Chapter XXIV: The Deal P2 – Close Encounters

"Speech"

Thoughts or emphasis or scenery changes or significant time gaps

*noises* (except laughter)

*actions*

'Telepathy' (Only for the telepath's voice)

/ Flashback or brief summaries of events /

Marineford

Kitsune

Whoa. That was one word to describe the base coming into view.

After several intense (and utterly terrifying) weeks, the ship had finally arrived to the famed Marine Headquarters of Marineford. A book Kit found on Grandfather's ship stated that the navy base was considered the center of the world. Grandfather had to make a stop at Impel Down - the intimidating prison that hosted the most rotten and despicable men and women in history – on account of some rookies that had the misfortune not to recognize Garp's marine ship. They then went through the Gates of Justice and entered the giant currents. Riding the currents was cool, visiting Impel Down – not so much. Luffy hid behind Kit when they first docked. Ace and Sabo just glared with the barest trace of fear at the imposing structure. No one had successfully escaped or invaded the prison since the dawn of the Age of Piracy. Grandfather explicitly told the boys to remain on the ship while he dropped off the prisoner. The boys decided to obey this one time.

Kit had to admit that the marines had a scary strong-looking fortress. Marine warships could be seen everywhere. Kit could practically feel his fur stand on end when his haki picked up the level of sheer power radiating from the base. They haven't even docked yet, but eventually all the boys could sense the strength of the marines stationed at Marineford.

"In the history of the navy," began Sabo as the boys looked in awe at Marine Headquarters, "no one had ever successfully taken on Navy Headquarters. To attack it would a direct assault on the World Government itself. Even the famed 'Golden Lion' Shiki couldn't defeat the combined might of the Old Geezer and the fleet admiral."

"Only someone absolutely out of his mind crazy would do that," concluded Ace.

Kit quirked his eyebrow. "I actually could imagine at least two people who would do that," stated the fox with a smile. Ace retaliated with a swift shove, nearly toppling the fox over the rails from where he sat.

"Ace, don't go drowning your brothers, now. GWAHAHAHA!" Ace couldn't stop the shiver that rippled through his body. Kit could not blame the fire user. His bruises ached the minute he heard his grandfather's voice. Luffy squealed in surprise, and only Sabo quick reflexes prevented Luffy from taking an unexpected salt water bath.

"GWAHAHAHA! You boys might want to get down soon, anyway," bellowed Garp. His jolly smile faded, however, as the marine donned his rare 'serious' face. "Right after the ship docks, I have to say hi to Sengoku. Kit, watch your brothers. Sabo, make sure our devil fruit users don't lose their heads. I don't want anyone to show off their powers while we're here. Devil fruit abilities are common enough here, but you boys shouldn't draw too much attention. Do not, whatever you do, tell anyone of your connection to the Whitebeard Pirates. Of everything I said, you must promise this above all else. Some characters at Marineford might strike you down just for that alone. There are three admirals currently visiting in the next few days. Try not to get underfoot of them. I'll have Bogard here keep an eye on you four, just in case."

The man in question walked over with his seemingly perpetual scowl in place as he regard his new charges. The marine officer probably had not forgotten the trick the boys played on him during their rare breaks from training.

"One other thing. Fleet Admiral Sengoku is aware in part that my grandchildren have a rather sketchy background, if you exclude Sabo here. So, Bogard keep them away from Sengoku if you can. No telling how the man might react. That guy is a lot smarter than me and will no doubt deduce that any children traveling with you are mine. I should be done sometime after lunch. Stop by the base and give the boys a tour, and I'll try to meet up with the five of you."

They had finally docked in the bay of Marineford. True to his word, Grandfather hopped onto the deck and strolled away, leaving Kit, Luffy, Ace, and Sabo alone with Bogard. After an uncomfortable glaring match between Ace and Bogard, Kit had had enough. The fox stepped right in between the hostile pair and faced Bogard.

"So, where first? Grandfather did instruct you to act as a sort of escort for us during our stay. I'm sure we'll appreciate learning more about marine life at headquarters with you as our guide."

