#op garp

"She's not dying, she's just teething."

"Teething?" Ace questioned. He was not sure of the meaning of the word, but by the reaction the young woman was exhibiting, it seemed it was nothing to worry about, and so for the first time in days, he allowed himself to relax.

"Mmhm, it's perfectly normal for babies to start teething; it means her teeth are coming out," she easily explained as she began to rub Dokucha's Gums.

The infant blinked owlishly at the feeling, pausing her wailing before finally relaxing as Makino rubbed the sore tissue.

"She stopped crying!" Sabo marveled

"She just needed us to ...rub her?" Ace asked incredulously

"It can help soothe the pain from teething, but you can try a few other things. You can give her some things to bite, and apply some cold cloth to her jaw area to help soothe the pain," Makino replied

"So she's not going to die?" Ace asked relieved, receiving a soft giggle from Makino

"No, it's a natural process; we can only try to help her with the pain until the teething stage is over. That being said, how about you three get some sleep?" she asked, frowning at their exhausted state; it seemed that they could not or refused to get any sleep when her sister was in that state.

"We need to take care of Dokucha," Ace hissed.

"Don't worry about her, I will watch her until you guys wake up, okay? Go get some rest, you guys deserve it."

"Thank you, Makino!" Luffy exclaimed, skipping to the bed without being told twice, and the other two followed hesitantly after him.

Makino smiled at the boys, looking down at the girl.

"Those boys really care about you, you're going to grow with some incredible big brothers," Makino giggled as Dokucha babbled to her in return.

“Umm, guys, she’s not drinking her milk,” Sabo mumbled as he continued to try to inch the sucker to the infant’s mouth, frowning as she continued moving her head away with small whines.

“What are you talking about, Sabo? Just push it into her mouth,” Ace called dismissively as he continued looking over their plans for their next heist, with Luffy absently munching on an array of fruits he had gathered.

“I ‘m telling you she’s not taking it!” He snapped back as he finally gave up and put the milk down, looking at the fussy 8-month-old with a scowl, only to wince and jump into action as he saw her lip beginning to tremble.

“H-hey! No, No Dokucha!” he called, fumbling to distract the child to avoid what he knew would be coming next. However, he knew it was meaningless when she went from sniffling to wailing in a span of seconds.

Startled by the sudden noise, Ace and Luffy’s attention snapped to the baby!

“What’s wrong with her!?” Ace yelled, trying to be heard above the girl’s howling and shrieking

“I think she’s hungry, but she won’t take her milk!” Sabo screamed back, hands over his ears.

“What are we supposed to give her then? That's the only thing she eats!” The ravenette snapped back

“Maybe she wants some fruit!” Luffy cut in as he extended an apple to the baby

“You idiot, she can’t eat that!” Ace scowled.

“Huh, Why?”

“She has no teeth!”

“Yeah huh! She has two teeth right there!” Luffy hollered, pointing to the wailing child’s mouth and the two lone teeth on the bottom of her mouth.

“She only has two! You will kill her!”

“Wait, Ace, maybe that's what she needs!”Sabo cut in, taking hold of the apple.

“Are you serious, Sabo?! She will choke!”

“Yes! That's why I will mash it up,” Sabo explained as he placed the apple on a bowl-like stone and began grinding it down with a different rock. When he was satisfied with the result, he approached the crying child and offered her the mashed apples.

As soon as she felt the unknown food being offered, she instantly closed her mouth around it. She took a moment to chew and savor the new food before cooing and reaching for more, which Sabo happily obliged.

“It worked!” Sabo cheered, both he and Ace letting out relieved sighs as Luffy cheered.

Two months had passed since they had successfully introduced food to Dokucha. In the course of those months, she had graduated from not only eating mashed foods but also carefully chopped and even shredded foods, which included, to Luffy’s elation, shredded meat. However, that soon turned into disappointment when the baby showed no particular excitement towards the food. However, she agreed with Ace’s choice of favorite food when she showed favoritism towards the Cherry pie he had acquired in a nearby town; something the oldest would always hold over Luffy. But it was around that two-month mark that she showed another critical milestone.

“Crocodile meat is so yummy!” Luffy exclaimed as he continued to stuff his face with said food

“Ueeeh,” Dokucha babbled, trying to get the boys' attention.Seemingly no longer satisfied with the attention Magra was offering her.

“Oi, Luffy! Give me some of that! Ace scowled, reaching for some of the side dishes the youngest was hoarding.

Dokucha let out a whine, even resorting to banging the small pipe. The three boys had gotten her in order to match their own weapons, but despite the loud banging and whining, the brothers continued their hunger-driven discussion.

“Oi, you two, leave some for me!!” Sabo growled, pushing his way in between the two boys, causing a small squabble between the trio.

Finally fed up, Dokucha let out a small huff, putting her palms on the ground and pushing herself up, leaning on Magra as she stumbled. Once satisfied she could hold herself, she continued to use Magra for support as she took a step forward, and another, and another; eventually switching to Dogra and then Dadan, who sat next to Magra frozen at what they were seeing, as she slowly but surely made her way to the three boys.

