Simitria: I hated Aibo even when I was writing him lol. I was successful at writing a shit character!
HOLAA913: Lol maybe the foreshadowing that things will not be fine.
sairakanzaki: He'll suffer a bit more in this, but hopefully everything goes fine after that.
One chapter left after this one! Then I'll have to start posting one of my other stories in waiting! Enjoy~
"Stupid, fucking…" Ace grumbled under his breath as his cut arm was treated. He was pissed. There had just been a pirate attack and Ace hadn't known. He hadn't seen anything! It was useless.
"Don't feel too bad, Ace. They were pretty strong. Besides, you were mostly protecting the injured in your division, right?" Teach asked, getting a bullet wound treated in his shoulder on the bed nearest. Ace had gotten injured fighting to protect three of his injured division members who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. But he still should have seen something! He wished he could control this stupid power. It had been so long that he thought he'd have the hang of it by now. But it really was uncontrollable, which was extremely frustrating.
He knew about the second division commander, he got it! Stop thinking about it already! "Still, I got caught off guard and cut. It's embarrassing," Ace replied grumpily. Whiskey said he was all good to go, and Ace thanked her before leaving, Teach telling him one last time to not get too upset about it. It was in the past and he could do nothing about it.
When he went to the galley, starving, he found Pops talking with Vista, Jozu and Marco. When Ace entered and headed straight for the kitchen, making sure Thatch wasn't there before he snuck in and opened the fridge slowly, cautiously before pulling out a bin of leftover chicken. "Don't tell Thatch," Ace said quietly as he stuffed chicken in his mouth before shoving the container back in the fridge.
The other three nodded, and when Ace was about to leave, Pops said, "What you did for your brothers was very heroic, Ace. I'm proud of you." Ace blushed and nodded, but pointed out he'd been cut. "A small wound considering how many you fought off to protect them." Ace shrugged and then left.
Second division commander. Soon.
Ace's eyes widened. Soon? He never got that part when he thought the first part. Would him protecting them make him the division commander? He had grown more confident and on better terms with all of his division and the rest of the crew. He was good at his job, even if he wasn't the head navigator. He helped out and was able to predict storms before they formed, even if it was only quick enough for everyone to furl the sails but not be able to turn away from it.
He stood outside the door for a good minute before slapping both of his cheeks. He wasn't going to think about it. He walked back outside to relax, since the weather was nice and the ship was damaged less than the crew during the pirate attack. The enemy crew had sunk into the sea, all of the pirates aboard.
They were docking at an island in the few days, but they had plenty of maps of this island as it was a protected one, so Ace had decided he wanted to make a sea chart of the water surrounding the island, just for fun. They already knew enough about the shore to not necessarily need one. But it still might be helpful.
He wondered if he'd be able to still make the maps and charts if or when he became a commander.
I want to make maps.
After paperwork, that's fine.
Ace was shocked by that. He never got thoughts about his future memories when he wanted them, especially on the subject he wanted. But he knew by now, as it had been almost 8 months, that the closer an event came, the more memories he got about it. Especially if it was something big.
He was becoming more sure that he would finally stop thinking of being a commander and actually become one. But he'd say nothing to anyone about it. He just didn't want to be named commander because he told them that he was to become one in his visions. Many visions, actually.
But he was happy that he'd still be able to make maps even if he had the responsibilities of a commander. After he became more confident on the ship, the more confident he'd become about being a leader, since he was a captain for two years. A successful one that made it all the way to the New World.
Ace sat on the figurehead, lost in thought, when his thoughts traveled to Luffy. He'd be leaving in two months on his birthday. He hoped to see a bounty quickly. No doubt he would, since Luffy was unable to stay out of trouble, and he was sure that wouldn't change much just because he was three years older.
He smiled at the thought of seeing Luffy again. He couldn't wait, and maybe could introduce him to his crew! He was sure they'd think he was weird, but funny. And maybe annoying. While he was thinking about his brother, Thatch came over and sat down next to him. "Whatch's doin?"
"Thinking about my little brother. I miss him. Sometimes it felt like I only saw him a couple months ago, but other times I feel like it has been two years. It's weird," Ace explained honestly. "I can't wait for him to get a bounty. He's gonna be setting off in a few months."
