Ace's left eye twitched, fire racing along his shoulders. The fire-user's dark grey eyes seemed to glow in the dim alleyway light. Distantly, he heard the roar of those metal monsters and the happy chatting of people as they just went along like any other day. To think that this was all was happening right under their noses made Ace completely sick. How could anyone not feel them?

Even if he wasn't in his world anymore, people still had haki, right? There were still devil fruits and the other crazy things that his world had, wasn't there?

Teach took a step forward, his hand twisting Luffy's hair, making the boy grimace. "You're late," He noted nonchalantly as a sick grin appeared on his fat face. This Blackbeard was a bit different from the Blackbeard that Ace remembered—the one that had captured him wore no shirt, where this one wore a plain white t-shirt that was covered in what looked like grease stains? He body figure was still the same, maybe a bit heavier. He had one earing in his left ear and had (way too small) shorts on.

"You son'uva bitch!" Ace snarled, launching himself at the man despite knowing that the bastard was like any other person in this world and therefore could not be touched. This included being harmed in any way shape or form.

It didn't deter Ace in the slightest when he just sailed right through the man, landing a foot away and launching at him again. Ace didn't know why he didn't just stop; after all, this was getting nowhere.

So, instead, he crossed his arms and let out a low snarl, plopping down on the ground a few feet away while thinking of ways that he could torture the man as much as he wanted. "If you harm one hair on Luffy's head, I'll burn you body to a crisp and shove it down Akainu's throat." He continued to growl as Blackbeard got in Luffy's face, making the boy wince. "I suggest that you let him go if you want you're life, Blackbeard!"

But the threats never reached the man's ears as he happily (in a sick way, of course) yanked Luffy inside the ominous house and slammed that damn wooden door in the Ace's face. "Oh, I'm going to burn this damn place down after I kill you, Teach."

Ace didn't even try to reach for the doorknob, instead just walking straight through the door with ease. The inside of the house was dark; way to dark for Ace's liking. The only thing that lit up the room came from the moon that fluttered through the curtains and the small light on a ceiling fan.

Ace's eyes hardened as he spotted Teach, right as the man shoved his little brother to the ground and raised his leg as if he was going to kick the boy. Luffy closed his eyes, waiting for the attack to connect with his body.

Ace's mind went blank. This was too much like Marineford. Too much. All the blood, death and pain flashed through his mind as he raced across the room, stopping right in front of Luffy like he always did.

But to his dismay, the man's leg went right through him and he could only watch as his brother received a rough kick right in the stomach, sending him sprawling into the wall with a cry of pain.

"Luffy!" Ace cried out, his eyes widening in horror. What about Luffy's devil Fruit? Wouldn't that protect him? Surely, the kick hadn't been that hard, had it? Luffy had always been able to take a punch.

The fire-user raced to his brother, kneeling beside him to check his body for injuries. Luffy didn't move, only opening his eyes to stare at the bastard that Ace had hardly felt approach. He turned around and snarled, much like that of a feral dog and placed an arm in front of Luffy. "Stay away!"

"You know what happens when you're late." Blackbeard spat, his sick smile replaced with an angry scowl. His fists were clenched at his sides as if he had a reason to be mad at the boy. "Don't you, Luffy?!" Underneath the man, Luffy winced and Ace's fire started to race from his shoulders once again.

"Sorry," The boy muttered, his breathing coming out as short puffs. "I won't be late again. I promise."

Blackbeard sneered down at him, delivering a swift kick to the back of the boy's head before lumbering to a rugged looking couch and flopping out on it as if he owned the world. He reached out to the side-table and grabbed an open beer that he had no doubt been working on before Luffy arrived and started gulping it down. "Better not be." With his free hand, he flicked on the TV, grinning when some weird show came on.

"You sick bastard," Ace snarled but his fire slowly started to flicker out. What was the point of using it if you couldn't even get your victim to notice you?

Ace had never felt so useless in all of his life.


Ace sat on the edge of Luffy's bed as the boy rummaged through his cabinets, only to pull out some pills and a first aid kit. Luffy plopped a pill in his mouth and threw the container back in his cabinet, slamming it shut. He opened the first aid kit and placed some basic materials on the top of his desk as he lifted up his shirt, revealing a nasty green-ish purple bruise.

