The Jungle Part 12

The Jungle 12

\____-o(X)o-____/​

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I bowed, "Please take care of me."

"Wait, you're the guy that got them together?"

I laughed, "No!"

"Yes." Ami and Makoto deadpanned.

"Okay, only these two. Makoto and Rei met in a completely unrelated way."

"We wouldn't be friends if you hadn't intervened however."

"Oh bull. You're practically sisters if not outright so. At most I sped it up."

Before we could start really bickering, Minako spoke up, "You're really strong."

I snorted, "Barely. And even then, only for the Blues. I'm the weakest of the crew."

"Still stronger than two generals in a straight fight."

"… you call that a straight fight?"

I was suddenly treated to the blonde being very close to me, practically caging me in with her arms on either side, "I want to learn."

Blinking curiously, I looked over at Ami, Makoto, and Rei… and found no solace. They were nodding sagely. "It'd be helpful, you guys have gone to the Grand Line and all."

"I'm certain I remember Missus Florida mentioning that they'd seen locations within the New World at several instances when we were younger…"

Rei just nodded.

"I'm… not getting out of this am I?"

"No."

---​

"Momma…?"

"You'll be staying here on the island while we go out pirating."

"I… um… why momma?"

"Well, you found something to fight for, haven't you, my little prince?"

"I… um…" Unfortunately, the 'dark generals' were only part of the forces on the island. And the girls needed to track it down. They were making amazing progress, I think Ami even had the beginnings of Observation Haki going already, just… fucking hell. But I'd… expected to have to leave with the Patch… "Sorta…?"

"You can stay and play with your friends. You just need to keep up with your training." At which point my momma pulled a book the size of me from the patch, "I have a full list of the appropriate exercises and katas right here!"

"Uh, momma…?"

*wham*

"... ow."

"And you better be done with these idiots by the time we get back or you'll get a spanking!"

"Damnit momma! This is unreasonable!"

She sniffed just a bit, wiping her eyes with her one arm, "We'll be back in six months sweetie! I love you!"

With a grunt, I shoved the several hundred pounds of book off of my chest, "... love you too momma."

… wonder if Rei's grandpa will let me stay with them…

---​

After getting the bodies cleaned up, which Ami knew how to do. Lime and fire amongst other tricks. I was more used to the ocean, where you just… y'know, dumped the bodies. They also gave me the rundown on what was going on.

Usagi and Minako had come to the island together, the two girls were actually sisters. Minako had been friends with Usagi for a short while before there'd been an attack on their home island. Minako's parents had been killed, but Usagi's took her in. And the family had fled to Gin Mireniu to get away from that.

And apparently, right into the same mess, the same group expanding to here.

They hadn't told me the full story of the group all sort of falling together, but these bandits? The girls had literally just been in the wrong place at the right time to stop an attack from them. They'd been using these hybrid creature monsters to terrorize the island and the towns on it, and the girls had sort of fallen into fighting them since the local law enforcement hadn't seemed up to the task.

Why a quintet of teens was the best group on the island to handle these guys? I have no clue. But yeah.

"Gah! I'm faster than you!"

"And stronger, and have more reach, and generally far more physical." I agreed easily, helping Minako back up onto her feet. I had more than a few bruises from the fucking gauntlet of miniskirted warriors, but Minako was doing a fair bit worse. She'd insisted on a match in between every other scout in the spars. I was doing way worse than I had at the star though, I was panting and red-faced, my stamina was comparative shit, and she was fresh as a daisy outside of the bruises. "I'm predicting your attacks."

"I use a weighted spiked chain!"

"That you know where it's going. Therefore, I know where it's going."

"… you're reading my mind?!"

"Functionally–"

*whack!*

"GACK! What the hell girl?!"

"Stay out of there!"

"I'm not seeing yoru memories or anything! Holy crap! I'm just getting glimpses of intent by listening with Observation Hak–" *whack!* "Gah!"

"Stay out of there too!"

"I was going to teach you!"

Her hand froze mid-smack.

"I could… read the intentions of people…?"

