Author's Note: Hello! This is actually an updated version of the original chapter, so don't be confused when things don't exactly line up in the next few chapters. And don't worry; the other two will also be updated to better align with this one! So, Enjoy!

Chapter One:

The Silver-Haired Thief Appears!

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes as he watched the blue eyed and brown haired chef argue with the butcher. They had been standing here arguing for well over twenty minutes; long enough for him to forget how it even started. He groaned frustratedly, then proceeded to grab the younger boy by the collar and drag him away from the butcher. It was bad enough that they were late, but they didn't even get what they came for! The boy turned slightly and gave Ace a confused look.

"You've done enough Allen; we should probably leave now." He said as he continued to pull Allen away from the now dispersing crowd.

"But... But...!" He started, but was cut off with a sharp glare.

"No buts! We need to get back to the ship, *now*." Ace said. Allen released a large sigh, then proceeded to pout. Ace ignored him, but let go of him and continued walking. Allen quickened his pace and soon matched Ace's.

"You know, Thatch is going to be mad because we didn't bring anything back..." Allen said. Ace turned to Allen and grabbed his cheeks, then pulled them repeatedly.

"And whose fault do you think this is?!" Ace yelled angrily at him. Allen couldn't respond, as his cheeks were being stretched out beyond their limits. Finally, Ace let go, and the two continued their walk to the docks. Occasionally they stopped and looked into the shops, seeing if there was something else on their long list of supplies that they needed to get, so that they at least returned with something. It was only when there was a loud explosion did the two stop walking and look towards the noise.

To their surprise, a short girl with medium length, lavender hair and light blue green eyes jumped out of the remaining dust. She was wearing a white, button-up vest, blue jean Capri pants, and black running shoes. Her dark skin contrasted the smattering of dust she'd been covered in, and she haphazardly began brushing it off as she took off down the street, getting as far away from the scene as possible. That was when she made eye contact with them, and immediately rushed towards them. Allen and Ace looked at each other before looking at the girl approaching them. Soon she reached them, and quick as lightning, she pulled Ace into a hug, burying her head in his chest. This surprised the two pirates, causing the older one to look down in confusion and the younger one to blush slightly.

"Ace, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" Allen yelled accusingly. Ace began to wave his arms around rapidly, the entire situation overwhelming him.

"I don't! I have no idea who this girl is! Hey, who the hell-" Ace started, but was stopped by a pair of lips covering his own. Allen's face turned completely red, and he hid it in his hands. Ace felt his own cheeks getting hotter as his mind dimly tried to register what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four buff looking men exit from the now settling cloud of dust. They had minor wounds and bruises all over them, but their faces were completely twisted in anger and hatred. Ace assumed they were pirates, but minor pirates at that; none of their faces were recognizable.

"Damn that woman! I swear when I get my hands on her she's gonna regret messing with me!" A particularly muscular guy spat venomously. Ace assumed this guy was the captain, from the torn jacket to the holes in the authoritative hat he was wearing. "Contact the others! Find that bitch and bring her to me!" The men grunted an agreement and split up, searching the town for the woman crazy enough to anger them.

By this time, the strange girl had stopped kissing Ace, and again had her face pressed against his chest. It only took a second for Ace to put two and two together. He gently pulled the girl away from him and looked her in the eyes. She couldn't hold his gaze for long, and quickly looked away. Ace frowned slightly, not liking the situation he was in one bit. He then noticed that the girl was trembling slightly, causing his expression to soften a bit. The poor girl was probably scared out of her mind from pissing off some pirates...

His entire theory was completely shattered when she kneed him in the gut, causing him to lose his grip. She then began to run away, but not before turning around and waving a wad of Beris. *His* Beris. The girl gave a mischievous grin before lifting her other hand and waving something around. The something was orange, and had a ring of red beads going around it. There were two small blue medals sitting on the ends of the ring. On one of the medals was a grinning face; the other had a frowning one.

It only took seconds for Ace to realize she had his hat in her grip. Anger boiled up in him, and his face contorted into anger. Who did this girl think she was?! Did she really believe she'd make it out of this alive?! Ace could see that the girl had a confident look in her eyes, and didn't seem to be scared of the death glare Ace was giving her. Then she did the unthinkable.

She put his hat on.

That was the last straw for Ace, and he immediately rushed towards the girl. His entire body became shrouded in flames, only fueled further by his anger.

"Fire Fist!"

The flames left his hand and continued forward in a wild column. The girl didn't move from her position; one could say that she was in fact, relaxed.

The pillar finally enclosed the girl in its fiery body. Ace waited for the screams of agony to erupt from the girl, but he heard none. Soon the fire died down, leaving nothing behind but burning cinders. A wave of disappointment hit Ace as he realized that he might have burned his hat with the girl. Ace let out a sigh of frustration, when he suddenly sensed something behind him.

"Ace, watch out!" Allen cried out from behind him. *Too late,* Ace realized as he saw a knee from the corner of his eye. He didn't have time to turn into fire and burn the attacker, so he took the attack. He was surprised at how strong the attack was, and it actually managed to knock him off of his feet. Ace flew back, and vaguely registered slamming through a wall. He could hear Allen's muffled yell, followed by a choked sound. This caused Ace to jump up and run out, only to see the girl suffocating him... with her chest?

