Chapter 9
After spending the entire previous day practically cooped up inside Sabo's apartment - except for the hour he spent getting groceries in the afternoon - Ace was itching to get out and do something. He didn't know what he wanted to do, of course, but he figured that just going outside would present him with some answers. Stomach full, sunglasses on his head, and grin on his face, Ace strode out of Sabo's apartment and took his usual route using the old fire escape, relishing the rush of adrenaline as he always did.
When his boots hit the ground, Ace felt the impact up to his knees and eyed the cracks in the ground with a raised eyebrow. Had he caused those?
Well, whatever. He strode off, flipping his sunglasses over his eyes as he went. The breeze picked up his hair and toyed with it, reminding Ace that he'd forgotten his hat. The young man briefly debated going back to get the baseball cap, but decided against it. He was already outside and didn't feel like going back in immediately.
Instead of sticking to the main roads - and, basically, the more respectable part of the city - Ace made the executive decision to go to the parts of Low Town that smart people tried to avoid.
What? He was bored. Plus, his feet had carried him there before he had fully realized it.
He kept his posture relaxed and his stride even as he went down roads that had seen better days. Some were even made of brick - though the brick was torn up in most places, almost as though people had used it to repair their old homes that lined the roads. Yet most of the streets were relatively clean and could pass as normal if the peeling paint and general aura of the buildings nearby didn't give the entire place a dangerous air.
Ace eyed an apartment window, saw someone duck out of sight. He was exactly where he wanted to be.
But now what? He'd come here half-expecting to find a situation that could activate his power - if such a situation even existed - but this place was almost as boring as Sabo's apartment, and it didn't have food, either. No vendors wanted to sell on these streets.
So when Ace heard shouts from a nearby alley, he was immediately suspicious, and only became more so when the shouting abruptly stopped. Guard up, Ace darted into that alley, sticking to the shadows and ignoring some of the more questionable substances puddled on the ground.
Carefully approaching the first corner, Ace crouched down and slowly peeked around the edge, ready for anything.
His eyes narrowed when he saw four men and a flash of blue. The men were clearly struggling with something, and as Ace watched, one of them growled, "Stop struggling, you damned woman!"
That set off alarm bells in Ace's mind and protective instincts drove him to move forward and tap the nearest man on the shoulder.
"What?" The man growled irritably. "I'm a little bu - wait, who the hell are you?!"
Ace grinned easily, held up a hand, and then used it to smash the man's nose in with a well-placed palm strike. Ugly Number One went down with a howl of pain, blood flying from his face, and the other three immediately took notice. Ace floored Number Two with a hard kick to his knee - hearing a satisfying crack - and ducked under a haymaker from Number Three. Number Four tried to follow up, but he was messy, and Ace ducked under his jab and executed a throw that sent the man hard into the nearby wall, an impact that drove the breath from his lungs with a pained gasp.
Number Two - who probably wasn't capable of standing anymore, if the ugly angle of his knee meant anything - tried to grab Ace's ankle, but Ace stomped hard on his fingers, earning another cry of pain, and then quickly turned, burying his fist in Number Three's stomach.
Number Three let out a pathetic wheeze and crumpled. Ace knocked him out just to be sure, and repeated the process with Number Four - whose attempt to get back up after being thrown had ended with a hard punch to the jaw - and Number One soon met a similar fate. That left Number Two, who was moaning rather pathetically on the ground, clutching his leg but not daring to touch his own knee because of the pain.
"So," Ace said, turning to face the woman who had quickly backed away from the men as soon as Ace had grabbed their attention, "who might you be, and why were these men assaulting you?"
The woman - Ace idly noted that she had blue hair alongside a black eye (no doubt courtesy of those men - swallowed, looked at the men on the ground, and then stared into Ace's eyes. Her face went white.
