The grass is itchy against my skin, the wind is cold against my skin but the sun… the sun is warm and bright against my face and makes up for everything else I don't like about being lying on the ground in the forgotten area that used to be part of the city of Saboady Archipielago.
And as I lay there I think to myself that if I close my eyes real tight, I can still see him. I think that if I try hard enough I can see past the blood pouring out from his chest, I can see past the peaceful smile he bore when his body hit the ground, past that awful sound of his body colliding against the rock hard ground that still haunts me to this day.
I think I can remember a time when things didn't look so… lost.
"Ace…" my voice is soft, quiet and not wanting to break the little atmosphere that surrounds us.
For a moment a think he might be asleep but his mumbling against the soft pillow underneath his face tells me otherwise.
"What's that?" I ask softly, as I lean on my elbows to watch his face buried in the white fabric of the bed, his face suddenly turns and with closed eyes and a smile on his face he repeats himself.
"Go… to… sleep."
"But I'm not sleepy, Ace." I sigh, as my fingers run down his soft dark curls, he groans both in satisfaction and annoyance, maybe because he knows that if I don't sleep he won't, but I have never asked him that he should join me on my sleepless nights, he just does.
"I'm going out for a while, okay?" I tell him as I kiss his cheek, softly; he mumbles something which I don't quite catch and I shrug it off as sleep taking over him once more but before I can sit properly on the bed and leave our shared bedroom, his warm fingers have a soft grip on my wrist to pull me down on the bed as I find his body pinning me down into bed.
"There's no need for you to leave, I'm up."
"I can see that," I chuckle, looking away from his intense gaze, "you can go back to sleep, baby. I'll just take some fresh air and be back in a flash."
"Last time you said that, I woke up in an empty bed and you," his tone is accusative, "cuddling with Marco after playing strip poker with the other commanders, so I rather not."
"That was a one time thing, Ace! You don't have to mention it always." I pout with a blush.
He smiles down at me, his hair obscuring part of his eyes before he lifts his head and his dark orbs are once again drilling inside my head, scorching my soul and it's when he does that that I find myself unable to look away from his intense gaze, as I blush madly at him.
"S-stop looking at me like that, Ace."
He chuckles, a smirk painting his lips; "I've never heard you once complain."
I look away, while hiding the ever-growing blush on my cheeks.
"You look so cute when you blush like that."
"S-shut up," I stutter.
"Oh my god," he gasps, "how much redder can you get?" he finishes with a chuckle.
"Where do you go when you're not here?" he asks, his question is soft and gentle as if to try and not break me, it bothers me when he treats me like a china doll, especially today.
"I'm sorry?" I ask, feigning cluelessness.
"Like just now," he says, "you leave me, talking to myself. I can see it on your eyes… it's," he pauses as if he is thinking over his choice of words. I wish he wouldn't. "…it's him."
"You're being silly," I laugh, correction, I pretend to laugh, but I taught myself to be pretty convincing and he believes me when I add that I just spaced out looking at the sea.
"I'm going to the crow's nest, do you mind?" He shakes his head no and I stand up, waiting for his offer of him joining but when I never hear it I walk away from him and up to my destination
"Hey, Mia!" he calls my name attracting my attention from my self-assigned cleaning duty. "Let's go to the hill," he offers; and I want to refuse his offer, mainly because I have not finished washing the dishes and if Dadan returns earlier than usual she's going to kill me for my little adventure in the kitchen.
"Ace, I…" the words 'I can't' get lost in my mouth because the freckled face boy is already looking at me from the other side of the window with a smile on his face, a smile he shows to only a few, me included and suddenly I find myself following the boy into the woods.
Dadan's going to kill me, but it's going to be worth it.
"Ace," I call his attention as we sit on the hill, our eyes overlooking the vast ocean, wind howling loud and bringing a chill that reaches my bones "I'm sorry about the cake."
My desire to gift him something for his 15th birthday had led me to my little adventure on the kitchen which resulted in batter sprawled all over the floors and a burned down metal plate.
"Nah," he says, dismissing my apology, "it's okay, Mia. After all, you would have probably intoxicated me with that," he laughs and I blush before punching him in the arm, a smile on my lips at his teasing.
"Yeah, yeah…" I laugh, "were my true intentions that obvious?" I smile, following his teasing.
