I had grown up with large festivals, so I was used to the sights, the smells, and the loud noise that came with them, but this was the first time that I had actually been someone comfortable being in attendance. Physically speaking.

Back on Water 7, my mother had always forced me to dress to the nines, signing me up for every kind of pagent under the sun. Bows, ribbons, make-up and ungodly pastels, I had never been able to enjoy them.

This time, however, despite Kid having ordered I dress pretty, I was comfortable in my skin, wearing dark jeans and a black tee with some kind of demonic skull decal. He had told me the outfit was perfect to suit his image. Honestly, I had been trying to piss him off, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

The streets were lit bright, and people of all shapes and sizes were having a blast, moving from stall to stall, buying food, playing sketchy looking carnival games. It was almost nostalgic.

"Oi, Kid, I wanna play something." I tugged on his sleeve, but he brushed me off, looking annoyed that I had even dared to ask.
"What are you? A child? We need to go meet up with that Reinier bastard." He yanked himself from my grip and I began to sulk.

I turned when I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping when Killer ceased walking after Kid.
"I'll take her to play just one. If she doesn't get to play, she's just gonna keep bitching. Aren't you?" He knew me all too well, and I nodded insistently to confirm.

"I'd like to play too. Some of them look like fun..." Heat dropped back to join us, looking a little embarrassed that he had admitted such a thing. Kid looked between the three of us and rolled his eyes, waving his hand over his shoulder before he continued walking.
"Whatever. You know where I'll be."

I'm surprised he didn't scream at us...

Looping my arms into the elbows of my two companions, I lead them off towards the one game I knew we could all win easily. The balloon pop.
"This one? It seems almost illegal with how well we all aim..." Heat murmured when we approached, and I chuckled up at him.
"You're a pirate. What does it matter?"

The man tending to the game brightened up when he saw us walking over, throwing on the charm and tipping his cap in my direction.
"Well, Goodevenin' little lady! Would you and these..." He gave Killer and Heat a quick once-over, barely faltering. "...fine gentlemen like to test your skills? We've got some great prizes!"

He motioned to the various stuffed creatures hanging above him on the frame of the structure, and I started to pull out my coin purse.
"How much?" I queried, knowing I had a decent amount to spare after our little heist gone-somewhat-wrong.

"Five berries a dart, but you get five for twenty! What a deal, aye?!" The man seemed to be going pretty overboard with the energetic demeanour he had going on, but it didn't phase me too much. I still kept a close eye on him, though.
"Well, in that case, I'd like-"

Killer stuck his arm out in front of me and stepped forward, placing a handful of berries on the counter.
"Give me five." To say I was shocked was an understatement. Killer? Willingly playing a game? He hadn't even had a lick to drink yet.

The vendor's eyes raked over Killer slowly, and I noticed that they lingered on his flanks, where his scythe attachments were sheathed and prepared for use.
"Okie dokie, my fine fellow! Five shots to win your lovely lady a fluffy friend!" He snatched the money quickly and replaced it with five regular looking darts.

I didn't bother correcting the man, and nor did Killer. Heat, on the other hand, snickered into the back of his hand beside me. Picking up the first dart, the blond seemed confident, taking a few seconds to line up the shot and throwing.

From where I was standing it certainly seemed like the point of the dart at least grazed the rubber of the balloon, but it didn't pop.
"Fuckin'..." I heard Killer cuss under his breath before snatching up another, but it had the same result. No pop.

"Harder than it looks, ain't it, buddy?" The vendor chortled, unable to sense the grumpy glare Killer was no doubt shooting him from under his helmet. The third dart was a success, but that was possibly only due to the fact that the balloon he had aimed for was looking weak and partially deflated.

After yet another fail, and with one dart left, Killer clenched his fist.
"This crap is rigged." He stated, a grit to his voice that I didn't usually hear. He was pretty calm and collected most of the time, but I could understand. It didn't seem all that fair.

The vendor smirked and pulled his own dart from his pocket, tossing it towards the board and shrugging when one of the balloons burst with a loud bang.
"Looks pretty fair to me, pal."

The dart he used had a different coloured tip...

I kept silent for the time being, choosing to focus on the man's face as Killer agitatedly requested another round. His face looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

"Uh, I think I'm just gonna watch instead...Not that I think I'm better than Killer, but, um, if I get more than he does at this point I think he might gut me..." Heat leaned down to whisper to me, and I nodded in agreement, wincing as Killer all but smashed his fist through the counter as he put down more of his cash.

"This is bullshit!" He finally exclaimed, after his third round of attempts had failed, his hand flexing before he reached for one of his scythes. I jumped into action, grabbing his arm and standing up on my toes so I didn't have to yell into his ear. Or at least the side of the helmet it was under.

"Easy, big guy. We don't want to cause trouble, do we?" I warned softly, feeling his tension slightly decrease under my touch. Turning to the vendor, I whipped my coin purse out again and placed my money down. "Five tries, please. Maybe I could at least win one of the smaller soft toys if I'm super lucky."

Was I putting on my fake charm again? Absolutely I was. There was something dodgy about the vendor, and not just in a regular carnival vendor kind of way. I knew I had seen his face before, and usually that didn't point to good things.

Raising a brow, the man pulled out another five darts, laying them down in front of my in a manner that was much more gentle than he had for Killer. Looking down at them, I noted the colour of the tips. Different than the ones Killer had used, but the same as the vendor's.

"I wish you the greatest of luck, little miss!" He gave me a wink, and I willed away the disgusting crawl of my skin as I lined up a shot. The flick of my wrist was followed by a sharp pop, and even though I knew it was going to happen I acted surprised, jumping up and down and clapping my hands.
"Oh, yay! I got one!"

