Author's Note: And here is the final chapter update; from here on out, the chapters will align with the newer ones that will be released! Enjoy!

Chapter Three:

Friendly Bonding Time With Ace!

Ace sighed as he laid out on the deck, staring up at the sky. It was a calm day on the Moby Dick; the sky was blue, with few clouds in it. The sea was gently pushing the large ship along towards its next destination. The sun was shining down softly, giving the air a comfortable warmth. All in all, it was a truly lazy day, and the infamous pirates took advantage of that fact. Most were lounging about the deck, enjoying the sun's warm rays. Ace, on the other hand, was bored. He was very, horribly, incredibly bored.

Marco was leaning against the railing, next to Ace. He was watching the horizon, a slight smile on his face; a rare sight for the usually stoic Commander. To be honest, he was enjoying the calmness of the weather. They needed it especially after what they've been through lately. Gaining two new crew members-

*No,* he corrected himself, *one new crew member.* Gaining a new crew member and a hitchhiker in such a weird way was kinda stressful; he needed these breaks once in a while.

Ace sighed again, louder this time and rolled over to Marco's legs, looking up at him expectantly. When the Phoenix didn't look down at him, he sighed even louder, and bumped into his legs. Finally, Marco gave a sigh of frustration and looked down at him, slight annoyance on his face. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored...!" He whined up at Marco, his face in a small pout. Marco rolled his eyes at his childish crew mate.

"If you're bored then go find something to do; don't bother me about it!" He responded. Ace let out another long whine of boredom.

"But that's the problem... There's nothing to do!" He countered, letting out another huff of air. Marco resisted the urge to groan, already missing his peace and quiet. It was too late to get it back now; he should've just ignored Ace from the start and let him go bother someone else...

"Look, how about you go make friends with our new crew mate, huh?" He suggested helpfully. Ace blinked up at him for a second, then got off the floor. Marco felt a sigh of relief leaving his mouth, but quickly caught himself and kept smiling.

"You know what, that's a great idea! Thanks Marco!" He waved as he ran off in search of their newest crewmate. Marco waved back, glad to have his peace back, until-

"Hey Marco! Some of the group just came back, and we need you to look over their reports!"

So much for peace.

~meanwhileinanotheruniverse~

Ace whistled as he walked down the hallway, looking for Akimi. He checked the mess hall, then the library, then the Commanders' Quarters before finding her in the map room. Not to his surprise, he found Azami accompanying her.

"Yo!" He called out to the two. Azami scowled as he walked up, and Akimi scooted closer to Azami, watching Ace warily. Ace took a seat across from the two and placed his head in his hands. "What'cha up to?"

"Looking at the next island..." Akimi answered softly, referring to the map spread out on the table. Ace glanced over it, humming as he read the basics of the map. However, the rest of it was complete gibberish to him; the random notes and squiggles went over his head. He looked back up to Akimi, an oblivious smile on his face.

"He's too dumb to know what it says...!" Azami said with a scoff, crossing her arms. Ace frowned, glancing over at her.

"I can read maps, you know." Ace argued, frowning with a slight flush. Azami's look told him that she wasn't buying a word he said, causing his frown to deepen further. Before he could even begin his sentence, Akimi interrupted, her soft voice diffusing the rapidly building tension.

"Th-the next stop is the Fey Isles…" she replied, pointing at a few small dots on the weathered paper. They seemed to be arranged in the form of wings, Ace realized. "There's a myth that fairies live on the island chain, and if you ever catch one, you'll be granted with good luck…"

"Hmph, fairies…" Azami said, shaking her head. "The most annoying little beasts I've ever met."

"You've met a fairy?!" Ace cried out in excitement, looking at Azami with wide, sparkling eyes. Azami jumped slightly, shocked from his outburst, but nodded slowly. "You have to show me one!"

"Why should I?" she answered with an air of disdain. Ace frowned, his eyebrows furrowed in thought as he tried to come up with a reason good enough for Azami to take him fairy hunting. His face lit up brightly as an idea entered his mind, and his frown turned into a mischievous grin. Azami's own smug grin melted at this, and a bad feeling settled in her stomach.

