A/N: Remember when I first started writing this and I was all "Yeah, there shouldn't be much need for trigger warnings, you'll just have to worry about language!"

Hahahaha, yeah that lasted exactly no time at all.

So, trigger warning, there's character injury in this chapter. And the care of said injury. It's not what I would call graphic. But I still want to warn for it just in case.

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I loved my brother more than anything in this world or any other. But even I had to admit that he was the biggest idiot I'd ever met.

The day had started routinely with a big breakfast courtesy of Makino followed by a fishing trip by the docks. And then we'd seen the Marine ship on the horizon bearing a dog figurehead. We'd immediately tried to hide even though we knew it was futile. We couldn't help it. It was that indomitable will to survive that had literally been beaten into us.

Gramps had found us almost immediately, of course, just as he always did. I didn't know if he was a gigantic cheater and was using haki or if he was really just that good at hide and seek. With him it was hard to tell.

He'd begun chasing us the moment we were in his sight, brandishing the Fist of Love against us. He'd been furious to discover that Luffy had eaten a Devil Fruit but even that would've been fine. We'd had seven years worth of experience with his wrath, after all. No. No, the real trouble came when Luffy just had to open his big fat mouth. Like an idiot.

"I'm not gonna become a marine, shitty Gramps! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"WHAT!"

And that, as they say, was when our fate was sealed.

And so here we were, dangling from our Grandfather's massive hands as he trekked through the jungle with us in tow. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. After all, Luffy had to meet Ace and Sabo eventually. And in the manga he'd been seven. So, really, this wasn't a surprise to me. I couldn't help but selfishly wish it didn't have to happen, though. Not because I didn't want to meet Ace and Sabo, or even the Dadan family.

It was that I didn't want to leave Makino.

It was stupid and childish and with how old I was, mentally, it shouldn't have been a problem. But. In my last life I'd never been able to rely on my mother the way I relied on Makino. She was the first person to ever take care of me simply because she wanted to and not because she was obligated to. And you best believe it had taken me a long time growing up in this world to become comfortable with the idea of being taken care of. And now that person I had grown to trust so much was being ripped away from me in a single day. And it hurt.

"I'm rubber, so why does this hurt?!" Luffy's whine cut through my bleak thoughts and dragged me back to the present. Gramps had taken a solid hold on the back of my shirt to carry me but he'd opted to pinch Luffy's cheek instead. Even now, hours after we'd begun this hike up the mountain, he was still slapping at Garp's leg, albeit weakly. "Let me go, Gramps!"

"You didn't bring any of our stuff," I informed our grandfather in a dull voice. "Not even our clothes. You didn't plan this at all."

"Of course I didn't! I had planned for you both to be strong marines!" He rebutted instantly, giving me a solid shake as if I were an unruly puppy. "Leaving you in that lukewarm village was obviously a mistake! If you're gonna become strong marines then you've got to learn to survive!"

"And the training you've subjected us to before was for what, exactly...?" I knew it was stupid to provoke him but I was already in a horrible mood and try as I might I just couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my tone.

Thankfully, before he could respond with another shake or, god forbid, a Fist of Love, we broke through the tree line to find a large hut. Garp wasted no time at all in stepping to the front door and rapping his fist harshly against the wood. He seemed supremely unconcerned with the fact that Luffy's face was still dangling from said fist.

"Dadan!" He yelled out gruffly. "Get out here!"

Barely a minute had gone by when the door was yanked open, revealing the single most manly woman I'd ever seen. The fierce scowl that had been on her face disappeared rapidly at the sight of who awaited her, replaced instead by a look of terror. Her complexion had gone alarmingly pale. Not that I could blame her. Lu and I had pretty much the same reaction whenever Gramps was involved.

"G-Garp-san!" She stuttered out, almost chocking on her cigarette in the process. "Have you come to see Ace? The boy's already ten, you know, when are you gonna give me a break? I can't take much more of this!"

"Ten, huh?" Garp began to bellow out a laugh as he absentmindedly set Luffy and I free. My brother took off like a shot, excited to explore his new surroundings, and I followed diligently after him. I kept half an ear on the conversation behind me, though, wanting to know what exactly it was that was being decided for us. "I need you to take in two more."

