FIVE YEARS AGO
"Ah, you hit me pretty hard back there," Ken said, rubbing his abdomen. He had just finished sparring against Marco a short while ago. He had lost, and Sora had her fun laughing it up as she teased him. She couldn't beat Ken yet, and she and Marco always tied during their spars.
Marco chuckled, and the two men shook hands. "Sorry, you know I didn't mean it. It's all for sport."
"There's a reason why you're the first division commander," Ken said, grinning at the pirate. It was always nice to come back home. Honorable men like Marco weren't judged based on their title – Arashi Island was a place where pirates and marines could be friends – nakama, even.
Ken paused for a moment, sipping from his glass of scotch. He glanced around, seeing Sora at the table with Thatch, Jozu, and Whitebeard, eating a grilled cheese sandwich. She noticed him staring, and stuck her tongue out at him, before returning to her conversation. He smiled gently, and turned to Marco. "Can I ask you something?"
Marco raised his eyebrows a little. "Sure."
"And man to man, you have to answer honestly," Ken said, smiling at Marco. He nodded. "Do you—are you in love with Sora?"
Marco froze. He felt his breathing stop and his stomach clench. He struggled to inhale a sliver of air and looked away. How was he supposed to answer that honestly? To Ken, of all people? There was a fairly good chance that the reason why Ken was asking was because he already knew. "Are you…upset?" Marco asked, not a hundred percent sure if this was the right answer.
Ken shook his head and chuckled, placing a hand on Marco's shoulder. "No, I'm not mad or anything, I kind of figured. I just…wanted to know because I need to ask you a favor."
Ken swallowed a lump in his throat, pursing his lips together. He swished around his glass of scotch, the words hard to find. "I…trust you," he started. "I don't care that you're a pirate – you're Sora's best friend. She always tells me about how great and amazing you are, how you always have her back, and it makes me happy that she has found nakama like you. I'm glad she has a man like you in her life – someone to protect her. And I know that it might sound selfish, considering how you feel about her…but I need you to take care of her."
Marco was unsure what Ken was asking, even though he had just said it. The blonde just stared at the marine, not really sure what to say. Ken continued to talk, but his eyes were suddenly drawn to the ice in his glass. "I might not be able to come back to Sora. I leave for a mission in a few days and this might be the last time I see her."
Shocked, Marco didn't know what to say again. Ken was going to die? Impossible. He was the Meitou of the Marines – the strongest swordsman besides Dracule Mihawk himself. "Where are you going?" was all Marco could ask.
"Well, there's this…pirate. Call him a rival of mine, maybe – Brower Adrian. He and I have crossed paths before, but I have never defeated him. He comes from an island that specialized in chemistry, so that's his main weapon, and I don't know, for some reason I have yet to overcome it. But he has recently found out that Arashi Island is my hometown, and so he plans to come here to take my life and to destroy the island. I can't let him do that. So I'm leaving to intercept him," Ken explained. He exhaled deeply. "I might not come back. And if Sora…" Ken sighed, placing his head in his hand as though in pain. "I can't…have her be unhappy, not even for a second. I need you to make her happy. I need you to protect her." Ken looked up and smiled weakly, a broken grin from a strong man, like he had already accepted his fate. "That woman means everything to me – I love her. So, will you promise me that you will always love Sora, too?"
What kind of a promise was that? What kind of a promise meant putting yourself through mental torture, to only be second place to a man that was condemning himself to death to leave the woman he loved alone? What kind of a promise meant being only a friend to the woman Marco would die for?
Marco sighed. It didn't matter what kind of promise it was because it was for Sora. The blonde nodded, his words filled with conviction. "I promise."
It wasn't that difficult of a promise to keep.
Marco had so badly wanted to break it and just stop. Stop all his feelings so that he wouldn't have to care so much and so intensely and deeply for a woman that would never look at him in the same way. His feelings were so terribly unrequited that it was infuriating. There were millions of women in the world – why did he have to be stuck on just one? Why did he have to make that stupid promise?
Marco sighed, watching Sora move around the bar, serving breakfast. The jealousy towards her and Ace had lessened – a part of him had just come to accept it. She was happy, right? And Marco was keeping his promise to Ken. If he tried to steal Sora away, not only would it be disrespectful to Ace, but disrespectful to Ken as well, as Marco would be robbing Sora of the one thing Ken always wanted her to have: happiness.
