"Hey, Visul," Takara called to the top of the cabin, "you fell asleep, didn't you?"

Visul roused regretfully, realizing she had dozed off in the middle of the night watch she had happily volunteered to take.

"Sorry," she murmured, rubbing her eyes, "are we off course?"

"Nah, still on track," Takara assured.

This would be a full week since they left Shikke Island. If the map spoke true, in just a few more days they would be in sight of the next island-- one known as the Ilisia Kingdom.

They boat drifted slowly, so adventures really took forever, didn't they? Their food stock was running low, and just yesterday they ran out and were rendered fishing for a meal. 

Visul, who had never been outdoors, didn't find herself feeling as bored as Cross or Leer. She did find the sun tough to bear sometimes, but that was pretty much it.

"If we get to the Ilisia Kingdom, we can get a ship, maybe," Takara told them, "it's a port town affiliated with the World Government, so we have to lay low, alright?"

"What's the World Government?" Visul asked.

Takara chuckled, "they're basically the Bosses of the world, and the evil masterminds behind the Marines. We're pirates and they hate us, so we shouldn't meddle with them."

Visul's eyes grew with interest, "so we're in an undercover operation, kinda?"

"Yep!" Takara smiled, "if we get found out, we'll go to jail, or worse, be sold as slaves."

Both eyes turned to Cross, who smiled innocently.

"Cross, I swear," Takara leaned in closer, eyes gleaming with a threat, "if you brag about Moribakari Island in front of anyone again, I will throw you into the ocean."

"I promise I won't!" Cross raised his hands in a surrender.

"Alright, I absolutely do NOT trust you!" Takara decided flamboyantly, "Visul! watch him and make sure he does nothing stupid in town!"

"Yes, sir!" Visul saluted with a grin.

  ー  

"Well, I said it's an undercover operation, but it's fine to just act normal," Takara chuckled, "I'll give you some cash, so go around town and buy whatever and anything you want within the budget, alright? just don't tell anyone you're a pirate."

Visul seemed to brighten up at that, "I really can?" she asked almost in disbelief.

Cross giggled, "is it your first time going shopping?"

Visul nodded bashfully, "I don't really know how this buying and selling things work... I've read about it in a book in the library, but..."

"Cross will be with you, so it should be fine," Takara assured her, "meanwhile, I will restock on food, while Leer will be in town, stealing from purses. Or maybe we should go to the shipyard first and see if we can buy any ships?"

"Shipyard!" Cross cheered.

"Buy a ship!" Visul called excitedly.

Takara laughed at the childish reactions-- then he stopped. His hands froze in mid air, realization striking him hard as he suddenly noticed a fatal, fatal issue he had left out of his predictions.

How could he have not realized this sooner?

"...We don't have enough money for a ship," he broke the news.

It was like lightning striking them right in the arteries, the realization was so shocking no one could recover for a long, long while.

"But--" Cross was near tears, dramatically bending over the money closet that was two-thirds filled with cash, "but Leer stole so much money for us! Is it not enough?"

Takara sighed dejectedly, nursing a headache, "this is troublesome... even a small ship would cost us as least 75 million beri, Cross; a decent ship comes to 100 mil and up. Maybe we could get a second-hand ship for around 50 mil b, but all in there's barely a million, and we've got our food expenses to care for, too."

Visul crouched down next to the cash-- it was such a large pile, but she has now come to the devastating realization of how harsh the economy was, the horrors of money as depicted in those books she read in the mansion library--

They sulked so dejectedly Leer decided to join in.

  ー  

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

"Catch anything?" Cross leaned out of the door, talking to Visul and Takara who were fishing outside. Leer had been swimming for a while on the other side.

"Nothin'," Takara blew a drag of smoke from his cigarette, "we might have to go hungry today."

"Again?" Cross whined, "what should I do about the salt I made on the deck yesterday?"

"Eat it and die," Takara grumbled moodily.

"Say that to Visul's face, ya scrooge!" Cross pouted.

CLANK! 

Eyes shot toward the noise-- a sharp, clear, clanging noise on the top of the cabin. Everyone stopped, completely stunned--

Visul took a look above the cabin.

"What's this?" she picked up a red, metal mask. It had white horns and fierce, yellow eyes, exaggerated expressions to show a stern, angered demeanor. It was a red Oni Mask.

They looked up.

"Where did this come from?" Cross leaned in for a closer look.

"Beats me," Visul mumbled, "maybe it flew in from somewhere farther away or..."

"Leave it if it's not gonna give us any good," Takara grumbled.

They decided to ignore it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH  

"Leer, if you swim that much, you're gonna catch a cold," Visul fished the bear out of the water, "let's get inside and dry you off."

The bear whined, clinging to Visul's chest and making her clothes wet, but neither seemed to really mind. She brought the bear into the cabin, where she dug out a towel for the bear.

"Says her then sleeps outdoors at night," Takara mumbled under his breath.

It went unheard by Visul, but Cross snickered.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH 

 "Hey, it's been bothering me for a while," Visul stepped out of the cabin, the bear in her arms wrapped with a thin white towel, "what on earth is that?"

"You mean it's not a glitch?" Takara looked up, "I was thinking the author was stressed or something and just wanted to type a lot of As in a sentence..."

Takara's mouth hung agape, eyes dropping in horror as he saw something above.

Cross and Visul lifted their gazes upward.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" 

A person-- a small, short person was falling from the sky. None of them could really see him well, but he was falling from the sky! 

And he was right above the boat!

"He's gonna crash into us! Oars, Takara, the oars!" Cross yelled.

"It's too late for that!" Takara yelled back.

Cross tutted. He jumped up to the cabin-- the man was nearly fifteen metres above him.

"Wait-- what are you thinking, Cross?" Takara sensed something off.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH WHAT ARE- WHO ARE YOU???" the man in the air shrieked, "GET OUT OF THE WAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!" 

"Stay right there!" Cross yelled back.

A conversation, check.

"Almost," he whispered. Cross crouched down-- the man was still falling. Twelve metres, ten, seven-- "Now!" 

Cross leaped into the air-- hand extended, the man fell past him, and Cross' hand barely brushed against the man's shoulder. 

Contact, check.

There was no time to glamour for victory-- the conditions of activation for his Devil Fruit were met. Struggling against air pressure, Cross brought his fingers together immediately, "Trajectory Swap!" he called, snapping them.

He swapped places with the man-- but Cross had brought the force of his jump with him. The downward force of the fall was countered, and Cross jolted upward midfall, landing on his back almost safely on the cabin roof.

The man was swapped into Cross' jump. Now, instead of falling at the speed of death, he was zooming upward at the speed of death.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" he screamed.

"Leer!" Cross leaned over the edge of the cabin roof, "go get him!"

The bear leaped out of Visul's arms, hopping right into the ocean at Cross' command.

"HEY!!!" Visul and Takara screeched.

After that, Takara jumped into the ocean after the bear.