Author: woooo new chapter! Enjoy!
WHAM!
" COLD!"
Ai grinned as a well aimed snowball slapped into the back of Nami's head. Ai burst out laughing as she saw the red head begin to dance around as some snow slipped down into her coat, causing her to squeal loudly. Ai began to laugh so hard that she fell over, clutching at her sides.
" AI, STOP!" Koala said as she began to laugh herself. " SHE'S GONNA KILL US!"
" I can't help it!" Ai laughed. " Her face was to priceless!"
" AI!"
" Uh-oh!" Koala gasped at the sound of the angry red head. " You should probably run!"
" Maybe….but I've never run from a fight before in my life." Ai said, skillfully dodging her angered friend.
" THIS IS WAR, AI!" Name snapped, forming several snowballs.
" BRING IT ON, NAMI!" Ai sassed beginning to form her own arsenal. Gathering them up in her arms, she dodged another well aimed attack and ducked behind the treelike, stealthily sneaking around to retaliate.
" WHERE DID YOU GO, AI?!"
" Yeah, like…she's gonna answer."
WHAM!
" COLD!"
It was all Ai could do to stifle a laugh at the sound of her friends beginning a snowball war. A grin spread quickly across her face as she looked around the surrounding wooded area.
It was then that she noticed how the snow glistened prettily on the trees and surrounding hills. She had been there about six weeks and she had barely been able to explore much of the grounds. She had mainly just spent time in the Queen's garden and in her bedroom.
However…now that she was out here she was starting to appreciate just how beautiful this place was. Her father's castle was near the seaside. Everyday she felt the warm salt air wafting towards her. Everyday she saw the sun glistening peacefully on the mostly still waters.
Yet, here at ace's father's home was very, very different. The castle was surrounded by thousands, upon thousands of wooded acres and the gardens that the Queen had were absolutely stunning, including the one the King had gifted her with.
Ai could tell that it was the Queen's favorite. She could tell it by all the work and dedication the Queen gave it. How it was only her that was allowed to tend to it and how she made it look more and more beautiful each time she tended to it. It truly showed how much she loved it and the King.
A small smile formed across her face as she thought of the present Ace had given her Selene, the wonderful little black ball of excitement and joy. The amount of happiness the small kitten brought her was unmeasurable.
It warmed her heart to know that ace had taken such wonderful care of her, nursing her back to health. He may seem like a very gruff and stoic but deep down inside he had a warm and caring heart. She knew he was very kind to her and others that he cared about.
With that knowledge it made her own heart warm. Her smile grew larger at the memory they both shared from a few nights ago. The one when he had given her little Selene and the time they had spent talking to each other and learning about one another.
She smiled at the fact of how much he had changed in the short amount of time she had known him. Out of the corner of her eye, Ai spotted a new target and rolled over, creeping along stealthily. Her dark haired large was so open and unsuspecting that she almost felt bad…almost.
Lifting her arm, she aimed her ammo steadily and prepared to fire.
" What are you doing?"
Ai screamed at the sound of Ace's gruff voice and the of a pair of strong arms wrap securely around her waist, pulling her against a rock solid chest. She blinked, wide eyed at the now empty spot where her target in disbelief. She knew vampires were fast but somehow Ace was faster.
" I'll ask you again," Ai stiffened as ace leaven over and whispered in her ear teasingly. His warm breath sending chills down her spine and the fell of him so close caused goosebumps to run up and down her arms. " What are you doing?"
" N-Nothing." Ai said quickly, spinning in his arms only to find herself instantly pressed against his strong chest, his face only inches away from her own.
" And the guilty look on your face would be from?"
" Uuuuh…" Ai felt her face redden as his moved closer, their lips almost centimeters apart.
" Ammo for my assault on Nami!"
WHAM!
" COLD!"
" REVENGE!"
Ai started jumping up and down as snow slid down into her coat. " COLD! COLD! COLD!" She felt heat flood her face again as she heard Ace's deep laugh. " WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!"
" You." Ace replied, enjoying the anger that flashed in the blunette's eyes.
" Oh yeah?"
WHAM!
" TAKE THAT, BUTTHEAD!" Ai snapped as the snowball she found it's way to Ace's face.
" Really?" Ace said, a vein twitching in his temple. " Butthead?"
" That's what you are for laughing at me!"
" Oh yeah-"
WHAM!
Ai's eyes went wide as another snowball, not launched by her, collided with the back of Ace's head. Laughter rang out from behind Ace. Looking behind him, Ai saw Luffy and Sabo on the ground, clutching their sides, rearing with laughter.
" Jackasses." Ace grumbled, gathering a massive amount of snow into his arms. As quickly and carefully as he could, he formed as many snowballs as possible. " Get behind me." He said coolly over his shoulder at her.
Quickly obliging his request, Ai watching as Ace began to pummel his brothers with snowballs with amazing accuracy.
" AH!" Luffy's surprised yelps wrong out. " ACE! YOU JERK!"
" ASS!" Sabo said quickly dodging his brother's assault and gathering his own ammo. " YOU'RE GOING DOWN, LITTLE BROTHER!"
" LITTLE BROTHER!" Sabo yelled. " I'M OLDER THAN YOU!"
" NO YOU'RE NOT!
" YES I AM!"
" NU-"
WHAP!
Ace blinked in surprise as a snowball collided directly with Sabo's face. Turning, he saw Ai forming another snowball.
" What?" She asked innocently.
" Really?"
" What?"
" I could have handled that on my own."
" Really? Cause it looked like you were just having a childish argument."
" Childish!" Ace gapped. " That was an important argument!"
" It's about age! Who cares!"
" It's about Sabo being wr-"
WHAP!
