A/N: *crawls in exhausted* Hey everyone. I'm so sorry this hasn't been updated in forever OTL I tried to write a little through my exams but my energy and creativity have been sucked out of me. Another reason this chapter took so long was because it contains quite a sensitive subject that I think will either confuse a lot of people or clear up a slight misconception. In this story Sabo is Aromantic. He has been from the start. Now I don't like giving things to you guys as the way I write is immersive writing: you readers learn things along with the characters and, to me personally, that makes it more fun to read rather than being handed the facts straight away. 'Oh but what about Law?' I hear a few people cry; yes that is still a possible ship but it's platonic/sexual ship Not a romantic ship. If you want more information about sexuality, gender, romantic inclinations then it's all on my profile and if you can't find what you're looking for there then please PM me or send me an ask on tumblr.
Okay serious part over, now onto the big announcement (though those who follow me on tumblr will already know about this): THIS STORY HAS OVER 400 REVIEWS! WTF? Seriously what, how, why?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! Thank you all so so so so much, I never dreamed that this awkward marshmallow of a story would get so many! You've completely smashed two bonus chapter milestones and I have no clue how to thank you. So please send in what you want me to do: another bonus chapter, a one-shot, a short story, a preview, anything! Please tell me what I can do to thank all you amazing people for making the writing of this story so fun.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
!Warnings!: There are talks about romantic inclination and talks about the Bird and Bees. Sorry in advance if this makes you uncomfortable in any way.
The rustling pages of a book were the only sounds that could be heard over the rush of the sea. Marco could be heard vaguely in the distance, singing a sweet melody as he stretched his wings and soared above the crow's nest, circling higher and higher into the sky. Sabo looked up from where he was sitting, shielding his eyes from the sun as he watched Marco's flight for a bit before returning to his book.
In the aftermath of his party it had been hard to find a quiet place to sit and read. Thankfully they had stopped off at a deserted island for Luffy and Ace to start their training with Shanks. He remembered Lorna telling him that the reason the island was uninhabited was due to the gigantic beasts that roamed the shores and jungles; it had made him slightly homesick and he knew for the wistful looks on his brothers faces that they missed their old jungle home just as much as he did in those moments. But that just made them even more excited to be training with Shanks on an island that was so similar to their home.
He understood that Shanks would be training his brothers separately from him (he didn't have Conqueror's Haki after all), he understood it and accepted it. But that didn't mean he didn't get lonely sometimes. He had always trained with Ace and Luffy: always. Even when Ace was first discovering the extents of his powers Sabo had been there every step of the way. True, he couldn't understand a lot of what his brothers went through when they were learning to control their fruits but he could still help them.
Now they had the Devil fruits and Conqueror's Haki and they needed to be trained separately lest they accidently knock any of the crew out.
So instead he did what he could do and read. He had managed to sneak his book on mythical zoans back from Izo that morning. His cross-dressing friend had stolen it to use as leverage in their arguments. Now he had retreated to the crow's nest with nothing but the sway of the sea and the beating of Marco's wings to accompany his reading.
It was peaceful.
He had almost forgotten what peaceful felt like.
The rustling of wings told him he was no longer alone and he turned with a welcoming smile, surprised Marco hadn't immediately shifted back into his human form. The brilliant blue flames curled around the folded wings in gentle wisps, crackling calmly in a soothing way. They sounded different from Ace's flames somehow, there was something in Marco's flames that held secrets and you could hear the whispered words as the sizzled and died and were reborn in the rustling feathers.
"I was reading about phoenixes you know." Sabo said, beaming up at the noble bird, a childish enthusiasm for knowledge and fairytales gleaming in his eyes. He quickly held his page out for Marco's inspection, smiling wider when the older blond shifted back into his human form to take the book from him.
"Is the story about the healing tears true or is that just mythology?"
"Just mythology, yoi." Marco chuckled as he quickly scanned the page, sitting down next to Sabo and leaning against the rails of the nest.
"My tears don't heal things; it's my flames that do that."
"But there must have been a reason they started claiming it was the tears, right?"
Marco sighed and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds drift lazily past them with dark eyes as he handed the book back to Sabo.
"It's most likely that there was once a phoenix that, when brought out for people to gawk at, caused the crowds to cry, yoi. They came before him with various problems, wanting his master to fix them all. But one look at the phoenix and they'd forget all their problems, crying for the pain he was suffering under the enslavement of his master."
Marco snorted slightly before turning to Sabo with a grim smile, subtly hiding his shaking hands.
"They felt cured of their problems because they saw a creature that refused to cry even with everything he was put through in the name of his master's pleasure, yoi. That's probably why they say phoenix tears heal people; it's tears that phoenixes cause that have the healing properties."
Sabo frowned at his book as he digested this theory. It didn't say anything about that legend in his book and he doubted there had been many phoenixes in history. Some of the myths didn't add up, one of them even suggested phoenixes were red instead of blue, but to miss one out completely...
"The way you talk about it makes it sound like you were actually there." Sabo mused, looking at Marco out of the corner of his eye and noticing the bitter half-smile that twisted his lips. He didn't like that expression one bit.
"It's because I was, yoi. Though I wasn't one of the ones crying. More like wondering why a noble would do something like that and put him on display."
"Was he your predecessor then?"
Marco made a vague half nod before turning to look at Sabo fully.
"Why the sudden interest in mythical devil fruits though? I didn't even know you liked myths and legends until Jimbei gave you that book, yoi."
Sabo grinned and hugged the book to his chest.
"I just think they're interesting that's all. Legends have basis in truth whilst myth has no basis and is used as a way to explain natural occurrences. I like trying to piece together what people were trying to explain in myth and find the truth behind the legends."
Sabo traced his fingers over the cover of the book with a fond smile and far away eyes, lost to the world of monsters and heroes, of underwater forges and coastal shrines, of glittering forests and haunted caves. Each story, each tale captured his imagination and enslaved his mind to the incorruptible dreams that flowed like silk between words, spinning them into a web of worlds that he found himself unable to escape. Not that he particularly wanted to either.
"Plus the stories are entertaining." He finished with a cheeky grin, causing Marco to let out a gentle chuckle.
"Do you have a favourite mythical creature, yoi?" Almost as soon as the question was out of his mouth Marco wondered whether it had been a smart thing to ask. Sabo's eyes had literally lit up and he seemed to be bouncing from excitement as his grin grew slightly manic. Stars seemed to replace the shining blue irises for a second and his breathing started to pick up. Marco really hoped he wasn't having some kind of fit; it was be hard to calm him down in the crow's nest without endangering him.
"Dragons." Sabo grinned, almost tearing the book open to the dragon page and shoving the illustration in his face.
A dragon stood on its hind legs, wings flaring out behind it as fire poured from its snout and curled around the magnificent red scales. Gold and jewels buried its talons and shined red hot in the light of the billowing flames. Black smoke curled around its horned head as its eyes shined with firelight.
"Dragons are the best things ever! They can fly, breathe fire, their scales are as hard as iron! And they look amazing too! I would do anything to find that fruit."
Marco laughed at the giddy look on Sabo's face, handing the book back gently lest it get damaged in Sabo's excitement. But soon the laughter faded and he let out a long sigh, reaching over to flick Sabo on the forehead. His younger brother looked at him oddly as if trying to figure out why he would do something like that.
"You don't want to eat a mythical zoan fruit, yoi. Especially not a creature with such a violent nature. Something your book doesn't tell you about is another thing that set mythical zoan fruits apart."
"What is it?" Sabo asked in a hushed voice, not liking the darkness that was clouding Marco's eyes. He was suddenly feeling worried about where this conversation was heading but the lure of more knowledge made him remain where he was.
"Mythical creatures are born from the subconscious thoughts and hopes of humanity and these thoughts attach themselves to the creatures that inspired them, yoi. In doing that these creatures gained a consciousness of their own which they still have. Even though it's a devil fruit that give me my powers I can still feel the consciousness of the phoenix, yoi. You don't want a potentially violent creature screeching at you in the back of your head. Trust me on that, yoi."
"Does the phoenix bother you often?" Sabo asked after a few minutes of silence. He had no idea Marco had another consciousness in the back of his head and, from what he had read about phoenixes, it might not always be a calm conscious either. Various stories told how calm phoenixes were and how generous and kind they could be but they also warned that they could be prideful, haughty, and bloodthirsty if their pride was offended.
"Not too often. It's not a voice in my head like you're probably thinking, more like a sensation that gets agitated sometimes. Often we're in agreement and if one of our family is hurt I will have no problems with using the phoenix's anger, yoi. Other times it wants to do things that I know in my heart are wrong but the lure of phoenix song will have me questioning it anyway."
"Sounds complicated." Sabo reflected, frowning as he tried to digest what Marco had just told him. Does that mean the phoenix could tell whether someone was to be trusted or not? Would it be able to tell Marco? It certainly explained the anger Marco had shown when Luffy had been kidnapped if the phoenix was as protective as Marco was.
"But that's why you don't want to eat a mythical zoan fruit, yoi. Or at least, it's one of the less desirable side effects."
Sabo nodded to show he understood and looked back at his book. Surely if this book was about mythical zoan fruits then it should have warned any potential users of this side effect. It seemed like a pretty important thing to overlook. Or maybe the reason why it wasn't written down is that no user had ever told anyone of this. Marco seemed completely comfortable with telling him but Sabo doubted it had always been that way.
