"You seem safe, young lady. Shanks, Buggy—I'll overlook you two breaking orders this time since you helped her."
The mature man with glasses said this, but the two boys called Shanks and Buggy both had impressive bumps on their heads and were forced to sit in seiza. This stuff wasn't so different from the Marines.
"Yes, thank you for helping me."
"Good, you seem well-mannered too. I'd like these guys to learn from you."
The two boys played innocent. Well, at their age it couldn't be helped.
"We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Silvers Rayleigh. The redhead there is Shanks, and the other is Buggy."
"Thank you for the courtesy. I'm Shirakawa Akari."
When I gave my name, Rayleigh brought his hand to his chin and spoke thoughtfully.
"From that weapon at your waist and the Shirakawa surname, I'd guess you're connected to the Shirakawa school in Wano Country?"
"Yes, you know it well. Wano's isolationist, so it's not widely known outside..."
"I'm something of a swordsman myself, and I've had occasion to research Wano Country."
Research? Maybe he'd looked into ports where you could enter despite the isolation?
"Now, I'd like to return Miss Akari to Garp immediately, but we pirates and the Marines are enemies. For everyone's safety, we'll need to go through some tedious procedures for this exchange. Of course, I'll personally guarantee your safety during that time."
"Tedious procedures?"
"Simply put, formal transactions needed for political proof. Actions necessary to prove we're not doing anything illegal in our dealings with pirates."
How should I put this...
"You need to do all that just to get back a crew member... a comrade?"
"Hehe, it might seem ridiculous, but organizations that claim to represent justice must show appropriate consideration for public opinion."
These past two years I'd thought I understood the Marines pretty well, but between the Sabaody Archipelago incident and this, I was starting to feel like it didn't suit me.
"Well, just relax for a while, and that'll be fine."
"Yes, I'll be in your care for a bit then."
"Shanks, Buggy, I'm putting you two in charge of looking after her. I have to handle communications with the Marines. If I left it to Roger, the sun would set first."
With that, Rayleigh walked away. After seeing him off, Shanks and Buggy started talking.
"Hey Shanks, you picked up that girl, so you take care of her."
"I know that. But help me out, Buggy."
"No way, I still have deck cleaning to finish."
With that, the boy called Buggy waved his hands and left. Even though Rayleigh had given them orders, was this okay?
"Uh... well, want some water or something?"
He scratched his head and looked troubled, which was funny enough to make me laugh. I asked him for water and decided to take it easy.
"Huh, so that's how Shanks joined the Roger Pirates."
We'd been chatting since he brought me something to drink. Since we were close in age, we'd started using each other's names. I'd thought he'd be stuffy since he was a pirate, but that was just my assumption.
"Right now I'm an apprentice learning swords and stuff from Vice Captain Rayleigh."
"Saber techniques, huh? I use a straight sword, so I'd like to see that sometime."
"Want to take a look?"
"We probably shouldn't be swinging swords around while the Marines and pirates are talking, right? Rayleigh would be mad."
He might get angry. But even though Akari was on a pirate ship, she wasn't intimidated at all.
"I told you about me. Now tell me about yourself."
"Oh, interested in your big sister? You're still a kid but pretty mature."
"We're only three years apart."
"Hehe, well fine. I'll tell you then."
Akari treated me like a kid and teased me, which was kind of hard to deal with. But I thought her smile wasn't bad. What was this feeling?
Then Akari started talking about her past.
She'd been using Observation Haki since she was four and learning swords at home. By seven she was fighting coastal pirates and had earned an epithet. What an incredible girl.
At eight she'd apparently had marriage proposals. For some reason that bothered me. After refusing the meetings and getting kicked out of home, she'd lived by practicing medicine.
At nine, when Garp came to Akari's clinic and recruited her into the Marines, that's what made her join.
After that the talk centered on someone called Bellemere, her best friend.
She'd been completely defeated in their first sparring match.
Bellemere made moves even Observation Haki couldn't read.
She was envious watching her friend's lovey-dovey relationship.
Akari told these stories with rich expressions, but suddenly her face clouded. What she talked about next was Sabaody Archipelago.
I'd heard from the vice captain that there were various unpleasant things on that island. She said she had doubts about her current role when she had to overlook those things.
At times like this, the vice captain would give clear answers to problems, but I wasn't smart enough to respond.
Still, I thought it was wrong for Akari, who could make such beautiful smiles, to look like this. That thought made me naturally speak to her.
"Akari, why don't you become a pirate too?"
Seven days had passed since then, and I was back at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, but the words Shanks had said kept echoing in my head.
"Akari, why don't you become a pirate too?"
Recruited by Garp, sent off by my family, I'd joined the Marines two years ago. The work itself was dangerous but the income was stable, and it was a respectable profession.
But as for motivation, honestly I'd lost it. My best friend Bellemere was here, so I thought I could just continue out of habit, but my feelings were wavering. No, my feelings had already turned toward pirates.
"You're looking pretty gloomy again, Akari."
"Bellemere..."
Right. If I became a pirate, I'd end up fighting Bellemere too.
"So what are you worrying about this time?"
"I see. You want to become a pirate, but you can't make up your mind because you're worried about your family back home, Vice Admiral Garp who helped you, and me too."
Akari's heart had apparently left the Marines after being saved by the Roger Pirates and recruited by them. Honestly, she was such a handful.
"Just become a pirate."
"But..."
"No buts. If you'll regret not doing it, then do it and regret that instead."
Akari, who'd been looking down the whole time, raised her face. Almost there.
"Besides, you got hit on by that boy Shanks, right?"
"I wasn't hit on—I was recruited as a pirate."
"Same thing."
We looked at each other and started laughing. Yeah, she was getting her spirit back.
"Sigh... I'm starting to feel stupid for worrying."
"That's the spirit. And if you keep worrying like that, you'll fall in the sea again."
"Ugh, I don't want that again."
"Your beloved prince might not be there to save you next time."
"Shanks and I aren't like that yet!"
"Yet?"
"Stop teasing me so much, Bellemere!"
Akari hadn't been laughing much lately, but this was how she should be.
"Alright, if that's decided, write your resignation letter and submit it to Vice Admiral Garp. I'll pack your things for you."
"Thanks, Bellemere."
"Don't mention it."
Now I needed to get Max involved in celebrating my friend's departure. He'd just been promoted to Captain and gotten his own ship, so the timing was perfect.
"Bellemere, even if I become a pirate, I don't want to fight you."
"I don't want to fight you either. I might've been able to beat you when you were depressed, but I'd probably lose to you now."
"And..."
"What, Akari?"
"If I meet Garp as an enemy, I'm running away as fast as I can."
"Hahaha!"
Finally we could laugh together like usual. She really was a handful. Have a safe trip, Akari.
"Hey, it's been fourteen days, Akari. So what brings you to a place like this?"
Bellemere and Max had brought me to the island where the Roger Pirates were. They were apparently going on a paid vacation date after this. The poor crew members who got dragged along... I was envious.
"It's been a while, Rayleigh."
With my heart pounding, I raised my voice.
"Please let me join the Roger Pirates!"
That's how I became a member of the infamous Roger Pirates. But my heart was racing more than it ever had in both lives combined.