Marya braces her arm against the table while looking over Charlie's shoulder. Flipping the page, he traces the following line of text with his finger. "Anything coming to mind?"
Charlie sighs, removing the cypher glasses. "Maybe." The chair screeches when he pushes away from the table, forcing Marya to step aside. "Your mother was quite brilliant if she did what I think she did."
Marya scrambles to follow him as he turns down a library aisle. "What are you thinking she may have done?"
Running his fingers along the row of spines, he pauses, tapping a select few before making his choice. Opening a specific page, he bobs his head, "I think that is what she did." Marya scurries behind him as he returns to the table, placing the book beside the journal. Putting the glasses back on, his eyes jump from book to book, "Ingenious," he mutters, taking his seat.
"Okay," Marya leans against the table. When he looks up, "Care to share?"
Blinking, he slides the glasses off his face, "Of course." Resting back in the chair, "It appears that she used the language of the Kouzuki Family as the cypher for this journal."
Marya's head tilted, "The what?"
Charlie sat up straight, fisting a hand over his mouth he cleared his throat. Watching him, she smirked. This is how Marya knew she was about to get one of his famous Charlie lectures. "The Kouzuki Clan is an ancient family that hails from the land of Wano. There are several things that make Wano unique. One of them is that their borders are closed, so they do not openly interact with the World Government or hold a seat at Revelry. The Kouzuki family was a clan of stone masons who are the authors of the Poneglypghs."
"Those are those big square stones scattered around the world?"
Charlie nods, "Yes. The World Government has declared the study of those stones unlawful, which is why it is so dangerous for anyone to have any knowledge about the Poneglyphs."
Maray taps her chin with a bent finger, "And you are saying that language is the cypher."
"I believe so."
Marya's head flops back, "this sounds difficult."
"Not really," Charlie stands, "just learn the language, and you can figure out the cypher." Marya gives him a flat stare. He closes the book, handing it to her. "Start with this. The language is not that complicated. I am confident in your abilities."
Taking it from him, he stands, "You're leaving?"
"Yes," he puts his eyeglasses back on, "I have another engagement. One of the other team members from our earlier expedition has returned, and we are having lunch."
"Oh," Marya hugs the book, "that's great."
Charlie pauses, noting her expression, "You know, I think I heard Bianca was working in the lab today."
"Oh," Marya's head snaps up, "yeah. I am sure she is. That is her home away from home." Pulling out a chair, "Well, you should go. You don't want to be late." She focuses on a page.
"Well," Charlie turns, "I look forward to hearing about your progress."
"Yeah, see you later," she waves a hand while turning a page. Groaning as she scans the symbols in the book and the corresponding text, "Really? Mom, I have to learn another language to figure out your notes." Her eyes shift to the journal. "This will take a while."
*****
BOOM! The hallway shook as the door exploded off its hinges. Marya's hair blasted back as it darted past her. Bianca and a gentleman she recognized from Lougetown emerged from a dark plume of smoke, coughing. "Professor, like, I think…"
"You don't have to say it," he coughs, "we can try your way next."
"Like," she coughs, removing her goggles, "we just need to, like, regulate the power flow."
"Agreed, we…."
"Are you two okay?" They whip around to Marya, standing in the hallway.
"Like, for real?" Bianca runs up to her, "You are, like, back?"
Marya smiled, "Yeah, only for a few days. Want to grab something to eat?"
"Go on, Bianca," her professor called out. "We can finish this later," he steps into the charred room.
*****
"So, like you have been gone a lot," Bianca sips her tea.
"Yeah," Marya scans the menu, "I think I have only spent maybe four or five nights in the new apartment."
"It's, like, weird being by myself, now. Like, I keep expecting you to, like, wake me up on your way to morning training or something."
Marya puts her menu down, "Have you heard from anyone else since we graduated?"
Bianca leans back, "Like, all the Guardians are out on tasks, like, all the time. Emmet is, like, really busy on some algorithm thing. Zola is, like, working on some new kind of energy thing. Natalie is, like, super swamped all the time at the infirmary."
"Well," Marya leans forward on folded elbows, "what are you working on?"
