Warnings: Dark themes, lots of mentions of death, strong language, human experimentation, experimenting on children, child abduction, graphic descriptions of experimenting, lots of needles, lots of violence, poor descriptions of panic attacks, descriptions of blood, rated M for safety.
*If I need to add anymore warnings please tell me in the reviews or a PM and I'll be sure to add it!*
Chapter 21: Out of the Infirmary at Last
"Lunch time!" The sing-song voice of the Whitebeard Pirates chef filtered to Sabo's sensitive ears, though you didn't need super hearing to hear the man coming. He practically kicked the door open, grinning ear to ear, balancing a tray of food in one hand and drinks in the other. Sabo sat up straighter, almost instinctively, while Ace roused their napping brother. It had been at least an hour, and while they wished Luffy could have slept more they weren't complaining seeing as they were going to be able to eat.
"Thatch, what have I said about being quiet in the infirmary?" Whiskey hissed, quiet enough that the brothers weren't supposed to be able to hear it, but Sabo was easily able to pick up on it.
"Ah, right, sorry Whiskey!" Thatch said, still grinning and not seeming all that sorry as he made his way to the brothers. Whiskey sighed in annoyance, rubbing her forehead but leaving it be as she turned back to whatever she was working on.
"Hey, boys! Hungry?" He asked, lowering the tray of food down so the three could see what was on it. Luffy was slightly groggy, having just woken, but the sight of all the food made his eyes sparkle happily and he had to keep from drooling all over Ace. There was definitely more food then the brothers had previously been getting, but instead of just slightly upping the meal sizes Thatch had gone all out, practically preparing a feast of different foods.
"Whiskey told me you guys seem to have bigger appetites then you let on, so I decided to make a lot of food. Eat however much you want, that way I'll know how much to make next time." Thatch encouraged, gesturing to all the food that was practically spilling over the tray.
The tray was piled high with sandwiches, bread, bowls of fruit, rice, meat, and even vegetables that Sabo and Ace were going to make sure Luffy ate, no matter how much the boy complained. Ace and Luffy couldn't hide the loud growl their stomachs made, Ace blushing slightly in embarrassment while Luffy didn't pay it any mind, more focused on the food.
"Well go ahead, I made all this for you three after all." Thatch said, placing the tray of food on the bedside table in between Ace and Sabo's beds, grabbing a chair and sitting. Luffy, ready to grab the food, hesitated, looking at Ace and Sabo for confirmation first.
Clearly, Thatch didn't think the brothers would eat all of this, so would he freak if he found out that Luffy could eat five times the amount on the tray in front of them? They had said they wouldn't mind making more food for the brothers, said that they should tell them if they were still hungry, but they didn't know that there were two black holes in Ace and Luffy's stomachs that could clean out their entire storeroom.
The brothers debated amongst themselves on what to do before Ace picked up the tray, moving it towards him and Luffy to where the blonde couldn't reach it. Thatch watched, wondering what he was doing, but then he saw Ace dividing the food up, removing most of the fruit from their bowls, placing sandwiches into the bowls with the fruit, adding vegetables, rice, bread, meat, and then handing it to Luffy who handed it to Sabo, leaving the rest of the food to the two ravens.
Sabo nodded his thanks as he began eating at a normal pace, using his manners. Ace then divided the food in half and Thatch watched as the brothers began to eat at a relatively slow pace. He cleared his throat, noticing that he had been staring.
"So, I heard you three should be all cleared by tomorrow!" Thatch said, grinning again as he tried to start up a conversation. Sabo nodded and made a motion as if he was going to speak, which made Thatch wonder why he was always the one who talked to them rather than Ace or Luffy, because surely they had the same answers that the blonde had, so why not talk more? This was a question for later though when all their attention was turned to the infirmary door that was opening, Marco walking in with his normal neutral expression, making his way over to the group.
