Title: Of Dreams and Desires
Pairings: Smoker x Ace, Sanji x Zoro, and other side pairings
Ratings: T - NC-17
Chapter: 10 of ?
Summary: Interesting First Encounter…
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this story; all props go to Eiichiro Oda.
Author Note: I understand the story skips around a little, it all seems to flow to me but then again I'm the one writing it so if at any point in time any of you guys get lost just throw me a PM or Review and I'll do my best to explain.
Beta Reader: descriptionsalive21, thank you so much!
Chūjitsuna Tashigi
Tashigi exited Nanohana, her feet sinking into the hot sand as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She'd gotten word from one of the scouts that pirates had been spotted just a little ways out of the city and–after informing her units that she wouldn't be in the area and for them to report to her if they spotted the Straw Hats–Tashigi gathered all of her equipment and ventured into the desert. She walked until she was a good distance away from the city before spotting a worn-down bar. It's incredibly odd for a bar to be this far away from the city. Tashigi thought as she hesitantly walked to the dilapidated building, stopping to glance at the motorbike parked in front of the bar before she continued up the rotten steps into the facility.
When she entered, the overwhelming stench of dust and mold hit her senses causing her to sneeze, drawing the attention of the three individuals in the room. The questioning looks made her uncomfortable but remembering her position in the Marines, Tashigi straightened her back and proceeded to walk to the counter where a male was cleaning out some glasses with a dirty cloth.
Noticing her presence, the man put the towel down and addressed her. "What can I do ya for, Darling?"
Tashigi clutched the weapon at her side, replying, "No drink, I'm on duty. I am curious though, why is this bar so far out from the city?"
The slim flamboyant man picked up another glass and used the same dirty towel to wipe the sides of it. "It's a good pit stop location. Honey, we got bounty hunters who live in the desert. Those boys need a refreshing drink traveling to and from the city."
The reason made sense to Tashigi so she nodded in understanding.
"Now, there anything else I can answer for you, Love?"
Feeling her glasses slide down her face, Tashigi pushed them up the bridge of her nose before inquiring, "Bounty hunters you say, can you tell me where I can find one?"
A bony finger pointed to the corner of the bar where a man was sitting, sipping at his drink while he poured over the information on the papers in front of him. Giving her thanks, Tashigi advanced towards the bandana wearing man and upon reaching his table she cleared her throat to get his attention. The dusty man muttered to himself, placing a finger on the paper to hold his spot before looking up at the woman standing in front of his table.
He took his glasses off and smiled at the raven beauty. "Ma'am, what can I help you with?"
"May I?" She gestured to the unoccupied seat across from him.
He nodded his head, watching the woman in the floral shirt take a seat and he let her settle in before he spoke, "Do you mind if I ask you your name?"
"Forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Tashigi, and yours?"
He leaned back in his chair and threaded his fingers over his stomach. "I'm a bounty hunter, name's Scorpion. I take it you're here for something?"
The Marine bobbed her head in confirmation. "I was wondering if you had any intel on pirates in the area."
He sat up a little straighter in his chair at the mention of pirates and the possibility of money. "Depends–what pirate you looking for?"
She patted her front pocket then sighed and pushed some of her hair away from her eyes. "I don't have any of their bounties on me at the moment," she eyed the stack of bounties sprawled out on the table, "but I do know of their crew name. Does the name, 'Straw Hat Pirates' ring any bells?"
Scorpion stroked his brown chin hair in thought. "Hmm, never heard of them before."
Tashigi suppressed a sigh and said, "Right well, thank you for your cooperation."
Just as she stood a thick gloved hand captured her wrist. "Wait a moment."
She raised her eyebrow, a habit she got from her captain, and glanced down at the hand wrapped around her wrist. Sensing he had over stepped his bounds, Scorpion let the wrist fall from his grasp.
"What do you need, hunter?" She questioned.
Sensing his opportunity, the bounty hunter shifted through the papers on the table, whispering an "Aha!" when he found the bounty he was looking for. "This man," he slid the paper to Tashigi, "have you seen him around the city?"
