Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Chapter 6: Spot the difference

...

Ace was confused.

Since pulling himself back to consciousness a moment ago and opening his eyes for the first time that day he had felt different.

He couldn't explain what had caused this feeling, but some things had definitely changed since he had last opened his eyes. Ace felt disorientated and couldn't work out what the time was. It didn't look like morning from what he could see from the small window.

He remembered feeling ill – was that yesterday? Two days ago? – and lying down to get some rest in the hope that he could sleep off whatever illness was waging war against his body. Then everything had been very hazy for a long time and he recalled hearing a voice in his head and was floating as though in a dream.

…

Ace breathed in deeply feeling his chest rise, and he savoured the delicious air in his lungs. That was different. He could remember not being able to do that.

He no longer felt feverish either, perhaps slightly warmer than usual but nothing compared to the raging heat that he remembered.

'What happened?' he thought.

Ace looked around the room and everything looked the same in the small cramped space. A stack of crates and barrels on his right side, and on his left…

Oh… that's different

On his left Ace felt a small bundle lying mostly on the wooden floor but slightly encroaching on his sleeping mat. He was about to shove it away when he felt it move slightly and make light, stuttering breath-like sounds. An intense heat could be felt from it without even touching it, making Ace curious about what it could be.

Ace rolled over the small form so that he could get a better look, and was shocked to discover that it was Luffy.

The kid looked terrible.

Skin white as a sheet, hair soaked in sweat, dark shadows under his eyes and - worst of all - a blue tinge to his lips. He also noticed a rash on the boy's throat and could see that Luffy was straining for breath with every fibre of his being. Despite how hot the boy was, Ace noticed Luffy's body shivering.

Ace sat up and it then immediately dawned on him that he had been sleeping for hours and had missed the appointed time that he had set with his friend Sabo.

"I'm late!" Ace exclaimed.

Thoughts of the sick boy beside him escaped his mind and Ace got up quickly, grabbed his lead pipe and ran full speed out of the door.

…

Ace had been running for about ten minutes when he noticed something different again.

The route through the jungle was the same, he was feeling better now, so what was it?

He stopped and listened, noting that it was quieter than normal. Ace could hear the distant sounds of birds where normally those sounds of nature were drowned out by the persistent yelling of a young voice. The trailing sounds of twigs snapping and puffing breaths had become second nature to Ace as Luffy had so consistently chased him on his journeys every day for the past months. Ace didn't realise he had gotten so used to those annoying sounds until they were gone.

But now Ace was alone at last.

He enjoyed the peace and quiet that surrounded him as it gave him a chance to let his mind process the rapid recovery his body had experienced in the past few hours.

Ace was perfectly happy with his own company.

...

And yet Ace couldn't deny feeling that something or someone was missing.

…

About half an hour later, Ace reached the forest between Gray Terminal and Mount Corvo. There was a tree in this forest that contained all the treasure that he and Sabo had saved for the pirate ship that the two of them would one day have.

Ace navigated the forest with practiced ease, and had no trouble finding the home of the treasure despite it looking identical to all the other moss-covered trees in the area.

He looked up above into the branches of the tree and spotted a flash of blue and a pair of dangling legs overhanging a branch up above.

"Oi Sabo! Sorry I'm late!"

"You must have scored big this time Ace! It's been hours… how much money did you get?"

An awkward silence fell between the two boys as Ace didn't say anything.

Eventually the silence was broken by the rustle of Sabo hopping down from his high-up branch and landing on the grassy ground.

Sabo walked towards Ace and soon noticed to his dismay that his friend was carrying only his lead pipe and no treasure whatsoever.

"EH?" Sabo exclaimed, "You got nothing?"

"Yeah, sorry" Ace said shortly.

Sabo huffed in annoyance but when he looked at Ace closely, he sensed something off about his friend today. His face looked a bit washed out and it didn't look like he had slept well last night. He soon shifted from annoyance to concern.

"Ace… you ok?" Sabo asked.

