Burning Hearts [SEQUEL INCLUDED]

Chapter 22.5

Ace

I was pregnant. I have a baby in me! The thing was I can't get pregnant because I'm a man. Or am I really? I then walked to Curiel's room and knocked on the door. Speaking of which, I also want to ask him something else as well.

"Come in!"

I heard Marco answer instead of Curiel and that made me confused. I opened the door and Marco was... massaging Curiel? He was sitting beside Curiel lying down on his stomach and applying some oil on his hand.

"Oh, hey, kiddo. Curiel's been sore these days so I thought I'd give him a massage. Anyway, what's up?" Marco asked.

"I've been... wondering. I've been hearing some people who saw my bulging stomach telling me I'm a hermaphrodite. What does that mean?" I asked.

Curiel opened his eyes a little and sighed as Marco massaged him.

"Well, a hermaphrodite is someone or something with both male and female sex organs. There are rare cases but most of those rare cases happen in women. I guess you should ask someone you know about your case. I'm figuring this out too because your birth certificate also showed otherwise. Surely, there's a reason behind the mistake which I believed was made on purpose," Curiel explained.

I knew then who to ask because he's the only person, other than Pops, who was close to Dad.

"Ace! Congrats on bearing a child! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

I hugged Garp gently so as to not make the baby uncomfortable. Garp pulled a chair out for me and I thanked him before sitting down. If you're wondering where I am, I can tell you I'm not on the Moby Dick. Instead, I'm at the Marine HQ.

Earlier

"You sure you'll be alright?" Marco asked.

"I'll be fine. No one would be mad enough to hurt a pregnant pirate," I answered.

Ok, maybe I might've lied about not getting hurt but you get the point. Marco helped to place my bag on my boat and I hopped on my small boat after. I then pecked Marco on his cheek and bid goodbye before sailing to Marineford, where the big HQ is located. As I travelled, I came across a stranded marine who was injured and helped him by bringing him to HQ. Upon arrival, some of the marines were going into defending positions but the marine I rescued earlier told them to stand down and backed me up. The other marines lowered their weapons and I entered, sailing slowly into the HQ. I carried the injured marine off my boat and the medics took over from there.

"Uh, can I ask if Grandpa's here?" I asked.

One of the medics were confused and then, I internally slapped my forehead. I forgot they don't know who Grandpa is.

"I need to see Garp-san. Is he around?" I asked again.

The medic nodded and accompanied me to the building while the other medics carried the injured marine to the infirmary. Probably. I looked around and the building was huge. There were marines eyeing me as I walked through them uncuffed. I just sighed and looked ahead. I wasn't planning on doing anything and they already look like a pack of wolves ready to attack. These guys never change, do they? After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at Garp's office. His door, to be precise. The medic knocked on the door and I heard munching. It's Grandpa eating his crackers again. What an old geezer.

"Garp-san! Someone wants to see you!"

"Tell them to talk to Sengoku! I'm not available!" Garp exclaimed.

Is this him at work all the time? Not only is he an old geezer but he is a lazy one, too. I sighed softly and spoke.

"Old geezer! It's me!" I shouted.