Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

Aiko hummed, as she contemplated just who was in front of her.

She knew that he was dead serious about this and that he wouldn't give a rat's ass that they'd spent a few nights together. Hell, he probably wouldn't have cared if they had a child together. This was a direct order from his captain—to stop Shanks; to stop her. Marco wouldn't disobey it.

Aiko had to think carefully about her next move. Marco wasn't an opponent that could be easily dealt with. If he was, then he didn't deserve his position. One wrong move and she'd really die. But to fight Marco on a small boat like this was suicide. It would be little more than ply wood long before they were through with it. It didn't help that he had such an advantage over her. Marco had aerial attacks and regenerative abilities. As she stared at him, she couldn't help but notice his infuriating smirk. He clearly knew that he was better off in terms of terrain. Maybe even in brute strength, too. Aiko didn't know the extent of his mastery over Haki, but running away from him definitely wasn't an option.

There was only one way out of this then—a distraction. She needed to divert his attention until Shanks and Whitebeard settled down and cut a compromise that would end with both of them satisfied.

Why are men so fucking hot-blooded, she thought in pure disdain. Her eyes narrowed at the creepy grin Marco sent her way. The waning fire around him made his face light up in the worst possibly way. Damn, he's intimidating.

"You're creepy," she said bluntly.

"You don't seem to mind, yoi." His face was unreadable. But to her, he seemed almost like a cat that had just found its favorite toy again; a toy that he couldn't wait to play around with for a while.

"I do when I see it firsthand."

His grin grew. "It's a little too late to back out now, Hon."

"Hon? Where did that come from?"

He just kept staring at her eyes.

"Oh," she realized. "I get it. Not very clever though, is it?"

Marco shrugged, apparently wanting to get this little fight on its way.

"I'd love to talk more, yoi. But I think it's time I bent you over backwards."

"Now, now." She wagged a finger to and fro at him. The sounds of swords clashing in the background could be heard, but she barely registered the sound. At this moment, there was nothing more important than the man before her. "Good things come to those who wait."

"Everyone else is fighting, yoi. If they don't see us getting with the program were gonna have a bit of a problem on our hands." He shrugged once more, but didn't really make another attempt to knock her face in.

"We're going to fight." She gave him a ridiculously happy grin. It was the kind that could rival Fire Fist Ace's. Because when Marco saw it, that's who immediately popped into his head. "Eventually."

"Eventually," he repeated.

"Eventually." She said one last time, complete with a nod of her head in confirmation.

He scratched the back of his head in his usual easy-going manner. Aiko really hadn't changed. At all. She was distracting him just as easily as she'd done so many times before. But it was the fact that she could that annoyed him. She'd done it so effortlessly, too, like he was just another common fool stuck in the raptures of a beautiful woman. An idiot that was caught in an elaborate web of carefully laid-out traps.

Had this been any other time, he would've allowed it. Marco didn't mind letting her have the reigns while they were lounging around in public. But this wasn't like any of the other times they'd crossed paths. And right now, distractions worked in her favor. He couldn't have that.

Blue fire encased him, and then, before she could protest, he was flying high into the sky. He wanted the high ground right now. But he was surprised when he suddenly felt a weight latch onto his leg. Marco halted and looked down at the nuisance clutching onto his left foot.

Aiko was there, looking down at looking down at the chaos their crews caused with an impressed look on her face. They hadn't even seriously begun yet, and already, the ocean was tearing itself apart from their power.

"Everyone looks like ants," she commented. "Well, y'know, except for Whitebeard of course."

He smirked, then shook his leg.

"Hey, c'mon, Phoenix! No need to be like that. I'm not always this clingy. I swear." She grinned up at him as best she could from her position. "I didn't want you to leave me down there all by myself, I get lonely easily, y'know?"

