In the Interest of Justice

Chapter 4

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Ah, he's missed it.

Monkey D. Garp inhales the sharp, crisp scent of the ocean mist, large arms folded across his broad as a barrel chest as he stares out across the open sea.

Roger had done it again, had somehow bested the odds and claimed victory. Against Shiki's entire fleet, and over half those boats had been sunk in the sudden storm, disappearing into the fathomless depths of the ocean below.

It's exactly what he's come to expect of his rival, that's for sure.

His fingers itch with the sheer eagerness to capture the pirate, to bring him to justice for his crimes, for his shameless life of piracy.

"Vice Admiral, sir! Roger Pirates, off the port bow!"

Anticipation thrumming through his veins, Garp shrugs off his jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he strides to the front of the ship. The scout is right, the Roger Pirates are right there. He can see the blazing red head of hair that belongs to the little scrap of the boy Roger had picked up at some point. Sharp or Shinks or something; Garp doesn't care for the damn brat, it's not like he'll ever cause the Vice Admiral any problems, now or in the future.

No, it's Roger he wants, and it's Roger he'll get.

He's going to catch the bastard this time, Garp can feel it in his bones.

The sun shines down form overhead, it's golden rays promising him that this time his rival won't slip away from him.

"Vice Admiral Garp, sir! It, it seems like Roger's going to throw someo-"

Something does indeed come sailing towards them and Garp scowls. Roger has never, never thrown any of his crew at them before, he's always face Garp head on. So what is the-

The figure flying towards him is familiar to him. Intimately familiar.

Mouth wide open, Garp can only intercept the small form in empty shock, barely having the piece of mind to catch the second figure that follows up not too far behind the first one.

This one is much taller, much grumpier, but unquestionably as familiar as the first.

One child in each hand, Garp stares down into the coal black eyes of his kids, his fists shaking.

What the fuck-

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Huddled neatly into the crow's nest of the Oro Jackson and secured to the mast by a tie of rope around her waist, Kitsune edges closer to the railing, peering over the top to watch the aftermath of all that is going on around her.

Both Dragon and Roger had refused to let her anywhere near the battle that had just occurred, though when Rayleigh tried ordering Dragon to safety as well, her big brother had just given Shanks and Buggy a very obvious look and refused to so much as budge an inch.

Really, they'd needed his help. It'd been Dragon's new storm powers that'd whipped up the big hurricane, typhoon, monsoon (and whatever other weather he'd thrown in there) that'd taken down so much of Shiki's fleet after all. The Devil Fruit had made her big brother even stronger.

Kitsune's pretty sure there are stars in her eyes as she climbs over the side of the crow's nest to drop down to the desk, but they're stars planted there by Zeus himself. Purposeful in their positioning, that's for sure.

The tie on her waist doesn't let her go all the way down though, winding her in the process.

Gasping for breath, Kitsune hangs helplessly from the rope, Buggy and Shanks too exhausted from the fight to even drum up the courage to laugh at her.

"Help me down!" She insists, scowling fiercely when they find the willpower to smirk over her situation.

"Little Sister, you were supposed to remain hidden until I fetched you."

Dragon has caught the rope in one hand, lifting her up until they're at eye level. There's a splatter of blood over his face that, with her new and improved sense of smell, Kitsune can tell does not originate from her brother. Though he does have a doozy of a bruise stretching across his left cheekbone.

Kitsune stares at it quite blatantly, unable to tear her gaze away. While she'd not been able to keep her big brother in her sights the entire time, she hadn't realised he'd been without the weight of her gaze long enough to gain such a corker of a bruise.

"The idiot elbow me," Dragon explains, gesturing to both Buggy and Shanks. She's not quite sure if he's referring to them as a collective unit or just can't remember which one it actually was that hit him but Kitsune doesn't care enough to even try and figure it out.

"Okay, they both suck, got it. I don't wanna marry you after all, Shanks."

The redhead chokes alongside his big-nosed friend, flapping his arms about uselessly until the ship doctor slaps him atop the head and tells him to calm down if he wants to be attended to. They both look quite silly, slouched out on the deck as they are, all bloodied and bruised. Dragon's barely injured; her big brother is already such a badass.

"Big Brother, what's it like having storm powers? Why didn't you fight as a dragon? You could have sunk so many ships!"

Kitsune could see it already; Dragon's huge scary Zoan form (probably in a colour as dark as his demeanour) tearing through ship after ship. Dragons can fly, can't they? They sea wouldn't bother him in the slightest. Her big brother probably looks so incredibly graceful when flying, he's sure.

"I want you to take me flying!" Kitsune declares, thumping her closed fist down on her brother's arm as he finally undoes the knot holding her waist hostage, pulling her into his hold instead. He smells rather sweaty, though that's no doubt because of the battle. That's why the scent gunpowder and blood and steel clings to him, the sweat is his own though. Dragon sweat.

"If I fought as a dragon, then when I next used the ability the marines would link us to Roger, Little Sister. I will take you flying when I feel confident in it myself."

