The roll call for this fic sure is rising quick. Too bad they only allow four character slots.
Thanks for reviewing!
Heavy pounding assaulted the cabin door, spurring a headache in its occupant. When the excessive knocking resumed after a short pause he used a tentril of smoke to fling a stool in the direction of the offending noise. The knocking stopped, but now they knew he was awake.
"Smoker-chan, there's a call for you from headquarters!" One of his soldiers informed him in a muffled voice.
The vice-admiral let out a sigh that was closer to a growl and rubbed his eyes in irritation. "Tell them we're in the middle of a battle. Or a storm. I don't care, tell them I died."
"It's Sakazuki."
"…well, shit."
Smoker wretched the door open with his devil fruit power and stormed out. He didn't even bother dressing, just left in his jeans and boots.
"Should I wake Tashigi?"
"No."
The soldier nodded and stopped following his superior; whatever the fleet admiral had to say that was so important he had to do it himself, well, he didn't want to be around when the vice-admiral heard it.
Makino walked the well-worn dirt trail steadily. She hadn't made the journey in so long, years really, that she was already out of breath. Truthfully, it made her feel a little guilty.
The trees around her would occasionally make rustling movements and she would glance at them out of reflex, but she knew the larger and more dangerous game never ventured out here. Maybe they preferred their established habitat of the larger-than-life jungle further in. Or maybe a certain trio of children had permanently run them off. Nevertheless, she picked up her pace to reach her destination quicker; she wasn't on her own anymore, after all.
Her son was currently in the sling across her back, staring wide-eyed at the trees on either side in silence. Whenever a bird flew by or a bush rustled, he would tug at his mother's hair and make garbled attempts at speech to draw her attention.
"Yes, I saw that, too." She always replied patiently, and he would subside to continue his vigil.
Every once in awhile she would reposition him, or the satchel she brought with her, into a more confortable position and continue on. I never realized the path was so long, she thought to herself, just as she crested a hill. From there, she could just make out the tiled roof of her destination. Oh, good. They probably already heard of Luffy's exploits, but it's the perfect opportunity for a visit.
The rundown house that came into view brought a smile to her face, fond memories taking over. It seemed only yesterday she had come up here with a pile of secondhand clothes for Luffy, only to meet two other boys he claimed as his brothers. Yes, quite the pleasant surprise. She clung to those precious moments with a vengeance, refusing to let sorrow take over the moment.
The little shacks alongside the house still stood, although the writing of their respective builders had long since faded by the elements. If she tried, she was sure she could make out the boys' names.
"Oooi! Hello there, Makino-san!"
Makino turned back to the house, where Dogra and several other bandits were coming out of the house.
"Hello Dogra, Magra, everyone!" She called ahead; the other bandits nodded and gave their greetings. "Did you all get the news?" She pulled out a newspaper from her bag to hold up.
Large smiles broke out at the sight of it.
"We sure did!"
"We've been partying for the last two days!"
"Luffy sure is doing well for himself, we're so proud!"
Not for the first time, Makino was glad she left the mayor in town this time.
"Did you want to talk to the boss, Makino-chan?"
"Oh, yes actually. By the way, did Garp-san happen to call here?" At the mention of the old marine, several looked fear-stricken and Makino cringed at her tactlessness. "Never mind, I'll talk to Dadan about it."
Dogra spoke up, "He did call boss yesterday but we don't know what it was about. She's been in a foul mood since, though."
"Boss is always in a bad mood after talking to that crazy bastard." Someone pointed out to many nods of approval.
She had to chuckle at that, "Where is she?"
"She went to visit Ace."
Makino blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded. "Well, it's been awhile, I'll go too."
She waved away offers of escorts and started up the next trail directly across from the house. The small trail that used to barely accommodate three children had since widened considerably from many recent visits. By the time she reached the clearing in front of the tree house, her child had fallen asleep. Makino walked up to the seated figure and carefully removed him from the sling before taking a seat herself. They didn't say anything and, at some point, Makino took out the simple bouquet from her satchel and placed it in front of her, beside the newspaper that was already there.
"You know, I climbed up there once."
The redhead shifted a bit to show she was paying attention.
"With permission, of course." Makino said with mock seriousness. "Luffy was angry at Ace and Sabo because they went into the city without him. He was injured, so I can't blame them. Anyway, he invited me up to play with him, probably out of spite to his brothers." She smiled at the memory and her companion snorted in amusement. "I think he realized the weight of his actions and was afraid the other two would be angry, because he got really nervous and decided we'd be better off on the ground. He did promise me a ride on his ship when he became a real pirate though."
"That brat had such a brother complex." Dadan muttered heavily.
"Luffy?"
"…All of them."
There was a renewed silence at that.
