Not long after Valerie left Master Fushi's dojo, on an island located in the first half of the Grand Line
While Valerie left her former master's dojo, a snow leopard mink with a broad figure was looking around him watching the trees in the area as he stood in front of the cave he was guarding. He had a chiseled face with brown eyes, silky shoulder-length hair and a white bandana wrapped around his left arm. The snow leopard mink wore a red pair of red trousers with a yellow sash tied around his waist and a pair of sandals.
'Why is it that I'm the one always stuck on guard duty whenever it involves that damned raccoon dog? I don't see them telling the new recruit to keep watch of our base. And to think that-'
"Hey there Peng! Did you miss me?" a peppy feminine voice interrupted the young snow leopard's train of thought, causing him to look around him before he spotted a violet haired woman of average height and build making her way towards him. She was wearing a yellow face mask that covers the top half of her face, a black bodysuit and a pair of ninja sandals and white socks over her feet. She had a sheathed katana strapped to her back with the handle of the blade tilting to the right.
"No I did not, Gravy Viola."
"Aww, you're such a party pooper. What do I have to do to be your friend?"
"I have no interest in becoming friendly with you for as long as I live, foolish woman. Don't ever ask me that question again."
"You don't need to be so mean to me all the time, Peng. You should trust me more!" Gravy Viola whined as she sat down on the pile of chopped wood stacked next to the snow leopard mink.
"Why do you only try to become my friend, huh? Are you too good for the rest of our teammates?" Peng inquired of his teammate as he watched her with narrowed eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? You're the only one in our little squad who is in the same age group as me."
"What's the problem with making friends with people who are much older than you? I don't see why you would make such a big deal out of it."
"Because I just can't see them as anything other than colleagues! And their ideas of fun and mine are fundamentally different from one another. Also, do you think that they would want to make friends with someone as young as me even if I wanted to be their friend?"
"Yeah, you're right. I should have thought of the dynamics that you have with the rest of the team. They definitely wouldn't accept you in particular as a friend, unlike me of course."
"Whatever, let's just move on from this topic. Was there anything interesting that took place while you were on guard duty?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary came up. It was a peaceful day all things considered."
"Neat. It's nice that we have someone as capable as you guarding our base, Peng."
"Whatever you say." Peng said in a monotone voice before he continued to keep an eye out for trouble.
And after a few minutes of silence, Gravy Viola decided to start another conversation with Peng.
"What? Aren't you going to ask me how I did during me mission?"
"I'm not interested in how you went about accomplishing your mission, you foolish woman. What matters to me is that you have completed your task. And seeing as you are currently speaking with me, I am certain that you were able to complete the task that you were assigned."
"Come on Peng! Couldn't you at least pretend that you're-"
But before she could continue her talk with the snow leopard mink, a transponder snail rang loudly. And not long after this, Peng pulled out a baby transponder snail from his pocket and answered it.
"Peng, has Gravy Viola arrived at our base of operations?" the voice of a mature woman asked the young mink in a curt manner.
"Yes, Mistress Feng. She recently arrived at the base." Peng answered the older woman's question.
"Good, let me have a talk with her for a moment." Mistress Feng told the snow leopard mink, not long after which he went to the woman in question and handed her the baby transponder snail while letting her know that she was needed.
"Hello Madam Feng! What can I do for you?"
"I only need you to prepare the usual meal that I have after returning from a mission. I shall arrive at the base in about half an hour. I will not accept anything less than the best dish that you can make." Mistress Feng ordered the masked woman before she ended the call.
"Why does that old hag only wish to speak with me when it comes to preparing her meals? Can't she see that I'm as more than just a cook? And she's such a picky eater! I really don't get why she solely asks me while you're just as good at cooking her favourite meal?" Viola ranted as she got up from the pile of chopped wood, returned the baby transponder snail to the young snow leopard mink and walked into the cave that acted as the team's base.
A few minutes after the violet haired woman entered the cave, she came out with a bunch of kitchen utensils and began to make preparations for the meal that her teammate had asked of her.
"Peng! You're going to help me make the Madam her a good dish."
"What?! I still have to be on guard for any-"
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Peng. We either prepare the old hag's meal together or we both get a good beating from her for failing to prepare her favourite dish."
"But what if someone-"
"If anyone comes near out little hideout, we can quickly deal with any of the intruders before going about preparing the best dish that we can with the ingredients on hand."
