Chapter Thirteen: Raging Admiral and the Photo Issue
-------------------
Akainu grumbled to himself as smoke escaped his lips, holding the cigar in place as he sifted through some papers, desperate for a picture. Behind him, a large banner that exclaimed in large characters said "Thorough Justice". His eyes glanced up at the one photo on his desk, feeling irritating rage explode off of him.
He was not going to use that photo.
Now why was Akainu, one of the three Marine Admirals, looking for a photo?
Well, after getting an anonymous call that Baratie had experienced a disaster, he had heard some interesting information, leading him to call the lieutenant who was present at the time. That disgrace had looked so pitiful before him, looking as if he were about to piss his pants. It was fucking ridiculous. Not even you would looked like that before him.
But that wasn't what Akainu had focused on.
Fullbody reported that it was someone who looked like you, a female with H/l H/c hair with beautiful E/c eyes, and a very innocent personality, who threatened him with Garp's transponder snail.
Okay, so maybe that last part didn't make them that innocent.
But he obviously, he knew it was you. Who the else would have the same features and personality as you, and have possession of Garp's Transponder snail? He was pretty sure there wasn't anybody who looked like you within the Marine force, he made sure of that. The Admiral didn't want anything to jog his memory of you.
Well, unless it meant capturing you, which lead to his latest predicament: Finding the right photo
He slammed his desk in anger, frustrated that he threw away ever single photo he had of you after you had left the marines several years ago. Now he was seriously regretting it. All he had to use for a wanted poster was this photo that somebody purposely left for him that he was definitely not going to use. Chucking it away, he thought of Kizaru.
Kizaru had a lot of photos of you. There was so much in his room that Akainu questioned how the fuck he's always constantly taking photos. Akainu took one once, and Kizaru immediately noticed. It was like the light Admiral went through ever single fucking picture each day, and he was scouring the building for the missing photo.
It was a good thing he put it back before Kizaru suspected him, not that the man ever would.
Akainu shook his head, hands balling into fists.
He was not going to ask that man for a photo. His pride wouldn't allow it. And he was sure he wasn't going to get it without any teasing involved. His eyes gazed at the photo on his desk.
But then again, he wasn't going to use this photo either.
---
His footsteps echoed along the halls, tired from the constant training. Today was his somewhat of a rest day. Overhead, the lights would occasionally flicker, but they would never actually turn off. A sigh escaped his lips. When were they going to fix those lights? '
Walking past a storage room, he paused, stopping in his tracks. It was soft, barely audible, but Smoker could clearly hear it. Someone was crying. He tensed. Just ignore it, he told himself, but he had soon found himself opening the storage room door. Damn his conscious for not ignoring this. What kind of marine even cries anyways? A pathetic one?
The door creaked open, and Smoker peered into the darkness. The crying was louder now, and he couldn't pinpoint exactly where.
"Who's in here?" The crying abruptly halted, only small hiccups audible in the room. "Where are you?" He received no response. Was there some stowaway on Marine Ford? A child? Passing by the crates, he soon found himself beside a crouched figure, head buried into their knees. He bent down, seeing that it was a young girl probably a couple of years younger than himself. Her features were kind of obscured in the dark, but he could see the glimmer of tears down her face.
"You shouldn't be in here," he spoke, voice moderately deep as puberty had began to take it's toll on him. "How did you get here?" She lifted her eyes to peer up at him, one her hands coming up to brush the tears away.
"I opened the door." Her voice cracked slightly. Smoker's eyebrow twitched. "That's not what I meant." He sighed. "Let me rephrase, why are you here? Why are you crying?"
"I-I'm sorry... I just feel a little lonely..."
Smoker snapped his eyes open, groaning softly as he felt something heavy on his chest. Looking down, he saw the peaceful expression on your face as you drooled all over his shirt. Great. Now he had to wash his shirt. Looking over at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was roughly 3 am.
Tiredly, he leaned back, resting an arm over his eyes.
That dream; he remembered that memory as if it were yesterday. He clenched his jaw. All the memories of her he had locked away just kept resurfacing after you showed up. Just when he thought he was over his first love she just had to spring back. Every single thought about her made his heart ache in frustration and betrayal.
