A/N: A little late again xD Sorry for that! I'm working on getting back on schedule (Kyoudai may even see an update this week too!) but I appreciate the patience! You guys are the greatest. Thanks for putting up with me :)
Dedicated to the wonderful Beyond Kailani. Thank you so much for your amazing beta work and keeping me motivated. You're the best, and I would be absolutely lost without you.
Thanks everyone for all the support, the lovely reviews/faves/follows, and the tumblr messages. Hands are mostly healed and all is well! Much love to you all! :)
Bonds of Sea and Fire
Chapter 13: The Youngest Whitebeard Pirate
"Your… friend?" Haruta echoed, blinking down at Luffy in confusion. All his other thoughts derailed. He couldn't remember anyone ever outright asking him to be friends before.
"Yeah," Luffy nodded to him, rocking back and forth. He was still smiling, an incredibly wide grin that seemed almost impossibly big, but still somehow suited him. "You shared your food with me-"
"Did I have a choice?" Haruta interrupted.
"-and I like you!" Luffy finished, unfazed. "Ne, be my friend!"
Haruta didn't answer right away, studying the chipper boy with a mix of confusion and intrigue. Luffy was looking up at him expectantly, rocking a little faster as he waited for Haruta to speak. Somehow, he didn't think Luffy would accept a negative answer. It was like he'd already decided Haruta would be his friend.
It was still difficult to accept right away. He'd never seen anyone as young as Luffy on the Moby Dick, but if Luffy and his supposed brothers had arrived with Thatch, did that mean they were staying? That they were going to become part of the family?
Was Haruta finally going to be one of the big brothers?
"Okay," he said after another moment of hesitation. "We can be friends, but only if you remember my name."
Luffy opened his mouth, then shut it with a distressed look that tugged at Haruta's heart. Still, he kept his resolve and didn't cave in. One of the first things he needed to be prepared for was being able to resist expressions like the one on Luffy's face - expressions Haruta himself was prone to using to try and get himself out of trouble after pranks - or Luffy would walk all over him.
"Haruta," Haruta reminded him, relenting just a little. He didn't want to be too stern, either.
"Okay, Haruta," Luffy echoed carefully, sounding out each syllable and scrunching up his face. "Haru can be my friend now!"
"Haruta, not Haru," Haruta corrected. "Anyway, where are your brothers?"
"Hmm…" Luffy stopped rocking for a moment, then gave the cheekiest grin Haruta had ever seen. "Dunno! I got bored and wanted to explore, but they were busy talking."
"So what you're saying is, you wandered off and they didn't notice," Haruta sighed, shaking his head. "You better wait here with me, then. This ship's huge, and you'd probably just get lost if you left again."
"Why don't you come with me?" Luffy asked, cocking his head to the side.
"I'm hurt. That's why I'm stuck down here," Haruta motioned to his bandages.
"How did you get hurt?"
"In battle," Haruta said, puffing his chest out a little. "I was fighting other pirates."
"Eh?! You were? What kind of battle?" Luffy hopped into the air with an excited sound, folding his legs under himself so he landed on his knees with his fists near his chin. "Were there robots too?! Did they shoot beams?!"
Haruta only had a couple of seconds to recover from the sudden enthusiasm - he wasn't used to anyone listening to him with such rapt attention - before he was smirking and puffing up even more. "There weren't any robots, but there were bloodthirsty pirates who wouldn't hesitate to kill. I'll probably have battle scars."
"That's so cool!" Luffy was practically drooling, pointing to the scar on his own face. "I got this scar, but it wasn't in battle, but it makes me look stronger, doesn't it!?"
"Yeah, it totally does," Haruta agreed. Since Luffy was still looking to him expectantly, he told him the entire story - embellishing all of the boring parts - about how he'd gotten his injuries. With every detail, he could see Luffy's eyes widening with delight, breath catching if Haruta added any element of suspense or a cool attack name.
By the time he'd finished the story, Luffy had stars in his eyes, and it seemed like it was taking all of his willpower not to actually jump on Haruta. "I can't wait until I'm stronger!" he cried.
"You want to get stronger?" Haruta cocked his head to the side.
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded earnestly, jumping to his feet and balling his hands into fists. "I'm not as strong as Ace and Sabo yet, but I will be soon!"
"How old are you?" Haruta asked.
"Almost eight," Luffy puffed up. "And then in three years, I'll be eleven like Ace, and then I'll be able to beat him up!"
"Um… If Ace is eleven now, won't he be fourteen in three years?" Haruta raised his eyebrow.
Luffy stared for several moments, then grabbed his hat with a frustrated cry. "Ah! You're right! That's not fair! Well, I'll just have to wait another six years, and then I'll be fourteen!"
"And he'll be seventeen."
When Luffy had the exact same delayed reaction of realization and dismay, Haruta couldn't help but burst out laughing, thoroughly amused. There was something charming about Luffy's straightforward and simplistic thinking. It didn't seem like he was capable of hiding his thoughts or even lying, which meant he honestly just wanted to be Haruta's friend and keep him company.
It was refreshing, and not something Haruta was used to. The other kids he'd been around before he'd joined Whitebeard had seemed fixated on his height or his voice, constantly bullying or excluding him. Even when Haruta had finally started to hit a growth spurt and started taking fencing lessons, they'd forced him into the lowest level and written him off as a lost cause. The others his age wouldn't associate with him, and the younger kids thought he was weird. He'd never felt like he'd belonged with anyone until he'd chanced upon the Whitebeard Pirates, and yet he still felt insecure.
