Chapter 4: Scars, Lunch, and the Picture
(Hey guyz~! So I'm in my mom's truck for the next four hours. Yay! More time to write. For those of you who don't know, I got into a mild accident yesterday and hit my head pretty hard. If there's any mess ups that I didn't catch, please don't be upset and just tell me kindly. On to the crap!)
Ace was laying in his bunk peacefully. The night before, he thought the beds wouldn't be comfortable at all. But now he knew he had been wrong. He owed it to the Shipwright for making them so damn soft. He was right on the edge of waking up when he heard some clicking.
Ace slowly opened his sleep filled eyes and saw a red, blue, and black blur. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and finally saw who it was. The blurry figure had been his little brother, Luffy, with a camera. When he saw the boy run out of the room giggling he was curious as to why.
Then he remembered the night before and looked at how he was dressed. Ace was still dressed as a girl. At that moment, he realized why Luffy had the camera and was giggling like a mad man. He shot out of bed immediately and ran out of the room, already forgetting how he was dressed.
"LUFFY! GIVE ME THAT CAMERA!" Ace shouted before running around the ship to find said boy.
Finally, Ace had ran into the kitchen where he had seen both of his brothers. Immediately, Sabo burst into laughter while Luffy tried to hide behind the blonde. Ace glared at the blond before yelling at him.
"Dude! Do you realize how funny you look? You're trying to look furious but you have make up smudged all over your face!" Sabo said before laughing even more.
Instantly, Ace's face was red with embarrassment as he ran over to the sink to wash off the make-up. When it was all gone, he went back to his brothers who were staring at the picture of him. He looked like he had been hit in the face by a make-up cover ugly stick. The lip gloss had been spread from his lips to his cheek, almost his ear. The eye shadow had smudged around his eyes making him look like he had two horrible black eyes. The fake eyelashes had even come off and were either on his cheek or on his forehead. He even had some dried drool coming out of his mouth and towards his chin.
"You were even snoring!" Luffy laughed when he saw his oldest brothers shocked look.
"You looked comfortable. I didn't want to wake you, Sleeping Beauty." Sabo teased before laughing loudly.
"Shut the hell up you bastards!" Ace shouted before tackling the blond and younger raven.
After a few minutes, the blond and younger raven were sporting a few fresh burn marks. Sabo was just laughing it off, saying something about a few more marks didn't matter. Luffy, on the other hand, was blowing on the new burn mark on his arm, trying to cool it off. Once the smell of burning rubber filled the room, the three brothers burst out on deck, gasping for clean air.
"Never do that again!" Sabo yelled at Ace.
"Don't dress me up like a god damn doll! Maybe then I won't have to burn someone!" Ace yelled back.
"I didn't do it! Lu did! If you wanna beat him up, fine! Just don't get me involved! I hate the smell of burning rubber!" Sabo shouted.
"So do I!" Ace shouted.
"Then don't burn his ass! Punch him like you used to idiot!" Sabo argued.
"SHUT UP!" Nami yelled as she punched both of them.
As soon as Luffy started laughing at his brothers, Nami punched him in the head as well.
"Ow! How did that hurt!?" Ace and Luffy shouted in unison.
"Haki?" Sabo questioned as he rubbed the forming bump on his head.
"Nami doesn't know Haki though…" Chopper commented as he went to look over Sabo's fresh burns and bump.
"Nami-swan is so great~!" Sanji sang.
"Che. Love cook…" Zoro muttered.
"What was that marimo!?" Sanji yelled.
"STOP!" Nami shouted, her voice echoing over the entire ship giving everyone except Robin, Sanji, and Zoro the chills.
"Yes ma'am." Most of the men whispered.
"Ace. Go get actual clothes on." Nami ordered.
"I'd be happy to." Ace said before running back to the mens quarters.
"Chopper. Take care of Sabo's and Luffy's wounds." Nami said as she turned towards the young doctor.
"It isn't necessary. I'll be fine." Sabo stated.
"You're hurt. I need to take care of it. What if you get an infection? What if the burns are worse than you think?" Chopper said, listing all of the possibilities.
"Chopper." Sabo said calmly, cutting off the small reindeer. "Can I talk to you in private?"
