*Wheezes* I've finished the chapter, yehaw~! Back to the normal length, which also means that this is the last chapter before I move onto the main arc. I tried to develop character relations in this chapter for the next part, and hopefully I did well. And what it was a little bit of a longer wait to? I don't know why but I just had trouble focusing and motivating myself to actually work on the story. *shrug* either way here's the update. Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
See you at the bottom!
/+3 days/
It had been several days since the bounty raise and for the most part he had avoided the congratulation crowd, a few people still came to him, but he could at least handle a small crowd. As Marco had suggested he had climbed up to the top most crow's nest, and had been left well enough alone. The place was a lot more comfortable than metal cross beams in the boiler room.
Ace had always liked high places. When he had been younger he would climb the tallest trees or lookout from the highest cliff ledges, just so he could see everything and feel free. He found that he liked tall places at sea even better; the wind whipping through his hair and the sun beating down on his back. It just felt like how freedom should feel, and he felt like he was the only one as the sounds of the crew below were muted by the height and the wend. It was easily the best place on the ship.
He'd have to thank Marco for telling him about it later. This was the type of place he needed, just so he could be himself and breathe. Acting was hard now that he was having to do it long term.
The ropes shifted and creaked causing Ace to tense up, the smile falling from his face. He didn't know who it was and if he was going to act like he was on watch he needed to look serious.
"I see you've taken to actually nesting up here, yoi."
The teen let out a breath as he relaxed, it was just Marco but he had to stop his blush, he'd brought up some blankets for comfort and they sort of resembled a sloppy nest.
"You like it up here?"
"Yeah." He breathed out. "Its nice."
"It is." Marco agreed. "Nothing like being up high, yoi."
"Somehow it's liberating." Ace replied.
"Just being up here is nice, but you want liberation? Try flying, yoi."
Ace had always wondered what fligh, under his own power, felt like. "You talk like you know it."
Marco chuckled. "I do. Why do you think I was given the name The Phoenix?"
Truthfully, he hadn't thought about moniker, but he agreed there had to be a story or reason behind it. "I thought it was because you wouldn't die and the Marines were fed up with it."
"We the Marines would probably like to see me dead, yoi. But it's because of my Devil's Fruit.
"You ate a fruit?" That's surprising.
"The Phoenix fruit, a mythical zoan type, yoi."
"A mythical zoan?" He was in awe, mythical zoans were the rarest of the rare, and the powers the eaters gained were incredible.
"Yes."
Ace recalled a picture he saw once in a book in Dadan's collection if a bird coated in flame. The picture had been blurry due to his distance from it, but without a doubt he knew that it was beautiful. What does Marco look like when he's in that form?
"Thatch is always saying that my love of heights is thanks to the bird, and I wonder if it is sometimes, yoi. I certainly have a preference to it. What about you?"
Ace realized several things: one Marco was talking more than normal , two Marco was talking about himself, and three this was an attempt at conversation that meant something and wasn't about his wellbeing. While he liked to keep to himself, the other already knew one of his deepest secrets. It wouldn't hurt him to give a little more away, right? But it was putting a lot of trust in Marco, though he realized that Marco had trusted him by telling him about his powe. The older had given up the element of surprise by revealing that power. Besides he didn't have to tell him everything.
"When I was younger getting up high made me feel free and important." He answered, but he wanted to throw Marco off a little. "Also safety, alligators can't climb trees well."
"You were chased by alligators? Did you live close to them, yoi?" Marco's tone was confused and slightly concerned.
"No, well yes, they'd chase after us because we would throw rocks at them." Only after he finished did he realize that he slipped up and said 'us'.
"Taunting alligators? That's a new hobby for me, yoi."
"We hunted them!" Ace's voice swelled with pride, what other ten year old could've taken on a monster gator and lived to talk about it.
"Sounds fun." Marco was amused sounding.
"It was." Ace trailed off as he thought about those days with Luffy and Sabo.
"Dinner is in an hour if you want to come down."
He turned his head as Marco started to climb down the rigging. Ace wondered what just happened, the older pirate had gotten him to open up so effortlessly and without himself knowing that it was happening. Whatever the reason was or how it even happened Ace couldn't find it in him to be upset with himself.
Maybe it would be easier if I fully trusted someone on this ship. Marco knows about the blindness- no I can't, I'm still his son, they'll kick me out the moment they find out. I'll just enjoy what I can while I can. He nodded his head in agreement with himself
/+6 days/
Ace was back in the crow's nest. By this point people were figuring out that's where he hid. Though like Marco had said hardly anyone went up there but him, and now Ace. Speaking of the older pirate he could feel the Commander's presence get stronger as he climbed. Honestly, Ace wasn't sure what to do with the first mate's almost daily visits. They had started after that first talk. Marco had skipped the day after that initial conversation but then the next day he was back complaining about Thatch's latest pity session on his love life. Marco had come up every other day since, and their conversations hadn't gotten overly personal.
