#he is just glad that the merchant got them off the streets LOL

[desired-misery]

me when looking at all the different guns and ammo types used in RE4R: wow, it's a wonder than Leon can find all this ammunition for his guns when almost no enemies have guns to use. Glad it worked out for him me, after a few seconds more of thinking: holy shit Leon, you are one lucky bastard that Los Illuminados didn't use guns because you would have been doomed

[nejibaby]

Want You Back

Pairings: Portgas D. Ace x Y/N

Song reference/inspiration: Want You Back by 5 Seconds of Summer

Summary: You broke up with Ace a few days before he sets off to become a pirate. You thought that it would probably be the last day you’d ever see him again. But you meet him once again in Alabasta.

Word count: 7k

A/N: This somehow turned out to be too long for my style lol but I just can’t get enough of Ace… Anyway, I hope you have fun reading this as much as I loved writing it. Please let me know your thoughts~

Reposting this because Tumblr $uck$. Please turn a blind eye if you’ve seen this post already last Feb lol

You’re walking down the streets of Nanohana, purchasing water and provisions for your trip when you suddenly stop in your tracks as you see a merchant selling orange roses.

The orange roses don’t intrigue you per se since you’ve long learned that such color could be produced by cross-breeding red roses with yellow roses, however, it’s not often you see such wonderful, healthy flowers in a desert town. That, and well, the sight brought back memories of your past with your first love who you fell in love with too young, too hard, too fast.

You could almost hear the pitter patter of the rain on that eventful day. You could almost see the dark sky on the horizon. You could almost feel the same aching sensation on your heart. The orange roses reminds you of the day you broke up with your first love.

You were both only seventeen then. It was just a few days before his departure; before his journey to fulfill his dream on becoming a pirate. You supported him in his dream, you really did. You believed in him, he’s strong. Reckless, but strong, and determined. He promised he’d come back to you after he’s proven himself, but that’s when you doubted him. That’s the only time you doubted.

While he wanted to be a pirate, you wanted to be a scientist. You have had a curious mind since you were young and it never really went away until now that you’re twenty. When you were younger you’d question, “Why is the sky blue?”or “Why does it rain?” or “How much salt is in the ocean?” But when you grew older, the questions evolved to “What is the mechanism behind this?” or “What would happen to this if certain variables changed?”

He craved for validation while you craved for knowledge.

You thought that it just wouldn’t work out between the two of you. He doesn’t need a scientist and you didn’t need a pirate to achieve your dreams.

Sure, it was possible for a long distance relationship, but you didn’t think you could handle that much distance. It would drive you crazy. You could barely handle the days when you’re at Windmill Village and he’s at Mt. Colubo, living with Dadan Family. And those two places weren’t even that far from each other. It was the trek there that was dangerous so when you were younger, before the two of you even started dating, you always have to come with your aunt Makino, and Woop Slap to get there and visit him, Luffy, and Sabo.

When you were ten years old, you only visited once in three months and then somehow it turned to twice in a month. When you reached thirteen years old, you were finally allowed to go there by yourself wherein you’d visit weekly, sometimes even stay the night. Dadan was actually apprehensive of letting you spend your days there, because she claimed she doesn’t like kids, but you were the only kid on her watch that actually did chores so she eventually relented. Those were the days you loved most, because he was just so close, you didn’t have to worry too much about him.

But soon enough he was leaving. Everyday he promised he’d come back but you doubted. The Grand Line is such a dangerous place. It‘s referred to as the Pirates’ Graveyard by everyone. It was even written in some books you’ve read about the sea. If that wasn’t enough reason to be worried sick, statistics say only a handful of men were able to come out of it alive. While you knew he’s strong, you also knew strength just wasn’t enough.

Truth be told, you wanted to travel the seas too, out of curiosity, of course. There were so many mysteries about the sea, so many unexplained phenomena, so many undiscovered things — things that you wanted to learn about. But you weren’t brave enough nor were you strong so you abandoned that thought.

Orange roses adorned your shirt on that day. You remember the feeling of the raindrops pouring over your body. It was raining in the middle of the night and you were outside Dadan’s house. You were soaked but you didn’t plan on taking cover anytime soon. You just sat outside, wallowing in despair for what you’re about to do.

“Y/N? What are ya doing here? You’re going to get sick!” He called out.

“Why are you still up, Ace?” You asked.

“I wanted to check on you but you weren’t in bed.”

You remember feeling your heart stutter at his words. Ace was rough around the edges but he was always gentle and sweet when it came to you. And you were just about to break his heart.

“Ace, we should break up.”

You remember the way he laughed as if you were telling him a joke. “Oi, don’t joke about things like that.” But he faltered when you didn’t laugh with him.

You couldn’t help but wonder if that was the last time you’d see his face. You stared at his face for a while longer, memorizing his face before saying, “This will never work.”

You expected him to shout, to ask you why, to demand answers. But he just gave you a look of betrayal. Your heart dropped at the sight of that. Your vision became blurry from tears that were threatening to fall. He looked away. Were those tears in his eyes or was that just the fucking rain?

You desperately wished he’d say something, anything. You just wanted to hear his voice again. But there was no response, he just clenched his fists and his jaw, and then he was walking away.

You didn’t have it in you to stay at Dadan’s house after doing such a cruel thing so you left that night after crying a few hours after Ace walked away. You left a note for Dadan though, telling her you were feeling sick and you went home, just so she doesn’t worry about your sudden disappearance.

You really did get sick after that day. Even on the day of his departure you were sick. Makino didn’t allow you to come and see him go but she promised she’d explain why you weren’t there. Despite that, you still did it anyway, you still went there, but you hid behind trees. How could you not? You might never see him ever again. Okay, maybe you’d see him in the newspaper or the wanted posters, but probably never face to face, so you pushed yourself to come. You were glad you did, at least you got to see him smile so radiantly before he left.

A couple of months after he braved the seas, you left Windmill Village too to study science in a different town. But life didn’t really work out the way you wanted it to. In a series of misfortunes, you ended up becoming a pirate too, albeit temporarily, just to finance your dream.

The only thing that you lucked out on was your captain Naguri, an old man who used to be the captain of the doctor you apprenticed to. The doctor who you worked with didn’t want to continue becoming a pirate due to his old age so he recommended you to Naguri as a substitute. Naguri welcomed you to his crew despite you specifically telling him you’d only accompany them for five years and that you were only in it for the treasures. He told you it was fine and that five years was enough so you ended up joining them.

You went from wanting to study science to becoming an apprentice of a pirate doctor to becoming a pirate yourself and having a bounty for your head in a span of three years. If you only knew you’d be a pirate, you wouldn’t have broken things off with Ace. You would’ve just gone with him. But it was too late now.

You sigh as you touch the orange rose. It reminded you of the worst night of your life but you don’t dare to forget it since it was a memory of the last day you got to spend with him.

“Would you like to buy one, miss?” The merchant asks. “It’s—”

You didn’t get to hear the price of the rose because a familiar scream suddenly fills the air. When you whip your head to the direction of the sound, you see a very familiar straw hat on a man running away from Marines. Then it dawns to you that the man is Luffy.

You quickly scramble for your money to buy a single orange rose and then you run towards Luffy. Maybe it wasn’t the right decision to come after him, mainly because he’s being chased by Marines and you’re a wanted pirate too with a 25,000,000 bounty for your head. But he’s your best friend and you haven’t seen him for three years! That, and well, he’s in trouble so it’s not like you’d turn a blind eye on that.

Not a while later, you notice that the marine commander who’s chasing Luffy is Smoker, who is notoriously known for never letting pirates escape from his area of jurisdiction. As far as you know, Smoker is assigned at Loguetown so you wonder why he’s in Alabasta. And then you realize it’s Luffy he’s after. That dumbass could never lie low. You shake your head, Luffy almost always attracts trouble. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed with him yet.

You’re about to step in to save Luffy or at least, to buy him some time to escape when you hear another familiar voice.

“Heat Haze!”

You stop in your tracks as you saw a blast of fire stop the smoke attack and then his figure appears.

Ace.

You watch as he smirks at the Marine Commander, “Give it up. You may be smoke, but I’m fire. With our abilities, a fight would be pointless.”

Ah, Ace is a devil fruit user now. No wonder he’s known as “Fire Fist Ace.”

“Ace!” Luffy says, shocked.

“You never change, Luffy.”

