Fae POV

I woke up in bed with a massive headache and a cool thin white cloth on top of my head. I pulled the cloth off my forehead trying to lean up but my body ached and my head pounded even harder. “Ite te te te.” I couldn’t help but wince in pain.

“Don’t push yourself.” I heard Katakuri’s whisper next to my ear. I jumped out of skin at the sound of his voice, “don’t scare me like that! If you saw that I was awake then you should have said something!” I yelled smacking him with the back of my hand and he chuckled from my out burst.

“I did say something.” He laughed light-heartedly as if he was relieved to see me awake. I shot daggers at him but I felt my eyes widen as the memories of the earlier events flowed back all at once.

“The Sea Serpent! Where is he?! Is he okay?!” I shouted trying to lean up again. Katakuri pushed me down pulling me in to his arms to keep me still.

“The snake is fine, just take a look over there.” He said shifting his eyes to the corner of the room. Katakuri was right but he was a lot smaller then last time I seen him. “Oh, so he’s a Volatile Serpent.” I whispered under my breath.

“A what?” Katakuri asked curiously. “A Volatile Serpent. It’s a rare Sea Serpent that can shift it’s size at will. Amazing right?! There so rare that I never seen one until today.” I said happily.

“Well, he didn’t just shrink. He saved you from hitting the water and he’s taken quite a liking to you, too. My men had to drug him to pry him off of you.” Katakuri said seriously. I studied the Serpent from afar, there was no mistaken those beautiful aqua scales and that lovely white fur of his. It was him and he was so cute curled up resting his head on his body sleeping peacefully. I think I’ll call him, Azure.

I felt my body relax against Katakuri who was snuggling up close to me. “So. . . You have devil fruit powers?” I asked knowing it was going to be brought up eventually and might as well get it over with.

“I do.” He admitted playing with the ends of my hair.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

He was silent for a moment  before he finally answered me, "you never asked and I haven’t had to use them until today so I didn’t think much about it.” He casually stated but at least he was honest.

“It kinda looked like. . Mochi.” My words skeptically came off my tongue but I wasn't sure how else to decide it.

“That’s because it was. I ate the Mochi-Mochi fruit.” He said turning his fingers into Mochi. “Woah, that’s amazing!” I admired his abilities grabbing one of his Mochi fingers stretching it out. “So cool!” I knew I had sparkles in my eyes.

“You have devil fruit powers as well but, I never seen anyone with multiple powers before.” He muttered seriously putting his fingers back to normal. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't play with his Mochi fingers anymore but I knew I had to explain myself even though I really didn’t want to.

“So, you saw? H-how much did you see?” I asked hesitantly.

“All of it.” I gazed into his eyes. He wasn’t acting differently towards me but that doesn’t mean anything. “D-do you find me creepy now?” I asked nervously squeezing my eyes shut tight. He flicked my forehead with his fingers.

“Ow!” I whined covering my forehead with my hands. “Don’t be stupid. How did those words of yours go again? ‘I like you for you.’” He smirked down at me. I puckered out my cheeks pouting feeling heat rise up on my face from embarrassment. He chuckled softly nuzzling his nose into my neck when he saw my reaction.

I felt so relieved but embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I never said anything. I didn’t want you treating me differently but yes, I have powers too.” I mumbled, looking at the palm of my hand.

“I’m really good at healing others and if someone were to harm me, my body would heal instantly all on it’s own but if I were to inflict injury’s or harm myself in any way, my body rejects healing it self. I guess you could say it’s like a double edged sword. It can help me and others but it can punish me too. I know that because I tested it.”

“How so?” Katakuri asked me frowning. I sighed, that look he’s giving me tells me, he’s not going to like my answer. “When I practice combat fighting with Sanosuke, my wounds would heal not long after but if I accidentally cut myself cooking or baking, the wound would still be there for a few days, so a few years ago, I thought I would test it out by cutting my inner thigh.” I could see Katakuri’s frown deepen.

I smiled awkwardly at him. Yeah, he didn't like my answer just as I thought. “I didn’t want Leon or Sanosuke to notice, if the wound didn’t heal immediately but I regretted it instantly because it took months to heal and be able to walk properly again.” I said cringing and remembering the awkward walks and sit downs.

I got another flick to my forehead. “Ow! What was that for!?” I shouted at him in irritation.

“Cause I felt like it. You are laying in this bed right now because you strained yourself, am I right?”

I could feel my eyes widen with surprise, “wow, you catch on pretty fast.” I'm impressed but I shook it off getting back to where I left off.

“Anyways, I can also cycle out negative energy by replacing it with a positive energy through my touch. Anger, hatred, fear, hopelessness, jealousy, and stress all cause problems with the human body, so I know the healing I do is responsible for that ability. However. ., all the negative energy gets stored into me until my body slowly dissolves it all on it’s own.”

Katakuri’s eyes filled with shock then slowly turned to worry. I couldn’t help but smile softly up at him. “Don’t worry, sleep is the only side effect, that I know of. Besides, if it’s just a small amount of negative energy, all I need is a good night sleep but the stronger the negative energy is the longer my body needs to sleep to heal. I did it all the time to Leon, so I would know but I think he caught on to what I was doing because he wouldn’t allow me to touch him long enough to make it work.” I sighed looking up at the ceiling.

“I remember. You’ve done that a handful of times to me and to be honest, I don’t want you doing it anymore. Theirs no telling how much damage your body is enduring when you do something like that and I definitely don’t want to find out what happens if you take to much.” He said seriously catching my hand in his.

