A mask of impenetrable irritation settled, unmoving on Kaede's small features as she attempted to wipe away the perspiration that drenched her skin, growling under her breath at the futility of the action. She had succeeded in nothing more than smearing more sweat onto her already sweaty arm. She was utterly disgusted and walking a fine line between irritation and fury as the man beside her dared to snicker at her flustered state. She shot him a look that she hoped would reminded him just who broke his nose and would happily do it a second time should he continue. Given his sudden roar of laughter she'd hazard a guess that she looked more like an angry little tomato than a barbarous wanted criminal to the freckled man. His hideously perfect physique writhed under ripples of hilarity that she had no desire to humor currently.
That laugh though. That laugh brought the same care free ease to his face as the smile she had seen the night before. It was hard to resist, compelling in a way that she'd never known anything else to be and soon her fabricated glower began to slip. As if he had reached out and pinched her flushed cheeks up himself, Kaede unraveled into her own laughter. A laugh so unlike one she had ever experienced. One that allowed an unexpected wave of happiness to flow lightly over her, that she had never dared feel before, at risk of infiltration from the unknown enemies she was, absolutely certain were ever present. Now though, with Ace she succumbed to the genuine bliss that she craved but had always denied herself.
Kaede slumped into his arm, panting and breathing heavily as their laughter began to dissipate, leaving with her a sense of emptiness that hadn't been there before. Their fingers still laced together even as they treaded carefully over the shallow pools of the beach as opposed to the over crowded streets they had found themselves in earlier. She was grateful for his company then, all those people, all those potential adversaries lurking in the conveniently placed shadows cast by the blistering sun. It didn't bare thinking about, what would happen to them if they were captured. That's what had prompted her anxiety, her need to defend herself, so intense that it made her head rock, body shake and caused black spots to dart inconsistently across her vision. That was, until he'd taken her tremoring hand so tenderly into his, heating her skin, soothing her muscles that had coiled in anticipation, in fear that she would be forced to act out in such close proximity to innocent bystanders.
"Hey," Ace's cool voice ripped her thoughts away from an unwanted path, "We're here." He nodded towards a ship, not fifty metres before them, docked adjacent to her own. It was magnificent, truly something to behold. Not nearly as big as her own but well maintained and a lot less decrepit, shining under the suns golden rays as it dipped dangerously low in the pink and blue marbled sky.
Approaching the vessel, Kaede clung closer to Ace, the dread of the unknown twisting her gut into a mass of knots. She was aware that this wasn't just any pirate ship they were descending on but that of Monkey D Luffy, future king of the pirates apparently. Although the green haired brute who had made that declaration hadn't even been able to lead them there so, she was hard pressed to believe a word he said. She was here for one reason only, in hopes that their doctor – a reindeer – could do for her little sister what she could not. Ace had his own reasons for needing to board his brothers ship, a den den and to inquire with their shipwright about fixing his fire boat, that had perished at the hands of last nights storm.
The sound of elastic snapping tore her admiring gaze sharply from that of the boats figure head, she was unsure if it was a lion or a sun with a face. Faster than she could turn her head a smudge of black and red shot toward the pair, resembling something inhuman but bringing with it screaming, child-like laughter. Alarmingly close now, Kaede wondered if she should ready herself to fight. Was this one of those adversaries she feared so immensely? Her peripheral vision caught a glint of flickering, bright and crackling as it flew right towards whatever was coming at them, a fire engulfed boot smashing into it with force that made her wince.
Poised to fight, Kaede threw out her hand relishing the warm rush of liquid she could now feel above all else coursing through her veins. A light flutter, a tickle almost over her heart that seared to life inside her, hot as any fire Ace could generate she had no doubt. The sea breeze blew in her favour and cleared her foggy mind as she searched the bodies around her, submitting to the raw energy that allowed her to pin point precisely where she should strike. Still in public, Kaede decided against an outright onslaught and opted for a more subtle blood pressure spike instead. She had found the foreign heartbeat easily with it being the only one of the two she'd not encountered before.
"Rise." She commanded, raising her hand and the body, the blood that resided within it, complied. She was vaguely aware of someone behind her, shouting, Ace maybe? She was admittedly atrocious at focusing on anything bar the deafening need to be victorious when she allowed herself to be even slightly consumed like this. This wasn't even a fraction of what she could do, child's play for the overbearing power she harnessed.
