A/N: Originally posted on my Tumbls

Tumblr: fanfiction-by-abalisk

The first time Ace saw her, she'd completely blindsided Sabo with a fierce punch to his nose.

They'd been trying to hassle an older woman—a feeble looking thing that looked like she was on her last legs—for one of the items she had in her cart. Sabo had spotted it at a distance, his keen eye for rare goods letting him know that the little bauble would sell for a high price on the market.

They both felt a little bad about it, but they really needed money for their pirate fund.

So they tried for a gentle shakedown… just a little intimidation.

Only...

"Hey! Leave her the fuck alone, you little shit!" she shouted from seemingly nowhere, white hair flying into a wide arc as her body followed the blow, a twisted snarl on her lips.

Sabo stumbled back with a cry, clutching his face as rivulets of blood streamed from his (probably) broken nose. Ace roared a challenge in retaliation, raising his pipe high as he swung to defend his friend, surprised when she smoothly dodged. None of the other residents of the Gray Terminal moved like that, and they certainly didn't defend each other from attacks like this girl just did for an old woman.

But he was proven wrong, and was even more shocked when she turned to defy his growl with one of her own, eyes flashing dangerously.

She crouched into a stance, her fingers splayed wide as she prowled between him and the woman behind her. "Gramma... Get gone," she hissed, her eyes never straying from his own, clearly sizing him up.

Ace did the same, ignoring the old woman as she heeded the girl's order and gathered her things in a hasty scramble. The girl looked to be around his age, scrawny and filthy like all street rats of the Gray Terminal, and much to his displeasure, slightly taller than him. Her eyes had a feral quality to them that made a slight tingle of unease shoot down his spine, reminding him far too much of the tigers on Mt. Colubo.

"Who the hell are you?" he spit, stepping forward, an action that had the white-haired girl tensing slightly, her fingers twitching.

Giving a derisive snort, the girl's lip curled, showcasing a particularly sharp canine. "What's it to you, Freckles? Gonna ask me on a date?"

"As if!" Ace snapped, wrinkling his nose at the prospect. He'd seen the older boys and men in Edge Town and Town Center and the stupid way they acted around girls, the way they served them hand and foot as the women demanded more and more and more. He didn't see the appeal at all.

"Then piss off," she barked, rolling her shoulders in preparation as he brought his pipe to bear, "'Cuz I'm only gonna warn you once. Keep away from my Gramma, or I'll feed you your own asshole."

"I'd like to see you try!" Ace roared, bolting forward to swing his pipe in a bone-breaking blow, confident in his success. He'd cracked open the skulls of boars plenty of times, this little girl had nothing on that.

Surprisingly, she didn't back off like everyone else mistakenly did, instead she dove forward, under the swing, and drove her open palm into his stomach.

Ace wheezed as pain radiated through every nerve in his chest and ribs, the air rushing right out of him. He choked while his knees buckled, slamming his body to the ground as he rolled to protect his agonized belly. A thin line of saliva dripped to the ground as he struggled to breathe, his mind in a blind panic when he couldn't draw breath.

Distantly, he could hear Sabo screaming his name, but he couldn't answer.

He felt like he was suffocating.

"Remember what I said, brat," the girl warned.

And then she was gone.

Sabo was staggering to his side not long after, offering comfort the only way he knew how, by patting and rubbing at his back. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned and slightly nasally from his own injury, a watery sniff indicating that it was still bleeding. His hands fluttered about uselessly, not really knowing what to do with Ace in such a state.

Ace could only let out a small whine as his chest loosened, a tiny amount of air making it into his deprived lungs. He coughed and sucked in a rasping breath, choking a little on his own spit when he tried to breathe too fast. Sabo thumped his back as he bent to hurl, his stomach finally finding the mind to rebel at its abuse.

"Damn," Sabo muttered, giving a grimace when Ace gave a pained gurgle, "I don't know what she did… but that's one mean, foul-mouthed girl."

If Ace hadn't been busy puking his guts out, he would have agreed.

They tried to locate her after Ace caught his breath, but it was impossible to track anything with accuracy in the heaps of trash. For all they knew, she could have found a bolt hole or a tunnel among the junk. Ace was beyond furious, no one had ever defeated both of them before, and the mysterious girl had seemingly done it with little effort on her part.

They went their separate ways as the sun sank on the horizon, licking their wounds and plotting their vengeance.

When they asked around for information in the weeks after that fateful encounter, no one could give them an accurate read on her location. They'd seen her around sure, it was hard to miss with hair color like that, but every time Ace and Sabo stumbled onto the place she'd last been spotted there was no trace.

She was like a ghost.

xXx

The second time Sabo saw her, he and Ace had been stuffing themselves at a bustling ramen stand in Edge Town.

He almost didn't recognize her as the street rat that totally trounced them, her hair pulled into a neatly braided bun, clad in a seafoam green dress with a semi-translucent shawl decorated in gold flowers.

She looked presentable, like a citizen of High Town.

Is she under cover? Where'd she get those clothes? he wondered.

Sabo elbowed Ace, causing his friend to gag around the large helping of noodles he'd just shoveled into his face. When he turned to glare at him for interrupting his meal, Sabo pointed her out of the crowd.