He chuckles, bumping his shoulder against mine in the same teasing manner as before, I look down at the grass between my fingers, the smile my lips wore fading slightly as he continues to look ahead of us.
"I still feel bad, I really wanted to give you something." I say.
He blushes, looking away and takes that opportunity to add, "Well there's…" he takes a deep breath, "…there's something you can still give me."
"Wha—" my words are stopped short when his lips collide with mine, it's so short but I can feel the texture of his lips against mine, how his teeth barely nip at my lower lip in a teasing manner and before I can put my thoughts together his lips have left me and he's running away and into the woods.
That freckled face…
"You're doing it again," he says, interrupting my thoughts.
"So, are you," I reply back, "When you didn't said anything I assumed you would leave me by myself."
"If you want I can go."
"I don't mind." I say, "but…" I trail off, "I'm spacing out a lot today, just so you know."
He chuckles and I smile softly, as much as I can this day, "I don't mind."
I nod and drift my eyes to the soft and warm colors of the sunset that can be seen from the crow's nest window, the warm tones of red, orange and yellow remind me of…
"I'm going after him!" Ace shouts in anger, I can see Marco trying to hold him back as well as the other crewmembers but he won't listen.
"Ace, please stop. Pops says it's fine, that it's an exception!" They beg him.
"No! We can't leave it like this! If we do…" he struggles to find words, "Thatch's spirit won't be able to rest in peace!" he's angry, after all, Thatch was his friend, one of the first ones we had when we boarded the Moby Dick.
"It's okay, Ace," Pops speaks interrupting the scene, "this is an exception."
"No!" Ace shouts, "this is not okay, you gave him a home, a place under your roof and he just spit it out on your face!" Pops looks at him, chanting his previous words again but I know that won't be enough to Ace. "I'm going to find him and I'm ending this myself."
He picks up his green backpack and it's about to jump overboard when I speak out.
"I'm going with you." He stops in his tracks and everybody turns to look at me, they're speechless, they think I've finally lost it, they look at Pops waiting for him to say something but he doesn't.
"You won't." Ace's voice is menacing, rough and tough. The kind of tone that would usually send shivers down my back but the thought of him going after Teach alone overrides my fear of whatever pissy thought Ace is having right now.
"Ace…"
"I'm his commander, it's my duty to put an end to this, not yours—"
"I'm going. If you're leaving this ship, I'm going and that's final." He turns to Pops for backup but he laughs it off, in that distinctive laugh of his and says "Do you really think anything I say, will make her stay, son?"
Ace takes a deep breath, he's angry and partially at me for putting him in this situation but he knows he has no choice. He knows me that well.
I take steady steps towards him, his back muscles are tense, I can see that through the Whitebeard's tattoo that fills it, his signature orange cowboy hat rests above his shaggy raven hair that reaches the tip of his nose and shadows completely his eyes from the world.
Ace jumps onto his small motorboat and I, for a moment, think he's going to take off without me and say something like 'I'll make up for it later!' or 'I'm sorry' but he doesn't; he stays there, waiting for me. Marco pushes something into my hands and I look at the backpack he has handed me, his eyes hold regret, sorrow and I feel my heart being gripped inside my chest.
'Am I doing the right thing?'
"Go," Pops says, "someone needs to keep him in line, Mia. I know you'll do just fine, you're my daughter after all."
"Don't you want to sleep for a while, we'll be there by sunset."
"I…" I sigh, "not yet, but you can sleep, if you want."
"I'm fine."
"So am I."
"Stubborn woman."
"He used to say the same thing;" I think, but the words never leave my mouth.
"You should've stayed on that damn boat!" he yells, he's angry. I get it, but I'm already here so what's the point.
"I wasn't going to let you go alone, Ace!"
"You have nothing to do here!" Ouch.
"You could have stopped me there!" I yell, frustrated at my hard headed boyfriend, "Left without me on your motorboard!"
"Would that really have stopped you…?" he sighs, resignation fills his words.
"Then why are you reprimanding me now!?" I say, calmer now.
"Because!" he shouts, agitating his hands in big gestures.
"What!?" I shout back, just because.
"Because you're a stubborn woman and I have the right to tell you that!"
I chuckle at his words, my tone dropping, heartbeat calming and eyes smiling at him "but I am your stubborn woman, freckled face."
He sighs, already giving up on the conversation "yes," he's defeated, he knows he can't win an argument against me, "you are."