"You won't have to wear the maid uniform anymore if you take me fairy hunting!" Ace bargained. Azami scowled at his offer, shaking her head.

"I wasn't wearing it in the first place!" she growled at him, turning her head. "You're gonna have to try again!"

"Aw, I was sure that would work...!" Ace said with an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. "If I beg you...?"

"Nope." Azami responded, smiling smugly; clearly she was enjoying his struggle right now.

"Um, Captain Ace... You really shouldn't try thinking so hard; you might explode..." Akimi suggested, and Azami giggled. Ace scowled at the silver-haired thief, who merely shrugged, the playful twinkle still in her eyes.

"Is there *anything* that I could say that would make you take me fairy hunting?" Ace asked, beginning to suspect that she wasn't going to do it, no matter what he bargained with.

Azami's smile was a tell-tale sign that he'd hit the nail on the head. Once more, that smile reminded Ace of a tanuki - clearly enjoying the foolishness of the person who naively approached them. Before he could even address it, Haruta entered, causing the three to turn. "We've reached land; Pops wants you up on deck so roles can be assigned."

Akimi stood clumsily, heading for the door, and Azami followed, the annoying smirk still clear on her face. Ace trailed after the two, not willing to put their previous conversation aside. "We aren't finished yet...!"

"But we definitely are…!" Azami called out as she climbed the stairs to the deck. Ace scowled, crossing his arms, before a devilish smirk appeared on his face.

He was going fairy hunting, and Azami would be taking him, whether she wanted to or not.

~shalalalalalamyohmy~

Azami scowled as she shuffled through the town. How in the world did she get paired up with Ace?! Was this some type of cosmic joke, or maybe-! Yes, that had to be it. The pirates were getting back at her for that last prank; that's all. It had to be. *Of course* they'd be upset with her, after she'd "mistakenly" sold their best booze for a couple thousand Beris. And they knew how much she and Ace didn't get along - with Elena, she could tell the girl didn't like her, and probably wouldn't warm up to her for a long while, but with the Second Division Commander… it varied from day to day. One day, they'd be on neutral terms with each other, even able to have a polite conversation or two, and the next… She still had a few bruises from their last fist fight.

It'd make sense that they'd get revenge by putting her with the one person that always seemed to push her buttons.

"Oh, quit your scowling…! It really can't be that bad, can it…?" Sam muttered as he watched Ace's pleased expression and Azami's dark one. He was lumped together with the two, but he felt as if he were a third wheel to them… He let out a sigh, looking down at the list of supplies given to them by Marco. It seemed to be a short list; it shouldn't take them long.

"It isn't…" Ace responded, humming a tune underneath his breath as he glanced at Azami. He certainly wasn't going to tell her that he begged Marco to pair him up with Sam and Azami only so he could somehow get her to take him fairy hunting.

That was the part he was still trying to figure out.

"Whatever, let's get this over with." Azami growled as she snatched the list from Sam, then gave it a quick glance over. "This should be easy. Come on."

She pulled out ahead of the group, Sam and Ace following behind. Finally, the three arrived at a medicinal shop. There were plants hanging outside the large, open window, and a bright "Open!" sign hung in the glass doorway. Azami pushed the door open, peeking her head in as she did so. "Hello…?"

"Oh, hello, hello!" a cheery voice responded, the figure stepping to the front of the shop. It was a woman with tanned skin and pretty brown eyes. Almost immediately, Sam was at the counter, a flirtatious smile on his face. "How can I help you?"

"There are so many ways you can help…!" He responded, leaning slightly closer, a flirtatious smile on his face. The woman smiled, but it was clear there was a bit of uncomfortableness in her face at Sam's statement. Azami sighed, pushing the almost drooling boy out of the way, and handed the woman the list.

"We just need the things on this list, thank you…!" Azami responded with a polite smile, elbowing Sam in the stomach before he could say anything. The woman nodded, glancing at the list quickly, and disappeared into the back to gather the items. Meanwhile, Ace had taken to exploring the lobby, staring at all of the hanging and potted plants curiously.

