This story is co-written by both Syrisna and Rose7anne101, you are welcome to check our other works.
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The chapter was beta'd by the wonderful Black' Victor Cachat, he had written some amazing stories, go check it out yourself.
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Our awesome Cover Image is done by Syrisna. :)
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This story will be posted in both of our accounts.
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We don't own One Piece (things would be different if we did).
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UniLiliCornia
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Mornings were never Crutch's favourite time of day, especially when mornings meant that he had to get up to work. It was a well-known fact amongst the Liberty's crew that their chief navigator was a bit of a sourpuss when it came to getting out of bed, as the man loved his "beauty" sleep, but alas, his work often demanded that he sacrifice his sleep.
Even more so now that he had been put in charge (the whole group of bastards ignoring his refusals and objections) of this part of the mission. One of the "perks" was he had to wake up every damn morning at this ungodly hour.
Under normal circumstances, when their Chief of Staff was present, there was a high chance that Sabo would not bother to wake him, and simply take charge of the navigation. Their Chief of Staff was an accomplished navigator, yet unfortunately had the bad -and annoying- habit of not sticking to the plan, which in the end meant that Crutch had to clean up after his stupid blonde superior. Still, at least then he could do so while well rested.
Said bastard was all the way on the other side of Dawn Island now though, probably still sleeping in comfy bed while Crutch was suffering through every second.
God knew how many times Crutch had asked himself whatever had he done -something in this life or the previous one possibly- to be placed at the mercy of such an erratic boss. JUST WHY? And why did he have to be put in charge during the bra...boss's absences? That was never part of the plan! Or was it, and the bra...Sabo had been messing with him the whole time? He admits that he hadn't been all there when they discussed the plan, but surely he would have at least remembered this part!
Reluctantly, Crutch wriggled out of bed, flopping ungracefully onto the floor below, slamming a hand on the alarm clock beneath his bed to silence it.
After a few minutes, he pushed himself up, sending dull glares towards the rest of the room's occupants of their shared room.
Slowly standing up, the navigator staggered towards the nearest bed and looked down on the person in it. Still hazy with sleep, it took a few seconds for Crutch's mind to register that it was Jona, their shipwright.
Jona remained sound asleep and blissfully unaware of the looming figure over him.
Crutch swiftly rectified that with a swift, precise kick to the guts, sending the shipwright flying over two more beds and into the cabin's wall.
The resulting crash was successful in waking up everyone, and by everyone he didn't mean only this room.
"What the! What was that for, asshole?!" A now very much awake Jona demanded, picking himself off the wall, clutching his stomach.
The look that Crutch directed his way was enough to immediately shut him up.
"If I don't get to sleep in…" He leveled the same look at everyone present.
"No. One. Does. Either."
Whoever said misery loves company knew exactly what he was talking about.
Sabo stretched languidly as he sat up in bed, waking from a peaceful sleep for the first time in forever.
He looked around him, expecting to see the familiar wooden walls of his room aboard the Liberty, and was surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar room with walls painted a soothing green, and without the gentle rocking of the waves.
This wasn't his room, he remembered. This was the room he shared with Hack at Foosha Village's inn.
Everything that happened the day before come rushing back to him. Arriving to Foosha, meeting Makino and the mayor, visiting Garp's home and finding all those photos and notes that were dedicated to his grandsons. Sabo's sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
He was surprised to find that he had restful sleep. Maybe it was because of the exhausting day he had or maybe it was because he was on Dawn Island, his birthplace where his most treasured memories had been created that the dreams which had been plaguing him since Ace's death decided to leave him alone (For now at least).
All things aside, he was glad that he'd gotten some decent sleep.
Setting foot on Dawn meant that their mission was officially underway, and Sabo needed to be at his best if the mission were to proceed smoothly.
Lack of sleep tended to screw up missions like nothing else.
Getting out of bed, Sabo saw that the other bed was already made, which meant that Hack, and likely Koala too, were already awake. Although he was assuming, since Koala had her own room, except the brunette always woke up early so it wouldn't be farfetched.
