Welcome ladies and gents!
Oh I am over the moon! I have received so many nice reviews! Happy happy singing the happy sooooong~
I have realized that a character named Ran already exists in One Piece. She is a Kuja Pirate. I was so sad when I found out that, I tend to try to be as original as possible. T_T
Also, I can't seem to make myself watch the Marieford arc, so I have no idea what I'm going to do when it comes to that…
In this chapter, we finally crack a bigger plot! Mwahahaha~
One question for you guys, would you like Chameleone to make an appearance in this fic?
Anyways, I would like to thank Satine Gold on the alert and Wren on the alert, fav and author fav *_* Oh my gooosh! I feel so honored :D
I would also like to send out a huge hug to Savage Kill, anniewanny2, ZabuzasGirl and Wren for the reviews!
Here we go,
Chapter 13: Heaven Knows – The Pretty Reckless
Ace spent his days in anticipation. It had been a while after he had made the pompadour glow and no retaliation had come yet. He was cautious, borderline paranoid, waiting for the Commander to strike back. But it wasn't happening. There was mysterious silence from Thatch. It was very unusual and that worried Ace. He expected the pompadour haired man to lash out, to prank him back or at least to act mean or sarcastic. That was just the way that Thatch was. And Ace was used to it. But not this. Not this pleasant front that the Commander had been putting on. The man hadn't even reacted to the prank. Maybe Ace needed to go a bit bigger. Maybe he hadn't made enough of an impact. Just as he was preparing to try again, on a bigger scale of course, came the Commander's retaliation.
"Morning, Kondor." The raven greeted, leaning on the serving counter. "Hey, Penny." He enjoyed the smile that the girl gave him. It was pure and beautiful. He grinned right back. "The usual, please."
"A-aah~ Ace, my boy! You mind running an errand for me? Commander Marco is being ridiculous with his work again." The cook ended his words with a swig from his wine bottle. Ace was still surprised at just how much the old man could drink. "He needs to eat, that reckless man."
"Sure, just let me eat something. I'm not very good at functioning before breakfast." Ace answered, taking one of the finished meals and started gobbling it up. Kondor laughed and handed the raven some more plates.
"Of course, of course." The old man smiled. "I saw that rascal Thatch early this morning. He was looking for you, Ace, my boy." The raven paused in his eating to raise his eyebrow at the old cook. The teen swallowed and opened his mouth to ask about the nature of the Commander's visit, but didn't get the chance. "A-aah~ Here you go! Enjoy, my boy." The last tray was passed to Ace and he shrugged, figuring that, if it was important, he would find out later.
The young pirate took his food, with some difficulty, and walked to his usual seat. There weren't many people in the cafeteria. There were a couple of people from 7th division eating and chatting in the corner. A few hung-over pirates were sitting in groups of two or three and lazily munching their breakfast. Leo was nowhere to be found. He had been up late last night on watch though, so Ace understood. Apparently, they were going to stop at a Winter Island before heading further into the New World and towards the Wano Kuni. Ace hadn't visited that place yet. He was excited and anxious to get there. He had heard a lot from his brothers about the country and how it was pretty isolated from the rest of the world. The raven liked the idea of a place that doesn't bow down to the World Government. He couldn't wait to dock there.
Ace placed his trays on the able and sat in his usual chair, only to fall on his ass. Growling, the young pirate picked himself up, trying to see what went wrong and ignoring the snickering of the present pirates. On further inspection, he saw that his chair had been dismantled, causing him to fall after sitting. Ace shook his head, smirking at Thatches childish attempt at retaliation and pulled another chair for himself. The raven tapped this seat with his hand, testing it. He deemed it safe and settled down.
The young pirate picked up the ketchup and shook the bottle. He liked to put ketchup on his eggs. For some reason, he found it delicious. What he didn't expect, and most certainly wasn't usual, was the soft sizzling sound that came from the bottle he squinted at it, raising the ketchup to his face. Unfortunately, Ace realized a bit too late what was going to happen. The bottle cap popped open and sprayed all over the young pirate's face, and shooting towards the ceiling. Ace sat there, blinking in surprise. Well, he had to congratulate Thatch on his creativity. It was most certainly inventive, but still, it wasn't as good as the glowing hair. Besides, Ace was used to a face full of food due to his narcolepsy problem. Chuckling with the other pirates in the cafeteria, he was most certainly the center of attention by now, the raven wiped his face with a hand and gave a grin.
