A Little Into Her Life
The pinkette stretched her arms, she was finally back at the Navy Headquarters where she resided. "Finally... I can get some quality sleep on a nice futon..." she groaned as she took lazy steps deeper into Headquarters, her hands slipped into the pockets of her skin tight white shorts and she headed straight to the residential sector.
"You should get some rest, bubbles. I reckon it won't be much time before you get assigned a job since you're finally back from your short break," Kuzan advised. Yes, he called her 'bubbles' that was her nickname and it was also the name of her personal jet-ski speedboat. The Navy Admiral slipped his hand into his pocket while his other hand held onto his coat, slinging it over his back.
"Ah...That's something for future Irin to worry about, Kuzan-san... Besides, I already planned to go to sleep... After I spar with good ol' Smoker-san, that is," Irin giggled, completely ignoring Kuzan's advice.
Well, it's not like it's her first time ignoring his advice...
The two went their separate ways, it seemed that Kuzan was heading towards Sengoku's office but Irin paid no mind. She went straight to her sleeping quarters.
Irin pulled out the keys to her room from her pocket and stuck it in the doorknob, she then twisted the handle and entered her humble abode. The young Vice Admiral took a deep breath as she smelled the lavender fragrance that filled her room, she was home...
In her room, she had a pink futon which was laid at the far right corner, leaning against the wall and on the wall hung a simple calligraphy scroll which held the words 'Justice'.
Irin had a shelf at the opposite of her room where she kept many informational books along with newspaper clippings of events she held interest in. She, of course, kept the wanted posters of Luffy and Ace in her book shelf too. Next to the shelf was her study table which was drowned with papers, files and books but a lilac vase stood tall among the mess, it held a beautiful bouquet of lavenders which was what primarily scented her room. Across her sleeping quarters and towards the left side of her room, she had a dressing table which was where she did her hair into her usual ponytail each morning.
On that little table held a photo frame with two pictures in it, taken on different days.
The picture on the left side of the frame was a picture of Irin with her parents when she was no older than 3 years old, wearing a vanilla yellow kimono with sakura patterns glittered all over it. 3 year old Irin had her hair styled up in a little bun and was carried by a dark haired man who had a tall stature and a very well built body. He wore a black kimono with a black and white striped hakama, over his outfit he wore a black haori. The man who carried Irin was her father, Ryuu D. Ijun at the age of 34.
In the picture, Ijun had his arm around a beautiful woman and that was Rina, his wife. She had gorgeous long pink hair and she wore a light green kimono which faded out into pink at its tips and over her kimono she wore a white haori with a small design on each side. The white haori rested over Rina's shoulder and atop each shoulder a design which consisted of an upside down pentagon with another pentagon branching from each side.
On the right side of the frame was another picture of Irin's family except this was taken when she was 4. The little pinkette wore a white and red qipao and had her hair styled into two tiny buns. This time, instead of being carried by her father, she stood in front of her parents with her pointer sticking out and a huge grin on her face. Her father smiled brightly at the camera and from what the image showed, the man had deep hazelnut brown eyes. To top it off, he wore a dark blue changshan which complimented his looks a lot, the man was quite the looker! Once again, he had his arm over his wife. Rina wore a white qipao which had blue flower designs swirling all over the traditional clothing.
She was truly stunning.
Those were the only pictures Irin had with her family so it meant a lot to her.
Behind the dressing table was Irin's wardrobe which, of course, stored all her clothes and next to the wardrobe was the door to the bathroom.
That's all. Her room was small but it was home to her.
Irin opened her wardrobe and changed into a suitable outfit for sparring which was a black tank top and a pair of green shorts. She wore her usual pair of white boots which was gifted to her by Ace and slung two kantanas over her shoulder then headed out to the training room where she'd spar with Smoker.
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"Yo, Smoker-san!"
"Oh, Irin... Mind joining me for a spar?"
"That's what I came here for!"
Tashigi watched as Commodore and the Vice Admiral interacted, "Um, Vice Admiral Irin, would it be okay if you sparred with me too?" she asked, slightly intimidated by the pink haired Vice Admiral. "Of course, Tashigi! I've been wanting to practice my sword skills too, it'd be nice if you could spar with me," Irin said excitedly.
It has been a while since Irin held a sword but she remembered every single thing her mother had taught her.
"Really? Thank you, Vice Admiral Irin!" Tashigi bowed as she smiled, excited to train with a Vice Admiral.
