Authors Note: Thank you everyone for the lovely comments last chapter! I think this is one that a few people have been waiting for so I hope I managed to do it justice!
A massive thank you to Wordlet for beta'ing. I'm in awe of the amazing job you do with every chapter! You always get what I'm trying to say and help glue the pieces together!
Just in case – MINOR SPOILERS for the Ace novels – some characters get mentioned
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Chapter 13: The Concealed
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"Wait, wait," Sabo snorted, wiping the ale that had splashed from his tankard down his chin hurriedly. "So you met this guy while you were both shipwrecked and just randomly gave him a name?"
"Well he refused to tell me his actual name!" Ace laughed, taking a large gulp of his own drink before nodding. "Said it didn't fit him anymore when he left for sea! So I just gave him another. Why, you got a problem with the one I gave him?" he grinned cheekily.
Sabo hummed. "Not at all. Ace and Deuce of the Spade Pirates. Fits well. Not sure I'd be willing to let a stranger name me, though. Thankfully 'Sabo' was scrawled in a couple of things the Revolutionaries managed to save with me or who knows what they could've wound up calling me. I hate to think what Iva would've come up with!" he exclaimed, taking a much smaller sip of his drink, smiling wide when Ace laughed. It was a full bodied, deep from his belly laugh that Sabo doubted he'd ever tire of hearing. The Ace that came out around just Sabo and Luffy was much more likely to completely let his guard drop than the Ace that came out around others. It was an amusing discovery. He hadn't really noticed it while they were still sailing with the Strawhat Pirates, but while Ace had been comfortable and happy enough in their company, he was apparently much more relaxed with just Sabo around. And much more willing to talk about himself. Ace would – and could – talk about Luffy and their shared childhood for hours on end in anyone's company but Sabo hadn't failed to notice that Ace rarely - if at all - talked about himself.
So Sabo was going to soak up all the stories he could while Ace was in a sharing mood. Much like his little brother, Ace had some amazing and unbelievable tales to tell, many from his time as a Whitebeard Commander, but even more from when he had been captain of the Spade Pirates. A time in his life where, Sabo suspected, Ace had felt true freedom for the first time.
It had also presented Sabo with some amazing information in which to tease the pirate with.
"I can't believe how many times you managed to shipwreck yourself," he chortled, shaking his head in fondness.
Ace shrugged. "Eh, it got better. Deuce wasn't just an awesome doctor, he was pretty good at keeping us on course too. Besides, it worked out every time so I can't complain! We were able to meet some pretty cool people. There was this one time we…"
Sabo took another sip of his ale, allowing Ace's animated voice to wash over him. Ace made every adventure sound exciting and fresh. Sabo had been to many, many islands himself, more than he could probably hope to count in his capacity as a member of the Revolutionary Army but rarely had he had the chance to stop and really enjoy them. He often saw the islands at their worst, when they were in dire straits and in desperate need of assistance. Time was often against them and left next to no time to explore and discover like Ace had two years ago and like Luffy was doing right now. At the thought of the younger pirate, Sabo glanced down at the newspaper spread out across the table. It was dated several days ago but the headline proclaiming Warlord Crocodile's arrest in the Kingdom of Alabasta stood out in big, bold letters across the front page. While the paper made no mention of it, it looked like Luffy had managed to uncover and defeat Mr. Zero, Sabo thought proudly.
Listening to the other's stories, he could see why he had once had dreams of being a pirate himself and it explained his childhood fascination with the adventure books that Baltigo's – admittedly small – library had offered.
Watching Ace wave his hands around exuberantly, leading Sabo to absently move the other's pint of ale before he could knock it over, he felt a small wave of guilt rise up and settle uncomfortably in his chest. He had a small ulterior motive for encouraging Ace to talk about his own life as a pirate and while it didn't make him feel good at all by doing so, it did offer Sabo a small reprieve from the stories of their childhood.
