Blame by Faith&Fantasy

You all continue to amaze me. Thank you for your continued support of this story. Your reviews, favorites, follows, and views lift my heart up in so many ways. I cannot wait to keep writing for you. Thank you.

I apologize for this chapter being a bit on the shorter side. It is almost exactly the same length as the last chapter. Some of this chapter was attached to chapter four, but I changed it before posting. I like to try to keep like-settings together if possible. Longer chapters are in the works. It all depends on where a good place to divide the action of the story is. I hope you like it!

This is an AU. The characters and their backstories up to a point are the same. Of course, this does not happen in the manga/anime.

- OOC

- no pairings

- rated T for violence (will change to M if requested)

- warnings: abuse and violence, mild swearing

Summary:

Sabo's death hit Ace and Luffy hard. Confused and suffering, Ace looks for someone to take his grief and frustration out on. Someone to take the blame.

Disclaimer: I own only the storyline. All characters, references to characters, settings, etc. belong to Oda.

Without further adieu...

Chapter 5: Help

"No one stands so straight as when he stoops to help a boy" ~ Knights of Pythagoras

Dadan could remember the first time Ace came home bloody.

The boy couldn't have been older than seven, the age Luffy is now. It had been late at night, and Dadan, although she would never admit it, was beginning to worry. The boy usually left for the day but was back by dinner at the latest. Even back then, Ace hunted Mt. Corvo's beasts and brought the carcasses back to be cooked. But the boy hadn't returned. Just as Dadan had decided to send a search party out for the boy - not that she was worried, but Garp would have her head if something happened - the door slammed open.

There stood Ace, all four feet of him, dripping in blood. Bruises littered his arms and his right eye was almost swollen shut. His hands looked like he had been finger painting, but Dadan had a sickening hunch that the red was not paint. The metal pole clutched in the boy's hand was also covered in the same substance. There was no way all the blood had come from the small boy, there was just too much.

That had been the first time, of many, that Ace had come home from a fight. The bandits never asked the boy why, but they didn't need to. They just knew. Ace had been a child of the shadows; he knew what they said about him and it was almost as though he could hear their darkest thoughts of the boy. Their fears.

So Dadan and the rest of the bandits could only watch as the bruises on the dark raven's body became fewer and the blood on his hands thickened, seeming to stain the pale skin. And it scared them. Not so much for themselves, for the boy would've lashed out at them a long time ago, but for the lad himself. They worried that his mind would become so broken that there would be no saving the innocent and pure child trapped inside the monster he had become.

But then something did change. First it was Sabo, then Luffy. Two boys, both children in their own right. Nothing more, nothing less. But yet, they had the power to release Ace from his demons and rescue the boy from himself. And before long, Ace stopped coming home bloody. The gleam in his eyes that held so much hate for his own existence and the world that damned him grew weaker until it disappeared altogether. Instead, the boy walked in the door smiling, laughter rushing from his lips like teasing and playful winds carrying the promise of life and happiness. Somehow, those two idiots had managed to release Ace from the depths of an abyss that no adult even dared to reach towards. For the first time in ten years, when Dadan thought of Ace she smiled.

But now, another boy stood bloodied at her door, staining the threshold red once more.

"Luffy!" Dadan exclaimed, her cigarette falling from her lips unto the floor. The smallest boy stood slumping just inside the door, exhaustion written clear on his face. Pochi barked worriedly behind the boy, but Dadan payed him no notice as she examined the child. Luffy's lip was busted and blood flowed from the cut, staining the boy's chin and splattering the front of his yellow tank top. More blood was steadily oozing from his hairline, clumping and matting the hair. His clothes were dirty and ripped in some places, scratches littering his arms and legs.

Dadan blinked, only just then realizing that Luffy had already limped away from the door and was moving towards the washroom. "L-luffy, wait!" Dadan called to the boy, her shock causing her to stutter.

But Luffy simply muttered something about "Ace", "food", and "hurry" before quietly closing the thick, wooden door.

Dadan sat bewildered, the usually-talkative brat's subdued appearance throwing her for a loop. It wasn't until she registered the soft sound of water splashing that Dadan shook herself out of the trance. Pochi walked over to the door Luffy had disappeared behind, whining softly and pawing at the wood. Dadan called the small dog over, and patting him lightly, commanded the dog to fetch the other bandits who were out on a search mission for the very boy that was behind that door.

