Hello everyone, here is the next chapter!

This chapter will be a compilation of different things

Hope you enjoy

Read and relax

Whitebeard was at a loss. Witches were real? How was that even possible? A woman had just shown up on the boat, and cursed a number of his children. Thatch, along with crew members from various divisions, had developed some kind of eye disease. They're nails were falling off and they all looked pale and sickly. Jozu was plagued by bad luck - constantly knocking into everything and receiving small injuries from the accidents, which was completely out of character for the man. Izou was experiencing clothing mishaps. His clothing keeps ripping and becoming stained, which both angered and upset him, becoming fearful for his remaining outfits. What was most concerning was that not even Marco was unaffected. Due to his phoenix, he never got sick but he was sick. That had never happened before, and even Marco was surprised by it. He had developed sore and red rings around his eyes and was very pale. The woman, named Isabella, who had placed this curse wouldn't leave, she was adamant about staying on the ship, demanding that they give her an offering so that she could spawn the next offspring of the devil. When they demanded that she leave, she became furious, threatening to curse the entire ship. Things on board the ship were already bad enough, any problems would be was trying to figure out what to do, how they could make this woman leave and get rid of the curse she had placed. They also needed to leave soon, they had already been here for 3 day and it wouldn't be long until the marines showed up and tried to pick a fight with them, which would make the matter worse. All of his children were scared and knew they couldn't do anything to fight her, with only a few words, she could curse them again and with something even more unpleasant. She was currently fuming in the galley. Curiel was trying to kindly ask her to leave, despite his wariness of her and fear of being cursed alongside the others. It wasn't going well. They needed a plan, maybe they could send some people to get help from the island. But, the dock was empty. The captain was unsure if that was a coincidence or not; Or, if it was deserted due to the presence of the woman.

"-we need to head to Fishman island too, we can't stay here much longer." All of them looked to the opening door. Ace- or rather Ann- walked in, reading something whilst speaking to Trevor through the open door. Before they could react to his return and warn him of Isabella, Isabella jolted with an "Ann?" The assassin halted in her steps, blinking as she turned to look at the woman. "Isabella? What are you doing here?" Isabella looked uncomfortable, fidgeting as she tried to act innocent. "Heh, n-nothing. Nothing at all…" Ann responded by giving an intimidating and unimpressed look to Isabella, crossing her hands over her chest. "This is my family." Ann said with an assertive voice, making Isabella move her hands up in fear. "I-I had no idea, I promise. It was an accident. You must believe me."

Ann didn't change her posture or look, obviously not believing her. "Goodbye, Isabella." The woman instantly started walking towards the door. "Yes, goodbye. Thank you all for being so kind and letting me stay." Isabella looked relieved to be going, and just as the woman opened the door, Thatch spoke up almost frantic. "What about the curse? The offering towards the spawning of the devil?!" The woman stopped with a hand on the door, giving an awkward laugh although her entire body language screamed fear. As she looked at Ann, she tried to pass it off with a "Heh, I don't know what they're talking about." Then she was gone. As the door closed, Ann gave a small chuckle, looking at them. "Did she scare you?" All of them blinked, Thatch reacting first. "Scare us?! She cursed us with diseases! Even Marco!" Ann chuckled. "No, she didn't. It was psychological manipulation. She dresses, speaks and uses her body language to unconsciously affect those around her. Your breathing pattern changes, you become distracted and bump into everything, stumble when you walk and your hands shake causing you to drop things or hurt yourself. As for the diseases and Marco being affected by it. Have you seen the docks? No one is out. Know why? There is an outbreak of both the white plague and a type of fungus. You should know white plague causes sores on devil fruit users, as well as pale skin and redness around eyes. You will be fine in a few days, I'm sure Bay probably has antibiotics that can help."

It had all of them breathe out, relieved, especially the ones who had been 'cursed'. It all made sense, and he was so glad that he had Ace in his family now, he was helpful in situations like this. Before they could react, the door opened again and Trevor stood there. "Why was the Queen of Darkness here?" Ann just chuckled. "Did her normal ploy to scare people and scam them for money." Trevor snorted. "How nice. But move it! As you said; we're needed at Fishman Island!" Ann just shook her head as she moved towards the door, where Trevor had just disappeared. "Wait!" Started Thatch, "How did she know you?!" Ann chuckled. "Oh, she often does the same routine on marine captains or nobles. She's seen me around, and has gotten a few threats from me when she was interfering with my targets." Made sense, and the assassin then left, obviously heading to Fishman island.

