Title: PACKING UP DREAMS
Info: One Piece x Bleach
Summary: Death is a door to another adventure- as Ace is soon about to find out.
Dream I: Warm Up
"…"
It was dark; he could hardly see a thing. What was he doing here?
"Oi! Rukia, we have another one here!"
Whose voice was that? He was sure he didn't recognize that voice… And who's Rukia?
"I don't think this one's ready yet Ichigo…"
Was that a female's voice? Is this what the previous voice had said? Rukia? What or who is Ichigo? A strawberry?
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
He wanted to know too; what had the voice's words meant. What were they talking about anyway? Were they talking about him?
More importantly, who was he?
"Open your eyes."
And so he did. Although he soon found out that it wasn't much of a good idea, the white light blinding him. He let out a groan, raising his hands to cover his eyes, hoping for some shade from the blinding light. He shut them tightly, before opening them more slowly this time, little by little, getting used to the light. Sitting up, he blinked at the view in front of him. There were the two figures in front of him; a male and a female- they both looked quite young though, probably only in their teens.
The male was fairly tall, he had a lean-built body and he wore what seemed to be some kind of black traditional clothing. On his face, was a fairly long and seemed to be permanent looking scowl on his face framed by orange locks. His brown eyes were filled with confusion, impatience, boredom and yet at the same time, a slight concern and a hidden fire within them. The sword he was wielding, resting on his shoulders was shaped like a enlarged kitchen knife.
...
Isn't it supposed to be heavy?
He shrugged it off; a man's strength is not judged by his appearance.
He then turned his head to the female one, fair and elegant in her own way. She was short and petite, with matching clothes to the male beside her- black. The black strand of hair seemed to be hanging between her violet eyes, though it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. She too had a sword- fairly thin like a kantana, and beautifully white colored, opposing to the male's black one.
They were both the opposite image of each other- reminding him of yin and yang.
He then switched his attention to his surroundings; the earth was hard and rocky, and the wind blew the air and dust around him, though he could hardly feel them. The sun was hidden behind the grey clouds, signaling that it might rain soon. But he had a feeling it won't- the weather was unpredictable after all. The ground was dry and large rocks could be seen around them, with trees around. He did not recognize the place he was at. Where was he?
His body was bruised and dirty, and there was this odd chain sticking out of his body…
"Who are you?"
Silence.
"Who are you?"
No voice.
"Let's just get this over and done with!" The orange haired teen grumbled loudly, swinging his large sword, "I still have chores to do back home!"
He unconsciously crawled back.
"Shut up!" The female turned to the guy, "You're scaring him with your sword! This one's not ready yet!"
"What do you mean he's not ready? His soul is separated permanently from his body right?" The male's voice was getting louder.
Soul? His body? What were they talking about? His mind couldn't understand a bit of what they were talking about. What he did know is that he didn't like the situation he was in right now. Not one bit!
"Who are you two?"
I'm Rukia, Kuchiki Rukia." The female answered him, "This idiot here i-" "Don't call me an idiot midget!" Ichigo cut her off, "It's Ku-Ro-Sa-Ki I-chi-go! You haven't answered my question yet! Why isn't this guy ready yet?" "His chain is not getting any shorter… he's not ready to depart yet." Rukai answered, "We can't send him away like this!"
"I don't even know there's such a thing like this!" Ichigo argued.
"I don't even know there's such a scum like you!"
His eyes turned wide, was that directed to him?
Who said that?
It wasn't the two currently arguing teens in front of him. Their voices do not match this one- this one was fierce, rough, covered with the intent to kill. His body was rigid frozen, his head was suddenly aching. Stiffly, he raised his hands to clutch his throbbing head. He clutched it hard and tried not to flinch.
"Damn it Midget! What's happening to him?"
"Damn it! Get out of here! A son of … does not deserve to live!"
Son of whom?
"Shut up idiot! I can't think, and don't call me a midget!"
"Shut up! You don't know anything!"
Was that his voice?
"Then don't call me an idiot!"
"Then don't tease my gomu-gomu! Let's go again!"
What? Who? Whose voice was that? He… wanted to hear that voice a bit more… it seemed so…
Familiar...
"This is not the time!"
Rukia rushed to him and touched his forehead with both of her hands. Her hands were cold, soft yet stiff and… comforting. Feels like a mother's touch… It gave him a bit more time to think, and lessened the pain on his head; he leaned closer to the cold touch, sighing in relief as he loosened his grip on his head.
"Are you all right now?" She asked.
"Seems he's fine now. Now, why isn't he ready yet?"
"Perhaps there's something he has to do first… A tie that he must severe before fully leaving…"
"Well let's find that tie then!" Ichigo declared, "What's your name?"