She turned and sprinted away before Ace could even get a good look at her features, hair flying behind her. Ace didn't pursue, mostly because she'd gotten a head start and she was surprisingly quick. Plus, she looked scared enough already. Of course, she could get into more trouble, but…
Ace sighed and began slowly walking in the direction that the woman had run, only for a groan to stop him. He glanced back at Ugly Number Two, whose face was pale and taut with pain. Ace didn't feel bad for him, but leaving him like that...well, that would be cruel, wouldn't it? So Ace walked over and crouched down, rapping on the man's skull to get his attention.
"Hey, who was that woman?"
"F-f-fuck y-you," the man spat. Ace tsked.
"Not the right answer." He casually reached over and put his hand on the man's injured knee, seeing his pupils dilate considerably at the contact. "Who. Was. She?"
The man's lips had gone white as he bit down on them to stop a cry of pain, but the effort was in vain as Ace tightened his grip. Number Two screamed and even when Ace let go he kept gasping, his chest heaving.
"Well?" Ace looked at the man's knee meaningfully.
"V-Vivi!" The man helped, giving in. "Vivi Nefertari! Just leave me the hell alone you crazy bastard!"
"Fine," Ace replied, standing. "I'll let you wallow in your misery." His foot came down hard on the man's temple. "Not."
Walking away from the four unconscious goons with his hands in his pockets, Ace wondered whether he would be able to catch up to that woman - Vivi. He could at least explain that he hadn't meant to scare her or whatever. Then again, with the way that thug had said her name, she was probably someone of importance in the city. Following her might not be the best idea if he wasted to remain relatively unknown.
Ace took a deep breath, closing his eyes -
"Luffy, get out of the way!"
Reaching out, shoving someone - a kid? - feeling something cutting across his chest but thinking, better me than him -
Ace gasped, his eyes shooting wide open as he caught himself against the alley wall before he fell. "What was that?" He muttered, shaking his head to clear it. "Luffy…" That name again. Clearly someone important. Ace set his jaw, his goal for the next day set.
I have to find and talk to Luffy.
Straightening, Ace abruptly turned and looked behind him, catching a glimpse of someone's arm before they ducked out of sight. He took a step, fully intent on investigating, but voices from behind him gave him pause. They sounded familiar.
"-elling you, you asshole, it's not like that!"
"No need to yell. I'm just saying -"
"Don't!"
"Kid?" Ace asked, stepping into the street, squinting as the sunlight hit his eyes. Still, he couldn't mistake the bright flare of crimson on the other man's head. "What are you doing here?"
The infamous gang leader blinked, peering at Ace for a second before recognition kicked in. "Oh, it's you. I could ask you the same question."
"I'm exploring," Ace said simply. Kid raised an eyebrow.
"Exploring?" He repeated. "You new in town or somethin'?"
"Yeah," Ace affirmed. Something like that, he added mentally. "So, you?"
"This is my territory," Kid said. "I like to check in every now and then."
"You like to see if there's anyone stupid enough to encroach," Killer clarified. Kid grinned.
"Last time some punk was try t' sell some dumbass new drug over there." Kid nodded at the alley Ace had just emerged from. "Claimed he was with Blackbeard - new guy in the gang world, if you didn't know. Kicked the seller's ass, left him for dead."
Ace barely stopped himself from reacting at the mention of Blackbeard. Something about shining teeth and a broken smile - but anything he could remember was gone now except for a bad feeling, and so Ace pushed those memories aside for now.
"Did he die?"
Kid shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. He deserved it."
Ace was tempted to ask how old the kid had been, but decided against it. Instead, he indicated Kid's arm. "I've been meaning to ask -" Kid stiffened, anger flickering at the edges of his expression, but Ace continued, "where did you get that arm done? It looks kickass, and the thing's complicated enough that an amateur would have a hell of a time even imitating it."
Kid's gang seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief as Kid's expression filled with interest that pushed away the anger. "So you know machines 'n shit?"
"Some." I have no idea. Apparently. Kid nodded to himself, satisfied.
"I'm likin' you more and more every time," Kid said. "All right, I can't tell ya much -" he glanced at Killer, who nodded slightly, "but it's custom job. Did it - er, a lot of it myself."