Roger, how did this woman manage to make everything that came out of her mouth sound like they were in an actual relationship? Because they weren't. Well, he guessed that he couldn't really put all of the blame on her, since he'd play along with whatever sappy thing she said anyway. It was fun—she was fun. The sort that made his heart beat like a hammer against nails in his ribs. There were no responsibilities when it came to her; no consequences for whatever they said and did to each other. There was an unspoken, mutual agreement between them that they couldn't be together, which made his life twenty times easier.

Relationships didn't work on the sea. Especially not in the New World. And most especially not for pirates. There were always exceptions though, so maybe some pirates out there managed to build something of a life for themselves together, but those pirates were usually a part of the same crew. Being on different ships, they always had to face the possibility that one day they'd have to hurt the one they loved with their own two hands.

So, that's all it was. All that it would ever be. Just some plain, old, perfectly harmless fun.

"I don't mind clingy, yoi," Marco finally answered. "Just don't cling onto my leg."

"Then warn me next time!" She scolded with a tone so confident that he wondered for a moment if this was really his fault. But then the moment passed, and he gave her a sadistic grin. It was a grin that had Aiko worried about what he was about to do, because whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He looked ready to destroy anything in his path. And with his reputation, he just might.

"Sorry about this, yoi."

He readied into a stance.

Marco lifted the leg that she was hanging on into the air with all the ease of a man lifting a small child. He was preparing a powerful kick—kicks that he was known and feared for.

"Wait, wait wait. Relax for a second, Mar—AHHHHHH!"

Her trembling voice was cut off by her own scream, as she went flying with the force of his kick. She was headed straight for the main mast of the Moby Dick. A dozen of Marco's crewmates got caught in the trajectory and were blown right out of the ship. There were tens of screams that Marco actually felt a bit bad about for a moment, but he quickly focused his attention back on Aiko. His subordinates could deal with those caught in the crossfire. He had more important things to do.

"Get him! He's a Devil Fruit eater!" Marco heard a random pirate yell.

"What happened?" came another.

Marco watched, listless, as Aiko hit the mast. But it wasn't backwards like he'd expected. No, she'd managed to get her footing mid-air. He smirked, then readied back into another stance.

Aiko reinforced her legs with Haki, before coming to a complete stop with her feet planted firmly on the wood. She was crouched over it. When she lifted her face, she got a split second to take in what had happened to the surroundings. Random pirates had already been drawn into their fight—and it hadn't even begun yet. Using the mast as a stepping stone, she propelled herself off at an inhumane speed. She flew towards the smirking Phoenix Commander, who balanced himself midair. Aiko went in for the kill. She aimed a punch right for his face, only for her over-sized gauntlet to hit air as he dodged at the last second.

Marco moved his head just in time. The force of the punch created a large split through the sea.

Many of the newbie pirates stopped to watch them, awed by their strength. It wasn't everyday two of these kind of pirates fought. But if he had to guess, they didn't really know which fight to watch right now—the two captains or multiple commanders that were currently testing their skills against a worthy opponent.

When Aiko felt like she was about to fall, she made sure to land near the awe struck newbies, knowing that they'd be easier to take care of should they decide to jump into the fray. But somehow, she doubted it. Marco looked serious, and she doubted he was the type that would want them interfering in his fight. Still, it didn't hurt to be safe.

Marco came flying down on the deck across from her. He was surrounded by beautiful blue-green flames that not only enveloped his body, but the very space around him. She'd never tire of looking at his powers, and she judged anyone that would.

"That wasn't very nice," Aiko began, quick to start up the small talk again. "What if I hadn't regained my footing and ended up breaking the ship's mast? You'd have some major explaining to do."

"If you couldn't even save yourself from that, then you don't deserve to be on an Emperor's ship now, would you?" He reasoned. His blue flames continued to lick at his body.

"What if I had gotten hurt? What would you have done then?"

He just looked up towards where they were a moment ago in the sky, then to the sea that had been split for the briefest of seconds. "If anything, I'm the one that got hurt." He showed her a small cut on his cheek, before it was brushed away by his flames. "Those aren't normal gauntlets, yoi."

