Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Also I didn't quite know what categories to put this in…so sorry if it's in the wrong ones. -_-U

So without further ado, enjoy! :D

The Girl I Once Knew

It was just about that time of day again so I sat down in the middle of my boat, slinging my backpack off my back and into my awaiting lap. I opened the bag and began to dig for the little food I had left.

As if to remind me that I was starving my stomach growled. "I know I know." I grumbled pawing through the random assortment of things I had stowed away in the bag. "I'm getting there."

Where was that stupid sandwich? I impatiently wondered as I began pulling things out hoping to find that sandwich faster.

Even though Pop's ship was in sight, it was so far away and I just couldn't wait to eat until I reached it. However, I'd be able to make it if I stopped for a snack.

But pulling out one particular item I paused, hesitant to carelessly toss it aside, unwilling to mindlessly throw it into the pile of stuff that had accumulated at my side. In my hand was something I hadn't seen for a while, honestly I thought I had lost it. The week following the discovery that it wouldn't be found no matter where I looked I had been a complete and total asswipe to any and every one.

For in my hand was a worn journal soft with age. Its cover was cracked and creased, its edges folded and even slightly ripped. The sides were dirty and stained. And the spine, where binding was coming undone, had been taped in several different places. Said tape was now yellowed but still doing its job of holding the journal together quite well.

It had fallen open to a page somewhere in the middle.

The writing my eyes were met with made my heart stop. It made my chest seize up and my breathing quicken.

This journal had been well loved by two different people for two very different reasons.

It was a diary. It was the one place someone could write down everything they felt and thought. It would never spill their secrets, not willingly at least. Between the covers reality could be recorded from their perception. And they could confide within its blank pages everything they couldn't say aloud, the things they couldn't tell anyone, and the things they did not wish to share with anyone.

Of course that was until I found it. After that all those secrets spilled out one after another until there were no more secrets to be had.

I could quote most of the journal, in fact I knew the first entry by heart, or at least some of it. I had read and reread this thing so many times that when I looked at the entry titles I'd know exactly what memory would come next.

My hunger and the thought of that sandwich had completely vanished as I flipped to the very first page of the journal. With my eyes closed I silently mouthed the first few sentences.

The other day I woke up in a strange place only to find that I was on the ship of the infamous Whitebeard. I'm pretty sure I fainted because the next thing I know is that I'm opening my eyes to find some shirtless weirdo in my face. No sooner had I sat up did he shamefully fall into me. That wouldn't have been so bad, I could have forgiven him. But his face pressed right into my chest! The nerve of that man! They said that he had something wrong with him that made him randomly fall asleep but that's a bunch of bullshit!

As I reached the end of what I could remember with my eyes closed I felt my mouth curl up into what Kira had on many accounts described as 'that sly little grin'. It hadn't been my fault that she hadn't believed the crew, though I didn't blame her for not believing them.

Even now, after so long, I could still feel her rage. I was no longer sitting in my little yellow boat but instead meandering down one of the ships corridors. The hallway was empty except for me and a girl, who was storming towards me, a scowl set on her face, green eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. As clear as day, over the quiet noise of the sea, I could hear her angry voice over.

"You!" She seethed stopping in front of me and jabbing a finger into my chest. "You're that guy who face planted into my chest aren't you?!"

And even though it was a question she had asked her fierce green eyes had told me that she had already made up her mind. She knew it was me. She wasn't even giving me the benefit of the doubt.

Sheepishly I rubbed the back of my head, the sweat drop forming as I closed my eyes and smiled, trying to scrounge up a good apology. I hadn't meant to do that, it wasn't my fault that my narcolepsy had to kick in right then and there. But because I had closed my eyes I had never seen it coming. With my eyes open I would have seen it coming but there was probably nothing I could have done to stop the attack.

One second I was trying to apologize and the next I was on the floor watching her storm away, trying to figure out what had happened. The side of my face throbbed and for the next day I was trying to piece together if she had really punched me or not. Seastone, it was the only way she would have been able to have sent me reeling. And yet I hadn't seen a single ounce of it on her.