They briefly talk about something, you aren’t able to catch it because your eyes are scanning over Ace. You can’t believe he’s there. You feel your heart beat faster at the sight of him. He’s more muscular now and taller. He looked healthier and stronger too. He’s still as attractive as ever, maybe even more than before. He’s grown into such a fine man.

But this isn’t really the time to be ogling your past lover. You still have Luffy to worry about. So despite the fact that you wanted to stay and watch Ace fight, you sprint off to catch up with Luffy and his friends.

In that instance, you realize that there’s a huge difference between the speed of a person when they’re running away from something (usually from danger), and the speed of a person when they’re running to catch up with someone. While you could see that his friends are running around together in one path, you don’t see Luffy’s straw hat in the group. You may have underestimated his abilities to get lost. With a sigh, you try to look for him in a different route.

You’re awfully tired by the time you find Luffy. And you’re pretty late too because he’s already with Ace and they’re in the middle of another brawl. It’s just like the two of them to get into a fight with a bunch of people. This time it’s with the Billions from Baroque Works.

You want to assist them in their fight even if they don’t seem to have a problem handling thugs like those. After all, you’ve grown to be a great fighter now.

You were pretty much a wimp when you were younger, so you may or may not want to actually show off the fighting skills you learned from your crewmates which led you to have a bounty for your head.

However, your stamina isn’t really that great yet so you still have to catch your breath first. You sit on a stray crate, watching the two fight against the group, just like the old days.

Ace didn’t know what prompted him to look behind him while Luffy stretched his arms to attack a man with a huge sword. But what he sees stuns him. There you are, just a few meters away, casually sitting on a crate with your head tilted slightly to the right and arms crossed over your chest. His breath hitches. He asks himself, were you really there this time or was it just another one of his imaginations?

You’re surprised when Ace snaps his head at your direction. You feel your body involuntarily jolt when you lock your eyes with him. Even after all these years, he still makes your heart flutter.

“Gomu gomu no Bazooka!” Luffy finishes his attack on his opponent.

Ace doesn’t look away from you as if you’d suddenly disappear if he even dared to blink. “Is that…?” He whispers.

“Hmm?” Luffy asks, not really sure what Ace is referring to. Then he follows Ace’s line of sight. When he sees you there, a smile finds his face almost immediately.

Luffy is the first one to approach you. “Oi, Y/N! It’s been a while!”

You grin. “I know right? I haven’t seen you in ages, Luffy! I saw your poster the other week, you’ve gotten yourself a pretty huge bounty.”

Luffy laughs at your statement, you’re pretty sure he’s proud of himself, so unlike you, who panicked after finding out about your own wanted poster.

Ace steps in while Luffy laughs. “Y/N?”

He merely said your name, but it made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“A-Ace,” you stutter awkwardly, blood rushing to your face as you do so. You internally scold yourself, how dare you act like this when you broke his heart three years ago.

“Isn’t that the pirate Y/N?! The one with a bounty of 25,000,000 beli?”

You and Ace didn’t notice the fear etched on the faces of the other Billions as they stared at your group. You and Ace didn’t notice that Luffy has started walking again. You’re both too focused with each other to the point where you feel like nothing else mattered.

The two of you only snapped back to reality when Luffy turned around and said, “Aren’t you two coming? We still have to find my ship and my friends.”

You give Luffy a sheepish smile and then mumble a soft apology. You get off of the crate and make your way towards Luffy. Ace follows closely behind you.

After walking around the block, Luffy points out, “Ah, the ocean!”

The three of you make your way to the coast. “See your ship?” Ace asks. Luffy looks around to find his ship.

You sigh as the same group of thugs come into view again. “You won’t escape!” One of them says.

“You guys don’t know when to quit,” Ace says rather irritatedly.

You know Ace never backs down from a fight so it was kind of a surprise to you when he didn’t finish off the enemies a while back, but then again, time was of essence considering the Marines were hot on Luffy’s track. Yet, a small part of you reasons that maybe it’s because you’re there that he wants to avoid an all out attack from the group.

Before you could come up with another theory about it though, Luffy declares that he’s found his ship and proceeds on waving at them.

Then without a warning, Luffy grabs you. He loops his arm a few times over your stomach and then uses his other arm to reach for the railing of his ship. The next thing you know, the two of you are zooming towards the ship at an insanely fast speed.

And then you both crash. If that wasn’t bad enough, instead of crashing on the floor, you crash on someone. Luffy only laughs as he stands up, “Sorry about that, Sanji, Chopper, Y/N.”

“Bastard!” says the blonde male who you both crashed into. He grabs Luffy and shakes him, “Don’t you know your own strength?! I oughta throw you overboard!”

It takes a while for you to gather your bearings. By the time you do, the blonde male has released his grip on Luffy and was done on threatening him. Now it’s your turn. You hit him on the head, “Can’t you be any more careful, Luffy?!”

“Ah! It hurts, Y/N! Why does it hurt?” He complains as he rubs on the spot you hit.

You hit him once again, “I’ll have you know Gramps Garp would hit you harder if he learned what you did to me. I’m just simply giving you the gentler version of his Fist of Love.”

Garp is Luffy’s paternal grandfather. While you aren’t related by blood with him, Garp treats you way better than he treats Luffy, mainly because you’re the only friend of Luffy who didn’t really want to be a pirate. Because Garp dotes on you as if you were blood related, you always use his name when trying to reason or argue with Luffy because you know your best friend absolutely hates the Fist of Love.

“I said I’m sorry!”

You only huff in response and then cross your arms. When you turn your head to look away from him, you realize that Luffy’s crew is staring at you.

Once again you feel the blood rushing to your face, but this time from embarrassment. You bow your head, saying, “Sorry for the commotion and for, uh, coming here so suddenly. I’m a friend of this dumbass, please call me Y/N.”

The blonde male is first to react, “Luffy, you didn’t tell me you have such a beautiful friend! Oh, and she’s a belly dancer too!” He exclaims with hearts in his eyes.

Ah, he’s referring to the clothes you’re wearing. “Oh, I’m not. This is kind of a disguise,” you explain. And then you add, “I’m sorry we crashed into you.”

“I’d let you crash into me anytime,” he declares. “I’m Sanji, by the way, but you can always call me yours.”

You chuckled at him. You’ve heard that line so many times before, it’s getting ridiculous. You’re assuming the rest of the crew did too, considering you hear a collective groan from them after hearing Sanji’s words.

After that he clears his throat. All of a sudden his aura changes. “You must have a bounty on you, because those looks can kill,” he says in a rather charismatic way while lighting a cigarette and slowly walking to your direction.

Sanji never reaches you though. He’s just a few steps away from you when your sight of him is blocked by a familiar freckled back with a well known tattoo.

What an odd timing to appear.

“Actually,” Ace starts to say, “she does have a bounty.”

You know Ace isn’t the type to read the newspaper so you’re surprised he knew about your bounty.

“Oh, Ace! These are the nakama I was telling you about,” Luffy interrupts.

Ace tears away his gaze on Sanji and then bows, “Oh, why hello everyone. I trust my little brother has been in your care.”

“Yes, he has,” the crew replies, bowing as well.

“He has no manners, so he’ll probably end up burning your hands a few times…”

“Yes, he has.”

“I’ll entrust him to you.”

You bite your lip to prevent the smile that’s threatening to appear on your face. Ace truly has mastered the art of being polite.

“I thought the guy Luffy described would be some selfish, arrogant jerk…” A guy with a long nose says.

“It’s a lie. Someone this polite can’t be Luffy’s brother,” says the woman with orange hair.

The only person you actually know from this ship aside from Ace and Luffy is Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter. He says, “He’s such a better person than his brother!”

“Brotherhood is a wonderful thing,” cries a reindeer.

“It doesn’t make sense. The sea’s a mysterious place,” Sanji notes.

Ah, if they only knew Ace before. You chuckle.

Wait. A talking reindeer?!

You’re usually composed, but every now and then you do get excited when something interests you. From the amount of times you’ve spent with Luffy, you kind of react the same way when he’s excited.

You immediately step aside from Ace’s back and walk towards the talking reindeer. You stop a feet away in front of him, just enough so he doesn’t get too scared.

But the reindeer still gets scared. He tries to hide behind the lady with orange hair, except his body is fully exposed.

You still smile though. “What a cute little talking reindeer!”

Then the reindeer suddenly blushes and smiles, “Don’t think I’ll be happy that you called me cute, you bastard.”

“Y/N, that’s Chopper. He’s our doctor. Isn’t he cool?”

“So cool!” You nod as Chopper continues to dance. “Are you a devil fruit user too? Can I have a blood sample?”

