Ikari ][ One Piece ][

Chapter Eight

~Ikari's POV~

Ace was avoiding me. He was probably disgusted by my pitiful existence. Word had travelled about my upbringing, no one dared to make eye contact with me. They were probably afraid if our gazes met they'd become as wretched as me. I was impure, unclean and should never have been allowed to exist.

"Oy, Kari!" Marco's voice snapped me from my brooding daze.

Kari? I turned swiftly to meet the first commanders burning blue gaze daring him to look away from my foul eyes. He held my gaze.

"I'm going out for a bit of cleanup; Oyaji thought you may want to tag along." The blonde offered me a gentle smile.

"Are you planning on putting me down like some sick beast of burden?" I hissed icily. It seemed likely; they knew the truth about how vile I truly was. It was better for them in the end if they snuffed out my existence.

"Eh?!" Marco looked appalled by the very thought, "We thought you'd like some fresh air." That wasn't the truth; I could see the deceit in his eyes.

"You're lying." I gripped my left wrist tightly with my right hand and arched my fingers so my nails were hovering over the skin ready to break through and release my wrathful blood.

Marco held his hands up for peace, "Alright, you caught me. Calm down little one." He sighed. "I only thought saying it aloud would upset you. Oyaji and I feel like maybe you need a break from all these men." He motioned to the deck around us. Whitebeard's crew was almost 100% male.

"So you're going to take me to some remote island and just leave me behind like a-."

He cut me off with a big sigh of exasperation while dramatically throwing his hands up in the air and looking to the heavens as if asking for a higher power to intervene. "We really need to work on your trust issues, little one."

"I'll never trust a man." I glared.

"What about Ace?" Marco pondered and I felt my heart stutter in my chest.

I chose to not so tactfully refuse to answer his question by turning my nose up and spinning on my heel in a huff like a child who hadn't gotten its way. The moment I spun around I smacked face first into a strong chest. Before I could think rationally, I lashed out at my captor striking them hard enough in the sternum to send them flying backward with a sickening crack.

My eyes widened as I spotted Thatch, the fourth division commander, crash into the side of one of the upper cabins. I bit my lip to keep from blurting out irrationally and closed my eyes in an attempt to calm myself. It wasn't my intention to hurt him, he'd startled me.

"Thatch?" Marco called in concern.

"I think I'll sit this one out." Came the groan of response as the fourth division commander slowly rose to his feet trying not to wince at the effort.

Remorse wormed through me like a disease making my stomach attempt daring flips. "I'm sorry." I said meekly causing the pair to stare at me with wide eyes.

"You alright Doll?" Thatch asked in concern washing away every ounce of remorse with a single word.

"I'm sorry you're too incompetent to realize I want to be left the hell alone." I quickly covered, "Don't touch me again!" Turning on my heel once more, I stormed away with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My hit had to have fractured his sternum, he was probably in a lot more pain than he'd let on and I felt bad about it. But they were men, vile despicable lowest of the low men...

They didn't seem all that bad. I nearly tripped as the thought crossed my mind. All men were bad, how could I dare to think otherwise?

"Are you alright?" His voice sent my heart aflutter.

Hesitantly I raised my gaze. Ace stood before me chest bare and a small amount of sweat trickling down his well toned torso. He must have been training for hours. He'd been avoiding me all this time just to train endlessly, why?

"What's it to you?" I hissed bitterly feeling as if I'd been abandoned all over again. Foolishly, I'd allowed myself to hope he was different. He was a man; once he learned how vile I truly was he fled.

He cocked an eyebrow at this and I nearly kicked myself as I thought of how attractive he was. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" I glared.

"I care about you, Doll Face." He threw me a sheepish grin.

"Don't waste your breath." I turned to storm away for the third time that day.

His strong warm hand encircled my wrist, holding me back, "I'm sorry."

That was not at all the response I was expecting. Strangely I didn't feel a spark of rage when he'd grabbed me. Instead my heart began to race in my chest, I felt heat rising in my cheeks and strange comforting warmth spread through my entire body. I was actually comforted by his touch.

"I couldn't do anything for you. I was completely helpless..." His voice sounded so pained that I actually felt it.

"I don't need anyone to do anything for me." I replied softly. "I can take care of myself."

"Everyone needs someone, Doll Face. A support system, acceptance, a fam-."

I wrenched my hand away from his grasp with a hiss as if I'd been stung, "Don't you dare say that word."

"Let me be there for you." His boyish face had seemed to age since last night. No longer did he look like a freckle faced boy, but a man. A strong yet broken man. He was in absolute torment, because of me, because of my plight.

I felt something hot and wet sting at my eyelids and hurriedly blinked back tears. "Why?" My voice sounded so broken and defeated even to my own ears.

He opened his arms with a small smile, "I lied when I said I kind of like you."

My heart stopped beating for a brief moment as I held my breath and a single tear escaped my hold as I realized I was afraid he'd completely reject me.

"I really like you, Doll Face. Perhaps maybe even something more than that, but I've never known such things so I can't be sure." He smiled a wonderful lazy smile that made my heart melt, "But I do know I want to make you happy, even if it takes the rest of my life to do so."

As I was about to take a step forward and allow myself to be engulfed in his warm embrace, I heard sniffling behind me. My hands bawled into fists as I turned at a slow crawling pace giving whoever had been eavesdropping enough time to scurry away only to find Thatch and a few other crew members sniffling and wiping at tears in their eyes. Marco was standing off to the side away from the blubbering idiots with a smile on his face.

"That was beautiful." Thatch made a show of blowing his nose in a bright yellow handkerchief.

"GET LOST!" I snarled causing Marco and a few others to laugh. And just like that, those vile disgusting men ruined a perfectly blissful moment.

Video- "Close Your Eyes" By Digital Daggers