"I…" He found his voice alright, but, "I don't know…"
He couldn't find his name…
"Great" Ichigo sighed, "Now what?"
"Come on" Rukia decided, "You can stand up right?" He nodded in reply; she slipped her arm underneath his, the other hand reaching for his arm and placing it over her neck. She then helped him up, "All right, then, let's start, Can you try to remember?" She asked, "Do you at least remember your name?"
"I…"
Anger… "Spawn of a devil!"
Confusion… "You promised not to die no matter what… right?"
Eruption of magma.
"I… don't…"
"What if Gol D. Rodger had children?"
"Then they'd be in for a 'be-heading'!"
"Or How about we stick a needle in his body, one for every person in the world who was a grudge on Rodger?"
"Make it a 'Stake Burning'! Then all of the people of the world could watch and laugh at the way they look just before they die! You know what they'd all say? 'Serves ya right!' GYAHAHAHAHA!"
"I… I…UGH!" He knelt down, the pain had returned.
"!" The female was dragged down with him.
"Rukia!"
"Gramps… I… Do you think I really deserve to live?"
"You can only find out by living."
"I'm going to become a pirate!"
"Hiya! I'm …!"
'It's that voice again…' He thought, 'Who are you?'
"I'm L…y!"
'What?' He clutched his head harder, 'Say your name! Louder!'
"I'm Luffy!"
His eyes turned wide as saucers. He gasped for air, gulping them as if he had just resurfaced from the deep murky water.
"Luffy…" He murmured.
"Who's Luffy?" Ichigo asked.
"My…"
"What? You think I was dead?"
"But! A-"
"What are you crying for? Don't go killing off people when you feel like it, dummy!"
"It's a promise! I'm not going to die no matter what! Do you think I could die and leave a weak little brother like you behind?"
"My little brother…"
It felt like a declaration- breathless and tired, but a proud declaration nonetheless.
"Little Brother huh?" Ichigo smiled, "Ah… You must have cared for him a lot then… remembering his name before yours." "He must be your treasure then…" Rukia smiled softly, she then got up. "Ichigo, see what you can do to help him. I'm going to go look around." Her violet orbs stayed at his form until he nodded twice before closing themselves and disappearing with her body.
"So…what does this Luffy look like?" Ichigo asked as he sat down on the ground in front of him, placing his sword down next to him.
"He wears a straw hat on his head and… has a scar underneath one of his eye and black hair" He chuckled, "He's a reckless kid, and has a bad habit of making others worry about him..."
"Ah, I get what you mean," Ichigo nodded, remembering his own siblings back home, "You have to be there for them all the time and protect them."
"As a big brother, it is a big responsibility... you can't help but worry about them."
"Yeah, I got my own siblings back at home. Two little sisters. They can take care of themselves bus I worry about them all the same."
"Twins?"
"Pretty much..."
"Ichigo!" Rukia had seemingly popped out of nowhere and Ace had to raise an eyebrow in question. She waved the papers in her hands, "These papers look like those from your world…" "It's a newspaper idiot!" Ichigo got up whilst shaking his head, "Give me that!"
He snatched it out of her hands and began to read, but before he could actually turn a page, he was bonked by the female, "Don't call me an idiot, idiot!" "You get to call me one! So why can't I?" He accused. His hands flipped the pages, his eyes scanned the words before turning up to face him, "Seems like this guy is a pirate...You're Portgas D. Ace."
"Portgas D. Ace…" The older male whispered to himself.
"If it's a boy, his name is Ace... Gol D. Ace…"
His life flashed before his eyes.
"Ace! I heard you went crazy in town again!"
"Shut up! If I could, I'd kill them all!"
-/-
"With a clumsy brother like him, I'm always worried about him, you know?"
-/-
"Do your best Ace!"
"Just you wait; I'll be famous before you know it!"
-/-
"Get out of here! I'm here to claim the head of Whitebeard!"
-/-
"Oi, Oi... Slow down... the foods aren't going anywhere Ace. This party is for you after all"
"Ah... Thanks Thatch... hehehe...zzz..."
"..."
"HE FELL ASLEEP?"
-/-
"It's too late to stop it now; we have already angered the ruler of the seas"
-/-
"Never listening to a damn thing I say… always doing the stupidest damn things!"
"ACE!"
-/-
"I owe you one, thanks"
-/-
"Stopped by your father in blood; Roger. And couldn't become a king even after his death, Whitebeard is a failure! Called Pops by a bunch of scums... Acting so warm like a family roaming the seas...Roaming around for decades without becoming a king or anything. In the end he got hurt by his idiotic son which got cheated by some cheat talk! And he is giving his life to protect these people! Ain't that the emptiest life ever?"
