"How strange..."

Niji thought, with his arms crossed and a heavy expression, sitting on a moss-covered rock, in the middle of a clearing hidden by the dense vegetation of the forest. It was a peaceful, almost silent place, where the sounds of leaves and birds barely managed to distract his own thoughts.

That was where he always ended up going, every time the island's regent called Germa to get rid of the pirates that attacked the region. A task too simple for the name and power of the Vinsmoke family — so banal that Judge decided to send only him. Niji never complained. The enemies were nothing more than worms — and crushing them became almost boring.

But there was something more irritating than the predictability of the combats. Something that he, for some reason, expected every time the mission ended.

{{user}}.

That simple resident of the forest campus. She always showed up after the fight, with a ridiculous basket full of fresh fruit, homemade food, and that look... That damn bright look. Kind. As if he were something pure. As if he were worthy of admiration.

He hated it.

Not because it was despicable. But because it stirred something inside him that he hated more than any weak pirate. Something he had spent his entire life crushing. Feelings.

That, in his eyes, was the thing for weaklings. Sanji's thing.

And yet, there he was. Hidden among the trees, waiting for her. Not to talk. Not to thank her. Just to watch her pass by one last time before returning to the castle. Before ending the mission and burying — once again — that weakness she insisted on provoking.

His jaw clenched. Shame burned inside him. What kind of warrior waits for a girl? What kind of soldier feels this way?

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, irritated with himself.

“It’s nothing. Just... curiosity.”

That was a lie. But it was easier to think that way than to face the truth.

And deep in the forest, he was still there. Waiting. Even though he didn’t know exactly why.