Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.
Family Affairs
Episode 3 Part I
Slanting streaks of light swarmed peacefully through the bedroom curtains next morning, glowing over two quiescent bodies resting ungracefully between messy sheets. The atmosphere was quiet, only punctured by the slow breaths and snores of the two brothers deep asleep. The unusual occurrence would have lasted the entire day, were it not Saturday and the two brothers Ace and Luffy. However, a loud bang on the door managed to interrupt Ace's slumber after a few dozen tries. He rolled over sleepily, half-apathetic half-angry, and allowed his eyes to drift open more fully. The consistent knocks on the door were becoming louder by the second. Ace wondered if the person in question intended to break it open.
Blinking muzzily, eyes slowly adjusting to the scant light in the room, he became aware of his little brother's lumbering presence at his side, drooling over his pillow. An unexpected shade of pink rose to his cheeks and Ace fought to drive it away. He really had to stop indulging Luffy's childish behaviours for his own good. Ace got up with yielding effort, stumbling slightly to the side, and stepped out of the room. It didn't amaze him one bit that Luffy was still asleep like a rock. Usually it took a few rough shakes to wake him up, sometimes kicks.
"Please open up!" a muffled voice called beyond the front door. Ace scratched his head lazily and mumbled.
"I'm going, I'm going"
He reached the knob and after unlocking it with the respective keys, he opened the door. Makino-san stood in the narrow corridor of the condo looking restless. Her hair was quite shrivelled, she had obviously run there, and her breath was irregular.
"Ace-kun…I…sorry" she said wearily "Did I wake you two up?"
"No, no, Luffy is still asleep" Ace said politely "What's the matter Makino-san?"
"Shanks-san was just here"
"What?" he exclaimed perplexed. Still partially asleep, Ace could not grasp the importance of the situation. What could Shanks possibly want? Even if he had not showed up for weeks, he could wait until later to deliver a message. It was common sense that people slept until noon on Saturdays. Ace was positively convinced of that.
"Yes, but he left already. He just stopped by to deliver a message to jii-san-"
"To Wood Slap?" Ace interjected "Why didn't he visit Luffy? You know how he worships him" the words tasted bitterly in his mouth and Ace felt like slapping himself for saying them.
"I know Luffy-kun will be disappointed, but what Shanks-san came to say is more important!" Makino said worriedly.
"What then?" Ace asked impatiently.
"Garp-san arrives tonight. His Marines ship anchor's at sunset"
There was a silent pause while Ace digested the words. Garp. Garp. Garp. Garp. He could only stare with eyes widened as far as physically possible. The beast was back.
"W-what? Tonight? He- That old bastard!" Ace wrestled with his words now completely awake and alarmed. Makino's words had filled him with an injection of awareness and consequently, fury.
"I know it's sudden, that's why I ran here as fast as possible" Makino said, hands clasped together over her chest.
"Thanks Makino-san. I-I have to g-go, excuse me" Ace stuttered, somehow confused. Makino nodded with her head and disappeared behind the door once it was closed. Ace stood petrified in his spot for a few moments, still not quite himself. The fact that Garp was back so suddenly had stricken him with horror. What the hell did the he have in mind this time? Obviously, Ace did not expect his visit until the end of the month, or possibly the end of the year, but that was just how unpredictable the old man was. Ace had to tell Luffy.
He took long heavy steps towards the bedroom, mind brimming with hasty thoughts, and then walked inside. The sight nearly made him choke. Right there, on Ace's side of the bed, was Luffy cuddled cosily snuggling his face in Ace's pillow and shifting to a curled position. There was a blissful, goofy smile plastered all over his face under the wild messy dark locks of hair. This sort of event often made Ace pretty speechless, but Garp's matter seemed to be jabbing painfully inside his skull, obstructing any kind of forbidden pleasure to enter his consciousness. Ace kneeled beside Luffy and shook him severely.
"Oi Luffy wake up" Ace called. The youth did not flicker an eyelid.
"Oi Luffy! Wake the hell up!!"
"…" Luffy mumbled a few incoherent words and rolled over.
"You idiot, don't turn away!" Ace grabbed his brother's shoulder fiercely and turned him over, flinching surprisingly at the view once again. Luffy was wearing probably the most drunkenly pleased expression ever seen in that household or the even whole neighbourhood. Ace's stunned stare locked in the unexpected expression, mainly on the parted lips which were letting slip away a few sounds.
"Aa…" Ace swallowed an invisible amount of saliva as his mind raced uncontrollably. He didn't have it in him to hear the rest, but his body refused to follow his brain. Thoughts of Garp bursting in with crazy plans didn't seem to affect him anymore for as much as he held on to them. He started to feel all the blood in his body rushing to his head.
"Ace…"
He didn't move. It was as if he had been frozen in time. His heart was in his throat, hammering so hard he was amazed it could actually maintain that speed. He had to snap out of it and quick. Luffy's breath was beginning to linger dangerously close to his own. With overwhelming sobriety Ace punched Luffy viciously, pouring some of his overall frustration into the punch. He deserved it for being so blunt anyway.
