Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece in any way.
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Friend and Foe
Chapter XI
"Who?"
Ace was, to say the least, a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of this woman- whoever she was. Mel seemed to know her pretty well, judging by the way she suddenly let out an amused snort and crossed her arms with a serene smile placed on her lips.
"What gives? Did you join the navy or something?" she asked pointedly, eyeing the other woman's choice of clothing with a raised eyebrow. Said woman was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and a slim pair of jeans, but draped over her shoulders was an unmistakable marine uniform coat.
Unlike Mel, who was actually a bit pale, this woman displayed a darker complexion- probably the result of working in the sun for too many hours. Her short cropped black hair was held in place by a red bandana, the pattern of which looked suspiciously like small skulls. This was all Ace could observe about her in the dim moonlight.
"I'm under a contract." the older woman explained along with a small shrug. She looked and sounded to be in her late twenties, with her low, calm voice creating a somewhat comfortable scene. In any case, Ace wasn't worried. Not that he ever was.
"Again? What'd you do this time?" Mel continued exasperatedly, addressing the woman who gave the impression of a pirate in disguise. Or something like that.
"Got caught buying some illegal raw materials- they said they'd make that area of the market legal for certain people if I worked for 'em every now and then." the black haired woman replied with a huff, opening a door to her right which happened to be the house she had stepped out of to meet them and gesturing for them to enter.
The two didn't hesitate to follow. The mysterious woman closed and locked door after they entered.
"Go Figure." Mel commented as she took a seat on a nearby table in the small and simple but cozy looking room.
"Now I can legally annoy them." the woman declared with a lopsided grin.
"Who are you, exactly?" Ace put in, gazing curiously at the so-called Auntie Em who smirked apologetically.
"Ah yes, you wouldn't know me." she stated unnecessarily, taking off her coat and hanging it on a nearby rack before actually answering the young pirate's question, "Robertson Emily. I'm a blacksmith."
"To say the least." Mel added under her breath, though the two others picked it up anyhow. Ace blinked thoughtfully. The name seemed to ring a bell in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite recall-
"Robertson Henry's daughter." Mel specified upon noticing the quizzical look on the pirate's face.
Ace blinked some more, "No. The Robertson Henry?"
"How many Robertson Henrys are there, you think?" The young pirate opened his mouth to voice exactly what his opinion on the matter was, before Mel quickly continued, "Never mind. Don't answer that."
The Robertson Henry was, in fact, a very famous pirate blacksmith. He was the one responsible for the existence of the most famous and deadly weapons of the Blue Seas. The Black Blade of Hawk Eyes Mihawk was only one of many examples of Robertson's work.
The reason as to why Robertson Henry was nicknamed the pirate blacksmith was that he refused to work for the navy. Rumor had it that this was because they had once ticked him off by attempting to arrest a dear friend of his… or something like that. Nobody was quite sure of why the notorious blacksmith had suddenly disappeared from the scene a couple of years ago.
"I never knew he had a daughter." Ace said after a while of remembering all these details about the old man.
"Well, now you do." Emily replied simply, "I'm not as famous yet."
"From what I've heard the last couple of months, you're getting pretty close, Auntie." muttered Mel a bit sleepily, yawning once more.
"Auntie?" the pirate repeated inquisitively, "You're related?" The two women stared at him as if to say something along the lines of 'How in the world would that make sense?' before the oldest of the three smirked and explained,
"No. I only took care of her for nearly seven years. Wow, was it seven? You were such a cute little girl back then…" she turned to face the young, blue haired woman who smiled at her drowsily, "but then you grew up."
"Heeey." Mel whined at the implied insult, getting up and sitting down on a chair instead to rest her head on the table.
"Just kidding, sweetie. So how about you? What have you been doing for the past, oh I don't know, two YEARS?" Emily said, taking a seat across from her 'niece' and sounding a bit upset at the girl's lack of conversation.
The old man gritted his teeth in anger before slamming his fist onto the desk.
"How could you let her escape? Just like THAT?" he growled, eyeing the marines in front of him with the utmost contempt. They seemed too scared to reply, though it was probably meant as a rhetorical question anyway. The governmental officer shook his head before throwing open a black binder and flipping through its pages in frustration.
Suddenly he froze as his eyes fell on a certain picture accompanied by a rather long report. "Diedrick…" he muttered, briefly skimming through the paragraphs until his lips formed into a thin line. The marines in the room twitched subconsciously upon discovering the senior officer's change of expression. It was never a particularly good sign.
"I knew her rudeness reminded me of somebody." the man muttered after a while, closing the binder resolutely and glaring at the marines in front of his desk.
"Send out a new wanted poster for that woman. Change the name to Diedrick T. Mel and add that her possessions are just as valuable." he drawled after a minute of staring at them for goodness-knows what reason.
