So... update. Yay? Umm... I feel like I should write more... But... I don't know what to say... Pineapple aliens.
Also if you're bored I have a video or two of me drawing Portgas D. Ann on my YouTube :P It was fun~ But yeah, just thought I'd do some self-advertising
Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.
Ace sat awkwardly, placed between the two blondes at the table, sweat beading down his neck. Never before did he feel such a dense aura between two people. It felt like at any moment one was just going to jump up and attack the other. Truly it was terrifying, especially considering how calm they both usually were. Well, how calm he thought they were—as Sabo stated earlier, the real world counterparts of the people he knew were different. Still, it was unpleasant.
What bothered him most were the manners. They both were neatly chewing their food, quietly going about their meal as if it was normal. Nothing felt more wrong. Marco was a pirate, dammit, and he ate like one, too. Or he was supposed to, but that stupid Mark—he still hated the name—was being all polite about it! And Sabo was doing it, too, which was just as bad. Sure he wasn't as bad as Ace or Luffy but even he used only a minimal amount of manners while eating. Dinner felt… forced. It wasn't as fun as it used to be with his brothers.
"Something wrong?" Sabo asked, noticing the looks he was being given.
"This is just so… wrong," the freckled man stated. Both blondes stopped eating to look at him questioningly as he continued. "You!" He pointed to Mark. "You're not like this! You're never like this! Thatch would be ashamed!"
Mark blinked, wondering what the hell the boy was going on about.
"Ace we talked about this," the author said with a sigh.
"I don't care! I know he's not Marco but dammit he looks like him!"
The man in question narrowed his eyes. "Marco?"
Now Sabo was the nervous one. He didn't exactly feel like telling 'Daddy' that a character from his book fell into the living room. He'd end up in a mental institution pretty fast—they both would. So, having nothing else come to his mind, he slammed his fist into the back of the pirate's head.
"Ow! The hell was that for?" Ace asked in irritation while rubbing the sore spot on his skull. Why did that hurt? He was a logia user! It shouldn't have hurt!
"Just shut up and eat," Sabo ordered, picking up his fork and resuming his previous task of emptying his plate.
"And you—this isn't like you, either."
"I told you I'm—"
"—Different, I know. But that doesn't make it right."
There was another sigh. "You're hopeless."
Ace pouted at that and then glared at his plate. He'd finished it three times already—which alarmed Marco because he never witnessed someone with such an insatiable appetite—and, while he could normally eat much more, the atmosphere made him lose his interest. After a short internal debate he stood from his chair and paused. "I'm done."
"Already?" Sabo asked, surprised that his character was eating so little in comparison to usual.
"Yeah." With that he filed into the living room, pulled one of the One Piece books from its shelf and sat on the couch to read.
Mark watched him from the kitchen table, studying him momentarily. Something was up with that kid. He was… off. What was he going on about? He said he looked like Marco… That name sounded familiar. He heard it before, but where? And then he mentioned someone named Thatch. Who was that? And how was he relevant? The editor was becoming more suspicious of the man as the night went on.
Sabo noticed the wary glares his father was giving his guest and, again, grew nervous. He wasn't a stupid man—he'd figure it out in time, especially with how Ace couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. The blonde had given him a ten minute long lecture about why he couldn't say anything about the book or where he came from and only a half hour later he seemed to forget that. He also didn't seem to put much effort into remembering that the people from his world were not the same as the ones in reality. At the rate they were going it wouldn't end well.
Mark turned to his son with an accusing look on his face. He saw how distracted the boy was—highly unusual for him—and knew there was something he was hiding. "Well?"
"What?"
"You going to tell me what's going on?"
The author sent him a dull, threatening glare. He hated that man sometimes. He hated how perceptive he was. Then again, Ace's big mouth was making it too obvious. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Don't give me that," Mark began, leaning forward. "I can tell when you're lying."
"I call bullshit."
"Sabo," the older began threateningly, "tell me."
With a groan the blonde crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on the wood of the table. He hated when his so-called 'father' used that scolding tone; it made him feel like a kid again. He wasn't ten years old and damn it he didn't want to be treated like he was. Mentally he slapped himself, remembering where the inspiration from Ace's temperament came from—himself when he was around that man.
Think fast. He needed to come up with some form of explanation because that was the only way the subject would be dropped. "I'm… helping him out." He knew that if Ace heard what he was about to say he'd be pissed. It was a good thing he left the room, then.
"With?"
"He had a bit of an… accident. Now he thinks he's Portgas D. Ace from my novel."
"…He does, does he?"
