Queen of the Pirates

Canon Side Stories #4: Koby

Now we move to mere days before the present we left Luffy and Akari in to meet the last new face: Gwyn. A sixteen-year-old who has found herself in the mail room at Navy Headquarters after her father was killed in action, so now someone has to send money back home. She's always wanted to help out the Navy, but it wasn't until the offer to sort and deliver mail was presented that she knew there was a place for her.

We join her early in her career as she is tasked with sorting and delivering mail to those within Navy Headquarters. It is a few days before the biggest event that will take place since Gol D. Roger's execution, so she's getting some final deliveries in before she'll be evacuated with all the others that won't be participating in the war. She may never return to Marineford afterwards, but for now she's focused on getting the last of her letters and packages delivered.

I happily whistle as I push my cart of packages and letters down the hall towards the next person that has received mail today. There's a lot of commotion today as all of Marineford is getting ready for an execution that very possibly could cause a war. There's so much concern that those who have no combat background, like us in the mailroom or family members, are being sent off until it is safe to return. For those of us with jobs, it will be like a vacation as we wait for news of what happens back here.

I've only been working in the mailroom about two months at this point, but I've caught on to all the tasks quickly enough to have my own group of people that I frequently deliver letters and packages to. I enjoy knowing that I can make the day of someone with a simple delivery, but there's only been one person of my group that I've felt actually cares about the job I'm doing.

Vice Admiral Garp reminds me a lot of my father in the ways that he can be totally serious one moment and then goof around the next. At first I was intimidated by the man that I had only heard about from the stories my father would tell me about the Navy hero, but it didn't take long for him to crack a joke about the package I delivered to him and make that tension fly away. He's the one that I look forward to visiting the most when his name appears on the mail I'm sorting for my cart. Even on days when I have nothing for him, I might pop into his office to share a cookie or two as he talks about the grandson who's making a name for himself the opposite way that Garp always wanted.

It's not just the warmth and stories that keep me coming back to spend time with Garp, but it's also how much he cares about who I am and what I've been up to. I want to say that he reminds me of my father, but that would just be me longing to find a father figure in someone else. While my father and Garp have many similarities, I don't need to find a replacement for my late father. Garp is the perfect mentor for when I need some guidance in a place that I don't have anyone to go to.

That's what makes today even more exciting because I know he's back from a small trip out to Water 7, so the mail that I've been holding for a week can finally be delivered to the man. I know that the package contains the cookies that he ordered before he left, and I'm really hoping that he'll share a couple with me while talking about his trip.

I step up to Garp's office door, not even stopping to knock because at this point he knows when I do my rounds, knowing that I will pop in even if I didn't have mail for him. "Welcome back, Vice Admiral Garp!" I declare with a wide smile as I barrel into the room.

Except Garp isn't the only one in the room. He is sitting at his desk with a big smile on his face, but there's also a pink haired boy sitting in a chair looking back at me with total confusion and embarrassment mixing on his face.

A squeak makes it past my lips, but I'm already too far into the room to turn and make a run for it. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even think that you'd have company!"