Arisa tried to keep her teeth from chattering, tugging on the edges of the towel swallowing her frame as Jasha set down a steaming mug of tea in front of her.

As a testament to his strategic capabilities, Jasha's trips to Marineford had grown increasingly more frequent and prolonged over the last several years, even despite his penchant for turning down hefty promotions. That he had finally been blessed with a weekend's worth of respite would have been miraculous, had not the timing coincided with yet another bothersome World Government-hosted social function he and several others of his Navy-affiliated colleagues were mandated to attend. Arisa, though initially crestfallen by the schedule conflict, had decided to make the best of his time back home and agreed to attend the event with him. It had all been a harmless, mundane affair, save for the fact that it had started storming during their walk back from town. Jasha had had the foresight to bring along an umbrella, which only provided a paltry shelter from the rainfall throughout their brief sojourn.

Now safely indoors, they cooped themselves up in the kitchen to dry off and warm up the best they could. Outside, the storm raged on with a degree of turbulence rarely seen on the island. The wind howled a dissonant, mournful melody through the swaying trees - a persistent backdrop to the deafening crackles of thunder which punctuated the soundscape like gunfire. Transient skeins of lightning, too, danced across the night skies in a dazzling display of visual accompaniment as torrents of rain continued to pelt down from the high heavens.

"Well, it could have gone way worse than it did," Jasha said over another resonant growl of thunder, setting his own mug down atop the table across from her. He'd taken off his suit jacket to let it dry, and tufts of his dark hair still looked slightly damp from the rain. "At least Ignas wasn't there to bait you and Faye into a drinking contest. We know how that turned out -" he paused, noting the expression she wore. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just...tired is all." She let out a halfhearted sigh and directed her gaze into the mug. Something nagged at the back of her mind...fragments of conversations she'd overheard from other Navy officers at the event which tormented her with vying sentiments of intrigue and unease. Still something kept her from bringing it up directly. Not yet, anyways.

Jasha shot her a knowing look, but wisely withheld from probing further. His attention flickered down to regard the silver of her dress as lightning lit up past the windows, temporarily illuminating the room in a wash of pale blue. He smiled faintly in recognition.

"Remember that first party we attended together?" he asked presently. "The one where you met Ignas?"

Arisa's cheeks warmed slightly, and she looked away as a barrage of memories flickered past her mind's eye. That had been well over three years ago. As hard as it was hard to believe looking back, they'd still been so... skittish around each other then. So completely oblivious to what the future had in store for them.

"You remember that?"

The corners of his amber eyes crinkled pleasantly. "How could I not? That night was an absolute mess compared to this. We tried our hand at dancing afterwards, you twisted your ankle, Teru panicked and sent poor Raku to go get some ice...."

Despite her melancholy, a small chuckle escaped her lips at the memory. "....which he ended up spilling all over the mayor's wife's new dress. That caused enough of a scene, for sure..."

A comfortable pause brimmed the space between them, only disturbed by the rhythmic patter of rain against the windows. Arisa wrapped both hands around her mug and took a tentative sip of the tea. The scathing heat of the ceramic prickled against her fingertips, effectively leeching away the ice in her skin.

"I didn't see Faye there, either," she murmured, almost offhandedly. "She's in town, right?"

"Not anymore. As far as I know, she had to leave for Marineford a couple days ago...said something about a court proceeding being rescheduled that she couldn't miss." Jasha shrugged. "I don't think she'd have attended either way, unless she had to - she's never been a fan of these sorts of things. Only tags along when Ignas bugs her to."

"Unlike Teru."

"You could say that again." He finished his tea with one final gulp and went to the sink to rinse his cup.

The sound of running water perturbed the silence. Arisa found herself staring intently at him from behind. Deliberately, she sought to quell the flurry of unease dancing at the pit of her stomach, though her mouth grew dry at the thought of articulating the concerns festering within the back of her mind. Her fingers gave a visible tremor as they tightened around the mug.

"Jasha," she said quietly. "Did you hear about what's going on with the Whitebeard Pirates?"

He stilled.

"I couldn't help but overhear some things from the other officers. Anson and one of the other Rear Admirals, mainly..."

"What sort of things?" His voice had grown rigid and unnatural.

Arisa faltered. Witnessing his disconcertment firsthand, maybe this was a mistake to bring up, after all. But her curiosity eventually overcame her misgivings. "Some talk about negotiations with one of the members of the Worst Generation. A Shichibukai seat in exchange for Edward Newgate's second commander...." She hesitated. "Is it true?"

Jasha turned off the faucet and turned back to face her. He remained pointedly silent, though the expression on his face betrayed the truth as damningly as any spoken affirmative.

Another ominous rumble of thunder. Arisa swallowed dryly.

"How can it be, though?" she asked. "It didn't make any sense to me. Portgas D. Ace is still a free man."

"A gamble. That's what it is." Jasha's voice grew tired, resigned. He slowly returned to the table and sat next to her. "Sengoku-san made the call as far as I can tell."

She frowned in confusion. "I...still don't understand."

He sighed and directed his gaze out the window. "The Navy was recently approached by a pirate who was adamant of the fact that he and his crew were being pursued by Fire Fist Ace. But he was even more confident of the fact that he could beat him, and preemptively offered to deliver him over to us in exchange for Warlord status."

"And the higher-ups believed him?"

