Shanks's Big Birthday Bash!

"Captain! Mail!"

Ace was cleaning up his gutting table in his cabin before he heard one of his boys calling him. With the recent new alliance with another pirate crew, Ace decided it was time for him to learn how to negotiate reasonably with others. Though intimidation worked wonders, talking to Nesi during her late-night study sessions made him see things her way for a change. Being scary doesn't always gets things done. It just makes others want to plot your demise in sneakier ways until a better leader takes up the mantle. Pirate captains were especially vulnerable with such methods of leadership. He noticed that she had books that he never bought, stole, or borrowed for her, and that she was sounding more philosophical and political as time went on. This was Pieter's doing! He had to be following them somehow, but there was no way to tell. Those texts were too complex and unusual for regular ship maintenance. He tried pitching them overboard not long ago, but Baragon stopped him by running off with them or alerting Nesi.

Frowning, Ace looked at the lounger that the Tongueless Siren Fleet helped Nesi build and narrowed his eyes. She was getting closer and closer to her dreams. He couldn't hide Nesi's progress forever. She's grown a lot in these past couple of months with him. She had too much potential as a pirate to be going up against the government like this! That first alliance was all her doing! Wasn't that enough proof for her to stay a pirate? She didn't have to stay with him but...! She could at least give it more of a chance, right? What did being the leader of the pirates really mean? Why was her dream... so hard to accept? She's not dissing the pirates, but she never said much about how she felt about them either. Does she even know how good she is as a pirate? Or how influential she became in the Spades crew?

Deuce was getting really good at running gambling rings. Whenever they reached land, he volunteered to stay onboard with Nesi and Corale as they did routine cleanup, bookkeeping, and maintenance. Once all was done, Deuce would either host a card game, maybe run numbers or some other lottery match, or run a street fighting match with Nesi as the challenger. She was beginning to volunteer herself for practice, and she was learning how to win against particular opponents at a steady pace. The winnings stayed with the "house," or the Spades' treasury, but a particular amount stayed on the three crewmates since they did earn some part of the profits. Nesi, of course, used those earnings to upgrade things around the ship before she bought anything for herself. She managed to earn enough to buy fabric for better ship sails or lumber and tools for ship repairs. The ship moved smoother now. With the new sails, he had two of the boys learn how to change the ship's direction with the sails and the many angles required to maneuver the ship while in combat.

While they didn't get called often, Moga and Schooner made great allies in showing the boys how to load and use a cannon for certain plundering jobs. The Spades' first plundering job with their allies was highly successful, and Nesi brought the captives back home with Ace's permission. She didn't want anyone to be hurt. Out of respect, Schooner went with her to make sure the captives didn't try to drown her or do something crazy. It worked out, but, and unfortunately, the captives snitched on her. She got a small bounty put on her head that Ace was pretty proud of. The old gift blew a hole in the side, but Ace and Nesi worked together in repairing the damage and reinforcing the cannon and ammo room. Unfortunately, the armory room stole Nesi's space for her own bedroom, so she had no choice but to sleep in her canopy hammock on the deck or Ace's cabin during bad weather and study nights. The laundry room was becoming her new option, though.

Only one of the boys decided to learn how to do the laundry while another decided to learn how to cook choice meals. Corale seemed to find enjoyment in taking care of the garden area and inspecting for bugs. Everyone was learning how to do something other than cause a ruckus. The ship ran better this way. When it was time to plunder a ship with the lovey-dovey crew, the boys snapped out of it and returned to their rowdy ways. Schooner was pretty helpful with teaching Ace how to divide profits among allying fleets, so Ace practically drank the information faster than he would a hearty ale.

Today, everyone had a task to complete. It'd be a while before they reached land, but the crew was actually busy with things. With Nesi's plants starting to produce fruit and grow larger, he put one of his boys in charge of building larger garden boxes with Corale. Nesi advised against larger gardens due to the ship's capacity, but she instead suggested planning a square footage garden. Fruit trees required more space but grew slowly, so they could stay in deeper pots and not larger ones, and shrubs or bushes typically spread so they needed the longer boxes. It took some doing, but the boys took to the information quite well and planned carefully until they thought of an efficient design themselves. Food would be less of a problem with the next year or so.

