Marco couldn't stop thinking of the young girl he met last night. He even smiled when he woke up to madness. Ace was hammering his forehead because of his hangover, and Thatch wasn't much better. He was groaning and moaning from his bed. Sabo rolled his eyes at the two antics and didn't even question Marco when he entered the kitchen. As long as Marco was up and not acting like a child, like other people, then Sabo didn't ask about Marco's disappearance.
But he did question the disappearance of a specific woman. Robin. "Where is she? Didn't she go shopping with you, Jozu?" he asked the huge man.
"She did, but she saw something in the window and told me that she would meet back up on the ship," he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know much about that girl, so everything she had done was a mystery to him. She was just a girl who came onto their ship and asked to travel with them for the time being.
"Girls…" Thatch muttered and yanked his hair. He entered the kitchen and grabbed a cup of milk. He sat down across from Marco and gulped the drink down.
"It's understandable if she wanted some alone time, away from a ship full of boys," Sabo stated with a shrug. He grabbed Thatch's drink and took a drink.
"Hey!" Thatch grunted, but his head rolled and he cried in pain.
Jozu chuckled and elbowed the young man. "You should go light from now on."
"I barely got a buzz."
Marco side glanced the chef, "Like… that's what you said before doing the hokey pokey with Ace."
Sabo spurted the milk out of his nose and quickly wiped it away. He couldn't help but laugh at the image of Ace and Thatch dancing while drunk.
"Sabo…" Ace moaned from the room.
"What is it?" he questioned.
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Counts on what it is."
"Go to the Gallery-La for me."
"Can't you do anything?" Sabo rolled his eyes. For once, he thought he was going to have a day of relaxation.
"Come on, it's captain's order."
"Then act like one."
"Oh!" Jozu smiled and waited for Ace's comeback; which sucked.
"Please! For me… Ouch!" Ace rubbed his head and moaned.
Sabo finally agreed with a mutter under his breath. He stood up from his chair and looked those around the table. "Who's going with me?"
Thatch looked at him as if he was serious, "Not me."
"I got things to do," Marco stated before leaving the table. By things, he meant looking for that raven haired he met last night.
Sabo looked at Jozu, who just snorted and stood up. "I guess I will…don't really have a choice in the matter, do I?"
"Nope."
Jozu carried the bag of money. Sabo had no idea of the amount Ace discussed with Gallery-La, but he wanted to be ready in case. The ship was in need of repairs, and he wasn't certain of when they would find another ship repair place. From all of the research he did with Marco, their next destination was filled with tales of strange events; and there wasn't a repair place.
They ended up in front of the wooden gate and waited for someone to show up. Soon Iceberg appeared and stared at the two. "What do you want?"
"Repairs."
"Same pirates from yesterday?"
"Spade Pirates," Sabo stated.
Iceberg nodded. "Someone was sent and looked at your ship. I believe he chatted with your captain… why are you back?"
"Our payment plans haven't been settled. I came to finalize the deal," he pointed to Jozu who held the bag of money. Sabo took the bag from the huge man and turned to the mayor.
"Could you wait out here? I will go and get someone…" he scratched his head. Kailfa opened the door for him and he went inside.
Sabo sat the bag on the ground and leaned against the gate. "Hopefully this doesn't take long. I wanted to check the city." Jozu nodded to Sabo's statement. He only saw the Shopping District and not much more than that.
A shadow appeared behind Jozu. It disappeared and another one appeared next to Sabo. The blonde glanced behind him, but it was too late. The bag was already gone. "What? Where did it go?"
Jozu's eyes darted through their surroundings, but the theft was already in the boat. It was a large man with goggles. "Crap, they saw us," he muttered to his passenger. The other thief laughed and pulled on the Yagara's reins. "Go!"
Jozu raced to the ship, but it was already far beyond his reach. He cursed and wished for once that he could enter the water without being affected.
"Franky Family!" a girl's voice yelled. A marine appeared from an alley and reached the boat before going downstream. They were caught within a magical invisible box that suddenly appeared. She pulled them to the edge and threw them both out. She grabbed their hands and handcuffed them. The bag full of money was tossed over the stream and into the hands of Lucci who just exited the Gallery-La.
"Here," the pigeon stated when the man handed the bag back to Sabo, who was staring at the young lady.
The lady looked up but her face was covered by the brown hat. "Be careful with that," she told the two men before leaving the site. She dragged both of the two thieves away.
"Sabo?" Jozu questioned once he came back. He waved his hand in front of Sabo's face.
"That girl…" he muttered.
Lucci glanced at Sabo with a curious stare, but his face stayed emotionless. "That's one of the marines who run the place," the pigeon answered.
"I think… I know her…"
"Are you feeling okay?" Jozu questioned.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? It's just… I can't remember from where…" He scratched his head. Her face, he just couldn't place it within his memories. Maybe Ace would know; he thought. Ace shared most of the memories with him, so maybe he could. Sabo just had to wait for Ace to get over his hangover.
"Come in," the pigeon stated as Lucci opened the door.
"Why is the pigeon talking…?" Jozu questioned under his breath. Strange things were going on and he didn't know what it was.
The two members of Franky Family escaped from her grasp, but she didn't go after them. They didn't escape, really, she allowed them to leave. She never captured them for long. All they needed was a good scare from time to time.
Even though she was trained in the ways of Absolute Justice, it all went out one ear. She had her own ways of doing justice, and as long as the other members of CP9 didn't know about it, she was in the clear. She would probably get a comment from Lucci about her actions today, but it was too late now. As long as he didn't report it to the higher ups about her actions, she was fine.
But the thing that pained her stomach was that blonde. Sabo. He was here, and he saw her. She crossed her fingers and hoped that she wouldn't encounter him again. And she hoped not to see Ace either. She must remain hidden from their sight, or else her last ten years were for nothing.
She rounded the corner and slammed right into another blonde. She stood up and helped the other back onto his feet. "Sorry about that," she muttered.
"You… from last night," he stared at her.
She bit her tongue; thinking if she should tell her name to the man or not with what happened with Sabo. But it would look strange if she didn't give her name; so she settled on a nickname. It was better than anything with all the drama going on. "Just call me… Ru."
"Ru? I'm Marco."