Having another consciousness could really mess with someone's mind.
Sabo snuck another glance towards Marco and wondered, for the first time, about how much he must have struggled with his fruit in the beginning and whether he had anyone to help him through the changes.
"What is it, yoi?" Marco had caught him staring and wasn't sure what to make of the sadness that had temporarily clouded Sabo's eyes.
"Nothing." Sabo whispered after a while, looking away and starting to read once more.
"Just wondering how old you are."
Marco's hand collided solidly with the back of his head and he soon found himself getting very well acquainted with the floor.
"What was that for?" he spluttered as he turned to gape at a smirking Marco.
"For being a cheeky little brat." Marco said simply before reaching out and hauling him back into a sitting position.
"At least I didn't ask you." Sabo muttered, knowing that Ace or Luffy would have bugged Marco to tell them as soon as they wanted to know (well, maybe Luffy more than Ace. Ace would just be stubborn and demand to know whilst Luffy would be the one to follow Marco around all day trying to find out.)
Marco snorted but nodded, agreeing with his thoughts about Ace and Luffy. That sat there in silence for a while; Sabo reading and Marco cloud gazing. It was calm and quiet, with the occasional distant screams from Ace or Luffy echoing off the island. A comfortable calm settled over them both, not needing to speak to one another to feel happy with the company. Flying, as great as it was, sometimes got lonely without any of his siblings around, and while Sabo loved creating chaos with his other brothers he still appreciated silence and serenity.
"You're squinting, yoi." Marco's soft voice broke Sabo out of his reading and he looked to his older friend with blank eyes.
"Sorry?"
"You're squinting your eyes to read, yoi. Can you see everything all right?"
Comprehension filtered in and Sabo ducked his head to stare at the floor, fingers running over the glinting polar bear on his bracelet as he contemplated telling Marco what Dr. Manners had told him.
"Sometimes...sometimes my vision gets a bit blurry and I have to squint to read. It's only when I'm reading though so I can deal with that."
"You'll still want reading glasses to correct it, yoi." Marco said, smiling gently at his young friend's frowning face.
"If you don't the squinting will damage your eyes and you'll have to wear glasses all the time. I have to wear them too with the amount of paperwork I do. But because I only use them when I'm reading I avoided further damage to my eyes and manage without everyday glasses, yoi."
"Really? I've never seen you wear glasses." Sabo said, obviously trying to imagine what Marco would look like in glasses.
The older blond chuckled and leaned further back into the rails.
"You've never been in my room when I'm working, yoi." He pointed out with a small grin causing Sabo to laugh in agreement and scratch the back of his head in slight embarrassment. He really should have realised that on his own. No wonder he had never seen Marco with his glasses on, he tried to avoid the phoenix when he was working. Over-stressed Mama Marco was never someone he wanted to deal with. Whenever Marco got like that it tended to either end in shouting or everyone trying to spoil him. Best to avoid either situation at all cost unless he wanted to be caught up in the rush to make Marco happy again.
He'd rather calm him down by reading with him, not all the other things the rest of the crew try.
"You should go see the nurses, yoi. Lena is the best when it comes to optics though so go to her first."
"I would but that would be admitting he was right." Sabo grumbled, pouting at the thought of conceding defeat to that impolite twat of a doctor.
"Who was right, yoi?"
"Trafalafel."
Marco snorted.
"That's not his name and you know it, yoi."
"I don't care." Sabo whined, crossing his arms with a huff. He looked so childish in that moment Marco couldn't help but laugh at him.
The laughter got him a decidingly unimpressed glare but he couldn't help himself. He knew Sabo was annoyed at this mysterious doctor for never giving his name but he still couldn't believe he was making up names for him rather than saying what he knew.
"Don't let Izo hear your nicknames for him, yoi. It'll only add more fuel to the fire."
"What fire?" Sabo sulked, stopping his pouting for a second to look confused at him again.
"Izo thinks that his doctor is your chance for love or something like that, yoi. He won't shut up about how cute it would be for you two to get together."
Whatever reaction Marco had expected it wasn't the one he got. He had expected Sabo to get embarrassed, maybe deny such a thing would ever happen. He didn't expect the anger or revulsion that filled his young friend's face.
"No thanks." Sabo spat, turning away so violently Marco thought he heard his neck crick.
"I don't want to be owned by anyone and if Izo thinks that would be cute then he can chop off all his hair before that ever happens."
"What do you mean by 'owned'?" Marco asked, slightly worried now. If Sabo was that against the idea of a relationship to threaten Izo's hair then Marco knew he better warn his cross-dressing brother not to bring up that topic whatsoever. It would be better for everyone if Izo didn't try and convince Sabo that this doctor was the one for him.
Sabo sighed heavily as he thought of the best way to explain his feelings. He didn't want to accidently offend Marco after all.
"...In every romance I have ever read about there was always something...fake about it. The concept of 'my boyfriend', or 'my girlfriend', or even of 'my partner' always seemed possessive to me. It was like; those characters gave up their freedom to be owned by another person and that's not something I ever want."
"But couldn't the same be said of the way you talk about your brothers?" Marco pointed out fairly, digesting Sabo's explanation with an understanding smile. Sabo would not be the first person on the Moby Dick to have an aversion to romantic relationships and Marco knew from experience how troubling it could be for people like Sabo to come to terms with an aversion to something so common place. But he also knew it was different for every person and he wanted to hear Sabo's feelings so he could know what he could help him with.
Sabo was shaking his head through Marco's thoughts, clearly disagreeing with him.
"My brothers are not my possessions. We hang around other people, we treat each other as equals. Even though Luffy is younger than us we don't ever try and control his life. I know Ace and I can be slightly protective (Marco snorted. They were more than slightly protective of their baby brother.) but we'd never dream of telling him he couldn't do something or be friends with someone just because we don't like it. We love each other and respect one another but in a romantic relationship you're expected to give more than just that; you're expected to give your partner your love and heart and soul, be theirs and theirs only and I hate that idea. My soul and heart are mine and mine alone. I can give other people love but I'll never give them my heart."
Marco was quiet as he digested this and Sabo instinctively curled in on himself, just in case he had made Marco angry. He knew out of the three of them he was the only one completely against the idea of a romantic partnership. Luffy didn't give two hoots one way or the other and Sabo knew, instinctively, that Ace needed someone he could give his heart and soul to, someone who could mend the cracks he and Luffy had only managed to duck tape together. But Sabo was different; he was selfish when it came to his heart but he didn't want to give it away. He was happy as he was, despite how broken society might think of him as being. He just hoped Marco wouldn't judge him for being too different.
It surprised him then when instead of getting offended Marco reached over and flicked his forehead again.
"You should talk to Haruta about this, yoi. It would do you both good. She was in a romantic relationship once and it was the most uncomfortable she had ever been in her entire life. She barely lasted two weeks with him before she broke it off and swore to never be in one again. She prefers the platonic relationships she has which is more about company and companionship than romance, yoi."
"You mean, I'm not broken for thinking this way?" Sabo whispered, turning hopeful eyes towards Marco. If other people felt like this then maybe he wasn't completely alone in a world that expected romance to blossom between anyone who happened to smile at each other.
"Not at all, yoi. Your feelings, your thoughts, your heart are things that are sacred and beautiful and you should never feel as though you are broken just by being yourself." Marco reassured him, patting his shoulder in support.
"And sometimes a person will come around who will love you as you are and respect the way you feel and sometimes they won't want a romantic relationship with anyone either and you'll be the closest of friends but something other than friends but you will build your relationship out of platonic love and respect and you won't have to every chain yourself to another person because they won't want to chain themselves to you either, yoi."
"You think someone can love me without being related to me and without love loving me?" Sabo repeated sceptically.
"That's what platonic relationships are, yoi." Marco reaffirmed, watching as the disbelief seemed to lift from Sabo's eyes, leaving something gentler, warmer in its wake.
"In a way they're purer than any other relationship: they have no hidden agendas or jealous feelings to taint them. That's what makes them so precious, yoi."
Sabo smiled happily up at him feeling like a weight in his heart had been lifted. He knew it was stupid to dislike an aspect of himself due to what society expected from him but he couldn't help it at times. Hearing any form of reassurance was good for him. In a way he was glad that it was Marco he was talking to and not Ace. Though Sabo loved his brother to pieces he was sure that if he even broached the topic of relationships Ace would get really paranoid or protective over him even if he did understand Sabo's feelings towards them.
"I'll can tell Izo to drop the subject of relationships around you, yoi. If you want me to."
"Yeah. Thanks Marco." Sabo sighed, grateful he wouldn't have to confront his dear friend about this. While he knew Izo would be understanding, he also knew that Izo had a heart sold to romance in its many shapes and sizes.
"Hey Marco, do you think you could tell Ace about this too?" he asked tentatively before rushing on at the sight of Marco's raised eyebrow.
"I just mean that Ace is likely to overreact to something like this and I don't want to be the one to tell him but at the same time I want him to know about it so he won't have to worry about me 'losing my innocence' or whatever other crap he believes romantic relationships ensue whenever a random stranger comes up to me in the street."
