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The Empress, upright - Motherhood, fertility, nature...
2 Months Earlier
The bar was by far cleanest she'd seen in the past six months. Which on second thought was really damn depressing.
Noir supposed she shouldn't be surprised. A lot of pirates, for all that they might bitch about it, would choke down almost any swill they could get their hands on. Shanks being the exception, but the red haired menace was an absolute snob about his alcohol.
Marines, especially officers, usually had higher standards when it came to their drinking. The island was a popular spot for Marine vessels to resupply. There were a large number of bars and brothels to cater to sailors, from more casual gambling dens to high class restaurants and breweries.
Her crew was currently enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation while the ship resupplied and checked for any needed maintenance missed at sea. The officers trudged further into the city to find alcohol not usually stocked in the galley. Meanwhile, Noir had shrugged out of her uniform and found the most crowded gambling den near the docks. They'd chased Shanks for months now. trying to catch up to him before he left Paradise and escaped back into the New World. Experienced Noir's crew might be, but they had a few crewmembers that were not ready to handle that level of danger. Not while facing a Yonko.
Four months chasing the Red Force with no luck meant Noir was beyond frustrated, and more than willing to take it out on several unlucky bastards by relieving them of significant amounts of beri.
The veteran gamblers knew better than to play more than a few rounds with her. But there was no shortage of arrogant youngsters who hadn't yet learned when to cut their losses and limp away with what little pride they had left. Noir's current round of opponents likely wouldn't last much longer. Too stubborn and definitely not sober enough.
In the brief lull of chatter, she heard the door open. Noir glanced sideways through her curtain of hair and almost inhaled her rum.
Standing in the doorway was a bit of Noir's past she'd tried very hard to bury.
Noir would never be able to forget Gol D. Roger's face.
The boy - and by the deep blue sea he couldn't be much older than she was when she enlisted - took one of the empty seats at the bar. She couldn't see much of him, but what glimpses Noir was able to catch as the night wore on showed a steadily increasing mountain of plates scraped clean. Well, that was an appetite Noir remembered well. Rouge would've let Roger eat her out of house and home if Roger hadn't always brought enough food to fill the larder four times over. For all Noir hated the Pirate King, she could grudgingly admit Roger had been nothing short of a gentleman to Rouge.
But Noir doubted the boy - Ace, it had to be, Noir didn't think she could take it if it wasn't him - had enough beri on him to pay the towering bill.
Dammit, she was such a bleeding heart.
"Didn't take you for a cradle robber, Card Shark." One of her opponents commented. He eyed the dark haired youth with an appreciative look. "Attractive youngster though."
Noir sneered. No. Hell no. "Are you particularly attached to your remaining beri?" She almost snarled.
The man winced. He decided to cut his losses and left, steps a bit too quick to be casual. Served him right. Noir was probably twice the kid's age! That kind of insinuation was disgusting.
The rest of the gamblers took that as their cue to rescue their remaining beri. Noir sighed in disappointment. Well, they had to learn sometime.
Her winnings disappeared into a coat pocket, with a generous tip left for the dealer. Noir made her way through the throng of patrons to the bar and blinked at the stacks of plates that were still growing. She could already hear her wallet crying.
The bartender peaked through a narrow window between two stacks of dishes. "Leaving already?"
Noir huffed with amusement. "I've got work in the morning. I'll take a couple bottles of that excellent rum. Put it on the rest of my bill." She flicks a pointed glance at the kid, and the look of relief on the bartender's face is nicely obscured from the other patrons. She had a reputation to uphold - it kept the number of idiots that tried to flirt with her down.
Fortunately, the kid seemed to be slowing down. The kitchen workers were going to have a hell of a job cleaning up as it is. Whoever raised this kid missed a few lessons in manners and dining etiquette. And that shouldn't hurt as much as it did.
Noir needed to know. Those were Rouge's freckles on Roger's face. But that couldn't, shouldn't be possible.
Rouge's son was dead. He was supposed to be dead.
Noir was going to strangle Garp.
Ace was not oblivious to the gaze boring into his back. He knew he was attracting attention, but dammit he was hungry, and this wasn't the same awed stare as the rest.
