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There were only one or two more days left before they would reach Kuraigana and Perona would have to say goodbye to the Heart Pirates. While she was very much looking forward to being off this stuffy submarine and back in her cute room, in that over-the-top castle, pestering Mihawk as per usual, part of her realized how much she would actually miss these new...friends. Were they friends? Could she even call them that? Regardless, it was becoming more apparent to her that she would miss Ikkaku the most (and maybe Bepo, but only because of how cute he was).
Ikkaku. A spunky and boisterous mechanic, amongst a group of equally as boisterous and, sometimes obnoxious as hell, idiots. Ikkaku was different though. And Perona immediately had latched onto that. There was just….something...about her . The way her hair fell against her face. Her stupidly contagious smile. It was almost annoying how just her face could change Perona’s entire mood. Not that she would ever admit it, however.
“Hey, Perona, we’re going to be surfacing for a bit, wanna come up on deck with me?”
Perona felt like her heart was going to stop. She turned and there she was, that damn smile spread all over her face. Ikakku stepped into the doorway, hands tucked inside the front pockets of her jumpsuit (even though those uniforms were one of the ugliest things Perona had ever seen, she maybe, sort of, kinda thought Ikkaku looked perfect in it).
“W-what are you staring at me for?!” Perona shouted on accident, closing her mouth immediately and kicking herself inside for saying something so stupid.
Ikkaku simply laughed, “Was just asking ya if ya wanted to come up on deck with me. Idiot.”
Feeling her face heat up, mostly from embarrassment, she quickly nodded and walked past Ikkaku, hoping the latter didn’t catch a glimpse of her face.
It was the first time they surfaced all day and, even though she was more akin to moonlight and nighttime, the feeling of sunshine actually felt rather rejuvenating.
“Ahhh!!” Ikkaku stretched widely, her arms reaching up towards the sky itself. “Doesn’t this feel great?”
“It would be better if it were nighttime and the moon was full,” she lied right through her teeth.
Ikkaku eyed her and smirked, “No wonder you’re so pale. Just like a ghost.”
“You make that sound like a bad thing. Being like a ghost.”
Perona turned towards the railing and leaned up against it, staring down that waves below. Their rhythmic splashing made her mind begin to wander again. Thinking of the fact she may not see Ikkaku again. Or that nothing will even come out of the few days they’ve spent together.
Oh, how stupid. She couldn’t believe these thoughts were even creeping up. Why should she care about some random girl she met. A girl who probably was only being nice because they were the only women on board. Only being nice because she probably felt bad for Perona’s situation. Maybe by convincing herself these few days weren’t even real...or that Ikkaku didn’t even exist, things would be okay. Her mind would stop wandering and wandering.
She let out a sigh, not realizing Ikkaku was leaning against the railing now too, their arms barely touching each other but it was still close enough for Perona to feel she was there.
“Life is so hard, isn’t it?” Ikkaku sighed too.
Perona looked over and was about to respond but noticed that Ikkaku was holding something in between her fingers. It looked like a white stick...she focused her eyes on it more and realized it was a...a cigarette?
She didn’t peg Ikkaku as a smoker at all. Or, at least, she hadn’t seen Ikkaku smoke all this time.
“You smoke?”
Ikkaku, who probably wasn’t listening, didn’t respond but simply, much to Perona’s complete dismay, took a freaking BITE out of the cigarette.
“W-WHAT THE HELL, IKKAKU?!”
They’d only met days ago but she never expected such odd behavior from her at all.
Still chewing, Ikkaku turned and her eyes widened a bit. She glanced down at her hand and back to Perona. After a brief moment, she burst out into laughter.
“Oh my gosh,” she laughed, tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Perona, it’s chocolate!! You didn’t see me buy these at the shop?”
C-chocolate . It was chocolate. Of course. How foolish of her. Her face felt like it was on fire, even more so than before. Never in her life had she felt so stupid and embarrassed at the same time.