Author: So had to get this chapter done quickly. My friend who I bounce ideas off of is moving in a week so I wanted to get this done before she left. I'm also moving within the next couple weeks or so. So if it takes a while for me to post chapters for Oro Jackson High, Sparks or Beneath the Moon that's why.
" Ai, what are your plans for the new year?" A tall, muscular, broad-chested, tanned man with a curly black mustache said. He wore a dark blue top hat on top of his black curly hair and an earring in each ear. He also wore a semi-open dark blue shirt with a white diamond stripe pattern near the top that reveals some of his hairy chest, as well as a cape that matches the color of his shirt and white gloves. He also wears light blue pants with a belt that holds two sword sheaths, one on each side.
" Same as last year, Vista." Ai said coolly before bitting into a peach. " Train hard and do as Pops wishes."
" No plans of finding a husband?"
" Why would I want a husband?" Ai asked in confusion. " The only man I'll ever take orders from is Pops. He treats me as a an equal; smart and intelligent as any man and getting married would make me less then that."
" That's why you choose a man that sees you exactly like that."
" You know very well that women don't get to choose their husbands."
" You know very well that Pops would never choose your husband." Vista said placing a arm comfortingly around Ai. " You choose, Ai. We'll just put the fear of God into the man who wants to claim your heart."
" I don't need anyone to claim my heart! I'm not some kind of trophy to be fought over. I don't need a husband who claims to love me but has women on the side. I don't want that"
" I know that, baby sister." Vista said gently. " There's a difference between having someone try to claim you as a trophy and another who wants your for you."
" Well there aren't any men out there who would want me for me." Ai said quietly. " As Whitebeard's daughter they would only see me as a prize and not me. Just something they could win over to further better themselves."
" You know we'd never allow someone to use you, you know that right?"
" Of course I know that." Ai said quietly, leaning against her brother. " I just don't want to put any of you into that kind of position. I love you all with my heart and I'll never put you in a position where you need to step in and save me."
" No matter what, baby sister." Vista said coolly, hugging her gently. " We'll protect you always."
" Ace-sama," A petite pink haired girl whined, rubbing herself against the the dark haired teen. " Why do you look so upset?"
" Being force to participate in this party my mother wishes to throw."
" But the party is for your birthday." The girl said poutingly.
" And?"
" That means it's all about you tonight."
" No, it's about my old man making business plans with his associates under the guise of this party."
" I heard a rumor that Whitebeard and some members of his coven will be here tonight!"
" Yes I already know," Ace replied boredly. " He is apparently an old associate of my mother's before she met my father." He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. " I also could care less about some old shit bag and his friends. He'll probably just bring a bunch of ugly old men."
" We-"
" AAAAAACE!"
Ace looked up to see a black blob rush towards him, barreling into him. " Luffy." He said gently, placing a hand on top of the blob's head. The blob turned out to be a fifteen year old boy with short black hair and black eyes with a scar underneath his left eye.
" HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ACE!" Luffy said cheerfully.
" How are you, little brother?" Ace said, ruffling the boy's hair softly.
" Good! Did you hear the news?"
" What news?"
" Whitebeard just arrived! He brought all his Commanders too!"
" All sixteen?"
" Fifteen, Ace." The pink haired girl said coolly. " The Second Division has been without a commander for about fifteen years now."
" And they brought a girl with them!" Luffy said excitedly. " Maybe she's the new commander!"
" A girl?" Ace asked sounding mildly interested.
" Yeah! A human girl!"
" Then she's definitely not a commander," The girl said again. " Whitebeard would never allow a human to commander one of his divisions."
" Nuh-uh, Giselle!" Luffy said hurriedly. " Robin told me that the former commander was a human."
" I heard he was brutally murdered by the Hunters for aiding Whitebeard too." The girl, Giselle, said sadistically.
" If that were true, then Whitebeard would have annihilated the whole Order." Ace said taking a sip of wine calmly. " He wouldn't have taken a insult like the murder of one of his commander's lightly."
" But I wonder why he brought this human girl here tonight!"
" Who cares?" Giselle said. " She's probably just a bite junkie."
" A what?"
" A bite junkie is a non-supernatural that is addicted to getting bitten by a vampire." Ace said boredly. " Nine times out of ten it's usually a human female."
" Oh…this girl didn't look like one of those." Luffy said innocently.
" They rarely do." Giselle said rudely.
" From what I've heard of Whitebeard, he'd never stoop so low as to feed off an addict or bring one here. He'd never insult my mother like that."
" Then I wonder why she's here." Luffy said curiously as a pair of black wolf like ears and a shaggy black tail appeared randomly.
" Luffy," Ace said grinning over at his younger brother. " You're ears and tail are out again."