"…Yeah. And I'm trying to set him straight. He thinks people who look similar to the characters are them, so I'm having him stay here to avoid any incidents."
"I see."
Shit. He knew something was up. He realized that there were lies in the story he told. Well it was partially true so maybe he would overlook them. Sure enough, the man began eating once more. Sabo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling relief wash over him.
Twenty minutes later Mark was at the door. He slipped on his shoes and looked over at the 'mentally ill' boy on the couch, catching the glances he was giving. It seemed the freckled youth had been eyeing him all night—it likely had to do with the 'Marco' thing. He finally remembered where he heard the name before. Speaking of, it was that comment that led him to see through Sabo's story; how could he think that he looked like Marco when the character never had his sketch made public, let alone been written into the published volumes? Even Mark, himself, didn't know what that character looked like. He was one of the few characters that didn't get a profile and, other than the installment the author was currently working on, he almost never showed up. How could that kid possibly know what he looked like?
Then there was another thing—the talk he overheard in the bedroom. He remembered his concern over that 'person' that apparently resembled his son. He also recalled that Sabo was adding a character to the story based off himself. It only took a matter of seconds for him to connect those observations. Thing is, nothing at all was known about that character yet 'Ace' seemed to know quite a bit about him from what he overheard. And Sabo indulged his beliefs—the blonde wasn't one to do so unless he found it to be true.
Mark grabbed his case and was about to turn to the door when he spotted the boy staring at him.
"Leaving?" Ace asked, placing the book in his lap, index finger between the pages to keep from losing his spot.
"Yeah," the blonde replied simply, a bit surprised by his calm tone. After how fidgety he was at dinner and how much he shouted it was a weird contrast to see him behave. His first impression of the youth was that he was very wary, but after a little bit longer with him he thought he was eccentric. That changed, again, just then. Suddenly he was… Well, Mark wasn't sure how to explain it, but he certainly was different than before.
The freckled man gave him a lop-sided smile. "Too bad; it was nice seeing a familiar face." He noticed the blonde's eyes narrowed and realized his mistake. "Ah, I know you're not him. You look like him, though."
"…I see." Hearing something like that was really making him wonder how much of Sabo's story was true. It appeared he really did think that he knew the characters from the book which was a bit unnerving. He decided to play along to see what else the boy would divulge. "We're similar, then?"
"Identical. It's kind of creepy. Only, well, Marco doesn't wear glasses." There was a short pause. "And you don't really act like him. Sabo said you wouldn't, though. Oh, but don't tell him I told you, 'kay?"
"Why?"
Ace shrugged. "Doesn't want you to know—said we'll end up in a 'white room' or something."
"…"
"When are you coming back?" he asked. As much as the differences between the editor and first mate annoyed him, it was still comforting to have him around. Marco was like his big brother—someone he could confide in. And… maybe if he knew more about him he'd find similarities between the counterparts.
Mark blinked. He was surprised to be asked that. "…You want me to come back?" They didn't even know each other, not to mention the kid seemed irritated with him at dinner.
"Of course!" Ace put his hand over his mouth and peered down the hall to make sure Sabo didn't hear him. The last thing he wanted was to be scolded for not keeping their secret. He couldn't help it! He hated lying to his family and, as far as he was concerned, Mark was Marco and, therefore, was his brother. Though the thought of his brother being the father of his other brother was, well… It freaked him out, to say the least. "I know you're not him, but… It feels like you are, you know? I can't help it."
A long silence fell between them. Ace worried that he said too much—he promised to keep his mouth shut and did the exact opposite, after all.
Mark decided it was best to be direct. That boy wasn't nearly as cautious as his son was and he planned to use that to his advantage in the hope that he would help him figure out what was going on. He seemed willing to give him whatever information he wanted and then some. Of course, the possibility of him being mentally ill took away some of his credibility but the blonde wanted to hear what he had to say regardless. "So you're Portgas D. Ace, then? The pirate?" If he confirmed that then Sabo's story would likely be true. After all, that person only existed in fiction.
Ace grinned. "You're taking this a lot calmer than Sabo did," he stated, seemingly analyzing Mark's expression. "But I know that look—Marco used it every time I said something wasn't my fault. You don't believe me."
"Not at all."
The freckled youth chuckled a bit at that. Mark was far blunter than his counterpart. "Want me to show you something?"
"What?"
Looking cautiously down the hall to make sure Sabo wasn't coming, his grin widened. He pointed his finger up into the air and watched the other smugly as he lit the first digit on fire. After remembering that Devil Fruit didn't exist in that world he found it would be the perfect way to prove his point.
