Hello! Me again... You can run now... :)

Any who, the reason this took so long was well yesterday I was BUSY... Plus this was originally going to be 2 chapters but they were two pretty short ones and well... that's just not fair to you guys. So I did my best to merge the two over and over again until it came out to what you see below.

If the story is too convoluted between the chapters, let me know and I'll separate them. Thanks and have a great one!

After a few long moments, Katie finally gasped. The sudden outburst even startled the seasoned marine. "Are you…", was the only thing Aokiji could ask before the long-haired brunette broke out into tears of worry.

"Grandpa is going to kill me", she exclaimed in a deafening tone. Her loud voice traveled over the entire cove, reaching Sengoku's ears who perked his head. He had arrived at the front office and was signing in. To everyone's surprise but his own, the windows even rattled.

"Hmmm… She must have figured out who Aokiji is", he nonchalantly stated to himself without skipping a beat. "I'll have to work on her observation skills", the fleet-admiral openly admitted with a dark aura quickly enveloping him. The poor staff that happened to come across the large officer quickly turned the other way or dropped their papers out of fright. No one dared to approach him as he made his way to his office. Even the vice-admirals quickly jumped to attention and vacated the area. Word spread quickly, that the famous Buddha was in a foul mood and no one knew why; this caused a bit of chaos amongst both the commissioned and noncommissioned officers.

Aokiji on the other hand was trying to get his ears to stop ringing. The loud eruption from the tiny framed woman wasn't something he'd ever dream Katie was capable of. She was so small yet proficient enough to blow out his eardrums. He had to remind himself to not get carried away teasing her in the future.

Katie appeared to have literally turn blue before his very eyes and had begun flailing her hands about. "Are you ok?!" Her voice cracked but he could still understand her words. Nervously, the brunette turned to her bag and dashed to stand before him. What astonished Kuzan, the young woman had suddenly appeared under his chin, seemingly growing a couple of feet. It didn't take much to realize she had retrieved a stepping stool but the sight to him was still slightly comical.

To the man's delight, the admiral could get a full whiff of her subtle perfume and the aroma of strawberries from her hair. The towering officer couldn't remember when the last time when a woman had been this close. He could almost lean in and put his chin on top of her head. Katie should have gotten the idea of something similar, he thought, since she tilted her head off to the side slightly.

What came next forced Aokiji had to hold his breath. The sudden sensation of silky digits brushing the sides of his neck, just below the ear lobe, pushed shivers down his spine. This escalated quickly, he mused. From judging the young woman's twisted anxious expression, the brunette had no intimate intention. This was much to his relief. Instead the shorter female appeared panicked or even sick. The marine could sense her fear and concern coursing through the tremors in her finger tips. It bothered him. This dread he was getting from her was deep rooted. It didn't seem to fit the rest of her personality.

The neck massage opened his ears and caused the ringing stopped but the pleasant feeling had his blood growing warmer… Kuzan could only take so much as his body had begun to become ridged with slight anticipation. If he would let this go on, he could kiss his discipline goodbye. Even gulping in deep breaths of air, didn't relieve the pit growing in his stomach.

They had just met and the admiral wasn't going to overlook her age either but most importantly, Sengoku and Garp were her grandfathers. The old man made sure his subordinate understood that. He wasn't an idiot as Akainu like to think he was. Aokiji could read between the lines. The fleet-admiral never really took his hand off her, adamantly proclaimed he was proud of her, and he couldn't count how many times he stated, "that's my granddaughter"; albeit it was with a boasting smile.

There were certain lines the admiral wouldn't cross and she was one; but he'd be damned if she wasn't making it hard. "You really are too much trouble", he sighed before cupping her hands and placing them back at her sides. "Come on", the man groaned. "I'm tired and it's been a long day."

Aokiji watched as her eyes dropped. The young woman's supple lips curled in as she appeared both guilt ridden and worried. "Hey", he snapped to gain her attention. A heavy hand came down on top of her head. "I'm fine", the man assured. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work as she raised both her hands to clasp over his.

