New chapter! Everyone, rejoice! And it's super long! (and it freaking hurts my hands)

So, like all the people who took time to read the A/N had known, AN OC IS COMING! I am so freaked out! (squeaky voice) I mean, what if you lovely readers of mine don't like the OC? The worries of a writer. (sigh)

Let's forget this worry of mine and wish for the best. Oh, and just so you know, this chap is mainly little drabbles of their childhood. something to cheer the mood up after that entire thing with the nobles and stuff. Sabo's all fine and happy! Yay!

Hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: One Piece, Oda Eiichiro, see the connection? No 'Knox' in it. Kapish?

IN LAVENDER

Luffy age 8 turning 9 xXx Ace age 12 xXx Sabo age 12

Something about Luffy had been seriously… off. Sabo had only just realised that he had rarely seen his sister these days. Yep, for Luffy, who had always followed him and Ace around like a little, cute puppy, her lack of presence was definitely odd. That morning, Sabo was awoken by the creaking of the floor as someone left the tree house. He sat up just in time to see Luffy jump out from the window and land with a thud.

'And she took so much time convincing us to sleepover in the base.' He mumbled to himself, slightly irritated. Last night, he was hoping he could stay in his room to read some books he just stole and Luffy'd just had to do the puppy-dog eyes to trick him and Ace into sleeping with her in the Mess Hall (the biggest room they built used for sleepovers, games and things. Always messy).

Sabo jumped off the tree house, carefully following behind the girl as she ran towards the coast. Of course, before he left, the former noble left a note for Ace so he wouldn't freak out and thought they were kidnapped or something. Sabo didn't expect Ace to be that much of a worry wart when it comes to families but the world had proven him wrong. His eyes followed the girl and she jumped off the cliff and land on the beach. Sabo walked slowly to the ledge of the cliff and looked down, careful not to fall off. He was surprised so see Luffy just sitting there, watching the sea like she was waiting for something to appear at the horizon. For someone with a terrible case of ADHD like her, sitting in one place for hours wasn't an option.

'Hey, Lu, mind if I join you?' Sabo shouted, alarming the girl. She turned around, a cheeky grin on her face.

'You followed me.' She said, not quite surprised. She patted the sand next to her as if queuing him to sit down. Sabo, getting the sign, slid down the steep slope and landed next to her. He sat down, legs stretched out and hand supporting his body as he leaned back.

'What are you doing here every day?' The older brother asked curiously. He took off his top hat and placed it next to him. His wavy blonde hair had gotten long and Luffy can't deny that he had become more handsome by the years. The blond strands blew in the air, slightly covering his sea blue eyes. He used his hand to tuck them behind his ear and turned to his little sister.

Luffy looked at the blue sky, observing the clouds, the rising sun, the gliding seagulls. It was calming. She smiled nostalgically. 'I'm waiting for someone.'

'Don't tell me it's Garp, okay?' Sabo teased only to be punched by Luffy in the shoulder.

'What are you saying!? Of course not!'

'I'm kidding, I'm kidding.' He said as he caressed his arm. 'So who is it?'

'A friend. We promised we'll meet again when I become nine.' Luffy said, the smile grew bigger as she thought of the person. She remembered a girl, two years younger than her, long, wavy silver hair that glittered in the sunlight. Oh, and of course, the lavender coloured bowler hat that the woman loved. Luffy had remembered that in her past life, she was facing the worst time of her life when that girl appeared and rescued her.

'But you're not nine yet... And you're also short.' Sabo said, a mischievous grin making its way to his lips.

'What does that have to do anything with it!?' Luffy glared daggers at him while pouting slightly and the blonde boy just laughed. Luffy sighed then looked to the sea again. 'Just felt like she'll be coming soon.'

'So what's her name?'

'Dunno.' Luffy replied, making Sabo's jaw hang. That idiot girl. He face palmed and shook his head.

'Do you at least know what she looks like?' The blond boy asked again and watched as the girl put a hand on her chin and thought for a second. Then, she turned to him and shook her head nonchalantly.

'Then how will you know it's her?' Sabo said as he flicked the girl's forehead. How can his sister possibly be so idiotic? But, he'd have to admit, she's just cute that way. Wait, what did he just think? Oh god! Maybe Ace's terrible case of sister complex is getting to me… Sabo thought in horror. But now that he thought about it, Ace probably haven't even realise Luffy's a girl. That thickhead… Thinking about his siblings only made Sabo more stressed than he already was, he should just stop.

'I think I'll just know when the time comes.' Luffy turned to him then smiled. The blond boy shook his head, there's no going against Luffy Logic anyways. He smiled and stood up, wiping away the grains of sand that stuck to his pants. He picked up the girl's straw hat that sat on her back and slammed it onto her short, uneven jet black hair. The rim of the hat covered half of her face, making Luffy unable to see. She reached up and tried to pry Sabo's hand off.

'I'm returning home.' Sabo announced as he picked up his top hat and walked off, releasing his grip on Luffy's head. The girl fixed her hat so that she could see properly, turned to her brother and stuck out her tongue. Sabo shook his head for the third time in the fifteen minutes, wondering why Luffy hadn't gotten any more lady-like over the course of two years he had met her.

Today is Luffy's birthday. And of course, like any other year, she is completely oblivious about it. The town's people in the Fushia village had planned to make a surprise party for the girl and without a doubt, Ace and Sabo was also part of the idea. They had promised that they will keep it a secret from Luffy and Sabo's job was to make sure Ace didn't make any slip ups.

