ALMOST SIX YEARS AGO

Bloop, bloop, bloop. Bloop, bloop, bloop.

Ken glanced down at the den den mushi on the table in front of him. He smiled at his division. "Sorry, let me take this," he said, picking up the snail and leaving the room. "Yo."

"Hi, Ken," said a voice from the other line and he smiled tenderly.

"Hey. Didn't think you'd call me so soon."

"Well, I'm free now, and you said to call. Are you still in your meeting?"

"Yeah, but we're almost done. Where are you? I'll meet you."

"I'm on my ship."

"Ah, okay. Come grab me in about half an hour. I'll be on the beach."

"You want to come on my ship?" Sora asked, sounding as though she wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly. "You know what kind of ship it is." She was obviously being careful about what she was saying, being wary of any black den den mushis that could be listening in.

Ken chuckled. "Yes, I know. And it's fine. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, we're having a feast tonight," Sora said, and Ken could see her smile all the way from the other end of the line. "It won't be just us for dinner, but we can hang out on the deck afterwards."

"Okay, see you in thirty minutes," Ken agreed, and hung up. He couldn't believe this was happening. Admittedly, it was quite interesting as Ken was five years her senior and the last time he had seen her, she had just been a kid. But she had been his best friend. Even though he was several years older than her, he always felt like he could trust her. He regretted not being able to communicate with her during the years he had been away, but he meant what he had said in the bar; he wasn't going to let her leave him again.

He pushed open the door, returning to the meeting. He grinned at his men. "Sorry, guys. Something came up. Raincheck?"

"Taichou," his vice captain, Akira scolded, sighing. Ken didn't blame him; he did have the tendency to get lazy when it came to meetings. He would rather be out on the field than be confined in a little space just talking.

Ken wasn't even listening as he gathered his things. "Tomorrow, maybe, I don't know. If I'm not here then just continue without me. Akira, you know what we're supposed to talk about anyway," he said, pointing at his vice captain. Akira rolled his eyes but didn't stop Ken as he scurried from the room. He was excited to see Sora.

She had changed so much in the time he hadn't seen her. Just by standing beside her, he could feel a stronger, more confident aura about her. He wondered how much more powerful she really did get. When they were kids, Ken had helped Sora with her swordsmanship up until the day he left; he wondered how she had improved. He could just feel that now, she had a presence.

But although Sora had changed, she had also stayed the same. He still remembered the way she smiled, and her slightly odd quirks, the way she ran a hand through her hair. She had become a woman that Ken admired now more than ever.

Ken changed into a loosely fitted black shirt and faded dark jeans, tossing his uniform in his bag. What was the point of those things anyway? Ken had become a marine because he figured it was where he could put his skills to use. He couldn't just sit around on Arashi Island twiddling his thumbs; he needed to be out, sailing the sea. That was the only reason he had enlisted in the marines. Why did he have to wear a uniform to go on an adventure? He didn't bother bringing his sword either. He wanted Sora's nakama to trust him.

It was dark already, and Sora was standing on the beach with a small lantern. She waved upon seeing Ken approach. "Hey," he said, and hugged her, which seemed to take her by surprise. She soon wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Miss me already?" Sora teased, sticking her tongue out.

Ken just smiled and nodded. "You sure this is okay with your crew? I mean, I don't care about the whole pirate thing, but are they okay with me?"

"Yeah, I mean what pirate doesn't want a world renowned marine on board their ship?" Sora teased, grinning up at Ken, who shoved his palm in her face.

"Come on, are you sure this is cool? I can try to wait to hang out with you until tomorrow. I mean, I can't make any promises, but if your nakama aren't okay with it, then it's fine," Ken said, smiling as Sora blushed slightly.

"Stop, I said they were fine," she said, waving him off. "They want to meet you."

"I hope by meet, you don't mean kill," Ken joked, and Sora laughed. He glanced around. "Where's your boat?"

