Akainu was annoyed.
He didn't know whether he was annoyed at the crying man begging for his life at his feet or at the fact that his body's former owner was such a dickhead that it was currently causing him issues even after he was gone.
This is what happens when you try to be nice.
It all started after the Petty officer collapsed. At the time, Sakazuki thought it would be a good idea to take the poor schumck to the infirmary. Of course, several lower-ranked marines protested. They offered to take him instead, saying that an Admiral was far too important to waste his time looking after bottom feeders.
Sakazuki had merely waved their concern off. Seeing that he was the reason for the young man's current state, he believed that it was only right that he would be the one to do so. As well as make sure that the Petty Officer didn't get into deep shit with his superiors for failing to deliver what seemed to be several important documents and reports, especially when Akainu had taken a couple of those reports with him.
Akainu was fairly confident that as long he vouched for the younger marine, no punishment would befall him. No one is stupid enough to butt heads with fucking Akainu over a simple report.
Except maybe Borsalino. Not because he actually gives a shit about a report, but purely to fuck with Sakazuki. His old—and only- friend was a dickhead, after all.
The marines accepted, albeit reluctantly that he had a point.
Luckily, the infirmary was not far off from his location. Being located on the very same floor, it did not take him long to reach it, his comatose junior in his hands. However, for some reason, he noticed something about the men that saluted him along the way. Every single soldier they passed sported a solemn look, with a couple of them even throwing him some looks of regret towards the Petty Officer.
Sakazuki did not think much of it at the time.
After hearing his explanation, the doctor simply nodded and promptly began attempting to wake the passed-out officer. Alas, it was not an easy task. Drenching the poor bastard in cold water yielded no results. Putting horrid smells under his nose was equally useless.
"This calls for serious measures." Sakazuki had heard the doctor mutter under his breath. He was about to ask the doctor what he meant when the latter cocked his leg back and kicked the poor collapsed bastard in the head.
Now, Sakazuki was not exactly an expert healer or a doctor, but he was sure that kicking the comatose was something that would be very frowned upon in the medical field, at least back home. It seemed like the sort of thing to cause someone to lose consciousness, not regain it.
However, to his surprise, the kick seemed to have the desired effect as Sakazuki caught a small groan leaving the Petty Officer's lips. The doctor nodded to himself in satisfaction, as the nurses aww'd and ooo'd around him.
To be fair, Sakazuki had admitted to not being an expert. Though he would still bet that shit like wouldn't fly on Earth, and it only worked because humans in One piece were simply built different. But once again, he was no doctor. So did he know?
He turned his gaze back towards his junior officer. The young man cradled his head in his hands as he tried to get his bearings together. Slowly, the Petty officer let his eyes roam across the room trying to get a grasp of where he was. His eyes landed on Sakazuki's body and rose to meet his gaze. The Petty officer's eyes narrowed and an expression of confusion settled on his visage.
The staring continued for a while, long enough for Sakazuki to start getting uncomfortable. Did he not recognize him? "Y-you okay, mate?" Sakazuki asked as the young man kept staring at him for a couple of minutes.
In hindsight, Sakazuki should have taken advantage of those couple of minutes and left. It would have certainly spared him from a headache.
Hearing Akainu's voice must have jolted something in the Petty officer's memories. His eyes widened and all color left his face. In a flash of movement, far too fast than someone of his rank had any right to be, the Petty Office had launched like a missile towards Akainu's feet.
"Oi! Have you lost your mind!?" Sakazuki protested as he was nearly knocked off balance by the lower-ranked marine hugging his leg with both arms. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to turn his body to its original state before the officer could touch him. The last thing he needed was to accidentally burn a dumbass who was never taught not to hug magma.
Sadly, his words fell on deaf ears. The Petty Officer opened his mouth and let out what could only be described as a dying mystic animal's wail.
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! PLLEEEEASE, SIR!" The officer cried.
"What?!" Sakazuki exclaimed as he covered his ears. Fucking hell, he almost ruptured his eardrums. "What the hell are you crying for?"