"Two?! We can barely handle the one!" Dadan immediately protested, the men at her side echoing her. "Why should we have to take care of those brats as well?!"

"They're my precious grandchildren," Gramps answered simply, finger lodging into his left nostril. I cringed. I wish he'd never taught Luffy that disgusting habit.

"G-g-g-grandchildren?!" All three bandits jumped back and away, as if simply being near us could be fatal.

"Yep," he seemed completely oblivious to their terror even as he used it as blackmail against them. "So, you have two choices. Either rot behind bars or take care of these little runts. Don't forget that I'm keeping the marine's eyes off of your list of crimes, which numbers more than the stars!" And then he had the gall to burst into laughter. I had to admit that I felt a little bad for the mountain bandits as I watched them tremble and try desperately to think of a way to get out of this. But they were trapped and they knew it.

"Well, we don't want to be arrested," the tall guy admitted sheepishly.

"But," injected the shorter one, shudder running up his frame, "sometimes I wonder if the slammer's really worse than this."

"I'm already at my wits end with the other one!" Dadan pleaded, becoming more and more desperate. "And now you want me to take care of your two grandkids?! They're probably little monsters, too, just like him!"

It was at this point that my attention was stolen in the form of a giant loogey splatting solidly onto my brother's cheek.

"Spit! Gross!" He reacted immediately, trying to rub it off even as the slimy substance stuck to his hand instead. I shuddered in disgust at the sight, grateful that it hadn't hit me. "Who did this?!"

"Oh, Ace!" Garp turned his back on the bandits and steadily ignored their panic. I looked to where he was facing and had to stop myself from taking a step back.

I'd never seen anyone look so menacing before. Not Higuma, who'd wanted to kill us. Not Shanks, when he'd come to our defense. No one had ever, in either of my two lives, looked at me with such contempt and hate. To see it on the face of a ten-year-old just made it all the more disconcerting.

I knew Ace was in a bad way in the beginning and it wasn't like I could blame the kid. He'd grown up being constantly shit on, told day after day that his very existence was a sin, and his so-called caretakers had done nothing to try to dispel the notion. The things that had been said to him, about himself and his father, were appalling to say the least. And so the fact that he'd been turned into this cold, hateful shell of a person wasn't a surprise.

It was heartbreaking though.

As Gramps introduced us, demanding we get along, before turning back to the bandits and their dwindling arguments, I came to a decision. This kid was going to put us through hell, I knew. He wouldn't take kindly to being followed and would do everything in his considerable power to get us to back off. And it was going to be painful and grueling. It would be one of the hardest things I'd ever done, up until this point. But I was going to do it.

If it was the last thing I did, I was going to see Ace's shell of hate cracked wide open. I would see that smile he'd presented to Luffy in Alabasta, full of love and happiness and affection. I would see the pride he'd had in himself when he'd confirmed he was a part of Whitebeard's crew, the joy he'd had when he showed off the mark tattooed on his back for all the world to see.

He deserved it, and I was going to make it happen. And I knew Luffy would be right at my side, just as determined, even if right now he looked about ready to start a fist fight with the guy.

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"I hate mountain bandits!" Luffy exclaimed, tongue sticking out of his mouth at the very idea of them. He was obviously picturing Higuma and his men just like I was.

"Sorry," I said sounding exactly the opposite, "but I do as well."

"Shut up, you brats! I'm already tired of you both!" Dadan yelled, vein throbbing in her forehead. She completely ignored the tall guy from earlier - I knew that I knew their names, what were their names? - who was trying to calm her down. "If you don't like it here then leave, go out there and starve!"

We'd been ushered inside not long after our Grandpa's abrupt departure. After things had been explained to the rest of Dadan's gang, a platter towered high with meat had been brought out. It had quickly turned into a bloodfest, men punching and kicking and even biting in order to get every last scrap they could. Needless to say, Luffy and I got none of it.

"This is too little," my brother whined, hand holding the small bowl of rice he'd been given while he literally drooled at the meat on Ace's plate. My own stomach gurgled loudly at the sight but I stubbornly ignored it. "I want some of that meat, too."

