One Piece: A Brother's Love
One Piece © Oda
Summary- Ace comes back from hunting to find that Luffy has taken ill. With Dadan and the gang out, Ace's only chance to save his little brother is at the village. Can he make it in time?
(A/N: Ace is 11 in this story and Luffy is 8.)
It was another usual evening on Mt. Colbo…and yet, somewhat different, as well.
At least that's what Portgas D. Ace figured.
Lately, his little brother, Monkey D. Luffy, has been acting a bit stranger than usual.
First off, he wouldn't eat as much, which somewhat surprised Ace. Second of all, there were times where he said he felt woozy and looked like he was about to faint, not to mention the fact that he seemed a bit warmer than normal. Third, and possibly the strangest of all, Luffy would tell Ace to go and hunt for food without him, saying that he was tired and that he just needed a nap.
Something in the pit of Ace's stomach told him that something was wrong with his brother, but he ultimately decided to ignore it.
On this evening, however, he was going to wish that he didn't.
Ace was just returning from making a big kill in the jungle. He was carrying a huge fish over his head.
As he walked into the Dadan House, which was currently empty, that rather sickening twinge in his stomach returned.
He decided that he decided to listen to it, for once, and called for his little brother.
"Yo, Luffy!" Ace called. "I'm back, and check this huge fish I got! You won't be goin' hungry tonight, li'l bro, I promise you that!"
There was no response. No cheering for food, no cry of Ace's name from Luffy…not hide, hair, or straw hat of Luffy could be seen.
Now Ace was certain that something was wrong.
Luffy was always the first to greet him when he came home, so why didn't he appear this time?
At that moment, Ace heard something from down the hall. It sounded like…breathing. Labored breathing to be more precise.
"Luffy?" Ace called out, questioningly as he set the fish down and headed down the hall.
As he got closer to the room where Luffy was sleeping, the breathing got louder, and Ace could've sworn he heard a cough.
"Ace…!" a weak voice choked.
Ace gasped silently before he rushed down the hall and dashed into the room. What he saw the moment he entered shocked him.
There was 8-year-old Luffy, lying in a futon, drenched in a pool of sweat. His breath came out in short, labored breaths, and his cheeks were flushed red.
"Luffy!" Ace cried as he approached.
"Ace…" Luffy gasped before he let out a hard cough. "I don't…feel so good…"
Ace placed his palm on Luffy's forehead, but immediately pulled it back the moment he touched the skin.
It was way too warm.
Ace gritted his teeth as sweat of his own started to form on his face.
Damn it! he cursed in his head. I knew something was wrong! I just knew it!
As Luffy let out more coughs, Ace realized that he had to get him help, but where he could he find it?
Dadan and the rest of the bandits were gone and won't be back until later. Maybe even tomorrow morning! There was no way in hell he wasn't going to trust Garp, even though he wasn't on the island right now. Ace himself barely knew what to do when it came to these things!
Then, it dawned on him.
Ace could take Luffy to the village! After all, his little brother would sneak down there now and then, and no one even knew it. Not even Garp knew!
Maybe the doctor in the village could save him!
With that, Ace had made his decision.
Very carefully, he picked Luffy up with his sheets wrapped around him. He tied one sheet around himself and Luffy's back, using at as a makeshift papoose. Then, he grabbed his lead pipe.
"Hang in there, li'l bro," said Ace. "I'm taking you down to the village, okay?"
Luffy weakly craned his head to Ace, still letting out short breaths and coughs.
"Ace…" he said.
XXX
Ace bolted out of the house, making a beeline for Windmill Village. However, he couldn't have picked a worse night to do so.
Huge, dark rain clouds started to form above, and not long after, the rain started to pour down.
Ace mentally cursed Mother Nature for having the worst timing, but he remained calm. If he panicked now, then Luffy would also feel panicked, and that would only make his fever grow worse.
Ace ran as fast as he could through the jungle with Luffy strapped to his back. The pouring rain and the darkness of night made it hard to see, and Luffy was quite heavy, but he kept going.
After all, didn't he make a promise to Sabo that he would take care of him?
Please, Luffy, thought Ace. Just hang in there. Don't die on me!
As Ace ran through the jungle, he didn't notice that a pair of glowing yellow eyes were watching him from behind.
A shadowy figure stepped out from the foliage. It was huge, whatever it was, with a mouth full of fangs and oozing with saliva.
As lightning flashed, it was revealed to be a huge gray wolf.
The wolf wasn't the least bit interested in Ace. Luffy, however, was a different story.
In his weakened state, Luffy was more than likely to be seen as potential for predatory animals, like this wolf.
The wolf crept up behind Ace, who had just stopped to take a look around. He couldn't tell where he was, right now.
"Damn," Ace cursed. "Don't tell me I'm lost!"
Luffy's eyes fluttered open, but as he did, he suddenly spotted the wolf coming up from behind, licking its chops hungrily.
"A…Ace…" Luffy gasped.
"I know, Luffy, I know!" said Ace. "You don't feel so good! I'm working on it!"
"Ace…" Luffy gasped, again, with a bit of a cough. "W…wolf…"
At first, Ace thought that Luffy's fever was making him delusional, but then, he heard what sounded like growling from behind. He whipped around, just in time, to see the wolf lunge at him, mouth agape.
