bike with bruised pride.

Yeah, it's weird to say the ankle-biter can somehow both be incredibly chill and yet a condescending bitch at the same time. Bipolar much.

To say the least, he and Aokiji get along splendidly when the both rant about Akainu, so that was a plus in this newfound friendship-thing.

Chapter Text

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

...

"What abou––"

"If you ask one more time, I'm throwing you off this bike and leaving you for the seakings." Aokiji glared at the man accompanying him.

As soon as (Name) heard those words he shut his mouth as he had flashbacks to Alabasta and felt a chill go down his spine.

They were only cycling(well, Aokiji was cycling) for roughly 40 minutes and listening to nothing but the Up theme playing on the Kalimba. Also, you can't tell me that movie wasn't sad as fuck. It was and it's true.

"Well. Okay then. We gotta listen to something else now..."

Aokiji didn't let the mischievous smile get past his vision and soon regretted it as the man sitting on his shoulder began to rummage through his bag.

"Aha!" (Name) pulled out some sort of thin, plastic-glass-rectangle from his bag and tapped on the flat side for a few seconds.

"What's that?" The marine gazed at the weird box in suspicion, eyes narrowing.

"This," the shorter showed his phone screen to Aokiji. "Is a phone. It's like a Den Den Mushi but waaaaayyy more advanced. It can make calls but it has a touch screen instead of buttons."

He dragged his finger back and forth across the screen as the admiral watched in slight shock at the way the screen moved in accordance to the finger.

"I'm gonna play music from it." (Name) brought his phone back to his lap and went to his music app where he tapped on the playlist labeled "Drunk Music Shit".

He tapped on the first song and had such a devious grin that it was starting to scare Aokiji.

Nope. I am not scared of this kid. He denied but as soon as he heard the first lines of the song he immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Three, six, nine damn she's fine." (Name) swayed his song in front of him and snapped to the beat as the next line was played.

'Let me see you sock it to me one more time.'

"Get low, get low, get low, get low." He vibes along with a big ass grin as he nudged Aokiji with his elbow playfully as he continued to dance with his upper body in the most embarrassing ways.

Yeah, he definitely wanted to become a hermit right now and live a slacker life. This is not what he signed up for when he became an admiral.

"THROUGH THE WINDOOOOWSSSS, THROUGH THE WALLS!" (Name) hollered so loudly beside Aokiji's ear until the guy literally thought his eardrums would bleed. This was definitely a turn of events from the Up theme to...this.

"TO ALL YOU BITCHES CRAWL!" (Name) continued shouting boldly, swaying forward and back while clapping his hands to the beat obnoxiously loud. "TO ALL SKEET SKEET MO'FUCKER!"

God's really testing me today. The admiral groaned internally.

"Please change it, fuck." Aokiji implored weakly, pedaling faster so they could arrive at the naval fortress sooner. Too bad even with the boost in speed, it would still be another hour until they arrive.

"NAH!" (Name) shouted over the music blasting from his phone.

_______
_______
_______

It's been 30 goddamn minutes and they've cleared the songs Get Low, Bartender, In da Club, Ice Ice Baby, and many many more.

"Shawty had them apple bottom jeans, boots with the furrrrr." (Name) sang along sassily. He had bought sun glasses just a few minutes ago from the app and it was totally worth it. They made him feel badass as he listened to the music. "Got the whole club looking at her. She hit the floor! Next thing you know, shawty got low, low, low low, low, low, low, low."

Aokiji was so done.

"I will literally throw you off this bike."

(Name) grinned back which only annoyed the admiral even more that he thought he would blow a fuse. "That's what you said earlier!" He called over the music.

"I still stand by my statement." He threatened darkly.

"Fiiiiiine." The musician rolled his eyes playfully before he tapped the screen, successfully pausing the music as he pressed on another playlist labeled "Pass Times."

A groovy, detuned melody filled the air around them.

Aokiji visibly looked relieved to not hear some sort of aggressive beat at the beginning and lyrics about picking up girls.

'I'm still a fan even though I was salty
Hate to see you with some other broad, know you happy
Hate to see you happy if I'm not the one driving'

Ok, the lyrics was a bit sad at first, the marine must admit, but it was still a song with a different feeling to it than the songs he's heard that are popular. Such songs are sea shanties or upbeat, instrumental party music.

"I might killed my ex, not the best idea, his new girlfriend's next how'd I get here." The man sitting on his shoulder sang along dramatically to the woman singing while kicking his legs back and forth, sunglasses still shading his eyes as he swayed his head to the music. "I might kill my ex, I still love him though. Rather be in jail than al-lone!"

Yeah, Aokiji thinks the lyrics are dark as hell but that beat and melody is preferred than the previous songs. Hell, it was rubbing off on him like those catchy songs you randomly remember and need another catchy song to forget. Like he would admit that though.

When he glanced at the log pose next to his bike's bell, he could see the pose shift slightly to the right. It meant the next island would be in sight in a few minutes give or take.

"I did it all on no drugs. I did all of it sober. IIIII, I just killed my ex! Not the best idea. Killed his girlfriend next how'd I get hereeeee. I just killed my ex. I still love him thooouugh. Rather be in hell than al-looonne..." he musician trailed off dramatically as the song ended.

"Your song choices are very...interesting..." the admiral said blandly.

"Oh I know. I got songs for everything. Like clubs to kids music for babysitting. Even boss music as you heard earlier." (Name) grinned, making finger guns.

"No. I meant it's absolute shit." Aokiji scoffed.

"I will bite your ankles again."

"Still beats listening to your music for an hour and a half." The admiral said, looking the musician dead in the eyes as if saying 'what you gonna do about it?'

"I bet it's still better than the music that was playing when they lowered yo mama's casket." (Name) shot back. "It's still better than the gospel music your grandma probably listened to in church when she tried to pray to Jesus. But with what knees?"

"Don't you dare bring my grandma into this." Aokiji, the usually most calm and collected out of all the admirals, was gripping the handles on his bike much harder than before. Yep. He was borderline pissed.

"I just did. What you gonna do about it?" (Name) crossed his arms and used one hand to poke Aokiji profusely on the side of the head to provoke him even more.

Yep. The admiral was definitely pissed.

So instead of letting it go like he usually did or tell (Name) off, or even just ignoring him, he did the next best thing.

He threw him into the sea.

"OH YOU MOTHER FU––"

Splash!

The admiral had no remorse as he fucking smirked at the thrashing man in the water.

"You're such a dick!" He cursed as he tried to swim back to the bike.

Only for Aokiji to literally ride off into the sunset without even turning back.

Well, (Name) forgot to tell him one thing.

Yeah, um, he may or may not have copied his abilities.

The musician pressed his hand against the surface of the water, praying to Enel that this works.

A thin layer of ice formed underneath his fingertips.

Fuck yeah! Im so cool!

He quickly hoisted himself up onto the now large floating piece of ice and steadied himself.

He didn't understand the logistics of how Aokiji made the ice stay still, but he could try a different way instead.

The marine was already way ahead of him and his ice trail was already thin and melting.

Welp. He might as well take a leap of faith.

The small iceberg holding his balance quickly tipped to one side unexpectedly. His eyes widened as he tried to keep his balance only for it to topple even farther. He tightly shut his eyes closed and prayed to Enel once more. When he kept feeling himself get closer to the water he decided to just fuck it all.

"Shit!" So he took a leap of faith expecting to hit the ocean again.

He didn't hit the water or the waves to carry him to Davy Jones's Locker. Not even the usual overwhelming cold.

(Name) hesitantly opened his eyes and only saw vast ocean around him, a small island up ahead with large building. He gently placed his other foot down and looked at what he was standing on.

The top layer of the water he was standing on was frozen solid around the shape of his foot where it was planted.

The Worldjumper grinned widely at the thrill of the new power as he took another step, the water immediately freezing under his foot on contact. Yeah, to describe what he was feeling, he felt like a kid at the candy store that just restocked his favorite candy. He felt like he got transferred to a new school and everyone immediately liked him. He felt like he just passed a test without studying.

Yeah. He felt amazing.

So like he saw Elsa do in Frozen 2, he began to slowly walk across the water as it froze beneath him.

Then that walk turned into jog, the ice still supporting him. Soon into a sprint.

Aokiji was probably already at the navy base by now. (Name) could see his discarded bike by the beach where he probably landed, 2 lower ranking marines picking it up to place somewhere safe.

He felt stronger than usual. He could barely see the white uniforms in front of him but he could still tell they were marines and not some normal civilians stealing a bike. He just knew it.

That's when it hit him harder than the time Wyper kicked him in the stomach. He skidded to a stop as he tried to comprehend his hypothesis.

If he had copied Aokiji's haki, that would explain why he knew the 2 men were marines. That would also mean he might've been using observation as well.

Yeah, his brain is definitely braining to hard.

But he didn't really use Enel's haki, or in his case Mantra. Maybe he had to focus? That's what he did when he tried to see the 2 people with the admiral's bike.

Man. He was hungry. He couldn't think on and empty stomach.

Oh well. He can try and put it to the test later. He willed his legs to move and continued to jog over the waves, freezing a few of them that would've toppled him over.

If I copy people's haki, it could help my development for my own. If I'm right, I can only use their abilities for 30 minutes straight and get a cool down of 3 minutes per power. And then I can copy 2 powers...

If I keep practicing using other people's haki, it could help cultivate my own after I get the feel for it. Then I wouldn't have to copy their haki.

Damn. I'm so smart.

I should be the Einstein of this world.

Thump.

ACK WHAT THE FUCK!

He finally snapped out of his train of thoughts as he rubbed his head in pain.

"Who puts a tree in the middle of the ocean?!"

He glared at the tree only to realize he was the one that walked into it.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn't realize he already reached the island. It looked normal. It seemed like a spring island from the looks of it. Lots of tame vegetation.

Glaring at the tree, he used his free hand to flip it off as the other still rubbed against his forehead to soothe the pain.

A pink haired marine was looking out the window from the 2nd floor of the marine base, the coat with the words "Justice"  boldly displayed on the back in black ink.

She had just witnessed the stranger literally run into the tree and proceed to flip it off after he collided with it head on. Her coat swayed as she continued to walk down the hall as she sighed. Hina has seen enough today. She needs a glass of wine.

Aokiji, on the 3rd floor, was still surprised at how the guy was even alive. This (Name) kid was more of a mystery than he thought. Well, he would've been useless if he couldn't handle the ocean anyways. Seems like he's promising. He definitely was going to recruits him because of his skill. Definitely not because he needs a venting partner about Akainu and the stresses of putting up with his ass. Yeah...

As the marines were carrying on with their lives, a certain musician was still cursing at the tree with his explicit language, scaring off many bystanders and marines alike.

"Oh yeah! I gotta get snow cones!" He exclaimed as he stopped spewing profanities at the poor tree. He was on a mission. He wasn't gonna stop now.

__________
__________

A marine captain launched a barrage of knocks on the door to the admiral stationed in the temporary office.

"State your business." A the deep and lazy voice of the admiral said on the other side of the wooden door.

"Sir! There's a man requesting your presence saying you owe him something." The captain replied back.

Putter patter putter patter

The marine captain barely managed to look over his shoulder before seeing a blur of a person zooming past him and proceed to literally break the door open.

"Admiral Aokiji!" (Name) smiled from ear to ear as he stood underneath the doorway. He was about to run up to said admiral before 2 lower ranking marines tried to grab his arms and restrain him.

"Get out of here you damned psycho! You can't just request a meeting with an admiral and barge into his office!" One of the officers snarled, harshly jerking (Name)'a arm to shove him out of the office.

"No. Let him stay." Kuzan waved them off nonchalantly, not even glancing at them. He was staring at the drenched clothes (Name) had on and the forming bruise on his head from the tree earlier. "You look like shit."

The trespasser's grin didn't falter. "I know." His grin soon became a menacing smirk. "And guess who's fault it is?"

"I got snow cones...?" The admiral weakly defended with his hands raised up. He wasn't really afraid, but it was amusing to play along anyways.

He didn't jump when (Name) magically appeared by his side with a hopeful and excited look in his eyes. "Deadass?"

The marines that were holding him a moment ago were looking at where he just was in their grasp and now where the admiral was. They didn't get paid enough for this so they just shrugged and left.

"Deadass." Aokiji confirmed with a sigh of defeat. He didn't know the lack of snow cones could do this to someone. He turned to the captain who was still standing outside the door. Said captain flinched but saluted nonetheless with the same passive expression.

"Get a bowl." He ordered. His subordinate didn't question the instructions. He just wanted to leave and go on his lunch break by now.

After roughly 10 minutes, there was a maintenance team working on the broken door while Aokiji was looking over the newspaper, not even glancing at his paper work. He wondered if it was a good idea to let Spandam of all people hold onto the Buster Call snail. It probably wasn't, but oh well.

Right beside his desk was his acquaintance sitting down on the floor criss cross applesauce enjoying a bowl of shaved ice with (flavor) syrup for taste.

(Name) couldn't be happier. Bro was living the life. He acquired snow cones. His mission was complete.

_______

On another island, a certain pirate crew was searching for their archaeologist and a shipwright to fix their ship...

Chapter Text

"Ara? A Buster Call?"

(Name) perked up at the sudden break in the silence in the office. Buster wha–? Oh yeah! I kind of have to save mom. But like, I know she'll survive anyways. I'll just drop the bomb when we meet again at Marineford and I make the News. I can't come into contact with them again until then or else I'll be suspected for treason against the marines. I still need my awesome training arc saga.

"(Name). I've been requested to monitor the Buster Call at Enies Lobby. Don't get into trouble." Aokiji sighed as he tugged off his sleeping mask. The Buster call just had to interrupt nap time. He really couldn't catch a break these days.

The musician nodded lazily as he kept scrolling through the World Jump app and it's options.

The copied ice powers already wore off a few hours ago so he couldn't make snow cones without asking or copying the powers again. But hey, it was better than sensing who was passing by your door every 3 seconds with observation.

"Yeah, Yeah. You know I can be immature, but I'm not a child, Elsa."

"Would you knock off the Elsa?" He groaned in annoyance as he lifted himself off his seat to attend to the warships that would soon arrive at Enies Lobby. "And I can't trust your word because you're a fucking ankle biter."

"Well if you want my honest opinion, out of all the ankles I've bitten, yours are probably around a 5 out of 10." (Name) shrugged off, not even glancing at Aokiji. If he did, he would've seen the slightly offended and confused expression on his face.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled back his sleeve and looked at his watch "Whatever. I'll be back in a roughly 4 to 5 hours if the Buster Call runs smoothly."

"M'kay. Get going AdmIrAl AOkiJi." The musician mocked, curling into his seat even farther like a spiteful teenager.

There was no reply.

(Name) looked up from his phone only to see the room empty. He scoffed. Rude.

He glanced at the plastic bag beside him and sighed. Laying inside was his drenched clothes when he fell into the ocean. Right now, he was using his extra pair he kept in another plastic bag.

"Man, that was my favorite shirt/dress/top, too." He sulked as he pushed away the squishy plastic holding his clothes. Pondering for a moment, he thought of an idea to relieve his boredom besides scrolling on his phone. "I'll raid the kitchen!"

And so that was that.

_________
_________

"Why the fuck is there a fucking gremlin raiding the pantry?!" The head chef screeched as he pointed accusingly at the e/c eyed fellow eating some bread, many other loaves of bread surrounding him.

"What's good, bro?" (Name) waved casually, still chewing his food. "Your bread needs more sugar not gonna lie."

"GET OUT!" The head chef was pushed out of the way by marine foot soldiers with shot guns as they lined the exit.

"Alright, imma dip." Out protagonist proceeded to swiftly scoop up a loaf of bread and his bag holding 7 specially baked bread in the crinkly clear bags.

Of course, he had saved a copied ability from Skypeia from a particular Shandian who literally kicked him out of his island just in case.

"Mirror imitation..." he mumbled, bread still being held in his mouth as he felt the sudden surge of Wyper's copied abilities. Alright. 30 minutes is more than enough time.

Instead of jumping right into fighting, he decided to use the secret Jojo technique...

The secret technique of running away of course.

"Bye Felisha!" He quickly jumped off the sides of the walls over the marines who were completely dumbstruck at the sudden turn of the events.

Oh how the turns have tabled.

He cackled as he slung his bag over his shoulder mid sprint, the loaf of bread secured under his arm.

"Get back here!"

"FUCK NO!" He hollered back at the marine who ordered him to stop. He was surprised the chefs and marines didn't notice him until then. He was literally chilling in the closet——ahem, pantry, for nearly an hour just eating bread and pastries. He would probably need lots of water to wash it all down later.

He was being chased for a while and it started to feel like an intense game of tag. Even with his enhanced stamina and speed courtesy of Wiper, he didn't appreciate the 2 dozen marines chasing him like cat and mouse.

"Get him! Go around back to cut him off!" One of the higher ranking marines ordered the others.

Gosh, why do they say their commands out loud? Don't they know I can hear them? (Name) sighed in embarrassment for them and shook his head before turning the next corner instead of going straight down the hall like they predicted.

A door opened up ahead as a marine chore boy stepped out with a mop and went down the direction (Name) was running.

Before the closet could close behind the boy, the bread thief jabbed a foot between the door before it could close and slipped it, slamming the door shut and locking it from the inside. He used his body to hold the door closed as his ear was pressed against it.

The pattering of footsteps and commands rushed past the door for a few seconds before the air stilled.

(Name) sighed a breath of relief as he checked his belongings.

Bag. Check.

Bread. Check.

Phone. Check.

Ok. All of his belongings are fine. After checking, he finally took the time to look around the storage closet.

There were shelves of cleaning supplies and a coat of marine uniforms.

Ferb, I know what we're going to do today. He smirked as the idea rushed into his head.

_________

"Huh. Who knew marine uniforms were comfortable like that?" (Name) looked at the navy blue pants and white sailor shirt in a discarded mirror, moving around and looking at it from different angles. The blue neckerchief was surprisingly tied properly(courtesy of YouTube). "Welp. Time to forge my recommendation letter and send it to the marine captain stationed here."

That's the plan.

He grabbed a clean bucket and placed his belongings inside, covering it with a clean towel and a few unopened bottles of cleaning chemicals.

Welp. Let's do this. (Name) unlocked the door knob and cracked open the door to scan outside.

Nobody on the left. Nobody on the right.

Clear. He concluded as he swiftly exited the room and closed the door behind him before proceeding down the hallway calmly. He had to play it off like a pro. Yeah.

Rounding the corner, he reeled back as he bumped into someone.

Oh shit––

He landed on his behind not so flamboyantly, bucket still in tact beside him and none of it's content was spilled aside from a spray bottle that tipped out.

"Oh. Hina's sorry. She didn't see you there."

(Name) glanced up and was met with round black eyes staring back at him with traces of concern.

He grinned nonchalantly and waved it off with his hand, standing up and grabbing his bucket before saluting. "Captain Hina." He greeted with a smile. "It's no problem at all. It's my own fault for not noticing you ma'am."

OHMYGODSHE'SSOPRETTYINPERSONICAN'T––

"Are you okay...?" Hina asks awkwardly.

"Yup." He nods enthusiastically, still saluting. "I must get going. I'm in charge of the cleaning crew for organizing Admiral Aokiji's office."

"Oh, we'll carry on then..."

"Tomioka." He said his alias without hesitation.

"Carry on then Tomioka." Hina nodded in dismissal before continuing to walk towards the stairs to Darcy the next warship setting sail.

I've been blessed by and Angel. He sighed dreamily as he kept watching her until she was out of sight before sighing in relief. He fixed the rubber cleaning gloves on his hands, picking up his handy dandy bucket.

God, I think I ate too much. I feel like I'm about to go into a food coma. He yawned, leaning against the wall to support himself from straigh out passing out from exhaustion and laziness.

As soon as he placed pressure on the wall, it was like there was a sudden shift in the part of the wall he was leaning on.

"Wha?" He glanced at his hand, an inch deeper in the wall than what it should be. "A button?"

The next the he knew, a small patch of the wall protruded out, creating a spinning door.

(Name) gasped. "SECRET TUNNEL!"

He slammed a hand on his mouth and looked around frantically as if expecting someone to unexpectedly pop out from around the corner.

Being the risky person he is, he decided to enter the secret tunnel of course. Who wouldn't?

Dang. Getting in trouble with the law and finding a secret tunnel? I'm so proud of myself.

He stepped into the other side of the wall, the brick wall closing behind him with an audible click.

An eerie silence ensued the dark room. It was pitch black, not a speckle of light making its way through the doorway that was previously open.

(Name) dug into his pocket for his phone, turning on the flashlight as soon as he managed to retrieve it.

The room was illuminated with the light, revealing a dirt passage way.

"Woah...secret tunnel." He whispered in awe.

He took a deep breath but immediately regretted it and started to cough up dust particles.

This place is crustier than Crocodile, and he's made of sand!

"To infinity, and beyond!" He cheered as he made his way down the secret tunnel.

Chapter Text

The tunnel was dark.

No one has stepped inside the tunnel since start of the Golden Age of Piracy.

The tunnel was dark.

Skeletons and a few discarded bones from who knows where or when just littering the ground here and there.

The tunnel was dark and untouched for nearly 2 decades, and yet there's a 24 year old nincompoop who decided it was a good idea to pull a harp out of his ass and sing Secret Tunnel for the past 2 hours.

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another, a war divides their peoplllllleeee," (Name) sings lazily as he plucking at the chords on his harp, phone light the only thing illuminating the small vicinity in the vast tunnel where he was sitting. "And a mountain divides them apart, built a path to be togetherrrrrr."

"And then I forgot the next couple of lines, but uh,..." he chuckled before abruptly playing his harp loudly and bashfully. "Then it goes... SEEEECRRREEETTT TUUUNNNEEEELLLLL! SECRET TUNNEL! THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN, SECRET, SECRET SECRET, SECRET TUNNELLLLLLL!"

He huffed in relief after he screamed the song to his heart's desire, hunching into himself once more as his body went lax.

Tack!

(Name) snapped his head to the left so hard towards the sudden sound he heard a few bones pop in his neck. "Uhhhhhh...hello?"

He picked up his phone from beside him and shined it to the left of him, carefully placing his harp back into his bag. "Is someone here...?"

"Chirp?"

(Name) did not scream when he heard the unfamiliar noise behind him. He didn't. Definitely didn't.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" The musician held his mechanical pencil as if it were knife of some sort defensively. He's seen enough John Wick movies to feel at least a little confident in his pencil wielding abilities.

(Name) was staring at...actually, he had no idea what the hell he was staring at.

It was a white...bird...?

Or was it a white cat with a beak?

The bird's feathers were so ruffled it looked more like fur than feather. The most prominent thing that stuck out to (Name) was the black tie that managed to stick out from the bundle of white fluff.

"Erm...who are you...?" He asked hesitantly, lowering his guard a bit as he looked at the small bird perched on the skull of an unfortunate soul that died here who knows when.

"Chirp chirp."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak bird. Do you want some food...?" (Name) asked awkwardly. He placed his pencil in his pocket and unzipped his bag, rummaging through the items before pulling out a small bag of bread he had stolen half and hour ago. "Here."

The 'marine' tossed a small piece of bread towards the bird-thingy.

But like the sophisticated ass Hattori is, he bat the piece of bread away with his wing as if it were the most vile and repulsive thing in the world before proceeding to stare at (Name) expectantly.

"Bitch––that was a perfectly good piece of cooked dough. Take it or leave it, asshole. If you leave it, then you're dinner tonight." (Name) sneered at the bird who just stared at him innocently as if expecting him to follow through with his threat.

...

The musician looked away first.

"Fine, you win." (Name) groaned long sufferingly as he picked one of special baked goods he was going to keep for special occasions later on. He ripped off a small piece of a strawberry donut, tossing it towards the bird he met.

The fluffy white bird[(Name) still isn't confident if it's a bird or a cat. Or even a dog] greedily nodded in appreciation before pecking at the sugary treat fervently.

"I'm not a bird expert, but you should slow the fuck down before you choke, my guy." He chuckled as the bird finished and looked at him as if asking for more. (Name) just tossed him one more piece of bread. "That's the last piece you get. Payment for the food is showing me how the hell I get out of here."

The bird nodded it's head before pecking at the piece of donut, (Name) chewing his own piece in silence beside him.

Hattori was almost done with his share of the food before he heard soft sobs coming from his right. He lifted his head and tilted it slightly in question.

(Name) waved off the bird's concerns as he profusely wiped away his tears. "Sorry, it's just––having donuts reminds me of someone. Well, more like 2 someones."

Hattori awkwardly pat the stranger on his arm to give some sort of comfort.

"Thanks man. I guess you aren't so bad." (Name)'s watery eyes were looking at the small bird's beady ones with sincerity before it all vanished in the next instant. "Alright, let's go find a way out of here."

Hattori nodded. He wanted out, too. He just wanted to fly around, not get sucked into a vent on the roof and end up wherever...this is.

"Alright!" (Name) stood up picked up his discarded trash and stuffed it into his blue pant pockets. He was determined to see the light of day again. He needs his vitamin D, and NO, he does not need what you're thinking.

Hattori cooed and flapped his wings, flying over (Name)'s head and perched himself on his shoulder. He extended his wing to point ahead of them in the direction he found him to retrace his steps.

"Forward? Alright." He nodded in determination.

________
________

Yeah, Hattori gave up on finding a way out half an hour ago. He didn't know how the stranger still had so much enthusiasm to find a way out of this weird ass cave system.

"Wait, we just made a left, so if I turn back around, it'll be a right...?" (Name) was currently trying to write down their route on a Google document on his phone in case they got lost. It didn't seem like bad idea at first had it not been for the person who is actually writing it down.

His phone battery was low. Nearly 20 percent. He had already sworn that the battery pack he saved in Skypeia was to only be used in complete emergencies. He could manage until then.

"SO!" (Name) decided it was a good idea to change the topic from drastic measures of being lost like Zoro to something else. "Since we're gonna die forgotten, why don't I tell you about the latest pick up lines I've created in my head since I've arrived here?"

Hattori couldn't deny even if he tried. Maybe because he can't fucking speak.

"You know Gol D. Roger's last words?"

Hattori nodded reluctantly, already not liking where this is going.

"Well, who needs wealth, fame, and power when you're way better than all of those combined?"

The pigeon wanted to curl into a 6 foot grave and have his headstone marked with the following words:don't let the lunatic man from the cave anywhere near a 10 mile radius of my resting place. To put simply, he wanted to unalive himself by the sheer embarrassment he felt for the stranger.

Oh, but (Name) wasn't done. No, he was just getting started.

"Who needs drugs when you're the most addicting thing in my life?"

If Hattori could groan in agony from how corny these lines are, he would've done so with open arms with zero hesitation.

"You don't have a price tag, does that mean you're free tonight?"

No. Is what Hattori wants to say, but the world's a bitch that bites you in the ass and doesn't let go until it rips off a chunk of skin so you know you can't get what you want in life.

"Even if I weren't Bruno Mars, I would always leave the door open for you."

Who the hell is Bruno Mars––

"there's 12 months in a year. 52 weeks in a year. 365 days in a year, but all I need is one day to take you out."

Nah, cause why was that actually kind of good—

"If you think about it, life with you is like tofu. Because without 'u', my life was just tof."

The poor pigeon hated the play-on-words used for that particular line. Then again, he was used to the sophisticated, stoic, sadistic Rob Lucci as the owner of the shoulder he would rest on, not this immature, laid back, spunky stranger he is currently with. Maybe there was something in that donut...

"Heh––I need to get some fresh air outside because you just took my breath away."

Ok Hattori think in distaste that is probably the corniest one so far.

(Name) howled at the last line he said as he erupted in laughter at his terrible pick up lines. Dramatically wiped away a stray tear, he tried to compose himself before ultimately failing and doubling over with hysterics once more, wheezing between a few hoots here and there. He couldn't breathe for a solid minute, body violently shaking from the sheer force of the fit of laughter.

Hattori slapped a wing against his head, shaking it in disapproval. Even I can tolerate Jabra and Kaku's bickering...but this?

(Name)'s laughter eventually died down after a minute of nothing more than his hunched over, hands on his knees to support him during his little episode. The deep breath he took to ground himself hardly worked, but it just barely managed to do the job when (Name) pointed his phone light in front of them once more.

Hattori is just glad those 2 minutes of torture is over.
He preened his feathers here and there, trying to get ride of a few pebbles and leaves that made their way into his plumes.

The pigeon almost fell off the man's shoulder the next moment.

"OH! I SEE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE PRESSURE BUTTONS LIKE FROM BEFORE!" (Name) giddily pointed to a brick wall a little ways ahead of them. He has absolutely no clue if it's just a regular brick wall or if one of the bricks has a button, but his morale is reaching rock bottom so he needs to have a little hope.

Hattori coos in agreement as they made their way to the brick wall ahead.

"So I just press every single one and pray it's a secret door, right?" (Name) asked no one in particular.

Hattori didn't answer. He didn't know the answer so what's he supposed to say?

"Oh well." The 'marine' shrugged and started with the left side and worked his way to the right through each row. The ceiling were low so it wasn't too much of a struggle to reach each brick.

The first row was a dud. None of them worked.

Second row he thought he found it but it was just a loose brick.

Third row he––wait

On the 4th brick on the third row, it collapsed inside exactly how the one (Name) pushed a couple of hours ago reacted.

Bingo

A wave of accomplishment ran through him when the brick wall popped out from it's place and spun to reveal some sort of large room.

From where he was standing, it had high ceilings and rows of tall statues of warriors lining either side. The room extended pretty far, too.

"What the hell...?" (Name) hesitantly stepped through the brick door.

Hattori watched in amazement at the large corridor in awe as he flapped his wings to look around a bit.

(Name), having at least a few brain cells, was very sketchy of this place. Nah, this place is ancient and there's tile floors. You can't tell me this ain't booby-trapped.

He looked around and bent down to pick up a small, smooth rock on the floor. The moment he tossed the rock towards a nearby tile, it immediately pressed it down and arrows were shooting towards the area of the activated tile.

Haha (Name) chuckled darkly inside. I'm in danger.