"And what makes you think that Mistress Feng will make turn her anger on me? I'm not the one who was asked to cook up a meal for her."
"Yeah, but I don't think she will be seeing it that way now, will she? I personally don't think that's the case. And I say this because I once heard Mr. Jung rant about her acts of killing one of the former chefs of our little squad while he was talking with our resident explosives aficionado in a private meeting that I happened to eavesdrop on. Of course, I don't' think that he will actually kill either of us because of our current predicament, but she'll surely beat us up real good. And unless you want to find out the hard way, I would advise that you help me make the dish before she arrives."
"Oh alright, you've raised some valid points. I may not want to help you with this task, but I also don't want to risk her getting angry at me over this." Peng sighed in resignation as he joined the masked woman in making the necessary preparations for the meal that Mistress Feng ordered the newer recruit to cook for her.
Somewhere inside of the rooms located inside the orphanage
Within a small bedroom where a small bed was facing the door leading into the room, Valerie was currently sorting through all of the clothing that she had in her possession with a great deal of concentration.
And while she was looking over the clothes that she had laid on her bed, a soft knock could be heard from the other side the door.
"Come in."
Not long after the door opened, an elderly woman of short stature entered the room with a neutral expression on her face. She was wearing a black robe that reached all the way down to her ankles, a white headdress that concealed her hair from view, and a pair of gray boots.
"Oh, good afternoon Sister Bridgette. How was your day today?"
"I am doing well, young lady. I heard from one of the sisters that you had arrived and I wanted to check up on you. Are you doing alright?"
"Yeah, I'm doing great, Sister Bridgette. I went to Master Fushi's dojo earlier in the morning and helped him tend to the garden today."
"Oh, it's good that you're still helping out your former master, Valerle. Did you bring Hughes with you during your visit to Fushi's dojo?"
"Yep, he was helping out with the gardening that needed to be done with the garden."
"I'm glad to hear that. It's nice that you brought such a helpful young man with you when you returned from your time as a marine officer last year."
"Yeah, I'm glad that I brought him along with me when I left the Marines. He's been such a big help."
"But I see that you are packing your bag right now. Where are you headed off to this time around?"
"Yeah, I was sent out on an errand of sorts by Master Fushi while I was at the dojo."
"I see. And how long will you be out on this mission of yours?"
"I guess I'll be out in the seas for a couple of weeks at least. Although I might be out in the seas for a month of two if things get complicated, seeing as I'm about to be involved in a desperate situation."
"Will you be taking young Hughes along with you?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. I know that he's been such a big help to you guys as well and I didn't-"
"There's no need to worry about that, young lady. You two are free to do as you please, seeing as you're both adults."
"Thanks for understanding, Sister Bridgette."
"Think nothing of it, Valerie. If that is all, then I wish you good luck in your latest endeavor." Sister Bridgette remarked before she left Valerie to prepare for her trip to the isolated mink island.
Around the shores of the island Valerie grew up, later on in the evening
In the early hours of the evening where a camping tent had been set up at the edge of the island, the Utshani princess and the royal messenger of the Utshani Kingdom were eating a light dinner near the entrance of their tent. Katleho was looking out into the ocean in front of her with a thoughtful expression of her face.
"It is good that we finally managed to find a mediator for the conflict that is taking place in our homeland Mdomo."
"I agree, princess. I was under the impression that we would have to be out in sea for a number of weeks before we managed to find someone qualified enough to act as a mediator, but it is nice that we were able to find a capable candidate in just a few days. Although I was not expecting for someone as reputable as Tirujaga to be the one that could play the role of mediator."
"My thoughts exactly. I will say that I feel ashamed that I didn't recognize someone as noteworthy as her when I first saw her."
"Please don't beat yourself up for not recognizing her, princess. It's not like anyone who isn't familiar with her can immediately recognize her beyond the way that she is portrayed by the papers back when she was acting as a marine officer. You can't underestimate the power of the small details in the way we present ourselves, my lady."
"Hmm…Fair enough. It would not do me any good to think too deeply on this matter."
"Indeed princess. What matters at the end of the day is that we managed to find a suitable mediator for the power struggle for the throne of the Utshani Royal Family."
"I just hope that she will be able to properly mediate during her stay before things take a turn for the worse." Katleho remarked as she pensively looked at the starry sky above her.