...I'm having issues with Reverse, so I took a break and worked on some other stories, hence the fast update. Hope you guys enjoy it! :D Though I think Divide!Sabo is seeping into this story more than he should ._. Oh well.
Question: How many of you have exams now/coming up? Mine just ended last week. The stress is over :D ...But I think I'm going to take a summer course u_u *sigh* It never ends, does it?
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Sad but true.
"…Ace?"
There was a long, drawn-out silence between them. The pirate blinked a few times, registering what he just heard. "…Eh?" That… that Luffy just said his name, didn't he? He just called him 'Ace'. Did… did he know him? But that couldn't be right; Sabo never said anything about him having a counterpart as well. So… why? Or did he? Or… Or…
After gawking at the older for a while, Luffy broke eye contact and turned to face the sheets covering his legs. "Ah, sorry," he began, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "You just look a lot like him."
"Him? Who?" Ace stared blankly from his spot by the wall without a clue as to what the boy was talking about. Who did he look like?
"You know, Ace. Portgas D. Ace from Sabo's books," the youth elaborated, raising his arm to point across the room.
Ace followed his finger to a bookcase on the far wall. There he was met with a familiar sight; aligned neatly on the top two shelves was every volume of One Piece. Brow furrowed, he neared them to get a closer look. The bookcase was arranged in a fashion similar to the one at Sabo's place, with everything in proper order. In place of the notebooks that the author had were a series of sketchbooks lined on the third row, all dated with different years. He debated opening one up, but thought it best not to, seeing as Luffy saw him as a stranger.
The teen hopped out of bed and stumbled over to the pirate, fighting against the throbbing in his legs to make it there. He pulled a sketchbook from the shelf and leaned against the wall, taking the pressure off of his aching limbs, smiling slightly as he looked over the worn-out binding.
"What's that?" Ace asked as he loomed over him, curious of what was inside.
"Sabo made it," he stated simply, flipping through it casually, "when we were kids."
He seemed to find what he wanted because his smile widened and he spun it around to face the man, showing off a rather crude drawing of what appeared to be Ace when he was little. The line work was shaky and the page yellowed, no doubt proof of its age.
Ace took the book as it was offered to him, analyzing the picture further. He could make out his wavy hair and his freckles, as well as the all too familiar pipe he once used as a staff. It was kind of funny, seeing such bad drawing when compared to the character sketches the blonde recently made. He improved a lot. But why did he draw Ace when he was so young? When, exactly, did he 'create' him?
Luffy watched him flip through the pages filled with drawings of the three original One Piece characters—Luffy and his brothers. He noticed the confusion on his face and thought it best to explain. "I used to have nightmares a lot."
Ace stopped searching through the drawings and looked up at his brother's counterpart.
Luffy took the book back and stared fondly at a drawing of the three. "I would wake up crying and Sabo would calm me down by telling me stories."
"Stories about… them?"
He nodded. "He made up all sorts of adventures and made us the two main characters. It was a lot of fun."
Well, Ace knew how Sabo got started on those books. But one thing was bothering him. He pointed to the drawing of him as a child, staring into the younger's eyes. "Then what about him?"
Luffy pondered that for a moment. "I'm not sure when Ace was added. Sabo mentioned him once but then decided to make him their brother because I liked him."
"That so?" He couldn't help but smile at that. Well at least he was liked by the real world's Luffy, right? He wondered how the boy would react if he knew he really was the character from the story, not just a look-a-like.
"You look just like him," Luffy observed, gawking at him like he did when the lights first came on. "Maybe that's why…"
Ace looked at him strangely, wondering why he stopped. Before he could ask he heard the click of the front door unlocking.
Luffy's face brightened. "Sabo!" he shouted as he pulled away from the wall, immediately falling as one of his legs gave out. Ace rushed in and caught him, spotting a look of gratitude as he straightened him and circled his arm around the boy's torso, giving his battered body a means of support. "Thanks," he said a bit shyly, looking to the ground.
"Be careful, alright? You're hurt."
He nodded.
They headed out of the bedroom and into the hall, Ace becoming Luffy's crutch as they walked to the front door. It was only once he caught a glimpse of the blonde that the pirate remembered their earlier promise. And there he was, holding onto the boy he was ordered to stay away from. Shit!
Sabo looked up after kicking off his shoes, immediately sending the freckled man a hard glare once he assessed the situation. Apparently Ace couldn't hold himself back for half an hour. Why did he trust him, again? Why did he even bring him along? He should have left him back home, saved him some trouble.
Pushing aside the lecture he wanted to give the pirate into the furthest reaches of his mind, Sabo turned to the younger. Judging by his stance, he was having trouble standing. It probably hurt, seeing how beat up he was. Fortunately when he assessed him earlier he found no broken bones or fractures, but there was a generous amount of swelling on his calves and bruising that went from his ankles to his thighs. Naturally, walking would hurt. His legs were worse off than the rest of him, which consisted of discoloured flesh and a few gashes.
"Hey," he greeted, forcing a smile that contrasted greatly with his desire to cuss at his character. He didn't remember making him so irritating.
