Hi, peoples! This is the new chapter…

I wish I had more time to update, sorry…

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

When Ace returned after snatching some food from the pantry, he found most of his things on his bed. He hurriedly searched through it for the key, but couldn't find it.

"Oh, please, please, please don't tell me I left it on Striker when I turned it back!" Ace groaned. He was relieved to have his sword back, and the den den. He dialed a number Sabo had drilled into his brain and waited.

"Yes, Hack, or Koala?" He heard his brother's voice ask.

"I'm going to kill you when I get my hands on you."

"Did you steal back your things, Ace?"

"No." He admitted. "But they aren't giving me back Striker and I accidentally used that stupid seastone and the key I believe is still on Striker." And I have no idea where it is!

Sabo laughed. "I do have an extra, since I figured something like this would happen… but I'm too busy right now… It'll be a couple of weeks before I can visit."

"Sabo!" Ace cried. "This thing is horrible!"

"Hah! I felt like that too when I first used it. Give it a couple of years and it will be fine." He said airily, and in Ace's opinion, through what he could see on the mushi, quite smugly. "Unless you want me to mail it and it accidentally gets lost?"

"I don't have a couple of years! Fact remains that you're dead when I get my hands on you. Where's Luffy?"

"With Uncle Rayleigh." Sabo replied. "Chill, Ace, after a few days it'll get better. Or you could try and pick the lock."

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ace said unenthusiastically. Of course, it was convenient to Sabo that he was the one specialized in that kind of stuff.

"Or…" Sabo sighed inwardly. "They could probably help you get it off…" He braced himself for the inevitable backlash.

"No."

"Being stubborn isn't always the smartest thing, Ace."

"You left me with them!"

"Admit it, you like it there, and don't tell me any crap about being his son, because they don't care, and won't care. And to tell the truth, I think you're happy there, and that's the important thing. Sorry, I have a ton of work left to do, don't call today again unless there's an emergency."

"This is the emergency." Ace grumbled, but Sabo had already went back to his work and he was left talking to a sleeping snail.

Ace glared at the snail, then placed it carefully on the bed.

Wait… How did Sabo know they don't care, and won't care? He had a sinking feeling of dread in his chest, snatched up the snail and dialed furiously again.

"What the big emergency, then?"

"You told them I was his son?!"

"I implied it. I didn't say for sure." Sabo replied evenly. Sabo silently cursed the fact that the one time he'd rather Ace didn't connect the dots was the only time he did manage to come to the correct conclusion.

"How could you!"

"You see? The fact that you care means that-" Sabo explained desperately.

"Sabo, I could count the number of people who know who my father is on my hands! And the only reason gramps knows is because he told him! And for all the others, and for you, I told you because I trusted you! It's my secret, Sabo, and I don't want you to tell anyone without telling that you will! My decisions are mine! I don't want you to manipulate me into making decisions you think are good for me. Some things are private, Sabo. I kept your secrets safe, and you blurt mine out to everyone. This is my life, not yours!" Ace finished, and didn't give his brother the chance to reply.

He hung up on him, feeling the sharp sting of a betrayal.

"Uh… Ace?" Thatch peered in, sounding awkward and confused. "Are you alright?"

"How much did you hear?"

"Just the last sentence?" He said it with uncertainty, like it was a question.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Leave me alone!" Ace shouted. "You kidnapped me again! Don't act like you care!"

"Ace-" Thatch started, "you-"

"Get the %$#^ OUT!" He bellowed.

Thatch scurried away quickly, closing the door behind him.

"He definitely is fine, started screaming at me." Thatch reported to Marco a few minutes later. Though he would never admit it, he had gone straight to what he felt to be the safest person on the ship, except for pops, who was currently in the infirmary and Bay had warned them very very expressively that under no circumstances were they to be bothered. "I think I dropped in on a bad time, though."

"And what did he say?"

"You kidnapped me again, leave me alone…"

"The usual, yoi?"

"Yeah. I think he was talking to someone, he was holding his den den, all I heard was 'this is my life, not yours,' before he hung up."

"He's fine, then." Marco sighed. "Who could it be?" He muttered to himself.

"But…" Thatch got his attention again.

"What?"

"He's still strangely subdued."

"That's a good thing. Less chance of him burning the ship down, yoi."

"He's in a really bad mood. Like bad bad, when he first realized that we kidnapped him."

"Let's hope he doesn't go right back to attempting to kill pops yoi."

Ace was fuming. If he hadn't had that seastone on, he would have most likely burnt down at least half, if not more of the ship by now. He stalked out of the room they provided still full of white-hot rage. He needed to get Striker back. Or get the seastone off, somehow.

He didn't realize that he didn't feel tired at all, anymore.

"Uh, Ace, you're up?" Curiel asked as he passed, slightly awkward. The brat didn't even glance his way, seeming too focused on whatever he was thinking about to even register his presence. Strange, the commander though before mentally shrugging and walking on deck to take his shift for watch.

To be continued!

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