"There," Sora said, gesturing to a giant ship anchored offshore near the mountains. Lights from the Moby Dick flickered brightly in the dark sky.

"No, I mean the boat that got you here," Ken said. "How are we getting back?"

Sora smiled. "Like this," Sora said, and walked onto the water. Onto. The water. Ken's eyes widened.

"How are you doing that?" he asked, running to her. His feet splashed in the ocean that came to lap the shores, parts of his jeans getting wet. Sora was standing on the water, unaffected by the waves. She made a face at Ken as though this were a normal occurance. "Are you a sorcerer now?"

Sora laughed. "No, silly. Akuma no mi," she clarified, holding her hand out to Ken. He took it and as he moved closer to her, looked down for a moment to see that around her feet the water was slightly dented, as though being blown out in a circle.

"Is that air?" Ken asked, still in disbelief. "Can you control air?"

"It's wind," Sora laughed. "Now come on, I'm hungry!"

"I can't walk on air," Ken said, exaggerating the word 'air' rather explicitly, widening his eyes and increasing his volume. Sora giggled again.

"I believe in you," Sora said, looking at him with a real, genuine conviction, her eyebrows creased inwards and she nodded sharply as though sending a warrior out into combat. Ken chuckled. She was definitely still the same weirdo as five years ago.

"I mean, I'm no devil fruit user, but I'm pretty sure swimming all the way to your ship would be tiring," Ken sighed. He glanced around him, unsure as the waves continued to wash over his ankles. "What do I do?"

"Do you know how to walk?" Sora asked, sounding concerned.

"Shut up."

Sora giggled. "Just walk. You still trust me or not?"

"You know the answer to that."

"Then just take a step forward and let's go eat," Sora said, taking a step herself, still holding onto Ken's hand. Ken did as he was told and he felt a slight breeze, and looked down. He, too, was standing atop the water, pulled in when the waves receded. Sora continued to walk as though strolling through a park. Ken stared in awe as he seemed to be stepping across a pathway of air. He felt his body drop slightly with each step, bending the air as though he were walking in fine sand. The bottoms of his feet even grazed the surface of the ocean. He glanced behind him to see that the slight breeze was fading behind him – the only way to go was forward.

"Your fruit is pretty neat. You can walk on air," Ken said, grinning at Sora after some time of walking in silence. He had become so captivated with his surroundings that he had almost forgotten that he and Sora were holding hands. He squeezed her hand, looking around himself excitedly. He could see the silhouettes of fish below him, as though they were looking up, curious to see humans walking on the surface of the water.

Sora laughed. "Thanks."

"Can you fight with it?" Ken asked, suddenly interested. How strong had she become in the past five years? How strong had she become aboard Whitebeard's ship? He was curious to see her newfound strength.

"Yep."

"Let's go a round. I'd love to kick your ass again," Ken challenged.

"Please, Ken, I'm going to give you such a bad spanking that you won't be able to sit for days," Sora shot back.

"Have you forgotten my 266 wins?"

"Um, have you forgotten that you bought me ice cream 266 times?" Sora scoffed. "I obviously win because I got 266 free scoops of green tea ice cream courtesy of you."

"I only bought you ice cream 'cause I didn't want to make the little girl cry," Ken replied, and Sora just rolled her eyes. "Really, though, let's spar sometime! I want to see how much you've grown in strength. You must be pretty beastly now, huh?"

"I'm awesome," Sora said as a matter of fact. She gestured at the ship that towered over them. "And up we go." Ken felt another gust of wind and they were lifted into the air, brought over the railing and landed gently on the deck of the Moby Dick. Ken couldn't believe it. Any other marine would kill to step foot on this ship and capture all the pirates aboard. Some of the world's most wanted men – Whitebeard, Fushichou Marco, Diamond Jozu, Kaken Vista – were aboard this ship, and Ken was here, standing on the same even ground with these dangerous men. But none of that mattered to Ken.