"Good one, Thatch." He murmured as if the Commander could hear him. Next, the pirate tasted his ketchup and decided that it was alright and he spread it across his eggs. He carefully poked all of the food that Kondor hadn't prepared in front of him and deemed it safe. Nodding to himself the pirate dug into his breakfast, content. Ace didn't mind a bit of pranking, as long as he could still eat his food. No one came in between him and his food. Since this was fairly harmless, the raven could handle it.
"Good morning, Ace-sama." Penny joined him on the opposite side of the table. She placed a tray of candy apples in front of her and smiled at the raven. He mumbled something through a mouthful of food that Penny couldn't quite decipher, but she figured it was a greeting. The young girl had seen Ace's mishap with the chair and the ketchup. She figured that the candy apples might cheer him up a bit. She wasn't quite sure who had made them, but they had been left in the kitchen, so that meant that they were up for grabs. By now, the young girl had gotten used to the rules of the cafeteria.
"How do you like it here so far?" Ace asked in between plates. He drank some juice and continued shoveling food into the black hole of his stomach. Penny cringed at the way that he ate, but didn't avert her eyes. She was going to get used to this. It was a part of being a pirate.
"I love it. You are so free. You guys don't have any rules but the ones that you all decided upon. It's amazing." She smiled shyly and Ace noticed the way she fumbled with her apron. He swallowed.
"Your folks were pretty strict?" He realized that he didn't really know a lot about Penny. Somehow, their conversations were always about him. She always wanted to hear about his adventures, his former crew, the Grand Line, the East Blue, everything. In the beginning, Ace wasn't too keen on sharing all about his life with her, but soon, he got very comfortable with the small girl. The way her eyes lit up whenever she listened to him was absolutely adorable. Her lips parted slightly as she barely breathed, awaiting the culmination of his stories.
Penny was a little gem, a rarity, for sure. She wasn't a typical, hardcore pirate that you met while traveling. She would rather smile and cook for everyone than pick up a weapon and fight, and Ace could respect that. He wondered what would happen if this tiny girl met Ran. The bold and insane, but lonely pilot. The two sometimes overlapped in the raven's mind, due to the views that they shared. It would be an amusing friendship for sure.
"-only with my father." Ace realized that Penny was answering him.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that."
The girl giggled, unfazed by his short attention span. "I lived only with my father. He was pretty strict. But I understood." She looked to her lap. "My mother left him for the sea. He loved her. And she loved him very much. But she didn't want to bring him trouble, so she left me with him and went away." By now, Ace had paused his eating to listen to her. The story touched a nerve, and he struggled whether to share his own story with her or not. "I remember her voice. It was beautiful. I love my father, but I really want to meet my mother."
"She a pirate?" Ace asked, drinking more juice.
"I think so." Penny answered. She still wasn't making eye-contact with him. She seemed embarrassed.
"Do you know her name?" Ace didn't want to push the girl, but he wanted to help her. Penny nodded.
"Deanne D. Derosiers." The raven raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of that name. She either didn't have a bounty, or she wasn't a pirate. Besides, that name was a bit strange, too. Then again, he had heard quite a few ridiculous names.
"Never heard of her." Penny's face fell. "But that doesn't mean anything." Ace reassured. "You should talk to Marco. He might know." Penny nodded, smiling. She put her elbows on the table and leaned on her hands, watching the pirate finish his meal with gusto. Ace drank the rest of his juice and stacked up his trays. He grabbed one of the candy apples and winked at Penny, taking the trays back to Kondor. The man passed him the first mate's food and instructed him to make the phoenix eat. Ace accepted his important mission and left, biting into the sweet treat, only to spit it out. It wasn't an apple. Oh, it wasn't an apple at all. Ace's eyes watered from the spicy onion that he had bitten into moments before.
"I'll get you back, Thatch!" The raven yelled as loud as he could, laughing. This was going to be a blast.
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran woke up late that day, and sat up in her bed, panting. She could still hear the storm in her ears. She could still smell the salty air of the sea. The air in Arcadia was fresh and cold, but never salty. It never carried that scent of the sea. But, what stayed with her the longest, was the feeling of hot touches on her skin.