Thatch said, "I want to meet him. You love him so much and everything. What was meeting him like?" Ace chuckled, but looked and felt kind of ashamed. Everyone knew that Luffy was his adopted brother since it was known that the younger was Garp's grandson while Ace wasn't.
"I sorta tried to murder him. For 3 months to be exact," Ace confessed, unable to make eye contact. Thatch was silent for a moment before he screeched, "WHAT?!"
Ace quickly explained that things had obviously changed. And that Luffy forgave him, even wanted to still be his friend when Ace was a complete and total asshole. "Man! I can't believe he would continue to try and be friends with someone who tried to kill him! Over and over!" Luckily, he wasn't being loud enough for many people to hear since they were close to the very front of the whale figurehead.
Ace nodded, agreeing. "He's a pure soul. He changed me a lot, I was so mean. If he hadn't been there, I probably would still be a violent brat. Things would be very different," Ace mused. "I did have another brother, but he was killed by a celestial dragon when he was twelve." Thatch sighed and rubbed his back, apologizing for it. "I can think about him with a smile now. It's been 8 years, after all."
Thatch nodded, saying he was glad it didn't hurt him anymore. "How's your arm?" Thatch wondered.
"It's fine. I'm sure it'll heal quickly. I'm just glad they weren't killed," Ace replied. Thatch smiled at him, but Ace said nothing. "Haki is irritating when it's used against me. I'm not very good at it. I can do observation haki, but not the other two yet," Ace said, not thinking. Thatch noticed his wording, though.
"You can use conqueror's haki?" he wondered, though he didn't seem very surprised. Ace sighed, putting his face in his hands. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. You should know that by now, bro." Ace smiled, and explained that he only remembered using it one time when he was a kid. "Wow! When you were twelve? That's amazing!" Ace blushed.
He replied, "Well, I can't use it now. Probably only when I'm in a super stressful situation. After all, Luffy was about to be killed right in front of me. And we were surrounded by fire."
Thatch whistled. "You sure had an exciting childhood." Ace nodded in agreement. It definitely wasn't a very normal one, was it? Well, it made him strong and who he was today, so he was glad for it. And he'd met Luffy and Sabo. Sabo might still be alive if they'd had a normal one, but he wouldn't have been Sabo.
Marco walked over and told Thatch that they were having a commanders' meeting, and so the two left Ace to go have their meeting. Ace's heart started beating quickly. Soon. He was getting his hopes up, and couldn't control it. He hadn't really realized that he did want to be commander. He wanted to officially protect his division, give them someone permanent.
Having a different commander every week had sucked, and them doing that for 20 years must be worse. But then he thought of his old crew. He just ditched them in the beginning, and now he rarely spoke to them. But, they had assimilated into the crew greatly. He saw them smiling all the time, and they waved to one another with smiles, so they weren't miserable.
Deuce had been the only one to know why he backed away, and he had been so understanding. He didn't deserve that, but would be forever grateful for his understanding and consideration for Ace's feelings, no matter if it may have hurt him.
He had friends, though, as well. And he was helpful to the ship, one of the multi talented members who helped out in two divisions on alternating weeks. So he made so many friends. He was both a shipwright and doctor. For some reason, he seemed averse to being a doctor even if he was the one on the Spade crew.
But, once he was acknowledged, he seemed to enjoy being there. He worked on forming medications and not directly treating others like the nurses and sometimes Curiel. So, Ace rested more easily knowing Deuce was happy, even if it wasn't because of him. But, this was better than just never acknowledging their presence like he had before. They forgave him for that.
He passed out for a bit, still on the figurehead. He woke up about thirty minutes later and stretched, having been moved to the deck, probably so he didn't fall off the figurehead if a sudden storm hit. He stood and left the deck to use the bathroom.
When he was in his little office, he was sketching in his sketchbook that he hid in there. His drawings weren't very good, so he didn't want people to see them. It was the one he got for christmas. It wasn't very full, but it was used.
He was distracted as he doodled, not really thinking about his sketch until he was startled out of it when Marco knocked on the doorway. Ace looked up and then down to close the book before he saw what he'd drawn.
