Welcome ladies and gents!
Let's begin with a thanks to mittensx7768, .peRFecT and Kuinmagi for the alerts and mittensx7768, Simplewriting, Kuinmagi and 13 for the favs! Welcome, and do come and chat in the reviews!
I am definitely not ending the story at 30chaps, but I will end this one soon. I promise a sequel :D I just feel like all the characters have grown enough for one story… I suppose…
Chapter 29: Paradise City – Guns N' Roses
Macro sat in the crow's nest, relaxing. His night was going slow and peaceful, just how he liked them. The past couple of weeks had been fun. Full of things. Ace had been recommended for a Commander position. Although a little unexpected, the phoenix had to be honest and admit that it was a good fit. Fire Fist was flashy, loud and spirited. He would do well and motivate his Division. Ace was also quite smart, despite his aloof demeanor. When he actually sat and cooled his head, which was rare, he could come up with some pretty amazing strategies. He still sucked at using Haki, but that could improve in time. He was plenty strong anyway. And he had Leo by his side.
Marco had been skeptical when the Captain had allowed the blonde refugee on the ship for the first time. The youth had been silent, calculating, looking at everyone as if they were a Zodiac assassin. Sure, you were expecting an attack at the sea, but not at that scale. The former refugee had been a bit too cautious for Marco's taste. A bit too insubordinate. But, he had changed. And now, when he had put the crew as his allies, as his family, he had borne his claws and jaws on their enemies. Ace was a formidable foe, but with Leo on his side, they would be unstoppable. They complimented each other well.
While Ace was hotheaded and rash, Leo was calculating and calm. The raven relied on brute force and the element of surprise, while his companion was known to use his head in battle, quick and well placed attacks. Yes, if Ace became Commander with Leo as his advisor, that would be a good combination. Marco could see it happening.
The first mate already missed Wano Kuni. It was strange, how attached he had become to a foreign country. Maybe it was because Izo was from there? He had spent a tad too much time with the strange Commander. Izo was good to be around. He was a gentle soul, hurt one too many times. Rejection was always a pain to deal with, and Izo was a perfect example of someone who had lived through it. The man was eccentric in his ways to say the least. He liked to cross dress, and put make-up on and he liked fashion and romance. It was simply strange. But, despite his flamboyant exterior, the man was an exemplary warrior, like all Wano Kuni residents. A little too fascinated with his guns, but a formidable foe on the battlefield and the greatest support amongst allies. When Izo had your back, you could go weaponless with eyes tightly shut. The phoenix, too, trusted the strange Commander with his life.
Maybe that was why he felt so connected to Wano? It was a traditional, sheltered, almost dream-like country, which reminded him of his fellow Commander. He wasn't really sure. However, he sure missed the many samurai that he could challenge to duels freely, no holding back while fighting. Marco always held back. He always restrained his powers, whether it was Haki, his Devil Fruit abilities or his physical strength. It was always something. The first mate liked to keep his talents a secret, so that he could use them as an element of surprise when needed. He had always been like that. Overly cautious and secretive with iron will. Maybe that is why he never liked other secretive and cool headed people? At least in the beginning. He warmed up to them if they became allies.
Marco's nature came in handy on the ship, though. He was overly observant and very open about it. Like with Chameleone. That could've turned into a right mess. This way, the man had been voted out on the Commander Meeting with almost no punishment. He hadn't done any harm yet, after all. However, the pirate was forbidden to ally himself with any of the Whitebeard associates. He was an enemy of the strongest man alive. That was punishment enough. And the deserted island that they had dumped him on. Thatch was devious with his ideas. The pompadour couldn't be persuaded once he decided on something. He had basically made all the other Commanders support him. That was his skill. And it was intriguing.
"Alone again?" The voice shocked Marco, but he forced the reaction down. He hadn't noticed anyone come close to him. She had improved.
"Just thinking, yoi." The phoenix responded, moving to the side a bit to give doc some space so sit. She gracefully accepted and passed him a wine bottle. She liked that wine, he knew. She liked white wine. Peculiar. He didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. He tolerated it. Mostly because of Jade.