But unlike those morons in the movies, he had a decent plan.

Wyper's ability had already worn off 2 hours ago when he first entered the tunnel system. He had no more saved abilities that were useful––

Wait. He glanced at his bag and the strap wrapped around his body that held it up.

There they were. The 2 small snowflake hairpins. Just clipped onto the strap and ready to be used.

I'm dumb. I forgot I literally spent millions to get this thing.

He sighed before snapping his fingers, 3 fairies being summoned from the hair clips and forming a triangle like force field blanketing (Name) in an orange light. Big brain he thought.

He didn't care if he stepped on a tile anymore. He had his shield up and at the ready.

Hattori was watching from afar, not really surprised at the power of the hair clips. He lived with devil fruit users on a daily basis, of course he's not impressed. Instead, he just decided to preen himself and watch.

(Name) stepped over the tiles without a care in the world, not even worried about setting them off, the orange shield protected him from varies projectiles, swinging attacks, and being crushed.

Huh. I guess this really was a good investment. He thought as he glanced in pleasant surprise at the hair clips attached to his bag.

After roughly 3 minutes of walking through what others would call Hell, he made it to the other end of the room...

Which had stairs...

I hate stairs he groaned as Hattori perched himself on his shoulder once again. He sent the force field away, the 3 fairies that held up the barrier returned back to the hair clips.

"Okay. Let's go see if there's an exit here..." (Name)  finally built up the courage to step up the stone stairs.

So...many...stairs...

He took a quick break and counted the steps with his finger and lost track after 50. He still had like 60-70 steps to go.

Hattori beside him groaned internally in frustration. He just wants to get out of here.

(Name) sighed in exhaustion. He's the one doing all of the walking for both of them. The amount of stairs here might rival the ones in Bruno's tower.

After what seems like forever, (Name) finally made it to the top of the stairs, huffing and puffing and sweating and so done with the world at this point. He was kneeling on the ground in front of him, hands supporting his body as he tried to catch his breath

Hattori just fluttered his wings to create some sort of wind to cool (Name) down somehow.

"Thanks, bird." He said gratefully, finally using his little energy to step back onto his feet and actually look at what's at the top of the stairs.

As soon as his eyes landed on the relic, he wanted to facepalm.

It was a devil fruit.

All of that trouble for a devil fruit.

I could've just bought it on the black market or my World Jump app, but life want's to be a bitch.

Welp. He went through all that trouble, might as well eat it. Or sell it for a lot of money. But let's be honest, if he's lucky, the devil fruit could help him get money so win-win.

It all depends on luck, really.

(Name) reached to pick up his phone in his pocket, tapping on the World Jump app and clicked on the Vacant Devil Fruit option.

The options he scrolled through were all useless until he found the one he was looking for.

It matched the one in front of him. Black swirls with and a black stem creating a music note type of fruit.

The Music Music Fruit.

"Huh. Well that answers my questions." (Name) said thoughtfully as he let his hand holding his phone go limp by his side as he used his other hand to unzip his bag and take out 2 pieces of bread. He hesitantly walked up to the fruit on the pedestal and snatched it like someone's wig, quickly replacing it with the bread he had.

After waiting a few seconds to see if the room would cave in if the pedestal was boobytrapped, he relaxed.

Hattori was pleasantly impressed at the quick swap between fruit and bread. Maybe the stranger was a tomb raider or something.

(Name) raised his phone up and tapped on the camera app. "Say 'cheese', birdy."

He snapped a selfie with Hattori, himself, and the fruit he was holding.

As soon as he took the photo, he put his phone away and looked at the fruit with a calculating gaze...

Nom.

(Name) lurched back in disgust at the revolting taste of the fruit before tossing the remnants down the stairs. Only the first bite mattered, so he wasn't too concerned if anybody else found the leftovers of the fruit.

The fruit was sour and the texture was like wet clay. To describe the taste, it's what you could imagine what wet cement tastes like. (Name) hated the way it felt and tasted before quickly swallowing it down with a gag. He was surprised he didn't throw up.

Now, what the hell does this fruit do anyways? He ponders inside his head. It only gives the name in the app. I think I have to find out the abilities by myself. Guess I can't cheat the learning part...

Rumble

Hattori and (Name) both flinched at the sudden noise and looked just beyond the pedestal where the sound came from.

It was a stone door.

"You think it leads us out of here?"

"Croo."

"Yeah, I guess we can take our chances."

Chapter Text

BEHIND THE DOOR...

Was another door!

Can you believe it?!

(Name) couldn't.

He groaned in frustration as he dragged his feet towards the next stone door. The green moss and dirt embedded in the cracks of the stone wasn't appealing to the touch as he pushed it open. He cringed at the damp moss leaving residue on the flat of his palms.

Wanna know what was behind the next door?

3 guesses and the first 2 don't count.

...

..

.

..

...

It was a room!!!

An actual room with 4 painted walls and tile floors! Even a metal door on the other side!

Can you believe it?!

Because (Name) does! He can finally get out of that shitty hell hole of a maze!

No more secret tunnels he internally declared as he dropped to his knees and hugged the ground(he hopes is clean). The tile floor was welcome to the touch compared to the door. Speaking of it, the stone door was already closing behind them.

The other side of the door revealed to be a painted wall. When it closed, it looked completely untouched as the seams where it had opened seemed to vanish.

"...Thats some Narnia shit..." (Name) mumbled as he  tore his eyes away from the disappearing door, lethargically dragging his feet against the tile to stand up.

Hattori chirped with glee as he ruffled his feathers in excitement. I'm just happy I made it out alive.

"Do you have a map of this place?"

The bird shook his head at the question.

(Name) sighed. From the color scheme of blue, white, and grey, he concluded he was indeed back in the Naval Base. He no longer had any copied powers in his inventory, sadly. The Magical Clips on his bag wouldn't prove any help in this scenario either.

"Looks like we'll just have to blend in for now. I have to forge my recommendation documents anyways." He whispered the last part to himself as he got a better look at his surroundings.

File cabinets, a single desk, light bulbs, metal door that appears to be locked––wait—

(Name) recounted everything he saw.

Locked metal door and rows and rows of filing cabinets can only mean one thing in anime's...

He was in the information unit.

Which means he's basically in a vault full of important documents.

"Hola, soy (Name), should I be smart and burn down all of these documents and basically become a pirate right now. OR should I take pictures of important documents and use them for blackmail later before taking a copy of a recommendation letter to infiltrate this base?" He asked himself aloud, index and thumb pressed against his chin in thought.

Hattori is second guessing if this guy is seriously a doofus or a weird genius.

"Meh. I'll stick to the plan and infiltrate." He concluded with a nod before turning to the bird still sitting on his shoulder. "Keep your mouth shut birdie or else you'll become fried chicken being served at Jollibee or Popeyes."

Hattori nodded, not even trying to go against the order. Like anyone would be able to understand me if I tried to call you out anyways...

(Name) hastily summoned 2 fairies from the clips on his bag. "Search for the recommendation copies in this room and inform me if you find any. Look for any recording devices that could be used as security as well."

The fairies complied like dolls as they flew to the first shelf, searching it and clearing it in a matter of seconds before moving onto the next one.

The infiltrator walked around the vault, maneuvering around discarded boxes, papers, and filing cabinets before he came across a large bookshelf in the corner of the room.

It was arranged directly against the corner awkwardly, leaving space in the very end of the corner making an empty space shaped like a triangle.

Now I have a hiding spot if worse comes to worse. He thought as he stepped on a chair beside the bookshelf and peered over it to look in the corner. It was a good size and dark so he easily wouldn't be seen.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight before he breathed a sigh of relief when he found no spider webs or dead animals in the space.

One of the fairies he sent off flew in front of him after he stepped down from the chair.

He held out his palm as it landed on top. "Did you find it?"

It robotically nodded it's head before flying to the 5th row of metal cabinets and landing on the 2nd drawer handle.

(Name)'s hand instantly reached for the handle as the 2 fairies zapped back into the clip on his bag. He paused right before opening it before he used his shirt to open it instead. It acted a barrier to not leave any finger prints. He highly doubts there's CCTV here anyways. He didn't spot any den-den's anywhere that could have the ability to record him and his fairies didn't inform him of any either.

Inside was scattered papers inside labeled from A-Z in different categories.

His fingers deftly went through each section starting from the back of the drawer, phone set on top of the cabinet to shine its light down onto the papers for visibility.

He was beginning to get frustrated until his eyes landed on the M section.

'Marine Recommendation Form'

Bingo.

Getting a better looks at it, there were different parts that needed personal information on it. Blood type, actions that benefited a community that influenced this recommendation, and a stamp from a marine that is ranked Captain or higher.

Shit. This'll be more complicated than I thought. I guess marine's are good at this sort of thing.

He quickly looked around to find anything that could help him and spotted the desk in the opposite corner of the room and decided to check there. His phone was quickly placed back in his pocket after he turned off the flashlight and closed the cabinet with his elbow.

The only thing on the wooden desk was a thin layer of dust and a single lamp. He untied marine scarf to use to open the drawers flick on the lamp.

Just blank printer paper, a pen, and some sort of stamp thingy.

What intrigued him was the stamp and pen.

He picked up the pen and slipped it into his pant pocket before reaching to grab the stamp.

Creeeaaakkkk

His head whirled to the metal door. He could feel the adrenaline in his skin spike as he quickly used his scarf to close the drawer and turn off the light before bolting to the other end of the room where the bookshelf was. He glanced at Hattori and put a finger to his mouth, a gesture to stay silent. The bird nodded.

The blood in (Name)'s veins was pumping through his body much faster than before, his hands shaking as he pushed himself over the bookshelf and slipped into the dark corner. He gripped his clammy hands together close to his body as he tried to desperately get them to stop shaking from the sudden sound of the heavy steel door being pushed open.

Where he was hiding, he wasn't sure if his own breathing was too loud despite his best efforts to keep them quiet. He even used his marine neckerchief as a mask to not inhale dust that could make him sneeze.

"Captain Leorio, I don't think there's any infiltrators in the building."

"Nonsense. Just because I'm a a specialist in the Medical Field of the marines doesn't mean I'm less of a soldier."

Leorio? Soldier? Marine? Did he get sent to another dimension as well? Or maybe it's this world's Leorio...conspiracy theories ran around (Name)'s mind as he continued to listen in on the conversation.

"Check the vicinity. I don't want a single book unturned." The man now known as Leorio ordered his subordinate.

(Name) couldn't see the action, but he's sure the foot soldier nodded.

He could hear he sounds of drawers being opened and the shuffling of papers.

This continued for what seemed like eternity in reality it was only a few minutes until he heard the in front of him being meddled with. The infiltrator held his breath and prayed Hattori wouldn't make a sound.

He could hear books being put in and out of place, thumping against the wood. The perspiration on his forehead dribbled down his chin as he prayed to Enel to make them go away.

As if his prayers were heard, the sounds of books soon came to an end as foot steps receded.

"There's no sign of anyone here in a while, captain."

"...Fine. Head back to your post. I have a meeting to attend."

(Name) could here the footsteps of the 2 men fade away, the heavy creaking of the door closing the only indication they were out of the room. His lungs burned despite the cold rush of relief rushing over him as he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Hattori hesitantly flapped his wings and looked over the bookshelf. He didn't see anything on the other side and glanced at (Name) who was on his tiptoes to look over the top of the shelf to confirm it as well.

The musician-infiltrator-bartender-WHATEVER, decided the cost was clear. The paper in his hand was placed on top of the shel as he planted his hands on either side of the wall and jumped, planting his feet on either side as well.

He proceeded to slowly climb his way out, keeping his limbs pressed against the 2 walls to keep himself above the ground. His arms and legs gently slid him higher up until he was able to jump over the bookshelf and Hattori who was still perched there.

His pose was that of Spider-Man's iconic landing pose as he planted himself on the tile floor before looking at the paper he had set on top of the shelf.

Hattori cooed before picking up the paper with his beak and flying to (Name)'s open palm.

The paper was still in pristine condition aside from a small crinkle at the corner.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed the pen from earlier and proceeded to write down his information. The floor would have to work as a surface to write with for now.

Blood type:(Enter blood type)
Age:24
Origins:Candle Forge
Reason for Recommendation:_____

He paused at the reason for recommendation for a second before deciding to tell a half-truth.

Reason for Recommendation:Assisted in saving a country from Tyrant King through infiltration. Became a bartender and poisoned drink of the king. People rejoiced and honored him.

It wasn't too far from the truth. He wasn't there to help in Alabasta, but he was still there. He technically did infiltrate but not intentionally when he was given the job of musician and bartender for Crocodile. The only lie was the part where people celebrated him and when he poisoned the drink.

Meh. Good enough. He concluded as he reread his work but frowned when he reached the bottom of the page.

Captain's/Colored Officer's signature:_____

Marine Stamp of Verification:

Hattori watched as (Name) groaned in frustration at his unfortunate luck.

I could forge a signature, but it would be too risky. Plus, I would need to see it to copy it. I haven't met any captains yet, aside from Hina, much less her signature. His brows were furrowed at his internal conflict before coming up with the only plausible plan.

The marines are a huge organization. If I remember Enies Lobby correctly, there were hundreds of captains on those battle ships alone. They can't possibly know of all of their signatures. (Name) sighed as he chose the riskier option in his arsenal and quickly scribbled down the initials R.D in messy cursive to mimic a signature of some sort.

The ink quickly dried not even seconds later. (Name) has literally no clue if there's even a captain with those initials but he'll take his chances.

"What the hell is a stamp of verification supposed to look like?" He recalled the stamp in the desk, but he still didn't know what it was for. The paper was now back in his grip as his legs uncrossed underneath him to stand up. The sudden adrenaline rush made his joints stiff and body tired from the surge of hyper awareness.

The scarf around his mouth and nose was removed and used to open the drawer of the desk revealing the printer paper and stamp once again.

He used the cloth to pick up the stamp. The handle was block-like with a large rounded end for easier grip.

The ink pad was a dark burgundy indicating red ink. Careful hands gingerly took them out and placed them on the tile floor.

(Name) crouched down and took the stamp and pulled back his pant-leg to stamp it on him to see the print.

[MARINE STAMP OF APPROVED]
[VERIFICATION]

As soon as he read the words he quickly smeared the ink to make it unreadable. The next thing he did was to press the stamp against the ink pad again and stamp it onto his paper.

As soon as the wooden stamp was lifted from the paper to show the verification, he stood up and immediately grabbed his cloth to place the stamp back inside exactly how it was before.

The thin paper in his hands was his key to getting in. Hopefully Aokiji wouldn't notice right away...

Well, enough of that. He just needs to find this place's captain's mailbox and stuff it in there.

His work here was done.

With a newfound pride and feeling of accomplishment, he walked towards the door of the vault to see the light of day once again.

Chapter Text

(Name) reached for the metal handle of the door before snapping his hand back to his side. "Maybe I should get those pictures for blackmail now. I may not get a chance like this until later once I get proper access from the marines. Who knows how long that's gonna take."

He flipped out his handy dandy phone and tapped the camera app before summoning his fairies.

"Find any locked filing drawers. It may have unimportant information."

Upon hearing the instructions, the 3 humanoid dolls began to search the room once again in search of a locked drawer.

Not even 5 minutes later, one of the fairies nudged (Name)'s shoulder.

He peered down at the small fairy and grinned. "Did you find it?"

The doll nodded as it flew across the room, making a B-line to the locked cabinet.

(Name) followed close behind as he made his way to the back of the room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness just a moments prior to signing his recommendation form.

They stopped in front of the desk from before, not a hair out of place.

He was starting to wonder if the fairy was broken or something. He didn't find anything in there before, why would there magically be something in there now?

The fairy landed on the handle of the drawer where he found the pen and stamp from before.

Moments passed as (Name) waited for the fairy to move as if expecting it to find another cabinet he had not yet searched. When the doll didn't budge, he grabbed his cloth and carefully grabbed the handle once again and opened the drawer.

The blank papers remained untouched just as he had left it, the stamp relatively in the same position as before almost identical before the devilfruit user had used it.

A glare was sent in the fairy's direction as if it pulled a prank on him. He was well aware it was unable to do such an act, but he was kind of annoyed by it to leading him here again nonetheless.

As if you understanding, the red fairy quickly landed on the bottom of the wooden drawer and stayed there.

(Name) stared at it with a calculating gaze before deciding to check further into the dark space. The blank papers inside were gently placed onto the tile floor, the stamp beside it.

Getting a better view of the entirety of the empty drawer, he could see a small gap in the very back of it where the shadows were the darkest. Had he not been searching for anything, he would've completely overlooked it as a design error.

Nimble fingers wedged into the gap and pulled he piece of wood up, revealing to be a false bottom. The rest of the drawer was hidden underneath the layer of wood he had uncovered. (Name) was quick to quickly set the piece of wood down onto the floor beside the papers and wipe off his finger prints with his scarf before peering inside the hidden compartment.

Inside was piles upon piles of photographs of stones with intricate, blocky writing on each. One particular corner of the drawer was home to a small leather journal, the words 'Nico Olivia' neatly written on the cover.

(Name)'s breath staggered as he looked at the contents of the drawer. This...this is poneglyph information! It's illegal, so why would it be in a Marine Base or all places? Especially in one of the most heavily guarded places in the Base. Nico Olivia? Isn't that Robin's mom? Wouldn't that mean she's kind of like my grandmother?

He ran a hand down his face and laughed. It didn't hold its usual humor as usual, more like dry as if he were tired. Man. This is about as good as it gets when it comes to information against the government.

He didn't want to risk leaving any fingerprints leading to him, so he couldn't untie the stacks and take pictures of them. It would undoubtedly leave marks.

His eyes glanced around tentatively before unzipping his sling bag, quickly shoving the 3 piles of photographs into his bag including the leather journal. He was careful to only grab those specific items and not touch anything else that could be traced back to him.

As soon as he gained these new items, he used his cloth to quickly set the false bottom of the desk back in place along with the papers and stamp, rearranging them to how it was before.

Once he was finished, he turned back to his fairy. "Find another secret drawer like this one. Or at least some sort of place that looks like it hood confidential information that could hypothetically tear down the reputation of the marines."

It robotically nodded once more as it zoomed around the room.

It's roughly half an hour since he's arrived in this room. He's gotta get done soon if he wants to get out before Aokiji returns and throws him into Impel Down for stealing confidential information from the Marines that could ruin their influence.

Coo coo!

(Name) jumped at the sudden sound coming from above before sighing in relief as he noticed it was just Hattori. "Scared me there birdie. I forgot you were here for a second."

Hattori didn't feel as offended as he should have, finding (Name)'s little mission rather entertaining to witness.

The fairy appeared before the infiltrator once again and led him to a cushioned wooden bench.

It wasn't all that fancy. It was like those benches you would sit on while playing piano. It was a dark oak color with emerald green cushions.

The fairy, instead of sitting on the item like usual, flew down to the side of the bench and pointed at it.

(Name) crouched down and looked at what it was pointing at.

Just underneath the cushion where it meets the wooden bench, there was an extremely tiny keyhole. It could've been mistaken for a regular hole in the wood from a misplaced nail, even just a small drawing from pen, but its shape was too distinct.

His fingers found their way to the hair chips gripping the strap of his bag and took out one single pin from its place. The small, thin end of the clip just barely fit into the keyhole as (Name) prayed this would work.

He's only watched videos like these on YouTube, but has never actually been successful. Plus, he's on a bit of a time limit here. Ok, so I'm not supposed to hear any clicking sounds from inside. If it get's stuck then don't force it out, try and maneuver it...just try and get it together and...

There was an almost inaudible clicking sound from the bench, the cushion that appeared to be completely nailed and sewn onto the wood popping up to reveal a hidden compartment.

My luck today is unbeatable ong.

He gently lifted it open with his handkerchief and peered inside.

There were yellow envelopes that hold the targets assassins are supposed to kill in spy movies. They even had the words Classified stamped in bright red.

There were several other documents.

Just skimming over the titles of them, they read Cyper Pol and even specific locations of spies residing in East Blue and Mary Geoise and even in Warlord territory.

Holy shit. This is so illegal...

He was aware to not to leave finger prints, but he needed this information for the underground network and leak it out somehow later on. He flipped out his phone light and snapped a picture of the small stacks of files and letters before coming up with a plan.

He opened a tab for his World Jump app and went to Everyday Utilities. After scrolling for a bit, he found the item he wanted to purchase.

Latex Gloves:30 Beli

His finger pressed the purchase button and the iconic box with the World Jump tape appeared beside him a second later.

He tore it open, stuffing the small cardboard box into his bag and slipped on the gloves before taking documents consisting of Marine Spies stationed in Yonko territory in the New World. Those could be useful in gaining the favor of them and create allies. He and Shanks were already on good terms, so he wasn't to eager to supply him with information, but decided to do so anyways just in case.

The next envelope contained potential Cipher Pol candidates.

(Name) checked inside and his eyes blew open as his gaze settled on the photos, his stomach wishing he hadn't eaten so much earlier. He could taste the bile rise onto his tongue but swallowed down the urge as he hesitantly shuffled through the stack.

The images printed boldly onto the photo paper showed young children, probably around the ages ranging from 7-10, in black uniforms and experiencing grueling training regimens. Some even showed various methods on how to steel the mind and lock away the young and raw emotions of children through excessive brain washing and torment.

A few pictures had notes written on the back for an explanation of the photo ranging from staring at a screen to even being shoved into rooms where they are assigned to raise an animal before brutally killing it as a means for brainwashing. It was a way to get rid of any sense of comfort they had in the animal they had raised with care, immediately solidifying their roles and get the children familiar with easily killing foes they might grow attached too.

He felt himself need to shove the photos back into the envelope before placing it safely into his bag. The rest were deemed unnecessary to bring, only containing Marine formations and word noble information.

Gloved hands carefully closed the bench with a soft click, the bag around the owner's shoulder having grinned much more weight from the abundant amount of papers inside.

Hattori, at first intrigued, now had his undivided attention on the infiltrator. He's more dangerous than I thought. I have to be careful to not get on his bad side. His Brady bird pupils eyed the bread lover with a weary gaze.

(Name) was finished with his work here anyways.

He had to get rid of all of this information one way or another anyways. He couldn't keep it on him. It had to be kept somewhere hidden. Like, Rupunzel's Tower level hidden.

He made his way to the door as he readjusted the hair pins on his bag before the fairy from before was immediately at his side. "Check if there's anyone outside. If the coast is clear, knock on the door twice."

It nodded, flying into the vent.

On the other side, it revealed a dark hallway illuminated with dim lightbulbs.

Left...Nothing

Right...Nothing.

Coast clear.

(Name) could hear the two metal tang sounds on the other side of the door. He carefully turned the handle of the door, feeling the cold metal through the thin latex gloves.

He poked his head out and readjusted his bag before fully stepping out into the bright hallway. His eyes squinted at the sudden light, slowly adjusting to it after a few seconds. The flapping of wings was heard behind him, a new weight being added to his right shoulder. (Name)'s blue latex gloves on his hands were shoved into the depths of his now relatively heavy bag.

Hattori sat himself down on (Name) like before as he watched him work his way around the Base through various hallways before passing fellow marines in the base.

As soon as they reached a window, (Name) cracked it open and picked up Hattori from where he resided on his shoulder. "Look birdie—er, Hattori. You gotta shoo for now. I'll visit you in the infirmary later. Try and get there and meet up with the Big Cat."

Hattori nodded immediately taking off from the s/c hands he was perched on. Once he disappeared around a corner, (Name) gently closed the window and continued on his way.

The 'marine' noticed a shorter pink haired marine with glasses and whirled around once he realized who it was, the spark of realization all to familiar. He coughed into his fist to clear his throat before calling out to the pink haired boy. "Hey, you're Koby, right?"

Koby turned around in surprise at the sudden addressing of his name but nodded with a salute. "That'll be me."

(Name) waved off the formalities Koby presented him with. "Oh um. I'm actually here after Captain Daryl recommended me here. I'm actually here to turn in my recommendation form. Do you know where the Captain's office is? I'm a bit lost." He scratched his cheek in feigned embarrassment.

Koby grinned with a bright smile. "Of course! It can be confusing but you get used to this particular layout after a few days. Please follow me. I'll escort you."

Oh mah god, he's such a sweetheart. (Name) thought as he felt his lungs well up like cotton candy, a fluffy feeling in his stomach at the obliviously optimistic marine Lieutenant.

After what seemed like a long time and passing through many hallways and corridors, the finally made it to two grand double doors at the end of a large hall.

"This is where Captain Leorio is. He's the captain stationed at this specific Marine Base." Koby explained as he firmly knocked on the door 3 times and waited for a response.

"Come in."

Was the reply heard through the doors of an agitated voice.

Koby opened the door and bud a terse goodbye before closing the door after (Name) entered.

The man now known as Leorio had his feet propped up on one of the nicest desks the musician has ever laid his eyes on. The captain's chair reclined all the way back with his nose stuck in the News Paper.

"What brought you here, boy?" Leorio asked with evident distaste in his tone.

"I was recommended into the marines by Captain Daryl back in North Blue. He recommended this base to start." (Name) placed the neatly sealed envelope onto the desk and stepped back. He has to make sure his posture was good so he wouldn't look like some half-assed kid who just randomly got recommended here without a cent of dignity.

Leorio tore open the seam of the letter, unaware of the guest's hands becoming clamming and sweaty from the nerves running though his veins. "And your name is Tomioka Tsutako, yes?"

(Name) hesitantly nodded as the captain addressed him with the alias he wrote down on the paper. Holy shit. I'm actually doing this. I'm actually trying to infiltrate a Marine Base.

Leorio's eyes flicked through the information before setting the paper down and looked at (Name) with a calculating and serious stare. It lasted for a few seconds, before turning into a few minutes.

The newcomer felt his body go rigid and tense under the scrutinizing eyes of the man before him. He could feel the sweat run down his back and slowly dampen his shirt but maintained eye contact, not even daring to look away for a second that could indicate a weak resolve.

The Marine Captain grunted in satisfaction as he grabbed the stamp on his desk and stamped the paper.

"See yourself as a new recruit, boy. Because of your recommendation form, you're skipping Chore Boy and moving onto the rank of Ittōhei(Seaman First Class). Please proceed to the living quarters. You'll be escorted there by Helmeppo, a Lieutenant. There's open beds in the 3rd men's Barrack building. Find a bed frame that doesn't have a name tag on it."

A blonde man with slicked back blond hair, green vest, and black visor stepped forward from the corner where he was standing guard for the afternoon.

(Name) nodded and mimicked a salute like he had seen in the anime.

"You're dismissed." The captain yawned once he was finished with the short brief of the new recruit's situation.

Helmeppo was actually much taller in person than he appeared in the anime. Then again, almost everybody was.

Standing at 5'10", he was roughly just a little taller than (Name), if not, the same height.

"Tomioka, right?" Helmeppo asked snootily as he gestured for him to follow. The new marine fell into step soon after.

"Tsutako is a girl's name, why the hell would your parents name you that?" Helmeppo insulted.

Because she deserves justice in Demon Slayer—

"I grew up as an orphan. Whatever was written on the basket was the name given to me." (Name) said calmly, but he could feel one hand open and close in agitation, ready to deck the guy in the jaw if the time comes. Even if that wasn't his true backstory, he was still pissed Helmepoophead decided to make fun of his Alias.

There was an awkward silence that surrounded the air around them as they continued to walk to the barracks.

Helmeppo cleared his throat. "...My apologies then."

They travelled through the courtyard and training grounds at one point, but (Name) couldn't bring himself to take the time to take it in. His goals were to just to raise through the ranks and fast. He had to become at least Captain rank to get involved at the War of the Best in a couple months.

"We're here."

The buildings weren't ones to gawk about. Two story barrack buildings holding around 50-60 marine soldiers. The bathhouse in a separate smaller building by the base. Paint was peeling on the wooden doors and windowsills.

E/c eyes skimmed it over and nodded in appreciation to his new superior, a curt bow of gratitude and "thanks" leaving his lips as he opened the blue painted door.

The inside was plain. White painted walls, thin metal bed frames with an even thinner mattress resting on top. It looked like the bed could've snapped if anyone even sat in it. There were thin, navy blue blankets and a pillows neatly folded at the ends of them, one each bed. A good sized chest at the base of each bed for a soldier's smaller personal belongings.

In between each bed there is a single wardrobe for 2 people to share. The wooden floors creaked with each step which was rather displeasing to the ears. (Name) couldn't even imagine sleeping in the middle of the night and hearing the creaking of the floors when someone readjusts themselves in bed.

His gaze fell onto each of the bed's name tags. Each one was unique in its on way. They hung off the bed frames by a string wrapped around it.

Some were plain white painted wood with peoples' names on them in black ink. Others were painted differently, names written in different colors, some even decorated them with designs like flowers or swords.

The one drawback was that there was absolutely no privacy. All of the beds were in one room. If you were trying to steal someone else's things, it would be borderline impossible with all of the creaky floors and the sheer amount of people who live here.

(Name) noted he wasn't the only person in the room. 2 other men were there most likely on break, but he could feel the curious stares on him. He knew he was amazing an all, but people don't need to be rude when they stare.

He found a bed at the very end of the large room without a name tag. His bag was dumped beside him as he eyes the men by the door who seemed to now be conversing.

The zipper slid across the teeth as the bag was opened to reveal. The numerous pictures of the Poneglyphs were still stacked and held together by a rubber bands. The Classified documents were still in their envelopes. He had to get them somewhere safe. It was practically a given that people would ask about the new guy.

He stuffed his belongings back into his bag. How do I even hide this? There's highly skilled Marines who will be sleeping in the same room as me. I can't risk this information being found on me.

His brain was working over time, listing different possible ways to get hide the info he acquired without it being erased.

I could deliver it to Robin and the Strawhats via News Coo or mail, but I'm not sure if anyone might shoot down the bird and steal it. I could hurry it, but it would be too obvious.

(Name) tried to think of a plausible way to hide it before he felt a vibrate in his picked. His phone was buzzing like crazy and the 2 other guys were still by the door. His hand was plunged into his pocket as he grabbed his phone and held it in his bag to hide it.

