|| From Navy HQ to the Goa Kingdom! ||
Sengoku sat in his office back at the Navy HQ quietly. No one had bothered to disturb him, which he was thankful for since he needed to be alone with his thoughts.
The entire ride back to Navy HQ was tense. For him, at least. The Government had finally decide to close down the whole event that had happened on Minion Island, and Sengoku couldn't complain.
The boy they rescued knew Rosinante, and the boy suffering from White Lead Syndrome. It was pretty clear in his harsh tone when Sengoku first met him that he wasn't going give up the other boy's location.
But, that didn't matter to Sengoku. True, he knew the boy they rescued would be mentally wrecked, even if he already suffered a breakdown or not.
All Sengoku wanted was for the boy to be okay. He promised Rosinante he would look out for him, whether the boy wanted Sengoku's care or not.
"Sengoku-san?" A woman's voice said from outside his office's doors. Sengoku looked up from his cup of tea, not realising that he was staring into it while lost in thought.
"Ah, yes, Tsuru-chan?" Sengoku quickly collected himself as the woman walked in. She stood relatively tall, her silvery-blue hair pulled back in a ponytail, her arms crossed. Her coal-black eyes seemed to soften ever so slightly once they landed on Sengoku's figure.
"It's that punk you brought back with you," she said, although she didn't mean what she called the boy as an insult. "He's up. I believe you might want to go talk to him?"
Hearing the news, Sengoku abruptly stood from his seat. "He is? Is he okay?!"
Tsuru looked down, her arms falling to her sides. "He's been through a lot, Sengoku-san. He won't tell us anything, but maybe... maybe you should give it a try."
Understanding what she meant, Sengoku let out a sigh. "I understand, Tsuru-chan. Mind showing me to his room?"
She shook her head, making her way out of his office as he followed her, grabbing his naval jacket that hung off the back of his chair.
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Daisuke sat on the bed in the room he awoke in, knees pulled to his chest, head buried in them.
He knew he was probably at the Navy HQ, judging by all the soldiers that had entered his room, asking him questions.
The only answer they got out of him was either a scowl, or him telling them that he was fine.
Which was obviously a lie.
How could he possibly be fine? He wouldn't tell them, but he suffered at least a few mental breakdowns during the time gaps where he was alone.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. His head shot up, his eye glaring at it. His wounds had been professionally taken care of, but the doctors explained that he was partially blind.
Daisuke knew that information already, however. He figured it out on his own. But the way the doctors-no, the way everyone had been treating him like a little kid was starting to piss him off.
So what if he looked like a kid? He definitely didn't act like one. His actions with the Donquixote Family, his actions with the unnamed Shichibukai proved that. Although, he wouldn't tell the Navy that.
"Can I enter?" A familiar male voice said from the other side of the door. Daisuke simply huffed, looking away. It was probably another soldier trying to get information out of him.
"Well, I'm coming in," the voice continued, slowly opening the door to his room. Daisuke's room was simply, loosely decorated. It only had a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a nightstand. The room had a Japanese garden-esque like vibe to it.
One Daisuke rather liked.
Daisuke looked over to the man that had entered his room. He had pale skin, black hair that was sort of in the style of an afro, a thin mustache, a long, braided black beard, and he wore naval clothing as well as small round-framed glasses.
"I'm happy to see you're awake. Your wounds were pretty fatal. They would've killed most other boys your age." The man said, his voice giving Daisuke an odd sense of déjàvu.
"Well, I'm not like other boys my age am I, Old Man?" Daisuke snapped back at him.
All he did was chuckle. "I suppose you're right. Mind telling me your name, Boy?"
Daisuke looked away slowly, not wanting to meet the man's black eyes anymore. Taking the hint, the man simply hummed, pulling the chair that was tucked underneath the desk around to the end of the bed Daisuke was on.
He sat in the chair, crossing his arms as he continued to stare at Daisuke's bandaged form. Feeling the man's sharp gaze, Daisuke subconsciously winced.
