Chapter 11

I was sitting out on the deck of the Moby Dick with Ace after the meeting with Whitebeard. Of course, I needed him to carry me up here since I wanted to see the sky (especially after using my Devil Fruit abilities right after waking up) so I was exhausted again.

Ace: Syrup

Me: hmm?

Ace: Thanks for saving Pops. I mean the scene was kind of gruesome but Marco told me that you cured him.

Me: I didn’t do much. Once he let me do operation, it was just a matter of filleting out all the cancer cells and some other stuff in his body that caused him the pain. I mean, it wouldn’t have killed him anyway but having Marco there heal every cut made it much easier. So you should thank him too.

Ace: That Pineapple is too overrated on our ship. I’ve already thanked him enough as our ship doctor. Besides, he’s going to make fun of me for saying a thank you in the first place because that’s the kind of bird he is.

Me: Sounds like an annoying older brother to me.

Ace: You have one?

Me: Too many. Brother Crackers’ always showing off his hard biscuits. Brother Snack is always Sweet Commander this and Sweet Commander that. I swear, someday he’s going to lose that position and he’s going to be sulking for years with how grumpy he normally is.

Ace: Huh, well, Thatch is kind of the pervert in our crew.

Me: I don’t think we have a pervert...would be pretty bad since that’d be incest but I have a brother who takes masturbation to a whole new level.

*spurt!*

Me: Oops, sorry

Ace spilled his drink as I mentioned the M word...but is that really something I shouldn’t be saying? I was already twelve and sis Smoothie already told me everything about it. Not to mention my previous life.

Ace: *cough* *cough*

Me: Brother Daifuku’s Devil Fruit ability makes him rub himself. Kind of a running joke in the family. Just rubbing himself and making a serious face when his opponents are about to fight him, seriously, it’s ridiculous.

Ace: Oh thank god...I thought you actually had an incest crazed brother. I didn’t want to hear but your description made me imagine it...can you get me some bleach please?

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Me: Does bleach put out fire? You should try some salt and sand smoothie. I can get sis to make some for you one day. Those usually kill fire pretty quickly.

I was talking like this but honestly, I felt my heart beating a little faster than normal. Just a tiny bit. Inwardly, I was scolding myself for feeling this way. Sure, he was smoking hot and I do admit I may have fan girl-ed on Ace a tad bit excessively but it was never to the extent of what I was feeling now.

Was it a Stockholm syndrome? Why did I feel this way next to him? Perhaps I came to trust him more than I should have, or perhaps it was the Knight-in-shining-armor effect because of his actions right when I was about to lose consciousness?

Ace: You okay?

Me: Ye—yeah.

I hugged my knees closer to myself as I looked out into the open sea. For once, the Grand line was quiet and free of the crazy weather...perhaps giving me a moment of peace with Ace.

I looked at Ace as I realized he too had a tad bit of a pink face. Maybe he was flushed because of the cold air? He seemed to be flinching awkwardly. I decided to lend him a hand.

Me: It’s pretty obvious you have something to ask or say. Feel free to say it. I’ve heard the weirdest things from Mama so it doesn’t matter.

Ace: Okay...um...then what do you think you would say if the former Pirate King had a son. A living biological son somewhere in this world.

Ahh, the classic Ace question. Never thought I’d be on the receiving end of this question but I already knew how to answer it.

Me: Dunno. Can’t say until I meet him. He might be a pretty nice and cool guy in which case I’ll like him. If he’s a jerk and acts like a typical pirate then I’ll kill him. Why?

Ace: Nothing about the bloodline? Nothing about his relation to his father?!

Me: Well, I have one of the most notorious bloodlines in the entire world and hopefully I’m not too bad, right? Besides, I have 86 siblings who share the same blood and some of them are nice, like I’ve mentioned before. But also, some of them are absolute jerks as well. *smirk* So it doesn’t matter who’s blood flows in me I’ll say.

I smiled my full tooth grin at him as he looked taken aback. Kind of flushed in embarrassment. My guess would be that this was one of the very few times someone outside of the Whitebeard crew had accepted him for who he was...even if they didn’t know that they had done so.

Me: Ace, you alright?

Ace: Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just didn’t expect the answer after all. It’s just that it’s a question I just ask a lot of people and most people just want the kid dead.

Me: Well that’s not nice. It’s not like the kid chose the father or anything.

Ace: Exactly! I mean...yeah, you’re right

Seriously Ace...too obvious. hmm?

Ace: Zzzz

Using this small break as an excuse, I stood up carefully before limping back down below deck. Thankfully, Marco had given me an empty room to use during the duration on my stay on the Moby Dick, which was estimated to be a week.

Me: A Week??!! That’s way too long! Mama will think I’m dead!

Marco: You need that long to heal back up properly. It also takes us that long to go to an island and get you a ship to return to her territory so there’s no other way. You want to use the Den Den Mushi? We’ve never used it before but we do have Big Mom’s transponder snail.

Me: Yes please.

After getting permission from Whitebeard, I got to use his personal snail (which was also much bigger than the average snail for some reason) and connected it to Mama.

LinLin: Mamamama...what do you want Whitebeard?

Me: Mama! It’s me Syrup! Mama, did you receive the wine?

LinLin: Syrup? What are you doing with Whitebeard’s transponder snail? Oh, and the wine was exquisite! Mamamamama!!

Thank god for Mama’s natural stupidity. She’s not even questioning why I’m using Whitebeard’s den-den mushi the moment I brought up the wine.

Me: Well, the chess soldiers probably told you but we got intercepted by the Whitebeard pirates while I was returning with the wine so I held them off while the ship escaped. Long story short, I fought them and...umm...lost to Whitebeard Mama

LinLin: Mamamama!!! So you fought that old turtle?

Me: Yes Mama, I’m healing up right now. Thankfully, after I did Whitebeard a small favor, he agreed to let me return once I’m healed enough. I’ll start heading back in a week and I’ll be back on Wholecake in two weeks Mama. I’m sorry for the delay

LinLin: I’m glad my favorite daughter is not dead. Report back once you return. Ok Syrup?

Me: Yes Mama

With that, the call ended.

Me: Thank you Whitebeard, that did lift some weight off my shoulders. I’m sure some of my family members must have been worried when I didn’t return with the shipment.

Newgate: That is no problem Syrup. You may ask me anytime. Now why don’t you return to your room and sleep? It’s quite late now actually. Do you still have a bedtime?

Me: *pout* I’m not a little child...but yes. Big sis Brûlée forces me to sleep at a specific time each day.

Whitebeard: Gurarara!! That’s what family’s about. Is it not?

Huh…I guess it is.