Hope everyone is having a fantastic Thursday. Mine was a little rough but I'm utterly happy this chapter is on time! Woot!
I really do wish for everyone to be safe out there with the weather warming up and cooling down. Lot of ice patches. Take care!
An hour nearly passed. Sengoku's adopted granddaughter had set nearly half the hospital staff on its ear. Instead of being found close to the facility, the young woman was sitting on the railing to the boardwalk which was located on the edge of the famous Marineford's rose garden. Knowing her mother, two admirals were already making their way there.
The walk didn't take Sakazuki long and when the marine arrived, he wasn't surprised at all. A hand captured in black clad pinched the bridge of his nose. She was exactly like her mother. Dark eyes took a moment to soak in the image. A young woman with a few stray strands of bark colored hair fluttering in the wind. Her blue hospital smocks covered up much of her figure except her mother's gift. The admiral could honestly say that wasn't the reason he was drawn to Angela but the man would be dead and lying to say he didn't appreciate the view when she wasn't looking.
The same hand that had held the bridge of his nose, rubbed his eyes and drew slowly down his face. The marine officer had to recollect himself. Whenever the thought of Angela popped in his mind he would always get distracted. He didn't like not having that sort of control over his emotions and because of it, he'd often come off angry or discontented with the little woman.
Unable to avoid it, Sakazuki's legs carried him to Katie's side. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he too stopped to take in the view. He could remember so much and in detail. The admiral's heart began to pound relentlessly, unsure how it would all unfold. Again, he had talent for killing his enemies and taking charge but situations like this left him clueless.
"Your mother often came here", he broke the silence with his deep baritone voice.
"You two were close", Katie calmly asked. She enjoyed the sounds of chatter from the people against the crashing of waves. Even the seagulls cawing above, let out an ambient feel to the area.
His silent grunt was enough of an answer. Honestly, the marine wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Sakazuki's chin tilted downward leaving his hat to overshadow most of his distinctive facial features.
The two remained in silence for some time. Akainu merely glared at any of the marines who appeared to be looking for the fleet-admiral's granddaughter to keep them at bay. Both of them were left to settle in the moments that followed until the midnight black haired officer heard a familiar step. There was only one man with that kind of stride.
"~Oh-ho… What do we have here~", Borsalino asked before coming up on the left side of Katie. Unlike Sakazuki who stood to her right and faced the roses, the admiral leaned his rear against the railing and crossed his arms. Quickly his ankles crossed in a relaxed fashion as he slouched forward some.
"I'm enjoying fresh air; stretching my legs. Who could blame me after being stuck in a small room with zero privacy?" Her tone was neutral in nature. Both admirals could feel how unpleasant it was for the young woman to be in such a twisted situation.
"There is nothing wrong with that except you happen to run after an assault on a World Government's official took place. Know anything about that", his words were spoken slowly but without the mock draw that usually accompanied them.
"You mean the guy who openly started to use his thunderfist because he assumed I was laughing at him?" Katie's voice didn't waiver a single bit. "That said person approached and attacked a recovering woman after breaking a few laws himself inside a hospital. Endangering civilians and marines alike. But I'm going to guess with the mood you're setting, you already knew that. I'm going to go on a limb here and say they're asking to have me interrogated to see if I spoke about what happened nine years ago."
Both men flinched as shadows danced over their expressions. Even in broad day light of the high noon sun, couldn't hide their darkened feelings. Both were left with sour tastes in their mouths. It was as if they were reliving what they had done to Angela all those years ago.
"Where's your mother", Sakazuki asked with a gruff voice cracking from his throat. "She needs to know", the marine added.
The brunette shook her head and raised a hand. "No. Let mom live out the rest of her days in peace and bliss. If you need to tell anyone just R, my older brother. Both my grandparents will already know about this." Katie turned around while remaining on top of the railing to see two very tall, intimidating men glowering down at her. "Gah", the brunette startled. "You two really need to work on that", she huffed while clenching the fabric over her heart.
"What do you mean, the rest of her days?" Sakazuki lorded over Katelyn with his teeth gritted. His back squared and his shoulders locked. The man's heart felt like it was going to explode. He honestly didn't want to hear this but yet he needed too.
