9 Chapter 9: Marines Vs. Pirates! An Intense Game of Hide and Seek!

It's been two months since I joined the Y-1 company. River, Kai, Felix and I have been getting along well. However, it was obvious that Captain Delta did not care for me at all. He always looked down on me, scolded me for almost anything I did, and always gave me the harshest training regimen. Whenever I tried to ask him why he did what he did, or why he didn't approve of me, he would just write me off with scuff.

Most of the other Marines from other programs and companies were no better. Once word got around that the granddaughter of the Marines' Hero Garp had joined the Y-1, they immediately started the hazing process. People would try to trip me in the halls (even though their feet would go right through my ankles), disrupt my sleep by throwing things at my bunk in the middle of the night, occasionally try to steal my clothes when I shower (I always hid my own clothes so they couldn't), and some individuals would always make lewd comments as I passed them in the halls. But I never let any of this get to me. I was here to make a difference in the government and to make money, not to act nice and make friends with everyone.

Speaking of money, every two weeks, when I got paid, I would send half of my paycheck back home to the boys and I would use the other half for myself for things like food, supplies, and other necessities. With the money I sent back, I would always send a letter with an update on how things are going for me. I'd tell them how I was doing, the kinds of (good) people that I've met, and also gave them tips and advice about living without my help. I would basically just remind them to bathe, look out for each other, and to use the money wisely.

Y-1 Company trained almost all day, every day. The only except was Sunday afternoons. During our afternoons off on Sundays, River, Kai, Felix and I all met up in the courtyard to do our own individual training game. We liked to call it "Marine Vs. Pirates." The goal of the game is very similar to "Hide and Seek." The goal of our training was for the seeker, or the "Marine," to capture all the other members of our team, or the "Pirates," before time was up, which we usually set as half an hour to an hour. The training starts with the Pirates scattering across the little island we were on. After ten minutes, the Marine pursued any leads that they found to locate and attempt to subdue the Pirates until they cannot resist or they tap out. However, the Pirates could choose to flee or fight back and attempt to subdue the Marine instead. If the pirates are able to avoid capture before time runs out or the Marine is subdued, the Pirate team wins. If the Marine manages to capture all of the Pirates, the Marine wins.

We usually learned a lot through that game. While playing as the Marine, we had to look for clues and gather information on where the Pirates were. This included asking around and looking for anything out of the ordinary. As the Pirate, we had to be on guard for any attacks and keep our presence to a minimum so that the enemy could not find us. Not only that, but on both sides, it helped sharpen our reflexes, hand-to-hand and take-down techniques.

When it came to subduing, we held no punches. We punched, kicked, slapped, pushed and whatever could be thought of to get the other to submit. To be honest though, it was somewhat one-sided at times, since I had Devil Fruit powers. To make it "fair" for my "normal" teammates, I was restricted from using my powers, with the exception of intangibility, since that ability was involuntary. This meant that if I was on the Pirate team with two others, and the other two had already gotten out, I would have to get the Marine to submit if I wanted to win.

After a strenuous week of formal training, it was finally Sunday again. After finishing whatever tasks we had, River, Kai, Felix and I all met up in the courtyard as usual. "Alright, it's Anne's turn to be Marine again. You know what that means, guys," Kai told the other two. "This means focus on evasion."

"Duh, that's a no-brainer," Felix said as we all started stretching. "We can't touch her, but she can touch us. We've been over this many times before."

The timer was set for an hour as the boys got ready to take off. "Don't worry, guys," River said optimistically, "I've got a good feeling about this…"

And just like that, after 25 minutes, I had already taken down Felix and Kai, and I had just cornered River in a dead-end alleyway. "Man, I really thought we had it this time," River groaned, but then looked behind me with widened eyes. "Hey! It's Vice Admiral Garp! What's he doing here?... And why is he wearing a bunny-girl uniform?!"

