Hello my dear readers! Welcome and enjoy!

I saw some views, I am hoping for a bit of feedback. Tell me your thoughts guys :D

A bit of info about my inspiration for Ranmao: Ghibli Studio (Nausicaa and Kiki of course)

Chapter 2: Break the fall (Applebottom remix) – Laura Welsh

Ace and Leo sat in one of the crow's nests of the Moby Dick. The blonde was looking out to the ocean, watching out for ships. The raven, on the other hand, was looking over a notebook of sorts. It contained many variations of the Whitebeard Pirates flag.

"I still think that the original one is the best." Ace huffed, dropping the designs.

"It's your decision, Ace." Leo told him, lowering his binoculars. The blonde picked up the discarded notebook, looking over the designs. "Mine's not among these."

"Really?" Ace perked up.

"Yes." Leo took off his long coat, the sleeveless shirt underneath showing the tattoo on his shoulder. It was a black design with purple details. It was more similar to the one Marco had than the one on the flag. However, the characteristic eyes were much more prominent than the mustache, making the symbol unique.

"Woah. That's amazing." Ace was inspecting the tattoo up close. Leo smiled. The raven didn't have any personal space. That didn't even exist in the young pirate's dictionary. Leo was still getting used to it.

"I agree. I got it on Sabaody actually. There's this guy that does quite impressive tattoos." Leo folded his cloak and left it on the bottom of the nest. It was too hot to be wearing it all the way up here. "Have you decided where you want yours?"

Ace shook his head, grinning.

"What about its size?"

Another shake of the raven's head.

"I see." Leo chuckled and then it evolved into a full laugh. Ace joined in, too.

"What are you two laughing so merrily about?" Thatch jumped into the crow's nest with a bottle of rum. He took the binoculars from Leo and scouted the horizon quickly. "At least you're doing your job." Thatch sat down, sighing.

"We were just discussing body art, Thatch." Leo answered. "What's got you on edge at this hour?" Ace took the bottle from the Commander, sipping the strong alcohol.

"Let's just say that you are very lucky that you aren't a Commander and leave it at that, ok lion?"

Leo laughed at the pompadour, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine!"

"I say you need a woman." Ace supplied between gulps of alcohol. Thatch gave him a glare and Leo seemed amused. Someone was finally teasing the mischievous Commander.

"And I say you need to return the booze to me." Thatch grumbled and took back his bottle. Ace crossed his arms and shared a smug look with Leo.

"Are you two tag teaming me?"

Silence.

"Oh, I'm so touched! My little boys are growing up! Practicing my techniques!" Thatch wiped an imaginary tear away. The trio started laughing again.

"Oh, right, pay attention to the skies, too." Thatch informed them. "The Sparrow should be coming soon with supplies." The Commander took yet another swig from the bottle.

"Really?" Leo seemed excited for some reason. Ace didn't know who this Sparrow was, and personally, he didn't care. He figured that if it was important, he would learn. Thatch seemed to have a good opinion about this Sparrow guy, and so did Leo, that was enough for Ace. He had learned that his two new friends were good at judging someone's character. They had already gotten used to Ace's mood swings and didn't take his sudden bursts of anger or irritation personally. It was relaxing, having someone to talk to and not having to filter everything and watch what you say. Ace felt strangely accepted.

"Yeah, Marco got a call today to confirm our location." Ace tuned back into the conversation.

"Leo!" Someone called from the deck. The blonde bent over the edge of the crow's nest, investigating. He turned to Ace next. "Are you going to be alright up here till the end of the shift? I am needed elsewhere apparently." The young pirate looked apologetic and a bit guilty, even though he was already picking up his coat.

"Don't worry about it. I'm good here. Even better if Thatch leaves the booze with me." Ace smirked.

"Cheeky." Thatch commented. He drank some more rum, standing up. Leo was already halfway down the ladder when Thatch gave Ace the bottle. "Don't get drunk and go to sleep, now." The pompadour warned. "I'll come back later, but I should get back to my duties for now." Ace mock saluted the Commander as he climbed down, too.

This left the raven alone in the crow's nest. He settled himself more comfortably on the railing and took another swig from the bottle. This was some good rum. He turned it around, reading the label. He didn't know the brand, but he was going to remember it. Ace scouted the horizon with his eyes. Nothing. He paid attention to the skies, too. Clear. Then he relaxed. He liked high places. He could people watch from there. As old man-like as that sounded, Ace liked to do it from time to time. He found himself learning a lot about the new crew while people watching.

