In the Interest of Justice
Chapter 3
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"I've put up with a lot of your shit throughout the years, but are we really doing this?"
Sitting on the deck with one of their captives in his arms, Gol D. Roger just grins, looking as free as ever. Sometimes, Rayleigh wonders why he decided to follow this man, why he allows Roger to lead him right into the jaws of the first monster they come across, only to snatch them back to safety at the last second, to pull them free as the teeth snap shut an inch from their faces.
It's madness, shear madness, and yet he still follows him without question. It's gotten to the point that, with most things, Rayleigh will just go along with the flow. Because by some miracle, by some grace of god, it always works out in the end, Roger always ends up on the winning side.
Yet, there's a handful of times in recent years when Rayleigh just cannot allow his tongue to lie still in the face of Roger's crazy antics. This is a prime example.
Because there's a epochal difference between constantly battling a man, and then kidnapping his kids.
"We've attacked a lot of marine ships over the years, why is this any different?" Of course his fool of a Captain can't see it though.
Taking off his glasses, Rayleigh rubs at the bridge of his nose, trying to pretend like the whole crew isn't there, isn't going about their jobs in a way that brings them as close as they can get to their little gathering because they're all nosy idiots.
Instead, he forces himself to focus on the two children they'd, ahem, liberated from the marine ship. Which is now at the bottom of the ocean.
On the plus side, Rayleigh now has an extensive collection of beautiful pens to write with. A small silver (or gold?) lining in the thunderstorm Roger has once again whipped up. Speaking of storms…
Rayleigh eyes the teenager they'd brought onboard, the one he'd had to physically knock unconscious because he'd refused to go down, even in the face of Roger's Conqueror's Haki. Truly this brat'll be a force to be reckoned with when he sets out on his dream. He's Garp's son, he can't be anything other than another Child of D.
Just like Roger.
For the sake of his sanity, Rayleigh hopes not, or hopes in the very least the kid'll pick a dream that doesn't lead to much interaction with him. No, the kind of iron-will that it takes to not fall unconscious before Roger's Conqueror's is insane. For a boy not that much older than Shanks and Buggy to have such a thing…
Well Rayleigh hopes the kid isn't set on becoming a marine. One Garp is enough, quite frankly.
It appears at the moment though, the boy cares for nothing more than protecting his little sister. The small girl that's all but dwarfed in Roger's lap.
His Captain has one arm around her back, the other steadily working a handkerchief across her mouth, wiping away the Conqueror's induced foam. She's a hell of a lot softer in appearance than any child of Garp's has a right to be, almost waiflike. Though there's every possibility that she'll grow into a tall, long-limbed beauty. Rayleigh doesn't know, he's never met Garp's wife before. Hell, the Vice Admiral might not even have a wife, they might just have been born from a lover for all he knows. The brats look too identical (despite the hard/soft gradient to the features) to not have had the same mother though.
"Roger, you can't just go around kidnapping children. Especially these children." Because Garp is already always chasing after them. How much more ferocious would he grow in his hunt if he learns the Roger Pirates have both his children on board?
"We're not kidnapping them. Just borrowing them." And dear god, his captain actually looks genuinely confused.
Why is he following him again? Rayleigh is really starting to question his life choices. Again.
"Captain! They're Garp's kids! He's gonna run us down getting them back! Throw 'em overboard!" Buggy has both hands held by the sides of his face, not quiet clutching at his skull but only a few inches off of doing so. The panic on his features is near comical and Rayleigh feels a smile twitch at the edge of his lips. He'd questioned Roger when he'd brought a kid on board, another one only a week later. But for all that they fight, for all that the argue like cat and dog, Shanks and Buggy are good kids. Even if the one with the unfortunate nose does tend to get a bit hysterical every so often.
"Aw, come on, Buggy! It'll be fun to have some other kids around!" Shanks declares, eyeing the teenager and then the little girl in Roger's arms with open curiosity in his eyes.
"They're not staying, Shanks. But we won't be throwing them overboard," Rayleigh affirms. Even if Roger wants to keep them forever, it doesn't matter.
Garp won't allow that, and that's not even taking into account the opinions of the two children they've acquired.
"They're interesting brats!" Roger suddenly declares and it's a wonder the volume of his bellow doesn't wake them both up.
Done cleaning Garp's little girl, he shuffles her about in his arms, cradling her close and Rayleigh is struck with the image of his captain with such a small child. The nagging thought of if Roger ever had a child forms in his mind and the First Mate of the Roger Pirates tries not to think too hard on it. The world would not be ready for another as free and determined as Roger. They struggle enough with one as it is.
"That one," Roger continues, waving one hand to the unconscious teen, "wants to lead a revolution and tear down the Tenryūbito."
What.
But Roger, despite his mad grin and with his eyes burning with the fire of life… Roger is completely serious on the teenager's dream. Rayleigh doesn't quite understand the whole 'Voice of All Things' that Roger has going for him, but his captain has not been wrong so far.