While Ace had told himself that he wouldn't grow close to the phoenix, or anyone on this ship, he couldn't help but to start to like these little sessions.
"Hey Marco." He said once he heard footsteps land on the bottom of the nest.
"How'd you know?" Marco asked teasingly.
Ace really tried to say something along the lines of 'you're the only other person crazy enough to come up here' but ended up saying "I felt your presence climb up."
There was a couple of second of silence before Ace fully understood what he said.
"Uh... I mean-"
"Its fine, yoi." He could feel Marco waving off his comment.
"But-"
"It's your observation haki."
The teen frowned. "You keep mentioning haki. What is it, exactly?"
He silently prayed that it wasn't a stupid question.
"Its not common, the further you get into the New World the more you encounter it." Marco answered. "Few people learn to master it, but a lot can use it to some extent, yoi. As I understand it everyone has it, they just can use it."
If Marco was willing to explain Ace was going to take advantage of it. Haki could be very useful to him so he wanted to know about it. He'd never thought about his ability to sense people or why he could. All he knew was that he could after one day Luffy let go of his hand and wandered off and he couldn't find his younger brother.
He shook his head from that memory. "So, observation haki?"
"Is the ability to sense living beings and their movements."
That sounded a lot like what he could do, did he really already have haki? "Are their more? Haki types I mean?"
"There's two more types. Armament and Conquer, yoi. The first one uses your spirit to create armor and the other is used to dominate the wills of your foes."
Ace nodded but he really didn't understand it.
"What's your range for your observation?"
"A hundred feet, roughly, and only if the person is alone."
Beside him Marco shifted. "And I take it that's why you get overwhelmed by crowds?"
He only nodded, unsure of why he was once again being liberal with his information.
"Haki can be trained you know, yoi."
Ace perked up. "How?"
"Practice mostly." Marco replied.
That had him frowning. He wasn't even sure of what it was and he didn't have a way to find out about it... Well he could ask but really Marco was the only Whitebeard he had spent any time with or could stand for a long period of time.
"I could help. Give you pointers, yoi. Haki is hard to explain without visuals."
Ace cringed, his stubbornness flaring. "I can figured it out for myself."
He wondered if Marco was raising his hands in mock surrender, from the sudden movement he heard and felt.
After that they just spent several minutes in silence, and Marco left to finish so of his paperwork, leaving him to scowl towards the blurry blue of they sky.
Ace returned from dinner which had fixed his mood. It had been amusing as Thatch was in a bird-themed-insult spree, which had ticked Marco off and the pompadour (whatever that was, some sort of hairstyle he guessed) had been insulted. That had lead to another round of playful bickering which had some how been won by Izou. Haruta and himself had been too busy laughing their asses off to join in.
He flopped on his bed thinking through the events of the day. It had been pretty wild to learn that Marco was actually a Phoenix, but his smile fell when he remembered the Haki conversation.
How would he be able to improve his haki? Ace assumed Marco didn't think that he could do it alone. Well, if there was one thing he liked was a challenge (also proving people wrong about him), he'd manage it.
The rest of the night had him thinking of how he was going to train himself. He'd start with what sounded easiest first, remember his training days in the mountains. After some minutes of deliberation he decided that he would work on his ability to not be overwhelmed by crowds. That just sounded like endurance training.
With some form of a plan in mind he nodded. I'll start tomorrow.
When morning came Ace was one of the first into the galley, and his stomach growled as his nose was assaulted by the smell of cooking meat.
"You're up early." Someone commented, but Ace wasn't sure of their name or who they were.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just rested."
"That's good."
Ace nodded and moved to his usual table, which was empty for the moment. Once he was settled in his usual spot he let his thoughts drift, noting the seven presences with him in the dining hall.
Eventually he was started by Haruta's sudden appearance. They had evidently greeted everyone else before joining him at the table.
"You actually beat me to breakfast?" They laughed. "Are you starving or something?"
"No, just woke up early." It wasn't exactly a lie.
"Hmm." They hummed. "I wonder what Thatch made for breakfast."
"Whatever it is I'm sure it'll be good." Ace shrugged.
"That the truth!" Haruta laughed again.
Ace liked the Commander, they were always laughing and having a good time a good time, probably always smiling. In a way they reminded him of Luffy. He was also sure that if there was a prank he needed help with they were the person to got to. They were also really easy to get along with.
"It really is too early to be this energetic Haruta."
Ace blinked at at Izou's sudden presence, had he been so distracted that he hadn't been using his haki? Even though he was supposed to be training it. He sighed, this was going to take a while.
"You're just old." Haruta shot back.
Izou huffed and sat down. "Even Ace is up this early? What is happening?"