Instinct honed from the forest around Dadan's enabled Ace to keep general track of that gaze without turning around. He'd learned the hard way that actively trying to find where they were hiding only clued them into the fact that stealth had likely failed. Whereas pretending obliviousness meant Ace kept an element of surprise.
Besides, this food was really good.
He finally saw the source of the stare - it felt… shocked? - as he worked on his last several plates. The woman was tall - taller than Ace by several inches. She had long blonde hair and wore a black trench coat. Ace wasn't very good at guessing age, but he thought he was safe in thinking the woman to be about a decade older than him.
He kept half an ear on her conversation with the bartender. Not that it was much of a conversation. A handful of words from each of them, before the blonde accepted a bag of alcohol and left.
"Who was that?" Ace asked the bartender.
A patron to his left snorted. "You must be a rookie." He said. "Everyone in the Grand Line has heard of Card Shark Noir."
Ace's pulse quickened. "Is she dangerous?" Could he have finally found a challenge?
Everyone in earshot roared with laughter. One patron fell off his stool. Ace's eyebrow twitched. Assholes. It was a serious question!
"Alright, kid. Listen up," the bartender said. Ace stomped down on his irritation. They were giving him information. Ace could correct them later. He wasn't a kid dammit! "Three things you need to know about Noir. First, don't play more than a few rounds of cards with her. She's got the devil's own luck and you will lose all your money. Second, don't interrupt her drinking. Noir gets mean. Third, don't flirt with her. Noir has gelded idiots in the past."
Watch his money, don't interrupt her drinking, and don't flirt. Easy enough to remember. Which was all well and good, but not exactly what Ace wanted to know about the woman. "Is she strong though?" He insisted. He hadn't had a serious fight since Loguetown.
The bartender eyed him with the same look Makino had when she wasn't certain if Ace was being serious. "Kid, a rule of thumb here in the Grand Line. Don't challenge anyone with a title unless you've got one yourself. This ain't the Blues."
The patron who fell scoffed. "A title won't help. Not when she regularly clashes with Red Hair Shanks!"
Ace stared. The woman was strong enough to take on a Yonko? Damn. He'd wait to challenge her then. His crew hadn't been in the Grand Line for even a month yet. After they hit the New World? Ace could track her down then. And maybe he could persuade Shanks to part with some more information on her.
"You need anything else?" The bartender asked. Ace shook his head. He was quite comfortable actually. He leant back in his seat and glanced around. There were too many patrons between him and the door, but if he was fast Ace could make it out through the window.
"Your bill's paid for." The bartender said. Tensed at the word 'bill,' Ace screeches to a halt before he's even moved. Confused, because Ace sure hadn't paid, Ace stares at the bartender. The man's occupied though, clearing the bar of Ace's used plates.
Ace left while he could, in case the bartender hadn't been talking to him. It was a strange feeling, not having to run.
He was walking back to the docks, whistling a merry little tune that would have Makino scolding him if she heard the lyrics, when a voice came out of fucking nowhere. Ace dropped into a crouch, dagger in hand and eyes scanning for the source.
It was the woman - Card Shark Noir. She was leaning against the wall of a building, partially obscured by the shadow of the alleyway. She didn't look ready to attack. In fact her body language was downright casual, so Ace relaxed.
Then her words - "You're as reckless as your father." - finally registered.
Ace almost snarled. He was nothing like that man! But he grabbed onto his temper with both hands. His parentage was Ace's best kept secret, and Ace wasn't going to let some random woman blow it out of the water.
"You must be mistaken," Ace said, pulling out the charming smile he learned from Sabo all those years ago. "We've never met." Of this he was certain. Ace would remember a woman that tall from Dawn, because he'd never met a woman close to Dadan's height on the small island.
Noir smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "You're a near clone of your father, back when he was your age." Ace twitched. Shit, he knew he looked like the bastard. If she had known the man... "I advise against facial hair," Noir said. She paused, scrutinizing him. "Are you even old enough to shave yet?"
The hell- "I'm seventeen!" Ace growled. What the fuck was with everyone thinking him a damn kid?
"Barely, then." Noir smirked.
Ace opened his mouth to snap a reply, but Noir suddenly moved, pulling Ace into the alley. Flailing, because he'd almost face planted into her chest and what the hell was that for?
