Government Dog🐶⛓️

based off this screen cap

Aftermath

the start of my ongoing tsujitsuji obsession

~ ♡ ~

Tsujimura found herself trying to jump out at Ayatsuji in anger for teasing her so soon after she had thought him dead. She, however, momentarily forgot the fact that she had been shot in the thigh.  

She let out a strangled sort of noise as she began to fall but found herself supported by an arm. 

‘You idiot,’ Ayatsuji had caught her. He lowered her back onto the ground, kneeling beside her. ‘We should send you to the hospital.’ He manoeuvred her around, letting her stretch out her legs, and placed pressure on her wound. For a moment, Tsujimura thought he was being nice to her, and she was reminded of the smile he showed her as he was shot. 

‘I need my servant to return as soon as possible.’

That was more like him; she looked up at him, 'Like I said, I’m not a servant.’

‘That settles it,’ he cut in, placing his free arm on her shoulder. ‘We made a deal that you’ll listen to anything I tell you in a day, right? That day is tomorrow then.’

She looked at him incredulously. The nerve of him, 'Hang on, I’m injured, aren’t I?’

‘Now that’s pretty honest,’ he snickered.

He was just the worst; sometimes she wanted to shoot him herself. However, as she watched him laugh, clothes still soaked from his dip in the waterfall, tears welled in her eyes.  

He stopped laughing. 'Tsujimura-kun, why-’ 

She punched him softly, ‘How could you let me think you died?’ The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. 

‘Well—’ 

‘After all I said to you, after I thought you died for me?’ She was clutching his damp shirt and sobbing into it.

Ayatsuji found himself completely lost for words, choosing to simply rub her shoulder. They were in silence for a while; she sobbed, and he comforted her. If anyone saw them, it didn’t bother him; although he had never been a touchy person, he found he didn’t mind. Knowing Tsujimura was alive and okay made it okay, so he didn’t stop her when she clutched onto him harder.

‘I’m sorry I called you selfish,’ her voice was muffled. ‘You were just trying to bring a horrible person to justice. I shouldn’t have let my personal feelings affect me too much.’

‘It’s okay,’ he chuckled softly. He’d been called much worse by people who didn’t care who their words affected. He’d grown thick skin after many years dealing with his ability. 

‘You even made me a meal before you left, and I should’ve noticed it,’ she said, taking a shaky breath. ‘You’re never that nice to me.’

He stopped rubbing circles on her back, instead patting her head gently. He spoke softly, ‘I’m sorry.’ 

She stopped sobbing for a bit, looking up in confusion; maybe she had misheard, ‘What?’

‘I’m sorry, Tsujimura; I didn’t think he would shoot you.’

‘Huh,’ the confusion had successfully stopped her from crying. A million thoughts were going through her head; maybe she was really dying and her wound was worse than she thought.

‘What?’ He asked, a little exasperated. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ 

‘You never say sorry.’

'Yes, I do.’ 

'No, you do not!’ She said that louder, and the other agents stopped to look at them. She sheepishly looked away, trying to rub away the tear streaks on her face.  

She heard the sound of a siren nearby, surprised she hadn’t noticed it before. She looked around; the paramedics had finally arrived and were headed towards them with a stretcher.

‘Sensei, help me up,’ he supported her as she slowly got up. Leaning on him, they started to hobble over to the paramedics. Immediately they had her lie down on the stretcher and began heading back to the ambulance. 

He walked along with them, and as they approached the ambulance, he noticed Ango talking to another agent.

‘Tsujimura-kun.’ 

‘Sakaguchi-senpai,’ she turned weakly, finally feeling the effects of the blood loss. 

‘I apologise that you were kept in the dark and that you were injured,’ he ran his hand through his hair. ‘We’ll discuss this in more depth after you have healed.’ 

She nodded, ‘Thank you, Senpai.’ 

‘There’s no need to thank me; I really do apologise for this.’ 

She smiled as they loaded her in the ambulance. She saw Ayatsuji climb in behind her, but she was too woozy to notice the wordless exchange between him and Ango. Technically, he should be returning to headquarters to explain the situation alongside Ango, but he could spare a few hours for him to worry about his assistant.

