10 Chapter 10

"W-Wait, no, Bogard! I-It isn't what it looks like, okay! The brat was, I mean, little Detoro was just acting, we were just playing a game and-" Garp suddenly starts to waffle and spew words trying to rectify the situation and defend himself, and so he turns around to state his case and waves his hands around making some bizarre gestures as if they will somehow get his point across, but he forgot one thing-

"UWAAAAAHHHHH-"

I feel so sick and dizzy, everything is a blur, and I feel like I am just stuck in a tornado that is twirling me round and round. I was still gripped within Garp's hand, and so he was just viciously waving me around while trying to convince his crew that he was not a bad guy that bullied children. Needless to say, they could not help but doubt the man that was swinging around a child like a flag- "Ughh."

My shirt ripped, and I hit the floor with a thud. The old man's momentum carried me a few feet until I was laid out against the ground, my eyes were still swirling, and I could hardly tell what was going on except that I was now on the floor.

I was around halfway between Bogard, who was looking down at me with a stoic face and Garp, who was looking at the ripped cloth in his hand in disbelief, only now realising that I was still within his grip until recently.

Quickly understanding the situation, Garp releases the ripped fabric in his hand, letting it float down to the ground and rushes over to me. He crouches down and pulls me up by my shoulders with his hands holding on to my shoulders with such suddenness that I don't even recognise the transition, my feet dangling in the air as he holds me up while still crouched on his knees. "Are you alright, kid? I forgot you were there. I am sorry for throwing you like that. I didn't mean it. Can you just tell these guys that I wasn't doing anything-"

"BLECHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"wrong..." Garp finishes, only just realising that I had just emptied my stomach onto his pristine white leather shoes. I really don't feel good, and even though I just puked up the contents of my stomach, I still feel like I have more to give, but as my eyes regain focus, I see Garp's face looking down at his puke-covered shoes and then back up to me.

I can't help the smirk that appears on my face at his plight and the black expression on his face with his mouth still open from the words he was just saying. I don't want to smirk in this situation as I know my situation might just worsen, but with Bogard and the rest of the Marines to my back and only Garp in front of me, I can't help it.

Only he will see my smirk, and I don't have the proper strength in my mouth muscles to control my lips and stop them from stretching to either side of my face. So the best I can do is keep my pearly whites from showing.

Unfortunately, my restraint doesn't seem to have any effect as I can feel the old man's grip on my shoulders tightens to the point of hurting. Still, I don't voice any complaints as I can see his jaw clench and his teeth begin to grind against each other in frustration.

I know that he is genuinely off pissed now because of my cries which he now knows were deliberately done for the crowd behind me because of my own betraying grin. I see a vein pulsate on the right side of his forehead. The smirk bleeds off of my face at the angered visage on his face.

"Brat... You have pissed me-"

"Garp-san. That is enough. let Detoro go." Bogard says while walking closer and laying his hand on Garp's shoulder, clasping it while talking with the same monotone voice and look on his face.

"But, Bogard. This little shrimp-"

"I know Garp-san, but you have to put him down. The Marines behind us are beginning to doubt you, so put him down and do what I say, okay." Bogard says, making me realise that my faked cries didn't work on him. Maybe he is just that loyal and trusting of his boss, or maybe there is some other reason I don't know.

He moves closer to Garp and slouches over to bring his mouth closer to his ear before whispering into his ears, I want to know what he is saying, but I can't hear anything. I strain my ears, trying to hear something, until Garp suddenly releases his clutches on my shoulders, letting me land on my two feet before standing back to his full height.

"BWAHAHAHAHA, AND THAT YOUNG DETORO IS WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF YOU EVER COME ACROSS A PIRATE! IF YOU EVER DO SO, REMEMBER TO TRY NOT TO MAKE THEM ANGRY AND WAIT FOR HELP FROM THE MARINES! THAT IS, OF COURSE, IF YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BEAT THEM UP YOURSELF, BWAHAHAHA!" He bellows out while reaching down to ruffle my hair with his face looking up at the sky as he laughs so loud that my eardrums hurt.

It is evident that this guy just made that up, Garp can't lie for anything, and he shouted it so loudly that all the Marines around could hear him, which is overly suspicious. There is no way anybody will be convinced by that performance.

"Oh, of course. Vice-Admiral Garp was just teaching the kid. What a great guy."

"He really is the Marine Hero, taking the time to educate this kid. But, unfortunately, this kid is weak-willed and started crying at the Vice Admirals demonstration, wasting Vice-Admiral Garp's time."

"Hey, you know Mari-Chan, the girl that works at the grocery store. She has a break now. So let's go see her and her friends. She is very close to giving in and letting me take her out for a meal."

"Hey, let's go..."

