Hello lovelies, you have waited far too long and for that, this update is extra long. (About 4 pages extra than usual in my format.) Hope you guys don't kill me for updating so late Im glad I took a break though, after coming back to this fic I feel like my writing is a lot better. I like this chapter a lot more than the last one so I hope you guys like it.
You guys waited a long time so I made this chapter extra eventful with a bit of fluff and shit, hahah hope no ones too ooc.
Enjoy!
[Demons (cover) – Boyce Avenue]
Her eyes fluttered open when she came out of a dreamless sleep. Akane sat up, groggy, and took in her surroundings. It was when she looked at everybody peacefully sleeping, blissfully unaware of their hangovers to come, that she recalled the events of the night before.
Ace looked at her with a face of seriousness that also held worry. "Twenty two years ago, a man was executed. Unbeknownst to the world, that man had left behind a woman carrying a child."
Akane's brows furrowed at what he was saying. What she was hearing over her heart pounding and berserk nerves made no sense to her. She took a deep breath in and out to relax herself so she could try to comprehend the words he was saying and why.
"That woman held that child inside of her out of fear. She was scared that if they found out about the baby that they would kill the child along with herself." Ace took a breath to prepare himself, relaxing his shoulders in the process in an attempt to calm his nerves. "So out of that fear, she was determined to keep the baby inside her until their suspicions were satisfied and they'd leave. She held the child inside of her for twenty months, and died immediately after giving birth... the stress too much for her body." Ace looked over to Akane to see her reaction so far, unable to hold back a weak smile at her flabbergasted face.
Akane's nerves were replaced with curiosity and confusion, "Twenty months...? But that's impossible. It.. it doesn't make sense, it doesn't work like that," Aside from that fact, Akane was getting a bit upset at Ace for telling her some sort of fable of a woman when he said he would be telling her of his past. What did this have to do with anything?
An airy chuckle left Ace's lips, "You'd think, right? But she was the woman who I owe my name to. The woman who gave me life."
Akane didn't know whether to laugh or not, because she wasn't sure if he was serious. "So you're saying that your mother was pregnant for twenty months? And who is 'they'? Who is 'that man'?" She was no longer nervous, only skeptical and a little pissed off that he would scare her so much only to tell her some kind of weird story.
Ace looked into her eyes and saw that they were disbelieving of him, and he had to admit that it hurt a bit- though he could understand her feelings. He shifted a bit on the log so he could face her better, and mentally prepared how he would word the final pieces of his truth, "Her name was Portgas D. Rouge, she was my mother. 'They' was the Navy that tried to chase her down, and that man," His voice fell to a hush, so the only one who could hear his words was Akane, "was Gol D. Roger."
Her mind drew a blank and her jaw slackened a bit as she tried to process all that he had told her. His 'father' Gold Roger was executed twenty two years ago.. but Ace is only twenty.. that's illogical! But he did bring up the fact that his mother, Portgas D. Rouge was pregnant for twenty months.. but that's just impossible! His story made sense and the pieces fit together, but at the same time they didn't. She found it very hard to believe. She looked away from him and shook her head, "Ace. This isn't funny, don't go scaring me like that only to tell me your idea of a joke."
Ace frowned and his eyes pierced through hers, "It's not a joke. You think I'd lie to you? After all this shit that we just went through, and you'd think I lie?" He grabbed her shoulders so she had to look at him, "Look me in the eyes and then tell me I'm lying to you." He searched her eyes as she did his.
Akane did as she was told and let her heather eyes rove his chestnut ones. She looked and found emotions she didn't want to see. Fear. Desperation. But most of all, the undeniable honesty and determination radiating from him. He wasn't lying. There was no way he could lie through his teeth so well- no one could, it was not humanly possible.
Her face morphed in distress and she had to look away from him, her voice was quiet, "Then, what you said... it's true?"
The pads of his fingers pressed into the skin of her shoulders unconsciously before he quickly pulled his arms away from her. He nodded and his voice came out raspy, a sad whisper he strained to let out, "So, now what? Will you hate me? I wouldn't blame you."