As if the blow were fresh I lifted my hand to the left side of my face and rubbed the jaw that she had punched that day.

After much searching and watching her closely, I discovered that she did indeed have seastone, a single band around each finger except for her thumbs. Each ring had a swirling design that crept over her knuckles and covered them enough so that she could pack quite a punch. And that discovery made me determined to avoid her fists.

However as much as I tried they came in contact with me on several accounts for several different reasons. Sometimes she was just playing around and other times…well it would have been better to lay low until her anger had been released on something, or someone, that wasn't me.

Pulling myself out of the memory, I turned the page. Kira's anger at me for me falling asleep on her chest during our first meeting scoured the next several pages, almost ripping through the first page. On the flip side of that page was her plan of revenge, punching me, which took up half of the page. And the events that filled up the rest of the page were the results of her revenge.

And even though I had never heard her laugh because of that little victory her joyous words that celebrated her 'victory' called to mind the small jingle of her laughter.

And while Kira didn't laugh often, the most heard often heard of them was the quiet chuckle hidden behind a calloused hand.

Unfortunately the most allusive laugh of hers was the one that I had only had the privilege of hearing once. She had been laughing so hard that her face had turned red; her breathing coming in frighteningly irregular gasps. It was the one time that she had sobered up only to look at me and start the process all over again because I hadn't been done laughing myself. She had worn this desperate expression on her beet red face as she snorted and fought for air. And even though the object of humor was long forgotten we had found it funny for many more minutes.

I don't even remember what it was that had set her off. While it was something I had said or done I just wish I could remember what it was that had been so funny. Maybe if I had known I would have done it again just to get the same kind of reaction out of her.

I wonder if Kira remembers what it was. My mind wandered without my permission. The inquisition instantly unfurled the smile on my face.

I scowled.

Of course she'd remember. While her memory wasn't perfect, it was pretty damn good, which was helpful more often than not. But it was also a curse at times as well, especially when me or someone else had said something particularly stupid either to her or to someone else and she had caught the exchange she'd always recite exactly what we had said, word for word wether it was her business or not. This often times got her in trouble but we had learned quickly that she could hold her own.

The worst part about her memory though and how she used it against most everybody was that she never had any remorse! I think she enjoyed it truth be told.

With a sigh I turned my thoughts back to the journal in my lap and skimmed the next few entries, which were simply about how she had adjusted to the crew over the following month. There were some mentions of Thatch, of Marco, Pops of course, some other random guys, and girls, the nurses and more often than not me. But I was searching for a certain entry, reading each heading carefully as not to pass it up.

Why was I mentioned more often than not?

Well according to her I 'just wouldn't leave her alone'. I was 'constantly bothering' her. And 'always in her face'. She also found my 'condition' as she always wrote, with the quotations around it and everything, a large number of things including but not limited to 'freaky', 'annoying', 'just an excuse for him to sleep', 'hell just an excuse for a lot of things', 'obnoxious' and 'occasionally amusing'.

Ah there it was! I stopped on the page labeled First Adventure.

That was always a fun one to read.

It was several pages long because it described a twenty one and a half day 'adventure' as she had been so kind as to call it. Unfortunately there were a few pages missing but, that's because they had been ripped out long before I had found the journal.

Our first adventure had lasted exactly three weeks namely because of me and the fact that we had to play catch up to the Moby Dick. They had actually left on time, something that did not happen often, and hadn't thought to come get me, though they had left my boat.

For once we're actually headed towards an island. We're going to dock and everything. Every day we draw closer the division captains are pestering me to pick a division to belong to. And, as always, Ace is being not only the most persistent but also the most annoying. When he's not bothering me he's actually not half bad. I've heard him say a few wise things to a few select people and when he'd not being stupid he seems quite intelligent. *sigh* if only he'd show that side more often.

We're docking! We're docking!

The next entry read, divided by three straight lines across the page.

I don't know what to expect but since it seems this island is a fire island, or so Marco said. That certainly explained why it is getting so hot and why the water is practically boiling around us. I decided to tell the division leaders that I was going to test the waters, starting with the second division. They say it doesn't make sense as to why I wouldn't start with the first division but Ace is made of fire, this is a fiery island, it makes sense in my head and that's all that matters. I don't have to explain myself to them.

