And Then This Doodle Was Born👀

Priorities

a crackfic with zero plot

Deuce winced as he heard the familiar voice; they had managed about two days without getting into a fight. Which may be a record for Ace, but with how close Isuka’s voice was, it was just a matter of time before they were fighting. Deuce was unsure whether Ace had heard it too; he was easily distracted by the food surrounding them. They were in a market area, and if Ace hadn’t heard her voice, it would be best to keep it that way.

‘Hey, wasn’t that Isuka?’ Deuce cursed under his breath. He could never catch a break.

‘I don’t think so. Why would the Ensign be here? Hey, isn’t that your favourite snack,’ Deuce was using all his powers of distraction, but for some reason, Ace wasn’t listening.

‘Nah I’m pretty sure that’s her, where do you think it came from?’

Deuce sighed, ‘why do you go looking for trouble? If she hasn’t seen you yet we should probably leave.’

‘So you did hear her!’ He said incredulously.

‘Yeah at this point hearing her voice puts my body on autopilot, we need to leave.’

‘Oh come on, it would be rude to leave without saying hello.’

‘Since when have you cared about manners?’ Maybe he lived just to annoy Deuce; if he died early, the cause of death should be listed as Portgas D. Ace.

They hadn’t been able to pinpoint her location just yet, the marketplace was a bustling hub in the middle of the city, and one would think the Marine’s uniform would stand out. 

‘Hey I’ll pay!’ They heard Isuka argue with someone, and Ace twirled around to see Isuka, not in her uniform but in casual clothing. There were two little kids next to her; one of them was clinging onto her leg, and she had a hand on the other one's head. From their angle, they couldn’t quite see who she was arguing with, but it was clear she was close to this person; otherwise, they wouldn't be arguing over the bill. 

‘Who are those kids,’ Ace turned to Deuce, who looked just as confused; they didn’t know anything about her personal life.

‘Why don’t we order double, then we can both pay,’ Isuka’s shoulders sank, but it was because she was laughing. Ace grimaced slightly; Isuka barely ever laughed around them; she was too busy fighting them. Deuce wanted to point out that it wasn’t his fault Isuka didn’t laugh at his jokes. It was really that they were on opposite sides of the law and that most of them were insulting the Marines. He couldn’t, however, deny that she looked good when she wasn’t scowling. She looked younger and more peaceful.

‘Fine, fine, I can never win with you,’ she pulled out her purse and took out some bills while her friend asked for more from the vendor, who seemed quite pleased with all the sales he was making. Isuka carefully took the little parcels of food and gave them to the kids, the little one clutching her one and the older one grabbing a few more.

Both pirates snuck a little closer, trying to get a closer look at the other party. By the voice alone, they could tell it was a man, but nothing else. As they stopped, hidden behind a cart of sweets, they were finally able to see his face. He had one of those faces that exuded calmness. He was good-looking if you preferred plain and boring guys. He seemed tall and well built; he was probably a Marine, but what was really bothering Ace was why would the both of them be on vacation together.

‘Maybe we should help them with the food, we have quite a few parcels,’ the man suggested as he took a bag of food.

‘Yeah, we should,’ Isuka ruffled the younger one’s hair. She leaned over to take one of the bags from the man, but he refused to fork one over and pushed her forward instead. She held the younger one’s hand instead, carefully leading them through the crowds. They passed Ace and Deuce, the latter diving behind a stall to hide; Ace stood watching as they disappeared.

‘Do you think her radar is broken?’

‘Radar?’ Deuce questioned as he dusted himself off and apologised to the startled drink vendor.

‘Yeah her ‘Hunt Fire Fist’ at all costs one,’ Deuce decided he must’ve lost his mind out of hunger and tried to push him towards the food stalls. 

‘I think you need some food, you’re talking crazy.’

‘No, you know how she never gives up on a chase, and no matter what crazy turns I take she always manages to find me, how? Her crazy find me radar.’

Ace looked proud of his explanation, but Deuce could only sigh, ‘sure buddy, but it looks like she’s taking a break, maybe she doesn’t want to fight you.’

‘Nope, how many times has she abandoned what she was doing to chase me?’ He pointed out, ‘no, something's going on, we’ve got to find out.’

Deuce buried his face in his hands and groaned, ‘why can’t things go my way for once,’ but Ace was already dragging him in the direction she was heading in.

They were walking for a while before Ace decided to jump on someone’s roof to try and locate the pair walking together. He caught sight of them walking toward the slums to the north of the city. He jumped back down to tell Deuce and broke into a run to catch up with them.

When they reached the slums, the little kid who had been holding onto Isuka’s hand let go and ran towards another kid, holding out the little parcel of food. Soon little kids were surrounding the two Marines, and they were handing out the food to whoever was there. Isuka was crouching down to talk to them, ruffling their hair and accepting little hugs. The little kids seemed overjoyed, running back to their houses to share. 

When the food ran out, Isuka stood back up; they had just about enough for everyone. ‘It’s a good thing we bought double.’

‘See this is why you should listen to me, I’m always correct,’ he nudged her shoulder with his.

‘This is coming from the person who thought the red line was a literal red line in the middle of the sea,’ she pressed back.

‘I was 10. Give me a break,’ there was a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.

