Hello, me again. Sorry I am posting late! I mean I did say every two days but I felt so bad not getting you guys a chapter... It hurt my widdle heart. Seriously. Today did not feel complete without getting a chapter out.
As I digress I wanted to touch on something. I imagine Aokiji had done more things than just Ohara. He is an admiral after all. I'm sure the things in his past are not as bad but he does have a ruthless side to him. They all do. That's where I'm coming from in this chapter plus he has a history of being self conflicting. That plays a part as well. Anyways, hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think in the comments.
After a very short distance up the white stair way onto the next cobble stone platform, Kuzan's copper orbs saw one fleet-admiral sitting in front of an old rundown structure. If his memory served correctly, it used to be a large boutique and hat shop. The two-story, grey building next to the platform had wide access surrounding it with an alley on the opposite side to where he stood. Across from it was a dying green painted flower shop that hardly made building code but from what he could see, was still scarcely in business.
He and the other officers dubbed this street the dead-end district. It was only a small walk up the stairway to the entrance of the headquarters but no longer needed as everything the enlisted and officers required, were down by the bay where most lived. No one wanted to be near the main building for several good reasons. The main purpose was the recruits were trained on the east side. During the day and sometimes the weekends, it was loud; bustling with energy. Not a single person wanted to hear the cadence or shouts during their off time. Not even the more respected vice-admirals like Zephyr.
But what oddly caught Aokiji's attention wasn't the fact that the most powerful man in the marines was sitting on the ground, having a cup of coffee. It was the little woman next to him. As her grandfather sat cross legged with a grin touching each ear, she was nestled comfortably on her knees beside him. His dark orbs caught the sight of a portable burner between the two and a percolating pot on top. It had been the source of the aroma that led the tall, tanned skinned officer there.
The admiral could see she had the same wide grin as Sengoku with sparkling stars in her large blue eyes. The brunette was enamored by the large structure in front of her. He couldn't hear what they were saying but the expression of pure joy was enough for force his foot to move forward. Kuzan stopped and cleared his throat. He remained quiet with his back painfully flexing to keep him unmoved. The curly haired officer didn't want to disrupt the scene unfolding before him. He had no desire to rip that away from one of the men he mostly respected but Aokiji couldn't tear his eyes away either.
The sight of the young woman so happy was something his years in the military had robbed him of. He just didn't realize it until now. The tall man uncomfortably found himself longing to smile like that again. There was a time, before he became an officer but those times were rare and stopped shortly after his promotion to captain. After that it was a landslide of duty. One event after another. Going as far as to watch disturbing things he didn't have the power to stop. Guilt had begun to prick its way through his chest as reminder of his sins. Memories started to escalate in the back of his mind. He couldn't stay any longer. He wanted to take another nap and forget.
As the commanding officer turned with his grip tightening around the box in his pocket, Katie's voice rang out and shattered those dark feelings almost instantly. Aokiji found himself gulping in a breath of fresh air but his heart nearly stopped. It was a shock to his system and the admiral was dumbstruck. Standing and blinking, he didn't even see her appear before his eyes. Like magic, there she was. It was as if he were having a dream but it was all too real.
"Hey! Grandpa said your name was Kuzan-sensei! Come join us for a cup of coffee. It's not much but it's what I can do right now. Plus, I'm glad to have more company since he's leaving soon." Katie extended a hand with the palm open and facing upward. The young woman's expression was warm and welcoming. The brunette didn't really know anyone; making friends was her only option.
Aokiji gazed down at her offered hand. It appeared to be soft but he could see a few rough spots from calluses. Proof of what Smoker had said prior. What really intrigued the raven-haired man was how small she was. For a woman, she was slightly below average in height but her top assets made up for it. Brilliant blue eyes were bright and open, gazing directly into his before her contagious smile closed them. The woman's welcoming sight had him shiver. He could see she was definitely the trusting and honest type but the man could bet she was pretty inexperienced.