As the door closed, Izou spoke first. "Wait?! Did she just-?!" The crossdresser cut off as he looked shocked, Jozu nodding. "Yes. Ann just scared her way with a goodbye." "No!" Continued Izou. "Did he- she just call us her family?!" Whitebeard thought for a second, before he realised that Izou was right. "You're right, Izou. She called us her family." Ann had, and that was something he had never heard from either Ace or Ann, for one of them to outright say they were family. This was a step in the right direction. This was huge. Thatch whistled. "That is so awesome. We are a family now, she finally called us family." This was amazing. Ace had never said anything close to what he just declared. A few did look shocked, mostly those who didn't know Ann was Ace, which was most people. But Ann had been on the boat a lot lately, Ace being her on and off over the last few weeks. They needed to celebrate this! Ace finally called them family!

-x-

Marco moved over to Ace's room, hoping he was back. He would also need to head over to Bay in a bit, after he had spoken to Ace, as the sores itched and somewhat hurt. He knew Bay didn't like visitors in the evening. When he opened the door, he saw Ace sitting on his chair,taking off the last remaining hair extensions, turning to look at him when the door opened. Ace gave an amused smile as he put the fake hair on his desk. "Well, look at you. Got cursed by the scary witch?" Marco gave a breath. "Har har, laugh it up, yoi." Ace gave a laugh, moving to the bed after taking out a small box from a drawer in the desk. "Oh, come on. The fearless First Division Commander of the Whitebeard pirates being scared by a woman pretending to be a witch? How can that not be funny. Now come here, I think I have a salve that can help with the itching."

Marco gave a sigh as he moved to sit down on the bed next to Ace, who began inspecting the sores, giving another chuckle. "You know. Out of everyone, I would have thought you would have actually gone down to the dock, asked someone, or noticed the huge posters that say; 'Warning! Outbreak of White Plague! If you have sores, chills and sweats, seek medical care!' I never thought you would believe in some fake witch." The first commander sighed, moving a hand to his neck to scratch an itchy sore. "Well, everyone else believed her and at the time, things just seemed legit, yoi." Ace chuckled. "Yeah, she stays at islands like this, where there are outbreaks, and pretends to be a witch." Marco was about to respond when he gave a small ouch instead, as Ace swatted his hand away from his neck. "No scratching! The sores are already bad enough. You shouldn't have been in direct sunlight. Makes them worse." Marco just gave a sigh, not scratching them would be hard.

Ace hummed, opening a small container and scooping some white salve on to his hands and rubbing them together. "Don't worry. This should relieve the worst of the itching." Ace then moved his hands to sores and rubbed the salve on them, and felt relieved when the movement helped with the itching and burning sensation. Ace gave a chuckle. "You're not the first, nor the last person, to fall to the Queen of Darkness's trick. Even Sengoku was a victim of hers, back when he was just a vice admiral. So don't take it too hard." Marco nodded. That actually made him feel a bit better. He still felt stupid, but it helped. "By the way, yoi. Why do you have salve for the white plague?" Ace hummed. " I have something to counter almost anything that can happen to someone. It's about being prepared." Marco chuckled. "Why am I not surprised by that, yoi." Ace chuckled back. "You shouldn't be. But, this is still funny."

Marco chuckled. "Yeah, I can understand that, yoi." Ace hummed as he moved to one of the bigger sores on his chest, which he had scratched more than once. "Don't feel bad about it. But this one looks worse. You shouldn't scratch it. Let this salve work for a couple minutes, after that go take a warm shower for about 5 minutes, then a cold one for the next 5. That should clean them and cool them down. Keep applying the salve throughout the day. You will be right as rain in a few days." Marco nodded, before he gave a breath, looking at Ace. "How did it go at Fishman Island?" Ace hummed, moving to put the salve away on his desk. "Went fine, was just a meeting we were already late for." That made sense in how Trevor had sounded. Marco still felt a bit stupid, but glad Ace had showed up and made the woman leave. Marco moved to give Ace a kiss, but the other quickly moved his head back, a finger up in front of him. "Oh, nay, nay. This-" Ace moved his hands and motion to the sores, "is transmitted via spit or bodily fluid. It really sucks and I don't want to have itchy sores,or pale skin and red eyes. So, I will take a rain check on that." Marco blinked. "I never left the boat, how did I get infected, yoi?" Ace chuckled. "Easy. Isabella infected you." Marco tried to think, but came up short. "I can't say I remember exchanging body fluids with Isabella, yoi. I think I would have noticed that."

