My Own One Piece.

Nightmares.

Ace's POV

Aoi stood in front of me for more sparring. She was much better now that she was wearing full clothing and not just a shirt that would show too much with a single move.

She was able to move faster, jump higher, and attack smoother. She held a more confident smirk as she dodged my attacks easily. She was getting rather strong.

Aoi has been with us for five months and I felt myself getting closer to her. I had learned things about her.

She's been an orphan since she was eight.

Before she lost her voice, she loved to sing.

And the craziest of all things, she was able to see the past and future of people she was to become close with.

I didn't believe her at first, but then she made me believe with a single sentence written on her notepad.

You're birth-father is Gold Roger.

I was expecting her to push me away after that. But it seemed like she was trying to get closer to me after that.

Admittedly, I did try to push her away for a bit, but she cornered me one night.

I find you amazing. Despite who your birth-father is, you are so kind and you really do care about everyone around you. You even went and pulled me -a girl you don't even know- out of the ocean out of the kindness of your heart. You're like... A walking angel. She had wrote.

After that, I found myself wanting to be near her at all times.

I don't know what it is she sees in me, but I want to find out why she sees me as a "walking angel" as she put it. And she seems like she's happy to have me around.

I have to admit, every time I'm near her, every time I look in her eyes or when she smiles at me, I feel... Strange. It's a warm feeling that just builds up in me and I don't doubt myself when I'm with her.

Back to the present, Aoi moved in close to me. I crossed my arms in front of me to gaurd from her punch. The girl may be small, but holy shit she was strong.

Her fist met my arms and I grabbed her wrist. Her eyes went wide not expecting my grab. I grinned and pulled her down. She kicked for my back. I tried to dodge, but she was a little bit quicker than me.

Her foot found it's mark. I straightened my back and her next kick was to the backs of my knees, taking me down.

Finally, our three hour match was over. I was still holding her arm and she was sitting on her knees, so it was a draw, but I was already tired from the little sleep I had last night.

Nightmares are a pain in the ass.

She grinned at me as we both panted. I smiled back up at her.

"Another draw, you two. That makes 24 fights that have lasted over an hour that end with out a victor." Marco sighed. Thatch laughed beside him.

"I bet ya in another month, Aoi-chan will have beaten Ace at his own game." Thatch said. Aoi blushed and looked away. She shook her head as if to say "no. I'm not that good." I let go of her arm and sat up.

"In all reality though, Aoi, you are getting a lot stronger. I think pretty soon you'll have to be teaching me new tricks." I laughed. She smiled at me and I saw her shake as if to giggle.

I sighed to myself. I hope we find away to get her voice back, soon. I bet she has a nice laugh.

I shook myself and stood. After helping Aoi up, I went to get a drink of water.