A/N: Warning: There is Italian dialogue within this chapter. I have placed tiny numbers after these that will correspond with an English translation at the bottom of the chapter. Also, I do not speak Italian. My experience with the language is limited to the Assassin's Creed Ezio Trilogy so I used Google translate, which I understand may not be 100% accurate. I apologize in advance if there is anything incorrect involving this.
Warnings: Language.
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda
Postcards from Italy: Chapter 2
Vineyards and Yummy Italian Husbands
At first glance Nojiko hadn't changed. I smiled to myself as Vivi and I approached my sister, who was currently yapping away on her phone in Italian. I could see she had finally developed some type of fluency in the language. When she had first moved to Italy after her wedding she would call me in the middle of the night to complain about how she 'couldn't understand what the fuck everybody was saying.' Seems she no longer had that problem.
I didn't speak much Italian myself, so I could only pick up bits and pieces of her one sided conversation. She sounded calm but I could pick up the edge of irritation in her voice. She was annoyed but her eyes lit up with excitment when she saw me.
"Sì, sì, ho capito. Tutto sarà pronto quindi per favore, Genzo, districare le mutandine e lasciare tutto per me-oh mia cara sorella è arrivato! Oh silenzio, addio, Genzo! Nami dear!"₁ Nojiko squeeled and practically tackled me and Vivi to the ground. My sister, energetic as usual, bounced on the balls of her feet as she snatched our lugage from us and began to wheel it over to a car that was purring idly on the curb.
Nojiko really hadn't changed in the two years since I last saw her. Her blue curls, dyed by choice and to our dearly departed mother's displeasure, were pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, a few strands hanging loose down her slender neck. Her attire, however, was slightly more conservative from the last time I saw her. Nojiko had always had a fondness for mid drifts and plunging necklines yet she wore neither today, instead she had opted for a simple canary yellow dress that hugged her waist and fell to her knees. It looked a little snug but if she wasn't complaining then I wasn't going to judge her fashion choices.
Vivi squealed in absolute joy, practically clawing to get into the car when she saw the Italian wine nestled in the back seat. Nojiko chuckled and ushered me in behind her before climbing in herself and giving the driver instructions in perfect Italian.
xXx
In all my years, and all the places I've visited, I've never seen a home as beautiful as Nojiko's. The house (though it was more of a mansion) sat atop a grassy hill that overlooked the vineyard, which spread around the hill and to the back of the property. The bottom of the house was layered in dark stone and morphed into a golden brick that made up the outside foundation of the house. Dark stained shutters lined the windows and each had a flower box beneath it, containing a variety of bright colored flowers. The rest of the house was constructed from gray stones, which according to Nojiko, made the house quite drafty in the winter.
Nojiko was absolutely ecstatic and quickly ushered us from the cab, forcing us to leave our bags at the front door so she could take us on a tour of the vineyard. Ace came from a background of wine brewing and though I knew very little about the family that ran the business I knew enough about the company itself. My sister's husband had taken over the company in his early twenties and ever since it had thrived and was now the number one brewery in Italy. They specialized in white wine, providing it for many of the citizens of the Veneto area while also sending shipment each month to the farthest corners of Italy. At the moment they were planning on expanding their services to other parts of Europe though global was still a ways off considering the company's small size.
Nojiko led us the a stable behind the house, chattering away about the ideas Ace and she had come up with for the company. The nickering of horses filled my ears as we neared it and I felt a smile stretch across my face.
"I thought it would be nice to take the tour on horseback," Nojiko giggled as she pushed the stable door open and then proceeded to enter the nearest stall. "These beauties don't get out enough anyways."
The horse nuzzled its nose into Nojiko's palm before nipping at her hair in a playful, loving manner. Joyously my sister led us through the vineyard, pointing out unique landmarks to the family estate and telling us the history of the land. Nojiko had always been fascinated by history and living in an old mansion with a winery made her absolutely giddy. Founded in 1534 the Portgas winery and mansion had stood through centuries of Ace's ancestors. Hailing from his mother's side of the family it stood on the land they had obtained during the beginning of the renaissance in the 1400s. Ace had told her once that there were tombs of his ancestors under the manor and said the house was haunted. Nojiko had smacked him good the next morning when she hadn't gotten any sleep, though she still continued to look for an entrance to the tombs the same morning.
The sun was low in the sky by the time we returned to the house. My sister, Vivi, and I left the horses to the stable boys, who guided them back to their stalls where they would be brushed down and fed a hearty meal. Nojiko babied her horses terribly and I was surprised they weren't all fat and unfit to ride. Lots of exercise, Nojiko claimed despite her saying earlier that they didn't get out much. I rolled my eyes.