Jade. Yes. He tolerated a lot because of her. The past couple of weeks had been rocky. She hadn't come to his room since the day when he had gotten drunk off fruit wine. Marco wasn't sure that he wanted her to come to his room, either. It was simply too tempting by now. Clearly, the self-control that he took pride in wasn't as iron as he thought that it was. Jade was the one that would make him come undone. He had known that from long ago.
And it disgusted him.
She was a child in his eyes. For the love of Calypso, he could be her father. And there he was, dreaming of her. Itching to touch, to taste. Maybe it was because Jade acted older than she was, and was far more mature, while Marco took on a playful demeanor more than often. He wanted and needed her, but she was forbidden. And she never tried to distance herself from him. She strutted about as if she didn't know anything of his temptation. She was going to be his end, that was for sure.
"Don't think too much now." She teased him, taking a sip from her wine bottle. He liked her deep voice. It was low and exotic. Like she was constantly putting a spell on him. She was intoxicating. And Marco couldn't get enough.
He managed a low grunt in response, breathing in the soft scent of tea and medicinal herbs. Calming and soothing, like the person carrying it. She was a volcano more than often, but, her nature was gentle. Marco would know. He supposed that that was the reason why she had become a doctor. She knew how to be soothing. She knew how to be calm. She complimented Marco's slow pace perfectly, volcano or not.
A soft and warm hand touched Marco's and he almost jumped. He looked down from the horizon to see Jade's dark skin clashing with his pale one. It was small. So small and delicate, her hand. Not long ago he had wrapped those fingers in bandages. By the Triton, she had been low. Marco's eyes searched for doc's and he took in their bag-less state. She was sleeping at least a bit, which was good.
The cool glass of the wine bottle surprised the phoenix a bit, but he still accepted it. A small sip later, as Marco wasn't a big fan of the drink, he gave it back. Doc giggled, but took the wine back. Her laugh was melodic and deep, too, just like her words.
"You never liked this, did you?"
"No." Marco returned his eyes onto the horizon. They were on course and the seas were calm. No ship or storm in sight. Jade moved beside him, but he chose to ignore it. When her face appeared right in front of him, he couldn't anymore.
"Then, what do you want?" She had that smile on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how she made him feel. She was enjoying his suffering. Damned woman.
"World peace, yoi." The first mate schooled his voice. It was even, bored sounding. He evaded her eyes. Looking at her now wouldn't end well. Instead, he focused on the North Star. Celestial navigation. He could do that.
"My thoughts exactly." Doc's voice came again, only much nearer than before. Marco made a mistake, on instinct, and looked at Jade. She was too close. Right in front of him. He could see the individual, curly strands of her dark hair falling into her face. His hand reached up and pushed them off her eyes and back into her hair. Now he could almost count her eyelashes. He could see the specks of gold in her brown eyes. Her pupils were wide. She was too close.
"I never pegged you for a world peace groupie, yoi." A lazy smile appeared on Marco's face. He was in control. He always was. Jade couldn't surprise him. She never had and she never will. What happened happened and he almost always calculated it into his possible scenarios. Marco was just like that.
"Maybe you just don't know me as well as you would like to think that you do." She spoke slowly and Marco felt every single word. He could smell the delicate white wine on her breath, mingled with tea and herbs. The hot breath caressed his lips as she spoke. She was too close.
"I don't thi-" He didn't get to finish. Jade had moved forward, her lips silencing his sentence. It didn't really matter anymore. Marco couldn't remember what they had been talking about. He didn't trust himself to speak now. He would most likely blubber something unintelligent. You would too if your years long dream just came true.
Jade's lips were softer and warmer than Marco had ever imagined them to be. They caressed his, playful, but gentle. The hand that had pushed her hair back was suddenly on the back of her neck, making her stay where she was. The phoenix couldn't allow her to back out now. She was where he had dreamed of her being for ages. He would take this moment.
Jade stilled her slow kiss and almost pulled away. She was still there, their lips touching, not moving anywhere. Marco was aware that he wasn't breathing. He allowed a small exhale and inhale though his nose, but nothing else. As is he were terrified that it would scare her away. She had finally come to him. He was tired of waiting. It was like he could finally breathe again. Like he was finally alive again.