"He does tend to overreact to that, doesn't he, yoi?" Marco mused with an amused smile before getting up and stretching. He held out a hand to help Sabo to his feet but he declined his friend's offer.
"I'm going to stay and read for a little while longer, okay? I've finished my chores and there's not much else to do." Sabo smiled, settling back into a more comfortable position and resting his book against his legs.
"Okay but I think Izo wanted to talk to you three after Luffy and Ace finish training for the day, yoi." Marco reported, sharing one last smile with his little brother before he shifted once again and let the sapphire flames curl around him in their welcoming heat as he launched himself up into the open sky.
Up among the clouds he could see everything from the white crested waves to the moss green trees. He could see Thatch shirking his chores and lounging on the beach, could see Benn Beckman pouring over maps at the helm of the Red Force, could see the yellow and orange dots that were Ace and Luffy's hats as they darted through the thick foliage in an attempt to escape the enraged jungle animals. As a rule, if they couldn't knock them out with their Haki they weren't allowed to fight them. It had been one of the first things Shanks had insisted on when he first started training the boys.
While Marco could understand why that was he didn't appreciate seeing both of them wrapped up like mummies for the rest of the day.
It didn't help that both boys seemed to thrive off the potential risks this training ensued and spent more time grinning and enthusing their training than they did resting and taking care of their bodies.
Marco let out a shrill call, diving down through the dense forest and beating his wings furiously in front of a rhinoceros that had been chasing down his younger brothers. The rhino snorted and glared at the new obstacle between it and the two humans but recognised this creature outclassed it and quickly turned tail and ran, not willing to risk the fiery anger it could feel, pulsing in the azure feathers.
"Maarcoo..." Luffy whined, bending over and resting his arms on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. "We could have had him."
"You're not supposed to be involved." Ace grouched, looking more composed than his little brother but still slightly winded.
Marco quickly landed, shifting so he was crouched on the ground in human form. After all, he couldn't talk (scold) them as a bird.
"It's almost time for lunch, yoi. And Izo and I need to talk to you."
"I didn't do it and you have no proof that I did." Ace said quickly, holding his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
Marco narrowed his eyes.
"What haven't you done, yoi?"
"You mean this talk isn't about a prank?" Ace asked cautiously, slowly lowering his arms as he sensed he had not been in trouble.
"No but if you have pulled a prank lately or are planning on pulling a prank soon expect to be cleaning the whole second division sleeping hall by yourself, yoi."
Ace gapped at him. Didn't Marco know how many slobs were in the second division; himself not included (he had Sabo to clean up after him after all). It would take hours to sort through all that mess and knowing his fellow division members they were more likely to make more mess if they caught wind of his punishment.
"Be thankful it's not the twelfth division, yoi." Marco remarked, seeing his gobsmacked expression. That quickly stopped his gapping.
Luffy let out his special laugh, leading what he believed to be the way back home only to be corrected by Marco a few seconds later.
"Ace is in trouble, Ace is in trouble, Ace is in trouble." He sang, looking delighted at the embarrassed and angry blush his brother was sporting across his freckled face.
"Lu do yourself a favour and Shut. Up."
Luffy sucked in his lips and mimed zipping them up before grabbing both Ace and Marco's hand and swinging them happily, whistling a little song that he seemed to have made up on the spot.
"So what's this talk about if it isn't a prank?" Ace asked, resigning himself to be bored for an hour if it turned out to be a lecture about something. Probably health knowing these two.
"I don't know what Izo wants to talk to you three about but I need to talk to you Ace about something that's been bothering Sabo and he wants me to run it by you before he talks to you himself, yoi."
"He's never had problems talking to me before." Ace mused, a worried frown creasing his eyebrows. He and Sabo had always been very open with each other, never a secret between them after his heritage was revealed and the whole mess with the Grey Terminal Fire was over with. He hoped Sabo wouldn't start keeping secrets again. He knew his brother had tended to bottle things up until they exploded but he had hoped he had grown past that.
"Sabo's okay right?" Luffy asked with worried eyes, clearing thinking along the same lines as his eldest brother. He wasn't so much concerned with Sabo keeping secrets as he was with the negative side effects. What if Sabo was hurting because of this secret and they couldn't help him? He wanted to be able to help his brother, even if he didn't understand the issue completely.
"He'll be alright, yoi. This is more about clearing the air before Sabo tells you what's been bothering him." Marco hastened to reassure them, scrambling swiftly over a downed tree that had been in Ace's path several hours ago.
"He will actually tell us though?" Luffy asked, scrambling up after him before extending his hand to help Ace up.
"When he's ready he will." Marco said firmly, hoping Luffy wouldn't press his brother as soon as they got back to the ship.
Luckily Ace seemed to understand and, after they were back on the forest floor, he laid a firm hand on Luffy's shoulder. Luffy looked up at him with confused eyes and saw the warning and worry tarnish the unique silver as Ace stared back at him. His brother shook his head slowly and Luffy understood. It didn't matter if he wanted to go right up to Sabo now and demand answers; it would only end in an argument like it had when he had demanded information about Roger all those years ago.
It didn't stop him from pouting all the way back to the beach though.
As soon as they were out of the forest both of them ran towards the barbeque pit Thatch and his team of chefs had set up when they had first arrived at the island, ready to cook up any animal that happened to get too curious about the pirates that had beached by the shore. Every day, without fail, they managed to cook up a huge array of barbequed meat for the crew but they always set a colossal animal aside for each of the brothers.
"Any news of the marines?" Thatch asked as he passed Marco's plate towards him, watching Ace and Luffy tear into their lunch with an amused eye.
"None so far, yoi." Marco frowned. After the last 'attack' they hadn't heard hide nor hair of the marines although, one would think, that having two Yonkos at the same island would cause them to be in a bit of a tiff. Or at least make them deluded enough to think that this was their chance of sinking two ships with one stone (not that they ever could). But after that attack it did seem odd for them to leave like that.
"Well we'll keep an eye out for them any way." Thatch grinned, grabbing his own plate and moving to sit next to Marco on a nearby log. He took a long swig from his bottle and let out an amused chuckle as Ace fell asleep in his tomato sauce. He shared a fond look with Marco before finally tucking in to his own lunch.
"I'm surprised everyone still has an appetite from watching those two eat, yoi." Marco mused as Izo came down from the ship, dragging Sabo behind him. The blond was still clutching at his book and pouting at Izo as if the crossdresser was about to take it away from him again.
Thatch waved them over with a grin, handing the plate he had spared to Izo before pointing Sabo in the direction of his own pile.
"Eat up. And rescue your brother while you're at it, alright brat?"
Sabo rolled his eyes but did as he was told with a rueful grin, pulling his brother out of his sauce while slapping Luffy's hands away from his pile. He was actually quite hungry and he didn't want his little brother to steal all of his food again.
"He's become obsessed with that book." Izo grouched as he sat down gracefully beside the other two adults. "He won't leave it alone."
"Maybe that's because he knows you'll use it for leverage?" Thatch asked with a teasing grin, dodging the swipe Izo sent to the back of his head.
"He spends almost all his time shut up in the library or in other little hiding places, reading his books." Izo carried on as though Thatch had never spoken. "Sure books can be fascinating but it's almost like he's married to them some times."
Marco winced slightly at Izo's wording and quickly cut in before his brother started on a rant.
"I'd avoid talking about marriage around Sabo, yoi. Even if it's just an expression."
"What? Why?" Izo asked, looking slightly startled at the grim look in Marco's eyes.
"He can't stand the idea of being in a romantic relationship; can you imagine how uncomfortable he would be around the topic of marriage?"
"Are they all like that then?" Thatch asked curiously, trying his hardest not to dwell on the troubled and slightly guilty look he was starting to see in Izo's eyes. "I've noticed Luffy doesn't seem to care much about romance either. Or sex for that matter."
"I should hope not." Marco scowled, sending a disapproving look towards his best friend. "He's only fourteen."
"Almost fifteen." Thatch pointed out fairly, reminding them that there was barely a month in between them and Luffy's birthday now.
"Out of the three of them only Ace seems to know what sex is though." Izo pointed out with a worried frown, taking the others by surprise. "I noticed it at Sabo's birthday party. No matter what sexual pick up lines were aimed at him, Sabo simply didn't seem to understand them even though Ace got really mad about it."
The colour seemed to have drained from Thatch's face.
"If you're saying that one of us will have to give them The Talk then you can count me out right now."
Izo scowled at him, un-amused. Didn't he realise how dangerous this was? People could easily take advantage of two of their little brothers now because they wouldn't realise if a threat had sexual undertones to it and Izo wasn't about to let their innocence be ripped from them so harshly. Better to let them know gently and prepare them for unwanted sexual encounters than let them go blindly on their way with no clue as to what might happen to them.
"Sabo's eighteen Thatch, and a pirate at that. He needs to know about these things." He persisted. Sure he may be slightly biased in his persistence (he still remembered what had happened to his mother when she turned down the sexual demands of that client) but he didn't want to see one of his dearest friends hurt because they didn't educate him when they had the ability to.
"Sabo may need to know but Luffy doesn't, yoi. Let him be a little kid for a little longer." Marco frowned, looking over at Luffy with soft, worried eyes.
"You just don't want to admit your baby is growing up." Thatch muttered before avoiding another swipe to his head, courtesy of Marco this time.
