294 294. Heartbreak

Bellemere gets flustered seeing Buggy's reaction when he sees Nojiko & Nami. She knows that Buggy must think that she is cheating. Buggy even shed some tears, making Belle gets even more panicked, and she doesn't know how to explain it.

However, Cricket & Mantis scoff seeing Buggy's reaction. Cricket even whispers, "Look at him acting. He even cries, what a drama queen."

"Well, you know him. He will always do things that he thinks funny," says Mantis.

Of course, The Clown Pirates have known about Nojiko & Nami being Bellemere's adopted children. They all know the story of her saving the 2 from a warzone. The Clown Pirates' information network is quite big and Buggy asked Deon's team to keep tabs on Bellemere so he can move anytime if something happens.

Their Captain's love life always interests them so the news of her saving 2 children and adopting them has been known to the crew. That's why Cricket & Mantis know that Buggy is just acting now.

But they are genuinely surprised by what happens next. Some crew members suddenly appear while a large square dark cloth is tied to a pair of poles. They spread it, making it looks like a stage's backdrop and Brook's music team gets in front of it to play music with Buggy suddenly singing the song.

~All I ask is

If this is my last night with you

Hold me like I'm more than just a friend

Give me a memory I can use

Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do

It matters how this ends

'Cause what if I never love again?~

(Song: All I Ask-Adele)

Buggy sings it with an overdramatic expression and the crewmembers that prepared the stage also act overdramatic too. It makes those who didn't know this plan beforehand dumbfounded, Bellemere too, of course.

She finally realizes that Buggy is just playing around with her. Then she remembers what Buggy said before about his information-gathering ability. Now she realizes that he has known about her adopting Nojiko & Nami, and his act makes her pissed.

Buggy is still singing emotionally and tears flow from his eyes. But those fake tears become the real ones when his left ear suddenly gets pulled by the angry Bellemere. He can only laugh nervously before getting a hit on the head and scolded.

Bellemere makes Buggy sits on his knees and raises his hands high. She stands in front of him and scolds him like a mother scolding her child. Buggy can only shut his mouth and listens to her nag.

The band and crew members who joined the act immediately escape when they see their Captain getting scolded. Cricket & Mantis also have enough of his antique and leave while taking the heartbroken Jude with them.

"Jude, you know what I'm about to say, right? It's time for you to give up. You've seen how deeply in love Captain is with that woman in this short amount of time, right?" asks Mantis after they get quite far away.

She is alone with Jude now while Cricket waits quite far. Mantis is the one who has always taken care of Jude since she joined. She was also the one who always told Jude to stop but the girl just didn't listen and now she is very heartbroken.

"You've said that you would give up if you see that Captain truly loves that woman, weren't you? Then I think you've seen enough. He accepts her even though she now has 2 kids under her care. That means he also accepts & takes care of the kids who aren't his. Not all men can accept that easily," says Mantis.

".... I know, I could see from his expression, his smile when he saw her coming to the port. It's the happiest expression that I've ever seen on his face," says Jude as tears start to wet her cheeks.

She starts to cry harder that her voice becomes huskier, "How could I possibly beat her? Just her presence alone is enough to make Captain that happy. Even the news about her could lift his spirit when we were in difficult situations. I can't beat her at all, no matter how strong I become. It's just,.... It's just so hard to accept even though I know it."

Mantis hugs Jude whom she has thought of as a little sister. Jude cries harder and louder on Mantis's chest while Mantis just hugs her silently. Cricket leans on a tree quite far from the girls' location while smoking.

"If you're that worried about her, then why don't you go there and hug her too?" asks Cricket even though no one can be seen around him.

But suddenly, Palu jumps down from the tree where Cricket leans his back on. As one of the earliest members, Palu knows how heartbroken Jude must be. So he is very worried and follows them quietly.

"I will just make her feel uncomfortable and I don't really know what to say to her, just like you. Mantis can handle this situation better than anyone on the crew. Also, don't forget that I am still scared of being in contact with women," says Palu.

Cricket smirks hearing that, "I will never forget your phobia of women. But I also know that some women don't make you scared, right? Your mother, Mantis, Jude, elderly, & kids. You didn't get scared of your mother even when you just met her. You've been in the same crew with Mantis for a long time, so you've gotten used to her. Jude is the same, but there's something more to it, isn't it?"

"W-What do you mean?" asks Palu, a little flustered.

"Don't act ignorant, Winged-man. Everyone in the crew except for Jude & some dense idiots knows that you like her," says Cricket while smirking widely.

Palu blushes and looks away, confirming Cricket's words. Yeah, he likes Jude, but he never told anyone about it. He thought he hid it well, but it's actually very clear to those with enough intelligence.

"I know you've been holding it because Jude only has eyes on Captain and you thought she will be happy if she's with Captain. But just like you, Captain also wants her to be happy, and being with him isn't the answer. He can't give her the love & happiness that she wants, that's why he always refused her so she could give up. But she was so persistent and this is the result," says Cricket.

Palu looks down because he also knows that this will be the case from the beginning.

"Captain once told me that what she needs is a man who loves her with all his heart and he said it is you. He knows, man, he knows you love her, and he knows that you can give her what he can't," says Cricket.

"... I, I just don't know how to do it. I always wanted to tell her to give up on chasing Captain and I will be the man that make her happy. But it's just very hard to do. I met her late, she was already in love with him when we met. So I felt like it was not my place to enter and tell her what to do. I, I'm happy if she is happy," says Palu while looking down sadly.

"Who are you trying to fool with that expression? You said you know that this would happen, so you should know that she won't be happy. Then why didn't you do something that will make her happy?" asks Cricket.

Palu still looks down, so Cricket grabs his shoulders and tells Palu to look at his eyes.

"Listen, Palu! You are a man. If you want the woman you love to be happy, then you need to be the one that makes her happy. Take every chance, and be braver! Don't make your fear of women and her love for Captain stop you. This is your life, do what you want. Didn't Captain always say that we need to be selfish as pirates? Then be selfish and go make her yours. If it doesn't work, then at least you've tried. That's what we always did, right? We did what we can even if we might die, so do the same to your love life," says Cricket.

Palu stays silent for a moment before nodding firmly, "Yeah, I'd rather live with the shame of failing rather than the regret of not doing anything. Jude has done what she could even though she failed and I will do the same."

Cricket smiles and says, "Good, that's the spirit. Go talk to her later, but don't rush it. She will hate you if you suddenly confess to her while she is in that state."

Palu smiles too, "I'm not that stupid."

The 2 boys bump their fists and wait there silently until Jude calms down.

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