Sorry, Killer. I'll explain later. I want to win something without you causing a scene.

Two, three, four, I didn't miss once, even though I tested my theory by purposely aiming for the gaps. I was positive there was a balloon or two I didn't even come close to that popped.
"What a woman! Be still my heart!" The vendor flirted, leaning on the table a little too close to me that I would have liked. Though I couldn't complain. It gave me the right angle to spy a faint tuft of white hair poking out from beneath his cap. "One more and you're a big winner!"

The last shot was easy. Too easy. There was definitely a major difference between my darts and the ones that had been given to Killer. One that made my fingers tingle. When the final balloon popped with a bang, startling a few passers by, I jumped up and down on the spot, whooping loudly.
"Yes! I'm so good at this! Heck yeah!"

The vendor tipped the brim of his hat, grinning wide as he motioned to the giant stuffed creatures above his head again, completely ignoring the murderous vibes emanating from my masked companion.
"I knew you had it in you, little lady! Pick a prize, any prize! May I suggest the cute kitty cat? Or the teddy bear? Something to match your sweetness!"

Ick.

Pretending to think for a few moments, I pointed to the smaller plushies behind him, tilting my head in just the right way.
"Um, Mister, could I maybe please get two of the smaller bunnies instead of a big prize? They're just so cute~"

He matched my smile, and it made him seem all the more creepy when he nodded, turning and picking up two of the fluffy white rabbits from the pile and offering them to me.
"Of course, little lady! Enjoy! Hope to see you swing by again before the end of the festival!"

When I took the plushies, the tip of one of my fingers brushed his, and I felt a mildly painful spark. I managed not to flinch, but my theory had been confirmed if it hadn't been already. I turned and ushered both Heat and Killer away from the booth, and the former beamed down at me.

"Way to go, (Y/N)! You were really good at that!" He complimented, looking surprised when I handed him one of the bunnies. It looked so out of place in his large hand.
"Thanks, Heat. I hope you like your new friend." I smiled before I reached I drag Killer back from a few paces ahead.

He really was sulking, obviously beyond frustrated that he had been made a fool of. He wouldn't even look in my direction, even when I jumped to hang off his back with my head over his shoulder.

"It was fuckin' rigged..." He muttered sourly, only slightly easing when I offered him the other stuffed bunny.
"Exactly. That's why you shouldn't be all grumpy about it, Killz. He gave you dud darts." I explained what I thought was the obvious, smiling to myself when he finally accepted my gift. "What we should be iffy about is the fact that one of Congac's men is manning a game stall."

Killer finally turned his head towards me, one of his arms moving up behind himself to support the underside of my thigh so I could stay on his back. Heat had caught up now too, and was all ears.
"How do you know he's one of the Tankard crew?" The stitch-covered man asked curiously, and I rested my cheek upon the cool surface of Killer's helmet as I explained.

"I thought he looked familiar at first, but didn't know whether I was just imagining things or not. If you were paying attention, and not focusing on your hissy fit," I bonked the side of my head into the back of Killer's, hearing him huff. "you would've seen that I missed all but two of my shots. The balloons popped anyway. Then, when he gave me the prizes, I felt a shock run through my hands. There's no way he isn't who I think he is. Even has the same white hair."

The pair stayed quiet for a while, and I just sat there on Killer's back, looking proud of myself for figuring it out.
"Well? Are you gonna finish? Who is he?" Heat prodded, and I readjusted myself so I could sit a little more upright.

"Oh, yeah. Livewire! He's got a paramecia devil fruit, but I'm not sure what it's called. All I know is that he can store electrical charges and has a fifty million berry bounty." I explained, clasping my hands together around Killer's front. "Kid told me to keep my eyes peeled, and I'm not sure about you two, but I find it weird that one of Congac's men is bumming around scamming people at a festival. Seems like he has something going on in the background we might need to be wary of."

If they really are in the slave trade business, then it could be to scope out potential stock...

"You're craftier than I give you credit for, Little Miss." Killer teased me with the pet name Livewire had addressed me with, and I squeezed into his ribs a bit with my knees.
"Of course I am! I'm worth quadruple my current bounty. I just don't get the attention I deserve." I announced with mostly mock pride, giggling when Heat gave my head a few friendly pats.

"Either way, we'll let Kid know about it. Considering this is a festival for alcohol, at least the three of us should stay as sober as possible. No more than one or two drinks." Killer, seeming to now be over his grumbling, said firmly, jostling me a bit on his back. "Actually, maybe you should just hold off altogether. I don't know how you handle your booze, and if we need to keep sharp I don't want to have to babysit a drunk brat."

Gasping in dramatic offence, I pulled as far off of Killer's back as I could without toppling off, looking between him and Heat.
"I'll have you know that I could confidently drink the likes of you under the table with one kidney and a quarter of a liver!"

I could almost feel his eyes roll as I held onto his shoulders, and I could see Heat's as he again snickered into his hand.
"Mmhmm. Sure you can. Anyway, let's go find Kid and the others. Hopefully they're staying out of trouble." Killer sighed, starting off in the direction of where we watched our captain head towards.

"Hey...if that guy is Livewire, does than mean our Wire is Deadwire..?"

"(Y/N), you really aren't as funny as you think you are."

"I dunno, I thought it was a little funny..."

"Heat, don't encourage her..."

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
***Wasn't intending to do filler but I have no idea where I was initially heading with this arc so I had to buy myself some time.

Once I figure out one or two more characters, I'll sketch up the Tankard Pirates. I usually hate putting OCs into fics, but hey, I just don't wanna write them fighting Big Mom so I'm improvising pffff.

Next Time: 192 Proof***