~A~

Alright, I can sort of see why Marco hated the shopping spree with Rory. I mean, its true that time seems to drag on a little slower. But it wasn't that bad. I was bored while she was changing, but it was worth it when I got see what cute outfits she tried on. And lucky for me, she didn't seem to plan on completely cleaning out my wallet. We've hit three stores so far and only left with one or two outfits from each one.

However, that doesn't mean she wasn't trying to test me. The new outfit she tried on consisted of black leggings and knee high boots, which she did normally so that wasn't significant. It was her shirt that had my attention. It was a white off the shoulder shirt with a big red heart located on the front. Due to the style of the shirt, I was led to believe that she might not be wearing a bra. I couldn't be sure though. Just because I couldn't see a strap on her shoulder didn't mean she wasn't wearing one. And I wasn't going to look at her chest to figure that out. I refuse to.

I wanted to though.

"After this, do you want to go get some lunch?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, sure." I replied.

"Alright. I'll go pay for this, and then we'll find a restaurant." she said.

She did so, and much to my dismay (and guilty pleasure) she kept that same outfit on. I guess she noticed my slight discomfort, because I caught a glimpse of a wicked smile aimed at me as we left the store. It's going to be a long day.

~...~

"Oi, get back here you thieves!"

The two of us only laughed and kept running. It didn't take much convincing on my part to get Rory to dine-and-dash with me. Of course we were being chased, but that was part of the fun. A few twists and turns and we lost our pursuers easily.

"That was fun!" Rory said.

I grinned and chuckled. "So do you want to shop some more, or do you want to leave?"

"Well we've pretty much gone to all the stores here..." Rory said. "I guess we'll leave then."

"Let's head back then." I replied.

~R~

As we headed back to the Striker, my senses started tingling, warning me about something. Ace must have gotten a similar feeling, because he pulled me towards the wall as we neared the docks. He cautiously looked around the corner towards where he had tied the boat. I carefully looked as well, and immediately recognized that marine woman that I saw before with Ace and Marco. She and her subordinates were inspecting the Striker.

"Vice Admiral Grace, this is definitely the vessel that those pirates escaped in last time." One of the marines said.

"Hn. So they're on this island..." The Vice Admiral murmured. "Fan out and start searching, men." she barked suddenly. They won't leave if I can help it!"

"Understood!" The marines all moved inland. Ace and I ducked into an alley to avoid being seen. They didn't take notice of us, luckily, but the Vice Admiral appeared to be perfectly content with staying near our only get-away vehicle.

Or so I thought. As soon as her subordinates were out of sight and out of hearing range, Grace cast a glance in our direction. Ace stiffened and tried to heard me further down the alley to the opposite side. "Hold it, Fire Fist Ace." The firm order made him stop his tracks. I know he wouldn't normally follow an order from a marine unless he had to. Maybe he acknowledged the fact that Grace didn't seem to want to cause a scene? "I'm not after you. This time." Grace said.

I watched warily as she strolled in out direction. She didn't seem to have ill intentions, but that could change in a snap. But that's not particularly why I was suspicious. I was suspicious because some deep part of me was screaming at me to remember something. I couldn't tell what it was. It was too long forgotten for me to suddenly remember.

"What do you want?" Ace asked with distrust lacing his voice.

"I want you to mind you're own business, brat. I told you, I'm not here for you." The Vice Admiral's gaze slid from him to me as she spoke.

Ace noticed and stepped in front of me, creating a barrier between Grace and myself. I stepped back simply because his body heat had suddenly skyrocketed. It was getting hot, and I'm guessing its because he's angry.

"You're a hundred years too early to be challenging me, boy!" I couldn't see what she did exactly since Ace was blocking my view. All I know is he gasped and I suddenly saw what looked like lightning envelope his body. Then he collapsed, unconscious.

"Ace!" I exclaimed.

"Quiet!" Grace barked. "He's fine. He'll wake up in a little while. So be quiet, or I'm hauling both of you into custody."

"What did you do?" I asked, fighting back a rise of panic. Ace is a logia type, so normal attacks wouldn't work on him. I guess that wasn't a normal attack.

Grace held up her gloved hand, showing me the palm that had little blue stones embedded in the fabric. "Sea stone. It nullifies a devil fruit user's abilities." She showed he the back of her hand, and on the back of the glove there were some wires woven into the fabric. "And this is a little invention made by Vegapunk. It releases a little electrical shock to knock people out." She gave me a dumbed-down explanation, I'm sure. "Now like I said, he'll wake up soon enough." She stepped toward me, and I found myself rooted to the spot. Not because I was afraid (even though I was). It just dawned on me how much I looked like her, except she was about twice my age. "Before he does, you and I are going to have a little chat, Everett D. Rory."