Hate him? Was that even possible? After everything they'd been through together in such a short time, after the lengths he went to to protect her... could she hate him? A timid smile came to her lips and she gazed at him with accepting eyes, "Ace I could never hate you. I just," It was too much, too quickly- is what she wanted to say, "I'm going through a lot right now." Akane brought her right arm to cup her left arm in a cast, "So much has happened to me in the past couple weeks and I need some time to take it all in and adjust, you know?"
Ace wore a weak smile and something swelled in his chest, "I get it. Don't push yourself." He looked away from her and stared at the bonfire. His voice was quiet, "You really won't hate me? You're not even mad at all. You're so weird."
A lighthearted giggle passed her lips as she lifted her right hand to tousle his hair, "I already said I could never hate you, idiot." Her eyes softened, "How could I?" It was a lot to process, she'd admit. It was all still a little unfathomable to her, that Ace was the son of Gold Roger. It was hard, but after seeing the look of fear of rejection on Ace's face, how could she even bear to say that she hated him? Not that the thought of hating him had crossed her mind, but seeing him like that- wanting her to accept him, there was no way.
He turned his head to her and his cheeks warmed slightly, probably from her saying she couldn't hate him, or possibly from seeing the accepting smile she wore... or it could have been the simple fact that the pads of her fingers massaged his scalp so gently and her nails did the exact opposite, grazing his skin and sending sparks through his body. His eye lids lowered and he leaned closer to her, lightly placing his lips to her forehead and letting them linger, enjoying the feel of it as well as her hand in his hair. He lifted his lips off her skin ever so gently, his lips feathering over the soft surface of her forehead as he spoke in a whisper, "Thank you." He would never understand it. How people like Sabo, Luffy, Pops, the other Commanders, and now Akane, could love someone like him. It didn't make any sense to him, that anyone would willingly come so close to someone after knowing they have a demon's blood running through their veins. It was all he could do in return to show his gratitude and thank them.
Coos and 'aws' came from the crew in the surrounding area after seeing the fluffy physical affection, all of them drunk out of their minds and in a blissful place. The third party interruption made Akane's face flush as did Ace's gentle display. She untangled her hand from his hair and placed it palm open on his bare chest, gently pushing him away from her. The serious air was gone and was replaced with the original lighthearted air of a celebration. "Don't get all sentimental with me, it's not like you." She huffed and let her lower lip jut out.
Ace chuckled playfully and snaked his arms around her waist, bringing her right side against his chest, being careful to avoid touching or bothering her injured left arm. He nuzzled his nose into her soft red hair, "I can't help it, I'm really happy, and you're being cute. Besides, you said you liked me didn't you." The drunken stupor of the party could have been an added fact as well. He really wasn't acting like his usual self, but he couldn't care less.
Akane felt her face turn even redder and her words came out in a way that showed how flustered she was, "H-hey, stop it! Don't snuggle me, I'm not cute! You big idiot, Cowboy!"
"I'm a pirate!"
[Suspension (Acoustic) – Lights]
She sighed and shook her head at the recount. It was all really odd and happened so quickly, she didn't even have enough time to process it all. After telling her about his parents, Ace had given her the time she had requested, knowing that she needed it. She had spent the rest of the party contemplating on where her life had ended up so far.
She was born and raised in the West Blue by her mother Elizabeth up until their island was ambushed by pirates when she was six, her mother dying in the process. With her house destroyed and her mother killed, the only thing Akane had left of her was the heart charm that hung on a golden chain that had stayed around her neck since the day her mother entrusted it to her. Leah, her mother's friend, let Akane stay in her home but didn't do much other than that- Akane always thought that Leah blamed the young girl for her best friend's death. As she aged, the island grew more and more suffocating and she became more and more aggressive, fighting anyone who had challenged her. She would do anything to leave, even contemplating on becoming a pirate- the very kind of person who killed her mother. The idea brought her guilt and to tears, so she decided against it. Determined to escape, the fourteen year old girl lied about her age and enlisted in the Navy. After complications, she managed to score in the top ten recruits and was trained by Garp the Fist by the time she was sixteen. She trained hard and even learned Haki. She climbed the ranks and became a Captain. Everything was a linear path until she ran into.. them.
