one piece: a work in progress
posted to: smokerxace ; onepieceyaoi
12.
Smoker had thought he could survive this experience relatively unscathed. He had been much too naive. More training was necessary.
Sure, he may have had Bosco to assist him, an additional year of training under his belt, previous experience handling the devil spawn... but... just like how he had advanced, baby Ace had upgraded into toddler Ace. And toddler Ace could walk, albeit clumsily. That was something he hadn't accounted for.
More training was necessary, for himself and for Bosco. This was his fault, for once.
"What do you mean, you lost him?!" His arms were gripped tightly, painfully by Smoker. The shaking was jarring and he could barely think under the strain of Smoker's intense glare. You know...for someone who claimed to not care at all for the toddler...
"Eh...Smoker, he's really quick for a toddler..."
"Bosco! The hell were you thinking, leaving him alone?!" Ah, more shaking. Yes, where was he? Right, for someone who claimed to not care about the toddler, Smoker had flipped out when he found him missing.
"It was just for one sec - " Defending himself was pointless. Smoker was on the warpath and nothing short of finding Ace would stop him, Bosco knew.
"Where is he now? What if he gets hurt?! I knew I should have - what are you looking at?"
"You...I guess." So it all came down to Ace.
"Stop gawking and go look for him! If something happens, Bosco, I swear..." Ace. Smoker. Ace. Smoker.
Bosco was always too smart for his own good. And what a gem his mind stumbled over today! With his rarely used shit-eating grin pasted carefully in place, Bosco declared gleefully, "You care about him."
That knocked the wind out of the grey-haired teen. So much so that his grip on Bosco's shoulder lessened. "It. The demon spawn is an it. I don't care about it. "
"Ah ha, it's too late to take it back, Smoker. You care about Ace!"
"You. Don't. Understand." Smoker ground out. Ah, back with the shaking, but by now, he was used to the rhythm. Bosco worried that Smoker might just grind his teeth into dust one day. The mounting hysteria in his voice was quite amusing, actually. Bosco could see where Hina was coming from with her daily exercise in Smoker-baiting.
"Oh, I do alright." Bosco leered. "Smoker's a big softie underneath that delinquent arrogant facade!"
"I...I- you - I - but - I - Ah!" Smoker looked like he was going to combust. This was the most frazzled he'd ever seen the teen since they first met. Even Lieutenant Commander Sheila's special middle of the night mock-invasions of the cabins didn't upset him as much. "JUST find the brat before we both die! The demon spawn can't be unleashed!"
"...ahem."
"Com- Com- Commander Trish!" Bosco whirled around, freeing himself from Smoker's desperate clutches. Smoker remained conspicuously silent as he glowered at the air.
"I believe this belongs to you?" She held out a wriggling mass by the back of his onesie. Ace, covered in paint, soaking wet and looking all too pleased with himself. That little shit.
"ACE!" The toddler cooed and reached out beseechingly to one frowning Smoker.
The teen didn't budge. There was no way in hell he was holding him after the panic attack he almost suffered because of him. Ace wasn't going to give up though. He cried out, using every bit of ' oh, how cute I am, obey me' wiles he possessed. Yet another thing he and Hina had in common, Smoker noted. It only pissed him off more.
The Commander was not a patient woman. Without a care or warning, she tossed the baby at Bosco, well aware that Smoker would not hold Ace, no matter how Ace begged for it or who implored him to.
"C-Commander!" Bosco gasped, apalled, as he dove for the toddler. Oddly enough, no one else had been outwardly concerned for the child's safety - not even the child in question. "Really, Ace -"
"What's the damage?" Smoker asked bluntly.
Bosco looked up from his fussing. "Damage? What do you mean?"
He was ignored - not surprising.
"At this rate," Commander Trish began, a note of amusement in her tone, "you'd be lucky to get out of the Academy with your life, Smoker."