From the corner of his eye, something flashed by; for a moment, he believed it was just a butterfly or something, but it flew by again, and Ace caught a glimpse of a head. Now he knew he wasn't seeing things…. "Hey…"

"What is it?" Azami said as she turned, looking up at him. Ace's eyes widened as it landed on the small creature hovering behind Azami's head. It giggled silently, then held a finger up to its mouth, before reaching for Azami's hair. Ace launched forward, both hands outstretched to catch the little butterfly-thing, but it flew out of his reach, letting him ram right into Azami. "Ow, what the hell Portgas?!"

"No, there was a… a thing, I don't know!" He cried out, spinning around frantically to see where it had gone this time. He spotted it a few feet away, resting in an orange flower. It had its legs crossed and was waving at the trio. "There it is!"

Azami turned to look, and her eyes narrowed as they spotted the thing. "Annoying Fairy…."

"Stupid Witch…" It stuck its tongue out at Azami, before waving and flying out the window.

Azami growled, before rushing out the door, a scowl on her face. "Get back here you little beast!"

Ace gave chase, an excited smile growing on his face; he was going to catch a real, live fairy! This was going better than anything he could have planned!

"H-hey guys… Wait!" Sam called out, but the woman had returned with the bags of items at this point. He spun back around to give her a charming smile, and she handed him the bag, a deadpan on her face. "Thank you very much, Miss…?"

The woman sighed and shook her head, accepting the money and returning to the back. Sam sighed dreamily, before shaking his head and rushing out the door, remembering that Ace and Azami had taken off. "Ace! Azami!"

By the time he had gotten outside, they were already gone, lost in the crowded street. Sam sighed, then looked down at the list. "I guess I'll see them on the ship…?"

~comeonnowdon'tbeshy~

"This is why I *hate* fairies!"

"Oh come on Azami, if you hadn't provoked her she wouldn't have had a reason to do this!"

"Oh really, now it's *my* fault?!"

"Having trouble, are we?" The little fairy giggled, sitting on a tree branch and smirking over at the two. She was no longer tiny like before, more of human sized now, with pretty grey eyes and purple hair. On her back were translucent yellow wings, with intricate designs on them. She seemed to be wearing a dress made out of the flowers themselves- or at least flower petals, both dark and light shades of blue. Her voice reminded Ace of wind chimes - pleasant to listen to and very soft, depending on the breeze.

Azami snarled at the girl, from her current position of her arms and legs being tied to a tree, and Ace trying to burn them off. "Idiot Fairy. Release me."

"You won't get anything having that attitude, Dumb Witch." The fairy snarled, before turning to Ace with a pretty smile. Azami rolled her eyes. "But I'll do anything for him…!"

"You Fairies have no class; all you do is go around, annoying people, and taking whatever you want. You don't work for *anything* in your life. You think it's supposed to be given to you on a silver platter." Azami spat out, a smug grin on her face as the fairy's cheeks burned a bright red. "You seemed to have forgotten that you come from the *lowest* tier, *Fae!*"

"Oh yeah? And all you Witches are capable of is destroying anything you come across; I mean, look at you guys- you even destroyed yourselves! At least *we Fae* know how to work with each other instead of against." She responded smoothly, folding her hands over her lap. Azami's face visibly darkened, and she sucked in a large breath, before releasing a powerful gust to knock the fairy over.

The vines over her arms and legs slackened, and Azami wasted no time in pulling Ace out and into the forest. He stumbled a bit but soon caught up to her pace, letting out a sigh as they emerged at the edge of the town again, startling only a few people. Azami took a deep breath, and glanced behind them. When she hadn't caught anything following them, she let out a sigh, then turned and headed towards the deck.

"Well, that was awful. Ugh, every time I meet a Fairy I'm just reminded more and more why I hate them! Stupid little beasts that have no business bothering the people on this plane; they should just stick to what they're supposed to do and leave the rest of us alone!" Azami ranted, crossing her arms as she walked.

By this time, the sun was setting, the orange light tinting the village and giving everything a golden hue. Not many people were out and about, the few being shop owners ready to shut down for the day and return to their own families. Ace frowned slightly; it had been early morning when they ran into the forest. Did the whole day pass by without them noticing…?!