"A-alright." Chopper said nervously as he led the blond to the infirmary.
"Sanji. Start making breakfast." Nami ordered after the small doctor and blond co-captain had left.
"Hai! Nami-swan~!" Sanji sang as his eyes turned into hearts and he ran into the kitchen with noodle-like legs.
"The rest of you boys. Clean up whatever mess they made and figure out how to get rid of the burning rubber smell." Nami commanded.
"Yes ma'am." Usopp, Franky, and Brook said while Zoro just grunted.
"Luffy. Check with Chopper to see if it's okay for you to bathe. Get rid of that smell." Nami ordered.
"Okay!" Luffy said before running to the infirmary.
Nami sighed as she sat down in one of the lawn chairs. "We need to find an island soon… I don't think I can handle all three of them in one spot for too much longer."
Robin giggled as she sat down in the lawn chair next to the navigator. "They truly are Luffy's brothers."
"Yeah. Pretty obvious now, isn't it?" Nami asked.
"At least he has them back." Robin stated.
"True." Nami said with a small smile.
-x-x-x-
When Chopper and Sabo walked into the infirmary, Chopper forced Sabo to sit on the bed as the young reindeer gave the new co-captain a small checkup. When the doctor wanted the blond to lift his shirt to check for any wounds, the blond refused. Chopper tried to get him to reason but Sabo only refused, saying that some of his scars aren't good for the young doctor to see.
"What do you mean? I'm a doctor! I've seen scars before. They can't be too bad." Chopper stated.
"You haven't seen scars like mine, I'm sure." Sabo said. "I don't want you to worry is all."
"If they're as bad as you make them sound, than I'm already worried." Chopper informed.
"Trust me. They're far worse." Sabo said sadly as he looked away.
"Please. Let me see them. I just want to know if they were at least taken care of properly." Chopper begged.
"No. If you see them, then everyone else will find out. I don't need Luffy to worry or Ace to go on a rampage." Sabo stated, looking the reindeer in the eyes.
"I won't tell anyone unless you want me to. I promise." Chopper said.
After a few moments of thinking it over, Sabo sighed. "Alright. But you can't tell anyone what you see. Not even my brothers."
"Understood." Chopper nodded.
Sabo took a deep breath before taking off his coat, cravat, and shirt. Immediately Chopper saw every scar. His eyes were wide and slowly he raised a hoof to his mouth. He was shocked at the amount of scars that covered the blonds chest, stomach, and arms. Even the few scars that crept to his neck and face.
"I warned you…" Sabo said quietly.
"I… I didn't think it would be this bad…" Chopper said softly as he stepped closer to the blond and put his hoof on one of the scars that ran over the blonds heart.
"Almost all of them have nearly killed me. But so is the life of a revolutionary. Twelve years of fighting causes this." Sabo explained.
There was silence for a few moments as Chopper tried to figure out what to say. What to ask. He had so many questions but didn't know which ones were still a touchy subject. As he was about to ask his first question, he was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Chopper?" Luffy's voice said from the other side of the door as it slowly started to open.
"Luffy! Don't come in!" Chopper shouted hurriedly as he ran to the door and closed it again.
"Okay?" Luffy said slowly.
"What do you want, Lu?" Sabo asked calmly.
"Nami wanted to know if it was alright for me to take a bath. She said I stink…" Luffy said through the door, muttering the last part and sounding as if he was pouting.
"Considering you're rubber and Ace just burned you, I can understand why." Sabo muttered.
"I'll check and see." Chopper said before quickly opening the door, running out, and quickly closing it again.
After a few minutes of looking over the small burns, Chopper had said it was fine for Luffy to bathe. Once the youngest captain had left, the young doctor took a deep breath of fresh air and went back into the infirmary. Immediately, he saw Sabo laid out on the bed and looking out the small window. When the blond looked at the doctor, he smiled.
Slowly the young reindeer walked over to the blond and looked over the scars again. "Which one hurt the most…?" the small doctor asked quietly.
Sabo thought for a moment before replying. "Probably… Either the attack from the Celestial Dragon when I was ten years old or the gash over my ribs, lungs, and heart. Both hurt like hell so it's hard to decide between the two." Sabo said slowly as he felt the largest scar that ran from one side of his chest to the other.