Ever since she ran into the Whitebeard Pirates, about a month ago now, her life was turned upside down and she wouldn't change it for the world. Being in this crew- this family... she was slowly metamorphosing into the person she was originally meant to be.
Akane rubbed her tired eyes and got to her feet carefully. The sun was just starting to rise in the east horizon, setting the calm ocean ablaze in pure yellows and oranges.
Like jumping over cracks on the sidewalk, Akane jumped over resting bodies, trying her best not to disturb anyone. She was making her way back to the ship to prepare to talk to Doctor Evol about the decision she had made about her arm, another thing she had contemplated the night before.
She had decided that she was going to go through with amputation. Both she and Evol knew that the treatments weren't working and that they were delaying the inevitable outcome of having to remove the limb. She could deny the truth as much as she wanted, but there was no way of changing it. Her arm was nothing more than a deadweight in a cast now and there was no going back to how it originally was. It would affect her combat strength and fighting style, it would be a pain in the ass to adjust to in her life... but she had to do it. The thought of amputation scared her, but she had come to the conclusion that one arm was far less a price than she would have had to pay if she had never met the Whitebeard Pirates and lived the rest of her life never knowing them.
Coming out of her thoughts, she spotted Marco and Ace by the Moby Dick. Akane walked up to them, seeing as she needed to get past them to board the ship anyway. "Looks like I'm not the first one awake," she said with a playful grin. Marco and Ace turned to her and waved her good morning.
"Miss Akane, you're up early yoi." Marco spoke to her with a relaxed smile. He revealed one of his hands from his pant's pockets and brought it to her head, gently patting it.
Akane swatted his hand and glared at him, though the stare and action held no real sentiment. It had become a common practice for the crew members to tousle or pet her hair. It made her feel warm, but it also made it seem like they saw her as a child. "I have to talk to Doctor Evol. What are you guys doing up?" She looked away from Marco to meet Ace's eyes. She hadn't seen him since he left her to herself the night before. He wore a small smile when his eyes met hers, but let Marco answer her question.
"We're going to pick up Ace's Striker. He left it at Saboady when he jumped on a Navy ship there, we'll be back by tonight though yoi. My Phoenix form is fast, and the striker is one of the fastest boats out there. We wanted to leave early so we could get back earlier yoi." He said it lazily, as if traveling such a distance so quickly was a small feat and normal.
"Alright, I'll tell the others where you guys went. Be careful though, the border between the Worlds is hard to get through." Akane was a bit worried. It didn't seem like they were planning to take the Striker back through Mermaid Island, and the only other way through the border was administered by the Navy.
Ace chuckled and spoke up, "Don't worry about us, we know what we're doing. Marco is just gonna carry Striker over the border in the sky. The bird may look dorky, but it's pretty strong."
A smack over the head from Marco shut Ace up and the latter threw the older of the two a glower.
"Anyway, we should get going yoi. Hope your treatment today goes well." Marco said with a smile, slowly dragging Ace to the edge of the high shore, readying to leave.
Akane hesitated on whether to tell them or not, but called out to them anyway, "Wait!" They both turned to look at her, curious, expecting looks on their faces. "What if I told you that I would get an amputation?"
The two men seemingly froze in motion, Marco still holding Ace's arm in the air. It was somewhat comical how both their jaws dropped in shock from the unexpected question.
Ace quickly shifted from shock to concern. He walked back over to where she was, Marco following quickly behind him, and voiced his worry, "I thought you said that you could do treatments..." A flash of realization went through his eyes, "That day on the sub... when I asked you what was wrong after you left the infirmary and you said it was fine, you already knew back then, didn't you?" His face showed hurt, feeling betrayed that she would willingly lie to his face. Again.
A sigh passed through Akane's dry lips that she began to chew soon after, "Ace, I'm sorry I kept it from you." She took a step towards him, "I was scared. I didn't even to want believe it myself, so that's why I-"
Ace cut her off, "Forget about it. It's fine." He turned his emotionless face from her, his body following, "Do what makes you feel best, it's your body after all." Ace began walking away, heading to the rocky edge again, "Marco, we should get going."
"Ace, please," She pleaded with him. Akane knew it was wrong to have kept it from him, especially after he had told her not to do that kind of thing anymore.
