Chapter 54
Strong

It took some time, but in the end Eli managed to convince Zoro that she should be the one leading the way back to Montblanc's house. In spite of his tragic lack of sense of direction, the swordsman didn't seem to be ready to listen to the trouble-magnet of a girl yet. However, the young man finally gave up as he came back to the entrance of mantises' lair for the umpteenth time, Eli patiently yet grumpily waiting for him there since she was tired of turning in circles.

After a few minutes, they effectively got out of the forest. The sun was setting in the horizon and the two pirates didn't look very surprised to see Montblanc having a calm discussion with a part of the crew. Obviously, Luffy's mysterious charm must have had the better of him, like it did for everyone the young captain met.

On the other side, his older brother looked extremely surprised, and as he walked in their direction, Eli saw that in addition to the surprise, anger was darkening the flame user's face. A wrinkling of his black eyebrows expressing his disapproval as he watched Zoro shirtless and the chronicler wearing his t-shirt.

"What the hell happened ?" Ace asked rather angrily, walking by the two pirates' side.

"We-"

"Listen, Ace," Zoro calmly interrupted Eli, looking at the black-haired pirate with a severe expression on his face. "Next time, you'll take care of the baby sitting."

"Babysitting..." Eli repeated slowly, wanting to doubt her hearing. "What ?"

"I just told you to keep and eye on her." Ace frowned at the swordsman, snubbing the girl quite openly. "How hard could that be ?"

The two young men came to a stop, and as she watched them having a heated discussion right before her eyes while ignoring her presence, Eli felt rage soaring up inside of her. They were pointing at her with their fingers, talking about her as if she was some kind of brat, or worse, an object.

"And why is she wearing your t-shirt ?"

"What ?" Eli's eyes widened upon hearing the words.

The girl had clearly caught the insulting insinuation and bombarded the young man with an infuriated glare. But Ace wasn't even looking at her. Persistently staring at Zoro, the flame user ignored Eli's anger, waiting for his answers rather than hers.

Her green eyes locked on him, a volcano of resentment erupted in her chest making the pirate girl's blood boil. How dared he act as if he cared ? As if he was jealous ! After all, he was the one preferring to stay behind, sending the swordsman at his place. Yet now, he was acting like a possessive husband. But Ace did not own her, and he had no right, no right to react in this manner.

Furious, she took off the stupid t-shirt, rolled it up into a stupid ball and as she was aiming for Ace's stupid face, she ended up throwing it on Zoro's mildly, stupid head.

At last, Ace was looking at her. At last, he was speechless.

His jaw hanging slack, she saw his dark eyes descending slowly to her exhibited chest before jerking up to her face. Wordlessly, he stood there, as if frozen on the spot.

With scornful huff, she briskly spun on her heels, and marched over to the Merry, utterly shirtless, and utterly infuriated. She ignored Sanji's swoons, Nami's calls, and some monkey's stares. Proudly, she marched, she strode, hitting the wooden deck heavily with her feet while hoping that the tremors she caused could be felt on the other side of the planet.

It was only when she entered her bedroom that Eli's prideful display came to a stop. Sliding down on the floor weakly, she felt a cold shiver racing on her bare skin as she pictured Ace's eyes on her small breasts. Briskly, she splayed her hands on her exposed chest, feeling her heart beating with force under her palms.

And then, she laughed...

At first, the girl was surprised to hear the loud flow of laughter pouring out of her throat but she did nothing to choke it. She laughed so hard that she had to hold her abdomen because of the pain caused by the convulsion. She laughed her heart out, her anger out.

Ace looked so stupid then... gaping at her sudden nudity.

She laughed, and it felt so good, so damn good...

Under a warm shower, Eli thought about her little adventure in the dreadful lair, and as the recollection of her epic battle filled her mind, a proud smile brightened her face. She had managed to fight, in spite of her phobia, in spite of being all alone, she fought and triumphed.

The girl was becoming stronger, and at this instant, she felt that she didn't need to rely on the others as much as she did before. She could take care of herself, and maybe, she could even protect the ones she loved.

Pumped up, Eli joined her crewmates to have a quick summary of the progress on their quest for the sky island.

Apparently, it seemed quite simple; the pirates needed to head back to the place where night had fallen during the day, the next day at noon. Then, they would be blown upward by a powerful current named the Knock-up Stream, in order to reach a large and dense cloud that went by the name of Millennium Cumulonimbus.

Very simple, and also very unbelievable.

Since the Knock-up Stream was extremely powerful, the Merry needed some reinforcements. The ones taking care of the task were none other that the monkey crew that the pirates had met the day before. Quite forgiving, the salvagers did it as a favor for their friend and also master; Montblanc.

Everything seemed to tick quite perfectly. The timing was short, for sure, but weren't they always carried by those rushed events ?