"Hmm." The man seemed a taken aback at the fox's sudden interruption. Normally when Bogard and Ace got into a mood like this, Sabo usually was the one to break them up. Kit normally ignored it or made the tension worse. "Alright. Why don't we go visit the town? After that lunch, we'll go to Navy Headquarters to check on Vice-Admiral Garp." Bogard gave no time for the boys to respond. He headed off into Marineford's naval headquarters. Kit snatched up Luffy's hand as the boys ran after him.

Marine Headquarters

Sabo

Ace glared with suspicion at everyone in the naval base. Luffy had a pout, but that probably was due to Bogard putting spending limits on today's lunch for the boys. Kit smiled carelessly, but the fox never gave away anything before he had one his prized knives darting for a debilitating strike. The top hatter had no doubt that his older brother had some knives still concealed under his gray jacket even after Bogard confiscated all their weapons (Sabo's pipe, Ace's pocket knife, a few suspicious reels of razor sharp wire and a couple of knives from Kit). The ability to hide weapons on his person was an art form that the fox had perfected. He even snuck some leftovers from some of the other customers' plates during lunch and slipped some to Luffy as they walked. Their little rubber brother could barely conceal a shishishi as he quickly gobbled the stolen goods. Luffy at least smiled during the rest of their tour around the naval base.

Their tour was a bit boring. Bogard avoided some of the more interesting places (Kit made no comment when their tour guide announced they would under no condition explore the weaponry storage facilities – or the kitchen when a certain black hole waved his hand in question), but the tour as a whole wasn't too bad. They visited the training area where several recruits and senior officers sparred. Some of these guys, as mentioned by the Old Geezer, did display devil fruit powers. One guy, Onigumo, whom Luffy ran over to gawp at, had spider powers and used the extra limbs in his swordplay. Another marine soldier had the ability to rust anything he touched. Kit gave this one a wary eye, his hands straying ever so slightly to his empty knife sheathes. Ace just tried to burn holes everyone with his stare, although Sabo could detect a hint of awe in the sullen brother's eyes. Bogard did open up a little more when Kit began asking (interrogating) some of the resting marines on some of their adventures. Bogard had some interesting stories about the Old Geezer and his younger days.

They were just walking through the hall and looking for Garp. The marine officer had just finished telling the boys about Garp and Sengoku's fight with the 'Golden Lion' Shiki when the door ahead of them suddenly opened.

An older man with a black braided beard, an elaborate marine coat with golden epaulets, and various shiny medals attached to his white suit walked out of the door. His oddest features were the seagull on his hat and the little goat that chewed on some very important looking papers.

"Bogard! Garp was looking for you- Who are these children?" asked the man with a stern glance directed at Bogard. "Do they happen to be with you?" Something in the man's eye flared and his voice had taken an edge.

Bogard clearly was a bit off-balanced with the older man's questions. Sabo could see a few drops of sweat gather his brow.

"Excuse me, Fleet Admiral. Vice-Admiral Garp gave permission to bring the boys by the base after lunch. I was just giving the boys a tour and discussing the fine points of marine life by sharing a few tales and introducing some of the office-"

"These are Garp's grandchildren, are they not?" Bogard's face had gone blank. '

Fleet Admiral?' a voice whispered in Sabo's mind. 'Fleet Admiral as in the head of the navy, Sengoku the 'Buddha'? The one that Grandfather warned us to stay away from explicitly?' Kit's mental voice trailed off in a sudden sharp cut off, as the fleet admiral turned his attention to the brothers.

Ace

The raven did his best to reign in his temper. This man represented danger for them all. Gramps implied that this guy knew something about each of the boys. If he knew about his, Luffy, and Kit's heritages then...

"Portgas D. Ace. Monkey D. Luffy. Sol D. Kitsune. And… Sabo, is it? Garp has told me quite a bit about the four of you." Ace's frantic thoughts froze.

"I do hope you all follow the path your grandfather had all but guaranteed you four will follow. Although," trailed off Sengoku, his voice going noticeably flat and quiet, "I doubt your blood will allow that. I have nothing against children, personally, but the moment you step a toe out of line…" Nothing more needed to be said. The older marine's eyes sharpened. Bogard was thoroughly ruffled, a hint of worry creasing his brow.