"My, oh, my…", he spoke as he bent over to put her nose to nose. The woman turned bashful briefly causing the admiral to do everything he could to keep from smiling. It put his discipline into practice while he kept a straight face.
To make the situation more awkward, beside her freckled cheeks turning a few darker hues of red, Aokiji found the young woman's scent alluring. It became painfully difficult to not reveal his approval. A strong, quiet inhale of her indulgent perfume brought his thoughts to roses and lavender. Thick fingers tightened in his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching the silken strands of her bark colored hair. Katie's appearance as a whole, just taunted the man. He had to get a little satisfaction since it felt like he was challenged.
"You know… walking up to a marine and asking him to join you like that, might give him the wrong impression", Aokiji stated with as serious of a tone as he could muster. He wanted to see her reaction. To his slight disappointment, she didn't react the way he was expecting. Instead, a smirk crossed her lips and the young woman waved off his words robbing him of what he desired.
"Don't tease me. I might take what you say literally and then what are you going to do?" The touché remark made his own expression go blank. He could have sworn she had an air of innocence around her but that comment was much too quick witted. His eyes shot over to Sengoku who was enjoying a cookie with his coffee. Giving a thumb's up before reaching down beside himself again and grabbing another from a plate or container that had been placed out of the admiral's view.
Before another word could be spoken, Katie grabbed Kuzan's hand. With a light tug, the admiral found himself following. He could feel the warmth in her fingers traveling through his thicker digits. She was small but that didn't stop her, apparently. The commissioned officer had to give her praise. Like his colleagues, he was unapproachable most of the time. Many went out of their way to avoid them and with good reason, too. Yet this woman didn't see those boundaries. He doubted she ever would considering who her grandfather was and possibly how she was raised.
Once they reached Sengoku, his superior, she opened up her duffel after letting go. Aokiji could still feel the soft texture of her skin in his palm. The sensation brought his own to rub it away. To the admiral's dismay the bag was taller than the young woman, making it quite the site for the marine officer to see her practically dive into it. Katie's toes no longer reached the ground and the young lady in the green sunflower dress began kicking and squirming. It was like the bag was eating her alive.
Kuzan flinched as he caught himself having moment of embarrassment; he discovered himself staring at a heart shaped rump wiggling and inciting his self-control. To make the situation worse, the green fabric threatened to climb up her velvety thighs and give him more of a show than intended. Luckily for the admiral, her grandfather didn't see it that way. Instead Sengoku laughed while Aokiji snapped his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. Anything to distract him from the view.
Suddenly it hit the curly haired man. She really lacked self-awareness. The young woman had done this in front of a grown man without hesitation or giving it a second thought. It was painfully clear, Katie wasn't used to being around people like him or his height for that matter. It gave him a tremendous advantage. If Kuzan wanted to cease the opportunity, he could have and easily gone down the perverted road. Luckily for the brunette, the officer wasn't a lesser man. "She's too much trouble", Aokiji muttered to himself.
"Katie… What are you looking for", the fleet-admiral asked while looking over his shoulder. The seagull on top of his head squawked some wanting to be fed which the man did without thinking. He shared part of his cookie before stuffing more into his mouth.
"I'm digging up some biscotti I made and one of the mugs I got for you and grandpa Garp", she grunted while heading further into the bag. A triumphant "got it" followed but then the young woman realized she was stuck. "Uh… Well… This… Um…", Katie flailed her legs. "Grandpa", the brunette whined.
Sengoku sipped his coffee slowly. The taste was heavenly. Without skipping a beat or losing a drop, the man reached over slightly behind him and pulled the duffel to lean towards the side she dangled from. As soon as Katie got her bare feet flat on the ground, she plucked herself out. "Thank you", a squeal came with a beaming grin. A contented grunt followed by a nod was all he did in response.
