Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, yet.

I do, however, own Kira, my OC. Please don't use her or if you do, give credit.

*There are fourteen division commanders under Whitebeard's command.

"Oi, Pops!" Kira, first division commander* of the Whitebeard pirates, tapped her foot on the tan floorboards of the Moby Dick impatiently, rolling her eyes at her captain's slowness. The giant ship violently rocked back and forth on the huge, frothy waves that were slamming its side. Thunder boomed overhead, and lightning flashed, illuminating Kira's face in the darkness of Whitebeard's massive captain's cabin. Thatch, commander of the fourth division, was standing beside her, leaning against the wooden wall.

The old man groaned, the bed creaking under him as he rolled up into a sitting position. His nose tubes clanked against the wooden bed frame as he adjusted them. His bare chest was flecked with scars older than Kira had been alive.

Edward Newgate, Kira thought with a smile, her teeth flashing, You never change, do you? She tugged on her clean white gloves, annoyed both by the sweat now soaking her hands and the fact that she had to keep them on all the time, around anyone on the crew who had eaten a devil fruit and especially her division members and captain.

At 17 years old, Kira was the youngest commander to ever rank as high as first division on Whitebeard's ships. Ever since Edward Newgate, A.K.A Whitebeard, had taken her in as a little girl and raised her to be a pirate she had always worked her hardest to impress him, training day and night in hand-to-hand combat against the toughest opponents on the ship, studying with Marco, (a blond haired man much older than she was, but was taken in at the same time and became like a brother to her) until her brain hurt, and even eating a devil fruit to become so powerful she even scared herself. It was eating the devil fruit she regretted most, because now she could not touch anyone else with a devil fruit power, though finally she was awarded one year ago on this day, when she earned the title of first division commander, beating Marco in the final match and proving her strength, landing him the title of third division commander. The only person on the ship who ranked higher than Kira did was Whitebeard, the captain.

"Pops!" Kira crossed her arms. She knew she should be patient with him, but her cross tone snapped him awake, and he glared at her.

"What, Kira?" Whitebeard's grumpy attitude and violent temper were some of the many things that got him crowned the Strongest Man in the World, or The Man Closest to the One Piece. Having eaten the Tremor-Tremor devil fruit, or the Gura-Gura no Mi, Whitebeard had the ability to create earthquakes that shook both earth and sea. He could crack the air and create explosions that were known to destroy mountains, buildings and people. At 12-13 feet tall, Whitebeard, (Also known as Pops or Old Man to his crew) was a giant. He wore no shirt but instead a jacket, very much resembling one of the navy's, that had his symbol, a skull with a mustache and a horizontal bone crossed behind the skull with a vertical bone, on it. His weapon was a bisento, meaning "brow blade", and it's massive size fit only its owner. It had a striped pole, with a dubbed end. It brought destruction to all it crossed.

"Pops, somebody wants to take your head." Kira tried to force urgency into her voice, pressing the issue down hard upon him.

Whitebeard rolled his piercing grey eyes. "You will have to be more specific. Thousands want to take my head."

Thatch groaned, shifting his weight to his right leg. He absolutely loathed it when Whitebeard joked about the entire navy, plus an endless number of pirates, wanting to kill him. Kira hated it too; Whitebeard was like a father to all of the crew, the only home most of them ever had.

Whitebeard glanced at Thatch and chuckled, the deep sound resonating from his chest. "Alright, Kira, who is it after me now?" He tilted his head in permission for her to continue.

Nodding, Kira gently pulled a crinkled newspaper out of her coat pocket. She flattened it against her thigh, then started reading, the headline of the paper popping out in bold black letters, demanding attention.

"His name is Portgas D. Ace, Captain of the famous super-rookies, the Spade Pirates, and he's a user of the Mera-Mera no Mi."

Whitebeard, a thoughtful look on his face, stroked his thick white mustache. It shined in the darkness of the cabin; the only light gracing their eyes was lightning, it's bright flashes outlining Whitebeard's massive form.

"The Flame-Flame fruit, you say? Interesting." He grunted, gesturing for her to go on.

Kira nodded again, scanning quickly through the page for more information.

"He's seventeen, and turned down the offer to join the shichibukai (The Seven warlords of the Sea). He has met with 'Red-Haired' Shanks, and is now trying to prove his strength by taking your head." She stopped, a small gasp escaping her lips. Whitebeard's steel grey eyes narrowed.

"His adopted grandfather is the marine hero and navy admiral, 'Garp the Fist'" She whispered, disbelief etched across her face. Thatch, shock spreading across his features, swore. Whitebeard showed no sign of surprise or, frankly, any emotion at all. He simply looked slightly intrigued.

