Wishfull-star: Thank you!
Sairakanzaki: Thanks! I won't give out spoilers, but a lot of shit happens with Ace's demon stuff. And a plot twist later, too!
OMG everyone, I got a new mattress after 15 years of shitty ones and it's amazing. I'm so happy, I can just sit in bed and not have my back hurt! Has nothing to do with anything, just wanted to share it, lol. Enjoy~
When they found Oden, he was being threatened by some pirates, one of them with an octopus on his head and six arms! "Wow, what is he?" Ace asked the surrounding pirates. Vista replied that he was a fishman. People that lived in the water and on land as well. "Wow!" Ace exclaimed, amazed.
"Your first peek at the wonders of the outside world, huh?" Bay asked, looking at him with a real smile. Ace nodded, and Whitebeard walked forward and wordlessly slammed his bisento, the huge weapon that only he could carry, into the fishman's head, knocking him down. The enemy pirates screamed at seeing the Whitebeards in fear. His crew was really strong and scary to the rest of the world, it seemed.
He could tell they were strong, especially Pops, so he wasn't too surprised. But he had a lot to live up so if he was going to be on this crew. He had to get strong and smart. Wanting to help them out as best as he could.
Ignoring the screaming and fleeing pirates, Whitebeard called, "Get on board, Oden!"
"Huh?! But I let go of the chain!" Oden replied in shock. Pops grinned, and said he thought it was admirable that he let go of his ambitions to protect a woman he heard screaming. Ace just now noticed the woman standing with him. And Oden was in much better shape than he was before. No longer swollen and injured at all. He healed so fast!
Ace looked at his arms, wishing his cuts would heal faster.
"We're going to reward you with the adventure of a lifetime, brother," the captain said with a grin. Oden was so happy and desbeileving. Some of the crew laughed when he called Whitebeard "Whitey-chan". It didn't really sound respectful, to be honest. Pops didn't get annoyed with the name, surprisingly.
The youngest asked why he wasn't going to be a son. "Maybe because Pops doesn't want him as a son, but a friend," Vista mused. "Maybe he thinks Oden would just not make a good son, who knows?" Ace looked back and Oden spotted him. His brows furrowed, and Ace didn't see the pointed look he was given by Pops since his back was to his sons.
Oden's strange expression turned into a grin. "You're the one that kept feeding me and staying up at night, weren't you?!" Ace nodded. "Thank you, that was very kind!" He gave a small bow, and Izo told him to not bow his head. "We're not in Wano anymore, Izo! Let go of those formalities!"
Izo didn't approve of his attitude, but they weren't going back, so there was no real use for complaining about it now. When they returned to the ship, there was a party, everyone excited for Oden to come along with them. Ace sat across from him, eating as the woman, Toki, begged to stay with them.
Pops agreed easily. Again, he wondered why some could join so easily, but Oden was rejected and then put through that grueling test. "So, where did you come from in Wano?" Oden asked in interest, taking a large swig of his drink, grinning. He was very happy to be there.
"Kuri," Ace said. "I wasn't very well off, I lived with my dog only." Izo walked over, and mentioned that he had planned on entering the demon forest to find his dog. When Oden was shocked, Izo gave the even more shocking news.
The geisha man, in a much better mood now that Oden was safe on the ship, said, "Marco and Thatch explored the forest. Walking inside and getting out alive. They used Marco's phoenix flames as repellant to the demons." Oden looked at Ace, a look of realization dawned on his face. But he said nothing of it, other than calling the teens crazy.
"It was interesting! And freaky, too," Thatch said, eating the dish he'd made. It was good, but nowhere near the high quality of the actual chefs.
After staying on the island, and pretty much forcing the Takotopus Pirates to be subordinates, which they agreed, they left and headed out to their next adventure, following the more calm needle on the log pose. During their time sailing, Ace learned to read better, and was glad he did catch on fast. Marco was right, he was a fast learner.
Once he was done with the fictional book, he turned to a more difficult one. It was harder, and he read slower, but it grew easier the further he got in the book. Once he felt he was good enough at reading, he tackled the interesting science books.
