Happy Valentines Day everyone! Sorry about this being a short chapter! The next one will be longer, I promise!
Anyways, I hope you couples out there have fun on Sunday. And if you're single like me, embrace your singleness! Treat yourself to a meal at a fancy restaurant! Pay a violinist to play "Bink's Brew" at your table, and finish the day with a One Piece marathon! You don't need a significant other to feel validated on this holiday! Buy yourself a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates! Love yourself if no one else will!
On another note, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And apologies again for it being so short!
I do not own One Piece.
Marco walked alongside the master of the Isshin Dojo and his student. He was amazed that someone was so directionally incompetent that they thought the island moved. He shook his head slightly. The kid had better not sail off to sea, otherwise he'd never find this island again.
"I can see why the Whitebeard pirates are interested in those three kids." Koshiro said, catching Marco's attention.
"You do?" Marco raised an eyebrow.
"They're young, but they have amazing potential. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with when they grow up." He said and Marco nodded in agreement.
"What? Even that annoying one with the straw hat?" the green haired kid asked in outrage.
"Especially the annoying one with the straw hat. He may be weak now, but give him a few years and he'll start catching up to you in strength." Koshiro explained.
"Okay, the other two, I can see. But, really? That guy?!" he asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, that guy. He's already stronger than most kids, but is very weak when compared to you and his two brothers." Marco explained.
"I don't believe you. There's no way a weakling like that can ever become strong." He said and crossed his arms in defiance. Koshiro stopped, and faced his pupil with an unreadable expression.
"Zoro, your dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman. Is that correct?" he asked.
"Well, yeah. But what does this have to do with-"
"Do you think you can fulfil that dream right now?" Koshiro asked and Zoro looked confused.
"What?"
"Do you think you can beat the current greatest swordsman as you are now?" he asked again.
"Of course not! I still need to get stronger!" Zoro answered.
"So you'd say you were too weak?"
"Yeah."
"And that all you need is time to become stronger?"
"Duh. That's how training works."
"So why is this true for you, and not Luffy?" Koshiro asked, and Zoro opened his mouth to answer. He left it open for a few seconds before closing it. He got a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to think of a reason why Luffy would always be weak.
"It's true that he's small and weak now, but he will become strong in due time. Just like you or anyone else who puts forth time to train." Koshiro said, and turned back to the village.
They walked in silence as Zoro appeared to be lost in thought. Marco kept a close eye on him just in case he strayed off, and got lost again. He did try to veer off a few time, and Marco quickly corrected him. How was it even possible to get lost in a straight line?
"I wonder how the freckled one will react to us returning without his brothers." Koshiro asked, breaking the silence.
"He's not going to be happy, that's for sure." Marco was not looking forward to Ace's short temper. Did that kid ever have a reasonable reaction to anything?
"Are you talking about that freckled kid that hangs around those others we left in the forest?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah." Marco answered.
"He's already at the dojo?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"That's where I last saw him." Koshiro said as they entered the village.
Zoro smirked and said, "He must be eager for our rematch if he's already there."
"Actually, he was looking for his brother." Koshiro said and Zoro lost his smirk.
"Hmph! We're still having our rematch whether he likes it or not." Zoro said and turned left when Koshiro and Marco turned right.
"This way, Zoro." Koshiro said patiently.
"I knew that!" Zoro yelled and went back to following them.
Marco shook his head in disbelief, and continued onward. His thoughts trailed back to Ace. He hoped the brat didn't severely overreact again. But, knowing Ace, he definitely would.
XxXxXxXxX
Ace stayed in the shadows of the courtyard. Luffy was nowhere to be seen, which meant that he was in the forest. That also meant that Sabo had walked into a trap. He berated himself for letting not one, but both of his brothers down. The only thing he could do was lie in wait for that Koshiro guy to show up. He would get answers one way or another.
He stretched properly to prepare for the inevitable battle. His cramps were mostly gone, and he didn't need them to flare up again when he fought the dojo master. He would personally see to it that that guy would pay for messing with his brothers.
