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"Nothing."
Hina turned her head as she said it.
Even someone with her temperament wasn't comfortable telling others what she'd actually been thinking, especially not the women who orbited Ikki. If Ikki ever found out, there was no telling what he might do with it. Worse, Hina had a nagging feeling that Nami might do something very similar if she knew.
'Are you hiding something?'
"Nothing? Then why won't you look me in the eye?"
Nami stepped closer and stared straight into Hina's eyes. But Hina was too distracted to meet her gaze, and could only mask her expression behind a drag of smoke.
"Alright, Nami, Hina has her reasons. Let's not make things difficult for her."
Nojiko laughed as she said it, though the way she studied Hina made Hina feel completely seen through. Hina could only sigh inwardly. Nojiko really was sharper than she'd given her credit for.
"Reason?"
Nami stared at Hina a moment longer. But considering it had been her sister's suggestion, and considering the more pressing question of where Ikki had gone, she eventually let her attention drift away from Hina.
"Nojiko, should we go find Ikki and check on him? It wouldn't be good for him to wander off right now."
There was real concern in Nami's voice. Others might not know the truth, but how could Nami not know it? The Marines assumed Ikki had brought them along to help fight the Whitebeard Pirates. In reality, Ikki had already prepared to lead the entire crew against the Marines and the World Government outright, and at this exact moment he'd gone off to keep company with a Marine officer. It left Nami a little at a loss for words.
"Don't worry, Captain Ikki knows what he's doing. We crew members just have to trust him," Nojiko said.
"But... okay." Nami sighed.
Even with a major battle bearing down on them, why did Ikki still act exactly the same as ever? Still, as Nojiko said, all any of them could do was trust him. Whatever his shortcomings, he'd never once let them down when it mattered. And Nami could hardly lecture the man who'd saved her life. In the end, she settled for chatting idly with Nojiko and Hina, trading a few words back and forth as they waited for Ikki to return.
Meanwhile, Ikki had followed Kujaku to a quiet, secluded corner of the base where there wasn't another soul in sight.
His attention had drifted to what lay just ahead of him: the gentle sway of her hips as she walked, radiating all the allure of a mature woman.
'That must feel incredible to touch.'
Ikki lifted a hand and stroked his chin, quietly gauging its softness from a distance. Then his gaze climbed higher, settling on her waist. Like most beauties of the sailing world, Kujaku had a waist narrow enough that it looked like it would fit perfectly in a single hand.
'I could probably wrap my fingers all the way around it.'
Between that waist and a face like hers, Ikki found he couldn't tear his eyes away, and for reasons he couldn't quite explain, he began to feel a flicker of anticipation for whatever she had planned for him.
"The Marine Headquarters is preparing for war against the Whitebeard Pirates. Every capable soldier has already been called to the plaza. As for the recruits who haven't finished training, there's no way they can keep training here, so they've been sent elsewhere," Kujaku said.
It wasn't the sort of thing headquarters would ordinarily share with a pirate, but Ikki was no ordinary pirate, and none of it was exactly a secret. Anyone paying attention could have pieced it together on their own. So as far as Kujaku was concerned, telling him outright wasn't a problem.
"That makes sense. I suppose some of the new recruits just aren't ready for a battle on this scale," Ikki said, glancing over and nodding.
Kujaku stopped abruptly, and Ikki walked straight into her back.
"Why'd you stop so suddenly?" Ikki asked, rubbing his nose in confusion.
'That should be far enough.'
Kujaku turned to face him. "Is this far enough? There's no one around for miles, is there?" she asked.
Ikki nodded. The spot was about as remote as anywhere at the current Marine Headquarters got. Even if Ikki set her clothes on fire later, Kujaku wouldn't have to worry about anyone else seeing her body. She was ready now, ready to have him test her and see which fighting style suited her best, and privately, she was curious whether her charm could get a rise out of him too.
"Come on, Ikki, let's get started," Kujaku said, spreading her arms wide.
"Get started with what, exactly?" Ikki asked, tilting his head at her.
She looked completely unguarded, as if inviting him to come at her from any angle he liked. But Ikki wasn't naive enough to believe his luck could really be that good.
"You really don't want to give it a try?" Kujaku sighed and closed the distance between them, pressing herself fully against his chest.
Thanks to his heightened senses, Ikki could practically calculate the exact pressure she was putting on him.
'Wait, why am I doing physics problems right now?'
Ikki caught himself and raised both hands in surrender. "Ms. Kujaku, you really shouldn't do things a suspicious mind could easily misread. If anything happened, I'd have no way to explain it to the staff officer."
His answer only irritated her further.
"Are you really saying I'm that unappealing? I heard your ship even has a bath meant for checking on your crewmates' condition up close. Why aren't you interested in mine anymore?" As she spoke, Kujaku grabbed his hand and pressed it firmly against the fullest part of her back.
The sensation was enough that Ikki couldn't help but give it a squeeze.
"Oh, so you are interested after all," Kujaku said, smiling despite the faint color rising in her cheeks.
"There's nothing I can do about it, I'm a normal man same as any other. Naturally I take more of an interest in soft things," Ikki said, shaking his head.
"That's true enough, but I still have my doubts. Do you really have to push this far, Ms. Kujaku? It doesn't suit your whole regal act one bit."