I Can't Be Selfless

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The water was unusually quiet – as it should be. They were sailing in the East Blue, after all. The weather tended to be fairly calm around here. Ideal conditions for taking a nap.

"Vice-Admiral Kuzan! We have spotted land and we will be docking in about half an hour!" a soldier shouted, his arm lifted into a perfect salute.

Kuzan pushed his sunglasses off and slowly sat up so he could lean against the wooden rail of the giant ship. He nodded shortly, dismissing the cadet, before rising to his full height to take a look at the land the man had been referring to.

Dawn Island. Not very small, not very big. A place that was under the ruling of the Goa Kingdom.

Kuzan hadn't ever visited this place before. As a Vice-Admiral he generally didn't have a whole lot to do in the East Blue. These seas were relatively peaceful compared to other places in the world. The few pirates that sailed through were usually weaker than their other counterparts. Kuzan's power was rarely needed in islands such as this one.

But his colleague, the Marine's famous hero Vice-Admiral Garp, was said to visit this place as often as he could. Apparently, he had family here. Briefly, he wondered what any family member of Garp would be like. Not much was known about the man other than the tales that had been spun about his notorious fist that was powerful enough to bring the former Pirate King to his knees.

He stretched, let his joints crack and turned towards his bicycle that he'd laid against the rail, contemplating whether he should take it with him. He decided to wait until they docked to make up his mind.

Finally, after half an hour, they arrived at the harbor and the many soldiers who had prepared themselves for this very moment threw the anchor overboard and docked the ship at the port.

He decided to avoid the mess that inevitably occurred whenever they arrived somewhere that allowed them to go on land. With a swift step, his foot met the wooden pier - softly, in a way that shouldn't be possible for a man of his size.

But although he inevitably stood out from the general mass through his height and his crisp Marine's coat, it was Vice-Admiral Garp that the lively town's people's attention focused on. No wonder, the man had a demanding presence that no one could simply ignore. Not to forget, he had just stepped out of a ship with a giant dog as its figurehead.

When Garp started walking towards the main street, Kuzan decided to follow him since he hadn't had any plans on what he would be doing once they arrived here anyway. The bike could remain on the ship for the time being.

"Where're you headed towards, Garp?"

The Marine hero didn't turn around. He just kept on walking until Kuzan had finally caught up, swinging a giant, stuffed sack around to pass the time.

"I've got no business here. We only docked at this city so the men could rest and gather some supplies for our way back to the Headquarters," the man answered.

"So we're not going to stay for long?" Kuzan wouldn't mind either way. They could afford to laze around for a while.

He had long understood why Garp had declined his promotion to become Admiral so many times before. His current position gave him as much liberty as one could get as a Marine. As a Vice-Admiral, you didn't have many superiors you had to listen to. At the same time, you didn't have to take on the responsibility and the workload that'd come with a higher rank. Most of the time, Garp did as he wished.

The man shrugged. "Let's see. Sengoku's been nagging me ever since we entered the East Blue but we all know that he doesn't mean it anyway." He laughed, loud and joyous, making all the people that had been eyeing them before, gawk openly at them now.

"Oh, I think Sengoku's very serious," Kuzan replied with a smile. Sailing with Garp never failed to lift his spirits. The man just knew how to take life easy.

"Whatever. The old geezer can come and get me if he needs me so bad," he retorted with an uncaring grin.

"So, if you're not planning on staying in this city, where are you headed towards?"

If possible, that huge grin of Garp's became even wider. "If we continue walking along the seaside, we'll eventually come across Foosha Village. That's a little, rural place where my grandson lives in. Wanna join me?"

Kuzan raised his eyebrows, surprised about having so willingly been invited to the man's home. "If you don't mind."

Garp laughed. "Not at all, Luffy loves meeting new people. The village itself is a little boring; not much going on there. But my little brat is enough to keep everyone on their feet."

