Before you read this chapter, know that this is a prologue of sorts and not a real chapter. This is here mainly to explain about Luffy's condition and some of his devil fruit. More about his devil fruit will be explained in a few chapters, though I think the name gives a lot away.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything related to it.
Please tell me of any mistakes. Constructive criticism is appreciated and flames will be ignored.
And now,
Enjoy!
'So what you're saying, is that if not for your devil fruit, you could have died at any moment?'
Sabo tried keeping calm, he truly did, but that was not an easy feat when your little brother could have died at any moment! Said brother was laying on the small bed his older brothers had made for him when he had fallen sick three days ago. The poor dear could only manage a weak nod in response.
The blonde stopped his pacing to sit down beside Luffy's head. Worry and guilt as well as slight anger was gnawing at his insides as he put his head in his hands. Why hadn't they noticed earlier that the boy was sick? He had been clumsier than usual and refused to eat anything. Why? If only they- no, he had noticed a bit earlier, they could ha-
A small tug on his coat pulled him from his thoughts as he looked over at the smiling face of the seven-year old. It was obvious that he was in pain, but even so the smile looked as genuine as it could. 'Please don't tell Ace-nii...' Sabo was about to object when a voice came from their doorway.
'Don't tell me what?'
Ace looked over at his little brother and felt his heart clench with pain. His face was somehow both pale and flushed at the same time. Pain was visible in his hazed eyes which were half closed. Beads of sweat rolled down his face and his hair was wet with sweat. Nothing had changed from when he had left an hour ago to fish and now, except for the red stains clearly visible on the white blanket.
Both the fish and Ace's pipe fell to the floor once he spotted the red stains. The only thing it could be was blood, as there was nothing else in their tree house that could cause such stains. He rushed to Luffy's side to inspect him and the small amount of worry which had started brewing in his gut increased tenfold when he saw the faint trace of blood on his brother's chin.
'Oh my God. Please tell me that those are stains from some red berries or something!' He looked panicked over at Sabo who quickly looked down at the now very interesting floor. Wasting no time in trying to get something out of Luffy, as he had passed out again, Ace grabbed Sabo's shoulder not-so-gently and looked him in the eyes.
'Sabo? You have to tell me what happened now or I'll beat it out of you!' Even though he tried sounding brave and angry you could still hear the worry and panic in his voice. Shoulders sagging in defeat Sabo gave one last guilty glance over to their little brother before silently rising with Ace and walking over to the small, round table.
Once the two brothers were seated, Sabo began the long and complicated explanation of Luffy's condition while trying his best not to break down.
'Luffy… He has a very fragile body and even the slightest cold could be lethal to him.' Ace's head dropped into his hands he heard the start of Sabo's explantion. 'He would already have died if it hadn't been for his devil fruit.' Sabo winced as he heard an audible snap come from the boy sitting across from him. 'His devil fruit? What the hell does this have to do with his devil fruit?!' He was worried and angry with himself when that damn fruit had been brought up. Because of that stupid fruit Luffy had bee- His thoughts were cut off by Sabo continuing his explanation.
'His devil fruit is a really rare one, even rarer than logia fruits actually. The Nekomata fruit is a mythical zoan and has great healing abilities, along with other powers. This healing factor is keeping him alive by healing him over and over again when he gets sick.' The noble had to pause to take a deep breath before continuing.
'Normally, this wouldn't have worked on normal illness as the fruit can't heal illness, but Luffy's condition makes his body break itself down when he's sick because it can't locate the illness. His body is destroying cells and replacing them constantly.' The fiery boy in front of him slowly nodded as it slowly clicked in place. It also explained why the seven-year-old was in more pain than what was usual. His body was basically breaking itself down and reconstructing it again.
After accepting his brothers explanation, another thought came to mind. 'Wait… How do you know so much about this? The healing factor we already knew about, but how did you know that his body was breaking down? There is no way he could have told you.' The boy across from him blushed a slight shade of red as he answered.
'I might have taken a few books with me from my "family" when I escaped, and I may have read all the books on medicine and devil fruits when Luffy got sick…' A grin spread on Ace's face has he quickly stood up to give Sabo a hug. 'You are the best brother in the whole world!' Taking a step back the raven haired boy spoke with a serious tone:
'We have to be careful from now on. We can't let him be on his own and no going out when it's cold.' Sabo nodded in agreement before adding 'I read about some medicine that could help with his condition and normal pain killers should work with the pain.' Both brothers grinned at each other before pulling out their blankets and laying down beside Luffy's "bed" to sleep.
In the distance, a huge ship stopped for the night. The ship was headed towards a small island called "Dawn Island" to get some supplies and take a break before heading back into the New World. On the ship a blonde male with a haircut which made him look like a pineapple sighed as he looked over to the small island in the distance.