"Yes, sir!" they practically shouted before scuttling out the room like a group of scared mice.
Ace perked up at the older woman's mention of Mel's past. The girl had never really told him much about her last two years of travel, but then again, he hadn't told her much about himself either. Maybe next time.
"You know, the usual: going places, finding rare stuff, earning money, having fun…" Mel trailed off, "But now I have to go find grandpa's book and get rid of it." she concluded with snort. "Sheesh."
"Who stole it this time?" Emily asked exasperatedly, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman.
"It's been stolen before?" Ace put in, sitting down in a chair next to his friend.
"Yes, even the navy has tried to 'confiscate' it a few times before." the black haired woman explained before turning to face the younger woman with a grin, "Remember that one time they tried to ambush your house?"
"Must've been one of the best days of my life." Mel answered with the most wicked grin that Ace had ever seen on a woman.
"Do I even want to know?" the pirate questioned hesitantly as Auntie Em burst into a fit of laughter.
"If you value your sanity, you probably wouldn't." his friend replied with an air of wisdom that succeeded in closing the topic immediately. Mel then proceeded in updating her 'aunt' about the latest owner of the book and how she had met Ace who just happened to be hunting down the exact same person.
The book in question, which contained quite a few dangerously detailed sections on Devil Fruit users, had indeed been stolen by various power hungry pirates in the past. Why Grandpa Diedrick had ever written it in the first place was a mystery to anybody, even himself. It was probably meant for the greater good- the preservation of the memory of the Devil Fruit. At least, that was his excuse.
Now that it had been swiped for the umpteenth time, everyone who was in any way related to the book (namely the author and his relatives, who were getting pretty sick of this routine) refused to retrieve it.
And so they assigned someone to destroy it once and for all. This just happened to be Mel, who was, not to mention the youngest, the only one who had any chance of achieving said mission. Everyone else was just too dang busy to even think about such a minor task.
Additionally, Mel, having decided that her grandfather's excuse for writing the book had been pretty reasonable, took it upon herself to write a safer, less detailed version of it. Not that she didn't have enough to do already.
"Hey Auntie Em, aren't you required to hand us over to the navy since you're on a contract? Won't you get into trouble for inviting us into your house?" the blue haired girl voiced as she eyed the blindingly white marine coat with the painfully contrasting black letters that spelled 'Justice' printed along its back.
The older woman stopped laughing to beam at the pair with a twinkle in her steely grey eyes, "Oh honey, it's past six- I'm off duty. Besides," she winked mischievously, "this isn't my house."
Mel's eyebrows furrowed into a quizzical frown while Ace leaned back in his chair and gave the black haired woman a curious look.
"Don't worry; it doesn't really belong to anyone. The last owner recently passed away, I think." Auntie Em explained plainly, gazing around the somewhat bare room contently.
"Ah."
"We really didn't need to know that."
The oldest of the three grinned sheepishly at the odd looks she received.
"Never mind. I think it's way past bed time for you two." she went on, sounding suddenly authoritative and motherly. "So you're going to leave this island right now."
"What? But-"
"No buts, young lady, now let's go."
A dark figure watched from the top of an apartment complex as three people hurried down the street, away from the city. He almost chuckled at the way the three were distinctively recognizable.
The tallest was wearing an unmistakably orange hat, trailing behind the two others like some kind of watch dog. The one in the middle had the bluest hair one could ever imagine having, and the leading figure had a glaringly white marine officer's coat draped around its shoulders. Not to mention that awful bandana.
Smoker puffed on his cigars silently, subconsciously clenching and unclenching a fist as the three figures vanished from sight.
Ace dropped his bag onto the boat before helping Mel gain back her balance she had oh-so-carelessly abandoned for a second. She grinned appreciatively as she safely found her usual spot on Ace's boat. The pirate gave an acknowledging nod along with a smirk which was his way of saying 'you're welcome'.
"Hmm… are you two really just traveling together for convenience or is there something…more?" the black haired woman suggested, wiggling her eyebrows at the pair as she stood there on the water's edge with her arms crossed, ready to bid them farewell.
To her dismay, the two seemed to be virtually immune to such obvious implications, judging by the way they both gave her pretty much blank looks. Tsk. Kids these days…
"Anyway," the older woman continued, "don't get yourselves killed or anything."
"We don't do that sort of stuff, Auntie."
"Unless we suddenly decide to kill each other-" Ace mentioned offhandedly.
"-in which case we'll make sure to notify you first." Mel finished for him in a very businesslike manner.
And with only a few further words of goodbye, the boat sped away into the night, leaving behind a smiling Auntie Em.
"Lieutenant Robertson." A voice called from the shadows, stressing the title sardonically.
"Yes, Captain Smoker?" the woman replied, seemingly unperturbed at the sudden appearance of the marine captain. She didn't even bother to face the man as she was busy admiring the reflection of the moon on the surface of the endless sea.