He had also decided that the Whitebeard pirates were what he had been looking for. They were family. Not by blood, but by affiliation. They belonged. Weak, strong, small, tall, cursed, old, young, it didn't matter. They were all accepted as Whitebeard's children. They were all children of the sea. And Ace, he could respect that. He wasn't ready to open up to them completely yet, but he could accept them. He could fight for them. He saw, now, what his crew had seen earlier.

When he had first arrived, the raven was so angry. At himself, at his crew, at Jinbei, at Whitebeard, at Roger. He was so angry. He kept trying to kill the Captain in his rage, hoping to redeem himself somehow. Be better than his old man. But, the more time passed, the calmer he became. At first, he hadn't wanted to get close to anyone. Even after joining the crew, it was solely for information at first. But, Leo got in the way. Or more like, under his skin.

Leo was too similar to Sabo sometimes. He wasn't a noble, though. He was just used to acting like one. All proper, with his tea and coat. But in the end Leo was an outcast. Ace still didn't know how, but he could feel it. See it in the pirate's eyes. The young man looked so alone sometimes. Thatch had told Ace in a drunken ramble that Leo wasn't even the pirate's real name. The raven wasn't sure when, but at some point he had started referring to the blonde as his friend.

He raised the binoculars once again, scouting. There was a blurry, dark spot on the horizon. Ace focused on it, trying to see something. Was it a ship? Pirate or Marine? He knew that the Whitebeard Pirates weren't bothered by the Navy a lot. That was just an occasional idiotic Captain or Lieutenant looking for a raise. Sometimes pirates attacked the ship. Or bounty hunters. Up until now, they haven't been too successful. A couple of burns, broken arms, maybe an unlucky broken leg and a ton of scratches. Other than that, the pirates were unharmed. The shape on the horizon finally became clearer. It was a ship with a black flag that Ace didn't recognize.

"Pirate ship on the horizon!" The raven yelled towards the deck, catching the crew's attention. There were preparations done below him then. Cannons were moved and pulled to their proper places. Cannonballs and gunpowder were carried across and below the deck. People were shuffling about, getting ready for a brawl.

"Let me see, yoi." The First Commander was suddenly behind Ace, hovering over his shoulder. Ace passed him the binoculars. Marco was silent for a moment.