"You noticed?" Aiko lifted a hand, showing off her gauntlet. "It's something that I had custom made. It channels my haki." She grinned at him as he took in the information. "What do ya think?"

"Don't distract me anymore, yoi," was his only answer.

She clicked her tongue at that. So, he really did notice that she was trying to buy time and get away. Aiko looked at him innocently as if to say 'Who, me?'

But...

He wasn't buying that innocent face.

No way in hell.

He ran towards her at a speed that would put Cipher Pol to shame. He kicked in a way meant to seriously injure her right side. What surprised him, however, was how Aiko didn't even attempt to dodge. She just stood there and took it. His eyes widened in realization. He'd fought enough battles to know what she was up to. But before he could pull away completely, she caught his leg and yanked him back towards her.

Aiko punched him right in the abdomen. The impact made him spin back and break one of the inner railings of the ship. He flew until his back roughly collided with the ship's edge, which was far too sturdy for him to shatter. Marco wasn't the only one injured though. Aiko coughed up blood from his attack. She felt the power of his kick right to her very bones. There was no way her ribs weren't bruised. Not even Armament Haki could protect her from the force of his chest throbbed and it was slowly becoming agonizing to breathe.

Did the fucking turkey puncture a lung or something?

The pain was excruciating.

She watched him wipe some blood that he'd coughed up from the punch that he took straight to the gut. He felt something inside of him rupture from that hit. He didn't know what exactly, but it any internal ripples weren't a good sign.

"I get it now," he said seriously. Marco stood up to his full height and did his best to ignore the throbbing pain in his lower abdomen. "'Killer Punch' Aiko, yoi. Fitting name."

She laughed. It was a bit strained, but it was still a laugh. The musical kind. It was the sort of laugh he wanted to cut short in dozens of different ways. Marco shook his head to rid himself of those ridiculous thoughts. This wasn't the time for that.

"I hope you're ready, yoi. I'm not gonna go easy on you just because we've played around a bit." His arms wrapped themselves in blue flames once more.

"Wow, thanks. I really see the love there," Aiko said dryly. She did her best to ignore the pain on her side by taking deep, steady breaths. "Tell me, do you actually want to fight me or are you just looking to relieve some stress?"

He shrugged, not really thinking all too much about the motives behind what he was doing. Who cared why he was doing this? Whatever the reason, he was fighting. Because that was one of the things Marco lived for.

She sighed when he didn't answer.

"I thought maybe I could get away without getting hurt. I just want our captains to talk and maybe settle this a little more peacefully. But..." she trailed off, as everything about her became dead serious. It reminded him of her captain, but the thought was quickly swept away, as she tilted her head at him with the stoniest expression he'd ever seen. "You seem to be blocking my way."

And that was it.

The pirates watching them, the sounds of the ocean, the cries of battle, the orders of their captains—they were all suddenly gone. The world around them vanished without a trace. It turned to dust before their eyes, and suddenly, they were the only two on the deck that mattered. They didn't care who would get caught in their fight or who would get hurt; they only had eyes for the opponent in front of them.

It was such an unusual notion for the two of them. They, who were used to responsibility; who carried the lives of their fellow mates on their shoulders. They needed this. To let loose, that is. It had been years since they'd actually been able to. Because, for some inexplicable reason, it only ever happened…

When this person is around, they thought in unison.

They tightened their muscles and got into their own individual stances, preparing themselves for a long and—hopefully—satisfying fight. Marco was smirking again. He was excited by the mere thought of facing her. His flames illuminated his entire being, and for once, his lethargic eyes shone with a splendid mixture of amusement and enthusiasm. It was as if an old passion had been ignited somewhere deep within his core. The passion even managed to reach his eyes.

"I'll let you talk with them," he drawled, "eventually."

She grinned.

Quick Edited: 01/06/2019