He tensed when the gates opened. He got into an attack position, but froze when he saw Marco walk through. He was followed by Koshiro and Zoro. Ace couldn't believe what he was seeing. Oh wait, yes he could. He knew Marco and Thatch weren't to be trusted! He tried to warn Sabo and Luffy about them, but now they could possibly be…
"YOU BASTARDS!" Ace yelled, and blindly dashed forward.
He violently swung his pipe at the closest guy, which happened to be Koshiro, and missed. He kept swinging at the guy when he suddenly grabbed Ace's pipe. Ace struggled to get the pipe out of his grasp.
"LET GO!" Ace yelled and his vision swam. Oh, God! He was crying! He tried to hold back the tears as well as the growing sense of anguish that started to weigh down on his heart.
"WHERE ARE THEY?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?! ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" Ace yelled as he continued trying to get his pipe out of the dojo master's grasp.
"Calm down. Your brothers are just fine. They're safe and sound in the forest." He said in a clam voice, and Ace's anger grew. He gave up on trying to free his pipe, and attempted to fight with his fists. He wasn't as experienced with fighting bare handed, but all be damned if he went down without a fight!
That's when someone grabbed him from behind, and held him in place. Ace struggled against the strong grip. He attempted to head butt whoever it was that grabbed him. When that didn't work he tried to kick them, but that also was a failure. He continued to struggle, all the while fighting away the urge to cry. He wasn't going to show weakness in front of these guys!
"Listen to him. He's telling the truth. Go and check if you don't believe us." Marco's voice said, and Ace tried harder to kick him where the sun don't shine.
"What's with him?" Asked Zoro from the side, and Ace felt pure hatred rise up for the guy that led Luffy away from him and Sabo. If it wasn't for him, they would still be okay! It was all his fault!
"YOU BASTARD! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Ace gave it his all to get out of Marco's grasp, and to attack the mossheaded idiot.
"What are you talking about?!" Zoro asked in an irritated tone.
"He seems to be beyond reasoning." Koshiro said, and Ace attempted to bite Marco, but he couldn't bend his neck far enough.
"He's very protective about his brothers." Marco said, and Ace would love nothing more than to bash all of their skulls in.
"LET GO OF ME SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASSES!" Ace yelled as he continued to struggle.
"Maybe we should just bring him to them." Koshiro suggested.
Ace's panic only grew. They wanted to rid him like they did Luffy and Sabo! Ace held back a sob as he thought of his brothers again. He vowed silently to them that he would avenge them, even if he had to fight these guys the whole way. And he would!
XxXxXxXxX
Luffy chowed down on his piece of the bear. He and Sabo had split the bear into thirds. One part they would bring to Ace after they ate. Luffy wanted more than what he got, but Sabo said that they could hunt more once they reunited with Ace. Luffy was excited to be hunting again. Sure, it was nice having someone cook for you, but he had missed the bonding he and his brothers did when they hunted their own meals.
His thoughts were interrupted by some yelling in the distance. It sounded like Ace, and he sounded pissed. Luffy and Sabo looked at each other. Luffy then looked in the direction if was coming from, and wondered what happened that got Ace so worked up.
The shouting got louder until Pineapple Head and the other guy walked into the clearing. The other guy had Ace's pipe in his hand, and Pineapple Head held Ace I his arms. Ace was kicking and screaming, but something seemed off. Luffy tried to pinpoint what it was when he realized that Ace had tears in his eyes. Luffy pouted at this. Ace always got onto him for crying, and now he was crying, himself.
"Hey! How come you can cry, and I can't?!" Luffy yelled, and Ace froze.
He looked down at Sabo and Luffy, and blinked a few times. He closed his eyes and shook his head, and looked at them again. He was released, and he just stood there as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.
"What's with you? I don't think I've ever seen you so quiet." Sabo said with his brows drawn up in concern.
"How come he gets to cry, and I can't?! He's being a hypo… hippo… hipper…" Luffy trailed off as he tried to think of the word.
"Hypocrite?" Sabo asked, and Luffy nodded.
"Yeah, that!" Luffy said, and Ace slowly walked toward them. He then punched Luffy, pretty hard.
"Ow! What was that for, you jerk?!" Luffy asked as he rubbed his head.
"FOR RUNNING OFF WHEN WE TOLD YOU TIME AND AGAIN NOT TO!" Ace yelled with a shaky voice, and Luffy felt his annoyance melt away into worry.