"You said you wanted space right?" Ace didn't want to look at her. He had decided to trust her with the darkest part of him that only the closest to him knew. He let her in. Yet since they met she continually kept things from him, leaving him out of her dark. Maybe he was wrong to have told her.
No, that's not what she wanted. She wanted time, not space. She didn't want him to distance himself from her, especially not after what happened last night. Akane just wanted time to process things, not distance.
Akane hung her head. Ace refused to look back. Marco was stuck in between. The tension was far too heavy for the early morning air and the three crew mates stood in the thick silence.
Marco made the move to cut the thickness and spoke up, "Well, we should get going then," He took a few steps towards Akane and placed his hands gently on her shoulders and leaned down to be at her face level. He lowered his voice, "I'll talk to him alright? He doesn't really mean to be like this, I know Ace yoi. He just worries over you too much, that's all." He brought a hand to her chin and made her lift her head up, "Don't get too down okay? Everything will be okay yoi."
A tight small stretched Akane's lips, the feeling of the muscles pulling unnaturally making her uncomfortable. "Thanks Marco." She was grateful for his effort.
Marco headed over to where Ace was and jumped over the rocky edge of the shore, only to emerge into view as a dazzling blue phoenix. Ace jumped on the bird's back and the two began to quickly ascend into the sky.
Akane impulsively cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled up at the sky where the two were quickly disappearing from view, "Be safe you two! Good luck!"
Her voice traveled through the air and reached Ace and Marco in an echo. Ace's eyes lowered and he murmured quietly to himself, "Thank you."
She didn't know how long she had been talking to Evol. When she walked into the infirmary of the sleepy doctor, she had caught him off guard with her request to amputate her arm. In all honesty, Evol was surprised. He had expected that he'd have to begin to council her into realizing that he couldn't do much anymore about her arm, but she had come to the conclusion on her own.
"Alright, if you're assured in your decision, then we can begin the procedure right away Lass." He opened a cupboard and picked up a transponder snail, requesting the nurses to come over to the infirmary.
He hung up the snail and walked over to the sanitary sink, beginning to wash down his hands thoroughly. He spoke to Akane as he washed, "Rest easy Lass, no need to be anxious or any of the sorts. You're in good hands, trust the medical team."
Akane nodded, not realizing how rigid her body had become as she was waiting for the inevitable.
Evol slipped on long, rubber surgical gloves as he spoke, "Before we begin there are some standard questions I need to ask you. Firstly, do you have any questions about the surgery?"
Akane shook her head, "No."
"You are already in good health, quickly recovering from your incarceration. Do you happen to have any allergies? Specifically to artificial materials used in surgery."
"I don't have any allergies or sicknesses. I already had all that tested when I was in the Navy."
"Are you pregnant?"
Akane's eyes widened, "What? No!"
"It's protocol, Lass. Have you eaten in the last eight hours?"
"No."
Three nurses began to quickly file into the room just as the questioning was finishing up.
"Let's get started then."
Akane had been changed into a 'hosptial' gown and was already put under anesthesia. Doctor Evol and three nurses surrounded the operating table.
Natalia, the nurse Akane had grown close to in the first days of being on the Moby Dick, monitored Akane's heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels.
Stephanie and Amy, two nurses that were fond of the young woman, were directly assisting Evol, handing him surgical tools and helping with incisions.
Amputation was a tedious process, however the team was skilled and Evol had years of experience dealing with such injuries. The limb was removed, dead tissue and bone fragments taken out, incision flaps closed, and sterile bandages wrapped around the stump within the hour.
Where there was once a powerful left arm, now was nothing.
Throughout the day news had spread, courtesy of the nurses Akane had asked, about the amputation and of Marco and Ace's absence.
When the news had reached Whitebeard, he couldn't say he was surprised. He had been quite sure since the time back in the submarine that the young girl would have this fate. He had seen it on her face, the denial yet knowledge of what she would have to endure in the future. There wasn't much he could do in these circumstances, only wish his new daughter a safe recovery and offer the support of the rest of the family.
The News Gull had dropped a paper for the crew during the day as well.
Marco was usually the one to read it and recount what was in the paper to Whitebeard since he found the paper too small and the writing too miniscule to read.
