#shirohige

"We could always send him with Izou, love!" Newgate laughs and Zeff loses it he wants to send a homicidal maniac to visit his boy and is he fucking mad? Marco is losing it with Thatch and Izou agrees to bring Ace. Patty, Carne, and him could keep Ace in check. Not to mention the host and a couple of the longer staffed waiters. When Ace asks about it, trapped on deck with the commanders and the captain he wishes to kill, the captain answers him. "Wasn't us who made it neutral territory. Zeff did it all by himself. My husband is a terrifying force of nature."

"Your husband was the most wanted man by marines and pirates in your generation." Marco pans. "I distinctly remember multiple calls during every fight almost between you, Roger, and Rayleigh about him."

"And I won the long game." Newgate smirks. Marco rolls his eyes before checking Ace's wounds and leaving. Izou does bring Ace with the skeleton crew he usually takes to the East Blue and he hears Ace just talk about his brother the entire time. Izou can't wait for the idiot to meet Sanji, Ace is going to trip over himself the entire time. And he does. Izou loses it and takes photos with Carne and Patty to take back. Zeff yells at his husband as Newgate is choking on his laughter and Marco hits his forehead with his clipboard. Ace is fearing for his life. Even after White Beard goes into remission and his husband goes back to his restaurant. Ace goes with him every time. He never gets better about Sanji. Never.

When Sanji sets sail with someone that sounds a lot like Ace's brother he quickly finds himself covered in hands like the geezer.

Then Ace finds Sanji on the way to Alabasta and they're catching up and Luffy cold cocks his brother for possibly stealing his cook. Sanji is curled on deck from laughing and his back is spasming from breaking it on Drum and Ace is also next to the man, on his knees folded over as he laughs and whines about his jaw hurting. Everyone is very confused. Then Ace watches how trained Sanji has Luffy and Zoro and collapses in laughter again.

"It's just like the Old Man and Chef." Ace says to him and Sanji shrugs.

"They shouldn't have been so fucking trainable. All fucking Blue, do not tell the Old Man, he's going to tell the Shitty Geezer." Sanji points his spatula at Ace later who is wrapping everyone's bentos after promising Sanji he wouldn't eat them. Ace pauses and looks at him.

"But it's so fucking funny that you took after Chef like this." Ace is trying so hard to not laugh.

Arriving in front of your bars, he saw that you’d fallen asleep curled into a ball, chest rising and falling slowly. He wasn’t sure what the normal heart rate for a Naga was, but he hoped you were OK. Unlocking and opening the door, Ace let himself in. He was going to gently wake you, but the sounds of the clinking chains startled you awake. You looked at him wildly, curling yourself into an impossibly smaller ball than before. Ace stayed on the far side of the cell, sitting down, and giving you some space.

You hissed at him weakly, the muzzle preventing you from making any loud sounds. He set the tray down and brought  the key to the muzzle from his pocket, showing it to you. You looked at it and at the food, hissing again. Ace wanted to soothe you, he knew hissing was your only defense mechanism left, you didn’t need to be afraid. 

“Hey, hey, it’s OK Baby. Look, I brought more food,” Ace said, speaking quietly and gesturing to the meat. You didn’t stop hissing but he had your attention, he could tell. Ace pantomimed biting his forearm with his hand and giving his head a shake. “No biting, ok?” He repeated the gesture and phrase “no biting,” several times. You watched him warily, you probably couldn’t verbalize anything at all with the muzzle. Ace stood up and slowly walked over to you, key in hand. He was pretty sure he could burn off the venom if you did bite him, but he didn’t want to find out the hard way.

