Thanks for your interest and your reviews, favs and follows, folks! Now presenting the first real chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

Tiny note: Thanks to a comment by anonymous reviewer X-Chick303, I've made a small change to the chapter. Thanks for the reminder, X-Chick!

He Who Chased Him

Silhouetted against the setting sun, two figures, one large and one small, sat together on a cliff overlooking the dyed red sea. The younger of the two, a boy who couldn't be much older than seven years old, let out a deep sigh as he tore his gaze away from the sea and looked uncertainly over at his guardian. The older man didn't take his eyes off the blood red sea, though he knew of the boy's solemn regard.

"What is it, Ace?" he asked, a little gruffly but affectionately nonetheless.

The boy worried his lower lip before finally voicing the question on his mind, "Gramps… Do I deserve to live?"

That made Garp's gaze snap towards the boy who he had adopted. "Who told you that you don't deserve to live?" he asked, tone low and dangerous.

Ace looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "Nobody…"

"Ace…" Garp wasn't about to let it go without an answer. Not for the first time, he regretted not being able to spend more time with the boy because of his job.

"Everyone says that the Pirate King is a monster, and that any son of his should be killed!"

"Bullshit!" Garp slammed a fist into the log beside him, heedless of how it cracked and splintered under the pressure.

Ace leapt up, eyes burning. "But the townspeople said-"

"Don't listen to those idiots, boy!" Garp snapped. "Anyone who would cast the sins of the father onto the son is an absolute idiot!"

"Still, if he was a monster-"

"Didn't I tell you not to listen to them!?"

The Marine paused, conflict warring in his mind. On one hand, he ought to be glad that the boy had such a negative view of Roger, surely that would put him off becoming a pirate, right? But still… Dammit, it went against his morals to demonize the man like this, especially to his son. His brows furrowed.

"Listen, Ace, I would call Roger many things, but monster is not one of them. Those idiots, they've never known Roger and never will! They are hardly qualified to judge his character!"

"Then how would you describe him?" Ace retorted rather snappishly as well, irritated at Garp's reaction.

"A selfish, infuriating bastard-"

"How is that different from what the townspeople have been saying!?" Ace was frustrated, involuntary tears springing to his eyes. He hastily blinked them away.

"Don't interrupt me, you brat! He was a crazy idiot, but till this day, I have not met anyone that commanded my respect as much as he did."

Ace was stunned into silence, and Garp took the chance to plow on. To heck with it, he might as well continue what he started.

"He was crazy, yet loyal to a fault. His selfishness knew no bounds, but that also meant that he would protect his own to the death. I can count in a single hand pirate captains that truly cared for their nakama, and Roger would number one of them."

"Our last meeting… was in a dingy prison cell in Impel Down. I didn't go to his execution. I think I've told you that before. But I never told you about our first meeting, did I?" Garp looked at the horizon, his expression almost wistful, as Ace shook his head, the boy's interest now honestly piqued despite himself.

"The location, if I remember correctly, was not too far from here. I was young then, just a Lieutenant stationed in a small base in East Blue, newly appointed. He was a rookie pirate who had gotten his first bounty less than a month before that. By chance, he stopped by the island that I was patrolling, and I recognized him.

"He was with a few other members of his crew, one or two of them already holding bounties themselves, though his was by far the highest. I immediately reached for my mini Den Den Mushi to make a report back to the base. And then…"

"ORRYAAAAAHH!"

"GAAAHHH!" Garp couldn't help the startled yelp as the black-haired pirate straight out tackled him. It took the young Marine a few precious seconds to get hold of his bearings again and by that time he realized that Roger was hightailing it out of the area.

"Come back here!" he roared, charging after the fleeing pirates.

"As if I would!" was thrown back without a backwards glance as Roger hurried to catch up to his crew. Garp gritted his teeth and picked up his pace, but the pirate captain had a good lead over him.

It seemed that the weather was favoring the pirates that day, for the small ship had caught a good wind and was speeding away from the beach by the time Garp reached the shore.

Roger still hung casually from the rope ladder thrown over the side, the most infuriating grin on his face as he threw a challenging look back at Garp.