Ace clenched his fists but said nothing. That damned seagull bastard threatening his brothers, I'll- No. That might make things worse. Ace longed to lash out against that piercing gaze so like the faces of those punks when they mocked the thought of a demon's son. Instead, the older boy stepped forward, shielding the oblivious Luffy. Sabo followed suit. Kit, on the other hand, had other ideas.

"I'm sure that the navy will act according to the wisdom and common sense of its leaders," interjected Kit. "Children are innocents, no matter their bloodline, after all. A child of a demon may be evil in the eyes of the world, but a child of a human is a human. Nothing more, nothing less. As beings of free will, we choose our paths; our parents, family, friends are only a few voices guiding the adventurer on their journey. Am I not right?" Kit's voice took on that rare tone, one that reminded Ace a little of the boy's great fox. It held strength and power contradictive to the appearance of the lean teenager. Ace feared a little bit for his older brother's defiant stance, another part nodding his head in agreement to the bold words reminiscent of another family member's words. The fleet admiral remained silent for a moment or two.

"Well spoken. I suppose I would have to wait and see the future of Garp's infamous grandsons. Bogard, Garp headed for the cafeteria."

The seagull-wearing marine briskly walked past the group. Ace released the breath he unconsciously held during the entire exchange. Beside him, Sabo relaxed from his defensive stance. Luffy quirked his head in askance. Kit's shoulders sagged. Bogard cleared his throat.

"Well, boys, I'm sure you four are a bit peckish after our tour. Why don't we go find Garp?" All the boys nodded their heads in agreement. That encounter was a bit too foreboding for them.

Kitsune

Apparently, Sengoku wanted their grandfather to stay for a meeting scheduled late tomorrow evening, and the ship needed another day after that to properly stock up for the next leg in their journey. The fox could not wait for their departure of Marineford. The place whispered of danger and peril for children with such dire heritages for three of them. Sabo may be the only odd one out, but the blonde brother would defend the others to the death. Grandfather had secured rooms at the base for the lot of them.

The boys were bunking down with some of the naval recruits. Some of them gave fleeting stares at their unannounced newcomers but paid little more heed to boys years younger than they. A few of the older boys, though, took exception to their unexplained guests. Kit mentally reminded himself to not react/plot evilly in response to some of the recruit's snipes. Grandfather will not appreciate Ace beating a few older boys, chanted the fox as he grabbed Ace's arm alongside Sabo. Nor, would he condone my own thoughts put into action. Kit had to give a gentle and silent reminder to the older raven-haired boy to control himself. They already had a few close calls with Luffy stretching, they did not need to worry about Ace burning the building down around them. Although, one of them might deserve it. Kit had malicious thoughts of using some harmless foxfire illusions on one particularly bratty recruit. Only Sabo silent disapproval kept the fox in check. The blonde did have a way to read his brothers better than Kit the telepath.

Marineford Bay

The next day was not the best. Bogard decided after one look at the disgruntled boys to take them to the bay and look over some of the docked ships that belonged to some of Garp's friends. Kit expected some cool looking sights to see in the bay. He did not, however, predict the weird marine – probably, heck, practically everyone at Marineford was either a marine or a government worker, and the guy wore a white vest on top of a navy blue top rather than a black suit – riding on a bicycle. Kit had seen bicycles plenty of times, no the bike in of itself was quite ordinary. The problem was that the bike in question rolled on top of the water. His brothers equally wore expressions of surprise from slightly gaping mouths to a wide toothy smile and laughter. Something shimmered a bit behind the bicyclist. Kit narrowed his eyes, letting out a bit of haki. A trail of – ice? The boy spectators just stood there frozen. Bogard noticed the stunned looks of his charges and shook his head in irritation. The bicyclist finally arrived to the port and threw a hand in front of him. A trail of ice skidded up to form a ramp for the man's bike. Luffy recovered first, as the man climbed off is bike.

"Awesome! Mister, how did you do that? Who are you? Do you have really cool powers or something?" babbled Luffy. Ace shook off his awe and smacked Luffy's head with a bit of haki, so a large bump formed from a weaker punch. Luffy winced in pain, complaining at Ace who called him a crybaby. Kit ignored his younger brothers' antics and focused on their newcomer. He smirked.

