The Jungle Part 7

The Jungle Part 7

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'Booooorrrreeeeed. Also bored.' A small smile crossed my face as I popped another biscuit between my teeth and angling the fiction book around some. There was only so much history reading I could do before oh god enough. Mine was somewhere around four days straight of history books that Ami had been kind enough to cart over to me.

I found the fairy tales and such of this world an interesting read, because there was almost no frame of reference. Everything returned to the sea in a way that nothing like the world from my previous life had. The IV was still in my arm, and while I was still irrationally afraid of moving the needle about, it was in my forearm and taped down and was a plastic thing rather than metal etc. etc. etc.

Really, I'd just gotten used to it over the past few days of having it there constantly for my morphine drip and various blood and nutrient bags.

A knock at the door distracted me from the Aesop I was working my way through, and I turned my head towards the doorway, making an inquisitive sound around the biscuit in my mouth, "Mm?"

"Florida, may I come in?"

"Mhm," I made the noise as loud as I could manage without hurting my chest. I was still on morphine drip for obvious reasons given that my sternum was probably still completely separated, but too much effort or hard of breathing would still cause my chest to hurt.

The door was opened and the young girl walked in, not carrying anything this time, though still in a miko's outfit.

I have come to a conclusion.

Rei was a lot cuter than a ten-year-old girl had a right to be.

Bending my left arm at the elbow, I raised a hand at her in greeting, not really able to shift well with my chest fubared up as it was, the body cast being only part of the problem. And, again, IV in my forearm.

Rei paused at the door, her striking purple eyes widening briefly as she looked at me, her mouth twisting slightly. But she was so stoic and her expression so muted that I struggled to interpret it outside of confusion, "Mm?"

The black haired girl smoothed out her expression almost entirely, her eyebrows only a bit lower than normal as she closed the door behind her and walked over, her hands clasped daintily at her waist, "You are eating the biscuits I made."

"… mhm?" I made the noise before working my lips and teeth to try and get the rest of the biscuit into my mouth rather than half sticking out. Was it elegant? No. But it was better than trying to lift my arms again.

Rei's lips tightened as she turned to take a seat at the chair beside my bed and I was briefly struck by how elegant she was in everything she did, graceful in every movement. Her eyes closed as she sat and she was silent for a moment. She was honestly more graceful than a girl her age had any right to be, which impressed the hell out of me, though it was only striking since I was mostly around… y'know… pirates…

Finally, Rei opened her eyes and asked, "Why?"

Raising my eyebrows at her curiously, I took the time to finish chewing the biscuit before swallowing it carefully and asking, "Why wouldn't I?"

She shifted in place slightly, looking away, her hands folded in her lap, "I only made them to make Makoto come see you."

"So? You still made them with your heart," I said with a small grin at the cheesiness of it, "You made them as a get well gift for me, even as a trick, it'd be rude not to eat them."

'… okay, was that a trick of my bad vision or did her cheeks turn a bit pink…?'

"I am… surprised. I did not think…" she hesitated for just a moment, shifting the angle she was sitting at slightly before admitting, "They are… not really good. I am not as skilled of a cook as Makoto or yourself…"

"Well…" I glanced away briefly before admitting, "No."

Rei's lips twisted just a bit as she made a face before looking at me with a scowl, "I thought you didn't want to be rude."

"I'd rather be rude and honest than polite and lying through my teeth," I said with a small grin, "Not eating these would be rude for the sake of it though, so screw that."

My friend just stared at me in a familiar look, no matter how subdued, of 'you are so weird'. But after a moment, she smoothed her face, "You do seem to be healing well."

"Don't have much opportunity to do anything else." I snarked.

The corner of her mouth quirked up briefly, "You truly are a brute."

Another motion that could be construed as a shrug from me and a smile, "I am who I am."

---​

Slowly, functionality was returning to my pectoral muscles, it was a slight strain, but I with my bed angled up and one of those 'breakfast-in-bed' trays before me, I was able to sketch out the actual improvements to the Patch. Propellers, a steam engine, backup oars, sails, and a system to set up the hot air balloon.

I sniffed a bit as my pencil moved about slowly on the paper, rotating the ruler about for my straight line.

Ami had been visiting basically every day, bringing books or just talking… it was… nice. I didn't mind being alone, no matter how accustomed I was to being in tight quarters on a ship. But being able to just talk with my friend, to theorize and gush about history and the weirdness of this world of ours… it was really nice.

It was also super nice to have her big brain backing my calculations up. She didn't have my talent for engineering and intuitive understanding of spatial geometry, but she was smarter than me and really good at math.

