Welcome ladies and gents!
I give you my favorite chapter until now! First, let me thank my new follows and my new favorites!
Thank you NoMoon98 for following and FraulineTraumer and NoMoon98 for faving!
This was definitely one of my favorite chapters to write, even though I suck at fighting scenes XD I look forward to your reviews guys :D
Otaku-chan, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I made sure to include some Ace dorkiness, I hope it is nicely unexpected ;)
Chapter 8: The Beginning – One Ok Rock
The Sparrow glided along the current gracefully. Its pilot, Ran, was comfortably lying on top, leather strap supporting her weight. She was wearing her protective suit and using the untamed air currents. This meant that the small aircraft was high up, almost 500 meters. The air was thin there, but Ran didn't mind. Her headgear allowed her to breathe easily. Besides, Ran was from a Sky Island that floated way above 500 meters. She, of course, tended to keep this to herself when landing in the weaker seas. It was when you entered the New World that all dreams became reality. Over there Sky Islands and cities on the ocean floor were a given. On Grand Line, you were ridiculed for mentioning things like a Sky Island.
Ran looked to her Eternal Pose. She had gotten it on the Archipelago and she was set and on her way. The needle near the nose of her glider was still pointing straight ahead. She was on course. The pilot had left the Sabaody Archipelago a few days ago. She was on her way to deliver a package to a small island on Grand Line.
The pilot felt her glider tremble. She frowned slightly. She had caught a good current, and it wasn't too violent. It had steady flow and a couple of twists and turns, but nothing much. Considering Ran's skill with flying and reading currents, the Sparrow shouldn't be having problems. The bird trembled once again. Ran quickly adjusted her weight, sending the glider down. In minutes, the pilot landed on a small island that she had conveniently seen from the air.
The Sparrow sank into the grass gently and Ran jumped off. She stripped her head gear and tossed it on the ground in a hurry. She tied her hair up, the chopsticks gently jiggling. Ran unzipped the top of her suit, tying the sleeves around her waist. She rummaged through her storage and took out a toolbox. It was time to find the problem.
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Ace leaned against the door, trying to hear the conversation inside. He had joined the Hollow Skull Pirates recently. The Captain had been intimidated by Ace and his bounty in the beginning, but he was happy to shout out to the world that Fire Fist was on his crew pretty soon. Not that he trusted Ace. He was wary of the young pirate. And with good reason, of course. Ace was putting up a fine front, though. But, the raven had decided to tell Marco that one covert operation was enough for him. He wasn't one for espionage. He preferred a head on attack.
After seeing people go into slavery, stripped of all they owned, Ace was disgusted. He couldn't wait for the Captain to actually contact the Marines so that Ace and Vista could act. He was anxious. And he was becoming restless. All those people. Sold like cattle. He didn't want to just stand still. That could've been Luffy. That could've been him. That could've been anyone. He saw how their new jailers treated the slaves. It was the worst with the girls.
Ace had quickly gained a reputation with the prisoners. He would pretend to 'reserve' a girl for the night and then just sit with her in her cell. If he could even protect one person at a time, that was enough for him. He wished that Vista would hurry up and provoke the Captain already. He wished that he could punch the daylights out of the Hollow Skull Pirates already. His rage was fiery.
This rage and recklessness is what brought him to this moment. He had been assigned to cleaning duty. This meant that he was mopping the corridors when he saw the Captain and his first mate going to the Captain's quarters together. Ace had quickly glued his ear to the door, in attempt to hear something. Anything would do.
"The 5th Commander is attacking again?" A voice gruff said.
"His men are attacking one of the smaller vessels, Captain." Another spoke. "They aren't too far away. Should I contact Fish?" A short silence ensued.
"No." The Captain finally spoke. "Let's see what he's made of. Send Fire Fist." Ace felt his breath freeze in his lungs.
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Ran lay on the ground. She was covered in grease and soot from the glider. She could smell the slight burning of the wires she had just changed. She could feel the twinge in her muscles from the strength she used to turn the wrench. But what bothered her most was the rust that she could feel on her fingertips. She had brushed her hands a million times, but she could still feel it. She didn't want to believe it at first. The metal that was used to build her glider was top notch. She had rubbed the antirust layer onto it herself. She had been careful. This shouldn't be happening.