Ace was getting more annoyed as she playfully teased him. Deuce, on the other hand, was more shocked to see this side of the Ensign that usually chased them. In her pursuit, she was ruthless and powerful, but now, seeing her laugh carelessly really proves how little they knew about her.

‘How about lunch,’ she suggested as they began to walk back. Deuce pulled Ace into a random house to hide, apologising to the terrified occupants.

‘Yes I am starving, it’s my treat though,’ he emphasised.

‘No it’s mine, take it as a way to congratulate you for your promotion.’

‘Exactly! My promotion, I should be treating you with my pay rise.’

She laughed, ‘you’re an Ensign now, I know exactly how measly the pay rise is. Let me treat you, plus I am older than you.’

‘By like 3 months, you don’t have to keep bringing that up.’

Ace waited for them to turn the corner as they walked past the house before following behind. Deuce thanked the family before running after him.

‘Ace I think we should stop now, clearly there’s nothing wrong, she’s just enjoying some time with her friend,’ Deuce stopped next to him and took a couple of breaths. ‘Although it’s a little weird seeing her so happy, I think the only time I’ve seen her smile was that time Kotatsu jumped her and ended up tickling her with his fur.’

‘Nope,’ he was being stubborn for no reason at all, ‘we have to get to the bottom of this mystery.’

‘What mystery? Last I checked we’ve been pointlessly following around a Marine and her probably Marine friend.’

Before he could get an answer out of Ace, the pair they were following turned a corner, ‘come on we’re going to lose them!’

It was a little while before they seemed to finally make a decision on where to eat. It was a restaurant that had a riverside view. They waited for them to be seated before entering themselves.

‘Could we get seats that have a clear view of that table?’ Ace pointed to where Isuka was sitting on the deck overlooking the river. She was finally using those sunglasses she always had in her hair.

The waitress seemed intrigued and was glad to help them spy on the two of them, she must’ve thought something was going on, and Deuce felt the need to clarify that there wasn’t anything actually happening. The waitress remained unconvinced and showed them upstairs to a seat on the balcony overlooking where Isuka was sitting. She bought them menus and a jug of water, and Deuce couldn’t stop fidgeting. They were at a semi-fancy restaurant, and they were following a Marine.

‘Hey don’t you think this has gone on for long enough?’ Ace simply glanced at the menu. ‘She seems happy, and that’s good because I don’t particularly want to spend the rest of our time at this island running from her, she’s kinda scary you know.’

‘Pffft, Isuka? Scary? You must be out of your mind,’ he paused, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of him,  ‘she’s just mildly terrifying.’

‘See, even you have to admit she's clearly a lot more at ease right now and we should let her be. Wasn’t there like a million things you wanted to see, you’re not going to have any time if you spend all your time following her.’

Ace sighed, looking down at the pair of Marines; she was laughing at something he’d said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was beautiful in a gentle way, looking soft in the way the sunlight hit her. She was beautiful in the way she fought as well, fierce, like fire. 

Deuce rolled his eyes; Ace was never subtle; the look in his eyes as he watched her gave away his reasons. He said goodbye to all his plans, seeing as how Ace was simply not going to let this go.

'Fine, let's at least eat something while we're here,' Deuce called over the waitress so they could order something.

Ace immediately dived into the food as soon as it arrived, but he still managed to keep tabs on what Isuka was doing. Watched as she sipped her glittery drink and the way she gripped her cutlery.

It felt like hours had gone by as he waited for them to finish their conversation. Deuce was more shocked that Ace hadn’t spontaneously fallen asleep during the meal than by how long they could keep a conversation going.

When Isuka got up to pay, he watched as they fought over the bill before getting up himself. Before Deuce could point out that they needed to pay, Ace had left. He pulled out his wallet and placed some cash on the table before running after him.

~ ♡ ~

Deuce was already beyond bored as they hid behind a bush. Isuka and her friend had spent hours walking around town, visiting different shops.

Isuka had tried on so many clothes they’d never even thought she’d wear, but she looked stunning in all of them. There was this blue dress that had Ace tripping over the mannequin they were hiding behind. 

They waited outside a bookstore for close to an hour, sat on a bench and shared a large newspaper to hide their faces. Isuka came out with a bag full of books at the end of it.

When they’d finally tired of walking, they sat on a park bench, and Ace decided to hide in a bush nearby in the hopes of catching parts of their conversation. Deuce mumbled something about his butt hurting from sitting on the hard ground, and Ace shushed him. To his dismay, they chatted about the books Isuka had purchased, something about them being a series she loved as a kid and didn’t know there were more books in the set. Ace still paid attention to her every word, no matter how boring. Deuce ended up lying down on the ground and taking a nap.

It was darker when Ace hurriedly woke him up, saying they were going to a bar to get a meal and some drinks. He pulled him up and continued his pursuit, with a sleepy Deuce trying not to bump into the street lights.

It was harder to sneak into the bar without the two Marines noticing them. It was much smaller than the restaurant, and they barely managed to make it to a table before Isuka saw them.

Isuka could clearly hold her alcohol as she easily downed many cups of liquor. That’s one thing they had in common, Ace loved to party and could easily outdrink most people. Unluckily for him, he often collapsed, making people think he was a lightweight. On the other hand, Deuce was a terrible lightweight, so he sipped at his cup, hoping no one would notice he was on the same cup from the beginning.

