Chapter 13

Someone was pounding on the door to the bandit's house, and as Sanji turned around to see what was going on, he couldn't help the yelp that escaped his lips at what he saw. A large man in a black suit was standing there, his hair was greying, but Sanji saw immediately who it was. "G-Garp? What the hell is he doing here?" Then he noticed Luffy, wearing his trademark strawhat, running excitedly around the area. He looked younger, not by much, but definitely younger than in the previous memory. "What the-,"

The door to the house was torn open and a burly woman with bushy, orange, curly hair and a cigarette in her mouth stood in the doorway.

"Stop it! You wanna get killed or what?" She roared in Garps face, before she paled as she saw who it was.

"It's me!" Garp said dryly in his gruff voice. And Sanji could understand when the woman, whom he presumed was Dadan, jumped back in fear. He would probably have done the same thing.

"G-Garp-san?" She screeched.

At her scream two people popped their heads out from behind her, equally terrified looks on their faces. One was a small man with a turban on his head and wearing a dungaree with pink polka dots on it. The other was a larger man who, in Sanji's eyes, looked like something akin a rooster with a wattle on his chin and a red comb on his head instead of hair.

There was a pregnant pause as they just stared at him in shock.

"You're all looking well, I see." Garp said good naturedly.

"You gotta be kidding me! A little mercy goes a long way you know." She screeched at him. "Don't you know Ace is ten years old already?" Sanji raised an eyebrow at that.

"Is he now, has it been that long already. He's doing good I presume?" Garp laughed cheerfully as Luffy had started running around them.

The Shepherd had slowly made his way over to him as he watched the scene that was transpiring in front of them.

The little man looked up at Garp, a look of exasperation on his face, "It's not funny. He's uncontrollable and wild! We can't keep him here any longer."

Ace? Uncontrollable and wild? Sanji frowned, sure the Ace he had seen running around with Luffy and Sabo was unruly, but they made him sound like a wild animal.

"God, that kid is annoying!" Dadan suddenly barked as Luffy was still running around between them.

Garp lifted Luffy up by the scruff of his neck, "Look after this one, too. Hey Luffy, say hello to them!"

Luffy lifted his head at them and gave them a quick, "Yo!" And both the Shepherd and Sanji couldn't help chuckle at that.

"I guess this could explain why Luffy wasn't in sync with Ace and Sabo in the first fight we saw, and why they didn't know he had eaten a devil fruit," Sanji mused out loud as they watched Dadan and the two men shout in surprise when Garp told them Luffy was his grandson. "I thought he and Ace had known each other all their lives."

The Shepherd looked at Garp, a look of concentration on his face. "It seems that Luffy had been living in a small town on the other side of this hill until now. If what I can understand from Garp is correct, he feels that it will be better for Luffy's safety to live here, where he will be hidden from potential harm that may befall him because of his father."

Sanji looked at Dadan and the two men as they screamed at Garp that they had enough with dealing with Ace. They were definitely bandits, and by the look of the clothes hanging out to dry, he reckoned there was a lot more of them inside. "I get hiding him away, with Dragon being his father and all, but this place?" He watched as Garp was threatening them with jail time if they didn't take Luffy now, and Sanji couldn't help pitying them a little.

Garp let Luffy down, who proceeded to pick his nose, not a care in the world of where he had just been forced to live by his grandfather. When Dadan asked Garp exasperated if he was just as much of a monster as Ace was. Luffy piped up saying that he hated mountain bandits, and then ran off chasing a dragonfly as Dadan yelled at him, before deflating as Luffy wasn't listening.

"I see his attention span hasn't changed since he was a kid," Sanji shook his head as he chuckled.

Suddenly something hit Luffy's face and Sanji turned around quickly, expecting an enemy. What he saw made his insides turn cold. Ace was sitting, not even ten feet away from him, on top of a dead buffalo, his eyes icy, and full of hatred and loathing as he looked at Luffy. "What the-,"

"Hey you! Apologise! That was gross!" Luffy screamed up at him, not even showing a trace of fear.

From behind them they heard Garp call out happily for Ace, and the bandits shouting in surprise that he was back.

"I must admit, I did not expect to see Ace with such an expression." The Shepherd looked worryingly at Ace, who still hadn't moved as he continued to stare at Luffy, clear contempt in his eyes.

"He's-," Sanji swallowed. "He's a totally different kid, what the hell is going on?"

"Luffy, this is Ace," Garp came over to where they were standing, and looked up at Ace like he wasn't bothered at all with the look on his adopted grandson's face. "He's three years older than you. From today you'll be living with them."

Sanji heard the surprised yells from Dadan at that, but he couldn't take his eyes away from Ace, who was still looking at Luffy in the same way. It didn't even seem like he had acknowledged that Garp was there at all. Luffy was growling up at him now, but before he could snap Garp bonked him on the head. "Try getting along, okay?"

"You think this is settled?" Dadan screamed from behind them.

When Garp looked around at them, giving them a dark glare, Sanji couldn't help shaking his head at their reaction. In their terrified state they became completely compliant, and promised to take care of the boys. "Can't say I blame them, I don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of his fists."