He didn't like having a person with a lot of power, like this man had judging by the way he carried himself, looking at him in such a pathetic state. He was a warrior, after all.
"Well, my name is Sengoku. But, I guess you may know me by another name." The man, Sengoku, continued on after he figured he wasn't going to get an answer out of Daisuke.
Daisuke looked back at Sengoku, his one pale blue eye meeting his coal-black ones. "And that is...?"
Sengoku smirked, "Rice Crackers."
Daisuke froze, his eye widening. "C... C-Cora-san..." having the memory of Corazon's smile rush back into Daisuke's mind made his eyes weld with tears.
Sengoku hummed. "Yes, Rosinante. He was a close subordinate of mine, one I trusted greatly. He had never lied to me but once. And that lie cost him his life."
Daisuke looked at the pure white bedsheets. "He lied about going to Minion Island, about staying away from the Ope Ope no Mi."
Sengoku nodded. "Mmhm. But, now, there's you."
Daisuke looked up at Sengoku once more, cocking his head in confusion. "Me?"
"Yes. You're the boy from Demounereach, aren't you? One of the soldiers Kasai turned into his personal slave?"
At that name, Daisuke's demeanour darkened. He subconsciously reached to his back, gripping the clean white t-shirt he was given when the doctors treated his wounds.
Judging by the action, Sengoku figured he had been marked with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
The mark of a slave.
"Yes," Daisuke quickly blurted before the words of Kasai could poison his mind again. Words he shoved so deep into the back of his mind.
"Yes, that's me. M-My name... i-it's Harbinger. Harbinger D. Daisuke... but Cora-san called me Daiko."
Sengoku softly smiled. At least he some what trusts me, I suppose.
"Daisuke, hmm? Well, it is a pleasure to meet you. Do you mind telling me why you refused to answer the questions my subordinates had for you?" Sengoku wondered.
Daisuke laid both of his hands back in his lap, careful to not disturb is broken wrist. "If you know where I come from, Old Man, then you should know how I was raised. And, besides, they treated me like a kid."
Sengoku tilted his head. "But, you are a kid."
Daisuke rolled his eyes, sighing. He ran his non-broken, yet bandaged hand through his messy, raven-black hair. "I may have the body of a kid, but the things I've seen, the things I've done... my childhood was practically ripped from me. I'm an emotionless bastard who only knows how to kill."
Sengoku hummed in understanding. "I suppose it isn't their fault though," Daisuke continued, dropping his hand back in his lap again, "to be fair, they know nothing 'bout me."
"You definitely are rather mature for your age." Sengoku paused, going into deep thought. "Ah, I know. Do you think you can follow me? I want to show you something."
Daisuke was a bit skeptical, but he nodded. For some reason, he felt trusted around Sengoku. It was probably the sense of familiarity that he had.
"O-Okay...?" Daisuke hesitantly said, shakily getting out of the bed and following Sengoku as the said man stood up from the chair.
Sengoku lead Daisuke to his office, moving over to his desk. Daisuke awkwardly stood in front of Sengoku's desk, looking around his fancy, white and gold-schemed office.
Sengoku rummaged through the drawers of his desk, searching for something. It didn't take long until he found what he was looking for.
"Ah-ha! Here's the little bugger." He said, pulling out a mostly black hat. The inside of the hat and under its bill were red, and on the front, just before the bill, was a red heart.
"Here," Sengoku said with a soft smile, handing the hat out towards Daisuke, "it belonged to Rosinante, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind if you made some... adjustments to it."
Daisuke hesitantly took the hat from Sengoku, his eye wide. "It... belonged to Cora-san?"
Sengoku nodded. "Yes. He left it behind when he left for his mission as an undercover agent in the Donquixote Family. I didn't know what to do with his hat when I found out Rosinante had passed, but now since you're here, I feel as if it's best to hand the hat over to you. It's what Rosinante would want."
