Thanks to Jui Bhaskarrao for your review.

Enjoy your reading.

Chapter 44

All on fire

"No. Oh, no."

Sanji wildly searched through the empty boxes of the reserve before taking a deep breath. He, who always had several cartons of cigarettes in advance, had just realized with dread that he had nothing left.

The blond forced himself to calmly think for a second. He often had a few packs of cigarettes lost in the middle of his clothes when he dropped one in the boys' quarter absent-mindedly. There had to be a few left there.

In a hurry, he crossed the Sunny and simply ignored Luffy who was hoping for a snack on the way. He went straight to his closet and brutally opened it before searching methodically among his drawers and his wardrobe. He pulled out a pack in triumph, but lowered his sights when he saw he had only five cigarettes left inside.

Not losing hope of finding more, he made off towards the room he shared with Zoro and turned the mattress and pillows upside down but in vain. No wonder since he had promised the marimo not to smoke here anymore... Sanji cursed himself for having had such a stupid idea which removed him of an additional chance of not being stranded before the next island. He even ended up kneeling to check under the bed but it was a waste of time. Irritated, he went around the bathroom and after having dutifully searched everywhere, he found a pack at the bottom of the dirty laundry basket.

At last, Sanji got back to his kitchen and put the three remaining packs down in front of him before watching them in a bad mood. Two of them contained a total of eight cigarettes and the one at the bottom of his pocket would soon be nothing but a memory. Why hadn't he noticed earlier he was running out of reserves? he asked himself annoyingly. He then realized their last ports of call had been so full in emotions and adventures he hadn't even taken the time to think about buying it back then.

Sanji finally shrugged while putting away what was left in the back of a drawer. He had never been short of cigarettes since he started smoking and although he knew rationing would be difficult, he would still have to wait for their next destination that Nami had estimated in a few days. He then firmly decided it wouldn't be insurmountable.

After lunch, the cook went down the steps leading to the deck to get some fresh air. He had a furious desire to smoke but he decided not to take a cigarette immediately given what little he had left. He had indeed realized with horror that he was lighting them without being aware of it.

As he made his way to the rest of the crew who was enjoying the cool wind, he suddenly heard Nami's voice rise.

"This is not happening, Luffy", she decreed.

"What does he want now?" he asked, coming closer.

"He wants Ussop and Franky to make flaming missiles to have a contest", the skeleton who was tuning his violin a few steps away told him.

"It's quite risky, Luffy", Chopper added. "Suppose you set the Sunny on fire?"

"But I'll be careful!" the captain protested.

"When we are on the next island, you can do what you want but as long as we're on the ship, no fire!" Nami firmly concluded.

Luffy scowled and his friends tried to suggest him another hobby before seeing him freeze. Sanji followed his gaze to the open sea, puzzled, but to everyone's surprise, the straw hat boy suddenly rushed towards the railing.

"What are you doing?" the gunner wondered.

"Oh, my God! Luffy!"

Nami dashed forward when the captain stepped over the Sunny's rail and literally flowed into the sea. Stunned, all the crew members rushed to the edge before a big burst of laughter reached their ears.

"Well, I take it you're happy to see me!"

"Yeah, that's so cool!"

Below, a small boat was floating on the ocean in which a young man with black hair and a recognizable look anywhere was laughing together with the straw hat boy hanging on his back. He then looked up and pushed his hat back to greet the rest of the crew, a broad smile on his lips.

"Ace!" Nami exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

"Hi!"

"One can say that your hearing is very acute, Luffy-san", his musician noted.

"What are you doing here?" Ussop asked the newcomer.

"Yeah, last time we heard about you in the papers, you were at the point of death", Zoro added.

The young man smiled enigmatically in response.

"You mustn't believe everything you're told."

"What happened?" the fencer wanted to know before Sanji nudged him in the ribs.

"These are not ways of behaving, marimo", he reproached him.