"Not outright; they took the matter 'into consideration' - that's the official statement for now. If it is just a bluff, what do they have to lose, anyways? So now it's just a waiting game. But if this Blackbeard delivers on his promise...." A ghost of a frown flickered over his features.

"Then what?"

Jasha's face darkened.

"It's pure speculation beyond this point," he answered reluctantly. "But it's unlike the Fleet Admiral to dedicate this much time and resources in negotiations over a single pirate, unless he intends to make an example out of him."

An example.

Arisa's heart suddenly gave a painful bound. If what happened to the Nightingale served as any indication, that could only mean one thing. A cold trickle of dread shimmied its way down her spine as her mind immediately flooded over with a sea of hypotheticals that could arise from such development. None of them boded particularly well for the precarious power dynamic currently held at stasis between the Yonkou and the Navy...and judging from the troubled expression Jasha wore, he likely foresaw the same outcome she feared.

"There's going to be a war," she whispered.

──────────────────

MARINE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE

MARINEFORD - ARCHIVES

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT - INTERROGATION ROOM 2D

CASE NO. 2306-4837

"WITNESS A"

TIME STAMP

«　00:01:38 - 01:09:25　»

- muffled voices and footsteps -

- static -

- click -

P.I.: (papers rustling; clears throat) It is currently half past noon... [REDACTED], 1523. This is Investigator Lisle Florence speaking, Marine Code No. 4-5-9-2-4-1.

S.I.: This is Junior Inspector Vindland Marius, Code No. 7-2-1-3-0-8.

WITNESS: My name is [REDACTED], retired Captain from the [REDACTED] Branch. I currently reside on Valeris Island working part-time at the recruitment office. My Marine Code is [REDACTED]. (chair creaking)

P.I.: Thank you. (pen scribbling) So here we are with... (pause) ...[REDACTED]-san today to follow up with him regarding the events he experienced on the night of [REDACTED], 1523.

WITNESS: Yes ma'am.

P.I.: (table creaking) Let me start by saying how appreciative we are for you to have taken the time to come back and discuss this with us. I understand that the incident must still be very fresh in your mind, and even with your background it still must have been very traumatizing for you to have.... have witnessed everything that you did.

WITNESS: Well it certainly came as a shock to us all. (shakes head) It's a goddamn tragedy.

P.I.: Again, we can't thank you enough for your cooperation.

[REDACTED]

S.I.: Now I was talking to some of the other neighbors earlier, and it seems you and your wife didn't get to know the Lieutenant Commander all that well until after he was discharged.

WITNESS: That's correct, sir. Before the war, I barely ever saw him around. Which I think was to be expected with his duties and whatnot - (chair creaking)

P.I.: Of course. Lots of traveling.

WITNESS: Exactly. Now his sister, she also traveled a bit for work but wasn't nearly as busy as he was. So she was the one who I saw the most around the neighborhood, taking care of that old house and everything.

S.I.: Did either of you ever talk to her?

WITNESS: Oh yeah. She was real friendly. Just the sweetest young lady. Always bringing back souvenirs from her business trips to share with us neighbors. (pause) [REDACTED] and I, we were lots more familiar with Faye-san than Jasha.

- silence; clock ticking -

WITNESS: (sigh) ...it's a damn shame, what happened with her too.

P.I.: Mmm-hmm. (page flipping) And what about after the war? Did you see more of Jasha then?

WITNESS: (solemnly) So Jasha came home after the war. But we barely ever saw him out and about. I understand it was due to his, ah, health issues. (pause) I only remember a handful of face-to-face interactions, because there were a few times Teruko-san called and asked us to go check on him whenever - whenever Arisa-san had to go out of town.

S.I.: How often did that happen?

WITNESS: Four, five times as a conservative estimate, maybe...? I'm not entirely sure. (chair creaking) I'm pretty sure the times they asked us were when neither of the other sisters were available to help out. (nods) So maybe more often than that. But again, I can't give you an exact number.

P.I.: That's fine. During those visits, did you ever notice anything out of the ordinary with his -... with Jasha's behavior?

WITNESS: Uh... Well, he'd always struck me as a bit of a peculiar guy. Really timid, soft-spoken... Disposition-wise, you could say he was very hard to read. And after the war... (pause; clears throat) After everything that happened, I noticed there was a sort of skittishness to his behavior that had never been present before. I've seen it in so many brothers who came home and... well... (pause) ...it was unmistakable to me.

P.I.: What was unmistakable?

WITNESS: That he was afraid.

[REDACTED]

- silence; clock ticking -

S.I.: (pages flipping) Did he ever bring up any dissatisfaction with his -... his medical treatment?

WITNESS: Not... not outright. No sir.

S.I.: Nothing about any medications, procedures, doctor's appointments or anything like that?

WITNESS: Uh... (rustling) The closest he ever came to that was... uh, it had to be the pain. He mentioned a couple times that he was having a lot of difficulty due to the... the surgical complications. And that all the doctors did was to prescribe stronger pain killers to deal with it.

WITNESS: (silence; rustling)

WITNESS: He seemed to suffer from pretty bad headaches, too. But he always dismissed that on account of his drinking.

S.I.: Hm. Speaking of that...did you ever encounter him when he was inebriated?

WITNESS: No sir, I didn't. Drinking, yes. But drunk...never. (pause) He seemed very self-conscious about it.

P.I.: (papers rustling) Apparently not enough to stop for Arisa-san, though.

