My Big Bro, Now My Little Bro

Heeeeeey. How long has it been? Nearly a year now, huh. Wow.

I've run out of excuses. lol

This one's a super short warm up ultra boring confusing i-have-no-idea-what-this-means this-is-dragging-on-and-on chapter so yup. Don't get your hopes up.

Starting from next chap, I'm planning to fasten things up a bit and also make it longer so I guess look forward...? I'm not certain with the 'look forward' part. Haha.

Luffy's OOC but that's part of the story and all so don't pay close attention to it. I mean, do look at it closely but...blah can't find the right description...oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I do not own the cover art.

Holidays finally. I'll try to upload a few chaps now and then, but no promises.

5. He's Back

"You! What are you doing here?" yelled Luffy. Ace flinched at the sudden volume up. Not trying to put any burden on his injuries, he turned his head ever so slightly to see who Luffy was talking to and what….a polar bear wearing a suit he saw.

"Hey, Luffy, what's the point of talking to a bear?" He knew Luffy was pretty idiotic, but seriously? This was quite extreme. On the other hand, the bear was just staring back at them with its mouth wide open with shock.

"What are you doing here?" asked Luffy once more.

"St…Straw hat! What are you-"

"Oi, Bepo. Who are you talking to?" Bepo was cut off once again by a rather cold voice of a man that came from behind a slightly opened door with the sign 'Staff Only'.

"It's him, Captain! Straw hat!" answered Bepo.

"…What kind of joke is that?" The man's footsteps neared towards them. "If you have nothing to do, go outside and…"

Trafalgar Law froze at his spot, eye to eye with the teen that he had healed only five or so months ago. He didn't expect him to be hanging out so causally so soon. Awkward silence followed as the two captains were locked on each other. Well, meeting Luffy here was surely a big surprise for Law, but what he was carrying in his arms was on a whole different level.

"No way…" he murmured, "Straw hat. Who are you…I mean what are you carrying?"

"…Damn," Luffy muttered under his breath. Without giving Law any chance to carry on, Luffy walked over to him and pushed Ace into Law.

"My little brother's severely injured. Please heal him," he whispered. Law looked down at the two in silence.

"Yeah. Okay," he said before walking into another room, which was apparently the surgery room. Luffy followed and laid a very confused Ace, who had kept on missing the chance to ask questions, down on the bed. Ace looked up at him in panic.

"Luffy? I don't get it. How come there's a talking bear? Do you know that guy? What's going on?"

"It's all fine, Ace! You just concentrate on getting healed first, okay?" Luffy hid all his inner emotions and gave the little one his huge trademark beam. Meanwhile, Law inserted the sleeping drug.

"But…but…"

After ten or so seconds Ace hit the sack. Luffy let out a big sigh. I screwed up…

"So" demanded Law his eyes glued to his patient as he undid the bandages. Luffy scratched his head nervously. He had no idea where to start from.

"Well…I don't really know. He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere five months ago…with no memory of the past. He couldn't even remember me! I wasn't going to let him go again, you know? I wasn't going to let him die again. So I acted as the big brother this time. I tried hard not to let him know that he's supposed to be dead. But then we just had to meet Akainu as soon as we sail out. I think he found out about Ace, because he literally tried to kill Ace. Jinbei stayed behind to buy some time for me to escape with Ace. I don't know what happened to him since then. Now I'm here with more witnesses. And Ace seems so notice something's wrong. I'm really at loss now. I don't know what I should do… At this rate, Akainu's going to go after us and the whole world will know Ace's alive. I screwed up…" Luffy trailed off, digging his face into his palms.

Bepo, who was helping Law, gaped in surprise. He leaned towards Law.

"Captain, is that really Straw Hat? He's totally different," he whispered.

"Shut up, Bepo. I'm concentrating."

"Sorry…."

Only sounds of clanking metal tools and beeps from Ace's heart rang through the room. Luffy looked at his brother, covered in blood and burns.

"How is he? He's going to be okay, right?" he cautiously asked.

"Whoever bandaged him did a horrible job at it. Was it you?" Law asked back, never taking his eyes off Ace the entire time.