2 new notifications from World Jump Shipping

A finger tapped on the notification tag after he unlocked his phone.

Your heart rate has increased. Do you wish to purchase an inhaler?

Your heart rate has increased. Would you like to take an virtual breathing class?

He glared at the useless notification as he scrolled through the app to try and find something that could help him.

Weaponry? No.

Power ups? No.

Everyday Utilities? No.

Enhancements? No.

Inventory? Didn't see that before.

He tapped on the Inventory button and his screen switched into some sort of Minecraft inventory feed. There was also a Hotbar at the bottom of the screen.

The items was everything he owned on his person. His Hotbar had one space containing his bag, and 2 more occupied spaces holding the letters and documents he stole. Another space was filled by the hair pins on his bag.The clothes he was wearing was in his inventory filling 4 spaces for each piece of clothing.

In another box, it showed his power ups.

Music Music Fruit.

Kirby Inhale.

(Name) has literally no clue what the purpose of this whole Inventory is supposed to do. He dragged his hair pins from the Hotbar into the Inventory and didn't seem to notice any change.

He grew annoyed at the useless ability until he looked at the strap of his bag.

His hair pins he clipped there had vanished.

Chapter Text

(Name)'s eyes flashed between his phone inventory and where his hair pins just were. He could have sworn he had them on his bag when he left the info unit like an hour ago.

He looked back at his phone and transferred the pins to his Hotbar. His eyes immediately went back to the strap on his bag.

The hair clips appeared there in the exact same position as before as if it hadn't disappeared just a few seconds ago.

He transferred the clips to his inventory.

The clips disappeared.

To the Hotbar. They reappeared.

Welp, now I know how to get rid of the evidence...

"Hey! Newbie!"

(Name) lifted his head to look at the man standing by the doorway with his friend and grimaced they really had to interrupt his breakthrough moment. "What?"

"Better not be a wimp. Vice admiral Garp is stationed here for the next 2 months. Put on your big-boy pants and be sure not to piss in them." The other man chided with a condescending attitude, crossing his arms in exaggerated superiority.

E/c eyes just stared straight into his fellow marine's soul, his gaze psychoanalyzing the man across the room. The man he was staring at was growing restless at the unrelenting stare before glaring at (Name). "Got something to say, country bumpkin—"

"It's a shame your mother didn't swallow you." (Name) caught off, voice unusually nonchalant and airy. His expression was uninterested as he went back to hiding the evidence and transferring items from his Hotbar to his inventory.

The random marine uncrossed his arms as he started to stomp across the creaky floors toward the new recruit. His tan hand grabbed (Name)'s collar and jerked him up from his bed where he sat. "Listen here you fucking asswipe. I'm your superior officer. I know how to make your life a living hell. So either fall in line or get your ass handed to." He sneered, fist gripping the cloth so tightly it was shaking.

The other marine that was with him was long gone, not wanting to get involved with his friend's antics again.

The newcomer smirked tauntingly. "I forgot the world revolves around you. My apologies, sir."

The superior officer pulled back his fist and swung forward only to have his punch deflected up by the palms of his target.

(Name) frowned. "Man. You were in the womb for 9 months and your carrier still didn't have enough time to give you a good personality." He grabbed the other marine's arm and twisted it awkwardly, successfully evoking a gasp of pain from his opponent. The musician raised his foot and kicked back his coworker a few feet to keep him away.

The marine who assaulted him ungripped his collar and staggered back before turning tail and running out the room, most likely informing a superior officer above the both of them about (Name)'s actions.

The infiltrator scoffed before rolling his eyes and dusted off his clothes, flattening his wrinkled collar and tying on his neckerchief once more. "Man, that guy has more dick in his personality than in his pants..." came the words that were muttered out of his mouth in agitation. He walked back to his bed and sat down, grimacing at the paper thin mattress

Not even a minute passed before the door was burst open, 2 more buff marine's strutting into the room, their weight making the floors creak even louder than normal. The man (Name) had kicked was following right behind them, a triumphant smirk on his face as he looked at him as if saying 'you done messed up, my guy.'

"I like the way you try. Maybe if I threw a stick, you and your goons would leave me alone." Were the words that he snapped back, easily insulting the 3 men before him.

The rando-marine angrily pointed his finger at (Name) "Guys! Get him!" His pitchy voice screeched in fury.

The two large men nodded with menacing grins as they launched towards (Name) in a sprint.

"Damn, a straight forward attack? I knew some people were dropped as babies, but I didn't know you were thrown at a fucking wall." The musician scoffed, easily blocking the punches thrown at him and avoiding the sorry excuses of fakes. He fought Wyper, for crying out loud. "Like I told Wyper, this isn't a good idea to fight me. John Wick 4 was just released and although I only watched the first 2 movies, I can still beat your asses with only a pencil."

This only provoked them more. (Name) could've sworn he'd seen smoke come out of their ears. Were the Marines really this uncivilized despite being about orderly ways?

He redirected their attacks as usual with his palms long enough to grab the pen on his bedside table...

Before using the dull end to poke the rib cages of the two men, easily hearing the gasps of surprise.

"Yeah. Lethal attacks aren't the only way to win a fight. I think I already taught Luffy that lesson." (Name) kept poking their sides, easily making them flinch and squirm at the ticklish feeling jabbing at their ribs.

"What are you guys doing?! He's just poking you!" The marine by the door's voice cracked at how loud he was screaming in a rage.

The question fell on deaf ears as the 2 men were doubling over in uncontrollable laughter. The marine standing by the doorway was completely flabbergasted at the events unraveling before him, jaw opening and closing trying to comprehend what he was seeing.

(Name) was tickling the two men out of their wits, a devious glint in his eyes as the intensity of the tickles grew to solid minutes, the men trying to wriggle free but their attempts were futile as the squirmed on the floor.

After a few minutes of just that, the tickling stopped. The 2 marines on the ground were gasping for air as they held their tender rib cages.

The man from before was still standing at the door, mouth agape. There was a large crowd lined up behind him as they witnessed the newbie absolutely demolish the 2 soldiers that were unbeatable in physical strength among their squadron.

(Name) was currently taking a selfie of them. First real opponents I took down, feeling good.

"What is going on here?" A lazy voice broke through the quiet murmuring among the lower ranking marines as everyone turned to the owner of it. Every soldier stilled and saluted to the man who entered the room.

It was none other than admiral Aokiji himself in the flesh, standing there with his coat thrown over him with one hand, the other was held up to check the time.

(Name)'s mood visibly brightened as he grinned from ear to ear, hopping off his bed as he walked towards the admiral, a new spring to his step. His arm was brought to his temple as he saluted, feet together. "Kuzan sir!"

"Hm? (Name)?" The admiral questioned, very confused as he stared at the man before him was wearing. A marine uniform?

"Yup!" His facial muscles began to cramp at how widely he was smiling. "In the flesh!"

"If you were a marine this whole time, how come you're hella disrespectful?" Aokiji interrogated, obviously trying to irk the latter.

"When I am not in uniform, I am off duty. When I am off duty, I am not a marine. When I am not a marine, you're not my superior, therefore, we're just friends!" He smiled up at his now superior, not even tripping over the words in his explanation.

Friends?! The surrounding marines paled at the new information. The newbie is friends with an admiral?!

The person who was most shocked was the man who had tried to attack (Name) numerous times already, his complexion white as their uniform. His eyes were filled with pure horror as fear gripped his throat at the revelation.

"Y-you're Admiral Aokiji's f-friend?!" He sputtered but slapped a hand to his mouth when everyone's eyes was now on him.

"Yeah...what of it?" The Ice logia drawled out, the underlying threats in his tone not going unnoticed by his peers.

"N-nothing sir!" He stuttered.

Aokiji's gaze never looked away even after the answer. Without breaking eye contact, he asked his frien–subordinate a single question. "I can practically feel the fear off of him. What did he do to you?"

(Name)'s mood almost immediately deflated, an annoyed, almost bitter aura radiating off him in tangible waves. "The guy decided it was a good idea to pick on the transferee who just got moved to this base. Man has his whole life to be a bastard, but the day I arrive he decided to be extra bitchy."

The marine who he was talking about, although it didn't seem possible, paled even more as the cool, bored gaze on him changed to slightly annoyed. "S-sir! I did no such thing! I was only trying to test out his resolve!"

The infiltrator scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna be two faced, at least make one of them handsome."

A few other marines coughed to hide their laughter. Aokiji felt the edge of his lips curl up in amusement at the comment before continuing to frown in the directed of his junior. "All known merits will be stripped of your name in the name of justice. You abuse your power unnecessarily and unjustly. Position in marines terminated, effective immediately."

The people surrounding the man all flinched at their superior officer being fired right in front of him.

(Name) in the background was radiating with glee at the turn of events. Hah. Suck on these nuts, ass hole.

The now fired marine fell to his knees with an unbelieving expression, sputtering to come up with some way to salvage the situation. "B-bu–wha, I have a promotion scheduled next week—!"

"Then the promotion is cancelled." Aokiji cut off with a yawn as he glanced back at (Name). "Are you almost done being settled in the barracks? I want to have lunch. It's almost tea time."

The request was obvious. The admiral was obviously more tense than usual and (Name) has never been deceived by appearances when it comes to others he is fond of. He sees the too tight shoulders, the lines of his face, the grim set of his lips, and his dark, wild eyes, and knows that Aokiji is uneasy and stressed as hell despite his well trained disposition. He was asking if (Name) would lend an ear so he could just talk.

"Of course." Was the response the the request and Aokiji's tense shoulder grew a bit more soft at the confirmation.

"Where would you like to have tea time?" (Name) questioned aloud. He didn't want to assume where the place was so he didn't come off as rude.

"The office is fine. I could give you snow cones as usual." The admiral sighed before turning away and walking in the opposite direction to the buildings, obviously not wanting to be surrounded by prying eyes.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the fellow soldiers living in the barracks all bombarded the newbie with questions. They were shooting accusations at him a mile a minute like a machine gun.

"How'd you become friends with an admiral?!"

"He allows you to eat with him?!"

"Just how close are you guy? He fired a soldier for you!"

(Name) ignored all of them, of course. He walked back over across the creaky floors as people trailed behind him like paparazzi. Is it wrong to be friends with someone? So what if Aokiji was an admiral or an influential Marine? He was just a guy after all. He's Aokiji and that's all that should matter anyways. Besides, he's bestie.

(Name) slung his now extremely light bag over his shoulder. It was empty after the documents were put into his inventory. The many questions flew through one ear and out the other as he maneuvered his way around the words thrown at him.

With every step, the voices got quieter, and he didn't realize he was at the office already until he was standing right in front of the double doors.

"Enter."

The Ice-user's voice resounded through the door not even needing (Name) to knock thanks to haki, but even if it was still deep and uncaring, the musician's  sharp ears didn't miss the stress in his words. A firm grip wrapped around the silver handle as if twisted to reveal the office just as (Name) had remembered. Every book still in place, the small couch moved to be beside the desk, and the bag of clothes still in the corner. He closed the door behind himself.

"Kuzan." He quipped in greeting.

"(Name)." The admiral replied just as curtly.

The new recruit sat himself on the couch beside the large desk like before just hours earlier, placing his bag on his lap.

Aokiji sighed, not missing a beat of his ranting. "After Enies Lobby, I had to do a reconnaissance with the fucking Magma Maggot about the collateral damage. Fucking bastard." He sneered as he recalled the overwhelming annoyance his coworker had caused him.

(Name) nodded. "Just ignore him for now. He's such a bitch. Literally just daydream about snow cones and not think about the guy."

The tall man snorted. "I can't. The guy talks so much about justice that you already know his next sentence has to do with it. Plus, he always asks me 'do you understand? Repeat it to me', so I can't ignore him or else he'll know I was ignoring him and tell old man Sengoku."

"So what? Sengoku tolerates you guys right now and he can't afford firing you guys because of how much of a threat you pose. He can't really do anything drastic if you're only ignoring a coworker." The shorter man scoffed. Sengoku can't do shit for the two of them to stop. Even Garp has a better chance at making them listen because of how pushy and demanding his nature is.

Aokiji groaned in agitation, massaging his temples. He was so done with today after the loss at Enies Lobby. "It can get so overwhelming, you know? Like, I want to leave the marines one moment, punch Sakazuki the next, and then I had to meet up with Robin later on to clear shit out. Do you know how little time I had to switch from professional with Sakazuki to dominating towards Robin just so I wouldn't be associated with her survival?"

I have no idea. The musician thought but nodded nonetheless. It must be hard being an admiral. He thought as he sympathized with his superior. "Hey. Just take a vacation in Paradise or some shit. Hell, even East Blue. I know a good bar in Foosha. Just unwind a bit. You deserve it after all the shit you had to take here in the Navy."

His friend sighed as he slumped against his chair pondering on the suggestion. "I might. I haven't used my sick leave in nearly two years because well...I can't get sick. I could request a vacation though, but I already know Sakazuki's gonna be on my ass and say something like 'A vacation when people are suffering? We must bring people to justice and you're here relaxing?' And it will be my last nerve with that man I swear to the heavens."

"Who cares about what Akainu says? Bro is a literal blockhead. I swear, all that smoke from his cigars is starting to go to his head instead of his lungs. Literally, when have you ever truly cared about the Maggot's opinion? Like, it's your life. If he wants to spread justice so much, let him do it himself."

"I know, but it's still so frustrating when someone proceeds to literally shit on your ideals."

"Then shit on his! Literally, like tell. Him. Off. Fuck him and his stupid excuse of 'jUsTiCe!' Who gives a shit! Your ideals are yours, not his. I repeat. Yours." (Name) clapped his hands for extra exaggeration with each word.

Aokiji nodded in agreement, a newfound confidence residing in the pit of his stomach and loosening the grip on his lungs. "Yeah...I guess you're right..."

"Bitch, I know I'm right." He snipped sassily. Aokiji scoffed and rolled his eyes before his gaze softened with a faraway look.

"I should probably take a week off. I haven't had one in months." The admiral agreed. "What's the name of the bar in East Blue? I don't want to handle the weather patterns and crime in Paradise even if it is mediocre. I just want to relax in the 'Weak Sea' for a bit."

"It's called Partys Bar. Look for a bartender with green hair and brown eyes named Makino and tell her you know Strawhat Luffy." (Name) smirked.

Aokiji nodded as he stored this new information. "Will you be joining me?" He asked, genuinely wondering if (Name) will somehow attempt to hide himself in his suitcase or something. He would be sure to triple check his baggage just to be sure. The guy already ended up riding halfway to this Naval Base with him for snow cones, who knows what's next.

"Nah. I'm actually thinking of training under Garp." The younger said with a big grin, shifting from sassy to rather invested in the new topic.

...

What?

"What?"

Did he say Garp?

People are always happy to see Garp, but never delighted. No one is ever delighted to see him, not even people who like him because he's the most overwhelming and shitty troll in the marines. You can be happy or relieved to see him if you're standing beside him on the battlefield, but never delighted.

"You want to be trained by Garp? Not even me?" The ice admiral was rather offended at the unintentional insult as he felt his pride get bruised.

There was an awkward silence.

(Name)'s initial grin was erased before he covered his shit eating smirk with his hand. "Yes, Garp." He confirmed. "Why, you jealous?"

"I am not."

"You totally are."

"You misheard me. I'm just concerned for both your mental and physical health after you undergo his frivolous training regimen." Aokiji broke eye contact and crossed his arms. No one ever wants to be trained by Garp unless you're beyond desperate. Take Dragon for example.

Back when Aokiji was still a rear admiral, Dragon was fine with being a marine, but even he couldn't hide the shudder and glint of horror when it was announced his father would be training him. The Ice logia is still convinced half the reason why Dragon created the Revolutionaries is as an excuse to spite his father and stay out of Garp's clutches. Two birds with one stone.

Besides, he and Kizaru had bet how long it would take for Dragon to leave the Marines. Aokiji won when he predicted 3 hours after being promoted to Vice Admiral. Kizaru said he would quit at Rear Admiral. That's the day the ice logia became 200 beli richer.

"If you want to be my teacher so badly, just say it. It's not that embarrassing to literally just say you would rather have me be trained under you than with that abomination of a D." The musician scoffed, holding out a bowl for some shaved ice. Don't ask how the bowl appeared. It just did. Don't ask questions.

Aokiji touched the rim of the bowl with his index finger and ice was filled to the brim.

"Sweet. Thanks. I'll have to get flavor from the kitchen later."

The ice user nodded and sighed, resting his chin on his palm in exhaustion with the day's events. "Now I have to get the reports from CP9. I was literally there to witness Enies Lobby. Why the fuck do I need reports when I'm literally there. I already saw everything." He groaned at the thought of more paperwork to look over.

"For real. It's like a doctor asking for your birth certificate to prove you're born when you're literally standing right in front of them." The musician sighed. "But literally, if you already saw everything, just sign it off and shred the paper later. It's easier that way."

"Yeah. I guess so..." the admiral shook his head as he straightened his back, sensing the presence of the most notable CP9 member outside his office.

4 knocks resounded throughout the room.

"Enter."

The dark oak doors opened to a tall and lean man with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a black suit despite the bandages that could be seen around his neck and chest from the edges of his clothes. The stranger was none other than Rob Lucci himself.

"Admiral Aokiji—"

GAAASSSSSPPPPPPP!!!

The 2 tall men both paused to look at the person who gasped hella loud.

"OMG YOU'RE ROB LUCCI IN THE FLESH!" (Name) gushed as he dug around his bag and pulled out his grey knitted cat. It was the one that Robin had knitted for him back in Alabasta. He may have not had a lot of spotlight in the book, but he was there. "I named my cat after you!"

He shoved the plush cat in front of him, stupid grin still plastered on his face with glee at meeting the man he literally simps for.

Lucci...Lucci is...confused...

He didn't go through rigorous training at age 8 and build a dominating and strong aura around him to be talked to so casually with...that thing. Not to mention he's never even encountered it ever in his entire life.

"Oh mah gosh, does that mean Kaku's here too?!" (Name) shouted in excitement as he wriggled around in his seat like an excited teenager finding out their favorite TV show has a new episode.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

A tuft of orange-brown hair peeled around the corner of the still open door.

"Did someone address me?—"

GAAAAASSSSSPPPPP

The giraffe user flinched at the excessively exaggerated gasp from the marine.

"OMG IT'S MY FAVORITE GIRAFFE BOY!" (Name) literally bolted out of the seat and before Kaku knew it, he was right in front of him like a fanboy wanting to look at his idol.

"Um, do I know you...?" Kaku broke the usual serious demeanor of Cypher Pol because of the pure confusion emanating throughout his body that made him freeze.

"You're Kaku, right?! The former shipwright?!" The stranger grinned. (Name) was literally so excited, he could feel his hands shaking at seeing the agents in person.

Yeah, ginger agent wasn't used to this. Him and his fellow coworkers were usually feared for being known for their assassination skills. Not for being popular among others.

"Can I get your autograph or something? Can I get a photo? Can I marry you?! I can have Aokiji literally wed us for real for real. Are you into that?!—"

Kaku was sputtering to keep up with the abundance of question, feeling his ears tinge red at some of the requests.

Lucci was rather insulted on Kaku's behalf. CP9 is a renowned organization. To see such immaturity and disrespect in their presence was unacceptable. Kaku was disgracing their Cypher Pol unite by being overwhelmed by such a person.

Aokiji just sighed in irritation, the annoyance from earlier gradually seeping back into his bones and weighing down on his body once again. "Ignore him. He tends to get like that from time to time. I'm thinking of giving him a drug test or something to make sure he's clean half the time. Other times I'm wondering if he's fully sober."

Lucci stayed quiet, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"—we can adopt. Can I see your devil fruit? Oda did you dirty for real. Did you really let some Newbie from East Blue with no training in haki beat you? I literally love you. The option for marriage is still up—"

"(Name)." Aokiji's voice raised in agitation at his junior's antics and obsession. "Leave the guy alone. He can't comprehend how amazing you are if you talk too fast."

(Name) paused in thought before nodding in agreement. "You're right. My apologies Kaku."

Aokiji rolled his eyes. Reverse psychology was a good friend in these types of scenarios. He looked back at Lucci. "Your report?"

The CP9 agent held up a fairly large folder and slid it onto the large desk before taking a step back.

Aokiji didn't even glance at it, immediately freezing the folder and crushing it into a million pieces(like your heart when Kaku just turned down your proposal).

The Leopard User stuffed his hands into his pockets in displeasure. He used all of his might to not appear annoyed in the slightest. He took an hour to write that report and yet the admiral didn't even glance at it. "If I may ask, is there a motive behind the reason why you didn't look at our reports?" His irritation must have been heard in his voice because of the brow Aokiji raised.

"I was literally there at Enies Lobby to witness the events unravel. I don't need a report. It's just for the sake of Navy requirements." The admiral yawned as he rated his chin on his palm once more in boredom.

The black haired agent nodded. "Permission to be excused?"

"Granted."

Lucci immediately strutted out and down the hall, ignoring the 2 people he passed in the doorway.

(Name) was intensely staring at Kaku with a sparkle in his eyes. "So. You want to get snow cones?"

"Er, would you listen if I said no...?"

"Nope!"

Kaku sighed before nodding in exasperation as the sleeve of his black jacket was tugged on and dragged to the admiral's desk.

"Elsa, the ice already melted. Can you make more?" (Name) whipped out the bowl from before, only this time, he had two. Don't ask where the other bowl came from. It just did. Don't ask questions.

Repeating the process all over again, Aokiji pressed his fingers onto the bowl and they filled with the crushed ice once again. "Let me take a nap now. Today was stressful."

"M'kay, Thanks!" (Name) said in gratitude before tossing one bowlful of ice into Kaku's unsuspecting hands.

"Oh-um–thanks...?" The ginger agent muttered out, easily catching the bowl without any of the ice falling out. He was still rather confused at the turn of events. Him and Lucci were just here to talk about their reports while the others rested, not get dragged into snow-cones. He isn't complaining though.

"Come on!" (Name) tugged at his sleeve expectingly. "Let's go to the kitchen so we can actually give flavor to this thing."

And that was that. Aokiji being left to take a nap, Kaku got dragged into (Name)'s snow cone antics, and Lucci is so done with life.

Not to mention a random marine got fired for abusing his position.

Life was good.

Chapter Text

"So, we don't have much...We got mango, orange, guava, or apple juice. Pick your poison." (Name) slammed the large bottles of juice onto the counter in the order he listed them to add flashiness. Kaku just patiently watched as he was(being held hostage) holding his bowl of ice.

"Uh, guava I guess. You sure that's it? No pineapple?" The CP9 agent has been craving pineapples recently since yesterday. Maybe because it was part of his alias as Kaku the "shipwright" where behind closed doors, he was a pineapple addict. It wasn't intentional, but he somehow grew accustomed to any food associated with the spiky, yellow fruit during his 5 year mission.

(Name) paused before turning to dig around the fridge for a minute.

Kaku was beginning to loose hope until the other man pulled out a clear bottle with yellowish liquid. "You're in luck my friend. They got pineapple juice."

"You have my gratitude."

(Name) untwisted the cap and flicked it off, tipping the bottle and pouring a good amount of pineapple juice onto half of Kaku's bowl. "You want anything else with that?"

The long nosed agent shook his head. "I'm quite alright. I've just been craving pineapple."

The musician shrugged. "Suit yourself." He poured the pineapple flavored liquid onto the other half of his guest's bowl before screwing the lid back on and shoving it back into the fridge.

His hand made it's way to the (flavor) juice and unscrewed the lid like before, pouring it over half of his bowl of ice, screwing it closed, and shoving it into the fridge. He repeated this process with the (flavor) juice before shoving all of the juices back into the fridge, slamming it shut.

Kaku grabbed 2 spoons out of the drawer beside where he was sitting and tossed it over to (Name). The lower ranking marine fumbled to catch the utensil, the spoon bouncing from one hand to another in a panic before properly grasping it. The ginger agent eyed him weirdly.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't have a dad around to teach me how to catch." (Name) huffed, shoving a spoonful of the flavored ice into his mouth before immediately setting his bowl down and holding his head. The low temperature of his cold treat was racing to his brain causing it to practically  freeze.

The Zoan user just watched with a blank face at (Name)'s inner turmoils, calmly taking a spoonful of his own ice and eating it slower, careful to not fall into the cold clutches of a brain freeze unlike his less fortunate acquaintance.

The marine-musician-infiltrator(?)-pirate-worldjumper-insomniac(kind of)-Simp-Artist-bartender-storyteller-Sugar baby-ankle biter—WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL HIM, kept hitting the counter over and over again, eyes shut in agony as the cold pain receded from his noggin.

"Are you alright? Do I need to get you assistance? Your generosity with snow cones has influenced my decision to accommodate to your needs for a while." The agent set down his bowl to get a nurse to look over (Name), but a hand waved away his suggestion.

"Nah I'm good." He wheezed out in terribly hidden pain. "Anygays, you speak like an old man. It reminds me of my neighbor."

"No, really?" Kaku responded, already used to the comment he receives all the time.

"Yes, really." (Name) groaned dejectedly, his energy sapped from his most recent episode, shoving a spoonful of flavored ice into his mouth. He was careful to ingest it slowly as to not fall into the painful clutches known as a brain freeze.

So there they were.

Sitting in a comfortable silence.

Just eating snow cones—

"Hey, did you really name your cat after Lucci?" Kaku asked, expression carefully blank.

(Name) nodded, placing down his spoon to unzip his bag and pull out the stuffed cat plushy. "Yes. His name is Lucci Chadwick of Beezlgrat. Lucci for, well, Rob Lucci the Leopard Zoan, Chadwick for Chadwick Boseman, the actor for Black Panther, and Beezlgrat because it reminded me of Beezwax for some reason."

The agent tried to comprehend the complicated words he couldn't identify. Beez-l-grat? Boes-men? He didn't really catch onto the pronunciation that well, so he would just refer to the cat as Lucci. "It's weird referring to a plush cat as basically my superior's name."

"Pft. Whatever. Shame on you. Lucci and Lucci are different people. They are both their own person."

"...that's a cat."

"So what? Rob Lucci is basically half cat. You racist or something?"

"What the–where did you even get that idea?!"

It was silent for a few moments as they continued to eat in silence. The kitchen was empty. It wasn't lunch time and dinner ended roughly an hour ago. The cooks were already in their quarters to resign to their evening routines for tonight.

"Is it weird, that I have like this weird theory thingy?" (Name) asked aloud. He glanced at Kaku, the silence that he was met with was a sign to continue. "I have a theory, that when everyone was working at Galley-la, ya'll lived in the same apartment complex just because you could. You and Lucci in particular. So much, so, I would even say you were roommates. Kalifa probably sleeps closer to the mayor's office and Blueno sleeps at his bar."

The surprise on the agent's face must've been seen just a second before he was able to hide it. "How much did Admiral Aokiji tell you?" He eyes the snowcone obsessed man with narrowed, round eyes.

"Holy shit, I'm right?!" (Name)'s expression turned from neutral to unrepressed shock as he paused his rating to gaze at the sudden revelation. "You and Lucci were roommates?"

Kaku didn't respond to the accusation, choosing to just continue eating his shaved ice in silence.

"You guys were?!"

The agent shut his eyes and mentally counted to 10. "Yes. We were. It was for the sake of the mission. We had gone in under the impression of shipwright apprentices during the golden age of Galley-la, so you can expect how many apartments taken for our 5 year mission."

The shorter man smirked. "Come on. There had to be some tea. You lived with Rob fucking Lucci in domestic life. There has to be something." (Name) groaned in frustration as Kaku shook his head.

"Nothing. He's as silent and cold as a block of ice, always speaking through Hattori's beak back in Water 7." The taller sighed, fixing the black cap on his head as he suddenly felt his appetite disappearing out of existence like a switch.

The musician smirked, and Kaku already didn't like where this was going. "Come on. You guys were roommates. You're telling me nothing was going on between the two of you?" (Name) wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with a devious grin.

Kaku could feel his blood pressure spike, wondering if the blood pumping through his body was now going straight to his cheeks. "We–we didn't do anything!" He denied furiously as he glared at his companion.

"Mhmmmm." (Name) drawled out with a knowing smile, resting his chin in his palm in dreamy thought. "You guys were still young back then. I wouldn't be surprised if your...desires had taken over after too many shots."

"We didn't do anything!" The agent shouted out a denial. The fingers wrapped around his spoon were going to bend and squish the metal all together as his grip threatened to increase.

"Bitch, please. I may not be fully gay, but I'm basically half. I got the best of both worlds. Men and women. You can tell me man." The lower ranking marine laughed heartily, a genuine smile stretching across his face as he teased his new friend.

"Look. He caught me...doing that once. ONCE." Kaku seethed through grit teeth. "ONCE." He emphasized.

"Wait, he actually caught you??! Well I'm not surprised, but you didn't lock the door or something?!

"He came in through the vent!"

"What the fuck?!"

"That's what I'm saying! All he said after was 'You should've heard me in the vents. You're getting rusty Kaku'. Can you believe him?!" He huffed in agitation as his ears colored red at the memory. "God, it was awkward walking into the apartment for a month...he has no shame or embarrassment."

"Bruh. You didn't bother to do it in a bathroom?!"

"You can hear everything that goes on in the bathroom because of the thin ass door." The zoan user groaned at the thought of doing that in such a disclosed area.

"Bruh. I think he's into you. Can I join? The more the merrier I always say—"

"There's nothing going on between us!"

(Name) was rather insulted at being cut off so rudely but caught his tongue before he could tear down Kaku's whole career. The agent was obviously not comfortable with the subject, picking at the sleeves of his shirt and his leg bounced up and down anxiously.

"Alright." The musician raised his hands in defeat. He didn't want to come off as pushy. The CP9 agent was a human too so he didn't want to just act so unhinged without taking into consideration Kaku's thoughts. "Just tell me if there's any other red flags besides Lucci being a whole ass emotionless killer and assassin."

"There's nothing going on!"

"Whatever you say. The first stage is denial." (Name) shrugged off.

