Welcome ladies and gents!

Can you believe it? Another chapter? Yep, I can't either… I've been a bit busy, writing Voulez-vous? and all that… College has been insane, too. Unfortunately, my updates will not be as regular as I have hoped. I have distanced myself from Ran a bit too much and lost inspiration for this story. But, this does not mean that I'm going to abandon it. This just means that I will end it soon. I will try and stop somewhere at 30 chapters or so. Well, enough about that.

I would like to give my thanks to all of you patent people, who have waited for this chapter and the newcomers of our family! Rednecks Love Anime Too, perrieste, StarFireAdams, TMelissaB, bookgrl and Rmeyer90 thanks for the alerts and OrangeOnTop, Rednecks Love Anime Too, Lightmikami12, ArtChild96, perrieste, Chicacrazy838, StarFireAdams, animegirl17671 and nafara for the favs!

Special thanks to Wren and Lilikoikoi, your reviews kept me going for this chapter!

Chapter 28: Hero – Jessie J

She woke up suddenly, as if breaking the surface of the ocean with her head, finally breathing. She had dreamt of them, drowning her. She had heard his voice in her head, promising more torture. More pain. More despair. She had thought that she could deal. That she was fine. But she wasn't.

The unfamiliar room came into focus and Ran pushed herself up and headed outside. The soft rocking of the ship calmed her a bit. She would've preferred her glider, but beggars can't be choosers. She hadn't had a job call in ages. She had begun to associate the sound of her Den Den Mushi with Ace's frequent calls. They had talked almost every day after her demise. Then, he slowly stopped calling. Now, she wasn't even waiting for it like she used to. It depressed her. Everything depressed her.

The deck was empty of pirates. Only the lookout was awake. She could see the outline of the humongous Captain of the crew, incased in a giant blanket, snoring away peacefully. She had been speechless when she had first met Little Oars. She was pretty sure that she had stared at him openly. Izo had laughed and introduced her. Soon, her fear and shock were melted away by the warmth and care of the scary looking, but gentle, Captain and his vastly amusing crew. They looked like a little empire, on their huge ship, all attempting to be a miniature clone of their kind Captain. Ran liked it. She liked them.

Ran felt the bite of the cold wind on her skin and enjoyed it for a second. She could finally feel something. The pilot had been numb. Too numb. She had thought that she could deal with it. She had thought that she was strong. That the past was in the past, and that she could leave it there and move on. However, the feeling didn't go away. No matter how much she thought about the future. No matter how much she looked forward to the things that she had realized that she regretted. There was just this certain numbness in her. Like she was dreading something. Like there was a swirl of black energy somewhere in the pit of her stomach and she felt like she would throw up at some point. Ran just wanted to sleep. Forever.

The pilot tried to push away those thoughts. This wasn't good. She didn't want to be depressed. She needed to cope and to heal. But, it wasn't happening. The girl walked to the edge of the ship, to the railing and pushed herself up onto her hands. She swayed for a moment, along with the waves. The cuts were almost healed all the way. Her stiches were all out. The wound that was still a problem was the one on her thigh.

The black water below her looked inviting. Ran watched the dark, eerie waves go up and down and murmur as they licked the hull. She suddenly let go and 'oof'ed when she hit the wooden railing. It dug into her stomach, hurting like hell. Her head was down, towards the waves, long hair spilling over her face, as if to greet the water. The pilot still had her hands on the railing, but she wasn't holding too tightly. She allowed her legs to rise, her unused muscles sore from the simple strain. Like a plank, her head went down and her feet went up, switching the center of her weight. The ship swayed again and Ran watched the waves calmly. She could feel her head pounding from all the blood now. Her face had probably gone red. What the hell was she doing?

"Ran." Izo's voice came softly, as if not to startle her. It didn't. She didn't go over and into the dark and inviting waves. Ran lowered her feet and raised her head. In one smooth motion, she flipped her hair back and turned to smile at the Commander. Not like she could fool him now. She could see the look in his eyes. He was reading her, calmly, trying to gage if she was suicidal or not. Hell, not even she knew the answer.

"Sorry if I woke you." The pilot replied. Her voice sounded cold, even to her. She could see the way Izo's lips twitched. He had noticed it. "I need more sleep." Ran couldn't talk about this. Not now. Not to Izo. Probably never. With that, she headed back to her borrowed bed, the blackness in her stomach growing.

