Chapter 100: A study in pink

“What should we do?!” Chopper asked.
“You’re the doctor!” replied Nami.
“How about starting by studying the poison?” Rick spoke up while removing his belt using it as a tourniquet on his arm to reduce the blood flow and hopefully slow down the poison’s spread.

He removed his coat and rolled up his right sleeve to take a look. The poison was spreading fast as it was already up to half his forearm. It made purple marks on his skin here and there and made his veins visible to the naked eye.

“I wonder if armament Haki would work? Since it makes what it's covering tougher, would it be possible to cover more than skin and on the inside of the body?... In theory yes.. Since armament can cover weapons and destroy things from the inside out, it’s advanced haki and I’m nowhere near that level of mastery.”

Without any real other viable option Rick began to focus his haki on his right arm. Using his will power to put a lawyer of haki on blood cells and blood vessels but it was no use his control was nowhere good enough to succeed.

“There is a ship behind us!” Yelled Pedro from the mast.
“Yes! With a bit of luck they have an antidote!” exclaimed Nami.
“Or what’s needed to make one!” replied Chopper.
“That’s not good.” Pekom said.
“It’s the Germa 66!” Pedro warned.
“Germa 66?” asked Luffy.
“It’s Sanji’s family.” answer Rick.

The ship wasn’t really a ship, but some kind of castle put on the back on a gigantic sea-snail. Instead of going its way the snail stopped next to Sunny. A man under a hood was looking at the crew. Suddenly he raised a hand to his mouth and his voice could be heard loudly.

“What are you doing here, Straw hat crew?”

They recognized the face under the hood along with a curly brow they knew so well.

“Sanji!” yelled Nami.
“What luck! He may have an antidote.” stated Brook.
“Sanji! Rick got poisoned! He’s going to die soon without an antidote. Do you have one on your ship?” Chopper asked.
“Why… Do you keep calling me Sanji?”

The hooded man removed his hood, revealing the same face, same curly brows but bright green hair.

“You’ve got the wrong guy. My name is Yonji.”
“But Sanji…” Began Chopper.
“That’s not Sanji Chopper. His hair color is different.” Nami said.
“And the curls of his brows are on the wrong side.” added Rick.
“I have no connection to this Sanji you’re speaking of.”
““LIAR!”” Nami and Rick exclaimed, doing a tsukkomi.
“San means three and Yon means four! You're definitely his brother!” explained Nami.
“Whatever, I saw what I came to see.” Turning to his subordinates he ordered them to start sailing.
“Sanji! Rick needs an antidote, please!” begged Chopper.

That was true, despite the tourniquet, the poison had spread almost to Rick’s shoulder. The pain the ex-marine was feeling was excruciating, as if needles made of hot red metal were piercing his arm through and through.

“I’m not the type of guy who helps others but you’re piratess right? Why don’t you try to plunder our ship?” Yonji replied with an evil smile.
“Ok.”

If Robin had been there she would have had some Jaya’s flashback as it was Rick who replied. He raised his left hand up in the air and activated his gravity towards the sky, then next attracted Yonji and caught him in a fierce grip, choking him.

“You asked, I obliged.”

While everyone was stunned by this new development they missed a pink blur jumping from the Germa 66 deck and landed on Sunny.

“I apologize for my brother's behavior. He never answered well in the etiquette lesson.” said a beautiful woman with pink hair, and curly brow.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. My Name is Vinsmoke Reiju.”
“So you’re the oldest of the bunch.” Rick stated.
“That’s correct, may I ask how do you know?”
“Rei means zero.”
“Good deduction.” replied the big sister with a smile.
“Would you kindly release my little brother please?” she added.
“Sure.”

Rick let go of Yonji who was currently foaming at the mouth.

“Thank you.”
“Rick, why did you let him go? We could have used him as a hostage against the antidote.” asked Nami.
“She asked nicely? Besides, in a few seconds they will be the one to ask for our help.” Rick grin evilly.
“What do you mean?”
“I am curious to see how that would hap…” Reiju didn’t finish her sentence as a huge shadow began to cover the area.

Looking up, her eyes became as big as saucer when she saw a meteor falling their way. The molten rock hit Germa's ship and almost completely destroyed it. Everyone had their jaws on the floor. Luffy was the only one with stars in his eyes though.