"What is your name, officer!?" the pirate yelled over the sound of waves and wind.

"Marine Lieutenant Monkey D Garp! I'll catch you the next time we meet, pirate! Be assured of that!"

The pirate just laughed, seemingly unconcerned about the threat. He swung back a hand to toss something at Garp, which he caught by reflex. It was his Den Den Mushi, petulantly shrunk into its shell with the maltreatment. He hadn't even realized that the other had taken it off him.

The pirate was outright smirking when Garp returned his attention to him.

"Remember this, Garp! I am Gol D Roger, and one day, the whole world will know my name! You want to catch me? Just try!"

"I started seeking him out actively then. A while later, I requested to be transferred to Marine Headquarters. I knew that he would one day enter Grand Line, and I was prepared for when he did. I stalked him with every step he made, yet somehow he always managed to stay just out of reach. Every encounter was thrilling, for it could be said that we were evenly matched, though he eventually got away every time.

"But one time, that final time, he didn't.

"That meeting started out just like the others. A scout had spotted the Oro Jackson on the seas of the Grand Line, and I immediately told my crew to make for where the ship had been seen. We found him, as we sometimes did when we were lucky. But it wasn't long before I noticed something glaringly wrong with the picture.

"His crew, that he treasured so much, wasn't there."

"How come?" Ace spoke for the first time since he started telling the story. His eyes were large and curious. Garp smiled at him, and ruffled the boy's hair. Ace squirmed, batting away his hand. Garp just laughed and continued.

"That was something that puzzled me as well, at the time. It was unnatural to see him standing alone on the huge deck of his ship. He never told me what happened to his crew, but I am certain that they were likely ordered away by Roger himself. They would never have left him otherwise. I first suspected it to be a trap, but none of them made appearances, even after we captured him after the briefest of struggles. It was too easy. I only found out later that it was Roger's intention to be caught that day.

"Roger, for all that he was usually reckless and impulsive, was in fact a very intelligent man. I actually believe that he had planned everything to the last detail. He let me, who would chase him to the ends of the world if needed, catch him. He probably knew that by doing so I would gain a new level of respect among the Marines, even beyond the authority of my Vice Admiral position. He predicted that, and it was based on that assumption that he made his last personal request.

"He asked me to take you in. Being the man who had supposedly captured the Pirate King, I would be the last person in the world to be suspected of harboring any child of my lifelong enemy.

"You may think that he didn't care for you. But he knew that there was no way I would abandon you. By leaving you with me, he secured your safety. He used me, in a way that I should be angry about but can't. Because he did it to protect you."

Garp cleared his throat gruffly before continuing. "I want you to remember one thing, Ace. To those of us who had the chance to know him personally… He was my enemy, true. Yet for all his flaws, Gol D. Roger was not a man who I could truly hate. Which is why, when he selfishly told me to protect you…I agreed."

"Gramps…"

Garp cleared his throat, embarrassed by the emotional revelation. He stood and shot a gruff look at Ace, crossing his arms in front of him sternly. "But don't you go getting any ideas about becoming a pirate! You're going to be a Marine!"

"As if, old m-" Ace let out a huge yawn, his face going slack. Within a few seconds, he was asleep, his narcolepsy causing him to slump forward. Garp caught him before the child's face hit the ground, sitting down again and settling the boy's head on his thigh to let him rest better. He was surprised that Ace had not fallen asleep before this, actually.

A fond smile passed his face as he looked at the peacefully sleeping boy. His hand gently caressing the boy's hair, Garp sighed and gazed out again at the sea, the previous vibrant color now beginning to fade into darkness.

"Protect my child!"

"Absolutely preposterous!"

"No… You'll do it, I know you will! I leave my child in your hands!"

"Dammit Roger, I'm not cut out for this," he grumbled, but without any real heat. "All I can do is keep him away from the eyes of the government for as long as I can, and pray that he doesn't follow the same path you did.

"I'll do my best. But in the end… there are simply some things that I cannot do. You know that."

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Next up: A timeskip, and a chance encounter at the beginning of the Grand Line...