"Why'd you go quiet?"
Walking down the street, Mercer glanced at the silent Perona perched on his shoulder. "Weren't you just acting all high and mighty?"
"Sorry. I was wrong."
"What were you wrong about?"
"I shouldn't have bitten your heart."
"Anything else?"
"Wait, shouldn't I be older than you?" Perona stared at him. "Why does it feel like I'm your little sister, always getting lectured by you?"
Mercer raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. "You do know you're older than me?"
Perona's face stiffened. Then, mortified and furious, she bared her teeth. "So what do you want? I already apologized!"
"You apologized?"
"I did."
"How?"
"Sorry. I was wrong."
"That's it?"
"What else?"
Perona looked utterly bewildered. "Did you want to beat me up too?"
"Did I beat you up?"
"Didn't you just hit me with that lightning of yours and knock me out? It really hurt. My spirit went numb from the shock, and I almost got scattered."
"I can scatter your spirit? If I'm that powerful, how come I didn't know?" Mercer laughed. "You're even playing the victim now. Shameless."
"You're the shameless one. You jerk."
"Forget it. We'll let this go, but don't bite my heart again. It hurts."
"Oh. So you're not mad anymore?" Perona asked quietly. "You don't blame me for making you pay?"
"You're washing my dirty clothes for the next three months."
"Isn't that a bit long?"
"Do you know how much money I had to pay?"
"Fine, I'll wash them." Perona thought of that thick stack of Beli and felt a little uneasy. "I promise. Then we can let this go."
"Mm."
"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me when you find that Devil Fruit user."
As she spoke, her spirit slipped straight into