justicereigns | Appointment Post / Voicemail / All That Jazz

I'd punch him.

Right in the jaw. [Mimes a punch!]

Pow.

See?

Sometimes I find myself tempted to do the same.

[Laughs.]

What's holding you back?

[ . . . ]

You do not want to know.

[GRINS.]

[He wants to ruffle her hair, but he refrains, and checks on her tea to see if she needs a refill while he gets himself more coffee.]

All right, I hate to ruin your good mood, but I think you better know what he's currently going through with his mood and whatnot.

[TEA WILL HELP, RIGHT? HE HOPES????]

[At any rate, coffee's helping HIM. So there's that.]

His brother recently arrived, from about the same time I'm from. Portgas wasn't just arrested. I'm not even sure he knows yet that much. But Straw Hat, Portgas' brother, was going to be killed by the admiral that went on to fight my friend Kuzan. Portgas died protecting Straw Hat: his younger brother.

That's why I was so shocked to see him. His death changed the whole world. The marines had to choose between two paths, each more terrible than the last. The world's practically been on fire ever since.

That's the other reason I'd be... wary of Akainu showing up here. Portgas doesn't remember how he died, but I'm certain the Phoenix could not let Akainu wander around free, and I know Akainu would try anything to kill the brothers again. He believes that sons of criminals are basically doomed to be criminals as well. Blood or predestination I don't know, but Portgas was a lot more famous than you'd think, his death is what gave Akainu the political clout to challenge Kuzan, even though he was the popular vote for Fleet Admiral.

That's why I knew Portgas would seek me out once his brother was here. I was there. And he trusts enemies too easily.

So....

Right now...

For at least awhile, until he stops tilting, he's going to be a bit freaked out, I think. Especially since like I said, he doesn't remember the circumstances or seem to know how many went to rescue him. You can ask his crew for a better idea of what he knows and how much to show.

But with everything with the leg, I know he'll never tell you. He'll probably try to kill me if he hears I told you all this. Hell, I'd do the same if I were him. But... given he found out pretty accidentally through his brother, I figured it'd be best to warn you myself without any further misconceptions.

Do what you want with it. Tell him whatever you want, or don't. But since you're going to be near him, you'll see a lot of the effects, even if he doesn't mean to show that much.

[ That REALLY killed whatever mood there was.

The news is shocking, and she doesn't even have the mind to attempt to hide that. Ace... Was killed. And he knows he was killed. The admiral Smoker warned her about was the reason...

Her hand shakes a little as she looks back to the mug she's holding, frowning as she just tries to take it all in. ]

... It is disgusting that Akainu would think that way. One's birth should not determine such things.

[ Just because he was the son of a criminal? It's... Wrong.

The least shocking thing about it is that Ace and Luffy are brothers. She didn't really get the chance to ask Ace about his brother or what he was like, but it's much easier to take than everything else. Smoker's right though; such news is shocking, so of course Ace wouldn't be all right. The other night... He must have just found out. ]

... It explains how he was the other night. I did not press then - trying to force anything out of Ace is a useless effort. Maybe not straight away, but I should let him know that I know of it now. So he does not have to hide it - that is not a burden I would wish on him.

[ She closes her eyes then, trying to swallow back the hard lump that's building. It explains Marco's warning, as well. It gives her more of the pieces to put together. How Ace was captured. How far his convictions carried him.

What Smoker might not know is that it convinces Adela of something else; she can never act on her feelings now, not without fear of what it would do to Ace. ]

... Thank you for telling me. If nothing else... It will help keep me from saying anything insensitive to him. The only other thing I can say is that I hope he remains here, as long as possible.

I agree with you. So does Kuzan. Fujitora completely had it. He took out his eyes rather than see all the injustices of the world anymore. [Shakes his head, and slowly folds his arms and rests his head on them.]

[Sadly enough, he suspected it might make up her mind about how to handle Ace. And even though he didn't want to, he knew he had to. One of the things he learned from fixing things with Maribelle. If she hadn't been upfront as possible with him, they'd have been in far more of a mess. And if someone ever wanted to deal with the headache that was Smoker; he wanted them to know what they were getting into.]

[Even more so with Ace. Because of the way Ace wanted to protect his friends from himself. And the only way they could prove they were strong enough to deal with things was to survive it. Smoker was the same way. Even with Maribelle. And it was why he knew Adela had to be told.]

[Smoker got up and moved around the little table to hug Adela's shoulders -- chair backing including.]

Sorry, kiddo.

[Gently ruffles her hair.]

I wish his nakama had told you instead, but I guess they'd rather live in a fantasy for a little longer, but I know you're tougher than that, and I promised to treat you like an adult, yeah?

[ It's still hard to get used to hugs. They're comfortable, but they're still weird. She finally does sigh, holding herself close and for once not swatting his hands away. It's starting to get easier to accept that occasionally she needs this kind of thing. And... It feels safe. ]

You did. Thank you.

[ She means every word, because it is hard to take but maybe not as hard as it should have been. ]

It's okay to be sad. I spent... months after that war trying to figure out how it all went wrong. Hell, I still don't know I get it. Not really anyway. And I wasn't even really friends with him then. Or now. [Except that last part is a lie :T oops.]

Sorry kiddo.

You said that already.

[ She lets out a small chuckle, shaking her head before squeezing him a little. ]

... I will be all right. I promise.

[Grins and pulls back, but lightly squeezes her shoulder too.]

Okay okay.

I'm just not that good with any of this kind of stuff, sorry.

I would say you are better than you think you are.

[ Definitely feeling better. Don't mind the tears at the corners of her eyes, she's fine promise. ]

[LEANS A SEMI-HUG on her head.] You don't have to smile if you don't want to. But if you'd rather keep smiling, I won't call you on it, okay? Just so you know, you don't have to fake it.

... I feel like smiling now.

[ Sniff. Damn it Smoker stop touching her heart with your words and gestures. She's heard it before, but... It's always really nice to hear. ]

Okay okay. [HEAD RUFFLE! NO DON'T CRY!]

[You can't win with Smoker. Just something Ace says. Because it's true.] How about I make you some hot cocoa and you can fall asleep on your books in bed if you want, okay?

[ IT'S OKAY SMOKER THEY'RE HAPPY TEARS

She wipes at one of her eyes, smiling and nodding. ]

That sounds nice...

Okay. [Last ruffle!]

I'll get that all set up for you then.

[ This time she will swat at his hand for that - apparently she's not going to allow it all the time. Not that it's ever stopped him before. ]

Thank you, Smoker.

[ She's going to scoop up her pup now and start heading back to her room with him. At least she feels a little bit more certain about things in general, even with the disturbing news given earlier. Actually, maybe because of it. ]

Appointment Post / Voicemail / All That Jazz

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And end here?