Those dreams had started after she had begun working on the new design of the Sparrow's wings. She still dreamt of the seas and the storms. However, she wasn't flying in it anymore. Instead, she was on a ship, watching the storm rage through a small, round window, safely out of the cold. Not that she was paying much attention to the weather outside, that is. She was too busy enjoying the warm hands on her body. They weren't shy. They touched everywhere. And damn, they made her feel good. The further the dream went, the hotter the touches got, bringing her to the edge. She never saw the guy's face, as he was behind her. She watched the waves instead, through the small window, while she enjoyed the pleasure that he gave her. But, she didn't need to see him to know who he was. She recognized those scorching kisses on her back and neck. She had taken them from him once before, after all. Ran was having wet dreams about Ace. And it was freaking the hell out of her.
"Morning, cuz." Shrimp's voice greeted the still dazed girl. She whirled around, searching for her tall relative. He was sitting on her desk, flipping through the AGT books that were open on it. "How's Ace?" The cocky mechanic smirked.
"Jinhai, you ass." Ran threw off her covers and headed for the bathroom. She needed a cold shower. And some time to think. Shrimp chuckled and put the books in her drawer. Better hide them, just in case uncle snoops around. He shook his head at his little cousin's romance drama and headed downstairs to prepare some breakfast for them.
Ran stood under the stream of cool water, enjoying the feel of it on her skin. She couldn't help it. For some reason, she was attracted to Ace. She was afraid of being emotionally attached to him. Hell, she was afraid of being bound. She wanted to be close to someone, to trust them unconditionally, to be intimate with them. She often dreamed about it. The fairytale-like relationship. Ace somehow pulled her in. He was like a magnet, so bright, like the sun, calling to her. But, she knew, if you get too close to the sun, you get burnt.
The pilot sighed and moved the heat of the water from cold to hot. Soon the spray on her head and back became a slow burn, the bathroom steaming up. She smiled and rubbed herself with soap and shampoo without turning the water off. Fuck it. She would test it out. If it was too hot near the sun, she could always fly away. Making up her mind, Ran let the suds get washed out of her hair and turned the water off. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself quickly.
She inspected her form in the mirror. The contrast her blue eyes made against her chocolate hair was pretty, she decided. She liked her mouth, too. It was small and pouty, borderline cute. Her nose was flat somehow, she didn't like it too much, but it was hers. She looked like her father. Shrimp's facial features were so similar to her that they were often asked whether they were siblings. Ran was aware that she wasn't anything special. She wasn't the beautiful girl that everyone stared at when she entered the bar. Nope. She was the insane, drunk one dancing on the table. She smiled at her own reflection, noting how a tiny dimple appeared on one side of her mouth and she picked up her clothes, leaving to get dressed.
Purupurupuru!
Ran rummaged through her stuff and pulled out her blue Den Den Mushi. It was still ringing.
Kacha!
"This is the Sparrow, how may I help you?" The pilot spoke, a strange, nostalgic feeling in her stomach. She wasn't used to taking jobs while on Arcadia. It felt out of place, saying that sentence while not in the middle of the ocean, swaying on the waves.
"Ranmao! This is Elder Pinjao, I need a favor, lassie. I need you to hurry up that job." The older man sounded distressed. His voice was strained and worried, like he was at the end of the rope.
"What's wrong, Elder Pinjao?" Ran asked gently.
"Can you fly, lassie? Can you?" The old man answered quickly, his voice getting louder.
"I should be able to. I still haven't done a test flight, but according to my calculations, the Sparrow is ready for flight." The pilot told him, voice still calming. If Pinjao kept it up, he would have a heart attack. "Is everything alright, Elder Pinjao?" She was getting worried now. This was the first time she had heard the old man this upset.
"I hope so. I-I just need that favor now, lassie." Ran frowned at this.
"If you would give me the details, Elder." She interrupted him. He was clearly distraught. She needed as many details as he could give. The earlier she left, the faster she would finish the job.
"An acquaintance of mine is in a bit of a pinch. She and her associates need a ride to my home. At first, it wasn't urgent, but now, I can't get into contact with her. I'm getting worried, lassie." The old man explained, a bit calmer now.
"Are you sure that she is in danger? Maybe she just lost her Den Den Mushi?" Ran followed her logic.
"Impossible. You don't know this woman like I do. She is all about rules and promises." Elder Pinjao sighed. "Please. I need you to go there. At least just to check on them." His voice was even now, calm and steady. Ran sighed and nodded to herself.