Ace laughed. "Oh, Marco, sometimes you're so gullible. I am sure she looked around searching for the ones in power. She couldn't have gone for Whitebeard as he's so large, so she went for you. She likely tampered with something you were drinking whilst you were distracted. Or, offered you a cigarette or something, saying she would leave if you had a taste. Whatever it was, probably had been given to someone infected prior to giving it to you. You likely took it, feeling unable to say no, considering the circumstance." Marco blinked, before he felt sick. "Oh God, that's so- ugh. I need to wash my mouth, yoi." Ace laughed. "That's long gone, Marco. It takes a day or two to develop the signs. You fell into her trap so easily, it's almost laughable." Marco really felt stupid about all of this, but was glad it was all a scam, snd not an actual curse. "How did she 'curse' so many, yoi? She didn't do the same with everyone." Ace hummed. "She probably infected the food then." Marco nodded. That made sense. Ace chuckled. "I am sure you would have guessed something was up when she would have finally said: 'pay me money and I will leave and get rid of the curse'. It's a scam that works." Marco nodded. "I'll say, yoi. She's good, she had all of us fooled." Ace chuckled. "I saw that. Are there more people who have sores? The salve really helps." Marco lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, you're going to go rub people with salve, yoi?" Ace gave him a stupid look. "No, I would just give them the salve, the rubbing is left to them. That's a special treatment." Marco chuckled. "Oh, I get the special treatment, do I?" Ace just shook his head with a smile. "Of course you do, Marco. Now, off to shower with you." Marco nodded, moving to stand up, but remembering something. "Also, just a heads up, yoi. I think most of the crew are waiting to engulf you in a group hug; Izou caught on that you called us your family and I am sure he's making a whole ordeal about it." Ace gave a confused look to him. "Why would that make them react? You are my family." Marco shrugged. "You've never said it before, not so we could hear it, at least." Ace shook his head. "You are all so weird at times." Marco chuckled, he had to agree with that. They could act weird at times, especially the others.

Marco then headed to shower, feeling much better afterwards. It really did help a lot. He wasn't surprised that Ace knew how to handle this, he was good in every situation, or so he believed. He then headed out on deck, where everyone was glad to see Ace again, a few telling him how a witch had been there. Some still didn't know Ace was Ann, it was still a secret to many. So, Ace pretended to be shocked, before mentioning that he knew her too. He told everyone to just take a deep breath, and that everyone was fine, and would recover. Marco also decided not to head to Bay, knowing he would be fine from using the salve Ace had. As he was out, he noticed Ace handing the salve to another person who had sores, telling him how to use it and to give some to another person when he was done with it. Marco was really glad Ace was in their family. Izou was also glad to see Ace, and Marco was sure he wanted to bring up the whole family thing, but at the same time, he couldn't. It was Ann who had said was sure Izou was trying to figure out a way for Ace to say it again, but this time as Ace and not as Ann.

So when they were having dinner, Izou turned to Ace. "Ace, what are we?" Ace frowned. "What do you mean?" Izou motioned towards them. "We, what are we to you?" Ace still had the frown as he spoke. "You're my family. Is that what you're after?" Izou clapped his hands. "Yes!" Ace chuckled as he shook his head. "I don't get why this is such a big deal. What did you think you were?" Izou shrugged. "I don't know. Acquaintances? You've never called us family before now." Ace chuckled. "Just because I don't go around saying it every hour doesn't mean you're not my family. I know what I signed up for when I joined you. You're a family and I joined." Izou nodded. "I just like to hear it for once, you've never said where we could hear it." Haruta nodded. "I liked to hear it too. And will you take our mark? Or just stick with the markings on your clothes? I don't mind either one, just curious." Ace hummed. "If I get a tattoo, no matter what kind, but especially if it's a mark connected to someone or an organisation, it will be removed if I'm captured. I know this very well, I've seen others who have gone through it." Haruta blinked. "R-really? Why do they remove it? That's like the worst thing a person could do!" Ace nodded. "Which is why they take it away. They know it's the worst thing one can do to someone." Haruta nodded. "Okay. I get why you stick with just clothing." Ace nodded with a hum. "It's not to keep me from being a part of the family, I just know what will happen if I do. Same with Mika and Trevor. Mika had a tattoo on her shoulder, but it got removed." Everyone looked at Mika, who nodded, moving to drag her shirt so they could see her shoulder which had a circular shaped scare. "I had a flower, a lily, for my mother. But it got removed during my first capture, and it hurt a lot, so I didn't get a new one, even though I do want one." Haruta nodded. "I get it. I didn't know that was a thing." The assassins nodded, Trevor speaking. "It is very common, and we all know it. Soul had a tattoo, and it got removed too. And his was just a bird, a crow I believe. He likes crows." Everyone nodded.

It was a shame that he couldn't get their mark, but everyone seemed to understand why and Marco was sure no one would bother Ace about getting one again. The rest of the meal was full of regular chatter, speaking of different things. When dinner was over, Ace headed back to his room, and Marco stayed out on deck, overlooking those on deck duty so that no-one played hooky and ditched their duties. They were still at the island and many wanted to head to it. But as someone asked if they could go to the island, Trevor hummed. "You shouldn't. There is still an outbreak of the white plague and fungus. You should stay on the boat, so that we don't get more people infected." That was true and a good point, and Marco repeated it so everyone could hear, and while a few were disappointed, they understood it.