"Listen, Ace caught this bison and shared it with us, meaning he can eat as much as he wants and not work. You two, on the other hand, are going to have a lot to do, starting tomorrow. You will clean, do the laundry, polish our weapons! You will rob, steal, swindle and even murder people!" She tore off a giant hunk of meat, chewing loudly and continuing before she'd even swallowed. I fought not to scowl at her. "And you will not tell Garp any of what we make you do here! One bowl of rice and one cup of water each, per day! Anything else you'll have to grow up and get yourself!"

"Okay." Luffy agreed easily, not looking in the least bit cowed. I shrugged along with him, almost snickering at the look on Dadan's face at our calm acceptance.

"Why would you agree so easily? You were supposed to cry!"

"Gramps would dump us in the jungle all the time," my brother informed her cheerfully. "I can eat worms, frogs, snakes and mushrooms all I want!"

"And I can make sure he doesn't kill himself in the process," I interjected, remembering how many times I had to keep him from doing just that.

"Yeah! We're gonna be pirates one day, ya know, so we have to be able to do at least that!"

I saw Ace stiffen from the corner of my eye before he shoved his empty plate away, getting to his feet in a single sharp movement and stalking away. Luffy was up on his feet immediately after, ignoring the bandits in favor of following the scowling boy out of the hut. He didn't stop to see if I was following. He probably wouldn't have minded much if I didn't, though he'd feel a bit lonely, probably. Twins we may have been, but there were times we went off on our own adventures.

We'd collectively decided, though, that things were much better when we were together. And besides that, I'd already made a vow to get through to Ace, hadn't I? I wasn't gonna be able to do that in this hut, cleaning my days away, that was for damn sure.

I shoved what little rice was left into my mouth, mentally berating myself for the action even as I popped up to my feet and followed them out. I could hear Dadan calling out behind us, obviously annoyed, but decided that I didn't much care. It wasn't important.

I was hot on my brother's heels as we followed Ace up a path away from the hut. The path was steep but well-worn, obviously frequently traveled. I could see him glare at us over his shoulder as he reached the top, clearly pissed that we were following him, just as I knew he would be.

"Hey!" Luffy called out to him, waving his arms in greeting. "I'm not angry about the spit anymore! It's not something to be angry about!"

I couldn't help but smile proudly at that even as apprehension twisted my gut at the sight of Ace kicking harshly at a large tree.

"Let's be friends! Where are you going?" Before he could get another word out, the tree trunk splintered at Ace's second kick, falling sideways to the ground and rolling downhill at us at a surprising rate.

"Son of a -" I didn't have time to do much more than grab onto Luffy's body before it crashed into us, splintering further on impact and slamming us violently into the ground. By the time everything was settled, I found myself on my back, Luffy splayed above me as what was left of the tree pressed down on both of us. I grunted, body pulsing like one giant bruise. Luffy looked more uncomfortable at the weight bearing down on him than anything, which made sense. Blunt impact wasn't going to do much. Though, I could see a few blood trails where shards of wood had obviously cut into him. I'm sure I looked just as bad, if not worse.

"Ah, you okay, Lili?" Luffy asked in a breathless voice, arms trembling as he tried to lift himself far enough for me to slither out from under him. I wasn't surprised at the use of his childish nickname for me. Unless the situation was truly dire it was the name he used the most. That in and of itself assured me that he was fine.

"Yeah," I muttered, wiggling to freedom. "Hurts a bit, but this is nothing compared to Gramps' Fist of Love."

"Shishishishi, you got that right!" He grinned as I finally escaped. I wasted no time in lifting the tree off of him in turn. It was much heavier than I'd thought it was and I had to admit that I was a bit impressed with his strength.

"C'mon, we'd better hurry if we wanna catch back up to him."

"Right! Let's go!"

With that we were off, following the trail once more. We ran at a steady pace, jumping expertly over tree roots as we went. Traversing through a jungle might not quite be second nature to us but that didn't mean we were novices, either. After all of those so-called training trips we'd at least learned how to run away from vicious animals well enough.

It didn't take more than ten minutes to catch up. Ace obviously hadn't been expecting us to get up so quickly, if at all. His face was a mask of surprise when he saw us step onto the rickety bridge behind him, before quickly morphing into anger. His grip on his pipe tightened as he stalked his way towards us, his intent quite obvious. Luffy did no more than stare him down even as he tried to catch his breath. I wasn't in much better shape as I watched the older boy get closer and closer, eyes turned into dark pools of rage.