Devil fruits are extremely rare especially in the East Blue and you’ve only ever caught sight of its users on the Grand Line. So when you meet someone who has such abilities, you couldn’t hold yourself back from asking for a blood sample. It’s a trait that your crewmates hate about you because you ask even if the devil fruit user is an opponent. This was actually one of the reasons why they trained you in combat, because that trait often gets you in trouble.

Seeing that you’re a pretty nice person, Chopper agrees.

“You too, Luffy, Ace.” It’s more of an order when it comes to those two. Your excitement about the devil fruit temporarily overpowers your awkwardness with Ace.

The two look at each other and shrug. You didn’t really give them any choice.

Before you can even grab a vial and a syringe, the lady with blue hair interrupts. “Baroque Works! That’s the Billions fleet!” She says, looking over five ships.

“Them again?” Luffy asks.

“Luffy,” Ace calls.

“Hm?”

“I’ll clean them up.” Without saying anything more, he jumps down to his boat and speeds off towards the ships. All five of the ships get destroyed after a single Fire Fist.

Ace truly has become stronger. Your heart swells with pride at his growth. He’s become such a reliable person. If only you didn’t break his heart, you’d be calling him yours and bragging about him.

When everything dies down and Ace settles back into the ship, everyone introduces themselves individually. Then Sanji prepares something to eat for everyone.

Sanji gives the males sake to drink while he gives you and the ladies a special drink. “Y/N-chwaan~” He affectionately calls your name as he hands you a glass of the drink he prepared.

You smile at him as you thank him and he instantly swoons. He walks away happily with hearts on his eyes after the interaction. You have never met a man like him before and that’s saying something because you’ve been to a lot of places and met a bunch of men from the three years of your journey as a pirate. Quite frankly, it’s amusing for you.

But not so much for everyone else. You can tell by the sudden rise in the temperature, and you know right at once it’s because of Ace.

You look over to him only to find him already staring intently at you. You’re not dumb, you know he’s jealous. Still though, his reaction surprised you.

In your years dating him, he never really became jealous. Maybe because the only male persons he’s seen you ever hang out with is him, Luffy, and Sabo. While that much is true, having worked at Party’s bar meant you meet a lot of people and Ace knew that. You’d even tell him about encounters with males but he doesn’t really worry about it, unless they hurt you. You think that maybe he reacts that way back then because you were his but right now, you aren’t.

He only removes his gaze from you when Usopp says, “This is great! Ace and Y/N are our nakama!”

“Kanpai!”

“Who said I’d be your nakama?” Ace raises an eyebrow but he’s ultimately ignored by Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper.

“To delicious drinks,” Usopp toasts.

“Kanpai!”

“Don’t worry about them,” Nami says, “These guys are always looking for a reason to kanpai.”

“Ace, Y/N, are you really going to be our nakama?”

You answer first. “Nah, I’m only here for research and to… Uhm…” you look over quickly to Vivi who apparently was a princess in the kingdom, “…to purchase dance powder.”

It’s funny how you feel bad for purchasing something illegal when you practically do illegal things everyday as a pirate.

Before Vivi could react, you explain. “I only bought a small amount. I just want to identify the content of rainwater from an artificial source. I also wanted to know the composition of the dance powder itself. That’s all.”

“Ehh? That’s it? But why don’t you just come to our crew?” Luffy whines.

“Idiot. Your brother mentioned a while ago that she has a bounty. That means she’s a pirate too,” Zoro says.

“What?! You’re a pirate?! You said you didn’t want to be a pirate!”

“Yeah, well I couldn’t pursue my studies if I didn’t have the money,” you say. “Besides, our captain agreed to have me for five years only. I’ve been with them for three. Ask me again after two years, maybe I’ll reconsider.”

“I don’t want to wait for two years! Join us now!”

You hit Luffy on the head while Usopp scolds him, “You can’t just force her to come.”

“Why not?” Luffy asks. You raise your fist to hit him again. This prompts him to say, “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll ask you again some other time, just don’t hit me anymore!”

Ace looks like he wanted to say something to you but Luffy turns to him and asks if he’s going to join his crew. He looks away from you reluctantly and then focuses on Luffy. “I won’t. I’m in pursuit of a man. He’s known as Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard?” Usopp repeats.

Vivi asks, “The pirate that sacked the Kingdom of Drum?”

He nods, “He used to be a member of Whitebeard pirates, Second Division. My subordinate. Until he committed the greatest crime you can on a pirate ship… He murdered his nakama and fled the ship. As the Commander, I have to find him and finish him off.”

“So that’s why you’re after him.”

“The only reason I came to this country is because he was reportedly seen in Yuba.”

“Then you’re going to the same place we’re going,” Nami says.

Then Vivi gets a map and explains the route to him.

“I get it. So you’re headed to Yuba too.”

In the background, Sanji says, “Wherever Nami-swan, Vivi-chwan, and Y/N-chwan go, I’ll go~”

“Beat it, Love Cook,” Zoro says.

“What did you say, bastard?”

A fight between the two almost ensues when Nami says, “Anyway, looks like you’ll be travelling with us for a little while.”

Usopp looks the happiest at that. “With you along, this’ll be a cinch!”

“What about you, Y/N? What do you plan on doing?” Nami asks.

You purse your lips, thinking. Isn’t it a little bit selfish of you if you stayed just so you could spend a little more time with Ace?

“Please stay with us a little longer, Y/N-chwan~” Sanji pleads.

While Ace wants you to stay, he didn’t really like seeing another man openly expressing his fondness to you. Unconsciously, he causes the temperature to rise once again, which you’re quick to notice.

You wonder if the rise in the temperature meant that Ace doesn’t want you to stick around. You quickly dismiss the idea though, when he speaks up, “Yeah, Y/N, why don’t you join us for a little while?”

How could you refuse when he personally asks you to stay?

“Do I even have a choice?” You ask nonchalantly, playing it cool as if you didn’t want to stay.

“No!” Luffy grins.

Just like that, you stay.

Later on you find yourself in the kitchen sitting across Luffy and Usopp. They’re playing with their foods when Ace enters the kitchen. He plops down beside you and you instantly feel your heart thump faster. He didn’t even do anything out of the ordinary and yet he makes you feel like this. It’s not fair that Ace looks so relaxed while you’re desperately trying to calm your heart.

Then you jump in surprise as Sanji hits Luffy and Usopp with a frying pan and a wok, scolding them for playing with their food. “If you guys are so bored, go wash some dishes! Jeez, here I am trying to finish our bento before we land—”

“I’ll help!” You volunteer. Ace speaks up at the same time as you did, “Want me to help with anything?”

Sanji looks stunned. Someone wants to offer help? It’s been a while since he’s heard it.

“Y/N-chwan, you’re such a lovely lady~ But don’t worry, just sit back and relax. I’ll do all the work for you~” Sanji singsongs, completely ignoring Ace.

In the corner of your eye, you notice Ace glaring at Sanji while he has his back turned. “Alright…” You say after a moment.

You’re not exactly sure how to proceed after that. Instead of enduring the awkward silence, you whip out your small notebook and start scribbling away. The notebook was more of a logbook where you put in the data you gathered in certain villages or islands— may it be a sighting of an exotic animal or plant, random anomalies about certain places, anything that’s out of the ordinary or just plainly something you’re curious about. Sometimes you just put random questions that pop into your head. It’s rather messy, but it’s one of the things you own that you treasure the most.

This time you write about the devil fruit users you encountered in Alabasta, writing just a short biography of the users and a brief description of the powers they have. Just like that, you’re in your own little bubble. You didn’t even notice that the ship docked for a couple of minutes as per Vivi’s request and that everyone has left you in the kitchen.

By the time you’re done, you realize that the only persons in the kitchen are you and Sanji. The cook is preparing one last meal for everyone to eat in the ship before you all dock. This time when you offered your help, you insisted and left no room for him to refuse. When the table has been set up, he calls for everyone.

You sit at the edge of the table. Not a second later, someone sits beside you. You look up and find that it’s Ace. He has this boyish smile on which prompted you to look away in order to avoid heating up.

Luffy’s crew is boisterous, even more so during eating meals. They’re extremely funny. You feel your worry for your best friend fade away the longer you stay with his crew. But then the rowdy atmosphere instantly quiets down when all of a sudden Ace falls down on his plate. It was only a moment of silence and then they’re all panicking.

“What the hell?!”

“Oi, Luffy, what happened to your brother?”

“Oh no! He’s dead!”

