Chapter 8
Delta was surprised at how fast Ace walked. The boy was practically jogging.
And Luffy was actually jogging in order to keep up.
For his part, Delta kept a safe distance as to not disturb the two boys' conversation. Well, conversation wasn't a completely accurate description of what was happening. It was more like Luffy talking to Ace excitedly and Ace pretending that Luffy didn't exist. It would've been cute if it wasn't so painful to watch.
It was a good five minutes before Delta decided to step in. Ace had just begun to speed up a little and take some slightly dangerous detours to try and lose Luffy and Delta really didn't want his younger self to do anything stupid and die.
So he lightly sprinted to the two, catching up in a matter of seconds. "Hey there!" Delta greeted as brightly as he felt, which was pretty bright considering he was actually talking to Ace.
"Go away." Ace hissed, walking right past him.
Delta just walked beside him nonchalantly. "Wow, nice kid." He turned around. "Hey Lu, why are you trying to talk to this brat?"
"He's cool!" Luffy chirped.
"But I thought I was cool."
"You are, but you're also old. Ace is my age!"
"No I'm not! I'm not a baby!" Ace growled.
Delta rolled his eyes. "It's three years, kid. You're basically the same age."
Ace clenched his fist. "Shut up!"
Luffy laughed. "Yeah! Shut up, Del!"
"Be quiet, Lu." Delta poked Ace on the forehead, making the boy growl. "And why don't you try and make me. Come on, you're tough, right? Big and strong, that's so you. I bet you beat up chumps all the time with your awesome strength. That's why you have no time for kids like Luffy. Is that it, toughie?"
"Shut up, asshole!" Ace yelled, punching Delta in the stomach. Delta didn't even flinch. Or move at all, for that matter. Even as the fist connected, He just smiled.
Rubbing his stomach, Delta said, " Ooh, that tickles. Huh, I guess I was wrong. You're not beating up anyone with attacks like that."
Ace stared at his reddening fist incredulously, then pulled back and punched again, harder this time. "Getting there." Was all Delta said in response.
Ace punched him again. Delta laughed. "Ha, I think Luffy could take you if you're really this weak."
"Shut up! That stupid kid could never beat me!"
Delta raised an eyebrow. "Prove it."
"Fine."
Luffy bounded forward. "I get to fight Ace? That's so cool! Now I'll finally get to win something!"
Delta laughed. Ace yelled, "You're not gonna' win, you stupid kid!"
Stepping in between them, Delta held his hands out at his sides and pretended to be the referee. "Alright, get ready to go in three… two… one… now!" He pulled out of the way as Luffy came charging forward.
Ace watched the boy and scoffed. That is, until Luffy kicked him in the stomach. Then Ace grunted in pain.
In return, Ace swung at Luffy and missed.
"What a shame!" Delta jeered from the sidelines, "I guess I was right! You are a weakling!"
Ace growled, and was then punched in the arm by Luffy. He gasped, clutching the bruising skin. He swung again with his good arm and Luffy once again evaded the attack.
"Are you really going to lose to an eight year old? Pathetic."
Glaring daggers at Luffy, Ace clenched his fists until they turned white and swung. It made impact with Luffy right in his face, forcing the boy back, though he didn't fall. Luffy looked up, but Ace was already rushing forward with a gleam in his eye. Luffy kicked at him sloppily and made contact with the other boy's shin, but it wasn't enough to stop the onslaught. Ace punched him in the face with one hand and jabbed him in the side with the other. Luffy fell on the ground. Ace literally kicked him while he was down. Then he kicked him again for good measure.
Breathing heavily, Ace turned around to look at Delta, who just watched on passively. Ace, under the impression that he had won, did not see Luffy get up and run at him. Sadly for Luffy, Ace did hear his footsteps. In an impressive display, Ace grabbed Luffy's incoming wrist behind his back and used the momentum to swing Luffy over his head and throw him to the ground. That time, Luffy did not stand.
Delta clapped lightly. "Impressive. You barely beat an eight year old. You sure proved me wrong."
Ace growled lowly. "Shut up. I won, didn't I?"
Ignoring him, Delta went on, "Do you know how Luffy got so good for his size and age? He trained with me." Delta stared into Ace's fiery eyes. "I can help you be strong too, if you want."
"I don't need your help, old man." Ace said harshly.
"Oh, silly me. Of course you don't. You're strong. Sorry. I guess I didn't just see you almost lose to an eight year old."
Ace paused. He breathed in deeply, glaring at the ground like it's very existence offended him. His body flexed and unflexed. Finally, he looked up, steel in his eye. "Fine, you can train me." He bit.
