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Chapter warnings in end notes.
EAST BLUE
"Good job Skull that looks great!" Ace shouted up to Skull who was finishing up on painting our new jolly roger on the main sail.
"Thanks Captain, glad you like it! Now that the sail is done I can start on the actual flag." He said back while climbing down from the rigging.
"Sounds great man thanks! Also Air what's for lunch?" He said after turning to me.
"Since when am I the cook?" I asked in an extremely confused voice.
When did I tell him that I can cook? Did I ever tell him that? Why would I have told him that?
"Since you're the only girl! So obviously you are the best cook here."
Excuse me?
"That statement is problematic in so many different ways." I said in a highly unimpressed voice.
"Does that mean you won't make lunch?" Ace said while his face crumbled in a frown. He actually looked a little heart broken.
Damn it.
"Ugh, fine I'll go make something. But don't complain if you don't like it." After I said that I turned to go down in the galley to try and make something for lunch.
As I said I'm by no means a chef but that doesn't mean that I can't feed myself and a few others. But this is not going to be my new role! I am not a chef!
A little while later I had finished making a batch of rather basic fried rice when the boys came into the galley. Skull sat down while Ace came over to help me carry a few things out to the table.
When Ace came over to me I said, "Oh by the way Ace I noticed that you put your bag down in the crew quarters. Was there a reason?"
"I just don't really want to sleep in a room by myself. Never really done that before." He said with a slight blush while putting the rice down on the table and sitting down. "But you can have the captain's quarters if you want." He added.
"Is that your way of offering for me to be captain?"
"No! I just offered you the room!" He shouted.
"Fine, fine, no need to get testy. But you'll probably want your own space when our crew fills out more and I don't want to have to move all my stuff so I'll just take the first mate's quarters." I said with my hands raised as I went back to the kitchen to grab some glasses and a pitcher of water.
"That works. Is your stuff already in there?" He asked.
"You say that like I currently own more than the clothes on my back." I said as I walked back into the main room.
"I thought you bought more stuff back on that last island?" Ace said while piling rice into his bowl.
"Well since you were basically broke I only bought a few essentials." I said from my seat across from Skull. The fact that it was next to Ace didn't even cross my mind in the slightest.
"But you spent over half my money!" He said while looking at me in disbelief.
"That's not my fault! And besides I already paid you back 10 times over with this ship."
"Skull and I took the ship!"
"But you wouldn't have if I hadn't told you to!"
"So? You didn't even help us fight!"
"I would have if the fight hadn't been finished by the time I got to the ship. I tried to strategize with you guys but you ran off before I could. So really my non-involvement is your fault."
"That's not how this works! As captain you are supposed to follow me into fights."
"Which I did. I'm on the ship aren't I?"
"I mean yea but you didn't actually fight!"
"Oh my gosh, would you please stop splitting hairs?"
Whatever Ace was about to say in response was cut off my Skull saying, "So uh how long have you too been together?" Ace and I both froze at that. That was also when I noticed just how close Ace and I were now sitting to one another. If either of us had moved forward another inch then we would have been in a truly embarrassing situation. As soon as I noticed this I jumped back before tuning to Skull.
"What do you mean?" I asked while trying to hide the awkwardness in my voice with a smile.
"Just that you guys are obviously a thing. I mean you guys argue like an old married couple." Skull said while casually eating his rice. I felt my face heat up when he said that.
He thinks Ace and I are together? Like TOGETHER TOGETHER. We most definitely are not, not that I would mind if we were but wait what? STOP THAT ARI! Yes he is ridiculously hot and a really good fighter but so what! You do NOT like this guy! You don't even KNOW this guy! Ok stop blushing! Stop blushing damn it! Why can't I stop! Ugh why is it so hot in here!
"AH you're on fire!" I shouted at Ace.
Ace jumped when I said that before he started slapping his arms to put out the flames. His face and neck were both very red, which made sense considering that he was still on fire. He got most of them out before stammering out, "W-why would you ask something like that Skull? Ha, obviously me and Ari are just friends right?" He said while laughing awkwardly.