So 'Luffy' must be his grandson's name. Briefly, he wondered whether he'd meet other family members of the Vice-Admiral, as well. The man hadn't mentioned anyone.

"What are you carrying in that sack?" Kuzan asked, motioning towards the giant bag on the old Marine's back.

Garp smirked mischievously. "I've raided our supplies. Luffy has a big appetite, you know. And his favorite food of all time is meat – a real man!"

Kuzan chuckled. "Oh my, how old is he?"

"Luffy? Five. But he stuffs more food into his little body than you could ever hope to, Kuzan!"

"Sounds like his grandfather then," Kuzan replied to which Garp started laughing loudly again.

"That's right! He's gonna take after me and become a strong Marine some day!"

.

Idyllic, seemed like the most apt term to describe Foosha Village. Some hills here and there covered by healthy grass that little herds of cows ate from. A breeze, warm and mild, made the countless windmills work in a never ending rhythm.

The harmony was destroyed with one high-pitched scream.

"Gramps!"

While Kuzan had been busy enjoying the view, a little runt had run up on them and was now latched onto its grandfather's leg. Garp laughed and grabbed the child by the back of his neck to lift him up.

"Luffy, you've grown!"

Kuzan silently asked himself how little the boy must've been for this to be his grown state. He was tiny.

The child giggled. "I ate a lot, Gramps!"

Garp grinned. "I bet you did, brat!"

Suddenly, the old man paused and looked his grandson up and down. Kuzan had known Garp for a very long time, but he wasn't prepared for the pure, unconcealed joy that shone through his eyes when he asked, "You're wearing it?"

Kuzan gazed at the kid's clothes, trying to understand what had made the other man so happy. The child wore some shorts and a white shirt with the Marine's logo printed on the front. "Oh, yeah," Luffy squeaked, "the fishermen saw your ship at the docks, Gramps. When they told us that you're coming, Makino forced me to put it on."

Garp ran a hand through his grandson's hair. "I knew that she was a reasonable girl!" he bellowed and lifted the boy up to sit on his shoulders. Now that the tiny creature was finally at eye level with Kuzan, he could analyze him properly.

Skinny arms had wrapped themselves around the grandfather's head. They belonged to a boy with wide, round, coal-black eyes. His features were softened by the baby fat that hung on his chubby cheeks and was framed by a mess of unruly, jet-black hair.

"Hm? Gramps, who's that guy?" the boy asked while directly pointing into Kuzan's face. Quite rude, in his opinion, but what else did he expect from Garp's grandson?

"That's Vice-Admiral Kuzan, Luffy. He's a great Marine. Say hi," Garp introduced.

Kuzan narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. It was unusual of the fellow Marine to speak so highly of others. But Luffy didn't seem to have the same qualms and lifted his hand in a wave.

"Yo!"

Kuzan nodded in acknowledgement. "Hi."

Apparently, the introduction as a great Marine wasn't enough to hold Luffy's attention. Soon he looked down to stare at the sack that his grandfather was still carrying.

"Hey Gramps, what's in there?" Before the man could answer, Luffy's eyes grew huge and a bright smile spread over his face. "Did you bring gifts?"

Garp grinned. "Raided the Marine's supplies for you. There's gonna be lots of meat for dinner tonight!"

"Yay!" Luffy cheered. It was refreshing to see something so innocently simple make someone so happy. Then, the boy seemed to remember that he existed, too. "Hey glasses-guy, you're coming with us? The more, the merrier, right Gramps?"

"It's Vice-Admiral Kuzan, you brat. Be more respectful towards your elders," Garp grunted and started walking down the path. Kuzan followed.

"But Gramps, I'm not calling you 'Vice-Admiral Garp'. Why should I say 'Vice-Admiral Kuzan' every time I want to talk with him? That's too long! Can I just say Mr. Kuzan?" Luffy whined and restlessly started twisting on the man's shoulders.

"Oh my, just 'Kuzan' will do, Luffy. Anything else makes me feel old," he interjected.