"Tear down… the Tenryūbito?" Shanks whispers in disbelieving awe, Buggy's own jaw having physically detached in his shock, floating a few inches below his breastbone with the power of his Devil Fruit.
"What a ballsy brat," Rayleigh mutters in surprise, eyeing Garp's oldest with refreshed interest.
So this kid wants to start some kind of Revolution? That's even more against the World Government than any pirate so far has managed. All the Roger Pirates do is whatever their captain wishes, damn the consequences. This kid… he wants to actively fight the entire government.
No wonder he hadn't crumpled beneath the weight of Conqueror's, his willpower for that dream… Incredible. What an impressive brat.
Rayleigh highly doubts Garp knows the kid's aim though, because otherwise the marine would spend as much time hammering the ideas out of his son's head as he does chasing Roger.
"And the girl?" Hey, if one of Garp's kid's is a big dreamer, then it's quite possible the other shows just as much promise.
Roger pauses, looking down at the little form he's manoeuvred about until her face was resting against his chest. Were it not for the fact he'd been present when they retrieved the two kids, he'd have thought the girl had fallen asleep in the arms of her favourite uncle.
Not her father's sworn 'nemesis' after said man had forced her unconscious with what basically equates to a bomb of Conqueror's Haki. Two bombs in actuality, as she hadn't gone down after the first one.
His old friend's face is oddly solemn as he looks down upon the girl, one hand brushing the hair back from her face to stare at the birthmark that mars the her features.
"Her voice is out of place," Roger finally admits, a frown smearing across his lips. He looks as if he's finished a puzzle, every last piece in place, only to find one more had been stuck to the underside of his arm and that it doesn't fit in anywhere in the completed picture. Like a school child who's snuck out the answer sheet for a test paper, only to find it far more in-depth than he'd been ready for.
Which makes no sense what so ever.
Nothing has ever stumped his captain, nothing has ever made him frown in such a.. contemplative manner before. It creates a very uneased feeling in Rayleigh, looking at that expression Roger wears.
"If life were a play, this is like the audience dropping in when they've already read the plot overview in the programme." And that makes no sense whatsoever.
Of course it doesn't though, this is Roger, why would he have expected his captain's childish whims to be anything other than impulsive?
"We're not keeping them, are we?" He's getting that vibe, but Rayleigh just wants to make sure.
As always, Roger reads him perfectly, face brightening as he reels his gaze away from the little Monkey in his arms.
"Nah, they're going in other directions. The pirate's life isn't for them." He laughs, laughs like it all makes perfect sense. To a halfwit, it probably does.
Roger dances a fine line between idiocy and intellect though; sometimes what he comes out with is downright insightful, other times… Rayleigh thinks that just maybe Roger's only made it this far through life because no one has been able to give him a 'no' as forceful as whatever demands he made.
"Shanks! Buggy!"
Both boys snap to attention as their captain addresses them, suddenly looking so much more focused, so much more determined.
"You two are in charge of looking after our guests. No buts!" He cuts them both off before they can protest what is basically a glorified babysitting job, going to fold his arms across his broad chest before remembering he's holding a child. "It's important they're treated well but that they don't run off. I need to talk to this one."
While Roger looks towards the teenager, while Buggy and Shanks follow his gaze, Rayleigh doesn't miss how he taps at the girl's head.
Now why would Roger want to talk to the younger Monkey? Is she even five years old yet?
"You can count on me, Cap'n Roger!" Buggy snaps off a bastardised marine salute, getting to his feet and clearly eager to look after the girl. No wonder, Garp's son already appears to be taking after the marine with his height if not his outright bulk. Certainly a five year old girl would be easier to subdue if it came down to the fight.
But after watching how ferociously the teenager had fought off Roger's Conqueror's Haki, he doesn't doubt that the kid would tear right through Shanks and Buggy to get to his little sister.
"It's probably best you boys look after them on deck." The 'where we can help you' goes unsaid, but Roger nods in agreement.
Looking disgruntled, Buggy mutinously folds him arms, a deep scowl on his face. It last for all of five seconds, right up until Roger hands the little girl over to the cabin boy and Buggy all but flails.
"Wait, Cap'n, I don't know how to hold a baby!"
"Dahahaha! I've got her!" Shanks effortlessly scoops the little Monkey from Buggy's arms and though his movements are slowed by his unfamiliarity with holding a person so much smaller than him, he is confident in his hold. "And she's not a baby, Buggy. She's probably about five years old, I'd guess."
"Let's leave them to it, Rayleigh," Roger chortles, rising to his feet.
There's so much energy to him right now that no one would be able to tell he's ill, that he's not got much time left. Roger has always seemed so much larger than life, so wild and free it almost seemed as if he'd be able to outrun even death. It's not the case though, so Rayleigh will make the most of the time he has with his oldest friend. Even if in that time Roger seems happy to-
"Gaban! We still on course to meet Shiki?!"
- meet one of his most powerful rivals in battle.