Bosco gaped. What damage? What the hell? And why was Smoker nodding? Where was the blustering, the excuses, the demands for an explanation?
"What is the punishment?"
The Commander actually laughed. Gripping Ace to his chest, Bosco scowled, "Hold on, just what is going on here? Why is Smoker being punished?"
If possible, Commander Trish's amusement was mounting. "Not just Smoker. You as well, recruit."
"Why?!" In frightening unison, both the Commander and Smoker pointed at the delighted child in his arms. No way... "No way..." How could Smoker be right? "Ace was gone for ten minutes at most! How could he - ?"
"He got to the laundry, so you two best watch out for little gift in your sheets from the chore boys from now on." Commander noted with wickedly repressed glee as she ticked off a finger, followed swiftly by another. "He also tracked paint all over the tracks - you two will have to clean that up, by the way." Another finger, "Broke a few walls down," and finally, one more. "And destroyed Lieutenant Sheila's prized tulips. Have a good day boys."
"Now do you think he's so innocent?" Smoker hissed.
"I am sorry. I underestimated our enemy. I require more training."
13.
"Hina has good news and bad news for her Smoker-kun and Bosco-chan." The boys were sprawled out on the back lawns of the Academy. The past few days had been a trying, trying ordeal. Neither boy would wish it upon anyone else. After the disastrous first day with Ace - in which they'd earned the wrath of Lieutenant Commander Sheila, things had only gone downhill from there. Today, for example, they had barely outrun the Swordsmen Association in the Academy. Ace had gotten into their stores and quite effectively damaged everything. "Which should Hina tell first?"
"Just...just get it over with." Bosco groaned. Someone like Bosco, who had been aiming for a comfortable deskjob at Marine HQ had obviously been slacking on his physical training - something the members of the Swordsmen Association took great joy in taking advantage of. Bosco barely made it out alive.
Hina turned to their other friend for his input. Smoker sighed, "I don't care."
Hina pouted. "Hina disappointed. Clearly, you two are as incapable as ever. Hina will decide." Smoker didn't even bother to protest or defend their competence. Most of their interactions with Hina ended up like this anyway. "Bad news is that Vice Admiral Garp will be leaving ahead of schedule with Ace-chan." Both boys relaxed. Oh, bad news indeed. "Good news, is that he'll be back next year and he'll be bringing Ace-chan back too!"
Bosco fainted.
"Tch. Weakling."
14.
"Please help me."
Three words that would have never left his mouth under any other circumstances.
There was a silence.
"Don't worry. I will." Four, even more unlikely words came out from hers.
If Smoker wasn't so relieved - and he was, so much so that he might just shed a tear - he would have laughed.
Commander Trish truly was a merciful woman.
15.
He was sent into town to run errands with the kitchen staff (who had finally forgiven him for Chef Cordo's souffle) the day Vice Admiral Garp's ship docked at port. Marsen, an officer candidate would be tasked with babysitting duty in his stead. Since he never particularly liked that uptight prick, Smoker hadn't even bothered warning Marsen about Ace.
And so, without a care in the world, Smoker was enjoying the closest thing he'd had to a day off since he first joined the Academy. After he had finished his errands and bought some requested items for his fellow classmates, he was free to linger.
He had, as most sixteen year old boys did, found himself in the company of a civilian girl, Miki. She was nice. She was pretty. She was smart - not the sadistically evil smart like Hina. Smoker rather liked her - which was rare for the sullen teen. Things were going pretty well too. Sure, he had technically knocked her over accidentally, but he managed to smooth everything out with tea (Garp was right, actually, tea did make things better).
"Aaaawww, he's so cute!" The damned feeling was back. Oh fuck no. Please, please, please no. Not now. Not with Miki around. "Do you know him, Smoker-kun?"
Something tugged on his pant leg and Smoker glanced down to meet happy dark eyes. Why was he not surprised? "I...he...well..." He struggled uselessly to explain.