Allen's face was completely red to his ears. If possible, there was smoke coming off of his face. Ace looked at the thieving girl and saw that she was squealing with delight. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, and she was muttering something to herself as she clutched Allen's head. Ace couldn't make out what it was, but he knew it was probably bad. So without any hesitation, he charged towards the girl. When he got into striking range, he made sure to aim straight for her face to end this foolishness.

At the last moment, the girl tilted her head to the left, making his fist completely miss. Ace grit his teeth together, then swung his right fist towards the girl's side. She sidestepped, then kicked Ace's legs out from underneath him. Ace vaguely realized she had still been holding Allen the entire time, not letting him land a single blow.

"Your defense is weak," she said as she leaned over him. Ace scowled at her, and she smiled mischievously. "But your freckles are cute~" her statement caused a slight blush to bloom on Ace's cheeks, and he scowled even further at her.

"Shut up! Give me back my hat and my money!" Ace demanded, and the girl pouted slightly. If he wasn't upset, he would've found it cute. Too bad for this girl; he wasn't showing any mercy towards her. *Nobody* messes with his hat.

"What's the magic word~?" She said in a sing-song tone.

"Or you'll burn to your death~!" He answered in the same tone the girl used. The girl pouted even more, obviously not liking his answer. Her pout made her look very young, and Ace began to consider her age. "How old are you anyway? Thirteen?" The girl's pout turned into a legitimate frown, and Ace smirked. He had found her sore spot.

"I'm nineteen, if you must know." The girl said with a hard edge to her voice. It promised a world of pain if he decided to continue on the topic. This made Ace's smirk widen even more, and the girl's frown to deepen.

"Oh really? Nineteen? Because to me, it looks like you're not even thirteen yet."

"Shut up." She hissed out.

"For all I know, you could be stuffing your bra to make yourself look older. Hell, you could even be ten, and I wouldn't know!"

"I said *shut up*."

"I bet puberty hasn't hit you yet! Instead of stealing, you need to be playing with dolls and stuffed animals!"

The girl let out an angered cry and thrust both of her hands forward, dropping the now passed out Allen on the ground. Ace didn't realize what was happening before it was too late. An enormous *something* had smacked him and knocked him off of his feet again. He was sent flying backwards until he landed harshly on the ground. Before he could even react, a spearhead was jammed into the ground by his eyes. Slowly, he looked up, and saw the lavender haired girl glaring at him with a look that said *murder*. It was a look he was used to getting, so he wasn't affected by it.

Instead, he swung his leg upward, transforming it into fire in the process. The girl jumped backwards to avoid the flames, giving Ace enough time to get to his feet. The two were at a stalemate; both were giving each other scalding looks, daring the other to make the first move. Ace's eyes flicked to Allen, who seemed to be calming down now. He might regain consciousness soon, and then they could double team the girl and stop her.

Looking away was Ace's first mistake.

In the blink of an eye, the lavender-haired girl was in front of him. She swung her silver and midnight blue spear downward, intending to cut him. Ace jumped out of the way just in time, but the girl didn't give him any time to attack. She threw her spear forward like a javelin, and Ace ducked. It flew over his head and embedded itself in the wall behind him. When he raised his head, he saw that the girl had disappeared. Realization hit him in an instant, and he spun around. The tip of a spear cut him underneath his eye, shocking him. How could she have cut him? He was a Logia Devil Fruit User! The spear should have passed right through him, unless-

Ace sidestepped as the lavender-haired girl made another jab at him. He pointed both his index and middle fingers at her.

"Fire Gun!"

Bullets of fire shot from his pointed fingers and towards the girl. To his immediate surprise, she dodged each of them. Twice he was grazed by her spear, and was further surprised when an injury resulted from the scrapes. Ace then came to the conclusion that she was using a powerful form of Armament Haki. There was no other explanation for it. And yet, there wasn't the telltale sign that she was a wielder; he didn't see the usual black coloring, or any other indication of its presence. All he felt was a sort of weight on him, like his body was no longer elemental.

Ace grabbed the girl's spear and yanked it forward, causing the girl to lose her footing and stumble forward. She made a surprised yelp, which was cut off when Ace kneed her in the gut.

The girl jumped back and coughed repeatedly before glaring at Ace and rubbing her midriff. He smirked at her and spread his fingers out before lighting them. The flames spelled out the words "bring it on", and he could see that the girl was annoyed by it. Once again, Ace smirked as the girl charged forward for an attack. He was going to have fun.

~loldividergoesherebutwordsareherenow~

Allen cursed as he stumbled again while running back to where Ace was. After he had woken up, he left Ace to go find the others and get him help. He ran around the town, and found Elena, Marco, and Chizuru. He explained the situation to them, and they eagerly followed Allen. Now they were trying to get back before that crazy girl did something.

The sounds of explosions could be heard, and the group headed towards the plumes of black smoke and dust. People were running in the opposite direction, so Allen knew they were heading the right way. Finally, they arrived at their destination. To their surprise, both Ace and the lavender haired girl were injured gravely, and were breathing heavily. Marco stepped forward to charge at the girl, but Ace sent him a glare that said "Stay out of this".