Damn that man.
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Accepting a temporary truce with his rival (as if he had much of a choice in the matter), Shanks watches Captain stalk off in Gaban's general direction, adjusting the way his hand rests on the back of his little dependant.
The slow rise and fall of her ribs is easy to feel through the thin fabric of her shirt, little breaths puffing against the side of his neck. They tickle but Shanks' isn't about to hand her back over to Buggy. He'd probably drop her, the redhead figures.
He'd panic and drop her and Shanks'd been there when Captain had tried to drop the two Monkeys without touching them. The younger had gone down, but Rayleigh had been forced to hit the other one with a Haki coated hand, he'd been that determined to not let anyone touch his little sister.
It makes Shanks wary of approaching the other, who's still face down on the deck where Rayleigh dumped him. Shanks doesn't exactly have a lot of practice at making himself appear peaceful and friendly (the fact he's a pirate usually outweighs all efforts he makes otherwise) but he'll certainly be trying here.
Beside him, Buggy eyes the girl cautiously and the redhead doesn't miss the fact that he's been strategically placed between his fellow cabin boy and the stranger.
Monkey D. Garp's oldest child, his only son, according to Captain. Meshing the concept of Garp, the scary marine who's chased them everywhere since Shanks'd joined the Roger Pirates, with the father of these two children (even if the boy's clearly older the Shanks) just isn't working. Maybe when they're awake he'll be able to see it, but right now-
"Who're you?"
The question makes him jump and it takes him a moment to realise it came from the little face tucked into his shoulder.
As if to prove it was indeed her who spoke, the girl pulls back from where she'd been pressed against his collarbone, sitting back onto his arms and Shanks almost drops her, almost trips forwards himself at the sudden shift of weight.
Dark eyes, huge and round with youth, stare right him for a second. And then she beams.
Yeah, that smile is all Vice Admiral Garp.
"You're very pretty and your hair's great. Hey, wanna get married when I'm older?" What?
"What?" Shanks chokes out as Buggy breaks down behind him, laughing manically.
Garp's crazy daughter just keeps looking at him, keeps smiling at him as she takes a hold of one of his red tresses with deceptively delicate fingers.
"You've got very pretty hair, I bet redhead babies'd be cool. Though not until I'm like, way older than now." She squirms and, too shocked to really consider what to do otherwise, Shanks releases his hold on the girl.
Landing on her feet, she scuttles over to the other Monkey (that's probably crazy too, given that the two Shanks' now seen in action are clearly off their rockers) who is suddenly very much awake. How exactly has he lost control of this situation so quickly?
"Buggy!" Shanks spins around to look at his fellow cabin boy, who startles at the sudden motion. "They're both awake! What do we do?!"
"How should I know?!"
"I like 'em, Dragon. They're funny." Huh?
Spinning back around, Shanks watches as the older Monkey (is Dragon his actual name, or is it a nickname? Oh what the hell, at least Shanks has something to call the older one now, even if it is incorrect) sits up and pulls the younger close to his chest. They check each other, the little imp still grinning and Dragon emulating his namesake with the fiercely protective aura he's giving off.
"Little Sister, are you well?"
The 'little sister' nods quickly, wrapping her arms around broad shoulders and rubbing their cheeks together. After a moment she pulls back, pressing both her hands to Dragon's cheeks and comically smushing his lips together.
"We're on a pirate ship. An adventure." There's stars in her eyes as she says the words and Shanks grins, pushing the whole marriage proposal away for the moment. He'll stumble over what the hell that was later.
Right now he has to follow through with Captain's orders and that means making their guests feel welcome. Not that Shanks' ever had to do that before. The Roger Pirates rarely have guests, and they've never taken prisoners; they've never had a need to.
"Hi, I'm Shanks and this is Buggy. We're cabin boys and this is the Oro Jackson."
The two Monkeys stare at him, one obviously more hostile than the other. Dragon has one arm wrapped around his younger sister's waist and it is the only thing that prevents her from approaching them again.
She pauses for a moment, as if not quite sure why she's making no progress towards them, before she peers down at the iron bar that holds her still.
"Dragon, let go," she whines, tiny hands trying to push the limb away and after a moment's pause, the teenager does just that. The release of his arm is accompanied the scariest glare Shanks' seen in a very long time. As if daring them to harm the little girl. Not that Shanks wants to. She might not be playing with a full deck of cards, but the lass seems nice enough. So Shanks squats down until they're at even level, offering his hand out.
"Hey there, I'm Shanks."
"I'm Monkey D. Kitsune, and that's my big brother Dragon. We came out to sea to see the world."
"Not to lead a revolution?" Buggy chokes out and that does have Dragon's head snapping up, his eyes narrow and heavy and God, how the hell is a child of Garp the Fist so serious and severe?
"How do you know about that?" It's growled out from beneath clenched teeth and something most show on their faces, some indication that the other male is sending fearful shivers down their spines because the guy grins. And holy shit is that grin scary as fuck.
