Chapter 3: Justice

Summary: Isuka searches for answers

Notes: For you Bri! I hope you like it! Thank you for doing a fic trade with me!
Written for Day 3 of OP Marines Week 2023.

The ocean was huge, obviously. Anyone who had ever seen it or even heard of it would say that the sea was enormous. But truly, it was easy to forget sometimes in the hubbub of regular life. Paperwork needed to be done, battles fought, weapons cleaned, drills run. Always on the move, ready for action.

But not at this moment.

Seawater, a deep green filled with silt, rust, and oil sloshed against the wooden pillars of the old dock. Names were stabbed into the gray wood planks. Ranks too, and hearts and xoxos and remembrances. As many people had been here as the number of storms this wood had weathered.

And from here, tucked between two massive and rusting decommissioned battleships, Isuka could see from one end of the horizon to the other. The sea stretched for what seemed forever. Dots tinier than her thumb of ships larger than whole buildings scattered the waves.

And somewhere out there was the person she was waiting for.

She sighed, over an hour she'd been here, but this was where Vice Admiral Tsuru told her he was likely to show up, and if Isuka wanted to transfer under Admiral Aokiji's command, then this was her best bet to get his attention.

Why an Admiral would be landing on this tiny forgotten dock in the ship graveyard at HQ, Isuka didn't know. A slight breeze ruffled her personnel folder, and in the moment she looked away to resettle the papers, a blue dot appeared where the ocean meets the sky.

It took some time, but slowly the dot grew larger and larger until it became clear that it was a lanky man on a bicycle. Isuka stared as he approached, trying not to gape. He was an Admiral, not a spectacle! But really, it wasn't every day one saw a man bike across the open sea.

At last, he stepped up onto the dock, one long leg at a time, downright towering over her. He raised an eyebrow, looking down his nose as she saluted.

"Uhh…do I know you?"

"Lieutenant Isuka, requesting a transfer under your command, Sir!" Her folder of papers rustled as he stared at her blankly.

"Not the usual uh…way to transfer," Admiral Aokiji scratched the back of his head. "Tsuru-san or Garp-san would be the only ones to tell you to try this huh?"

She nodded, hope stirring in her stomach as he held out his hand for her folder. With a yawn, he dropped into a cross legged sitting position on the dock, putting his face at about eye level with her standing.

"Kinda awkward with you just standing…" he mumbled. Isuka flushed and sat down carefully next to him, her uniform crinkling. He flipped through her file, looking bored. Was that a good sign or a bad sign? She bit her lip, clenching her hands into fists to keep from fidgeting.

"Arara, you're the one who got Draw in trouble huh?" Aokiji spoke up suddenly, slapping her folder closed. Isuka winced but she couldn't deny it. No, wouldn't deny it.

"If I may speak Sir, Vice Admiral Draw was an insult to the Navy, to justice everywhere!" Her voice echoed a little off the water. Admiral Aokiji just looked at her, eyes unreadable.

"An insult to Justice huh? And tell me, Lieutenant Isuka… what is justice?" He turned to look out at the ocean, at the tiny ships, at the unending sky, clouds drifting like foam on a pond. She opened her mouth, about to say the first thing that came to her mind. Except. That was what Draw used to say. Justice was divine vengeance for wrong doing, the engine under which they operated. But that… that couldn't be justice. That kind of justice made space for people like him, who didn't care whom he crushed.

So then, what was justice? She looked down at her lap, eyebrows furrowing. Justice should be…for everyone, regardless if they were a criminal or not. It should have space for…a certain dark haired pirate with freckles crossed her mind. It should welcome good people, should not tolerate those who abuse it, and hear the voices of those all who need it.

"Justice should listen to people, Sir."

Aokiji tilted his head, considering her answer. "Listen to people…you sure about that?"

She swallowed, but nodded. With another yawn, the Admiral got to his feet again. She hastened to stand up after him, anxiety building in her stomach the longer he took giving her an answer. Could she transfer to his command or not?! The nerves only got worse as he fiddled with pulling his bike onto land, seeming to just ignore her.