"Hey Sabo," Luffy returned with a smile, freeing himself of Ace's hold to fall into the blonde's arms, gripping tightly to his shirt. "Where were you?"
"Getting homework from your oh-so-loving professor," he explained, gripping him with one hand to help steady his weak form and holding up a bag of textbooks with the other, "since you'll be missing some classes."
Luffy groaned. "He gave me extra, didn't he?"
"Of course—said it's payback for not paying attention to his lectures," he began. "Got an explanation for that?"
The teen turned away at that, fixing his gaze on a particularly interesting spot on the floor.
Sighing, the blonde ruffled the younger's hair. "Fine, fine; I won't ask." He glanced over the boy's head to the pirate standing behind him. "For now," Sabo added, narrowing his eyes in a silent show of his irritation with the freckled hothead.
They motioned into the living room wordlessly. Sabo gently lowered Luffy onto the couch, mindful of his throbbing appendages. Dropping the bag of books on the floor, he slouched down beside the teen, releasing a large breath of exasperation. Resting his head on his hand, he looked to the pirate who stood awkwardly across the room, wondering what to do. No doubt Luffy noticed; how could he explain away the similarities?
"So," the injured youth started awkwardly, interrupting his brother's thoughts, "who… is he?" Pointing to Ace, his eyes never left the blonde.
Sabo looked between the two with tired eyes, pondering the right thing to say. He most definitely wasn't going to speak the truth—that he appeared in his living room out of nowhere—so he thought up something else. "I found him on the streets."
"What?" Ace shot, eyebrow twitching as he glared at the author.
"Isn't that right?" Sabo asked the pirate, shooting him a look that said "ruin this and you die".
Luffy looked between them with confusion. He knew he was missing something.
Catching the implied message the blonde was sending him, Ace backed down. He thought it best not to anger him any further, seeing as he was the one who fed him. Begrudgingly he nodded.
"So you're homeless?" Luffy asked, large eye's staring into the freckled man's. Concern filled his gaze.
Ace felt guilty for lying to the boy. But, well, he owed it to Sabo to keep it a secret, didn't he? He already told Marco everything. "Y-yeah," he stuttered. It was true, in a sense, since he was no longer in his world—or, well, the book. His home was with the Whitebeard pirates. But, well, they were gone. They didn't exist there. And even though Marco was real, he wasn't the same. So in a sense maybe he was homeless.
Luffy turned that concerned look to his brother. It seemed like they were having a silent conversation—one that Ace couldn't understand. "Sabo…"
The older sighed. "It's not like that, alright? I'm just helping him out."
"But…"
"He has nowhere else to go, Lu. Would you rather I let him die on the streets?"
Luffy let out an exasperated breath, shaking his head solemnly. "That's not what I meant. I just…" He scratched his head. "…I'm worried, alright?"
Sabo's face lightened and he ruffled the boy's hair, wearing a knowing smile. "Don't be," he said, picking himself off the couch and walking over to the kitchen entranceway. "I'll make you something to eat. Just… bother the homeless person or something."
"Oi!" Ace shouted to the blonde as he walked away, scowling at him from behind.
Luffy laughed a bit at that, causing the pirate to forget his irritation in favour of paying attention to the one whom so resembled his younger sibling. That was the first time he heard him laugh, which felt strange seeing as his Luffy was always so giggly and energetic. It relieved him.
"Sorry, Sabo can be mean sometimes," the teen stated, smile never leaving his face. "He doesn't mean anything by it."
Ace rubbed his temple. "Yeah," he replied. I know. He remembered. Though the blonde child from his past wasn't as bad as the one in the other room, he could recall a few snide comments he made back then. He couldn't say that, though. After all, Luffy thought they met recently. They did, sort of, but not really. It was all quite confusing.
Deciding a change of topic was in order, he scanned the wounds covering the boy's skin. "You wanna tell me what happened?"
"Oh…" The teen's face fell and he broke eye contact, rubbing his arm sheepishly. "…I got jumped."
"Jumped?"
"Yeah—you know, attacked."
Ace furrowed his brow, worry evident on his face. If his personality was any indicator, that Luffy wasn't a fighter. He didn't look to be as strong as his One Piece counterpart, nor as brave. "Why?"
"…We used to pick a lot of fights," Luffy explained quietly, looking anywhere but Ace. "My brother was the worst for it; he'd rob and challenge whoever he could find."
Sabo did that? He definitely didn't seem the type. But, as the blonde said before, he and his One Piece counterpart weren't the same. He noticed the author had a shorter fuse than the other, so it wasn't impossible. If he was like that before, what made him change? It didn't look like he fought recently, judging by muscle size, so he must have stopped a while ago.
"People still hold grudges, especially against him," Luffy continued, rubbing his arm nervously. "And since they can't get to him, they go after me."
Ace narrowed his eyes. That explained why Sabo wasn't surprised by the call earlier; it was probably a regular thing. He hoped he didn't get that injured every time. Monkey D. Luffy could put up with injuries like that, but not the kid. He didn't seem fit for fights.
Clearly uncomfortable with the topic, Luffy decided to ask something himself. "So what's your name?"
