Time was like sand slipping through the fingers, always quietly passing when no one noticed.
Ron had thought the journey to Elbaf would be dull and tedious, with nothing but the ship and waves on the boundless sea, the same scenery repeating day after day. Yet the reality was quite the opposite.
The people in the Rocks Pirates all had a way with words, and every one of them was a real talent.
Besides, ever since he had returned from Saint Sebastian, he had noticed a change in Annika.
She still loved to smile, but her smiles were no longer meant to please anyone or hide anything. They came from genuine happiness.
Ron also found her rather adorable. Whenever she was happy, she liked to hop and skip around, and apart from when she was cooking for Ron or sleeping, she almost always liked to follow him.
Sometimes she followed him for ages without saying a word, simply walking quietly like a shadow. Occasionally, when Ron looked back, she would smile at him, then keep following.
One thing did trouble Ron, though. Annika had stopped calling him a "good guy," but she had started calling him a "bad guy" instead, to the point that even Whitebeard wondered whether Ron was secretly tormenting her late at night.
Ron felt that if this went on, everyone in the Rocks Pirates would think he was a pervert.
"Morning, Ron. Want to play a game?" Kaido greeted him from the sofa as Ron walked out of his room and into the ship's lounge.
Ron glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Half of Kaido's face was swollen like a pig's head, his eye nearly squeezed shut. And the so-called "game" Kaido mentioned was rock-paper-scissors, with the loser getting slapped by the