Today it was Thatch that read the front line. The story declaring how the Whitebeard Pirates faced the Navy and 'kidnapped' the defected Marine whom was set for execution. The story took the world by storm because of all its oddity.
Thatch finished reading aloud the front page, Whitebeard and the gathered crew listening in on him. The Fourth Division Commander went to turn the page when single sheets separate from the paper slipped out and floated to the floor. Everyone knew what they were. Bounty posters.
It was a competition of sorts for the crew. They always made bets on who would get a bounty poster next and how much their head was worth. Unfortunately for them, none of the crew members who were expecting to see their face got what they were hoping for, rather, a hushed silence came over the group like a heavy cloud.
Thatch held a bounty poster that had a familiar face staring back at him. He stared back with wide eyes and raised eyebrows,
"Akane – Scarlet Pariah, 60 million bellies."
Everyone was quiet except Stefan who barked at the news, no one really knew what was going through the dog's mind.
It was very late in the evening when Ace and Marco had returned back to El Pida, Marco in the form of a phoenix and Ace full speed on Striker.
Ace got Marco to toss a rope over the railings of the Moby Dick and secured the end in a tight knot to the wooden columns. Ace tied the other end to the mast of his Striker tight enough until he was satisfied it wouldn't come loose.
Marco jumped off the railings and once again morphed into the blue flamed phoenix, swooping down and picking Ace up and flying him up the very steep, high rock edge of the island.
The crew was on the island for the night once again, the same clearing as the night before except the workers that lent them the submarine had left hours ago to return to their shop. They had a fire going but it was not as large as the one from the night before and the crew seemed to be a bit less rowdy than the loud, celebratory night yesterday.
Marco went to Whitebeard to get updates on what had happened during the day while Ace saw Thatch and sat beside the other Commander. Thatch offered him a drink from his pint of beer, Ace gladly accepting and took three large gulps of the alcohol.
Thatch watched as Ace downed his portion hurriedly, and chuckled, "You seem troubled."
Ace handed the cup back to Thatch and grunted, tired from the day of traveling at full speed with only a small break at Sabaody which Marco spent the entire time lecturing him on his attitude towards Akane.
"Ace, you know she means well. She doesn't want to burden you with her troubles, her intentions are obvious yoi!" Marco said, scrutinizing his younger brother's way of treating their newest crew member.
"What the hell do you know Marco!" Ace slumped down onto the ground, ripping at the oily grass. "I told her last night, y'know."
"Told...?" Marco didn't need to question further, as he quickly registered what he was talking about. "And? What did she say yoi?"
Ace's eyes seemed distant, not really focusing on anything in particular, "She said she could never hate me, Marco."
Marco was always a bit perplexed at Ace's train of thought. "I'm afraid I don't see the big problem here."
Ace rolled his eyes and ripped a clump of the Archipelagio's unique grass out of the ground, "I don't get it. How can someone say they don't hate someone but then go and keep lying to their face." He turned his head to look at Marco, "I even told her to stop that kind of shit with me, I hate it."
Marco took a few steps and sat beside his younger crew mate. The blond didn't have too much experience in actual relationships with women, preferring to stay away from being emotionally involved ever since a very serious relationship ended badly in his younger years. Nonetheless, Marco prided himself in the fact that he could understand a woman's mind quite well. Marco did his best to explain his thoughts to Ace, "Caring manifests differently in individuals yoi. For instance, you like being upfront about problems, wanting to deal with them together with your partner. This is how you show that you care and value that person. You show that you're willing to trust that person enough to help you with your issues or keep your secrets. Now for Akane, I believe she cares for you just as much as you care about her." Marco paused to check Ace for any reactions. There were none. "Her caring manifests differently from yours yoi. She habitually lies or keeps things from you, and us, because she doesn't want to be a burden. She doesn't want you to have more than you already have on your shoulders. Her caring is not wanting to be a burden to the one she holds in regards yoi."
Ace was silent for awhile before he spoke up, "But why? I get where you're going, but it doesn't make sense." Ace put his hat that was hanging on his neck onto his head.