"Up." It should be illegal to make brats this adorable - no, wait, obnoxious.
"Pick him up, Smoker-kun!" Miki practically beamed. If he didn't obey, he might as well kiss his social life good-bye. It was hard to make friends, let alone civilian friends. But damn it, he wasn't going to give in! Ace was not going to win this round. Paying him and his internal dilemma no mind, Miki bent down to address the tyke. "Hey there, little guy. What's your name? I'm Miki. Are you lost?"
"No." Ace decided grimly after a moment's contemplation. Chubby cheeks were pulled into a frown - something Smoker had never seen on Ace's face so far. "No."
Well, that was new. Smoker would have thought Ace would charm the girl and have her wrapped around his finger - much like how he did with the female recruits at the Academy. This outright disapproval was new. Miki, going by the look on her face, wasn't expecting that reaction either.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Smoker decided to intervene before something goes wrong. "Ace...what are you doing here?"
Immediately, the clouded expression on his face cleared. Ace lifted his arms and beamed up at him, "Ace wants up!" He raised his arms even higher after a moment, pawing uselessly at his pants. Damn it, he was talking like Hina. But, under the expectant gaze of Miki and the demanding one that promised trouble, Smoker relented.
"He's Vice-Admiral Garp's grandson, Ace." Smoker explained. Ace, who should be in the care of Marsen, back at the Academy.
"Ooh," Miki hummed in understanding. "I didn't know the Hero had a grandson..."
With surprising upper body strength and coordination, Ace moved and shifted in Smoker's secure arms until he was comfortable. Smoker paid him no mind in favour of continuing his conversation with Miki. But it seems Ace could not and would not tolerate playing second fiddle to anyone. And so, he did what any attention-seeking brat did.
He bit him.
"Eh...is Ace-chan...biting - ?"
"Don't mind him." Smoker said, unflinchingly even as Ace increased the pressure on the mouthful of flesh he currently had between his jaws. "He's just acting like a spoiled brat."
"A-are you sure, Smoker-kun?"
"Yes."
He was gnawing at him quite enthusiastically now, making happy noises every so often. Did Garp starve this child or something?
"May-maybe he's hungry?"
"Don't worry." Smoker replied, blandly. "He does this all the time."
"Oh." Miki looked on at the considerable progress Ace was making along Smoker's neck. The conversation, which had previously been so interesting, had no chance of picking back up again. It was hard to have a good conversation when one was being gnawed on by a cannibalistic toddler with the misleading face of an angel. "Ah well, you look like you have your hands full at the moment, Smoker-kun..."
"Yeah, I guess."
"I guess, I should get going..."
"Alright."
"It was nice meeting you, Smoker-kun."
"Yeah, it was nice." It had been really nice.
"Maybe we can catch up when you're in town again?"
"Sure." But Smoker knew it wasn't a possibility. As if the Commander would ever let him out again. A trip to town was usually a reward for good behaviour - something Smoker didn't know the meaning of.
"Ahah, well take care, Smoker-kun. Bye-bye, Ace-chan!" Smoker watched her go helplessly.
"...She's gone, brat." The nibbling stopped immediately. Smoker glowered at the empty space in front of him, "I hate you so much."
"Hungry..." Ace smiled and opened his mouth. "Food."
Smoker was going to kill Marsen for this.
(LOL! Sexual harassment at the age of two. I'm so proud of him! I hadn't even realized that it was like Ace giving Smoker hickeys until I finished.)
16.
After eating up whatever funds he had left, Smoker and Ace headed back to the Academy. Not even a quarter way through, Ace had lost all motivation to keep walking so Smoker was forced to carry the brat. Smoker reasoned that Ace hadn't cost him too much this visit so he was in the mood to be kind.
The boy's endurance actually surprised him. He had walked far longer than expected. Heh. He just might turn out to be the powerful, upstanding marine officer Vice-Admiral Garp hoped for. But going by Ace's evil streak and penchant for spreading chaos, he just might turn out to be a bloody pirate.
