Chapter 10: The Call
(Hey guys~! XD The reviews are awesome! But seriously, some of you are overthinking it – and getting sick in Epic's case. My fave reviews being from:
EpicAsianOrangeTiger26 – "I want to say Sabo, since they talk to each other in the manga. But that would totally contradict Sabo being a little kid. Too much thinking, I think I might get sick" (Think more. If you get sick you don't have to go to school/work and you can be lazy. Unless you have someone who's like my mom and forces you to go no matter what. In that case, good luck.)
RobinLynnSpade – "Eh? Is that… Sabo? But then, little Sabo…? but yay for Koala!" (XD I imagined someone stuttering and pointing at random things like it would help.)
scatteredPhilosopher – "I feel like Koala is talking to an older Sabo. o_o But that's obviously not right, because even if Sabo still WAS out there (which the earlier chapters disprove) he'd have turned little again just like Luffy. So… I have no idea. :T" (Good guess. You're over-thinking.)
Redery – "Wait, whaaaaaaaat? Is Sabo still alive or something? :O" (Probably my fave reaction. I imagined Luffy trying to think XD)
Galymed – "Huuuuuuh? What just happened? o.O I swear every time I think I might have figured out something about the plot, you go and something completely unexpected happens XD." (Trust me. It'll get more confusing.) "And that last part… is it possible that there are more than one Sabo? I'm really confused right now (and even more confused because I cannot predict what's gonna happen next at all) :D" (Good. I'm happy you're confused XD)
While I'm saying this, I have someone to yell at. Blueh. Complain about my other stories in PM's or on that story! Not in the reviews of a different story!
On a different note, this story is the very first that I have actually planned everything out for! I have enough chapters planned that this will end somewhere in the 20's. That means this story will be finished between a month and three months. One month being if I update twice a week, three months being if I update once a week. Also I wrote a one-shot tragedy loosely based off of the song Life is Beautiful by Sixx:AM. It's called Promise Me You Won't Cry At My Funeral. It's short but people have been crying so… *cough*shamelessadvertising*cough*. Also, Brothers Returned might take a while to update for the main reason I didn't think I should make it; I don't know how to continue! Luffy finds out his brothers are alive and they create ASL is all I could think of! Someone said to mention Luffy on Amazon Lily and have Sanji flip but that's all! That isn't enough for a chapter! *freaking out* I don't want to be glared at! Please don't hurt me. ;-; *tries to stop my head-ache* How about I get to what you came for? On to the crap!)
It had been a week since the brothers left Sunny, leaving no evidence as to where they were going. Everyone was worried, whether they said it or not. It had gotten to the point where even Zoro and Sanji couldn't fight each other. Nothing was right without their captain there, whether he was a child again or not. Most of the Strawhats had just spaced out on multiple occasions, sometimes for an hour or more.
It was one of those moments. The crew had been laying on deck, all of them spaced out and in their own world. Just then an echo of 'Purupurupuru' had made itself heard on deck, startling the crew. At the sudden sound, the crew had jumped, either scared or ready to fight. That's when they realized what the sound was.
Slowly, the crew made their way to the source of the sound in the dining hall. The sound echoed almost too loudly on the quiet ship and in the well-sized room.
'Purupurupuru Purupurupuru Purupurupu- Ca-cha.' The den den mushi sounded as the call was answered.
"Hello?" Zoro answered.
'Hello. This is the ship of the Strawhat Pirates, correct? Or might I be mistaken?' An almost gentle and noble voice asked, his final statement said with a slight chuckle.
"Depends. Who's calling?" Zoro replied.
'My apologies, but I'd rather not say who unless I may speak to your captain. May I speak to Luffy?' The man asked kindly.
"He isn't here." Zoro said. "Haven't you heard? He disappeared."
'That can't be right. My informant told me to call you. She said there was something you might like to see as well as I. Might you know what it is?' The man asked, sounding more like a noble by the second.
