Their next and final stop was the Marine training grounds. As they walked through the halls, they could hear muffled exasperated panting in the distance. "Looks like we made it." Tsuru said. They walked to the end of the hall and through a pair of double doors.
Outside, a bunch of marines were doing crunches, and standing in the middle was a large man with short black hair. "C'mon you brats! Speed up!" The man shouted. He had on a black suit with a his justice coat draped over his shoulders. The marines groaned louder as they sped up in response to his shout.
Tsuru smiled and sighed as she took in the sight. "You still torturing these poor cadets?" She asked and walked over with Sora.
Garp turned and smiled when he heard Tsuru's voice. "Bwahahaha! Tsuru! How was your mission?" Garp walked over and motioned to pat her on the back, but she quickly vanished and reappeared behind Garp, causing Sora's eyes to widen slightly.
"It was fine. Any-" Tsuru answered, but was interrupted by Garp. "Anyway! What's with the brat?" Garp asked. Tsuru turned back to see Garp lifting Sora by the back of his shirt. "When'd you have another grandchild?" Garp looked Sora up and down. "Plus, this little girl looks nothing like you. Are you sure she's yours?" Garp had a skeptical look as he looked back and forth between Tsuru and Sora.
"I'm not a girl." Sora said as he tried to free himself from Garp's grip, but to no avail. "And he's not my grandson." Tsuru said and continued. "He was the only survivor of a pirate raid on his hometown, and he's now part of the marines." Garp nodded as he listened to Tsuru's words. "Oh.....So he's a cadet?" Garp asked simply.
"Well, Yes somewhat. He's joined at the rank of Ensign, so I'm hoping you could help him grow stronger quickly." Tsuru answered. Garp agreed with a quick "M'kay" once she was finished. "Alright then. See ya, Tsuru!" Garp waved and walked off with Sora still in his grasp. Tsuru just sighed quietly to herself and left the training grounds. As she walked through the double doors, and back into the buildings.
"Attention!" Garp shouted. All the trainee's got off the ground and stood in even rows. "Introduce yourself brat." Garp shook Sora a little as he was still being held by him. Sora spoke sharply and plainly. "I'm Sora, nice to meet you..." His words were brief and he did a brief wave as he introduced himself. "Alright brat! Time for your first lesson!" Garp said as he finally released Sora from his grip. "Run laps around the training grounds. Don't stop until I say otherwise." Garp smiled and shot him a thumbs up.
Sora just nodded and began running. Garp had an impressed look on his face. "Oh? He didn't even ask any questions. He's not a whiner....I hope it stays that way. He could end up being a great pupil" Garp said to himself. He looked back to see all of the trainees still standing in line. "What are you idiots doing here just standing! Pushups! NOW!" Garp shouted. "Yes, Sir!" The trainees saluted and hurriedly got to doing they're pushups, and all the while, one trainee had their eyes on Sora.
Hours had passed and the trainee's switched from pushups to planking until he said otherwise. The teacher from hell would even stand on the trainee's mid plank to 'test their form' as he called it. Sora witnessed it all from the sidelines as he ran, it was just a matter of time until his turn.
As more time passed, it seemed that Garp dismissed the other trainee's. Now it was only him and Sora left. Sora's legs were trembling, his jogging pace could only keep him going for so long, and a few hours seemed to be the limit. His shirt was drenched in sweat and each step resulted in a gasp of air to keep him going.
"You're stamina's extraordinary, brat." Sora jumped when he heard Garp's voice. He didn't even look away and Garp seemingly just teleported to him from the other side of the training grounds.
"You don't look too tired." Garp looked Sora up and down. The upper half of his shirt was covered in sweat and he was panting heavily.
Sora silently wiped the sweat off his face, and an awkward silence engulfed the duo until Garp finally spoke again. "You really have a way with words, don't you, brat?" Garp asked rhetorically. The next few minutes were a back and forth between the two. Well it was supposed to be a back and forth, but in reality Garp would ask questions and get head nods with the occasional grunt of agreement or disagreement.
Garp sighed and rubbed his temples, with the responses he was getting, he could only ask yes or no questions. So, he just decided to give up for the night and led Sora to the cadet dormitory.
At the dormitory, Sora collapsed into bed. His physical and mental exhaustion put him to sleep immediately.
---A While Later---
It's been about a week since Sora had arrived at Marineford and currently he was walking through the streets of Marineford Town aimlessly. He was here to get a layout of the town just in case he wanted to go somewhere. The streets were bustling with the laughter of marines who were with their families, and this beautiful sight brought bitter memories to Sora's mind.
"Hey you!" An unfamiliar voice broke Sora from his thoughts. Standing next to him was a blonde girl who looked to be around his age. She wore a pink bucket hat with a bold M embroidered on its front while a seagull accessory was pinned to its side.
"You're the kid I saw with grandma at the training grounds." She looked Sora up and down with a skeptical eye as she spoke. "So, Why are you just standing here like a lost puppy?" She asked.
".....Looking around." Sora answered acutely. He then turned and began walking away. Though, the girl was quick to follow him.
"You can't just walk off in the middle of a conversation!" She exclaimed. "Also, I'm Kujaku. What's your name?" She asked.
After a seemingly long few seconds of silence, he answered. "....Sora." Honestly, if there was a way for him to audibly grunt his name without having to use real words, he would've done so.
Together they walked through the streets of Marineford Town. They're walk was silent for the most part, but Kujaku spoke up whenever she introduced him to a building she recognized. So far, she taught him about various snack shops, a Grocery store, and a few more amenities. After about an hour of walking, the two of them were resting on a park bench. Though Kujaku took the liberty of buying them both some ice cream while they rested.
"So, what do you think of marineford town?" Kujaku asked.
Sora looked downward and took a bite from his ice cream while he thought. After a few seconds, he looked up and opened his mouth to speak. "....it's cozy, I guess."
"So you like it here~" She mused with a smile, earning a simple shrug from Sora. With their break no over, Kujaku continued her tour.
To Be Continued.....