Chapter 5

"An errand?" Ace repeated, one of his eyebrows creeping up. "I finally get permission to wander around on my own, and you want me to run an errand?"

"Yes," Sabo replied patiently. "Look, clearly, the narcolepsy medication I got for you isn't working. Head over to Dr. Kureha's place and get the prescription updated. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have her look over your injuries. You said you had back pain, or pain in your abdomen?"

Ace waved a hand dismissively while he grabbed the piece of paper Sabo had offered him, which had the doctor's address written on it alongside some other information about the meds Ace had already been on. "It's nothing serious."

"Given that you were dying not too long ago, any untreated, lasting symptoms could lead to something far worse down the road. I shouldn't even have sparred so much with you last night."

Ace stared. "You're a real spoilsport, did you know that?"

"Yes, yes, I'm terrible for making you run a simple errand after saving your life." Sabo grinned as he spoke.

"Point taken. Anyway, who's Doctor Kureha?"

Sabo's smile became a little less sincere. "She's an...interesting woman. Wickedly intelligent, great at what she does. She's not my usual doctor, but that guy's currently being targeted by an unsavory fellow by the name of Doflamingo -"

Ace shook his head mutely, confirming that he didn't know anything about the insane king of a nearby kingdom.

"Damn. Anyway, he's out of town for a bit while he sorts that mess out."

"Okay." Ace glanced at the paper one last time, committing the address to memory, before he stuffed it in his pocket. He was wearing one of his new shirts, a red tank top that fit him nicely. He was, of course, still wearing his black shorts, though Sabo had made him buy two more pairs just to be safe.

"Don't forget your hat," Sabo called, tossing Ace the familiar baseball cap. The black-haired boy caught it easily and pulled it on, swiping his usual pair of sunglasses from the nearby table.

"Like I could ever forget my hat," Ace said dryly. Sabo rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you're the one that insisted you needed something on your head when you went out in public."

Ace huffed but didn't deign to respond.

"Get going, you ungrateful ingrate," Sabo mock-ordered, shoving Ace out the door, which he then slammed in the man's face.

Ace blinked at the door now inches from his nose and, after debating the merits of yelling at Sabo in such a nice complex, turned and walked away. He glanced at the elevators and then scoffed to himself. To hell with taking the elevators, to hell with taking the stairs; he was on his own! He could do whatever he wanted!

Ace walked to the nearest window and, after checking that no one was looking - and that the cameras were pointed away - he pulled it open, ducking outside and closing it behind him. The morning air nearly shoved him off the small edge his feet rested upon, but Ace compensated and took a deep breath, a wild and pleased smile stretching across his face as he took in the view of the city spread out before him.

Sabo's apartment, while not on the top floor, was still fairly high up, but the windows just couldn't do the city justice.

With that smile still on his face, Ace traversed the ledge as quickly as he could until he came across the old fire escape. With a whoop of excitement, he vaulted off the ledge and began to free fall. His hand latched onto the railing of the escape and Ace held on just long enough to slow his momentum before he let go, ignoring the throbbing in his fingers.

The wind rushed past him as he fell and repeated the process several more times until he was falling towards the last landing. In mid air he twisted and grabbed the bottom of the penultimate platform, feeling the metal nearly cut into his fingers as he swung onto the last platform. His feet landed with a metallic clang and the entire structure shook a little as if to warn Ace against doing that in the future.

Uncaring, Ace walked over to the ladder and slid down it, falling when it fully extended and dropped him the last few yards onto the ground.

With solid ground under his feet, Ace staggered, his whole body yelling at him not to do that again. His shoulders burned, his abdomen was on fire, and his hands felt as though their fingers had been cut off.

He was definitely going to do that again.

Ace left the alley at a casual walk after brushing his hair out of his face, whistling, and putting his hands in his pockets.

