A little side note, sorry this update came a little earlier than normal. My desk top had finally seen its last days. The start up in windows had become corrupted so I can't even turn on my computer. Do not fret though! I have a solution and will be up and running normal updates tomorrow. I apologize if this had become an inconvenience to you.
Another thing I'd like to touch on, thanks for the support! We have 7 followers now! I couldn't be happier! It really is heart warming. Also thank you so much for the wonderful comments! Feel free to leave your thoughts in the review section.
Katie hopped to the tallest place she could find which was a church steeple. The building, like many others were white with blue trim. Some had reddish tinted roof tiles while other were darker and dingy in color from age giving a brownish appearance. Various sized structures made up most of the lower parts of the massive island turned fortress.
Only two words could only describe the view, breath taking. The sun was settling over the horizon as streaks of gold and red began to permeate the sky. The air was turning quite cooler at this point and Katie might have to dig through her duffel to grab her jacket. Being from Foosha Island didn't prepare her for the size nor the feel of the buzzing city. The weather wasn't something she was used to either as the young woman shivered from the air brushing across her burned skin. It was almost over whelming.
"Great... Where am I supposed to go now", the brunette asked herself out loud as to not lose herself to her new surroundings. She knew she could easily get distracted and was desperately fighting the curiosity bug which started to stir inside her very soul. Like a carefree child, the young woman wanted to see all the bakeries, the fruit stands, the ice-cream stores, candy shops, and delis. Katie was almost in tears since there had been so much to see! It was nearly maddening!
Slightly frustrated with herself, due to lack of knowledge as to where her journey's end was, her swift flowing movements across each roof garnered some attention from local marines patrolling the area. Many were on duty recruits earning their wages while others simply wanted an excuse to throw their weight around.
After being waved down, Garp's granddaughter reluctantly made her way to the four that had come to investigate the FLYING WOMAN. To their pleasant surprise, it was a tiny female with an oversized green duffel. To Katie this wasn't something she needed nor wanted. Depending on how things could go, it could reflect poorly on her grandpa Sengoku. The young woman began to feel the stress just building on her shoulders.
Setting down her belongings, the petite framed brunette took a few strides forward but was told to halt; which she did. An exasperated sigh escaped her lungs while dark blue hues took in the appearances of all four marines. Two were tall, thin, wearing their uniforms in a unique fashion but carrying rifles slung over their shoulders. Their hats turned backwards and the short-sleeved part of their uniform ripped completely off. The other two shorter males wore the typical uniform minus the hat with rifles slung across the back. It reminded her of some of the local bandits from her home. Two tall body guards for a master mind but this person seemed to have an extra. Like a second in command of sorts. This was not the normal for marines.
Katie's eyes soaked in every detail as well as her strong sense of smell. She was nearly sickened by the scent. These men didn't don the warm cologne she had come to expect. Even Captain Smoker had put something on that was at least pleasant to counter the aroma of burned cigars. Though, oddly she would have to admit they had a pleasant smell too but these four made no effort! Instead a two week old trash bin in the sun would have been more pleasant.
The young woman shivered and her stare went blank but merely for a moment until the one who was in charge stepped forward. The aroma grew so strong, forcing Katie to cup her hand over her nose and mouth. Her eyes stung and began to water. She at least knew this wasn't the norm either.
"Hello, my name is Lieutenant Peach and this is my squad. We're here to investigate a woman causing a scene, possible property damage, and disturbing the peace by scaring those around her while she's flying through the air", a thick greasy sound rolled off his lips.
Katie wished she didn't have the gift of smell. She could see the man coming closer had short brown hair, a large bulbous nose, a cleft chin, and large round eyes. He was slightly muscular but in the way of anything special, the marine was lacking. Even his height was average.
"What's your name, sweetheart", Peach asked with an unsettling chuckle afterward.
The brunette tried to answer to the best of her ability while ignoring the pet name but the sour body aroma was keeping her from even trying to breath. It was too much! If anyone or anything out there that could save her, she wished it would happed already. This wasn't what she had in mind upon her first arrival to Marineford. The worst part was, if her grandfather got word that she embarrassed him by being careless... She wouldn't know what to do.
"What's wrong...? Going to be sick? Does the thought of justice raining down on you make you regret your actions", a toying laugh followed. She didn't see the grin the marine had bore. Seemingly proud to taunt the woman who had fallen back on her rump and now at his feet.
Katie wanted to say so much! She knew this wasn't how marines acted... or smelled. They were a dignified group with a lot of pride on the line. This was just disgusting in her eyes and nose. It was like they didn't even know what a shower was, she thought. Just him being so close made the young woman feel dirty.
"Oye-dara", a deep baritone rang out. It echoed across the cobblestone street that Katie was nearly lying face down in with only one, very shaky, arm under her to keep her from hitting the ground under her. The three marine lackeys jumped as the voice had originated from behind them. To their discovery, the massive shadow that had over casted them belonged to no other than Shark-Cutter Bastille. The vice-admiral twice the size of a normal man.
The officer's imposing mask and weapon, was enough to cause the three of them to run. They had abandoned their leader to his own fate. Peach had frozen in place with his hand slightly extended. He had planned on grabbing her upper arm to pull her to her feet but stopped in mid action.
