Fire Fist Ace

I looked up from my drink at Ace, "So your the guy who was stupid enough to try and assassinate Whitebeard one hundred times and fail." Ace wasn't offended, "I heard you made an entrance yourself, so what do you say?"

I finished up my drink before standing up, "Okay, then let's see if you're really worth all the talk." Ace wiped his nose, "I was about to say the same thing." Word spread like wildfire, and by the time Ace and I were on the deck, a crowd had gathered.

As I faced Ace, the sword at my hip began to vibrate, itching to draw blood. Placing my hand on the hilt, I restrained my blade, "Are you ready, Soren?!" I smiled at Ace, a long-lost feeling of adrenaline running through my body.

"Sure, and before we start, Tama says hello." While Ace was stunned, the countdown ended. Drawing my sword, the malicious spirit covered the blade, its blood-red energy leeching the color out of everything around it.

Ace was unaffected, and his hands were engulfed by fire, "I hope you don't burn easily." Ace pulled back his hand to throw a fireball at me, "I suggest you don't worry about my safety and focus on the fight." Ace threw the fireball, and I easily knocked aside the attack with a swipe of my sword.

[Body Art: Danchō]

The look on Ace's face was priceless as I grew talons and ran at him, "So you're a Zoan, maybe I can turn you into a cooked chicken." Ace threw another fireball, and I jumped over this one putting Ace in range.

Ace smiled as he punched out his fire-covered fist, and I could feel the heat already, but it was nothing compared to the temperatures of the furnace I had spent hundreds of hours tending.

Just before Ace could hit me, my chest was covered in a bone. Ace's fist harmlessly impacted my armor, and he had fully committed to the attack, so he was off-balance as well. Coming down on Ace, my taloned feet pinned his arms to the floor, and my blade was ready to pierce his throat.

But Ace wasn't out yet. Using his flames from his feet, Ace propelled himself forwards, pushing me off him. Letting him get back to his feet, I smiled at the irate logia user.

"Have you figured out that you can't beat me? A little lesson for you, never underestimate your opponent." Ace didn't respond, but he held out his hand, and a fire whip formed in his right hand.

My eyes narrowed, "If you use that weapon, I might lose control." Ace could see the promise of death in my eyes and wisely dismissed the whip. We were at a standoff now. Ace had little knowledge of my capabilities and was hesitant to engage.

And my reason was I liked to watch him sweat. "It looks like you've learned that you won't win this fight with pure force. But there's no fun in having one of us just sitting around."

My legs returned to normal as I covered my blade in Haki, "Let's see how you deal with a demon." My eyes turned into slits as my entire body began to morph, becoming shorter and thinner.

When my transformation was finished, I was five feet tall, covered in a thin layer of bone plating that curved backward.

[Second Form: Akuma]

The rest of the crew cheered as they got to see a new form of mine, but Ace was on edge, more unsure of himself than ever.

"So what do you say Ace, want to call it quits." My voice was distorted and high pitch making me sound like an imp. Grinning, Ace's body was suddenly covered in fire, "I'm going to melt that bone right off you."

I laughed and even more disturbing noise, "Physically impossible, but I like the spirit." Then I punched my feet, flying across the deck. Sanguinem shared my bloodthirst as it began to hum.

Ace launched a few fireballs at me, but none came close to touching me. Knowing he couldn't win, a long-range Ace flew into the air using his flames to keep him suspended.

Snarling, I ran over to one of the masts and proceeded to run up the length of the pole. Ace could do nothing as I jumped past him now overhead. Ace looked up, and his face turned white.

[Iai Sutairu: Reaper's Scythe]

I spun, hitting Ace's neck with the back of my sword, sending him down to crashing into the deck of the ship. I landed next to him on all fours. After a second, Ace coughed and glared at me.

"Don't look at me like that. I could've taken your head if I wanted to, but then pops would have probably taken mine." Everybody cheered as I was declared the victor. Ace didn't have any hard feelings about losing though he made me promise I would fight him again in a year or two.

In a couple of minutes, I was dressed again and back to drinking, the rest of the night was full of festivities, and the only regret I had was that there were no women aboard the ship besides the Nurses who were off-limits.

That caused me to think about a trio of girls I had known awhile ago. I wondered when they met Rayleigh or even if they had made it back to the island. But I tossed aside those thoughts as Bane handed me another mug of rum.

-In Mery Geoise-

Shalria touched the horrible scar that bisected her face, and with a scream, she threw away her hand mirror. She wanted to murder that little shit who had ruined her face, her beautiful face.

There was a knock on the door and Shalria put on her mask, "Enter!" The door opened and Shalria sighed when she saw it was her father, "Daddy, please tell me that you found a doctor that can fix me."

Saint Rosward shook his head, "I'm sorry the doctors say that there's nothing they could do." Shalrai screamed again, "I want all of them sent to my torture chamber and a hunt out for the slave who did this to me. I'll make sure that everyone knows to side with him is to be the enemy of the World Government."