"Right of course. We've only known each other for a few days so there is no possible way that we could even be interested in each other like THAT." I said.
"Wait none at all?" Ace said with wide eyes.
"Ace! We met like 2 weeks ago!"
So obviously we couldn't like each other like that! Obviously!
"Right, right, of course not. Exactly. ANYWAYS! Skull I saw you looking at some maps earlier. Do you have an idea of where we should go now!" Ace said in a loud voice that was screaming of desperation to change the subject.
"That's up to you Captain. Where do you want to go?" Skull said as if Ace hadn't just changed the subject in the most awkward and forced way possible.
"Well obviously the Grand Line." Ace said as his blush died down. It seemed like he had mostly recovered from Skull's question.
"And we obviously are not ready for that." I said before taking a bite of my rice.
Huh, not the worst thing ever but it could definitely be better.
"Then what do we need to be ready?" Ace asked.
"Well more crew members for a start, and it would be best if you two get stronger. You're strong right now but not strong enough to get very far in the Grand Line."
"You say that like you don't need to get stronger. But you don't look like you are any older than I am. How old are you anyways?" Ace asked.
"I'll be 17 in March if you must know. But I don't really need to get stronger for Paradise. I mean I can obviously GET stronger but I don't need to in order to get through Paradise." I said.
"Well that's conceited of you." Skull said from across the table.
"Not really, I just know my strengths and honestly if I can get by in the New World on my own then I'm confident that I can handle anything that Paradise can throw at me."
"Why do you keep saying Paradise that that means something?" Ace said.
"You don't know the names for the halves of the Grand Line? Well Paradise is what people call the first half of it when they are in the New World, which is the second half. I've spent most of my sailing time in the New World so I never really thought about calling the first half Paradise."
"Wait you've been to the New World? How?" Skull sounded surprised when he asked that.
"My parents were pirates, beyond that it's a long story that I don't feel like getting into." I said while waving my hand at him. "Anyway you were looking at the maps earlier right? Are you a navigator?"
"I wouldn't call myself a navigator but I know a fair bit about the area and maps aren't that hard to read so sort of?" Skull answered honestly.
"So then do you have any ideas?"
"I would recommend Mirror Ball island personally. It's about 2 weeks away from here and it has a big town so we should be able to find some more members there pretty easily."
"Sounds great let's go there!" Ace said with a clap before getting up and walking out of the galley.
A few days later…
I was stretching out by back while walking out onto the deck. I nodded to Skull and Ace who were sitting near the main mast while walking over to the bow. I stopped when I got to the railing and leaned over the edge just taking in the ocean. I just took a minute to take it all in. The waves, the breeze, the sound of the birds, the feel of the salt on the railing. Watching the sea move has always been one of my favorite things in the world. There is nothing more peaceful than standing on the bow of a ship and just feeling the wind on your face and the ocean move beneath you. I could stand here forever and be perfectly content. Absolutely nothing could ruin this for me...
"Hey Ari come here!"
Except that.
"What do you need, Ace." I called back without bothering to hide the annoyance in my voice.
"Dude hurry! There's a person in the water!" He yelled back.
Ok that is cause for mild concern, so I started walking towards him but stopped when I heard a splash.
What was that splash? Why is Skull standing by himself? Did that dumb ass jump in?
I ran over to the railing and just saw bubbles rising up from where Ace must have gone in. "Will you be going in after him then?" I asked Skull.
"I can't swim."
Oh for fuck sakes.
I quickly ripped off my jacket and shoes before diving overboard. I swam down for a ways until I saw the dipshit. I grabbed him and swam up as quickly as I could. Thankfully Skull had had the sense to throw the rope ladder down. After I manhandled Ace back on deck I threw him on the deck before smacking his back to get the water out of his lungs. I know that that isn't the best thing to do in these situations but I honestly just couldn't be bothered to care at this point.
