𝔄 𝔅𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔢𝔞 𝔖𝔭𝔯𝔞𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔉𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔰; one piece fic

vi; straw hats meet the fiery cat

The young group of pirates were discussing their captain's whereabouts when he suddenly dashed past them, being hunted down by Smoker and a group of marines. Once he recognized his green-haired friend, he ran over towards them, catching the attention of the navy men.

Luffy had been running for a little while through the town, and was starting to get a bit tired of it. As the travelers dashed away, Smoker ordered the marines to fall back, taking the lead instead. He threw a smoking punch towards the straw hat kid, alarming the boy. "White Blow!" Luffy picked up the pace hurriedly. Unfortunately for Smoker, the attack was intercepted by a fiercer one. "Heat Haze!"

Ace jumped in between the pirate and navy groups, facing the latter. His body roared with fire coming out of all limbs. The air was distorting around where the attacks collided, due to the intense heat warping everyone's vision. "You, huh?" grumbled the officer. "Give it up." his opponent retorted. "You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mine would never end."

The party behind him was stunned. "He had Devil Fruit powers?!" the swordsman exclaimed. "Who is he, anyways?! Why is he helping us?" a different boy questioned Ace's actions. "Ace?" Luffy called out. The older brother tilted his head in the younger's direction. "You haven't changed a bit, Luffy."

"Is that you, Ace? You ate a devil fruit?" Luffy reiterated. "Yup! The Mera Mera no Mi (Flare-Flare Fruit)!" Over the initial shock of his arrival, the marines began to secure the perimeter, alerting the pirates. Ace spoke up, "Anyways, we can't chat like this! I'll catch up! You guys run! I'll hold these guys off." On Luffy's command, everyone ran away. The group interrogated Luffy on the mysterious man, and he informed them that Ace was in fact his brother.

•—•••—•

Meanwhile, Ace and Smoker stared each other down. Raye watched from the distance, sitting on the edge of a building's roof. She smirked when she finally saw Ace in action. That power suits him awfully well. With that raging temper of his and his fiery personality. Honestly, I thought it would get him killed one day. The two faced off. Navy vs Pirate. Even if it wasn't a large-scale battle, she was sure it would be an entertaining one. She didn't believe Smoker was evenly matched with Ace, though.

Swinging her legs like a little girl on a swing, Raye hummed as she observed the two fight. Ace used his massive firepower to shield his brother's group from those in the navy, giving them a chance to get away quickly. He was burning with fighting spirit, and she believed he was going a bit too far for only a navy officer. However, she didn't voice the thought, and instead sat back to watch the show.

She saw Ace grinning wildly, and did the same. Looking at the little boy she once knew turn into a strong man made her a bit prideful. She could only admit a little bit that she was very attached to the boys she met on the mountain, but most specifically Ace. Raye wasn't sure exactly why. Perhaps because he bonded with her the most, and she saw a part of him he didn't reveal to others. Or maybe because she saw the remanence of her captain in him. The same could be said for Luffy, though. These kind of thoughts made her sadly nostalgic, so she shook them off immediately to avoid getting trapped in her feelings. Not when she still had to watch her movement for the time being.

She watched as a bystander from the crowd forming around the battle moved away quickly. It looked like he had to report something, and she sighed in annoyance. She assumed he was a million, or maybe a billion. It wasn't a big deal that he saw Ace, but it might put Crocodile on more edge than before, making it harder for Luffy's group to move. It didn't affect Raye herself, since her friend was fully aware she was in Alabasta.