"What is their location?" The pilot asked, giving in. She would have to risk it. Flying without a test run would be reckless and almost insane, but she would do it. Pinjao was her trusted friend and ally. She would believe in both her tuning ability and skill with AGT and the Sparrow. She knew that he wanted to fly.
"A small island on the Grand Line called Octavo. The town that they were staying in is called Varosh." The old man supplied.
"I understand. I've heard of that place. I have an Eternal Pose for a nearby island, Septimo. I will check in with you as soon as I land there." Ran paused shortly. "If I don't call in the next two days that means that my glider malfunctioned." There was silence on both sides of the line for a moment. Both knew what she meant. If the new Sparrow design failed, she would crash and probably die during her assignment. But, she was still willing to risk it.
"Be careful, Ranmao." Pinjao finally said. Then there was noise on his end of the call. "I need to go, lassie, stay safe." He paused for a second. She was going to speak when he interrupted. "Thank you, Ranmao. Thank you."
Kacha!
Ran sat still for a second, still in her towel, hair wet. Then she jumped up, leaving the Den Den Mushi on her bed. Ran crossed her room in seconds and opened the door. She could smell the pancakes that Shrimp was making downstairs.
"Shrimp!" She yelled. "I need your help!"
~~~~pb~~~~
Thatch and Marco were on watch together when the Winter Island appeared on the horizon. It was rare for two Commanders to be up in the crow's nest together, but there wasn't much work on the ship today, as most of the division members were on board. Rakuyo was the only absent Commander, and he had taken a small part of the 7th division with him. The snow had started falling a while ago and Thatch had brought the two some warmer clothes and a bottle of booze to warm them up. Marco, of course, didn't object.
Pretty soon, the crew was on deck, rejoicing in the white cover that the ship had gotten. Marco wasn't too sure who threw the first snowball, but pretty soon it was an all-out war. Thatch laughed and pointed out Ace, Leo and Penny, who had teamed up. Of course, the fire Logia wasn't such a good teammate, as he mostly got overly excited and melted the many snowballs that the small girl was making. Leo, on the other hand, was a formidable opponent, with his impressive aim and quite a bit of force in those slender arms. That is, until Thatch joined in. From above.
Marco laughed and evaded yet another snowball, letting it hit the pompadour in his face. Now most of the people on deck were aiming for the crow's nest, seeing Thatch as a perfect target. The position of advantage soon became bad, as most of the snow from the nest was used up in the retaliation and Thatch chose to climb down and strike back from the ground. The first mate leaned over the railing just in time to see the other Commander being bombarded with snowballs on his way down.
Stefan, Pops' dog, joined the crew, delighted about the snow. There's one thing about Stefan, though. He was a force. When that dog rammed into you, in joy, of course, he sent you flying on your ass. So now, on the slippery deck, in the midst of all the warring pirates, the dog was a blessing and a curse, depending who caught his eye. Marco saw the white puppy, as Pops called him, in the phoenixes opinion Stefan was anything but a puppy, jump on Ace and knock the unsuspecting raven to the floor. The dog got up and ran off, leaving a snoring pirate in his wake. Marco shook his head and smiled. Ace's narcolepsy was ridiculous.
The phoenix next felt someone pull his jacket and toss something cold down his shirt. He jumped away with a squeak, which he would never admit, and whirled around only to see a smirking Jade. She was all tucked into her white, warm coat and looking evil. Her hair and skin stood out strangely against the white of the snow and the blue of the sea behind her.
"Pops was looking for you." Doc spoke, a cloud of warm air visible at the edge of her lips. Marco frowned at her, still pissed about the snow down his back. "I'll take your post." She didn't leave any room for discussion. Marco sighed, pushing his anger down, like he was used to doing and schooled his face into that bored expression that he usually wore. He even gave her a small smile.
"Thanks." He told her, enjoying the twitch that her neck muscle gave. She was pissed. With that, the first mate left the crow's nest carefully, avoiding the flying snowballs and headed to the Captain's quarters. The old man would probably end up joining the snow fight soon. He needed to see what Pops wanted before that.
~~~~pb~~~~
"Pops?" Marco found his Captain in the cafeteria, sitting with Kondor and sipping sake. The blonde joined them, the old cook pouring a glass for his readily. "Doc told me that you asked to see me?"
"Yes." Kondor and Whitebeard exchanged long looks, as if they knew a secret that Marco didn't. "You were pretty upset about that slavery issue on Torentes, weren't you, son?" Whitebeard put his large, red cup down, looking at his son. Marco nodded without a word.