Ace talked to Oden a lot, and he got along well with Stefan. But, he was not immune to Ace and Thatch's new job of pranking. They were hiding under the table while the can of paint rested precariously on the door, which was slightly open. They were both were silent, wondering who would be unfortunate enough to open that door.
It was Oden, who was shocked at it as blue paint soaked into his strange hair and clothes. Thatch burst into laughter. "You gave us away!" Ace accused. But Oden started laughing, too.
"Next time, add feathers and glitter to the mix!" the tall man suggested in good nature. Thatch and Ace would definitely do that, but they'd need to get glitter from an island. The pirates definitely didn't have glitter laying around somewhere. Izo came in behind Oden, and demanded to know what had happened, stepping in the paint, growing absolutely furious when the paint got on his kimono.
Ace and Thatch screamed and fled the scene. They'd clean it up as soon as it was safe!
-x-
Ace was unfortunate enough to be out on deck when a pirate crew attacked the Moby Dick. It shocked Ace that people were stupid enough to attack their crew. But he had no weapon on him, and tried to flee. Marco was fighting, and Thatch was throwing knives. He didn't want to run away.
He looked for anything to use, and grabbed a mop from the outside storage closet, and slammed it into a pirate, but the man flew off of the ship before he was even touched. The mop was covered in black that also glowed a pretty orangish-red. He did that for the others that got near him until.
Pops saw this, and asked Ace where he learned haki. This was once everyone was off the ship, and they'd looted the enemy ship and burnt their sails to nothing. "Haki?" Ace asked curiously after putting the mop back away.
"Yeah, you used haki on the mop as a weapon," he said from his throne, leaning forward in interest. Ace looked at his hands.
"I didn't mean to. I don't know. Is haki good?" he asked. He'd honestly never heard of it. Pops nodded, but said he never saw haki like that. Oden overheard them and hurried over, looking amazed and curious. He wondered what they were talking about, only hearing the word "haki" and growing curious. He was very curious all the time, and Ace wondered how he'd react at their first island.
Ace would be immensely curious, too, but would stay with the group.
"Ace used armament haki, but it repelled the enemy when the broom didn't even touch it. I've never seen armament haki like that. Quite interesting, gurarara! You sure do have some surprises, Ace. I'm positive you'll make a strong pirate some day. Maybe someday soon!" Ace smiled widely and nodded. He looked at his hands.
Oden asked, "What did this haki look like?"
"The normal black of armament haki, but with a red glow to it. Similar to my haki, only it looked different. My haki doesn't show the glow his had," Whitebeard explained. Oden looked amazed, and made his own arms do what Ace had done with the broom. "What is that called, Oden?"
The former daimyo said, "It's called 'ryou', an advanced haki that is used by the strongest people in Wano, including me! I'm very impressed, Ace." He sounded sincere, and Ace smiled. He tried to recreate it on his hands, but it didn't come out. "Well, unlocking haki is more easy than training it. You'll need a lot of time and practice to master it. I'll help you if you want."
"Yeah! Thanks," Ace said excitedly. He hurried inside to tell Thatch and Marco. Maybe he could be strong on the crew, as well. That would be amazing, he would be useful! But he was small, so he had to be more careful to not get hurt easily. Small and definitely not strong body wise.
When he found his closest brothers, he told them about it. Thatch moped, kicking his toe into the wood while Marco congratulated him. He was grinning, proud of his youngest brother. "Thatch, don't mope. Once you get swords, I'm sure you'll be strong, too! Besides, even I don't know haki, yet."
Thatch pointed out, "You have an awesome devil fruit, though." He was still upset, and Ace was worried he made him sad or jealous. "I'm happy for Ace, it's super cool! But I also want to not fall behind." Atmos walked in, one of the biggest of the crew, and pointed out that all three of them were still kids. Ace was just lucky to have it develop so early.
