"You became a Marine just to get by? Borsalino, are you serious right now?"
Rosinante shot the question at him mid-rep, hoisting a barbell as he glanced toward the Admiral.
Borsalino raised his hands in mock defense. "Yaya~ Kid, no need to get so serious all of a sudden! You're not planning to run and tattle to Master-Z, are you?"
"Don't assume I'm that petty, Borsalino. I'm just genuinely curious, what is your view of justice? Mind sharing it with me?"
Rosinante met his gaze. Borsalino blinked, caught off guard.
"Oi oi~ Kid, go easy on me, would you? Justice, huh? Not sure I've ever truly thought about it. If I had to define mine, I'd say: get through each day, avoid causing trouble... I call it... ambiguous default justice."
"Laziness-as-a-service justice." Rosinante muttered dryly.
"Oi oi~ That mouth of yours is way too sharp, kid! Still… not wrong." Borsalino shrugged.
He was, after all, shaped by his upbringing. Born into a minor bureaucrat's family under the World Government, Borsalino inherited the same work philosophy: do as little as possible, stay out of trouble, and let the days pass. If not for his absurd natural talent, someone as risk-averse as him would never have joined the Marines. He was far more suited to life as a quiet mid-level civil servant.
A warm cup of tea and a newspaper could keep him content for an entire day. Truly, a man with zero drive.
"Well, kid, I won't hold you up. I'm heading to the cafeteria for dinner. Later~"
Borsalino waved lazily before vanishing in a flash of light, a literal light-speed meal run.
Rosinante didn't linger either. He dove back to finish the rest of his exercises. By the time he wrapped up and made his way to the cafeteria, they were already clearing the tables. When he asked if there was any food left, the cook merely pointed to an empty rice bucket.
"If you wanted to eat, you should've come earlier. It's all gone."
"Yaya~ Kid, no food left?" Borsalino called over playfully. "Wanna eat with me?"
He gestured to a second helping of food on his tray, clearly having anticipated this moment. Rosinante was just about to accept when—
"Blue Eagle, I saved your dinner. Come eat in my office."
Z had just walked in.
"Oh—yes, Master-Z."
Rosinante responded at once. Borsalino, still seated, pouted theatrically.
"So biased, Master-Z. When I missed a meal, you let me starve. But he misses one, and he gets a private plate?"
He was clearly jealous.
Z shot him a glare. "Shut it, Borsalino. If you were eight years old, you could eat in my office too."
With nothing left to say, Borsalino muttered under his breath and stared down at the extra food on his tray. "Kid, now that you're dining with Master-Z, what am I supposed to do with the meal I got for you?"
Just then, Sakazuki entered the cafeteria, drenched in sweat. He'd been practicing Moonwalk and trained longer than the others, missing dinner in the process. Seeing the kitchen staff already scrubbing dishes, he frowned slightly and turned to leave, resigned to go hungry for the night.
But just as he was about to walk away—
"How about giving my share to him?" Rosinante pointed directly at Sakazuki.
"Huh?" Sakazuki froze, staring at Rosinante in confusion.
Borsalino was equally stunned.
I went out of my way to get that food, and you're giving it to him? But if he refused, it would make him look petty.
And this was Sakazuki, not someone he wanted to offend lightly. If the guy held a grudge and picked a fight later, that'd be a pain to deal with. Not that Borsalino was afraid, just too lazy to deal with the aftermath.
"Fine, fine…" he sighed in reluctant agreement.
Rosinante smiled and waved at Sakazuki. "It's yours. See you around."
Then, leaving the confused Sakazuki behind, he followed Z out of the cafeteria.
Inside Z's office, a large platter of Sea King meat awaited.
"Consider this a one-time privilege." Z said, pointing to the meat. "Next time, get to the cafeteria on time. If you're late again, you go hungry. Simple as that."
With that, he opened up his newspaper and began to read.
Rosinante, starving from a day of intense training, didn't stand on ceremony. He tore into the meat with delight, replenishing the energy his body desperately needed.
Once he was done, Z folded the paper and stood. "Come on. I'll take you to your dorm."
They walked through the administrative building, heading toward the cadet quarters. Eventually, Z stopped at a door labeled 303.
He pushed it open.
Inside, Sakazuki was sharpening a blade, while Borsalino lounged with his legs up, sipping tea.
Both looked up as the door creaked open, and both locked eyes on Rosinante.
Getting stared down by two future Admirals at once wasn't exactly reassuring.
"Sakazuki, Borsalino—Blue Eagle will be sharing this room with you from now on." Z said casually before walking off, leaving Rosinante standing awkwardly at the door.
The silence was heavy… until Borsalino broke it.
"Yo~ Kid, we meet again! Who'd have thought we'd end up as roommates, huh?"
"Yeah… Borsalino, let's get along."
"No problem, no problem. I don't bully rookies. But who knows about Sakazuki?"
He shot a glance at the red dog in question.
Sakazuki had already recovered from his earlier surprise and returned to sharpening his blade. Rosinante took the initiative.
"Sakazuki, we'll be sharing a room from now on. Let's get along."
"Mm."
Just one syllable. Typical Sakazuki, sullen and tight-lipped. Rosinante didn't press further and began organizing his bed.
Halfway through, he noticed Sakazuki stand up. His blade, freshly honed, glinted in his hand. Step by step, he approached Rosinante's bed.
Rosinante went instantly on alert.
Is he gonna kill me?
Even Borsalino set down his newspaper and kept a close eye on the situation. If Sakazuki actually lashed out, he was ready to intercept. The kid had a sharp tongue, sure—but Borsalino found him more interesting than the average cadet. In fact, he kind of liked the kid.
"Sakazuki… something wrong?" Rosinante asked, doing his best to stay calm.
Sakazuki stopped in front of him and said in a low voice, "Thanks… for dinner."
"…Wait, that's it? I thought you were gonna kill me!" Rosinante let out a long breath.
Then he laughed. "You don't have to thank me for that. If anything, thank Borsalino—the food was his."
Sakazuki replied stiffly, "He wouldn't have given it to me. You did. So… thanks."
Borsalino snorted and went back to his tea, ignoring him.
Rosinante smiled. "Alright, alright—no more thank-you. We're classmates now, yeah? No need to be so formal. Oh, by the way, I've got some rice crackers Admiral Sengoku gave me. Want some?"
(End of Chapter)
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