RT_Ninja: Hey, so I just wanna give a bit of a trigger warning. There is a bit of a talk of suicide in this chapter. If you need to talk to someone after this, then I'm willing to listen guys. I'm just a message away, I promise. I'm here for you.

Aoi's POV

Dream

I sighed and sat up in my bed, in my apartment in Salt Lake City.

"What a weird dream." I yawned. I stood up and began to dress myself for my first day of college.

I sighed as I walked on campus. Another day to be bullied for dear little Kirayan. No sooner than I set foot in my graphic design class, the bullying began. You guessed it, my name was the reason.

I sat through an hour lecture being bombarded with rude notes like it was high school all over again.

And just like high school, it didn't faze me.

Since I only had two classes, graphic design and theater, I started to walk home. I was almost off campus when a large man slammed in to me, knocking me down.

"Ha! Look! The tiny slut can't even stand on her own!" He jeered at me. I glared up at him as he walked away. He had black hair and dark skin and a ridiculously bushy black beard.

"What a dick." I scoffed under my breath and began to gather my things. I sighed as I looked at how scattered they were. I grabbed my theater book and binder and slipped them in my bag like I should have in the first place.

"God, I'm so sorry about him." A voice said. I looked up and saw a man bend down and pick up the rest of my things. He had black hair and freckles dusting his cheeks. I stared at him in surprise. He handed me my books. I took them and slipped them in my bag.

"Uh, thanks." I said, unsure what to do. No one has ever actually been, well, nice to me before.

"You okay?" He asked, offering his hand to me to help me stand. I took his hand and stood.

"Yeah, I'm used to this shit." I said. He frowned at me.

"I'm sorry." He said. I waved it off.

"It ain't your fault. Though I do appreciate you being the first person to be nice to me." I said. I realized that our hands were still intertwined. I pulled my hand away and he blushed. He looked down at my legs.

"Doesn't that hurt?" He asked.

"What?" I asked. He nodded down at my knee. I looked down and growled. When that asshole knocked me down, I tore a hole in my jeans and scraped my knee.

"No, it doesn't hurt. As I said, I'm used to this shit." I said. I was taken by suprise when the man scooped me up in his arms and began to carry me.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" I protested.

"Taking you to the infirmary." He stated as if he were stating the obvious.

"Okay, but I can walk you know." I said. He grinned at me and I felt my heart jump.

"Yeah. But I want to carry you." He said. I felt my face heat up.

"Why?" I asked.

"Cause I thought it would be fun." He said. I stared at him.

"You have an odd idea of fun." I said. He grinned at me and continued to carry me.

The nurse was out for lunch, but the guy seemed to know what he was doing. He carefully washed my knee with a cloth and then sprayed neosporin on it. I hissed at the stinging. He chuckled at me and placed a bandage on my knee.

"There ya go, all patched up!" He said. I hopped to my feet.

"Thanks." I said.

"My name's Ace, by the way." He said.

"Kirayan, but call me Aoi." I said.

"Aoi? Why is that?" He asked.

"It's the Japanese word for blue, and my last name is Ocean, so my name is litterally Blue Ocean." I said. Ace grinned at me.

"Well then, Aoi, I look forward to getting to know you better, say this Friday for dinner?" He asked. I stared at him. Now, I know I haven't had much experience with people, but I knew that he was asking me out on a date.

"Are you asking a girl you don't even know out on a date?" I asked him. He immediately blushed a deep crimson and began to stutter and trip over his words, unable to get out his answer or denial. I giggled.

"Because," I started, silencing his stuttering. "If it were just as friends, I dunno, I think I have something going on." I said. His face fell.

"Buuut~ if it's a date, then maybe I can cancel. Just for you." I said. Ace grinned at me.

"So, uh..." He said, clearly expecting to be shot down.

"Joe's Crab Shack at seven?" I said. He smiled at me.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Friday?" He asked.

