Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
Two islands came and went with no real major happenings except garnering some much needed information regarding Ace. Seemed Marco was right, the second division commander caused an uproar in G-2, his freckled face all over the newspapers as he became the talk of most islands all around the Grand Line. The fire commander was moving and it felt good knowing that they were hot on his trail. It would only be another two more islands until their destination, where they'd have to make a major decision of which route of the Grand Line to take, the route Ace would be travelling on.
The sun was beginning to set in beautiful red and orange flames, stars already beginning to peek out now that they weren't being outshone by the blinding sun. The intense hues coupled with the man made lights cast an almost surreal atmosphere inside the small mess hall where Marco watched with lazy eyes as Aiko prepared supper. It was her turn to cook today, he would admit that the two of them weren't that great at cooking, that's what their chefs were for after all, but it was good enough for their tastes. After all, the two of them weren't accustomed to expensive food, they didn't have such a luxury, being out at sea all the time and having extremely large crews meant that food money had to be budgeted wisely plus the fact that as pirates they just weren't all that picky. He supposed that's just how pirates were. Well, the ones the survived in the New World.
He listened closely as she hummed the tune of Binks' Sake, while frying three overly large pieces of Sea King meat with one hand and stirring Sea King stew with the other. They had been eating Sea King meat for the past two days, ever since one unintelligibly attacked them. If he were back on the Moby Dick that Sea King wouldn't have lasted through one sitting, but with just the two of them it would undoubtedly last throughout the week. Though knowing Aiko, she'd break out their other stock way before then. Sea King meat everyday was tiring after all, even he was beginning to get sick of it.
It stayed silent between them as he kept observing her, he was curious about the erased sketch on the map. The one she had been staring at with such a cold face, as if the paper had somehow offended her in some way. She acted like everything was fine, but since they headed for their destination, Marco could tell she was getting more and more on edge as they got closer to the erased island.
He'd have to ask her about it.
Just then Aiko placed a plate full of two large chunks of the Sea King she had been frying and a generous helping of stew in front of him.
He gave her a lazy grin in thanks.
"What's the matter, Phoenix?" She asked him as she filled two pints full of grog. "You're quiet tonight."
"Hmm…" He just hummed in response as he took a mouthful of soup.
"Yes," She tilted her head and began talking to the wall to her side. "That was very eloquent of you."
He suppressed a grin.
She placed the pint in front of him and gave him a pointed stare waiting for him to retort.
"Why, thank you, Hon. I know you're amazed by my broad vocabulary, yoi." He said as she took a seat across from him at the small table, she had a satisfied grin on her face. One he needed to wipe off. "I know it isn't every day that someone like me ups and walks into your life. It's alright to be astonished, yoi."
He smirked, listless eyes coming to life as her grin immediately fell at his words.
He watched her stab a piece of meat with a bit more force than necessary before saying, "Phoenix, please." That was all she said, two simple words, yet why did Marco feel like he just lost?
This woman really wasn't fair.
She continued in a smaller voice, thinking about their first meeting, "Although I do have to commend you for your impeccable sense of timing."
"I have an excellent sense of dramatic timing, yoi." He replied instantaneously in a sarcastic manner, "And good hair."
Aiko almost choked on the meat she was eating when she heard that, as she slapped her chest and grabbed her pint of grog, quickly gulping it to wash down whatever stuck in her throat from the blonde commanders' ridiculous comment. Marco was quietly chuckling at her and when she looked up at him he was giving her a lazy grin. She could see the amusement and teasing directed straight at her and she would admit that when this mission was over she would miss this. Their quiet times spent in each other's company, talks about nothing and everything and their pointless bouts of teasing.
"Good hair?" Aiko repeated incredulously, "Have you finally gone senile, old man?"
Said 'old' man rolled his eyes.
"Aren't you the same age, yoi?"
She gave him a winning grin.
Then completely denied it.
"Absolutely not." She said with a laugh in her voice.
He grinned and closed his eyes at her antics as he took another mouthful of food, they'd be stopping by the next island in an hour or two. The one after that, would be the mysterious erased island, he'd have to ask her about it as they explored the town where he could buy her some kind of offering in exchange for her telling him. He doubted it would work, but it was worth a shot. If he asked so suddenly she might pull away from him.
He didn't want to risk that.