The first time I had read this I hadn't been aware of her logic. I had thought that she was just choosing me because she liked me best. It had certainly explained why on earth she had shrugged my arm off of her shoulder…looks like she hadn't been 'in a mood' and it hadn't 'her time of month' either.

The island had indeed been a fire island. Before we were allowed to enter the island we had been led through a place that was called the coating pit. That was where we had been drenched with what had seemed, at the time, to be freezing water.

However, even though we had been told that it would protect us from the element of the island, we soon found out that we could bathe in the lava, which acted as cannel throughout the city, if we so desired. Our clothes had been made fire proof as well, meaning we could catch on fire and not even know it. Our skin, our clothes, our hair, not a single thing would catch fire or even singe a single one of us.

Of course that wasn't too big of a deal for me but Kira was mystified, diving head first into the lava and going out of her way to catch herself on fire. She wasn't the only one who did this. However she was the first one to do it.

After taking care of business on the island we had been told that we had two weeks of 'free time' to do whatever the heck we wanted.

So I had dragged Kira to a bar with the crew. If I hadn't been the one to drag her there someone else would have done the deed. There at the bar we discovered that Kira could hold her liquor quite well, beating some of the best drinkers of the crew. However after getting totally shit faced and passing out mid stride I decided to take her to a hotel room to let her recover in peace.

I had done nothing indecent to her except remove her clothes, just her shirt, shoes and pants, because she was burning up. I also put a cold washcloth on her forehead to cool her down a bit and hoped for the best when she woke up.

However the best was not what I got. absent-mindedly I had fallen asleep in the same bed next to her. She was on top of the covers and I was under them. Yet when she woke up I had been jolted awake by screaming and her feet kicking me in my thigh over and over. I had scrambled out of the bed faster than Luffy when he smelled meat, wide awake and as confused as hell. After we sprang up from the bed things started flying.

That had not been the slightest bit fun.

First was her boot, then it was the other boot. And because I cared so much about her having footwear and not being beaten because it was my fault her boots had been melted, I had dodged the flying objects instead of letting them pass through me. After the boots it was a religious book that went flying, then the lamp and the alarm clock and THEN a chunk of the rock wall, and then another chunk. Rock after rock she threw, an endless supply of ammo if she so wished, unfortunately for me.

"What the hell?!" I shouted dodging yet another rock. It shattered against the mirror behind me. I glanced between her and the mirror several times with wide eyes. So much for having a hangover.

"What the hell?!" She echoed indignantly. "What did you do to me?!"

At the question my hands balled into fists. I hadn't been able to believe that she had asked that question. Though looking back I suppose I understood where that question had come from. I was a bit of a 'strange man' and she had 'fallen asleep' fully dressed. It didn't help that I had fallen asleep next to her. But at the time I had been furious.

What kind of 'something' did she think I had done?! "Nothing." I growled angrily, ducking just seconds after.

"If you're not honest I'm going to take your head!" There was a brief pause where she narrowed her eyes at me and was poised to leap over the bed and lunge. She'd probably go for my throat. "Why am I naked?"

Kira was not naked. Covering her upper body was a black sports bra, nothing special. Unfortunately covering her lower half was a black lacy pair of underpants. And dead smack in the middle of the pair was a tiny little red bow. I had not been prepared for that when I had slid her pants off.

"You've still got your undergarments on." I couldn't help but point out. I don't think she'd be half as angry if she had seen the blush on my face when I had removed her pants.

Her usual outfit had consisted of baggy grey sweatpants in which she shoved into boots that went only an inch or two above her ankle, a red long sleeved shirt that hung off of one shoulder and a black sports bra with only one visible strap. Across the top hem of the shirt was a band of white stretching from shoulder to shoulder, said shirt also did not reach her belly button but instead somewhere just above it.

However those words had not been the smartest thing to say. It was as though I had pointed the gun at myself and then proceeded to pull the trigger. She was a speeding bullet, diving over the bed, screaming through the air as she sped towards me. There was no way to avoid her and so to the floor we fell.