"You're a devil fruit user. You used some sort of ice power to create a path for your bike across the sea. Neat." The tall man looked a bit surprised.

"Well, yes. I ate the Chilly-Chilly fruit. I'm an ice man. You boys don't look too surprise, but I suppose you have seen quite a few devil fruit users here."

"Uh-huh! Your powers are so cool! Shishishi! But not as cool as-" Luffy's giggling cut off when Sabo slapped a hand over his runaway mouth. The man glanced at Ace.

"Hey kid," said the man to Ace, "Who are you? And how can a kid like you know haki? For that matter, why did you hit your friend here with it?"

Ace's eyes narrowed, his expression tightening with hostility.

"That's not really any of your business. And who are you exactly? It's polite to introduce yourself fi-"

"A bit more tact, brat. This is Admiral Aokiji." The boys had completely forgot about Bogard. Ace reddened a little bit, but he refused to apologize. Kit rolled his eyes at his rude little brothers. Sabo started a bit when he heard the name of the man.

"You're an admiral?! One of the most elite marine soldiers and under the direct command of the fleet admiral?" gaped Sabo.

Aokiji nodded his head once. "So little guy, care to answer?" Kit stepped forward and pushed Ace back before he could say anything else.

"Hello, nice to meet you Admiral Aokiji sir. My name is Kitsune. These three are my younger brothers: Ace is the next oldest and the less than enthusiastic one; Sabo is the blonde one; And Monkey D. Luffy is the youngest with the biggest grin – I'm sure you're familiar with our grandfather."

"Hm, so you're the brats Garp thought he lost a few years ago. I wondered why he seemed so chipper a year or so ago. You brats seem really strong, especially if all of you no doubt know haki like Ace there. Well, I can't chat for long. Sengoku will not take lightly to my delay if I don't arrive on time. Goodbye kids and Bogard." The tall man waved as he strode off toward the base.

"That guy," sighed Bogard. Kit looked in askance until Ace gestured for the eldest to join in their whispered conversation.

"So that's an admiral."

"He didn't seem like that much."

"His ice powers were so cool!"

"He's an admiral, one of the great powerhouses of the navy. The three navy admirals form one of the Great Powers."

"Sabo's right, Ace. An admiral has the power to rival that of the greatest pirate crews. Pineapple Head told me once that even he can have trouble fighting one of those guys and he's who you know you."

"You know what?"

"Another thing to remember. Until we return to the ship, we might want to avoid making any mention of our family while we're in Paradise or if we visit any of the other seas. Especially here, one of the pinnacle locations of the World Government. There's definitely no few people who would suspect us just for being kids that speak of great pirates in a familiar kind of way."

"But Kit, Sleepy Mask didn't seem that bad."

"Sleepy Mask?" Eh, for nicknames that could work. The guy did have a sleeping mask of all things strapped to the top of his head. "As for trusting an admiral, well, why don't we just avoid him? For now, at least. He didn't give any hostile vibes, and my observation haki is a bit more acute than any you guys'."

The three other boys nodded their heads in agreement.

"Hey brats, you done discussing?" grumbled Bogard. Kit couldn't blame the guy for now appreciating the all too frequent and inexplicable moods of the brothers that resulted in a private conversation in the middle of a public place. They kind of forgot about the marine like this. But the marine didn't seem to take it too personally. The boys broke up their huddle and walked over to the man. "You boys have some luck that the first admiral you've met is Aokiji. He's not as bad as the others. Come on, I promised to take you four to see some of the other naval vessels here in Marineford." Back to their exploration of the naval base.

Marine Headquarters

Galley

Sabo

They had just settled down at a bench to eat. The KASL brothers had their trays loaded up with as much food as possible. One of the few good things about staying at the base was the food. They didn't have to worry as much about eating a hole through Bogard's pockets. Sabo just began to dig in when a man in a bright yellow pinstriped suit sat down next to him.

"Oooh, Bogard, I thought I would find you. Garp's giving Fleet Admiral Sengoku gray hairs again, so I'd figure you were hair as well. How have things been?"

"Fine. Some idiot rookies tried to attack us without an idea of Garp's reputation."