Haruta didn't doubt his brothers and sisters. He didn't doubt his father, either. They all did their best to make him feel at home without coddling or belittling him. Sure, there was novelty in the fact that he was the youngest brother, but they never used it as an excuse to hold him back or exclude him. Sometimes, it seemed too good to be true.
Those were the moments where Haruta doubted himself.
"What's so funny?" Luffy demanded, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.
Haruta blinked, then realized he was still smiling. "Nothing, sorry. So, Luffy, right? You and your brothers plan to stay on the Moby Dick with us?"
"Yeah," Luffy nodded. "Mango and Thatchy and Izo said we could, and we can't go home, so we're gonna stay here. When I get bigger, I'll set out and make my own crew. Ne, you wanna join my crew?"
"Pass," Haruta said, looking slightly perplexed. "And that'll still be a while, right?"
Luffy nodded again. He didn't seem bothered by Haruta's refusal, although Haruta had no idea if Luffy was being serious or not. "I have to get stronger."
Definitely serious. Haruta could respect that. "Me too. I'm getting stronger here, with my family," he explained. "Oyaji is my captain, and the others are all my brothers and sisters. If you guys stay, you'll be our brothers too."
"Even if I don't join the crew?" Luffy questioned.
"I think so," Haruta tilted his head to the side, wondering exactly how Whitebeard would handle Luffy's views. If Luffy stayed with them, of course he'd be one of Whitebeard's sons, and the shirt he had on definitely bore Whitebeard's mark. Luffy would have to come around eventually.
"Okay, then!" Luffy decided. "I'll be your brother, but, Ace and Sabo are my special brothers, okay? We shared sake cups to become brothers and it's a really important bond that can't be broken."
"That's fine. We don't share sake cups to become brothers here," Haruta told him.
Luffy plopped back down on the bed, looking around. "This place is boring, Hout-Hat-Hot-uh… Haru?"
"Haru is closer than anything else you've said," Haruta sighed. "But my name is Haruta."
"That's too long," Luffy whined.
"Well I don't like Haru," Haruta argued. "And you won't convince me to like it by whining."
"But Haru," Luffy's whining increased in volume.
"No," Haruta's voice was firm. "It's Haruta."
Luffy puffed his cheeks out, then hopped up from the bed and bounced on his heels, looking to Haruta expectantly. "Let's go find Ace and Sabo!" He turned and sprinted towards the door.
"Hey!" Haruta shoved the blanket off and stumbled to his feet, yelping in pain. "Luffy, wait!" Luffy gave an exasperated sigh at the door, clearly impatient but still willing to wait as Haruta made his way over. "Slow down. I'm in pain. Epic battle, remember?"
"Oh, right," Luffy reached out and grabbed his hand, and Haruta considered himself lucky the younger boy hadn't latched onto his injured side after he felt the first tug.
It was only after they'd left the infirmary and headed for the deck that Haruta let the realization sink in that he was finally, finally a big brother. For the first time, someone was looking up at him for guidance. It was unfamiliar, a little confusing, and a lot more intimidating than Haruta thought it would be.
He didn't know if he liked it or not. A part of him felt childish for holding hands, while another part of him finally felt more like an adult. Luffy's hand may have felt odd clutching at his, but it was smaller. Whether or not Haruta liked the feeling didn't change the fact that he didn't let go.
...
"Okay, Sabo, we went with your plan of not panicking and it didn't help us find him," Ace snapped, yanking Sabo through the hall.
"The idea is to keep calm," Sabo reminded him, though he sounded just as worried. "We need to go back. We're going to get lost down here."
"Because all these damn halls look the same," Ace argued, spinning around and gripping Sabo's arm tighter.
"Ow!" Sabo hissed, shaking his arm free. "Okay, that's it. We're done looking for Luffy by ourselves." He grabbed Ace's arm instead, yanking him back the way they'd come.
"Sabo! What the hell are you talking about?!" Ace tried to pull against Sabo's grip, but Sabo refused to back down.
"We don't know the layout of this ship at all. I think I can trace our steps back to the room, and from there we can get back to the deck," Sabo explained with obvious irritation. "We'll find Izo, or Marco, or Thatch, and get them to help us look. "
Ace opened his mouth to argue, but as much as he wanted to deny needing the help, the fact remained that they'd wasted at least an hour getting lost in the corridors. Instead, he clenched his jaw and picked up the pace so Sabo wouldn't have to drag him. "Are you sure you know the way back to the room?"
"Mostly sure," Sabo answered.
It felt like it had barely taken any time at all to make their way back to the starting point, and relief flooded over the pair as they caught sight of a familiar blond outside the door opposite their own.
"Marco!" Ace shouted before Sabo could.
Marco turned at their approach, light blue eyes narrowing imperceptibly at Luffy's absence. "He wandered off and got lost already, yoi?"
"Yeah," Sabo answered breathlessly, coming to a stop in front of him. He didn't let go of Ace's arm. "We've been looking for almost an hour but we don't know our way around here."
"That idiot probably followed his nose to the galley or something, but we don't know where it is," Ace added with a frustrated sweep of his hand through his disheveled hair.
"Let's go find him, then," Marco sighed. "He won't find trouble with the crew, so don't worry about that, yoi."
"It's not really the crew I'm worried about," Sabo admitted, falling into step behind Marco as the older man led them towards the deck. "Luffy just… he just finds trouble somehow, wherever he goes."
