#esuka

She took a breath. Released it slowly. She did not think their paths would cross again so soon. She considered ignoring him, but decided against it because he was a loudmouth who would likely expose her identity to everyone.

Or… you’re desperately searching for an excuse to talk to him.

“Quiet.” She mumbled as she strode to him.

“What are you doing here?”

Ace turned his face to her, mouth full of stew.

“Ishkha!” He spluttered as he grinned. He wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist and gestured at the chair across from him. “C’mon, join me. Or are you here to arrest me?”

She glared at him, but she took his offer because she was freezing and her knees were locking up.

“You’re drawing too much attention to yourself. And you’ve got stew on your chin.” She plucked a handkerchief out of her pocket and tossed it at him. It landed in his lap.

He scooped another spoonful of stew with the carelessness of a person who was in the company of an old friend.

That sentiment made her heart ache.

“Where’s the rest of your crew?” She asked, scanning the tavern. The common folk had already lost interest, but she spotted a suspicious pair, probably bounty hunters, watching from the corner.

Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge him here, with the storm raging outside?

Her rapier was ready to squash any potential idiocy.

Ace dabbed at his mouth with her handkerchief, pocketing it.

“They’re holed up on the ship. I went out to find supplies…”

“You mean you ran off.”

“Uh...”

“I bet Deuce is losing his mind right now,” Isuka smiled despite herself. She signalled for a bowl of stew.

He leaned forward, tapping his spoon against his chin, eyes locking on her.

“Did you really come all this way just to see me?” The teasing in his voice was obvious, but there was something sharp in his gaze.

“I haven’t given up completely on turning you into a Navy guy, but no, I’m here on assignment.” She lied, battling the heat that rose from her stomach to her chest.

He shrugged. “You’re a woman of duty, after all. And a stubborn one.” His fingers drummed the battered tabletop. The numerous empty bowls clattered. “You know there’s a spot on my crew waiting for you.”

She rolled her eyes, but the annoying warmth had now reached her cheeks. “If I wanted to be surrounded by idiots every day, I’d just stay at Marine HQ.”

He barked a laugh, startling the old man at the next table.

“I guess we remain in a stalemate.”

“Guess so.” She took a spoonful of the stew, scorching her tongue and biting off a chunk of the bread.

Ace observed her, the obnoxious but charming grin returning to his lips.

“Deuce says I’m an idiot for thinking you’ll ever switch sides.”

“He’s right.”

“But I still think about it,” his fingers brushed the rim of his bowl. “What it’d be like.” He raised his thumb to his mouth and licked off the last traces of stew.

She looked away, heart thudding. “You think too much.”

“I think about you.”

She almost choked. Her eyes watered.

Nope, nope. She did not need this right now.

The bounty hunters shifted in the corner, one nudging the other with an elbow. Isuka’s fingers curled around the hilt of her rapier beneath the table, but Ace didn’t even glance their way. He was still watching her, like she was the only one in the room.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She looked up sharply. “Stop it.”

“I’m not trying to make things complicated,” he raised his hands in mock surrender.

Her appetite was gone.

“You are making things complicated.”

She would not and could not deal with whatever she was feeling towards this man.

The bounty hunters stood up. One reached for something beneath his coat.

Isuka was already moving.

Her chair scraped back, her rapier unsheathed. The tavern erupted in startled cries as she flew across the room, blade pressing to the nearest man’s throat before he could draw.

“Sit down,” she hissed. “Or I’ll make you walk out of here.”

The man hesitated.

Ace hadn’t moved. His eyes were on her. Just her. As if he relished in her actions.

But of course, he knew about them from the start.

The bounty hunters backed down. Mumbling curses, they retreated to their seats.

Isuka returned to the table, heart pounding. She sat without a word, picked up her spoon, and resumed eating her lukewarm stew.

“You’re really bad at pretending you don’t care.”

She didn’t look at him. Because if she said she didn’t care, it would be a lie. She had lied enough already.