"Dragon! I hardly think pirates are gonna snitch on you!"
Then there's Monkey D. Kitsune, still with her hand in his, still half way through a handshake with a grip that's something like what Shanks imagines Whitebeard's handshake would be like. Near crippling, it'll be a wonder if he can move his fingers after this. Yeah, this is no doubt Vice Admiral Garp's daughter.
The glare lessens, as does the pressure in the air, but the tension remains. Kitsune doesn't let go of Shanks' hand, but she does loosen her death-grip, lacing her tiny fingers through his and grinning. It's so much cuter, so much more pleasant than the terrifying version her brother just showcased and Shanks opts to focus on her, no matter how much his instincts scream for him to watch the biggest threat to his health on the ship.
He trusts the rest of the crew would be capable of stopping Monkey D. Dragon if he decides to go for his throat.
"Have you got a kitchen on board, Shanks? I'm starving."
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The two Monkeys go at the food much like Captain Roger does; as if it is a battle to be won, a war to be conquered, a victory that cannot occur unless every last scrap of food has been chewed and buried into their stomachs.
Shanks watches with wide eyes as the two tear into the dishes, throwing different pieces (a chicken leg here, a rack of ribs there) to the other depending upon their preferences. Despite their different tastes, they eat with the same terrifying efficiency, leaving nothing but bones stripped clean in their wake.
Even the poor cook seems a bit stunned at the sight.
At least Dragon eats tidily; Kitsune doesn't seem to care in the least, sauce and juices smeared down her front, staining the fabric of her shirt. Though that might be more to do with her age; she is only five after all.
She'd made sure to inform them of that, declaring that her 'Big Brother' was fifteen, ten years her senior. It's clear to see the utter idealisation she has by the glimmer in her eyes, looking upon the older Monkey as if the tides rise and fall by the command of his hand. Shanks' seen more than his fair share of sibling relationships throughout the years, but this is certainly at the top end of the scale for unquestionable family love.
Huh. It almost makes him want a baby sister too.
"So, er, why a revolution?" Shanks asks, for lack of anything else to say.
Now finished devouring all that is upon the plates, Dragon sits back in his seat, allowing Kitsune to climb into his lap so that she may sit higher than what her short form would otherwise allow her.
"Yeah, not a lot of treasure in that," Buggy grumbles, though Shanks can tell his friend is pleased that there won't be anymore competition for the pricy sparkles that come with the life of a pirate.
Given how hellishly intimidating he is, Shanks' reckons Dragon'd make a pretty good pirate.
"That you even need to ask is a prime example of why," the oldest among their little quartet grunts, tucking Kitsune's head below his, chin resting upon the crown of her hair. "The Tenryūbito run unchecked throughout the world and what they do would be considered monstrous if committed by another. I don't believe being born to a set bloodline should dictate an absolution from the code of morality that binds us together as sentiment beings."
Holy shit, Shanks barely followed any of that.
Once he's translated it into terminology he can actually understand, it makes perfect sense. Revolution sounds good, it sounds like something the world needs but... Shanks can't be shackled to a cause like that. He needs to be free, free as the wind; it will always be a pirate's life for him.
This guy though, he's got guts, that's for sure.
And the lass has brains too; she doesn't look confused in the slightest by her brother's word waffle, though it's possible she's heard it all before.
"So you're not after treasure?" Buggy asks, clearly dead set on getting that clarified.
"Only as much as it would take to kick-start a revolution."
Shanks winces.
Yeah, fighting the whole world, fighting against the hundred odd countries that make up the World Government? That's gonna take some serious funding.
Buggy probably realises it too because his face scrunched up, looking like he wants to protest viciously. The absolutely scorching glare Dragon sends him kills any threats before his fellow cabin boy can even begin voicing them, especially when Kitsune flicks her eyes between the two of them, openly curious.
"Hey, Big Brother, are we still gonna train on here?"
"Let's ask our... gracious hosts, shall we?"
Okay, so the elder Monkey is clearly quite unhappy in regards to their 'kidnapping', even if the Captain doesn't consider it as such.
Well, Shanks has been told to keep them happy, so he already knows what the answer to this is going to have to be.
"I don't think Captain'll mind if you practice on the deck... you're not Devil Fruit users, are you?"
"Nope," Kitsune replies, popping the 'p' with a smack of her lips.
"Why are we here."
Shanks fumbles, hands searching, waving through the air as if he can physically grasp the answer and present it to the scary teen. Yeah, he can picture this guy waging war against the government. He's got the right disposition for it, that's for sure.
"Honestly," Shanks says with a smile and a shrug, "I don't have a clue. Captain's orders and all. I don't think he's gonna keep you hostage though. Said he wanted to talk to ya."
Both Monkeys frown at that, sharing a glance that speaks volumes. Well, at least to each other; if they're communicating then Shanks' gone deaf, because he can't make heads or tails of the conversation given that it's based solely on their physical interactions, the way they look at each other, little ticks in their expressions that Shanks has no hope of picking up on.
