I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and was torn between how Ace would react to Yukio's secret. I finally decided thanks to one of my friends' suggestions and so here we are! I tried to do a POV, not sure if it turned out well.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than Yukio.

Edit: Between editing old chapters, writing new ones, and getting sidetracked on different stories, I sometimes forget that I actually need to publish the edits lol.

Ace's POV

"What if I was a girl?" Yukio said as she lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing the bandages wrapped around her torso.

Cheeks turning red in embarrassment, I rushed forward to pull her hands back down. "I-IDIOT! Cover yourself! It's not proper for a girl to show her chest like that!" I stuttered out. My gaze shifted to the ocean; I didn't want to look her in the eye with what I said next. "Besides, I kind of… already knew that….."

"Wh-what? Y-you knew? How? When?" Yukio questioned, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at her. A look of shock was on her face but I could tell that there was also a hint of fear within her eyes. I knew that look all too well.

"Well… Ok, look, don't get mad. Two years ago, I thought you were acting strange. You got irritated easily and was always looking for Dadan, asking for bandages. I thought something was wrong, so one day I followed you into the woods. There I kind of… well, saw you wrapping your chest there." I could feel the heat in my cheeks and noticed that Yukio was blushing too.

"Luffy doesn't know about this and I doubt anyone would guess, because I couldn't even believe myself at first. I know this may sound as an insult, but I seriously thought you were a guy up until that point." I looked down at my shoes and scratched the back of my head out of nervousness. A grimace was on my face, as I knew that last statement probably could have been worded better.

Yukio was silent, and I was afraid that I had upset her.

"But! Uh… That doesn't mean you aren't c-c-cute like a girl!" The heat in my cheeks grew as I tried to fix the situation. "Cause you are! But you're also strong! And..uh…"

Suddenly, Yukio started bursting out laughing. I stared at her bewildered. How can she laugh when she just found out I knew her secret since two years ago? Isn't she angry at me?

"Ahahahaha! I can't believe it! Since two years ago, I fooled you guys completely!" she laughed, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

There's something seriously wrong with this girl. I thought, speechless. But a warm smile appeared on my face nonetheless.

Yukio's POV

Since two years ago! Wow, I can't believe it lasted that long. Well, I probably should have expected that from Ace. Look at me, all worried for nothing! I guess I should explain to Ace my little game.

I calmed down, meeting face to face with a very confused but oddly amused Ace.

"You see Ace, when I first met you and you mistook me for a guy, I made myself a bet. I guess you could call it a game. I wanted to see how long I could fool you guys into thinking I was a guy. I also used this to my advantage when we were training. Since you guys didn't go easy on me like how you would towards a regular girl. For example, since you weren't protecting me from everything or not taking me seriously in a spar, I was able to grow stronger. You treated me like an equal."

Ace had a surprised look on his face.

"Well, I do admit that I probably would have protected you if I had know you were a girl at first. However, when I found out and thought it through, I realized you were still the same Yukio I grew up with. You gained that strength on your own and established yourself with your own power. You showed me that it didn't matter if you were a boy or girl. So I decided to stay quiet about me finding out, wanting you to reveal this on your own and treated you the same," said Ace with a nostalgic grin on his face as he looked towards the sea.

"You will always be my brother, sister, sibling, and family. Nothing will change that," he said, stepping forward and giving me a hug.

I tucked my head into the crook of his neck, happiness and acceptance blossoming in my chest at his declaration.

"I'm going to miss you...nii-chan," I spoke softly.

Ace startled for a moment, pulling away to look at me before a large grin appeared on his face. "You called me 'nii-chan'!" he loudly exclaimed, pulling me back in for a crushing hug. Using his height advantage, he lifted me off the ground and started spinning me around in the air.

"Gah! No I didn't! You're hearing things!" I vehemently denied, kicking my legs out in an attempt to escape his hold.

I managed to slip out, but we started to wrestle for a bit instead. We laughed as we fought, getting covered in dirt and grass until we exhausted ourselves. Laying there on the grass, we stared at the stars for a few minutes before sitting up. Side by side on the cliff, watching the waves in the moonlight, Ace was grinning as anticipation exuded around him. Meanwhile, my mind wandered to the future and what lay beyond even that.

Three more years until we set sail to fulfill our promise to Sabo. I know what happens on Luffy's adventure about a year after we leave the island up until the end of Thriller Bark. But what after that? The manga wasn't even close to finished when I left. I've lived here far longer than the time span my knowledge covers. And we are only in our teenage years!

"The future seems kind of daunting when you think about it. But… it's also really exciting!" I say aloud.

"Yeah." Ace replied breathlessly. His grin grows even wider. "It is."