It was crazy! The sheer amount of talent his thirteen men had was humbling! Sighing, Ace stood up and left the cabin to see about this letter. It looked different as one of the boys inspected it. There was a personalized ink stamp on the back. He took the letter in his hand and visibly gasped when he recognized the emblem. Red-haired Shanks! He popped the letter open quickly but was met with a blank card. He turned it over a couple of times until he noticed a bit of glue on the side. It was just sealed shut. When he parted the card open, he was instead met with an invitation. Ace was quiet for a moment until his aura went from dark to genuine amusement. Even his huffs turned to guffaws.

"Uhh... you good, cap?" one of the boys asked, backing away slowly. He wasn't sure what to make of the captain's behavior. Only his name was Ace, not the wild card of his personality.

"We got an invite," Ace replied, earning the boys' attention. Nesi was in the kitchen eating her late breakfast, so she was out of earshot. "Red-haired Shanks is invitin' us to his birthday party!"

"The Red-Haired Shanks?" the boys questioned, eyes glimmering at the party king's shindig. "W-wh-why were we invited?"

"I knew him as a kid," Ace answered, cheering up from his earlier slump. He could use the distraction... and the ale. "He helped my little brother out a while back, so I thanked him before I became a pirate myself. Guess he remembered about that. Don't know how he found me way out here, though. Doesn't matter anyway! I'm in! Since you've been pullin' your weight as the best damn crew I've had the privilege of runnin', you're my plus twelve! That's a barrel of ale well-deserved!"

"YEAH!" the boys cheered, either hugging Ace or running around to finish their tasks before the party.

"Turn the ship five at the fore!" Ace ordered, taking the invite to the cabin.

"Wait, you said plus twelve," Corale mentioned. "What about nee-san?"

"She stays on this ship," Ace said, snapping his head and responding darkly.

"B-bu-but she's pulled her weight, too, captain! That seems kinda wrong," Corale argued, feeling bad for Nesi.

"A full night's rest and the steam room to herself sounds like a better party to be in for her," Ace replied, smiling at Corale reassuringly. Nesi barely drank as she was. She'd hardly like the atmosphere of drunkenness. "But I'll think of something else for her. She could use the break away from the boys."

_____________________________________________

"Why do I have to be stuck here!?" Nesi argued.

"Wait a minute. You want to go to a drinking party?" Ace questioned.

They were in the laundry room. Though he knew Corale was saying "I told you so" on the deck, Ace really needed to separate himself from Nesi for a while... even if that meant forbidding her from going to a party. She wouldn't like it much anyway.

"I happen to like dancing and food," Nesi replied, folding her arms. "Things that are also at parties besides a bunch of drunken sailors! What am I supposed to eat?"

"You're the ship cook..." Ace answered as if it were obvious. "Gettin' creative is kinda your forte. Plus, it's just some guy I knew from way back. He won't mind you taking a shrub or two off his land as long as you say we're friends. He's got plenty of land now. More than I saw him with last. I think he just had a cave when I spoke to him 'bout Luffy."

"Who's Luffy?" Nesi asked, softening her eyes for a moment and relaxing a bit.

"My kid brother," Ace answered proudly. "He wants to be a pirate like me and Shanks! Runs in the family, huh?"

Ace never mentioned anything about his family before, so this man he's visiting must be a family friend. It was sweet and endearing to hear Ace talk so cheerfully about his family and friends. She didn't care about the party, sure, but she at least wanted to meet Shanks. He seemed like a genuinely nice man like Schooner. They both liked drinking. She wasn't sure about the new allies, but any friend of Ace is a friend of ale. Had she not been a good friend to Ace? The sad look that crossed her eyes made Ace search them curiously. Ace hated when Nesi grew quiet. She was harder to read than usual, especially when she was angry or determined about something.

"Who is this guy anyway?" Nesi asked, rolling her eyes and throwing a hand up.

"I think he's a higher-up in the pirate world now. I don't know about his tastes in women, but I'm thinking a scaly lizard mom isn't something he's into. He's got some females living 'round these parts these days," Ace said, playing up Nesi's self-consciousness so that she wouldn't get too curious. "Plus, no one knows you like he knows me and the boys. You came onboard later than the rest of us. You're too suspicious."

"You could've just said you didn't want me around," Nesi said seriously, gaining Ace's full attention. Before Ace could defend his case, she held up a hand and said, "Just go to your party. I'll guard the ship. I'm really good at that."