"You just aided in the escape of two criminals." Smoker stated gruffly, glaring at the back of Aunt Em's head as if daring her to face him.
"Aided? They didn't need help." she said simply, "Now, escorted might be more correct."
The marine captain raised an eyebrow at the nerve of this woman as he puffed on his undying cigars. Then again, he wasn't all too surprised at her behavior. She wasn't in the navy because she necessarily wanted to in the first place. Sometimes he really didn't understand why they would want to blackmail someone like her to work for them.
"Be that as it may," Emily continued, finally turning around to face the irritable man, "it seems to me that you didn't do much to stop them either."
They stared at each other for a while, both refusing to blink. She was just about to give in to a cough that had been building up ever since her lungs had started drawing in the billowing smoke from the captain's cigars when-
"It's getting late." Smoker muttered before turning around to reenter the city. The black haired woman smiled knowingly,
"True." she agreed, following the man quietly.
"Two…no, three." Ace muttered, hiding behind a wall and shooting glances at the early morning city gates. Mel was crouching next to him, an amused smirk playing on her lips,
"Sneaking or barging in- that is the question." she mumbled dramatically as she eyed the faraway sunrise in awe.
"We could always just… walk in." her pirate friend suggested with a smirk. The blue haired woman retorted with a kind of doubtful snort. Ace turned to face her with an uncanny glint in his dark eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mel inquired with a theatrical expression of mock fear on her face.
"Because, my dear, you look absolutely stunning today." the young man answered smoothly, grinning wickedly as his friend burst into a fit of stifled laughter. "And I was going to propose a bet."
Mel's controlled laughter died down into a mischievous grin, "I'm listening."
The marine guard stifled a yawn as he fingered the rifle in his hands distractedly. The other two men, posted respectively on his left and right, were probably just as bored as he was. The one on his right was already asleep. Everybody hated the early morning shifts- it wasn't like some pirates were going to try and enter the city this early anyhow.
He took a glance behind him, through the wide open gates, to see some activity in the streets already. These people didn't seem to know the meaning of 'sleeping in'. In any case, the marine was a bit annoyed when he suddenly heard an unmistakable snore from his left. Great, now he was the only one left on duty.
He was about to doze off himself when two people approached him. Upon closer inspection, he found that the two seemed to be deep in discussion. Upon even closer inspection, he could see that they were right out shouting at each other. Fantastic.
"Name and business?" he inquired rather timidly as the pair finally reached the gates. They stopped walking but didn't answer the marine, as they were still arguing quite aggressively.
"-know how worried I was? But no, you just had to start a fight and-" the woman was saying before the man she was addressing cut her off,
"Look, I said I was sorry!"
"You're sorry? That's it?! Do you know how much money I-" she stopped abruptly as the marine cleared his throat. The man almost cringed as her deadly glare fell on him instead.
"What!?" she practically screamed. It was a miracle that the two other marines hadn't woken up yet. Then again, they were probably just pretending now.
"Umm… name and business, please?" his voice cracked halfway through, making him sound even more apprehensive.
"You should stop shouting at innocent bystanders, you know." the black haired man put in, frowning at the seething woman next to him. An ironic smirk appeared on her lips, eye twitching.
"Oh really? And destroying an entire restaurant is okay, hmm?"
"I apologized! What is it that you want, woman?!" her opponent gave an aggravated growl at the sour look he was receiving.
"A better husband, maybe!" the blue haired woman yelled, tears threatening to fall from her deep blue eyes, "And you said you'd always love me!"
The marine was dumbstruck at the sudden twist of topic. What in the world were they so upset about anyway? He opened his mouth to intervene, but found that he couldn't think of anything to say. The black haired man, however, frowned at the now whimpering woman and uttered,
"Oh yeah? Well, you said the same thing!" The woman gave a spectacularly heart wrenching sob at this before running past the unsuspecting marine guard, weeping noisily into her hands. The young man quickly followed after letting out another frustrated sigh.
"Uh…" the marine blinked again. "That was weird."
Mel collapsed into hysterical laughter, wiping away tears of mirth once the pair had arrived in an empty alley. Ace slumped down next to her, laughing just as hard.
"I can't believe…" the young woman gasped in between uncontrollable giggles, "…he actually bought it!"
"Of course he did, but I can't believe you actually cried." the pirate put in, having calmed down to the point that he could actually speak. Mel mumbled something about crying whenever she was being forced not to laugh. Ace decided that it was probably better to avoid the subject for now.
"Whatever- you owe me." he stated.
"Nuh uh. You placed your bet on 'walking into the city', not 'putting up a show and practically running into the city'. If anything, you owe me." Mel pointed out determinately. Ace stared at her for a while before shrugging.
"...Never mind."