Several voices could be heard distinctly through the wooden floorboards, and the blonde easily recognized his comrades' and the warm, kindly one that belonged to Irene, the innkeeper. They sounded like they were talking about something amusing, if Koala's constant giggles were any indication.
Smoothing out the creases in his clothes, Sabo made use of the adjoining bathroom to freshen up before putting on his coat and boots and making his way downstairs to the lobby/dining area, where he was sure he'd find his friends.
As expected, Koala and Hack were sitting at a table, enjoying a simple breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast, while Irene chatted with them from behind the counter.
With a mischievous smile on his face, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army stepped silently and purposely, positioning himself behind Koala who was still busy talking and waving her hand to stress her point while the other hand was stirring her coffee. Hack was deliberately not looking at him.
Holding his breath and making his body movement light till they were near inaudible. Well, inaudible to ordinary humans.
Sabo was about to descend his hands dramatically upon her shoulders intending to scare her.
"Don't even try, Sabo." Koala spoke suddenly, breaking off her conversation with Irene and without even turning to face him, she added plainly, "I know you're behind me attempting one of your childish tricks. Again."
Sabo could hear the tsk, tsk in her tone.
Sighing, Sabo went around the table and slid in next to Hack, who gave him a sympathetic smile accompanied with shake of his head as if to say, 'Did you really expect that to work?'.
Apparently, the blonde in his cheerful state (not being sleep deprived) had completely forgot that this was Koala-his best friend and deputy extraordinaire. And like him, she didn't exactly fall into the category of 'ordinary'.
"Couldn't hurt to try." Sabo pouted earning a glare from Koala as Irene laid a plate filled with triple servings of breakfast in front of him and huge cup of newly brewed coffee, with a chirpy 'enjoy your meal'.
Stirring her own coffee, Koala rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Now, SPILL." The sole female of their group demanded.
"Spill what?" My coffee? Sabo wondered confusedly, his face scrunched up. I have yet to touch the heavenly smelling beverage.
Koala ignored the ear-piercing squeal of 'cute' by Irene. Sabo in his turn, got more confused. Cute? What? Who? Koala?
"Don't give me that," Koala was scowling at him. What did he do? Cute she wasn't.
"I saw you talking to those guys at Makino's bar last night, but Hack said if I wanted to know, I should ask you personally. So I'm asking you. So spill."
Oh...maybe he could use the lack of coffee as his excuse for the lack of brain cell function.
Sabo shrugged while taking a cautious sip of the steaming hot 'brain stimulator'. "There isn't really much to talk about. They were just a few sort-of acquaintances from back then."
"Sort-of?"
Sabo considered this as he took a longer sip, enjoying the hot liquid sliding down his throat and feeling considerably more refreshed.
"Yes. Sort-of."
The conversation from last night came back to him...
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Yesterday Evening
"Pray tell, how did five gentlemen from the Grey Terminal -such as yourself- end up at this little village that's like all the way on the other side of Dawn Island?" Sabo asked in an excessively cheerful tone, while his eyes eyed the group sharply.
"Hmmmm..." hummed the one called Mox, who seemed like the 'uncrowned' leader of the group.
"Should we give him the long version or the short one..." Sim wondered with a weary sigh.
Before Sabo could open his mouth, another person - Jerry- said, his voice had an unmistakable grimacing quality.
"The short version is that we were running blindly like mice with their tails on fire," he paused and added, "literally".
The short version was very informative, yet lacking at the same time, Sabo thought. He should have known before he had asked.
The Grey Terminal fire nine years ago.
Of course.
The day he lost a life and gained a new one.
Apparently, it wasn't only him.
The others around the table had an amused look on their faces that was tinged with sadness.
"For the long version you better sit down," muttered Mox finally.
"Two chairs coming up," Sim said after exchanging a look with Mox, adding to the impression that he was some kind of leader.
"Hey Spooky, scoot over, make place will you," demanded Kohr, who was pushing the chairs together.