"Marco's gonna be pissed…" Ace groaned; already he could hear the scolding speech, followed by what would quite possibly be lewd comments about how he "ran off with Azami for some alone time~"... He visibly shuddered, not wanting to have to endure that, nor did he want any part of Azami's reaction. Still, he might as well get it over with, right? He glanced over at Azami as he began making his way towards the dock; she seemed to be in her own world- shit, had she been talking?! She didn't seem to notice he wasn't listening, so he started to pay attention before it dawned on her…

"... I swear, they think they're so high and mighty, but really, they're just a bunch of superficial wannabes. At least I'm not trapped in between planes, bound to do someone *else's* bidding for the rest of my life and I'm not bound to a dying forest!" Azami huffed, crossing her arms. "They'll bang anyone within a two feet radius of them; sucks when there are more females born than males. At least we can repopulate if we ever needed to, unlike those annoying, high pitched, whiny…. Argh, they irritate me so much! And they have the *nerve* to declare themselves the Highest Order of Magical Beings…!"

Ace had stopped listening halfway through on her rant; he had no idea what she was even going on about anymore…. Something about Fairies and magic? Speaking of fairies… that Fairy from the forest had called her a "Witch" more than once; what was up with that? Did it have something to do with her epithet? Or… is that where she got her epithet *from*? It made him curious; it would also explain her strange power- he was sure it wasn't a Devil Fruit, or some strange form of Haki. Or, maybe it *was*. Maybe she just mixed her Devil Fruit abilities and Armament Haki together… Either way, he would find out when they got back on the ship.

…

…

…

…

Where was the ship?

He could have sworn it was on this dock…. Unless they were on the wrong side of the island…? No, that couldn't be possible. *This* was the side they approached on; he remembered being able to see the town's clock tower from here. This was the dock they stopped on. So again, *where* had the ship gone? He couldn't have missed it! It was a freaking *whale* for cryin' out loud!

Just one more time. He'd walk along the dock one more time to see if he *had* missed it, and then he would head back into the island, start asking questions, and see where everyone had gone. Just as he made it to the end of the dock - with no sign of the Moby Dick - he caught a glimpse of a very familiar yellow ship… And sure enough, it turned out to be his ship, the *Striker*. An ill feeling settled in his stomach, and he glanced back at Azami, who was *still* ranting about their fairy encounter.

"Azami…"

"-there was a time when those *Fae* were nothing but little servants, only able to do their master's bidding-"

"Azami…!"

"-and now they think they own the *fucking* world! They seemed to have forgotten who *really*-"

"*Azami!*"

"What?!" She snapped, the anger clear in her green eyes. Ace sighed, then waved his hand out, annoyed with her. He would really like some help but she wasn't offering any!

"They left us behind." He answered, watching as the rage melted away, making room for confusion to settle in. "I can't find the ship; this is the right dock, but it's nowhere to be seen. And… they left my personal ship behind."

"Hey, look…." She pointed to a sheet of paper that had been attached to the mast of the *Striker*. He stepped onto the ship, tearing it off and beginning to read it aloud.

*"We had to leave the island so the log pose wouldn't reset; maybe you'll think twice about running off without doing your jobs next time. We left the *Striker* behind so you can catch up. -Marco."* He finished, looking out to the horizon, then back to Azami.

She herself had angry red cheeks as she glared at the orange sea. "... Those assholes! When I get back to the ship they're- hey!"

Ace picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder and hopped onto his ship, starting it up instantly. If they hurried now, they could close the distance between them just a bit, instead of staying in the town and waiting to start in the morning. He didn't have much money on him, and he sure as hell *wasn't* going to make a deal with Azami; the woman would wring him of every last Beri! His best chance was to crank out as much fire as he could and get as close as he could. Then… the two of them would have to figure it out from there. As Ace sped along, trying to close the gap between the Moby Dick and themselves, he could feel Azami pounding her tiny fists onto his back and kicking her legs to get out of his grasp. Ace grit his teeth; why did *he* have to get stuck with such an *uncooperative* woman…..?!