Sometimes, he felt like he wasn't meant to be a marine because he didn't care about trivial things such as status, when to other marines – namely Sakazuki – it was the only thing that mattered. But it wasn't like he could the marines now. He had nakama there, and cared about everyone in his division. He had people to protect, and he knew that not all pirates were as kind as Sora or her nakama.

"Everyone's downstairs," Sora told Ken, leading Ken towards the source of the noise. She pushed open the door to the dining room and Ken was greeted with loud chatter and laughter, food flying in all directions as the pirates aboard the Moby Dick feasted.

"Sora!" called a man from a table, waving broadly. Ken recognized him as Thatch, one of the pirates he had met earlier that day. He made big gestures for Sora to come sit with them, and he waved at Ken. "Oy, Takamune, too!"

"Come on, let me introduce you to the other division commanders," Sora said, pulling Ken towards them. "Hey, guys," she greeted the men, sitting down next to Marco. Ken sat beside her, and held out his hand for the pirates to shake as she introduced him to several more division commanders. To Ken's relief, they were all friendly, even though they recognized him as the Meitou of the Marines.

"Mm, Ken – do you mind if I call you Ken? – did you know that our little Sora is the second division commander?" Izou asked, pausing a bit from shoveling food down his throat.

"Really?" Ken asked, looking eager to hear the story. "Second division commander?"

"No," Sora said, waving her hands sheepishly. "I'm not."

"Oh, shut up, yes you are," Izou said, waving her off. "Oyaji offered her the job a thousand times. She insists on turning it down until she can 'prove her loyalty', which everyone thinks she's already done. I mean, look at her tattoo!"

"Wow, that's really amazing, Sora," Ken said, ignoring Sora's protests. "Second division commander. You must be so strong now." The pirates chuckled as Sora flushed at Ken's praise. He turned to the men and smiled. "You don't mind if I take some food, right?"

None of them minded, so Ken grabbed some food and started to eat. He never thought the path of his life would lead him here; he was having a feast with the Whitebeard pirates. He looked beside him to Sora, who was gorging herself in food and smiled to himself. She fit in here.

"Oh, yeah, so how's my little brother?" Ken asked Sora when she paused in eating.

"Mmm, Kohaku? He's doing good. He's starting school this year, I think," she said, smiling as she remembered. Takamune Kohaku was Ken's little brother, but unfortunately, Ken was so much older than Kohaku that he needed to leave the kid behind to fulfill his own dreams. He always made sure to mail his brother gifts from the islands he visited, however. Ken and Sora had spent so much time together that Kohaku began to address Sora as 'aneki', 'older sister'.

"That's good to hear," Ken said with a grin.

"You have a little brother?" Haruta asked, his eyes wide with interest.

Ken nodded. "Yeah. He's back at home; he's a really nice kid. Maybe if you guys come by Arashi Island sometime, you can meet him."

The division commanders seemed a little surprised by this. They were…invited to someone's hometown? They were hated men. Pirates. But yet this marine was acting like they were just normal civilian friends he had just met in a bar. But they all smiled kindly and nodded as though accepting that invitation. It felt nice to be treated on equal grounds.

"Oh, actually, that reminds me, I have something for you," Ken said, and pulled something out of his bag. It was a bracelet with a tiny glass ball on top, a compass inside. "I found some eternal logs that lead to Arashi Island," Ken said proudly. Sora took one gently, shocked. Because Arashi Island had no effect on log poses, Sora thought that they wouldn't have a log pose leading there. She always wondered how she would indeed return home but figured she could deal with it when the time came. "In case you wanted to go visit home and take your nakama, too," he said, patting her on the head.

"When are you going to be going home?" Sora asked, strapping the log pose onto her wrist. "You have one, too, right?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah, I'll be going soon. After my retreat I have to go back to Marineford for some other business stuff and then I'll take a vacation and go home," he said, shrugging as though he could do whatever he wanted in the marines. Sora wondered if the Admirals or Fleet Admiral ever got on Ken's case about his tendency to not like to sit around. She also wondered how he got such a respectable title, considering that Sora did know how Ken tended to be sometimes.

