Hi lectors, if you find a mistake or you are confused by something let me know, I try to fix the story as soon as I can.
vivi is on of my favorite characters, and I'm sure (i hope) she will play an important role when the manga reaches the reverie. Can't wait.
Since I like Garp, Bonney, Law and more i'll add them in the next chapter.
Enjoy
Gossip
Since the beginning of the New Pirate Era the islands all over the world were under constant invasions, and Alabasta was not an exemption. The sand was tainted with blood, the desert became the graveyard of brave soldiers and mischievous pirates, and the wind smelled of rotting corpses.
The coastal city of Nanohana was the Kingdom's center of attention, the civilians were preoccupied by the endless pirates' attacks but they trusted Alabasta's military force. Chaka and Pell were the most skilled warriors. The former rebel, Kohza, developed defense strategies with the help of Igaram, the commander of the Royal Army. The Elite Guards kept the pirates away from the city and the soldiers fought courageously the enemies at the coast. Princess Nefertari Vivi was a symbol of inspiration for everyone, not only for her speeches before the battles but for her involvement in the battlefield; she was next to the soldiers fighting pirates with her signature weapon, the peacock slashers. And last but not least, the newest addition to the Royal Army was a powerful man who was capable of defeating several pirates with the least effort. That warrior was known for wearing a golden mask and for being with the Princess at all times.
"This is endless." Vivi panted as three pirates fell to her feet.
"Rest, you've been here for hours." The masked man scolded her after beating twelve enemies. "You are stronger than the last time I saw you but don't overdo it."
"Fine, let's go." The girl sighed in defeat and started to walk towards her tent, located behind the Elite Guards' line of defense. "I like your mask, but somehow I don't think it was your idea." She laughed.
"It was Law's doing." He smirked. "Thirteen days ago, right after you left the party, I was ready to jump into action but Law put on a black gown to obscure his face and made me wear a golden mask." The pirate chuckled.
"And now you are a mysterious man who came from the New World, swore loyalty to King Cobra and is secretly trying to kill me." She added some gossips she heard. "It was really convenient." She looked at him. "Having Fire Fist Ace fighting for Alabasta could put the Kingdom in a really difficult position with the World Government and we would not be able to protect you anymore." She said with a serious tone.
"I understand your situation." Ace sighed. "Gol D. Roger had the same effect on the people close to him." He thought.
"If the marines find out you are here, they won't stop until they kill you." The princess' voice started to break. "And I can't take that." She whispered. "How would I tell Luffy I lost you?"
"I won't die." He laughed and stopped when they reached the tent. "After you, princess." He opened the entrance to let Vivi pass.
Once they were inside the tent, the girl's nose started to bleed due to overexerting herself, so she pressed a piece of cloth to her face and looked up.
"That's odd, I still have my clothes on." Ace laughed as he removed his mask.
"That comment was beyond inappropriate." She scolded him.
"Sorry, I had to make that joke." He excused himself.
"I'm getting tired of your jokes." She rolled her eyes.
"Let's change the topic then." He smiled nervously, he did not want to make Vivi mad. "I'm not getting stronger by fighting small fries." Ace sat next to the Princess and started to complain.
"I can help you with that, pirate." Ace recognized the owner of the voice.
"Damn, how did they find out?" He thought and immediately put his left arm around Vivi's neck. "Act as my hostage, that way you'll be off the hook." He whispered in the girl's ear. Vivi removed the cloth off her face and blushed by the sudden physical contact.
Aokiji entered the tent with difficulty, due to his height, and sat in front of the pirate. He stared at the scene and looked questioningly at the duo, Vivi looked confused and Ace's glare revealed his deep hate towards the marines. "I work for the Princess." He said trying to calm him down.
"I forgot to tell you, Kuzan is my new bodyguard." The princess gave everyone an apologetic look. "Kuzan resigned from the marines three days ago so I hired him to protect me." She raised her index finger. "But our real agreement is that he will teach you the three forms of Haki."
"Say those things sooner." Ace slapped his forehead but Vivi simply smiled. "How do you know about Haki, anyway?" He asked.
"Mr. Silvers mentioned it in his letter." She smiled. "Please, let go off me." Vivi noticed Ace's arm still around her.
"Sorry." Ace got away from the girl. "Just how many things did he mention?"
"It was a long letter." She dropped a sweat and Aokiji cleared his throat loudly.
