D's Orange Will

by Zelga Lim Li

In his last minute effort to save his brother, Ace never thought that there is more to his flames. Before he knew it, he was sent somewhere far from the place he was supposed to die to a pair of bluest eyes he has ever seen. Ace X Fem Naruto.

3. Chapter 2 - Impasse

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Summary:
In his last minute effort to save his brother, Ace never thought that there is more to his flames. Before he knew it, he was sent somewhere far from the place he was supposed to die to a pair of bluest eyes he has ever seen. Ace X Fem Naruto.

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Author's note:
I would love to thank everyone who added DOW to your favorite's lists. That includes the followings, alerts and anything else I may have missed :)

Now, if only your lot would be kind enough to leave some reviews, that would be really really helpful to boost Ziggy's morale and confidence. She is having her usual tantrum. Ace-chan diligently ignores her though.

Now, onwards with the story. Cheers!

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D's Orange Will
By: Zelga Lim Li

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Chapter 2 - Impasse

Amazon Lily, days after the great battle in the Marineford...

Jinbei sighed tiredly. From his spot overlooking the ocean surrounding Amazon Lily, he sat patiently under the trees as he tried to tune out the commotion inside the jungle. He could feel the chaos within the said boy and the rest of the Heart Pirates crew wasn't even close in calming him in the slightest.

The captain himself, another rookie by the name of Trafalgar Law, was looking at the ocean. He does not know the intention why the young pirate had saved the boy's life.

No. Monkey D. Luffy is no longer a boy but a young man who recently experienced the failure of saving someone he loves. It was unintentional, but he already heard the adventures the said pirate has done along with his crew especially when he challenged the World Government to save one of his nakama. He even had the guts to punch a Celestial Dragon for hurting a friend. A friend not so different from him, a fishman.

Though it was unclear what happened to Ace, he had a feeling that the said person is somewhere safe judging from Akainu's uncontrollable rage when his arms burst into blue flames and Ace's body is nowhere to be seen.

Marco, Whitebeard's first division commander was able to reach Luffy in time and dragged the devastated pirate to safety. That was after Ace's last seen act before he disappeared.

He reminded Luffy the reasons why he must overcome his temporary weakness… That he still has his nakama. Though he made it clear not to expect anything, he knew that the said pirate continues to believe that Ace is still alive. He tried to dispute the said claim, but when he saw his eyes, he couldn't find the words to contradict him.

When Rayleigh came, the young pirate decided to change for the better. Luffy requested him and Gol D. Roger's first mate to accompany him back to Marine Headquarters so that he could pay his respects to those who have fallen in battle. Also, to send out his message to his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates.

Two years.

The young pirate said that it would be enough to get stronger. In two years, he would be able to protect everyone. That no matter what, he will find his brother and bring him home.

Jinbei laughed amusingly to himself. Perhaps, if the time is right and his invitation still stands, he would love to join Luffy in his quest to become the new Pirate King and accomplish each other dreams.

Yes.

It was definitely worth it to live a little while longer.

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Training ground 7, Konoha…

'Damn it!' Eyes blazing in fury, Ace growled and continues to rain punches on one of the wooden stumps. With each strike, his fire devours the said wood. In a couple of minutes, what were left are crumbs of ashes and burned charcoal.

Waking up in the middle of the night, he remembered his past. The reason why does not deserve to live. That he did not deserve to be born.

Who he is.

Where he came from.

That he, Portgas D. Ace or rather Gol D. Ace, is the son of the devil himself.

Pirate King Gol D. Roger.

And Luffy.

His little brother will now be targeted by the whole world because of him.

"I'm so useless… I am so fucking useless!" Ace bit the corner of his lips to stop himself from screaming. He does not want Naruto to worry and decided to ignore the pain clawing its way from the inside of his heart.

Silently, he cried.

'Gol D. Roger? The Pirate King? Maybe you mean Demon King!'

'He is a monster! Any offspring that he has must be annihilated!'

'That man? Hah! If ever he had a child, it should be killed. Just like his demon of a father!'

'Son of Roger does not deserve to live. He should have wished that he was never born!'

'Die!'

'Die!'

Time and time again, Ace knew his existence was a mistake. That he is a nobody.

He already accepted his fate, dying by the arms of his beloved brother despite knowing the effect it will bring to Luffy's wellbeing.

"Fuck!" With the last of his strength, he punched what remains of the last standing wood stump in Naruto's training ground. He knew that the woman in question would not ask what happen here. It was very obvious the moment she decided to step into the premises.

Ever since he 'died', he became too emotional. Naruto must have done something to his heart when she healed it.

