Yeah... um... I have no excuse. XD I don't know HOW I forgot to update yesterday, but here's the latest chapter. This now takes place when Hotaru is nineteen, and introduces a new member to the Whitebeard Pirates. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters. I only have my OCs.


Hotaru stared down at the newest member of Whitebeard's crew with a curious expression on her features. The new kid was only eighteen, if the newspapers were anything to go on. Granted, she was only a year older than him, but she'd spent nearly half her life as a pirate as opposed to his single year at sea. He was very muscular and wore a bright yellow shirt that was left unbuttoned, even after the nurses wrapped him up in enough bandages and gauze to make him look like a mummy. The lad also had the most hideous orange cowboy hat Hotaru had ever seen in her life—not that she spent her time looking for ugly hats—and she wondered if he was colorblind.

He had made quite a name for himself in his year at sea, though. The newspapers called him the Fire Fist, thanks to a Logia Devil Fruit ability. That was one thing Hotaru had never had an interest in having: a Devil Fruit. As much as she'd been surrounded by the miraculous abilities of the ones she called family, she never saw a reason for her to have such power. Besides, there always needed to be someone to fish out those who may have accidentally fallen into the sea.

Fire Fist Ace, as the newspapers had been calling him, had to be left in the bed with a single seastone cuff around one wrist to keep him from setting the room alight. It was a funny thought, Hotaru figured after a moment, that this boy had been brought in after fighting Jinbei for five days just for a shot at Oyaji. She could only wonder what kind of trouble he'd get himself into upon waking. With a light chuckle, Hotaru picked up Ace's ugly hat from where it hung on the headboard and gave it a good look. It was just a simple orange hat, though Hotaru thought the little smilies were an interesting addition. One grinning maniacally, the other frowning like the mask of a tragedy.

Hotaru wondered which one the Fire Fist followed. Was he the mischievous one that grinned like he was ready to cause trouble at the drop off that orange hat? Or was he a tragedy-filled individual who'd seen far too much death and destruction for his age? Or was he some combination of the two? Marco would love that, she thought with a chuckle. Hotaru rested Fire Fist's hat back on the headboard and gently brushed his black hair off his forehead, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Welcome aboard, Fire Fist Ace," she murmured and left the infirmary.

"There you are!" Thatch called and Hotaru turned to see him approaching with his usual grin. "Where were you, Firefly?"

"Checking on the new guy. Elle was busy keeping Oyaji out of the sake, so she asked me to make sure he wasn't bleeding."

"You hear how the kid got all beat up?"

"He fought Jinbei for five days straight, right? Nearly killed the both of them."

"And then he wanted to fight Oyaji," Thatch answered, laughing as though the thought were ridiculous. "He passed out before he answered Oyaji's offer of joining us."

"Wonder what he'll be like when he wakes up."

"Dunno, but you and Marco will probably have your hands full." Hotaru sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Hopefully he won't be too much of a handful, then."

"You mean like you were?"

"Hey, I wasn't that bad," she retorted, sticking out her tongue at the Fourth Division Commander.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen, thank you very much."

"And six years ago, you scared Marco half to death, getting beat up by some bastard in a town because you went off by yourself."

"Is that what you meant by me being a handful?"

"That's a piece of it," Thatch answered with a chuckle. "Where you headed off to now?"

"Down to the kitchen. Emile and I are going to get started on dinner soon."

"What's on the menu?"

"It's a surprise," Hotaru answered with a wink and cavorted off to the kitchen.

That evening, the galley was filled with not only the members of the Whitebeard Crew, but the Spade Pirates who had previously been under the control of Fire Fist Ace. The Spades seemed apprehensive, Hotaru noted as she served the meal. They probably figured she was going to poison them or something. Or they were worried about their still unconscious captain. She gave one of the younger men a grin as she poured a bowl of stew for him.

"What?" he asked, a nervous tone lacing his voice. Hotaru almost laughed, remembering how Teach used to tell her that if you smile around an anxious man, he'll become a nervous wreck.

"Fire Fist will be fine. Our nurses are taking good care of him," she answered.

"How can we trust you?"

"We haven't killed you yet, have we?"

Wide eyes stared back at her and the man quickly scurried off, leaving Hotaru to wonder if she'd said anything wrong. She'd meant her words to come out as comforting. The Whitebeard Pirates could have easily killed all of the Spades without much effort, but they didn't. That meant Oyaji liked Fire Fist and his crew, so they were nakama now. You don't kill nakama, as a law. Hotaru figured everyone knew that, so what reason was there for the ex-Spade to look so frightened of her? With a shrug of her shoulders, Hotaru continued serving stew to the other members of the crew with her usual smile.

After everyone else had been fed, she and the cooks took their own food and joined the others in the galley. Hotaru sat beside Marco and across from Thatch, like she always did. Jozu was sitting across from Marco, and Vista was on Thatch's other side. It was how the five of them had always sat. There was an empty place beside Hotaru, where Anne had always been when she was younger. She decided not to dwell on her late mother as she began eating her meal.

"Did you use Dragon's Flush in this?" Thatch asked, earning a grin from Hotaru.

"Of course. I grew up on an island full of this stuff, so I put it on everything I ate when I was a kid."

"You say it like you've aged thirty years since you joined the crew."

"Well, I've always been mature for my age, Thatch," Hotaru retorted before taking another bite from her food.

"What do you think the Fire Fist will do when he wakes?" Vista asked offhandedly, like one would ask about the weather for the coming day. For all his tone gave away, he might as well have asked what had gone into the stew—which Hotaru would never have told; trade secret.

Marco shrugged. "He'll probably cause trouble," he answered in the same cavalier tone.

"I'm just glad he's wearing seastone right now," Hotaru added. "His body was still in fight-mode when he passed out, according to Elle, and it burned anything, or anyone not using haki. Last thing we need is for the infirmary to go up in smoke." This earned a thunderous chortle from Thatch, and a few low chuckles from the other three commanders around her.


Please R&R.