"How many times do I have to tell you, just 'Irin' is fine," Irin laughed, "Alright, Smoker-san! Let's do this!" she turned to face the older man, placing her swords down at the side of the room.
The training room was a big room with little to nothing in it besides another door which led to the storage room where training dummies and dull weapons were kept.
Irin walked towards Smoker and stood right in front of him. She took a fighting stance and smirked, the girl dashed forward, towards Smoker. By that time, the Commodore had already turned his bottom half into smoke for mobility and flew upwards but noticing that he was mid air, Irin immediately jumped and landed a hit on Smoker before he had realised.
Before he could return an attack, Irin was frantically apologising to the older man, "I'm so sorry, Smoker-san! I'm so sorry!"
Smoker sweatdropped at the Vice Admiral. No matter how many times they sparred, the first few rounds was always just Irin landing a blow on him then apologising like there was no tomorrow.
"Irin, it's fine... We're sparring remember, you're supposed to hit me and go all out," the white haired man stated calmly.
"Oh right... Sorry, I'll go all out from here on out!" she saluted.
"You don't have to salute... You hold a higher rank than me..."
"Oh yeah... Sorry."
Tashigi who was at the far end of the large training room giggled at the Vice Admiral, she found the Youngest Vice Admiral very admirable and cute.
"Alright, come at me again, Irin!" Smoker requested, cracking his knuckles while he was at it. The older man dashed towards Irin this time, once again, making mobility easier by turning his bottom half into smoke. He threw a punch at the girl but right at that moment she disappeared from his sight. Irin leaped up and flipped mid air. Her body was upside down while she threw a jab at Smoker, catching him off guard because her movements were too quick to be detected by him.
Her jabs packed quite the punch, pun very much intended.
She landed gracefully back on the ground, softening her land with her Mizu Mizu no Mi abilities while Smoker fell face first on the ground because that was where Irin's impact was on. The pink haired girl had landed a clean hit on the older man's face.
Smoker immediately hopped back up to continue their spar, spreading himself thin and into smoke which surrounded every inch of Irin's vision.
Irin shuddered at the amount of smoke being produced, she was actually quite weak to smoke because it polluted her. She was water afterall. The pinkette grunted as her face scrunched up in discomfort.
The white-haired man threw a surprise punch at Irin while she was in a weakened state and it hit her. However, when the impact met with her skin, she immediately grabbed ahold of Smoker's arm and threw him across the room. Irin dashed towards the man, sliding across the smooth ground with her lower half turned into water. With the momentum from the speed she used to travel towards smoker she swung her fist towards Smoker's face, stopping right at the tip of his nose and causing the ground below him to break in a ripple-like style.
Smoker's eyes widened as he glanced at the ruined floor from his peripheral vision, this was no surprise to him but every time he sparred with Irin, she would always amaze him with her strengths.
Her usual serious and quiet demeanor that she exerted when she trained faded away. Irin held her hand out towards Smoker and he grabbed onto it as she pulled him up. The two got into their fighting stances and began to lunge at each other again.
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After a long sparring session with Irin, Smoker gasped for air after chugging down his water. Sweat glistened over his muscles as he sat on the ground with a white tank top that hugged his body and a pair of green track pants.
"As usual, I can't seem to beat you," he said, gruffly as he watched Irin absolutely destroy a group of training dummies.
"What are you saying? You're super strong, Smoker-san, you almost got me," she told him as she continued throwing punches at the indestructible training dummy.
This training dummy was the only one that was made out of a special material that prevented it from being broken down. Irin liked training with it.
Smoker chuckled deeply, "You say that every time we spar, I'm starting to feel as though you're just trying to make me feel better after losing to a kid."
Irin squinted a little, glaring at the older man, "Well, this kid is actually being honest because you actually got me several times. You're learning and trying to adapt to my fighting style while I'm trying to counter your adapting speed by analysing your fighting style too. Also, there were many times you caught me off guard but I was just lucky to avoid your strikes. So in my eyes, I'm just lucky. You're incredibly adaptable and strong, Smoker-san so don't ever feel bad about losing to this kid," she remarked as she turned around. The girl smiled brightly at the white haired man as he took in her feedback.
Rare but precious, Smoker smiled at Irin, feeling motivated to grow stronger and feeling happy that he had made progress.
Tashigi then came running towards the two with 3 wooden katanas in her arms, "Vice Admiral Irin! Here, let's practice with wooden swords first!" she suggested excitedly, holding two katanas towards Irin. The young Vice Admiral smiled, "Thank you, Tashigi! Also, just call me Irin! You're older than me, plus, we're only two years apart! If anything, I should be the one addressing you formally."