"Friday. Here, I'll put my number in your phone." I said. We traded phones and entered our contact info.

"So, I'll, uh, pick you up?" He asked, noticing I had entered my address, too. I smirked.

"I'll see you Friday, Ace." I said and walked home. At that moment, I didn't give half a fuck what the rest of the world thought of me. I just had my first nice encounter and it resulted in me getting a date with a really cute guy.

It seemed as if I just walked in to my apartment and sat down on my bed and it was Friday night. I heard a buzz echo through my apartment.

"Hey, Aoi, it's Ace!" A voice said. I couldn't help but grin at his voice.

"I'll be right down!" I called. I set down my paint brush in the sink and dried my hands. I pulled a thin, dark purple over shirt over my lavender tank top and pulled on my black combat boots. I grabbed my purse, phone and key and went to meet Ace.

When I got down, I saw him leaning against a cool purple and black motorcycle. I chuckled at him when I saw him look up at me.

"Nice ride." I said. He grinned and handed me a spare helmet.

"Thanks, it was a birthday gift from my brothers." He said.

"Sounds like you've got a set of brothers that like to spoil you." I said. Ace laughed.

"We'll save that for over dinner talk, now hold on, I like to go fast." He said, slipping in his own helmet. I smirked and slipped on my helmet and sat behind Ace in the motorcycle. I wrapped my arms around his torso and he hit the gas. I squeaked and held tighter to him.

Time seemed to skip ahead again and we were in the restaurant, waiting for our food to come and talking about ourselves.

"Basically, my parent's mistakes have followed me for my whole life, even though they died when I was eight." I said, concluding my story. (A/N: don't worry, you'll get Aoi's full story soon enough.)

"It's still bullshit that you had to pretty much walk your life alone because of them." Ace scowled. I sighed.

"Yeah, well, that's my back story. Let's hear yours." I said. Ace sighed and sat back.

"Well, my father was kinda involved with the mafia in New York. Ever hear of a guy named..." Ace paused, looked around and leaned in and continued in a lower voice.

"Gold Roger?" He asked. My eyes widened.

"You're-?" I whispered. He nodded.

"Point is, dad did a lot of bad shit. He was killed for ratting someone out not to long before I was born. The people that took him out wanted to whole family out of the picture, so they hunted mom and me down. Mom didn't give birth to me until they were all out of town, determining that we weren't there. Mom died giving birth to me.

"After a while, a man named Monkey D. Garp took me to a woman named Dadan and she raised me. There I met a kid named Sabo and he and I became best friends. Not long after that, Garp brought his grandson, Monkey D. Luffy to Dadan. I didn't exactly like Luffy at first, but I warmed up to him after a while.

"We found out Sabo was a nobleman's son and he ran away, so Dadan took him in, too. Basically, Luffy, Sabo and I became brothers. Sabo and I always fighting over who was the older brother and Luffy was the dense younger brother.

"We fight a lot, but honestly, I would give anything for those two. Just that special bond we have. Even if I don't deserve it." Ace said. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why would you not deserve it?" I asked as our food came. Ace began to eat as if to dodge my question. I stared at him. He swollowed and sighed.

"Didn't you listen? My father is Gold Roger. I'm the son of a demon." He said. I blinked.

"But that's not you're fault. His blood doesn't run through your veins, Ace. Yours does." I said. He looked away from me. I grabbed his hand that was resting on the table.

"Ace, you said it's bullshit other people abandoned me and treated me like shit because of my parents. I say it's bullshit you torture yourself over something you had no control over." I said. He stared at our hands.

"... Can we change the topic?" He asked. I frowned at him, but moved on anyways.

"Tell me more about your brothers." I said. Ace smiled, happy about my change of topic.

Time seemed to skip again. After the meal was over, Ace and I walked through a park that had a river running through it. We walked by the river. He was laughing at my story of the first time I brushed someone off.

