Sword

Chapter 22

"I think that just makes you brave," Tashigi offered, fidgeting nervously. "And selfless. You value saving your friend more than your own ambitions to become a Marine. For what it's worth, I think that's what all Marines should be. We should want to help people above everything else. I-I think you're a better Marine than I am. I don't know what I would've done in your situation. I'm always too scared to break the rules."

Shoko just gave her knees a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks, Tashigi. I appreciate that." And she did appreciate it, but it didn't help her to feel any less dejected.

She didn't regret saving Zoro or taking down Morgan. But it was just way too early to give up on her dream as a Marine. She had only just gotten her first taste of bringing justice to the world, and now she found herself at the mercy of the Marines HQ as they decided whether or not they would take away her means of pursuing her dream.

I guess if they do let me go, I can always find a new way to achieve what I want, but it'll be a damn lot harder if I have to fight injustices as a civilian.

She really just wanted to be a Marine, too. It wasn't a necessary part of her dream, but it had always just been a given since she was very young that she would one day strive to become a powerful, high-ranking soldier who would use her power to bring true justice to the world. The fanciful images of herself wearing a long Marine Admiral coat at the helm of a huge Marine ship were suddenly very blurry in her mind. Right now, all images of her future were very blurry.

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Shoko spent the next two days on probation from all usual training and other activities as she waited to hear from Captain Smoker what her fate would be.

She was in downtown Loguetown exploring different shops and restaurants when a low-ranking soldier approached her and informed her that she was to report to the captain immediately.

She wasted no time getting to the Marine base and to Captain Smoker's office.

"Captain, you called for me?" Shoko greeted with a salute as she entered the room.

"Hmm," Smoker hummed around his cigars, walking to the back of his desk to take his seat. He leaned back casually as he looked at Shoko through the hazy air.

"You will not be discharged," Smoker said finally. "Or demoted."

"Thank you S-"

"Don't go thinking I did this because I like you," he interrupted before she could get out her thanks. "Because to be frank, I don't. I did this because you helped to reveal injustice within the Marines, something that I don't believe is worthy of punishment."

Shoko gave her routine obedient response, unsure of how to feel. She didn't want to let herself get too down since he simply didn't like her. She was never going to please everyone. But it still hurt her pride to hear it said so bluntly.

On the other hand, she couldn't help the swell of pride to be acknowledged so soon for her work towards justice. Her dream suddenly felt so tangible. But she didn't want to look too proud since she was here to discuss her fate for being disobedient.

As if the captain was aware of her thoughts, he continued, "Still, I did call you here to discuss punishment for lying to your Superior. You will now be able to continue training since we need all of our soldiers to be in top form for our work. But outside of training, I am assigning you to work at the docks for the next three months, where you will join the troops who monitor the ships bringing imported food to the island."

Food? Sure, that sounds boring, but that's not too terrible as far as what I thought military punishments would be.

Aloud, she responded obediently, trying not to sound too overjoyed that her punishment didn't include intense physical labor.

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"Shit! This is a lot of intense physical labor," Shoko muttered between labored breaths to no one in particular.

It was her first day taking on her temporary role, and the sun had only just risen above the horizon, but she was sweating through her uniform top already.

As it turned out, working at the docks with the import ships meant sorting through extremely large crates of produce and identifying which ones held any contaminated or forbidden items and carrying those crates into a dusty, decrepit warehouse before they could be accidentally taken into town with the acceptable crates of food.

Most of these crates were the size of a really large dog, or maybe a small horse. They reeked of rot, and the boxes were extremely heavy, packed tightly with dense fruits or vegetables. Marine officers were appointed to carry these crates in pairs, as all the horse-drawn wagons were headed into town with the usable produce.

Shoko set her crate down in sync with the soldier she was currently paired with. He was fairly out of breath himself, but he was a veteran of this particular job, and didn't seem nearly as frustrated with the work as Shoko was.

"Keep it going, Officer," he commented derisively, "You've barely even started."

Shoko sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, using her arm to hide the eyeroll she gave her partner. He was of a slightly lower rank but kept calling her "Officer" with a voice that dripped with so much contempt, she was surprised that the word didn't just slide down his chin and splat on the floor.

Many of the soldiers acted bitterly towards her since the moment she first arrived at the docks that morning. It seemed they were aware that she was only with them as a punishment, doing the job they had been assigned to do every day for their usual work. She never lashed back at them, since she understood their frustration, but damn was it annoying.

It was as if Captain Smoker had assigned this job as her punishment knowing that the people would be more of a challenge for her than the work itself. But she was sure as hell not going to let some bad attitudes break her spirit.

This job is only temporary. I'm gonna serve my time, but I'll also use this opportunity to get stronger. I always have to be getting stronger.