I sighed in relief since she didn't seem to be ready to hit me again, "Yes."

At which point she started to drool, a distant look in her eyes, "… even boys…?"

I gaped even as Makoto burst out, "Good god Minako!"

Usagi facepalmed, "Don't you think of anything else?!"

Even Rei frowned! "I must admit to an amount of… disapproval."

"It… doesn't really work like that…" I had to pause, "… I think."

The blonde's eyes shone with determination, "It will!"

… I didn't really have the information to say otherwise, even as I desperately wanted to.

Thankfully, Ami broke into the honestly discomforting gleam in Minako's tone and eyes, "Still, you can teach us that? As well as how to block blades with your bare skin?"

Not well enough it seems, because she immediately pointed at me with a grin, "And turn roses into deadly weapons!"

"I'd like to do that… it'd really be a weapon of love and justice…"

"Usagi!"

Honestly, if it weren't for my Haki, the girls would've been able to hand me my ass in any one on one confrontation. And here I was going to be teaching them what little I knew of Haki.

… oh fuck I was gonna regret teaching them this, wasn't I?

… probably, yeah.

Minako seemed to take that chance to look at their leader, "By the way, Usagi?"

"Mhm?"

"Is there something wrong with your back? Jacob got you there once and you were down for the count."

Makoto crossed her arms, "Yeah, I'd been meaning to ask about that…"

"I… well…" she looked down, fiddling with her thumbs for a moment, "I have been meaning to tell you guys… though…" her eyes flicked up to me before looking at the girls that'd known me before.

"He's fine." The brawler rolled her eyes.

"While he can be insufferable, he is trustworthy." Rei noted, tucking another arrow back into her quiver.

"He's not great at keeping secrets, but he's not bad." Ami noted, reloading her pistol.

I blinked, "… I take offense to that last one."

Blue eyes met mine as she raised an eyebrow at me, "I knew you were a pirate pretty quickly after meeting you."

"I was fucking six and you've got an IQ of at least two hundred. That doesn't count."

Ami frowned, but it was the green-attired brunette that spoke, "No, you're not that great at keeping secrets. You explain too much."

Rei nodded serenely, "I must agree with my sister."

"Damnit girls!"

Usagi giggled just at that.

---​

The five of us shared a glance at the obviously uncomfortable blonde leader of the group.

We'd all gathered together after she'd gone to get, something.

It was Minako that broke the silence, "Alright, so… what is it Usagi?"

"Promise you won't hate me."

"Oh Usagi…" Makoto stepped towards her friend.

I rolled my eyes, "No."

As one, the girls spun on me, "What?!"

I'd crossed my arms in front of my chest, refusing to back down, "I refuse to promise something like that. Because it's stupid. Of course we're not going to hate you. I've known you for only a day or two now and I already know without question that there's nothing you could be hiding that'd make me hate you."

That apparently shocked the girls, though more than a few weren't happy with me. Usagi just gaped like a fish for a moment before looking down, "O-Oh…"

"So," shifting uncomfortably from the array of glares, I continued, "Seriously, don't be afraid of any of us hating you for whatever it is."

Her face turned red from embarrassment, "… um… okay…" She turned around, making me tilt my head in curiosity- is she removing her top?!

I stiffened, blinking a few times as she untucked her top from her miniskirt.

She paused, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, her shoulders bunching up in fear, "… promise…?"

"Usagi." I said with an eyeroll, "Unless you're somehow hiding that you're a remorseless mass murderer then no, we're not going to hate you." The girls around me smiled just a bit at that, staying focused on Usagi's back.

While my cheeks heated up in spite of myself as more of her pale skin was revealed, damn hormones, I stayed calm and quiet as Usagi nodded and started to lift the hem of her shirt slowly, working it upwards. The white material stopped at the base of her rib cage as Usagi hesitated, "Um…"

The other girls and I shared some confused glances before Minako asked, "What is it?"

"… Florida is a boy."

We collectively facepalmed. "Yes, Usagi, I'm a boy. If you're wearing a bra then it's no worse than a bikini."