S.I.: (chair creaking)

WITNESS: Er... I can't comment about that, ma'am. At the time, I didn't think it was any of my business.

P.I.: And these conversations about the pain and the prescriptions... Did they take place around the time of the investigation?

WITNESS: I don't remember. It could have been, certainly because uh, I could tell he was rattled by everything that was going on. But he never really brought it up. We never asked about it either because it was an ongoing matter...

[REDACTED]

P.I.: So let's... (papers shuffling) Why don't we go back to what you saw last week. (flips page)

WITNESS: (chair creaking) Of course ma'am.

P.I.: (leans in) Right now, we are just looking for a rundown of the incident in your own words. Let's treat this like we're starting over completely. Forget everything you told the other investigators that night and break everything down to us as if we know nothing going into this.

WITNESS: Yes ma'am.

P.I.: Good. And during that, of course, Marius and I may have some questions for you.

WITNESS: Right. Well, like I told the other guys... I don't think there is all that much to recount on my part, as much as I'd like to help. (pause; quieter) Gosh, I don't even know where to start. [REDACTED] and I were on our way home from visiting some friends - they're pretty close, just a few neighborhoods over, and the weather was nice, so we walked. We decided to take a more scenic route through the woods since it was still light out. And you know, that path - it cuts close to Jasha's place, so as we were walking past, we heard some voices coming from the house. It was muffled so we couldn't tell who it was, but it was a man's voice - shouting at the top of his lungs.

P.I.: It didn't sound familiar to you at all?

- silence -

WITNESS: I don't know for sure because it was coming from inside the house. All I can say is that it was a male voice. At least one male voice.

S.I.: Did it sound like they were in distress?

WITNESS: No. It was angry yelling.

S.I.: Angry yelling.

WITNESS: Yes sir. Like... like someone was arguing. Ranting, pretty much. (sighs) Obviously we were both concerned because it's completely out of character for Jasha to be behaving like that. (pause) [REDACTED] - she wanted to go check in on them. To see if Arisa-san was there and to make sure that... that everything was okay if she was. (pause) Teruko-san had been telling her some alarming things about the two of them so naturally she was very worried. And there were other reasons to be concerned too.

P.I.: What sorts of reasons?

WITNESS: (pause)

WITNESS: There... Uh, there's this real suspicious-looking peddler who's been going around and bothering locals around this area for the past few weeks. There were rumors going around the neighborhood that he had a spotty history with the law too, and we were, uh - that obviously was a cause of concern. So the first thing that came to my mind was that perhaps this fellow might've gone over there to harass them or something.

P.I.: Can you give me the name and description of this individual?

WITNESS: Sure, I've seen him a couple times. [REDACTED] is what he goes by around here, but who knows if that's even his real name -

[REDACTED]

- silence -

WITNESS: Well, going back to that night, I didn't want my wife getting caught up in a potentially dangerous situation. So I promised her that I'd go back alone to check on Jasha after I dropped her off at home. That was around... a quarter to five, five-thirty, I'll estimate.

S.I.: When you heard the yelling or when you got home?

WITNESS: When we heard the yelling. We were out in the woods and I had my watch with me. It's less than a five minute walk home from there.

S.I.: Alright. Go on.

WITNESS: Well once we get home, we got a Transponder Snail call from my parents. They're both doing poorly health-wise and - uh, I don't really want to get much into it - but the gist of it is, we end up having to run over to their place and help my old man take Ma to the doctor's. That took some time, and by the time we got back it was... (pause) ...it had to have been around seven-thirty, maybe? We'd both forgotten about the whole yelling fiasco because we were so caught up with my mother's health scare...so I'll guess it wasn't until around eight o'clock, when we remembered and [REDACTED] sent me back to check on Jasha.

P.I.: Did you ever consider contacting authorities?

WITNESS: I hate to say it, but.. no ma'am. Not at that time. We were so overwhelmed with Ma's situation that by the time we remembered Jasha, our impression of the abnormality had dulled somewhat, unfortunately. So...when we came home the second time we figured that we'd been paranoid. That the yelling was more likely due to an innocuous reason than not. (pause) Well, I found out just how wrong I was once I got there.

P.I.: Did you have to break into the house?

WITNESS: No ma'am. The front door was left ajar, and all the lights on the lower floor were switched on. Just blazing bright. But no signs of life. I don't know how to explain it but it felt right unnerving, seeing everything lit up like that. I didn't know what to do at first, so I just went on over to the doorway and called Jasha's name. Looked in but didn't notice anything out of place, other than for the lights and the open door. I called out a couple more times but got no response.

WITNESS: (pause)

WITNESS: I'm on the verge of turning away to call someone when I hear a voice from further inside. A woman's voice. Sobbing.

- silence; clock ticking -

WITNESS: (quieter) First thing I thought was that something must have happened to Arisa-san, so I rushed right in. And... (swallows; voice shakes slightly) ...and yeah. There they both were.

S.I.: Who did you see first?

WITNESS: Uh, the first thing I noticed was... was the blood. There was that big pool of it in the kitchen you guys saw in the pictures, kind of streaked all over the place. Like someone had been thrashing in it. Then I saw them both on the floor.

P.I.: Can you describe Jasha's original position?

WITNESS: (pause) He was slumped forwards, bent at a strange angle. Almost as if someone had shoved him down face first from a kneeling position.

P.I.: Okay. (silence) And where was she?

