Hope everyone is having a great day!
Kuzan left out the same window Katie had broken. His speed was nearly unmatched except by two others and they shared the same rank as him. The man's copper orbs scoured the horizon, the thicket and trees below, and the stoned pathway leading down towards the rest of the island. The raven-haired admiral spotted her petite form bouncing from one tree to another, just using the tops. The high wind made it difficult and the rain was almost too much for him. Parts of the sea had been picked up by the storm and making it even harder for the officer to move but he managed.
The man found it amazing that he could still catch up with relative ease. He was slowed by the environment but the ranking official could see her expression; Katie was really trying to move as quickly as she could. With her sudden movements prior, he over estimated her abilities. Aokiji came to the realization that the brunette was simply a rookie. Her strength was nothing to laugh at and her ability to dodge was keen but now that he could play back the events in his mind, her exchanges were just too basic.
The admiral wanted to put his theory to the test. With no eyes to scrutinize him or see either of them in this storm, Kuzan jolted forward to get next to her. The tree top was enough for the both of them but he didn't care for getting blasted in the face with hard, chilling, rain. He'd been on a ship long enough to know what it was like being in the bird's nest which was roughly at the same height. It was never a pleasant experience.
Katie startled and jumped back only to crash through the limbs that were now made of ice. The whole tree was frozen before the admiral leapt to the ground. Kuzan landed on his feet while the brunette kissed her bruised pride as she laid on her back.
"Hey jerk! What was that for", the young woman snarled but remained where she was. She was going to let the blooming pain settle before attempting to get up. The female counted her lucky stars to have slowed her fall on every branch but eventually the limb would break. It was simply miraculous that Katie didn't get impaled.
"Ice vault", he commanded quickly.
Almost instantly, the two were engulfed in a frozen box. Even the ground was solid under the long-haired brunette. The air was more than frigid; it hurt with every breath she had to inhale. The young woman's wet clothes against the painfully frozen environment forced her to begin shivering almost instantaneously. Suddenly the back of Katie's skirt felt stiff. She tried to stand up but merely pulled back down by the waist band of her attire. It quickly became clear that her skirt had frozen into the ground. The sound of ripping fabric was briefly heard from her last attempt before she remained seated.
The admiral blinked in disbelief. The man heard what happened and suddenly felt guilty. "Oh my! That's not what I was trying… I mean, I didn't wish for that to happen…", Kuzan was quick to apologize.
The young woman ignored him before coating her fist with armament haki and hitting the ice floor. To her bewilderment, it didn't break but now her whole hand hurt. The female hissed and cursed before muffling her sounds against the split knuckles. The surge of pain wasn't completely unbearable but close. She could taste the copper fluid brush the edge of her lips as she kissed the wounds. Blue orbs blinked to stay dry. She didn't want to cry in front of Aokiji.
The marine flinched and even cringed at the hollow sound of her bone colliding with the harder surface. It should have broken her hand if not, severely bruised it. It was going to be useless for a while at least. When his copper orbs saw her raise it again for another strike, the man whipped in behind her. His left arm swooped around her mid-section under her left arm, his right hand snapping around her right wrist.
"Hey-hey…", the officer rushed his words quickly as he sat on his heels behind the little woman. The admiral dipped his nose to the top of her head. He wanted her to feel his warm breath; the raven-haired man needed to keep her calm and that was all he could think of at the moment. Aokiji began to genuinely feel remorse since she had started to panic. It was all over the woman's expression despite her cheerful visage. "Hey… Shhh… I'll get you out…"
A long pause of silence followed but Kuzan couldn't do anything. Her muscles were still locked. She'd strike if he released. The admiral wasn't expecting things to go south this quickly. He just wanted to test her strength but now that he thought about it, she wore a smile like he wore his jacket. It was put on but not articulated. Many times, his orders conflicted with his conscious and more than a handful of occasions the officer had to swallow his own perceptions. He had to act unfazed in the eyes of his men.
"It's ok, I'm fine now", he heard her chime. Aokiji could still feel the heavy quivering. The ranking officer had his reservations and wondered if this was a normal mechanism for her. This morning she seemed so sick over something in her past yet not even an hour later, bounding through the halls. It reminded him when there was a spy in her home. The brunette in his arms was quick to not to discuss how she felt about it but was swift to happily go with him. How long had she been doing this; hiding her genuine feelings? The tall officer pondered if her stint with Sengoku wasn't some sort of tantrum disguised as a joke. It was excruciatingly transparent she wasn't over anything.
"Katie", the marine spoke faintly. "I'm going to break the ice but I need you to remain absolutely still", he explained. His answer was a groan of annoyance and followed by a nod. The young woman's body relaxed against him. He could feel her arm go lax. Keeping his left arm in place, the officer guided her injured hand over to set on top of it. A quick motion and the ice shattered, freeing her skirt under her. The whole sheet covering the ground splintered into several large pieces.
The young woman found her feet and stood after he was done. Fingers slipped behind her to check the damage. Katie's cheeks became a field of strawberries in color. The split went form the hem all the way up to the waist band. The small zipper was ripped completely. The only thing holding it was the band itself. The elastic held.
