I've been having issues writing the next chapter of Reverse (got about 1/4 done) and decided to take a break and work on this so here's the next update, much sooner than expected! And we have flashbacks! :D And I guarantee some of you will have issues with them until the next chapter (or two)!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I also did not invent the recipe for tomato and basil quiche u_u And I don't know who did. Some person, somewhere! :D
Ace stood still, watching the blonde's chest move along with her shallow breaths. She looked pale and so very, very tired. She turned to him, eyes soft and glassy. Once her gaze rested upon his face she gave a tiny, meek smile. Lifting her hand a little, she gestured him over. He complied, plopping down beside her resting form.
Shakily her arm rose once more, brushing against his cheek. Her nails trailed through his hair as her palm took in his warmth. He didn't understand what was going on but it felt… wrong. He didn't like it.
Her strength failed and her soft caress of the boy's head ceased as her arm fell against the grass. With her other hand she gestured him nearer once more. He did as he was told and she pulled him to her chest, wrapping him in a weak embrace. Ace blinked at that but quickly snuggled into her, closed his eyes and listened to the soft patter of her heart. It was slow, steady.
She ghosted over his arm with her fingers, rubbing smooth circles into his skin as she held him to her, allowing him to rest his head in the crook of her shoulder. She, too, closed her eyes. The pace she was moving her wrist slowed until it went limp, still wrapped around him.
Ace shifted and got more comfortable. He glanced at the woman's face curiously, large eyes watching her worn, unmoving features. Then he closed them again, drifting off into the complete silence around him. With not a sound made, he fell asleep.
"He's in the storeroom," Robin said, arms folded over her chest and eyes closed. She used her ability to look into every room on the ship and, once she located her target, focused in on him. He was resting against a crate, completely exhausted. "Asleep," she added upon further inspection.
Nami nodded, moving to grab a blanket from the closet in the women's quarters. "I'll get this to him, then."
"Be careful. If you startle him he may attack again," Robin warned as she watched the redhead pace over to the door.
"Don't worry, I got it."
Exiting the room and heading down the hall, it didn't take her long to reach the aforementioned hideout of the Straw Hat pirates' youngest member. She took a deep breath and slowly turned the knob, being as deathly silent as she could manage. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of what happened in the morning, but she wasn't going to let the kid freeze during the night, either. She didn't blame him for her injuries; it was her fault for pushing him after seeing how scared he was. Still, she was worried about him. She knew that Ace was more attached to Luffy than anyone, but did seeing him in his current condition warrant such a dramatic change? Why was he so terrified of them? She understood the concept of regression that Robin explained earlier but what she wanted to know was why it happened.
The door creaked open, seeping light from the hall into the dark, damp room. She looked around and grimaced; that wasn't the ideal place to sleep. Still, she couldn't move him. If she did there was a chance he would panic when he woke someplace unfamiliar.
Quietly she looked around the blackened space, scouring for Ace. It wasn't long before she spotted his tiny, thin frame huddled in a corner. She hurried over, knelt down and wrapped the warm cloth around his shoulders. When he didn't stir she let out a relieved sigh, smiling to herself.
Gently she brushed her hand against his cheek, frowning when her touch was met with icy skin. It was a good thing she went down there when she did. How could he stand to be in such a cold place for so long? Was he that afraid? Looking over his calm, tranquil features, he looked just as he always did. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with him.
Absently she brushed stray strands from his face. He stirred. She jumped back instinctively and bit her lip as she watched his eyes flutter open. At first he looked around half-dazed, tried to gage where he was. When his eyes rested on her they shot wide open, filling with panic as his face contorted into a look of fear.
"It's okay, Ace," the redhead began in a gentle, quiet tone. She paused and waited to see what happened. He stayed there, still scared, but did not make a move to attack. That was a good sign, right? "It's me, Nami, remember?" He didn't reply. "I cut your hair and bought clothes for you," she elaborated, hoping that would get him to realize that she wasn't a threat.
Ace swallowed as he tried to control his trembling. He knew who she was, so why was he scared? What was wrong with him?
His eyes settled on the bandages on her right arm and he bit his lip. I did that.
Seeing that he wasn't making any moves against her, Nami relaxed a little. She noticed where he was staring and smiled. "It's not that bad," she assured him, touching the pads of her fingers to the wrappings to show what she was talking about.
