Ace rested on the thick tree branch and stared at the scattering of evening stars through the gaps in the leaves; absently listening to Luffy rustling around somewhere below. It was a humid night and the faint muggy breeze straining its way through the trees didn't do much to make things better.

He yawned until his jaw cracked; then blinked blearily once more at constellations he could read in his sleep; provided he kept his eyes open. He'd been studying them for his journey. Weather, too. The way the clouds moved and boiled and shifted to billow up a storm or provide fresh winds for hungry sails. Some of it he had learned from Sabo a long time ago- but last winter he'd actually gone to borrow and/or steal books as he'd needed to freshen up on things. He didn't want to go in completely unprepared.

Sabo would have been proud of him, he thought, because books were hard. He could read alright, but those bastards liked to use complicated words when smaller ones would do and he'd even managed to scrounge up a dictionary until he'd thought: fuck it, and just guessed instead. They were also really boring and he found himself face planting in them more often than not, ending up coughing and sneezing dust and wiping drool from soft pages. There was still a volume somewhere in the tree house he'd taken from the mayor's house but had felt bad about returning because an entire paragraph was a black blur.

He would eventually before he left.

Probably.

If he remembered.

But on the other hand it was the most boring book that had ever been written so he couldn't imagine that guy would miss it.

And of course studying anything was difficult when he had an annoying little brother demanded attention or distracted him with seeing the giant bears' winter coat or building snow forts or ice fishing or catching winter crabs to feast on.

There was more rustling down below. An alarmed croak and then… silence.

Luffy was on the prowl.

He was getting better at that sort of thing.

Ace dug absently in his nose with a pinky and yawned again. Then blew out a breath and draped further over the branch, letting both legs and his free hand dangle.

This spring he and Luffy had worked on boats; either helping some fisherman out or stealing them at night to figure out how it worked. That had been fun and they'd only lost one on a rocky shoal and had to repair it while the fisherman bleated at them until he was red in the face. Of course, it had been a pain in the ass trying to figure out which rope went where while constantly on guard for the sound of a splash that meant some rubber-headed idiot had fallen in because he'd spotted a school of fish or slipped off the masthead.

Still- once he had figured it out there wasn't much more to do except wait until he could try it out on the weather of the open sea… and Ace hadn't yet. That was still a special place. It was a destination. And if he went out there beyond this island, he wasn't sure he'd come back.

Increasingly, he was wishing he had gone and just… sailed away; out to where the world was still mysterious. He'd pretty much mastered as much of the reading as he could stomach anyway. And as for boats, it was either be on constant alert to fish Luffy out or… well go by himself. That was also a dangerous proposition. Luffy was a pain in the ass, but he kept Ace anchored to this place; to Corvo, to a promise.

Except there was nothing for him to do here. He'd seen pretty much the whole island and fought practically everything in it. Nothing was a challenge anymore and it almost felt bullying to take even the most bloodthirsty predator on. He was usually relegated to watching Luffy go at it or, on occasion, fighting alongside the beast just to keep Luffy on his toes.

Ace shifted to lay on his stomach, cheek pressed against the wood and dangled there, watching Luffy below in the gloom. He was hunting frogs. Trying to catch them without making any noise. There was a big toad that he'd had his eye on ever since summer began. It was a monster of a thing; probably big as Luffy's entire face- that was called Froggy King. But it was an old toad, wily and sneaky- with excellent hearing and a kick that could bruise.

Luffy was another problem, Ace thought as he reached down and plucked an a cluster of walnuts from a lower branch. When Ace had first gotten the idea to train up for his journey; he figured he could teach Luffy too. But Luffy couldn't read more than a few sentences without falling asleep or getting distracted by something inside or outside or doodling in the margins. He also still couldn't sail worth a damn and Ace was always tempted to strangle him because the last thing he wanted to do when he set out was to worry about Luffy being enchanted by a whatever and falling in the water with no one to help him.

Little dumbass.

Why did he have to be so careless?

Like, right now, his hat was flopping at his back, leaving his little stupid head exposed as he crept nearer and nearer to Froggy King. Bad idea.

Ace sat up, peeling the green skin away from the nut within, made sure the pointy side was down, took a few test feints… then-waiting until Luffy had almost come upon his prize, wailed it down right toward the top of his head.