The phoenix moved his mouth against Jade's slowly, sometimes touching, but mostly just being millimeters away. He felt her shudder in his arms. Yes, he had his arms wrapped around her by now. She finally opened her eyes and looked at him. Gods, she looked so vulnerable. She looked so young.
A loud crash was heard and Marco jumped away, disentangling himself from Jade. He looked about and saw that the forgotten bottle of wine had rolled all the way to the edge of the crow's nest and then slipped down to the deck. But the spell was broken.
What had he done?
Marco's panicked gaze met Jade's confused and hopeful one. Oh, Calypso. She expected something. She wanted something more from him. No. He couldn't. He could be her father! She was too young. Too naive. He couldn't. What had he done?
"I-I'm going to go clean that up, yoi." Marco's voice cracked. His hand went through his blonde hair in an attempt to lose the warmth of Jade's back that was clinging to it. "Can you take the rest of the watch?" He finally looked at her again and saw disappointment and pain. Something in him cracked.
What had he done?
He had upset the balance. There was no going back now. Jade gave a small nod, brushing her wild hair behind her ears. She was silent as he collected his things as went down the rigging. She never even said goodnight. She always said goodnight.
Just what had he done?
~~~~pb~~~~
Ace jumped onto the deck of the huge ship of Little Oars once again. He secured the rope to the railing and then threw it to Leo who was on Moby Dick. Commander Izo had finally come back on the ally ship and now they were linking the vessels, as they would be travelling together for some time. Little Oars was ecstatic about it, already drinking and chatting with Whitebeard. Apparently, the Old Man had known the giant for quite some time. Since the Second Division was in charge of cleaning and ship health, they were tying the vessels carefully together. It was of great importance to have them easily detachable in case of a battle. It was also necessary for them to be able to sail properly while bound, so the task was delicate. It was actually Ace's first time doing something like this, and he was following Leo's instructions to a t.
The raven had to admit that he had been a bit disappointed when he found out that Ran wasn't onboard. He had been looking forward to seeing the attractive pilot. He didn't only miss her in a sexual sense. He genuinely missed her company. She had called him a while back, after her little demon-facing trip. She had apologized, she seemed to do that a lot, and she had asked about him. Ace, of course, was a very humble young lad. He had told her all about his escapades, about the possible promotion and about Wano Kuni.
Surprisingly, Ran, too, supported Leo's opinion that Ace would do quite well on the high position. She had talked to him about it quite openly. Told him about her views on authority. Ran didn't have problems talking about her home island, which was called Arcadia, as Ace found out. In his experience, they were two types of people those who didn't shut up about their families and past, like Kondor, and those who were touchy on that subject and evaded those conversations, like Leo. And most of those who were open to talking about the past, and there weren't many, still told only half truths. Ran wasn't one of those. She was of the rarest of the rare. He could see that the past hurt her, but she didn't dwell on it. She accepted and moved on. Lived with the scars, both metaphorically and physically. He admired her for that. He couldn't do it. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to do it.
Anyways, the pilot had listened to his self-doubt rant and bounced ideas with him. By the end of their long conversation Ace was ready to accept the possible promotion. He was a pirate. It was a given that he was reckless and went headfirst into danger. Being cautious had never been his style. So, why was he so worried about his bad blood being exposed? If it got to it, he would explain. He would talk to his brothers. But, until then, he was safe. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them. And Ace would do his best to keep his origins a secret. A deeply buried one.
"Ace!" The raven's head snapped up from the knot, searching for the speaker. He gave a wide grin to Thatch. "Come on! We're going on a fieldtrip!" Ace raised an eyebrow and looked to Leo. The blonde smiled a small and gentle smile.
"Go. I've got this." With that he jumped over to Little Oars' ship and took the abandoned knot.
"Thanks. I owe you one." And Ace was back on Moby Dick, catching up to the pompadour. "Where are we going?" He asked the Commander once he caught up. Thatch grinned but didn't answer. "Thatch?"
"You've been voted in, brother!" The pompadour exclaimed. Ace felt his eyebrow rise further.
"For some sort of a secret group or something?" The confused raven questioned. Now, the Commander laughed. He was leading Ace towards his rooms.
