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The Thousand Sunny rocked lazily in the afternoon sun. They were crossing an unusually peaceful stretch of sea, interrupted only by one measly Marine squabble. Luffy's hat had gotten scratched in the altercation, and Nami quickly went to fix it. It's one of those unspoken rules: nakama take care of each other's treasures.
The needle is a sharp silver, the beige string gold, glistening between her nimble fingers. She paused, noticing something stiff in the lining of the hat. "Hey, Luffy..." Nami says hesitantly, "Whose vivre card is this?"
"I don't have a vivre card." He says, picking at his nose.
"There's a vivre card sewn into your hat!" The crew stares at the blue piece of paper, shifting slightly in Nami's palm. Luffy tilts his head. "Shanks must have put it there. Maybe it's his!"
"I didn't know it was possible to make colourful vivre card," Sanji hums, still drying off the dishes. Usopp grabs the paper from Nami. "Well, if the most important part is getting the person's nails, the paper type probably doesn't matter too much."
"I wonder, would it be more efficient to make a vivre card with colourful paper or dye a vivre card after it's made?" Robin says, mostly to herself.
"We should make a green one for Mosshead," Sanji snickers. "That way he'll be easier to track down."
Zoro glares at him. "Then we should make one with a curly pattern for you, Dartbrow."
Sanji is about to throw the wet towel he's holding straight at Zoro's head, so Nami quickly breaks them up. "Guys, focus! We have a huge dilemma on our hands!"
"Dilemma?" Usopp says, dubiously.
"Of course!" Nami grins. "The Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks used to carry someone's vivre card with him twenty-four seven. Someone that must be very dear to him!"
"A lover?" Robin gasps, unserious.
"Luffy, did Shanks have a lover?"
"Hm..." He pouts, not that interested in the conversation. "He mostly drank at Makino's bar with his crew."
"Makino... Isn't that the one who taught you manners?" Sanji asks, off-handedly.
"And how do you remember that?" Nami teases, remembering a particular cowboy hat-wearing guy. His ears grow pink, but Luffy quickly jumps in. "That's right! But Makino's a mom."
"A cheating scandal? Or perhaps, an illegitimate child abandoned at sea?"
"You have weird ideas." Usopp frowns at Robin's pleasant smile.
"As fun as that would be," Nami says, "The vivre card isn't pointing anywhere near East. Nor is it pointing at Luffy, so we can clear that out."
"Perhaps Hawk-Eyes?"
Zoro snorts. "No way. He was completely indifferent about Shanks. Basically said he wasn't a worthy opponent and left it at that."
"You asked him if he could take Shanks in a fight? How childish."
"It's an important question!" Sanji snickers, starting another squabble between them.
"I don't buy Mihawk either. Wouldn't it be red or black if that was the case?" Usopp says, ignoring them.
"So, whoever it belongs to has or had a blue-theme going on. That's not so far-fetched."
"I think it's a little far-fetched. Maybe he didn't have normal paper on hand."
"And he landed on blue?"
"What about Buggy? He has blue hair," Sanji says. The crew stare at each other. Fits of giggles erupt among the crew. No way.
The strategy meeting wasn't as stifling as they expected. It's hard to exactly be worried when you're in a circus tent, even under the gaze of Crocodile, the bastard, and Mihawk.
Nami fiddled through her bag, looking for the agreement she had initially written up. It wasn't anywhere near final, but it listed out some of the things they were willing to offer and the demands, in turn, that they required. If it was solely up to her, she'd try to swindle the whole lot. Neither Crocodile, nor Mihawk, nor Buggy had left a good impression on her in their brief reunion, but as this wasn't an alliance, she knew a better moment would arise later for the Straw Hats to beat their asses.
Unfortunately, her agreement was not the only thing to fall out of her bag. A blue piece of paper flits wildly, practically whizzing onto the table, pointing straight at— Buggy?! No way. Was Red-Haired Shanks really that pathetic?! Why Buggy? Of all people!
Sure, he was currently the head of the Cross Guild, but anyone with half a brain could realize who actually ran the show. And even then, he was just a measly East Blue pirate when Shanks was supposedly carrying around his vivre card permanently!
Nami sweat-drops. Maybe no one noticed it fell out of her bag. But, of course, Luffy opens his big, fat mouth. "The vivre card in my Straw Hat was yours?!" His face crunches in disgust. Buggy snatches it off the table, crushing it in his gloved fist, shaking in anger.
"The Straw Hat... that Shanks gave you?" Mihawk says, even though, by now, the answer seems obvious. The guy doesn't blink, which unnerves the hell out of Nami. Just like a hawk. Luffy grins and nods. Both Crocodile and Mihawk slowly shift their heads towards Buggy, who frankly looks like he'd swallowed a particularly sour lemon.
Luffy frowns, hand to his chin. "I thought Shanks only made friends with strong guys."
"I’ll kill you, you brat!" Buggy's about to lunge at Luffy, had it not been for Crocodile's hook holding him back.
"Clown, what is he talking about?" Crocodile asks, gritted teeth digging into his cigar.
"How am I supposed to know what goes on through that red-haired idiot's thick skull?! I didn't even know this thing existed until now!"
"Knowing Red Hair, he's likely still tracking you," Mihawk says, with a click of his tongue. "Why must you always drag us in strange situations?"
"You mean to tell me we're being monitored by that man because of him?"
"Red Hair is surprisingly sentimental." Mihawk seems the least surprised by the situation. Nami wonders if, somehow, he had already known about Shanks and Buggy's dynamic. A strange image of two drunk men pops into her head, Shanks muttering something about a blue-haired boy to an uninterested Mihawk, sake spilling from his cup, and she has to shake it off at the absurdity. No way.
"No wonder the clown's survived this long." Crocodile sighs.
Buggy looks pointedly offended, but just as he is about to retort, Luffy says, "You can keep it."
"I don't want it!" Buggy screeches.
Nami stares. "Uh... How did Shanks even get your nails without you noticing?"
"Nami," Zoro says, which is his way of saying, please stop talking now, just as Luffy says, "Shanks isn't a weirdo!" This must be devastating news to Luffy. His cool uncle is actually a clown-obsessed freak. Nami doesn't think she could ever recover. Good thing Bellemere was actually cool.
"Stop talking about this!" Buggy, honest-to-God, shrieks. From the look Crocodile and Mihawk share, they will absolutely be talking about this later.
Nami wonders if any pirate magazines would pay for this sort of gossip, mentally compiling a list and comparing how many berries they'd be willing to pay if Nami hinted at possible competition.
But time is money, so first, their deal with the Cross Guild.