"Go down. I'll stay here." And the young pirate obeyed, making a note to ask Thatch about Marco's strange behavior later.

~~~~pb~~~~

The Sparrow trembled under the force of the air current that Ran had caught earlier. The New World always had insane weather. And the air currents were unpredictable and difficult to fly on. The first few times Ran had flown the new skies she had almost crashed and had had to stop for repairs at least five times in two hours. It had been hell. Now, she was mostly used to it. She could read the slight changes in the temperature and the force of the current and adjust.

She had left the Sabaody Archipelago two days ago. She had managed to buy or haggle most of the items from Whitebeard's list. She had to make one more stop on her way to his vessel and the delivery would be perfect.

The wind changed once again, making the girl leave the current. The Sparrow slid through the air effortlessly, carrying the cargo and its rider without problems. Ran had calculated just how much the glider could carry. She could see the next island. She adjusted her suit and decided to switch positions on her glider. Finding purchase for her feet, she stood, bent at the knees, hands holding onto the bars on top of the glider tightly. The cold air hit her. She was entering the atmosphere of the island. It was a winter one. The gray and silver snow clouds were icy as she went through them. Luckily, her suit was warm on the inside, keeping the frost only on the outer part. She could see little droplets freezing on her goggles. The Sparrow flew left and right, circling, slowing down gently.

She could see the city clearly now. Thousands of little houses, built up and down on hills of snow, all in pale colors. There were little yellow and little black blobs down there. Lights and people. She threw a look at the horizon quickly, and noticed the sun still up. Ran adjusted her weight and the Sparrow made another gentle circle, one wing lower than the other, spiraling down. The pilot could hear happy yells 'It's the Sparrow' below her. She felt a grin make its way onto her face. She hadn't been here in a long time. Maybe five months? She liked to restock here. Finally, Ran leveled out her glider, pressing a small metal paddle with her foot. That caused a small burst of air on the bottom of her flyer and the metal bars on the bottom entered the snow, burying themselves in it. The Migratory Bird was soon swarmed with curious children.

"Welcome back, Ranmao." A raspy voice greeted the young pilot.

"It's good to be back, Elder Pinjao." The girl smiled at the short old man. He had been the leader of the village for as long as Ran had been coming there. The old man was small, almost mistaken for a child in his many furs and coats. His face reminded Ran of a bulldog. Pinjao was missing some of his teeth. He liked to tell the children how he had lost them during his many hunting expeditions. There was also a large scar going down his arm and leg. The elder would often tell that story. About a huge bear that he had fought. Ran smiled thinking about it. She already knew it by heart.

"How long will you be staying this time?" The old man asked her, shaking snow of his staff with irritation.

"I'm just gathering some supplies now. I'm on a job." The children around Ran whined and groaned in protest. They liked the pilot. When there wasn't a storm she would take them up in her glider, one by one. It was quite an experience for the little brats. "Maybe I'll be back by the end of the month to stay for a while? But I must leave before the storm season, of course." Cheers sounded all around the girl and her mechanical bird.

"That sounds like a promise to me. Come, I'll give you a nice cup of hot cocoa to warm you up and then we'll see what you need for your delivery." The elder motioned for Ran to follow him. "I also have a job for you. Nothing urgent, though." Ran followed Pinjao, tossing a warning look at the kids over her shoulder. The little spawns were already climbing all over her glider, oblivious. She laughed lightly, giving up. They knew what was safe to play with by now.

Ran looked up as she walked, seeing the clouds around the island blocking the sun. It was mid-day, but here, it seemed as if it were dusk. The snow clouds that Ran has passed through on her way to the island gave the bright sun rays a gray hue. The elder led the teen pilot into his house. It was warm inside. The fire was burning, its yellow light both soothing and warm. Ran unzipped her suit and removed her head gear. She tied the sleeves of her bulky suit around her waist, letting it hang. The girl fixed her messy bun and put her chopsticks in it. She always felt naked without them. Her goggles dug into her forehead and she adjusted them better.

"Here you go, lassie." The elder gave Ran a steaming mug and sat down in his chair. "Make yourself at home." He told her.

"I always do." Ran replied, seating herself on one of the comfortable chairs. They were covered in soft bear fur. Heaven, she thought, sipping the warm chocolate drink.

"Why don't you tell me about the items you need now?" Then the old man's eyes twinkled in excitement. "Also, a two or three stories about your adventures wouldn't hurt? Have you finally found yourself a lad? Eh?" Ran laughed at this. The old man was incorrigible.

"Well, I did have a rather interesting time on the Grand Line during the past months. I suppose a story or two is in order?" The pilot evaded the question quite skillfully and launched into a retelling of her adventure with the Marines, pirates and Sea Kings, successfully taking the old man's mind of off her status as a single woman.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ace ended up with Thatch during the pirate brawl. The duo was fighting back to back on the enemy ship without many problems. Ace saw Leo send someone overboard with a rather impressive right hook, but the blonde had vanished in the mass of yelling pirates seconds later. The raven didn't really see anything good in all out brawls. There was no honor or honesty. It mostly consisted of punching everything that came your way. Ace had to be especially careful about where he fired off his Hiken. He had evaded Thatches sword a couple of times, too. The bloody thing was laced with kairoseki. The damned Commander should be more careful where he swings it.

Marco flew above them, sending shooters from the crow's nest and mast down. Ace evaded a flailing body with little grace, but he managed to catch himself. Thatch was used to Marco's lazy style of fighting by now. The first mate wasn't serious unless the enemy was strong. He preferred to just fly about and help out the brawling brothers. For Ace, the occasional body falling towards him was a big distraction. And no matter how much he enjoyed seeing Marco's Devil Fruit in action, he didn't like fighting near the Commander. The raven was used to going alone into battle, with maybe some back-up. He wasn't used to being the back-up himself, like the Whitebeard Pirates considered him.

"Ace, what the heck!?" Thatch stopped a sword that was heading towards the young pirate's face. "Stop spacing out!" The pompadour scolded and pushed the enemy pirate away and overboard.

"Sorry, thanks!" Ace yelled back and fired off a well-aimed Hiken.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran stored her chopsticks back in their pouch at her hip and suited up. She thanked the Elder for his time and left the old man's house. Pinjao followed her to the door and waved when she left to the market.

"That's a fine woman right there." The old man told the teen that was chopping wood in front of his house.

"I know, Gramps. But she ain't interested in me." The teen retorted and continued his work. The old man shook his head and went back inside. "She's in love with the skies." The young man murmured into his chin.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran hurried with her shopping. She traded some of the things she had gotten on Sabaody for some of the supplies she needed for her flight. The oil here was great for the gears of her glider. She bought the rest of the things that Whitebeard ordered and carried the boxes and bags to her glider. The children were still playing around and on top of the Sparrow. Ran put most of her stuff down and headed to open the storage space. She rearranged the stuff that was already inside to accommodate the new items. Just as she was about to go get the supplies tiny hands gave her one of the boxes. The children had stopped playing and were helping the young pilot.

"Why thank you!" She exclaimed happily storing the incoming boxes and bags into the glider. "Thank you very much for your help!" Ran told the group that was looking at her with smiles on their little faces.

"No problem, Ran!" The children chorused. They had clearly practiced that.

"Well, it would be mean of me not to get you guys a reward, right?" The pilot pretended to ponder, putting a finger on her lip.

"Yes!" The kids answered.

"Ok then." Ran rummaged through the storage of the glider and pulled out a colorful bag from the bottom. "Now then, these are mizu-candy from the great city Water 7. You each get one, ok?" The kids came up to her, each pulling out a colorful, gel-like treat from the bag. "I'll see you soon then guys." She told them, putting the candy back and slamming the storage door shut. "Clear for takeoff!" Ran yelled, pulling her goggles down. The kids ran away, giving the pilot room to gain momentum. The teen stepped on the hidden paddle, letting the burst of air send Sparrow upwards. She waved at the residents of the small village as she flew up and into the snow clouds. Ran saw Elder Pinjao and his grandson waving from their house. She allowed a small smile to stretch on her lips as she passed the cold and wet clouds. Soon the temperature evened out and the Sparrow caught an air current, its goal the Moby Dick.