"None of us like to acknowledge that Luffy's growing up but at least wait until he's sixteen, yoi." Marco advised, ignoring Thatch's mumbled warning about not aiming for his hair. "Until then we can protect him as we always have done, and he's got his big brothers to look out for him too Izo. You know they'd never let anything happen to their little brother."
Izo bit his lip, looking over to the three brothers with worried eyes. It's all well and good for Marco to say that they'd protect Luffy but when they were alone who would protect them then? He knew Ace had a bad habit of wondering off whenever they were at a new island and Sabo was impossible to find if he was wanted to stay hidden.
Marco sighed, clearly seeing that his brother wasn't about to give up on this.
"You can speak to Sabo and Ace about this, yoi. But leave Luffy out of it. He's only fourteen and I doubt Ace or Sabo would be very happy with you if you tried to tell him about the Birds and the Bees."
Izo huffed but consented reluctantly with nod of his head. It didn't settle well with him that they were leaving their baby brother to defend himself against a threat he didn't even know about. Was it so wrong that he wanted to give Luffy knowledge in a way that would protect his innocence rather than have it destroyed by a stranger who thought they could try it on with him?
Lunch continued on in a stilted silence between the two of them as Thatch awkwardly sat in the middle and prayed for an excuse to move away from them. But who would have thought this seating arrangement would turn into silent battlefield between ship-brothers?
"Sooo how about that training, huh? I think I'm going to go ask our little brothers about how good Shanks' training is. Just to make sure he's training them right. Just being a concerned older brother." Thatch said with an awkward laugh before bolting from the log over towards the oblivious teenagers, almost getting decapitated by a spare rib in his haste to get away from Marco and Izo.
"Save me." He whispered hoarsely as he ducked behind Ace's pile and peeked over his shoulder to see if Marco and Izo had seen through his subtle means of escape. Judging by their glares and Luffy's muffled giggling they probably had.
"Wha-ya-do-dish-tim?" Ace asked through a mouthful of food, turning curious eyes to his hiding friend.
"In English please?" Thatch asked. Although the cook had had quite a lot of experience with food-speak sometimes the three brothers seemed to have a dialect of their own and Thatch was still trying to learn the different accents and stresses they used according to what food was in their mouths at the time.
"He said: What did you do this time?" Luffy translated with a grin, reaching round to punch Sabo on the back to dislodge to pork ribs that were making themselves at home in the blond's windpipe. How Sabo managed to almost die everytime they had a meal Luffy didn't know but it was always entertaining to see his pale brother turn all the different colours of the rainbow.
"Well I didn't take a side in their argument and escaped as soon as I could. No pranks, I swear!" He exclaimed, seeing their disbelieving looks. Honestly; pranks weren't the only ways he got on Marco's nerves. Making wedding jokes about him and Shanks also managed to tick him off. Then again he had been doing that way before Luffy made them his 'Mama' and 'Papa' so that development probably hadn't helped.
"What are they arguing about?" Sabo wondered before stealing back another stack of ribs from Ace.
"Whether they should give Luffy 'The Talk' or not. Izo already set on giving it to you and Ace seems to be the only one to have had it so now they're arguing whether to tell Luffy now or when he's sixteen and of age." Thatch explained with a shrug, not seeming to notice how pale his freckled friend had gotten.
"...Excuse me?" Ace asked in a frigidly polite tone that clearly told Thatch that if Ace had heard him correctly then he would be burying two of his best friends later.
"Ace it's not that big of a deal. Luffy still gets to be innocent and I'm honestly shocked Sabo doesn't know already."
"They're too young!" Ace squawked, waving his hands in the air in agitation and spilling most of his meat onto Luffy's plate who devoured it like a ravenous wolf.
"I'm your age." Sabo cried indignantly, wanting to know what they were talking about.
"You're still innocent and it's staying that way." Ace barked back, not wanting to relive the traumatic memories of Dadan (looking about as uncomfortable as he was feeling now) sitting him down when he was fifteen and explaining all about the 'Birds and Bees'. He hadn't spoken to her for a week after that, nor could he even look at her without blushing scarlet. His little brothers, bless their innocent hearts, had thought he was ill and tried their best to make him feel better. He was not going to inflict that on their still pure minds!
"Ace I'm about as innocent as you are right now!" Sabo protested, getting really sick of his brother's denial to see how corrupted he was, "The only innocent one here is Luffy!"
Luffy was watching them both like a tennis match, sneaking parts of their meals into his mouth as his eyes darted this way and that. He didn't really care if Ace was keeping something from them; if it meant he got more meat he would gladly let Sabo do the arguing for their sakes while he got to sit back and watch his brothers turn pretty colours.
"Look Ace, you'll have to take this up with Izo if you want to argue about it. Whether you like it or not, Izo is dead set on talking to Sabo about this and making sure Sabo knows what other dangers there are in the world and how some people might attempt to take advantage of his innocence. The only reason Izo has consented to not tell Luffy is because of his age. Sabo's been old enough to know for two years now and it's slightly ridiculous that you've tried to shelter him this much."
Thatch sighed and looked up at his gaping friend. While he understood the urge to make sure nothing bad ever happened to younger siblings, not arming them with knowledge was a foolhardy thing to do.
"He's no longer a little kid Ace. Sabo is a young man now and he deserves a little bit of trust from his older brother in letting him take care of himself."
Sabo beamed at him as Ace deflated a little bit. He hadn't meant to come across as distrusting towards Sabo: it was actually the complete opposite. He trusted Sabo too much, confided in him the worst parts of himself that he didn't even let Luffy know. Sabo knew the darkness inside Ace and that's why Ace was desperate to keep some part of Sabo innocent. So that he hadn't become completely corrupted just by knowing him.
Sabo seemed to guess at his thoughts because he punched him, hard, in the arm.
"Ouch! Don't use Haki on me you asshat!" Ace yelped, rubbing his sore arm as Sabo smirked and Luffy giggled madly.
"Why learn it if I couldn't use it?" Sabo teased, sticking his tongue out and dodging with a laugh as Ace lunged for him, starting a strange version of tickle-tag. Thatch and Luffy just laughed as the two of them managed to get sand all over themselves in their haste to avoid each other's tickling. Which, of course, gave Luffy more opportunities to steal their food.
"So, how's training with Shanks?" Thatch asked, turning to look at Luffy and ignoring the other two brothers for the moment.
Luffy beamed up at him, seeming to get excited just by the mention of his training.
"It's awesome! Sure some of the animals are really mean and I don't get why we can't fight them but it's pretty cool and it's helping us train our Observation Haki with all the dodging we have to do." He chirped, turning to look at the forest with a determined grin on his face. It really was just like back home; the animals were even similar sizes. He knew this was important training and he wanted to at least know what his Conqueror's Haki felt like again so that he'd know if he was using it in a fight. Shanks had explained to him that sometimes the Haki reacts instinctively and that nakama could also be hurt if that happened.
He didn't want to hurt anyone on the Moby Dick or any of his future nakama. They were precious, family, and needed to be protected!
"It sounds like you're having fun." Thatch smiled, glad Luffy was enjoying himself but growing slightly concerned over the shadows that had momentarily clouded those bright eyes. What could possibly be going on in that rubber brain, Thatch only had a slim chance at guessing.
"I don't like the afternoon training; that's boring." Luffy pouted, poking at a bone with a mulish expression on his face. That soon changed though as across the beach a very familiar red head was heading towards them.
The rest of the food seemed to vanish in an instant and Luffy temporarily inflated as he swallowed it all before leaping to his feet and dashing over to the red-haired captain, flinging himself into the man's chest with a gleeful giggle. Shanks' arm automatically came round to catch him, a blinding grin on his face at Luffy's welcome.
"Hey Anchor, ready for some more training?"
"Sure!" Luffy cheered before looking over at his brothers with a pout. "Ace is still playing with Sabo though."
Shanks looked over and saw Ace and Sabo chucking sand at each other as they both tried to get closer to tickle the other but at the same time keep out of tickling distance.
"Do you want to join in?" Shanks asked with a childish gleam in his eyes, taking Luffy giggle as an affirmative statement.
He quickly charged down the beach, tackling Ace as the raven almost succeeded in getting a hold of Sabo, and jabbing his fingers into his side. Ace let out a high pitched squeal of laughter and quickly tried to roll away from the red haired man. Sabo was bent over double, his sides shaking from laughter as he watched Ace try, unsuccessfully, to escape Shanks' tickling wrath. What he didn't expect was for his own baby brother to sneak attack him, causing a shrill giggle to escape him as Luffy dug his fingers into Sabo's lower back.
"Luffy you little shit!" Sabo panted as he broke away from the dangerous fingers, whirling around to stare at the giggling menace in disbelief and joy. Luffy knew all too well that Sabo's back was extremely sensitive (even a pat on the back was sometimes enough to send him into hysterics) and he had deliberately aimed for it. This meant war.
With a battle cry Sabo dived towards Luffy, sending him running with a scream of joy, only to find his path blocked by Shanks who had grown bored with targeting Ace and was now going after Sabo.
"Real example of maturity right there, yoi." Marco deadpanned, turning to stare at Izo as they watched from the sidelines as Thatch got dragged in to act as Luffy's human shield from Ace's wriggling fingers.
