Author's Note: Hey, readers! This is my first story, so I would really appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism you have to offer.

Story has been crossposted on AO3 under the username AthenaIncarnate.

Thirteen years before Romance Dawn

Garp was truly enjoying being back in the East Blue. The eight month tour of the New World he had just completed had gotten his blood singing and revitalized his fighting spirit, but it was exhausting to be constantly on edge and the amount of pirates roaming the seas seemed to be multiplying. The fighting never ended. He was going to enjoy the month of East Blue inspection duty he had weaseled out of Sengoku.

But back to the fun part. Nothing brought him more amusement than seeing one of his old students posturing for his sake. The newly promoted Captain Hitoshi had volunteered to lead him on a tour of the Loguetown base, and it was obvious that he just wanted to show off for his old teacher. Garp noted with wry amusement that his little student had sent his uniform to be freshly pressed and was wearing his brand new captain's coat with pride. It wasn't like Garp cared about that kind of stuff, but it was adorable that Hitoshi went to such lengths just to impress him.

"And this here is my new office! Pretty cool, huh? Corner spot with a view of… are you even listening!?"

At this point, Garp figured it was a good time to end his impromptu nap and feigned waking up. God, Hitoshi was just too fun to mess with.

"Nicely done, brat! Just don't let your newfound success get to your head! Fist of Love!" He tried to hold back a little, not wanting to destroy the new office, but ended up sending Hitoshi flying into his new mahogany desk and cracking it in half. Oh, well. At least he was still conscious.

"What the hell was that for!?" Hitoshi yelled while gripping the huge lump on his head.

Garp chuckled. That was more like the Hitoshi he knew. He didn't want his bratty little student treating him any differently just because of a promotion.

"To keep you humble," Garp answered, with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Hitoshi just sighed. He knew better than to try to argue with Garp's logic. He decided to change tracks and hopefully delay any more mindless destruction Garp was sure to cause while maneuvering through the base.

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the night, shishou?"

"Not really, I was just going to eat with my boys and kill time at the base while waiting for our ship to be cleaned and restocked," Garp answered while sticking his pinky up his nose.

"Well, if you like, I would be honored if you had dinner and spent the night at my place. Valhalla is only a two hour sail from here and you could come back first thing in the morning. I promise that whatever my wife makes will be better than the slop they serve in the cafeteria here," Hitoshi said somewhat hesitantly. It's not just that he was worried that Garp would destroy his home, which he was, but he was also nervous about having his daughter and Garp in the same room. They would either destroy the island or catch on like a house on fire. He wasn't sure which would be worse.

"Bwahaha! You know I can't say no to a home cooked meal! Besides, I haven't seen Etsuko since the wedding! And am I finally going to meet that brat you've been bragging non-stop about?"

At least Hitoshi had the decency to blush, Garp noted. He always found the sight amusing, especially since Hitoshi's quickly reddening face clashed horribly with his teal hair.

"I haven't been bragging! Am I not allowed to be excited about my first kid? Besides, we weren't sure if Etsuko would be able to have children. She's our little miracle!" Hitoshi gushed, not realizing he was actually proving Garp's point.

"Oh, is that why she came as such a surprise?" Garp asked slyly, making Hitoshi's blush come back with a vengeance. It's not like they had been able to hide the fact that Etsuko was five months pregnant at the wedding. It had led to a lot of good-natured teasing from his comrades, but Hitoshi didn't regret a thing.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Hitoshi deflected. What? It's not like he could tease Garp back! The man was twice his elder and a vice admiral. His teacher might have a soft spot for him but he wasn't going to push it. "We should head out soon if we want to make it in time for dinner!"

"Bwahaha! You haven't changed a bit, Hitoshi! You might be a Captain now, but you're always going to be the awkward little recruit I first met all those years ago!"

"Yes, shishou," Hitoshi mumbled, ducking his head. He might be almost thirty and have command over his own officers now, but Garp always made him feel like a kid again.

Selena woke up feeling... expectant. She didn't know why, but she felt like something big was going to happen.

Her mother came in to her room around dawn to help her get ready for the day. She threw on a cute white sundress - because wearing a dress meant she wouldn't have to waste time trying to coordinate an outfit - laced up her sturdiest sandals, and helped her mother cook breakfast.

After cleaning the dirty dishes and a few hours of practicing kanji, which she still couldn't get the hang of, she headed towards the beach to meet up with her best friend Kingsley.

