A/N: Yaaayyy! A quick update! I have to admit that this is actually a kind of cute chapter~! I had fun writing it. Well, it's as cute as it gets, I suppose. He he he he heeee *evil laugh* I just love torturing my OC.

Anyway, as usual, big big thanks to aqua-empress, aslMeno, Espeon14, MsWildLuck, pizzafan123, SilentScreaming1944, and frostmoon13! Your reviews are what keeps me going, guys~! Thank you, so much. :* Aika loves all of you!

So, please please read, review and favorite! :D Oh yeah. Also. ^~^ One more thing before I start the story. One of my readers questioned me about whether Ruby has any powers - I've implied something about that in the previous chapters. Heehee! It's up to you guys to figure it out! *wink*


I suppose that it's a good thing looks can't kill.

If it could, the hostile look I was sending to the good-looking girl before me wouldn't have just killed her – it would have mutilated her corpse as well. I could hear the funeral march already.

Such was the glare I gave the pretty, dark-haired girl in front of me while she conversed with the stupid pirate. I don't know why I cared so much; I mean he's just a stupid pirate, isn't he?

I couldn't help but think though, how come he doesn't call her unusual or odd? I felt my bottom lip stick out in a pout as I wondered. I'm not that odd. She's every bit as odd as I am. I grumbled internally, scowling. It's just that she's prettier than I am.

My scowl deepened as I pored over my thoughts. Stupid, stupid, stupid…

All of a sudden, Kimsha got up and stretched before shooting off into the thick foliage in a sprint. Ace tore his eyes away from the (*scowl*) pretty girl to stare after the odd thirteen-year-old. Zomi raised an eyebrow before checking the watch on her wrist.

"Oh," she said in that (infuriatingly) pretty voice, again, "I really must be going. I have something to do." She smiled warmly at Ace again (*harrumph*) and then at me. "I'm glad I helped," she grinned sweetly, showing off a set of brilliant white teeth, "Ace-kun."

Ace smiled back (stupid pirate), "Thank you, Zomi-chan." My eyes narrowed at the '-chan' again. He doesn't call me Ruby-chan.

It's not fair!

She turned back and waved once more before she disappeared into the green vegetation.

"So," Ace finally said, turning towards me. I was still tied to the palm tree. "What happened this time?" He cut through the ropes with his knife easily, freeing me. I dropped down onto the sand and checked to see whether I had any bruises from the rope. Nope.

I fixed him with a stony look. "I woke up and you weren't there and I got worried." I said in a monotone, standing up whilst brushing away the sand from my clothes. Ace took his hat off his head, leaving it to rest on his back before running a hand through his dark hair. "Oh," he said, "I went to see if this place was inhabited." He explained.

I opened my mouth to tell him that he should have woken me up first, but before I could speak, he interjected, "I'm sorry for leaving you behind."

Oh. Well… "Okay," I said, a bit suspiciously. What's he planning? "So is the place inhabited?"

Ace gave me a look. "Where do you think those two came from? The sky?" I shrugged. Kimsha did sort of jump down from 'above'.

"Of course it's inhabited," he sighed, and crossed his well-toned arms over his equally cared-after chest, "But I couldn't find a village. It did feel like those two appeared out of nowhere." He started walking absent-mindedly, and I stumbled after him.

"So," I said, falling into step beside him, "what do we do now? We don't have a boat, do we?"

"I don't know," Ace sighed. "I suppose we'll have to build a boat."

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You know how to build a boat?"

"Well," Ace admitted, not meeting my eyes, "I can make a raft or something."

I made a face. The idea of getting back on that hormonal ocean on a tiny raft with a narcoleptic pirate was not appealing. Also, I thought a bit uncomfortably, a raft can't be very big. Tight, cramped spaces would only lead to awkward situations, like that night before we arrived at Winterhawk Island.

It won't come to that. I assured myself.

Probably.


The day passed pretty uneventfully. We didn't find much on the island – but we did find a small lake, which was good. I had gotten pretty thirsty. As for food, it didn't seem as if any meat-eating animals lived here – I didn't even see any rabbits. We did have an unlimited supply of fresh berries and coconut though.

As the day came to a close, we ended up coming back to the beach we washed up on. After an entire day of walking around (and after lugging several coconuts around), I was understandably exhausted. I dropped down onto the powdery-white sand, tying my long hair up in a bun.

Ace said he'd be back in a few minutes after collecting (using a large mug he had fashioned out of the wood) some water from the lake, which happened to be nearby. I decided to do as he told me to, for once, since I was too tired to disobey.

This place is so pretty...

I exhaled deeply while I observed the watery horizon. The sun was setting now, shooting streaks of red and orange down the ripples of the ocean. The fiery rays bathed the white beach in a bright orange light, illuminating the place beautifully.

I inhaled, and the salty breeze passing over the sound of the lazy waves soothed me. It wasn't that hot here. I liked it.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't tear my eyes away from the tropical sunset. I sighed in fascination while Ace sat down next to me. He crossed his legs and leaned back to rest on his elbows.

I lost myself in thought. What am I going to do, from here? I need to get back… I'm sure Jason and the others must be worried about me. I looked down a bit sadly. Well, I'm sure Jason is, anyway. The relationship I had with my parents had been sort of rocky. I had always been the 'problematic' child, and I had never really done anything worth praising for.

Jason had been more a parent to me than both my parents combined had been… But I missed them terribly. I missed everyone terribly, and I yearned to get back. The sun dipped down below the horizon, and soon, I found the evening star twinkling above the ocean.

I missed Miki, too. My tanned, athletic friend had always been a bit introverted, and I've never seen her stand up for herself. I smiled lightly. Most people would think an athlete would have guts, but nope. Miki is every bit as timid as she is nimble. I had always gotten into one situation or another while standing up for her.