He then turned to Luffy while lighting a cigarette without thinking.

"If the captain agrees, I'll prepare you a good meal and you'll tell us all about it then", he suggested.

"I wouldn't say no", Ace agreed.

"Great!" Luffy yelled, tightening his grip on his brother's body.

The latter smiled broadly and jumped aboard the Thousand Sunny.

"The crew has really extended since Alabasta", Ace said, gazing at the people he didn't know around the kitchen table.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Brook!" the skeleton got enthused. "I am a musician!"

"Musician and dead?" Ace asked. "You must be Luffy's favorite then."

"That's right, Brook is my favorite dead musician!" the captain approved with excitement.

"I'm Franky, the carpenter. It's an honor to meet you", the cyborg introduced himself.

"The feeling is mutual", Ace replied. "The old ship looked really nice, but this one is wonderful."

At that moment, Sanji brought a plate to their guest and this one thanked him. Seeing that Luffy was going to throw himself onto the food, the cook was about to reply when his brother calmly pushed him away with one arm.

"There are things you don't forget", he explained, quietly eating his share.

Yet, as soon as he had swallowed his first bite, his eyes widened.

"Wow, that's downright delicious!"

He turned to the blond whose smile was lighting up the room at the compliment.

"Don't you want to come and work on my ship?" he asked him with interest. "I'd like to eat like that every day!"

"Ace, he's my cook!" Luffy immediately pouted.

His brother laughed and picked up his fork.

"I'm kidding, Luffy. I know he's your cook."

His eyes then rested on the young brunette woman facing him and he tilted his head to one side, as if undecided.

"Nico Robin, right?"

"That is correct", the archaeologist replied.

"It's thanks to you that Luffy got promoted at Enies Lobby! Ah, it was a work of art", he said to his little brother. "I'm sure the old man got sick when he saw you there!"

"He came get me at Water Seven and he tried to beat me up", Luffy told him, smiling from ear to ear.

Ace burst out laughing again, emptying his plate a little more.

"What a party pooper!"

"Tell us, Ace, how did you get out of it?" Nami chimed in with curiosity. "The Marine said they were about to find you after your escape."

"Oh, it's not complicated", he replied. "I just g-"

Strangely, the young man suddenly collapsed on the table and Brook had just enough time to push his plate to prevent his head from crashing into it.

"What's going on?" Ussop exclaimed, frantic. "He fainted!"

The rest of the crew started to panic when Luffy broke out into laughter.

"He's sleeping again, that's so funny!"

Chopper frowned and came closer before taking his pulse.

"It's true, he's sleeping", he said after watching his regular breathing. "Does this happen often?" he asked his brother.

This one shrugged.

"Don't know. Sometimes he sleeps for a few minutes and sometimes it lasts for hours but this isn't a regular thing."

"It runs in the family", Nami sighed. "Luffy can fall asleep anywhere too."

"Or like marimo", the cook sneered.

"They never fell asleep that way", the doctor pointed out, examining his patient again. "Ace has all the symptoms of narcolepsy."

"What is that?" Ussop asked.

"A fairly rare sleep disorder during which the person can fall asleep at any time involuntarily", Robin answered.

"That's right", the little reindeer agreed. "In addition, it can't be cured..."

"It's rather dangerous," Franky commented. "If it happens to him during a fight or in the middle of a storm, he can do nothing."

"And yet, he managed to reach a bounty of 550 million berries. He's no ordinary guy", Zoro added, appreciating the fighting spirit of the captain's brother.

"It was so funny when we were kids!" Luffy remembered. "With Sabo, we had fun moving him to an unknown place and when he was waking up, he was lost!"

The captain giggled again as Ace was slowly waking up. He stretched hard before seeing the questioning faces of the straw hat crew members around him.

"Oh, I fell asleep, right?" he guessed with a big smile. "Sorry, I know it's surprising."

"It was unexpected", Robin admitted.

