This is not part of Namiella, but a preview of a One Piece story I am currently writing. Please read it if you can and give me some feedback if I should put this story up or not. Focuses on Ace & OC. I do not own One Piece. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!
"Ace! Will you hurry it up?!" A girl, about 18 or so was running away from a marine base that was on fire. Don't ask why the whole thing was on fire when only a small part of it was suppose to be.
The girl's long golden hair sported a side ponytail with hair running down. Her violet eyes were filled in annoyance over her partner. She was in a black tank top with a violet butterfly in the center. Snow white shorts were at mid-thigh and held by a black diamond belt. A silver and violet chain loop itself from the side of the belt to the back. She had white boots that went just below her knees. Her socks were black; one short and one long. One went just above her knee while the other was a few inches away from her shorts. A gray scrap was tied to her leg with a diamond crest; the one with the longer sock. On her right hand was a fingerless glove while on her left was a silver charm bracelet with different colored jewels.
"All right. All right. I got it!" Portgas D. Ace ran to catch up with his partner. He was grinning widely as he push his orange cowboy hat out of his eyes. He was only wearing black shorts with black boots. On his back was the Whitebeard symbol. (A/N: I didn't talk, er, type a lot about his look because if you watch/read One Piece, you should know.)
"We were suppose to make a CLEAN exit!" She growls at his recklessness. He simply laughs.
"It's fine, Mari. No harm done, right?"
She exploded. "NO HARM DONE?! Now the whole base knows we're here and all I wanted for once was some peace and quiet!" Scowling, she crosses her arms at him. "I don't think you two have met. Peace and quiet seems to be avoiding you, Ace."
He laughs like he always does. "Chill. We'll take a break soon but this is more fun, isn't it?"
"Screw you, Portgas D. Ace."
"Well, Mariella Reina Faerie Del Fay La heim, you already have."
She simply sticks out her tongue at him and he chuckles. They were able to make it back to the Whitebeard pirates before things got too out of hand.
"Ace. What did you do this time?" Whitebeard asked as the two stood in front of him.
"Yeah. The whole thing is on fire!" Thatch exclaims.
"Why are you saying it's my fault?" Ace said. Mari knocked his head.
"Ow!"
"You're the only fire user that went in there." Whitebeard says.
"And Mariella is better than you. She's more careful instead of reckless." The crew mumbles under their breath.
Mari groans. "I can't take this guy anywhere without raising a crowd. Why am I stuck with such a horrible fate?!"
Ace rubs his head and raises an eyebrow at her statement. "You? What about me getting hit all of the time?"
She rolls her eyes. "To heck with your pain."
"Oh gee, thanks. You're nice." He says sarcastically.
She sticks out her tongue at him. Chuckling, he wraps an arm around her waist. Mari glares and stole his hat. The young man didn't care and gave her a smug grin.
"Enough. We're leaving." Whitebeard announced. The crew hurried to their stations and began to set sail. Once they were out in the open sea, somebody shouted from up on the mast. Some idiots marines decided to met their doom that day.
"You guys started this. You finish it." Marco said when the two started to object.
Mari sighs. "Fine. Ace, you owe me."
Ace groans. "How much is that now?" Yep, he really needs to start repaying before it gets to one hundred. "You're an expensive girl, ya know?"
She flashed him an innocent smile. He rolls his eyes.
The two jumped on board a marine ship in a flash. The marines jumped back at the impact of their landing and continued to stare at the two teens. Foot soldiers were wide eyed while captains frown.
"How much?" Ace's hand erupts with fire as he gives a cocky grin.
Mari stretch her arms up high. "'About 100 on this ship, with 50-60 on the other three. Pretty small. I'll say about two minutes?"
"Mmh. Might as well get busy."
"I want to try a new spell."
"'Kay. I'll hold them off."
"S-Sir! I know those two! They're that duo that took out five major marine bases this past year and managed to escape from more than one of the Shichibukai!" A foot soldier stammers. "Wanted papers… Where did I keep those wanted posters?" As he search for the papers, the words he said started to sink in.
"'Escape'? Man, you make us sound like weaklings." Mariella's eyes darken. "I don't need to be told that by a wimp like you."
Ace chuckles. "Oh boy. Now you made her mad. Get ready for hell, boys. I feel sorry for you." If there was one thing Mari hated most, it was being called weak because she was a girl. Or really, called weak in general.
The Marines threw themselves at the two. Ace was the first to act. He created a spiral of flames around him and Mari. The golden hair girl stood still with her hands glowing and soft words coming out of her mouth.