I miss her. Tears filled my eyes again, but I blinked them away hurriedly. Ace doesn't need to see me cry – he already thinks I'm odd enough, anyway.

I brought up my knees to my chin as I stared up at the now darkening sky. After a while of traveling overseas, I was used to the beauty of the constellations I could have never seen back at home – but that didn't decrease my fascination any less.

Everything about this world was just so different.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice when Ace called my name repeatedly. I did notice, though, when he suddenly placed that ugly orange hat over my head. I jumped from my reverie and turned my head towards Ace, who had a smile on his face.

"W-What?" I asked, "What's so funny?" The hat was way too big for my head, and it nearly covered my eyes. But I could still see under the orange rim. Ace had a (really, really, really nice) smile on his freckled face as he observed me, and all of a sudden, I felt my face heat up again.

Damn it, what's wrong with me?

I was suddenly all too aware of the situation I was in. Here I am, sitting alone on a tropical beach with a muscular (and handsome, I added) pirate. To make matters worse, the air started getting chilly. I felt nervous, and all of a sudden, the scent emanating from the hat (a very vivid Ace scent that I was beginning to get familiar with) smelled very, very nice.

"What are you thinking about?" Ace said quietly, sitting up and turning towards me. I pulled the orange hat off and placed it on the sand next to my feet before glancing at Ace.

I pondered his question for a moment. How do I answer this? I turned towards him, as well. "Home." I replied truthfully, and my heart ached with longing to get back to my family.

Ace thought for a moment before looking away – up at the sky. "What was your home like?" He asked, still somewhat lost in thought.

I smiled as I thought of my family. "I had a family of four. I lived in a small house not too far away from the main city," I paused carefully, not mentioning any specifics. I don't think it would be a good idea to mention inter dimensional teleportation to him – he'd probably find me even weirder than before. "I had a pretty normal family. My parents aren't very much out of the norm, but," my tone brightened, "I did have the most amazing brother in the whole world." I never would have said that to his face, though.

"You had a brother?" Ace asked inquisitively, a small smile spreading on his face again.

"Mm," I nodded, "He…" I paused, not knowing how to describe Jason. It obviously wouldn't do to mention the word 'anime'. "His name was Jason. I got into all sorts of trouble back home but," I grinned at Ace, "my brother would always be there for me, so I didn't really care."

Ace glanced back towards me once, before turning back to the sky. "It seems like you had a nice life back home." I smiled. As nice as it could get with my tantrums. "Why did you leave?"

"Leave?" I asked in surprise. But before I told him that I didn't leave, I realized that no normal person would have just dropped down from the sky. "I…" I averted my eyes, "don't really know. I guess I felt like it." I lied, clenching my fists.

I think Ace sort of guessed I wasn't being quite truthful, because he raised an eyebrow at me. But thankfully, he didn't push the subject. "I see," was all he said.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed this ingenious reply. The waves crashed against the beach – now purple in the dark. "Well," I said cautiously, "I didn't really leave." I said, and Ace turned his head to face me again.

"You mean?" He asked.

"I don't really know how…" I said carefully, leaving out the specifics, "but I ended up in Alabasta. I don't know how to get home," I took a deep breath, "or how far away home is." I sighed. "My goal is to get back." I admitted quietly.

"But well," I said, turning away from Ace. I very deliberately focused my attention on the theatrical faces on his ugly orange hat. "I suppose that if I had to be stuck overseas with a person," I whispered this last part, "I'm kind of glad it was you, Ace."

Another silence followed, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ace smile slightly. I felt my cheeks heat up. Stupid.

"Aah," I said, changing the subject quickly, "it's, um, getting kind of cold, ne?" I said wittily.

Ace looked at me before rolling his eyes. He didn't reply. I don't really blame him. I yawned, and then stretched, falling back onto the sand. It felt soft – not grainy. I smiled slightly.

It's been a long, long day.


I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the waves washing against the shoreline. The night breeze had picked up slightly, but it was still warm. I searched the beach – purple under the night sky – for Ace, who was sleeping a few feet away from me.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched his chest rise up and down with his steady breathing. His face was serene, void of any emotion, and I had to admit that he looked… sort of adorable. I suppose this was as adorable as a massive, muscular pirate could get.

I sat up on the sand, feeling the breeze flow through my hair. My hand hit something as I got up. It turned out to be Ace's hat. My smile widened and I placed it on top of his head while he slept.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I felt like someone was watching me. Anxiously, I looked back, towards the ocean. I still had my hand on top of Ace's head.

I didn't see anyone, but I was still worried – and scared. I could have sworn someone – or something – was observing me. My eyes roved down the clear waters of the lagoon suspiciously, edging closer to Ace.

What's going on?

As I searched the lagoon, I caught a glint of yellow underneath the surface of the ocean, not that far away from the shore. What's that?

I started to get up, to wander over for a closer look, but before that, several things happened at once.

The first thing that happened was that I started wheezing uncontrollably. I coughed, pushing the air out of my lungs, trying to dislodge the unseen obstacle in my throat. Then, the air picked up, chilling me to my bone.

The last, and scariest, thing that happened was that a massive silhouette rose from the ocean. Its yellow eyes glinted viciously in the dark night as I sat there stunned. It had to be every bit as tall as the palm trees, and as the creature opened its mouth to reveal a set of large pointy teeth, my blood chilled.

It swayed precariously from side to side as it glared down at my sleeping companion and me – and by the look on its face, I could tell that it wouldn't mind having Ace and I as a midnight snack. If I didn't act fast, I was going to end up as monster chow.

Without thinking, I screamed. A sea king!

So it seems I finally met with a sea monster.

Crap.


A/N: *grin* Teehee! Do review!

I'll update as soon as possible~