When Luffy hadn't returned last night, Dadan had started to panic. Only a little of course, she was a bandit after all. But some instinct in her alarmed her of their littlest one's safety, and after breakfast, Dadan sent all the bandits out to look for the brat. But somehow, Luffy had come home, and not in good shape.

Deciding she could do nothing until the boy emerged, Dadan settled back down, lighting a new cigarette and taking a deep drag before exhaling slowly. She watched, her mind wandering, as a fuzzy yellow caterpillar inched it's way across the nearby windowsill almost making it to the other side, only to be captured in the sharp beak of a scarlet tanager and whisked away in a flash of red wings.

All she could do was wait.

Luffy let out a hiss as soap dribbled into the cut on his head. Today's training had really taken its toll on him. I must be losing my edge. Luffy thought, humming. I'll just have to work harder!

An angry growl from his stomach reminded the boy of the urgency of the task at hand. Deeming himself clean, Luffy picked up the small barrel of warmed water and tipped it over his head and he bent over. Luffy watched as suds washed out of his hair onto the floor, bubbling a slight pink color. A flash of something reflecting the light caught his eye. Blinking the last of the water droplets away, the boy bent over painfully, his fingers carefully grasping the small object.

Is this glass? Why is there glass here?

Noticing more shards, Luffy carefully picked up pieces of the green glass until he had a small pile sparkling in the palm of his hand. Unsure of what to do, Luffy left the glass shards on the small table next to the door. I'm sure the bandits will know what to do with it, and where it came from.

Drying himself of thoroughly, Luffy walked over to the opposite wall and opened the third drawer of a small, bamboo dresser set in the corner of the room, far from the washing basins. Removing some clothing that Makino had given him on her last visit, Luffy began putting the garments on: a red tank top with a graphic and another pair of ripped-cuff, blue shorts. Luffy grabbed his hat from the dresser, inspecting his treasure for any damage. Pleased that the straw hat seemed unharmed, Luffy carefully opened the door to the main room of the bandit hideout, wincing as his muscles protested under the strain of moving the heavy door. The warm water had helped, but Luffy still ached all over from training.

Stepping out into the room, Luffy almost tripped over the form of Dadan who was seated against the wall to his immediate left. Turning, Luffy was thoroughly surprised to see the red-haried woman's brow furrowed in concern.

"Where were you last night?"

Stunned by Dadan's bluntness, Luffy could only gape, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Blinking, Luffy replied. "I was with Ace."

Alarm flashed in Dadan's eyes, but it was quickly overpowered by suspicion. "Ace? I haven't seen Ace in days."

"That's because he's been at our secret hideout!" Luffy exclaimed, face beaming. "Ace was repairing the fort from the big storm since we never got to finish because that's when Sabo..." Luffy trailed off, pain and grief starting to well up in his nut-brown eyes. Dadan could only watch in silent horror as those feelings were pushed down, instead masked by a smile and closed eyes that were just so fake it hurt to look at.

"But Ace repaired it so it's great! It looks so cool!"

Why don't you let yourself be sad?

Dadan just stared at her youngest charge, millions of emotions swirling through her brain. Her thoughts were interrupted when a sound akin to a dying animal resonated from the boy. Or more precisely the boy's stomach.

Luffy, too, looked down in surprise at said offender, poking his tummy experimentally. Without another word, the seven-year old turned and started making his way towards the door.

Alarmed, Dadan rose to her feet. "Where are you going, brat? You're hurt and need to be treated, you idiot."

Frowning, Luffy turned back to the woman. "It's just some scratches. We were training."

"Who? You and Ace? You've never come back that beat up before."

Something like disappointment flitted across the boys face. "I lost." He stated quietly. "But it's okay. I just need to practice more! I've been on a sort of break." Luffy faked enthusiasm, his exhausted body struggling to play the part.

Not buying a single word, Dadan wordlessly made her way over to a chest near the door to her own sleeping quarters. Withdrawing a roll of bandages and some medicinal tape, Dadan walked back over to the small boy. "Let me wrap that cut on your head. You're going to bleed all over your clothes and I'm not washing anymore of your shit." Dadan stated gruffly, cigarette grinding beneath her teeth.