They departed the island the next day, and Marco felt slightly better. The salve had helped greatly; Ace kindly gave him a refill of it. And after a few days, he was perfectly fine again, just as Ace had said. He didn't doubt Ace, but he didn't expect it to pass so quickly. Since he was feeling better, he had tried for a kiss, but Ace said they would need to wait for another two days, to be sure the sickness was gone. It could linger for a few extra days. And Marco accepted that. When the extra days had passed, he was finally allowed to kiss Ace again, and didn't waste any time. When they parted, Ace chuckled. "Well, I have certainly missed that." Marco gave a chuckle himself. "Same here. Am I healthy now?" Ace nodded. "You are, or should be. If not, I will start showing signs soon, and I really hope not." Marco hoped for the same himself.

The next few days went by fine, and Ace didn't catch it, which was good. Everyone else had recovered too, no one else showing signs wondered how they had believed the woman was a witch so quickly. Marco didn't believe in witches, or the supernatural, but he had just gone with the flow. Things were fine, thankfully, and that was what mattered.

-x-

Whitebeard sat out on deck as they were moving towards a new island. It was a neutral one, it was close to one of their islands to the south. They had thought of visiting it before, but never had the time, but they had now. But as they were heading towards the island, Whitebeard moved to look at Trevor, glad when no one was close by. "Trevor, I have a question about Ace. You don't need to answer though." The man nodded and the captain continued. "I asked if he had an outlet other than alcohol or drugs, and he mentioned he did fight for a while, but it made things worse. How so?" Trevor let out a breath. "That period... The reason is that Ace got so damn violent. The fighting was a fight until someone was down for the count, often dead. He even got violent with us. We had to ban him from training for months, until he winded down. He almost killed a few of us. Ace can't have fighting as an outlet because of that. A few of us do it, but Ace really can't." Whitebeard nodded, he got it. "How old was he?" Trevor sighed. "17." Okay, so it was some years ago. "How violent did he get?" Trevor sighed. "In a calm battle, he kicked someone's nose in, a piece of the nose broke off and went down into his lung, he almost died. It takes a lot of effort to do that. And it was just a practice run. I don't want Ace fighting like that, no matter how much it helped, it made things bad for the rest of us, he was so damn violent." Whitebeard nodded. He didn't want Ace, who was stronger than all of them, to get violent. If Trevor was so against it, and his words were always truthful, then it was bad. Ace is training with them now and then, but they couldn't handle a violent Ace. He wouldn't bring it up with Ace again. He wishes that Ace had another outlet, but not one like that.

When they were docked a couple of hours later, they disembarked on the island, a small town with a huge fence around it. As they walked along the dock, to see if they could find someone to speak with and see if it was possible to restock on a few things, a few people came out of a house and headed for them. When she was close and he was about to ask, Ace moved forward to hug one of the women. "Hello, Alice. How are you?" The woman, Alice, chuckled. "I'm just fine. I heard from the news that you had joined those pirates, a bit of a shock." Ace chuckled too, moving away from the woman. "I can imagine. We're staying for a couple of days." The woman clapped her hands. "Why don't I call the rest and we can arrange some festivities. You've been such a huge help around here." Whitebeard watched as Ace nodded, the woman heading into the house again and Ace towards the fence. "Ace, have you been here before?" Ace nodded as he moved to open a door in the fence, chuckling. "Yeah, I've been here a few times." The captain wasn't too surprised, Ace had been mostly everywhere around the world, his powers and occupation making it possible.

He saw some movement a bit to the side, behind the fence and heard some rustling noises, some kind of animal was moving towards them. Vista recognized it first, it was a lion moving through the fence, directly towards Ace. "Ace! Watch out!" As Vista got the words out, all of them moving to try and help, but the lion had already jumped on Ace. But instead of the sharp teeth biting down, the lion moved its head to be over Ace's shoulder, paws around Ace as Ace hugged the lion. "Hi, my cutie. How are you?" All of them blinked. Ace knew the lion? Before they could react, another lion came through the fence, also jumping on Ace. "Ah, no, I can't hold the two of you up!" None of the lions let go and Ace fell down to the ground, sighing. The lions then moved to stand so that Ace could sit back up, petting the two lions. One was male and had an impressive mane while the other was female, lacking a mane. Both were huge, each being around Vista's size.

