7 years ago~
It's been a few days since you accepted the offer for the position of the Shichibukai and the plan is still in motion. You were sailing through the calm belt to one of the islands to restock your supplies and explore the town.
Once you reached the shore, you sensed someone and used your observation haki to find their location. Once you found it, you walked towards the location.
The figure was hunched back in a dark alleyway and it was obvious that they were bleeding judging by the smell of blood.
You moved towards the figure slowly so as not to scare them.
"Hey, are you ok-"
But before you could speak, the figure tried to slash you but you dodged it.
"Woah, calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you"
"Go away. This is none of your business"
Yea, no. From your doctor's perspective, you're not gonna leave an injured man and die.
"Sorry but I'm not leaving you here to die from blood loss"
The figure was very wary of you and you noticed that they were looking at your weapons. You unsheathed your swords and your spear and threw them out of your reach. They were tensed at first when you unsheathed them but now were pleasantly surprised that you threw them out of reach.
You raised your hands in a surrendering manner. "So, will you let me help you now?"
The figure didn't know why but they felt that you were trustworthy but they could speak, they passed out. When you noticed he hunched over, you moved closer in front of them to inspect the damage.
Your eyes widened when you realized who that figure was. It turned out to be Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai whom you will soon meet at the Shichibukai meeting. He has a large cut across his face and a missing hand. Plus it was a relief he didn't die of blood loss.
Before you move the body, you temporarily stop the bleeding by pressing the acupoints on his body with your pressure needle. Once down, you used your strength to carry the body bridal style to an isolated part of the town.
You went to the pharmacy to buy the medical supplies to fix the man. The cut on his face is quite deep but it's not something you can't fix. You cleaned off the blood on his face with a clean cloth and carefully applied some disinfectant to the large cut. You then grabbed the needle and thread and stitched his face.
You were proud of yourself for the medical lessons with Law. It was pretty useful for once and as for the hand, it's a tough one. The least you could do was wrap around the wound with a clean cloth to stop the bleeding.
It was almost night by the time you were done tending to Crocodile's wounds. Right now he's asleep so that is a good sign. You slowly picked him up and placed him on your ship and sailed to your island. Luckily the calm belt is not that far from here.
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A few days later~
Crocodile came to and woke up on a soft bed. Why is he on a bed? The last thing he remembered was passing out in an alleyway. He looked around and found that he was in a large room with some furniture.
He was about to move when he felt something gripping his hand. He looked down to see you sleeping next to him, holding his hand.
Oh right. The woman who saved him. He tried not to wake you up but it stirred you awake as you slowly opened your eyes and got up.
"You're awake. I hope you're feeling well. You've been asleep for a few days so I was wondering when you'll ever wake up"
"Where are we??" he questioned.
"We're at my house in the calm belt. Luckily it is not so far from the island so I sailed you here to properly treat you" you replied with a smile.
"Why would you help me?? I could be a pirate for all you know" Crocodile stared at you with caution.
You chuckled. "Aren't you talking to one right now??"
He raised a brow. You're a pirate?? How come he's never heard of you or seen your face before?? Crocodile shrugged it off, thinking you're some rookie pirate which is why he has never heard of you before.
"I wanted to help you because I can't just leave you there and die"
He continued to stare at you. From your expression, you don't seem to know who he is nor are you scared of him.
"Right, I haven't introduced myself, haven't I?? My name is (First Name). It's nice to meet you, Crocodile"
Never mind, you do know him. "If you know who I am, what are your intentions when you saved me??"
You just smiled at him. "Well, let's just say that we will meet each other again in a few weeks. It's a surprise tho so I can't tell you"
He looked at you, confused. What did you mean by that?? He will think about those later and look down to examine his body. His left hand is gone.
Oh, wait, his face. He remembered getting a large cut on his face.
"May I have a mirror??"
You nodded and left the room to get a hand mirror and came back to give it to Crocodile.
He inspected his face as he was expecting a large cut but was surprised to see clean stitches across his face, making it look more normal than it was. He put down the mirror and looked at you.