Marco leaned back on his hands, "It has to do with what people have gone through yoi. Everyone goes through different experiences as they age, and these events directly affect the personality of the person. If you don't mind me being blunt Ace, for you, growing up you had to hide your origins and this really effected you. Now, the way you show someone you trust them and hold them in high regards, is that you reveal that secret to them yoi. It's your way of assuring yourself that you value that person." Marco closed his eyes and took a breath, "As for Akane, I'm not really sure exactly what she went through. From what I've gathered, her mother died protecting her, she joined the Navy and became a Marine captain, responsible for the lives of others yoi. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I really think it's just an insecurity issue on her part. Her mother died protecting her, so she doesn't want to burden anyone else in such a way. She kept to herself in the Navy and she couldn't bother anyone with her own problems, especially when she became a captain." He looked over to Ace, "I'm sure even you know the burden of being a captain, Ace."
Ace was looking at the ground and was quiet, "I get it, alright? Let's head back already."
"Where's Akane?" He said with curiosity, looking around at the groups of people. He felt like he needed to sort things out from earlier this morning.
Thatch blinked at him, "Didn't she tell you before she left?" Thatch's brows knitted together in confusion, "She had her arm amputated, she has to recover for the next couple days."
Ace's eyes widened as he took in what he had heard. "She said she was getting an amputation, but I didn't think she'd do it today, I..."
"I have to talk to Doctor Evol. What are you guys doing up?"
Ace gathered his head into his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. He was such an idiot. In hindsight, he should have known better.
Thatch patted Ace's back, pitying the young crew mate. "Don't get too down Ace. You can go see her, she's in one of the recovery rooms in the infirmary ward. She has to rest there for awhile."
Ace found resolve and lifted his head from his hands and stood up, "Thanks Thatch, I'll go check on her then."
"No problem bud."
[Unthinkable – City and Colour]
After asking one of the nurses which room Akane was resting in, Ace slowly turned the knob to the door he was directed to. The moon emitted what little light was in the small, quiet room. He immediately directed his attention to the cot, scarlet hair splayed out over the pillow.
Akane registered the sound of her door opening and closing and slowly sat up, turning her head in the direction of the noise. She was groggy and exhausted, pain medications and antibiotics were being periodically pumped into her blood stream since her surgery ended.
Ace took in the tired state of her face, and then immediately saw that her left limb was no longer where it should have been. It was now a stump that ended at the shoulder covered in bandages. His breath hitched and he quickly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, close to her so he could see her face. Ace's voice was quiet, filled with guilt, "I'm so sorry, this morning I-"
Akane wore a small smile and reached out the only hand she had left, placing it above one of his, and giving a light squeeze. "It's alright Ace. You had every right to be mad at me, I realize that now." A weak giggle escaped her lips, "I've had a lot of time to sit and think about it, so." She lifted her hand from his and reached out to his face and cupped it, running her thumb across the freckles of his cheeks, "You trusted me with a precious secret, and I kept keeping mine from you." Akane retreated her hand from his cheek but kept her eyes on his, "I shouldn't keep things from you Ace, I'm sorry. I just don't like being a burden to others, though now with my arm the way it is..."
"She couldn't bother anyone with her own problems."
Ace leaned over and pressed his lips to hers gently, silencing her rambling. He understood, and so did she. There was no need to say anymore.
He hesitantly began to move his lips, relishing in what he had wanted to do ever since they had gotten her back from the Navy on that day, but never got a chance to do.
She quickly returned it, yearning for the warm contact to ease her anxieties about, well, everything. She reached her hand up and tangled it in his hair, pulling his upper body down with her as she lay her head back onto the pillow. The intimacy warmed her core. Akane took the next step and deepened the kiss, running her tongue across his lips, Ace gladly accepting the encouraging request.
He shifted his body to get more comfortable, using his left arm as support beside her head and his right hand cupped her face. It was completely novel to him, the sensation of taking someone in wholly as they are. He could feel her eagerness and need to suppress worries through the way she explored him relentlessly. He could feel her yearning for closeness and support by the way she wanted him to return the contact, lifting her chin up to get even closer to him. It was closeness that she needed most right now. He felt a heat wash over his body and he had no objections in letting it take over him. He wanted to give her all she needed and yearned most for.
