I'm gonna try and post a chapter every few days, but school is annoying. Anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, for it belongs to Eiichiro Oda
"You can't bring back what you've lost, think about what you have now" - Jinbei
A soft breeze greeted the brothers as they boarded the ship. All chatter immediately quieted down when they spotted the sleeping boy. "He used up his energy, as crazy as that sounds," Sabo explained in a hushed whisper.
Everyone one deck quickly got the message and made a path for the revolutionary to the mens' quarters. Sabo tipped his head in thanks before disappearing in the room.
He carefully pulled his brother into a bridal style carry and onto his hammock. The blond took a minute to debate whether or not to stay in the room, but eventually left. Luffy may have had a slight mental breakdown, but the boy could sleep on his own.
And Sabo really doubted that he would wake up any time before dinner. If there was one thing he knew about his brother, it was that he tended to sleep longer when he knew he would not miss a meal.
Walking to the grassy deck, Sabo was greeted with smiling faces which he returned. "I am pretty sure it's only four. It's not time for sun to set! What the hell," Nami grumbled as she fittled with a clock and the log posts.
"You are right, Nami-sawn~" Sanji sang and spun around the red head with hearts dancing around him. The older blond could see Nami's eye twitch at the chef's actions.
Zoro opened his one good eye. "Oi, ero-cook," he scuffed, "leave the witch alone and do me a favor and shut up. I am trying to sleep here."
Said 'ero-cook' removed his love filled gaze from Nami and to a heated glare directed at the swordsman. "What did you say, Shitty Marimo?" He growled, sending a kick to the man who simply blocked it the hilt of his sword.
"I said, shut up Mr. Nose Bleed," he taunted. They began their petty fighting, as usual, and their fighting spirits radiated off of them like a wild fire.
Sabo hurriedly walked away in a random direction. Soon, he met the railing that looked over the island. He squinted his eyes as he saw ruffling in the bushes. In a short moment, his haki felt a presence, but he was not completely sure who it was. Maybe it was the Ace look alike. Wait, no, that was only a trick of the eye, right?
Summoning over the closest crew member, Chopper, he quickly pointed over to the bush in question. "Don't you have Kenbunshoku Haki?" the reindeer asked. "Luffy told me you are able to sense people through it."
"I don't know the presence," he answered truthfully. In the corner of his eye, he could see the fluff ball motioning over the 'terrible duo' to take a better look at it.
Zoro closed his eye. "Someone is definitely there," he concluded as he focused on his haki, "feels familiar though."
Sanji took the cigarette out of his mouth and let a puff of smoke escape. "Someone should go check it out so the rubber baka doesn't wake up," he informed, flicking the cigarette butt into a nearby trash can.
That was one thing Sabo found interesting about this crew. He knew they respected his brother, but never seemed to show it. They go around punching him for trying to eat all the food in the storage, but at the same time, they would put their lives on the line to protect him. At times, he would see them treat the boy like the child he acted like. Kind of like a family, a very odd family, but a family none the less.
That was rare to find in a crew. The only other crew openly like that (which came to mind) was the Whitebeard Pirates, but that never was any secret.
"For once I agree with swirly brow," Zoro stated as he held a hand on Shusui. "I'll go."
Once he started his leave, the younger blond blocked his way with a fierce kick. "Maybe we should pick someone more qualified for the job, Marimo," he said smugly.
Said 'marimo' glared at the chef. "Like you are one to talk, number seven," he replied with a slight hiss.
Sabo was ready to let his head fall on the railing, and he was not the only one annoyed- Nami looked as if she was ready to punch them over the head.
Another useless brawl, seriously.
Before the petty arguing could go too far, a flash of fire caught their attention. Looking over to the beach, a single beam of fire was seen briefly and then vanished. A growl from behind them soon came, and everyone turned to face a very much alive second division commander.
"What the hell?!" Everyone on board screeched.
Usopp began muttering things about zombies coming for their brains, and Chopper and Brook were freaking out next to the long nosed marksman. It would have been quite the comical scene if it was not for the seriousness of the situation.