WITNESS: She'd sort of... thrown herself over him. Holding his head, crying. Just... incoherent.

WITNESS: (silence)

WITNESS: I called out to her a couple times. Went and tried to pull her off of him because... because I wanted to check if she was okay. I uh, at that point I didn't know who the blood belonged to. But she... (deep breath) ...she just wouldn't let go of him...!

WITNESS: (silence)

WITNESS: (chair creaking) Shit... I'm sorry.

P.I.: It's okay. Take your time.

WITNESS: (silence; deep breath)

WITNESS: Um. (swallows; clears throat) I don't know how long I spent... trying to coax her into letting go. Maybe it was no longer than a minute but it felt like an eternity. And the next thing I know... I hear footsteps from the foyer and [REDACTED]'s calling my name. Turns out she got worried and came to check on me. (swallows) And the last thing I wanted was for her to see this. So I yelled at her to stay back. Just stay away from the kitchen and... and to call the authorities from the office.

P.I.: And throughout all of this... Murasaki-san was totally incoherent?

WITNESS: Oh yes ma'am. Soon after I did manage to pull her off - she just sort of went limp after a while. There was blood all over her. All over them both. And at the time there was no way of knowing whose it was so I kept asking her, are you okay, are you hurt anywhere. But she never... she didn't seem to be listening.

P.I.: Was she conscious?

WITNESS: Yes. Conscious, clearly but... not responsive.

S.I.: And when did you become aware of Jasha's state?

WITNESS: (silence)

WITNESS: ...it was right after...

WITNESS: (silence)

WITNESS: (deep breath) It was right after I turned him over.

END OF EXCERPT

──────────────────

"You're set to become the next village head? By the start of next year?" Shachi repeated blankly.

"Well, what did you think the word heiress implied?" Shiori laughed, tipping the naginata back against her shoulder.

With Himuro's procurement of Law's Vivre Card finalized, the Hearts were approved to take the ferry over to the main island while their captain remained "quarantined," as Penguin had teasingly put it. Of course, resupplying was the main objective before they were free to explore at their own leisure, and as always, the crew had decided that splitting up into smaller groups was the fastest way to complete the task. With Penguin, Jean Bart, and Bepo being dragged off straight to the farmer's market by Rakko and Riyu, Shachi had opted to stick with the med team trio, who had both the aforementioned Shiori and Chidori tagging along as guides.

"I don't know... A spoiled rich brat? Nothing substantial, that's for sure..." Ikkaku muttered in a low voice. She muffled a yelp and glowered back when Uni surreptitiously elbowed her with a warning look.

If she had heard the jab, Shiori showed no outward signs of it. Her voice remained breezy and unaffected as she turned back and continued down the bustling thoroughfare. The street pulsated with passerby, hemmed in on both sides with stalls. A chorus of lively voices pierced the air as vendors proclaimed their wares.

"Amenoka-jima is split into distinct fiefdoms, with each under the protection of one of the five head elders at the shrine," Shiori called over the din, beaming back at them over her shoulder. "Hidamari has been protected by the Isseki household for close to a hundred years now! Of course, Father is the current village head, but he's planning on retiring so that he can focus fully on his work in the ruling council." She shot Chidori a teasing look. "Heh, I know you're looking forward to that."

"Don't remind me," Chidori answered from Uni's side, the exasperation in her voice speaking volumes of her opinions regarding the current Isseki patriarch.

Clione blinked in mild confusion as he glanced between the two young women, before giving a small shrug when he shared gazes with Shachi. The latter returned a shrug of his own and cleared his throat to speak up.

"So...running an entire village, huh? That must be a huge responsibility!"

"Oh, it certainly is!" Shiori nodded. "Don't get me started on the time commitment. The last year or so, Father's had me handle more and more of his duties here - just so that I'll be prepared for the transition, you know - and... whew, it's been insane! Honestly, it's to the point where I think I'll be lucky to even have a minute of free time to myself." She slowed her pace to theirs and gave Chidori a playful nudge. "You could say this whole fiasco was a perfect opportunity for me to take a breather - right, Arisa?"

"...Arisa?" Ikkaku repeated aloud, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yeah! Don't you know her na-...!" Shiori cut off short, riveting around to gape at Chidori in abject horror. "Wait a minute... Don't tell me you've been making them use your codename this entire time!"

Codename...? Shachi paused and reflected. Oh... so like the Kamome thing?

Which would make sense, actually -

"How long have you spent in these people's care?" Shiori was going on incredulously. "A week, right?!"

"...give or take?" Chidori managed to get out, sweat dropping. As if to anticipate the incoming harangue, she sidled back in between Clione and Uni like a tortoise retreating into its shell.

"And you still haven't given them your name? That's just way too rude!"

"No worries," Shachi quickly attempted to intervene. "It really isn't that big of a deal -"

"No... she's right," Chidori broke in self-consciously. "You guys found out what Riyu goes by pretty early on, so...I guess I really had no excuse." She paused, then straightened ever so slightly and turned to face them. "Arisa is my real name. Murasaki Arisa." A small smile flickered surfaced, accompanied by a teasing glint in her eyes as she assumed a tone of mock formality. "...it's nice to meet you, I suppose...?"

Shachi blinked, sharing looks with Uni and Clione, before a sly grin crept over his face. He decided to play along with the bit.

