Chapter Twelve

''I hate mountain bandits,'' Luffy announced. He was sat in front of a pot inside the bandits' lair. Laid before him was a glass of water and a small bowl of rice.

Novas knew why. They've seen it themselves, what he had gone through.

''Shut up, you brat!'' she shouted. ''We've already had it with the likes of you!''

''This isn't enough,'' Luffy said as he picked the small bowl up with his chopsticks. ''I wanna eat meat too.'' he stared at Ace who ate a handful of meat, drooling.

''Listen up, you brat,'' Dadan began. ''This meat came from the buffalo Ace hunted. He gives us some and it it goes to our plates.'' Luffy blinked. ''You will work tomorrow: laundry, cleaning, whatever chores and kill people... You must never tell Garp any of this...''

''Okay,'' Luffy said casually.

''Okay?!'' Dadan head planted. ''You're supposed to cry, dammit!''

''... Luffy-ya only cried when Shanks-ya lost his arm and when they departed,'' Law said. ''And, this is Luffy-ya that we're talking about.''

''I don't cry,'' Luffy huffed as Law and the others were within his earshot. This was intended for the ghosts. Fortunately, it didn't seem like that to the bandits.

Ace stood up and left.

''Ah!'' Luffy hurried after him. ''Wait, Ace! Where are you going?''

''Come back here you brat!''

Luffy ignored him . He steadily followed the older boy. ''Wait! I'm not mad anymore. So, let's be friends!''

Ace stopped which made Luffy grin.

''Let's be- geh?!''

Ace kicked the tree beside him twice. It rolled to where Luffy was.

Luffy widened his eyes. There was no time for him to run.

Ace grunted as he heard the crash and went on his merry way.

''...'' The spectators looked at the scene before them. Was this their brotherly bonding?!

''Er... The kiddo sure is lucky to have eaten the devil fruit,'' Apoo said. They have watched the entire war back then in Marineford.

Straw Hat seemed to be desperate to save Ace that day. Law could remember the youngest of the supernovas rampage back at Amazon Lily.

Law nodded in agreement, ''Otherwise, he would have spilled his guts right there and now.''

''Ugh,'' Bonney began. ''Just where did you get those thoughts from.''

''Nico-ya,'' Law replied.

Luffy somehow got himself out of the large tree that crushed him. ''Why didn't you help me?'' he pouted as he looked at them. Hawkins did a demonstration. ''Oh right. You can't touch... I forgot,'' he grinned at them sheepishly.

When Luffy caught up to Ace, they were on a bridge. The older boy scowled. Can't he take a hint?

''It would be a miracle if he can,'' Killer said, reading Ace's mind.

''Masked man, what are you talking about?'' Urogue asked.

''Just... talking to myself,'' Killer said.

''You should stop that,'' Law said. ''As a doctor, I assure you that you will become a psychotic serial killer.''

They all stared at him weirdly.

''The mask doesn't help you clear out of misunderstandings, so be sure to clear out of any murder scenes,'' Law said. He noticed their looks. ''What? Doctor's words.''

''I think you should get yourself checked, Trafalgar,'' Capone said.

They were engrossed to each other, they didn't even notice Ace pushing off the bridge. Not until they felt a tug on their presences.

''Where's Luffy?'' Urogue asked. They watched as Ace crossed over the other side.

''Down,'' Hawkins answered.

''... We're going to jump there,'' Drake said as he looked below the bridge.

Most of them gave him an 'Are-you-kidding' face.

Drake sighed. ''Look,'' he started. ''We can't separate from him. We're connected to him. We can't leave this island... Might as well see what he went through in his life, how that seemingly idiot lived through all of this.''

The tugging became stronger.

''We certainly don't have time to think of it,'' Hawkins said.

Kid grunted. ''Ladies first then.''

They all turned to Bonney.

''You don't strike me as a gentleman, Eustass,'' Bonney said. Her eyes narrowed. ''Like hell I'm jumping there first!''