The youngest furrowed his brows, seeing a drawing he thought looked vaguely familiar. It was a view from above at what looked like a battlefield, so many small people below. A huge wall, the Moby Dick and sister ships in the bay that was shown. There were two ice walls on either side. It was strange, that this drawing was clearer than any he'd ever made in the sketchbook.
"Ace? Can I talk to you?" Marco asked. Ace looked up from the sketchbook and the drawing faded from his mind the moment he looked away, he closed it and hid it in a section under the desk.
"What's wrong?"
"Have you thought about the second division seat in awhile?" he asked. Ace nodded, saying he'd thought it that day. "Did you still want it?" Ace's eyes widened, but he didn't feel too surprised. He nodded slowly. Marco grinned. "Pops asked me to ask you so you weren't put under the spot. Looks like you can see the future, Ace."
He grinned back. "Am I good for it? Why did you choose me?"
"It wasn't just me, everyone approved. You're responsible, powerful, talented in what your division does, you are friends with almost everyone in the second division and get along well with the commanders. Pops said he's been thinking about it for a while but finally decided when you put yourself in harm's way to protect those who were vulnerable. You did so knowing the attacker had haki," Marco explained happily.
Ace asked, just to make sure, if he'd still have time to work on his maps and charts. "Of course. Besides, your division has been running on its own alright this whole time. But they deserve a commander, and we think you're right for the job," Marco replied. "Do you want to go give the others your answer?" Ace nodded.
The two walked to the meeting room to see all of the other commanders, and a red and orange cupcake on the table in front of his new seat between Jozu and Marco. "So, do you accept?" Thatch asked, though he was wearing a smirk, knowing that Ace would accept, since he'd known all along that this would happen.
The youngest nodded with a smile. The table cheered, though it was mostly Thatch, Haruta, and Izo who cheered loudest while the others smiled or congratulated him. Thatch commanded him to eat the cupcake, which Ace gladly did. It was delicious, and he liked that it looked like it was on fire. Thatch wasn't just a good chef, he was great at baking, too.
"Why don't we tell everyone during dinner?" Pops suggested, smiling brightly. After all, the empty division was finally filled after so long. And Ace was honored to be given it, even though he felt he knew all along. Why else would that one title go through his head so many times? It was one of the rare realizations that happened much before it actually became relevant. He wondered why.
Thatch left the room, and Ace followed happily. "We'll help you learn tomorrow, okay?" Izo asked, and Ace nodded with a smile. "Congrats, Ace. We're glad we have you. That seat has been empty far too long."
"Thanks, Izo," Ace said before he turned and caught up to Thatch. "Hey, Thatch, I gotta go check off the vision but can I help you out afterwards?" Thatch nodded, so happy for Ace and himself. But he sort of knew already. Ace was glad his visions or whatever were becoming more concrete and fulfilled.
He walked down the hall to Marco's room, taking the paper out and checking off next to the second division commander note. Then, he realized that his room would no longer be the converted storage room. He walked to the door next to Marco's and opened it. It was dusty, and he turned the light on to see it already had furniture in it. A desk, bedside tables on either side of the large bed, a big dresser, and even a lounge chair in the corner.
Plastic sheeting was over most of the furniture, which he was glad of. The sheeting sure did have a lot of dust. Then he grinned and went into the attached bathroom. It had a small counter with a basin in the middle, a couple shelves, a toilet and small shower. He wondered if the larger commanders had bigger rooms. This one wasn't an all-size-fits-one room like most were.
He was still smiling and checked the paper, putting it on his own bedside table. So much space! Then, he headed to the office that was now his, not just loaned to him, and took the sketchbook out to put in his new room.
He dropped it and it fell open. He picked it up and looked at the drawing in almost the exact middle of the sketchbook. He suddenly realized he'd forgotten about drawing it, and an uneasy feeling came back. Then he looked up to turn the lightswitch off and it fell out of his mind again. Then he looked down to close it, the thoughts coming back.
What was going on? Why was he forgetting this so many times? This was the third time. It wasn't a coincidence, something about this drawing was bad. And he didn't want to remember it? Why? He went to his mapping supplies and took one of the permanent pens and wrote Don't forget drawing on his arm. He closed the book and forgot, looking at the ink on his arm. What did that mean? Then he remembered, and added, left pocket and tore out the paper, folding it and putting it in his pocket.
