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"It's finally over," Ikki sighed, peeling off his extremely tight coat and tossing it aside before throwing himself onto the sofa. "Royal weddings sure have a ton of rules. These clothes are way too much."
"Tell me about it! This wedding dress nearly suffocated me," Vivi nodded, about to change out of her dress. Then she remembered she was in the same room as Ikki, immediately blushed, and stopped what she was doing.
"Hey, we're not staying here all night, are we, Vivi?" Ikki asked, putting his hands behind his head.
"Father said there are loads of people outside," Vivi replied, walking to the sofa next to Ikki and sitting down, her face getting even redder. "To make our act more believable, we need to stay together tonight."
This wasn't the Explorer but her own chambers. Apart from her father, this was the first time a man had entered her personal space. Just thinking about it, Vivi felt certain this would be a sleepless night.
"I see... I remember we have to tour various cities in Alabasta over the next few days, right?" Ikki asked.
"Yeah! According to Alabasta's traditions, after a royal wedding, the couple needs to visit different cities to get everyone's blessings."
"Well, looks like we'll be pretty busy these days," Ikki remarked. "Let's use this time to learn about Alabasta's customs. Vivi, I'll count on you to show me the ropes."
"Don't worry, Captain Ikki."
"Shouldn't you call me 'husband'?" he teased.
"Captain Ikki, we're just pretending to be married!" Vivi protested.
"Haha, bummer. I was hoping to try out a princess's bed, but I'd better crash on the sofa. It's getting late—we'll talk more in the morning, Vivi."
Ikki smiled at her, then closed his eyes to rest. The complex ceremony had left him more exhausted than fighting or training. Now that he could relax, sleep was overtaking him quickly. Soon after he finished speaking, his breathing became steady.
"Are you asleep, Captain Ikki?" Vivi whispered, walking over to squat beside him.
"Thank you for everything, Captain Ikki," she said softly. She smiled slightly, pursed her lips, and left a gentle kiss on his forehead before blushing and running to her bed.
Outside the door, Nami pressed her ear against the wood. "Did you hear anything, Nojiko?" she whispered.
"Seriously, if you're so curious, why not just knock?" Nojiko shook her head, taking Nami's hand and pulling her away. "Let's go. What if someone catches us?"
"Hey! Wait, Nojiko, I wanna listen more!" Nami protested.
Her voice finally reached Vivi's ears as she was preparing to rest. Vivi's face turned red again.
"Jeez! First my father, and now Nami too. It's obviously just a fake marriage. Why is everyone making such a big deal?" Vivi shook her head and glanced at Ikki to make sure his eyes were closed. She slowly removed her dress and lay down on the bed, but instead of resting, she found herself watching Ikki.
'It's so mean to make Captain Ikki sleep on the sofa after he's been so helpful, Vivi!' Suddenly, a tiny angel version of herself appeared in her mind, complete with white wings.
'This is ruthless from start to finish!' countered a devil Vivi with horns, appearing next. 'Captain Ikki is such a good guy—you should take this chance to make your move! Vivi, get up, use your charms, turn Nico Robin's lies into reality and get pregnant with his child! Captain Ikki has so many pretty women around him. If you don't act now, you'll regret it!'
Angel Vivi responded, 'No way! Vivi is a pure-hearted girl. At most, she can invite Captain Ikki to sleep in the bed for comfort, but she can't try anything inappropriate!'
Devil Vivi argued, 'Why not? You're married anyway. Isn't it normal for something to happen?'
Angel Vivi retorted, 'It's just a fake marriage! There's nothing like that between Captain Ikki and Vivi.'
Devil Vivi pressed, 'Relationships can be developed later, but you need to get ahead of Nami, Nojiko, or even Nico Robin!'
"That's enough!" Vivi said aloud, patting her burning cheeks to get rid of the fantasy of the angel and devil. "Seriously, what's wrong with my head?"
Vivi sighed and looked at Ikki again. After a slight hesitation, she finally got out of bed and walked over to him. She carefully lifted him and carried him to the bed. After turning down the sheets for him, Vivi bit her lip and, for reasons she couldn't explain, slipped under the covers herself.
'Just resting, doing nothing, nothing at all...' Vivi curled up and covered her face with her hands.