-/-
"There is one regret I have... is that I won't be able to see your dream come true... But you... I know you can do it...! You're my little brother!"
"!"
"Hey! Ace! Oi! Answer me!" Rukia was shaking him right now, trying to snap him out of his current situation. "What… just happened?" Ace asked, as he tried to sit up straight. "Must be seeing flashbacks…" Ichigo replied, "Seems you got your memories back." "Yeah…" Ace shook his head to clear his thoughts, "I want to see my brother." Rukia stood up, "We will, after we explain to you about several things."
"I want to see my little brother now!"
"It can wait, for now-"
"It can't wait! I have to see him!" Ace burst into flames, "I've left him! I want to see how's he's doing right now without me! The last time he-!"
"A...ce?"
The flames around him grew hotter and larger at the memory of his younger brother. He was shivering and hugging his injured body and devastated because Luffy had never for once in his entire life frozen up solid like that.
He had to see him!
Ichigo held him down to the ground, his blade on the older man's throat.
"Damn it! Calm down! And-And turn off the damn flames!"
"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME! I-!"
Before he can fully get on his feet, he found himself frozen in an ice block way up till his shoulders; leaving the upper part from the neck intact. "Calm down." Rukia ordered him, her voice low. Her hands were steady on her glowing white blade, "If you have not noticed it now, you're now a soul without a body; literally meaning, you're dead."
"Dead? Then how the hell can I still move?"
"You're now a soul, souls usually are sent to heaven by shinigamis- Ichigo and I are such." Rukia explained "But we can't send souls away if they still have ties to the world of living."
"Ties? What ties?"
"Meaning, there are things that you have to do or want to do first before leaving this world." Ichigo explained as he got up; his clothes had several small burnt marks here and there. Huh, his flame is useful even in the afterlife.
"So, like a ghost?"
"You can put it that way." Ichigo replied with a shrug, "So, you get it now?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Once you see him, don't interact with him…" Rukia told him, "If you do, it'll interfere his life and warn people of our existence…" "And if our existence is known here, Hollows will start streaming in here," Ichigo continued, "As if this place hasn't have had enough monsters lurking around…"
Ace ignored the 'Hollows' part spoken by the orange-haired boy and stated he simply wanted to see his younger brother.
"Good, you catch up easily" Rukia praised his logic as she retreated her sword along with the ice, letting them melt by the latter's fire power. "And how are we going to find him by the way?" Ichigo asked, "The news said his whereabouts are unknown." "The same way you found me." Rukia answered, "With a connection that is always there…"
She turned to Ace, "Can you feel your brother's presence?"
"I… how do I do that?"
"Concentrate…hard! You'll know it when you find him; think about him."
"…"
"Well?"
"Amazon…Lily."
"That that's the place we're going."
As the sound of ribbons floated to the sky was heard, the sounds of chains rusting and eaten were ignored, yet was still there.
-Humans are the only beings that can kill with just words-
In Amazon Lily…
"DAAAAAMNNNIITTT! I am weak! I can't protect anything!"
Not far from the weeping boy, stood Jinbei watching as the poor boy drowned in his anguish and at his loss.
And beside him, though invisible to their eyes; there stood Ace along with Ichigo and Rukia, having arrived only several seconds ago. "So… that's your little brother…" Ichigo shook his head, "Kid looks like hell run over."
Ace gritted his teeth, was it just him or was everything getting even more blurry by the minute? He can't see anything pass the light and the blurs. His throat felt dry- something was blocking his breathing pipe. He wanted to choke. His hands were clawing his skin, itching for something to hold. His feet were restless, waiting to be given the moment to run. He wanted to run- far from here or perhaps... to his side. He didn't know which.
No interactions allowed.
"I can't do that. I can't stand looking at you hurt yourself like that" Jinbei told him, telling him to stop.
"It's my own body! I'll do as I please!".
"Well then, Ace's body was his own as well. Him dying is his own will."
"YOU SHUT UP! Any more word out of you, and I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"If that'll calm you down, you can try. I may be injured as well, but I wouldn't lose to you in a state like that...!"
Ace saw as his little brother moved to attack Jinbei, who avoided it by slamming the boy to the ground, hard.
No interactions allowed.
"Seems he needs your help…"
He wanted to scream his name out, yell and bring attention to him. Yell and wipe those pathetic tears from him because he never liked the sight of a crying child, even less when the kid is his own little brother. Yell and scream and trash and cry along with him because the kid wasn't supposed to be left all alone like this- oh gods, what had he done? Was this his punishment?