The fact the other three fled led the vice-admiral to think they were up to no good. There had been rumored that women were being harassed by some meat heads who would cook up some false accusations just to corner them. Though a captain would normally investigate, he happened to be in the vicinity when he overheard the conversation between lieutenants. As prideful as the man he was, he wasn't going to let it slide and decided to take a stroll.
Katie's luck had struck again as the officer imposed and directly narrowed his eyes on Peach who shivered and began to sweat profusely. He may have not seen the near giant of a man's eyes but he could feel the warning gaze.
"What's going on-dara?" The vice-admiral articulated in a deep tone. He genuinely felt concerned for the poor woman on the ground. Her face was very pale with a blue hue over her eyes. She appeared so sick.
"N...No...Nothing sir", Peach exclaimed while saluting. His jittery nature was not over looked forcing Bastille to give an unbelieving grunt in response.
"I thought I was disturbing the peace or something", Katie coughed and sputtered before covering her mouth and nose again. The brunette regretted ever trying to speak. The sweating of the lieutenant was making matters worse. She just wanted it all to end and not throw up in the process.
"Shut up, woman", the lower ranking officer turned his head and snapped before letting out a girlish scream. Bastille had planted his oversized zanbato between the two. Not only did the cobble stone crack and break, the sheer speed was devastating. The rush of air helped clear Katie's senses and she was ever so thankful. Taking in large gulps of air, the vice-admiral watched as color returned to her cheeks. He let out a sigh of relief.
The officer wasn't good dealing with the opposite sex. He had to admit that the idea of a damsel in distress sounded great in theory but to get as strong as he was, it took years of training with zero distractions. Now that he could think about it, no one was good with dealing with damsels in distress. The commissioned officers were all pretty eccentric and furthermore simply too dedicated.
The higher ranking official grunted again. "What's your name and rank-dara?" His voice commanding, his sheer size frightening, and yet even his shoulders gave a visible jolt. His nose was affronted and completely understood why the brunette female was so ill the very moment he got close. Bastille was appreciative of his mask for hiding most of his disgusted expression. His senses were being attacked! His sympathy reached out to the poor woman.
"Lieutenant Peach...", was all the average sized marine could utter. It was almost softer than a whisper.
"I suggest you take your leave. Go take a shower, you're disgusting-dara...", the vice-admiral added with his voice full of reprimand. It took everything he could do NOT to rush his words. Peach obliged by running away at full tilt.
Behind the mask, Bastille watched as Katie stood to her feet. For a short bit, she held her head. Everything had happened much to quickly for the young woman to completely wrap her head around. For now, she was just thankful the stinky man was gone and the air was now filling with the scent of an expensive masculine cologne. Which was no surprise, since she was little both grandfathers explained about how marines took pride in their appearance.
"Are you alright-dara", the masked man asked with concern losing his frightening overtone. She waved a hand and offered up a lopsided smile. "Mind telling me about this disturbing the peace business-dara", the oversized man warily asked.
"I'm new here so I was using the roof tops to gain my bearings. Apparently, I had scared a few people and the men before you had come to investigate. At least that's what I gathered despite their rather displeasing disposition."
The near giant of a marine nodded. "Where are you trying to go-dara", he asked curiously before sitting on a stone fence as if it were merely a stool.
"Seven-fifteen Capital Boulevard", she answered quickly. Large blue eyes watched the man stand up and grip his weapon. With little effort, he managed to pluck it from the stone that had encased part of it. The young woman trembled once she saw the medium sized crater the zanbato had forged. It was obvious he didn't know how to hold back or if he did, not enough. She was used to seeing these kinds of things from her grandpas but from others was almost surreal.
Katie did however, manage to remember her manners. She bowed ninety degrees at the waist. "Thank you", the brunette quickly added out of respect to the man who had just intervened. Warmth touched Bastille's cheeks but couldn't be seen behind the mask. The only evidence that he was partially flustered was his fingers began fidgeting and he straightened his tie with his free hand.
"I'll tell you what... If you can point me in the right direction, I'll make you a cup of coffee the next time I see you", Katie offered with a beaming smile. The man in the black suit wasn't used to such pleasantries but he didn't turn into a bubbling idiot like many of his lower ranking colleagues would have.
"That's fine... I'll just show you instead-dara", Bastille chuckled.
"Are you sure?! I don't want to bother you! Smoker and Tashigi offered to show me around but they were really busy so instead of waiting, I took off. I thought it would be like my village but was...well... I wasn't expecting everything to be so much!"
The way the young woman waved her hands in an animated fashion made the bigger man burst into laughter. In his thoughts, she seemed to be surprised and fascinated by every detail. She continued to talk about the various buildings and structures. Apparently, the brunette loved to speak what was on her mind; the smaller female started in about the large fountain one had to pass to get up to this level. She even boiled down how breath taking the view was of the horizon from their position. If she was this excited, he couldn't wait to see her response once she saw the view from her address.
Something did spark his curiosity. This woman was very comfortable speaking to a man his rank. He concluded she must not have recognized his uniform or maybe she was just too distracted. Either way, it was pleasant. Kind of made him wish more women were like her. Maybe he and his comrades wouldn't be so serious most of the time.