Zoro was silent. He had no idea what the man was talking about. Then there came the question; why did the man sound so happy when mentioning Luffy? And what does this man, who sounds like a high ranked noble, know Luffy? And another question; how did the man get their number? It wasn't like they were running around islands screaming 'This is our number! Gives us a call someday!' to the whole god damn world. Very few, if any, people knew the number.
While Zoro was silently asking questions, Nami had decided to voice them. "How do you know Luffy? And why do you sound like a noble?"
Everyone could hear a slight gasp coming from the other end followed by a sigh and a small muttering that sounded something akin to 'I guess their speech did rub off on me after all'.
After a moment of silence, the man replied. 'I suppose the fact that Luffy hasn't stolen the phone or is yelling excitedly in the background would mean he's either asleep or he truly is missing. Although I'm not surprised if he is sleeping. The only thing that wakes him up is the mention of food.' There was a pause, almost as if the speaker were waiting for something. 'Hm… So it's true… Do you have any ideas where he might have gone?'
"He ran away with his brothers a week ago. We have no idea where he is." Nami stated sadly.
'Excuse me but did you say 'brothers'?' the man asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Nami stated cautiously. "Why do you ask?"
'Please. This joke has gone far enough. Tell me where he is.' The man said, almost as if he were about to panic.
"We aren't joking. Luffy and his two older brothers ran away on one of our boats a week ago." Nami stated.
'You're wrong!' the man shouted in panic. 'Luffy only has two brothers and one of them died mere weeks ago at Marineford! Explain to me how he could have run away with a dead brother and a brother he claims to have died ten years ago!'
"What do you mean by 'claims'?" Robin asked calmly.
There was a few moments of silence before the voice returned. 'At least tell me what their names were. Maybe even a brief description of them.' The man nearly begged.
"Ace and Sabo. Both were ten. Ace had raven hair and freckles covering his cheeks and nose. Sabo was blond with-"
'With a missing tooth and dressed in a top hat with goggles and a blue tail coat.' The man finished for Robin.
"Correct. How might you have known?" Robin questioned.
The man sighed. 'Why the hell does trouble always have to follow him? He's definitely his father's son…' he said, avoiding Robin's question.
"Who are you?" Sanji nearly growled. "If I find out you want to hurt them, then I'll personally kill you myself."
'Now why would I want to do that? I know what they look like because I was there when Ace and Sabo were young.' The man stated, sounding almost as if it were strange to say Sabo's name.
"And you remember it?" Usopp muttered in the background. "Doesn't that seem kinda, oh I don't know, stalker-ish?"
'Photographic memory. Can't help but remember it. Especially when he wore the same outfit for a few months at least.' The man informed, apparently having heard Usopp's comment.
"You seem to know them the best. Where do you think they would go?" Robin asked.
'They wouldn't allow Luffy to be in charge, he can't navigate and the two older boys would never let him be in charge. Ace wasn't the best at navigation either. Sabo… He wasn't the worst but neither the best. They would most likely have followed the sun, or moon if it was night.' The man said, still sounding as if he was forcing himself to say 'Sabo'.
"That doesn't help!" Nami shouted.
'Saikai no Shima.' The man said plainly.
"What?" Chopper asked.
'Saikai no Shima.' The man repeated.
"Doesn't that mean 'Island of Reunion'?" Brook asked.
'Indeed. That is also where they are headed. No need to worry for them either. They are with the Whitebeard Pirates.' The man sighed. 'Now I know what Koala had refused to tell me… This is very strange… Although I must say, I wouldn't mind questioning little Sabo…'
"What are you talking about? Why do you want to question Sabo?" Nami asked.
'If my presumptions are correct, then Ace was somehow revived and turned into a child, along with Luffy most likely. The odd man out would be Sabo.' The man informed.
"How so?" Robin asked.
'Because of something quite simple. He didn't die, so he couldn't have been revived as a child. If using Luffy's case of simply reversing in age, then it is impossible as well.' The man stated.
"You're losing me bro." Franky stated.