"Oh shut it." Izo griped with a good-natured smile, shoving Marco's face away from him as he watched the boys (and men but let's face it: Thatch and Shanks were really five year olds trapped in the bodies of adult men) battle it out amongst the sand.
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"So remember; you have to first become conscious of your power. If you don't understand it or you don't understand the feel of it, you won't be able to recognise when it's reacting subconsciously and you certainly won't be able to call on it at will in a fight."
Shanks smiled gently as both raven haired brothers let out a deep sigh, eyes closed and concentrating as hard as they could. Meditation was one of the things Roger had suggested Shanks do when it had first occurred to him that Shanks possessed Conqueror's Haki. It had helped him a great deal with calming down his anger which in turn had helped him learn control. It had been frustrating at the start but then, as he had started to understand more and practise more often, a whole new part of himself had opened up in front of his eyes.
Rivers of pure energy had been flowing through his veins and Shanks hadn't even noticed until he had felt every ebb and flow, perfectly in-tune with the beating of his heart, echo harmoniously around him. His Haki was similar to the waves of the sea, calm and gently most days but when he got angry it became a tempest; lashing and rolling inside of him until he had to let it out in an all-destructive force of a tsunami, crashing into people and bowling them over at the sheer force of energy and willpower.
Controlling his Haki at the start had been like trying to control the sea: impossible. Every time he tried it had just become more and more explosive (as Buggy could happily testify to). That was until he had learned to live with it in the same way he lived with the rolling tides of the ocean. He was calm on a calm day when his Haki was relaxed and gentle, and whenever he felt the stirrings of anger he would immediately split a part of his mind to check how his Haki was reacting and would react accordingly, much like he would if a storm suddenly hit whilst they were sailing. They had to take in the sails, tie themselves to supports, or go under the deck and put their lives in their navigators' hands.
Shanks didn't know whether it would be the same for Ace and Luffy as they had only discovered that they had Conqueror's Haki in the past few months. It took him a long time to master his control but his Haki had been a lot more volatile than either of these two boys. By the time he was twelve and Roger had found him he knew all too well that something was wrong with him and that making people faint everytime he got angry was not a normal thing that happened. Ace was eighteen and Luffy was almost fifteen and their Haki had only showed itself in stressful situations according to the Whitebeards he had talked to about it.
That could mean that they might have an easier time at learning control and controlling it than Shanks did. After all, they didn't have years to learn. As long as they got meditation down and then worked on building up their awareness of it in battle then they should be able to continue learning without his guidance.
"Also try not to fall asleep again Luffy; you don't have the narcolepsy excuse to fall back on."
The forest chirped and rustled around them as Ace and Luffy continued with the breathing techniques Shanks had showed them, listening to his soothing voice as he tried to talk them through finding their inner place and from there, finding the door to unlocking their Haki.
Ace had thought it was ridiculous when he had first heard of it and Luffy had declared it boring not five minutes in. But when they had complained to Sabo about it their blond brother had sat them down for a lecture of a lifetime all about appreciating the wisdom of people who share the same experiences and how they should be appreciative of the fact Shanks was willing to teach them at all. He had also raised the excellent point that it seemed to have worked for Shanks and since then both Ace and Luffy had tried their best in understanding this strange exercise.
But it was hard work.
Luffy had the attention span of a flea sometimes and with all the interesting roars and rushes of the forest around them he had to bury himself in the ground in an attempt to stay still and not go running off to explore.
Ace had a better attention span but that didn't mean it was any easier for him. He was used to doing things at his own pace and got frustrated when things went too slowly for him. This exercise was a lot like the patience exercises Sabo used to make him do when they were kids and the blond had gotten fed up of Ace's temper.
It was boring and it was frustrating, and just as he had six years ago he struggled to stay conscious for most of it.
But at the same time... Something was happening, he knew himself well enough to know that. Sometimes he would get glimpses of a rush that flooded his veins but it was always hazy and broken at best, as fragile as a butterfly's wing beat it fleeted and flittered away from him as soon as he tried to concentrate on it again.
"...Don't try and force it...let yourself relax...if you feel something just accept it; don't try and chase after it. All things that are chased tend to run away..."
Shanks smiled kindly at the two boys, seeing their shoulders loosen slightly. The frown of concentration on Luffy's face lessened slightly while Ace seemed to become more peaceful. There was a reason he started meditation during the afternoon. After getting to know Ace better he had come to the conclusion (or rather Benn had) that Ace tended to have his narcolepsy fits during the morning, lunch time, and early evening for the most part. There were still unexpected ones but this way Ace could concentrate and slip into his subconscious without fully falling asleep.
Luffy on the other hand was more likely to be calm after a morning of being chased through the forest when he had the chance to dispel any excess energy. This was a slightly double-edged sword however as it made Luffy more susceptible to falling asleep in these sessions as well.
"...Now do you remember the house you visited yesterday?... I want you to visit that house again today but this time take note of the path you're walking on to get to it; is it made out of stone? Is it a cobbled path? Is it not a path at all, just a familiar stretch of grass or ground? ... Once you know your path look around at your surroundings...where are you? Are you in a forest? By the ocean? In the mountains or in a city?"
Luffy took a deep breath. This was the only part that came easy to him. Yesterday he could picture a very familiar tree house in his mind only there were a few differences. The tree they had built it in was different. It was an ash tree with its roots folded over themselves. They spilled from the soil and arced and ducked, weaving together in an elaborate pattern that spanned the clearing their house was now in. The emerald green branches lifted gracefully into the sky, allowing warm sunlight to filter through and bask the clearing in an ethereal spring glow. A gentle breath blew the dulled scent of morning dew and a strangely tart smell towards him, and for the first time Luffy noticed the apple blossoms that were wrapped around the roots of the tree.
The path was clear to him, the arching roots creating a tunnelled canopy that lead him towards the base of the tree. Buttercups and baby's breaths bloomed alongside the path whilst wrens flitted and twittered in the hazy summer shadows. Salt crystals blossomed above him, glittering as he made his way through the tunnel of roots, closed anemones glistening at him like precious rubies. The grass was soft beneath his feet and it tickled his skin slightly as he approached their home. Right at the very end of the path blood-red hibiscus flowers waved lazily at him in the non-existent breeze, welcoming him back home.
Ace however was imagining something very different. As always he was walking down a damp, stone path, not even that bothered by the darkness all around him. When he had first discovered this place within him he had been terrified (alone in the dark in a place that was supposed to be his inner self, his inner place of peace; it was almost proof for everything he had ever feared about himself) yet he know knew this road well enough to no longer stumble blindly. He knew if he kept on walking the way he was then soon he would be home again. Almost as if they responded to his thoughts silver fireflies bobbed into sight, casting moonlight against the damp walls of the sea cave he was in. One settled itself in his hair whilst the others led him out of the cave system and out into the bright sunlight.
What fireflies were doing out in the daytime he didn't spare a thought for, nor for why they were silver. He was too relieved at the sight of the little cottage that was nestled safely at the edge of a pine forest, overlooking the tall cliffs and open seas. At the mouth of the cave Ace halted for a moment and looked down at the silver sand that created a path of glittering stardust up to the quaint little house. It was soft on his feet (he really needed to find put where his shoes kept disappearing off to everytime he went inside his conscience like this) and slipped easily off his skin like it was actually water. The house itself was quite small, only one story high but camellias and chrysanthemums bloomed in the windowsills. Young rowans boughed their heads at the doorway, sheltering all inside with their dark hair and blood red eyes. A gate kept outsiders at bay whilst apple and cherry trees grew in the little walled garden surrounding the front. However when he looked out towards the cliff edge all he could see were the gentle swaying of ruby petals as a garden of hibiscus flowers opened up before him, making him smile a little sadly though he did not know the reason.
It was peaceful.
Peace was something neither teenager was very accustomed to and to have such beautiful places always so close was something they could get used to having.
"...Now try and feel the energy flowing through this place...what does it feel like? Is it volatile? Peaceful? Calm? Angry?...once you find that energy try and get a sense for where it's coming from...don't try to follow it back to its source just yet...just get to know it first..."
Inside his mind Luffy looked around in confusion. What did Shanks mean by energy? What was he supposed to be looking for?
"Do you know what he's on about?" Luffy asked a curious wren that had hopped down from one of the higher roots. The tiny bird merely blinked at him and tilted its head in confusion.
Luffy couldn't help but agree; he was pretty confused by what Shanks had meant too. This place was so peaceful the most energetic things in here were the birds and Luffy himself. The raven haired boy flopped down onto the dewy grass with a huff, pouting as the wren followed him down and pecked curiously at his fingers.
"Hey stop that: that tickles." Luffy giggled slightly before shutting his eyes with a sigh, pressing an ear to the ground as he prepared to take a quick nap.
"Don't fall asleep Luffy or its fifteen laps around the island and I'll get Ace and Sabo to ambush you as you're running."
Shanks' warning didn't reach Luffy's mind however. As soon as he had placed his ear to the ground a thrum of energy beat underneath him, almost as if the ground had a heart beat.
He jumped back to his feet, startling his little wren friend as he rushed to the nearest root and pressed his ear against the pale, earthy flesh. Almost at once he felt the same thrum of energy again. This time though he waited and soon enough a few seconds after the first one came another and another after that one too. Hesitantly he placed a hand on his heart and gasped in surprise when they beat at the same time. This energy was in tune with his heart!