"A-aah~ Well, I tuned into the local gossip and found out something interesting, Commander Marco." Kondor spoke, getting the blonde's attention. "Apparently, Fish has been quite active. He has been trying to buy his way into the Zodiacs."
"You've got to be kidding?! Those Zodiacs?! Is he insane?" Marco looked to Pops, hoping that the old pirate would tell him that it's some kind of a sick joke. He next looked to Kondor, gaping. "Was he supplying them with slaves? Or targets?" Kondor shook his head.
"My source doesn't know much. It's all pretty hush hush." The cook drank some wine. "It's no secret that the Zodiacs have been doing hits for Marines, but they don't deal with anyone lower than a Rear Admiral. They shouldn't be taking orders from someone like Fish." The old cook took his bottle and stood. "I will keep an ear open, Captain, Commander, but do careful. We need to see just how much the Zodiacs are involved in this mess, before acting." With that, Kondor left towards the kitchen.
"You heard him." Whitebeard said, standing up, too. "We will do something about it, but only after we have enough information, son." Marco nodded and watched Pops leave, probably to join the snow war on deck.
The phoenix sat there for a while, nursing his alcohol. He drank the sake slowly, enjoying the burn and the short bubble-like feeling that came before his Devil fruit powers kicked in. Zodiacs. He had heard a lot about them during his years as a pirate. They were a troublesome bunch. Assassins for hire, organized in military fashion. They were as expensive as hell itself, but they finished the job or died trying. The Zodiacs used to be one of the stronger forces in the New World, influencing the Yonko and the World Government, but they pulled back at one point. Now, they were the monster waiting in the shadows. It was no secret that the Government used them for less than honorable hits.
Marco had never had a chance to encounter a Zodiac, at least he didn't know that he did, as they were good at blending in, but he had seen the aftermath of a Zodiac hit. Clean, methodical and thought through. It was a perfect assassination. As far as he knew, they had twelve sectors, each represented by a sign of the Zodiac, which had a Commander of sorts on top. Who they reported to, no one knew. Each sector had a special set of skills, accustomed to dealing with certain circumstances and type of hits.
The worst part of the organization though, was the way that they recruited and how they took requests. They mostly took young girls and boys from slave auctions and trained them in their code and fighting ways. Sure, they even had some people volunteer for the training. Those ended up dead and dumped somewhere, tortured, just in case that they were spies. You could join, but you had to be able to endure the training. Marco suspected that those people who went to the Zodiacs voluntarily were either a bit wrong in the head or just plainly sick. Another thing was, the phoenix had never heard of anyone leaving the organization. Except in a body bag, that is.
The way to place a hit was simple. You fill out all the information that you know, or want to put there, and attach the money. You leave the request in your mailbox and by tomorrow, it will be gone, sent to the Zodiac hideout and training grounds, where it would await for someone to accept the hit. If it was rejected, a note would be sent to you, along with a half of your paid sum.
They had enough trouble keeping themselves safe from the Zodiacs without people like Fish using their services. It was like an unspoken rule that the Zodiacs did only special favors for the Marines, in exchange for immunity, almost like the Shichibukai. Fish wasn't a high enough rank to use those bonuses. Marco couldn't imagine what would happen if the corrupt Captain got a Zodiac assassin on his side. The thing that happened with the Hollow Skull Pirates would be nothing compared to what could happen.
Marco frowned, getting up. He chugged the rest of his sake down and left the cup on the kitchen counter. He then walked to the deck, his mind still spinning. A tango with the Tenryuubito sounded great right now. If the Zodiacs were buying those slaves… He couldn't imagine in what state those people were right now. Zodiacs needed someone to practice their 'art' on after all. A snowball hit the phoenix straight in the face.
"Got you!" Ace yelled, running away. Marco smirked, and bent down to gather snow. He would think of something later. Pops had told him to sit and wait, after all. Now, he needed to pound some snow into that hothead's face.
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran got ready in record time. Her whole form was trembling as she stuffed her possessions into a bag. She had to be insane. Why was she doing this? For a favor to an old man that she had met a few years back. She was going to risk her life for that man, who would probably forget her if she failed and died. The young pilot paused to brush her, now dry, hair back and tie it into a proper, tight bun. She didn't have her pilot gear. She hadn't done a test flight. She hadn't said goodbye. She was just going to fly away, even if it meant flying into her death?