I was actually just a bit worried now… Was it a brand of the celestial dragons…? No, that didn't seem likely… but… fuck, I knew I didn't give a shit, but what about the other girls? Like, ugh, it was a stupid worry, they were her friends, hell, Minako was her adopted sister, but some part of me was still terrified of that possibility.

"Oh… okay…" she fiddled with the hem of her shirt briefly before raising it-… an inch before she stopped. "Do wraps still work?"

"Usagi!" we all groaned. Despite that though, the tremor of fear was clear.

Makoto slugged me in the arm, "You just want to see her without her top!"

Wincing slightly, I rubbed my bicep, "Hey, I'm not disliking the view but she keeps going at this pace and she's going to turn it into a strip tease!" While Minako giggled, the other girls all blushed, and I could even see the back of Usagi's neck turn bright red.

"H-Hey!"

"What?" I crossed my arms over my chest, the snark had been automatic and rather inappropriate even by my standards. There was a brilliant heat to my cheeks as I looked away in embarrassment, "It's true!"

Usagi coughed before shuffling her feet, taking a deep breath and then tugging her shirt off, tossing it to the side, her hands fisting at her sides and trembling just a bit as she stood there with her back to us.

"Wings?!"

That was enough to drag my face back to the blonde's back, making me blink a few times at the little, white, and very real wings that were there, "Huh… I had no idea you were a skypian."

Usagi shifted her weight on her feet, her arms wrapping around her stomach as she continued to look away, "I know, I'm a freak…"

Rolling my eyes, I started to walk forward even as Makoto said, "Usagi, you're not a freak."

"Just a teensy bit," I said with a hint of teasing, and I could practically hear the grinding of teeth.

"Jacob!"

"The hell-?!"

"Not like that," I said with an eyeroll as I came to a stop behind Usagi… poor girl was shaking… I reached out and gently set a hand on her bare shoulder, feeling her stiffen. I let my hand rest against her until she started to relax, trying to ignore the burning glares behind me, "I've only heard of your skin tone on a skypian once before, so just a little weird." I gave her shoulder a squeeze, "So I'd say you fit right in."

"Not the time." Makoto grumbled.

"Oh…" the blonde looked down, her arms tightening around her stomach, and I could see the wings themselves shifting beneath the bindings as she asked in a very small voice, "They're… they're not ugly…?"

That drew me up short, and Minako voiced what we were all thinking, "… what?"

"Ugly! Hideous! Freakish! Inhuman! Monsterous!"

"Usagi!" Minako shouted her friend down, "Why would they be ugly?! You look like a freaking angel! A chubby angel–"

"H-Hey-!"

"But an angel!"

Makoto pumped her fist, "Yeah!"

"What would make you come to that conclusion?" Ami said, shaking her head.

"I must agree with our friends. Your wings are most certainly not hideous."

"Gonna have to agree with the crowd here. Your wings are far from ugly. Though…" I trailed off as I looked at the half crushed, dirty, and ill kept wings, held tightly against her back by the bindings. A small frown crossed my face, "Though the way you seem to have been taking care of them, they look pretty bad right now. When was the last time you preened them?"

Satisfied that I wasn't about to say anything monumentally stupid, the other girls had gathered around, partially to get a closer look at Usagi's wings, though Makoto was giving me a small glare even as the pig-tailed blonde asked, "Um… preened…?"

"… you don't know what preening is?" I paused, reminding myself that I'd never personally interacted with Skypians, culture was a finicky thing after all, "I mean, straightening your feathers and pulling broken ones and cleaning the wings, do you call it something else?"

"N-No… I haven't done that…"

That made me frown, "Never?"

"N-No…"

"T-That's like never brushing your hair!" Minako gaped.

"Or never trimming your nails!" Makoto added.

"Or never sorting your shoe collection!" Rei actually raised her voice to say.

"Or never sorting your test-tubes!"

We all paused to look at Ami there for a moment, who looked at us in confusion, "… what?"

