Warnings: nothing explicit, violence and cursing

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

YOU CAN SEE ART FOR THIS AT-

strays-fic dot tumblr dot com

as always, replies are at the bottom my lovelies! I hope you enjoy this fair chapter of mine and please pray for me if you have the time: Im in the thick of my end-of-year mocks and currently running on caffiene and pure force of will. Also wanted to let you know that we're coming to the end of the Ace arc, which means that we're about a third of the way through the story. Next comes the luff arc (my boy…...) and then sab's arc. Each arc is abt 15 chapters so that should give you a vague clue as to how long this should be and what stage we're at in the story.

I'm not happy with this chap, but oh well- read! Not beta'ed, we die like men

Chapter 14 - Dad

Shanks can barely keep up with all of this, if he's honest. First he and the crew come to the north to try to chase Ace, then Whitebeard actually agrees to help them (a shock, with all of the trouble they cause for the revs), then it turns out Ace is one of Whitebeard's kids. Now, Shanks and Ace are sitting in some secluded spot in the corner of the all-too-familiar entrance hall, talking about everything that has changed, and everything's still moving too fast for Shanks to process. Out of all of the things he'd expected to find in the revolutionary army, Ace was not one of them.

"Wait, so Sabo went south?! Why?"

Ace shifts uncomfortably, distinctive eyes flashing. It still shocks Shanks every time he sees him how much he's matured. "We thought he could go undercover to find Luffy, but he's had no luck yet. I-"

"How do you know that he hasn't?" Ace freezes, and that's all Shanks needs to know. "Ace, if you're corresponding with somebody from the navy- that's some risky business. More risky than you know. You know what Whitebeard does to traitors."

"Oyaji wouldn't do that!" Ace shifts uncomfortably. "I'm one of his vice commanders, going on division commander. Oyaji wouldn't kick me out before he knew the full story."

Shanks mutters something that sounds like, 'he would do more than kick you out', but doesn't say much else. "Well, if you are sending letters to Sabo – which I still think is a bad idea – can you at least tell me how he is? Is he okay? What rank is he?"

Ace glances around, as if he's trying to see whether anybody's listening in, before leaning in and muttering, "We're not quite sending letters. Shanks, do you remember what me and Sabo share?"

Shanks' mind flashes to Ace and Sabo's shared mark, and the conversation they had about it an eternity ago. "Yeah. But what does that have to do with this?"

Ace leans in further and whispers, "It's more than just a shared mark. A few weeks after we left Edgetown, me and Sabo realised that we had a… bit of a telepathy… thing. I guess. Yes, I know it sounds completely insane, and…" Ace trails off.

"I- Shit." Shanks exhales shakily, not knowing what to say. "Wait, so you can talk to him in your head right now? Does he know I'm here?! Is he okay?"

Tell Shanks I'm fine and I miss him and that we're sorry for worrying him, Sabo chips in, in a rush, obviously having thought his words through carefully beforehand. Just like Ace, he's finding it slightly hard to come to terms with, even if he isn't physically there.

"He says he's fine. He misses you and he wants we to tell you that we're sorry for worrying you," Ace parrots obediently. "He's doing okay, I guess. Rising up through the ranks quicker than either of us thought he would. There's been no luck when it comes to Luffy, though, but we're keeping our hopes up."

Shanks leans in, shooting a glance around just to make sure that nobody's listening in on them. "I've heard of two people with a shared gift before. They could control each other's abilities, act in perfect synchronisation, spent every day together. But they could never do something like you and Sabo could. You two just had to go and be scientific anomalies, didn't you?" Shanks gives a small laugh.

"I'm pretty sure most of the world can be considered a scientific anomaly right now," Ace mutters, not solemnly, and they both chuckle.

"I'm guessing that was a little alarming to find out?" he asks, weakly.

Ace considers-

"Sabo?" Ace looked around again. "Sabo, where are you?!"

If you're in public and you're running around yelling my name, you're going to look like a bit of an idiot, Sabo's voice said dryly. I'm in your head.

-And nods, saying, "You could say that."

"Okay, so you travelled north… How long did it take you to reach this place?" Shanks asks.

"It was just before my fifteenth," answers Ace grimly. "I became a division member a few months later, and a year after that I became vice second-division commander."

"Oof. So you rose up through the ranks quickly, then?"

Ace laughs. "I guess I did." Then, he leans forward in his seat. "Shanks, did you really think that all three of us died in Edgetown?"