I knew Gramps would never do that, but that momentarily confused me. In my less than a second confusion, River attempted to slip past me. Needless to say, I clotheslined him as he tried to run by, and put him in a choke-hold on the ground. River tried to squirm out of my hold like a worm, but to no avail. He tapped my arm three times, which was our sign that the person was submitting. I released my hold and he gasped for air as Felix and Kai came over from where they had been watching.

"Nice try, Riv," I told him as I helped him up. "But Gramps in a bunny-girl outfit? Thanks for the nightmare fuel… But seriously, guys! You gotta try harder than that! You're making this too easy! Just what would you do if I were a pirate?"

Unbeknownst to us, someone else had been watching our match. As I was imagining the nightmare that was my grandfather in a bunny-girl outfit, my real-life nightmare approached and towered over us. We all turned to face the towering figure and we all gave a solute. "Captain Delta, sir," the four of us said at attention.

Captain looked at us from head-to-toe and halted at me. "Why does it not surprise me to see you preying on the weak, scum," Captain growled at me with a glare.

I was taken aback by his accusation as I asked, "Pardon me, sir? I don't believe I understand. I don't know what it might have looked like to you, but we were merely training."

"I am well aware of the team's 'training' every Sunday," Captain continued to growl. "I am also aware of the fact that you have received previous private training sessions from the Vice Admiral Garp himself, and have the powers of a Devil Fruit. Do you not find it shameful fighting your not-as-experienced teammates on uneven grounds? Nonetheless degrade them at the end."

"But Da-, er, I mean, Captain," River started to say but corrected himself. "It's alright, we-"

"No, River," Captain shut him down with a glare. Captain Delta then resumed to glare at me once more as he instructed, "Portgas D. Anne. You are ordered to partake in a one-on-one match of this "Marine Vs. Pirates" against myself."

"I'm sorry, did I just hear that right," Felix asked as he looked towards Kai and River for confirmation. "Did Captain just-."

The other two nodded wearily and were just as surprised as I was. "I am already aware of the rules, as I have observed multiple sessions of yours," Captain started to explain, "However, we'll make an exception. I will be the Marine and you will be the filthy Pirate. I will give you 15 minutes to hide wherever you please, and my time limit for finding you will be 10 minutes. You have permission to use your powers."

Under normal circumstances, "normal" people would be terrified to take on their superiors. However, since when was I normal? Rather, I was a bit ecstatic. True, he may be a captain and he may be stronger, older and wiser than me, but that still didn't change the fact that I had Devil Fruit powers and he didn't. All I would have to do is stay hidden for ten measly minutes, which hardly seemed fair!

"On Kai's mark," Captain informed us as he moved his Marine hat over his eyes.

"Oh. Uh, alright," Kai stuttered as he gave me worried look, silently begging me to back down. I just gave him a cocky grin in response, causing him to be more apprehensive on giving the mark. He relented and went, "On my mark. Get set… GO!"

Without a moment's hesitation, I sprinted off. Feeling most confident in covered areas due to growing up on the mountain of Dawn Island, I headed for the wooded part of the island. I quickly scurried up a tree and hid myself in the treetops in the coverage of the leaves. After a few minutes, a whistle was blown, which was our signal that the seeker was starting their search. It was silent for a couple of minutes, but I spotted Captain walking towards the woods. "Lesson number one," Captain said as he walked, "know thy enemy. Know their background."

Captain walked over near the tree I was in and halted. Without even looking up, he easily punched through the thick trunk, causing it to topple. As the tree fell, I used my abilities to hover and was about to fly off before he spotted me. However, he encased his hand in Armament Haki, ran up the tree as it was still falling, swiftly grabbed a hold of my ankle, and, like a whip, smacked my body against the ground with a thud. The impact left me stunned and in a momentary daze as I tried to regain the air that had been forced out of me. As I gasped, Captain flipped me over onto my stomach, put his foot on my back and pulled my arms back behind me, ready to either break or dislocate them. "W-Wait," I struggled to call out as my team had approached. "I-I tap!"