Luffy turned to look at him. His face, an open book to read, mirrored his confusion. "But you are old!"

Suddenly, the child cried out. Garp had struck out and punched the boy on the side of his head. That blow couldn't have been too soft since an angry-red bruise started forming already.

Surprised, Kuzan shortly stopped in his tracks only to catch up with the other man seconds later. He knew that Garp was a strict soldier who preferred to use violence to get things to work his way. But seeing how fond he was of his grandson and how tenderly he had treated him before, he hadn't expected this outburst. Garp's uncaring demeanor proved that this wasn't a rare occurrence either.

Kuzan really wished that the old man wouldn't have done it. Because now, Luffy was crying. High-pitched, snotty sobs that he barely managed to breathe through. Those sounds were never nice to hear, especially coming from a child.

"Stop making such a fuss, you crybaby!" Garp hollered, trying to shake the boy who had buried his face in the man's hair off. He'd have to take a shower to wash the snot off.

"But Grandpa, it hurt!"

"You shouldn't have been such a brat then! You don't go around calling people old!"

Kuzan wondered why the man tried to teach the boy manners that he didn't have himself. Apparently, parenting never failed to make you into a hypocrite.

"But Grandpa," Luffy argued stubbornly, his tears gradually slowing down, "look at him! He is old!"

Kuzan decided to join the discussion. "I'm not that old."

In retrospect, was there any sense in arguing with a kid - a kid that was the grandson of one of the most bullheaded and unreasonable people he had met?
As predicted, the child took his comment as a challenge and while gazing Kuzan unabashedly in the eyes, he demanded, "How old are you?"

"Thirty-five."

"Ha!" Luffy exclaimed victoriously. "You're already as good as dead! Gramps, how old are you?"

"Twenty."

"See?" the boy teased and stuck his tongue out. Brat. "You're even older than my grandpa. Gramps, twenty is less than thirty-five, right?"

"Right."

"I knew it!" Luffy squeaked and grinned cheekily into his direction. "You're anchor."

Garp laughed, seemingly having returned to his good mood. "It's ancient, Luffy. You're the anchor!"

At last, they arrived at a mid-sized house where the man lifted Luffy off his shoulders to put him back on the ground.
It was a nice place. Kuzan could see the appeal of living on the hill that was a little offside the village and gave you a good view of the ocean. Somewhat too nice for the chaotic person that Garp was.

"Mr. Kuzan, you coming?"

Kuzan looked down to stare at the tiny child that had grabbed his pant leg and attempted to pull him towards the house. Suddenly, Luffy eased his hold and leaned his head back to gaze at him with wide, curious eyes.

"Hey Mr. Kuzan! Who's bigger, you or Grandpa?"

"I believe I'm taller than your grandfather," he replied serenely.

Luffy seemed incredibly impressed. "Wow," he marveled, "I've never seen someone bigger than Grandpa before."

"On other parts of the world, there are people who're far taller than me," Kuzan explained. His height wasn't a big deal most of the time.

"What, really?" Luffy asked excitedly and started hopping from one foot to the other, barely able to reign his energy in. "How tall? Like giants?"

Kuzan nodded. "They aren't that rare. You can find plenty of giants on the Grand Line."

"Hey!" Garp hollered. Apparently, he'd opened the door to the house while they'd been talking. "Luffy, put the grill out! I'll prepare the meat in the meantime."

"Okay, Gramps!" Before he could leave, though, he turned to Kuzan again. "You're gonna stay, Mr. Kuzan, yeah? You gotta tell me more stories about the giants!"

Kuzan wasn't given the opportunity to respond as Luffy ran off to get the grill. The man kept on watching his surroundings for a while before he decided to enter the house. The little, lonesome swing that had been bound on a nearby tree wouldn't be able to carry his weight.

