Protectors [One Piece Fanfiction]

Old Adventures: That Time on Fishman Island

Irin's eyes glittered at the mention of a party, spending so much time with the Whitebeard Pirates made her fall in love with the idea of parties.

Parties were fun, bright and everyone present would be happy; that was why Irin enjoyed parties. She liked seeing people smile and she liked hearing the sounds of laughter fill the air.

"Will you be able to join us?" Izou asked.

The pinkette only giggled mischievously, "Of course! Getting back to work a little late shouldn't be a problem!" she exclaimed.

Izou only chuckled and sweatdropped at her antics, 'I don't think you should be doing that...'

The girl then ended up asking Izou to have a sleepover with her as they talked about all sorts of happy things.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week then passed by in a blink of an eye and the Whitebeard Pirates were finally heading towards Fishman Island where a party was held in honour of King Neptune's birthday.

Irin watched with amazement in her eyes as Moby Dick submerged into the deep sea and the creatures of the ocean finally became visible. This was her first time going to Fishman Island and she was brimming with excitement.

The only let down on the whole trip was that Ace was particularly silent and he stayed in his room the whole time during the trip down. It was strange for everyone and, this time, nobody really knew why he was upset except for Thatch.

Irin could only keep that lingering worry at the back of her head as she tried to enjoy the trip as much as she could because that was what Izou suggested she should do. However, it was difficult.

She wanted Ace by her side. She wanted to share the moment with her. She wanted to talk to him, laugh with him and just do everything with him but she couldn't.

There was something wrong and she didn't know what it was.

Ace, on the other hand, could only lay on his bed as he stared at his ceiling while thoughts flowed like water in his head. All he could think about was Irin.

He could only think about how he'd like to tell her about his feelings or how he'd like to hold her in his arms as he whispered sweet nothings into her ears. That was all he wanted, so why was it so difficult for him?

The only thing that was stopping him was himself. He couldn't allow himself to be in love with someone like Irin. He's the Pirate King's son after all. Did he even deserve any of this? He didn't know.

He used to wonder if he deserved to live or not but now he wondered if he deserved to love and to be loved by Irin.

Of course he deserved her love. But did he believe that he did? No.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We're finally here!" Irin exclaimed, "Ace, look at the--"

The pinkette stopped midway after realising that Ace was not by her side. In fact, he hadn't been by her side since the beginning of the trip. They were usually so close that Irin would find herself speaking his name even if he wasn't there; that was just how close they were.

A sullen look was drawn upon her gentle face as she looked around to see no Ace in sight. She had wanted to spend the trip with him but it seems she could not. Why was he so down these days? Why did it seem like he didn't want to be with her?