"Oh, Marco, hey!" Thatch greeted cheerily, waving to the first commander. Marco nodded back in greeting, pulling up his own chair and sitting beside the chef, looking to the brothers who were watching him as they ate. Marco raised an eyebrow at the amount of food on the platter, turning to Thatch who laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"I don't know how big their appetites are so I just made a lot and figured whatever they didn't eat could go to anyone looking for a snack." Thatch explained, not noticing the smirk Sabo was hiding as he bit into an apple, or the way Ace slightly choked on his food in an attempt to stifle his laughs. Luffy was oblivious to his brothers, more focused on the amazing food he was eating. He hadn't eaten this well since they had lived in the jungle years ago!
Marco sighed and shook his head, wondering if Thatch had also made it out of guilt for not noticing the boys hunger before. Figuring it was probably the case he let it go, turning his attention back to the boys.
"I'm sure you've heard that you'll be free to leave the infirmary tomorrow. We're already setting up some rooms for you to use while your here." Marco said, addressing the brothers. Sabo hesitated in taking a bite out of his sandwich, glancing at Luffy and Ace out of the corner of his eye. Ace had tensed slightly and Luffy, noticing the change in his brothers' demeanor, slowed even more in his eating, looking around in confusion, not having heard Marco.
"If you wouldn't mind we only need one room," Sabo said stiffly, none of the brothers wanting to be separated. Marco and Thatch raised an eyebrow at that.
"Really? Its no trouble to get you guys separate rooms. Besides, it cant be comfortable to try and fit all three of you into one room." Thatch replied. Ace frowned and Sabo tried to remedy the situation before Ace started shouting insults. They were still walking on eggshells here, they didn't need Ace burning those eggshells out from under them.
"No, we'd much rather prefer sharing a room." Sabo insisted, hoping he wasn't pushing any boundaries with the pirates. After a second of silence, in which all three brothers had stopped eating out of fear of the response, Marco shrugged.
"Alright, but the best we can do is get you a room with two beds." Marco eventually said, much to Sabo's relief as he saw Aces tension leave and he and Luffy started eating again. Sabo held back a sigh of relief and smiled, picking his sandwich up again.
"That's fine Commander, thank you," Sabo said politely, continuing his meal. To be honest, he was surprised Luffy hadn't wolfed his entire meal down, even if Sabo had told him to eat slowly. Looking to his brothers he noticed they were about halfway through the giant pile of foods. Thatch and Marco didn't seem to notice this fact, otherwise, their smiles and passive faces would surely be filled with shock and maybe even disgust at the sight. Sabo pushed those thoughts away quickly.
"We've contacted Shanks as well, yoi," Marco said, distracting Sabo from his earlier thoughts, Ace and Luffy looking up from their food in slight shock. Even though Whitebeard had said they would try to get into contact with the infamous pirate the brothers hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Just like that, the tension was back, almost double what it had been before as all three stopped eating once again.
"Oh?" Sabo asked, afraid he wouldn't be able to say much more and hoping the First Commander wouldn't notice his nervousness. Marco nodded.
"He said he would be here within a weeks time," Marco informed without hesitation or emotion. It was hard to tell if the pirates liked Shanks or not. What if they were enemies of Shanks' and once the man came they would hold the brothers as leverage, or even kill them? But what if they were friends? Why else would Shanks ask for these pirates' help if they were anything but friends? Unless he had never asked for help in the first place and was never looking for the brothers, in which case Sabo had no clue what he or Ace could do if Luffy found that out. The boy would be heartbroken, more so then when Emily had died.
"That's good," Sabo said, hoping to keep up a calm exterior despite his many thoughts. He did his best to go back to eating, seeing Ace trying to do the same.
"Make sure you eat those too Lu." Ace mumbled quietly to Luffy, gesturing to the vegetables that had gone untouched by Luffy. Luffy scrunched his nose up as he looked at the greens.
"But green stuff tastes bad!" Luffy whined, forgetting his previous worry about Shanks altogether. Sabo chanced a look at Thatch, wondering if he had taken offense to the words by assuming Luffy meant the chefs cooking was bad. He could see the chef was trying to hold back the hurt look, but Sabo saw it none-the-less and frowned.
"Not all green stuff tastes bad Lu, see?" Sabo asked, making a show of picking a few pieces of broccoli up with his fork and eating it, Luffy watching with curiosity. Sabo saw Thatch's expression clear, the hurt turning to one of understanding, probably thinking now that Luffy meant green food in general. How could he have known about that horrible green soup anyways?
"Really?" Luffy asked, picking at some of the broccoli on his own plate, and Sabo was glad the youngest was actually using his fork.
"Yeah, remember that one time Makino gave us all Kiwis? They were green and good." Ace encouraged. Luffy looked to be thinking again for a minute before trying the vegetable, everyone watching for his reaction.
"I still like meat better," Luffy said eventually, though he continued eating the vegetables without any more complaints. Sabo and Ace smiled, Ace messing with Luffys hair.
"Of course you do, I don't think you'll ever like anything more than meat." Ace said, rolling his eyes, noticing the fond smile Thatch was directing his way and the slight curve of Marcos' lips, hinting that the man found amusement in the show as well. Ace fought back a blush and glared, looking back to his own food, almost forgetting they were sitting in a room with complete strangers.
"That's not true, I like Ace and Sabo a lot more than meat!" There was no fighting the blush this time, Aces cheeks practically a flaming red, Sabo smirking on his bed in amusement. Though Ace was glaring daggers at the blonde Luffy felt the love and warmth coming from Ace. He could feel it from Sabo too and Luffy basked in the pleasant feelings, digging into his food once more. By now the food was nearly gone, Sabo finishing his own bowl of food, pleasantly full for the first time in many years.
Instead of shouting at the blonde Ace opted to finish his food as well, deciding he would yell at Sabo later. It was at this moment that Thatch and Marco noticed the near-empty platter, Ace, and Luffy eating the last few bites of sandwiches or pieces of fruit.
"Y-you guys ate the whole thing!" Thatch said in the surprise that Ace and Sabo had expected, Luffy peering at the chef with curious eyes as he patted his stomach. He could still eat more because he was Luffy, a bottomless pit, but he felt much better than he had in a long time from having a bigger meal. Ace felt the same way, moving the platter to the bedside table, Sabo putting his now empty bowl on top of it.
"Mm! It was delicious!" Luffy said happily, smiling brightly. He didn't feel any bad feelings from the chef or first commander, only wonder, shock, amazement, and curiosity. He didn't really understand the jumbled emotions but determined they weren't bad and decided it would be ok to talk to them.
"T-the whole thing! That was enough for three, four, five, maybe even six people! If they all ate seconds! I can't believe it, I've never seen someone eat so much before! And not to mention-" Thatch's ramblings were cut off when Marco not so subtly elbowed the man in the side.
"Ah, I mean, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Thatch said, and though he sounded genuine he was still clearly in a state of shock, eyes still wide. Marco looked to have calmed down, not having looked all that shocked in the first place, his eyes only widening slightly and his eyebrows raising.
"No wonder you weren't gaining weight properly, yoi. Do you normally eat that much?" Marco asked, the brothers only hearing genuine curiosity in his voice.
'More then they know.' Ace tapped out as an almost habit. Sabo smiled anyways, Luffy grinning as well, while Ace shifted to lay against the pillows comfortably. Did he ever mention how nice it was to finally lay on a real bed with real pillows and real cushion?
"Normally, yes. Ace and Luffy have a large appetite as I've stated before. I have a much more normal appetite, but after living with these two I guess mine grew a little as well." Sabo said, the last part coming out as more of an afterthought. He omitted the part where Ace and Luffy could actually eat three times that amount, knowing that, if the two pirates knew this, then they probably wouldn't be as hospitable to them. Besides, if they got this much food at every meal time, then the three would be perfectly healthy in no time.
"I can't say I expected large appetites to mean this, but I guess it can't be helped!" Thatch said with a smile, grabbing the now empty platter from the bedside table, placing it in his lap.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The day had passed quickly after lunch. The brothers had been left to themselves for the most part after Marco and Thatch left until dinner when the chef returned with an equal sized amount of food as before. After they had finished the brothers decided to go to sleep, though Ace and Sabo took turns staying up, still uncomfortable with all of them sleeping at once in the presence of so many nurses and needles. By breakfast the next morning Whiskey had cleared them, doing her final check-ups.
"Say 'Ahh!'" Whiskey said to Luffy, opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out, making the noise. Luffy copied it, making the noise, as the nurse checked that everything was ok. Nodding in affirmation she leaned away, smiling.
"Well, that's everything. You three are healthy enough to leave the infirmary, but that doesn't mean you're fully recovered. I don't want any of you overexerting yourselves, and definitely no heavy lifting either! Also, if you feel anything bad, headaches, stomach aches, coughing, dizziness, anything, come straight here so I can make sure it's not a chemical causing the issue." Whiskey said in her stern voice, the brothers nodding almost out of habit, fear pooling in all of them at the order that reminded them a little too much of Haru's commanding tone.
"Good. Well, you're free to go. Marco should be here in a minute to show you around." Whiskey said, walking away from the brothers' beds. There was a collective sigh of relief among the three as they watched the nurse leave.
"Finally, I thought she'd never leave!" Ace groaned, slumping back onto the pillows.
"I was beginning to wonder if we would ever finish our check-ups." Sabo groaned as well, also slumping onto his pillows. Normally he was the patient one, but Whiskey had been thorough with her examination, checking anything and everything, the brothers still too scared of the possible enemy nurse to stop her.
"I'm tired... and hungry!" Luffy said, laying against Ace. The check-ups had been mentally exhausting for all three of the brothers, the nurse being so close to all of them putting them all on edge, the brothers watching her every move, no matter how small it was.
"Breakfast should be soon, I hear them making it. I think I hear Marco coming too." Sabo said, closing his eyes as he took in the different sounds, better at filtering out the unnecessary noises on the ship. Luffy nodded.
"Mm, I can smell the food! Oh, and Margo too." Luffy said, holding back the drool at the smell of breakfast, also noticing the scent that Marco gave off along with it. He had also gotten better at distinguishing certain smells of people on the ship. He had Ace and Sabo's scent memorized by heart, along with a few people from the facility due to being with them for years, but everyone on the ship had new scents that he was still learning. The only ones he knew for sure were Thatch, Marco, Whiskey, and Izo's scent. He also, vaguely, knew Whitebeard's scent, but he wasn't all that good at recognizing it yet.
"If only I had gotten X-Ray vision too." Ace mumbled half-heartedly, not really meaning it. Sure, the enhanced senses were cool and all, but the cost they paid for them would never be worth it. Before Ace could ponder that much longer the door opened and Marco walked in, bee-lining towards the brothers immediately. Ace and Sabo sat up straighter at the sight of the commander, Luffy still too tired to bother moving, knowing his brothers would keep him safe if something happened.
"Ready for a tour, yoi?" Marco asked in his usual bored tone. Sabo gave the man a smile, hoping he gave an air of politeness with the action as he nodded.
"We are. Whiskey just gave us the all clear." Sabo answered, removing the blanket from his waist and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, standing. He looked down at his clothes and wrinkled his nose. Though the brothers had been cared for quite well their entire stay with the pirates they were still in their clothes from the facility, which wasn't much, just tattered off-white shirts stained with blood and dirt and even more tattered shorts, the same off-white color and covered in just as much dirt and blood as their shirts. They had no shoes or socks and they hadn't gotten baths either, so they still smelled overly ripe.
"Don't worry, Izos been put in charge of getting you three some clothing. You can take baths after the tour as well, yoi." Marco informed, waving off Sabo's concerns before the blonde even had to speak them.
"Thank you," Sabo said, gratitude behind his words. He was grateful to the pirates for everything they had done for them, but that didn't mean he would hesitate in forgetting that gratitude if the pirates turned on them. Beside him Ace and Luffy were climbing out of bed, Luffy much more sluggishly then Ace, yawning again. Marco nodded again and turned, leading the way out of the infirmary. As they left the nurses waved, but the brothers could barely look at them, much less wave back. Sabo forced a small, polite smile back but that was all he could get himself to do, still extremely off-put by their presences. When the infirmary door closed behind them the three brothers sighed in relief, some of their tenseness leaving their bodies as they followed Marco down the familiar hallway. Luffy was in between the two eldest again, holding their hands as they walked.
The brothers could sense the many pirates out on deck with their haki and were unnerved like before, still not used to the mass amount of pirates on the deck. The four walked in silence, reaching the door to the deck quickly before they were opening it and walking out into the sun once more, something the brothers weren't getting tired of. Even after the few times they had gone out it was just as good as it had been the first time.
"This is the main deck," Marco announced, gesturing to it as they walked. Ace and Sabo nodded while Luffy peered around curiously. He could see people doing chores, but for the most part, everyone was watching them walk by, curiosity in their eyes. Luffy hesitantly put down his wall, allowing everyone's emotions to flow into him, taking notice of the strong feeling of curiousness emanating from practically everyone, feelings of joy or boredom mingling in, though those feelings were much harder to feel when there was so much curiosity overpowering it.
"This is a large crew," Sabo noted, glancing at the many pirates that surrounded them, body tensing up again along with Aces. Marco nodded.
"Yeah, we're definitely not a small group, yoi." Marco agreed. Ace was frowning, biting back his snarky comments and opting to glare at everyone, though trying to make it a less heated one then he wanted it to be. They continued across the deck, Marco pointing out different spots, like the spot where Whitebeard was sitting, watching everyone with a smile, or the crows nests at the top of the giant masts. Eventually, they were finished with the main deck tour and heading to the galley according to Marco.
'Smells good!' Luffy tapped to his brothers, trying to hold back the drool, licking his lips. Sabo smiled, shaking his head, while Ace rolled his eyes. They entered, what they were assuming was, the galley, Marco disappearing into the room. The brothers followed quickly, not wanting to get left on the deck with the unknown pirates. The room was huge, though it had to be to fit the large crew, and they could see into the kitchen where there were cooks preparing lunch, breakfast having passed a while ago now.
"Hey, Marco! Oh, and our guests too! Nice to see you three out of the infirmary!" Thatch called as he walked out of the kitchen, smiling brightly and waving. The brothers fidgeted but said nothing as the man made his way over.
"So what're you guys up to?" Thatch asked as he reached them.
"I'm giving them the tour of the ship, yoi. Oyaji wanted them to at least know their way around if they're gonna be here for a week." Marco explained, crossing his arms. Luffy, not having put his wall back up, felt Thatch's enthusiasm and happiness, the feeling rubbing off on Luffy himself as he started feeling jittery as well, fighting a smile that wanted to stretch across his face. Normally Luffy enjoyed the feelings of joy, practically fed off them, but he didn't want to make Sabo or Ace mad by acting weird so he forced himself to put the wall back up, blocking Thatch's feelings and feeling that happy jitteriness fade away. Luffy let out a breath of relief from this, ignoring the quizzical look Ace sent his way at the sound.
"Makes sense. Well, be sure to come back for lunch then!" Thatch said, his smile never fading. Sabo put on his smile as the chef looked his way and nodded.
"Wouldn't miss it." The blonde replied, flinching internally at the words. To be honest, he didn't know if he could force himself back in this room when there would be hundreds of pirates crammed in here at the same time, much less try and get Ace and Luffy to join as well. That was an issue for later though, no matter if he could feel Aces glares burning into him from the corner of his eye. He also was definitely ignoring the taps that Ace was having Luffy relay to him, knowing the straw-hatted teen wasn't this creative when coming up with swears to yell at the blonde.
"Why don't I show you three where you'll be staying, yoi?" Marco asked, turning to face them, Ace spinning to face the man, wiping the murderous glare off his face within seconds, though he was still scowling.
"Yeah, that'd be great." Ace said, ignoring the slightly shocked look that Thatch wore due to the fact that Ace had actually spoken. Out of the three, Sabo was definitely the one to speak for the brothers, and occasionally Luffy would pipe up, but it was rare to hear the freckled teen speak instead. Marco took this in stride though and simply nodded, already making his way to the door.
"Well, uh, I guess I'll get back to cooking then!" Thatch mumbled, spinning on his heels and heading back into the kitchen. Ace held back a snicker at the sight by remembering his anger towards Sabo.
"We put your room close to the galley and bathroom so you wouldn't get lost, but if you ever need help just ask. The commanders are also in this hall, my room is just there, yoi. Oyaji's is down there as well." Marco explained, gesturing down the hallway, showing them his room which was two away from theirs and Whitebeards which was at the end of the hall. Marco opened the door to the brothers' room and they walked in, scanning it quickly. There were two beds like they had asked, bolted to the ground to keep from moving when the ship hit rough waters. There was also a desk and chair, also bolted down, and a closet. It was a pretty spacious room, and the brothers would be fine with spending the entire week in there.
"Those are all the important places you'll need to know, but again, if you need help, just ask." Marco reiterated, the brothers all nodding, wanting to be left alone. Marco nodded, glancing at the three again.
"I'll come by when lunch is ready if you're in here, but you're free to wander around if you want, yoi. Izo should be by soon with clothes as well." Marco said, already making his way to the door.
"Thank you, Commander, we appreciate all your help," Sabo said with a tense smile, wanting the man gone so the three could truly relax for a bit. With not much else Marco left the room, all three brothers sighing loudly in relief.
"Fiiinnnalllyyy!" Ace groaned, face-planting into the bed in the corner of the room. Sabo rolled his eyes but couldn't help but feel the same way. This was the first time the brothers had been left alone the entire time they had been on the ship, always having been in a room with a nurse.
"This room smells a lot better than the medicine room!" Luffy said in a pleased manner, smiling as he looked around the room, pulling out the drawers of the desk and poking his head in the empty closet.
"And it's much quieter," Sabo said happily, closing his eyes and relishing in the fact that if he drowned out the noises outside of the room it was blissfully silent. Ace rolled his eyes.
"I'm just happy were away from those damn nurses." Ace said, flipping onto his back and staring at the ceiling, arms behind his head and legs crossed.
"Ne, Ace!" Luffy cried cheerfully, running and jumping onto the man's stomach, causing him to make an 'oof!' noise.
"What Luffy?" Ace groaned out, wincing a little at the sudden impact but containing himself.
"I like this place a lot better than the facility! They feed us and help us, and they're gonna give us clothes, and we can take baths-"
"Since when did you like baths?" Sabo asked, interrupting the rambling boy. Luffy paused, turning to look at him with a look of confusion as if wondering the same himself.
"I dunno. You guys stink though." Luffy said, scrunching his nose up at the reminder. Sabo laughed while Ace rolled his eyes.
"Well duh." He muttered, but Luffy either didn't hear or didn't care.
"Anyway, the chef is always happy too, and when I feel peoples emotions they're happy too, except Margo, he's always muddled, like he's bored, but sometimes there's a little bit of happy in it, oh, and the warm feeling too!" Luffy continued. Before responding Sabo tapped out that he could hear someone coming their way, Izo, before changing the subject.
"We should take baths when we get our new clothes, so we don't have to keep smelling each other," Sabo said, scrunching up his own nose at the thought. Though they didn't have Luffy's sense of smell Ace and Sabo could still smell how bad they smelled.
"For once, I can't wait to have a bath." Ace said, pushing Luffy off his stomach and sitting up, ready for their visitor to knock at any moment.
"Mm! I feel gross!" Luffy whined, pulling at his shirt and grimacing at himself. Finally, Izo reached their room, a knock resounding as Sabo put on a smile, opening the door. As expected, Izo stood there holding a neatly folded pile of clothing.
"Hello there boys! I've brought you all a new set of clothing. There are a few extra shirts and things for throughout the week but there isn't much, after all, I didn't have the material to make a whole new wardrobe from scratch." Izo said, handing the pile to Sabo who took them, placing them on the bed to sort later.
"Thank you, Commander, we appreciate your kindness," Sabo said with another polite smile. Being on this pirate ship for so long was a real test to Sabo's abilities to put on different masks.
"It was no problem. You can go take baths now if you'd like. There's no one in the bathroom at the moment, I made sure, I didn't think you three would be wanting any company." Izo said, pulling out a fan and hiding his face. The brothers did relax marginally at the information, not having thought about that little fact.
"You're definitely right about that. Thank you again, Commander." Sabo said, this time meaning it a little more then he had the first time. Izo smiled, though it was obscured by the fan, and nodded, turning and leaving the room with a wave. Another sigh of relief escaped Sabo as he closed the door, turning to face his brothers.
"Well, I guess we should hurry and bathe before anyone decides they want to as well," Sabo said, moving to the pile of clothes they had been given and sorting them. He was actually slightly amazed that they looked to be the right sizes for the brothers and sorted them according to that, making three piles for each brother. Deciding to hang them all up later Sabo pulled a shirt and pants for each brother out, as well as towels that were at the bottom of the pile and cradling them all carefully.
"Alright, let's go," Sabo said to his brothers, the two nodding and following him closely out the door, scanning their surroundings rapidly. There was no one in the hall so they weren't stopped on their way to the bathroom, the three rushing in and closing the door quickly behind them.
"Finally, time for a bath!" Ace exclaimed happily, already throwing his ruined shirt off, moving to heat the water up, courtesy of his firepower. Sabo rolled his eyes but also removed his shirt.
"Come on Lu, we better stop the hot head before he makes the water too hot," Sabo said, Luffy nodding with a bright grin. As Luffy removed his shirt Sabo couldn't help but notice the burn marks covering his brother's shoulder from tests Haru had performed. All three brothers had lasting scars from that place, and Sabo was grateful Luffy's devil fruit kept him from getting anything more than scars from burns, but it still made his blood boil in anger as he looked at the marks. He and Ace had plenty of burns and scars littering their chests and arms, but they had always done their best to ignore them, pretend they weren't there.
The brothers bathed in relative silence, all of them enjoying the relaxing heat soothing their sore muscles. They took turns washing each other's hair for each other, Sabo in charge of making sure Luffy and Ace didn't sink under the water, and by the end of the bath they were finally clean and feeling better than they had since they had been kidnapped.
"Man, I feel great!" Ace cried happily, stretching his arms wide over his head as he stepped out of the bath, wrapping a towel around himself and using his devil fruit to heat his body up and dry himself.
"Mm! And we all smell good again!" Luffy cheered just as happily, accepting Sabos help out of the tub, slightly sluggish from a mix of the water and having already been tired before the bath. Sabo smiled and laughed a little at the two but got out as well, moving towards their new clothes.
"It seems Izo is pretty good at making clothes, these are all our sizes," Sabo said, tossing Ace and Luffy their clothes while taking his own.
Ace had gotten a yellow button-down shirt with short sleeves that he didn't bother buttoning and black shorts that reached his knees with an orange belt and brown boots that he happily slipped on. Sabo had gotten a blue button-down shirt with long sleeves and a pair of light blue pants with black boots. Luffy had been given a blue tank top with the numbers 56 on it in white and blue jean shorts and sandals which Luffy slipped on happily, swinging his feet from where he sat on a bench, waiting for Ace and Sabo.
"Do you think we could fit in a nap before lunch?" Ace asks, stretching again, the relaxing bath making him tired. Sabo shrugged.
"Maybe. We should head back to our room now anyway." Sabo said with a shrug, picking up their towels and destroyed clothes. Ace and Luffy nodded their agreement and followed Sabo out the door, the three moving quickly back into their room. Luffy and Ace immediately went to the bed, laying down and falling asleep almost instantly, leaving Sabo to deal with all the clothes. Sabo shook his head but smiled none the less as he began hanging their clothes up, looking around their small room again before sitting on the unoccupied bed.
"Now we just have to get through the rest of the week."
Hey all, welcome back to another chapter!
The brothers are officially out of the infirmary and have their own room! Food, a bath, a room, and clothes. What more could the brothers ask for?
I know all of you are super excited for Shanks' arrival, but I wanted to show some interactions between the brothers and the crew before he got here. Besides, this is also a pretty slow paced story (if you couldn't tell by how long it took for the brothers to get out of the facility) so it will still be a few chapters until the famous red-haired man's arrival. I know that's probably a bit disappointing, but I didn't want to rush through this critical time with time skips galore. The brothers are getting used to the Whitebeards and there's a lot that could happen in the week that it'll take for Shanks to get there, so I didn't want to just skip by all of that with a time skip.
Anyways, we've almost hit 30,000 views on this story, which by itself is already amazing, but we're also almost at 300 reviews as well! I never imagined that this story would do this well, so to see those numbers rise with every chapter and see all the amazing feedback really warms my heart! Hope to see you all in the next chapter!