"OUCH! OI BASTARD! That hurt!" Luffy growled from the other end of the futon.
"It hurts every morning you idiot!" Ace shouted back, his blush now fading away.
"You didn't have to punch so hard! Besides it's weekend! And …I was having a nice-" Luffy stopped himself midsentence. His sleepy eyes met Ace's and widened open suddenly, followed by a soft flush. Ace's brain denied the reaction. Denied denied denied.
"Listen to me!" he said sternly "Makino-san was just here, she told me gramps is back" Luffy's embarrassed expression changed instantly into one of terror. His eyes expanded to the quadruple size and he could not help but scream.
"EEEEEHHHHHHH?!"
"I know!" Ace replied "If you want you can stay at Usopp's tonight or something, I'll stay here with him"
"No way, he wouldn't let me! Besides I'm not leaving you here with gramps!" Luffy retorted angrily "You'll be killed!"
"Don't overact idiot" Ace sighed.
"But-"
"He will arrive in the evening, so I suppose he is coming for diner and staying overnight"
"I don't him to sleep in my room again. He snores too loud" Luffy complained with a pout.
"You snore loud too!"
"Do not!"
"Do so!"
"Do not!"
"Oi-"
Grumbling stomachs filled the air with starving sounds making both brothers grimace.
"Foooood…" Luffy mumbled before collapsing onto the futon feebly.
"Right. We'll discuss this later then, let's go" Ace said getting up from his kneeled position.
"Eh? Go where?" Luffy's voice queried slowly.
"Out to eat"
"Really?" the fumbling of blankets and sheets announced Luffy's departure from the comfy bed "To Sanji's?"
"Sure, why not?" Ace replied with a smile. Luffy nodded happily and ran out of the bedroom to change. Garp's arrival was temporarily forgotten.
"Oi, oi, you two eat like pigs you know?" Sanji said disapprovingly while placing another two bowls of rice in the messy table. Plates were pilling up everywhere and the white tablecloth was barely visible among all the crumbs, stains and whatnot.
"This is your breakfast right?"
"Iehmutizalredytym-"
"Don't talk with your mouth fool stupid!" Sanji snapped, slapping Luffy in the head. The latter shrugged and swallowed the enormous amount of food in his mouth.
"I was saying that it's already lunch time, so we skipped breakfast" Luffy explained happily. A vein throbbed in Sanji's forehead.
"Then wake up earlier asshole!"
"But it's Saturday…"
"Don't bother to pout!"
"Oi Sanji you asshole come over here!" Patty's voice called from the kitchen. The blond haired young man muttered a few curses and left Ace and Luffy's table angrily.
"I'm glad I came, I'm almost full" Luffy grinned. He then stretched his arm over to a plate of steak a few inches ahead; however, a menacing fork stopped him from retrieving the delicious looking meat halfway.
"Mine" Ace stated bluntly. Luffy glared.
"What? You've already eaten five, that's obviously mine!"
"You've eaten all the katsudon!"
"Of course I did. I need meat!" Luffy roared angrily.
"Wanna fight for it?!"
"Bring it on!"
"Oi, oi, oi what are you two doing?" Sanji hissed angrily "I leave you two alone with food and this is what happens?"
"It's his fault!"
"It's his fault!"
Both brothers pointed at each other accusingly and exchanged defying looks.
"Just pay and get your asses out of here before the shitty old man comes to nag about all the noise" the blond said curtly.
Luffy and Ace turned their heads with a loud "hmph". As usual, it was impossible not to come to a predicament when it came to delicious food. It was in their blood, just like their tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate times. Though, as they went their separate ways, it was in neither of their minds how imprudent it was to have one of their stupid fights the day Garp was arriving. The tension such presence required would double with their own childish resentment towards each other, but that concern was the last thing they could think about.
Ace returned home frustrated and bitchy, though glad that he could have the whole house for himself that afternoon. He would truly appreciate the peace and silence before the storm. Of course, he could have wandered very far from the spot, but knowing how uncivil and unexpected Garp could be, hanging around the house a couple of hours earlier was not a bad idea itself. It would save a lot of rambling and crappy speeches from the geezer and Ace really didn't have enough countenance if such were to happen. Moreover, he could never be too sure of Shanks's information since he did not spoke with the red-haired man himself.
As for Luffy, his feet led him unconsciously to Usopp's place, where he could vent his frustrations shooting beams at zombies with all the might in the world.
"Gaming all day won't change anything Luffy, nor will it make Garp go away" Nami said nonchalantly for the hundredth time. She sat next to Vivi on the sofa sipping tea. The two girls had come with the intent to help the boys with homework, but the latter were not the least bit interested. Killing zombie warriors seemed to be much more entertaining and Luffy was unusually eager to forget everything else. Not that he cared about half the problems the normal human being worried about.
"Who cares about that old man!" he muttered angrily, pressing the console buttons furiously "No way! Look at the size of that one! Are you serious?!"