“No biting,” Ace said one last time, crouching down to reach for your head slowly. You jerked back but didn’t fight him as he turned your head, and unlocked the muzzle. Taking it off your face, you still didn’t say anything to him, just looked up at him with wide eyes. You stretched your jaw and rubbed it with your clawed fingers. It looked like some segments had rubbed your jaw bloody. Wincing to himself, he thought he would…well, no he wouldn’t ask Marco for help. He’d have to figure out a way to tell you Marco wasn’t going to hurt or eat you, maybe he could convince Deuce to clean the wounds instead. You didn’t lunge to bite him, but you were still chained to the wall. Ace stood back up, taking the muzzle with him. Bringing the meat closer, he set the platter before you and sat down again.

“Meat,” he said, grabbing a hank of meat on the bone and pointing to the food. “Meat,” he repeated, handing it to you.

“Mee-et” you replied while taking the food. You were being rather meek and he wondered if maybe it was the prolonged captivity that did it. He was sure you’d never been bound before since you lived alone. You were probably the apex predator of your island so you were unused to being weaker than others. Once you were done with your piece, you didn’t reach for more, just waited. Two steps forward, one step back , Ace thought to himself.

“Eat,” Ace said, pushing the food towards you. “Eat,” he repeated, handing you more. You took it again, eating with more restraint than he’d ever seen before. You didn’t unhinge your jaw, just ate like a human would, with small bites and chewing until you swallowed. Now Ace felt worse, maybe the muzzle injured your jaw and you weren’t able to unhinge it right now. Your countenance was dour and grim, watching him with a wary gaze as you ate your fill. It was rather depressing, seeing your spirit crushed like that. But Ace knew that once you understood what was happening, you’d be happy, it would just take a little time.

Your POV

The muzzle had hurt you in so many ways, you were glad you had the food for distraction. The food tasted as incredible as always and you couldn’t get enough. Your jaw ached from where it was restricted and you knew you’d tasted your own blood from where the harsh materials had rubbed your skin raw. You probably could unhinge it, but you were afraid it was injured from the angle the muzzle held your jaw and wanted to check it out in private.

Not only were you physically hurt, but as you waited for an indeterminate amount of time, you languished in your thoughts of helplessness and anguish. If your sisters saw you now, they would disavow you, or laugh at your weakness, maybe even toss you to the Harpy themselves. The muzzle had been demeaning and degrading in a way that was so much worse than simply being held captive. At first, you had delusions that maybe you could get away, that maybe you could fight them and win. Now you saw that you were outnumbered and they were stronger than you were.

As you chewed, you wondered if they knew you could eat fish and vegetation as well. You liked all the meat they were serving and would gladly eat it daily, but you knew that as a half-human, there were some nutrients you needed to get from plants. Your sisters had figured that out when you were a child, trying to feed you all kinds of leaves before realizing only certain plants provided nutrition to humans while others made you sick. You would have to figure out a way to tell them what you needed to thrive, but then again, maybe they were only fattening you up to be a better meal. It was difficult for you to determine what they wanted from you when their behaviors were so duplicitous. For now, you’d eat to gain your strength and see what they wanted from you. You were glad to be getting so much food, the harsh winter conditions of your island had made you weaker than normal.

You finished your piece of meat and waited for further instruction. You were on your best behavior, you really wanted to show you understood you weren’t supposed to bite. Ace sighed and handed you the entire platter, telling you to eat again. You responded to his command with gusto as much as you could with your limited jaw movement. Once you were done, you restrained a yawn as your stomach signaled it was full.. Eating a large amount in a short span was your normal habit, you just wished you were under the sun or somewhere warm to lie down. You scowled at the sound of the chain jingling as you went to relax; your delicious feast ruined by the reminder of your captivity. 

“Ace,” you said, garnering his attention. He looked surprised and happy, you thought this might have been the first time you’d addressed him without prompting. You put your fingers through the collar at your neck and tugged. You hoped he understood you wanted him to take off the collar, it didn’t hurt to ask. “Ace,” you said again and pulled on it, giving him pleading eyes. He looked to the side and ran a hand through his hair. “Ace,” you said a third time, locking eyes with him. He sighed and stood up, making you bare your teeth at him like he had to you before. But instead of returning the gesture, he stared at you. You stopped baring your teeth, maybe you’d misunderstood the motion. He continued walking towards you until he crouched down in front of you.

