Note: Just to clear things up beforehand: This takes place after the war between the world government and Whitebeard. Ace is alive in this story, due to events from a previous fanfic I wrote called "Love Like Fire". In a way this is sort of like a continuation, but it can be read on its own.
It was a relatively quiet night. The moon was bright, and all the stars were visible. The sea was calm, with the gentle waves rocking the ship in just the right way to lull the crew to sleep. A couple of sentries were posted to guard what was left of the Whitebeard crew, but there was no foreseeable danger on the horizon.
However, despite the perfect sleeping conditions, there were two people sneaking about on the ship. They made their way toward the captain's private quarters, quiet as can be.
"Ace, hand over the key!" a female voice hissed.
"Are you sure you won't get caught?" the devil fruit user asked.
"I've been called a ghost for a reason! I'll be fine." replied his companion. "Now, key." she held out her hand.
"Alright, alright...Just be careful, babe."
The girl unlocked the door, leaving Ace to be the look out. She paused once she stepped inside, letting her eyes adjust to the gloomy light provided by a single lit candle. She looked around the room, making note of how messy it was. She sympathized with Marco. After the old man went and died, the crew had so much to handle on their own. It's not surprising that the phoenix didn't have time to tidy up.
Quietly, the girl crept toward the source of the candle-light. She tucked a strand of her white hair behind her ear and started gathering up the small stack of reports on the desk.
She glanced at the phoenix, former first-mate to Whitebeard himself. Now he was the captain of what was left of the crew. At present, he was laid out on his bed, and by the looks of it he accidentally fell asleep while looking over some reports. The young woman sighed and carefully picked up the slips of paper scattered about the sheets. "You really have been working yourself too hard..." she whispered.
After getting what she came for, she blew out the candle and exited the room.
Marco opened his eyes with a start. Something felt different. He sat up and sleepily looked around his room. At first glance nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but he soon noticed that his reports were gone. That wasn't all. The lighting in the room was too bright. It must have been late morning, judging by the light that came through the porthole. How long had he slept in?
The phoenix got up and hastily exited his room. He vaguely noticed the door had been unlocked, and he was sure he had locked it the night before. When he stepped out onto the deck, he was faced with a busy crew who appeared to have been given their jobs for the day. "What's going on...?" he wondered aloud.
"Hey Marco!"
The captain turned and looked at his first mate. "Ace, what's going on?"
"We're giving you a day off, that's what." Fire Fist replied. "You work too hard."
"A day off? I can't afford a day off with all the stuff I have to do around here—"
"We can handle it for a day! Two days even!" Ace cut him off. "C'mon, how long has it been since you had any time to relax?"
"Is there a problem here?" The men turned their heads to look at the blue eyed wonder who came up with this plan in the first place. She moved to stand next to Ace, looking pointedly at her captain.
"Yeah, Marco doesn't want to use his vacation time." Ace answered.
"Well that's not good."
"Rory, I can't take time off." Marco sighed.
"Yes you can! Look, I know feel responsible for all of us, but we can take care of things for a little while! We can go a day without you, trust me." said the girl.
"But—"
"No buts!"
"What exactly am I supposed to do?" asked the phoenix.
"There's an island about a mile from here in that direction. Its not that far away, so if we absolutely need you—which I doubt we will—we'll come get you." Rory began pushing Marco toward the edge of the ship. "Get a hotel room and sleep for a day, go drinking, gamble, find a hooker, it doesn't matter! Just find something to do and stay away for a day. Hell, stay away for a couple of days if you need to. Just don't come back until you're in tiptop condition!"
Marco was momentarily speechless, and then addressed Ace. "Can't you control your girlfriend?" he asked.
"Not if I have any hope of sleeping comfortably tonight..." the fire man replied.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up..." she muttered. "Just go already. We got this covered."
Marco sighed and gave up. If Rory wanted something, she usually got it by means of shear determination. "Okay, okay, I'm out of here..." He cast one final hesitant glance at his best friends and then shifted to his phoenix form. For the first time since the old man's death, he left his crew to fend for themselves.
It was a pretty laid back island, the kind where travelers would stop to relax and get their energy back. It made Marco wonder if Ace and Rory had chosen this place specifically. It would make senses if they did. He stepped into a bar and looked around. It wasn't a particularly high class place, but it was kept pretty well in order. It gave off a homey vibe that made the phoenix feel a little more at ease just standing in there.
As he headed for the stools at the bar, something made him notice a young woman sitting by herself at a table in the corner. She looked to be in her late twenties at most. She had long red-orange hair that went all the way past her hips. She wore a navy blue trench coat, black skinny jeans and knee high boots. Marco would admit that she wasn't unattractive, but he paid no attention to her otherwise. At least not for the moment. Anything could happen once he had a few drinks in him. However he wasn't hoping for anything. In truth he was much too preoccupied with thoughts regarding his crew.
The woman, on the other hand, discreetly kept her eyes on the phoenix. She knew he was, having seen his wanted poster before and of course she watched the broadcast of the war. She had no interest in his background though. There was something else she was after, and if she had any say in it, Marco would be her next victim.