Eventually, she managed to make it to the table and behind the squabbling children. Leaning, holding on to the table bench, she raised her pipe, winding it and bringing it down, straight into Ace’s head. The sound of the impact reverberated around the room, causing the room’s noise to halt as everyone turned around to the source.

“Ace!” Sabo cried as Ace slumped to the ground holding his head, slowly glancing at the culprit, his eyes widening along with his brothers as they realized what had just taken place.

“Dokucha?” He mumbled in a pained voice

“She can walk!!” Luffy cheered, jumping up and down in glee, with Sabo still gaping beside him.

“We’ve been trying to get you to walk for weeks, and when you do it, that's the first thing you do?!” Ace growled as he jumped once again. He had also been ecstatic and shocked by her first steps, along with his younger brothers. However, the oldest brother seemed more preoccupied by another first-time occurrence.

“Bah-gah! Eeei!” Dokucha snapped back, waving the pipe around in Ace’s direction

“You little-

“Ah! Wait, ace, she’s still a baby!” Sabo exclaimed, jumping to hold back his brother as he and the youngest engaged in a heated but nonsensical exchange of words

A few weeks had passed, with no particular progress. However, she had been improving her balance more and more with each passing day, especially since the three brothers religiously practiced the skill with Dokucha until she eventually managed to walk on her own without face-planting the floor.

Something that Garp found out on one of his regular checkups: After Luffy had excitedly told her about his feat, he just had to see his granddaughter stand on her feet by her own strength. And see he did, as not only was he witness to Dokucha's walking, but his arrival had excited her to the point that he saw an exciting stunt: running.

The four were relaxing in a small but stunning clearing not far from their treehouse, and Luffy excitedly showcased his latest find to the girl.

"Look, Dokucha! It's a Dandelion!" Luffy exclaimed, gaining the toddler's attention. He made his way closer to him and observed the object with wonder. Watching this, Luffy Grinned and blew it, hitting the baby's face.

Dokucha let out a barrage of giggles, clapping her chubby hands at the soft, ticklish feeling the seeds caused on her body.

"H-Hey Look!" Sabo hissed, pointing to Garp's unmistakable figure approaching them.

"Crap! What is he doing here!?" Ace growled.

"Yo!" He greeted.

Elated at their grandpa's sudden arrival, Dokucha could not help but put her training into action as she willed her legs to approach the man. However, it seemed they did not take her to him as fast as she wanted to, as she soon broke into a clumsy but speedy run, stumbling into the man's hands, whose expression visibly lit up at the event.

"Bwahahaha! There you go, little monkey!" He boomed happily as he raised her up in the sky, his grin growing as she began laughing and reaching for him. Not one to deny his granddaughter, he pulled her to him in a firm but gentle Hug. The girl awkwardly returned the gesture, her chubby arms not reaching very far, resulting in her putting her hands on his chest more than hugging him

It wasn't until another of Garp's impromptu visits three months later that Dokucha would showcase her next memorable feat; when the sight of Dokucha running around more steadfast than in his previous visit had driven him to proudly exclaim that such growth was the beginning of the birth of a legendary marine. It was this statement that would become the catalyst.

"No Way! She won't be a marine!" Ace scowled once he had finished her statement.

"Yeah! She will be a pirate just like Shanks!" Luffy cut in

Wisely, Sabo remained silent and took to watching over the girl who sat on the ground happily playing with the dirt beneath her.

"Like Hell I will let you influence her with Red-Haired stupid Ideologies!"

"Hey! Shanks is not stupid! I will be a pirate just like Shanks!

"Shanks!" Dokucha Cheered, and for the second time in her life, this toddler, barely a year old, had managed to cause the world around her to pause in silence.

"D-Did she just-" Ace stuttered, gaping at the baby girl who clapped gleefully at the word.

"No way..." Sabo muttered

Looking shocked, Luffy stared at the girl before a grin began growing on his face!

"Shishishi, That's right, Dokucha! Shanks!" Luffy cheered, elated that his sister's very first words just happened to be those of his idol.

Garp continued to stare at the girl, aghast, and blood drained from his face. His brain could not decide which emotion to showcase, as fear, anger, sadness, and happiness all scrambled in his mind like a slot machine. He snapped out of this existential crisis when he felt a small soft touch. Looking down, he saw that the toddler had made his way to him without him noticing.

Noticing the conflicted emotions on her grandfather's face and unable to fully understand it, she looked up at him with worry.

The three brothers watched with bated breath as they awaited the older man's reaction. Eventually, the man huffed and grabbed the girl, holding her up with a broad, slightly strained grin on his face.

"Breaking your Papaw's Heart this early, huh?"

Dokucha tilted her head at the words, unable to discern the forced expression on her face and mistaking it for genuine happiness. She giggled and tried to reach for him.

"Papaw!!" she cheered.

His jaw dropped, and he stared at his granddaughter once again. The three young boys watched, stunned, as tears began to sprout from the marine as the biggest grin they had ever seen on the man took place.

"That's right, Dokucha...I'm your Papaw!" He cried hugging her tightly

🥹🥹

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