What was he thinking! He can't swim!
Ace started coughing and spitting up water. "What just happened?"
"You jumped in the ocean like an idiot. That's what happened."
"The guy! Did you get him out?" Ace asked while jumping up and leaning over the railing.
"Who gives a shit about him you nearly killed yourself!" I yelled back.
"Ari get him out of the water!"
"Why? We don't even know him."
"Ugh, don't be difficult just do it!"
"Fine." I said before making the water around the floater to rise up and deposit him on the deck of the ship. The floater was obviously a man and was dressed in rags, although to be fair he probably wasn't wearing rags until after he went for a very long swim. The only article of clothing on him that wasn't basically destroyed was the black mask that covered the top half of his face.
What is with all the people wearing masks all of a sudden? Did I miss a new trend?
Ace was the one who went up to the guy and checked for a pulse. "Ok he's alive but doesn't look like he's doing so well. Skull help me get him below deck. Ari can you go find some towels?" Ace asked in a serious voice.
"Sure" I said while going back into the ship.
A few days later…
It took awhile for the mystery man to get back on his feet but with Ace's care he did. I was honestly shocked with Ace's medical knowledge. He obviously isn't a doctor but he knows how to keep someone alive better than I do. But then again I've always been more skilled at ending lives than preserving them. After he had gotten back on his feet we all gathered in the galley to talk to our mystery man.
"What do you mean you don't have a name?" Ace asked him.
"I left it behind when I left home." He said while eating a bowl of soup that I had made earlier at Ace's request.
"Come on we saved your life! You owe us at least the courtesy of knowing your name." Ace insisted. He was dead set on befriending his guy for reasons that escaped me.
"Fine then how about Ace. that would make a good pseudonym for my adventure stories." The man finally said.
"What no! That's my name! You can't have it!" Ace snapped at him. They just stared at each other before Ace suddenly blurted out "You should be Deuce! It sounds like Ace but isn't."
"I mean it isn't the worst idea out there." He said, but it was obvious that he wasn't as excited about the nickname as Ace was.
"Exactly! It sounds just like Ace so you can be Deuce." Ace said with a huge smile on his face.
"It has more meaning than just sounding similar!" Deuce snapped.
"Sure but that they sound the same is the most important thing right?"
"Not really."
"Well that's too bad because Deuce is now your name!" Ace said as his smile grew even wider.
Later that day…
The four of us were all scattered around the deck. I was giving Ace some pointers on being a Logia and he was practicing a few new techniques. Skull was looking at a map, and Deuce was watching Ace and I.
"Ok what are you trying to do right now? Because it looks like you are just flailing around." I asked Ace.
"I'm trying to make the flames go past my fist when I punch. So I keep turning my hand into fire but it doesn't do it when I throw the punch." He said while throwing another punch, but once again the only thing that happened was his hand turned into flames.
"Try shooting a fireball rather than turning your hand into fire. That is easier than trying to change the shape of your body when you are in your elemental form." I explained.
"Like this?" Ace asked before throwing another punch. He managed to spit out a tiny fireball that traveled all of 2 feet before puttering out.
"Perfect." I said while trying to smother my smile.
"Ugh, that's enough for right now I'm exhausted." Ace said before sitting down with his back against the main mast.
I tossed him a water bottle before sitting down near him. While he was chugging the water I turned to Deuce. I said, "So Deuce I'm not sure if anyone has told you yet or not but we're heading for Mirror Ball island. Obviously you have to go there with us but feel free to leave when we get there."
"Oh ok thanks." He said.
"Hey wait where were you trying to go anyways? We can take you there if you want." Ace said.
"I didn't have an exact destination in mind really. I was planning on having an adventure so I could write about it." He said.
"Oh yea you mention being a writer didn't you?" Skull chimed in.
"Well if you're looking for an adventure then why don't you stick with us? We're goin on the greatest adventure ever!" Ace said.