Ace threw his pipe at the wolf's jaw, sending it flying to the side.
As the wolf staggered to its paws, it was soon met with a menacing glare from Ace's eyes.
"You really shouldn't have done that, you big hairball," he hissed. "My little brother may be sick, but that doesn't mean that he's gonna be your next meal, you got that?"
The wolf, now scared out of its mind, nodded his head as it cowered against a tree, its tail tucked between its legs.
Ace suddenly made a rather malicious smirk.
"You know…" he said. "I could use you."
XXX
"Can't you run any faster, you damn fleabag?"
Ace was once again racing through the jungle path down to the village. This time, however, he was now riding on the wolf's back, using some vines as a bridle.
The humiliated wolf was now forced to be a steed for Ace and Luffy, the latter of whom was getting worse by the second.
His fever had risen and he was going in and out of unconsciousness.
If Ace doesn't get Luffy to the village soon…odds are he probably won't make it.
"Okay, Luffy," said Ace. "We're almost there. Just hold on a little bit longer, li'l bro. You hear me? Just a little bit longer!"
Luffy weakly nodded his head in understanding.
Just when it seemed that way, a bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds and struck a tree that was up ahead. The tree cracked and toppled over, right in front of the wolf. The result had spooked it, causing it to rear up on its hind legs, throwing Luffy and Ace off, before it bolted off, back into the jungle.
"No!" Ace shouted. "Come back here, you cowardly waste of fur! Come back! COME BAAAAAAAACK!"
The wolf kept running away, but Ace didn't attempt to go after it.
As the rain continued to fall, Ace dropped to his hands and knees. His body shivered, but not from the cold. A closer look revealed that his eyes were now closed in a futile attempt to trap his tears.
There was no way he could make it to the village on foot, especially with this huge tree in the way.
He had failed. He had failed Luffy, his little brother, when he needed him most. What was he going to do? Luffy was going to die and it was all his fault!
"I'm sorry, Luffy…" Ace sobbed. "I'm so sorry…!"
Luffy was still coughing and panting heavily.
"Sabo…" Ace whispered. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do what you told me…I'm a horrible big brother! Luffy's gonna die and it's all my fault!"
"So, what? You're turning into a crybaby, now?"
Ace gasped. That voice…could it be?
Looking behind him, the eleven-year-old saw…Sabo, standing on the tree, bathed in a heavenly glow!
"Sabo?" Ace questioned. "Y…you're alive? But how-"
"No time to for chitchat," said Sabo. "Our little brother needs you! Now, follow me!"
"But, Sabo," Ace began, "I won't make it to the village on foot!"
"You're gonna have to try if you wanna save Luffy's life!" Sabo argued. "Now let's go!"
With that being said, Ace followed Sabo down the path leading from the mountains. At first, he thought he was about to lose him, but he managed to keep up, even with Luffy tied to his back like this.
It felt like hours as Ace ran through the pouring rain, but it was, in reality, 25 minutes.
Before long, Ace had finally arrived at Windmill Village.
However, Sabo had disappeared from his sight.
He didn't really care, anymore, though. Ace knew how to get Makino's Party Bar, just not how to get to the doctor's office.
Wasting no time, Ace headed for the Party Bar, where Makino was close up shop and turn in for the night. When he got the door, he pounded his fists into them, so hard, that it looked like he was about to bash the door in.
"MISS MAKINO!" called Ace. "MISS MAKINO, PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! IT'S ME, ACE!"
The door opened, revealing Makino on the other side.
"Ace?" Makino said. "What are you doing here?"
"It's Luffy!" Ace said. "He needs help! Where's the doctor's place?"
By this time, Makino noticed Luffy, strapped to his older brother's back, gasping, wheezing, and coughing.
"Oh, my God," she gasped. "He does look pretty bad. Come on! Come with me!"
XXX
Ace and Makino had brought Luffy to the doctor's, and not a moment too late.
It turned out that Luffy was suffering from a case of pneumonia.
Ace couldn't help but feel rather surprised. Pneumonia was the same illness that Luffy's mother had contracted and died from. Luckily for Luffy, the doctor managed to treat it just in time, for Luffy was pushing himself to fight it off and hold on for as long as he could.
Despite this, Ace didn't feel fully relieved. He had to make sure that Luffy was really going to be all right, so he stayed by his bedside all night until he fell asleep in his chair.
Luffy awoke the next morning, his fever having gone down, but the doctor said that he had to stay a bit longer until it broke completely.
Ace didn't care, though. He was just glad that his little brother had survived his ordeal.
When Luffy first woke up, he greeted Ace with his usual grin and chuckle. Normally, Ace would clock him on the head with a hard punch, but instead, he just grinned back and ruffled his little brother's hair.
Then, Luffy told Ace that Sabo had come to visit him while he was sleeping. He told him that he was brave and a strong fighter.
Ace couldn't help but wonder, though, if it was really Sabo, seemingly having come back from the dead, that helped him last night…or if it was possibly an apparition of Sabo.
Either way, Ace believed that it was really his love for Luffy that had saved him, and that was all the convincing he needed.
Yeah, this was pretty rushed I guess.
Read and review, please!