And without further ado, the two got up and proceeded in finding a shop that was open at sunrise. It didn't take long to find one, seeing that the city was already bustling with activity. Although this would have struck them as being a bit strange, the two never really paid much attention to their surroundings to notice such things.
"Here you go." Tashigi said kindly, helping an old woman gather up the groceries she had dropped. The elderly woman thanked the young marine and stumbled on her way.
A rather large marine came hurrying into the scene, waving a telegram of sorts, "Officer Tashigi! We've received a message from Captain Smoker!"
The young woman pushed up her thick, horn rimmed glasses and smiled at the marine as he handed her the note.
'Return to Logue town base. Beware of Fire Fist Ace & Diedrick T. Mel.' was scribbled on it in barely legible script. Tashigi reread the note; sure she must have missed something. But no, that was all it said. She didn't even recognize the second name, although it seemed vaguely familiar.
"Please tell everyone to meet here as soon as possible." she told the marine who left with a curt nod as soon as this was said.
"I wonder who this is supposed to be?" Tashigi mumbled, eyeing the note thoughtfully. She looked up only when she realized that she was standing in everyone's way. Thus, she decided to find a more secluded spot to ponder in. As she passed the side of a building, she froze to stare at a particular spot on the wall.
Several brand new posters had been put up, covering the old ones of a blue haired woman.
"…Oh."
-to be continued-
Comments: No, I haven't forgotten Tashigi- as you can see here (…I actually forgot about her until now.) Well, this chapter may seem a bit weird, but that's only because the house next to ours had been painted and the smell has been wafting through our house for quite some time.
I think I got high on it or something.
As to what Ace and Mel were pretending to argue about, I have no idea. Go ask 'em.
Check out my dA gallery- I've got another scrap and a sketch of Mel up. Those of you who always visit to support me, thank you very, very much.
By the way, we've hit 100 reviews! W00T!!!
Thank you for making this possible:
madlibs44: Hmm… not much fluff in this one. Sorry. I hope you liked it anyway.
EternallyJinxed: Wow… I didn't think Smoker would show up again, but LOOK! There he is AGAIN!! Thanks, I really wanted this story to be different in that the OC would never actually become a pirate. Because Mel is just too special. I hope you liked this chapter as well. Did you finish all of your work?
God'sAngel: That jealous scene has yet to make an appearance, but I think it will someday. Of course, Auntie Em did make a comment on the two, but, as you can see, they didn't get it. Ha. Thanks for the review.
TrunksgirlBlaze27: I know, it just…ends!! And then I have to write… more!! Is this quick enough for you? It's not even shortened. Thanks for the review!
Why.Is.The.Sun.Blue: Aww, thank you! It takes practice…lots and lots of practice. Haha. Don't worry, I'll keep writing… even if the world explodes… (?) I was going to end this around chapter 13 but now… I don't want to let it GO!! The possibilities are endless!! Therefore, you will keep getting updates until I utterly get sick of this thing. Which won't happen unless people stop reviewing.
WingedSerpent: Thanks to you, I just DID find a good, English OP site. THANK YOU!!! You reread it? Ha. Thank you so much. Please tell me if you catch any mistakes. By the way, you were the 100th reviewer who triggered this update! I hope you liked this chapter. Please continue reading.
Unknown Fan: Umm... it kind of looks as though your review was cut off or something… Oh well, thanks for reviewing anyway!
xX-Avast-Xx : Oh shoot, I didn't think of that. Well, actually I DID, I just never took it seriously. Alas, we shall just do it my way. Let's just say Mel is from a different side of the world… which she probably is anyhow. Thanks for the helpful review!
Smartass4684: I think all of the people here will agree that those fanfics are just hopeless and…well…sad. Hmm… is there a lot of stuff about Mel here? Not really. She really doesn't have much of a past, I tell you. Hehe. Thanks for reviewing!
Solo Loco Ellingson-Rose: Thank you so much! I love the name by the way.
P-chan-S: Whoa… Zombified... here's more- enjoy!
firefistACE888888: It DOES sound cool, doesn't it? Ha. Is this soon enough? I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
guest: No, actually, not her aunt. Just her nanny. Here- I did continue. Hope you like it.
Fiery-Wolf-Angel: How's this? Same length, higher frequency. Hahaha. I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up though… I think Auntie Em will show up at random intervals from now on. Thanks for reviewing.
Artemis die Jaegerin: Achso, ich hab' mir schon gedacht du kommst nicht mehr. Ich hoffe dass der Umzug tadellos gelaufen ist. Im zehnten Kapitel gibts ein bisschen Romantik, du wirst schon sehn. Nee, sie arbeitet für niemandem. Hehe.
Those of you who've seen my 'artwork' and are thinking of maybe drawing Mel, GO AHEAD! It would make me oh so very happy.
Please Review, and you won't have to go through the agony of waiting another month.