"I'M SORRY" the younger man yelled as he hugged the Admiral's leg tighter. "I'M SORRY FOR DISRESPECTING YOU, SIR!"
Akainu raised his hands, palms facing forward in a placating gesture. "It's okay, son. I'm not actually mad- "
Akainu didn't get to complete his sentence before a wail of despair cut him off. He could not help but wince at the volume of the scream. The boy had a good pair of lungs; that's for sure.
"A demotion! Flogging! Torture is also fine by me! I'll gladly accept any punishment, so, please! JUST SPARE MY LIFE!"
Akainu could only watch in what could only be a mixture of annoyance and discomfort as the Petty Officer grovelled at his feet begging for forgiveness.
"O, HONORED ADMIRAL! PLEASE SPARE THIS ONE'S LIFE!" the young man cried out. The hopeful and relieved look Akainu had helped make earlier was long gone, replaced by an ugly mug of tears and snot hugging his feet.
Sakazuki had to stop himself from instinctively kicking him.
'Fucking hell, this is just sad.' He thought as he regarded the other man. Just how bad was his reputation among the troupes for things to escalate this badly?
Disrespecting a higher officer was definitely a grave fuck up for a junior marine to make, especially when the offended officer was a bloody Admiral. But even so, this was too much.
The Petty Officer seemed genuinely convinced that Akainu was going to kill him.
'I'm going to need one hell of a rebranding.'
Sakazuki let out a sigh as he dropped to his knees. He put his hand on the kneeling man. The man flinched at his touch, and Akainu's gaze could not hope but soften. Nevertheless, he tightened his grip slightly in reassurance. "Son, look at me." He said with a firm but gentle voice, the same tone a parent would use when addressing a child.
The Petty Officer did not raise his head immediately. His body remained unmoving for a couple of seconds. Nevertheless, he had seized his screaming, a good start as any.
"Raise your head, kid. A marine should always stand proud." Sakazuki repeated, injecting a tiny bit of authority into his voice.
This time, his words seemed to have the desired effect. Slowly, the Petty Officer lifted his head to look Akainu in the eyes.
"You are not in any danger. I do not intend to harm you. I was the one who struck up a conversation with you. If I wanted you to stroke my ego, I would have told you about my rank." Akainu spoke with a firm voice. He talked to the young man because he seemed like he definitely needed someone to vent his frustrations to. And because he was bored, but that was irrelevant to the point he was trying to make.
The Petty Officer said nothing, merely continuing to look at the Admiral with an expression of terror. So, Sakazuki reluctantly resumed his speech. "I know that I do not have the best reputation among the troops." That honor went to easily Aokiji. Akainu was the boogeyman veteran marines liked to scare the recruits with. "However, I am not an unreasonable man. I would never kill you unless you give me a good reason to, is that clear?"
The Petty officer gulped.
"Are you a pirate?" Sakazuki asked with narrowed eyes.
The Petty Officer shook his head vigorously.
"Are you planning to use your authority for evil and terrorizing the innocent?"
The marine shook his head once again.
"Then, all is well! "If you are neither a pirate nor a criminal, then I have no reason to kill you, right?" Sakazuki said with a small smile as he spread his arms in joy, dropping the Petty Officer on his ass. He had to admit, it felt kind of nice to give others a pep talk. Sure, the first one was somewhat pointless since the younger marine had seemingly forgotten everything he told him and focused on the entirely pointless fact that he had told an Admiral to get fucked.
Now! Sakazuki had a good feeling he had succeeded. He offered the Petty Officer his hand. "So what do you say? We cool?" He asked with a smile.
"Admiral…" The Petty Officer grabbed Akainu's giant hand with both of his hands. Tears welled in his eyes as he regarded Akainu's gentle smile.
Sakazuki felt a hint of pride as noticed his junior's expression. It was a stark contrast to earlier. These were not the tears of a coward, but of a real man! A proud member of the Navy! "What is it, son?"
"Can you please tell my wife that I died a brave man?"
Or an idiot who was too scared to pay attention.
"Admiral Akainu..? your face is scaring me! I'm sorry!" the Petty Officer said with a panicked tone as he looked at Sakazuki's face.