One large hand pats at the top of her head and Kitsune smiles, tucking herself into Dragon's wide bulk. His gait is smooth; for all that he's tired from fighting Dragon isn't injured, not that she could ever picture her beloved big brother getting injured.

"Little Kit."

Dragon nearly doesn't halt at Roger's voice, she has to pull on a lock of his shoulder length hair to halt his progression.

Roger looks a fright; his hat is absent and in the terrible Dragon-induced weather his hair has suffered something awful. It's sticking up and flung in every direction; it looks like he's been struck by lightning and then pelted with hail and rain and then thrown into a hurricane. Which, despite all those weather phenomena that'd hit, surely all couldn't have happened to him.

"Yes, Pirate King?"

At that, Roger grins, bright wide; it's the signature 'D' grin, Kitsune's seen it on Dragon's face, felt it on her own.

Dragon shuffles her about in his arms and Kitsune clings a bit tighter to his shoulders, still peering at the man who will become the Pirate King.

"Let's talk later. You're an interesting little squirt and I have stories I'll want you to share."

"Okay."

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Later turns out to be the very next day. The weather is blissfully pleasant, no hail the size of her head raining from the sky. Dragon is slowly working through a series of exercises, flexing his Devil Fruit at the same time by transforming his skin to scales and back. He's a fetching shade of midnight green; it suits him.

Sitting on deck, Kitsune eagerly fidgets in place as Roger dumps a picnic basket down between them, dropping onto the deck a moment after. He's got a bandage around the side of his neck where a stray bullet got a 'near miss', but that's the only injury she can see he's been wrapped up for.

"So, stories. I love stories, Dragon stopped telling me bedtime stories when I learnt to read," Kitsune declares, eagerly pulling open the picnic basket to find her favoured sandwiches inside.

"If that were true, he wouldn't have been telling you any stories at all, Little Kit." Well, the man has a point there, Kitsune concedes.

Chomping down into the fluffy white bread, she chews something fierce, the meat a burst of flavour across her tongue, the subtle aftertaste of cheese drifting in once the ham disappears.

"What kind of stories do you want to tell me then, Mr Pirate King?" It feels good to not have to really watch her words. Roger knows all that she knows, after all, there's nothing here that she could possibly spoil, that much is obvious.

"How I met Rouge. I fell in love with her right away, you know. But she's stubborn. I asked her to marry me as she said no!"

Kitsune cocks her head to a side, considering the captain of the Roger Pirates. Yes, she could see him proposing, wanting to claim Portgas D. Rouge in any and every way he could.

"Why would she say no?"

"Because this idiot proposed the moment he laid eyes on her," Rayleigh mutters as he passes by them on the way to the mast, shaking his head and Kitsune laughs from her belly. She could certainly see that; Roger falling head over heels for the beautiful blonde woman, the woman who probably didn't have a clue who this great big gorilla of a man was. No wonder she said no.

"Did you ask her again?"

"I ask her every time I see her," Roger murmurs with a wistful sigh, planting his chin onto the meat of his palm, elbow on his knee and a fond smile on his face, "and I'll ask her every time I see her until she says yes. Even when we're dead, I'll not let the issue rest."

Roger's smile is full of love and adoration and hope and he's completely gone on that woman.

It has Kitsune smiling, cheeks full of food but still rising with the force of her smile.

"Tell me all the stories! I wanna know your love story, Mr Pirate King."

"And then you'll tell my boy how I won the heart and mind of the most amazing woman I ever encountered. So pay attention, Little Kit, for you'll have to remember it all."

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She'd walked away from their little picnic with more tales of the Pirate King than she'd ever hoped to have collected, probably with more tales of him than anyone outside of his crew would ever have.

She'd also walked away with her hair pulled into cute little ponytails that hung before her collarbones (the Pirate King had tried plaiting her hair, but turns out he failed miserably at it so he'd made-do), and Roger's declaration she'd make a fine god-parent for his little Ace.

It's a title she'll wear with pride, Kitsune decides.

When the brat's born, anyway.

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Hanging from her father's fist, Kitsune stares up into appalled eyes set in an aghast face and does her best to smile.

"Hi, Papa."

Garp looks... lost. As if his brain can't quite work out what is happening around him, as if it's about ready to throw out attempting to figure out what's going on and just start blasting through walls.

Flying through the air from one ship to another had been pretty cool, though come to think of it there had been a fair portion of that flight spent over the ocean, the ocean she could now drown in given that she's consumed a Devil Fruit.

But hey, it's passed now, she's on a ship and not in danger anymore. Or rather, not in danger from anything other than Garp's temper.

Speaking of temper, Kitsune flicks her gaze to Dragon. He too hangs limply from their father's grasp. Well, limp might not be the word for it; he's got his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face and a flash of determination in his eyes.

The marines could say whatever they wanted about Roger, but he was unquestionably the most inspiriting man Kitsune had ever had the opportunity to meet. She's glad that he ruined Dragon's trip. Not only has she walked away having devoured a rather powerful Devil Fruit, but she's got plenty of stories about the future Pirate King that she'll be able to tell her future god-son and nephew about.

"Kitsune. Dragon."

Garp's voice draws Kitsune back to the present, her father's arms giving a minute tremble of rage.