Ran watched the skies. The gray clouds were slowly moving downwind. The current there was probably smooth. Slightly cool with maybe a few twists and turns that she could do tricks on. She used the wind like the surfers used waves. She loved every minute of it.
Ran could feel corners of her eyes stinging. She felt her breath hitch. Salty drops glided slowly down her cheeks. Ran raised her hand and put it over her eyes, welcoming the dark and cried. She couldn't bear to look at the skies now. She couldn't. Because then, she would read the currents. And when she read them, she would want to try them. She would want to get up and fly there. Free in the wind. She wouldn't fly anymore. She couldn't.
The Sparrow was dying.
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Ran didn't know how much time she spent crying on the deserted island. At some point she stood up and took a scraping tool. She scraped the rust off as much as she could. She felt numb. She felt dead. Her hands were moving on autopilot. Ran briefly realized that she was crying again at some point, but she kept scraping. Her hands slipped a couple of times and she cut herself. But she didn't care. She needed to clear her head.
The pilot stripped almost everything. She walked down the grassy plain and towards the rocky shore barefoot, only in her shorts and top. She looked at the breaking waves. They were navy yet their caps were white. They were both dark and light. Both good and bad. Both sad and happy. She could feel the pull of the ocean again. And she didn't resist, even though she didn't have wings to answer the call this time. She ran forward and jumped off the cliff. She felt the air rushing past her. She felt the small, cold drops on her skin. But she didn't have the wings to fly up this time. She crashed into the waves, the dark and cold enveloping her.
Ran didn't open her eyes at first. She just let the cold and merciless ocean slam her around. She let the chill of the waves seep into her bones. And she felt her mind clear beautifully. Between the adrenaline rush of the fall and the cool of the sea, Ran's mind became empty. And then it flooded with information. She could remember. She could remember well. Everything about the mechanics and the engineering that she had ever learned before. She remembered her first glider. Her mind overflowed with details, drawings, materials and Ran kicked.
She took a deep breath, her head breaking the surface. She felt the warm rays of sun on her icy skin. Ran looked up. The stormy clouds had cleared. Ran grinned and swam towards the shore. She knew what to do.
Ran got to the Sparrow quickly. She secured her hair with chopsticks and started reassembling the glider. She still had some time. She had scraped the rust off nicely. Now she needed to finish her job. Then she would head to her home island, Arcadia. After all, that was the only place where the technology she needed existed.
Once she was done reassembling Ran suited up. The pilot jumped onto the Sparrow. She stepped on the hidden paddle and the burst of air sent the bird and its rider upwards. Ran didn't allow the Sparrow to glide. She couldn't risk it. She caught the driest air current that she could and avoided clouds. If the metal was rusting, that meant that the protective layer had peeled off. As long as she was careful, she could slow the rust down enough to finish the job and then head upwards.
The pilot leveled out her glider and stepped once again on the paddle, giving herself a boost.
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Kacha.
Ace finished his conversation with Marco. He had told the First Commander about the Hollow Skull Pirates plan to send him in, instead of calling the Marines. This, of course, thwarted Whitebeard's plan to catch Fish along with the human trafficking crew. But, the first mate had quickly made a decision. Ace was to get as many crew members of the Hollow Skull crew as close as possible to the 5th division's vessel. Then, they were to abolish the enemy. Now this plan Ace liked. A lot.
"Fire Fist!" A pirate knocked on Ace's door and entered without waiting for an answer. Even though Ace was a new member of the Hollow Skull Pirates, he was a man of status. The Captain had given him individual quarters. The disgusting man really wanted Ace's favor. Too bad.
"Yes?" Ace replied.
"Captain has decided to give you an opportunity to fight one of Whitebeard's. You're to sink the 5th Commander's vessel." The pirate informed the raven.
"I'll need some backup." The raven replied, a pensive look on his face. The pirate snorted.
"You'll have to talk to Captain about that." With that, the messenger left. Ace caught him saying 'loser' on the way out. The raven grit his teeth. True, he had lost to Whitebeard, but he wasn't ashamed of that. That loss made him a better man. He was proud to be a Whitebeard Pirate, Ace realized. He smirked. It was time to fry some human trafficking asses.