He was worried. But he tried to push it out of his mind and be happy about his new position. It worked, and he looked away from the mark, forgetting all about it for that moment. He hurried back to the kitchen to help Thatch out. He had baked a ton of cupcakes sometime that day. Ace didn't know when, but didn't ask.
"Can I help decorate?" he asked at the counter.
"Sure!" Thatch replied, and gave Ace one of the cooking sheets and got to decorating the cupcakes. He didn't think he did too bad, but Thatch's were completely over the top with little flowers on each one and small decorative and edible balls. But, they were very pretty. Too pretty for tough pirates, in Ace's opinion.
He joked, "Those are supposed to be for pirates? I'm sure butterfly decorations don't really fit fearsome pirates." Thatch pouted at him, and said there was nothing wrong with pretty things. "Did Izo brainwash that into you?"
Thatch looked horrified. "Oh no!" Ace cracked up laughing, and Thatch threw a small piece of frosting at Ace's face. Ace just wiped it off with his thumb and licked it. He wasn't angry, and wasn't going to waste the beautiful cupcakes, whether they fit for them or not. Thatch was working hard on them, and Ace wasn't an asshole like that.
"Sooo, you were right all along, huh? Second division commander indeed," Thatch said, tongue sticking out as he crafted the flowers and butterflies.
Ace smiled and nodded. "It's weird, since that one has been here all along. Usually they come right before they happen, y'know?" the youngest commander commented, working on trying to make one of the cupcakes look like waves.
Thatch agreed with that. Then he looked up, and asked, "What's with your arm?" Ace frowned, asking what he meant. "There is writing on your arm, right there," he pointed out. Ace looked down, not remembering writing this.
"I… don't remember writing this," he said. It had been a long time since he hadn't remembered something that just happened. "Was this here during the meeting?" Thatch shook his head, looking at him strangely. "Left pocket," he said and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
He unfolded it, suddenly remembering it. "I've forgotten drawing this four times in the last hour. That's why I wrote it on my arm," Ace said quietly. Thatch wiped his hands on a towel and asked to see it.
The chef frowned at it. "What is it?"
"What is what?" Ace wondering, looking up from his cupcake. Thatch looked very worried. He held up the picture, the drawing facing Ace now. Ace blinked twice and put his hand to his forehead, trying to think. He was still looking at it. "Make it five times."
Thatch kept it facing Ace. "It looks like some sort of war or something," he observed. "And that's the Moby Dick and sister ships. Back there, in the background… Those are some of our allied crews! How… did you know what they look like? You've only been here to see a handful," he said, brows furrowed deeply.
Ace said he wasn't sure. "I don't feel good about this drawing," Ace said. Thatch nodded in agreement. He promised to not let Ace forget about it. "Thanks. Will you hold onto it? If I keep forgetting it, I might throw it away or put it in the wash and ruin it."
Thatch nodded and pocketed the drawing. "What were we talking about? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, you're just doing a terrible job," Thatch said, a nervous smile on. Ace snapped back that he was doing well considering he'd never done it before. He didn't notice Thatch biting his lip when the younger commander went back to his cupcakes.
"We finally have a second division commander!" Whitebeard announced happily at dinner. "We've given Ace that position. We agree that he's proven he can be a great one." Ace was nervous, not knowing how everyone was going to react. But there was cheering in the room, shouts of "Yeah, go Ace!" and tons of "Finally!". Ace grinned, cheeks a bit pink.
That dinner was the best in a long time, getting pats on the back from so many pirates walking behind where he was sitting, finally belonging at the commanders' table. Before, he was a plus-one for Thatch and Marco, but now he really did belong there.
It was after dinner that Thatch asked to talk to Marco and Ace. They headed to Ace's office and sat down on the chair or desk, Thatch standing. "We have a problem, I think. Ace do you remember writing those words on your arm?" Ace looked down and shook his head, looking confused. "Do you remember drawing a picture that worried you?"
"No… what is this about?" Ace asked. Marco looked confused as well. Thatch pulled out the picture.