"Vice Admiral, sir! Roger, he's..." Kitsune only half recognises the subordinate that trails off at the sight of them, because for all that she only sort of recognises him, the man clearly knows exactly who she and Dragon are.

"Father," Dragon grumbles in greeting, the sound much like Kitsune would imagine his dragon-voice to be like. Come to think of it, Dragon does have a very dragon like presence, all tall and dark and intimidating. He has the kind of voice that you'd expected a dragon to have too, the kind that would rumble like thunder, the kind of noise that'd tumble across the slate grey stone that leads to the beast's lair in a mountainside cave.

"What are you two doing here?!"

Shaken back and forth, Kitsune has to physically hold her head for it feels like the force of Garp's movement would knock it right off.

In a panic, Kitsune turns to Dragon for answers, pressing her own lips together because what is she supposed to say to that?

"Damn brats!" Garp bellows throwing them both over the side of the ship to 'cool their jets' in the ocean. Which at any other time in their relationship, hadn't been a problem.

Now that neither she or Dragon can swim however...

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Garp personally drags the two of them out of the water.

Huddled beneath a thick, adult-sized blanket that wraps thrice around her tiny body with excess material to spare, Kitsune can only watch in open mouth awe as her father hurls cannonball after cannonball at the retreating Roger Pirates. Each one misses, and Roger shouts his goodbyes to them over Garp's near incoherent bellows of rage.

It turns out Garp is not impressed by their consumption of Devil Fruits, even more so when he realised that those fruits had been given to them by Roger himself.

Drawing the blanket tighter around her form, Kitsune peers out from the fleecy fabric, pressing deeper into Dragon's side as he too watches their father.

"He doesn't seem to be taking this well," Kitsune notes, puffing out her cheeks with a mouthful of air, lips pursed together in order to keep them inflated.

Dragon hums, one of his big arms curling around her back in much the same manner as she imagines a dragon's tail would move. stealthily, strong and imposing. Oh, and Greedy.

Big brother has no intention of passing off her care on anyone else; that's a good thing. Kitsune doesn't want anyone else looking out for her, she has Dragon after all.

"Are you hungry, Little Sister?"

"Always. There's food on board Papa's ship, isn't there?"

Forcing her feet to steady and take her weight, Kitsune pushes herself into standing, the blankets dropping to the floor and swallowing her tiny form as it pools upon the deck. She pouts. That's going to make walking infinitely more difficult.

"Little Miss Monkey?"

Looking up at the figure that'd (or tried to at least) announced that Roger was escaping, Kitsune brightens.

"You know where the food is, right, Suit-Guy?"

A large hand clamps down on the excess material of her blanket burrito, hoisting Kitsune into the air once again before Dragon balances her against the side of his hip. This luckily requires no help from her, a good thing given that her legs are still trapped in her cocooned like state. She wiggles her toes, but they are still very much there and very much mobile, so she hasn't lost those yet. That's good.

"Lead us to the food. He'll tire himself out eventually and come looking for us, and I would rather this chat happen with full stomachs."

Dragon throws a glance to Garp over his shoulder as he speaks, watching the man lob cannonball after cannonball, despite the distance between each exploding projectile and the Oro Jackson growing further apart with each instance.

"...Of course. Please follow me."

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Just as Dragon predicted, as soon as Garp had given up the ghost he'd come storming into the cafeteria, grabbed Kitsune by the back of her shirt and Dragon by the ear, and then he'd proceeded to turf them from their seats and march them to his own cabin. There, well-

"You idiots! Eating Devil Fruits! How could you! Why would you! How did you even leave the island?!"

Kitsune sits on Dragon's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist, her hair still pulled into the styled-by-Roger pigtails, and she wonders if Garp even wants those questions answering.

When the silence persists, she considers answering them because he's clearly waiting for it, but Dragon beats her to the punch.

"Seeing the world from outside the safety of the marines is a good idea. How else are we supposed to understand the world around us?"

Garp's face begins turning a fascinating shade of red.

Kitsune observes it with wide eyes and parted lips. Why he's turning red she has no idea. Dragon's thought process all seems perfectly fine to her. What's wrong with wanting to see the world through glass stripped bare of any falsities? To see nothing but the truth?

"You damn brat! Do you realise what could have happened had it been any other pirate?! Roger's a bastard, but he's not one that'd hurt kids just because you're related to me. Other pirates aren't like that! You risked your life and your sister's on this damn adventure!" Garp slams his fist into Dragon's head, not even bothering to declare it a Fist of Love (though really it might be a Fist of Punishment or Retribution or something) as he does so.

Kitsune flinches, mouth popping open in horror and her arms coming up to defend her own noggin, but Garp makes no move to lay one down upon her. It would see she has escaped with the excuse of her 'innocent age', and if she can get away with it she'll play that up for all it's worth.

"You damn brats! Sit in here and think about what you've done! I need to, to go-" Garp cuts himself off with an unidentifiable noise that can only be made from pure rage and frustration. He's so angry that he actually uses the door to leave instead of powering through the wall as normal, and Kitsune can only stare at the door that swings shut in honest surprise.

