piratejournal | Audio; Written

I wouldn't call it "weird", rather a bit stressful at times and very fun overall. No matter how worried I may get, I've yet to regret coming with him.

[And by her tone it's clear that she's not going to regret that ever actually. Not after Luffy called her nakama and Zoro told her that they don't leave others behind no matter what.]

And that's okay, his "bad influence" is probably right what I need.

[It was definitely something he expected to hear about Luffy. Still, Ace smiled happily--it was something he loved getting in response to that inquiry.]

That's good to know.

Hope you'll take care of him for me. He's my only little brother.

Of course, I know how important a younger sibling is. Besides, he's my captain, what kind of nakama would I be if I didn't take care of and support him with everything I've got?

[Though, being around Elsa herself is already quite dangerous so it's probably ironic that she would want to do that. So far nothing bad has happened and she's really doing her best to keep it that way.]

I assume that you sail with another crew, are you a captain as well?

Ahhh, yeah. [Even more good things to hear. Elsa was trying to get on his good side, wasn't she?]

I'm the the Fire Fist--Captain of the Spade Pirates--formally, Ace D. Portgas.

[She notes the different last name and assumes that either Luffy or Ace are using their mother's maiden name, it makes sense with both standing as pirates. Using the same name would drag attention to it and either give one of them enemies that try to get them in order to hurt the other, or make them live under the other's shadow as "Luffy's brother" or "Ace's brother" rather than as pirates on their own.

She's more interested in the nickname anyway.]

Would you prefer me to refer to you with something else instead of Ace?

[Just in case he doesn't really like to be called by his name by strangers, even if he didn't complain before.]

... "Fire Fist", is that just a nickname or do you possess powers like Luffy?

I ate the Flare Flare Fruit, so I'm a fire man. [He'd show Elsa, but, well, journals.]

But, Ace works just fine. It's the name my mother gave me, so it ought to work just fine!

[People with ice powers and fire powers... No wonder Luffy wasn't that surprised by her own magic. From his point of view it probably just seems boring.]

All right, Ace it is then. Will you be able to come to celebrate Luffy's birthday?

I plan on it. Who knows if I'll make it, but I can come over pretty quickly with my Striker.

[He whistled, laughing just a touch.]

Long as I don't hit a bad storm.

Is the Striker your personal sailboat?

[She hopes no bad storms come his way. She was never really there for Anna's birthdays and still regrets it. And she wants Luffy to have everything he can have, especially today.]

Yeah. I couldn't bring it with me here, but one of my crewmates built me a new version of it--and, it even works a lot better than my old one.

[Admittedly, using the Striker tired him out a bit more now than it did before, but it was still extremely time efficient.]

I was under the impression that we could bring nothing with us beyond our clothes, so I'm not surprised. It's good fortune that your crewmate was able to build a new one as I assume from your words that it's not a common sailboat.

[And thus none of the ones that could be bought would be satisfying for him.]

[Ace kept a knife, but then--that was a small thing and no more bulky than his clothes, so he didn't notice.]

Good fortune would have kept the guy here, but he vanished.

He was havin' fun with us, after all.

Vanished... Do you think he returned to his world? Just like that?

[That's... She doesn't like how that sounds.]

That's what I've heard happens. I know he wasn't killed or kidnapped, because he was here one moment and gone the next.

There would have been a trail or something and the likelihood he jumped off the boat was low. [Ace would have really noticed and he would have flown into a rage, so he knows it was the gentler endgame.]

I didn't know that could happen. It's... A bit unsettling if we're not given even the chance to say goodbye... Or decide if we want to stay.

[And she was only worried about what would happen once the magic gem was completed. She's such a fool.]

The world isn't that kind, y'know. Closure ain't exactly common and even then, it's not exactly the thing we need.

[He's had brothers and sisters killed in combat and he's avenged them, just the same--but, none of it made him feel better.

He wanted them back, more than much else.]

Just be happy with the moments you've got and don't make the 'end' the most important thing.

I know that the world isn't kind at all, and that a satisfying closure is pretty much a myth. But... I guess I was just being naive and not wanting to think much about it, since I've no wish for this to end.

[A heavy sigh.]

Of course I know that that's a foolish idea, as much as I want to keep sailing and following Luffy, he has to return to his world to become the Pirate King. But as selfish as it is, I personally won't complain if it takes him a bit longer to do so.

Don't worry too much about it. You're sailing with him, after all--and there isn't anyone in the world who lives in the moment more than Luffy.

[She smiles slightly, and though it's not visible it can be noticed in her tone as she answers.]

That's true... Though living in the moment doesn't always mean that he's the most conscious about the situations he's in. At least not the way most people would.

He and I are brothers until the end and we have the same promise in mind: to live freely and without regret.

So, you're lucky, Miss. Regardless of his weird personality, his finer qualities are never gonna go away.

"To live freely and without regrets"... That's a very impressive and ambitious promise. It may be very hard to keep it, though I have the feeling that you both know that already and that it does nothing to change your mind.

Oh, I know that I'm very lucky to have met him and have him as my captain, even without this new hindsight. It is a relief though, to know that those things won't go away.

We've lived that way so far. If anything, my brother's been catching up to me pretty well, given the last bounty I've seen for him.

'300,000,000' beri! It's impressive, for a kid that's been sailin' for just a year!

I wish I could know how much that would be in krones, but 300,000,00 of anything is very impressive. I take that he must have been bothering the "right" people to get it that high in such a short time.

If it's okay for me to ask, how much was your bounty back home?

550,000,000. It kinda slowed down when my temper slowed down, but it coulda been higher if I kept being really immature.

[And if he hadn't joined the Whitebeard pirates. It was easier for him to get into trouble and have that trouble put on his own name alone when he was the Captain.]

Luffy did even crazier things than I did, though. He's an impressive kid brother to have.

I still find it a very impressive bounty. I think the highest bounty Arendelle ever offered for a pirate was 5,000 krones. If a country in the world I'm from had to pay the amount of your bounty... Let's just say that they could declare the man that caught you king and it would still not cover half of the reward.

[Luffy's world sounds more and more complex and different the more she hears of it. How does it even work?]

You're very proud of him, aren't you?