At least not when I bring the 'I am your 'insert adjective here' woman.' Always works like a charm.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asks, his gaze is on me, though I don't see him, I can feel it.
"Sure."
"Did he ever knew?"
"No." I lie, "I didn't knew myself until it was already too late." I lie again.
How much will unnecessarily hurt him know that Ace knew damn well about it.
He hums in acknowledgement and I look above my shoulder as I ask "How much longer?"
"A couple of hours, shouldn't be long now. You should sleep a little."
"Yeah," I nod, "I should."
"But, you aren't."
"You know me so well already.
I feel his smirk towards me under the veil of the night.
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be, Ace…"
"I—I'm going to—"
"Shhh," I shush him, mainly because I want to keep it a secret and Ace has the tendency to blurt everything out when he's excited. Funny how he thought Luffy was the one who couldn't keep a secret when we were kids. "Keep it to yourself, loudmouth."
"But I want everybody to know."
"Like that time you blurted out you had sex for the first time?"
"I was excited and to my defense," he sighs with a smirk, "I thought we were alone."
"Ace…" I trail with a soft smile.
"Shhh…" He silences me with a finger against my lips. His face is full of shock before it turns into a full wide smile, his eyes shine with happiness, a bright one I have only ever seen before when we shared our first kissed as kids, when he exchanged that cup of sake with his brothers, when we first set sail and...
"Ace?" his smile starts fading, the reality that had hit me before I told him, hits him now.
"You need to go back to Pops."
"Ace!" I find his words as a stab on my chest, "you can't ask me that."
"Well, color me blind, Mia," he chuckles darkly, "I just fucking did."
"Ace!" I shout in anger, "I won't!"
"You woman…" he starts and I can start seeing the vein popping on his forehead, "don't get on my nerves and just—"
"Freckled face!" I pout.
"Hey!" he replies offended, "Mia! Listen to me, go back to Pops, once he knows…"
"No!" I say, "Ace, I won't go back to Pops without you."
"Mia!"
"Ace, no!" I say, "I—we—I won't leave you."
Would it have spared me the pain I suffered that day if I had go back to Pops before him? Would it have spared me the suffering— the anger— the helplessness I felt and that I still feel whenever I think about him, when I find that my memories are all plagued by that fateful day at Marineford?
Would it?
Probably not.
It all happens so fast; first Luffy was crawling following the little piece of paper that was Ace's Vivre Card, followed by Akainu's taunting towards Ace and suddenly he was there, in front of us, and behind him was Akainu and his fist was deep inside Ace's chest.
Luffy and I were helpless but to watch as his fist left Ace's chest and blood sputtered out of his mouth. I couldn't move, I couldn't find words but Luffy was fast on his feet and called his name before running towards his brother.
Ace is just standing there, his eyes are cast down and I can't see them, I want to see them, I want to find his eyes looking at me and telling me he's fine, that he's going to be fine, that…
"Looks like you're still alive, Fire Fist Ace!" Akainu's words are spoken harshly and full of hatred, he raises his fist to go down on Ace again and that's where I find strength into my legs to go towards him screaming at him to stop, to please… stop.
"Don't do it," Luffy says, "DON'T DO IT!" his voice is louder and full of anguish. Akainu pays us no mind and for a moment, I think everything is lost but Jimbei appears fast enough to block Akainu's fist with his hands; once again, Luffy and I become viewers of what's happening before our very own eyes.
"You're just delaying the inevitable, Jimbei! Since you were once a Warlord," Akainu says, "I bet you know what I'm capable of!"
"I'd be happy to risk my life if I can delay it!" he replies with steady voice, "I've been ready to die from the beginning!"
My eyes leave the scene before me for a moment as I watch Garp walking towards us; I'm in shock when Sengoku pulls him down, face first against the rock hard ground. He looks helpless, he looks like he could and wants to kill Akainu.
"Looks like I need to execute another traitor, too." Akainu's words attract my attention towards them, as I see him raising his fist of magma and prepares to deliver another blow that he knows Jimbei won't be able to hold.
"Jimbei, get down!" that voice… Jimbei does as he's told and suddenly the blue fire from Marco's wings and Vista's fast sword are fighting against Akainu's fire.
"How annoying," he says, "so, you guys are Haki users."
"How could we let that happen?" says Marco with pain in his voice.
