Chapter Twenty : Suffocate

Even if Dadan hadn't seen the boys much these days, she knew something was wrong. Her intuition was getting the best of her.

Ace and Luffy were silent last night, something Dadan was not used to. They weren't eating their normal share. Even Luffy who was always on the go when it comes to stealing food from others was not even touching his own. Roger tried his best into encouraging the boys to eat more but they turned him down furthering her own suspicions.

Well, the reason was obvious. Dadan was surprised to see that the other brat, Sabo, was not with them when they arrived. She did not press for any more details since they were not in the mood for such talks. Even her knew how much Ace cannot handle to talk his thoughts and feeling out loud.

The next morning, she woke up because of the loud noises outside. Groaning, she looked and found Ace and Luffy fighting each other. Roger was also present. The man seemed to be overseeing their training. If she remembered correctly, the boys wanted to be pirates themselves. She guessed that having the King of the Pirates trained them was only fitting.

Finding no more reason to stay in her bed, she stood up and did her morning routine. Most of the bandits were still sleeping. They were all used to sleeping late. But because of the commotion outside, Dadan decided to check it. She wondered how come the others can sleep with this much noise.

She went to the kitchen and started making tea. She waited for the water in the pot to boil. Once done, she immediately went outside.

"Again!" Luffy puffed. His breathing was slow as he stood up. Putting a stance, ready to attack any second.

"You'll never beat me, Lu." Ace taunted as he charged forward to threw the first punch.

"Try not to lose this time, Luffy!" Roger encouraged.

The boys started throwing punches at each other. Ace always had the upper hand in their fights. None of Luffy's attacks worked on him. Luffy never landed not even a single punch.

Dadan slowly approached Roger. The man didn't seem to be surprised by her sudden appearance. She offered him the tea which he gladly accepted.

"Where's the other brat?" Dadan asked straight to the point.

"Sabo is back home," Roger answered as he sipped on the tea.

"That's not his home." She scoffed.

Roger went still with her reply. "I know..."

They remained silent for a moment. Both were staring at the two brothers giving their all as they fought.

"Are you planning to get the brat back?" Dadan asked again.

"Of course," Roger said almost immediately with certainty. "But I am respecting Luffy and Ace's wish. They believed Sabo will come back. But if he didn't, that's when I'll move."

"Ace and Luffy are not themselves without Sabo." She heaved a heavy sigh.

Even though they declared themselves as brothers only months ago, Dadan knew that their bond was stronger than normal siblings. But the most notable change she noticed was with Ace. The boy used to have so much hatred in his heart. Maybe, it was not only his brothers who had changed him but also meeting his father who did not turn out to what he had expected.

"You do care for them, don't you?" Roger asked, startling Dadan from her thoughts.

She stared at Roger who had his usual smile plastered on his face. He was pleased with his question but Dadan did not see it that way.

Dadan's face turned sour. Eyes twitching in an irritated expression. "Do I even have a choice?"

It made Roger laughed. "I want to thank you for raising Ace."

Dadan could not believe her ears for a moment. To hear the King of the Pirates thank her, gave her mixed feelings.

"I was blackmailed by that damn Garp!" That was all that came from her mouth.

Ace didn't turned out to be a stable child. Dadan knew he had his own issues but the boy was too stubborn. He was never good at voicing out his thoughts and feelings. He resorts to violence all the time. He was also always in danger since the place he grew up upon was not exactly child friendly.

She was forced to raised Ace. She did not even do a good job either and she won't lie about it. Dadan was never the one to appreciate those kinds of words from someone. She never deserved those. She was a bandit who was unfit to raise a child but that damn Garp lacks brain cells to comprehend it.

"Still, you have my gratitude." Roger grinned. He turned to face the two brothers. "They're a handful but please continue taking care of them."

Dadan noticed the slight change in his tone. She didn't press anything more. It was not her business.

"Tch..." Dadan scoffed, looking away. After finishing her tea, she immediately grabbed cigarettes out of her pocket. "Want some?"

"I'm not really a smoker."

"Suit yourself," Dadan said as she lit one. Smoking has a way to calm her nerves.

