She had expected to find nothing left.
Ginger watched with a blank expression as one by one the locals helped dig the twenty-four individual graves. She would personally see to it that the casualties reached base one way or another. Their bodies had been found in the woods just north of where she and Jax had been. Each of them cut down with a single devastating blow in silence with no possible way of her or anyone hearing their anguished cries. It was the people who had found them when scouting the woods once she assured them Jax would no longer be a threat to them. She promised that his crew would not return to Sage's Island to wreck havoc, and made it a point to say she would hunt them down herself.
It didn't matter now, however, nothing would bring them back.
The mood was solemn as they worked while she made a mental note to gather the names and send them to Read. The bodies were covered with heavy white blankets, shielding her and the locals from them. Her hand balled into a fist at her side, her face still while she imagined the surprise and pain each of them felt. Her knuckles cracked when she finally loosened her hand.
"Thank you," she whispered, making sure her voice was hushed. "I won't let this be forgotten."
One of the men working turned when he finished. "Are you going to stay for the burial?"
She shook her head. "I shouldn't. I need to head out now. If the Marines do come, tell them I did this."
He was surprised at first but he quickly became appalled at the idea. "Why would you take credit for this?"
"Whether or not you want to believe it they did die by my incompetence. The Marines will brand me a criminal soon. Why not make it count?" The words stung when they left her lips. Getting into the mindset that she was responsible was easier to cope with rather than blaming herself for not being able to stop it. If she was dead set on being a pirate than she supposed she had to think like one.
It was when Ginger bowed at the man that she chose to leave without saying anything more. She had to leave this island to avoid the Marines following her. Luckily, several men on the island volunteered to help operate the ship in exchange for it once they dropped her off. She complied without a second thought not at all caring what became of it.
Hours later found her locked in her cabin on said ship, pouring herself into paperwork. She had long ago stripped herself of her uniform and instead chose to keep her hair up while putting on a mint green colored dress. The sleeves of it stopped up to her elbows with the skirt falling just above her knees. Three large buttons that began from the collar adorned the front, stopping just above her waist.
Normally when she was off duty she preferred clothes that were comfortable to wear, and although it was hard to avoid getting them dirty she still took the risk because she enjoyed wearing what she liked. At times they varied depending on her mood. Sometimes she liked to wear shorts or pants, and at other times she wanted to wear suits with the long skirts. It was interesting how she didn't like wearing the cap that came with the uniform, but at the same time pillbox hats would immediately come with her off-duty look.
The soft purapurapura caused Ginger to suddenly look at the Transponder Snail with disdain. She set the papers aside and answered it with a curt "hello".
"Is that anyway to talk to your superior?" Marigold Read's voice was clear as day. "What has you so mad, Ginger-chan?"
"I shouldn't have even picked up your call."
The snail's expression turned serious upon her tone. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"It's so sudden, but I want to say goodbye." Ginger smiled sadly as her tone conveyed what she felt. "Mari-sama, thank you for everything you've done. I know you wanted me to be an exceptional Marine and rise through the ranks like you, but now it doesn't seem that will happen. It's no fault of yours. I have to handle this myself."
There was silence on the other end, worrying that they were somehow cut off she quickly opened her mouth to add, "This is something I have to do alone."
More silence followed though the snail's expression remained the same. Her thoughts wandered as she waited for retort, and when she was about to speak again the snail's features hardened. "Are you a fool? What's happened? Tell me now before you return to base!" Her tone brought back memories of Marigold's harsh training, but Ginger wouldn't be so quick to yield to them. She shook her head, forcing herself to relax while the snail's eyes glared. "I said tell me! What have you done, Ginger!? What did you do!? I took you under my wing, raised you as my daughter, and I was determined that you wouldn't become your mother! If you're scared, then that's alright. We'll fix this-"
"—It can't be fixed! Not now. It'll take me time to figure out what happened, and when it does then I'll have the consequences. Mari-sama, this is my burden."
"Ginger," she said exasperated, the snail's expression contorting to one of guilt, "you do this and you'll be repeating the cycle. Greta sailed the seas with you, endangering your life from the very beginning. She made enemies out of pirates, she made enemies out of Marines, and she sure as hell pissed off the Celestial Dragons at one point where she endangered a small town." The snail paused. "The only thing Greta did right was surrendering herself and you. She paid her debt back to society with her life. Don't follow her footsteps."
Ginger sucked in her lips, trembling all the while, refusing to cry though it did no good since she was certain Marigold could see. The tears pricked her eyes as she opened them. No matter what she endured during the remainder of her childhood it was nothing compared to what her life would've been if she stayed with her mother's crew. The old woman, she hated to admit, was right in that regard when she raised her as her own. Ginger received the best training, fought her way to her current rank, and earned the respect of her peers and it was all thanks to Marigold. She had a bed to sleep in at night with food in her stomach and she never had to worry about being caught by rival pirates. Everything she had now up until this point she owed to her.
Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, stifling her whimpers. To Marigold, Ginger was never the daughter of a pirate. She was just a little girl who was caught up in the storm that was her mother's rage against the world. She had silenced the hushed whispers of predictions from others, defended the girl to her own superiors, and took the responsibility of raising a child despite the fact she never liked children. All this she did because it felt natural— a motherly instinct hidden within the depths of the formidable Marine.
She owed her very life to the woman.
"Mari-sama," she opened her eyes, "the bodies are buried on Sage's Island. Jax Rackham was dumped in the sea."
"Ginger—"
She hung up the Transponder Snail with a sudden click.