Kaku buried his face into his hands, obviously dying of frustration at the unrelenting conspiracies about his love life. He's only known him for an hour for crying out loud! Not to mention he is not into men. He's as straight as a pole. Straighter than straight. Straight as the leaning tower of piza—wait that's not straight—

ANYWAYS.

He. Is. Straight...

As a circle—

—HE'S STRAIGHT. ALWAYS HAS BEEN. ALWAYS WILL BE.

"The first stage is denial..." that stupidly obnoxious voice echoed through his head like a broke record player he wishes he could yank and bash it until all of its pieces are broken.

"I am perfectly fine." He said. He wasn't. He really wasn't. He was trained to be unfeeling. Have a mask. Emotionless.

And yet the topic of crushes of all things would be his downfall.

"Anyways, I heard CP9 training is pretty difficult and agents start at a young age. Is it true?" (Name) could feel the unspoken awkwardness in the air and the way Kaku's internal conflict shown on his face. "Of course, if it isn't classified." He said with jest as he nudged the other.

"Erm, yeah we start around 5 years old." Kaku muttered out.

"Huh. Never knew that long. Other orphans I assume?"

The agent eyed him with a suspicious gaze, but (Name) couldn't be bothered to care right now. It wasn't really a secret considering the letters and document he had kindly borrowed(taken).

Kaku's weary gaze never seemed to drop after that statement. "Yes. All CP9 agents were either orphans or born into CP9 like slaves." He sighed dejectedly as he recalled Kalifa's father mentoring their team for the first few months. "What about you?" He decided to flip the subject again, obviously not used the spotlight especially after working behind the scenes.

"Well...I wouldn't say it's the most tragic villain origin story." The musician chuckled, a new cloudy film over his eyes as if recalling a distasteful memory. "I never knew my father. My mom said he left when he found out she was pregnant with me as a teenager. I used to think she was such an incredibly strong woman for keeping me alive..." he trailed off into silence as if looking for the right words to say.

Kaku listened patiently without interruption of the other. It was obvious it was a harsher subject to talk about for the marine.

"She was in a bad place in life yet with school, puberty, and her parents, and yet she still decided to keep me. Only later on did I realize she only kept me because of her religion and parents being strongly against abortion." (Name) looked down at his now empty bowl in his hands as if it were the most interesting thing in the room now. "When I was about six years old, she took be to a toy store. She could tell I wanted to go there and told me to wait outside while she got me something."

"Mama, look! Look!" A small boy dressed in a (color) jacket and small grey pants pointed at a bright store full of numerous trinkets and toys inside through the glass door. "Can I get something? Please?" He tugged at the hand holding his mother's.

The woman's eyes glanced at the store with some sort of emotion akin to relief and apprehension in her eyes. She glanced down to the child grasping her hand and smiled despite the tightness in her words. "Of course, (Name)."

Their initial route to the food court was abruptly changed as they walked towards the brightly colored store with enticing toys inside any kid would drool over.

Instead of walking straight into the store, his mother paused right in front of the glass double doors which cause (Name) to be tugged back at the sudden stop in their direction.

"Mama?" He asked with concern at his mother's taut expression mixed with some sort of trepidation of entering the store. The hand holding his was growing twitchy despite the nice weather and bright day.

The woman crouched down to eye level with her son. "Honey..." She closed her mouth to choose her words for him to better understand. "Wait out here, okay? I'll get you something for a surprise, alright? I'll be out in a few minutes, stay here. If you move from this spot, I'll be very upset."

He hastily let go of her hand in anticipation as he imagined what the new toy would be. "M'kay! I'll stay right here! Be quick!"

She walked into the store without glancing back at her son. If she did, (Name) would've seen her face scrunched up in pain and desperation.

The government agent already felt the spite and detest in the latter's voice and didn't think to question it. The other man had a right to be frustrated and angry at his mother if the story was going to lead to where he thinks. Underneath the loathing in (Name)'s voice, Kaku could also hear an undertone of reluctant acceptance.

(Name) sighed as his eyes narrowed, fingers gripping his bowl tighter than before. "So when she went into the store, I waited."

"When does Mama get back...?" The little boy was growing restless as he hopped from one leg to the other. The only things keeping him distracted was the aroma of the food court down the aisle of stores, the people passing by, and the sun slowly setting outside

"And waited..."

The sky was beginning to turn a hue of purple and orange as the afternoons began to slowly take its turn towards evening.

(Name) could feel his legs grow tired, his stomach rumbling at the lack of food consumed throughout the day. When was Mama coming back out? Maybe the toy was so big it was taking a while to bring outside?

He didn't know. A yawn escaped his mouth as he chose to crouch down to the floor so he could stay awake for his mom's return.

"And waited."

The sky had gone through the phases of indigo, to blue, to an endless void of black.

The mall only had a few lingering people, a majority of the stores were that e/c eyes could see had odd metal gates over their doors, their lights off.

He looked at the store behind him and sighed. Mama was taking a lot time to get the toy. Maybe it was super big surprise?

"And waited."

"...-ey! Hey!"

The small boy jolted awake as he rubbed his eyes of exhaustion. Huh? Was Mama finally here?!

His vision adjusted to the bright light shingling in his eyes.

(Name) could recognize the man as the one had seen behind the counter of the toy store through the glass doors. "Oh! Jello, mister! Have you seen my Mama? I think she got lost somehow inside your store."

"The store's been closed for a few minutes now, kiddo." The young man stated, mindful of the situation the lost child is in now. "The store's empty. Maybe I can call your Mama?"

The young boy looked at the store with a freighted panic blazing through him. Mama wasn't inside? But he had seen her go in!

"My mama wore a a bright green jacket and blue pants! Oh! Oh! And a white bag!" (Name) described what he had seen his mother wearing that afternoon when he last saw her.

The employee's eyes lit up with recognition and (Name) felt a spark of hope go down his back.

"Listen, kiddo, I'm not sure how to say this." The young man crouched down and set down his flashlight beside him, licking his lips as he glanced around nervously. "The woman your describing—your Mama—she left a long time ago through the back door..."

The back door? But that can't be! Mama would never leave him! She probably forgot something in her car and is probably on her way back.

"That's a lie!" He screamed and stomped his foot. "Mama says it's bad to lie!"

The employee's eyes widened as he became flustered. "I-I'm sorry, but she left roughly 3 hours ago..."

(Name) felt his lip quiver and his eyes get glossy with bushed tears. "She wouldn't just leave. She promised to come get me." The small voice whimpered out.

The employee placed a reassuring hand on his head. "Hey, we can go to the police and see if they can find your mama. Do you know her name?"

"Her name's Mama." He hiccuped out as the employee sighed at a loss.

It was silent for a few moments, the employee comforting the small kid, the only sound breaking the silence was the occasional hiccup and sob.

"She's really not coming back...?" He asked, almost desperately. He hadn't done anything wrong, right? He had been on his best behavior just so they could go to the mall today! Despite these thoughts, he has somehow known that his mother wasn't going to be there all his life. He just hadn't known how soon it was going to happen.

The employee shook his head. "We can get you to the police station. They can try and help you find you Mama."

"I waited, and she never came back for me." (Name) sighed as he loosened his hold the bowl as to not break it, the porcelain dish clattering against the counter. "The police couldn't find her. It was like she disappeared off the map. I was thrown into an orphanage where I was adopted by some drunkards within a month before being flung through the wringer."

Kaku flinched at the venom dripping off (Name)'a every word. He guessed it wasn't often he talked about this, and he could also tell he probably needed to talk about this.

"It was then that I realized the world doesn't give a shit about you no matter how hard you try to love it and see the good in it." The musician sighed.

"After my mom left me, I always found it difficult to sleep. I used to always waking up in a cold sweat and waving my hand around the left side of the bed as if expecting my mother to be there. I can't remember how many times I cried myself to sleep after that." He chuckled darkly. "To stop waking up all shaken up, I found a solution:just stay awake!" He scoffed at his younger self's stupidity. "And that's how I grew to avoid sleep whenever I could."

"My eating habits grew sporadic and I would often catch myself not eating, and whenever I did eat, I kept feeling like absolute shit." He jabbed at his head with his thumb. "Like, why the hell should I have the right to eat if the woman who gave birth to me didn't even want to feed me in her spare time, right? I felt terrible knowing that other parents took the time to feed their kids while I was freeloading food off of my adoptive parents. A brat who's mother didn't even want him."

"Over time, I looked up my symptoms and was diagnosed with something between ARFID and anorexia. The first food I grew to love again during my recovery was bread, hence my 'obsession' when I learned to love it again." During his recovery, he absolutely loathed the idea, but he had to convince himself he was worth it. That he deserved to be alive and treat himself better despite what how he had been treated and what he said to himself. “It just adds to my lore I guess.” He shrugged.

(Name) pointed to the surely permanent dark circles under his tired eyes. "I couldn’t sleep much. My life motto changed after I watched a movie for the first time in my adoptive household. The Lion King. 'When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on them!'" (Name) quoted with a snort at the meerkat's motto. It became silent for a few more seconds. "I got a girlfriend to try and forget everything. I thought we were working out before it turned out she thought it wasn't serious." He sighed.

Kaku nodded to continue, his own empty bowl set aside as he listened to his friend speak. He's known him for 2 hours, and yet being in his presence feels so right. He wants to know how he works. What he likes. What he dislikes. This was the first step, and he'll be damned if he seems least bit uninterested in such a touchy topic.

"So I though, if the world doesn't care about whatever crazy shit I do, then I'll spend my life without giving a damn. I moved to the big city, busted my ass getting into a decent music and art course in college somehow, and read in between the lines of people so I would never be hurt again." He sighed before shaking his head and finally looking up to meet Kaku's round eyed stare.

"But hell, being here is something I would've never could've guessed in a million years. I thought I could start anew. And I did."

Kaku felt a warm smile creep up his features. "I'm glad too, or else I would've never gotten the chance to meet such a unique person like yourself, (Name)"

(Name) stared at him for a few seconds before ducking his head, the tips of his ears turning red. That was kind of cute.

“Geez, stop it. You’re gonna make me combust then I’ll have to kill you for witnessing me at such an all time low.” He grumbled, but the threat had no malice. “Besides, all this shit just adds to my lore anyways.”

Kaku couldn’t help but bust into a fit of chuckles at that.

Chapter Text

"Just so you know, I wasn't serious about training under Garp."

It had been two days since (Name)'s little venting incident with Kaku back in the kitchen. The hype about being friends with an admiral died down, thankfully. He didn't want all the unwanted attention since this was an undercover mission, thank you very much.

The Vice Admiral, Admiral, and new recruit were currently by the docks and greeting Garp on his return from Water 7 after visiting Luffy.

"Aokiji! This little shit better be worth a penny of my time or else I'm punching you into the ground!" Garp chortled back in laughter, that stupidly large grin with devilish eyes reminded him of the Gremlin—chihuahua, that (Name) ran from the day he was transferred here. "Now, let's see what he's made of!"

The Vice admiral grabbed (Name) by the head and lifted him off the ground, the smaller marine kicked and squirmed as he felt his spine pop from being lifted. "I never agreed to this, you do not have my consent! Aokiji save me please!"

He looked around frantically for some sort of help and noticed Kaku and Lucci walking with Kalifa in the direction of the infirmary most likely for a checkup on their condition. "Kaku-honey-love of my life, please spare me! Lucci, come on man!"

The giraffe user flinched before picking up his pace, sweat glistening on the back of his neck.

"Well fuck you and your fucking boyfriend, Kaku!"

"There is nothing going on!" He screamed back in frustration, disappearing into the building with a soured mood.

"It was never a secret!" (Name) shouted back with a cackle. "I know the closet is cozy but you gotta come out one day!"

Garp gripped his head tighter with a laugh booming through the air so loud the musician had to cover his ears. "You're a cheeky one, I'll have to smack some sense into you so you can grow some decent muscle in that flimsy body of yours, soldier!"

"I just wanted snow cones!" He whined as he glanced desperately at Aokiji. "Kuzan, please, I'll literally pay you for every snowcone from now on, just don't leave me with that." He pointed at Garp with unadulterated fear, finger shaking in both disgust and dread.

Aokiji continued to calmly sip on his cocktail that (Name) had brewed for him earlier. Asshole didn't even say thank you. "Long live the king." He smirked as he watched his friend get dragged off to the training grounds

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO—"

____________

"What the heck do you mean I have to spar you so you can see if I'm worthy?" (Name) muttered as he faced the biggest fucking troll in the entire Navy.

"Aokiji has spoken highly of you." Garp said smugly. "I wanna see just what he's talking about."

Aokiji in the distance felt a bit of guilt on his part for that misunderstanding. He might have told Garp about his new friend, but he never intended it to sound like he was a good fighter.........oh well. Sucks to be (Name) lol.

Before anyone knew it, the old Marine VA dashed forward at unrivaled speed, his foot print being ingrained into the ground from the force.

"I did not sign up for this!" (Name) barely dodged a punch coming his way before another one was coming at him, nailing him in the gut. The raw force of the hit made the young man cough out a gasp.

Garp rewinded his fist, his earlier amusement died down to a somewhat disappointed and taunting face. "Guess Aokiji doesn't have a good eye for new recruits. Still, show me what you got, rookie!"

(Name) stumbled back to his feet, head lowered as he gripped his stomach where he was hit. His gut was making uncomfortable summersaults in his body and the wind that had been knocked out of him hadn't been regained.

And yet even as his head was lowered, his expression was that of apprehension and adrenaline, a smile creeping up his features as he narrowed his eyes.

Garp's own eyes narrowed as the younger lifted his head to reveal a rather pleased expression on his face.

"Copy."

It was like a single magic word. The marines that were training had all paused their spars to look at the transfer soldier and the vice admiral duke it out.

The aura around the newbie had changed, it was heavier and mysterious like a thick fog. Garp's body tensed, natural battle instincts coming into play at this immense pressure he hadn't sensed before.

(Name)'s arms were coated in a black sheen that only Garp and Aokiji could notice.

Haki.

The admiral set down his empty cup and watched the battle with a new consentration, obviously wanting to decipher and analyze this new specimen known as (Name). How was it possible? Just the other day Aokiji hadn't sensed any awakened haki in his friend, and yet now he's some how using advanced armament without a sweat?

(Name) rushed forward mimicking Garp's own first advance towards him.

The Vice admiral pulled his arm back to square his opponent in the jaw to end the battle, but that wasn't what (Name) was aiming for.

Just a second before Garp's fist connected with (Name)'s face, he ducked down and jabbed his fingers into the earth and lifted the chunk Garp was standing on, easily lifting it with the help of his copied strength.

The onlookers had all rushed off the training field as the shockwave of Garp's punch leveled a few trees in the distance.

The ground quaked under their feet as (Name) punched the large piece of earth as it split into smaller boulders. With the control of haki, he hid his haki signature to as small as possible and ducked behind one of the flying debris outside of Garp's view.

The move he made had mimicked that of Gon's in HunterxHunter during Heavens arena in his fight against Hisoka.

But let's face it. This is Garp the Fist we're talking about. An attempt to hit him thrown together at the last minute wasn't enough.

He jumped up unexpectedly to get out of reach of any attacks, dust being kicked up into the air from the force used.

Only, this is what the latter had hoped for.

There was nothing to block his aim in the sky, and the speed of sound is nearly impossible to outmatch aside from light speed.

In the midst of the battle, it was as if everything were going a mile per minute, and yet everything was so clear and slow. All attacks seen in twenty-twenty vision yet still so blurry.

If his prediction was right, then he should have shot at victory.

He inhaled deeply, his sinuses not even registering the dust entering his nostrils...

And screamed.

Everyone surrounding the the area covered their ears from the deafening sound, dust being kicked up in all direction and filling the area in a mere second. The friendly fight had escalated in mere seconds.

Garp felt it before he heard it, an immense pressure shoving him farther into the sky despite using geppo to push back. The screech that followed made his ears ring and buzz despite his clogged ears. Visible purple soundwaves and everything in the area inside the waves was being pushed back like a flood from the sheer force of the sound.

When the incredibly ear splitting sound had ceased, (Name) was on one knee and panting and grasping at his throat at his newfound power of the devil fruit he possessed. He coughed up the dust around him as Garp landed a few meters away trying to straighten himself despite the very noticeable red liquid spilling out of his ears.

The musician collapsed onto his butt, panting harder than a dog. "Man, I'm pooped."

Garp burst into laughter at the sudden and unexpected turn of events. "BahahaHahaAhaha! I guess Aokiji found a decent one!" He put his hands on his hips and looked (Name)'a sitting form up and down. "I'll train you into a fine marine. Rise with the sun tomorrow morning for training first thing. You'll have 2 other fellow students working with you."

And that was that. Garp stalked away towards the infirmary, picking on of his ears to stop them from ringing while (Name) was sitting in the dirt, sweat sticking to his forehead, dirt caking his fingers and smudged on his face.

"We've been friends for what, a week and you never told me about this?"

(Name) jolted at the sudden voice as his eyes darted up to meet black ones filled with curiosity and offense alike. The corner of his lips tugged up as he wiped sweat off from his face. "To be fair I ate it like 2 days ago and forgot about it, don't feel so special."

Aokiji didn't even flinch when (Name) aimed to punch is ankle from where he was sitting. He was a logia user, it wouldn't affect him—

He swore he heard something pop when his subordinate's fist hit his ankle.

Oh haha. The admiral forgot (Name) had just used Haki in his battle, and (Name) forgot he could even activate haki.

The admiral proceeded to very literally crumple to the ground and caress the now bruised ankle of his before lifting his head to leer at the musician menacingly. "I don't know what's your obsession with targeting people's ankles, but I sure as hell know you better run."

"I sure as hell know yo mama dead."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Fuck you."

"At least someone would wanna fuck me."

"I hate you so much right now." (Name) scoffed.

"Remember when I asked for your opinion?"

"Well no, I was—"

"Well, me neither." Aokiji rolled his eyes before proceeding to kick the other with his good leg earning a satisfying yelp of pain from the other devil fruit user.

"At least my Mama isn't dead." (Name) doesn't know that, but he sure as hell doesn't consider his egg donor his mother, so it still counts...?

"Oh, boohoo! Do you see any tears coming from me? No? It seems that I couldn't care less. How sad." Aokiji said with sarcasm. His mother died when he barely remembered her. Plus, the joke had gotten old for him.

"...touché" (Name) sighed before finally deciding to go to the infirmary and get himself checked out. That punch from Garp hurt like a bitch. He would definitely feel that tomorrow.

Chapter Text

It's been two weeks into training.

(Name) feels like his arms will fall off from how many push-ups and pull ups he's had to do. Not to mention weight lifting.

It's been two weeks into training.

His stomach and core hurts from sit ups and abdominal workouts he had been assigned.

It's been two weeks into training.

His legs have been reduced to mush from running, squatting, and kicking a dummy for hours on end.

It's been two weeks into training.

The bruises on his arms and torso ache from being knocked to the ground on multiple occasions from spars with his mentor and fellow students, Koby and Helmeppo.

It's been two weeks into training, and (Name) still regrets telling Aokiji he wanted to train with Garp. The Vice Admiral even said this was just conditioning.

"Fuck...Koby, how did you even last this thing?" The new student whined into his pillow. The soft blanket on top of  was appreciated since it didn't irritate or brush against any sensitive bruises or sores.

The training regimen today was finally over as all three of them lay in their beds for the evening. Dinner wasn't as good as it should've been, the thoughts of his aching muscles were clouding his hunger.

The three students were laying in a small room assigned to them. The only good thing about being under Garp's wing was the privileges of not living in the crowded barracks with 40 other people.

Koby scratched his head sheepishly as he pondered the question. "Well, I wanted to work hard for my dream, so I didn't mind putting in the effort to see it happen."

"...you sound like Lloyd..." (Name) yawned tiredly as he flipped onto his side to look at the pink haired marine beside him.

The other tilted his head. "Lloyd?"

"Oh, I call Luffy Lloyd." The older marine specified with a lopsided grin as he recalled Luffy getting annoyed by his nickname.

Koby frantically glanced around before lowering his voice to an almost inaudible whisper. "Y-you know Luffy?!"

"Mhm. I met him when we were in Alabasta. I snuck onto his ship for a ride. He dropped me off at this island in the sky before I fell down from it and ended up here." The musician recalled. He probably sounded like a mad man to his comrade right now, but he couldn't care any less. Recalling Skypeia made him happy. The gold, Conis, and not to mention Enel.

To (Name)'s surprise, Koby was seemed to believe his words. He straightened up and looked at (Name) intensely with curiosity in his voice. "What was it like? The island in the sky, I mean."

He didn't expect Koby to believe him as he fumbled to put the words together. "Oh um," He was aware the story was bizarre, after all. After recovering from his initial shock, he began to describe the island in the sky with a grin. "It's incredible. Almost everything is made of clouds there. They build houses out of clouds and live on cloud islands. Even their Sea is made of clouds, but it moved just like water!"

The marine Lieutenant's eyes had an incredulous and amazed look in his eyes. he whispered his question excitedly. "Were there people there?"

"Yeah, of course. I met this girl named Conis. She's a musician like me. And the people there all have wings!" (Name) pushed himself off his side to face Koby better. He reached for his back by the corner of his room and dug around inside.

"They use these shells called dials that store specific things inside, even intangible things like wind and heat. Even pressure!" He whispered excitedly, his fingers fumbling with the desired object before taking it out of his bag. It was I single blue shell with a tube like design that swirled around until it's apex.

"This one is a wind dial I managed to snag from my friend Conis when she wasn't looking." He chuckled as he recalled literally yoinking the dial from the counter. He fanned the shell in the air to store the wind inside. Koby watched, not taking his eyes off the foreign object for a second. "When you press its apex, or the pointy tip of the shell, it'll release what's stored inside.

The shell was pointed towards Koby's face as (Name)'s finger pushed the apex down. A steady gust of wind started to blow out out of the opening of the shell.

Koby's hair whisked around from the wind blowing in his face and muffled his laugh at the new object. He held his hand out once the wind stopped, a silent request to examine the shell.

The blue shell was placed into his hand, callused fingers brushing against Koby's own as he took the object.

"It looks like a normal shell..." Koby noted, examining the dial further. He looked inside the opening, but nothing was inside. He looked back up at (Name) with an embarrassed smile. "I can't figure out how it works. There's nothing inside there.

"I guess it's just another mystery of the Grandline." (Name) shrugged with his own, taking the shell and shoving it back in his bag.

"Yeah, I guess so." Koby placed his glasses on the floor beside the head of his pillow and laid down on the thin futon he was assigned. "I heard we have a mission tomorrow. Its me and Helmeppo's first long terms mission away from Garp. I think you're probably gonna continue training under him."

(Name) laid back down on his own futon beside Koby's. Helmeppo was already asleep. He slept like a rock, so there was no need to worry.

"Yeah. It'll suck not having company, but I still want to do my best even through the struggle. I've gone through hell and back these past month and I'm not planning on stopping now. I made a promise to some of my friends."

It was silent for a few moments. It was a comfortable one. They both stared at the ceiling, the occasional snore from their other roommate interrupting the quiet air every now and again.

"What was your promise?" Koby whispered out of the blue.

(Name) shut his eyes and let a warm smile crawl up his features as he recalled the same promise he made to the friends he had encountered on his short journey in this world. "I promised the next time we meet, I would be ten, no, a hundred times stronger than before."

"That's a good promise." Koby concluded before closing his own eyes.

They didn't know when they fell into a deep slumber of rest, but they did know that tomorrow was a new day.

A certain Vice Admiral on the roof above their room grinned to himself after he had heard his student's conversation. I guess Kuzan chose right after all.

___________

"Put your back into it! Hurry up and grow a damned spine!" Garp growled, arms crossed as he watched the new recruit try and land a hit on him only using physical strength and now special abilities.

"I know." (Name) snarled out angrily as he dodged yet another close punch directed at him. He grit his teeth since the fist grazed his side. That'll leave a bruise.

"Well obviously you're not trying hard enough! I didn't throw you into the ocean despite being a devil fruit user just so you could be a flimsy pool noodle!"

"I literally had to be fished out!" (Name) argued back, not even trying to hide the frustration in his voice. Garp had very literally thrown him in the water. What is up with marines throwing him into the ocean?!

"You gotta be creative to get out!" The Marine Hero cackled as he hammered a fist right on top of his student's head.

"Fu—!" The devil fruit user didn't even get to finish cursing out his mentor before his face was slammed into the ground as his body followed.

"You rely too much on the power gifted to you." Garp sighed in agitation. He's been trying to condition (Name), but the other can't seem to take it as seriously as he should.

The musician tugged his face out of the ground, mud sticking to his pores as he wiped away the excess grime and debris, spitting out dirt and grass.

"Pull yourself together." Garp ordered. He had to find a new way to train (Name). His original style of raining wasn't effective, even he could see that. The progress was slow compared to his other two students, but the potential was impeccable. He'll be damned if he let's this kid loose the opportunity to be such a great asset to the marines.

Kuzan wasn't good at training others in general because of his laziness and lack of motivation, Kizaru was too self centered, and Akainu...well, nobody wants to be tranined by Akainu anyways...

Garp had noticed a pattern in (Name)'s form and attacks. He always blocked and dodged as usual, but the way he did it was rather different. He took to deflecting and creating openings constantly instead of waiting for his opponent to falter.

His attacks were something to be trained. He often used blunt force like an open palm and strikes fast instead. He attacked using no more than 3 consecutive palm hits and chops in barrages.

The way he angles his feet and leg technique was also unique. He never took a single firm stance in any of his forms even for defense. It was like water. He always slipped out of Garp's reach like air.

Everything was improvised and just blind attacking and dodging surimi big openings. There was no form, no effective way to counter, and his attacks was ragtag at most. Garp had to teach him both control and strength. Everything (Name) used was the basics and raw talent. He needed experience and a base of what to do.

If only he knew (Name) analyzed water breathing styles and air bending to create his fighting style. Analyzing anime fights had its perks and downfalls.

Garp huffed in agitation. Pft. I've never thought about plans in my entire life, why should I start now?

The War Hero barked out an order. "Follow me, brat"

(Name) reluctantly followed Garp as he hurried to catch up while dusting off his pants.

His feet ached and throbbed in his shoes from the amount of pivoting and kicking something(whether it be a pole or a punching bag).

They walked for what felt like forever in silence. The two of them had passed the Naval base a while ago and were tracking through the forest towards the town on the other side of the island.

(Name) knew better than to ask about where they were going. He would just get a snarky reply in return and probably be ordered to do 40 pushups in a minute, which was still difficult for him even with strength training these past few weeks. Before, he could do 20 if he really tried, but it was still a lot of work.

They had entered the town and everyone there had greeted the Marine Hero earnestly. Koby had told him Garp had saved this place since it was used as a human trafficking hotspot. The people here were very grateful for him when he had arrived on this island. Many of its residents were former slaves that had been freed.

After a few minutes of walking through town and an abundant amount of grateful remarks towards Garp, they finally arrived in front of what seemed like a traditional Japanese dojo, engawa and all.

An older woman slid the shoji door open with a warm smile. She was roughly half a foot shorter than (Name) and her posture was impeccable and screamed respect. Her graying hair was pulled neatly into a tight bun as she greeted the two marines. "Ah, Garp, lovely afternoon, yes?"

Garp just nodded. "It is. I've got someone here for you to beat some sense into. His fighting is flimsy and terrible improvised. He needs a platform and base to build techniques off of."

He reached behind him and grabbed (Name)'s skull once again and plopping him right in front of the elderly woman.

The musician rubbed his head with a scowl, already dreading the bruises he would feel later on his cranium.

"Hm. And what makes you think I'll train him?"she frowned. Her welcoming voice shifted into one of annoyance.

Garp huffed a laugh. "You're still a cheeky and senile old woman all right."

She didn't seem amused. "Respect your elders."

The mucian guffawed. That woman was older than GARP?! She looked so much younger!

He flinched when the woman turned to him. "I'll give him an evaluation. Come inside, take off your shoes."

(Name) clumsily slipped off his shoes and set them aside by the steps to the Engawa, Garp just throwing them off and following inside.

"I'll spar him for 3 minutes." The petite woman pointed to the clock. "If I think he has potential, I'll take him as a student."

The Vice Admiral grunted in approval. He wouldn't dare go against that woman in particular. He shuddered at the thought of last time. He walked away that day with a bruised ego and rib cage.

"Time starts now!" She said abruptly.

(Name) startled at the sudden declaration as he barely dodged a open hand strike from her. His body stumbled a few steps back and deflected her fist with his palm before taking a stance. He curled one hand into a fist in front of his stomach while stretching the other arm out in front of his face, palm flat to the floor and fingertips aimed for his opponent's throat. He waited for the next advance.

1 second...

2 seconds...

3...

4...

10...

The woman didn't try and advance at all, instead, her stance was heavy and grounded in a defensive stand. Come at me were the unspoken words ordered at her opponent, tightening her curled fist.

(Name) scowled. He always let his opponent attack first to create and opening and not risk making one for himself. She already figured it out from that one attack?

He took a deep breath and took a step forward, ducking down to land a palm aimed straight for her stomach.

Instead of blocking or deflecting like Garp usually did, she hooked scooped her hand up and grabbed (Name)'s wrist an twisted it awkwardly that made him follow the movement.

She landed her own punch on his side but he quickly recovered and took a step back. Her fighting style is different. She uses precise techniques instead of using hits. That woman is definitely good.

He adjusted his stance. A tighter and smaller stance, legs still light, but his arms were now both curled into fists, one guarding his face, the other guarding his frontal area.

She didn't advance again.

He quickly did the same attack as before and anticipated either the same counter or a completely different one. Either way, at least he had an idea of how to counter a few scenarios in his head.

Instead of grabbing his wrist like before, the small woman, she blocked it with a her shin after raising her leg to meet his palm.

Opening. He grabbed her ankle and attempted to hurl throw her leg up and attack while her balance was lost

Instead, she let herself fall and landed in a back bend, twisting her body skillfully to spin. She used the momentum to launch herself off the ground and pointed her feet at (Name)'s open shoulder. She hit the area and easily landed.