‘D’ya think she’s given up on me?’

‘Who Isuka?’ Deuce poked the table with his fork as they waited for their food.

‘Yeah, we’ve been following her all day and she hasn’t noticed us once. I know we’re not exactly amazing at subtlety so has she just given up?’

‘Isuka would never, she’s got that stubbornness about her,’ Deuce took a small sip of his drink, ‘she would never stop chasing you.’

Ace laughed, but it was sort of sad. Deuce patted him on the back, ‘maybe we’re just better at stalking people than we thought we were.’ And this time, Ace laughed for real.

For the next two hours, Ace had seemingly forgotten about Isuka laughing and chatting away on the other side of the room, and he joked with Deuce like normal. That was until Isuka had gotten up to pay and leave. She placed her sunglasses on the bar as she handed the shopkeeper some bills but left them there when she left the premises. Ace was immediately up and bolting out of the restaurant, grabbing her sunglasses to follow her.

Deuce shouted after him, but it was hopeless; he’d already gone. Begrudgingly he took out his wallet yet again and paid before running after him. 

When he caught up, Ace was somehow on a rooftop, following the pair from a distance, and Deuce considered clambering up to join him but decided to stay on the ground.

They followed them for a while until they heard Isuka gasp loudly, and they stopped.

Isuka had been walking quietly and enjoying the crisp, cold air. She took a deep breath in and decided this was the best moment. She reached up to her head and feigned shock, ‘I left my sunglasses at the bar!’

‘Want me to come back with you?’

‘No, no, you go on ahead, I’ll get them myself,’ she pushed him forward before turning around to head back to the bar.

She turned the corner before leaving against the wall and calling out, ‘I know you’re there Fire Fist.’

He jumped down from somewhere, and Deuce simply stepped into the light. He was smiling at her, ‘how did you know?’

‘You’re not subtle,’ she smiled and held out her hand, ‘I’d like my sunglasses back, I assume you grabbed them on your way out. They were a gift from someone important.’

His smile dropped, and he stepped towards her, grabbing the sunglasses out of his pocket. He ignored her outstretched hand; instead, he stopped, unusually close to her. He placed the glasses back on her head, trying to remember the exact angle it fit between the vermillion strands of hair.

‘Where are they from him?’

‘Huh?’ Isuka was taken aback. She’d barely managed to register the fact that he was trying to adjust her hair, tucking loose strands behind her ear, let alone pay attention to his words.

‘You said they were a gift,’ he retracted his hands, happy with his work, ‘was it from him?’

‘Who? Ryu? No!’ She buried her face in her gloved hands; 'a different friend got me these, she’s a swordswoman like me. I haven’t seen her in ages.’

‘Oh,’ Ace rubbed his neck sheepishly; he’d jumped to conclusions again.

‘Why were you even following me Fire Fist, shouldn’t it be the other way around?’

‘That’s what I said!’ Deuce looked exhausted, and Isuka sympathised; keeping up with someone like Ace was hard work.

‘No reason,’ he looked down, kicking a random stone, ‘just thought it was odd you didn’t notice me.’

She couldn’t see his expression because his hat successfully covered his face, but she could easily guess that he probably looked like a sad puppy.

She burst out into laughter, and Ace looked up in shock, ‘of course I noticed you! It would be impossible not to! That hat is so obnoxiously orange!’

‘You did? Then why didn’t you do anything? Usually, you’re chasing me before I even see you.’ He chose to ignore the hat comment; to him, it was a perfectly acceptable colour.

‘My priorities have changed Fire Fist,’ she explained, but he looked so utterly shocked she had to elaborate further. ‘Well I’ve been receiving complaints from my crew lately about how catching you can’t always be my priority and that I also have to relax and enjoy meals. You know, not abandoning whatever I’m doing to pursue you.’

Deuce failed to suppress a laugh, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were aware how annoying it is.’

She glared at him but continued, ‘so when I saw you at the market I decided you weren’t my priority, my friend was and that I wasn’t going to abandon an old friend who I haven’t seen in a while to chase you.’

‘Aw, I’m not a priority anymore?’

‘Trust me Fire Fist, as soon as this little vacation is over you’re number one on my list. Right now my priorities are slightly different.’

‘Kinda sucks not being on your mind all the time.’

‘It’s kinda hard to forget you when you spent the whole day following me,’ she grumbled.

‘My bad, you know what, you have my word I won’t bother you the rest of your trip.’

‘I’m not sure the word of a pirate means much to me, but okay, no bothering each other.’

‘Deal,’ he smiled, sticking his hand out to her. She took it up begrudgingly, and he took the opportunity to pull her closer, ‘that blue dress was the best, you should totally get it. Also have fun with your little boyfriend Isuka.’

He pulled back and smiled at her, and before she could deny it, he jumped back to where Deuce was, ‘see you later, Ensign!’ He tipped his hat towards her and began to walk away, ‘just so you know, you’re always a priority to me!’

She blushed at the statement, though she didn’t know why, ‘he’s not my boyfriend you moron!’ She didn’t know if he could hear her but felt the need to clarify.

Deuce glanced over at Ace, who was grinning widely as she shouted at him. He rolled his eyes; what an odd pair.

~ ♡ ~

doodle break between other art stuff

it's been quite the week with a lot of personal things, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things again. Thank you for your patience.