Kuzan wasn't sure what he'd expected the old Marine's house to look like.
Everything was kept exceedingly simple. The ground was built out of some dark, sturdy type of wood that didn't creak when you stepped on it and combined living room and kitchen. Some counters, a fridge, a stove and a round table with two chairs stood on one end of the room, a sofa and a couch on the other.
That was all. Only a giant flag with the Marine's logo hung on the wall and decorated the room. Other than that, there was no knick-knack lying around.

Although Garp had his back turned to him, he'd known that Kuzan was staring. "The less stuff we have, the less can Luffy break," the man chuckled. "You could never hold the child indoors anyway and I'm rarely here so everything's kept a little spare."

Kuzan nodded and sat down on the broad, comfortable sofa while Garp prepared the meat that he'd brought with him. He could hear the clanking sound of Luffy pulling the grill to the front of the house. Soon, he entered the building to get the chairs, too. But when he struggled pushing the table around, Kuzan took pity on him and helped him carry it outside.

"Mr. Kuzan?" asked the exhausted boy who'd sat down on the little swing while Kuzan had made himself comfortable on one of the chairs.

"Hm?"

"Have you been on the Grand Line before?"

The man pushed his sunglasses up. "Yes, that's where we sail most of the time, actually."

Forgetting his exhaustion, Luffy lightened up. "Really? Are there as many pirates there as they tell in the stories?"

He shrugged. "Probably even more."

Excitedly, Luffy jumped off the swing and hurried towards him. "And no one's found the One Piece yet?"

"No."

"Hey, Mr. Kuzan?"

"Hm?"

Luffy looked over his shoulder to check the house behind him. "Since you're anchor-"

"It's ancient and I'm not that ol-"

"Since you're so old, have you ever," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "have you ever seen the Pirate King before?"

Kuzan watched the little child that was staring at him with undivided attention. "Gol D. Roger? Yeah, I did see him before."

"Wow," Luffy marveled with sparkling, dreamy eyes. Kuzan had experienced countless people react to the dead Pirate King before. Many of them had expressed fear or hate; a good amount had felt greed when the man's treasure came to mind. Luffy, on the other hand, was filled with pure, unadulterated excitement. "Do you know of any of his adventures?"

Kuzan sluggishly scratched his head to buy some time. He wasn't sure how to respond to someone who wanted to talk about the world's once biggest criminal as if he'd been some hero. "Oh my, why don't you ask your grandfather? He's met Roger many times before. He even fought with him. I'm sure he knows more than I do."

Luffy pressed his forefinger in a shushing motion against his lips. "Shhhh," he whispered and frantically turned around to look at the house, presumably to check whether his grandfather had heard them. "Not so loud, stupid."

Kuzan blinked slowly when he realized that his intelligence had been insulted by a five-year-old airhead.

"Don't tell Gramps that we talked about the Pirate King, okay?" Luffy whispered conspiratorially.

"Why?"

The child shrugged. "He gets really mad and I don't want him to hit me again. Nothing hurts as bad as Grandpa's fist!"

Kuzan sighed and agreed with a silent nod just when Garp stepped out of the house, bringing a large bowl of the prepared meat.

That day, Kuzan learnt that Garp could grill some really good steak and that he hadn't been lying when he'd told him that his grandson had the ability to eat more than what should be possible. Then again, the way the boy moved and talked and laughed constantly must cost him a considerable amount of energy.

But by the time the evening caved in, the kid had tired himself out and had fallen asleep on the little swing. Before his lax body could tip over and hit the ground, Garp caught him in a practiced motion and carried him into the house.

When he returned, he wore a tired smile on his wrinkled face. "How about a drink?" the old man asked nonchalantly.

Finally, Kuzan would find out the hidden intent behind this visit.

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A/N: Thank you all for reading:)

I absolutely love the relationship between Garp and Luffy so I hope that I managed to portray that properly. By the way, Luffy is five years old, so this takes place before he's met Shanks or Ace.
There's going to be one more chapter before I finish this little story off. At the latest, it'll be released sometime around next week. The title is going to make more sense then.

Please tell me what you thought of this! I'm open for suggestions:)