"We start the lesson right now." Kuzan said and Ace stared at him expectantly. After a long pause, the former Admiral started to explain the basic principles of Haki.
Outside the Princess' tent Pell and Kohza were commenting on Cobra's actions. The King was dealing with the country's needs; he was doing everything in his hands to help the cities recover from the civil war, create enough wealth to sustain the kingdom and pay the tribute to the Celestial Dragons. Doubtlessly, the King's job was the hardest job. Suddenly, Pell stopped the conversation to hear two soldiers talking nearby.
"I wonder who Golden Mask is and why did Black Gown left." A man with long black hair and brown eyes whispered.
"What do you mean?" A new recruit got closer.
"Too bad, you weren't here at that time." The first soldier shook his head. "I'll tell you. Thirteen days ago, Golden Mask and Black Gown arrived. Those men killed many pirates and requested an audience with the Princess in the middle of the battle. She was shocked when she saw them but once the mysterious men talked to her, they did not leave her side until yesterday." The black haired soldier explained.
"What happened?" The new guy was really into the story.
"Black Gown left." The brown eyed soldier crossed his arms. "Don't tell anyone, but I heard that they came from the New World. Rumors say that Golden Mask will pose as a hero and then he will try to conquer Alabasta, just like Crocodile. The gossips in the city say that Golden Mask is courting the Princess but others say that he will kill her. A really incredible rumor is that Golden Mask is a prince in disguise, but his kingdom was destroyed by pirates."
"But I heard from a reliable source that the Princess is hypnotized by Golden Mask because suddenly she only has eyes for him, even Kohza was pushed aside." Other soldier, an old looking man, joined the discussion.
"So far the most popular gossip is that he is waiting to get a noble title from King Cobra, that's why he is doing everything to gain Princess Vivi's favor." The black haired soldier kept telling everything he knew.
Pell and Kohza stopped listening to their conversation since they knew those gossips surrounding Ace's new identity. "He's been in the New World… we can give them credit for discovering that." Kohza said and Pell agreed.
"It's also true that Princess Vivi is hypnotized by his stories." Pell pointed out. "She idolizes him." The Zoan type said. "Every word he says makes the Princess stare at him as if he were a God, and I'm afraid he'll awake the love for adventure she's been burring since the Straw Hats left." He added.
"That would only make Vivi suffer. She will long to live like a pirate but she won't abandon the kingdom." Kohza said. "By the way, she hates his jokes." The former rebel suddenly remembered something the blue haired girl disliked of Golden Mask.
"Shame on you, gossiping like everyone else..." Chaka shook his head.
At night Vivi guided kuzan and Ace to the perfect place to train, a remote part of the desert. As they walked the Princess recalled her journey with the Straw Hats, she treasured every moment and suddenly she saw Ace from the corner of her eye. She remembered him too, he was the one who stopped the marines and disposed of a Baroque Works' fleet. He looked like the most powerful man in the world.
"The journey ends here." Vivi turned to face the Devil Fruit Eaters "I chose this place because no one will be able to see your training since the rocks are too tall." She was proud of her efficiency. "Kuzan, should I stay?" She asked.
"Sure, if you don't freeze to death, we may be here all night." Kuzan said.
Ace took off his gown and gave it to the princess and then he made a small bonfire. "There, now you can watch." He grinned as Vivi removed his mask and smiled back, but Kuzan cleared his throat loudly to call Ace and start the match. The girl saw the pirate's back and noticed that Whitebeard's symbol, his pride, was destroyed. She felt sad for him.
Vivi stared at the flames and her mind drifted to the night she had a conversation with Ace. Back then she thought Ace would be disappointed of Luffy because the Straw Hats did not seem to respect him as a Captain, so she decided to explain Luffy's special bond with the crew, but Ace already knew that and thanked her for worrying about his little brother. Once the talk was over Ace nodded and Vivi stared at the Sky. "I wanted to keep talking but I could not find another topic." The princess thought as her eyelids became heavier. The next memory took Vivi to a sand storm, that natural phenomenon buried her friends and she felt useless for not being able to do anything to help them, she did not even warn them in time. Suddenly Ace rushed to her side and something different occurred, she stared at him and felt the urge to kiss him so she leaned forward. "That did not happen." Vivi yelled after waking up really altered. "It was a dream, he just helped me to stand up." She said to herself and giggled because of her crazy imagination.