“Stay,” he said, putting his palm down in the air above your head. You blinked, unsure what he wanted you to do. “Stay,” he said, repeating the motion. He reached for the chain attaching you to the wall, and you remained in place, waiting for him to release you. As soon as he unlatched the chain, you began to move but he moved to stand in front of you.

 “No. Stay,” he said, repeating the motion and you remained in place, unsure of what he wanted. “Good. Stay,” he repeated with the motion. Did he want you to stay in the jail cell while he left? You didn’t know why he unlatched you when you could still squeeze through the bars.  You wanted the collar off too, not just the chain, but you were happy for more movement for the time being.

Ace walked backward through the still-open jail door. He stayed in the room, just outside the bars of the cell. “Stay,” he repeated once more with the hand motion. You looked at him, unsure what to do. “Good job!” he said while smiling at you. Oh, so it was ok for him to bare his teeth but not you? Strange. Maybe it was a power dynamic thing, he was showing you he was the aggressor. He took a few steps back, and you remained in place. 

“Come,” Ace said, flipping his hand over and beckoning to you. Tilting your head, you remained where you were. Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out something unfamiliar. You smelled that it was food with a flick of your tongue, but you’d never scented something so sweet before. It was a small, round, brown biscuit studded with dark brown bits. He broke it in half, holding the smaller portion out to you. At the sight of his offering, you slithered forward and took it from his hand. Inspecting it and determining it was probably fine, you popped it into your mouth.

Holy. 

Fuck.

You’d never tasted anything like that before. Sure, you had fruit on your island during the summer season, but it didn’t taste as sweet as this. It was like all of the sweetness of the world was dancing on your tongue, making your palate sing with the dulcitude of the biscuit.  You licked your hand over and over for more crumbs and then grabbed Ace’s for the second half. It was the first time you’d initiated contact with him, he pulled back as if you were going to bite him. You weren’t, you just wanted more.  

You didn’t know how to express that you wanted more, so you emphatically pointed to the other half in his hand. Raising yourself up higher on your tail, you tried to grab it from him, making him laugh. He was faster than you expected, keeping the food away from you. “Found something you like more than meat, huh?” he said, smiling. His laugh made you feel differently than when your sisters laughed. They would laugh when recounting how they decimated some ship, or fought a sea king, or when a death was particularly funny. But it didn’t sound like Ace's did, and it made a strange emotion rise in you too. You almost wanted to make him do it again, to give you the special feeling his laugh gave you.

Ace backed away from you unhurriedly, telling you to stay with the gesticulation you were now used to, but showed you the biscuit. You stopped, waiting for him to tell you to come. It wasn’t hard to figure out what he wanted after a few times, and it would be helpful to learn some of the words and gestures the humans did for better communication. You didn’t have to wait long before Ace told you to come and held out the biscuit. Slithering quickly, you grabbed it and shoved it in your mouth with a happy hum. Ace’s hand was still out and you grabbed it, licking it for the remainder of the flavor that lingered. The tickle of your tongue made Ace laugh again, giving you that feeling before he removed his hand from your own.

“I think you got those commands down,” he said, patting your head. You swatted his hand away, annoyed that he kept touching your head like a baby. Ace didn’t seem to mind and carried on speaking, “let’s go to the deck, I have work to do but I’m gonna introduce you to some people.” It didn’t bother you that he talked and you couldn’t understand, it would help you learn faster, you thought. He picked up his hand saying, “come,” and you followed, waiting for the biscuit that followed.

There was no biscuit. 

You held out your hand expectantly when you made it to the top floor of the ship. You hadn’t seen it yet, but all you really wanted was more of the condensed sweetness. You even pulled your fingers back into a grabbing motion a few times. Ace rubbed the back of his neck and pointedly looked away from you, no treats appearing in his hands.