Smoker lifted his arm to stare at you. Those bracelets of yours continued to glow softly, and he realized that he never really asked you about them. It didn't seem dangerous- it was quite calming actually. He cracked a small smile, running his hands through your hair. The red bird you always had around curled softly beside your stomach, and he found it cute.
Maybe the world was telling him that it was time to get over his first love, sending you here to him.
He closed his eyes drifting back to sleep...
"Good morning Smokey!" Smoker woke up with a start, seeing your bright and cheerful face. You wiped the corner of your mouth. "Sorry I may have drooled on you a bit." He looked down at his shirt. There was a big wet spot on his shirt.
"It's fine." Yes, it strangely felt fine. Like he didn't care. You gave him a smile.
"Sorry. Anyways, I'm planning on looking around in town. I have a few friends who should be arriving soon." Smoker watched as you dug through your bag. Somehow, he found the action slightly suspicious. There was something on your mind, he knew that much. However, Smoker thought it was best not to pry, you seemed okay, so perhaps it wasn't that important.
"Sorry I can't go with you today. Can you tell Shigi I said hi?"
"I can do that." You cracked a small smile. "Thanks!" He watched as you grabbed your bag, slinging it over your shoulder, and headed out the door with your bird. "Oh and Smokey?" You asked, sticking your head through the door. "Thanks for being my friend." Smoker narrowed his eyes, remembering how dim your smile looked.
Those last words had felt more like a goodbye than a thanks. There was definitely something wrong.
---
"Next time they raise the price is raised, I'm not going to buy it, you hear?" Nami spoke to the news coo distastefully. The news coo immediately saluted in affirmation, not wanting to face the wrath of the all powerful Nami, before quickly flying off. Usopp shook his head.
"Geez, it's just a news paper."
"But if you get it all the time, the cost adds up!" Usopp glanced at Nami in confusion.
"Yeah, well you don't have to save up money to buy your village back from Arlong anymore." Usopp poured hot sauce to make his special Tabasco Star. "So why keep worrying about money?" Nami made a face.
"Idiot, that's exactly why I'm doing this. I'm saving money for myself! I can't be living like some cheapskate pirate! Besides- I have to pay our first mate back for lunch." Usopp raised a brow.
"Hold up, you mean that cute girl we saw at Baratie?"
"Yes! She was so generous to have paid for it! Ah! I'm glad we're finally going to get another girl on this ship!" Nami squealed. "It sucks having all this testosterone around." Usopp gave her a look.
"Uh huh." Suddenly, Luffy fell from Nami's tangerine trees onto Usopp, who spilled the sauce all over his eyes.
Oh, dear. He was screwed.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" the sniper screamed, eyes literally on fire.
"Why can't I have any tangerines?!" Luffy pouted at Sanji as the chef made his way down to the deck.
"This is Nami-san's tangerine grove, so I won't allow you to put a finger on it." Sanji clasped his hands together. "Isn't that right, Nami-swan~?"
"Thank you Sanji." Nami smiled happily as she flipped through the newspaper. Zoro scoffed, knowing full well that Nami was just using Sanji as a tool. Zoro was internally glad that you weren't like that. He didn't know if he could handle two Namis.
"The world's in such chaos now..." Nami mused, flipping to the next page. A slip of paper suddenly flew out. All eyes were on it as it floated along the floorboards of The Going Mary.
"Eh? A flyer?" Luffy wondered. The piece of paper flew until it landed softly on the floorboards. It was Luffy's wanted poster.
"..."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" The shock caused Nami to drop her newspaper on the ground, revealing another wanted poster. The five of them immediately recognized the person on the front.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" They had to take a double take at the picture. Luffy busted out laughing when he actually saw the picture.
"HAHAHA! Look at that picture!! It's so stupid!"
---
You sat in an alleyway nervously as you heard the footsteps of marine soldiers pass by, hand gripped tightly around the wanted poster in your hands. You had seen it coming. You knew that you would get a wanted poster today. You just wish it didn't have to end this way. Your hands clenched into fists.