Ace said, "I want to be useful here. Thatch is learning to cook, and Marco is a good fighter. I want to be good at navigating, but maybe I won't be useless here!" Pops came in, and said Ace wasn't useless, even if he wasn't strong. His voice was firm, but kind. Ace nodded, though the feelings would definitely stay.
But he was so happy. He would be strong some day, he knew it. And Oden would train him, one of the strongest of all of Wano. But getting him to separate from Toki was getting more difficult. She stuck with him almost everywhere. Well, she wouldn't be too distracting. She was smart and strong, she wouldn't interrupt something important like training.
-x-
When they got to the first island, Oden ran off while the crew was deciding how to scout. They had to scout each island before everyone left the ship, to see if it was safe. Unlike in Paradise, the first part of the Grand Line before the New World, there weren't so many marine bases in this sea, so it was mostly scouting how safe the island was, seeing what the residents were like.
After they had the scouting planned, Marco would do so from above, and Ace and Thatch would stay at the ship. Pops sighed. "Oden is a crazy guy. His curiosity is damn dangerous." Ace nodded. "I'm glad you don't run off, despite never seeing other islands before." He nodded again, saying he'd follow orders.
When the crew came back, dragging Oden along the way, the island was deemed safe to embark on. They left the ship but for a handful to keep watch of the Moby Dick. Ace stayed with Thatch and Handi, going with them to see what kinds of food this island had. Ace looked forward to trying new foods, as did Thatch.
Ace could tell they'd be inseparable. They already were! And not just because he helped rescue Ace after 70 years of being dormant and trapped in the demon forest. They headed into town, and Ace looked at all the different shaped buildings, all so tall! They went at a slow pace so Ace could take everything in.
"This looks nothing like Wano! I like it!" he exclaimed. Thatch beamed. He hadn't actually seen any buildings in Wano, though. When they reached the first place, it was a bakery. They looked at the menu, and used some of the generous amount of money to order different foods and sweets. Apparently, this was going "recipe hunting".
Handi was able to get recipes a lot. After all, they wouldn't be stealing any customers from them by making the food on the ship. They each got their own food, and Ace loved the dishes he got. This was training for Thatch, how to be polite and wrangle recipes easily. So, they got the recipes for macarons, and some different pies and bread ingredients with honey and whole grains.
Ace got a little pouch of different flavored macarons to eat while they looked for the next place, a breakfast restaurant. It was early, after all. They'd docked very early, and since the island was small, scouting hadn't taken too long. When they got to the breakfast place, they only got foods they'd never tasted before. Apple pancakes with cranberries on the edges was something the three shared, and greatly enjoyed. There was also fruit cocktail waffles. And they managed to get the recipes. It seemed that people didn't really care about giving away recipes when they wouldn't steal any customers and would not sell them.
When it was lunch time, they went to a regular restaurant, followed by a fancy one. Ace was able to eat so much that Handi was surprised. Even Thatch was getting stuffed to the point of discomfort. "And I'm still hungry!" Ace said and laughed.
"You'll be a wonderful taste tester if you can eat a shit ton of food," Thatch said, holding in a burp. "I think we've gotten enough today, and we're running out of today's allowance." Handi agreed, and the three left and headed back to the ship, bringing a large clump of papers with recipes on them. When they got to the kitchen, Handi glued the papers to the blank pages of a note book.
"This is our precious recipe book. Only I am able to handle it. We have hundreds of recipes in here. Many hundreds!" Handi explained.
Thatch pouted and said he wanted to look through it, but he was forbidden until he was older and a better cook. He nodded, though the pout was still there. Ace chuckled. When people came back to the ship, Ace saw there was a big pile of clothes for him. He had said he had no preference, not knowing even what kind of things you wear outside of Wano.
"We bought you clothes, Ace!" Oden called, carrying the huge stack and bags. Ace beamed, and the clothes were taken to his room. He put all of them in the dresser that had been nearly empty but of underwear and socks. His closet was filled, too. He loved it! It really felt like a bedroom.
The next day, hundreds of nightlights were bought, and the crew administered them throughout the ship and into most rooms and hallways. Ace was so grateful and touched that they spent so much on him. The clothes and nightlights. It made him feel warm inside.
