Chapter 21
Well this was awkward. Rouge had to fight off the urge to laugh at the strained silence suffocating the ferris wheel carriage. She, Ace and Deuce had went in to see the scenery, and of course Nailing Isuka stormed in after them to give them a lecture about piracy. The only problem was now they were all stuck in the carriage together, rising slowly up into the sky.
"Well..." Rouge chuckled. "This is weird."
"You don't say," Isuka huffed.
"You're the one who followed us on to this ride, Marine girl," Rouge snorted.
"I came here to try convince Ace to join us," Isuka insisted, turning her attention to him. Ace blinked at her, baffled, and Rouge pretty much had to stuff her fist into her mouth to muffle her laughter. "Ace, you're a good man, you shouldn't be a pirate. You're far better than them. Join us, you can be a witch in the Marines. We've not had a head witch as a Marine in years, we could use your help."
"You have Boa Hancock," Deuce reminded her.
"She's a Warlord, not a Marine, and a nasty one at that, but you, Ace, you've been kind and compassionate. You don't suit being a pirate."
Rouge scoffed. "As if all Marines are 'kind and compassionate', Isuka."
Isuka stiffened. "Maybe not all, but most-"
"If they were, they wouldn't have destroyed my home," Rouge hissed.
She could feel Ace boring holes into her.
"They wouldn't have murdered my people and their children," Rouge continued, her blood boiling. "They wouldn't let the World Government make slaves out of people. They wouldn't watch countries and kingdoms fall to ruin because they can't pay some stupid fucking tax to feed those fat fucks sitting up in the sky!"
Isuka faltered, looking completely unsure, but Ace quickly regained her attention. The softy.
"They wouldn't be trying to capture all the witches of the clans either..." Ace said softly. "There's a reason why there are hardly any of us left, Isuka. You know that..."
Isuka's face fell. "I know." Her gaze grew determined though, eyes burning. "But there are heroes in the Marines. Garp, your grandfather, for example, is the biggest one of them all."
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I remember the time I stabbed him, gave him that scar on his chest-"
Isuka recoiled. "W-What? How? Who in the world are you?"
Rouge smirked. "Your precious marines decided to erase my existence from history, little lady. You're not going to find out much about me too easily, but I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't usually bother telling people my name these days, but here it is. I am Portgas D. Rouge."
Isuka still looked confused. "I don't recognise that name..."
"I know." Rouge smiled sharply. "Good luck finding out more about it too, it's apparently too scary for people to handle these days. Bunch of wimps."
"I'd never make a good Marine, Isuka," Ace said. "Nor do I have any interest in being one."
"Then at least join us as a Warlord!" Isuka pleaded.
"And get locked down in one of the Marine's bases as soon as I step foot in Marineford?" Ace sighed. "No, Isuka, I want to be free. I want to keep finding those who are alone out there and give them a home. I want to help those who the World Government have abandoned and isolated."
Rouge's dead heart skipped a beat. Fuck, Ace sounded way too much like Eddy. Rouge bit her lip and looked away out the window, closing her eyes.
She missed the Whitebeard pirates so much.
Who knows, maybe Ace could surpass Whitebeard as Luffy wishes to surpass Roger. That would be nice. Law and Ace as future Emperors, and Sabo helping to run a new World Government.
Her kids could do it. Rouge could see them winning.
"You have so many people trying to capture you, Ace." Isuka's brow furrowed, and she looked almost scared. "One day they might get you killed trying to catch you."
Rouge stiffened at the thought. Ace's broken body, lying dead on the ground, the blood on Baterilla, spilled all over, her baby gone. Her child dead. Rouge clenched her fists and forced herself to breathe in deep.
No. That wouldn't happen. She would not lose Ace. Rouge deceived the world to protect him. She would see it burned to the ground to ensure his safety. Rouge was a ghost now, yes, but she was the only witch ghost who had come back so far from her knowledge. Also she was pretty much the Pirate Queen, even if she had never married Roger, she was stealing the title. It was hers now. Pirate Queen Portgas D. Rouge.
"We're not going to let that happen," Deuce bristled.
"Ace is stronger," Isuka admitted. "But the rest of the Spades aren't. No matter how determined you all are, there is only so much you can do to protect Ace. It's the same for Trafalgar Law. It's probably one of the main reasons why Nico Robin always stays hidden in the shadows and runs with hidden organisations."
Rouge grunted. "Guess I better start training the kids then better."
Ace grimaced. "That's cruel, Mum. You at least started us off gradually, but that was because we were actual kids."
"You were the one who picked this lot out," Rouge said. "I didn't bother with a crew at all when I sailed the seas. It was me, myself and I."
Ace laughed. "It's weird to think that you were so unsocial when you were the one trying to get me to make friends, Mum."
"I don't really like people, unlike you, who felt the need to be validated by them all the time," Rouge scoffed.
That whole Ace thing asking assholes about what they would do with Roger's kid still boiled her blood. Fuckers. If Rouge had been around properly back then instead of completely and utterly ghostly she would have murdered them all. She should have ignored Dragon and just set the entire damned island on fire. Kill them all. Perfect solution to a problem.
"That was a while ago," Ace said softly, offering a small smile.
"All I can ask is that you take this into consideration, Ace," Isuka said softly, her frown growing heavier. "A pirate's life isn't for you. You aren't a cruel, horrible man."
Ace snorted. "You don't have to be a pirate to be a horrible person, Isuka. You also don't have to be a Marine to be a good one either. I will continue to sail as free as I can be and enjoy my life to its fullest."