Izo stood for a moment later, alone on the deck. He sighed and took out his kiseru, lighting it. He didn't know what to do. Obviously, Ran was in trouble. She was in a bad place, emotionally, probably because of all the evading and running away during her past years. The girl didn't know what to do with emotions, so she ran away. She didn't know what to do with people, so she left them behind. She didn't know what to do with herself, except fly. Yet, here she was, fit for flight in his opinion, and not leaving. She had been grounded. There was only so much running that you could do, after all.

The Commander didn't know a lot about Ran. He knew the basics. She was from some famous Sky Island and she had a happy family. She had grown up with two older cousins, both male. Her father was cold and strict, while her mother was caring, but free-spirited, almost detached. In the end, the little girl had been left to her own devices most of the time.

Izo could see it. The way Ran simply reveled in attention unconsciously. The way she spoke and told jokes, making everyone look at her and notice her. The way she was flashy and easily remembered. The girl wanted attention. She craved recognition. She needed to be remembered. And then, as soon as she left the 'stage' she would retract into her shell, going back to her lonely and doubtful self.

Izo had learned not to pity those kind of people. At first, he had. But then, he, too, had been like that once. Before setting out as a pirate. Before becoming a Commander and getting a family. Before belonging. He, too, had been one of those lonely people that smile as bright as the sun and shine as white as the stars, craving attention. He, too, had wanted to be precious to someone. And Ran, she needed to realize that she was, in fact, precious to a lot of people already.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ace broke away from the crowd of partying pirates with a grin on his face. It was his celebration. He had managed to get an infamous crew to surrender. Single handedly. At first, the raven had been all smug about it. He had come back, boasting how the Bohemian Knight Doma had allied himself with Whitebeard because of him. The crew had been ecstatic, throwing a party the same night. The enemy pirate had been a troublesome existence for a while. A big new name from the weaker seas, coming in unallied. The Four Yonkos had been fighting for the newbie's favor. Well, Big Mam and Kaido had been. Shanks had always been the most easygoing of the four. He didn't really care about how many pirates he had under him, as long as those that he did, were safe and having fun. Whitebeard was another story altogether. He considered his crew his family, but his allies were all like distant relatives. Some were the annoying aunt kind and others the reliable cousin kind. It was a strange occurrence on the seas, but it worked for the strongest man alive.

"Hey, Ace!" The raven turned, locating Leo easily. The elder waved him over. Ace walked carefully, he had been drinking after all, and plopped on one of the barrels next to his friend.

"What's up?" The raven asked. Leo sat there for a while, not answering. Then he looked Ace straight in the eye and gave him a polite smile.

"I've recommended you for a Commander position! Cheers!" The blonde clanked his drink against Ace's and drank, like they were talking about the weather.

"Wait. What!?" Ace took a bit to answer. He didn't get it. Why would he become Commander? He was a nobody! No, he wanted to be a nobody. Becoming somebody meant that the chance of his tainted blood being exposed went up. He didn't want that. He had just found a home. He had just found a family. He didn't want them to hate him. To despise him, like all the others. He didn't want them to look at him like he had been looked at. He didn't want them to know. They couldn't know. Ever. "I don't want to be a Commander!" The raven jumped up, protesting.

Leo gave him a thoughtful look. The blonde wasn't as observant as Izo, but he still was quite skilled. He had noticed Ace's inner demons. But, he hadn't expected this kind of a reaction. "Why not? You have the knowledge, the experience, the skill and the willpower. I don't see why you shouldn't become one. Besides, the Division loves you and would support you."

Ace shook his head. "I'm just not right for it, Leo. I don't know the first thing about being a Commander!" The raven argued.

"Hey, it's not like I'm just going to throw you into the fire. I'll always be here to help you out." The blonde gave a smile once again. "I still kind of consider you my ward, after all." And the pirate laughed. Ace, though, was still frowning. He didn't like this idea one bit. Sure, the position was more than tempting. The authority, power and experience that came with it truly was. But, it was also a dangerous bet. One that Ace felt like he would lose. The raven shook his head once again.