Sakazuki put his palm on the dumbass's face on and pushed him away. He stood unceremoniously and began heading towards the exit of the infirmary.
"ADMIRAL!?" The younger marine begged as he tried to grab his leg again.
Akainu kicked him in the face.
'Fuck this.'
He had shit to do.
"That's quite the scary expression you have, Admiral Akainu." The Chief of Staff remarked as she looked at the brat who dared to invite himself to her ship.
Akainu turned his head to look at her. "Tsuru-san." He casually greeted. "I was led to believe that I always sported a scary expression on my face."
"Indeed. But it is not always accompanied by a get-up such as this." She gestured to his clothes. If her memory didn't betray her, It had been at least decades since the magma brat had worn anything other than a formal suit. "I almost mistook you for a lost tourist."
"Vacation times call for vacation attire." He shrugged in his seat. "And you wouldn't be the first to make that mistake. Luckily, your crew proved to be very accommodating."
"I would say." She replied curtly as she observed the state of her direct subordinates surrounding the Admiral. Rear Admiral Doll held a massive fan and fanning the man, Commodore Anastasia was holding a tray of drinks, and Captain Rikka was playing a ukulele. Badly.
The rest of the ship's men were dancing. The spectacle would have been confused for a party had it not been for the terrified looks on their faces.
And if it weren't her goddamned men he was making a mockery of.
"Return to your stations!" Tsuru yelled and her subordinates scrambled across the ship. She turned her glare towards her 'superior'. "What do you think you're playing at, Sakazuki? Bullying my subordinates to entertain yourself."
"To be fair, since I'm an Admiral, everyone here is my subordinate to bully. Including you, Vice-Admiral Tsuru." He smirked
Tsuru's eyes narrowed and her glare intensified.
Sakazuki raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm joking, I'm joking, Tsuru-san. No need to get mad. The men seemed terrified in my presence, so I tried to lighten the mood." He laughed. He put his hand inside his jacket and pulled a folder out. He handed her the file with a smile.
The Vice-Admiral accepted it with a raised brow. Upon inspection, she realized that it was a report directed to her concerning her mission. A report she was supposed to receive several hours ago. "We spent half a day waiting for this. Why do you have it?"
"Thought I save you the trouble, and bring it myself," Sakazuki replied. He took a deep breath and continued. "There were… some complications with the delivery."
"I've heard. Apparently, the Petty Officer tasked with delivering it had suffered a mental breakdown." Tsuru closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment, missing the small twitch of Akainu's eye.
"Probably due to overwork."
"That is not an excuse. Marine soldiers should not be this pathetic." She reprimanded. An admiral of all people should be aware of this. "While I am...grateful, I don't think you would go through the trouble just to hand me a report. What do you want, Sakazuki?"
"Nothing much, just trying to catch a simple ride," Akainu answered simply. "I heading towards the East Blue."
"…There are other ships heading towards it. Get your ass on one of them. I have no time to play taxi for you."
"I just need you to get me out of the Calm Belt, nothing more." Sakazuki dismissed her insult with a wave of his hand. "Besides, none of the other rides would offer me a company as lovely as yours."
"Bah, do not patronize me, damn greenhorn." She said with an unimpressed look.
"No, I am actually serious. I have something, or rather someone, on my mind that I want to talk to you about."
Tsuru raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And who could that person be?"
Akainu lowered his sunglasses and gave her a piercing look that betrayed the smile on his lips.
"Gold Roger."
"That's quite the man you want to discuss, Admiral Akainu." She replied with a frown. "What good is there in talking about the devil that died long ago?"
You were one of the few marines who actually crossed swords with the crew of the Oro Jackson and lived. Surely, you exchanged a word or two with the so-called King of Pirates. " He spoke with rising enthusiasm.
The Red Dog was a usually calm man. The fact he was so worked up about something was a bad omen. "What are you trying to say, Sakazuki?"
Akainu grinned. She felt a chill go down her spine.
"Was Roger the type of man to lie in his last moments?"