"OW!" Luffy yelped, clutching the top of his head. Then: "Hey wait come back!" And launched himself toward Froggy King who kicked him square in the face, pushing it in like bread dough before bounding off to freedom.

Luffy shook his face free, just in time to be pelted with another walnut.

"Ow! Hey! Cut that out!" Luffy snapped, clapping his hat on his head and scowling up at him. "You jerk! I almost had it!"

"Looks like walnuts are dropping early this year," Ace said, grinning down at him.

"Shut up! That was you!" He jabbed his pipe up at him. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Uh huh. And while you do that," Ace faked a huge yawn. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Bastard!" Luffy snapped, putting his pipe at his back before pulling his arms back, telegraphing his move so badly even a king tadpole could see it. "Gum Gum no SlingshoAHH!"

Ace grabbed his wrists as they came within range and yanked Luffy upward, then grinned as his face came nearer, reared back and headbutted him back down again, making sure to knock his hat off in the process.

"More like Gum Gum no Yo Yo," Ace said, pulling him back up and yo yoing him back down with his foot instead. Luffy should just be glad he wasn't wearing his shoes but then his feet were pretty sweaty.

"Augh! Gross! Cut it out!"

"Are you sure you want me to cut it out, Lu?" Ace said, frowning. Luffy responded by coming back up and taking a passing nip at his toe. Ace narrowed his eyes. Oh no he didn't. Getting away with that kind of cheating wouldn't do.

The next pass as Luffy came up, Ace heeled him down hard and then as he came shooting up once more, faster than ever, simply let him go.

"IYAAAA!" Luffy screamed, flailing upwards only to crash into an upper branch.

Then he got his foot down and twisted, spinning in midair and coming down at Ace, pulling off his pipe as he did so. Ace grinned, impressed, but managed to smother the grin as Luffy came toward him, yelling his battle cry and slinging the pipe. Ace dodged it, grabbed the length of the pipe and slung Luffy into the trunk of the tree. Then let it go and grabbed Luffy's ankle instead before he could go far, holding him up and shaking him vigorously so that his jaw knocked into the bottom of the branch, teeth rattling together like crab claws.

As expected the pipe dropped, clattering to the ground below and Ace let Luffy have some relief by lifting him up to dangle straight out. He couldn't help but snicker as Luffy's shirt then proceeded to fall over his face.

"Pathetic," Ace said.

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped, struggling to get his shirt down and then swung a wild punch at him. Ace dodged it easily and then the other one.

"Are you trying to win by boring me to death?"

Luffy growled and then shot in for a headbutt. Time slowed as, to Ace's growing horror, he realized just where that hard head was going to hit. Quick thinking and a shot of pure adrenaline saved him from a world of pain as he dropped Luffy and tipped backwards.

And then one sandaled foot clipped him on the jaw and he overbalanced, crashing hard through several branches before landing on a fern that happened to hide a really hard rock.

Fucking ow.

Ace stifled the groan and sat up, moving past the flinching pain to stand and stalk to where Luffy was getting to his feet, pipe in hand. That wasn't going to work here. But because Luffy was his little brother and Ace loved him he cracked his knuckles and looked at him down the length of his nose, telling him quite clearly that he better run or be pummeled to oblivion.

Luffy hesitated a moment, pipe in hand and then as Ace took a step forward, yelped and bolted.

And since Luffy had nearly got him in the nads and made his back hurt, Ace took off after him; catching up quickly and grabbing the little snothead around the waist, making sure to drive the air out of him.

"I think it's time," he said ominously as he could, which was pretty fucking ominous considering the twinge in his back was helping it along.

"Time for what," Luffy wheezed, knocking him in the shins with his pipe. Ace snatched it away and then grabbed his own where it rested against the tree and rested both against his shoulder.

"Time to acquaint careless little brothers with the fire ant hill."

"What? Nooo!" Luffy flailed his feet and squirmed like an eel; but it wasn't enough.

"Yep, all in your shorts." Not that Ace would of course, but it was good to drive a good dose of fear into that thick skull so he could remember what it felt like and maybe he would remember it the next time he decided he wanted to see a jellyfish up close.

"Ahh no way! No waay!"

Ace was about to say yes and to detail all the pains Luffy would suffer when a scream rang high and thin through the night; accompanied by a roar.