Eventually the sun sank too low for him to continue, and he slowed the ship down to a stop, letting the waves push it onward gently. A quick check of the log pose he always kept with him revealed they would still be on the same path as the Moby Dick. He wasn't sure how long they'd been in that forest - it only seemed like a few minutes, but it could have been an entire week, for all he knew… Azami had stopped abusing his back some time ago, and he wondered if she was okay…

The moment he set her down, his face was met with a fist.

Ace stumbled back, letting out something like a growl and a gasp of surprise. His hands flew up to check his face, and he found blood staining his fingertips. She… She made him bleed - again….! Just what type of *devil woman* was she?! "*What* is your problem?!"

"Don't you ever - *ever* - think you can grab me like that." Azami hissed out, her face scrunched in anger and her fists curled tightly.

"I was trying to play catch up, since *someone* got us left behind!" Ace spat out, rubbing his nose. He could hear the low snarl escape Azami's mouth.

"Now you're *blaming* me?!" Azami threw her hands up, rolling her eyes and turning her back to him, before facing him once more and crossing her arms. "Do you get some kick out of seeing how many times you can say it was *my* fault?!"

"If you hadn't provoked that Fairy into trapping you, we would have been on the ship *when they left!*" Ace yelled at her, lowering his hands and clenching them tightly; it wouldn't do good to lose control out in the open like this, especially when it was dark too… Still… She was pushing all of his buttons.

*"You didn't have to follow me!"* Azami screamed, her entire face red. Somewhere behind her anger, somewhere behind the curling snarl of her lips and the reddened cheeks and the fire in her green eyes, it was there. "I would have been *just fine* on my own!"

Ace's eyes barely widened as he processed her sentence; it was sitting there, snugly in between Azami's fiery words. He saw the pain. Had she always been on her own like this? Didn't she have anyone to fall back on? Or did something happen that forced her to become so bitter, so *untrustworthy* of everyone around her? Even though he was still angry, Ace felt a little pity for her; he had been like that once too… In fact, if it hadn't been for Sabo and Luffy, Ace bet he would have turned out just like Azami - unable to trust anyone and closed off from the world. He could only guess what saved him didn't happen for Azami -

His thoughts stopped as his brain was hit with a wave of sleepiness, instantly bringing his body into a relaxed mode. He swayed slightly, before toppling over the side of the yellow boat and sinking into the water. The grey waves did nothing to wake him up, and he continued sinking like the Devil Fruit Anchor he was.

It didn't take long before he blacked out, all of his senses dimming and dying down.

~goonandkissthegirl!~

The next time he woke up, a faintly blue sky greeted him. Ace groaned slightly, closing his eyes and trying to get over the sickly, ill feeling that almost-drowning always gave him. The rocking waves helped little, only tossing and turning whatever he had eaten for breakfast yesterday. Speaking of eating… He should probably do that some time soon; no use in starving before reaching the Moby Dick….

He sat up slowly, opening his eyes once he felt stable enough, and looked right into blank green ones. Both of them stared at each other for a moment, before Azami opened her mouth. "... Hey."

"Hey…" he responded - or tried to; his throat was dry. She must've predicted this would happen, as she was already handing over a canteen filled with water. He drank greedily, before realizing that they should save their water; no telling how long they would be out like this.

"Hungry?" She asked quietly, handing over a crude sandwich. He tore a piece of it off, chewing it for a moment before swallowing and nodding approvingly. It would do for now.

"Thanks."

The two fell into silence once more, with the only thing breaking it being the birds above and the waves below. Ace finished his sandwich off, then stood, stretching his sore arms. Vaguely he checked the log pose on his wrist; they were still heading in the right direction. Good.

"I'm sorry."

Ace raised an eyebrow as he looked up, sure he had heard the thief wrong, and glanced over at Azami with a moderately surprised look. She wouldn't meet his eyes, instead keeping her head lowered and playing with a strand of her hair. Ace sighed; he wondered how hard it was for her to say that. "It's fine. I think we both needed to cool down…"

"Yeah…."

Silence once again. Ace stood for a moment, his head trying to find something to push the silence away with, when a newspaper hit him on the head. He glared up at the seagull sitting on the sail, waiting for his payment when Azami tossed a few coins at him, giving the bird a grateful smile as it flew off.