"You could say so."
"Thatch, what are you talking about?"
The pompadour stopped and suddenly turned around. "The Commanders have allowed your application for the Commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Ace could swear that his heart stopped for a second. However, that didn't matter as everything in his vision swam and he slumped to the floor, asleep.
"Seriously?" Thatch asked no one in particular, arms crossed and watching the snoring pirate. "And I was being all cool about it. I think I need to find a more entertaining punch line." He paused for a second, thoughtful. "Spontaneous music and dancers would be nice, too."
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran let go of the air current and enjoyed the brief moment of weightlessness that ensued. Then, the Sparrow caught the other path and sped up. She was lying on the leather strip, relaxed, speeding across the seas with a half-empty storage. She had just finished a job. A first real job in weeks. She felt great.
The Sparrow was doing great, never missing an air current that she directed him to. He was singing in her head, the connecting helmet allowing their mental bridge to stay intact. Ran could swear sometimes that she could hear him even with the helmet off. But, that had to be a trick of her mind. She had probably heard a bird on the island and mistaken it for her bird.
In her peripheral vision something moved and Ran whipped her head around quickly, goggles on her eyes. She had gotten new ones recently. She needed some eye protection. They were blue, making all the colors much clearer than they actually were.
There was nothing moving on her right. She stared for a while longer. There were various dangers in the skies. There were large birds and strange flying animals. Sometimes, the White Sea came so low that you would enter it if you weren't careful. Then, you could encounter a Skyshark without even knowing that it was coming, especially if you were in a glider. The flying vessel was designed to cut through the cloudsea and wouldn't show much change even if it did enter it. There were also hostile Sky Islands that floated dangerously low.
Arcadia was a very developed island. They had their own government and economy and had even developed trade with various Sky and Blue Sea Islands, which was unusual for the Sky people. They usually preferred to stay up there and not get involved with the Blue Sea dwellers. The Sky people believed the world below them to be primitive, unintelligent and dangerous. Which was ridiculous in Ran's opinion.
However, Arcadia was one of the highly developed Sky Islands. Made as a giant, beating and moving mechanism, which needed constant feeding to live, it was less of a Sky Island and more of a vessel in Ran's opinion. It required the trade with Blue Sea to provide coal for the humongous ovens that allowed its heart to move. Somehow, it had always reminded her of a giant war machine, separated into levels. She had never liked war. She had never liked violence. Maybe that was why she hadn't called Arcadia her home in ages? The beautiful island had thorns everywhere you went, bringing a sick feeling to Ran's stomach.
There were other Islands, of course. Ran had gone with Shrimp on her first exploring flight when she was very young and they had seen quite a few other Islands. However, Ran noticed, even back then, that there had been something wrong with them, in comparison to Arcadia. Later, she learned that it was her own home Island that was wrong, even though the other Islands were quite a bit more primitive compared to it. There was Skypiea, which still waged a very stupid war in Ran's opinion. Then, there was the strange Weatheria, which was just plain insane. They had also visited Hanalia, which was some kind of a Skylife paradise and Terralea, which didn't have any land, despite its name. However, out of all the Islands that Ran had been to, only Arcadia traded with the Blue Sea. True, Weatheria had some connections, but they weren't as solid as the Metal City's. The Island filled with weird, weather obsessed, old men was plain strange.
A strong gust of wind hit the glider head on and it left the current violently. With a frown Ran took off the mask that went over her nose and mouth during the flight. It was useful to shield from the cold, but it stopped her from using one of her primary senses, smell. The mask came with the suit, though, and Ran had started using it recently. Well, she had started using it after discovering it. She wasn't embarrassed to admit that she was a bit on the slow side in that department. She knew her flying vessels and skies. That was it.
Purupurupuru!
The snail in her pouch rang. A grin appeared on Ran's face, despite the fact that she could smell a snowstorm now. With her free hand she tucked her mask into the collar of her suit and pulled the Den Den Mushi out. She allowed the terrified blue snail to attach to the crook of her neck, snuggling into it as far as it could go, before picking up.