Ace chuckled at the suspicious tone, he'd be worried if he was Izou too. "Nothing."
"Right..."
"Oh come on! I already pulled my weekly prank! Did you not see Namur?" Haruta tried to defend themselves.
Ace tuned out the banter and focused more sensing the people around him. The number was growing quickly and he was already starting to get overwhelmed by the number. Though was able to sense Marco's presence as he entered.
"Morning Marco!" Izou greeted.
"Good morning." Marco replied taking his usual seat next to Ace.
Just was he was about to reply, Ace heard a door open and the smell of food wafted out. It smelled amazing and it was probably fresh out of the oven. His mouth started to water just thinking about the food, and he wondered why he didn't come to the earlier breakfast shifts more often. But the noise quickly picked up and he remembered why.
Several minutes after the food had been served Thatch joined them. Ace was halfway through his second plate by that time.
"Morning everyone!" Thatch greeted cheerfully.
Everyone at the table returned the greeting with a 'morning' of their own, Ace's was behind a few seconds as he had to finish chewing and swallowing.
"Seriously, I've seen some big eaters in my time, but none of them even touch your level." Thatch said, and Ace could guess he had an amused look.
"He's a growing pirate, he needs his strength." Izou joked.
Ace tried to hide a pout. "I'm not that young!"
"You're the youngest of the crew." Haruta countered.
He decided to ignore the other. "If you think the amount I eat, you should see Luffy."
"Luffy?"
Ace blinked. Shit, they don't know about him, what do I say? I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them the truth, not like they would go after him, but if they misunderstand then when they find out about him then, they might. He shook his head, he doubted it.
"Luffy is my younger brother."
"Whoa! You have a younger brother? Why isn't he with you?" Haruta rambled excitedly.
"Yeah, he's back on our home island, he wasn't old enough to set off yet." Ace raised his hands, trying to calm the other down.
"What's he like?"
"He's crazy, followed me around like a puppy." Ace replied.
His mood was always better whenever he thought or talked about Luffy, he missed his brother a lot. So he figured that this was an okay topic to delve into for the moment.
By the time breakfast was finished the entire table was laughing at some of the stories Ace had told them about Luffy. He knew that he'd have to deal with the other's wrath and telling such embarrassing stories but it was worth it.
He finished his fourth plate and told the others he would see them later. Right now he needed to find the best spot to train his haki. Ace wasn't sure if he could use the crow's nest for this, maybe when he was working on range. Running through his mental map of the ship he had, he tried to find the best place on the ship to practice, a place that would be out of the way but near enough that he could tell people are around.
The only place he could think of was an entrance to the ship, he could sit in the shade the building provided, the only problem was that it was fairly close to Whitbeard's chair, and he was sure that someone would think he was back to his old habit of trying to kill the captain, or worse the old man himself would notice.
Still, he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to improve his haki. On his way to the spot he made sure to stay out of the main hallways, wanting to avoid any questions.
/ +2 weeks /
Ace had snuck up to the crow's nest, he was exhausted from using his haki for the better part of the morning. In the two weeks he had been practicing he'd noticed that the how the forms were, just a solid mass of white were starting to shit and take a more humanoid form. He wondered if that's what everyone else saw when they used it.
He was glad that the confusion of him being on deck with everyone had died down. A lot of people had asked him what he was doing. He realized that he probably should spend more time with the crew he was apart of and more than just a few minutes. That'd be his next goal after improving his observation haki.
He felt a presence start to climb up the rigging. Closing his eyes he concentrated on it, it'd been awhile since he had the opportunity to focus on just a single being. Ace gasped in shock, the presence was Marco, but the form was no longer a generic humanoid shape. It was almost like an outline of the person. He focused more as the older pirate made his way closer. It wasn't defined, but it was a lot more than what he could make out with his eyes.
What the hell is wrong with the top of his head? Is that his hair? Ace chuckled. Holy shit, I could kind of make out that it looked weird but this is ridiculous.
Marco landed next to him causing Ace to lose his focus, which was already waning with his laughter at Marco's apparent haki form.
"What has you in such a good mood, yoi?"
Ace shrugged. "I just had a funny thought."
"Alright." Marco replied, and Ace could almost feel the skeptical look that was sure to accompany that statement.
A breeze kicked up, and Ace frowned it wasn't at all like the peaceful winds he was used to, it was harsher. There was another breeze only seconds after the first one died out. A storm was coming.
"I came to tell you the navigators said we're heading into a storm too big to avoid, yoi." Marco explained.
Ace nodded, he thought it was strange that the New World was being so peaceful. Thunder sounded in the distance and he was surprised.
"How fast is it moving?"
"They're saying we'll meet it in an hour, maybe less."
Ace turned his head to the direction that the wind was coming from. "What do you guys do incase of a storm?"