Shoving the already-crumpled paper back into her pocket, Kira tried to organize her jumbled thoughts. He's only seventeen, that's my age! Obviously he's not as strong as Pops, or me, for that matter, but I wonder why he wants to fight the Old Man? He has to know he's going to die. But… Pops is old… 69, my goodness. If this guy is as good as they say, his youth and skill may be enough to...

She shook her head, punishing the traitorous thoughts, then started out the door, her footsteps silent on the creaky floorboards. Stealth was one of her specialties, her footsteps soft after years of training them.

"Kira?" Whitebeard's rough voice washed over her. She halted in the doorway, her back to him. Thatch had left already, storming out the door, undoubtedly sharing Kira's thoughts about Portgas D. Ace being an actual threat. I may really have to get involved in this fight. I don't want Pops to die, and I'd like to have the Mera-Mera no Mi's power. Kira's mouth twitched into a half smile. Poor guy, she smirked, he won't know hit him.

"LAND HOOOOOOO!" The watchmen of the Moby Dick cried, his call echoing around the dead-silent ship, still with the tension of pre-battle. Kira, now 3 weeks older, tensed, her muscles begging for a fight. Fog swirled around her, dampening her golden skin.

This is it, Kira. She narrowed her ebony-lashed, ice-blue eyes. Her red-gold hair was tossed gently over her left shoulder, keeping it out of her face. She felt the hard bump of the Moby Dick hitting land, and a rough, booming voice summoned the crew's attention.

"Where's the kid who wants to take my head?" Whitebeard demanded as Kira peered through the fog, looking for Portgas D. Ace. To her delight, he was already face-down on the ground, opposing the limp body of the fishman Jinbi, an old friend to Whitebeard and a shichibukai. From the look of the fight, Ace had won, but both men were out cold, with Portgas' crew watching the Moby Dick approach with horror.

"He's good." Kira's impressed voice cut through the fog, barely audible over the thundering of Whitebeard continuing his speech.

"As you wish, I'll take you on!" He grinned, also catching on that Ace was already half dead.

"I'll handle this myself." He jumped from the ship, landing with a resounding thud. Walking forward, he blew back Portgas' crew with a nod of his head, the power of the Gura-Gura no Mi thrumming through the air.

Ace, pushing himself off the ground, (apparently not unconscious), created a ring of fire around himself and Whitebeard, cutting off both his crew and Whitebeard's access to the two captains. His jet-black hair fell into his dark eyes, and his freckles stood out against his tan skin. Kira judged him to be a little over six feet tall, still dwarfed by Whitebeard. All in all, she thought he was very attractive. It's really a shame that he might die...

"Captain! Captain Ace! What are you doing?" His crew cried out, defiant and terrified at the same time. Most of them had been battered by the battle between their captain and the Warlord, and others were even unconscious. The ones who were awake, though, were begging Ace to give up and run, although he was having none of it.

"Run, you guys!" Ace, already panting from the effort of creating the fire ring, shouted. His crew backed away, unable to see him, reassured he was alive only by the sound of his voice.

"Alright.." Kira had to admit; she was impressed by Ace's determination, but was it bravery or stupidity? We'll just have to find out. She thought, smirking as both males rallied their powers.

The ground shook as the two men clashed.

"AHHHGGGHHHHH!" Ace's scream resonated throughout Kira's cabin, making the whole vessel quake. It was 7:00 in the morning, and already the entire ship was awake. Kira sighed and threw her covers aside, sliding her legs over the edge of her soft bed. That must be the millionth time he's done this. She rolled her piercing eyes, walking over to the wooden cabin door.

Opening it, she squinted in the bright sunlight, making out the shapes of Whitebeard and Marco on the ship's main deck. Whitebeard was still sleeping in his huge captain's chair, snoring softly, and Marco was laughing obnoxiously. Marco's third division men and women were leaning over the railing of the ship, peering out into the blue water below. Kira could see Ace there, thrashing in vain, trying to keep himself afloat.

"Oi!" Kira shouted, getting the attention of the crew. "WHAT is going on here?! Can't you idiots see that Pops is trying to sleep?! What will you do if he wakes up?!" She glared daggers at Marco, who was still cracking up.

"...and YOU! Stop laughing, someone still has to save Ace! He's a devil fruit user, you know!" The third division shrunk back, including Marco, frightened by Kira's temper.

Marco was the first to speak. "Alright, alright. John!" A burly man with mousy brown hair started at Marco's sharp command.

"You're not a devil fruit user, correct?"

"H-hai!"

"Then go save him!"

John nodded, quickly removing his jacket and sword and diving into the deep sea.

God, thought Kira, How long will this go on? She whipped her head around at the sound of coughing and sputtering. John had re-emerged, carrying a waterlogged Ace over his shoulders. Kira ran over to the edge of the ship, startling many of the third division men. Men couldn't help but be startled by her. She was, after all, the most beautiful woman in the world, other than Boa Hancock. I could beat that witch any day, Kira smirked, then turned her attention to the logia user in the water.

