disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and not me... hail to the master! (drops to her knees and starts bowing to her Eiichiro Oda statue)

The action in this chapter is taking place during Kasai's flasbacks... now on with the story...

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Reunion and reveiled feelings

Chapter 2: An interesting conversation

Everyone was in the kitchen; everyone except Kasai. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Robin were sitting at the table, Zoro was in a corner leaning against the wall and Sanji just finished preparing dinner. All of a sudden: "I can't take it anymore!" he practecly yelled. "Kasai-chan has been like this for the past two months!" Everyone just stared blankly at him. Then Zoro's voice was heard: "I have to agree with the cook. She's been too distant. I wonder why?"

"I think I know..." said Luffy not looking up from under his straw hat. "WHAT? You mean to say you knew the reason why Kasai has been like this AND YOU DIDN'T SAY A WORD???" Nami could barely keep herself from strangeling Luffy. The captain raised his head, a confused look on his face. "I didn't even notice until Sanji said so right now..." he said in an inocent tone of voice. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T NOTICE?" everyone yelled at him in unition.

For the past two months, every time one of the nakama would talk to her, Kasai would space out. When she was brought back from her thoughts and asked if everything was all right, she would say yes an go somewhere else where she would be alone. But everyone had their doubts about everything being okay... that is, everyone except Luffy. He was the only one that belived her.

"Okay Luffy, tell us why Kasai is like this." said a more calmed Nami.

"Well... she kinda likes Ace..." Their face went blank, especially Sanji's. "NANI?" they all said in unision. "...and Ace likes her. So I guess she's a little under the weather because it's been a year since we met him in Arabasta and she misses him." finished Luffy. Silence fell upon the kitchen. Usopp was the first to speak: "How do you know that Ace likes her?"

"He told me." responded Luffy with an ear to ear smile. "It was when we were younger..."

------FLASHBACK------

Two kids, one about 15 and the other about 11, were walking on an old battered road of dirt. Trees were on each side of the road. The younger one was saying something but the kid next to him wasn't listening.

"Ace... Ace... ACE!" The older one was brought back to reality. "Wha... oh, yeah. What is it Luffy?" he asked his younger brother. "Were you even listening to a thing I said all the way?" asked in reply an irritated Luffy. "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." apolagised Ace.

"Aperently. I bet I know where it was. You were thinking about Kasai, right?"

"You got me there. I just can't help it."

"You like her, don't you?"

"Well, I guess I do."

"Why not tell her?"

"Hello! Luffy, wake up! We're too young!"

"So what?"

"I think I can wait three more years."

------END FLASHBACK------

Silence fell once more. "But yet he didn't tell her." Sanji thought. "Luffy, Kasai-chan and Ace are the same age, right?" asked Sanji out loud. "Yeah, well, Kasai's two months younger..." before he could finish, he was cut off by Sanji. "Kasai-chan is 22, so that means Ace is 22 also. You said your brother left in search of One Piece three years before you, correct?"

"I don't follow..." said a very confused Luffy. "YOU DON'T NEED TO." snaped Sanji at him. "Now just answer the question."

"Yeah, he left three years before me." replied Luffy, knowing it was best not to get his cook mad.

"How old were you when you left and Ace is how older than you?"

"I was....... seventeen and he's four years older. But I still don't see where this is going."

"SHUT UP! OK. That means you were fourteen and your brother was eighteen. Now I want you to remember exactly how many months after he turned eighteen did he leave."

Luffy mumbled something, his eyes were moving around as if he was thinking (A/N: wow! can he do that?) and after about a minute he spoke: "Nope, can't remember." At this statement, Sanji's face went red with fury and smoke started coming out of his years and nose. Right then, Zoro took a pot, filled it with water and the next thing you know, Sanji's wet to the skin. "Cool off!" said the green haired swordsman with the pot in his hands. "Arigatou, Zoro. I needed that." replied the wet cook.

"Luffy try harder to remember." asked Nami with a very polite tone of voice. A few minutes passed and Luffy got to his feet, right arm raised triumphantly: "AHA! I REMEMBER! Ace left four months after he turned eighteen." said Luffy.

"Now we're getting somewhere." smiled Sanji. "If Ace left 4 months after he turned eighteen, that means he and Kasai-chan were both legitimate adults. Now here's my question: why didn't Ace tell Kasai-chan what he felt after she turned eighteen as well, and before he left?" Everybody was confused again. "Indeed, why didn't Ace do that?" asked Chopper.

"If I remember correctly, Kasai was mad at Ace about something and she didn't talk or even see him for five months." explained Luffy trying to put on his most intelligent looking face while he remembered, but failed miserably.

"FIVE MONTHS?!" yelled everyone. Now that was a shock. "Yeah, but I can't say why..." Usopp was a little upset with Luffy's answer: "And why can't you say?"

"Usopp, some things are better left untold." said Robin, being a little irritated by the long-nosed man's question. "But..." he prefered to dismiss his comment after he received a glare from the Hana Hana Mistress.

"Then I wonder why he didn't tell Kasai while we were in Arabasta?" continued Usopp. "Usopp..." started Nami "... for that kind of confession you need privacy, and we all know there wasn't too much of that!"

"But still I wonder... maybe he doesn't feel anything for her anymore." speculated the marksman.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" butted in Luffy.

------FLASHBACK------

Luffy and Ace were walking through a backstreet in Nanohana, right after they armwresseled.

"Luffy, when you left, how was Kasai?" asked Ace.

"She was a bit sad because the only two brothers that truly made her laugh were leaving ....... You still like her, don't you?"

"Yeah." his face turns serious "Not a day passed without me thinking about her. Maybe someday I should go try to make peace with her and probably confess my feelings."

Luffy flashed his trademark smile and said: "Don't worry, Ace. If it's meant to be, you'll meet her again." replied the little brother. "Sooner than you think..." said Luffy in his head, his grin getting even bigger.

"Guess you're right Luffy. Now let's go find your nakama. If the marines catch up with them, it'll get pretty troublesome."

------END FLASHBACK------

"I guess Ace still cares for Kasai..." said Nami.

"Quiet!" ordered Zoro. "I hear someone coming." So everyone dropped the main subject and started making small talk, while Sanji started to serve dinner.

The door opened and there she was, in all her beauty, Kasai.

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Kinda long, wasn't it? Sorry, but I had a lot of ideas and didn't quite know which to put in and which to leave out. But thank goodness, I finished it. BANZAI!!! See you at the next chapter.

Ja ne!