Author's Notes: Alrighty, so good news again. I see there is some interest in the political/training aspect of this. Good to know. I will dedicate this next chapter to fukuzawas_cats, Krokkelcie, Taihooo, and all of my early supporters who I missed. I don't think I ever gave y'all a proper shoutout, and I don't want y'all to feel left out. To rectify this, we give the proper shoutouts. ;-D For this next clip, we'll make it cute as an experiment.

~ ... The Day We Called Him Out ... ~

Ace and the Masked Deuce were leaving the Ferris wheel to return to the ship after speaking with Isuka alone for a little while. The three had come to terms with their friendship and ways of life before saying goodbye. Though Ace was as cheerful as ever, Deuce felt something... was different. His captain seemed relieved about something, but a spot of worry crossed his unreadable eyes for a brief moment. Something was off. Just as Deuce was about to ask Ace what was up, the captain froze up and gasped lightly. There was a man dressed in the privateer's uniform running to the docks!

"Hey, Ace! Where ya goin'?" Deuce called, reaching out to him but bolting after him when he was a decent distance away.

He didn't know what was going on until Ace and Deuce spotted a large brigantine ship being loaded up for departure. There weren't very many men handling the cargo due to pulley systems and machines handling most of the brunt work, but there were plenty of apprentices or low-ranking officers hustling about judging from the uniforms. No one could see the captain of the ship. Ace visibly frowned with anger as he stomped towards the vessel. Somewhere on that ship was his former crewmate, Nesi Llandala, and with her was more than likely Pieter van der Does, the bastard who took her away for training! Eyes narrowed like he had tunnel vision; Ace didn't even realize that two of his crewmates were approaching him. They stood in the way to stop him. Discount and Banshee directed their captain to the side with a nod, making Ace turn his attention to them. When he saw his beloved ship, he looked back at his crewmates in silence.

"She's not on that ship, cap. Different group of people," Discount informed. "The flags are different."

"How do you know I wasn't planning on a prank?" Ace asked, smirking mischievously.

"Kid, you looked like an angry bull about to charge at it," Banshee said, erasing the smirk off Ace's face. "The brat's not there. We just checked. The captain was another man. You wouldn't recognize him."

"Let's just get the hell outta here," Deuce said cheerfully to lighten Ace's mood. When he felt the captain's shoulders stiffen underneath his hand, his own smile erased and his mood changed. He walked around his captain to look into his face and asked, "Did you... want to see Nee-san or something?"

"Sure, he does! He misses her!" the mermaid auntie replied, making Ace's eyes shrink and his cheeks blush very lightly.

"I mean if you were able to get close to that ship, you can ask where Nesi is or how her training is going," Deuce said, folding his arms. He didn't see what the problem was.

"We did," Discount informed, making Ace look at him. "The captain had some woman speak in his place. She said Nesi was doing great. She's passed a series of tests flawlessly. The marines definitely don't like her, but they are curious. They've been raiding her stuff for some kind of chest she has. The woman thinks they're trying to figure out how to break her."

Ace was about to take off towards the ship at that bit, but Deuce stopped him in time and said, "Easy, cap! There's nothing you can do here. She's not on that ship."

"She's at a military base anyway," Banshee informed, smirking knowingly at the teen. "Those ships don't just float around on seas without purpose and they're rare to find in large numbers or at docks. It's only docked here now because they're moving a base of operations to a new location. That lady couldn't tell us where, but she did mention it was for a serious reason. That's why the captain's focus is limited to what's going on, but he did want to meet us. You did a good job, captain!"

"Huh?" Ace questioned, raising a brow.

"'Whatever you did to train her, keep it up with any other apprentice you find!'" Discount said proudly, chest poked out. "Nee-san might be a rookie soldier, but she's 'one of the best'! Words from that lady herself on behalf of the captain."

"Then she's..." Ace whispered to himself, smiling softly at the memory of his floor scrubber. "Really... alright."

"Mhm..." Banshee hummed, eyes sparkling at her captain's reaction.

Deuce exchanged glances between her and Discount and asked, "What's... going on?"

"Just waiting on something," Banshee said. "Did that marine girl take off already?"

"Yeah?" Deuce replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"She's not coming with?" Banshee asked.

"No," Ace answered, trying to figure out what the mermaid auntie was prying for.

Discount took out an apple and knife before asking, "How come?"

"She's set on being a marine. On the plus side, she might meet Nesi while she's training. She's a good friend to have," Deuce said optimistically.

"Nesi's a bratty thing, but she's different. You already knew that, though, didn't you?" Banshee asked, locking eyes with Ace.

He got quiet and swallowed thickly before snapping out of the pressure he was feeling and arguing, "She's just some - !"