"Um, Sir?"

He stretched his hands high over his head, looking for all the world like he'd just woken up before starting down the worn path back towards HQ.

"Sir?!" Isuka scurried after him, three steps for every one of his. "Sir, can I transfer or…?" she asked, nearly tripping over a rock.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry, didn't I say that?" No, he hadn't! She thanked him profusely anyway, jogging by his side until the path split. She needed to go left and he needed to go right. As she bowed and saluted, turning to head towards the barracks, Aokiji spoke up.

"Lieutenant, if your Justice tells you to listen to people, listen to their justices." With that, he gave her a backwards wave and went his own way.

"Transferring to Kuzan-kun's command, hmmm~?" Admiral Kizaru steepled his fingers, looking at her through his coffee stain colored glasses. She swallowed, hands in her lap and nodded once. Truthfully, she'd never had a direct interaction with Kizaru before, despite being in his command for many years under Draw. She had always been too low of a rank to matter to someone with literally thousands of soldiers under their command. Still was.

So it was definitely unexpected when she was asked to report directly to his office.

"That's too baaaad," he smiled at her, it was unnerving but she couldn't quite pinpoint why. "I like to have little…unpredictable cards in my ranks, can I do anything to keep you~?" She blinked, mouth gaping like a fish. Unpredictable? Her? She wasn't unpredictable! That was the problem! She followed orders and didn't look for the truth. If she had, she would have seen Draw for what he was sooner!

"I…" She was at a loss for what to say.

"My ranks have a little more space in them now, thanks to you after all, would be a shame for me to lose more~" That odd smile was still on his face.

"Vice Admiral Draw has been discharged, Sir?" she asked hopefully. The internal investigation had kept her separate from him, and with his high rank, the news of his corruption had been kept under wraps. She didn't like it, but there was only so much she could do.

"No, noooo, he's been demoted and transferred to the South Blue, some little city where we won't be bothered by his…incompetence."

Isuka's blood ran cold. "But Sir! He killed innocents!" Like her parents. Like her neighbors. Nausea swirled up her spine, the Admiral's office yellow accents almost pulsing in her vision.

Now Admiral Kizaru eyed her over his glasses. "He also saaaaved innocents." Like her. Like a number of other soldiers under his command. The curtains throbbed in her vision, the palms of her hands clammy like dead fish.

"Juuuustice, Lieutenant, is an incalculable scaaaale, and our motto is Absolute…the Governments of the World do place such interesting demands upon us hmmm?"

The walls of the Fleet Admiral's brand new office were spotless, the dusty smell of new paint had not yet settled. The desk in the middle was grand, and in contrast to the new walls, the new building, the new floors, the entire new base, was ancient. Swirls of carved plants followed the grain of the wood, all leading towards the center of the desk, forming a stunning six pointed star in the middle. Craftsmanship worthy of an Admiral.

She stood, hands clasped behind her back, staring forward. The newly crowned Fleet Admiral was finishing looking over a sheaf of papers on his desk, pen scratching. The white suit he wore matched the office well, far better than the blood red one that sat in the back of her nightmares every night. And with a pair of reading glasses on, he looked more the part of a stern father than the one who killed the man she…

Her thoughts veered wildly, focusing on anything but the sudden smell of smoke and rushing in her ears. The ceiling with no dust, the strangely branchless bonsai in the corner, the fact that everything was so so so sparse, not like Kuzan's paper cluttered office with old squishy couches and coffee cups. Would he have dragged those couches here too…?

"Lieutenant Commander, thank you for coming." Her Fleet Admiral said suddenly. Isuka's brown eyes refocused, jaw clenching as she saluted. He had not asked her to sit, and the fact that she was here at all felt so strange and out of place.

"As you may have heard, Admiral Aokiji has resigned. Until a replacement is selected, all his units are now under my direct command until further notice." Fleet Admiral Akainu's eyes were so dark, but they lacked the same… unreadable quality Kuzan's did. In them, she could see his focus, his direction. His conviction. It made her feel small.

