"This is just a small punishnt for teasing ."
Gion smiled sweetly as she took the apple back from Nao's hand. Like a girl smugly winning a bet, she lifted her chin and took delicate little bites.
But after the first bite… sothing felt off.
Huh?
Why are there already teeth marks on this?
"I think you grabbed the wrong one…" Nao said hesitantly. "That's the one I already started eating."
"..."
She froze.
Then—
She turned her head away and… just kept eating. As if she hadn't heard a word.
"Eh?"
Now it was Nao's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Uh… did you not hear—"
"Shut up."
"But, aren't you gonna switch it out? I an, you're really not bothered by—"
"I said shut up."
"…Oh."
Nao fell silent imdiately.
What could he do? In the Marines, rank is everything — and Gion outranked him by at least a dozen levels. He couldn't exactly argue with her.
Still… she really didn't mind?
He glanced at the half-eaten apple again. She took another bite, then looked up — their eyes t across the space between them. Nao blinked, then suddenly understood, and couldn't help but smile.
Gion pursed her lips, then smiled softly too.
Right. Between the two of them… why would either be bothered?
They'd used each other's bodies for sleeping, washing, eating — everything.
That ti when they'd switched bodies… it had been strange, surreal, and oddly intimate. Like a shared secret tucked away deep in a closet — hazy, confusing, and sohow heart-fluttering in retrospect.
The kind of secret only two people who'd hidden in the sa closet during a ga of hide-and-seek would know.
To put it plainly?
I've used your mouth for days. Why would I care about a little saliva?
A breeze rustled the curtains, filling the room with the soft sound of fabric brushing together.
The air between them suddenly felt a little charged.
Nao didn't say anything else. He simply watched as Gion slowly finished the apple. When she was done, he reached out and took the core from her, tossing it into the trash can by the nightstand.
That's when he noticed sothing inside the half-open drawer — a brand-new pair of round, black-frad glasses.
"Hey, what's this?"
He picked them up, flipping them around in his hands, puzzled.
"I was pretty badly hurt," Gion said, pointing to the left side of her temple, where a faint bandage mark remained. "Took a heavy hit there. Damaged the optic nerve. When I woke up, my vision was blurry, so I asked the doctors to get glasses."
"But fortunately, with so rest and treatnt, my eyes healed up. So I didn't end up needing them."
"Good thing too," Nao said, tossing the glasses back into the drawer with disdain. "Round, black, and hideous. You'd look awful in those."
"Oh? So you're finally saying I'm ugly, huh, kid?"
"Vice Admiral," Nao said flatly, "twisting logic like that is a classic symptom of middle-aged won. You should work on that."
He bit into his own apple. "I clearly ant the glasses. I an, who even designs stuff that ugly? Anyone who likes those must be so creepy old man with zero taste—"
He stopped.
Because Gion had turned her face to the side and was biting her lip — clearly trying not to laugh.
Nao suddenly sensed sothing was off.
He turned around—
Standing by the door were two new figures:
One was a goat, slowly chewing sothing.
The other was Sengoku — one hand in his pocket, the other holding a folder, wearing a face dark as thunderclouds.
"…No way."
Nao froze.
Seriously?!
Why does this old man always show up right when I'm running my mouth? Are you using Observation Haki just to ti your entrances perfectly, Sengoku?!
"I'm sorry, Fleet Admiral!"
He jumped up and bowed instinctively. "I speak without thinking — but I swear I wasn't talking about you!"
"Shut it, brat. Now I really want to hit you."
Sengoku scowled, dropping the folder onto the nightstand. "Here. The intel you wanted. Leaving it here."
"Thanks, little Sengoku," Gion said with a sweet smile. "Why'd you bring it yourself?"
"Tsuru had an ergency. Roped into it." Sengoku sighed. "Besides, after how badly you got hurt this ti, it's only right I stop by. You feeling better?"
"Mm. If all goes well, I'll be discharged tonight."
"Good."
Sengoku looked relieved. He glanced from Gion in bed to Nao standing quietly at the side — his eyes unreadable, thoughtful.
But he didn't ask anything.
After a few more polite words, Sengoku turned to leave.
On his way out, he grabbed one of the apples on the nightstand, bit into it — unwashed, unpeeled — and walked out the door with the goat in tow.
Nao waited until he was gone before sitting back down.
"Rear—"
He started, but Gion raised a finger and shushed him.
Then she turned and called toward the hallway:
"Oi, Sengoku-chan~! Eavesdropping on gossip? That's not very Admiral-like of you!"
Dammit, I got caught?
"Lies! I've already left!" ca the gruff voice from down the hall.
Then ca the heavy stomp stomp stomp of boots — pounding the stairs in frustration. Yeah, he was really gone this ti.
"That old rascal."
Gion laughed and turned back—only to see Nao already flipping through the file he'd brought.
"Hey, kid."
She reached out with one finger and flicked him on the forehead.
"You didn't even ask if you could look. What if it was classified intel? You know they could throw you in Impel Down for that, right?"
"It's fine," Nao said without looking up. "A few years from now, my friend'll probably bust out anyway."
He scanned the file quickly. "And don't try to scare . The cover clearly says it's a detailed report on the G7 incident. Nothing confidential here."
His finger traced across the page, flipping through quickly, scanning for sothing.
"Ah, here we go."
He slowed down on page five, eyes narrowing at a particular passage, and read aloud:
"Our officer, Rear Admiral Gion, dominated the battle against Sweet Commander Smoothie of the Big Mom Pirates with superior swordsmanship."
"However, after being blindsided by Drought Dugalileo of the Beasts Pirates — struck near the eye socket — the tide turned. She was eventually overpowered by Smoothie and her sister Amande, and left critically injured and unconscious, nearly captured."
"…Drought Dugalileo. Smoothie. Amande."
Nao closed the file, eting Gion's gaze with a calm, confident smile.
"I'll rember those nas, Rear Admiral."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at spatreon/c/ReadJin
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