"Huh, someone must be using the old road," Ace said, tapping the pipes absently against his shoulder.

"It is pretty cool! But Fluffy sounds really mad."

"That's because someone is in his territory, dingbat. Plus he probably had a crappy mating season since Thunder Thighs moved in."

"Mm." Luffy nodded. "Why do you think girl bears like Thunder Thighs better?"

Ace shrugged.

"Hell if I know." He wasn't a bear, nor a girl bear. Thunder Thighs wasn't even all that strong and his legs shook so much when Ace came anywhere near him that he wasn't even worth a fight.

Fluffy could be pretty intense, though, for Luffy anyway.

Ace set Luffy down as they emerged onto the old road, handing his pipe back to him. It was bathed in the light of the quarter moon, waning now, Ace thought; and he could see the situation clearly. There was Fluffy, standing with twenty feet at the shoulder, bellowing another roar so loud that the pebbles shivered on the hard packed earth.

Not too far in front of Fluffy was a two wheeled cart with a busted wheel, loaded with crates. A girl, presumably, was standing on the cart and ripping up open one of the crates with the claw of a hammer and grabbing something inside it.

"Take this you… you damn bear!" she said and threw it at him. A white teapot thumped against his fur and smashed onto the ground. She threw again, this time getting Fluffy upside the head and another throw of a teacup shattered against his tooth.

"Think they're playing?" Luffy said in a loud whisper.

"Doesn't look like it, Lu."

"Beat it!" the girl snapped and then shrieked and fell back as the bear shambled toward her. Ace banged his pipe against the ground to get Fluffy's attention and then glared into those small red eyes, telling the bear that if he kept going he was going to be eaten. Fluffy stopped mid stride, mouth agape, just in time for the girl to swing a plate right dead center at his nose. Fluffy whuffed in surprise, scrambling back, then took another look at Ace and shambled into the forest, mowing down young saplings in his wake.

The girl sat down hard.

"I can not believe that worked," she said, breathlessly.

"Yo!" Luffy said, making the girl yelp and turn-and ruining any chance of just melting back into the forest. Not that Ace had wanted to do that but he liked having the choice anyway.

"You scared the crap out of me," the girl said, putting a gloved hand to her chest. "What that thing didn't get already anyway. Holy hell was he mad."

"It's because he couldn't mate."

"What?"

Ace growled and popped Luffy on the back of the head.

"You can't say mate in front of a girl!"

"Why not?!" Luffy grumbled, rubbing his head. "Girls mate too!"

Ace popped him again and then forced him into a bow.

"It's called being polite, dumbshit. Apologize!"

"I'm really damned sorry," Luffy said and the girl let out a sound that Ace was pretty sure was a laugh even if she was looking at them like they'd grown an extra pair of heads.

"Um… apology accepted?" she said. She shifted and the crate slid, the white stuff rattling in it and she cursed and grabbed it, settling it back into place. "Hold on one second!" And she pulled a hammer from her belt, twirled it expertly and began to nail the lid back on.

Ace let Luffy up and he immediately started toward the cart. That was fine since Ace was curious too and followed at a more leisurely pace. He didn't have much experience with girls, generally speaking- but this one seemed to fall in somewhere roughly between Makino and Dadan. Her hair was tied under a scarf like Makino and she was short. But she also wore a baggy gray jumpsuit making her look like a boy except for the belt which gave her a waist. And her hands looked big under the thick leather gloves she wore.

"What have you got?" Luffy said, peering at the crates. "Plates and stuff?"

"Oh, all kinds of different things," the girl said, wiping the sweat. "Mostly I'm just transporting the goods people paid for back in Red Reef." She sighed and hopped off the cart to go look at the broken wheel. "I was hoping to cut an hour out of my trip but it looks like that's not happening." It looked beyond repair to him and was probably even more so when she kicked it with a steel toed boot.

"We can get it back for you," Luffy said just as Ace opened his mouth. Damnit! Don't just volunteer us, he wanted to shout. Except he kind of wanted to anyway since if he let Fluffy eat her after this it would just be embarrassing.

"Really?" she said, turning hopeful eyes to Ace. She had freckles, he thought, or really hadn't washed in a while. Though he was pretty sure it was the first since girls tended to wash at least once a week or so Makino had said to Luffy once.