The marine grunted from the impact as the pain began to bloom in his arm and shoulder.

He had to counter one of her attacks and fast. He only had a minute and a half left.

Thirty seconds to think. She wouldn't attack, he already knew that. She wanted him to go on the offense I've, something he was bad at.

Okay. So she uses interesting counters and techniques. Her attacks are always new, and I'm sure she has more up her sleeve. All I can do now is adjust to whatever counter she launches at me and use it in my favor.

(Name) dashed towards the woman again. Unlike his stance before when it was loose and easily moveable, he changed his stance last minute to be firm against the ground as he punched.

She deflected it up with her own palm this time unlike his earlier two attempts.

She saw an opening after she knocked his arm up right on his side.

Only, this is what he was hoping for. The earlier two attempts were blocking and countering. He knew she wouldn't attack and knew she wouldn't use the same technique, and even if she did, he found ways to counter it in his head.

He looked back on all her attacks and noticed her one habit. Because she was so small, she had to use a majority of her body weight when attacking. She often leaned into attacks and used momentum to land heavy blows like her spin move to gain speed and power on his second attempt.

Right when she went for a punch like before, (Name) saw her lean forward and tilt her center of gravity towards him to land a heavier blow.

Now!

Because his stance was more grounded, he could move himself backwards faster unlike before when he also shifted forward to land heavier blows like her.

As soon as he moved back and dodged her punch, he watched right when her back foot lifted off the ground to take another step and advance towards him.

When she was in the middle of stepping for her next attack, he swiped his leg underneath the leg still planted on the floor. If he managed to knock down or affect her stable leg, the rest of her body would come tumbling after as he center of gravity shifts.

His leg connected with hers and she was immoderately falling, but he knew it wouldn't end here. He had seen her land in a back hand spring earlier when he got too excited before getting his ass handed to him.

And he was right. As she was flipped onto her side, she planted her hands down to do a handspring out of harms way.

An opening. (Name) had to end it quick. He couldn't just simply land a punch that was sure to be deflected by her leg mid flip.

Instead, he decided to take the blow.

He charged forward and blocked the heavy kick with both arms, body weighed down from how hard the blow was before grabbing the leg that kicked him and lifting her small body and bringing her to the ground and holding her there where she couldn't get out. He was still gripping her leg for dear life so she could've escape, using his body weight to hold her down as  she was about to launch a counter he was sure would knock him out. She didn't seem at all phased.

"Time!" Garp's voice bookend through the empty dojo.

(Name) gasped as he loosened his grip and let the woman free. He tumbled onto the ground in a sitting position, hunched over as his shirt stuck to his back from sweat. Conditioning and training earlier definitely didn't help.

The woman looked far more presentable, only her hair a bit tussled and clothes a bit wrinkled, other than that, she looked completely fine.

She glanced at Garp with an unreadable expression and (Name) knew he was about to be turned down for her training—

"I like him." She said curtly to his superior.

(Name) gaped with wide eyes.

The small woman turned to him with a new curiousitu in her grey eyes. "My name is Sakatami Makishi. Just call me Master Kishi." She smirked. "Garp. You can leave him to me. Two months is more than enough to roughen up his life and get him in decent shape."

"BAHAHAHA!" He roared into laughter. "I told you he's be an interesting one! Even Koby and Helmeppo didn't impress you!"

She chuckled before turning back to the young man. "From now on, you'll be learning the way of the many blades and fist under my care. Welcome, Tomioka Tsutako, to my dojo."

Chapter Text

"No."

"B-but I didn't even finish—"

"No."

"But I'm hungryyyyy—"

"Go starve."

(Name) was lying on the floor, sprawled out like a star and swore he saw birds whirling around his head. He had been training for the last 4 or 5 hours straight with only two minute breaks every hour before continuing to train.

Even Garp let them have 3 minute breaks after every intense exercise, and the exercises were 20 minutes long.

His ass was always smacked with a paddle whenever he messed something up, so now his behind stings every time he sits on it or tries to kick. Even the whacking wasn't enough to drill the lesson into his brain and body. He had to do either 40 push-ups every time he messed up, 40 crunches, or 40squats. It sucked since he messed up a lot.

He had to practice his flexibility for the first two hours. The tendons and muscles in his body were still stretched and sore from doing awkward and excruciating stretches that pushed the muscle to the limits. He never knew stretching could be so painful until now.

After stretching for warmups, he had to learn the basic forms of how to properly punch(because he always resorted to blunt blows). For nearly 2 hours, he was getting the basic forms of chops, punches, and kicks punched into him. Literally. Kishi demonstrated the technique and form by using his body as a test dummy for visual reference.

The hand you use to hit is always pulled back before hitting. The non hitting hand is used as a guide to aim

His balance was also put to the test whenever he was kicking. His form was usually sloppy and improvised, and yet she still made him stay still and learn to wait. He was forced to round-house kick the air for nearly 3o minutes straight on each leg just to get the basic form hammered into his head.

Pull back leg, pivot and turn body, snap to kick. Kick must be above the waist.

Over, and over, and over again.

Unlike Garp, she always stuck to one specific method or technique until it was to her expectations. Which took hours of consistent conditioning and control to get it just right before moving on to the next.

Kishi showed no mercy. Her training was grilling (Name) to the bone and it sucked. He was punching air...literally.

He had to keep jabbing the air in front of him, pulling back his fist over and over again until his shoulders and arm muscles hurt from the repetition for nearly an hour. Master Kishi didn't even stop there. His arms had to try moving and keep punching with the same amount of precision and speed towards the air in front of him every. Single. Time.

If he messed up, he would get whacked by that damned wooden paddle she lazily spun in her arms. She even did a while ass wind up just to hit him!

"Get up. Break's over. I want to see your round house kicks and punches again. Your snapping and speed is still slow and weak." She ordered impatiently with crossed arms over her gi.

(Name) hopped to his feet and stumbled a bit from the strain as he got into his recently perfected stance. Body slightly facing away from his imaginary opponent, arms at the ready in a loose position with open palms. One palm stretched in front of him facing up and the other arm in front of his chest, palm facing towards his opponent.

A wide stance was the one Kishi had assigned him for his base stance.

It was a different type of stance than his initial one, but it was tweaked and adjusted to his body type by his teacher until borderline perfection. Her teachings were mainly based around control, precision, and technique.

To put simply, he had to have the basics hammered into him over and over and over again until his body adjusted to the strain to later apply it with different methods. This was only just conditioning for the actual training in a specified style later on.

He didn't understand it, but when he asked what type of style she teaches, she was very vague and only said she would teach him how to properly use a bladed weapon like an extension of his body, but first his body had to be the one worthy of the weapon.

It wasn't fair. He didn't understand her ideal dojo style even after examining her moves taught to him. It was just the basics. Even when recalling the spar, she had used 3 completely different techniques to counter him so he didn't even get an idea of how she properly fights in real battles.

In other words, (Name)'s blindly being conditioned without any knowledge of what he's conditioning for besides a fighting style. He doesn't even know what type of fighting style.

"Thirty kicks each leg. Show me the way you pivot and snap. You're only pivoting half way and not all the way. Your snapping is flimsy and you foot is supposed to be flat so the top of it is hitting your opponent. It's not supposed to be flimsy or else your foot will shatter like a person's skeleton being crushed under a boulder." She instructed with a hardened glare.

He made sure to keep his eyes on his imaginary target, pulling his leg back as his body swiftly twisted to the side as he pivoted. His leg snapped into a strong kick before being pulled back with precise control into his stance once again.

She nodded in approval. "Again."

The kick was repeated once more.

"Again."

He kicked again.

"Your form mid-kick became sloppy. Body isn't firm and strong. Strong form equals strong attacks. 40 squats."

He groaned as he relaxed his form and got into a squatting position as began to squat down into a sitting position before raising back up.

"Lousy. You're letting yourself drop when you track the body. Add 10 more." She snipped, fanning the wide paddle in her hand lazily as calculating eyes watched him like a hawk.

He nodded. His hamstrings felt like an overworked machines. Not to mention the skin and bones in his foot burned with new blisters and calluses from rubbing against the tatami mats and kicking a wooden dummy for hours at full strength.

Every squat made his muscles churn like a rickety, old machine that was thrown out of a storage closet only to be put to work without being oiled. His limbs felt creaky with every stretch or compression of muscles over and over again.

Whack!

(Name) felt the familiar sting before he heard, the sting on the back of his thigh soon inflamed the skin surrounding it in a red-pink color. His hand immediately snapped to his leg where he was hit and grasped onto it in pain imbedding into the muscle and skin, face scrunched into that of pain. His nose scrunched up as his brows furrowed, but he bit his lip to keep quiet. He would only get more squats added.

The skin underneath his hakama pants ached at the sudden strike.

"Continue your kicks."

"Yes ma'am." He rasped out as he reluctantly retracted his hand from his trousers and got into his stance once again.

Pull up back into ready position, pivot, twist, snap, reset.

Pull up leg into ready position, pivot, twist, snap, reset.

There was a constant layer of sweat covering his body like a second layer of skin, droplets running down his face yet a determined glint was still in his eyes.

"When we meet again, I'll be 10, no, a hundred times stronger!"

Those words echoed in the back of his head, the only thought and motivation that kept him going. All he could think of was that promise, the excruciatingly tedious training, and improving.

He had to be a hundred times stronger than before, after all.

__________

The room wafted with the smell of adobo cooking in a small pot in the middle of the room as the master and student sat in silence as the food cooked.

(Name)'s posture was carefully proper as his hands were on his lap waiting eagerly for the food to be down. Both his physical and mental state were exhausted after 8 hours of nonstop training and a grand total of 14 minutes of break time.

He felt like utter shit despite his calm demeanor right now. He was glad he was able to relax.

But aside all of the sore muscles, bruises,
exhaustion, and the fact he was going to wake up feeling like a thousand needles pierced him, he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Unlike Garp's unrelenting, mindless training and workouts he was assigned with back at the marine base, he has an actual idea of what he's doing now that he was being trained under Kishi.

He could punch correctly after doing it for nearly and hour. Do front, side, and round-house kicks properly after doing each type for nearly 20 minutes each leg non-stop. His chops and palm attacks, now with the right form and technique, we're much stronger and more effective when he was finally allowed to test it on a dummy.

His train of thoughts were cut off by his master.

"Tomorrow you'll continue conditioning and hopefully in 3 days you'll be doing blocking, countering, and beginning how to use all the techniques I've shown you. You'll be pulling it together into the Tessenjutsu style." Kishi informed, expression still calm even though her training has literally grilled her student to the core on the first day. "Right now though, we celebrate your enlisting and your steady improvement."

Her calm and cold expression held a small and almost imperceptible smile gracing her lips as she poured the adobo over a bowl of rice, the brownish soup and chicken layed out over the rice. The sweet appetizing scent of the marinade and chicken filling the room despite the open shoji doors to air out the room.

She held the bowl out to (Name), a look of shock and pride on his features as he gratefully too the bowl and dug into it with his the wooden chopsticks he had almost desperately, shoveling food into his mouth and the delicious sweet, tangy, and savory taste. It was the first meal since the small breakfast of tonkatsu and rice early this morning.

"A good diet is the key to a healthy body." Kishi said, pouring some of the marinade over her own bowl for herself with her usual calm expression back in place. "Eat well. You'll work even harder tomorrow. You may feel the pain now, but the feeling of accomplishment and strength later on is far more empowering. Under my care, you'll learn the way of the fan."

(Name) nodded with a newfound determination. I have to get through this. I'll get stronger and stronger on my own.

That's when a sudden thought came into his mind.

"How come I'm learning the way of the fan even though you said I would learn the way of the blade and fist?"

Kishi looked up from her bowl and at her student, the wrinkles on the edges of her eyes crinkling with a teasing smile. "Today was to give me an idea of how your body worked and what techniques would work best as I analyzed. You focus on having more precise and light movements that are naturally more improvised. The art of the fan best fits your natural fighting style. With your natural style as a base, your body will easily adjust to the art of the fan."

His brain tried to suck up all of this information thrown at him. "So today was like a studying day for you? Like, you're given a problem and there's multiple ways to solve it but you choose the easiest one to you?"

She sighed and nodded and the way he put it. "Yes, in other words today was just to give me an idea of how you work before assigning you a style. It also helps drill in the basics. That's why I didn't change too much of your original style."

(Name) opened his mouth into an 'O'. "Does that mean if I were to have a completely different type of instinctual style, would that mean I would have to learn a different style besides the fan?"

His master nodded. "Yes, if you chose strength and grounded movements, it is likely I would have assigned you the art of the sword, but in this case you didn't. I underestimated you when we first sparred and even during conditioning you surprised me. A fan is a concealed weapon often underestimated after all." She finished with a teasing smile.

"How many types of styles do you even know?"

Master Kishi rolled her eyes. "I knew I was old, but I didn't know I was so old that young brats like you forgot who I am."

He tilted his head inquisitively at her sudden change in attitude.

"I was known as Kishi:The Master of a Hundred Fighting Styles." She said her old moniker like recalling an old friend, a fond yet faraway look in her eyes. "I was a Rear Admiral when I first took in that brat Garp. He was around your age and a snooty one at that. He was way too bashful and reliant on his own physical strength, so I taught him the way of the Breaking Fist, a fighting style that heavily relies on one's upper body strength and punches."

He nodded, raising and bringing food to his mouth eagerly as he listened. His arms and fingers hurt from just the movement of eating.

"After this get your rest. You'll need it. We'll continue conditioning your body until it will be able to handle the fan fighting style."

He nodded as their conversation died down into a comfortable silence. Tomorrow would be a new day...

And another day of hell, but it would all be worth it.

Chapter Text

It's been three whole weeks since (Name) has been taken under Master Kishi's wing.

With Garp's influence, he's been able to miss work in the marines for up to two months because of a 'break for training'.

Aokiji, being an admiral, was assigned to a mission in monitoring New World relations with the Navy. It sucks, he knows, but when duty calls he has to go or else he's fired and loses his money and therefore becomes broke.

On the topic of the Navy, CP9 has made been making a steady and almost complete recovery. Mainly the zoan users of the Cipher Pol unit being Lucci, Kaku, and Jabra due to the fast acting healing proteins in their body because of their devil fruits.

(Name) had heard from Kishi that Kaku had stopped by to say farewell last week before going back to active duty in the government, but he was in the middle of an intensive training routine. His training was strictly uninterrupted, hence why Kaku only left a gift as a farewell instead.

His mentor hadn't allowed him to even touch the box since its arrival two weeks ago even though it was placed very visibly on a low shelf.

She said his 'mongrel' hands weren't allowed to touch such an 'intricate and beautiful' piece of work until he was 'ready'.

But here he is two weeks later, analyzing the forbidden box now laying in his dirty and calloused hands from the intense training and determination to get to the desired level to open the box.

The gift was wooden, it's appearance simple and didn't seem to look like anything special. It's width was much longer than it's length and had small metal latches to unclasp to open it.

(Name)'s callused fingertips flicked the clasps open with great anticipation. His exhaustion from today's training forgotten as the small, fortunate gift laid in front of his very eyes.

When he lifted the lid, inside was a note covering something underneath it.

He lifted the note up and underneath it were 2 metal fans resting inside the box, black cushions around it to prevent any damage.

...

Oh mah gosh this so so wholesome of him. Did Kishi tell him I was taking fan lessons?! (Name)'s jaw quivered at the fortunate coincidence as tears pricked his eyes. He hasn't even opened the damned things but he could just tell they looked incredible. Now he could understand why Kishi hadn't let him touch them. They really were a work of art. "KAKU I MISS YOU ALREADY!" He wailed out as ugly sobs racked against his esophagus.

He is devastated.

Devastated, you hear me?!

His master stood under the doorway and crossed her arms with a scoff. She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you're all sad, just be happy."

Crack!

(Name) snapped his head in her direction so fast he swore he felt his neck pop. He was about to shoot a very childish response back at her before pausing in consideration. "Oh yeah, you're right. What would I do without you?"

It was like his mood did a whole 180 as he dramatically wiped away his tears. Welp. No point in dwelling on the past.

He shook the sadness he felt off of his body, wriggling his hands as he carefully picked up the letter he had discarded early on. He couldn't recognize the hand writing at first but then he remembered Kaku was the one who wrote it. E/c eyes gazed across the paper as he read its contents.

I'm not good at this type of stuff, but I heard from your mentor that you were studying tessenjutsu. I just thought I would give you something so you can at least fight decently as a parting gift. Those fans took roughly a week and a half to forge by a blacksmith on the other side of town from where you're staying at the dojo.

It's forged from a high grade stainless steal often used in Copher Pol weapons. I managed to spare one of my swords from the CP9 armory to use in the forging of the fans. It has high resistance to high temperatures and is extremely durable, hence why I asked the man forging it to use it as a base. After witnessing your sound based attacks, the type of metals used were specifically chosen to not dampen or absorb soundwave attacks to not hinder your devil fruit ability.

I know you like music and are very flashy, but in general you're a rather simple person. You get what you want, when you want it and you're one of the first people who have treated me like a normal person since discovering my background. I thank you for that.

I know it's cheesy, but maybe next time we see each other we should get snow cones again.

-Kaku

...

Ugh I swear I'm gonna cry. (Name)'s eyes became excessively water before bursting into tears again and weakly grabbing his master's hakama pants to aggressively wipe his snot with.

"Get off me you disgusting roach looking twat!" She whacked him with the wooden paddle that magically appeared out of thin air over and over again despite the many protests.

"Ouch!-okay! Ow!——I'm sorry!" (Name) clutched his head tightly to protect it from the haki coated blows of his mentor. Kishi continued to whack him atop the head nonetheless over and over again until she was satisfied.

Her face was red from both frustration and anger. She seethed as she looked at the damp cloth of her black pant-leg. "You little brat! I literally just washed this yesterday!"

He rolled his eyes behind his arms covering him. Tears still pricked the edges of his eyes before he scowled and begrudgingly turned back to look at the box housing the gifted fans.

His hands hesitantly lowered from his head to eagerly reached for the steel fans.

The metal was cool to the touch as he picked the fan closest to him.

It's so shiiiinnnnyyy. His wide e/c eyes took in it's every detail. The way it gleamed in the lamp light and how it reflected the light off onto the wall across the room. There was a single design ranging across the sticks and ribs of the fan.

There was a white-line design that was engraved into the black metal leaf of the fan mimicking that of measure lines often seen in manuscript or music paper. The silvery steel guards of either side of the fan had an intricate leaf like design on them engraved in black as well.

He picked up the other fan and carefully unfolded it, a satisfying shing noise resounded throughout the room as the separate leaves of the fan fell into an open position. The open fan revealed an identical design to the other fan his other hand was carrying.

"Those are well crafted fans, Tomioka. I'm assuming he got it from Kayano, the blacksmith of this village. Soon we'll start training your body even further to these fans you hold so dearly won't ever shatter to another blade." Kishi said as she examined the metal fans from afar. They were indeed well crafted fans made with great care and precision. Her careful eyes narrowed as she examined the way he was holding the rather stunning fans. "It's well balanced and light. It'll work well in battle."

(Name) nodded in awe. He was still too focused on how touched he felt. Kaku had gifted him these fans and they looked hella badass.

"It's late. Put them away. Tomorrow we can incorporate them into training. The bamboo fans need an upgrade anyways and it's good to get familiar with the real deal early on." her decision absolute and leaving no room for argument, her voice stern and steely.

(Name) blindly nodded almost in a daydream as he carefully flicked the fans closed, the satisfying shing resounding throughout the room once again as the fans were gently placed in the box beside blade oil and a wash cloth for cleaning.

"Right. Night, Miss Kishi." He nodded his gratitude and bid her goodnight as she stepped out of the room and slid the thin shoji door shut.

It was already late and the dinner he had was filling as usual to make up for the intensive workout. Listen, food is good. He's not that strong. As Tiana said, 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.'

The box was gently closed with nimble fingers and gingerly set onto a small drawer in the corner of the room closest to (Name)'s futon a few feet beside it.

The room that was lit by candle light soon turned dark as he blew out the fire dancing on the wick of the small lantern. It was like the room somehow grew colder, the warm orange light leaving behind a satisfying breeze of reality.

(Name) crept into his futon and placed the covers over him, curling under the blanket. The weak insulation wasn't doing much against the chilly November weather blowing by the door.

_________

"Sasageyo! Sasageyo! Shinzo—"

(Name) groaned as he lazily reached for his phone to turn off his alarm. The sun was barely up over the horizon from where the dojo sat, but a minute later Kishi would have burst through the door and demand why he wasn't awake. The soreness in his muscles still aches as badly as the first day he started here, but it was steadily becoming bearable. He was slowly gaining more toned muscle mass and loosing excess fat around some parts of his body

The wooden shoji door glided across its rail and the frame hit the doorway with a thack.

"Get your ass up, Tomioka. We're heading to the shoreline for training this week. Be ready in twenty minutes. If you're late to meet me outside, an extra hour of training today." Was all she said before slamming the door shut.

The young man merely laid on the futon for another minute as the information slowly sank into his slow working brain.

Even after he did register the information, he had to take a full minute to just wake up. Hygiene in the morning usually took 5 minutes tops since he's been in a strict routine here. Food is usually 10 minutes and the rest was for whatever else he had to do in the morning wether it be changing clothes or folding his futon.

He slowly sat up and did routinely stretches for two minutes before hastily making his way to the bathroom to use the toiletry.

The water rushed down the sink as s/c hands were rinsed of the bubbly soap. (Name) quickly splashed cold water onto his eyes and face and shaking his head to wake himself up more before grabbing his toothbrush and dabbing toothpaste on it to brush his teeth.

Soon after, his feet dragged him back to his room, each step already memorized. 14 steps from the bathroom to the bedroom, turn left and slide the door close before grabbing clothes.

He slipped into his own hakama pants and gi and patted it down from folding creases before walking exactly 20 steps to the small kitchenette in the northern part of the dojo.

His hands easily grabbed the wooden spoon and scooped rice onto a plate before adding leftover chicken katsu from last night's dinner.

The clock read 6:13. He had roughly 7 minutes to eat before another hour was added.

It didn't take long before he was finished with the bowl and leaving it beside the sink to wash later this evening.

His feet stepped outside the house at exactly 6:19.

"You're slow." His master scoffed.

It took a lot of willpower to not roll his eyes behind her back, but he still suspects she has eyes on the back of her head so he refrained from doing so.

"Hurry up. We're heading to the beach." She quipped, her short stature taking fast steps.

(Name) followed closely behind as they walked through the edge of town and passed a small clearing of forest before it opened into the sandy shoreline of the island.

"Catch." Kishi threw two identical wooden fans at him and he caught them easily with his right hand with well trained precision and technique from the numerous times she's already done this. It always kept him on his toes though.

He glanced skeptically towards the ocean and sand surrounding them before looking back at his teacher. "Now what? Do I try and bend water or sum? I'm not a water bender and you know it."

"I don't know whatever water bender shit you're spewing, but it has nothing to do with today's training." The short woman scoffed as he flicked out her own fan and began to fan herself. "You'll be practicing on the sand."

(Name) looked at the sand and back at his teacher over and over again to see if she was joking. It was mid November and cold as hell even on a spring island. If he knew he was going to be training here, then he would've brought an extra layer.

She didn't try and take back her words, instead, she waved him on tauntingly. "Go on, get back to work." A mocking smirk on her lips covered with her fan.

He glared at her before getting into his wide and relaxed stand. It was hard to keep his footing in the ever changing form of the sand but he soon grew comfortable as his feet settled into the fine grains of earth.

He began to perform one of the 7 katas Kishi had taught him, but as soon as he tried to start it with a round house into a butterfly kick, he stumbled as the sand underneath his pivoting foot began to sink in under the him. He had to stop and rearrange himself before trying to gain a steadier pose.

The kata started again, only for him to fail without even getting to the second move. The cogs in (Name)'s head began to slowly turn and clink as he began to figure out the point of the new training environment.

So, it's to help my footing and balance in unnatural terrain? Well, I guess today will just be part of any other hellish week then.

Chapter Text

"Feel the earth beneath your feet, the air surrounding your environment. The river running beside you. Envision it. Feel it." Kishi's voice cut through any other thoughts (Name) had as he shut his eyes and tried to focus.

This was the 19th day they were training in observation, and so far, there haven't been any improvements. Like——none at all.

His hair had grown longer in the time he had arrived nearly two months ago, but he was denied a haircut or even a trim because of training. After training was finished, it was already evening, so the barbershops were closed. He didn't trust himself enough to cut his own hair, so he just let it grow out.(if your character already has long hair, ignore this.)

"Breathe in the air. It's the same air your opponent is encapsulated in. Imagine a color. Any color."

He chuckled to himself before clearing his throat when he felt a sharp glare directed at him. "Uh, grey?"

"Now, imagine me, your opponent, encased in a grey outline framing my silhouette. Breathe. Relax. Don't try and predict, just let your body move. Instinct. Breathe, relax, dodge, attack. Act accordingly to what you feel." She accentuated any words relating to instinct. That's what observation haki was all about, after all. "Don't force it. Let it come to you. Imagine water all around you like a tranquil lake, small stones in the lake as the organisms around you."

(Name) was always told to 'feel' or 'anticipate' what his opponent is doing. At this point, he was beginning to believe it was all bogus. Even his awakened armament took only two weeks to manifest, and honestly, he just felt constipated as he forced his will to cover his fans. It felt like he was trying to take a shit through his hands and transfer it to his weapons.

First awakened armament haki reminded him of Naruto's training for the rasengan. Bro had to write a dot on his palm and try to focus his constipated will power into it. Armamaent haki training is no joke. That experience was weird as hell for him.

Shaking his head to rid his unnecessary thought, he breathed in deeply and tried to focus.

The river rushing against the rocks on the riverbed.

The grass underneath his bare feet and poking in between his toes.

The smell of the forest greenery around him as the leaves rustled in the wind.

The slight breeze blowing into his nostrils and ears in a quiet buzz.

He imagined the grey background, his mentor a colored outline as everything was blocked out.

He'd done this numerous times before, and this time he knew it would be the same results. And yet, deep down he yearned for it to be different, for something to magically make him aware of his surroundings. The desperation of the desire to succeed burned through his veins like an angry torrent as he tried to search for a way to click with his surroundings.

He wanted to know what it was like. To know the world beyond sight. To understand it. A wild will to learn—

He didn't know what he felt. It was like a sudden shift in the air. A sudden vibration in the ground.

It was so subtle, but he felt it. It was moving fast. It was moving towards him.

The crunching of grass under shifting weight.

He cursed himself for using his other senses, but this unnamed and unknown feeling churning in the depths of his stomach like an overflowing pot wasn't fading. It was growing more aware, more sensitive and compressed, and yet it felt like an extension of his being leaking out of him in waves shaping his surroundings.

It was empowering.

(Name) didn't know what suddenly made him jerk his body to dodge in a harsh turn to the right.

His body stumbled as he tripped over mud and splashed into the shallow river, his eye lids ripping open in shock and adrenaline as they adjusted to the harsh light again.

There his mentor was, arm pulled out in a punch just where his head had been moments before.

The very same fist he had just dodged without even seeing—the same fist he sensed.

The same damned fist that had decked him over and over all around his body for over two weeks to try and unlock his observation.

That same fucking owner of that fist had a proud ass gleam in her eyes as she brought back her extended arm and strut over to her student to lend out her arm. She was proud. She didn't even mind the muddy hand grabbing her own tanned one as (Name) hoisted himself up.

"Congrats, Tomioka. You've finally unlocked your observation haki after nearly 3 weeks."

________

The celebration of having his ass whooped for nearly a month on haki training was short lived when a fateful knock resounded throughout the dojo just 2 weeks later.

The knocking on wood didn't even deter (Name)'s focus as he slashed at wooden log 6 feet away with his haki coated metal fan. The mere force of the slash blasted through the air and left a deep slice in the log as it was knocked off its platform.

Kishi glanced at the door and gestured for (Name) to continue practicing as she trudged across the dojo to the door.

He had made incredibly significant progress in merely 3 months. It was a whole month extension of what Garp had requested in his behalf, but he was grateful he wasn't fired on skipping out on work for a month.

When his mentor slid open the door, he activated his devil fruit to amplify the sound to travel to his eardrums clearly from afar in secret. That was one ability he wouldn't like to share with his mentor. He felt like a spy. It felt cool.

"I am here to inform you that Tomioka Tsutako is needed on a carrier mission to Impel Down south of this Navy Base."

(Name) faltered mid swing of his fan as he listened to the conversation across the dojo, the slash merely grazing the next log.

"I'm sorry, but I believe Vice Admiral Garp informed the Navy Base that Tomioka would be off duty to be trained in both proper conduct and physical capabilities." Kishi folded her fan and crossed her arms, a confused and frustrated expression tugged at her face. The Marine foot soldier merely fiddled with his rifle nervously before continuing his message.

"It was short notice, but he is to head to the docks carrying a criminal to Impel Down. There, he has a mission from the Jailor on the 31st Wing where he will begin active duty. I apologize, but he has this evening at 7 o'clock to be prepared to set off." The marine glanced at his watch before bowing. "That is all."

Kishi sighed through her nose before nodding in farewell. As soon as the foot soldier was out of sight, she aggressively slammed the door shut. The slam of the wooden frame made her student jump from where he was standing in his ready stance.

"You already sliced the 3 boulders I assigned you and the tree trunks for firewood using your fans, correct?" She completely ignored the elephant in the room and started a whole ass interrogation with (Name).

"Erm, yea..." He awkwardly responded as he dropped his arms to his sides and turned to face his mentor. "Why?"

She huffed and shook her head. "Get your things ready. I saw the badge of merits buttoned onto his uniform. That kid was part of Gundy's battalion, the 31st Wing of Impel Down. Carrier mission on transporting an inmate to level 1 as a first mission should be simple enough. You may be able to even be positioned there if you're lucky." Kishi uncrossed her arms and began to fan herself with one hand. "From the looks of it, you don't have much experience navigating or sailing so it's better if you're stationed at a designated island like Impel Down."