Shanks shifts in his seat and doesn't meet the younger's eyes. His face darkens dramatically. "There wasn't any other explanation. There were no survivors of that massacre, and there was no reason why you would have left- at least, not that I knew of." He gives a small, sad laugh with no humour behind it. "But you were out in the world fending for yourself, huh? And Sabo was too, and Luffy…"

"There's still a chance that he lived," Ace tries, but even to his own ears, the excuse sounds lame.

Shanks bows his head. "Sometimes a chance just isn't enough, Ace."

Silence falls abruptly and completely, and neither breaks it for a long moment. Shanks looks like he's trying to come up with something to say to break the tense atmosphere, and after a minute or so, it seems to hit him. "You know the three kids you rescued from Loguetown? I still don't get how you knew about that before it happened," Shanks adds.

Ignoring the last part, Ace says, "Yeah? What about them?"

"Well, I've only met one of them, and she told me about you. Nami? The red-haired one?"

Ace raises an eyebrow. "Wait. Haruta - one of the others - and I met up only a couple of days back; she's around here somewhere, actually. But she told me that Nami was captured as a slave. If that's true, how did you speak to her?"

Shanks snorts self-assuredly. "I rescued her, of course! I dropped her off on an island called Kaira, and that's where I heard about you passing through there, too." Quick as lightning, Shanks pulls Ace into a headlock and musses up his hair roughly with his fist. Ace struggles half-heartedly, laughing, and Shanks says, "Already a revolutionary even then, huh? Knew you'd take after me."

"You're not even- even a revolutionary!" Ace chokes out through his laughs, jabbing his elbow into Shanks' ribcage.

Shanks withdraws his fist, grinning broadly. "Revolutionary, pirate - potato potahto. We're all trying to fight the regime, but in different ways. Only difference is that the Revs want to fight for the world, and we want to right for ourselves." Shanks lowers his voice to a whisper. "Mister Pineapple wouldn't want me to be telling you this, but people like me and my crew are becoming more and more popular around the world, especially in the west and north. We call ourselves pirates most of the time- vagabonds, renegades, whatever. Point is, you don't have to kiss the ass of the revolutionary army to fight for your freedom."

Shanks' eyes glint. "There's a new era coming, Ace, and you're in the centre of the storm."

Ace can't help the shiver that runs up his spine at these words. "So that's what you and your crew do, then. Fuck off and fight the navy, but don't try to liberate – don't try to fight for anything beyond your own interests." For the first time speaking to his father figure, a cold edge fills his voice. "Don't you care about the world?"

Shanks snorts derisively. "Of course I care about the world, But I care about myself and, more importantly, my crew, more. Listen. Listen. That big brain of yours is filled with ideas of dying like a martyr, right? Fighting until your last breath for freedom for the world?"

He hit the nail on the head, of course. "I'd rather die as a revolutionary than live without trying to make a difference," replies Ace in a level voice.

"Dying is easy; living is harder," Shanks says in an equally strong tone. Ace can't think of anything to parry that with – after all, the man's right, somehow.

"I'm never going to become a pirate," he eventually settles on.

"And I'm not asking you to. Just don't throw your life away just so the world can steal it from you." Shanks' eyes loose the edge of anger that lit them a few seconds ago, and he seems to deflate. "Look at everything you've done! You've saved children from certain death, freed towns, rescued people from slavery. You're the poster boy of the new generation of revs, by the looks of it. You've given so much for them already. Don't give over everything you have, okay?" Shanks gives a sad little laugh. "I've lost one son. I really don't want to lose another, Ace."

Ace meets his eyes, sliver into deep brown, for a moment. "Okay," he says eventually, nodding, bile thick in his throat. "Okay."

Shanks stays for a few days, both at the request of his old family with the revolutionaries, and Ace. The pair spend the first day, through the afternoon and into the night, catching up and talking over all that's happened in the last few years. In the evening, a letter arrives from Leo to Ace, letting him know that they've reached their destination and just have to work to find the mole now. The girl with green eyes from before – Haley, her name is – has apparently fallen ill, so they might be a little longer than usual. Leo confides in Ace that, though he hasn't told the rest of the squad, she's exhibiting most of the commonplace signs of mild poisoning.

I just don't understand who could have done it. All of us are extremely careful with what we eat and drink – you know that this life is hardly risk-free – and nobody could have accessed her pack to slip something into her food. At least I know that it won't kill her. Her vitals are all regular, and Bepo says that she's responsive. I just want to know what's going on here. Something doesn't feel right here, Ace, Leo writes in his letter.

