Three weeks. Twenty-one days. Five-hundred and four hours. Thirty-thousand two-hundred and forty minutes. One million eight-hundred and fourteen thousand, four-hundred seconds.
That's how long it had been since Marshall D. Teech had bolted from the ship and run off to God-knew-where. Ace was next, leaving only two days after, hell-bent on bringing the man back and serving justice in the best was he knew how: violently. Not that anyone had any complaints. Teech had almost killed one of their own; Thatch had just started being able to walk around after being stabbed twice with a knife. Fixing the wounds had been relatively easy, since Soleil had gone on a theft spree and taken a hospital's worth of high grade medical supplies that would last about a year, if no one got too injured to cause death, although they were prepared just in case.
Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate was livid, although most of his anger had been taken out on the sea; the man caused earthquakes so strong that (according to Soliel) they created deep cracks in the seafloor. The captain of the Moby Dick had spent most of his time communicating with allies to keep an eye out for any site or sound of Teech, who now went by the name "Blackbeard". Most of the crew had resumed their daily routines and went about business as usual, and simply waited for Ace to return or send a message.
"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Soliel's eyes were blazing with rage, and Marco shifted away from the 23-year-old. "Ooh, and I'll do it slow. I'll tie the bastard up first, maybe break some bones, blow his knees out so he can't walk. Then I'll scalp him, skin him. Douse him in alcohol and light him-"
"Soliel, relax." Marco's voice was quiet. "You're not the only one who wants to take him out. But we can't."
Soliel ran a hand through her shoulder-length copper-toned hair in anger. Champagne eyes narrowed and she sighed heavily. "I know, it's just-what-" her voice broke. "What are we gonna do if he manages to hurt Ace too?"
Marco blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Portgaz D. Ace had made a name for himself, and was strong, maybe one of the strongest pirates around, but he was still young, impulsive, and that was dangerous. Especially since was so pissed off that a man under his division had gone off the deep end.
Soliel looked at the phoenix, "I hate him."
Marco chuckled, "Clearly." He ruffled her hair, effectively messing up the flawless ringlets. He was fascinated by Soliel's hair, bright like fire and softer than silk.
Soliel gave an indignant cry of rage, "Oi! Stop it, pineapple head!" she ducked and swatted at him, but Marco was slightly faster and he caught her hand, dragging her against him and laughing.
"You know he'll get what coming to him. We can all take turns." He smirked then as he heard Fossa speak words of agreement. Izo joined, and pretty soon the galley was full of talk on how best to deal with Teech. Whitebeard was absent, and Soliel wondered where her father had vanished to. For the past few weeks, the man was rarely seen, just a glimpse here or there.
Soliel shivered and rubbed her arms. "So…what if someone…say…maybe…helped Ace?"
Blenheim quirked an eyebrow, setting his tankard down. "Are you volunteering?"
Soliel's smile was slow, and just a little bit evil. "Mmmaaaaybeeee." She walked backwards, hands clasped behind her back before pivoting on her heel and racing out of the room, yelling for her father and demanding he show himself.
"That won't work!" Fossa called with a deep chuckle. "He's not here!"
"Where did he go?" Atmos asked in confusion. "I saw him about an hour ago."
Fossa gave a one-shoulder shrug; he had no idea where their captain had gone, but he knew that they weren't supposed to follow. They were docked in a small town called Foodvalten, one of the areas under the Whitebeard crew's protection. It had been almost a full four hours since Whitebeard had left, without a single clue as to where he'd gone.
"Maybe he's meeting someone."
…
Soliel gave up. She knew he father wasn't on board, and now that they were docked (for who knew how long), she was bored out of her mind. At least when Ace was here, she'd have someone to play with, usually instigating a fight and sparring with the fire starter before they got tired or she knocked him off the ship and into the ocean. She laughed out loud at the recollection of all the times over the years that she and Ace had fought each other. Her favorite memory was from a few years ago, when Ace had first joined the crew. He was a bit snarky, and confident, something Soliel didn't like. BAck then, when they were 18-years-old, Soliel was five-foot, two-inches and roughly one-hundred and ten pounds. Small, petite, and-
"Weak?" her voice was soft, with an undertone of danger that the rest of the crew recognized immediately. Marco was shaking with laughter at the idea of the newcomer challenging the daughter of their captain. Portgaz D. Ace had no idea what he was up against.