"The look on her face when I said that, hahah, I had to force myself not to laugh." I said.

"So, how long did it take you not to be affected by all this shit anyways?" He asked. I sighed and looked up at the moon.

"In all honesty, it still gets to me every now and then. Really, people just hear the name "Ocean" and everyone knows who my parents are and it's just open fire. I mean, I didn't tell my parents to be like that. I didn't make their choices. But yet, complete strangers treat me like I'm the spawn of Satan. Most days it doesn't bother me, but it gets lonely, you know?" I admitted. Ace held my hand.

"Yeah. I know." He said.

"You're lucky, you know. You have Dadan and your brothers to be around you and you also have your friends that like you for you. I'm kinda jealous of you for it." I said.

"Why are you jealous of me?" Ace asked. I huffed.

"Is it that hard to see? Despite what you put yourself through, you were still able to make friends and build yourself a family of sorts. But me? You're the first person to come near me with out the intent to hit me or push me in to a fountain." I said. He stayed silent.

"I like that about you." I said.

"What?" He asked.

"You didn't even know me. You had no idea who I was or who my parents were. Even the people who don't know who I am, if they saw that guy push my over, they would just keep walking and think it's not my problem but you? You had no idea who I was and you came over and helped me. You helped me despite the fact I was a total stranger. You're like... A walking angel." I said. Ace was silent.

We walked on in silence. I continued to stair up at the moon and Ace watched his feet. He suddenly stopped. I looked over at him.

"Do you think... Should I have even been born?" He asked. I stared at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Should I have even been born?" He repeated the question. I pulled my eyebrows together.

"What kind of question is that? Of course you should have been born." I said. He looked up at me and made eye contact with me.

"Why?" He asked. I blinked at him.

"Everyone was born for a reason, Ace. Maybe it's to persue money, fame, family, even love. There are people that live their whole lives with out even realizing what their reason is. And there are people that look so hard for their reason that they over look it. Most of those people are the ones that end up committing suicide. I always feel sad for those people, even if I don't know them. Everyone deserves a fair chance at life." I said.

"What about you?" He asked.

"Me?" I asked.

"What's you're reason? To live?" He asked. I thought for a moment.

"For moments like this." I answered. He stared at me with a confused expression.

"To help others, even if they despise me for reasons unknown to me. As I said, everyone deserves a fair shot at life. I really want to help people find their reason to live. Any reason is a good reason to live, no matter what it is. As long as you're not killing anyone, then any reason is a reason to live. I live to help others live. And to prove that I'm nothing like my parents." I said.

Ace looked away. He didn't have an answer.

"I guess... My reason... Is my brothers. They're everything to me. If they ever need me, I'll be for them. No matter what I'm doing or where I am." He said. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him when he looked back at me.

"Then you've proven my theory right." I said.

"You're theory?" He asked. I nodded.

"You really are an angle walking among humans, Ace. Your father's mistakes don't make you who you are. You make you who you are." I said. He stared at me.

"And just who am I?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I dunno... Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're Portgas D. Ace. Now, I'm not sure what kind of a person Portgas D. Ace is since I only met him earlier this week, but..." I let go of Ace's hand and hugged him.

"I believe he's a beautiful person." I whispered in his ear. He wrapped his arms around me. I felt his body shake as he cried. I just stood there and held the tall man. I smiled to myself as I ran my fingers through his hair.

He finally pulled away and I gently stroked his remaining tears away from his cheeks.

"C'mon. Let's head back to my place and get some water in you. If you keep crying like that you'll dehydrate yourself." I said. Ace nodded and we returned to my apartment.

I got Ace a large glass of water. After guzzling down the water, he looked over at me as we sat on my couch.

"You know, Aoi. For someone who's whole life has litterally been hell on earth, you're very sweet and kind." He told me. I smiled at him.