They were the same, the two of them. They both desired the same things. It just manifested differently. Acceptance. Intimacy. Hunger for closeness and everything of the like. They were two lone souls that found and clung to each other long before their vessels had even realized it happening.
They held each other that way for awhile, not going further nor lessening the closeness of the kiss. The kisses slowly were held for shorter, and the heat in the room began to cool as the initial eagerness began to ebb away.
Akane slowly opened her eyes, still dazed from what happened, and looked up to Ace's relaxed face. A small smile graced her lips as the realization of what truly had happened only moments before began to sink in. God is she ever glad that she met this man. She giggled and used her hand in his hair to pull his forehead down to hers, "Boy am I ever grateful we decided to beat the shit out of each other that day."
Ace choked in surprise, and began to laugh loudly through his coughs. He supposed he was kind of glad too. Otherwise, they would have never met each other.
While the majority of the crew was back on the island enjoying drinks and a party, two lone bodies in a small room on the Moby Dick fell asleep side by side, one reaching out and holding the other's only hand left.
[All Will be Well – Gabe Dixon Band]
The days passed and Akane went through intense rehabilitation, wanting to recover as quickly as possible. Evol and the nurses did their best in aiding her with everything they could and taught her how to change her bandages on her own.
Marco had checked in the morning after Akane and Ace made up and wore a playful smirk at the sight of the two younger crew mates sleeping together. Akane was already awake at that point and felt her face flush when she looked at Marco who nodded and winked, a reminder of when he had told her he'd talk to Ace the day before. Not wanting to disturb the two further, he closed the door and went about his normal scheduled routine. Wanting to see Miss Akane could wait a bit longer. He had already held back seeing her the night before, knowing Ace had gone first and needed to sort things out with her.
Eventually, he was able to sit down with Akane and tell her about what was going on with the crew and the Navy. He told her how the stay on the island would be extended longer than originally intended and how it was decided that Haruta's division would switch with Bleinheim's. Marco had told her about her bounty poster and it amused her more than it should have. Being in the Navy, she knew that bounty posters were mostly a last resort in hopes of catching a criminal indirectly, they had given up on actively chasing after her.
A lot of crew mates visited her during her rehabilitation, offering her good wishes and support. Thatch took it upon himself to bring her the meals the chefs would make specifically for her. Haruta took the situation as an opportunity to get to know Akane better, lightening her spirits with small talk and humor. Izou had made her a new kimono, a beautiful masterpiece almost too beautiful to be worn. It was a light, pale turquoise fabric and had embroidered pink roses blooming from the left stump sock, shooting out from there onto the rest of the article of clothing. It was just like Izou, accentuating and making a flaw beautiful rather than hiding it.
Ace was there everyday, telling her about the crew's antics or about Luffy. When he first saw his little brother's bounty poster he was more than proud and showed it to everybody, including Akane. He told her stories of when he and Luffy were younger, and though she already knew a lot of them, she still listened and watched endearingly at how enthusiastic he was about the little brother she only knew from word of mouth.
Their relationship had developed for the better since the night they had come to realize the intentions of the other. Ace would tell her about his life, even about an old brother named Sabo who didn't make it past childhood. As for herself, Akane was learning to let herself depend on others. She slowly opened up to Ace and began to tell him about her own past. About her mother, her island, and her days and acquaintances in the Navy. It was foreign to her, opening up to someone and talking to them about such personal things, but she decided she quite liked it.
After almost two weeks in the recovery room, Akane was finally allowed to leave. Evol and the nurses stressed that she would have to tell them if any problems arose in the future though.
"Well well, look who's up and about yoi." Marco drawled with a smile when he spotted Akane walking unto the deck.
Akane grinned happily, "Hey Marco." She was excited to finally get the opportunity to start a normal routine on the ship. Ever since she officially joined the crew there was always something hindering her from properly being a part of the crew.
"That's a lovely kimono. I take it Izou wasn't too upset about what happened to the last one?" The blond spoke jokingly, recalling how Akane was worried Izou would get mad at her for the tattered kimono.
Akane laughed, but their conversation was interrupted when a News Gull swooped down and a newspaper plopped her on the head. It took her by surprise and she yelped, getting a guffaw out of the usually reserved Marco.