He ventured off with Oden that day after the nightlights were bought, cleaning out multiple shops. Oden was a troublemaker, really. A bad influence, as Ace picked up his behavior until they were scolded by Bay deeply when she caught them eating quite offensively. Ace sometimes wondered how Oden was ever a responsible leader, if he ever had been. They were walking past a shop when Ace looked into a window, and jerked to a stop. He looked at his reflection with wide eyes.
It was him, only he had black clinging to his skin, and a sickly smile on, staring back at him. He looked down at his arms and scrubbed at them, only there was nothing there. He looked back up at the window, and backed away. "Ace? Are you alright?" Oden asked, voice serious.
"Um, I - yeah," Ace said, but kept glancing at shop windows, it was the same each time. When they got back to the ship, he went to his bathroom, and saw it was there in the mirror, too! It never went away! It was still there. And he knew he wasn't smiling, he could feel his face. Looking closely, both eyes were dull. No shine on them! He was so freaked out, but scared to tell anybody and risk them seeing him as crazy.
He left his room, and found Pops waiting in the hallway. "Son, we should talk. I heard about today," he said. He didn't sound stern, more like caring. It had been two weeks since he joined, but Pops seemed to care about him as much as he did everybody else. Maybe even with more of a soft spot, as Vista and Atmos said, due to his age and situation.
The boy nodded, following him into the big bedroom. He sat on the large chair across from the huge bed. So many Ace's could fit on that bed. The captain sat on his bed, leaning forward slightly. "Did you see something in the windows and mirror today? Tell me the truth, please."
Ace looked down, and clasped his hands. "I saw black stuff stuck on me, and my face looked weird. I tried to get it off, but it wasn't there, only in my reflection." He looked up worriedly to see Pops looked sad, but not alarmed or upset. He then smiled warmly, throwing Ace off a bit. This wasn't something to smile about.
Whitebeard said, "I've seen it since the beginning. The black clinging to your body. Oden sees it, too. But I don't see your face any different, so you don't have to worry about that." Ace was shocked. He hadn't noticed it yet. Wait, did that mean everyone else saw him? And was that what Pops saw at all times? He voiced those questions.
"Nobody but I think the strongest of people could see it. Nobody else on our crew can see it. And no, I do not see it at all times. They come and go often, but I still see you normally."
"...Am I a monster?" the boy asked quietly, body tense, expression of begging.
Pops shook his head. "You're not a monster, but I think there is residue of the forest on you. I feel no threatening aura from you. I don't think the black clinging to you will harm us. And if it does, we'll find a way to cope with it. Nobody is kicking you off this ship. I think it was to be expected that something lingered from that place. You were there for 70 years, after all," he said kindly.
Ace started crying, he couldn't help it. Pops took him in his hands, big enough for the boy to sit in. "You have a family now, and we won't desert you. And you're not alone, Stefan has some residue on him, too." This surprised Ace, who looked up through his tears. "Looking at Stefan, he's not evil at all, is he?" He shook his head. "And neither are you," the captain said firmly.
The boy gave a watery smile, and thanked him. "Thank you. But… why did you take me in? It was there then, wasn't it?"
"Again, I felt nothing threatening from you. And neither does Oden. He even wants to train you to be stronger. If either of us felt you could turn any sort of bad, would we be trying to teach you how to be stronger?" the man reasoned. Ace shook his head. If they did see him as evil, then they wouldn't want him to grow stronger. If they thought he was going to harm any of them, they would definitely want him to stay weak.
Ace sniffled loudly and thanked the captain. "Anytime, son. If you ever want to talk about it, I am open and understanding to how you feel, being able to see it and all. If you'd like, we can remove the mirror from your bathroom."
"Maybe," Ace replied.
"Now, why don't you go help out Thatch with dinner?" Ace nodded, and was lowered down. He made sure he wasn't crying anymore, his nose not running, and then headed to the galley. When he was with Thatch, his worry left. Same with Marco. But when he walked through the door of the galley, paint was spilled on him.