That, that she hadn't been expecting.

She can sort of see why Garp is so upset, but at the same time, she can't. This world is full of danger, and now they're learning about it properly, travelling and adventuring and she knows Dragon is right. Revolution is needed in this world, that is an unquestionably truth.

How will they be able to learn the real state of things if they're only observing through the marine approved vision of the place? They'll never get to see the gritty underbelly of things that way.

Admittedly she might be a bit too young for this, but Kitsune doesn't care about that. She's young in body but old in soul. Maybe young in mind too, she's not sure anymore.

What matters is that Dragon had thought it a good idea and they've both come out of this little journey better off for it, what with their new powers and her somewhat tentative alliance with the Pirate King.

Even if it's just a simple 'I'll keep your secret so you keep mine'.

Regardless, that's enough for her to consider the adventure a true success.

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"Oh my."

Standing at the railings, Captain Kuzan stares at the approaching ship with a strange sensation of eager trepidation.

He'd already received a transmission over the Den Den, so he'd been well aware that Garp would be stopping by. All he'd been able to make out through the man's furious grumbling was that he would be entrusting Kuzan with precious cargo that he was to return to Headquarters with and hand off to Sengoku who would 'know what to do', to use Garp's own words.

Never mind that Sengoku himself is still out there, probably cornering Shiki the Golden Lion as the pirate limps off to lick his wounds from Roger. Or something to that effect.

Flexing his fingers, Kuzan allows them to shimmy from ice and back again, the beautiful colouring shivering beneath the light of the sun.

On the Grand Line it's a blessing to have a sunny day at all so he's not about to complain about the fine weather. But a little more wind would make travel that much quicker. Oh well, there's nothing that can be done for that as things are, so right now he should probably best focus on accepting whatever package Garp is about to entrust him with.

What he is not expecting is for the marine he so looks up to storming onto his vessel with a face like thunder.

Were it any other day, Kuzan would assume it was because the man had failed to capture Roger. The man's like an eel, slippery and has an awful tendency to disappear back into the ocean at just the moment you think you've got him grappled into submission. The devil himself, Garp sometimes whispers. But even then he speaks with a light in his eyes, bright and full of life, the thrill of the chase.

Right now, Garp's eyes are full of something alright, but it's more a divine righteousness than anything else. It has Kuzan straightening despite his lazy posture, despite his lacklustre tendencies.

Now is not the time to try Garp's patience, not that he would ever do such a thing. The man's a legend and Kuzan's not stupid.

"Kuzan!"

The fact his name is barked without the usual warmth is indication enough even if he hadn't noticed all the other differences. Speaking of differences...

The marine captain tries not to allow his eyes to linger on the duo following after Garp but it's difficult. One with the mood and temperament of a thunderstorm, the other a bright bundle of sunshine all but bouncing along beside the stormy one.

Kuzan knows who they are instantly, can recall the whispers and the gossip from his fellow marines from the visit he'd missed.

It would appear that he'll be meeting Monkey D. Kitsune after all. Along with her older brother, Garp's eldest. Though really, they're rather different. One soft, the other hard. One storm-clouds, the other as bright as the sun.

"Get them both to Sengoku!" Garp snaps, pushing his teenaged son forwards, who snarls back and pulls a fierce face, near mutinous in his actions. Clearly irritated or upset about something.

In contrast, the little girl launches herself up into Garp's arms, tiny limbs wrapped around Garp's thick neck as she presses a slobbery kiss to his cheek.

"I love you, Papa!"

Garp the Fist, feared Vice Admiral of the marines and unstoppable force of nature crumbles like a soggy biscuit.

"Papa loves you too!"

With his arms folded and looking entirely unamused at the spectacle before him, the teenage boy that Kuzan actually doesn't know the name of scowls something rotten.

"Papa! You gotta hug Dragon too! He needs a hug."

"Kitsune-"

Dragon, as the boy is apparently named, attempts to scold his sister, but Garp is clearly putty in the little girl's hands because he pulls his son in for a back-breaking embrace that the boy doesn't even try to fight. Probably realising how futile such a thing would be, Kuzan theorises.

"Be good for Kuzan, Kit. And Dragon-" Garp trails off, matching his son's scowl with one of his own before. Like a bolt of lightning, his famed fist descends upon the boy's head.

Kuzan's mildly impressed the kid's still standing after the impact.

"Don't you dare do anything that stupid again, you damn brat!"

"Watch me!" The snarl rumbles through the air, a Grand Line storm rolling in as if sensing the mood.

Kuzan's brow lifts at the sight but he says nothing more. This is a D he's going to be dealing with, a D that carries himself as if he's already set his goal. From the looks of it, the kid's not going to be as dedicated to the Marines as his father, though Kuzan's struggling to picture the teen as a pirate. Something about the label just doesn't fit.

But if he's not going to be a pirate, then what has the kid decided upon?

A short tugging at his pants leg has Kuzan looking down, second brow rising in surprise to see the little girl, Kitsune, staring imploringly up at him.

"Hi. My name's Kitsune and I'm going to be a marine. You got any food?"

