The sun hasn't even risen from the horizon yet and Luffy is already shouting at the top of his lungs.
"RAISE THE ANCHOR!!"
You changed your clothes and decided to not wear a face mask this time since you might meet that particular puff of smoke again. You will bring your spear along to get a new one and some new swords.
Upon exiting the women's quarters, you saw Zoro and Ghin hauling up the anchor and Sanji and Usopp releasing the sails.
"FULL SAIL!! RIG THE SHIP FORWARD!! FULL SPEED AHEAD TO THE GRAND LINE!!"
You went inside the kitchen to tell Sanji to make a lot of food bc of your big appetite and high metabolism. You thought it would add a burden to him but he seems glad that he can make a lot of food for you.
After the chaotic breakfast, the crew got to work cleaning up the Going Merry. You wanted to help out since you will be hitching a ride to the Grand Line but Nami insisted that there is no need for you to help out.
Night falls and you are sitting on the crow's nest for the night watch. Luffy told you to sleep but you ignored him again causing him to sulk. You look up watching the stars and the beautiful night sky. You sat down and had your back leaned against the wooden pillar. You started singing the slow version of a song and trying not to wake the others up.
Nami and the boys were half asleep when they heard the singing from their sleeping quarters. They found out it's you since you're on night watch. They listened to the deep elegant melody until they fell into their deep slumber.
What a beautiful voice. If only I could hear that often . . . These are their last thoughts before they fall asleep.
______________________________________________________
The next morning, everything sailed smoothly and it was nothing much until you finally reached Loguetown. Ghin said that he had to stay and watch the ship since he was a recognizable face to the Marines. Luffy ran off to see the execution platform where Roger was executed and the rest of the crew went on their separate ways to restock supplies while you decided to roam around the place before you reached the weapons shop for your new weapons.
It's been years since you last came here and things haven't changed one bit. While walking along the streets, you could feel many people staring at you and you don't mind as you have gotten used to it by now.
Then you notice a certain Marine whose back is facing you. Your face brightened when you recognized him and decided to surprise him. Carefully, you snuck up behind him with less sound and once you're close enough, you wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him from behind.
"Smoker!! It's good to see you again!!" You said in glee.
He was surprised when he found out the person behind him and his face started to turn red. "What the?! (First Name), what are you doing here?!"
"Why? I can't see my favorite Marine??" you cheekily replied.
This caused his blush to become darker. "G-get off of me!! Can't you see that the people are watching?!"
You chuckled and released your hold. "Whatever you say. Let's meet at you-know-what so we can catch up for a bit" you whispered to him in the ear then ran off, leaving the poor Marine Captain in a daze.
He snapped out of his daze and ran to the place where you both first met or let's just say, first got caught. Smoker went under the bridge, seeing you waiting for him.
"What are you doing here?? Aren't you supposed to be at the Grand Line??" He crossed his arms with an irritating face at you.
"I'm just here to restock supplies before I go back but I wanted to see you before I do" you grinned. He scowled. "Quit it. We aren't supposed to be meeting like this. You're a Pirate while I'm a Marine. Things are different now"
You hummed in response. "That's true. I don't have a high opinion when it comes to Marines but you're one of the few Marines I respected and I tend to keep it that way. If it weren't for our status, we wouldn't be hiding from the eyes like this"
Smoker grumbled but deep down, he admitted that you were right. "If it weren't for the fact that you're a Shichibukai, I would've dragged you to the Headquarters and arrested you. Also, you're quite naive to think that I would keep a secret from them. Don't you think that I might expose your identity??"
"If so, why didn't you tell them?? It's been years since we've known each other and you still didn't tell them. That just shows that you care about me" You tilted your head and smiled.
That caught him off guard and you took advantage of his distraction by pinning him against the wall with his back facing you, trapping him.
"Oi!! What are you doing?!" He shouted.
"Orra~ You shouldn't be shouting so loud. What if people heard us??" you whispered into his ear with your hot breath breathing into it.
He flinched and groaned. You smirked and saw that his ears were bright red no matter how hard he tried to hide them.
"You know. This position reminds me of the first time when you tried to capture me. Just that we switched places. Now that I look at you from here, this ain't so bad" You smirked and his blush got darker. You moved your body closer to his and you could feel the shudder. It's always fun to tease this man.
Smoker still scowled at you with an irritated look and you chuckled. You then back away with your arms up like you're surrendering.
"But I'm afraid I don't have much time to play with you any longer as I have other things to do. Until we meet again, Smoker" you said as you bowed down.