"I'm ending this now!" The lavender haired girl cried out. Ace tensed up and got into a battle pose, watching as she climbed into the air. Soon she was far up, and it was hard to see her. Allen cupped his hand above his eyes to make out the shape of the girl. Then the incredible happened.

"Guillotine!"

With her spear pointed downward, the girl began falling towards the earth at a rapid speed. All of them barely had time to widen their eyes and let out the beginnings of a gasp before a large explosion happened. The aftershock blew everyone in random directions. Allen flew back and tumbled a bit before hitting a vendor's cart. Dust was everywhere, making it hard to see anything.

"Allen? Marco? Chizuru?" Elena cried out. "You guys okay?" Allen scanned through the dust, and could make out the shapes of his friends. He released a small breath knowing that most of them were okay.

There was still the matter of Ace though... Now that the dust was settling, Allen could make out a shape wearing a hat. Jumping up, Allen began running towards it. From the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of their group start to follow him.

Suddenly, all of the dust cleared away in a blast of wind. To the group's surprise, Ace was not standing up. He was laying at the feet of a short, silver-haired girl with emerald green eyes. She was wearing the same thing as the lavender-haired girl, and had the same silver and midnight blue spear in her hand, as well as Ace's hat. Did that mean she was the same person...? The now silver-haired girl wobbled, but drove her spear into the ground and leaned against it. Suddenly, she looked up at them, a determined look in her eyes.

"Who's next?" She called out.

Marco dashed forward, and the girl pulled the spear out of the ground, ready for an attack. Before Marco could even reach her she collapsed, passing out on the spot. Marco stopped running, and stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he approached her cautiously, tensed up and ready to attack if necessary. When he reached Ace, he quickly checked his vitals, and was relieved when he found out Ace was still alive. Looking over, he saw that the silver-haired girl was alive as well.

"Is Ace okay?" Chizuru asked as she approached them. Marco nodded, eyes still on the silver-haired girl. Where had he seen her before...? "What about that girl?" She bent down and checked her wounds. "She seriously needs medical attention..."

"Leave her. It's her fault for picking a fight with Ace." Elena said, looking at the girl with discontent. Chizuru audibly gasped and looked at her with horror. "What? It's the truth."

"But I'm a *doctor!* I can't just *leave* her!" She said before stubbornly sitting next to her. "My job is to save people!" Elena sighed impatiently, but Chizuru wouldn't move.

Marco saw that they weren't making any progress, so he gently picked up Ace and motioned for Allen to get the girl. Chizuru and Elena looked at Marco curiously, not understanding what he was doing. He started walking away, and only stopped when Chizuru and Elena didn't follow.

"We'd better get back to the ship; the townspeople are going to be angry about this and it's not a good idea to get caught up in it." Marco said without turning to look at him. Then he continued to keep walking, Allen following him closely. After a few seconds, Chizuru and Elena got up and followed him.

"Marco." Chizuru called out. He stopped walking and turned to look at her, curious about what she wanted. "Thank you for helping her." A small blush appeared on his cheeks, and he turned around and continued walking away. Chizuru only giggled and followed behind.

*Let's hope I made a good decision...* Marco thought as he glanced back at the silver-haired thief.

~woohoomorepagebreaksbecauseIamtoolazytoactuallymakeasmoothtransition~

Azami stirred slightly, the remnants of sleep slowly disappearing. Instead of opening her eyes, she pretended to be asleep, trying to figure out where she was. She already knew she wasn't in the town anymore; Soul Sense had told her that. In fact, there were 4 people in the room with her now. Two of them were Devil Fruit users, while the others were normal humans.

"I still don't get why you had to bring her along!" One person yelled. Azami frowned slightly; this person was really noisy... "She's a danger to us all!"

Annoyance built up in Azami; she was really beginning to dislike this person. What right did they have to judge her?!

Relax Ace," said another voice, higher than the one that first spoke. This person must have been a girl, probably around her age. "We can just throw her overboard if she tries anything."

...

Okay, so just because she tried to steal from them doesn't mean they know everything about her! She could be a good person!

Well, she had better wait until they reached another island before trying anything. Although, it didn't seem like they'd give her until then before they decided to toss her overboard (not that she'd drown, anyway). Azami sensed movement, and found that a body was heading her way.

"Hey, if she's a thief like you claim she is, then why would she bother to keep such an old necklace-whoa!" At this moment, Azami's eyes snapped open and she moved to throw her left fist at whoever even dared to touch *his* necklace. But to her immediate surprise, she found her left wrist handcuffed to the bed pole.

"What the hell is this?" She said angrily, gesturing her handcuffed wrist. She glanced at everyone, and recognized Elena, Marco, Chizuru, and Allen from yesterday, as well as Ace. "Well? Is *someone* going to give me an explanation?"

"And why should we?" Elena said, a hard tone to her voice. "*You're* the one who attacked our crew!"