Sabo wanted to learn more about Ace and Luffy and all that they had shared together before he had been forced apart from them. Hearing about himself and who he had once been made his chest tighten and each time a deep ache he couldn't push away settled around his heart like a cloud blocking the sun. His and Ace's friendship stretched back many years before they had even met Luffy. What started out as a simple truce that allowed them both to dominate the trash heaps of the nobles had quickly solidified into a tight friendship. Sabo would never, ever, begrudge Ace for the joy he had in finding that connection again.
But it honestly felt like Ace was still waiting for that smart-mouthed little kid to wake up and walk through the door and Sabo wasn't sure if he would be able to make that happen. He wanted -probably more than he had ever wanted anything in his life - to be able to look Ace in the eye and say he remembered that, but he couldn't and it was breaking both their hearts.
He had thought that he made his peace many years ago with his lost memories, but now faced with the reality of all that the tenryuubito's attack had truly cost him, he had been naïve to think he had. He glanced down at the scratched wood of the table beneath his elbows. He knew how each and every mark had been etched into the surface, could remember nearly all the dinners his small Revolutionary teams had had as they travelled between jobs. He could remember all of that, but nothing from before his life before Dragon had saved him. He loved his team, he loved his job; they were both things he wholeheartedly believed and trusted in, but more and more he felt he was missing something. It was like his attention had been gliding over a stain, a black spot that Ace and Luffy had forced him to notice, and it was right where they should've been all along.
"Oh hang on, we're going off course," Ace said, abruptly and making Sabo jump. Ace grinned and waved the wrist with his log pose under Sabo's nose, barely allowing him even a glance at it before he was rising to his feet. He ducked out of the galley and into the darkness of the night that had enveloped the ship. Sabo watched him silently through the open door, his Whitebeard Jolly Roger standing out like a beacon.
He wanted his memories back.
Sabo swallowed thickly, glancing away sharply as the realisation washed over him. It was not a wish he had allowed for himself for many years. It had felt like a wasted dream but that was before he had known them. And he wanted them back. He knew exactly who Ace and Luffy were right now, and they were trying their damned hardest to make sure he knew what they had all been to each other as children but he wanted more. It wasn't just the memories of it all. He wanted the feelings that went with them. The joy they must've felt taking that sip of sake; the terror every time Luffy managed to get himself eaten or chased. He could imagine it all, but he knew the memory of it would be even better.
He felt like he was trapped inside a fortress, forced to look out through the window but never able to step out into the wider world.
He could never tell Ace. He knew that without a shadow of a doubt. He might not know Ace as well as he knew Koala, and he wasn't an open book like Luffy, but he also wasn't blind. He could tell that Ace wanted to share and enjoy all of their past together but Sabo could hear the sadness and effort it sometimes took the pirate to recite their history. Sabo felt a spike of regret and anger every time he didn't react how Ace expected, or when he had to stop him and ask a question half way through, or didn't finish an old, worn out joke.
No, Ace could never know because he would break himself before he could fix Sabo.
He wasn't quite sure what it was that Ace was looking to achieve by reliving it all, especially without Luffy to act as a buffer, and he was the only one to remember any of it. He had found himself hating the fleeting glimpses of pain that flickered across the other's face. He'd tried his damned hardest the last couple of days to gently steer the conversations away from them and instead onto more neutral territory. Sabo had even broken down and shared some of his own past, making it as vague as possible and sparing Ace some of the worst details. Ace had instead seemed to enjoy hearing about his teammates in particular. Mercifully, Ace had either not noticed his avoidance tactics or had just decided not to call him out on it and Sabo couldn't have been more relieved. He would carry the burden of his loss alone if it meant protecting Ace and Luffy.
The galley door slammed shut with a bang, making Sabo jump in his seat.
Ace smirked. "Falling asleep over there, Sabo? Too much ale?"
He scoffed. "It'll take more than a few pints to knock me out cold," he boasted. "You're the one more than likely to fall asleep at any moment."
Ace chortled loudly, gracefully dropping back down into his chair with a small thump. Sabo forced himself to push away his darker thoughts in the light of Ace's contagious good mood. He had no idea how much more time he had with the pirate before their respective duties separated them and he wanted to enjoy their remaining time together as much as he could. He could deal with everything else later.