She remembered very little of the journey, apart from the feeling of someone gently pulling out the pins in her hair. Decreasing the discomfort she felt lying on her bun (she found them in her wallet when she got home) 

She didn’t see Ayatsuji when she woke up after surgery. Thankfully the bullet hadn’t hit anything important, so they removed it and stitched her up. He would deny having been there the whole time, in his damp clothes, head in his hands as he waited for the surgeon to come out. Or how he sat by her bedside, holding her hand and tracing the little scars she got from being clumsy. He left at the first signs of her stirring, simply alerting the nurse as he left the ward and asking them not to mention his presence to her. It had been very early in the morning, so she drifted back to sleep with the faint memory of him. 

Her first visitors in the morning had been her colleagues, bringing her flowers and chocolates. They came before heading into HQ to talk to the director, who had allowed them until morning to sort out their stories.

Ayatsuji visited much later, having showered, changed, taken a nap, and accompanied Ango in speaking to the director.

She smiled as he stepped into the room before realising he was alone. ‘Sensei! Did you sneak out again?! You know I have to report you, right!’

’Would you calm down? Sakaguchi-kun is downstairs waiting for me,’ he remained as indifferent as always, but added with a slight smirk, 'Well, escaping from here would be easy enough.’

‘Sensei! Don’t say things like that! And Sakaguchi-senpai has enough work already!’ She groaned in pain as she tried to get up too fast.

‘Tsujimura-kun, you believe things too easily,’ he dropped into the seat by her bed. ‘Did you forget you need to get better for your special training?’

‘Training?’

'Well, it would be a waste to use up my day of controlling you when you’ve been confined to a bed. Instead, I have come up with a training plan,’ he smirked, revealing a piece of paper from his pocket. ‘You’ll begin as soon as you are discharged.’

Tsujimura’s face blanched as she looked at the words written on the paper: ‘Sensei, you can’t be serious, right?’ She had a thin strand of hope as she posed the question.

‘Why would I joke around with you Tsujimura-kun?’

‘Ayatsuji-sensei, I can’t possibly—’ she sounded a little desperate.

‘That’s the face,’ he chuckled ruthlessly, ‘you do make the most entertaining expressions.’

‘So this was a joke?’ She breathed out, lying back.

‘What? No, I expect you to comply or I will simply have to report you,’ he said, folding the piece of paper back up and putting it out of her reach. Not that destroying it would be of any help to her. He got up and dusted himself off and made a move towards the door.

‘But sensei!’ Taujimura tried reaching out towards him.

He turned and stared down at her with a contempt look on his face. ‘Well, rest up, Tsujimura-kun. I look forward to it.’ He didn’t bother listening to her protests as he walked out the door. Leaving her worried and confused in the hospital bed.

‘Maybe I should ask to transfer.’

~ ♡ ~

the lamb cooking scene in gaiden>>>>

it’s so short but oml it’s so good 😭

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.

🦀🪆🍐

i meant to post these onto here when i finished drawing kunikida, tsujimura and tecchou but alas. i have not been able to borrow my friend's tablet for a long while now

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.

~ ♡ ~

A Fight Without You

the height of my esuka obsession T-T

Yet another island Isuka hadn't been at; it was getting worrisome. Isuka, without fail, had been there at every single island since they had first met, always there, determined to bring him in. Ace loved the attention; Deuce speculated that it was because she was a gorgeous young woman who could take him down if she wanted to. However, this was the second island they'd been to, and Isuka hadn't been there. Ace felt uneasy leaving the previous island without seeing her, but she was a marine who had other things to do apart from chasing him, or so he tried to convince himself. He was finding it harder to believe now that she hadn't turned up this time.

Ace sighed, 'you don't think something bad happened to her do you?'

'To who? Isuka? No way I've never seen anyone like her,' Deuce chuckled, 'she fights like she's got devil fruit powers.'

'That woman is fearless,' Ace seemed to accept it for a while but looked back at the horizon, 'but nothing could've happened to her, right?'