"Elena. That's enough." Marco said to the angry blonde, then turned his attention back to Azami. "We had to make sure nothing bad would happen to our crew. We don't know enough about you to see if you are friend or foe."

"She's certainly a foe in my book," Ace commented, to which Azami sent him a glare.

"Shut it you pyromaniac!" She retorted. Ace bristled and sent a glare her way, to which she smiled at.

"Anyway," Marco said, slight annoyance in his tone, "You have to stay here, and wait for our captain to summon you and see what his decision is." With that, Marco turned and headed for the door, with Allen, Elena, and Ace in tow.

Only Chizuru was left behind, seeing as someone needed to stay behind and watch Azami. Azami in the meanwhile, was squirming around. Chizuru paid her no attention, and only continued to read her book. It was only when Azami called the salmon pink-haired girl over did she mark her page and go over to her.

"Do you need something?" She asked, making sure to be wary of her.

"I have to go to the bathroom..." she said, staring straight into Chizuru's sunset orange eyes. Chizuru sighed, then went back to the desk. She dug around for the key, then came back and held her hand out. Azami placed her free wrist in Chizuru's grasp, who then uncuffed her left wrist. Quick as lightning, she snapped the handcuff onto Chizuru's wrist and back onto the bed pole.

"You know, there's a reason why old tricks are the best tricks..." Azami began walking away when she heard sounds outside of her door. Cursing quietly, she looked around for a hiding place, but couldn't find one.

"I guess I'm going up then..." she muttered. Whispering a few quick words, she began to blend in with the background, then started to float upwards. Chizuru watched with wide eyes, not believing what she was seeing. Soon the door opened, and Allen stepped in.

"Hey, Whitebeard wants to see- Chizuru!" He cried out when he noticed her handcuffed to the bed. "How did this happen?!"

"That girl!" Chizuru replied. "I don't know what she is, but she used some weird power to make herself float and blend in with the wall!"

"What?" Allen said, confused, while also looking around. "What do you mean by that?" He didn't get an answer to his question, as he suddenly felt sleepy. He groggily turned his head to look at Chizuru, and noticed that she had already fallen asleep. Allen then looked towards the door, and began crawling clumsily to it.

*Have to warn the others…* he thought, but was stopped when a pair of feet stood in front of him. He slowly rose his head, only to stare into the emerald green eyes of Azami. He didn't see any malice or hatred in her green eyes, but it only caused him to tense up even more.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go to sleep for a while..." she said, before placing her hand on his head lightly. Allen could no longer resist the overwhelming urge to lay his head down and sleep, so he succumbed to it and let the darkness take over.

Staying over Allen's limp body, she waved her hand once more, face scrunching as she watched a small, smooth glass rock appear in the palm of her hand. She held it up to the ceiling, examining it - and watched as the last few minutes replayed within it.

"I'll be holding onto this." She mumbled quietly to herself as she repeated the same process with Chizuru. Now she had two stones, both of which contained their memories of Azami escaping. "Sorry, but this is for my own protection. Hopefully we'll never meet again."

Azami rose from the crouch she was in and looked towards the door. Using Soul Sense, she found no one near her, and left the room. She walked quickly and quietly, wanting to get off of the ship as fast as possible. She had *no* intention of meeting Whitebeard; she was too young to die! A chill went down Azami's spine, and she sensed the presence of two people headed in her direction. She looked around frantically, and went into the door on her right, unsure of what was in the room. To her surprise, it was the laundry room. Azami grinned mischievously as a plan formed in her mind.

"If you can't beat them, join them!" she muttered as she began looking through the piles of clothes. Her smile grew wider as she found what she was looking for.

Seconds later, Azami emerged from the room, dressed in a nurse's uniform. She navigated her way around the ship, making sure to take the quickest way to the deck. Unfortunately for her, the Second Division Commander happened to be heading in the opposite direction of her - and there was nowhere to hide. All the rooms were occupied by someone and she didn't want to take the risk of interacting with the pirates and have them recognize her. Azami groaned quietly, then lowered her head and continued walking.

She had almost made it past him when he snapped her bra open and said, "Tadaa!" as he did it.

Azami threw a roundhouse kick towards him, sending him flying through the hall. Her face was a vibrant red, and she was desperately trying to put her bra back on. Ace hit the wall with a loud thud, and he could be heard groaning in pain. Azami sent hot glares in his direction, while also clutching her chest.

"You disgusting pervert!" What idiot would go around doing something like *that*?!

"I didn't know the nurses could be that violent..." Ace muttered to himself as he got up, rubbing his cheek. He looked over to the now embarrassed nurse, and saw that she was glaring daggers at him. Where had he seen that look before...? And now that he thought about it, he didn't recognize this nurse *at all.* He didn't recall getting any new ones, so where did she come from? Suspicious, Ace got up and made his way over to her. The anger in her emerald green eyes subsided for a look he couldn't place.

"Who are you?" He demanded. The nurse was about to reply when Sam dashed around the corner.

"Ace! Grab her!" The orange-haired boy called out. "She's the silver-haired thief!" Ace turned around to grab her arm, but was met with a fist instead. He was so shocked that he stumbled back and hit the floor. This gave Azami time to run. Sam whipped out his handguns and began shooting at her. Azami stopped running and swung her arm out in a wide motion. A blast of wind came from it, sending the bullets back towards Sam.

