Yay for a favorite and a follow :3

Enjoy this slightly background chapter!

I do not own One Piece - that is property of Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 21: Bleeding Heart

Andrea always had a backup plan but her head hurt, her palm hurt and she felt dizzy. Whether it was due to the blood loss in her palm that had become more pronounced as of late due to the strenuous pace she traveled in the desert or the beating heat upon her brow, she suffered the consequences nonetheless. Glancing at the bandages around her palm, she noted the puffy swelling around the scar. While the scar itself was not bleeding, the area around it had become even more irritated and had oozed sticky blood onto the bandage the hand was wrapped in. The wound pulsed as if annoyed at the attention it was receiving and, unable to endure the excessive stimuli, Andrea fainted into the sand just as a storm was about to occur.

-Flashback-

Sitting in the clinic in Marineford was an uncomfortable experience for a young Andrea. Going through the hell with Morgan a day prior made her feel uneasy but all the tests the Marine physician was putting her through was indeed borderline excessive. They had drawn some blood from her arm to do some tests but gave the youthful girl nothing to do while waiting. Pity the Marine base had no therapist because they would know that leaving such a young girl alone with her thoughts, especially when they were currently revolving around what had happened a day ago, was an incredibly stupid idea. All she could do was ponder that situation and if not for the Vice Admiral saving her, things could have gone incredibly horrific. The Fleet Admiral had visited her and brought her sweets but could not stay for long as he had this mess that Morgan caused to deal with. No one who was not busy knew her and the doctor, although sympathetic to her plight, had a job to do and priorities in hand. Examining the blood and physical condition of Andrea was more important to him than to make she was mentally alright.

The blood he examined however, was extremely curious. When drawing blood, the little pinprick he did with the needle did not want to heal or even clot. Thinking of the girl's small, thin frame made him wonder about the strength of her bone structure. He had seen her be rowdy, playfully fight with the recruits but she was not hurt yet alone wounded. Was it possible? The physician pulled out a medical encyclopedia and went back to the young girl. Holding it in front of her, she surveyed it with excitement. "Andrea-kun, there's a chance something might be wrong with your body. Please go through the book and let me know if there's something you may have." Two birds with one stone. She might find what her problem is and now she's distracted.

Nodding with a serious expression, the small brunette opened the book and began to read. She hardly noticed her grandfather come in the door yet alone the Fleet Admiral at his side. They motioned to the side and nodding, the doctor went to them. A preliminary report had been written as well as what he noticed but also what he speculated on. The granddaughter of a Marine hero should not suffer in such a way and the suffering of children was visibly painful to the man.

It took a few minutes for the young Andrea's eyes to catch on an entry that seemed interesting to her. Determined to ask the doctor and find out more, she grabbed the book and carefully walked. Ignoring her dizzy feeling within her skull, she followed the voices she heard until she saw her grandfather, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the doctor. What she heard made her pause in curiosity and wait before approaching. "Well her brother is pretty healthy. He is a narcoleptic like how she and I are. Runs in the family you see." Andrea noticed the odd look that Sengoku gave Garp but the bulky man continued as if it ever happened. "He's not as scrawny as her though or fragile. It's why I try not to push her hard."

Biting her lip in annoyance, Andrea clenched the book tightly. So even before this, Gramps was intent on babying me? A few low murmurs were beyond her range of hearing so she quietly crept close.

"Be as that may Vice Admiral, I am frankly shocked that she is alive. If my diagnosis about her condition is correct, don't expect a long life expectancy out of her. Obviously since they are not identical twins, there is no guarantee that her brother carries the same condition as her. I'd take her as far away from the Grand Line or any dangerous life for that matter. The slightest wound could have bad effects on her body."

Twin streams of tears ran quickly as Andrea bit her lip that she did not notice when she dropped the heavy medical tome. A life of no danger would put to rest her dreams of being a Fleet Admiral. Her legs were moving erratically and she began to wiggle her toes in a last ditch attempt to fend off the narcoleptic fit that was approaching her fast. Although she sometimes could not avoid falling asleep, when stressed or highly aware, she had thought of ways to hold it off. Her fists were clenched so tightly that she did not notice her nails digging into her palm until she felt the warm trails of blood dripping from them. Glancing at her hands, she felt them pulse painfully and looked towards the three men.

"Andrea!" Garp shouted as he ran towards her. Her eyes had rolled back when she was looking at her palms and the fainting spell of narcolepsy had taken effect over her. The doctor looked over her and a grim expression crossed his face when he glanced at his medical book to see what she had found. A page had a crinkle in it and a folded corner to serve as a reminder. Pulling out a bandage to wrap around her hands, he prepared to deliver the bad news.