Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and God of War belongs to Santa Monica Studios
Chapter 3
Somewhere on Dawn Island
A hurried pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard in the silence of the forest, accompanied only by the rapid breathing of a strawhat-wearing young boy. They boy expertly ducked and weaved between the branches and trunks of the trees, as if he had been running through the forest for a very long time.
A bright light was visible a few meters ahead of the boy, signifying the end of the treeline. The boy suddenly picked up speed, getting closer and closer to the bright light until he finally reached it. He dug his heels into the ground, slowing his momentum until he finally stopped, hands resting on his knees and sweat dripping down his face.
"Time: 74 minutes." the voice of an old man -Naguri- called out.
"How the hell did you do ten laps around the entire forest in 74 minutes?" an older boy with raven black hair and freckles questioned, dropping the pipe he practiced with against Naguri.
"It's...huff...cause...huff huff...I'm awesome." the strawhat wearing boy -Luffy- heaved in exertion.
The other boy -Ace- rolled his eyes, a small smile prying at his lips as he shook his head, "Only you, Luffy" he said.
"That's 12 minutes better than your last time." the old man -Naguri- stated, his own voice filled with a controlled amount of exhaustion that his practice versus Ace put him through.
Luffy stood up straight, wiping a bit of the sweat off of his brow, his chest still heaving. "That's...huff...good." he commented on Naguri's statement.
Ace rubbed the back of his head, a disgruntled look on his face, "That's another one you got over me" he commented.
Luffy gave Ace an exhausted grin, "And that gap is gonna get bigger and bigger shishishi" he snickered.
A tick mark developed on Ace's forehead but instead of snapping at Luffy, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Upon opening his eyes, he looked at Luffy and gave him a smirk.
"Whatever," he said, "I'm gonna beat your time anyway." he finished confidently, walking next to Naguri and turning to face the forest. Taking the running position, he waited on Naguri's word.
"3...2...1... Go!!" Naguri shouted at the end.
And Ace was off, sprinting as fast as he could into the forest, determined to beat his little brother's new record.
Luffy stared after Ace, a lazy grin sporting his face.
"C'mon then." Naguri called out to Luffy, holding the hammerhead of his staff towards Luffy and settling in a battle ready stance.
Luffy reached out behind his back, pulling the two machete blades out of their black leather scabbards. He bent his knees and stiffened his muscles as he extended his left foot in front of his right. His right foot's toes were buried in the ground, ready to propel him toward Naguri at any moment. The blade in his left hand was held horizontally a few centimeters away from his chest, and the blade in his right hand was held diagonally in front of his stomach, both blades held in a white knuckle grip.
Silence permeated the surrounding forestry as the two stared at each other. Then, an unspoken signal passed between them and they acted, crossing the distance between each other in a matter of seconds as they're weapons met in the middle with a loud CLANG.
After Luffy got the adrenaline rush his confrontation against the thugs of Gray Terminal inspired, he noticed details of the blades he didn't before.
The back of the blades were jagged edged and the hilts were compactly tied by a black rope, allowing the user an easy grip. The blades had no guard, only a slight elevated protrusion to separate the user's hands from the sharp edge of the blades. The blades themselves looked well taken care of, the edges sharpened enough to easily cut flesh with a single graze of the blades.
The 3 years he's spent under Naguri's tutelage enabled him to take on some of the larger animals of the forest and fight the troops of monkeys he'd challenged on a relatively even keel. Even after the loss of their brother, he and Ace were more than able to hold their own whenever they stole from the stalls and restaurants of the Goa Kingdom, or whenever they stole the valuables of the scant few thugs of Gray Terminal.
In regards to fighting the monkeys, Luffy had learned to adopt the 'hit and hit hard' mentality that his grandpa had 'taught' him over the years, learning that it was about making sure to avoid getting hit himself and to hit the ones he could hard enough to make them second guess retaliating against him in the first place.
After his agreement with Naguri (and also after Luffy found out what the term 'grounded' actually meant), the only thing he had Luffy focus on in their first year was the boy's endurance, stamina and ability to wield the blades.