"You can do that?" Jozu asked, obviously thinking the same thing.

Ken shrugged. "I don't know," he answered honestly, laughing a little. "I don't really like to be on duty all the time. I don't really care about that stuff. But shh, Sakazuki doesn't know. That man is terrifying," Ken said, and pretended to shudder. The division commanders laughed.

They spent the rest of the night eating and talking and drinking. Ken had, of course, scolded Sora playfully about drinking while he continued to drink every mug of beer she tried to bring back to the table for herself. Soon, the division commanders retired, Marco being the last.

"Don't go to sleep too late," he said, ruffling her hair before leaving. Sora noticed he had been rather quiet throughout dinner, but she shrugged it off. He was probably just tired.

"Have something tomorrow?" Ken asked, standing up. He rolled his shoulder blades back and raised his arms to stretch.

Sora shrugged. "Ah, sort of. Marco filled me in on some stuff that I can do for Oyaji," she said, shrugging.

"I was wondering. You call Whitebeard 'oyaji'. Why?"

Sora smiled and shrugged again, standing up and following Ken out onto the deck. "I don't know. I never really had a father I guess and I'm really taken care of here. Everyone here calls Whitebeard that. We're a family."

They reached the end of the deck, leaning against the railing. Ken turned to her and smiled. "That sounds nice. I'm really happy for you."

"You're really not upset that I became a pirate?" Sora asked, speaking cautiously as though treading on sensitive grounds.

"Nah, I already said it doesn't matter," Ken chuckled. "I always kind of knew that you weren't going to become a marine." Sora narrowed her eyes at this, and Ken held up his hands in defense. "No, no, not because I thought you were weak or anything. Just because the more I got involved with the marines, the more I began to wonder when you would come and if you would even like it. There are a lot of rules to follow, you know. I just get to conveniently, occasionally break them. I'm surprised they promoted me to a captain.

"But out here…I don't know. You're wild and unpredictable. You need to be out on the ocean, having your own adventures, not confined by wearing a stupid uniform. You came to Arashi Island from the outside and even when we were younger I always saw that sort of fiery adventure in you; I knew you couldn't stay there forever. Your spirit of adventure is a lot stronger than mine and I've always admired that. I feel like it'll take you far in life."

Sora smiled at Ken's kind words, hooking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess. I don't really know what I'd do if I ended up having to stay on Arashi Island," she laughed. "Not that I hate everyone there because I do love everyone. I just love this life, you know? More than I thought I ever could."

"I'm glad," Ken told her. "Imagine being stuck in that place," he said, making a face. "Unable to sail out to sea and to fight and have adventures and have nakama. How boring would that be?"

Sora giggled. "Tell me about it. I miss home, and Eiichi, and Kohaku, and Michio guys sometimes but I would never live there. The sea will always be my home."

"You happy being a pirate?"

Sora looked up and Ken and grinned. "Happier than I've ever been, and ever will be. You happy being a marine?"

Ken smiled, and nodded. "I've got my own nakama, too. They make the job less annoying. Plus, I'm pretty famous, so it's kind of great."

"I'm happy that we are both happy."

The silver haired man chuckled, feeling the wind against his cheeks. "Me, too."

"Doesn't that make us enemies, though?" Sora asked.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm happy being a pirate, and you're happy being a marine. Doesn't that make us enemies?"

Ken smiled, and didn't hesitate in answering, "Nope."

Sora grinned up at him. "Awesome."

"Tomorrow, let's meet up again after your campaign," Ken suggested.

"It might take a couple of days," Sora said, frowning slightly. "This is actually my campaign to be second division commander. Marco got word that a ship is headed this way. I'm going to intercept them and offer them to Oyaji. But shh, it's a secret. Don't tell Izou."

Ken chuckled and nodded. "Okay, well you have the den den mushi, right? It's only a small one, so it can only communicate within the radius of this island. We should go out and get bigger ones, so I can contact you when I'm out at sea."