"I couldn't have more regret about it." Vista replies.
"Can't you see it's too late to save Fire Fist Ace," he turns his head towards us and adds, "take a look!"
As if on queue Ace falls to his knees, Luffy holds him as best as he can, as I see him struggle with his breathing, Luffy calls his name, softly and I… I… can't talk. The explosions on the battlefield seem muffled in comparison to what's happening before me.
"Hey," Luffy calls again, "are you alright? Hey…" he lifts his right hand to his eyes and finds his fingers full of blood, his brother's blood.
"Ace!" I call with desperation filling my lungs.
"Ace," Luffy's voice is cracking, "you need to get treated right away!"
"I'm sorry, Luffy…" his voice is soft, tired as if it was the end of the day and he just wants to sleep.
"Huh?" Luffy is shocked, just as much as I am, Ace is giving up.
"In order to save me…" he trails between ragged breaths, "you pushed yourself that far but… I couldn't make it all the way…I'm sorry," his breathing is elaborate, he's barely hanging and I'm shaking, sobs leaving my body alerting me that I, am actually crying.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Luffy screams, "Somebody, treat him! Please! Please, help Ace!" he calls out but nobody moves, deep down inside me I know why, "Hey, somebody," he continues, "Help Ace! Please!"
I see a doctor, he must be from the Whitebeards, he runs fast calling for Ace, asking is he's alright.
But I know, I know…
"Okay, let me see the wound…" he tells Luffy, to which he replies with a full of anguish 'Please!'. The doctor seems focused until his eyes meet Ace's back, I look away to the floor and crawl closer to them; Luffy pays me no attention as I come closer to his brother.
"This is…" the doctor says, and I can't hear anything else as I'm too focused on Ace's face, his left hand finds my right one and I squeeze it, as hard as my body lets me, I hear that a faint chuckle leaves his lips and I don't know if it's because of me or because of his words.
"It's no use," he breaths out, "my organs have been burned. I can't hold out any longer. I can tell my life's ending." Luffy is shaking, I can tell that much, and Ace…
Ace is dying right before our eyes.
"That's not true!" Luffy says, "Oh yeah," an idea has struck him "Ivan-chan! Hey, I beg you…" he pleads, "Inject that stuff into Ace! Please!"
Ivankov must be in shock, how can he tell him that Ace's is not going to make it?
"Inject that stuff into Ace! Please!" he begs, "Like you did to me… Why can't you help, Ace!?" he's begging, calling Ivan-chan's name, he's pleading and suddenly…
"Straw-Hat boy!" Luffy stops his pleading and I'm lost, I know what his going to say, "Ace boy… can't make it!"
"Huh? No way…" Luffy voice breaks each time more, his head turns to his brother and he says, "You promised me! You said… you said that you'd never die… no matter what! Ace!" my mind suddenly takes me back to when we were kids, to when he had made that promise to us, to when… we felt invincible.
"Ace… what did you say? You can't hold out any longer? You promised me! You promised us that…" he struggles with words, "that you'd never die…no mater what, Ace!" Ace lifts his face, his eyes collide with mine and I'm lost, cause I see it in his eyes, I can see I'm losing him and there's nothing I can do.
"Do I even deserved to be born?" he asks, his eyes look past me, like staring into the nothingness, "Nobody wanted me to be born…" his words are full of sadness, a sadness I knew well. "I wouldn't even have a will to live…" he trails off, "if it weren't for Sabo, Mia and a high-maintenance brother like you…" Luffy's holding it in, he doesn't wants to cry but even though I'm not making any noise, I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks, "Oh yeah," he adds, "if you guys, see Dadan someday, say hello for me. When I face my own death, I even miss a woman like her."
"Like I said, don't say that you're going to die!"
"Ace…" I call, my voice is so quiet, like if I'm trying to not really call his attention but he hears me.
"There is one thing that makes me wanna stay," he says, "that is my desire to see you fulfill your dream. But I'm sure you can do it… Because you're my brother!"
My sobs are taking over my body, I try to close my eyes so hard, try to convince me this is a dream, try to convince me…
"That day… Like we promised that day, I have no regret…" his eyes turn to me with a smile, that smile he only gave me when he felt guilty about doing something, this was a smile that said 'I'm sorry for dying' and I hated it with every fiber of my being"…in my life."