Mark's normally lidded eyes widened. For a moment he thought he was seeing things—a trick of the light or his mind messing with him—but no matter how long he stared the flame did not disappear. Then he looked to the man's face, seeing a cocky grin. He watched as more fingers went aflame and saw his shoulders light as well. Ten seconds later all traces of the fire vanished, the only proof left behind being the slight smell of smoke. "You…" was all he managed to say.
"Heh. Don't tell Sabo you know; he'll kill me or use that notebook to get revenge," he said, shivering at the thought.
"How did you…?" For a moment Mark filed the 'notebook' comment into his memories, making a mental note to find out what he meant some other time when he wasn't internally freaking out.
"I'm a logia user. Ate the Mera Mera no Mi, remember? If you're the editor then you should know." The confident smile slowly vanished as a thought appeared in his head. "…You're not scared, right?" The last thing he wanted was for his crewmate's doppelganger to think he'd set him on fire or something like that. Even back in his world—in the story—people feared Devil Fruit users. The inhabitants of the so-called 'real world' would likely have even worse reactions to his ability because it wasn't supposed to be possible. He didn't think about that before showing him.
"No…" A little. Or maybe a lot, actually. "It… just surprised me."
"…Sorry." So it was a bad idea, after all.
"Don't be." He actually had a small reason to believe the self-proclaimed pirate. After all, that should not have been possible. Still, there was no solid proof and Mark liked to think of himself as a rational person, meaning he didn't believe things so easily. He would consider it, though.
"Thursday," he said simply.
"Huh?" Ace looked up at the blonde with curious eyes.
"I'll be here on Thursday to pick up the manuscript. We can talk then."
Ace's face lit up at that. He smiled brightly, glad that the stupid, impulsive show of his 'talents' wasn't a mistake. Mark wasn't scared. Hell, he even answered his question from earlier. Things were looking up. "Alright! I'll let Sabo know."
The blonde sighed. "Best you don't; he doesn't exactly get along well with me."
The pirate blinked a few times, pondering that. "Yeah he does."
"And what makes you think that, Portgas?"
The freckled boy's grin returned along with his confidence. He didn't think that, he knew it. "He wouldn't have based Marco off you if he didn't."
A/N: Um yeah. There you go. Bet you can't guess the plot for the next chapter :P Hehehehe...
To my lovelies~
mrsfirefist: I don't take requests, sorry :P It wouldn't fit into the current plot anyways. You'll hear his opinion about both the One Piece Luffy and the real world Luffy later on, though, so don't worry.
Neko-VongolaPrimo: Lol it's okay. Yep, Sabo's writing makes everything more dramatic. Well you got to see a bit of that this chapter :P It wasn't even a sad flashback XD
MsWildLuck: Well I'm glad you liked it :)
AikoLoveGirl: Hehe well a bit of that happened this chapter :P
Sully-van: It might make you sad. It's not all bad, though. And don't worry, you'll find out about it in detail later. I agree.
Cyborgnetics: What do you mean by 'not a few days late'? I don't have a set time when I update, I just do it whenever. More than likely you missed the important ones. No one mentioned them.
WeissDragon: Lol well I'm glad you enjoy it. Hehe you give it too much credit. The tattoo is actually important to the plot so it'll be in there later.
Stelra Etnae: Hehe there's a reason for that. Well Ace just told him everything, so...
Portgas D. Paula: Lol yep at least.
Kitsune Foxfire: That would be pretty disasterous. But interesting :P Apparently he did not. Nope, Ace is the one being weird at dinner hehe. You shall have to wait and see.
Son Goshen: Yep, pretty depressing huh? The mindfuck has already begun. I'm not tormenting him, he got himself into this mess! Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. I'm interested in hearing your theory :P
spoons-are-evil: Not really :P I can't say anything without giving spoilers hehe. Actually that would be pretty entertaining... I'm going to write that for a bonus chapter! Lol no one did. The only time he said yoi in the story was in the flashback. Lol that would have been awesome.
TakeThatNinja: Glad you like!
azab: Glad you like!
Starry Roses: Lol I always do. He might not, you know.
teengens: There will be no AceLu in this fic. At all. Yep, very out of place. I shall!
Awakened-Masterpiece: Well I'm not really looking to change people's minds. If you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. You will have to wait until later to find out.
RexLink: Well Ace is the one who wanted to remember in the first place. That's not right. It's more complicated than that. Well it's nice to hear that you do :)
(Aaaand that's everyone! I'm going to go now and, uh, do something. Like watch YouTube videos. Or... or... yell at my dog for sleeping on my pillow. Or yell at my annoying friend sitting beside me who won't shut up and keeps laughing and my god I'm going to shoot her.)
