Disclaimer: One piece belongs to Oda, not me.

When Luffy woke up the next morning, there was a doctor in the room telling him a few things about what to do and not do in the next few days and Sabo who was listening as well, since the blond was sure Luffy wasn't really paying attention. The raven-haired boy was shifting in the bed and seemed ready to bolt out of the room the minute the doctor had said he would be released today, but he had to wait for the check up to be sure.

Sitting in a little white room all day was extremely boring, Even if Sabo was with him to chat a bit. The doctor left and a nurse helped him out of the bed since his legs had enough rest and his ankle had turned out okay, he was admitted to go eat in the hospital's cafeteria instead of in his room. Sabo followed Luffy there and they went to get Luffy some food.

"What are you going to do now?" Sabo started. Luffy's eyebrow perked up, but aside from that, he didn't show any sign that he was listening.

"You helped Nami and Usopp get better, who are you going to help next? Zoro? Sanji? Vivi? Well, Vivi seems fine, but hey, we never know." Luffy looked at Sabo and sighed.

"I don't know. Sanji doesn't trust me yet and Zoro is very cut off from the others, he won't open up to me. All I know from his situation is what Kuina told us, I need to get it from him so he would let me help him." The nurse looked at Luffy from farther away with a small frown and went away to another patient.

"Well, you could still just hang out and try to get closer to them for now." Luffy smiled.

"Yeah, I will wait and see..." Luffy ate his breakfast and returned to his room. He tumbled a few times as he walked, but he was mostly okay, just a bit tired.

When he reached his room, an old woman was waiting ready to give the boy his check up.

"Okay boy, it's not gonna take long if you listen well so sit down and don't move. I am doctor Kureha." Luffy nodded and sat on the bed. Sabo was sitting on a chair near the window while doctor Kureha was doing multiple tests and chuckled when he saw Luffy's uncomfortable face, making the younger teen glare at him. When they had finished, the nurse who had helped Luffy out of his room said a few things to the doctor in a very hushed voice and the doctor nodded before returning to Luffy.

"Everything seems fine, your big brother is going to come fetch you later and you will be able to leave." Sabo frowned at the doctor. He knew she wasn't saying everything.

"You are saying my brother's tests results came out fine, so, what's wrong with him?" Ace asked the doctor Kureha as she had asked him to talk about Luffy a bit before they left.

"Physically, he is perfectly fine, but a nurse told me he has been speaking alone to himself. We can't say anything for sure, but it may be some kind of Post-traumatic stress disorder or most likely schizophrenia. We want to know for sure so we would like for him to come back Friday after his school day. We also want to know if he was like that before or if it was caused by the incident." Ace looked at the doctor and thought about what he would say for a few seconds.

"It's normal, my little brother... thinks out loud sometimes. It helps him think better or something like that, he says." The doctor nodded with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I just wanted to make sure the boy is alright." Ace shrugged.

"Luffy doesn't show any signs of depression, anxiety doesn't show any strange behaviors and doesn't have any episodes. He seems to be happier than he has ever been in his life these past few days actually." Ace said mechanically as he stared at the doctor straight in the eyes.

"He has been shot. I don't think it's the happiest few days of his life." The doctor deadpanned. The only way for the eldest brother to not be lying would be if Luffy's life sucked, she thought. She would be half right. Luffy didn't have the worst life ever, some faiths were way more brutal or sad, but Luffy had friends now and that made him happy.

"Well, did he seem sad?" Now that the doctor thought about it, Luffy had been smiling non-stop since he had woken up. He hadn't cried or screamed, not even once. Aside from the few hisses when the pain in his wound came back harshly, Luffy had been a ray of sunshine. The doctor's eyes widened a bit. Ace looked at the doctor who was still stuck in her thoughts for a few seconds before he turned around towards the door.

Ace smiled as he went to Luffy in his room. He was sitting on his bed, dangling his feet as he waited for Ace to come. Sabo had been looking through the window as he had come in.

"Lets go."

As they entered their house, Ace smacked the back of Luffy's head.

"-Ow! What was that for?" The boy was rubbing the back of his head when Ace sighed.

"Don't talk to Sabo in public idiot! The nurse was convinced you had a mental condition!" Luffy huffed and sat on the couch.

"I won't do it again... Happy?" Luffy crossed his arms as he said that and hissed before putting his arms back on his side.

"Try to not hurt yourself too."

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy came back to normal after that, well, as normal as it could be for the three trouble makers. Luffy was practicing his telekinesis from time to time when he wasn't at school, Ace was going to work and talking to Marco about the whole incident and Sabo followed the two boys everywhere they went. The rest of the week had been calm. Luffy was healing slowly, Zoro seemed more tired than before, Nami was absent Monday, Tuesday a Wednesday since she was moving into a new house and trying to mourn, Sanji had stopped being suspicious of Luffy for a few days since he was trying to get Nami to feel better, Usopp had changed school and joined theirs and Vivi was also trying to support Nami. It had been a hard task, but the orange haired teen looked better now. They had all agreed to go to Bellemere's funerals.