"That's worrying," Kitsune finally whispers, rubbing at one of her cheeks while she licks the leftover sauce from the fingers of her other hand. "He knows we've got no chance at reeling Papa back in, right?"
"Like Cap'n would need your help dealing with Garp."
There's a still silence as they all acknowledge the very true words, Kitsune slouching back into her brother's chest, lips pressed together into a pout.
"Well if we're not here for that... they why does he want to see us?"
And isn't that the billion Beri question?
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"Dinner?" Kitsune repeats brusquely. She blinks, once then twice, and then thrice for good measure.
But still, Silvers Rayleigh remains a stand before her, still with that half smile and still appears to be inviting her to join his captain for dinner.
She's aware of Dragon bristling hostilely at her back, no doubt rising to his full height with his broad shoulders squared. He's probably frowning, probably looking like the embodiment of fire and brimstone. Probably trying to kill Rayleigh with nought but the burning heat of his eyes.
She wonders what Shanks and Buggy see as they look upon her brother and her. Shanks is exactly as she'd have expected him to be; all joyous and carefree, but surprisingly enough it is quite possible to shock him, to pull the rug out from under his feet and watch him panic as he loses his footing. It's entertaining; his face when she proposed marriage was a picture.
Sucking in the flesh of her lips to prevent them from curving up into a smile, Kitsune's eyes flash over to look at Buggy. He's exactly as she expected too; selfish and obsessed with treasure. But he's pretty cool.
Flicking her gaze back to Rayleigh, Kitsune drums up her biggest smile, bouncing forwards.
"Will there be sandwiches for dinner? I like sandwiches. I'll have dinner with Captain Roger if you feed Big Brother too."
"Kitsune."
The low call of her name has Kitsune pausing, cocking her head back to look at Dragon with wide eyes.
Her older brother is frowning, face stern and he's worried, she realises. It's strange to see Dragon worried. Her big brother is always overflowing with confidence, but it seems even he is aware of what he can and cannot take on by himself. The usual run of the mill pirates are no problem for him. But the Roger Pirates? The man who will someday become Pirate King? That's another thing altogether.
"They'd have hurt us already if they wanted to," Kitsune says slowly, keeping eye contact with Dragon, hoping he sees the clear intent upon her face. That she wholeheartedly believes Roger will not harm her. And even if he does, it doesn't mean anything in the end.
There was no Monkey D. Kitsune in the original timeline, maybe this is where she dies, if this is canon. Maybe this is all how it's suppose to happen, but Kitsune's going to go with her gut instinct and have dinner with the future Pirate King. For what a tale it will be to tell in the future.
Surely Luffy will appreciate it, should he come to exist in this world, should she get to even meet him.
"Scream and I shall come."
With his piece said, Monkey D. Dragon stalks over to the railings of the ship, hands curling around the wood as he grips at it. She can almost picture the metaphorical dragon's tail lashing about, swiping back and forth in a visible display of his agitation.
"So, dinner," Rayleigh murmurs, reining in her wandering attention until it is all once again focused upon him.
Considering the Dark King (the future Dark King? Does he have his title or not? She can't remember) Kitsune scratches lazily at the side of her cheek.
"Yep. I'm hungry, are we gonna eat now? Where are we gonna eat? I wanna eat on deck so do you have a big umbrella for if it rains?"
Glancing up at the very clear blue sky, Kitsune reminds herself that they are indeed on the Grand Line (as if the salt in the air, the ocean mist kissing her skin and the thrum of excitement in her bones could ever let her forget that fact) and that a sudden weather change is so common to the fact it's accepted at the norm. In the blink of an eye the gentle caress of the warm sun could be replaced by a sudden avalanche of snow.
"Captain was planning to eat on deck," Rayleigh confirms, lips pressed into a worn smile. It's the kind Kitsune hasn't seen before, a reluctant happiness. Spending so much time with Dragon, who despite his stern composure , expresses his emotions freely and happily, it strikes her as particularly odd.
"That's good, eating on deck sounds fun. They frowned at it on the Marine ship."
"That's cause the Marines don't know how to party," Rayleigh shares, as if he's exposing a particularly dirty secret and not a fact that is common knowledge.
Stepping closer to Rayleigh, Kitsune reaches up, grabbing the older man's hand with her own, swinging their joined limbs back and forth.
"Take me to the picnic, Ray-man."
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Her first sighting of Gol D. Roger, future Pirate King and scourge of the Marines, is as he comes tumbling down the deck, laughing boisterously at something Buggy has said to him.
Kitsune watches the man that will kick-start an entire era with wide eyes, trying to take everything in, to commit it all to memory. He's not a small man, not by regular standards, but it's the same kind of 'big' that Garp is. Humanly big, not unnaturally so. Imposing, she's instinctively aware of his presence despite the fact he clearly means no threat to her. The moustache is weird, but perhaps that's because it's the first one she's seen in this life.