He caught sight of the newspaper again and he turned to squint at Ace who was watching him curiously. "You mentioned the Warlords earlier," he said, tapping the photograph of Crocodile. He thought it might've been when Ace was chatting about Jinbei. "Have they ever asked you to be one?"
A wry smile crossed Ace's face. "Yeah," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was a bit of a surprise actually. Obviously, I said no. There was no way in hell I'd ever want to work for them."
Sabo grinned at the other's words before turning thoughtful. "Hm, I wonder why they asked you so quickly."
Ace had a very powerful devil fruit and he knew how to wield it well – that was indisputable - and he had made incredible progress through the Grand Line and into the New World well before he had established himself as a Commander in the Whitebeard Pirates. But so had many other older, more experienced pirates, most of whom would have had a much more level head than the eighteen year old the World Government had asked to fight on their behalf.
Sabo glanced at Ace and was taken aback to see a level of discomfort he'd never seen before from him flicker across the pirate's face. He frowned, poised to ask what was wrong before a thought flashed through his mind. A horrible, gut freezing thought. There would only be one reason the World Government would be interested in a rookie pirate. He sat up from his comfortable slouch slowly, staring intently at Ace who squirmed under the scrutiny.
"What did you do?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. A heavy weight settled itself across them both, echoing in the silence. "Ace, what exactly did you do that they wanted you to work for them?" he pressed, leaning forward urgently, worry making his fists clench unconsciously. Ace had said he'd refused the position. That would've made them angry. He felt sick. He was used to the World Government being on his heels. The fact that they were also apparently on Ace's didn't sit well with him and made his blood run cold at the very idea.
Ace sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Sabo desperately wanted to reach across the table and shake him. The only thing that stopped him was the struggle he could see on Ace's face as he fought to find the words.
"It's not what I did exactly," he said finally. He pushed to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor loudly. He paced the length of the table like an agitated lion and Sabo could only watch helplessly, his own body tense with nerves. Ace came to an abrupt halt in front of the Revolutionary and nodded once, like he had come to a decision. "Okay, you might as well know. I mean, technically, I guess you already know it even if you don't remember."
"I do?" Sabo asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. If the World Government had something on Ace that stretched back that far, to when they were children still running around a jungle, Sabo's mind raced with the possibilities. He had no idea what in the world could a child have that the World Government would've been interested in them.
Ace drew in a deep breath, almost like he was stealing himself. "It's because of my father," he said stiffly.
Sabo frowned. He suspected Ace wasn't talking about the man he affectionately called 'Pops'. The timing didn't fit if Ace received an invitation before ever meeting the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Your father?" he repeated slowly. Ace nodded once. "Who is your father?"
Ace squeezed his eyes shut. "Gol D. Roger."
Distantly, Sabo registered that he was staring at Ace dumbly, jaw hanging open in shock. "You're the son…of the Pirate King?" he whispered, his feelings a mixture of disbelief and amazement. Ace didn't look at all happy and while he refused to meet Sabo's gaze head on, he was obviously watching attentively for Sabo's reaction. He knew that whatever he said and did next will be carefully examined and judged by Ace. He had to tread carefully, he acknowledged, settling back into his chair but never taking his eyes off the pirate. His heart went out to Ace. Whoever his father was didn't make Ace who he was, but he knows many people wouldn't be able to separate the son from the father.
He'd had no idea – not even an inkling – that the Pirate King's lineage had continued after his death. It was no wonder that the World Government had tried to get Ace under their thumbs by making him a Warlord. The propaganda they could have used if they had so desired to acknowledge Ace's parentage was unthinkable.
Briefly, he once again cursed the tenryuubito who cost him his memories. Ace had said he technically already knew all of this and he hated that Ace was being forced to once again speak aloud what was probably a very painful secret. He had no idea how he reacted the first time Ace told him but he decided to trust his gut. Facts were what Sabo prefered over instincts, so he decided to focus on them. From the aura of discomfort that was surrounding him, Gol D. Roger was not a man Ace enjoyed talking about or even relished having a connection to. If Sabo got all the facts, he might be able to protect Ace from the World Government.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Ace asked, abruptly breaking the silence.
