"A basket? What the fuck did I find, Moses?"
There really was crying coming from the small basket, and when the eighteen-year-old lifted the lid, he saw the baby. The crying infant fell silent at the sight of the light and stared at the flames with wet, wide eyes.
"Hey, what kind of circus are you running here, yoi?"
He looked around, trying to find the child's parents or anyone who might know where the baby had come from, but the beach was empty. The infant, tinted an unnatural blue by the glow of the flames, remained quiet, absorbing the strange sight, and Marco wondered what he was supposed to do. It was not exactly common to find a baby on an empty beach, and this little thing had been screaming a moment ago, which probably meant it was hungry… maybe he should just leave it alone? But it would also be strange to take it with him. What was a baby supposed to do on a pirate ship? On the ship of Emperor Whitebeard?
"Hey, do you have a name?"
It was idiotic to ask an infant about anything, but when a man has a hangover he is allowed a lot of foolishness. The baby began to squeak and wiggle again, and when Marco disappeared from its sight as he leaned over the basket, it immediately let out a warning cry.
"All right, all right, don't cry! I'm still here, yoi."
He rolled aside some of the rags the child was wrapped in, and the clever little creature instantly took advantage of the situation and grabbed his finger, squeezing its tiny fist around it with all its fragile strength. Marco automatically pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and stared at the baby's small hand with wide eyes, while feeling a strange warmth spreading somewhere inside him. The child squeaked again, just like before, but it refused to let go of his finger.
"Well… we need to figure out what to do, don't we? Your parents didn't want you? What are you doing here at this hour, yoi?"
The little one remained silent and listened carefully without understanding a single word, but it liked the stranger's voice. It also liked the blue flame and the company. After all, how long could someone sit alone in the dark inside a closed basket? The infant's patience, already small, had been completely exhausted, and now this strange stranger had appeared and brought light with him.
Marco finished his cigarette, sighed several times, and decided that his father would know best what to do. He lifted the baby out of the basket, discovering along the way that the screamer was a girl, and with his face slightly scrunched up he began walking toward the harbor, holding the child somewhat clumsily but instinctively pressing her against his chest.
The only possible scenario in his head at that moment was titled "Ask the locals if someone has lost a baby," but with each step he wondered more and more intensely who could leave a child alone like that, and if those people got the baby back, wouldn't they simply abandon her again soon after?
"But leaving a kid on the beach like that instead of giving it to someone… no, I understand everything, an unwanted pregnancy or something, but people should at least take responsibility."
On the Moby Dick, everyone who had gone into port the previous night had already gathered, and Edward Newgate, the most powerful man in the world, was standing beneath the main mast and looking toward the harbor, clearly waiting for Marco. When the eighteen-year-old finally appeared on the gangway, first Thatch noticed him, then Jozu, and finally the Emperor himself, whose voice rolled across the deck like thunder.
"What do you have in your hands, son?"
The strong North Blue accent vibrated in everyone's ears, and the deep bass of his voice drowned out the noise around him.
"A girl."
The short answer immediately triggered a wave of surprised shouts and comments from the crew.
"Well, you were the first one to father a kid, and now we're going to raise it?" Thatch mocked mercilessly, still annoyed that Marco had ended up somewhere without him, and for that he received nothing more than a very cold look.
"And does it look like mine? I found her on the beach."
Then Marco turned toward his father.
"There was nobody there except me and her, so I thought you'd know what to do with this, old man."
The baby let out a warning cry as if she understood the conversation, but when Marco carefully placed her in his father's large outstretched hand, she immediately gurgled happily and squeaked several times.
Newgate's yellow eyes studied the tiny creature, who was no bigger than a loaf of bread, and something flashed in those eyes, followed by a stubborn expression on his serious face beneath the great white moustache.
"You're sure there was nobody there?"
He did not take his eyes off the child as he watched her clumsy little movements, and when the baby's blue eyes suddenly looked straight at him, he seemed to run out of breath for a moment. The girl laughed again and kicked happily, showing her toothless gums in a wide smile.
"No. If there had been anyone there, I wouldn't have taken her with me."
Silence fell over the ship as everyone on board turned their attention to the captain. Thatch snorted irritably under his breath but did not yet dare to speak louder, and only when Edward suddenly smiled at the girl did he finally burst out:
"So what? We're taking the brat to sea now?!"
"That would be dangerous for her," Jozu said thoughtfully, turning his head and scratching his shaved scalp while glancing at Marco.
"Do whatever you want, I can take her back to the beach or to the town, but I'm not going to entertain her, yoi!" Marco threw his hands up in resignation. "Nobody is playing babysitter on a pirate ship, people!"
"Yeah? Then why the hell did you take her from there in the first place, you bastard?" Thatch stepped closer and jabbed his index finger into Marco's sternum, clenching his teeth angrily as he stared at his friend with cloudy eyes.
"Because you left me God knows where, and I'm not you, and at least I'm trying to help…"
"Pff… help?!" Thatch barked out a laugh. "You brought a baby onto a pirate ship, that's help, you good Samaritan?! Help who?!"
Marco grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer, his breath hissing through clenched teeth.
"What the hell do you want from me? You dumped me somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I woke up on the beach without money and without cigarettes, my head hurts like Jozu smashed it with a hammer… you'd better start worrying about your own situation, yoi."
He snorted and shoved the pirate away, clearly having no desire to start a real fight.