Pheasant and Dragon

Hey! Our Roles!!!

Garp finds out Kuzan has joined Blackbeard and contemplates his feelings accordingly

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Garp never really believed in fate. He believed that one had to take fate by the reins and dictate how their own life would play out, but not right now. It seemed that every child he had mentored or raised was fated to become a criminal. Sure, Coby isn't a criminal, but who knows what the future holds? He had all but given up hope when his golden child joined the Blackbeard Pirates out of all crews. It seems that all who held the Monkey name were fated to become criminals, except him, of course.

The indescribable anger and sadness he felt when Kuzan joined the Blackbeard Pirates was felt by the entire headquarters. The base trembled in fear as Garp went on a rampage at the training grounds. Piles of knocked-out marines lay at the entrance of the grounds as Sengoku was sent to try and calm the enraged father. He carefully stepped over piles of groaning marines, as the shouting was getting louder now.

"ARE ALL OF YOU REALLY WEAKLINGS? CAN NONE OF YOU STAND MY PUNCHES?"

"Garp..."

Garp wasn't the model of a modern vice admiral at the moment, but he embodied the fear people felt for his legacies. He wasn't wearing his uniform but something more akin to his younger days: a clean black suit. Fitting for the last hope he had for the Marine institution. Well, he had Coby, but who knows what the hell he was doing at Rocky Port? Garp adjusted his tie and stared at Sengoku, who was now deep into retirement. Who would've guessed that Garp was the more formal one out of him and Sengoku? He gave a final punch to the ground and walked past Sengoku without meeting him in the eyes. Loud footsteps followed behind him, but they got quieter the further they got to their room.

The silence was uncomfortable, as an angry Garp was not normal, and the usual was the opposite. They entered their living space, and Sengoku silently shut the door as Garp did the tirade of the angry husband, except switching out the alcohol for rice crackers. Loud crunches disturbed the quiet tension of the room as Sengoku sat across Garp. He knew to give Garp time to talk to him, which was something he had learned over the years.

"Do you think Coby would become a criminal?" Garp said once the crackers were gone.

Sengoku took a moment to answer.

"No. I don't think he will, but that's not the problem, is it?" Sengoku questioned.

Sengoku was right. Garp was never this angry when Dragon defected to start the revolution or when Luffy and Ace decided to pursue their dream of becoming pirates. He had been sad, worried, and annoyed when they did, but never enraged. Blackbeard had essentially caused Ace's death and destabilised the world order, and his beloved son had joined the man who killed his grandson. Garp felt betrayed. He had not felt it before, which is why it made him angry. He raised the kid. He trained him. Kuzan was his boy.

"Maybe he had his reasons," Sengoku added.

"Whatever his reason is, I won't forgive him!" Garp shouted.

Garp hadn't seen his youngest son since his fight with Mad-Dog Akainu, and it didn't even count as Kuzan had been out cold. He has had no contact with him since then. Garp felt very uncomfortable about that fact, as they had been particularly close since Kuzan's boyhood, and they often made time to spend with one another. He grew to love how the boy stuck close to him and imitated him, but it changed throughout the years, and he was the one seeking his son out. The roles-reversed.

"Where is he?" Garp demanded.

Garp was going to be the one to take his son in, and no one else.

"We don't know. It's quite hard to track a man and his penguin," Sengoku muttered.

He hoped Coby would change his fate and become the hero of Rocky Port or something. Maybe that will give him hope again, but all he has to do now is fume and stew in his emotions. Something he is not used to.