Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

If there was anything to be said about Cloudburst Island. It was that it was normal, mundane or simply ordinary,the island was a usual town with nothing very special about it. Period. It was dull, in every sense of the word. It had shops, but there were nothing special about their products, it had businesses but nothing illegal nor amazing, it had beautiful areas to visit, but what island didn't? A picture perfect small town that belonged in a sappy book where the main character tries to escape.

Marco and Aiko –now properly clothed, of course- walked away from a bowing chef who was the owner of a small time restaurant called Pasta Lake. The man had tears of joy in his eyes as he thanked the two strangers over and over. They had said they were friends of the man that had dine and dashed from his store a few days ago and were there to relieve him of the large bill that the cowboy hat wearing man had left behind. He didn't actually think that they couldpay it all back because the shirtless man had eaten for an entire village in one sitting, but to his utmost surprise –and glee- the dark haired woman had taken out a ridiculously fat pouch and was easily able to pay it all back plus extra -without the size of the pouch reducing at all- 'for your troubles' she had said.

Aiko sighed loudly once the two were a good distance away from the overly thankful chef. "That was a huge bill, how much does your second division commander eat?!"

Marco didn't bother answering that particular question.

Ace's mouth was the portal to another dimension.

"We can't pay for all his bills." Aiko continued when the blonde didn't make a move to answer, "We'll be broke, broke I tell you!"

Marco grinned, "Well, at least that chef had some pretty good info, yoi."

"Hmm?" She looked back towards the restaurant they had just left, "Yeah."

To be completely honest, she was rather skeptical about the man's information, but for some reason or another Marco had believed it without a second thought. Goes to show just how long he had been with the second division commander. The chef had said that they caught the man when he had tried to fatally wound the great Doctor Blackbeard of their little town.

Caught him.

Tied him to an anchor.

And threw him into the river.

She almost scoffed at the story, but since Marco had accepted it and they were currently on their way to where the townspeople had thrown the infamous fire commander into the river to his death, -they probably didn't even realize he was the Fire Fist Ace, the very same one with a huge bounty on his head- then it must have been true. She knew that Portgas D. Ace, was Luffy's older brother, so she probably shouldn't have been too surprised at the stupidity of the situation. But, the man was a Whitebeard commander for Rogers' sake, somehow she expected a little more brains.

"Ace is a good guy, yoi." Marco somehow tried to explain his brother's actions to the woman, but it wasn't really something that could be done. Explaining Ace's behavior to someone that had never actually met the man was just… hard. Though she would most likely understand what he was talking about, since she had an impulsive Captain. "He probably didn't want to attack the townspeople… or fell asleep."

"Fell asleep?"

"Narcolepsy, yoi." He said simply, face amused as if remembering something good.

Aiko shook her head as she tried to envision the pyro commander. From what her crew had told her when they first met Fire Fist Ace, the man was reckless, impulsive, short-tempered and as blindingly bright as the sun. He had a smile that could rival Luffy's and Shanks' combined, coupled with eyes filled with unspoken resolve. She had pouted for a week at her Captain for sending her out to retrieve a Devils Fruit on the very same night Portgas D. Ace –still a rookie then- had gone to thank Shanks' and the crew for taking care of his cute little brother. Aiko sighed slightly, she would have really liked to meet Luffy's brother, that would've been great.

"He seems like a hand full." Aiko said as they turned a corner, the townspeople were giving them curious glances. She hoped no one would recognize their faces and get the stupid idea of trying to collect a bounty.

"He is, yoi." Marco muttered. "Not nearly as much as you though."

Aiko winked at the lethargic man. "You can't even handle this, Phoenix."

He shook his head as they arrived at their destined spot. There was a rope tied tightly to a tree, Marco grasped it firmly, flexing his muscles as he hauled up the very heavy weight of an unknown object tied at the very bottom. He gave one last firm pull, only to see that at the very end of the rope was an anchor that looked like it weighed half a ton. There was a broken handcuff on the other side, which meant that Ace was able to escape. But that didn't mean he was safe from drowning, even without the heavy weight anchor Ace would have still drowned, Devil Fruit users were after all known as human anchors. Marco knew Ace wasn't dead though, since his Vivre Card was still perfectly fine, thank the gods for the genius that invented Vivre Cards.

So, if Ace was still alive and kicking. Where in the world was he?

