Mel had been walking around town for two hours now. Nowhere could she find her father. / Where could he be? Not that he panics again, like when Luffy was kidnapped. Damn! / Most of all, she would just sit down somewhere and do nothing. Just wait for shanks. He would find her. But what if not? What was she supposed to be doing here with no idea where she was?

It could not go on like that! That much was already certain. Sighing, the young woman ran her blood-red hair. They got slowly but surely wet as it started to rain. If Mel had an elastic band, she would put her hair in a bun. They were pretty long. The clothes she was wearing were also rather bad than right for this weather. Her knee-length brown boots and her long black pants that were tucked into the shoes were okay. But not the crop top.

The 20 year old sighed again in annoyance. Went through a deserted alley. She stopped. A very familiar smell found its way into her nose. A touch of salt mixed with freedom. Of course, freedom smelled like nothing, but if it did have a smell, Mel was the one. The smell of the sea!
How much she missed him. Where she was before there was a smell of burnt and something indefinable. The redhead couldn't explain what it was. Like so much in this world.

Always following her nose, she followed the smell. A damp strand of her hair fell into her sea-blue eyes. Out of habit she brushed them behind her ears. The 1.65 m tall woman had often complained about how annoying her hair was. Her father said 'Then cut it off for you. And problem solved! 'In return, he only received a disdainful snort. She would never cut her hair off! She has let her hair grow out since she was 14. Now they went up to the waist.

The blue-eyed woman was now about 150 meters from a cliff. The sun was about to set. The red mixed with the blue of the sky to a rich purple. How she would have loved to just sit on the edge of the cliff and just dream. Their plan was interrupted, however, by a head of red hair, who stood calmly, a little away from the cliff, in the warm sand and watched the waves. Mel overflowed with joy and already began to scream loudly: "Dad !?" She repeated three times and then screamed again 'Dad !? '.

The addressee looked around in shock when he first heard his daughter's voice calling for him. The next calls it became clear to him that she was walking towards him. Shanks was happy, after all, nothing happened to his angel. Arrived before the bigger one, the little one looked at him first. He seemed fine.

"Do you already know where we are? We have to find out who else was sent here and look for them! And we also have to go back! This weirdo wants to kill the pirates after all! And, and, that k-"

"I know, Mel! But first of all we have to be calm.There's no point in freaking out now! "Mel raised her eyebrows. Since when has the overprotective Shanks been so calm? Serene? / What's wrong with them? / The redhead sighed extensively, before he spoke - his little one was still mute:

"I think we'll first go ask a few people where they can get accommodation here. It's getting dark. Tomorrow we'll see." With a 'Mh-hm' Mel followed her dad. They went through alleys again. Until they got to a big street. Shanks just went on, didn't notice anything before pulling Mel behind him and saying:

"Sh *** e! They sent Kizaru here! But - wait a minute - why?"

Mel grabbed him by the collar and pulled him with her while she said, 'I'll explain that to you later.' They went on along the street. To a big market place. A few passers-by looked at her strangely - but just passed by - most of them had to swallow hard when they saw a sword and a pistol on Shanks' belt. Mel noticed this immediately. / At least our guns are there. / She opened her eyes. / But what if ... /

"Dad, please try to use your haki! I'll try the devil's powers!"

Shanks looked puzzled at first, but followed her request. He concentrated and opened his eyes. Nothing. Again ... nothing again. So no haki worked in this world. Was it possible to use the devil's forces? Mel tried in vain. She raised her hand: "Splash *". Nothing. Now the blue-eyed woman held her towards the fountain and said 'Splash' again. / That can't be true! / She now held both palms forward and crossed them. "Hail *". And already ... nothing again. So nothing worked. They only had their swords, Schanks had his pistol and Mel had her dagger.

"Oh damn. Well, it doesn't matter now. Dad, I'll go ask the man where you can sleep here." So Mel said goodbye and attacked an older man. He was half bald and wore a brown suit and cane.

"Sorry. Do you happen to know where to live here?"

The man smiled. "You don't seem to be from here. It's already quite late, there on the right corner is the" Sunshine "hotel. You can stay there for the night. The first one is even free. Very nice hotel. My son and I stayed I think you don't want to stay there forever, so I suggest you call me tomorrow morning and ask for a Mr. Sunshine. That’s me. I’m very happy to rent an apartment to a pretty young lady like you ! "

/ Old slime / The man was still smiling. Waited for an answer. "Um, that's very nice of you. So, just one question, where can I call? Is there a public telescope here?"

"Tele- what? I'm sorry young woman, but I've never heard of that before. Besides, you can use the phone to call the hotel room. I'll give you my card, there is my phone number. Let us call you at 10 am O'clock. Just put this number in. Okay?We'll hear from you tomorrow. Have a nice evening!"

The only answer came back, 'Uh, yes, bye'. Mel came back a little confused and with a card. Her father just nodded understandably after she explained everything to him. With renewed vigor - or rather dog-tired - the father-daughter team set off. Once inside, huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The carpet was red and the walls were gold. The former pirate king would certainly have liked it. Mel and Shanks booked a double room at the counter. As mentioned before, the first night was free. It was also quite big. The colors red and gold dominated the room.


~ Time jump ~ next day ~ 2:00 p.m. ~


After Mel - after countless attempts to use the receiver and buttons - had managed to call Mr. Sunshine, they met in his apartment to find a suitable apartment. The man apparently knew what he was doing. He showed them all kinds of folders with all kinds of apartments.

Mel and her father were particularly fond of one apartment. It wasn't too small and it wasn't too big. Stand in the city center. The guy also mumbled something about the subway - apparently a means of transport. 'You can get from one place to another with it. Pretty practical. ' Mr. Sunshine told them. As nice as he was, he explained life to both of them in a large group. Grotto? Big -... What was it called? Oh yes big city! Forgiveness. The guy thought they came from a distant country and couldn't do anything with today's modernity. He also explained to them what it meant to drive, go to work and go to school.

Back to the apartment. She had a large living room with an open kitchen and dining area. With full equipment, of course. Next to the spiral staircase was the bathroom. A huge one, as Shanks found, with a bathtub, shower, sink and toilet made of marble. There was a long hallway up one floor. The left door led into Mel's room, the right into Shanks'. Each room also had its own bathroom.

"Since you have decided on this apartment, we come to business. It costs 4,500 yen a month with furniture and heating and water costs!"

"Yen?" Shanks asked, visibly confused.

"Yes, the yen is our currency here in Japan. What currency does your country use?"

"Berry." Mr. Sunshine just looked at her questioningly. Before he uttered an 'aha'. “So that means you have no money or work right now?” Shanks shook his head. "Mh-mh" The man suddenly stopped smiling. After a few minutes, however, he found it again.

"If that is the case, I have a suggestion! I will make the apartment available to you for the first month. But for that you - Mr. Shanks - have to work in my hotel. It is known to be 'the' noble hotel here in Osaka! We can use a handsome man like you! "/ And the slouch is back ... /
"So both parties get something out of it. They make about 5,000 yen. It's a lot of money. Make an effort. Otherwise you will be out of the window faster than you think!""/ Okay. Let's get rid of the slime for today ... / Mr. Sunshine held out his hand to Shanks. He hit the ground right away.

/ Well then ... our first apartment ... that could be something ... /



~ ☆ ★ ☆ ~



* Splash & Hail = special attacks from Mel (mean 'splash' and 'hail')