Buggy had been following the twosome for over an hour. It seemed as though they'd never get to her house. All they did was talk about possible baby names and what Roger was planning on doing now that his crew was virtually disbanded.

To Buggy's astonishment, Roger was planning on turning himself into the Marines. It was just unbelievable! 'Why would he turn himself in…? It doesn't make any sense!' The more he listened, the more confused he was. And soon that confusion turned into anger.

He was thinking about running out there and telling his Captain off at even thinking of turning himself in but soon found himself being grabbed and taken away into the night. 'Shit. How could I have let myself be captured so…?' He stopped when he noticed just who had managed to grab him. "Vice-captain? What're you doing out here?"

The older man merely looked at Buggy, not saying a word. Finally after a few seconds of silence, "I understand how you feel Buggy. I too think that Roger shouldn't turn himself in. I honestly want him just to enjoy what little time left he has with his family."

Buggy nodded his head. That's what he was thinking too. Looking up at the night sky, Buggy felt his mind start to race. "But why wouldn't the Captain send her somewhere safe? Somewhere she could live in peace? We've traveled the world, and I can think of, like, three places that would be perfect."

Rayleigh didn't know how to answer that. Roger never told him the why. Only that he was going to turn himself in and then things would be all right. Buggy filled the silence with another question.

"What's her name? The woman." Should he tell Buggy? It wouldn't hurt for him to know. "Portgas D. Rouge."

"D? As in the Will of D? How fitting for the Captain." Buggy smiled wryly. "I say we do something. Sitting around and letting this lady die isn't exactly something I want on my conscience."

Not getting a response, he turned his head to see that Rayleigh had already left. 'Asshole! Letting me stand here and talk to myself…I'd kick his ass if I could…hmph!'

Taking a moment to sit down, taking care not to lose balance and fall out of the tree he was in; Buggy grasped at the chance to see if his Observation Haki had improved enough to find his Captain.

Closing his eyes, he could feel Roger's aura coming from 'Over there!' Getting up and running towards them he ended up running across the entire town. 'Did he have to bring me so far away from them? Ugh…'

Finally reaching the house he could sense them inside, he took a good look around, burning the area and how to get there from the docks into his mind. It was a good thing she lives in the high and hilly part of town.

He decided to head back to the ship and come back tomorrow when the Captain wasn't there. On his way back he came across a little shop, one of the few that remained opened after it got dark, that sold fruit and Takoyaki. An odd combo to be sure, but that's not what caught Buggy's eye.

Of all the shops that stayed open late and of all the ones that Buggy could have come across, he'd never imagined finding what he now considered to be the sixth greatest thing he'd ever found.

"Another one. I can't believe I found….another one…" Smiling like a mad man he ran over to the old woman sitting in a chair and smoking. "Miss, Miss! How much for that fruit over there?" The old lady looked at Buggy in surprise. She'd been trying to sell that thing for months, but no one was willing to buy such an odd looking fruit.

"You can have it. At this point, it's just another reason people avoid buying fruit from me." Buggy cried. He cried actual tears of joy. Never in his life did he think he'd be so lucky as to have found a third devil fruit.

Picking it up with the utmost care, Buggy wrapped it up in his scarf and continued to head back to the ship. Almost to the docks, he broke into a run to reach the ship. In his experience, unfortunate occurrences often took place just before he could reach a point of safety.

Making it onto the deck of the Oro Jackson he felt safe. Or he did for about five seconds. "Hey Buggy." Nearly jumping out of his skin Buggy rounded on Shanks who had almost sent him to an early grave.

"Don't do that, asshole! I nearly had a heart attack." Buggy's outburst made Shanks break out into laughter at his friend's antics. As his laughter died down, so did the traces of mirth on his face. "So what are your plans after this? What do you think you'll be doing?"

Buggy gave Shanks an incredulous stare. "I mean I know you're aiming to be the King of the Pirates, but what specifically are you hoping to get out of that?" Shanks was normally never this serious, so Buggy wasn't sure how to go about answering him seriously.

"…..Before our training with the Vice-Captain started, all I wanted was treasure. Money, Gold, Jewels, Riches and all that. But now, I don't know. I mean I still want to be filthy stinking rich, make no mistake." Shanks chuckled at this.

"It's just what do the people like you, and I do, huh? I mean we're the next up to carry the torch that people like the Captain and Vice-Captain currently hold. How are we possibly going to measure up to them?" Buggy sighs heavily and then smiled confidently. "And to answer your question, I'll be getting stronger. Enough to wipe your sorry ass off the map."

Shanks laughed, his cheerful personality returning. "You're on, Buggy. If you think you can beat me, that is."

Shanks walked away, and Buggy let out a sigh of relief. He'd thought for sure Shanks would find out he had a devil fruit. Walking down the steps to his room he took out the fruit to examine it.

It was a very light blue with swirls all around it. It must've been an orange or something before it changed. Buggy knew how these fruits worked; you learned quite a lot when you spend almost every hour of every day with the supposed 'Pirate King.'

No matter how many times you see a devil fruit, its pattern draws you in every time. The Smooth-Smooth fruit was the same way. 'Two devil fruits! Two! Should I sell them, or keep them and wait to gather my crew? I wonder if they'll last for that long…Do these things go bad? Hmmm.'

