章節 18: The Past (Part 3)

Ann doesn't know why she did it. Scratch that. She doesn't remember—anything. If she hadn't woken up in Shank's arms with meat pieces stuck between her teeth, Ann wouldn't even believe it happened. "I really like sashimi," sounded so stupid now. Pretending to faint was even worse. Things escalated. Exponentially.

Shank panicked. He thought she had died. This freaked everyone out, and they rushed to fetch Hongo. He was not thrilled to be interrupted in the middle of his work, only to find out she was faking. Now, she's stuck in the infirmary with him, feeling like a lab rat about to be vivisected.

Everybody else was outside, refusing to leave. Time passed, and the footsteps and murmurs in the hallway grew increasingly louder.

"Excuse me for one second. The noises are driving me insane," Hongo said, plonking the medical chart on the bedside table before opening the door. He frowned at the dozens of curious faces outside.

"She's awake and she's fine," he said. They all breathed in relief.

"Now get lost."

His mates erupted in protest. Very loudly. Insisting to see her. Hongo snapped, "I know everyone is worried. But I don't have time for this. So I'm going to count to ten. After that, whoever is still here—" They scampered before he could even finish his threat.

Everyone except for Shank, who stood defiantly in drenched clothes and a soggy puddle at the doorway."As the captain, I, by default, am her guardian. I demand to be in there," he pointed into the room. A ferocious glare from Hongo made him falter and scurry away like the rest.

The infirmary fell into an uneasy silence, broken only by the whistle of the kettle. Hongo calmly made a pot of tea, filling the room with a bittersweet aroma. Ann shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Shank was straightforward and easy to deal with. Hongo, on the other hand, was on another level. Not as smart as Beck, but he always found ways of getting what he wanted.

Hongo set the tray down and poured tea for both of them. Then, he took a tiny vial from his pocket and put two drops of clear liquid into one of the cups.

"Herb extract. It has calming properties," he explained when he saw her alarmed look.

Unconsciously, she shuffled closer to the door. "I'm not stressed. In fact, I've never felt better. The best I've been all week."

Hongo sagged in his seat and smiled tiredly. "It's for me. I've had enough headaches dealing with this lot. Everyone thinks they're invincible until they get a rash on their dicks after fucking cunts," he grumbled. Ann almost sprayed her tea. There was no way she could look at the men's faces without thinking about the rash now.

"Let's get this over with. You—" he wrinkled his nose, "desperately need a bath. Are you a vampire?"

"No! I, uh—I can stay out in the sun all day without being baked." Definitely not a normal human either. Or is it a thing for humans to grow back their heart in this world? Their eyes met, and Ann quickly looked away. No, that's not right. Avoiding eye contact makes her look guilty. She forced herself to look back, her insides writhing.

"Some are day walkers. Mihawk might be one." Hongo bit the end of his pen, eyeing her critically. "No, I don't think so. Vampires have good table manners. You, on the other hand, jumped straight in and gorged on the meat."

"I have great table manners. When I'm—not eating sea king meat. I like sashimi. I can eat sashimi all day." Why was she still defending this? Clearly, it's a lost cause.

He snorted, "Try harder. Nobody is buying the sashimi thing." As always, his bedside manner was atrocious. He had once tied a man to the main mast, yanked the man's pants down, and jabbed a syringe into the man's butt.

"You had nightmares."

He knows about that. Shank was clearly more spineless than she thought. He promised not to tell anyone.

"Lost in your thoughts all week."

What was she supposed to do without the internet?

"Rockstar told me you're hardly able to eat. Lucky Roux worried you're not putting on any weight. Yassop had to stop you from climbing up the crow's nest, to—" He made a slicing motion at his neck. "Building Snake said you break all his quill pens because of muscle cramps. Bonk Punch said your singing would not be forgotten soon. No matter how hard he tried."

Ann wiped the sweat from her brow. Was the room always this hot? She drank the rest of her tea. "Can I have some more tea?"

"You can have mine, I haven't touched it."

"Thanks."

She gulped the entire cup without thinking. Oh crap!

The words gushed out like a case of very bad diarrhea, honest and unfiltered.

"Let's not count them as nightmares. I forget them as soon as I wake up. But what am I going to do with all this time? Other than reading books and staring into space? The food sucks—big time. Everything is either bland or bitter. Ever heard of spice? Sea king meat is, by the way, the only decent thing I've had in weeks! Weeks! Are you trying to fatten me up so you can eat me or steal my organs? Is that why Yassop never lets me up there? And the quill pen is thinner than a chopstick. How can anyone use it without snapping it? Tell Bonk Punch he can go fuck himself!"

What the hell is in the vial? Truth serum?

"Go on," Hongo said, leaned closer with a smirk. Because Hongo was, well, Hongo. She was pretty sure he was enjoying every moment of this. "I swear I won't tell a soul. Patient-doctor confidentiality."

Heh, as if she believed him. Ann shook her head vigorously, clamping her lips tight. She wanted nothing more than to splash him with the hot tea. But Hongo beat her to it, pouring another cup and sliding it over.

Hell no!

Hongo smirked. "It's only going to get worse."

Minutes passed, her mouth growing drier and her throat feeling like sandpaper. Ann was torn between drinking the tea or smacking his medical degree over his head. No, resist. If she opened her mouth, there was no guarantee what she'd say. Argh, it's like a Sahara desert in there. Any longer and her throat was going to be mummified. She jumped across the table and drank the entire teapot.

"I blanked out. I don't know what happened. One moment I was on the ship, the next thing I knew I was—you know, feasting. The sea king meat is really good though. It's a break from the crappy food. I bet if we gave Monster a pan, he'd cook better than Lucky Roux."

Oh. My. God! Can someone please stop her?

Hongo jotted down more notes. "He's going to cry if he hears that, so let's keep it between us. Hmm, a blank episode, nightmares, and an altered sense of taste. Your blood test shows an electrolyte imbalance and anemia. These can be tied together due to blood loss and your brain's response to a traumatic event. But this doesn't explain the other thing."

She bit her fingertips. "There are other things? What thing? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Or good and bad together? This is driving me crazy. Isn't the herb supposed to have relaxing properties?"

"Oh, it does. You'll sleep for hours after this. Nothing bad, it's just your 'presence' that seems to be lacking."

"Presence?"

"Every living thing emits presence. It's the reason why you can feel someone standing behind you without turning around. You kinda feel like a plastic plant over there. If you weren't standing in front of me, I might not notice there's another person in the room. Are you doing this intentionally?" Hongo asked.

Ann swallowed and shook her head. "I—I'm not turning into something weird, am I?"

"No, just a minor issue," Hongo replied. Ann breathed a sigh of relief.

"Though it might freak out other Haki users because they'll think you're sneaking up to kill them," he added thoughtfully. Ann wanted to roll on the ground and cry. How was this not bad?

"How do I turn my 'presence' back on?"

"I don't know. Yassop might have some ideas. Talk to him," he paused, fingers nervously tapping against the table.

"Ann, we're sorry," he said, capturing her with the intensity of his gaze. The crashing waves against the hull and creaking wood faded into the background. Everything peripheral to Hongo's gaze held its breath. "I know this is a lot to ask. You're not here out of your own will. But you're one of us now, so give us a chance and trust us."

Ann felt the weight of his words. Despite her reservations, there was something undeniably earnest in Hongo's eyes. She nodded slowly, afraid of saying anything, fearing the truth might shatter the moment. It was enough for Hongo. He got up, rummaged around the linen closet, and handed her some towels.

"Bath now. You're stinking up my infirmary. Oh, and the drug wears off in a few hours, so don't go walking around and talking to anyone."