Disclaimer: I do not own One piece.

"Papa..."

"Luffy, go back to sleep."

But Papa, there's something in my closet."

Dragon sighed. "Ace."

Ace looked up from his homework to look at Dragon who was in the sofa, reading a book with his reading glasses on. The man didn't bother to look up. "Yes sir?"

"Go put your brother to sleep. It's an order." Ace stood and took the four year old in his arm before going upstairs to Luffy's room. The little boy gripped his big brother's shirt tightly, he was trembling a little.

When they entered, Ace shivered, but shrugged. Luffy's water was spilled on the floor. "Did you do that? I'll have to clean it up." He sat the boy on the bed and went to the bathroom to get a towel, but the younger boy followed him and latched himself to the oldest's shirt.

Ace giggled. "It's okay, I was just in the room right next to you, you shouldn't worry like that!" He took the towel and put on his shoulder. Luffy lifted his arms in the air, gesturing him to pick him up. Ace smiled and took his brother in his arms.

"Don't worry, big brother Ace is going to take care of the closet monster." He went back in the room with Luffy curled up in his arms. The moment he set the boy down, Luffy started trembling again. Ace cleaned the water that had been accidentally spilled and went to the closet. Luffy immediately took cover under his big blanket and Ace chuckled softly at the sight.

He opened the closet to see nothing in it and closed it back. "See, there's nothing there." He turned around to look at Luffy, but the boy was horror struck as he had seen a man who seemed to have hanged himself in the closet. He started crying in his sheets.

Ace rushed to his side and pulled him in a hug. "Shhh... It's okay... There's nothing there. We will put a chair in front of it okay? Just to be sure. It will be locked inside." Luffy nodded, his face still hidden in his brother's shoulder.

"Shhhh... It's okay." Ace put Luffy back under the covers and put a chair in front of the closet door in a way that you couldn't open it from inside the closet. Luffy gave him small smile before falling asleep.

Ace sighed a he got down the stairs.

"Portgas. Go wash the dishes. It's been on the table since dinner-time."

"Yes sir."

"I will be leaving early tomorrow, you will take Luffy to his kindergarten before heading to school. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Ace then walked to the table and started doing the dishes as he was asked.

"You should have told me sooner." Ace said as cursed himself inwardly. Luffy sighed. "I didn't know you would believe me so easily, if I tell other people, they think I'm nuts or they leave."

"Well, they don't know you. I do and I would never leave." Ace took his brother into a hug, like he used to do to calm him down when the youngest was scared. Thinking back, Luffy had often been really scared for no apparent reason. Sometimes, they were walking down the street and Luffy would just yelp in surprise and hide behind Ace. He had never really understood why until today.

"Do you see them often? Do they talk to you?" Luffy nodded.

"Some ghosts just stay around a person place. Some are just really angry. Some just wander around like they are searching for something. Some are nice, but not all of them." Luffy said softly as he gripped the fabric of Ace's shirt tighter.

"Alright. We will speak about that again after dinner. I need to go to the kitchen. Come and find me if you need any help in your homework." Luffy nodded and let go of the shirt as Ace left the room, giving him one last smile and shut the door. Luffy went to sit at his desk and took his math homework out to start.

"You shouldn't ask Ace's help for your homework, you should ask me, Ace is a complete idiot." Luffy turned to his right only to see a blond sitting at his window's side with a large grin. He wore a blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a cravat and a pair of light blue cyan shorts held up by a belt with an elaborate flower-design buckle. The boy looked a bit older than him, around fifteen or sixteen maybe. He seemed to have suffered a few injuries, he had a burn mark over his left eye that seemed healed mostly, a cut on his lip, but the one that was the most visible was the stab wound in his lower abdomen which covered in blood that part of his white dress shirt. Luffy smiled at the boy, completely used to his peculiar look as he had seen it multiple times when the blond spirit came over.

Luffy giggled. "He is not an idiot! You shouldn't talk like that about my brother, he is the only one who will believe me!" He said in an annoyed tone.

The blond shrugged. "That doesn't change the fact that he is an idiot." Luffy chuckled and went back to his homework.

"You know Ace is really cool, he worries all the time, but he is still better than everyone at everything. He has always been there for me."

"Do you say that to him? Does he know you think like that?" The blond asked as he sat on Luffy's bed.

"Probably, Ace knows everything! He told me that once. Well, he was exaggerating, but he knows a lot!" The blond rolled his eyes.

They went back to the youngest's work and finished. Ace came back in the room. He shivered a bit as he did, but not enough to disturb him. "Luffy, dinner is ready!" The boy perked up with a smile and waved to the blond before running down the stairs. The blond sighted with a smile before disappearing out of thin air.