(Name) folded the metal fans in his grasp and nodded, fiddling with them in his hands as he walked out of the training room and towards his personal room.

First mission? I barely know the basics of observation and armament. I can barely even use armament for 10 minutes. Not to mention my observation haki is absolute shit. I can barely sense 5 feet in front of me with my eyes closed.

He grabbed his trusty bag that he's been carrying around since the beginning of his journey. The only shoulder strap had its stitches fraying and the color was fading from the durable cloth.

Well...it's been loved. (Name) furrowed his brows as he looked over the mild damages to the satchel. His beloved satchel...

Oh well. He can fix it later.

It was mainly just a bit dirty and it's usual (color) dye faded from the cloth until a duller version of what it once was. The shoulder strap was almost completely torn off at the seems when he had fallen from Skypeia that fateful day.

The bag was placed beside his folded futon as he stuffed in extra clothes from his drawer and travelled to the bathroom for hygienic necessities before returning and setting it beside his bag.

The fans he had placed on his drawer hadn't moved an inch from where he had left them as he was packing.

The two extra pair of clothes were stuffed to the side of the bag as he placed in the basic hygiene materials inside beside his phone charge and headset on the other side. Everything relatively okay.

I feel like I'm missing something. I can just carry Lucci or tie him to my bag.

(Name)'s lungs expanded as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

This would be the last few hours he would be able to spend in this dojo. All of that suffering and torment made him improve so much. He was able to awaken the armament and observation by the end of the month of training for haki. His physical and mental fortitude and strength has significantly improved.

If (Name) were to measure his strength right now, he would probably say roughly pre-time skip Zoro level. It's not much based on New World standards, but with his devil fruit and Kirby abilities, he could be a handful to deal with in battle.

He had been training these past three months without any assistance if his special abilities. When he is free from the dojo, he'll probably train his devil fruit powers and how to incorporate it into his fans.

It still sucks. The lingering oolong tea scent still filled the dojo, the creaky fifth floorboard always echoing through his mind every time he would step on it whenever he headed to the training room in the mornings. The neatly inked scrolls hanging on the walls from their hooks screwed in for motivation that didn't really motivate, but were appreciated nonetheless.

(Name) took a deep breath as he savored these last few minutes here. Here where his training montage began. Here where his training montage would end. He had a pretty good training arc, not the best, and probably one of the worst, but it was decent and still worth it.

He snagged his long forgotten marine uniform from his drawer and quickly dressed out of his dojo clothes before slipping on the familiar blue slacks and sailor shirt.

Damn. I'm even gonna miss the hella comfy clothes...

"Tomioka! Get yer ass out here!"

And that's when the nostalgia and sentimentality was all washed away as he felt himself deflate at the demanding voice of his teacher. (Name) sighed and dragged his feet down the hall, the fifth step creaking under his weight before he was standing in front of his mentor.

The elderly woman stood proudly, arms crossed as usual. (Name) stood roughly half a head taller than her, but her superiority dominated his feeble presence.

"You're leaving in 30." She stated as she pointed to the clock which read 6:20. "Be by the docks five minutes early. You want to make a good impression."

(Name) scoffed under his breath. "My impression is my impression, not yours." He rolled his eyes.

The earned him a whack to his head from her own fan and ending with him cradling his head and the familiar sting and pain settling in as his neck snapped to the side from the hit.

"Tch. Your generation has no respect for their elders." She huffed in frustration, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor boards.

"You just admitted you're old!"

Whack!

"You still admitted it—"

Whack! Whack! Whack!

"Ow-fuck!—"

"No foul language, young man." Kishi scolded fiercely as she threatened him with a raised hand with her paddle. "Now get to the goddamn docks now!"

He unenthusiastically nodded as he cupped his head and slung his bag over his shoulder. He would just fix his bag on the carrier ship or something. Stupid old hag. I hope you get hit by a truck.

(Name) dashed down the steps of the dojo, the fresh air hitting his face and the musky scent of oolong tea was washed out of his sinuses. His legs carried him straight towards the docks, a grin on his face despite the throbbing pain in his head. His first mission!

It was a carrier mission, too! To level One of Impel Down. He slowed his pace as he saw the dock getting closer and closer. If the prisoner is going to level one, then that means it's not Ace.

(Name) frowned at the thought of not seeing the match stick, but oh well. What he really looks forward to is finding Mihawk, somehow survive, and raid his wine cellar.

Now that is a great goal on his bucket list.

"First Class Seaman, Tomioka Tsutako, correct?" The captain managing the ship asked (Name) when he arrived, clipboard in his hand.

The fan user saluted. "Sir." He greeted.

The captain marked something off on the clipboard before turning over his shoulder. "Guido!"

A smaller foot soldier popped up from behind a pile of crates, med kit in hand. He approached the duo and saluted, still not talking. The most noticeable thing he had on his person beside his med kit was a light blue marine cap and gloves he wore. Usually the marine caps were white.

"This is Guido. He's from Water Seven and doesn't speak much of Trade Lingo, the common language spoken all throughout the world." The captain briefly explained the shorter man's lack of speech to (Name) without looking up from his clipboard. "You'll be rooming with him."

Guido's eyes widened a smidge which didn't go unnoticed by e/c eyes closely inspecting the glove clad young man in front of him. He muttered something under his breath but (Name) didn't hear it well.

"There are is, in total, twenty others who will be managing this carrier mission. We're relocating Buggy the Clown to Impel Down instead of the local Navy base based on Vice Admiral Garp's command when he found out the clown was only behind normal prison bars with seastone." The captain sighed as he finally looked up from his clipboard. "You're taking night watch for the first two nights. It's a five day trip to Impel Down from here."

...

Holy shit—Buggy?! I can't wait for Shanks to get a kick out of this. (Name) covered his cackle with a very dramatic coughing fit.

The captain merely grimaced at the sight before dismissing (Name) and heading to his office where he is to occupy during he trip to Impel Down.

Guido was still standing in his position. He hadn't moved from his spot even when dismissed, choosing to give a once over at the new recruits condition.

"Ær œfgjï xźvbmñ¿?" The shorter marine spoke quickly and seemed to be asking some sort of question as he held up his med kit.

(Name) tilted his head in question. What the fuck is this guys saying. It sound Italian. Isn't he from Water Seven? Isn't Water Seven based off of Venice, Italy with the floating city?

Guido sighed in visible frustration which agitated the musician. He shoved up his med kit closest to (Name)'s face before being it back down and pointing to the white box and back at him.

"You want to look over my wounds...?" The fan user guessed in a half assed tone, not completely sure what the message the gloved man is trying to convey.

To his surprise, Guido nodded and hastily walked to a door leading into the ship and turned back to gesture (Name) to follow.

The musician complied and jogged to catch up as they descended a fleet of stairs and down a hall before turning right into what seemed like some sort of infirmary. It lacked any sort of bright color beside the iconic blues of the navy. But other than that, it was incredibly bland and boring that it was kind of concerning. There were only 2 other people in the infirmary, one that looked to also be another person getting a checkup and another medic.

"So...now what?" (Name) asked as he stood underneath the doorway. Guido pat a cushioned stool for the other to sit on as he hastily prepared his medical kit.

The taller of the two complied and sat himself down on, dare he say, the most uncomfortable seat in history. It was lumpy and asymmetrical despite its first appearance from afar.

Now he just wanted the checkup to get over with.

Guido whipped out a stethoscope and listened to (Name)'s heart. Instinctively, the musician breathed in and out slowly as the medic listened to his heartbeat.

Then he checked his eyes and ears. (Name) assumed the lack of response meant the checkups was going well.

The small medic used his stethoscope to tap the new recruit's knee as it instinctively kicked up. Guido nodded in satisfaction at the healthy condition of his patient so far and was about to turn away until he saw a rather irritated scar in the corner of his vision.

He carefully grasped (Name)'s wrist and looked over his forearm where the injury was. It was a pink-red color. The scab wasn't too deep, but it was obvious it had been picked at and not healing correctly.

"Yeah. It was from a training accident." (Name) said sheepishly. "I kind of...tried to use a new move with my weapons but it kind of backfired and I tripped."

Guido didn't respond as he reached into his med kit and pulled out ointment, a large cotton wrap, and gauze. He lathered a small amount of the ointment on the injury, the cool sensation spreading over the irritated skin.

The other patient getting a checkup smirked from across the room as he watched the shorter medic. "What's the short stack doing here? I bet his stubby little fingers can't even bandage a cut properly with a bandaid." He jeered. The marine's voice was incredibly high and squeaky like Mickey Mouse, but had numerous voice cracks in between words as he talked. It was an odd match considering his words were meant to be rude, but couldn't be taken seriously with his voice.

Guido just glared back but didn't say anything as he swiftly unrolled a good section of gauze and cotton before skillfully wrapping (Name)'s arms in both medical materials. He then placed the leftover roll of gauze into his med kit and slammed the lid shut. The shorter medic just turned back at the other patient and snuggly smiled as if trying to say 'you were saying?'

"HAHAHA! You got played!" (Name) kept pointing his finger at the other marine with his good arm before patting Guido aggressively on the back. "That was a good one! We should take a picture of his reaction!"

His coworker flushed red in embarrassment at the sudden compliment, but cleared his throat at the praise and felt a sense of pride in himself as he continued to smugly smile at the other patient.

The medic tending to the Mickey Mouse sounding soldier shook her head and gave him a pointed look. "You dug your own grave on that one. Guido here is our most skilled medic on this ship."

"Hah. Suck my toes, dipshit. I bet yo mama never taught you to never to judge a book by his cover!" (Name) whooped as he amplified his voice louder just to rub it into the guy's face even more.

"Shut up!"

The musician only cackled even harder at the squeaky voice crack and wheezed, his lungs struggling to take in air as he kicked his legs. "Guido, you're amazing, man." He calmed down slightly and took in much needed air. "Let's head to the room. I literally have no idea what the layout of this ship is."

The medic nodded and quickly filed out of the room, (Name) hopping off the uncomfortable stool and following close behind.

After continuing down the hall, Guido stopped in the second to last door and pointed at it.

"This is the room?" Guido nodded in response as he opened the door and revealed an average sized room with hammocks on either end.

Guido pointed to once neat hammock before pointing to himself.

"That's yours?"

He nodded.

"I'll take the other one then." (Name) adjusted his bag on his shoulder before letting it drop to the floor beside a cabinet screwed into the wall to not move during abnormal weather in the Grand Line.

His bag was unzipped by callused fingers as he took out the folded clothes and stuffed them into one side of the rather small cabinet and Lucci on the other side. (Name) placed his bag on his hammock with his hygiene supplies and finally took the time to look around the room.

Like the infirmary, it was terribly bland with the usual light brown flooring and white painted wooden walls encapsulated the room. The only difference was the light blue, metal cabinets and hammocks hanging from the walls.

"Get to your posts! We're settling sail in 10 minutes!"

The strong voice of the captain rang through the corridor as the stomping of feet rocket the ship as people rushed to their posts and positions on the ship. Even Guido got up to head to the infirmary.

(Name) sighed as he grabbed Lucci from the shelf before dragging his feet towards the Captain at the end of the hall and saluting, his cat under his other arm.

"Tomioka. The cell of the prisoner is on the floor below this one. One other guard will be with you outside the cell room. You're stationed inside the cell room where you can monitor the clown on the other side of the bars." The captain instructed as he pointed down the next stair well. "The other soldier stationed there will be right outside the cell room. The door is made of 7 inches of solid seastone, so if you need assistance, you ring a button on the other side. The code is 4579234."

The new recruit nodded before heading down the stair way and skipping the last two steps by jumping over them. As he made his way down the king hallway to the metal door where the other soldier the captain was talking about was already there at ready position.

"Tomioka." He greeted when he read the name tag on his collar, an arrogant smirk on his face as if already looking down on (Name).

"Branzazza." The musician suppressed the venom at the act of superiority from someone who was only a single rank higher than him.

"Don't get so cocky for being a recommended soldier. I'm betting a wimp like yourself wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of being either that prisoner, bah-ha!" Branzazza leered in jest as he crossed his arms confidently.

(Name) just brushed past him, making sure to shove the guy with his shoulder extra hard as he tapped in the code to the door. It clicked as soon at the last digit was tapped in and he aggressively slammed it as soon as he walked in. That guy fucking irks me and I've only know him for thirty seconds. Why are 90% of all the marines I meet have a screw loose? Like, Garp is a ducking troll, Kishi is a gym addict, Lucci doesn't need an explanation, and the marine that got fired by Aokiji was a cunt. Fuck him.

He turned his body to face the cell on the other side.

A tall man was sitting on the floor with heavy chains locked to his arms. His long, bright blue hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, prison uniform rather discolored from the 2 months in the prison he was previously at. The most noticeable feature the man had was his red nose shaped like a ball like that of a clown's.

The man behind bars, was none of than Buggy the Clown.

Buggy looked up at the sudden slamming of the leave seastone door and grimaced at the newcomer angrily, brows furrowed and with a frown as if he had seen something troublesome.

(Name) tried to rid the uneasy atmosphere by starting light conversation. "Hey, aren't you Shanks's friend—"

The criminal seethed. If it were even possible, his glare became even angrier as his face grew red in annoyance as he cut (Name) off. "Don't even associate me with that red haired shit eating dickwad of a fucker!"

...

"...I think we're gonna get along just fine. How about a game of Uno?"

Chapter Text

"How the fuck do you have so many plus four's?!"

Currently, it was the fifth round of Uno, and sadly, (Name)'s Uno champion title was being threatened by the rookie who just learned how to properly play.

"I just do." Buggy smirked as he proceeded to place down a plus two since he ran out of plus fours after the third one was played.

The marine noticed the single card in Buggy's hand. "Uno! Pick up two cards!" He hollered after he picked his own two cards.

"Shit, I forgot about that! Why the hell is that a rule?!"

"Because it is."

"I hope you choke on a dick."

"Already did, my good sir."

"Did you swallow?"

They looked at each other with wide eyes before bursting out in a fit of uncontrolled laughter, that interrupted their conversation. Buggy threw his head back as his body shook from his hollering and hooting at the insensitive remark, slapping his knee over and over again as the chains around his wrist clanked against the floorboards.

(Name) buried his face in his hands and had to hold his stomach from the lack of oxygen he was taking in. "Why–would you ask—pft HEUUUHAHSHSAHA—"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence before falling into hysterics once again. The lungs and stomach inside his body hurt from how much his muscles shook and clenched as he sputtered like an old water faucet trying to turn off.

Despite their efforts to stop, they always ended up bursting into another fit of laughter whenever they tried.

After while, the two men began to calm down. Their stomachs were sore from all of the laughter they let out as a calm silence lulled around the room as the refreshed feeling sank in.

Buggy looked at the scattered cards around them before raising his head to look at (Name) with a mocking smirk. "So, round five of Uno?"

"You are so on."

_______________

The two men(who were acting like rowdy unhinged teenagers stoned on a couch), were now conversing about different stories in their lives in the New World and piracy in general. They started properly conversing and exchanging small talk after the 30th Uno match.

"Yeah, so right when I think I have the goddamn little shit named Teach, Shanks thinks it's a good fucking idea to pop out a bush and tackle him! It's the stupidest way to get a badass scar." Buggy muttered the last part as he gulped a sip of oolong tea (Name) had purchased with his phone.

"That's pretty dumb. I always thought he got it from some epic fight as a kid or something when you guys were with Roger."

"Pft, yeah right." Buggy scoffed and rolled his eyes. He pretended to look around the room as if making sure no one was listening. "The worst rumor I heard about his scar is that he and Teach were saving a cat and Shanks got the short straw. Like the two would ever even become friends! It's preposterous! So unflashy!"

(Name) snickered. "Please. I can imagine him getting scratched by a cat. You should've seen him back in Alabasta. I suggested going on a date with Benn, but then he got all sulky and muttering stuff about how his first mate stole me."

Buggy rolled his eyes. "He's got a bleeding heart, that's for sure." His cup of tea sloshed in his hands as he waved it at (Name) pointedly. "I still find it so weird to see the red haired bastard without his hat. Back when we were cabin boys, he always stole hats from everyone in the crew to add to his 'collection'"

The clown pirate scrunched up his face as if smelling something putrid. "Never wore a hat since he gave it to Luffy. He stole my beanie too." Buggy visibly deflated as he remembered his beloved beanie being stolen by Shanks.

"He stole my heart." (Name) said in such an exaggerated dreamy voice Buggy gagged before punching his shoulder through the bars.

"Please, he tries to get with women but has no intention of staying."

"Then I guess I have a better shot as a man...?"

"As if. That guy is smart but dense. I still don't understand how that even works."

"Yeah, well you'll never believe this story once I was dropped off in Alabasta." (Name) grinned as he excitedly rocked back and forth as he spilled the tea to his new gossip buddy.

"So basically, as soon as I get to Rainbase, I play music on stage for some money and basically force the bartenders to let me make my own drink." He started his take with exaggerated hand movements as if to get the message across. Buggy just nodded on, taking a sip from the tea. "And basically, Cock, I mean Croc, or in your case Crocodile, proceeds to kidnap me and make me his personal musician and bartender!"

Buggy spat out his tea and coughs and hacks up the leaf brewed liquid that went up his nose. "What?!"

"I know, right! And then when he invaded this place called Alubarna, he ties me to a post like a dog outside a restaurant! I made a camel friend named Lashes. He was a great guy. Liked getting his eye makeup done. Especially his eyeliner." The ex-bartender recalled. "And Crocodile still lost. Bro could use haki and still wasn't able to defeat a newbie from East Blue."

"East Blue. Do I know the guy?" Buggy recovered from his coughing fit, wiping away the spilled tea with his shirt.

"Mhm. Money D. Luffy." (Name) said Luffy's name slowly at the sensitive topic, not even calling him Lloyd as usual.

"That Monkey kid? He's a decent one." Buggy sighed as he looked at the ceiling as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed behind him.

...

"You're not frustrated at hearing his name?"

"I'm 39 years old, what do you expect? A hot tempered nincompoop?" The criminal dismissed with a teasing look. "Just because I seemed like an aggressive little shit in the Newspaper doesn't mean I have no reason for it."

"Didn't you usually stay in East Blue? What brought you so close to the red line where Logue Town was?" (Name) inquired with a raised brow. Buggy sighed as he stopped leaning against the wall and sat down properly.

"I'll tell you a little secret." He said in a hushed whisper and glanced around before smiling. "I already know the layout of most Navy ships from infiltrations, and I know there's no hearing devices or camera inside the actual cell room. Only right outside the door."

The marine's eyes gleamed eagerness to listen.

"I lay low in East blue most of the time. I kept my bounty low by Grand Line standards so I can work under the radar." Buggy dropped his easy going act as his expressive complexion turned as rigid as stone, a serious glint in his eyes as if daring (Name) to leak the information. "As you know, we grew up on the Oro Jackson like I've told you."

The marine nodded in confirmation.

Buggy opened his mouth to continue before hesitating and glancing at his hands that were clasped together in front of him nervously. "Growing up as a kid on the Oro was fun and all, but it was terrifying." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Going into the Edd War against Shiki and that damned hurricane...it was the most horrible and terrifying experience I've ever had in my 39 years of life. All at the age of ten."

"Even when Shiki was behind bars, his men who were free hunted us down all throughout the East. Old man Zeff gave us shelter at the Baratie for roughly a month before we were back on the run when a customer had ratted us out. A storm blasted up back to Paradise where me and Shanks were separated. The bastard went and moved on, assuming I was dead and created a crew for himself not even a year later. Fucking prick. And yet, I still can't blame him. He hasn't been fully sober in years and counting. He only started drinking he strong stuff after Captain's death. It was never his fault for leaving me behind."

I would leave me behind if I were him, too. We're the unspoken words that lingered in the air.

A question sparked in (Name)'s brain. His curiosity must have shown on his face when Buggy encouraged him to say what he wanted to ask him.

"It's just that, if you were such a strong pirate and learning haki at 16 if I'm correct, why did you get defeated in East Blue so easily by Luffy?" The question floated in the air for a bit before a chuckle from the chained man broke through the quiet room.

"I guess it wasn't obvious enough, huh?" Buggy said more to himself than to (Name). "Me and Shanks were involved in piracy way too early in our lives. You really think I would let other kids do the same thing? Get taken into pirate crews only to be wash outs later on when they loose that crew? That family? Me and Shanks were lucky. I stayed in East Blue and monitored rising rookies, testing them with various ploys to see what they're made of before sending them off into the Grand Line. If they can't handle the bare minimum in my exams at Orange Town, how can they handle the Grand Line?"

"So you stayed in East Blue to monitor the rising Rookies..." (Name) asked to confirm what he was hearing.

The older man nodded in confirmation. "When Shanks and I met up again in an uninhabited island in East Blue, we vowed to never let any other kid go through the shit we went through. That's why Shanks didn't let that Luffy kid aboard his ship when he did back in Foosha. Didn't want the poor guy to handle the work load of being a cabin boy so young."

The musician could tell Buggy was starting to feel the anxiety and settling into him, his shoulders shuddering with every breath, eyes screwed shut. He reluctantly changed the topic instead. "So...you test them?"

To his relief, Buggy flinched as if aware of his surroundings once again. The sense of gratitude at the change of topic was gratifying as he hastily indulged in the question.

"Of course. I only give them a spook and rough them up a little. Luffy and his older brother, what was it, Acey? Alex? Whatever his name was—passed with flying colors. The people back at Orange Town don't mind me hosting my little shows there every once in a while. The town is fake, mainly just disposable props. Pretty convincing if you don't look at them too closely." Buggy sighed as he took another sip of his now cold tea, the earthy flavor not doing much to relax the nerves in his too tense shoulder and the cold set of his expression he was wearing. "I can never reach anyone, though. Whoever doesn't pass my test just means they're not built for piracy. That's when I hit them with reality and then they run off. If they're truly yearning for adventure, they would come back and 'free the town'."

When he finished his explanation, the two men both had wide eyes as there was a knock at the door, a drowned out sound of loud chatter on the other side.

The glanced at each other and Buggy immediately snatched the empty paper cup from (Name)'s hand and threw it into the dark corner of his cramped cell and scooching over to sit right in front of them to hide of any friendly evidence.

(Name) jumped up and stood against the wall and crossed his arms, putting on his resting bitch face to look like he was serious about looking over a criminal and not being his personal therapist and Uno buddy for the past 6 hours.

They mainly talked about gossip about embarrassing stories and black mail from different pirate crews like the Whitebeard's and Strawhats alike for the first two hours. That's when (Name) found out Buggy had a spy network that stretched to the New World known as the Scrap Line. He covered up his tracks so well that even the World Government couldn't trace its founding to him. Who would blame a low level from East Blue anyways?

The door creaked open, the heavy seastone scraping against the floor in a way that made both men cringe at the scraping that sounded suspiciously like nails on a chalk board.

"Tomioka. Your shift is over. It's nearly 5. Go get some food and head to bed for a bit. We need you in the morning for chore duty." It was the captain again with his hand dandy clip board as usual, the cape with the words justice on it swayed with his every step as he walked right back out the cell room after delivering his message.

The Bah-ha guy must've already been dismissed by the looks of the new pair of guards by the side of the hallway to to let the captain and himself out the room.

(Name) looked behind him and saw Buggy subtly wave his hand to play along and leave, so that's what he did. He reached down and grabbed his cat before dragging his feet out of the room.

The door creaked shut behind him, Lucci in his right hand as he made his way to the dining room where the kitchenette on the ship was. There was a single cook on the Navy ship like any other that handled meals. He hopes to atleast snag some decent food before heading to bed.

He counted the amount of steps it took across the deck to get to the door. 32. And then knocked on the door before opening it to reveal the kitchen...

That was currently a mess.

There was leftover food on plates that piled over the sink, the single cook tried hard to follow the amount of plates adding onto the pile and and trying to cook the abundance of meal requests that were being thrown at her from five other men and women.

"Um–yes! I'll cook that for you right after I make this sandwich!"

"I got my shift in fifteen! Hurry it up!"

"Can it, woman! She's making my lunch! I gotta eat it for navigating this damn ship this afternoon!"

Shouting and insults were being thrown across the room like shots being fired from a gun. It was growing hectic, and the cook wasn't able to do anything about it but try and come focus on her cooking.

(Name) set Lucci down on a nearby windowsill before silencing his footsteps with his devil fruit and snuck past the bustling marines, ignoring the grumbling of stomachs and stressed remarks from the cook.

When he finally reached the young cook, he looked around and the disorganized cooking area. Vegetable skins were in one corner, seasoned meat was set aside, a pan was starting to burn the oil in it and the bread roasting in the toaster was beginning to char.

He grew annoyed as he pointed at the group of five soldiers. "Mute Button."

Silence.

Mute Button:A move that mutes a specified person(s) or a specific group is unable to hear them but others are.

The marines looked at each other weirdly as they tried to talk, but nothing came out their mouths whenever they tried. That's when they finally took notice of the newcomer who had silently entered the room.

(Name) waved at them happily as he threw away the old peel of the vegetables that were starting to rot in a can. The cook had stopped her chopping and finally looked up with antsy and surprised eyes.

"I'll take it from here. Whatever you are served is what you'll get. No requests, got it?!" The musician scowled, aggressively chopping the stem of a carrot off as if saying 'you're next.'

They breathlessly nodded with dumbstruck looks as they released their grips from their comrades hair and clothes from their little tussle before obediently sitting down.

(Name) looked at the cook and she awkwardly smiled in thanks, fiddling with her thumbs nervously and ready to be belittled or something.

Instead, the newcomer skillfully flipped the knife and caught the dull side of the blade, handle facing her. "You gonna cook or what? I'm gonna be your sous chef for the time you're on this ship." I'll also be your bodyguard was left unsaid.

And that's how (Name) also became a sous chef. That afternoon everyone on the ship had Sopas for lunch.

Chapter Text

It's the second day of (Name)'s night watch. It all started off well when they were joking over tea about the different pirate stories they had, Buggy had many more though. And it was when (Name) asked about his former crew again did the easygoing, happy-go-lucky air vanish.

Buggy visibly stiffened at the unexpected question. At first, he started thinking of an excuse to get out of the question, but who knows when the next social interaction with a human would be? Besides, he has nothing to lose at this point. He would be behind bars in the world's unbreakable prison in two days. "I've said it before, but it was fun until the reality of being the cabin boy of the Roger Crew came crashing down in Edd War." He chuckled but there was no humor in his words. "That shit hole nearly swept me off the field when the hurricane hit. It's the New World, so I guess it was expected, but it was terrifying nonetheless."

(Name) didn't really know what to think of as he listened to Buggy's story, so he stayed silence as the pirate composed himself once more and steeled his nerves. When he was ten, he was going to school and coping with his eating and sleeping disorders. He was never involved in a war with men twice his height with nothing but a knife like Buggy has been. Not to mention all of those men gunning for despite being a mere cabin boy.

"Everyone on the ship called me cowardly for wanting to hide away in the Oro and wait out the war. Scaredy cat. Not manly enough. Not mature enough. Too much of a cry baby. Too sensitive." Buggy's voice became harsher and harsher as his nails dug into his hands.

Only when (Name) placed a hand on his shoulder through the bars did Buggy realize the crescents that were cut into his palms were staring to bleed.

"Sorry," the criminal sighed in frustration as he slumped into himself for some sort of protection from the memory. It was like ripping off an old bandage. And it hurt. "Still a sore topic."

"And you have every right to still be upset about it" The musician fiercely responded, giving a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder through the bars before retracting his hand. "You went through hell during that war and none of your crew understood. It will never get easier. Survival and time only makes the burden less noticeable. It doesn't lessen it in any way. And it's okay to feel like this. Because only you and Shanks have ever felt this broken and battered, and you still survived. And I am so fucking happy you did. So fucking proud you're able to tell me this. It just means you're healing."

Buggy hesitantly nodded, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he continued. "Shanks and I were a complete wreck after Edd War." He sighed. "At least Captain apologized from dragging children into a war they should've never even been close to being in. Two kids who got dragged into this 'freedom'. And yet...I still can't help but still sail the seas. Even through that fucked up childhood of living on a pirate ship and getting dragged into their antics, I can't help but a still love the memory." And he hates that he can't stop loving those memories. The memories of the crew that had left him and his best friend.

"Every night for months we would wake up having night terrors of that war. Our asses almost getting swiped off the map like bugs. For weeks me and Shanks would see glimpses of death and desperation on that fucking floating island. Nearly being swept away by the storm. Our captain the only alone who had even noticed our absence and diligently protected us when nobody else noticed during that battle, too busy feeling the thrill of the fight." Buggy's face morphed into one of distaste at the last comment. "That war was beyond us. Bigger than me and Shanks. Captain at least had the decency to apologize."

"What was it like handling it? The memory and how it affected you?" (Name) asked quietly just above a whisper, the other barely even picking up on the question through the bars separating them.

"It was hell. Every night, waking up to nightmares. Every morning having to do chores and being laughed at by our crew. They expect us to man up during war and stop being kids, and yet when we're at our worst, they want us to have a healthy coping mechanism like an adult. It's not fair. But then again, nothing in piracy is fair. Nothing at all." The blue haired criminal sighed in defeat. "Everything had gone to shit. When captain was on his death bed, we were dropped off at Logue Town and left for dead as Rayleigh went to deliver the Oro to Water Seven and lead the attention off of us."

"Too bad it didn't do utter shit to the targets pinned on our backs." (Name) flinched at the mere venom and hatred laced into Buggy's spiteful tone that screamed hostility.

He had remembered. Buggy remembered how all of the Roger pirates hit the bottom of the barrel, having to erase themselves off the map and stay in hiding. Leaving two kids to fend for themselves despite being easy to find and save. No one wanted dead weight of cabin boys, though. They ran for 11 months before that dreaded storm hit, tearing the two boys away from each other. They were the only ones who could piece together their broken pieces over and over again until they shattered time and time again and repeating it over and over as many times as they needed. Torn apart and hadn't heard any word from each other until two years later when a bounty with a blue haired boy popped up at a start of 4 million beli.