Marco sighed loudly.

The idiot was actually used by the townspeople to measure the depth of the river.

Just what was he doing? Almost dying here without even meeting Teach yet, this was exactly the reason why Marco had been so worried and decided to not go to Jaya, because Ace, no matter how powerful, was incredibly high maintenance. The blonde man kicked the useless anchor back into the river, watching it sink as he organized his thoughts. So they were back to step one. First things first, they needed to find out where this river led to, because Ace –human anchor he is- was undoubtedly carried by the current until he was eventually rescued and if Ace was rescued that meant he'd be in debt.

Ace always paid his debts.

Marco's eyes widened.

He may still be on the island then.

Bringing out the man's Vivre Card he was just about to shift into his Phoenix form when he heard two voices calling out to him and Aiko.

"OI!" Azu and Kazu were yelling, they hadn't told them their names. "We found someone that says she knows him!"

'She?' Marco thought, hoping that the fire commander hadn't slept with the woman. Whitebeard Commanders –Ace, Thatch and Jill particularly- were known for having a woman with them at every port. Sometimes even two.

"What did she say?" Aiko asked the two as they came to a halt in front of her.

"That… she saved him… from drowning," Kazu took a moment to pant and wheeze, hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. "And… something about a debt."

"Just follow the river, you should see a small house on the outskirts of the forest." Azu continued for his younger brother that was still panting heavily. "There's a garden full of vegetables surrounding it."

Aiko didn't respond and just took a peek at the ever disinterested Marco from the corner of her eye.

"I was right then, yoi." He suddenly said, right about what, she didn't know.

Aiko fully turned towards the tall commander, tilting her head towards the direction of the flowing river. "Let's go?" She stretched her legs a bit. "The loser buys sake."

She didn't wait for him to agree and instead took off with all her might towards the small house of the woman that supposedly saved Fire Fist Ace. The three left behind in the dust were left to watch the woman disappear from their vision, all with varying degrees of surprise in their eyes. Marco was quick to recover though, getting over the initial shock in half a second as a wide grin spread across his face, before shifting into his hybrid form and flying after the woman at inhumane speeds, leaving a trail of beautiful blue flames in his wake.

What the hell was that?

Azu and Kazu stared for a moment, brain not processing what just happened. They grabbed each other's cheeks and gave each a firm pinch just to make sure they weren't dreaming, once they seemed to realize that it really happened and that they weren't just hallucinating it, they looked at each other.

"EH?!"

Just who the hell were those two?

Aiko panted slightly as she got to her destination. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why this girl lived on the outskirts of the village, maybe she was shunned or was it just a better place to grow crops? Because from as far as the eye could see, there were rows upon rows of sprouting crops all carefully tended to. This place was beautiful, much more so than the town. The air was different in this area, more natural and coupled with the sun sitting high in the sky, the atmosphere of the place was just nothing short of perfect.

She grinned to herself, somewhat happy and disappointed –for reasons she didn't want to delve into- that the Phoenix commander was nowhere in sight at the moment, before laying down on her back on the soft grass directly in front of the house. Why was it that even in such a place with its peaceful air and breathtaking view was she thinking about that pineapple head? She sighed slightly, shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, this would be the perfect place to have a drink or a cat nap. Maybe she should take a nap while she waited for the way too slow Marco? Now that she thought about it, why wasn't he here yet? While she was running, she had seen the man right behind her with his creepy grin as he flew high in the blue sky. Well, it didn't matter, the man could take care of himself after all. She'd just have to remind him that he owed her a good bottle of sake.

She closed her eyes in contentment, preparing for a small nap.

"Don't fall asleep, yoi." Honey eyes opened to meet with dark ones. Marco was looking down at her, bored expression still in place as his jacket and pineapple hair billowed slightly in the soft breeze.

She gave the blonde her best grin. "You owe me a bottle of sake."

"I got here first, yoi." He tilted his head slightly back where a young girl, barely a teenager was meekly smiling at Aiko's laying form. "I found her in the fields."

"When did you get here? Not fair, Phoenix." She immediately said, completely ignoring the latter half of his words as she sat up and gestured with an outstretched arm to the entire surrounding area. "The finish line was the house, not the fields."

"You didn't specify, hon." He replied with a shrug, before making a drinking gesture with one hand, "I like North Blue sake, yoi."