"I take it that they didn't give you any trouble."

"Of course not. I probably should introduce you to the brats. Boys, this is Admiral Kizaru."

Sabo nearly choked. Another admiral today? The boys were not having a great last day at Marineford if they end up bumping into two out of three admirals. Sabo snuck a glance to Kit sitting across the table and to the left of Bogard. The fox had that creepy closed eye smirk that spelled trouble.

"Nice to meet you, Admiral Kizaru. Doesn't your name mean 'yellow monkey', though? A strange name, almost as strange as mine own. I'm Kitsune." Times like these made Sabo think that Kit was as tactless as Ace and Luffy. But the fox never did something so stupid without a reason. Luckily Kizaru took this good-naturedly and just chuckled.

"Ooh, aren't you clever. We admirals are given code names, you see. My name's Borsalino. Our code names usually relate to our abilities or personalities, I suppose. 'Yellow' relates to my devil fruit power."

"Oh? Devil fruit power?"

"I ate the Shine-Shine fruit and am now a light man. I can manipulate and become light."

"So a logia like that Aokiji guy," said Ace.

"Aah. You've met with the blue pheasant, already? Interesting guy, huh?"

"Shishishi, I like him! He was riding a bike across the water with his ice powers. He had this weird sleeping mask on his head, though."

"Yeppp. That's Aokiji alright. He polices his sectors of the sea under 'Lazy Justice'."

"'Lazy Justice'? I've come across the phrase a little bit in my studies, but I still do not understand it very well," admitted Sabo. Some of the books he had borrowed (or purloined) had mentioned a bit about each admiral pursuing their own definitions of justice, but that part was a bit unclear.

"Welll, I suppose I have some time to give a little lesson to you four since you're probably with Bogard here and Garp. Each admiral usually follows a certain motto regarding how we interpret 'justice'. 'Lazy Justice' is how Aokiji operates. He prefers not to actively pursue criminals across the sea without a good reason or order. As the name implies, he's incredibly lazy. He usually sleeps a lot, hence the mask. The other admiral Akainu operates under 'Absolute Justice'. To him, all associates of evil are just as guilty as the entity in question. And he will use any means to pursue justice."

"Oh? And what of you, if I may ask?"

"Heh, sure are a polite one. Well, my motto is 'Unclear Justice'. I prefer to mete out justice with abandon, although, I find no point in pursuing something after it usually unless ordered. Out of sight, out of mind, you see? A lot of people find me hard to understand."

"Isn't that the truth," added Bogard. The man had relaxed only a little bit as the boys conversed with the admiral. The comment only had the man showed his teeth. Sabo couldn't tell if the guy was being sarcastic or if he really couldn't care less about the implied insult. By Kit's slight tilt of the head, he didn't have much better luck interpreting their guest's actions.

"Aaah, Bogard. Nice to see you as always. I'd better go. That meeting should start in another hour. Nice to meet you children."

Sabo exchanged a few glance with his brothers. Ace didn't trust him (not surprising), Kit thought he was okay, and Luffy thought his powers were cool but now as cool as Sleepy Mask's. When asked, Sabo couldn't really say how he felt about the admiral. Boraslino was an easy going fellow on the surface, but something was a bit off about him. The four boys put off thinking for a while as they finished lunch.

Hours Later

Kitsune

Luffy did it again. Somehow, the four boys got separated from Bogard.

The grim marine had really loosen up in the past two days (for him at least), and the boys had stuck close to him as Grandfather ordered. Unfortunately, none of their precautions included what to do when Bogard was called away to discuss something with one of the marines from their ship. Normally, Bogard held onto Luffy's hand, but Kit volunteered to do this while the man went off. Bogard gave them explicit instructions to not move from their spot in the hallway. Then a marine carrying a heavy load passed by them and almost dropped it. Kit intercepted the falling weight and helped the marine to carry it a few doors down the hall along with Sabo. Doing this, though, meant he had to have just Ace keep an eye on their adventurous brother. Kit and Sabo returned to find a sleeping Ace and no Luffy.