Soliel crossed her arms, "I may be shorter, smaller, and not as strong as you, yeah," she stepped up to Ace, looking up at him with eyes that were lit with a fire that promised an ass-kicking. "But with all that, you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover."
Ace chuckled, watching as the Whitebeard crew began standing around the upper deck, watching in amusement. People had begun taking bets, and it was half and half so far, some thinking the new kid would win, others scoffing that he had no chance against their younger sister.
"Okay," he smirked, taking his hat off, "Why don't we find out?"
They charged at the same time, and ribbons of flame flickered here and there, probably in attempt to intimidate Soliel, but she evaded, ducking the rush of heat, leg sweeping low and making Ace stumble, but he rebounded quick, swinging a fist, but she ducked, only to barely miss taking a face full of fire as his other hand came at her. Silence throbbed around them as the crew watched eagerly as the two sparred. Ace was stronger, but Soliel was faster, and sometimes that was what mattered.
They aimed kicks, punches, and at one point, Ace tried to tackle Soliel, but she shifted to the side and slugged him in the temple, stunning the man for a second, but Ace managed to grab her hair and get the girl in a chokehold. The crew had started getting tense, this fight was getting a little hardcore, but Soliel was on it, digging her sharp nails into Ace's arms and tearing skin, causing him to loosen his hold and drop her.
Ace ignited himself then, aiming a roundhouse kick at his opponent, and Soliel took the hit, getting in close and before Ace knew what was happening, Soliel shifted onto her hands, ankles catching Ace's throat as she Judo-flipped him off the rail of the ship and laughed as he cursed. The resounding splash was music to her ears and she bowed, before spinning on her heel and diving off the ship to rescue the other teen.
After they'd been hauled out of the sea, Curiel had been amused, "Did you forget that the ocean if your enemy, boy?" He grabbed Soliel's chin and made her look up, eyeing the small, third-degree burn on her cheek. It needed to be taken care of, but the girl was too busy trying to get at Ace again.
"Oh, come on. That's all you got?" She was beaming, her smile positively glowing, and Whitebeard chuckled at his daughter, she was so much like him it was ridiculous. The crew cheered and others groaned as they handed out money to bet winners. Marco and Thatch were laughing the hardest, and they both came down to congratulate Soliel.
She grinned, laughing at the memory, and wondering when Ace would come back because she wanted to do it again. That had been five years ago, and she was taller, weighed more. Ace was almost six feet, and Soliel was five-foot-six and roughly one-twenty pounds; swift as always and lithe as a damn panther. She wasn't curvy, or busty, she had slim hips and a narrow waist, with small firm breasts and a small, rounded bottom. She liked how she looked, and often found the other, more voluptuous population of women to be comical, all dressed up and painted with make up.
I can't be like that, I have these clowns to look after, she watched as Thatch walked slowly from the interior of the Moby Dick and into the sun. He was still wearing bandages around his torso, but Soliel was happy to see that they weren't stained for one. She too had a bandage on from one of the bullet wounds she'd received after invading the hospital to get supplies for Thatch, and there were still a line of stitches across her knuckles from punching a glass window to get inside. A chill swept through her and she frowned, rubbing her arms.
Thatch smiled and waved at her, "Sneaking off to write music or something?"
Soliel made a little huh sound, she did have some stuff she'd been working on in her spare time. She was the self-proclaimed entertainer of the crew, and was often playing music and being goofy when everyone else was having a rough day, anything to make her siblings, father, and Marco to smile.
"Actually, yeah. That sounds like a good idea." she walked after the man, following him up towards the crow's nest, where, under a waterproof cloth, sat a ukulele, guitar, and pad of paper with a pencil. Soleil grinned, taking all three and sliding down to the deck, while Thatch took over above, warming himself in the sun.