We hadn't gotten very far in terms of determining a winner when the door was thrown open to reveal about half of the crew. However neither of us had paid any attention until someone cleared their throat and said, "Ace. Kira. I take it the two of you are alright." Again at the time I had not understood the question. I suppose we had been making a bunch of noise, enough to raise suspicions or alarm.

The sound of Marco's voice had caused the same reaction, we both froze. My hands were shoving against her shoulders, one of her hands was fisted in my hair, and the other poised to punch. Our legs were tangled up like yarn and both of us were facing the group of people that had accumulated around our doorway.

"No. We're doing just fine." She answered tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her head. From below I watched her smile sweetly at them and said, "Actually Ace," As she spoke my name the hand in my hair tightened. I grabbed her wrist and began trying to yank her free. ", won't be ok when I'm done with him. Now if you don't mind step out of my room and close the door."

I remembered that Marco had actually obeyed, backing up and quietly closing the door. As the door had closed his blue eyes told me that I was going to explain things wether I wanted to or not. Eventually we had called it a truce, only after she had forced an apology. The reason it was forced was because I wasn't going to apologize for something I didn't do. But in the end she had won and gotten what she wanted.

Hungry I had dragged her to a restaurant and proceeded to order several of everything. And when she tried to steal my food I stabbed her hand like I would have had she been Luffy. I had no regrets stabbing her and she seemed to get the message.

The thing that I could never figure out was when I woke up, howshe gotten food.

She claimed that I had been asleep when she had ordered and that the waitress had taken the plate that was next to be eaten because she thought I was done.

I think that she stole it but, I could never be certain.

After inhaling that meal I dragged her out of the restaurant and deep into the island. My destination was the huge volcano at the very center of the island. According to some locals that was where some ferocious beasts and the place their god resided. Said got was a fearsome being made of volcanic rock, oozing lava. Regardless if that 'god' was just a devil fruit user or not, I wanted to explore and I knew that Kira had nothing better to do, so with me she was forced to come.

We camped several nights before reaching our destination. Each night was a different experience at the very least. One night I remember that she slept outside of the tent, the other night we had laid in each other's arms and stargazed through the haze of the heat of the island. For each day we traveled and night we camped out there was one side of a piece of paper dedicated to it.

And even though she was mad at or annoyed with me most of the time, this evident in both her behavior then and the journal I had invaded, I think she enjoyed it more than she had ever let on in writing and her behavior.

Our little camping expedition had taken longer than intended and by time we got back to the shore there was no ship waiting for us but instead a little yellow boat that was meant to fit one person, me. They hadn't been kind enough to leave a rowboat for Kira.

"So how are we getting there?" She proceeded to point at the ship in the distance. The one we were supposed to be on. "I am not getting into this thing." As if to emphasize her point she nudged my yellow boat with the toe of her boot. But out options were limited and so I was left with no choice but to do what I had done.

"Are too." And with that I grabbed her around the waist, threw her over my shoulder and leapt into my boat. I was going to pay for this later but I wasn't going to leave her, not now that she was a part of the crew. She relentlessly beat at my back and kicked at my face, shouting profanities and loud protests as we sped towards the Moby Dick. Maybe it was a good thing we didn't have a rowboat.

Needless to say the very first thing she did when I decided I needed a break was punch me in the jaw like she had the time I had fallen asleep on her chest. As her fist collided with my jaw she shouted the words, "Don't you ever do that again." I had never seen it coming and because of that I found myself stumbling back, my feet scrambling to find purchase on the floor of my boat. But when none were found I found myself falling back through the air.

I remembered the feeling of falling, it is not a pleasant one that's for sure.

Before me I witnessed the transformation of her angry green eyes. They had widened with realization. I remember quite vividly how I had instinctively reached for her, how I had hoped to catch myself and how she had done the exact same thing, our goals were the same and that was to stop me from falling into the water. It didn't matter that she was the one that had set me into action. Even now I could feel her fingertips ghosting my wrist and the 'oh shit' look on her face as we narrowly missed each other. I could feel my hand slipping past hers and then the sensation of falling into the paralyzing water.