“Someone call a doctor! We need a doctor! Oh, wait I’m the doctor.”

Only you and Luffy are unfazed. Luffy just laughs out loud while Usopp demands him to take the situation more seriously.

You, on the other hand, calmly place your utensils down. You’re pretty much used to Ace and his narcoleptic episodes. You get some napkins and gently grab Ace’s face. You wipe his face from all the food that got stuck on it. Then you carefully maneuver his arm so that it’s resting on the table and place his head on his arm. This is pretty much how you handled him every single time it happened so by now it’s more of an automatic reaction for you.

When you’re done, you realize that everyone’s panic has died down and that they’re all looking at you, except Luffy who continued shoving food down his throat. You feel incredibly shy upon discovering that they caught you tending to Ace.  While the others are aware that you, Luffy, and Ace know each other from the past, they haven’t exactly seen you interact with Ace that much since you both arrived at the ship so they assumed that you and Ace are merely acquaintances.

You notice that Nami and Vivi in particular are smiling. Nami has the “I know something” kind of smile while Vivi has more of a genuine smile on her face. Sanji is sulking, but the others are just blinking at you. Then a few moments later, Ace wakes up. “Ah, sorry. I fell asleep,” he says nonchalantly.

“Eh?!” was the collective response of Luffy’s crew.

His hand automatically comes to his face to wipe off the remnants of food in his face, only to find out that his face is absolutely clean and bare of any dirt. This could only mean one thing, he thinks. You cleaned him off, just like the old days when you were still dating.

Ace’s assumption is further confirmed when he hears Sanji sulking about how he wishes he was the one to receive such a tender act from you.

You continue to eat as if you didn’t do what you just did. You could feel Ace’s eyes on you but you refuse to meet his stare. Unbeknownst to you, a smile has made its way on Ace’s face.

Everyone seems to be watching the interaction unfold — again, except Luffy who has witnessed this all before so he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Anyone with eyes could now tell that there is or was something going on between the two of you.

The atmosphere only goes back to normal when Luffy stretches his arms to reach for food on their plates. Everyone immediately complains about this and the rowdy air comes back.

After the hearty meal, everyone prepares for the long trip by foot. You change into more suitable clothes, something that Sanji wasn’t really happy about since you, Nami, and Vivi switched from dancer’s clothes to a cloak that covers the entire body. Ace looks way happier now than before though and you aren’t sure why.

Before you could even get down the ship though, a group of Kung Fu Dugongs challenges your group. You’re just about to move when in a blink of an eye, Luffy has defeated each one. What a bum, you know you can definitely take them down too but Luffy beat you to it. You pout, you feel so out of shape now that you aren’t really using your body to fight. Ace chuckles at you. It was so sudden that you almost jumped in surprise at the sound.

“Didn’t think you would be disappointed that you weren’t able to fight them,” Ace says.

“Honestly, what should I expect? Luffy has always been like that,” you mumble.

“Yeah, he’s a handful.”

It’s such a short conversation, but seeing that you aren’t exactly pushing Ace away, he takes it as a sign that you aren’t uncomfortable in his presence. He sticks by your side after that.

He remains silent to the point that you even forgot that he was even walking beside you. You only realize that he’s still around when a sand whirlwind comes and he subtly shifts his position so that he’s standing in front of you, shielding you away from the sand. You’re reminded of the days when he’s always by your side to protect you. You feel the butterflies on your stomach one again. If that wasn’t enough, Ace gives you a lopsided smile when you thank him which makes your heart go haywire.

He doesn’t really leave your mind after that. The thoughts of him fully consumed you once again. But did it really go away in the first place?

Your memories with him have been replaying in your mind since then. You didn’t even notice that the sun has already set down until Vivi says that you guys should set out camp there.

The boys are nice enough to set up the tents for everyone, leaving you, Nami, and Vivi with nothing to do. You take this opportunity to shyly ask them about the Dance Powder as you whip out your notebook. You write down all the information they can give you.

“Ah, so it’s basically like cloud seeding,” you conclude.

“What’s that?” Vivi asks.

“It’s a type of weather modification, a process aiming to make precipitation fall from clouds. It is originally used to prevent areas from destruction brought about by drought. I read researchers use a chemical compound called silver iodide and disperse it to the clouds to produce snow which melts before they hit the ground to produce water.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a quite similar process,” Nami says. Then she yawns. “Sorry, I’m getting tired.”

“Come on, let’s rest in the tent,” you say, feeling the exhaustion as well. The two girls immediately fall asleep after laying down, but for some reason you couldn’t sleep. You lay there for about two hours but you’re still unable to sleep.

You get up and reach for your bag, looking for your canteen. But then you see the orange rose. You almost forgot you bought it. The familiar aching feeling makes itself known once again. With a sigh, you leave the tent, suddenly feeling that you need a breather.

You move away from the tents and sit down, playing with the orange rose. The night is cold and you’re shivering but you can’t find it in you to care. You’re so preoccupied with your thoughts that you didn’t hear the footsteps of someone behind you.

You tense when you hear an awfully familiar question. “Y/N? What are ya doing here? You’re going to get sick.”

You don’t respond, thinking it was your mind tricking you into hearing the same things on that night.

“You’re shivering,” Ace calls out once again.

That’s when your breath hitched. Ace truly is there. He sits beside you and you instantly feel his warmth.

“Why are you still awake?” You ask.

“Couldn’t sleep,” is all he replies.

Silence ensues after that, but only for a few moments. Ace is the first to speak. “The cook seems to have taken a liking on you,” he says.

“He’s nice.”

“A little too nice to you for my liking.”

For the first time since he sat beside you, you look at him.

Then he speaks up again, “Ya know… You changed over the years. You’re prettier now… I’m not saying you weren’t pretty before. Uhm…” He blushes, “But you’re way prettier now. You caused quite the uproar among the Whitebeard pirates when your wanted poster came. When I saw the poster myself, I couldn’t believe it. You’re… yeah.”

You didn’t know what to say to that but you feel your face heating up at his words.

“I… I don’t know why but there’s this weird feeling I get when that blonde cook gives his attention to you. Even just the thought of him or another man getting close to you like that makes me feel weird,” he confesses.

“Ace… I’m sorry.”

“I know, I know… We’re not—”

“No, I’m sorry… I’m sorry because I had a lot of fears and uncertainties back then… I feared that you wouldn’t come back to me. The books I’ve read all said that the Grand Line was a horrible place and I didn’t know if you’d make it back alive. I was so afraid and I couldn’t tell you because you might not want to leave because of me… I didn’t want to be the reason you couldn’t fulfill your dreams… So I thought it was better to break up with you… At least then, nothing’s going to tie you down…” you cried.

“Y/N… I didn’t know…” He whispers, close to tears.

“Sometimes I wonder if I only knew I’d be a pirate too, should I have just gone away with you? At least then we’d still be together, right? But that would be too selfish of me… Especially when I was so weak back then. I would’ve had nothing to contribute to you. I’d only be a burden to you.

“But you know what, Ace, even if I was the one who decided to let you go, I couldn’t forget about you… Every place I go to, something will always remind me of you. Even when I sleep, I still dream about you. I don’t think I’ll ever get over you,” you look him in the eyes as you pour your heart out to him.

“God, no matter where I go, no matter how long you’re gone, no matter how many faces I meet, it’s always you, it’s always you I want to be with. I think… I think I’m always going to want you back, Ace…” You close your eyes and clench your fists as you say your final words.

You’re so selfish, god, you hate yourself.

It takes you by surprise when Ace hugs you. You melt into him at once. He lets you cry in his arms. “Ace, I’m really really sorry.”

He hums and then says, “Didn’t I promise I’ll come back to you?”

You pull away, vision still blurry from the tears. “What?”

He chuckles and then pecks your lips. “I promised I’ll come back to you.”

You cry harder from his words. His hand rubs your back, consoling you. “You still look beautiful even when you’re crying.”

You look away and bite your lip as you will your tears to stop.

“Y/N.”

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you join the Whitebeard pirates instead?”

You pout. “That’s not fair, Ace… You know I wouldn’t be able to say no to you.”

“Well then, that’s too bad for Luffy,” he grins.

[mintvender]

Oh! How about Going outside with them! I just need fluff rn lol

Here are some cotton candy to fulfill your cravings, love. Hope you’re doing fine 😊🌿

HaremAU!

BTS’ Reaction to Going Outside

Warnings: Nothing

Masterlist

Chrysanthemums: this particular flower has been said to symbolise fidelity, optimism, and joy. Aside from their beauty, this is a flower that is long-lasting, low-maintenance and quite affordable.