Prying into another's past just isn't something one should do.
But, his curiosity was getting the better of him.
Was that where she had gotten those scars on her hands? Where she had grown up? Where she met Shanks?
There was still a lot he didn't know about her, but that erased island seemed as good a place as any to start. So, he'd wait until they were on the next island to ask her anything about it, in a quiet place where he could give her a peace offering to get it out of her.
Because no way in all the four blues was he going to break the serene atmosphere engulfing them right now.
The two walked side by side on the island, looking for any bar whatsoever, to see if they could get any information before setting sail once more. Now that was good and all, perfectly fine and dandy, completely normal for pirates with a mission such as theirs. But, right now the Phoenix Commander held his head as his eyes strained from just looking at his surroundings, the signs of an oncoming headache beginning.
"How long 'til the Log Pose sets, yoi?" Marco muttered to the raven haired woman currently eyeing the surroundings in disdain. The first division commander held an umbrella over their heads as rain poured mercilessly down at them. The rain had shielded what the island looked like from afar, if Marco had known it looked like this, he would have never docked.
"From what it said on the notes on the map," She paused for a moment to think about what she had read before saying, "Two days."
They had to wait on this god forsaken island for two whole days? No way in Hell was Marco doing that, his eyes quickly roamed around, all thoughts of finding a bar completely leaving him as his eyes sought only one thing: a Pose shop. They needed to go and buy an Eternal Pose as soon as possible because he- the renowned first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates- could not do this, and yes, he would admit that freely to anyone that asked.
This place was a complete and utter eyesore.
And by the way Aiko was looking at him, she clearly thought the pain written clearly over his usually neutral face was amusing.
"So there's something even the Almighty Phoenix Commander can't handle?" She teased, with a little smirk on her lips that he would have wiped off if his head hadn't begun pounding, a pounding even his Phoenix healing wouldn't get rid of.
The only thing on his mind right now was, who could take this place? There was no way in Hell any man would be happy to land on such an aggravating island, even if they were starving and completely parched, Marco bet they'd just continue on their way and take their chances.
He closed his eyes trying to find comfort in the pitch black behind his eyelids. The island was an isle that welcomed pirates seeing as how there were many pirate ships in its rather large docks –all the pirate ships had a fruity look to them as if owned by a woman- and from what he could make out it was an island that seemed to rain nonstop. Now, Marco had no problem with rain, in fact he liked the sound of its pitter patter on the ship. But the fact that the rain had shielded his eyes from the true horror of this place annoyed him to no end as it kept beating on the umbrella he held firmly in his left hand.
The island was a massive land of pink frills and white lace that seemed to stretch on for miles. There were pearls all over the place and even with the heavy rain everything just shined. It shone so brightly that it made his head ache, the hot pink decorating every inch of the island, from its houses to its streets and lamps as if a fucking unicorn had decided to just throw up everywhere. In every direction as far as the eye could see, the entire island was a giant pink stain on the Grand Line. A very shiny pink stain.
Marco chanced a glance to the outside once more, before immediately shutting his eyes again at the shininess of the place. How in the world did they make this place shine so much through the seemingly never ending downpour? From what he could tell, Aiko seemed to be completely unaffected as she looked around normally, was this just a woman thing? People did say, diamonds were a girl's best friend, -especially the shiny ones- Marco and Thatch always made fun of the old time phrase. Both of them saying something along the lines of Jozu not being close to too many women, but now that he found Aiko able to look through the complete shininess of this place, the old words must have had some truth in them.
"This place is full of women." He heard the clear sound of Aiko's voice invade his mind as he still stubbornly kept his eyes sealed and shut.
Aiko herself, was looking around carefully, experienced eyes observing the movements of those around her. There were only women on this island, even the pirate ships docked looked like they kept crews of all female pirates. She didn't see what Marco saw, yes everything was a hot neon pink, but such a color wouldn't have had him closing his eyes so tightly, especially since the color was mostly drowned out by the heavy rain. She tried her best to spot a bar, but with little success. Her eyes then tried to find a man, any man except the fine specimen beside her to once again no avail. An island filled with women? To her knowledge only the Kuja and their trained warriors could handle living on their own, but it was different here. All the women looked frail and delicate, donning dresses all in different shades of pink as they moved about. They looked like the type of women that would freak out if they broke a nail, the type that had never lifted a single heavy thing in her entire life.