"You a**hole, the name's Celeb! C. E. L. E. B!" Spooky shouted while moving around to make some space for the new guests.
"Ohhh, you know how to spell?"
"That's cool man, how do you spell Spooky then?"
"Agehhhh… you morons, son of ..."
"I am going to bring more drinks, this is going to be a long night," Kohr said, while standing up and heading to the bar.
Sabo wasn't sure if he meant the story or the ongoing fight between Celeb and the others.
Sabo took the offered chair with a nod and sat down.
"Wasn't Caleb with an A when he spelled it a minute ago?" whispered the still standing Hack.
"I am sure that that's beside the point right now," Sabo whispered back, who eyed the back and forth fight with nostalgia. In his eyes, their banter was as meagre as could be. His brothers and him had been much worse when they got going.
You couldn't find two more stubborn people than Ace and Luffy. He wondered if they had stayed the same as they grew up (Sabo ignored the inner voice that repeated the words "without you"). Then Sabo chided himself, of course they had, he was talking about Luffy and Ace here.
And that was how Sabo and Hack found themselves sitting in a tight fit at a table with five others, a mountain of drinks and snacks littering the tablespace in front of them.
"Lemme tell you, that night was one of the worst times ever…" Mox started, his face had a faraway look on it that suited the gloomy mood that appeared when Mox opened his mouth.
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The night of the Grey Terminal fire, 10 years ago.
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Mox had seen the activities of Bluejam's men. At first, he wasn't too curious about it, those pirates always had something going on, and he had better stuff to do than watch a bunch of shipwrecked monkeys fool around, like looking for more plywood he could use to plug the stupid leak in his shelter, or scavenging for things he could sell in Edge town.
Except then two small figures caught his attention as he recognised two of the three devil brats following them. Apparently, those brats were also 'helping,' or in on whatever it was, but he had shrugged and hadn't bothered finding out what exactly it was they were up to. It was better -not to mention safer- to stay away from whatever was going on, he thought, and continued with his usual business.
Worst decision he'd ever made.
If he had gotten off his ass and maybe snooped around some, he might've found out that Bluejam was planning to set the entire Gray Terminal on fire, despite the manydenizens who lived in the trash mountains.
If he had, he wouldn't be stuck here now, amid blazing flames, desperately trying to find a way out. His only comfort was that he wasn't alone. There were a few others stranded with him, all people he'd seen around, yet never cared enough to get to know them. Right now, though, he was beyond glad that there were at least a few familiar faces with him.
When you lived in the junk heap, you couldn't get too close with other people. You would have to share, and people would ask you for help. It was hard enough to survive on your own dammit. But sometimes it got too damn lonely.
Only sometimes.
Not that he'd admit it if anyone asked.
The tall, stocky one whom he knew as Kohr was gripping tightly onto a long metal pipe, swatting at the flames in hope of finding a more traversable path.
"Damn it!" Khor cursed. "The fire's too big! I can't see anything!"
"It's getting harder and harder to breath," a strangled voice complained.
Indeed, if they didn't get out soon, they would die out of smoke inhalation and suffocation. Some dark part of his mind pointed out that at least they wouldn't feel it when their bodies become a barbecued chicken.
A lanky blonde cursed in response. "Can you at least see the forest?"
"I think so. What about it?"
"If we can get into the forest we should be safe from the fire! There's a hidden path that cuts through the cliff into the forest from the dump. If we can get to it, we can get out of here!"
Mox looked at him incredulously. "Wouldn't the forest also be on fire? Wood freaking burns, in case you didn't know. And how do you know about the path anyway?"
The blonde, Sim shrugged. "Not all of us are on those devil brats' bad side, you know."
The devil brats? Weren't they in on it? He saw them helping the bastards, Bluejam's men. But...but ...They didn't seem to get along with that bastard Bluejam and they, like many others used this place to forage for things to use. So, it didn't make any sense that they would be involved... Now was not the time to wonder about this shit, he snapped inwardly to himself.
