Marcus stood on the dock and waited for Uta's ship as it finished its approach. Uta helped with the sails, but she constantly glanced towards Marcus making sure he was still standing on the dock. When the ship finally reached the dock, Marcus caught the lines tossed out and helped tie them off before he moved towards the gangplank that just dropped. Uta was the first one off the ship as she happily skipped down the gangplank towards Marcus.
She stopped in front of him with her arms behind her back and twisted slightly from side to side as she smiled sweetly and said, "I'm back."
Marcus smiled back as he said, "Welcome back…"
Uta pouted as she cutely asked, "That's it? Aren't you supposed to hug me and say you missed me? That every day without me was the worst day of your life and you never want to be separated again?"
Marcus rolled his eyes before he flicked her head as he said, "Makino is a bad influence on you."
Uta playfully stuck out her tongue before she jumped towards Marcus and hugged him. Marcus easily caught her as he returned the hug and spun her around once before he let go and said, "It's good to see you again."
After they separated, Marcus finally took a good look at Uta and while she'd definitely grown since they last met, he was now slightly taller. There was one thing that made him pause and his eyes started to twitch as he looked at a very familiar light blue shirt that was now faded and well worn with age. It was originally really baggy when Marcus wore it, but on Uta with her increased growth it almost fit her perfectly.
Marcus narrowed his eyes before he bop'd Uta on the head as he asked, "Do you have any idea how long I searched for that shirt after you left?"
"No… But I really liked it and didn't think you would give it to me." Uta said as she gave him sad, puppy dog eyes.
Marcus shook his head slightly as he said in a resigned tone, "Just ask me first next time…"
While he thought in his head, 'Why does it feel like we're in a relationship already?'
"Okay!" Uta said happily.
"Are you two done flirting? Do you mind if we get off the ship?" A voice said from behind Uta.
Marcus glanced up from Uta to see Gab and Limejuice smirking at him from the deck of the ship. Standing off to the side of them with his arms crossed over his chest was Mihawk, who was quietly studying Marcus. Marcus smiled at them and stepped out of the way with Uta as he waved and asked, "What brought all of you out to East Blue?"
Uta wrapped her arms around his left arm as she turned around and said, "Dad kept talking about you so much that Uncle Mihawk decided to come meet you."
Marcus glanced from Mihawk towards Uta as he said, "Let me guess, you found out and asked to come along?"
Limejuice chuckled before he said, "More like she forced him to take her."
Gab nodded in agreement before he added, "The captain sent us along just to make sure the journey was easier. Four people running the ship is easier than two."
Marcus frowned slightly before he asked, "And how exactly did you force one of the world's greatest swordsmen to take you along?"
Uta held her head up proudly as she said, "I used my improved strength to convince him."
Marcus raised an eyebrow as Limejuice and Gab burst into laughter which made Uta shoot them a glare, while Mihawk's right eye twitched slightly. Marcus watched the whole interaction and for some reason he knew exactly what happened and started to laugh. Uta hit him lightly as she asked with a frown, "What's so funny?"
Marcus pinched Uta's cheek as he said, "You."
Uta puffed out her cheeks as she placed her hands on her hips and said, "Don't make fun of me."
"Then don't act so cute." Marcus said in a teasing tone.
"Cute! You think I'm cute?!?" Uta asked as her cheeks turned beet red and it almost reached her ears.
Marcus shook his head slightly before he asked, "Are you guys hungry? We were just about to eat breakfast."
"No! I wanna cook you breakfast and show off my skills!" Uta said as she quickly recovered.
"You can show me later… At least you plan to stay for a day or two, right?" Marcus asked as he glanced towards the others.
"I just came to test you and see if Shanks wasn't exaggerating." Mihawk said as he spoke for the first time.
"I'll try my best to live up to your expectations… But today is my rest day, so any sparring will have to wait till tomorrow."
Mihawk nodded slightly as he said, "Shanks mentioned you follow a strict training schedule… Tomorrow is fine."
Marcus motioned them towards the other ship as he said, "If you would, please follow me and I'll take you to my ship's galley for breakfast."
Gab and Limejuice smiled and walked down the gangplank as Gab said, "I'll never turn down a free meal."
Mihawk quietly followed behind everyone else as Uta happily clung to Marcus's arms while they walked. It only took a few minutes to reach the galley and inside they found Ace, Sabo, Kuina, Tashigi, Zoro and a few others as they waited for breakfast. Ace noticed them first and paused for a moment before he asked, "Uta, Limejuice and Gab… Are the Red Hair pirates here?"