Well damn. If he'd known he was to be accommodating two Monkeys, he'd have had the stores stocked accordingly.

So much for a smooth trip back to base.

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The male Monkey is a terribly over protective thing.

As soon as he realised little Kitsune had approached him, the teen had been scooping her up into his arms and glaring with all his might. Kuzan will give the boy his due; he's got one of the darkest glowers that he's seen in a long time.

Monkey D. Dragon only released his little sister when they've sat themselves down at the table and proceeded to affirm Kuzan's fears for the food-supply.

The teenage boy ploughing through plate after plate of food isn't as jarring a sight as the little sister a decade younger than him somehow managing the keep up with his pace.

"It would appear we'll be making a quick stop before reaching the base."

Both Monkeys pause, chins stained with smears of meat juice as they simultaneously stare up at him, frowns on their lips. It's eerie how they move in synchrony; what kind of brats is Garp raising?

"A stop? Why?"

What is strange is that it seems Monkey D. Dragon is more than happy to allow his little sister to be the more vocal of the two of them.

She fearlessly asks her questions, not even balking at the sight of his very obvious marine uniform. Gutsy, though she's Garp's child. Of course she'd charge in without thought. He'd like to think the elder one would balance that out, but given where Garp had found his two children, that can't really be said with any semblance of truth.

Still, they look no worse for wears, despite being kidnapped by Roger. While the man is a force of nature, unstoppable no matter what they try, it can be said that he's not completely cut-throat.

Gol D. Roger looks out for his own first, but he won't go out of his way to hurt others. Certainly not children.

Kuzan rather suspects that the man respects Garp; it'd explain why both kids have come back seemingly uninfluenced. He'll be keeping an eye on the regardless, but for now, everything seems okay.

"We don't have the food supplies to accommodate for the two of you." They don't have the kind of food supplies to sustain D level appetites.

The little Monkey squints up at him, face showcasing her clear suspicion before she mutinously folds her arms and scowls.

"I wanna go home. Marine ships are boring."

"Do you not have a chore boy she can go pester?"

It's the first time Monkey D. Dragon has addressed him and Kuzan can only present the boy with the meat of his palms, a mocking surrender.

"There was a chance," small as it was, "we'd be helping subdue Gol D. Roger. There was no way we'd be bringing a cabin-boy into that."

"A shame."

The Monkey siblings share a quick glance, something passing between them.

Kuzan is an only child, has always been an only child. As such he has no idea what this silent form of sibling communication is, nor can he possibly begin to interpret the outcome. The Monkey siblings seem to have come to a conclusion though because Dragon ruffles the younger's hair in a surprisingly violent motion, pulling it free of the cute little pigtails it'd been set into.

In response, the girl bites at one of Dragon's fingers.

"I liked it!"

"Well I don't."

Then he's walking off, taking a piled-up plate with him as he goes, leaving Kuzan alone with the youngest Monkey.

Has he just been approved as safe around the girl?

Stretching out his Observational Haki proves that false; the elder Monkey is still lingering in the shadows, watching them.

Oh my, such a lack of trust. Is this really Vice Admiral Garp's child?

"There, that's better!"

Returning his attention to Monkey D. Kitsune, Kuzan finds the pigtails have been hastily redone, the hair secure and draped over her collarbones.

"Hey mister, you got any cool powers? Devil Fruit or Haki or the Marine techniquey-things Papa knows?"

Kuzan blanches when the brat brazenly climbs up and over the table, pausing by his plate to stuff a handful of meat into her mouth.

It doesn't stop there though; the girl approaches him without even a hint of fear and before Kuzan can gather his bearings, she's climbed up and onto his shoulders, perching there like a fluffy little bird.

The audible chewing as she works through his last portion of meat is irritating.

"Little Lady-"

"Eh? A Lady? Where?"

It'd be cute if she weren't seriously looking around the room for the sudden appearance of a genuine lady.

Forget it. Maybe Garp's crazy child only responds to her name.

"Kitsune. What are you doing?"

Best to be direct. He has a lot of respect for Vice Admiral Garp, owes the man a favour. Looking after his brat (because it's clear the older one can look after himself) shouldn't be too much of a problem. Kuzan's a marine captain after all.

"What am I- you're really tall."

What does that have to do with anything?

Cocking his head back, and irritatingly enough having to tilt his neck to a side so as not to dislodge his unwelcome passenger, Kuzan stares at the girl who stares right back.

"Why are you sitting on my shoulder?"

"You're tall. I'm not. Now I am." She grins, then stops, the expression falling off her face as she stares at him. Before he can stop her, Kitsune presses two gravy-stained hands against his cheeks, forcing his lips up into a smile against his wishes.

"There, that's better. Smiling make you look friendlier and you're a marine. You're supposed to help people which means you're supposed to be approachable. See, I'm practising my smile so I can be an approachable marine. Because if I smile like Big Brother no one will dare come ask me for help."

Quite frankly there's only one bit of truth in that sentence, but Kuzan won't crush the girl's dreams by pointing that out.

"I have duties to perform."

"I'll pay a lot of attention; that way I'll know what I'm doing when I become a marine."