"Like everyone else does. Only the commanders are allowed to be on deck during particularly bad storms, yoi."
"A safety thing?" Ace asked.
"Its more like experience, but yes."
Ace nodded, he'd never been much help in storms on his own ship, later he'd been able to at least pull down the sails, but many times he had nearly been swept into the ocean by a large wave.
"If I were you, I'd get inside before everyone else starts rushing in."
He thought about disagreeing. "Won't you need everyone's help if it's not that bad?"
"From the look of the clouds, it'll be pretty bad, yoi. The ship might even take some damage."
The breeze kicked up with a rather strong gust, and Ace had to agree with the older commander, as he couldn't tell anything about the storm himself.
Marco settled down next to him, and took a deep breath. Ace wondered if the older male disliked storms, or if was getting a breather. He shook his head, the other didn't seem like he was in the mood for conversation.
He was proven correct when Marco quickly bid him a farewell. Ace wasn't in a hurry to make it back to his quarters, the storm still felt and sounded far off. When it was closer he'd go in, if he went now he would just be in his room bored out of his mind while everyone else was enjoying themselves, just because he couldn't see how close the storm was didn't mean he had to panic.
He paused, Marco had come to tell him of the storm. It'd would've been a few more minutes, but he could tell the storm was coming from how the wind had picked up. Still Marco had taken into account that he wouldn't be able to see the thunder clouds, it was something his old first mate had did. The older pirate wasn't a bad guy, he knew that from a while back, but he also wasn't sure how much of a good guy he was.
Ace shook his head, the wind was constant now and the thunder was growing louder.
"They misjudged the speed I guess." He muttered to himself
The fire user let out a sigh and walked over to the edge where the ropes were tied. Easily he climbed down, using his fire to help him find each cross section in the rope, slipping would cause him a lot more pain than he'd like and more than likely he'd end up in the ocean. Not a pleasant thought, and the sea was going to be choppy from the incoming storm.
He reached the ground, and next to the rigging a few pirates were mentioning how bad the storm looked, and how fast it was moving. Ace wondered what it did look like. Were the clouds low hanging dark enough to nearly be black? Could rain be seen pounding the ocean below. He squinted in the direction he thought the storm was coming from but could only make out the blue of the sea and the dark clouds above.
There was a loud rumble of thunder, and Ace decided that he should move indoors before the storm actually hit.
It was a shame his room wasn't further inside of the ship.
By the time he reached his room, he felt the boat pitch with the waves more and more frequently. His stomach was uneasy with the movement, this would probably be the biggest storm he'd ever been in.
He slipped into his room, walking to his bed and flopping down. He'd be bored while this storm passed, but he hoped that the speed it was moving would indicate that'd it be short lived.
Honestly, he should've figured it was a long based storm.
The Moby pitched wildly with the waves. Ace could hear the rain and thunder pelt down on the ship relentlessly. At one point he was pressed against the wall as the Moby tilted dangerously thanks to a wave, and he was thrown from his bed when she righted herself too quickly.
He laid on the floor and groaned, but quickly climbed back onto his bed. Outside of his room he could make out the sounds of the Commanders rushing around trying to keep the ship upright.
Another wave crashed into the ship, and this time it was side nearest to Ace's quarters. His heart skipped at heard the creaking of the wood, wondering if it would give way.
It was times like this that he really wished he could see. Easily he could imagine the storm and how severe it could get. It probably had winds strong enough to blow seven year old Luffy away. Lightning would flash and illuminate the ship as well as the sky. The water would be churning, making the white seafoam visible.
A loud crash of thunder caught him off guard and he jumped a little. He supposed he could look of his window to watch for the lightning, the light was something he could still see, but it wouldn't be the same as he was unable to make out the striking shapes of the blots.
The storm lasted an hour at least, and Ace ended up on the floor several more times thanks to the ship's wild movements.
When the ship finally started sailing smooth he let out another soft groan, this time out of relief. He pushed himself off the floor, three times hitting the ground was enough.
The fire user waited until he heard other voices that didn't belong to the commanders before walking out on deck. Right outside of his door he stubbed his toe, on what he guessed to be a broken part of the ship.
"Shit. Ow." How bad is the Moby damaged?
Ace searched around for Marco's presence, finding it among the mass of other life forces. All he wanted to ask was about the storm and the damage.
Totally not worried about him... He didn't sound convincing to himself. I mean it was a big storm, and he makes a good conversation partner it'd suck for him to be in the infirmary.
He followed the sound of the crowd more than the feel of it. Ace heard muttering and easily picked out the words 'damage' 'ship' and 'repairs'. Could there be heavy damage? The Moby is a big ship... Is it serious?
He had a brief moment of hesitation as he decided about whether or not he wanted to try and wade through the crowd to ask Marco. Someone brushed against him and he just figured that he stay out for the time being. Navigating the crowd would be hard and he didn't feel like using his haki. Though he thought he could manage to get through with what little eye sight he had.
