"I love you."

Urgency filled her more than despair as she gasped and tried to reach out toward the redheaded woman with a beaten face and a broken arm who smiled so fondly in her direction. Her tiny arms were so far away from that figure. So... helpless.

*Bang*

The sound of a loud gunshot woke her up with a gasp. Drenched, she looked around. Nothing had happened.

Another nightmare.

The realization elicited an exhausted sigh from the woman who ruffled her light-bluish hair and slipped out of her sheets and into a slipper before freshening up which included a red hairband knotted from a scarf she used to wear as a child, a beige, slightly washed up sleeveless top, and blue denim shorts.

With her house barely equipped to meet the end's needs, it was easy enough to plan breakfast in the form of a cup of milk with a hint of 'zinger' in the form of a touch of rum to get her through the day. At this point, maybe she was just addicted to its convenience as it did help swallow down the plain ol' loaf of bread with a dash of orange jam spread over it.

Just to check in through all her usual activities as this is simply what her life had become— a series of monotone activities to live through, helplessly, while her only family was out there, somewhere, hopefully, safe— she pushed open the door, let the sunlight christen her morning by bathing her already tanned form in all its usual glory.

*Thrk*

As if stirred by the sound of her walking out of the door, something moved in the large tangerine orchard of hers. Instantly on her guard and unwilling to get into any trouble, she observed from a distance, still unable to figure out the origin of the sound.

But she could only stall herself for so long as she eventually moved slowly. Making sure she doesn't step on anything too noisy, she closed in on the distance and eventually realized even before reaching the source of the sound what actually was happening. More annoyed than angry and that, too, for getting spooked this early in the morning, she groaned impatiently while walking over, "Kolu, I told you—"

Her voice was caught in her throat as the boy she expected to be up on his antics behind the large container of hers was replaced by a drenched figure whose wide, surprised red pupils stared into her bluish notes while slowly, as if unwilling to startle her, took a bite out of the tangerine in his palm... through the peel.

If the giant, half-naked man with many scars on his body was not an indication of it, then surely, she was forced to regain the course of her gaze unless it fully mapped the man in front of her for the act of eating a tangerine as an apple was quite concerning to her. But more than that, she belatedly realized something that should have been her first thought— Damn that Rum punched Milk!

"Who are you?!" Her voice was loud enough, maybe shrill, too, to make the man in front of her raise both of his hands in an act of surrender to calm her down but that was only done after he shoved both the tangerines into his mouth, making his rather sculpted jaw 'inflate.'

"Aib Brohdgy Dhee Ha—" The man spat and chewed more than he spoke as she pulled back and as if realizing his folly, the man suddenly swallowed the still very real spheres of tangerine as it made his throat bulge out, much to her horror. But before she could yelp in surprise, the figure actually swallowed the whole thing and heaved a relieved sigh, "Phew~ Ah, that's right. I'm Bro D Hanma. Wait, I'm not sure how they introduce themselves in East Blue... Hanma D Bro? Anyway, delicious oranges—"

"Tangerines," She couldn't help but correct him, Bro D Hanma, that is.

"Huh? Really? What's the difference?" He stood up and looked around while she couldn't help but gulp as only now did it finally become clear the actual difference between their sizes as he easily reached as high as 2.5 meters in height in her rough estimate. But again, she had to consciously stop herself from letting her wayward glance ogling the broad-shouldered, red-haired man.

"Heyyyy..." he drawled and snapped his fingers in front of her.

"Huh? What?" She looked up and frowned, "Oh, the difference between an orange and a tangerine doesn't matter."

"You need to leave," she asserted finally.

"Ah, right, I'm on someone's private property. So, sorry about that. I'll pay you back. It's just that I had to swim all the way from Kanary Island to this one and got super hungry! And this place smelled delicious. Now I know why!"

She had an illusion that his stare grew... piercing for a second as he glanced at her. A swimmer... that would explain the body, she idly thought, and again, it belatedly hit her.

"You SWAM here from Kanary Island?!"

"Yeah?" Hanma nodded, "Had to. I heard about this real classy ship restaurant. Battery or something. Where is it?"

"This is Conomi Island... we don't have anything like a ship restaurant anywhere..."

"Conomi? Hm... it's an island away from Kanary, huh..."

"It's THREE islands away!" She snapped before taking a deep breath, "Anyway, I can't let you stay here! You need to leave."

"Oh, sure. Any Inn or Tavern nearby?" He inquired, "And I never got your name. Nice tattoos, by the way."

She frowned harder at his nonchalance while feeling that he wasn't staring at the tattoos extending from her right arm to her chest as much as checking her out wholly. Still, this wasn't the first time something like that happened despite the extraordinary circumstances and she was quick to answer the questions so that he would leave. After all, until now, he hadn't shown signs of rashness... if she could ignore his naked torso and the fact that he claimed to have swum across three islands.