Naguri's training shifted between having Luffy running laps around a perimeter he'd set up in the forest, doing pushups, pullups, situps and squats, all of these with a timer set, until Luffy didn't have the strength to lift a single limb on the odd days of the week and teaching Luffy how to fight with the blades on the even days. This was the schedule he followed until sundown.
Then, just before Luffy had to go home, Naguri pointing would have him roam the paths of Gray Terminal, telling the boy that the thugs he wanted to hunt down had been living on this terrain for more years than he's been alive, thus familiarizing himself with the area would help if he ever needed to escape a confrontation without falling into a trap. Sometimes, the two of them would stumble upon one of the scums taking advantage of the more vulnerable members of Gray Terminal. Luffy, at a young age, was exposed to the cruelty human beings were capable of for the sake of their own survival and pleasure.
To keep the boy's mind away from the things he saw (and the things they had to do), Naguri would tell him about himself and his crew and the times they sailed the seas. Though the old man could tell from the vacant look in the boy's eyes that he wasn't giving him all of his attention.
There wasn't a week that went by without Makino having to rush into Luffy's room to wake him from the terror of his nightmares, holding him in her arms as he clutched onto her and sobbed, staining her nightgown with tears. She was, at those times, always reminded, regardless of his unnatural strength, durability, stamina and appetite, behind the grin he'd always give her to sway her concerns, he was only a child.
When Garp noticed that the usual 7-9 days it took his grandson to escape the forest he threw him into began to gradually shorten to 4-6 days, the man gave his usual loud and boisterous laughter, telling Luffy that if he kept it up, his old grandad was gonna stop taking it easy on him.
It took Luffy's mind and body over 9 months to acclimatize to Naguri's training. Naguri, however, instead of upping the level of his student's training, chose to keep it the same, claiming that now that Luffy's stamina and endurance has improved, what they would put their focus on for the next few months was his speed.
Thus began Luffy's tradition of sprinting laps through the entire forest, swimming laps in the nearby coastal waters and engaging Naguri in alternate hand-to-hand and blade combat.
Due to the imbalanced weight of the blades compared to his arms, Luffy originally found utilizing them to be difficult. It didn't exactly help that they were longer than his arms either. But over the months, Luffy was able the hold them without making himself look like an idiot thanks to Naguri pointing out his mistakes with the whack of his hammerhead or a hard poke with the end of his staff.
Durability, strength and speed was all that was added in Luffy's training in his second year. Naguri would have him running with a large boulder, the size increasing month by month, up the steep hills of the forest. There'd be a large boulder sat precariously on top of his back everytime he'd do his pushups, a large boulder tied to his legs everytime he'd do his pullups and he'd carry a large boulder above his head when he'd be doing his squats.
Old, tattered leg weights Naguri found in the heaps of junk of Gray Terminal substituted as weights for him when he'd be swimming his laps in the coastal waters surrounding the island.
In regards to durability, Naguri would have him fighting the monkey troops living in the forest except, instead of dodging their attacks like he's learned to, he'd tell Luffy to tank each and every single one of them.
This new arrangement had the monkeys growing confident, mocking him with grunts and squeaks everytime they'd land a hit. Luffy took note of those that did, taking extra pleasure in knocking them into the ground the next time he came across them.
His second year of training also brought a landslide of new people into Luffy's life. Shanks, Benn, Yaso, Rou and the rest of the crew and finally, Zoro.
Luffy remembers the apprehension that whirled around his head everytime he was in the pirates' presence. When Makino told him that they were going to be her customers for the next few months, Luffy instantly asked Naguri if he could train from the village instead, promising to keep the same intensity even when not in the man's presence.
As soon as Naguri gave his OK, Luffy moved all the man-sized boulders he usually used for training next to Makino's bar, keeping a close eye on all the pirates despite the sweat streaming down his face. The pirates were immediately drawn to Luffy's impressive feats of strength and endurance, encouraging the young child to continue when they believed he would drop the boulder. However, they were unaware that Luffy was actually struggling to control his temper and refrain from swatting the obnoxious ruffians.