"Meaning?" He growled, patience running dangerously low.
"I followed them once, and saw them use the path to get into the forest. And no, the forest wouldn't catch fire. There are cliffs on this side of the forest that's out of the fire's reach, dumba**. At most the cliff sides will be burnt. Also, the trees are further in." Sim explained.
"Guys," Jerry, the only person of the group whom Mox knew and was almost friendly with (he didn't need a freaking fire to find out his name) suddenly spoke, there was an urgency in his tone. "Maybe we should save the talking for later and just get the hell out now?!"
A sudden wave of intense heat washed over them as the fire flared, and the thinnest of the bunch, a sullen-looking man with glasses started hacking uncontrollably.
"You, blondie. You know which way the path is, right?" Mox spun on Sim, immediately assuming the role of leader of their escape crew.
"Yeah."
"Then what are you waiting for? Lead the way!"
It took them almost too long to find the path that Sim told them about, especially since the fire and smoke were getting more intense which caused them to almost miss it. Caleb, the man with glasses was pretty much knocked out from the smoke, and was being carried by Kohr while Jerry and Sim were both supporting Mox who had gotten injured when they left the sea of fire and escaped into luscious vegetation.
It might have been their imagination playing tricks on them -or they were too out of it and remembered wrongly- but just as they reached the tree line, there was a sudden gust of wind and the heat behind them diminished considerably.
However, at that point all of them were drenched in sweat and exhausted, yet the thought of the raging fire behind them still pushed them to keep walking, even though they were already out of its immediate reach.
The occasional sounds of the midnight forest only added to the fuel, instilling a primal fear of the creatures that were rumoured to roam the mountain.
The constant snaps of branches and twigs underneath their feet didn't help their nerves either. If anything, it fuelled their wild imagination.
They trudged through the forest, stumbling blindly through thick undergrowth and huge winding trees for who knew how long until the trees thinned out and a quaint little village illuminated by the moonlight came into view.
The survivors of the Grey Terminal were beside themselves with joy at the sight.
"…Did any of you know…there was a village on the other side of Mount Corvo?" Mox asked, slightly out of breath as he limped to the front with Jerry and Sim supporting him with their arms around his waist.
Mox had unfortunately received a large burn on his right lower calf when the fire spiked, and the edge of the flames lapped at it as they pushed through to the path, successfully incapacitating the man.
"No…" Came the unanimous answer from the rest of their group. If they had, they would've long ago braved the forest of Mount Corvo and its beasts, for nothing more than a chance at a better life.
"We've escaped…haven't we?" Sim realised. They were on the other side of the mountain, a place where no one from the dump had ever been before; although he had a nagging suspicion the devil brats knew about it, seeing as they assumedly went through the forest on a daily basis. "The Grey Terminal and the fire…we've escaped them…"
What happened afterwards was, as they say, history. The sight of the village elated the five men, providing them with just enough strength to make it down the mountain trail before they fell in a heap right outside the village, the exhaustion rendering them all unconscious.
When they came to, they were all lying in beds (real beds that were made of cotton and linen, not the shit they scraped together and made do with), their wounds cleaned and dressed. Jerry was the first one up, followed by Sim, Kohr, Mox and last of all, Caleb.
It had taken them a while to register their surroundings, and they only broke out of their reverie when the door creaked open and a woman in her late twenties who introduced herself as Irene entered.
Apparently, the glow of the fire could be seen from all the way in Foosha -they had quickly learnt the name of the village- and the clouds of smoke obscuring the stars had alerted the villagers to what was happening on the other side of the island, keeping them up. They were lucky that the villagers were awake, as the villagers had treated them after they brought them to the village. Mox especially, as according to Irene, his burn wound was infected. Had the villagers found them in the morning, there was a good chance that the infection might've escalated to the point that the local doctor couldn't do anything.
The doctor -a man named Pan- came shortly after they woke up, giving each of them a thorough examination before declaring them to be fine, except for Caleb who was put on medication for smoke inhalation, and Mox who was injured.