Tashigi studied the picture, sorting through her mental filing cabinet to see if she'd seen the man in the photo before, humming to herself quietly as she read the bounty.
Portgas D. Ace, it said, Whitebeard Second Division Commander, currently worth 550,000,000 beli turned in dead or alive.
Tashigi handed the bounty back to Scorpion and apologized, "Sorry, I've not seen that man before."
Scorpion let out a disappointed groan and took the paper from the woman before he drowned the rest of his whiskey. "He's most noticeable by the tattoo on his back. He's got Whitebeard's Jolly Roger inked on him, stupid boy. If you see him–"
The ringing of Tashigi's baby mushi interrupted Scorpion mid-sentence and she pulled the snail from her pocket, saying, "Thank you for your information, but I must take my leave now."
She was gone out the front door of the bar before the hunter could stop her and he cursed under his breath. "Dammit, I need Portgas."
C.T
Once outside, Tashigi pressed the button on the side of the snail to answer the call and immediately the snail began to pant, sweat running down its small body. "Tashigi-sama, there are sightings of Mugiwara Luffy!"
Running back in the direction of the city, the petty officer asked, "Where is Captain Smoker?"
"He-" there was a sound of a crash and the mushi vibrated in her hand. It was quiet for a moment before the snail came back to life huffing and puffing, "Captain Smoker is currently in pursuit!"
Tashigi made it to the city of Nanohana, pushing her way through citizens. "I'm on my way. Command the surrounding units to keep a look out for Captain Smoker and Straw Hat. If they see them they have permission to assist but under no circumstances are they to get in the way of Smoker-san."
There was a "Ma'am!" shouted from the caller before the snail went back to sleep, signaling the end of the call.
Tashigi ran blindly through the city for what seemed like an eternity, unsure as to which direction she should take. It wasn't until her eyes fixate on a mass of smoke that rose from the northeast part of town did she know where she was supposed to be going. The master chief petty officer stopped in amazement at the size of the smoke cloud before she noticed the fire that intermingled with it. She knew instantly her captain was fighting another devil user, for there was no way any ordinary fire could stand on the same grounds as Smoker-san's Moku Moku no Mi. Tashigi's feet instinctively began moving her to the front lines of the battle.
"Tashigi-sama," a Marine said as he fell in step beside her. "Captain Smoker's just ahead fighting an unknown pirate."
She jerked her head, eyes cutting over to the solider. "Order all units to surround the area and the port. We can't let the Straw Hats get away again."
The solider saluted mid-run, then broke off to sprint down an alley. Tashigi looked to the sky to see if she was closing in on the fighting men, but sometime during her conversation with her subordinate the smoke cloud had dissipated. She clicked her tongue before sliding to a stop in the middle of a unit of Marines. Her black eyes surveyed the area to find Smoker and the pirate, but seeing no one she barked at the Marines. "What are you standing here for?! Where is Captain Smoker?!"
They all stood to attention at hearing the voice of their superior. "Ma'am! He and the pirate both vanished when the smoke cleared. We think they both used their devil's ability to move away from the scene. We have no idea which way they went," one of them explained.
Tashigi gripped her katana tightly, gritting her teeth. "Do you think you should just be standing here?! Spread out and find them! Report in as soon as you have any information on their whereabouts."
"Ma'am!" was the uniformed reply before the soldiers dispersed from the area.
Tashigi started her search in all the surrounding wide open areas. If there were two devils fighting, the battlefield would need to be big enough to accommodate both of them, but Tashigi soon began to worry after she'd searched all possible locations and hadn't found the pair. It wasn't that Smoker couldn't handle himself, but what if he were injured?
She decided not to think about it and condensed her search to smaller fields, but unfortunately for her, it yielded the same results, forcing her to search down alleyways. It had been twenty minutes since the officer had started her search for her captain with no avail and she pulled out her mushi to check in with her unit. "Has anyone found anything?"
A few negative responses came out of the snail.
"Have a few men return to the ship, alert me if Captain Smoker returns."