"You gave us all quite a scare", Brook agreed. "My heart skipped a beat in my chest!"

At these words, the two brothers broke out into laughter again then Ace resumed his plate to continue his meal as if nothing had happened.

"By the way, are you interested in going with me on Eloi Island?" he asked them. "That's not very far from here."

"I don't know this island", Nami frowned. "According to my calculations, we should arrive on the San Marsoni archipelago within a few days."

"Eloi Island is only accessible with an Eternal Pose", Ace showed her. "I need to get a trove for Pops there."

"A treasure trove?" the navigator asked, stars in her eyes.

"I don't know", he admitted. "However, he assured me there would be a legendary dragon to keep this trove", he added for the benefit of his brother.

"A legendary dragon?!" Luffy yelled.

"According to him, he's magnificent with bluish scales and purple horns."

As Luffy, Franky, Sanji and Zoro were already enthusiastic about the confrontation to come, Ussop, Brook and Chopper glanced worriedly at each other. Finally, Nami quietly got up and headed for the door.

"Ace, show me the direction to take. Even if a dragon stands in my way, the one who will take over my treasure isn't born yet."

"Uh, I didn't say I'll share", he wondered.

The young red-haired woman didn't bother to answer him and she slammed the door behind her while leaving. Ace then shared an amused look with Robin who stifled a laugh while her other friends were dancing with joy or trembling with fear.

"It's so hot", Nami grumbled, waving a small fan in front of her. "I'm going to get sunburns", she said, inspecting her white skin anxiously."I don't understand, climate should have been spring..."

The straw hat crew and their guest had disembarked after a few hours of navigation on Eloi Island. This land consisted mainly of valleys and dry mountains that were totally uninhabited, largely because of the rumor of the dragon's presence. Yet the island wasn't large and Luffy had been disappointed not to see him immediately.

They had therefore set out for the mountain where the trove was supposed to be hidden and it had now been more than two hours since they had been walking. The afternoon was coming to an end but the absence of wind when they were crossing the steep-sided valleys made the atmosphere suffocating.

"Here, that'll protect you a little bit."

Ace handed his hat to the navigator who gratefully accepted it. She then glared at her captain, who continued to stroll along the way as if nothing had happened.

"Why aren't you as helpful as your brother, you?" she sharply scolded him.

Luffy stared at her in disbelief and she rolled her eyes before frowning at the cook's unusual attitude in front of her. Indeed, he was twisting his hands and she even noticed he was shivering despite the heat.

"What's going on with you, Sanji-kun?" she asked. "You feeling okay?"

The rest of the crew stopped before turning to him and the latter gave a nervous chuckle.

"Everything is fine, Nami-san, don't worry about me!"

The young woman raised a questioning eyebrow and while everyone was setting out again, she went to the fencer's side.

"He's not well. What did you do to him?" she asked him.

Zoro glanced at her, puzzled.

"What do you mean? He said he was fine."

Nami slapped him on the shoulder, exasperated.

"Think about it, he didn't even offer me a cocktail or suggest to stop when I said I was hot and he's been doing this weird thing with his hands since a while ago", she showed him.

"And what does that have to do with me?" the swordsman growled.

"I don't know", the redhead said, shrugging her shoulders. "But usually, when he's weird, it has to do with you."

"Well, this time it isn't", Zoro denied.

"Yeah..."

The navigator went quiet but she wasn't convinced and they walked in silence.

After another hour of walking, Ace suddenly showed the crew a large opening in the rock of the mountain they were climbing. Immediately, Luffy rushed to enter it and no one had time to hold him back.

"What a fool", Ussop muttered. "He can never wait for us..."

The rest of the group carefully went up to the entrance of the cave, expecting at any time to be attacked by a huge furious dragon. As they were softly walking, the darkness gradually enveloped them until their sights were completely shielded. Ace then decided to fix it.

"Firefly!"