A week passed before Mox and Caleb were both cleared and allowed to set foot outside, to their relief. Lying in bed all day was starting to get to them, especially since Jerry, Sim and Kohr were already out and about.
"…And then when they found that we had nowhere to go, Woopslap offered for us to stay in the village, and we accepted. End of story."
Jerry piped in. "And now, the five of us run a junk recycling shop. Anything that's broken and unwanted is sent to us, and we try to fix and sell it. If it can't be fixed, we see if we can find another use for it." He announced, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Putting our long-earned expertise into some use," Khor sighed, there was a tinge of irony in his tone.
"Actually, it was Makino that made us the offer. Woopslap just went along with her." Caleb spoke, correcting Mox's statement.
"Although he didn't seem happy about it." Sim threw in his own two-bits. "He's always grumbling about how we're a bad influence on the villagers and should be returned to wherever we came from."
"Not that he ever acted on it."
"It's just how he shows his love, as Makino said, and I quote."
"Then there was the meeting with the vice admiral..." murmured Jerry soberly.
The whole group groaned.
"It's kind of ironic, really. You run from fire and the safe haven you find is run by a donut and cracker-addicted gorilla," grumbled Mox.
Sabo burst out laughing, 'gorilla' was an apt description of Monkey D. Garp (no, not because of his surname. At least not completely.). No one paid him any mind, they were in world of their own.
"Scary Gorilla, you mean," Sim corrected him.
"Scary Cheerful Gorilla," Khor added, taking a long gulp from his cup.
"Does anyone get what he was always smiling about? There was nothing funny," Jerry complained.
They all nodded solemnly to each other.
"Scary Cheerful Gorilla that could destroy walls with his little pinkie finger," Caleb added his two beli to the ongoing description.
"The breaking bones part was what bothered me personally," Mox added nonchalantly, the effect was destroyed by his shaking hand clutching his cup.
Sabo was not sure if he should ask what had happened, not only because they didn't seem to want to speak about it, but because last night left him with turmoil of emotions regarding Garp. He had an inkling that hearing what occurred would not help matters. He opened his mouth to change the subject.
"What exactly happened with Vice-Admiral Garp?" asked Hack.
Sabo tensed. He was wavering about what to do. Should he just stand up and leave? But he had few questions to ask, maybe he could go and then come back later...
Sabo was so busy fretting about the issue that he missed the look the group shared with each other.
"Let's just say, we were given acute details and reasons regarding why it is a very, very, very bad idea, to hurt people, to steal, or just about do anything that defies the law, one of them being it is suicidal and plain stupid. Especially if done within the vicinity of V.A Garp, which will also be very painful."
"Don't I know it." Sabo muttered.
"Also, because the earful of nagging that will be dealt out by Makino, Woopslap, and just about everyone in the village really isn't worth the effort." Caleb interrupted, pushing up the glasses that had slid down his nose.
"Exactly what he said." Mox rolled his eyes. "Therefore, we became upstanding, model citizens with respectful jobs who helps anyone in need. We help old ladies cross the street and tree-stranded cats to get down." Mox ended with a dramatic flair, or rather, an attempt at one.
Hack's eyes widened in shock. "You mean you still committed crimes after the villagers took you in?"
Sim shrugged nonchalantly. "Old habits die hard. It's ancient history now anyways."
Sabo looked unimpressed, his undecidedness had disappeared within hearing the first sentence and he mentally shelved his many issues with Garp to the back of his mind, but few stayed. "So in short, that crazy geezer treated you guys to a fist banquet,and you're all pansies who don't dare to go against him."
"OI! Where do you don't get off saying that when you don't even know what we went through!?"
"Nobody should know!"
"Uh, no. Actually, I have a pretty clear idea what Garp did, considering I received similar treatment when I lived here years ago."
Sabo felt like rubbing his head. One of the disadvantages of getting his memory back was that he could almost feel his head aching after being treated to Garp's Fist of Love.