Tashigi turned off communication with her crew as she continued her search. It was when she was about to give up when she heard a groan coming down one of the alleys. She skidded to a stop and pressed her back to the wall so she could stay out of sight, breathing in deep and slow to control her painting, hoping to gain the upper hand on whomever was in the alley. She peeked around the corner and what she saw was the last thing she was expecting. The sight made her covered her mouth with her hand so the surprised gasp wouldn't escape.
There, on the wall of a dirty alley, was her captain, lips locked with another man. She could only assume it was the pirate he'd been fighting earlier because the man didn't wear Marine or typical citizen clothing. She leaned in a little bit more from her hiding spot to get a better look at the situation. Her face reddened and her glasses slid down her face when another moan bounced off the surrounding buildings. She froze as they broke apart, both panting to get air.
"What happen to your code as a Marine?" The hatted male jested.
Smoker glared at him and fought to free himself from the hold he'd been put in. Seeing him struggle, Tashigi took a step forward to move in and assist, but she stopped upon hearing his reply. "My code still stands, Portgas, get off me now."
Portgas? She's damn sure that she'd heard that name before.
Scorpion slid the bounty across the table. "Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. The boy's got a bounty of 550,000,000 so far."
A hiss pulled Tashigi's attention back to the men pressed together in the alleyway and she noticed it was her captain that produced such a sound. She watched on as Ace kissed Smoker while using the hand that wasn't holding her captain to the wall to grasp the front of Smoker's pants, earning another grunt. There was a shuffle and she watched as Smoker reversed their position. Now with the pirate pinned against the wall, he rocked his hips against the body below. His actions drew a muffled moan from Portgas as he broke the kiss, groaning loudly as he threw his head back, hitting the wall with a thump.
Tashigi felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest and heat pooling between her legs as she watched the erotic, slow rhythmic grinding between the men. She knew she should turn away, but the sight was beyond captivating and she had never seen Smoker this open before.
It wasn't long before the sounds of their pleasure became more frequent, growing in volume and Ace pulled Smoker into a kiss as he reached his climax. Smoker moaned, humping against the other before he found his own release and they clung to each other until they came down from their orgasmic highs.
Ace pecked the older man on the lips softly. "Shit, we have to do that again," he chuckled and took his hat off to fan his heated face.
Smoker jerked back, causing the younger male to stumble before regaining his footing. "There won't be a next time, pirate. And if I find you again I'm taking you in."
Ace grinned and reached out to run his fingers through the fur on Smoker's jacket. "Oh, I hope you can take all of me in."
Red eyes glared at the tan man before Tensa knocked the wondering hands away from his person. "I'm serious, Portgas," he said as he took one last look at the pirate before stalking off down the alley.
"Whatever you say, Baby," Ace sung as he adjusted himself in his pants, making his way down a different alley.
It was only then that Tashigi pulled herself away from her hiding spot. Unsure as to what to do, she made her way back to the harbor, hoping for the first time ever that she wouldn't run into her captain. She just couldn't believe he was involved with a pirate, or becoming involved with one.
He'd always hated pirates though, right? Absolute Justice was rule, how does this fit into absolute justice?
So engrossed in her thoughts, Tashigi didn't notice there was anything in front of her until she bumped into something solid and she glanced up to see none other than her captain. He didn't look like he just had a quick fuck in an alleyway–if anything he looked a little apprehensive.
"You should pay attention to where you're going, Tashigi," he commented as smoke escaped through his lips.
She chuckled nervously, adjusting her falling glasses back on to the bridge of her nose. "Of course, sir."
"Report."
"Sir, we haven't found the Straw Hat pirates, but I've ordered the units to continue their search."
Smoker let out a deep sigh before pulling out his mushi. "All men fall back to the ship, we'll resume our search tomorrow. You all did good, rest now." He cut the connection and started to walk back towards his ship before noticing his right hand wasn't walking with him. "Are you coming, Tashigi?"
The dumbfounded woman jumped a bit before catching up to Smoker. Perhaps a more relaxed Smoker won't be so bad.
Tashigi's spying on people. She should be ashamed of herself lol. I hope you all enjoyed it. R & R. Stay in tune for next chapter: Noir Sanji - Huredhiel