'Ace, cap, no offence but you're awfully worried about a woman who has done nothing but try to catch you. Maybe it's a good thing she isn't here, one less thing to worry about if she's finally lost our trail.'

'She hasn't only tried to catch me, she's,' Deuce raised an eyebrow, 'I just think it's weird okay, she's just always there.'

'You know she has other duties right? She's an ensign, that's pretty important, she's probably got meetings to attend, boring marine stuff.'

'Yeah I guess,' Ace didn't seem at all satisfied with the answer but didn't try to argue back.

'Boss!' Skull shouted from the sand, 'bad news, the locals just said that we can't leave tonight!'

'Why's that?'

'Apparently there's a bad current that appears from time to time. It's wiped out massive fleets before, we shouldn't risk it.'

'I guess we're spending another night here,' he seemed to consider his options before jumping down to the sand, 'Deuce let's walk, I'm bored.'

~ ♡ ~

Deuce often got dragged into things because Ace was bored or hungry. Since he'd left Sixis with Ace, life had not been dull, maybe even a little too interesting. Thankfully this time, Ace didn't get into much trouble, although his usual narcoleptic attack did frighten a few villagers. 

Or so he thought. Things had been going well until Ace caught sight of a marine, just an ordinary officer slipping past the crowds and into a back street.

He immediately broke into a run, 'Ace!'

The officer was fast, keeping to the back streets as he made it to the other side of the island, where he met with another officer. Ace recognised them; they worked under Isuka on her ship.

'Did you find any others?'

'No there's only one doctor on this island.'

'That's not good, hopefully the antidote works, we've contacted headquarters, but no one will be able to reach here for a while.'

'The Ensign is strong, she'll pull through.' At the mention of Isuka, Deuce felt Ace tense. He was never subtle when it came to her.

'Hopefully.'

Deuce felt Ace move, grabbing one of the marines before he could stop him, 'what did you say?'

'Fire Fist!' The other one spluttered, 'what are you doing here?'

He tightened his grip on the man, 'answer the question, what happened to Isuka?' Deuce sighed. Ace had an especially short fuse when things were about her. After all, he'd beaten up a guy who'd made some unsavoury passes at her when she confronted them at a bar. Ace was not someone you wanted to anger.

'We don't need to tell you anything, pirate.'

Ace looked like he would punch the guy but was stopped by a loud rustling sound getting closer to them from more than one side. He dropped the guy before preparing for a possible ambush. The marine gasped for air before crawling over to his colleague.

'Boss!' One of the voices shouted. Skull had come looking for them.

The other person, unfortunately, was a marine who, at the sight of Ace, drew her gun. 'Fire Fist Ace, the ensign is in no state to fight you. Leave.'

'Take me to her.'

'Boss, that's-' Skull began; that was too much to ask of them to lead a notorious pirate to their leader, who was in no state to fight.

'I want to see her.'

The marine sighed; she looked over at his two colleagues; they weren't enough to deter the pirate, 'can you help her?'

'Deuce is a doctor, he can take a look at her, if she needs something and we have it, you can have it.'

'How do we trust you, pirate? Getting rid of the Ensign Isuka would be advantageous to you,' the marine he had grabbed spat out.

'I wouldn't hurt her, not intentionally.'

She nodded to the dismay of her colleagues, in a way she understood that their relationship was quite complicated, 'follow me.'

The five of them trailed behind her as she led them to a small cove. The ship was tucked in. The sails containing Isuka's epithet were taken in; the usually busy ship had an uneasy quietness.

'Many of us are scattered around the island, looking for supplies, some have remained for security.'

As they stepped up onto the boat, Ace's appearance caused a couple of marines to turn to him in alarm, guns raised. The marine leading them waved them down, 'he's trying to help!'

They didn't seem all that convinced but turned back around, keeping up their posts.

Deuce seemed slightly impressed at the ship's sheer size, 'how'd she get hurt?'

'We we're called as support along with another ship, they needed some help bringing in some other pirates,' she opened a door leading them downstairs, 'with the ensign it would be easy work, she may struggle to bring you in, but she's very strong.'