"Ah there's no need for that Vice... I mean, Irin!"
"Hahaha! I don't know why we seldom talk but I'm sure we'd be great friends! Anyways let's train!"
Irin gripped onto the wooden swords, a familiar feeling surged through her body. It truly has been awhile since she held onto swords, "Please go easy on me, Tashigi," she chuckled awkwardly.
"Ah, that would be impossible, Vice... I mean, Irin! You're very strong! It'd be an insult to swordsmanship if I didn't give my all with such a formidable opponent!"
"Don't worry, I'm pretty bad with swords since it's been so long since I held one! You're good with swords so I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with you..."
Tashigi blushed at the compliment, "You're too kind, I-Irin!" she stuttered as she pushed up her glasses, hiding her blush.
The two women took their stances, Tashigi with both her hands gripping onto the wooden stick while Irin held one in each hand. Their wooden katanas clashed, Tashigi swung her fake sword at Irin. The pink haired girl blocked it with both her swords, forming an X. The two jumped back to launch their next blow.
Wooden swords clashed, the sound of wood hitting each other resonated throughout the room. Smoker sat at the corner of the room, back leaned against the wall as he watched the two ladies spar while puffing his cigar.
'Her attacks are gentle yet strong! It's amazing!' Irin noted to herself as she dodged an attack from Tashigi.
The girl in glasses struggled to get a hit on the Vice Admiral, 'I'm sure I used a pretty difficult skill just now... How did she dodge it so easily?' she wondered.
Irin then decided they should take a break, she finally got a hang of using swords again.
"Hey Tashigi, can we try using real swords this time? I think I've finally got a hang of using swords and I really wanna try using my swords... Is it okay with you if we sparred with real swords?" Irin asked.
"Sure! But I'll need to get a sword from the storage room," replied Tashigi.
"Oh, okay, you don't have your sword with you?"
"Oh no, it's not that... My sword is known as a Meito and I just feel that it wouldn't be fair if I used such a high quality blade..."
"Um... I'm not sure if my katanas are good but they're in pretty good condition."
"Oh... In that case, may I have a look at them?"
"Sure."
Irin handed Tashigi her swords, she owned two swords which were both passed down from her mother.
The first sword had a red saya (scabbard) that was decorated with a sageo which was a white string that wrapped around the scabbard and hung a red lotus ornament. Her sword had a flower-like, gold tsuba (guard) and a red tsuka (handle) which complimented each other well. The sword itself was a moderately curved katana with a distinct red hamon that looked like flames.
The second sword had a light pink saya (scabbard) and had no ornaments on it. The tsuba was gold too but was shaped like a rounded cross pattée, it was a moderately curved katana which had a distinct flame like hamon, similar to the first sword, except the hamon was blue in colour.
Tashigi gasped in shock when Irin showed her the swords she owned, "Irin... This sword is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords!" she exclaimed as she held onto the sword with the red scabbard, "It's the Gurenge no Ryuuseigun 紅蓮華の流星群 (Meteor Shower of the Red Lotus) which was crafted by none other than the legendary swordsmith, Shimotsuki Kozaburo!"
"21 Great Grade Swords? As in one of the Meito?"
"Ah, so you know! This is a very good sword!"
"Oh no, I know about the Meito but I didn't know that this sword was crafted by the famous Shimotsuki Kozaburo!"
"Eh?! Then how did you get this sword?"
"It was my mother's."
"Wow she must have been a great swordswoman to own such a great sword!"
"Oh no no, my mother was a doctor."
"What?!" she gasped in shock but then decided to analyse Irin's other sword.
Tashigi pushed her glasses up as she looked at the other sword Irin owned, "I'm sorry I don't know this sword, but it does look very familiar and it is very skillfully crafted! It's quite a beautiful sword!" she informed Irin, but was pretty bummed out because she couldn't recognise the sword with the pink scabbard.
From a swordsman's eye she could tell that the pink sword was a well crafted sword and it had a very similar design to the Kitetsu swords but the sword was not registered into any sword catalogue nor did it fall under any Meito categories.
"Well, shall we begin?" Irin asked, unsheathing both her swords and adjusting into a fighting stance.
"O-Okay!" Tashigi squeaked as she held onto her Shigure.