Taking a few more breaths to calm himself, he decided to stay here for the rest of the night and to clean up the mess he did. It was the least he can do for Naruto. He also felt slightly guilty for leaving her alone in their house, but surely he doesn't want to burn the house they are currently staying with in one of his so called 'nightmares'. He already destroyed three houses as well as Naruto's old apartment making it four in total and burned a few other rooms making it uninhabitable for anyone.

The woman herself doesn't seem affected at all knowing that he is fire himself, thus uncontrollable at times. At one time she woke up with some of the traces he left behind after he put out the fire, she laughed it out after assuring him that there are so many other houses to choose from in her village to live with.

Sighing tiredly, Ace falls flat on his back after removing the shirt Naruto loaned him the other day. He still doesn't get why he has to cover himself up. Besides, after he became fire, he doesn't get cold anymore.

Looking up at the stars, he thinks of Luffy. What could his little brother be doing now? Is he looking for him? Does he believe that he's still alive?

Blocking his view from the stars, he could see Naruto's cerulean colored eyes and her blonde tresses tied by black scrunchies on both sides of her head looking down at him. She is wearing an orange jacket with black marking her shoulders, down the front and sleeves. Her pants reach up the middle of her calf with the same bright orange color. Finishing up her look is a pair of black ninja sandals and her forehead protector with her village's symbol that looks like a leaf tied around her neck.

Closing his eyes to escape her penetrating look, Ace smiled briefly in greeting. "It's too early for tomorrow's training, Naruto…"

Huffing irritably, Naruto sat crossed legged beside him.

"How did you find me?"

The Uzumaki crossed her arms and looked at him blankly. "I can sense you." Ace heard and winces slightly. "Aside from the fact that your fire can be seen from our current lodging…" The pirate grunted noisily and turns his back on her, facing the other direction.

"Ace…"

"I can't sleep. That's all…."

The Fire Fist knew that Naruto is glaring at his back where pop's mark is visible for her eyes to see. The reason why he prefers to be shirtless is for the whole world to see his symbol proudly tattooed on his back.

Anyway…

Naruto frowned at his antics. But to understand him better, she might need to do something drastic. "Ace?"

The blonde heard a light snore from the said pirate. Ace slept soundly as if he is doesn't care that he is outside, in a training ground surrounded by burnt wood, ashes and some other stuff she don't want to think about; and lying in a bed of grass, which miraculously survived his flames. She truly envies him when it comes to these kind of things. He even slept during one of their shared meals and woke up like nothing happened.

Yet the excuse he made now is pathetic.

Or maybe his nightmares are getting the best of him. It reminded him of his past and the people he left behind who must be really worried for his sudden disappearance.

Knowing that she has to let him go somehow, Naruto accepted the fact that he can't stay here, with her.

Deep inside, it hurts.

Please don't leave me… Pushing the silent yearning of her heart in that usual hole of her innermost being, Naruto shrugged indifferently. Albeit forcefully.

It's a good thing Ace is asleep or he'll see the few tears that escaped her eyes.

She could be real grown up and for that, she decided to help him. Earlier that morning, she already prepared a few things Ace can try to bring out the flames that he thought brought him here.

When she tried using her Sage Mode, she discovered that Ace is composed of natural energy being the element of fire. Similar to the tailed beasts were they are purely made of chakra.

She already tested the said pirate of what his natural affinity is, no surprise there, which is fire itself. And if used correctly, Ace also has the ability to manipulate his fire into its purest form.

Since it is opposed to her natural affinity, she had looked for other alternatives by ransacking through the Uchiha's numerous scrolls regarding the said element. If Madara is still alive, he would probably burn her alive and dance on her entrails which he himself might have gouged out using his bare hands.

Anyways, moving to the matter at hand, the blonde decided to let Ace try the leaf exercise. This way, he would be able to control his chakra more effectively and hone his concentration to keep his mind from being distracted.

However, it was futile as Ace's mind was in so much turmoil. The next day when they tried the said training, Naruto literally drop her jaws when she saw the said man and his leaf.

Granted that the leaf is not sticking at all. In mere seconds, it burns into ashes.

"Ace!" Naruto complained for the nth time that very day.

Grumbling incoherently, the pirate scowled more and averted his eyes from her gaze. His shoulder remained stiff.

'This is harder than I thought…' Naruto thought helplessly.

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"You can't force me to ignore everything, Naruto…" Ace said in a matter of fact tone. He knew for a fact that the blonde is trying to help him with his flames. Though he did not understand the basics of this chakra thingy, looks like in this world, it is a mandatory skill for a ninja.

"I am not a shinobi like you, nor a…" Words weren't enough to express his frustrations but when he saw Naruto's glare towards him, he decided to shut up. Sighing tiredly, Ace ran a hand over his unruly black hair and sat in a flamboyant posture just to prove his point.

"Yes. I do get that, Ace-kun. Your mind is in a lot of chaos right now thus making you hard to sleep. Right?" The blonde said seriously.