He shook his head. Not worth the risk.
The commotion quickly died down and many of the crew started to go and clean up the ship. Ace stood still, unsure if he should help. What could he even do?
"Ace!" The voice belonged to Izou.
"Yeah?" He turned in the direction he was being addressed from.
"Come here and help me move some of this railing that broke off."
He really couldn't say and it wouldn't be that hard of a task . "Sure."
Quickly, he made his way to where he felt Izou's presence.
They walked a few feet before Izou stopped.
"Here. We're taking this below deck. Its still usable for scrap."
Ace could barely make out the edges of the railing, but he could tell that it was pretty large.
"That storm was rough." He commented.
"Yeah, there has been worse. We've been through some pretty bad ones. The waves were just massive this time, and the railing was getting old."
"Ah." Ace was struck by how much experience this crew had over him. It was... Impressive.
Barely he could make out Izou bending down. He followed suit and wrapped his hands around the wood. With a grunt he and Izou managed to lift it up.
"Are we going to be able to make repairs at sea?"
"For the most part, yes. We'll have to get more materials after we finish." Izou explained, helping Ace maneuver through the ship.
"Really, there was that much damage?"
"Well, no. We used quite a bit of it repairing the damages someone's attempts at Pop's life caused." Izou was probably smirking. "We're running low anyway, and none of the islands we've been at have had the right materials."
Ace flushed slightly. "Sorry."
"Its fine, it was amusing for us." He chuckled.
The fire user wasn't sure why he didn't take offense at the statement, but instead he chuckled along with Izou. Maybe it was because it was said in an insulting manner and it was Izou after all.
/+3 weeks/
Izou hid a mischievous smile behind his hand as he watched Marco climb down from the crow's nest. He had noticed the first division commander going up to the uppermost platform awhile back. It had confused him at first until he saw Ace climb down.
The two had gotten close after their mission, and Izou wanted to know how close. The latest development ahd Ace and Marco walking into dinner together laughing. He had meant to ask Ace several weeks ago, but hadn't since the teen had been relatively open and they had started a good banter. There hadn't been a chance after that, but now he'd figure it out starting with Marco. Izou didn't like not knowing the gossip.
"Marco! Hey!" Izou greeted cheerfully when the other commander came close.
"Hello, Izou." Marco nodded.
"What are you up to?" He smiled
"I was taking a break from paperwork, yoi."
"Is any getting done?" The commander asked slyly.
Marco looked confused. "Of course."
"Its just... you're taking a lot more breaks than you used too."
"Is there a point, yoi?" There was a glint of suspicion in Marco's eyes.
"Oh its just your breaks keep taking you up top... Where Ace has taken residency."
"So? I happen to like it up there, yoi."
Izou frowned. "Then how come you hardly went up there before?"
Marco sighed. "Your point, Izou?"
"Is something happening between you and Ace?"He shrugged. "
"What?" Marco exclaimed. "Not at all, yoi."
Izou hummed. "From where I'm standing, that's not the case."
Marco's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Oh? Then what is the case, yoi?"
"That you have a soft spot for him."
The older male shifted. "He's a brother, yoi. Of course I have a soft spot for him."
"Thats not what I mean Marco, and you know it."
Izou was annoyed that Marco wasn't admitting that he liked Ace more than just "a brother". There had been several trouble making recruits in the past, and Marco had helped his fair share of them adjust, but that was it. Does he not realize it himself?
That was completely possible, as he'd never seen Marco infatuated with anyone or known him to spend the night at a brothel.
Izou sighed once more. He'd have his work cut out for him if that was the case.
"Anything else, yoi?"
"Nope." Izou grinned.
He could tell that Marco was surprised by him suddenly dropping the conversation.
"See you, Izou."
"Later." He waved.
The conversation hadn't gone as he thought. Marco was either being secretive or he didn't know how close he actually was with fire user. Now, he just needed to gauge Ace's feelings on Marco. Though he suspected they'd be similar to the Phoenix's. After all the teen had already adjusted to the first division commander, when everyone else was just getting past his elusive nature.
Glancing upwards he could make out Ace leaning over the edge of the crow's nest. Izou hesitated at the thought of climbing up. It might be better to wait until Ace wasn't in his safety space.
Izou laughed, this was an improvement from having to play hide and seek with the other.
~
Ace was resting against a wall enjoying the warmth of the sun. He'd come down from the crow's nest early, only because he felt like stretching out. His eyes closed as he let out a sigh of contentment.
Just as he was drifting off he heard footsteps approaching. He tensed up slightly, before relaxing once more.
"Ace? Oh, you're asleep."
He cracked an eye open to glare at the pink blur that was Izou.
"I was about to be. What's up?"
"Just wanted to see how you're adjusting."