He ignored the weird and calculated looks thrown his way, including one from Hack and asked instead.
"You said that while you were running you felt a sudden gust of strong wind, and the heat died down?"
"Hmm... not really sure..." Mox began, only to be cut off by an enthusiastic and loud Caleb.
"Yes, it was, I felt it."
"...It could have been our imagination..." Mox continued.
"I remember I felt it too, it was weird," Sim added.
"Yeah, it gave me chills... It wasn't raining or anything. It just suddenly appeared and that was it."
"Who cares," Khor declared. "We were busy staying alive and weird wind or whatever it was changed nothing. We survived."
There were 'aye's and nods all around.
But it did matter, thought Sabo.
Maybe not to them, although to all the other survivors of the Gray Terminal that Dragon had saved that day using his powers, it did. Himself included.
He shouldn't be surprised by Dragon's powers, yet he still was. The gust of wind he had sent travelled from one end of the island to the other.
As expected of the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Sabo eyed the group and the sombre looks that were drawn on their faces. Dragon had saved a lot of lives that day, but not all. A good number of people had already fallen victim to the fire by the time Dragon arrived.
Still, chances were that he may have saved some people these five knew. Should he tell them? They probably felt the same way Ace and Luffy felt when they thought he had died. His hand clenched involuntarily.
Mox and the rest had a right to know, and Sabo wanted to tell them, but he couldn't, at least not right now.
He had his responsibilities as a revolutionary.
They were here on an important mission. As the Army's Chief of Staff, he couldn't afford to have anyone -specifically people he barely knew or trusted- catch wind about what the Army intended to do here. He couldn't just tell them that their friends were probably safe either, without raising suspicion and unwanted questions. It was an all or nothing scenario. And right now, it was none.
This group of ex-scavengers -no, scratch that, they were still scavengers! Just legal ones this time around- had found a place for themselves in this little village, a role to fill, just like he did. It was all thanks to Dragon. The leader of the revolutionaries had given Sabo hope as he did those that he had liberated from the Gray Terminal.
Hope, Home and Purpose.
I'll let them know, Sabo promised himself, just before we leave.
"Hmph." Mox huffed, eyeing him with a bit of suspicion. "Well, we're done with our story, now it's your turn."
Sabo was still marvelling about how cool and strong his boss apparently was, that the look and question caught him off guard.
"Mine?"
"Yes yours. If it were anyone else asking, we wouldn't have told them about the Gray Terminal. But you already knew about it anyway."
Everyone around was looking at him expectantly.
Sabo smiled wryly. "You mean you just want to know who I am, right?"
"Smart guy, aren't you?"
The Chief of Staff raised a brow, a grin slowly creeping up his face, much like a cat that got its paws on some poor mouse.
"Well, if you must know, you gentlemen have mentioned me quite a few times already in your story."
It took the five survivors a moment too long to comprehend what Sabo said.
When they finally did…
"The hell, man?!" Kohr was the first to jump to his feet. "You're one of those ill-mannered brats?!"
Sabo stood up and gave a slight bow complete with a flourish. "Devil brat number 2, at your service."
They gaped at him, then one by one burst out laughing.
"Did you leave or something, because we only saw the other two devils afterwards," Jerry remarked.
"Something like that," Sabo answered vaguely as he sat back down.
"Speaking of them, those two brats came to the village once a few months after the fire actually," Khor said.
"Luffy and Ace?" Sabo asked to make sure.
"Those were their names. The young brat with the ratty straw hat on his head, and the older one with freckles and a permanent scowl on his face and that freaking deadly pipe on his shoulder," confirmed Khor.
"Mox rounded on them wanting to teach them a lesson," Jerry gleefully said. "Barehanded."
"I saw them helping Bluejam's men," Mox argued, sounding irritated.
Sabo was still trying to comprehend the first part to give what Mox said any head.
"What do you mean 'beat them up'?"
"Don't worry the one that got the shit beat out of him was Mox."
