Chapter Twenty-Four : Protect

"Hate to break your reunion but we need to go," Roger said after clearing his throat.

It was a relief to see the three of them back together. But the guards will probably be after them. Roger can beat them all on his own but still, he cannot have any attention to himself. It will put them into more danger.

Ace broke away from his brother's grasp. His eyes immediately landed on Dragon. It was a glare, something the boy always gives whenever a stranger would stare at him. Roger knew how much Ace distrusted people. It was not a bad habit but sometimes, his son was overdoing it.

"Ace, don't worry. He's not gonna harm any of you." Roger explained peacefully.

"You sure? I don't trust people who have tattoos on their face..." Ace scowled, still wary.

Dragon then turned to Roger. "Your son?"

"Yeah. Gol D. Ace. He's a little spoiled though." Roger answered him with a small chuckle.

"I'm not spoiled!" Ace complained. He stomped his feet on the ground and crossed his arms.

Sabo, who still had a crying Luffy in his arms, sighed. "Ace, that's Dragon-san. He saved me last night."

"He did?" He blurted out in surprise.

"The other two are Sabo and Luffy." Roger continued his introduction as he pointed them. His eyebrows formed a frown. "Humor me. You know who he is, right?"

"Of course, I do." Dragon simply answered, understanding what he meant.

"Oh good." Roger expressed. "Let's go back to the forest. Are you coming with us?"

"I need to talk to you in private." Dragon nodded in agreement.

Roger offered Luffy to be carried in his back but he turned him down. Within the trio, he had the most bruises. Luffy was still clinging on Sabo, not wanting him to be out of sight.

"I guess we're fine here." Ace mumbled once they were in the Middle Forest.

"You sure?" Roger asked.

"Yeah. You want to talk to him, right?"

"Wait," Dragon halted. He looked at Sabo with a serious face. "I have an offer to make."

Sabo blinked. "What is it?"

Ace and Luffy looked up too, curious about what the man would say.

"I am leading a revolution. An oppression against the World Government and the nobles." Dragon stated sternly. "Will you join us, Sabo?"

Before Sabo could even reply to that, Luffy spoke up in an angry tone. "You can't take away Sabo! He's our brother!"

"That's right." Ace snarled, hiding Sabo in his back. He clenched his fist, ready to take on the man.

Roger let out an exasperated sigh. As if Luffy and Ace's overprotectiveness was not enough.

"I am not forcing him to join. It is a mere suggestion."

"Oh, is that so? You must be nice!" Luffy said immediately changing his mind.

Ace smacked his face. "Of course, that's how you'll put it..."

Roger glanced at Sabo who was still staring Dragon. The blond boy's eyes showed hesitance and indecisiveness. And for a moment, Roger wondered if Sabo would agree. After all, Sabo planned on leaving today but was stopped. Now that he had a safe way out, Roger was unsure if he would say yes to the suggestion.

"I would have love to," Sabo answered after a while. He had a smile plastered on his face. Before Ace could do another protest, he stopped him. "But I originally planned to set sail once I turned seventeen. I am currently ten."

"If you say so then..." Dragon closed his eyes and gave him a small smile. "Seven years from now. Meet me at Loguetown. If you still want to join our ranks, that is where you will find me."

"Thank you, Dragon-san."

"You're a Dragon!?" Luffy exclaimed dramatically, eyes glittering in astonishment.

"It is my name, yes."

"Ne, ne, Roger!" Luffy called out in excitement. The boy was grinning ear to ear. He pointed at his father, unaware of who he truly was. "I finally met a dragon!"

Roger blinked before laughing out loud. Of course, that would be Luffy's reaction to meeting his birth father, even if he did not know it that moment. Roger remembered days ago when Luffy had asked him if the Celestial Dragons were real dragons. He also remembered Luffy's statement back when they first met.

"Dragons are cool! They breathe fire and stuff! They can also fly!"

"You sure did, Luffy," Roger answered with a humoring grin.

"Do you poop?" Luffy straight out asked.

"Yes, I do." Dragon simply replied.

Roger and Luffy shared out a loud laugh. Ace and Sabo, on the other hand, did not share that sentiment.

Sabo's face became mortified. A small blush forming in his cheeks. "What kind of a question is that!?"

"And don't answer him! Damn it!" Ace complained at Dragon.

"Sorry, Dragon-san. But Luffy is just like that." Sabo quickly apologized while pinching Luffy's cheeks in which the rubber boy complained with a moan.

"No need." Dragon was not offended by it. He let it off easily. He was more amused by his son's antics.

"We're going back to the treehouse to treat our scrapes." Ace said as he grabbed Luffy once again.

Roger nodded. "I'll meet you three later."

"Shihihi. Bye-bye, Dragon! I hope to meet you again! Show me your powers, okay?!" Luffy bid him farewell as he waved both of his hands. Ace and Sabo were dragging him away on each arm.

"Thank you for your help, Dragon-san. I'll never forget it." Sabo said his gratitude while bowing his head.

Roger and Dragon watched as Luffy was taken away by his brothers. Roger cannot help but smile. Seeing the three brothers together, made him really happy. He finally brought home the third one.

Once out of sight, Roger immediately turned to Dragon.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Roger stopped momentarily from his eating. Rouge who was across him, took notice of the sudden change in his behavior.

"What is it?" Rouge inquired. She put down her spoon as she stared at him worriedly.

"Someone's coming this way..." Roger answered in wariness.

He was using Observation Haki all day round. It was not something he do usually. But still, he was worried about other people finding him here. He cannot let anyone know about Rouge and their unborn child. He had made enemies left and right throughout his pirate life. One wrong move and he would put his family in danger.

