It Only Takes a Spark
By Silver Dragonfly
…::o::…
The raven-haired young man leaned down closer to Naruto before whispering, loudly, "You didn't tell me you were brining Red Hair."
Naruto laughed nervously and then poked the man pining him down on the road in the ribs. "You didn't give me a chance before you decided to tackle me."
The raven-haired one turned away from the older Uzumaki to look down at the blonde one he did, in fact, have pinned. "Yeah, well, you keep disappearing before I get a chance to talk to you. I sense you in the village and then poof you're gone again."
Shanks frowned as he listened and watched the byplay, then spoke again. "You are supposed to be dead."
The raven-haired man turned to face him again, "You said that already."
Before further word could be said by any party, a new voice entered the conversation.
"PORTGAS! You put out that fire before I use you to put it out!" An enraged female voice demanded, the owner of the voice landing on the street with a tremor spreading through the ground, evidence of her temper.
Ace flinched and quickly reversed his position with Naruto, using the blonde as a shield to hide from the enraged pink-haired shinobi.
Sakura blinked. "Naruto, you are back." She said, the rage suddenly gone. She then glanced to the side to see Shanks, and studied him for a moment, "You must be Naruto's uncle." She then turned back to the still hiding figure behind Naruto. "Portgas I meant it!" She then hissed and reached around Naruto to yank the raven-haired man out from behind the blonde. She then paused, turning back to the older red head and bowed, pulling Ace over with her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sorry I can't stay to visit, but there is a fire that must be dealt with at the moment." With that said, she started dragging the raven haired man back up the street, ignoring his protests and struggles to break free. "I will not have another entire training field destroyed because you are a lazy idiot." She continued her tirade at her captive as the two vanished from site.
Shanks blinked suddenly once they were out of sight, still stunned, then turned back to Naruto. "He's supposed to be dead!" He then exclaimed.
Naruto laughed nervously again, "Yeah, that might not have entirely been true…"
Shanks' gaze narrowed and he reached out to clasp a hand on Naruto's shoulder turning the teen to face him fully. "You will have to explain it in more detail than that."
Naruto slumped, but nodded, before perking up a bit more. "Over ramen?"
Shanks stilled and then found himself chuckling despite the shock. "And sake."
Naruto grinned, "Ramen and sake, got it."
The two began walking down the street as they had before, when Shanks paused suddenly. "That was Sakura?"
Naruto turned back to his uncle and then nodded slowly, not sure how his uncle was going to react at the moment.
"I see." Shanks then answered without further comment.
Naruto let out the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.
"She isn't going to kill him?" Shanks then asked, looking at his nephew from the corner of his eye.
Naruto shrugged, "He might wish she would, but no. She won't cause any more damage than she can easily heal." Naruto considered, "Though if he set fire to the hospital… again… she might let him suffer a bit."
Shanks hummed in thought. "Are you sure your friends aren't actually pirates?"
Naruto blinked, "Of course I'm sure; we're shinobi! Why?"
Shanks chuckled, thinking of some of the female pirates, and even a few marines he had met over the years. "No reason."
.:o:.
Ace sighed as he spotted the building fire; refusing to look back over his shoulder at Sakura who he was certain was still glaring at him.
"I don't know what you were thinking." She muttered.
Ace frowned. He had been waiting for Naruto to return for what felt like forever, and after missing him the last time, he hadn't wanted to risk another miss. The instant he had identified the blonde's unique haki signature, he had gone.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sakura demanded. "The sooner you get this fixed, the sooner you can go find Naruto and his uncle again."
Ace glanced back at her surprised.
Sakura met his gaze evenly, "The fire?" She reminded him.
Ace turned back to the growing inferno and then walked into it. The fire swarmed around him, welcoming like an old friend. This was how fire had felt to him since the day he ate the Mera Mera no Mi. The first time he had stepped into a blaze after eating the fruit, he had become part of the fire and relished in its power and freedom. It was only afterwards that he realized the damage the fire had done while he was melded with it, an entire forest area reduced to ash. He had been shocked, and so very grateful that the island had been completely wild with no settlements. Control had become a priority at that point, and it had become a priority again now. He wasn't one with the fire anymore. It was still in him, part of him, but different, something had changed between the time he took a magma fist through his chest and when he had woken up in this world.
Fire had always felt like a part of him as a Logia of Fire. Any fire he chose to touch, became an extension of himself, and once he had touched it, remained so until extinguished or Ace chose to release it. Now though, the fire was its own personality. It spoke to him: told him what it found, told him what it wanted, called him to it. In turn, fire came to him; even when he didn't call it, even when he was asleep.
This was why Sakura was so irritated with him. He had burned down an apartment complex in his sleep as well as a few training grounds when he decided to take a nap. The only place he could sleep without causing something to burn down was the hospital room he had woken up in; the room that had been sealed by Naruto to allow the medical staff to treat him.