"Ace, Sabo! It's good to see you!" Uta said as she happily waved at them.
Gab and Limejuice also greeted them before Gab pointed at Mihawk and said, "It's just us, we came with Mihawk."
Kuina, Zoro and Tashigi all instantly focused on Mihawk who glanced at them for a moment in return. Kuina was the first to react as she jumped up from her seat and asked, "You're supposed to be the world's greatest swordsman right?"
"Some people think that."
"Then I challenge you to a duel!" Kuina said before Zoro jumped up and said, "Hey, I wanted to challenge him first!"
Marcus laughed as Kuina and Zoro started to argue about who would duel Mihawk first. Mihawk ignored both of them as he just walked over to an empty seat and sat down. Marcus shook his head slightly before he asked, "Neither of you can beat me and you wanna fight him?"
"I just wanna spar and see how big the gap is." Kuina said as Zoro nodded in agreement.
Marcus led Uta to the table and sat down across from Mihawk before he said, "You can watch us spar tomorrow and see how big the gap is."
Uta, who was seated next to Marcus nodded her head before she proudly said, "Uncle Mihawk came here to see just how strong Marcus is."
Before anyone could respond, the door opened and in walked Luffy and Usopp who noticed Uta and excitedly asked, "Uta! Is Shanks here? Is he gonna let me join his crew?!?"
"Shanks!?! Does that mean my dad's here?" Usopp asked as he looked around.
Limejuice and Gab glanced at Usopp for a few moments before Limejuice said, "If you're talking about Yasopp, he isn't here and neither is the captain… Are you his kid, Usopp?"
Usopp nodded as Luffy said in a sad tone, "Why didn't Shanks come? If he came, I could have shown him how strong I've become."
"Dad's busy doing stuff, he doesn't have time to come back here."
Luffy touched his hat for a moment before he instantly brightened up and said, "It's fine, I'll just meet Shanks when I finally go out to sea myself."
As Luffy, Usopp and the others started to talk with Limejuice and Gab. Zoro and Kuina were trying to pester Mihawk into fighting them, which made Marcus chuckle slightly while he mostly chatted with Uta. Just before breakfast was served, everyone else showed up including Bellemere, Nami and Nojiko. Over the past weeks, Bellemere, Nami, and Nojiko had taken to sitting next to Marcus whenever they ate.
The main reason was Marcus tended to sit the furthest from Luffy during meals. So there was less chance of having your food stolen. The other reason was Nami liked to chat with Marcus about navigation, since he'd read all the books she now owned and also spent a lot of time sailing already and had practical experience.
As they approached, Nami instantly noticed Uta who was practically glued to Marcus's right arm. Nami frowned slightly at the scene, not used to seeing Marcus so close to someone not his brothers. When Nami approached, Marcus gave her and the others a friendly wave as he said, "Hey guys, we have some visitors today."
Marcus pointed at everyone as he introduced them to each other, which caused Uta to study Nami when she sat down next to Marcus on his left side. Marcus chatted happily with Uta and Nami as they waited for breakfasts to be brought out. Once it was served, everyone enjoyed the meal together and once finished Marcus took Uta for a walk around the area.
As they were walking Uta had one arm linked with Marcus which made him smirk slightly as he said, "You've gotten pretty bold since the last time we met."
"Big sis said if I don't stake my claim you would run off with another girl…" Uta said as she narrowed her eyes slightly before she pinched his arm which made him yelp and she added, "You seemed pretty friendly with Nami."
Marcus rolled his eyes before he said, "Stake your claim? I'm not a piece of land you can just plant a flag on…"
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because a relationship needs the people in it to like each other or it won't work no matter how much one person tries."
Uta instantly froze in place which caused Marcus to stop and look at her. Her eyes were wide and looked like they were wet as she asked in a trembling voice, "You… You don't like me?"
Marcus karate chopped Uta over the head as he said, "I never said that you idiot."
"But…" Marcus cut Uta off as he said, "I was talking in a hypothetical. Of course I like you Uta, you're my friend…"
Uta let out a sigh of relief before Marcus added, "But as far as a relationship goes, I honestly don't know. We're both too young to worry about that type of thing right now."
"That's not true, I met a girl who was fifteen and already married with a kid not long ago!" Uta said with a blush.
Marcus's eyes widened at that comment before he narrowed his eyes and flicked Uta's head as he said, "Don't get any stupid ideas!"