When the night came, filled with enthusiasm, the pirates and their new comrades ate and drank and laughed, celebrating like there's was no tomorrow.

During the night, Montblanc showed the pirates a log book that belonged to his famous ancestor Montblanc Norland. A four hundred year old log book, and on its pages, the description of mysterious objects coming directly from the sky islands as well as theories about the dreamlike land. While they listened to Robin's charming voice reading the book, the Straw Hats' fervor grew stronger with every word. The young pirates were impatient to start their adventure in the sky, and that was an understatement.

"In the skull's right eye, gold is seen," Robin read out loud, making Nami startle at the word 'gold'.

It was written on the last page of the log book. The last words of a man who was sentenced to death. Montblanc had several theories about the meaning of the mysterious phrase; a city of the past, the crazy rambling of a dead man... In the end, he sadly concluded that Norland had taken his secret with him in his tomb, but was still very determined to find out what happened to the gold.

A bright alcohol-induced blush on his face, the man took the log book from the archeologist's hands and quoted another passage.

"When we reached that island we heard a very loud ringing sound of bells. The sound from those gigantic, beautiful bells made of gold can be heard from all the corners of the sea, like a message delivering the city's glory in the old days. The change in civilizations throughout the ages in the endless oceans is for us, who have lived but a few dozen years, a grand matter that left us speechless !"

Eli wallowed the beauty of the words, her eyes sparkling as they transported her back four hundred years ago, and somehow she hoped that one day, in a few hundred years, someone would read hers with such emotion. Producing her book from her bag, the chronicler caressed its leather cover lovingly, the images of the Straw Hats' adventure, past and future, flowing quietly in her mind.

Montblanc did not find the City of Gold yet, but he managed to find gold in the ocean's depths and showed the pirates his discovery; a golden bell. It was small compared to the one described in the book, yet it was shining magnificently; its sparkle symbolizing the hopes of a man fighting fervently against the ones who claimed that dreams were dead.

He also showed the golden statuette of a bird with a round body and a long and large beak. Montblanc told the pirates that it was called a 'South Bird' because its beak was always pointing south.

"DAMN IT !" he yelled out of the blue, startling the pirates. "You have to go to the forest quickly !"

"What ? Why !" Luffy asked urgently.

"You need one of those birds to get to the Knock-up Stream location," he said gravely. "It is the only way to sail south !"

The south birds were the more efficient way to find south in Grand Line and since the pirates needed to head straight in that direction to take the Knock-up Stream, they had to find one. Luckily enough, the south birds originated from Jaya's forests.

As they only had a night before their impending departure, the Straw Hats walked over to the forest's edge on the spot, and for increased efficiency, they split into small groups to search for one of those strange birds.

At first, when she saw Ace choosing Usopp as his partner, Eli burst out in laughter. But the young man wasn't joking, and as she watched him walking toward the forest with the gutless marksman, she heard herself cursing and yelling like a spoiled brat, claiming scornfully that she needn't a pair, that she could catch that stupid bird in a second.

Without adding anything more, Eli dashed into the forest alone, under the dazed faces of her crewmates.

What's WRONG with him ! she yelled inwardly, hearing vaguely the pirates screaming her name from afar.

She was sick of it, sick of his behavior, and sick of everything ! Running through the forest, Eli followed a strange chirping sound as it fitted Montblanc's description of the south bird's cry.

Eli could not understand what she had done to be treated like that by her friend. He was acting as if nothing was different, avoiding her while sporting an ever so friendly smile on his face, as if they were still friends. But she could not be fooled; his behavior infuriated her to a point where she couldn't bear his presence anymore.

Seeing the bird resting on a branch, Eli dashed along the tree's trunk, and jumped on it, catching it swiftly.

Damn !

Eli's rage was burning up while she walked back at a leisure pace over to her cremates. If Ace had a problem, he could talk to her instead of pretending that everything was alright. But he was acting like a brat, and so will she, and because she had already made her apologizes, now the ball was in his court. Yet, if he wanted to ruin what they had, then she'll let him do it. She would even help him since, apparently, he did not care about their friendship.

"SHUT UP !" Eli yelled furiously at the south bird who was chirping frantically in her hands.

She held his beak closed, and glared at the mischievous bird until she heard the most atrocious sound coming from behind her...

A droning sound... and it was getting closer, fast.

Stunned on the spot, Eli held the bird's beak even tighter, as if it was the only thing that she could hold on to. Extremely slowly and cautiously, she turned her head over her shoulder. Her face bleaching out as she saw a swarm of wasps flying toward her. At this instant her mind went blank, unable to order her body to run away from the threat; she was petrified.

They were closer and closer, yet Eli could not move, she could not yell and she felt like she was dying.

Move...