"I believe it," Marco sighed. "But at least we can rule out anyone on this ship trying to hurt him."
Ace didn't say anything, but some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. Sabo let go of his arm, a small smile touching his lips. He didn't think Ace even realized how much his trust in Marco had grown, but the last thing Sabo planned to do was call attention to it and risk Ace's stubborn side kicking in.
...
"Did you miss me?!"
Thatch's grin was wide enough to make his cheeks ache as he threw the door to the infirmary open, arms spread and a plate of treats in one hand. He knew the infirmary would be mostly empty what with everyone clamoring around the three returned commanders and preparing for Bay's celebration party, but he'd been assured by more than one nurse that Haruta was not in the mood to try getting out of bed.
When he was met with silence, he opened his eyes, blinking curiously at the empty rows of beds. Only one bed was out of order, the blanket haphazardly pushed to the side and a clean plate resting on the bedside tray. With a puzzled frown, Thatch made his way over to the bed and examined the clean plates. It was possible the nurses had underestimated Haruta's stubborn need to prove himself, and the injured boy had hobbled out of the infirmary after eating the food they'd left for him.
"Well, he's probably trying to find me to tell me how much he missed me," Thatch decided, perking up again. He spun on his heel, balancing his plate perfectly, and headed for the door. He'd intended on surprising Haruta with some of his favorite baked goods. He'd been cautioned by more than one person that Haruta had been depressed ever since getting injured, and even if his injuries weren't serious, Thatch wanted to spoil him a little.
He could also justify it by claiming he was making up for being gone so long, if it looked like Haruta might take offense to his real reason.
"First things first," Thatch murmured to himself, glancing around. "Gotta find him. If I were a Haruta, where would I go…" He settled on heading for the deck, figuring it was the safest bet, especially if Haruta had been kept on bedrest for a week already.
...
"I said slow down already. I can't move as fast as you right now," Haruta complained, tugging on Luffy's hand.
"Oh, sorry," Luffy chirped, stopping for a moment to allow Haruta to catch up a bit more. "Do you want to go back to bed?"
"No," Haruta answered. "I just need a minute." He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, making sure to keep a tight grip on Luffy's hand so the boy wouldn't wander off. This was his first act as a big brother; he couldn't lose Luffy on the first day.
When he opened his eyes, Luffy was halfway down the corridor. He scowled immediately, only to pause and look at their joined hands. His eyes followed the length of Luffy's wrist - a length that made absolutely no logical sense - all the way back to Luffy himself. He blinked several times before looking to their hands again, then stumbled backwards. "What the hell?!"
"Eh?" Luffy turned, to look at him, expression far too innocent for him to have been messing with Haruta on purpose. "Ah! My arm-" The realization that his arm had been stretched was accompanied by a tugging sensation, and then Luffy was yelping in alarm as his arm recoiled and he was sent flying into Haruta.
"Ow!" Haruta yelped, barely bracing himself and stopping Luffy from snapping them back into the wall. "Is your arm made of rubber or something?!"
"Yeah," Luffy answered, righting himself with a bright smile. "I ate the Gomu-Gomu fruit. I'm a rubber man!"
"Oh," Haruta sighed, rotating his shoulder with a grimace. "I didn't expect a kid like you to have a devil fruit."
"Sorry," Luffy stuck his tongue out with a cheeky grin.
"Well, whatever," Haruta shrugged. "We have a lot of devil fruit users around here anyway. What about Ace and Sabo?"
"Nope," Luffy started tugging again, and this time, Haruta followed along. "Just me."
"So your whole body is rubber?" Haruta asked, resisting the urge to reach out and pull on his cheek to check again.
"Yeah, it's not a stupid power at all! I'm using it to make all my attacks stronger!" Luffy exclaimed.
"You'll have to show me when I'm allowed to spar again," Haruta said almost absently. He didn't hear the rest of Luffy's rambles as they headed to the deck. It wasn't that he was intentionally ignoring him; it was just that Luffy was rambling on and on about his different attacks and not doing a very good job of actually describing them. It didn't make a lot of sense.
"Where is everyone, anyway?" Luffy asked, snapping Haruta out of his thoughts. The deck looked completely deserted, which was odd even for Paradise.
"Probably getting ready for Bay's party," Haruta reasoned after a moment.
"Party?" Luffy echoed.
"Yeah, for Bay. She's one of our sisters," Haruta said. "She got promoted to Commander of the second division, but we didn't have a party because Thatch wasn't here. He's better at planning that kind of stuff."
"So Thatchy is gonna cook a big feast?!" Luffy demanded, letting go of his hand to bounce around and clap. "Yay! Thatchy makes the best food!"
Haruta grinned. "Yeah, he really does. Anyway, he's been gone a couple months now, so he's probably being crowded by the others. We - I mean, they - missed him a lot. We should go to the galley if we want to see him." He turned to look at Luffy again, shielding his eyes as a gust of wind nearly knocked him over.
"Okay - ah!" Luffy had just stopped jumping around, but the gust had hit him at the perfect angle to knock his hat off from behind. He made a wild grab for it, stretching one of his arms, but his aim was off and he didn't even come close to catching it. "My hat!" He made a second grab for it, but the wind was carrying it towards the figurehead, and it didn't seem like it would be stopping any time soon.