Nesi didn't bother to listen to Ace's words once she left the laundry room. She confirmed things for herself. She wasn't a good friend. She knew her mission to go to the World Government was going to be daunting, all-encompassing, and tough, but she didn't realize that it came at the cost of key friendships and basic relationships. She wanted to work for the nations. How could she work with anyone if she didn't know how to at least be a good companion for another? She didn't have to be a romantic partner for another, but... she at least thought... Maybe she could use the break away from the boys. She wasn't one of them, after all. She was learning how to be a pirate. A mindless floor scrubber seemed to be where her limits were.

No, no! Nesi shook her head violently to collect herself. That's not how she should look at anything! So, she's not Ace's best friend. It's not the end of the world. Above all else, he's been a great teacher. He took his time to show her how to run things on the ship, bought her books to read (or stole them), and let her spend her time how she wanted after her duties were complete. She was essentially an employee for him, and that's a good relationship to have. She wanted to learn how to blend the worlds like her parents, and Ace made that possible on one end of the spectrum. She should have her own party. That's it! She'd celebrate the night when she first saw her parents kiss and play with her in the gardens at home. That was when she saw love at its fullest for the first time. They were worth fighting for. This dream was hers to fight for. She could even make firefly lamps like her father showed her! Smiling at the opportunity, Nesi ran to Ace's cabin instead and retrieved a cookbook from her things. Baragon chased after her and hopped onto her shoulder to see what new book she was reading. Nesi chuckled at her rosy companion and picked some recipes to whip up to commemorate the occasion. She'll even have a spa day with Baragon! That sounded fun!

Ace was following her around to try to make amends with her, but she seemed more excited about things than she was earlier. She had her caretakers' cookbook in her arms and a big smile on her face. She did eventually return to the laundry room and bathing room, but she was writing a list of things to do from the looks of it. Before they docked on Shanks' territory, Ace wanted to formally apologize to her. He wasn't forbidding her from going because he didn't like her or because they weren't friends. The problem was... well, he needed time to think. If he spent more time with her, it was going to make her leaving harder on him. She was one of his boys. He could see her running a second ship... with his fleet, but... if she doesn't become a pirate then... it'd be like when they argued about showering together before. It wouldn't be the same. It'd be like that with any of his boys. He was close to them, wanted the best for them, had a lot of love for them. They were a family - his family. He just... wasn't ready to let them go... As much as he hated for Nesi to have the wrong idea about everything, he really did need the space. He had to toughen up, be supportive, know his boundaries. Watching her run around with Baragon... was step one... to the inevitable heartbreak to come...

It didn't take long for the Spades' to dock at Shanks' territory. The boys were all but excited to embark on land. They anchored the ship a little distance away for Nesi's safety and waved their goodbyes to her. She didn't seem upset about it anymore, but Ace knew his crewmate quite well now. She was pissed at him. She kept things professional after "the incident." Following up his name with sir or captain without a trickle of feeling, eagerness, or timidness like before. She returned to her ghostly silence with this new... regal smile to show she was harmless. It was tough to explain, but her professionalism... bothered him immensely. It just wasn't Nesi. It wasn't even a shell of her. He had to make things right somehow.

"Captain, there's a ship just off the coast. Looks like a girl is playin' around on it by herself."

"How young is she?"

"Uhh..."

___________________________________________

Nesi found that she actually enjoyed being on the ship alone with the thought of her parents at the forefront of her mind. She danced and sang with Baragon while she tended to her gardens.

"The maiden oh, the bottle, oh,

A pipe of good tobacco, oh,

So early in the morning

The sailor loves all these, heigh ho.

A bottle of spirit,

A maiden fair,

A plug of good tobacco, oh,

So early in the morning

These are the sailor's loves, heigh ho."

Such jubilee without a drop of ale in her system! Just as she was finished watering, a beautiful pink moth fluttered over to her potted trees. It looked like it was dancing with her until she stopped to observe it.

"Wow, look how pretty you are!" Nesi complimented. She suddenly remembered that Baragon was a lizard and gasped, "Uh oh! Run, little moth! Baragon might eat you!" He didn't. In fact, he locked eyes with the moth and nodded like there was some silent agreement between the two. The moth flew around Nesi and landed on different parts of her body to inspect her. It took notice to her scales and released a big plume of dust into her face. Nesi spat and swatted the dust away before exclaiming, "Madame! If you please! Pfft!"