"Same here." Usopp, Chopper, and Brook said in unison.
"How would that be impossible?" Sanji questioned.
'Because I am twenty years old.' The man said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"What does that have to do with any of this?" Zoro nearly yelled.
'Because Luffy is my little brother and Ace my older. I am Sabo.' The man, Sabo, stated.
There was a heavy silence in the room as everyone tried to take in what Sabo said.
"WHAT!?" They all shouted.
Sabo sighed. 'Of course Luffy would get a crew like this…'
"Sabo-san. Would you mind explaining what you believe is happening?" Robin asked calmly.
'I'd love to, except I have no idea. Give me some time and I shall inform you of what I find. Until we meet on Saikai no Shima.' Sabo said before hanging up.
"DON'T JUST HANG UP LIKE THAT!" Everyone shouted angrily, Robin choosing to stay calm and instead giggle at the crew's reaction.
-x-x-x-
Thatch woke up the next day with something heavy laying on him. He attempted to open his eyes and see what it was, but instead was blinded by the bright lights reflecting off the pure white walls. After a few attempts, his eyes adjusted and he could see what was on him. Quickly he noticed it wasn't a something but instead it was a someone. That someone turned out to be three small boys spread out on his chest and arms.
Luffy had been the one laying on his chest, fast asleep. Ace and Sabo had their heads on his shoulders and were almost hugging his arms like they were teddy bears. Soon after, he noticed Haruta had been using his own arms as a pillow as they laid crossed on the bed. Directly across from Haruta was Vista, in the same position. All of them asleep.
"They refused to move, yoi." Marco informed, making his presence known.
Thatch turned his head towards Marco and saw him sitting on one of the chairs with the newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
"It's alright. I'm just glad Luffy is lighter than I first thought." Thatch whispered, careful not to wake said boy or his brothers.
"You should know, the nurses came in earlier and were taking pictures, yoi." Marco stated, still looking at the paper.
"So that's what the annoying clicking was…" Thatch muttered to himself. "Oh well. Can't really do anything about it now right?"
"I would believe so, yoi." Marco said before taking a sip of coffee.
"What time is it?" Thatch asked.
"Nine o'clock." Marco stated.
"You're really chatty this morning aren't you?" Thatch commented, sarcasm practically dripping off each word.
"I'm trying not to wake them, yoi." Marco said, slightly nodding his head towards the boys that were currently using Thatch as a pillow – or bed in Luffy's case.
With that, Thatch looked back at the boys. Just as he looked, he saw Luffy ball up like a small kitten and gently grab his shirt like a baby would their blanket. Thatch had to fight back the small squeal that tried to escape. He knew it sounded strange, but the small boy was just too cute.
Quickly, Thatch noticed something wrap around his arms. As soon as he looked, he saw the two older brothers had grabbed his arms and were hugging them. They looked so innocent. Thatch almost had a hard time remembering how dangerous these boys were. Almost being the key word. He easily remembered how strong Ace was and how much trouble Luffy had gotten into when he was older. He then remembered hearing how strong Sabo was.
Thatch quickly paled at the thought of three monsters sleeping on him. He was officially terrified for his life. He felt like, if he woke one up, even in the slightest, then all hell would break lose and he would be the first to die. Immediately he felt a small wave of comfort wash over him when he remembered he was still in the infirmary.
"Are you alright, yoi? You're really pale." Marco commented.
"Y-yeah…" Thatch replied before looking at the boys with a worried look and sighing after seeing they were still out cold.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of some kids, yoi." Marco teased.
"It's Ace and Luffy! Plus a kid that's almost as strong as Ace! I'd be crazy if I wasn't scared!" Thatch whispered.
"Ace doesn't have his devil fruit, Luffy can't control his well enough to be of harm, and they are only that strong when they have weapons, which are in their room, yoi." Marco explained.
"… Shut up." Thatch muttered.
"What's with all the talking?" Haruta muttered as he awoke.
"Sorry…" Thatch whispered.