And just when you started rekindling your friendship with Smoker. You let out a soft sigh.
Maybe the world was just telling you it was never meant to be. You pulled out your den den mushi, deciding to give your grandpa another call concerning you new wanted poster.
"Purupurupuru- Gacha."
"Y/n my precious granddaughter? It's been too long!!!" You sweat dropped a little.
"It's only been a couple of days grandpa, but I called because I wanted to.. ah, ask you about something." The paper crinkled in your hands, but it gave Garp a good idea of what you wanted to ask. The man sighed.
"You want to know about your wanted poster?" You bit your lip.
"Yeah.."
"About that..."
Over at Marine Ford where Garp sat at his desk was the new wanted poster list, and on the very top of the stack was none other than you. The photo showed a young you slung over a familiar flamingo's shoulder while the three admirals chased after him. In the left hand corner of the picture was Garp angrily yelling as he was being held back by Sengoku, and on the top right corner was Mihawk and Shanks drinking sake watching the whole ordeal.
Actually, Garp was mildly surprised that Akainu had actually chosen the familiar picture, considering the man's distaste for those pirates. However, the strange part of the picture was not the pirates and marines all in one photo, but the fact that they had no idea who had taken it. There weren't many photos taken of you in your early years (unless you counted the ones Kizaru had of you, then sure, but that man ain't planning on letting any of those go), so to have that picture suddenly show up on all their desks was... unsettling.
On the top of the poster was the single word "ALIVE", with your full name and bounty underneath the picture. L/n D. Y/n. Bounty: 500,000,000 berries. It was a ridiculous sum of money, but if Sengoku didn't have a say in it, it would have probably been even higher. Someone with a natural gift of power, an amazing intellect, having a possible unknown affiliation with the legend, being mentored by the Great Hawk Eyes Mihawk, as well as having connections to other powerful pirates, should have been well over 500,000,000 berries.
But the most shocking thing of all was that it had the word "ALIVE" on the top, though it should have been expected, especially with your affiliation with the three Admirals. Akainu was the one who requested it as Garp recalled a certain rice cracker loving Fleet Admiral mentioning. What the magma man was going to do to you when you were captured, Garp didn't want to know. He knew that the Admiral had always had a soft spot for you; all the Admirals did. So it couldn't be that bad... right?
"You're lucky that they didn't raise your bounty up higher. You're going to have to thank Sengoku for that." Your lip trembled.
"Yeah.. I'll make sure to thank him... Sorry gramps, I gotta hang up." You could feel the waterworks coming.
"Course. Stay safe."
"Gacha." Crouching down low, your limbs shook a bit. Everything was so sudden. You didn't want to have a bounty on your head. You didn't do anything wrong, but now the person you called friends were probably hunting you down in Loguetown. Again.
"Oi." Speak of the devil, there he was, in all his smoking hot glory. Your eyes glistened as tears cascaded down your cheeks. The man felt his heart twinge at what he was about to say, but couldn't do so as he was quickly enveloped in a bone crushing hug. You didn't know why you were hugging him, even though you knew that he knew, you just needed support. Even if it were for a second, you just wanted it. To feel secure.
Aggressively, he yanked you off and pushed you to the side, a glare forming on his face. The white haired man grabbed your wrist, pulling the you down the alleyway. You let Smoker lead you to a more secluded area, before he pinned you against a wall. Your bracelets rattled at the sudden movement and you recalled a similar situation with a certain flamingo. Your lip quivered at the intense look of hate and betrayal on his face.
It all felt too familiar.
"I-I-"
"Shut up," he growled. Why were you making this so hard without even trying?! "Why didn't you tell me you were a pirate?"
Ah. You were in deep shit now. "I-I- Uh-" You stumbled over your words as you tried to sort out her words. He slammed his fist against the wall, threatening you to spill at that very moment. Tears were welling up in the corner of your eyes now at the fact that you were going to lose the same friend once again.
"Why didn't you tell me it was you?!" You paled.
He knows.