"Ahoy, pretty lady," greeted Ace at the foot of the stairs. Marco could just see the way her face lit up whenever Ace spoke and his words were directed at her. It was the way she looked at Ken – so full of innocence and love.
"Ahoy," Sora told Ace, and then handed Marco his breakfast, the miso soup still steaming. "Might be a little hot," she said to Marco. She was smiling, but Marco knew it wasn't the same. It didn't contain the same light that she had when she was smiling at Ace.
"Okay, bye," Ace said, waving as he started for the exit.
"Where are you going?" Sora asked, putting a hand on her hip.
Ace spun around immediately, and smirked. "Wanna hang out?"
"No."
"Okay, then where I'm going doesn't concern you," Ace replied as though he didn't care, shrugging. "Have fun being a lame workaholic."
"Whatever," Sora scoffed, not falling for Ace's bait.
The younger man didn't seem to care. "Okay, see you later then."
"You're really leaving?" Sora asked, not believing that he wasn't going to try and drag her away from work.
"Yeah," Ace said, raising an eyebrow. "I have things to do, too, you know. I mean, I try to make time for you, but I'm a very busy man, Sora. But if you want, you can just ask your King Daddy to make some time for his princess."
"Oh, my God, whenever you talk, it's just so painful," Sora responded sarcastically, giggling and waving him off. "Whatever. See you later, peasant."
"See you never!" Ace said, making a face at her. "I'm never coming back, Sora. You'll have to live your life without me!"
"Okay. Good for me. Bye," Sora said, turning around to grab a tray and waving to Ace, who just smirked. He quickly handed Marco a paper, turned on his heels, and left. The door closed with a jingle of a bell and Sora turned around again, looking skeptical. "He really left?" she asked Marco as though this were all some kind of trick.
"Yes," Marco said, raising an eyebrow at her.
Sora laughed. "Okay, well, if he thinks I'm going to follow or something, then he's got another thing coming."
"Oh, yeah, I think this is for you. It'd be a little weird if it's for me," Marco said, handing Sora the paper Ace had passed him. He had skimmed over it several times and immediately understood what Ace was trying to do. Even Marco had to admit that if Ace could pull it off, he deserved a trophy or something. Or at least a kiss.
Sora grabbed the paper, trying not to smile as she opened it. Written in Ace's messy handwriting was a little note that read, "Our second date starts right now."
Sora read over it several times, making a face. "What does that even mean?" she asked Marco, like he was supposed to know. "He just left."
"Oy, Sora, what are you still doing here?" Eiichi asked as he passed by.
"What? I'm working. You're the one always complaining that I never work," Sora said, folding up the letter again. Eiichi's eyes flicked over the paper briefly but Sora didn't notice him smirk.
"You're off today," he said as though Sora were supposed to have known this.
"What? This is my bar," she replied, putting a hand on her hip.
"Oh, really? 'Cause last I remember, I'm the one working double shifts pretty much everyday," Eiichi replied playfully. "And yeah, didn't you get the cheese?"
Eiichi pointed to the block of cheese that was sitting on Whitebeard's table. She was trying not to smile as she undid her apron, skipping to Whitebeard's table. "Is this for me, Oyaji?" she asked Whitebeard, who nodded, picking the cheese off the table with his fingers and handing it to Sora.
However, it wasn't edible – Sora could feel that it was hollow, and noticed a little compartment. She lifted it, to find that it was empty, except for another little letter. She laughed as she pulled it out. "When did he even put this here?" she asked, placing the cheese box back on the table.
Whitebeard just shrugged, amused as his daughter opened the piece of paper. "Where fire will burn the sky" was written on the letter. Sora's lips curled into a smile as she realized what he was doing. She stared up at Whitebeard. "Is he for real?" she breathed, and he could hear the giddiness in her voice.
"It would seem so," Whitebeard replied, and tapped her back. "Go."
Sora hurried to the counter, pulled out her keys and a bit of cash, stuffing both in her pockets. She tied her hair up, and grinned at Eiichi. "I'll be back later. Thank you."
Eiichi just smiled back, waving as she left, the door jingling behind her. He waited a few moments, and pushed open the kitchen door. "Ready to start?" he asked Ace, who was grinning, glad that Sora seemed so enthusiastic. He had slid in through the back door after leaving through the front, hiding in the kitchen until Sora left.
"Born ready," Ace said playfully, nodding.
"Where fire burns the sky," Sora repeated, reading the paper one more time. She thought for a moment, and then realized where it would be. She ran through the streets, ducking into Caleb's surf shop.