Luffy's eyes flew open with a gasp only to find an amused looking Shanks sitting opposite him and his brother still deep in his own self-conscious.
"Wha-" Luffy tried to ask a question, get some answers about the mysterious second heart beat but Shanks held a finger up to his lips in a gesture for Luffy not to speak, tilting his head to the side to indicate that Ace was still figuring out the exercise and Luffy needed to be quiet or his concentration might slip.
The youngest brother sighed unhappily but nodded to show he understood, falling gracelessly to the ground and trying to calm down his racing heart. It wouldn't be fair to Ace if he interrupted after all.
Meanwhile in Ace's mind he was having a little more success with the exercise as he had listened to more of Shanks' first explanation of their Haki than Luffy did. Or more accurately, he had remembered it better.
With a deep breath he looked back towards the cave system, knowing that he was more likely to get to know the 'energy' inside of him near the place of most energy. Where was that place in his mind? The ocean. And how did he get to the ocean without falling off the cliff? Going through the sea caves.
All the same he wasn't too enthusiastic about entering those dark, damp tunnels again. The shadows were full of whispers, secretive words that slumbered within him, hissing and taunting as he passed through the murky depth. Usually he wasn't scared of the dark but the darkness inside of him was a whole other story.
A rustling sound drew his attention away from the mouth of the cave to where the little silver firefly was still nestled in the ashen waves of his hair.
"Hey there little one, my hair isn't a nest you know." Ace reached up and gently cupped the small bug, bringing it down so it was cradled in his hands. The bug seemed to nuzzle into his palm slightly before beating its wings and hovering in front of him, bobbing slightly in the direction of the cave entrance.
"Will you come with me?" Ace asked, fears abating slightly as with the first few steps he took the firefly danced in the air beside him. Maybe with a little friend along for the ride it wouldn't be so scary.
The glowing bug seemed to bob a little more enthusiastically and Ace took that to mean agreement. And so with a very strange part of his sub-consciousness bobbing along in front of him he ventured slightly further into the sea cave system.
The darkness was still suffocating and the walls still emitted a haunting chill that not even his fire could burn away but it was slightly more bearable. In the silver light of the firefly salt crystals gleamed and glittered along the rounded walls, growing in size the deeper he went.
...Drip...Drip...Drip...
Droplets of water steadily dripped down from the ceiling. Curious, Ace reached out to catch one on his finger and stuck it in his mouth. He should have expected it to be salty. He was in a network of caves that lead to the sea after all. But usually he could tell the difference between fresh water and sea water. A single drop of sea water was enough to make him feel mildly tired, like a narcoleptic attack was incoming in the next ten minutes. You needed a river of fresh water to make him feel the same way. He hadn't felt a thing though.
Could that mean that the sea within his mind wouldn't hurt him?
(He had discovered that he could still get hurt when he had tripped over a rock on his first visit here and stubbed his toe quite badly. He had also cut his palm open on the rough stone but stubbed toes hurt more.)
It was something to ponder that was for sure.
He had intended to go all the way down to the sea, or at least as close to the sea as he could get. That plan didn't exactly work out.
He had been following the crash and call of the sea as it echoed along the stone walls, intent on getting to the main source of energy in his mind. But at some point in his wanderings, maybe he turned down the wrong passage way, he came across an underwater cave instead. One of the reasons he noticed it was that a pale green light was pulsing across the halite crystals, growing stronger and more vibrant the closer he got to it.
After so long with just the silver light of his firefly friend it was a strange relief to do something different.
He entered the cave with very little caution, thinking that there was nothing to hurt him within his own mind. Crystals of every size, shape and colour grew out of the stone all around him. Vibrant blue turquoise sprouted from the corners of the cave, pearly shimmering gypsum ran in veins around the walls, blood red garnets littered the ground like bloody raindrops, twinkling merrily up at him. In the middle of the cave a pool of water sprung from the ground, clear as the quartz crystals that hung from the ceiling. In the middle of the pool was the source of the pulsating light.
A towering gem grew from the cave water like some form of crystalline tree, fragmented tendrils anchoring it to the banks of the pool. It was pulsing and glowing and growing brighter and brighter the more Ace looked at it. He didn't even notice his bug flying away as fast as it could, too distracted by the brilliant radiance that was still burning intensely in front of him. Soon the light was too much and he tried to close his eyes to the blinding beams but it seared and burned and hurt the insides of his eyes, stinging them even when closed as the comforting blackness failed to envelope his aching irises.
It was too painful! It hurt. He was going to be blind.
He resurfaced into reality with a violent gasp, bending over as ragged breaths forced themselves out his chest, a shaking hand pressed to his eyes to shield them from the sunlight that was filtering down through the canopy above. He could vaguely feel a worried hand shaking his shoulder and a soothing voice talking above him but everything was dimmed, faint; unimportant in the face of the pain radiating from his eyes.
"-st Ace...keep your eyes closed... lay down if that helps...Luffy stop shaking him he's already shaking without your help...rest now Blossom... rest your eyes..."
Ace was only too glad to do as the gentle voice told him to, laying down on the cool grass with an exhausted sigh. The fresh blades tickled his skin and a serene breeze blew lazily through the clearing. Shanks and Luffy traded worried looks as they watch Ace all but collapse onto the ground of their summer glade. Shanks hoped Ace hadn't seen anything too traumatic in his mind, hoped his exercise hadn't scarred the poor teenager.
Luffy lay down beside his older brother, still clinging to his arm but in a gentle grip now as opposed to the worried firmness of moments before. But Ace had worried him a lot. It was scary to see your infallible brother suddenly turn pale and when he had started to shake Luffy had immediately latched to his side, his own relaxation forgotten. Because something had hurt Ace. Something had hurt him badly.
Ace was still cradling his head in his hands, doing anything to shield his eyes from the outside world. The red film of his eyelids was still lit up in an angry orange flame, illuminating the thin veins and nerves that were held together in the thin skin. He could feel a headache begin to form, throbbing behind his temples.
"...That...hurt..." he grunted and was surprised at how rough his voice was. It was almost as he had spent the last five minutes screaming his lungs out.
"What happened?" Shanks asked, leaning over to run soothing fingers through the ebony waves. He was very much freaking out on the inside and would no doubt be screaming about this later to Benn but right now Ace needed him to be the calm adult and needed someone to explain whatever had just happened within Ace's subconscious.
"...There was a light...it kept getting brighter...it hurt..."
"Like when you stare at the sun for too long?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in worry.
Ace nodded and immediately wished he hadn't. The motion had done nothing to slow down the building headache.
"No more training for the rest of the day." Shanks said decisively and it was a testament to how worried Luffy was that he didn't even complain. Usually they finished the day with a bit of physical training but Shanks doubted Ace would be able to cope with that when he wouldn't even take his hands off his face.
The red head gently leaned over and wrapped his arm around Ace's shoulders, hoisting him up into a seated position. Apart from the groan that left him, Ace gave no indication that he even felt the movement. Luffy scrambled up and, working together with Shanks, lifted Ace up into a standing position. Then, with Shanks' arm around his shoulders and Luffy's arm around his waist, the three slowly made their way back to the beach, guiding and supporting the elder raven.
Marco met them on the beach, having seen them stumble out of the forest from his perch on the railings. He crossed over to them with a concerned frown, looking even more worried when he caught sight of the state Ace was in.
"What did you do, yoi?" he hissed at Shanks as he bent over slightly to try and peer at Ace's face. He took a hold of his chin and tilted his head so it was shielded from the dying sun before gently trying to remove Ace's hands from his eyes.
"Ace saw something incredibly bright during his training. That's all he could tell me." Shanks replied, not at all bothered by Marco's harsh tone as he squeezed Ace's shoulder in support, trying to get him to lower his hands.
It took a lot of coaxing from Marco but eventually Ace consented to stop shielding his eyes and, blinking rapidly in the light of the setting sun, he finally pulled his hands away and smiled weakly at them.
"How's your vision?" Marco asked gently, peering into Ace's eyes as if to check for damage.
"Spotty." Ace replied after a while with a weak laugh. Black patches fuzzed in and out of his vision as lights danced behind closed eyelids.
"Looks like you're going to see Lena with Sabo later, yoi. I want to make sure nothing serious comes out of this." Because if Ace ended up partially blind because of Shanks' stupid training then someone was going to die. And if that someone had red hair and was clawed to death by an angry bird, Marco wasn't saying anything.
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"For the last time Izo leave Sabo alone!"
You would think the infirmary would be a quiet place, full of consideration for those unwell and being treated. Sometimes this was the case but more often it was the opposite. Both Ace and Sabo had been marched to the infirmary by Marco and were now getting their eyes checked up on. Sabo was pouting due to fact he wasn't allowed to read after the sun had gone down now lest he make his eyesight worse before Lena had the chance to make him a pair of reading glasses. Ace was glaring at Izo who had followed them to the infirmary, intent on giving both brothers a lecture about sexual health and the dangers of rape and how to look out for perverts. Needless to say Ace was having none of it; he had already been traumatised enough by Dadan attempting the very same thing with him three years ago.