"I'll come by and visit when I have time." Garp called out as he turned to leave, and they heard the trio behind them complain as they watched him walk calmly down the trail.

Sanji narrowed his eyes at him, "So he just threw Luffy at them, and then left?" he looked back at Ace and Luffy, where Ace had just jumped off the buffalo and was walking towards the house. Completely ignoring Luffy now, who was glaring at him. "I won't lie, with Luffy's reaction to him in Water 7 I figured he wasn't the parental sort, but-," He trailed off as Luffy, with a more determined look on his face, followed after Ace as he headed into the house.

"You are correct, it is rare that a D actually raises their own young." The Shepherd had a thoughtful look on his face as they followed after the boys.

"What do you mean?" Sanji looked at him curiously, but before he could get an answer they saw as Luffy was suddenly jumped by a horde of bandits.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them whispered threateningly as he held a knife to Luffy's throat.

Sanji raised an eyebrow at the scene as the bandits interrogated Luffy, "They're in for a shock."

He was right, as soon as the tiny guy with the turban revealed the shocking news of who Luffy was, the entire band started screaming in shock, and then yelled out that Dadan was gutless. Sanji narrowed his eyes at them for that, she may be a tough woman, but she's still a woman. They should show her some respect.

"Shut up you bastards!" Dadan roared at them and slammed an enormous bowl of meat on the floor. "It's time for dinner!"

Sanji couldn't help staring at the mayhem that ensued after that. People dove at the food like starved animals, and he suddenly understood why Luffy fought over food like he did. It was utter chaos, and Sanji felt a twinge of pity when he saw that Luffy didn't get anything.

In the end Luffy ended up sitting next to the hearth with a bowl of rice and a glass of water, it was such a pitiful sight that Sanji's couldn't help feel a little sorry for him. Ace who was sitting on the opposite side had secured himself a small bowl of meat, and Dadan was happily munching on a piece herself.

Luffy tipped the bowl of rice in his mouth and held the bowl out, before he looked up at Dadan with the most miserable expression Sanji had ever seen on his face, and shouted, "Seconds! Old man I want seconds!"

Before he could yell at Luffy for being rude, Dadan cut him to the chase and barked at Luffy that she was a woman.

"Don't you even know where you are? She towered over the little boy.

"No." Luffy answered, still having that miserable look on his face.

"Well, then I'll tell you!" She loomed over him, "This is the hideout for the Dadan Family, the mountain bandits who rule over Mt. Colubo."

"Mountain bandits?" Luffy looked at her with a mix of resentment and annoyance, "I hate mountain bandits."

"That's not a look I see on him often, I wonder what that's all about." Sanji said with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently he had a run in with a gang when he was living in Foosha, the pirate, Shanks, who gave him his hat, apparently lost his arm trying to save Luffy from their leader." The Shepherd frowned as he looked at Luffy, who was now being barked at by Dadan about how he could just run away and die for all she cared.

"Hang on," Sanji looked between Luffy, who was pouting again and looking forlornly at his empty bowl, and the Shepherd, "Shanks? Red-hair Shanks gave Luffy his hat? And Luffy is the reason Shank's only has one arm now?" He stared back at the small boy, "That's a heavy burden to bear." He would know, he himself was the reason Zeff had lost his leg.

"You were not aware of this?" The Shepherd raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, not really," Sanji tried thinking back, "Only thing I can remember him telling us about it, is that he made a promise to someone to give it back once he became the Pirate King." Dadan was dangling a piece of meat in front of Luffy's face before retracting it just as he tried chomping down on it.

"Ah," The Shepherd looked keenly at Luffy, "Did you ever ask him about it?"

Sanji frowned as he thought about it, "No, I don't think I have."

"There is your answer to why you never knew." The Shepherd suddenly smiled knowingly, "He is a complex man, your captain. If I am right, the reason he has never told you about it is because he believes that since it is in the past, it has no real consequence of what is happening in the present. And since he shows little interest in your past, he does not think his past will be of much interest to you, as again, it has little to do with what is happening now."

Sanji kept his eyes on Luffy as Dadan tried to scare him with everything she would be forcing him to do. "I guess that makes sense. When Nami-swan's sister offered to tell us her story, he left, saying he didn't care about it."

Luffy didn't even blink as Dadan told him that he would have to raise himself, and just answered with a quick "Alright," to which Dadan fell over in shock, smashing her head in the floor, cracking the floorboards.

"You're okay with it? You're supposed to be crying by now!"

"Grandpa's left me in the jungle a few times." Luffy said noncommittedly like it was a normal occurrence. "Earthworms, lizards, snakes, mushrooms-," He smiled as he clenched his fist, as if ready to take on the world. "If we're in a forest there's a whole lot of stuff I can eat. Besides, I'm gonna become a pirate someday, so I have to be able to do at least that much."

"Garp left him in the jungle?" Sanji gaped. "We've already established he's not the parental sort, but what the hell?"

The Shepherd shook his head and chuckled next to him, "I am not sure if that is a D trait or just a Monkey family trait, but I would not be surprised if some of Luffy's immense will to live stems from his harsh upbringing by Garp."