Footsteps sounded, the sharp staccato of Marine boots marching in time. Two Marines passed the alley, without even a glance towards where Ace and Noir hid in shadow.
Ace pulled freed of the grip on his arm as soon as it was safe. He glared at the blonde. While somewhat glad for avoiding a run in with the Marines, Noir was confusing as hell and grating on his nerves. "I don't know who you think I am, but you've got the wrong person."
He turned to leave. If he was lucky, Deuce would have everyone back at the ship in short order. He wanted everything ready to leave first thing in the morning. Ace was so glad now that it only took the log pose an hour to reset on Birs.
"Portgas D. Ace." Noir's voice stopped Ace cold. "Son of Portgas D. Rouge and a man better left unnamed."
Ace spun to face Noir, heart pounding. How the hell did she know that? No one was supposed to know that. "How?" He demanded.
Noir's expression was sad. "Rouge and I were the best of friends. She and your father practically raised me."
Shit. This was not how Ace wanted this conversation to go. "The man you're thinking of died years before I was born." He argued. That should work-
"And Rouge was three months pregnant."
Or not.
He wasn't going to fool Noir, Ace realized. He would either have to kill her, or hope she wouldn't tell anyone else. From what the bartender and patrons had implied, trying the former would only get him killed instead.
And well, Ace didn't want to kill her. Not that much, at least. Here was a unique opportunity. Noir had never met Ace, but she'd known his parents. Garp hadn't known Rouge, and he'd never told Ace much about the Pirate King. Ace took a deep breath. "What did you think of my father?" He asked.
Noir frowned, obviously not expecting that question. "I hated him." She said after a moment. "I still do, to be honest. He got my sister killed."
Ace grimaced. That was not a great start. Still, in for a hundred beri, in for a thousand. "And me?"
That earned him a strange look. "You are your own person. Who your parents are don't matter, unless you let it."
Bullshit. "You don't think I never should have been born?" Ace challenged. There was no way Noir could think otherwise. "That I should die like that man?"
The way Noir froze at that did not bode well. In the ensuing silence, Ace prepared himself for the worst. "Only two people can decide if a child should be born." Noir finally said, each word falling with precision. Her face could have been chiseled from stone. "I don't know about your father, but Rouge died to protect you from the Marines."
Ace knew that. He also knew the Pirate King asked Garp to protect his child. The man's rival! And yet... his father was the Pirate King. One of the most hated men in history.
"The question you should be asking," Noir said, face softening into a thoughtful expression, "is do you believe you deserve live?"
Ace choked in surprise. What? "But everyone always-"
"I'm not everyone." Noir scowled, the strangely familiar expression niggling something in Ace's memory. "Why does everyone else's opinion matter? I doubt they know anything."
He didn't have an answer for that. But... he could admit it was a good question. Why did everyone's opinions matter to him? And why did not knowing the answer - to either question - make him so uncomfortable?
Noir's voice turned gentle. "If you must ask, ask those whose opinions you care about."
He already had. Sabo - Sabo never cared. He'd understood what it was like, having a parent hated by everyone around him. And Luffy, well, the brat loved anything having to do with the Pirate King. He didn't count. Ace hadn't asked Dadan, but the bandit had raised him, helped him rescue Sabo and Luffy from Bluejam. He didn't think Makino knew, and Garp's answer hadn't exactly been helpful.
When he turned his attention back to Noir, it was to find an empty alley. Ace glanced around, trying to find her, but it was if she'd never been there at all. A chill slipped down his spine. That took some serious skill.
A glare of light drew his attention to the ground. It was a playing card, with a black design on the back Ace had never seen before. Curious - had she dropped it? - Ace picked it up.
It was an ace of spades. One of the most subtle yet blatant acknowledgements of Ace and his crew that Ace had ever seen.
He was definitely going to challenge her eventually.
Author's Note: I'm not usually one for author's notes, but this is something that needs to be said. Readers, I implore you to leave reviews. The favorites and follows are nice, don't get me wrong. But it's the reviews that really motivate and inspire authors to continue writing a particular fic, even if it is a short 'I really liked this chapter.'