"A lot of it?" Ace echoed, watching Kid carefully. There - right as he nodded, his eyes flicked to Killer. Ace pretended that he hadn't noticed. "That's pretty sweet. You know the specs?"
"'Course I do." Kid raised the prosthetic, flexing the fingers and grinning as they caught the light. From the expression on the gang leader's face, Ace was starting to see just how he'd gotten to where he was in the world.
The next few minutes passed in a whirl of conversation that Ace was only half following; part of his brain seemed to be incredibly engaged with Kid's arm, finding fascination and curiosity in equal amounts about the design and its functionality, while the other half was wondering when the conversation would end. That wandering half soon found something to focus on: another face was peeking in from a second-story window in a shuttered apartment complex that had clearly seen better days.
"One second," Ace said, interrupting Kid. The redhead frowned, but Ace took off before he could say anything. Demonstrating impressive agility, Ace scaled the side of the building, using protruding bricks and a windowsill as handholds to haul himself to the window.
He jumped inside, rolling as broken glass rained down around him, and hopped to his feet, guard up and eyes scanning the dark room. His legs ached in slight protest of the sudden action, but the pain wasn't that bad.
No one there, but -
The door was open, and the dust nearby was disturbed by footprints.
"Who the hell are you?" Ace muttered, straightening right as Kid and his crew appeared in the doorway, some of them breathing hard from climbing the stairs.
"What the fuck, Ace?" Kid snapped. "Don't break off our conversation like some kind of asshole."
"I apologize; there was someone watching us from here, but they got away." Kid's eyes narrowed and flicked to the stairs.
"Anyone see anything?" They shook their heads, and Kid returned his gaze to Ace. "Well, are you -"
Ace wordlessly pointed to the footprints in the dust, clearly not from Kid's crew or Ace himself. Kid blinked and then scowled.
"Someone's interloping on my turf. Heat, check out the back. I don't want anyone around my shed, you hear?"
The tall, white-haired man in the back nodded and headed back down the stairs. Kid sighed.
"Gonna have to talk to you later, Ace," he said. "I've got shit t' do."
"It's not a problem," Ace replied with a wave of his hand. "If you happen to catch whoever's been stalking me, feel free to remove a finger or three." Shit, did I just say that?
Kid nodded. "I don't think that'll be a problem."
Ace watched them go, hearing their boots on the stairs and then going to the window until they were out of sight. He glanced at the footprints again and then kneeled next to them, eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out anything distinguishable. But no, they were generic footprints; boots, though, if Ace had to guess.
"Ah, I did kind of ask for it," he muttered, getting back to his feet. He slowly went back to the street, hearing his footsteps echo in the stairwell. When he was back on the street, he took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the sunlight hitting his face.
When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by no fewer than fifteen figures dressed in odd yellow hazmat suits, gloves, and (well, would you look at that) boots. Strange animal masks covered their visors, making it impossible to see their faces, and more than a few carried bats, knives, and other weapons. Thankfully, Ace didn't see any guns.
"Gentlemen," he greeted dryly, letting his arms hang by his sides. They didn't respond verbally, instead closing the circle. Ace tsked, dropping into a ready stance.
The first bat missed him by inches as Ace ducked and whirled, kicking the man's hand and knocking the bat into the air. Grabbing said weapon, Ace dodged another attack from a man behind him and brained the first attacker with his own bat.
Ace jumped to avoid a sweep at his ankles and deflected a club with the bat, feeling himself get pushed back into two waiting arms. Bringing his elbow forward, Ace lashed out, hearing the animal mask and the visor beneath crack and shatter under the impact. The man staggered back, but his partner kept hanging on, and there were three more quickly converging on Ace and the young man just knew that Sabo was never going to let him hear the end of this -
The nearest man went down in a shower of blood. Two more quickly followed suit, and then a third. Soon, the men had backed off to figure out the new threat, leaving Ace gasping on his knees while he waited for his body to recover. His muscles still weren't in the condition he needed them to be in to properly fight for any real length of time. His elbow ached.