Immediately, a multitude of small sparkling fireballs flew around the cave, throwing pockets of light here and there.

"Luffy? Where are you?" the little reindeer asked in a frightened voice.

Silence answered him and Ussop shivered.

"Luffy, it's not funny! Tell us where you are!" he called with his most confident look.

"Watch out, dragon!" the voice of his captain yelled back.

Zoro instantly grabbed his blades while Sanji was focusing to be able to respond to an attack as quickly as possible. For his part, Ace made a fireball appear in his left hand while Robin, Brook and Franky positioned back to back to watch over more ground. As for Chopper, Ussop and Nami, the first two decided to hide behind huge stones while the navigator came closer to Ace to be safe.

Luffy soon turned up, shouting and laughing from the bottom of the cave, and his friends tensed up. They didn't see the legendary beast after him but they were still ready as soon as they'll see it. The captain suddenly turned around and stopped, determined.

"Gum-Gum Balloon!"

His body blew up and his friends widened their eyes when an object launched at high speed charged at him then was pushed away by the elastic belly. Luffy burst into laughter and Franky came up, confused.

"Where is the dragon?"

"There!" the straw hat boy showed him while pointing a mass on the ground.

The cyborg went in the direction indicated and leaned forward to pick up something from the ground. Nami then left Ace to approach as the crew's carpenter was coming back towards them.

"Oh, he's adorable!" she exclaimed with delight.

In Franky's hands, an exhausted miniature dragon was trying to catch his breath, his legs shaking. The rest of the crew quickly surrounded him with curiosity.

"He's tiny!" Ussop noted, incredulous.

"Maybe it's a baby", Robin suggested.

"Is that the guardian of the treasure trove?" Sanji wondered, skeptical.

"He's too cool, I wanna him to join the crew!" Luffy got enthused.

At these words, he tried to scratch his head but the little being protected himself by spitting a small ball of fire in his direction.

"Oh, how sweet he is!" Brook exclaimed, touched.

"He's not blue and purple but it doesn't matter", Franky agreed. "He's super beautiful anyway!"

"He's having trouble catching his breath", Chopper noted. "Poor guy, we need to give him some space."

Zoro then spotted Ace coming back from the bottom of the cave, a small wooden trove in his hand.

"You found what you were looking for?" he asked him.

"Yes, I think."

The crew turned their attention to them and Nami pulled a disappointed face.

"This trove is as small as its guardian, there's probably no treasure in it..."

Ace sprang the bolt and the dragon roared. The young man slowly opened the trove and took out a long scroll.

"That's probably one of the agreements Pops signed with pirates nearby. Sometimes, he needs to remind them of their past commitments."

The dragon flew from Franky's hands and sought to attack Ace who stepped back, surprised. He raised the scroll out of reach and sent him a flame which left the creature all ruffled and blackened.

"That's too funny!" Luffy roared with laughter, grabbing the animal by the neck to look at him. "You're a dragon and you got burned!"

He kept on laughing and Nami quickly offered to go back to the ship now that they had recovered what they had come to get. Everyone agreed and they walked happily on the way home, thinking of the excellent meal they'll definitely taste when they arrived.

Night had already fallen a long time ago when the straw hat crew and Ace settled on the beach not far from the Sunny's shade to enjoy the evening. The little dragon had decided to follow them and had landed on the straw hat boy's shoulder to rest along the way. This one had gained his trust by explaining to him he wasn't coming to steal him but to take back an object which had belonged to Whitebeard at his request. Chopper having translated his words, the dragon had told them his parents were the real keepers of the trove but they were currently in the Celestial Islands with another dragon community.

Ace quickly lit a large fire in the middle of a fireplace and everyone relaxed while waiting for the meal to be served. Luffy tried to give his hat to Nami as she had just given hers back to Ace and he got strongly rebuffed, which made his brother laugh. The navigator also made a point of sending the fencer to help the cook after a while spent waiting for him, convinced that he wasn't in his normal state.