'I don't doubt it,' despite having the powers of a logia-type devil fruit, he still dodged her attacks out of reflex.

'We replied to the call, they were nearby and Isuka would never say no to helping someone, and everything did go to plan apart from one thing.'

She opened another door; this time, it was the door to the infirmary. The ship's doctor and the village doctor were sitting by her bedside, monitoring her condition and discussing other medical things.

The marine nodded at them, signalling them to step outside, and they complied. Ace stood by the door for a while before deciding to sit by her; she looked awful. Deuce checked the wound on her arm, the blue bruise-like colour spreading from the injury and up her arm.

'One of the pirates had hidden and held Isuka with a knife to her throat, he didn't realise she was the ensign. So she did what she did best, fight, she brought him down, but he managed to nick her arm. Things were okay for a day or two, but she suddenly collapsed two days ago, so we stopped at the nearest island.'

Deuce checked her temperature, gently checking the neckline of her uniform to see how far the colour had spread. 'I think the antidote is working, the poison hasn't spread far enough to be of extreme danger to her life, but things can still go wrong. Tonight will be very important, it may determine whether she'll be able to use her arm or not.'

'Yes, that's what the other doctors have said, it was lucky we carried many types of antidote,' the marine sighed, 'Isuka made sure of that.' 

With that, she left the room, nodding at Deuce. Ace, on the other hand, had barely registered what had happened, his thoughts consumed by the girl before him. 

Isuka was usually full of life, her strong voice yelling at him from her ship. That was not who he saw now; the girl lying on the infirmary bed was soulless. Her skin was pale, and her breathing laboured; she was not the picture of health she'd always been. Ace leant forward, inspecting her poisoned arm, it may be on her non-dominant arm, but she fought with both. She used her athletic abilities to leap over things, usually using her arm for stability. He knew her fighting style was aggressive and powerful; he was scared that if she lost her arm, she'd give up on being a marine or, at the very least, stop chasing him. Either way, he wouldn't see her again; he would have no reason to tease her and watch her turn red when he threw a flirty comment her way. Losing her and her presence would leave an ugly mark on his heart. 

As she began coughing, she rolled onto her side, bringing her knees closer to her chest. Deuce poured her a glass of water before handing it to Ace, who waited for her to calm down. As the violent coughing fit came to an end, she opened her eyes slowly, her good arm coming up to wipe the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. She made a grabbing motion in the direction of the side table.

'Here,' Ace gently moved the cup to her hand, allowing her to grab it, she tried getting up, but without being able to put any pressure on her other arm, she struggled. Ace got up from the chair to help her; when she sat up, she took a long drink from the glass, and Ace settled back into his chair.

'Fire fist, what are you doing here?' Her voice was groggy and weak; her vision had finally cleared up, and she'd finally noticed who he was. He thought she'd be more shocked, but perhaps she was too tired for that.

'Couldn't leave without seeing my favourite ensign, now could I?' He chuckled when Isuka made what he could only guess was a flustered expression. Deuce looked at Skull; there was an unspoken agreement between the both of them that they should leave them alone. He tapped Ace's shoulder reassuringly before exiting the infirmary.

'You know, Isuka. I missed you at our previous island; it isn't the same without you shouting at me,' she smiled at that, lying back down, 'it's not the same when I'm not fighting you.'

'I've got other battles to fight, Fire Fist; I can't chase you all the time,' she whispered as she dragged the sheets back over her.

'I wish you could, wouldn't it be fun seeing each other everyday?'

'I think we have very different ideas of fun.'

'You wouldn't have to get hurt fighting some other prick,' she stayed silent for a while, unable to bring herself to look him in the eyes, 'you worried me when I walked in here I thought I was going to lose you.'

She lifted her arm, hesitating before placing her hand on his cheek, 'it's part of the job, you know that.'

At first, it took him by surprise; they weren't close like that. At most, there were accidental brushes of skin that left her flustered. He placed his hand on hers; she felt comfortable with him, and for now, that was enough. For once, she wasn't wearing her leather gloves; her hand was warm as he stroked it gently, 'I know,' but he couldn't help hating the thought. He moved her hand to his mouth, placing a small kiss on the palm of her hand before releasing it.