“Shut up and let me eat, Fire Fist.”

He beamed, propping his chin on his hand as he continued to stare at her.

~ ♡ ~

“They got away! There was a huge wall of fire!” Isuka walked past the marines gathered by Captain Smoker, she didn’t know the man that well.

“Who was that pirate anyway?”

“Yeah, he looked strong.”

Isuka rolled her eyes: the quality of recruits these days.

Isuka recognised the swordswoman standing near them, Tashigi. She had an exasperated look on her face. “You guys seriously don’t know the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division?”

Isuka froze as she was walking down the streets of the bustling Nanohana. She had heard rumours and even seen photos, but she was here to see for herself if what people were saying was true. 

Portgas D. Ace was back in paradise. 

She had missed him in Drum Island, but had heard from the locals that a man matching his description had been by. They remembered because, strangely, it didn’t snow that day. They said he was going to be waiting for someone in Alabasta for ten days. That meant she had a chance to finally catch up to him.

She had spent the last two days in the port town of Nanohana, hoping this was where he was waiting for whoever it was he was waiting for. The journey itself to the Alabasta Kingdom had taken five days. She was already three days behind Ace, meaning today was her last chance of finding him. Her time off was also coming to an end, so, in reality, this was likely the last chance of seeing him again. 

She grabbed one of the marines by the collar, surprising him. “You’re sure it was him?”

Tashigi nearly drew Shigure on her. “Isuka!”

“I asked. Are you sure it was him?!”

The marine was shaking. “Yes ma’am!”

“Thank you,” she let him go, nodding at Tashigi. “Where are they?”

“Escaping, probably out to sea already.”

She knew it was a long shot as she ran towards the coast, but she just had to try. Maybe she could catch a glimpse of him. That would be all she needed.

She almost fell into the sea in her haste, and two nearby people had to grab her stumbling form to make sure she didn’t.

“You should be more careful, Miss,” the man said. The lady next to him nodded.

She bowed in embarrassment, “Sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Where are you going in such a hurry, love?” The lady asked.

She couldn’t answer, instead spinning around to scan the view. She saw the Straw Hats’ ship sailing and at least five other ships burning around it. This fire meant he had to have been there. So where could he be?

She nearly gave up hope, turning to once again apologise to the helpful people, when out of the corner of her eye she saw him heading back to land.

She had a chance.

“Where is that boat headed to, do you know?”

Both of them looked over to where she was pointing. “It’s all desert over there, I’m not sure what is there.”

She sighed. “Thank you for your help,” she bowed again before running in that direction, hoping to see where he landed.

~ ♡ ~

Isuka had never run so fast in her life. She sprinted back to her room and grabbed her things. She was wearing her usual vacation clothes under an open white robe and a red shawl wrapped around her neck that she covered her head with when she went outside. Her sunglasses were on her face instead of her head. Her uniform was stuffed haphazardly in her bag, and her rapier at her side once again. She had paid in advance for the room, quickly thanked the clerk and got back to the chase. 

She pulled out the map of Alabasta she purchased when she first arrived. She didn’t know where exactly he was going, but there were a few places he could land. There was a small cove-like area in between Nanohana and Katorea that was her best bet.

Stuffing the map back into her bag, she began running again. She knew it was stupid to try and run all the way. However, her options were very limited, she didn’t really have the funds to rent one of the animals that could transport her. They were hard to catch and tame and therefore cost too much. Sandboarding was also off the table since the desert was mostly flat near the coast. So, trying her best to pace herself, she continued.

By the time she made it to the edge of the town, her lungs were on fire. She knew the heat would be affecting her stamina, but didn’t think it would be this much. Her view of the cove was being blocked by a sand dune, so she began clambering up it. 

When she had made it to the crest, she stopped, taking a sip of her water and looked down. She spotted the cove, but it was hard to tell whether such a small boat was docked there. She was starting her descent when she tripped over something in the sand, an orange scale stuck out of it. Steadying herself, she drew her rapier. She didn’t know what types of animals dwelled in the Alabasta desert. She was surprised when a timid-looking purple gecko emerged tearfully, holding its head.