Oh no.

If it becomes common knowledge that Garp's daughter observed him working, then every last tick, every last action she makes in the future will be linked back to him. Which means if he lazes about here and then she goes on to laze about Kuzan'll be blamed for it.

No. God damn it, he's actually going to have to do some work now, isn't he?

What a little menace; it's no wonder the older one has 'left' her in his care. He didn't sign up with the marines to entertain children. Hell, he's not had any plans to ever take on an apprentice or even teach someone a single procedure. How has this ended up coming about?

"Er, Mr Marine?"

The little fist tapping against his head passes right through his skull and Kuzan makes a conscious effort not to freeze the little Monkey at the contact.

"Wow! So cool! Tahahaha, I made a punny. No wait, focus Kit, focus! What's your name, Mr Marine?" A

very deep sigh escapes from between Kuzan's lips. He gets the feeling it won't be the last one he produces in the coming days.

"It's Kuzan."

"Oh. I like Aokiji better." Blue Pheasant? No.

He is not a bird, has no relation to birds, he will not answer to such a name. It has nothing to do with the fact it was gifted upon him by a child barely out of her toddling years.

"Kuzan," he stresses even though he knows it's already far too late.

This is a D, a Monkey D at that. There's no way the child will be changing her mind.

As if to verify this, Kitsune jabs a finger into his shoulder which dissolved into ice at the unexpected pressure.

"So cool. Maybe I should have waited for a Logia fruit instead. Oh well, mine'll probably be cooler anyway. No wait! Not cooler 'cause you're ice. It'll be... er, errrr," she drags the sound out and it pains Kuzan to get involved, it really does, but if he doesn't that noise is all he's going to be listening to.

"It'll be better? More impressive?"

"It'll be awesome!" The girl shouts right down his ear. "My powers will be far more awesome than yours!"

She puffs out her little chest, clearly quite pleased with herself before her face crumples once again. Oh, what now?

"...once I work out what they are."

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The Marine ship is nowhere near as fun as the Oro Jackson.

Kitsune slouches further back against the table top she's lying on, watching Aokiji work.

He doesn't seem very pleased by her presence which is a shame because she's very pleased to meet him. He's the coolest (hehehe) marine she can think of at the moment.

No wait, second coolest.

Rosinante might be a marine right now and he's her best-friend. As such he's the coolest by default.

So Aokiji can be the second coolest then.

Though he doesn't seem to like that name at all. Which is strange because that's his name.

She can understand Rosinante disliking Rosi, Rosinante's his actual name and he doesn't want it shortened. Aokiji is a nickname and it's gonna be his epithet so it's practically his name anyway. Is that double standards? Kitsune doesn't think so, but she doesn't really care if they are or not.

"What'cha working on?"

Rolling over so that she's lying on her belly, Kitsune peers at the document Aokiji is busy scribbling away on.

"My report on the current situation."

Kitsune blinks, looking around but it doesn't appear as if anything is happening at the moment. Is she missing something? Is Aokiji sensing something with that Haki stuff that she can't right now.

Kitsune closes her eyes, nose scrunching up in an attempt to focus but she can't sense anything funny. She's not entirely sure she can sense at all yet. She can smell the thick ink that's freshly etched onto the paper, can feel the slight breeze coming in through the not-fully-closed porthole, but she can't sense anything funky going on outside of the room.

She imagines she can sense Dragon's presence though. Not that she can pin it down to an exact art, but he's somewhere nearby.

Though maybe that's more a sibling sense thing; she's sure he's nearby, he wouldn't leave her on her own, especially not after what happened on the last marine guarded ship they were on.

Even if they have Aokiji here and he's strong (he'll be even stronger in the future, an Admiral, though Kitsune doubts he'll ever be strong as Papa. Hell, maybe Dragon will become even stronger than him?) Dragon will still be worried about her.

It's nice having an older sibling look after her, she didn't have that in the before. But this is her life and she has her big brother. Kitsune wouldn't trade that for the world.

Even if she has no idea what's going on right now, even though she knows she's going to completely and utterly destroy the future with her lumbering footsteps all the way back here in the past... she has Dragon.

Kitsune isn't scared. What will come will come, what will happen will happen.

She'll just make sure Dragon's dream thrives, make sure it never dies. Dragon wants a revolution and Kitsune wants to help him with that. As such, that is exactly what she is going to dedicate her life to.

"I have to inform Headquarters that neither yourself or Monkey D. Dragon have been influenced by Roger."

"Oh. But we have been influenced. I even managed to steal a sip of alcohol."

Rayleigh had hit the roof at that, not yelling over a minor drinking but more over a 'Monkey' drinking on board the Oro Jackson. The ship was made of tough stuff, but apparently the first-mate hadn't wanted to risk it.

Both she and Dragon had been under the stinky-hawk eye for the rest of the post-battle party that night.

"...I think it's safe to say you are totally unaffected by your time there."

Now that was just rude.

Roger gave her a badass Devil Fruit and made her a godmum. Even if that last bit wouldn't be coming into effect for a while. She's gonna be the best god damn godmum there is. Like, ever.

