The journey to Cake Island was going fine—until it wasn't.
Late into the night, just as everyone started relaxing on the Thousand Sunny, something strange began to stir in the water. The waves grew rough, and clicking noises echoed across the sea. The Sunny was stuck, some sort of food freezing the water up.
Or perhaps that wasn't water they were sailing on anymore. Nobody could say. Every next minute, something new came up in this area of the sea.
"Something's coming!" Chopper shouted.
Suddenly, massive creatures rose—giant sea ants, each the size of a house. Their huge mandibles snapped at the Sunny, trying to grab hold of the ship. One even tried to bite off the ship's lion-shaped head.
"Protect the Sunny!" Luffy yelled, already stretching his arms to launch a punch. Yuta, seeing the giant insects, had a chill going up his spine.
Yes, he could fight a dragon, a supervillain, a legendary ninja, but looking at these grotesque insects, which were almost his size, he didn't wish to go out there punching them. He wasn't afraid, but those antennas on their heads, almost the size of half his arms, were just chilling. He didn't want to go close.
Hell, he'd rather just blast them all off with his newly found Conqueror's Haki. Best time to test it out now, right?
Well yes, however, he didn't have control over Conqueror's since he had never used it before, not to mention targeting only the ants while the rest of his partners were in there fighting would be near impossible even for a master Conqueror's user.
While Yuta was hesitating, the crew sprang into action. Nami created gusts of wind to knock some away. Chopper transformed and charged one head-on. Even Brook swung his sword, yelling something silly as usual.
But while everyone was fighting, one person stood out the most. It wasn't Luffy, it wasn't Yuta, but rather Maki.
She didn't say a word. Her face was like cold hard ice. She moved like lightning, appearing in front of one of the giant ants and smashing its head with a single punch. The ant flew back and splashed into the sea like a broken toy.
"Whoa..." Nami halted seeing Maki taking action. While the sea was big, it's not always that they get to see powerful girls in this sea. She wasn't expecting Maki to be this strong.
Maki didn't stop there though. She kept on moving. Another ant. And another. Each one was crushed with terrifying force. It felt like she was a shadow flickering from place to place, and things getting smashed—ants were getting dismantled with such efficiency to the point Yuta for one second, thought these weren't ants but Zenin Clan members, seeing how Maki was acting.
"She's scary," Chopper whispered, hiding behind the mast.
"Yohoho... I'd rather not ask about her panties or I'd rather die next time.... Oh, I'm already dead... Yohoho..." whispered Brook, trembling even though he had no skin.
"She's in a bad mood…" Yuta, who now wasn't even considering moving from his place, watched as Maki turned into Asura, eradicating the entire ant colony by herself. She had been in a bad mood ever since their last talk time.
"Maybe I shouldn't have told her about Rika," Yuta muttered, pondering what exactly he did wrong. Little did he care that this wasn't the first time Maki had a Rika problem in her life.
Maki wasn't angry, but more like annoyed, and the insects were a good target to cut loose and spend. She didn't say why, but it showed in every move she made. Her Heavenly Restricted body showed its true power—her punches cracked the ants' shells like they were made of paper. And her Haki, trained hard over the past year, made every hit even more powerful.
No one dared go near her. Even Luffy, who normally charged into everything, took a few steps back and let her do her thing. How come the usually reckless Luffy had this sudden realisation that touching the boiling pot wasn't the best idea?
Well, in his own words, it was instincts. Not to mention unlike Nami, this girl knew Haki. So, he kept his distance.
By morning, the sun rose peacefully as if nothing had happened. The crew cleaned up the mess and resumed sailing. But no one forgot the look on Maki's face that night. Not even the ants.
"Sukuna would have pissed himself if he had seen you like that," Yuta grinned, seeing the brooding girl glaring at the ever-extending horizon like her eyes could evaporate it.
Maki at just huffed and didn't bother replying.
"So what got the mighty Ant Annihilator so bummed up to brood all night and on this beautiful morning?" Sighing, he got closer and joined her in horizon gazing.
"Nothing."
"Hmm… you know ever since I came back, I often found that you've changed a bunch. The Maki I knew before Shibuya was like this—stubborn and headstrong. Not like you're not right now, if not a little too much, but now… there is a weight behind that frown of yours," he said, trying to remember when was the last time he got some of those pretty smiles out of her was. Practically never after Shibuya.
A cocky smirk or a curl in her lips, yes, but not a proper smile.
Maki looked at him from the side eye, not replying anything but clearly waiting for him to continue.
"I used to think it's pretty easy to move on, that after some time we might not forget but at least keep living our lives like nothing happened, like everyone does. At least that's how it seems to be.
Only when I lost someone important did I realize that yeah, I can keep living, pretending like it was nothing, but life without them could never be the same." Yuta said as he looked Maki in the eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I won't pretend to know what you're feeling. Comparing my experience with yours and thinking that I understand you would be pretentious. I can only be here for you until you're ready.
Not to move on—I tried that, never worked out for me. Rather, to accept the reality." Yuta gave a comforting smile to Maki as he slowly squeezed her shoulder to make sure she knew that whatever she was going through, she wasn't alone. He was there with her. And this was the reality.
He had no idea what Maki was going through, but he knew how it feels when you feel all alone. Despite having gods knows how many abilities by now—he lost count at some point—he had nothing on consoling someone. That one part of being a Hero he kept failing. However, he wouldn't let her feel that she's alone.
"So, don't think you're alone. I'm here for you, whether to listen to your story if you want me to, or just to stand behind you to remind you that someone's waiting." Smiling, he finally gave her one last smile before he was ready to move.
However, before that, he heard her say, first time opening her mouth after that talk with her yesterday:
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why would you go that far? Wait for me for that long?" She kept looking into his eyes like she was gazing into his very soul.
"Why? Well, of course, to see that beautiful smile back on your face. What else could it be?" Yuta grinned, teeth out again like a certain Honoured One.
Maki didn't even bat an eye at this proclamation, just raised one of her brows like she wasn't buying it.
"Ah come on Maki. You doubt me?" Yuta whined. He really liked her smile.
"Sigh… Maki-chan used to be cute back then… long sexy exposed legs and a bratty smirk on her face. This one ain't cute at all." Yuta pouted, at least acted, to lighten the mood.
Maki at this just rolled her eyes. She had dealt with both Gojo and Yuta enough to ignore these childish antics.
Before she could even refute him for acting like their teacher, he was gone—but not before wiping an imaginary tear which she could see falling in slow motion as sunlight reflected on it.
"Sigh…" Sighing, she just shook her head and went back to her cloud gazing. Though this time around, there was no frown on her face. If anything, a lingering of a very faint smile.
"Idiot doesn't know why I'm like this, but he had to say something like that," she muttered with hidden irritation.
But then suddenly she remembered the words he spoke… "Someone is waiting for you." And her features lightened up again.
Then suddenly her mind clicked… She looked down.
She was wearing her combat outfit. Sleeveless top with lightly baggy pants for best mobility.
"Legs!" She blinked, like something clicked in her.
xxx
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