Luffy poked it, wincing, and pulling his hand back almost immediately, letting out a hiss of pain. He let his shirt drop, instead, going to feel the back of his head, sighing when his hand returned with blood on it. "Damn it." The boy muttered, grabbing a bottle and lathering its substance on his hand.

He rubbed the back of his head, groaning when the substance touched his wound. He then took out a gauze pad and placed it over the bleeding area, wrapping his whole head in a Band-Aid.

He left he bruise alone, which made Ace frown. Shouldn't he get some ice? Though, there didn't look to be a refrigerator on his room and the only other one was downstairs back where Teach was . . . on second though, no ice was fine. Neither of them wanted to risk more injuries.

Luffy took off his shirt, mindful of the bruise, and threw it on the floor. Ace couldn't help but notice the giant 'x' shaped scar that was carved onto his chest. It looked old, though it still made Ace bit his lip until it bled. It was probably just another 'gift' from Teach.

Luffy stared at his reflection, his hand ghosting over the scar that decorated most of his chest. He sighed, running his hand through his raven hair and muttered, "How the hell did I get stuck with a man like that? I'm sick of being his canvas."

Luffy let out a frustrated snarl, stalking back over to his bed and sat on the blue sheets, staring at his hands. "I want to have a normal life, just like everyone else. I want to be able to have some sort of freedom! I don't want to hide in the shadows." He buried his face into his hands. "I can't take this anymore."

"Luffy," Ace cringed, his eyes stinging. Wasn't there a 'him' of this dimension? Why isn't he protecting Luffy? No matter what happened, Ace would never leave his little brother in the hands of someone as sick and twisted as Teach. "I'm sorry, you know that? I'm so sorry. If I could just do something . . . !" Ace let out a groan of frustration. "Why don't you fight back, Luffy?" He whispered. "You, especially, know that you can't just sit around and wait for miracles to happen. "

"P.E's going to be hell tomorrow," Luffy muttered, falling back on the hard mattress. "And I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Ace informed, rolling his eyes. Even though Luffy wasn't going to be able to notice him, he was going to be there for the boy. Always. This wouldn't end up like last time; he wasn't going to break any more promises.

And he was going to find a way to go home.


Ace quickly learned that he didn't need to do much of anything. This meant that he didn't need to sleep, didn't need to eat and didn't need to take showers (This made him rather happy, though he would never admit it).

It was pretty nice all in all, except that he might never be able to feel the joy of food again. And the fact that he was laying on Luffy's bed, staring up at the ceiling all night because he just couldn't seem to close his eyes and sleep.

Did this mean no more narcoleptic attacks? Ace hoped so, but he doubted the world would be nice enough to rid him of that particular curse.

Ace was rather glad when Luffy's alarm clock blared off at 6 in the morning, causing the boy to groan and stuff the pillow over his head as if he were trying to keep the sound out. Eventually, the boy got up and walked around the room, getting ready for school.

Ace still thought the idea of school was ridiculous.

He'd never been to school (Being raised by mountain bandits and all) and he doubted that his Luffy had even knew what school was. Sabo was the only one out of the three that had the slightest bit of education on something other than fighting.

The thought of Luffy going to school and learning stuff was ridiculous.

But he went anyways; putting on a shirt that covered his arms so people wouldn't see the bruises (Ace had dubbed that Luffy didn't have a devil fruit in this world) and had taken the bandage that was wrapped around his head and throwing it into the trash.

The boy had grabbed his so-called-back pack and was out of his bedroom a minute later, Ace following close behind. Teach was still home, sadly, and it took all of Ace's willpower not to jump on the man and stab him. Repeatedly.

He kept having to remind himself that he could not be touched, seen or heard. Annoying, but it was still the truth and no matter how much Ace wanted to torch the bastard, he couldn't.

Didn't stop him from trying to throw his knife at the man, though. After all, he was a good stress-reliever.


School, apparently, was loud. And crowed and did he mention loud? Yeah, it was basically a breeding ground for irresponsible teens with drugs and alcohol.

