"Back by Midnight"

Tsuki and Eli were waiting in the atrium. Tsuki was fidgeting with her hands, running her hands up and down her sleeves, clutching her elbow, crossing her arms. Suddenly she flung down her arms in a gesture of exasperation. Sighing she then crossed her arms again.

Eli was standing still, not knowing what to do. She looked at Tsuki and shot her calming looks every now and then. It was only half nine. They were waiting for the two guys to turn up.

A slight chuckle made them look around. Nami was standing on the last stair of the staircase, arm resting on the wooden railing with her chin resting in her cupped palm, one knee bent, the other hand resting on her hip. Her cruel mouth twisted in a leer. Obviously she didn't fear the two girls in daylight. How naïve. Just because it's dark does not mean things are scarier. However, nami was working under the oppinion that these two were vampires, or something of that ilk. Yes, really naïve.

"look at you two. Don't you look sweet!" if there was one thing the two girls hated, it was nami, and if there was something they hated more than Nami, it was Nami when she was patronising. In an instant, Tsuki was scowling and Eli was barely ignoring her.

"shut up, fake!" hissed Tsuki, blood boiling, but then hid it with a smirk of derision. "I see you're dressed for work." She was gesturing at the low cut top, with short sleeves, and the wayyyyy too short miniskirt Nami was wearing. Unfortunately, Nami didn't get it.

"what work?" she looked puzzled.

"oh, you mean you don't work in the red lamp district?"

That cleared that up.

"Tenshi, you bitch! I'll pay you back for that." Something caught her eye and she saw a flash of blue hair. Franky was making his way to the door, eagerly approaching his day off. She couldn't do anything to repay the remark right now. "I'll get you back, next club meeting." And with a smirk of her own, Nami turned and walked through the grand entrance.

"Ha! I'll be waiting! It's on now, bring it!" yelled Tsuki.

"Tenshi, young girls don't speak that way." Chastised Franky, having just that second caught up to them. Tsuki whirled to find Franky behind her. Shit how could she have missed the giant? Specially when he was wearing his traditional swimsuit?

"how can the young, my little sisters, have such terrible mouths."Franky was tearing up. "just don't do it again." He then ran for the door, and his secret.

"huh? Did he just call us his sisters?" asked a bewildered Tsuki.

"Yeh. He believes in the bible's story that we're all brothers and sisters."

"Don't do that you nearly scared me!"

"Oh, so the little princess doesn't like me walking up to her?"

"I don't like to get caught out, specially not twice, Ace." You guessed it, Ace had creeped up behind her and answered her question.

He looked different, Eli couldn't quite place it, then she realised he had removed his hat. Without it, his head looked strange. However, he had done more than remove his hat. He was wearing a black silk shirt with a golden dragon flashing across it, the tail across his sleeve, and the rest adorning the back. He had left it unbuttoned. And his muscled chest was clearly visible. He had left his usual three quarter legnth trousers for a pair of black jeans, and his boots had been replaced with black trainers. His hair was tied back in a mini poney tail, finally allowing his facial planes to be seen. He looked dashing.

Tsuki gave him the once over. "you look good." The only consent she was prepared to give him at that moment, he'd pay for spooking her.

Ace grinned, expecting this reaction. He made sure no one was around, Tsuki had asked him not to mention their relationship, and his job would be taken away for this, but he didn't care. If his girl was happy, then he was. "Sorry babe, didn't mean it. Anyway, think of me. I'm feeling hurt right now."

"Huh?"

"My girl didn't recognise me. how do you think I feel." His smile was the only proof that this was in fact a lie. Tsuki almost laughed, but she held herself in check.

"Ah well, I can try all I like, right?" Ace offered her his arm. Grudgingly, Tsuki took the proffered arm, said "see ya" to Eli and headed off with Ace into the town. As she did, she eased up. Now they could go to the parts of town that only they knew. At last, it was just them.

Eli waited for James. Unlike Tsuki, she was patient, but even her patience wore thin. She reckoned she'd give him until ten, then she'd get annoyed. That meant James had another ten minutes to turn up. She hummed to herself as she stood there, watching people leave the atrium, in groups or on their own, nobody in their right mind would stay in school any longer than they had to.

Luffy Chopper and Usopp passed her by, and she nodded in acknowledgement as they walked past.

"Oh, Eli! I didn't see you." Luffy turned his head around and beamed at her, making a smile spread across her face. The fact that he'd actually stopped to say hi was touching.

The other two stopped and looked at her, finally recognising the girl that had somehow managed to become their friend, or more appropriately their aquaintance. They'd sat at the same table for a week, and Eli didn't really wear make up.

"you look…different." Said Usopp, trying to keep the fundamental rules of complimenting girls and keeping off another guys territory at the same looked at him.

"different nice or different crap?" she asked worriedly. Usopp blushed, his childhood as a tenant farmer meant that he was not as familiar with girls as someone who'd lived in the city, say Sanji.

"Different nice." Said Chopper, who was young enough to get away with it. Eli smiled at him, happy to receive the nodded. Luffy simply laughed.

"Different weird if you ask me." he said, making Eli cringe. "Never seen you like that before." Eli understood then that he meant that she looked different and he wasn't used to it. She could live with that.