Daisuke put the hat on his head, a smile forming on his face. Realising he was smiling, he pulled the bill over his eyes and turned his head away. "T-Thank you, Sengoku-san..."
Sengoku chuckled. "It's no problem... Daiko."
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Roughly one year later...
Time seemed to go by relatively easy for Daisuke. When his wounds healed, he spent his time trying to get used to fighting and living when he lacked an eye.
He was either in his room or the training grounds of the Navy HQ. He never left Navy HQ, since he had nowhere to go. He didn't know where in the world Law was, but he never stopped thinking about him.
He never stopped dreaming about the day they would meet again.
Daisuke grew close to Sengoku. He considered the Navy Fleet Admiral as a grandfather, which made Sengoku very happy.
In a way, Sengoku technically was Daisuke's grandfather, since he saw Rosinante as a son, and Rosinante saw Daisuke as a son.
Either way, there were only two people in the entirety of the Navy that Daisuke seemed to trust, them being Sengoku himself and Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
Garp has a grandchild of his own, and he has an odd way of displaying his affection. Daisuke was fond of the crazy geezer, mostly because he was willing to spar with Naon.
Of course, Daisuke never really could beat Garp the Fist, but he did come relatively close a few times.
Daisuke was different now. The age of sixteen, a pure "rebel" as Tsuru would say. He modified Rosinante's old hat, adding the word "Corazón" on the bill in red lettering, with the heart on the front of the hat still above the bill.
Daisuke loved that hat. You basically never see him without it, unless he took it off to shower, sleep, or train.
His sweatshirt changed as well. It's still the same red and black colour scheme as his old one, but he grew out of his old one. Under his sweatshirt he either wears a white or grey t-shirt, accompanied by black ripped jeans and black and white trainers.
He still kept his scarf, though.
Daisuke did, however, somehow managed to tattoo himself. Sengoku, hell nobody, figured out how, but he did. Sengoku knew Daisuke was an artist-based on the fact he caught Daisuke sitting out in the gardens drawing-so he figured that maybe he drew them on himself.
Which Daisuke did. But Sengoku never figured out how he was able to tattoo the designs to his body with real ink.
The designs are simple tribal-esque tattoos that are symmetrical to each other on opposite hands. Each of his fingers, just below the knuckles, the back of his hands, and his forearms are all tattooed.
On his forearms are two halves of a heart design, and if he were to cross his arms (left over right), the two halves would make a full heart.
On his chest is a large dragon tattoo. Sengoku believed that the reasoning behind it had something to do with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon scar on Daisuke's back, and Daisuke confirmed his suspicion, but he added to it by saying it also had something to do with his "other" form.
Over his heart, above the dragon tattoo, was a small black heart with the word "Corazón" tattooed above it in slanted black letters.
It didn't take Sengoku long to figure out the reasoning behind that tattoo.
He also has two black, hoop-like earrings pierced on his left ear.
Daisuke was still a master at using throwing knives, and his skills have only improved since he began training at Navy HQ.
He also continued his studies in the different Devil Fruits of the world, as well as continuing his drawing, and he also picked up journaling.
Although, he mostly sends letters addressed to Donquixote Rosinante, even though he knew Rosinante would never receive them.
Currently, Daisuke sat at the maroon-ish-coloured desk in his room, fidgeting with something in his hands.
It was a necklace, a pendant in the shape of the north star.
Daisuke smiled as he finished cutting up the picture he took of himself, Rosinante, and Law that day a few years ago. Then, with excellent precision, he placed the picture into the pendant.
"There," he exhaled, leaning back to marvel at his work, "now I'll always have the two of you with me."
He wiped away a silent tear from his eye as he locked the pendant, putting it around his neck. He then gripped the pendant in his hand, sighing softly.
He then looked out the window, seeing a bright star shining down at him. His smile widened as he felt at ease. "Yeah, I probably should go to sleep, shouldn't I, Cora-san?"