"Attack from the Celestial Dragon?" Chopper questioned.
"Lu and I explained it earlier. I tried to leave our island and ran into a Celestial Dragon who shot at me. My boat caught fire and burned me. When he shot again he missed me but hit my boat again and destroyed it. When I fell overboard, I was so injured I could barely move. I thought I was going to drown but instead, Dragon saved me." Sabo explained.
"You're lucky he was there…" Chopper muttered.
"My luck is endless apparently." Sabo chuckled.
"If you had so much luck then why do you have so many scars?!" Chopper shouted.
Sabo was quiet as he sat up and looked at the small doctor. "I know that it may seem I'm lying about my luck, but think about it this way. If I was truly unlucky, I would be dead right now and I would never have found my brothers. You have to think of the positives and not the negatives." Sabo said calmly.
Chopper thought about it and almost immediately saw Sabo in a new light. For the next half hour, Chopper would ask Sabo about a certain scar and the blond would tell how it happened. Chopper still wasn't happy with the number of scars but after finding out how the blond had gotten them, he couldn't help but smile. A majority of the marks were due to the blond protecting his friends.
-x-x-x-
By the time Luffy was out of the bath, Ace was done changing and removing excess makeup, Sabo and Chopper were done with their conversations, and the other men had cleaned the dining room and gotten rid of the smell, breakfast was ready. Everyone was now at the table and eating their portions, except Luffy who had chosen to steal everyone else's food as well.
When Luffy reached for Ace's food, the fire-user put a flaming fist just in front of the rubber hand. "Try and you burn. Again." Ace threatened, not taking his eyes off his food.
"But Ace!" Luffy whined. "I'm still hungry!"
"I don't care! Don't steal my food!" Ace said as he put out the fire and punched Luffy in the head.
"Ow! Ace! That's mean!" Luffy complained as he held his head.
"Luffy." Sabo called as he held up a piece of meat.
"Yay!" Luffy cheered as he stole the food. "Thanks Sabo!"
"You're too soft Sabo. Keep that up and you'll starve." Ace commented.
"Or not. Sanji-kun. Do you mind making a little more?" Sabo asked kindly.
"Sure." Sanji said before going back to the kitchen.
"Thank you." Sabo said before smirking at Ace.
Ace was speechless as he practically glared at his brother. "I will never know how you can get people to listen to you so easily…"
"Give them a real reason and people will listen without a second thought." Luffy commented.
"How do you know that, Lu?" Sabo asked.
"When I was on Amazon Lily, almost all of the girls listened to me because they thought I was funny. Being the only guy there and being such close friends with the princess helped as well." Luffy stated.
"Amazon Lily!?" Ace, Sabo, and Sanji shouted.
"You were in heaven without me!?" Sanji complained.
"How did you get there!?" Ace and Sabo questioned.
"Bartholomew Kuma sent me there. I even trained there for a while." Luffy said, ignoring Sanji's comment.
"Damn it! We looked everywhere but there!" Ace shouted as he slapped his forehead in annoyance.
"Why were you so lucky!? I was sent to the wrong Maiden Island! I was sent to an island filled with nothing but transvestites and you get gorgeous women!? This isn't fair!" Sanji shouted.
"Wait… You were sent to an island of transvestites? Do you know Ivankov?" Sabo asked nicely.
"Never say that name again!" Sanji shouted before looking like he was about to be sick.
"Oh! Iva-chan! He was really nice! Kinda weird looking but nice!" Luffy said happily as Sanji ducked under the counter and got sick.
"Che. Stupid cook…" Zoro muttered.
"Damn you… Marimo…" Sanji muttered between gasps of air.
"I don't get it. Why don't you like Iva-chan, Sanji?" Luffy asked causing said cook to get sick again.
"That's just stupid…" Usopp muttered.
"Pathetic really…" Robin mumbled into her book.
"Robin… chwan…" Sanji muttered sadly.
"Give it up man." Ace said as he stood up from the table and walked over to Sanji.