"Harsh? It's damn near child abuse!" Sanji huffed, not that my upbringing was any better. "Hey, you said earlier that it was rare for a D to be raised by their parents, what did you mean by that?"

"Well, the majority of them become orphans at a very young age. Take Ace for example-," They both looked at Ace who had just stood up, clutching his metal staff, ignoring everyone and still with that icy look in his eyes. "His mother, who was also born a D, died right after giving birth to him, and his father died before he was even born," He looked sadly over at Luffy, who was looking at Ace as he was about to leave, "Luffy has never know his mother, I am still unsure if she was born a D, too, or not. And his father is the leader of the revolutionaries." They nodded a silent agreement at each other and followed after Ace, as Luffy ran after him. Dadan screaming exasperated at Luffy from behind them. "Dragon undoubtedly felt it was safer to leave him in Garp's care as he is a high ranking marine and would be better suited to keep him safe."

They stepped outside and saw Ace heading for the forest; they nodded again and followed him. It was unnerving to see the deep hatred in his eyes.

"There are many more D's who also became orphans at a young age, or was left in the care of someone who was more suited to keep them safe." The Shepherd looked up at the sky frowning, "Being born a D is a dangerous thing. They are more often than not rebels in their own way, and they never cease to give the World Government an immense amount of grief."

"Hey! Wait up!" Ace stopped when he had made it to the top of a nearby hill, Luffy was running towards him and shouting. He glared down at Luffy clearly ticked off, as the little boy stopped at the bottom of the hill, waving his hands, a smile on his face. "I'm Luffy! I'm not mad at you for spitting me in the face anymore!"

A vein appeared on Ace's forehead as Luffy kept smiling and waving up at him.

"It's nothing to get worked up about! Let's be friends!"

"If I didn't know they'll end up as sworn brothers-," Sanji was cut off mid-sentence as Ace shot out his foot and kicked the tree next to him, toppling it over so it rolled down towards Luffy. "What the fuck!"

Luffy screamed as he ran down the trail, the tree getting closer and closer until it smashed into him when he got to a boulder and wasn't able to escape.

Sanji stared open mouthed at Ace, who still glared down at Luffy with a look of deep contempt. "Was he trying to kill him?" He roared. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Ace was stone cold as he looked impassively down at what he had just done. "He should be grateful Luffy is rubber, or he would have died!"

The Shepherd looked at Ace with a conflicted look on his face, but didn't say anything.

When Ace turned to leave, Sanji had to tear his eyes away from where Luffy was undoubtedly laying beneath the tree, struggling to free himself, and followed after him.

"This is a very long memory." The Shepherd mused as they followed Ace through the forest.

Sanji was still staring at Ace, his angry look never leaving his face. "Is that unusual?"

"It does happen occasionally, but mostly with people who has been in their summerland for a long time. I would say that, yes, it is unusual for someone to have this level of control on the manipulation of time and space in their land. Especially when they have been here for such a short amount of time, as Ace has."

"Huh-," Sanji looked around them, "So Ace has mastered it already. I can't say I'm surprised."

"You are not? May I inquire as to why?" The Shepherd kept his eyes on Ace, a look of contemplation on his face.

"I don't know-," Sanji shrugged, "Maybe because of Luffy's ability to master his abilities as quickly as he has, I reckon Ace is the same with most things as well."

The Shepherd stroked his goatee, "You might be right, they are quick studies, even if it does not seem like it at first. Luffy more so than Ace I would say, but they definitely do share that trait, I do wonder if that is a D trait as well."

Sanji nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised by that either."

They soon came to a hanging bridge with a deep ravine below it, and as they were almost at the end of it they felt it vibrate. Sanji turned around shocked; Luffy was at the other end, scratched up, twigs in his hair, and he was panting heavily.

"If anything, he is tenacious." The Shepherd had an eyebrow raised as he looked at a thoroughly exhausted Luffy.

Sanji looked back at Ace, who again had narrowed his eyes in contempt at Luffy and walked slowly towards him, his grip on the staff tight. This isn't good.

Luffy was grinning wide as he saw Ace coming towards him, but Sanji paled as he felt the murderous intent coming from him. He could only watch on as Ace shot his staff out and struck Luffy so hard he flew off the bridge and down into the ravine below. "I-," He stared at Ace in shock, "I-, I don't believe it." He stuttered, "I felt it. He-, He was ready to kill Luffy." He was frozen, he couldn't believe it, Ace hadn't gone in with the intent of just harming Luffy, or get him away, he was ready to kill him.

"I agree with you, this is not what I had expected to see." The Shepherd stared in shock at Ace as well.

"And this is one of Ace's good memories?" Sanji stared transfixed at Ace who was walking calmly by them. As if he just hadn't tried to kill a little boy.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a good memory Sanji." A voice suddenly called out from behind them.


AN:

Thank you to everyone who are reading the story, I love you guys!
I'm a little behind schedule on the next few chapters, but I hope I have more time to write these next couple of days, so I'm not sure when 14 will be up. But it will be published sometime this weekend, I promise!

As always, please fav/follow and or review if you're liking it so far. I'd love to hear what you think about it.