She immediately sheathed her sword, apologising to the animal. It didn't seem to hear her at all, and she felt bad, so, rummaging through her bag, she found some crushed biscuits and opened the packet to offer them to it. The noise snapped it out of the pain, and it suspiciously accepted them. She watched as it ate them, seemingly enjoying them. 

“You’re not very dangerous, are you?” She chuckled as it tried to bend down, presumably to be scratched. She obliged, “You’re just as needy as Kotatsu.”

She smiled fondly at the memories of the precious lynx and his owner, suddenly missing those days. She gave it the rest of the biscuits she had.

She began to draw her arm away when she had an idea. A ridiculous one but worth a try.

“Hey, do you think I could ride on you?” The gecko blinked in confusion, she signalled that she needed to get to the cove in the distance, and it seemed to understand. “Could you carry me there?”

The gecko nodded, apparently happy to be useful, it bent down to allow her to ride on its shoulders. As soon as she stopped adjusting herself, it began moving.

~ ♡ ~

She held onto her scarf as the gecko raced across the desert. Never in a million years did she think this would happen. When she neared the cove and saw the striker pulled up onto the sand, she let out a sigh of relief. Ace, however, was nowhere to be seen. 

She jumped off the gecko a small distance from the striker, just in case he would notice her from somewhere and take off. She gave him a chocolate bar he was saving for herself and watched him run back. Walking towards his striker, she noticed his footprints walking away from it, but close to nothing else. He’d left his watermelon bag in the striker. She rummaged through it, finding nothing but maps, some food and water and some pictures. She was inspecting the pictures, there was one with a suspiciously familiar vermilion bob in the background, when she heard a noise from behind her.

She drew her rapier and spun to face the source of the sound.

“Birdie?”

“Fire fist?”

Ace stood with his arms up in surrender, “What are you doing here?”

She pointed her rapier at him, “I could ask you the same thing.”

“You already know why,” he smirked. She was chasing him again, there was no way she was here out of pure coincidence.

“I don’t think I do,” there was a small blush settling on her cheeks. He stepped closer, slowly lowering his arms. 

“You don’t have to lie to me, Birdie.” he was in front of her, pushing down her sword. “Were you expecting a chase? For old times' sake?”

His smile was infuriating to her, she sheathed her sword, “I don’t have the energy for that.”

He began to jog, “Another lie, afraid Isuka? You’ll probably lose again.”

He was laughing, and she had to prove him wrong, so she chased after him, not bothering to drop her bag. They hadn’t even run 100 metres when Ace turned to taunt her and fell through the ground. Simply vanished.

Isuka ran closer, “Ace!”

There was a hole in the ground where he had disappeared. She tried to peer into it but felt the earth give way, and she was falling too.

~ ♡ ~

Isuka groaned as she sat up, a dull pain in her back. She looked around to see where Ace had fallen. She didn’t immediately register that she had fallen onto him, her vision struggling to get used to the dark.

“You know you don’t exactly weigh nothing, right?” The voice came from below her, and she scrambled off of him. Dusting herself off and holding out a hand to him.

“Are you okay?”

He accepted her hand and got up, “Don't worry about it, I'm sturdier than I look.” 

She chose to ignore his charming smile and look around instead, “Where on earth are we?”

“Good question,” he peered around the tunnel they’d fallen into, lighting a fire in his hands. “Looks like ruins of some sort.”

“Oh, I read about this!” Isuka rummaged through the bag and pulled out a book, the known history of the kingdom. “Apparently, the Alabasta Kingdom once fell victim to a massive sandstorm. Much bigger than the other ones. It buried most of the tunnels they used to use to avoid the sun. The people just built over them since their old homes were too buried. Some have been unearthed, but the majority are still buried to this day.”

“Why do you even have that book?”