"You should've asked me before doing something reckless like that." He objected and then stood, leaving the deck and his partying friends. Suddenly, he didn't feel like partying and the jolly feeling from his stomach had been replaced with guilt and fear. He wasn't aware of Leo's observant gaze following him all the way off deck.

~~~~pb~~~~

Izo woke up to the annoying sound of a ringing Den Den Mushi. He frowned and rolled over, attempting to muffle it. But, the shrill ringing continued. Damn, he thought and threw his covers off. Upon further inspection, he saw that it wasn't his Den Den Mushi that was ringing. The sound was coming from the room next door. Ran. He was going to kill her for interrupting his beauty sleep.

Throwing a haori over his night clothes, Izo stormed out of his room. He knew that she was a heavy sleeper, but this was ridiculous. Absolutely. He was going to correct her lazy ways. Izo slammed her door open.

"Ran!" He yelled, not ashamed of his rude entrance. "Wake up and pick up the damn snail!" Izo was many things, but tolerant in the mornings was not one of them. His eyes searched the room quickly. Sure enough, there were Ran's bags and he went over there and wriggled the blue snail free. "I'm just going to pick up if you won't. Don't blame me if you lose a job, dear."

Kacha!

"You've reached the Sparrow." He spoke, schooling his voice to seem as polite as possible, despite his angry visage.

"Izo?" A familiar voice asked from the other end of the line. Ace. Of course. Izo's frown deepened. He had been awoken so rudely because they were having a lover's spat. He was a meddlesome man and he did love romance, but there were just some lines that one didn't cross.

"No, it's Admiral Kizaru." The Commander retorted darkly, voice thick with sarcasm. "What do you want?" Were the next angry words that he spoke.

"Errr-" Ace was clearly at a loss of what to say.

"Speak!" Izo was downright pissed. And the pilot wasn't awake even now. He glared at the bundle of covers on the bed. After her little adventure last night, he hadn't wanted to push her. But, even he had his limits. And they had been breached. Ran was going to get it.

"I'm looking for Ran?" Ace spoke from the Den Den Mushi, his voice shaky and unsure.

"Well, you're not the only one." Izo bit back. "When she gets out of bed, I'll tell her to call you."

Kacha!

The Commander didn't even allow the young pirate to respond before slamming the line shut. He was going to get the lazy pilot out of her bed first. Izo walked over, more like stomped in his anger, and tore the covers off the still bundle.

"Ran! Up you go, sweetie! You have-" Izo stopped short in his words. The bed was empty. The pillows had been skillfully put together to form a sleeping body. She didn't. That idiot, Izo thought. He had hoped to avoid this course of action. The Commander left the room in a hurry, without even putting on his make-up. Then again, this was Ran. She ran whenever she felt threatened. Izo stumbled onto the deck and quickly stopped one of the first crew members that he saw.

"Have you seen Ran?" The Commander asked, panting. The other pirate stood still with a slack jaw, taking in the usually tidy Commander's disheveled appearance. Then, he slowly nodded, his fake jaw clanking against his earring.

"Ye'. Ran-chan went fer a ride. She said she'd be back, ye. Big, tha' bird of 'ers is! Magnificent!" The crew member went quiet when the esteemed Commander slapped his own forehead, letting out a string of very colorful cuss words.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran flew. She didn't know what else to do. There was this dark cloud hanging over her, following her wherever she went. So, she flew. That was the only thing that made her feel truly alive and free right now. The darkness was stifling, suffocating her. She felt like she could flip over and die any second now. To stop those thoughts, she flew like the wind.

The Sparrow was reacting to her mood, to her dark mind, and doing dangerous somersaults at the barest of touches. Dangerous. That was how Ran had always liked it. She had been strange in her society. An odd child. She had been a girl who was more interested in machines and piloting rather than in dresses and makeup. Fashion had always been big on Arcadia. Yet, it had never really touched Ran. Sure, she hadn't been the only person without wings. There were other girls that didn't have them, yet, they were happy about that. It was because they could wear the special dresses. Ones without wing openings. Those were the girls that went on the runway shows. Ran's mother had dreamed of her little wingless baby being one of those fashion icons one day. But, Ran didn't care about that. She had simply made her own wings in the end.

But, at this moment, Ran wasn't really thinking about anything like that. She wasn't thinking at all actually. The blue skies and the clear air in front of her weren't as exciting as they usually were. In fact, she had pressed the hidden paddle one too many times already, searching for a storm. She needed more. She needed danger. She needed to be afraid. She needed her blood to be on fire once more. She needed not to be miserable.

The wind became icy against her face and her eyes were watering from the speed at which she was travelling. One look down told her that she was going fast. Faster than she had ever though that she could go. Suddenly, the bandages on her freshly stitch-free wounds were unimportant. Suddenly, she was free of everything. The past didn't matter. The present didn't matter. The future didn't matter. Ran was free as soon as she hit the storm clouds.

The rain was a given. Icy drops fell on her bare skin, but, they somehow didn't feel that cold at all. Maybe it was because she was freezing. Yes, she had forgotten her protective suit. Storm surfing in just shorts and a tank top was never a good idea. And did Ran know it. She had done it one too many times. And it never ended well.

But, she didn't care. Her mind was blank. Finally. She wasn't thinking about the assassins. She wasn't thinking about her sudden obsession with Ace. She wasn't thinking about anything. Her mind was free. She had left the dark cloud far behind her.

Now, her blood was aflame, boiling in her veins. She felt so alive. So free. So winged. The Sparrow was singing, screeching in the back of her mind, but, Ran had already gotten used to that. She steered it with minimal movements, jumping from one air current to the other. It was raw. Magical. Powerful. The machine kept flying left and right, never taking a break. It was so violently beautiful. Dangerously thrilling. Yes. This was the life that Ran had chosen. She had chosen to leave everything for the skies. For the beautiful, yet deadly, storms. She had chosen her own fate, outside of the man's law. Here, nature judged her. Here, pure force and skill decided whether she would live or die. This was where the Migratory Bird belonged. And no scars of the past would ever change that.

With a jump the Sparrow nosedived, spinning in circles. Ran ended up head down, hair wild behind her. She let go of one of the bars and let her fingers dip into the raging ocean above her. Her body was numb by now. Her legs weren't hurting from the weeks that she had spent lazing around. No, they were perfectly numb. Everything was good.

Everything around her was in dark navy shades, riddled with the pale flashes of lightning that lit up the icy drops. The Sparrow jerked up, switching currents. Ran returned her hand to the glider. It was slippery now, but her grip was firm. This wasn't her first storm. Well, the suit and gloves sure made it easier to fly, but, she had started flying with no props first, after all. Ran bent her frozen knees a bit more and then let go, lying flat onto the leather strap in between the bars. The glider sped up once more.

And then it happened again. It was like some kind of a trance. Like a blank on everything. The storm became quiet and all Ran could her was the beating of her heart and the gentle hum of the Sparrow in her head. Her blood was singing, wild and ready. For what? She had no idea. But, Ran had learned a long time ago not to question her instincts in the middle of flight. That could lead to a quick and unexpected landing. And she had done that quite a few times in her life. But, she simply let go now. She allowed her primal side to take over. She had been flying for ages. Her glider was a part of her. The air was a part of her. She was safer up here then down there, and she was also way more comfortable on the thin piece of somersaulting metal than on any land.

At some point, the storm started waning, so Ran gave chase after its center. And once she entered the whirling cloud, she saw. The paths. They were all made of light and drops, but they were so clear in her head. She knew how to tell apart air currents. By the way the birds flew. By the way the clouds moved. By the way the air smelled. But, she had seen them only twice before quite like this. The first time was when she was young. When she had jumped off the tallest building in Arcadia and given her family and all the onlookers a heart attack. And the other time had happened a few months ago, also in a storm. But, it had been brief. Like a flicker of the picture that she was seeing now.

Beautiful white and pale blue vortexes, decorated with lit up drops of rain, were coiling everywhere, inviting the young pilot to explore them. And Ran did. She could feel that pressure in her stomach letting go. This was what she had been expecting. Her eyes closed on instinct and then she could just feel. Everything. The tiny drops on her skin, hitting her closed eyelids. The small shorts and tank top, soaking, and clinging to her body. Her bare feet cutting through the air like a tail. The Sparrow humming in appreciation as it took the wheel of the ride. The force of every single lightning discharge in the skies. The dull roar of the seas below her. The call of the thrill, bringing out the daredevil in her.

For the first time in the last couple of weeks Ran felt alive.