Ace, on the other hand, opened the newspaper, catching the wanted posters that had fallen out. His grin brightened as he spotted the familiar grinning, straw hat wearing teen right on top. Even though it had been just shy of a week since his first wanted poster had gone out, Ace was still as proud as he was the first time he'd seen it.

"What are you grinning for? Anything good?" Azami asked curiously, peering up at Ace's face from underneath the newspaper. He picked up the wanted poster and showed it to her, practically shoving it into her face.

"This is my little brother, Luffy!" He responded. The pure brotherly love was clear to read on his face as he continued talking. "He's finally gotten started as a pirate! I wonder what he's up to now…? I hope he's okay…. I should check on him sometime…"

"What's he like…?" Azami asked, still staring at the wanted poster. She could definitely see the resemblance between them; big, life-filled smiles and the same raven colored hair. Just from this picture alone, she got the feeling that he was just full of energy. Something about the picture seemed familiar, though - not just the resemblance he bore to Ace. It was something else too...

"Luffy? Well…. To put it simply…. He has limitless energy." Ace smiled fondly, staring off into the distance - east, she found it to be. "The kid always wears a smile, no matter what he's doing. He used to be a crybaby when we were younger, but that changed the older we got… He could never beat me in a fight either, no matter how many times he tried!"

Azami sat with a small smile, listening to Ace attentively. "Sounds like a handful… Now I wonder how my brother dealt with me..."

Ace paused, looking at Azami with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. "You have a brother." It was more of a statement than a question. Azami herself tensed up slightly, before settling back into the relaxing pose from before.

"Yeah… an older brother - Hiro… he raised me, basically…" Azami smiled softly, resting her head on her drawn up knees. She seemed to be in her own world, a cloudiness drifting into her eyes and a quietness resting in her voice. "I… don't remember much from the first few years of my life, or my parents. The only constant I had growing up was Hiro… Even when things got rough, he would do his best to make sure I was taken care of."

She gently grasped the front of her shirt as she continued talking. "He was the one who taught me how to fight, how to be a thief, and even how to make good peanut butter cookies; without him, I think I'd have given up a long time ago… Especially once those *lunatics* began ruining everything. Even after the attacks, I never stopped looking for him… There were times where I thought… I assumed… I'd be alone, for the rest of my life. And I know he must've been worried about me, especially after…"

She trailed off, falling into a melancholy quiet; Ace remained silent, confused on what to say or how to feel. Most of what she said made no sense to him, but from her tone of voice he could tell it was a touchy and painful subject for her. And from the way she drew herself up, he realized she probably wasn't going to say anymore than she already had. But now he was curious; what else was she going to say before she stopped herself?

"Anyway…" Azami continued, clearing her throat and catching Ace's attention again, "Like I said, my brother was the one who took care of me; I don't know a lot about my parents, if they were ever in my life. I've only heard vague stories of them, and Hiro won't tell me anything else..."

"I can relate…" Ace said with a small chuckle, the thoughts of his own lineage coming to surface. "But I've got a family now, so I don't need to worry about that!"

"A family, huh..." Now that was a foreign thought to Azami... She wondered what it was like - to be a part of a family... The Whitebeard Pirates certainly made it seem worthwhile... They all looked to have come from different parts of the Blues, and maybe even from the Grand Line and New World, and yet they all work together... Decidedly, she shook her head; that was nothing she needed to worry about. The pirates were nothing more than a cheap ride for her; she needed to keep her distance from them before they found her...

So instead of asking Ace to elaborate, she instead changed the topic. "What was it like when you first met Whitebeard?"

From the grin on Ace's face, she could tell it was an interesting story, and a long one at that. So she made herself comfortable as Ace headed into the tale, starting with his subsequent assimilation into the crew, the many attempts to kill Whitebeard, and how he ended up becoming Second Division Commander. Azami herself had a large smile on her face as Ace finished up and leaned back, staring up at the sky.

"Running into the Old Man was the second best thing to ever happen to my life..." He muttered, a lazy smile on his face. That lazy smile fell as he saw the sun high in the sky; it was already noon at this point. How long had they been talking? "We should get moving again."

Ace started to stand, but Azami shook her head, standing up and putting her hand on his shoulder. Confused, Ace looked up at her, noting the small smile on her face. "I've got this; you rest."

