Chapter Seventeen

Yuki wandered between the buildings. There was a convenience store, selling makeup, clothing changes, and souvenirs. It also had a few elaborate masks, much to her happy surprise. She purchased an emerald green one that reminded her of beautiful birds and colorful beetles. The edges were crusted with black glitter, gently framing the mask with its little gold jewels and vivid green patterns.

She was relieved that she didn't have to worry about being recognized, and very thankful to the shop owner for having the masks in the first place. Once she paid, she left for the dance hall to have some fun. The evening was going much better than she thought, and she decided to give in to the festivities and have fun.

Ace twirled the unknown lady around, tired of dancing the waltz again and again. He wanted to sit down and talk with Sabo again. He wanted to know how his life had been, how he had gotten by without his siblings to depend on. He wanted to know every detail of his daily life, he wanted to know in order to be there for him in the future.

They had never figured out which one of them was the older sibling.

The woman received an invitation from people she didn't know. Why that group would send her an invitation to a fancy party, she didn't know. All the woman knew was that the letter she received pressed for her to show up.

So, she did. "Silver Fire" Mizuki was wearing a dress similar to her flames. Sparkles and waves, almost liquid to the touch. She had a gossamer scarf wrapped around her arms and draped elegantly.

During the party, she spent much of her time observing, watching the dancers and their swirling skirts, how a missed step there could throw off the two partners for the entire remainder of the dance they had chosen to participate in. She watched how most people switched partners each time a new song came on. She saw several couples who didn't change partners at all.

Somewhere among the crowd, she noticed a familiar face. Freckles, wavy black hair grown slightly past the chin. He was there, someone she happened to know. Relief filled her, for she knew at least one person at the event.

"Ace!" she called, but he didn't hear her.

Waiting until the song ended, she jumped into the dance, grabbing him away from an older woman in an incredibly deep-cut gown. He seemed surprised to see her, but grateful that he had saved him from yet another dance with a stranger.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming," Ace exclaimed.

Mizuki grinned. "Me either. I didn't think I would recognize anyone here, let alone meet up with a friend!" She relaxed a bit when he smiled back.

Ace sighed, frowning. "Can we sit down and talk? I've been dancing for so long, I can't take it anymore. It's harder than fighting! Whoever said that dancing wasn't a sport was dead wrong."

Mizuki nodded, and the two of them made their way to the edge of the dance floor and sat down on one of the many narrow benches set out for tired dancers. They were both exhausted, but for different reasons.

Ace looked over at Mizuki, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Are you okay? You look really tired," he asked, worried about her.

"What?" Mizuki said, a little out of it. "Oh, that. I'm... not sleeping very well. It's no big deal, I'll probably be fine in a few days." She rubbed her eyes, yawning. "I am kind of tired, though. Does this party go all night?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah. Is it because of Yuki?"

Mizuki jumped, glaring at him. She hadn't spoken to anyone outside of business things like paying for food or other basic needs. She was left alone to deal with the pain caused by losing her best friend. The crew broke up shortly after the funeral, as she knew they would. Kashi, Yuki's tiger, had decided to stay behind on one of the jungle islands she visited briefly. She was left alone by everyone.

"Ace, do you remember her last words?"

Mizuki was suddenly filled with insane curiosity. She needed to know what he thought of her best friend. She knew Yuki was going to tell him that she loved him, but her breath failed her before she could finish her thought.

Ace thought back to the last thing he heard her say. "Lo. Did she mean to say... love when she died?"

Mizuki smiled sadly. "Probably, yeah. Though she didn't tell anyone, it was pretty obvious that she loved you a lot. You could tell from how she talked about you that it was that way. She cared for you differently than you might have thought."

Ace sighed, covering his face with his hands. "Of course she did."

Mizuki looked up, intrigued. "So you knew, then?"

"I think I knew, in the back of my mind. I think that I pushed it back, and any love I might have had for her, because she was always 'Luffy's older sister', which made her my sister, as far as I was concerned. In reality, she wasn't there when Luffy, Sabo, and I swore our brotherhood. She didn't have anything to do with that," he explained.

"You love her." Mizuki stated the obvious, giving him time to think about the whole thing more. "I'm going to go get us some punch. You must be thirsty after all that dancing."

Ace simply nodded, covering his face again. After Mizuki left, he leaned against the wall, wondering hopelessly what to do.

Mizuki walked into the food bar, searching for the punch so she could go back and hang out with her friend more. It really had been a while since she was able to talk to a friend seriously, everyone she had known became distanced after her captain's death at the war to save Ace.