Captain simply gave a 'hmph' as he let go of my arms. Captain moved his boot off of my back. I pushed myself up off of the ground as I managed to get some air back into my lungs. Captain looked at me with his usual scowl and instructs, "Again. On River's mark."

It was River's turn to tense up and apprehensively said, "Y-Yes, sir. Are you ready, Anne?"

Before I could answer him to give me a moment to catch me breath, Captain tells him, "Just do it."

River was startled by the Captain's response, but gave a shaky nod. "Um… Okay... On my mark, get set… And, uh, go!"

Knowing how serious the Captain was now, I took off towards the main courtyard. Once there, I looked up and flew up towards the tip of the tallest building on the island. Once I reached the spot, I took this opportunity to finally catch my breath. After about five minutes, the whistle was blown. I was feeling confident with this spot. After all, I had to use my powers to get up here. I could see the whole island from this vantage point. To be honest, that doesn't mean much since this island is relatively small. I could even see my team following behind Captain as he was walking… towards the courtyard. "There's no way he knows," I muttered to myself.

Just as I had said that, it seemed as though he had vanished, leaving behind a kicked-up cloud of dust and a group of confused boys, trying to figure out where the Captain went. From my spot, I could barely see a blurred line head this way, but I easily lost it. Before I could attempt to flee from where I was, a hand grabbed me by the back of the neck. "Lesson number two," Captain said as he tightened his grip around my neck, "know thy enemy's strengths and abilities, and be prepared for them."

Captain proceeded to jump of the seven-story building and was going to slam me into the ground. As we descended, I knew I wouldn't be able to break free from his Haki-induced grip. Instead of trying to fight back, I used air abilities to attempt to stop us from free-falling. I was only able to slow us down a bit before he grabbed my arms and put them behind my back as we passed the third floor. We quickly fell the rest of the way, where I was rammed into the ground. The impact was excruciating. It knocked the wind right out of me like in the first match, but this time I was coughing up blood and easily had a few broken ribs.

Captain Delta proceeded to get up off of me and stood off to the side while I curled up into a ball as I tried to regain myself. Shortly after, the boys finally found us. Kai was helping me onto my feet when Captain gave me a scowl and hissed, "Again. On Felix's mark."

"B-But, sir," Kai protested, "I-I don't think that's a wise decision. Anne needs to go to the infirmary and-."

"I said: Again," Captain repeated with a glare towards Kai, and then directed his attention towards Felix, who stiffened up nervously. "On. Felix's. Mark."

Felix let out a sigh as he pathetically said, "Ready, set, and go…"

I wasted no time flying off. I have never felt fear like this. Each time Captain caught me, I was injured worse than before. If he caught me again, there was a good chance he might actually kill me. I haven't even had the chance to see the world yet!

Once I was out of view, I changed directions and headed towards the beach. I figured since standing water like the ocean was my biggest weakness, he would think I would try to avoid it.

When I got there, I rushed towards the edge of the water, and used my powers to quickly make a deep enough hole for me to hide in. Once it was dug, I hopped into it and covered myself up with sand. I didn't have to worry about leaving an opening for air either. While holding my breath, I could break apart the carbon dioxide in the air in my lungs to temporarily give me more oxygen. This had allowed me to hold my breath slightly longer. Although, I did eventually have to get fresh oxygen after about twenty minutes. But that would be plenty enough time, as the seeker whistle was blown right as I had finished covering myself up.

This time, I did not let my guard down. I was ready to spring into action and use my air gauntlets at a moment's notice. Yet, after about seven minutes, I heard heavy footsteps walking above me. Just as expected, a hand shot down into the sand where I was and started dragging me up. As I was being pulled up, I gathered the air around my arms and made it rotate around my forearms from my elbow to my fist in a spiral. As soon as I surfaced, I swung my fist forward in a right-hook motion in attempt to create an opening. What I wasn't expecting was my air-enhanced swing connecting. Not only did it connect, I had made a clean right-hook to Captain's face. "Lesson number two," I repeated smugly, "be prepared for your enemy."