"He could hardly walk straight for almost month,"
"None of you even tried to help me!"
"Do we look stupid?"
"Suicidal?"
"We don't got no death wish, dude."
"If we had, why bother run from the fire then?"
Mox huffed in annoyance but didn't deny any of their sound arguments.
"He got chewed out by Makino after."
"And Woopslap."
"And the entire village."
"Because apparently the younger brat was the village's 'baby,' and could do no wrong-even though he's a freaking pirate supernova now, and majorly wanted by the government."
"Talk about adding insult to injury," Mox mumbled quietly into his cup earning snorts and chuckles.
"The older brother was ...amhh... What's the word ...very protective of the younger one."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Sim cleared his throat and mumbled.
"We saw the news...about his, uh..."
"He seemed like okay bloke, a bit on the angsty and angry side, but okay."
"Sorry for your loss," Mox gruffly told him.
Sabo nodded, he did appreciate the sentiment, yet but he didn't want their pity or the awkwardness. He decided to change the subject.
"You said something about them helping Bluejam's men?"
"Yeah, as I said I saw them helping the bastards that lit the fire."
That was really strange. Ace would never help the bastard, and definitely wouldn't have dragged Luffy into it. Was it because of him? After he had gone back with his called father. Did something else happen? Had Bluejam tricked them? Threatened? Blackmailed them? Used him somehow...
"I lost my home in the fire, it wasn't much mind you, but it was still a home," he stopped to take a gulp of his drink and added, "and it was still a rather fresh wound, so when I saw them in the village I kind of just snapped. Which, now that I think about it, was extremely stupid of me when I couldn't even beat them on a good day...I should have asked them civilly first."
The group as one snorted. Mox continued ignoring their reaction.
"That said, the older brother said that they helped, but didn't know about the explosives in the boxes. They would have never done it if they knew."
"The young brat shouted angrily that Bluejam lied to them, and that the fire had took from them something more precious than our home and that we should shut up," Sim added thoughtfully.
Sabo felt a lump form on his throat
"Both of the brats had a pained look on their faces," Khor said quietly.
"Yeah, that was the only time that they didn't make any eye contact," Jerry confirmed.
His fault.
"I was sure the the younger brat would burst out crying any second," Caleb mumbled, hiccupping.
There were nods all around.
He was the reason for the tears.
Sabo tried not to imagine Luffy's teary face, but failed when the image of Luffy crying just after he and Ace had rescued him from Porchemy came to mind, and Sabo cringed when he thought of his little brother shedding tears.
Crying didn't suit Luffy. Smiling that big, idiotic, sunny smile of his did. The same went for Ace, even though he knew his older brother by two months would be sad, he simply couldn't picture Ace crying.
Ace was too proud to cry. And then Ace would have had his hands full trying to act tough and strong to help Luffy move on. But at least he had someone to help him with his grief.
A thought struck him, and he felt like puking. All that talk relating to the fire brought on a thought about a minor detail he had forgotten about, and he felt his stomach churn. Did his letter reach them? When? Oh God.
Was it before or after they thought he died? How long...
No, it would have been better if it didn't reach them at all.
His own words that he had written down echoed in his head; "We brothers should become pirates one of these days, then we can meet somewhere out there. The ocean is vast and free. We'll meet again someday! Another thing, are you the oldest brother, or am I? It may be weird to have two older brothers and one little brother, but the bond we share is the greatest treasure I have. Luffy is still little and a cry-baby to boot... But he is still our little brother. Take care of him."
When he wrote those words, he meant them as a promise, not as a goodbye. Yet they had ended up as both.
Ace and Luffy had become notorious pirates, their infamy known across the seas. They had left to the vast oceans, keeping their end of the promise, while he didn't even know they existed. Wait, that wasn't right. He knew they existed, but he didn't remember them. Not how precious they were, or the bonds they shared.
He had written that their bond is his greatest treasure but, in the end, they were the only ones who did any treasuring.