Sabo blinked; his stupor broken. "What do you want me to say, Ace? I don't care who your father is. Did you ever care that I was born a noble?"
"No," he said, weakly.
Sabo shrugged. "There you go. I hate that the World Government knows though, not gonna lie. It's never good when they have dirt on you. Does Whitebeard know?"
Ace nodded. "Yeah, and most of the crew too. I think Pops knew before I told him though."
"Well they were apparently old rivals so that doesn't surprise me at all," said Sabo, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "How many others do you reckon are in the know?"
Ace frowned. "Um, probably Roger's old crew. The ones that are still around anyway."
"Luffy?"
"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"
"Nowhere," he promised. "Just compiling a list, that's all." He was pleased to see a wry smile broke out across Ace's face and the remaining tension bled out of his shoulders. Ace fell back into his chair, loose limbed but looking so very tired. Sabo hated pressing but he needed to know. "How did you manage to stay under the World Government's radar for so long? They obviously knew you existed, so how come they didn't find you sooner?"
Ace laughed but there was no joy in it. "Gramps, if you can believe it. My mother… she died giving birth to me and Gramps… he took me and hid me away on Dawn Island. For years I was nothing but a rumour. They had nothing solid to go on that told them I'd survived too."
"How'd the Government realise who you were if you'd managed to stay hidden for so long?" he asked. "Surely your Gramps didn't say anything, did he?" Sabo thought that would've defeated the purpose of keeping him safe in the first place but honestly marines were a contradiction sometimes.
"Nah he never said anything. I took my mother's name to honour her. She died for me, I wanted to remember her," Ace admitted.
Sabo's heart clenched at the underlying pain in how voice when he spoke of his mother, but there was a deep fondness overlaying it that told him Ace felt none of the same animosity he felt towards his father when thinking of her.
"She sounds like she was a very brave woman," he said, smiling softly.
Ace grinned. "I think so. I took her name when I left Dawn Island and the World Government knew she was Roger's lover. Shockingly, the marines can apparently put two and two together and get four sometimes!"
Sabo snorted but followed Ace's attempts to lighten the mood. "Yeah, once in a decade maybe!"
"Bet you weren't expecting me to tell you that, were you?" Ace asked, reaching over and snagging the jug of ale and pouring them both a healthy refill. Sabo accepted his with a nod of thanks.
"Yeah, no. Of all the things you could've come out with, that wasn't even on the list. That you're Roger's son, its - "
"No!"
Sabo froze, drink raised halfway, taken aback by Ace's bitter outburst. Ace grimaced. "Sorry, but no. That man may be my father by blood, but he is not my father!" The resentment raging through the pirate's voice was unmissable. "Whitebeard is my father. All Roger did was paint a giant target over mine and my mother's heads. You know she spent her last remaining months alive hiding away just so she could keep me safe. I hated him when I was a kid," he admitted with a dark chuckle.
"You don't anymore?" Sabo asked, hesitantly.
"It's more complicated now," he said, and took a large gulp of ale. "I think when I was a kid, part of me was angry at both of them for leaving me. Even if they didn't want to. Which is stupid. I saw with you and your father what it's really like to be unwanted by your parents and I wasn't unwanted. It was just bad luck that I was left."
Sabo wasn't sure what to make of that information. Ace had said he had run away from home a couple of times so he hadn't deluded himself into thinking he'd had an amazing life as a noble but he also hadn't expected to be told he'd been unwanted. He pushed it away. He was free of that life; none of it mattered now.
"Ace, it's okay to feel like they abandoned you," he said instead.
"Yeah, maybe," Ace conceded. "I used to go around beating people up who talked shit about Roger in front of me. You used to yell at me for getting into fist fights without backup," Ace grinned.
"Why would you do that?" Sabo was bewildered. He could understand defending Roger if he liked him but that wasn't the case here.
Ace smiled. "Because my mother loved him. She had to have seen something in him, right?"
Sabo stared at him, his grey eyes clear and steady after the storm of emotions. He returned his smile easily. "I guess so," he agreed. He raised his tankard in a silent toast to the fallen woman and Ace grabbed his own to clink them together.
