As soon as she opened the door, she saw it. The white parchment contrasted against her dark blanket. It was face-down; but she didn't need to read it to know what it was. She nervously strummed her fingers against the sheath of her sword. "They must have raised the bounty," She muttered to herself.
"How often do you talk to yourself, Tashigi?"
Hearing the gruff, joyless voice startled her. It had come from behind her and she spun to face him. "Hello, sir." She said. She had turned too quickly and her right foot was bent at an odd angle. The captain was leaning against her doorframe. His large arms were folded across his chest. She thought for a moment that the captain was smiling, the smallest of smiles, so that his face was both amused and grim. She took a step away from the door to put more space between them. But she forgot that her foot was at a strange angle. She stumbled and fell sideways onto her bed.
"It's not about the Straw Hat," Smoker said. If there had a been a hint of amusement in his face; it was not in his voice.
"Sir?" She looked at him. She had completely forgotten what she had said in the moments before she was surprised.
"Look at the parchment, Tashigi."
She immediately grabbed the poster and turned it over. The wanted poster only confused her more. It was the least helpful wanted poster she had ever seen. The picture was dark and out of focus. The man in the photo seemed to be several feet away from the photographer. But the picture had been cut so that only his torso was on the poster. Tashigi concentrated on the picture; she narrowed her eyes trying to focus on the details. But even with this level of devotion she could barely make out any features on the man's face. "I can't really tell what he looks like from this picture," she said. Smoker said nothing in return. She could feel him standing behind her, his impatience was like a physical weight pressing against her.
She finally looked at the name written in bold type at the bottom of the parchment. Before she could stop herself, she let out a stunned gasp. Her voice was laced with something akin to awe, "Is this really Aztec Kemp?"
"That's what it says."
She looked over her shoulder into Smoker's face. "Did you ever meet him?"
He quickly shook his head. "You?"
"No, sir."
"Well, we're about too. I just got a dispatch. We're supposed to catch him. The rumors say that his on Pineapple Island. We're about to land. Get ready."
He turned his back and walked out of the room.
And, even though he wasn't there to see it, Tashigi nodded resolutely.