LET ME PROTECT YOU [Ace x fem reader]

Chapter 1 // Patrolling the shore

Gazing out on the ocean you hear the sound of waves crashing towards the shore of Fallwind Island, a tiny, unimportant trading island in the large scheme of connected islands in the Grand Line, but also your home and birth island. Holding onto the sheath of your trusty sword you look up at the dark night sky filled with stars and feel the breeze blowing through your hair as you close your eyes and breathe in the fresh sea air. The bright moonlight reflecting at the surface of the ocean and the familiar scent of salt water would've been comforting, if it wasn't for the reason you have to be out here so late.

There have been three whole pirate attacks on your hometown, Kariko, this past week. It's not like it is unusual for your island to be attacked by pirates, but three in a single week? Just once a week was a lot a few months ago. It's like the attacks have slowly been creeping up on you and the islanders, happening more and more frequently over these past few months. Which is why you are stuck out here, in the mildy cold weather patrolling the island.

On top of all that you are already tired from taking care of Mila, your 12-year-old little sister, during the day. She's not your sister by blood, but still your only family. Your father died while you were still a baby, and your mother left to sail the seas while you were 8, so she is all you have. And poor Mila was too young to even remember what happened to her parents. Both of you remember how you met each other though.

You can recall the sight as if it was yesterday. On one of the last summer evenings of the year, as you were enjoying a moldy baguette for dinner and the last sunrays of the day you spotted a tiny girl covered in dirty rags running as fast as she could through the small alleyway you were sitting at. Squinting you saw a rabid dog with white spit aound it's mouth rounding the corner, chasing the little girl. Seeing the panic in her eyes you decided to do step in and save her. You couldn't let a fellow homeless child be left alone to die on your watch. 

The second the girl saw your kind smile and deadly baguette weapon at the end of the alley, she started sprinting faster towards you. Her widened, focused eyes wer slowly fading to blank ones as she swallowed her cry. You urged her to run straight past you and hide behind a trashcan while you wielded your weapon of choice and got ready to defend her. As the mad dog lunged forward to bite you, you deflected the attack by slapping the dog right across the face with your dinnermeal. The dog smashed into the wall right beside you looking at you cross eyed for a second before clumsily running away, hitting a few walls on its way out of your sight.

As the laste glimpse of the dog faded you let your baguette slip out of your fingers and fall to the ground. It was first when you felt the warm embrace from the scrampy hands around your waist when you realized how fast your heart was acing. You hugged the little girl back, feeling her cold and skinny limbs shaking as she held you, or maybe you were the one shivering? You felt bad, but as you hugged her, you had to hold your breath to not gag at the bad smell of the child. She stunk from swimming in the trash can searching for food, and not having taken a proper bath in at least a few months. At least you knew better to at least take a swim a week to clean yourself. She probably didn't even know how to swim, and based on how she looked she didn't know how to take proper care of herself either. 

It's only self-evident that you decided to stick with Mila after that day.

A few months later after you turned 10 some residents of the community house found you and Mila on the street. They decided to take the two of you in on the condition you will be useful to the town. You and Mila gladly did as they asked and still live in that same community house funded by the people of Kariko. In return for staying there, with food and basically everything you need to survive, you have been protecting this city with some other residents since you started living here. This means, regularly patrolling the island (both during the day and during the night), using all your free time to train and get stronger and fend off pirate attacks when needed.

This has been your normal routine for the past 9 years, so of course you are quite good at it. Ever since you turned 15 not a single pirate has managed to harm a person in this town. Some money was stolen of course, but the lives of the villagers are more important to protect.

Because you are so skilled at such a young age, you are well respected on the island and considered one of the (if not the) best defender this island has. It might sound like an honor, as it of course is, but it can also feel like a prison sometimes. Since you're the strongest, you feel obligated to stay here for this village's safety. You can't just set out on an adventure and sail the sea as you like. What if something were to happen while you are gone? You could not possible forgive yourself after that. Especially if something happened to Mila. Even though she has started her training she is still not strong enough to defend herself, let alone a whole village from the frequent pirate attacks.

So, this is how it must be, for now at least. You need to stay here and protect the island and protect your little sister. Leaving this island behind is not an option for you. And right now, you are surprisingly fine with it, or at least thats's what you like to believe. 

You take a deep sigh as you start to feel the pain of the last four nights in your aching feet now. What is the clock? You must've been patrolling out here for at least 4 hours. It sure feels like an eternity. You yawn as you stretch your arms above your head and gaze at the stars. Maybe something interesting will finally happen while you are out here tonight?

Just as you get that thought your gaze, which has been traveling across the shoreline, notice an orange, cone shaped object being brushed by the waves onto the sand.

You walk towards it to further inspect it. The moonlight tonight shines bright enough to spot large stuff like pirate ships and humans, and strange, orange objects apparently, but not bright enough to find out what said strange, orange object actually is. Crouching down beside it, you pick up the completely drenched cowboy shaped hat, studying it. 

It smells of salt and seaweed. Not surprising since it just arrived onto shore after drifting on the sea for god knows how long. The hat was greatly intact so it must have fell into the water recently. You turn the hat around to see two blue smiley faces attached to the front. One frowning and one smiling. The smileys are further connected to a chain of shiny red beads going around the crown.

You look around, wondering where tf this hat came from. Was it another pirate ship on its way to the village again or just a random thing stolen by the waves? You couldn't see anything else around in the sand and the sea is as quiet as ever.

You raise an eyebrow in anticipation. "Might as well put it on," you shrug. "It's a nice hat."

Spotting your reflection in the clear seawater, you continue patrolling wondering if orange might be your color.

Not even 200 meters away from the place you found the hat, you see something else far in the distance. It's beside the large gray rock you use as a turning point to know when you are halfway across the island. Squinting to get a closer look you see a large lump of something getting hit by the waves. Must suck to be that thing. You think to yourself. Getting sand everywhere and being splashed by salty seawater. You walk closer, squinting your eyes even more, and make out that the big lump getting hit by the waves is laying down with his bare back turned against you...

"Holy shit it's a human"