Passing the dessert table, she noticed a birthday cake with an inscription for Yuki. She was sure that Ace had baked, because Yuki's birthday was the next day. The other person standing there was staring at it, too.

"This cake... right. I had almost forgotten how soon it was," she muttered sadly.

Mizuki placed a hand on her shoulder. Something was familiar about the woman, and she couldn't quite place it. "It's okay, I miss her, too. Were you a fan of hers?" she asked quietly.

The woman jumped, spinning around. Her eyes were bright red against the green mask surrounding it. "Mizuki..." she exclaimed, surprised. Her voice was similar to some person Mizuki knew, but she still couldn't remember.

"Oh, you know me?" she asked curiously.

"I- um- yeah. I'm a fan of the Snow Pirates. Your captain's... death... was really sad. I am very sorry that it happened," the woman stammered. She blushed a little under the mask, and took a step back.

At that moment, Mizuki pegged it. "Yuki?"

The woman took another step back as Mizuki reached for the mask, but didn't stop her from pulling it off. When it fell away, there was her captain's face, minus the green eyes that she used to have.

"Hello."

Mizuki pulled her into a tight hug, to her confusion. The previously deceased pirate was very surprised and very confused. Why was Mizuki at the party for the Revolutionary Army and its acquaintances?

The hug ended abruptly with Mizuki letting go and beginning to pull on her cheeks, checking to be sure that the person in front of her was real. When she was satisfied, she stepped back and looked her captain up and down.

"Nice to see you again, zombie," Mizuki commented, her voice full of sarcasm.

Yuki winced at the word "zombie", but went back to smiling quickly.

"So, how have you been? Aside from the whole 'being dead' thing," Mizuki asked.

"Well, not as good as..." Yuki began, trailing off. She almost told Mizuki about the seizures and coughing fits. That would've been too much.

"Not as good as what? As I'd expect? I don't expect much from you, you've been thoroughly dead," Mizuki replied, again with sarcasm. It was a favorite tool of hers, and she made a point of using it at least once a day.

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm weaker than I was, have to build my strength up." Yuki smiled at her, sticking her tongue out. "I mean, wouldn't you be if you had a huge hole punched through your stomach?"

Mizuki was curious. "What happened to that, by the way? How did you get revived?"

Yuki grinned. "Turns out my brother, Sabo, was saved by revolutionaries instead of dying. He happened to study some reviving techniques, and that was it. He healed me up most of the way and then that was it."

Mizuki nodded slowly, working through it in her mind. "So, I take it you were trying to keep your existence a secret?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah. I'll probably end up killed again because of my newfound weaknesses, so I didn't want you all to go through that pain again. I'm working with the revolutionaries in order to give help to Luffy and Ace," she replied happily.

"Mm-hmm." This reminded her of something. "Hey, Yuki? Ace is here."

Yuki froze. "What?"

"Yeah, Ace. He's here. And he admitted to me that he loves you."

Yuki nearly collapsed right then and there, Mizuki only just managing to catch her and bring her over to a table. One her mask was collected and put on again, they returned to their conversation.

"Ace is here," Yuki repeated.

Mizuki nodded, not speaking.

"That must be who Sabo saw when he left us at the entrance," Yuki muttered.

"Us?" Mizuki asked, curious yet again.

"Nico Robin ended up traveling with us. I'm not very good at going undercover."

Mizuki rolled her eyes, "Yeah, no kidding. So what're you gonna do about this? You gonna reveal yourself yet?" She was waiting for her friend's answer when she noticed the black-haired pirate stroll through the door and wave to her.

"Oh, crap. He's here, just keep eating," Mizuki whispered, waving back.

Walking over to the fiery pirate, she handed him his cup of punch. "I didn't forget about you, y'know."

Ace laughed, smiling. "Hey, did you meet another friend?"

Mizuki shook her head. "Nope, just someone who was a fan of Yuki's. She was standing in front of your cake, by the way. Nice job, but decorate it a little more next time. It looks pretty plain the way it is now."

"Hmph. I'm not that skilled with frosting, you know," Ace replied shortly.

Mizuki ordered, "Sit down over there. You still like meat a lot?"

Ace nodded, surprised. She knew a lot about him, things even some of his crew mates didn't know. He guessed that she had heard them from Yuki. Somehow, Yuki was still looking after him.

Once she loaded up a plate for him, she said, "I'm going to the dance hall with the other woman. If you want, come find me there, after. If not, I think I can make it through the rest of the evening on my own."

He nodded, his mouth already full of meat. After she and the other woman left, his narcolepsy hit again and he ended up face down in his food for a few seconds.