They both took their stances and swung their blades, the clanking of the swords resonated through the room. Tashigi launched a deadly attack towards the pink haired beauty but Irin swiftly deflected it with the back of her sword. The pinkette dodged her attacks while analysing her sword style and picking up a few skills along the way.
'She's... really good at dodging!' Tashigi thought, attempting to strike the Vice Admiral again and again.
Throughout their whole sparring session, Tashigi had not landed a single blow on Irin, and Irin had not sent a single attack towards the girl. She was like a punching bag for Tashigi... A sword wielding punching bag that dodge's very well...?
Either way, Tashigi was getting frustrated that none of her strikes were landing, they were either blocked or dodged and it was bugging her.
Irin's steps were very gentle and she moved like a trained swordswoman despite having not held a katana in a long time. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let her body follow its instincts. The girl's Observation Haki was very refined so she could tell where Tashigi's sword was gonna land. Her Haki was good but she hadn't trained it to the point where she could see short glimpses of the future.
Taking a very quick side step, Irin dodged Tashigi's lethal attack with her eyes closed. Her body then instinctively moved, twisting her body, swinging her sword towards the glasses girl and stopping right in front of her eyes as she was sprawled out on the ground.
Tashigi was sweating profusely, if the Vice Admiral had not stopped she would have died an ugly death.
"Woah! Didn't know I could move like that! Well done, Irin!" Irin grinned as she patted her own back, "Oh no, Tashigi! Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes... I'm fine, but Irin, that was really impressive!"
"Really? I had no idea I was capable of that! I mean I kinda did but I didn't think I could successfully pull it off!"
"I didn't even manage to land a single hit on you! You were moving like a very skilled swordswoman! Where did you learn how to wield the katana?"
"My mother taught me when I was younger..." Irin smiled sadly, gazing at the swords in her hands.
"Oh... I'm sorry-'' Tashigi sensed that she had hit a sensitive nerve on Irin so she tried to apologise. "I think that's enough training for today! Thanks for sparring with me!" Irin interrupted with a smile plastered onto her face.
She had long moved on from her mothers death so it didn't bother her as much as it used to but at that moment Irin avoided the topic because she didn't want to dampen the mood. Sure, she got over her mothers death but who could talk about their mother's death without making things seem sad?
Smoker listened into the two women's conversation and calmly walked over to the two. He didn't know much about Irin's past besides the fact that Monkey D. Garp raised her and that she knew Luffy fairly well, he wasn't curious per say but he did think that it'd be nice if he knew more about her.
"Tashigi, we should probably go get some rest and get ready for our next mission, we still have a lot of paperwork to do," Smoker informed.
The girl in glasses nodded, "Roger, Smoker-san!"
"Aw you guys are leaving already? I thought we could go grab some food together at the canteen..." Irin pouted as she picked up her swords and slung them over her shoulders.
"What are they serving today?" Smoker asked as he puffed his cigar.
"I dunno, but I'm sure the meal lady would have kept some smoked chicken for you," Irin said as she walked towards the exit of the training room.
Smoker blushed deeply at the fact that Irin was aware of his favourite dish, "I have work to do," he spoke loudly as if he was announcing it to the world while he looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with the girl.
"Aw, okay... Don't overwork yourself and Tashigi!" Irin grinned as she turned to face them before exiting the room.
Tashigi waved at the Vice Admiral before she left the room, "Vice Admiral Irin is such a friendly person," she smiled. Smoker never replied and a silent air hung above the two, "Smoker-san?" Tashigi turned to face the Commodore because he was oddly quiet.
Pink dusted the man's cheeks from embarrassment while he stood completely still, regretting his decision of working instead of getting food. He found Irin's company comforting but he would never admit to that, she was kind and she always offered good professional advice. "Let's go, Tashigi," he grunted.
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The sun was setting, it was deep into the evening. Irin walked towards the Headquarters canteen from the training room. She stopped halfway during her journey to admire the sunset, she smiled when she stared at the beautiful horizon that was visible from Marineford.
Irin then continued on her journey to the canteen, taking the latest newspaper that was laying around while she was on her way. When she reached the canteen, she went straight to the canteen lady and requested for a bowl of unadon (filleted grilled eel with rice), the cook happily served her.
She took a seat down and opened the newspaper.
Something had caught her attention, a revolutionary named Sabo was involved in another country's monarchy falling. She had seen this name multiple times over her job as a Marine but there were never any pictures of this man.