Whenever he took a break, he would walk to a bar stool and settle down next to a red-haired man who appeared to appreciate Makino's company a little too much for his taste. The red-haired man, who introduced himself as Shanks, would try to start a discussion with Luffy whenever he saw the small child sitting next to him, but Luffy couldn't care less about taking part in it. But when Luffy noticed the disappointed look in Makino's eyes when he didn't respond to 'Shanks' questions, he bit the inside of his cheeks and responded in short, terse sentences.
Luffy then found himself gradually unwinding in the pirates' company as the months passed. From barely latching onto his temper when they'd try and 'help' him with his training, to snickering at the bets they'd place on how long he'd continue with his sets. From sitting ramrod straight next to Shanks and giving the man the stink eye of a lifetime, to laughing at the red-haired man's tales of his crew's stupidity (when it's actually his). From having tense (at least from his point of view) staring contests with Benn, to the man teaching Luffy how to better his reading and writing skills at night. From labeling every word that came out of Yasopp's mouth as background noise, to groaning along with the rest of the crew when the man would tell stories about his son 10 times in a row, in 10 different ways. From ignoring Lucky Roux's presence entirely, to comedically sulking in a corner when he inevitably lost against the man in who was able to eat the most meat (he still doesn't know how he kept losing those).
Luffy would always get a slight ache in his chest everytime he remembered the times in his childhood when he was able to laugh and smile in that way. Whenever they made eye contact, he would occasionally notice Makino wiping her eyes.
Shanks and Luffy's relationship really came to a head when Shanks found Luffy running home one late afternoon, clothes wet from the downpour of rain above him.
Flashback
Luffy couldn't even see two meters ahead of himself, the rain obscuring not only his vision, but also his senses. Running at max speed towards what he thought was the direction of Foosha Village, Luffy unintentionally barreled into something, toppling the both of them over.
Luffy, thinking it was a threat, quickly jumped up to his feet and drew the machete blades hanging on his hip, holding them in a battle ready stance. Squinting his eyes at whatever thing he had run over but unable to make it out clearly, he hardened his expression and just as he was about to engage whatever it was that stood in front of him, he was suddenly picked up by the collar of his shirt and hoisted up on someone's shoulder.
Luffy almost felt his heart stop, disbelief and shock freezing his limbs. Blinking quickly, he exhaled sharply and looked down at the haphazardly clutched blades in his hands.
Clutching the blade in his right hand tighter, he counted down from three in his head, ready to ram the weapon between his 'kidnapper's' shoulder blades but, then he stopped. Something in his peripheral vision caught his eye, he turned his head to the right, recognizing the strawhat first before he saw the red hair it was placed upon.
Luffy felt his muscles go slack, relief flooding his chest. Just as he opened his mouth to call Shanks' name, he turned his head towards the man and the two of them made eye contact.
The expression on Shanks' face was something Luffy was sure he's never been exposed to. Blank eyes watched him, not a hint of emotion in the red-haired man's eyes that could betray his intentions. Luffy closed his mouth and looked at the man, confusion evident in his eyes but unwilling to voice it.
Just when Luffy grew weary of the constant torrent of rain, and the uncomfortable position he was in on Shanks' shoulder, the man's eyes gained their first hint of emotion since the two of them collided.
And Luffy hates the way his stomach clenched at the emotion he saw: disappointment.
"Why's your shirt stained in blood, Luffy?" Shanks whispered. A whisper that reverberated so loud in Luffy's head, the man might as well have been shouting.
The boy's eyes widened and his breath hitched. He looked down at his shirt, cursing his negligence for thinking nobody would notice the faded copper stain in the mist of the rainfall. Looking back up at Shanks, he opened and closed his mouth a few times, his mind was unable to coherently string any number of words together into a sentence.
He swallowed hard, feeling his hands tremble and tears beginning to sting his eyes.
Why did it hurt so much when Shanks looked at him like that?
He opened his mouth again and, before he could stop himself, he told Shanks everything.
The two of them stayed under the cover of a tree for close to three hours. Over the course of that time, Luffy was unable to stop the words that kept coming out of his mouth.
