Chapter 17 - Fire Fist Ace

They heard his booming laughter even before they caught sight of him in the commotion.

"Roger!?"

The Pirate King grinned widely in greeting when he spotted them, following Luffy as the captain ran up to regroup with his crew (much to the consternation of said crew as the Marines speedily followed). He was accompanied by a lady crowned with strawberry blond curls and a bright bloom tucked behind an ear, a figure unknown to most of them, but Banchina's face lit up with a smile in recognition. "Rouge-san!"

That name, on the other hand, was familiar. In moments of peace on their shared travels, Roger loved to brag about his lady. Bell-mère grinned. "Good to finally meet the Pirate Queen."

"It's really wonderful to meet you all at last." Rouge's smile had quirked with a charming mix of embarrassment and fondness at Bell-mère's address. "Goodness, Roger's old crew loved to tease with that name too, back in day," she explained with a soft laugh, nostalgic.

A flash of bright flame drew their attentions back to the street. From the looks of it, their captain was familiar with the dark-haired youth who had jumped in to intercept Smoker.

"Dear, I'll go on ahead!" Roger told his wife as the Straw Hats hurriedly grabbed up their things to make a break of it in the distraction.

She nodded in acknowledgement and gave all of them a wide smile, freckled cheeks dimpling. "Ace and I will catch up to you in just a moment. There'll be time for proper introductions then."

True enough, a little while later found the Straw Hat crew, both living and spirit, staring curiously at the freckled young man who had been introduced as their captain's older brother.

Roger reached over the railing to take the hand of his lady as she also hopped nimbly up from the speedboat moored below. Turning to face the Straw Hats, he tucked his arm around her waist and beamed. "This is my Rouge," he introduced again for everyone's benefit.

"And that's my son Ace," Roger continued with obvious pride, waving to where Ace was talking to Luffy and the Straw Hats.

They had rather guessed as much, with the clear resemblance in this family of three and their presence by his side. There was one other little matter though…

Bell-mère's eyebrows shot up as she put two and two together to a rather outrageous four. "You. Got Monkey D. Garp. To raise your son." She enunciated slowly, like she wasn't sure whether she thought that he was mad or if he was a genius. Probably both. Definitely both, as with all things when it came to Roger. A few moments later she shook her head, smirk curling around her cigarette. "I had wondered, why you held such an interest in a rookie pirate captain even before he got his first bounty. Fate sure works in unexpected ways."

Rouge's eyes were warm as she glanced over at the young captain. "Luffy was one of the brightest points of Ace's childhood. We're grateful to him for many things."

They all shared smiles at those words, reminiscence in their eyes as they affectionately recalled the impact that boy had made on their own loved ones. A boy like sunshine, bright and unapologetic. "He seems to have a real knack for that."

When Ace hopped down to his boat in preparation to leave after his short visit, Roger turned back to give a parting message to the Straw Hats, his demeanour turning serious. "Ace is chasing a criminal who calls himself Blackbeard, real name Marshall D Teach. He killed a fellow Whitebeard member, one of the Commanders no less. His Yami Yami no Mi…"

Roger had been following Teach for a little while as Ace hunted the traitor down, and remembered the unsettling feeling the darkness gave him.

"…Little is known about this power, but there's no doubt it's dangerous. From what I have seen – it is possible that its wanton destruction may even be able to touch the spirit dimension.

"Be careful."