As we entered the house Vivi threw a number of questions about the latest Milan fashion to the wind, Nojiko nodding at her questions and answering them the best she could. Vivi was one of the biggest fashion gurus I've met, hailing from New York City she thrived on the newest fashion trends, especially those of a forein nature.
Their pleasant chatting was silenced by the sound of tumbling furniture and smashed glass.
Nojiko came to a halt on the doorstep. Her dark eyes were wide as she cocked her head to the side, listening for any continuation of disturbing sounds, only to stiffen when they continued a moment later.
" Quel maledetto idiota, non posso crederci! Belle. Belle. Manderò per lui. Dieci minuti. Buona giornata."₂
Nojiko raised a hand, silently telling Vivi and I to stay put for the moment before she hurried down the hall towards a room that stood with the door slightly ajar, where the sound of smashing glass resonated. "Ace, cara?"₃
"Ho avuto fino a qui, Nojiko, ho avuto! Perché non ha semplicemente. . . dannazione."₄
"Lo so, cara, lo so. Basta dargli il tempo, lasciarlo respirare. Che sarà lui a venire intorno, vedrai. Adesso vieni. Nami è appena arrivato e hai già fatto una scenata."₅
It was quiet in the room beyond for a moment and then Nojiko appeared in the doorway, and a handsome young man appeared beside her a moment later. His raven hair was slicked back and when he smiled at her the corners of his eyes crinkled as she patted down the front of his suit, clearing away invisible dust.
"Ah Nami," He greeted when they had neared us before pulling me into a hug, "My dear sorellina, how are you?"₆
"Jet-lagged." I muttered, which caused him to chuckle before he ruffled my hair and pulled me back into another hug. Ace had always found my sarcasm to be quite amusing, which is probably a contributing factor as to why we got along so well. I had a bit of a history of clashing with my sister's boyfriends in the past. Ace, however, had looked past my rude comments and inappropriate hand gestures, something that none of the others had done. He put effort into knowing me almost as well as he knew Nojiko. And I admired him for it.
"Sharpe-tongued as ever I see. It's nice to see you as well," He leaned into Nojiko as she moved to stand beside him again, wrapping an arm around his waist, "I must apologize, Nami, you've only just got here and I already must leave to deal with a—certain problem I have acquired." He turned his gaze back to my sister and quickly kissed her forehead. "I'll see you at dinner."
Ace moved with a grace that any woman would kill for, hell I wanted to kill him. My mind was quickly turned elsewhere though when Nojiko trapped my forehead and grabbed my luggage to hand to a nearby butler. "You've always been so spacey. Come you two, I'll show you to your rooms."
"Alright!" Vivi squealed as she practically hauled her suitcase at a nearby maid, almost sending the poor woman to the ground. A look of bewilderment crossed her face and it didn't surprise me, I'm sure she wasn't expecting to have a fifty pound suitcase chucked at her so early in the morning. Nojiko chuckled and then led us up the spiral stair case where Ace had disappeared just moments before.
Vivi began chatting my sister's ear off the second we hit the second floor, asking all sorts of questions, and some even being borderline too personal. That had never stopped my best friend though; she was nothing if not nosy.
"So, Nojiko," Vivi sighed as we neared the end of the hallway, "What was with that pause Ace made when we were talking earlier? It's obvious he was going to say something else. Care to share?"
Oh no. Instantly I could tell that Vivi was treading in dark waters. Nojiko paused in her trek down the hall and though there was no visible sighs of discomfort in her body language I could sense it coming off her in waves. I shot a warning glance at Vivi, who didn't take the hint. She pressed for an answer, unable as ever to relent when she was curious enough.
Finally Nojiko sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat, which finally caused Vivi to shut up.
"Nojiko?"
My sister didn't look at us as she continued walking for a moment before opening a large door and ushering us both inside. Once the heavy oak was sealed behind Vivi and I she turned to face us head on, there was sadness reflected in her dark eyes.
"I may as well tell you, you'll be hearing about it soon enough. Come. Sit." Vivi and I moved towards the king-sized bed that sat to our right and plopped ourselves down, moving about in the covers until each of us was comfortable. Nojiko waited quietly and then moved to sit on the edge of the bed. There were a number of things I was expecting her to say but what came out of her mouth was not one of them.
"Ace has a little brother."
What? To say I was dumbfounded was an understatement. Nojiko had always told me everything, from when we were very small until the present, but she had never mentioned this, had never even hinted at the fact that Ace had any living family outside of herself. It was a little unsettling.
"Is he as yummy as your husband?"
"Vivi what the hell!"
"What? I'm curious," I shot a worried glance at Nojiko, which quickly faded to relief when she smiled and stifled a giggle.