Uh-oh, busted. “I'm sorry but I promise I only did it when you was angry!” I said in a panic shacking my free hand side to side. He scoffed as if he was enjoying watching me squirm, “I know. Every time you touched me when I was upset. I could feel your calmness coursing through my body and it felt good, I’ll admit that but the thought of my negative emotions getting sucked into you and not really know where it goes. Well, lets just say I don’t like the thought of it, so please don’t do it anymore.” He whispered staring into my eyes.

I nodded my head and his crimson eyes became soft and tender. He kissed the ends of my fingers gently and I could feel my face flushing but I couldn’t pull my hand away, no, more like I didn’t want to pull my hand away.

“What about you controlling the water? I never imagined anyone could do something like that other then the fishmen.” Katakuri asked curiously. His tongue wrapped around my index finger and for the first time I felt heat between my legs. My body feels so hot. I couldn’t help but squirm rubbing my thighs together and my mind couldn’t grasp what was happening to me. The more I panted and squirmed with his tongue on my skin, the more he seemed amused with my reactions.

“Fae?” Katakuri called out my name softly peering into my face with hunger in his eyes.

I had to look away from him hoping that it would cool my body down but it didn’t. “O-oh, sorry. Uh-um, b-bending water is more difficult for me.” I took deep breathes in and out to calm myself but he wasn’t letting up. “K-katahuri, I-I can’t think straight with you doing that.” I said honestly with my skin burning with embarrassment. The smile grew on his handsome face.

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound or look sorry at all, if anything he seemed to be toying with me.

“Your not really sorry at all, are you?” I glared at him. I keep telling my mind and heart that I love him as a friend but my body keeps betraying me and reacts to him in ways that tell me I love him more then just a friend.

He chuckled with amusement. “No, your reactions were to cute, I just couldn’t resist.” He said teasingly with a charming smile. I did my best not to frown at him but I couldn’t help but shoot daggers at him.

Doesn’t he realize he’s pulling at my heart strings and I don’t like it. I want to smack him silly because he’s making me fall in love with him when, I know he doesn’t feel the same way. He really is just like Sanosuke, he loves teasing me and normally I don’t mind but. . It hurts.

I shook my head shaking away my emotions and cleared my throat trying to remember where I left off, “Anyways, it takes a lot out of me to use that power. I can only lift so much before it feels like I’m straining myself but I think it’s cause I’m not strong enough. I still have a long ways to go because I’m still weak.” I whispered huffing not really wanting to think about anything anymore.

“How did you run on the water?”

I had to repeat his question in my head. “Oh that, I used a thin layer of water at the bottom of my feet. Think of it as two magnets repelling against each other when you try to force them to together. It took me almost a year to master it but it was worth it.” I said dully trying to explain it the best way I could.

“To be honest with you, though. I don’t remember how I got these abilities. I can only rely on what I have been told by Leon and he says my parents did this to me. I don’t know if it’s true or not but it really doesn’t matter. I have them and there’s nothing that can change that.” I said seriously peering up at Katakuri who was listening to everything I was saying without judgment.

“You know, you’re the first person I ever opened up to about this. Not even Sanosuke or Leon knows I can manipulate water. The healing was obvious of course but it wasn’t something we ever talked about, for the simple fact I always thought it was unnatural until recently.” I could feel myself frowning just thinking about how I thought I was some kind of freak or monster for so long.

Why didn’t Leon say anything? Because Leon never tells you anything unless it’s convenient for him. I sighed, the longer I’m away from him the more questions I have.

“Well, your secret is safe with me, even though you have nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me when I say this. There are hundreds of people who have devil fruit powers, including most of my family, so know ones going to bat an eye at what you can do and if someone has something to say, they can deal with me.” He said smiling ever so softly at me.

I could feel my eyes tear up. There he goes again, saying something stupid that just makes me love him even more. I buried my face into his chest so he wouldn’t see me cry so pathetically.

He didn’t hesitate to comfort me and their was such a big difference between our body sizes but I felt like I belong here in his arms. He accepted me for me and I couldn’t have asked for more at that moment.

I rubbed my eyes dry. Okay, you big baby. No more crying! Tears are not going salve all your problems. It’s a temporary relief until you find a permanent solution!

“You know, you forgotten a power.” He said softly pulling me out of motivating pep talk for myself. I titled my head up confused, “no, I’m pretty sure I told you all of them.”

He shook his head no, “you can talk to monsters.” He said pointing at the Azure who still sleeping in the corner of the room. I blinked a few times confused by his words. “Azure, is not a monster and no, I told you before anyone can talk to anything that is alive if your willing to listen to the voices of the universe.” I said trying to explain myself. 

When he just stared at me blankly, I knew he wasn’t getting it. I sighed, “I don’t believe I’m the only one who possess that ability. I just have an open mind and a love for all living things.” I said earnestly but I could see skepticism lingering in his eyes.

I sighed again, “Look, I’m a firm believer that all life is precious. From the smallest bug, to the largest creature in the world. From an innocent new born baby, to the worse villain. It doesn’t matter to me what you are or where you come from. Everyone and everything has the right to live. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t eat meat and refuse to kill. All life is sacred to me and I won’t forgive anyone who takes it for granted so easily.” I said seriously remembering the boat that shot Azure.

“By the way, what happened to the shooter?” I asked spitefully.

“Oh, about that. . . He’s waiting patiently for us on top of the deck.” Katakuri announced, pointing up at the ceiling.

I huffed blowing my hair out of my face, “great.” I uttered monotonously.