Author's Note: Here we are! Chapter 2! For some reason this is coming really fast, but I guess that's with all new stories right? Well, that and I always loved Ace but never touched him with a story for the fact that I was so focused on 'One Piece In The Wind'. I still like that story but I need a break to think it all out...and Ace needed some love. Thank you for reading! And if you could tell me how you feel about it that would be great! Haha, it helps ^^ Well, I hope you enjoy!
He really did feel like yesterday was a dream, some sort of escape to paradise from the hell he was in. But when he awoke, he awoke to his usual sore neck and back that comes with sleeping while propped up by the wall, but his throat felt immensely better...and he wasn't as delirious as before. His head wasn't as foggy and blank. So it was real, that girl was real.
"Yo..." Ace called out into the darkness in front of his cell, "Marine Girl?"
His voiced echoed threw out the emptiness, he suddenly got a tad bit worried that it was a dream, that his previous guard was going to stick his ugly mug into the light and go off on him for calling the Marine a girl.
He saw an outline of the figure move in the darkness across the cell, "Do you want some water?"
That same sweet voice brought a smile to his dirty face. He could hear her stand up from her seat across the hallway to get another cup and following that the delicious sound of that said cup dipping into the bucket of water. She finally stood up next to the cell door, into the light rays of the only dim lamp that hung on the ceiling right next to the bars. Her hand reached threw the metal poles and held out the cup for him.
"Did you stay here all night?" Ace asked, scrunching up towards the door.
He grasped onto the cup and greedily drank the contents. Watching the girl as he did, something was different.
"They decided they didn't need to hide my rank anymore." the Marine explained, apparently catching Ace's look, "They figured if people were going to make it here to try and break you out then they would be smart enough to realize."
That's right, yesterday she was wearing the normal white pants, t-shirt and cap. Now she was wearing a pair of black pants, with a white blouse and the cape-like 'justice' jacket hanging on her feminine shoulders. Her brown hair, which was hidden the other day underneath her cap, was now past her shoulders and a tad bit of beach waves to it.
"And no, I didn't." She answered, taking the cup back and sitting across from him by the cell door, "My shift switched shortly after you fell asleep and then I was back on this afternoon. I guess you slept the entire time?"
Ace answered with a nod, that's why he felt better, he had gotten, well not a good nights sleep, but the closest to one in a while. His complete feel of time was thrown off, he had felt like it was morning, but it was actually past mid day, he used to be able to tell around what time it was without a clock...so much things were changing.
"Why?"
Sukui's head tilted as her green eyes seemed to be searching for some sort of further explanation.
"Why are you doing this?" Ace motioned towards the cup, now empty of water, "I'm a pirate, your a Marine. Why are you going the extra mile to make sure I'm ok?"
The girl's lips straightened into a flat line, making Ace's confusion grow into irritation.
"What's it for?" he sneered, "You want me to feel like I have a chance, give me a step up only to knock me down two?"
The silence grew thick and it seemed like Ace was feeding off of it. He snapped and flew forward with a new found energy, thanks to his higher quantities of water and food, grabbed the bars and pressing his face against the space between the bars. The chain links between the cuffs along his wrists clinked against the cell door, the only sound currently filling the dreary hallway of empty prison cells.
"What do you take me for? You think playing with someone's life is funny? Entertaining?"
The rage in his voice reached Sukui's ears, making her look away from the prisoner in what seemed like either shame or sorrow.
"I don't..." she said in a voice no higher then a whisper.
Ace's eyes narrowed, searching her face for something, some indicator of what was going on in her head. He wanted, no, needed to figure out what she was thinking, why she was doing this.
"Then why?" He urged further, demanding an answer.
"Do you happen to know of Rear Adm-...I mean the Pirate that goes by the name 'X-Drake'?"
Ace's face was of one of full surprise, what was she starting on with?
"One of the Supernovas?"
She must have caught some sort of recognition in him, because she continued without waiting for an answer.
"He was once a Rear Admiral in the Navy. He was actually my teacher, and I was his assistant..."
"Commodore Sukui!"
His voice ran straight threw her in the few times she had met the man, mostly when he was yelling.
"Yes Rear Admiral?" she asked, straightening up and flying her hand up to her forehead in the traditional greeting of higher ranking officers.
Drake was walking straight towards her, only to pass the girl and continue down the extremely large dock.
"You're coming with me," he started to say, his back still turned and his steady strides taking him farther away from her, "You've been transferred to my ship."
Sukui's form broke, her hand dropped and he looked shocked at the Rear Admiral, quickly running up in the direction the man was going.
"What...what do you mean Sir?" she started to stutter in her shock, "I've only just been promoted from Captain and I'm on your vessel already? What of my further training?"
Drake stopped, turned on his heel abruptly, so suddenly in fact that Sukui almost ran into his large frame but stopped just in time. He paused, looking her over, head to toe, his face unchanging.
"A couple things you should know before you step foot on my ship..." he started, looking directly at her face.
The Commodore never had a point in time were she was completely nervous around someone, sure there was some times when she had felt at least a tinge of anxiety, the few instances she met the Admirals, at her promotions...but this was different. This was one on one, face to face, this guy wasn't just looking at her, he was looking threw her.
"One, don't stutter. I don't need nervousness among crew, it's unsettling."