"Forget about it," Haruta told him. "If you can't reach it with your powers, it's gonna be gone before you can reach it… hey! Are you listening?" Luffy completely ignored him, rushing after the hat and shouting insults at the wind. With a curse, Haruta sprinted after him, trying not to focus on how much his ribs started to hurt from the movement. Luffy was able to use his rubber powers to propel himself up onto the figurehead, and Haruta had no choice but to jump up after him, nearly falling to his knees from the exertion. "Oi! Can you hear me, Luffy?" Haruta demanded.
"I have to get my hat!" Luffy argued, rushing after it.
"Hey!" Haruta straightened, focusing on regaining his balance. "Be careful up here, it was raining earlier! It's slippery!"
If Luffy heard him, he didn't acknowledge it. His only goal was clearly to get his straw hat back regardless of how dangerous it was. For a moment, Haruta considered letting him run off alone since he wasn't listening anyway, but his desire to be a good big brother won out and he found himself darting after the other boy with a muttered string of curses under his breath.
Luffy was almost to the edge of the figurehead when his arm shot out again, hand snagging the brim of the hat. Whether or not he just happened to hit a slippery patch or the excitement of finally reaching his hat had distracted him, his sandal slid and his other arm flailed, the wind swallowing his yelp of panic as he went careening over the edge.
"LUFFY!" Haruta shouted, reaching out even though he knew he was too far away to actually catch him. There was only a single, adrenaline-fueled instant for Haruta to make a decision. He could run back to the deck and shout for one of his brothers or sisters - someone who could easily swim and retrieve Luffy - and risk letting the little hammer drown, or he could completely disregard his own safety and jump in after him before he sank.
With the echoing reminder that Luffy was the youngest member of the crew, and therefore his little brother, Haruta threw self-preservation out of his mind and lunged forward, doing his best to dive with his limited mobility. He saw exactly where Luffy hit the water, his hat still clutched in one flailing hand. Luffy only surfaced once, and Haruta didn't expect him to surface again without help. He'd asked the other devil fruit users what it was like before, and while most of them were strong enough to retain their awareness and even use their abilities to a certain extent, every single one of them had confirmed that the sea sapped their energy.
When he hit the water, the searing pain in his shoulder was almost completely cancelled out by the sting of frigid water rushing against his bare skin. It took longer than he liked to clear the disorientation, and by the time he was able to focus, Luffy was already several feet below him in the water. Haruta took a moment to be grateful they were anchored - because falling off the figurehead of a moving ship would have easily killed them or at the very least knocked them out - before diving further and snagging Luffy around the waist with his good arm.
Swimming was far more difficult than Haruta had anticipated it would be. Luffy was an unresponsive deadweight in his grip, and his other arm could barely handle being raised above his head. He had to rely on his legs, kicking in slow, precise strides. If he started to panic and over-exerted himself, he wouldn't be able to keep them both floating once they surfaced.
Haruta barely heard Luffy coughing over the sound of his own gasps once they finally broke the surface, but he heard just enough to know that Luffy didn't need any immediate help. It was a huge relief, because just as he'd guessed, it was taking all of Haruta's energy to keep them sinking again.
"H-Haru," Luffy whined, his voice hoarse and groggy. "My hat…!"
Haruta clenched his jaw. "Aren't you holding it?" he asked, craning his head to look for a viable option to get them both out of the water.
"I don't have it!" Luffy cried, frantically clutching at Haruta's shirt. "I have to find it! It's my treasure!"
"It's a hat," Haruta argued. "Don't be stupid. We can get you a new one if we survive this."
"It's my treasure!" Luffy repeated stubbornly, fat tears welling up in his eyes. "I promised I'd give it back some day!"
Haruta barely held back his groan, looking down at Luffy with intensity in his gaze. The younger boy didn't falter at all, gaze pleading and desperate. He didn't seem to have any strength left, but each second that passed without some form of reassurance that his hat wouldn't be lost caused a sob to wrack his tiny frame. Haruta felt it all the way to his bones. This was the hat Luffy had fallen off the ship to recover, and even though he'd saved Luffy's life, it would be a failure to rescue him without his hat when it clearly meant so much to him.
It could have been from a father, a hero, maybe even one of his brothers, but it didn't matter. Haruta had no right to determine the worth of an old straw hat he knew nothing about. Still, he didn't intend to get them killed over it. It was only due to the fact that he was certain he'd seen the damn thing clutched in Luffy's hand when he'd started pulling him out of the water - and nothing to do with the pleading whimpers tugging at his heart - that had him willing to try.
"Wrap your arms around my neck as tight as you can and don't let go," he ordered, awkwardly shifting Luffy onto his back.
Luffy stopped crying, confused for a moment, but as soon as he realized Haruta was going to help him, he did his best to follow directions, winding his arms around Haruta's neck and clutching at the sleeves of his own t-shirt on opposite sides to keep his grip. It stung, but not as much as his ribs when Luffy's legs attempted to wind around his chest. Thankfully, Luffy's lack of energy and his inability to move much at all underwater had him giving up on using his legs.
"Hold your breath," Haruta ordered, filling his lungs and bracing himself. He waited until he was sure Luffy had gotten an adequate amount of air before diving back under. Despite how easy it was to spot the bright yellow hat in the darkened waters, getting to it proved to be just as difficult as Haruta had dreaded. The straw was waterlogged and sinking, and the salt of the seawater was burning his eyes. Worse yet, as he struggled to submerge them, Luffy's grip loosened from around his neck. He was forced to use his chin to pin Luffy's arms a little more securely at his throat.
By the time he managed to reach the hat, looping his arm through the cord and changing direction to head for the surface again, Luffy was limp and unresponsive. He nearly dropped the other boy while trying to catch his breath once they emerged, since Luffy was no longer holding on of his own accord. A weak cough and a little regurgitated seawater signalled Luffy waking back up before he started mumbling about his hat.