Who knows, maybe she'll change her mind when she gets to see Whitebeard and Red Leg Zeff and all those other strange-moustache sporting men.
His eyes light up when he sees her waiting by the little picnic basket the cook had obligingly brought up, one hand patting warmly at Buggy's head before he comes almost bouncing over.
"Little Miss Monkey D. Kitsune," he muses, squatting down until they're on eye-level, a wide grin on his face as he presents her with own hand. "I'm Gol D. Roger."
"I know. It's nice to meet you, Mr Roger."
His hand feels huge wrapped around hers, tough with drier skin than she'd have expected a weathered sailor to have. Shouldn't he constantly be brushing the ocean spray from his form? The internal visual isn't showcasing itself in the real world and Kitsune finds that rather upsetting.
"You're a cute kid. Eat your sandwich." Roger drops onto the deck floor, long legs folded beneath him with one elbow seated upon a knee. He rests his chin in his palm, the other digging around in the picnic basket before it surfaced with a sandwich that is promptly presented to her.
It's ham and cheese, her favourite filling and Kitsune accepts it gingerly. It's even missing butter, exactly how she prefers her meal.
"You're voice told me that's how you like sandwiches," Roger shares, pulling forth his own meal which seems to be every possible sandwich filling piled together upon one slice of white, topped with another single piece of bread. It's a big sandwich for a man who's bigger than life itself.
Or that's the impressions Kitsune's getting from this guy.
"My voice," she parrots, trying desperately to recall any information she has upon that. It's ringing a bell, something about the Voice of All Things, but she can't remember anything particularly in depth. "And it told you I like ham and cheese?"
Roger laughs, nodding his head before removing his hat and deposits it atop her brow instead.
Spluttering as the huge mass of fabric all but engulfs her, Kitsune hoists the hat up, peering out from beneath the warm brim just in time to witness the future Pirate King inhale the entirety of his monster sandwich. When he reaches into the basket and pulls out its twin, she quickly realised exactly where Portgas D. Ace will get his large appetite from.
Nibbling gingerly at the crust of her sandwich, Kitsune forces herself to not speak, to not break the silence. She's not particularly bothered by what this man thinks of her, it's not like his opinion of her will change things. Eyeing the monster sandwiches of Roger's again, Kitsune winces as her stomach gives a loud gurgle, a clear indication it is not satisfied with the sole offering it has received.
"Eat, Kit."
Jolting at the familiar (far too familiar) address, Kitsune eagerly catches the picnic basket when Roger pushes it towards her, flipping back the lid. The entirety of the insides are filled with nothing but ham and cheese sandwiches, the last two monster sandwiches removed by Roger's own hand a moment before he sent the container her way.
Giving up all pretence of self control, Kitsune stuffs the entire second sandwich into her mouth, chewing swiftly before she makes a grab for the next one. She hadn't realised how hungry she was until she'd found herself presented with a little mountain to go at.
"Your brother's voice is a strong one, the drums of war, the thunderous rhythm, his will burns brightly."
Tongue lapping at her lips to get the last few crumbs, Kitsune turns her attention to her company, blinking slowly as she waits for him to continue. Because it's not like she doesn't know this already.
She doesn't need to hear voices, she knows Dragon as well as, if not better than she knows herself. Why Roger feels the need to tell her this, to speak of her brother's drive and ambitions, that she doesn't know. She doesn't know why this would mean anything to her, this forceful acknowledgement of information already known to her. It makes no sense, but she gets the feeling she won't understand Roger, will never be able to understand everything about this man. She does comprehend that he's trying to tell her something though.
"His voice?"
"Everything has a voice, and your voice told me lots more than it should have for a six year old." His grin is a fearsome thing, unnerving to the point Kitsune feels a dire need to fidget. As if his words haven't already done that to her, haven't electrocuted her nerves to the point they're fried. Suddenly, having dinner with Gol D. Roger no longer seems like such a good idea.
"…my voice told you?"
"Playing dumb doesn't suit you," Gol D. Roger declares decisively, reaching for his bottle and draining half the rum in one gulp.
Kitsune watches it happen in detached wonder, still trying to wrap her head around the fact she is here. Sitting upon this figurehead, sharing a meal with the man that would become the King of the Pirates.
Who knows far more than he should.
"You've got the whole future in your head there, Kit."
Kitsune hastily stuffs half her sandwich into her mouth, nervously eyeing the man that would soon be declared the Pirate King.
He knows.
He knows it all and she wouldn't be surprised if he could feel her resignation, her reluctant acceptance that she is now at his mercy. How else will she possibly keep this a secret, possible stop everyone from using her for her knowledge if people can just… read it off her?
"Don't look so down," Gol D. Roger insists, ruffling her hair with one giant hand. "What is the point in being a pirate if you can't do what you want, right? Not enough people seem to understand that."
The hand not on her head, the hand curled around the neck of the bottle, waves dismissively back and forth at his words, drawing Kitsune attention once again.