The moth returned to a tree before dancing again. Joined by Baragon, the two continued her song in their language. Nesi couldn't help but smile. It didn't even occur to her that men were spying on her. To conclude her splendid day, Nesi sank her body into her tub with her toes pointed upwards.

"Uuggghhh, finally, a moment's peace in here!"

"Squaw! Squaw!" Baragon cheered, playing in his smaller pool. No one knew it was his and no one had to.

Thump. Thump. The pounding of footsteps alerted Nesi to an attack. She heard the voices of men lurking about on the deck.

"Food smells good up here. Think the kid's hidin' out?"

"Pay 'er for a bowl of that soup. Captain might like it. We really don't have time for this. Shouldn't we be looking for showgirls right now? Some folks are here early and we're not ready for 'em yet."

"Some of that ale needs to go. Like... soon. Shanks has been drinking since the first day of the month. I need him to not do that. We'll come back for the kid when we're desperate."

The boat shifted with the men leaving and made Nesi worry. It didn't sound like Ace was in trouble, so she didn't have to panic, but the captain was right. She was suspicious. She'll have to move the ship as quietly and quickly as possible. Ace was going to be livid when he found out, but she didn't trust the situation she was in.

"Dammit to hell!" she said under her breath.

"Gumfree!" the little moth chirped, swirling around. She produced a cloud of puff to show that she could help and smiled at Nesi.

Nesi smiled at the pretty creature's offer and said, "Thanks, pretty girl. Hope you know someplace we can hide a bit better."

"Gumfree!" the moth chirped again.

Before Nesi knew it, she was back to enjoying her small vacation away from the boys. As Nesi was singing and dancing to a new song, a couple of girls followed her voice to the Spades' ship while laughing at an inside joke between them. They alerted Nesi's attention and made her look down at them. Nesi blushed at their stunning beauty. Wow! Ace was right about the women here, too! They were lovely! That... made Nesi stop, though. The captain was right about a lot of things so far. Then... she really was some gross thing compared to those women. She didn't have to look in the mirror to see what she looked like. Her scales were growing and ridges were forming in her back. Her finger was forever lost. Her hair was forever gone. Maybe that was why she had that book about manliness and political etiquette. Women were often ignored unless men had no choice but to consider them for something. Moreso if they lacked beauty. Sinking down to her knees, Nesi just sat there in silence. Baragon tried to comfort her through cuddles, but she became unresponsive and frozen. Such an awful place to have anchored!

"Why did you choose me, Baragon?" Nesi asked, earning a small coo. "Why did you want me to eat that fruit?"

Baragon hopped off Nesi's lap and slapped his claw on the deck floor. He breathed on the wood and let the words "Because you are strong" appear before her. He repeated the slapping again and breathed "To protect the countries, you must be one with all who made it. Humans did not do this alone. You have to be more than a man, more than a woman, and more than a beast to do what you truly desire. Let no man, no woman, and no obstacle take that from you. You are strong. Stand."

The countries... chose her to protect them? What did her little rosy companion mean? She had to be more than what the creatures of the earth were? How?

The little moth then fluttered down to put dust on the deck floor. Her words read "To protect all, you must accept all. Accept that a man is a man, and a woman is a woman. Accept that beasts function differently than humans. Accept that the world will change until there is nothing left to change, to restore, to rebuild. Accept who you are. You belong to no one but the countries. You may wander for a while, but your path is as straight and narrow as the sides of winding stream. It flows to where it needs to go, and the reward is far more bountiful than the belly man has produced. Do not succumb to such foolish vanity. Your beauty is transcendent. Theirs is temporary."

"Transcendent?" Nesi repeated with a light blush.

Perhaps... these creatures of the earth were right. Ace may have known more than she about men and pirates, but she knew the countries were in danger. The nobles and the government were going to make things unlivable with poverty alone. This had to change. It had to be stopped! Rising to stand, Nesi smiled, looked to the moon and stars, and reached up to grab a star in her hand. Her father once told her to make a wish. She wished and wished and had dreams about her wish. Love. A night full of love was all she wanted right now, and this depressing land through the voices of Baragon and this moth gave her just that. Yes, she had scales growing on her body. Yes, she was hurt that Ace didn't see her as a friend like she thought. Yes, she was disappointed that she couldn't meet this Shanks person. That didn't mean she was less than. She would celebrate with love, joy, and a new beginning. After all, those men said the boys went to the party too early.