When he left, he thought it was the best course of action (he had no idea he would be shot and almost die) and he knew that Ace would take good care of Luffy as his big brother. Except he didn't intend for his departure to become an unbearable burden.
"Did we ever find out what they lost?" asked Jerry, thoughtfully.
I'm what they lost. Sabo felt the guilt drawn him.
Ace had died thinking that, however, and Sabo swore to rectify the matter with Luffy, his only remaining brother.
He would find him no matter what he had to do, and would beg on his knees, asking for forgiveness. And if Luffy never wanted to see him again, wanted to sever a bond that he thought was dead, so be it. It didn't mean that Sabo would stop considering him as his brother. That was impossible, but somewhere where his privacy was guaranteed, he would probably be bawling his eyes out and drenching his pillow in tears of misery. Nevertheless, he would accept whatever that came, even death.
He owed him at least that. As his big brother. The one that was left.
"Nah, I didn't have the heart to ask, not when the kid looked like a kicked puppy with those teary eyes," Sim answered him.
"None of us did," Khor agreed.
"The way A... the older bra...brother spoke about Bluejam made it seem like he hated him more than we do, and we hate him a lot."
"Despise his arse," Caleb yelled drunkenly and loudly.
"What does that even mean? Despise his arse. I would despise your arse if it come in front of me," Sim demanded earning sniggers from the group.
It took few minutes, but frowning Caleb finally murmured.
"Despise the arse, happy now?"
"Yes, thank you," Sim answered calmly and then suddenly shuddered before he added to himself. "That what we need imaging the arse arse."
The group burst laughing, Sabo found himself joining them with an amused smile, his dark thoughts forgotten for a while (they were not going anywhere).
"Hearing that Bluejam died in the fire he started was one piece of good news."
"Yeah, we partied for days."
"Karma at work."
"Good riddance, I say."
"They do say karma's a bitch."
Present Day
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"...And after that, you came out from the kitchen, and we went to the inn." Sabo finished lamely.
"So those guys were from the Gray Terminal," Koala asked for confirmation. When Sabo told them of his past, the name 'Gray Terminal' had come up a lot, since he'd spent pretty much his entire childhood there. "And you know them."
The only blonde in their midst scratched his head. "Yes, and no."
"What do you mean?" Koala looked at him in confusion.
"Yes, those guys were from the Gray Terminal. And no, I didn't know them...personally before. We never interacted beyond simple nods and stuff."
At this point, Hack was just as confused as Koala. "How did you recognise each other then?"
"Well," Sabo looked up at the ceiling absently, a finger scratching his cheek. "I guess we just did…? Although we were kinda famous in the area (for all the the wrong reasons)." And we may or may not have beat them up before…...I honestly don't remember though. Sabo added in his head as he laughed sheepishly. "At least it turned out as a good thing…?"
Koala was incredulous, but let it slide as they had more important matters at the moment. "So, where are we heading today?"
At mention about his plans for today, Sabo positively lit up, and a wide grin spread across his face. He had deliberately kept silent about it when Koala asked him yesterday, which needless to say, had ticked off the brunette and resulted in the bruise on his forearm. Still, just seeing her seethe this morning, with both annoyance and expectation, the Chief of Staff thought it was worth the pain. Koala's reactions were honestly too cute and amusing to pass up.
"Today…" He drawled out the word slowly before falling silent, ignoring the flat stare that Koala was giving him. In the end it earned him a light slap on his head, courtesy of Hack.
Rubbing his head and sending a pout the fishman's way, who only shrugged as if saying 'it was this or Koala, be thankful'.
Sabo finally revealed what had him so excited.
"We hit Mount Corvo!"
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Guest reviewers do use a name/nickname please, for us to be able to answer you properly :)
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A review = more motivation= more writing= faster update ;)
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Anyways, here's the sketch we were talking about in the last chapter. :)
cyn21syrisna . deviantart art / Dragon-and-Kane-718242417
If you like it, leave me a favourite/review, deal?
Don't forget to delete the spaces. Enjoy! :D - Syrisna