"Waking up early to train must be tough, Rear Admiral Gion."
"I know," Gion replied with a smile. "But haven't you gotten used to it by now, Mister 'Five-Thirty'?"
"Please don't go giving me weird nicknames like that," Nao said with a straight face. "People could seriously get the wrong idea."
"My bad. But that's got nothing to do with you showing up at my door, does it?"
"Actually, it does," Nao said, looking solemn. "I haven't eaten since last night. I'm starving. I want to train, but I've got no energy."
"Then go eat something in the mess hall first."
"It's too early. The kitchen's not open yet," Nao replied. "Which is why I urgently need a little spiritual nourishment. Something to inject energy and motivation into my weak, fragile body."
"I don't serve that kind of weird stuff."
"You're too modest, Rear Admiral," Nao declared earnestly. "Just seeing you is enough to recharge me. Forget training—I could go another round with that giant bear. Heck, a hundred rounds wouldn't be a problem."
Gion stared at him without expression for a beat, then took a step back and placed her hand on the doorframe.
"No! Wait, Rear Admiral!"
Nao panicked and quickly stopped her. "I'm serious, okay? I really do have something I came to ask you. I just knew you weren't up yet and didn't want to knock and disturb you... so I waited quietly outside."
He was an honest man, after all. Not about to admit he'd only been standing there for less than a minute.
Gion sighed and paused, withdrawing her hand from the door. She looked at him with resignation. "You could've just said that from the start."
But skipping the flirting part?
What fun would that be?
Nao cleared his throat, then pulled a crumpled note from his pocket. He smoothed it out carefully and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
Something he'd spent a lot of time preparing ahead of time.
Not that he was going to admit that.
"I found it this morning, stuffed in the pocket of my jacket," Nao said. "It's got a bunch of random letters and numbers. I think I saw something similar in a Marine manual once... It might be shortwave code used by HQ."
"Hm?" Gion glanced at the paper. "Yeah, that's definitely shortwave encryption. You haven't learned this yet?"
"I've only been at HQ for, what, not even a full year?" Nao shrugged. "You're giving me too much credit. I asked some of the others, but they didn't know either. I figured it might be important, so I came to you."
"You should've asked Kuzan. He's your direct superior. I'm just a guest on this ship."
"I don't really know him that well."
"Oh? And you think you and I are close?"
"What do you think?"
Nao blinked innocently, eyes dark as ink—yet, somehow, they sparkled like starlight despite the early morning light.
Gion had a retort on the tip of her tongue—"No, we're not"—but when she met his gaze, she paused. Her breath hitched slightly, just for a moment. She looked away, pretending to examine the paper.
Nao wasn't sure if he imagined it, but her breathing definitely seemed a little uneven for a second.
Then Gion looked up again, a strange expression in her eyes.
"Who gave you this?"
"I told you—I just found it in my coat this morning. If I knew who stuck it in there, I'd have already asked them what the hell it meant. You think I'd bother you otherwise?"
"Don't talk to a superior officer like that, kid."
"Sorry."
"I've decoded the message," Gion said, her lips curling slightly. "Let's just say... it's a good thing you didn't figure out who left it."
She pinched the note between two pale, elegant fingers and waved it in front of his face. "If you'd stormed off demanding answers, you'd have scared the poor girl into a hole."
"Girl?"
"Oh—well, maybe I'm assuming. Could've been a guy, I guess." Gion tapped her chin. "Actually, that might make things even more awkward for you."
"Can you please stop keeping me in suspense? You're gonna kill me."
"Fine, fine. No more teasing." She glanced back down at the paper. "To be specific, this is actually... a love letter. One that's been coded for privacy."
"There are only two lines. The first says: 'When night falls and all is quiet, I hope I'll see you at the back of the ship.'"
Nao raised an eyebrow. "And the second?"
"'Nao, I like you.'"
Gion paused. When she didn't hear a response, she frowned slightly and looked up—only to find Nao staring silently at her, eyes steady.
"I like you too, Rear Admiral."
She saw it with her own eyes—his lips shifting from closed to slightly parted, then forming those completely outrageous words.
"…"
The silence dragged for several seconds.
Then her brows snapped together, and she flicked him hard on the forehead.
"I meant the letter's words! That's what it said on the note!"
"I was being honest," Nao said, totally unbothered. "That was from the heart."
"…"
It felt like trying to punch through a cloud.
Gion rubbed her temples, exasperated beyond belief. This guy was impossible.
"All right, that's enough, kid. Say one more inappropriate thing and I really will get angry."
If it had been Garp pulling this crap, she'd have already kicked him straight into the sea.
"Sorry, Rear Admiral."
Nao didn't push his luck. He grinned and took the note back from her hand.
"Well, that clears that up. I thought it was some kind of secret intel that got delivered to the wrong person. Thanks for explaining."
"That's it?" Gion narrowed her eyes at him. "That was someone's heartfelt confession, you know. You're not even a little surprised?"
"Why would I be?"
"I dunno... maybe a little excitement? Some butterflies? That pounding-heart feeling, like a little deer's running wild inside you?"
"There's no deer in my heart," Nao said seriously. "Only a rabbit."
He spoke with a straight face, saying something Gion wouldn't fully understand for another twenty years.
"You're underestimating me, Rear Admiral. I've gotten confessions and love letters my whole life. This kind of thing doesn't shake me."
Gion had the perfect snarky comeback ready—but when she looked at his face up close, she found herself thinking, Actually… with this guy, that might not even be a lie.
A rare moment of honesty?
But then, just like that, he ruined it.
"Of course, if it were a confession from you, Gion... that'd be a different story. I wouldn't just lose composure—I'd probably swim all the way back to Marineford out of pure excitement."
"Get lost."
Gion finally lost patience and kicked him—hard.
"Dreaming this early in the morning? Me, confessing to you? Kid, there isn't a man alive who could make me do that!"
"Until the year 1482, sure—glub glub—!"
His last words were cut off as he plunged into the sea, a cold splash swallowing the second half of his sentence.
Above him, a seagull flew by and tilted its head, watching the black-haired boy flailing in the water with great curiosity.
—Shia's Diary—
Day 323 of having a crush on Nao — Sunny
Everyone thinks he was just standing on the second-floor deck enjoying the breeze, but I know he was with Rear Admiral Gion again. I'm annoyed.
A news seagull flew by and squawked loudly. Even more annoyed now. I kind of want to steal all the papers from its bag and never give them back, no matter how much it begs.
Confessing so recklessly back then, without knowing anything… Yeah, definitely the dumbest thing I've ever done. Should've asked someone experienced for advice first.
Also… why wasn't I the one who got to pet that sea beaver with him that night?