"Here," Haruta muttered breathlessly, lifting his arm so Luffy could take it. "Don't lose it again."
"M-my hat!" Luffy started wailing almost instantly, grabbing at Haruta's arm and missing the cord several times, before finally untangling it and plopping it atop his head. "Thank you, Haruta!"
"Yeah, well," Haruta muttered, still irritated at the situation. "You weren't gonna shut up about…" An odd look crossed his face before he twisted to look over his shoulder. Luffy's eyes were bright, albeit a little lidded, exhaustion radiating from his shivering rubber body. The moment Haruta met his gaze, he gave a smile wide enough to take up half his face. "You just called me 'Haruta'."
"Yeah," Luffy nodded, trying to climb up a little on Haruta's back and failing. He settled for keeping one arm wound around Haruta's shoulders, and even that motion didn't hurt as much anymore. "Isn't that your name?"
"I just… yeah, okay," Haruta mumbled, turning away when he felt heat rising on his cheeks. "Now we just have to get back up before they try to move the ship. I'm not really in the mood to get squashed."
"Me either," Luffy mumbled. "Sorry I worried you."
"Who said you worried me?" Haruta argued, looking up at the Moby Dick with a frown. There was no way they'd be able to climb up without help, but no one would hear them from their current position. There was nothing Luffy could try to stretch and reach for either, which meant they had to find a way to get to the side of the ship. If Haruta was being completely honest with himself, he didn't think he could do it. The muted pain of Luffy holding onto his injured side was tolerable, but after straining himself so much, especially with the second dive to get the hat, the idea of swimming was out of the question.
"Oh, well, Sabo and Ace always get mad at me when they're worried," Luffy explained.
"Do you worry them a lot?" Haruta asked, the rest of his irritation fading at those words.
"Yeah," Luffy admitted with a sheepish laugh. "But they always come find me. That's why I'm not worried right now. Haruta has lots of brothers too, and they'll all come help us when we need help, right?"
Haruta wanted to argue that it wouldn't always work that way, that his brothers weren't magic, but he didn't want to shatter any illusions Luffy had, either. "Yeah, pretty much. Unless a sea king finds us first."
"Sea king meat is tasty," Luffy said. He slumped against Haruta's back. "Haruta, I'm hungry…"
"Again? You just ate all my food like an hour ago," Haruta mumbled. His own stomach gave a pitiful growl at the reminder that he hadn't eaten recently.
"That was a long time ago," Luffy agreed sagely, the tone of his voice causing Haruta to snort.
"We have a problem," Haruta sighed after several moments of silence. "I'm too tired to swim, and we can't get back up."
"Ace usually comes to get me by now," Luffy mumbled, tightening his grip again and causing Haruta to hiss. "Ah! Sorry," he immediately tried to shift his grip so he wasn't clinging to Haruta's injured side, but all he managed to do was dislodge himself and sink, which had Haruta cursing and splashing water into his own face in an attempt to haul him back out.
He opened his mouth to shout at Luffy for letting go, but the miserable expression on Luffy's face stopped him, and he bit back a sigh. He couldn't really relate; the water was cold and the salt stung several of his healing wounds, but it didn't drain him the way it had to be draining Luffy. There was barely any trace of the annoyingly chipper boy who'd barged into the infirmary and bounced around the ship while holding his hand. "Oi, knock it off," he said, doing his best to imitate the stern tone of voice Marco would always use when someone was acting foolish. "You're not hurting me," he added, figuring Luffy wouldn't be able to see through the lie.
"But…" Luffy trailed off, eyelids drooping.
"But nothing. I'm strong, remember? I have battle scars and fought an army of pirates," Haruta boasted. "And I'm a big brother now, so that means you don't get to worry about me."
"Oh…" Luffy tried to grab onto him again, and to his credit, Haruta managed not to flinch when Luffy's arm happened to wrap around one of the more tender areas. "Ace says that, too…"
"Well Ace is right. Don't worry about me," Haruta said, gritting his teeth. "Hey Luffy, can you shout right now?"
"I think so," Luffy mumbled.
"I can't. I have to save my energy and my breath or we're going to sink," Haruta explained. "So I need you to shout for help."
"Who should I shout for?" Luffy asked, putting his trust in Haruta's judgment.
Haruta thought for a moment, not quite sure of an answer. Whenever he needed someone's help, he tended to shout for Thatch or Marco. In a dangerous situation, Namur and Vista had really fast reflexes, but in terms of someone actually hearing them, he had to wonder if Kingdew or maybe Bay would be more attentive. He also had to wonder who was most likely to be looking for them if they'd noticed them missing, or who would be back on the deck.
In the end, he just didn't know.
"Shout for whoever you think will hear you," he finally answered.
...
"They've been on the ship for like an hour," Thatch complained under his breath, pouting. "How can Luffy be in trouble already?"
"Beginning to think we underestimated him, yoi," Marco answered. They were trying to keep their voices low, but there was no point in hiding the conversation from Ace or Sabo. By now, word had gotten out that no one had seen Luffy, and that Haruta had left the infirmary again. Several of the commanders and crew members were searching the divisions. When a precursory search of the sparring areas had come up empty, Bay had stated Haruta's absence had to be in direct relation to Luffy's. No one had argued.