The owner grinned, running a hand through his loosely tied hair. "That was fast."
Sora grinned. "Where is it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Caleb said, obviously pretending. "And even if I did, I couldn't tell you." He stared at the body board rack, and Sora looked up. She noticed the body board that had flames emblazoned on it – the one Ace had liked when they had come to pick one out for Kohaku. Sora knew she could reach it, and glanced around.
Taped onto a stepladder was another slip of paper that read, "Use Me!" in Ace's handwriting. Sora dragged the ladder to the board, lifting it from the rack. She made a face, finding that there was nothing behind it. Sora placed the board back, and thought for a moment, blinking. She slid the stepladder over to the board with the sky background, and lifted that one instead.
She grinned as she plucked an envelope. She stuffed it in her pocket as she put the board back, hopping off the stool. Caleb couldn't help but smile as well, watching Sora peel open the envelope as though it were the One Piece itself.
The next letter read: "Beaches and wind chimes." Sora looked into the envelope again to find some cash stuffed in there as well. She looked at Caleb, puzzled by the next clue. "Do you know what I'm supposed to do next?"
Caleb shrugged. "Wouldn't be fun if I just told you," he said, making a motion with his hand as though shooing her out.
Sora took a deep breath, trying to think. What did this clue mean? And why did he give her money? Sora figured she was supposed to buy something, but what? "Beaches and wind chimes."
Then it clicked, like the flicker of a lightbulb, and she rolled her eyes, heading towards the town square. She pushed open the door to a clothing store. "Sora," greeted the owner, smiling widely. Sora chuckled, knowing she had come to the right place. It seemed like the owners of the shop were definitely in on Ace's game.
She went straight for the bathing suit rack, knowing that's where the next clue was supposed to be. Beaches and wind chimes – what she wore at the beach and what she wore when she was known as Fuurin – a bikini. She browsed through the rack, eyes scanning for a slip of paper or an envelope that might be addressed to her. But there was nothing. She browsed through more clothing racks, and was fairly certain she had gone through everything in the swimwear department – even the men's section.
The woman who owned the shop, Lily, came over and patted Sora on the shoulder. "Just pick out something you like," she said.
"The letter's not here?"
Lily tried not to smile. Obviously Ace had to have let in the storeowners on his little game and they all seemed just as excited as Sora. "What letter? Take your time, Sora. Just find something you like. Maybe this one?"
She lifted a bikini off a nearby rack that made Sora roll her eyes. It was black with red and orange flames. The bottom piece had red ties on the sides and was all black. It was cute and simple, but had Ace written all over it – he had to have told Lily to suggest this one. Sora grinned, taking it. "Okay, I'll go try it on, then."
Ducking into the dressing room, Sora glanced up, looking in the mirror, and to her surprise, found another note. "Show me some small boobs!"
Sora snorted, laughing as she folded the letter neatly and put it in her pocket. She threw on the bikini that Lily had suggested and found it to actually be quite nice. Black was what she was used to, as she did wear a plain black bikini normally, but the red and orange were nice color accents. She was definitely going to buy it.
Changing back into her vest and gray shorts, Sora left the dressing room and went straight for the cash register. She handed Lily the bikini and a part of the money Ace had left her. There was an abnormally large amount of money considering that all she was buying was a swimsuit. She smiled at Lily. "I'll take it."
"Excellent choice," Lily told her. She punched in the price, and handed Sora her change and a receipt. However, on the receipt, there were no numbers or date of purchase – it was a letter from Ace.
"Wish I could be there with you, but have a lovely lunch without me today. Lame clue, but I need to stall for time! I miss you already."
Sora smiled gently, her eyes reading the last line over and over again until every shape of every character was embedded into her mind. "He's so lame," Sora giggled, but Lily could tell by the dimples in her cheeks and sparkles in her eyes that Sora didn't really think so. "Thanks, Lil, I'll see you later." Sora made her way out of the shop, and was surprised to find Izou, Curiel, Vista, and Fosta standing idly outside.
She smirked, putting her hands on her hips. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Buying bikinis," Izou answered, making a face as though Sora were supposed to have known that three big men and a cross-dresser were out shopping together with no ulterior motives. The woman laughed. "We're here to pick you up for lunch, of course."
"Where are we going?" Sora asked, following Izou.
"Where do you want to go?" Izou asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman.
Sora grinned, having a feeling that she knew where the next clue was. "Ramen-Ya."
"But Ramen-Ya is closed," Curiel said, referring to how Michio only opened his shop at night.