Smoker smirked.
Now wouldn't that be great? Then, as a marine officer, Smoker would be obligated to arrest the punk. That was something he'll do without a moment's hesitation. He just couldn't wait.
"Hina not impressed."
"With your general lack of in personality?" Smoker sniped back as he walked past the pink haired teen. Hina was never too impressed with anything so Smoker didn't bother to even show concern. Oddly enough, her disapproving gaze wasn't levelled at him - rather, at the boy tucked securely in his arms.
"Smoker-kun is in trouble."
"What? Why? I didn't do anything this time!"
"Hina - "
"There he is! He took him! Smoker!" Marsen.
"As Hina was saying, everyone is convinced that you took Ace-chan, Smoker-kun." Hina frowned, obviously irritated for being interrupted. She showed her displeasure by locking Marsen and sitting on him.
It didn't take long for Smoker to put two and two together. "Marsen, you little shit. You lost him!"
"No! You took him!"
Voices were approaching, among them, Smoker could make out Vice-Admiral Garp's boisterous laugh. Leave it to that man to be amused when his grandson disappears.
"Be quiet, idiot." Hina hissed, pointedly slamming the heel of her shoe into Marsen. "How did Smoker-kun find Ace-chan?"
"I didn't." Smoker replied dully. "He found me."
"Impossible!" Marsen interjected, "How can a two year old leave the Marine Academy, find his way into town and find you of all people in less than two hours?!"
"Because his keeper was a useless sack of shit."
"You bastard! You! You took him! Damn it, Hina! Let me go!"
"Hina doesn't want to."
"Why the hell would I want him?"
"Deny all you want you little shit, but - "
"This is no way to behave in - " Hina tried to cut in.
"Shut it!" The two screamed.
Wait...
That wasn't Hina...
"C-C-C-C-Com..."
"Mess hall duty for the next month."
"Y-yes ma'am..."
12.
Smoker had thought he could survive this experience relatively unscathed. He had been much too naive. More training was necessary.
Sure, he may have had Bosco to assist him, an additional year of training under his belt, previous experience handling the devil spawn... but... just like how he had advanced, baby Ace had upgraded into toddler Ace. And toddler Ace could walk, albeit clumsily. That was something he hadn't accounted for.
More training was necessary, for himself and for Bosco. This was his fault, for once.
"What do you mean, you lost him?!" His arms were gripped tightly, painfully by Smoker. The shaking was jarring and he could barely think under the strain of Smoker's intense glare. You know...for someone who claimed to not care at all for the toddler...
"Eh...Smoker, he's really quick for a toddler..."
"Bosco! The hell were you thinking, leaving him alone?!" Ah, more shaking. Yes, where was he? Right, for someone who claimed to not care about the toddler, Smoker had flipped out when he found him missing.
"It was just for one sec - " Defending himself was pointless. Smoker was on the warpath and nothing short of finding Ace would stop him, Bosco knew.
"Where is he now? What if he gets hurt?! I knew I should have - what are you looking at?"
"You...I guess." So it all came down to Ace.
"Stop gawking and go look for him! If something happens, Bosco, I swear..." Ace. Smoker. Ace. Smoker.
Bosco was always too smart for his own good. And what a gem his mind stumbled over today! With his rarely used shit-eating grin pasted carefully in place, Bosco declared gleefully, "You care about him."
That knocked the wind out of the grey-haired teen. So much so that his grip on Bosco's shoulder lessened. "It. The demon spawn is an it. I don't care about it. "
"Ah ha, it's too late to take it back, Smoker. You care about Ace!"
"You. Don't. Understand." Smoker ground out. Ah, back with the shaking, but by now, he was used to the rhythm. Bosco worried that Smoker might just grind his teeth into dust one day. The mounting hysteria in his voice was quite amusing, actually. Bosco could see where Hina was coming from with her daily exercise in Smoker-baiting.