Shaking my head, I raised my hand, "Okay, show of hands, all in favor of fixing this?"

"Aye."

Usagi just sort of… stared at us, gaping like a fish, "… what?"

"We're going to clean up your wings," I said simply, taking off my jacket and throwing it down across the grass, the silk lining facing upwards, leather down, "Take a seat, seriously, those have to be super uncomfortable."

"I…" Usagi brought her arms in front of her chest, looking over her shoulder at us with a complex expression of surprise, hope, and embarassment, "Really?"

"Really really."

"Oh…" she started to smile, and I felt a lot better seeing that. I barely knew her, hell, she didn't actually talk much unlike her counterpart from the show, but she was a complete sweetheart. But that shaky, barely there smile still seemed like the sun peeking out from behind clouds, "Okay…"

She settled down on the jacket, and I moved to sit cross legged behind her as she folded her legs to the side due to her miniskirt. The other girls came over as well, Minako asking, "So… she's a Skypian?"

"Looks like it," I said as Usagi and I settled down.

There was a contemplative look on several faces before the girls, as one, looked to Ami, Minako asking, "What's a Skypian?"

There was a silence that, to my surprise, was not filled by Ami. I looked up, my hands halfway out towards Usagi's back, finding my blue haired friend looking at me as she took a seat. "Ah…?" Oh, yeah, shit, forgot that the sky islands had been gone quite a while ago, "Ah. Skypians are another form of humans, like the Long Leg tribe and the Long Arm tribes or Giants. They have these small wings like Usagi's got… by the way, I'm going to have to undo your bindings to work on your wings, okay?"

"Mhm." Dumpling Head bobbed her head with the small sound, covering her chest.

Reaching out, I began to slowly undo the wrappings she had around her chest, getting a small giggle from the blonde as I messed with the knot just beneath her armpit, "They're pretty rare even in the Grand Line since most of the islands they live on were knocked up into the White White Sea, but they're basically unheard of here in the Four Blues. Sorry, forgot about that last bit."

"Is… is that bad?" Minako took up a spot beside me on my jacket, and she gave no fucks as she sat cross legged, miniskirt or not. Stupid hormones. We're all still jailbait.

"Not really?" I said, loosening the cloth but pausing, "You're going to have to let it fall Usagi, don't worry, I won't peek, tempting though it may be."

I smiled a bit at the redness that creeped across the back of Usagi's neck at that even as she let go of the bindings and let it fall slightly with a small nod, releasing her two small wings. I think that they'd be a brilliant white if they were cleaned better… reaching out I gently straightened the wing out, it had three joints to it as I'd expected and was only about half the length of her arm, "Skypians are just rare here. It's nothing good or bad, just unusual. I'm surprised to see one here."

"What are the differences?" Ami asked as she took a seat on the grass on the other side of me from Minako, her eyes locked on Usagi's little wings.

"Yeah, can she fly?" Makoto asked as she flopped down on the grass nearby as I began to slowly run my fingers through the feathers, radiating outwards from the bone out through the width of the wing, carefully since I didn't know how she'd react.

"No." I paused to clarify, "At least, I've never heard of a skypian able to fly on their own." Usagi's little wing flexed in my hand and I combed my fingers through her feathers… actually, it was only kinda structured like a bird's wing, and there was a good bit more down on her wing than on the birds I'd studied… "This is actually the first time I've seen a skypian in person, I've only read about them before in the grand line. And aside from the obvious? I'm not sure."

Pausing, I gave a soft tug, pulling a bent feather out. I froze as Usagi twitched, immediately asking, "You okay?"

The sigh of relief that she let out eased my worries, "Yeah…"

"You… you plucked a feather?" Makoto asked incredulously, a very warning look on my much larger friend's face.

"Mhm," I held the feather out towards her with a small smile, "See? This thing's bent as hell." She gingerly plucked the feather from my grip, turning it over in her fingerless gloves as I asked Usagi, "Did that hurt?"