Once there, he saw a large pile of vomit and chose to disintegrate it. Ace snapped his fingers as a white hot flame erupted on the pile and caused it to disappear. Carefully, he picked up the cook and took him to the infirmary to lay him down, telling the crew to open the windows as he walked by.
After the chef was laid down in the infirmary, Ace had decided to take the mans role for a short time. When he got back to the kitchen he took a look around and had to admit he was impressed. The kitchen was set up perfectly, nothing out of place in the slightest. He was sure the chefs drama would have moved something but was proven wrong.
He went to the fridge to grab some meat but saw there was a lock on it. "Anyone know the combo?" Ace asked the crew.
"Yeah." Nami said as she walked over and whispered to Ace. "Seven. Three. Two. Six."
"Thanks." Ace said as he put in the combo. "Why'd you whisper it?"
"Only Sanji, Robin, and I are allowed to know. Everyone else would have told Luffy and we don't need him sleep eating again." Nami explained.
"Sleep eating?" Ace questioned with a sweatdrop.
"After we fought CP-9, he was unconscious for probably a week and during that time he learned how to eat and sleep at the same time. He sleepwalks sometimes and tries to eat at night." Nami informed with a sweatdrop of her own.
"You've got to be kidding me… I guess that's Lu for ya…" Ace sighed as he opened the fridge and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Holy shit..."
"Yeah… We have a lot of food..." Nami muttered.
"Ace! Are you gonna cook like when we were kids?" Luffy asked.
"I can try." Ace said as he grabbed some ingredients.
"Want some help?" Sabo asked.
"I think I've got this. Thanks anyway." Ace said with a smile.
"What about me? Can I help?" Luffy asked.
"No." Ace and Sabo said in unison.
"Aw! Come on! Please!" Luffy begged.
"No!" Everyone in the room said.
"Fine." Luffy pouted.
"Hey do you guys have any crocodile meat?" Ace asked as he looked through all the meat in the fridge.
"I don't believe so. Why would you ask, Ace-san?" Brook asked.
"Dude. You ever tried it?" Sabo questioned.
"Not at all." Brook stated.
"Anyone? Has anyone ever tried crocodile meat, other than Lu?" Ace asked.
"No." Everyone said slowly.
"You have been missing out." Ace muttered as he slowly shook his head. "What about boar?"
"We have ham, bacon, and sausages." Usopp stated.
"Not that kind! Actual boar! Not pig!" Luffy yelled.
"I would say no." Nami said.
"Sanji-kun is the only one who knows what's in there." Robin said.
"Can one of you ladies please ask him?" Sabo asked kindly.
"Of course." Nami said before going to the infirmary.
"Wanna see if they have monkey?" Ace asked Sabo.
Sabo thought for a moment before shrugging. "Sure."
Just as they were about to look, Nami came back. "He says there's some alligator and boar."
"No to the alligator. That stuff is gross." Ace said with a shiver running down his spine.
"What's the difference?" Nami questioned.
"Many things… Many, many things…" Luffy said as he stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"Wait… Luffy doesn't like a type of food!?" Usopp shouted.
"That's new." Zoro commented.
"Alligator's gross! Crocodile tastes like chicken and crab while alligator… A mix between rubber and raw fish." Luffy stated as he, Ace, and Sabo all felt a shiver run through them.
"Never making that mistake again." Sabo said.
"Oh yeah." Ace agreed.
There were a few moments of silence before Sabo chose to break it. "So… Did he say where the boar was?"
"Oh yeah! In the far back towards the right." Nami said.
"Thanks." Sabo said before going into the massive fridge and grabbing the meat.
"What are you gonna make?" Luffy asked curiously as he sat at the counter.
"Don't know. I have to see what we have first." Ace said.
"Here." Sabo said as he put a stack of boar meat next to the stove.
"Hm… Not fresh off the bone. That's going to take some flavor away…" Ace muttered.
"What?" Luffy whined.
"I'm guessing he's never cooked boar before?" Sabo asked.
"Not as far as we know." Usopp said.
"And he almost ruined good meat… What kind of chef is that?" Ace muttered with annoyance.
"At least I'm not the only one who thinks he's a bad cook." Zoro commented with a small smirk.