If she wasn't there that day with Dogra when she witnessed Sabo's death she would have thought that the man in the newspaper was her childhood friend but she didn't want to put her hopes in believing that he was alive just to be let down, instead, she chose to believe in what she saw that day and that was Sabo's death.
Irin put down the newspaper and focused on devouring her delicious meal. After her meal she headed out of the canteen and got ready to head back to her room to rest but she decided half way to just relax and watch the moon rise.
Outside the canteen and a little further away, Irin stood with her arms on the railings that overlooked the sunset and the training field. She could see Coby and Helmeppo training in the field below her. The pinkette smiled softly at how hardworking her juniors were. She gazed into the horizon and thought about many things, like how the world that they lived in was unfair, how she had to grow stronger to protect those she loved and when she was going to see Ace again.
Irin stood in silence, watching the sun set and the moon rise high into the sky. Her pink hair fluttered as the wind kissed her skin, she was silently thinking and unwinding, mentally preparing herself to get back to work.
If she never had her own way of self care, she was sure that she would've gone crazy a long time ago. Her self care may sound way too minimal for many but all it consisted of was time for herself to think. All she needed was to think and sort her thoughts out. No, all she gave herself was time to think...
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An hour passed and Irin still stood with her arms on the railing with her eyes closed. She was deep in thought while she felt the light breeze of the wind dancing on her skin.
Coby had just finished training, he glanced up towards the Navy Headquarters and spotted the Youngest Vice Admiral. She looked beautiful under the moonlight and she looked peaceful.
"Oh hello, Vice Admiral Irin!" Helmeppo waved.
Irin's silence broke as she glanced down to see who had called for her, she smiled when she saw that it was Coby and Helmeppo. "Hey guys!" she waved back then leaped off the railings. The pinkette landed softly next to her two juniors.
"H-Hello, Vice Admiral Irin!" Coby saluted, tensed by her presence.
"At ease Coby, you know I don't care much about these formalities," she giggled.
Helmeppo grinned evilly, "Coby's just shy because-"
Coby threw his hands at Helmeppo, covering his mouth hastily to prevent him from saying anything else.
"Hm?" Irin looked at the two back and forth in curiosity.
"O-Oh it's nothing you should worry about, Vice Admiral Irin!" Coby laughed awkwardly.
Irin raised an eyebrow then shook her head as she smiled, "Anyways, it's nice to see that you two have been training hard, great work guys!" she complimented, smiling with her eyes closed.
It was a beautiful and genuine smile which complimented the heartfelt praise she had just give.
Coby and Helmeppo blushed at her compliment and at the sight of her warm smile, she was truly a sight for sore eyes.
"Hey Coby... I think I get what you mean..." Helmeppo said as he took in the beauty of the Vice Admiral.
"Huh?" Irin cocked her eyebrow.
"N-Nothing!" Helmeppo stuttered as he hastily dashed away, leaving all of Irin's questions for Coby to answer.
Irin watched as Helmeppo disappeared into the building. She was curious but she decided to not question his quirks. The Vice Admiral turned to face Coby, she sat down on the grass and patted on the space next to her, signalling for the pink haired boy to sit next to her.
Coby hesitated before he took a seat next to the pink haired beauty, she smiled at him when he did and then continued to stare at the night sky.
The two sat in silence. It was already dark out and the stars were glistening in the sky.
"Hey Coby... What do you think about Luffy?" she asked, breaking the silence.
Catching Coby off guard with her question, he was unsure as to how he was supposed to answer. Should he tell her what he really thinks or should he answer her with what a proper Marine would say? He chose the latter.
"I-I think that he's a notorious pirate and he should be dealt with by the Navy as soon as possible before he causes more trouble!" he stated, stuttering as he spoke.
Irin turned to face Coby with what seemed to be a sad smile on her face. Nay, it was more of a smile that was slightly emotionless yet it had a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Is that what you really think?" she probed.
Coby only remained quiet after her question as he stared at the grass.
Irin exhaled deeply, "I'm gonna tell you what I think because I know that's not how you truly feel... I know you and I know Luffy... You're both kind and smart enough to not let these pesky titles cloud your judgement... We live in a world where whatever the World Government says is right is right and what's bad is bad. Simple. They get to choose what justice is and we're just living by their rules," she said.
"To me, the word Pirate and the word Marine are just mere titles... Being a Marine doesn't necessarily equate to being a good person and being a Pirate doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad person. As many bad pirates there are, I still want to believe that there are good ones and I know it'd be hard to do my job as a Marine if I viewed the world this way but I want to help those who are unable to protect themselves. I want to be able to protect good people, regardless of their titles."