Aiko grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'pineapple headed ostrich.'

Instead of retorting, Marco just gave her an infuriating grin he knew would piss her off.

"Umm…" The two turned to look at the girl, she was wearing field boots, a long skirt and a handkerchief on her head that offered little to no protection from the heat of the burning sun. She was holding one of those old-fashioned metal milk cans. "My name is Moda. I tend to the crops and cows here. You two are looking for Ace-san, am I right? Are you his friends?"

"Yes." Aiko replied, slowly standing and giving the girl before her a friendly grin. She was still unbelievably young. "Do you know where he went after leaving here?"

"A-Ah! Well, he was so grateful that I saved his life and gave him milk from the cows that well… he…" The girl was embarrassed, had she asked something of the freckled commander? "I asked him if he could deliver a letter to my parents."

"Your parents? Where exactly are they, yoi?" Marco questioned, not at all surprised that Ace had adhered to the out of the way request.

Moda gave the two older pirates a proud grin. "Well, they're chefs in the G-2 Marine Base."

Not just any chefs were hired to work in Marine Bases, only the best, so Moda stared at the two in front of her as if expecting some kind of proud reaction as well.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Marco and Aiko only stared blankly back at the girl and her expectant gaze.

How were they supposed to react to this?

"That's great." Aiko said with a grin on her face, "They must be really great."

"Yes!" Moda replied with a large smile. "I want to see them soon!"

"Ah, it must be lonely here, right?" She asked the way too young farmer.

"Sometimes." Moda answered truthfully, Aiko didn't see a lot of honest young teens like her. "But I'm okay!"

"Hmm…" Aiko shot a look that spoke volumes towards Marco who just stared blankly back at her, face as composed as ever. "And Ace, did he actually go?" Aiko asked the girl who was busying herself by examining the two of them and their little gestures and looks that they shot at each other to silently communicate. Did she like doing this kind of thing?

"Yes!" The young farmer said, complete with a hasty nod of her head. "He promised me!"

"That so?" Aiko muttered before turning completely to the tattooed blonde and calling, "Oi, Phoenix. Did you hear that? The man went to a Marine Base in exchange for milk. Why aren't you that nice?"

Marco eyed her for a second, before giving her one of his, as she called it, infuriating smirks.

"Are you offering your milk, yoi?"

When she heard those words, Aiko's mouth stood agape for a split second before she gave the man a look full of challenge. A challenge he sure as hell wasn't going to back down from. "Are you offering yours?"

"And if I am?" He instantly shot back, without missing a beat. It was probably a bad thing that he was getting so used to this, to her banter, to her presence, to her.

Aiko just grinned at him while waving a reprimanding finger in front of his cocky face. "Now, now, Phoenix. Not in front of the kids."

Marco suddenly turned to look at Moda, -hoping in the corner of his mind that they hadn't scarred the girl for life- who had a confused look gracing her face.

"U-uhmm…" The adolescent farmer began, "If you two want milk, I have plenty here." She held up the retro milk can she had been lugging around.

Aiko stared for a moment, before laughing heartily. "AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Even Marco had a small amused grin gracing his features.

"W-W-What?!" Moda exclaimed, embarrassment and confusion from the situation written clearly all over her face.

"It's nothing." Aiko told the young girl as she grabbed the can of milk from her smaller hands, "You'll understand when you're older."

"If you're lucky, yoi." Marco added, watching how Aiko shot him another sly grin before taking a sip of the thick fresh milk. He had a -stupid- brief thought of how audacious that can was. Settling easily between her parted lips like some lover, what he wouldn't give to exchange places with the bottle she held between those full lips, to cut that musical laugh and soothing voice of hers short in all sorts of ways.

"Are you trying to melt me, Phoenix?" Aiko asked him as she handed him the bottle of milk, which he took instinctively. The milk was warm. "That stare of yours is unnerving."

"Don't act like you don't like it." He muttered as he took a large gulp of the warm milk.

She grinned widely back at him as he downed the remaining contents of the can.

"Alright, shall we head back to the ship then?" Aiko took the now empty can from the phoenix commander and handed it back to the young girl. "Thanks a lot, Moda-chan."

"Yes! You're welcome!" The kid had good manners. "Please come visit me again and if you see Ace-san, tell him I said 'thank you.'"

