Missing Piece

Chapter 1

Charlotte huffed, pushing her cheek further up with her palm before toppling over, pinning her arm against the wooden bar counter. "Shakky" She cried, complaint and boredom clear in her voice. She peaked through her purple tresses towards the only other person in the empty bar.

"Are you finally going to order something?" Shakky, a woman whose age didn't match her appearance, asked. Her gaze fixed over the newspaper laid before her and hands busy wiping at an already clean wine glass.

Charlotte snorted, "As if." She knew better than to order anything from Shakky's Rip-Off bar. There was a reason why the name had the words 'rip-off' in it. The prices for were ridiculously high and not worth the products. If Sabaody Archipelago wasn't so full of rookie pirates and unknowing travelers, the place would have shut down ages ago. Though Charlotte didn't feel for the customers who ended up on the wrong end of Shakky's fists when they refused to pay up. While the prices weren't listed, Shakky did give them a fair warning with the bar's name. Even if no one ever took it seriously the first time around.

"Then what are you doing here?" Shakky took a drag from her cigarette. Shakky didn't dislike the other's presence, quite the opposite actually, even if she never did order anything. "Isn't it treasure heaven for you, bounty hunters? There are nine supernovas currently gathered here." She added easily despite knowing that both of them already knew that information.

"Would be all eleven if the Straw Hat Pirates show up." Charlotte commented offhandedly and Shakky wasn't surprised that the other knew exactly which supernovas had already docked. Charlotte was like Shakky in that regard. Knowledge is wealth.

"You sound as if you don't want them to show up." She chuckled lightly at the face the other made.

"Their crew has three devil fruit users." Was all she said as if that was reason enough.

Shakky returned her gaze to the newsprint before her. "Last in the news, the Straw Hats were at Enies Lobby. Quite the story that one."

Charlotte hummed lightly against her arm. "Hopefully they're still there." She said, though she knew it was unlikely. That news was old now. Charlotte sat back up properly, "I'll just have to avoid them." She declared looking up. Her face dropped slightly at the several wanted posted plastered to the overhang. The eleven supernovas.

While it was commonplace for rookie pirates and other travelers alike to come to the forest with it being the final stop before passing the Red Line and entering into the New World, it wasn't often that so many high profile rookies all passed by at the same time. "It's going to be so busy..." her shoulders slouched, arms hanging limp at her sides while Shakky smiled at the display.

"You're too young to be this tired already." Unlike Shakky who had spent enough wandering the seas as a pirate over fourty-two years ago, the female before her was in the prime age of twenty-one. She was barely an adult. "If Rayleigh was here, he wouldn't be letting you waste your youth like this."

"The man's too busy gambling away." Charlotte commented with a lazy wave. They both knew that Rayliegh hadn't been back to the bar in the last six months. "And I'm not tired." She leaned back despite the lack of a backrest, balancing herself on the barstool with pure abdominal strength. She squinted at the posters again. "It's just..."

What bothered the young bounty hunter wasn't the fact that there were high bounties to catch. No, as a bounty hunter she couldn't ask for a better gift to come walking her way. Especially with these rookies being the top of the crop, she could only feel excitement to be facing off against strong opponents. No, what bothered the young bounty hunter was simply that knowledge is wealth. And the knowledge of so many high profiles all gathered at once was not uncommon.

And that was just from the money-thirsty hunters. Surely, the Marines wouldn't sit idly by either.

"The Marines have their hands full already." Shakky said and Charlotte raised a brow at the older woman now blowing out several clouds of smoke. Seems like the little girl wasn't as adept to the latest news as she thought she was. "A Celestial is here." Shakky said, changing topic.

Due to the close proximity of Sabaody to the holy land of Mary Geoise, where most World Nobles resided, it wasn't uncommon for a Celestial to be seen coming and going to the archipelago. While it provided great wealth and prosperity to the island, Charlotte was not a fan.

"Great, just great." Charlotte groaned and Shakky made no comment in the flash of emotions that flashed over the other's face. Disgust, hatred and fear wasn't uncommon for the civilians living here to have when it came around the descendants of the World Nobles. "So not only do we have the most troublesome rookies on the island we may also have an admiral." Today was starting to seem more and more like a day for meeting big names.

"They all seem adequate enough to know not to bring an admiral down to the island." Shakky pulled out another cigar, lighting it in place for the one she was just about finished.

Charlotte scanned the wanted posters above her again, frowning slightly. All but one crew. "I really hope the Straw Hats don't show up." A stray bubble caught Charlotte's eye and she stared out of the bar's window. The blue bubble in the distance popped.

"Heading out already?" Shakky lifted her gaze when the other female slipped out of her seat, begrudgingly, a crumpled wanted poster in her left hand.

"It's going to a busy day ahead." Charlotte repeated with a stretch.

Shakky placed the wine glass down and leaned over the counter with her chin rested against her palm, watching the young huntress' signature red scarf drawing a trail behind her as she left. She hummed into her palm. "Isn't the Surgeon of Death a little aspirational even for you?"

Shakky drew another drag from her cigarette. "It's going to get lonelyhere." She called out to the empty bar.