"Nice to meet you too, Arisa-san!" he answered with mock sincerity, sticking out a hand for a handshake. "I'm Shachi!"

"Are we starting over now?" Clione laughed, quickly catching on. He bounded forwards as well with Uni close to follow. "Well, then my name is Clione! You've totally never met me before, have you?"

Uni gave an awkward bow.

"I'm Uni - and that's Ikkaku, our resident bundle of sunshine. Please take care of us going forward!"

"...seriously, guys...?" Ikkaku rolled her eyes. But she too couldn't keep a small smile from reaching her face..

"We're members of the Heart Pirates," Shachi went on with performative enthusiasm. "Just a small time rookie crew from the North Blue-"

"Our captain's pretty famous though, believe it or not," Uni added. "Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law - I wonder if you've ever heard of him?"

"We have this idiot named Rakko too, who just decided to tag along one day," Clione jived. "Shorty delinquent with anger management issues, but we all love him anyways -"

"Okay, that's enough!" Chidori broke in, laughing aloud. And then they were all cracking up at poor Rakko's expense. Shiori giggled along too, amethyst eyes alight with amusement.

"What is this, like an ice breaker for school children?" she snickered.

"You're the one who brought it about!" Chidori - no, Arisa - exclaimed, spinning around and swatting her arm. "You with your... stupid inner kindergarten teacher tendencies!"

"Oh right... that was totally me, wasn't it? Hahaha!"

Shiori's laugh was infectious. Shachi couldn't help but smile along as he snuck a look at her companion with a renewed sense of appreciation.

Murasaki Arisa, huh?

He knew they still had to keep their guard up - Captain's words from a week ago came to mind - but he couldn't deny feeling a genuine spark of giddiness in the banter, towards the fact that Chi- no, Arisa had apparently trusted them enough to volunteer her name so readily. Maybe it was naivete. He found himself wondering how the others would react to the development. How Captain would react.

Whatever sense of awkwardness that had been left lingering over the group's unfamiliarity with Shiori lifted entirely from that point. The next hour or so flew by in a breeze as they completed their errands, during which the Hearts were mildly surprised (and amused) to discover how clueless Arisa could be when it came to budgeting.

("What do you mean I almost got scammed? He said it was a bargain!"

"Don't tell me you're used to paying that much for such a tiny bottle of ointment!"

"Well... Riyu usually picks everything since it saves more time. I just pay at the end, so how am I supposed to know what's the normal price?"

"Oh my God."

"Arisa-san... That's... a bit..."

"Hahahaha! Yeah, and no wonder Tatsuhito-kun calls you a hopeless cause!"

"Ugh, don't side with that cheapskate!")

"Ah," Uni visibly perked up as they piled out of the general wares store, with Shachi and Uni holding up the rear lugging bags full of purchased goods. "Look over there."

Shachi followed his gaze, squinting against the late afternoon sun. A glimpse into the glass display of a street stand set up just next to the store entrance had him mirroring her expression. It was an antique coin dealer's stall. A neat array of silver pieces glistened from a bed of velvet.

"What is it?" Arisa asked wearily, glancing up from her wristwatch.

"Oh, that's Saguchi-kun's stall!" Shiori exclaimed, dabbing at her face lightly with the corner of a handkerchief. She glanced at the empty counter. "Looks like he isn't in right now though. What, are you guys into coin-collecting or something?"

"Not any of us, no," Ikkaku said. She shouldered her bag and shared sly looks with Uni and Clione. "Captain is, though. He's a total nerd about this sort of stuff."

"It's a shame he isn't here then! Saguchi has an extensive collection. He offers some pretty good deals too." Shiori glanced at Arisa and giggled. "Not that you would know though!"

"...are we really about to get into this again?"

"Well, we can show him once his quarantine is lifted!" Clione nodded. He turned to his mates. "Hey, one of you have a pen? I wanna write down the address."

"A pen?" Ikkaku scowled and narrowed her eyes. "Why would I have a pen with me right now?"

"I might have left a pencil stub in my wallet - let me check," Uni volunteered. He turned and the next thing Shachi knew, he was met with a face full of bulging shopping bags as the taller man promptly shoved all of his bought merchandise into his companion's arms. "Here, can you hold onto this?"

"Hey! W-wait a second!" Shachi sputtered, nearly stumbling back against the store wall as he teetered to and fro in order to maintain balance. "Gah!"

"Ah, careful!" Arisa dutifully rushed in to steady him. "Shiori, help!"

"I can't see anything - ! Uni, hurry up!"

"One moment!"

"...Arisa-san?"

An unfamiliar voice interrupted them at this juncture. All eyes snapped up in the direction of the speaker. Peering out past the bundles piled high atop his arms, Shachi felt his breath catch at the back of his throat. Standing before them stood two young women - one blonde, one brunette. The brunette - clearly older than her companion, about in her late twenties - had sharp green eyes and was dressed stylishly, with her chestnut hair coiled into a sleek coiffure secured with a gleaming mother-of-pearl hairpin which accentuated the ornate, patterned kimono she donned. The blonde was dressed considerably less flashily - just a thin gray shawl over a blue cotton kimono - though the simplicity of her attire did nothing to diminish the symmetry of her features.

Yet looking at her, Shachi felt an inexplicable feeling of revulsion fester beneath his skin. Maybe it was the blonde hair, but something about her bearings reminded him of... of - !