Ace focused on the fire he now stood in, and began to call it back to himself. Returned the very spark of its heart back to the core of himself where he had called it from earlier that same day. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the charred and slightly smoking area, and grimaced. No wonder Sakura had been upset.
"Well at least you are getting better at that." Sakura said lightly, the underlying tension that had been in her voice before now fading.
Ace sighed, and then winced when she punched him in the shoulder. He knew it was coming, but she was right, he had been stupid.
"We should be able to find Naruto at Ichiraku's." She said, turning to head back toward the village.
Ace froze in place with his head bowed; staring at the ground. He needed to see Naruto and talk to him, but he had not been expecting to see someone from his own past… here in Konoha. He was dead to those who he had sailed with, to all who lived in that world, and he wasn't sure he had the right to go back.
Sakura turned back when she didn't hear him follow her, then paused noting the tension in him. "Will you go back with them?" She asked softly.
Ace looked up to meet her emerald gaze, and then smirked. "Anxious to get rid of me?" He asked, a mocking laugh in his tone.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't be an idiot. Naruto told you, we won't force you to go back, but we won't keep you trapped here, either."
Ace looked down, but stepped forward to follow her when she began walking once more. "I don't know." He finally said to answer her question, knowing she deserved at least that much. "I… I haven't decided."
Sakura nodded, expecting as much. "Well you don't have to decide today. Come on."
Ace smiled unsteadily but kept up as she picked up the pace.
.:o:.
Shanks let out a contented sigh as he finished off his second bowl of ramen. Naruto was right about this stuff being good. He could do without the instant stuff his nephew seemed fond of on the road and the ship, but the real thing he could definitely grow to appreciate. He glanced at the still growing stack of bowls next to his nephew and shook his head in amusement before reaching to pour himself a cup of sake. His mind drifted back to the raven-haired young man who had pounced on Naruto, not more than an hour ago.
Portgas D. Ace.
Roger's son, was alive.
He took a moment to let the truth of that fact settle. In the end the 'how' didn't really matter, he supposed; only that Ace was, in fact, alive. But why had Naruto hidden that fact? He knew they both still had their secrets: everyone did and he didn't think he'd ever tell Naruto everything, nor did he expect Naruto to ever tell him every little thing either, but this… he didn't really understand why Naruto would keep this hidden.
"Thanks, Teuchi-san! It was great." Naruto's voice spoke, interrupting Shanks thoughts.
Naruto glanced to his uncle, the smile fading. Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the story. "Ace was clinically dead when I brought him to the hospital here, that's what Sakura told me afterwards. At the time I arrived, he wasn't breathing and he had no heartbeat. The only thing that had me believing there was even a chance was that Kurama and I could sense the faintest flicker of his devil fruit. We did everything we could to keep that tiny flicker from fading as he was immediately put into surgery."
Shanks remained silent, but tense, he would let Naruto tell it as needed.
"It was a very long process. I fell into a trance near the beginning of it and didn't come out of it until one of the nurses roused me. I came to awareness to see Shizune and Sakura ordering a new surgery room and moving Baa-chan to a stretcher. Others were preparing to move Ace to a recovery room: he was alive but unconscious. We almost lost Tsunade then, she helped with Ace's surgery because I asked, and it almost killed her."
Shanks frowned, he had known something had happened to the older woman Naruto thought of as a grandmother, but he had not suspected it was tied to Naruto's attempt to save Ace, an attempt that now proved to have been successful.
"She will never be able to heal again." Naruto said, his voice distant. After a moment he seemed to shake himself and then reached forward to pour himself a cup of sake. He took a moment to drink it, then spoke again. "Sakura explained to me after she had recovered from both surgeries, that Ace was in a coma, and there was no way of knowing if he would ever wake up. If he did wake up, there was no way of knowing what state he would be in, if he would even know who he was or anything. I… I decided to keep his survival secret. I thought it was better to not get your hopes up, since there was no way of knowing if Ace would ever be able to go back, or want to. I know why he was being executed… and well, there may have been some side effects of my involvement in his healing. I saw some of what had to be his memories, and I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to go back. Here he could have a chance to start out fresh…" He paused there, turning to face Shanks, "So Sakura helped by arranging for a look-a-like body and I brought that back to you and the Whitebeard Pirates."
Shanks sighed then: he didn't like it, but he understood the reasoning. "Regardless of how, I'm glad he is alive."
"Ace woke up about a month ago, and has been working on recovering his strength ever since."
"Which all too often has included out of control fires," Sakura said as she came up behind the pair and wrapped her arms around Naruto in a hug. "Welcome home, Naruto."
Naruto smiled, "Hey, Sakura-chan."
Shanks smiled, "So this is the infamous Sakura-chan."
Sakura smiled, "And you must be Uzumaki Shanks-san, I hope Naruto hasn't been telling too many stories about me."
