Makino's words, "You have… familiar eyes," hung in the warm air of the bar, cutting through the comfortable murmur of conversation. The faint scent of tobacco and ale suddenly felt sharp, the friendly atmosphere charged with a subtle tension. Her smile was still there, fixed politely on her face, but her kind eyes held a searching intensity that made my breath catch. Had she somehow recognized me? From where? No one on Hi-no-Kuni outside my family and Grandpa knew about the Angel fruit or the Sunstone Heart… and everyone else was—
"Feel like I saw you somewhere," Makino murmured again, her gaze steady, tilting her head slightly as she studied my face.
A cold knot formed in my stomach. Could it be? After four years on the run, had I finally been careless? My hand instinctively drifted towards the hilt of the Kaenken under my cloak, ready to tense, to run, to fight.
But the instinct honed by Garp's training kicked in. Don't tense. Deflect. Flow. Use humor, however dark, to evade.
A small, dry laugh escaped my lips. It sounded brittle even to my own ears. "Maybe," I suggested, forcing a smile that felt stretched too thin. "Maybe you saw me… in a wanted poster?"
The laugh was meant to be a cynical joke, a dark jab at my own reality. But Luffy, bless his utterly oblivious heart, seized on it with immediate, joyful confirmation.
"OH YEAH, YEAH!" he bounced on the balls of his feet, beaming. "That's right! Akane's got a wanted poster! She's wanted! Eighty million berries!" He announced it like I'd just won the lottery, completely missing the sudden sharp intake of breath from some of the bar patrons and the way Makino's eyes widened dramatically, her cloth pausing mid-wipe on the mug.
Ace, standing beside Luffy, facepalmed quietly, groaning under his breath. "Luffy, you idiot…"
But then, ever the opportunist, Ace decided to lean into the chaos Luffy had created, using it as cover for his own brand of mischief. He grinned, that familiar teasing glint returning to his eyes as he shot me a look that said you are so paying me back for this.
"And get this, Makino-neechan," Ace added, his voice dripping with mock sincerity, "you know how tough Gramps' training is, right? Well, yesterday morning, when we woke up..." He paused for dramatic effect, drawing out the moment. "...I saw these two," he gestured between me and Luffy, who was now looking confused, his earlier bluster fading, "...all snuggled up in the straw pile, hugging each other! Like they were in love!"
"ACE!" I yelped, my face flushing scarlet again. "I TOLD YOU, IT WAS COLD! AND HE ROLLED OVER! OR I DID!"
"Love?! What?!" Luffy blurted out, his confusion deepening into a blush of his own. He looked at me, then back at Ace, then down at his own chest, thumping it in bewilderment. "My heart's doing that weird thing again! BWOOM BWOOM! What's going on?!"
Ace roared with laughter, joined by a few chuckles from the older fishermen who had heard his antics with Luffy and Garp before. "See?! He's already flustered! Our little Luffy's finally growing up! Getting a crush on a lady!" He nudged Luffy, who just looked more and more lost, his rubbery face turning a deeper shade of red.
Makino watched this entire exchange, her eyes darting between the three of us – my mortification, Ace's teasing, Luffy's bewildered blush and chest-thumping. The initial shock of the bounty seemed to have momentarily faded in the face of the sheer absurdity of their dynamic. A genuine, warm smile finally returned to her face, chasing away the tension. It was a smile that spoke of fondness, of exasperation, and of a deep understanding of the bizarre world these boys inhabited.
"Oh, Luffy," she said softly, shaking her head, but her smile was tender. "Your heart's probably just working hard after running all the way down the mountain." She glanced at me, her smile broadening slightly. "And maybe… maybe it's feeling a little flutter from having such a brave new friend."
She set the mug down gently and leaned forward across the counter, her expression shifting again, the warmth still there, but now tinged with a quiet seriousness. She looked from Luffy, who was still looking bewildered, to Ace, who had sobered slightly, and finally, back to me.
"Eighty million berries," she repeated, her voice low. The playful moment vanished. "That's… a very high price for someone your age, Akane. Especially in the East Blue." Her gaze grew steady again, those kind eyes somehow piercing, seeing past the layers of grime and weariness. She reached under the counter, her movements deliberate.
"I did see it, you know," she said softly, pulling out a rolled-up poster. It was the familiar, stark white paper bordered in black, with a bold "WANTED" header. She unrolled it carefully, laying it flat on the counter.
There I was. My face, younger, cleaner, eyes wide and defiant. Beneath the picture, the number: 80,000,000 BERRIES. And below that, my name – AKANE KAZEHAYA.
And then, in bold, black letters beneath my name, the World Government's chilling designation.
"The eyes were unmistakable," Makino whispered, her voice tinged with awe and sorrow as she read the words aloud. "I didn't understand why they would give a child such a name… such a bounty…" She looked up at me, her expression filled with a complex mix of pity, fear, and understanding.
"But I saw it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Right here. Your nickname."
She tapped a finger on the poster, on the stark black letters that encapsulated the World Government's narrative of my existence, the name they had branded me with.
"The Divine Calamity."