The woman laughed, waving him off. "Ace and I eat at Michio's every day for lunch," Sora said. And it wasn't a lie. The past few days they had indeed been going to Michio's house to grab a bowl – or three – of ramen. They'd play with Michio's kids and stall for a while before Sora needed to head back to the bar. Akio and Haruo actually had taken a liking to Ace. They called him aniki as well.
"I'm starting to become seriously hurt that I'm not informed of your little rendezvous with Ace," Izou sighed, pretending to be offended as he put an arm around Sora.
"They're not really—I-I don't know—stop," Sora said, stumbling over her words. She pretended to cough to bring her hand up to her face to hide the fact that she was blushing. She couldn't believe herself – since when did she flush when it came to talking about Ace? It was this silly game of his; making her feel like a girl again.
Izou seemed to notice this also, but instead of not saying anything like how he normally did, he slapped Sora in the back and grinned. "Oh, look at how cute you are when you talk about Ace! Look at how cute she is!" he excitedly told the other division commanders, who just chuckled in agreement. "Oh, Ace would be so happy to hear this!"
"Stop!" Sora whined, making a face at Izou, who just laughed.
"I can't keep all your cuteness to myself. I need to share it," Izou said, ruffling her hair. "Don't worry. I won't make you sound too happy."
"Izouuuuu," Sora tugged on his kimono in complaint, causing the other division commanders to laugh again.
Izou swatted her away. "Alright, alright, I will try my hardest not to say anything."
"Izou!"
"Okay, fine, I won't say anything to Ace, you fun-sucker," he sighed in defeat as they reached Michio's house. "How's the little scavenger hunt coming along?" He peeked into Sora's bag for a moment and gasped. "Oh, my God, did he make you buy lingerie from that place? Sora, you naughty girl!"
Sora scoffed, shaking her head. She pushed Izou's face away playfully. "It's a bikini!"
Izou tsk-ed like he didn't believe her and shrugged. "Oh, lying to me are we? Sora, you've changed. At least make a video for us – we need these things on long voyages," he teased, and the other division commanders laughed at this.
"Izou!" Sora laughed, shoving the man teasingly. Izou just laughed and she knew he was joking. She knocked on Michio's door. There was a stampede of footsteps and the door was eventually pulled open by one of Michio's sons.
"Hi, Aki," Sora greeted, grinning. She had been around these kids her entire life – they were twins but she could tell the difference.
Akio grinned. "Hi, Aneki," he greeted. He looked at the division commanders and nodded, unafraid of the large men. "Hey, guys." Akio held the door open for everyone, smiling as they passed.
"Oy," Michio greeted, waving as the pirates came into his house. "Good timing. Just about done making your late lunch."
"Aneki," Haruo greeted, coming out of the other room. "Where's Ace?"
"I don't know," Sora shrugged, smiling at the boy.
"We have something cool to show him next time!" Akio stated, grinning. The twins were rather smart for their age and took pleasure in inventing new contraptions. Sometimes it drove Michio crazy because they used household items to build things like rockets. They had even tried to build a device to do the laundry or wash the dishes when they were too lazy to do the chores by hand. Ace always took interest in the things the twins built, always offering to held meld things together for them, much to Michio's stress.
"Ace is paying for everyone's lunches today," Sora told Michio, handing him the rest of the envelope.
Michio shook his hand, waving her off. "It's on me. And you're gonna need the rest of that anyway," he added with a smirk.
"Oh," Sora said, trying not to smile. She tucked the envelope back into her pocket. "Okay."
Everyone made their way into the dining room, where Akio and Haruo were practically bursting from their seats. "You guys seen Kohaku today?" Sora asked, wondering if the kid had gone with his friends. Kohaku seemed to think that Sora didn't know when he was sneaking out, but she just let it slide. Kids grow up.
Haruo grinned, opened his mouth to speak, but Akio shot him a look that made the grin disappear. He stared at Sora with wide eyes and shrugged instead. "Ah, nope, haven't seen him today. Maybe he's with Corinne."
Sora laughed as Michio came back from the kitchen with bowls of ramen. He placed down two of them in front of his sons. "Afterwards, Sora, we have something to show you, too!" Akio said, breaking his chopsticks.
"Yeah, we made something pretty cool and we need someone to test it out on," Haruo agreed.
Sora sighed. The last time she had volunteered to be a guinea pig for Akio and Haruo, one of their devices exploded and she had been covered in soot. She got a rash from it. "It better be something not stupid. Ace isn't here to be stupid for me."