"An enemy...?" Rouge asked in a whispered tone. She put her hands on her abdomen in a protective manner.

Roger shook his head. "I don't sense any malicious intent. Don't worry, I'll go and check it out."

He quickly stood up and kissed his lover on the forehead. At that moment, a knock resounded on the house. Roger made his way towards the door.

He opened it and saw a man. He was probably around in his early thirties. A striking jet black hair and intense black eyes that was kind of familiar. He did not look like a pirate nor a marine. He was wearing a green robe that was covering his entire body.

"May I ask who are you?" Roger questioned in a cautious yet friendly tone.

"I am Monkey D. Dragon."

That name rang a bell. "Monkey? You're Garp's brat then. What brings you here?"

"May I talk to you?"

"Okay." Roger agreed.

Roger ushered him to a seat at a table in the patio outside.

"What brings you in South Blue?"

Dragon was silent. He was saved when Rouge came out of the house holding two cups of tea in her hand. She put it on the coaster.

"Thank you." Dragon said with a small nod. It made Rouge smile at him. She immediately went back inside the house.

"My dream is to start a revolution against the nobles and the World Government." Dragon stated in a proud tone.

"And you want my help," Roger said, direct to the point.

"You do know what happened during the Void Century." He swirled the cup that he was holding in his hand.

"Your dream is a good one..." Roger paused, breathing out. "Let me get this straight, I can't help you."

"I see..." Dragon said, not surprised by his reaction.

"My crew and I are too early. Someday, the D will bring a storm and someone will finally inherit Joy Boy's will."

Dragon was silently staring at him.

"I advised that you wait. It's sooner than you think." Roger continued, shaking his head. "My time is limited."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have an incurable disease." There was no point in hiding it. Besides, something was telling him that he could trust the man. He was always good at telling if a person was a nice one.

"That's why you disbanded your crew, Pirate King." Dragon stated. "I am one of those people who wondered why."

"As I said, we are too early. At this time, we can't do anything about the World Government."

Dragon was silently indulging everything he had heard. He then stared out at the horizon, not meeting Roger's gaze.

"Listen up. Next month, I will surrender myself to the Marines. I have something prepared up on my sleeves." Roger revealed with a determined smile. "I will let someone inherit Joy Boy's will."

"Very well..." Dragon wistfully sighed. He finally met his gaze. It was still stoic but his eyes had softened. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Roger."

"Pleasure is all mine." He chuckled. This was not what he had in mind when it came to meeting Garp's brat. "I've had heard stories from Garp about you. He said that you're a little... rebellious."

"That's exactly how my father would describe me." Dragon stood up and made his way. "One last thing..."

"What is it?"

Dragon turned and made eye contact. "When will it be...?"

Roger gave him a cheeky grin. "I'd say more or less twenty years from now."

"I'll patiently wait for it, then."

Roger watched as Dragon left the place. That talk turned out to be more interesting than he had expected."

"I followed my dream." Dragon said. "You said that D will bring a storm."

"Yes?"

"I decided to ride that storm."

"That is not a bad decision," Roger said with a smirk. "Is that why you're on Dawn Island?"

"I was born here. This island meant a lot in one way or another."

"You saved those men in Gray Terminal last night." Roger pondered with a hum. "I was wondering why no one died in that fire."

"Some of them had decided to join. As you said, this is a recruitment pitch."

Roger mused while stroking his mustache. A sly smirk was on his face. "You have been following me since yesterday."

"I am worried. Knowing you, you will do something dangerous."

"Dangerous? Have some faith in me, brat!"

"We both hated the Celestial Dragons. If that boy did end up being blown up in the boat, you and I know that you would have gone berserk."

"Those three meant a lot to me. I swear that I will protect them." Roger proclaimed, his whole body tensing. "I can't really cause any ruckus now. If they find out about me, they'll also find out about Ace and Luffy. It will put them in danger."

"There are things I also do want to protect." Dragon said, closing his eyes as he sighed.

"Luffy, huh?" Roger grinned in a teasing manner. "Are you gonna leave this island again without revealing yourself to your son?"

"I already meet him and he's fine. That is enough for me." Dragon explained. "We have different ways of protecting. I wanted Luffy to have a normal life as possible. I don't want to burden him by being related to a world-renowned criminal."

Roger suddenly felt the coldness of that statement. Those words were the perfect excuse. Because that was exactly what happened to his son, Ace. He remembered his son's words months ago about questioning his own birth. It was not something a child should question. But still, he wondered if Luffy would end up the same once he learned the truth.

Noticing the sudden change in Roger, Dragon dropped the subject. "May I ask how did you get here?"

"I don't know..." Roger sighed, wistfully. "Yes, I did travel eleven years in the future but that doesn't change anything..."

"Your disease..."

Roger gave him a humorless chuckle. "The longest I can manage now is a month."

"Have you told those three?"

Roger shook his head. "I haven't but it will come eventually. I can't burden Ace with the thought of his father dying. Telling them right now will change the way they act around me."

"You're still ought to tell them. You can't just die suddenly without any explanation."

"You will protect them, right? You already ask Sabo to join you."

Dragon nodded. "Are the brothers of my son are also my sons?"

"I can't argue with that logic." Roger let out a laugh.

"When the time comes for them to shine, I'll be sure to help them."

"The world is not yet ready for what's to come." Roger grinned in agreement.

"It's nice seeing you again, Roger." Dragon bid, turning his back.

"Pleasure is all mine."

With that, Roger watched as he faded with the wind.

A/N: One of my few One Piece headcanon is Dragon and Roger meeting. I've always liked the idea and decided to insert it here.