#manystories

Smoker didn't sleep all that well with his mind racing miles an hour. It gave him no peace and of all the things that kept him up that night, it was Genra. It was obvious that she was no ordinary prisoner but when he pondered about it, nothing made sense about her. Her moods would change in the snap of a finger. Her only form of communication was animalistic growls. How she reacted very strangely to the simplest of things. Or how she doesn't seem to want to attack him or any of his crewmates on the ship despite hating the Marines with every fibre in her body.

It's only normal to hate an entire organisation that put you through countless experiments so why be passive? Now that he thought about it, all the attacks she had on the crew or himself, weren't to kill but to threaten. And the experiments themselves were too much of a punishment, even for a criminal like Genra. Sure she had committed her crimes but experimenting on her? It was inhumane. But the government always got away with things no matter what it was. They'd always cover up their tracks as if nothing happened or take credit for something they didn't do. Like in Alabasta. But what in the world could Genra have done to make her punishment so heavy?

Why Genra?

All the answers to his burning questions lay in terminated files and Genra's tales that are yet to be told. Nothing but lab records remain but that didn't help much at all. And Smoker's knowledge failed him. He had only heard Genra's name twice ever and even then was the mentions vague and he doubts anyone will remember her from how long ago her name was spoken. This time, the government really outdid themselves in erasing the existence of things. They wanted to give her a new identity.

A new life.

~~~~~

The next morning a guard had told Smoker that he had heard chirping sounds the night before but he thought nothing of it and early this morning, he heard it again. "Are you sure it couldn't just be birds out the window?" Tashigi queried. "No Lieutenant. It sounded like it was coming from inside the building and not outside. It's very odd." "Maybe a bird flew through the window when you weren't looking. What do you think Captain?" Smoker hummed then walked off, "Fireflies don't light up at day."

"Uh, yeah... But what's that got to do with anything?" Confused, Tashigi followed her captain to the prison cells. "Birds don't leave their nests at night unless they're nocturnal, which I highly doubt there's any bird like that flyin' around Loguetown." He replied and Tashigi exclaimed, feeling a little dumb. "You think Genra has something to do with the birds?" Smoker pondered for a second, "It could be anything but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Genra. And if it isn't then there wouldn't be much to think of it. It's just birds that were flyin' around the base at an odd hour."

"Guess there's only one way to find out," Tashigi shrugged as they walked through the doors to the prison cells, stepping quietly to the furthest cell. Carefully placing their feet to not alarm the birds, if there is or was. It was quiet in the cells and the soft chirps and whistles of a bird confirmed the guard's statement. There really was a bird in the cells and it could only come from Genra's. Or maybe 3. There were one too many chirps to come from a single bird and just as Smoker and Tashigi peeked their heads around the cell wall, the chirps and whistles stopped.

Now, Genra stared with half-lidded dull eyes at the two figures before her. Instead of glares with murderous intent, it was rather a look of tiredness but mostly irritation that these familiar Marines won't leave her alone. Genra sat cross-legged against the wall opposite the bars they left her asleep and at her feet were two small birds hopping around the cell. It had flown in through the windows of the other empty cells. They opened their fleeting wings and Genra whistled just like a bird and to Smoker and Tashigi's astonishment, the birds remained in the cell by Genra's orders.

Tashigi's jaws dropped, "D-did she just- Did you see that Captain? She just talked to... a bird!" Tashigi's excitement began to irritate Genra and she began to growl, making her quiet down. "Sorry," Tashigi muttered, remembering Genra doesn't like noise at all. "Well, that's one problem I can't solve." Smoker sighed. "You knew she could do this?" she looked at Smoker "Yeah. I was told by Akainu that they never kept any sort of animal around her because who knows what she'll order the animals to do. It would be impossible to do keep all animals away in Loguetown."

For some reason, Smoker remembered the voice he heard last night,"...But she still holds so many more secrets..." Tashigi pondered about this newfound information, "It sounds as if they..." "...Feared their own creation." Smoker continued, completing the same thought and Genra huffed in amusement.

She very much liked the idea that the people she so bitterly resented, regretted what they made of her. This was the first time that her response wasn't something out of anger, fear or irritation. "Don't get cocky here! You're still very much a prisoner." Smoker snapped but the very corner of Genra's lips curled into the faintest of smiles before whistling to the birds and they took off flying high in the morning sky.

"Not for long, Cloud Chaser," she whispered.