"Use what you know however you want," the pirate insists, grinning out over the horizon.
And for that one moment, Kitsune thinks that it is a genuinely heart-warming moment. That even though he knows, knows she's not really a five year old child in anything but body, knows that she is a soul older than she has any right to be… he's not going to rat her out. He's not going to expose her, not going to present her before Dragon and Papa and declare her a lie. Declare that none of it was real, that she doesn't really have a father or a big brother just like they don't really have a daughter or a little sister. For a moment, Kitsune starts to believe she can actually trust this man at his word.
It all comes crashing down though, because Roger's grin grows fiercer.
"Just like I will do that now. Look after my boy, make sure he doesn't die for my blood, or I'll tell everyone about you."
Fucking hell.
When she glares at the man, Gol D. Roger grins back at her, shamelessly unapologetic.
"Pirate," he says in way of an explanation and despite herself, Kitsune feels a grin working its way onto her own face despite her bubbling resentment.
"Is this how everyone else feels, when you slip out of their net just a moment away from being pulled ashore?"
"It's probably something like that," Roger agrees, leaning back on the hand he removes from his chin, savouring her reaction as if it's finer than the rum he swigs. "This isn't the place you think you know, because you don't know who Monkey D. Kitsune is. And until you figure that out, any plan you make is just going to…" he pauses, gesturing passionately, as if the movement will call forth the correct word.
"Collapse? Fall through? Disintegrate?"
"Yeah, that." Nodding at her half-heartedly offered words, Roger peers into the rim of his rum bottle, a sad frown crossing his face when he realises it is indeed empty. "I'll keep my mouth shut about your 'before life', and in return you'll look after my boy, you got that?"
"I'd have looked after him anyway." It goes without saying that in the before she'd cried like a baby at Portgas D. Ace's death, and as stupid as it is to be attached to a book character, to an idea of a person she is years and years away from meeting… she's still going to try and save his life. If she lives that long.
"Look after my Ace, not that two dimensional character," Roger insists, accepting the ham and cheese sandwich she throws him. He stares at her for a bit longer, still with that proud grin, that expression that states he could take on the world and win, solely because he's got the guts for the fight. "He might never appreciate it, but if he ever grows up to be anything like what's in that head of yours, I'm proud of him."
Her chest feels tight, the words hitting somewhere right beneath her breastbone. That's… that's… that's the last thing she was expecting Roger to say.
"I'll tell him, someday," Kitsune manages to choke out, clenched hands far too tiny for how old she actually feels in that moment.
"You do that, Kit. Right now though, we're getting some ice-cream!"
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It feels as if surrealism is invading reality, warping all that makes sense until she's not sure in the least where she is.
It's the only explanation as to why she's sat upon Gol D. Roger's shoulders as he strides through his ship, one hand by the side of his neck to steady herself, the other holding a wafer-cone filled with simple vanilla ice-cream.
There's one massive hand wrapped around her left shin, ensuring that even if she does loose her balance she won't hit the floor, the other holding a matching frozen treat, just doubled in size. And it's not exactly like Roger's portion is small. It's melting quickly, sticking to her fingers and just generally getting everywhere, no matter how much she tries to lick it off, to lap it up and get the sweet mess from her hands.
"Problem?" Roger huffs with a laugh and Kitsune doesn't need to see his face to know he's smiling, that he's laughing at her.
Childishly, she lets the next lot drip from between her grasp to land on his captain's coat.
"Ah! Not the coat!"
Kitsune laughs, free and without restraint and that is exactly how Dragon finds them. Her attempting to remain upon Roger's shoulder's while the future Pirate King hastily scrambles out of his coat, shouting frantically for Shanks or Buggy to fetch the stain remover.
They both pause at the emergence of her older brother, the one sleeve Roger has managed to wiggle out of flapping about uselessly by his side.
The silence drags uncomfortably, so Kitsune says softly, "hi, Big Brother."
It doesn't quite snap the duo out of their trances, but it does have Roger straightening, giving up on his lost cause of a coat and just allowing it to hang, half-on, half-off his form.
"Good, Spitfire, you're here. Come on, I've got gifts for both of you."
"Gifts. Why would you have gifts for us?" Dragon has his lips pursed, a scowl set across his face as he obliges and follows after Roger. But only once the older man has removed her from his shoulders to settle her upon Dragon's back instead.
Kitsune is extra careful to not smear ice-cream all over her brother, well aware he won't appreciate it. She does offer him a bite though, not in the least bit surprised when he declines. He doesn't have the biggest sweat tooth, after all. Or, one at all.
"Because they suit you," Roger decrees, pushing open the door to what has to be a storeroom. It's small, with shelves full of bits and pieces, probably all momentums from the many adventures of the Roger Pirates. It's also a huge mess, there seems to be no order to it at all. Especially given the way Roger goes rummaging through it all, muttering under his breath, scowling and frowning when he doesn't find what he's looking for.
