Sitting there, surrounded by Luffy, Zoro, and Coby, Nexús kept his expression completely blank, but inside?
'Do I really stay in the same place with Luffy, Zoro, and Coby? Did I seriously become part of the crew'
It still didn't feel real. Everything had happened so fast. He had died, reincarnated, stolen clothes, got arrested, fought Marines, and now—
'I'm actually sitting here, eating with them. Like it's normal.'
Before he could spiral deeper, Zoro's voice snapped him out of it.
"Aaah, I'm stuffed! I was definitely at my rope's end, haven't eaten for three days straight!"
The group laughed, but Nexús' expression immediately soured when he finally notice—
His plate was already half-empty.
He stiffened. Slowly, he turned his head.
Luffy, happily chewing on a familiar-looking piece of meat, blinked at him. "You're finished already?"
Nexús' eye twitched.
"How the heck does he have an appetite bigger than me!?"Said Zoro, feeling disbelief.His face literally show 'You're telling me that I haven't eaten in three days, and somehow you're the one starving?'
Luffy just grinned. "It's delicious, right, Coby? And—" He paused, suddenly looking at Nexús with wide eyes.
"Ah! I still don't know your name! What's your name?"
Nexús felt all eyes on him.
He exhaled through his nose, keeping his tone calm and indifferent.
"Nexús."
It was the name he had randomly given his OC years ago. And now?
It was his.
Luffy beamed. "That's a cool name, Nexús! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Behind me is Coby, and he is Ronoro Zoro!"
"It's Roronoa Zoro, stupid," Zoro corrected, irritated.
But then, something shifted in Zoro's expression. His sharp eyes narrowed slightly.
"No family name?"
Nexús barely managed to keep a neutral expression.
Zoro smirked."Are you an wild kid or what?"
He almost choked on air.
What was he even supposed to say to that!?
He wanted to just brush it off, to answer casually and move on. But instead, his mouth moved on its own.
"Think what you want to think."
'Damn it.'
The words came out colder than intended, and Nexús could physically feel Zoro's stare.
But thankfully, Zoro just clicked his tongue in response.
Before, when he had answered Luffy's crew invitation, he had sounded so nonchalant and cold. At first, he thought it was just because he was panicking. But now?
'That's not the problem, is it?'
Because even now, his words kept coming out like that.
Short. Blunt. Emotionless.
It was as if something was stopping him from expressing himself properly.
'Is this related to my OC?'
The thought disturbed him.For someone else isn't a big deal but for him .... worst.He had been so excited, so ready to accept this new life. He had thought it was too easy.
But he hadn't expected the cost to be this.
'I can't even act like myself anymore?what the mysterious voice did to me?'
Coby, who had already heard his name earlier, suddenly perked up in curiosity.
"Nexús-san, were you born with that hair color? It looks so ethereal! As if you're from another world! You're so handsome..."
Nexús swallowed thickly.
This was too much attention.
He wanted to answer politely, to be friendly, but once again—
"Yes."
Short. Blunt. Cold.
Coby's eyes sparkled. "Ooh! That's amazing!"
Even the little girl nearby looked at him in awe.
Nexús fought the urge to bury his face in his hands.He barely managed to nod when the kind woman who had provided their meal spoke up.
"Thank you for saving the town," she said warmly. "This meal is the least I can do."
Coby looked flustered. "Oh, no, thank you for the food!"
The little girl clapped her hands. "You were really amazing!"
Luffy grinned. "I'll be even more amazing in the future—because I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"
Zoro huffed, crossing his arms. "So how many others have you gathered besides me and him?" He tilted his head toward Nexús.
Luffy blinked. "Huh?"
Zoro continued, raising a brow. "You said you were gathering a crew, right? To become the King of the Pirates, you need a big crew. So how many people do you have so far?"
Luffy grinned widely. "I have just you and Nexús!"
Silence.
Coby choked on his drink.
Zoro froze. Slowly, he lifted a finger and pointed at himself. Then at Nexús.
Nexús, who had been desperately trying not to laugh, closed his eyes to hide the amusement.
"You mean… just us?" Zoro asked blankly.
"Yup!" Luffy said proudly. "Just you, Nexús, and me!"
Zoro looked like he was reconsidering all his life choices.
Nexús, meanwhile, was dying internally.
Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're seriously just calling three people a pirate crew?"
"What's wrong with that? We're strong, right, Nexús?" Luffy turned to him, expecting agreement.
Nexús nodded.
Because honestly? It wasn't even a lie.
They were strong. And they were only going to get stronger.
Zoro let out a tired sigh. "Fine. Then where's your pirate ship?"
"There!" Luffy pointed excitedly.
Everyone turned to look.
Nexús followed his gaze—
And immediately stared.
There, floating on the water, wasn't even a ship.
It was just a simple canoe.
A tiny, pathetic excuse for a boat that could barely fit five people.
