7

-Willow-

I pulled my hair out of the ribbon that held it back out of my face, Took off the apron and put away my paints before I took a step back and examined the oil painting.

It was ok in my opinion. In the midst of color, lines and chaos a distinct pair of eyes stood out, drawing the focus back to them even as you tried to look at the other parts of the painting.

I wiped my brow trying to figure out why the heck I had drawn that of all things before leaving it in my nearly finished art studio. I cleaned myself up and decided to go to sleep for the night. It was early and I should probably go out and collect more stones for the not quite finished wall but I didn't feel like it and there was always tomorrow. So I turned changed into more comfy clothing and went to bed.

Much later I was awoken by loud pounding and my door banging nosily open.

I looked around my room before quickly and quietly slipping out of my bed and searching for something that could be used as a weapon incased I needed it.

But after finding nothing I crept out of my room as a voice loudly shouted, "HEEELLLLOOOOOOO?! Anyone Hoome?!" at that I straightened up out of my crouching crawl and went to my living room. "Oh there you are!" the voice happily exclaimed before my wrist was grabbed and I was being dragged towards my door.

"Ace what are you doing? B-better yet where are we going?" I asked struggling against his strong grip around my wrist and digging my heels into my floor to try and stop his full of pep steps from getting any closer to my door. I haven't seen the guy in a few days and this is how he greets me. Plus it was the middle of the night . . . I think.

"I'm going to show you how to live." Was all he said as we reached my door despite my efforts.

With a frown I began struggling harder, hoping to manage to break free this time. "I already know how to live. I'm living right n-now." Anyway what did he mean show me how to live?

"No, you just survive." He stopped suddenly and faced me as I stumbled into his chest. God he was solid. He didn't even budge or take even part of a step back. "Don't the things they say bother you?" he asked me.

"Of- of course they do." I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. The crazy, absurd and false things they had branded me as reached my ears. Their loud whispers, accusing stares and glares and their pointing fingers didn't get past me and sometimes despite my best efforts to ignore it, to shrug it all off and let everything roll off like oil does water, it still bothered me.

"Well we're going to prove those assholes wrong." He said with a determined nod of his head.

But I just laughed at him unable to help myself. "All of the good deeds in the world wouldn't change their opinions of me." I had tried to be nice, to smile in their faces, to pretend that I didn't know that they were using me and taking advantage of me, talking the moment they thought I was out of earshot. And sometimes I didn't even get that far.

"You don't know that." Ace said but before I could argue with him he continued on, "And besides if good deeds don't work then why not try 'bad' deeds?" How would bad deeds fix anything? "Anyway living isn't about good or bad, life couldn't care less about that. It's about living your life to its fullest and enjoying it as much as you can. You can't let what people say about you keep you down."

And this man was calling himself a pirate. God he sounded more like a philosophy professor or Cato.

"I like my life as it is now Ace."

"But you don't love it." He argued with me.

"Besides my artwork there's nothing for me to live for Ace. Those damn Cobie Pirates killed my father and those so called justice enforcing marines killed my moth-"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself Willow." Ace growled at me. "We're going to and I'm going to make sure you're going to learn how to enjoy life to its fullest before I leave." I opened my mouth to say something but he quickly interrupted me.

This time I think it was on purpose.

"And if you need something to live for then live for me. Or if that's not enough since I'm a bit of a stranger and all then live for Luffy. You're going to be his artist right?"

I mutely nodded wondering why he seemed so . . . upset wasn't exactly the right word but it was the closest thing that I could think of that somewhat described the tone in his voice and the expression on his face.

Suddenly though he smiled widely and said, "Now I'm going to show you the best week and a half of your life."

"Can we start tomorrow? You know it's like three in the morning."

"It is?" he asked scratching the back of his head and looking around. Again I nodded. "Oh, sorry."

But before I could do or say anything else- like scold him- his head dropped and he collapsed, falling into me. I caught him and then myself as his weight made me stumble back and almost trip over my own stumbling feet. Once balanced again I dragged him over to my couch for the second time since having encountered him.

Ace looked over his shoulder, around the filled with chatter and early risers and then back at me before whispering, "On my word we calmly walk out."

"But-" I began trying to argue.

He double checked and said, "Come on." Before I could continue arguing any farther. He grabbed my wrist as he slid out of the booth saying, "Before people notice." And with that I slid out of the booth as well.

Half of my own free will and half forced out.

As we walked towards the door Ace kept looking over his shoulder then all of the sudden he hissed the word 'run' and before I could react to the word, to ask what for or why, I was being dragged. I succeeded in staying hot on his heels and not tripping over just about everything as words were shouted at our backs, things that Ace seemed to be deaf to.

My heart and pulse was pounding, my breath quick, my stomach was cramping and my throat was burning. But I kept up with him as though my life depended on it. And it probably did. And if it weren't my life that depended on not getting caught then it was his, with him being a pirate and everything. Apparently he was a very wanted pirate but I had yet to figure out who he was. He had yet to offer me the information.