"Yes, Sir." She wished she wasn't here. She wanted to return to her small quarters on her small ship. Wanted to return to sailing the seas like before the War. Return to the nights of crossing paths with a certain man, of…anything but now.

"You have a track record of uncovering corruption."

Isuka blinked. She supposed that was true. After Draw, she had gone on to discover a few other Marines with less than stellar practices, doing her best to root them out. None of them were as terrible as Draw, but the cries of people in pain were never too small to hear.

"I like that in an officer. I will not tolerate corruption in my ranks. Justice is pure, justice is righteous, and to deviate is not in my nature, nor should it be in the Navy's." His back was straight, command fitted to him like a glove. Like looking a solid wall in the eye. For a moment, she recalled seeing Vice Admiral Draw for the first time as she was pulled out of the rubble of her burning childhood home.

Isuka stared, the silence in the room deafening. What about the soldiers on the battlefield of Marineford? What about… for a moment, her knees wanted to crumple.

"Continue as you are, and you will go far. Dismissed."

"Please sit, Commander Isuka, have some tea."

Wind blew gently through the air, rustling the hanging vines of the wisteria tree. She kneeled gently onto the woven cushions, her long red hair covering up the bandages over her left ear. A recent wound, a lucky shot from a Blackbeard pirate. But her rapier had got him back, more even. A gleeful chill spread through her each time she recalled her finishing strike.

"Do you like SWORD?" Admiral Fujitora asked her, taking a sip from his tea, pulling her back to the present.

"Yes Sir, it allows me to follow my Justice." Though she had only decided to join SWORD a scant year prior, already she felt like she was following the right path. No Blackbeard Pirates would outrun her now. No more waiting to get permission to engage. Just go and go and go. Like Kuzan, but not stupid! How could he?! How could–

"Hmm… you have served under a number of different commands, have you not?" Her eyes followed his tea down to the small wooden tray between them.

"Yes Sir."

"And how have they shaped this Justice of yours?" He folded his hands into his long royal violet sleeves. Not a suit like Akainu, or Kizaru, or Aokiji. "You see… I did not come up through the ranks the way many of my equals did. The Navy Bureau of Investigations does things perhaps, differently. I thought you and I might be more kindred in spirit, after all, your record reads like something more from the NBI, than the standard Navy," Fujitora smiled at her. A kind smile, warm and friendly.

But suddenly she felt cold. Had they shaped her Justice? Kuzan with his… unreadable inaction, Kizaru with his…hands off unpredictability, and the terrifyingly pure drive of Admiral Akainu, though the man may damn them all. He did not mind her pursuit of the Blackbeard Pirates. SWORD was his brain child after all. But Justice demanded sacrifice! Sacrifice like–

"Is something wrong Commander?"

She blinked, shaking her head quickly, her limbs feeling full of ice. "Sir, may I ask you something before I answer?"

Fujitora tilted his head in surprise, before waving her onward.

"What do you believe Justice should be?" The vines whispered overhead, steam from her untouched tea drifting into nothingness. She watched as something rolled over his face, her eyes drawn to his scars.

"Once, a long time ago, when I could still see, I watched a man pull a drowning stray dog from a rushing river. The stray bit him in the attempt, but still, the man pulled it from the waters. He did not need to do this. The dog would not give him anything in return. And yet, he did so still."

Suddenly, Isuka's heart was beating very loudly in her ears. "I suppose, Commander, if I must be succinct, my justice is to be kind." Something split inside her.

"A SWORD-y huh? Going after whoever you don't like huh? Rahaha!" Admiral Ryokugyu laughed loudly, a cup of sake in his hand. The sun beat down hot on her head, the warship swaying on the waves underfoot. Paradise had decided to grace this day with the kind of summer heat that drove people to move elsewhere.

"Didn't expect ya to go after this guy though, he's not a Pirate." The laugh was gone as quickly as it appeared. Ryokugyu pointed at the man tied up at her feet. A mayor of a port city on Oaxaca, whom she caught arranging refugee farmers to be sold off to the slave trade to line his own pockets. Corruption as clear as day.