Trevor chuckled, an eyebrow lifted at them. "Oh, come on. Don't be so surprised! It's Ace! Of course he has lion friends!" That was true. Trevor walked towards the three, petting the female lion. "You are a cutie though." Whitebeard have never seen tame lions. Ace chuckled as he stood up, moving a hand to pet the male lion, before looking at them. "Trevor's right. I think it would be more surprising if I didn't have lion friends. This is Rex," Ace then moved to the female lion. "And this is Boonya. She's the calm one, but also the strongest. Rex is a bit temperamental at times." Trevor nodded. "He is. The reason I ain't gonna pet him. They are still wild animals, they're not tameable like dogs." Whitebeard nodded. It was shocking to see Ace so friendly with the lions, but it was Ace after all. They then moved to sit down around a used bonfire, guessing they would have the festivities there. A few people had come out and joined them, talk erupted and the general mood was a happy one. Ace was sitting a bit away with the two lions, who were lying with him.

It was an hour later that the bonfire was lit, everyone cheering. The inhabitants seemed glad to be able to light it and he guessed it was only lit when they had visitors. It wasn't a big island, so he could guess that not that many people stopped here. It was an hour later that Jens came up to him. "Um, Pops? I wanted to speak with Commander Ace, but he's kinda surrounded by lions, and to be frank, that's scary." Whitebeard looked up and saw Ace sitting a bit to the side still, leaning against a lion which was laying down behind him, whilst the other one, the male, lay next to Ace with his head on his lap. He could see why that would be a bit intimidating, even though the captain was sure the lions wouldn't attack any of them, not while Ace was around. Before he could ask Jens what he wanted, Trevor spoke. "Which is a perfectly normal fear; you should stay away from lions. Ace is just special. What is it you wanted to speak with Bunny about? I can deliver the message, if you want." Jens nodded and started to speak with Trevor. It was good Trevor had spoken up, he was going to be a good step in for Ace when he was training, gone for work, or if things became too much for him. Everyone needed to get used to going to Trevor and Mika too. He should tell everyone again that Trevor and Mika were here as step-in commanders. They did work themselves, but they hadn't been working much lately. Ace hadn't been training much lately either, so he guessed Ace would be training more again soon. He had a team now, so he could work less, which would be good for everyone. Ace did work a lot and he would need a break from it.

It was an hour later that Ace left, getting a note and he guessed it was a request for Ace to go and train. As Ace was gone, Whitebeard saw Rex walking beside a rock a few hours later, along a small path, almost circling the field. The female lion wasn't around them now as Ace had left, but Rex still was. Whitebeard knew his children were still weary of the lions, and the captain had to say he was a bit himself, knowing it was a carnivorous animal who regularly attacked humans. As Trevor had said, the lions weren't tame, they just trusted Ace and wouldn't attack him or those around him. That made him feel uncertain if the lion would attack them now that Ace wasn't here. The lion did seem to be walking away from them, but always in close proximity to them, most likely waiting for Ace to return.

Lions were elegant creatures, and he understood why Ace liked them, and why the lions liked Ace in return. He was someone who bonded with the animal on their own terms, not his. Ace was fine with the animal still hunting and being carnivorous, as long as they did not eat or attack those he was around. Trevor said that in the start, when Ace was around Rex, the male lion had tried to stand up to Ace by roaring and trying to charge at him. But Ace stood his ground and roared back, somehow winning the respect of the male lion. And Whitebeard had to say, even though Ace was a human- something the lions regularly attacked- having Ace roar back must have been terrifying, even for a lion. Whitebeard has never heard Ace raise his voice, which he was thankful for, and was sure that would be terrifying and hoped it never would happen.

As Rex walked another circuit of the field, coming around the corner of the rock, he saw Ace following a few feet behind, sneaking up on the lion. Ace had his hands outstretched and was placing his feet down carefully. When the dark-haired kid was close enough, he placed his hands on the lion to spook him. Rex gave a small growl as he jumped forward and to his side, landing on his back legs with his left paw out to strike. Ace was laughing as Rex gave a small sound, obviously not liking being spooked. Rex then stood up with a small growl, moving away from them, Ace giving another laugh.

"Aw, you going to pout, Rex?" The lion just walked on, before lying down next to a tree, back to them. Ace chuckled as he moved to sit down beside Trevor and Marco. Trevor gave a look to Ace. "What would you have done if he had fricking clawed you?" Ace shrugged. "Then he would have clawed me. But, a scared lion will usually jump away when scared, to get away from the threat." Trevor just shook his head, taking a sip of his sakè, offering some up to Ace, which he took.