Akio nodded. "It's totally safe. Right, dad?" he turned to Michio for confirmation. The man just grunted in response, handing bowls of ramen to the rest of the division commanders before ducking into the kitchen for the last time to grab Sora's bowl and his own.
Michio sat down next to Sora, raising an eyebrow. "How's your day going, Belleville?"
Sora just shrugged. She normally ate her ramen quite delicately, but today, she just shoved it in her mouth. She didn't want to talk and be the object of ridicule.
But it didn't matter, because Izou was here. "She's being very cute about Ace's little game," he said smugly, smirking at Sora as she tried not to pay attention to him. Izou turned to Michio. "She's just shy about it. Look at her feathers all ruffled."
Michio chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Ah, see, I'm not the only one that thinks you get like this about Ace. Pretend all you want, we all know you're having fun with the kid."
"This ramen is really good," Sora commented when she needed to take a breath. "How are things with Eiichi?" she said, switching the topic off herself to Michio.
Michio raised an eyebrow, knowing what she was doing. "Good. Why wouldn't it be otherwise?"
"I don't know, he works a lot."
"Because of you," Michio teased. He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't care. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do – if that includes working everyday then that's fine. He stays with Aki and Haru while I'm at work."
"Eiichi is funny," Haruo said, swallowing his noodles.
"Yeah, we burned his hair," Aki agreed, the two sharing a laugh. That explained one time Eiichi came into work with a much shorter haircut.
Even Michio laughed, shaking his head and sighing. "He never learns. I told him to stop volunteering for your crap," he told his sons, rolling his eyes.
"It's not crap," Aki said, making a face at his dad.
The other twin spoke up. "It's genius. One of these days you'll be able to go into space from one of our inventions."
"Or even awesome-r: you won't need laundry boards and clotheslines because we'll build the machine for it," Aki said, crossing his arms over his chest as though bragging.
"You guys are lazy," Michio sighed. "Chores need to be done regardless."
"So? Our stuff will speed up the process. Just wait, dad, it'll be awesome."
"And you'll be so glad you're the dad of the two greatest geniuses ever." The two boys high-fived at this, and the family shared a little laugh.
Michio sighed, knowing his sons weren't going to give it up. It was why he never really interfered with their inventions. They were adventurous and smart, but chose to apply that drive somewhere else. Why would Michio complain? "Well, we'll see when it happens."
"Eiichi comes here everyday?" Sora asked.
Michio shrugged. "More or less, yeah," he answered. "When he's not too tired or the twins trick him into helping out with their crap. He's a nice guy."
Sora smiled. She could tell that Michio was trying not to talk up Eiichi as much. The twins probably didn't understand everything that was going on but Sora knew that Michio appreciated everything that Eiichi did for him and for his sons to try and be a part of their lives.
"You done?" Haruo asked, peering over the table to see Sora finishing up her ramen.
"Almost," she said, lifting the bowl to her lips and pouring the thick soup down her throat. It warmed her entire body and she sighed happily afterwards, patting her belly as she sank into her chair. "Now I'm done."
"Let's go outside!" Akio insisted, leaping from his chair. His brother followed into the yard. Sora got up as well, and the division commanders pretended not to be interested in what was going to happen.
"Are you guys done with your lunch?" Michio called after his sons, but the twins ignored him, pulling something out from a bin.
"It's a bottle rocket," Akio told Sora. It was a large plastic bottle with foam fins glued to the side. A rather odd step down from what the boys usually made. Haruo handed her a hose.
"It's kind of a toy, I guess. Fill it with water and if we plug it to this air pressure thing, it'll shoot up into the air!"
"Yeah, and we made a parachute thingy to bring it back down." The boys gestured to the compartment quickly and then took it back from Sora's hands. She watched them plant the bottle and noticed something inside casing where the parachute was attached.
"Ace built that, didn't he?" Sora asked the boys.
"No, Ace couldn't build something as awesome this," Haruo said, waving her off.
Akio nodded in agreement, not making eye contact with her. "We built it."
Sora giggled. "Okay, well, let me fill it up with water, then," she said, making her way over to the boys. Akio hurried to the switch, twisting the knob. Water poured out of the end of the hose onto the grass, and Sora lifted the hose to the neck of the bottle, allowing the water to flow in. "How much is good?"
"I don't know, it's an experimental toy," Haruo said, waving her off. The bottle cap was attached with a tube to the air pump, which Akio handed to Sora.