"You drew this sometime today, and have forgotten about it over 5 times. Everytime you look away, you forget it," Thatch said slowly, handing Ace the drawing. It came back to him, the feeling of worry, of forgetting it over and over. Marco looked over his shoulder. "It looks like a battle, doesn't it?" The first mate nodded, taking the drawing from Ace.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked, seeing Marco's concerned face.
"See?" Thatch said. Marco turned the drawing around, and Ace grew frustrated, hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I don't know what to think. Ace hasn't forgotten something like this, not even when he didn't remember his crew. This feels different, worse."
Marco sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Clearly, if it does happen, it's not soon. If Ace drew this without knowing it, I have no doubt he will remember it happening. Or a really long time. Remember when he had the angry one? About someone losing his trust? That was months ago and nothing has come of it. We know by now that his visions come true. It just hasn't happened yet. And we've put it behind us. For now, I think it's what we do with this. We can do nothing about it, get no new information if it slips from Ace's mind the second he looks away?" Ace and Thatch nodded. "I'll hide this in my room again. We don't want Ace throwing it away on accident." The other two agreed.
Thatch said they wouldn't bring it up with Ace unless it was necessary. "Should we tell Pops?" Ace asked, still staring at the haunting drawing. The mystery drawing he continued to forget.
"Not today. He's happy, I don't want to ruin it. I'm gonna put it away now," Marco said, and the moment it was folded up, Ace asked if he was going to sleep in his new room, the drawing forgotten once again.
That night, all of Ace's things were moved to his new room, which they worked to dust off and clean. He put up the maps on the walls, and the rug was there. The office was much closer to his new room than his old one, so if he did sleepwalk, it wouldn't be far. A doggy door was put on this one as well so Stefan could continue to enter whenever he wished.
Now his bed was big enough for the old boy to fit on and sleep, instead of on the floor. And that night, he did. He seemed happy with being able to go between Pops' and Ace's doors, not having to walk far.
Ace went to bed happy, but it didn't last.
It was past midnight when he started having a nightmare. A burning sensation in his chest, painful and unbearable. He heard muddled words, cries, begging. He didn't recognize the voice, but it was familiar. Then things changed, and suddenly he was looking at a blurry lump of white and red, red spilled around it. Someone's body, out of focus. Someone dead.
He felt whips on his back, stinging as he wasn't fire. Stiff arms from them being raised. He saw orange and black, mixing in a terrifying cloud above him. He was sucked into the blackness. "I w...n l...v!" a garbled voice cried. It had emotion in it, even if he didn't know what it was saying.
He didn't realize he was screaming bloody murder the whole time until he was shaken awake. He jolted up, breathing heavily, but not knowing why. Thatch was there, hair down and messy, with Marco bolting into the room as well. He was confused, not understanding what was happening. "What happened?" he asked, seeing the true concern on his brothers' faces.
"You had a nightmare, Ace. You were screaming," Thatch said quietly, though everyone else had to be awake now.
"I did?"
Marco nodded, pointing out he was dripping in sweat. "I don't remember," Ace said, fisting his hands in the blanket, angry at himself so much. He felt he'd forgotten something else, but didn't remember. It was fuzzy. Everything in his head was fuzzy but the anger at himself. "I'm sorry for waking you up," he mumbled.
"It's okay, Ace. Do you want to sleep in one of our rooms? We could wake you up if you have another one," Thatch offered. Ace was embarrassed. "We're brothers, Ace. We help one another out when it's needed."
Ace nodded, and Thatch said he had a mat in his room that he didn't use. It was in the closet he had. Ace didn't have a closet, but most of the commanders' rooms were designed differently. Ace stood and thanked Thatch, putting pajama pants on as he was in his boxers. He left the bed a mess, hoping Stefan hadn't been in there with him and been scared.
They went to Thatch's room, and saw Haruta was out, looking worried. "Bad dream," Thatch simply said, leading Ace into his room and putting out the mat and a blanket. Ace felt that the other commanders had known that Ace wouldn't need everybody. Thatch and Marco were close. Marco beside Ace's room and Thatch's across from him.
He went to bed, but had no nightmare.