Like any other day these weeks, Luffy was waiting by the coast. Staring at the sea and sky and waiting for that person to arrive. Sabo walked out of the bushy jungle, slid down the cliff and sat next to the girl.

'Are you waiting for her again?' Sabo asked and caught her attention. He was a person of stealth and every time he came to the coast to meet Luffy, she wouldn't notice him until he called or speak.

'Yeah, she was my sister by bond you know.' She soon got over his startling appearance and spoke with her signature toothy grin.

'That's new.' Sabo sat down next to her. It had become a way for him to relax, sitting next Luffy and watch the sea as time flies by. 'So, how did it happen?'

'What?'

'How did you meet her? How did you guys come to share such a bond?'

'That's a story for later. I'm bound to tell it to you guys anyways.' Luffy turned to Sabo and he kept quiet. And they stayed like that for quite a while. Sabo like the silence, it was very relaxing, unlike his usual vexing life. Sabo slid back and lay entirely on the sand. He stared at the sky and watched as the different varieties of clouds float by fluffy and white like gigantic cotton candy.

'Luffy!' Someone called, breaking the silence. Luffy turned up and looked at the town's fisher man with a questioning look. 'Someone's looking for you!'

'Really?' Luffy asked excitedly. She stretched her arms and grabbed onto the cliff. She shot herself up and landed next to the man. 'Take me there!'

'Wait for me!' Sabo called as he climbed up the rocks, following closely behind. He stood up on the grassy ground and began to wipe of the sand on his clothes. The fisher man led the two to the docks of Fushia village and showed them a small rowboat. He told them that a little boy about the same age as Luffy was asking for her.

'Then where is he?' Sabo questioned the man and looked around. What caught his attention was Ace, shouting at someone. Did he get himself caught into a fight, again? Sabo sighed and approached his brother and grabbed his shoulder. 'Ace, what are you doing?'

'Oh, Sabo! This brat keeps telling me that he knows Luffy and that he must meet Lu!' Ace shouted angrily, hoping that Sabo would be on his side in this. Ace pointed to the boy next to him who had wavy silvery white hair and peculiar violet eyes. Oddly to say but the boy was… pretty. Big eyes, button nose, thin lips, silky hair… he looked like a pretty girl. He was slightly taller than Luffy, had a lean body and was dress a lavender vest that wrapped around a white t-shirt underneath.

'Hello, if I am correct, you must be Sabo. Nice to meet you, my name is Merry. And would you please show me the way to Luffy?' The boy shook Sabo's hand and greeted him politely. He didn't smile, his face was just blank. It felt rather impossible to guess what the child was thinking.

Sabo turned around and looked at Luffy. He shot her a look that said 'Do you know him?' and she returned it with a confusing stare. Merry had caught sight of the girl and ran towards her. 'Luffy!'

Seeing the girl's confused look, Merry ran to the boat and took out his lavender bowler hat. He swept the dust off the rim and put it on. 'It's me, Merry.'

The memory came rushing into Luffy head… 'My name is Merry, what's yours?' She asked with a straight face… 'Merry… join my pirate crew.' He asked, his legs swinging in the wind and she only stared at him in utter disbelief… 'From now on, we're brothers and sisters!' They announced happily and cheered, Merry felt tears rolling down her cheeks… The girl's eyes widened and she ran in to tackle the little boy to the ground. 'Merry!'

The silver haired boy also wrapped his arms around the girl and caressed her black locks. Then, after a while, the boy pulled back, 'Okay, let go. I have business to attend to.'

'What business?' Luffy asked as she took a step back.

'I have to meet Garp.' Merry announced as he took out a letter from the floor of the boat. He turned to Luffy with a smile only to see her face paled terribly. 'Is there a problem?'

Luffy swallowed the lump of fear in her throat then held Merry's hand, 'No… I'll take you to him.' And did she just agree to take herself to meet with a devil? Yes. After all her effort to hide from Garp today, her little sister (Merry) just had to say he wanted to meet grandpa. She wondered why he would come here though. It wasn't Ace's or Sabo's birthday yet.

'Uh, thanks.' Merry said, his tone slightly questioning. They walked away and Luffy turned around to signal the other two to not follow. Sabo only nodded and smiled. He just had a feeling that he would get along well with Merry.

Luffy skipped ahead of the silver-haired boy, turning to look at him instead of the road, 'You turned into a boy!'

'Yeah, and from the aura you emit, you're a girl. Oh, and that demon also made me two years older than I was supposed to be. Now I'm your age.' Merry said, his hand pointing to a stool in the market that Luffy was about to hit.

Luffy looked at the direction the finger pointed in but in the end, her back still hit the edge of the table and she crouched down immediately, hugging the spot. 'Ow…'

'Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark.' Merry crouched down next to her and flicked her forehead. 'Learn to pay attention already! And here I thought if you were a girl you would be more careful.' The boy shook his head as he stood up, pulling Luffy along with him. The continued together through the town, talking about the adventures they had together in their past lives. Then finally, the two stopped in front of the Party Bar and Luffy pushed the door open, getting ready to lead Merry in.

'Whoosh…' A shadow flew through the air and landed in the house opposite to the bar. The two children turned their heads to look at the beaten man who was just thrown out of the bar then looked inside. Garp was shouting at a bunch of hoodlums while Makino, the barmaid, waved at them happily.