She really loved that kid. One of the things that she had been sad about after realizing that she had been reincarnated (what an earth-shattering realization that had been) was that she no longer had siblings. In her past life, she had been the eldest of three. She had a younger brother and sister, who had quickly become her little partners in crime. They had been really close growing up, and as she got older they only got closer. Realizing that this time around she was an only child had made her feel incredibly lonely.

Then came Kingsley. Once she was old enough to go off on her own, which she had been horrified to find out was just three years old, she spent most of her days exploring the island. Its full name was the Isle of Valhalla, but most locals just shortened it to Valhalla.

She had been traipsing through the forest that covered the south side of the island when she tripped over a root, tumbled head over heels, and got stuck at the bottom of a ditch. It was a perfect example of why three year olds shouldn't be allowed to go off on their own. She tried to clamber over the sides of the ditch in vain. Her stubby little legs just weren't strong enough for her to jump and grab the ledge.

After a number of failed attempts, she felt her eyes start to water up in frustration. She hated when her body betrayed her like this. It was soon after she had come to terms with her reincarnation that she had to accept that she really was a child. Even though she had the experience of living another life, it was extremely difficult to apply it to her life now. She had wanted to believe she had the maturity of an adult, but the truth of the matter was that she had the brain, emotions, and hormones of a toddler. So sure, she had access to a vast amount of practical knowledge that no other toddler would have, but she still behaved like the three year old she was. And any three year old would cry in a situation like this. Feeling slightly mollified by the realization that it really was okay to cry, she decided to just let the tears out and get it over with.

No sooner than two or three tears had spilled over, she heard a voice call out.

"No! Don't cry!" he shouted. Following the sound of the voice, she spotted a young boy peeking out of the foliage. He had deep brown skin that was complemented by his dark maroon hair. He also had the most expressive grey eyes she had ever seen, which only helped to highlight the panicked look on his face.

"Who are you? How did you find me? Were you following me?" The questions just seemed to want to keep tumbling out of her mouth, but she paused to give the boy time to answer.

"Uh, um, yeah. I was following you," he answered, hesitatingly slightly. "But only because I was worried! You look so little and everyday you keep going to the most dangerous places on the island! I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Oh, and my name is Kingsley."

At least someone on this island was worried about child safety.

"Oh, okay. My name is Selena and I'm three!" she replied excitedly. She had even thrown up three chubby little fingers for emphasis. "If you help me out of here I'll be your friend! Oh wait, did you say you've been following me every day!?"

"Oh no, no, no! I've only been following you for the last few days," he said nonchalantly, like it wasn't weird at all to stalk a toddler. He approached the edge of the ditch. He then lied down on his stomach, dirtying his cargo shorts and plain grey t-shirt, and extended his arms down to her. "I was surprised you were being so reckless. I wanted to find out if you were being brave or just stupid."

She pouted up at him, but wasn't in any position to protest. With a final heave, Kingsley was able to pull her up and out of the ditch. Both of them lay sprawled out on the grass, trying to catch their breath. Finally, she turned her head to face him. Shooting him a beaming smile, she said:

"Stupid or not, you got yourself a new friend."

They had been inseparable ever since.

They had fallen into their roles of troublesome little sister and exasperated older brother easily. Just because she accepted that she was a toddler didn't mean she had to like it. Which meant that she often took on more than she could handle and that Kingsley was the one who made sure she came out in one piece. He was always there for her when she got in over her head.

To be fair, most of the situations she had to be helped out of were due to her small size. Kingsley was a full two years older than her, and a lot taller than her, which meant it was up to him to look out for her.

The more she got to know him, the more she liked Kingsley. It also helped that he was nothing like her brother from before. She had longed for siblings and missed her brother dearly, but she didn't want to replace him. Their vastly different personalities helped her see Kingsley as his own person, and not just as someone taking the place of her first brother.

Kingsley was naturally kind-hearted and a total worrier, not that he wanted anyone to know that. He covered up his fussing by putting up a tough front and with harsh words, but Selena knew him better than that. He was being raised by his grandfather, who was an old-fashioned, stern man. Which meant that Kingsley had no idea what to do when faced with open affection.

Making Kingsley blush was almost as fun as making her dad blush, because while her dad's whole face would turn red, Kingsley's blush was barely visible under his dark complexion. The changes were subtle. The darkening of his cheeks, his carefully averted eyes, and slightly jutted out lower lip were the only signs of Kingsley's embarrassment, and she lived to see them. It was made even better by the fact that she was the only one who could read him so well, and to everyone else he just looked kind of annoyed.