~~~~pb~~~~

Izo spent that day on deck. And the next one. And the day after that. On the dawn of the fourth day, he finally sighted what he was looking for. A tiny speck appeared on the horizon, heading towards the huge ship of Little Oars. The Commander stared and stared, waiting. He hadn't wanted apologies from the crew members, even though the one with the accent was quite persistent in his tries to gain forgiveness. There was simply nothing to forgive. The pilot would've left with or without permission. It was good that she had at least told someone that she was going for a ride.

The speck on the horizon was slowly becoming larger. Izo squinted praying that it was the bird that he was looking for. Not a cloud. Not lost seagull. The Sparrow. That ridiculous girl was going to have to do some explaining. Not because she was an ally of the Whitebeard Pirates. No. Because she was his friend. She should damn well explain herself. Did Ran think that Izo wouldn't understand? Did she think that she was the only one battling her demons? They all had them. They all fought them each and every day. She simply hadn't had the guts to. She preferred running away.

A ray of sunlight hit the speck in just the right angle and it shone suddenly, as if aflame. Yes, this was the right bird, Izo concluded. She had better have a good reason for not telling him that she was going. He would've appreciated her taking the snail at least. Contacting him once in a while. What if her wounds had opened? She was a dunce when it came to medicine. She could've died out there.

