Chapter Twenty - Seven : Song
"Now, Ace. Do you know what to say?" Makino asked as she clasped her hands together.
"Yes. I will say it as soon as possible." Ace said firmly, nodding.
"Great job, brother." Sabo congratulated while clapping. He flashed a huge grin and patted Ace's back slightly.
After making sure Luffy was napping, Sabo came outside and watch Ace squirmed around Makino. Sabo's presence besides him made Ace feel more relaxed and overtime, he finally overcome his nervousness talking to Makino.
Their lesson turned better than Sabo had expected. Ace was willing to listen and remember everything Makino had said word for word. Ace's eyebrows were furrowed together and that was when Sabo knew Ace was serious about the whole apologizing business he wanted to say to Roger.
Sabo knew that Ace was not necessarily a bad person. He was just not used to the idea of lowering his pride and say sorry. Slowly and surely, Ace will change overtime as he allowed himself to change. To be a better son and brother.
"Don't congratulate me just yet. I haven't said it to him." Ace shrugged.
"I think Roger-san will appreciate the sentiment." Makino chuckled a little. "He told me some interesting stories about you three while eating lunch."
"Embarrassing stupid stories..." Ace grumbled, looking away.
That earned another amused laugh from Makino. "You can say that."
"Ace," Sabo called out.
"What?"
"Say it." Sabo encouraged in a stern voice.
"Say what?" Ace questioned with a scowl.
"Say it," Sabo repeated.
Ace's mouth opened as he finally picked what his brother was trying to say. He immediately turned his attention to Makino who was eyeing them with sheer curiosity on what they were talking about.
Slowly, Ace bowed his head. "Thank you for helping me."
"Thank you, Makino-san." Sabo smiled as he said his gratitude.
Makino's smile had brightened. "No need, Ace-kun, Sabo-kun. I'm glad to be in your need whenever you want."
Makino squeezed their shoulders in. Whenever Sabo was around Makino, he was always at constant ease. Makino was the most understanding person Sabo had ever met. There was something around the young woman that made Sabo feel at peace. As if he can tell her everything to her and she would always be there to lend her ears.
Makino was not like his mother who forced him to be a puppet. She's also not like Dadan who was brash in both attitude and words. There was gentleness in her that made her stand out. And Sabo was glad that they were able to meet someone like her. Someone who was kind and willing to help them.
And Sabo finally understood why Luffy turned out what he is today.
"Can I..." Ace started but stopped midway. He was unsure at first but continued anyway. "I think I need another lesson."
"On what?" Sabo asked.
"Manners." Ace answered seriously.
Sabo stared at Ace and he did the same. He burst out laughing.
"You!? Wanting to learn manners!? The world must be ending!" Sabo yelled. He was trying to contain his laughter but failed miserably. "It's like the equivalent of Luffy saying he's not hungry!"
"Oh, shut up," Ace rolled his eyes in annoyance. After that, he heaved a heavy sigh. "When I set sail, I want to thank Shanks."
"Captain, huh?" Makino said.
"Why?" Sabo asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh," Ace exclaimed simply. "You're not there when Luffy told us..."
"Told you what?"
"You know that Shanks is the one who gave Luffy the straw hat and inspired him to be a pirate, right? Well, there's more to that story..."
"Okay, you got me. Spill it out."
Ace exhaled loudly. "Well, he also saved Luffy's life and lost his arm."
"What!?"
Sabo stared at Ace with wide eyes. It sounded unbelievable. A pirate saving a child then losing his arm in the process. Pirates are no heroes but if that was what Shanks had done to Luffy, Shanks had earned the respect of Sabo.
"It's more than a year ago when it happened..." Makino stated making the brothers turned their attention to her.
"Did he really...?" Sabo muttered.
"He did," Makino confirmed with a sad smile. "I'm grateful for Captain. He changed Luffy to the boy he is today."
"Makino-san," Sabo called out. "Can you tell us the whole story about it? On how they met?"