She shifted about some, still covering her chest as her wings flexed a bit, "Just a little bit, sorta like plucking a hair. But…" she grinned over her shoulder at me, getting a smile from me in return, "It itched a lot. But when you pulled it, it was…" her brow furrowed in thought as she tried to find a way to describe it to us wing-less folks, "It was like popping a joint, it hurt just a bit and then it was so much better."

"Good, you've got a lot of them, so we're gonna need to do that a lot. Didn't want to hurt you." I ran my fingers through her down, brushing the feathers straight. My fingers found another bent feather, and I tugged it free.

"Do you think she's got hollow bones?" Ami asked.

"We'd have to weigh her and compare her weight to one of you girls–"

"And not forget that she's chubbier~" Minako said far too gleefully.

Usagi's head snapped around, "Hey!"

Rolling my eyes, I continued, "But I'm thinking the answer is no since I've never heard of a Skypian flying."

Ami nodded before continuing, "Though I am curious… Usagi, is your spit waxy?"

The question made the girls aside pause, and it took me a moment to make the connection. That pause was enough for Makoto demand, "… what kind of question is that?!"

"A reasonable one?" I noted with an amused grin before explaining what I'd picked up on, "Birds have waxy spit to coat their feathers to water-proof them. I wouldn't be surprised either way, knowing the Grand Line, but it's a legitimate question."

"Um… I don't know how it compares?" Usagi said as she glanced at Ami, slightly weirded out, "My spit is my spit…?"

Ami pouted, obviously not happy with that answer.

With a shrug, I reached out around her to hold a hand palm up in front of her, "Spit then."

"Eewwwww!" the girls all recoiled almost comically, making me roll my eyes.

"Oh come on! I'm a pirate, blood and guts kind of make a little spit pointless. Besides, if it is waxy, I need to use it to fix up her wings."

Even as Ami nodded, the other girls looked at me in confusion. Usagi looked over her shoulder at me, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "Really…?"

"Yes… I'm surprised you don't preen… this has got to be uncomfortable what with these feathers broken and bent and scrunched…"

"My momma's were removed when she was little…" the blonde girl said, shifting about some, her wings flexing slightly beneath my hand, "She didn't know how to do anything with them… and when I was born with them my dad insisted I was allowed to keep them." She sighed in what my brain immediately called 'extreme drama mode', "My dad loves my mom so much that he wanted a piece of her past to live on in me even if it made me a freak."

Makoto, Minako, and Usagi all sighed wistfully, and I could even see Rei smile subtly from where she stood.

Still, teasing aside, I had to point out, "Not a freak, just different."

My brunette friend slugged me in the arm, "What, no more crap?"

"Messing with her is one thing," I said with a small smile, "Especially when I think she's being silly, like, this making us hate her? That's crazy talk. But she isn't a freak and should not think that." Still, I gave my outstretched hand a flex, "Now seriously, spit."

Usagi wiggled her jaw about some… what's the word for that again…? Masticating…? before spitting into my palm as directed. I brought the hand back around and rubbed the spit between my fingers, "Huh, yeah, definitely waxy."

"I'm really not a freak…?" the blonde with the unusual hair style asked in a small voice, making my chest ache just a bit.

"Usagi!" Minako almost exclaimed, "No, you're not a freak!"

"Jacob is knowledgeable and well-traveled," Ami said from my right, the smile obvious in her tone "I highly recommend believing him when he says that you're not a freak."

"This is legitimately every day shit in the Grand Line." I noted.

The blonde almost shrunk in on herself, and I could see some color spread through her cheeks as she smiled just a bit, "Thanks girls…"

Her spit felt weird, but eh. Clapping my hands together and smearing it about, I began to run my fingers back through the feathers of her left wing.

"Ew." Makoto said simply.

"Says the tomboy," I fired back with a smirk.

"Which should tell you that it's nasty," my tall friend said with an equal look.

"It's just spit, it's in your mouth all the time," I said, plucking another bent feather.

Movement beside me made me glance over at the now kneeling Rei, who'd wedged herself between myself and Minako. The black-haired girl had taken up a perfect seiza position only inches away from my right side, "Mm?"

