Newbie's Skill

Fifty-Eight

"Let's leave them to it, then," Marco told me. I nodded at him, catching Shanks' attention.

"Wait a moment, Kid. I've got something for you," Shanks called. I cocked my head out of curiosity. He disappeared for a moment before returning. He held up a little bag to me. Marco urged me forward slightly, but his eyes never moved from them. His guard was up as I headed towards the ginger.

"Watch your step. I don't know what kind of traps Buggy set," Mihawk warned me, and Buggy sweat-dropped. Shanks handed me the bag, and I opened it, watching his eyes carefully.

"I figured you would have wanted that," he said. My eyes watered. It was the locket that Ace used to comfort me.

"I thought this was with Ace? How did you get this?" I questioned. He put his hand on my head gently.

"I got it off of him before he was buried." My eyes stared at the locket with a blank look. It's like I could feel Pops' and Ace's warmth still lingering nearby.

"Thank you," I murmured, putting it around my neck. This will definitely come in handy during my mental recovery from all of this.

"You should get going, kid. We don't want Marines capturing all of the big fish at once," Shanks chuckled after Marco cleared his throat. "That and Marco has that scary look on his face again."

"Aren't you a yonko?" I grumbled. He just smiled in return, and I scoffed, running towards my brother. He ruffled my hair for a moment. Then, we left the three men to themselves.

When we got to the camp, I pounced on Jozu's back, making him laugh with me. He was one of our biggest guys, so I wasn't too worried about breaking him. Haruka and Izo stabled me as I dropped off Jozu. Haruka was smiling widely at me as Izo turned to exchange a conversation with Marco.

"Good to see you alive," Haruka chuckled. I sighed, sitting on the ground, leaning back on my arms.

"It's too hot, Marco," I complained. He smiled sympathetically before walking towards the rest of the crew to build a plan. "I wonder how Luffy's doing," I murmured, gazing at the sky.

Haruka smirked, "Is he all you ever think about?"

"Not all the time," I defended. We snorted and laughed with each other. I grinned upwards. "He's one of my brothers. I can't help but be curious about what he's doing."

"I see. He takes up most of your mind." I shook my head with a defeated smile.

"Ashy! Luffy's on the com snail for you!" Grape hollered from the other side of the camp. I was there, snatching the com like a lightning bolt with the biggest smile on my face.

"LUFFY!" I cheered. I heard his laugh on the other side.

"Heya!" I could practically envision his bright smile on the other side. I laid down on the grass, spending hours on the com with him while drawing in my sketchbook.