"I…" Ace began, "I'm fine… just came down with something, OK?" Ace blurted out abruptly, a blush appearing on his cheeks, and he turned away defensively, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I see" Sabo replied. He decided to change the subject, sensing that probing on this topic would only irritate Ace.

"Well looks like I won this time then!" Sabo said proudly holding up a bulging sack filled with gleaming gold coins and a few jewels as well. He opened the sack so that Ace could see.

Ace looked visibly impressed by Sabo's haul and he grinned at his friend.

"This is great, Sabo!"

Sabo was pleased that he could cheer up his friend, and it seemed that Ace was back to his old self.

...

The two boys climbed up the tree to stow away the latest contribution to their pirate savings. Neither boy spoke as they unloaded the treasure from the sack, the only sound to be heard was the satisfying clinking sound of many coins cascading into the hollowed-out branch.

Ace didn't seem bothered by the lack of conversation, but after storing the treasure Sabo found the silence uncomfortable.

'Okay... so maybe he's not quite his old self' Sabo mused.

He tried to interest Ace in local news from Gray Terminal but Ace just hummed in agreement to what Sabo said, clearly not listening at all. Ace's gaze was off into the distance and he looked deep in thought.

"You're quiet today, Ace" Sabo remarked.

Ace shrugged his shoulders and remained quiet for a moment, though looking like he wanted to say something. Eventually he spoke.

"Hey… you know that annoying kid I told you about…"

"The empty-headed one?"

"Yeah."

"What about him?"

Ace paused clearly feeling awkward about what he was about to say.

"I… I saw…" Ace fumbled over his words and stared at the ground.

"…this morning he…I think he's sick. Sick with what I had."

Sabo listened intently as Ace spoke, and saw him run his hand through his dark hair agitatedly.

"He didn't look good. He… well, I don't think he's got much longer.

The thing is… I don't care about that kid at all but I think it must have been him who gave me some kind of cure that saved my life. I felt like I was dying Sabo" Ace said looking into his friend's eyes with fierce earnest. Sabo was surprised as this was the most open Ace had ever been with him.

"I don't like owing people debts and that's what I've got right now. I just need to find the cure he gave me and then we can get back to it just being you and me.

Problem is I have no idea what the illness is so I can't treat it."

Having remained silent up until this point, Sabo finally spoke.

"What were the symptoms?" he asked

"Um... high fever, difficulty breathing and… oh yeah, I saw a rash…"

"A rash? Where was it?" Sabo asked.

"His throat… why?"

"That's Blue Korubo Fever. It's very common in Gray Terminal, I've seen loads of people with it and heard it's been spreading around a lot recently. I never got it myself because I was vaccinated against it."

"What's the cure?"

"Do I look like a doctor Ace?" Sabo said incredulously. "I've no idea how to treat it. People are dying of this thing 'cos none of them can afford the vaccine from the main city."

"How did you get the vaccine then?"

Sabo fell silent for a moment.

"I… um… I was a baby," Sabo said quietly with no elaboration.

He didn't want Ace to know about his noble birth, it was something he was deeply ashamed of.

...

Ace could tell that Sabo was hiding something, but decided that there were more pressing matters at that moment than finding out about Sabo's secret.

"So, I guess we have to get hold of a vaccine somehow…"

The two boys were quiet for a while, thinking hard.

After a time Sabo spoke.

"I've heard that folks in Gray Terminal can get their vaccines from a sleazy guy in the far end of Edge Town towards where the nobles are but he charges way too much for most people to afford it. I guess our pirate savings might-" Sabo started.

"No, we can't use that" Ace muttered. He paused for several moments, pondering how they would get this vaccine, then said with a small grin.

"We'll have to steal one instead."

...

And so it was that Ace and Sabo made their way out of the forest towards Gray Terminal, planning their upcoming heist that would take place in shady Edge Town.

Ace just hoped it wasn't too late for Luffy.

A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter - if you did then I'd love to hear from you, reviews make me so happy! :)

Have a blessed week!

HH xx