"How do you plan on defeating Akainu if you can't even fight me properly?" Kuzan asked lazily. "You depend too much on your Logia abilities and that is the reason you fell before Blackbeard." The former marine punched Ace with a fist surrounded by ice and sent him flying near Vivi. The pirate made an attempt to stand up but his body was too damaged. "You are overconfident and underestimate your enemies." Kuzan walked next to him and formed an ice sword. "But I will teach you everything I know." He buried the sword in the sand next to Ace's head.
"Ace!" The princess was horrified, she could not believe Fire Fist was defeated so she rushed to his side. "Ace, answer me." She called in vain because the pirate was losing consciousness. The girl slapped his check softly and felt tears building up. She knew Blackbeard defeated him and that Akainu almost killed him, but she was not ready to see him fall.
"He'll be fine." Kuzan yawned. "Let's head to Nanohana and rest, it's almost morning." He said and carried Ace over his shoulder.
"Wait." Vivi stopped her bodyguard and rushed to cover Ace's face with the mask and his back with the gown.
"If you can't stand to see him suffer don't come to the training grounds." Kuzan advised when he noticed the Princess' watery eyes. "I'll teach him all I can in two years." He said much to Vivi's dismay. "He told me that he and his brother will enter the New World to take down Blackbeard and Akainu." The former admiral explained.
"I see." The blue haired girl kept her gaze low. "I want to go to the New World." Vivi tried to smile but failed miserably.
"You can visit the New World anytime, since you can afford the fee at Mariejois and you are not a criminal." Kuzan reminded her. He knew the princess did not want that answer but he was not going to encourage the path of piracy. "And speaking of Mariejois, your priority must be the oncoming World Summit."
"I know, thank you." She stared at the sky and decided to remain silent for the rest of the journey. "Kuzan is right, the next Reverie is in two years and Alabasta's interests are first." She thought.
At Mariejois, Akainu spent a long time explaining his projects to the Gorosei, those men had too much power and having them in a good mood could mean the materialization of his ideas. After Sakazuki explained his plan of action against pirates and the surveillance system to prevent civilians from helping criminals, he decided to ask for a personal favor.
"As Fleet Admiral I do not dispose of enough power to establish a base in Alabasta, therefore I request your approval to do so." Akainu said convinced that he would get his way.
"A marine base is a complicated political issue… Allow me to use Alabasta as an example." The oldest looking men explained. "The World Government can put a base in Alubarna if King Cobra requests the Marine's protection. However, if the Marines put a base and the King did not request protection it is considered a serious offence, since he can feel like the World Government is suspicious of him." The man smirked at Akainu as if he were an ignorant child. "The reason for nor disturbing the Kingdom of Alabasta is that it has the favor of the World Nobles because of its high profits. We will not compromise the reputation of the Royal Family, and their tributes to the Celestial Dragons, by openly questioning their loyalty." He said with the intention of ending the discussion for good.
"If I present proof that Princess Nefertari Vivi is collaborating with pirates, would you support me?" Sakazuki was not going to give up on his, so far, only lead to Straw Hat Luffy. The Fleet Admiral would never admit it, but not being able to kill the D. brothers was a huge blow to his ego and the only way to recover from his defeat was finishing what he started.
"Indeed, we will grant you the authority to build the base." The old man almost laughed at Akainu's last argument. "However, if you make a mistake while gathering evidence and you offend the Royal Family, they will not forgive that humiliation, and your position will be jeopardized."
"Understood." The fleet Admiral bowed to his superiors and left. "Idiots, they believe that I'm following rumors." He thought. Not long ago, Akainu found two marines who witnessed Vivi viding farewell to the Straw Hats, but the story was disregarded by the higher officers due to lack of evidence. "I'll show everyone that Alabasta is involved with the Straw Hats and I will kill Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace."
To Be Continued
Thanks for reading.
Ok I watched again the episodes where Ace and Vivi interact, and I could not help to squeak at certain moments (You guys can see it other way but for me they were Vivi/Ace moments):
When Vivi and Nami comment on how polite and strong Ace is, while looking at him eating.
When Vivi asks Luffy where Ace is.
One I really like, the conversation at the bonfire was too cute, he was so smiley.
And my favorite is when the sand storm buries all the crew and Ace goes straight to help Vivi.
Awww that was just too cute. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.