"Ace the nurses agree with me that you two need to be educated in this unless you want a babysitter at every island we visit." Izo snapped, hands on hips and glaring at his stubborn little brother.
Sabo let out a bored sigh and sunk lower in his chair. He didn't understand why Ace was so against them learning whatever Izo wanted to speak about. Any knowledge could be utilised and it was always best to know as much as you could.
"What are they even arguing about?" Sabo whispered to Lena as the optics nurse started packing away her stuff.
Lena pushed her brown hair out of her face, pulling it over her shoulder to see the arguing pair better.
"They're arguing about whether to give you two a course in sexual education. Ace obviously doesn't want to go through it again and Izo's shocked you've never had it. Neither of them know about the fact you read up on it after your party, do they?" She asked with a secretive smile, turning amused eyes to the exasperated blond.
"Nope. Though Ace really should know me better." Sabo grumbled before getting up and whacking his brother solidly on the back of the head.
"Stop arguing over something so idiotic. I read medical books for fun, remember? I already know about s.t.d's and about procreation so I know about the dangers and how not to knock up a random I girl I might sleep with. So can you please stop arguing over a pointless subject?"
Ace gaped up at him, seemingly taken about by the fact Sabo not only knew about sex but knew enough about it to deem a lecture useless. Izo was frowning at him, not completely believing him.
"Then explain how you didn't understand what 'drinking Marco' meant?"
Sabo blushed slightly but not as much as Ace did. With a groan the raven buried his crimson face in his hands, wishing that he didn't drink so much that night and open his big mouth.
"Can we please just forget that happened?" Ace's whining was ignored as Sabo shuffled awkwardly under the intense scrutiny of one of his closest friends.
"...Do you remember the book Ace got me for my birthday? The one about what to do about perverts? I read it because I was curious and it mentioned it in there." Sabo explained awkwardly, unable to believe they were even having this conversation.
There was a very awkward pause between the three of them. What were you supposed to say to something like this? Izo knew this was going to be a fairly uncomfortable conversation any way and that was before he knew Sabo had done his own research.
"So does that mean you've read something other than that mythology book?" he asked at an attempt to clear the awkward air. Sabo looked at him and let out a little laugh at how uncomfortable everyone looked, glad for the change of subject.
"I have but I've still got a lot to go through. And I still want to finish my devil fruit book though I can't read until tomorrow." He pouted over at Lena but received no change in orders. Not being able to read into the night was going to suck so much it wasn't even funny.
"But anyway the blushing mess that used to resemble my older brother needs to get his butt down to the kitchens before Thatch comes and grabs him." With that said Sabo grabbed Ace by the arm and started to drag him out of the infirmary. He knew Thatch wouldn't make Ace cook with his vision going wonky like it was but that didn't mean he wouldn't get punished from skipping out on kitchen duty.
"Come along brother dearest, let's go tell Thatch all about your love for pineapple juice."
A/N: Aaaand finally it's done! Like I said at the start I hope that clears up some confusion, sorry if it's confused you even more, and please leave a review telling me what you'd all like as a thank you gift for getting this story to 403 reviews! R&R~
Di Bee- Hey~ Your review came through just as I had finished this chapter so I'm so glad I managed to catch it XD. Thank you so much, I love mythology and mythical creatures so much that I can't help but compare them and it's a bit of foreshadowing for what's going to happen in a few chapters time.
That sounds like quite the party XD Those would be very interesting partners though I can certainly see why you put them together. Yohohoho SKULL JOKE~ The only kind of pun I can stand~ I might write a separate fic about that seeing as they won't meet the SH till the sequel and I might forget by then, plus it would most likely happen just before Sabaody or just after time skip due to Brook being the last to join...
Appearance wise and slightly personality wise too. While Sabo is reckless and protective when it comes to Luffy he is also calmer and slightly more responsible than Ace. They're different but similar enough to create harmony between them and that why I love them both so much.
That's fine~ Ship what you want to ship, just don't come after my ships with a cannon and we'll be good XD.
Well I'm flattered this is your first review. Thank you very much for taking the time to write one out~
Wordlet- Yeah I'm kinda trying to give you a lot of fluff now so you have soft stuff to fall back on in a few chapters time.
HandsomeAngel- Oh wow! Thank you so much. I'm sorry for the horrid writing at the start and I applaud your ability to read through it three times in the same day! Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter despite it being slightly boring
ASL-LOVE – Oh my gosh thank you so much! Unfortunately I can't slip in the Cosplay story into this story but because you were my 400th review I will try to write a one shot about it, is that alright? Also similar problem with the second: I already have this story planned out and something pretty dark is already coming up so I'm hesitant to include Luffy being captured and sold to nobles. However I can try and do another short story using this plot point in the same universe if you'd like? Sorry That I can't add in your wonderful suggestions but I will try to at least write them out some other way! Thank you so much for your lovely words!
VanillaMilkshake18- Yup, funny how that works out XP
Guest 1 #1- Hello~ I'm guessing you're the same guest how sent a whole series of reviews over the course of a week right? Because I'm going to try and answer your reviews in a sequence if that's okay. But yeah, Red-haired pirates are now on the scene! Or at least for a little while XD Their bond is adorable and so cute to explore~
Logic and One Piece are incompatible XD Always better to laugh than try and make sense of it all.
A lot of protectiveness over Marco after the last chapter XD Ahh if only it was that simple but alas, that particular Master dies only of old age :'( No protective siblings ended his possession over our pineapple birb.
Guest 1 #2 – I'm glad Law is amusing you XD Dog-piled and tickle wars are the same thing right? XP
Guest 1 #3- Yup! He's certainly going to understand the Grand Line better that's for sure.
Oh Marco, Sabo and Ace are all going to be fretting and worrying away about their baby brother and when the crew meet Ace and Sabo in Alabasta they're both going to have quite a lot to say to them all XD Don't worry though, these big brothers will make sure the Straw Hats understand how to take care of Luffy and how much he means to the Whitebeards.
Guest 1 #4- He doesn't! Luffy has even said that the reason he didn't want to wear Nami's coat wasn't because it was 'girly' but because he thought it was ugly. Luffy doesn't give a crap about gender so why should clothes be an exception? Nami has worn skirts sometimes but that's about it and she didn't wear them all too often. But I've seen pictures of Luffy wearing rompers and skorts and it's super cute and doesn't obstruct his fighting style. And rompers sometimes have pockets in them so that fixes that problem XD However nothing can be done about overprotective nakama XD
Luffy loves anything as long as it 'flies' around him and gives him room to move~
Guest 1 #5- Yeah these brothers are terrifying and amazing~ And gorgeous, can't forget that p
Guest 1 #6- Yeah not so much XD More like traumatised.
Guest 1 #7- Papa Shanks forever!
Guest 1 #8- Nah, it doesn't count~
Guest 1 #9- Exactly~ Devil fruit altered bodies fascinate me so much! I love exploring theories about them and coming up with my own XD Oh dear, that sounds pretty uncomfortable. I hope it hasn't damaged your internal systems as well as your growth.
And thank you so much for all those lovely reviews~ Thanks for reading my story and reviewing the chapters you liked!
zulqar95- Aww thank you very much! I'm so glad you like this story and it's made you laugh and cry. (sorry for making you cry but at the same time I'm glad you got to feel the emotions~) Lu's birthday is still a few chapters away unfortunately. Sorry!
Marco is life- Bae I can't put Marco in every chapter! I'm sorry but you know about the thing that's happening soon so I hope you can take this Marco included chapter and wait for the big thing that's coming!
Guest 2- Here's an update~ OTL sorry it's taken so long...
Vivianne95- Platonic Sabo/Law and possible Marco/Ace. Might as well come out and say it but there's going to be very little of it.
Guest 3- I wish I could have update :'( Sorry for missing Luffy's actual birthday...
DMCP- He is a very hot mess isn't he? XD The sad thing is I know what amv you watched now XD I have spent hours trolling though them and I'm not even ashamed. But I'm glad you like Marians Trench now, they're a pretty amazing band! Another great one which I might be using soon is The Cab, more specifically their album Symphony Soldier; definetly recomend it and I will definetley be trying to use it at some point.
Soorrry! But you need that fluff for later, trust me on this! Capter 21 and Chapter 23, that's all I'm going to say! And yes Jenca is going to reappear but in Chapter 23. *goes off to sob in heartbreak*
Fun fact: Vice-Admiral Strawberry is the Vice-Admiral that leads the Buster Call attack on Enies Lobby :D
*Whistling innocently* Nooothing...
ChaosofNightMoonlightKiller- It was a maginificant battle that will change the course of history for teddy bears everywhere!
Guest 4- Good for you?
Zoroconite- Truly a life changing battle. Many limbs were lost in that great sacrifise.
Cassie18- Well I don't know why I'm even bother to reply to this review seeing as you will no longer be reading this story but I might as well. While I understand not wanting to read something that has notp's of yours I cannot say that this review didn't hurt me a lot. I have said in authors notes and in review replies that there was the possibility of pairings in this story. The only reason why it's not in the description is because it won't fit. There is a limit on characters in the description and so I couldn't add it in. I'm sorry but it's obvious to me that you have not been reading the authors notes and as such it is your loss that you did not know. I am sorry and I haven't even included anything that can be taken as a relationship other than the growing friendship between Sabo and Law. Again, I'm sorry you feel as though I betrayed you but I have said before about pairings.
