Author's Note: New Story! Inspiration hit me! A great way to get my creative juices turning for my main story 'One Piece In The Wind'. I always loved Ace, and I've been going threw the chapters of his execution and came up with this idea. I know its not realistic to the time he actually spent in the Marineford jail, but I felt like he needed a story from his time spent in it, as well as filled with flash backs for all of us to just enjoy the character that was and always will be the fire fist Ace. The OC is for story effect, it's not really based on her, more so on Ace but it does flip back and forth between the two. I hope you guys enjoy it and as always, the more reviews I receive the faster I'll update, and if you find any spelling errors please leave that in the review as well, I'm not that good in catching my own mistakes and I always find them embarrassing. Thank you, and enjoy.

Ace had come around to excepting this. This fate. He failed, no one but him. Here he was, stuck in Marineford jail by himself, awaiting death. It was almost funny, he never thought he would be here, not ever. Sitting in this grimy jail cell, everything taken from him, but his pants, even his shoes...his shoes. What where the marines scared of? That he was going to take his shoelaces and strangle an officer when he got a chance? Ridiculous. What was more ridiculous was this draining, having no energy feeling that he had constantly, twenty four seven, along with his swore, rubbed raw wrists. They couldn't of thought of a more comfortable way to make sea stone cuffs? Ace chuckled openly at the thought. Even if they had they wouldn't use them on pirates.

Clink

The metallic tink of a food tray awoke him from his mindless chattering thoughts. Ace looked up at the intruder, the big burly man of a marine, who was in charge of watching him, was replaced by a slender woman with green eyes. She looked at the figure hiding at the back of the cell and gave the tray an encouraging shove closer to him. Ace's face turned into a smirk, "What no comments with my dinner?" His voice was grainy and hoarse, not like the happy go lucky sound he was used to, in what seemed like a very distant past. He could almost hear Marco in the back of his head telling him to smarten up or his remarks would get him in trouble one day. Which they often did, the usual Marine that watched his cell would usually 'accidentally' toss the food too hard spilling it on the ground, or pouring his daily portion of water on the ground, even up to drinking it as Ace watched, swallowing, trying to do anything to relieve his dry throat.

"You should eat."

The voice was a shock to his system. It was soft, but more importantly, it wasn't full of hate and venom. When was the last time he had a friendly conversation...Impel Down? No that wasn't friendly, that was two people locked in a jail cell with a need for human conversation. Wait...he was in a jail cell right now, with a marine, not another cellmate. No matter if she was a female and considerably less rude then his previous guard, she was still a marine...watching him to make sure he didn't escape his execution. He shook his head and scooted forward, coming into the light, towards the door, towards the food. As he came into the light he heard the guard's sharp intake of breath, looking up he got a closer look at the lady Marine. She had those bright green eyes, the same eyes Ace would've gone crazy for out of this prison, in a past life. He could hear Vista's quirky voice in his ear, back at the port of some back water island.

"Yo Ace, gonna go with the guys to find someone to spend the night with?"

Ace leaned back on the warmed railing of the Moby Dick. Watching the men running around to finish everything fast so they would be able to head in town to the bars.

"I dunno Vista, are you?" Ace chuckled, a devilish smirk flashing across his face.

This is how it would always start, that question. Vista and Ace both had a soft spot for green eyes...which the conquests of the port rarely had, making them always compete in a sort of...healthy...competition.

"That's what you lack I'm afraid..." Vista added, a sly grin greeting his lips as he jokingly poked at the man.

Ace raised an eyebrow and turned towards the man.

"What do I lack exactly?"

"Hm, well you lack romance Ace, my friend. If it weren't for your looks we wouldn't be in this stalemate."

"Haha, I'll take it as compliment, pirates have no room for romance Vista."

"Your wrists."

Ace's head shot up, was that Vista's voice? Was he here?

"What?" he muttered, looking into the darkness in front of the metal bars.

"Your wrists...their bleeding."

No...he wasn't, it was the guard. He almost laughed out loud, he confused Vista's voice with a female Marine! Vista would kick his ass once he figured out...if he figured out...he wasn't going to ever know. Why did this Marine care if his wrists were bleeding? Why did she even point it out? To rub it in? No, there would've been animosity in her voice, not...worry. What was happening to him? Was he going crazy? It was the lack of water...that was it. Could little to no water make someone go crazy? Was this all a hallucination? Was this female a figment of his imagination? Speaking of water... Ace reached down and grasped the metal cup on the tray, bringing it to his lips and swallowing the luke warm heaven in what seemed like no time at all. He didn't know what was worse, a dry throat or finishing the water in one gulp and wanting more.

"Do you want more?"

Ace slowly glanced up at the girl, was she offering more water? Why? Did she just want to torment him? Wait for him to say yes then laugh in his face as she indulged in the liquid? He tried to find the hidden motive in her face, which contained a few speckles of light freckles on her cheeks, just below her eyes. Freckles, man he always thought freckles were so cute.

