Chapter 7 – Letter and Meeting

Again: One Piece characters are from Oda-sensei. OCs are mine… Then again, I might change the story's way of writing because having a first person speaking is very hard. I have to constantly change the manner of writing depending on the characters' behaviors. Especially to Luffy's. Anyhow, this will be a third person POV from now on.

Garp:

Why did he have to even ask? Garp just stared, deadpanned upon having the magical letter in his hands.

He have read it for like a couple of times and every time he read it, it just made him more furious than ever.

And for the nth time after reading it, he started to crumple the piece of magical paper until it turned into a messy ball.

Actually, sending a letter to Garp wouldn't be a bad idea especially if it's from his grandsons because he is such a loving grandfather who wants love from his grandsons. That is only and only if it weren't for the contents of the letter.

It said:

Dear Jii-chan,

I am on my way to more adventures. I'll be back after. :D

Luffy

"LUFFY! You ungrateful brat! You're the son of my child and you dare to send me a letter! You selfish cheeky brat!" His voice is so loud that Aokiji is afraid, the whole palace might have head it. The magical paper thrown recklessly to the floor in the throne room.

They just arrived from their journey from the East. Right after they arrived, he had asked where Luffy is and the servants told him that he was gone.

He almost went berserk if not only for General Aokiji's interruption. Then on his way to the throne room, he found the letter in his chair.

"That cheeky brat have the guts to go wayward when this is time of crisis! Dangers are everywhere! Especially, someone is after them." He sighed heavily at that.

"Arara… That selfishness is one trait they got from you, you know." Aokiji said to Garp while he is sitting on his own chair.

"What?!"

"Nothing… Nothing…" Aokiji just waved him off with disinterest. "But it might be a good thing that he is away from the palace. We don't want the enemies to find them in one obvious place." Garp thought for a moment then afterwards, he burst out laughing.

"Bwahahah. As expected of my grandson! Hahaha." Aokiji rolled his eyes at the emperor's own comment.

"But you know, they might capture him easily now that he is outside the palace protective walls."

Garp only laughed at what Aokij said.

"Nope. I think this is fine as it is. Let those bastards come here. No one gets away from me after showing interest on my grandsons."

"You sent the elder one in great dangers, you know. Shirohige Empire is not exactly safe for Ace to dwell on. Besides, the assignment you gave him will just take him a month at most before he will come back here. The people that are after him might have a ring on that."

"Nah… I will just send him a message. Its better that both Ace and Luffy will not stay in the same place for long. It will give us time to think of who wanted my grandsons' powers. They have to step over my dead body before that comes. And I will make sure that their bones will crack once I get my hands on them!"

ACE

"Achoo!" Ace wrinkled his nose. Did he catch a cold? Hmm… Nah… That's impossible. He never got a cold before in his entire existence, so why now?

He decided not to dwell on that too much because it is just a small matter.

Ace walked to the nearby restaurant to grab something for his dinner. Apparently, he lost sight of the man he suspected of being dangerous because of his narcoleptic attack a few hours ago but he did find a good information about them such as their names and where they are going. Since it is almost dawn already, he decided to just continue his journey tomorrow. It will be a good thing to rest before heading to somewhere or to someone he knows nothing about.

Whatever thoughts he had in his mind was pushed aside as a smell of delicious food caught his very sensitive smell and before he knew it, he is entering the restaurant.

He went straight to the counter to order food. He ordered food for at least 5 people which earned him a curious look from the waiter. Their looks are just like asking him how he can eat that much or is he even joking around, but Ace never cared. He's hungry and the food here looks like it can pass to almost Makino's food.

As soon as the food arrived he started digging it in. The bartender in that counter or maybe he is the owner, oh well whatever. Whoever he is, Ace would keep his manners and start having conversation with him.

It's good to know that the man is pretty cheerful himself. They started a very good conversation while Ace was eating when suddenly, out of the blue, his narcolepsy started attacking him and before he knew it, he collapsed – face stuffed on his own food while the fork that held his meat was on the air.

What a good way to have the climax of conversation…

MARCO

Since they are staying for the night, Izou had asked Marco that they should go the restaurant to eat since she apparently had enough of food in the inns they stayed in and Marco agreed because it will be good to have a change for a matter.