"I mean," she said. "If it's not a problem…"

"Nah, it's no problem," Ace said with a smile. He didn't mind and anyway it would be something interesting.

"You want to pull, Luffy, or hold it up?" Ace said, tossing the broken wagon into the back.

"I wanna pull! Let me pull!" Luffy chirped, setting his pipe down before bouncing to were the bars were.

"Oh ho…" the girl said, grinning and putting a hand to her cheek. "Do you really think you're strong enough?"

"Yup!" he said and lifted it. Ace grabbed the axle just in time, wishing the dumbass would be more careful about things.

"Stay on the road, Luffy," Ace said as they started out. "If you run off somewhere I'll feed you to the fire ants."

"I'll eat them before they eat me!" Luffy shot back. But Ace was pretty sure that he'd do as he was told.

It was then he noticed the girl wasn't with them. He looked back at her and saw standing frozen in the road and staring at them. Did she see another bear or something? She flushed, or seemed to, and hurried to catch up.

"Wow you really are strong, huh?" she said with a breathless laugh.

"Shishishi Yep!" Luffy said and Ace hated how he was so adorable. It made him want to punch him and squish his cheeks at the same time. The girl seemed to relax a bit, folding her hands behind her and once again glancing at Ace.

"So now that you know my story, what were you doing in the forest at this time of night?"

"Hunting Froggy King!" Luffy said before Ace could even open his mouth.

"You were hunting Froggy King," Ace said, and was tempted to add that Luffy was failing at it but he wanted to get this girl's cart home sooner rather than later.

"Froggy King?" the girl said.

"It's a toad," Luffy said. "The biggest one in the forest. I'm going to catch him one day!"

She laughed again. It was a nice sound, Ace decided.

"If it's a toad why do you call it a Froggy King?"

"Because he's an idiot," Ace said.

"You're the one who said it was a frog! Idiot idiot!" Luffy said and Ace scowled. Why did he remember dumb little things like that?

"And what were you doing if not looking for His Majesty, the Frog?" the girl asked.

"Being dumb!" Luffy said as Ace opened his mouth. Ace glared at his hand since he couldn't see his head over the cart and promised swift and brutal retribution at the earliest opportunity… Then looked back at the girl and…

…And well didn't have an answer. Being bored was a lame answer even if it was the truth, so in the end he just shrugged.

"Nothing much."

"Sounds exciting," she said, sticking out her tongue.

"Is Reddy Rum your home?" Luffy asked and for once Ace was glad of him speaking up because he couldn't think of what to say to that.

"Red Reef. And yes. Where do you boys live?"

"Wherever we want," Luffy said. And Ace was kind of proud of him until he added: "But usually with Dadan."

That idiot. Not like it was a big secret or anything but they didn't have to go telling people either.

"Dadan?"

"She's a bandit," Luffy said and Ace gave up. There was really no point to hiding anything when Luffy was around. Anyway the girl didn't seem to believe him at all because she cast Ace an: 'isn't he cute?' smile.

"So you're big scary bandits?"

"No way! Pirates!"

"Ooh," she shivered, making an interesting movement with her shoulders. "Sounds scary! Good pirates I hope?"

"No way! We're gonna be the worst!" Luffy said cheerfully.

"Well in that case you must have horrifying nicknames to reflect your blackguard hearts."

"I'm-" Luffy started.

"No, don't tell me," she said. "Let me guess. Hmm." She tapped her gloved finger against her chin in thought, getting a smear of grease by her lips.

"Well you obviously must be BlackJack the Bloody, scourge of all the Blues and next in line to be Pirate King."

Ace felt an annoyed chill at that but set his jaw and looked straight ahead and tried not to think about it. It was only a game after all.

"Shishishi Okay!"

"And you…" she peered at Ace, head tilted to the side like a bird. "One Eyed Pete?"

"No." That wasn't even inspiring. All a guy with a name like that could brag about is that he could look in a telescope without having to wink.

"Typhoon Ted?" she said.

"Nah." Ted sounded too close to teddy and the last thing he wanted to do was remind anyone of a small soft bear.

"Freckle Faced Jerk?" Luffy said. Which was at least accurate and he would be a jerk to Luffy later, he reminded himself. Though he couldn't remember why exactly except that Luffy deserved it.