He chuckled to himself, stretching his arms up with a yawn. "Aye, I'm beat. Goodnight, Cora-san. Goodnight, Law. 'Till we meet again." He said to himself as he walked to his bed, getting under the covers and then falling asleep soon after.
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Daisuke awoke the next morning to a knock on his door. He groaned, rolling on his back and using his arm to block the sun that filtered in through the window from getting in his eyes.
"Daiko? Are you up?" Sengoku's voice said from the other side.
What does that Old Man want at this hour?
"I am now." Daisuke huffed, sitting up. The pendant fell in front of him, making him tense up at first before easing off when he realised what it was.
"Good. Meet me in my office. There is something I wish to discuss with you."
Sengoku's footfalls faded away as Daisuke blinked in confusion. He rubbed his one good eye as he thought to himself.
Sengoku-san wants to talk to me? About what?
With a shrug, he yawned, stretching. He then got out of bed, getting dressed in his usual attire with a grey t-shirt this time. He grabbed his hat from his nightstand, staring at the name on the bill before smiling to himself.
Good morning, Cora-san.
He flicked the hat on his head, briefly placing his hand over his heart where the "Corazón" tattoo was.
He grabbed his den den mushi, the same one he's had for roughly five / six years now. He slipped it into his "space," or the area where he seems to keep everything he owns on his person. Then, he left his room to head to Sengoku's office.
"Okay, Rice Crackers," Daisuke hummed out Sengoku's nickname as he entered the Fleet Admiral's office, "I'm here."
He had passed a few other marines on his way over, most of them being Captains or above. This was Navy HQ, after all.
When he looked around the office, he saw Sengoku sitting at his desk with Garp standing in front. "Oh. Mornin', Gramps."
Garp smirked cheerfully. "Mornin' punk."
"So, Daiko, I guess you're wondering why I called you here." Sengoku said, taking a sip from his teacup.
Daisuke nodded. "That is one of the many questions I have asked myself this morning, yes."
Sengoku set the cup down and sighed. "You can't stay in the Navy HQ forever. You aren't a soldier."
"Ah," Daisuke breathed, "I was wonderin' when you were going to bring this up." Sengoku cocked a brow, giving enough intention for Daisuke to continue.
"It's been a year, Rice Crackers. I'm surprised you kept me around this long," he gestured to Garp with his hand, "my relocation's got somethin' to do with Gramps over here, don't it?"
Sengoku nodded, a slight smile on his face. "I forget about your unnatural maturity, Daiko," he chuckled to himself, closing his eyes as he brought the white, fancy porcelain teacup back up to his mouth.
"Garp here is going to take you to the Goa Kingdom, in the East Blue. There, you will spend time with his grandson until you can leave to live your own life."
Daisuke sighed, giving an understanding nod. "I understand. Thank you for everything, Rice Crackers. I'll go make sure I have everything." Daisuke bowed respectfully.
Sengoku laughed. "This is behaviour we haven't ever seen from you, Daiko!" His words caused the blood to rise to Daisuke's cheeks in embarrassment, making Garp laugh as well.
Sengoku shook his head. "You still have my den den mushi number, so, stay in touch, will you?"
Daisuke nodded, a genuine smile taking over his features. "I'll do my best, Sengoku-san."
Garp walked over to Daisuke, the older man roughly placing his hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "Go get ready, punk. I'll be waiting at my boat."
Daisuke nodded, "Right, okay, Gramps."
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The ride from Navy HQ all the way to the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue was long and tiring. But Daisuke kept himself busy by messing around with Garp's soldiers, sparring with the other man he considers a grandfather (hence Garp's nickname), and journaling what he saw.
He never visited any other sea but the North Blue, so traveling through the Grand Line, Calm Belt, and entering the East Blue was exciting to him.
When they arrived, Garp took Daisuke to shore as his ship and his men stayed behind. The island was lush with greenery, and it had a market that was pretty close by.