"That's a lie! Don't tell a lie! What about Mia!? What about your—" I place a hand on Luffy's shoulder as if to stop him and he does, Ace's eyes look at my own and he smiles wider "You…." breathes in. "….told him," breathes out. "…didn't you?"
"I…I couldn't help it." I speak softly, he stays quiet for a moment, letting his fingers full of blood, lace themselves with my own, I hold on to his hand for whatever warm is left in them.
"Even because of that…" he chokes out, "I…I'm not lying," he says, "something tells me what I truly wanted was not fame... Did I deserve to be born? What I wanted was the answer to that question." He closes his eyes and Portgas D' Ace could see the flame of his life, how fleeting and delicate it was, he can see himself as that little 10-year old kid he was, full of anger, confusion and loneliness. How undesired he was among people, how everyone hated him without knowing him just because of whose blood he carried. He hated his father for doing this to him, he hated it but even know as he could feel himself being consumed by darkness, he couldn't help but feel… happy. He had people whom he had loved and they had loved him back just as much, people who never cared for his name, his bloodline, they cared for the person he truly was… they cared for the friend, the brother and the boyfriend he was.
"Should I have been born?" he had asked the old man, Garp, once; to only have him reply "That's something you'll figure out as you live."
Ace opens his eyes once more as they focus on me and I have my own trained on his face, trying to remember every little detail, the way his eyes would smile even when he was tired, the way waking up watching his freckled face made me the happiest woman alive, the way—
"Mia…" he squeezes my hand with whatever little strength he has left, I can feel the texture of his blood that drips through his arm, blending on the palm of hand. "I love you…" he chokes out, blood dripping through the sides of his mouth, "and… I will die… loving you."
I want to tell him I love him too, I want to beg him to stay, I want to tell him so many things, so many words that never leave my mouth.
"I can't raise my voice to let everybody hear me anymore," I close my eyes, a small tear falls down my cheek as the cruel reality finally starts to set in, "could you tell them… what I'm about to say now?" his words are directed to Luffy, and I feel powerless. Just another spectator on this unfair and cruel show that is life.
I know Luffy wants to nod, I want to do something but… I can't and so Ace goes on… "Pops… everybody, and you guys…Luffy and Mia…" he stops, swallowing down for a moment, "thank you…for loving someone like me who is a good for nothing…and who has such a bad blood in his veins… up to today… Thank you!" he finishes in between tears and screams.
Luffy's voice finally makes me know his resolution to stop himself from crying has broken, Ace's sobbing face stops and morphs into a smile, a peaceful one, his eyes closes and his grip on both his brother and my hand stop, his body starts falling and I can't move; neither does Luffy, is like everything goes into slow motion and I can't help but watch as Ace's body hits the ground with a loud, deafening sound, Luffy's body starts shaking and he can't help it anymore as tears and screams leave his throat.
Me on the other hand, can't seem to move, my hands are full of blood, his blood and I start shaking, my tears are pouring out and I can't stop it, I'm shaking, pulling at my skin which starts itching, pulling at my hair, screams can be heard over the one's of Luffy and it takes me a while to understand they are my own and I… can't… stop it. Why can't I stop it? Why can't I?
All I see is Akainu's fist inside Ace's chest. His body dropping to his knees, Luffy running to him, his tears morphing into a smile, his hand leaving mine, his eyes closing, blood… blood everywhere and Luffy…
Ace…
"I don't like cry-babies like you!"
Ace…
"Don't worry, Mia! You can be on my ship!"
Ace…
"You'll follow me everywhere I go, won't you?"
Ace is…
"I love you."
Ace is…
"Marry me."
Ace is dead and I wish I'd died with him.
"Mia…" his voice is calling me out.
"Ace…" I call back, my eyes opening to the dim light of the room.
"Mia, where are almost there," he says, I look at him in disappointment and I feel bad, I want to take it back, 'I didn't mean to look at you like that' is what I want to say but words fail me completely.
"Let's get married." He says as we lay on the hostel bed.
"What?" I ask, shock filling my features.
"What? You don't want to?"
"That's not it! Dumbass…" I say with a small blush, "we're pirates and—"
"Pirates get married." He has a good point, it's not common but they do. "So, what's your excuse, missy?"
I sigh deeply, "You're just doing it because of what I told you the other day, it's not necessary, Ace…" I say, truthfully.