They went to the restaurant who is actually popular in this town. They want a peace and quiet place but this place seems to be under a commotion. That is what they caught from the first second they went in. People are hovering over the counter because, they heard, someone died.

"Uhm, excuse me, but what is going on?" Marco asked the first person he saw that came from the hovering people in that counter. He can't clearly see what they are getting pump up for so he opted to ask first. He does not want to dwell their noses where it is not necessary.

"Someone just collapsed in the counter while having a conversation with the owner. They are suspecting that he ate something that caused his death." The woman in her 40's – as far as what Marco can tell - said to him. Marco frowned at that.

"Why don't we see it first?" Thatch said to Marco. He nodded then they walked near the counter and the people that is actually hovering there. Being tall helps him to see what the people are clamoring for though he can only see a orange cowboy hat and a dark head.

"We can't see clearly here." Izou said to Marco and Thatch. Before they could respond, she pushed past the people and the two Imperial princes followed suit.

After a few seconds of pushing people out of the way, they are able to be in the front row of the show. Marco saw how ridiculous of a show this is.

The person who died according to people, have the most ridiculous position you can think of how a normal person die. The man, topless at that, is sitting in the stool in front of the counter, still holding his fork with meat in it and his face is shoved in the food which Marco assumed the person is eating before he died.

If this is not an awkward and ridiculous situation, Marco would have stood there and admire the person's muscled back. He have a slightly tanned skin. From what Marco can tell, this man is an inch or two shorter than him which is not bad for a height of a man.

The back of his mind keep on telling himself to just keep a low profile and just leave the scene and have dinner with his siblings but there is something about this man that he just can't shake off which is ridiculous because he does not know this man – well except for the man's back which Marco shamelessly got acquainted with the use of his blue eyes.

Regardless of the warning his mind said, his body might have worked on his own as before he could comprehend everything, he stepped out of the front row of the show to go closer to the counter and near the dead man. Though the man seems to be alive for some reason. His siblings followed suit and stood there by his side.

"What caused his death?" Marco asked the owner of the restaurant.

"W-we a-are just having a g-good conversation when he suddenly collapsed while eating." The man stuttered. Now, what he said is confusing indeed. Marco was about to reply to the owner when someone from the crowd suddenly came out of the shadow and spoke.

"He collapsed before too. That man collapsed after seeing the bizarre group this afternoon." Marco frowned at that thought. Could it be that those group of assassins did something to this man? Did they kill him through magic? Then who is this man to harbor such enemies?

Izou frowned along with Thatch. Izou started to say something when the strangest things happened before his eyes.

"That is pretty bad… Do you know-"

"Mmp—Hah!" All the people there have their eyes as wide as it could be while their jaws hanging that it might hit the floor soon. Who would blame them though? The man, they thought who was dead just raised his head from the plate he just collapsed at. Even Marco, with his calm and collected attitude and demeanor can't help but be surprised at that. Thatch and Izou are just the same.

Thank goodness that the owner was able to bounce back from the shock and approached the man.

"U-uhm, excuse me sir? B-but, are you alright?" The owner was a bit careful of speaking. If anyone will ask, Marco thinks that the owner might have added this to his sentence: Aren't you supposed to be dead?

Marco could not see the full face of the man. All he could see is the side view of his face. And just from seeing the side of his face, Marco could already conclude that this man is undoubtedly handsome. He can see freckles on the man's face which he found cute.

Ugh… This is insane! Marco told himself because no matter how you see it, this is beyond insane, because he is on a mission, a crucial one at that and all he could think of the moment is how cute the freckles is.

Marco shook his head and focused himself on the current situation. The man is currently blinking his eyes and stared at the man. Marco thinks he is processing what the man told him. The next thing he saw is the man searching for something which at this point, is a table napkin, and he wiped the stuff from his face then faced the owner.

"Man… I fell asleep…" All of us are contemplating on what he just said. Then the crowd reacted.

"You fell asleep like that?!" The man looked back at the crowd with a straight face then muttered something like a question about why the people are getting excited. He then faced the owner.

"Did you hire comedians here or something?" The owner just blinked at him and does not know how to respond to that.

"Uhmm, no. But a-as long as your fine…" The crowd started to disassemble but Marco and his siblings just stayed there.

"That's pretty weird." Thatch whispered to me. I only managed to respond a nod. Izou on the other hand walked in closer to the man.