Kit didn't have time to go easy (and had no intention to do so) and sparked a foxfire firecracker illusion onto Ace's sleeping face. The boy leapt up with a start, and only by Kit's accompanying flames did he keep the fire user from burning the halls. Good thing few fires could match his foxfire. And that the fire wouldn't burn anything but its intended target. Once Ace chilled and noticed their missing brother, the three could run go look for him. Kit used his nose to track him. Somehow Luffy managed to end up who knows where on what probably was the other side of the base. The boys were officially lost.

"You rubber-brained numbskull! Why did you go off when Bogard told us to stay put?"

*Thump!*

"Ow! But Ace, there was this cool guy with a giant sword. I wanted to go and take a better look at-"

*Bonk!* Luffy now sported a bump on top of a bump courtesy of Sabo. Kit slumped his shoulders before straightening and bonking both of his brothers.

"We can discuss this later. We're completely lost, and the ship sets sail in another hour, if I recall. Bogard will no doubt not appreciate us disobeying orders from him and Grandfather. So, we had better find our way back first. I know I can't use my Observation haki very well with all these people here."

"I think we might be near the admiral offices, if I remember from yesterday."

"At least someone has the maturity to contribute to the problem at hand," scoffed Kit. He really had enough of being lost like this. They haven't even run into one marine after they found Luffy. Kit was about to just give in and transform when they saw a tall, muscular man walk towards them.

"What are a bunch of brats doing here? Don't you boys have somewhere better to be? Are you just a bunch of pathetically lost recruits," snarled the man. He wore a dark red suit over a floral red shirt. The white justice coat hung over his shoulders.

Ace did not appreciate the brat reference.

"So what? We're not marine recruits! And we're not brats. We can wander wherever we da-"

"Excuse my brother," interjected Sabo. Kit had come over to Ace's side and slapped a hand over his mouth before he got them in worse trouble. "We had somehow become separated from our chaperone when we all went to find our wayward little brother. Our grandpa is a marine Vice-Admiral, so if you would so please as point out the way to the harbor, we will be most grateful." Good thing they had Sabo. He was the most diplomatic.

The man glowered. Kit couldn't help but notice Luffy's lack of response. He let go of Ace and turned a bit to regard the youngest D. Luffy's bottom lip had begun to tremble, and when the cold stare of the man passed over him, Luffy pressed himself behind Ace. Kit narrowed his eyes at the man. The man's eyes darted over to Luffy, and his scowl deepened.

"A Vice-Admiral, huh? Who is he, and more importantly, who are you four?"

Kit bit back a low growl. This guy grated on his instincts. "I'm Kitsune. These are my brothers, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. Our grandfather is Vice-Admiral Garp. As courtesy suggests, may we inquire on your name?"

"I'm Admiral Akainu. You boys have some bad luck to end up here. The harbor's on the other side of the base. So, Garp's brats, huh? Well, it could be worse. I have no time to babysit brats." Akainu snapped.

He gave them some rudimentary directions before stalking off. Kit quirked his eyebrow. 'Polite guy, isn't he? I don't like him.' Kit turned to Luffy.

"Luffy, you okay?"

"Mmm, 'm okay," whispered the young boy. His hands had begun to tug down the sides of his straw hat in an all-too familiar gesture of unease. "I don't like that guy too much." Ace's eyes could burn someone where they stood at that moment. The last time Luffy said something like this…

"We definitely should stay away from that guy then," stated Sabo. He rubbed a comforting hand on Luffy's back. "Don't worry Luffy. He's gone. And we, your big brothers, will protect you if he ever thinks about hurting any of us." Luffy nodded his head slowly. Ace still had a defensive air about him, but his next words were surprisingly even.

"We'd better go. Gramps is waiting and all." Kit had a funny feeling that Ace wanted to put some more distance between them and the red dog.

Marineford became a speck on the horizon. Grandfather did not appreciate them running off. They didn't have much time to contemplate their stay on Marineford as their crazy grandfather chased them around the deck again as soon as they set sail. Only after the boys exhaustedly fell on their bunks did they give any thoughts to the admirals they met. They all agreed that out of all them, Akainu and Sengoku were on the list of 'Avoid at any cost'. At least until they were great pirates. Right now, the boys needed to assure that they had a future as pirates.