"This is the Sparrow, how may I help you?" A job! Please be a job! Ran wanted another one. She was still a on a high from her previous delivery. The incoming storm wasn't helping by making her even more excited. Besides, she needed the money.
"Aaah! Ran-chan!" The familiar voice of Red Hair Shanks came through the Den Den Mushi. "Where does the Sparrow fly these days?"
Red Hair. She had done business with his crew quite a few times. The pay was good and the crew was nice, but frankly, they scared the crap out of Ran. Shanks was capable of flipping from jolly to deadly in a second. And his crew soon followed. She didn't know how to deal with people like those. Sure, some of them were rather alright, but mostly they terrified her. She wasn't that good at reading people. Ran preferred to leave that to either Bohai or Izo.
But, Red Hair. She had had a chance to see his first mate in action. The man was a beast. It had taken Ran twenty minutes after the brief battle, more like one sided beat down, to move her legs and ten more to stop trembling. Sure, they were jolly and a good laugh most of the time, but Ran had seen the sharp teeth and claws behind the giant smile and booze. She didn't have a problem working with them, but she would always choose Whitebeard as her primary ally. He was a man that she could understand. He was a father of many children. He would give his life for any of them. Maybe that's why she felt so connected to the Old Man? Because her own father had always been distant. Because she envied the members of the Whitebeard Pirate crew.
"Currently I am in the waters of the New World. I have passed Wano Kuni and I am heading further North, sir." Ran's voice was calm and her face was serious as she spoke, despite the noise of the quickly building storm in front of her.
"Ran-chan! Always so formal!" She could hear the pout on his scarred face.
"Captain!" Someone rumbled in the background, trying to focus the scatterbrained pirate Captain. There was laughter and music from Shanks' side of the line. A loud roar of thunder broke in the skies and Ran looked up. A gray cloud was forming quickly. She didn't feel like playing with this snowstorm. Too cold right now. She didn't want to get sick. She couldn't remember the last time that she had gotten sick.
"Ran-chan? Are you still there? Are you in a storm?" Right, Shanks. Ran adjusted her position, slipping one leg to the hidden paddle and pressed.
"I am able to speak." She replied, urging the Sparrow with her mind. Red Hair laughed again. He appeared to be quite drunk. Something clanked onto the left wing of the glider and Ran looked. Another clank right in front of her. Fuck her life. Not a snowstorm. Hailstorm. Another clank resounded and then all hell ensued.
"Good, good. I heard that you were allying yourself with Whitebeard. Does that mean that you don't deliver to other crews anymore?" Shanks kept talking, ignoring the loud sounds of the storm from Ran's side. She pressed the paddle again and again, gaining momentum.
"I merely accepted the protection that he offered. My line of business is quite dangerous, sir." Ran spoke calmly. The shards of ice were getting bigger and bigger as the storm grew. However, Ran wasn't a good pilot. She was a great pilot. The improved Sparrow listened to her thoughts, to her touches, and moved without her having to switch positions and use body weight to change course. Her bird twirled through the air, evading the falling ice like a dance of sorts as his pilot multitasked.
"Oh, that's great! Then, you wouldn't mind picking something up for me, would you?"
"Not at all, sir."
~~~~pb~~~~
Leo wondered into the kitchen, tired and sore. Little Oars was a joy to have around, but he and his crew were a little too eccentric for the blonde's taste. He had done his paperwork and partied for a while, but then, he had decided to head to the, likely empty, kitchens for a midnight snack. He was alone, as Ace and Thatch had left for Ace's Commander initiation. Well, education, but, he was still going to get the welcome prank from Thatch, Leo didn't dare doubt that.
With the raven gone, it was quite boring for Leo on the ship. He had been all too serious before Ace had joined. Now, whenever the raven left, he reversed to his old persona, becoming a recluse that he enjoyed being. Leo had always preferred reading a good book and drinking a nice cup of tea to fighting and exploring the wide blue. Maybe he wasn't cut out for this after all?
When he opened the door to the, recently finished, kitchen, he saw that the lights were on, to his surprise. Sure enough, there was a small, blonde girl at one of the larger tables, papers everywhere. She was sitting, bent over them. Her hair was in a messy bun and she looked like she had been there for a while.