Ace promptly spit out his food in surprise, recognizing her as well.

They scrambled after the white-haired girl, ignoring the indignant wailing of the shopkeeper at their backs.

She weaved in and out of the crowd like a dancer, forcing the boys to dodge and shove their way past every person that came between them. Sabo heard Ace give several growls and curses of frustration as they drew no closer, a sentiment that he heartily agreed with. Every time they had a chance to pounce, something or someone would get in the way… he was beginning to think it was some kind of divine intervention.

When they stumbled into a cabbage cart, sending the round vegetables scattering all over the street (to the immense horror of the farmer who screamed "My cabbages!" at the top of his lungs), the girl looked back at them with a knowing smirk curling her lips.

He didn't know how… but she'd clearly been doing it on purpose.

She had a mischievous glint in her eye, and blew them a cheeky kiss with a wink.

The chase that followed was the greatest exercise in patience that Sabo had ever taken since running away from his parents. With her dress, it should have been easy catch her, but it seemed the girl had no problem hiking the skirts high on her hips and bolting like a jackrabbit, her polished shoes clicking a staccato rhythm on the pavement.

Ace had stated confidently, when the pursuit led them into a series of alleyways, that if they just chased her down one of the dead ends they'd catch her in no time.

However…

Rounding another bend, Sabo barely stopped from skidding into Ace, the both of them panting with exertion as the girl led them down yet another open corridor. She hadn't taken one wrong turn the entire time they chased her and the boys knew these alleyways like the back of their hands.

"What the hell, why can't we catch her?!" Ace complained, kicking a trash can out of the way in frustration when she disappeared around another corner.

"Ugh," Sabo grunted, gasping for air as he planted his hands on his knees, "She… She's really fast…"

"Hm, I do wonder," an amused voice cut in, and both boys stilled at the sound, "It's like I grew up here or something. Strange how that works, huh?" Glancing up, they winced at the brightness of the sky, squinting to see the girl standing on the roof of the nearest building, her hands on her hips. Her smile was the epitome of smug as she leered down at them, the fabric of her dress flowing in the breeze.

"I can see your underwear!" Ace shouted triumphantly with a point of his finger, a clear bid to embarrass the girl if his victorious grin was anything to go by.

Sabo barely restrained his impulse to smack his friend, his face flushing. Sure, she had the high ground and was thus flashing them thoroughly, but manners dictated at least that they not point it out. Enemy or not.

However, his objections died the moment her grin turn absolutely wicked.

"Well then, you better get an eyeful, Freckles, 'cuz this is the most action you're gonna get in a long while~" she crowed and proceeded to lift her skirt, showcasing her panties for all to see.

Sabo sputtered in protest and averted his gaze, dragging his confused friend into a huddle. Ace blinked in bewilderment and gave him a questioning look. "I don't get it… Usually that works. And what did she mean by—"

"I—I don't know," Sabo interrupted, his face still red, honestly not sure what she meant either, only knowing that whatever it was... it'd been inappropriate. The raucous cackles of the girl further proved his point and his blush deepened at the realization that she knew exactly what she was doing. "I think we're outmatched with this one, Ace…"

"Hell no!" Ace growled and whipped around to brandish his finger at the rude child, "Get down here and fight us, Whitey!"

"Nah," the girl said, crouching like a gargoyle and shoving her pinky in her ear, a bored expression on her face, "Don't wanna."

"Chicken!" Ace taunted and she snorted in response, quirking her brows.

"That the best you got? I've heard better from toddlers and old people," she drawled. Withdrawing her finger from her ear, she inspected it thoroughly before flicking away whatever she found. "Besides, I'm not stupid. I've heard about you two in the Gray Terminal, Ace and Sabo, the thieves. You've got a reputation of taking down adults together, I ain't gonna tango with a hospital bill when I can't afford it."

"Like I said, 'Chicken!'" Ace shouted with a stomp of his foot, trying to affirm his proclamation.

Sabo frowned. Everything she said sounded logical from his perspective. She was certainly a much more level-headed individual than his friend, though he'd never admit that aloud.

Loyalty came first.

White-Hair shrugged, unfazed. "Think what'chu want," she said, straightening up and stretching her back with a groan, before shooting them a wry grin, "As titillating as this conversation is, I gotta bounce. Maybe you guys can chase me around another day, give me a good workout."

Ace growled menacingly, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his pipe.

"Oh and by the way," she started, leaning forward to wiggle a finger at Ace, "You got a noodle hangin' out of your nose…"

Sabo whipped about to give the boy a wide-eyed look and promptly burst out laughing as, sure enough, a ramen noodle was poking its way out of Ace's nostril. The fact that he was frowning thunderously didn't help matters at all.

Ace cursed and made a disgusted face as he pulled on the noodle, gagging when it proved to be a really long strand. By the time he fully removed the doughy string, Sabo was practically crying with mirth.

The girl chuckled before giving them a two fingered salute, beaming all the while. "And with that, all I gotta say is: Ciao!"

And then she skipped away, vanishing without a trace over the rooftops.