Throughout his entire talk, Shanks never spoke a word, remaining silent even as Luffy spoke of the first time he ran his blades through another human being.
Despite his heavy heart, Luffy found it easier to breathe by the end of the conversation. Looking up from the ground, he noticed Shanks staring in the direction Luffy had just come from.
"Luffy," Shanks spoke, "How many of them have you killed?" he asked quietly.
Luffy stayed silent, reflecting back on the day he entered his home and approached Makino to ask her to teach him how to count properly. Makino was overjoyed, thinking that Luffy was finally taking an interest in the basic math lessons she's been trying to teach him. In reality, Luffy was following a piece of advice Naguri imparted with him earlier in the day: "Never forget how many lives you've taken, kid. You'll lose yourself the moment you do"
"52." answered Luffy.
"Did you enjoy it?" asked Shanks, still not looking at Luffy.
Luffy bit his lip hard enough to break through the skin and taste blood. Clenching his trembling fists, he looked down at the ground and breathed in deep through his nose, repeating the exercise multiple times.
There wasn't a week that passed without Luffy having to walk to the coast of Foosha Village to wash blood off of his blades and clothes, without Luffy witnessing the peak of human cruelty in the form of the motionless, defiled bodies of women and girls and the scar-littered and wound-infested bodies of men and boys, and without Makino having to shake him awake, releasing Luffy from the clutches of the monster his nightmares had turned his mother into.
His mother.
Everytime he set foot in Gray Terminal and everytime he left, that was the one person circulating his mind.
'What would she think of me?', he'd wonder every time he left Gray Terminal with the blood stained blades.
'I wonder what she'd say if she saw me now', he'd think every time he'd watch the blood languidly waft off of his blades and into the open waters of the ocean.
A part of him wondered whether he wanted someone to find out all along, if only to lessen the weight that settled on his shoulders every time Makino would welcome him home with a bright, yet caring smile. Luffy could only ever manage a guilt-tinged, small upward twitch of his lips, his actions never allowing him to look Makino directly in her eyes.
When he finally calmed himself down, he looked at Shanks, unrestrained anger flooding his eyes.
"No." he said harshly.
Shanks finally turned his head to look at Luffy, a rueful smile sporting his lips. "I know." he responded.
"Don't ever let yourself get joy from it, Anchor," the man continued, "You're young, and yet you've carried weight on your shoulders longer than most grown men could've. I know it's a little late, but for your own sake, and for Makino's, wait until you're a little older before thinking about carrying all that weight, will ya? You might not realize this, but Makino knows more than you think she does. I might not have lived here for as long as you have, but even I can tell happier she is when you're around, and I can tell how happier you are when you're around her too. Don't rob yourself of your childhood and happiness, Luffy."
Despite the cold raindrops that sporadically splashed Luffy's cheeks, he felt warm tears streaming down his face. He made an effort to talk, but the lump in his throat prevented him from doing so.
"W-What about the people?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion, "I-If I stop...They're still gonna get hurt." he said, clenching his hands tightly at the thought of how much control the thugs of Gray Terminal had over the junkyard.
Shanks stood up and patted down the imaginary dust that dirtied his pants. When he was finished, he gave Luffy a wide grin, "Let me take care of that," he answered, "For now, how about we get you home, Makino's been worried sick, ya know?"
Flashback End
The first thing Luffy did when he came home that day was give Makino the biggest hug she'd ever gotten from him, whispering 'I'm sorry' over and over as he hugged her tighter. The woman had just laughed with flushed cheeks, telling Luffy that he had nothing to apologize for.
That was the last day Luffy had to come home after sundown, and at times it made him feel guilty how happier he was for it. He thought of Naguri, the man who had spent so much time making sure that Luffy had all the tools he'd need to survive the path he'd wanted to walk, thinking that the man would feel betrayed at how easily Luffy's will had bent to his morals.
In contrast, the man was overjoyed when Luffy had told him the news, telling Luffy that there wasn't a day that passed with him not hoping that the boy would stop coming to Gray Terminal entirely, if only so that the boy could live a life in which he didn't make himself a pariah to the scum that littered the junkyard city.