She saw a group of children in raincoats –all girls- stopped to stare at Marco who kept his eyes firmly shut. She knew he was probably feeling the place out with his Kenbunshoku Haki. All the girls collectively gaped as their eyes trailed over Marco's lean figure, from the way Marco's biceps tensed next to her, she knew that he could feel each and every one of their gazes. A woman then blocked all the children's views of Marco as she called their attention and turned them to go inside a small building that looked to Aiko like a chapel of sorts. The children obediently followed as the woman hurried them along, shooting her blonde companion a worried look before going inside the chapel herself.
What the hell was wrong with this place?
Had they never seen a man before, was this really just another woman filled island?
Then how the hell did they reproduce?
"My eyes…" Aiko turned her head slightly at the sound of Marco's deep voice. The tone smooth at the same time strained as if he were in pain. "I can't open them."
"Can't?" She asked, silently asking him to elaborate.
He nodded slightly, ever since he had placed two feet firmly on the docks and looked out to the island he had been blinded. "This place, is bright, yoi."
Bright?
Aiko looked around once more. Eyes only seeing the dull pink of the place. What was Marco seeing then? She peered at him through the corner of her eyes as she watched Marco try once more to open his eyes only to immediately slam them shut again. Now that wasn't a good sign.
"It's getting worse, yoi." He muttered. "Whenever I open my eyes, it gets brighter and…" He brought a hand coated in blue flames up to his head as if trying to cure something that just wouldn't go away. "It's making my head fucking pound."
Aiko's eyes widened slightly at his foul mood. It wasn't every day the blonde commander swore and openly donned an annoyed look. She watched him continue to rub his head with his bright blue flames, were his regenerative powers not working? By the way the corners of his mouth pulled slightly down, the answer was obvious.
"Things look fine to me." She said as her brow furrowed in concern. An island that gave him a headache even Phoenix healing couldn't cure? What was up with this place? "And this island is full of women…"
Realization dawned on Marco at what she was implying. "So this brightness repels men, huh?" He grinned a little, trying once again to open his eyes only to slam them shut once more as he cringed at the slight stinging he felt. "Makes me want to see it, yoi."
From his Haki, he could tell she was shaking her head at him as she scolded, "Stop acting on that curiosity." Her voice was full of concern and exasperation and he just had to tease her about it. The temptation was too strong, not to.
"Is that worry I hear, yoi?" He smirked and he just knew Aiko was giving him a glare. "I didn't know you cared so much."
"Now, don't get too full of yourself, Phoenix." She looked around once more, they had been standing in the same spot for a while and were starting to attract more attention. "I might just leave you here."
"I'll follow you, yoi." He said simply, referring to his Kenbunshoku Haki.
Aiko gave him the most scandalous look she could muster, which really wasn't all that good, though it wasn't like he could see it. "I didn't know you were such a stalker, Phoenix."
He would have rolled his eyes at her if he could.
"Anyway," Aiko continued as she looked around one last time before deciding on a direction. "Let's go, old man. Don't stray too far from me now."
He shook his head at her and her teasing voice. "Have some mercy, yoi. I'm already temporarily blind."
"Too bad, the women are quite beautiful here too." Aiko sighed as if tragedy had occurred. "Though I suppose it's also a good thing, you are quite old after all."
"What's this?" Marco tilted his head at her, a contemplative look on his face as he used his haki to follow her, seemed she was heading back to the ship. "Are you jealous that I get more action than you?"
He could just imagine the insulted look marring her features.
She opened her mouth to retort at his cocky attitude, before she stopped in her tracks, him following suit as he asked, "Something wrong, yoi?"
Aiko looked in the area they had just come from with a frown on her face. The place was shielded by a dense fog, she couldn't even see the road they had walked through. She tried using her Haki to pinpoint the ship, but the fog was doing something to her senses. What was wrong with this mist? She brought a hand out of the cover of the umbrella Marco still held, her hand completely disappearing in the mist.
"We can't go back." Aiko said quietly, eyes darting behind her to make sure the road was still there. It was, she even saw the little chapel the children had gone through and some women were walking happily around, completely not noticing the thick mist. Was the mist trying to lead them somewhere? Aiko took a step towards one of the women to voice her concern about the mist, only for the pink clad woman to run with a speed Aiko didn't know could be achieved in a dress, she ran into a nearby house with fear radiating from her figure.
