Chapter 64

Grandline, Paradise, Water 7

The scene Robin and Azul came upon was one they hadn't expected, at all. Usopp and Luffy stood some distance apart from each other, both with grim expressions plastered on their faces, before Usopp pulled out his slingshot, bringing a twitch to Azuls eyebrow at Usopps 'weapon', before he began to take aim at Luffy at let shuriken, stink bombs and other stuff rain upon his captain, making Azul wonder what this whole thing was all about. Hadn't these two morons been best friends up until now?

Shrugging his shoulders at Robin, the two of them walked around the battlefield and soon joined the rest of the strawhats, asking them what was going on, out of curiousity.

At first a depressed silence greeted them, until Zoro opened his mouth, seemingly the only one that wasn't about to cry in despair at whatever the f.u.c.k had happened while Robin and Azul had been 'occupied'.

"The flying lamb is unrepairable and thus needs to be replaced. Usopp, after hearing the plan to discard the ship and get a new one, demanded to duel Luffy as captain for the ownership of the flying lamb and Luffy told him straight up that if Usopp didn't agree with his captains decision that he was free to leave the crew." Zoro told the duo, bringing further depression to the crew while Azul simply let a sound of amus.e.m.e.nt escape his mouth, not really sure how he should react to the story, trying to contain his laughter at the rediculousness of the situation.

"You are pirates, right?" Azul asked with a twitching eyebrow, just wanting to make sure he hadn't mistakenly heard something different than what was actually true.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nami asked, letting some of her frustrations out on Azul, who only raised his eyebrow before replying.

"I thought you of all people would have learned early on in life that the life of a pirate is not always fun and games, Nami. Yes, your ship may be important but are your relationsh.i.p.s so fragile that they break only because of such a small matter? For f.u.c.ks sake guys, this is the grandline! Sailors graveyard, ring a bell yet? Grow the f.u.c.k up! This place does not tolerate such childish quabbling."

Azul told them, causing Nami to slightly recoil at the reminder of her childhood and Belmeres aprupt end. Azul and Robin meanwhile went past the crew, not really interested in the duel, venturing into the kitchen and grabbed themselves a bite to eat before going to sleep.

Or at least they tried. Just when Azul was about to fall asleep the screaming voice of Usopp entered his ear, bringing a tickmark to Azuls forhead in annoyance. Standing up and kicking the door open he came upon the scene of Usopp's pretty bruised bod, screaming at Luffy that he would be leaving the crew, while Luffy walked away from Usopp, covering his eyes with his strawhat as tears ran down his face.

"For f.u.c.ks sake, would you shut up already!" Azul yelled over to Usopp, who was pretty gobsmacked from the volume alone, interrupting his tirade.

"Thank you very much, god damnit..." Azul muttered while walking over the deck of the flying lamb, now that the fight was over, decided to sleep under the stars once more, falling asleep quickly as silence descended upon the night.

The next day arrived and Azul awoke with a satisfied yawn, standing up and stretching his tired limbs, before he walked down the steps to the lower deck, where Robin was already waiting for him with a cup of coffee in her hand, slurping it with a small smile on her face.

"Morning. You ready to go? I need my own ship. This crew will drive me nuts otherwise..." Azul asked while murmuring the last part mostly to himself, still loud enough for Robin to hear, which brought a small chuckle out of her.

"Yes. I assume we will be going to the shipyard then? Do you know where it is?" She asked, continuing to slurp her coffee with a peaceful expression on her face.

"No clue. We'll find it somehow." Azul said, picking up an apple he had grabbed out of the kitchen while they were conversing with each other, taking a crunching bite out of it with a happy smile on his face. The rest of the crew seemed to still be asleep, going by the tired snores that echoed through the cabin, seemingly having had a long chat last night about how to continue onwards from what had transpired earlier.

They walked over to a man with blonde hair that was knoting some tows together, who began to yell at Robin the second he spotted her, screaming into her face what the hell she was wearing and to have some decency, bringing a new tickmark to Azuls forhead, earning the blond man a smackdown of epic proportions, ingrating him into the soil below.

Robin couldn't contain her laughter at the sight, while the both of them stepped over the unconcious man, venturing deeper into the shipyard, until they came upon a tall man with lightblue short hair.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for someone that can take an order for a ship I would like to have build." Azul said to the man as he turned into their direction, looking them over before nodding shortly, motioning them to follow after him.

"My name is Iceburg. I am the major of this city and owner of the shipyard. Did you have something special in mind for the ship or do you want to buy one of the sh.i.p.s we have in reserve?" the major asked, petting a small mouse that was sitting inside his shirts c.h.e.s.tpocket.

"Hmm, preferably something custommade. I have no experience with shipbuilding though there are some things I would like you to consider when you construct the ship." Azul said while scretching his cheek in thought.

"That should be no problem. What did you have in mind?" the major asked, as he lead the two into a small office, while the door remained open, bringing the noise of the working shipwrights to their ears.

"Well, my former ship was pretty small and I would like to have a smaller one build again. Size wise it should be big enough for one person to steer it, while housing a cabin with around four small beds and some cupboards for storage. The c.o.c.kpit should be a little bit bigger, giving room for a small group of people to move around in. Though only one mast please. The only other requirement would be a little more durable wood for construction. What are the options for that? Money is no issue, so please no withheld information." Azul counted out what he had formulated in his mind that he thought would be nescessary.

"That seems to be reasonably easy to construct. Now, for wood, if money truly is no issue then the most durable but also rarest and most expensive sort would be adam's wood. It could take a while to aquire but it should be doable. Do we have a deal then?" the major asked Azul who nodded after which the both of them shook their hands, shortly talking about the money issue, until they agreed that the money for the wood would be given up front while the rest of the costs for construction and some such would be paid upon delivery. Afterwards Robin and Azul ventured out into the city to have a nice meal in a restaurant they thought looked alright, eating in satisfaction, until they were unkindly interrupted...