"We're pirates, Isuka, but not the cut throat types," Deuce said firmly. "We're together because we want to be. We want to see the world, and help those who have been left behind too. We're making our own family with our crew."
"What a cute speech."
They all looked up at once, and Rouge smiled at Ace's grin. A very familiar blonde was perched on top of their carriage, smiling warmly down at them. Dang he really did take the noble outfit far, huh? Bloody top hat and everything.
"Sabo!" Ace cheered, scrambling out the carriage to climb on top.
It made the carriage swing a bit, but Ace and Sabo ignored it, tackling each other in a big hug. Rouge's smile only grew as Isuka's eyes almost bludged out of her head.
"T-That's-" she stammered.
Deuce looked just as horrified.
"Look at you, Ace!" Sabo grinned, pulling back from the hug, looking over Ace. "You've grown a bit taller, huh? But not as tall as me!"
"I'll catch up soon enough," Ace scoffed.
"Sure, sure," Sabo teased. "And by that time I'll be even taller."
Rouge just hoped Ace didn't reach Roger's height. That was a pain in the ass, hurt her arms trying to hug him sometimes. Tall asshole.
Sabo and Ace slipped back into the carriage, and Sabo bowed all fancy like to her, flashing her a warm smile.
"Greeting, my hero, my champion, my saviour-"
Rouge laughed. "Hello, you dramatic little shit."
.::.
"And Masked Deuce, Ace's first mate, and Ensign Nailing Isuka, the Marine chasing my big brother," Sabo mused. "Huh, weird to see all of you together on the ferris wheel."
Ace leaned against Sabo who swung an arm around his shoulder. They managed to squeeze themselves in beside Isuka, and of course Sabo had put himself between Ace and her, over protective bastard. She couldn't capture him. Isuka didn't know haki, nor did she have any seastone on her right now. But hell, it was so good to see Sabo again. It had been so long. The calls had been nice, yes, but seeing Sabo face-to-face again soothed a tension out of Ace that he hadn't even realised had been there.
He had missed Sabo so much.
But Ace's gaze drifted when the carriage stopped high in the air. There was this nagging urge to look up, but Sabo squeezing his arm brought Ace's focus back to him. Sabo had a knowing look on his face, and of course he knew about Ace's 'day dreaming' as Shachi liked to call it. Law usually smacked him for it.
"B-Big brother?" Isuka eyed them both, baffled.
Mum opened her mouth to interject, but Sabo's grin sharpened hungrily, and even mum looked nervous by it. Ace went to protest, but Sabo elbowed his side before he could, cutting him off.
"Yeah, exactly. I managed to get mum's pretty blonde hair, shame it wasn't more strawberry blonde like hers, but mine is pretty enough huh?" Sabo said sweetly.
That fucker. What was he doing? Why? HE WAS GOING TO BE KNOWN AS A WITCH TOO!
"Portgas D. Sabo, at your service." Sabo bowed his head.
Mum just stared blankly at him. Deuce's jaw looked like it was about to fall off from how low it was hanging.
"But try not to tell anyone," Sabo whispered to Isuka, winking. "It's supposed to be a secret."
"I-I..." Isuka stammered.
Holy shit, Ace hadn't seen her stammer before, or look so shocked.
.::.
"So... I don't remember giving birth to you..." Rouge said several hours later.
Deuce and Ace hadn't said a word, while Sabo cheerfully dragged them both around Sabaody Park, shoving food into their hands to eat. Isuka had walked off, face blank, while Sabo waved her off happily. Rouge was now leading them to Shakky's bar.
"Yeah, I adopted you into being my mum," Sabo said, sipping at his drink. "I much prefer you over my own."
"I didn't know that was a thing," Rouge admitted. "But you do realise people will think you're a witch now, right?"
Sabo chuckled. "I don't mind. Besides, being chased is a thrill for me."
"Poor Koala..." Ace mumbled.
Oh yeah, the girlfriend.
Sabo's face flushed. "Don't say it like that!"
"You're making your girlfriend get chased all the time for dating you," Ace said.
"Roger did the same to me," Rouge sighed.
"So why are you bringing us to a place called 'Shakky's Rip Off Bar'?" Deuce asked.
"Well we need to get someone to coat our ship to go underwater, and I wanted to see an old friend," Rouge said, stopping in front of the door. She hesitated when she reached up to open it, her brow furrowed.
She hadn't seen Shakky in years.
"Shakky is pretty good at gathering information," Sabo said, crossing his arms. "Dragon has been in contact with her a few times."
"Yeah, she's always been good at that," Rouge said softly, then snorted, shaking her head. "Holy shit, I never thought I'd be nervous."
"You did mention her a few times, but not often..." Ace frowned.
"Yeah, I didn't want you to be influenced by my adventures and choose piracy because of that," Rouge said. "I wanted all of this to be your own decision. Our adventures would never be the same after all. The world is too big for that."
Rouge finally forced herself to grab the handle and push it open. Shakky was leaned against the bar, smoking away, and Rayleigh was reading the newspaper next to her, sipping at a bottle of alcohol.
"Welcome-" Shakky began, then her eyes widened and she gasped.
Rayleigh stiffened and glanced over his shoulder.
Rouge managed a weak smile. "Long time no see."
Rayleigh's haki fluttered, relieved, terrified, furious, distraught, and Shakky's was doing the exact same. Shakky lunged over the bar and rushed her. Rouge braced herself for a punch, but was surprised when Shakky yanked her into a hug instead.
Fuck, yeah, Shakky must have really missed her too then.
"You idiot!" Shakky yelled.
Rouge relaxed instantly in her arms, wrapping her own around Shakky.
It was good to be back.