" Oh!" Luffy said hurriedly, making a thinking face. Ace had never seen someone make thinking look as hard as his little brother was doing now. Finally his ears and tail disappeared.
" Who cares about the human anyway." Giselle said rudely. " If she's not an addict then she's probably just Whitebeard's snack for later. I heard he has a taste for young girls."
" I wouldn't let any of his commanders hear you say that." Ace said. " They may kill you for that insult."
" Come on, Ace!" Luffy said eagerly as he grabbed his brother's arm. " Let's go see Whitebeard! He's a freaking giant!"
" Fine, let's go." Ace said calmly, allowing his brother to pull him away. As he left he caught the faintest hint of peaches in the air.
" Ai, don't wander off." Marco said calmly, watching the small blunette beside him. " Polite invitation from Miss Rouge or not, we're still in Pops' rivals territory, we still have to be on our guards."
" Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ai said eagerly, her eyes lit up in excitement as she looked around at the low lights and decorations. " Stop being such a worry wart, Marco! It's supposed to be a party."
" We can't let our guard down. Especially with you here."
" Me?"
" As a human someone could grab you to use you to get to Pops."
" If you were so worried I get snatched up why didn't you just leave me home?"
" You're not a prisoner for us to lock up in a tower, little sister." Marco said ruffling her hair gently. " We just want you to be safe."
" I'm fine, you won't be if Izo sees you messing with my hair, though." Ai said brushing his hand away. " He tied me to a chair for three hours trying to get it right."
Marco laughed calmly. " I'm not afraid of Izo." His eyes softened slightly as he looked at her. She looked beautiful in the dark green gown with flowing sleeves, her blue curls pulled up into a waterfall braid, cascading down over her right shoulder. She had small emeralds hanging around her neck and from her ears. Soft pink lipstick lined her mouth pleasingly.
Memories flooded his mind suddenly of a small rosy chubby cheeked baby girl in a small pink dress crawling across the floor. As a vampire he very rarely paid attention to the lifespans of humans, but when his late brother Alduin had died suddenly, leaving a small pink babe orphaned it changed him somehow.
Time that normal drudged dully by was suddenly filled with happiness and wonder as he saw this tiny being become excited by each new experience. He found himself falling for the tiny human who reached for him without any sign of fear in her round green eyes. How she'd fall asleep effortlessly in his arms.
Now she stood before him, sixteen and well into her marrying age. Marco found himself thinking of the kind of man his baby sister would marry. He did not know what kind of man she preferred, she had never really mentioned it. The only time she ever mentioned marriage was to say that it wasn't something she'd ever pictured for herself.
However, Marco knew one thing. If the man she married harmed him little blue ball of excitement…he'd make a new rope for his father's ship with the man's intestines. " Ai…"
" Yes?" Ai asked looking up at him curiously.
" Don't drink any of the wine here either." Marco said firmly. " It's made from human blood, it will make you sick."
" Alright, can I please go explore?" Ai asked sticking her bottom lip out into a pout. " I'll behave, I promise."
" Fine…" Marco said finally as he felt himself give way to the face none of his brothers could withstand for long. " Be careful and keep your guard up."
" Understood!"
" Marco!" The blonde jumped at the sound of a cheery voice. He and Ai looked over to see a happy strawberry blonde woman bouncing over to them. Freckles adorned her pale cheeks as she beamed happily at them. She wore a long lavender gown, her hair styled lightly into a soft braid.
" Miss Rouge." Marco said politely taking her hand and kissing it; grabbing Ai's wrist quickly, he prevented her from escaping and leaving him alone with the woman. " It's a pleasure to see you again."
" It's wonderful to see you again as well, Marco!" The woman said happily. " Who is this lovely young lady with you?"
" This is my younger sister Ai." Marco said calmly, placing a gentle hand around Ai's shoulders. " Ai, this is our hostess, Lady Rouge."
" It's such a pleasure to meet you, Ai!" Rouge said happily, pulling Ai into a warm embrace. " I'm very happy that you were able to come to the party!"
" Thank you very much for inviting us, Lady Rouge." Ai said stiffly, unsure how she should feel with the Bride of her father's rival embracing her like this.
" Of course! Of course! Edward is a dear old friend of mine!" Rouge said happily.
" He is?" Ai said curiously. She had heard stories that her father knew the Queen of the Vampires but she hadn't paid much attention to it. Her father knew a lot of people, it comes with the territory of living for a thousand of years.
" Yes! Yes, he is! Yet he's never told me he had such an adorable daughter!" Rouge said hugging Ai again. A blush came to the blunette's face. She had often heard her brothers call her cute but like a lot of things they said she never gave it much thought. " You are truly an adorable child!"
" U-Um, thank you, I think?" Ai said nervously, her hair slightly muffled.
