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Heavy Iron was heading toward the room Mister Edo had assigned him when he spotted Buffalo Crush and Buster Gallon in the corner of the workshop, whispering nervously and clearly discussing something heatedly. Iron isn't usually a fan of such things, considering it a waste of time on silly chatter, but this time, curiosity got the better of him, especially since these was, after all, the crew of a very unpleasant captain.
"Did something happen?" Heavy Iron leaned slightly toward the shorter men.
Buffalo Crush and Buster Gallon yelped and twitched, clinging to each other.
"Please don't kill us, Captain!"
Heavy Iron frowned even more deeply and tried to calm the poor boys. "I'm not Black Hook."
"Oh, forgive us, Heavy Iron," cried Buffalo Crush, pulling himself away from Buster Gallon. "The captain isn't in a very good mood today."
"Not very good? Maybe you meant terrible?!" blurted Buster Gallon, adjusting his clothes, which had become wrinkled because of Buffalo Crush.
"Uh, well..." mumbled Buffalo Crush. “Maybe you are right…”
The larger man cleared his throat slightly, drawing their attention back to him. The pirate crew exchanged glances, and then Buster Gallon called Heavy Iron closer.
"The captain is darker than any cloud in the world; we've never seen him like this before," Buster Gallon said quietly. "We've seen him angry, but never like this..."
"So that's it." Heavy Iron nodded slightly. "And where is he?"
"You want to visit him?!" Buffalo Crush screamed.
"Shut up, you idiot!" Buster Gallon shut his mouth.
"Hmph!" the boy in pink muttered.
Heavy Iron didn't answer the question, but simply straightened up and folded his arms, waiting for at least one of them to answer.
"The captain is in his room," said Buster Gallon, watching as Buffalo Crush was distracted by one of his mini-bots.
"Thank you," Heavy Iron was about to leave the two of them, but he turned around and said, almost in a whisper. "Better leave Black Hook alone today. Looks like he has a reason for being like that."
Both boys glanced at the larger, stronger man and nodded quickly.
"We had enough of his murderous glare this morning!"
"Yes, yes! We're not setting foot in the captain's room for the rest of the day," Buster Gallon waved his hands restlessly.
"That's good," Heavy Iron said as he left the main workshop room, heading down the dark corridors that led to several rooms that had been assigned to some of Jun's friends, like a house.
The man stopped in front of the distinctive blue door that belonged to Black Hook. Heavy Iron paused, raising his fist to knock loudly. A slight feeling of tension came from somewhere, but Heavy Iron was never afraid of anyone; most likely, it was because he didn't know what awaited him on the other side of the door. The man exhaled loudly and knocked anyway.
The silence, one might even say deathly, held no answer or even a hint of one.
Heavy Iron wasn't one to be ignored, so he knocked a few more times, standing still like a stone statue. If he had to stand there for a few more hours, he would have done so with absolute certainty.
The lock clicked, and the door was slightly open, revealing a rather dark interior, as if the owner of this room had suddenly forgotten the existence of all the lamps and other light sources.
"What?" mumbled another, equally large man.
Heavy Iron froze like a deer in front of a car's headlights. Knowing that Buster Gallon and Buffalo Crush were often exaggerated or overdramatized, he assumed Black Hook had simply had a bad night's sleep or something of the sort. But the other man's appearance wasn't just bad, it was truly awful, just as Buster Gallon had said. Black Hook was wearing his usual shirt, with its delicate striped pattern, but the collar was frayed and slightly unbuttoned. His dark, curly hair hung in his face, even more disheveled than before. His face was tired, with large circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his voice so hoarse it made his skin crawl.
Black Hook cleared his throat, bringing Heavy Iron back to reality. "If you had nothing better to do, then go bother others."
The man was about to close the door when Iron quickly glanced around, then brazenly barged into the room, shoving Black Hook inside and closing the door behind him.
The sudden movement caused Black Hook to stumble back and nearly fall.
"What are you even doing?" Black Hook hissed in displeasure, about to throw Heavy Iron out the door. "Get out of here this instant!"
The larger man came closer and loomed over Black Hook, frowning and pulling down his bandana, which always covered the lower half of his face.
"What's wrong with you?" Heavy Iron tried to sound gentler, but it still came out harsh and perhaps a bit rude.
"What are ya’ talking about? I'm fine, no, I was fine until someone burst into my room and interrogated me senselessly!" Black Hook barked, his voice hoarse.
"Oh, come on." After this, Heavy Iron assumed his usual stance and crossed his arms. "You scared Buffalo Crush and Buster Gallon practically to death, and you would never do that, at least not to Buffalo Crush."
"I didn’t—" Black Hook's gaze softened slightly at the mention of his friend, and his voice weakened.
"And what about your appearance? You, of all of us, suddenly look so terrible?" Heavy Iron continued, tucking a strand of Black Hook's hair behind his ear. "Where are your jewelry? Your treasures, the ones you crave more than anyone else?"
The curly-haired man looked away and went completely silent.
"I'll say it again, what's wrong with you, Black Hook?" Heavy Iron intentionally softened the ending, pronouncing Black Hook's name as softly as he could.
"I am sick, okay?!" the man blurted out, raising his hands slightly.
Heavy Iron blinked several times in surprise. He'd expected anything but this.
"Sick?" Reflexively, Heavy Iron reached out to touch Black Hook's forehead, which was indeed running a high fever. "Oh. Why didn't you tell your friends about this?"
"I... didn't want them to worry and try to help. You know very well how helpful they are." Black Hook sighed and unconsciously pressed himself against Heavy Iron's palm.
"So you decided to scare the crap out of them?" Iron chuckled, earning a very displeased look from Black Hook.
"I didn't mean to scare them that much, Iron." Black Hook shook his head and carefully removed Heavy Iron's hand.
"I see." Heavy Iron glanced at the pirate once again. "Do you have any medicine? Or should I go see Mister Edo?"
"I have everything, I just need some rest." Black Hook's expression visibly relaxed, but his face expressed only tiredness and a hint of irritation.
"Don't forget to tell Buster Gallon and Buffalo Crush tomorrow that you're just sick, otherwise they'll continue to jump at the slightest sound in the workshop."
Black Hook nodded in response, then rubbed his eyes, groaning softly.
"Does your head hurt?" Heavy Iron asked softly.
"A little."
"Come on." Heavy Iron gently took Black Hook's hand and led him to the bed, then helped him sit down. "I'll stay here for a while."
"Are you really capable of such kindness? I guess I really am that sick, huh?" the pirate drawled wearily, pulling the blanket closer and covering himself with it.
"I wouldn't want poor Mister Edo to find your corpse in the morning, and your crew to cry like a waterfall over the loss of their captain."
"Hah, I actually like that answer better." Black Hook slowly lay down and pulled the blanket almost up to his head.
"Get some rest already." Heavy Iron muttered and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against Black Hook's bed.
A mumble was heard, but Heavy Iron couldn't understand it. He was about to ask what Black Hook meant when he felt a hand stroke his head before being tucked back under the warm blanket. Heavy Iron reflexively pulled his bandana over his face to hide his expression, which had already visibly changed and was slightly flushed.