Behind Blue Eyes

*Edited 7 May 2015


Chapter 6: The Very Shitty Day Of Portgas D. Ace

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1st Year, 6 NOV

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Portgas D. Ace was exhausted.

After fighting for five days straight with that damn fish person, he certainly had a right to be.

He was also as pissed as hell, and he most definitely had a right to be for that.

Personally, Ace didn't mind collapsing from a fatigue so bad that it hurt even to breathe. It happened often enough in his childhood growing up with Dadan and the rest. So by now, he was simply used to it.

No, the thing that pissed him off was to fight five days straight with that damn fish person, only for their match to end in a draw.

A freakin' draw.

How pathetic was that?

Having a draw was as good as losing in his opinion.

He fought against a guy who didn't have a Devil Fruit and was more than twice his age. And. He. Still. Lost.

I'm such a good-for-nothing bastard, he thought with pure self-loathing as he lay sprawled on the dirt. He longed for sleep, to get back just a little bit of his strength, and faintly wondered why his accursed narcolepsy hadn't kicked in yet.

"ACE!" he heard some of his nakama cry out for him in concern.

He struggled to get up, and from the corner of his vision he could make out something big approaching the shore.

A whale? he thought in tired confusion before he got a better look. No, a ship.

A second or two passed before he collapsed face-first on the ground again, too tired to even look up anymore. Faintly, he could hear his nakama's worried babbling as the ship drew nearer and nearer.

"What is that?" his first mate yelled out in fear.

"Which one of you wants to kill me?" Ace heard a deep voice call out, but he had no more energy to look up. "I'm gonna fight you as you wish."

"The Whitebeard Pirates?!" one of his nakama yelled out in terror.

Oh fuck, Ace thought in panic. He was in no condition to go head-to-head with Whitebeard now.

"I'm gonna fight you people single-handedly," the man who was supposedly Whitebeard declared.

As he heard Whitebeard descend the ship and approach his men, Ace struggled to get up. Even if he lost his life in the process, he would die before he let Whitebeard lay a hand on his nakama. Just as he got to his knees, Whitebeard reached him, and so did some of his men.

The aged pirate took one look at them before he waved his Bisento in an attack.

"Guys!" Ace yelled, watching in horror as his men were swept away by the sheer raw power of it.

It took him a split second to get his head together and he grit his teeth in concentration. "ENJOMO!" he yelled, drawing on his Devil Fruit. He stood up as a wall of fire formed, separating his men from him and Whitebeard.

"Ace-sencho, what are you doing?!" one of his men yelled.

"You guys run!" he ordered, half turning to the flaming wall. I'm not gonna let you all die here.

"Sencho!" his first mate yelled in desperation, as if he were begging Ace to leave with them.

Whitebeard, who was watching the scene, grinned in faint amusement as he recalled Marco's words from before. "Besides, pirates these days want adventure and riches, yoi. Not many care for family."

This one does, he thought with interest.

"What's the matter? Are you backing away after all?" he asked instead.

Ace turned to regard him angrily. "Let my crew get away," he stated, "Instead… I'm staying!"

"You snot-nosed brat! Arrogant, aren't you?" Whitebeard questioned, his grin growing wider by the second. You were wrong Marco. This brat cares more about his men than himself. He would fit right into our family.

Ace gave a loud yell as he launched himself at Whitebeard, who immediately swiped him away with his Bisento.

Even though Whitebeard attacked with the blunt end, the strength behind that attack was still able to draw blood. Ace flew dozens of feet away from the legendary pirate with a slash across his chest that was bleeding, and he was sure that he had cracked a couple of ribs.

Unsurprisingly, as he got up and launched himself at Whitebeard again, his next attack proved to be just as successful.

But still, Ace wouldn't be deterred. His men had often told him that he was stubborn as hell and had a bloody unbelievable endurance, so he was sure he could take this beating from Whitebeard. Besides, he just needed to fight until he was sure that all of his men had gotten away safely.

With that resolve in mind, he got up again and prepared for another attack.

Just a little longer, hold on just a little longer, he chanted in his head, still attacking despite everything. He prayed his body could last.

Ace cried out in pain as one particular attack from Whitebeard slammed him back first into the ground. The impact was so great that even the earth cracked and a crater formed in its wake.

Ace turned his head to the side and coughed out blood. He grimaced in distaste. Internal injuries, huh?

Frankly, with Whitebeard's monstrous strength, he wasn't surprised in the least.

Ace forced himself to get up again and swayed unsteadily on his feet from the blood loss. Whitebeard was grinning at him in amusement and even though it was probably better that the man wasn't taking him seriously, Ace still got pissed off.

Well, Luffy always did say he had an unreasonable temper.

