"Hey, Pierrot, why do you not like it?" Cross came up to the pink-haired boy.

The moon was high in the sky, and the town only bustled in the bars. Visul and Takara were in the inn, but Cross stepped out to the ship still docked at the ship-breaking shore.

Pierrot sat down by it, on the sand, watchful.

"What, you saw that, Cross?" he laughed as if he was embarrassed, scratching the back of his head and looking away, "I was kinda being overdramatic, please forget it!"

Cross crouched down before him-- and stared at him in the face.

"Is that so?" he asked. His voice was cold.

He wasn't wearing his hood for once. Cross had kept his hood on most of the time in the ship journey, but perhaps this was the first time Pierrot could take a good look at Cross' face.

Cross had heterochromia, and Pierrot was never really bothered by it until now. 

Perhaps it was in the dim lighting, but the blue eye seemed to shine a little, gleaming a little brighter than the black one it was supposed to match. Perhaps again, it was simply the stark comparison in mystic blue and deep black.

"Yeah, that was all," Pierrot realized he hadn't responded to the question, "I was just sad that we have to part with the ship, that's all. I've calmed down now, so--"

"Is that so?" 

Cross' sudden repeat of the question was icy. Sharp, and almost threatening.

Pierrot swallowed, feeling pushed back.

"Yeah," he choked out the words, "yeah, it is."

Cross crossed his arms on his knees, leaning in, tilting his head aside slightly-- eyes fixating wide and stern on Pierrot-- he only asked again.

"Really?" his eyes narrowed, disappointed.

Pierrot leaned back, nervous now. If anything, he didn't like this feeling he was getting-- was it anger or was it sadness? it was empty and pushy, and he felt it in his heart.

"I know that no one likes it," he told Cross, "they all don't want it to happen, but decided to bear with it because they know Grizzly's doing this for everyone."

"Then, why don't you all just go back to the sea?" Cross asked.

"The Marines are placing bans on our trade routes," Pierrot admitted, "using Captain's name, he's making our trade partners cut ties one after another... this island was the last one we had."

Cross kept silent, taking it in with an unreadable expression.

But Pierrot knew, somehow, that Cross felt a dim light of sympathy for the situation. 

"We'd be happy to just stay here quietly, as long as we would be ensured the safety and harmony for the rest of our lives," Pierrot sighed, "but I don't like how easy it sounds."

Cross sat down, understanding. 

"I know the World Government..." Pierrot mumbled, "Grizzly's no small time criminal, his bounty's a high one for this part of the world. I don't know why they want Mime, but that makes it worse. They're not going to trap him in some small-time prison... they're plotting something worse and I just... know... it."

Pierrot was simply spilling his words vaguely, with no basis or speakable reason behind it-- but there was no doubt in Cross' eyes. Cross didn't falter at a single thing Pierrot said-- even though everyone else in the crew shoved him off as a paranoid madman.

Perhaps, Pierrot felt a little touched.

"Then, what about Jester?" Cross asked, the laid-back and easygoing spirit coming back into his voice, "how does Jester feel about this?"

"Ah, him," Pierrot grumbled, "he may act like he likes the idea, but his heart is actually screaming!" he dramatized, waving arms about, "no! I don't want this! please!" 

Cross laughed at that, "but, why isn't he fighting back like you?"

"Because he doesn't like to fight!" Pierrot groaned, "he doesn't know how to fight! He doesn't like being in the minority, he's scared of it!"

Pierrot whined and complained to Cross-- Cross felt a smile soften his features.

"Is that the real reason you're fighting?" he asked.

It hit Pierrot a little too painfully, like a realization he didn't even know himself. His face flushed red and he had to look away in embarrassment.

"If I don't fight," he whispered, "who will?"

if it's not you, who?

"Do you know who you're fighting?" Cross asked him.

Pierrot clenched his fist, "not yet."

At that, Cross smiled. "Then," he stood up, pulling up the hood of his short-sleeved parka, "I'll be at the inn called 'Fox Ear', so when you find out who it is-- give me a ring, okay?" 

Cross began to walk away, leaving his words behind.

Pierrot clenched his heart, and realized this was trust he was feeling. Cross just felt so reliable now-- he didn't want to feel this way, this had nothing to do with him. Was he going to depend on this guy he only knew for seven days?

