Demons, Swords, And Other Things That Nearly Killed Me

God Hates You, But The Feeling's Mutual

Crocus' question wanted to make you laugh and cry

Of course you've heard of it-- you were the only one who didn't know what the fuck it was!

"I'm not familiar with it. I mean, I've heard that I'm cursed nonstop," you went on as your arms crossed. "But I have no idea what the actual curse is. Every single time I've asked, I've been brushed off."

Crocus looked conflicted as his eyes remained locked with yours. "I'll tell you all that I know of it. If there's anyone who deserves to know, it's the one who's cursed in the first place. How come you were never told?"

You tore your gaze away from the older man as you favored watching Luffy shimmy up the one palm tree that was on Crocus' house-ship. "Beats me. I got annoyed after a while before I decided to just stop asking. I figured that the answer would come to me one way or another."

That was true. You asked Buggy, like, once, and he said he didn't care about the curse –or if you were cursed– and banned you from talking about it. Was that supposed to be motivational or something? You didn't know.

You recalled asking Sai about it on the first day you got here. He never told you. You didn't ask Smoker –you guessed that he didn't care– and you seriously doubted that Tashigi knew anything about it.

Who knows, though? Maybe she knew a lot about it.

"Really?"

"Really," you nodded. "And you're... You're sure you can tell me the gist of it? You actually know about the curse?"

Crocus also nodded. "I suppose it's time for you to learn. But first, it'd be best if you got your ship out of here. Any longer and it'll start to dissolve."

~ . . . ~

"This is some waterway..." You muttered; eye twitching when you felt Luffy's grip tighten around you. He had once again turned you into a chair, since his favorite seat on the ship had been snapped off. He wouldn't let go. Was he hell bent on strangling you or something? Just when you were about to learn about your whole "curse thing" too.

Nami's eyes widened in wonder as she was met with the sight of a metal tunnel. One that was built inside of a whale, no less. "Is this another way of you having fun? I can't believe you built this stuff in here..."

Crocus walked alongside the ship on a raised metal platform. It was actually a miracle that this kind of structure was built this well in a living creature. "It's a hobby of mine as a doctor."

Not only was he a professional, but he also had a few years of experience on a ship as a doctor. And he ran a clinic, but he was now the man who worked in the lighthouse that served as the guiding light of Grand Line.

A concerning hobby to have. You were mildly disturbed at the thought. Building things inside of whales. What's weirder is that he's a licensed professional.

"Truly. At least he's going to tell you about the curse."

Kosai was right. You weren't about to waste your chances of learning about yourself. Yeah, I can't complain about his hobbies when he knows about my family more than I do.

"Get Luffy off of you before I throw him overboard." Kosai added. Your nose crinkled.

Hell no. He'd sink and drown. That'd be problematic.

"You had no qualms about throwing Zoro overboard into stomach acid."

Eh, he had it coming. It gave him a reason to shower. It was the only other thing I could think of. True. The last time you tried to get him to shower, you threatened him that he'd be taking his next ones with you if he didn't shower more.