Timeskip omi!!

quiet night in

my first i didnt know where else to go fic

Isuka was enjoying a quiet night in, with no roommates, no fuss and no noise. She was all alone, and she could not be happier as she turned on the TV. She could finally watch what she wanted, with no judgement and no interruptions. Or at least that's what she thought. As she took a spoon of her ice cream, someone knocked on the door. She prayed internally it was a delivery of some sort and not one of her roommates back way too early and most likely crying.

She placed the ice cream on the coffee table and padded towards the door, 'I'm coming!'

She, however, did not expect to throw open the door and find one Portgas D. Ace leaning against the wall, injured. It was a well-known fact that the both of them did not get along in school, with Isuka being a stickler for the rules and her trust in authority meant she wasn't too fond of Ace's carefree nature. They'd argued about plenty of things in school, like Ace's uniform not being up to standard, about his poor attendance and his tendency to get into fights. She barely saw him now that they no longer went to school or lived anywhere near each other.

'Oh, thank goodness you're home. I didn't know where else to go,' Isuka gasped as she took in his appearance. He had bruises and cuts on his face, fresh ones as if he'd been in a fight. Scrapes on his arms and legs, almost like he'd fallen out of a tree and some bigger ones which definitely needed to be dressed. There were bruises on his stomach, like he'd been kicked, visible because, as usual, his shirt was open.

'What on earth happened to you?' She draped his arm around her shoulder to drag him in. She sat him down on the sofa before frantically trying to search for the first aid kit; no, maybe he needed to be taken to the hospital.

'If you're worried about me, you should see the other guys,' he smirked at her despite the fact he was clearly in pain, wincing when he tried to move. He kicked off his shoes and placed them to a side, his bag was on the floor, and he emptied his pockets onto the table. He also took off his shirt to make it easier for her to access all the cuts and grazes.

Isuka had managed to find the first aid kit fully stocked because of a certain someone's clumsiness. 'Why are you here?' She waited for him to sit up before opening the kit and pulling out what she needed; most of his injuries were minor cuts and grazes, but the bruises made it seem a lot worse. 'Are your brothers terrible at treating wounds? That would be horrible considering the fights I've seen the younger one get into.'

'That would be Luffy,' he laughed, coughing as pain shot up his side, 'and yes he's a terrible doctor, you're better off not going to him for this sort of stuff. He's also with his friends so I can't really bother him.'

'Noted,' she smiled at him before opening a packet of sterile wipes to clean the wounds, starting with his legs. She could feel him tense as she held his ankle to tug his leg onto her lap.

'Sabo, you can trust, he's pretty good at this stuff,' he caught her eyes again as she focused on his other leg, 'but he's out with his girlfriend right now, he might murder me for ruining his date and then murder me again for getting into a fight and getting injured.'

Isuka chuckled, 'he sounds like a reasonable person,' before adding, 'well anyone would seem more reasonable compared to the both of you.'

Ace held out her arms for her to clean next, 'yeah he's always been the smart one. I figured they would murder me if I didn't do anything at all about these wounds and I don't know anyone else around here.'

Isuka continued to clean his wounds. After getting through about five wipes, she made sure everything was good enough to move to the next step, cleaning the skin around the bigger wounds. She dabbed the cotton ball with antiseptic before signalling for him to come closer.

She heard him suck in, 'sorry I'm trying to be gentle. What are you doing here? You're pretty far away from home.'

'This is home,' he had an indecipherable look on his face, 'I had some time off so I came back to visit. It's been a while since I've seen everyone.'

'Yeah, it has,' she thought about the last time she'd seen him, younger and more carefree, as school ended. Then he moved away, and in all this time, Isuka's career hadn't gotten any further; she heard about his achievements, and some part of her was happy for him even if they had their differences.

'It's been even longer since I've seen you, I see my brothers way too often,' he looked up at her, but she didn't address the statement.

'Sorry I couldn't help more. This is all we have,' she apologised as she tugged his arm closer.

'Oh don't worry about it, you've already done more than I expected,' he smiled gratefully.

'What did you think I was going to do?' She continued her work, focusing on the cuts on his lip and nose.

'Honestly? Wrap me in bandages and send me home.'

'We may not like each other Ace, but I'm no heathen.'

'We don't?'

'Huh?'

'No, nevermind,' he waved it away. He watched her work, her concentration as she tried to only dab the skin around the wounds. Whenever he winced, she apologised before carefully going back to what she was doing.

For a while, Ace sat there watching her work. Isuka had always been kind, almost too kind for her own good. He knew she didn't like him that much, but she had been nice enough not to say it to his face, so hearing those words from her mouth was somehow different. 

She pulled out small plasters for his nose and lip and pieces of gauze for the bigger cuts on his arms and legs. She placed the plasters on, 'so why did you fight them?'

'Huh?'

She began placing the gauze on the wound on his arm and took out something to wrap it with, 'I mean you didn't just fight them for no reason right?'

'Oh that, of course not what do you take me for?'

'Didn't you get into fights a lot for no reason when we were back in school?'

'What?' he chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head after Isuka was done wrapping his arm. 'It's been a while, I was young and stupid, I've changed since then.'

'Oh so you admit you were stupid?' she teased as she focused on a cut on his leg.