She smiled at him, grabbing hold of his hand again, 'I know it isn't much, but I'm here now. You know that I'm safe,' she gently squeezed his hand before closing her eyes. She didn't know who he had lost in the past to react like that, but she understood loss and the pain it brought.

~ ♡ ~

He had completely lost track of time, sitting there holding her hand, stroking the back of it, tracing the lines on her palm. It was completely dark when Deuce returned to the room carrying two plates of food and a bowl of soup for Isuka.

'Skull went back to the rest of the crew to explain,' he placed the soup down first before handing Ace his plate, 'I'm guessing you don't want to leave.'

'I don't know. I don't want to leave her like this.'

'Don't worry about it, the crew will understand.'

Ace gently shook Isuka awake, so she could try to eat something. He helped her sit up again, handing her the bowl of soup before picking up his plate and starting to eat. Deuce had begun to explain their adventures at their previous island, what had happened when she wasn't there. She laughed when he explained how Ace had fallen into the lake trying to chase Kotatsu, who had been chasing a butterfly. At some point during the conversation, Ace had finished his plate and noticed Isuka had been struggling to eat. He took the bowl from her and began feeding her as she listened to Deuce's rambling. At first, she'd been a little embarrassed, but soon she came to enjoy it a little, the power she had over him always amused Deuce. He knew of Ace's tendencies when caring for people, but feeding them was not one of them. Isuka, however, was an exception; they shared something special, even if they didn't quite notice it yet.

After dinner, Isuka had laid back down, drowsiness taking over; Ace remained by her side as Deuce got some pillows and blankets. Ace was still in the same spot when he returned, watching over her. Deuce set up the little sofa in the room for him to sleep on, leaving the other bed in the infirmary to Ace if he wanted to sleep.

'Deuce, take the bed, I don't need it.'

'You should try to get some sleep too.'

'If need be I can sleep on the sofa, you can take the bed.'

Deuce didn't bother arguing back; Ace was stubborn when it came to certain things, so there was no point trying to get his way.

The night was cold; Ace watched as Isuka shivered under her blanket. He got up and grabbed the blanket Deuce left on the table to cover her with. Taking the pillow, he placed it on the bed; he leant forward to rest his head. He must have eventually nodded off because sunlight was filtering through the blinds on the window when he woke up. Sometime in her sleep, Isuka must have found his head as he could feel her soothingly running her hand through his hair. It felt weird; the last time someone had done that was probably 6 or 7 years ago. When he'd fall asleep around Makino, she'd take care of him, gently patting his back or running her hand through his hair. It was comforting; if his mother was alive, he imagined she would do the same.

It was a while longer before either of the others stirred; Isuka was up first, woken up again by a coughing fit. Ace did the same thing as before, handing her a glass of water and helping her sit up. Being a light sleeper, Deuce had also woken up; he checked up on Isuka first. Her temperature had decreased slightly, and the marks on her arm had begun to fade - which was very promising. He left to share the information with the rest of her crew.

'Thank you, Fire Fist, I think your presence really helped.'

'I didn't do much,' he smiled, slightly shy at the compliment.

'I know, but still, you make me stronger.'

Ace didn't know what to say; Isuka kept him on his toes, kept him guessing what her next move would be. She'd made her way into his life, and in a way, she pushed him to be stronger too. Before he could try to formulate a reply, Deuce returned.

'We should probably get back to the ship, the currents are getting better and we can leave soon,' Ace made an expression. Before he could ask, Deuce replied, 'I imagine Isuka will be leaving soon too, she's getting better and it would be beneficial to be heading to a more accessible island.'

'He's right, if things go well we'll probably be leaving by the end of the day,' she smiled reassuringly at Ace, 'back on your trail of course.'

'Wouldn't expect anything different.'

~ ♡ ~

don't look at me with those eyes..

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.

The next time I see a "Would you fall in love with me again" edit with Zelink...

(I'll just like it again and cry)