'Hello!' Luffy waved back and said, catching Garp's attention. The marine vice-admiral looked up and laughed happily, his hand dropping his grip on the man he was scolding. Pouncing forward, he held his granddaughter into the air and boomed, 'Luffy! Happy Bi-'

A crash echoed through the air. It was the sound of glass shattering into a thousand pieces, leaving a pool of shards under the older man's feet. The only traces of what happened were Makino's weird posture, the glass pieces and Garp's bleeding head. The doting grandfather dropped his lovely Luffy to the ground and smiled at her, like he was not bleeding at all. 'So what do you want to talk about, Luffy?'

'Oh, my friend here, wanted to talk to you about something.' Luffy answered, not even bothering to ask about what happened. She pulled Merry forward and showed her to Garp.

'Nice to meet you, my name is Merry and I have an important message for you.' The little boy took out the letter from his pocket and handed it over. Garp tore it open and read it through. Then, he slammed a hand onto Merry's shoulder and laughed out loud. 'So you're the sole survivor of the Reign of Death that I had always heard about! They want me to train you? Sure!'

Merry only smiled his unreadable smile and shook Garp's hand. Luffy shot him a look that clearly said 'How did you do that?' and he could see clearly the paling of her skin. He nodded as if saying 'Don't worry; I won't die from Garp's training.'

'Now then, where's that Ace and Sabo?' Garp looked around, his voice sending chills down Luffy's spine. Sabo, Ace, run! She prayed for their safety.

Ace's little discovery

'I don't like that that boy! Merry was it?' Ace whined, sulking by the tree stump. He was leaning on the log, his hands crossed on his chest and a scowl on his face. Sabo chuckled lightly. He sat on top of the stump, his hand holding a book about weather in Grand Line.

'He seems nice, if Luffy trusts him, I'm sure he's a good person.' Sabo said reassuringly. He had heard many stories about this 'Merry' and he seems nice enough. Luffy may not have remembered the person's face or name but she surely remembered the person characteristics. Though, he did wonder why Luffy would call him a girl at first. Probably because of Merry's girl-like look. It was quite ironic how Luffy looks like a boy while Merry looks like a girl.

'I don't like how I can't read him. What if he's planning something evil? For now, I'll just deem him an enemy.' Ace announced angrily. He looked very irritated.

'Sure…' Sabo chuckled, his eyes still focused on the book. 'Maybe you're just jealous.'

'Jealous? Of who?' Ace glared at his brother furiously. Sabo closed the book and stared down into the grey eyes. 'Of Merry.'

Ace took a step back, trying to duck from his brother's interrogating glare. 'What!? Why would I?'

'Because you like Luffy.' Sabo stated bluntly, an unnoticeable smirk on his lips. He knew for sure this would be fun. Ace's face reddened considerably and he managed to stutter, 'Why would I l-like Lu? I mean he's c-cute and all but he's a b-boy and…' What am I saying? Stop it stupid Ace! He didn't stop. 'I mean, I don't even know what l-liking is like.'

'Need me to explain?' Sabo leaned closer, the evil smile on his face growing. 'If you like someone, when they do something intimate to you, you become nervous. A specific hormone makes your heart beat faster and blood rush to your face. And when they do something intimate or treat someone else better than they treat you, you feel anger against the other person.'

Ace thought for a moment. He did feel like that when Luffy does those things. Is he in love with his brother? Well their not actually blood related so it's fine right? But Luffy a boy! This is so contradicting! Ace buried his face into his hands. Sabo's right and it made him feel horrible. 'Sabo, what should I do? I fell in love with a boy and worse, that boy is my brother!'

Sabo nearly fell off the stump. How could Ace be so thick? Then, he bursted out laughing, making Ace even more confused than he already was. Sabo panted, wiping away an imaginary tear comically before stating, 'Ace, Luffy's a girl.'

Ace sat there, dumbstruck. Then his jaw dropped, 'WWHHAAATTT?' The shout could be heard from all over the island.

Well, from that day on, Sabo deemed Ace's situation the worst case of sister complex.

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY!' The people cheered in unison. Luffy's mouth opened agape and she looked around, absolutely oblivious to what was happening. She didn't budge until Merry nudged her with his elbow.

'Thank them.' Merry whispered into her ear. They had just returned from the tree house where Merry packed his stuff and the moment they returned, this happened. Of course, Merry had already known today was Luffy's birthday, that's why he chose this day to arrive. Luffy turned to the boy in utter shock only to receive a nod.

'Is it really today? Maybe the calendar was wrong.' Luffy said aloud, a hand on her chin in thought and her head tilted to a side. Everyone nearly collapsed. Merry face palmed along with Sabo, while Makino giggled. Typical Luffy. Everyone thought with a sigh. Makino broke the silence, stepped forward and pulled the little girl away. 'Come on Luffy, I want you to wear something.'

Before the girl could fully adapt to the situation, the barmaid had already carried her into the house. And then, a loud crash could be heard from outside, after that there was a scream and a few more bangs and crashes then Makino came out, a smile of victory on her face.

'Come on Luffy, you look pretty.' Makino urged. The door behind the barmaid opened with a hesitant creak and Luffy came out. She was actually looking like a girl. She had light pink lip colouring, pale silver eye shadows that made her eyelid glitter, lightly traced eyeliner that brought out her big doe like eyes. Her messy hair was straightened and on the right side of her head, a red ribbon bow was tied. She was draped in a small velvet dress that complimented her magnificently.

Everyone in the room was silenced. Sabo snapped out of his trance first and sent a thumbs-up towards the barmaid, she winked back. Ace was red from head-to-toe; he was probably as frozen as a statue right now. Merry only grunted, in the last life when he was still a girl, he was the pretty one. Curse that demon, he turned Luffy pretty, now it would be troublesome to get rid of her fanboys since she is so oblivious.