There, the air was heavy and everyone seemed sad. Luffy was wearing a black suit and was standing next to Nami. The girl was crying openly now. Looking at the coffin while it was slowly descending into the earth was painful. Luffy looked up at the priest who was talking next to the tombstone. He recognized the man. He was one of the priests who had tried to 'cure' Luffy a few years ago. They had tried to exorcise him and a few other things, he was pretty sure the priest wanted to kill him at some point but hadn't succeeded.

The raven-haired teen glanced back at the coffin quickly. He didn't want to be recognized here. Sabo seemed to have a similar reaction to the man, he was startled and looked back down. So Sabo had gone through that hell too...

Bellemere was standing in front of her two daughters and kneeled. Her eyes were full of tears like theirs, but she was wearing a smile.

"I am so happy." Bellemere tried to reach for the two girls but passed through. "You are both so strong and beautiful. You will be able to make your dreams come true, whatever it may be."

She stood and came in front of Luffy. "Watch over them for me, please. Thank you for everything." Luffy's chest tightened. Tears gathered in his eyes as he heard her words. He looked up at the woman who was smiling at her two daughters with so much love. Her image was slowly fading away until she disappeared completely.

"Promise."

From a bit farther away, Luffy heard a sound. In the cemetery, up the ahead was a cliff. From the cliff, you could see the ocean. The water was a deep navy blue and the Sky was light and devoid of clouds today. The air was a bit chill today, but nobody minded. The sound was actually a song. Looking out at the ocean was a tall man holding a violin. It was an old song that sailors used to sing a long time ago. The sound of the violin was slow and soft as if the violinist was trying to soothe everyone's mind for the funeral. There were only two small things that were wrong about this. Only Ace, Sabo and Luffy could hear the violin and the violinist's fingers, as Luffy saw from far away, were only bones.

Still, the song brought even more tears to the three boys who could hear it. It was filled with so much sadness and, at the same time, so much hope that they felt as if they were lost in the sea of their own thoughts.

The song ended and everyone started leaving. Nami and Nojiko stayed at the grave with their Uncle for a little while. The other teens from their little group of friends stayed by her side, except Luffy who followed Ace a bit farther away in the cemetery.

They walked until they came across two graves placed next to each other

Portgas D. Rouge

Gol D. Roger

They looked at the graves for a few minutes before continuing on their path until they came across the grave they had been looking for. Sabo looked at the grave with an expression devoid of emotions. Ace bit his lips. Luffy pulled his big brother into a hug.

Outlook Sabo

Ace walked closer to the grave. He pressed his hand against the cold stone and caressed it, passing his fingers over each letter forming Sabo's name.

"This is depressing, can you guys just stop? You don't have to rub it in!" Sabo said as he looked at the words carved in the stone in front of him. That was where his body rested and would rest for the rest of eternity.

It was hard for every spirit to be facing the hard reality that they were dead now. Especially the ones who were following someone else like a guardian angel, like Sabo and Kuina. Those were convinced that they still had something to achieve. They were certain That they couldn't leave a particular person alone. Those spirits were scared of leaving. They were scared of facing the reality too. They were trapped, but most of them ignored it and tried to do something. Help, watch over their important person to make sure he or she would stay safe.

"Sabo."

"What?"

"You're the idiot."

"Huh?" Sabo looked at his best friend with a confused expression.

"You keep saying you are the smart one, but you're the idiot. Did you really think I could ever forget you?" Ace's fingers stilled on the S of Sabo's name.

"I just wanted you to get back on your feet fast and move on," Sabo said as he looked down.

"Move on? You are not making this easy for me." He chuckled.

"Who is that?" Sanji said as he came closer to the two brothers. He had come there to visit his mother's grave, but Sora's and Sabo's grave were close. He had seen the two brothers and inspected the tombstone they were standing close too. Luffy looked up at the blond with a sad smile.

"Sabo is very nice. He is always there to help. He worries a lot all the time too." Sanji furrowed his brows a bit at Luffy's choice of verb tense. Wasn't Sabo dead?

"He's my best friend." Sabo looked startled. It wasn't the first time he heard Ace say that. They had been best friends since they first met, pretty much. But the way Ace had said it was filled with fondness and all the affection the young adult could muster. Sabo's chest suddenly felt warm, the opposite of the cold feeling he had when someone passed through him. It was nice.

Zoro and Usopp had joined with them, leaving Vivi to stay with Nami. They had each took a minute to go see the graves of the people dear to them. Kuina, Sora, Kaya, Sabo. Kuina was holding back her tears as she followed Zoro in the cemetery. They all said their goodbyes for the day and started to leave. Sanji threw one last glance at the two brothers and the grave. Whatever secret Luffy was hiding, this Sabo was probably involved. Ace too.

Ace and Luffy were walking home with a gloomy expression. Sabo wasn't any better too. They were all feeling heavy from their day and were glad it was coming to an end. As if.

As if.

The second the two brothers entered the house, they were welcomed with a strong hit on the head.

"Damn grandson! You should have told me sooner Luffy had been released from the hospital!" The two started rubbing their heads and Luffy hissed as he put a hand over his shoulder.