“Is your curiosity satisfied?” Rick had a smirk.
“...”
“Princess Reiju! The huge rock hit the propulsion system! We’re stranded!” yelled out one of the Germa’s men.
“Can it be fixed?” she asked.
“Assessment of the damage is being made as we speak princess. But at first glance: days.”
“...”

Turning around she looked at Rick.
“It seems you were right.”
“I’m…”
““““Always right.”””” replied the rest of the crew in perfect sync.
“...”
“...”
“Would you be kind enough to allow my brother and I to journey with you to Big Mom’s territory?”
“Reiju! Are you mad?!” protested Yonji which earned him a glare from his big sister.
“Sure.” replied Luffy picking his nose. Nami love punched him so hard his nose got stuck.
“Against the antidote, you idiot!” she yelled. Rightfully so as the poison had reached Rick’s torso and was his neck.
“We accept.”
“Reiju!” protested Yonji, again.
“We don’t have days to spare, we’re in a hurry. Besides that’s their loss I was going to save him anyway as a thank you for taking care of Sanji.”

Reji got closer to Rick and picked his right arm.

“What is she gonna do?”
He was surprised when the Vinsmoke princess brought it to her mouth and began to sucked on it. The suction was so strong that in a few seconds all the poison in his body was gone.

“That’s…”

“Awesome! That’s strong lungs you got there, and the suction’s power? Wow, just wow.” the ex-marine said, amazed.
“Thank you. It’s the result of bioengineering and vast experience on lollipops.” she replied with a small smile at the corner of her lips.

On the side, Nami’s look darkened, she didn’t like what she was seeing. The other members of the crew just rejoiced Rick wasn’t going to die anymore and concerned themselves with the fish, they were still hungry.

“Bioengineering? Is that why you seemed immune to the poison yourself?”
“Correct. I have to admit I’m surprised. The poison could have killed a giant in seconds, the fact that you’re alive after a few minutes is nothing short of a miracle especially since, from what I could taste, you don’t have any antibodies or any kind of resistance against poison.”
“My body is perfect, that’s why.” Rick replied matter of factly. “ And it’s quite literal, since it’s called Perfect Body.”
“Wait? Taste? You’re able to determine things like that from taste?”
“Yes, and many more things.”
“Okay, you got my attention, now you have my curiosity. What can you discern?”
“With such a short interaction, not much.”
“Further testing required?”
“A lot more.” replied Reiju, licking her lips.

Rick was to enthralled with the science side to notice Reiju was flirting with him and making sexual innudendos. Nami didn’t miss it though and blew up. Getting closer to Rick she grabbed him by the ear and yelled.

“There will be no further testing or tasting! You almost died so you’re going back to rest!” the redhead said, dragging him back to his room, closing the door loudly.

“How shameless can you be?!” she yelled, letting go of him
“What?”
“Don’t try to play innocent!”
“Nami, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“As if! Do you really think I would not catch on to you flirting with her?!”
“... I was?” he asked in surprise?

She love-punched him out of frustration.

“Letting her brother go because she asked nicely?”
“She did, a stark contrast with Yonji. And she didn’t seem hostile so why shouldn't I’ve done it? It’s not like they are a threat. It wasn’t flirting, hardly.”
“... And what about all sexual innuendos?”
“What are you talking about?”
“ Strong lungs? Suction power? It doesn’t take a genius to understand you were referring to her breasts!”
“What?! No! In a matter of seconds she sucked up all the poison, I felt it leaving my body so fast; that’s what I was talking about! She did it in a single breath, anyone else would have needed to do it multiple times.”
“Riiiight…” she commented not believing a single word before adding:
“What about her comment about her experience on Lollipops? Her interest in your body and the wish to have a ‘lot more’ tasting required? She was licking her lips like Luffy does in front of meat!”
“You’re reading into it too much. It was a scientific talk focused on biology. I mean, with the modification Vegapunk made I wonder if I could do that too.”
“That’s not the kind of biology she had in mind!”
“Nami… really?” he asked in a disappointed tone.
“Yes, really. I mean she’s pretty, a princess…”
“And Sanji’s sister, which is a big no.”
“...”
“...”
He took her in his arms and she put her own around his body, burying her head in his chest. They stayed that way a few moments before Rick began to laugh softly.