"Are you sure", Katie asked. He had to admit, never in his life had he had someone worry over him as much as this. Though both annoying and appreciative, he had to remind her that he was an admiral. A shout, no matter how loud, wasn't going to faze him. Kuzan broke free of her grasp and quickly turned his wrist to hammer down a knuckle the man had raised from a clenched fist. The loud, hard knock could be heard echoing through the street. For a brief second the officer was jolted from the puddle he was melting into, to feeling the cold chill of fear. Had he gone too far, Aokiji asked himself. Briefly he regretted his actions until he saw the outcome.

Both arms had covered her head as she curved her back, backward. "Yyyeeeooowww", she bellowed. Trembling with pain, the young woman hunched forward before arching back again. "That almost hurts worse than grandpa's fists of love! FFfffffuuuhhh….", Katie began to curse but managed to contain it in the end. Teeth clenched as tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. Her blue orbs had been squeezed shut from the throbbing pain. Kuzan worried that he may have gone too far and made her cry but quickly concluded she wasn't that weak. The young woman began sniffling but she didn't start balling like other women would have. She even took it better than many of the men. Instead, the long-haired female seemed back to the person the man had met prior which the officer was glad to see.

"Did…? Did you really have to hit me so hard", she grumped while rubbing the obvious sore spot on the top of her head. Her nose, now red, curled up with pouting lips made the man's evening even brighter. She absolutely appeared to be far too sweet and tempting. Any man would have been happy to go to her side. Maybe lay a kiss or two on those delightful lips of hers. Kuzan caught himself thinking things he shouldn't. He huffed in frustration after crossing his arms.

"I'm a marine. You can't possibly hurt me with a little yelling so I figured I'd bring you back to your senses." Kuzan shrugged. "It worked", he smirked lording his victory over her.

Katie didn't take it too hard but she wasn't going to go without saying her piece. "You don't hit girls…, you jerk", the woman exclaimed as if she were merely ten again. "Ouches...", she groaned between hissing. The young woman began picking up the items, though not many. The brunette was in her own world. The female had been so distracted, she didn't feel copper orbs following her about. Despite the throbbing on the top of her head, she was content. So far, her first day in Marineford had been quite pleasant.

Beside the fact that Aokiji was dreadfully tired, he couldn't deny that he had been satisfied with both his company and the coffee. It was a perfect way to tie up a long day. All he had to do was show her where she could stay while her construction was underway, shower, and bed. Skipping dinner seemed like a good option considering the time.

"Shall we", he asked watching her pick up her duffel with ease. A simple nod and the two began up the stairs. Kuzan didn't mind the slower pace. It was an amiable feel for the moment and not to forget that she was short. He had to continuously keep that in mind. What did resurface was the fearful, ill image of her just moments ago.

As they reached the top of the platform, in front of the headquarters building, Kuzan had the urge to talk about it. This seemed more out of character, he thought. When did he ever feel like talking so much, the man questioned in his own mind but brushed it off to the side. The towering officer chalked it up to his companion. The admiral was more relaxed than he was normally.

"Feeling better?" His voice rung clear but low. Copper orbs caught the young woman flinch from him breaking the sweet silence between the two.

"Hm", Katie hummed. "Oh! My head doesn't hurt any more", she added with an inviting smile.

"That's not what I was talking about… I'm referring to earlier", Kuzan pointed out as they continued with their stroll.

The young woman's eyes glanced over to the man in blue and white clad, walking with this hands in his pockets, and his jacket draped over one arm. He was truly amazing. Not in the sense of personality but just his physical form alone. Standing at his full height, the officer was towering. It was both intimidating and comforting. She was getting the sense of both. Katie let out a sigh after letting her smile fade. "Yeah…"

"Oh my", Aokiji responded in surprise. "It was just a question. Why the long face", he genuinely wondered.

"Huh? Um… Well, I don't really want to talk about if that's, ok?" The young woman rubbed the back of her neck before shifting awkwardly. The admiral didn't have to say a word but merely raise a brow. The brunette thumbed the straps over her right shoulder. "Just don't tell grandpa about earlier, either. I'm sure it'll disappoint him, again."

Katie paused to let Aokiji open the gate in the chain linked fence. She hadn't noticed that they had veered away from the main headquarters building and began heading east. The long stone path had come to an end at the border which opened into a massive portion of the island. All the thick forest had been cleared to make way for physical training. Equipment such as pull up bars and sand pits laid a good distance apart from each other. The only landmarks in the distance were two large look out towers on the coast line.