"Will do." Aiko gave the girl one final grin, before following after Marco who had already taken a few steps back in the direction of their little ship.

The short trek back to their ship was quiet. Without either speaking a word, both lost in their own individual thoughts about going to a Marine Base. They'd need to plan something, they had no idea how far away G-2 was, hopefully though they'd be able to find something in the many random maps given to them by their crews. Azu and Kazu were nowhere in sight and the two pirates made no move to try and find them. The two siblings were probably out celebrating life now that their –false- debt had been paid up.

"Hmm… Moda-chan said G-2, right?" Aiko brought out a hand drawn map from a large stack on the writing desk in their shared room, the maps were drawn by the navigators of her crew and although each line meticulously crafted, the maps themselves were a mess. She and Marco had been looking through various -all equally cluttered- stacks for the past half hour, all because Yonko navigators apparently didn't know how to organize things. "From here," She pointed to their general location. "G-2 should be about an eight day trip. Six, with the paddle system."

Marco examined the map, trying to find a shortcut of some sort. "I can try flying there, yoi."

"The next island is four days away." Aiko said back, "You'd fall into the ocean, before even reaching half of that distance."

Marco knew she was right, his powers took a large toll on his body. Sure, he could use them throughout the day, but if he used it throughout the day continuously then that was a whole different problem. His stamina would give out whether he liked it or not. But, if that base would be a six day trip then Ace already had a four day head start -plus the fact that Ace's little boat was powered by flames and therefore faster- by the time they'd get there, Ace would be long gone.

Marco stared at the map for a minute longer, thoughts swirling in his head as he tried to figure out the fire commander's next move. Looking closely at the island she had said was a mere four days away, he tapped a finger on it.

"This one." He started, plan forming in his head as he spoke. "Ace won't leave that Marine Base without causing some kind of noise, yoi. So, we stop here and get information from the newspapers and the Marines situated on this island." He looked up at Aiko, who was thinking it over in her head. "We can't be long though, yoi. We'll set sail right away and go over to this island." Marco slid his finger across –bypassing three or four masses of land- to a medium sized blob of land in the opposite direction of the G-2 Marine Base.

Aiko instantly recognized it. It was an island where the many different routes of Paradise -to get to the New World- intersected, the island had been considered a central for trade for all the inhabitants of the Grand Line. It was a prosperous and advanced town because of that reason. "And from there we'd easily be able to get on whatever trail Ace chooses." Aiko finished Marco's thought as it all clicked together in her head.

"Yea." He circled the island with a black marker, if the navigators of his crew had seen that they'd most likely be yelling at him for ruining one of the few printed copies of their hard work. "For now, this is the plan, yoi."

She looked at each island they'd most likely have to stop by. They'd dock at about three, maybe four of them, before reaching their –at the moment- main destination. Marco watched her eyes linger on a particular spot for a moment longer than it should have, before she looked up at him with her usual grin and said, "Sounds good to me."

With listless eyes, he carefully scrutinized her face for a moment, before looking down at what she had been staring at. Upon closer inspection, there was an erased sketch on the map. It was an island they'd be passing by on their way to their main destination. Why had she been looking so coldly at that erased sketch? Why was there an erased island in the first place? Islands just didn't disappear off the face of the Earth, for someone to have erased it before printing the map meant that there must have been something wrong with it.

He'd have to ask more about it, when they got closer to the erased islands general area.

He could just smell an adventure or some kind of dirty secret, lying in wait there. Just waiting for him to come along and find out all there was to know about it.

And Aiko looked like she knew exactly what that secret was.

Marco smirked, a smirk that had Aiko wondering why the hell it was there in the first place, a lethal mix of cocky and sadistic placed on his face for the entire world to see. She didn't trust it. The man looked to be plotting something. But, the renowned Phoenix commander opened his mouth only to say one thing,

"Let's set sail then, yoi."

A/N: Here is the usual update dear readers, also the Ace story will have to wait until I finish up my Izaya story, which will most likely be by January, I'll update you guys about it, soooo... about this chappie watcha think huh? huh? HUH?

I'm pretty sure I PMed all that reviewed sooo... this is for all those anonymous reviewers:

Alice: Thank you soooo much! I promise I won't make you wait that long :D

I will most likely post an omake chappie for Christmas.. This depends on my writing mood of course, because as of right now finals are sucking me in and trying to murder me.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!