Ace felt another snowball collide with the side of his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of yellow and then Ai was gone. " SHIT!" He yelled, searching the surrounding area for the small blunette. " AI!"
" PUT ME DOWN!"
Ace's head shot up quickly to see Ai squirming in the arms of a teen boy with short blonde hair that hung down, covering his left eye. His visible right eye was black and he had a distinctive curly eyebrow. A cigar hanging from his mouth. The look of complete annoyance on her face brought an amused smirk to his face.
" Oh sweet and beautiful lady, please tell me that you were not injured by that wayward snowball?"
" PUT ME DOWN!"
" SANJI! PUT HER DOWN!" Ace yelled, his smirk growing larger at the sight.
" Why would I ever set such a delicate flower down when she could possibly be harmed?"
" Because whatever you're smoking is suffocating me!" Ai snapped, squirming more. " ACE! GET ME DOWN!"
" I would but I'm down here being childish."
Ai felt anger surge through her. That stupid jackass! She thought squirming more. She didn't like being touched by people she didn't know and he knew that. Yet here he was letting someone she didn't know touch her…and he was enjoying her discomfort.
" OBVIOUSLY!"
SCHLING!
Ai's eyes went wide at the sound of several swords being unsheathed at once. " Oi, shitty cook, the Princess said she wants let down. So set her down." Peaking behind him, Ai saw a tall teen boy with short green hair and black eyes standing there. Two swords, one in each hand, were pointed at Sanji's back, a third strapped to his left hip.
" Zoro, watch where those are pointed." Ace called from the treeline.
" No one asked for your input, Moss Head!" Sanji snapped. " Oh dear beautiful lady, you are the famous princess that I've had so many things about."
" PUT ME DOWN!"
" I fear I cannot do that, sweet princess! What if you were to be injured by a stray snowball?"
" She said put her down, Pervy Cook."
" Stay out of this, Cucumber Head!"
SCHWING!
" WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SWINGING THAT SWORD, JACKASS!" Ai yelled as Zoro swung one of his swords towards Sanji, who simply blocked it with one of his heavy black boots.
" YOU MORON! YOU COULD HAVE HIT THE PRINCESS!"
" SHUT UP, SHITTY COOK! I WAS AIMING FOR YOU! I WASN'T GOING TO HIT HER!"
" HEY IDIOTS!" Ace yelled, quickly becoming uneasy with Ai being in the middle of their fight. Not that he didn't trust Zoro's swing or Sanji's ability to block, but accidents happened and he didn't want to chance her safety. " IF YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT THEN PUT HER DOWN FIRST!
" OH, NOW YOU CARE!"
" CALM DOWN, WOMAN! YOU'RE FINE!"
" JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET DOWN THERE, YOU FRECKLED FACED JACKASS!"
" WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"
" YOU HEARD ME!"
" FINE! STAY UP THERE, FOR ALL I GIVE A SHIT!"
" PISS OFF!" Ai yelled, grabbing a nearby pinecone and hurling it at Ace, hitting him square in the face.
" Well this escalated rather quickly." Koala said, sitting down beside Sabo. " How did this end up in pinecones getting thrown?"
" Ace is an idiot."
" Obviously, but why this time?"
" She hit me with a snowball while I was having a very important conversation with ace and he went all: I can handle this myself, little woman like you should just stay out of this."
" Ah, so you both deserved it."
" I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking."
" Oh poor baby," Koala said snuggling against her Groom. " Wow, Ai's really got a good throwing arm…and good at throwing pinecones."
" You'd think Ace would just dodge already." Sabo said coolly, wrapping his arm snuggly around her.
" I think he likes it."
" Like he's into that hitting thing? Weirdo!"
" I HEARD THAT! OUCH! WOULD YOU STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME, WOMAN!"
" JACKASS!"
" SANJI! PUT AI DOWN, RIGHT NOW! ZORO! PUT YOUR SWORDS AWAY, DAMN IT!"
" OF COURSE, NAMI-SWAN!"
" STAY OUT OF THIS, NAMI!"
" YOU WILL SPEAK TO NAMI WITH RESPECT, MOSS HEAD!"
" PISS OFF, SHITTY COOK!"
" EEP!" Ai heard an alarmed squeak escape from her mouth as she felt a delicate set of hands lift her up and out of Sanji's arms. Looking down she saw several pairs of hands connected and leading downwards to the ground.
As she was lowered slowly to the ground a hand would disappear and flower petals would flutter around gently in the wind. Ai caught sight of Robin smiling sympathetically over at her.
" See, you're perfectly fine." Ace said in annoyance, arms crossed. " So no need to be-"
SLAP!
" Ouch," Sabo said, flinching slightly. " That looked like it hurt."
" That sounded like hurt." Robin stated calmly, wincing slightly.
Ace blinked in surprise as a red whelt in the shape of a small hand print appeared on his left cheek. Glancing in the direction the strike had come from he saw a look coming from the small blunette that if looks could kill, he would be worm chow.
" JACKASS!" She growled before whirling around and storming off, back towards the castle.
" OOOOh, you're in trouble now, Ace!" Sabo laughed.
" As well, you should be!" Nami snapped from where she stood. " Just what about that was so funny?"
" Not now, N-"
" Oh no! You listen to me, Ace!" Name interrupted, her tone making Ace jump. " YOU KNOW SHE HATES BEING TOUCHED BY PEOPLE SHE DOESN'T KNOW! YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME SOME GUY SHE DIDN'T KNOW TOUCHED HER!"
" What's that supposed to mean?"
" It mean's she's been stuck looking at your piss-face for the past six weeks."
" SHUT UP, SABO!"
" Um…question…" Koala said quickly, breaking the tension. " Where's Luffy?"
