Knight of Pentacles, upright - Efficiency, hard work, responsibility...
1519, Marine Headquarters
There were very few things that scared Commodore Bogard.
He'd spent years under the command of Vice Admiral Garp, and after surviving battle after battle against the Pirate King himself…
Well, there wasn't much scarier than Gol D. Roger.
The blonde marine storming his way was certainly making an effort though. Bogard pulled his hat lower, resisting the sudden urge to sigh. Someone's really in for it now…
"Sir." He saluted. Best find out which idiot they needed to point her at, and get the unpleasantness over with all that much sooner. "Anything I can help you with, Rear Admiral?" Even if he didn't know exactly who to send her after, he could direct her to someone who would.
Brown eyes cut his way in a blistering glare. Long familiarity with the woman meant Bogard didn't even twitch. "Commodore. Where might I find Vice Admiral Garp?"
Oh dear.
Each syllable was ground out with utmost precision, and Bogard nearly winced at the ice practically coating her words. What the hell had Garp done to piss her off this bad?! And when? She'd been halfway across the Grand Line the past six months chasing after Red Hair Shanks!
"He should be in his office, sir." Bogard admitted without an ounce of guilt. There was a lot he'd do for Garp. Traverse the New World? Fine. Face down the Roger Pirates? Sure. Get between the Rear Admiral about to blow her top and the man that had pissed her off? Nope.
Garp got himself into this one. He could get himself out.
The door slammed open with a sharp bang!
A young marine flinched violently, sending the papers in his arms scattering across the floor. Normally Noir would feel bad about that; paperwork was a pain even when it was perfectly organized and straightening out that mess was going to be a bitch and a half. At the moment though, Noir didn't any fucks left to give.
"Out." She ordered. The marine squeaked and fled. Noir shut the door behind him and locked it. This was not a conversation she wanted overheard.
Opposite the door, Garp brightened from behind a paperwork-laden desk. "Noir!" Faster than was fair for a man his size, Garp was out of his seat and clapping an enormous hand to her shoulder. Noir braced herself, and only a quick application of Haki kept her from kissing the floor.
"It's good of you to visit your old commanding officer." Garp said, already across the room again and rummaging through a cabinet. He sighed fondly. "Pity you aren't on my crew anymore. You're one of the best Marines I've ever worked with!"
With ease of considerable practice, Noir ignored the sake and rice crackers Garp pulled out. "Garp-" Noir tried.
"How's that pirate of yours?"
Noir managed not to grind her teeth together. That particular joke had gotten old years ago. The veteran Marines were long used to Garp calling Shanks variants of 'Noir's pirate,' since Garp had been doing it for a near two decades.
Sengoku's spit take when Garp first said it in front of him was a memory Noir would always treasure. The following conversation? Not so much. She'd spent an hour convincing the Fleet Admiral that no, she did not have any intentions for Shanks other than seeing him in Impel Down. Kizaru still wouldn't let her live that down.
"Not my pirate." She counters sharply. It's futile, she knows, but it'll only get worse if she doesn't deny it. "And he's elusive as ever."
The damn Yonko had been two islands ahead of her the entire time he was in Paradise. Noir's crew would need more preparation to face the Red Hair pirates in the New World.
Garp chuckled. "Back in my day, it was the man that chased a woman."
If looks could kill, Garp would be on fire.
"I met a young man while hunting Shanks." Noir stated. If she let Garp continue, he wouldn't stop for hours.
Of course, easier said than done. "Oh? Cheating on Shanks?"
"He's seventeen," Noir said flatly. "And called himself Portgas D. Ace."
Garp choked on his sake.
That answers that question. Brown eyes narrowed furiously. Noir curled her hands into fists to keep herself from throwing something. "You told me he was dead," She snarled, low and guttural. "When Rouge died, you told me her son died with her!"
Garp glanced towards the closed door, his Haki flexing. Noir knew he wouldn't sense anyone within earshot. She had her own Observation stretched across the entire floor, and the closest was Bogard halfway down the hallway.
"I was asked to protect Ace." Garp said slowly.
Since when was Noir a threat to Ace? "You've been doing a wonderful job," Noir snapped, "given you've been halfway across the world."
Ace's face flashes across her eyes, with that lost expression. What kind of childhood did he have to put such an expression on his face?
"You lied to me." Noir said. "You had no right." Her chest ached. She thought she could trust Garp, had trusted him.
"I'm sorry." Garp slumped, aging ten years before her eyes. His apology was genuine. She could feel it in his Haki.
Noir shook her head. Sorry didn't change anything. "Good day, Vice Admiral."
She turned on her heel and left.