Sabo could feel the headache coming.
A heated glare came from the Ace doppelganger. "Where is Luffy?" he growled, making sure his killing intent reached everyone in a five mile radius.
Zoro took this as his time to speak up after overcoming his shock. "What do you want with my captain, imposter?" he demanded with his own killer intent matching the familiar male's.
Not-Ace, as Sabo now dubbed him, clenched a fist as he ran up into the swordsman's face. "I saw Luffy running here with a fearful face, so you must have threatened him to keep him here," he explained with a snarl. "And I am here to get him back." His fist lit on fire when he prepared to punch the green haired male. He did not succeed as planned, though, for the first mate blocked the blow with a haki infused shusui.
Zoro gave a sly smirk. "I am in no position to give up my captain to a man who is supposed to be dead," he replied when he pointed Sandai Kitetsu at the raven haired male.
"You bastards-" Not-Ace started to growl, but was interrupted by the loud sound of a door being slammed.
All heads turned to see the straw hat wearing boy who stood outside the mens' quarters. He had wide eyes as he took in the situation. If one was close enough, they would hear him whisper 'Ace' under his breath.
Shaking his head, the supernova looked Not-Ace in the eye. "Who are you?" Luffy asked in a dangerously calm tone. Anyone who knew him would know that he was not taking shit if he spoke like that.
Not-Ace's face faltered. "I'm your brother, Lu," he answered softly.
"No you're not," the younger raven informed harshly, "Sabo is over there." To prove his point, he pointed to the previously hiding blond who waved sheepishly.
The freckled male blinked his eyes, as if to hold back tears. "What do you mean, Lu?" Not-Ace's words came out shaky. "Did they erase your memory or something? Did they do it to Sabo too?" His stance became one of a protective sibling.
"They wouldn't do that, they're my crew!" Luffy defended with a hard glare. He may look like his brother, but no one, no one, insults his crew. Not-Ace was taken aback by this and seemed to back away from the stern swordsman.
"Luffy," a strangely soft voice spoke up. Robin walked up to her captain while holding a book in her arms. "I think I may know what is going on here, but it would involve Ace over there."
The pirate captain nodded at his archeologist before looking back at Not-Ace. "You can come, but only if you promise not to harm my crew," he stated with a serious tone. Once Not-Ace nodded in reply, Luffy let his goofy grin once again take over his face. "Yosh! To the Galley!"
Each crew member took one last glance at the freckled man as they walked towards the Galley. There was an odd silence when everyone was seated in the Galley- one that was rare among the strawhats.
"Ace," Robin was the first to speak up, "would you mind explaining to us the events leading up to your arrival here?" The question was not the one many of the straw hats expected to be asked. They were expecting more of a 'who-are-you- and-why-do-you-look-like-someone-who-is-dead' question.
Not-Ace blinked. That was not what he was expecting either. "Well," he started to answer, "Oyaji said we were low on supplies, so we were going to make a quick stop here. I was sent by the fire turkey to gather information while Lu and Sabo stayed on board for some reason. I think he said something about not wanting to pay for rebuilding a village again."
"Then I got lost in the forest, and Lu here ran away when I told him he was supposed to be back on the Moby Dick. Now, I would like to know why he is here with you."
"Because, he is not the Luffy you are talking about," Robin explained. She soon continued when she saw the confused looks around her. "I read a book on this island while Luffy and Sabo were exploring. It contains many interesting stories on events that have occurred to people who docked on this island."
"Are there plant eating zombies? Oh, is there talking snowmen?" Luffy asked with sparkling eyes. Everyone, save Robin, groaned and let their heads fall to the table.
The dark haired archeologist gave a soft chuckle. "I'm afraid not, Luffy," she answered. "I read in here that there are many occurrences of people meeting themselves while exploring."
Sabo tilted his head. "Like carbon copies?" he wondered aloud.
Robin shook her head. "More like alternate selves. People they would be if they changed part of their lives," she replied. "It is said that not everyone has seen themselves. The theory is that if they changed something in their lives, they would be nowhere near the Grand Line, much less the New World."
