Life's full of secrets.
Chapter 3 and explosions
The next day, Ace decided that he wanted to clean the house. Luffy only knew the people who had come to deliver messages to Ace and he wanted the twelve year old not to panic. Luffy tended to do that when he was freaked out in a new place. Ace made their bed, the first time in many months, than did the dishes. Once the dishwasher had stopped, he gave Luffy a bath. The kid could do it by himself, but preferred to do it with his older brother.
Once that was done, they cleaned up the rest of the house. The message had said to go to the train station at five in the afternoon. There was still a few more hours before they would have to leave. Since they didn't have a car, they would have to walk the half hour to the station.
There was nothing on the TV and the game capsule had been taken by the land lady who had said that they were making too much noise late at night and that they would be given the capsule back when they begged at her feet. Both of them would rather have cleaned toilets with their tongues.
Luffy looked at Ace who was about to fall asleep. Luffy set the alarm clock for four fifteen, and went up to sit in his brother's lap. He got comfortable and they both went to sleep together again. Ace wasn't exactly asleep. He had his eyes closed and he knew that Luffy had crawled into his lap like he did whenever he had the chance. He was thinking about the meeting that afternoon.
Why had the old man wanted Luffy to come with him? Did he ask the others to bring their families with them, too? No, the others didn't have any family. The old man had been surprised to hear about Luffy.
Ace could remember it clearly. He had been in the park with Luffy who was eight at the time. Ace had been with the WhiteBeards for a year and was keeping Luffy a well kept secret. That was until Marco had dropped in on him to give him a message. Marco, and a few others, lived in the same building as the old man. It was their job to deliver the messages in secret and still go out on missions.
Luffy was running around the playground set with some other kids that went to his school. He was enjoying himself and was beginning to climb to the top. Marco had been standing behind a tree. He dropped the note for Ace to get when the man noticed something.
"You always come here to watch the kids run around?" he asked as Ace watched his younger brother climb to the top of the tower. Not to the last floor but really to the top. He had climbed onto the roof. Ace knew that if Luffy fell, he would be alright, but that didn't stop Ace from becoming a little bit worried.
"Why aren't you out there playing?" Marco had asked when he saw the boy on the roof, "That kids gonna get hurt."
Just as Marco said that, Luffy's foot slipped from underneath him. Ace was up and running before Marco could make a remark. Luffy had fallen at least eight feet. The rubber implant would take most of the impact, but Ace was still worried. He raced to Luffy's side. The boy was rubbing his head. He wasn't exactly sure that he hadn't fallen until he heard Ace call his name and his older brother was making sure he was alright.
Marco looked at the kids. His own implant allowed him to see that Ace and the boy he was looking at were almost identical. They both had the identical reddish brown eyes and black hair. Ace's hair was longer than and not as messy as the younger. He smiled at the two, realizing that they were siblings. That had been why the kid was always at the park. He had been watching his kid brother to make sure that the kid wasn't going to get hurt.
Ace finally fell asleep around two. Luffy was out cold and the only thing that would make him wake up was the promise of food. The two of them stayed that way. They weren't going to move.
Ace whined as the alarm began to ring. He punched it than looked at Luffy. Ace gently bent down and whispered food into the boy's ear. Luffy instantly shot up.
"Where? Where?" he asked jumping out of Ace's arms and began to look around. Ace started to laugh at the kid's enthusiasm for food. Luffy turned to face his older brother. "Meany, Ace!" Luffy said flailing his little fist at the teen.
Ace continued to laugh as they got ready. Luffy grabbed his beloved hat and Ace, who had remembered his necklace this time, locked the door. They walked out of the apartment and headed towards the station. They were half way there when Luffy began to get hungry. Ace sighed and looked at his watch. They were somewhat early and he decided that some crepes on the go wouldn't hurt.
They got the crepes and walked to the station. Luffy, following Ace's words never let go of his older brother's hand. They entered the station and Ace went straight to station number six. Luffy stayed close till he noticed the sandy haired man against a wall. Luffy tugged at his brother's shorts and looked at the pole.
Ace noticed Marco and they began to move towards the man. Marco smiled at them and handed Luffy a sucker. The little boy ripped it open and put it in his mouth. Ace smiled than looked back at Marco.
"Why did the old man want Luffy to come with me?" Ace asked squeezing his brother's hand.
Marco shrugged and they followed him through the maze of tunnels until they came to a door that would lead them to a car that would take them to the HQ. Luffy looked around but knew better than to make any noise.
When they were in the car and on the highway, Luffy finally talked. "Where are we going?" he asked Ace totally confused. Ace looked at his brother who had a smile on his face.
"We're going to where I work." Ace said getting tired. Marco looked back at the confused kid.