With that, Nesi made a wish on her captured star...

________________________________________

By morning, Shanks was wasted out of his mind as his men hustled about to prepare for his birthday party. He didn't ask for one. He just wanted to enjoy the company of his crewmates, but they wanted to do something special for him this year, so he went along with it. Tonight was supposed to be some big showcase for dancers. Apparently, he was supposed to judge them all in good spirits. Ultimately, whoever he really liked went on to do another big show for his actual birthday. He couldn't know or ask what the winning dancers would do. Shanks pretty much drifted around his territory until he spotted a pair of wings flapping in some trees. There was a group of girls giggling and playing around. Shanks was about to walk over to them, but the group of girls ran off. Odd...

That night, Shanks did as promised and didn't drink as much per Benn and Yasopp's demanding request, he might add. He gave mostly thumbs up or the "meh" hand swaying motion. All of the dances pretty much inspired fun... until he heard some drums cue up. Lights kicked on and someone hid behind these luxurious and dramatic feather fans. They waved them about, never showing a body or face as the music picked up, and then... a gorgeous woman revealed herself with the fans acting as a backdrop for her dance. She was different. Her eyes were captivating, her curves pronounced, and her hair was curly but messy like the waves of a beach pushing against the shores from high winds of the sea. She played up the curves of her body quite beautifully with every dip and head roll. The one thing that caught Shanks' interest was her taking an olive from a glass of ale and licking it provocatively. She then plucked the toothpick it was on and removed one of her gloves with her teeth by tugging at a finger and shimmying down. When the drums picked up tempo, she was panting heavily. Her hands were shaking then danced on her body until she reached to sensitive areas of a woman. Before he knew it, her dance cued up.

She was expressing the embodiment of female desire in all of its phases from the innocence to the curiosity to interest in the male form. Right as she was leaning over, she spanked herself on the butt and started running around as though she was going crazy. When it accumulated in the need to satisfy her hunger, she took his island by storm. She threw herself in provocative positions as part of her dance, but she never let the audience forget that she didn't know what having desires meant. She had to play both sides of the coin. For a split second, their eyes locked and Shanks forgot how to breathe. The crowd and audience around him didn't exist within that short moment. Only her. Her dance concluded with her dropping her shoe and shutting the curtain closed. Her dress had dropped just behind the curtains. She was either naked or close to it.

"She's pretty good, huh, cap - ?" Benn started.

Shanks was missing now...

"Beautiful lady! Why'd she leave me, man? Where'd the beautiful lady go, Yasopp?" Shanks cried, hanging on his crewmate.

He couldn't find that dancing queen anywhere. She wasn't in any of the dressing rooms. She wasn't anywhere on the island. She was just gone. All Shanks had to remember her by was red slipper, red gloves, and her animal print dress. She was practically naked coming off that stage. He just had to get her. He would've been nice to her... for like ten minutes. Ten minutes is enough time, right? Right?

"I hate to tell you this, Shanks, but she might not exist," Benn replied, feeling sorry for Yasopp being unable to pry the crying captain off his torso.

"Why? Why'd you make me judge her dance if she wasn't going to show up? Why's she not real? Worst birthday ever!" Shanks complained. "Now I'm distressed instead of happy! Being over thirty sucks!"

"Y'know, there was that girl we spotted just by the coast the other day. Couldn't have been her, could it?" Benn asked to himself.

Shanks sniffed up his tears at this new information, remembering that Benn mentioned a girl dancing and singing nearby on a random ship. Ace and his boys had anchored just off coast. Then again, he saw that group of girls playing in the trees that morning. She could've been one of them. The wings were probably her fans! Sniffing at the ground like a bloodhound, Shanks caught some mysterious scent before blasting out of sight and into the forest. He would find his queen even if it killed him!

Nesi washed off the last bit of her makeup and returned to her small vacation, feeling like a new person. She put the Spades' ship back to its original position this morning and made herself breakfast with Baragon and her new friend, Mothra. Just as she was munching on a warm beignet, she saw something out the small kitchen window. It looked like something black had flashed across it. Weird... Nothing resembling a fish was out there. Closing the window, Nesi returned to her spot and went for another bite of her food before something tackled her out of nowhere.

"BEAUTIFUL LADY!"

"Aaaahhhhh!"