Surprised, Luffy lifted his hand to his hairline, only to see blood dotting the tips of his fingers when he withdrew his hand. Seeing no other option, Luffy obliged, settling into a relaxed stance.

Dadan kneeled in front of the boy, unrolling the bandages and beginning to wrap them around the boy's head while being mindful of the silky locks of raven hair. Taping the bandage securely in place, Dadan admired her work, deeming it suitably for the time being. The cut didn't seem too major, but the nasty bump around the area concerned her. The injury was definitely older than a few hours ago. Dadan took in the boys slight figure, seemingly thinner in just the one night he was gone.

"Luffy." Dadan called, rousing the boy from a daydream. "When was the last time you ate?"

Caught of guard, Luffy tried to answer. But he couldn't. For possibly the first time in his life, he didn't know. "Well, I didn't have breakfast." He stated simply.

"You and Ace didn't catch anything?"

"No. Or, Ace did. But he said I couldn't eat until after training." Luffy replied, his eyes watching intently as a butterfly wandered in through the open window, following a path that only it could see.

"Why's that?"

"Well, he said I had to earn in." Luffy replied unconcerned, as it if was the most natural thing in the world.

Training on an empty stomach? Dadan thought in suspicion. There was no benefit from doing that.

"That reminds me!" Luffy exclaimed, jumping to his feet in sudden vigor. "I have to get back! Or there won't be any left!"

Dadan's eyes widened in shock. "You still haven't eaten?" It was well past noon.

"Uh uh." Luffy noised in confirmation, stumbling towards the door to slip on his sandals.

"Luffy wait." Luffy came to a reluctant halt at Dadan's surprisingly soft voice. The woman was reaching into the cooking pot hanging at the center of the room and withdrawing a small leg of meat. Most likely from a turkey.

"Take this." She said gruffly, handing the boy the leg. Luffy stared at the gift in bewilderment. Dadan never gave him meat. Just that crappy rice. And the meat was even slightly warm, having been heated by the remaining embers from the fire below. Why was she being so mice all of a sudden? He looked up into the woman's eyes in hopes of an answer.

"Just in case." The red-head responded, removing her spent cigarette and tossing it in a nearly-full ashtray.

Luffy took the meat and smiled a small, genuine smile. "Thank you. But Ace won't forget about me. He is my brother, after all." With that, the straw-hatted boy turned on his heel and dashed out of the hut.

Dadan desperately hoped he was right.

"But that doesn't make any sense. The boy is made of rubber."

Dadan had just finished detailing the events of what had transpired to Dogra as the two sat down for dinner. The bandits had returned home thanks to Pochi's message, exhausted but relieved to hear that Luffy was okay. A few grumbled about "that damn brat", but a glare from Dadan quickly shut them up.

Now, in a similar fashion to the previous night, Dogra and Dadan sat muling over their charges.

"And you haven't seen Ace, correct?" Dogra continued.

"Not at all. But Luffy said they trained today so he must be fine." The sight of the smallest boy standing at the door haunted Dadan. It hit too close to home with what used to happen with Ace. Was history repeating itself? Lifting the alcohol bottling in her hand, Dadan took a deep swig, attempting to drown out the worrying thoughts.

"Boss!"

Dadan nearly choked on the liquid at the call. Snorting like an angry beast, Dadan turned to see what imbecile had dared to bother her, only to cut short the insult when she saw the concerned face of Magra.

"Boss," He repeated approaching the woman and settling down on her other side. "I was cleaning the washroom and found this." Magra opened his large hand to reveal a tiny pile of glass shards.

Intrigued, Dadan picked up a shard, holding it up to the light of the burning lamps. The glass glinted maliciously in the flickering glow, it's deep green coloring very familiar.

Sudden realization struck her and a feeling like barbed wire coiling at the pit of her stomach.

The glass was from a sake bottle. And not just any sake bottle, but one of her own.