"What are the principles of this… preening?"

I blinked once in mild surprise at the question from the stoic girl but shrugged, turning back to the efforts, "Straighten the feathers out so they roughly line up, pull any bent or broken feathers, get any dirt out of them. It's sort of like brushing the tangles out of hair, but you pluck the split hairs."

"I see." Rei nodded serenely before calmly and deliberately reaching around Usagi's right side to hold out her own right hand in front of the blonde… exactly the same way I had previously on her other side. It took me just a second, but I shot a surprised glance over at my stoic friend as she mimicked my previous action. Her face was completely unchanged as she waited for Usagi to realize what she was asking for.

"Rei…?" Usagi asked curiously, looking over her right shoulder, "What are you…?"

"You have two wings. Jacob is only capable of working on one at a time." She said simply.

"I…" I couldn't see from this angle, but I could hear the gaping in her tone, just as much as I felt like doing, "Really?"

The black-haired girl said nothing, simply giving a small flex of the fingers of her outstretched hand.

I could actually feel a shiver go through Usagi through my hands on her left wing, watching her bottom lip tremble as she looked over her shoulder at Rei, tears gathering in the corners of her big blue eyes. She quickly looked away and let out a little sniffle before spitting into Rei's hand.

In a motion that almost looked like a prayer, Rei spread the waxy saliva across her hands before getting to work on Usagi's right wing with far more grace and delicacy than I was using. The blonde said nothing as she almost trembled, holding her hands across her chest as the three of us sat on my coat, but I said nothing, partially because we honestly didn't know each other well yet, and partially because I didn't know what to say.

To my surprise, Minako nearly shot up to her feet with a look of determination before almost disappearing off to the packs and lunch we had set to the side of the clearing. Damn she was fast. She rooted around in her bag briefly before picking it up and rushing back over and taking a seat in front of Usagi, who was looking at her curiously as she began to unpack the bag.

Usagi looked at her fellow blonde in surprise and curiosity, "Mina…?"

"If we're doing a makeover, we should do it right!" The taller girl beamed at her friend before winking, "Pedicure and manicure included with every wing-i-cure!"

"It'd probably be called an 'ailecure' actually, given the etymology of the words pedicure and manicure." Ami said even as she took a seat in front of Usagi, taking a box from Minako with a smile.

I thought about that for a sec before asking, "Aile is the word for wing, right?"

"Old French, yes." The genius said, happy that I'd been able to make that guess.

Another broken feather was plucked as I worked my way through dumpling head's left wing, smoothing the feathers out. Makoto came to sit beside Rei and I, "I've got her hair."

Ami moved, "I'll take the left hand and foot."

Mina nodded, setting out her make-up kit, "Then I'll take the right."

There was a small sniffle from the blonde teen at the center of the group as we quietly but animatedly worked.

-oOo-​

"So what do you think?"

"Mmmmm~" The hummingbirds crooned slightly as I filled up the feeder again.

I was struggling to count them all, partially because they flitted around so quickly, partially because of how similar a lot of them looked, and partially because a not insignificant number of them had followed after me.

Not insignificant in the sense of 'Are there any remaining pockets?' and I had a lot of pockets.

Still didn't know why these guys liked me so much. But, eh, Grand Line.

… and they were adorable.

But still, there was a veritable cloud of them following me around now. Felt like a fucking Disney princess.

There was a small sound as the fabric separation between my workshop and the main hold of the Cake was moved, "How the fuck do you always get back before we do?"

"This is only the second time." I couldn't help but grin as I ensured the hummingbird feeder was hanging properly, "Wait till the third time we do it before you start to say always."

"Uh huh, fuck you too." I could hear the eyeroll in her voice, "Now answer the question."

I turned to look at Bonney. Still in the same outfit as before, full jeans, a black top that showed off her abs and collar bones, her leather jacket and her black boots. Her long, pink hair was a complete mess though, I wished her hat well, wherever it was. "Luck? Though you're looking less haggard this time."