Luffy had breathed a sigh of relief at Naguri's response, asking the man whether he'd still accept him under his tutelage, and when he agreed, Luffy had tackled his training with a smile on his face. To celebrate this new development, Naguri gifted Luffy with a pair of rattan and wax wood escrima sticks, telling the boy that for as long as he wanted, he'd never need to stain his blades with another's blood.
Naguri neglected to tell the delighted child even if he had persisted in his mission to finish off the thugs, that there weren't any more of them left to kill.
It was after Shanks and his crew's voyage to sea, their final one before they'd dock at the village for the last time, that Luffy heard that another ship had docked at Foosha Village. Without knowing or caring about the arrivals' identities, he'd hurried toward Partys Bar, determined to keep them away from Makino if they posed a threat.
He had found himself apprehensive towards the strangers as Mayor Woop Slap introduced him to them. Apparently they were all swordsmen who were going to stay at the village for the next few months, and to keep up with their training, they needed a training ground in the forest. Luffy knew before Mayor Woop Slap even finished his sentence that he was the only one in the village that could safely lead the strangers into the forest.
Luffy could tell that none of them carried the swords that hung on their hips for show. Especially the lime-haired boy who, unknowingly, passed the quick assessment Luffy conducted to gauge the strangers' sword proficiency; after all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link (a lesson Naguri taught him early on).
Despite all the men towering over him, Luffy had the weird impression that the boy wasn't even close to being the weakest.
After making his assessment, he stayed quiet in their presence, choosing to observe the strangers before making any decision to act.
Luffy didn't make any form contact with them besides leading them to a secluded, open space in the forest that they could use as a training ground on the first day of their arrival.
A few days after they had arrived, Luffy was having a conversation with Makino while perched on a barstool when he heard the double doors of the bar being pushed open. Paying it no mind, he continued conversing with Makino, this being one of the few times he's able to take a break from training in the afternoon and spend it with her. Then, a sixth sense prompted Luffy to turn around, and the boy heeded this feeling. Glancing around, Luffy saw that it was the lime-haired boy that had entered the bar, his three katanas strapped to his hip.
The two of them stared at each other, one's eyes showing slight intrigue whilst the others' were reserved in their judgement. A few seconds into their 'staring contest', Luffy moved to turn back around, but just before he completed his turn, he gestured, with the slight flick of his head, towards the seat next to him.
Having someone relatively close to his age as a friend was a weird experience for Luffy. Once upon a time, he had attempted to make friends with a group of young kids throwing a softball at each other, and when one was hit with the ball, they'd have to in turn, throw the ball at someone else.
When the children permitted Luffy to participate in their game, he eagerly played with them for a while—up until he was the one being tagged with the ball. Luffy rushed straight for the softball laying on the ground since he was certain at the time that he knew all the game's rules. In an effort to get as far away from him as possible and avoid being the next person to be tagged, the kids he was playing with all scattered.
As he picked up the ball, Luffy looked around himself and saw a boy with dark brown hair running not too far away from him. Mimicking the previous kid's actions, he gripped the softball tightly and reared his arm back, every muscle in his arm coiled tightly in anticipation for the impending shot. Then, he threw it straight towards the brown haired boy with all the force he could muster.
The ball flew into the air at a breakneck speed, contradicting the small hand it had just left behind. As he observed the ball's flight and noted his accurate aim, Luffy grinned. The moment the ball made contact with the brown-haired child, the smile vanished from his face as the boy was propelled off his feet and into the air, crashing face first into the ground.
Although his mother had always told him that he was stronger than most kids his age, that phrase became firmly ingrained in Luffy's memory as he and the other children gazed down at the unconscious brown-haired boy's smashed nose and teeth.
Since that day, no other child in Foosha has wanted anything to do with Luffy; his continual displays of strength being more than sufficient to dissuade other "tough" kids from wanting to be the object of his irritation.