Ace shrugged. "Alright."
"We're going to be landing shortly, and I wanted to know if you wanted to join some commanders and I at the tavern?"
He looked up thinking. "Sure, why not? Who's all going?"
"Thatch, Haruta, Jozu, Jiru, maybe Marco, and myself."
The teen vaguely remembered the last time he'd drunk with Thatch, and wasn't keen to repeat the experience. But he had hope that the chef wouldn't lose his senses so freely in public.
"Why only a maybe for Marco?" Truthfully he'd feel a little better with Marco with them.
"Haven't asked him yet." Izou replied.
The tone had Ace guessing there was a smirk on the older pirate's face. Which he wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Ah. Is he working?"
"I'll ask him when we land. We won't be going until later tonight." Izou sat down next to him.
Ace felt proud that didn't make a visible reaction to the sudden closeness. "Have you been on this island before?"
"Yeah, its one of the best places to resupply. It's local delicacy is pretty tasty."
He perked up at the mention of food. "What is it?"
"Its a bowl filled with noodles and topped with whatever you want, normally a meat and vegetable."
That sounded familiar. "Ramen?"
"Yeah! How did you know?" Izou sounded surprised.
Ace figured that ramen wasn't a common dish on the Grand Line. Everytime he tried ordering it, he got something close, but it wasn't ramen. He was excited to try it again after not having it for such a long time. "It sounded like ramen."
"But I've hardly ever come across it." Izou replied.
"It was common back on the island I'm from."
"Ah. East Blue is filled with strange things, they even have a floating restaurant!"
Ace chuckled. "The Baratie? Have you ever been?"
"Sadly, no. What about you?"
"Once, before I left East Blue. The Sous chef had a lot of spunk in him."
Izou laughed. "Next time we go to the East, I'll make sure to go."
"Do you leave the New World?"
"Sometimes, mostly for vacations, other times there's something we need from one of the seas."
Ace was once again surprised by the strength of this crew. To freely leave this sea and their territories. How much power does the Whitebeard name have?
Izou stayed with him for a little while longer before claiming that he had things to do. The commander lift with a reminder that they'd hit land in a few hours, and that it'd still be a few hours before they went to the tavern.
Ace sighed, and closed his eyes returning to his blissful napping state.
A few hours later he was awoken by the usual rush that accompanied landfall. He blinked lazily, letting the last of the sleep dissipate. The warmth from the late afternoon sun still covered him and he didn't want to get up. Ace knew that he had too just to make sure that he wasn't in the way.
Slowly he stood up and stretched, letting out a satisfying moan as his joints cracked.
He ran a hand through his hair messing it up. There were several hours he still had to kill before he went out with the others. Ace let out a yawn, and decided that he'd take a shower before seeing if he could talk one of the kitchen aids into giving him something to eat.
Ace ended up having to take an abandoned sandwich, and he quickly retreated into his room to find clothes that were better suited for taverns. Most of the locals probably wouldn't appreciate his bare chest, but then again if this was a popular place to resupply they were probably used to stranger things.
Still he didn't leave his room until there was a knock on the door. "C'mon Ace we're heading out."
"Be right out." He called back.
There was a moment that he hesitated at the door, wondering if Marco was going to come along. He'd have to ask Izou.
"Yo." He called as he left.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
Izou pulled gently on his arm. "Marco is joining us, as a chaperon."
Secretly he was thrilled with the news. "Doesn't he drink?"
"He does, but its difficult for him to get drunk."
"Is he that tolerant to booze?"
"Well, he's not a bad drinking partner, but his ability doesn't work well with alcohol."
Ace made a noise of confusion.
"He regenerates."
"Oh." That had to suck.
"Maybe, if we're lucky, he'll come again at the end of the week."
"We're staying here for a full week?"
"Yeah. Just to rest and restock."
He followed Izou, their conversation dropped after that. They were heading towards the main part of the ship. Distantly he could feel a group of strong life forces and he guessed that's where everyone was.
"There you are Izou!" Haruta called out, sounding exasperated.
"Sorry, sorry. I had to go find Ace."
He made a face.
"Eh? Ace is coming with us? Nice!" Haruta cheered.
"Glad to see you getting out and about." Jozu greeted.
"Heya Ace."
"Hey everyone."
"Okay, let's go!" Izou clapped his hands together.
The others made noises of agreement and set off into town. Marco trailed behind, and Ace slowed his pace to walk with him.
"So why are you coming along? Izou made it sound like you don't join them often." He said slowly.
"I don't. This time, I just felt like joining."
Ace shrugged. He could accept that, sometimes it was nice to unwind. However this time he'd be a little more careful to not drink so much. It'd be easier since they had to pay for their drinks this time, probably.
"Why are you coming along, yoi?"
"Izou invited me, and it didn't sound like a bad idea." He replied.