"We thought he'd be in the galley," Sabo explained, twisting his hands together anxiously. "Usually he just follows his nose to find food…"
"I think Bay's right about Luffy being with Haruta, then," Thatch said. "One of the guys took Haruta some lunch right before we showed up. The infirmary isn't that far away from your room, so he might have followed the smell. Haruta never finishes all of his food, but the plate I saw in there was licked clean."
"Definitely Luffy," Ace muttered. "Where the hell is he now? Where would this 'Haruta' take him?"
"Not far," Marco glanced over his shoulder at Ace. "Haruta's injured. Moving around is probably really unpleasant. If I had to guess, I'd say Luffy started to wander off and Haruta felt obligated to follow him, yoi."
"Great," Ace's shoulders slumped. "And we didn't find them stealing food…"
"This is a big ship," Sabo shielded his eyes from the wind as he looked around. The deck had been empty earlier, but now several crew members were milling about, checking for the two missing boys. "If Luffy wanted to explore it, and they didn't end up in the galley…"
Ace stopped, turning to look at Sabo with narrowed eyes. "He would have wanted to find the helm, the crow's nest, or the figurehead," he realized, following Sabo's train of thought.
"Exactly," Sabo tilted his head back to look to the closest crow's nest. It wasn't empty, but the man peering at the deck seemed to be helping with the search. A quick glance to the other crow's nests gave similar results, which meant Luffy wasn't up there.
"No one's very alert here in Paradise," Thatch commented, putting his hands on his hips. "We only had one person on watch and he was probably sleeping until we started the full search, so I doubt he knows anything helpful."
"And if Luffy was at the helm, we would have seen him by now," Ace turned to look at the figurehead, frowning. It was massive and almost completely flat, with no sign of a hyperactive boy in a straw hat.
"Something had to have happened," Sabo reasoned, worry creeping back into his voice. "If Luffy's calling the shots, then he'd have to have chosen one of those four locations…"
"We should check the storerooms," Marco suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Already did," Bay's voice interrupted as she approached with Izo. She didn't look pleased. "Izo and I just went through all of them."
"I thought it was the most logical place to look," Izo admitted with a frown. "How could you lose Luffy already, Thatch?"
"Hey! I wasn't the one watching them," Thatch argued. "Besides, shouldn't you be blaming Marco?"
"It's always your fault, Thatch," Bay quipped, shooting him a smirk. "You should know that by now."
Thatch threw his arms in the air. "Well, I'll have you know-"
"Shut up," Ace interrupted, holding his hand up like he might grab or hit Thatch if he didn't listen.
Thatch opened his mouth, wounded, but he didn't question Ace's interruption. He exchanged a glance with Marco, who was looking to Ace intently.
"Did you hear that?" Sabo murmured, shooting Ace a nervous glance.
Ace met his gaze, but the chatter from the rest of the crew was too loud for him to focus. He opened his mouth to yell at everyone to be quiet, but Marco beat him to it.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR A SECOND, YOI."
Whether it was the stern tone of voice or the fact that Marco never shouted like that, everything went silent. They could even hear the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the ship.
And the faint sound of Luffy trying to call Ace and Sabo's names.
"Shit!" Ace swore, immediately realizing where the voice was coming from and sprinting for the figurehead, Sabo right alongside him. They heard the others on their heels, but neither boy slowed down as they prepared to dive into the water.
Both leapt, and both cried out in anger when arms wound around each of their waists and trapped them, stopping them from leaping overboard. Before they could start shouting at Marco, who remained calm while effortlessly restraining them, a blur of white and yellow rushed past them.
The sound of Thatch hitting the water was accompanied by a rather joyful "Thatchy!", followed by an unfamiliar voice shouting Thatch's name.
"Someone throw a ladder over the side," Marco called, carrying Ace and Sabo back to the deck. "And tell the others we found Haruta and Luffy, yoi."
"I'm dying to know how this one happened," Bay commented, shaking her head. "I put Haruta back in the infirmary myself. He's far too injured to be swimming."
"We'll question them when Thatch brings them up," Izo answered, frowning.
Marco let Ace and Sabo down, watching both of them rush to the railing where the ladder had been thrown. Thatch was already climbing, his pompadour deflated and soaked. He had Haruta in his right arm and Luffy flopped over his left shoulder, clinging to his neck. He somehow managed to climb without jostling either of them, using only his left hand to pull himself up.
"Here, take him," Thatch said, rather needlessly, as Marco was already lifting Luffy off his shoulder the moment they were in range. As soon as Marco had Luffy secured, Thatch gave a sharp tug of the ladder and propelled himself over the side, landing deftly on his feet. Haruta grunted at the impact, but otherwise didn't complain as Thatch knelt to lie him down and Bay came over to look at his injuries.
"Luffy!" Ace shouted, tugging him out of Marco's arms with little resistance and immediately punching him on the head.
"Wah!" Luffy flailed over, and as soon as he started to push himself up, Sabo added his own punch, which led to Luffy slamming face-down into the deck.
"What the hell were you doing?!" Ace demanded. "How did you fall into the water?!"
"We told you to be careful," Sabo added.
Luffy popped back up, holding onto his head - and hat - and pouting up at them. "I was being careful, but, but the wind blew my hat away and I had to go after it! I knew I'd be okay, though!"
"And how could you possibly know that?" Ace grabbed Luffy's shoulders, shaking him a little.
"Wahhhh! Ace!" Luffy complained. "Haruta was with me, and he's our brother now too, so I knew I'd be okay!"