He closed the door to his room, and double checked his bags. They held all he owned save for his little side project. Anything left in the room was furniture. As for his project, Buggy had been tinkering with a new weapon he designed to give himself that extra edge in a fight. Once he got his ship, that is.

While he hadn't finished yet, they were near completion. Buggy Balls were originally supposed to be the last line of defense against any and all threats against the Buggy who constantly feared for his life while sailing with Roger.

However, with the years of agonizingly rigorous training he'd received from Rayleigh, the Buggy Balls had become less of a necessity.

They only take a few hours to make as it was just a simple matter of making sure they didn't accidentally explode and kill you as a result of improper handling before then. All that was left for Buggy to do now was to test it out in a battle, and also finish making it which he would do that night.

The next morning, with the first ever Buggy Ball finished and packed away in its own inwardly padded chest, Buggy went out into the town and had some breakfast. He secretly enjoyed quiet mornings with a good breakfast. The noisy days and nights, partying crew members and fights that broke out, eventually lost their allure every once in a while after so many years of it. Taking a peaceful break every now and again was good for the soul.

Finishing up with breakfast and paying the cute waitress a nice tip, Buggy got up and walked towards the house from the night before. He sensed that only one person was currently in the house. His captain's aura was back on the ship, so there was little danger of his interference. He could only hope Rayleigh wouldn't sneak up on him again.

The closer he got to the house the more he needed to justify his actions in his head. 'She's going to be hunted by Government. The Marines. Other pirates. I have to help her. Wouldn't I want someone to help me? Yes. Yes, I'm going to do it. I'll do it and most likely die. Shiiiit! I don't want to die!'

"Hello?" Snapped out of his thoughts he was greeted by the sight of a woman in what he assumed was a sundress. Buggy was never good with fashion, and the way he dressed proved it.

"Are you…Rouge?" He hadn't prepared for this part. He'd only been ready to go up to the door and knock, which he had done during his mental fight with himself. He saw the woman go on guard. 'At least she's not too clueless as to how much danger she's in.'

"Yes. What do you want?" She was curt and standoffish. 'Good, she has a backbone. Trying to work things out with her would've been much harder if she didn't.' "I'm Buggy. You know my Captain." At this, she dropped any hostility but narrowed her eyes at his nose.

Feeling the rage swell within him, he forced himself not to blow up. "Would you please…stop staring. At. My. Nose?" Slightly taken aback, she smiled and apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've just never seen a nose quite like yours. It suits you very much."

Not knowing whether or not to get angry or just take it as a compliment, Buggy settled for turning a light shade of pink and muttering under his breath. She had said it with a smile and in such a sincere voice, which made it all the more confusing.

"Would you like to come inside? I've just finished making breakfast and tea. Roger was supposed to come over, but he never showed up." His blood ran cold at the thought of his Captain finding out any of his plans to take away the mother of his child, even if it was only to protect her, had him in a hurry.

"Yes, thank you!" He shook in terror. The Captain and his Nakama are like family, if you hurt them in any way, you'd pay dearly no matter who you were. But something like this was unprecedented. In the five and a half years that they'd been sailing together no crew member had ever hurt any other crew member. There was no basis for what the Captain might do.

Sitting at the kitchen table across from Rouge Buggy was still shaking a little. "Is it too cold in here? I can close some of the windows if you'd like." He shook his head "N-no. I-I-I'm fine." Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it he gathered up his courage.

"You're in danger." She only looked at him with the same look as before. "Am I right to assume that your baby is the Captain's?" He wanted to be certain before he risked his life for her. Not that what she said would automatically be true, but it would give him some semblance of reassurance.

She nodded her head, wanting to see where the young man before her would take this. "Then you know the stakes. The World Government, The Marines, other pirates, and any others who would use you to satisfy their thirst for blood. You'd be tortured in the worst possible way."

He wanted to play it up; full dramatic effect would be needed to convince her. He could already see it in the look she was giving him. The same one his Captain often gave when he was determined to do something Buggy thought to be foolish.

"What would you say if I asked you to leave this island with me?" She chuckled "I would say that's a pretty bold move for someone so young." Buggy nearly passed out. "N-no! I didn't mean it like that. I meant it as you and I leaving this island to hide out until the marines stop looking for you."

She dropped her smile. "No. I will not run from anybody. Not even them." Buggy felt like breaking something. He hated when people didn't see reason. Damn carriers. "Fine. Then I hope you and your baby don't die. I hope you aren't tortured and I hope you have a plan in case they do find you because they will and no one will be able to help you."

That struck a nerve. Buggy watched as she got up to slap him. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't interested. His body disassembled and reassembled on the other side of the room. "Listen to me, they will find you. You aren't safe here and won't ever be again unless you come with me. You must go into hiding!" She slammed her fist on the table and yelled: "I WILL NOT HIDE!"

Buggy had had enough. He tried, no one could say he didn't, so if she didn't want to be safe and live long enough to see the brat grow up, that was her prerogative. It was out of his hands now. He got up and headed out the door reaching to turn the doorknob to leave.

As he was doing so, the knob turned, and the door was pushed open to reveal Roger and Rayleigh standing in his way. Resisting the urge to run, all he could manage to say was "...shit."