Dragon shoots her a glance through one of the shiny vases that wobbles on the edge of one shelf, something that's not quite worry upon his face but can certainly be classified as apprehension.
"Here they are!" Snapping back from where he'd half climbed into the shelving units, Roger waves two brightly coloured objects back and forth before their eyes.
One is round, a rich dark blue to the point it almost appears like an overgrown blueberry. Just with swirling lengths of golden yellow curling across its surface in an almost wisp like pattern.
The second is, hilariously, exactly like a dragon fruit. Oh sure there's a pattern to it, and it's primarily. green with the emerald shade fading into fuchsia pink at the 'tips' of the fruit, but still. It's a dragon fruit.
As if that's not enough, Roger holds that exact fruit out to Dragon, pushing it into his chest until her big brother has no choice but to accept it.
"That one's yours," he says, as if his gesture hasn't made that clear enough already. "And this one is for you, Kit."
The dark blue fruit replaces the unfinished half of her ice-cream cone, deceptively light for all that it looks like a heavy weight.
"What is-"
"It's the Yako Yako No Mi; Model Tenko."
"You're giving Kitsune a Mythical Zoan Fruit?" Dragon barks out. His tone is strange, like he can't quite decide if he wants to be tempestuous, disbelieving, or astonied.
"Urg, it tastes awful!"
Dragon's head snaps around to stare at her with horrified eyes, dropping his own fruit and Roger only just manages to catch it, though she only just catches the movement the two produce.
It tastes foul.
Kitsune wants to scrape it all off of her tongue, wants to vomit it all back up, to get it out of her system. It's the taste of poison, of mould and rot and all the other disgusting things not even toddlers think a good idea to put in their mouths. Vile and rank and it tastes like ash and regret. Soul deep regret.
She will never complain of another's attempt at cooking now, not when this is her bar for just how bad food can get.
"Kitsune! Don't just eat what a stranger offers you!"
Dragon has pulled her from his back, both hands grasping her arms as he shakes her back and forth. Kitsune goes along with the motion, despite the fact it makes her feel exceptionally dizzy.
"Hey! I'm not a stranger. Kit and I have a deal."
"Mr Roger is gonna do something for me and I've made a promise to him too." Her words come out in a tumbled wash, flowing into one another as she tries to focus her blurry vision. Being shook around had not helped in the slightest.
She only half pays attention as Roger declares her fruit is not the only Mythical Zoan he's got on board, that the one he's presented Dragon with also falls under that category. Something about the Dragon of the Storms, she's not paying too much attention.
"Why would you give us such useful fruits?" Her big brother finally asks, voicing the very question that Kitsune herself wants the answer to.
She could understand why he would give her a power boost; she's made a promise to protect his future son after all, given that Roger won't be there to do it himself. Making sure she's strong enough to protect his progeny isn't exactly a stupid idea.
But why would he offer such a rare fruit to Dragon too?
"How did you even find them?" The question nags at her, because a fox fruit, a dragon fruit, they're two very specific things, to the point it seems as if they were tailor made for them. Or where Dragon and Kitsune tailor made to someday consume these fruits?
"How I found them? I just listened for them," Roger says with a lazy shrug of his shoulders, as if the whole concept is of no importance, no matter how Dragon's brow folds at his obscure words. "And why wouldn't I give them to you? They're yours, aren't they?"
All that's coming out of Roger's mouth makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, even for Kitsune who has more knowledge than she should. Then again, as much as she follows her own whims, she does try to think about things. Gol D. Roger can be nothing more than a creature of impulse, sent to torment the Marines who know nothing other than cold, hard planning.
"Eat the fruit, you'd have found it on your own, Spitfire."
It goes unsaid between both herself and Roger than the Yako Yako Fruit would never have been found by Kitsune without the future Pirate King's interference. It's for his own selfish reasons, but she has no problem with that at all.
Giving up the ability to swim is a pain, but she's traded it in for something that will no doubt be quite useful. She only recalls two mythical fruits from her before life, and both of those had been badass. If Dragon got his fruit regardless of Roger poking his nose in, then that's another badass fruit, because nothing else would have suited Dragon. Things look promising for her, that's for sure.
"Captain! We've got a sighting on Shiki!"
The bellow of one of Roger's crew breaks the tension, the Captain of the Roger Pirates straightening with an eager glimmer in his eyes.
"The world won't wait for you, little Revolutionary."
And then he's gone, leaving the two of them there, one a newly created Hammer and the other holding the Fruit that could strip him of the ability to swim too.
So, a handful of people guessed it was Roger, though those who said Shiki weren't far off. Guess where we're up in the timeline?
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Should I make a cover for this fic like I have for Marines? I've got a sketch of how adult Kitsune looks, maybe I should make a cover for teenaged Kitsune and then one to use later when she's an adult? Thoughts?
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Also, I've set up a tumblr again, so for extra bits, previews and stuff, pop over to tsume-yuki. tumblr. com, just, you know, without the spaces.
Tired and grumpy,
Tsume
xxx