Sanji breathed for a second, trying to focus more on what he was doing. He was so overcome with his irrepressible urge to smoke that he was distracted. He had already almost failed twice his recipe by forgetting the chorizo in his paella and by letting the saffron rice cook for too long. The afternoon had been a nightmare and only the few minutes of action he had enjoyed when they had discovered the dragon had allowed him to think of something else.

He knew precisely he had only three cigarettes left and that was why he hadn't smoke for almost eight hours. All the others had literally gone up in smoke without him noticing this morning and the effects of withdrawal were already terrible. He felt like he had been there for days.

Finally coming to the end of his preparation, he sighed in relief and put everything in a large pot before starting to take out his dishes.

It was at this moment that Zoro entered the room. The blond quickly turned to him before recognizing him and resuming counting the forks.

"I'm coming, marimo. I'm almost done."

The fencer agreed with a groan before letting his eyes watch him a little more carefully. It was true that the cook was making hurried movements now that he was looking at him. He then frowned when he noticed his trembling hands and his significantly pale face.

Suddenly arising from his examination, Zoro jumped in his direction to take his pot from his hands, thus preventing him from spilling it.

"What's going on with you, swirly?"

The blond looked up confusedly and the swordsman noticed how evasive his eyes were. He frowned more, put the dish down and looked at him.

"Did you drink?"

Sanji stared at him in disbelief before getting annoyed.

"What are you talking about? And when would I have drunk, stupid? We walked all afternoon, I remind you!"

He tried to grab his dish again but Zoro tightened his grip on the handles before leaning a little more towards him.

"You look like you're high", he pointed out.

The cook briefly looked away and the fencer felt his hart strangely contract.

"Did you... take drugs?"

At these words, the blond suddenly raised his head before giving him a violent kick in the chest which made him take several steps back. The swordsman straightened up while coughing as his crewmate looked daggers at him.

"Are you serious, shitty swordsman?" he fumed. "I am not an addict!"

"Okay, okay", the fencer said, stepping forward again. "So what's the problem?"

Sanji chewed furiously on his lower lip before turning to his counter. Zoro was about to insist when the cook waved something under his nose that he had been looking for in a drawer. The swordsman quickly identified a pack of cigarettes in his hand and caught it as it flies past when Sanji threw it at him.

"What's with it?" he said, watching it curiously.

"I'm all out! That's my problem, marimo!"

Zoro stared at him for a second before opening the pack and finding that only three cigarettes were still there. He then looked up at him, incredulous.

"You run out?"

"That's what I just told you!" the cook got impatient, taking the pack from him to put it back in the drawer. "I'm trying to make them last, there are still at least three days before reaching the San Marsoni archipelago..."

"You're an addict."

Sanji abruptly turned and glared at the fencer who was now looking at him with amusement.

"I'm not an addict!" he got offended. "I'm just... a little dependent. But it'll pass, I can do it..."

Zoro shook his head at the blond's suddenly desperate look at his almost empty pack which he couldn't put away. The cook then took a deep breath and his eyes off the temptation before handing it to his partner.

"Keep it and don't give it to me until tomorrow. One a day should be enough."

The swordsman looked at the pack for a long time before sighing and sticking it into his pocket.

"You think it'll make a difference?"

"I really hope so, marimo", Sanji muttered. "If I ran out for several days, I think I'm gonna go crazy, so I'm counting on you. And above all, don't tell me where you'll hide it, I might search..."

Zoro nodded before taking a playful look at the cook who was obviously trying to relax.

"If you need to keep your mouth busy, I know a way..."

He didn't have time to go through with his suggestion that Sanji chucked him out with his pot, mad with rage.

While quietly going down to meet their friends on the beach, the fencer shrugged. Without his cigarettes, it was more than likely that the jumpy cook would be even more insufferable than usual and he didn't want him to use his teeth for revenge...