Ace lifted his head and tried to get a look at whoever had just saved him from suffocation by tackling, still very aware of the bat he'd dropped lying less than a foot away.
He saw a long black coat, spotted jeans, and a white hat before the incredibly long sword grabbed his attention. The sword dripped blood, and its wielder held it in a chillingly relaxed pose that showed his experience with the weapon.
"Who the hell are you?" Ace asked, his usual manners superseded by suspicion. Besides, who carried a sword like that around? It was nearly as tall as Ace was!
The man glanced at Ace, a smirk twisting his lips. Ace caught a glimpse of yellow irises and dark blue hair (almost black until the light caught it) before the man returned his attention to the attackers. Now that Ace had an armed ally, the hazmat men looked far less excited about the prospect of attacking.
"Leave," the man said, expertly flicking the blood off his sword and sheathing the weapon. There was a dry and annoyed tone in his voice. "And tell Ceasar to keep his hands off other people's patients."
For a second, Ace thought that the men wouldn't leave. Then one took a step back, and then another, and another, until the entire group filtered away. Ace stared at the spot they'd just occupied, still trying to process what had just happened. Then he blinked and shook his head to clear it, refocusing on the man.
Except a different view got in the way.
"Fuck, I'm tired," Ace gasped. He glanced up, grinning at the blurry figure in front of him. "You still good?"
"Like I'll be finished before you," the figure replied good-naturedly. Ace blinked, and his attention momentarily shifted past the person as a flag on the wall came into sharp focus. On it was a proud skull and crossbones, a comically large mustache stretched over the grin. "Come on," the person said, pulling Ace's attention back to him, "we've only been doing this for a few hours. Don't zone out on me now. Stand up!"
Ace groaned theatrically. "Fine, fine."
"Ace! They're serving lunch now, and if you don't hurry I'm going to steal your pie!"
"Like hell you will!"
The freckled young man blinked, refocusing on reality as the vision of blurry faces and concrete floors faded from his mind. He saw the man staring at him and wiped the confusion off his face, getting to his feet and trying to pretend that he didn't stagger when he did.
Something felt off about that memory. It felt positive, but the end...It held a taint. But he couldn't focus on that now.
"You look a little worse for wear," the man said, that smirk still on his face. Ace stared back, trying not to let the guy's I-know-more-than-you attitude elicit a reaction.
"I've been better," Ace acknowledged warily.
Do I know this guy?
"Usually I would not need to step in, especially in a fight against men like Caesar's." There was interest in the man's eyes. Ace bristled automatically.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm not at my best," Ace said, annoyed that this guy was essentially making him repeat himself.
"Oh? I didn't realize a loss of memory affected one's physical capabilities."
Ace froze. "You -"
"Since you clearly don't recognize me, my name is Law Trafalgar. I'm a doctor."
"There's no way in hell you're a doctor."
"Fortunately, we are not in Hell, and therefore I am a doctor. An underground doctor, but a doctor all the same."
Ace resisted the urge to snap at Law. "You keep talking to me like we were friends or something. Do you know who I am? And if you knew me, who was I?"
Law shrugged. He almost looked smug. "It's not my place to say."
"Bastard. You're enjoying this, aren't you? And how did you even know to come here - and if you just were planning on being an ass like this, why come at all?"
"Name-calling is childish. Besides, I didn't come here to talk to you, though I do so enjoy the opportunity to study your behavior and fighting style."
"Why?"
Law ignored the question. "I was tailing Caesar's gang. They rarely emerge from his warehouse, and when they do, it typically means that they are searching for more victims to kidnap."
"And you're tailing them because…?"
"Last time, they attempted to kidnap me and some of my men. Therefore, I have decided to convince them that so much as seeing sunlight will end in their bloodshed."
Ace raised an eyebrow at Law's bloodlust but he didn't comment. "So you're not going to tell me anything about the person I was?"
"Correct."
"How did you even know about my amnesia?"