"Our fourth division commander is afraid of kids, yoi." Marco stated.
"That's just sad… Wait, those three or kids in general?" Haruta asked.
"These three." Thatch whispered as he eyed said boys.
"I take it back. You're a smart man." Haruta said.
Marco sighed. "Of all things, why are you afraid of three children, yoi?"
"They aren't just children Marco! They're monsters! They're scary strong! I was sparring with Sabo the other day and I would have lost if Luffy hadn't run out being chased by Ace!" Haruta whispered, remembering the moment perfectly.
"You do realize how weak that makes you sound, correct, yoi?" Marco asked, taking another sip of coffee.
"… Shut up." Haruta muttered.
There were a few moments of silence. The only sounds coming from either Marco, as he either sipped coffee or turned a page, or the three boys who were quietly snoring. Vista laying there soundlessly. After a minute or two of not hearing anything from the man, nor seeing him move slightly due to his chest raising and falling from breathing, Thatch and Haruta started worrying. Soon enough, Haruta had walked over to Vista and started poking him. When he rolled his shoulder to make the other stop, Haruta and Thatch let out a breath they hadn't known they were holding.
Shortly after, Vista had woken up. After seeing Marco had finished his coffee, Vista decided to grab a mug for himself and refill the captains at the same time. Quietly he opened the door, walked through, and closed it, leaving the room.
After a few short moments, Thatch, Haruta, and Marco started to hear some light groans. After a few seconds, they realized the sounds were coming from Ace. As they watched the boy for a few more moments, they noticed him flinch and tighten his grip on Thatch's arm. Thatch had to bite his lip to prevent himself from making any noise. The kid was strong, even in his sleep.
"…Oyaji…" Ace murmured in his sleep.
Immediately, Marco, Haruta, and Thatch had wide eyes and were staring at Ace. At first they thought they were just hearing things, but then Ace had said it again, this time slightly louder. Soon enough, the commanders were worried. Had the boy remembered?
"I'm sorry… Oyaji… Everyone…" Ace muttered, a small tear rolling down his face and onto Thatch's arm.
"Ace…" Thatch whispered.
"Thank you…" Ace began.
As if knowing what he was going to say, Luffy had moved and hit Ace just hard enough for him to stop speaking. Soon they saw a small smile on Ace's face along with a few more tears streaming. Then they noticed Luffy who was laying on Thatch still, but was now holding the cloth in his hand tighter, along with having tears streaming down his face and onto the man. Luffy was crying more than Ace and had been searching for comfort from Thatch.
Thatch wanted nothing more than to hug the boy and get him out of whatever dream that was causing him to react this way, but he couldn't. Ace had been holding his left arm too tightly to where he could just barely feel his hand, while Sabo was also holding his opposite arm, but not as tightly. He wanted to tell the boy to wake up, but that would have woken up the other two. Help the youngest and risk being murdered by the older two, or leave the boy in his nightmare? The choice was easier than he expected.
"Oi… Luffy. I need you to wake up now." Thatch called out.
Instead of waking up, Luffy readjusted so that he was almost completely face down. His head was on its side, facing Ace, and resting over Thatch's heart. Slowly, the boys face changed from a deep frown to a small smile. Thatch smiled as well. At least the boy wasn't crying anymore.
About thirty minutes later, the boys started waking up. First Sabo, followed by Ace. At first Ace had been reluctant until he realized where he was, what he was hugging, and who it was attached to. Ace still had a small blush of embarrassment on his freckled cheeks as he moved to wake Luffy. As soon as he saw the small smile on the boys face, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he just pet the boys head, causing the small smile to grow slightly.
As Ace started to pull his hand away, Luffy started to lean closer to Ace. Once Ace noticed this, he smiled slightly before grabbing the boy off the commanders chest and setting Luffy down in his lap. Quickly, Luffy had wrapped his arms around Ace and vise-versa. Ace seemed to be in another world as he stared at his little brother's face with a small smile of his own.