Slowly the Marines begin to disperse and go about their days, their faith in their leader restored with minimal effort, which makes me question reality. The man was literally waving me at supersonic speeds around and making me puke, he was shouting directly into my face, and maybe it would be believable if he was crying arrrgh or me mateys or something. Still, he was yelling at me and telling me not to disrespect him. There was nothing even pirate-related said.

I go to say something to try and keep them here, but when I open my mouth, nothing comes out except my breath. What can I say? They are fiercely loyal to their leader, and even when they saw him practically terrorising a child, except for a moment of doubt, the flimsiest of excuses brought them back onside.

I can do nothing but watch as all the Marines quickly disappear one after the other, like deers getting spooked and dashing away within the blink of an eye. The ship's halls are now utterly deserted, with no one in sight. I am sure if I was outside, I would hear a cricket chirp right now, but I don't even have that, only total silence in addition to the malevolent presence I can feel looming behind me.

Turning around, I come knee to face with Garp, and when I raise my head, I see Bogard first standing behind Garp with the same nonplussed face and casual stance, and when I lift my head up even further, I come face to face with the grinning visage of Garp who is smiling down at me.

"Hm, what were you saying, brat? You little shrimp, what happened to all those tears in your eyes?" He looks down at me, but though his mouth is smiling, his eyes are not. If anything, I would say that there is a malicious glint in his eyes, and his smile is stretching to a frightening degree.

"A-Ah, I am- Garp-San. I was just frustrated that I wasn't getting trained like I expected. I am only seven, so the sheer amount of work got to me, and I had a little outburst." I stutter out, knowing that I have lost this exchange, though, to be fair, I was not on my home turf, and I did not have the advantage, so I can't be too disappointed in this loss. The odds were against me.

"You were incredibly naughty just now, Detoro-Kun. Naughty children like you need to be disciplined and taught right from wrong. That bad behaviour is like a sickness, and do you know what the best medicine for sickness is?" He speaks with a smile before raising his hand, not holding the packet of crackers, into the air and clenching it into a fist. His smile somehow gets even more expansive, and I feel a shudder course through my body. Oh no, he is going to-

"A FIST OF LOVE!"

"OWW! DAMN IT, THAT HURTS!" His fist came down with an abruptness that it didn't deserve to have. I was expecting his Fist of Love, and yet I was unprepared for the speed with which he stuck, so much so that I was still looking into his eyes before I had a chance to try and defend my head.

But the difference between the last Fist of Love that I received and This Fist of Love was the impact. The last one's force made me crouch on the ground and hold my head in pain, but this one merely made my upturned head turn downward from looking at Garp's face to looking at the floor.

It also didn't hurt as much as the last one though it still hurt a lot. Garp must have considered my age with this one and lessened the blow. However, he still made sure it was full of love, and I could feel another more minor bump grow out of the bug bump he had made on my head a few minutes ago.

"Garp-san." I look back up to see Bogard looking at Garp, but I still can't gather a single clue on the guy as his face remains as impassive as it ever has, and the only movement it ever does is when he speaks as well as when he is smoking a cigarette.

While I don't seem to recognise the minor cues on his face, Garp does as he suddenly deflates and whatever emotion that was in his being suddenly disappears as he slouches over and reaches his hand back into his cracker packet to start munching on some. Finally, however, there is irritation on his face as he chomps somewhat angrily, Bogard looking on impassively.

"Garp-San, while Detoro-Kun was wrong, you also have some blame on you for the situation. You have used the excuse of having a debt to young Detoro to stay on this island and delay your return to Marine HQ. While what you were doing was cultivating a good foundation in the boy, you have also made him work well past his capability, especially considering his age, but even so, he burrowed forward and continued to work even though we gave him the workload of someone double his age. He has shown his willingness and willpower. The least we can do is take his request seriously and impart some wisdom to him. he deserves that much." Bogard says while Garp continues to munch on his crackers.

Is this real? Is the situation actually working out for me after all the crap I just pulled? Logic would dictate that after what I have just done, Garp would be incredibly angry and refuse to train me anymore, but is this actually happening? Are things actually going my way? Unfathomable, and yet it is happening. Garp pauses his munching and tilts his head to the side to think for a moment before nodding to himself in affirmation of something only he knows.

"Okay then, you want training, brat? Then you've got it. I will put you through the same training that I was putting my grandson through before I was recalled to headquarters. Just you wait, kid. You are either going to come out the other end of my training as a strong man or as a lifeless corpse. You brought this on yourself, shrimp." Garp smiles to himself before turning around and walking off.

He leaves chowing down on his crackers, no longer caring about what just happened, to leave Bogard and me looking at each other. I see a trace of something in Bogard's eyes as he looks down at me, but it quickly disappears, making me wonder if I had imagined it. Finally, he nods his head at me and turns to walk away as well.

Did-Did I just come out of this conundrum with a good result..?