"So… It's cold and dark in here can you let us go? I'm in a bit of a rush", the brunette explained with her voice cracking at the end of her statement while she ignored the growing pain in her right hand.
The man had to admit, that wasn't something he wanted to hear. He saw her fingers, her expression and Kuzan was doing everything in his power to not look. "Sure, but it's going to be another long walk. I'm wet."
Katie understood exactly what that meant. Her brother was a devil fruit user as well. Not that she could volunteer that information but at least the young woman knew what to expect. "That's fine. I don't want to accidentally flash anyone anyways."
Aokiji used his heel to kick one of the walls down before causing another ice cave leading into the distance. The observant officer noticed she was also barefoot. Probably from the fall prior to the ice vault. Between her skirt and no shoes, the young brunette was not equipped to be walking over his ice. He had no choice, the curly haired marine thought.
Before the female could retaliate or argue, she found herself in Kuzan's arms. Her small frame nestled in a bridal carry position. His hues watched as her pink ivory skin turned deeper shades of red. The poor woman didn't even glance upward at him. He could feel the young woman's heart race while he adjusted. The warmth of the man's chest radiated through the damp fabric of his vest and shirt. The temptation to explore his chiseled chest was also rising in the back of her mind but with heavy restraint, Katie pushed it down.
The woman did, however, press her nose to his torso. She wanted to hide and die. His rich Fougere cologne was applied faintly. It was alluring and calmed her with every inhale and exhale. Instinctively tepid finger tips slipped up and rested on the back of his neck. The admiral shuddered and it wasn't from the chill. No good deed goes unpunished, he thought as his nose picked up light whiffs of her lavender perfume. The man's breath grew rigid.
"Don't get too comfortable… I'll drop you", Aokiji warned.
The young brunette nodded. Her injured right hand remained gingerly pressed against him, constrained between them. The building pain was a good distraction in the situation. The female's legs felt like they had been frozen to the bone while her knitted sweater did an excellent job retaining her body heat. Unfortunately those weren't enough. She wanted to touch him! Was this bad, Katie wondered. Was she some sort of pervert? The petite twenty-three year old had never been put in such a situation before! Ace and Luffy always beat up any boys who got near and not to mention her grandfathers. Oh, if they saw her now, the little woman knew they would lose their minds. Grabbing for straws, she thought to simply spark up a conversation.
"I'm heavy you know… You don't have to do this", Katie muttered for only his ears to hear.
"You know that's one thing that always annoys me. Its little women like yourself who know you're not heavy, and yet protest as if you were. Stop it. You come up to my torso when you're in heels. What part of you thinks you're heavy", the admiral asked with his chest rumbling under her cheeks. It felt so nice, the brunette's ears began to turn a brighter red. She squirmed some.
"My chest", the female answered in rather a serious tone despite joking.
Kuzan wasn't ready for that answer. He nearly dropped her but clenched in time. "Next time I will drop you for that", he glared.
"Ok-ok… I get it. I'm not heavy. Just embarrassed… I've never been carried like this by anyone. Grandpa Garp hauls me around over his shoulder and Sengoku lets me hang off his arms like a monkey."
The man chuckled. "You've never had a boyfriend, have you?" His orbs momentarily moved down to see Katie shake her head against his upper body. The movement tickled his flesh under the fabric. His large chest released a slow, controlled breath. Aokiji's lower regions had begun to stir. Between wet cloth sticking to every inch of the woman's body and the feel of her milky skin in the palms of his hands, the admiral's soul churned. This wasn't about love or even lust; it was solely about instinct. It was mentally tormenting. Regretting his action to gaze down at her, his copper orbs darted back to the frozen covered path.
"You have met both my grandpas, right?" Her question brought about a healthy laugh from him. It eased his mind to a degree. "So my turn to ask questions. Why did you do it? The ice box thing..."
The admiral smiled. "I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to test your strength after you challenged me. You did break my ice once, I wanted to see how far you'd be able to go", there was an apologetic tone in his mannerisms.
"You could have just asked, you jerk." Her snip wasn't malicious. To Kuzan, it sounded like she was teasing him instead. "I hate you", the young woman continued.
"Really? I can't say I blame you. I did convince you to come to work with me and that didn't end up as planned. I then proceeded to cause you to hurt yourself… Not my best track record when it comes to a babe such as yourself."
The officer's voice could melt ice, the young woman thought. It was easy to listen too. Katie found herself relaxing despite the bites of the cold wind against her legs. "That's not the reason", the female countered. "You're easy to talk to. I mean I just met you yesterday and yet it feels like I've known you for years. Plus, I've been on a mini-adventure so far. Honestly it reminds me of home. There are those back in my village that cause similar antics. I never once felt I couldn't go to them and we'd always end up in some sort of trouble depending on what side of the mountain we hunted on."
The relief Aokiji felt was breath taking. The brunette didn't despise him. Of course, he'd naturally take responsibility for the sullying of her reputation and for possibly breaking her hand, but it would only be logical if she carried ill will. Katie innocently didn't. She's too good for this place, the admiral thought. The officer swore he'd have to do better in watching over her in the future.