"It wouldn't work. I have freckles, too," the girl said, pressing her index fingers against her cheeks and moving them back and forth in a way that was oddly distracting. Maybe it was just funny because she left grease spots there, too.

"You're giving yourself more freckles," he said with a grin.

"What? Oh damn!" She pulled her gloves off revealing her hands weren't as big as he thought they were. Well they kind of were. But they matched her wrists and her fingers were long though she had short Dadan nails with dirt under them instead of elegant Makino ones.

"Well, you know what they say. Some for the blacksmith, some for the sails," she said in a singsong tone, grinning up at him. When he looked at her blankly she blinked at him. "Haven't you heard the song?"

"Sing it! I wanna hear!" Luffy crowed.

"Oh… Well, I don't know…" she said, her face darkening. "It's just a dumb thing."

"Luffy is a dumb thing, too," Ace said. "He'd enjoy it." He kind of wanted to hear it himself but there was no way he was saying it out loud. She gave him a furtive look that he didn't quite get, then cleared her throat, stuffed her gloves into her belt and sounded a note in her palms before singing; very lightly.

"Some for the blacksmith, some for the sails;

Coal in the buckets, tar in the pails;

To build the ship and hone the sword,

To plow the waves for our reward.

Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho my friends

Into the world we go."

"It's a pirate song!" Luffy roared, thrusting both fists up in the air. The cart dipped backward and Ace cursed end grabbed the bottom of it before all the crates could shake loose and spill into the road.

"Pay attention, damnit!" he snapped. "You want to break everything?!"

"Sorry!" Luffy said, grabbing the bars again and pushing the cart level. Ace scowled at him. Geeze. Careless idiot.

"It's alright," the girl said with a smile. "I tied them down really well. Anyway, like I said, it's just a dumb song. My grandmother used to sing it all the time."

"Was she a pirate?" Luffy asked enthusiastically. The girl shook her head.

"No, a fisherman." The girl shrugged awkwardly and looked away. "It doesn't make much sense I guess for her to sing something like that but…"

"It's a good song," Ace said. And it was. Now that Luffy wasn't giving him a heart attack he could appreciate it. He kind of wanted to hear it again. It made him feel… Something… Like… when he was watching a storm roll in from sea where the gulls wheeled and the waves kicked high; where lighting flashed and wind whipped distant flecks of rain in his face. He'd always wanted to go out there. To ride the waves. To howl back at the thunder. It was a kind of drunk feeling almost. Or at least the part where giddy heat built under his skin.

"Anyone can sing a good song," Luffy said, scattering his thoughts. "Let's sing it again!"

The girl laughed, seeming no longer embarrassed and Ace ducked his head to hide his grin. He wasn't sure why that cheered him up.

"Sounds good to me, BlackJack!" the girl said. "But if you thought that was good you're going to love the second verse."

Red Reef was a small town tucked against the curve of a sheltered bay. Ace had sailed by it a few times though had never found the bay or the town particularly interesting. It wasn't that interesting now either since everything was closed up. Even the houses were dark. The only light came from the moon overhead and the small lighthouse set on a rocky part of the coast.

"There's a pothole just ahead," the girl murmured. "But it's pretty hard to see." The first words she'd spoken in a while. But it hadn't been bad walking with her in the quiet. Mostly quiet, he amended as Luffy snorted in his sleep and rolled over on the crates.

Ace spotted the pothole easily enough and maneuvered the cart so the part without the wheel would go over it instead. The girl clicked her tongue, shaking her head and giving him a bemused look.

"You are absurdly strong," she said, and Ace couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks." It felt like a compliment even if it was kind of insulting. He could carry this cart one handed if he could get the right grip on it.

"I'm beginning to think that the bear was more afraid of you than me." She shook her head. "What are you training those guns for anyway?"

His grin widened and he looked at her slantwise, trying to seem devilish.

"Piracy."

She made a face like she was trying not to smile and punched him lightly in the arm.

"Dork," she said lightly and somehow he didn't mind it at all.

They went quietly through the town and were almost outside of it when the girl veered off to the left and unlocked the doors of a barn before pulling it open with a rattle.

"In here, if you please, kind sir," she said with an elegant bow. It was teasing but it made him weirdly uncomfortable somehow.