There was no fanfare as he whipped his pipe at us, catching Luffy right in the head and sending him tumbling over the rope and into the ravine below. I didn't even have time to shout before that pipe swung back towards me, striking me in the upper arm. It might not have been as violent of a hit but that didn't mean there was any less strength behind the blow. I went tumbling down not even a second later into the darkness.

I had made a decision, and I was still firm in my resolve, but I had to admit that as I descended into terrifying free-fall I couldn't help but wish I had just stayed in that stupid hut.

The last thing I saw before the darkness of the ravine swallowed me whole was the sight of Ace turning and calmly continuing forward on his walk. He never once looked back.

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The landing was not pleasant.

I had a feeling that if I was anything other than a Monkey, or maybe a descendant of D, I'd probably be dead. As it was I was sure as hell in a lot of pain, though not as much as I'd figured I would be.

I was laying face down and my head was bleeding, obviously having cracked against the ground, and the world was awash in trailing lights. For a second I wondered if they were bugs before I realized that they weren't real. My ears were ringing something fierce, it felt like gravity was seconds away from giving me up for a lost cause and what little food I had in my stomach was making itself known in roiling nausea. I had to have had one hell of a concussion.

That wasn't all I had. As the numbness of shock began to fade my left shoulder became a bigger and bigger ball of pain. Grunting, trying my best to ignore my dizziness and the resulting sick that tried to force it's way up to my throat, I slowly pushed myself up with my seemingly undamaged arm, twisting my head around to try and assess the damage.

I cringed, spotting it immediately. My shoulder was lumpy and elongated, the joint having obviously disconnected. The force of hitting the ground must have been enough to pop it out backwards. Even through the ball of pain I could feel numbness quickly spreading to the rest of my arm. That wasn't good. I couldn't pop it back in myself and I wouldn't want Luffy to do it either, but I had to at the very least get it into a make-shift tourniquet. Who knew how much worse the long-term damage could be otherwise?

"Luffy..." I tried to call out, only to cough as my voice came out as a wheeze instead. I immediately clamped down on my lip hard, hard enough to feel blood well up and flow down my chin, in order to contain the shriek that wanted to break free. Okay, so jostling was definitely a no-go. Good to know. "Luffy!"

My voice came out clearer this time and echoed for a few seconds, bouncing off of the cliff walls. I wondered for a minute if I should really be yelling out like I was. I might get my brother's attention but I could also grab the attention of other, less savory things. Like wolves.

It was a chance I had to take though. It was either that or sit here quietly and hope Luffy would somehow find me on his own. Like hell I was gonna just lie here and do nothing. Besides, remaining silent didn't mean any potential beast wouldn't still be drawn by the smell of my blood.

"Luffy!" I continued to yell out every few minutes, letting my voice continue to echo as the rock walls took it farther and farther away. After awhile I tried to scoot over to one, so that at least my back would be protected. When my vision finally cleared what felt like minutes later I focused on my harsh breathing instead and decided not to try that again any time soon.

The ravine had become almost pitch black, the sun not being able to reach this far down any longer, by the time I finally heard my brother's echoing response. I grinned even as I continued to wince at the shocks of fire my spasming muscles shot through my shoulder and down my arm. I could honestly say I'd never been in this much pain before. I wasn't a fan.

After a few minutes of calling back and forth, like some sick version of Marco Polo, I finally heard the sound of Luffy's feet as he ran blindly in my direction.

"Stop running!" I yelled out in panic, knowing just where that would have gotten us, and the sound of his steps slowed immediately in response.

"Are you okay?" He yelled back, clearly hearing something in my voice.

"Not... really," I admitted through clenched teeth. "I messed my left shoulder up really badly. And I think I have a concussion."

"Contion?" Luffy asked, mangling the word. "What's that?"

"Concussion," I stressed the syllables, long used to his difficulty with vocabulary. "It's when you hit your head really hard. It makes you feel sick and dizzy and can even mess up your sight and hearing."

"That's not good," his voice had gone quieter, his steps transforming into a shuffling sound that I could only guess was him crawling his way towards me instead. I felt my heart warm at the act. He knew I was in pain and didn't want to accidentally cause me more by stepping on me. And head injuries meant that loud noises would make it hurt worse and so he was trying to be silent for my sake.