Makino blinked a few times before nodding. "It all started when the Red Hair Pirates came into the village..."
And so, Sabo and Ace found themselves listening to her story. In her tales, Makino had described Luffy to have a temperament and was quick to anger. And Sabo could not believe that their younger brother was different back then.
She told them about how Luffy gravitated towards the Red Hair Pirates easily. How he stabbed himself to prove that he was serious about joining their crew. How he accidentally ate the Devil Fruit that was laying on the table.
But there was one story that shines over the rest. Luffy's life changed drastically on that day. Bandits had come into Makino's bar and insulted Shanks. And how Luffy tried to defend their honor but got abducted by them instead. The bandit had taken him and dumped him on the sea. The Lord of the Coast then appeared and ate the bandit and soon came after Luffy. It was at the last minute that Shanks came and saved Luffy, sacrificing his arm in the process.
By the time they came to a halt, the sun was slowly turning into bright orange signaling its setting. It took almost two hours to finish the tale but it somehow felt shorter.
"We should really thank Shanks once we set sail," Sabo said looking straight at Ace's eyes.
"Yes," Ace nodded. "Not only he saved his life but he let Luffy eat that Devil Fruit. Just imagine Luffy without it. He would be a handful!"
"He's a handful even now but yeah, I do see your point." Sabo grimaced at the thought. Luffy's body was bizarre due to the fruit. It has cons but the pros outweighed it. They are kids who always gets into street brawls and Luffy's abilities helped them in one way or another.
"Oi, Makino! Ace! Sabo!" Luffy yelled as he ran towards them, finally awake. Roger was not far behind him.
Sabo watched as Ace stood up, puzzled. And as Luffy arrived, Ace clenched his fist and hit Luffy right in the head. And as always, their younger brother was crouching because of the pain.
"What was that for!?" Luffy complained while gritting his teeth.
"For almost getting yourself eaten by a Sea King! What kind of a seven-year-old would challenge bandits into a fight!?"
"The idiot kind." Sabo sneered in agreement. He knew that Ace was kind of overboard for reacting to an incident that happened more than a year ago but it was needed. They both knew that Luffy might pull up something like that again.
"Challenge who?" Roger questioned in amusement. "You have the guts, Luffy!"
"Don't encourage him." Ace groaned loudly in exasperation, shaking his head.
"Hello, Luffy. Did you enjoy your nap?" Makino greeted.
Luffy nodded happily. "Yeah, I don't even remember when I had fallen asleep. But now, I'm hungry!"
"I'll cook then." Makino stood up and fixed her clothing. "I'm sorry, Ace-kun. I'll teach you again next time."
"Okay." Ace agreed.
"Come on, you three. We need to find food!" Roger commanded enthusiastically.
Grabbing their pipes in the corner, the trio set out to hunt down food.
"Today's fun," Luffy stated happily as he fell down the mattress.
"Mmm..." Sabo hummed an agreement next to him.
"Makino's cooking is great." Ace commented with a small smile. He laid down next to Luffy in which he was immediately given a hug.
"Haven't had a proper meal like that in a while," Roger commented.
After finishing dinner, the trio and Roger decided to stay at Dadan's hut. Makino had gone home. They offered to accompany her but she politely declined. And so, they bid their farewells and she promised to visit again next month.
Luffy was still smiling. He missed everything about Makino especially her cooking. They all hadn't had any home cook meals for a while now. Normally, all the food that they hunted would be roasted. The bandits and Dadan never cooked too for the obvious reason. It was always a blessing when she came over.
As much as Luffy missed Makino and living with her, he was happier here in the mountains. He was sure to show it on his face and actions so that Makino will stop worrying about him. He's old enough to handle himself and he has brothers that he can ask for help.
"Ne, Roger. Sleep with us, okay?" Luffy asked after a while.
"When did I say no to you, brat?"