Not that Luffy was aware of any of this, of course; in his mind, when the Foosha children scattered or twitched erratically in his presence, that was just them acting weird.
But Zoro was unlike any other child Luffy had ever encountered. Luffy never anticipated the desire that sprang in him to see Zoro again after he invited the older boy to take the seat next to him. Zoro must have sensed this because just as he was about to walk out of the door and return to his training, he stopped and said that Luffy could accompany him to his training if he wanted to, provided that he brought his blades.
Luffy, surprised at Zoro's accurate assumption, quickly swiveled around to see whether Makino overheard Zoro's request. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Makino busy in the kitchen area of the bar, humming a tune to herself. When he turned back around, he asked, with bated breath and suspicion colouring his voice, how Zoro knew that Luffy wielded any blades at all.
Zoro, who was surprised at his new friend's reaction, lowered his voice in assumption that the other boy didn't want his sister? to know this information, and told Luffy that the scars and callouses covering his hands are signs one would only see on a blade-wielder.
Luffy had struggled with himself, remembering the period in his young life those blades represented. After some time, he had decided to take a chance. He took Zoro to his house, telling him to wait outside as he ran to the same spot he hides the blades.
Luffy was curious to see how skilled Zoro and his group were with their katanas as he recalled the competence with which they had carried them. Luffy showed Zoro his blades once he managed to get hold of them.
Zoro had grinned when he saw them, commenting on the expertise the blades were crafted with. The two quickly made their way to Zoro and his group's training ground, incidentally, this is also when Luffy realized how horrible Zoro's sense of direction was, having to grab Zoro's hand to prevent him from taking the wrong direction despite Luffy leading him there. A flustered Zoro had waved him off, stating that it wasn't his fault the training ground shifted every day.
Still, Luffy is perplexed as to how on earth the lime-haired boy ever made it to the training ground in the first place without anyone's assistance.
When the two finally arrived at their destination, introductions were made and in no time, training had begun. This is when Luffy realized how much less skilled with his blades he was than they were. However, instead of laughing or belittling him, Zoro and the other men decided to right this wrong by instructing Luffy to join them in their training whenever he had the time.
Zoro's group wasn't all that bad, Luffy decided right then and there.
In the ensuing weeks, Luffy frequently traveled between Naguri and Zoro's group training. Naguri himself observed Luffy's style changing in a subtle but significant way, becoming more fluid and deliberate in his strides.
When Luffy saw Naguri's worried face as he showed up for training one day, the boy quickly moved to reassure the old man, telling him that he didn't plan to use the blades for killing, but because he wishes to improve his skill with the them. Naguri breathed a sigh of relief, cursing under his breath about youngsters giving him high blood pressure.
After nearly two months of travel, Shanks and his crew were ready to dock at the ports of Foosha once again. Luffy, overjoyed at the pirates' presence in the village, was one of the first people to welcome them back to the village.
Before the pirates settled in the village, Luffy asked Shanks how long he and his crew were going to stay in the village this time around. The man had given Luffy a small grin and told him that they'd only be there for one month.
That information had frozen Luffy in his tracks. The fact that after one months' time, the chances of him and Shanks ever meeting again being tenuous at best, reverberating in his mind. After the shock wore off, Luffy looked Shanks in his eyes and told the man, with a serious look on his face, that he'd make their months' stay at the village the most memorable thing they'd ever experience.
Looking back, he can't help but want to smack himself for ever saying those words.
Ducking under the haymaker Naguri sent towards his head, Luffy sprang up, closing his right hand into a tight fist before aiming an uppercut punch to the old man's jaw. Naguri, in a moment of agility belying his age, used the hammerhead of his staff to lift himself into the air before he backflipped to land on his feet.
The old man brought the pole of his staff directly in front of his neck, blocking the strike sent toward it. Spinning the staff between his fingers, he redirected the consecutive punches Luffy sent toward his stomach before he, in a burst of speed, kneed the young boy in his stomach. Spinning his staff once more, he lifted it high in the air before he brought it down toward the boy's head.
