The moment Hongo stepped into the navigation room, conversations ceased and worried faces turned to him. Shank looked like shit. Eyes red, still in his damp clothes, and stinking the entire room with the scent of a butcher shop. Probably, going to feel even shittier tomorrow morning by the look of a half-empty bottle of wine on the table.
"How is she?" Shank blurted impatiently.
A surge of power rumbled through the ship, a weight settled on his shoulder making him feel like he was carrying a mountain. Hongo pulled the chair, deliberately scraping it against the wooden floor, before taking a seat at the central table cluttered with maps and navigational tools. Shank winced at the screeching sound and suddenly Hongo found it was easier to breathe. "Fine. Sleeping," he answered, massaging a creak on his neck.
The stricken line across Shank's face disappeared, and he sagged in relief. "Okay. That's good. Very good. What about, you know, the whole, umm, the, the—"
"Abnormal behavior."
A wrong choice of words apparently. Loud protests erupted across the table. Shank raised his hand, and silence befell the room once more, though a few grumbles persisted.
"Abnormal! Nah, hardly. Eating sea king meat is perfectly normal. Nothing wrong with showing a little bit of enthusiasm with food that you love," Shank denied everything without missing a beat.
"She tripped and fell into the sea, we're worried she's hurt," Beck added. The rest of the senior officers nodded in agreement. Hongo pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling an impending headache. The amount of denial circulating in the room was enough to put the World Government to shame. It's late and he was too tired to give a fuck.
"Fine. Call it whatever you want. The 'not abnormal behavior', nightmares, altered sense of taste are probably reactions to previous traumatic experiences. Other than that, anemia and mild electrolyte imbalance. I've already prescribed some medication. In the meantime, no strenuous activity." He flipped through his notes, seeing if he missed anything else, his eyes lingering a second too long on the last page. Big mistake, because that was all Yassop needed to sniff something was wrong.
"Don't fuck with us. You're hiding something, so out with it," said Yassop, his eyes narrowing in a way that said he was going to chomp on that bit like a bulldog until he got the answer.
"I'm not fucking with you guys. Just need more time to figure out why her heartbeat is abnormally slow." Soft murmurs erupted in the room, worried looks were exchanged once more. Hongo sighed; this was why he didn't bring this out in the open.
"Fuck, is she fine or not? He sounded like my ex-wife," someone mumbled discontentedly from the back, earning a few chuckles and nods.
Hongo crossed his arms. "Come on, all of you can't be this thick. I said the kid is fine as long as she doesn't do anything strenuous."
"Maybe she did it purposely. Slows the heartbeat to suppress her presence," a bassy and rough voice suggested. They all turned to look at Building Snake. He was a man of few words. When he spoke, it was wise to listen.
"Except, she can't use Haki," Shank said quietly.
"Yeah, about that, sorry I forgot to mention it, boss. I think she can, at least subconsciously. Back on the island, she led me out of the forest straight to the beach. Said her teacher, Dave, taught her how. He's from America," Lucky Roux apologized sheepishly. The room was filled with puzzled expressions. None of them had ever heard of America.
"How good?" asked Beck.
"Maybe at the same level as Yassop when we first entered the New World," Lucky Roux replied, making multiple eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Whistles and murmurs spread across the room.
"Can she fight?" someone asked.
"Dunno. Only one way to find out," said Lucky Roux. Every single soul in the room was suddenly occupied with the navigation charts on the table. Even Lime Juice, who couldn't navigate to save his life, pretended to study the maps intently.
"For fuck's sake, the doctor says no strenuous activity," said Shank. His expression had morphed into a mix of worry and irritation.
"Coddle her all you want," said Beck evenly. "Seas are not the place for the weak."
Shank grinned, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. The discussion was beginning to erode what patience he had. "I fucking will. Why would she need to do anything? When a handsome, rich, and strong man is there to protect her," he spat out. His crew made faces, before bursting into laughter, calling their captain an overconfident asshole.
Beck laughter softened into a chuckle,"Handsome my ass. It's a miracle we're not blind from seeing your ugly mug every day. Moving on." He unfurled a series of detailed maps across the table.
"She wants to go home."
Hongo's words snuffed out the smiles from everyone. Tact had never been his forte. They all liked her. He got that. Because when she's around, Shank returned to his carefree self.
After Shiki, everything changed. In one day, their captain became one of the most powerful men in the world, trading that power for the most important treasure a pirate ever has: his freedom. Shackled to the vast territory, allies, and people he had to protect, Shank's smile lost its wattage every day. His subjects looked at him either in awe or in fear. Their captain never said it, but they knew he missed the good old days.
The kid, she didn't give a shit about Shank's emperor status. Treated him like he was any other man. Sometimes, Hongo caught her rolling her eyes at Shank like he was a big idiot. Shank could tease her all he wanted, but he better watch his back because Ann would find ways to get even. Her presence lifted a weight from Shank's shoulders. He drank less, laughed more, and slept much better. Maybe that's why, when Shank decided she was part of the crew, nobody said a single word. But Ann didn't want to stay, and it's not right to keep her.
Hongo held his breath, belatedly anxious he'd gone too far. Shank said nothing for a moment, his eyebrow lowered, mouth bent in a deeper scowl. Finally, he shifted forward in his seat. "She is home. Unless anyone knows where America or Japan are?"
"That's not the point," Hongo shot back, a hint of frustration in his voice.
"We'll get nowhere arguing about this. Beck, proceed with the briefing,"ordered Shank.
Hongo opened his mouth to protest, but clamped it shut after Beck subtly shook his head. Not the right time to pursue this, okay. Got it. Message well received. "Make it short. I can't stand sitting next to this stinky bastard," he grumbled.