Zoro stood by the window, arms crossed, his brow furrowed as he stared at the small canoe floating outside. "That?"
Luffy, still grinning like an idiot, stretched his arms out wide. "We'll have a ship this big before long!"
Nexús watched as Luffy gestured to absolutely nothing, mimicking the size of a massive ship with his arms.
Zoro let out a dry laugh. "How's that?" His voice practically dripped with sarcasm.
"And I'd like a pirate flag too!" Luffy added, pausing dramatically, as if he could already see it flying proudly in the wind.
"Yeah, yeah, so cool!" Luffy cheered for himself, clearly unfazed by how ridiculous he sounded.
Meanwhile, Zoro rubbed his forehead like he was trying to physically push away the migraine forming in his skull. Nexús, observing silently from the side, thought that if he didn't already know how things would turn out, he'd probably have the exact same reaction.
"I think Luffy-san was just born without any sense of planning," Coby muttered, smiling awkwardly.
Zoro groaned. "Did I really make this guy my captain!?" His disbelief was so strong that for a moment, Nexús thought he might actually walk away.
But that didn't stop him from rubbing his forehead even harder, his sweat rolling down his face in visible regret.
Luffy, still completely confident in his nonsense, waved him off. "Well, we'll get more crew before long!"
Nexús let his gaze drop to the table.
There was still some food left.
His stomach let out a low growl.
He'd died once and almost died a second time—he deserved to enjoy a meal, didn't he?
But a nagging thought crept in: Would the food taste different in this world? Everything sounded the same, but what about flavor?
He picked up a piece of meat, chewing thoughtfully.
...Not the best, but still decent .Thankfully the taste was familiar with his tongue or he gonna cried.
As the conversation continued around him, an idea suddenly struck his mind like an embarrassing memory creeping up at 3 AM.
His healing ability.
Could he use it on others?
In anime and manga, some healing abilities only worked on the user, while others could heal both themselves and others. Which one was his?
He needed to test it.
His gaze subtly shifted toward Zoro.
Didn't he get stabbed not too long ago?
If Nexús remembered correctly, Zoro's wounds should still be in a bad state.
'I could try it on him later… just not now.'
Feeling somewhat pleased with himself, he nodded slightly. Genius.
At the same time, Zoro suddenly shivered.
"...Weird. I just got a bad feeling," Zoro muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
A kid nearby tugged on Luffy's sleeve. "Hey, hey, where are you going after this?"
Luffy, still grinning, answered without hesitation. "Obviously, we're going to the Grand Line!"
Coby, mid-sip of his juice, choked violently.
His head snapped up so fast Nexús thought he might actually break something.
"Y-You guys are still just three people! No, no way!"
The little girl frowned. "Is the Grand Line a terrible place?"
Coby took a deep breath before launching into an explanation.
Nexús half-listened, already knowing the basics, his thoughts still lingering on his healing ability experiment.
....
Later, as they walked down the quiet streets, Zoro let out a scoff.
"That was a pretty lame act. Wouldn't be shocked if they saw through it."
Luffy, walking ahead of them, remained unbothered. "Coby'll handle the rest on his own now. I just know it."
Nexús, hands in his pockets, smirked slightly. "Captain's word is always right."
Zoro barked out a laugh. "Yup. That's true."
Luffy grinned while untying the ropes on their canoe.
Zoro smirked, his tone teasing. "It's nice to leave. Being unable to turn back 'cause everyone hates this man—it's pirate-like."
Luffy immediately laughed.
"That's true," Luffy agreed.
A familiar voice suddenly called out.
"Luffy-san!"
Coby.
Nexús closed his eyes for a moment, smiling slightly. Then, as he opened them, he raised his hand in a crisp salute.
"Thank you! I'll never forget what you've done for me!"
Zoro crossed his arms, smirking. "I've never heard of a pirate getting thanked by a marine..."
Nexús turned his head slightly. "Well, because you're only obsessed with pirates' heads."
It was meant to be a joke, but the way Zoro snapped his head toward him made Nexús realize—
…Did that come out as sarcasm instead?
"Ha?" Zoro's expression was pure 'take that back right now.'
Luffy, of course, just laughed.
"LET'S MEET SOMETIME, COBY!" Luffy shouted, waving enthusiastically.
The little girl and her mother waved back.
"Luffy-san..." Coby muttered, but the little girl cut him off with her cheerful goodbye.
"ALL HAND—SALUTE!"
The mustached marine commanded loudly.
Immediately, all the marines—including the ones who had arrested Nexús earlier—stood at attention, saluting.
The air grew still.
For a moment, Nexús just… stared.
The same marines who had handcuffed him and dragged him through town like a criminal were now saluting his departure.
If he were anyone else, this might've been a touching moment.
But all he could think was—
'Life is fucking weird.'
Luffy, completely oblivious to the irony, grinned.
"See ya!!"
As their canoe drifted away, Nexús let out a slow breath.
He glanced at Zoro and Luffy.