"Oh, I do alright." Bosco leered. "Smoker's a big softie underneath that delinquent arrogant facade!"
"I...I- you - I - but - I - Ah!" Smoker looked like he was going to combust. This was the most frazzled he'd ever seen the teen since they first met. Even Lieutenant Commander Sheila's special middle of the night mock-invasions of the cabins didn't upset him as much. "JUST find the brat before we both die! The demon spawn can't be unleashed!"
"...ahem."
"Com- Com- Commander Trish!" Bosco whirled around, freeing himself from Smoker's desperate clutches. Smoker remained conspicuously silent as he glowered at the air.
"I believe this belongs to you?" She held out a wriggling mass by the back of his onesie. Ace, covered in paint, soaking wet and looking all too pleased with himself. That little shit.
"ACE!" The toddler cooed and reached out beseechingly to one frowning Smoker.
The teen didn't budge. There was no way in hell he was holding him after the panic attack he almost suffered because of him. Ace wasn't going to give up though. He cried out, using every bit of ' oh, how cute I am, obey me' wiles he possessed. Yet another thing he and Hina had in common, Smoker noted. It only pissed him off more.
The Commander was not a patient woman. Without a care or warning, she tossed the baby at Bosco, well aware that Smoker would not hold Ace, no matter how Ace begged for it or who implored him to.
"C-Commander!" Bosco gasped, apalled, as he dove for the toddler. Oddly enough, no one else had been outwardly concerned for the child's safety - not even the child in question. "Really, Ace -"
"What's the damage?" Smoker asked bluntly.
Bosco looked up from his fussing. "Damage? What do you mean?"
He was ignored - not surprising.
"At this rate," Commander Trish began, a note of amusement in her tone, "you'd be lucky to get out of the Academy with your life, Smoker."
Bosco gaped. What damage? What the hell? And why was Smoker nodding? Where was the blustering, the excuses, the demands for an explanation?
"What is the punishment?"
The Commander actually laughed. Gripping Ace to his chest, Bosco scowled, "Hold on, just what is going on here? Why is Smoker being punished?"
If possible, Commander Trish's amusement was mounting. "Not just Smoker. You as well, recruit."
"Why?!" In frightening unison, both the Commander and Smoker pointed at the delighted child in his arms. No way... "No way..." How could Smoker be right? "Ace was gone for ten minutes at most! How could he - ?"
"He got to the laundry, so you two best watch out for little gift in your sheets from the chore boys from now on." Commander noted with wickedly repressed glee as she ticked off a finger, followed swiftly by another. "He also tracked paint all over the tracks - you two will have to clean that up, by the way." Another finger, "Broke a few walls down," and finally, one more. "And destroyed Lieutenant Sheila's prized tulips. Have a good day boys."
"Now do you think he's so innocent?" Smoker hissed.
"I am sorry. I underestimated our enemy. I require more training."
13.
"Hina has good news and bad news for her Smoker-kun and Bosco-chan." The boys were sprawled out on the back lawns of the Academy. The past few days had been a trying, trying ordeal. Neither boy would wish it upon anyone else. After the disastrous first day with Ace - in which they'd earned the wrath of Lieutenant Commander Sheila, things had only gone downhill from there. Today, for example, they had barely outrun the Swordsmen Association in the Academy. Ace had gotten into their stores and quite effectively damaged everything. "Which should Hina tell first?"
"Just...just get it over with." Bosco groaned. Someone like Bosco, who had been aiming for a comfortable deskjob at Marine HQ had obviously been slacking on his physical training - something the members of the Swordsmen Association took great joy in taking advantage of. Bosco barely made it out alive.
Hina turned to their other friend for his input. Smoker sighed, "I don't care."