Yes.
Her mind had been made up long before Elder Pinjao had called. She had known, deep down, that she was going to fly away soon enough. True, she was planning to get some kind of protective gear and at least one short test flight, but to hell with it. Something like that couldn't keep her down. She had made a promise to herself a long time ago. No cage would hold her. If death was destined to break her wings forever, then so be it.
"Will this do?" Shrimp entered her room, giving her two bags. She quickly opened them both and inspected the contents. One held a white suit and the other books and scrolls. Ignoring Shrimp, Ran shed her work clothing, the cargo pants and the loose shirt, and slipped into the white suit. It was skin tight. She frowned at Shrimp. He gave her a sheepish look. "I bet your man Ace will like that."
"Ass." She paused, her frown slowly morphing into a smile. "Thanks." The girl walked forward and pulled her much taller cousin into a hug. He tucked her into his arms and squeezed gently. His little cousin was going away again.
"I packed some books for you. About AGT, sky combat, and even some that I saved that are about core connecting and golems. I think that they will be useful." Shrimp added, giving her a pair of ordinary gloves. She frowned but accepted them. It was a shame that her piloting ones were confiscated. Ran pulled on her vintage boots, her mother hadn't taken those away, and put on the borrowed gloves.
"Let's go." Ran said, looking Shrimp right in the eyes, and the man shivered. His little cousin was terrifying sometimes. She was ready to die for what she believed in. She didn't believe in material things, and was ready to leave them behind. She was Ranmao, his little cousin, the Migratory Bird. And there was no way that he could ever stop her from doing what she lived for.
All for now, folks!
Reviews:
Savage Kill: I suppose you could call it living, I was an exchange student in the US for 10 months and it was epic! I also picked up the whole American accent and slang thing, it's ridiculous xD
Hope you enjoyed :D
anniewanny2: I adore you! Thank you so much :) I've worked really hard on Ran. She is quite an interesting character, a challenge to write, but I am very comfortable with writing her. I'm glad that she comes off as real, I was trying hard to make her both realistic, yet an anime character. I hope it's working xD
I'm kind of nervous about my writing style. I keep doing little page breaks and going from one place to another, and some people find that annoying. Also, I don't re-write. At least not in this story. Open Seas is all about the first thing that comes to my mind, not about a well thought through fanficion, like Sand Castles, for example. I mean, I do have a plot, but I don't have all the details ready yet :P
Romance…. Aaaah romance… Damn…. Well, I gotta say it's Ace's fault. Seriously, I can't see him being overly romantic or anything. I think he's quite oblivious, because, despite everything, ace does doubt himself a lot, his own existence, in fact. And then we have Ran, who is a decision kind of girl. At least she has come to terms with the fact that she is attracted to him, thank you Shrimp!, so I'm hoping to get some more AcexRan in there soon. Wow, long reply! I was so excited xD
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
ZabuzasGirl: I'm not sure how fast I'm going to be able to update from now on, I'm busy with exams. But, soon!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)
Wren: *bows* *stares* *bows again* I am speechless! Or typeless… whatever, you get it! Thank you so much! I've climbed from the very bottom in my writing, as in horrible Mary Sues and all, so reading this makes my day!
I am glad that you are enjoying the story so far, I hope that it's flowing, as I don't often re-read and go back to correct stuff. I am also beta-less, so I expect a lot of small mistakes in grammar, I just don't notice them xD
I'm glad that you enjoy the POV switch. I know it is a very rookie-like thing to do and that it annoys some people, but I find it interesting. I like writing Ace, even though it's my version of him, so probably a bit OOC, and Ran has been so amusing to write! I enjoy writing the rest of the characters, too, I have loads of OCs, so I hope that I am keeping them as individual as possible. I can't help it, Oda leaves so much to the imagination :3
I'm glad that someone listens to the music stuff :D I just didn't want my chapters to be named by numbers, so I decided to do this :) I loved your suggestions, Into the night is sweet :D I'm not that into the Far East Movement, I'm more of a rock gal, but hey, the song is fiiiiine :)
Ran was inspired by many different things, Ghibli among them, Kiki and Nausicaa. I tend to ramble about that in the bold stuff above and below the chapters :P
Hope to hear from you again :D
P.S..: For some reason, silly fanfiction won't let me type you username, I gave you a nickname :3