“It looked interesting,” she defended, putting it back in her bag.

“Well, does it say anything about how to get out?”

“No, just that they exist.”

“Great.”

“Hey, we wouldn’t even be here if you didn’t run away!” she stabbed a finger in his direction.

“Me? You're the one who followed me out here!”

“Not to capture you! I just wanted to talk!”

“Oh,” he scratched his neck sheepishly, “about what?”

Her throat suddenly felt dry. “What on earth are you back in paradise for?”

“I’m chasing someone, a traitor. I plan on bringing them to justice,” he pulled out the photos in his pocket, “someone said they had intel to give me if I met them out here.”

She accepted the stack of photos, scanning through them, “Why did you have a photo of me in your bag?”

“Huh?” he looked like a deer in headlights, “You saw that?”

She handed him the photos, “Yes, I did. It was from far away, like someone was spying on me.”

Ace stammered, “Well, uh, Skull said that, someone said they saw you, and that photo was proof.”

“And?”

“And I kept it?” He really didn’t have any other explanation. Thankfully, she sort of believed him and hadn’t found the stack of newspaper clippings of her (that would be impossible to explain). Or that he had been the one to ask Skull about her whereabouts.

“Well, we should probably get out of here somehow. You think one of these leads out to sea?” She pointed at the fork they were standing at.

“Only one way to find out.”

~ ♡ ~

Isuka sighed as she watched Ace try to push random tiles on the wall in front of them.

“Like I said,” she whacked him on the back of his head, “it’s a dead end, so stop trying!”

“How could I have been wrong! This has to be a secret passageway!”

“Why are you surprised? You’re not correct very often,” she scoffed as she picked up her backpack and began to walk away.

“Hey! What was that supposed to mean?” He chased after her.

“We should have gone right like I said,” she mumbled to herself. “Just cause you won the coin toss.”

“Hey, I won that fair and square!”

~ ♡ ~

As soon as they were back to where they started, Ace let out an annoyed noise.

“I can’t believe we’re at the start again!”

“I don’t know why you’re acting like it wasn’t your fault.” She slid onto the floor, not caring about the sand that would end up on her. She was hungry, so she began rummaging through her bag.

“Wow,” he sat down next to her, “it’s like nothing has changed.”

She didn’t look up. “What do you mean?”

“Us,” she looked up, “we haven’t changed, we’ve been reunited for like an hour, you wouldn’t assume we haven’t seen each other in two years.”

“I guess,” she finally managed to find her emergency snack bars. Wordlessly handing him one and eating the other.

They ate in silence, mulling over Ace’s words. He was the first to get up, holding his hand out to her. She accepted it, dusting herself off when she was standing. 

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” she began walking towards the path on the right. “This time the right way.”

He jogged after her, “How many times do I have to apologise for that?”

“You haven’t apologised at all.”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry.”

“Save it, Fire Fist.”

“Yes ma’am.”

~ ♡ ~

“See, the sand here is damper than the sand where we fell,” she held out her hand to him. “We have to be getting closer to the sea.”

“No, it is not,” he poked it, “what are you? A dampness meter?”

She threw the sand at him, “Believe whatever you want!”

He spluttered, coughing out the sand that ended up in his mouth, “Hey! What if that makes me sick or something?”

“I thought idiots couldn’t get sick,” she continued walking down the corridor.

“Yes, we do!”

“No comeback for the idiot thing?” She asked when he caught up.

“Not a convincing one,” she burst out in laughter, and he stared in confusion. He’d never made her feel anything but annoyance before. It was starting to get increasingly warm, even though he only held a small fire in his palm.

“Come on, I think we’re nearly out.”

She was correct; they only had to walk another 10 minutes before they saw the light. It was a welcome sight. 

“It’s so beautiful,” she took a deep breath in as they stood in the sheltered cave. The waves crashed lightly, and a breeze blew past them, making her hair flutter. 

“It really is,” he smiled, looking out at the view.