"It's a level 77 idiot! Of course it's freaking big!" Usopp replied half-earnestly half-astonished.
Nami tightened her grip on the tea cup and felt a menacing vein begin to throb in her head. She wondered how she could cope with such kind of stupidity. Well, not exactly stupidity, but Luffy's simplicity mixed with his naivety really got on her nerves sometimes. She had known him since middle school and he hadn't changed a bit, not even in his demeanour towards his brother. He still clung to his family pillar stone like a young kid who never lets go. Though, it must be said, the older D. did not make things difficult either and enjoyed spoiling his little brother as the only family he had left in the rest world. It was a simple, whim-based dynamic that would not so quickly crumble to pieces. In fact, it just kept growing more and more intertwined and only those involved would be able to measure the affections in question.
Vivi, who sat silently beside Nami, noticed her troubled expression and poured more tea into her cup.
"Don't let them bother you Nami-chan, the game will end soon anyway" Vivi said calmly with a complacent smile. The other girl shook her head disapprovingly and sighed.
"Sorry, but it pisses me off. That little rascal is hiding something from me. I know it"
"Eh? Luffy-kun is?" Vivi queried mildly interested.
"Yes" Nami replied, and at her signal the two girls leaned back and lowered their voices so as not to be heard "You see, I think that it has something to do with that crazy family of his. He doesn't say anything so I can't be sure, and even when he told me everything was all right it just left me more worried. I'm really sick of it"
"You are a good friend Nami-chan" Vivi said nicely.
"I'm not so sure anymore"
"I think Luffy-kun and Ace get along fine. It must be something else"
Nami nodded with a heavy sigh though not resolute in dropping the subject yet.
"Well, their grandfather is coming today, so perhaps that is probably just it"
"Yes, but how come is it always so terrible?"
Vivi hadn't been around sufficient time to understand the complexity of Luffy's family nor their relationships. So it came to Nami to explain it as subtly and briefly as possible, for she did not have the power to decide who was allowed to prod into other people's business. In general, she mentioned how the two boys dreaded their grandfather from past childhood experiences and how the latter, until today, still did not end up in his grandsons' good side accounting for his extreme personality. As it was, the old man kept the habit of taking them in risky trips with the design of supposedly prepare them for their marine training.
"So they are pursuing a marine career like Garp-san?" Vivi asked surprised.
"Not at all. Nojiko told me Ace plans to do something very different and as for Luffy… well, who knows what goes on in that head of his besides beams and takoyaki"
The two girls giggled at the remark but soon recovered their more serious posture.
"Your sister knows a lot about Ace-san then" Vivi said somewhat curiously.
"You could say that, but she just shares the same class as him, that's all" Nami replied.
"Really? Then Robin-senpai shares it too" Vivi reasoned chirpily.
"Yeah of course, by the way you know that guy…" the two girls quickly changed topic to other less interesting gossip and the evening flew away in this manner, girls chatting and boys playing games.
It was about half an hour since Nami and Vivi's departure that things got a little out of hand for Luffy though. The phone in Usopp's house began ringing nonstop and the boy saw himself obliged to answer.
"Don't you dare start it without me! I'll be back in a second" Usopp threatened and then he vanished from sight.
Luffy mumbled a few yeahs and stretched his arms, which had been constricted in the same position for hours. He took a deep breath and itches of worry swarmed in, making him recall Ace. Remnants of their previous argument revealed themselves in his brain and Luffy could not but sigh gloomily again. He wondered what his older brother could be doing at the moment. The thought of Ace waiting alone for Garp to ambush him triggered a squeeze in Luffy's chest and the urge to go back to his brother became overwhelming. Maybe it was time to go home.
He got ready to stand up but was interrupted halfway by Usopp who stood up at the doorframe of the room quite numb.
"What's up? Your face looks funny" Luffy said. A strange uncomfortable silence followed and soon Usopp replied.
"It was your old man"
Luffy paled at those words.
"He said he wants you home, right now" he added. Luffy gulped whatever amount of surprise had assembled in his throat and Usopp mimicked.
"He is going to kill me. I didn't know it was this late… what about Ace?"
"Dunno. I didn't hear a sound from the other end of the line apart from ossan's voice"
"Aah! Shit. I got to go!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Run you idiot!" Usopp yelled as the other put on his shoes quickly and sprinted to the front door.
"We'll finish that game some other time!" Luffy managed to say from the small lane in front of Usopp's house.
"Don't worry about it stupid! Just stay alive until Monday!"
"I'll do my best!"
Luffy ran as if his life depended on it, as if he was chasing after his soul. The damned geezer was so uptight with schedules and crap that Luffy did not even want to think about the future consequences. He only wished Ace was well and not sent to some faraway planet by now.
AN: Sorry I had to split this Garp-episode in two, but it would just become absurdly big and I didn't want too much development in a single chapter. I am pleased with "just enough". Aside from this, thank you so much for the lovely reviews, alerts and favourites. They undoubtedly keep me going, though I'm too stubborn to continue either way. Hehe. Please keep being the wonderful readers you are, thank you very much!