"I'm not a sir. Or kind." He grinned. "But I'll go in I guess."

"Thanks," she said dryly.

Ace moved past her and blinked as a lantern flared to life behind him. There were no animals in this barn but crates and barrels. Some opened some shut. There was old furniture too and things under sheets he couldn't identify and not one but two bookshelves, full of really thick books.

"Is this where you live?" It seemed like a nice place.

"Hell no!" she said with a soft laugh. "I'd have to be in really dire straits to live here. No, I live with my family in the house round the back. This is our warehouse… Well mostly mine for the moment."

"Huh."

"Just set the cart there, thanks," the girl said, gesturing to an empty spot before slapping her gloves on a table and unhooking her tool belt. Ace set the cart down and then pulled Luffy closer by the ankles, grabbed his arms and settled him on his back, holding his butt up with the pipes. Luffy muttered a little in his sleep and went right back to snoring.

"Thanks for all your help," the girl said. "You really saved my butt back there."

"No problem," Ace said, looking up and freezing. She had taken off her jumpsuit and…was definitely a girl underneath. It was weird. It wasn't like he'd never seen a girl before and it wasn't like he'd never seen one in a tank top and pants before but…somehow…

The girl coughed and Ace realized he'd been staring. He looked away, looked up, hitched Luffy further on his back and tried to figure out a polite way to get out of this.

"Uh…" Nothing came to him since…thanking her with a bow seemed like it wouldn't be a great idea somehow. "See you around… I guess." Though he probably wouldn't.

"Hey… listen," the girl said, twining her fingers together. "I really owe you so… I want to do something. I can't pay you but the cafe here lets me drink on the cheap most days. If you come back tomorrow I can maybe …get you something?"

"Sure…" Ace said. Why not. He wouldn't mind. She smiled at him and he tried not to smile too much back but he had a feeling some of it escaped anyway.

"Can I get a name, too? Or do you prefer Freckle Faced Jerk?"

Ace hesitated. Somehow… he didn't want her to know. If she knew his name and he knew hers… Well he was leaving soon and it felt like…another thing to remember about this place. Or something. He couldn't even really define it to himself. But she was obviously waiting so he smirked instead.

"You tell me."

"So a man of mystery, huh," she said. She tapped her fingers against her lips again and regarded him a long moment. Her eyes were gray, he noticed absently. A kind of stormy gray. He shifted Luffy again and tried to focus somewhere else.

"Well I do love alliteration and since you are brothers and BlackJack the Bloody is already taken… how about…" She rolled her hand from side to side, then snapped her fingers. "Bjorn the Bear Bane."

He wasn't sure what a bane was though he seemed to remember it was something like hating. He didn't hate bears though.

"What about bear puncher instead." He could live with that.

"Perfect!" she said with a grin. Then rotated her fingers against her cheeks again and said, blinking at him: "What would you call me, Bjorn?"

He coughed and shrugged a little. This he knew how to handle.

"Someone told me that it wasn't wise to give a woman a nickname unless she gave it to you first." He had so much to learn from Makino still.

"That someone is very wise," the girl said with a nod. "Very well, you may call me Mistress." And she threw back her head imperiously. Ace glanced up at her. He wasn't about to call her that. Not even for a joke. She seemed to realize this and flushed, turning away to tend to her tool belt.

"Or well… Missy for short… if you want." And she shrugged.

"Sure." That he could do. …Eventually. She lifted her head a little and smiled at him. Then crossed the room quickly, carrying her tool belt.

"So see you tomorrow?" she said, opening a trunk. "Noon?" She sound almost tense. As if she was worried what he'd say.

"Sure." Damn he'd already said that. Well what else was there to say really. Her shoulders relaxed then.

"Until then… then," she said. "Good night."

"Night…" He should leave now he supposed and not stare at the sweat shining along her shoulder blades and the back of her neck.

No he really should. Before she caught him at it.

Ace walked out into the night, one leg stiffly in front of the other. Only when he got to the forest was he able to relax a little. So… a drink at a cafe with a girl huh? Yeah… yeah he could do that. It would be better than being bored anyway.

That thought in mind, Ace nodded to himself, tried his best to ignore the Luffy drool seeping onto his shoulder and headed home.