Shrugging his shoulders dismissively, Whitebeard's second division commander ignored Naruto's comment and whistled a tune to divert his attention away,

Naruto grunted and was ready to smack his head just because he irritates her but decided otherwise. Studying the man before him made her realize that he is indeed different.

He already explained the basics of his 'powers' and the world he came from.

Devil fruits that give you a power uniquely different from the others but looses your ability to swim.

A government that is ruled by people with corrupted and questionable motives, which in it's entirely, the opposite of Konoha's own leaders but save for a very few council members.

Soldiers that seem to follow an idiotic claim for 'Absolute Justice' and only see things in black and white.

Pirates who dream of finding a legendary treasure and be the next Pirate King. Upon that claim, Naruto couldn't help but frown when Ace said the last part. As if the previous Pirate King is someone he despise above everything else.

How very curious.

Rubbing her temples for an incoming headache, Naruto chewed the bottom of her lips thinking of an appropriate snappy remark. At that exact moment, Ace decided to look back and unconsciously held his breath when he saw how cute Naruto is when trying to hit him back or kick him in the gut.

He is such a masochist at times.

His cheeks reddened slightly. To avoid further compromise, he stood abruptly startling the blonde from her musings and walked away.

'Damn it Ace, you're not a teenager who happens to takes a look at your crush. She's your savior and for all its worth, you don't deserve her. Not in a single…'

Stopping him from his musings, Naruto tackled him down. His concentration is indeed a failure when he lets her get a hold of him. Marco would definitely agree that he is such a mess if he sees him now. Not that he mind Naruto from manhandling him. Even though he can be intangible when he wants to, surely he doesn't want to accidentally burn Naruto's skin for the millionth time because of his involuntary reflexes.

"Bastard! We are not yet finished with your training! Come back here!"

"Naruto, I now you are only trying to help, but… Oomph!"

"Shuush! I'm trying to think here…" Naruto said as she covers Ace's mouth with her left hand. Sitting on top of him, the blonde frowned and pouted her lips that made the Fire Fist more uncomfortable especially when the woman herself is straddling him in a very compromising position.

Not that he can voice that out. The said shinobi is as dense as his little brother when it comes to these kind of things.

"Uhm, Nyaruutho? Nac oyu teg fof em? (Uhm, Naruto? Can you get off me?)," Ace said incoherently. He wiggled his way free and was about to throw the kunoichi off of him. Despite his best efforts, Naruto even didn't budge from her spot. Looks like she took a liking to his upper torso.

Letting his fire to consume him, Ace knew that Naruto felt his flames for an instant and thankfully, the woman jumps away from him. Taking a mouthful of air, the pirate coughed for a while and after flexing his muscles, he smirked naughtily at her. In both hands, Naruto is holding a kunai and was gripping it tightly.

"So, you are making this difficult, hmmm, Ace-kun?" Naruto growled. Her eyes squinted playfully and she smiled back letting him see a pair of sharp fangs.

Ace sighed. "I don't want to hurt you, Naruto…"

Disappearing in a flurry of leaves, Naruto attacked and Ace had no choice but to fight back.

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Much later that day, Ace learned that chakra is a different manifestation of haki. It is an energy within a human body. Though it has some limitations unlike haki.

Haki has the ability to sense spiritual energy. It can also be used it to increase one's speed or power. Now he truly regretted the day he skipped on Marco's personal trainings to strengthen his haki.

When he told Naruto his observations and what he remembers, the blonde looks at him dumbly and asks endless questions.

It was like talking to a five year old Luffy.

For a while, she stops pestering him regarding his training and was unreachable for a few hours. He kind of missed her but he won't voiced it out loud. Later that night, she drops a few scrolls and books on their table ordering him to read them carefully, page by page.

"Eh?" And just like Luffy, he hated studying. It used to be Sabo's role. But after his death, he begrudgingly took the said part since his little brother isn't the type of person to even hold a book in hand.

"Looks like I already knew the basics. Now all we need is to apply everything we will learn tonight for our training…"

Choking on his tea, Ace looks perturbingly at her after he wipes his spit off his face. "I beg your pardon?"

"That's right," Naruto grinned happily at Ace. "You're not the only one who will do these 'haki' trainings…"

"B-but?" Ace sputtered his objections albeit futilely.

"Its not everyday I got to meet a pirate who can turn into fire at will that came from another world with an entirely different kind of way of living. Isn't that awesome?" Naruto said while beaming. Ace couldn't stop his blush as the woman inches closer towards him looking as bright as ever.

Beautiful.

Turning away, he took another drink from his tea without realizing that it was scalding hot. Naruto laughed out loud when he coughed them out to relieve the burn in his tongue.

"You are fire itself. How come you got burned?"

"…"

For once, Ace did not know how to answer her back.

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