'Hey, I have changed, give me some credit,' Isuka knew that to be true, but his flustered expression was way too funny to ignore, 'I really did have a reason.'

She shook her head affectionately as she finished up the last bandage, 'let me put this away, then I'll get you some ice for those bruises,' she gestured to his stomach. She packed everything back into the first aid kit and got up. When she got back, she walked over to the kitchen. 

'You don't have to worry about an ice pack, I'm pretty sure these will just fade,' he called out to her.

'No, that's really not how it works, in my opinion you should get checked in case of internal bleeding but since you insist things will be okay the least you could do is ice it,' she replied as she bent down to open the freezer. She pulled out the first ice pack she saw, wrapped it in a towel and made her way back to the sofa Ace was now lying on. 

He let her place it on his wounds before sitting down on the floor next to him, 'why do you even have an ice pack?'

'Sports injuries are very common in this household, you've got to be prepared,' she shrugged as she gently iced his injury.

'I can do this at the very least,' he placed a hand on hers to get her to stop.

'If you'd like,' she sighed and got up, settling herself on the armchair next to the sofa.

Ace continued icing the area before speaking, 'they were trying to attack this girl.'

'Who?'

'The guys I attacked.'

'Oh right.'

'After I went to Sabo's and he gave me the leave and if you accept any offer to third wheel our date I'll murder you look,' Isuka chuckled, picturing Ace's teasing look and Sabo's murderous one. 'I took that as a signal to leave the lovebirds alone and was making my way to Makino's bar,' Isuka was familiar with Makino, the kind woman who ran the only bar she enjoyed going to, 'I was cutting through this alley when I heard a voice shouting for help. So I went over to where I heard the voice and I saw four guys cornering this girl. She looked terrified so I stepped in, she ran away as soon as she had the opportunity and I fought them to make sure they didn't try to chase after her.'

'You got beat up pretty badly, you sure there were only four of them?'

'They had weapons, this bruise is probably from the bat they hit me with,' he pointed at the bruise he was currently icing.

'A bat? You sure you didn't break a rib or something,' it didn't feel broken when she touched it, but there was no harm in double-checking.

He ignored her concern at first, 'I couldn't bother Makino with my injuries. She's busy,' but he quickly added, 'stop worrying so much. I've broken ribs before; this is nothing compared to that.'

'None of that statement makes me any less worried,' she shook her head disappointedly. 

'You worry too much. You should know by now nothing hurts me that much,' he glanced over at where she was, but she didn't look convinced; like usual, she thought too much. 'Have I ever told you you think too much?'

'Yes,' she sighed, multiple memories coming to the front of her thoughts, 'multiple times.'

'Oh, well you do, maybe you should think less Isuka, you look stressed.'

'I'm stressed because of you! You can't come to my home, for the first time, injured and expect me not to worry.'

Ace was quiet before he spoke again, 'I tried visiting you before, but you were never home, always holed up at work,' Isuka opened her mouth to try and deny the statement, but he continued, 'your roommates told me.'

'Well, I can't say they were wrong but I do take breaks; matter of fact, I was taking one before you came,' she leaned over to grab the half-melted ice cream; she might as well put it back in the freezer.

'Oh that's right, it's quiet, where are your friends?'

Isuka grabbed two cups of water before making her way back, 'Tash is on a date,' she placed one in front of him and sank back into her seat, 'Koby and Helmeppo are doing something or the other. I didn't question it.'

'Oh so you're home alone? Must be fun,' when he was younger, being home alone was a luxury he rarely had, but when he did, the peace and quiet was something he appreciated.

'Well I planned on bingeing some show until I passed out on the sofa and was woken up by my roommates,' she signalled to the stack of blankets and pillows she'd moved to make space for Ace, 'but as usual I can never catch a break.'

At first, Ace didn't quite clock what she was talking about before realising he was very much the problem, 'ah, sorry about that.'

'Nothing you can do about it now,' she waved off his apology, 'have you eaten? You mentioned being on the way to Makino's.'

'Now that you mention it,' he hadn't eaten; he was planning on clearing Makino's stock, lovingly as her sort of younger brother.

'Let me see what we have,' Isuka got up yet again, she had eaten a big lunch and decided eating a whole tub of ice cream was good enough, so she hadn't had dinner yet. She opened the fridge, which was startlingly empty; not even the basic things like eggs or milk were present; she really needed to go grocery shopping. She and her roommates were always busy, meaning lots of takeout and tons of leftovers in the fridge, but apparently not today.

'It doesn't have to be fancy!' He shouted, supposedly helpful, but not when the fridge had a single energy drink and a strawberry, the one Koby picked from their strawberry plant the other day.

She returned to Ace, 'yeah turns out we have absolutely nothing,' she pulled out her phone to see what places would deliver.

'What were you planning to eat?'

'Ice cream.'

'For dinner? And you say I make terrible decisions,' he teased.

'I don't make them on a daily basis, just sometimes, plus I'm not on the clock. Let me relax,' his annoying, bother Isuka voice was making a comeback, 'do you want pizza?'

'Yeah sure.'

She placed her usual order and let him pick what he wanted before paying, not without a small argument about who should pay. Isuka won, her main reason being he was in pain to simply fish his card out of his bag. With food on the way, they sat in silence.