Kuzan pondered what she could have done to disappoint either of her grandfathers. Garp was a man to tackle any and all problems with his fists more than his head while Sengoku was one to challenge all issues more intellectually. After all his years with both, he couldn't see anything that would earn their discontentment.

"Now look at you… I help you once and you're already asking for favors", he teased with a more serious tone.

Katie nearly fell over to the side before walking through the simple gate that stood as high as her shoulders. Her body froze as she weakly reached in his direction. "That's not what I meant…", the young woman whined before slumping over in defeat.

"Don't worry… It'll cost you but I'll keep my mouth shut. Just tell me why it looked like you were about to be sick...", he smirked realizing just how gullible she was. The raven-haired man was under no obligation to tell anyone anything. Katie didn't need to ask him to keep his lips sealed but Kuzan guessed it was a good lesson for her to learn. Others wouldn't be so nice about it.

"It's going to cost me more if I ask you to not tell a soul about this, isn't it...?" The female dreaded the answer but she needed to confirm it.

"You bet", the admiral quickly established as they continued to walk side by side.

"Fine…", the brunette hissed before grumbling. "I… I can't… Well I can but I mean… I'm really scared to hurt someone. It's so bad I get sick. As I told Zephyr-sensei I don't mind violence, I know it's necessary sometimes, but I physically can't be a part of it. I don't freeze up or anything like that and I can defend myself but I still get really nauseated afterwards."

That was an answer the man wasn't expecting at all. It also explained why someone like her wasn't a marine. The cause of the fear was still unknown but he wasn't going to pry anymore today. She was clearly already uncomfortable but it still didn't explain her worry over her grandfather finding out. He was sure they'd love her just as much as they would if Katie didn't have that issue.

"Ah… What were we talking about", Kuzan injected. "I don't remember… It's been a long day", he sighed before rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging. "Oh, since you offered to make breakfast, I usually leave for work about six."

"Huh? I did", she questioned; a warning gaze appeared from the man she just brokered a deal with before receiving a knuckle to the top of the head once more. "Yyeeouch! Damn it, why did you have to hit the same spot again", she cried out cupping the area that begun to form a knot.

"Man… How many reminders do you need", Kuzan sighed playfully frustrated while stuffing his hand back into his pocket in a relaxed manner.

"You're such a jerk…", Katie groaned with a slight sway from side to side.

"Well…", Aokiji chuckled. "I never said I wasn't. Not my fault you don't listen. Your grandfathers did go out of their way to warn you about me", he continued.

"Fine…", the young woman hissed before giving in. "It's not that bad. I usually get up at four-thirty in the morning anyways. I'll just leave my door unlocked and you can just come in whenever you're ready."

Something hit the admiral harder than one of Garp's fists. Now it was his turn to really worry about her. On a marine base, he would assume she thought it was safe to do such things but that was the complete opposite! This place was filled with hot headed, hot blooded, ego inflated buffoons. It was bound to happen that someone would think they could cross a line with her. Leaving barriers open, unchecked, would seem that she invited it. The consequences could become rather devastating.

"Hey…", he planted his large hand on the top of her head with lightning speed. His thumb firmly pressed into the bruise he just inflicted causing the female to stop and arch back. Hands tried to grab his wrist but every time she resisted he'd increase the pressure.

"Ouch! What now", she choked out as tears flowed like a water fountain.

"Don't you ever… leave your door unlocked", his voice was dark. "I mean it", he snapped. "Promise me", the admiral growled after a brief pause whilst he watched her struggle against his grip.

"Ok! Ok! But why", she cried.

Feeling a bit better, Aokiji let go and began walking again. "This isn't your village and this place isn't your home. It can get pretty complicated so don't go around doing idiotic things and leaving your guard down", the man responded. The admiral hoped that was enough of a warning but just in case it wasn't, he'd have to keep an eye on her. He took her silence as a way of saying she understood but did she really? The way he saw it, Katie was just too trusting and much too naïve. He honestly felt sorry for Garp and Sengoku.