Hello everyone! I know I said explicit chapters will be published and they are as we speak. I had to work a very long stent this time, I'm sorry! But...! I did manage to write 5 whole chapters! Woot! This means two chapters here will be published today with the addy added like promised and three hidden treasure chapters waiting for you. Now the site is AO3, it was recommended by several of you romantic fans. :) I don't think I can post the link in my author notes but there is nothing stating about my profile. So the link is in my profile description. Have a great day and thank you again for the support!
Kuzan was at a loss. He wanted to help Katie but his hands were tied. Copper orbs watched the vice-admiral leave. If the officer were honest with himself, which he rarely was, the man would have followed without hesitation. Plotted coupes, espionage, and political games always made him feel peculiar and out of his league. Kizaru was better suited for that particular stage. That's why the admiral in blue was at the meeting while Sakazuki and Borsalino spoke to the elders. Going after the fleet-admiral's granddaughter, adopted or not, was a sign of war. He was certain they didn't order this.
The marine whom commanded ice was exceptionally good at one thing and one thing only, he continued in his thoughts. Like the other two, the exceedingly tall officer excelled at doing what he wanted whenever he wanted. Most of the time he did things on a whim. Not much excited him lately and he discovered boredom on an entirely different level. Aokiji was uninterested in almost everything, that was until a little brunette entered his life.
In her short time being here, Katie managed to rouse him. It wasn't hard after not being with the member of the opposite sex for so long. She gained his inquisitiveness. It wasn't just physical curiosity either. Whenever he saw that smile of hers, Kuzan wanted to know why it made his blood warm. It was her beautiful wide grin; not the kind that screamed take her to bed but one he wanted to see more often. To put it into different terms that maybe the officer himself could understand, he felt better around her. It literally was that simple.
After all the bullshit the admiral had to do during a single day, it would be nice to come home to that smile. He didn't dwell on the past and he sure didn't think too hard on the future. Work could be left outside any door she was behind. In the mornings, breakfast was something the admiral always looked forward too and that coffee of hers… Damn it, what he wouldn't do to have her make him a cup of coffee. The marine huffed.
Aokiji felt a moment of guilt. Here he was wanting her to be close to him, smile, and make him a cup of coffee while Katie was probably getting her teeth knocked out of her head. Thick fingers rubbed the corners of his eyes. He could be selfish but damn he may have taken it too far, the admiral thought.
The officer stood to his feet, interrupting whatever Sengoku was saying. The marine really didn't hear a word the fleet-admiral was spouting. He had been coiled around in his own thoughts instead. Kuzan could hear the old man barking something, he still couldn't hear anything but his concerns over the petite brunette. "I'm going to see how things are going and a young woman about a cup of coffee…", a large hand waved off before he disappeared behind the shoji door.
The only two married men dipped their heads down. A slight easily missed smirk crossed their lips. They knew how restless he felt. They both had been in similar situations. Zephyr's son breaking an arm while he was away or his wife being robbed during a visit to her parent's. Jonathan's Jessica having burned herself while cooking or had been placed under investigation due her assaulting an inspector while he was out. Different reasoning's but men who had tasted desired affection knew all the signs of that mind eating anxiety. It was like a disease which only had one cure.
The admiral in white and blue did his best to rush without running. As soon as his feet hit the stairway, it was long easy strides all the way down. He didn't even hear the conversation taking place in the cell room until he entered. The room to the block was large. Tall enough to hold the likes of Kuma if it need be. This meant he could stand to his full height making it easier on his back. It was only a short distance from the entry to the enormous cell she was held in.
Upon Kuzan's arrival, copper orbs soaked in a view he thought he'd never see in an interrogation jail cell. On one side hung a little Katie who was gently swaying side to side as she seemed coiled in thick chain. What he had issues with was how much of her pale skin was shimmering in the dim overhead light. Her hair had been soaked, bark colored tips were freeing themselves from droplets of water.
As the man came closer his eyes had adjusted to the different light setting and he could see the thick discolorations upon her facial features. The supple lips he had started to look forward to feeling were bruised and swollen. The corner of her brow split open and her cheek a bluish hue. His stomach knotted as he cursed the government agents silently but he was no better. The officer had done much worse to women and children, himself. He had no place to chide them for doing what they were ordered to do.