"Well, you know, some of the kindest people in the world are the people who have never been shown kindness. They spent their whole lives being shown what not to do." I said. Ace grabbed me and pulled me to his chest, hugging me tightly.

"You're the real angel here, Aoi." He murmured in my ear. I wrapped my arms around him and returned the tight hug.

"Then I guess that makes us two angels sitting on a couch hugging like a couple of morons." I joked. His chest rumbled as he chuckled at my humor.

"I like this. Maybe our next date won't be so sad though?" He asked. I smiled.

"Definitely." I said. Ace grinned down at me.

"I couldn't help but notice your impressive anime collection." Ace said. I giggled.

"I guess you could say I'm a collector." I said. He looked over at it and admired my collection.

"Hmm, I need to get caught up on Fairy Tail. Seems you're ahead of me by one season." He said. I smiled.

"Maybe next Saturday we could binge the season together?" I asked. He grinned at me.

"It's a date." After that, he went home.

Ace and I continued to see each other week after week. Going on various dates. Wether it was going to a movie, going out for dinner, or even just watching Fairy Tail, Black Butler, Naruto, RWBY, Gurren Laggen or any other anime I could get him in to in my apartment. We were finally an official couple. And I was going to meet his brothers and friends.

I was nervous. What if they reacted to me the way everyone else did? What if they didn't like me?

"Aoi, stop worrying, it's giving you monster strength like Sakura and I can't feel my ribs." Ace said as I sat behind him on his motorcycle. I loosened my grip.

"Sorry, I'm just... Nervous..." I said. He looked over his shoulder at me and patted my hands that were folded over his stomach.

"Don't be. Luffy loves everyone he meets unless they destroy someone's dream, which you've never done. And Sabo and the guys have been pestering me for months about bringing you to meet them. They're going to love you." Ace said. I nodded, but I know Ace could feel my insecurity. He rubbed my hand before taking off again towards where we were meeting everyone.

"Don't worry yourself to death over it, angel. Everything will be fine." Ace said as we pulled over and pulled off our helmets.

Most couples' pet names would consist of "baby", "babe", "dear", "sweetie", "sweet heart" or even "love." But Ace called me his Fallen Angel, and he was my Wingless Angel.

Taking my hand, Ace led me towards a small group that were his friends and brothers. Sweat began to form along my hairline and I was glad that I was wearing my beanie hat to hide the forming blonde parts of my hair and my sweat.

"Oi! Guys! I have someone for you to meet!" Ace called as we got closer. I felt my legs begin to shake as we drew closer to them. Ace squeezed my hand reassuringly. The group of four turned to look at us.

"Aoi, this is Marco." Ace said. A man with a pineapple hairstyle waved and smiled at me.

"This is Thatch." A man with large hair smiled at me and said "hi."

"My brother, Sabo." Ace said, motioning to a blonde man that wore a top hat with goggles on it and had a scar over one eye. He gave me a bright grin and waved.

"And-" Ace was cut off on the last one by him throwing his arms around me and hugging me tightly.

"Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He said with a bright grin.

"Alright, off now, Luffy!" Ace said, prying his youngest brother off of me. I giggled as the two wrestled a bit.

"And, everyone, this is my Fallen Angel, Aoi Ocean." Ace said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his head in my shoulder. I blushed.

"A-Ace, don't call me that in front of them, you'll embarrass me!" I said shyly. Ace grinned.

"Wow, Ace, you got yourself a shy little sweet heart. And she's a cutie, too." Thatch said. I felt my whole face heat up.

"That's so nice of you to say." I said. Ace tightened his grip on me.

"Hey, don't flirt with my girlfriend!" He said. I giggled as his hair tickled my neck. Thatch raised his hands in defense.

"So how did you two meet?" Sabo asked.

"Oh, Ace helped me out at school a few weeks ago and we just kinda hit it off." I said.

"Don't you ever get bothered by his narcolepsy, eating habits or behavior?" Marco asked.

