章節 17: The Past (Part 2)

Sometimes Ann wondered why Shank ever wanted her aboard his ship. Ann had no skill, no special talent. Nothing. Limejuice and the deckhands strictly refused her help. "Doctor's orders," they said nervously. Yassop didn't need another set of eyes up in the crow's nest. She had zero talent in music according to Bonk Punch. Building Snake had banned her from the navigation room after she broke the fifth quill pen and spilled a bottle of ink over stacks of maps.

Only Lucky Roux insisted Ann would be a great help—urgh, by eating six meals a day with many snacks in between. Secretly, she had a feeling he was trying to fatten her up. Ann had not ruled out the possibility of them keeping her healthy to sell her organs. That left her spending most of her time with the next jobless person on the ship. Who, surprisingly, was the captain himself. They might as well have been joined at the hip.

"Everyone is betting on how many times you will lose tonight. My money is on you losing every round," teased Shank. In a span of weeks, Ann had made many friends and was often invited to poker games. The men were delighted to have someone who was willing to listen to their tales of battle prowess. It was a win-win situation, really. They got to brag, and Ann learned the location of the closest Marine bases.

"I'm not that bad with cards. And they're cheating." The truth was, she had never won a single game. The moment the cards were dealt, her brain went on strike and refused to work.

"Of course they did. Though, nobody needs to cheat you. You wear your emotions on your face," laughed Shank. Ann threw the book she was reading at him out of spite, eliciting a sharp yelp.

"The geography of the Grand Line?" said Shank as he flipped through the pages. "You don't look like the studious type. Tch, the book isn't even accurate. The map of the Sky Island isn't in it."

"That's a real book about geography?"

"Yeah, what did you think it was?"

An epic fantasy novel, like The Lord of the Rings. Things were getting good, too. No wonder the characters never showed up. Wait, does he really mean that or is he just teasing? With Shank, she couldn't really tell.

"We are here, and this is Fwoyo Island," he pointed to a tiny dot on the map. Freedom was close. Hope bloomed in her chest as she excitedly got up from her seat to examine the map. "So we're close. The island is really small, though."

"We're weeks away. Your map-reading skills are worse than Monster's. We have to do something about that," he put it bluntly. Whatever hope had bloomed was squashed like a bug.

"The monkey can read maps?" she said, looking at Monster who was eating a banana next to them. He was huge and must have weighed a ton. How Bonk Punch carried him around without breaking his back was a mystery.

"And navigate. When Limejuice isn't around, he takes over the helm," Shank said proudly. Ann's brow furrowed as she studied his expressions carefully, noticing a slight twitch of muscle on his cheek. "You're lying—."

Something cold splashed on her face. "Ice?" She wiped it off, noticing Shank had grabbed an ice ball before it hit. The temperature plummeted, and thick fog rolled in.

"Hail!" bellowed Yasopp from the crow's nest.

The sky rumbled before hailstones, each the size of an iceberg, fell from the sky. "Reef the sails! Secure the deck! Helmsman, steer us clear!" Shank roared as he pushed her inside.

"Stay inside. Don't come out until I say so."

Ann was starting to get used to life at sea. Yes, the Grand Line's weather was crazy, and Shanks occasionally woke her up in the middle of the night for a pantry raid. Sometimes, she woke him up for one too, much to Lucky Roux's annoyance. After she found her rhythm, life was good. But some days, like today, she would stare for hours into the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friends. It was illogical, and Ann knew that. But she still looked.

A furry hand tugged at her clothing. Monster made an eating gesture and pointed towards the galley. Ann smiled. "Oh, it's time for lunch? Well then, let's go." They had become good friends. She was teaching Monster sign language so she could get back at Shank's constant teasing. It annoyed the hell out of Shank when they communicated with the 'secret hand sign' and left him out of the conversation.

Lucky Roux grinned when he saw her at the doorway. He winked and gestured at the pastry tower on the table before returning to command the kitchen crew. Shank may be the captain of the ship, but the galley is Lucky Roux's kingdom. It sat beneath the lower deck like the heart of the ship, pulsating with the constant clanging of pots and pans, the sizzle of ingredients in skillets, and the jovial chatter of the crew—the only place on the ship that never sleeps.

"We are always open. The deckhands work extra hard when the weather is crazy. A hot meal after a bad storm cheers them up," explained one of the cooks. Hot or cold, the temperature of the food didn't matter when each meal tasted either bitter or bland. Ann pushed the carrot around on her plate, wondering why everyone else could eat with such gusto.

"How's the food treating you?" asked a red-haired man between hearty bites. Ann struggled to recall his name—Rockstar, one of the mates aboard, in charge of handling the sails and rigging.

