𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 84 🌞🌞

Shanks was chatting with his crew about their next stop when they saw a person appear on their deck. They frowned, not recognizing the teenage girl with pinkish hair.

"Hey, are you alright?" Shanks approached her while his crew kept a hand on their weapons in case of an attack. "Wow, you're bleeding everywhere." He put a hand on her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the amount of blood seeping from her small body.

Ko turned to him, swaggering a bit before managing to mutter some words. "Sorry..." He bent down to hear what she was mumbling. "-sorry for dirtying your boat, Shanks. Let me sleep a little-"

Shanks frowned before it clicked, "Konan?" As if to confirm his guess, Ko's body morphed back into Konan's before she fainted in his arms.

"Hongo!" he called out for his crew's doctor, feeling some panic creep up when he could barely feel Konan's pulse. Despite his growing panic, he gently laid her on her back, not daring to touch her wounded body any further. "Hongo!"

Hongo walked up to the scene with a frown before gently pushing his captain away. "She's bleeding too much, help me carry her to the infirmary." As much as he wanted to bandage her on the spot, he still had to respect his patient's privacy. And seeing how the blood seeped from her clothes, he had no doubt she had some nasty injuries under her clothes.

"Now out you go," he pushed his captain out before closing the door on his face, if it wasn't such an urgent moment, he would have laughed at his gloomy face. But he had a patient to examine and he didn't need someone to hover over his shoulder in worry.

An hour later, when he opened the door back, he could see Shanks and part of the crew whispering, "Who do you think injured her?" "We should find him and-" a finger swiped across his neck. "Yeah!" Sounds of agreement spread throughout.

Hongo crossed his arms over his chest, a tick mark appearing on his forehead. "What did I say about a patient needing quiet?"

They quickly spread out, disappearing in a few seconds. This was the man who held their lives in his hands when they were injured, pissing him off would come back to bite them in the ass sooner or later.

Only Shanks stayed behind, nervously rubbing his stubble, "Is she...?"

Hongo sighed before nodding, "she is sleeping right now, she will survive." Not without some scars, but that was something that came with being a pirate.

Ever since Shanks had become one of the Four Emperors, very few things caused him fear. Seeing Konan in blood and unconscious was close to the top of his list.

He couldn't help but pace in front of the infirmary, ignoring his crew's words of reassurance. They tried to persuade him to stop worrying and go to sleep without much success.

Benn shook his head, "Give up, he's simply a lost man." With these wise words, he walked away. For as long as he had known Konan, he knew she wasn't one to die so easily, she was strong, incredibly more so than she usually let on. Shanks should know that too, but his emotions clouded his vision.

Indeed, all Shanks could think about was the former scene, where Konan appeared. She was light, too light for her height. Her skin was veiled in blood and yet all she could find to say to him was apologies for the floor. He gnashed his teeth, clenching and unclenching his hand. He was itching to beat up the one who had put her in that state.

"Boss," Lucky Roux mumbled, some beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, "your haki."

Shanks immediately let go, "I'm sorry, I'll go outside." He walked out, groaning as he let himself crouch on the deck.

"You're making for quite the pitiful sight," Benn drawled out, inhaling the smoke of his cigarette. "You know she's not weak. She'll wake up sooner or later."

Shanks heaved a sigh before getting back up, "I know... it's just frustrating."

Benn snorted, he never thought he would see this side of his captain one day. "You're fighting a losing battle."

Shanks looked at him with a frown, "you're enjoying this a tad too much." Indeed, Benn was chuckling at the plight of his captain.

"Well, it's just too entertaining." He turned back to look at the vast sea. "Some of us even placed bets."

"That's-" Shanks wanted to curse them but in the end he just sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do..."

"Don't look at me," Benn snorted, "you're on your own here."

"I'm really not made for this..." Shanks whined, "It wouldn't work, we're always traveling and she likes being on her own!"

"Does she?" Benn asked with a smile. Just because Konan was often on her own didn't mean she enjoyed the loneliness. They couldn't assume to know what was behind her decisions. Though he had an inkling it had to do with her multiple identities, another one of which they had discovered mere hours ago. Judging from the pink hair and the age, it could safely be deduced to be Ko. She didn't cease to surprise him.

"Ugh, I don't know." Shanks pressed his palms against his temples, massaging them.

"Plus, companionships come in all forms," Benn added as an afterword offering some hope before pushing his captain down the deep end. "Assuming she is even interested in that."

Shanks felt like coughing up blood. But in the end, there was nothing he could retort.

"Well then, good luck!" Benn pat his shoulder before walking away.

Shanks rarely felt as helpless as in that moment. He truly didn't know what to do. He didn't want to destroy the relationship he currently had with her, didn't want her to disappear on him the moment he crossed her boundaries. In the end he chose to delay the moment, she was too sick, he didn't want to add to her burden. If Benn heard his thoughts, he would have just called him a coward.