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Vista's vessel calmly rocked on the small waves. They had fired off a couple of warning shots, on Marco's orders, to get the Hollow Skull Pirates attention. The enemy crew had, of course, retaliated. First, they fired back a few shots, but then they retreated further into their territory. Vista didn't follow. He ordered his men to be ready, but to keep their position. He wanted them to come to him. If that new kid, Ace, was going to help, Vista needed to be in the perfect position.
"Commander Vista! Look!" One of his men called. The swordsman walked from the stern to the main deck. He could see the incoming ships. Vista counted at least four vessels. As they came closer, he could make out the figureheads. He knew two out of four. Not all of the ships were coming. That new kid didn't do his job well. At least the Marines weren't going to join the fray this time.
"Hard to port! Ready the cannons!" Vista yelled. He was going to sink those human trafficking pirates. There were different levels of low. These pirates were one of the lowest in Vista's book.
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Ace stood near the bow. He could see Vista's ship now. It was a rather small vessel, tiny compared to the Moby Dick. However, it probably had over 10 cannons. He would need to be quick. There was no one to jump into the sea after him in the middle of a battle.
"Ready?" The Captain of the Hollow Skull asked. Ace turned to him with a smirk.
"Always." Ace had secured his backpack earlier. He wouldn't want his favorite bag to go down with the ship. The raven looked back to Vista's vessel. He could see the cannons at the ready now. The sea was silent. Like the calm before a storm. The sun was up high, mercilessly shining on the anxious pirates. The air was thick with heat, but that didn't bother Ace. Even before eating his Devil Fruit, he hadn't minded the heat. He could see the Whitebeard Pirates clearly now. He knew quite a few of their faces. Ace smirked, still waiting. He could see the Captain of the Hollow Skull fidgeting. One more still moment passed and then a shout rang out through the hot air.
"Fire!" And the insanity began. Ace turned in a second and aimed a precise punch towards the Captain of the Hollow Skull Pirates. The man was shocked, but he attempted to defend his vitals. Ace, however, wasn't aiming for the organs. He jumped away from the still shocked pirate, a small Den Den Mushi secured. Now that the Hollow Skull couldn't call their Marine backup, everyone could let loose. Ace was grinning like an idiot with joy. He was finally going to kick some ass.
"What the hell, Fire Fist?" The Captain yelled attacking. Ace smirked, blocking and evading. He shot a column of fire at the enemy pirate. The Captain of the Hollow Skull fell back and rolled around on the deck, putting the raging flames out.
"You are the scum of pirates! As if I'd ever join you!" Ace retorted. "I was waiting for the perfect moment to retaliate." Ace smirked, walking forward. "I was waiting for you to be unable to call on your big Marine backup to fry you." He walked towards the now retreating Captain. "I was waiting to help my family protect their territory." And with that Ace pulled off his shirt swiftly, turning a bit so that the tattoo on his back would finally be visible. The Captain of the Hollow Skull gasped.
"You- you joined Whitebeard! You joined the man that beat you!" The Captain hit the wall, unable to move away from Ace. "Why?!"
"To roam the seas wild and free with Pops name on my back!" With that Ace flew forward, fist on fire. The enemy Captain evaded, rolling away. Ace turned to follow him, intent on setting his ass on fire. Then he felt that feeling of his focus slipping and cursed in his mind. The last thing he saw was Vista kicking the Hollow Skull Captain into the sea. With a mental whoop of joy, Ace fell onto the deck, currently battlefield, asleep.
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Ran finished her delivery quickly. Her mind was still in jumbles. She exchanged pleasantries, gave the cargo and accepted the payment. She declined the tea and the warm bed, and thanked the woman politely. Gosh, Ace had rubbed off on her. Ran took off less than an hour after landing. She took some extra time to re-stock, check on the Sparrow and suit up. She didn't know if she would be able to find the Sky Island right away. And she didn't want to pass through the White Sea twice or more.
The pilot caught a strong current swiftly and went upwards. She used her secret paddle a few times to propel the Sparrow further up. She felt her ears pop at a couple of thousand meters, but she kept going. The Sparrow trembled a few times, protesting the fast paced trip. The glider was built for casual travel and light cargo. Ran had pushed it a lot today. The pilot finally saw the White Sea and she stepped on the paddle one last time. She had spent the whole tank. The metal bird screeched as it went through the watery clouds. And finally, first its nose, then body and finally the long tail, the Sparrow wasn't sailing the Blue Seas anymore. Ran was in familiar territory.
