Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece!

Yes, I rewrote this chapter. Please enjoy and review.

Jade's eyes opened, they were unfocused. Slowly, her vision cleared and she turned her head slightly to observe her surroundings. She was laying down, on a one-person sized bed. It looked like a barrack on a ship. A ship? Her instincts flared and she shot upright, fighting the dizziness that flooded her senses. Jade flipped over on the bed crouching on her toes, hands up and ready for combat. But she was alone in the wooden room. It was just her and the floorboards. And a million piles of empty plates. That only meant one thing. This was his private room. On his pirate ship.

She had to escape before he came for her. She crawled off the bed and examined her body. Her limbs were sore from Kami knows what and her head was bandaged. She placed her hand on her forehead, feeling the wound. How long was she unconscious? The wound seemed to stretch from the middle of her forehead to the end of her left temple. What the hell happen? Not only that, but he had the nerve to undo her braid and change her clothes. That bastard would pay. But first she had to get off this ship alive. Jade silently opened the door, no guards. He must have assumed she would be asleep longer. Dumb move, Firecracker.

Jade crept from the room, keeping her movements silent. She paused as a pair of pirates bumbled by, talking to one another. She recognized the Whitebeard tattoos on their bodies. There was no more uncertainty, Ace was trying to hold her captive. She made her way to the deck undetected, there seemed to not be a lot of pirates on duty. They must not know there was a Surudoi Hunter in their presence. If they did, they would be on high alert. Oh, well!

The ship was docked somewhere. That meant the crew was out collecting supplies and Ace was with there. Her opportunity was ripe. But even though they were close to shore, Jade couldn't swim there. Thanks to that damn Hari-Hari no Mi fruit, she would never be able to swim again. Then she spotted a lifeboat tied to the rails. She quickly sprinted over to it and used her needle-nails to cut it loose.

"Hey, you there!" A gruff voiced called behind her. Jade whipped around without hesitation, flinging needles from her fingertips. They hit the large pirate in the knees, causing him to fall face first to the ground. "Devil Fruit user! Why are you here?"

Oh, so Ace really didn't introduce her to his crew? Well, some gentlemen he was. Jade ignored him and turned her green eyes back to the lifeboard. She left it fall into the sea and readied herself to jump. But her instincts flared and she cartwheeled, dodging the stream of fire passing her head. Heavy footsteps pounded on the ship, the crew had returned and they watched in confusion as none other than Firefist Ace confronted the intruder.

"Going somewhere?" He asked smoothly. Then he shook his head, Jade was really bad at first impressions. She remained standing on the rails, glaring down at him. "If you try to jump to the lifeboat, I'll follow you and drown. Is that what you want?"

"I never asked you to commit suicide for me." Jade answered, turning slightly toward her freedom.

"But you did ask me to love you," Ace took a step toward her. "And to protect you. That's all I'm trying to do Jade, don't be so stubborn! Just come down and we can talk."

The pinkettes breath was caught in her throat and she knew she was blushing. She hated when he spoke like that, trying to manipulate her with his words because he always knew just what to say. "I never asked you to do any of that either." So, Jade poised to jump, only to have to dodge fire again. She was forced to jump back on the ship, but she threw her own attack toward him. The rest of Whitebeards men gawked at the confrontation. There were two Devil Fruit users, their second division commander just said he loved her, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Ace paused in his fighting. "Jade, you're still injured. You really should not be exerting yourself." At the mention of the wound, it throbbed harshly, causing the woman to clutch her forehead and fall to one knee. Ace automatically went to her. As he reached her, she spun and delivered a kick to his chin sending him flying across the deck. He landed with a thud.

"Hey, lady!" One of the crew members called. She turned to them. "Who are you?"

"My name is Jade Surudoi. I am a Bounty Hunter!" She yelled, challenging the pirates to come at her. They reacted to her last name and moved to surround the pink haired woman.

"We don't know what Ace has with you, all we know is that you're trouble." They pirates nodded in agreement.

Marco suddenly ran out and faced his brethren, "Wait, everyone hold on a second. Before we start fight let me make this clear: Jade is very special to Ace. It's not a good idea to hurt her." He was quite aware of the family Jade came from, but also knew she felt the need to defend herself against the Whitebeard pirates. Whatever Ace was thinking, he had better act quick before a brawl broke out. Marco was sure Jade could take some of their men, but how many?

"The only ones who will be getting hurt is all of you!" Jade yelled.

"Look at that! She wants to attack us. We only want to defend ourselves."

"Exactly," Jade grinned and let thinner, longer needles protrude from each finger. " Now bring it!"

Before it could actually be brought, there was a roar and Jade found herself pinned to the wooden deck, with Ace's foot placed next to her head and the rest of him standing, looming over her. His eyes were narrow and his jaw set tight. "What were you planning on doing? Killing my brothers? Or letting them kill you?"

Jade met his eyes. "If that's how it is, so be it. I don't belong here, Ace. I've spent my life trying to destroy places like this… why do you want me to stay?"

"It doesn't matter, Jade. I brought you here on the brink of death, because I didn't want to see you dead. Excuse me for being a little selfish. These men were the ones who patched you up, be grateful."

With that knowledge Jade broke eye contact and looked to the side at the crew. None of them were still in attack mode and looked apologetic. "Thank you." She nodded. Then she looked back up at the frowning Firecracker. "I still can't stay on a pirate ship. I'm a Bounty Hunter, Ace. Hell, I'll even turn you in."

"Not forever. Just until you heal and I'll let you go back to pretending to hate pirates." Ace softened and lifted her up, into his arms much to her surprise. "One of these days, I'm going to let you turn me in Jade. But not until I'm big and bad, so then maybe the Marines will give you some kind of promotion or something." He laughed and started walking, parting through his crewmates. Jade knew he was joking and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." He was treating her like a baby. She was only allowing it because she was getting dizzy. They halted and Jade looked to see what the hesitation was for. Whitebeard stood before them, eyeing the woman. A chill ran down her spine and she actually looked back at Ace for an answer. How would he explain to his captain that he wanted to house a notorious Bounty Hunter for awhile?

"Son, who might this be?" Whitebeard asked, motioning to the pinkette.

"Pops, this is Jade Surudoi. Yes, of that Surudoi lineage. But she's also going to be my wife someday. So, this is kind of like your daughter-in-law." Jade nearly fainted from embarrassment. He sounded just the same as when they were kids. Spouting all that nonsense about marrying her one day and whatnot.

"Who do you think you are? You bastard!" She elbowed him in the chest and he ignored it.

"Well, see to it she gets cleaned up." Whitebeard nodded. "Nice meeting you, Jade-chan." Then he took his leave and the rest of the crew dispersed, seeing that the show was over.

"I rather drown than stay on this ship with you, Fireball!" She tried wiggling out of his arms but it was no use. "Let me down, Ace."

"I would never." He answered, smiling wide as he continued to carry her toward the barracks.

Please review, I rewrote this first chapter. It is much better. More coming soon!