"What is your job, Ace?" Luffy asked still confused. Marco glanced at Ace. He gave him a questioning look. Ace sat forward and Luffy went back to looking out the window.
"You didn't tell him anything?" Marco whispered.
"What am I supposed to tell him, that I assassinate people for a living?" Ace whispered back.
"No, but he doesn't ask about receiving all of those messages." Marco pointed out.
"I told him its part of my job and he didn't ask anymore. It also included the candy that you give him every time." Ace said with a frown.
"Oh, come on. The kid deserves it. He's practically a medium for the notes. You don't give him any sweets, do you?" Marco said with a smile meaning he had won.
"Wait till you see him high on sugar. Then come crawling." Ace muttered before he sat back. Marco gave a small chuckle and watched as the driver went into the parking lot of the headquarters' main building. Luffy looked amazed at the big buildings and shiny windows. He wanted to know how the buildings stayed up when Marco got out of the car.
"We're here." Marco said smiling at the kid as he kept gawking at the big area. The boy was very amusing to watch. He seemed to be amazed at the slightest things. Ace sighed and grabbed his little brother's hand as Marco led them through the building. Many people were in the hall; some waiting for the meeting to start while others were recuperating after a hard mission.
Luffy looked around. He stayed close to his brother knowing that he would get lost if he didn't. Ace was happy that Luffy wasn't talking. After the accident that had caused them both a lot of problems, Luffy had become a little more timid of his surroundings. Ace rustled his little brother's hair. Marco noticed but didn't say anything.
When they reached the door for the meeting room, Marco looked at Ace and Luffy. "There's gonna be a lot of people in here. Some even you haven't seen, Ace." The man said before opening the door. Nobody really noticed the newcomers.
Thatch did however. He had noticed the shorter boy next to Marco and came over to say hi. That was when he noticed the littlest kid, half hidden behind the teen's leg.
"Who's that?" he asked pointing to Luffy. The boy looked at the blonde whose hair was somehow in an up slope at the front.
"My little brother. The old man asked me to bring him." Ace said putting a hand on the younger boy's head. Luffy smiled at the new man. Thatch looked at him and smiled back.
He knelt down and looked at the boy. "What's your name?" Thatch asked the boy who was taking in his surroundings.
Luffy looked at his older brother who nodded that he could say it.
"I'm Luffy." The black haired boy said with big grin. Thatch began to realize that the kid's smiles were contagious. Ace was beginning to think that Luffy could wind these men between his fingers.
"I'm Thatch." The man said rustling the kid's hair. Luffy grinned again and then looked at Ace still curious. Ace smiled and they walked deeper into the room. Ace wanted to keep Luffy out of the herd of people, but one of the women noticed his cute brother and started to squeal over him.
Luffy was scared at first with the sudden crowd of females around him. They were all squealing about how cute he was and they kept rustling his hair.
"Who are they crowding around?" Jozu asked coming up from behind.
"Ace's kid brother. The girls found him and they're playing 'Who can squeal the highest' game." Marco said looking at Ace who seemed to be getting kinda nervous.
Luffy had never been good with crowds since the accident. He wouldn't be panicked or anything like that, Luffy would just get really scared. Ace finally made it to his brother right before the kid was going to scream.
He quickly picked up his younger brother and carried him out of the circle. The girls began to complain at their cute toy was being taken away.
"One my brother isn't your 'toy'." Ace said making sure that Luffy was okay. "And two, Luffy hates being surrounded by people like that. Another second and none of you would have intact eardrums."
The girls instantly covered their ears and backed away. A lot of people were staring at the fifteen year old. Ace heeded no mind and put Luffy down.
"You okay?" he asked his little brother. Luffy nodded and looked back at the group of girls. They were scary and Luffy decided that he would stay clear of them. Marco came up from behind them.
"What was that? The kid was about to have a panic attack." He said looking at Luffy who was clinging to his older brother's shirt and didn't look like he was going to let go.
"When the accident happened, Luffy became terrified of crowds in general. It doesn't help the fact that he makes every woman squeal just because of his looks though." Ace said with a sigh. Marco gave a chuckle and went to the TV.
An explosion had happened at an apartment complex. Ace and Luffy went over to look at it too. That was when Ace noticed something. The apartment complex was the one where he and Luffy lived. Luffy must have known that too.
"I don't think that the land lady will like that." The kid had said looking at the building that was enveloped in flames. Ace shook his head. No she wouldn't. She would not like it one bit.
I think Nami is the land lady. just for added humor. yes, i am finally seperating the chapters. it took me about twenty minutes to figure out how to do with me and all my absolute fail at technology brain and all but it will be done tonight. I have no clue what time it is and I have about ten more chapters to fix... bye:)