"Never thought I'd say this… But… Sometimes I miss these moments…" Ace muttered.
"What moments?" Thatch whispered as he slowly sat up.
"Moments where… he's just so out of it that he's actually calm." Ace commented.
It was quiet for a few moments as Ace gently rocked the boy in his arms. Everyone in the room knew Ace would deny this ever happened. They didn't want to ruin it for the boys. Slowly, Ace's small smile grew into a fond one, as if remembering something. Soon enough though, the smile left and turned into a straight face.
"Ace…?" Haruta whispered.
Ace gently shook his head. "Just remembering the last time we did this… Right after Luffy had been picked on by some noble brats. They started to attack him and he wouldn't fight back. When they pulled out knives was when I finally stepped in and beat them up. We went back to our cliff and sat like this, watching the stars. Then they started moving and we realized at least half of them were fireflies. They were so beautiful…" Ace said, his smile returning.
"Then I started asking why they were called fireflies when they weren't on fire. We spent way too long talking about that." Luffy added with a small smile of his own, letting everyone know he was awake.
"Yeah… I think I was remembering that when I was trying to think of new moves. That would definitely explain Hotarubi Hidaruma." Ace said with a small chuckle.
"W-what did you just say…?" Marco stuttered.
Ace lifted his head to look at Marco and nearly burst out laughing. "What's with the face Marco? I've never seen your eyes so wide. It's honestly a little scary."
"A-Ace…?" Thatch muttered.
Ace looked at Thatch before grinning and nodding slightly. "Gotta go. See ya guys soon." Ace said before he looked at Luffy with a smile and closed his eyes.
"W-wait! A-Ace!" Haruta called out as he grabbed the boys shoulder.
Ace's eyes shot open and looked at Haruta. The eyes he once knew fading back to the childish ones that had been there for the past week. Slowly he took his hand off the boys shoulder and sat down in one of the chairs next to him.
"Ace? Why are you hugging me?" Luffy asked innocently.
Quickly Ace looked down and saw he was, in fact, still holding the child. Soon enough, Luffy was on the bed with Ace's back to him. Ace trying to get rid of the blush of embarrassment on his face, not looking at anyone.
As soon as Ace was looking away, Marco and Thatch looked at each other, holding a silent conversation with their eyes. First Luffy, now Ace. Just what was going on?
-x-x-x-
Koala looked out at the ocean. Even though she saw it every day, she still loved to stare at it. But this reason was different. In the distance, she could see the dark outline of an island. She knew which it was too. Saikai no Shima.
"LAND HO!" the man in the crows nest shouted.
Koala's smile widened. This was going to be very interesting.
(Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand done! When writing this I remembered something. The other day, my idiotic friends started talking about how a koala has two penis' and I immediately thought of Koala from One Piece XD It was funny but also terrifying. So I know I confused you guys more. Good! If I didn't then I know I'm doing a crap job at this. But don't worry. It is planned! Gonna be honest though, the Ace part wasn't planned. I didn't even think I would have Ace go through the same thing as Lu. I know I wanted to at first but I think I decided against it. Can't remember why… Also, I've been getting ideas for fanfics more often. The one-shot was an idea but an extremely short one. I have an idea that's actually partially planned and somewhat long. Basically, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy (Yes another ASL. Shut up. I love them.) go to the same high school. Ace and Sabo are best friends. Ace absolutely despises Luffy and Luffy doesn't know if he hates Ace too or not. Eventually, in their shared history class, they see pictures of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy along with everyone who had something to do with the famous pirates. Once seeing the pictures and hearing how close they were to each other, they question everything. That's just the basics. Sounds kinda like any other ASL fic right? Well add some visions and other confusing shit and it's mine XD Also I want to make an actual ASL and Whitebeard fic but that'll take some time. As usual fave, follow, keep reading, read my other shit, and review! Bai~! c(X )
Question: What gender do you think Haruta is?
Start time – 10:30 P.M.
End time – 3:20 A.M.