Trying to ignore the twinge of worry he feels at this, Ace spends the next few days becoming reacquainted with Shanks' crew to distract himself from thinking about the squad. It works for the most part. They're all just as jolly and wild-hearted as always, firing stories of their recent adventures at Ace in rapid succession, and he and Benn play a long game of chess that, by its finish, has the attention of what feels like half of the revolutionaries and all of the pirates. Benn wins, but it's a close match. Soon, they all dissolve into a six-person game of Catch the Bitch, and Ace ends up with such a lucky hand that he wins with little effort.

But all too soon, Shanks has to leave. It's always too soon when it comes to Shanks.

Ace understands. The man is a free spirit, a bird with no cage and the whole world in front of him, and Shanks doesn't have that sense of responsibility that comes with being a revolutionary like Ace. He's free to do whatever he likes, live how he pleases, walk past people who have nothing without feeling like he has to help them. Ace can't even hope to stop him, to keep him here for much longer now.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Ace accepts on last hair ruffle from Shanks, standing on the end of the pier. The East Wind is docked beside them as Shanks' crew file on, and Marco stands a few feet away, looking like he's trying not to intrude on the moment.

"I will see you again, right?" Ace can't stop himself from saying. "Soon, when we find Luffy, me and my brothers'll be together. And we can see you then, right?"

Shanks' face crumples at Luffy's name, but he holds his composure. "Of course you can. And as I said before, Ace, we'll always be here if you need us. For anything. The red-hair pirates are behind you, without a doubt."

Ace feels slightly touched by this, but turns away with a smirk, waving his hand. "I don't need you losers. I've got the revolutionaries behind me now, pops," he says teasingly, not really meaning it.

Shanks looks shocked for a second, but then that familiar grin extends across his face again, brighter and fiercer than before. "Sure. Well, I guess you don't need this then?"

Ace whirls back around, only to be met with the sight of Shanks spinning his cowboy hat on his finger. "Give that back- Marco gave that to me! Hey!" He lungs back across the decking and snatches it from Shanks, stuffing it back down onto his head with a small pout as Shanks roars with laughter. They smile at each other for a second, but the moment is gone.

"Well, I'll see you again sometime. Don't let Marco ground you too much," Shanks teases, before turning to walk up the steps to the East Wind. "See ya'."

Ace waits for Marco to catch up, walking in step with him, and doesn't look back as he walks away from the pier.

A week passes and soon, Ace begins to worry. Another letter from Leo doesn't arrive. Ace finds himself buried in an onslaught of paperwork (Marco's being an ass because of what he and Scarlet did, but it'll pass soon enough), but even that isn't enough to distract Ace from the bad feeling in his stomach. He keeps Leo's letter tucked into his pocket, right beside the sketch from the girl in Kaira, and the words won't leave his mind; Something doesn't feel right here, Ace.

Of course, Scarlet tells him not to worry, but Ace can't help it and, eventually, she gives up, leaving Ace to his work. Marco can tell that the younger revolutionary is fretting and tries to distract him. So does Thatch, as well as Haruta and Izo. None of it does much good. The last time Ace felt this on-edge, he lost Luffy only a few hours later. He's always been one to trust his instincts, and it feels mandatory now. His nights are filled with worrying in his room, usually shared with Leo and filled with silence in the voice where the commander's loud snores and shifting should be.

It's on the eighth day that it happens.

Ace, Thatch and most of the other commanders are sitting in the main hall. It's breakfast time – not that Ace can muster the energy to eat more than a few bites. Most of the others know that Ace is cranky and worried and a million other things this week, with Shanks leaving and the lack of news from squad four, so they're acting delicately. On this particular morning, worn out, Ace is trying to melt into the table.

"You… Doing okay there, Ace?" Jozu asks in his deep voice, cautious, tiptoeing around eggshells.

Ace makes a small, pained noise of assent. "Tired," he grunts, sinking further into his chair and trying to ignore the fact that his hair is going in his eggs.

Hands brush through his hair, pulling it back and out of his food, and keeping it out of his face. With the curtain of hair gone, Ace looks up at Izou, who's wearing his best kimono. The man smiles down at him, ever-pleasant despite the fact that he probably has multiple guns under the folds of that kimono, and lightly massages Ace's skull. "Are you feeling a bit better than yesterday?"