"Hm, you almost look like your were sincere there." Marco chuckled, crossing his arms as he looked at the second commander in all his glory.

Ace's smirk raised along with an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Marco shook his head, "It was the freckles wasn't it?"

The smirk dropped, "w-what are you even getting on with?"

"That girl...telling her you have to 'leave for more adventures to let your free spirit loose'. Get those lines from Vitca?"

Ace dropped his eyes to the deck, scratching his head in embarrassment, "You caught me. Apparently I have no romanticism. Whatever that is."

Marco's laugh echoed on the almost empty deck.

"Trust me, Vitca's 'romance' only will ever work for Vitca."

"Eh," Ace shrugged, "gave it a try."

"It was the freckles." Marco laughed out, turning and giving a wave before he started down the stairs to below deck, "It's always the freckles."

"Yes? No? I heard you talk so I know you can."

It was that guard again, only she had crouched down and was at the same level as him, only the metal bars of his cage between them. Why was she so persistent? He did want water, he just didn't know what would be the outcome if he agreed. Ace coughed, and the guards face softened. She grabbed another cup and went to the other side of the hallway dipping it into the bucket, filling it with water and bringing it back to the cell. Kneeling down and slipping her arm threw the space in between the bars offering it to him. Ace smirked, instantly snapping his arm out and grabbing the Marine's slender arm, spilling the contents of the cup as well. The girl gasped as Ace pulled her arm towards him, squishing her face against the cold bars.

"Silly little Marine girl." Ace crackled, looking up to meet those green eyes, which were staring back at him. "You think this is a game. You know who I am. You should be cowering in fear. I could break your pretty little arm right now."

Of course he wouldn't, he just wanted to gain some sort of footing in this situation. Not be so helpless, he wanted to know what was going threw her head. Ace wasn't about hurting people unless he had a reason, usually Marines met that mark...but not when there was no reason to.

"Yes..." she finally spoke, her lips moving against the grimy pole, "I know who you are."

Ace smirked again, still holding onto her arm, gripping tightly even though his wrists stung where the cuffs strained against his skin.

"And because of that." she continued, making the smirk fall off of his face, "I know you wont hurt me."

They stayed there in their silence, Ace not wanting to let go. He felt strangely attached to this skin to skin contact. Maybe it was the lacking in the 'skin to skin contact'...how long had it been? Way to long, longer then it had ever been for him. Maybe it was the green eyes paired with the freckles, it was the perfect combination...for him anyway. She would be the type of girl him and Vista would compete for.

"If you let go of me...I can get you another glass of water." she offered, still looking him straight in the eyes, no faltering.

"Y...yeah." he muttered, his voice cracking as he slowly...reluctantly let go of her arm.

She pulled it back and rubbed her wrist as she went to refill the cup that was full only moments ago.

"Drink this one slower, it'll help your throat and you wont get sick from the shock to your stomach." she explained, handing it to him.

Ace could only nod, taking miniature sips of the water, while staring down the strange marine girl. It was torture...he just wanted to gulp it all down, but her words did carry some wisdom. If he did chug it down instantly his stomach, which was probably shrunken by now with the lack of everything, would probably reject it. While taking his time he tried to wrap his head around this Marine. She wasn't scared of him in the slightest...Hell, pirates were scared of him let alone Marines! Why was this girl not?

"Who are you?" Ace asked, his voice slowly starting to sound half normal to his ears.

"I'm a Marine Rear Admiral." She explained, taking the cup back after he finished.

"Marine Rear Admiral..." the words came out covered in surprise, for one, this slender girl was a rear admiral, and for another...why have such a high position on guard duty?

She motioned towards the bun on the food tray, "You should try eating something."

Ace was going crazy, just what was happening? Honestly, his thought process was a lot clearer after the water had settled into his system, but this whole situation still didn't make any sense.

"Why is a Rear Admiral on guard duty?" he asked, taking a bite out of the hardened bread.

The girl sighed, grabbing the tray and sliding it out of the bottom of his cell, leaving it on the floor beside her.

"You're high priority, just in case someone tries to break you out I'm here to stop them." she explained

Ace swallowed his mouthful and swore he could of heard it fall in his stomach.

"You...the last stand?" he sounded more suspicious then he wanted to, but it was hard to believe.

Ace heard the girl chuckle, and, for being in prison surrounded by criminals for what seems like forever, it sounded like paradise.

"Lets just say I'm good in close quarters." she replied, dipping the cup into the water again.

Ace raised an eyebrow, by this time he would've already spat out some funny quip, but he hardly had the energy to think that fast recently.

"What's your name?" he asked, finishing the bun.

Chewing slowly as he watched her sat back down in front of him.

"Sukui." she muttered, watching him with those green eyes.

Ace couldn't hold in his laughter, "Isn't that coincidental."