"Uh, excuse me mister, are you alright?" The man looked at Izou and grinned. Marco swear, from the moment he saw the full view of the man's face that it is one of the most handsome faces he saw in his life. The prominent nose, slightly red lips and eyes that are very expressive plus those cute freckles.

"I am fine, thank you." He politely said. Then he looked at Marco and Thatch's direction but mostly on Marco's. They stared at each other for a while. Marco managed to put on his normal stoic and collected face while the man smirked at him or was it a smile? Marco does not care because whatever he just gave at Marco, it is gorgeous.

"You sure you did not eat something bad that made you collapsed?" Thatch asked which pretty much broke off the staring we are doing. Marco averted his eyes from the stranger but managed to do it for a short moment because the next thing he knew is his eyes glued on the stranger while he is talking to Thatch.

"Uh, that. Hehe. It's just my narcolepsy." The man sheepishly said while scratching the back of his head with a slight embarrassment. "Oh, I'm Ace, by the way."

"I'm Thatch." Ace gave his hand and Thatch shook it.

"I'm Izou." Ace shook her hand and then it is my time.

"And I'm Marco." Then, those onyx eyes, those expressive eyes that hold so much in them, adorned with a slight smirk from his luscious lips and Marco even wondered what it would feel if those lips are pressed against his.

Marco mentally groaned at that thought and shook his head slightly. Then he gave Ace a simple smile and shook his hand.

The moment those hand touched his, Marco's phoenix is already screaming for wanting more of that warmth and Marco can't help but wonder why. Though, he can agree with his inner phoenix, because he, himself wanted to keep Ace's hand clasped with his own.

Someone cleared their throat and that is when they both realized that they have been staring with each other, hands still clasped together.

Marco reluctantly let go and slightly cleared his throat too to clear his mind. He looked at Izou who gave him that smug look of hers and Marco's alarm system started screaming in his mind that what that look implies is nothing sort of thing he wanted and it will be trouble.

"So, Ace. Would you like to join us in our table? I bet you are lonely here by yourself. A little company will not bother you, would it?" Marco almost rolled his half-lidded eyes as the word lonely is clearly emphasized.

"Yeah! I think you are an interesting company to have. So, what do you say?" Thatch agreed with Izou which is pretty rare. Marco mentally noted that part.

Marco half-heartedly prayed that Ace would somehow say no because having him as a company would make Izou dwell on whatever idea he have. But, on the back of his mind, he wanted to know who this Ace person is and eventually make friends with him then – Marco cut the idea already and just told himself that he wanted to know Ace because there is something about him that is interesting which might contribute to their mission.

"Sure, I guess." He wanted to be disappointed but he seriously can't.

With that, they moved to a table with four chairs. Ace stand up which gave Marco a glimpse of his perfect abs.

As they moved along, him trailing behind Ace, Marco can't help but check Ace's back out. And that perfect arse.

Lucky for him, Izou sat next to Thatch which left him sitting next to Ace.

ACE

Ace never felt more embarrassed during his narcoleptic attacks before, until now. He does not know of the reason why he should because this narcoleptic attacks happened very often and with way more embarrassing scenes than this but because of one presence, he felt inclined to feel embarrassment.

The moment he woke up from his collapsed state, the owner of the place asked him if he was alright then all he did was to find a table napkin then wiped his face. Then someone asked him if he really was alright and that is where he's been aware of the three presences beside him.

Izou, the woman with a make up on and is currently wearing a light purple kimono dress was the first to talk to Ace. Due to the worries she showed, Ace introduced himself. They each introduced himself as Thatch, Izou and of course, Marco.

At first, what Ace thought is a tropical fruit because of Marco's exotic hairstyle. Ace can't help but slightly smirked at him but what really captivated Ace's attention was that half-lidded eyes that looked bored and those blue eyes which he rarely sees.

Ace found Marco handsome and very gorgeous. In fact, he can't help but stare at those eyes and hold his hand for long if not only for the interruption from Izou.

Ace fought a blush to go visible because that is really, way really embarrassing.

When Izou invited Ace to join them in their table, he thought that having ties here would be bad because he will have to leave sooner or later but despite that, he still agreed to sit with them and fortunately enough, he ended up sitting next to Marco which made him more nervous for some reason.