"I guess." Ace turns his face back into the table, not wanting to admit that he's enjoying the massage, and is close to falling asleep when a familiar voice comes from the other end of the round table.

"Ace. Come with me, yoi."

Marco, despite his serious nature otherwise, has never sounded this grim when talking to Ace. The teen raises his head, curious, and meets the man's eyes. "Marco? What is it?"

Marco glances around the table, into the faces of his comrades and fellow commanders, and lets out a deep, world-weary sigh. "We've had news on division two, squad four, yoi."

Ace was out of his seat at 'news'. "What is it? Marco, why have they stopped sending letters, do you know what happened? They're coming back soon, right?!" Relief floods him. Of course they were okay all along; why did Ace even bother worrying?

Marco's face, however, stays closed. He's not smiling. "Ace, you need to come with me," he repeats. "Now."

"Okay…" Ace does as he's told, shooting a look back at the table he just left before darting after the rapidly retreating Marco. The rest of the commanders look grave and concerned. Even calm Izo is frowning deeply.

Marco leads him up the corridor and, unexpectedly, past his own office and up two floors. Ace soon deducts that there's only one place that they could be going. The communications room – the intelligence headquarters, where tactics are devised and information is compiled. The room is mostly empty, and though most of the people sitting at various tables around the room look up when Marco and Ace walk in, none meet Ace's eyes. A sinking feeling is starting to slip through Ace like a lead weight.

"Marco, what's going on?" Ace finds himself dreading the answer.

Marco takes a deep breath, then exhales. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out.

"Just spit it out, Marco, what happened to squad four? What happened to Leo?" asks Ace, sounding desperate.

"There was an ambush," the older man eventually manages to get out. Ace's heart stops. "An ambush from the inside. Ace…"

"Are they alive?" Ace's legs feel weak beneath him, and it's a struggle to stay upright. "Marco, are they alive?! Is Leo alive?! Please just-" His throat is abruptly lodged, and the words are hard to get out. "Just tell me that they're alive."

Marco stares into his subordinate's eyes, and doesn't reply. His blue eyes are sad, full of a deep sorrow that Ace can't begin to comprehend. Just as Ace feels that he's about to lose hope, that Marco is staying silent to save him the pain of hearing the words themselves, Marco says, "They're MIA, yoi. One of your members by the name of Charlotte Pudding carried out the sabotage. The last audio we received from Commander Leo told us that he caught the traitor using a navy den-den mushi to start the ambush. What happened next is…altogether uncertain, yoi."

Ace sags, tension in his taut body releasing like a spring. "So they might still be alive?"

"Maybe." Marco tries to force a smile onto his face, but Ace isn't paying much attention to him through his own relief. The smile grows, slightly uncomfortably. "Yes. With how strong Leo is – you know that better than anybody – I'm sure they'll make it through. But for now, the code for a commander being MIA is that we need the vice to step in as commander, which means…"

"Which means that I'll be able to be a commander until Leo gets back?!" Ace grins brightly. Marco shouldn't have worried him. Leo'll be back in a few weeks at most – the man is one of those kinds of people, who seem so undefeatable and eternal that it's impossible to imagine them ever being really killed. Ace'll kick his ass for worrying him, of course (or, at the least, he'll try to). But at least one of the best friends he's ever made will be home.

"I guess, yoi." Marco, however, isn't smiling. He looks like somebody trying to keep a straight face while facing something gruesome.

"Marco?" Ace cocks his head to the side, an old habit. "Are you alive in there? You okay?"

The man seems to shake himself, and gives Ace a small smile. "Sorry, yoi, I'm fine."

Ace stares for a second later, before narrowing his eyes. "You're worried about something."

"Of course I'm not, yoi. Should we get back to the others to tell them that everything's alright, then?"

"Sure, let's go!" Ace clenches his fists determinedly. "I'll be a commander ten times better than Leo, you bet. Right?"

"Yeah, yoi," Marco says in quiet voice, and doesn't talk for the rest of the walk back.

Leo doesn't come back.

A week passes, and then another, and then a few months. Ace wonders absently, alone in his and Leo's shared dorm, what's taking so long. He makes a good commander, is told over and over by the other commanders that he's outshining all of their expectations, despite his age and relative inexperience. The second division and all of its members are happy and well looked after. Being a commander is everything Ace had dreamed for and more.