Kim Taehyung

With his constant attempts to avoid doing anything physical, Taehyung does occasionally enjoys the outside setting.

However, most of his time would be spent bathing in nature’s warmth rather than interacting with others. Just having these little silent yet peaceful moments really replenishes his mental stability. It is also a time where memories of the past would revisit him.

Spending time just enjoying your presence under the sun’s warm gaze, and talking about your guys’ memories really makes Taehyung cherish it even more.

Also, don’t forget to bring Yeontan with you guys. As the proud parent of Yeontan, Taehyung would feel so much pride whenever you play with the little pup.

It reminds him of the family that he can come to whenever he needs them and that there are still people who cares for him.

“ The landscape here is so pretty! How did you find it?... Yeontan! Run with Y/n!”

Kim Namjoon

Whenever you and Namjoon go outside, you both always end up in random bookstores littered throughout the different districts.

Spending your time talking about the manuscripts and writings that you both had previously read as you browse the stores.

Reaching out to grab what had interested you while tuning in to Namjoon’s conversation with the seller about the newly released medical books, you began to take out your wallet, preparing to pay for your guys’ items.

After deciding on what you wanted, you headed to the front of the store and payed for your items. Swiftly snatching the books that Namjoon had wanted, you turned around and exited the store after greeting the seller.

Hopelessly sighing at your attempts to prevent him room destroying the products, Namjoon greeted and thanked the seller before quickly running after you. On to the next store you both go.

“ You don’t need to do that, Y/n. You know I won’t accidentally rip the pages, it’s not possible... you can keep it until we get back.”

Jung Hoseok

Coming from a noble household, Hoseok was surprisingly quite comfortable with the outside world. Maybe it’s his natural ability to befriend anyone or the friendly vibe that he gives off.

Either way, it definitely attracts quite a bit of people, even with him dressed as a commoner. You also noticed that he seemed more relaxed here than in the palace, almost as if he had spent years living here.

Anyways, always pay attention to where he is since he can easily disappear when he gets interested in something. Having experienced it a few times, Hoseok does have some presciences to stay close to you but when he gets excited, all of those get thrown out of the window with him rushing to whatever like an overexcited child.

“ The lady at that stall was so friendly, she even gave me an extra bun! You can have it... gasp, Look! They’re performing something, let’s go over there and see!”

Min Yoongi

The amount of times Yoongi have ever step foot outside of the palace’s walls are in the single digits.

As a child, the vicious adults would constantly feed his curiosity by telling him all the myths involved in the streets, and how dirty it is.

As a result, he was quite hesitant in going out to the streets. However, Yoongi will go out as long as he is with you.

If you both are alone, without any guards or servants to accompany you; the trip will be quite interesting. Like a little child, he’s quite hesitant on venturing out so do expect him to be quite attached to you.

However, as he is in the public, he does have to maintain his little persona. To others, he might just look possessive of his companion, but to you, it was more like an act from an overly dramatic kitten. Though, you will have to make sure to keep that thought to yourself. After all, Yoongi has a reputation to uphold.

“ What is that? ... Food? Is it really edible? Is it safe to eat? Do I want to try? ... W-why a-are you buying them?”

Jeon Jungkook

What originally was him accompanying you changed to you actually accompanying Jungkook. With his mixed bloodline, the streets have always been a pleasure break for him, especially with how hectic and annoying the palace can become.

As a result, Jungkook really enjoyed spending his time out here during his childhood.

However, as he gets older, he found himself getting more involved with the harem, hence not having the time to enjoy these simple things.

As a result, the moment he heard about your little outing, he’ll be sprinting out the door and prepare for the departure.

Dressing in commoner’s clothing reminds him of the peaceful days as a child where he could wander to wherever without getting pestered at.

With the familiar earthy smell of the ground and the loud crowds, Jungkook practically dragged you to every stall positioned on both sides, pushing his way through the crowd while still maintaining that goofy grin.

“ Your maj—, n-no I mean Y/n, do you perhaps enjoy this?... It’s so pretty and delicate!... Let’s go and see why they’re crowding over there!”

Kim Seokjin

Convincing Seokjin to step out of his luxurious carriage is already difficult, but getting him to put away the roll of red fabric is practically impossible.

However, after pulling him out of the carriage, it was already too late to go back. So as a result, have fun with all of his nagging.

Being the rich merchant he is, Seokjin would pull you around pointing at every product while saying a sarcastic comment about their quality, as well as exaggerate his products to you.

With how loud he is, it is expected that every merchant would overhear your guys’ conversation and get offended by him degrading their product.

As a result of his obnoxious behaviour, the entire crew got chased by countless people, barely being able to get back to the palace in one piece. Looks like you will never do this with Seokjin again.

“ The quality of this candle is the worse I’ve ever seen. Mine is way better! Why are they looking at us like that?”

Park Jimin

Despite his not so pleasant view on the outside world, it is the only place where Jimin’s secret low esteem gets replenish whenever he shows off his flirtatious side. Having people falling head over heels for his appearance makes him so giddy that he would do anything to make the most of it.

However, that doesn’t mean that he will completely ignore your presence because you’re his main target! Constant little flirts would be sent your way as you both venture in the streets until you both entered the beauty section.

Completely forgetting his previous intentions, Jimin’s eyes sparkled at the countless jewelry and accessories that were displayed. Practically hopping to every store, Jimin excitedly showed you all the items that had caught his eyes.

Paying for whatever he had picked out, you happily watched his interaction with the seller, glad to see the little innocence he had buried deep inside him.

“ Your— Y/n! Look at what I found! Doesn’t this match my eyes? Quick, come! I just saw this really pretty necklace!”

Copyright © 2021 MintVender

All rights reserved.

[ranmanjuu]

—gen z mc with uesugi-takeda + misc. forces

ahh, i’m so glad people liked my gen z oda hcs! lol it’s usually pretty slow from my writing blog experiences until now, but i’m rlly happy! i was planning to do u-t and the others but then i decided to stop at oda and continue another day. thx for the asks tho! and yeah, i do take requests but it’s more of a pasttime, since this whole blog is just my stupid ideas written out and shared out there.

also someone said that a gen z mc could be old enough to romance the warlords, like, early twenties. and yes, very fair if u wanna romance ur mans with memes and existentialism go for it!! i just think it adds more to the comedy side of this child they have to babysit, while not fearing death or any consequences from their dumb of Ass decisions. someone who fears no death and armed with no braincells is a fool, but a Child who fears no death and armed with no braincells is also a fool, but more bizzare and has That Vibe y’know

@niphredil-14​ and @arthotsglasses​

tw: s*icidal, violent jokes treated in a light manner

also spoilers to some things of their characters

—kenshin:

who is this,, , sassy lost child??

he first saw you prepared to throw hands with ronins who were being Elite Dickheads. ofc, armed with nothing compared to the sworded-adults, he had to interfere.

no matter how cold he treated you, masking his secret !!!-like concern, you seemed so unfazed through it. you still interacted with him like normal,,,,, why?? do you want a death wish?

and each time he threatened you with,, anything, you responded with, “the only one who gets to hurt & kill me, is ME”

...... what?

he’s convinced you’re the biggest fool of a person. and he’d be right but even so, he has a weirdly strong need to protect you as you two got closer. you’re often with sasuke, so it’s harder to avoid you.

even with all the Horrible jokes you make on a daily basis, if your passionate side with everyone having equal rights of being treated as human, for him it shows a side of you that makes you seem precious and pure and kind hearted.

and the overprotective side increases.

which is, ,, a bit problematic sometimes cause you have the tendency to target and piss off anyone in a 10 meter range by just one (1) sassy comment, along with your lack of impulse control and blurting out everything in your mind. it’s made you a lot of short enemies in the sengoku period, and kenshin would always be ready to slice them down behind you.

sasuke has to tame him down with his Masters degree in kenshin-wrangling.

at banquets, kenshin would often have you beside him. if you’re too young for sake do age for drinking exist in sengoku? probably not. it’s more of sasuke advising for him to not give you alcoholic drinks he’ll have you pouring for him or just munching away at pickled plums or food.