Huh, I don't suppose taking him along would be that big of a problem. He doesn't look like much but he also doesn't look insane which we could use on this ship.
"I don't really want to be a pirate. I just want a normal adventure."
"What is a normal adventure? You either go on an adventure or you don't" Ace took the words right out of my mouth. What the hell is a "normal" adventure?
"Ya and who wouldn't want to be a pirate? Pirates are the best!" Skull said enthusiastically.
"Come on man we're friends aren't we? You gotta join my crew!" Ace said.
"I just don't want to be a pirate! I don't want a bounty and I don't want to attack innocent people!" Deuce yelled.
"Hey who said I would attack people!" Ace shouted at him.
"That's what pirates do!"
"Well that's not what I'm doing! I'm-"
Seeing where this was going I interrupted them, "OK I think this is getting a little out of hand. Deuce think about Ace's offer. Ace stop antagonizing the cabin boy." I said to both of them.
"I'm not a cabin boy!"
"I'm not antagonizing anyone!" Both Ace and Deuce yelled at the same time.
"Uh huh sure." I said before sitting down on the deck to work through my stretches.
"Who were you talking to?" They both shouted.
So I casually looked at both of them from where I was stretching and said, "You of course."
"That's not an answer." Deuce said while Ace just glared. Deuce seemed to have had enough of our antics and so he went back into the ship.
"Uh hey Captain should we be concerned about that Marine warship coming towards us?" I heard Skull say from his spot on the other side of the deck.
"Nah, they're probably just passing through. What would they want with us?" Ace said.
"Maybe to reclaim their ship." Skull said.
Both of them turned to look at me and I said, "Hey it was a good idea and this ship is perfect!" Just as those words left my mouth the ship started firing on us.
"Welp, guess we're fighting! Skull get us closer to them!" Ace shouted.
"On it Captain!" Skull said while running into the deck house so he could man the rudder.
"Hey Ace we really don't need to fight them hand to hand. We're at sea remember so I can just- DAMN IT WILL YOU STOP JUMPING INTO SHIT WHEN I'M TRY TO STRATEGIZE!" Ace had already jumped over to the warship and was punching the poor defenseless Marines in their faces. "Well guess I better go help." I sighed before jumping after my idiot captain.
When I landed a Marine immediately lunged at me, I quickly responded with a kick to the head. I then whipped around to deal with another who had tried to stab me in the back. He was sent over the side of the ship by a hard kick to his chest. I heard another coming at me from the left and so I threw myself into a back flip while kicking him in the chin at the same time.
"Air!" I heard Ace yell my name from where he was standing in front of me and immediately fell into my center splits just in time for him to throw a fireball at a Marine over my head. We took a second to smile at each other before we were set upon by more Marines. I was in the middle of taking out a group of them when I noticed that Ace had managed to set the deck house ablaze. The fire was spreading quickly and I knew that it was only a matter of time before the whole ship would be burning. I turned to get Ace's attention but was interrupted by a person landing right in front of me. I was about to end them when I noticed that it was Skull.
"Damn you two save some for me!" He shouted before running into the fray with his sword drawn. With Skull now in the mix the Marines didn't last long and so it was only a matter of minutes before they were all either dead or unconscious.
"Ace, It's done let's go!" I shouted to him while he was standing on deck looking for more Marines. Skull and I jumped back to our ship together and Ace followed soon after. The three of us stood on deck together and watched as the warship was engulfed in flames.
"Well I guess we're officially pirates now." Ace said as he shifted his hat to shadow his eyes.
No warning apply.
So what do you guys think? Bet you guys were expecting Ari to replace Deuce in this huh? I couldn't just NOT include him! If I did then what would the crew read when they needed a good laugh? This was supposed to be part of chapter 4 but as I was writing that chapter I realized that I couldn't fit everything I wanted into that chapter. So I started writing this chapter and realized that I STILL couldn't fit everything I wanted! So hopefully the next chapter that will have the rest of what was supposed to be chapter 4 will be out before too long. But anyways thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!