"Try it!" he insisted, grinning.
"I can make more air pressure than this little thing," Sora told the boys, raising an eyebrow at the little green pump.
"No one cares, Aneki, just use what we have!" Haruo said, making the division commanders burst out laughing as Sora stared at the younger boy in shock.
"I'm small enough to be able to punch kids you know," she teased, but began moving the pump anyway, grinning. Bubbles gurgled into the bottle, and Sora could feel the pressure increasing, as it became harder to use the pump. Until suddenly, the rocket exploded from the stand, spraying everyone with water.
Akio and Haruo cheered as the rocket shot crookedly into the air, their compartment hovering for a moment. The parachute deployed – tissue paper tied with strings – and the little box came floating downward. Sora reached up and caught it gently. The boys didn't object, and she smiled, knowing it was for her.
Sora pulled it open, but found that it was empty. She searched around the box, but there was nothing written on it either. But then she noticed markings on the parachute and flattened it out, smiling as she read the letter.
But it wasn't a letter – it was just a poorly drawn picture of a mug with a green liquid in it, and little cartoon steam marks floating off the top. Sora giggled, plucking the paper from its strings and tucking it in her pocket.
"I've gotta go," she said, knowing exactly where she needed to head off to next.
"Don't let us stop you," Izou said, moving aside so she could pass. He winked at Sora. "Have fun on your date tonight. I need updates afterwards!"
"Stop," Sora whined playfully, causing the other division commanders to laugh. "Thanks boys," she said, patting both twins on the head for a job well done. "Ace will be proud."
"Anything for our blacksmith aniki," Akio answered with a grin, receiving a high five from Haruo.
"See you!" she called to Michio as she ducked out of the yard. The man just waved, smiling. It was always nice to see her happy.
"Coral," Sora greeted, slightly out of breath when she pushed open the door to the ice cream shop her friend worked at. She had ran all the way across town – maybe she could catch up with Ace if she hurried. Coral let out a girlish squeal, clapping her hands together happily.
"You came!"
"What'd Ace leave you?" Sora asked, stepping to the counter.
Coral shook her head, grinning. "I can't give that to you yet," she said with a giggle. "I mean-um, welcome, would you like to try our green tea ice cream today?" she asked as though helping a random customer.
Sora smiled. "Ace wants me to buy the ice cream?"
"Green tea ice cream it is," Coral said, punching it into her cash register. Sora laughed, handing her friend some of the money from the envelope Ace had given her. There was still a lot left – what else did Ace have in mind?
Coral rushed off, snatching a cup from the top of the stack. She lifted the case, and scooped ice cream into it, and handed it to Sora with a grin. She plucked a spoon from a container and gave that to her as well. "Thanks for coming. Have a lovely day."
"Thanks," Sora said, taking the ice cream. She waited for a moment for Coral to give her Ace's next note, but the younger girl just stood there, smiling. She scooped some ice cream and put it in her mouth, waiting.
"Is there something else?" Coral asked as though not sure what Sora was waiting for.
"Ace's thing," Sora clarified, swallowing her ice cream. "What'd he give you?"
Coral smiled, and shrugged. "You're done here, though. Have fun tonight!"
Sora blinked several times, the spoon dangling from her lips. "Really? Nothing?"
"I hope you have a good time on your date," Coral said, like she was a broken record just programmed to have Sora be on her way.
"Oh, um, okay, then. See you around, Coral," Sora said, spinning on her heels and leaving. She inhaled, furrowing her brows together. She was sure that was where the clue had taken her. Coral hadn't exactly been discrete about it either. Ace had drawn a mug of green tea. Sure, any other person would have gone to the nearest teahouse, but Ace had purposely colored the tea green, signifying Sora's favorite ice cream flavor.
Which, by the way, was quite delicious on a rather hot late summer afternoon.
Sora plopped down on a bench, scooping more ice cream into her mouth as she thought. Maybe it had been a clue to throw her off. Maybe Ace had come to Coral, and asked the obviously smitten teen to pretend like he left something with her for Sora.
Sora scoffed. Ace wouldn't be able to think of that.
Sora stared up into the sky briefly. Skies really were blue. She smiled to herself, scooping up more ice cream. She finished up the little bowl, and noticed that the bottom of it was covered in a thin plastic, with a little arrow drawn under it. Sora shoved the spoon in her mouth and flipped the cup.