I really did love this kid more than anything in the world, any world.

"No, it's not," I agreed, matching my tone to his. "And I don't think we'll be able to do much until we can see again."

"So we either wait here," finally, so gently I barely even felt it, Luffy's hand landed on my hair and then followed the tangles of my braid until his palm rested lightly on the crown of my head, "or I help you walk until we get out of this place. We might be able to use moonlight if we can find our way out."

"I don't know if I can stand, let alone walk," I admitted, feeling shame well up in me strongly. Yeah, Luffy had an unfair advantage thanks to his Devil Fruit but it still burned to know that I was going to slow him down by being so weak. Helpless, I was helpless, and I hated it.

"It's okay," he tried to assure me, stroking my hair lightly. He paused for a moment, sucking in a sharp breath when he found the wet stickiness of my blood, before determinedly continuing with the comforting gesture. "You're allowed to ask for help. It doesn't mean you're weak."

He knew me far too well. Knew how much I hated not being able to do something on my own, how much I absolutely loathed being forced to rely on others. I didn't mind getting help for most things, especially when it was from my brother. That wasn't the problem. The problem was not having a choice in the matter.

It honestly wasn't until this moment that I realized how much of a change I'd made on Luffy simply by existing. He'd always been smart in his own way, in the manga, would blurt out great insights and flashes of wisdom from seemingly nowhere before returning to his usual carefree, childish demeanor. And he was still carefree, was still childish. He could still be idiotic beyond belief at times. But those flashes, those insights, came far more often than they ever had before.

His vocabulary and grammar were better. He could understand difficult concepts easier so long as I took the time to explain them simply to him. He took care with the people around him now, at least he had with Makino and I, especially when injuries came into play. I could remember him in the manga stating that simply eating meat would cure Nami when she was sick, genuinely ignorant that most people didn't work that way. After the numerous bumps and bruises we'd received through training or rough playing, though, he knew that wasn't the case now. He never held back, didn't treat me like I was fragile or breakable, but I could clearly see that he was careful with me in a way he hadn't been with anyone in the manga.

Who knew, maybe it was just because I was his sister. But still. The change was there.

I heaved out a great sigh before drawing in a slow breath, lifting myself up as I went. Luffy's hands were instantly on my back and undamaged shoulder, helping and supporting as much as he could. Once I was sitting up I took a moment to just breathe and get my roiling stomach under control, willing the world to stop spinning around me.

"Did you get hurt?" I asked, breathless, just then realizing that I hadn't yet.

"I think I have a few more scratches but nothing bad."

I sighed in relief. While I'd known it was unlikely, hearing that he was unharmed was extremely comforting. "Okay. If you're up to it, I think you're going to have to carry me. I can try walking, if I need to, but..."

"It's okay." I felt Luffy's arm brush against me as he turned, presenting me with his back. I didn't let myself dwell on how humiliating it was and instead focused on the fact that it was Luffy. My shame was nothing in the face of my brother. Taking in one more deep breath I heaved myself up, wrapping my right arm around his shoulder while I cradled my left protectively between our bodies. I felt him grip the backs of my knees tightly and then he was standing up.

He wasted no time in stepping forward, although he went slowly so as to avoid tripping and stumbling. It took a few minutes for the world to solidify around me again. My brain was running sluggishly, like I had to force my thoughts through a tub of molasses just to get them to make sense. Therefore, it took longer than usual to calculate where we likely were and what direction we were going.

"Wrong way," I managed to slur out. I knew slurred speech was not a good sign.

Luffy turned around instantly, trusting my words even in my clearly befuddled state. He was quiet for a moment before promising, "We'll get out of here soon."

I hummed in response, closing my eyes and resting my head on the back of his. It was an awkward carry, since we were roughly the same height, but it was still leagues more comfortable than the hard ground I'd landed on. It wasn't until I felt myself begin to doze that I forcibly snapped myself into attention, unable to withhold the whimper that escaped when my shoulder began spasming once more.

"Lily?" Luffy stopped, turning his head as if he could see me. The concern and worry were plain in his tone.

