Steel Heart

Ch 63 - The Tracker

"Ah! Nana-san! You're drinking too fast. You should really-"

Nana slammed her beer pint down on the table and gave the side eye to the skeleton. After her conversation with Sanji, she had demanded directions from Camie to the nearest bar. The mermaid gave her directions to the Mermaid Cafe, which served beer and wine. That was enough for Nana and she marched straight there, not caring about Madame Sharkly, or whatever her name was, that Camie wanted to introduce them to.

She had walked through the painted automatic doors and winced internally when she spotted Brook at a table with Pappagu and two mermaids giggling at his side. Am I destined to just be surrounded by perverts?

She was already several drinks in but her mood was not much better. She didn't want to talk and she used her injured throat as an excuse to keep conversation at a minimum. She wiped the beer foam off of her lips and she let out a deep sigh. She wasn't even close to getting a nice buzz. She held up her hand and indicated the number five to Brook.

"You want to leave in 5 minutes, Nana-san?" he asked.

Nana shook her head. "5 more beers," she rasped.

"Goggles," Pappagu said with a concerned glance, "If you're in a bad mood, I know the best way to cheer you up. My shop is-"

"Goggles?" Nana grunted and she raised an eyebrow at Pappagu, "Did you just call me Goggles?"

"Yohohohoho. Don't take offense, Nana-san," Brook laughed, "Pappagu-san has been calling me 'Bones' and referring to Luffy as 'Straw"."

Then his face turned solemn, "But it does seem you're in a bad mood, Nana-san. Is everything okay? Ah! Did you lose your necklace in the current?"

Nana shook her head. "No. I didn't lose it."

"But you're not wearing it."

"I know," Nana said softly, "But it's not because I lost it."

"If you want a new necklace, you should go to Fishverly Hills!" a mermaid with long, pink hair suggested and showed Brook the pearl necklace dangling around her own neck that swooped just below her cleavage, "This is where I got mine, Soul King! Do you like it?"

"Yohohoho! Very nice," Brook laughed.

Nana rolled her eyes. She pushed back her chair and stood up. "Forget the beers. I think that's my cue to leave," she said, "I'll go find Luffy and the others at Madame Sharkley's."

"Madame Sharley?" Pappagu gasped, "Why is Straw with Madame Sharley?"

Nana shrugged. "I have no idea. Camie insisted on them meeting her."

"Oh! They're with Camie!" Pappagu exclaimed as he jumped on the table, "Come on, Bones! Let's go find them and we can all come to my house."

"Oh yeah...I heard you had a mansion," Nana murmured and she poked Pappagu hard in the belly, "Hard to imagine a tiny guy like you is such a big shot here."

Pappagu shifted his sunglasses on his face and gave a cocky smile to Nana. "Well, up on land I might be just a fashionable starfish...but down here, on Fishman Island, I am the President and head designer of-"

"So you want to go find Luffy?" Nana asked Brook.

Pappagu hung his head. "At least...listen to me..." he whined.

"Yes, let's go find Luffy-san," Brook agreed and got up to his feet. The mermaids on his side followed suit and he draped one arm over each of their shoulders.

"Funny how only the dead guy on our crew was able to live life to the fullest these past two years," Nana noted, which made Brook laugh.

"I did enjoy myself," he agreed, "But there were dark times too for me. I missed everyone a lot, Nana-san. Ah! It's so good to be reunited with everyone."