She left the strong air currents and let her glider slowly settle onto the watery clouds. It was necessary. The pilot unhooked the Eternal Pose from the nose of her glider and dropped it into storage. She could sell it later, or take it apart for parts. She took out a small contraption deep from her storage. It looked like a golden compass. It was comfortably heavy in her hand. She opened it and spun the hand carefully to the tiny, detailed picture of an island. She pressed a small button on top of the compass and waited again. She had missed this little thing. There were numerous pictures around the edge of the compass, all drawn in small gold and black designs. She could see a bit of the gears of the mechanism behind the white front. The contraption reminded her of a large pocket watch.
The hand stopped suddenly, pointing in one direction, West. Ran put the golden contraption into her pouch, under the bulky suit. She would need it soon, after all. She slammed the storage shut and got up. This led her to her current problem. She had nothing to propel herself with. Oh well. Time to improvise. One of her friends had given her a rather handy, but painful thing last time. An Impact Dial from another Sky Island. They were rather stunted in the technology department, but their Dials were a real sensation at one time back on Ran's island. She located the small shell quickly and jumped into the water. Ran gripped the underside bars of the glider with one hand and used the Impact Dial with the other.
She felt pain sear through her already sprained wrist, and she cursed mentally. She had treated it carefully until now. Her back hit the belly of the Sparrow painfully, metal bruising her flesh. However, when Ran opened her eyes, she was in the air. The Sparrow was gently gliding. Using only one arm, the pilot made some rather impressive, ridiculous looking and clumsy, movements to get herself back on top of the vessel. She adjusted the heading right away. They were going West. They were going back to her home island.
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Ace opened his eyes, snapping back into the reality. The first thing he noticed was the silence. Obviously, he had been asleep for a while. Considering the amount of sleep he had gotten in the Hollow Skull Pirate ship, it didn't come as a surprise. He looked around, finding himself in a hammock, in the empty room. By the soft rocking, he was on a ship. Ace jumped out of the hammock. He saw his backpack lying on the ground. He didn't recognize the ship. He needed to know which vessel he was on. Or more like, whose. He doubted that the Hollow Skull could've won that battle.
Ace headed outside. As soon as he left the room, he heard muffled sounds of chatter and song. A party was somewhere close by. Ace grinned happily and hurried towards the deck. As soon as he exited, he saw that it was already nighttime. He had slept for quite a while. Then he saw all the singing and drinking pirates. This was Vista's ship, he realized.
"Good morning, new kid." A deep voice said behind Ace. He whirled around only to see the Fifth Commander himself.
"Good morning." Ace said politely, giving a bow on autopilot. Vista started laughing. He drank some of the alcohol from his tankard. The Commander motioned for Ace to follow and walked towards the main deck.
"You missed quite a bit of the action, newbie. But, you did a good job." Ace's smile widened. "I might join Thatches side this time during a meeting. That man thinks you're going to be a big shot." Vista handed Ace some booze and sat down, motioning for the raven to join him.
"Thanks. I wish we could've gotten the Marine Captain, too, though." Ace plopped down and gulped some booze. It wasn't too bad. "What happened while I was out? What happened to the slaves?"
"We sank all the ships that you brought. I fished you out of the mess and took you to our vessel." Vista drank some booze. A random pirate clapped Ace on the back, congratulating him on his victory. "Two more ships came after that, but they weren't a problem. Some of my guys are trying to get the rest of the Hollow Skull Pirates even now. Seems like most of them ran or swam away. The slaves were all saved. We have only minor injuries, nothing fatal. If you're looking for the prisoners, they are dancing somewhere on the deck." Ace nodded. It all turned out well. He could get Fish some other time. "Go join them, new kid. Celebrate." Ace grinned at Vista and jumped to his feet, joining the dancing pirates.
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It was dark by the time Ran located her home Island. From afar, Arcadia truly was a magnificent sight. On the center cloud the giant metal structure stretched, its joints creaking as it worked through the night. Thousands of little yellow lights shined, like fireflies, from the complicated design of houses, walls, ladders and balconies. Ran could almost make out the structures in the dim light. The three smaller Islands were attached by chains to the center one. There were houses and towers on those, too. Their designs were, however, much simpler.