Ace broke the silence first, 'so what have you been up to,' he hadn't heard much about her in the past 3 years. He got updates about basically everyone else through his brothers, but Isuka wasn't friends with them, so he didn't have a real reason to ask them about her. He was not about to call his grandfather to try and get information about his subordinate. Skull was able to get snippets of information about her from time to time, but it was not much.

Isuka thought for a moment before replying, 'well work I guess, there hasn't been much time for anything else.'

'Is that why you're home alone on a nice night like this.'

'Like you're any better, you ended up at my place, injured on a nice night.'

'Like I said I would've bothered someone else, but unlike you they are with other people.'

'There's nothing wrong with enjoying some alone time.'

'Sure,' he really had a way of making her annoyed. Damn his stupid face and addictive smile. 'Are you still fencing?'

'Huh? Oh yeah, but it's just for fun, I help out with a kids class too,' she smiled, remembering the little kids who watched in awe as she demonstrated different moves.

'I see, that must be a lot of work,' Isuka had almost become a professional, representing nationally and even had an offer to take part in an international competition. That was until she gave it up because of personal circumstances.

'Yeah but it's a lot of fun seeing the younger generation interested in it.'

She smiled sadly, he hadn't known her for long, having transferred into her school a little late, but her friends had told him enough. She was once one of those kids eagerly attending every session. Even in the time he knew her, her passion for the sport was astounding.

He wanted to say something of comfort, but she broke the silence first, 'so what about you? What's it like living away from your family?'

'Of course I miss my brothers and home, but I've found a family there too. They're good people.'

'That's good,' she'd been worried about his reckless nature, but he'd found people who'd helped him settle down.

Silence took over again. Ace fiddled with one of his bracelets, 'so, um, what show were you gonna watch?'

Isuka looked puzzled, 'oh, my show. It's nothing really, a friend recommended it to me. It's one of those murder mystery shows.'

'I see,' Ace wasn't someone who spent a lot of time keeping us with tv shows. If it was on, he'd watch it, but he spent most of his time outside with others. Deuce would always be rambling on about some show or book; in all honesty, he'd learned to tune him out.

'Do you want to watch something? While we wait?'

'Oh sure, we can watch your show if you want,' he felt bad that she was missing out on her form of relaxation.

'You sure? I don't mind watching something else if you'd prefer,' she offered.

'Nah, murder is interesting enough.'

'Okay then, murder it is,' she turned on the TV and pulled up the show. She hadn't started watching it and planned on not sleeping (or trying not to) until she finished it.

~ ♡ ~

The both of them watched quietly as the show began, setting up the murder, introducing the victim and then the main character. Ace winced as the murderer stabbed the victim, and Isuka laughed, which then prompted him to call her psycho for enjoying this sort of stuff. They watched as the murderer hunted for the main character, and the doorbell rang, causing the both of them to jump, before Isuka realised it was the pizza, paused the show, and went to collect it. 

'There you go,' she placed the boxes on the coffee table.

'Almost thought we were going to be murdered.'

Isuka laughed and said, 'don't worry there are enough weapons in this house to protect ourselves with.'

'Oh right, you guys have a bunch of swords and stuff,' Ace sat up slowly and opened up the boxes as Isuka went to grab some glasses for the drinks.

'That would be all of us but Koby, he's more of a martial arts type person,' they each had their own interest, with made for an odd assortment of weapons in the house.

'Right, remind me never to try to surprise you. I might end up riddled with holes,' he watched as she sank back into her seat, 'can you even see the TV from there?' Isuka nodded, and Ace added to the question, 'I mean properly? Isn't the angle kinda weird?'

'It's not too bad, I'm used to it, all four of us can't fit on one sofa,' the four of them tried to eat dinner together as often as they could, which was very rare and always caused arguments about what to watch.

'Join me,' he smiled, patting the seat next to him. The sofa was quite spacious, and at first, Isuka denied the offer, stating she was quite comfortable where she was. Ace, however, was insistent, and she caved, getting up to join him.

He clicked play when she picked up a slice of pizza and leaned back into the seat. They were mostly quiet, their attention focused on eating and the show.

'Who do you think did it?' Ace asked when they paused to clear up the mess.

Isuka pondered the question before answering, 'I think it's too early to know, but the uncle is suspicious.'

'Right? He gives me the creeps.'

They sat back down on the sofa, Isuka grabbing the blankets and pillows so they could get more comfortable. Isuka wrapped herself in the blanket and sat with her legs up on the seat. Ace accepted a pillow and placed it behind his head.   When the show started again, the both of them talked a bit more, Ace making a comment about the dumb ideas the police had and Isuka complaining about how reckless the main character was.

At some point, Ace made a noise of discomfort, and Isuka made him lie down on the sofa, putting the pillow below his head and draping a blanket over him.

'You don't have to baby me, you know.'

'My house, my rules, you are injured, you don't get a say.'

'Yes ma'am,' he saluted as she sat back down, lifting his legs to sit down before placing them on her lap.

~ ♡ ~

It wasn't very long until Ace fell asleep, he tried to fight it, but the nice hot meal and being tucked in made it really difficult. He woke up, the room was dark, and the only light was the TV; Isuka was still awake. 

He watched her as her expression changed, her hair tucked behind her ear, making it all the more easy. Her eyes seemed tired, but she stared intently, barely moving.

'What's happening?' She seemed a little startled as she turned to face him.