That was strange.
Why hadn't they run at the first sight of her? Were they scared of her? She looked towards Marco for a brief second, or were they scared of him?
Marco used his Haki once more, when he had heard Aiko say they couldn't go back. It was odd, he felt absolutely nothing. Just blank space, no sign of the docks or any of the buildings they had passed. But he could feel the town that they had yet to explore, even feel the presence of people. So what was happening?
"Aiko." He called, as he felt her step away from him. Separating from him wasn't a good idea, especially with his eyes currently out of commission. "Don't stray, yoi."
She instantly stepped back into the cover of the umbrella, her hair and clothes slightly damp.
"There's a thick mist clouding our way back." She explained to the tall blonde, she didn't bother saying it wasn't ordinary mist, if it were she would have no problem going through it and from the serious look on his face, she knew he was thinking. "The women in the town won't talk. We can force them, but…" Her voice trailed off.
Forcing them wasn't a good idea, if this mist was somehow related to the people on the island, what if it enveloped them to protect its citizens? Right now, it seemed to stay away from them and the areas they had yet to explore. The mist felt almost as if it were alive. Leading them forward into the town.
"Did the notes or the map say anything about this island?" Aiko asked as they took slow steps forward. She peered behind her to see the fog slowly eating up the buildings and people they passed.
"No. It was just sketched there, yoi." It wasn't unusual for pirates to skip islands after all and it was highly likely that the navigators of their crews just filled in the maps using information from other maps. He felt her grab the golden belt around his waist to make sure they weren't suddenly separated as she led the way through the town.
"The women here are a bit wary of you." Aiko said as she kept walking, her gaze checking in back of them to make sure the mist didn't suddenly eat them up.
"Quite a blow to the ego, yoi."
Aiko grinned slightly as she moved her hand from the golden belt hanging from the sash tightly wound around his waist to rest on his elbow, so she could lead him to the direction she wanted to go.
"Where do you think this leads?" She asked, children and women went about their daily business, opting to mostly ignore the strangers. But some openly stared at the two, more so at Marco than her.
"Nowhere good, yoi." He could feel the surroundings and they made him uneasy. His gut was telling him that something unpleasant was nearby.
"Pssssst! Pssst!"A pebble was thrown at her, aimed right at her head to catch her attention, but she caught it before it could hit its mark and threw it where it had come from, the small pebble hitting the culprit on the forehead as he fell on his bottom in surprise.
Marco suddenly felt Aiko's head snap in the direction of some alley and his arms instinctively tensed, though his face remained as impassive as always. He made sure not to open his eyes and look to where she had, though it was an odd feeling. Not being able to see, that is.
Aiko could see a man with blonde hair and an unshaved face in his early twenties. He was dressed in black to better blend in with the shadows in the alley he was calling them to. She gave the man a cautious glance before directing Marco with her towards him. Aiko could feel Marco's bicep tensing under her hand, ready for a fight. As they approached and came to a halt directly in front of the rugged looking man, who she noticed had some very thick sunglasses covering his eyes, she saw a small trail of blood running from where she had thrown the pebble at him with a little too much force.
"And you are?" Aiko asked as Marco handed her the umbrella and crouched down to the balls of his feet. Elbows on his knees and hands dangling between his legs, so that the two men were now almost at level with each other, almost, since Marco still towered half a head above him. The man tilted his head up to look up into Marco's intimidating form. The Phoenix still had his eyes closed, but the fear radiating off of the seated man was evident.
"I-I'm here to help." He whispered, eyes darting to see if some of the town women were looking.
"We need to get back to our ship, yoi." Marco said plainly.
The man bit his lip, face reluctant. He didn't want to answer out here, what if one of the women from the town saw?
He'd be screwed.
Opening his mouth, he said in a small whisper. "The mist traps all the men here."
A/N: Heeeey, here's the chappie!I've been messaged about putting more characters in, I probably will but I'm afraid it might ruin the dynamic between Marco and Aiko, so I'm not too sure yet, plus the fact too many OC's makes things... difficult. Also, if you have any questions feel free to PM me. I reply quickly.
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