She swallowed the lump that had formed at the back of her throat, great first impression.
"Second, don't doubt me. I don't need that on MY vessel, I tell you something you do it, no questions."
His gaze wasn't showing any anger or...anything for that matter, just pure intimidation.
"I...ugh...yes Sir." Sukui confirmed, greeting him with another hand raised to the corner of her right eyebrow.
Drake raised an eyebrow at the female officer, sighing and turning back on his heel, "Hurry up."
"Y-Yes Sir!" with that she ran after the man, his legs were much longer then hers so his steady strides put her into an awkward jog of sorts to catch up.
"Rule number one Commodore Sukui!" Drake reminded, "Stop with that stuttering!"
She decided to just keep her mouth shut for now, until she could cope with the current situation. She just had her promotion ceremony, legitimately hours ago, she was supposed to start Commodore training at the base tomorrow. So why was she already commissioned to a new vessel.
"From here on out I will not only be your higher ranked officer on board, but you will be second in command." he went on in explaining, not looking back at her, just expecting her to be right behind him on his left shoulder.
"Second in command..." she mumbled under her breath.
This was all happening so fast, from the status of Captain just yesterday to now second in command on a large military vessel.
"Yes, I will also take it upon myself to train you myself in regular sessions." Drake continued, obviously catching her doubt but choosing to ignore it, "Being a Rear Admiral I am more then capable to do so."
Sukui nodded, forgetting that he was in front of her, hence not being able to catch the action.
"I expect you to be up early in the morning,every morning. That is when I'll hold the training sessions, since it is the only free time I have." the Rear Admiral added, " I also require you to take it very seriously, I have no time to waste on someone who wont appreciate it and take the training seriously, understood?"
"Of course Sir."
"He was a great Marine...something I wish to become, but something made him leave...defect...and turn to piracy..." she explained, her eyes floating with memories from the past.
"What does this have to do with me?" Ace asked slowly, he didn't understand what she was trying to get at.
"It made me realize that, if the guy I looked up to wholeheartedly, could become a pirate. Something I had hunted and treated no better then everyone else in the Navy does. If he...could become a pirate, then that means that...well all pirates couldn't be that bad." she stumbled around her words, trying to explain and having a hard time in doing so.
"So...you remarkably had a change of heart?" Ace asked, suspicious and not exactly believing her.
Sure, he had heard about the Supernova 'X-Drake' the ex-Marine, but it was hard to believe that his defecting had caused her head to completely do a flip. It was a long shot, one he wasn't willing to accept, not yet anyway. Not without further explanation, which he waited for.
"Not really...it kinda of started slowly. I was really angry at first, and took it out on pirates. That's how I ended up with Drake's old position, I went on a rampage, searching for him."
Ace fell silent, now that made more sense. If his role-model flipped to the 'enemy' side, he would have a couple 'fits' as well.
"He taught me how to effectively take...well you guys out, how to capture pirates, fight against them. Trained me early every morning and we fought together. How could he suddenly leave me behind and become one himself?" Sukui started mumbling, her green eyes sharpening in anger.
"Drake!"
Her voice carried out into the snow storm. She could barley see, it was almost white out conditions but she knew, she knew he was out there, in the valley bellow the cliff she was standing on.
Finally, after island after island she had found the boat. There it was, plain as day, anchored at the shoreline of the empty winter island. She knew that ship well, she spent five years of her life on that ship, protecting it, sleeping on it, living in it...The off colours made her rage flare from deep inside her. The proud Navy shades were covered and defiled. It was easy to take over the previously owned Marine ship, with her past knowledge and with the little to no pirates within the vessel it self. It took minutes for her crew to ramble up the occupying criminals and round them up in the deck. Cuffing each of their wrists together and sitting them in a group facing herself.
"Where's Drake?" her glare was just about as icy and unforgiving as the island behind them.
Her pulse quickened with being this close to her goal, he was somewhere here on this island. The pirates glared back, no one opening their mouths, but one.
"Go back to the Government's boots, you dog."
Sukui froze, staring down the pirate who dared to insult her in her current state of rage.
"Ah!" the same pirate screamed out.
Suddenly, from where the Commodore stood before she 'fazed' and was now over the criminal who had spoke out, her foot currently pinning down his left arm down to the wooden deck, the heel almost piercing the skin as the pirate who, was still restrained like the rest, could only lay there and take it.
"I'd suggest you do yourself a mercy and tell me where your CAPTAIN is." Sukui commanded, venom dripping on the word 'captain'.
His mouth stayed shut, not willing to sell out his leader. The officer laughed out loud, a 'righteous' pirate, who knew such a thing existed. With her underlings watching, the Commodore raised her foot at the defenceless criminal, stomping down at such a force that a sickening crack snapped across the deck, making everyone flinch and watch as the poor man screamed out in bloody murder and the female smiled down at him, her face showing her sadistic side. The point of her heel did in fact stab threw his forearm this time, making her yank out her foot from the fleshy glob, blood dripping down the point. The pirate hollered and kept on so, unable to even comfort his arm since his wrists were still cuffed behind his back. The other men looked frightened, watching the, previously strong willed man, cry like a newborn baby as his arm laid awkwardly on the deck, spilling blood along the wood. Sukui strolled over to the man next to her last victim.
"Now you, might want to tell me where Drake is headed, before you get the same treatment."