“Ace,” you said, pointing to your palm. Surely he knew you wanted more and you were positive he had to have another treat. Maybe he needed to see that you understood the commands he taught you.

“Ssstay,” you said, stopping in place. “Come,” you intoned, moving forward towards him. “Ace,” you repeated while pointing to your palm again and you waited patiently for your reward. 

He did not reach into his pockets as you thought he would and you narrowed your eyes at him. You did what he wanted, even said the commands he taught you, so where was your reward? Maybe he didn’t have any more? He brought you all that meat but no more biscuits? You let out as scoff as you swiveled your head around, trying to detect if there was any more sweet food around. Flicking your tongue, you could tell someone on the main wood floor had something sweet and you were going to find it. You started to slither away, but Ace called out.

“Stay,” his tone was firm as he spoke like he needed to prove something. You stopped and looked around - there were a lot of humans on the wood floor but they didn’t seem to be doing anything exceptional. They weren’t fighting or anything, just watching you and Ace interact. You waited a few moments before moving again, trying to locate the smell. Ace let you go, instead focusing his attention on some other humans standing in a semi-circle nearby. He began conversing with three men, probably about you, as he gesticulated and kept talking while you moved further away. 

You took in your surroundings as you attempted to locate that tantalizing smell. You’d never been on a boat before, so you were unsure if all boats were like this one. It looked larger than others but you’d only ever spied ships from a distance, so you weren’t sure exactly how much bigger it was. It had interesting features, a lot of towers rising from the floor with sails on them to catch the wind. There were ladders and ropes everywhere, along with  a big flag adorned with what you assumed was the leader’s face. You took in a huge breath of fresh air, thankful for the reprieve from the stuffy, putrid air below the floor.

Glancing around, you saw many humans engaged in various tasks. You didn’t know what they were all up to but they looked busy. Your sisters had told you that humans engaged in many frivolous tasks all the time, but hadn’t described exactly what that meant. Though you were happy to be outdoors, the sheer number of people and smells around started to overwhelm you. You weren’t used to being around anyone , much less hundreds and hundreds of stinky humans. They came in different sizes but mostly looked the same to you, all walking around on two legs. 

You made your way closer to the edge of the boat, trying to get more sea smells back in your lungs. Watching the boat slice through the sea was hypnotic, you’d never been moving so fast above the water. It was like the ship was a knife, cutting through the deep blue that you longed to dive into. You were so mesmerized by the movement of the ship that you didn’t notice when a very large human nearly stepped on your tail. 

“Oi, watch it, sea snake,” the human boomed at you. You squinted at him, you were fairly certain you hadn’t seen him before, but then again, most of the humans looked the same to you. You only really recognized Meatman, the Harpy, and Ace. This one had hair over his top lip, but no hair on his head. He was quite a bit taller than Ace and had a large smoking roll puffing from his mouth. He didn’t have a shirt, but neither did you or most people on board. Flicking your tongue, your eyes widened when you realized he had the sweet food. And you were going to get some. 

Ace POV

Ace was feeling pretty good about teaching you commands. You were obviously intelligent since you learned quickly and understood what he wanted from you. He hadn’t expected you to like the cookie that much, but he was glad there was another food you liked besides meat. Thatch would cook whatever you wanted but it was easier to keep cookies on hand than a hunk of meat. 

“ - don’t know, she still seems feral, look at her hair,” commented Izou, pointing out the mats in your hair. Ace hadn’t noticed before, but he conceded that you did need some grooming tips. 

“She was all alone, she might not know how to brush her hair,” Ace explained. “She might not have had a comb or anything, she’s just a baby.”

“I don’t think she’s a baby, Ace. I think she’s just small,” Curiel suggested. Ace had a niggling thought that you weren’t as young as he thought, but there was no way to tell. You weren’t developed…physically…yet, which suggested you were not mature. But then again, he didn’t know anything about Sea Naga. He really needed to check the library to search for a book about Naga. If any ship on the seas had information about Sea Naga, it would be the Moby. The library was huge and all books were shared among the crew since the ship had been made. Ace kept his thoughts to himself as the conversation continued. Ace was distracted as the door opened and Stefan zoomed through the various crew mates on board, weaving around and running in circles.