She cannot just keep lying to herself. She didn't know when did she realize it. It just sort of happened and she was not sure what to feel about it.

Because Roger was right. Deep down, she did care for them.

Seeing that one of her boys was taken away from them pained her. She did not like seeing the boys not acting their usual selves. Those three belonged together and Dadan wants it to remain that way. And yet, she believed that Roger will get Sabo back once things went out of control.

"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"

That was when a punch came crashing on her face. It sent her flying towards the nearest tree. She hit with a loud thud. She immediately recovered from her shock and stood up emitting an angry aura.

"You shitty brat! Don't go using your power if you don't know how to control it!" Dadan ranted out directly at Luffy. She glared at him with deadly eyes.

The boy blinked a few times before realizing his mistake. "Oops! Sorry, Dadan! My hand slipped!"

Both Ace and Roger seemed amused at what Luffy had done but neither said a word about the matter.

"Oh, why you—!"

"Boss!" Yelled by Dogra making Dadan stopped mid-sentence. The short bandit was running towards her with a newspaper on hand.

"What is it!?" Dadan screamed with an annoyed face. She started the day feeling alright but as the hours passed, everyone seemed to annoy her to no end.

"Here's today's newspaper," Dogra stated, handing it to her.

Dadan quickly grabbed the newspaper from his hands. Every once in a while, she enjoyed reading the news about the current happenings. Her eyes landed on the front page with the huge headline.

"A Celestial Dragon visiting Goa Kingdom...?" Dadan muttered to herself as she kept on reading the article.

"Celestial Dragon?" Roger repeated, hearing her.

"They're gonna arrive tomorrow," Dogra answered him.

"You seemed to know them." Dadan said, glancing at him.

"I have encountered them a few times in the past. Not particularly fond of them..." Roger replied while slowly stroking his mustache.

"Who are they?" Ace asked as he and Luffy walked towards the adults.

"So Dragons are visiting here!?" Luffy beamed in excitement. "I want to see one!"

"No, no. You've got it wrong." Roger chuckled a bit. "They're humans. Though, they act worse than animals..."

Ace furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"They are nobles who think highly of themselves. You better not meet one. They are the most rotten people I have ever encountered." Roger explained. "I wonder why would one come here in East Blue..."

"Goa Kingdom is branded as the cleanest kingdom. Probably just that." Dadan said with a shrug.

"They aren't. The people living there are worse than trash." Ace berated. His fists were closed making it clear that the boy was angry. Not just him, Dadan noticed that Luffy clung to his brother's shirt. Even with the hat on, she could see Luffy's eyes that showed sadness.

Noticing the tension because of how the conversation went, Roger distracted them. "How about we go get breakfast? You two are hungry aren't you?"

"Meat?" Luffy asked, looking up at Roger.

"Of course!" Roger answered with a laugh.

Dadan and Dogra watched silently as they left.

Knowing about the fire made Sabo dashed towards Gray Terminal.

The mere thought of burning a trash heap that was home to a lot of people was absurd. It was equal to murder— to mass execution.

All the nobles knew about the plan. And yet, they were all acting as if it was a normal occurrence. As if finishing people's lives were fine. They go on to their day and was not bothered by it.

He tried getting inside of Gray Terminal but the guards had beaten him hard.

As the young boy lay on the cold floor, he watched as the sky illuminated in the night. This was not just fire. It was death. It was a giant wave of the firestorm and it was hurtling at a staggering speed. It will destroy everything in its path. Toxic fumes shot up into the air every few seconds and the thick, poisonous smoke choked everyone in its wake. It was a real nightmare to watch.

Ace and Luffy. That was all on Sabo's mind. His brothers are always on Gray Terminal. He wanted to protect them. He needs to protect them. Ace and Luffy were everything to him. The mere thought of losing his brothers scared Sabo.

But still, he chose to believe. Roger would not let them get hurt. Ever since he arrived, he became a guardian to them. From saving them from a bear up to training them to be strong. Roger was always with them. Sabo believes in him.

"What happened to you, boy?"