He went sightseeing before he went to the address Sabo had given to him, more out of hunger than actual curiosity, though the sense of adventure was also a driving factor in each intentionally wrong turn he took. By the time he made it to the old, victorian-styled apartment complex Dr. Kureha supposedly worked in, Ace had eaten three hotdogs, one hamburger, a bag of popcorn, four apples, and a taco.

Luckily, he'd nicked some cash from Sabo's wallet, so the street vendors weren't after him again.

He slowly came to a stop.

Again?

But as soon as the feeling of mild relief had appeared, it vanished, taking whatever memories it was connected to with it. Groaning in frustration, Ace checked the address and jogged the rest of the way to the apartment.

In the end, it took him more acrobatics to get to the right room, since every time he tried to go through the front, the burly, almost bull-like receptionist told him there was no "Dr. Kureha" in the building. Ace, however, had seen the knowing look in the man's eyes, and had surmised that Dr. Kureha was definitely there.

Hence why he had investigated the fire escape - he was really using these too much - and then travelled up to the third floor, where he had seen movement in the window. He gently tapped the glass, leaning forward and trying to peer through the harsh reflection caused by the bright sunlight.

"GAH!" Ace started as a face abruptly appeared behind the window, and as he struggled not to fall back on his ass the window opened, revealing an aging, harsh-looking woman with gray hair and eyes so intense they practically bored holes through Ace's head.

Ace recovered and offered the woman a polite smile. "Hello, I'm Ace. Sabo se-"

"Yes, I figured that boy sent you to me," the woman - Dr. Kureha, Ace figured - interrupted. "All because Law is gone...well, what are you doing out there? Get in!"

Ace ducked through the open window and dropped to the floor of the room, for some reason not surprised that it looked as though the entire apartment was set up as a doctor's clinic with the entrance being the window.

The black-haired man decided that Dr. Kureha probably wasn't an entirely legal practitioner of medicine. Then again, if Sabo trusted her, Ace trusted her. More or less.

"Stand over there," Dr. Kureha said brusquely, pointing to a spot marked with tape. "Did Sabo give you anything? Information about your narcolepsy medication, perhaps?"

Ace handed her the paper and watched with wary eyes as the woman walked swiftly into a back room. She really wasn't dressed for her age. He could hear suspicious noises emanating from that room, but she'd told him to stay put, so he did, even though his instincts were telling him to run.

While steeling himself for the examination that was sure to come, Ace let his gaze wander the room, noting the shelves full of medical texts - and one with adventure stories - as well as several jars full of unidentifiable substances. When Ace thought he saw something move in them, he quickly looked away, and his eyes fell on a small boy he hadn't noticed before.

The kid - he couldn't have been older than ten - barley came up to Ace's waist, and that was including the giant pink hat perched atop his head. He wore an old brown sweatshirt and light pink shorts, but with the hat and hood in the way, Ace couldn't get a good look at his face.

Sabo hadn't said anything about Dr. Kureha having a kid. She didn't seem like the type, anyway. He was probably an assistant of some kind.

Then again, with the city as dangerous as it was, he could have been…

"Oh, him? That's Tony T. Chopper, my assistant."

"He's so young," Ace said softly. "And his eyes..."

He didn't notice Dr. Kureha's appreciative look, and it was gone by the time Ace turned his attention back to her. "So you noticed. He was hurt as a young child; his family abandoned him, and the man that took him in died saving him in a gang raid. He's been terrified of people ever since."

Ace looked at the boy just barely visible in the doorway. His wide, brown eyes were fixed almost fearfully on Ace, but there was something more to that expression, something that wasn't instinctual fear but -

"And here you are," Dr. Kureha said, slamming a pill bottle down on the table hard enough to make Ace jump. "Now get your sorry ass out of here. I don't coddle my patients."

"Thank you very much," Ace said, making the words as sincere as possible. Dr. Kureha just snorted and gestured for him to leave, which Ace did. He was aware of Chopper's gaze on his back until he turned a corner and left the old apartment behind.

It wasn't until he was on the street that he remembered his own injuries.

