x
It had been a week since the battle. Rena had woken up from her coma two days ago. After spending almost five years bonded to a guardian, the toll on her body had finally caught up to her. Veda had informed her that she was lucky to have been a willing vessel; otherwise, the damage could have been much worse. Odysseus had taken a boy as his vessel forcefully, and that boy was now in a critical state, lying in the bed next to Rena.
Rena glanced over at the boy. With Odysseus no longer in control, the boy’s natural features had returned. He was a fairly tall man, about the same age as Rena, with tan skin and short blonde hair. He looked familiar, but Rena couldn’t quite place him.
Rena was eager to leave the infirmary. The boy next to her gave her an uneasy feeling. She wasn’t sure if it was because he had been Odysseus’ vessel or something else. She had been ordered to stay in bed until Law, Sy, and Veda gave her the all-clear. It warmed her heart that even after the battle, everyone was still around, waiting to hear about her condition. Law was currently giving her a final checkup, and she couldn’t wait to express her gratitude to everyone.
Law looked up at Rena and smiled softly. “Well, Rena-ya, I do believe you are fully healed. I still suggest you take it easy for at least another month, so no jumping into intergalactic battles anytime soon.”
“Aw, but Doc, that was totally my plan. I’m sure there are more guardian deities out there that need my help,” Rena joked.
Law chuckled. “Yeah, well, let someone else deal with it this time. Glad to see your humor is back.”
“It’s all part of my charm,” she smirked.
“Rena-ya, before you go, I wanted to thank you,” Law said seriously.
“Thank me for what?” Rena mused.
“For asking Death-ya about my crew. Knowing that they are still out there gave me something I didn’t know I was capable of,” Law said with a small smile.
“What’s that?”
“Hope.”
Rena smiled at him. “It really was nothing. I figured you needed the answer, whether it was good news or bad news. Not knowing was hurting you more than anything. I can tell you really care about your crew. You try to seem all cool, collected, and serious, but I can see you have a big heart in there, Captain of the Heart Pirates. It’s a fitting name, honestly.”
Law just smiled. “Okay, Rena-ya. That’s enough. Go. They’re all waiting for you. I need to check on our John Doe-ya here.”
“Thanks, Law,” Rena said as she hopped off the bed, giving the John Doe one last glance.
Even though Rena had been awake for two days, she had insisted on not letting the others know yet. She needed her rest and couldn’t be bothered with everyone coming in to check on her, especially with hyperactive friends like Natsu, Luffy, and Asta. Their energy, while contagious, was a bit too much for her to handle while trying to recover her strength.
Since no one knew Rena was up and moving around, when she walked into the main room, everyone was in utter shock. Everything went silent, and all eyes turned towards Rena.
Awkward silence…
“I’m not a ghost, I swear,” Rena said, throwing her hand in the air, trying to break the awkward silence with a joke.
Suddenly, everyone burst into tears, joyous screams, and jumps.
“REENNNAAAA!!” “MYSTICCCC!” “YOU’RE OKAY!” they all shouted.
“You gotta stop ‘almost’ dying on us,” Hawks joked.
Rena just smiled. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. This was the last time, I promise.”
“She’s telling the truth. She won’t die for about another 30 years,” Death popped in behind Rena, making her jump.
“DAMNIT BOB! How many times are you planning on giving me a heart attack?” Rena exclaimed.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you get easily scared, and you can call me Blaine now,” he said, removing his hood. Rena had totally forgotten that during the battle, Odysseus had cut Bob’s cloak, revealing that he was in a human body. The human body he bonded with when he fell in love with none other than Versa, though her human name was Venus.
“Holy shit, I forgot you were still in a human vessel. So Blaine, huh?” Rena said.
“Yup, the name is Blaine Owen Brooks, but to hide my identity, I took the first letter of each name. That’s where BOB came from,” he explained.
“Thank god, because honestly, calling Death ‘Bob’ was super weird,” Rena sighed in relief.
“I thought it was hilarious,” Blaine smiled.
“You know, you could lose the cloak and just go in like a black suit or something. You might get better reactions from people,” Rena suggested.
“Nah, the cloak is iconic. People know what’s coming when they see it. Besides, it’s more mysterious,” he wiggled his fingers.
“You’re so weird. I don’t know what V sees in you,” Rena teased.
“It’s part of my charm. She loves it, and that’s all that matters to me,” Blaine said with flushed cheeks.
“Ooh, someone is blushing. Wait, how are you blushing? I thought you didn’t have emotions,” Rena asked, confused.
“Did you forget? All my emotions came back during the battle,” Blaine questioned.
“Oh, no, I completely forgot about that,” Rena admitted.
“Ahem,” Hawks cleared his throat, breaking the two out of their conversation.
“Oh right. Um, everyone, I wanted to thank you all for everything you have done for me. I don’t think I would have made it without any of you,” Rena said.
“Mystic, we’ve told you before. You’re our friend. We will help you anytime,” Lucy said with a smile.
“Yeah, and anytime you’re up for a drink, just give me a call!” Vanessa from the Black Bulls said, holding up a bottle of wine.
“You can still join my crew anytime you want to!” Luffy exclaimed.
“Or come join the Hero ranks. I’d hire you at my agency,” Hawks said with a wink.
Rena smiled at everyone, thinking about all the adventures she had with each group. It certainly was a wild few years, but she just wanted to go back to her own world and live a simple life.
“Thanks for the offers, everyone, but I’m done with exciting things for now. I just want to go home. I think I’ve had enough plot twists in my life,” Rena said.
~
Back in the infirmary, Law was doing the vital checks on the John Doe. Everything seemed to be fine, but he just wasn’t waking up. Law was sitting in the chair next to the bed, writing down notes on a file when Sy walked in.
“How is he doing?” Sy asked softly.
“He’s actually completely fine. He’s just not waking up,” Law replied.
Sy walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat on the opposite side of the bed. She let out a sigh.
“What is it, Sy-ya?” Law peeked over the clipboard.
“This is going to be hard for Rena when he wakes up,” she said, looking down at the man.
“Why do you say that?” Law asked.
“He’s someone from Rena’s past,” Sy explained.
“You know who he is?” Law said, lowering the clipboard to his lap.
“I do. But I think he needs to be the one to tell everyone, especially Rena,” she said, giving a small smile.
The man on the bed began to twitch, moving his head and then fluttering his eyes open. Law and Sy jumped up and both reached either side of the bed. The man turned his head left and right before sitting up.
“Whoa, take it slow. You’ve been in a coma for almost a week,” Law explained.
“Wh-where am I?” the man struggled to speak.
Sy handed him a glass of water, and as he took a sip, she answered him, “You are in the infirmary of my lab. The exact location is a bit complicated to explain.”
“What happened to me?” he looked at Sy, then turned to Law.
“That’s also a bit complicated to explain. Are you feeling up to walking?” Sy asked.
“I can give it a try,” he said as he slowly moved his legs over to the side. Law helped him off the bed, and he took a few steps.
“Good. I think you are alright enough to walk. Come with us, and we can explain things a little better. There’s someone you need to see,” Sy smiled as they led him into the main room.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRImEv6Bi0n