Shanks just managed to take the first step of moving on and healing from the death of their f̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ captain and the War sooner than Buggy. It's why the redhead hasn't been fully sober in over twenty years. It was easier to handle things when drunk. Doesn't hurt as much as it should when you're sober. It numbs the memories until a dull ache, the sadness and anger still looming over you like a shadow, but not as noticeable when drunk. It was better that way. That's why Shanks hadn't been sober in over twenty years.

When Shanks managed to start up a crew in Paradise, Buggy washed up on the shores of Drum Island, freezing and chattering like an ice block. Various infections from cuts and second degree burns from the numerous attempts to capture the cabin boys of the Pirate King's crew. An abundance of seastone exposure and being lost at sea with only driftwood didn't help his case.

"I ended up in Drum island where all of my injuries from being a runaway were all treated." Buggy didn't specify the injuries and (Name) didn't ask, much to his relief. He didn't want to touch a topic he really wasn't ready to talk about just yet. Even after two decades, he's still healing. "After I had recovered, that old hag Kureha took me under her wing and kept me in hiding. I died my hair black to blend in and was taught her ways from medical capabilities and poison all the way to advanced haki training. Being in the New World for as long as I was didn't make me a conplete idiot to haki, y'know."

Buggy sighed. The Edd War really fucked up the minds of two small children. Not to mention Baterilla. He and Shanks had tried to visit there on the run after hearing of the attack in hopes of survivors.

They were too late.

The too small graves for too small bodies for both unborn and new lives all at the ages of three or younger. A new graveyard built just for them and their family members who committed suicide from the grief of losing their expectant wives and children. The little infants who weren't even able to take their first breath all for the sake of finding an unconfirmed child of the 'Pirate King'. He had lost his father in all but blood, and the government took everything else he had ever known away from him. He was only starting to get it back after making his crew in East Blue only for it to be torn away from his grasp once again when he got captured. Everything and anything he cared about is always snatched right out his hands no matter how hard he tries to hold them close.

The government who had sworn to protect the countries and islands under their care, murdered an island full of women and children in the name of Justice twenty two years ago while their families watched idly by. Powerless and defeated. They say their screams were carried into the wind and far beneath the ocean into Davy Jones's locker where even the dead could here it from the Flying Dutchman. The screams and pleas that were never answered. The screams that had stopped, not because someone had saved them, but because the owners of the screams were all brutally murdered in the name of justice under the guise of a pirate attack.

(Name) shut his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose before exhaling. It was too much. The reality of Baterilla was finally sinking in. Everything fell into place as his mind was slowly registering the information. Baterilla was real in this world. Edd War was real for Buggy and the Roger's. The Government didn't care about anything other than it's absolute ruling and image to the public. It was all real in this world. This was their reality. At Buggy had lived through it.

"Fuck, man. Even my world's governments weren't that bad." (Name) muttered under his breath almost inaudibly.

Being hailed as a spymaster and captain of his crew, Buggy was able to pick up on the sentence and raised a brow. "There's only one world government. I don't know what you're talking about."

(Name) pondered on whether to tell his new friend or not. After the many hours of talking with him, Buggy was beyond what he first though in the anime.

I know he wouldn't tell, but do I really want to risk it...?

...

Pft. I've never played it safe before, why start now?

"Do you believe in traveling through dimensions...?" He asked first, testing the waters.

The look of shock and confusion was there and it passed through Buggy's face for a split second before morphing into amusement the next. "The Grand Line is full of mysteries. World jumping wouldn't be the most shocking I've heard of."

The marine took a deep breath before exhaling. "And if I were one of those World Jumpers?"

Buggy was silent for a second and (Name) glanced up to look at his eyes expecting complete confusion or disbelief.

Instead, the clown pirate merely looked rather intrigued. "Then I would say I'm very happy to have met someone so unique."

The musician felt himself well up in pride.

"But what does that have to do with the other governments you were talking about? What was your world like?" Buggy already knew where this was heading, so he might as well cut to the chase.

"This place called America. I moved there for the free government. The states under the Government has their own Constitution, or own set of rules, but they can't go against the Government's Constitution or Bill of Rights." (Name) started. He's always been interested in history, especially the start of the government. He didn't know much, but he had the basics.

Buggy stayed silent and was rather impressed. "How big was this country?"

"Over three hundred million people live there!"

"Three hundred million?!"

"Yeah! It's incredible! And most states have millions of people living there. When the country was first made, it was a fourth of its size it is right now. Everything there has advanced technology, like my phone!" (Name) grinned as he told his story. He never realized how much he remembered from his past in the modern world. He never realized how much he missed it, either.

"There's these planes, vehicle thingies that can fly through the air and carry hundreds of passengers across the world! There's cars that almost everybody owns that uses an engine to carry them around streets. Buildings are super tall in the city where I live. Everyone owns phones!"

Buggy had wide eyes as he tried to comprehend everything. The government allowed them to have such high tech items on their person?! "What type of government do you guys even have?!"

"It's known as the freest one in the world with the country with the most opportunities. The Government has little power over states, but it still keeps everyone in check. When the Constitution was first written, it included a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a document of fundamental freedoms that belong to every person that government law can't interfere with. That's how people's rights are protected. Amendments are made to it" (Name) remembered that much from history class.

"And people just lived in peace like that? Was it always like that?" Buggy's shock and amusement morphed into curiosity, wriggling in his seat and tried to look professional, but it was obvious he wanted answers.

"It wasn't always like this. It took years for it to finally come together. Slavery still existed back then, so not everyone was free." The solemness in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the pirate.

"You mean, there isn't any more slavery in your world...?"

"Mhm," he confirmed, "it took a hundred and fifty years, but that nutsack of a nation finally abolished it after having this whole ass civil war between North and South. Kudos to Lincoln. He was a real one, but human trafficking under the radar still exists."

Buggy though of Sabaody. Mary Geoise. How they were filled to the rim with slaves and being traded in and distributed between other countries. It was mortifying. Even a few of his crew were escaped slaves when he managed to sneak into Sabaody a few years back without being detected. He avoided Rayleigh at all costs, even going as far as distorting his haki signature to go undetected. Even then, he only managed to free four slaves.

"After that, everything steam rolled down into the freedom we know today. There's still racism, something that doesn't really exist in your world."

"Racism?"

"It's basically harassing someone because of their ethnicity or the color of their skin. Even their features." (Name) had to educate Buggy with the real world. It was more than just freedom at sea and plundering. It was ugly and unjust. "Women gained their rights far later than the abolishment of slavery. Only a hundred years ago did they get the right to vote for government figures. Props to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton."

"There are so many problems in this world, but your world has just as much...I guess racism is still a thing among fish men though. Everyone either views them as inferior or superior to them. It's complicated."

"Yeah. In my World, we have the media. It can connect anyone. You can send messages to people in an instant from across the world through electrical networks. You don't need the News Coos. That's also how cyber hate happens. People criticize others and leave hateful messages on their social media, apps that connect people online for entertainment. But because our constitution protects free speech, free religion, and freedom of the press, the government can't interfere in such trivial standards like that in everyday life. That would be propaganda.

"That's terrible..." Buggy furrowed his brows at the revelation. "Our government would shut down anything like that."

"It was for good intentions, the first amendment I mean. It was to protect out basic freedoms. We were allowed to speak against the government freely, and they can't to anything. During the first government called the Articles of Confederation, everything went to shit and they had to make a new one, hence why we have the Constitution to protect and monitor people's right and encourage freedom in the best ways possible."

"Your world sounds amazing. There's no supreme leader like Fleet Admiral?"

"There's something called President. They're the person that enforces laws made by another branch of government that has been approved and handle worldly connections. It's complicated, but in a nutshell, they're the face of the country that represents us in the international conferences with other presidents."

"There are multiple mutual governments? There's not one that just stands at the top?"

"Nope! Some governments may be better than others, but they usually stay in place and govern their own people and worry about the other countries only when there's war. When I left, there was this thing called COVID and the Ukrainian war with Russia." (Name) flipped out their phone and typed in Coronavirus.

"Covid is a virus that led to a world wide pandemic, killing over seven million people or so. Most likely more, I don't really pay attention to the News. It scares me sometimes." He said the last line sheepishly. Now that he really thought about it, the world had really changed after the second World War nearly eighty years ago. Everything had gone down hill and steamed roll into the clusterfuck called 2023.

Buggy...well, to put simply, he couldn't comprehend it all. A world wide pandemic? He'd heard of islands that went into quarantine and others that were wiped off the map by the government if it was deemed too dangerous, but never had it been on such a scale. So these aero planes he spoke of had their negative sides. They spread the disease to the rest of the world with its international connections. It's interesting yet terrifying to think of such a possibility in the future of this world.

"In my universe..." (Name) trailed off, not really knowing if this is a good idea to say or not.

Buggy looked up from his tea to look at the marine with a raised brow.

"Never mind. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell you guys about that part of the world." The part of the world where every single one of you are fictional characters and people entertain themselves with your suffering. (Name) chuckled darkly as he glanced away in a jittery manner, tapping his fingers nervously against the paper cup holding his own tea.

The pirate just shrugged. What needed to be said had been said, and what doesn't need to be said, wasn't. Simple as that. Besides, finally speaking to someone other than Shanks, who was a world away, about Edd War, Baterilla, and the Rogers had left a sense of relief like cold water on a hot day. But it also made him feel so vulnerable. He felt naked to the unbearable cold of Drum island again. Free of the dangers of being hunted and yet another danger lurked just around the corner.

He expected it to bite him in the ass again. For another person to get taken away from him as he tried so hard to hang on only to be left behind. And yet...

And yet (Name) is still here.

He didn't leave. He didn't try and make this topic about him. He didn't try and make Buggy feel better with fake lies and 'it'll get better' or 'you're strong', he accepted Buggy was still healing and hurting, and that it was okay. It was okay to feel like this.

He felt seen, and yet he didn't feel understood. Because (Name) didn't understand, and he knew that. So he let Buggy heal. Only Shanks understood, and he knew that, so he didn't try and relate, didn't try and sugar coat it. He said Buggy had every right to act out, to scream, to cry, and that it was okay. He never said it would get better. He had said it would be easier to carry the burden over time. It didn't mean it would magically go away.

And that was okay to (Name), because even after all the shit he had told him, he had never viewed Buggy as less of a person. (Name) saw Buggy as a captain in his own right. A child who had survived the weight of the world after being torn apart from his lifeline he called nakama. A person who is healing from clawing and digging himself out of the shithole he was thrown into, the blood and dirt never leaving his hands after all these years.

And that was okay, because (Name) was proud he had gotten to meet him. Someone like him. Someone who didn't need anyone's pity and nobody needed his. Someone who had accepted him for himself.

And it was all that Buggy truly n̶e̶e̶d̶e̶d̶ wanted in all of his thirty nine years of life.

Chapter Text

"Are you fucking someone?!–no wait, a gold fish!...now it just looks like your jerking someone off!"

It was (Name)'s final night watch shift in the third night before his job was replaced by another soldier. Him and Buggy were currently playing Charades.

Buggy slapped his knee and aggressively waved a finger at (Name). "Mail man!"

"God fucking dammit! How do you know?!" The marine angrily screeched before slamming the card he was holding to the ground. The card did indeed have the words mail man written on it facing up like it was taunting the poor man.

The pirate crossed his arms, smug smile tugging up his lips across with a look of achievement in his eyes. "I'm just that good at the game."

"Hope you get hit by a truck."

"Bold of you to assume I know what that is."

After their talk yesterday night about their worlds and childhoods, there's been an easy going air between the two of them. They weren't as tense. It was like they were good friends. Then again, they kind of are now.

Buggy pulled a card out of the bag and stood up in his cell to act out the motions as soon as he flipped over the plastic hourglass on the floor.

"Uh, uh, a bag! A body bag!" (Name) desperately tried to list the possible items or careers Buggy was trying to act out. The pirate shook his head, grinning as he pretended to place something into an imaginary box of some sort.

"Um, fuck! Uh, a rolling bag?!"

The pirate shook his head once more.

"A backpack!"

Another shake.

"Um." (Name) glanced at the small hourglass that was nearly done. He waved a finger at Buggy as he kept hitting his hand against the floor as if trying to remember something. It was at the tip of his tongue! "A stroller!"

The top of the hourglass was empty.

Buggy was elated as he doubled over laughing like a bird. "It was a suitcase!" He started to mock the marine. "A stroller?! Really?! A stroller?!"

"Fuck! I was this close." (Name) put his fingers close together as he curled his other hand in anger. "Goddammit!"

"Pft. Amateur." Buggy breathed as he wiped away a tear.

"If I'm an amateur, you're an old man."

"Shut up. I'm the same age as the old man you simp over."

"Look, I love you, but please shut the fuck up. Shanks is amazing and you know it."

"And what about Crocodile?"

"We don't talk about that." (Name) shut down the topic immediately, ears tingeing red in embarrassment. Anime men are hot! You can't blame him!

"You're always into older men."

"No. I crush over Hina, too."

"That marine captain? The one that speaks in third person?"

"Yes."

"She's alright."

"I dunno what you mean. She's mommy."

Buggy rolled his eyes. "Now that's just weird."

"I will find Kureha's number and tattle on you."

"I take it back."

"<3"

"How do you do that?"

"<3"

__________

"So like, she just left me there! R-r-right outside the fucking stooooooOoOooooOoreeeee!" (Name) sobbed dramatically as he blew into his napkin stained with salty tears and boogers. His eyes were puffy and red from the tears he had shed.

Buggy pat his back in understanding. "Hey, that's something we have in common. Both of our parents left without letting us say goodbye."

The marine shook his head that was buried into his hands. "But I feel like a wimp! She literally only left me at a toy store but you were left at a highly guarded island while your dad was fucking beheaded!"

Buggy sighed as he continued to ran comforting circles on (Name)'s marine uniform with his hand. "Let's just accept both of our parents are douchebags."

The latter weakly nodded, blowing his nose. After a few minutes of just a solemn silence, he finally spoke again. "I think I'm okay now..."

Buggy sighed with relief but right before he was about to drag his hand through the bars away from his friend's back, the other started bawling his eyes out all over again and blowing his nose. "Waaahuhhuuuuu-SCHNVSHCK!"

The pirate behind bars sighed. "This is gonna be a long night."

____________

"Yeah, and Shanks called me not even an hour after Enies Lobby about the meeting with Whitebeard and the old relic asked him if I'd kicked the bucket yet!" Buggy fumed. "If I didn't have a pinch of decency I would have crushed his whole career through the underground Scrap Line." He scoffed. He could've pulled so many strings in the underworld, but he knows that would just be petty. Then again, the option is pretty enticing. In fact, it's very enticing. But then again, it would be unmanly and unflashy of him.

"Goddamn. Speaking of underground information lines, I have some stuff for you to distribute once you get out of here." (Name) gestured to the bars. "Oh yeah! You already know I infiltrated the marines, but I've gotta tell you how I even became a marine somehow."

"At first you had my interest, but now you have my undivided attention." Buggy eagerly waved for (Name) to continue as he settled into a comfy position on the floor.

"Okay, so after getting kicked out of Skypeia and falling to my doom, Admiral Aokiji saved me. And then I annoyed him until he gave me snow cones. I'm now his gossip and venting buddy whenever he wants to bitch about Akainu. It's a lot by the way." The infiltrator snickered. "And then I find a secret tunnel that led to the Naval Base's information vault where I stole recommendation documents and basically forged a signature and joined the marines!"

(Name) made excited jazz hands for extra pizzazz.

"I'm debating whether you're a brainless asshole or a psychological genius." Buggy groaned long sufferingly, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation.

"Oh yeah! And basically I got snow cones with this CP9 member before battling Garp and he took me under his wing when I managed to impress him, but later on he wasn't compatible with my fighting style so he threw me on the doorstep of this old woman named Kishi. She beat the absolute crap out of me before declaring me her student. Now I learned how to use a fan as a weapon two months later." The marine grinned as he flipped out his black metal fans.

"You managed to impress Garp?!" Buggy screeched as he stood up. The look of disbelief never leaving his expression. He pointed an accusing finger at (Name) as if trying to figure out an unexplainable puzzle.

"That's what you're impressed with after everything I told you?!" The marine shouted back at the other.

"Well duh! It's Monkey D. Fucking Garp!" Buggy shouted in his face. "How the fuck did you impress him?!"

"I used my devil fruit...?" (Name) answered more like a question as he raised his arms to shrug.

"...You have a devil fruit?!"

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that...?"

"Yes!"

The marine just yawned and waved his hand in the air to dismiss Buggy's incoherent screeching. "I found it in that secret tunnel I told you about. Tasted nasty, by the way. Allows me to control anything related to sound like sound waves. I'm still experimenting with it."

Buggy took a deep breath in.

1...

2...

3...

Out.

2...

3...

"How the fuck do you forget to tell me that?!"

"I just said I forgot!"

"I call bull!"

"Shut up! You scream too much!"

"You're the one screaming at me!"

"Shut up!"

The two of them turned to the seastone door where the bah-ha soldier outside just told them to shut up.

"You shut up!" (Name) angrily screamed back at the door.

"Yeah! What he said!" Buggy encouraged, shaking his fist at the incredibly thick seastone door. "Do your job instead of listening to us!"

Silence.

The two men fist bumped one another and nodded, both having expressions of indifference. An unspoken win was passed between the two when the other soldier didn't even tried to argue with them.

_____________

"Hush hush hush, blush blush blush, you are now my big fat crush!" (Name) sang sassily while pretending to twirl his hair, batting his eyes at the prisoner he's supposed to be monitoring.

"I'm single as I can be, you're single perfect for me." Buggy flirted back, finishing the line as he did the shoulder touch to the marine, flirtatious smirk blooming upon his expression.

(Name)'s eyes blasted open as he began to fan himself with his hand. "Woweee." His face flushed red as he looked anywhere except at his friend. His eyes darted around the room as he dramatically twiddled his fingers and giggling in exaggeration. "Woah, Buggy. That was—woah—"

His got all giggly as he tried to hide his face like those awkward school girls. "Teeheeheeehehehe—"

...

(Name).exe has stopped working.

The pirate paused his act as he hesitantly pulled his hand away. Is he okay...? He never thought his incredibly weak flirting could do that. "Hey are you oka—what the fuck—"

(Name)'s soul escaped his mouth, face pale as he swayed back and forth. His soul was still giggling and kicking its legs and shit! What the fuck!

Only instead of ascending, his soul began to descend into hell.

"Oh fuck no! Get back here!" Buggy panicked as he grabbed the tangible white soul and proceeded to very literally, shove it down (Name)'s throat
(Kinky—)

Not a second later, (Name) was revived by some other worldly force, his spirit being shoved back into his body. The backlash from the sudden revival made Buggy literally flinch.

"I saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel." he gasped, hands aggressively patting his body in disbelief that he was even still alive.

"...You're too weak for my flirting."

"You're right. I folded."

_________

"I can show you the world."

"Shining shimmering splendid."

"Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart deciiiiddddeeee~"

Now they're singing karaoke on (Name)'s phone. At this point, karaoke night is alike a wright of passage for his friendships.

"I can open your eEEeeEyyyYeeSsssS~" The marine's singing was purposefully off key, but even if he tried, he would probably sound like a dying dog. It's the small room making him sound bad, he swears. "Take you wonder by wooonnnndeerrrr. Over sideways and under on this magic carpet ride! A WHHHHOOOOLLLEEEE NEEEEWWWWWW WOOORRRLLLLLDDD! A NEW FANTASTIC POINT OF VIEW!" He held his hand like a microphone before pointing towards Buggy.

The pirate closed his eyes and pretended to feel the song, even going as far as dramatically putting his hand on his chest. "Nooooo oooOoOOnNnNeeEeE to TeeEeEElllLllL uS noooOOOO or WHere tO Go! Or say we're only dreaming!"

Sekke, the soldier guarding the other side of the door is so done with life. He banged on the door of the cell. "Shut up!"

(Name), on the other side of the door, was dancing to the music and using his hands to flip off the door where the voice came from. "How about no! You should be happy you get to hear our incredible voices!"

Bah-ha guy doesn't get paid enough for this.

___________

"Ooooooh!" (Name) flinched as he watched the episode where Buggy got kicked in the balls by Luffy.

"We don't talk about that." Buggy said matter of factly. "I let him get that hit."

(Name) sniffed the air dramatically. "You smell that?"

"Smell what?" The pirate was confused by the sudden question, uncrossing his arms as his face scrunched up into confusion.

"All that bullshit you're spewing." (Name) shot back with an eye roll. "You smell it?"

"Oh fuck off."

"You and me both know Luffy nailed you in the balls all on his own. I almost feel kind of bad." The marine snickered into his hand.

He had told Buggy about how this world was fictional in his world, and he took it surprisingly well. He said because it was an alternate universe he wasn't exactly surprised. And now here they are. (Name) playing Buggy's embarrassing moments from the beginning of the anime just to rub it in his face at how ridiculous he looks.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"I really don't. You're a disgusting, selfish, stupid,  revolting, rancid, piece of fucking shit and I wish I could get out of these shackles and shove a foot up your ass until it goes through your body and knocks all your teeth out."

"Love you too...?"

Chapter Text

"Sayonara, Mia amor. Mahal kitaaaaa. I love you. Saranghae." (Name) weakly whined and waved one last goodbye to Buggy who was dramatically sobbing on the floor and grabbing the bars to reach towards his friend.

"NyYooOooOOooo!!!! You can't just leave me here to roooOooOOOooTtTTTttTT—"

The seastone door was closed, cutting off the desperate pleas of the pirate by none other than the Marine captain handling the ship.

(Name) barely managed to compose himself as he turned to sadly salute the captain, sniffling and ignoring the crocodile tears running down his eyes.

"I see you've managed to earn the pirate's trust. Congrats. It makes our job easier." The captain sighed, pushing up his glasses as he marked something off on his clipboard that seemed to never leave his right hand. "You are dismissed. Go get some sleep, Tomioka."

The lower ranking marine merely nodded solemnly, using all of his will power to not deck everyone in his line of vision in the jaw and grab Buggy and dip. But alas, it just isn't meant to be.

(Name)'s feet were dragged up the creaky stairs of the Marine ship, an aura of despondency clouding his vision. He didn't even realize when he made it to his and Guido's room until he was sitting down on his hammock, Lucci hugged tightly to his chest.

Guido was on the other hammock. He had the night shift, so he and (Name)'s sleeping schedules match up in the mornings.

The shorter Marine furrowed his brows as he looked at his roommate. "You 'Kay?" His question was heavily accented even when using the simplest of words, but still understandable nonetheless.

The taller nodded as he sighed loudly in frustrated exaggeration to get his message across. "I'm fine, Guido. Just kind of pissed. Because I'm off Cell watch, I have to take night watch now. I hate night watch. Georgia's there. She keeps talking about how her ex made a song about her when nobody fucking cares."

Guido nodded his head in agreement. Nobody cares about your ex, Georgia. It was literally a year ago, get with the program.

(Name) groaned as he leaned further into his hammock and wished it would just swallow him whole. He glanced at his bag on the hook on the wall before mustering up the strength to grab his headset to listen to music.

As soon as the homes screen was unlocked, he opened his Spotify(or any other music app) and pressed a playlist to listen to in order to fall asleep.

"Guido, could you cover the window, please?" It had become a routine for them to go back and forth with who covers the window. It was easier for both of them to fall asleep in the dark since the light was too distracting.

Just one more night. One more night before I meet this Vice Admiral Gundy guy. Wonder what he's like.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. By the third song, he was out like a light.

_______

"Tomioka! Guido!"

There was a flurry of knocks being pounded onto the door. "Get up! Enemy ship! Pirates!"

(Name) buried his head into his pillow and groaned. "Handle it yourseeeeellllffff..."

The captain sighed and rolled his eyes before slamming the door open.

Guido was already on his feet, tired eyes wondering what the fuck is happening. Don't worry Guido, (Name)'s in the same boat.

"Get the hell up!" More knocks were heard on the door, a flurry of footsteps pounding on the floor from soldiers who had also just awoken.

"SHUT UP!" (Name) didn't. Care if this was insubordination anymore. Leave him the hell alone when he sleeps goddamn. It can't be that hard. He finally understands the hype of sleep so shut the fuck up my gosh.

Guido sighed in exasperation as he harshly shook (Name)'s hammock. "Get up. No bret."

What?

No bread?

(Name) rubbed his eyes open and yawned. His hair was wacky but we ignore that. "Alright, so we raid the ship, get their bread, kick their asses, right?"

Guido nodded and shook his head.

The musician tried to untangle for himself from his thin ass blanket that did nothing to shield him from the cold only for the hammock to get caught in his foot.

The net of the hammock spun as he toppled off the side.

"Uuuughhhhhh......"

Guido ignored his friend who was now groaning on the floor as he opened the door to the hall and joined the other marines heading on deck. "Hurry."

(Name) lethargically waved off the seriousness in his friend's voice. "Yeah, yeah...whatever."

He pat the floor for his bag where his fans were. The clanking of the metal fans were reassuring as he unzipped the bag and his hand touched the cool metal. "Alright. I didn't name you guys yet."

Finally mustering up the energy to sit and ignoring the gunshots cracking and swords clanking on the deck, he held the two fans in either hand.

His eyes landed on the one on the right. "Imma name you Joe."

He looked to the left. "And I'm gonna name you Mama."

Glancing back at the wide open door, he could hear footsteps coming down the stairs down the corridor.

"Aight Joe and Mama, we got a job to do. I can smell our paycheck after we do this." (Name) grinned as he stood up only to fall back down to the ground after trying to put his weight on his left leg.

A groan escaped him as he rolled his eyes. "Sleepy leg? Now?!"

The footsteps paused for a split second before getting louder in (Name)'s direction.

"Goddammit." He kept hitting his calf over and over again. "Wake the fuck up!"

The footsteps got louder.

"Oh come on!"

A heavy pressure settled down as a shadowy loomed in the hallway along the floorboard of outside the doorway.

(Name) being (Name), just rolled his eyes at the dramatics. "Broskie," he called towards the doorway, "what you want me to do? Trip on air and try and scurry away like any other dramatic horror movie?"

The shadow continued walking as it inches closer to the door.

"Y'know what I said before? I think I'll just trip on air." The marine chuckled.

The man was now under the doorway...staring menacingly with grey eyes, his purple cloak swaying for dramatics...even though there's no wind. It's Wattpad logic, ignore it.

"...(Name)?"

(Name) glanced up at the achingly familiar voice. It felt like forever since he's heard it. Not since he arrived in Alabasta.

"Benn?!"

The first mate of the Redhaired Pirates grinned as he stuck his hand out to hoists his friends up which the latter happily indulged.

"Yo, how's it been?" (Name) asked as he pat Benn on the back as they continued to ignore the gunshots firing above.

"Been alright." Benn chuckled as he took a step back to examine the other. He frowned as he looked at (Name)'s outfit. "Marines? Really?"

The musician shrugged. "Yeah, a lot kind of happened. I was hoping to dump 'em once I reached Commodore."

Benn took a drag of his cigarettes and smoke flowed easily out of his lungs and into the room. "Thought so." He glanced back down at the other. "You seem...different somehow."

"Meh." (Name) shrugged. "Just, y'know, 'take me hostage' and then I can fill you in on everything. I have to make a call anyways. The only Denden is in the captain's quarters."

Benn sighed and shook his head before placing his cigarette back in his mouth. "Alright. Only take the necessities."

"Okay, just give me a few minutes." (Name) grabbed his bag. "Alright I'm done."

Benn raised a brow. "'Few minutes' my ass." He scoffed.

The other grinned up at the older man. "Just take me away from my tower already, dipshit."

"Call me dipshit again and I'll throw you off the ship."

"I would do anything for you."

Benn frowned as he looked back at the shorter man.

(Name) crossed his arms as he stared right back. "I said what I said."

A sigh escaped the First Mate. "Well, pretend to look kidnapped."

"Oka—WOA—"

(Name) was abruptly cut off when his body was lifted up underneath Benn's arm, his own arms and torso secured as he was held against the taller's side.

"Just scream bloody murder for show." Benn smirked as he took one last drag of his cigarette and placed it back in his mouth before placing a hand on his rifle.

"Sure papi."

He rolled his eyes before turning back to the doorway to return back on deck. "You should really have more of a filter."

"Nah."

The wood creaked underneath the combined weight as Benn made his way up the steps with his 'hostage'.

"Alright, as soon as I step on deck, literally just hit me with your best insults to make it look convincing."

Wrong move, Benn.

"Alright." The 'marine' let a shit eating grin cross his face and the First Mate was starting to really regret his choice of words.

Benn sighed before he winded his leg back and kicked down the door to the deck.

(Name) aggressively kicked his legs and tried to wriggle free. Then again, he's actually trying to escape because he knows Benn wouldn't let him so it's fun to try. "Let go of me you perverted old man! I may be gay but you sure as hell have standards goddamn!"

Lucky Roo looked up from the marine he shot and grinned even wider which seemed impossible even for him. "Oh! Benn-San! You got dogged on by Bread-Kun!"

The First Mate grumbled as he shot a bullet at his crew member's foot. "Shove a sock in it or else the deck isn't the only thing I'll plant a bullet in."

"GET THE FUCK AWAY! WHAT MADE IT A GOOD IDEA TO TRY AND RAID THIS GODDAMN MARINE SHIP ANYWAYS?! I WOULD EVEN TAKE YASOPP OVER YOUR UGLY ASS! HECK, I WOULD TAKE PERONA!"

Okay, ouch. Even Yasopp?

Benn furrowed his brows as he glanced down at the man he was carrying. "Yasopp? Really?"

"Better than you ngl."

Benn doesn't get paid enough for this. "He literally has a wife and child."

"His wife's dead. Dead as hell. Means he's single."

"I am literally right here!"

The two of them looked at the at of the main mast of the Red Force, and low and behold, Yasopp was standing there waving his free hand as he shot the marine captain's arm with his pistol.

"What's your name?!!" (Name) pretended to ask.

"YASOPP!"

"FUCK YOU, YASOPP!"

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!"

"(NAME)!"

"FUCK YOU (NAME)!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YASOPP!"