But, somehow, doing it without Leo feels daunting. The man should be back now. Ace loves being a division commander, he really does, but something horrible in his gut tells him that maybe, just maybe, Leo is truly gone for good. Ace pushes it down and pushes it down, but none of the remaining members of squad four – Leo, Kidd, Bepo and Haley – have been seen since the incident. Scarlet too, now his vice-division commander, keeps an eye out for the rest of her squad. She, Kidd and Bepo have been friends for years, and she's nothing if not affectionate towards Leo and Haley. She, like Ace, wishes that they could have stayed with the squad and helped. Maybe then, none of this mess would have started.

Neither of them mentions the guilt, but every time they hear news of a visitor, the pair make sure to check that it's not squad four. Just in case.

But time moves forward. They have to keep going. The era, just like Shanks predicted, is changing like the tides, and so is everything else. Haruta, for example, spends only a few months in training before rising to become a proud member of the twelfth division – and she's good at what she does, too. Division twelve is the scouting division, with most of its members carrying out solo missions in order to gain intel from enemy ranks. Being as small as inconspicuous as she is, the small girl fits right in, and whenever Ace sees her, there's a wide grin on her face.

Even with all that's happening with the fate of squad four, Ace stays positive. He and Sabo are closer than ever, doing their best not to argue about much, each trying to support the other even from oceans away. Sabo has found little pieces of info here and there – something about a survivor of Edgetown with black hair and a hat which he could never trace up, occasional updates on the activity of CP9, Shanks' unusual movements – but none combine to form a coherent and plausible answer. It's like, when he was taken by CP9, Luffy simply disappeared off the face of the earth.

Ace grows further, and gradually, people stop calling him 'kid'; Marco, Thatch and a few of those who've known Ace the longest don't stop by a long shot, though. He develops a new habit that he doesn't want to admit spawned from the feeling that what happened with the splitting of squad four should never be repeated. Ace stops running away. Never again, even if the fight hasn't started yet, is the man going to turn his back on a fight. He doesn't want to lose somebody like Leo again.

And life gets better. Ace is making a difference, changing the world, and it's everything he's wanted since that final day with both of his brothers.

So, I spent years with the revolutionaries, from when I was fourteen to when I was eighteen years old. I thought I'd changed the world- I barely made a dent. I thought Sabo would be okay- I was selfish. I was never strong to begin with. This all sounds morose as hell, doesn't it? Well let me put it this way.

Sabo was in my mind for four years, and when he left it, I shattered into millions of pieces. And that's what I mean about being broken.

I may or may not have subtextually referenced to a minor romantic infliction in this chapter, but whether you picked up on it or not is up to you. It doesn't appear again until well after chapter 45 – which is a big breaking point in the story – and even then, only briefly. As I've previously mentioned, ace ends up with nobody in this, and neither do sabo or luffy. However, ace is a teen in this, and sexual attraction, no matter how fleeting, is natural. Then again, if you decided not to notice it, then that's fine! It's not a big deal, I just thought I'd let you know. The romantic interest is most definitely not returned by the other person.

ScandinavianTrash, Chapter 13, May 26:

Oh, Haruta is back :3
Awh, a reunion~ Shanks will probably have a few heart attacks during the story XD
Update soon~

Your reviews never fail to make me smile! And yes, that night, shanks probably had a realisation lying in bed like….. holy fuck what happened to the bby. And haruta! I love her! She's just so sweet and *flails* love me some haru

I hope you liked this chapter!

Laludofan, Chapter 13, May 26:

OH. MY.
SHANKS IS BACK I can't believe it I didn't see that coming AT ALL I am so happyyyy TwT
Well actually a little disappointed too coz at one point when Marco talked about someone who considered himself a pirate I was thinking "maybe..Luffy ?"
I mean I know its way too early and Luffy couldn't really have joined " some years ago" but eh I still got my hopes up -_-' I. Am. Such. An. Idiot. *cries*
Anyways CONGRATS FOR UPDATING SOO QUICKLY YOU'RE THE BEST really thank you soo much x3 My heart warmed up when I saw you had posted ch13 like I was sooo excited !
And wooow feels coming up, I'm completely hyped over Shanks and Ace's reunion *-*
The dude never seems to be where he has to be at the right time though -_- I mean :
"You know that girl you love ? Well she died 8 years ago."
"Oh and she was pregnant. You have a son."
"About that island you left your kids on. It was bombed and nobody survived."
"Wait one of them did. He joined the same organization as you."
"Actually the other is now training with your enemies."
"Aaand your son was taken by the World Government two years ago. He's probably dead. Have a nice day."
*sighs* And why do I have that feeling that Leo's squad won't be coming back ? And that Ace is going to feel responsible for it ?.. I hope Pudding doesn't betray them or anything. I hope nobody does and everyone gets reunited and they all live happily ever after... Please ?.. ;n;
Um, do you have an idea on how long you want to make this fic ? Could you please tell us about how many chapters there are left ?
Thanks for the amazing work. Can't wait for more *-*