"No, not at all." I answered honestly.

"Come on, it's Ace! We know him better than anyone. Isn't he unbareable at times?" Sabo asked.

"No, not at all." I repeated.

"Then you really are the right girl for Ace. Others could hardly stand him falling asleep on them all the time. Much like he is now." Marco said. Ace's snore in my ear confirmed Marco's statement. I giggled.

"I don't mind. Ace is the first person to be nice to me." I said.

"You mean the first person in a while?" Thatch asked. I shook my head gently, careful not to wake my boyfriend.

"I mean ever. People don't like me because... Well, that's a story I'm not quite willing to share yet..." I said quietly.

"Well, I like you! You should become my nakama!" Luffy said. Those words seemed to be the magic ones to wake up Ace.

"Hell no! She's mine, Luffy! And this one I'm not sharing!" He said, hugging me tightly from behind to prove his point.

"Ace... Can't breathe..." I grunted. Ace loosened his grip and let me breathe.

"Fine! Then come with me to meet up with my crew!" Luffy cheered.

"Crew?" I asked.

"The little group he hangs out with. He calls them his crew because they were all friends in kindergarten. They would always play pirates together. And Luffy was the captain." Sabo explained.

"Ah, I see." I said.

"Luffy, just who are we meeting?" Ace asked. Luffy thought.

"Well, Robin's teaching history to grade school students at the moment. Zoro's at work. Nami's in school. Chopper got sick. Brook is recording all day. Franky is working. Usopp is working. Sanji is free, let's go meet Sanji!" Luffy said with a bright grin.

"Sorry, Luffy, but Aoi and I have a date. Sanji is just going to have to meet Aoi when everyone else does. Bye guys! C'mon, Aoi." Ace said, lacing his fingers between mine and dragging me off. I waved goodbye to the four.

"It was nice meeting you!" I said as Ace dragged me back to the motorcycle. Ace drove me back to my apartment.

"Really? Our surprise date is at home?" I asked skeptically. Ace grinned sheepishly at me.

"Okay, I kinda lied about the date so I could get you out of there before Luffy started to demand you meet Sanji." Ace admitted as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. He plopped down on the couch and I shut the door and locked it.

"Why are you so against me and Sanji meeting? Is he super attractive or something?" I asked. Ace frowned.

"I don't know any girl that finds Sanji attractive." Ace said.

"Wow, hashtag rude." I said. Ace rolled his eyes at my mockery of the over use of hashtags today.

"It's just, Sanji is... Well, Zoro calls him pervy-chef. Sanji is a cook... And a bit of a perv. He flirts with every woman he sees. I think it's rather unbecoming since he goes so over board with it. I don't want him flirting with you when Nami isn't around." Ace explained himself as I made us dinner.

"Why Nami?" I asked.

"Because she'll pound in his skull if her boyfriend has the nerve to flirt with others in front her." He said. I looked over at Ace.

"I thought you said you didn't know any girl that found Sanji attractive?" I asked.

"I don't consider Nami a girl." Ace said.

"Then what is she?" I asked.

"Terrifying." Ace said. I giggled.

"Surely she's not that bad." I said, stirring the large pot of home made chicken noodle soup.

"Wait until you meet her." He said. After dinner, Ace decided to stay the night and we cuddled up in bed. I was used to this since Ace had spent the night at my place before and I've stayed at his before. We basically live together at this point.

"Ace?" I asked quietly as I realized something.

"What is it, angel?" He asked tiredly.

"We've been dating for a few months now, so I've been wondering. Why have we never kissed?." I asked. I felt Ace's lips touch my forehead.

"Because I've been waiting for the perfect moment to give you your first kiss." He said.

"When will it be the perfect moment?" I asked. He tilted my chin up gently with his finger.

"Right now. I love you, Aoi." Ace said.

"I love you, Ace." I said. My eyes fluttered shut and I waited for the kiss.

Then I woke up.