A voice inside of her head, her voice, it called out for her and slowly, her reason came rushing back in her head. Many voices arose, they were yelling, crying, laughing at her, and Eli focused on the little one, the one that was telling her that she was strong now, that she couldn't let herself be controlled by the fear anymore.

Move !

Watching her worst nightmare coming at her in slow motion, and in spite of her trembling insides, in spite of the pain, the memories, the fear... Eli knew one thing; she could run. She could always run. It was what she was best at. No one ever beat her, no one could could ever beat her, and as a slight ray of courage lit inside of her, she knew she could fight, her own way.

Slowly, she turned her head around, she could hear them, they were right behind her. Eli lifted her feet and then... someone... him... flames... and after that... the warmth of his embrace.

Eli was trembling relentlessly in Ace's arms. Pressed against his strong body, she clutched the fabric of his shirt. Tenderly, he caressed her cold skin, whispering gentle and reassuring words in her ear while her body gradually became hers again.

With a loud gasp, Eli jerked out of his arms and slapped Ace across the face, with all of her strength and fury.

"Why did you come ?" she screamed hysterically, unreasonable accusations knowing all the while that Ace did nothing wrong. "I'm not your damsel in distress !" She was yelling so loudly that the words teared at her tightened throat from the inside. "You ignore me and then come and rescue me ?"

"Eli !"

As Ace grabbed her arms, Eli struggled fiercely, shaking the poor south bird in all directions. His grip tightening on her thin arms, she did not feel how much it hurt for it was nothing compared to the excruciating agony she felt in her chest. She wanted to yell her anger out, she wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt her.

"I HATE YOU !" Eli barked, glaring deeply into his eyes.

"STOP CRYING !" Ace yelled back.

"I'M NOT... crying..."

It was only then that she felt the tears flowing from her eyes, a large and unstoppable stream of tears. An incredulous expression on her face, she looked at Ace, feeling the warm and salty flow pouring over her cheeks. Suddenly, the young man let go of her and Eli rubbed her eyes vigorously but the tears kept on flowing against her will. And Ace... he was looking at her with what Eli could only see as pity.

"It's the WASPS !" she yelled, anger boiling in her watery eyes.

Liar... It wasn't the wasps. It was many things, but it wasn't the wasps.

The frustration, the anger, the hate... and more. The frustration she felt because, once more, he had came to her when she was the most vulnerable. The anger of feeling so helpless next to him when she didn't want to need him. The hate against that man who made her her feel so weak.

Why did he have to make himself so indispensable ? She didn't want to need him... Because the need of him hurt her more than anything, and because Eli felt that she had no right to need him.

"It's the wasps..." Eli repeated quietly, trying to convince herself of her own lie.

"I know," Ace said quietly.

She hated that he was here, she hated the need of his arms, of his embrace. All those confused feelings jostling in her mind, under her skin... Eli hated it all.

While she was trying to hide her pitiful face from him, she saw him taking a step closer, she saw his hand lifting in her direction, before falling again to his side. Silently, Eli watched his withdrawal. Her eyelashes were heavy as they bore the weigh of tears blurring her vision, but she saw clearly...

Restraint.

Ace was restraining himself before his desperate friend. He wasn't even looking at her. Uncomfortable obviously, the young man remained silent, and slowly, watching him so close yet so distant, the tears stopped flowing, her body cooling off within the unusual coldness that was emanating from the young man.

Without a word, Eli started walking to meet with her crewmates, the now quiet south bird watching as the two friends began growing away from each other...

to be continued

Betaed by Fox MC.

Lots of things happen in this chapter.

I always pictured Ace as the jealous kind. He is a proud young man, and quite hot-headed.
However, Eli isn't his (yet ? ever ?), and I like that she isn't the sort to be pushed around.
And I love the scene where she takes off the (stupid) t-shirt to shove it in Ace's face.
It is quite a pity that her aiming skills are so bad.

And now, the last part, a very important part.

Wasps are Eli's nemeses. Facing them, she felt like the twelve year old girl locked in the cabin.
They are her worst fear, but they also represent all the oppression of her native country.
I know I only gave you small hints about it but remember what she said; first, no women were allowed to learn the Rokushiki (martial art originated from her country), then, she said that women didn't have more rights than a girl.
With this you can begin to picture in what kind of environment she had grown up.
It is the very reason for her strong character, she is stubborn, and proud, and when she thought she had became stronger, when she had managed to find the strength to flee her fear, Ace showed up.
Frustration.

Yet, thanks to her hysterical fit, Eli is starting to see, she is starting to feel, and no matter how much she hate her feelings, they are surfacing, and she won't be able to ignore them much longer.
But is it too late already ?

The next chapter to be published will be a Freckles, and it should be online on Monday.
Be there ;)