Bianca mirrors her, "Like, we are trying to improve the efficiency of the bubble porter. Like, we are trying to make it so it can do more with less so we can, like, travel further with larger vessels."
"Uh, ha," Marya stares blankly while her head motions.
Bianca grins, "It's, like, not that big a deal. Like, I want to hear about, like, where you have been and stuff."
"You two ready to order?" They both turn to the smiling waitress, tapping her pen on her pad.
"Ah," Marya picks up her menu, "Yeah, I will get the pork ramen with spicy miso."
"And you?"
Bianca slides her menu aside, "Like, the ginger salmon with stir fry veggies."
"Great!" The waitress stabs the pad with her pen. Taking their menus, "I will have that right out for you."
Returning her attention to Marya, "So, like, tell me all about, like, what you have been doing."
"Well," Marya rests her chin on a bent elbow. "Our first task was to go to some old ruins for a month."
"Like, I bet Charlie loved that."
Marya laughs, "You should have seen the look on Nanette's face when he gave her his report."
Bianca giggles, "Like, I bet. Like, what did you do while you were there?"
Marya shrugged, "Trained with Vaughn. I learned what his power was." Bianca raised an eyebrow. "He ate the Dazzle Dazzle Fruit. He turns sound into light."
"Like," Bianca looks unimpressed, "how is that useful?"
"He fights with an ax, so whenever that thing makes a sound, he blinds his opponent with it." Bianca blinks. "Let's just say my observation Haki is much improved. After that, we went to this island, that's a crater called Bootleg Island."
"Like, that sounds weird."
"It, kind of is. It is sort of like here in that it has no magnetic field so you won't find it with a pose, but it's so shady. It is run by an organization called the Syndicate. We went there to get a book and bring it back."
"Like, what kind of book?"
"Charlie said it was a Library Book."
Bianca's brow furrows, "but, like?"
"Yeah," Marya sips from her straw, "Charlie was confused, too until Vaughn explained it. Books and artifacts get stolen from the library, and when they turn up again, we go get them."
"Like, what?"
"Anyway."
"Okay, ladies," the waitress returns, sliding their orders in front of them. "Here you go. You two need anything else?"
"No," Marya shakes her head, "Think we are good."
"Great," the waitress taps the table, "let me know if you do."
Marya picked up her chopsticks, separating them. "So, yeah, the last task we just returned from was a retrieval." Bianca's mouth is full as she nods. "There was a researcher with a boy who got separated from her guardian. We went and brought them home."
"Separated from her guardian?" Bianca talks around a mouth full of food.
Marya sucks up a noodle, "Yeah, they were in the Rommel Kingdom. There was this crazy demon guy there, too. Oh, and some Navy Cipher Pole guy. They were pretty strong."
"But, like, you were stronger, right?"
Marya shrugs, "Yeah, but no one died or anything. I don't even think anyone got cut. Once I knocked that demon's Haki out of him, he was human again. I think the researcher lady might have had some feelings for him, but I don't know. She kept me from stabbing him."
"Like, that sounds kind of intense."
"It was, but everyone's home now. They went to visit the guardian in the infirmary, and I think the boy she was with will be joining the academics or something. They were all talking about it, but I wasn't paying attention."
"So, like, what are you doing now?"
"We were told to take the week off, so I will be home for a little while. Think I will work on deciphering my mom's journal. Charlie was helping me," Marya bites into the egg. "He said it looks like the cypher is some ancient dead language of the Poneglyphs written by the Kouzuki clan from some place called Wano."
"So, like, you have to learn this, like, language?" Bianca swallows.
Marya nods, "Yeah, if I want to know what that journal is all about."
"Like," Bianca sips her tea, "how badly do you, like, want to know?"
Marya shrugs, "I think whatever is in the journal is what got my mom killed. I don't know that I will do anything with the information, but I would like to know what was so important that it cost her, her life."
"Like," Bianca stabs her fork, "I get that. Like, what about your dad?" Marya's brow wrinkles. "Like, do you, like, think he would, like, know anything."
Marya rolls her eyes, "I am sure he does, but it's not like he would tell me."