"What?" Sabo's voice was sharp and slightly confused, and Ace couldn't even answer, an unreadable look on his face. Marco was sure they both seemed hurt.
"Ah, don't worry about that," Haruta rasped, coughing a little and trying to force himself up into a sitting position. Bay kept him pinned, still checking the strain to his shoulder. "You're Ace and Sabo, right? Luffy told me about you. He only agreed to be our brother if you guys were special brothers, since ya drank sake cups together and all. But we're all gonna be brothers if you join the crew."
"O-oh," Ace let go of Luffy, a dark blush spreading over his freckled cheeks.
Sabo's confused look melted away, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he beckoned Luffy closer. The younger boy complied immediately, hugging Sabo and soaking the blond's clothes. "We're your special brothers?" he checked, just to make sure.
"Yeah," Luffy agreed, beaming.
Ace shoved a hand through his hair, turning his gaze back to Haruta. He wasn't much taller than they were, and he seemed just as scrawny as Luffy. The fact that he was injured from battle and clearly in pain from having saved Luffy's life was undeniable, and a rush of shame flooded through Ace for having been upset. "You saved him?" he asked, even though they all knew the answer.
"Well, he's reckless and kind of an idiot," Haruta stated bluntly, hissing when Izo flicked him lightly on the forehead. "Someone had to keep him from getting himself killed. That's what a big brother does, right?"
"Look at you, trying to sound all manly," Bay teased. "You're just so thrilled to not be the youngest, huh?"
"Had to happen some time," Haruta said with a cheeky grin.
"Thank you," Ace blurted out, cutting off the friendly banter. They spoke to each other with the familiarity of a family, and he hadn't wanted to interrupt or disturb it, but he didn't want Haruta to continue on without a proper expression of gratitude. "For helping Luffy. He's definitely a reckless idiot, and if you hadn't been there… thank you."
"Don't sweat it," Haruta answered, trying to hide how happy Ace's words had made him.
"Okay, that's enough out of you," Izo scolded with a sigh. "You and Luffy are going straight the infirmary."
"Thatch can bring the baked goods to us there," Bay added. "Ace, Sabo, I assume you're both coming?"
"Yeah," Sabo answered quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. He passed Luffy over to Ace, who automatically tucked the shivering boy into his arms.
"We need to get some clothes for him," Ace muttered.
"I'll grab something from your room, yoi," Marco said.
"Crisis averted?" Rakuyo popped up next to Marco, looking over his shoulder at the four youngest.
"More or less," Bay answered, standing up. "Wanna carry Haruta for me?"
"I can walk," Haruta argued.
"Well, in that case, we'll meet him there," Bay offered, placing a hand on her hip and looking expectantly at Haruta.
"Haruta's strong," Luffy informed Ace, peering up at him. "He fought a pirate army all on his own, and that's why he has all the battle wounds!"
"All on his own, huh?" Rakuyo snickered.
Haruta glared. "That's right!"
"Regardless," Marco said, leaning down and hauling Haruta to his feet. The younger pirate immediately swayed and gripped Marco's arm to keep himself upright. "You're all going to the infirmary, yoi."
"I'll bring food and come visit with you there," Thatch promised, attempting to salvage his soaked pompadour. "I just need to go change clothes first."
"Bring meat," Luffy told him, earning another smack on the head from Ace.
Thatch burst out laughing, ruffling Ace's hair before heading off.
"Do you really want to walk on your own, yoi?" Marco asked Haruta.
"I'll accept your help just this once," Haruta answered. "But only because you've been gone a while."
"I'll come along and change the bandages, but neither of you need any serious medical help, aside from a few new stitches for Haruta," Bay commented. "Just stay put once I'm done with that."
"Ooh, Bay's using her serious voice," Rakuyo teased. "Better listen this time."
"Yeah, yeah," Haruta mumbled, ducking his head.
...
Ace was utterly silent as Luffy finished explaining what had happened. Luffy had already finished off all the food Thatch had brought them, and despite Thatch's obvious desire to stay and chat with Haruta, Bay and Marco had herded him out and left the four alone once they'd gotten the general gist of the story.
Haruta was darting unsure glances in their direction, but any time he caught them looking, he would offer a hesitant and somewhat sheepish grin. Ace didn't know what to make of it. Luffy had already caused trouble for Haruta, had caused him to get hurt saving him, but Haruta was acting friendly. He was even acting friendly towards Ace and Sabo, who he'd barely even been introduced to.
"Thanks again," Sabo said after a moment, watching Haruta finish off one of the fudge brownies. Luffy was shooting forlorn glances at the plate of treats Haruta hadn't finished. "For saving Luffy's life, and for retrieving his hat."
"He said it was his treasure," Haruta commented, ignoring the thanks and holding the plate out. Luffy automatically snagged several of the brownies, shoveling them into his mouth with a delighted sound.
"Yeah," Ace sighed. "He got it from a pirate who saved his life a year ago."
"Iff anks!" Luffy said around a mouthful of brownies.
"He doesn't go anywhere without it," Sabo added with a grin.
"Well, it's not up to me to judge someone's treasure," Haruta shrugged. "We can let the others know so they can be ready if something like that happens again."
"Shouldn't be necessary," Ace murmured. "I mean, I don't even know how long we're gonna stay here."
Haruta paused, turning to give Ace his full attention, dark blue eyes unreadable. "You… don't?"
"We haven't decided if we're staying or not," Sabo clarified with a sympathetic glance in Ace's direction. "We didn't even expect to run into the crew this soon."