“Stephan! Come!” boomed Whitebeard, waving his hand in an upward motion. The large white dog came bounding toward the Captain, ready to receive a treat for listening to the command. Ace brought his attention back to the conversation at hand.

“Maybe. But she’s not feral, I taught her some words and commands already. She can stay, come, she knows ‘food,’ ‘meat,’ ‘eat,’ lots of things,” Ace noted. “In fact, I’ll show you, lemme go find her.” Ace quickly searched the deck for Baby, thinking that a black and white striped snake wouldn’t be hard to find. 

As his eyes roamed the deck, Ace felt himself sweating despite the devil fruit that kept his temperature stable. If he lost you again, Marco was going to make him get rid of you, Ace was sure of it. Trying to hide his rising panic, Ace walked briskly around the deck, looking for any sign of you. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Marco opening the door to the deck, reading some old book. He needed to find you immediately, he thought, or there was going to be trouble. He was starting his second lap of the deck, when Izou caught his attention. Sighing and putting his head on his palm, Izou pointed up to the crow’s nest, his facial expression showing displeasure. Ace gave a silent bow, seeing the paddle of your tail poking out of the nest….with Fossa?

Climbing up behind you, Ace heard Fossa speaking to you quietly. You weren’t hissing, and Fossa wasn’t angry or yelling, all of which were good signs. Coming up slowly, he saw Fossa throwing something at you, which you caught with ease in your mouth.

“Good job,” Fossa grunted, eating something himself. You sat down and waited, your gaze locked on Fossa with rapt attention.

“What’re you two up to?” Ace asked, climbing into the crow’s nest. Luckily, due to the average size of crew members on the Moby, there was plenty of room for all three of you on the circular platform.

“Teachin’ ‘er,” Fossa grunted. Fossa always wore the same expression, it was sometimes difficult to tell how he was feeling underneath his brusque exterior. 

“Teaching her what? She already knows -” Fossa cut Ace off with a puff of smoke aimed at Ace’s face.

“Yeah, you taught her those dog commands. She’s smarter’n that. Stand,” Fossa said in Baby’s direction. Baby stood as tall as she could on her tail, reaching higher than Ace had ever seen. When you were done, you waited patiently while Fossa reached into the inner pocket of his vest, bringing out a cookie. Breaking it in half, he tossed half to you and ate the other half himself. “She knows a lotta commands now. Stand, sit, watch me, wait, drop it. Don’t need that shitty muzzle, trained her with cookies,” he explained, tossing you another cookie which you gleefully caught in your mouth.

“Wait, how did you get so many cookies?” Ace questioned, eyes narrowing. Thatch had been blaming Ace for stealing cookies from the kitchens for years despite Ace’s protests. Yes, sometimes he did steal them, but not as often as Thatch claimed. Fossa narrowed his own eyes.

“Mind yer business, brat. Me ‘n Baby need ‘em.” You were now winding your way up Fossa’s giant body, trying to get your hands into his vest pocket. He was gently shooing your hands away while not removing you from his shoulders. It reminded Ace of when Luffy would use his grubby little hands to try and get some meat from Ace’s plate.

“I’m not sure that much sugar is good for her,” Ace said, watching Baby continually trying to get more cookies out of Fossa’s pockets.

“What’re you? The bird? Fuck off runt,” Fossa tossed out. Ace and Fossa had known each other for years, Ace knew it was just ribbing. If Fossa was mad, he would have tossed Ace out of the crow’s nest like he had done before.

“Hey! Don’t swear around her, I don’t want her to learn that,” Ace said, frowning. “Baby, come,” Ace said, using the motion. You were now half laying on Fossa’s head, with your tail draped across his shoulders. The way you turned your head to look at him confirmed that you had heard Ace’s command but you made no move to leave your perch.