She'd crossed her arms under her breasts, hip cocked out at a jaunty angle as her lips quirked up… and I noticed that her lipstick was gone. She usually had this little dab of it towards the center of her lips but she was practically au-natural right now… it did not look bad… "So, good news and bad."

After thinking about it for a couple moments, I had to shrug, "… I… don't have enough context to even guess."

Bonney pouted, "You're no fun."

I just shrugged again, "Sorry not sorry?"

Rolling her eyes, her hands moved to her hips, "So. Good news? Found out where they're hiding."

"Nice. And the bad?"

"Fucking middle of Zolou territory."

–dead bodies, the stench, stiff and cold–

I cringed–

"Yeah." She grumbled, "My thoughts exactly."

I shook my head to scatter the involuntary flashes of memory, "What'd you find?"

"This old hunter, real messed up. Hunted them for years. Found their nest on accident and barely got out of it with his life. Lost an arm and a leg during it."

"And you got him to tell you where it was?"

"Yup." She grinned, "Right after I took out the pack of them that he'd been tracking."

I blinked. "Okay, A). Wouldn't it be a flock of them?"

"Flock, pack, who gives a fuck?"

"I give a fuck."

"Too bad."

I rolled my eyes, "And B). The crazy bastard was still hunting them?"

She grinned, "Yeah, crazy bastard. Just not going after the main nest anymore."

I facepalmed, "Of course."

"Ironhide, they're worth a lot." She shuffled her feet nervously, "I'm… very seriously considering how many of them to sell and how many to eat."

That made me blink.

… and blink.

I reached out, putting the back of my hand to her forehead, "Did you catch some sort of jungle disease…?"

*WHAM*

"GAH! Damnit woman! That's my face!"

"Oh fuck off! I'm serious!"

"I know, but it was funny–" *WHAM* "DAMNIT! Watch the birds!"

Bonney paused mid-kick, "… the what?"

A dozen little multicolored sparkling hummingbird heads peeked out from behind my shoulder at once, "Hmmmm?"

"… the fuck?"

"Grand Line."

"… yeah, and still, the fuck?"

"They're why we got back so quick. We asked these guys and they told us for sure there were no McPuffins in the jungle."

"… okay. Weird. But why are they on my ship?"

"Some of them took a liking to me?"

"Why?"

"I have no clue. And I've asked. They aren't telling."

The captain looked at me for a moment, then the birds, and then her purple eyes swung back to me, "… you're feeding them."

"Already handled."

"And cleaning up their shit."

I looked over my shoulder at them, "Can you guys do your business over the rail?"

"Mhm!" came the affirmative hum from the little jewels.

"Thanks."

Bonney just shook her head, a grin forming on her face, "Anyways, no way we can let that old bastard one-up us like that. We're going to this nest, and we're getting ourselves some birds!"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that before chewing my lip some. "You're sure?"

"If shit goes way too north?" Then there was this… look in Bonney's eyes, a look I'd seen before on the faces of only a handful of people in my life, as she said with this… this conviction, "We'll deal with it."

She's a future Supernova. It was a stark reminder, that look, that certainty, that shit-eating grin… Jewelry Bonney was a fucking future contender for the Pirate King's Throne. And that she'd gotten to that status, her bounty would skyrocket to over a hundred million berry within a year… without any other crewmembers that were truly terrifying on their own the way that the smaller, more concentrated crews had… hell, I knew her crew and they weren't bad, but they weren't 'terrors of the Grand Line' quality in of themselves. Hell, they weren't even named in the story last I was aware! And yet… she was going to be a Supernova.

My jaw worked silently for just a moment. And then, in spite of myself, I smiled, "Alright. Let's go get us some birds. Though we should be sure to leave enough of a breeding population that we can come back and get some more at a later time."

"Ugh. Fine. So long as you don't turn this into another mess."

"Let's… just keep away from the Zolou forces and I'll do my best. I can't… make any garuntees. I'm still really bad about that shit."

She sighed, "Alright." But she grinned, "I can work with that."

The Jungle End