However, the Captain didn't even flinch from the impact. He was not amused. His face had a grimace look of aggravation due to me having hit him and from my taunt.

Captain felt the waves crash against his ankles. He looked down as the wave receded. A devious smirk appeared across his lips as he pinned my arms behind my back and waded his way into the ocean, telling me, "Lesson number three… know thy enemy's weaknesses, as well as your own... And that I will always be able to find you."

"S-Sir, wait, hold on, I tap! I tap! Please, I can't swim," I begged as I tried to kick and thrash out of his grip, dislocating my shoulders in my struggle to try and work my way out. I understood that he was taking me out into the sea, far enough to where over half of my body would be submerged. I did not care about the pain from my shoulders, ribs, and everything else that was injured. I was not sure how far Captain Delta was willing to go to discipline. I continued to thrash around, and turned to begging desperately, "You won, so there's no need to go any farther! I physically can't swim, so please! I understand the error of what I did! Please, just stop! I'll even work twice as hard!"

He simply ignored my pleas and walked into the ocean until it was past his waist. He let go and push me under the water completely. I could feel my body start to lose energy. I attempted to thrash around to stay afloat before all of my energy was gone. My body had started to grow heavy and cold. I could barely see the Captain walking away as I repeatedly called out for help, struggling to keep my head above water.

I couldn't keep it up for long, and felt my body give in. My head went under the crashing waves as I attempted to hold my breath. However, due to my body being submerged, I was unable use my Devil Fruit to assist holding my breath. My body gave into the energy lose as I slipped out of consciousness under the waves, right as a pair of hands reached in and pulled me up…

I slowly started to wake as I felt something cold pressed against my chest. It took a moment for my eyes to open and adjust to the light. As they did, I saw a stethoscope being used on my chest under a medical robe I had been put into. "Ah, I see you're finally awake, Anne," Doc said as she withdrew her stethoscope and picked up a new set of clothes.

Doctor Yvonne, or "Doc" as we all call her, is the dark-skinned, busty, suave head medical professional assigned to the Y-1 company. She had been a doctor here for the Marines for about a decade now. Her long curly dark hair always draped down her white-coated back. All of the men (and some ladies and theys) on the island are attracted to her calm, sexy demeanor. However, they were always disappointed to find out that she had a lover back home. She always said that, once her job was done here, she would be going back home to propose to her lover. I personally like her for her response to the persistent men that promised that they could be a better replacement than the man she was marrying. She would simply stare the men in the eyes with a sexy grin and tell them, "I would love to see you try and replace her."

Doc's specialty was medical herbs and remedies. Not only was Doc knowledgeable in these fields, but she even had her own Devil Fruit power that related to her profession! She said that she had the Flora Flora Fruit, which allowed her to grow certain types of plant-life. So that means that she can grow whatever medical herbs and anything she needed to make her medicines, which is so beneficial!

"Seriously, Anne," Doc said as she placed the new uniform at the foot of my bed. "I know you and the boys of your team are always training during your time off, but I think you all went a little overboard this time. Don't you know better than to get too close to the ocean's edge, with your Devil Fruit powers and all? I was shocked when Captain Delta came into the ward carrying your drenched, unconscious body by the back of your collar. Oh, he wanted me to pass along a message. He said to remember your lessons? You should be able to go whenever you like. Just try to stay clear of the water and try to tone it back with the training. I'd like it if, for just one week, I didn't have to see you or your team of reckless idiots."

"Thanks, Doc," I told her as I scratched the back of my neck in embarrassment, "I'll try my best."

Doc stood up and, on her way out of the room, she gave the "I'm watch you" gesture.

To be honest, I truly did try to stay out of her office, but my team and I ended up there many more times. It's not that we were accident-prone, we just trained a little too hard. But to be honest, we should have probably trained harder for what we were about to go through for our first missions…