~~~~pb~~~~

To say that Ace was surprised by how fast the Whitebeard Pirates got back to their routine was an understatement. Of course, he had seen the same thing happen before, but he was still trying to get used to the relaxed air that suddenly fell over the ship, as if the slowly sinking enemy vessel didn't even exist. The Moby Dick continued its journey, as if proud of the new win. Ace and Thatch, however, were shooed to the lower level of the ship by Marco. They had their punishment to finish, after all.

In the first two days of cleaning the lowest floor Ace realized why this chore was dreaded. The first thing was the sheer size of the room. It stretched almost along the whole length of the ship, making the space huge. The second was the usage. There was none. Simply, if you wanted something to vanish you would throw it somewhere in the lowest level. And of course, since they were aboard a ship, the room was full of spiders. Ace didn't mind spiders, but he wasn't sure how to deal with this quantity of them. Or their species. He was pretty sure that they had seen a couple of poisonous ones. The buggers were fast and Ace already had set one too many things on fire during their cleaning.

Thatch threw the sulking pirate his two fairly new friends, the mop and the bucket and took a broom himself. "C'mon Ace. There isn't that much left." The raven gave him a disbelieving look. "Ok, there's a lot left, but we have to keep going. You don't want to be stuck helping Marco with his paperwork. Trust me, this is better." Ace couldn't really see how.

The young pirate went to the supply closet and filled his bucket with soapy water. This was going to be another slow afternoon. The raven then followed the path that Thatch had made, very bravely, in the room and started collecting the ages of fine dust onto his mop. He hated how the stuff rolled into small balls of gray filth when wet. But, no matter how terrible the job, Ace knew how to use his time wisely. On this occasion at least.

"Hey Thatch, who's the Sparrow?" He heard Thatch curse from somewhere in the dark room. He couldn't see the Commander in the light of his lantern. Thatch had his own, so he should be fine. It's just that stacks of boxes and unused stuff were in between the two, so they couldn't see each other. Other than that, they weren't more than ten meters apart.

"It's a delivery service." The pompadour finally replied. "Not a lot of people use it, but it's very handy. Not a lot of ships are equipped for long travels, and even those that are sometimes need some extra supplies, so then they call the Sparrow. The delivery is by air, so it's much faster than going from island to island and the fee isn't too bad. Not for us anyways. Pops finds the whole thing convenient."

"Wow. I had no idea that even existed." Ace swirled his mop in the already dark water of the bucket. Thatch grunted, moving something.

"Yeah, it's not very famous. It's a one-man service. Ran wouldn't be able to go and deliver all the stuff if it was well known." Another grunt. "Hey, come help me out here."

Ace left his mop and bucket, and took his lantern, looking for the Commander. The raven navigated through the various things that were forgotten in the room and finally found Thatch struggling with a large wardrobe. Ace quickly took the other side and they managed to push it to the side, freeing a path. Thatch brushed sweat off his brow.