He jumped out of the way and avoided the exploding bullets just in time. Through the dust, Azami ran towards the stairs leading to the deck. "Elena, stop her!"

Azami saw the blonde-haired, brown eyed girl step in front of the staircase, her face contorted into rage. She stopped running, and only stared at the girl. Without saying a word, Elena charged towards Azami, fist prepared. To her surprise, Azami ducked quickly.

"Too slow." She said before kicking Elena's legs out from underneath her. Elena's back hit the floor, causing her breath to leave her lungs. "Better luck next time!" She then smirked at her, causing Elena to scowl in fury.

"Hey! Get back here!" Ace yelled as he charged down the hallway. Sam was right behind him, and Elena jumped up to join the group. Azami clambered up the stairs, relieved when she found the deck. Whitebeard Pirates looked stunned as she ran out towards the front of the ship, then turned to the group pursuing her. She then summoned her spear, and began spinning it rapidly.

"Tempest!"

She created a vortex of wind using her spear; it grew large, pushing harshly against the pirates. Everyone on deck scrambled to grab onto something stationary, for fear of being blown overboard. Some people did go over the railing; others hit the wall or deck. Ace, Sam, and Elena were thrown backwards, flying through the air until they hit something. Looking up, they saw that it was none other than Whitebeard himself. Swinging his bisento downward, he cut the tornado in half, dispersing it. Azami barely had time to dodge the attack coming towards her, and jumped out of the way, landing on her side painfully. To the joyous cries of his crew-mates, Whitebeard approached Azami, who sat up to stare him in the face.

"Edward Newgate... Also known as Whitebeard, the Strongest Man Alive," she said quietly, a small smile on her face. "I never thought I'd meet you like this." She then stood, still staring at the large man in front of her.

Whitebeard looked down at her, a grin on his face. "Are you the one causing all this trouble on my ship?"

"Yup! Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go..." she said, laughing a little. Whitebeard was silent for a few seconds, then laughed a loud, boisterous laugh. The Whitebeard Pirates were confused; no one had any idea why he was socializing with the thief. The ones that were mostly confused were Ace, Sam, and Elena. They couldn't understand why he was showing her such hospitality.

"What's your name, brat?" Whitebeard asked.

"Azami Chimako." She replied. Gasps could be heard rippling through the crowd, as well as hushed whispers.

"Ah, so that's why she looked familiar..." Marco muttered. Thatch looked over at him, slightly confused, and waited for Marco to continue. "That girl is pretty famous in the pirate world. She's a well known thief; able to steal anything from anyone. She's also pretty expensive to hire, I heard. Her nickname is 'Wicked Witch'. Rumor is she's called that because she's ruthless when it comes to her jobs." Thatch kept looking back from Azami to Marco, unable to believe what he'd been told.

"Are you sure that's the same girl?" Thatch asked. Marco nodded, showing him her wanted poster. On it was her picture, name, and bounty price. The picture only showed the side of her face, catching her smirking devilishly; some of it was covered in blood, hiding the rest of it. Her bounty price was currently 275,000,000, causing Thatch to raise his eyebrows in amazement. "And she looks like she's 12 or 13..."

"I'm nineteen, dammit!" Azami yelled angrily at Thatch, having overheard his comment, causing Thatch to jump and hide behind Marco. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'Big things come in small packages'?!" Whitebeard laughed at her outburst, causing even more confusion among the pirates.

"You're a feisty one," Whitebeard said. Azami looked back at him, slight annoyance still on her face. "I like that! Things just might get interesting around here. I'll tell you what: you can stay on my ship, but only if you promise to give me 25% of your earnings!"

"How about 10%?" Azami bargained. Whitebeard laughed.

"20%!"

"5%!"

"15%!"

"2.5%!"

"Why is she going lower?!" Ace whispered angrily. Truthfully, he was *not* happy about her staying on the ship. She was anything but friendly to any of them; he didn't trust her at all. One moment, she'll be all nice and friendly, and the next moment, she'll be trading them in to the Marines!

"Yeah! If I was her, I'd take what I was given!" Elena whispered harshly. There was laughter from Whitebeard, causing the two's attention to be drawn back to the main conversation.

"I know, I was just joking to see how far you were willing to go!" Azami said, a light tone to her voice. "But 15% is fine with me!"

"Deal. Welcome aboard the Moby Dick!" Whitebeard said happily. He seemed to be the only one happy about this, as only a few people cheered. "Let's party to celebrate her welcome!" Now most of the members on deck cheered, Ace included. They didn't really care why, as long as they got to get drunk and eat a lot. Elena scowled; she didn't see the reasoning behind having a party for someone who wasn't even a part of the crew!

Looking around, Elena decided it was up to her to make sure nothing bad happened to her friends. Even if it meant earning the trust of her enemy.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Whitebeard said. Everyone quieted down, and waited for him to continue speaking. "Ace, I've decided to place Azami under your care. I hope you and the Second Division will treat her warmly."

