A Friendship of Bananas

Dragon really was reliable. He soon found the place where they would be staying.

Marineford was indeed enormous, though. Even with their long, frequent strides, they walked for nearly twenty minutes.

Crossing the square alone took quite a while. Then they passed the great fortress with the word "Justice" written across its front.

They didn't go through it, of course, but went around its right side before reaching the residential area. Along the way, they saw one massive gun emplacement after another.

Though it was called the residential area, Dragon explained that it also contained the Marine Headquarters Academy, twelve large training halls, and dozens of medium and small outdoor training grounds.

Farther back was reportedly the family residential area. The marine elementary school, which taught children aged six to thirteen, was there too. If Enel had come along, presumably he would have had to live there.

"Oh~ I'm rooming with you."

Borsalino looked at the two names posted by the door, then turned to Vidal with a smile.

"Sounds good. We should get along well." Vidal looked around to see how the others had been assigned.

This seemed to be the senior officers' residential area. Each pair shared a neat little house with a small yard out front.

Sakazuki and Dragon were sharing one. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hopefully those two won't start fighting, Vidal joked to himself.

That was unlikely, though. From their brief interactions, Sakazuki and Dragon seemed somewhat alike. Neither was the talkative type.

It was just that one looked fierce, while the other had a steady temperament.

Benson and Comil, who had come with him, hadn't been assigned together either. The former was rooming with Strawberry, who came from the South Blue.

For some reason, the man wore his hair standing straight up. By Vidal's estimate, it was over a meter high. If he counted the height of his hair, he really wasn't much shorter than Vidal.

The latter was rooming with Yamakaji, who was always smiling and was also said to be from the South Blue. His smile was different from Vidal's.

It was a very distinctive smile, the kind that kept the eyes on his square face narrowed to slits. It was very interesting and gave the impression that he was easy to get along with.

Overall, everyone seemed to have been split up. That was probably Zephyr's deliberate arrangement as well.

Vidal and Borsalino walked into the house one after the other. Sure enough, there were two spacious bedrooms inside, along with a living room, a dining room, and a bathroom, though there was only one of each.

"Which one do you want?" Borsalino seemed quite used to this kind of little house. He sat down on the sofa as soon as he came in, showing no interest.

"If I get first pick, I'll take that one. I like places with plenty of sunlight." Vidal pointed to the room on the left.

"Oh~ You like sunlight? I find it pretty glaring. A little darker is better." Borsalino touched the little sunglasses on his face.

Vidal glanced at him. A Glint-Glint Fruit user actually preferred it darker?

Had his eyes been dazzled too many times?

"Do you like plants?" Vidal asked as he walked into his room to have a look.

There wasn't much inside: a bed, a desk and chair. On the bed, however, were two neatly arranged sets of marine uniforms, hats, and combat boots.

The desk wasn't empty either. There were about a dozen thick books on it, along with various writing supplies.

Marine Headquarters Regulations, World Government Law, Detailed Guide to Various Warship Models, Secrets of the Den Den Mushi, Flag Studies, Races of the World, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, On the Grand Line's Climate and How to Deal with It, and so on.

Seeing them, Vidal suddenly had a bad feeling. Surely we don't have to learn all this in one year?

It reminded him of those unforgettable three years he had once experienced.

Didn't those novels say the Zephyr Training Camp was just about practicing physical techniques and Haki, with a little pirate-catching on the side?

I never heard anything about having to learn this much!

"They're all right. Sakazuki seems to like them, though. I often saw him staring at the potted plants on the ship or the vegetation at the G-2 Branch."

Borsalino was completely oblivious to Vidal's gloomy mood. He lay on the sofa and answered lazily.

"Rather than talk about that, I suggest you take a look in your room first," Vidal said with a sigh.

Borsalino raised an eyebrow and glanced at Vidal and then at his own room, puzzled. Isn't it just uniforms on the bed?

Still, he had a good temperament and didn't think Vidal would play a trick on him, so he got up at a leisurely pace and walked into his room.

A moment later, Vidal expected to hear a complaint, but instead Borsalino said, "Oh, so many books! Nice, nice!"

"You like reading?" Vidal asked, coming to the doorway of Borsalino's room with mixed feelings.

"Of course."

Borsalino casually picked up Flag Studies and flipped through it with great interest as he smiled.

"Reading is very enjoyable. It satisfies your thirst for knowledge and makes it easy to pass the time."

"My father used to say that when you feel tired, sad, or miserable, you can pick any book that's thick enough. It'll soothe your mood and help you forget everything for a while."

Vidal was speechless. This guy seemed to be a top student. It looked like he would be under quite a bit of pressure from now on.

"Actually, I can't read it yet." Borsalino suddenly closed the book and smiled. "If I start now, I won't be able to pull myself away quickly, and getting interrupted is pretty unpleasant too."

He gently put the book back where it belonged. The next moment, golden light suddenly burst from his body, and he vanished with a whoosh, reappearing on the living room sofa.

"Since we're going to be partners from now on, we should introduce ourselves properly, not just give our names."

"I'm a light man who ate the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit. I learned a little swordsmanship from my father, and I like miso ramen and bananas."

"I'm twenty-six this year. Before this, I was a captain in the North Blue's 21st Division."

Vidal smiled. He liked this straightforward approach. It seemed this guy wasn't as unreliable as he appeared.

Even so, the way he lounged there with one leg crossed over the other was as carefree as ever.

"I didn't expect you to like ramen too, though I prefer tonkotsu ramen." Vidal plopped down on the sofa opposite him.

The next moment, Borsalino watched in surprise as a very small tree grew from nothing out of the floor, reaching about the same height as them while they were seated.

Immediately afterward, fruits sprouted on it one after another, turning from green to yellow. They were his favorite bananas!

Vidal picked one and handed it over. "I'm a Devil Fruit user too," he said with a smile. "A plant man who ate the Special Paramecia-type Woods-Woods Fruit."

"As for the rest, I've trained in the Six Powers under my father since I was little, and I know a bit of swordsmanship too. I've already mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki, though I only awakened the latter recently."

Borsalino happily accepted the banana, peeling it as he listened.

He liked his new partner more and more!

"I'm twenty-one, and you already know my rank." After saying that, Vidal picked a banana for himself and took a bite.

"I like bananas quite a bit too, though I'm the type who likes all kinds of fruit."

"If you ever want bananas or any other fruit, just let me know. Don't be shy!"