"Does that mean…" Sabo trailed off as his eyes darted from Ace to Luffy.
Robin shut the book she was previously flipping through. "I don't think so, Sabo," she hummed, "Ace mentioned something about you back on his ship."
The revolutionary rubbed his head in his hands. "So many things could have happened for it to be like that," he groaned, "It could be Garp's fault for all I know." He brushed a hand through his hatless hair and sighed.
Not-Ace grumpily leaned back in his seat. "What I want to know is what happened to make Lu forget his own brother," he stated with a sour tone. Unbeknownst to him, the rubber boy flinched,
"Ace," Sabo found himself scolding. Old habits die hard, he guesses.
Luffy adjusted his old straw hat so it shadowed over his eyes. The boy stood up and walked out of the room, his previous cheerful demeanor gone without a trace.
Not-Ace blinked at the sudden departure. "Uh…" he stuttered, no real words coming out. He really had no idea what he said to upset his not-brother. The boy might be a counter part of his brother, but he knew full well that Luffy never did that without being seriously unhappy.
Standing up from his seat and heading for the kitchen, Sanji turned to eye Not-Ace. "Do us a favor," he warned as he lit a cigarette, "and don't mention your counterpart in front of our captain." With that, he strolled out of the Galley with an agreeing crew in tow.
"Oi! Brook," Usopp called out to the afro skeleton once they were on deck. Upon the head of the ship, Luffy could be seen lying on top of it with his straw hat over his face. Not-Ace did not feel comfortable with his (not so) baby brother like that.
The musician spun around to face the long nosed boy. "Yes, Usopp-san," he responded with a tip of his hat. Brook then leaned on his sword-cane.
The marksman grinned. "Bink's Sake!" he said with humorous –and fake- authority dripping in his words.
If the living dead man could, he would be wearing a wide smile. "On it," he sang as he drew his trusty violin out of nowhere.
Not-Ace had no idea what happened, but the moment the first chord was strung, everyone began singing along. In the middle of the song, Sanji kicked the kitchen door open while holding a giant platter filled with multiple varieties of food.
"Party!" Luffy cheered when he jumped off his perch on the Sunny's head and over to the newly made food stack. Soon enough, Zoro too walked over to the food placement but reached for the booze that sat on the rail beside it.
The party lasted until the last few hours of the night. All in all, it consisted of the 'idiot trio' stuffing chopsticks up their noses, a drinking contest (which Sabo strictly forbidden him from entering), a mass amount of catchy songs, and many more simply crazy ordeals.
Not-Ace groaned as he tried to stand. He really should not have stayed so long, Oyaji would be worried, and no doubt so would his Sabo and Lu. Looking over the horizon, the smallest peak of a sunrise could be seen over the crowding tress.
"Shit, it's morning already," he muttered. The freckled man tried to move once again, but found a raven haired head laying on his lap. Not-Ace smiled and brushed a hand through the boy's unruly hair.
"Seems like he fell asleep on you," Sabo chuckled. The blond came over and gently picked up the sleeping boy. "Nami, the navigator, says we will be moving to drop anchor closer to port. Turns out the locals are indifferent to pirates."
"Hm…" the younger male hummed. "I've gotta get to Oyaji…" His words slurred with an escaping yawn.
Sabo shifted the straw hat captain, so he was in a more comfortable sleeping position with his head in the crock of the blond's neck. "How about you wait until we reach port," he suggested to the older raven, "Even though Lu seemed a bit harsh at first, he would probably want you to stay a bit longer."
Not-Ace took a glance at the peacefully sleeping rubber boy before sighing. "I guess I could," he claimed, walking behind his brothers' counterparts as they trotted off to the male sleeping quarters.
Oh, I was wondering, do you guys want me to use the Japanese terms or the English ones? Thanks!
Also, I would like to thank Fi Suki Saki for pointing out the Robin does not use '-san' and the such. I went back and edited that, thank you!