As more marines from the other ships join the one the pirates were on, Ace defeated them all while protecting Mariella at the same time.
He punch one in the gut and threw his leg at the other in the face. The bullets they shot went through him like it was nothing. Bending low to avoid a blade, he spun his leg around; knocking over the ones closest to him.
Ace's eyes widen when a huge guy in a commander's clothing came charging at him with a huge bronze axe. Jumping up a split second before the weapon made contact, the black haired boy touch the man's head. He sent him off with the man crying out in pain as his whole body was on fire.
All in time, Mariella's voice rose and the glow in her hands went to her whole body. She soon became conceal with a purple/black orb. The orb rose to the sky and Ace stopped to look. He had never seen her use this before. That new spell she wanted to try?
A foot soldier jump at Ace. He simply punched him in the face without taking his eyes off the orb with his partner inside.
The sky became dark, even though it was the middle of the day. Dark thunder clouds roll in like an everyday thing.
Mari's voice was soon heard for miles. "Zap Cannon Electro." Giant blasts of lightning and thunder roar down from the heavens above; shocking and destroying everything in it's path. Ace could only build a shield of fire around himself before the attack could hit. Okay, so he had seen this attack before.
The Marines screamed in pain and a few of the ships started to sink because of the huge cracks made. Commanders and captains were trying to keep things in order while most soldiers ran around or stood paralyzed.
Ace watched as the orb became a swirling spiral of energy around Mariella. He gulped when he saw her smile. It was one of those smiles he didn't want to get.
Her eyes suddenly turns black and her arms were cross out in front of her. "Nightmare Sinchrome." One by one, Ace watch as each Marine that came to face them became absorb in a black orb. When the orb disappeared, they were all sleeping. This was new.
At first, Ace was confused. For a girl like Mari, this is pretty nice of her, Ace thought. Until he saw the true terror of his partner's spell. The Marines broke out in a sweat and some began yelling and shouting. Some even began to move from their spots and slamming themselves at the sides of the ships. They sat up in a jolt but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't wake up from this nightmare. It was as if they were lock in their worst fears for all eternity.
Ace looks up, just to see Mari's power die away as she fell to the Earth. With a swift move, he jumped up and caught her in his arms.
"You keep trying new spells and your body is left to deal with it. Jeez, and you say it's me that's always reckless." Ace mutters.
She glares at him weakly. "Shut up."
He shoots her a smug smile. "I don't think I will."
She growls, cursing him. He chuckles and smiled as the girl fell into a slumber.
Ace sped back on his boat, the one that was powered by his heat. Jumping onto the deck, he went in front of Whitebeard. It wasn't surprising to see his boat being lift up into the air and onto it's place on deck. Even when tired, Mariella was always helping him.
Whitebeard looks down at the unconscious girl in his second division commander's arms. "That girl learns too much."
Ace chuckles. "I know."
"If she keeps it up, who knows how long her body is going to last." Marco said. Ace shrugs.
"Mari's a strong girl. I don't think she'll be that stupid."
"Of course not. Without her, who knows how many times you could have gotten yourself killed." Thatch grins. Ace scowls at the comment.
"Well, I'm going." He bows to Whitebeard and leaves as the crew go on with their business. Ace went below deck to his and Mariella's room. Since there were a lot of pirates in Whitebeard's crew, there weren't enough room for each one. Some shared while others sometimes slept outside. Ace and Mariella had join at the same time so they were given a room to share.
'Course, she argued very much over this case until Whitebeard gave up and allowed her to use a spell on their room. The outside looks like any other, however, the inside was a grand room fit for a royal member. They each shared a side of the room and in the middle was a coffee table with two velvet couches on its sides. A huge rug was place in the center, it held the Whitebeard pirates mark. There were paintings of beautiful areas the two had visited. The wall was constantly changing designs over and over. On the ceiling was a grandeur chandelier with twinkling stones from Mari's homeland. Around the chandelier were different colored stones that one is able to decide the color for them. A magic circle lit the ceiling; with its many symbols and signs. Mari had once told him it was like a safety thing; to keep away intruders.
Ace's side of the room held three main colors: red, orange and black. There were fire designs everywhere. Well, he was the holder of the Mera Mera no Mi.
Mari's side of the room sported three colors as well: violet, gold and black. She had butterfly designs and stars. Unlike Ace, she had a royal purple sheet covering her bed.
Ace pushes back the sheet and place his partner down on her bed. Making sure he didn't put her too close to the edge like he did some time ago that led to him sleeping outside for two weeks, he left the sleeping girl.