"You know," Ace said, while Sabo kicked back in his chair and threw his booted feet up onto the bench next to him. "I'm not the only one of us with a famous father."
Sabo choked on his drink, which in turn caused Ace to laugh and nearly upend his own drink with the force of his shakes.
"That serves you right!" he said, hurriedly wiping the front of his shirt and smudging the wet patch. "Who the hell else has a famous…" he trailed off. It was obvious. "Luffy too, huh?" He sighed heavily. Of course, Luffy too, he thought helplessly. He selfishly hoped this was the last of Ace's little revelations because he wasn't sure his nerves could take many more, especially not when they involved the World Government and the two pirates he had grown incredibly fond of the past few weeks.
Ace nodded, and he looked pleased to see Sabo catch on so quickly. "Yep! Did you hear about Luffy before you met him?"
"What? Do you mean while he was still in East Blue? No, I only heard about him when he defeated Arlong. That was the first time news of the Strawhat Pirates broke, I think," he explained.
"No, I mean did anyone ever mention Luffy before that," said Ace.
Sabo frowned. "Like who?"
Ace quirked a brow. "Like Dragon, maybe?"
"Dragon?!" he repeated dumbly. He shook his head slowly. "No, he's never mentioned Luffy. Honestly, the Revolutionary Army doesn't usually affiliate itself with many pirates."
Ace cocked his head inquisitively. "Wait, you don't? Are you breaking the rules by being with me and Luffy then?"
He waved one hand dismissively. Pirates made up some of their intelligence network but they were rarely involved beyond that. "No, it's not a rule exactly. More of a guideline," he said absently, barely paying attention to Ace going off point, his mind instead racing with Luffy and Dragon. "Dragon was in Logue Town," he said softly, trying to connect the dots. Dragon hardly ever travelled outside of Baltigo now unless it was absolutely necessary since their success in South Blue. Ace watched him silently. "Specifically, Dragon went to Logue Town when he knew that Luffy would be there. Is Luffy… Is Dragon Luffy's father?" he asked, gaze jumping back to Ace.
"Yes, he is," Ace confirmed. "I knew you'd get there and I've also not broken my promise to Gramps to never tell anyone. Although, I think he'd make an exception about you knowing," he added absently.
"Does Luffy know?"
"I've honestly no idea," Ace replied, shrugging. "And I'm not gonna be the one to tell him if he doesn't. Gramps said he would do it, eventually. I don't know why the old man's so freaked out about Luffy knowing though. He's never told a soul about who my father is. The kid can keep a secret when he wants to."
Sabo glanced away, nervously. He knew intimately why Garp wouldn't want Luffy being told. It's the same reason he doesn't want Ace or Luffy to know that he's Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. It's a dangerous and unpredictable job at the best of times. While he does know some Revolutionaries still had families, they could go months or even years at a time without contact. None of them could risk the World Government Cipher Pol agents ever making a connection to anyone on the outside. At best, they would only be put under constant observation; at worst, their very lives could be in jeopardy. And it would hardly be fair to ask a child to understand why their father was absent, Sabo thought. Sometimes not knowing was the kinder choice. He could completely understand why Garp made the decision he did and never mentioned Dragon to Luffy. He felt a sudden spike of admiration for the man for taking in not one, but two, children of wanted men. He might be a marine but the man had morals, which was refreshing.
"I don't actually know if Dragon even knows that Luffy grew up on Dawn Island," said Ace, resting his chin on one hand.
Sabo groaned suddenly and buried his face in his hands. Suddenly, his conversation with Dragon back on Drum Island made so much more sense.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked, alarmed.
"He did know," he said, roughly.
"What makes you so sure?"
"I was rescued by Dragon. Not any old sympathetic Revolutionary, but Dragon himself. He's the one who pulled me from the water," he started, ignoring Ace's jerk of surprise. Obviously he had forgotten to mention that specific little detail before. "You asked me, back when we first met, if Dragon had been with the Revolutionaries who were visiting Dawn Island ten years ago, remember? You even said that you knew a few of the same people! You meant Luffy and Garp, didn't you?" He barely waited for Ace's nod before ploughing on. "Dragon knew exactly where Luffy was the whole time. He was at Dawn Island back then because the tenryuubito was there!"