Ace stared at the old man. He was nothing like the man he had seen a little less than a week ago, He was back to the ruthless army vice-admiral who could only show his affection through punches and other forms of physical violence, his most famous move being his so-called fist of love. In reality, neither Ace nor Luffy really felt the 'love' infused in the punch, they only felt the bump that was growing on their heads.

"Why are you here shitty old geezer?" Ace barked as he entered the apartment and started loosening his black tie.

"Call me grampa you ungrateful child!" The youngest's eyes looked deep inside the eldest's. Monkey D. Garp, his monstrously strong grandfather seemed so fragile. His tone seemed fake and his punches had been softer than they had ever been. He was in pain, but not physical pain. His eyes seemed to be searching for any sign of acceptance from the two brothers. Above all, he was in deep sorrow.

Luffy wanted to forgive him. It would be easy to say those words. 'I forgive you'. It was only three short words that would soothe the man in front of him and let him leave with a mind at peace. However, it turned out to be so hard to actually put meaning in any of those three words. Saying I forgive you and actually forgiving Garp were two different things. He had to mean it if he wanted it to matter.

"Why did you come here now?" Luffy's words were filled with judgment and had made Ace, Sabo and Garp shiver at the coldness of his tone. His eyes were empty and his whole body was still. Garp gulped silently and looked down.

"I was worried."

"Like I can believe that. You don't 'worry'." Luffy's words cut like a knife inside Garp's chest. Ace had never seen his little brother be so cold and unloving towards anyone. Even when Dragon visited for a few hours three or four times a year, Luffy usually stayed locked in his room or didn't look at his father in the eyes. The older boy started believing Luffy had suffered more than he thought.

"I wanted to do something, I can assure you, but my son didn't want to hear any of it." The old man sat on a chair from the dining room and sighed.

Luffy glared at him in annoyance and anger. "Well?! Why didn't you?! You knew, why didn't you do anything?" The blond and the raven looked lost. The youngest brother hated the old man in front of them, despite the fact that he didn't hate anything or anyone. He had confessed once to Ace that he couldn't even hate his father for leaving him. Why? It was a question for another day. Luffy, right now, was looking at his grandfather with a look he had never seen him give to anyone. The message was clear.

You are dead to me.

Garp had come to them 5 times in total since Dragon had left and the brothers had started living in an apartment, counting a week prior and this very day. The three other times, Luffy hadn't talked at all to him, if he ever looked at him. Whereas he didn't look his father in the eyes in shame, he didn't look his grandfather in the eyes since he was so mad at him. He hated him.

"There isn't much I could've done."

"I told you. You said you believed me. You said you would help. Still, you didn't do anything." Sabo shook his head in disbelief.

"No... Did... Did Garp know about Luffy's ability?" Ace's eyes widened.

"Really? You knew?" Luffy's glare intensified

"Grampa... Why are they always suffering? Why are the people suffering? They cry and yell, but nobody tries to help them! Why don't people try to help them?" Garp looked up at the small boy perched on his shoulders.

"Who are you talking about?" Luffy pointed to a spirit on the other side of the road, but the older man couldn't see anything.

"The man over there looks lost, there's a hole in his head." Garp stopped walking.

"A hole in his head?"

He could only assume the worst. "Luffy, can you see people who are suffering all the time?" Luffy nodded as he glanced at the lost man on the other side of the road.

"Don't tell anyone about it." The boy nodded again before he stopped.

"What about Ace?" Garp shook his head.

"Not even Ace, he wouldn't understand." The little boy nodded sadly.

"I knew."

"You promised to do something about it, to help me, but you didn't!" Garp brought a hand to his face.

"How am I suppose to protect you from something I can't even see?" Luffy growled in frustration.

" I don't care about the poltergeist! It hurt back then but it doesn't hurt anymore! You didn't do anything about my father! When he left, I felt alone and scared, I thought you would help since you knew, but you left too! You didn't say anything! You just stood there while he was telling me I should've died! I thought you were going to help me!" Ace walked to his little brother without thinking and pulled him into his chest.

"I never expected anything from my father since he never promised me anything, but you promised I wouldn't have to go through this alone! Who cares about a few scratches left by a lost soul who can't do anything aside from suffering, being alone is far more painful than getting hurt!"

"I am sorry."

The room fell into complete silence. While Sabo was trying to form an accurate opinion of Garp, Ace and Luffy were trying to process the three small words Garp had pronounced. Never had they heard the man say those three words together in a sentence in that order. Never had they heard the man apologize. Three small words that were so easy to say, but meant nothing if there was no meaning behind each word. Three words that were so hard to say and mean it. Accept our wrong doing was really hard for a man as stubborn as Garp. But he did say it. He did mean it. And it mattered.

"I forgive you."

Chapter nine done!

Please, leave your thoughts on the story or the chapter, it helps me get motivated to write more!

I am not sure if all of the straw hats will be part of this fic, but if there is a character you would like for me to include, leave it in the comments!

Hope you enjoyed it as always,

See you next time!