"Don't let me fall asleep," I commanded. The slur was still there and seemed to only be getting worse. "No matter what. It's not good to sleep with concussions this bad."

"Why?" He wondered as he picked up the pace once more.

"I might not wake up." My answer was blunt and I could feel him shudder at the very idea of me falling asleep and never waking up again.

"No sleeping, then," his voice was suddenly sharp and full of command. It was the voice I'd only ever heard Shanks use before. It was a Captain's Voice.

"No sleeping," I agreed, the smile on my face strained but there. "Talk to me to keep me awake."

"Hmmm," Luffy thought for a moment. "What do you think about Ace?"

I was kind of surprised, though I supposed I shouldn't be. Luffy had always been intuitive when it came to people and I knew that ability would only grow as he got older and began sailing the world. He'd obviously already seen something in the older boy, underneath all that anger and hatred, that he felt was worth all of this. But to be asked my opinion as well?

"I think he's in a lot of pain," I whispered and he hummed his agreement, waiting for me to go on. "I think he was hurt a lot and that's why he's so mad."

"Me, too."

"Is that why you're trying so hard to be his friend?"

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed quietly, "you are, too, dummy."

"I suppose," I muttered. He had a point. "Does that mean we're gonna try again?"

"Of course!"

"Figures. Well, hopefully we don't fall down a ravine next time. I don't think my body could take it twice."

"I'll stay closer next time," Luffy decided. I could hear the determination in his voice. "That way I can use my Devil Fruit to help."

"I don't want you getting hurt to protect me." My voice was stern. He only laughed in response and I could do nothing but sigh. Once Luffy had made up his mind there wasn't much to be done to change it.

"How far do you think it is to the exit?" He asked, unsubtle in his subject change.

"Who knows? Hopefully not too far, tho-"

A series of loud growls cut me off and both of us froze in response. The snarling was seemingly coming from all around us and was steadily circling closer. Out of the blackness, the glare of glowing yellow eyes soon became visible as what were clearly wolves converged on us. Because of course.

"Mother fucker."

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Escaping the wolves was definitely a trial. Thankfully, they seemed to be pretty starved, and so all they had was desperation instead of strength. And my brother and I had plenty of desperation, too.

That didn't mean we escaped unscathed, of course.

It was after sunrise before we finally managed to half-run, half-stumble our way out of the ravine and back into the jungle. I was on my own two feet again, a necessity what with how torn up Luffy had become in the fight with those beasts, but I was still hanging pretty solidly off of his shoulder. He would grunt and stumble under the weight every now and then but otherwise made no complaint.

As soon as we were able to see clearly I called a halt. I kept standing, knowing if i sat down for even a second I was unlikely to get up again anytime soon, and kept Luffy on his feet as well.

"Your shirt's in tatters, but we can still use it," I mumbled, tripping over words in my exhaustion. Luffy had no problem understanding me, though, and swiftly pulled what remained of his shirt off over his head, hiding a wince as he did so. The claw marks on his shoulder were still bleeding sluggishly and the action had to have pulled at them. I ripped a long strip from the bottom and then began ripping the rest into smaller pieces. With the smaller ones I began bandaging what cuts on my brother I could. I knew that this was beyond unsanitary but it was really the only option we had.

Once that was done I handed the longer strip to Luffy while keeping my left arm curled tight to my chest. "Here, take this. Wrap it around me. Make sure that my elbow is resting in it and then tie it at my shoulder. Tight enough to keep my arm still but not so tight that it'll dig it."

He followed my directions to the letter, though he couldn't quite get his hands to stop shaking. Once he was done we just stood there for a moment, side by side, and breathed. We'd made it out of the ravine alive. Now we just had to traverse the jungle and find our way back to the mountain bandits.

Piece of cake, right?

I sighed. "The sun just came up and it's on that side. We need to head north, which is this way."

"Wooooow," Luffy breathed, the stars in his eyes dimmed but still present. "You can tell just from the sun?"

"Hm," I confirmed with a hum. Gramps had gone over rudimentary navigation with us multiple times, every time he'd tossed us in for survival training, but I wasn't surprised it hadn't sunk in with Luffy. "The sun always rises in the east, which is that way, and sets in the west, which is that way."

"Why?"