The bird was in full view now, coming closer and closer. The wide wings spread all the way as it circled around the ship, slowing down. The crew and their giant captain cheered as their 'Ran-chan' landed on the deck gently and gracefully. Izo was one of the last to reach her. He waited for her to greet the crew and to make her excuses. Then, he gave her a look and Ran returned a bright smile. Well, that was a first. He hadn't seen that smile in quite a while. It was the bright, open mouthed smile, full of joy.

"Izo." She greeted grabbing him in a hug. The shocked Commander didn't even object when his beautiful kimono became wet from her soaked clothes. He returned the hug, but made sure to make it brief.

"You're soaked, dear. Let's get you into a hot bath." The pink Commander told her, pushing her away from him gently. Suddenly, the anxiety and rage that he had been waiting with weren't there anymore. How could he be angry? She had gone to fight her demons. And she had won. She wasn't even trying to hide her scars anymore. She wasn't shying away from the curious eyes of the crew. Ran had coped. Now, she could heal.

"And we should dye my hair!" The pilot supplied, grabbing Izo's hand and pulling him along enthusiastically. "I bought this hair dye a while back on an island, because we said that we should dye my hair, and I haven't had the chance to use it." She was smiling and talking insanely fast, gesturing with her hands all the while.

"Yes, we did say that, didn't we, love?" Izo joined in, relieved. The Migratory Bird was back to normal.

~~~~pb~~~~

Koto sat on the shore, fiddling with a kasa. It had been a couple of weeks since the Moby Dick had left the bay of Wano Kuni. And, Koto noticed that it had become so quiet. Somehow dull and ordinary. He missed the excitement and the fun of the pirate crew. Somewhere along the way, during those couple of quiet and peaceful days, Koto had made up his mind. True, he wasn't all that good with the sword. He wasn't world class. But, he knew how to craft traditional katana and how to use them. He also knew how to survive in the wild. He could cook, clean and find necessities. He could navigate by the stars. Yes, he had made up his mind.

The young samurai-to-be pushed himself up with a tiny smile on his face, enjoying the breeze on his face. He placed the kasa on his head, pushing the string below his chin. He could still see the small scorch mark on the inside edge from the time when Ace-dono had been too frustrated to focus on his task. He loved the gift that his new pirate friend had given him. It was like an object of inspiration. Something that showed him that the dream was possible. Like Ace-dono. The young pirate was living his dream. He was brave enough to dare make it a reality. And Koto would learn from the raven. It was his turn to do his best.

"Are you leaving, my little samurai?" A melodic and deep female voice came from behind the young man. The teen turned to see a beautiful woman dressed in a decorated kimono. Her face was full of make-up, but it didn't do anything to stifle her natural beauty, like the layers often did.

"Yes, Okaa-sama." The woman smiled a polite, yet clearly practiced, smile at her son's way of speaking. He was too traditional, like his father. Too polite. Too sheltered. She worried for him.

"Stay safe, my little warrior." The woman's hug was warm and gentle, like a blanket. She smelled familiar to Koto. Like home. She had this delicate flowery scent that he would recognize everywhere. It reminded him of his childhood. Of the time when he was still just learning how to hold a sword and a hammer. This scent was what came to soothe his wounds.

The young man gave a tiny nod into his mother's shoulder, stifling his tears.

That's all folks! (I know, it was a bit short :( )

Reviews:

Lilikoikoi: I'm sorry for the slow update, I was having a humongous writers block. And it was not going away xD Please don't die! *Resuscitates*

Wren: Oh, how I missed you! I keep expecting your review on this story that I'm writing now, and then I'm like, wait, wrong story xD

I have been swamped… I know how you feel… college is around 8 hours a day for me, plus studies and activities and all that… The writing has suffered… I was having a major writers block… It's a shock that it hadn't come earlier (I'm still a bit worried as this is my longest story)

Yeah, Ran needed to evolve. I'm trying to make every character evolve at least a bit, but she is still my main focus :)

Marco and Jade were absolutely perfect in the last chapter :3 Well, he was getting drunk because of the origin of the drink. As Wano is a pretty primitive country (no offense or anything), they make their booze the traditional way. And, Marco's body simply didn't recognize it as a foreign substance. It was like drinking juice. After a while, it kicked in, as he did slowly sober up during his moment of realization (insert Jade in his bed here). I was rather sneaky about the whole thing, too xD

Glad you enjoyed :D Till next time!