A small frown crossed my face and I picked up my eraser, scrubbing out some lines. That layout wouldn't work, it didn't leave enough cargo space and put the planned desalination system and hydroponics uncomfortably close to the powder room.

'Sadly', I couldn't ask Makoto or Rei for help with this… not that I minded, they were a nice change of pace from the SCIENCE! I found myself doing to occupy my time while resting in bed.

Makoto had been visiting every few days in the last two weeks, and Rei had come to visit twice so far. The two 'sisters' were almost as different as could be, while Makoto was comparatively crass and overtly physical, Rei was elegant and graceful and almost aloof. Makoto's feminine side was constant, she enjoyed cooking and it was a large part of what we'd talked about during our visits, though I had a feeling that she was still getting used to me being the child of a pirate. Rei on the other hand, in spite of her greater nobility had been asking about my training of all things.

A small smile crossed my face at the thought. Rei and I didn't talk much, but what little she'd talked about after checking that I was doing okay was asking about the training I did and what was involved. She was too stoic to really call it gushing, but she outright smiled when she talked about archery, and listened intently when I talked about the training my momma put me through.

It always amused me that it wasn't the tomboy of them that was the most physical, even though I had a feeling she was the physically strongest–

The door to my room opened and I looked up, it wasn't time for food, Ami had already come by today, and I didn't think either of the sisters were coming–

"Ah… Miss Mizuno."

Ami's mother looked like she'd aged at least five years since I'd last seen her, there were more lines in her face and at the corners of her crystal blue eyes. There were streaks of gray in her hair now that weren't there before, a stark contrast to her dark blue hair in its refined bun. She was in another of those refined kimonos of middling quality, making efforts at high class.

She closed the door behind her, and I at least did her the justice of putting my pencil down and folding my hands across my stomach.

There were no words as she came to sit delicately in the chair beside my bed. I was briefly struck by the difference between her and Rei, while the middle aged woman's grace was calculated and deliberate and practiced, Rei's was more… natural. It seemed the young girl was blessed just a bit.

I suppressed the smile that thought threatened to cross my face at that, instead watching the middle aged mother in my hospital room.

I felt no need to speak, I'd greeted her, and the ball was in her court now. I didn't know why she was here, and to be frank, I didn't really care.

Several minutes passed as we waited there in silence, and unfortunately for her, while I wanted to fidget since my body was still that of an eight-year-old, I'd always been a patient kid and about two and a half decades of living on top of that meant I had the patience of a rock when I needed it. Or at least, I liked to think so.

Regardless, I was more patient than Miss Mizuno, who had started to fidget after the two minute mark even as I'd relaxed into the pillows propping me up.

Finally, she spoke, "Florida Jacob…"

She hesitated, and I waited, raising an eyebrow at Ami's mother as her hands clenched in her lap. Then, to my surprise, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, "Thank you…" Both of my eyebrows went up and I blinked in surprise as she almost trembled, "Thank you for saving my little girl…"

I watched as tears slowly ran down her cheeks in surprise, my mouth working uselessly for a moment before I closed it.

Her hands clenched in the fabric of her kimono in her lap as tears dripped onto her knuckles, "If you hadn't gone… if you hadn't… my little girl… thank you for saving my daughter…"

"I didn't save her for you." I said, my mouth working in spite of myself. Her head jerked up and her eyes met mine, but I didn't flinch, I owned the statement, meeting her gaze without expression of my own, "I saved Ami because she's my friend, not because she's your daughter. Don't forget that."

For a long moment, she gaped at me, shocked at my bluntness… but eventually she composed herself, standing quickly, "I still thank you for your part in rescuing my daughter."

She turned on her heel and walked out towards the door and I said, "You're welcome."

Miss Mizuno hesitated, and I felt the need to add, "I don't like you, I think you're a bad parent… but Ami is my friend, never doubt that I support her and have her best interests in heart."

A poignant silence hung in the hospital room, her back to me as I lay in the bed, the only noises the distant sounds of the hospital through the closed door.

Without another word or a glance backwards, Ami's mother walked out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly. I returned to the sketch. I'd said what I felt needed to be said, I had no regrets.

-oOo-​

Wallace swung his sword and cleaved through the underbrush, making a ground level entrance to the small clearing that I'd seen from the air.

Geppo was super useful for a scout.

We walked into the clearing, looking about, Claude smiling, "It seems you made a good pick."

"No water though unfortunately," Wallace said, sheathing his sword on his back.

"Which is why we have waterskins," I pointed out as Claude waltzed out into the center of the little clearing ringed by trees.

"It'd still be better to have a water source nearby."

"Agreed, but this will do for tonight."

"Oh both of you are worry warts!" Claude said, spinning around once before flopping onto his back in the grass, grinning like a loon, "This is great."