'Oh, how was the nap? If you want you can take my bed.'

'Nah, I'm good,' he wasn't going to admit that he likes being on the sofa with her, 'did they find out who did it?'

'Yeah, it was the uncle, but they haven't caught him yet.'

'So we were right? Wow I'd make a great detective, maybe I should join you Birdie.'

'I don't think you should quit your day job too soon, Fire Fist,' he smiled at the use of nicknames, well more like Birdie was what he called her to annoy her, and Fire Fist was what most people knew him as, but it was still cute she remembered.

He smiled to himself before turning his attention back to the TV, the show was clearly coming to an end, and he wondered what time it was. Isuka grabbed them the ice cream she planned on eating later, and they finished the whole thing, laughing at each other when they got a brain freeze. 

When the show ended, Isuka got up, stretching her limbs. He wanted to do the same, but the pain made him stop.

'That was a good show.'

'Yeah, Deuce was right,' Isuka chuckled, and Ace did too until he clocked her words.

'Deuce?!'

'Yeah, he watched it a while back and told me it was good and I should check it out.'

Ace hadn't wrapped his head around the fact she'd just said Deuce. Deuce, who was absolutely terrified of her and used every excuse to avoid being in her path, that Deuce was now exchanging TV show recommendations with her? He vaguely remembered Deuce mentioning a murder mystery show, but then again, he hadn't been paying attention, so he wouldn't know.

'You talk to Deuce?'

'Occasionally, he usually texts me. Skull too, he tells the funniest stories.'

'They have your number, but I don't?' He was even more shocked that Skull had also kept in contact; he always mentioned admiring her from afar, not exchanging stories weekly.

'Well you never asked, Deuce asked before we finished school. Skull asked a little later.'

He muttered under his breath, 'those traitors,' he'd mentioned Isuka multiple times in the past couple of years, and apparently, they never thought to mention that they were in contact.

'You can have it now, if you'd like,' she held out her hand, and he scrambled to find his phone for her to enter her number.

'So it's just me you don't like?'

'Huh?'

'Earlier, you mentioned not liking each other, you really don't like me?'

Isuka stared blankly at him before bursting out laughing, 'Ace you really crack me up, sure I didn't like you when we first met. I thought you were annoying as hell.'

'And?'

'I still think that,' Ace's hopeful look immediately fell, and Isuka started laughing again. 'However, I never really hated you. I mean, we were just similar people with different views; we could have been good friends.'

'Could have? Can't we? Like now, we can be friends right?'

Isuka saw the look in his eyes and realised he was being serious about getting closer, 'sure.' His face immediately lit up; Isuka always thought he looked adorable when he smiled. 'I do think, however, since it is four in the morning, we should get some proper sleep.'

'Yeah that's a good idea Birdie.'

'You're not letting that nickname go are you?'

'Oh, absolutely not,' he smirked, and Isuka questioned what she was getting herself into.

~ ♡ ~

Come morning, Isuka woke up with a crick in her neck and her arm numb. She'd fallen asleep on the armchair, Ace sprawled out on the sofa. She got up and stretched, making her way to her bedroom to freshen up. When she got to the kitchen, she was met with a slightly bemused Tashigi.

'Looks like you had a fun night,' referring to the sleeping figure of Ace on their sofa.

'I could say the same about you, when did you get home?'

'About 10 minutes ago,' she took a sip from her cup, 'should I be happy or worried for you?'

'Happy, I think,' she opened their cabinets to make herself a coffee.

'Well, I guess our guest is staying for breakfast.'

'Let me check,' she abandoned her quest to make coffee and instead turned her attention to waking up Ace.

He woke up, a lost expression on his face, 'where? Who? Birdie?'

'Yeah, it's me. I was wondering whether you were going to stay for breakfast.'

He sat up, Isuka helping him. He rubbed at his face before looking back up. Tashigi had made her way to the living area, so he waved at her, and she nodded back. 

'Well, considering I told Makino I was going to see her yesterday then disappeared, it would be a good idea to drop by and let her know I'm not dead. Plus I have invaded your space enough for one visit.'

'Okay, if you want you can use the bathroom over there and I'll pack your stuff,' he nodded, getting up.

When he came back, he looked a lot more awake, and Isuka handed his bag over, 'thanks, Birdie.'

'No problem, Fire Fist. Make sure to take care of those injuries.'

She opened the door to let him out, 'I look forward to seeing you again, now that I have you I'm never letting you go Isuka.'

She could feel her cheeks burn as he turned around, waving as he disappeared down the stairs, 'I look forward to it.'