"*What?!*" Two voices yelled. One was in outrage; the other was in shock. Whitebeard only smiled, and didn't say anything else.

"Why *him*, of all people?!" Azami said. "I don't want to work for a walking campfire!"

"Face it, Short Stack, you're an addition to my division!" Ace taunted. Azami spun towards him, her face set in a snarl.

"Do *not* call me short, and I am not an 'addition to your division'!" She hissed out. Ace only laughed at her, finding her reaction amusing. "What's so funny?!"

"You!" He answered through fits of laughter. "You're just so...interesting!" Azami sighed, as if resigning to her fate, and allowed herself a small smile. "Welcome to the crew, Azami!" Azami's grin grew wider as she looked around at all of the smiling faces, welcoming her with open arms.

"You know, I think I'm going to like it here..." she muttered as she closed her eyes, still smiling softly. In the back of her mind, though, was the smallest feeling of insecurities.

She could never let her guard down, no matter what.

~nanithewhatanewsceneaddedtotheupdatedversionhowcool~

"So how're you liking the ship?" Allen asked as Azami took a seat next to him. He was taking a break from all the partying - he could never keep up with the older crew members, and usually tapped out after an hour or two.

Azami gave him a small smile, before turning to look at the boisterous and lively pirates. At the moment, Ace seemed to be telling a story to Thatch, his arms moving animatedly as he pantomimed. Thatch shook his head, an amused smile on his face as he watched Ace, occasionally interjecting with a comment. She turned back to Allen, giving him a shrug. "Everyone seems cool, I guess… uh, what was your name again?"

"I'm Allen, a chef for the 4th Division," he said proudly, before pointing back at Thatch, "Thatch is my Commander. Did anyone give you a tour of the ship?"

"No, not at all… I figured they didn't trust me enough to give me a basic tour yet…" Azami answered, not at all concerned that she might get lost.

However, Allen gasped, standing up with a smile on his face. "Well, I'll give you one! It won't do if you get lost trying to get to the Galley or the Med Bay."

"Sure, why not?" Azami stood, sweeping her arm out in front of her. "Lead the way, Alex."

For the briefest of moments, Azami watched as Allen tensed, his smile wavering, and tilted her head. But it was already gone, replaced by his easy-going smile as he let out a short laugh. "*Allen.* My name's Allen, not Alex."

"Right, right. I'll get it, eventually." Azami said, joining in on the laughter as she followed Allen below deck.

They passed through a series of corridors and open doors, before finally stopping at large double-doors. Allen stepped in front, placing his hands on his hips. "This is the Galley, where we come to eat! Not everyone eats here though, which is fine - some people like to eat in solitude, or up on the deck. Meals are usually served in the mornings, sometime in the afternoon, and the evenings - provided we don't get off track. The 4th Division usually takes care of the cooking, but we rotate around from time to time. Just… be wary when the 6th Division cooks. You'd be better off finding your own source of food."

Azami pushed one of the doors open, peeking her head in. It was pretty empty now - which made sense, since there was a party going on. But she could almost see how lively the large room would be when the crew came together for a bite to eat. She pulled her head out of the room and turned to Allen, who began walking down the hallway.

"Most of the rooms on this floor are for food storage - hence the large locks. There's two sets of keys for them - one in the Commander's Quarters, in Marco's hands, and the other with the Division in charge of cooking. Right now, Thatch has the keys." Allen supplied as they went to another floor.

This floor was just as quiet as the last one, she noticed. The reason for that was because it was the med floor, she realized as she saw a couple of nurses pass by her. Poking her head in one of the doors, she saw a couple of empty beds, divided by sheets, and what she assumed was a doctor working at a desk. Turning and trailing behind Allen, she saw him pause at one of the doors, rapping on the frame. A tired, but familiar voice called out "Come in!", so Azami followed his lead.

"Hey Chizuru, just checking to make sure you ate," Allen supplied, before moving out of the way for Azami to step in further. "And I was giving Azami a tour of the ship, so she knows where the basic things are."

"Welcome to the crew," Chizuru politely said, sticking her hand out for Azami to shake. She took it, giving it a quick shake. "I'm Chizuru, Head Doctor for the Whitebeard Pirates, and a member of the 1st Division."

"Head doctor? You must be good at your job." Azami complimented, still taking a look around the room. It certainly was the room of a head doctor, she noted, as there were various books and papers scattered about, along with various medicinal herbs and tools. She also noticed a familiar looking bed frame. "Were you the one who wrapped my wounds?"

"She wouldn't let anyone else help - said it was 'her responsibility'," Allen responded, giving the doctor a pointed stare. "She was up for two days straight taking care of you."

"Well, thank you," Azami responded slowly, a bit in shock that she'd go to such lengths for her. "Really. I didn't think you'd want to *help* the person who attacked your crew…"

"I'm a doctor, my sole job is to help injured people." She stated matter-of-factly, shrugging her shoulders. "I swore a long time ago I'd help those who needed me, no matter what."

"Anyway, we've got a few more stops to go; make sure you eat, seriously." Allen warned the doctor as he left. The two gave a wave to her before exiting the room and descending down to another floor.