The air surrounding the two was that of a grandfather and a granddaughter. Bastille was right, this man had a way of turning from the most respected man in the marines into a common family man. The thought was disconcerting. Why, Kuzan asked himself. Because he'd personally watched men who were fathers, in the heat of battle. They could manage what no other trained officer could. It was finding something monstrous deep inside their soul and plucking it out. They'd almost always come out on top when all odds were stacked against them. Whether they survived was another thing entirely but apply that single ability to a man who was already a colossal threat. He'd become an unstoppable force and then aim it at the poor soul that wronged his family. Terrifying wouldn't even be a word to cover the outcome and to make matters worse, Katie had two men of near equal strength to go to such lengths for her.
"I wanted one of your mugs because they're bigger. Kuzan-sensei isn't exactly the definition of small. So, it's probably easier for him to have a better grip", the brunette pointed out as she poured coffee into the plain black porcelain mug. It took both of her hands to hand it off to the admiral who was snapped back from his thoughts.
Aokiji took a seat on the ground in front of the other two after taking the offered cup. His jacket was about to be set down until small fingers snapped open and closed repeatedly. The young woman had indicating for the man to hand the article of clothing to her. For some reason, he hadn't noticed that she had yet taken her seat and was standing beside him. He didn't like having his head in the fog and that seemed to be where his attention was as of late. Especially around her, at the moment.
On the contrary to his thoughts, his actions were different. The raven-haired male nodded and handed it over without delay. He found it so strange, the tiny woman would go to such lengths as to even hang his coat up. His eyes watched her place it on a long-hooked nail that peered out from one of the front supports that had been connected to the decaying building. Of course with a little help of a wooden step.
The admiral let go of the honorifics for now and simply decided to try the delightful aromatic brew in his hand. He preferred his coffee a bit strong despite the fact he constantly took naps. Once the liquid touched the man's taste buds, the dark bite of the bitter substance and hazel nut had taken Kuzan by surprise. He had to take another sip and then another. To say the least, the officer was left dumbfounded.
"Is it good", she asked with wide eyes. Katie wondered what he had thought since after his second and third sip, he had paused. The smaller female gracefully smoothed out the skirt of her dress before tucking it under her rear. The young woman lowered herself to her knees beside her grandpa.
"I've never tasted coffee like this", Aokiji admitted. Not only was he astonished by the mixing flavors but by the fact that it was from a pot campers used! "You used that to make this", he asked apprehensively. Kuzan didn't mean to come off in disbelief but it wasn't normal. The coffee was supposed to taste bad with the consistency of mud. Not something he would order out of a high-end restaurant!
"Good isn't it", Sengoku exclaimed bursting with pride. He couldn't stop laughing and patting the top of his granddaughter's head.
Katie rolled her eyes while her cheeks flared a brighter red than they already were. "Grandpa…", the long-haired brunette moaned with a wrinkled nose. She had become too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye. "Oh!" The startled outburst instigated both officers to peer down at her. Quickly the brunette produced a plate that had been wrapped in a large red cloth with white polka-dots.
"I made these before I left. I added some bread slices to help keep the centers semi moist while the outer edges crisp. I'm really sorry they're not fresh but I don't have the means to do any real cooking or baking right now." Katie plucked the cloth after untying the large knot on top. Like a magician, delicate fingers revealed a large stack of chocolate biscotti on a blue porcelain plate. Their eyes spotting the ivory colored almonds baked into the delicious goodness.
This was the last thing Aokiji had ever expected. By now he would have checked on the progress of the new arrivals, napped his way into the evening, gone to living quarters and taken a shower before bed. Not be having a cup of coffee, albeit enjoyable, with fleet-admiral Sengoku and his granddaughter.
Kuzan would have never dreamed he, of all people, would be sitting on the ground cross legged awaiting for his next cup of coffee. To add to the outlandish experience, he was slowly relaxing. Genuinely feeling the tension in his back, let go. The man couldn't explain it but his shoulders didn't feel so heavy and he didn't want this to stop anytime soon.