'Makino! I don't want to wear this!' Luffy whined as her grip tightened on the dress. 'See, it's making Ace and everyone act weird…' She pouted and gave Makino the best puppy-dog eyes she could make. The barmaid shook her head; no matter how cute Luffy looked she was not going to let the girl take off her dress.

'Remember our promise. If you stay like this for the rest of the night, I'll give you all the food you want.' Makino crouched down and reminded Luffy. The girl pouted but stayed obedient, 'Promise?'

'Promise.' The woman with dark green hair smiled and nodded. Everybody cheered. Then the food and drink were pulled out and the party began. Makino sat down on one of the porches on the road and sighed in relief. Oh, how much she struggled to make Luffy wear that dress. Then she looked up to see Sabo joining next to her. He sighed, 'You won.'

Makino smiled and showed the palm of her hand, 'Sure did.' The younger boy rummaged his pocket, pulled out fifty beli and stuffed it into the woman's hand. 'Can't believe you actually made Luffy girly.'

'A woman has her ways.' Makino smiled deviously. The blond teenager only shook his head. 'You bribed her with meat. Anyone can do that.'

'Then why didn't you do it before?' Makino looked at him with malice. Sabo leaned back, avoiding her gaze. Yep, she's thinking he's stupid.

'Well, I think there is also someone else who could make Luffy a little more lady-like.' Sabo turned his gaze toward the silver haired boy sitting next to his sister. He observed as Luffy picked up her food and stuffed it into her mouth, her back crouched and her cheeks filled. Then watched as Merry scolded Luffy loudly, hitting her back and hand. He smiled amusingly at Luffy who grumbled but still straightened up and began eating with knives and forks.

Ace sat down with a thump next to the two, a scowl on his still-slightly-red face. Sabo grinned evilly while Makino looked at him with a charmed smirk. They spoke in unison, 'what's wrong, lover boy?'

'I'm not a lover boy!' He retorted loudly, his flush growing darker. 'Why does she only listen to him…' He mumbled, sulking along the way. Then turned to the two next to him who snickered silently.

The night went on, the sound of cheering, singing and partying echoed through Mt Corvo. By pass midnight the only people left who were conscious were the four underage children: Sabo, Ace, Luffy and Merry. They had walked off after dropping every one of the villagers into their houses. Since Merry didn't have a room yet and Ace didn't trust him enough to let him into the tree house, they decided that he would sleep in the hole under the tree's roots. After about thirty minutes, Sabo went down to check on Merry again only to see the tree's roots turned into a neatly organised private room.

He was pretty impressed. Merry had pretty much prepared everything he needed. There were stacks of books organised by names in the left corner of the place, opposite to it, on the right was a box of folded clothes, in the middle of the place was a blanket and pillow where Merry sat, reading a small leather notebook. He was sitting under the warm light of an oil lamp that hung from a stray root which poked out from the earth.

'I'm kind of surprised at how readied you are.' Sabo spoke, startling the boy. The mysterious boy with the unfazed eyes turned to Sabo with a smile.

'I try to be the best person I could possibly be for Luffy. He is my only family after all.'

'I've heard a lot about you from my sister, I was just curious at why she calls you a girl and you call a her boy.' Sabo walked in and settled down next to the boy. He already found a liking in him. Merry is a very interesting specimen after all.

'A habit that I wouldn't mind not changing.' Merry folded the book and placed it next to a silver rapier. This caught Sabo's attention. The weapon was sheathed and connected to a belt that seemed too big for the boy. Its handle was decorated with glittering ruby coloured gems that seemed to glow.

'A beautiful weapon, why didn't you use it against us?' The blond teenager inquired. He imagined that the boy would've been rather suspicious of him and Ace when they first met, taking account to his perceptive and cautious personality. There was also the fact that Ace tried to fight him off immediately after he arrived.

'People who Luffy trust, I can trust too. I've learned it over the years.' Merry smiled at Sabo and the blondie could feel a truth in it, unlike his usual unreadable smiles. They stayed quiet for a moment but it was neither awkward nor suffocating.

'So, what is that notebook?' Sabo pointed to the leather object, a curious glint in his eyes. Merry caressed it gently, picked it up and gave it to Sabo.

'A note of my journey from North Blue to here. You could call it a journal or a diary and I don't really mind if you see it. You seem like a trustable young man, decisive and intelligent.' The young boy answer and Sabo could clearly hear the trust in his voice. This person was definitely someone Sabo could entrust his sister to. The fact was clear now. Though, there were still many mysteries to the boy, like how he always has the aura of regret and loneliness around him that only disappears when Luffy's around.

'Thank you.' Sabo said and bowed politely, his grip secured on the notebook. 'You should go to sleep now, Garp is going to come and bother us the first thing tomorrow morning.' He stood up, sweeping the dirt away from his tailcoat and left the room. Merry only nodded, a kind smile on his lips as he lay down and turned off the lights.

Luffy & Merry age 10 xXx Ace & Sabo age 13

'Sabo!' Dadan shouted from above, catching the blond boy's attention. He stopped reading the book Merry let him borrow and glanced at her with his 'what now?' look, the uninterested gleam obviously showing from his eyes.

Sabo turned to his right where the silver haired boy, who had just appeared out of know where a year ago, stood, and tugged Merry's apron. The boys hand paused from stirring the beef broth and nodded at his brother. 'Can you take over for me?' Sabo shrugged, as if saying 'sure', and stood in place of Merry, stirring the pot.