“Baby, come,” Ace said in a firmer tone this time. Now you unwound yourself from Fossa and slithered down to the platform. Raising yourself up, you put your hand to your face as you yelled out.

“Ssstephan, come!” The dog came bounding towards the crow’s nest, slobbering all the way. You flashed Ace a dark look and started slithering down the ladder while Fossa laughed.

“The bitch knows what she’s doing,” Fossa said affectionately. Ace didn’t know how you wormed your way into Fossa’s good graces so quickly. It had taken years for Fossa to give Ace more than a grunt, and Ace still wasn’t sure the Commander liked him all that much. 

“Stop swearing,” Ace grumbled, following you down the ladder.

Your POV 

You nearly hissed when you saw the dog heeding the large man’s command. So that’s what Ace  thought of you? A pet to command and control? Like the idiotic beast that couldn’t keep its drool off the floor? You were so angry you wanted to bite and strangle something, but the punishment for doing so was clear. You didn’t want that muzzle anywhere near you ever again, and if that meant not biting the humans, then you wouldn’t. 

You had found the large human very agreeable in comparison to the other humans. He didn’t bare his teeth at you or try to pat your head like Ace did. He was straightforward, large, strong, and impassive. He reminded you a lot of your sisters actually. You thought they would like him if they didn’t eat him first. He ignored you at the beginning, allowing you to get closer to the sweet smell emanating from his pocket. Getting his attention, you motioned to his pocket in an attempt to communicate your desire for the sweet treat. Grunting his response, the two of you quickly found a pattern where he taught you something and rewarded you with more biscuits. He’d also let you warm yourself on top of his large shoulders, which was pleasant in the afternoon sun. You liked this  human and you hoped you’d get to spend more time with him in the future. 

Ace followed you down the ladder while mumbling to himself. Whatever, he could be mad, you thought. He wasn’t the one who was being trained like a beast. You did wait for him at the bottom of the crow’s nest, anticipating that he wanted you to do something. Picking his way down the ladder, he beckoned you once more with a verbal “come.” At least this time he didn’t do the gesture, you thought.

He brought you down the wood floor to a gigantic chair, upon which was seated the largest human you’d seen on the ship. His face had hair that matched the face on the flag, so he must be the ruler. That made sense, you thought, the largest human of the bunch was in charge. Finally, the humans had come up with a sensical rule. Stefan was rolling at the feet of the large man, who looked at you as you approached. 

“What have you found, my child?” the man spoke, talking to Ace. While they were talking, you perused the older human with your eyes. He looked powerful, and his scars indicated that he had fought and survived many battles. This alone earned him some respect in your eyes. His sword looked meritorious, something even your sisters would have found worthy. He spoke to Ace in an affable nature, clearly having some positive connection to him. 

Ace was still talking and gesturing to you as his leader listened, letting Ace yap at length. You decided to take your chances and move closer to the human. He watched your approach and let his hand dangle close to you to allow you to smell him. The large man smelled like the sea, worn leather, and something else you’d smelled once on your sister but never again. You crawled up into his hand then up his arm. This human was even warmer than the previous one, nearly as comforting as Ace. Slithering upwards, you squirmed your way under the white and red blanket draping his shoulders. Laying down, you both let Ace continue yammering as your eyes slid shut. 

Your last conscious thought was that you wanted more biscuits.

Ace POV

Ace blinked rapidly as he watched you warm yourself on the Captain’s shoulders. He shouldn’t have been surprised; babies, children, and animals always loved Whitebeard. Ace wasn’t sure what magnetism alerted them that he was a sure bet, but whatever it was always worked.

“This is the sea snake, aye?” Whitebeard asked while watching her settle and lay across his broad form from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, that’s Baby. Can she stay Pops? Please?” Ace asked, already knowing Pops would say yes. At least he hadn’t called her a Sea Bitch to her face, not that you’d understand.