"I see what you did there, and I'm not having it. Student insubordination is a big pet peeve of mine." Ace didn't respond. "Say it right, or I won't help you."
Glaring, Ace repeated, "Please, I want you to train me to be stronger."
"Better."
Ace breathed. "I have a request." He bit.
"You're not really in a position to be making requests, but proceed."
"I have this friend…"
"And you want me to train him too? Is that right?"
"Yes."
Delta pretended to think about it. "I don't know… maybe if you could bring me to him, I could see how strong he his."
"He's over here." Ace started to walk away, then turned when he realized that Delta wasn't following.
Instead, Delta was standing over Luffy, who was still laying on the ground. "Get up, Luffy!"
"But it's so comfortable here…" Luffy grumbled. Delta grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him onto his feet. "Gah! Fine! I'm up!"
"Come on, we're going to see Ace's friend." Delta turned towards their guide, who was staring Luffy with a surprised expression. "You thought Luffy was unconscious? Never. It would be an embarrassment if one of my students were to faint from something as mundane as that."
Glancing again at Luffy, the beginnings of a grin grew on Ace's face. Delta walked forward with Luffy trailing behind. "Now then, let's go see about your friend."
-o0O0o-
Luffy dragged his feet piteously and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "How much farther?" Though not unconscious, the attacks he had endured against Ace were starting to take their toll.
"Almost." Was Ace's clipped reply.
Delta grabbed Luffy and put the boy on his shoulders like they'd done when he was younger. "Is that better?"
Luffy rested his head on Delta's. "Much better."
Ace stopped walking, facing a rather thick, if unassuming, tree.
"So this is your secret hideout, I assume?" The boy nodded. "You know, when you said almost, you could've just said 'we're here.' That way I wouldn't be carrying Luffy." Ace just smirked at him before turning back to the tree.
"Hey Sabo! Get down here!"
A small rustle alerted Delta to the blonde boy hiding up in the branches. Then Sabo jumped down, landing lightly on his feet with practiced ease.
"Hey Ace! What took you so- oh."
Delta waved nonchalantly. "Hullo." Luffy lifted his arm in greeting as well.
"Ace," Sabo began questioningly, "Who are these people?"
"They're living at Dadan's with me now." Ace flicked his thumb out and lazily pointed at Luffy. "The scrawny one's Luffy, and the big one is…"
Delta smirked. "I'm partial to sensei, but you can just call me Delta if you wish."
Turning his eyes to Ace, Sabo queried, "Sensei?"
"I was getting to that…"
Delta raced up to stand beside his pupil. "But not fast enough, my dear student! As you heard, the name's Delta and your friend has asked me to take him on as my pupil. And he has asked if I would consider offering you a place beside him."
"Ace… what's going on?"
The fiery boy just sighed in defeat. "Exactly like he said. But he's really strong! He even taught the little kid on his shoulders enough to where he almost beat me!"
Sano didn't even try to hold back his laugh. "You almost lost to him?"
Indignant rage heated Ace's body so that a faint tinge of blushed coated him from head to toe. "He was kinda tough! Even when I knocked him down, the kid didn't even faint!"
"My punches are like pistols…" Luffy slurred from atop Delta's head.
Sano laughed again. "You lost to an eight year old!"
"Shut up!" Ace pounced on his blonde friend, pushing him to the ground to regain his lost honor. Ace seemed raring to keep at it, so Delta did the only thing he could do. He grabbed Ace's head and lifted him off the ground.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Ace struggled uselessly and grunted in pain as Sabo watched from the ground in sudden amazement.
"Rule one as my pupil. You will not start fights with anybody for no good reason."
"He was laughing at me!"
"You will not start fights with anybody for no good reason."
"Fine! Fine! Just let me- ow! Down!"
Rolling his eyes, Delta complied and let go of the boy, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. Delta then focused his eyes on Sabo. "So, you want to join my dojo, huh?"
Sabo shrugged helplessly. "Well, I mean I guess… If Ace is doing it…"
Delta scoffed. "If Ace is doing it? Really? Have you no respect?"
"Look, I don't know you-"
"So that's all it takes to make simple and total disrespect understandable? Not knowing someone? I'm ashamed that this generation has fallen so far."
"You tell him, Del…" Luffy mumbled. Oh. Almost forgot he was up there. Delta picked the boy up and settled him on the ground to keep him out of harm's way for what was coming next.
Ace, who had by then picked himself up from a heap on the ground, turned to face Delta. "Will you stop being like this? I just asked if you'd train him!"