Ace looked at his little brother in contemplation and worry. If you had asked Ace twelve years ago if he wanted to be able to see the dead, he would probably have said yes. When Ace was seven, his father died. His mother had died giving birth to him. Since Roger had succumbed to his illness, Ace had lived with the Monkey family, Dragon being his godfather. Sure, he enjoyed his stay with them, but Dragon could be harsh, not that he would complain. About four years ago, him and Luffy's mother had started travelling a lot for work and their grandfather visited a lot at first, when Ace was still a minor, until Ace turned eighteen and could take care of Luffy on his own. Still, Dragon and Garp sent more than enough money for them to be comfortable and it seemed to satisfy both raven-haired boys.

Some people were in worst conditions. A lot of them.

"So... You spoke about a girl named Kaya today, who is- I mean, who was she?" Luffy started playing with his food nervously. It was weird, nobody ever asked him questions about the spirits and ghosts he would encounter. His brother had always been there to protect him against the scary ones though, even if he didn't know.

"She was in my class, at my school. She was close to a boy named Usopp, I think they were neighbors, but she died of an illness about two months ago. I was told Usopp and his father went travelling after that since he was shaken by it. I never met Usopp since he doesn't come to my school, but Kaya is always talking about him. He seems nice." Luffy said as his eyes returned to his plate.

"Why is she still here?" Luffy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean isn't there 'another side'? Like, somewhere they go to rest in peace?" Luffy's eyes narrowed a bit as he looked at his brother.

"I- I mean, in the movies and books, when a spirit is still on earth, it's because it can't go rest because something is holding them back." Luffy dropped his glare.

"Well, you are right about that, they all have something that keeps them here. Kaya had something she had to say to Usopp. She didn't tell me yet though."

"S-So... You want to help the spirits cross to the other side?" Ace stammered a bit as he spoke and Luffy nodded.

Ace sighed. Obviously, the oldest brother wasn't scared. He had never been scared of anything paranormal. He was mostly worried. His eyes were filled with that particular emotion as he gazed at the youngest, which didn't go unnoticed by the youngest and the blond who had decided to sit on the counter.

"Your brother worries a lot." The blond said in a soft tone. Luffy nodded again.

"Ace. Why are you so worried, nothing bad is going to happen to me." Ace tensed. He was about to think back to a night a few years ago, but pulled himself out of those thoughts as he straightened up to look at his brother.

"Of course I am going to worry! Luffy, this is something you kept for yourself so long... I should've noticed something like that was bothering you." The blond on the counter started to laugh.

"Seriously! He is worst than ever! Ace suffers from a major brother-complex." Luffy rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least you are having fun..." Luffy grumbled.

"What?" Ace asked as he couldn't understand how Luffy thought he was having fun.

"Nothing. Hey, Ace, what's a brother-complex?" The blond burst-out laughing as Ace frowned.

"Where did that come from?" Luffy started giggling to, it was funny to see Ace completely oblivious to the blond who was grinning wildly, sitting on the counter behind his big brother.

Soon, Ace abandoned the idea of ever understanding anything. He took the plates to the sink and started washing dishes. Luffy went to sit on the counter right beside the blond and they both snickered.

"Come on Ace, come play with me!" Luffy said as he squirmed a bit making the latter sigh and the blond jump off the counter to take a good look at the eldest in the room.

"You know, Ace changed a lot." Luffy frowned and looked at the blond with a questioned look.

"Since when?" Ace turned around.

"Are you asking me a question?" Ace said as he looked at his little brother, but his gaze wasn't even on Ace.

"No, not talking to you, you can resume your boring activity." Luffy snickered.

"I mean, he changed a lot since when we used to hang out." Luffy jumped off the counter in surprise.

"What?!" Luffy's sudden shout made Ace drop the plate in his hands.

"Luffy, get out of the kitchen!" Ace said almost harshly as he started picking up the shattered pieces.

"Well, back before that," The blond pointed to his stab wound. "Me and Ace were best friends!" Luffy's eyes widened.

"GOSH! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE!" The blond scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, I told you now." Luffy's eyes suddenly widened.

"Hey... You never told me your name! Say it now!" The blond chuckled.

"This isn't a really polite way to ask for someone's name..."

"Okay, say it now please!" The blond sighed. No way he was going to be able to teach the boy some manners any time soon.

"My name is Sabo." Luffy smirked and ran back to the kitchen as Sabo's eyes widened and followed behind him.

"Hey Ace." The older brother turned around as he put the broken plates in the garbage and took a glass from the sink.

"Do you know Sabo?" Ace froze. He set the glass back in the sink before he started staring at Luffy. The blond entered the room at that moment, sending a shiver through both brother's spine.

"You can see Sabo?"

End of chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it as well!

Chapter one was pretty short, so I felt like updating early.