Ran smiled slightly. She was coming back here. To Arcadia.
The girl entered the reach of the lights from the clearly awake island and the Sparrow instantly lit up in the lights of the watchmen. The giant, metal lighthouse was carefully watching all incoming flights from the mainland. Ran adjusted her course, heading there. She landed on one of the many platforms and started looking for her documents in her storage. She hadn't come here in a while, so she stopped keeping her papers in her pouch.
"Doesn't look too good, kid. You might need to toss it." The night guard inspected her vessel as he waited for her to hand over the documents. The people here knew their flying machines.
"I'll try to save it." Ran said, handing the documents over. She pretended not to care about the Sparrow. It was always good to act like you don't care here.
"It's all in order. I'll get you a tow-truck ride up. Which level?" The guard asked. He was referring to the level of the city in which she lived. There were five, ranked from larger number to smaller. On the first level was a castle for the royals and the villas for the nobles. And the wealth lessened as you went down. The fifth level were the slums for workers. But, the worst off were the smaller islands that pulled the mainland. There, even food and water was scarce.
"Third. I do not need a tow. I will fly." She told the man, icily. She couldn't help it. The guard gave her a strange look. It wasn't very normal here to see women as pilots. It was even rarer to see people build their own gliders. And it was very unusual to fly around unless you were a carrier or in need of repairs. People preferred tows.
"Have a safe flight." The guard told her, returning the paperwork. He was looking at her weirdly. Ran pulled her goggles down and pushed the Sparrow off the platform, jumping after it. She caught the bars quickly and maneuvered onto a current. The glider shot up as soon as she directed it. Ran caught the guard's shocked face as she flew away. Correction, Arcadia didn't have many skilled female pilots.
Ran swished left and right, heading towards the top of the city. She had to check in with each wall guard to be able to proceed to the upper level. She saw her family house from the air. It was slightly nostalgic, being back here. The structure was made out of metal, bricks and various paper umbrellas. The metal was mostly black, pale green, golden and brown, the bricks that were peeking from underneath and providing support were made of gray stone, while the umbrellas were a vibrant red and green. Ran circled and then landed on their personal landing platform. There were a few reasons as to why her family had built the thing. Her cousins were interested in piloting, too and most of her friends didn't have a platform to use either. Ran's uncle was a mechanic, so there were a lot of his customers flying in. In the end, they got the permit to build the platform.
Ran jumped off the Sparrow and stripped her head gear and the top of her suit. She left the goggles around her neck and tied her hair up with chopsticks while walking towards the house. There were three buildings that Ran's family owned, separate on the outside, but connected with metal and rubber bridge-like tunnels. Her aunt and uncle lived in one structure, while Ran and her parents lived in another. The middle building was used as a mechanic shop where her uncle worked and her cousins helped out. What Ran loved were the domes that each home had on top. She used to climb them with her cousins when she was younger.
"Ranmao! Welcome home!" Her mother's voice came as soon as the young pilot entered her house. Her mother always did have a sixth sense. Ran fidgeted with the headgear in her hands and headed towards the craft room.
"Hi, ma." She greeted back. "It's good to be back." Her mother was an artist. She usually worked on the top level, doing designs for the royal family or the nobles. It was rare for her to be at the house. The pilot soon saw why her mother wasn't at work. There was a giant, blood red, canvas on the floor that her mother was painting. The paper looked fragile. It was one of the hand crafted materials that was used to make the wings, domes, umbrellas and other useful things all around the city. Apparently her mother had a special order.
The woman in question was on her knees, hands and face dirty with paint. She wasn't an old woman, she was in her forties, but she looked much younger. Ran got a lot of her looks from her mother. Their hair was the same chocolate color and they were the same build. Ran got her blue eyes from her father, though.
"Honey, is everything alright?" Her mother exclaimed from her position on the floor. Her brow was furrowed and she was inspecting the young pilot for injuries.
"Yeah, ma. I just need to fix the Sparrow. I'll be staying here a while." Ran replied. She noticed the older woman's features relax visibly. Her mother gave her a gentle, loving smile.