Ace hummed thoughtfully. "Couldn't it have just been because Dawn Island's convenient to reach from Baltigo and not because he actually knew anything?" he wondered.
Sabo scoffed at his weak attempt at clutching at straws. "It's very inconvenient to reach actually, and we don't go around staking out every island the tenryuubito's visit. Dragon must've been there to make sure they weren't going to do anything," he concluded, scrubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Do anything? Like what?" Ace asked, incredulous.
Sabo dropped his hand and let his head fall back against the hard wood of his chair. He stared up blankly at the ceiling. "A Buster Call eradicated the entire island of Ohara just because a few historians were poking at ruins. What do you think would have happened if any one of the agents that were undoubtedly crawling around Dawn Island back then had discovered that the son of the Pirate King and the son of the head of the Revolutionary Army were on the same island?" he asked softly. He rolled his head to stare at Ace. The pirate looked sick.
"Just when I thought they couldn't get any worse, they still find ways to surprise me," he muttered.
Sabo laughed hollowly. "Oh, Ace. You have no idea what lows they are capable of sinking to."
xxx
The next morning, Sabo stepped into the galley and sighed at the mess that greeted him. After all the revelations Ace had thrown at him the night before, Sabo had figured they had earned themselves a few stiff drinks and had cracked open another barrel of ale. While not exactly as wild and rowdy as some of the late-night drinking parties Sabo had been included in before, they'd had a late night all the same and hadn't bothered cleaning up before they'd headed for their hammocks.
Sabo drifted slowly towards the table, pushing their tankards to one end to wash later and picking up the newspapers he'd left behind. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he re-read the headline about Crocodile. He'd trusted Luffy that he could pull off saving Vivi and her country and he'd been proven right.
Making a quick decision, he carefully tore the article from the paper. It didn't make any mention of Luffy or the Strawhats by name - since all the credit for uncovering Crocodile's deception seemed to have been credited to Smoker, which Sabo knew would grate on the man if nothing else – but all the same, Sabo decided the article was worth keeping. He wondered briefly if Koala had kept any of the articles that detailed Arlong's defeat a few months ago. If she had, he would rather like to keep a copy himself. Ace happily went around parading a Wanted Poster of Luffy; Sabo felt it was within his right to keep his own copies of Luffy's achievements and milestones, just in case he forgot anything again, he thought.
His froze and his hand hovered over the remains of the paper. He hoped he never forgot Ace or Luffy again. Beyond the memories lost to him before the attack, Sabo had never struggled with remembering anything but he didn't want to take any chances.
He carefully folded up the torn-out article and tucked it into the pocket of his waistcoat. Maybe he would put them into some sort of scrapbook, he thought. In the captain's cabin of the ship – which Sabo had all but given up using since meeting Ace, preferring instead to bunk down below in the hammocks in the hold rather than the pokey room that was barely larger than a cupboard – there was a desk. He might store everything in there until he could get back to Baltigo and put them somewhere more permanent in his room.
"Hey," Ace greeted as he stepped inside. "There's an island within sight. We should be there within the hour."
"Great," said Sabo, balling up the rest of the paper and tossing it into an empty barrel.
"Do we need anything besides food?" Ace asked, striding over to the corner where his bag and their hats were.
"Ale."
"Ale?" he repeated, swinging around in surprise. Sabo gestured to the two empty barrels and the tankards he still hadn't collected. Ace grinned sheepishly. "Ah yeah. We were a bit heavy on it last night, I guess. I can pick some up on my way back. We good for other things?"
Sabo nodded and idly reached up to rub at his temple. It was throbbing again, although thankfully nowhere near as bad as it had been recently. He wondered if Kureha was right about his eyes. Maybe he was straining his eyes too much.
Ace smirked when he caught the motion. "Do you have a hangover?"