"It's alright," she said after taking a large gulp of water to wash down the unpleasant taste. He wiped sauce smeared around his mouth. "Really? You look like you can barely swallow the food."

"The carrot is cut into big pieces. I'm struggling a bit to swallow it."

"If you don't like savory food, you can always ask Lucky Roux to whip up something different. He won't mind."

How were these people so perceptive? Ann's feet were blistering from the boots she'd been wearing. Suddenly, Benn appeared, handing her another pair of boots. Ann felt vulnerable in a large T-shirt because the collar was constantly slipping down. Bonk Punch handed her his jacket without a word. The cat-sized Den Den Mushi in her room constantly stared at her, creeping her out. In the dead of night, Shank unexpectedly knocked on her door and quietly removed it.

She was almost thrown off her seat when a shockwave rippled through the ship. "Must've been some rookie trying to challenge Shank again," someone shouted and whooped. Immediately, every face in the galley brightened.

"Alright, bets open. Let's see how long this one lasts. No take-backs, guys," said Rockstar.

"One minute!"

"No, that's stretching it, idiot. Nobody lasted that long. My money is on ten seconds!"

"Two hundred Belly on fifteen seconds. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Everybody darted outside, including the kitchen staff. Curious, Ann followed the crowd. Something smelled good. Heavenly good. It made her mouth water and her stomach growl. Her heart beat faster, blood rushed to her head, logic seemed to cease, and Ann forgot everything after that.

The ship moved at a slow crawl through a narrow passage flanked by towering reefs. Some of the sails had been tucked to give Limejuice more control over the helm. Shank squinted against the glare, unable to see the gap in the reef. They were relying solely on Yasopp's keen eye to navigate. From the crow's nest, he could see the colors of the water miles away and spot a safe route.

Limejuice barked more orders, and Shank knew they were at the narrowest part of the passage.

"Oh god. Please help us," cried a rookie as a crunching vibration ran along the port side of the ship. It could only mean one thing: the hull was kissing the corals. Even a graze from the sharp corals could tear the hull, despite it being made from Adam wood. A sharp snapping sound rang loudly, and everyone held their breath. The ship halted momentarily, then continued its course, and they all exhaled a breath of relief.

But Shank's mind was on another matter. A herd of colossal, cow-like sea kings was grazing on seagrass at the end of the passage. The largest sea king stared him down, nostrils flaring and fangs bared, before it charged. He had no choice but to draw his blade."Shit. It had a baby," Shank said regretfully, watching the colossal sea king collapse.

Beck clapped him on the shoulder. "You did what you had to. Look at the bright side: we've got boatloads of meat for the rest of the journey. Lucky Roux is gonna be thrilled."

"Fight, fight, fight!"

The crowd barged onto the deck, chanting excitedly, eager for some action. Their battle cries turned into groans when Beck barked orders to harvest the meat.

"Oii, stop dwindling and hurry up! Oh, Ann, sorry I almost bumped into you. Why don't you go back inside? It's not a pretty sight," said Shank. He turned to address a crew member. The next moment she disappeared from his sight. Everyone was too busy to notice, until it was too late.

"Man overboard!" roared Bonk Punch before he dived overboard.

"Seriously! The water isn't even choppy. Who's the fool that fell this time?" Shank cried as he weaved around the crew and peered over the railing. His heart stopped. Shank didn't even realize he had hoisted himself over the railing until he plunged into the water. Frantically, he swam towards her, rising in worry as he saw Ann laughing madly and gorging on the meat like a starving animal. But Bonk Punch reached her first.

"Shank! Something's wrong," he desperately called out.

Shank clambered up the beast's carcass as fast as he could with one arm. Closer, Shank's heart pulled him to his knees. He cupped her face with his rough hand, wiping the gore from her cheek. Ann was rambling incomprehensible words, her eyes rolled back to whites before she clamped her jaws shut and went rigid. For the first time in his life, Shank didn't know what to do or what to say.

He looked at Bonk Punch and the horrified faces of his men. Nobody said a word. Nobody moved. Desperate, he hugged her tightly, feeling the irregular heartbeat inside her. Dread started to rise up, which he forcefully swallowed. Calm down. Shank closed his eyes tightly. He counted to ten, then exhaled a shaky breath.

"Hey, remember when we first met? I was humming my captain's favorite song. It's called 'Binks' Sake'," he whispered in her ear. No response. He pushed on and sang the song, even though he could hardly get the words out. Finally, she stirred and groggily looked around as if gradually surfacing from a dream.

"I—,I really like sashimi," she stammered before fainting.