'Do it properly or no I'll make you train twice as hard, clear?' Merry turned back, his hands still untying the apron and he said with a cold smile. Sabo nodded, sweat starting to break on his skin. After one treacherous year of training with Merry and the method he brought from the world's best royal army, Garp's training felt like heaven. Every day, they had to do continuous sit ups, push ups and laps. After that, they were coached on sparring and the six techniques. Then, after a nutritious lunch made by Merry, they begin their training on Haki, and gratefully, he also trained with them along the way, doing every exercise with the three. Merry said if they what to be actual strong pirates, they should start training the basics now. He said that back when he was a trainee of the Harny Royal Army (the world's best army that was rumoured to be able to beat the Whitebeard crew), he had to train through death then back. Of course, Sabo believed that, if that was not true then how could he be able to out run Garp?

Merry ran upstairs and after a few minutes, came down with two beaten up Ace and Luffy. Ace, once again, had his hair dye into a bright shade of green while he was sleeping. Even though she was beaten, Luffy still had a mischievous grin on her lips, she had successfully pranked her brother the fourth time this week. Sabo felt pity for his little brother, Merry - it took him one year to get Ace to swallow his pride and agree to call him family - and now, he had to deal with Ace and Luffy every day. Sabo had finally figured out how to read Merry through the days, though Merry usually keeps a straight face, sometimes, a little happiness or worry will appear on it. Seriously though, Merry is like a housewife. He cooks, clean, knit, sow, fish and even builds. Sometimes, Sabo just wonders if Merry is a very human-like robot that came from the future or not.

Merry took over the cooking after making the two troublemakers do fifty sit-ups. He laid out the broth and called everyone to the room. It was their annual visit with the bandits and Merry had taken the precaution to bring enough bowls for everyone. Sabo wasn't even surprised at his readiness anymore.

'Dig in, everyone.' Merry announced as he slammed down that giant cauldron of beef stew. The people stared at the steam food and drooled at its alluring smell. They all thanked for the food before slurping it down with all their might. Ace and Luffy was stuck doing their punishment, staring at them eating from the corner of the room with starving eyes. The blond teenager laughed at his two siblings while slurping down his soup, the book now back in his hands.

'That was delicious!' Dogra said while patting his stomach. The bandits had managed to eat every single drop of the broth, leaving nothing behind for the two brother and sister. Luffy stared into the empty cauldron with a disappointing pout on her lips, Ace stood behind her, looking over her shoulder with the same depressed look.

'Your punishment time is over.' Merry walked in from the kitchen after he finished washing all the dishes. He was wiping away the drops of water with a piece of cloth and a devious smile was on his lips.

'Merry… food…' Luffy crawled over to her brother and grabbed onto his waist. He dragged her across the floor and came over to pick up the empty pot of broth. Ace, taking the chance while the silver haired boy was close to him, grabbed onto his little brother the same way as Luffy did and dangled over him like a bunch of stuffed dolls.

'We're hungry…' they moaned with the last of their strength. Sabo watched as Merry kicked them to the ground and announced, 'The broth's all out!' He could see the sadistic glint in the boy's eyes as he slammed the door to the kitchen, leaving Ace and Luffy to whine about their stomach, their faces looking like the last piece of meat in the world was eaten.

'Sabo… food…' The two siblings turned to the blondie, looking at him like he was a prey. Sabo paled visilbly, feeling like he was a trapped beast being hunted. So this was Merry's intention, blaming it all on me? He cursed himself for not realising this earlier and tried to evade, only for a hand to grab onto his wrist.

'Where are you going?' The two said in unison, a menacing aura emitting from their body. Sabo felt cold sweat falling down his back as he tried to free his hand from the grip. It was helpless. He watched as the other's eyes glowed with hunger. If this continues, the mostly likely possibility is that he'll get devoured.

'Merry! Help me! I get it, I get it! I didn't stir the soup well enough, right!?' Sabo called to the kitchen, turning to his last resolve of rescue.

The door creaked open and the said boy came out with two plates of curry rice. Luffy and Ace released Sabo from their grip and ran to the food, they inhaled it down like they hadn't eaten for days. Merry walked over to Sabo and said with a wicked grin, 'No, you stirred it well. But remember this Sabo-nii, people don't read when they eat, it's common courtesy.' A freezing chill ran down Sabo's spine and he looked away from his brother, his hand unconsciously scratching the back of his neck. Merry was an uptight person, especially about rules. This was basically the reason why he received the nick name 'Mother-hen'. But, fortunately, Merry is fine about outlaws; he even joined them a few times in their fights in the city.

'Okay! That's a wrap for today!' Merry announced after clapping his hands together. They had finished the afternoon practice with Haki and were all very tired. Sabo and Ace, who had thought the pain was over when they heard they had finished the basic of Observation Haki, is now going through hell trying to awaken their Armament Haki. Merry would spend his time coaching Luffy about her fighting techniques and devil fruits powers through sparring battles. The two would occasionally try to upgrade their Observation Haki so they could hear 'voices' – the feelings of all objects, alive or not – and Merry had nearly gotten a breakthrough.

'Luffy and I will go to bath first and you guys can do it after.' Merry announced as he walked off to their 'bath house'. It used to be a lake in the mountain but after the three boys fixed it up, it became their private bathroom. A wooden wall was built in the middle to separate the lake into two so that people could clean themselves in privacy and so that Luffy could bath with the boys too.

Merry took of his clothes and dipped himself into the crystal clear water, using it to wash away all the sweat and tiredness. Then, grabbing the towel hanging off the wall, he scrubbed himself thoroughly. His attention was suddenly caught when he heard his sister wade through the water. Luffy peered over the wall and said with a pout, 'I'm going to tell them, Merry.'