Marco picked up the newspaper from the ground and began to walk over to where Whitebeard sat on his deck throne. He got used to the routine after all the years he spent doing it. It felt natural to sit and tell the news to Pops and have other crew mates gather around to hear what was going on.
Crew members formed a group around Whitebeard's throne as per usual morning routine and got ready to listen to what Marco had to say.
Marco folded the newspaper open and read the front line, "Red haired Shanks confronts Navy ship...?" He said it with a growing confusion in his voice, it was very unlike Red Hair to do something like that.
Everyone was hushed and waited for him to continue reading the article.
"Shanks, the captain of the Red Hair Pirates, confronted a Naval battle ship an estimated three days ago. The ship returned to Navy Headquarters late last night with the soldiers aboard shaken up from the confrontation. None of the soldiers were injured, and the motives of Red Hair are still unconfirmed. Though none of the Marines were harmed, the ship was vandalized, an odd symbol plastered in red paint all over the ship and on the Navy flag." He finished reading the first paragraph and was more perplexed than before. That was definitely not something Red Hair would usually do.
After reading the rest of the article which just rambled on about mundane things, he passed the paper around. When it reached Akane, she took a look at the front page and her eyes widened in disbelief.
She dropped the paper to the floor and knelt down on the deck, she only had one arm now so she couldn't hold the paper for what she wanted to do. Shouts of concern were said when they saw her seemingly collapse down. Akane ignored them as her hand shot up to her necklace, lifting it up to her face as far as the chain would allow. She looked at the symbol carved into the back of her necklace and then looked at the symbol painted in red over the white Naval flag.
There was no mistaking it. They were identical.
Whoop.. there it is
Is Ace ooc? I feel like I made him ooc... Anyyywaaay, did you guys like it? huhu
A few things about this chapter:
-I tried to reiterate how Ace told Akane that 'I'm a lot like you' back when he was drunk and they danced. I hope the kiss scene in this chapter and talking about souls wasn't too cheesy though... lol
-Yes, I've decided that Marco isn't going to be 'involved' with Akane in that way. He's going to be more of a middle man for Ace and Akane, but you guys will get to see a bit more of that 'love from when he was young' later. I also tried to allude to it in the previous chapter when Akane said that people need to drink sometimes to forget things and Marco said he knew the feeling. soo.. haha
-I feel like 60 million bellies is a good starting bounty for Akane. The Navy knows what she's capable of, but it's not too high either.. i think
-I've never talked about a kiss in so much detail and emotion, I felt so embarrassed writing it oh god
-Shanks is up to his shenanigans again.. tsk
(some) Replies!
Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I don't really know how she'll react to Shanks being her papa, I'm still not sure how to write it myself lmao :P
aqua-empress: yes, I'm really ashamed, sorry D: Thank you! I hope you liked the way she reacted then LOL and yea, why does everyone hate on Roger, he was a cool dude :L
TheAnalei: oh myyy gosssh don't make me blush, thank you! Ohh I love those scenes! I always thought Ace had a crush on Makino, it was so cute :P Sorry about the arm tho lol, it had to be done D:
desirae668: Thank you! I really didn't feel good about the last chapter but im glad you enjoyed it :) Im still buried in snow myself, and yeeeea second semester is going urm okay (i hope)
Galymed: oh my gosh, that's too much for me to handle, im not worthy of being compared to Oda! D: Tbh I never really read Straw Hat fics, they have an entire manga dedicated to them, so I get enough of their interaction LOL :P
LittleLovesaLot: I imagine Drake would have made his debut a bit earlier than a few of the other rookies, so I didn't put his bounty poster in the newspaper :P
Juliedoo: Thank you! And that's always how I imagine Ace. Since his dying words were "Thank you for loving me" I think it shows deep rooted self-esteem issues of sorts. Shanks is one of the greatest characters in the manga ;D Hmm, I suppose that chemistry finally happened this chapter LOL as for Marco, I already realized when I was writing chapters awhile back that I didn't want him to be romantic towards Akane. Im trying to build sort of a brother-sister/best friend/fatherly type of relationship between them soo urr i wonder how thats gonna work lmao
So that's it! Thanks for reading and keep giving your reviews guys! They really help motivating me :)