A boy? A man? A boy-man, hung above her, saturated in his own blood. His nose and ears leaking crimson as the veins in his arms and hands bulged grotesquely. The small capillaries in his eyes had burst, turning them the same shocking red that Kaede's irises always turned when she used her ability. She studied him, 'Shame,' she thought, 'he's a handsome little sort.'
Limbs straining beneath the incredible pressure of her attack, the black haired boy swung a stretched arm at her with the intent to do more damage than he looked to be capable of. She didn't bother to dodge, Kaede just moved him further away, her feet planted firmly on the ground. She wouldn't move if she didn't have to. Aware of somebody shaking her shoulder, Kaede turned her stoic demeanor to face the freckled man, anguish twisting his handsome features. His mouth moved urgently, body almost jumping up and down in an attempt to get her attention, to rip her away from the airborne boy.
Kaede tried desperately to read his lips, still immobile under the weight of her own Devil Fruit as Ace shook her, hard enough that it may have killed a normal human. More people were joining them now, the green man she knew, a robot with blue hair and what appeared to be a raccoon of some kind. Everything was slow motion, the robot tore the boy from the sky, the raccoon screaming silently, tears falling fast as he rushed to the boys side.
The impenetrable shield around her faltered ever so slightly, her hearing returning for but a second to hear muffled cries and the furious shouts of a swordsman.
"Luffy!" A piercing scream.
'Luffy? Luffy… Monkey D Luffy.'
Her raised arm fell feebly to her side, body swaying in light of the revelation that she had almost murdered Ace's brother. The surge of power she had basked in less than two minutes ago was leaving her, trembling and struggling for a sufficient amount of oxygen. The raised voices of panic ripped her back into reality, her sensitive ears straining against the chaos that surrounded her. Kaede fell, overcome with emotional weakness. Her own mind bombarding her with questions she didn't have the answers to.
How could she have been so brazenly careless as to attack in broad day light? In the middle of a beach no less where the publics wondering eye could have easily reached. Again she had allowed her ability to drown her in the promise of power and the exhilaration that came with it.
The pendant that stuck to her skin, damp with sweat and tears, was intended to prevent just that. A small silver trinket infused with a miniscule amount of sea prism stone to, not prevent but, hinder her enough that she could venture away from her ship without being a risk to the public. She cursed it now but didn't dare remove it in any case. She would assuredly lose herself to her Devil Fruit in her fragile state, rampaging through the streets to take the lives of any who dared cower in her presence, and cower they would.
Heated hands on either side of her face made her gasp and she flinched away from the innocent touch, her eyes searching for the perpetrator haphazardly. Ace. She had expected when he looked at her again it would be a sneer that promised her death, a look that would burn her to the ground where she stood. However, all to be found in his ever caring eyes was worry, confusion and something she couldn't quite place. The knots she had felt approaching his brothers crew earlier came back with a vengeance as he searched her face, looking for any signs of humanity she assumed.
"Ace… I don't think… your… girlfriend likes me." The boy on the floor heaved groggily between splutters and coughs. Kaede watched as Ace, still holding her face, laughed incredulously at his brother. Kaede felt him relax and she wondered for a moment if she had unintentionally manipulated his blood also. It wasn't entirely impossible and his reaction to such a serious situation was almost unfathomable to her.
"You're lucky, I was two second away from letting the swordsman headbutt you."
"I –"
"Don't," Ace stood, arm extended for her to retake his hand, "I realise it must have seemed to you that we were in danger." Not able to find her words, still weak from the sudden loss of power, Kaede nodded to the floor unable to meet his eyes as she took the offered support, squeezing his hand as tightly as she could.
Quickly scoping her surroundings she noticed the big green man was already on his way back to the ship, stretchy captain flung over his shoulder while the little animal fussed around them, scolding the swordsman for his lack of care. The robot, Franky she thought she had heard someone call him, was already back aboard calling the rest of the crew to the deck.
"Ace are you coming?" Luffy called over his first mats shoulder, swaying lazily with every step taken.
"Can my girlfriend come?" Ace laughed, ignoring the spluttering objection that Kaede attempted and the – she was sure – luminous red of her cheeks. She detested how absolutely vulnerable she was after a particularly strenuous battle with herself. It left her physically and emotionally weak, the strength to even manipulated her own blood wouldn't be available to her for at least an hour.
"Is she gonna try to kill me again?" Ace gave Kaede a quick once over, smirking at her exhausted state.
"I wouldn't say so."
"Bring her along." The captain called, grinning wide, ignoring the angry protests of his first mate and the quaking animal that took shelter in the large mans shadow.