We tore down a few streets, rounded a few corners and eventually slowed to a stop. While threw his head back and laughed I doubled over, resting my hands on my knees and fought to catch my breath my thoughts spinning.

What had we just done?

He clapped me roughly on the back saying, "You did surprisingly well. How did it feel?"

"W-w-we just . . . st-stole." I panted. "B . . .but that's . . . its . . . it was exhilarating." That's the only word that came to mind to explain how that felt. God I felt like I could bounce around for a few more hours or do something I don't usually do.

"That my friend is called an adrenaline rush." He said lifting his hand and ruffling my hair.

"B-but we have to go back and pay." My dad had always enforced rules and my mom had always said do as she said, not as she did. So I turned and started to walk back towards the restaurant.

Only for Ace to step in front of me and when I tried to go around him his arm hooked around my waist and suddenly I was airborne and slung over his shoulder with the words, "No we don't."

"But if we don't pay then we can never show our faces there anymore."

"So?"

"It matters when you'll be gone in a week and a half or so and I stay here." I didn't even bother kicking or pounding on his back, or even screaming and causing a ruckus. I just rested my chin on my closed fist and rested my elbow on his tattooed back.

The crescent like shape on the skull at the middle of the cross looked familiar but I couldn't recall exactly why it did or where I would have seen it.

"Don't dwell on the past, live each day like it's your last." He said to me as if that meant that I should just forget about the consequences that would come from stealing a hell of a lot of food from the place in which we had just eaten at.

"Today is not my last day." I grumbled at him. I was going to see the light of tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that day . . . or so I hoped to. But I didn't voice that last part.

"It could be, you never know." He argued back. "You could get hit by lightning or a stray bullet or you could fall and break your neck. You could get mauled and bleed to death or just mauled to death by forest animals or sea creatures or even humans. You could drown or your house could cave in. You know Willow something could-"

"I get it. But don't tell me you go through your life worrying about lightning or forest animals, cave ins or god only knows what falling from the skies."

"Nope." He began saying something only to shout at someone and start running. And for a brief period of time I was almost violently jostled around on the top of Ace's shoulder which was bony despite all the muscle he had.

"Kidnapping people are you now?" a new voice drawled lazily as if they weren't about to do anything about it if Ace were indeed kidnapping me.

"No. I want to introduce you to someone." He said before setting me back on my feet.

I studied the stranger before me. The blonde's hair had an uncanny resemblance to a pineapple with half closed eyes and a wardrobe similar enough to Ace's, only he had the decency to have a shirt on. We stood there in silence before Ace leaned in towards me and whispered, "Come on introduce yourself."

Instantly I bowed like my dad taught me and said, "My name is Willow. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The blonde guy laughed and told me to stop bowing, to straighten up and only after I had done so did he continue. "I'm Marco. But the pleasure is all mine. You see usually we just can't get him to shut up about that little brother of his but as of late you're all-"

"Shut up Marco" Ace quickly interrupted the blonde not only with words but with a good solid punch in the shoulder. "I said to introduce yourselves that's it. I didn't tell you to make up lies."

"Um . . . Mr. Marco could you sh-show me your tattoo?" I asked. From what I could see of it, it was like Ace's but a little different. I could have just stepped forwards and have pushed apart the long sleeved purple shirt that he was wearing but we had just met and not only would that be kind of weird and indecent but I also didn't know how he would react. If he was a friend of Ace's didn't that make him a pirate as well?

Plus I wouldn't exactly like it if someone did that to me . . . if I were him.

Thankfully he complied. It took all of my self-control to resist the urge to run my fingers over the familiar yet strange tattoo. . .which just so happened to be on his chest.

It was killing me that I could not recognize where I had seen that mark before. There were slight flicks of something, maybe memory that teased me, mercilessly holding the answer just out of reach in my head. The answer that I was trying so hard to obtain was right there on the tip of my tongue, only centimeters from my straining fingers. But I was brought out of my thoughts by a hand raking gently and slowly through my hair accompanied by the words, "It's been a long time since I've seen such blue hair."

"H-how long?" I whispered curiosity getting the better of me and the fear that kept me from jerking away from him.

"It's been a while." He mysteriously answered not giving me the number that I had been expecting. Dropping his hand from my hair he smiled lazily before asking, "So does Myra happen to be around?"

I silently shook my head as I took a step back. "I-I'm sorry but you're about ten years too late." I didn't know how to put it nicely, how to tell Marco that my mom was deceased without opening my old wounds.

Instead of inquiring about how she had died he simply nodded his head and said, "I understand. You have my condolences." And with that there was a moment of silence for my mother between me and this stranger.

-Ace-

I looked between a pained looking Willow and a slightly surprised and disappointed Marco.

Who the hell was Myra?

"Who's Myra?" I asked aloud after being unable to figure out the answer for myself. It was killing me that two strangers knew the same person especially when one of those people had never been off this island.

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A/N: I want to thank all of the people who have already reviewed. Like most authors they really encourage me to continue writing and whatnot.

Feedback. Thoughts. Opinions. Constructive criticism all of that is welcome and greatly appreciated.