"Shihihihi." Luffy laughed. For him, Roger was one of the coolest people he met, only next to Shanks. "That's why I really like you!"
"Storytime?" Roger offered as he slowly approached them.
Luffy surprisingly shook his head. "There's this pirate song Shanks and the others used to sing to me! Do you know it?"
"Pirate song?" Roger echoed. He sat in front of them as his eyebrows raised. "Hmm... We know a lot of pirate songs. You need to be specific, kiddo."
"Aww but I like to hear that one. I just don't remember it very well." Luffy pouted.
"Well, I remember there's this one pirate song Shanks was fond of."
"Then sing it for us!"
Luffy's smile widened as he turned his full attention at Roger. Sabo and Ace seemed to have taken an interest as well and turned to face him. Their eyes were glimmered with curiosity as they wait.
Roger hummed a familiar tune. He grinned cheekily. He tried to sound confident as he sang the first verse. "Yohohoho, Yohohoho."
"That's it!" Luffy laughed merrily.
"Gather up all the crew. It's time to ship out Bink's brew. Sea wind blows. To where? Who knows? The winds will be our guide!"
Luffy noticed that Roger's voice was deep. It was clear and smooth. Even if it was powerful, his singing soothed the young boy. Luffy closed his eyes and also hummed the song.
"O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide. Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by."
Luffy chuckled out. He reminisced his time with the Red Hair Pirates. Between Shanks' stupid antics when drunk or Yasopp's stories about his son, Luffy missed it all. They were always up for a party and this was the song they used to sing every time. One day, he hoped to do it again with them, his brothers and Roger included.
"Cross the gold and silver seas. A salty spray puts us at ease. Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends!"
And Luffy decided, once he recruited a musician in the future, his musician needs to sing it everytime. If not, then Luffy himself will teach him. It was definitely his favorite. And every ship needed a musician so that their adventures will never be boring.
"Yohohoho. Yohohoho..." Roger finished.
"Eh, your singing is not that bad." Ace commented as he suppressed a yawn.
"It's called Bink's sake. There's a legend around this song but that's a story for another time." Roger explained. "Do you want to learn it? Pirates need to know songs to lift their spirits!"
"Sabo's not gonna be a pirate," Luffy replied while flopping his legs back and forth.
Sabo quickly faced him with wide eyes. "Eh? How did you know that?"
"Shihihihi." Luffy laughed, feeling pleased with himself. "I heard you two talking about it last time."
"But it was night when we talked about it. You're fake sleeping?" Ace questioned.
"Nope. I woke up because you two are loud. Don't worry, that's the only part I heard. I immediately fell asleep again after that." Luffy explained.
"So you decided to join, huh?" Roger mused, asking Sabo. "Are you happy about that decision?"
Sabo nodded with a grin. "Of course."
"Just making sure, squirt." Roger chuckled as he patted his head.
"But even if he's not gonna be a pirate, teach us that song." Ace stated.
"Did you like it, Ace?"
"It's catchy..."
"Alright," Roger nodded happily. "But after that, go to sleep."
And learned the song, they did.
He was not feeling very well.
It was just like any other day. He had woken up next to the trio. Once everyone was up, they went to the forest and hunt down food. Came back to the hut and let the bandits do the cooking.
It was during the trio's training session that Roger felt something was different that day. It was only a sparring session against themselves. He was sitting on a rock, just silently watching the trio from afar. At first, the pain he was feeling was tolerable. But as the minutes passed by, it became worst.
The vision in both of his eyes became blurry. He felt numbness on his face and arms on the left side. His hands automatically held his chest as his heart started beating rapidly. His breathing was shortcoming. He coughed, putting his hands on his mouth. He stared at the blood used to it by now.
His time was running out.
"Oi, Roger! What do you think of my new technique!?"
The voices around him stopped. He cannot focused on anything. Even the trio's voices were slowly fading away.
He passed out.
A/N: Yeah, angst is coming up.
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