As for your point on Luffy: I know I write him childishly but he is fourteen, he's starting to live out his dream, and he has his brothers by his side. In my expiriance children tend to act younger when they're with siblings and I tend to write from my own experiences. And since when were hugs defined as childish? The only other time he physically interacts with someone in a way that indicates his age is when he's interacting with Whitebeard. May I say that Marco only comes up to Whitebeard's hip? Luffy is fourteen with the hieght of a twelve year old: he is tiny compared to Whitebeard so of course I'm going to choose my words to reflect that. I'm sorry that you can no longer read this fic and I'm sorry you feel betrayed.
secret shugo chara- He has an army XD They came from all the carnival games he won at Sabo's birthday. He kept dropping armful back at the ship and then going out and winning more. They just used multiple teddys of a larger size to the rest of them XD And yes, Luffy's toy has gotten a bounty sooner than Luffy has but it took him a while to realise this fact XD Mihawk escaped as soon as he could after the party. Too much family time for him to cope with XD
He really should learn that those three are the most adorable trio of brothers ever to be found shouldn't he?
Cantorahagedoorn- Thank you very much for your kind words. And let me clarify for you: They aren't scared of Garp per say, they're scared of the training that his visits bring because they almost died several times under his training. When he's not chasing after them with his fists they love and respect him though not as much as they would if he accepted their dreams and wishes. Also onto the other point: Sabo has only worn three dresses in this story. All the other times he has been wearing what you called 'normal clothing'. I go into detail about the dresses because they are different from what he usually wears but dresses are normal clothing too. He just wears them for special occasions like missions and parties. But I do get that sometimes this is a bit strange and I do need to remember that not everyone hangs around biological males that wear dresses. But thank you very much for your kind words andfor pointing out your concerns.
Sunrise flame- Yup, poor baby Marco :'( They certainly are the cutest little things~ I want to hug all of them and give them chocolate XD Sorry for not updating for soo long! Exams were torture on my brain OTL I hope you're feeling better and are better rested now!
phxjkr88- Here you go! Sorry for the horrid wait!
Alina97- I have already answered this in a PM but I hope this chapter clears it up slightly
Wendell- That's fine. I get some people don't read the authors notes or these replies so I get why you didn't know about the order thing. Doesn't mean it'll exuse you the next time though ;p Nah but joking aside I'm glad you enjoyed it
HesperideIsis- Thank you~ And just for clarification: the Sabo/Law ship hasn't sunk it's just doing it's own little thing atm. Sorry for the long wait!
ShiKuroKitsune- Aww LawLu is an adorable ship~ You don't have to betray it just add the Sabo/Law ship to your armada and you'll be fine~ Ohh Ace/Sabo is my life and soul! I'd recomend you search on tumblr though, there aren't many fanfics on this website about them :'( Ohh Shanks/Mihawk another love of mine~ I adore it so much and I'm glad you enjoy this fic~ Nah it's not weird XD I love all of you reviewers for putting so much love into this story too!
Rin-s666- Thank you! Hope you like the new one!
Thewibblywobblywolf- Thanks, I don't think anyone expected that to be my version of Marco's past but it is~ I'm still going to be writing that full story but it's taking time :/ Yup it was Luffy's mum that sang to him~ And I'm glad you like Jenca so much *sweats nervously whilst whistling*. Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much~
Dark D Phoenix- Thank you very much. I am going to be writing a story about Marco's past and I've almost finished part of the first chapter so I might put a preview up on my profile, I don't know yet~ Yes that is the right word, don't worry XD But yeah, I'm doing a Marco's past fic and it's going to be called 'Rising From The Ashes' but it might take a while, sorry. And don't worry, this didn't come across as flirting in any way. So thank you very much for your very kind words and I hope you like this update.
ashlynhope28- Lullaby for a Stormy Night is a pretty special song for me too because I sing it for my little sister when there's a storm going on. Thank you, I don't usually get told that XD I'm glad you enjoyed that~
You don't have to convert! Just expand your harbour a little! XD
FAMILY LOVE WILL NEVER STOP!
I'm so sorry you had to wait so long for an update and I'm sorry this chapter was kinda boring. OTL I'm sorry!
LittlemissTrafalgar- Thanks, I'm glad you can see the reluctant friendship XD That is very true, Marco needed that fruit for a lot of reasons but that is for another story... I'm glad you liked the song~
HiddenByFaeries- / Stop it! It's not worthy of a place in your top 5! But yeah, ALL THE MARCO FEELS~~~~ :D Well if you like explanations then here: have a chapter full of them! Gotta love Luffy's army XD
JadeOccelot- Oopps~ Sorry but I'm glad you found it funny XD
AnyMoreBrightIdeasGenius- I'm so glad you liked it~ And yes there is going to be a sequel (it's still going through planning and re-drafting the plan though so it will take a while after this sotry is finished I'm afraid :'( ) Here's the next chapter, sorry it isn't Luffy's birthday: that's in a couple of chapters time. I think it's scheduled at chapter 20... but I will have to check my plan and I'm exhausted atm so I won't right now. Thank you so much for your review!
Mrs. Simple- Aww thank you! Sorry this chapter is slightly boring compared to the last one :(
tsunade senju- Thank you!
Pana-sule- I'm glad you enjoyed it XD
SisterAssassins- Welcome back~ I'm so glad your enjoying what you missed and I'm sorry you had to wait so long for an update OTL I'm glad you liked the presents, and the songs, and the party, and Traffy, and pretty ASL boys, and Shanks, and pranks, and thank you so much for commenting on it all, that was really nice to read!
Again sorry for such a horrendous wait and sorry for getting you hooked so badly XD
MissJenca- There is a lot of Marco love and sympathy at the moment XD Poor little Marco, your life is only gonna get worse until Pops finds you~
Thank you, I'm glad it came across because it was kinda difficult to write. It's always hard writing from personal experience but I'm glad the emotions came through all right~
Pops loves messing with his kids, it's one of the best forms of entertainment he has XD And that guy had quite the badly broken nose after that comment XD
Of course~ Luffy can't let his brothers be sad for very long now can he? They've been sad for most of their lives so it's his job to make them happy again~
Lots of Bepo love last chapter too...
Yeah well that picture comes up again in a later chapter so I'm glad you caught that. You always catch the foreshadowing I do and it's awesome! I'm not going to tell you why it comes up again though XD And Luffy is special; he's a special little sunshine child who is too pure for this world.
Ohh you're going to hate me for what happens to her and what she does to Ace. You're gonna hate me so much XD Yay~ Mind reader powers!
It's wonderful isn't it? He didn't even get a voice in this chapter and he still managed to piss Sabo off XD It's been a very strange acquaintance for both of them XD
Well it's not hanging up in a bar per say...a certain cabin in the jungle however is a different story... XD I'm glad you found it funny though~
I'm trying to stop giving away spoilers in replies now because I know you're watching them XD But I'm glad you liked Whitebeard's present and yes all these mysteries~~~~ Glad you're still enjoying this and sorry for the wait!
Nexus- I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Belphy- Yeeeeaaa...that aint lasting long XD
Catflower Queen- Nope not at all~ After all you can't get to know your favourite characters until you break them~ Unfortunately he did not but that's a different story to this one~
These brothers depend so much on each other for emotional support and they break my little heart sometimes with how much they love each other. Not that I know of. She's Luffy's mum and since nobody knows anything about her yet I'm taking liberties~
Actually it was just a thing a friend and I noticed when we were re-watching Roger's last meeting with Whitebeard and Whitebeard reminded us of the stereotypical hippy because of the long, wavy blonde hair and tasselled jacket thing and alas! Tye-dye Whitebeards are now a thing because when Roger was alive it was their equivalent to the 60s XD
Oh that's going to very... interesting... to explore XD Especially when you factor in how many protective older siblings Luffy now has XD
There will be mass celebrations on that day XD
Yes, yes it is XD And it seemed to have carried over somewhat to this chapter too, oops~ Thank you! I always worry about his character so I'm glad you like how I'm doing.
Of course and they wouldn't want that now would they? XD Sabo's eye will be fine if he puts his books down once and a while XD He's getting reading glasses though so it will be all good~
It was certainly very amusing to write and according to the majority of reviews it was hilarious to read so thank you very much for giving me that idea XD I do find it funny though that you're the one who gave me the idea and yet you're the only one questioning the logic behind it XD But yes Luffy named them all himself. White- Walrus's bounty is 250 beri (it's only that high because he's a Whitebeard Pirate toy XD) and Chopper is going to be despairing quite a bit XD Poor Chopper, I'm sure his bounty will increase soon...maybe...hopefully...at least to 100 right?
Noooooope XD
You've got it~ He's finally getting them on his birthday and it's gonna be brilliant~
Thank you very much and I'm sorry you had to wait so long for an update OTL
Gdesertsand- I'm glad you liked it~ As for the Marco story I was tempted to tell you but now I won't because you wanted it to be a surprise. It will be touched on again a few more times in this story for sure but apart from that I'll let my other story tell Marco's tale.
Aww thank you so much /
Unfortunately they do not meet again for a few more chapter, you're going to have to live without Law in this story for a while XD
Well I hope you managed to get some rest XD