It was at this inopportune moment that the young woman's placid blue eyes flickered upwards momentarily to meet his gaze. Usually, such a gesture from any woman would have reduced Shachi to a stuttering mess, but the resemblance with her was so uncanny that pirate had to grit his teeth to keep himself from visibly recoiling.

What the hell, Shachi? he scolded himself, looking away sharply. Stop dwelling on that and focus!

"Arisa-san?" the older woman repeated, taking a tentative step forwards. Shachi shifted his weight to better balance the bags in his arms, inwardly thanking her for blocking the blonde's view. "Is that you?"

"Oh..." Arisa tilted her face, recognition flashing across her face. "...Koga ...sama?"

Koga?

Shachi tore his eyes away from the ground and glanced over to the med team trio, only to be met with blank stares. The name was familiar to him, at least, from the officer meetings he attended with Arisa in the past week. She had mentioned that the some high-flown representative - Hachinobe Moto-something - would be visiting the shrine at the same time of their stay, hence the heightened security concerns. He vaguely remembered this Koga woman being alluded to as the diplomat's wife.

The brunette's eyes lit up.

"So it really is you!" she exclaimed.

Shachi feebly let out a sound of protest as Arisa hurriedly shoved her allotment of shopping bags into the already teetering pile in his arms and stepped forwards.

"K-Koga-sama! It's been so long!" she greeted with a bow.

"It has... Five, six years, right? My, you haven't changed a bit!"

Maybe it was Shachi's imagination, but he could have sworn to have seen Arisa flinch.

"Lady Koga!" Shiori swooped in before he could dwell on the thought any further - kindly setting her bags down on the pavement against the storefront, mind you - and hurriedly smoothed the front of her kimono before giving a bow of her own. "Fancy running into you here! Hopefully you've rested up since yesterday!"

Clione leaned in from behind, poking Shachi in the arm for attention.

"Sooo... are we supposed to know who that is?"

Shachi shook his head.

"I think she's supposed to be the wife of that diplomat dude Captain mentioned that one time."

"Oh yeah...." Uni rubbed his chin in reflection. "I heard Penguin talking about it to Bepo. So it was thanks to them that Arisa-san had such a hard time getting permission for us to come here."

"Uni, shhh!" Ikkaku hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.

Koga had turned to them in mild interest.

"Are these the pirate guests Tatsuhito-dono was talking about?"

"Indeed they are!" Shiori beamed.

A polite smile burgeoned over Koga. She nodded prudently at the pirates.

"My name is Hachinobe Koga. It's nice to meet you," she said pleasantly, bowing her head in greeting to each of them. The four Hearts immediately stiffened and nodded back. Koga turned and gestured to the young blonde woman standing quietly to the side. "This is Oito, one of my maids."

Ito dipped her chin accordingly, her vacuous smile only widening. Sensing another ripple of unease, Shachi gulped back the urge to back away and bowed back awkwardly, making sure to avoid her gaze.

"How was the journey?" Arisa asked anxiously.

Koga's smile faltered.

"It went about as well as we could have hoped for..." she began, sharing a meaningful look with Ito. "...save for the end. Unfortunately, we ran into a little... situation while we were being screened at Takanotsume."

"Right! I completely forgot." Shiori turned to Arisa. "This happened last night, so you guys just barely missed it. One of her maids was apprehended trying to smuggle in an unauthorized weapon, can you believe it?"

"One of the maids?" Arisa repeated. "Was it some sort of misunderstanding, or...?"

"Nope." Shiori lowered her voice conspiratorially. "It was a poisoned dagger. It couldn't have been."

Koga bit her lip, a shadow crossing over her face.

"I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it," she said, shaking her head somberly. "Oharu served our family for so many years.... It's unthinkable."

"We still aren't sure how to explain the situation to Waka-sama," Ito added, voice ringing soft and demure. She caught Shachi's eye again and smiled.

Shachi tugged the brim of his hat lower over his eyes, his discomfort giving away into mild annoyance.

No, seriously. What's wrong with that woman?

"Speaking of which... where is Tatsusada-kun right now?" Shiori asked. She looked around. "I haven't seen him all day today."

Her cheeks flushing pink, Koga glanced over to Ito.

"Well..." she began slowly, "...it is rather embarrassing to admit this, but..."

"Oh, yes." Ito tilted her head slightly before clearing her throat. "....we're... ah, trying to find him right now, actually."

It took a second for the words to sink in properly. Shiori and Arisa started to nod along - such motions of propriety clearly ingrained into muscle memory - before they both stiffened and wheeled around to gape at Koga in disbelief.

"Find him?!"

──────────────────

Approximately thirty minutes prior

Takanotsume Island

Less than two hours had elapsed since his crew's departure to the mainland, and Trafalgar Law couldn't quite rid himself of the feeling that he was being watched.

Years of working in the Donquixote Family had honed his intuition regarding covert surveillance to a razor sharp edge. Doflamingo had been - and still was, unfortunately - a careful man. His vigilance regarding his enemy's activities had been as thorough as it had been contagious to his subordinates, and as loathe as the surgeon was to admit it, such quality had been one of several he found himself subconsciously emulating.

(Law could only imagine how much worse things had gotten after Minion Island. He could only hope that intensified paranoia regarding future betrayals would keep Doflamingo up at night even to this day. No, if there was justice in this world, it would have driven the monster insane a long time ago. Even that wouldn't have made up for his clear lack of remorse in murdering Cora-san.)