"Oh, I don't want to get in the way of work," Sora said, shaking her head.

Ken sighed, knowing what she was really worried about. "I copped a white den den mushi," Ken assured her. White den den mushis were able to block out any signals from black snails that were used for intercepting calls. "Come on, I'll pay for yours and everything. Otherwise, how would we keep in contact when we're apart?"

Sora smiled. "Okay. Since you're paying and everything."

"Awesome," Ken said, tousling her hair. He kept some strands in his fingers, examining her hair and face. "I thought it'd take a little getting used to – your short hair – but I like it. It makes you look older. Like, sophisticated, but cute at the same time."

"You have girl hair."

Ken rolled his eyes at her comment and Sora laughed. "I don't know how many times I told you to cut it. But it looks better long like this instead of mega-girly when it was at your shoulders," she teased, and Ken laughed, pushing her.

"I'm really glad you haven't changed," he told her, and Sora seemed surprised by this.

"Now that I think about it, I don't really care much your hair."

Ken laughed again, keeping his hand on her cheek. He spoke softly now, his tone becoming gentle. "Would it be weird if I said I wanted to kiss you right now?"

"Why would that be weird?" Sora asked, raising her eyebrow. She tried to stay nonchalant despite her racing heart.

"I don't know, maybe 'cause the last time I saw you, you were like, eleven, and now you're this beautiful woman who just…amazes me. Maybe it'd be weird for you, I don't know, or maybe you're dating someone on the ship. Don't want to cross any lines, you know. I could die here," Ken joked with a shrug.

Sora laughed. "Not dating anyone."

"Cool," Ken said, nodding. "You can date me, then."

Sora smirked. "Isn't this going a little too fast?"

"Do you think it is?"

"I don't know, is it?"

"What are we playing, twenty-one questions?"

"You forgot that I don't care for that game, do you?"

"Are you going to keep this up?"

"Are you ready to challenge the question master?"

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

Sora smiled. "Yes."

"Awesome," Ken said, and closed the distance between their lips, pressing his against hers very gently, and Sora inhaled slightly, caught off guard. Ken's lips were light against hers, almost cautious, half afraid that Sora would freak out and flee, but instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and Ken leaned forward, deepening the kiss.

It was cliché, but it was fireworks. Ken's chest tightened, but his heart pounded quickly, ready to burst from his chest. He had waited. He had waited for her for five years, waited for her to grow up and become the woman he always knew she could be. And it was worth it. So worth it.

They broke the kiss, out of breath, and pressed their foreheads together, Sora biting her lip as she smiled. "Be with me," Ken whispered.

"I'm with you right now," Sora giggled, and Ken pulled her closer.

"Be with me, always. Even when you're thousands of miles away," Ken said. "I don't want to lose you again."

Sora laughed. "You never lost me; I was always right behind you."

Ken grinned. "Then stand beside me now," he said.

"Someone's gotten more romantic in the five years we haven't seen each other. I can feel my heart beating really fast and the stars are exploding in my eyes. Is this real, or is this fantasy?"

"Why do you need to ruin every nice moment we ever have?" Ken laughed, rolling his eyes and shoving her away playfully.

"Uh, hello, five year reunion was today? This is like, our first nice moment."

"We can have many more."

"Are you sure that's okay?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm going to be the second division commander soon, and you're a big shot marine. I mean, no one will care here, but I don't know if that'd go down so well with your friends in the marines. Admiral Akainu might through a hissy fit and come after you."

"I'm not stupid," Ken said, shaking his head. "This isn't something I'm going to broadcast. This isn't for other people. It's for me and you."

Sora seemed to think about it for a while and shrugged. "Why not? I mean, it'll keep me occupied, I guess."

Ken pushed her lightly, and Sora laughed. "So, we're together, then?"

Sora grinned and brought her lips to his in a light kiss. "Forever."

A/N: Thanks for the support! Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading :)