Heroes... drunk Briton in Japan... TV's Adam West... pimpin' Ando... Momo meets Midas... HRG ownage... adorable Molly... NATHAN IS A VAMPIRE LUMBERJACK!!!!! At least some sort of freakish pseudo-vampire with a scruffy anti-senator beard, I mean. That's my story and I'm sticking to it until I get so totally dissed by the canon plotline. I do not own One Piece. Reviewer thanks go out to Flower-san, Sakura-chan and Butterfly-san.

Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age

Chapter Twenty

Tamanegi: Dropping on the Eaves

The night Portgas D Ace came to board our ship, I am not sure if many of us men slept well. Actually, now that I think about it, we did not. Almost immediately after his introduction, which was quite rude if I do say so myself, he and Rika had a private conversation in the crow's nest which put more of us than just Kappa over the edge. Then, later on during dinner, he made sure to sit right next to Moda and in the middle of the meal, fell asleep on her shoulder. Paulie was complaining about it afterwards, despite the fact he truly has no real room to talk. Any one of us could have mentioned how close he and Chimney were after we defeated the assassins, yet none of us chose not to, as he was not the kind of man to take such criticism lightly... particularly when we mention their mutual zeal over closets.

When it was time to turn in, we offered up Ninjin's hammock in the room he shared with Piiman and I, since Ninjin was going to take first watch anyways. Ace turned it down flat and said that he was going to share with Moda. All I can say about that is that I am quite certainly thankful that we had decided to pick up some tranquilizers a couple of months ago, because Kappa was not entirely pleased with the idea. Then again, he is never too pleased with the idea of a woman with a man other than himself, yet that is probably a different story entirely. Piiman and I never really fell asleep that night, and neither did Ninjin once he came in after Chabo relieved him from watch duty. We sat up against the wall, listening intently for sounds coming from Moda's room and ready to take action at the first sound of foul play. By morning, we were exhausted and no sounds had alerted us. Breakfast came and it seemed as if Piiman, Ninjin and I were not the only ones who could not sleep well. Paulie, Chabo and Kappa appeared worn as well. The only ones that seemed to have had any sort of sleep were Rika, Tashigi, Moda and Ace.

We, being the male members of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, were irked.

Later that day, as I was sitting out on the top deck and busy reading up on a legend of a sky-bound civilization hovering above the Grand Line, I was approached by Kappa. He seemed quite cross, so I had attempted to feign ignorance to his presence.

"Oi, Prick," he said, blocking out my sunlight. I glanced up and saw him looming over me. Piiman has always told me that I am a horrid actor, no better than our childhood hero.

"Yes?"

"I need you to come with me," he growled. I stood up and when I looked at him square in the face, I could see the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. I put the book down on my chair and sighed.

"What are we going to do?" I replied. "You know how fond I am of being lead blindly by another man." This was, of course, sarcasm, the use of which caused Kappa to scoff and his glare became icy.

"Just be quiet and be sure to bring those tranquilizers," he said. Without another word, I followed the navigator below the deck, making sure to slip in and out of my room in order to fetch my tranquilizer gun. Yes, it is a gun. The only way the tranquilizers can be safely administered is through the small handgun they came with. Cease looking at me like that. The two of us crept along and stealthily entered the supplies hold. I closed the door solidly behind me, creating a soft sound that Kappa smacked my head for.

"Who's there?" someone asked. Kappa swore under his breath and dragged me behind a pile of crates, covering my mouth with his hand. I heard the heavy sound of boots walking towards the door and finally the sound of Ace talking as he opened and shut the door.

"Looks like the door was loose and the waves are rocking us," he announced as he walked back to where he had come from. Once his footsteps were less audible, Kappa let go of me and cursed.

"Are we spying on Ace?" I asked in a hushed tone. Kappa failed to reply, instead moving his way stealthily along behind the piles and piles of storage crates that were stocked with the crew's provisions. Soon, Kappa was peering over the top on the crates with a look of spite and loathing.

"Not just that Bastard. Look," he hissed.

Carefully, I crept up to look over the crates and I saw Ace leaning on the wall. Not only that, but there was also Moda sitting down on a crate and Rika straddling a chair. The girls were both staring at Ace. Rika seemed serious and stern, an expression completely unlike her. Moda, on the other hand, was a much more natural shade of shock.

"So then if what you two are saying is correct, then this is an adoption more important than any in history," Moda said. I frowned, being as our chef's words indicated that Kappa and I had stumbled in on the middle of the conversation, most of the subtext lost forever. She pointed at Rika and then at Ace, back to Rika again, sizing them up all the while. "You know, I guess you guys kind of look alike."

"Yeah, thanks," Rika said, rolling her eyes. She then gave a slight chuckle and smiled, her mood becoming much more pleasant. "Moda-chan, I need you to keep this a secret between the three of us, alright? I don't want anyone else knowing about Luffy-nii, his connection to Ace-nii or my new name."

I heard Kappa take a sharp inward breath. What was Rika talking about? It perplexed me and I had to think. I pondered as I sat there, the conversation going no where in the process.

Eureka!

I pulled Kappa down and we crouched behind the wooden crates. "I think I know what the Captain is talking about!"

"What do you mean?" Kappa asked. His nostrils flared in anger I knew was not meant for me.

"You were not around yet when Rika explained how when she was little, a man inspired her to be a pirate by showing her what the pirate spirit was all about. That was all she told Ninjin, Piiman and I when we first met. I bet this 'Luffy' character is that man she told us about all those years ago and that Ace is somehow linked to him!"

"You really think so?" Kappa's tone reflected curiosity.

"Are you kidding? I know so. I only heard it once, but it is still quite clear," I grinned. Kappa nodded and we both returned to our stealthy perches.

"I don't know about this Rika-san..." Moda said warily. Her back was to me, but I could tell by the way she shifted her head that she was looking at her dangling feet. "Don't you think that we should tell the others? I mean, meeting like this with Ace-san would make Kappa-san angry as it is."

"If that Retard wants to think I have no morals, then let him," Ace spat. He scratched the stubble on his chin and sneered. "He obviously doesn't know that I can kick his ass to the next life in an instant. That little whelp knows nothing about me, or my relationship to our Moda. He obviously thinks I'll do something 'cause he would if he was in my place." Kappa muttered "Bastard" under his breath. My assumption is, and was, that "Bastard" is now Kappa's name for Ace. It makes sense, for Kappa anyways.

"Oi, that's my nakama you're talking about," Rika piped up. I could see as she and Ace both shared a smile and laughed.

"Now I know that I made the right decision," Ace chuckled. He gently kicked himself from the wall and walked over to Rika and took her hand to shake it. After shaking her hand, he brought her in for a brotherly hug, ending it by holding her shoulders out at arm's length to get a good look at her. "I am sorry, but I am afraid that I cannot stay with you guys for much longer. Staying in one place for too long, even if it is a ship, makes me uneasy."

"Then I hope our paths cross again on much more natural of terms, Ace-nii."

"Ace-nii..." Kappa growled, almost inaudibly. I could hear a guttural rumbling coming from his throat and the malice applied over the honorific used. In one fluid motion, Ace went from Rika to Moda, to whom he bowed at the waist.

"No matter what, I still owe you my life," he said.

"...but you delivered the l...!" Moda began. Ace cut her off by placing a finger on her lips and spoke to her smoothly, in almost a private tone.

"From what you told me, keeping that promise led for a whole lot of trouble for you." He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her in closer so that his voice turned into barely a whisper. To be honest, I was surprised I heard it. "I should have instead been capturing the man who did those things all those years ago while I was running around with the Marines. I swear on my life that if you ever require anything, call me and I will be there."

"...but you want to leave, now that I know how to cook for you...?" I attempted to contain my laughter. Kappa's breathing became heavy. I glanced at him and saw that his nostrils were still flaring. Clutching hold of his forearm, I mouthed the words "Stop it" to him and he cast me a dreadful glare.

"Ahem," Rika coughed, clearing her throat. Kappa's attention was diverted back from me to our captain as she sat there looking disapprovingly at Ace and Moda. Ace glanced over his shoulder at her and the highly embarrassed Moda peered around his arm.

"Excuse me, but I am trying to make this a little more heartfelt, if you don't mind," Ace said to Rika, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, I'm just trying to make sure that you both realize that I'm still here," Rika shrugged. She twirled one of her pigtails and looked at the ceiling with an amused smile. That was one of the definitive perks about Rika, in my personal opinion: she could break up a scene with relative ease.

"Still," Ace said. He took Moda's hand and kissed the back of it, sending our cook into a fit of blushing. I heard Kappa snort and before Ace could continue with what he was going to say, he burst out from behind the crates and wrenched Moda from Ace's hold.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Kappa snarled, using his iciest stare on Ace. The older man took a step back, his face expressionless.

"Kappa-kun!" Rika gasped, totally appalled. "How long were you there!?"

"Long enough," Kappa snarled. I stayed in place, however. The less known eavesdroppers, the better the situation is destined to turn out.

"I was only saying good-bye," Ace replied, his voice deadpan. The man was a complete enigma to me. I tried to contemplate his angle, even long after the event was over, yet I could come up with nothing.

"You ever touch her again and I will personally have your head off your shoulders!" Kappa snarled. Rika stood up and smacked Kappa.

"So the last straw was Moda-chan, eh?" she hissed. "No one touches your precious Moda and gets away with it? You're a disgusting creep!" She made a disapproving grunt and stormed out of the room, Ace close behind.

When I finally resurfaced on the deck of the Fading Sorrow, the small boat moored to ours was gone and a throughly confounded Chabo had been kicked out of the crow's nest by our foul-tempered captain.

Author's Notes

Fun, eh? Don't worry. I did this on purpose... and not just for the hell of it either. For some unexplainable reason though, I was stuck in the middle of the chapter for about two weeks or so. It was quite curious. I hope it does not show. That would be dreadful.