- Sabo -


"So…" Luffy trailed off as he sat underneath Usopp's kotatsu, he patted the floor next to him inviting Ace to sit next to him, in which case he happily did so.

Usopp remained silent as they made themselves comfortable, knowing Usopp had told them not to. He coughed to get their attention and continued. "Well I've narrowed it down to three now- religion, science and paranormal."

Luffy tweaked his eyebrow in confusion… "But two of those are unexplainable… how can they be a possibility?"

"Well, what might not be possible here may be possible in Ace's world."

"That's true actually." Ace interrupted "remember I told you that I had powers of a devil fruit in my world but in this world they vanished."

"Exactly, they can't exist in this world because they're unheard of, unexplained and impossible basically. His powers may exist but only in fairy tales and myths. Which means paranormal explanations and religious theories may exist in his world and could be the reason why he's here. That's why I didn't rule them out."

"Well… not many people in my world are big on religion. It definitely exists but each to his own basically. Where as paranormal, well I've not stumbled across any kinds of ghosts, spirits or the walking dead, but I wouldn't rule it out in my world. I've come across people who've looked like either of the three, but I can't say if they definitely were."

"I researched each factor thoroughly, but it's hard to conclude anything without solid evidence and information about your world, Ace." Usopp added.

"Well I don't really know what you want to know – I mean, I'm not exactly well-informed about my world either."

"I suppose if I explain my findings it may help you to understand what I need to know."

Ace nodded in reply and allowed him to continue talking.

"When I was researching scientific theories I didn't find much in the way of anything being relatively possible – the only thing that came up continuously was a rip in space. Since our worlds are most likely connected, as with any other parallel worlds, it's possible that you fell through that rip, that had to have been created in your world and is what brought you here – if that is the case then that rip may still be there, assuming it was even there in the first place."

"A… rip?" Ace gave it a quick thought and came to realize something pretty big. "My captain…" He added. "My captain was able to create quakes with his fists. He had eaten a devil fruit known as the Gura Gura No Mi, he had the ability to create earthquakes that weren't necessarily on the floor, he could surround his power around blades, use it in the air and on the sea… it was incredible. But I never thought it could do damage to the atmosphere – it was very powerful but it was definitely in the right hands."

"But he was a pirate… how is that power in the right hands?" Usopp replied rather pessimistically.

"He never hurt anybody unless they hurt his crew and myself of course, he never abused his power, in fact he never even used it. He wasn't interested in finding any kind of treasure, he was just a pirate for the ride. He loved his crew and loved spending every waking day with them. He wasn't your average pirate, and neither was Luffy, they were the same in a way… although Luffy talked about finding the great treasure, One Piece, I knew he wasn't being a pirate to hurt people, he just wanted to be a pirate because it was the best way to be free."

Luffy smiled a little at Ace's sentiment and looked over at Usopp to hear his reply, his face was pretty much fuming... or at least turning bright red.

"Well, in this world pirates don't care about freedom, they care about money, stealing and making people suffer. They kidnap people and brutally murder them. – they're just monsters."

Before things got out of hand, Luffy interjected and tried to get the original conversation back into play. "Anyway… as you were saying Usopp?"

"Right… right, well- um, yeah… we need to find that rip then."

"That may be a little bit of a problem though…" Luffy replied almost instantly…

"How so?" Usopp replied inquisitively.

"Well, Ace fell from the sky, he fell on me."

"Hmm… well I guess we can rule the scientific way out. They're may however, be a chance that the rip occurred elsewhere and not just in the sky. But it would take ages to find another rip, and even if we did manage to find one, there's no possibility of knowing where you could end up. You might end up in another parallel universe; you might even end up in a place where there are no universes at all. It would be far too risky to send you through without thorough researching it first."

"But that sounds time consuming, I have no idea what's happened to my little brother, he may have been captured by the Marines or even worse, he could be dead too… I can't stand worrying like this, I know he needs me and the longer I'm here the worse I'm going to feel…"

Luffy looked at Ace worriedly… he could see how lost Ace was without his 'real' little brother, but he couldn't help feeling that he actually wanted Ace to stay.. "I'll be fine- trust me, as soon as I see a rip, I'm going through it." He reassured them, smiling specifically at Luffy.

After some awkward silence and the exchange of glances, Usopp broke the ice and continued on. "Let's at least revise the other theories I've found, then you can decide what to do… I've not done all this research for nothing y'know. And besides, I've managed to locate some people who may people of some help to us."

"Wait, who?" Luffy interrupted.

"I'll tell you in a minute, just be patient."

"Aw come on, who've you found? I want to know nowwww!" He replied excitedly.

Now this was interesting to Ace… he too wondered who Usopp had managed to find who would actually be of some help to them… "Yeah, me too actually." He added, although after that little disagreement he and Usopp had, he reckoned they wouldn't be on such good terms from now on.