"So (First Name), how long will I be stuck here??"
"Your injuries were pretty severe and you lost a lot of blood. To regain your energy, I'd say you must rest for a couple of days"
Before Crocodile could ask another question, his stomach started rumbling. You raised a brow and started laughing.
"You must be hungry. Well, I am too so I'll go and prepare the food for the both of us" You turned around and left the room to prepare the food, leaving Crocodile in his thoughts.
15 minutes later~
You came back to the room with a tray of one bowl and a plate. You picked up the bowl and gave it to Crocodile. "Here you go. This is something I quickly mixed up for you"
Crocodile took a bowl, seeing how delicious it looked, and ate it. You grabbed your plate and ate your curry rice.
After you and Crocodile finished your meals, he gave the bowl back to you.
"Thank you . . ."
You smiled at him and left the room to clean the dishes. Over the next few weeks, you talked to Crocodile about some things. He knew about you as a Fishwoman(?) and that you have hypersomnia. You told him the reason was that you would sometimes wake up at night due to nightmares about your forgotten memories of the first 16 years of your life so you tend to avoid sleeping at night.
One night, you couldn't sleep again so you got up and walked into Crocodile's room quietly without making a sound. Thankfully, he's still asleep so you sat by the window to watch the starry night. What you didn't expect is that Crocodile is awake and pulled you in, to sleep with him.
"Uhm, I'm sorry for interrupting your sleep if I disturbed you but is it okay for me to sleep here??" you asked.
"If you're sorry, then go to sleep" he grumbled and turned over to the other side.
You were hesitant but you complied and tried to sleep. After a few hours, you were shaking in fear and sweating a lot, panting. Crocodile turned over and saw your shaking form. He sighed and pulled you closer to his chest. You calmed down and made yourself comfortable with this new warmth.
The next morning, you woke up on the bed and it was the first time you had a nice sleep at night. You realized you were hugging Crocodile while sleeping and fell off the bed in shock. He woke up and found you on the floor.
"What's with the noise??"
"Nothing serious. It's just that I'm surprised that I had a good night's sleep for the first time"
He quirked a brow and smirked. "What's wrong?? You like it??"
You laughed sarcastically. "Very funny. You don't seem the type to allow random strangers for close contact"
"And you don't seem the type to sneak into random strangers' rooms"
You chuckled. "Touche"
On the 4th week, you were walking to Crocodile's room to talk to him again but it was empty. The bed sheets were fixed but no sign of him. You look around to find a letter from the corner of your eye. You picked it up and read the contents inside.
Dear (First Name),
If you are reading this letter, that means I have left. I greatly enjoyed our time spent together but I must leave.
I plan on returning your kindness in the future and I hope we will cross paths again when sailing.
This is goodbye for now.
By Crocodile
You smiled at the letter and were glad that he enjoyed the time you spent together. You enjoyed his company too. It wasn't the same quietness in the house without him. You knew that you would cross paths again in the next few days and you were excited to see him again.
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A few days later~
A normal Shichibukai meeting was going well until the new Shichibukai was introduced by Sengoku.
"This is Arsene. She will be known as one of the Shichibukai from now on"
You bowed and greeted them. "It was nice to formally meet you"
You scanned the whole meeting room to look for a certain person. You were shocked to see Mihawk there as well but you will meet him later. Then you found Crocodile sitting while looking at you. You beamed that you finally met him again.
An hour later~
The Shichibukai meeting was over and you found Crocodile was about to leave when you tackled him from behind.
"What are you doing??" he growled.
You giggled. "Crocodile, have you forgotten me already?? Even though I saved you from certain death??"
His eyes widened in shock. "Is this the surprise you were talking about??"
You grinned. "What do you think?? You like it??"
He smirked as he turned around to face you. "Yeah, I do and it's good to see you again, (First Name)"
Back in the present, you smiled softly at the heartwarming memory while you slept with your hat on your face on the way to Alabasta.