The heart had stopped beating that very night their submarine went under water to avoid detection.
Trafalgar Law noticed the long pauses in between each pulse before it silenced all together. He expected as much for he was the one who gave the diagnosis of the grim situation. When he showed the heart to the only animal in his crew, Bepo, the bear noticeably flinched from the sight.
At the moment, he was seated in the kitchen of his vessel while musing through last night's events. To his left, Keki was busy preparing lunch for the crew. She was an old woman with dark grey hair who was several feet shorter than Law and relied on a stool to reach the appliances she so often used. He had found her a year ago when she nearly beat Penguin and Shachi into unconsciousness when the paired attempted to take her rice cakes from her shop (which they insisted was an accident). It was a disappointing sight to have two Heart Crew members beaten bloody, though it gained them a cook once she insisted on joining.
"Keki-ya," he began, opening one eye to look at her, "stop telling Bepo that he'll be our main course every night."
The old woman merely snickered. "That yeti thinks he can sneak off with as much as he pleases when I sleep. That will teach him to leave the food alone."
Law's lips tugged into a half-smile. "Regardless, I need him to be fearless."
"And he will be once he knows he can't get away with stealing our week's provisions," she lifted the wooden spoon and tasted the soup. She smacked her lips and held out her hand. "Bring me the salt, boy." Keki also had the annoying habit of addressing him as "boy", yet despite his protests she still continued to call him that. It was only during these times when they were alone, otherwise she addressed him as "Captain" like everyone else.
Still, Law complied and got up from his seat to hand her the salt. Once he did, he leaned against the counter lazily watching her stir it in with two hands grasping the handle of the large wooden spoon. He folded his arms and was about to speak when she added, "Take off your hat when you come into the kitchen next time."
"I don't like being ordered around on my vessel."
"Oh," she looked at him. "Your vessel, yes. The kitchen is the cook's territory. It's an unspoken rule on a pirate ship."
Agitated with her explanation he retorted, "This is a submarine."
"I stand corrected." Keki removed the spoon from the stew and offered a taste to him. He shook his head as she frowned and set the utensil aside. "I hear you ran into trouble when getting that devious man to join."
It was a major loss to him considering the fact that Jax was not only a Devil Fruit user but also a wanted man with a good size bounty on his head. Looking back on it now he didn't seem that strong since he had been cut down by a Marine.
"He was killed by an Ensign class Marine."
Keki raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did you get his name at least? You could have recruited him instead."
"It was a woman." He shifted his stance, crossing one ankle over the other. "I believe Jax-ya said 'Rogiko' during their fight." The older woman looked at him while dropping in the diced eggplant. "What?"
"There was only one Rogiko I heard of, but she was executed seventeen years ago on my island." Law's expression never wavered at this new bit of information. He instead opted to continue listening while she took her time. "Rogiko Greta of the Rogiko Pirates. They said she angered one of the Celestial Dragons who in turn demanded her death."
"What did she look like?"
"Black hair, gold eyes. Unlike most pirates at their executions she didn't have any last words." Keki stirred the contents for the umpteenth time as he waited. "The Marines mentioned she surrendered and thus was given a quick death. Otherwise, she would've been taken to Impel Down. This woman you saw must have been her daughter."
"Daughter?"
"Ah," she nodded. "I forgot to mention she surrendered both herself and her daughter to the Marines. That might've been why she was executed at the base there instead of at Impel Down."
Finally, Law smiled as he looked away while closing his eyes. "How do you know this, Keki-ya?"
She chuckled, hopping down from the stool. "I cooked her last meal. You would be surprised how quick people divulge their life stories when they know they're going to die." She pushed the stool out of her way to get to the oven. "Judging by the fact that you came on board alone, it's safe to assume she had other plans."
"She refused my offer. She didn't want to be at the mercy of a pirate." He waved a hand. "She'll be arrested soon enough."
Keki open the oven carefully, poking at the meat with a fork gingerly. "Oh, that's a shame." She took a chunk of it and stuck it into her mouth. "You need all the help you can get it if you're still going along with that plan." Law shot a cautious look at the woman while she closed the door to the oven. "I still think you shouldn't go through with it, boy. But it's your decision."
His grey eyes remained on her. "I have my reasons." It was all he had to say on the matter since she immediately nodded and chose not to say anymore on the subject. Whether she liked it or not, Law's word was final. No amount of nagging or convincing would steer him out of what he had in mind. The crew knew this, though Keki still had a hard time grasping this fact.
He still needed more information on certain locations and the people he was searching for. It would take time to gather everything, but Law figured it would pay off in the end. In the meantime, he was building his crew little by little, picking nothing but the best to join. It didn't matter that the Marine turned him down because there would be more suitable candidates to come along. She showed exceptional skills, but he wasn't about to beg or convince her. A pirate captain never groveled at someone's feet, and he wasn't about to be the first one to do so.
Their next stop, which happened to be the tenth island in the Grand Line, was Sabaody Archipelago. The New World would follow soon enough which meant that his plan would immediately have to go into motion.
His fingers dug into his arms ever so slightly as Keki carried on cooking oblivious to the memories her captain was fighting hard to keep at bay.
A/N: Hope you're all enjoy this so far! A couple of footnotes to mention:
- Rogiko Ginger is based off of Ginger Rogers who was an American dancer in the 30's. I liked the idea of basing her personality off of her.
- The clothes she will be wearing from here on out are inspired by the dresses from the 50's and early 60's. I figured since characters like Sanji, and the Admirals in the Navy, wear suits then why not dresses and suits from that same time period?