Yet the one thing that made Daisuke sick in the stomach were the nobles.
Nobles that lived in the city where the market was. His discomfort was pretty obvious, even a dense moron could see it.
He got many dirty looks from the nobles, and he heard the rude comments they said about him. One even commented rudely on his hat, which pissed Daisuke off to a point where Garp had to physically hold him back so he wouldn't kill the noble.
After what had happened to Daisuke throughout his life up to this point, he had lost the sense of consequences. He didn't care about the consequences of his actions anymore, making him completely willing to kill a Celestial Dragon if he could.
He just happened to have a particular World Noble in mind.
Eventually, Garp lead Daisuke to a house that rested in the middle of the woods, far away from the town-much to Daisuke's liking and Garp's ease.
Garp walked up to the door of the somewhat rundown, wooden shack as Daisuke stayed a good distance away from it.
As Garp knocked on the door, a pudgy woman with long, red curly hair burst the door open, shotgun in hand. "Get off my property before I-oh! Garp-san?"
The woman lowered the weapon when she saw Garp's face. The woman had a cigarette in her mouth, pale skin, and bright green eyes.
"Dadan. I need to ask you a favour-" Garp began, but the woman, Dadan, cut him off, "No! Absolutely not! We already have Ace and Luffy! No more!"
Garp gave her a deathly glare, which made her angry persona do a complete 180°. Daisuke rolled his eyes, taking out a cigarette he bought from the town, lighting it before he crossed his arms.
He hardly had a smoke when he was at Navy HQ, so coming across it here made him more so willing to stay.
"Don't worry. He won't be staying long. And he's already sixteen." Garp said. Dadan gave Garp a look.
"You want us to take care of some teen? Why can't he live on his own?"
Garp whispered something into Dadan's ear, and her eyes went wide. Daisuke figured what he said to her. Something along the lines of all the hell he's experienced.
"So, just give him a place to stay. Don't worry, he's completely capable of taking care of himself. Ha! Who knows? He might end up helping you out with Ace and Luffy!" Garp laughed.
Dadan gave Garp a look as if he was insane. Which, truth be told, the man basically was. Dadan looked to Daisuke, only for Daisuke to give her a once over and then briefly nod in greeting.
"Yeah, he's a teen alright, Garp-san." Dadan said.
Suddenly, Daisuke's arms dropped to his sides as he felt something approaching him from behind. Soon, the feeling was followed by a pair of rapidly approaching footsteps.
Instinctively, Daisuke stepped to the side just as someone leaped into the air behind him, holding some kind of pipe. Daisuke pulled his hand back, forming it in the shape of a claw as he prepared to strike his attacker.
His eyes widened when he realised it was a boy.
Quickly thinking, Daisuke lightly smacked the boy on the back, causing him to lose his balance and tall to the grassy ground, dropping his pipe.
"Ace!" Daisuke heard a young voice from behind, but he didn't bother to look as he settled his one good eye on the boy who tried attacking him.
"You... seriously couldn't have thought that attacking me was going to be a good idea, did you?" Daisuke said dryly, crossing his arms.
The boy glared back at Daisuke, giving Daisuke a good look at his face. Black hair, apricot skin, deep brown eyes that looked black, and many freckles across his cheeks and nose.
The boy growled, not pleased that Daisuke took him down so easily. "Who the hell are you?!"
Daisuke simply scoffed. "What a rude bugger. Then again, I'm no better myself..."
"Ah, Ace! There you are!" Garp chimed, making both Daisuke and the boy, Ace apparently, look over at the marine.
Dadan was watching them as well, although her attention seemed to be mostly on Garp.
"Gramps! Who the hell is this?!" Ace barked, pointing at Daisuke.
"That, Ace, is Daisuke," Garp said, a smile forming on his face, "and he is going to be your new brother."
Both Ace and Daisuke's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!"