He made his arm ignite in flame and launched his signature move straight at Whitebeard. "HIKEN!"

The man deflected the ball of fire as if it was nothing, and Ace grit his teeth in irritation. He knew the attack wasn't at full strength because he was focusing most of his attention on the flame wall behind him, and he was still pretty exhausted from his previous battle with Jinbe. But damn if it wasn't rather emasculating to see your favourite move swatted away like it was some insignificant fly.

"Is that all you've got brat?" Whitebeard grinned.

From behind the man Ace could see some of the Whitebeard Pirates sporting grins of their own as well. A member with a ridiculous pompadour hairstyle even broke out into a loud round of amused laughter.

Ace flushed mildly in embarrassment. "Shut up!"

The laughing crewmembers didn't stop, and Ace felt his body light up in fire. He was literally burning with anger. With a shout of fury he launched himself at Whitebeard again with his flaming fist outstretched.

Even though he kept getting beat back, Ace continued to get up and attack.

Even when his body was too tired or too in pain to do so anymore, Ace kept pushing himself to get up. He wouldn't let himself be defeated this easily. Not when his men counted on him to stall for time so they could escape.

And so, Portgas D. Ace fought with Edward Newgate through sheer willpower alone.

They fought until the Spade Pirates got away. They fought until the mists surrounding the island cleared up. They fought until the area was full of craters. They fought until the sun went down and the moon was high in the sky.

And they fought some more.

Portgas D. Ace knew that just his willpower alone wasn't enough to defeat Whitebeard. He was exhausted, injured and worst of all, famished. Not exactly a good combination if you wanted to fight the strongest pirate in the world and hope to win.

He also knew that even with his incredible willpower, his strength would still fail him eventually.

And so really, he should have expected that now would be the time he couldn't get up after getting beat down again. He was laying a few feet in front of Whitebeard, and he couldn't even move his fingers.

He was just that tired.

Ace was sure that to everyone there it looked like he had died, because he was breathing so shallowly that it looked like he wasn't breathing at all. Maybe now if the Whitebeard Pirates thought he was dead, they would leave him and his sorry ass behind.

Yeah right, he mentally scoffed.

Besides, he could feel Whitebeard's uninterested stare on his body, as if the man were saying, 'Is that really all you got, brat?' And if there was one thing Ace hated in the world more than his father, it was being looked down upon by somebody.

'Move damn it!' he commanded his body.

His finger twitched in reply and slowly, he forced himself to lift his head up as well. Fuck, his body hurt like a bitch from the fight. "So this is the guy who contended for supremacy with him…" he mumbled to himself. This was the man who fought for the title of Pirate King with… Roger.

Ace grit his teeth so as not to cry out from the pain of his injuries, and clutched at the dirt, forcing his body to get up.

"I won't…" he began, now on his knees and supported by his lower arms. Be defeated this easily!

"Gurararara," Whitebeard laughed, "Still some fight left in you?"

Ace grit his teeth again to ward off the pain and he lifted up his face to stare at the man in defiance. Even if Whitebeard wanted to kill him, Ace wouldn't go down without a proper fight. He would go down fighting, rebelling, and resisting until his very last breath.

"You're too valuable to die now, boy," Whitebeard said instead.

Ace looked at him in shock. …What?

"If you still wanna run wild, run as wild as you want on the sea under my name," he continued to speak, and Ace looked away in shame. So, the man was going to spare him as an example for the rest of the world to let them know not to mess with Edward Newgate, was he? That was just–wait. Ace turned to look back at Whitebeard in surprise. The man had knelt down in front of him and extended his hand.

"Become my son!" Whitebeard declared proudly, and Ace felt his mind go blank in shock for a split-second.

But as soon as his mind started working again, he felt the anger build up inside of him easily. A father? Seriously? This man wanted to become his fucking father? Who the fuck did he think he was? Ace didn't need a father. Not now, not ever.

"Screw you!" he yelled, enraged.

That action used the remaining amount of his energy apparently, and Ace felt himself collapse onto the ground again. This time, he couldn't get up and he couldn't stay conscious any longer. He heard the sound of running footsteps drawing nearer and his vision started to grow dark just as a pair of feet came into his sight. Ace felt himself being rolled onto his back by someone, and as he stared into the eyes of that unknown person, he had but one thought before he lost consciousness.

Huh, whaddya know? They're as blue as the sea.

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End Chapter


Hello my lovelies.

So, we finally get to see Ace. :D

He's angry, potty-mouthed, full of self-loathing and super fun to write. He also behaves like a tsundere, according to my muse. But don't worry, he'll get better.

Since this is an Ace-centred chapter, I won't say much about the other characters. It'll all be in the future chapters.

~Jumpingbeans480