"I still can't stand student subordination, you know." Ace stiffened a miniscule amount, "But this time, you may be right in stopping me." He turned back to Sabo. "Blondie, get off the ground. I'm going to see if you're worth my time."
"Okay." Sabo muttered, lifting himself and moving into a fighting stance.
"Now punch me."
"What?"
"Punch me. And don't make me say it again."
Looking at Delta like he was a little off his rocker, Sabo pulled his fist back and punched him in the stomach. Delta barely felt it. "Sloppy."
"What?"
"Can you not hear or something? I said sloppy. Again." Sabo did. "Somehow, you got worse. Again. Even worse. Again. Alright, a little better. Again. ...And you dropped back down to worst. Again. at least try and make it hurt. Again."
It was tough getting Sabo to let loose and get wild. With Ace it was easy. The boy was basically a firecracker at the end of it's fuse. All it took were a few choice comments about an eight year old winning and he was gone, but Sabo was more cool headed than that. Always had been. He didn't let his anger control him like it did Ace.
Still, one can only take so many insults on their punching skills before they finally crack.
"Fine!" Sabo yelled, "You want me to make it hurt, I will!" He punched at Delta. The Pirate King moved out of the way.
"Tsk. Too slow."
Sabo leapt at him, an angry gleam in his eye. Delta avoided the boy.
"And to think Ace believed you could be taught. It's pathetic." He avoided yet another blow. "You're probably just a little rich kid, huh? Pretending to be all wild and fun loving, but really you belong in a house at a desk. 'Ts all I see anyway."
Yes, Delta knew it was a low blow, but he needed the boy angry.
"Shut your goddamn mouth!" Sabo roared, punching Delta again. Delta grabbed his fist and squeezed it.
"Or what?"
"I'll shut it for you!" Using the tightly held fist as leverage, Sabo kicked out and ran up Delta's chest, flinging his foot up and getting him straight in the jaw. Delta's head barely moved.
Delta laughed and released Sabo's hand. "Now that was a good one! Keep it up and maybe one day you can be more than a banker!"
Sabo rushed forward, eyes like a hawk. He pulled his fist back, readying for another attack. And as the boy finally got close enough to let loose his punch, he kicked out his foot instead, aiming for Delta's shin.
Delta inched the bare minimum he had to to move out of harm's way. "Also good. Keep it coming!"
And Sabo did. For the next five minutes the boy seemed to put every fiber of his very being into landing some sort of blow on Delta, not that he ever succeeded. By the end of it, Sabo was a panting mess and Delta was grinning like a loon.
"That's enough." Delta said, walking forever and patting Sabo on the back. "You did good."
In between deep breaths, Sabo argued, "I- I didn't even- even hit you! Not- not once!"
"You got me in the jaw that first time."
"Only 'cause you let me have it."
Delta hummed. "Maybe so, but isn't it a good thing that you didn't hit me?"
"Why- why would that be a good thing?"
"You've never been properly taught to fight before, right?" Sabo nodded. "And I'm fourteen years older than you and planning to be your teacher. And I wouldn't be a very good sense if I got beat by my student on the first day, would I?"
Sabo smirked hesitantly. "No, I- I guess not."
"And I'm sorry for all those things I said when we first started. You just weren't being passionate enough."
"It's all right." He paused, "So I can be your student too, right?"
"Yeah, o' course."
"Awesome." Ace breathed.
Delta grinned, turning to his other new pupil. "What is?"
"You! That was crazy! You dodged everything like it was nothing!"
"And with my training, you two will be able to do that too."
"So cool…" Ace and Sabo said in delayed unison.
Luffy jumped up from where Delta had set him down, looking significantly better after the short rest. "But first, lunch!"
Delta nodded. "I couldn't agree more."
"But what can we eat?" Ace asked. "It'll take forever to find some wild animal big enough to feed all of us and even longer to kill it."
Delta waved his hand. "Yeah… no." He stood up straight, stretching for the look of it. "Give me three minutes."
Ace raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Alright."
"Then just wait right here." Delta zipped off into the thicket of trees and bushes.
-o0O0o-
Two Minutes, Fourteen Seconds Later
Delta was back, giant boar in hand. He grinned, lifting the thing over his head.
"Two minutes and fourteen seconds," He stated proudly to the group of children. "You may now bask in my greatness."
"I want to eat!" Luffy whined.
"Tsk. Be like that." He sat down, bringing the beast down with him.
"What are you doing?" Sabo asked.
Delta looked at the blonde incredulously. "What? You're not suggesting that I start the fire and cook the boar, are you? I caught it. And besides I am your sensei and I should not be doing menial labor for my students. Now chop chop!"