Down.

Down.

Down.

I had sunk.

My limbs had been frozen. My air escaping to the surface in the form of quivering domes. My mind freaking out. It was the feeling of hopelessness that had taken over. There was nothing I could do to save myself.

Farther and farther away the surface slipped from my grasp. My mind and body was panicking. Unlike normal people I had sunk like a hammer. I did not, still do not, have the ability to claw my way towards the surface. The weight of my clothes weren't what had dragged me down into its inky depths.

Despite what was going on inside of my mind, despite the fear and the choas, despite the situation everything had been so serene down there, so quiet and… well blue. The sun was an orb of light whose rays penetrated the water and wavered within the current. Above me a few fish ventured and my boat bobbed as if nothing was amiss.

And then, all of the sudden, the water exploded into a frenzy of white bubbles, that were racing towards the surface in a sudden burst. A determined expression was set in her features, worry danced in her eyes and I decided that if we lived I'd forgive her for sending me overboard.

She grabbed my wrist, this time her grip strong. Once Kira had ahold of me she then kicked towards the surface. I could feel her urgency as she did what I could not do myself. I remember being worried that we wouldn't make it. I remember how I had prayed that Kira would succeede.

Without warning we broke the surface, both gasping for air the watery expanse had deprived us of. She swam over to the side of my boat and pulled me over the side so that I hung on it while she hoisted herself up and into my boat.

After regaining her balance she reached for me, grabbed both wrists, and then began pulling me up, with much effort. Her arms were shaking, her lips blue, but she was determined, that much was obvious, overriding the exhaustion so clear in her features and body language.

She hadn't been prepared for the waters sudden release and so she stumbled and fell back, me landing on top of her, my arms braced on either side of her head. I thought that she was going to punch me again, this time for landing in such a compromising position, but she didn't. Instead she laid there, panting with one hand over her heart. I pushed off of her only to flop back in a similar fashion, her feet at my head and my feet at her head. Only I had one knee bent and now she had moved so that we each had enough space to lie.

"I'm sorry." Was the first thing she had said.

"For which part?" I asked slowly closing my eyes and then slowly opening them.

"The water." She confirmed my suspicions with that statement.

So under my breath I muttered. "That's what I thought."

For the next hour we recuperated, talking to each other between gasps and pants for air.

The next few entries were about the week it took to get back to Pops and the crew. And let me tell you they all got a kick out of the fact that we had to play catch up. It had probably been a game to them, they had probably kept an eye on the two of us, deriving great pleasure and maybe even making bets as they watched us.

Of course by time we had made it back we not only looked bad but we smelled worse. Kira's aurburn hair was limp and nearly balck in color. Every inch of exposed skin was burned so badly that she could hardly move. She was half dead on my back, my backpack on her back and my boat back where it belonged. I hadn't been much better. I was starving, smelled like dead fish, my hair was greasy and I felt horrible. My face hurt as well, I think it got burned because I had insisted that Kira take it to sheild her face from the sun.

Half-conscious she had snapped at them to shut up because if they hadn't thought to leave us then we wouldn't have had to catch up to them.

Of course that didn't have the right effect but, when she said that after a shower and some sleep she had an announcement to make they had gotten quiet, well not quiet but they had stopped laughing at us and our states of being and began trying to figure out what it was she was going to announce.

After a shower, an ungodly amount of food, some sleep and knowing that Kira would be fine the crew was going to have hell to pay.

But it turns out that announcement was nothing more than to say that she was going to start with the first division, skip the second division and continue on with the third before she made her decision. Though she had threatened that she was leaning more towards my division and that's because of the week we had shared on the open sea and what they had done to us.

At the end of the entry describing our return I decided to take a little break. As I streched I arched my back, pushing my shoulders back before rolling my neck. There were several pops to be heard. The time was noted before I flipped the page and resumed reading.