''We're ghosts, little girl,'' Urogue assured. ''Certainly, we can't be hurt in such fall.''

''Then, why don't you lot jump first, huh?!'' she scowled.

Seemingly, having enough of it, Hawkins rolled his eyes and jumped. The only one who noticed was Drake who followed him.

And there they landed, on a small cliff at the side. Seems like Luffy was lucky not to have fell in the river. The boy bore scapes and cuts. Pouting at the two, he said,

''I thought you guys had abandoned me.'' he grinned. ''I'm glad you didn't!'' he rushed and hugged the two adult available, the said adults tensing at the sudden contact. '' Don't leave me alone. '' It was said in a mere whisper. The boy let go of them. He went back to being cheerful.

No trace of other emotion aside from the grin the boy always had.

Hawkins and Drake could have sworn...

''HYAAAAAAA!''

The others went pass them, further below the cliff. Though before that, it was a slow motion, their faces regressed in to a poker face before Bonney screamed again.

''WE MISSED THEM, YOU DOLT!''

Somehow, Kid and co. managed to reach Luffy's side. The red head was growling, his face twitching every moment. ''I don't plan jumping off another bridge in my life again,'' he said.

The long armed pirate exclaimed, ''What was that about, eh, big guy?!'' Urogue had been the one to push them off. The said man shrugged.

''You guys were dilly dallying. Hawkins and Drake have already gone first...'' he said.

Luffy laughed. ''That looked fun! Can I try it too?''

They all stared at him. '' No, '' they all chorused. Luffy pouted.

''Come on, Luffy,'' Killer said. ''Let's all get outta here.''

''Hm... It isn't exactly safe out here when it gets dark,'' Urogue said, agreeing with him.

Law quickly ushered the boy to some direction while others followed, hoping that they'll be out of their fast.

Luffy's stomach grumbled. ''Hungry~'' he whined. ''I'm tired!'' They were at some ledge where there's nothing except some weird moss at the side. Luffy looked at it intently.

''... No moss for you, shit head,'' Kid exclaimed. He kicked the moss despite knowing that he won't be able to actually touch it. But surprisingly, his foot didn't pass through rather it hit the moss which earned them a yelp.

''... Mosses don't yelp, do they?'' Capone asked.

''We're not in Grand Line for fuck's sake,'' Law reminded them while annoyed at the same time.

''What the heck?!'' exclaimed the moss. It stood up and even looked angry. Wait. It wasn't a moss but a...

Everyone blinked.

''Cool! A moss head!'' Luffy exclaimed.

''Roronoa/-ya?!'' the nine novas exclaimed.

Zoro looked at them with wide eyes and noticed kid Luffy beside them. His eyes immediately narrowed and began to reach for his katanas. Only to be reminded that they were nowhere near him last year as his hands met air.

''... Damnit,'' he cussed. ''What did you do to Luffy?!'' he accused them.

''Whoa, whoa, whoa,'' Kid began. ''Hold your horses, Roronoa. We didn't do a thing to your crazy captain.''

''Hey, how did that moss ossan knew my name?'' Luffy asked the nearest person beside him who was Bonney.

''He's a... pyschic moss head, kid,'' Bonney replied.

''Who're you calling psychic moss head?!'' Zoro exclaimed.

''Calm down, Roronoa-ya,'' Law said. ''We're in 12 years before our timeline, if you haven't realized.''

Zoro's brows furrowed.

''Oh my god,'' Bonney exclaimed. ''You have yet to notice at all? It's been a year moss head!''

''Well sorry about that, pinky,'' Zoro growled. ''I've been only seeing trees and little Ace and Sabo once for this past year. Thought they're doppelgangers.''

Drake raised a brow.

''He's not the brightest moss you can find,'' Law shrugged.

''You said something, Torao ?'' Zoro mocked.

Another short update... Sorry for everything (the OOCness, the shortness, etc.)