“Aye, for now.” Ace knew for now really meant forever, as long as Baby didn’t keep biting. If she was able to prove her worth, she’d be good as gold.

“Thank you, Pops,” Ace said, hugging Whitebeard’s shin in gratitude. The old man hummed and patted Ace’s back. Turning his head to look at Baby, he rubbed her hair between his fingers. 

“She isn’t a baby,” Pops rumbled. 

“How do you know?” Ace asked. Pops had mentioned that he’d met a Sea Naga before, but Ace thought it had been as an adult.

“She’s got no tits but that doesn’t mean she’s not fully grown. They can go away with a harsh winter if they haven’t whelped yet,” Whitebeard explained. Ace’s face burned red, he hoped he never had to hear Whitebeard talk about your tits ever again. 

“It’s true, says so here yoi,” said Marco, closing a book. He eyed Baby sleeping on Pops’s shoulder where he would normally perch himself. “I found this in the library. It’s old, but some of the information should still be accurate,” Marco said, showing Ace the dusty tome. “It even has a recipe for an antidote to her venom,” Marco finished before tossing the book to Ace. 

Catching it, Ace flipped through the pages. He’d have to read it later, he needed to finish building -

“How’s the crate coming yoi?” Marco asked, finishing Ace’s thought. Marco leaned against Pops’s chair with one leg propped up. 

“Good, nearly done,” Ace lied easily. It was almost nearly done but it wasn’t quite there. He didn’t have all the raw materials needed, especially since he hadn’t known his need for wood when they stopped at the last island. “Should be done by tonight, if I can get time to finish it.”

“Better hurry, it’s almost dinner time now,” Marco commented with a raised eyebrow. He pushed off the chair and began walking back across the deck. Ace didn’t know what was up Marco’s ass about Baby. She’d only bit Thatch (twice) and it was just because she was scared. Ace put the book into the pocket of his cargo shorts with a sigh. Baby poked her head up now that Marco’s footsteps had receded. Slithering down Whitebeard’s body, she sat next to Ace on the deck, flicking her tongue out excitedly.

“What’s up, Baby? You smell something?” Ace asked, reaching his hand out. Baby stuck her own up, halting Ace from patting her head. Ace laughed, retracting his hand, “guess you don’t like me ruffling your hair, huh?” Baby was barely paying attention, tongue still flicking out in search of something. Slithering off, Baby searched for her target with Ace in tow.

Your POV

Someone on board wasn’t human, you were sure of it. Yes, there was Stefan and maybe another mammal, but there was someone else on board similar to you . Someone smelled like the deep, like the parts of the ocean that humans weren’t able to swim to, and you wanted to find them. Slithering around low to the ground, Ace followed as you searched through the stinky humans. Finding your target, you brought yourself upright and found yourself face to face with a sharkman. 

Racking your brains, you thought your sisters had told you about other breeds of half humans. You remembered something about half humans half fish, but you thought they told you they had tails. This man had no tail, though he did have an admirable fin on his back and gills on his neck. You sniffed all around him, under his watchful eye. He didn’t speak to you, just allowed you to inspect him as he surveyed you in return. Ace spoke to the Fishman, and they agreed to something. Ace departed, leaving you and the Fishman together. You blinked at him, wanting to talk, wanting to communicate, but coming up short as he likely only knew human. 

The Fishman gestured to the sea, making a motion of swimming. You tried baring your teeth again, flashing your toothy mouth like you’d seen so many humans do to one another. This time, it was returned with an equally sharp grin. 

You slithered towards the rail of the boat, propping yourself up with little effort. You hesitated, unsure if you’d get in trouble for leaping off the side of the boat. The fishman beside you took a step up and dove off gracefully, giving you tacit permission to do the same. You angled yourself, took your breath, and pushed off, diving into the blue deep before you. Usually you took a breath every 30 minutes or so, but you could easily go over an hour without breaking the surface of the water for another. You entered the water with barely a splash and quickly swam to where the fishman was waiting for you. He beckoned for you to follow him, seemingly as excited to swim as you were. 