Law cracked open an eye from where he resided lounging against the shade of an oak tree overlooking the shore. He listened as a couple faint rustles sounded from the surrounding bush. There it was again, for the umpteenth time. A scowl flickered over his face. Whoever it was that was stalking him, they couldn't possibly be stupid enough to believe that he'd remained asleep this entire time. ...or could they?

He couldn't help but think of Himuro Kōyō's pathetic debut then. Perhaps it was still too early to dismiss the man as hopeless on an intellectual basis, but...

Another rustle of leaves interrupted his train of thought - considerably closer this time. Law's frown deepened in annoyance. He decided to put an end to the suspense. Sitting up fully, he raised one hand.

"Room." At the single spoken word, the all-too familiar pale blue dome expanded. "Shambles."

A scrawny humanoid shape flickered into existence, falling to the ground before the surgeon in a small heap. Law's expression morphed to one of confusion.

"...a brat?" he muttered aloud. Hadn't Chidori-ya stated explicitly that Takanotsume was uninhabited?

Said brat scrambled up to his feet, sheepishly brushing off bits of dirt and sand from his attire. Despite looking no more than eight or nine years of age, he was dressed similarly to Himuro Kōyō - in the traditional getup and whatnot - albeit considerably more tidily, with a kimono of the same hue of his navy hair, a bright green sash, and wooden sandals. He also held what appeared to be a large...notebook, of sorts, in one hand, which was clutched behind his back at an awkward angle as if to appear as inconspicuous as possible despite failing quite spectacularly in doing so.

A long, awkward stretch of silence passed as the two stared each other down. Law's frown remained frozen on his face even long after his Room flickered out of existence, the expression serving as but a paltry bulwark masking his inner agitation. Truth be told, he found himself at a loss of what to do. This was one of those rare situations where he found himself wishing to have stumbled upon an enemy combatant or a wild animal. Something - anything other than a brat. He didn't despise children per say, but he certainly didn't like them either - mostly for the fact that he never quite knew how to interact with them. Most of the ones he'd ever had to work during his time at the Pleasure Town clinic always cowered away from him - something Shachi and Penguin liked to poke fun at him about.

("You made another one cry?! Wow, how could you be so heartless?"

"I didn't even do anything!"

"No, you don't get it! You've got the whole dark, brooding aura down pat - which the ladies love by the way - but for brats, well, all they see is a moody teenager with a scary scowl! No wonder they get so freaked out!"

"Yeah! You need to smile more, that's what it is~!")

Law's eye twitched at the memory. He hemmed a sigh as he peered down at the brat. Chidori-ya had actually suggested that she stay behind to discuss strategy around the Kaku-Kaku no Mi before she'd left with the others. And he, suspecting that the offer had only been made out of pity, had immediately turned her down. Inwardly, he cursed his pride while secretly taking consolation in the fact that this one hadn't cried so far (yet).

Speaking of which... The surgeon narrowed his eyes. How the hell had the brat gotten here to begin with?

But before he'd gathered his wits enough to make the demand, the brat actually had the audacity to beat him to it. Law started in amazement when the notepad was thrust into his face, bearing the following words inscribed crookedly across the lined page:

dvil fruit??

Law's gaze shifted up to regard the small, pale face peeking out over the edge of the pad.

"Yes," he finally answered suspiciously.

The brat turned a page. He wrote something and flipped his notepad around.

cool

The bewilderment in the surgeon's expression melted away into one of mild interest. His lips knitted tighter together in contemplation as the child flipped the notebook and scribbled in it again.

are you a Pirate

"Yeah. I am."

This earned a toothy grin, much too guileless for Law to be comfortable with.

COOL

Law scoffed.

"You came from the mainland, right?" he demanded. "You must have snuck here aboard the ferry." His eyes narrowed further as the boy shook his head frantically. "Quit lying. Are you allowed to be here on your own?"

The boy nodded resolutely, his cheeks flushing bright red. Law couldn't help but sweat drop as he hurriedly wrote in the notepad and flipped it around.

YES

"...that's definitely a no, then," Law muttered beneath his breath.

IM NOT LYING!!

"Why can't you -" Law stopped short and took a deep breath. "Where are your parents?"

But the brat wasn't listening at all. He seemed to be more engrossed in studying the Polar Tang. He wrote some more.

Are you the Captain

"Answer my question."

The brat ignored him and kept scribbling away.

Youre Ship looks funny

"It isn't a - ..." Law trailed off, eye twitching in annoyance again when the brat cut him off by flipping the page.

Looks like Toy rubber Duck

The surgeon closed his eyes briefly as the brat hid his face behind the notebook and erupted into a small fit of soundless giggling.

"It's a submarine."

The boy drew himself up sharply and tilted his head, clearly perplexed. He wrote and flipped the page.

????

"Submarine," Law repeated, not even knowing himself why he was bothering to explain. "It can go underwater."

The boy's forest green eyes opened wide in amazement. He erupted into another mad burst of scribbling.

COOL!!!!

Law frowned and looked away, shouldering his nodachi with an irritated huff. The brat paid no mind, already in the process of scribbling another message.

did Iroha bring you

Gray eyes sweeping momentarily back to the page, Law gave a reluctant nod. The brat's face brightened again.

COOL, he scribbled. ME TOO

You... too? Apparently now it was his turn to be confused, because that made no sense. Law narrowed his eyes skeptically.