'Are you sure?' The boy dropped threw the towel at Luffy and she caught it with her tiny hand. She nodded determinedly. Merry could only smile at her unwavering eyes.

'They might not believe you, you know.' The boy said as he swam through the warm water, making his way to land. Luffy, getting the sign that he was going to change, let go off her grip on the wall and landed into the water with a splash. She began to scrub herself clean of dirt, thinking of how to tell her brothers the unbelievable story all the while.

Merry chuckled to himself as he pulled up his black shorts. He'll need some time alone to think about this… He wrapped on his usually white t-shirt, rolled up its sleeve and tucked it under his pants. He then picked up his violet vest and wrapped it around the shirt. Last but not least, the boy put on his beloved lavender bowler hat and walked off. He met up with Ace and Sabo back at the tree house and told one of them to go to the bath. Ace volunteered but became rather taken aback when Merry told him Luffy was still in the bath so Sabo had to go. Ace and Merry sat with each other awkwardly, none brave enough to break the silence. Ace was still angry at how he has to accept Merry as a sibling even though he does respect him. He had come to trust Merry over the course of the year at the countless times the silver haired boy had rescued them from trouble in the Kingdom and also with Garp. But of course, a prideful man like him would not admit that until he was forced to do so. He was also happy that Merry accepted him for who he was. Luffy had accidentally spilled the secret of Ace being Gol D. Roger's son and Merry shouted at Luffy for being careless. He didn't treat Ace differently or with discrimination, at all. Ace wanted to thank Merry but, of course, his pride has once again stopped him from doing so.

'Thank you.' Merry's voiced to Ace, waking him from his train of thoughts. Ace stared at the boy like he had just spoken in some alien language. Merry turned to him and said, again, with an actual smile, 'Thank you.'

'Thank me? For what?' Ace pointed to himself. Something must be wrong here, was this a prank? If so it was not funny. Shouldn't this boy be thanking Sabo for accepting him of Luffy for giving him a family or something? He shouldn't be thanking Ace.

'For keeping Luffy safe when I was not there.' Merry looked up at the sky like he was reminiscing some far away memory.

Ace looked around, frustrated. Then he turned to the boy next to him with an ascertained glare, 'Then I'll have to thank you too!'

'And what for?' Merry asked with a smile, his violet eyes glimmering in the moonlight. Ace bit his under lip hesitantly, 'For taking care of Luffy when I and Sabo weren't there! And also- And also for accepting me for who I am…' His voice trailed off. I said it! I thanked someone who was not Luffy or Sabo!

Seeing Ace's uncertain face, Merry let out a laugh. Luffy was right when he said Ace was tsundere! Hearing Merry's chuckle, Ace's head shot up and he glared at him, his eyes clearly saying 'how dare you laugh at me when I am thanking you?' Merry turned away to avoid the glare but continued laughing while saying, 'Luffy really did know the perfect word to describe you, Ace.'

'Yeah, she said you were tsundere.' Sabo said as he stepped into the scene. His usual blue t-shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his toned muscles and his tattered white tie hung around his neck. Ace grunted at the word, he swore he was going to kill Luffy when she comes back. Where was Luffy anyways, she doesn't usually stay that long in the shower. A rustle echoed from behind and the three brothers shot their head towards the source of the sound. It was Luffy, her chin length raven locks still dripping down onto the towel draped on her shoulder. She wore a lose tank top and sleeping pants.

'I want to tell you guys something, I think it's about time.' She said with a smile on her face. A smile that was not her usual one, a smile that seemed sad. The air around them tensed as they felt something big was going to happen.

'Me and Merry, we've lived this life before.' Luffy said a tinge of guilt in her voice.

'What do you mean?' Sabo approached his sister slowly, like she was a wild animal. Luffy walked over to Merry and sat down next to him. The boy held her hand reassuringly and spoke instead. 'We were given a chance to relive our lives and we agreed.'

'So why did you want to redo everything?' Ace asked; his voice devoid of his usual anger and naughtiness. He was serious.

'In the last life, I was a boy.' Luffy said aloud, a nostalgic tinge in her voice. 'I wished to be the Pirate King went on my adventure after bidding goodbye to you two. Sabo was shot down by the Tenryuubito that day two years ago and I made Ace promise to never die.' Sabo and Ace wanted to tell her to stop since she sounded so sad but it seemed they couldn't do so as the girl continued. 'I met my crew who had sacrificed for me a supported me in the toughest times. Like when you died, Ace.'

'I died?' The freckled boy interrupted.

'Yeah, at a war, protecting me. You were happy though, you found your home, your family. I was so sad.' Luffy continued, trying to stop her voice from shivering as she cried. 'Then I thought about my nakama and I found a reason to live again. After a few more adventures, I met Sabo. I realised he wasn't dead and I was so happy! It was the prime time of my life. I had my nakama, my family and the One Piece was just in my reach. Then it happened. The second great war after your death, I lost all my nakama, they sacrificed so I could live on. But I lost all hope and gave up on my dream. I left the Grand Line and floated to North Blue, where I met Merry.' The girl wiped away the tears and smiled at Merry. 'She was my motivation. She told me that I must live on in honour of my dead friends and told me that their sacrifices should not be wasted. And she told me her story. I wanted her to come with me and I wanted to show the bright side of the world she did not see. Merry didn't agree at first but I got her into it and after a few things, we became brothers and sisters. You know, Merry was a girl back then, she was very pretty.'

'He is still quite a charmer, after all.' Sabo said, nodding knowingly.