She didn't notice that Ikki had opened his eyes. Looking at her, he shook his head and closed his eyes again. Soon, his breathing became steady once more.
Meanwhile, Vivi, after hours of tension and the fatigue from fighting Crocodile earlier that day, gradually drifted off to sleep.
A few hours passed, and the first ray of sunlight streamed through the window. Vivi suddenly opened her eyes.
"Morning, Vivi," Ikki said.
"Morning, Captain Ikki..." Vivi responded automatically.
But soon, she realized she was hugging Ikki tightly, and the sheets were quite messed up. Seeing this, Vivi's drowsiness instantly vanished, and her eyes widened to their fullest.
"It's okay, you can get up now," Ikki said calmly. "My clothes are still on, and I didn't do anything to you. Seems you have a habit of hugging stuff while you sleep."
Hearing his words, Vivi quickly looked at herself and Ikki. When she confirmed they were both still dressed, she couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh—before immediately ducking under the sheets in embarrassment.
"I'm getting up first," Ikki said. "Don't we need to start our tour of the cities soon? You should get ready too."
He rolled out of bed, patted the lump under the sheets that was Vivi, and smiled.
"Captain Ikki, please... turn around first," came her muffled voice.
"Sure thing, whatever makes you comfortable."
Ikki shrugged, turned around, and walked toward the sofa. Vivi took a deep breath and quickly got up to prepare herself.
Just then, a knock came from the door—it was Cobra.
Several days later, at the coast of Alabasta, three Marine warships approached rapidly.
On the deck of the Explorer, Nico Robin frowned as she looked through a telescope at the figures on the distant warships.
"So many Marines coming here," she murmured. "And that ship has Tashigi and Smoker, who know Ikki... I should leave the Explorer for a while."
Robin shook her head, turned around, jumped off the ship, and rushed toward the nearby town. As for the Baroque Works agents still imprisoned on the Explorer, she couldn't be bothered with them now.
Soon after, the three warships successfully docked at the port. Tashigi, Smoker, and Hina, all familiar with Ikki's ship, immediately recognized the Explorer.
"That's the Explorer!" Tashigi's eyes lit up as she jumped onto the deck. Smoker, Hina, and another Marine officer quickly followed.
"You are... Vice Admiral Gion?" Smoker said with surprise, looking at the tall, elegant woman. "Didn't expect someone of your rank to come to Alabasta."
"It's been a while, Smoker. You seem the same as ever," Gion replied with a smile. "As for this mission, we're here to deal with Shichibukai Crocodile. It shouldn't be surprising that I'm involved."
"A Marine Admiral candidate wouldn't come just for Shichibukai Crocodile," Smoker said meaningfully, glancing at the sword at Gion's waist.
He had heard from Hina that Marine Headquarters was very interested in Ikki's swordsmanship style, and Gion was one of the most powerful swordsmen in the Marines. Among all the Vice Admirals, they had sent one skilled with a sword—it was hard for Smoker not to suspect other motives.
"Haha, I admit I'm also curious about Ikki's swordsmanship," Gion said, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword and glancing at Tashigi. "I've heard it's pretty unique."
Tashigi, noticing Gion's attention, immediately straightened her posture and nervously regarded the woman Smoker had called an Admiral candidate.
"We can chat later," Hina interjected, turning toward the cabin. "We're here to check out Crocodile and visit Ikki."
"Hey, isn't it a bit rude to barge into someone's cabin without permission?" Smoker frowned, following her.
"We're all buddies, so it's fine," Hina replied. "And Hina won't steal anything. Maybe he's working out in his gym or training room right now."
Hina continued walking. Like Tashigi, she had seen Ikki's gym before and thought that if he was exercising in that space, he might not have noticed their arrival.
"Let's follow, Lieutenant Tashigi," Gion said with a gentle smile, falling into step behind them.
Tashigi naturally stayed close behind.
However, when they reached Ikki's captain's cabin, there was no sign of him, nor could they find the doors to the gym or sword training room.
"That's weird," Hina frowned, examining the wall of the captain's quarters. "Where's the entrance to the gym and training room?"
"Isn't that part of Ikki's ability?" Smoker suggested. "He must not be here now, so he's moved those rooms elsewhere. It is pretty rude of us to barge in like this... Wait, do you hear something?"
Smoker turned his head toward the direction of the Explorer's holding cells.