"Shishishi, yeah. I was in a hurry. That was the best I could do."

"He'll be alright. The one who needs treatment is you, Straw Hat. Did something happen to your head? You know, I can't heal mental problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Your outgoing personality and way of thinking changed 180 degrees. Since when were you so negative?"

"Oh…that…" Luffy looked around as if he was trying to find some good excuse from the wall, "…I can't help it, you know? I'm the big brother after all."

"That's something, coming from you," Law commented sarcastically. He paused from his work and finally gave a quick glance at Luffy. From the eyes of the young doctor, it was Luffy who was scarred all over. Sure, Ace had near fatal injuries, but at least they were one's that could be healed. The ones Luffy had were going to go on forever. Before he could even get over his big brother's death, another one appeared before his eyes. And that meant tremendous responsibility for Luffy, especially in such a short time after the war. Death and secrets. If Law was correct, Luffy had been acting as a big brother, with the truth hidden for nearly half a year now. Oppressing all his true feelings, acting as a reliable big brother, but not able to go back as the playful little brother he wanted to return to. Even that vivacious Straw Hat Luffy was bound to break.

"About this little Ace of yours, he's obviously going to drag trouble with him wherever he goes. It's only natural for him to. Don't expect to get through his without a damn big battle. So you better get hold of yourself or else you'll really lose him this time. Don't be afraid of the future. Like how you were back then. You don't have to overdo it like right now. Just get a proper grip."

I glanced back at Luffy once more. Sullen, dead fish eyes.

…Or maybe it's too late for you to turn back.

In the Middle of the Sea

"Heeeeeey, Maaaarrrrcccoooooo~!"

"What, yoi."

"Why did we have to leave so fast? It was so nice and lively there. I even saw a talking polar bear there. I wanted to have chat with him."

"…Read it and announce it to the rest, yoi."

"Hmm? What's this? A letter? From who?"

"Rayleigh. I'm going to check around so don't do anything rash, okay, yoi?"

Without listening for a reply, Marco flew out into the air. He needed time to think.

"Dear Marco and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates,

Greetings all.

You have my deepest condolences.

Your captain was truly a great man with honor that can't be expressed in words.

We will have to reminisce face to face some day.

Please feel free to visit me sometime.

However, this letter cannot be too long, I'm afraid, and I shall get to my point immediately.

Ace is back.

As a 10 year old with no memories of his past, that is.

I am still searching on how something extraordinary like this could happen.

Quite obviously, this little Ace will be in danger sooner or later.

So I have sent Ace along with Luffy and Jinbei in search for you, where I think it would be the safest place for the time being.

I have no clue when this letter will reach you, even though I'll be using express delivery service.

Once you get a hold of this letter, it would be great if you search for the three as well.

That is all.

Yours sincerely,

Silvers Rayleigh. "

Now what was he supposed to do after reading that? Ace alive? No way. Then again, Rayleigh wouldn't lie on such a serious subject like that. How were they supposed to find this group of three people on this vast sea? Marco sighed. Maybe he should have thought some more on the matter on ground instead of making haste and heading out to god-knows-where. What if they had been on the very same island? Well, how high are the chances of that. Marco shook it off.

Suddenly, something caught his eyes. He squinted slightly to get a better view on the object drifting in the water. A huge, bloody fish, it was. It had clothes on. Now that's a bit odd. Marco flew down and hovered just a few meters above.

"…Jinbei?"

"So what's the plan, Straw Hat?"

"I'm going to look for the Whitebeard Pirates. It's probably safe there."

"Is that so? Well since Bepo and I are traveling separately from the rest of the crew and have plenty of time to kill, we could give you a hand with that."

"Huh? Really?" Luffy exclaimed.

"For real, Captain?" cried Bepo at the same time.

"Yes. It's not a problem for you, right?"

"Na~ Thanks Tra-guy! I really owe you a lot!"

"You can payback later in the future," said Law, giving a little smirk. "We'll have to move out tonight, then."

"Wait, but Ace-"

"Ace will die if he stays here. And so will you and I. Akainu's coming towards this island."

Ah~ That is really a terrible chapter. I'm gonna sleep. Bye bye.