Luffy rolled to his right, evading the blow. Righting himself on his feet, he stretched his arm far back behind him before he struck forward, coiling it around Naguri's staff as he tried to retract his arm in attempt to rip the weapon out of the old man's hands.
Naguri bent his knees and tensed his leg and arm muscles before he used his staff to launch the boy high into the air. When Luffy reached the apex of his flight, he stretched his right leg out behind him and whipped it ferociously in the direction of Naguri.
"Gomu Gomu no...Whip!!", he yelled. When he saw his attack miss due to the old man running from his previous position, he retracted his leg and stretched an arm out behind him, a fist already formed before he sent it rushing forward.
"Gomu Gomu no...Pistol!!", he shouted just as the fist connected with the hammerhead of Naguri's staff, the white knuckle grip the old man had on the weapon a testament of the power the boy's attack had.
Just as the Luffy landed on the ground and prepared himself to dash toward Naguri, the old man brought his hand up to halt their match. Luffy did as instructed, using the brief period of rest to catch his breath. He looked up at Naguri to enquire as to why their match had been stopped, only for the rushed footsteps of someone running in their direction to unknowingly answer his question.
He turned around to see his brother, who was soaked with sweat and had his hair sticking to his forehead. The boy's red, tired-looking face stood out sharply in contrast to his freckles.
Ace slowed to a stop in front of them, heaving deep breaths as he fell down to his knees before he settled on his back.
"Time: 130 minutes." Naguri called out, sweat droplets running down his temple and his breaths this time coming out in short pants.
"Huff huff...Damn...huff...it" Ace heaved out as he struggled for breath.
Short gasps were escaping Luffy's mouth as he glanced down at his older brother. He gazed up into the sky, noting the orange sunset sky had already changed into a deep violet, a few stars already shining brightly.
"That's it for today", Naguri called out as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
Both boys, disregarding their fatigue, stood up straight and walked a few paces forward to stand before Naguri. The old man looked at them both, taking note of how even the exhausted Ace held his head high despite his failure in besting his younger brother's time.
As the last part of their daily training, Naguri reviewed each boy's performance on that particular day, highlighting the mistakes they made during their spars, where they could improve but most importantly, the areas in which they executed any move or exercise correctly.
After that, the old man departed back to his house, already knowing that the boys could make their way back home just fine without his assistance. Luffy and Ace rushed back home, already knowing that Dadan was gonna curse them out for dirtying the house with the sweat, dirt and leaves their arrival would bring.
Eh, they'd clean that tomorrow.
"You take shortcuts, don't you?" asked Ace as they got in bed later that night.
"Huh?" was the strawhat wearing boy's response to the unexpected question.
"When we do our rounds around the forest, you're always finishing before me, and its not even by a small margin!", Ace exclaimed, "There are some sort of short cuts in the forest I don't know about, right?" he asked again.
Luffy grinned at his older brother. "You're gonna keep asking me that, and my answer is still gonna be the same" he said.
As he lay in bed, Ace shook his head, staring at the roof of he and Luffy's 'fortress'. "You were always the fastest one of us", he murmured softly.
In bed alongside him, Luffy stilled at Ace's remark. He slowly turned his attention to the corner of their room, where a worn-out black hat was lying on its side. The blue goggles that were wrapped around it missing a lens, but in decent shape overall.
He got to his feet and started toward the hat. After picking it up, he gave it a moment's consideration, recalling the boy with blonde hair whose head it had formerly rested on. He breathed deeply through his nose and let out a trembling breath. He returned to the bed he shared with Ace, climbed in, and placed the black hat where their pillows met before relaxing on his back and gazing up at the ceiling once more.
Ace, who had been watching his brother, sighed as the other boy settled down. "It's not gonna bring him back, Lu", he whispered.
"I know," Luffy replied, closing his misty eyes, "But it'll help" he finished, before he turned around on his side, facing away from Ace.
Ace stared at his little brother's small back before his eyes fell on the black hat next to him. He clenched his jaw but, conscious of his little brother's presence, he settled down. Releasing a deep breath softly, he looked at the black hat again, feeling tears clouding his vision.
'Dammit Sabo.' he thought.