If there was one thing Dadan treasured, it was a clean bath. To her, the washroom was sacred, a place to cleanse oneself of worries, guilts, and cares. Therefore, a rule was set that no alcohol was to enter the washroom for fear of the bottles becoming a hazard and ruining the safe haven. None of her bandits had ever broken this rule, and Dadan didn't expect them to now, no matter how drunk they might be.

A closer look confirmed her fears. The shard of glass had flecks of dried blood on it.

Glancing up at Magra and then Dogra, Dadan saw her same thought process running through her most trusted men. Only one person had been in the washroom today.

Luffy, what happened to you?

I just love writing scenes with Dadan. She tries to act all tough, but she's really just a big softy!

Footnotes:

- I don't want to say to much, but a person note on the tanager and caterpillar that may help with understanding. As a avid bird watcher, I have seen two male scarlet tanagers break into a brutal conflict over a caterpillar once. It was shocking to see these strikingly beautiful birds get so vicious at each other. When one of the birds won the caterpillar, the two went back to normal and even roosted in the same tree for long time with no issue. This quick-change attitude is a point I mean to get across in this chapter. Of course, the caterpillar represents something too...but I've said too much already.

To the Reviewers!

LovelyMinx17 - Well, if you're "weird" for reading fics like this, what does that make me for writing them? Haha, I'm the same way. I like reading/writing about my favorite characters in horrible situations. That cannot be healthy. But neither are Reeses, and I ain't gonna stop eating those anytime soon. Glad you liked my review! ANYONE READING THIS should go check out "Silent" by this wonderful author. If you like AceLu, school settings, and beautiful writing check out this fic. It's awesome, as are all this writer's fics. Hope you didn't mind my shameless plug there, LovelyMinx17, but it's the least I can do for your reviews. They mean a lot! Hope this chapter was satisfactory. Not much happening, but some more inside information I hope. :)

Guest - I HAVE A LIFE?! Woah, never noticed. Hahaha, thank you! You are so supportive! Your reviews flatter me, and I am very proud to write for you. I like my lurky guests. Not everyone wants to write, some just want to read! And there's nothing wrong with that at all. Now about that good feels ending... haha just kidding. I can't tell you because that ruins the fun, although I wish I could. Hm, so i suppose my goal now should be to make my readers cry. I'll work on that for next time for sure! Here's a 2am update to go with your 2am review! Cheers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for more to come! :D

lany-chan - Yes, nothing says badass like Ace! More of that to come! Thank you for your review! :)

FuuYuki34 - If I lie and say that is isn't Luffy's blood dripping from Ace's hand, will you not hurt me? *hides under covers* You make me feel so guilty for being the author. Haha I love it XD Thank you for your review. I apologize about the length; I know this chapter isn't any longer. It just depends on where a good stopping point in the action of the story is for splitting it up. Hopefully coming chapters will be longer! I hope you'll stick around! I really appreciate your reviews.

xXLovelyAnimeLoverXx - I can see it now: Ace, sitting at a desk job. Surrounding by people like Luffy working for him. Grasped in his right hand, squeezing the very life essence out of and essentially murdering...a pineapple-shaped stress ball. Haha, I had one when I was younger, but then my dog tore it up (she needed the stress relief I suppose). But if your half a sadist...then I'm worse than that for writing this...uh oh. Eh, too late now! I'm sorry for being so mean to your baby. And yes, it will get harder from here for him...BUT I cannot write death scenes. At least not of that caliber.

...

But that's not to say I can't write near-death. I hope you'll keep reading! :D

The Lillyz - It is very unacceptable, I agree! What was that crazy author thinking? Wait... Haha, thank you for your review. I hope you liked the update and will read on!

SkittlesTheUnicorn - Mission accepted: make reader cry by end on fic. Difficulty: pretty dang hard. But I am up for the challenge! We are just getting started~~ Next chapter I am definitely digging into my feels ammo box. I read you loud and clear. Weird days trigger the best, honest thoughts, so I appreciate your weird-day review! Thank you for your kind words, I really look forward to writing more for you! :)

That's it for right now. Another update is on the way. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I did have a bit of fun writing it. Sorry if it seemed filler, but with the intense action of the last chapter I felt the need for some smoother waters to sail for a bit (anyone? pirates? no? okay). ^.^

Respectively yours,

FaithandFantasy