He went down to the diner room as the sun began to set. Most of the pirates were already there. He laughed and talked to his fellow crewmates as the food was served. Several times too many, Ace would fall face flat into his dish and started to sleep, while still holding up the meat. The others were used to it by now.
It was late when Ace headed back to his room. Opening the door quietly, he smiled at the sight of Mariella beginning to sit up. He walks over to her bed and hands her the food he stole from the others' plates.
Knowing the grin on his face, the golden haired girl smirks. "Thanks."
He pops down on the side of her bed as she eats quietly. "Where did you learn that spell?"
Her eyes darken slightly. He took notice of this. "Just a book I found while we were at that Marine base."
"Can I see it?" She hesitates. He raise an eyebrow. She always let him look through her spell books. As long as he didn't burn them. Must be why she had an anti-flame spell on some of her stuff.
"Y-You can't. It's- It's for only spellbinders. You won't be able to open it," she told him. That's a first. He had already seen books like these, she was the one who had always opened them for him. Besides, he would just look at the pictures and have her explain the ones that seem interesting.
Ace decides to let go of the issue. He won't push it too far. "Don't you remember that promise?" Too bad. He just couldn't help himself.
She sighs.
"No secrets between us." Ace and Mari states at the same time.
"Don't worry about it. I'll explain it soon."
"Fine." Ace stood up.
"Sorry." She mutters quietly. He looks at her for a minute.
Chuckling, he pops his orange cowboy hat on top of her head. She pulls it down to cover her eyes. They understand each other enough without needing words.
The two went to bed after that. As they did, Mariella looks up at her starry ceiling. Constellations known all over the world were glittering back at her. Whenever a new one was seen, her night sky would add it.
"Ace? You awake?" Mari says. There was a sound of rustling sheets as he turns around to face her; his eyes half-open.
"Yeah? Something wrong?" He mumbles in a sleepy voice.
"Do you remember how we made that promise?" She asked.
"Mmh. 'Course I do."
"Looking back to it, it all began that afternoon, huh?"
He grins. "Yep." She flips over and the two share a smile.
It all began on the day the light and fire met.
"Take care Ace!" Monkey D. Luffy waved good-bye to his older brother. He had a huge grin on his face as he watched his brother from the cliff.
"Yeah. See you, Luffy! I'm going now!" Portgas D. Ace smiled as his boat rock back and forth. Since he was older than Luffy, he was going to start his pirate adventure first.
Everybody was there to send him off. Well, except for a few who wasn't so happy for him leaving. They all stood smiling at him for they knew that Ace was going to become a great pirate.
Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh! I'll be a lot stronger when I leave here in 3 years!"
Ace grins at his younger brother. And with that, he sets off into the vast ocean.
He heard shouts as everybody waved and wish him luck.
"Good luck Ace!"
"Don't catch a cold!"
"Be safe!"
He turns back and grins. "You just wait! I'll make my name soon!" Waving until they
were out of sight, he turns back to the sea with a huge grin on his face. Placing a hand on his orange cowboy hat, he ease into the feeling of being free. Finally, his pirate adventure was about to begin!
"Nice send-off you got there." A voice said. Ace blinks. Did he just hear that or was his mind playing tricks on him already?
"So you have a younger brother or something? He looks a bit like you." Okay, so he wasn't hearing things. One wouldn't hear the same voice saying something different now and then. Slowly, he turn around; ready to fight who or whatever came his way. The vast sea can be a dangerous thing. A monkey clown could jump at one's face at any second if they weren't careful!
To say the least, he stared with his mouth open at the sight. Well, he was sorry to say that it wasn't a crazy monkey that was like a clown. Sitting on the edge of the boat, not to mention looking bored out of her mind, was a girl about a year younger than he was with golden hair that stops just below her shoulders. There were braids in her hair tied with a small feather. Her violet eyes bore into his brown ones. She wore a purple mini kimono with a butterfly design. Thrown on top was a white long sleeve shirt and a black sash wrap around her waist. On her legs were fluffy white socks with a black bow at the top of each. They went up to her knees and she wore black flats with butterflies at the tip.
She glared at him. "What? You're going to attack an innocent girl? Lame."
He raised his eyebrow at her. "What I'm asking is, why are you on my boat? How did you get on without me noticing?"
She scoffed. "You were too busy daydreaming to know what was going on."
