She was tired, cold and the rain made her shiver. She clutched her cloak, wrapping it tighter around her body. It did little good to block out the cold and rain, for it had been raining already for hours and the tightly woven material of her cloak had let the rain seep through long before. The rain was starting to let up when she rounded a bend in the road and looked into the distance, her brown eyes widening at the sight before her. She saw a sea of tents in orderly rows, people walking around on their own errands. She could see smaller fires dotting the rows of tents were small gatherings of men had made their own for convenience. As she came closer following the other people coming to join the army, she drew back her hood just enough for a few orange locks to fall into her eyes. She shifted the hair away as she made her final trek to the recruiting tent.
Garp looked down upon the tents below the hill. Behind him his large command tent with it two flags blowing in the wind, the Jackal and Falcon flying on the Kingdoms banner, and his own personal banner flying an Iron fist. Monkey D. Garp high commander and great general of the kingdom of Alabasta, given the great honor of bringing the western regions back under the king's reign, and law. His many victories in previous years had earned him command of the mission of recapturing the land from the westerners who invaded no less than 8 years ago. He was content, looking down at the road near the base of the hill watching as men walked into the camp to enlist in hope for a steady income and food. His eyes wondered toward the horizon, his mind pondering what route they should take.
Garp looked up when the rustle of clothes brought him out of his thoughts.
"Ace, what brings you here?" looking at the well built younger man. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and brown shorts underneath a heavy cloak covering his body.
"You called for me Grandpa?" Ace said smirking wide at his grandfather's stupidity.
"Gwahahahahahaha!" laughed Garp, a small sweat drop formed on Ace's head as Garp continued to laugh far longer than he needed to.
"Where Luffy?" Garp said looking around.
"He's not coming, he's too afraid you'll hit him, so he's lying low for awhile." Ace said smiling as his grandfather cracked his knuckles grin splitting through at the thought of doing just that to his disrespectful grandson. Ace laughed seeing the gesture, the thought of Garp hitting his younger brother bringing a smile to his face. Searching his pockets he pulled out a small flask swirling the green liquid inside.
"You and your alchemy." Stated Garp looking at the flask, remembering the last time Ace had accidently let Garp open one burning off his eyebrows. Ace laughed as he saw Garp flinch.
"The war council is waiting for you General" Garp looked up at the quick turn in conversation, nodding as he walked back to the large tent sighing as he knew he probably would be yelled at for wondering off during such an important meeting.
Leaving a smiling Ace watching as Garp swaggered to the tent, before the tent flap swung shut Ace saw one red faced officer yelling as Garp tried and failed to look apologetic. Ace walked away back to his own tent and for some lunch.
A pair of sky blue eyes watched as the young man walk happily away, she giggled as she slipped back into the forest her black hair swinging behind her as she easily made her way on a path leading down away from the command tent.
The orange hair fell once again back into her eyes she quickly tucked it behind her ear, a small sigh leaving her lips. Ahead of her the long line of the recruitment line had quickly shorten to her just outside the tent. For the last while she had seen the men who had gone through run out the back joining the troops beyond the recruitment tent.
"Next." A smooth voice from inside the tent called. She took a deep breath as she moved inside. Sitting at a folded table was bespectacled man his black suit of fine quality. He adjusted his glasses using the palm of his hand, his glasses reflecting the light momently as the settle back on the ridge of his nose. "Well, don't just stand there. Sit." The man gesturing to a chair across the table from him, she unslung her bag, sitting down in the chair.
"My name is Kuro, I will be assigning you to your captain." His voice was unemotional and uninterested. But his eye's shown with a light that there will be no question to his authority or his final decision. "Name?" pulling out a fresh paper from a pile to his right, dipping a pen into an inkwell as he before he looked up.
She had planned for this painstakingly changing her appearance, the way she sounded even trying to keep her face rugged and dirty as to prevent her feminine features from attracting too much notice. But before this man called Kuro, in front of her, she felt exposed. She stared dumbly into his eyes at a lost of what to say. Kuro simply swallowed a curse about how too many women were trying to enter the army these days, before snapping the young girl out of her thoughts. For she was a girl, he noted though no matter how she tried, her thin build, and obvious feminine curves, even hidden under the leather armor she wore spoke to her identity. But her face covered in dirt charcoal and smaller finery of makeup could not hide her womanly features. Light pink lip, long eyelashes over large pools of brown, even Kuro a misogynist by nature could tell she was beautiful. "Speak up now, Girl!" he put special emphasis on girl watching the others reaction.