To his surprise, Azami's legs lit up, golden orange and dark red flames flying from her feet. The ship started to move faster, slicing through the water. Ace himself could not believe it; how was she doing *that?!* "Is it a Devil Fruit?"

"Hm?" She turned halfway towards him, raising a grey eyebrow. "Is what a Devil Fruit?"

"That."

His hand waved at her, indicating her now fiery legs. Just slightly, Azami tensed, drawing her mouth into a thin line. Ace frowned slightly, meeting her hard gaze with a cool one, expecting an answer from her. She had no way to avoid it now, seeing as they were out in the open, with nothing to distract them. He could see from the increasing pressing of her lips and wrinkling of her brow that she was struggling with what to say, when finally she sighed, closing her eyes and turning back around.

"It's… complicated." Azami finally answered, keeping her back towards him. "But it's not a Devil Fruit."

Ace waited patiently, even though he was brimming with questions to ask her. *What did she mean? What type of power was it? Where did she get it from? How long had she had it?*

"Tell me something… do you believe in magic?"

"Magic?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. Azami turned to face him, a serious look in her green eyes. Ace couldn't find a response to that; despite all the crazy shit he's seen, all the weird Devil Fruits he's heard of, *magic* was one thing he hadn't come across. And now he suddenly had some girl he just met asking him if he believed in it?

Azami no longer waited for an answer from him, instead turning back to face the choppy sea waves. "You're probably thinking, 'There's no way that Magic can exist!', but I assure you, it does. Us Magic Folk… We've just… we stayed out of the line of sight. Or at least most of us *wanted* to. It did no good to jump into the big power-plays that were happening; 'Let the humans settle it themselves,' the Grand Witches argued, 'they don't need our interference.'. And of course, this didn't sit well with those *Extremists* - "

By this point, she realized she was rambling, and so she cut herself off. For what seemed too long to Ace, she remained silent, not uttering another word. Ace took this as his chance to speak.

"Well, whatever the hell kind of power you have, you have to tell Pops and the others. This is something too big -" too *life threatening* - "to keep quiet about."

"No." Azami spun back around, the *Striker* rocking and swaying from her movements. "Do you have any idea how much I risked just by telling *you?!*

"Well I'm not keeping it secret. You can either tell them who or *what* you really are, or you can get off the ship." Ace responded, shaking his head. He didn't even consider Azami to be on the same level as his family. Sure, she was fun to mess with, and even fight, but she wasn't family, and that made a *world* of difference to him. "I'm not putting my family in danger for *you.*"

Something in the back of Ace's mind niggled at his callous behavior of Azami though, and he frowned, shaking his head to dismiss it.

Azami glared down at him, her fist clenched tightly. Ace stared back at her, his eyes smoldering. Even from the few short months he's known her, he learned to recognize the small, twinkling glint in her eyes; she was planning something. Ace tensed, small tendrils of smoke rolling off of his biceps as Azami instead smiled frigidly.

"Then I guess we've never had this conversation."

Ace was going to ask her what he meant when he felt the wave of sleepiness hit him. For a moment, he thought his narcolepsy kicked in again, but he realized this was… forced. Unnatural. Like something - or someone - was imposing this onto his mind. It took half a second for him to realize this was Azami's doing, but his body was too heavy for him to do anything at this point.

"Dam… mit…" he only managed to get one swear out before his mind settled down in the murky darkness that was sleep.

Azami sighed, her hands shaking as she kept pushing the *Striker* forward, a lump forming in her throat. Eventually, once she felt they had reached an adequate current, she turned back to the sleeping Ace, bending down over him. With a wave of her hand and few words, a glass stone appeared in her palm. Staring at it, she could see their conversation being replayed, down to Ace's ultimatum. She scoffed, the lump still sitting in her throat, and she glared down at the sleeping Commander.

"Stupid; I know I don't matter to you. But I'm going to protect myself regardless." She muttered, angrily wiping a tear away as she turned back to the front of the Striker, starting up the engine once more.