They then sat and chatted, enjoying the day. It was about half an hour after Ace had sat down that Rex came over, making a few move a bit away although Trevor and Marco sat still. Rex moved his head against Ace's in a nuzzling way, probably a way to say he wasn't mad at Ace. The lion then laid down between Ace and Trevor. Trevor gave a small sound to Ace. "Naw. Can I nuzzle you too?" Ace lifted an eyebrow at Trevor. "Why, just why, would you want to nuzzle me?" Trevor shrugged. "It's cute. Rex is allowed to nuzzle you." Ace snorted. "Rex is a lion, that's what they do. You're not a lion; I don't want you to nuzzle me." Trevor gave a half hurt look. "Naw, come on! I'm sure if birdy boy did it, you would be okay with it!" Ace lifted an eyebrow at Trevor again. "Again, why would he do that?" Trevor shrugged. "I don't know. He's a bird, they nuzzle." Marco gave a small nod. "Never felt the need to nuzzle anyone, though, yoi." Ace shook his head a bit with a chuckle, having an amused smile as he looked at Trevor. "You know what, I would be okay if Marco nuzzled me." Trevor looked hurt as he whined. "Aww! I want to! You're mean! No one should be allowed if I can't!" Ace shrugged. "That's life." Trevor gave a small pout. "You're no fun. You're just stoic and stern all the time."

Marco gave a small chuckle to that, giving a look to Trevor. "You know what, yoi? I think Ace is a lot more romantic than you think. Just not as out in the open about it. You know, romantic dates, dinners, gestures, and such, yoi." Trevor blinked, looking at Ace who nodded, before Trevor whined. "No! Don't say that! I want Ace to be romantic with me too! It's unfair!" Ace lifted an eyebrow at Trevor. "Last time I checked, I was in a relationship with Marco, not you." Trevor gave a pout. "Still unfair!" Whitebeard could have guessed that Ace was more romantic than he looked, at least in private around Marco. The captain already knew Ace was a caring person, especially for his brothers, and others he had a connection with. Izou gave a frown to Trevor. "How can you say that? I thought you and Mika were a thing now?" That was true, and Mika shrugged, taking a sip of her cup. "I learned long ago that I can never compare to the way Trevor loves Ace, and vice versa. Those two have their own thing." Marco nodded. "Yeah, she's right, yoi. Even I know I can never compete with the way they love each other. And, everyone needs someone special in their lives, as a friend." That was true, everyone needed that. Whitebeard was glad Ace had Trevor and vice versa. He still remembers when Trevor first showed up, how he had been sure if having him around was a good idea for Ace, but he was glad he had let him stay.

When evening came, it was full of drinking and fun, everyone being jolly, even those who lived on the island. They had said they could restock tomorrow. He saw Marco, Ace, Trevor, and Mika sitting a bit to the side, enjoying some booze between themselves. They weren't too fond of huge parties and had their own little one. They let them have their fun. Everyone of his children, aside from the assassins, Marco, and those on watch, got drunk beyond reason, which was normal for them. They knew how to party. Whitebeard did get somewhat tipsy himself, but he didn't get too drunk, as he doesn't like doing that on islands they didn't control. When the next day came, most were harboring a headache and hangover. Whitebeard just had a small headache but was able to oversee the restocking. After it was done, they stayed for another day, having another huge party. Ace was a bit away with his lions every now and then, Marco daring to join them every other time. Marco was safe after all:he was a phoenix and even if he was attacked, he would just regenerate.

When they set sail, it was a silent affair, everyone still hungover, save for a few. It had been a good set of days.

-x-

Ace stood out on deck, when Izou came over to him. "Hey, Ace, I finished the outfit for you, I think." Ace nodded. "Great. Shall we go try it?" Izou nodded. "We should." They then headed to Izou's room. When they got there, Ace was quickly handed the clothes to try on. When he had it on, he felt content, especially when he looked in the mirror. The outfit consisted of a shirt with a long and high neckline, and full sleeves, and pants, all in the same deep red color. This would look perfect once he puts his mask, gloves, shoes, cape and weapons on. It was perfect, maybe even better than his old one, this one fits a bit better, he felt like. He got the old one when he was growing still, so this fit much better. When he looked closer, he noticed that the buttons on the shirt were all in the shape of spades. That was a nice touch. "It is amazing, Izou. It fits just perfect." Izou nodded. "It looks good on you. It really does. I hope it looks like your old one." Ace nodded. "It does, but this one fits better. This will be my new assassin outfit. This is also the outfit most remember." Izou clapped his hands. "I'm so glad you like it! I'm glad I managed to pull it off." Ace chuckled. "I knew you'd manage. You're good with clothes. The fabric is also just right." Izou nodded. "I picked one that feels a bit like a mixture of leather and cotton, it is a bit thicker and more wind resilient." Ace nodded. "I feel that. This will be perfect for my work." Izou clapped his hands again. "Perfect! I am so glad you like it!" Ace really did like then went and put the outfit in his room, and when he got an assignment a couple hours later, he went to dress looking in the mirror again. He looked perfect. It was a shade darker, more tailored to his build and with the cape and all his equipment, it looked even better. He liked this clothes much better than his other outfit. Why he has chosen it was beyond him at the moment. He liked sleeker clothing with less components better. It would be great to do an assignment in them, he was looking forward to it.