'Shut up!' Merry kicked the teenager and told Luffy to continue. 'We turned into a small crew of four and went on our adventures. I nearly became a Yonko! But I refused the offer. And that was when I lost two more of my crewmates and decided that I will not recruit anyone else. Merry and I wreaked havoc in the New World and I became the King of Pirates like I've always wished to. But something was wrong and a day before my death a demon appeared before me. He told me he would let me relive my life if I give him my most precious memories which were the names and faces of my nakama.' She hiccuped as tears rolled her cheeks.

'Come on, Lu, stop crying.' Sabo leaned closer and locked her in an embrace as she silently cried. Ace followed his example and the four siblings stayed like that until the girl's cries were reduced to slight hiccups. And they only let go when her smile had returned. Sabo retreated then turned to Merry. 'You'll have to tell your story too, you know.'

Merry retreated back, 'I don't want to tell that again. Ask Luffy, I already told him everything.' The blond, older brother glared at Merry and soon, Ace stared at him with the similar expression. Merry drooped, 'Oh, fine! Don't go crazy, okay? I was one of the World Nobles called the De Crix family. They sold me off because I was unneeded.'

'The De Crix… Aren't they one of the most ruthless Nobles in the world?' Sabo inquired. He had read about them in his books before. It was said that they used their authorities to burn down islands that didn't know they're name and abuse their fortune to make their way into being one of the most powerful royalties with the most land in their control. They also have reputation for selling and buying slaves and the most recognisable thing about them is their unique silver hair.

'Yeah, they sold me off into the Harny Royal Army when I was a new born; they hadn't even given me a name at that time.' Merry face scrunched in disgust. 'The prisoners gave me my name because while they were always depressed, I would always smile. At the age of four, I was sent to Area 51, the place where I was taught how to fight, survive and be who I am now. It was the training ground for children who have special combat abilities like amazing strength or agility. We were separated into groups who specialize in a specific aspect. I was put in the agility category where we were trained to exert our speed to no end. It was horrifying, we ran and ran until our muscles could no longer catch up, ones who get dropped behind are thrown away and left to die. It was truly the survival of the strongest…' He reminisced to those day when all he could remember doing was run. If you do not run at the right speed or in the required distance, you'll get stripped of your food. But compared to the other prisoners, he still had the privilege. Unlike them, he had a talent for the art of Stealth, the ability to retract your aura, making you temporarily 'invisible'.

'I had the upper hand compared to the other trainees, though. I had a talent that makes me special compared to them. Other than the unbelievable speed I attained and my ability to accelerate in a split second, I had perfected the art of Stealth. There was only one other person who was in the same situation as I was and it was Violet. We became comrades and were always together. Each day, we'd face the same trials, evading from wild animals and machineries that forces us to run at the top of our lungs, getting tortured in order to excel our Haki abilities, we faced it all together. We planned to escape this hell-like place and go live our own lives together, too. But on the day of the evasion, Violet sacrificed herself for me, getting caught while allowing me to escape. Unfortunately, her efforts had gone to waste. After I left Area 51, I had no other place to go to other than wander around on the island. With no weapon to fend myself and no food to eat, I was no different than a dead person.'

Ace, Sabo and Luffy cringed at the story. Using such horrid and brutal methods to train young children into the perfect human war machines, how could they be so cruel? Are all armies like that? Sabo bit his lips; he wanted Merry to stop, hearing the transparent sorrow in his voice. One who could retell such a horrible past in a way, they must've been strong at will. He reached out his palm to comfort the young boy but felt like the action was unneeded since Luffy had already held the boy's hand. Merry bit down his tears and continued, his voice getting raspy. 'I ran into a cave for shelter where I had found a glowing silver box. Curious of what was inside, I opened it to reveal two shiny objects, a fruit of dazzling sea blue that sparkled like the most qualified jewelries, lines of curvy waves decorated it and necklace made of pure silver in a shape of a heart.' He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled the shimmering object out, showing it to the brothers. 'I was starving, I didn't know what the fruit was but it was obviously edible so I ate it. By body melted and I turned into water, the horrid salty aftertaste of the fruit was still in my mouth and then did I realise I had ate a devil's fruit.'

'A devil's fruit? Which one?' Sabo leaned forward, his eyes full of curiosity. He had always been interested in the mysterious fruits. Merry raised his palm and turned it into a see through, sparkling liquid. The blonde's eyes widened, 'The forbidden fruit…' He muttered.

'Yes, the fruit of the sea. A cursed power, such a fruit.' Merry turned his hand back into normal form. He looked up to the sky, like looking at someone in haven. 'After I ate the fruit, I tried to infiltrate Area 51 in order to rescue my friend, Violet. But the moment I returned, the only thing I saw was her dead corpse strewn on the floor of our dorm room. At the sight, my emotions went wild, the waters in my control boiled at my wrath, cooking and boiling the insides of the residents of Area 51 to death.' His eyes gleamed with unattainable sorrow as he remembered the silent answers of the people around him, the empty voice that echoed through the hallways that only he could hear. It was a disaster. Though the same events did not happen in this life, the cursed powers of this fruit still massacred Area 51.

Sabo thought for a moment. Didn't Garp say that Merry was the sole survivor of the Reign of Death – a mystical supernatural event that kills all the people of an island without leaving a trace of any injuries and only leaves one survivor? Then, Sabo's eyes widened in realisation, wouldn't Merry be the cause of the Reign of Death?