It was another fifteen minutes before a suitable fire was started to cook the meat, and another half hour before the boar was suitably cooked enough to eat enjoyably. Not that Luffy handy tried to start earlier, not even he couldn't swallow the taste of an uncooked boar. It was an achievement to his meat devotion that he got the boar down his gullet as far as he did, though.
"This is pretty good, Sabo." Delta said, taking another bite of his piece. "How'd you learn to cook?"
Side note: Sabo was the one who cooked the meat.
The boy shrugged. "It was nothing. All I did was keep it from overcooking."
"And you did that awesome!" Luffy complimented.
Of course, Delta already knew how Sabo could cook- he's learnt it in Goa. He was just giving him an in to admit his place of residence. But Sabo was apparently not yet ready to talk about it, which was fine with Delta. He wasn't going to force the boy to talk. Instead, he complimented him on his cooking some more, with Luffy moaning in approval every time.
And Ace for the life of him couldn't keep a straight face, grinning a little every time Luffy moaned in food based ecstasy and told Sabo how much he loved his meat.
Delta sighed. This was the mature comedy that eleven year olds enjoyed. At least Sabo isn't so uncouth, Delta thought, looking at the top hat wearing blonde. He then realized that Sabo was just holding down his smiles, clearly better at hiding his thoughts than Ace. Delta sighed again.
"Oi! I swear I heard something!" An older voice shouted off to Delta's right, a little farther into the forest. He didn't know the voice, but apparently Ace and Sabo did; They had frozen in place at the sound.
"Hey guys, who's tha-"
"Shush!" That sounded, placing a finger to their lips.
Delta placed his hands up in mocking surrender. Turning his voice to a whisper, he asked, "What's up?"
"It's Porchemy." Ace said, also whispering. "He's a part of the Bluejam Pirates."
Sabo shifted in his seat slightly. "We… may have stolen some treasure from them."
"Pirates?" Luffy shouted. "Coo-" He was promptly shut up by the hands of both Ace and Sabo covering his mouth.
"Shush!"
"Okay, yeah. I heard it too." Another, more nasally voice said.
Ignoring the incoming pirates, Delta raised a brow. "What, so some pirates are after you 'cause you stole their gold? Wait a sec, I'll go take care of them."
"No, wait! They're…" Delta was already gone.
He remembered Bluejam vividly. Yes, that man's presence would forever be etched into his mind, but the rest of his pirate crew? No, they were just a bunch of background people to him. No one worthy of memory.
"I think it's coming from this way." The voice of 'Porchemy' commented.
And now Delta found them. He stopped abruptly to their left, but neither had noticed him yet so he took the time to see what they looked like. One was short and kind of scrawny- really a weak looking guy. Definitely nasal voice, Delta thought.
The other, Porchemy, was big and grey, with long light purple hair, gold hoop earrings, and a red shaggy rag that could possibly pass for a shirt. Delta paused. The guy looked vaguely familiar. What was it… the guy who tortured him when he was eight. That was it.
"Ohhhhh." Delta said as he realized who this Porchemy guy was. The two pirates turned to see him. Delta realized he had spoken aloud.
"Hey punk, have you seen two little kids- like this high?" Porchemy placed one of his hands up to around his waist. "One's got long black hair, the other's got a top hat? Seen him?" Delta didn't answer. "Hey shithead, In talking to you. Hey, what are you doin-" A haki infused fist to the jaw sent the man sailing through three trees. Nasal voice man stood frozen, gaping in shock.
"Sleep." Delta commanded. Nasal voice's eyes rolled up and he fell over, unconscious. Without a second glance, Delta strode over to Porchemy, who was rolling on the ground and holding his bruised face tenderly. "So you're the child torturer?" The man moaned in response. Delta kicked him in the stomach. "People like you make me sick." To emphasis the word, he kicked the man again.
It wasn't that Delta was particularly vengeful, no. He had nearly forgotten the man even existed. He was just disgusted by the fact that this man had tortured a child- particularly Luffy. It was strange; when Delta pictured Porchemy torturing himself as a child,he could only see his Luffy getting hurt. Not himself as a child, but the child he had known for the past two years. And that just made him angry.
Delta grabbed Porchemy's shirt and lifted him so they saw eye to eye. "I really want to kill you right now, but I'm letting you off with a warning this time. You're going to leave the Bluejam Pirates and this island and then never let me see your face again. If you don't do as I asked, I will gut you. Got me?" The large man nodded timidly, staring with pure terror in his eyes.
Tossing the big guy to the ground, Delta kicked him in the head one last time, then turned back to Luffy and Ace and Sabo.
He really hoped that Porchemy would listen to his demands. For both their sakes.
