𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 ꒐ ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠

(13) 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓣𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓑𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓤𝓼

.•♫•♬•Songs•♬•♫•.
• "𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵" 𝘣𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦
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"I'd love to try the fish tonight." Kaya spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaya, but that is not possible." Klahadore replied, declining Kaya's request.

"Maybe just a small piece?" Kaya requested gently.

"Now, you know that certain foods can affect your constitution. Here, Buchi has prepared your special soup." Klahadore offered.

"Kaya, it's your birthday. You should be able to eat what you want." Nami said, frowning.

"Miss Kaya's medical condition necessitates that I closely monitor her dietary needs." Klahadore argued.

"Does it mean you also speak for her?" Scarlet chimed in, her voice low but sharp, locking eyes with Klahadore. He hesitated under her gaze, visibly unsettled.

"I'll take her fish." Luffy said brightly, clearly enjoying the food.

Usopp looked around the room, attempting to shift the conversation. "Luffy, isn't there something that you wanted to talk to Kaya about?"

"Oh, yes! Usopp told me that you own the whole shipyard."

"Well, actually my parents founded the shipyard, and Merry's been running the business since... well, since they passed." Merry raised his glass and took a sip from his drink.

"But all of that's about to change." Kaya smiled.

"Tonight, at midnight, I will become the sole owner."

"Ah. Well, that's great, because we want to buy a ship from you." Luffy said eagerly.

"I see." Kaya replied. "Usopp mentioned that you're sailors."

"Nope, not sailors. We're pirates." Luffy said proudly.

Usopp spat his drink out, coughing in shock.

"This ought to be good." Zoro murmured with a smirk before sipping his drink.

"Pirates?" Kaya asked, surprised but slightly amused.

"Yep. We haven't sailed together for long, but we have already defeated an evil clown, raided a Marine base, and taken down a captain with an axe for a hand."

The table fell silent. Nami and Scarlet shared a concerned glance. Scarlet's expression was tense, her fingers twitching at the edge of the table. Zoro leaned back, resting his elbow and placing a hand on his forehead, clearly amused by Luffy's total lack of subtlety.

"These sound a lot like your adventures, Usopp." Kaya turned to Usopp.

"Yeah, that's... That's crazy." Usopp laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah. And we're just getting started." Luffy said as he stood on his chair and then onto the table, drawing everyone's attention.

Scarlet instinctively reached out to grab him and pull him down, but Zoro's hand caught hers.

"What?" she asked sharply, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing. Just enjoy the show." Zoro whispered, still holding her hand without looking her way.

Scarlet blinked, feeling her pulse quicken. His hand was warm, steady. Her fingers twitched in his grip. "You can let go now," she murmured, barely meeting his eyes.

"You didn't seem to mind earlier," Zoro said with a low smirk.

Scarlet rolled her eyes, yanking her hand free. "You're impossible."

But as she turned her attention back to Luffy, her flushed cheeks betrayed her frustration.

"What are you doing? Get down from there at once!" Klahadore shouted, now fully exasperated.

"Being a pirate has been my dream for as long as I can remember." Luffy said as he walked across the table and knelt down in front of Kaya. "And I'm finally making it a reality."

"We're heading out to the Grand Line, where even more adventures await us. And at the end of the journey, I'm gonna find the ultimate treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates."

"You're serious?" Kaya asked, wide-eyed.

Klahadore groaned, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Kaya, you have a beautiful ship out there. A caravel with a sheep figurehead. It spoke to me. That's the ship we need to follow our dreams. I promise you, we'll take care of it. Maintain it. Treat it like any other member of our crew, because a ship is also a home." He smiled warmly.

"That will be quite enough!" Klahadore shouted. "I should've known Usopp would bring riffraff to our doorstep."

"Klahadore, it's okay. I-" Kaya began, only to cough suddenly.

"Now look what you've done. You've upset Miss Kaya." Klahadore said, blaming Luffy.

"All of you, out of this house at once!" he said firmly.

"No." Kaya interrupted softly. "It's late. Let them stay the night."

"As you wish, Miss Kaya, but they are out first thing in the morning." Klahadore replied curtly as he helped her up and escorted her to her room.

"That went well. Now she will give us the ship for sure, right?" Luffy asked, looking around hopefully.

Scarlet, already on edge, smacked him lightly on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Luffy winced, rubbing the spot as Zoro let out a laugh. Nami and Usopp joined in, but when Scarlet gave them a glare, they all quickly quieted down.
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Word Count: 795