Law took a second to think, his piercing eyes drilling into Ace's. "You have been missing for some time. Taking into account your apparently injured state and lack of recognition upon seeing me, I guessed amnesia. Your reaction proved me correct."
"You're kind of a prick."
"You're too kind."
Ace rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, but Law's voice stopped him. "Go to the Baratie tomorrow. I believe you may get some answers after the lunch rush."
"Oh, for -" Ace turned around, "can't you just tell me? Is that really so hard?"
Law shrugged as insultingly as he could manage. "Who knows? I will say that Luffy will likely be there."
"Law…"
"Don't make me cut off your legs and arms again, Portgas," Law cautioned as Ace took a step forward. Ace's eyes narrowed. Law had felt threatened enough by him to say that, despite how easily he'd dealt with those earlier hazmat men.
And then Law's words clicked, and Ace froze. Portgas.
Is that my name? My surname? Ace Portgas?
Something was still missing, but Ace dragged himself back to the present as Law's message finally came together in his head.
"Wait, what do you mean 'again'?"
But Law had already made his escape in that brief moment Ace hadn't been paying attention. Ace glared at the spot the man had occupied, less-than-charitable thoughts filling his head. Then he sighed, scratching the back of his neck while he regarded the bloodstains decorating the ground around him. Oddly, seeing those men get cut up hadn't bothered Ace in the slightest.
"Baratie tomorrow at lunch," he muttered to himself. He'd heard that restaurant name before, but where? As he began walking back to Sabo's place, it clicked. The Baratie was the name of the restaurant he'd seen Luffy outside of. Excitement bubbled in Ace's chest. Maybe he'd finally start figuring out what was going on.
It took Ace nearly an hour to get to Sabo's apartment again, largely because he got on the wrong bus and then fell asleep for ten minutes, which landed him on the opposite side of the city. But he made it back eventually, and to his surprise, Sabo was home when he arrived.
"You're back early," Ace commented as he closed the door, eyeing Sabo, who was frowning contemplatively at something on the couch.
"Nothing to do today," Sabo said. "You know what this is?" He held up a black scrap of cloth hardly larger than his palm. "It's flame-resistant but I can't find any hint of where it was made."
"Where'd you find it?" Ace asked curiously. He walked over and took the material, rubbing it between his fingers. It was thin but not see-through.
"It was stuck between the couch cushions," Sabo answered. "I think it was yours - or, whatever it's from was. You sure you don't know?"
"Positive," Ace said, handing the scrap back to Sabo. "By the way, lots of fun stuff happened on the lower side of town today. You'll never guess what."
"You got into a fight."
"Wha - How'd you know?"
"You've got that semi-pleased look on your face. You had it after our spar as well."
Ace flushed and tried to wipe the unconscious smirk from his lips to no avail. "Well, I did. But before that, I met up with Kid." Ace went on to explain everything that had happened, carefully omitting the part about the Jolly Roger he'd seen in his flashback and his entire conversation with Law. For some reason, he got the impression that revealing that information to Sabo would drastically change things, and Ace wasn't quite ready for that yet. He still had to look up whatever the hell that symbol meant. Ace did know, however, that it was the key to the puzzle.
"I swear, you're trying to give me a heart attack before I'm twenty-two," Sabo groaned when Ace finished. "Go snack or something. I need stress relief. God, I'm actually looking forward to paperwork. At least that won't get itself killed while I'm not around."
"Can I borrow your laptop?"
"Tablet on the kitchen counter. Password's still 'dragon'."
"Thanks!"
As Sabo went to his room, Ace slid into one of the stools by the counter and tapped the password into the tablet, grinning when it unlocked. In less than a minute he'd pulled up the police force's public database of gang symbols. He scrolled through them, that grinning skull firmly within his mind's eye.
He saw it. Clicked the link. Read the name.
"Oh," Ace said quietly, his eyes widening. "So that's it."
He closed the window and erased the history, setting the tablet down and heading back to the couch in a daze. Moving on autopilot, Ace laid down and closed his eyes, letting sleep carry him away to a land of grinning skulls and pirate flags.
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