The dinner took place in the usual euphoria. Luffy was feeding the little dragon on his shoulder and was loudly laughing when this one was launching tiny sparks to make him back off when the straw hat boy was teasing him a little too long.

As the meal was late, the night was already well under way when laughter and Brook's musical notes dried up. However, the still pleasant air of the coast didn't urge the crew members to go to bed on the ship and most decided to close their eyes a few steps from the campfire. Thus, Brook and Franky quickly began to snore on the sand, Ussop and Chopper settled not far from them and a little away, Nami, Luffy and the little dragon fell asleep close to each other.

Around the fire which softly crackled, Robin, Sanji, Zoro and Ace were still chatting.

"This guy you call Pops, it's Whitebeard?" the cook asked their guest.

The young brown man nodded and Zoro frowned.

"This guy is a legend. Is he really your father?"

"Yes. In any case, I consider him as such."

The three friends understood they wouldn't get any other information, especially as Ace then pointed out his brother with his chin, looking questioning.

"I'm a little curious and not really comfortable asking that, but... Are Luffy and Nami... Well, do they have..."

Robin nodded with a smile and Ace widened his eyes, staring at his brother in amazement when this one wrapped an arm around the navigator in his sleep and the little dragon curled up more against them. Finally, he had a soft smile.

"He's growing up so fast... I never thought Luffy would ever be interested in anything other than food or his pirate dream. Times are changing..."

"Not that much", Sanji grunted. "He's still as immature and childish most of the time. He just... became less ignorant on certain topics."

Ace nodded, approving his words, while Robin chimed in.

"Luffy spoke of someone called Sabo with whom he would have lived as a child while you were sleeping. Who is he?"

At these words, Ace froze before his gaze was lost for a moment in contemplating the flames.

"Sabo is - was - our brother."

Sanji, Zoro and Robin peered at him in silence, not daring to ask him for more details. They were feeling these were painful memories.

"It was a long time ago, we were just kids", he went on after a few seconds. "Luffy and I were little punks and we didn't have much but we were free. Sabo was just the opposite. His family was rolling in money, but he was a prisoner."

Ace then cast a nostalgic look at his little brother.

"Everything we did was together. We even ran away from our home to live in a cabin in the depths of the woods. Sabo was the wisest of the three of us, but he was no less strong... And then one day, there was an incident and a Celestial Dragon blew up the boat on which he was fleeing. For Luffy and me, this event marked a turning point in our life."

The straw hat's three crew members turned their eyes to their captain. They knew how Luffy was giving importance to the people he cherished. There was no doubt the loss of this other brother must have been appalling.

Ace then turned to them, both serious and serene.

"Luffy has always been the most naive and innocent one but make no mistake, he has unimaginable strength."

"We've already seen him at work", Zoro agreed.

"Clearly, he's by far the strongest among us", Sanji added.

"No, I wasn't talking about that", the young brown man disabused them.

As Robin looked questioningly at him, he clarified his thoughts.

"Luffy can read people's hearts. He has a gift for surrounding himself with the best and that's why I take his dream of becoming the Pirate King very seriously."

He quietly got up and put his hat back on before having a determined smile.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I have to hurry."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Luffy?" Sanji wondered.

Ace shook his head, smiling.

"No need. He'll understand, don't worry."

He then waved with his hat to say goodbye to them.

"Take good care of him and thank you for your welcome."

Robin, Zoro and Sanji nodded in return and silently followed him with their eyes as he was getting back to his boat, his trove under his arm.

Either Luffy or Ace, each of these young men was destined to an amazing fate and they were eager to witness it.

I know it's a bittersweet chapter. I wrote it at the request of two readers at the time, one about Ace, the other about the miraculously constant presence of cigarettes for Sanji. I didn't want the Strawhat crew to rush at Marineford in my story so Ace is free again!

Hope you liked it.

See you next week!