You and the fishman fell into an easy rhythm swimming with one another deep beneath the waves. The two of you lazily followed the path of the ship, both able to swim much faster than the ship was able to sail. You ended up playing a game where one tried to catch and fight the other, much as your sisters did when they visited you. He was stronger and faster, but you were more agile and evasive, giving you each your own advantages. The fishman wasn’t treating you like a child, not holding back his speed or strength. You relished in the mock fighting, the warrior in you coming to the surface. It was all in fun, neither going for the kill or biting. 

After a while, you contented yourself by swimming deeper and deeper into the sea. You felt a sense of peace as you explored your surroundings, fish fleeing from you in droves. Previously, all your swimming had been close to your island, and primarily for hunting. Of course you swam for fun sometimes, but your sisters had always wanted to be there with you when you swam deep in the open ocean. It was one of the ways they showed their stifling love for you. You’d protested many times that you were strong and powerful enough to swim deep on your own, but they never relented. You’d never swam in the open ocean like this before, it was like seeing the sunrise at dawn - limitless, breathtaking, and made you feel like life was full of adventure just waiting to be found. You were made for the water, it felt like you were home.

Ace POV

Ace was grateful Namur was babysitting you while he went to finish your crate. Marco was right, night was fast approaching and it needed to be completed as soon as possible. Namur hadn’t hidden his interest in swimming with Baby, the pair quickly diving off the side of the ship before Ace had even gone below deck. If Baby was as fast underwater as Ace thought she would be, Namur would finally have a worthy swimming partner. The Commander had long complained that they needed more fishmen in the crew, that swimming with humans was boring at best. Maybe the two of you could bond, garnering you another friend on the crew.

Returning to the deck over an hour later, Ace peered over the side of the ship looking for any sign of you and Namur. Realistically, Ace knew you were water dwelling and could hold your own underwater. But a part of him worried for your safety, you’d never swam this far away from your island before and certainly not while having to follow a ship. Ace knew he was being a worrywort, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to lay eyes on you and make sure you were ok. Maybe it was all the years that he’d taken care of Luffy, but he wanted to have you back on board before the sun fell below the horizon.

Launching Striker into the sea, Ace sailed in increasingly large circles around the ship, trying to locate you. He was looking for either you or Namur, but the dwindling sunlight and depth of the water made it practically impossible. Ace tried to remain calm, reminding himself that you could hold your breath for at least fifteen minutes, if the guidebook was to be believed. His last circle had him far enough away that he could barely see the ship and he truly started to worry. He paused the flames driving his boat, bringing Striker to a halt, trying to think of a way he could call to you or Namur in the water.

The tiny boat suddenly heeled portside as you hauled yourself up on the hull, a gigantic fish in your tail’s grasp. You released the dog sized fish from your tail and grabbed it with your hands, claws digging through the scales and flesh with ease. You bit into it like it was an apple, eating with gusto. Crunching loudly, you looked at Ace, who greeted you happily. 

“Hi, Baby!” he said, smiling. He wanted to socialize you and show you were no mad monster, beginning with teaching you how and when to smile.

“Hi, Ace,” you replied, still eating. “Eat meat,” you said, Ace’s heart swelling with pride at your first two word sentences.

“Eat fish,” Ace corrected, pointing to the animal you’d already eaten half of. 

“Eat fish,” you repeated, picking a scale out of your teeth with a claw. You tilted your head to the side, considering him for a moment. Taking your forefinger, you used your sharp claw to dig out the eye of the fish. Stretching your arm out to Ace, you silently offered him the piece off the tip of your claw. Ace wasn’t one to turn down food and besides, he thought you were extending him an olive branch of sorts. Taking the eye, he turned his other hand to fire, heating the eyeball evenly.