Marco stayed quiet, and Ace didn't need to push for any more conversation, enjoying the briskness that the night provided. The air was damp, and he guessed that they just missed a rain shower. As they walked through the town he got the feeling that it was peaceful despite the pirates that surely came through here. Maybe that's why, people knew how valuable this island could be. As he walked, the trio in front's conversation muted by distance, he remembered what Izou had told him.
"Hey Marco?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know any of the ramen places?"
"Already know about the food,yoi?" Marco chuckled. "I do."
"I want to go so bad." He whined slightly.
"Noodles with things mixed in excite you that much, yoi?"
"Its really good!" He defended. "I just want to see if they taste like the place back in East Blue."
"I'll take you to one tomorrow for lunch, yoi. If you'd like."
"Seriously? That's great!" He smiled.
Marco made a noise that sounded like a dismissal followed by a "Its not a problem."
Eventually they were told to hurry up as the tavern was visible and it was starting to get crowded. Ace tightened his lips, he had hoped this would be an out of the way tavern that only pirates went into; not the town's local favorite.
As he expected it was loud and the noise hurt his ears as he tried to adjust to that many people at once. Marco put a comforting hand on his arm.
"You alright, yoi?"
"I'll be fine in a couple of minutes." He replied, hoping it would be the case.
Ace allowed Marco to lead him as they followed the others to a table in what appeared to be a corner of the room, it was in a crescent shape he realized as he slid in. He was pushed into the corner with Haruta on one side and Marco on the other. Izou was next to Haruta and Thatch next to Izou. Jozu sat next on the other side of Marco.
They ordered the first round, and the commanders caught up with each other talking about their individual tasks that they needed to do before they set sail. Ace leaned back into the hard wood listening to the conversation nursing his drink. Most of the conversation went over his head anyway because they were using phrases and terms he'd never heard before. It was probably code or something.
The night progressed slowly, and their conversations died down every now and then until someone came up with a new topic. At some point, it was realized that Jozu was getting bumped because of his size, and Ace offered to switch with him. He wasn't exactly fond of sitting out in the open, but he could live with it.
The teen was only on his fourth drink by the time the Tavern started to empty. Everyone else was fairly intoxicated, he seriously wondered how they would be able to function tomorrow.
He laughed as another embarrassing story was told. The group fell silent once more, and Thatch set his drink down loudly. Or Ace assumed it was Thatch as he was the one to speak next.
"Say, Acey?"
He winced at the nickname, and made a mental note that Thatch was a very annoying drinking partner and he should never drink with him alone.
"Yes?" The teen sighed, wondering what was going to happen.
"What'sh up with your arm tattoo?"
Ace guessed that Thatch wasn't completely drunk yet, his words weren't as slurred as last time. Still he winced at the topic choice.
"Did shomone misspell your name?"
"Ah, no." He replied, hoping that this would be the end of it. "It was deliberate."
"Why?" Haruta joined in.
Ace swallowed. Thinking hard about what he should do. Technically the purpose of the tattoo was for Sabo to be remembered, and the more that people knew about him the more the longer it would take for him to completely die. But it was still a private thing. He closed his eyes, these people claimed they were family now, and he shouldn't have secrets from them. It was just like Marco. The older pirate was there too and sober so he'd for sure remember this.
"Its a tribute, to my brother."
"Your brother?" Haruta mumbled.
"Yeah, not by blood. He was killed when we were all still kids. This is just a reminder, so he can still be on the open sea."
"Oh." Thatch whispered. "Shorry."
Ace smiled slightly. "Its fine."
The table fell oddly quiet, and it made him nervous. He downed the rest of his drink before standing up.
"I'm tired."
Quickly he left the table, his fire flaring in front of him barely visible, as a guide so he didn't run into anything. The lie would be easily detected, even if the other pirates weren't fully sober more so considering he left right after that topic. He just couldn't stand the mood that was set.
As he reached the door he paused only for a moment to find the knob before opening it. Ace set out heading in the way that he knew they came from. Though they took several turns, and he hadn't really been paying attention. He slowed down as he realized he could get himself lost easily.
"Ace, wait up, yoi!" Marco called.
The older pirate easily caught up to him at his brisk walk. "Are you alright?"
"Fine, it just got awkward. I knew it wasn't a thing to bring up when everyone is having a good time." Ace pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"Thatch was the one that asked, yoi."
"But I'm the one who told them."
Marco was silent for a second before speaking again. "What was his name, yoi?"
Ace tilted his head. "Sabo."
He could picture Marco nodding, from the slight bounce of the blond hair.
"How'd he die?"
"It was... I guess he set sail, only there was a celestial dragon, and they shot at him. Hit his ship." Ace replied, the story was condensed, but he'd never heard the full thing himself.
"Just for setting sail, yoi." Marco's voice sounded strange.