"...what?"

my name is Tatsusada

I arrived yesterday. With mother and father.

uncle came to greet us

Arrived yesterday...?

Law opened his mouth to fire off another question, but he was drawn up short as realization dawned over him. Another mild stir of annoyance flared within him for not making the connection sooner. So this had to be the brat Chidori-dono had been talking about - the son of that diplomat whose name he couldn't be bothered to remember. He clenched his jaw, tightening his grasp on his nodachi as his mind raced through a litany of possibilities. One thing was for certain: the brat clearly had managed to run away here without permission. If there had been so much red tape for Chidori-ya to traverse just to get the crew within general proximity of this brat's family, that meant that there was simply no way he would be allowed to be within spitting distance of a known pirate without supervision.

This had the potential of turning into a bigger predicament than he'd anticipated. Right now, the parents were probably out searching for their kid. If something were to happen to this brat between now and the time he was discovered and Law were the only other person known to be on this island -

He cringed.

God damn it. I can't let him out of my sight, can I.

But then...what if he were to randomly start crying like all those other kids had? (He seemed fine at the moment, but that was the thing with brats. They were so damn finicky and unpredictable.) And then what if he blamed it on Law?

The surgeon inwardly facepalmed.

Not worth it!

Again, he found himself cursing his pride. If only he'd accepted Chidori-ya's offer to stay! In fact, so discombobulated was he that even Weasel-ya's company would have been a godsend.

Law huffed out a breath and looked back up, half-expecting another sloppily written message to greet him - only to nearly have a heart attack right then and there when he was greeted with empty space where the brat had once stood. One swift look around his surroundings allayed his fears as quickly as they had arisen when he spotted Tatsusada a dozen or so meters away, having wandered further down the shore to study the Polar Tang.

Law checked a small sigh.

As long as he doesn't get too close to the water, I'm not even going to bother. He isn't pestering me anymore, too, so it works out better this way...

A flash of bright yellow paper caught the corner of his eye. The brat had left the notepad on the ground, atop a small mound of sand.

So careless. The surgeon scoffed and reached down to retrieve the book. It fell open to an old page that was crinkled significantly and filled with crooked, wobbly text - one sided remnants of past conversations the writer had had with others. Law cast a cursory glance over the etched lines, before pausing and reading them over again with interest.

dont know.

Hurts again

When is dr. yotsuji coming

water please

Law hesitated and glanced up. Tatsusada was crouching near the lapping water, a piece of driftwood in hand as he doodled a sketch of the Hearts' Jolly Roger into the wet sand. His eyes narrowing, Law dropped his gaze back down to the book. He flipped a page.

YES

hurts a lot

I don't like wheezing...

His head went snapping up when he detected a flutter of movement at the corner of his eye. Tatsusada's stick had fallen to the ground - now long forgotten as the boy's body became racked with fits of uncontrollable coughing. Law's eyes widened in alarm.

"Oi, brat -!" he began to call out, only to cut off and mutter an oath beneath his breath when he saw the child start to sink to the ground. "Room - Shambles!"

A familiar rush of air registered, and in the next moment he was by the brat's side.

"Hold still - let me see."

With tears in his eyes, the brat merely shook his head no as if to downplay the situation. But the motion was weak - made barely perceptible with how violently every cough shook his frame - and Law's mind was made up. He swiftly grabbed the boy's arm to steady him and tossed aside the notebook to unsheath Kikoku.

"Scan."

A beam of pale blue light flashed forth into existence and wreathed Kikoku's blade as it hovered horizontally over the patient's cowering form. The surgeon's gunmetal eyes immediately widened in alarm as he mentally made the diagnosis.

"This is - !"

Shaking his head, Tatsusada tore his arm from the doctor's grasp and went scrambling for the notebook and pen. His hands trembled wildly as he jotted down a few words on a fresh page and flipped the pad around for the pirate to see.

Already know

don't tell anyone

...what?  Law stared down at the boy, speechless. Tatsusada shook his head again frantically and tapped at the message for emphasis. When the surgeon didn't answer right away, the boy wrote down one more word and doggedly presented it with an air of quiet desperation which should have belied his young age.

Please.

Notes:

I will be the first to admit that the naming convention for kids is not at all historically accurate in this story. Typically, a son born to an aristocratic family will go through multiple names in his life. A samurai will have a yōmyō, or childhood name (usually ends with -suke, -chiyo, -kiyo, -maru, -yasha, etc.) and a jitsumyō, or "true/private" name which is given at his coming-of-age ceremony. In addition he will have a kemyō, which is the name he goes by in public life. It was also common for samurai to change their given names multiple times through adulthood as they received promotions and/or changed professions. They could also have multiple names in parallel - for instance, if a samurai chose to enter a monastery he'd take on a separate Buddhist name. Confusing, right?

So yeah, going back to Tatsusada - realistically, he would still have a childhood name at his age. However, since Oda very clearly ignored such conventions in his depiction of Wano (Sukiyaki and Oden keeping the same names throughout their lives, and Momonosuke, though clearly having a childhood name, kept his given name even after becoming shōgun in adulthood), I have decided to ignore it in this story as well. Not to mention the fact that it'll be even more confusing to keep up with all the different epithets a single person can have lol.

What do you think is the deal with Tatsusada?  Not to mention Ito... 0.O

Thanks for reading!

-shiba