Hina pouted. "Hina disappointed. Clearly, you two are as incapable as ever. Hina will decide." Smoker didn't even bother to protest or defend their competence. Most of their interactions with Hina ended up like this anyway. "Bad news is that Vice Admiral Garp will be leaving ahead of schedule with Ace-chan." Both boys relaxed. Oh, bad news indeed. "Good news, is that he'll be back next year and he'll be bringing Ace-chan back too!"
Bosco fainted.
"Tch. Weakling."
14.
"Please help me."
Three words that would have never left his mouth under any other circumstances.
There was a silence.
"Don't worry. I will." Four, even more unlikely words came out from hers.
If Smoker wasn't so relieved - and he was, so much so that he might just shed a tear - he would have laughed.
Commander Trish truly was a merciful woman.
15.
He was sent into town to run errands with the kitchen staff (who had finally forgiven him for Chef Cordo's souffle) the day Vice Admiral Garp's ship docked at port. Marsen, an officer candidate would be tasked with babysitting duty in his stead. Since he never particularly liked that uptight prick, Smoker hadn't even bothered warning Marsen about Ace.
And so, without a care in the world, Smoker was enjoying the closest thing he'd had to a day off since he first joined the Academy. After he had finished his errands and bought some requested items for his fellow classmates, he was free to linger.
He had, as most sixteen year old boys did, found himself in the company of a civilian girl, Miki. She was nice. She was pretty. She was smart - not the sadistically evil smart like Hina. Smoker rather liked her - which was rare for the sullen teen. Things were going pretty well too. Sure, he had technically knocked her over accidentally, but he managed to smooth everything out with tea (Garp was right, actually, tea did make things better).
"Aaaawww, he's so cute!" The damned feeling was back. Oh fuck no. Please, please, please no. Not now. Not with Miki around. "Do you know him, Smoker-kun?"
Something tugged on his pant leg and Smoker glanced down to meet happy dark eyes. Why was he not surprised? "I...he...well..." He struggled uselessly to explain.
"Up." It should be illegal to make brats this adorable - no, wait, obnoxious.
"Pick him up, Smoker-kun!" Miki practically beamed. If he didn't obey, he might as well kiss his social life good-bye. It was hard to make friends, let alone civilian friends. But damn it, he wasn't going to give in! Ace was not going to win this round. Paying him and his internal dilemma no mind, Miki bent down to address the tyke. "Hey there, little guy. What's your name? I'm Miki. Are you lost?"
"No." Ace decided grimly after a moment's contemplation. Chubby cheeks were pulled into a frown - something Smoker had never seen on Ace's face so far. "No."
Well, that was new. Smoker would have thought Ace would charm the girl and have her wrapped around his finger - much like how he did with the female recruits at the Academy. This outright disapproval was new. Miki, going by the look on her face, wasn't expecting that reaction either.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Smoker decided to intervene before something goes wrong. "Ace...what are you doing here?"
Immediately, the clouded expression on his face cleared. Ace lifted his arms and beamed up at him, "Ace wants up!" He raised his arms even higher after a moment, pawing uselessly at his pants. Damn it, he was talking like Hina. But, under the expectant gaze of Miki and the demanding one that promised trouble, Smoker relented.
"He's Vice-Admiral Garp's grandson, Ace." Smoker explained. Ace, who should be in the care of Marsen, back at the Academy.
"Ooh," Miki hummed in understanding. "I didn't know the Hero had a grandson..."
With surprising upper body strength and coordination, Ace moved and shifted in Smoker's secure arms until he was comfortable. Smoker paid him no mind in favour of continuing his conversation with Miki. But it seems Ace could not and would not tolerate playing second fiddle to anyone. And so, he did what any attention-seeking brat did.
He bit him.
"Eh...is Ace-chan...biting - ?"
"Don't mind him." Smoker said, unflinchingly even as Ace increased the pressure on the mouthful of flesh he currently had between his jaws. "He's just acting like a spoiled brat."