"I need to train! Aokiji!"

"Kuzan."

"When are we gonna be at land!"

"Do you mean when will we be arriving on land?"

"Urgh!" She knows what she meant, he knows what she meant, Kitsune doesn't understand why he feels the need to correct her. She's still a child, she should be able to get away with bad grammar while she still can.

"I thought you were cool, but you're really not!"

"I'm made of ice, I cannot get any cooler," Aokiji deadpans, not even bothering to look up from his sheet.

He still seems to realise when she snatches up a pen to start doodling on his desk though. Before her pen can make contact with the wood a sheet of paper is shoved between the two.

Glaring at the marine, Kitsune turns her attention to the paper, only to pause.

It's a photograph and she's not forgotten enough to not recognise that face.

Akainu.

She scrunches her face up at the sight of him.

The big threat to her future godson.

"I feel like that every time I'm forced to interact with him." Hmmm? Oh, right, Aokiji doesn't like him either.

"You don't like Akainu?"

"Red dog... I like that one. And let's just say our opinions on justice vary."

"Everyone's opinions on justice vary, but some are more stupid that others," Kitsune confirms with a nod, squinting down at the picture.

Tongue poking out from between her lips, she sets to work of 'fixing' the photo.

.

They leave the ship later that day, having spotted Sengoku's own vessel an hour's ride away.

Aokiji pins her masterpiece to his cork-board and they part ways on good terms.

.

Sengoku is as impressed with them as Garp was, which is to say not at all.

He too spends a good portion of his time ranting at them, all the while grumbling under his breath about how Shiki got away. Then, they get set to work.

Kitsune is seriously rethinking this whole marine thing if she must play chore-girl for more than, say, an hour.

The only plus point is Dragon is right here beside her, scrubbing away at the deck and looking just as mutinous.

She glances over at Sengoku, the man barking orders at his crew to get them back to whatever headquarters they're getting dropped off at (it appears they're heading for South Blue, but Kitsune isn't completely certain; she's no navigator) and then her eyes meet Dragon's.

"We could take him."

Her elder brother snorts.

She's a bit surprised there's no smoke curling out of his nostrils and a little disappointed too. Where are all the dragon features he's supposed to get from his fruit? She wants to see them all, wants to test her own powers.

Only they can't test them here.

It's like Dragon said, their powers will be linked to them via marine information network. Not very good for undercover work. Which sucks.

"Not right now, Little Sister."

"We could punt him overboard at least," Kitsune grumbles, dropping her scrub and childishly folding her arms.

God why does the deck take forever to scrub?! Why have the marines even let it get this dirty? It should be clean, it'll take the two of them hours to clean the entire thi...

Kitsune's thoughts trail off, finding herself staring at the suddenly very clean deck. What happened? Did she black out? Had she and Dragon cleaned the entire thing while she'd not been paying attention?

She peers suspiciously up at the sky but the sun has barely moved. So what-

"You ate the Yako Yako no mi fruit," Dragon whispers under his breath, a grin on his face as he upturns the entire bucket over the deck, "the Tenko model. And kitsunes are known for their illusions."

Her whole being lights up.

She can cast illusions?! That's so cool!

"Do not dare try another until we are alone."

Urgh! This sucks!

Dragon's so smart but that pulls everything down. Why can't she be a big picture person too? That way she'd be able to cool her jets and plan for the future like her Big Brother does.

"Kitsune, can you cancel this illusion?"

Sucking her lips in, she looks around the deck, trying not to wince.

"Big Brother... I don't know how..."

Dragon's scrubber hits the floor with a wet slap, hand cradling his chin as he looks seriously around the deck.

Kitsune stands too, nudging the edge of the empty bucket with her foot. She wonders if the rest of the marines can see the large puddle of mop-water that Dragon has tipped everywhere. She hopes not.

"Well, there's nothing for it, Little Sister."

Kitsune wraps her hand in the one Dragon holds out to her, leaving her muscles loose so he can swing her up onto his shoulder.

"Maybe they won't notice?" she chirps, looking around at the 'clean' deck and the marines scurrying around upon it.

Is there a time limit to her illusions? Will the deck appear clean forever? Or will the marines just blink at one point and find the image shattered the second all eyes are off it? She kind of wants to know.

But not as much as she wants to avoid getting chewed out by Sengoku again. He's scary; mainly because her cute little pout doesn't work on him like it does on Garp.

"Let's go find a hiding place," Dragon muses, stalking over towards the mast. Maybe they'll spend the rest of the journey in the crow's nest, only popping down for food and other necessary supplies. Like hot chocolate. Does a marine ship have hot chocolate? Aokiji's hadn't, but Sengoku's a higher rank, so maybe his will?

"A hiding place sounds good," Kitsune agrees, folding her arms atop Dragon's head and placing her own upon them. A totem of Monkeys. All they need is Garp to put Dragon on his shoulders and they'll be three tiers. Like a cake.

Oh, she's getting hungry.

"Big Brother, can we get some food first?"

.

They climb up the crow's nest just in time to witness a marine slip on the mop-water puddle.