Sabo looked up and found a man wearing a cloak. His vision was blurry by then but he still noticed the red tattoo on his face. "O-Ossan..."

"The nobles are behind the fire..." He clung to the man's arms. Desperation crept inside him. "This town smells worse than Gray Terminal... It smells like rotten people! If I stay here, I'll never be free..."

Freedom. That was all he ever wanted. Not jewels nor treasure he can get as a privilege of being a noble. He just wants to live his life on his own accord and not to be controlled by his family's wish.

"I'm ashamed of being born noble...!"

Sabo was suffocating. Not because of the ashes caused by the fire. It was because of his own heritage. He was disgusted by his hometown. The place, the people, everything about it. He hated it all.

"I know how you feel. I was born in this country, too." The man revealed. "Still, I don't have the power to change it."

"Y-You are listening to me...?" Sabo asked, stuttering. His eyes were wide as he stared at him.

"Yes, and I'll never forget."

Consciousness was slowly leaving his body. But still, to find someone willing to listen to him brought satisfaction.

"Shanks was almost eaten by a Sea King...?" Luffy asked, staring thoughtfully at Roger.

"Yeah, that was a close one, too! Good thing we have Sunbell. He's a fishman so he scooped Shanks out of the water immediately." Roger explained with a small chuckle.

Luffy continued his blank stare, not saying anything. The day quickly turns into night and once again, he and Ace decided to stay with Dadan and the bandits. Roger was still with them. Luffy asked again for a story about Shanks. But this time, the story being told was not that appealing for the young boy.

"Hey, Lu. What's wrong?" Ace asked in concern. He noticed his brother's sudden change of emotion.

"N-Nothing!" Luffy stuttered, looking away from his brother's interrogating eyes.

"Yeah, as if it's nothing. Spill it out." Ace slowly said with a demanding tone.

"Is something wrong with my story?" Roger questioned with a slight frown.

Luffy bit down his lips. Not knowing how to explain it. But still, he tried. "Shanks... He saved me from a Sea King..."

"He did?" Ace asked, shock by the revelation. "So you're scared of those creatures now?"

"N-No! It's not that! It's just..." The happy-go-lucky boy was silent. His smile was no longer in place. He looked down as his fists started clenching.

"Shanks lost an arm because of me..."

Luffy closed his eyes, not wanting tears to spill and he did a good job. He touched his hat and clung to it as he tried to hide from Ace and Roger.

He owed everything to Shanks. Every once in a while, he still had nightmares about that incident. The red colored seawater still haunts his mind. But he kept remembering Shanks' smile as if it was nothing. And Luffy knew Shanks didn't want him to blame himself for it. Still, that left a huge lesson on Luffy. His actions has consequences and not everything is worth getting mad over.

The straw hat that Luffy always wore was the proof of their promise. He can't change the past and can only look forward to the future. He will do anything to achieve his dreams so that Shanks' sacrifice won't end in vain.

"That sounds exactly what Shanks would do. He doesn't blame you for it." Roger reassured, putting an arm in the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure it's not your fault, Luffy."

"Yeah." Ace agreed, hoping to comfort his aching brother.

Luffy looked up slightly and removed the hat from his head. "That's why I need to be strong so that I'll be able to protect everyone I love."

"You are already strong for your age." Roger chuckled. "That hat fits you, Luffy."

Luffy finally smiled even just a little. "Shanks gave it to me after I promised him that I'll be the Pirate King! I will return it to him someday."

Even before meeting Shanks, Luffy has always been interested in pirates. He finally had one goal in mind after that. He will not just be any pirate. He will be the King of the Pirates and when that happens, it was all thanks to Shanks.

"Hey, what is that?" Ace asked, pointing at the night sky.

"What the...?" Roger whispered, standing up.

And as Luffy looked outside, he saw fire.

It was from Gray Terminal.

A/N: The fire was a top priority for the nobles. Killing Bluejam doesn't mean they will stop the plan. As to who burned Gray Terminal, let's just say some thugs who were also promised nobility. I can't insert it in the story.

Also, Dadan is the ASL's mother and you can't change my mind.