"Mom caught a rare disease. It wastes the body away no matter how much they eat or drink. She apparently contracted it when she was pregnant with R. Which, mom didn't know she had until she wasn't healing very quickly after his delivery." The female slipped down to stand on her feet.
"Mom was later told that she'd have so many years to live and with that, the rest is history. Now her time is coming up and honestly it hurts but that stubborn woman didn't want her kids to watch her fade away. R was sent to train at a young age and I finally was convinced to leave for Marineford." Katie paused to take in a deep breath before slowly exhaling it out. Blue hues could have sworn both men turned their heads away in shame.
"Listen… If you guys want to ask me more questions about mom, that's fine. Just do it after this whole thing blows over. Now if my memory serves correctly, one of you will have to put me in custody which can only last for forty-eight hours. Since I really did nothing wrong, it will only be for that amount of time." The young woman paused to look at both whom still wouldn't look in her direction.
"During that period, I'll be questioned and probably subject to interrogation. Knowing that bastard I'm going to be going in for a world of hurt", the smaller brunette groaned. "Is there anyway, I can get a credible marine witness? I'm going to assume the worst possible scenario and would feel better to have someone there that is impartial to the situation."
The marine in red breathed. She was smart. He couldn't remember if Angela was this intelligent but the man could assume so. In his moment which lacked judgement, the large admiral set a heavy hand on top of the shorter woman's head. Heat rushed to his ears but he was quick to hide it.
"I'm not particularly fond of those government bastards using us as puppets. From here on out, don't utter a word. No one will be your friend. No one will come to your aide but know this, when it's all over with I'll personally see to it that their people never set foot here again." Sakazuki's voice rang with untainted ferocity. Despite the detail of her appearing exactly like the woman he loved, the marine hated the World Government lackeys. His devoted abhorrence towards them was well known and now they were going to harm the one person whose face ever showed him kindness without question. His scowl deepened as he tipped his chin downward.
The young woman felt a gentle flick to her ear. Borsalino also revealed a comforting expression. Akainu had already said everything that was on his mind. The admiral laid a warm, massive hand on her shoulder. "Let's go", he begrudgingly spoke.
The two left Sakazuki to his own thoughts while Katie realized something. A cold chill traveled down her spine. She never liked violence and yet there was a shipwreck heading straight for Marineford. It was evident how much the admiral in red liked her mother. The brunette wasn't sure about the man in yellow but he did seem colder but beside the obvious signs of his calloused nature, she could see in his shoulders how tense he was.
"You're mad too, aren't you?" Her question didn't surprise him. She was as observant as her mother which was more than he could say about himself.
"~Let me ask you a question first~", he articulated. "~Do you know how you got your name?~" The two stopped walking as Borsalino slipped his hand away from her shoulder and tucked it back into his pocket.
The little brunette nodded. Her smile carried warmth he could only wish to touch. "Mom said my name is pretty special. It originated from a man she was in love with. He wanted to name his daughter Katelyn." Borsalino's heart skipped several beats before she continued.
"Because they had a disgusting falling out due to a catastrophic misunderstanding, he forced her to leave. When I came into the picture, she couldn't help but remember all the great times they had together since I was her first and only daughter. So…", Katie shrugged. "She gave me the name he liked so much."
The admiral's heart clenched. Normally people would experience relief, knowing that they weren't hated and no ill feelings were kept. Not he. Kizaru wanted her to hate him, he deserved it. Not this. Not… There was a pause in his thoughts when Katie's blue hues blinked upward. So many memories of Borsalino gazing down into Angela's hit all at once. His breath stopped, his heart stopped, the man was nearly lifeless until a hand reached out and began rubbing the back of the brunette's shoulder blades.
"~Don't worry~", the admiral chimed. "~I'm not angry~", the marine added while feeling a subtle calm wash over him. The officer wasn't lying. The man wasn't angry… He was murderous...
"I'll be fine", Katie tried to soothe after being reassured he wasn't furious. Her smile cracked some, revealing a bit of fear but the man ignored it. The raven haired naval official was relieved to know she thought his blood-lust was mistaken as worry.
Borsalino wasn't going to let those bastards get away with this. He knew what was in store for the interrogation. She was going to be treated as some street criminal. If this didn't break her, Kizaru would be surprised. The marine couldn't understand why they were targeting Katie but it was pretty obvious, by this point, that they were. The admiral would have to have his own guys look into it.