He still wants to yell. Yell and scream at Luffy to get the fuck back up because he can't- he just can't stand seeing him like this.
Get up, please get up- even if I'm not there, please.
No interactions allowed.
"Can you not see anything anymore! Your confidence to climb over any walls! Your own strength you never doubted! Numerous enemies whom you don't stand a chance to have broken both of those mercilessly! And then your brother you looked up to as a guide in this sea..! Yes, you may have lost a lot!"
Luffy...
"Your eyes are being covered by the massive wall called this World! You cannot see what is in front of you! You are being swallowed in your own guilty conscience!" Jinbei continued, hand still gripping the boy tightly, "It may be painful now Luffy! But you must suppress them for now! Don't just think about what you have lost! What you no longer have, you no longer have! Reaffirm yourself! What do you still have left!" In the end, he let the rubber boy go- he fell down to the ground.
"I still have… my crew!" The boy replied tearfully. "Zoro! Nami! Usopp! Sanji! Chopper! Robin! Franky! Brook! I have... my crewmates! We have a meeting spot... I have to go..."
No interactions allowed.
"I WANT TO SEE THEM!" He yelled out loud, tears streamed down his face.
Jinbei sighed in relief with a small smile.
Ace felt salt running down his cheeks, long after they've streamed down to his neck. His still suffocating neck. His mind was hot and white with nothing but a name but he was relieved as fuck. Luffy's gotten up- Luffy has gotten the fuck up and now it's time he does the same. He let out a tired laugh and ran his hands through his hair.
Rukia and Ichigo smiled at each other before turning around from the scene and walked- it was a scene they had no right to be in, let alone interrupt.
"Take care of him for me…"
-There's no such thing as you lost it all-
"I guess I'm ready to leave now… right?" Ace asked.
Ichigo and Rukia smiled a knowing smile, a silent agreement was made.
"What do you think?"
PACKING UP DREAMS
So… uh… how was it? I'm really sorry that it's a bit confusing and might (it totally does) have some errors or misspelling somewhere. I always have difficulty in starting out. Still, I welcome you to the Packing Up Dreams World, I hope you enjoy your stay here.
The idea of this story won't leave me alone! I even got a dream Ace suddenly appearing in front of me! Which is the reason I'm writing this story right now when I should be finishing my other story… Ace's death is just… woah… a rescue arc gone wrong… Now this was initially supposed to be a oneshot but it kinda overgrew itself...
If you're confused then leave a review and I'll explain anything you need to you, if you have understood then, hey I still want to hear your thoughts! Thank you for reading!
Takai: Thank you! Ace is also one of my favourite characters from the One Piece series! I've decided to continue on writing this, since it's quite fun (counting out the hours of research and brain-storming) I do hope you'll stick around to read it till the end.
BeeBee432: Thank you! I'm devolping it now! I hope you keep on reading it!
xxIchigoCrush: I'm glad you think this is interesting! My knowledge on Bleach is limited though so if you see any faults do tell. My ideas aren't usually this interesting... *facepalms*
PDAceLover: Ah, I got teary eyes too when I reread it (All right, I lied. I was bawling...actually) Thank you for your attempt to understand the story! It really assures me the story is not just read for a simple look on the plot. Thank you for reading this. To be honest, I'm not sure about Ace being a shinigami but... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...
Silver Winged King: It does? I'm glad it did! Though in my eyes it doesn't... Thank you so much! I hope you'll keep on reading it!
No- I'm not on facebook. : Thank you for reading and reviewing first in chapter 2.
Superherofan: Thank you! I've just realized how messy chapter 1 is... I've fixed it a bit now... thank you for planning to read on! I'll do my best.
xanimelovx : Ah... six months wasn't it? The time between my updates... I'm sorry it took so long! I had a hard time chossing where Ace would end up later at... And of course, he'll meet Luffy at some point... thank you for reading! I hope you continue to do so!
Saara Uchiha: You did? *hands a tissue* My bad... Thank you for loving the story! Do continue on reading!
avatoa: Seriously, can't thank you enough avatoa for pointing my mistakes in chapter 3. Thank you!
Kuroyukihime2: Thank you! I'll try my best in updating with a faster pace... though it's probably not going to happen any time sooner... Thank you for reading!
pdacelover: Oh it's ok! The story is fun to write and I still want to remember Ace... *sobs* Thank you for the reivews you have given! In my view, Yamamoto is absolutely strict and I guess that's why he is bothered by it. Honestly, I freaked out when I wrote chapter 3 since I realized devil fruit powers weren't supposed to work after death- but what's done is done.
Thank you for reading! Onwards!