Uta rubbed her head and frowned slightly as she mumbled, "It wasn't stupid…"
Marcus shook his head slightly as he said, "Yes it was… No matter who that girl was, there's a difference between you and her."
"I know that, she was older than me."
"Was that girl a pirate? Or just someone living on an island?" Marcus asked even though he could already guess the answer.
"She lived on an island and worked in a bakery."
Marcus nodded before he said, "Exactly as I thought, she was just a normal person. Not someone like us."
Uta tilted her head slightly as she frowned before she asked, "How are we different?"
"You really only think about music, don't you?"
Uta shook her head as she said, "No I don't, I think about you too!"
Uta froze as her whole face almost turned into a tomato from embarrassment, which made Marcus start to laugh. Marcus's laugh helped Uta recover before she stomped her right foot and asked, "If you're so smart, how are we different from that girl?"
Marcus stopped laughing before he pointed at Uta and said, "You don't get the luxury of being a normal person. It's the reason Shanks sent Limejuice and Gab to watch over you while traveling with Mihawk."
"Mihawk might be strong, but just in case something unexpected happened. Shanks wanted to make sure you would be protected in case you were targeted." Marcus said before he pointed at himself and said, "Just like me and Luffy were sent to East Blue by my father and grandpa since it was the safest place for us."
Marcus locked eyes with Uta as he said, "We are a liability to our family and until we're strong enough to protect ourselves, we'll never be able to have a semi-normal life… Even though, with who our parents are, that will never happen anyways."
"That doesn't even take into account what happens if you have a relationship… Would you be able to protest the people you care about?"
Uta slowly shook her head as she said, "I don't know."
"Exactly, so worry about getting stronger first. You can practice your music and cooking too, but never skip your physical training."
Uta nodded seriously before Marcus added, "And besides, just because you like me now, doesn't mean you'll like me later. What if you find someone else you like more than me after you leave?"
"That won't happen, boys are stupid."
"So I'm not a boy now?" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.
Uta shook her head as she said, "Nope, you're Marcus."
Marcus shook his own head slightly before he asked, "And what happens if I find another girl I like more than you after you leave?"
Uta narrowed her eyes slightly as she asked, "Like Nami?"
Marcus shrugged as he said, "Or any of the other girls you met at breakfast… Or a girl I haven't even met yet."
Uta frowned slightly as she asked, "Why would you find some other girl to like when you have me?"
"The same reason you might find some other boy one day. We're both young and don't know exactly what we want… Yeah you like me now, but do you love me? And I'm not talking about the puppy love you have going on with me right now, I mean real love me." Marcus said as Uta started to blush and he let out a sigh before he added, "Sure I like you Uta and I like to tease you because I find it fun… But do I love you? I honestly have no clue and I am pretty sure you're the same way…"
"No way, you're the only one for me!" Uta said before she turned bright red.
Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose slightly before he asked, "And if you're not the one for me?"
"Why wouldn't I be?!?"
Marcus stared at Uta for a few moments before he asked, "Did you listen to anything I just said?"
Uta nodded as she said matter of factly, "You said you like me, and I like you. That's all that should matter."
"And if in ten years I like someone else?"
Uta pouted for a few moments before her eyes lit up and she said, "As long as you still like me that's all that matters!"
"Do… Do you even know what that means?"
Uta nodded seriously before she said, "Dad finds a new girl at every island we visit and spends a lot of time with them… As long as you do that with me and. And. And whoever else you might like, it's fine!"
Marcus looked up at the sky and closed his eyes for a few moments as he mumbled to himself, "She didn't mean that, she has no idea what that really implies. I'll just have to have this conversation again when she's older…"
Uta tugged Marcus's arm slightly as she said, "It's settled, as long as you like me, that's all that matters."
Marcus glanced back at Uta as he thought, 'And have Shanks try to kill me? Wait, would he kill me? No I shouldn't think about that… We'll just revisit this conversation later when she's older if she doesn't find a nice boyfriend by then.'
Marcus shook his head slightly before they started walking again. For the rest of the day, Uta stayed glued to Marcus besides when she left for a short time to cook a couple things for lunch and dinner. Marcus was thoroughly impressed with Uta's new cooking skills and praised her for how good everything was. Later that night Uta asked to see Marcus's room and once there she dived into his bed and refused to leave. Marcus ended up sleeping in his hammock that was used for rough weather as Uta happily curled up in his bed for the night.