Your reviews…I cri…..thank you kind friend ily

Yes shanks is back! And it would have been really cool for luff to turn up but sadly doesn't fit with the timeline :") don't worry, his arc starts in chapter 16 so youll see what the kid's been up to there!

AND THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS. I'm trying to balance 'is this chapter updated quick enough' and 'is this chapter readable' so? I'm trying. It means a lot to me that that matters to you, thank you so much! Also shanks has The Worst luck in the world. I feel so bad for the guy ;_; As for the thing about squad four…god, you really hit the nail on the head there. Oh my god. Congrats

As for length – I write 5k words per chapter, and there are going to be 60 chapters, split into four arcs, so that's about 300,000 words, ish. The chances are that after that I'll file this one and start a new project (hint: its modern au, sabo!centric and sad as hell. And I love it. And Ace isn't in any way human).

Ily! Thanks again for reviewing, you're the best!

Guest, Chapter 13, May 27:

I'm glad you liked it and how could someone not like Pidge? Anyway, so so happy to have a new chapter and what a chapter it was, I loved finding out what happened to Nami, Haruta and Zoro and that reunion between Shanks and Ace, perfection. Also I forgot last time, I checked you art, it's amazing. Thanks again for this.

*struggles out of a pile of papers to hug you* I love this? thank you so much? Youre so good and kind and im just so ha pp y?

gayastronaut, Chapter 13, May 27:

aah this chapter was amazing as always!
The reunion with ace and Shanks made me so happy. Poor Shanks can finally find out what happened to his sons. And the revelation of raft duo! Good that Haruta is finally in place where she belongs to. But Zoro joining up with enemy camp could possibly lead to him meeting certain blond head. Hmmm.. well can't wait to see how that plays out.
but keep up the good work this fic is mind-blowing

…:D

Where to start! First, yep, you've gotta feel bad for shanks. He just wants to care for his sons and his crew and fuck off and not care abt his responsibilities. I love him because he's just Relatable when it comes to this au tbh. As for zoro and blondie (*cough*the snaj*cough*)… you're not wrong. But you're not completely right either. I mean, the show itself does have one notorious trio, so just add one more and you've got….

*sips tea* I've said too much

Thank you for reviewing!

zoewinter1, Chapter 13, May 28:

YES OH MY GOD THE REUNION WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (well besides the obvious) I AM CRYING I AM SCREAMING MY DEPRESSION IS CURED MY SKIN IS CLEAR MY HARVEST IS BOUNTIFUL I AM BLESSED

IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKE IT MY FRIEND. ILY. I HOPE THE REUNION WAS TO YOUR SATISFACTION, EVEN IF I ADDED A LIL BIT OF CONFLICT. I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS AHHHHHH

THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING

Kawaii Snowdrop, Chapter 13, May 29:

I love this fic so so much, it's easily the best I've read in a loooong time. I adore how you've taken the One Piece world, chopped and changed it and then put a sort of gritty determination at the core; it makes it seem much more realistic while keeping the strange details that made me fall in love with the show in the first place, such as the powers. I get the feeling that the only way Luffy survived is if the CP9 desert him on an island and he's left to forge a path for himself or if they adopted him into their ranks, which I think would be highly interesting as being a member of a group like that at first glance seems completely against the character's personality. I'm honestly so intrigued and I hope so badly that you'll never abandon this story - so many good ones never reach completion. All in all, you should totally write professionally but until then I'll wait patiently for the next chapter :)

When I first saw this review I was at a bus stop and made this high-pitched noise of excitement and happiness and got glared at by like four people…..rip

Anyway! Thank you so much! Im so happy that you like what I've done with the world, I was scared that people wouldn't like it so this is really reassuring. As for luff….one of your ideas is a little bit right. If you want a clue, check out the reply further up gayastronaut's review ;)

Don't worry, I definitely wont abandon this – I love it too much! Thanks for reviewing, ily!

why is it always like 3am when I finish this shit…..lmao I'm going to sleep