Usopp and Luffy looked over at him blankly, but their expression changed immediately after, Luffy smiled at him, happy to see that someone else wasn't interested in the explanations, while Usopp could only role his eyes and carry on. "Fine. I'll be blunt and straight to the point with you both. Religiously, God may have sent you here in order for you to prove your worth. He's giving you a second chance, therefore you may need to do something in order to prove that you're worthy of living back in your world. So basically, you can't go back until you fulfil or come to grips with something. Whilst paranormally, it may be that you soul is unsettled, it simply cannot accept the fact that its body counterpart is dead. Your soul may also possibly feel regret, remorse or incomplete, it knows that it wasn't supposed to die and so was sent into this world because it knew, somewhere, deep down, that the Ace of this world is still alive which meant there was a possibility for you to be alive as well. But if that is the case then you are most likely still dead in your world, going back would just mean your death all over again." He explained.

Ace sat back and let the information he had just heard seep in. All of it, down to the last detail seemed about right, he was definitely feeling some kind of regret and remorse and he knew that it wasn't his time to die. He still had loads of things that he needed to do, and what about Luffy? He promised him that he would never die and not only that but he promised Sabo through that letter that he would look after him… as much as he didn't want to admit it, he really was a terrible big brother.

"It's possible that all three come into play for you Ace." Luffy added when the silence was starting to become unbearable. "I mean, you were most likely sent here on scientific principles, but you still religiously have a mission to fulfil whilst realising and owning up to your own selfish regrets in order to put your soul at ease." He added.

With it being said like that, it certainly started to make a lot more sense… the constant feeling he had when he was fighting with Zack back in the alley way, he was now beginning to understand why his mind was telling him to run away. There was also something that he had always wanted to tell Luffy, something that couldn't be easily said and it was something that could easily be misunderstood… he regretted not being able to say it when he had the chance… this wash of new feelings was beginning to make him more home sick, he was growing desperate, he really wanted to go home, he needed to see Luffy again. "Okay, I think I'm starting to get it now. I'll give it a think over and just hope and pray that I can still find a way back home." He paused and shook the daunting thoughts out of his mind. "Now- what about these people you mentioned?"

"Ah- yes, well as I said before, I've found a few people who may be able to aid us in our situation. However, only one of them is in Japan and only for the upcoming weekend. I seriously can't believe who it is though and neither will you Luffy…" He said almost excitedly, which set Luffy off on a little hype.

"What? What? Who is it? WHO IS IT?" He practically screamed and giggled.

Now this is more like Luffy… Ace thought to himself, smiling and watching his newly adopted little brother act, what he could call, normal.

Usopp held him in suspense for about a minute before revealing who it was… "Sabo!"

Ace's face dropped, his smile disappeared and his eyes widened in shock… he was unable to comprehend the name that had just been said. Not only that he was unable to say a word about it... he listened to Luffy and Usopp chat on about him.

"Oh my god, seriously? –Wait… I just realized… his novels!" Luffy continued to get excited about it. "And he's actually willing to talk to us?"

"Yeah! Amazing right? But when I realized his novels were basically more detailed forms of the stories Ace told, I figured that he might know something about it… I emailed him through his website and he got back to me immediately. He seemed really interested in talking to us as well so he invited us down to his hotel suite this weekend in Tokyo. We can't speak to him for very long but it's definitely worth the journey!"

When Usopp and Luffy were calm enough to speak on a lower tone, they both looked over at Ace, who was still completely struck with shock."Ace?" Luffy questioned him… he looked half dead. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"… Sabo …."

"You've heard of him?" Luffy questioned. "Was he a famous novelist in your world too? Or I bet he was like a famous actor or something like that!" He added excitedly.

"I think it's amazing how he's only three years older than us and he has five best sellers, his own TV series and he's going to star in his own movie next year!"

"I know! … He's so cool and his novels are the best, they're probably the only books I enjoy reading!" Luffy replied.

"I must admit… I thought this world that Ace was talking about sounded familiar. It's practically the setting for all of Sabo's novels!" Usopp added.

"… Sabo…" Ace said again… still in shock, he stared blankly into thin air and as he tried to comprehend the name he had not heard, talked or even thought about in ten years.

"Ace, come on, what's up?" Luffy asked again… he was really starting to freak him out…

Ace finally found himself able to talk… "If this Sabo knows so much about my world, is it possible that he might be the one frommy world?"

"But what makes you say that? I mean, somebody could've told him stories about your world and then that influenced him to write novels about it. Or maybe he has been to your world but he came back here a short while after, and if that is the case then he must be able to help us."

"It's because the Sabo of my world diedwhen we were kids."

The room filled with an awkward silence, Luffy and Usopp looked at each other with a blank expression, they were able to realize why Ace believed the Sabo they were talking about was from his world.

"Sabo was my other adopted brother, as well as Luffy's. He was my only childhood friend before Luffy came along and he was the only person I could trust at the time. But he hated his life, he was a noble in my world, part of the wealthier families on the island, but he hated it. He wanted to be a pirate like myself and Luffy, he wasn't going to leave until he was much older but things got really bad for him and he had no choice but to leave if he wanted to find freedom… he never made it out to sea because his ship was destroyed."