"Oi, Kira!" Ace's call made her smile; he was still grinning even though his ass had been handed to him.

"Kira! Did you see that? I was closer today!" Kira playfully rolled her eyes. The quirky 17-year-old was almost always positive, and his attitude was often contagious.

"Ace! When are you going to give it up? Pops is way stronger than you, just admit it!" She teased, smirking at the boy's persistence. This was the 93 time he had tried to kill Whitebeard, after the Old Man had beaten Ace and taken him onto the Moby Dick, offering Ace a spot on his crew and accepting him as a son. Ace had been shocked; his title of captain ripped from him and his dreams of becoming the Pirate King shattered. Rebelling, he then tried to fulfill his claim and continued to go after Whitebeard's head, day after day, while Whitebeard continuously beat him. The crew never took Ace as a serious threat. Why should they? With Kira and her ability, most of the time the crew feared nothing. Besides, Pops didn't seem to need Kira to be able handle Ace himself.

John, upset that he had been the one to have to rescue Ace, threw the young man up to the deck. Ace landed with a thud, cracking the wooden floorboards. He coughed, spitting up salty sea water, then flopped back down onto his back, panting. Kira, laughing, walked over to his soaking wet body and held out a hand over him. Just before he went to grasp it a powerful shout snapped through the air.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HER!" Kira, startled, yanked her hand backwards, away from Ace's. Gasping, she turned, scanning for the voice. Marco, the one who shouted, ran across the deck, shoving Kira away from Ace. Kira was too shocked to care, her mouth open in disbelief. Marco, after helping Ace up himself, started asking him if he had touched Kira's hands in any way. Ace just shook his head, seemingly fine.

Ace stared at Kira, ignoring Marcos concerns. He was smiling placidly, as if nothing was wrong, but his eyes screamed betrayal and hurt, a sight that made Kira want to curl up in a ball and hide from his accusing glare. Even though she had only known him for 2 months, she was beginning to seriously care for him, and it pained her greatly to see him looking at her like that.

"Kira… What were you trying to do to me?" Ace asked, his voice cautious, eyes wary. Kira stumbled backwards, away from his icy stare. Her hands shaking, she held them out in front of her, her palms facing the sunlit sky.

"I didn't… what did you think I was-" She was interrupted by a seriously shocked Thatch, who seemed to have just woken up.

"What the hell is going on here?! Kira, I've never once seen you be so careless! What happened?" Thatch, his voice cracking, grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly before pushing her forcefully down onto the wooden deck. She winced as her back thudded against the floor.

Immense guilt washed over her as she glanced up at the three livid men. Realising the state she was in, crouched on the ground with her hands up in surrender, she felt hot, boiling anger well up inside her, overwhelming her guilt immediately. She would not relive her past. She was the most powerful woman in the world! She would not be pushed around just because they thought she'd made a small mistake. Brushing herself off and straightening her sky-blue crop top, she stood up, her temper flooding off in waves of power.

Marco felt the change in Kira before she did herself. He felt her guilt shift into anger, and saw the storm clouds roll into her eyes. His hands began to tremble as she stood up, and he took a step away. All of his instincts were screaming for him to turn tail and run. Oh Thatch. She may have made a mistake but you just made a bigger one. She looks ready to kill someone, which she probably will. Turning to his left, he saw Ace and Thatch stumbled backwards, their expressions mimicking his own. The rest of the crew began to back off as Kira stood up.

I've never felt power like this before.

Then the storm ebaded. The power thrumming through the air dissipated, and Kira breathed out, sighing deeply. She relaxed, rolling her shoulders. The rest of the crew, including Ace, Marco and Thatch, edged around her warily, eyeing her calm composure.

"Kira… A-are you okay now?" Ace reached out toward her, extending a hand, a sign that he was no longer afraid of her. She glanced at him then started laughing. The crew, startled, jumped back as the clear, melodious sound of Kira's merriment extended out over the ship. She laughed so hard she cried until she stood up, reached into her pocket and pulled out her two white satin gloves, putting them on slowly and turning so that the entire crew could see her.

"Who the hell do you think I am? Of course I wasn't going to touch Ace, you dumbasses. I was reaching for the man who saved him, to help pull him onto the deck!" And with that she burst out laughing again, at first making the crew nervous but eventually everyone was shouting and laughing so hard that Whitebeard himself had to come up onto the deck, upon where he found his mighty crew rolling around like animals, crying out in joy.

Kira stopped laughing for only a moment, in which she glanced around at the merry faces of her crew, and then at Ace, who was on the ground, rolling around with Thatch. It isn't really that big of a deal, thought Kira, But I suppose they're all just happy I didn't kill anyone. Smiling, she felt the newly risen sun warm her face, and, for that moment, she was at total peace.