"Hi, again," started Ace's messy handwriting. "Hope you had a great lunch and dessert courtesy of big daddy's pocket money." Sora rolled her eyes at this, but continued reading. "I wish I could shower you in gold, small boobs, but I guess diamond's gonna have to do."
Sora rotated the cup, checking the sides for something else, but didn't find any more of Ace's handwriting on it. She scraped more ice cream off the bottom of cup. These clues were getting a little annoying.
"I've been looking for you everywhere," said a voice, and Sora looked up to see Jozu making his way towards her. "That Ace of yours never told me where you'd be."
The woman stood up, grinning. She carefully placed the empty ice cream cup in her shopping bag, making her way over to the big man. "Diamond Jozu," she greeted, smirking. How many more people were clued in on Ace's game?
"Day's been going good?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah."
"Izou said you were pretty enthusiastic about Ace's scavenger hunt."
Sora made a face. "Damn Izou," she groaned, sighing exasperatedly. Jozu just laughed, slapping Sora on the back as they started back towards the town square. "Where are we going now?"
"Don't wory about that," Jozu said, waving her off. "I feel like we haven't really talked since we came."
"I'm sorry," Sora said, looking a little uneasy. "How are things on the ship?"
Jozu offered her a smile. He wasn't mad, or anything – he just missed his nakama. "Good, as usual. Oyaji is taking his time. It's why we come here quite often."
"Is Oyaji doing better?"
"The same."
Sora giggled. "Why do I even ask if everything is the same as before I left?" she laughed. "But I suppose that's how things are when you're aboard the ship of the strongest man in the world."
Jozu's laughter rumbled through Sora's ears as the man's body shook. "I suppose. I've been thinking a lot and I don't know if Oyaji even really, really intends to become the Pirate King."
"What?" Sora asked incredulously. "How? Why?"
Jozu just chuckled at her panicked response. "Marco, Thatch and I have been talking a little, and we suspect that, because of his heritage, Oyaji might want to make Ace the Pirate King." Sora was quiet. "Ace told you, didn't he?" Sora nodded, remembering the secret Ace had told her that night. "And what do you think?"
Sroa shrugged. "What is there to think? I was talking to Oyaji the other day and I don't know, it doesn't matter to me who Ace's parents are. He is who he is. A part of me has known it from the beginning, but I guess it's just hard to admit it. The other day at the beach, I realized that Oyaji was right; I was trying to make him to be someone he isn't. I really believe that Ace is…a genuine person." She paused and grinned up at Jozu sheepishly. "But don't tell him I'm saying this."
Jozu smiled, patting his nakama on the head. That was a good answer. "Of course."
"So, what's Oyaji doing in the meantime? I mean, if he really is planning on making Ace the Pirate King? Does Ace know?" Sora asked, her mind swimming with questions. The strongest man in the world wanted to make the son of his rival the Pirate King.
"Ace doesn't know. Not a lot of people know that Roger is Ace's biological father – only a few of the commanders and Oyaji know. I believe that Oyaji is waiting for Ace to grow up a little more. As he stands now, Ace is nowhere even close to becoming the Pirate King. However, as long as Ace is with us, he will be protected and will be allowed the opportunity to grow. I think that's what Oyaji wants." Jozu shrugged. "But that's just a speculation. Ace doesn't know anything – we haven't talked to him about any of this. We will see what happens when the time comes."
Sora smiled, nodding slowly. It was hard to believe that Whitebeard was prepared to pass on the title he coveted for decades to Portgas D. Ace. "What about Ace's brother?"
Jozu raised an eyebrow. "What brother?"
"Ace's brother. Ace has talked about him, probably. He's seems so proud – I think his name's Luffy, or something. Is he a son of Roger, too?"
The large man shrugged. "It is impossible for Ace's brother to also be Roger's son – Roger was executed twenty one years ago. It would have been too late for another child."
Then Sora remembered that Ace said that he and his brother were not related by blood, and nodded, also taking Jozu's explanation into consideration. She wondered what kind of man Ace's brother would grow up to be. "I'm going to keep an eye out," Sora told Jozu.
"For?"
"Ace's brother."
"Why?"
"I don't know. The way Ace talks about him makes him seem like he can become something great. Maybe not as great as Oyaji but you know, Ace is the most prideful person I've met and for someone to be able to make him proud? His brother Luffy must really be something, huh?" Sora said, smiling up at the third division commander.
Jozu laughed a little, nodding. "I suppose. You okay with your brother wanting to become a pirate and all?"