"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Benn groaned as he jumped from the Marine ship onto the Red Force.

Oh, but (Name) wasn't done. He's already on a roll. "LASHES LITERALLY DIDN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE REAL WHEN I TOLD HIM ABOUT HOW STUPID YOU ARE!"

Yasopp shot a bullet at (Name)'s foot. "This is why Shanks wanted to cancel your date!"

Oh he is so done. Cancel that bitch right now.

"THAT'S WHY YOUR WIFE DIED! SHE DIDN'T DIE FROM A SICKNESS, IT WAS AN EXCUSE TO NOT HAVE TO REMEMBER THE FACT SHE MARRIED YOUR FUGLY ASS!" (Name) freed one arm from under Benn's hold as he angrily waved his fist in the direction of the crow's nest. "YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE YOUR WIFE AND KID, SHE PROBABLY KICKED YOU OUT!"

"YOU LEAVE BANCHINA OUT OF THIS!"

"Hey is that (Name)?!"

The three of them turned to the voice that came from the railing.

There the captain was. Redhaired Shanks sat there sitting on the railing as he watched his crew absolutely demolish the Navy ship he had sensed had two of his friends on.

(Name) grinned from ear to ear. "SHANKS!"

Chapter Text

"Save me captain! Please!" (Name) desperately wailed out to his injured and wounded superior, his voice strained as he cried out for the safety of his fellow marines. Salty tears pricked the edges of his eyes that threatened to fall as they dyed his vision with blurred images. It wasn't fair! He had barely even started his journey!

...

Goddamn. He should get an Oscar ngl.

Benn furrowed his brow as his eyes landed on the crying marine in his arms. "You good?" He whispered under his breath as he hit down Guido with the barrel of his gun successfully knocking him out. [Poor Guido:( ]

(Name) pat Benn's incredibly muscular arm (that really shouldn't be as muscular as it is) with his free hand twice. Yeah I'm good was the unspoken message.

Benn breathed a sigh of relief as he hastily rushed into the cabin of the Red Force. He thought he'd been moving around too harshly when holding (Name).

The pirate clad in marine clothing was set down on the closest hammock before Benn stepped outside where (Name) could barely make out the commands barked out for a withdrawal.

The moment the First Mate got back inside, the 'captured' soldier was practically beaming at him, which didn't make him feel overwhelmed at all. Definitely not.

"So...how's life treating yo—"

BAM!

Benn ignored the door slamming open and just grumbled something along the lines of "insufferable bastard."

"(NAME)!!!!" The Redhaired captain tackled their guest to the ground and the two went tumbling to the wooden floor. A heap of blankets fell on top of them from the hammocks that went swinging from the impact.

"Can't—breathe–" (Name) wheezed when the wind was knocked clean out of his lungs despite Shanks trying to hold back his strength which proved difficult considering he had just reunited with an old friend of his.

"Sorry, sorry." Shanks chuckled sheepishly as he proceeded to harshly pat (Name) on the back over and over again in a fit of glee.

"Ow–okay–ouch–uh–could you—stop–uh Shanks– please stop—Stop—I SAID STOP!" (Name) mustered up all of his strength and elbowed the captain, and just because he could, he used his very, and I mean very shitty armament haki because why not. Besides, Shanks is one of the Four Emperors of the sea. He should be fine.

"ACK!" Said emperor proceeded to crumple into himself, only hand snapping to his side where he was hit. "...fuck..." he wheezed.

Okay...maybe he wasn't fine...

Benn quirked a brow. "Armament? Didn't we only part ways with you, what, four or five months ago?"

(Name) shrugged, ignoring Shanks groveling on the floor as he tugged in the nearest hammock to pull himself up. "Yeah, well, a lot happened while I was away." He quipped briefly as he waved off the question.

"Doesn't really answer my question."

"I got trained in haki for two months by my mentor. I still suck at it and can barely maintain armament for more than roughly 15 minutes, my observation sucks ass, and I highly doubt I have Conquerers because I would rather be a sugar baby than conquer the world." 

The first mate shrugged as he stubbed out his cigarette on the closest ash tray and lit up another one not even a beat later. "Well...any other updates?" He glanced at (Name) up and down. "Like why you're in a marine uniform?"

"Okay...so you may need a cup of tea for this one..." The 'marine' looked over his shoulder to see the recently recovered Shanks giving him a dubious thumbs up. "Or a glass of beer."

_________

"And that's how I became a marine."

Benn and Shanks exchanged a look. "So after we dropped you off at Alabasta...you were enslaved as Warlord Crocodile's bartender and personal musician. Then you became the sugar baby to a God after meeting Luffy, bought overpowered shit on your broken 'phone', fell from the sky and crashed an admiral's nap time, got thrown into Vice Admiral Garp's training and then into Rear Admiral Kishi's training, and then ended up here after. And to top it all off, you ate a devil fruit?" Benn summarized with a raised brow.

"In a nutshell." (Name) confirmed as he scratched his head before snatching Shanks's beer and taking a sip for himself while ignoring the noise of obvious protest from the other.(if your religion doesn't support drinking, ignore that part.)

"That's pretty cool!" Shanks recovered from his initial disappointment as he beamed and ruffled the 'marine's' hair with his own callused hand. "You should totally show me how your devil fruit works some time." He grinned back at (Name) who swore he felt his heart explode from the sheer amount of fondness directed at him.

He'ssoperfecthowdidIscoreadatewithsuchanamazingpersonpleasemarryme—

Benn clicked his tongue in annoyance at the scene as he took a drag of his cigarette. The open window on the other end of the room aired out the smoke that emptied out of his lungs.

"So, Buggy's still on the marine ship?" (Name) had tried to stretch his observation, but hadn't managed 10 feet. Buggy, on the other hand, could easily cover the whole ship they were occupying.

"Yeah. Said he didn't want to be saved like, and I quote 'a fucking damsel in distress'" Shanks air quoted with his fingers making a scrunched up expression of distaste. He sighed before ruffling (Name)'s hair once more.

"Sounds like him." (Name) grabbed the callused and scarred hand off his head and held it in his own.

Benn stood up and left the room grumbling incoherent curses under his breath, door slamming behind him. Yeah no, he's not dealing with this today.

...

"Pft-" Shanks felt laughter bubble in his throat at the fleeting haki signature down the hall before he whispered to the bread lover. "Did you see that?"

His friend nodded as he used his free hand to lift up his phone from his side. "I got it on camera." He snickered.

Shanks readjusted himself in the spot beside (Name) to look over the screen. "Benn looks hella pissed!" The cackle that escaped his mouth made the musician start to snicker even harder as they rewatched the part where he and (Name) had just begun to hold hands.

"I told you it was a bad idea!" (Name) nudged Shanks with his arm with a forced face of seriousness...before smiling from ear to ear. "But it was so worth it." They saw the part where the first mate stormed out. Jealousy go burrrrrrr.

"It was." Shanks's own laughter died down a few second later, a serene smile dancing on his features that put the anime's interpretation to shame.

Looking at him closer, (Name) never realized how fucking real Shanks is right now. Sun kissed skin from training outside and playing in the sun since his youth. His blinding red hair that anyone could recognize a mile away. The creases practically imbedded into his skin from smiling too much. The calluses littering the hand he was holding like a blanket, his own callused hand matching them like a puzzle.

Unbeknownst to him, Shanks was taking in all the details in (Name) that was changed so much.

His hair had gotten a bit longer, not to mention it seemed a bit more damaged. No doubt from training outside. Unlike before, his figure seemed more trained in a way just going by the calluses on his hand and pale scars littering lithe yet muscular arms. No doubt the muscle had also come from training. And by Davy Jones—that marine uniform looked hideous on him. He would look better in—

"Shanks?" (Name) waved a hand in front of his the older captain's face with his free hand.

"Erm–yeah? Sorry, just remembered something." He shook his head to clear his initial thoughts before smiling again. "In fact, the thing I just remembered was the proposition you made to me the day you left the Red Force."

The red headed captain grinned in triumph at the confusion on the other's face before it morphed into pure shock and embarrassment.

"Wha–oh—OH–that—" (Name) cleared his throat that somehow felt much drier than the desert of Alabasta the more he recalled from that day. He swore he was high that day. Or drunk. Or both. 

Thinking back on it, five-months-ago-him had no tact. He kind of got caught up in this 'fantasy world' thing he forgot about the backlash of asking every hot guy he met to a date. Not to mention that a minority accepted.

"Uh, y-yeah, what about it?" He stuttered out in a robotic voice instead. Great job (Name). Great job.

"Well...I know a good place in East Blue, but that's a long trip...oh! I know another good place in Ginovaka a days trip from here." It was closer. Not to mention it was by Mihawk's place where he could snag some of his good wine if he managed to barge in when the swordsman was in a fairly good mood.

"Alright. Well, how does a restaurant sound? Every 6 months Depa, a city in Ginovaka, holds a lantern festival that lasts two week. We were there last year and it was around this time when they celebrated." Shanks suggested, squeezing (Name)'s hand with his own.

"Uh, that's fine..." the musician trailed off as he awkwardly readjusted the bag on his shoulder to ease his nerves. "We should probably head back outside. We already pulled away from the marine ship after your crew, might I say, absolutely demolished it."

Shanks chuckled a hearty laugh before standing up, hand still clasped around the other's. "Sure. I don't think Yasopp took kindly to you insulting his wife and himself though."

"Pft. He'll be fine."

"...sure."

"Come on! I haven't had bread in a while. All that was on that Marine ship was nonparishables. Fuckig sucked." (Name) stood up after and practically started sprinting, Shanks following along not a second later with one of his signature smiles he has whenever he's with the musician.

And while they're running through the hallways to get to the deck, all Shanks can think about is wow.

(Name) is really something, huh?

The minute they burst above the deck, it was a clamor of bombarding questions and cheers.

"(Name)'s back!" Lucky Roo grinned. "And he's holding Okashira's hand!"

"I call being the best man at the wedding!" Another one cackled.

"No I wanna be best man!"

"Shut up! The audience doesn't even know your name, you extra!"

"Shut the fuck up, they don't know your name either!"

"Dammit! I was rooting for Benn!" Rockstar cackled as he downed a mug of beer, nudging the obviously irritated First Mate with his elbow.

"Shut up! That guys should be kicked out right now and left for the seakings!" Yasopp all but screeched from the crows nest as he waved an accusing finger at the musician.

"Good to have you back!"

(Name) had to let go of Shanks' hand as people crowded around much to the dismay of the Yonko.

"...I didn't know I was so popular. Hehe." The 'marine' chuckled to himself. He readjusted his bag and shoved his way into the overcrowded kitchen to his desired destination. "Oi! Lucky Roo! Toss me the good stuff!"

Not even glancing behind him, the chef of the Redhaired Pirates easily tosses a bag of baked bread at the voice by the door before continuing to cook for the large crew.

"Thanks!"

(Name), with the help of Kishi's training to thank, catches the bag with ease before shoving his way out the crowded door. In the corner of his eye, the X-scar on someone's temple catches his attention. "Benn?"

His name is easily heard through the banter of his fellow crewmates as the first mate looks up from his seat. "Hm?"

The musician made his way to Benn by maneuvering around the other crew members who were dancing and singing shanties around the ship around their Captain.

(Name) held up the bag of bread towards Benn. "Want some?"

The older man shrugged. "Why not." His large hand easily reached into the back and grabbed a piece.

The shorter man leaned against the rail beside the Firstmate and looked at the giddy and ecstatic pirates celebrating his return and successful raid on the ship.

(Name) and Benn ate in silence until the musician broke the silence. "God, I just realized I'm still in this ugly ass Marine uniform."

"Ask Yasopp for clothes. I'm sure he has your size." Benn suggested, but it was obvious from his smirk he knew of the impeding ruckus they would cause over a share of clothes.

The shorter of the two laughed and pat the Firstmate on the shoulder. "Yeah—no. Do you want to start a war?"

"Speaking of wars, did you read today's paper?" The unexpected question from Benn started him.

"Uh, no...? Was I supposed to?" (Name) took a bite out of a glaze donut that Lucky Roux had thrown in that really shouldn't have been as delicious as it was for its plain exterior.

"If our informant is accurate, Fire-Fist Ace's execution is scheduled to happen in roughly 3 weeks at Marineford where the Navy headquarters is stationed. "

(Name) proceeded to spit out the piece of donut he was eating into the sea, his initial appetite and craving for donuts successfully obliterated into nothingness.

"WHAT?!?!"

Chapter Text

"Is this an excuse for Yasopp to throw stuff at me?"

"Ye—"

"No," Benn cut off the sniper immediately. "It's to train your observation. Besides, the closest island is days away from now and your range is only decent. We're trying to increase your range, not unlock it. It's easier to increase than to unlock observation haki."

"I understood everything until you said besides."

"What Benn is trying to say," Shanks gave a pointed look to his First Mate before glancing back at (Name). "Is that because you already unlocked observation, increasing your range won't be as difficult compared to unlocking. Because of this, it hopefully wont be such a long process. We only have 2 weeks at most. And you've already been at it a week. I caught wind of Kaido wanting to invade Whitebeard territory and the power balance will tip if I don't intercept." He grumbled as he recalled the other emperor.

"But do you have to fight Kaido? I get Whitebeard's a renowned pirate from his era, but I have a feeling this war will tip the balance one way or another no matter who wins. You don't owe the old man anythin'. Besides, didn't he try to kill your captain?" (Name) muttered as he adjusted the blindfold over his eyes, seastone bracelets clacking against each other as he moved his hands.

"It's not about grudges and debts, it's about the power balance between the emperors and the navy." Shanks shook his head as he frowned at the nonchalant manner his friend was speaking in.

"Well Whitebeard's dumb then." (Name) scoffed as he got into a fighting stance once again.

The deck quieted down to a low murmur, no doubt whispering about the sudden insult thrown at the oldest emperor. Heck, even Yasopp lowered his voice obnoxious voice.

Shanks frown only deepened at the sudden insult to his fellow Emperor, his only hand slowly beginning to inch towards his sword. "Watch your tongue when speaking of such people, (Name). That man has leagues more experience and power here than you do, so before you start throwing names around here, know that I won't tolerate that on behalf of Whitebeard."

(Name), seemingly not getting the memo, merely yawned as his shoulders drooped a bit. "I'm just sayin', he should've been smart about this whole damn war thing." He relaxed from his initial fighting stance, fans at his sides. "If he has so much experience, why leave his territory weakly guarded for Kaido? Why have Ace go off on his own anyways? Why Raise the Colors for Ace when he ran into this thing guns a blazing without thinking of the consequences? He's an emperor, faced Gol D. Roger, and has decades of experience, and yet his downfall will be a few unattended islands he should've had a plan for beforehand."

Shanks opened his mouth to interrupt but (Name) continued anyways.

"I mean, he Raised the Colors for Ace and let him take Second Division when he clearly wasn't ready with only 2 years of piracy under his belt. Went against captain's orders to not get involved with Teach, and look where that got all of them. So what if we're all pirates? Doesn't excuse us from making irrational choices. This is Whitebeard's own irrational choice on his own accord. You don't have to accommodate to him just because of some shitty broken power balance." 

Benn quirked a brow and gave a Shanks 'he's got a point' look.

The captain of the ship waved his arms to try and show the significance of the problem even after his argument was brutally demolished by the man in front of him. He stumbled over words to recover and tried to make a new argument. "But the power balance—"

"Screw the power balance." (Name) scowled as he got into his fighting position once again, arms up and at the ready. "It was unstable in the first place. This war will mark a new era. You of all people should know. It's the World Government versus the Golden Age of Piracy. Either way, the balance will tip unless there's some sort of tie, which I highly doubt."

"I get that," the redhead captain grit his teeth. "But it doesn't excuse the tip. Kaido of all people can't make the first grab. Then again, Big Mom shouldn't make the grab either. Keeping the balance until it inevitably flips will correspond with the next changes in the War to make it easier for the power shift, wherever it may go."

(Name) didn't understand what that meant, but he'll pretend to.

"Still doesn't excuse Whitebeard for being unprepared. He Raised The fucking Colors the second Ace's schedule execution got out two days ago. It's a very obvious sign he didn't even plan anything after that besides a large scale attack. Hell, I don't think he even planned for his death even if it might happen." (Name) dodged a book thrown at him from Yasopp and slashed it mid air with his fan.

Shanks rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He won't die. His legacy lives on."

"You're just like them then." (Name) merely said as he dodged a stool and knocked it away with his elbow.

"Just like them?" Shanks looked up from his hand in confusion.

"The Whitebeard Pirates." The fan user clarified. "They truly believe they can win this war, but so does the Navy. Think about it. Whitebeard is past his prime, he's leaving behind important territory for a fucking war that could've been prevented had he watched his back better, and he's going against pristine and polished admirals and Vice admirals who are still in their prime. He should've prepared for his death since he's already pushing seventy something. Like creating safe houses for his weaker children who the government will gun for, distribute his territory to trusted allies, create a fall-back for those who still want to follows his ways. Something."

"He's got a point." Benn voiced his initial thoughts as he crossed his arms. "Out of all the choices Whitebeard has made, this is probably the most stupid. He definitely jumped the gun when he Raised the Colors and called his allies together so early in the game. The Navy might not know his exact plans, but they know he's after them. And although I agree with the whole power balance thing, you shouldn't be the one to clean up the mess if it was never your mess in there first place, captain. Hell, just let Whitebeard handle it if he survives. If he doesn't, Kaido would've taken the territory one way or another."

Shanks sighed. "It's for the greater good!" He stressed.

"Greater good? I am your husband! I am the greatest good you are ever gonna get!" (Name) shouted sassily as he waved an angry finger in the direction of Shanks' presence.

"We're married?"

(Name) sighed right after that declaration. "We share a bed when I stay over on the Red Force, I literally drag your drunk ass back to bed at night, and I borrow your clothes when I visit. Kay, guess we're not basically married. That's fine, too. You've been demoted from hubby #1. Benn, you've been promoted to first."

"Sweet." Benn smirked.

"WHAT?!"

"Can I keep throwing stuff?" Yasopp asked impatiently, a cannonball being thrown up and down in his hand menacingly.

"Yes. That's a captain's orde—"

"No." Benn proceeded to cut off the Yonko.

(Name) burst into laughter. "Okay!" He sighed. "All right. Let's just get back to training."

Wait.

 That's not normal he frowned. The fan wielding pirate shifted his body to the East towards the low clouds in the distance.

Benn and Yasopp's bickering fell on deaf ears as he focused his hearing range towards the clouds, a familiar rumbling echoing in his ear drums.

Shanks furrowed his brows at the unusual behavior that (Name) suddenly took on. "Anything wrong?"

It's a familiar sound. He hadn't heard it in a while having been on a spring island for training, but the low clouds, pressure drop, and the sudden shift in the waves. The way the waves were splashing the Red Force just a bit harder and the sails flapped just a bit more than usual.

"(Name)?" Benn asked, hand reaching for his gun for any threats possible detected by their guest.

It was a familiar sound. And it wasn't a welcome one.

"There's a storm coming!"

_________

This is insubordination. 

Yeah, um, (Name)'s aware it is, inner voice.

"Pull up the sails! Tie down any precious or valuable things and make sure they're secure! Change out the current watch teams and get night watch up there as well. We need all hands on deck!" (Name) commanded Junta, a newer recruit for the Redhaired pirates just six months ago, bounty just barely hitting 70 million.

"Hurry up!" The musician screeched as he tugged at the ropes to bring the sails up. He turned towards the rest of the crew. "Protect the ship! There's only uninhabited islands around here! If anything happens to it, we can't get it repaired!"

Junta glanced between his captain and the musician back and forth, his hands hesitating and body turning towards the mast and back towards the musician. "Uh—" he looked desperately at Benn. 

The first drop of rain hit the deck.

"This is why I tell Shanks that Jess is a shitty navigator unless she's drunk."

"Oh shut up! Bind the sails!" The navigator of their crew screamed from the helm. "I have to be sober for a day because of our bet!"

"Yeah, yeah." Benn muttered under his breath, rain only hitting the desk harder as the seconds passed.

The grey clouds were already started to whirl, thunder crackling in the distance as lightning flashed across the sky.

"Shit." (Name) muttered.

"Shit indeed." Shanks said.

________

The storm lasted four hours.

By New World standards, it was a pretty long storm considering the sporadic weather changes, but not unexpected. Of course, Shanks of all people bullied a few Sea Kings with his haki into tugging the ship out of the storm.

Currently, the Redhaired pirates are docked at an uninhabited island searching for food since most of their's had been destroyed during the storm.

"Alright. Everyone got their groups?" Shanks called out to his crew.

In return, they all nodded.

"Yasopp and myself will be taking the hunting groups for food, (Name) will be lookout for the ship while the ship rights fix her up a bit." The captain instructed as he signaled for the groups to go ahead.

(Name) glanced at the gallant Red Force and sighed. "Just you and me on deck, huh?"

He could've sworn the fucking ship rocked back and forth in some sort of nod. Don't be silly (Name), ships can't move on their own...right?

The musician dragged his feet back up the ramp onto the Redhaired Pirates' ship and sat down on the railing, amplifying his hearing to a 3 mile radius and extending his haki.

When he had finally settled himself down on the ship, the only sounds we could actually make out was the chatter of shipwrights and the incoherent scuffles between the hunting parties. From time to time, the sound of Benn's breath after taking a drag of his cigarette would fill his ears and bring a feeling of comfort.

He hadn't known how much time had passed, but he thinks roughly an hour or so. The hunting party had just arrived back, hence why the cooks were currently butchering and storing a majority of the meat and veggies, the rest of the ingredients going to tonights dinner.

The sound of excited chatter and obnoxious voice of Yasopp made (Name) grimace. There was something else. In the distance towards the sea. It was familiar, but different. 

Not like Shanks or his crew.

But it was still familiar.

...

Oh.

OH.

Now he knows why the sound is so familiar. It was a certain someone's heartbeat. An all too familiar one at that. Way too familiar for his liking, especially because of the person it belonged to.

"Uh––Houston, we got a problem." (Name) started to aggressively shake Shanks' shoulder his his hand, gaze never leaving the small speck in the distance. The speck could've been mistaken as some driftwood, but (Name) could hear who was there. "Shanks Shanks Shanks Shanks—"

"What?!" The captain asked in a bit of frustration. He just got back and he wants to enjoy his beer and party in peace, thank you very much. Unbeknownst to him, their party has to be put on hold.

(Name) glanced around the deck before zeroing in on the older man. "Shanks, listen to me very carefully." He looked back at the small growing speck. "There's someone from the navy here. You know that guys I told you I became a therapist for? Now? Well he's here and you have to hide me! He's gonna rip me limb from limb if he find out if dipped out of the Navy!" He whispered harshly.

"Slow down." Shanks placed down his mug of beer, now looking in the direction the musician was looking in and narrowed his eyes. "Get inside the room. I'll handle it."

(Name) briefly nodded and hopped off the railing as he made his way to Shanks' quarters. If he showed up all friendly to an Navy officer on a Yonko's ship, both parties are sure to feel betrayed.

"Fuck me. My luck is like a metronome I swear." (Name) cursed under his breath, rushing by the curious gazes of both Benn and Yasopp who were playing some sort of card game.

"Damn. Rushing to bed already? It's only 8." Yasopp snorted as he proceeded to fold as Benn told him to.

"Thanks for folding." The first mate smirked as he placed his cards onto the table, which revealed his utterly shitty hand.

"You!—"

(Name) dashed towards the door. "Yeah, okay! I'll be back up in a few hours! If he asks where  I am, tell him I'm not here! Bye! Love you!"

"Wha—?" Benn was abruptly cut off my the door slamming shut. He turned to Yasopp who merely shrugged his shoulders.

The floorboards groaned and creaked as Shanks walked over to his First Mate. The others quieted down to a low murmur once again just as before as they saw the serious yet aloof expression of their captain. "Everyone, we got company. Give him a warm welcome when he arrives. By no means should you attack without given the go ahead. Capeesh?"

They all nodded as they resheathed any weapons that were taken out for any ambushes.

Shanks walked to towards the Figurehead of the Red Force and peered at the Marine warship closing in on their vessel just short of a couple dozen meters.

"Admiral." The Redhaired captain greeted, a lazy grin slipping onto his features. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword to show that the admiral was very much not invited.

(Name), being the snot nosed young man he is, amplified his hearing to listen in on the conversation from within the confines of the bedroom.

"Redhaired Shanks." Aokiji quipped. "Permission to board?"

"I would say no, in fact, if this were any other occasion considering we just got caught in a storm." The captain drawls out, grip tightening around Griffon. "But I'm barely sober, so why not? I might forget this encounter later anyways. Permission granted." He smirked.

With the permission to board, the admiral easily hopped onto the ship with little effort despite the Red Force's large stature compared to the Battle Ship. The marines on the ship merely held their guns tighter from the increased distance between them and arguably the strongest officer stationed there.

As soon as Aokiji so much as took a step onto the wooden deck, everyone on board grew even more tense, if that were even possible.

The air was heavy despite the crisp buggy air on the spring island they were docked at, birds and crickets chirping somewhere in the near ye forest like a mysterious orchestra performing amidst the stars.

"I was notified one of my close colleagues were taken to your ship." Aokiji carefully phrased his words, body relaxed and carefully controlled. Despite his effort, he couldn't hide the flint of agitation and distraught in his eyes that was seen by the the Yonko.

"Never seen any of your colleagues around these parts, much less a Navy uniform aside from the ship we raided just the other week." Shanks yawned as he looked up at the admiral who towered over him. A small burst of conquerors was released as a warning that the Admiral was still seen as a threat.

Aokiji merely sighed. "I'm not here for any conflict. If anything, I just want officer Tomioka back with the marines." He shook his head as he glanced at the door to the cabins. "Besides, I know he's aboard your ship. A little bird told me his whereabouts when you raided that ship last week."

Shanks cursed internally. He should've just sunk the damned thing when he had the chance. "I'm afraid I don't know who you speak of. We threw any navy officers that boarded our ship into the ocean. If you search hard enough, maybe you'll see your friend's corpse." He sneered. The damned admiral wanted (Name). No way is he letting that happen.

(Name), who was eagerly listening on the other end of the ship, slapped a hand to his mouth as he stifled a laugh. Shanks being serious is kinda—

"Then I'm afraid my short errand has been extended to a long term visit." The Ice devil fruit user glanced down at his watch. Aokiji raised his hand, ice frosting over his fingers as a warning. "I'll ask you this one last time. Where is (Name)?"

Shanks scoffed as he played dumb. Benn rolled his eyes at the obvious dramatic flair Shanks added when he  started the unsheathe his saber. "Uh, I'll do you one better, who is (Name)?"

"I'll do you one better, why is (Name)?!" Yasopp hollered from his position in the crows nest.

"Shut up, Yasopp!"

Everyone on board the ship started to complain about the sniper ruining the serious conversation between two powerhouses of the sea.

"Alright! Alright! Geez!" Yasopp raised his hands in defeat.

Shanks didn't even glance back at the sniper as he pointed his saber at the admiral. "It's not very nice to crash a party and demand someone I don't know."

"I am well aware he is aboard your ship. You're oblivious to the fact I know observation haki, dipshit." Aokiji's usually stoic demeanor cracked oh so slightly with his obviously impatient phrasing.

"Woah now, that's not how you treat someone who gave you permission to board." Shanks frowned, feigning hurt. "I didn't think an admiral with such a strong sense of Justice and order would go off on his own and create a scene with a Yonko."

"I don't need permission to attack. Besides," Aokiji smirked. "I'm not in uniform. When I'm not in uniform, I'm not at work, when I'm not at work, I can do whatever the fuck I want."

Shanks slashed a flurry of ice birds flown his way as he send slashed across the deck towards the Admiral. Everyone cleared a path for the two as they began to throw attacks back and forth to test the boundaries.

Benn reached for his rifle, but a single stern look from his captain made his hand drop back to his side.

The door to the cabins slammed open.

"Alright that's enough!"

Everyone on deck all tore their gaze away from the battle to look at the person who interrupted it. Aokiji and Shanks both paused their attack to look at the person who decided to drop in.

"Kuzan!" (Name) grimaced. "I told you not to act out like me! I know I'm a shitty role model, but just because I tell you to let yourself relax sometimes doesn't give you an excuse to crash a Yonko's ship!"

"Oh. (Name)." The admiral muttered as his entire form relaxed at the familiar voice.

"Don't 'oh (Name)' me!" The musician shouted as he stomped across the deck towards the admiral. "Get your head out of your ass! Do you know what would happen if people catch wind that an admiral of the Navy attacked an emperor's ship for a low level marine?! That could ruin your reputation! Do you understand me?!"

Kuzan clicked his tongue, the forest on the island being a much more appealing thing to look at now. "Yes..." he muttered.

(Name) huffed. "What? I didn't hear you, you fucking giant excuse of a dick."

"Yes, I understand." The admiral grit through his teeth as he shot a glare at the shorter man.

The deck was already eerily silent at the one sided scolding a fucking admiral was getting.

Shanks stifled a laugh as he resheathed Griffon but straightened up when (Name)'s own glare was directed at him.

"You got something to say? Don't just think I didn't hear you threaten my patient."

"Patient?" This time it was Benn who spoke. He had been quiet the whole time (Name) forgot he was even there.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." The Sound user groaned as he slapped a hand to his forehead. Crossed his arms across his chest as he looked over the two powerhouses in front of him with such scrutiny the others on board almost felt pity for them. "Look, let me introduce you two properly. Shanks, meet Admiral Aokiji, also known as the Ice princess. Kuzan, meet the Yonko Shanks, also known as the rip off Winter Soldier."

The admiral looked down at the captain of the ship as the ice around him thawed. He stuck out a hand towards the Enperor.

Shanks rolled his eyes at the insult by (Name) but shook hands with the Admiral anyways.

The musician smiled, satisfied with the result. He uncrossed his arms and put them on his hips. "Now that you've been properly acquainted," he turned to the admiral. "Who wants to play Uno?"

"I do!" Yasopp piped up from the Crow's nest as he waved his hand wildly in the air to the people below.

"Shut up, Yasopp!"