Over the last two years they had gone on countless adventures and had gotten into an immeasurable amount of trouble. While she loved her parents more than words could describe, she was really grateful that she had met Kingsley. Her life in Valhalla would have been so boring without him. Together, they had explored almost the entire island and had met almost everyone who lived on it. He had even taken her out on a small fishing boat and had "taught" her how to swim. He had credited her natural swimming ability to his amazing teaching skills, and not to her freaky reincarnated status, much to her relief.

Today, Kingsley had declared that she was finally old enough to play one of his favorite games: Pirate Hunt. According to him, she had been too young to run all over the island by herself. Now that she was a week away from turning five, he thought she was old enough to play "without hurting herself, the island, or innocent bystanders."

She huffed. That old man had recovered just fine in the end.

Kingsley went on to explain the rules, which basically consisted of an extreme game of tag where the person who was "it" was the "marine" and they were responsible for catching the "pirate." Anywhere on the island was fair game.

Looking back, the whole pirates vs. marines mentality should have clued her in to what was going on, but what kids don't like to pretend to be pirates? Plus, it was just another version of the cops and robbers game she had played in her past life.

Pirate Hunt turned out to be really fun, especially since they weren't confined to a small area. Eventually some other kids joined in, turning it into a team vs. team manhunt. They got so caught up in it that they completely missed lunch, and only headed back home when the sun started to set.

With a quick hug good-bye for Kingsley, which had left him stuttering and blushing, Selena walked into her home ready to face the wrath of her mother.

She had completely destroyed the dress she was wearing. She was pretty sure it had started out white, but there was no way of knowing that now. Thankfully her sandals were still in good condition, but the same couldn't be said about the rest of her appearance.

Her thick, black hair was a tangled mess. She was pretty sure she felt something crawling around in it, but left it in there for her mother to deal with. Her skin was covered in a layer of mud and dirt, and she had scraped her knees crawling under the docks to hide.

Not one to delay the inevitable, Selena called out.

"Kaa-chan! I'm home!"

The thing about her mother, Etsuko, was that her fury wasn't loud or over the top. Nonetheless, it was palpable. It came over Selena like an icy chill and seeped down into her bones. Her mother's fury was cold.

"Oh, I know that isn't my daughter I hear," Etsuko said frigidly before turning the corner and coming into the living room. "And that better not be my daughter I see."

Selena gulped.

"My daughter wouldn't show up hours after she supposed to, after skipping lunch, covered in mud and tracking dirt into my home. I would never have raised my child to be so rude."

"Kaa-chan, I can explain! You see, Kingsley said that now that I'm not a baby anymore I can play this game called Pirate Hunt and it was so fun but he kept tagging me because he's taller and has longer legs and then some other kids joined and it got even more fun but they didn't want me on their team because they said I was too little so I had to prove to them how good I was and all the best hiding places were hard to get to and I tried not to get dirty but…"

She cut herself off when she noticed her mom's unchanging expression.

Selena sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll go get in the bath."

"Now that sounds more like my daughter," Etsuko said, satisfied. She never stayed angry after she got what she wanted. "Did you forget that your father is coming home today? And he sent a message saying that he's bringing a guest. I've prepared a big dinner."

Selena brought up a hand to rub the back of her neck sheepishly. Was that a worm she just felt in her hair!? "I actually did forget tou-chan was coming today."

Etsuko sent her daughter a soft smile. "He wouldn't miss your birthday, angel. He actually took off almost a whole month this time."

"He did!? Really?!" Selena couldn't help but break out into a little dance in excitement. Her mom just chuckled.

Her dad, Hitoshi, was a marine. He had recently been promoted to captain, which meant he was working a lot more than he did before. He was usually gone a week or two at a time, then came home for a few days. He was actually an instructor for fresh recruits at the Loguetown base, which was only two hours away, but she couldn't help but miss him. She knew he loved his job, and she was proud of him, but she got to spend a lot less time with him nowadays.

"Yes, really. Now let's get you into the bath. We want your father to be able to recognize you when he sees you," Etsuko said.

After a harsh scrubbing, which Selena was sure was more for Etsuko to let out her frustration than to actually get her clean, Selena sat down on her bed with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her. This was usually her favorite part of the day.

With a creak of the mattress, Etsuko sat down behind her daughter and started brushing her hair. It had become their daily ritual. Etsuko would brush her daughter's hair and hear all about her day. They would then trade places and Selena would brush her mother's hair while listening to her talk about what she had done that day.

Humming softly, Etsuko picked out a pale blue dress for her daughter to wear that complimented her bronze skin. She really loved having a mini-me to dress up in cute clothes.

Once dressed and ready, the mother and daughter pair headed back into the kitchen to finish dinner preparations.

