(I remake lol)
Darkness.
I was sinking—no, drowning. The sea wasn't water. It was void. Cold. Heavy. My limbs refused to move, my body nothing more than a broken doll discarded at the bottom of the world. Something gripped me—something twisted and cruel—and it was dragging me deeper.
Where am I...?
Did I die again...?
"N&$#..."
A voice. Familiar, yet distant.
"N&$#...wake up. You should not die yet."
A light pierced through the dark—blinding and warm. It wrapped around me like invisible arms and yanked me upward.
"We meet again later..."
Then—
"Eugh…!"
I gasped as my eyes shot open.
Ceiling. Light. Air.
I was on the bed. Alive.
Barely.
"Nexús?"
"Are you awake!?"
"NEXÚS!!"
Luffy.
Before I could even process the relief in his voice, he moved to hug me—and something deep in my chest snapped.
"STAY AWAY!!"
I shoved him with everything I had. My heart thundered. My breath hitched. My hands trembled like they were still being held down.
They all froze.
Luffy stared at me in shock. Zoro's fists clenched. Nami reached for me with cautious hands.
"Nexús!?" she called, trying to steady me, her fingers curling over my shoulders.
But my mind wasn't in that room.
It was back with him.
Buggy.
His laugh echoed in my skull. The sickening crunch of bone, the gleam of that blade. The mockery in his voice as I screamed. The burning pain. The humiliation. The way the audience cheered. Like my suffering was entertainment.
My body shook harder.
I wasn't even in control anymore.
"Please... stop… it hurts… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
SLAP!
The sting snapped me back. My head whipped to the side.
Nami. She was the one who hit me.
I blinked.
Luffy. Zoro. Nami.
They were right in front of me.
Alive.
Worried.
"This is us," Nami said quietly, as if scared I'd slip away again.
I couldn't speak right away.
The memory of Buggy's knife still throbbed in phantom pain. I could still feel the ropes. The helplessness. The eyes on me.
But I was here now.
My chest ached with the pressure of a heartbeat that refused to calm down. But I could breathe.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. My body was still trembling, but less violently now. My jaw loosened.
"…I'm here."
I opened my eyes again. No one said a word.
I'd survived yeah.
....
He don't want to talk about it at all.
"How long did I sleep?" he asked, trying to break the silence.
Zoro hesitate first but he spoke "You were out the whole day."
A full day?
That long?
"…Oh."
Zoro glared at him like he was gonna pop a blood vessel. "He says 'Oh.' This guy's gonna drive me insane."
Nami, arms crossed, looked away—but not before Nexús noticed the lingering furrow of her brows. She looked... scared. Still.
Luffy had gone quiet but he smiled brightly, his had loosened since the moment Nexús woke up.
The room felt heavy with something unspoken.
I must troubling them a lot...this is embarrassing as a man who older than them...
He offered the only comfort he could, casual as ever,"thanks guys"
His tired, neutral voice didn't help much, especially with his expressionless face that always looked half-done with the world. But he meant it.
The others didn't respond right away.
"I get it," Zoro finally said with a tired shrug.
"Alright…" Nami mumbled, giving in.
"Yosh! Nexús said he's fine, so he's fine!"
Luffy added with his usual grin, finally spoke again. The weight in the room lifted ever so slightly.
Nami placed a bowl of warm porridge in Nexús's hands, her expression softening. He accepted it with zero hesitation and started eating.
Just as he took the first bite—
GULP
A sharp, wet sound made Nexús pause mid-chew.
He slowly turned to his side.
There was Luffy. Sitting next to him. Eyes sparkling. Mouth slightly open.
And drool.
Visible. Dripping.
"…Are you drooling?" Nexús asked, deadpan.
Luffy didn't blink. "I'm hungry…"
"…Didn't you already eat?" Nexús asked suspiciously.
"Shishishi—" Luffy laughed it off, turning his head like a kid who just got caught.
Zoro and Nami exchanged a quick glance but said nothing.
They knew the truth.
They'd been there while Luffy sat by Nexús's side all night, refusing food, ignoring everyone who tried to force him to eat. He hadn't touched a single thing—not until now.
But none of them mentioned it.
It wasn't something that needed to be said aloud.
Nexús sighed and scooped up a spoonful of porridge, holding it out toward Luffy. Like an eager baby bird, Luffy leaned in and chomped it with a contented smile.
Nexús kept feeding him silently, one spoon at a time.
Zoro let out a rare, rough laugh, arms crossed and amused.
Nami stared, both eyebrows raised—but in the end, she only sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips.
None of them brought up the hunger. None of them asked questions. But in their shared silence, something unspoken passed between them.
....
Even if I'm not the best with feelings or words, when people show me kindness, I remember it forever.
So I opened my mouth, lowered my eyes a bit, and said it sincerely—quiet, but enough to be heard.
"…Thank you again, guys."
Silence.
A full five seconds of it.
The room literally froze.
Maybe something on my face?Stale saliva?this is embarrassing!
Luffy broke the silence first, laughing like he'd just heard the funniest thing all day.
"Ah, it's fine!" Nami waved her hand dismissively, but her eyes sparkled a little. She was touched. I could tell.
While all this was happening, I noticed something strange: Luffy's eyes had been glued to the bowl in my hand this entire time. The porridge. The same bowl he already had a few bites from earlier when I fed him.
His pupils sparkled like a puppy who just saw a steak on the table.
Then—
"Ne, Nexús… do you still need that porridge?"
I turned slowly toward him.
He was already salivating. His eyes glimmered with desperation. The kind of stare that should be illegal in most countries.
Drip.
Drop.
I sighed.
This is what it feels like to have a younger brother, huh…?
I handed him the bowl.
Luffy took it eagerly and scooped a spoonful into his mouth.
Then—he paused.
His smile faded.
His head tilted to the side like a confused puppy.
He took another spoonful, chewed slowly.
"…Weird."
I narrowed my eyes. "What?"
Luffy blinked. "Eh? It doesn't taste as good as before…"
"…What do you mean?"
"It's different! It doesn't taste right. Not bad, but not good like earlier."
He looked so genuinely disappointed, I almost felt bad.
Then the man shamelessly handed the bowl back to me.
"Feed me again, Nexús!"
I blinked. "What?"
Before I could process, my hand already moved on instinct.
Scoop.
I brought the spoon to his mouth and, like a bird, he opened up and devoured it in one go.
Luffy's eyes lit up like fireworks.
"OUHHH! It tastes like before again!"
I stared blankly at the wall behind him.
Did my brain just leave the atmosphere for a second?
"Feed me again, Nexús!"
Scoop.
"Aaah—"
What the hell is happening? I asked myself, but my hand kept scooping and feeding him automatically. Like I was possessed.
He looks like a hamster.
Zoro and Nami were just… watching.
Their eyes were wide, mouths slightly open. Like they were witnessing aliens trying to abduct a duck.
Zoro finally muttered, "Does his hand taste that good?"
Nami, deadpan. "I don't want to know the answer to that."
And yet—I still fed Luffy.
Again and again until there's none for me.damn the porridge was for me but—sigh
Buughk!
"ITTAI!!"
"LUFFY THAT WAS FOR NEXÚS!"scolded Nami.
The mysterious voice appeared again..