Chapter Five

Normal POV

…

The smell of warm meat stew assaulted Ace's senses making him slowly wake up from his sleep. The ceiling made of dried leaves and branches greeted his sight which made him rub his eyes and blink. He knew for a fact that this place was unfamiliar but the coziness and the warmth made him stop from assuming that he was kidnapped. On his left side were his brothers who were mostly covered in leaves and were blanketed by warm looking animal pelts. It seems that someone was kind enough to treat everyone.

It took him long to remember what happened before he blacked out. Almost instantly, he jumped off the bed filled of animal pelts and looked around for the perpetrator. But the one he was looking for was comfortably sitting next to the fire where a boiling pot of food. He growled and got the teen's attention. Brown uninterested eyes met the fiery ones.

"You are awake… that is good… but please don't make a wreck inside this house… this is my father's home…" Ace couldn't understand him. His face looked like was made not to make any expression. It was obvious he was pleading not to cause trouble but there was nothing in his expression and his eyes.

"What did you do to my brothers?!" before the teen answered, he took a giant bowl made of clay and filled it up with the food that came from the boiling pot. Ace lifted his brow in question to the other's action.

"…you misunderstood me… I helped them… but they are too heavy so I dragged them all back here… I am too weak to fight or carry them…" guilt suddenly stabbed the Fire Fist's chest when he realized what he just did. He burst in anger without even thinking that the teen was helping his brothers.

"I—I'm so so—"

"No need to apologize… you simply acted in impulse upon seeing your brothers in harms-way… I understand… you love them so I forgive you…" his voice sounded like he was dying but Ace felt something strange from hearing him speak. It was like… he was so lonely. He wouldn't wonder about it since he is alone in this strange island.

"Eat… eat because the ingredients here aren't found anywhere else in this world… eat so you get your energy back…" a bowl was shoved into Ace's hand. He noticed the burn marks under the loose bandages and frowned from guilt. Why isn't he even getting angry at him? He did something bad right? So why…

"Aren't you angry..? I almost killed you…" the teen just returned his attention to the pot and watched the fire crackle like it was more interesting that anything. Ace silently waited for the answer while ignoring the grumbling of his own stomach.

"…as I said… I forgive you because you know how to love… I would've left you do die if you didn't…" the teen struggled to pull the pot out of the fire like it was so heavy. Ace stood up and moved the pot for him in ease. So the guy didn't lie about him being weak.

"You really are a weakling huh? Sorry for trying to kill you." the teen blinked and managed to crack a small smile that made Ace skip a beat. He felt flustered just from a simple action. It was just sad that it disappeared instantly and went back to his stiff face.

"…it's fine…" Ace sat next to the silent teen and started eating the food that was offered to him. Though it had very ominous color violet and weirdly cut ingredients that he couldn't explain, it was really good and crunchy that Ace couldn't help but ask for seconds. While eating it, he somehow felt satisfied having to eat next to the kid. Maybe it was because he felt guilty earlier and right now he's trying to make it up to him or maybe he just liked his company at the moment. Who knows? But he was sure that he is forgetting something very crucial.

"Hey, what's your name—"

"SHIN~!" an old man suddenly broke the wooden door open and jumped to the teen making Ace get pushed off to the ground face first. The fire fist growled and looked at the sight right next to him. The old man earlier was hugging the teen and rubbing his face against the pale expressionless one. He couldn't even describe what was happening in words. It didn't make sense at all. The confusion ended when his brother, Marco, entered the wooden house and look at Ace.

"Yo. I came to get you idiots back, yoi. Also, nice to meet you son of Leon… or maybe I should call you Shin?" Ace lay there clueless of everything. Marco was there and knows the man, the man knows the guy who was called Shin and Shin was just sitting there while holding the bowl Ace was eating on which he wondered when he managed to get it.

"Son~! Did you miss me~? Also, we have guests~!" Shin sighed and pushed the man's face away and gave Ace his bowl back. The bowl was magically filled with food again which made his stomach growl for some reason.

"Dad… you didn't tell me we had guests… they got into trouble with the animals…" the old man just laughed and then patted his hair.

"Well, they came unannounced so they got what they deserved. Anyway I brought you books! These ones were quite hard to get since some shady old woman gave me an offers of hundreds of millions for it."

"You were scammed Dad… a single book shouldn't cost that much… at least…" the old man paused for awhile then laughed off his stupidity.

"I see! I was scammed! That's bad isn't it?! Ahahahahahahaha!" Shin just rolled his eyes away and then groggily stood up and went outside without even saying where he was headed. Ace was about to stand up but the old man stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. The freckled man groaned in pain feeling the heaviness of the old man's hand and forced him on the ground once again. The old man looked at him with a very dangerous smile that looked like it would kill him when he makes a wrong move.

"Portgas D. Ace, right? Mind if you stay here and have a small talk with me? The Phoenix will go accompany my son for now…" Ace was about to call on his brother but when he looked at the door there was nobody there. The fire fist gulped his own saliva and got ready for something to happen.

…

Marco have to say, Leon's adoptive son is agile and sharp. Though he expected a cheerful young lad with monstrous strength, it didn't disappoint him to see a mysterious personality of a dead-like person. But at least he knows that Leon wasn't lying to him about the kid being weak.

"Marco the Phoenix… if you don't mind, can you fly over that grassy part..? Make sure that you are 10 meters above ground…" interested on what the younger one was planning, Marco transformed his arms into flaming blue wings and flew above to where Shinzou pointed. He wasn't sure if he was 10 meters above but he was sure that it was high enough to satisfy the little kid. He waited for something to happen.

"…" in a single second, gigantic vines reached for Marco making him go higher than he currently was. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and almost lost his cool at the surprise attack of these tentacle-like plants. He looked at the one who instructed him to lure this thing and saw the kid running towards were a small little flower which he assumed to be the weakness.

'So, in order to lure out this thing he used me as bait instead of asking to defeat it? Normally people wouldn't take lightly of my devil fruit ability but I guess he is Leon's son after all.'

Instead of getting mad, Marco made an amused smile and wondered if he can take the kid to the ship with him so that he could meet with his Oyaji. Kidnapping him would be considered to be suicide because Leon won't be happy about it so he should work something out and talk to the kid about this. But there lies the problem…

How can he persuade a kid who doesn't seem to be interested in anything at all?

Shinzou pulled off the flower and made the tentacle plant limp on the ground. He looked at Marco's direction and held up the fleshy flower to show him.

"Let's go back… you might like this delicacy…" Marco canceled his Phoenix form and landed in front of Shinzou who let the blonde examine the flower that was as large as his two hands together.

"This is edible yoi?" the teen nodded and then took one petal and placed it on Marco's lips for him to eat. Marco was more than obliged to eat and savored the sweet crunchy taste of the unnamed delicacy.

"It's delicious."

"Indeed…"