"He was only ten." The teen found himself saying.
"A kid."
Ace stopped and wondered why he was telling the older pirate this, for some reason he wanted to but another part of him felt like he owed an explanation. Talking about Sabo always made him upset, sometimes it was rage other times he wanted to cry until his voice was raw.
"Its okay. Bad things happen, yoi. Thatch should no better than to pry so unashamedly into someones life. You didn't ruin the mood, they were just stunned was all." Marco set a hand on his shoulder.
Ace couldn't find the words to say.
"I doubt you'll want to go back, and Thatch will apologize in the morning, I'm sure. So let me walk you back, yoi."
He nodded and followed after the first division commander, his emotions still unsteady. Ace was sure that he'd have the dream again where he watched Sabo die and then the other brother came back and blamed him. It was surprising how easily he caved and told everyone about his brother.
The walk back to the ship was in silence. Though he was sure that he was walking closer to Marco that was probably necessary.
"Sir! I have news!" A man dressed in heavy leathers and furs called as he climbed the stairs.
"Its better be good." A gruff man said, pulling the cigar out of his mouth.
"It it, sir!" The man straightened. "We've received informations on the whereabouts of the Whitebeard ship!"
The gruff man, stood up, holding his cigar lightly in his hands, the shadow of the sun concealed his face. "And, where are they?"
"They've docked at Vlarerk Ait."
"For how long?"
The man in the leathers watched his commander carefully. The leader was a big man, easily reaching six feet, and was wide, a person could easily see the muscles hidden beneath the heavy coat.
"It seems like they're only staying for a week." He replied.
"We can make it there, barely. But we'll be able to pursue them should they leave before we arrive." He tapped his cigar and ash fell to the floor below. "Tell the helmsman to set a course towards Vlarerk, at the fastest possible speed."
"Yes, sir!" He turned to leave.
"One more question."
"Sir?"
"Anything more on what that doctor told us?"
"No, sir, its neither been confirmed or denied."
"And for the Whitebeard's?"
"None have been reported to be overly close, save for Marco the Phoenix."
"We'll have to go for Portgas when that man is not around. Should be easy considering that has a lot of responsibilities."
"I agree, sir."
"Go!" He ordered "I have to make a phone call."
The man in leathers left the room in a rush.
The man, who was clearly in charge let out a low whistle as he stabbed the end of his cigar into the ashtray. Reaching for the non-descript snail phone. He dialed in the number and waited as it rang several times.
The call was answered. "Do you have any idea what time it is, someone better be dying!"
"Now, now Dr. Conner, I thought the idea was to keep him alive."
"Oh, its you, sorry." The doctor's tone softened slightly.
"Whatever. I would like to inform you that you best start to make travel preparations to the rendezvous point. We should have soon."
"You found him?"
"We know his location."
"That great, man, you guys are as good as they said you were."
"Of course. I hate liars so I don't make it a habit to lie." His face twisted into a sneer.
"That makes sense." The doctor's voice had a little bit of a tremor to it.
"Now, how intact do you want him when you finally show up?"
"Well, I'd rather not get my hands dirty, but so long as he's conscious and able to hold a conversation. I don't care. I can't touch his brat of a brother, but I can deal with only getting one."
"Whatever you say." The man hung up the snail, and a smirk stretched across his lips.
"Whatever you say."
We're at the bottom! Please leave your thoughts below!
AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:
1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.
2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.
3.) I am going to update this irregularly
CHAT SESSION
As a side note I have some more information on the Whitebeard Pirates, that I have if anyone is interested. Just their schedule.
1)I have this thing where Ace is the type of person who will only open up to people if they offer something about themselves first, which is what I'm trying to show, I don't know if I am, but that's how I want it to be seen as.
2) Oh look, more drunken Thatch, can I say its because I really like drunk!Thatch? Also because I think that its easier for people to ask more questions like that when they're not sober
3) Yay, I'm really glad that my plot twist was really well liked!
4)And because I've gotten some questions about it, let me explain briefly some of the motivation for Dr. Conner. Okay so way back, when Bluejam and his pirates were around, they went to Dr. Conner, who was a young, struggling, and poor doctor to help them out. Keep their injuries confidential and treat them, kind of like a ship's doctor except they had to pay them. Sometimes they would ask for medication for illegal purposes and would pay handsomely for it. So Dr. Conner was a dirty doctor at that time, and he made himself rather wealthy from the pirates. Only then Gray Terminal burned down and that left him w/o a source of income, and word(rumors) got to him that it was the three brothers that were to blame. Only one of them was dead, and he didn't know who the other two were, he learned their faces quickly, but never made the connection about Ace being Mason or vise versa. He can't lay a hand on Luffy because of the mountain bandits so he's going to take it out on Ace because he's out of their protection. Hope that clears any confusion up~!