"Is that the brat?" Dadan nodded at the sleeping infant.
BuruBuruBuruBuru
Makino grinned down at him, "Yes."
Dadan heaved a heavy breath. "That old bastard is going to be the death of me, I swear."
"You could consider it a favor to me, this time around." Makino replied in amusement. She gazed back up at the tree house, "It seems you're running a foster home for 'devil children', after all."
"Not anymore, I'm not. You're going to be back for him soon."
She laughed. "Of course." She moved to get up but Dadan held her gently in place; she looked back curiously into serious and slightly concerned eyes.
"Makino, nothing is going to happen. Garp's always been a paranoid man." Even with her steady tone, she still sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
"They're forming suspicions, Makino. With all this Emperor activity they're looking harder than ever for weakness. I'm sorry, but… I'm not sure what I'll be able to do this time; I'm not exactly in the loop anymore. You need to lay low."
She laughed at that. "Garp-san, we live in a tiny, practically unknown village in East Blue. How much more low can I get?"
He couldn't be dissuaded by her teasing. "It's not so unknown anymore, after all the commotion those boys-"
"Garp. Don't." The rare, unmistakable steel stopped him dead and he quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, I'll try calling in a few favors, but for now just try to stay out of sight."
Makino smiled reassuringly at her friend and patted her hand. "I know."
They left soon after, walking in companiable silence until the house reappeared. Once there, Dadan gathered all the bandits and told them they would be looking after the infant for a while. No one argued, although a few of them gave her and Makino confused and concerned glances. Makino gave them a rundown of the child's usual routine and a few supplies for his upkeep.
Finally it was time to leave. Makino had already missed lunch and she didn't want to raise suspicions by being closed in the evening too. She reluctantly handed the baby over to Dadan with a last hug and kiss. He didn't cry or fuss at all, just accepted the parting affection with a cheerful giggle and continued to wave and babble as his mother returned to the trail that would take her back to town.
Dogra stared after her sadly. "I hope she'll be okay, this must be pretty stressful for her."
"She'll be fine, she's tough." Dadan replied as she removed the baby's thumb from his mouth and replaced it with a pacifier.
Mogra took the baby from Dadan and ruffled his hair. "She must be so depressed over the separation though, he's still so young."
Dadan turned away and headed into the house. "Oh, she's not sad."
The two hurried to follow her. "Huh?! What do you mean?"
Makino hurried down the trail. She had made worse time than she had thought and the sun was moving fast. She started mentally cataloging her supplies and needs once the trees gave way to cattle fields, but it wasn't enough to completely distract her. She had been in the business so long, and her shop was so small, she didn't even need a physical inventory anymore. She could automatically recall what she was low on, what needed to be replaced or repaired. So, when she crested the hill overlooking the town and harbor, she acknowledged its futility and allowed a scowl to crease her normally serene features. At the moment there were only the townsfolk's small fishing vessels and a couple merchant ships; there were no white sails on the horizon, either.
At that moment a strong gust of wind buffered her slightly and a sudden feeling hit her, sending a shiver down her spine.
Garp is right.
If anyone had been near her at that moment, they would have scurried away from the darkness of her expression. A glare only a person with nothing to lose and their world to protect would express.
I swear on my life, I will not let him go. I will protect him to my last, as you would.
Makino took a deep breath and released it, and the promise, on the wind then briskly returned to town.
Oceans away, a frantic father sneezed.
The sound of splintering wood echoed throughout the ship when Smoker slammed the door.
The soldiers, some of the most 'uncontrollable' men the marines had the dubious pleasure of recruiting, gave him a wide berth as he stormed to the navigation quarters.
Once there, and facing a cringing navigator, he ground out. "We're changing coarse." Then spun around without waiting for a reaction. Some of the more curious soldiers who had overheard followed him.
"Smoker-san?"
He turned to look down at his subordinate on the lower deck, she appeared concerned by his obvious rage but was the only one brave enough to keep eye contact. She didn't need to articulate her silent question.
Damn girl must have a sixth sense on me. He looked around at all his men who were giving him cautiously questioning looks. He sagged a little in acceptance.
"We're going to East Blue." He announced.
I love Smoker and Tashigi, although not necessarily in a SmokerxTashigi way (sorry!). I imagine that Smoker and Luffy's relationship is how Garp and Roger's was like, only Garp probably wasn't as angry all the time.
I feel like Makino can be really scary if she wanted to. Like that poem says, 'Demons run when a good man goes to war.'
I kind of go back and forth between using Japanese terminology like the Den Den Mushi or suffixes, and just terms like 'grandpa' (as opposed to jii-chan), but I guess I take it on a case-by-case basis. I like how the way their names are used can convey a certain level of intimacy or respect. I hope it doesn't annoy anyone too much :/