Selena had just finished setting the table when Monkey D. fucking Garp busted into her home with all of the grace of a rampaging sea king, because those were things that existed now, shattering her perception of her reality in this world as she had come to know it.

Selena's mind was whirling. The pieces were all coming together faster than her five year old brain could comprehend. Here she was, forced to face the truth of the world she now lived in.

A truth that had just blasted through the wall of her home like it had been paper and not solid brick.

She desperately held onto hope for a second - he couldn't be the only person who liked to burst through walls in order to make an entrance - before that hope was irrevocably shattered by a very unique laugh.

"Bwahaha!"

Welp. There went her sanity.

Reincarnation she could accept. It had taken a few years, but it was a concept that had been familiar to her before, so she had come to terms with it. Reincarnation into a world she had believed was fictional was another thing entirely.

But she would have to deal with that later. Because right now, she was face to face with one of her favorite characters. Monkey D. Garp. Patriarch of the Monkey family. Hero of the marines, loving grandfather, and all-around badass.

He stood in the demolished remains of what had been the living room wall. There he was, a behemoth of a man, decked out in his marine uniform. Selena had always wanted to know more about him. The man who faced off countless times against Gol D. Roger and lived to tell the tale. Her heart had gone out to him, before. She felt that he was stuck in an uncomfortable position; he was loyal to the marines beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he would never betray his own family. She thought that he was aware of the corruption in the corps, but that overall the marines protected more people than they hurt. Without them to stand against the four emperors and the like, pirates would have taken over and ensued chaos. Not all crews were as adventure-loving and kind to civilians as the Roger Pirates, after all.

Monkey D. Garp was in her living room, bristly mustache and all.

"Shishou! Why would you do this!? Just! Why!?"

Oh yeah, her dad was home too.

"Bwahaha! I wanted to make a good first impression!"

"The door was right there!"

"It's cooler this way!"

Okay, she had held herself back for long enough. With a running start and a leap, she flung herself into Garp's arms.

Garp blinked. He had caught the incoming projectile without thinking about it, not realizing that it was actually a small child. He was holding her at arm's length like he would a bad puppy; but if that dazzling smile was anything to go by, she didn't really mind.

"Monkey D. Garp!? Hero of the marines!? Vice Admiral Garp!? You're tou-chan's shishou!?"

"Bwahahaha! You got it, kid! You've obviously been raising this brat right if she knows who I am!" Garp said, turning towards his former student.

Hitoshi completely ignored the hole in the wall his shishou made and walked through the door like a normal person.

He then paused for a second. How did Selena know who Garp was? And on-sight too? Hitoshi was pretty sure he never mentioned Garp by name, usually calling him shishou or Vice Admiral when referring to him in conversation, but he could have slipped up without noticing. And he supposed Garp was in the papers pretty often; Selena could have learned who he was from there.

Selena then launched herself at her dad, interrupting his train of thought.

"Tou-chan! Vice Admiral Garp is your shishou!?" she asked, needing his confirmation.

"Uh yeah, he is," he replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"He's the one who taught you everything you know!?" Selena asked excitedly.

"Uh, I wouldn't say everything…" Hitoshi replied, throwing a panicked look towards Garp. He did not need his shishou getting an even bigger ego.

"He's the one who practically raised you and taught you how to be a good marine!?"

"Di-did I say that? I don't know if I would go that far," Hitoshi, who by now was sporting a luminescent blush, responded. One look at his shishou showed that Garp was enjoying his discomfort immensely.

"He's the man who you said is like a father to you!?"

Why was he letting his daughter talk!? Every sentence that came out of her mouth was more embarrassing than the last! It's not like he had ever told Garp any of these things. He was extremely grateful to the man, but Garp wasn't someone he wanted to bare his soul to. He was sure Garp would be using all of this against him later.

At this point, Hitoshi was sure that if his face got any hotter it would combust.

Garp decided to take pity on his student. "That's my protégé! Best student I've ever had!" There was no harm in making Hitoshi look good in front of his kid.

Besides, he was actually touched. He had done his best to be a good father to Dragon, but the truth was that his services were in too high demand for him to spend prolonged periods of time in the East Blue. He spent most of Dragon's childhood chasing after Gol D. Roger in the New World. He had tried to instill good values in his son whenever he saw him, but it didn't seem to take. Or maybe the issue was that Dragon embraced those values too whole-heartedly?

He was actually proud of his son for staying true to his beliefs and doing everything he could to make the world a better place. Not that he would ever say that out loud.