"Are you okay, Ace?" He asked.
"I'm fine." Ace said not looking at him.
"Are you sure?" Sabo asked and Ace only nodded.
Sabo turned to the two adults and said, "Thanks for bringing him here. And I'm sorry for any trouble he might've caused."
"He wasn't too much trouble. He just really cares for you two." The guy with the glasses said, and handed Sabo Ace's pipe. Ace shifted some when he said this.
"Well, sorry anyways. And thanks again." Sabo said, and the adults nodded. They then left the three brothers alone in the clearing.
Luffy turned to Ace, who was now sitting in front of the fire, playing with his portion of the bear. Luffy felt even more worried than before, and wondered what happened that caused Ace to act like this. He shared a concerned glance with Sabo before he sat next to his oldest brother. Sabo sat on Ace's other side.
They sat in silence as they ate their meal slowly, for once. Luffy usually liked to talk and have fun, but he knew when he needed to be calm. And this was definitely one of those moments where he had to be still, and just enjoy the presence of his two big brothers.
"So, you were in the forest this whole time?" Ace asked after a while. It took Luffy a few seconds to realize that Ace was talking to him.
"Yeah! The forest kept moving around, so me and Zoro kept ending up back here." Luffy explained.
"Forests don't move around, Luffy." Sabo explained.
"This one does! Zoro said so!"
"Zoro couldn't find his way out of a paper bag." Ace said with a snort.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Luffy asked.
"It means, he's always getting himself lost." Sabo said and took a bite of meat.
"In other words, the forests didn't move. He just led you in circles." Ace said.
"Oh, I get it! Zoro's an idiot!" Luffy said with one of his signature grins.
"Like you're one to talk." Ace said, and playfully shoved Luffy.
"Oh yeah?" Luffy asked, and shoved back.
"Yeah!" Ace said and shove Luffy again. This started a play fight between the two.
"Well, if you ask me, you're both morons." Sabo laughed.
Luffy and Ace stopped their play fight, and looked at Sabo. They glanced at each other, and nodded with widening grins. They stalked up to Sabo, who realized what was going on, and started to back up.
"C'mon, guys! You aren't going to gang up on your favorite brother, are you?" Sabo asked while he put his hands up.
"Favorite brother? Yeah right!" Ace yelled and started to chase Sabo who gave a small yelp before running away.
Luffy laughed and helped Ace in his pursuit. They ran around the fire and their unfinished meals, laughing all the while. Sabo managed to dodge all of Ace's attempt to tackle him to the ground. This wasn't a surprise since Sabo was the fastest of the three of them. They weren't going to catch Sabo at this rate.
Luffy then got an idea. He stopped chasing Sabo, and turned around. Sabo and Ace ran around the fire yet again, and Sabo was so focused on not letting Ace catch him that he didn't see Luffy in front of him until it was too late. Sabo gave a surprised yelp when Luffy tackled him to the ground.
"Way to go, Luffy!" Ace cheered, and Luffy smiled down at the blond.
"Okay, you've caught me. What are you going to do now?" Sabo asked. Luffy and Ace shared a devious smirk, and Ace flexed his fingers a few times. Sabo tensed as he realized what was about to happen.
"No! No, you wouldn't dare!" Sabo said as Ace crept closer.
"Guy! No, you know I'm- AAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Sabo burst into laughter as Ace and Luffy started to tickle him. Sabo squirmed this way and that trying to get them to stop, but it only served to give them more tickle spots to attack.
"A-alright! I give up! HAHAHA! I give up!" Sabo yelled after a few minutes of being tickled.
Luffy and Ace backed up, and gave Sabo room to sit up. His laughter trailed off as he wiped away some tears. Ace and Luffy grinned triumphantly. They had gotten the better of the smartest brother, and that was something that didn't happen often.
Luffy smiled at his two brothers. Yeah, they got on each other's nerves from time to time, but there was no doubt that they loved each other. There wasn't anything Luffy wouldn't do for their sake, and he knew that they returned the favor. No matter how much they fought, he knew they would always have an unbreakable bond. And that bond would be something Luffy would cherish until the day he died.