"Of course, hun. Your uncle is busy with the new plane project, but your cousins should be able to give you a hand, dear." Her mother took up her brush again. "I'm sorry, love, I really need to finish this by tomorrow. Why don't you run along, now? And we'll talk at dinner?" Ran nodded and made herself scarce. She loved her mother, yes, but the woman was in her own world most of the time. Her cousins, on the other hand, she adored them. The two older guys were her former babysitters. They had taught her about mechanics and piloting. They had introduced her to her current obsession.
Ran climbed the stairs to her former room. It was exactly as she had left it. It had been dutifully dusted, though. The bed in the corner, the sky window in the middle of the room, the small glider and plane models, the numerous books about mechanics and engineering on the shelves, the small desk with charts and current explanations. It was all like she left it. Even the silly cloud covers of her bed. It had been two years. Two long years. Ran sighed.
"You look down." The pilot jumped a bit.
"I thought you were busy." Ran turned to her mother in the doorway. She was still covered in paint. The woman shook her head and opened her arms.
"Come here." Ran hugged her mother tightly, enjoying the embrace. She didn't even care that the woman was leaving paint all over her white protective suit. "I missed you, hun."
"Me too, ma." The two women separated, the elder wiping her eyes a little. Her daughter had grown.
"Run along now. I know you want to see those troublemakers about your bird." Ran laughed and ran downstairs. "You should come for some other reason than repairs next time!" She heard her mother yelling after her. Ran smiled to herself as she walked back to her glider. She opened the storage of the Sparrow and tossed her headgear in. She stripped her protective suit quickly and threw that in, too.
"Whoooo~ Free strip tease! Nice one, cuz!" Ran turned quickly, only to see her cousin. He was grinning wide and walking towards her. She ran and jumped on him, legs hooking around his waist as he spun her around, both laughing. He was more muscular, she noticed. Her cousin let her down slowly.
"Man! I missed you, Ran! Look at you!" The tall man gave her an onceover, his hands still on her shoulders.
"Look at you! You dyed your hair! It looks amazing!" Ran zeroed in on his sky blue hair with red highlights. Her cousin had finally gone insane. She looked him over. Dark brown, grease and soot stained pants, bulky working boots and a white wife beater top, stained from work. Her cousin towered over her, with his muscles and all. He was probably taller than Marco. On top of his eccentric hair were steampunk styled goggles. No doubt, one of his inventions. This was the younger of her two cousins, Jinhai, more commonly called Shrimp.
"Yeah, it's a little bit of rebellion, no?" He said and then froze. Ran did, too. A moment passed. Shrimp chuckled, then, very nervously. "You here for repairs?" He chose another topic quickly.
"The Sparrow is rusting." Ran whispered. Shrimp nodded slowly, pensive. "I need to repair him."
"You can't be serious, Ran. You know how tricky repairs on a rusting vessel are. You tweak one too much and boom goes the glider." Shrimp told her. It was true. Ran knew that. Once the metal starts rusting, the machine is usually sent to the junk yard. There, it is melted down and the resources can be re-used.
"It's not an it, Shrimp. It's the Sparrow, and he is my companion." Ran burst at her cousin. He raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Whoa! Whoa! Don't flame at me now, Ran! I'm just stating the obvious, cuz!" Shrimp grinned at her. "If you have an idea, I'll help you out. But don't be too optimistic, cuz." Ran gave him a quick hug.
"Awesome! I was hoping that you would say that! I'm going to need gold. And also salt, scrapers and a dozen or so limes!" The pilot's face was ecstatic. Shrimp gave her a weird look and laughed. He took her hand and dragged the pilot with him towards the market. She continued to list off ingredients that she needed. Shrimp felt excitement bubble in his chest. His cousin has always been a blast.
That's all folks!
Well, we finally get to see Ran's home island! And Ran's abilities are finally starting to develop. I'm so excited! Don't worry, Ran and Ace will meet up again.
I hope that my way of writing, in fragments and all that, isn't getting on your nerves xD
I drew a few sketches of Ran and the Sparrow, I'm going to try and put it on my profile by dropbox :3
Ok, so a bit of info:
About the tattoo, I went a bit into the impossible, tattoos take a bit longer than just two days guys. But, considering that this is the anime category, I'm taking liberties.