Sora shrugged. "A man has to follow his dreams, right? If he wants to be a pirate like me instead of a marine like Ken, then I suppose I have to just support him. What else can I do? I don't really believe that there is a right and wrong. Whether you fly a black flag or a white flag – it doesn't matter. We're all children of the sea."
The third division commander chuckled, patting her on the back. "You sound like Oyaji and Ken. It's nice to know that there is a noble, chivalrous woman like you out there."
Sora batted her eyelashes playfully. "Aw, thanks."
"Well, we're here," Jozu said, gesturing to the shop in front of them.
"A dress shop?" Jozu pushed open the door for Sora, who stepped in. She was enthusiastically greeted by a salesperson.
"Hi, welcome!" the woman practically screamed.
"Hey, Terra," Sora said, a little thrown off by her pep. "I, ah, guess I'm here to buy a dress?" she looked up at Jozu for confirmation, and the man nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked like a father following his daughter into a shop, not particularly looking like he really wanted to be in the frilly dress shop. He took a seat on a few tiny chairs by the entrance.
"Just choose something you like," Jozu told Sora, just like how Lily had told her at the bikini shop today.
"Really? No note or anything suggested by Ace?" Sora said, browsing the racks. She hadn't worn a real dress in ages. She always just wore shorts and boots and vests. She did have that one cotton dress but it was so short she needed to wear shorts and boots with that too.
"And any alterations you need on your dress will be done by tonight," Terra said, smiling, hooking her blonde hair behind her ears.
"Am I supposed to wear the dress tonight?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.
"With the bathing suit you bought earlier," Jozu said from his place on the chairs.
"Where is Ace taking me?"
"You'll find out when you get there."
Sora huffed in feigned frustration, glancing around the store for something she'd like. If Ace really was paying for her to get a dress, Sora wanted one she actually liked, was comfortable in, and would most likely wear again. Then she saw it.
It was in the window – a simple white sundress. It had straps about half an inch thick, and had white corset ties down the front, slimming to the mannequin before frilling out ever so slightly at the bottom. "Can I try that one?" Sora asked Terra, pointing to the one on the mannequin.
"Oh, sure," Terra said, and searched through the racks to find the same dress. She handed it to Sora and shuffled the woman into a dressing room.
Sora glanced up again to see a note from Ace on the mirror that read, in bold markings, "MORE SMALL BOOBS!" She giggled and picked the note off, putting it in her pocket with the rest of Ace's letters.
Sora quickly changed into her new dress and opened the door to show Jozu. "How do I look?" she asked, twirling around to show off the dress. She didn't need an alterations – the dress fit perfectly, bodice hugging her curves and the dress ending right above her knees, making it an appropriate length for any occasion.
Jozu smiled at the younger woman. "I'm not really someone you should ask about that, but I mean, I guess it looks good."
Sora stuck her tongue out, smoothing the dress down. "Do you think Ace would like it?"
Jozu nodded. "I think so."
That was all Sora needed. The woman smiled and turned to Terra. "I'm gonna buy this one," she told the salesperson, and ducked back into the fitting room to change.
"Is Sora dating the current second division commander?" Terra asked Jozu quietly.
"Ha! He wishes. He's just taking her out tonight."
Terra smiled. "That's sweet."
Sora pushed open the door, leaving the tiny fitting room. She met Terra at the register, handing the woman the dress. Terra's finger clicked the numbers in, and the price came out to roughly around the amount of money that Sora had left. Sora gave Terra the money, wondering how it was possible that worked out quite perfectly, taking the shopping bag Terra gave her. She waited again, like how she had waited with Coral, but Terra didn't give her anything else.
"Wait, I don't get another note from Ace?" Sora asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Ace didn't give me anything," Terra said, looking confused.
Sora felt a tapping on her shoulder and she turned to see Jozu holding a little piece of paper. Sora grinned, smacking Jozu on the arm playfully as she took the letter. "How come you didn't just give this to me from the start?"
"Ace asked me a favor," Jozu replied, smirking. "Open it, I want to see what it says."
Sora unfolded the paper to have her eyes once again meet with Ace's handwriting. "BAR" was all it said. Sora sighed. "He was definitely getting tired of making elaborate clues," she laughed, showing the paper to Ace. "I guess we go back to the bar?"
Jozu nodded as the two bade farewell to Terra. "Let me walk you."
A/N: I'm also planning on writing a...very R-18 Ace fanfiction as well and I have 5 chapters of that new one started. I still have more Blue Skies, though, so thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated! :)