I was far from close to quitting. Now that I had started the journey down memory lane I couldn't stop until the road ended. But I had all the time in the world, it did not matter how long I took. Of course it'd be hard to read in the dark and I refused to light the night with my fire, I refused to put it so close to something so dry, flammable and valueable. But I still had plenty hours of day left to use up reading and reminiscing.

The next seven pages, the front/back of one page per division, were devoted to her week in those said division. And so the next entry of interest was the one where she announced which division she would decide to go with.

Yesterday I completed the week with the last division and so I promised that I would make my decision and announce it tomorrow. The problem? I don't know who I'm going to choose. I wouldn't want to make a liar out of myself, so I had better make up my mind tonight. Really they've all been great, I've had a lot of fun…and mishaps…with them but, it's been fun. I don't want to upset them with a decision, they're men so who knows maybe I'll hurt their pride. I don't know. But I guess we'll find out who I decide it'll be after I sleep on it.

I hadn't realized that Kira didn't even know who she was going to pick until the time of the announcement until I had picked up the journal and opened it up. That was one thing that I had come to learn about her, she loved to do things at the very last minute. So maybe she hadn't come to a conclusion until she addressed the crowd that had gathered to hear her decision.

It has been a clear day with a gentle breeze, a blazing blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Next to Pops' chair Kira stood, slightly elevated above the crowd. She was going to make her decision once Pops gave her the ok. But until then she spoke quietly to him.

In the end her decision wasn't really that big of a deal. However we had turned it into a competition. So money and pride was on the line and only her words would determine the winners. A hush had fallen over the deck as the men held their breaths. Money was clutched tightly in hands, waiting to be passed into the hands of another and then into another few. Quiet prayers to be correct were muttered, the soft breeze carried those prayers away.

Auburn hair fluttered in the wind, green eyes bright as the anticipation built itself up until it was nearly unbearable. And only then did she open her mouth to address us. "Members of the Whitebeard Pirates," She began with much grandeur. ", I have made my decision. The division I will belong to will be the," As if to torture us she had drawn out the end vowel of the last word. Each and every second that passed had been torturous and if she didn't reveal her decision soon I was going to pop. Fortunately before I had been able to erupt she said two words that really mattered. ", second division."

I had let out a whoop of joy, grabbing my hat and waved it wildly around in the air above me. I hadn't even been a division captain for more than three months and I had already recruited someone. Before I knew it I had shoved my way up to where she was standing and threw my arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around in the process.

I know I shouldn't have chosen Ace's division. God he nearly killed me today after I made the announcement. I suppose he was happy to have won, his pride just got an unnecessary boost and I think he might have cracked a rib…not sure on that last one yet. Though I'll get it checked out sooner or later if it doesn't stop hurting. Turns out no one's feelings were hurt, no one was mad at me. In fact they all swarmed me, congratulating me on the decision and saying how it was a good one and how they forgave me for not choosing their division. Actually the only ones who weren't in a good mood were the ones who had lost all, or some of their money. But that was their faults not mine, so I have no sympathy for them.

I flipped the page only to have several small glossy slips of papers sticking out of the crack between the pages.

It's been a few days since I joined the second division and I still don't know if I'm happy with my decision or not. I guess only time will tell. Right now I'm hiding from Ace. Today someone found a camera and decided that one of the nurses should take a picture of the crew.

No harm there right?

Well at first there wasn't. We all squished in around Pops and looked at the camera. That was all fine and dandy until it went missing. We all disbanded to find the camera to see Ace with it in hand, grinning widely as some people fled from the lens and others posed before it. After one picture was taken he turned and took another picture before whipping his head back and forth as though he were searching for someone. I took that time to get below deck. I figured that he was looking for me, and if he isn't right this instance he'll be on the hunt for me, I just know it. So that's why I'm hiding in a supplies closet, behind the door and wedged between a few boxes of something or rather. Hopefully he won't find me.

Again the page was divided by a few lines. And then the entry continued on, made up of a meager four words,

Dammit he found me!

I smiled yet again. I hadn't gotten punched but the glare I had received could have frozen hell over. But in the end I had gotten my pictures. After one of the two of us I dragged her around the ship and took pictures with her and everyone. I had even gotten people to take pictures of us and other crew members.