But that didn't change the fact that Dragon opposed him and everything he had dedicated his life to.

It had left a void in his life. He wanted to pass on his knowledge, to pass on his values, and hopefully teach the next generation how to be good marines. Although he had failed to do so with his son, he found fulfillment in teaching his students the necessary skills and beliefs needed to be successful in the Marine Corps.

He was very particular in who he took under his wing, knowing that the knowledge and power he shared with his students was coveted and very dangerous in the wrong hands. In his career as a marine he had instructed countless rookies and grunts, but he had only taken three students as his own. He taught them how to fight, how to strategize (which surprised a lot of people), to follow their own sense of justice, and of course, how to take a haki infused Fist of Love.

So yeah, it felt good to hear that Hitoshi thought of him like a father-figure. He was never going to let him live it down, and he was going to tease him mercilessly, but it felt good to hear.

"Hey!" Garp looked down, surprised to see the little limpet tugging on his pants. When did she get down? "Do you have any granddaughters?"

Oh how cute, she wanted to play with his grandkids?

"No." Technically, he wasn't lying. She hadn't said anything about grandsons.

Selena gave a decisive nod. "Okay! It's settled then! You're my jiji now!"

Wait, what?

Hitoshi felt that it was time for him to cut in. "Selena, sweetheart, you can't just-"

"Bwahaha! Alright!" Garp replied, completely unphased. He already had two grandchildren to look after, what's one more? Also, he liked the idea of having a sweet little granddaughter. Luffy was adorable, but for some unknown reason was completely terrified whenever he saw his beloved Gramps. Ace, on the other hand, had started calling him "shitty geezer." Having a granddaughter he could dote on and cuddle with sounded like a fantastic idea.

"-make someone… wait, what?!"

"Woohoo! Awesome!" Selena cheered. "Kaa-chan! Can I take jiji over to Kingsley's house?"

They all turned to Etsuko to see what she made of this development. While everyone else had been distracted by the conversation, she had taken the time to grab a hard hat, repair the brick wall, and was now putting up some drywall.

"Why do you want to go over there? Dinner should be ready by now."

Hitoshi clutched his hair. "You're just going to go with this?!" he interjected. Everyone ignored him.

"I wanna show him that my jiji can totally beat up his jiji!" Selena shouted, adding a fist pump for emphasis.

"Bwahaha! Let's go!" Garp shouted with just as much enthusiasm.

"What is happening!?" Hitoshi shouted, which everyone disregarded.

"That can wait until after dinner," Etsuko said primly. The wall was back up, looking exactly like it had before the human disaster that was Monkey D. Garp had come along, and she was almost done sweeping up all of the debris.

"Awww, okay," Garp and Selena said in perfect unison, shoulders slumped.

"And I would appreciate if you would use the front door in the future, Garp-san," Etsuko said icily.

"Sure, sure," Garp said easily. Etsuko's glare had nothing on Tsuru's. It was practically cute in comparison.

Feeling appeased, Etsuko breezed past him and made her way into the kitchen. She pulled the chicken out of the oven and called everyone over to eat.

Looking over everyone, she couldn't help but feel happy that her family was back together. Selena was beaming at her new jiji and Hitoshi looked adorably overwhelmed. By the gods, she loved that man. Garp, who she supposed was part of the family now, was practically drooling over the admittedly delicious looking feast. She had really outdone herself.

"Alright everyone, dig in!" Etsuko proclaimed, setting the chicken down on the table with a flourish. It marked the beginning of the most rambunctious family dinner the household had ever seen.

Garp stuffed his face as he studied his new granddaughter. In looks, she was all Etsuko. Golden-brown skin which sported a healthy sun-kissed glow, shiny black hair that flowed down her back in soft waves, and big brown eyes that could melt Aokiji's heart. The main difference between them was that while Etsuko had always been rather frail, Selena exuded vitality.

He had actually been quite surprised when Hitoshi had introduced him to Etsuko. At first, he thought that she was rather cold and not well-suited for his boisterous little student. After spending time with them together, however, he realized that they actually balanced each other out quite well. While Hitoshi was easily excitable and loudly conveyed his thoughts without hesitation, Etsuko was reserved and kept calm no matter the situation. Hitoshi brought excitement to Etsuko's life, and Etsuko helped keep Hitoshi balanced and in check.

Garp had even noticed an improvement in Hitoshi's fighting skill after they had gotten together. When he had asked him about it, Hitoshi had said that Etsuko helped him maintain focus. He felt like he was fighting to protect her, and couldn't be as reckless because he had someone to come home to.