She sighed put on a weak smile, knowing that all the planning, had simply been a waste of time, she said simply, "The names Nami."
Nami took a long breath of fresh air as she walked out of recruitment tent, Kuro had picked and prodded her every statement, looking for something anything to deny her, to send her on her way. She had told him most of the truth she was from a small village, a refuge from the invaders from the west. She had decided to join to earn a steady income for her family and to hopefully one day have her village reclaimed by the kingdoms armies pushing west. She was a self-taught cartographer or some skill showing Kuro some of her works seeing his eyes open wide at the detailed maps shown to him. She claimed her proficiency with a staff and if needed a spear. Kuro had simply and neatly written down everything she said in a crisp but legible hand. She took another deep breath as she began her small walk to her new unit.
Kuro sighed using his palm of his hand to once again reposition his glasses unto the bridge of his nose. He jotted down one last small note, thief, he had seen her kind before, money loving, sneaky and very hard not to trust. He smiled to himself remembering the old days when he to was like that, but much more blood thirsty correcting himself idly, his mind relieving for a short time the past.
Nami found herself walking by more and more people as she came closer to her destination. She heard the word girl, and a man's domain as she walked by. Behind her some rather cruder comments were yelled out that made her blush forcing her to hid deeper within her hood, the group of men who yelled it out laughed all the loader at her actions, forcing her to walk a little bit faster. She berated herself for even thinking that she could pull off acting as or pulling off being a boy for any amount of time. Nami came to a short stop ahead around one of the many larger fire was a gathering singing and dancing, eating and laughing, men were enjoying themselves. She slowed to a stop as she realized it wasn't just few men it was many some sitting just outside the circle in smaller groups but enjoying the actions of the men fooling around near the fire. She walked over to one of the smaller groups of men asking where captain of this unit was? The man simply pointed to the fire jokingly yelling to her. "He's the one stuffing his face." All the men around him burst out laughing and returned to enjoying themselves. Joking about their captain as she walked closer to the center of the mass of men.
Sky blue eyes, searched the crowd of on lookers, enjoying the smiling faces, put there-by-there ever-grinning captain. She was one of the few people who noticed the orange haired girl as she came close to the inner circle seating her self down as she enjoyed the smell of cooking meat and the chance of getting off her feet after a long days trek.
The orange haired girl felt a powerful gaze on her, started looking around finding the sky blue eyes staring back at her. The woman was a beautiful. Dark skinned, with long flowing black hair, her attire was greens and greys and brown patched together. She blushed at how much the clothing hugged the women figure as well as how much of her ample bust was displayed. She touched her own cloth bound chest feeling the need to give her own sizable bust some freedom. She shook her head at the thought, she brook her gaze away from the seductive gaze of the other women and allowed her gaze to take in the scene before her.
The dark haired women, with sky blue eyes giggled to herself as she watched the young girl react under her gaze. She shifted herself turning her attention back to the man with the straw hat. She smiled her eyes reflecting the flickering light of the fire.
Nami wondered around the camp asking questions from those she past about her new leader. Some of the men were to drunk to make much sense, others just called him and idiot and obnoxious. From what she learned Monkey D. Luffy, grandson of General Garp, captain in the 4th company under Commander Smoker was a well-respected captain. She came close to the center fire pit of the 4th company. There she saw him dancing food in his hands as three men to one side played their instruments. He was no more then 17 years old, but he had risen in the ranks because of his own strength and strong will, he was kind hearted, open and truthful. His men followed him because that was what they saw and who he was down at heart.
Nami watched, after asking around, at her new captain young and wild, his head covered by a straw hat and a large grin as he danced from group to group. She watched as he laughed with his men, talk to them become the brunt of a few jokes and making a fool himself. She was intrigued who was her new captain, 'an idiot' came a thought as she saw him for the third unsuccessfully try to pilfer a piece of meat from one of the chiefs cooking the food.