The food they ordered arrived after a few minuteds.

Ace observed as Izou keep looking at Marco with smug look. Though I just paid it no mind because they might have been teasing a few moments later. Thatch started the conversation. He seems to be a cheerful person.

"So, Ace are you a traveler? You seemed new here according to the locals judging from the show you put off." He gave Ace a playful and teasing smile. Ace took no offense on that comment.

"Yeah. I travelled from North here just to you know, see things other from where I lived. How about you guys, your travelers too?"

"Yes, we do. We're siblings by the way." Izou said. "Where are you staying Ace? And don't you feel cold dressed like that? You're practically half-naked." Ace laughed at that.

"I'm just comfortable this way. I am staying in an inn, not far from here though. I'll be leaving tomorrow for another travel." Ace silently prayed they won't really interrogate him too much because he is not a good actor himself.

"So, you love to travel, huh?" Marco finally have the time to speak. Ace almost jolted from surprise but he managed to keep calm and answer.

"Yeah, this is my first time to travel this long. I've travelled before but only to run errands for my Jii-jii." Ace almost said that this travel is also an errand for Jii-jii too but he bit back the words because that would be too much to tell strangers thought deep inside of Ace, he thinks that these guys are trustworthy enough.

"That's good. There are so much to see in the world aside from where you live. Where do you live, anyway?" Ace tensed at that because if he honestly said that he loves in the D. Empire palace, that would give away who he is and he would avoid that.

"I live in the Mt. Colvo Forest. I and my brother had a small hut there." That is not quite a lie because he and Luffy really have a hut there. More like their secret base when they were kids. Mt. Colvo is not far from the D. Palace and there is a passage that went right straight to that mountain. That is a secret passage in case of emergencies and he and Luffy use it to get away from the training lessons of the emperor or just to skip classes.

"How about you guys?"

"We really can't tell you the full details but we are on a mission. We travel because of that. We came from a neighboring country." Thatch said. Ace appreciated that they did not tell any lie about that.

"Oh. Don't worry, I won't ask further about that since it sounds important. Anyways, are you leaving this town tomorrow?"

"Yes. We have to finish this as soon as possible, so, we will leave early tomorrow."

"That sounds intense enough. Anyway, I will hope you will achieve what your mission is." After eating, they paid for the bill and went out of the restaurant. While walking, they talked more and more.

Ace found out that Thatch is a good cook and he promised Ace that he would cook once they saw each other sometime. Izou is very meticulous when it comes to dressing. Marco just stayed silent most of the time but he gave a few comments here and now.

Ace found out that he is a very serious and responsible brother which he can relate to since Luffy is such a walking disaster.

Later, they arrived in the inn where they are staying. Ace bid farewell from them and walked to his inn a few minutes of walk away from theirs. Before he could walk out, Ace managed to look back and he saw Marco was looking as well.

Ace gave a smile to him and he smiled back which caused butterflies in Ace's stomach to twirl but he felt happy because of that.

After giving a wave, he walked to his inn with a happy brimming grin plastered in his face.

TEACH's GROUP OF ASSASSINS

"Captain, are you sure this is the way to the D. Palace? This is forest you know." Jesus Burgess asked Teach.

"Of course. They said that the palace is near a mountain forest. So this must be the way. Zehahah."

"(Sigh) We should have brought Lafitte with us. He is a good navigator. If he's with us, then we won't be lost here with this idiot leading us." Shilew said.

Teach just laughed at his comment.

"Don't worry, we will find the D. princes soon enough. I will reclaim what is rightfully mine! They will know their next emperor as Marshall D. Teach! Zehahaha." Teach had said.

"But captain, we are not going kill them you know. They still need to extract their powers from their bodies, you know." Burgess said but Teach did not reply. He can only think of dominating the D. Empire with his own hands.

"Garp will regret ever exiling me! The throne will be mine! No, the whole world will be mine! Zehahaha." Teach laughed maniacally at that. The thought of having the empire in his hands is thrilling enough.

AN:

There…. Longer than the other chapters. The first meeting of Ace and Marco is almost the same as that scene in Alabasta where Ace fell asleep. It is one of my favorite funny scenes…

Have any suggestions? Review!

Next chapter will be about Luffy's meeting with Nami and Usopp's friends. R&R!