Garp could only imagine how much Hitoshi had improved now that he had a daughter to look after. His recent promotion was proof enough of that.

Garp listened to Selena chatter away as she told her father all that had happened while he had been away. She was going on about her friend Kingsley, her lessons, how she had learned to swim, and all the cool places she had visited on the island. It seemed like in personality she took after her father. Although, Garp was unsure of whether that was due to her age or not. His student had always exuded childish excitement, after all.

After describing an underwater cove she and Kingsley had found in excruciating detail, Selena turned to Garp with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Hey jiji, do you have any embarrassing stories from when tou-chan was your student?"

Yeah, that was his granddaughter alright.

"Oh, I'm sure shishou doesn't have any stories like that," Hitoshi interjected rather desperately.

"Bwahaha!"

Hitoshi's hopes died a quick death.

"Do you want to hear about when he split his trousers in front of a whole platoon or about when he face-planted into a plate of spaghetti in front of the fleet admiral?"

"Both!" Selena cheered.

Hitoshi then turned to his wife for support. His beautiful, patient, kind, loving wife. "Dear, you don't want to hear these stories, do you?"

Etsuko pulled out a bottle from seemingly nowhere in response. "I think these stories will go great with some saké."

Hitoshi had never felt more betrayed in his life.

Unlike her father, Selena was having a great time.

By the end of dinner Selena had fourteen new embarrassing stories about her father's time as a marine grunt, Garp had fallen asleep in his food three times, and the adults had gone through five bottles of saké.

She tried to protest when her mom had sent her off to bed, but her five year old body had betrayed her with a jaw-cracking yawn. She resignedly started to bid everyone goodnight.

The adults had moved to the rocking chairs on the front porch after dinner, where they continued drinking and had all started to smoke cigars. Apparently, this was a special occasion since her parents hadn't seen Garp since their wedding. Selena figured that he must have used up all of his time off visiting Dawn Island to check up on Ace and Luffy. She idly wondered how old she was compared to them. She supposed she could check to see in what year Gol D. Roger had been executed and extrapolate from there, but that seemed like a lot of work.

Moving towards her mom, Selena stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Good night, kaa-chan. I love you."

She next stepped up to her dad and held her arms up so he could scoop her up into his lap. "Good night, tou-chan. I love you," she repeated, kissing him on his cheek.

Finally she stepped over to Garp and clambered up onto his lap. He was so tall that she then had to stand on his thighs to be able to throw her arms around his neck. "Goodnight, jiji. I love you. Welcome to the family." She then kissed his nose, startling a laugh out of him. It wasn't one of his full-on belly laughs, but a soft chuckle she hadn't heard from him yet.

She hopped off his lap and started to head inside, pausing at the front door. "Tomorrow, we'll go show Kingsley's jiji who's boss!" she exclaimed before scampering off.

"That brat is something else," Garp said rather softly. Well, softly for him anyways. People expected him to be one of those loud, happy drunks, but that usually wasn't the case. Drinking usually made him calm; nothing mellowed him out like a few bottles of saké.

Garp was sort of shocked at how easily Selena had wormed her way into his heart. He had only known her for a handful of hours, and he was already imagining how cute she would look in a marine uniform. To him, that was basically the equivalent of adopting the kid. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Garp had a soft spot for children. He had adopted his adversary's child as his own grandson, after all. He had hoped for more children of his own, but his dear wife had died giving birth to Dragon.

Now, he felt as if he was finally going to help raise the little girl he'd always wanted. She was feisty, adorable, and had even told him that she loved him. Not even his own brats had ever said that to him. Although, that might have been his own fault. It wasn't like he'd told Ace or Luffy that he loved them either. Well, he'd given them plenty Fists of Love - which of course was his way of showing he loved them, but he understood how they might not have seen it that way. He might have to try to use words next time.

"Yeah, she gets attached to people she likes very easily," Hitoshi replied as Etsuko nodded along. "At first, we were kind of worried about her. She had no problem playing with the other kids on the island, but she didn't really have any friends her age. We noticed that she developed faster than the other children so she really didn't have much in common with them. If we asked her to or set up play dates she had no problem socializing, but it was obvious she wasn't connecting to anyone but us."

"We had thought we had done something wrong," Etsuko continued. "That something we did while raising her prevented her from getting close to others. And then one day, she comes home with a little boy trailing behind her. She's going on and on about her new best friend, meanwhile, the kid looks ready to flee and never come back."

