#like Kidd Blackbeard Bonney and Bellamy-

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

(Little mid-timeskip scene with Perona, Zoro, and Mihawk:)

The castle was beautiful, but empty. And quiet. So, so quiet, aaaaalllllllllll the time. Perona had never been able to stand the quiet.

To fill the space, she sang. She wasn't the best at it, but it was better than talking to herself all the time, she thought. Plus, it was comforting, in a way.

Mihawk was typically apathetic about her singing. But Zoro, being the good and proper pirate that he was, often added his voice to hers.

This particular evening, as she set about preparing dinner, she found herself reminded of an old familiar children’s song, one that she remembered her mother singing to her while at work in her own kitchen.

“There was a boy called Johnny King, who used to ride his bike-”

“Up and down this simple country lane,” Zoro joined in, from where he was casually leaning back in his chair at the table.

Perona smiled. “Now he’s gone to sea, to sail under the black flag of death, and- ack!”

She dove for the stove as her pot threatened to boil over. As she did so, Zoro completed the verse-

“And all the people know he won’t come home again.”

“What?” Perona turned back around, having got the situation at the stove back under control, and frowned. “That’s not how it goes.”

“Uh, yeah it is. Didn’t you know?”

“No, no, it’s ‘the people far and wide all know his name’.”

“...Huh? No it isn’t!”

“Yes it is!”

“I’ve heard both,” Mihawk put in before the argument could develop any further. “Zoro’s is the East Blue version, Perona’s is the version here in the Grand Line.”

“Oh. Ohhh, well, I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? Maybe he was a real guy, and he went from the East Blue to the Line.”

“Maybe so,” Zoro nodded. “That would also explain the difference in the two lines themselves. If he died at sea, he never actually would come home again, would he?”

“But then, the other version isn’t necessarily wrong. I mean, we do all still know his name, don’t we?”

“I guess we do.”

“So he must have had at least some success as a pirate. That’s…I don’t know, it’s kind of fascinating.”

"If you say so," Mihawk shrugged.

“That guy Noland ended up being a real guy," Zoro said thoughtfully, "from that North Blue children's book."

"You mean Liar Noland?"

"Yeah, but it turned out that he wasn't lying."

"What," Perona frowned as she began ladling steaming pasta onto plates for each of them, "are you saying you found the lost city, then?"

"Yeah. It was on a sky island."

"...That's a story I haven't heard."

"I'll tell you sometime, then," Zoro said around a huge yawn.

"As long as it's not at the dinner table, please," Mihawk sniffed.

"Hey, Hawkeyes, how come there's no songs or books about you out there?"

"I don't know, but I am thankful that there aren't."

"I bet we could make our own! Mihawk, Mihawk, with blade of steel and, uh, eyes of gold..."

"Lord of the sea and Kuraigana cold," Zoro added with a snort.

"Yes, that's genius! We've got to write this down!"

"On second thought, I believe I will just take my meal in my room."