"Damn that old thing. I tried to get Izo to toss it or sell it, but he wouldn't budge. I figured he caved, but no, it's down here, rotting." Thatch seemed to be on a roll about 'the million things that Izo does that annoy me'. Ace had been a victim to this rant many times now, so he tuned it out and went back to his cleaning spot. Back to work, he figured.

For a few hours the two worked, making small talk occasionally. Neither was really in a mood for a good conversation. This place killed any kind of desire for fun. No wonder it was called the Ninth Circle, referring to the ninth circle of Hell. Ace was just about to change his water again when Thatch decided to call it a day. The teen readily agreed and the exhausted duo left the hellish room.

They had managed to move more of the furniture, creating more space. Now you could actually enter without jumping straight into the mess. Ace and Thatch had also sifted through the stuff and selected the things that couldn't be used, to be thrown away. They also found quite a bit of items that could be traded. Ace suggested that they torment Marco until he allowed them to sell their 'treasure' on the next island. That led to a devious plan forming between the two friends. And everyone knew that Ace and Thatch plotting never ended well. The two split up, each going to their own bath.

~~~~pb~~~~

The sky was red and orange by the time Leo had found Ace. The latter had just finished his snack and was on his way to the deck. Ace liked to snack. The problem was that his light meal wasn't light at all. He had a habit of raiding the fridge during the night. A lot. And since Ace's sleep pattern was messed up because of his narcolepsy, he was awake at strange times. That lead to Kondor buying metal locks from his own budget and putting them on the fridge. He also got a thick iron chain for the supply room. Not that either stopped Ace.

"Clear the deck!" Someone shouted, surprising the two pirates. Leo and Ace shared a confused look. Apparently there was something going on. The crew present on the deck was running around like a surprised flock of seagulls.

"Ace, look!" Leo pointed to the skies and that's when Ace saw it. It looked like a bird, but it wasn't moving its wings. When it came closer, glinting in the sun rays the young pirate saw a rider on top of the flying contraption. It was one of the most magnificent sights. The pilot moved left and right, the weight directing the flying machine gracefully. It made one circle around the ship, slowing down and then leveled out with the bowsprit. It was going to land head on with the giant whale figurehead.

The pilot jumped forward and fell down, suddenly hanging from some kind of bars on the bottom of the machine. Ace saw the legs make contact with the deck of Moby Dick and the pilot started running forward, gradually slowing down. He could see the person slouch under the weight of the flying machine on the back. Some of the present crew, including Marco, ran to catch the machine and stop it. In a few moments, the metal bird was on the planks of Moby Dick, still and the pilot was hugging random pirates, greeting them. Then the pilot took off the protective helmet and Ace felt his brain shut down. He had expected a man. The young pirate registered Leo pulling him towards the forming crowd.

"Ran! Hey! Ran!" The blonde got the newcomer's attention. She flashed a blinding grin in their direction and launched at Leo. However, all that Ace saw was her hair. It had spilled from the protective suit and now it was following her like a chocolate cape.

"This is Ace, he's new." Ace's mentor introduced them. "This is Ranmao, pilot of the Sparrow." Leo was looking at Ace now. The girl gave a small wave.

"Ugh, yeah, errr... You have pretty hair." Ace obviously left his filter somewhere in the shutdown part of his brain. Maybe the whole traveling with brothers was getting to him. He could feel himself giving off heat from the face and ears area and this time it wasn't his Devil Fruit's fault. The girl pilot, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Thanks, I like your shirt." She retorted, causing Ace to look down to check which shirt he had on. He didn't have one. He must've forgotten it when he left for the cafeteria. Food usually made him forgetful. Wait, what?! He looked up only to see Ranmao gone. Leo was giving him a rather sly look.

"She said that she would 'catch us later'. Not that you heard." The blonde told his friend through chuckles. "Let's go, lover boy. There's going to be a party tonight. We need to bring the booze out." Ace stood there for a second, his brain still frozen. Then he recovered and ran after Leo. He would learn everything his friend knew about Ran.

That's all for now folks!

I would like to address these issues immediately:

No, Ace is not in love with Ran at first sight. He just expected a man to come out of the suit, not a pretty girl his age.

No, Ran is not exceptionally beautiful, she is average. However, after a while with the same people you get very used to seeing their faces and you welcome a new one. Especially if you are a guy seeing a girl after travelling with men for a while.

No, Ran is not a very bold and confident woman. She is quite shy and embarrassed, but the whole 'seeing people after a long time of flying alone' makes her giddy. In other words, she puts up a brave front.