After the mobilization assembly, Zephyr announced that everyone would have half a day to prepare. Tomorrow morning, they would officially board their assigned ships and depart.
The moment he dismissed them, the entire recruit camp exploded.
Unsurprisingly, Rain became the center of every conversation.
The guy who'd been privately trained by Rear Admiral Gion for half a year—already the public enemy of every male recruit—had now volunteered for the riskiest choice: Vice Admiral Sakazuki.
"Is he insane? He skipped Vice Admiral Jeando on purpose?"
"Tch, I'm telling you, half a year of special training with Rear Admiral Gion and he's forgotten his own name."
"Exactly, thinks he's invincible now. Just wait—he'll regret it."
Rain ignored all of it.
When he got back to the dorm, Smoker was sitting on his bed with a dark expression, polishing his weapon. The second Rain opened the door, another voice came from the corner of the room.
"Took you long enough, Rain."
Hina was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, clearly having waited for some time.
Smoker stood up too, his expression complicated. "So you really went through with it? Sakazuki… of all people, you picked his ship?"
Rain calmly started packing—though there wasn't much to do. Everything he owned was in the storage ring anyway.
"Hina is very worried about you," Hina said coolly, but the worry in her eyes was obvious. "Vice Admiral Strawberry is dangerous, but at least he won't treat recruits like expendable pawns. You can still change your mind."
Smoker scratched his head irritably. "I also wanted to pick Sakazuki at first, but you're not like me."
He glared straight at Rain. "I know you're strong—monster-level strong. But that doesn't mean you have to pull a stunt like this!"
He knew Rain's nature and Sakazuki's justice couldn't be farther apart. There had to be a reason he didn't know about.
Rain was a little surprised at how the two of them were acting. He'd spent months bossing them around, but somehow their relationship had only gotten better.
"Don't worry." Rain patted Smoker on the shoulder with a small smile. "You know what I can do. Doesn't matter where I go—I'll be fine."
"Bullshit! Who the hell's worried about you?!" Smoker snapped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I'm worried if you die, no one will cook for us anymore!"
"Hina agrees," Hina added with a straight face.
Rain chuckled. "All right, all right. I'll make you something good at the Midnight Canteen tonight. Real hot food, before I go meet Rear Admiral Gion."
"At least you've got some conscience."
…
That night, at Gion's quarters.
Maybe it was guilt over the fact that he wouldn't be around to cook for the next few months, but tonight's dinner was especially extravagant.
Rain held nothing back and went full [Top-Tier] chef mode.
When the dishes were laid out, the layered, intoxicating fragrance even made the normally composed Gion visibly eager.
"Looks like someone's in a good mood tonight," she said, pouring them both a glass of expensive red wine.
"Ma'am, I'm still underage. I'm not allowed to drink," Rain reminded her.
Gion gave him a sideways look, half-smiling. "Cut it out. The first time you broke into the kitchen, you were drinking with Smoker. Don't play innocent with me."
Rain: (・_・;)
He could only raise his glass and lightly clink it with hers.
They ate in companionable silence. Gion's movements were still elegant, but the speed at which she cleared the plates made her satisfaction obvious.
"Talk," she said at last, setting her cup down. Her foxlike eyes glimmered under the light. "Why Sakazuki?"
Rain put on the "standard answer" face. "Reporting, ma'am: The Marines' duty is to eliminate evil. I want to go to the front line—"
Thud.
Gion kicked him in the shin, cutting him off.
"Don't feed me the lines Zephyr likes to hear," she said sharply. "Tell the truth."
Rain went quiet.
So troublesome… He sighed inwardly. He knew he wouldn't get away with anything shallow tonight.
If that's how it was…
He lifted his head. The lazy, unserious look faded from his face, replaced by that carefully controlled, suppressed calm—the same expression he'd used back on Gigantia when he'd thrown Hina off his trail.
He turned to the window. The pale moonlight shimmered faintly in the red wine in his glass.
"Rear Admiral Gion," he said softly, "I'm from a small island in the East Blue."
Gion blinked. It was the first time he'd voluntarily brought up his past.
"When I was little," he continued, voice steady, as if telling someone else's story, "a pirate crew landed there. They took everything. Burned everything."
He paused, his tone lowering. "I was hidden in a cellar. I listened to nothing but screams for a whole day and night. When I came out… I was the only one alive."
He turned back and met her gaze. In his dark eyes, her reflection flickered, framed by just the right amount of hatred.
"I didn't join the Marines for 'noble justice.'"
"I just want… pirates to pay."
He lifted the glass and drained it.
"Sakazuki's patrol route has the highest chance of encountering pirates."
Gion was stunned.
The lazy, amused look vanished from her face, replaced by shock—and something like pain.
She looked at the boy in front of her, suddenly realizing that at some point, his height had nearly reached her own.
She'd gotten used to his constant joking, to the way he always defused tension with food and humor.
Only in this moment did it hit her that this not-quite-seventeen-year-old was carrying something that heavy.
Her hand moved on its own toward her pocket, fingers fishing out a slim cigarette to steady her thoughts.
She held it between her fingers—but just before lighting it, her hand froze.
She remembered the boy across from her—and how he always seemed a little bothered when she smoked.
Her brows tightened almost imperceptibly.
Then, with two fingers, she gently snapped the unlit cigarette in half.
She tossed the broken pieces aside as if nothing had happened.
"Rain…" her voice softened without her meaning to. "Sakazuki's justice is magma that burns everything. I'm worried…"
"I'm worried your hatred will burn you to ash before he ever does."
"Thank you for the warning, ma'am." Rain's face smoothed back into calm. "I'll keep it in mind."
If acting could be converted to a system skill, I'd be at [Top-Tier] by now, he thought to himself, letting out a silent breath of relief as she dropped the questioning.
"…" Gion studied him quietly for a long moment.
"Forget it," she said finally. She stood and grabbed a polished wooden box from the weapon rack behind her, then tossed it to him.
"What's this?" Rain caught it.
"Your blade's been neglected," she said, arms folded. "That's a set of whetstones and maintenance oil I used to use. Consider it payment for half a year of cooking."
Rain opened it and felt a small jolt inside.
This set wasn't cheap.
"It's late. Head back and get some rest," Gion said with a wave of her hand. "Three months from now, if you make it back alive… you'll owe me all the meals you skipped."
"Okay."
…
Back in Room 307, Smoker was already out cold, snoring like war drums.
Rain frowned slightly, grabbed a scrap of paper, rolled it into a ball, coated it with a thin layer of Armament Haki, and flicked.
Whap.
The paper ball hit Smoker square in the forehead. The snoring cut off, replaced by light teeth grinding.
Tonight was the monthly refresh for [Dimensional Curiosities].
He hadn't seen anything worth buying in a while, but he checked it on schedule anyway.
This time, as soon as he opened it, something caught his eye.
[Clark Kent's Glasses]
Description: A completely ordinary-looking pair of glasses that contains a power of cognitive misalignment. As long as you wear them, no one can recognize who you are. Friendly reminder: do not use near phone booths, and do not expect them to stop bullets.
Price: 10,000 Sin Points
Rain's eyes lit up. Now that's useful.
It was practically tailor-made for him. Ten thousand points was a bargain.
"Buy."
With the deduction confirmed, a pair of plain black frames appeared in his hand.
Smiling in satisfaction, he put them away.
~~~
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