~R~

I kept my eyes trained ahead of me as I walked atop the short brick wall that ran in between the street and the steep hillside. I had my arms extended outwards to help keep my balance. I looked over at Ace from time to time, feeling like I should know who he was.

The orange hat with smiley faces stood out enough that I'd be able to spot him in a crowd. He was shirtless, and only wore a pair of shorts. I figured he dressed that way to show off the large pirate tattoo on his back. The tattoo made bells ring in my head, like I had seen it before. I guess I need to start paying a little more attention to the world of pirates so I don't feel I'm missing something obvious.

"So, Rory, how do I make up for knocking you down earlier?" Ace asked. He had to look up at me since I was on higher ground.

"Hm...I don't know. I haven't decided yet." I replied. I really didn't have anything in mind. To be honest, the only reason I said that was so I could have some company. It gets lonely when you travel all alone.

Speaking of traveling, maybe I did know what I wanted.

"Actually... how long are you staying on this island?"

Ace blinked. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause its time for me move on. I've been here for too long." I stopped and looked out towards the ocean. "There aren't many ships around here for me sneak onto."

"Ah, you don't live here?"

"Nope. I'm a drifter." I said.

"And you want me to get you to another island, is that it?" Ace chuckled. "I can do that."

"Really? Thanks so much!" I jumped down from the wall. "I hope its no trouble..."

"It's no big deal. I wasn't planning on staying here long anyway." Ace said with his friendly smile. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, actually. Meet me at the ship yard bright an early, okay?"

I made a face. "Bright and early, huh? Alright, I'll be there. I'll be sleepy, but I'll be there." I heard Ace laugh.

~A~

I leaned against the railing near the shipyard, keeping an eye out for Rory. I had to tie a dinghy to my Striker so that I'd be able to bring her with me.

I didn't have to wait too long. I spotted Rory walking towards me. She looked sleepy, just like she said she would be. I smiled.
"Good morning!" I said. Then I noticed the big bag she was carrying.

"G'morning..." she mumbled halfheartedly. She yawned. "I hope you don't mind me bring food." She gestured to the bag.

"I don't mind, as long as you share."

She flashed me a lopsided smile. "Of course!"

"Great! Let's get going, shall we?" I stood aside and gestured for her to follow me. I led her to the Striker and helped her into the small boat attached to it. She eyed my boat curiously as she got comfortable.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A customized boat I had someone make." I replied. "You might want to brace yourself..." I suggested. I got into my flame-powered vehicle.

"Huh?"

Before she could ask, my feet turned to flames and the Striker zipped out of the shipyard with the dinghy being tugged along behind it. I heard a surprised yelp and chuckled.

"Whoa! This thing's cool!" Rory exclaimed. I looked over my shoulder at her and saw a wide smile on her face. She appeared to be wide awake now.

"You think so?" I asked.

She nodded and leaned over slightly to examine the flames at my feet. "You're a devil fruit user? Neat!"

"Yep. I ate the mera mera no mi." I said.

~R~

A fire man. By the name of Portgas D Ace. Who has a very recognizable jolly roger tattooed to his back. It finally clicked. This guy was Fire Fist Ace! The second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!

I mentally slapped my forehead. Most people would have figured that out sooner. Who would have thought I'd hitch a ride from a Whitebeard pirate. Who would have thought that Whitebeard pirates were so nice?

I shook my head at the sheer coincidence of meeting a well known pirate. I didn't know guys like that dined-and-dashed. Hell I didn't know guys like that even showed up on boring little islands like the one we just left.

After getting over the slight shock, I made myself comfortable and opened my back of food. I took out two big pieces of beef jerky. "Hey Ace, you want one?" I held one toward him.

"Thanks!" He took it with a smile.

I shared my breakfast with him while marveling at how quickly we seemed to be moving. A boat like that would be useful. Too bad I didn't have very much money to spend on buying something like it.

Ace and I spent a little while in a comfortable silence, broken only the sound of the waves and the wind. That is until another sound emerged. It sounded almost like a bird flapping its wings. I looked around, wondering what it was since this 'bird' sounded pretty big.

I guessed that Ace knew what it was, since he gradually slowed the Striker to a stop. He was looking into the sky, so I followed his line of sight. At first I only saw the blue of the sky, but then I noticed little bits of yellow that helped me pick out the blue bird that came closer and closer. Normally a huge bird wouldn't strike me as odd. The Grand Line was home to all things unimaginable, after all.

It was the fact that this bird appeared to be a phoenix that got my attention. It was mostly made up of blue flames with shocks of yellow ones mixed in.

"Hey Marco." Ace said as the bird landed at the tip of his Striker. "How did you find me?"

I gaped slightly at the phoenix changed its shape into that of a man, bit he kept his wings. "Luck." He replied. "I was headed to an island in that direction." He nodded the way he was originally headed. Then he turned his attention to me. "Who's this?"

"This is Rory. Rory, meet Marco." Ace said.

I nodded my greeting. Okay, this time I didn't have any trouble figuring out who he was. Marco the Phoenix, first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates.

"She asked me to take her help her get to another island." Ace said.

"I see." Marco looked at me. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Not really." I replied. I looked at him questioningly.

"Are you okay with taking a detour?"

"Detour?" Ace was the one who asked.

"The old man got a call from one of the new guys. It sounded like he was in some trouble, so I was on my way to help. It'd be a pain to do everything on my own." the phoenix man replied.

"I guess I could give you hand..." Ace said. He looked over at me. "Is that okay?"

"It's fine. I don't mind." I said. In fact, I was kind of curious as to what was going on.

Ace smiled and started up the Striker again. We changed direction and zipped towards some location I wasn't familiar with while Marco switched back to his full phoenix shape and flew alongside us.