-x-

Law arrived at the island Luffy was staying on, having been away for a couple weeks now. He wanted to see how Luffy was. His tongue was still hurting, but it was better and he managed to mostly speak without issue. He hadn't seen any signs of Luffy's brother, which was good. It meant he hadn't messed up again, he had acted right in visiting Luffy a couple weeks ago, and he would keep it up. When he got on the island, Luffy was suddenly latched around him before he could react, just like last time. Luffy leaned back after a few seconds. "How is your tongue doing?" Law nodded. "Better." Luffy nodded. "Good, good. Have you seen Ace?" Law shook his head and Luffy let out a breath. "That's good. I spoke with him last week, he wondered how I was doing and I said I was fine but that I was mad that he had hurt you." Law swallowed with that, but Luffy shook his head. "No, you're fine. He would have visited you if he was unhappy. Just, be calm when you see him." Law blinked. "See him?" Luffy nodded. "He's dropping by today. I asked if he could bring me something." Law swallowed. He was screwed. The assassin would come by and see him and regret not killing him. Luffy smiled at him. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Ace is happy with you. Well, not happy, but sort of okay with you. You're on his good side again." Law really hoped so. And Luffy's smile made something stir inside him. There was something about Luffy in general that really made his body feel weird.

Law wasn't sure if he should stay on the island or not, seeing as Ace would be coming. But before he could make a decision, a voice spoke to his right. "Lu," Law swallowed, he knew that voice, and turned towards it, seeing Ace there. Luffy shot over to him. "Ace!" Ace chuckled. "Hey, I got what you wanted." Ace then held a bag out for Luffy, who took it with a smile. "Thank you!" Ace chuckled. "Now, go back to training, after you're done speaking with Trafalgar. Rayleigh is looking for you." Luffy nodded. "I will. We'll be done soon." Ace nodded. "Good. Now, be nice, Lu." Luffy nodded and Ace sent a look at him, making him swallow. "Trafalgar." Ace said with a nod, and Law nodded back. "Ace-ya." It still really hurt to speak, but he needed to. Ace was then gone within a cloud of black smoke. When he was gone, Luffy turned to him. "See, told you it would go fine. You're on his good side." Law nodded, it seemed Luffy was right. "Okay, Luffy-ya, you were right." Luffy then nodded, before he looked behind himself, and then back at him. "I need to leave now. I need to train. Come see me later tonight? When I'm done training?" Law nodded, he could do that. Luffy then shot off again, so Law went back to his boat, telling Corazon about what had happened - how he had seen Ace and they were back to be acquaintances, or at least that's what it seemed like. He hoped they were acquaintances again. He also said he would head back to the island again later tonight, when Luffy was done training, which the man said fine to. He could watch the boat, and the crew whilst he was gone.

When Law moved on to the island later, he managed to reach the city before Luffy suddenly appeared, dragging him to a house, and telling him that he was staying there with Rayleigh. When they got into the house, Luffy said Rayleigh would be gone for a while, and before Law could question that, Law found himself suddenly pulled inside Luffy's bedroom. "Why are we here, Luffy-ya?" Luffy gave a look to him that had his stomach flutter. "I want to have sex again!" Law blinked. Luffy said what? "No, we can't, Luffy-ya." He couldn't, he had just gotten back on Ace's good side and didn't want to mess up again. Luffy pouted. "But, I wanna do it!" Okay, Law did himself, he liked Luffy, but could he? Maybe... if they talked about it first. "Okay. We can do it. But first, how-!" Law didn't get more out as Luffy basically tackled him onto bed and started undressing him. Law just went with it at the start, but soon he took charge, Luffy seeming to like that. If he was going to die, he would at least die satisfied. When they were done an hour later, both lay sweaty and out of breath in the bed, Luffy chucking. "That was amazing. I like this." Law nodded. "I can live with this, Luffy-ya. As long as I am alive that is." Luffy waved his hand. "No, Ace won't hurt you. I am allowed to have sex, I am an adult!" That was true, Luffy was 18. He should be able to live his life. "And," Continued Luffy. "Ace just has to deal with that. He can't baby me forever. He's just so overprotective." Law nodded. The older brother was overprotective, that painfully was clear. He had met his wrath once, and that was Ace going easy on him. He had read about what the assassin had done to his victims, and Law had to agree he had been lucky. He should be dead, but Luffy had saved him. He actually owed his life to Luffy, not that he would tell that to the brat.