Ace hated ever second of it.

Especially the part where the kids went right through him; he was still getting use to the fact that no one could sense him at all. Annoying as it was, it was still better than being solid and having fat kids clumsily bump into you every few seconds.

And he had to endure another eight hours of this? Um, can he get a rain check? Because, honestly, he'd rather be back at the house with Teach (who'd probably be passed out on the couch all day) than in this devil's ass that they called school.

Give him a marine battle ship and he can down that in a few minutes tops, give him school, and he's just about ready to beg on his hands and knees.

Maybe he was going insane?

Ace watched a kid with a major pimple problem walk by, snot dripping out of his left nostril as he fixed his glasses before racing off to class.

Oh yep, defiantly insane.


"Aren't you guys supposed to be Luffy's friends?" Ace scolded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the weirdoes gathered around the table. Apparently, school was already halfway over (Four hours of something called Linear equations in math that Ace didn't bother to pay attention to and other such gibberish). A bell had rung a few minutes ago, signaling lunch (It still kind of pissed Ace off that he couldn't eat anything).

"I mean," Ace continued from his spot in the middle of the table. Yes—he was sitting in the middle of the table since he was invisible and could do what he wanted to. "You claim to be his friends, yet none of you know what's going on in his house?" The male's eyes darkened. "You're all so dense."

Ace let out a sigh as everyone just continued to chat away happily, completely oblivious of his presence. The only thing that he found amusing in this word was talking, even if no one could hear him. He could criticize people as much as he wanted and they couldn't hear a word. It was nice, but he did miss people responding.

"Lu~ffy!" One of his little brother's friends laughed, slapping the boy on the back. Luffy winced, though the other teen didn't seem to notice. Ace was pretty sure that he'd me the kid back in Alabasta, though he couldn't exactly remember his name. Only the freakishly long nose that the kid had somehow inherited. Bunny-hop? No, that wasn't it. Robot? No. Usopp? Mmmm. That sounded more like it. "Slow down! The food's not going anywhere. You're going to choke if you keep eating that fast!"

Luffy muttered gibberish to his friend, though he did slow don't just a bit so he wouldn't spray food when he was talking. His chocolate brown eyes sparkled with a new light, something that Ace was more than happy to see. It was like Luffy was acting like his old self, not to pitiful boy that his from his demons.

It was good to see that not even Teach could break the boy's spirit.

"You guys know nothing about food," Ace declared, slamming his fist on his other hand. "Do you know how many times my dinner has literally gotten up and walked away?" He frowned. "It happens a lot."

Again, no one heard him as they continued on with their conversation without a care in the world. Ace's left eye twitched, his face contorting into a pout. It would be nice if someone acknowledged him or something. But he knew that was never going to happen again.

"Are you going to the forest with us, Luffy?" A green haired man—Ace remembered his name to be Zoro, Luffy's first mate—rested his head on his hand, staring at the boy with shark, hawk-like eyes. "It's been forever since you've come with us."

A flash of panic appeared on Luffy's face, although no one noticed it. "I can't," Luffy answered, placing a rather forced smile on his face. "I have a family issue back at home and I have to be there."

"But you always have family issues," A red head—Nami—complained, rolling her beautiful orange eyes. "Come on, just this once?"

Luffy hesitated, his eyes flashing with an unknown emotion. "I can't." He repeated with a sigh, running his hands through his already messy, black hair. He offered a small smile to his friends who were staring at him, eyes full of worry.

Huh, so maybe—just maybe—they suspected something after all.

A loud ringing sound snapped Ace out of his thoughts, making his wince. The bell was probably the most annoying part of this school—constantly ringing every hour or so (Ace didn't care to count).

Luffy finished off his lunch in a few seconds and emptied the rest in the trash; quickly grabbing his bags and waved to his friends. The panic and fear was gone, replaced with genuine happiness. "I'll see you guys after class!"

Ace took this as his cue to leave, jumping off the table with ease and jogging after his little brother. Though, he didn't miss the, "Something's wrong with Luffy." From Nami.