~ ♡ ~

how about ranpo and gin for the ask game?

i’ve already done gin but here’s ranpo!!

ranpo edogawa - bsd

favorite thing about them: i think his story and outlook on the world are so interesting. the insane intelligence combined with his childlike immaturity and complete lack of street smarts makes for a really fun character. but also asagiri doesn’t compromise on giving him his serious and tragic moments. he’s very fun to rotate

least favorite thing about them: where is he rn 😞

favorite line: “A regular person can’t beat a special ability. Even so, I will defeat you. Because… my friends think I’m invincible.”

brOTP: ranposano! and souheki

OTP: i’m still on that chuuran grindset i fear. also ranpoe ofc

nOTP: him and fukuzawa 😔 that’s his papa

random headcanon: he really hates car rides because of what happened to his parents. this is why he always chooses to take the train over calling a cab despite not understanding public transportation

unpopular opinion: i don’t think i have one? i rarely see bad ranpo takes his fans are so chill

song i associate with them: the majority of marina and the diamonds songs tbh. she gets him

favorite picture of them: i love this gif 😭😭😭

character ask game

haiii:33 chuuya and tsujimura for the character ask game

hi mocha ♥️ u can find chuuya here cio beat u to it lol. also MY GIRL MY GIRL

TSUJIMURA MIZUKI

favorite thing about them: you know the thing tumblr user soutsuji said about her being the opposite of a babygirl i.e. a depressed middle-aged man in a midlife crisis. yeah. I think I'm really really fond of how she's always just — trying so hard. she wants to do good; she wants to be good at what she does. she's a cringe failgirl and is unashamed of that (for the most part). she's goodnatured and kind. she's snarky when she wants to be. she's so haunted with grief and confusion and dare I say, loneliness. I just love her so much.

least favorite thing about them: that she's only in gaiden and had 2 minutes of screen time in dead apple—

favorite line: “That selfishness of yours…” The words gushed out my throat sooner than I thought. “That selfishness of yours is what killed my mother, isn’t it?!?!” <- god. tsujimura who didn't want to be left behind, who was hurt, who didn't understand .... sorry for being soutsuji pilled but this is also abt tsujimura and hurt and loneliness. and how the people she cares about won't fucking stay. how she's so earnest and her heart is on her sleeve and how people like ayatsuji look at that and want to protect her and she doesn't realize it because ayatsuji would, once again, rather chop his own arm off. god. tsujimura. my girl.

brOTP: ango. it is genuinely so so funny to me that neither she nor ayatsuji realizes what a wet rat this man is. also her mother but if I start talking about her and assistant director tsujimura I will need to be sedated

OTP: SOUTSUJI. claws at the walls. I'm so soutsuji pilled this isn't even funny

nOTP: idk I believe in fandom roulette

random headcanon: less of a headcanon and more just thing that lives in my head rent free. she probably like. predicts where kyougoku is hanging out based on how pissed off ayatsuji is. and this is like normal to her. ayatsuji and kyougoku rivalmancing or whatever right in front of her. pulls up the senior citizen conversation again

unpopular opinion: I have no idea what counts as an unpopular opinion for her I live in the gaiden echo chamber and we all say the same things about her. I guess I can be a bit silly and say like. booooo to asgr haters read gaiden first before commenting on his treatment of female charas 🔥 she's literally the most amazing woman ever to me ♥️

song i associate with them: remembering by yutaka yamada ft. tate mcrae. sorrryyy I just think grief acceptance songs tinged w melancholy are very tsujimura ♥️

favorite picture of them: why are these my favorites of hers? I have no idea. yes this is why I randomly pinged u and asked for them. ily my girl on her first unhinged car chase....waugh. thinks abt this scene so much and dies.

im not even into bsd anymore but i found this old drawing LMAO

"At that moment, I got the terrible feeling that I was never going to see Shinichi again."

Original [link] by Sergio Cupido

Save my children from life's danger 🇵🇸💔

gofundme.com

Donate to Save my little girl's life, organized by Wesal Abuawad

I am the mother of a family consisting of 8 people. I have a little girl who is 14 years old,… Wesal Abuawad needs your support for Save my

I am the mother of a family consisting of 8 people. I have a little girl who is 14 years old, her name is Farah. Help her to escape from death. She suffers from kidney failure and autism. She is a person with special needs. She has a motor and mental disability. I ask you to contribute to alleviating my suffering. Have a good night’s sleep, as she does not know how to sleep. I live in Palestine. In Gaza City, amidst the horrors of destruction and hunger that are tearing us apart, and the mysterious and terrifying anxiety, there is a lot of sadness and pain in my country, and fear restricts our thoughts every hour. We wonder: Will we die? Will we live? Will my child die from her chronic illness? Are we all going to die? We are truly suffering. Winter will come, and I will not have a shelter to protect my family

I am a patient with autism and chronic kidney failure. Please, you are my only hope.

I hope to live a decent life and enjoy support and help. The inevitable death befalls me, my family, and my little girl every time and day. She needs permanent treatment, medicines, detergents, diapers, and special food. Kidney disease is a chronic disease to escape dialysis. I have no ability to buy her needs. I am tormented by staying in the hospital permanently. The kidneys evade potassium and air. A dangerous element that leads to death and cardiac arrest

I have been living with an early awareness since her birth of the inevitability of death from this disease, accompanied by the fear of waking up to losing her and losing her life. My little girl is certain that she is heading towards death in the absence of treatment possibilities and the availability of her requirements and that the expected end of her illness journey. I ask God for everyone who helps me not to complain of pain. Sickness, you do not know it. When sickness visits you, the world becomes smaller before your eyes, and all your wishes become insignificant in the face of health, and to see your child playing and enjoying good health. I am looking for someone to help me to alleviate the painful reality. We are suffering from my heartbreak for my sick child. She is lost before my eyes, and my homeland is devastated.

My life before the war was more beautiful. I hope that this pain and injustice that we are exposed to will end. I have the right to live in safety.

Tsujimura has never heard Ayatsuji laugh.