The young brunette's eyes viewed upward as she smiled at the man who felt sick at the sight of her. Not directly at her per-se but the state that the female was placed in. Aokiji fought his own instincts long and hard to not grab that chain she was wrapped in and break it open so he could at least give her his admiral's jacket. Katie must have felt awkward being forced around men while stripped and hung in a vulnerable state.
"Idiot… Don't smile at me", Kuzan admonished.
"Why not", she asked ignoring her grandfather's bubbled chuckles. "You're on that side of the cage. Means I can smile at you all I want! What are you going to do? Nothing", she spoke simply while teasing the poor marine who was left oddly confused.
"That reminds me… What happened to your clothes? Also… where's Vergo", he asked while trying to remain professional. It was rather hard since she seemed to be alright and taking things like she normally would have. It was both liberating and worrisome. It meant things happened that he should be aware of.
"Uh, well they started their investigation like this. I think it was supposed to be some sort of mental tactic. When that didn't really work, they started the typical ask questions and throw a punch to try and get me to talk. When they started using this weird martial art, he jumped in and gave them thumps of his own. Something about how I'm still in his custody; excessive force will be deemed a threat against his prisoner who has yet had a complete trial. Then he explained about how he won't jeopardize his track record for being punctual for court."
Copper orbs moved to the large hole in the side of the cell that traveled deep into the depths of the other parts of the underground interrogation blocks. He exasperated a sigh. Kuzan locked eyes with a pair of large endless blue orbs. The man quirked a smile before sitting next to Garp. "So… you're ok", he asked.
"Yep! I also have one request", the smaller brunette stated unaware of how close Vergo was unlike the other two men. Before the admiral could ask what she wanted, Katie started talking again. "Teach me how to imbue a weapon with haki! It's so cool", she praised while flailing her dangling legs.
"Eh… no", Aokiji answered flatly. "It's a combative art; something you're incapable of and it takes special practice to expand your haki to the point that it covers an inanimate object. Something I'm not really good at myself. It just goes to show how capable of a marine he is, though I can't say I'm not pleased to hear good things about him. He is a marine under my care, after all." A large grin embellished over the admiral's lips. It felt great to hear that Vergo had won her admiration and trust. It only meant he was perfect to watch over her possibly in the future.
The marine behind the broken wall overheard everything. His plan was beginning to take fruit. A smile etched its way into his stone-cold expression. Vergo had begun winning the young woman over. This pleased him and he was sure it would be the same for Doffy if he could just manage to gain more freedom.
The brunette sniffed the air. "Vergo", Katie called out. "The doughnuts are coming. The white powdered ones. I can smell the sugar from all the way over here. Plus, I smell coffee! Come join us!" The marine did and after explaining he left the two unconscious after his third warning.
The man realized just how dangerous the young woman's smell was. She picked out everything from a distance; right down to the moment the other two returned to join them. Lucci wasn't in the best of shape but his blood was running hot. He wanted more but Kaku pointed out there was now an admiral in their presence. One could guess the man was disappointed that he wasn't able to continue the bout with Vergo.
Rob, did however, begin to wonder how he could get Katelyn to obey him and him alone. The government agent didn't see her as a human but an animal that could be purely of use as his pet. Some would say, it was better than how he saw most humans in general. If the assassin could somehow contain the female then provoke her, show the woman how great it felt to run wild... He could easily tame the twenty-three year old then and use the brunette like leaders used lions in gladiatorial arenas.
The gleam in Lucci's eye caught Garp's attention once more. The old vice-admiral had enough. His temper got the better of him. Without getting up the man issued a warning that was far more harrowing than whatever Vergo could dish out. A massive grip grabbed the bars of the door and plucked the barrier right off its own hinges without using haki. He tossed it up and over his shoulder like someone would a piece of paper into a waste basket. It was effortlessly done.
The marine wasn't done. From his sitting position, the mousey grey haired officer disappeared only to appear between Kaku and Rob. Heavy mitts landed on their shoulders and the flex of his fingers shattered the bone if it were merely fragile glass. Again, the man neglected to use his haki and it was clear the action took zero effort on his part. By displaying unrivaled strength, Garp's warning was well received. Only one of the two agents ignored it for now. The curly haired agent didn't like the obvious two obstacles standing before him; the man began to ponder what he could do to remove them from the picture. The pain in his shoulder was distracting though. A click of his tongue revealed just how seriously annoyed he was. This wasn't going according to plan.