"Too late now," Ace muttered. He felt mostly fine, anyway.

Since he still had hours until Sabo got back from whatever job he'd been assigned that day, Ace figured he may as well do more exploring. He visited a park, a playground, and several different shops, though after searching each one thoroughly, he always came out frustrated. He didn't know what he was looking for, just that he was looking for something.

"C'mon, subconscious," Ace muttered in irritation as he strode down the sidewalk, people not so much parting before his muscular frame as sensing him coming and flowing around him, "just tell me already."

His subconscious offered no reply, and Ace tsked before glancing around, only then realizing that he was in an entirely new area. The realization cheered him up somewhat, and his pace picked up.

Someone bumped into him. Ace's hand snapped out and latched onto their wrist before they could get away.

"Give it back," Ace said, his body and mouth moving on instinct. The pickpocket tsked in frustration at being caught but handed back Sabo's money. Ace let the man go after a stern warning to not do that again.

Two blocks later his stomach rumbled, prompting Ace to search for more food vendors. Fortunately, he was saved from doing excessive searching when he spotted a large market; surely, they would have food in there.

The building was massive, more like the size of a warehouse than anything else, and sunlight streamed through several skylights in the ceiling. More lights in the ceiling illuminated whatever spaces were left, and the entire place had a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Ace joined the general crowd walking throughout the market, staying on the lookout for any food stalls. Realizing that his sunglasses were just getting in the way, Ace perched them on the brim of his baseball cap and continued to look around.

Many delicious scents drifted through the air and Ace let his nose guide him, salivating slightly at all the different foods he could smell. Unfortunately, the people in front of him only moved so quickly, and Ace wasn't so rude as to even consider pushing them out of his way.

Several times people bumped into him and Ace forced down a scowl as dull pain temporarily flared up in his back and head. The spar with Sabo the other day had aggravated the old injuries, though Ace certainly hadn't let Sabo know that much. He was supposed to be able to take care of himself, after all, and the prospect of staying in that apartment for an entire day without being able to leave didn't appeal to Ace in the slightest. Knowing Sabo, he would've made Ace go to Dr. Kureha's place again - maybe even stay there - and the mere thought made Ace shudder.

He liked having his freedom, thank you very much.

After almost ten minutes of just walking around and exploring all the different shops, Ace abruptly stopped at one that sold brightly colored hats. He reached out, fingers brushing against the obnoxiously bright fabric before he drew back, confusion drowning out whatever urge had prompted him to stop in the first place. Ignoring the almost hungry gaze of the man running the stall, Ace stepped back into traffic, letting the crowd carry him until he spotted a fruit stand.

It seemed fairly busy, but the orange-haired young woman running it was all business. She worked the register like a pro, making sales so efficiently that Ace was at the front of the line in no time flat.

"What'll it be?" She asked, brown eyes barely glancing at Ace, just taking in that he was a paying customer and little else.

"Uh - six tangerines, please," Ace said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the appropriate amount of money. Something told him that trying to avoid paying this woman would be a serious mistake.

A bag of the proper number of fruits appeared in front of Ace seconds later, and the woman took his money with barely a word. "Thank you for your patronage. Next!"

Ace was walking out of the market before he'd fully comprehended that he was no longer at the cash register. With a slight smile, he cracked his neck.

"Damn, she's good at her job."

He found it somewhat funny that her hair matched the fruit she sold, but he didn't think much of the seller beyond that. After all, he had tangerines to eat. He reached into the bag to pull one out, but paused when some kind of sixth sense warned him that he was being watched. Forcing himself to stay calm and relaxed, Ace casually glanced around, his eyes barely catching a man with blond hair and a purple shirt staring at him before the flow of people hid him from sight.

Ace let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and quickly made his exit, the man's piercing eyes still seeming to follow him even as he went back to Sabo's apartment. He kept glancing over his shoulder every few steps and didn't feel truly alone until Sabo's door closed behind him.

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