Ace snorted as he passed them. Oh, how right they were.

Once his friends were out of earshot, Luffy lowered his head, passing through the halls with a depressed air around him. "They don't get it." He whispered, his voice hoarse. "I can't go! Teach'll kill me for sure!"

"Like hell he will," Ace responded, his eyes blazing. Why did Luffy always have to bring up that bastard's name? "I thought I told you that I was going to protect you." They continued to walk down the halls. "Not that you're able to hear me."

"I want to go into the forest again," Luffy continued in that same low whisper. "It's been forever since I've seen Brooke, Chopper and Franky. I wanna see them again!"

"Isn't Chopper a reindeer?" Ace's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember Luffy's weird collection of nakama. "I doubt he's a reindeer in this world. There don't seem to be any devil fruits here. Do you know how weird that is?"

Luffy's pace started to slow down when they approached a door and casually threw it open, ignoring the looks that he got from the other students who were unpacking their things for the start of the period.

Of course, the first ting that Ace noticed was the very familiar red-headed man that stood in the front of the class, holding a plastic sword.

Wait. No fucking way.

Shanks?

Did the man even know how to teach a subject? Ace doubted it, after all, the redhead was not known for his book-smarts. Alcohol and sword fighting? Yes. Books? Um, no.

"Finally decided to join us, Luffy?" The man teased, his bright eyes sparking with mischief.

Luffy puffed out his cheeks in an adorable way and waved his hands around in an exasperated manner. "I'm not late, the bell hasn't rung yet."

Just at that moment, the shrill sound echoed through the school, sending the other kids into a fit of laughter. Shanks just sent Luffy a cocky look as Luffy grumbled about witch craft before taking a seat in one of those desks that Ace hated.

Ace, refusing to sit in those stupid seats, opted for the teacher's desk near the window so he could sunbathe in the warm heat. Reaching the desk in a few seconds, he hopped up and sat on the papers, not really caring about anything. He stared out the window longingly, watching as the birds flew freely in the sky.

Freedom.

Ace missed it. He wanted to be back out in the open ocean, wild and free. He wanted to fight the marines, laugh with his brothers and sisters again. He wanted to sing with them as the sunset and they had all managed to get drunk. He wanted to pull pranks on Marco and laugh as the blonde would start chasing him across the deck with Oyaji laughing at both of their usual antics.

When had it all gone wrong?

Oh, that's right. Teach. The backstabber who had killed his nakama. The bastard that is currently abusing his brother and making is Ace's hell even worse. The bastard who had cried out in fear, his behind his crew, and laughed as the downed Oyaji.

Was I a good father?

Ace shut his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think about the war. Knowing that he was the cause of his brothers and sisters deaths as well as his own father was more than Ace could handle emotionally. He still had to deal with this whole otherworld thing before he could grieve for his family.

Sure, he had kind of accepted this whole 'other universe' thing blindly, but what else could he believe? He was like a light breeze to these people. He couldn't do anything. Besides, his world didn't have the metal monsters—care, as they were called—or this kind of peace.

Well, it wasn't exactly peaceful, but it was still better than his world. He'd only been here for a day and was already figuring things out.

There was knocking on the door and Shanks had to stop his lecture that had something to do with 'comparing Russia and Canada' (whatever the hell those things were) and went to open the door for the student outside.

A student Ace happened to recognize immediately.

"This is a note from the office, Mr. Shanks," The man grinned. A grin that Ace missed so much.

He didn't even realize that he'd jumped off the teacher's table; his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly agape. How long had it been?

How long has it been since he'd seen this man—a man that Ace would've never thought to see again? How long had he grieved for his fallen comrade? How long had he blamed himself for the man's death?

A long time.

But apparently it wasn't long enough because he was standing right there . . . !

A single whisper passed through his lips, though Ace hardly took notice. "Thatch."


Fanfiction has been pissing me off. I don't know why, but almost every time I've tried to get on, it says something about the server and crap. Of course, one of my favorite stories had to update while my fanficion was being a jackass, meaning I couldn't read it for a while.

That's pretty much the whole reason that I got this chapter done-I was bored out of my mind.