"I think we can both agree that Luffy is an extraordinarily kind person but yet the World Government sees him as a threat... Maybe it's the amount of pirates that are bad that gives us the impression that Luffy is up to no good but can we really base all of that on a mere stereotype? We're quite literally just labelling them as heinous criminals without any proof... Is that fair? They've covered up for the World Governments shortcomings several times and we repay the Straw Hats by ridiculing them and labelling them as criminals? Tell me Coby, do you really think that Luffy is that bad of a pirate and deserves to be caught by the Navy?"
His eyes were wide, he had never expected the Youngest Vice Admiral to have thoughts that went against the World Government... In the eyes of many Marines, she was the ideal Marine... Powerful, dutiful, respectful and kind...
Coby glanced at the sky, "No... That's not what I think... Luffy-san was my saviour, he believed in me when I didn't. The only reason why I actually managed to become a Marine was because of him, if it wasn't for him I would've never gotten this opportunity to chase after my dream..." Coby spoke softly and calmly, unlike his usual stuttering when he conversed with the Vice Admiral.
Irin smiled a gentle smile as she turned to face Coby, she placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair, "You're a really kind person, Coby... I hope you'll remain kind and stick to your ideals throughout your journey to your dream... Admiral was it? I'm sure you can do it," she said with the most soothing tone.
Coby's eyes widened, he stared at the beautiful Vice Admiral with pink dusting his cheeks, he was captivated by her beauty and everything about her.
Her thoughts, opinions and personality. Everything.
She removed her hand from his pink hair and continued to stargaze. The Vice Admiral had a smile on her face, she was glad that there was still hope in the Navy... She was glad that there was still someone kind like Coby, someone who knew when to differentiate the title 'Pirate' from an individual...
The boy was still starstruck, his mind was still running wild as he continued to stare at Irin. She was right about many things... How the World Government worked and how there were indeed good pirates... Their beliefs were quite similar and he admired the young Vice Admiral even more because of that. She was unbelievably kind and he aspired to be like her.
Realising what had happened, Coby suddenly shot up.
Irin had just patted his head. The Vice Admiral whom he admired so much patted him. She touched his head.
Oh dear, Coby was in shock and his face exploded in red.
His face was burning up and he was a blushing mess.
"T-Thank you V-V-Vice Admiral! Goodnight!" Coby exclaimed as he dashed off into the Headquarters.
Irin was slightly taken back at what just happened, she was confused as to why Coby left so hastily, "Did I say something wrong?" she muttered to herself.
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Coby stood behind a pillar as he huffed, trying to catch his breath from all that running. He leaned his head back on the pillar and placed a hand on where his heart was. His chest was pounding, from all the running and from his conversation with Irin.
The pink haired boy thought about what Irin talked about and her patting his head. He moved his hand to where Irin's hands were and smiled whimsically, the boy was completely smitten by the Vice Admiral.
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When Irin was on her way back to her room she was informed by a lower ranking marine that Sengoku had assigned a job for her. She had just gotten back from her break and she already had a mission that was to be done tomorrow.
She plopped onto her futon when she got back to her room, sighing as she thought about Ace... Sure, he did say that he was not gonna see her for a while but that did not mean that he wasn't going to call her...
Irin decided to not think too much about it and just head for the showers, she was going to have a long day tomorrow, might as well get the rest she needed.
After her long but comfortable shower she turned off her room lights and tucked herself into her futon.
She raised her hand above her and looked at the bracelet that dangled from her wrist, "Goodnight Ace," she whispered as she brought the bracelet to her lips and kissed it.
Tomorrow was definitely going to be a long day for her...
A/N:
*the swords mentioned in this chapter are obviously not canon and are made up by me*
from this chapter onwards the next 10 chapters or so would be about the past, i'm really sorry if some y'all are hoping for Irin to have more interactions with the Straw Hats and the canon plot but please remember, she's just a side character in the canon One Piece storyline. (don't worry she'll become more prominent in the One Piece plot as the story progresses)
but fret not my precious readers hehe
the flashback arc that's coming after this chapter might as well be renamed as a falling-in-love with Ace arc hehe! but of course a love story can't be complete without some problems soooo stay tuned!! -3-
once again, thank you so much for reading my story and if there's any suggestions/ feedback you'd like to make about my story pls feel free to comment! <3