"He is quite handsome, yes." Nojiko said. Then her dark eyes flickered to me and I knew that she could see the disbelief on my face and the betrayal. "I couldn't tell you." My sister glanced down towards her lap for a moment, folding her hands there before returning her gaze to me, "When Ace asked me to marry him he said we would work through the ups and the downs together, and he told me that our love was strong enough to handle anything and it was, it still is. That night when we were packing to go back to America he got a strange call, but when I asked him about it he refused to say anything on the matter. It wasn't until we returned to Italy, two weeks later, that he told me about his brother.
I was as shocked as you. Ace didn't talk about his family much, his father came up in conversation once or twice and even a grandfather that had adopted him at a young age, but he never mentioned a brother. So imagine my surprise, when a strange teenager shows up on our doorstep, soaked to the bone with a bleeding arm and a busted lip.
Ha I was so angry with him, so incredibly angry. I had returned to our room, frightened and angry and curious about the strange boy that my fiancé had rushed from my sight so quickly that I barely could place a face on him. When Ace came to bed an hour later I unloaded on him, demanding to know who the stranger was. It was his little brother. Luffy.
He's a good kid, so incredibly bright, and passionate about the things and people he loves. I adore him and love him so much. But, he's made some mistakes in the past, horrible mistakes that I'm not at liberty to share with you. Earlier, when we first arrived Ace was on the phone with the local police department. Luffy was arrested and Ace went to go retrieve him."
The room was silent, not even Vivi spoke, instead her mouth was closed in a tight line as she glanced towards to open balcony door. Nojiko watched us, waiting for a response that I so desperately wanted to give her, though forming words had become quite difficult.
"Is he . . . safe to be around?"
My sister turned to Vivi, who still had her back turned but was listening. "Yes," Nojiko whispered, "He's a really gentle person, just misunderstood and perhaps a little misguided but he'd never hurt a soul. Please, Nami, Vivi, I know this is a lot to take in but he's Ace's brother, give him a chance."
I was skeptical. This Luffy was a stranger, somebody that I had never met with a criminal record and despite my sister's words that he was gentle, could turn out to be the exact opposite, but this was also Nojiko. And if I held anybody's word honorable or important it was Nojiko's.
"Okay," I whispered, "I'll try to befriend him. I suppose." Or not, but she needn't know that. Instantly Nojiko threw herself at me, her small body shaking as she tried to hold back her happy tears. I smoothed her curls down her head and smiled into her hair. Excellent character had always been one of the things Nojiko could sense in a person, but even she could make a mistake from time to time. I will observe him and judge for myself if he was truly a good person, I would be civil and give this Luffy a chance. For the time being.
Suddenly the sound of male voices drifted through the door from down the hall. My sister jumped to her feet, instantly happy knowing that her husband was home and before I could blink she was out the door and down the hall so that she could meet him. Vivi and I followed close behind at the pace of snails. Jetlag.
Peaking around the corner, we spotted three figures standing by the main entryway, one notably being Noijiko and the other Ace, though the third I had never seen. This was the mysterious brother; this was the dark criminal that had invaded my sister's life and now my own. His back faced us and slowly we inched our way along the copper railing, leaning from side to side to try to get a better view.
Okay so either this guy was psychic or really good at noticing when he was being watched. He turned towards the staircase and then looked upwards. I heard Vivi's sharp intake of breath.
He was dressed in a dark suit, very similar to his brother's, that hugged his body in all the right places. Even though he stood a good distance below us I could see the fabric of the jacket straining against his arms, meaning this guy was built and he was built nicely. His messy raven locks looked as if he had just crawled out of bed but it was a look that worked for him; it screamed come hither and any woman would be mad not to obey. Dark, obsidian eyes stared, holding my gaze for longer than I would have expected a stranger to do. Then he smiled, causing his perfect lips to pull back over equally perfect teeth.
Then suddenly he was gone, my vision instantly obscured when Vivi yanked me from the railing and back down the hall. She was giving me a strange look, though I ignored it, preferring to replay the image that my mind had greedily began to covet.
He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen.
xXx
Coming Soon: Chapter 3: Have You Wished on a Wishing Well?
xXx
AN: It's only been a year right? Sorry about that! Sometimes the block just hits you and it takes forever to work your way around it. As always I apologize for my lazy editing and for any mistakes I may have missed.
Thanks for reading!
Love dearies,
ZiraUzu
xXx
1. yes I understand. everything will be ready so please, Genzo, untwist your panties and leave everything to me- oh my dear sister has arrived! Oh hush, goodbye, Genzo!
2. That damn idiot, I can't believe this! Fine. Fine. I'll send for him. Ten minutes. Good day.
3. Ace, darling?
4. I've had it up to here, Nojiko, I've had it! Why can't he just . . . dammit.
5. I know, dearest, I know. Just give him time, let him breathe. He'll come around, you'll see. Now come. Nami has just arrived and you've already made a scene.
6. Little sister