—shingen:

(ngl i kinda had a hard time with this since it’s erasing a big part of his overall character,,, flirting)

once he heard the news that oda had taken in somone as young as you during honno-ji,, ,,,he’s in a very “how dare that demon >>:( taking such a pure soul,....”

and when you’re taken to kasugayama as a captive, you’re,,, surprisingly very calm and whelmed. you don’t have much sign of fear or anxiety in your overall demeanor meanwhile you’re busy dissociating and spacing out to feel those

you actually don’t seem to hate your captor. but shingen isn’t sure if your ‘fingerguns’ is a good thing or not cause it depicts you pointing guns @ him,, (dw is good shingen)

while yes being held hostage—no matter how good you’re being treated—isn’t ideal and kinda not very cash money, you consider shingen v chill. man has a kindheart!! “i diagnose you with good vibes.”

if he ever sees your righteous side, as everyone else, he’ll deeply admire you. he himself is someone who believes in such as well. and hearing the circumstances in the modern world regarding those things (blm, etc.) his heart truly does go out for you. he feels sympathy for such a young person like you having to take action

also your dirty humor around him, echigo’s player, kind of makes him question where and how you learnt it

and,, his illness.

through getting straight to the point and not falling for it each time he changes subject/dodges the question, you managed to get to the bottom of his illness. shingen himself thinks it’s not something you have to burden with knowing—you’re so, so young.

but that doesn’t matter to you. the world’s given you such a shit time, you’re mature enough to understand the situation at least.

and as he finishes his explanation, all there was is silence. it felt wrong to say any of your usual quips,, so all you did was slowly came there and hugged him.

that was more than what he’d ask for.

—sasuke:

oh hell yeah

you are in your element with him. the chillest guy to talk to, and probably the first one you’re the closest to

your phone was dead after like 2 days of use, and you were miserable while hideyoshi, like a typical parent, told you to go outside and into town. sensing your bad mood, sasuke asked what’s up. you deadpanned, “my phone game ended and now i’m ready to commit not breath.” you oslemnly look out in the bustling streets and clutched your fist like an Anime Protagonist, “those boomer memes were right all along... i am absolutely Miserable and Useless(^TM) without it.”

in response, you could’ve sworn he did the Anime Glasses thing as well, “then we at team Moderately Awesome Sengoku Ninja are happy to announce the launch of a DIY phone charger, made with the electricity from a fruit and the main functionality of a solar panel. and has more durability than samsung’s.”

there were Stars in your eyes now. with a big grin, you thank him, “i’d die for you, sasuke.”

“then perish.” he said with a blank look. (yukimura, in the bg: ???!!!??!??!?)

the next day he consentually breaks in through the ceiling and gives you the weird contraption. you’re now saved, soul-wise.

the memes start coming and they don’t stop coming from the two of you. in any situation. whether it’d be at a teahouse, or at a battlefield that can determine your life and death.

and you can have discussions about current world events, or the past ones, with him and he’d understand completely what you’re talking about. it’s those rare nights when you’ve been thinking and have a deep conversation with him in his room, and as an adult, it makes for interesting results as well.

the others are endlessly confused, but you’re both so unapologetically yourselves.

and he’s super protective if the circumstances are tough. he feels bad for dragging another person in the sengoku with him—much less when they’re so young like you.

if you’re enough of a lil shit, once you’re taken into kasugayama, in the nights where you can’t sleep because brain at what would be 3 am, you’d probably trudge over to his room and wake him up to tell him what kind of mind-blowing shit you realized.

—yukimura:

when he saved you from falling to your death, your reaction already set off weird Vibes inside him. what do you mean, “you stopped me from fleeing this fleeting world by the sweet embrace of death” ?!?!?! are you crazy?? yes

he doesn’t waste time getting blunt with you at all either.

once he goes into azuchi as a merchant, he silently observes you talking to sasuke for a bit. what’s with your weird language?? and crude humor???? never in his life has he met someone in your age act like that wtf

even so, he still operates on the basis of ‘‘if sasuke trusts you, i trust you’’, no matter how utterly concerned you make him feel

you have a dirtier mind than him! unsurprisingly. along with everyone else, you often tease the poor soul, a nd you’d gladly tell him what the innuendoes mean ( 69, etc.) and maybe sprinkle in some gay jokes in there

and why do you keep mentioning this “bromance between him and sasuke” ?? what us,,, a bromance????? and why is sasuke in it??

he takes you out to teahouses to eat chestnut dumplings and other desserts with you. you always seem to target the one he doesn’t like the most and have a bit of banter

your relationship is built on banter but what’s different rlly

he treats you much more maturely than other people your age. as in, he doesn’t pull back his punches in words most of the time. you don’t seem to around him also, it looks like.

and, he’s also very protective of you. he regards you as his little sibling, as rat as you may be. and he does care about you—he might just be a bit unwilling to say it

—yoshimoto:

you think he’s very chill, if a bit unique but who were you to judge. and he is, if you ever meet him in echigo or even azuchi

his big liking to art and something of apathy to people is osmething you can respect. there’s something about that kind of Vibe that you find oddly a mood.

and oh boy oh boy you wasted no time pulling up your phone and showing images of what art is in the future. whether it’d be a screenshot of anime, fanart, aesthetic-like ones, palette-themed—the whole shabang. 

and, somehow, you were left ranting to him  about how some artists in the future get it so shitty for theft, reposting, not crediting, the list goes on (please be a decent human being to artist, sincerely the author) and he can’t help but just listen in silence and kind of thinking about how you’re so passionate about the Struggles of artists. and it isn’t something he sees often in the sengoku era—where war rules most things.

and he does find art from the modern times interesting, how they’re so different and vast in styles. and not only that, it’s not like the future only has one major style like then, each hand can draw such different pictures and still have beauty in each. he appreciates and admires that.

and he does tell you his thoughts ^ while you give your own insight. it’s so fascinating to see someone like you having strong opinions on this.

because, well, rn art is a big thing in our lives as we’re stuck inside. a part of entertainment is looking at any media of art—and he finds his view of art and yours quite the same. you two came from a time of turmoil (one moreso than the other) but still think art isn’t exactly irrelevant just because it isn’t a cure to diseases or the Ultimate Weapon.

you had to Surgically Remove him from your phone so you can use it and to stop him from draining your battery looking at the art

and he often drags you out to town and admire pieces when you’re holing yourself in too much. your comments are always unknown to him, “radical”, “that’s one i can vibe with ngl”, and the list goes on.

and you occasionally call him pretty boy as a compliment rlly

—kennyo:

when you first saw him at honno-ji, and he won’t forget the one (1) line you gave him, all you said to his warning of ooo spooky demons was, “that’s lit fam gtg tho”

and that alone was enough to stun him for a few seconds

honestly you told the others of your meeting with kennyo before they told you it could be kennyo. just a throaway line of “oh yeah there was this dude with a scar across his face.” / “,,, ,....that’s kennyo. he’s really dangerous actually—” / “oh, poggers”

you’re probably kind of half the reason the oda forces found who dun it.

and it was an eye for an eye, kennyo himself found out that you were their child chatelaine, and very close to the others. as per his villain-schedule, he kidnaps you .

he laments about how “such a pure soul such as yours is not to be stained by the demon’s hands”

oh how Wrong he was.

you were the definition of the opposite of pure. and you seemed unfazed, which surprised kennyo but shrugged it off. he was willing to face you screaming and panicking, along with shouldering the sin of doing the deed. but instead, he was met with a raised eyebrow and, “this is unexpected and probably not welcomed but what am i doing here.”

he was stunned for a moment before explaining what he can. 

“......... fuck.”

he cringed ever so slightly at your curse. but your attention seems to stray so quickly off of the fact that you were bounded and helpless, to the fact that you have the man doing unspeakable things to civilians and you absolutely don’t approve.

throwing your common sense to maybe be civilized, you went off on a rant of how human rights and how to not be an ass to him. all he could do was just listened, shocked to even cut you off.

when he did, he gave the whole ‘unsaved demon’ shtick, and you weren’t taking that kinda shit. he believed he was truly unsaved—you knew that. but that doesn’t make it okay.

eventually, he left you with a cold end of the conversation.

he admires your spirit in a way—but with what he’s experienced,,, it’s a bit of unreachable for him.

if at any point you saw the soft side of his with animals, you just gaped at him for a split second and whispered, “the gap moe is strong with this one.”

also old man died inside when you said that you’d fight god, along with many things.

all in all, to him, you’re insufferable. but weirdly,, fascinating.

you’ve totally ok boomer’d him once cause he rlly looks old

—motonari:

,,. if your speech to kennyo was bad, he’s going to rant hell.

motonari already knew you were interesting even when his men just spied on you. your behavior, so brash and impulsive, is going to be so fun to have, he thinks.

through some planning to stir up more chaos, he kidnaps you and brings you unto his ship. same as kennyo, you showed no clear sign of surprise, and that’s when he decided you were either used to this in any way, or a fool. both answers, he liked.

you’re kind of really confused on why he’s doing what he’d doing. “i get it, i like to stir up chaos myself but it’s harmless,, most of it—but not until the people are in danger, bitch.”

and by that line, motonari leans towards you with a deadly smirk, “now, i can bite, ‘kay kid? you don’t wanna be in the receiving end... do you?”