After sitting on the very edge of the ship, feet dangling over the edge, Soliel began to write again, the sound of the song playing in her head as she hummed, hand moving fast over the page as she wrote. Every now and then she'd erase something and fix it. Snatching up the guitar, she adjusted the strings, strumming each chord out until she was satisfied that they were clear and steady. Eyes roaming the words, Soliel opened her mouth and began to sing.
…
There wasn't much the crew could do about Teech while Ace was searching for him, or while their captain was AWOL, so, like most pirates, they began drinking, being silly and gambling. Fossa was yelling at Brew and Izo for cheating and keeping cards hidden, and Blenheim yelled at everyone to get away from him while he was cooking. The sun had started to set, and the lights were on, candles lit, and Haruta was surprised no one from the village complained about all the noise.
"Ohmygod I can't take it anymore," she huffed and walked out, followed by Marco and Namur, both of whom decided it was too boisterous and crazy in the galley.
"They're like little kids!" Haruta admonished, "Yelling and being silly."
Namur looked up at the sky, where stars had started to appear, a shimmer here and there against the dusky red and purple sky. "We need that right now. I have a feeling something is about to happen, and this may be the last time we can all laugh and have fun for who knows how long." Haruta and Marco gave the shark-man a look; he was right. The trio walked around, talking about Teech, Ace, and all the things that had been going on for the past month.
"Shh, look!" Haruta pointed up ahead with a giant grin, and the other two turned to see Soliel, standing, walking back and forth, fingers moving over strings, singing at the top of lungs.
"She's so loud," Namur chuckled.
Marco nodded, "When she's not screwing around, her voice is good, though. When she's not being obnoxious." Soliel had no idea that she was being watched, or didn't care, because she kept going.
"I won't talk, I won't breathe, I won't move 'til you finally see, that you belong with me. You might think, I don't look, but deep inside the corners of my mind, I'm attached to you. Mmm, cause I'm afraid to know the answer. Do you see me too? Cause my heart keep falling faster. I've waited all my life, to cross this line to the only thing that's true. So I will not hide, it's time to try, anything to be with you. All my life, I've waited. This is true." Her voice was clear as bell and just as sweet, but suddenly the tempo changed, and she started to sing something else.
"Come, as you are, as you were, as I want you to be. As a friend, as a friend, as an old enemy. Take your time, hurry up. The choice is yours, don't be late. Take a rest, as a friend, as an old memory." Soliel's voice echoed out, husky, soft, and Marco noticed that a few people from the village had started walking along the docks, watching the woman with interest, and the phoenix had a sudden twinge of something that made him want to hide the redhead, especially as a few of the male viewers started to cheer and whistle at her. "Come, doused in mud, soaked in bleach, as I want you to be. As a trend, as a friend, as an old…memory~ Ay, ay, ay, memory…"
Her face lit up after she stopped, the cheering reaching her ears, and Soliel whirled around, but oh, that blush looked good on her, Marco thought. She grinned, waving at the small crowd and bowing before picking up her stuff and speed-walking away, eyes on the ground. Haruta was giggling, and Namur couldn't help but smile at the girl's embarrassed expression.
Marco was smirking too as they followed her back into the ship. He watched as she laughed with Haruta, her cheeks pink, eyes shining with amusement, and Marco sighed. Loving Soliel was stronger than any wave; it knocked you to your fucking knees and you could never get up, because all the warmth and laughter and long nights held you down.
But he was okay with that, and as their eyes met and she grinned at him, he did what any love struck idjit would do; he pulled her into his arms and kissed the ever-living shit out of her. A series of gasps and cheers followed, and Soliel responded with enthusiasm, arms wrapping around his neck, and jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist.
"What's going on in here?" There were a few snorts of laughter, and a few low "ooh"'s. Soliel was smiling, trying not to laugh, especially as Marco's eyes flared.
"Hi, daddy!"
…