Wallace and I shared a glance before rolling our eyes. We were just being understandably cautious given the insanity of the Grand Line. The two of us shook our heads as we walked into the clearing and began to set up for the night. I didn't have much in the way of sleeping implements, just folding up my scarf as a pillow and a combination of my hood and hat as a way to keep the bugs away from my face… I could sleep damn well anywhere.

Claude had what amounted to an oversized fanny pack, in direct contrast to the oversized backpack that Wallace himself had. Both of them had sleeping bags and the bigger scotsman-esque man carried their tent. I helped them get it set up, even if I didn't plan on using it.

About halfway through the setting up the tent, I could feel something approach.

"Ooh…?"

Surprised, the three of us looked up to see… a gorilla… ess… at the edge of the clearing. I blinked twice, "Huh."

"… what is that?" Claude asked, standing fully.

"A gorilla. Specifically, a lady gorilla. You can tell because of the big pink bow and the miniskirt." I was being cheeky here, she had breasts and was almost certainly female.

"Ooh?" The gorilla-ess eased a big closer, walking on her knuckles.

"That looks really weird," Wallace admitted, looking at her.

A sad look came across the gorilla-ess's face and I couldn't help but snort in amusement before chiding him, "Now don't be mean Wallace."

"Ah, well, it just.. um… doesn't work with your fur?" he offered, and to my amusement, the gorilla-ess blushed and almost demurely covered her mouth, "I'm sure you're a totally attractive and desirable for a gorilla… uhh… and, you have a nice bum…?"

Hilariously, the gorilla-ess swooned at that, fanning herself briefly before looking at Wallace with hearts in her eyes.

"… uh… Florida… what's she doing…?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" she bounced on her feet and knuckles in place briefly.

"Huh… she looks ready to mate." I had to struggle to avoid snorting to myself in amusement, "Congratulations Wallace, she wants you."

The gorilla-ess blew a kiss and Wallace recoiled, attempting to dodge the invisible airborne smooch, "What?!"

"She wants to bang," I said simply.

With a happy little "Ooh ooh!" The lady gorilla began rushing forward and Wallace let out an amazingly girly scream for a man nearly seven foot tall and possessing significant bulk before he turned tail and ran… in a circle… around the clearing as the gorilla lady chased him.

"Never done it with a gorilla before…" Claude mused, watching the chase.

"Noooooo!"

"I didn't realize that was even an option for you," I admitted before taking a sip of my waterskin of sweet tea.

"Ooh ooh!"

"Get the hell away from meeeee!"

Claude's gaze followed the two as the ran around us in circles, "If they're capable of algebra and able to give consent I'll at least consider it."

"Huh…" I looked up briefly as I thought about it before nodding, "Good rule. Not a rule I'd want, but a good one."

"Thank you. … shouldn't we do something about this?"

"Yeah, joke's gone on long enough." I slung my waterskin back at my waist, "Now… Tiger Knee!"

I hurtled across the distance with a soru, my forearms up in a guard even as I slammed a knee right into the gorilla's face, sending her hurtling backwards even as I dropped to the grass. I let my guard drop as the gorilla crashed through the underbrush, "There we go."

"Thank you!"

*Whump*

I blinked as Wallace basically glomped me from behind. Now, due to my instinctive turning into metal, I had enough mass that he didn't bowl me over, but…

"I don't know what I would've done!" he wailed, his head moving from side to side as he did.

"Wallace."

"The horror! Ach! The horror!"

"Wallace."

"… yes?"

"Please get your face out of my ass."

From the way he'd glomped me, his arms had wrapped around my waist and his face had basically ended up against my ass… which he'd apparently decided to motorboat.

Wallace practically threw himself away from me, "Ach! Bleh! Bleh! Ew! Ewwww!"

I was never before more thankful that I wore multiple layers and tucked in my shirt. I had no problem with homosexuality, but as I was quite straight I didn't want an old, bearded guy motorboating my ass.

"Florida D. Jacob!" I blinked, turning towards a very indignant Claude with a raised eyebrow as the man said, "That's my bae."

… well that made me pause for a second there. Then I jerked my thumb back at the scarred man who was frantically washing his face with water from his waterskin, "Take it up with him. I didn't do anything."

Claude fucking pouted, to my endless amusement.

I rolled my eyes, giving a little shake of my head as I smiled, "Come on, let's get this tent up."

"What about the gorilla…?"

"She'll be fine. I didn't hit her that hard."

"… but what if she comes back…?"

"Ah, okay." So that's what he was wondering about. "Then I'll hit her again."

"… okay, now that is kind of harsh."

"I'll give her some warning. Eesh."

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The Jungle Part 7 End