Luffy then looked over at a clock. "You need to leave soon. Raily will be back soon." Law nodded, he would leave before the man came back. But before he left, he moved closer to Luffy and connected their lips, quickly deepening the kiss, Luffy responding to it and did the same. He really had gotten better at kissing. When they parted a minute later, Luffy was flustered, and it had Law chuckling. Luffy could be cute. "I should go now, Luffy-ya." Luffy nodded, using a few seconds to gather himself, before he followed him out, giving a goodbye to him as he left. Luffy hoped that they would meet again soon, which Law hoped for himself. He just prayed it would be without the older brother coming after him.

-x-

Whitebeard sat in the galley with his children, all of them speaking about various things. He heard Mika and Ace speaking about a list, and gathered it was about the list the assassins had. But, Haruta seemed curious. "Who's on the list? If we can know." Ace seemed to think for a couple of seconds, before he nodded. "You can know. You may hear something about them and you can tell us. Let's see, let me get a parchment." Ace moved to grab one, before he started to write down names. "It goes from worst to least, although they are all still bad. But the first ones are the worst. If you know them, you need to tell us, as these are people who need to die." All of them nodded, Izou speaking first. "Who is the worst? How many are there on the list?" Ace hummed. "Right now, there are 37 people. The first five are Hidalgo Harout, Heidi Hannah, Gennady Garno, Sari Sabine, and Jarl Jasmine." Izou blinked. "Why do the first and last names start with the same letters? Thatch's doesn't." Ace shrugged. "He's just a noble. These aren't just nobles, they are abominations that shouldn't be allowed to live anymore. They view themselves as being higher than a noble. They like to keep a constant repetition of identical initials. Thatch's family all begin with the letter T, so there are some similarities between them and nobles. But these are the worst of the worst, and many change their names to keep up the same letter. It's a trademark they have and want to keep. They think they're above everyone else." Everyone nodded.

The next days went by fine, Ace being gone now and then, due to a mix of training and work, but nothing special happening. It was a day later that Whitebeard sat in the meeting room, almost all of his commanders there, just Ace missing. Ace was supposed to be back half an hour ago, but they hadn't seen him yet. Ace knew about the meeting and had said he would be back before it started. He was about to ask Trevor what they should do, if they should make a call, when the door opened and Ann came through. "I'm sorry I am late, but here I am." Ann then moved to sit down on an empty chair. As she was seated, Izou spoke. "What's on your arms?" Whitebeard blinked, turning to look at Ann's hands, seeing some sort of drawings there. "Oh," Started Ann. "It's called Henna. It is to bring prosperity and chase away evil." Izou nodded, and then Haruta spoke. "I've seen that before. Aren't those made for brides?" Ann shook her head. "No, that's Mehndi. It is close but they are different markings. This is just to show you're cared for and to bring prosperity and chase away evil. It's just an ornament for your hands, think of it like it's a kind of jewellery." Everyone nodded, including Haruta. "Makes sense. I remember I saw a bride having it once. It was really beautiful." Ann nodded. "It is, and when I do get married, I will get a Mehndi. I like them." Haruta blinked. "You will? Can I join you?" Ann nodded. "You can. We can speak more about it when we know when the wedding will happen." Haruta nodded. "Thank you." Ann nodded, waving her hand. "It's nothing. Also, I am staying onboard the ship for as long as this stays on." Ann motioned to the drawings, the Henna. "Most of these Henna are drawn for females. So I will work much less as I want it to stay on for as long as possible. This is why I created a team, so I can work less at times. It will also stay on for about a week to 10 days." Whitebeard nodded. That meant Ace would be Ann for a week or so. They could handle that. They could tell the others that Ace is away on some business. Haruta then frowned. "But you will get it when you get married? Aren't they for brides only? Will you be getting married as Ann?" Ann shook her head. "No, I will marry as Ace. And it is for both males and females alike. More commonly seen on females, but many males use it too." Haruta nodded, it made sense.

They then had the meeting, which went fine, nothing unusual happening, so it was over after just an hour. When it was over, they all headed out again, Whitebeard informing everyone Ann would be with them for some days, while Ace was away. Everyone had seen Ann around and accepted it, a few did look at Ann in curiosity. Many had gotten used to her, but many were still unsure and a few did ask him about it. The captain simply said she would just stay for a bit. A few also knew about her reputation and kept their distance from her, a couple bringing it up that she was known as a siren. The captain said that might be true, but she was welcome on the boat, and that she was a part of their family now. She had declared that earlier. Everyone did seem to accept it, even though a few were a bit reluctant to be around the woman. He did also tell everyone she wouldn't be staying on the boat at all times, but she would drop by when she could, having things she needed to do.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it

I hope it was good

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