"Oh! I give up!" Penny suddenly exclaimed, surprising Leo a bit. She pushed the papers away from her and pulled a cup closer. "I'm never going to understand these." She murmured into the liquid. Leo walked forwards, his steps silent, like a cat's. When he got close enough, he peered over her tiny form, reading the papers. Various charts of the seas and of the skies lay before the small cook, completely out of order. She also had a notebook, where he supposed that she was trying to take some kind of notes, but it wasn't looking too good. He extended his hand over her and flipped one of the charts around.
"This is the way you look at it." He told the girl, causing her to jump. She whirled around, big caramel eyes meeting Leo's. He gave her a reassuring smile. He was always cautious around the girl. He suspected her to be a very fragile thing.
"Leo-sama, you surprised me!" She squeaked, voice cracking. "I expected pirates to be louder." Penny said with a smile, turning back to her maps. She quickly attempted to stand up, but Leo stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to sit down?" She asked him, locking eyes once more.
Leo took the invitation, sitting down, but leaving some space in between of them. "I didn't expect anyone to be down here." He said, feeling like he should explain why he was down there.
Penny gave a small laugh. "I didn't feel like partying tonight. There will be another chance tomorrow anyways."
"True." The pirate said, inspecting another map. "Are you interested in navigation?" He didn't know Penny well. He wasn't comfortable around girls like her. Gentle and sweet. Those that tended to cry. He preferred female pirates. Loud and violent, low chance of waterworks.
"Somewhat. But, it really isn't for me. I don't understand these at all." She seemed down. Leo looked at her expression and felt guilt in his stomach. She looked broken. Like her wings had just been crushed. "I should return them to the library." And then Penny started collecting the papers.
"Anyone can learn the basics of celestial navigation." Leo told her, looking at the map in front of him. Penny didn't answer for a moment.
"Maybe I'm just stupid, then." Her voice was small, down. Leo looked up to see her looking at the maps in her arms, brought down by his words.
"Maybe you just haven't been taught by the right person." He smiled as he told her that. Penny looked up, her watery eyes lit with disbelief and hope. Leo wouldn't trade that face for the world.
~~~~pb~~~~
"Are you certain that your information is good?" A middle aged man asked, looking skeptical. The redheaded kid gave him a nod, face impassive. The man inspected his papers once more. This kid was rather strange, came in and handed information on pirates and Zodiacs, not caring about any kind of rewards.
"Do you want this information, fucker?" A right foul mouth on the kid. The man looked up and froze. The green eyes were piercing, looking at him like he was prey. Suddenly, he noticed that something was off. There weren't two eyes staring at him from the dimly lit room. There were four.
He rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Two. Just two eyes. Just one kid. One creepy kid.
"I can't give you much, kid. Maybe 1000 beli?" The information was worth at least a couple of thousands. Ok, let's be honest, it was in the high double digits of the thousands. The green eyes surveyed the room, as if looking for the money.
"I don't need the fucking money, jerk." The kid's tone was icy, dangerous, despite being a clear indicator of his young age. "Just print it as soon as possible."
"Hey now, I don't have that kind of-" The man stood to complain, but then met an empty room. "Where did he go?" The reporter wondered. He looked back down at the pictures and texts. Well, information about the Zodiac didn't come every day to an unknown reporter such as him. Better start writing.
That's all folks!
Reviews:
Wren: Yeaah… update… yep xD I've had that annoying writers block… I promise that it's not going to be a forever ending xD I love Ran and Ace too much… I have plans all the way to the whole Dressrosa Saga :P
More Ran growth… and some more xD She's a tough one to write hahaha I was quite inspired by The Legend of the Guardians (that's not The Rise of the Guardians, I do love that one, too xD) I heard the Jessie J song and I was in the must-listen-till-I-hate-it mode xD
I just couldn't leave Koto out :P He had to have his little moment…
I'm glad that you like the other story :D I'm kind of juggling now xD I can't help but love Kanda… he is… Kanda… he hates so much… so interesting to write xD
I know that you asked for some AcexRan and it's coming, but, the MarcoxJade is there till then :P
All the best!
Lilikoikoi: Great! I give you more reviving material :D