Turns out it was hidden by her illusion.

.

Sengoku doesn't drop them off in South Blue, she'd been wrong on her guess. They are in fact back in East Blue, right by Loguetown where they're being handed off to another marine to complete the last leg of their journey home.

Pouting fiercely (she wanted to see Rosinante, damn it), Kitsune hangs without a struggle from Dragon's firm hold upon her.

Sengoku is listing off orders and instructions, both to the marines and to them but Kitsune's not really listening. If he says anything important Dragon will catch it. Hopefully. Maybe.

Okay, so Dragon probably isn't listening either.

She knows her big brother well; he's planning to steal a boat and get them back home himself.

Kitsune has zero problems with this plan. She's had her fill of the marines right now.

It sucks; she's gonna have to spend so much time with these idiots to get their secrets from Dragon. They've got all these rules and it only gets worse the higher your rank gets.

No wonder Garp never accepted a promotion past Vice Admiral. It's made Sengoku into a complete kill-joy that's for sure. She can see why Papa just ignores all the rules and ploughs forwards; she'd probably go crazy if she had to listen to them all too.

"KITSUNE!"

Jolting at the suddenly bellow of her name, Kitsune stares up at Sengoku with her mouth hanging open and her eyes bulging wide in surprise.

"Don't ignore me!"

"Don't yell at her!"

"You damn brat!"

Kitsune hits the deck with a thump, rubbing at her rear. Her rough landing gives her a front row seat to the short fight that is Dragon vs Sengoku.

It doesn't end well for her big brother.

.

When Sengoku leaves, his ship sails towards the darkest gathering of storm clouds Kitsune has ever witnessed in the sky.

When they leave the other marine ship in the dead of night, they too seem to be heading into the worst storm East Blue has ever seen.

Dragon sits by the rudder of their stolen dingy with an evil little smile and a glower in his eyes.

.

During their time away, Dawn Island doesn't appear to have changed one bit. They get back in the early hours of the morning, Dragon ringing Garp's private Den Den with the one that remains at their house ("For emergencies only, Dragon you brat!") to leave a curt message of 'we're home'.

It really is home.

Kitsune knows the dirt beneath her feet, knows the humidity in the air, knows the bugs that land upon her skin. She slaps at one, the sting as familiar as ever against her skin.

"It's good to be home, Big Brother."

Stretching her arms up and over her head, Kitsune yawns, the motion pulling the skin of her mouth taunt.

"It is," Dragon confirms, their remaining supplies bagged up and thrown over one of his broad shoulders. Kitsune blinks, peering bleakly at the sleepy little village of Foosha from between heavy eyelids. She could write 'tired' across her face and it wouldn't make it any more obvious.

She didn't want to sleep when Dragon was awake steering. He'd made the wind help them home faster (his powers are so very helpful) but even then, it'd been hours and hours until they'd hit the shoreline.

Hell, it'd taken Kitsune three attempts to successfully knot the rope that tied their little boat to shore. And it is their boat; there's a little red flag hanging from the mast now, only a small triangle of fabric that Dragon had found lying around.

It rings a bell but she can't even begin to guess why.

"Foosha seems smaller now."

Now that she's been out and seen the world, how long will it be until she grows too big for this town? Like a skin she'd have to shed, to wiggle free of? Only she's not a snake, she's a fox. So, is Foosha a fur she's going to one day shed?

"You will need sleep, Little Sister. Tomorrow we begin training."

"I think it's already tomorrow," Kitsune grumbles, pawing sleepily at her eyes.

They're trudging down the main street towards their little house, the one Garp pays for. It's a wonder no bandits have tried to muscle their way in while they've been gone, not that there'd have been much to steal if they had broken in. Anything really important Dragon had hidden in secret compartments in the jungle, trees he'd hollowed out back when he'd been a bored child with no younger sibling to look after. Then she'd come along and then they'd moved to Foosha.

While Dragon's hidey-holes are on other parts of the island, they're-

Kitsune can't quite finish the thought because she realises Dragon's hidey-holes are actually hoards, Dragon's hoards and she breaks down into helpless giggles.

She can't take another step, there's just something about it that her sleep deprived brain finds extraordinarily funny.

It takes the older Monkey a moment to realise she's no longer following, but then Kitsune finds herself lifted off her feet, resting against Dragon's hip with her head on his shoulder.

"Sleep, Little Sister. I have got you."

He's always got her, Kitsune wants to explain. He's always protected her even though it's not the job of a big brother, that job is a parent's job. But she doesn't have a mother and Garp is always away.

She'd got Dragon though, and Dragon has her.

As of this moment, they're a revolution of two, and she's gonna be the best damn half of a revolution she can be.

Just as soon as she gets some sleep.

Well, I did warn there'd not be Marine-level-regular updates for this fic. (Honestly, I struggled to write portions of the chapter) but here we are, at last. Sorry about the wait. (I have zero ideas where the next chapter will take of, or even how old Kitsune will be when we open it) Oh well.

EDITED; shit, totally forgot, but thanks for over 900 follows for this waffle!

Tired and grumpy and pleased to finally have this out,

Tsume
xxx