“do it, coward.”

and before he could let out even a wheeze of laughter, you continued on on a lecture of, again, not being a dick and letting people live their life in peace. and much less all of this damage, for what? chaos?? yeah you wanted to see the world burn but it wasn’t literally.

however, his patience was running thin. he shuts you up forcefully, and leaves.

even so, after a cooldown period, he still talks to you (,,,, well, that’s kind of a generous term) because, right he was, you were so fun in his eyes.

an interesting observation he made,,, was that you picked up on his big dislike of physical contact. and he’d think with how annoying you were at times, that you’d weaponize it. but you didn’t—in fact, you kept your space (not that you were planning to get close) and respected his boundaries.

he thinks you a bit of peculiar for that decision, some wary, and perhaps naive.

one of the days—the more dangerous ones—he was planning to take you to the oda as bait or something. and you weren’t taking it like that. two days before arrival, a storm racked up. you stood upon the edge of the ship with the rest of the crew watching you like you were a madman.

“the oda won’t want me if i’m dead, would they now?”

motonari stands in his composure, guffawing, “all i need is to make sure they believe you’re alive, kid.”

a smile that showed absolutely no fear and 1000 percent spite spread in your face, “not unless i decimate my own body until all the trail left is my blood. the only one who gets to do that shit to me, is me.”

finally, a look of wavering shows in his face.

you were saved last minute,, and the rest is history.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Seven: Where Will It Be Found? ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

One of the nice things about the police force? There’s rarely a day with nothing to do. Even little menial tasks help keep him busy, and still help improve both the Uchiha clan’s standing in Konoha, and help him feel more...involved. More a part of the village he wants to help better after all the corruption that’s held it.

So while Itachi might have more glory in the ANBU, and Shisui as a bodyguard of the Rokudaime Hokage...Sasuke still finds his job more than rewarding.

And he’s not the only one.

“We’ve got a new assignment.”

Looking up from some paperwork, Sasuke sees his partner in the doorway. “What is it?”

“Apparently something of high value was stolen...from the Yamanaka, no less.” Hinata holds out a scroll that he wordlessly accepts. “It’s a vase. Apparently one gifted from a past daimyō to a past clan head.”

Reading the description, Sasuke thinks to -

“And I’ve already given warning to the ANBU. They’re watching the black market for it to pop up. They’ll send word if anything resembling it is seen.”

...do that. He can’t help a small snort of amusement. “You read my mind.”

The Hyūga softly smiles to herself. “You’ve been teaching me well.”

“No, you’re just someone who thinks one step ahead.” Sealing the scroll back up, Sasuke tucks it into his leg pouch. “So, has a scene sweep been done at the Yamanaka compound yet?”

“Yes, but they also wanted us to come verify. There’s a few Hyūga already there, and several patrols out looking elsewhere.”

“Good.”

The trip to the clan grounds doesn’t take long. Already a few Hyūga officers have taped off the room in question. Hopefully that means no tampered evidence. Ino stands nearby, arms crossed and talking to another officer before taking note of them. “Oh, Hinata-chan! Sasuke-kun!”

...he now knows why they were asked for specifically.

The blonde approaches, looking irritated. “I know it’s early, but have you found anything?”

“Not yet - we’ve got teams on the lookout, and ANBU agents checking the underground for anyone looking to sell it,” Hinata assures her. “Any idea what happened, or why?”

Ino huffs. “No. It’s not like we’re parading the thing around. I dunno who would know about it, let alone be the type to take it.”

Sasuke glances around, Sharingan active. “Any suspects within the clan?”

“No. Anyone here with any sense knows it’s worth more here than anywhere else. It’s a symbol of clan pride.”

“Have you had any guests recently who were introduced to it?”

“Mm...not that I can think of?” Ino gestures to the room. “This is a prime sitting room, so we do host guests here sometimes, but it’s not exactly a conversation starter. Typically any business held here is the main topic discussed.”

“I’d still like a list of anyone outside the Yamanaka that’s been in this room in the past few months. They may have cased the place.”

“All right, all right...I’ll get back to you on that as soon as I can. I need to check with a few other council members in case they held anything I wasn’t made privy to. Is that all?”

“For now. And we’ll keep you updated.”

Nodding, Ino takes her leave.

Hinata turns to a fellow Hyūga officer. “Anything yet?”

“No, Hinata-sama. All we know is that the thief likely came through the door, not any windows. Their locks were all still in place, and there were no tracks in the yard beyond. I believe Kiba-san was here with some ninken earlier, and there was no trace beyond the expected Yamanaka scents.”

“And on the interior?”

“There’s a great deal of traffic - leads are being followed, but nothing conclusive yet.”

“I see…” Turning to Sasuke, she asks, “What do you think?”

“I think we find Kiba, see if he’s learned anything since leaving the grounds. He might be on a trail and we just aren’t aware yet. Once we have that list, I’ll send a copy to Itachi.”

They find Kiba wrangling an entire pack of ninken, each on a different scent. “The only promising thing I’ve got is a few merchant scents that were from out of Konoha. Ino said somethin’ about them setting up trade with the floral shop. Pinning down their scents is kinda hard though, given how much in and out there’s been lately. I can’t count how many false leads we had leading up to a Yamanaka’s house slippers.”

“Well, if anything comes up, let us kn-”

Suddenly one of the dogs gives a bray before taking off at a dead run. Kiba flashes a quick grin. “I think that’s our cue!”

The trio follow, the rest of the ninken staying back on their trails. More than once they scatter groups of civilians in the street in a flurry of shouts and indignations. They follow to an inn along the outskirts of town, the innkeep leaping up atop crate to escape the hound.

“Oi! This where those Iwa florists are staying?” Kiba demands, not yet calling off his pup.

“Y-yes! Third floor, first room on the left! Please, just...shut that thing up!”

They find the correct door, Sasuke not bothering to knock. Within, several people startle. “W-what is the meaning of this?!”

The dog then barges in, earning several more oaths of outrage before growling at a sealed box.

“We’re gonna have to search that,” Kiba insists, grinning as the foreigners wince.

Within, under several layers of packing paper...is the vase. The three glance among each other.

“...Hinata.”

Heeding Sasuke’s word with a nod, Hinata offers, “You can let me cuff you quietly...or I’ll be forced to use Jūken.”

All three are soon back at the police headquarters, put into a cell as word is sent to Ino. Carefully putting the vase in question atop the main counter in the lobby, Hinata sighs. “Well, at least that didn’t take too long. Though I have to wonder why they took it...I guess we’ll find out once those three are interrogated.”

“Seems a bit like a random opportunity grab. I doubt someone from Iwa planned to steal one vase. They probably just assumed it was worth money, and snuck around to take it.”

“I suppose so...though I have to wonder how they got out of the compound with it...genjutsu, maybe?”

“Maybe. Though...I’ll admit, the ninken are useful. As good as our eyes are, sometimes a nose isn’t a bad option.”

She giggles. “I agree. It’s a big part of why my team was so good for tracking missions. We were called on quite a bit. We all have our advantages, but some are more suited than others in certain situations.”

“Hn.” Looking up as Ino enters, Sasuke handles her grateful enthusiasm well, glad to see her off with the relic in proper custody. Stretching a bit, he asks, “Think it’s time for a lunch break?”

“Yes, please. We passed some place that smelled heavenly on the way to that inn - my stomach’s been growling ever since!” Hinata replies.

“Well, we’ll have to go see if we can find it.”

“Maybe we should call the ninken back, ne?”

“Not if that means having to invite Kiba to lunch…”

“Ha!”

     Holy smokes, our first week down already!      So, in the ALAS verse, Sasuke revives the police force alongside the Hyūga, and Hinata ends up joining it as well: with her sister as heiress and Neji her advisor, Hinata decides to find another way to keep herself busy. Hence ending up Sasuke's parter. It's how they largely come to know each other post-war, which leads to them dating, getting married, and having two wee kiddies!      But for this, we're still in that first stage lol      A bit of a random drabble, but the prompt was a little strange - hopefully it was still enjoyable! As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see y'all tomorrow!