'Don't worry; I've learned to control the Reign of Death now.' Merry said reassuringly as if he had read Sabo's thoughts. 'In the last life, I mourned on my friend's death, kept her hat safe-' He pointed to the bowler hat '-and trapped myself in the fortress of Area 51 for a decade before I met Luffy, who took me away from my sorrow. This weapon-' he indicated to the rapier '-was made especially for my Stealth ability. I stole it from the manager's office before I left with Luffy. From the day that we left, I promised that I would accompany him through his journey to become the Pirate King, even if it is the second time around.'

Luffy smiled at the story, it was how he and his sister had met in their past life and he loved it. But, now that Merry is a boy and she is a girl, wouldn't Merry be her brother? No, it feels weird calling Merry that. She'll just stick with calling Merry a girl.

Ace felt a sudden sympathy towards Merry, though he was sure that he'll never admit it. How he felt connected to the boy, how he thinks he understands his guilt and the relieve he felt when Luffy saved him from the darkness. Ace turned to Sabo, curious of what his reaction to the story was. Sabo smiled, a kind, nostalgic smile. And from that smile, Ace knew that his brother was feeling the same way. From that day on, they had finally accepted each other as brothers.

Merry & Luffy age12 xXx Ace & Sabo age 15

The night was dark and the cold breeze blew through the cramped hallways of the hut. The bandits were slumbering, spread across the wooden floor like a bunch of dead corpse - after all they were exhausted. Today was the annual visit day of the four 'monster' siblings and really, no one could say they looked forward to it. The children had raided the fridge clean of any trace of food and wreaked havoc across the house like some crazy circus show. The night was the only time the bandits could rest. Of course, none of them was aware of the quiet footsteps creaking on the floor when they thought of this statement.

Ace crept quietly, trying to be as unnoticed as possible, blending in with is surroundings and hiding his presence. He walked through the human filled hallway and entered the door at the end of the path with a tiny creak. On the floor, his two brothers, Merry and Sabo, were snoring away their tiredness. Ace jumped over Sabo skillfully before landing in front of his little brother with a light thud. Hoping that the boy hadn't realise he was there, Ace raised the glimmering dagger in the air and began it's descent onto Merry. A screech exploded from the room opposite to theirs, making Ace startle and change the trajectory of the descending knife. The blade slammed against the ground while the body of the silver haired boy twisted to a side, dodging it in a split second. Merry had grabbed onto his hat and ran to the other room where the scream came from and where Luffy was sleeping in. Sabo sat up from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. He looked at Ace then the knife dug into the ground where Merry should've been.

'Pfft, 739 attempts to assassinate Merry, 739 fails.' Sabo said aloud while chuckling. Ace had been attempting to 'land a hit' on Merry since Sabo said he couldn't possibly do it a year ago. It was true, Ace, no matter how he tried it, was never able to hit Merry. Sabo laughed at the thought of how his little words could affect Ace. His hand reached for the top hat and he slammed it onto his head. He turned to the source of the scream, ignoring Ace's fuming curses. 'Wasn't that Luffy's scream?'

Ace snapped out from his anger. 'That was, wasn't it?'

'What now?' Sabo and Ace stared at each other, like reading each other's minds; they already knew what they were talking about. What trouble has their precious, dopey little sister gotten into again?

Sabo kicked off his blanket and tumbled to the other room, Ace trotting behind. They entered the room to see Luffy sitting on her futon, an indescribable expression on her face. Merry sat next to her, comforting her lightly and asking her what happen all the while.

'I'm bleeding…' Luffy stated blankly. She looked as if she was going to die. It was true she had been rather weird today, not being as excited and not eating as much as she usually does.

Hearing the answer, Ace turned three shades paler and he rushed forward, pushing Merry and Sabo aside. He looked thoroughly through her body, checking for any injuries while asking, 'Did someone attack you? Are you hurt? Where are you bleeding?' He inquired frantically.

Luffy shook her head quietly as he held onto her shoulder. She took out her index finger and pointed to the space underneath her legs. Both Merry and Sabo paled their colours away as they stared at the puddle of velvet liquid. Ace only looked at the place she pointed to questioningly, asking How could someone bleed there?

Merry snapped out of his trance first and elbowed Sabo while ordering, 'Get Dadan!' The blonde nodded before scurrying off. It seems our little Luffy had gone off age.

OMAKE

ACE'S Q AND A

Ace: You're saying... Luffy's a girl.

Sabo: *nodded* uh huh.

Ace: And you found out because you saw her in the bath?

Sabo: Yes.

Ace: are you sure you weren't blinded by the fog or something and mistook him as a girl?*leans in closer towards Sabo*

Sabo: *breathes in deeply with annoyance* Yes, I'm sure I didn't mistook it.

Ace: And you didn't tell me?

Sabo: You sere bound to know anyways. *shrugged*

Ace: ...And you say i like Luffy?

Sabo: Yes, I'm positive.

Ace: *rubs his temples* ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE SHE'S A GIRL?

Sabo: Of course.

Ace: ...

Sabo: ...

Ace: ...

Sabo: ...

Ace: ARE YOU SURE!?*shouted suddenly*

Sabo: Yes. *rolled his eyes*

Ace: ...

Sabo: ...

Ace: YOU BASTARD! YOU SAW HER NAKED IN THE BATH!

Sabo: *sighs* And I said this how long ago?*face palms*

THIS IS IMPORTANT!

So how was it? Do you like Merry? TELL ME! TELL ME! TELL ME! thank you.

like always, give a fav, a follow. a review would temporarily bring me to heaven. And ...(drum roll please) I will be taking request for bonus chapters, OC included or not.

Sorry for the mistakes, LOVE YOU GUYS!

Peace, Knox's out!