Naruto blanched as a fist suddenly found his left ribs.
Shanks chuckled, "Oh nothing bad, just that you are an amazing healer and a very talented shinobi."
Sakura smiled, "I'm sure there was more to it than that."
Shanks grinned then, "Well, he failed to mention how charming and beautiful you are."
Sakura blushed brightly.
"Oi, Red Hair, you have a death wish?" A familiar voice spoke from behind the three.
Shanks turned, ignoring the impressive growl that came from Sakura's direction. "Hello, Ace, it's been awhile."
Ace smiled, remembering the party when he had visited the Red Hair pirates while still a captain of his own crew. "Yeah, it has…" but then his expression turned more serious. "You saw Luffy."
Shanks met the brown eyes steadily, "I did, though he was not conscious at the time. I would have liked to spend more time with him, but the situation did not allow it. Last I heard he was training with Rayleigh."
Ace blinked at that, eyes going wide, "Dark King Rayleigh is training Luffy?" Then his eyes narrowed.
Shanks chuckled and scratched the back of his head, a motion very similar to one Naruto used often. "I may have had something to do with it. I told Rayleigh about Luffy ten years ago when I first returned to the Grand Line after giving him my hat. Seems Luffy met Rayleigh in Shabody before his crew got separated and made an impression of his own; heard he even punched a World Noble."
Ace's eyes widened further at that. It explained, at least in part, why Luffy had been without his crew at Marineford. Marineford… and the war. He had read the papers. The ones not controlled by the government had made a big deal about the Red Hair Pirates showing up and putting a stop to the fighting, and how Red Hair himself had requested they be allowed to take their dead in peace. Ace bowed formally, "Thank you. Thank you for helping my family."
Shanks expression softened. "No thanks are necessary. We may have been rivals on the sea, but I bore no ill will with Whitebeard. It was the right thing to do."
"Will you two be making an order, Sakura-san, Ace-san?" Teuchi asked after the moment seemed to pass.
"One Miso please," Sakura said brightly, taking a seat at the bar beside Naruto.
Ace hesitated before taking the open seat on Shanks right. "I'll take a Pork Ramen, thanks."
Shanks, "Ah, Teuchi-san, another bottle of sake and a third cup, please."
Sakura frowned, "Ace shouldn't be drinking."
Shanks paused in mid motion, his face twisted in surprise. "Are you still that unwell?" He asked turning to look at Ace.
Ace fidgeted, "Not exactly. It's got more to do with my devil fruit…"
Naruto frowned, "Still flaring out of control?"
Ace nodded, a bit embarrassed. He had been in full control of his powers when he had last seen Shanks, and was a bit uneasy about admitting the weakness in front of the Yonko now. "It's like learning it all over again. Nothing works quite the way I expect or remember it."
Shanks considered this, "This must have to do with the complications Naruto hinted at."
Ace looked up sharply at that, and Naruto laughed nervously.
Shanks considered, "There is something that is bothering me as well: we have heard rumors of the Mera Mera no mi being found, but no one has come out in the open with it."
Ace stared at that, his eyes going wide. "But I'm not dead."
"Technically speaking, you were, from a clinical standpoint." Sakura chimed in.
Ace glared at the pink-haired shinobi. "You don't get it. The devil fruits are unique, there is only ever one user or fruit of a kind at any one time. The Mera Mera no mi should not have reappeared."
Sakura glared back. "As I said, you were technically dead, and has anyone with these devil fruit abilities ever crossed into another world before? For all we know that alone was enough to cause it to appear."
"She makes a valid point, and it is an unconfirmed rumor still." Shanks added and then leaned back to peer at Ace's back. "Have you always sparked like that?"
Ace startled and then cursed as he began to focus on putting out the budding embers of fire.
"I'll take that as a no." Shanks stated. "So, just what kind of complications are we talking about?"
"The long story kind," Sakura stated before either of others could respond. "And it's about closing time, so maybe this should be continued back at Naruto's place?"
Naruto grinned, "Sure, I've got drinks and cup ramen stocked up there too."
Sakura sighed, but didn't comment further, she was well aware that trying to curb Naruto's ramen tendencies in any form was basically a lost cause. "You three go ahead, I have an early shift tomorrow."
With that said, the pink-haired shinobi exited the small ramen stand and quickly disappeared from sight leaving the three men to find their own way.
…::o::…
Thank you for Reading.
I wanted to give an apology to all of you who have been anxiously awaiting an update of this story. If you hadn't seen a post made by me previously about it, I have not abandoned this story! That being said, there have unfortunately been a lot of life events and such that have gone on in the last year that have limited the time and energy I have to put into this story. As it stands, I will not be posting regular updates until the rest of the story is written. So thank you again for all your continued support!
P.S. Happy Holidays and special thanks to my betas Blue Melodie and Aria Ino.