"A-are you sure, Smoker-kun?"
"Yes."
He was gnawing at him quite enthusiastically now, making happy noises every so often. Did Garp starve this child or something?
"May-maybe he's hungry?"
"Don't worry." Smoker replied, blandly. "He does this all the time."
"Oh." Miki looked on at the considerable progress Ace was making along Smoker's neck. The conversation, which had previously been so interesting, had no chance of picking back up again. It was hard to have a good conversation when one was being gnawed on by a cannibalistic toddler with the misleading face of an angel. "Ah well, you look like you have your hands full at the moment, Smoker-kun..."
"Yeah, I guess."
"I guess, I should get going..."
"Alright."
"It was nice meeting you, Smoker-kun."
"Yeah, it was nice." It had been really nice.
"Maybe we can catch up when you're in town again?"
"Sure." But Smoker knew it wasn't a possibility. As if the Commander would ever let him out again. A trip to town was usually a reward for good behaviour - something Smoker didn't know the meaning of.
"Ahah, well take care, Smoker-kun. Bye-bye, Ace-chan!" Smoker watched her go helplessly.
"...She's gone, brat." The nibbling stopped immediately. Smoker glowered at the empty space in front of him, "I hate you so much."
"Hungry..." Ace smiled and opened his mouth. "Food."
Smoker was going to kill Marsen for this.
(LOL! Sexual harassment at the age of two. I'm so proud of him! I hadn't even realized that it was like Ace giving Smoker hickeys until I finished.)
16.
After eating up whatever funds he had left, Smoker and Ace headed back to the Academy. Not even a quarter way through, Ace had lost all motivation to keep walking so Smoker was forced to carry the brat. Smoker reasoned that Ace hadn't cost him too much this visit so he was in the mood to be kind.
The boy's endurance actually surprised him. He had walked far longer than expected. Heh. He just might turn out to be the powerful, upstanding marine officer Vice-Admiral Garp hoped for. But going by Ace's evil streak and penchant for spreading chaos, he just might turn out to be a bloody pirate.
Smoker smirked.
Now wouldn't that be great? Then, as a marine officer, Smoker would be obligated to arrest the punk. That was something he'll do without a moment's hesitation. He just couldn't wait.
"Hina not impressed."
"With your general lack of in personality?" Smoker sniped back as he walked past the pink haired teen. Hina was never too impressed with anything so Smoker didn't bother to even show concern. Oddly enough, her disapproving gaze wasn't levelled at him - rather, at the boy tucked securely in his arms.
"Smoker-kun is in trouble."
"What? Why? I didn't do anything this time!"
"Hina - "
"There he is! He took him! Smoker!" Marsen.
"As Hina was saying, everyone is convinced that you took Ace-chan, Smoker-kun." Hina frowned, obviously irritated for being interrupted. She showed her displeasure by locking Marsen and sitting on him.
It didn't take long for Smoker to put two and two together. "Marsen, you little shit. You lost him!"
"No! You took him!"
Voices were approaching, among them, Smoker could make out Vice-Admiral Garp's boisterous laugh. Leave it to that man to be amused when his grandson disappears.
"Be quiet, idiot." Hina hissed, pointedly slamming the heel of her shoe into Marsen. "How did Smoker-kun find Ace-chan?"
"I didn't." Smoker replied dully. "He found me."
"Impossible!" Marsen interjected, "How can a two year old leave the Marine Academy, find his way into town and find you of all people in less than two hours?!"
"Because his keeper was a useless sack of shit."
"You bastard! You! You took him! Damn it, Hina! Let me go!"
"Hina doesn't want to."
"Why the hell would I want him?"
"Deny all you want you little shit, but - "
"This is no way to behave in - " Hina tried to cut in.
"Shut it!" The two screamed.
Wait...
That wasn't Hina...
"C-C-C-C-Com..."
"Mess hall duty for the next month."
"Y-yes ma'am..."