"Let's see…" Ace mumbled as he looked at what was in front of him. "How about wild boar chops with citrus zest, shallots, and mustard cream sauce?"
"Ace…? Is that really you?" Sabo questioned with slightly widened eyes.
"Yeah why?" Ace asked.
"You usually just cook it and done! What's with this!?" Luffy questioned with wide eyes.
"My best friends on the Moby Dick were the first mate and the head chef. Easy to say I learned how to cook. I gained a bit of respect towards food…" Ace said, muttering the last part to himself.
"It actually sounds pretty good. Would you be able to make it?" Robin asked.
"Sure. It should be done by lunch." Ace said as he started cooking.
Having nothing better to do at the moment, Sabo and Luffy chose to gape at their brother in awe as he prepared the marinade. They watched as his hands shot around and grabbed what was needed. At some point he even started muttering the ingredients to himself. With each ingredient said, he'd put in the exact amount needed.
"Kosher salt. Crushed white peppercorn. Dry mustard. Dried thyme. Dried oregano. Ground ginger. Freshly grated nutmeg. Ground cloves. Ground allspice. Cayenne pepper. Juniper berries. And one bay leaf." Ace listed to himself before putting said spices into a spice grinder.
Once the spices where ground and mixed properly, Ace sprinkled enough of it onto each side of the chops, giving them a nice coat. After rubbing it on all of the pieces of meat, he put them in the fridge and set a timer for four hours.
"Now we wait for the marinade to set in and give the meat a bit of a stronger taste. In about four hours I can actually cook it and make the sauce. After that it's done." Ace said to himself before looking at his brothers. "What?"
Sabo and Luffy's jaws were hanging open – Luffy's jaw was actually touching the floor. Both stared at the older raven with shock and awe. After some time, they finally snapped out of it.
"Who are you and what have you done to Ace?" Sabo and Luffy said in unison.
"Deja vu?" Franky whispered.
"I told you. I used to hang out in the kitchen a lot. Thatch always said what he was doing and it became a bad habit. Eventually he yelled at me to be useful for once and I tried it. I messed up pretty badly… I tried listing what I needed while doing it and got it right. It's just the way I cook." Ace explained, ignoring Frankys comment.
"If it tastes good, we might have to replace Sanji." Nami said with a small giggle.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Sanji screamed from the infirmary, having heard only his name and the word 'replace' in the same sentence.
"He sounds like you just killed him…" Usopp commented, slightly worried about the blond chef.
"Anyways… I couldn't do that. Even if I do know how to cook, I'd rather help instead of take over." Ace said with an honest smile, choosing to avoid the word 'replace'.
"So now we wait, correct?" Brook asked.
"Yes. For four hours." Ace said.
"What!? That's too long!" Luffy whined.
"Shut up or else I make it five. Technically it's supposed to sit for four to five hours. If it waits for five hours than it'll have more flavor." Ace informed.
"Never mind. Make it four." Luffy said.
"You make it sound so good… I can hardly wait." Sabo said with a smile.
"Four hours." Ace reminded.
-x-x-x-
Much to everyone's surprise, the four hours had gone by fairly fast. They had all been talking about random conversations; how they all met, some of the stranger things that have happened to them, and what they did during their two years apart. Eventually though, they started to talk about Luffy and it slowly turned into all of the stupid things the young raven had done; including being eaten by a crocodile before eating it for dinner. At some point during the conversation, Sanji and Chopper had come out of the infirmary and joined in the chatter.
When the timer went off, a few people jumped from their seats either out of surprise or happiness that the food would be done soon. Ace couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Luffy already at the counter waiting for him. He had to admit though, he was surprised to see Sanji next to the raven and not yelling at him about using his kitchen.
Quickly, Ace pulled the boar out of the fridge and checked all of the pieces, deeming them good enough to cook. He went to the oven and turned it to three hundred degrees for preheat. After that he put the pieces of meat in a pan with melted butter and sautéed them until they were brown on both sides. Once that was done, he placed the chops into the oven and set the timer for fifteen minutes.
"Next is the sauce." Ace said to himself again as he gathered all the ingredients and listed them to himself aloud. "Lemon zest and orange zest. Red wine vinegar. Red wine. Honey. Cream. Dijon-style mustard. And then some butter."