"We had tried introducing her to older kids before, since we figured her mental age was closer to theirs," Hitoshi cut in. Garp was finding it amusing that they were talking like they were one person, picking up where the other had left off. "But none of the brats had wanted to be seen 'hanging out with a baby' so it never worked out. We were expecting this kid to cut and run, but to our surprise he showed up the next day ready to take Selena on another adventure. Kingsley and her have been like siblings ever since."

"Seems like she's growing up just fine to me," Garp said. He didn't even want to know what they would think of Ace if something so small had worried them. Then again, they were first time parents so it was understandable that any little thing became a cause for concern.

"We hope she didn't offend you, Garp-san. She can come on a little strong at first," Etsuko said, feeling cautious about the situation. It was obvious that their little angel already adored Garp, and she would be crushed if he treated the whole thing like a joke.

"No need to apologize, Etsuko. I was serious when I accepted her as my granddaughter," Garp said, noting that Etsuko had sighed in relief. He was happy she wanted him to be a part of their family, and wasn't just going along with what her daughter had said. He didn't know Etsuko very well, but he hoped that would change. "I won't be able to be a constant presence in her life, but I'll try to visit at least once a year. I'm going to have to bribe Senny with a lot of rice crackers just for that."

He wanted to try to visit Ace and Luffy at least once a year anyways, so he hoped Sengoku wouldn't give him a hard time for extending his stay just a bit longer.

"I'm sure Selena will treasure any time you two could spend together," Hitoshi said, surprised that Garp was willing to visit that often. He knew that his shishou was far from retired, and that he was usually stationed somewhere on the Grand Line. "We'll make sure to explain how busy you are to her. Besides, I don't think you can do any wrong in her eyes. It's pretty obvious that she already idolizes you."

"Bwahaha! The brat has good taste!"

Back inside the house, Selena was lying awake staring at her bedroom ceiling. She was having trouble staying up, but she really had to think everything through before facing everyone tomorrow morning. Damn her five year old body.

Thinking it over, she couldn't really blame herself for not figuring out she was in the world of One Piece. It wasn't like she had seen a transponder snail or a devil fruit in action. There were hints here and there, like the lack of technology and places like Loguetown, but it wasn't anything obvious. Loguetown was a pretty common name, and she had never heard of the Isle of Valhalla in the series. Sure, she would have been in for a shock once she had started learning geography, but at this point she was still learning how to read kanji!

She figured she hadn't been reborn in the world she had lived in before, but what rational person would make the jump from their reality to a fictional world portrayed in an anime/manga?

That presented another problem. Was she in the manga or the anime? Or maybe some combination of both?

Selena knew she had acted impulsively this evening. It was a trait that had defined her in her past life, and was made even more prominent in this life. At least before she had learned some self-control. In this five year old body however, it was like all of her impulses were magnified. She often spoke and acted without thinking.

Which is what happened when she met Garp.

She had thought to herself, I wish he was my grandfather. The desire had been born from what she had known about his character from before and because she didn't have any grandparents in this life. She had come from a huge extended family before and she missed that.

One second she thought it, and the next she was claiming him as her jiji.

She hadn't realized all of the stories her dad had told her about his mentor were actually about Monkey D. Garp. Her dad really looked up to him, and named him as the sole reason he had survived in the Marines. Her dad had enlisted really young, after he lost his whole family to a pirate raid on his home island. He had been angry and consumed by plans for vengeance. Out of all of the recent recruits, Garp had singled him out. He saw that Hitoshi had potential, and gave him an outlet for his anger that wouldn't get him killed. Ever since then, Garp had looked out for him and had trained him as one of his personal students. So not only had she respected the character from the original story, she had admired her father's mentor. Finding out that they were the same man had been too much for her, and had blinded her to any possible consequences.

She didn't even want to think about the repercussions her actions might have, but she had to.

Worst case scenario: Garp brings Luffy to be raised on Valhalla immediately. He never meets Shanks. He never eats the gum-gum fruit and never becomes a rubberman. He never becomes king of the pirates.

A slightly more likely scenario: Instead of bringing Luffy to Dadan once he decides to become a pirate, Garp brings Luffy to Valhalla. Luffy never meets Ace. Luffy never meets Sabo. Luffy never learns how to control his powers. Luffy sets sail as soon as he can, not having a reason to wait until he was seventeen. He never meets any of the original Strawhats. Luffy never becomes king of the pirates.

Best case scenario: Garp never tells Luffy or Ace about her. He treats them exactly the same as he did in the original story, visiting when he's supposed to. Nothing changes and the world doesn't end.

Okay, maybe she was being a little melodramatic. Garp only showed up in the story a couple of times, and she had only known him for a day. It wasn't like that caused any drastic changes in personality or anything.