I close my eyes as I snuggle closer to the exposed skin on his chest, cherishing the feeling of muscle underneath my fingertips; my eyes dart towards the tattoo with the letters A S C E, both for his name and for Sabo, his—our— late brother.
"Stop that," he says, "I love you. I want to marry you and I know you want to marry me."
"Ace…"
"If you don't have a better argument than that…" his fingers play with the hem of my shirt, skimming the exposed skin on my back, "Then marry me."
His eyes are full of honesty, full of love, full of… him. "…Fine."
"We're here." His voice pulls me out from my thoughts; I stand up and walk behind him as he descends through the ladder of the crow's nest. I follow right behind, my heart pounding so fast I feel it's going to blow out of my chest, I lift my hand to grip the necklace around my neck, the one that holds the last thing from him, the only thing I hold so dear of him.
The wind is cold against my skin, making me wish I had brought a coat to shield me from the harshness of it, the grass looks greener than usual, the sky looks bluer and I think I might be losing it again. I chuckle, cause I can't help it.
I sit on the uncomfortable grass I hate, cross my legs as I stare at the gravestone of my late fiancée Portgas D. Ace; which rests in peace next to his—our father—Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard. I close my eyes and try to control my tears as best as I can but I have come to terms that I don't have a very good hold on my emotions as I want to convince myself.
"You knew me so well, didn't you, freckled face?" I tease at no one, a sad smile graces my face. "I wish you were here—I heard people say that before to their lost loved ones but God! I really wish you were here, I could tease the hell out of you and you would smile at me, with that stupid smile of yours and tease me back, just as you used to do…"
"He would," I hear his unique voice behind me, my body tenses for a moment before letting go "He did loved to tease the hell out of you, didn't he?"
"He did," I laugh between tears, "I think he thought I would fall for him the more he teased me."
"I'm glad you could come," Luffy says as he sits next to me, "I thought it was going to be—"
"It is," I interrupt, "but I would never forgive myself if I didn't came here."
"Me neither." He's smiling and I turn to see him leaning on his arms against the grass, he seems happy and that makes me happy, "how's Rouge?" he asks me and I blink cause it's so sudden and—
"She's fine, wants to see you real badly."
"I promise I'll visit," he says, "but I'd heard you're staying with Dadan and to be honest, I'm a little bit scared." He laughs, with that characteristic laugh of his.
"She's not so bad anymore," I say, "she is, however, pretty much in love with Rouge. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't that woman sent us to hunt for Crocodile meat, like every day of the week?" I laugh. He nods his head, looking once again towards the gravestone of his brother.
"Does it still hurts?" he asks, after a comfortable silence and adds "for me it does, it's less each day, thanks to the guys but it's—"
"A void that can't be fill," I finish, "yeah, I get it."
"Oi!" he calls, realization dawning on him, "how did you come here?"
"Well…"
"Yo, Luffy…" his voice interrupts us both as if he was waiting for his queue to enter our conversation, "long time no see, huh?"
Luffy turns to look at the blonde man and his grin widen, "Sabo!"
"Yeah," I chuckle, "blondie here is acting as my guarding dog—"
"Hey!" Sabo complains with a smile, "I'm not a dog!"
"Shh!" I tease at the blonde man, "adults are talking."
And suddenly it's like old times, we're joking and exchanging stories, we're back to when we were kids, to when we vowed to conquer the world and live as free as we were supposed to be; to be the only proof of our existence in this Earth.
"Did you know!?" Ace says excited as he pours the liquor into the red cups above the remains of the old oak tree. "We can become brothers if we exchange this cup of sake."
"Brothers? Really!?" says an excited Luffy.
Sabo smiles widens as Ace's continue, "when we become pirates we might not be in the same ship, but our brotherhood will always be with us." He takes his cup and so does Luffy and Sabo, "Wherever you are, whatever you do, we'll always be bonded together."
"From now on," he says as his now brothers smile, "we're brothers!" their red cups clink together full of sake in a toast as they all embrace they're brotherhood. Smiles bright on their faces, I smile at them from my spot next to a tree until I realize something.
"Wait a minute," my eyes run over their cups, the chopped down tree, the sake and their faces, "Where's mine!?"
"Happy birthday, Ace…" I say as I now toast with Sabo and Luffy drinking from red cups of sake, "I love you and I always will."