Sabo snorted. "No," he denied. A heavy night of drinking had given him a disgusting cottonmouth but ale – especially the watered-down kind they had been drinking – rarely left him a hangover. Wine, on the other hand, was a whole other story.
"It's okay to admit you can't keep up with me, ya know," Ace teased, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "The mera mere no mi burns through any alcohol I drink really quickly."
Sabo cocked an eyebrow. "And just how many people have you swindled in bets over the years with that little trick?"
Ace shrugged, completely unrepentant. "Eh, a few. Some of the Whitebeard pirates haven't even clued in yet." He reached down and snatched up his bag and hat. "I'll grab some ale. You can stay aboard and nurse your hangover," he grinned, gently knocking into Sabo's shoulder as he passed.
"It's not a hangover!" Sabo shouted after him. Ace's laughter is all that drifted back to him before the door slams shut. Sabo groaned and reluctantly set about tidying up. "It's not a hangover," he grumbled to himself. "Not every headache's a hangover!"
xxx
Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.
Sabo sighed as the screech of the den den mushi filled the deck and pulled it out of his jacket pocket.
"Sabo here," he said absently, dropping it onto his knee so he could keep cleaning his lead pipe with both hands.
"Wow, you answered that quick," said Koala, her voice came through loud and clear. "Are you feeling okay?" she teased gently.
"Oh come on! I can answer the call quickly sometimes, can't I?" he laughed.
"That's how you should be answering every time! How are things going?"
Sabo tilted his head back against the wall of the galley cabin. "All good. Still really weird to hear about myself as a kid though," he admitted quietly.
"I bet," she said. "Back in those days I was taller than you!"
He snorted. "Barely taller," he corrected. "How are things with you guys?"
"Business as usual. I've got to chase up one group later though, they still haven't sent me a report."
"See!" Sabo cried, glancing back down at the snail to see it was mimicking Koala's typical unimpressed expression perfectly. "It's not just me who doesn't get them in on time!"
"That may be true but you are by far the worst culprit!" she retorted. Sabo couldn't refute that fact. "Anyway, I didn't call about reports - "
"Hold up, let me just check that the sky hasn't turned green or something," he smirked.
"Shut up! Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?"
"Sorry, please go on."
Koala huffed and he could almost picture pouting. Nobody mocked Koala's reports and got away with it scot free so Sabo expected there to be some retribution when he returned to Baltigo. Probably in the form of more reports.
"I still haven't been able to find anything on Blackbeard." She actually sounded offended that there was something out there she hadn't yet managed to find. "Wherever he is, he's hiding himself pretty well. But I think, going by the course I've been plotting with the information you gave me from Ace, Jaya might want to be an area you guys want to take into consideration. There are a couple of islands around there that fit the profile of places he's been to before."
Sabo gently picked up the snail and pushed himself to his feet. He strode into the galley to study the map Ace had pinned to the wall, large red crosses overlayed the islands they had already visited. "Jaya, huh," he muttered, following the course. Instinctively, he also followed one of the plots the Strawhat Pirates might have taken from Alabasta. "I hope Luffy doesn't wind up heading that way if that's the case," he said.
Koala giggled. "You're such an overprotective big brother! Who knew?"
"I am?!" Sabo asked, baffled. He hadn't considered that his thoughtfulness towards Luffy would be construed as overprotective.
"You sound like one at least," said Koala.
"Right, okay," he said, giving himself a small shake. "Thanks for the info. I'll let Ace know when he gets back."
"I'll keep an ear out for anything else, but he's one man in a very big ocean," she conceded.
"I'm sure you'll find something soon enough." She always did.
Hanging up the call before she could give him her usual threats if he didn't answer her just as quickly next time, Sabo pocketed the snail and gave the map one final glance before heading back outside. He glanced up at the sun and was surprised to find it was already well after midday.
Ace had been gone a long time, he thought. With a heavy sigh, he threw on his jacket and collected his now clean pipe. He gave the ship a cursory once over and, seeing nothing out of place, he jumped the small gap to the old, rundown and disused jetty they'd found. He quickly set off in the direction of the small town Ace had been determined to check out in search of the wayward pirate.
XXX
Next Chapter: Everyone is a Road
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