“My kitten is getting all jealous. How cute.”
“So what if I am?!” she replied, raising her head to look at him.
“Then you are and that’s it. I don’t understand why though. You didn’t have any problem with Shirahoshi or Hanock.”
“That’s… not the same thing.”
“How so?”
“Shirahoshi… She's like a cute little mouse. Despite her size, she’s inoffensive.”
“That’s true, I guess.”
“Hancock is already in and with Lynda, I can’t do much about it. Fortunately she’s not here.”
“Then what’s the problem with Reiju then?”
“I… don’t know. I… I just got mad seeing you interact, I felt…put on the sidelines.”
“I’m sorry to have made you feel that way. I spent so much time with Robin and her lack of jealousy that I didn’t think it could be different for you.” He confessed then kissed her on her forehead.
“I told you, you’ll never be abandoned. You are my kitten now and forever.” and kissed her on the lips this time.
“You better! Besides, my boobs are bigger than hers…”
“Really? I didn’t notice, I’ll need to take a better loo… Argh!”

His scream of pain was the result of Nami grabbing his crotch and squeezing hard.

“I don’t think so, mister.”
“I… I was just joking.”

Nami released him and he immediately tried to scuff away but she was faster. Rick was really scared for his life now as the redhead was looking at him with murder in her eyes.

“You’re not leaving this room.”
“What?”

The navigator got down on her knees and began to remove his pants.

“Not without having me in your mind for the rest of the day.” she said and began to work.