"But I thought…" Haruta trailed off, faltering. "So you might not stay at all? You're not going to be my brothers?"
Ace shrugged. "Probably not."
"Ace," Sabo murmured.
"I wanna stay," Luffy argued, reaching for more of Haruta's treats. Haruta didn't seem to notice or care. "I like it here."
"We're staying for now," Ace sighed. "We can't promise more than that." He glanced at Haruta again. "We'll try to keep Luffy out of trouble while we're here."
"Yeah, you do that," Haruta mumbled, setting the empty plate on the bedside table and moving to lie back down. "I'm gonna get some rest."
"Are you tired?" Luffy inquired.
"Yeah."
"Luffy, don't bother him," Sabo lowered his voice, looking to Haruta in confusion. In a matter of minutes, Haruta had gone from pleasant and friendly to cold and closed off.
"Okay," Luffy slumped. "Well, we can hang out later, okay, Haruta?"
"Yeah," Haruta answered again in the same flat tone.
...
The infirmary was absolutely silent, save for Haruta's steady breathing. To any random passerby, it seemed as though Haruta had gone straight to sleep after Marco had ushered the trio of brothers out to give them a better tour and a small map of the ship.
Thatch knew better. Even though he'd pulled a muscle and reopened a grand total of three wounds that had to be stitched back up, there was no way he was too tired to get to know the boys, and enough time had gone by that he should have been up and about already. There wasn't much time left before Bay's party was to take place either, but no one would want to celebrate if Haruta couldn't attend.
He made his way over, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a seat on the bed across from Haruta's. "So you have two options," he said without preamble. "You can lie there and pretend to sleep while I talk to myself, or you can talk to me."
Haruta went still, the silence settling over them both for several moments before he finally sighed and pushed himself up. "What'll it take to make you go away?" he asked.
"Ouch," Thatch placed a hand over his heart, looking wounded. "That hurts. I haven't even been back for a day and you're already sick of me?"
"I didn't mean it like that," Haruta mumbled, shame creeping into his voice.
"It's okay. I know you didn't, and I'm really not upset, so don't start moping," Thatch teased. "You're joining us for the party, right? I really outdid myself on tonight's dishes. We're starting soon, you know."
Haruta sighed again, glancing away. "I'm not hungry."
"How could you say that to my face?" Thatch gave a dramatic huff, tilting his head back and fluffing his pompadour. He waited until Haruta looked at him again before he grinned. "C'mon, Haruta. It's me. Do you really think you'll get away with it?"
Haruta scowled, drawing his knees to his chest and hugging them, albeit gingerly. His left shoulder was clearly going to cause him discomfort for at least a week. "Why did you bring them here?"
"Them? Oh, you mean the trio?" Thatch cocked his head to the side. "Don't you get along with them?"
"Should I?" Haruta asked bitterly, scowl deepening.
"Well… why wouldn't you?" Thatch pressed, leaning forward and studying him. "I thought you'd be thrilled to have some younger kids around. Plus I bet they'd have a lot of fun helping us with pranks to keep things interesting around here."
"Stop it," Haruta practically growled. "I don't want to think about them helping with pranks or anything else for that matter."
"You seemed to be getting along with Luffy, and since you saved his life, I thought Ace and Sabo would have warmed up to you," Thatch said. "Did you guys fight or something?"
"We didn't fight, Thatch. Okay? They seemed nice. No big deal." Haruta heaved another sigh, his voice quieting. "I don't want to get attached."
"Why not? Isn't it… oh. Oh." Thatch bit his lip. "You mentioned them joining the crew and Ace shot it down, didn't he?"
Haruta lifted his head, frowning. "If you knew they didn't want to join, why did you bother bringing them here?"
"It's not that they don't want to join," Thatch promised, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sabo really wants to, and Luffy seems to like it here…"
"But Ace doesn't want to stay," Haruta finished. "I don't get it. They'd fit in with us, wouldn't they? And Oyaji doesn't mind their ages, right? So why doesn't Ace want to stay?"
"We don't really know," Thatch admitted with a helpless shrug. "But we're not giving up on convincing Ace to give us a chance, ya know?"
"Well, I don't plan on getting attached," Haruta insisted. "Not if they might up and leave as soon as I get comfortable."
"Okay," Thatch said. "I can understand that. Just don't shut them out on the assumption that they absolutely won't stick around, okay?"
Haruta shrugged his shoulders, hissing in pain.
"We still have a half hour before they get things started," Thatch added. "Why don't I keep you company? I've heard a lot of alarming stuff lately. Vista tried to help you with pranks? Rakuyo did? And what's this about you taking out five pirates on your own during an attack?"
A flicker of pride and amusement entered Haruta's eyes, which had Thatch grinning wide in response.
"Well… I guess I could tell you about it," Haruta relented.
"And then we'll join everyone in toasting to Bay's reign of terror as a Commander?" Thatch asked.
"Yeah… I guess it's just not a party if we're not there…" Haruta's lips curved into a smirk.
Thatch's grin widened at the familiar, playful side of Haruta surfacing again. "Exactly. Could you imagine how boring it'd be?
"Everyone missed you, you know," Haruta said, his smirk melting into a wry grin. "Rakuyo was sulking and everything."
"Ooh, tell me more," Thatch chuckled, eyes bright.
...
A/N: Sorry again for the delay! I hope everyone enjoyed the adorable fluff of Haruta and Luffy bonding. Thanks again! And the question of why they're in Paradise will be answered… eventually… ilu all! :D
~Mithril