She couldn't figure out why his comment bothered her so much, until she thought back to before she'd told him her secret. The way his smile lit up when he saw his brother's wanted poster; the attentiveness and quietness he gave her as she talked about her own brother; the pure excitement that trembled in his body as he told her the story of how he became a Whitebeard Pirate…

It was because it was the first time they *really* talked to each other. It was the first time she shared a conversation, a *true* conversation, with a person other than her brother.

She let out a short, bitter laugh. Who would have thought that the person to break through her first defense so quickly would be the same person that infuriated her on a daily basis? But when she really thought about Ace, her mind pushed past all the superficial bullshit, the barely polite conversations and the near-brutal fights they'd get into… her mind stopped at the very first night she'd stayed on the Moby Dick, to that first conversation she and Ace had, outside their doors.

*"Goodnight, Azami. See you tomorrow."*

She could see it, clear as day - the small, knowing smile he'd given her, the soft conviction in his voice, being so *sure* he'd wake up the next morning and see her at the breakfast table. It had pierced right through her heart, tearing at her soul. There was only one other time in her life she'd heard someone other than her brother speak in such a way to her, with such a belief in her…

Her hand reached up and gently touched the crescent moon necklace around her neck, and she released a small, shuddering sigh.

"You remind me so much of him, sometimes…" Azami muttered to the unconscious Ace. "You're both so different, but… oh, so similar at times that it's scary. Some of the things you say and do, are exactly what he'd do if he were still here."

She still kept her back to Ace, before letting out a short laugh. Perhaps this was a sign, then.

"Alright, I'll let you in, Portgas." A small, warm smile crossed her features as the sun set on the horizon in front of the duo.

"I'm trusting you to not let me down…"

~Shalalalalalaain'tthatsadit'ssuchashametoobad~

"Portgas…! Wake up, you walking Campfire!"

Ace groaned, blinking his eyes rapidly to dispel the misty remains that sleep held over him. The world came into focus, and he found himself staring up at blank green eyes and a head of silver hair. Azami. What had he been doing before? He remembered being left behind on the island… the argument with Azami… and then his narcolepsy chose the perfect time to kick in… There was another conversation - something about Azami - but his brain was too muddled from waking up, and he could have very well been imagining it... Surely he hadn't been asleep for that long, then? It seemed like more time had passed than he remembered, but… then again, his narcolepsy did that to him.

"Hey!"

He looked to his right, and saw that they were pulled up beside the Moby Dick. A bunch of the members were leaning against the railing, some with smug grins, others laughing at their situation. Ace sat up, rubbing his head slightly and staring at the grinning and giggling pirates. Azami had already hopped aboard the deck, no longer concerned for Ace. He could hear her complaints from the *Striker,* and he chuckled, climbing the ladder and helping others pull the bright yellow ship up and out of the water.

No sooner did he finish this task was he bombarded, with Sam, Elena, Allen, Akimi, Thatch, and Marco surrounding him.

"So? What was it like to spend four whole days alone with Azami?!" Sam demanded, his eyes blazing with determined fire.

"Did you find any secrets out?" Elena asked with equal force and determination as Sam. Ace faltered a bit, glancing over at Azami, who was chatting with another crew member like the time they spent together had meant nothing.

"Did she tell you anything about herself?" Allen asked curiously, peering at Azami as well.

Even though he felt like there was a gap in his memory, he *did* learn something new about her. "Well… she's certainly interesting…"

"What kind of answer is that?" Sam responded with a childish frown, crossing his arms.

Ace wasn't sure, but until he figured out more himself, that was the best answer he could give.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your break, Ace, but…" Marco stepped forward, placing a hand on the hot-headed Commander's shoulder. There was a chilling smile on his face as he looked at Ace, causing him to shudder. "You two are going to have to make it up."

"What? Oh come on, Marco! I-it was just one day! And it was an accident! This wasn't intentional!"

"It's the chores you skipped while on the island, *plus* the four days you were out at sea; come see me later to get your punishments!"

Everyone laughed as Ace chased Marco around the ship, pleading with him to change his punishment, to no avail. Everything had returned to normal once more.

Author's Note: Chapter 4 is on its way (updated July 23, 2020); I'm wrangling around with it, and I might even end up splitting it in half at this point, so sit tight!