"Well then, I suppose it is possible…" Luffy replied. "I mean, if Ace died and showed up here, then it's possible the same happened to Sabo."

"Sabo died when he was ten years old, which means he's been living in this world for the past… ten years? – Oh my god, he must be a completely different person now." Ace said, realizing that he would be all grown up and definitely physically different… he was also wondering about how he would break the news to him about his own death?

"Well he seems like an alright person. I told him last night that someone from the world he talked about in his novels had actually come over and was trying to find a way back. He seemed interested in knowing who it was but I didn't tell him, I asked him if he would help though and he said that he'd try." Usopp added.

Ace was almost positive that was the Sabo he knew from his world… and even if he wasn't, he would definitely be happy to see Sabo one last time. And who knows… if it really was Sabo, then maybe he could bring him back to their world… Luffy would definitely be over the moon! "Where's this Tokyo place?" Ace asked almost abruptly.

"Well, it's about two and a half hours away via bullet train and a bit of walking. If you caught the 6:AM train on Saturday morning to Sendai, arrive at about 6:30, then catch the 6:40 bullet train to Tokyo, you should arrive shortly before 9:AM. – Now, apparently, Sabo can only see you for about ten minutes at most because has a very busy day on Saturday, and it's during his break at one in the afternoon."

"That's all I need." Ace replied.

"Good. Well, now that I've told you everything, you can be on your way." Usopp said almost forcefully. He stood up from his chair and made his way over to the door, preparing to let them out.

"Alright… alright…" Luffy said, giving up. He got out from underneath the kotatsu and made his way over to the door. "Are you coming with us on Saturday?"

"No, I'm going to my parents house this weekend."

"Then how are we gonna know where Sabo is staying?" Luffy practically screamed at him.

"Chill out! Look, I'll text you the directions and the address when Sabo sends it to me. He also said he's gonna have to give you a codeword to use on his guards when you show up at his hotel room, otherwise they won't let you in."

Luffy nodded in understanding and left the room immediately after the door was opened, "Thanks Usopp, I'll see you later!" He called out, Ace followed shortly after with a simple nod and "bye!" With them both gone, Usopp ran over to his bed, jumped onto the sheets and fell asleep.

***

As they journeyed home, the day slowly came to a close. Luffy was thinking about dinner whilst Ace was thinking about Sabo… they didn't realize that they had spent most of the journey walking in silence. Ace still had to hide his face from the public eye, even though they took some of the back roads home where it was a lot quieter.

"We should probably hurry home." Luffy said abruptly.

Ace looked at him worriedly when Luffy's face appeared blank and somewhat fearful. "Why? – It's a nice evening… can't we relax a little?"

"Well… I suppose…" He said hesitantly… he really wanted to get home and fast. "But I'm hungry!" He whined, tugging on Ace's arm.

Only moments later did Ace's stomach rumble as well… "Looks like I am too…"

Luffy smiled cheekily, whilst feeling somewhat relieved that Ace would pick up his pace in order to get back to Luffy's apartment quicker. As they neared said building, Luffy begun acting out of the ordinary, or at least that's how Ace perceived it.

It was almost like Luffy was being stalked, he was constantly surveying his surroundings, looking from left to right, even up and down. He checked alley ways as he passed them and tried to see around corners before he even reached them.

"Are… you okay?" Ace finally questioned his weird activity.

"What? Yeah... I'm fine, I just… thought we were being followed, or something."

"Followed?"

"Yeah… but I think I'm still just a bit on edge since that incident this afternoon." He lied, hoping Ace would believe him.

"Right…" Ace replied, he knew full well that was a lie… something was up with him, or at least something was bugging him, but Ace didn't want to pester him about it because if he lied the first time then he really didn't want to talk about it.

They came around the corner of Luffy's apartment building and quickly walked through the entrance and up the two flights of stairs. Since they were inside, Ace removed his hat and rested it on the back of his neck. He was still wondering why Luffy was in such a rush to get home… he probably was hungry but there was definitely another reason behind it.

Luffy was already at the top of the second flight of stairs and had suddenly stopped on the last step. As Ace walked up the last set of stairs he noticed Luffy staring at something intently and worriedly.

Ace quickly climbed the last few steps and came up behind Luffy to see what had caught his attention… He too was caught in the gravity of the shock that Luffy was feeling, he also came to realize why Luffy had wanted to hurry home so quickly…

Meters away from them, leaning against the wall next to Luffy's front door was someone Ace had wanted to meet since first arriving in this crazy world… he had heard so much about him and yet he didn't seem so bad now that they were about to meet for the first time…

It was too late to turn and leave now, Ace was looking right at them… and confusion was plastered on his face. "What.. the.. hell?"


Originally, Chapter 6 and 7 were one big chapter, but I thought it would be easier for you to digest if I split it up :P Remember to review!

Sorry if the past two chapters aren't very well written, I've been a little off these past few days so… things haven't been normal basically.