We even got one with Pops, who was laughing at us and our antics.

I took the pictures out of the journal and slowly shuffled through them. Each one a snapshot of time. Each photo brought forth another piece of the day I had gone crazy with the camera until the last picture was reached. And by time it was the day had been pieced together, not a single piece was missing. The jiggsaw had been completed.

In the first one she was glaring back at me with the same frosty look she had given me when I had fallen asleep on her chest. I was glad that looks could not kill. If they could I'd have been killed by now. Beside her I stood leaning towards her with a grin on my face and an arm around her shoulder, looking oblivious to her stiff stature and the glare she was shooting at the lens.

The next was the one with Pops. We stood on either arm of his chair, our arms thrown around his neck. The same grin was plastered on my face and this time, instead of a glare Kira was smiling, it was only the upturn of her lips but there was a glint in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Pops was smiling with his barrel of sake lifted towards the camera, in the process of nodding his head and smiling at the camera.

I placed that one behind the previous one. A new picture greeted me.

This one was me and some other guys making strange faces, our tongues sticking out of our mouths, our mouths stretched wide as though we were Luffy and had rubbery mouths. In the middle was Kira. One of my fingers was hooked on her mouth, pulling it towards me.

In retrospect that had not been a good idea. But I still had all of my fingers so it was all good.

Her green eyes were not looking at the camera but instead towards me. Her fist was cocked back and even though I was pulling on her mouth she was obviously frowning. And even though I was making a weird face the camera had captured the change between joking around and 'oh shit'.

Laughing aloud I flipped to the last one. This one was of Thatch, Marco, Kira and I. This was the only smile where she was smiling for real. But that's because Thatch had discovered that she was ticklish. And so as Haruta reached the number three and pressed the button Thatch had grabbed her side. And while he had gotten punched for that move the picture turned out perfect, looking as though we were all friends who liked each other.

But there was one missing. It was the one with the entire crew crowded in around Pops.

No, there were two missing from this stack.

The picture had been hard to get, seeing how it was the only one where she was smiling while in my presence with the camera of her own free will. Looking back I wondered what was wrong with her, why she had decided to put up with me and smile so brightly. In the picture we were both flashing peace signs with our hands, our arms around each other's necks. Both of our eyes were scrunched closed, big grins spread across our faces.

I lied. There were a total of three pictures missing. We had taken two of the ones where it was Thatch, Marco, me and, Kira. Thatch hadn't learned his lesson the first time and he had grabbed her side again as Haruta retook the picture. The third time Haruta gave up and told us to find someone else to take the picture for us.

And since they hadn't been there when I had found the journal I wasn't worried that I had lost them. Though from time to time I wondered where those three pictures had wondered off to.

Of course after the picture spree I hadn't returned the camera. In fact I used it for my pranks on the crew and getting even for leaving us on that fire island. Occasionally I pulled it out of its hiding spot and randomly took pictures of people. Sometimes they were good, and other times you could tell when I got caught, actually that was most of the time. Eventually someone had enough and destroyed it, putting an end to my picture taking fun.

That one entry about her hiding was the only entry that spoke of me and the camera, though she had caught me quite a few times trying to catch her smiling or getting proof that she wasn't alway mad at people.

And so after putting those pictures back where they belonged I skipped the entry on the next page and flipped it over.

This one was titled WHAT?! THE!? HELL?!

All in caps, and in bold. I remembered this one.

A/N: So if anyone cares my inspiration for this fic was the song Champagne's for Celebrating by Mayday Parade. And for some reason it made me think of Ace… It was the inspiration for the last line- wish I said don't go…or something like that. Lol. I hadn't intended to make this more than one chapter. But it was getting kind of long so I decided to split it up so that it wouldn't get too terribly long.

I certainly hope you enjoyed The Girl I Once Knew. Thanks for taking your time to read this fic. : )

I'd love to hear what y'all thought of it. If you liked it, if you didn't like it. If I screwed up somewhere in the sentences and think it would sound better written a different way. Also were things confusing? I hope not. If they were how might I correct it?