Sorry for the wait! Here's the next chapter!
Jumping many years into the future, to about 15 years before the beginning of the series...
To Remind Him That They Are There
Summary: Sengoku's getting promoted, and his two best friends decide to get him a congratulatory gift.
"Did you hear? Kong is being promoted to Commander-in-Chief."
Tsuru looked up from her paperwork in surprise. "Really? Fleet Admiral Kong?"
"Yup. You know what that means."
The woman smiled. "You're so sure that he'll get the post?"
"Who else is there? And you know what that means."
With a laugh, Tsuru started clearing away the papers. "Alright, I get what you want. Just wait a moment."
"Why wait?" A devilish gleam entered Garp's eyes as he pulled Tsuru off her chair and out of the office without any ceremony. "Let's go!"
"Garp! What if the wind blows the documents off the table!? I'll be reorganizing them for hours," Tsuru scolded in exasperation but allowed him to drag her down the corridor anyway.
"Your business, not mine," was the cheeky reply.
"Garp, that is atrocious."
"Really? I thought that it looked pretty fashionable."
"Then you're color-blind."
He huffed. "Fine. You choose something this time. But it should be something flashy, you know. Brighten up his life a little. He'll need it, with all the stress he'll be getting."
"From you?"
"Why, Tsuru-chan, I would never!" Garp was offended. Tsuru pointedly ignored him.
"How's this?"
"Too plain."
"This?"
"Looks like something he'll have already… Here, this one's better."
"Garp, you know perfect well that he would never wear something like that. We want him to actually use it, don't we?"
"But he never wears any headwear except for his Marine cap! We might as well make modifications to that… instead…"
The pair paused, struck by the spontaneous idea. Ingenious. "Come to think of it… Why not?"
"You think he'll like it?"
"It's better than the pink frilly thing you wanted to foist on him, anyway."
"That was a joke."
"This isn't?"
"Hey, it's actually pretty symbolic! There's real meaning in the design. See, it even reflects his new rank."
"Which he hasn't actually officially gotten yet, by the way."
"Oh, he'll get it for sure. I overheard old Kong talking to him about it."
"…I knew you were a little too confident for it to be based on speculation alone."
"..."
"..."
"Hey, Tsuru-chan, one of the feet came off."
"Get the glue. That can be fixed easily."
Silence prevailed save the sound of rustling as they worked. Then footsteps outside the door broke their concentration.
"Someone's coming! Quick, hide it!"
The door opened. "Garp? Tsuru? What are you two doing here?"
"Oh, Sengoku. We were just talking about having dinner together later. Want to join us? We'll meet at seven."
"Sure, that'll be great. I'll be there. By the way, have you seen my cap?"
"Nope."
"Strange… I wonder where I could have misplaced it. I usually keep it with me at all times…" The door closed.
"…How did you manage to steal it from him, anyway?"
"I have my means. And it's called borrowing without permission, since we're returning it to him anyway."
"Sure…"
"Fleet Admiral, sir! There has been a report from – …Sir? Is that a seagull on your hat?"
Sengoku looked up expressionlessly from the documents he had been reading and the officer felt a shiver run down his spine. "Yes, it is. Do you have a problem with it?"
"N-n-no, sir! A-As I was s-saying, a report as come from G-5…"
Garp and Tsuru smirked as they snapped a photo of their recently-promoted friend through the crack of the slightly open door. If Sengoku noticed them, he gave no indication.
And that, my dears, is a story of true friendship.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Please leave a review!