He had.

~~~~~

A few days had passed since the nex passengers had come on board. Yonji turned out to be a nice jerk, playing Luffy’s games and retelling stories of his travels. He didn’t try to get cocky with Rick around. While not afraid he knew it was outmatched by the vice-captain and since he had this position what was Luffy’s strength as he was higher in the hierarchy. He mostly behaved and Reiju didn’t have to intervene even once.

Speaking of the pink princess, she was somewhat a scientist herself as she was knowledgeable about a lot of things, notably the human body and unsurprisingly to Rick, in poison. She was there giving pointers to the reindeer about the effect of the armor stone fish’ poison as Chopper was giving Rick a Check up.

“Your healing factor is the same as on Fishman island. Your cell at the last point of contact with the poison has already healed and the ones on your hands will be done before noon.”
“That’s an amazing healing rate.” Reiju commented.
“Perfect Body, remember?”
“I still don’t get how Vegapunk could fix you up.” said Chopper absentently looking at the number on his patient test results. That’s why he didn’t notice his mistake.
“Vegapunk?” Reiju asked, intrigued.

Chopper froze while looking at Rick, not knowing what to do. The fact that Rick was an artificial human was knowledge that everyone kept secret. The ability to use two devil fruits was well sought. With Vegapunk working for the World Government, they were probably already aware of how Rick could be… well him. But many countries and kingdoms wanted that knowledge for themselves. The Germa 66 being one of them. The ex-marine sighs and puts his hand on Chopper’s head indicating it was okay.

“Two years ago, my body started to deteriorate. I had the chance to meet Vegapunk at the time. In exchange for letting him examine my body to understand why I was still alive and kicking after eating two devil fruits he would find a cure for my condition. It tooks almost two years, but he succeeded. Problem is, we don’t know what kind of changes my body has undergone. I always had a very fast healing rate before but now it’s even faster. The fact that I didn’t die on the spot from poisoning is proof of a new change we didn’t know anything about.”
“That would explain the peculiar taste you have.”
“What do you mean?” Chopper asked.
“Rick doesn’t taste like any other humans I extracted poison to.”

The two scientists turned their heads to look at Rick with wonder.

“I’m not going to let you experiment on me.” he said, rising from his seat, putting back his shirt and coat on and leaving for the garden. He sat behind his desk and began to study one of the plants he had found on Zou. He was so focused that he didn’t hear the door open and close along the sound of the footsteps that followed.

“What are you working on?”

It took Rick every bit of his self-control to ot jump in fright. In front of his desk was the pink princess herself.

“I’m studying this plant. I have never seen it before and I wonder what’s the best nutrients for it, and what use it has.”
“That’s Hemlock.”
“You know that plant?”
“Yes, it’s a rare plant growing in a place with a lot of humidity and water. Highly poisonous. I don’t know anything else about it though.”
“Thank you, that will help a lot.” replied Rick, noting down what he heard.
“Now it’s your turn to help me.”
“With what?”

Bending down at the waist and exposing a lot of cleavage, Reiju spoke seductively.

“I want to study every inches of you.”

[ Art by terakinoko : Here ] (I know the boobs are too big but that's the only pic I found where she's in the position I wanted.)

“Holy Molly. Nami was right. I thought she was just flirting a bit but this… this is not playing a bit. Dang it if Nami wasn’t jealous and if she wasn’t Sanji’s sister, I would plow her so hard she wouldn’t be able to walk or sit for days.”

“Reiju, I’m married.” Rick said, showing his ring on his left hand.
“It doesn’t stop you from sleeping with Nami.” the princess replied with a knowing grin, thinking she had won.
“I..”
“Don’t bother denying it. I smelt you on her when she came back from your room the day we met.”
“As I was going to say… I’m not cheating on my wife with Nami, since she’s the one who pushed me to do so.”
“So your wife doesn’t mind if you sleep around on her?”
“She does. Nami is a special case.”
“She wouldn’t know.”
“I would, so would Nami.”
“For the first time, my father is not here to forbid me to interact with a male I found interesting. I will have my fun.” Reiju stated with determination.
“Not with me.”
“We’ll see.”
“Anything else?”
“Actually, yes. It’s time for lunch, and I would like to talk about the herbs you’re growing. I’d like to improve my knowledge on them, after all a medicine in a dosage too high becomes a poison.”
“... Sure, I don’t mind sharing.”

Rick rose from his seat and began to make his way towards the dining room with Reiju by his side. They were conversing when they entered the room when the temperature dropped suddenly. Nami was sending an ice cold look at her owner. Rick sat by her side as if nothing happened, which was true, and held her hand under the table, using his thumb to caress it, reassuring her that nothing happened. The red head seemed to relax and lunch went without any trouble.

Afterwards, Rick went back to the garden to continue his study. Hemlock wasn’t the only plant he took from Zou after all. He was visited by Nami who locked the door behind her and went to sit on his lap.

“Something happened.”
“Is it your woman's intuition telling you that?”
“Yes, now speak.”
“She was really forward with what she wanted.”
“And?”
“And nothing, kitten. Nothing happened.” he replied, stroking her hair as she melted in his embrace with the back of her head resting on the crook of his neck.
“Nothing at all?”
“Well, she, I’m quoting here, smelt me on you after you came back from my room the day we met. That’s why she thought I would have had sex with her despite being married.”
“I would have loved to see her face when you told her that Robin knew about us.”
“Believe me, you wouldn’t have.”
“Why?”
“She understood that, as Robin being okay with me sleeping with anyone. I corrected her of  course, but she just pushed harder saying she wouldn’t know.”
“Seriously, how big of slut is she?”
“No need for insults. Do I have to remind you who is sneaking into my room and the garden as often as she can to have sex?”
“I’m marking my territory!”
“That you do. Goddess, I remember the times when once every few days with me was good enough for you… Jealousy is a really great aphrodisiac.”
“... That’s true now that I think about it.”
“I’m so glad Robin isn’t like that. I don’t think I could survive the both of you otherwise.”
“Are you complaining of too much sex?” Nami asked with an eyebrow raised.
“No. But I might have stopped holding myself back and really hurt one, if not both, of you.”
“Wait! You’re holding back?” exclaimed Nami, surprised.
“Always.”
“Even with Robin?”
“Yes. Twice I let myself free a bit. One was the last time with Hancock, the other was during Robin and I’s wedding night. You know what happened each time.
“A BIT?! Robin never screamed like that before! She told me she couldn’t sit without feeling a lot of pain.” let out Nami.
“She never told me about that!”
“She didn’t want you to feel guilty and that you probably would not do it again if you knew.”
“...Robin and I need to have a talk… Anyway, what about you? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. My pussy is sore but I’m managing it. It’s out of service today though, it’s not ready for more action.”
“It’s fine. Cuddling with you is just as satisfying.”
“ Nu-huh-. As long as she’s on the ship, I’m not letting you walk around with a loaded gun.” Declared Nami as she removed her top, revealing her beautiful chest.
“Nami…”
“Pull it out.”
“Come on you…”
“PULL. IT. OUT.”

Rick stopped himself from sighing and did as ordered. He never imagine that one day he wouldn’t be in the mood for any kind of sexual release.