You were about to leave when you felt a grip on your wrist. You turned around to face him. He took out his cigars from his mouth.
"And where do you think you're going?? Leaving me like that??"
"Huh?"
Because you let your guard down, you were pulled down to his level and he kissed you. You were so shocked to even fight back until he broke it off.
"You better not tell anyone about this" he huffed.
You snapped out of your shocked daze and chuckled. "Like I have anyone to tell anyway. I didn't expect you to do that, knowing you"
"Just go before I change my mind"
"Okay, okay. I'll get going now"
Once you left, Smoker punched a hole in the stone wall with a flushed face and muttered, "What the fuck am I thinking . . ."
___________________________________________________________
After that little incident with Smoker, you are on your way to the weapons shop when you accidentally bump into someone. The woman was about to fall when you caught her by her waist.
"I'm sorry about that" you apologized.
You saw that she was squinting her eyes at you. You looked around on the ground when you found a lone pair of glasses and a tarp-wrapped object. You picked them up and handed them to her.
"Are these yours??"
"Oh, my glasses!!" The woman cried in joy. Once she put them on, she looked up and was about to thank you when she froze in place.
"Hey, are you okay??" you asked worriedly.
"Y-you look beautiful . . ." she muttered.
Your eyes widened and she realized what she just said and started waving her hands around in panic.
"I- I mean, i-it's not what it looks like!!" her face is completely red like a tomato.
You chuckled and smiled. "It's okay. I get that a lot"
She was so flustered by her words that you find this cute. "Say, are you on your way to the weapons shop?? I'm going the same way"
The woman looked shocked. "How did you know that??"
You held out the wrapped object in both hands. "As a swordswoman myself, I know the feeling of a sword in my hand. Doesn't matter if it's concealed in cloth or not and I can tell, you have the potential of a swordswoman"
She took the wrapped-up sword from you. "Yes, that's right. I'm going to the weapons shop to retrieve my real sword. Incredibly, you were able to determine that. No one's ever complimented me on my swordsmanship before, at least not straight to my face. And you haven't even seen me use it"
You gave her a comforting smile and a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me. I know you have the potential. You just need some polishing plus there's still some room for growth. If you want, I could give you some pointers for help"
The woman's eyes widened. "A-are you sure??"
You smiled. "That's fine. I'll tell you on the way to the weapons shop. I'm going there to get new swords and a spear"
"A spear?"
"Yea, not only I'm a swordswoman but I'm also a spearwoman. I turned my sword techniques into spear techniques. It has the same techniques but I just changed it for the adjustment of my spear"
"That's amazing, um . . .?" she trailed off, not knowing your name.
"Oh, you can call me (First Name)" you introduced yourself.
"(First Name). That's a beautiful name. I'm Tashigi"
"Thank you and Tashigi, that's a nice name" You smiled which caused her to blush visibly red.
While talking to Tashigi and giving her some pointers in swordsmanship, talking to another swordswoman felt nice. At least there is someone besides Mihawk and Zoro to talk about swordsmanship. Later you find out that Tashigi is a Marine and is under your favorite Marine, Smoker. What a small world. Seems she didn't know your identity as Arsene yet but she'll know about it someday.
Once you both reached the weapons shop, you told Tashigi to go ahead while you checked out the swords and spears. She nodded and went to the cashier for her sword.
While you're looking around, certain swords catch your attention. You took them and unsheathed them both to observe them more closely.
You were ignoring the conversations between the store owner, Tashigi, and Zoro since you need to feign relation with him. As they continue to talk, you are now searching for your new spear until a shimmering glint catches your eye. You reached out to the handle and swung it around to test it out.
Satisfied with the blades, you walked to the cashier to pay for them but you have something else in mind.
You wrapped both your arms around Zoro and Tashigi while you were in the middle between them. "My, my. What do we have here??"
"(F-First Name)?? Are you done searching for your new sword(s) and spear??" Tashigi stuttered and blushed furiously at the closeness you both were in while Zoro was also in a flustered state.
You hummed in response. "Yep. I was just about to pay them when I saw something interesting. You gonna buy a cursed sword, aren't you??"
Zoro snapped out of it and replied, "That's right. Cursed or not, I will still buy it"
"I see. If that's your decision, I will leave it to you. I will go ahead and pay for what I came for. See you later, Tashigi"
You paid the owner for your weapons and sold your old spear. You waved Tashigi goodbye and now you're on your way to the execution platform to look after Luffy so that he won't cause any trouble but you know that he's already at it.
"With that little monkey around, things are starting to get interesting" you smirked.