Quickly, Ace placed the citrus zest, shallots, vinegar, wine, and honey in a small saucepan and put it over a medium-high heat until only a small amount remained. Then he added the cream and mustard and reduced it to half. Just before the timer went off, he swirled the pans contents with some butter.
When the timer went off, Ace grabbed the chops and put them on the counter – smacking Luffy's hand away when the younger raven reached for it – before straining the sauce and pouring it over the chops. Quickly, he grabbed a bottle of Petite Sirah and poured it into two glasses before adding a few hints of pepper and spice.
Once finished, Ace served the meat and gave the two girls the glasses of wine. "Bon appetit."
"This smells amazing!" Nami complemented.
"Thank you, but it means nothing if it doesn't taste good." Ace said with a smile.
"Dis ish great!" Luffy shouted with his mouth full.
"Thanks Lu." Ace said. "By the way, swallow before speaking!"
Immediately, Luffy had swallowed everything in his mouth and grinned. "That was great! Is there more?"
Ace had to let out a chuckle. "I knew you'd ask. Yes there is."
Before Ace could make a move towards the pan, Luffy was up and grabbing more. Nearly grabbing all of it but was stopped when Ace yelled at him not to. At first he was upset, but then he realized it was smart not to get into another fight with the fire-user. That meant another bath.
"How'd you learn how to make this?" Sanji asked between bites.
"My friend was a chef and practically forced me to learn it." Ace said. "Is it okay?"
"'Okay'? Dude this is amazing! How come you couldn't do this when we were ten!?" Sabo questioned.
"That was twelve years ago!" Ace shouted.
"So?" Sabo asked.
"I think Sanji-kun might have some challenge now." Nami teased playfully.
"It's not that good." Ace said, getting a little embarrassed now.
"Wait! Is that why I heard my name and the word 'replace' in the same sentence!?" Sanji questioned with shock and slight fear.
"Yeah. Didn't you know? We're getting a new cook. We don't need you." Zoro said with a smirk.
"Shut it Marimo!" Sanji yelled.
"Oh! I just remembered something!" Luffy shouted, stopping the would-be fight and catching everyone's attention.
"And that would be?" Sabo pressed on.
"Right before I left home, Makino gave me a picture of the three of us right after we became brothers! She wanted me to show it to Ace when I saw him again but he left before I could. Now that you guys are here, I can show it to you." Luffy said happily.
"Go and get it then!" Ace said excitedly.
"I want to see you guys as kids!" Usopp and Chopper said happily.
"I doubt they've changed too much. Especially Luffy." Sanji said as he lit a fresh cigarette.
"I think it'd be kind of cute." Nami said, Robin nodding in agreement next to her.
"SUPER! We get to see the bros as kids? I'm not missing that!" Franky shouted excitedly.
"Yohohohoho! I can't wait! Please hurry, Luffy-san!" Brook laughed.
"Okay! I'll be right back." Luffy said excitedly before running out the door.
Quickly, Luffy ran to the mens quarters and started searching through all of his items. First under his pillow, even in between the mattress and the frame itself. Then he searched through his locker and all of the others. After about ten minutes, he had found the picture in perfect condition with barely any scratches on the frame or glass. He stared at the picture for a few moments and got even happier.
"I can't believe it actually happened. This is too good to be true. If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up!" Luffy whispered excitedly to himself.
Soon enough, Luffy had ran out of the room and started to head back towards the dining room. The door was slightly open so all conversations could be heard. When he had gotten close enough, one conversation stood out more than anything.
"All I know is that he's extremely annoying." That was Nami's voice.
"I totally agree!" Usopp too?
"So he's always like this?" Now Ace?
"Pretty much." Sanji replied, sounding annoyed.
"I don't see how he does anything." Sabo added.
"He doesn't! He never does anything! We could be in a storm and he just keeps doing that!" Nami yelled, sounding angry.
"He's so stupid and annoying." Sanji said, nearly growling.
"I figured as much. If he was like this all the time, I would have snapped long ago." Ace said.