"He was making illegal trades, Sir." She stated. The Admiral laughed again.

"Yeah yeah, and we'll be sure to take his cut for the tribute. No need to send him to Impel Down when he pays his dues."

The world screeched to a halt. "But…but Sir." Her hands were up in protest, scars twinging.

The dark haired man fixed her with a stare. "You may be SWORD Captain, but stick with Pirates. They're the ones making the biggest trouble. After all, no pirates and this guy can't get up to anything funny huh?"

Rust spotted and splotched the peeling paint on the sides of the ancient battleships. The ocean stretched from one corner to the other. Ships dotted the water like drowning ants. Isuka leaned her forehead against her knees. If she tried hard, she could almost hear the echoes of all the people who had once come to this dock, hear herself asking for a transfer. Hear herself say that Justice listened.

Footsteps thumped the worn path behind her. She turned to look, eyebrows furrowing at who was walking her way. "Tsuru-chan said you'd be out here," Vice Admiral Garp rumbled. His gray suit had a small stain on the collar, fresh probably. Maybe ketchup. Maybe coffee. Maybe blood.

"Sir," She said quietly.

"Taking Koby getting captured hard huh?" She didn't even bother to nod. Of course she was. Everyone in SWORD was. The world was. A man actually deserving the title of Hero being captured by the most fearsome pirates on the seas… But truthfully, that wasn't what was bothering her. Koby had… given up his freedom to save the lives of 800 soldiers. Including hers. How was he so brave, how did he follow justice so easily? Why did she struggle so hard walking her path?!

"Don't worry, justice will prevail!" The Vice Admiral hooted. When she didn't smile or look relieved, Garp tilted his head.

"But which justice, Sir?" she whispered after a long moment. A lone seagull flew above their heads. "I've served under Admiral Aokiji, under Admiral Kizaru, under Fujitora and Ryokugyu. Joined SWORD at the Fleet Admiral's request…and…" the words caught in her throat.

None of them had room for Ace. Fujitora came closest, but would his kindness have saved Ace? Kind did not mean free. Kind did not mean without punishment. Kind did not mean…

Garp sighed, suddenly looking older than ever, his previous bravado gone. "All those idiots have ideas of justice that're like square pegs in round holes. If the hole is big enough, sure it'll fit, but that don't mean it's the right shape."

Her eyes widened. "But, then what is the right shape?" The words came out almost ragged from her throat. Garp tapped his lips, a far away look in his eyes. The tide rolled in slowly, the dusty blue of the sky high above beginning to turn pink.

"What do you think is missing?" he finally asked her. Not exactly what she was hoping for after waiting an age, but now it was her turn to mull it over. Her justice was to listen, to hear the voices of those who need it, but so many needed it in so many ways. Not all of it was clear or clean. Laws said one thing, her heart said another. Pirates did good, pirates did evil, soldiers did good, soldiers did evil. Everywhere the world was jammed between this dichotomy.

And always and forever, Ace was on that platform.

"Garp-chujo… i-is there, is there space for love in justice?" her lips trembled as the words left her mouth. Love drove people to madness but love also drove Koby to sacrifice himself. Love drove him to stop Admiral Akainu on the battlefield that gnawed at her dreams. Love drove her to keep trying to help others.

Love drove Ace's little brother to save him, love drove Ace to such heroic foolishness as to get in Admiral Akainu's way. And love… love wouldn't let her go.

The old Vice Admiral was looking at her gently, like the way one does a hurt child, or a dying soldier. "A justice built on love… that one might be the most dangerous of all."

Isuka buried her face in her knees, eyes hot, tears sliding down her cheeks. The sea continued to stretch from horizon to horizon, the sun continued on its path around the globe, turning her world to a riot of reds and oranges.

"But, wielded by the right person, maybe it'd be the right shape. Only time can tell." His huge hand, weathered and scarred, patted her on the shoulder softly. "Now come on, we've got Koby to save."

Isuka got to her feet, and followed after him.