Just like the last floor, this floor was loud as well - but for a different reason. Crew members who weren't partying were down here on this floor, lounging about, walking between rooms or hanging outside door frames.

"This is one of the sleeping floors. Divisions 1-3 are on this floor; 4-6 are on the floor beneath us." Allen supplied, seeing Azami's studying look.

As they walked through the floor, some of the members pointed and whispered at her. Word of what happened earlier that day spread fast, and a few members were watching Azami with awe and curiosity - as well as suspicion. The thief took a shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves, and held her head high as she passed through them. She took a moment to silently pray that nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, that she was nothing but a simple thief, who *somehow* managed to catch a ride with them...

She almost missed what Allen said, but managed to catch most of it. "... The 2nd Division has rooms from here to that second doorway. Has Ace given you a room yet?"

When Azami shook her head, Allen let out a chuckle. "Can't I just take an open one?"

"I guess you could; Ace was never one to micro-manage, unlike another Commander I know…" Allen responded, thinking of the near-heart attack Thatch had when he suggested picking his own room. "You can go ahead and pick now, then I'll take you to our last stop."

Azami nodded, looking around the rooms of the Second Division. Most seemed occupied completely, while a few had an empty bed here and there - but what Azami needed the most was an unoccupied room to herself.

Luck must have swung her way, as she found a room with no one in it, only a few stray items here and there. She eagerly reached for the door, only to be stopped by another voice.

"That one's taken, lassie."

Allen and Azami turned to the owner of the voice, and found a large man with black hair, a hairy torso, and a gapped grin smiling at the two. His black eyes studied Azami curiously, and she frowned, not liking the glow in them.

"Oh, hey Teach!" Allen chirped, waving at the older pirate. He spared Allen a friendly smile, before turning back to Azami. "You're done partying?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd turn in early… Say, you're the lil' lass who caused all that mayhem earlier, aren't ya?" Teach asked, still beaming and offering a friendly smile. Azami shook off her nervousness, falling into a laid-back stance and nodded. Teach laughed loudly, patting his stomach as he did so. "Well welcome to the crew! If you're lookin' fer a free room, the one across from Ace has been empty for a while!"

Azami's face must've shifted into a darkened scowl considerably, because Teach burst out in laughter once again. He wiped his eyes and stepped towards his door, opening it as he entered. "Don't look so upset, girlie! He ain't as bad as ya think he is! If ya don't want that one, you're free to take a bed with other members."

"Goodnight Teach!" Allen called out as the man gave a wave over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him. "Well, it seems you've got your room - though I still don't understand why you needed one by yourself."

"I don't like to share." Azami answered simply, looking away from Allen's skeptical glance. "So which room is Ace's?"

"His room is joined with the other Commanders, in the middle of the floor." He pointed to a series of doors in the third hallway, then to another across from that. "I guess that'll be yours, then."

Azami squared her shoulders, peeking into the room. There wasn't much, save for a few empty boxes here and there, and a worn looking hammock. It would have to do - besides, she'd get more furniture later. "Yeah, this is fine."

"Awesome! Then I'll show you one last place, and that'll be the end of our tour!" Allen cheered, before turning and heading to one more floor.

This floor was more open, with cannons lining the walls and pointing out towards the darkened sea. Various members were weaving in and out of the area, some carrying weapons, while others carried weapon parts. Allen turned to her, throwing his hands out in a wide arch.

"This is the cannon and weapons room! If you need your weapon fixed, or if you wanna get a new weapon, this is the place to go." he said, pointing to a slightly ajar door in the back. "Elena might be back there; she's our head shipwright. She's also in the Fourth Division, like me."

"Elena… she's the blonde girl, right?" Azami asked, thinking of the encounters she'd had with her. "She's… certainly got a temper…"

Allen gave a short laugh, nodding in agreement. "Uh huh; she's always been like that. But I promise, she's friendly once you get to know her."

As the duo approached the open door, they could hear two voices within the room. One Azami recognized as Elena; the other, though, was deeper, and she didn't know who it belonged to. Allen must have, however, as his grin widened.

"Of course those two are together…" he muttered with an amused smile, pushing the door open after one rap. "Knock-knock; I hope everyone's decent."

"Allen!" Elena gasped, her face flushing red at his statement. Sam chuckled from the table he was leaning against, arms crossed. Although, if Azami looked close, his cheeks seemed to tinted pink as well.

"What, it was just a joke!" He said, throwing his hands up. The look on his face, though, said he'd intended it. "Anyway, I was just giving Azami a tour of the main spaces and thought she should know where to come if she needed her weapon fixed."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Azami," Sam said as he threw a wink in her direction. Elena scowled at her, before turning her back to her with a decisive huff and returning to whatever she was working on. "I'm Samuel, but everyone calls me Sam - I'm a marksman from the 4th Division."

"It's nice to finally meet you under better circumstances as well," Azami responded with a wink back towards him. Just like before, Elena growled, a dark frown crossed her features. Azami gasped quietly, before it clicked for her. *Ah, so that's it… why don't I have a little fun, then?*

Sliding out from behind Allen with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she stepped further into the room, and leaned against the same table Sam was sitting on. He raised an eyebrow questioningly, but made no effort to move. Instead, he shifted his body more towards her, before asking a question. "How's Allen's tour been? I hope you've gotten everything figured out."