With each comment his friends and brothers made, Luffy felt more betrayal. He didn't want to accept it, but part of him believed they were talking about him. Slowly he started backing away from the door, a small stream of salty water fell from his eye, down his cheek and off his chin. When he heard the small drop hit something, he looked down into his hands and saw the picture. The three of them had always been so happy together, what changed?
Without a second thought, Luffy threw the picture at the ground and ran off into the deepest part of Sunny.
-x-x-x-
After Luffy had left, everyone was excited to see the picture. Everyone except Zoro who had fallen asleep almost immediately after the fight was stopped. Everyone was staring at the green haired man either curiously or with annoyance.
"Is he narcoleptic or something?" Ace asked curiously.
"That's rich coming from you." Sabo said.
"Hey at least I know it!" Ace argued.
"He's either asleep or training. I've never had the chance to ask him." Chopper stated.
"All he does is sleep, train, and complain! When he is awake, and not training or complaining, he's too busy fighting or getting lost!" Nami yelled with frustration.
"Maybe he's tired from training and fighting?" Sabo asked.
"I don't know. All I know is that he's extremely annoying." Nami said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I totally agree!" Usopp shouted.
"So he's always like this?" Ace asked as he looked at the green haired man again.
"Pretty much." Sanji said, annoyance dripping off his words.
"I don't see how he does anything." Sabo stated, looking at the green haired man as well.
"He doesn't! He never does anything! We could be in a storm and he just keeps doing that!" Nami yelled angrily as she gestured towards the sleeping first mate.
"He's so stupid and annoying." Sanji nearly growled.
"I figured as much. If he was like this all the time, I would have snapped long ago." Ace said.
After a few moments, they all heard glass shattering outside the room. Quickly, Ace and Sabo ran to the door only to find the edge of Luffys shirt disappearing behind a door. When they looked down to see what broke, they saw a picture with a simple wooden frame.
The picture was of the three of them when they were kids, all wearing the captains jackets that Makino had made for them. Ace was to the far right with his hand on his hip, wearing an orange t-shirt, brown pants, a lime green sash around his waist and a captains jacket. His jacket was black with a gold trim around the edges and a collar that went up to his ears, a red and gold epaulette on his shoulders. Two sticks, in place of swords, were poking out of the jacket and being held in place by the sash.
Sabo was on the far left with one hand balled up into a fist next to his hip and a steel pipe in the other. He had on cyan pants, a dark blue shirt, a white cravat, his usual black top hat with blue goggles, and a captains jacket of his own. His jacket was about the same fashion as Ace's but the buttons were different and instead of having red at the end of his sleeves, it was the same blue as his pants.
In the middle was Luffy with both hands on his hips. He was wearing a yellow shirt, a red sash, his usual straw hat, and his captains jacket. Although the style was the same, almost everything else was different between his and his brothers jackets. Luffy's jacket had been red with gold trims and different buttons. The collar went up the same but was a little shorter and the epaulette was also red and gold while the ends of his sleeves were a lighter red. Poking out of his jacket and being held by his red sash was a small wooden sword.
All three had been looking at the same spot, almost as if waiting for someone to attack them. All three had been serious, waiting for a fight.
When Sabo had picked up the photo, he noticed something. On the one piece of glass that remained in place, the piece over Luffy's young face, there was a fresh tear blurring out the face.
(Aaaaaaaaaaaand done! Nearly six thousand words! Does that make up for not updating last week? This chapter was actually supposed to come out in place of the last chapter but I got side tracked… A lot can happen in one day huh? Especially when that one day is in the world of One Piece. Sorry if you don't like the little bit of cooking knowledge Ace has. It most likely will never return. Also that was a real recipe! I searched for boar recipes on google and it sent me to a website with nothing but different ways to cook venison, antelope, and wild boar! That one looked the best in my opinion. If it sounded weird how I explained it, it's because some parts I didn't know how to say so I somewhat copied the directions XD I'm lazy I know! The recipe came from brokenarrowranch .com in case you wanted to know. This recipe is literally called 'Wild Boar Chops with Citrus Zest, Shallots, and Mustard Cream Sauce' XD So original right? Anyways. Fave, follow, read my other stuff, and review! Bai~! c(X )
Start time – 1:30 P.M.
End time – 12:45 A.M.