"I-I thought you would leave me if you did," the you cried, making Smoker stiffen. Sure, he felt betrayed that someone he had warmed up to in the span of one week because of their aloof personality was in actuality a pirate, and that they could have been faking their personailty the whole time to gather information on the marines, but seeing that same 500,000,000 million bounty pirate really was just an insecure sweet heart that couldn't hurt a fly made him question the marine's choices.
It was you nonetheless! Was that man really that desperate to capture you?
Just one glimpse of that wanted poster sent him into a state of nostalgia. He remembered that picture because he had walked in on it, and was nearly trampled by the flamingo man himself. Speaking of flamingo, that pink blob he had saw fall out of the sky must have been him. He must have dropped you off, but why? Did it have something to do with the friends that you had coming over?
Smoker's eyes found your tear stained cheeks as he watched you cry, and he was suddenly having a fierce internal battle with himself. He just couldn't believe he was falling for his best friend all over again. The world just really enjoyed fucking him over, didn't it?
There were so many things Smoker just wanted to say to you, and his heart clenched to know that he was the cause of those tears. He wanted to apologize, to console you and tell you that he would never leave you again, but he was a marine, and that was what was stopping him from doing so. Marines and Pirates were natural enemies, right? His grip on her loosened, and he let his hands fall down to the side, watching you curl up into a small ball, whimpering out apologies.
Fuck policy.
Gently, he embraced you running a hand through her hair in an attempt to sooth her. He didn't know what he was doing as he was terrible at consoling people, but it seemed to be having an affect as you were crying less now, only hearing soft sniffles.
"Look." And he sucked at apologizes too. "I'm sorry for making you cry, but I'm a marine and you're a pirate, Y/n. Though I'm not sure why you're a pirate now..." You hiccuped, your teary eyes meeting his blue ones. Smoker's breath hitched. "But I- I have so many things to say to you.. Why did you leave? Why didn't you tell me it was you? When you told me that you were going to leave the marines I was so confused! I thought we were going to capture pirates together, so why did you become one instead?"
"Sorry Smokey..." He shook his head, sighing. The last time he had seen you before you left was terrible- he was terrible. He practically blew up in your face and made you cry. And now you show up wanting to be friends again, and he was doing it again. Making you cry.
It just felt as if time were repeating itself
"No, I'm the one who should be saying sorry." He paused, realizing the depth of the situation. Most of the marines on Loguetown were aware of this new development, and would be hunting you down. That in itself would be a problem, but... Smoker fought the urge to face palm.
All of the marines who served under him didn't exactly want to capture you anyways (stupid idiots), and Tashigi, well, she had a mental breakdown.
So anyways, technically, you were off the hook in Loguetown, but he didn't want any of the admirals to come and find you. He was sure Akainu deduced that since you were in the East Blue you'd pass by Loguetown, and it's been a roughly a week already. Who's to say that Akainu wasn't already on his way? Then again, he would probably be alerted if that were the case...
"Look Y/n, I'm sure you want to talk things over, but I-..."
"D-Do you need some time to think it over?" He pressed a palm to his face.
"Yeah. Now, because it's you (and I like you), I'm going to let you go, okay?" He earned a small nod of confirmation from you. "Good. Now when you get off this island, we're going to be-"
"Enemies?" you croaked out, voice shaking.
"We can be friends, but it'll have to be a secret." This woman was going to be the death of him, but in his heart, as long as you were happy, he supposed it would be okay. That was the thing about love- you do stupid things. A smile began to crawl up your face.
"Can I visit you?"
Don't say yes. Don't say yes. Don't say yes. Don't say-
"Yes." God dammit.
You a smile was on your face, and you moved to snuggling into him. A blush made its way onto his face, and he reminisced the feeling. What the heck was he doing, getting soft with his former best friend. But then again, what he did felt strangely right, and that maybe once again, he would have a chance at your heart.
"Could you just tell me one thing?" You looked up at Smoker in confusion. "Why did you call yourself lady Phoenix?"
And when did you get a bird? Smoker wanted to add.
---
Author's Note:
Is this chapter too cringy? Yes? Cool. Oh yeah, and Strawhats will be in the next chapter, that I promise you. Maybe.