His heart knew those words spoke sincerity. Cross wasn't lying, nor was he talking big.

Cross could be depended on-- but not yet.

Not yet.

Picking himself up, Pierrot turned toward the Lilting Hunny. "I need to hide the ship," he decided, muttering to himself, "maybe at the cove behind the palace?"

ー

"Jahaha! That boy's still at it?" Enma laughed, putting his mug of beer down, "can't catch a break, can he?"

"Seriously, everyone's sad about it too!" Fox whined, drunk, "if he would shut up and bear with it for about two years we'd be together again!"

"Well, Pierrot and Rose have been with us for a while. I get why they'd be against it," Mime supplied, drinking at a sadder rate than the others, "Pirouette's never been easy to read, so I'm not too sure about her. Jester's an understanding fellow, though."

"I was more surprised that you agreed to this, Mime," Butterfly sighed, "you don't even have that high of a bounty, I wonder why they'd want you?"

Enma laughed, "well, have fun in prison, both of you!" he patted them on the back, "I've tried, and trust me, you be a good boy and they'll let you out early."

"It's not like I don't understand Pierrot's sentiments," Knight drank a shot, "you think they'd let us all go with just capturing one of us temporarily? Sounds like bullshit to me."

"What, if things go south, I'll just escape," Grizzly boasted happily, "who do you think I am? I've been a pirate for decades!"

"Well, that's true," Mime laughed, "I'm a Master at escaping, after all!"

The bar door swung open, Masquerade strolling in gleefully, "Master, booze!"

"Hey, Masquerade! Weren't you supposed to be meeting with King Lucas?" Enma yelled, "why on earth are you drunk?!" 

Masquerade laughed, "I hit up Juumen Ramen on the way and saw our Rose having a hot drink! so I joined her!" she explained brightly, sitting down by the bar and taking a glass of water, "on the topic, King Lucas is fine and well. Healthy, not dead, has all his limbs, walking."

"We didn't send you there as a doctor, geez," Enma grumbled.

Masquerade smiled, "don't worry-- he isn't a dishonest man," she was firm and sure, "he wanted to see Captain and Mime again, for old time's sake-- but he has a warning for us."

"A warning?" Grizzly sighed, "what's it about?"

The bar had quietened for the news. Even the customers that weren't from the Masked Merchants kept silent, curious (or perhaps, they weren't about to make a ruckus with such gloomy news behind them). 

"Rear Admiral Ensie," Masquerade sighed, "that Marine bigshot from the grand Line-- he's asking for an audience tomorrow too, as an escort and as crowd control purposes, to keep order or something, I honestly don't get him."

"I guess that means this is a trap," Mime grumbled breathing a drag of tobacco from his mouth, "Rear Admirals don't come into West Blue for just anything, after all. He's here for you, I think."

Grizzly downed his mug in one tiring, powerful shot.

"We can't do anything about that now!" he declared, a hearty, confident laugh roaring from his throat, "if he tries something, King Lucas is on our side! I've done nothing King Lucas can't pardon, after all!"

"If he pulls some shit on ya, you can count on us to bail you out!" Knight laughed, lifting his mug.

"That's right, Captain!"

"Screw Rear Admirals, he's got nothing on a king!"

"Pirates have riiiightts!"

In drunken euphoria, no one was really being serious on it. They clung onto the simple hope-- a pirate, even at twenty million berries, could be pardoned with the authority of the king-- at worst, Grizzly would be sent to prison for a number of years in hell. 

Grizzly was a pirate, but he was not the most notorious one around.

As a man backed by a King-- one of the World Government, even-- Marines had no leeway to stick their hands into the matter.

Perhaps if they were just a little more sober, they would have noticed the tension in Mime's expressions, the forced smile that made him cover his face with the clown mask he never liked to put on.

He fingers gripped the handle of the mug shakily-- and he let out a shuddering breath.

"No, no," he whispered only to himself, a nervous laugh rumbling his features, "there's no way," he chuckled dryly to himself, trying to just make himself believe, it, "I mean, it's not possible."

He drank hard-- and fought the belief in his heart.

I messed up.