The Pirate King Is Dead - Long Live The Pirate King

Part 3 of a Four Part Saga

By Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Nineteen - Vivace and Ace Pay Their Respects

Vivace pulled her blond hair out of her eyes again. The wind was strong and pushed their little boat speedily into the harbor. The sun shone down, sparkling happily on the water. She breathed a sigh of relief. The port town of Fuchsia was at last in sight. Soon, their long journey from the Grand Line would reach its fruition. She looked to her companion but found no such relief on his face.

"Portgas-san," she said. He was lost in thought. She touched his arm and broke his concentration.

"Sorry," he apologized, giving her a forced smile and sliding into her embrace.

"Don't apologize. I'm just glad I can be here for you."

They donned jackets that covered their tattoos before docking and heading into town.

"Do you think you still know anyone?" Vivace asked.

"Maybe a couple folks," Ace replied. "But I want to pay my respects first."

Vivace nodded. It was the first time she had heard him use any sort of reference to his younger brother's passing since he had asked White Beard permission for an extended leave. They headed up the dusty road into the countryside.

Just as they disappeared over the horizon, Nami stepped out of a small office building on the main street. "Thank you," she called to someone inside. She walked slowly off of the porch and into the street. She took a deep breath of fresh air. She worried her lip and stared at the ground as she walked.

"Nami!" Luffy's voice called from across the way. She saw her common-law husband waving from the porch of the general store.

Startled, Nami looked up. "Coming!" she replied crossed the road.

"What're you thinkin' so hard about?" he wondered.

"I'll tell you later. What'd you get?"

"Nothing yet. They want to know stuff about the Mikan trees I don't know."

"Oh, which fertilizer they'll need?"

"Something," he said with a shrug.

Oh, ok," she said and went in to see what they needed.

Luffy wondered why she wasn't cross with him for not remembering all the important things she told him about the trees they were importing, but decided not to push his luck.

In the little graveyard on the edge of town, two visitors stood in silence. The grass was neatly trimmed within the perimeter of the fencing, but tall and wild around it. The stones were almost all identical, tall with rounded tops and simple engravings. Vivace stood a few feet behind Ace, clutching a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked along the way.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Ace said quietly. "I wasn't able to protect him from his fate." He knelt down, reached out and rubbed some green-grey lichen off of the stone around the name 'Marina'. Vivace broke the bouquet in half and laid some of the pink and white flowers in front of her grave. She placed the rest in front of a stone that read 'in memory of Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy who was born here and executed in Rogue Town'. Ace stared at this and trembled slightly.

"I still can't believe he's gone," Vivace said, remembering what an energetic and amazing young man Luffy had been when she met him a few years before. Ace stood and took a deep breath.

"Ok," he said simply.

"That's it?"

"Almost. I want to see my old house. Then we can go."

Vivace blinked at him. She let him lead the way out of the grave yard. "Halfway across the Grand Line and clear across East Blue and this is it?" she muttered to herself. She followed him back to the road and further into the countryside. Soon, rolling hills and green pastures could be seen. The only house in sight was a small white one on the right hand side. It had a white picket fence and in the yard, linens on a line flapped on the breeze like sails on a ship.

"Is this the place?" Vivace asked as she noticed her partner pick up the pace.

"Yes," he said with worry in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

He hesitated to answer. Opening the gate, jogging up the little path and letting himself in the door, Ace finally came to a halt. "Someone lives here," he said.

"Well, yeah," Vivace replied. Ace walked into the living room slowly, his eyes searching. Vivace took him by the shoulders. "It's not like you to just let yourself into someone else's house, Portgas-san."

"It's not someone else's house," he said, meeting her eyes. "It's mine. It's ours. Luffy's and mine."

She wilted. He stepped out of her arms and went into the kitchen. "He needs to work this out," she said to herself. "Just let him, Viva." She wandered up the stairs that rose up between the living room and the kitchen.

At the same time, Luffy and Nami were walking up the road to their little house. Luffy carried boxes and bags and Nami walked leisurely along side him.

"Oi, Nami," he moaned. "Why aren't you carrying anything?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry," she said and took the smallest of the packages from him.

He sighed heavily. "Are we there yet?"

"Nearly," she replied. "I'm sorry I'm not carrying anything heavy. I… I'll tell you… later…" Her voice trailed off. "Luffy…"

He looked around the side of all the packages at her. "Huh? Tell me what later?"

Her eyes were wide with fear. Her voice came out at a hoarse whisper. "There's someone in the house…!"

Vivace poked her head into the room on the left. It didn't look lived in, but there were two twin beds and a small table in it. To the right of that was a bathroom and across the hall, the master bedroom. She leaned in the door and looked around the room. Her eyes went wide. "Portgas-san…!" She called. When he didn't answer, she went to the top of the stairs. "Portgas-san!"

He was standing at the base of the stairs in front of the front door. His right arm had changed to flame all the way to the elbow.

Vivace panicked. "Nonononono! Don't burn the house down!" she cried and put her palms out in front of her. "Emergenza Bolla!"

A bubble formed around Ace. The front door flew open.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy shouted and punched the bubble. His hand bounced back and the bubble bounced forward, sending a very surprised set of brothers tumbling head over heels. Luffy rolled against the picket fence and came to a stop upside down. He stared incredulously at the doorway with his head on the ground. Nami came out from her hiding place behind the fence. "Luffy! Are you ok?" she cried. He pointed at the house. She followed his gesture and began to stutter at the blond pounding her way down the stairs.

"Oh my god, are you ok!" she cried, popping the bubble around the man crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. He wasn't moving but snoring.

Finally, Nami was able to speak. "What are you doing in our house!"

Vivace made a face and bowed to her. "I'm so sorry, Miss Navigator! We didn't know you were here!" She lightly kicked the fallen, suddenly sleeping figure. "I was trying to tell you! I found the Straw Hat Jolly Roger hanging in the bedroom, but you were so ticked off that someone else was living in your house you just had to flame-on…!" she nagged.

Quickly, Ace woke, flipped up into a standing position and spun around to face the outside. His face was screwed up into a puzzled expression like he were about to sneeze. Nami gasped. "Ace-kun!" Luffy did a forward roll and sprung to his feet. The expression on his face was a bit less reserved than his brother's. He beamed a classic grin at him.

"Luffy…" Ace said quietly. "You're alive…"

"Yep," he answered and ran at him. Ace hugged him so hard he almost broke his ribs.

Vivace sighed and stepped around them. She bowed in front of Nami again. "I am very sorry for the scare. We really had no idea you were here."

"I see that…" Nami said. "What are you doing here, though? You were telling the truth about Ace all those years ago?"

"Hehehe," she laughed, rubbing the word 'treasure' tattooed on her upper arm over the scar Ace had given her when they first met. "Sort of. I'm with him now. We're nakama!" She beamed with pride, turned and let her jacket slide off of her shoulders, showing off her White Beard Pirates tattoo. Finally, Ace released a slightly blue Luffy, clapping him on the back as if still trying to see if he was real.

Nami shook her head, but laughed and invited the two travelers inside.

To be continued…