"I dunno." I could've devolved into a scientific breakdown of it but, as much as Luffy tended to listen to me more than anyone else, there was no way I'd keep his attention through that.

"Ooooh," he punched the palm of his hand as if in sudden understanding. "It's a mystery sun."

"Yes, Luffy," I agreed dryly, knowing the tone would go right over his head. "It's a mystery sun."

"So cool!"

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The trek through the woods wasn't quite a walk in the park but it was easier than our mad scramble through the pitch black ravine by far.

I remember in the manga that little Luffy had been missing for about a week after Ace had shoved him off of that bridge. So the fact that we stumbled our why to the hut's front door as the sun was just beginning to sink on the first day was surprising to say the least. And then I remembered how Luffy had almost gone the wrong way when we'd first started walking. And how he'd had no clue how to use the sun to navigate. He'd probably been stumbling around in circles the entire time he was missing before.

I sighed and quickly forced the thoughts from my sore brain. Not like it mattered now.

"Hey, it's Luffy and Lily! They're back!" One of the bandits announced as we made our way inside.

"What? They're still alive?!" Dadan's voice yelled, shrill, and I winced as it seemed to physically pierce into my head. She arrived in the room soon after, taking in our injured states with incredulity. I could sympathize a bit. We probably looked half-dead already. "Where were you?"

"Wolves chased us and we fell off a cliff," Luffy answered immediately, voice flat in exhaustion.

"Fell off a cliff?! What were you even doing there?!"

"Can you stop yelling, please?" I mumbled out, rubbing at my aching temple.

"Lily's hurt. Her shoulder is all funny." His voice clearly implied the 'so do something'.

"It's dislocated," I informed, curling in on myself a bit.

Dadan sighed, long and drawn out and full of frustration. "Dogra! Patch these brats up and then send them to bad!"

"Yes, boss!" The short-statured man responded instantly - oh, so his name was Dogra - and quickly directed us towards the wash room at the back of the house. He pulled a large first-aid kit out of seemingly nowhere and set it out around us, laying out bandages and disinfectants and even needles and thread. "Alright, Lily, let's see that shoulder."

I was hesitant to let him near me, I felt like a cornered animal hiding it's wounds, and it was only Luffy's hand grasped in mine that kept me from running right back to the jungle. I stood stiff as he undid the knot on my shoddy makeshift tourniquet and complied wordlessly when he told me to sit. I kept a tight grip on my brother's hand as Dogra began prodding around the injury, sending new waves of pain flaring through me.

Finally, after what felt like an eon, he stood and grasped my arm right above my elbow while placing the other against my shoulder blade, clearly meant for bracing.

"This is going to hurt quite a bit," he warned me. I did nothing but nod. Of course it was going to fucking hurt. What did he think it felt like now? "Alright. On the count of three then. One... two..."

He never made it to three, instead yanking on my arm and then pushing, rotating it just so until it rolled back into place with a sickening pop.

The last thing I was aware of before darkness overtook me was the pain-filled shriek I was unable to contain, and the feeling of my brother's hands catching me as I fell.

.

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A/N: I was so determined not to post anything until I'd at least gotten more then just a couple reviews. Like, I wanted to wait until I got at least five. But no. This story is consuming me. I just want to write it all the time. Not that those few reviews I did get weren't amazing! Everyone who has reviewed so far has been extremely kind and encouraging and I appreciate it more than you could ever know!

So, first off, I had debated on just zooming through the time period when Ace is being difficult and exceedingly violent. And I might do that in regards to the rest because if I write long chapters for each we're definitely going to be be here for awhile. But I wanted to at least write this one. For being together in literally every chapter, there hasn't really been much interaction between Lily and Luffy just yet. I wanted to change that.

I also wanted to emphasize the fact that Lily's mere existence is changing Luffy. Not to the point where he's unrecognizable. Luffy will always be Luffy. But now he's also a brother and, more than that, a big brother. It'll become more and more apparent that, as much as Lily adores Luffy, he loves her just as much.

Hopefully the changes are still in character for him, though? Are believable? Let me know what you guys think.

So, anyway, favorite, follow or review, please! Fast as these chapters are coming out, they'd come out a lot faster if you guys gave me encouragement, I can promise you that.

Thanks for reading!