" Have you had a chance to meet my husband?" Rouge said helping to fix Ai's hair motheringly. Ai felt the blush on her cheeks grow darker as the woman fussed over her. She'd never had a mother while growing up and didn't really know what it was like to have one…mother her. Granted Thatch and Izo would mother hen her growing up but when Rouge did it it felt different.
" No, we haven't had a chance to see your husband tonight, Lady Rouge." Marco said stiffly at the mention of the Vampire King.
" Oh pity, he's around here somewhere. Gods only know what he's doing." Rouge said snuggling Ai again. " Come, I want you to meet my son!"
" Son?" Ai said curiously.
" Yes! He's about your age, maybe a little older then you. It's his birthday today and this party is for him!"
" Oh…a-alright?" Ai said looking to Marco for reassurance.
" Go ahead but be careful." He said eyeing the vampire queen nervously. From what Pops had said of her she was a kind woman who remained neutral in the conflicts between her husband and Pops. She would never purposely do anything to cause strife. Especially not here in her own home.
" Come dear! I'm sure you'll love meeting him!" Rouge said pulling Ai eagerly through the crowd. " He may seem a bit gruff but he really is a sweet boy! I believe his brothers, Luffy and Sabo, are here as well!"
" His brothers?"
" Yes, when he was little he and his two best friends were so close that we just started to refer to them as brothers. They were almost inseparable."
" Oh."
" Those boys are so sweet, especially Little Luffy. Sweetest little werewolf I've ever met!"
" Werewolf?"
" Yes, have you ever met one before?" Rouge said smiling over at Ai. " They're normally rather bristly but Luffy is such a lovable wolf!"
" Really?" Ai asked curiously. She had never met a male wolf before. She knew of three female wolves, the Boa sisters, they were like family to her.
" Just wait until you-oh Ace! Baby! There you are!" Rouge said eagerly waving to a dark haired teen boy with freckles, matching Lady Rouge's perfectly. Pulling Ai along excitedly, Rouge hurried over to him and two other teen boys. One was a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair and a burn scar over his left eye and a short black haired teen with a scar underneath his left eye.
" Miss Rouge!" The short teen said excitedly, rushing to her and hugging her tightly.
" Luffy, darling!" Rouge said snuggling the boy happily. " How are you, dear?"
" I'm awesome! Guess what! I saw Whitebeard earlier!"
" I know, I saw Edward earlier myself!"
" He such a giant! Why is he called Whitebeard when he doesn't have a beard?" Ai had to bite back a laugh, she had never thought about that before. He father didn't have a beard, a fancy mustache but no beard.
" Well hello there, lovely miss." Ai looked up to see the blonde smiling down at her. Taking her hand lightly in his, he placed a gentle kiss on it, never once taking his eyes off hers. " My name is Sabo and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
" Hello," Ai said smiling over at him. " My name is Ai."
" This is Edward's youngest!" Rouge said happily. " Ai this is Sabo," she gestured to the blonde lightly. " And Luffy," she gestured to the short black haired boy.
" Hey! You're the girl I saw with Whitebeard earlier!" Luffy said eagerly. " I told you she was real, Sabo!"
" I never doubted you, Luff."
" Yes you did!"
" Will you two be quiet." The third teen said sharply. He was about a foot taller then Ai, muscular built with broad shoulders. He had shaggy black hair and even blacker eyes. When he locked those eyes with her's, Ai felt tight clench in her chest as heat rose into her cheeks.
" Ai…this is my son," Rouge said happily. " Ace."
" H-Hello," Ai said shyly, feeling her heart begin to flutter. What was wrong with her? She'd never felt this way around a man before. Granted all the men she had been around were either her father or her brothers. She extended her hand outward towards him shakily.
Ace stared down at the small blunette before him with interest. He had never seen a female look as fragile as this one did. With one good flick of his wrist he could break her in half. He didn't know why but he could feel an unknown hunger begin to surge through his body as he stared at her. Noticing the distinctive throb of the vein in her neck, it sent heat rushing through his body.
" Um…" Ai said nervously as the boy just stared at her. Noticing the tinge of hunger in his eyes, Ai began to feel uncomfortable.
" Ace! Don't be rude!" Rouge said angrily. " I didn't raise you to be rude when a lady greets you!" Ace never once took his eyes off the blunette as he extended his hand out to touch hers. Grasping it gently in his he shook it, this motion caused him to catch a whiff of her scent, the familiar one he had caught earlier, peaches.
Ace felt his eyes dilate quickly as he pulled her firmly against him. Wrapping one arm securely around her waist he caught her chin lightly with his free hand, tilting her stunned face upwards. He grinned hungrily down at her.
" Mine." He growled eagerly before dipping his head to catch her lips.