Besides, her being here might have already changed things. She didn't remember Garp having any students besides Coby and Helmeppo in the story. Oh, and that Bogart guy. It was weird because she was pretty sure he was still Garp's number two, but neither her dad nor Garp had mentioned him by name. Maybe they were helping him maintain his mysterious persona?

It was possible that her father had been one of the countless marines shown in the series, or maybe a faceless background extra on Garp's ship, but it seemed unlikely.

Anyways, she could have potentially already changed the story just by being born. She was pretty sure her whole existence was a fluke; there was no way she was meant to be born here and with all of her previous memories on top of that. She had to be a mistake.

Well, she couldn't undo any of it now. What was done was done.

Her only saving grace was that Garp had been a minor character in the story. As long as she stayed away from all things Strawhat, everything should work out okay.

Besides, she was definitely giving herself too much credit. Sure, she had managed to wheedle her way into Garp's family. Although, it was possible he was just joking around with her and hadn't taken her seriously. It didn't seem likely, since it would be pretty in character for Garp to just go with it, but it was a possibility.

But what gave her the self-entitlement to think that she could manage to change anything? She wasn't even a real character. She was the result of some cosmic accident. The Strawhat Pirates were destined for great things. Fate drew them together, and there was no way someone as insignificant as her would be able to interfere with that, accidentally or not.

Feeling better about the whole predicament at the cost of her self-esteem, Selena was finally able to drift off to sleep.

Selena woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and raucous laughter. She got dressed quickly and sprinted towards the kitchen, last night's dilemma already put behind her.

If there was one thing she liked about being five years old, it was how resilient she was. She had thought things through, figured out a solution, and was going to stick to it. There was no reason to overthink things and keep dwelling on it indefinitely.

Not slowing down in the slightest, Selena flung herself at Garp with a running leap.

"Jiji!" she exclaimed, snuggling into his chest.

"Bwahaha! Why are you so excited? You saw me a couple of hours ago!"

"How come you never get that excited to see me?" Hitoshi asked, not-so-secretly sulking.

Selena was 45% sure he was joking.

"Because I see you all the time!" she replied after settling down on Garp's lap. "Besides, jiji is gonna beat up Kingsley's grandpa for me!"

Garp winced. He had forgotten he had promised to do that. He also vaguely wondered what this old man had done to Selena that deserved getting wailed on by a vice admiral in retaliation.

"Sorry, angel," Etsuko cut in. She was wearing her favorite frilly pink apron as she fried up more bacon. It was the girliest thing Selena had ever seen and she kind of loved it. "Garp-san needs to leave straightaway. His men are waiting for him back in Loguetown."

Selena pouted and Garp felt his resolve crumbling. God help him if Luffy ever learned to use puppy-dog eyes like she did. He would be bowing to every one of their whims. He couldn't picture Ace doing it though, for some reason.

"Don't worry pup! I'll get him next time I visit!" Garp added quickly. "It'll give the old man some time to train and get ready for me."

"You're gonna visit again!?" Selena asked excitedly, her whole face lighting up. She really hadn't expected him to come back.

"Bwahaha! Of course! What kind of grandfather do you think I am!?" Garp said, standing up and disentangling Selena from his arms so he could strike a heroic pose.

"The best kind!" Selena cheered, and Garp couldn't help but get a warm feeling in his chest.

Feeling that this was a good time to leave, Hitoshi got up as well. Turning to Selena he said, "I'm going to give shishou a ride back to Loguetown, but when I get back I want to spend the day together."

"Of course, tou-chan!" Selena replied. "I love you! Have a safe trip!" She then skipped over to Garp for one last hug. He bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

"Bye, jiji! I hope you go on lots of adventures and that you remember me and that you catch a lot of bad guys!" she said in a rush, while burying her face in the crook of his neck. She picked up the lingering scent of the cigars from last night, a hint of musky cologne, and the fresh sting of his aftershave.

"Of course, pup! You can count on me!" he said as he set her down. She had kind of forgotten about his whole dog theme since he wasn't wearing his distinctive hat, but the nickname was growing on her.

"Bye, jiji! I love you!" she shouted from the front doorway, waving to their retreating backs.

End Notes: I have a lot planned out for this story, and I'm really excited to write it all out. I also want to give a shout out to Tsume-Yuki, who gave me great advice and encouraged me to write my own story. Her fic Tell it to the Marines is amazing, and if you haven't read it already I really recommend it.

If you find any grammar mistakes or typos, please let me know!

Last edited on 9/29/19.