Shit. Shit shit shit!
What was he supposed to do? He couldn't think up a name on the spot; Ace didn't work well under pressure! Unless it was a battle, of course, and it was far from that. Think! Think! Think! "T-thatch," he replied shakily. No, stupid!
Luffy's eyebrows scrunched up when he heard that. He likely recognized the name. Though the installment detailing the Whitebeard commander wasn't released to the public, he was sure Sabo would have mentioned him to his brother, of all people. "You don't look like a 'Thatch'," the teen noted.
"Heh, yeah…" Ace swallowed heavily, wondering how he could remedy the situation. "You said I looked like that character from Sabo's book, right?"
He nodded reluctantly.
"Then just call me Ace."
"But…"
"It suits me more, right?"
Again, Luffy gave a hesitant nod. "Alright, then…"
Sabo heard the whole thing from the kitchen and rolled his eyes. What an idiot.
A/N: So now you get a tiny, tiny looked into the brothers' past. You'll get to find out more later, too. But that can wait. Anyways, how was it? What you expected? Good? Bad?
To my lovelies~
xxxWhite-Wing13xxx: I was going to make it longer but I didn't see a point, you know? Last names? Well... you'll see XD
Kitsune Foxfire: Well at least there isn't a cliffy this time XD Yeah, this Luffy is a lot jumpier. Plus is does help when he was just beat up and left alone in some alley in the rain, then wakes up to see some strange guy through the darkness of his room :P Lol yes, let's ignore how bad Ace can actually be for the sake of pity XD Yeah, Sabo made a bad move with that one. Guess he doesn't match up to Divide!Sabo in terms of thinking things through.
Stelra Etnae: Isn't it? XD Honestly Ace isn't holding up too well with the changes. Let's hope he cacn get used to it! Shanks? Maybe, maybe not :P You'll just have to wait and see. I'm ALWAYS evil :D This chapter was full of answers. And ambiguity. But, well, couldn't give you answers without giving you more questions, right?
Sully-van: Hehe I love me some cliffies. You'll have to wait and find out! Yep, and you'll just get to see more differences as time goes on. And, well, similarities too.
Portgas D. Paula: Well it's a good thing I updated fast then :D
StrawberryGirlKairi: Yep, Luffy read One Piece! Though it's more than that, as you know by this chapter. A lot of people seem to think it's Shanks. Guess you'll just have to wait and find out :P Hehe that's what the cliffies are for!
mrsfirefist: Now you know :D
buslimpan: Well, now you know why it's a common thing. Hope it was as fun as you expected! Thank you~
The-Chibi-Master564: What a long review XD I like it! But since you asked me to reply in a PM I already did, so nothing for me to write here.
azab: You'll just have to see if it's Shanks later on in the story :P
Starry Roses: Lol what counterpart? As stated above, Luffy recognised him from his brother's books and stories :) What was your theory?
Awakened-Masterpiece: I love my cliffies! :D I think you're the 4th person to guess him as Shanks. We'll just have to see, won't we? XD Yep, love torturing Ace. It's a lot of fun. Relieves stress, too :P And if you ask most fanfiction writers they'll say that torturing characters is their way of showing that they like them hehe. Now that you mention it, I kind of screw him over in most of my stories, don't I? Glad you like :)
SaladHunter: One thing you need to know about me it that I troll A LOT in my stories :P I had fun with the car scene. I thought it up and just had to do it. I think that's now 5 guesses for Shanks. We'll see :) Glad you liked it!
iinvisible: So happy you're enjoying it! Hope you liked their little talk this chapter ^^
Obitez: You're the 6th person to guess that XD Glad you like!
Son Goshen: Yep, a fight. Aaaand that's guess number 6 for Shanks. You'll just have to wait and see, though :P Hehe yeah, Ace can be such an idiot. He causes more problems than he solves, I swear. Especially in this story and Divide. But that's what makes him fun to write!
teengens: And now you know :D
Ashlyn-i: Lol don't worry I won't. I actually had a story idea (one of a few hundred) where Ace goes to an alternate reality where his counterpart was female, but I don't think I'll ever write it. It's way too underdeveloped and doesn't have much of a plot. I have this whole story planned out though so I don't think anyone could inflence me at this point XD Glad you're enjoying it!
Vergina-spva: I will stop wherever I wish! XD Really happy to hear you like it ^^ As you wished, I updated only half a week later, which is much faster than usual!
MeatAndWatermelons: Glad you like! Here's an update!
spoons-are-evil: Lol yep. Yeah, he is. He's also a lot more thoughtful and contemplative. And mature. And... well, you'll understand more as the story goes on. Now you know :) I commend you for being the only person who guessed someone other than Shanks! But you'll have to wait for an answer :P It is true that I said ther counterparts are different, but sometimes it's more than just a little ;) Yep, that was Luffy. Hopefully this chapter cleared some things up ^^
(Well, it's 4:51am so I'm going to go eat a sandwich and go to bed. I'll see you all at the next update, which will HOPEFULLY be Reverse. No promises, though. Adieu~)