"Nah, she ain't," Discount interrupted, cutting a slice of his fruit and eating it. "Took us a minute to figure it out, but she's not just some floor scrubber. I thought it was weird when those lovey dovey pirates kept giving you weird gifts, but Captain Schooner is way too smart... Those gifts were intentional."

"Ooohhh... you mean Nesi's different different," Deuce said with a slow nod.

"What's that mean!?" Ace argued, exchanging glances at his crewmates.

"You might have a crush on the floor scrubber, Ace," Deuce explained plainly. "You looked relieved earlier when we left Isuka just now. I thought it was weird, but that makes sense."

"I don't have a crush on Nesi! I don't have a crush on anyone! That's lame!" Ace argued.

"That right?" Banshee asked, smiling widely. "You don't feel a single thing for any girl you know? Not even a little bit?"

"You're a girl and we're friends! What's the difference between you and anyone else?" Ace questioned with sharp teeth and demon eyes.

"I dunno. What is the difference between Banshee and the other girls you know?" Discount asked, biting another fruit slice.

"Nothing! Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Ace demanded with a roar.

"Well, what is the difference between Isuka and Banshee?" Deuce asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"She's younger for one," Ace replied, turning away from an angry Banshee. "She's a marine for two. I don't like or care about marines. They're nothing but a bunch of bullies. She just so happens to be the unlucky one of the bunch. Her hero was her family's killer. She's gotta get over that revelation first. Not to mention she might need to re-evaluate wanting to be a marine. While she's nice, she can be manipulated and too naive. That's dangerous around certain pirates. If she toughened up a bit, she might make a good pirate. She's got the moxie and a strong will. I dunno much about being a justice fighter, but she's a fighter and seems smart enough."

"Interesting..." Discount said, smirking. "What's the difference between Nesi and Banshee?"

"One's a better cook," Ace remarked, looking away from an angrier Banshee. "Look, I dunno what you're getting at, but we don't have time for this."

"There is a difference between them, isn't there?" Discount asked, unmoved by Ace trying to change the subject. "Forget about age or species. Forget about the marines. Forget about pirates. What is the difference?"

Ace didn't say anything for a while. He couldn't say anything for a while. As much as he hated to admit it, there was a difference between Isuka and Nesi. There was a difference between Banshee and Nesi. Part of it had a lot to do with what he saw in Nesi at her home island. When he first laid eyes on Nesi, she was a ghost on a shopping trip with some kids. She may have smiled at them, but that smile was so empty. When the marines labelled her as worthless, there was a fire inside of her that was begging to be let out. Even as she was being beaten up brutally, she got back up multiple times to gather her things no matter how hard the kicks or slaps were. No matter how thick the spit, she took the beating without a single word escaping her lips. In Nesi, he saw himself. He saw his marine instructor beating him down until he won out of sheer willpower. He saw his old man, Garp, yelling at him to stop trying to be a marine. He saw Dadan telling him how alike he was to his father, a man he never knew with a legendary status he risked the chance of not being able to use. He saw Makino telling him that being a pirate would be hard and that he should turn to something else. He saw everything he had ever gone through... in Nesi's downsizing. He didn't just fight for her safety. He was fighting doubt in himself.

The difference between Nesi and Isuka - aside from the marine status - was that Nesi didn't have a hero. She had herself. She wasn't looking for change because there was a group of changers at home. She was doing it because she was tired of living a life disadvantaged, ignored, and fragile, and she was the only one willing to take that fight as high up as she had to. The burst of haki that came from her... showed just how strong that desire to end suffering really was. As scared as those kids were, they kept running to her side and she kept defending them or shielding them from being beaten up. Yes, Nesi and Isuka wanted to fight for justice, but Nesi was taking her fight to a level Isuka probably would never be able to reach within the short amount of time Nesi had.

The other part of things was... well... Nesi was a rival in a way. She challenged Ace and the "brain trust" often when she studied. They butt heads a lot for a reason. She wasn't being disrespectful towards Ace, but she did question his logic and bounced ideas off him. The texts and plans Pieter also sent her way made her harder to challenge. Eventually, Ace would have dismantled the "brain trust" and formed a consultation group instead. Whatever she needed to learn as a privateer, she was learning too quickly. Even with Garp's advice, he could barely keep up with her, so he compromised. Studying with her helped him improve on being a leader. He looked for benefits to ideas and consequences following, reviewed the bookkeeping sheets Nesi had, and...

Admired her from afar...

She was a good rival to have. She had gotten better in combat. She was smart. She learned to be graceful, politically adept, and philosophical all while remaining sweet, calm, and a bit mischievous. She may not have gone on many adventures, but... she made a home to come back to when they were over. It was comforting having that space where you could download for the day. Maybe Isuka could've done the same with time, but... Ace wasn't sure it'd be the same.

"That," Deuce replied, pointing to Ace's face. "Only Nesi can make you quiet like that."

"You're so lame," Discount joked, finishing off his fruit and leading the way to the Spadille.