"Allen's been a great guide; I've seen the Galley, the Med Floor, and I've gotten my sleeping situation figured out." She batted her eyelashes at Sam a few times, a charming and innocent smile creeping across her face. "But I'm still figuring everything out; you wouldn't mind helping a girl out every now and then?"

Sam's sent her a charming smile back, the flirtatious gleam evident in his eyes. "But of course; it's the least I could do after trying to kill you earlier."

Azami let out a soft giggle, before leaning closer to Sam. She gently rested her hand on his thigh. "It's not your fault, you were only trying to protect your crew. Although… I can think of a few ways you could… 'apologize' to me, if you'd like."

A sudden snapping sound shot through the room, Azami turned towards Elena, who had a dangerous and menacing aura surrounding her. The measuring tool in her hand was broken, its pieces lying across the table in front of her. Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion, while Allen coughed awkwardly, his cheeks a light shade of red. Azami's face was a perfect mask of innocence, though there was still a twinkle of mischievousness in her eyes.

"If you two are going to be doing that, can you find a place that *isn't* my office?" Elena said, with a thin veil of anger and another hard-to-place emotion in her voice. Azami shrugged as she stood, while Sam had the gall to look embarrassed, sheepishly turning his head from Azami and shifting away from her.

"I'll take the hint and leave; besides, I'm starting to get tired. Allen, do you think you could lead me back to the Second Division's rooms?" Azami turned her back to the duo, waving over her shoulder as she followed Allen from the small office. Before she left, she stuck her head back in the room, the innocent smile still on her face. "Oh, and… Sam, was it?"

Sam perked up, a large grin on his face. Elena sucked in a breath, a small frown on her face as she readied to snap at Azami. The two paused as she held her hand up, a wad of Beris in it. "Thanks for the Beris!"

The room was silent as she left, before a series of laughter and curses floated from the still empty doorway. There was a proud smile on her face as she followed Allen out of the cannon room.

"You look pretty proud of yourself," Allen said, leaving the statement open-ended. Azami scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"I was only having a little fun," She responded, her hands locking together behind her head as the two walked. "Besides, it only confirmed what was obvious. You already knew, didn't you?"

"Everyone on the crew knows; they're not very good at hiding it." Allen responded with a small giggle. "We've begun placing bets on when it's gonna happen - You should place one, too."

Azami laughed, and the two fell into simple conversations as they made their way back to the Sleeping Quarters. Soon, they were in front of Azami's door. She gave Allen a grateful smile, and for the first time since she'd boarded the ship, he felt it was a genuine one.

"Thanks for the tour; it was… nice." Azami mused, the smile still on her face. Allen shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"No thanks necessary; I was happy to make your welcome a little less hostile." he answered, shifting on his feet. Azami gave him a small smile, and Allen reached out to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Azami. Everyone will warm up to you eventually; just give it time."

A melancholic smile crossed her face, and Allen frowned. "It's alright if they don't. I'm not really a part of the crew, remember?"

He faltered, before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. I can tell - everyone's really gonna like you. So don't be a stranger to us, okay?"

Azami hesitated, before giving him a nod and a smile - though he could tell it was another of her fake ones. Sighing, he turned and headed back to the staircase, throwing a wave over his shoulder. Azami watched him go, leaning her left shoulder against the door, lost in her thoughts.

"I see you've got a room now; that's good." A voice said next to her. She sighed, not bothering to turn completely. She tilted her head slightly towards the Second Division Commander, who leaned against his own door, staring directly at her.

"Yeah, I did. I got a tour from Allen - he insisted on showing me around." Azami replied. Ace chuckled.

"That sounds like Allen. He can't help but to… well, *help.*"

"He's a nice kid."

"He really is."

"Chizuru seems friendly as well. I still can't believe she took care of me for two days straight."

"She's stubborn and determined; once she sets her mind to something, she won't quit."

"Honestly, all you Whitebeard Pirates are different from what I've heard."

"Some of us are, and some of us aren't. You'll find out the difference eventually."

"And what makes you so sure I won't be gone by tomorrow?" Here, Azami turned to look Ace directly in the eyes. He didn't move or flinch from her heavy stare, only returning his calm one to her. "You seem pretty confident I won't rob you all blind in the middle of the night."

"You won't."

He had said it with such a calm and surefire tone that Azami was caught off guard, her eyes widening slightly and her lips parting with a quiet, surprised gasp. She turned her head away from him, and back towards the staircase, but she could still feel his calm gaze on her.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, not looking at each other. Finally, Ace stood, stretching his arms. Azami still hadn't moved from her spot, but she did carefully watch Ace from the corner of her eyes. He opened his door, pausing as he was halfway in his room and looked over his shoulder.

"Goodnight, Azami. See you tomorrow."

He said it so softly, with a knowing smile on his face. Azami felt a sharp pang pass through her heart, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Before the Commander completely closed his door, he heard the thief chuckle softly, and respond.

"Goodnight, Ace. See you tomorrow."