[marinette-buginette]

Turn Loose the Mermaids(Part 31)

AU belongs to Taulun

Welp, this is probably my worst chapter yet. I apologize in advance. You will want me dead after next chapter anyway, so let’s enjoy the little victories lol. Thanks to @miracujess for being my beta and dealing with my shit

First | Next

Tortuga was like no other place Marinette had ever seen. Albeit, she had only been in two ports so far, of which the second hadn’t been the most… pleasing experience, not with strange women trying to take her Chat away from her or with lecherous stinky drunks who ended up with cut tongues. But besides those incidents, it had been welcoming and enjoyable and, dare she say, comfortable. But this place, Tortuga, was giving her shivers. The port was well lighted, but it still felt as if lingering shadows were ready to jump you any moment. And while the joy in the air and the relaxed and euphoric state of people might have been enjoyable any other day, Marinette didn’t feel right in that atmosphere right now. And the streets were stinking! What was up with this port and poor cleaning? Hell knows what diseases will appear because of it. Chat didn’t seem to fare any better. As they were walking along the streets, keeping close to each other and holding hands, Marinette could have sworn she heard him cursing and saying something about how he hated Tortuga. With all the dirt on the ground, Marinette decided she had been inspired to pick a dress that reached above her ankles. She glanced around, noticing all the oddities that were sold at the stands of the merchants. Fish, alcohol, a variety of tools, weapons, but she also saw poisons and some rather weird looking animal limbs. Instinctively, she pulled herself closer to Chat. Her husband wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder, comforting her. Stopping suddenly, Chat moved aside to free the path for other walkers while pulling her along. Raising her hands, he kissed her knuckles and looked down at her.

“Marinette,” he sighed, “have you thought about… ?”

“My answer is still no,” she stated firmly. As he gave her an exasperated look, Marinette shook her head. “Forget it Chat. I said before, I’m saying it again. I’m not running.”

“But it is your only chance to survive, if this goes badly. I don’t want you to die.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but as she spoke her voice was soft. “I lived for almost 161 years now. 160 without you. We just found each other. What do you want me to do, Chat? Let you die and go and lurk in the depths of the sea for another century hoping I will meet you again? I’d be damned if I leave you.“ She gripped his hands tightly and looked straight into his eyes as she promised “If we go, we go together.”

Chat looked at her, obviously not satisfied with the idea, but at the same time, his heart began beating faster at her words. He truly didn’t deserve her. Placing a long kiss on her forehead, Chat squeezed her hands. They were in this together.

-----------------

The Shark’s Fang was one of the best taverns in Tortuga, and there was a general knowledge that it was the tavern the Black Cat of the Seven Seas and his crew frequented. So it wasn’t a surprise for anyone that the only people in there were the workers and the pirates. The chatter was lively and everybody seemed happy to get a drink, Nino most of them all. Everybody went silent as Chat Noir himself appeared.

“Leave me and my crew alone,” he ordered, and the workers immediately scattered through the back door. A group of women who had been lurking around gathered in a corner and exchanged looks, not really eager to leave when they hadn’t got any proper business that night. Max took out a little bag of coins and threw it their way, then motioned for them to get out. The captain wasn’t looking very patient right now.

Chat wasn’t surprised in the slightest when all he had to do was say something to get people to listen. His reputation as the most blood thirsty pirate certainly helped. Redirecting his attention to the crowd in the pub, he simply stated: ”I’ve got news for you. It is about Ma—the mermaid.” The word didn’t sit well with him, but as far as he was concerned, only he and Nino knew Marinette’s name, and he wasn’t about to give it to everybody without her permission.

“Did you find a buyer?” It was Max who broke the silence, and judging by his tone, Chat figured he was disappointed. He did make a habit of talking with Marinette about the life under the sea and mermaids in general. He was one of the ones who, dare he say, befriended Marinette quite fast.

“No.” Chat shook his head. “There is a problem. She isn’t entirely a mermaid.” The whispers of surprise and chatter among the crew turned to silence as Chat extended his hand. Marinette entered through the door holding her husband’s hand and giving a small wave at the crew. “And frankly, no one is selling her as long as I am alive.”

There was a dead silence for a few very tense moments. And then the whole room burst in shouts of all kinds.

“She has legs!”

“What the actual fuck, she has legs?”

“Lahiffe, did you spike my drink again?”

“Well, I prefer it that way, ya know, she is a nice lass and a great singer though.”

“The stories are real! I knew it, take that Max.”

For his part Max was up on the table. “You have to tell me more about this phenomenon!”

“So this is how you’ve been fucking! I can’t believe we all lost the bets.”

Chat raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad to see your priorities are in order, Le Chien.”

“Hold up a second.” Chat’s piercing green eyes settled on the person who spoke. If he remembered correctly, his name was Claude.

“I assume you have something to say,” Chat said nonchalantly, his eyes looking over the others’ faces. At a first glance, this man seemed the only one truly bothered.

“Are you telling us that we ain’t going to sell our biggest catch ever so you can satisfy your dick?” Marinette heard Chat growl. “I’d be damned if I don’t get any coin off that sea wench’s tail.

A chorus of other voices began disagreeing. A sudden wave of tension seemed to pass through the crowd. There were little details, Marinette’s noticed. The way Kim’s back muscles tensed, the way Max reached for his pocket tentatively, Nino settling his bottle on the table, his fingers latching dangerously onto it. Marinette’s grip tightened around Chat’s hand. He squeezed back, but his eyes focused on his crew. Then his lips curled into a grin, but it wasn’t anything Marinette had seen before. It wasn’t playful, or fond or amused. It was rather lethal looking with just a tiny hint of mocking. Marinette admired how well he could hide his inner turmoil and feelings.

“Gentlemen, let’s settle, shall we?” his eyes slid over to Alix who already reached for her gun. “Don’t pull that up Kubdel, there isn’t need for it. I certainly hope my crew isn’t barbaric enough to fill this lovely tavern with blood. We all know how hard is to get the stains out.”

He took a couple of steps forward, in a nonchalant manner, but Marinette noticed he positioned his body in front of her. Her eyes moved from his form to the crew of pirates in front of her. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

“Claude, it seems like you have something more to say about this. And given our diverging opinions, I’m sure we can take this outside and solve it properly, through a duel.” his right hand tapped the hilt of his sword, challenging. “With you and everybody else who wants to settle this matter.”

The pirate paled considerably, while other’s exchanged looks. No one had ever gotten alive out of a sword fight with Captain Chat Noir. This was the man who killed a royal navy admiral when he was 14. And three others during his piracy years. Claude’s shoulders dropped, considering his options. This might not have been such a good idea.

“You know, “ Max’s voice broke the silence. “Ironically enough, since she is with us our success against trade ships increased, not to mention the fact that we had some of our best catches during this period of time. If coin, is your main concern, I’d say it is better to keep her with us, given she seems to bring us good luck.”

Marinette smiled at Max over Chat’s shoulder. She will make sure to thank him later. Maybe tell him more about the marine life.

“Kante, I appreciate the notes, but please, if Claude wants to fight his way over this argument he is more than welcome to do so.” Chat looked at his crew member expectantly.

The other pirate gulped. “It’s alright, Captain. I’ll just sit down.” because he wasn’t insane enough to get in a sword fight with the man who dueled the most frightening pirate of the Seven Seas at 19 and won. He had one bit of preservation instinct left.

“So be it then. Anybody else?” he looked around expectantly through the crowd. The opposing voices simply avoided his glance. “We are settled then. Does anybody have anything to add?”

“Yes.” to everybody’s surprise Nino climbed on the table taking a big gulp out of his bottle. “Finally you all assholes will share my pain of dealing with their romantic bullshit! You will all have to hear them fucking too, from now on, and lose sleep. Fucking finally, I’m not alone to deal with this anymore.”

The chorus of laughter filled the room at Nino’s antics, whatever surprise of him knowing already being set aside fastly.

“Bring more rum!” Nino shouted again, hoping one of the tavern workers could hear him. Then he waved his hand towards Marinette. “Come here sister, I’m in the mood for a song.”

Marinette laughed happily. Giving her husband a fast kiss, she rushed in the middle of the crowd and began singing with Nino. Chat looked at the whole scene and sighed in relief. This, turned out better than he could ever hope for. Seeing Marinette gesture for him to come over, he joined the celebration.

Maybe luck was upon him, at least.