Ace frowned. Whoever this girl was, she's pretty rude. (A/N: Says the boy who was rude and cold to everyone he didn't know before he learn some manners). "Being a pirate isn't just a dream anymore. I'm finally free. I said I'll make my name and I will," he paused and looked over at the girl, "What's your name anyways?"
"Why should I tell you?" She huffed. Well, she was clearly in a bad mood. Ace wondered if this kind of thing happen to people at the start of their journey often. The sea is really a mysterious thing. One could run into the opposite gender in just a mere second.
"Well, you board my boat without my permission. My name's Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you?"
She looked at him with doubtful eyes. "You trust people too easy. I could spread rumors about you now that I know your name."
He laughed. "Well, I did want people to know me. I don't trust rumors anyway." He grinned as he place a hand on his hat. Bringing it down; covering his eyes, he smiled. "You shouldn't judge a person by them anyway." It was because of all the things people were saying about his father, the Pirate King; Gol D. Roger.
She simply stared at him before laughing. Ace had an annoyed look on his face as she continues. She finally got a hold of herself and wiped away some tears. "Oh man! How old are you?! Saying a wise thing like that. I thought you were an idiot!" She smiled. "But, I'm the same way."
Is it just him or did her attitude change in just a few mere seconds? And then it change back. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
"Name?" Ace pressed on the matter.
She waved off his need. "Cool it cowboy. I'll give when I want to." Really? 'Cowboy'? Was that what she was going to call him?
"Okay then?" Ace muttered. When they get to a town, he was ditching this girl.
Ace's wish came true. Well, the first part of it anyway. The second part? Not so much.
As it turns out, no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't get rid of the mysterious girl. She followed him and sometimes even drag him off to stores! When he thought he had finally have gotten rid of her, there she was in front of him! In the end, he decided to be frank about it.
"Would you please leave me alone? You can go back to wherever you came from if you get a boat from the islanders, right?" Ace stated.
She shrugged. "Nah. I'll just stay with you and see how things play out."
"But I barely know you! Heck, you didn't even give me your name yet!" Ace protested.
She waved off his concern. "Oh, lighten up. No need to trust me. I'll never kill you unless you make me angry."
"I feel so safe." Ace murmured with sarcasm dripping. She knocked him on the head; making a large red bump to appear.
"Ow! What was that for?!" He yelped. He didn't usually get hurt by hits like these unless by Garp of course. So why did this girl's punch hurt so much?
She glared. "Don't get smart with me, boy. It's not like I'm happy to be here either."
He looked at her in confusion. "Then why not leave?"
She shrugged. "Can't."
Ace narrowed his eyes. "Can't or won't?"
"I know people usually say 'won't' or both but right now, it's 'can't' for me," she said casually, "You gotta earn your keep."
"WHAT?! But you're the one who board MY boat in the first place!" Ace yelled. He threw his hands in the air and glared.
"Look. We're both not happy to be with each other but at least I'm being reasonable about it."
Ace simply stared at her for the longest time. She knocked on his head again, adding another bump to the last.
"Ow!"
The girl glared at him. "I don't want to hear about it from you. Geez, are all human boys like this? I think I'm going to get a headache."
Ace looked at her in confusion once again. "What do you mean by 'human'? You're human too ya know. Unless you're an insane lady who escaped from the looney bin and doesn't consider yourself a human anymore?" There was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her hopefully. If she was wanted like this, he could turn her in without any regret. 'Course, it would be cool if she was too.
Ace's luck wasn't very good as a beginner. He was kicked far and wide, crashing into a giant boulder that broke into pieces because of the impact. He sat up slowly and wince at the pain.
"Geez, what was you trying to do, woman? Kill me?!" Ace groaned as he rubbed his head. He placed his orange cowboy hat back on.
Her eyes were looking dangerous. Ace gulped. He seriously does not know how to deal with girls like these. "Look, cowboy. We're going to be together for a while. If you don't like it? Drop dead."
First day being a pirate. Somebody already wants him dead. A girl in fact. Great. Just great. And he didn't even cause trouble yet!
"This, is going to be some journey alright." Ace mumbled. "Luffy, I wish you luck that your journey starts off better than mine."
Somewhere at the village…...
"AH-ACHOO!" Luffy let out a sneeze, making his punch at the boulder go off point. He rub his nose and looks up into the sky.
"Somebody's talking about me." Luffy then grinned. "I hope I get a good journey like Ace is having too!" The boy just doesn't know the hell his older brother is going through. Sad, isn't it?
And that's the first chapter! If you like it and want me to continue and put it out, do tell. Thanks for reading!