"You guys seen Hamlet kun around?" she asked.

"He was said to be trying to be immaculate." Said Usopp, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly a flash of blond hair came into view. Usopp pointed and said something along the lines of "that's him now" but Eli wasn't paying attention. She was staring at this guy as if he'd landed from mars. There was no doubt in her mind who he'd gone to ask for advice. Something to do with a two piece suit with a black tie and blue shirt, hair covering one eye and the other sporting an eyebrow that twisted to form an over-the-top question mark. The only thing missing was a cigarette. Eli was on a date with a mini sanji.

"Heh? Sanji what're you doing out of the kitchens? Did you shrink? You should eat more meat." Said Luffy.

"Luffy san, it's me, James." Said the poor boy looking like he might just collapse. He looked at Eli, who still looked like a UFO had just landed in front of her.

"Eli chan, you look stunning." He said, slightly disconcerted by the look she was giving him. Maybe it was just her way of thinking he was attractive. Sanji san had said that this look was fool proof.

That's when she walked over to him, lifted the gelled hair off his face, messed it up a bit to make it look interesting and windswept. Then she took a water bottle out of her hand bag, Tsuki said that it was essential in case of emergencies like thirst in the middle of nowhere. This counted as an emergency. She wet a tissue and turned James' eyebrow back into something resembling his own.

"Eli chan?" he asked when he was sure she had finished.

She put the stuff away and looked at him. She nodded in self acknowledgement. "Much better." She said, an air of triumph colouring her aura. James raised an eyebrow.

"I'm dating Hamlet James, not a womanising student cook." She muttered, making him feel like his stomach was inflating in happiness. "Shall we?" he said, casually as he offered her his arm. "Oh, yes let's." she said, sounding for all the world like one of those characters from a C. children's novel.

Tsuki and Ace were looking around the shops, stopping here and there to look at books, clothes and some gimmick Tsuki had got hooked on. Ace didn't even try to understand a seventeen year old's passion for cartoons, be they this "anime" she kept going on about or Loony Tunes, but if it made her happy, he'd play along.

They stopped for lunch at half one, Tsuki ordering a salad, and only eating half of it, while he had the three course menu offer.

"Looks like I got me a cheap date." He said, winking at her over the top of his sirloin steak with chips.

"Cheap? You get me all this stuff and you call me cheap?"

"I mean, I don't have to pay for you to eat fancy all the time. The stuff's nothing, gifts from me." he gave her a look that penetrated her soul. This was the main reason she loved him, his eyes had taken her hostage the moment she had looked into them. But they didn't seem to be having the same effect right now. She could only guess why. His eyes were almost exactly like his little brothers.

They finished lunch and Tsuki decided she'd get Eli something. Right now, Eli was her only relative, and she was always there when Tsuki needed her.

"You think of her a lot, hey." Said Ace.

"Who?"

"Tziganu."

"What's this, jealousy?" she teased.

"No, unless you're suddenly going lesbian on me."

"Pfffffff, no worries."

"but she means a lot to you." Ace persisted. One thing to be made clear, Tsuki had decided against telling anyone about her relationship with Eli. It was too coincidental. Eli had no such qualms, but Tsuki didn't feel it appropriate. And since Eli barely talked to others anyway, at least until recently, the secret had been well hidden. But now the time had come to tell Ace, it felt right this time.

"Tziganu Eli is my cousin." She said.

"Pull the other one, precious."

"No I'm serious! She'd the daughter of the sister of that evil uncle you know so much about."

"hmmmmm, and?" Ace now sounded interested. He was actually really interested in Tsuki's uncle, that man had a psycho disorder.

"She was raised by…another family. And she peiced together her life from there."

Ace nodded, adopted children often became interested in their biological parents.

"Weird coincidence." Tsuki nodded.

They walked out of the shop, Tsuki clutching a tiny paper parcel with a semiprecious stone in it for Eli. Eli was into all this psychic stuff.

They came to a cross roads. Then suddenly a bunch of burly guys appeared opposite them. Tsuki looked at them scathingly, they wouldn't touch her if she was with Ace. She'd seen them before. They always lurked around here, but they were all scared stiff of Ace for some reason. What did she care, she was with the best guy in the world. As she thought this, the image of a beaming face beneath a strawhat. Not now! Don't think of that now!

The men opposite them suddenly changed stance, standing up straight and walking purposefully towards them. They circled them.

"Portgas D Ace!" yelled one of them. Ace nodded, fists curling.

Suddenly Tsuki felt herself pushed away from Ace and saw him hoisted off his feet by six muscular men. She saw him struggling like a fish out of water, saw him reach out his hand for her.

When he was out of her sight, she clasped a hand to her mouth, and the tears she had hidden from everyone spilled over the preheated eyelids.

Ace looked around the familiar gloomy room. A deep voice asked him a question, but he nodded absent mindedly. Was Tsuki alright? Hopefully she had gone back to the school. She'd be disappointed, it was only five in the afternoon. She wouldn't be angry with him, if he was lucky. He felt himself being lead out of the room and into another. Hopefully she wouldn't suffer.