"It's Nojiko, alright? Now, this island is controlled by Pirates. If they find you—"

"Pirates?" He blinked, "Ah, sorry. Nojiko, right? Before I leave... have you seen another man like me? A little taller. Longer red hair and a really stupid face that would make you want to punch him?"

Not waiting for her to digest everything, he turned around, "And, was his back like this or different?"

Repressing a groan, Nojiko fully let her gaze slide over his perfectly sculpted back before sighing, "You're the first redhead I have seen... Brody Hanma..."

"It's not Brody... you know what? Not the first time. Anyway... did she lie to me?" He mused under his breath, "Nah... couldn't be. Made sure we had something special going on. Anyway," turning to face her, 'Brody' questioned her, "How can I repay you?"

"By leaving," Nojiko was quick to reply.

"That's it? That was easy," he shrugged, "Thanks for oranges—"

"Tangerines."

"Right. Any Inn nearby?"

"You don't understand..." Nojiko frowned but it was at that time Brody took a loud yawn and then rubbed his eyes before muttering, "Just keep on talking... I'm listening..."

And then he closed his eyes while standing...

Surprised and more infuriated for unknown reasons, Nojiko watched the man sleeping while standing up.

"Hey! Wake up!" Shouts didn't work. And when she finally patted his arms, Hanma fell back on the ground with a resounding thud before snoring soundly.

"Damn it!" She scowled and eventually, after a morning's labor, managed to drag Brody back into her cottage.

---

"Whoo! Sorry, what were you saying? I was totally listening. Heh, lost track of time—" Hanma sat up and looked around only to find himself in an unfamiliar and cozy surrounding. A blanket too small to reach his toes if pulled over to his chest, a bed too small for his frame as such a good portion of him was on the floor, and a slightly open wardrobe with clothes too small for him to wear.

"Huh... if magic isn't real, I don't know how I always end up in someone's bed," he mumbled and got up before ruffling his short red hair buzzed from the sides in a familiar hairstyle without the need of a mirror and sniffed around until finding the stock of rum, bread, jam, milk in the refrigerator— not in the same order.

So, like any sane person, Brody took a bowl, filled it with rum, mixed it with a spoonful of jam, and swallowed it down in large gulps before exhaling a hot, pleasant sigh as he narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

Who needed bread or milk?

He loved having a 'light' breakfast or lunch... or whenever he woke up.

"What do you think you're doing?" A harsh monotone dampened his buzz and he looked back with a pleasant smile, "Ah, Nojiko, right? Pleasant meeting you here. This place is..." He looked around, "Somebody's home."

"MY home!" She huffed before her glance landed on the emptied rum bottle and then back at him who blinked innocuously.

*Burp*

She only narrowed her eyes as Brody chuckled in response to his own burp and nodded, "Yeah, I'll leave now."

As he stood to leave, Nojiko sighed and set the bag in her hands in front of him, "Wait... I brought lunch. And I also asked the villagers for you about that weird-backed redheaded friend of yours you were questioning me about so that you don't get yourself caught by Arlong and his men. Turns out, that our village's chief did see something strange two months ago while drinking by the cliff."

Instantly curious, Hanma slowly opened the bag, peeled off the container's lid as if made out of paper, and enjoyed the scrumptious meat.

"What did he see?"

Sitting down across from Brody, Nojiko tapped the table, "I think he was drunk but... he said he saw a strange person or a mirage that night... that man wore dark clothes and the only reason the chief could see the 'mirage' was that this redhead was walking on the surface of the sea... but the Chief also said that it was during the high tides. However, as the man walked, the tides around him calmed down to the point it looked like the surface of a calm pond..."

Sighing, Nojiko massages her temples, "I think he might be..."

As she was about to claim that the chief might be drunk, her breath hitched as her eyes widened.

She was being stared at.

Nay.

She was being glared through.

His red eyes no longer held the same sincerity they did when he laughed and smiled but instead resembled the dilated pupils of a beast who couldn't wait to tear her apart.

"The sea calmed down, you say... the strongest force of nature bent to his will?" His glare vanished as if it was an illusion before a fond smile touched his thin lips that broadened to a grin, baring the sharp set of teeth he possessed, "That does sound like him!"

"W-wait, you don't actually believe all that, do you?" Nojiko gasped.

"I do," Hanma laughed, "Ah... I can't wait to catch up to him."

"Nojiko!" A thick-mustached man with multiple scars running all over him in a brown set of clothes and a cap barged into the cottage with a barely concealed look of relief, "She's back... Ah, I'm sorry... I'll come back later—" he glanced at Brody before shaking his head, "No, wait... who the hell are you?"

"Hi, I'm Bro D. Hanma, a professional and a responsible bum! My dream is to become a man more responsible than my father, have a child, and not run out to the sea for the fabled All-Milk to never return in the process!" He grinned before stuffing his throat with delicious meat.

Wait, that came out wrong.