The fire user's eyes moved from her wound to her face and back again, a mix of fear and worry evident in his features.
She shifted into a more comfortable spot on the ground and watched as he flinched. Quickly she thought of what might calm him down. After all, getting up to leave might startle him. She needed to get him to relax. "Luffy woke up."
Ace's eyes doubled in size as he stared into the redhead's face, a muddled mix of emotions stirring in his chest.
Her smile grew. "He's resting but I can take you to see him. Want me to?"
The boy seemed to consider that but made no response. His eyes never left her figure as he contemplated her offer. What if he was scared of Luffy, too? What if he attacked him? With those worries swirling around in his mind, he shook his head.
Nami's face fell when she saw his refusal. She was sure that, despite everything, he was still attached to Luffy. If anything could get him back to normal it was the Pirate King, right? But then…
"He's in the infirmary if you change your mind," she stated as she slowly rose to her feet, careful to not make any sudden movements. She headed for the door, glancing back one final time. "We're here for you, too, alright? If you need us…"
Ace watched her pass through the doorway. As the slab of would shut, his only light source vanished. He settled and slumped back, feeling the blanket's fabric run along his skin. Sighing, he wondered how long he would be afraid. Seeing Luffy… was just like back then.
Seeing that all possible threats were gone, he closed his eyes and drifted off.
Ace stared, worried and confused, watching as the woman ripped her dress and wrapped the cloth around her bleeding leg. Her face contorted into a look of pain and he ran up to her, placed his hand on her knee and looked to her with big, sad eyes. She forced a smile and patted him on the head.
When the woman twisted around to look at the various items scattered about, Ace did the same. He ran over too peer into a chest she was looking at, watching as she removed a few sopping-wet knives. He stared as she dried them off, unsure as to what was going on. He didn't know where they were or why they were there.
The blonde noticed his confusion and thought for a moment. Unable to do much with her leg the way it was, she searched around her until she spotted a small piece of wood. Holding it up to her son, she pointed to it and then to one a little further away on the beach.
Nodding, Ace ran to grab it, continuing to pick up more pieces as he saw them. She watched him run across the sand, bending down to grab whatever he could find.
What were they going to do?
It was dawn. As per usual, Sanji was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. He was always the first to rise. Being the ship's only cook, the crew depended on him. So, just as always, he prepared their meal.
For once he didn't really want to cook. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to sit on deck and smoke a few cigarettes. The whole situation put him in a foul mood and he couldn't shake the increasing anxiety in his chest. It was unlike him, he knew, but he couldn't help it.
Luffy was awake, at least. Or, well, he was the night before. Chopper said that he was, for the most part, out of danger. They still had to stand watch, just as a precaution. Still, he was on his way to recovery.
Then there was that whole thing with the kid. He was still pissed at him for attacking Nami. How could anyone dare to hurt his precious Nami-swan? But, well… he got what Robin told him the night before—most of it, at least. For one reason or another he was scared of them. She told him that it wasn't Ace's fault and after everything he went through Sanji couldn't stay angry for long. If he did the girls would get mad at him, anyways, and that was a pretty big deterrent.
He spread one cup of cheese across the bottom of the baked pie crust, layering sautéed onions above it, topping it with tomatoes. Finally he covered it in mixture of whisked eggs and milk, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, topped with the last remaining bit of shredded cheese.
Satisfied, he placed his creation into the oven and began his wait. Hopefully serving quiche would cheer up the rest of the crew. He took careful care to season the tomato slices with just the right amount of flour and basil. He measured out every ingredient thoroughly and only used the freshest food stocked on the ship in the hope of enhancing the flavor. After everything that happened he thought maybe a few good meals would brighten everyone's moods, if only just a little.
Now onto his next problem: the side dishes. Perhaps green salad would be best, enhancing the flavours within the quiche. Or, seeing as it was breakfast, he could try a fruit salad. Baked potatoes often went well with the meal, but would it be suitable for their first meal of the day? Soup went well, too—cream of broccoli specifically. Still, it was hot outside and having a strictly warm meal wasn't the best idea. In the end, melon chunks would probably be a better choice, along with a salad…
Sanji's internal ramblings were interrupted when he heard the kitchen door fling open. He turned to look, seeing his lovely Robin enter as she did the day before, book in hand.
"Robin-chwan~" he cooed, flailing his arms energetically as he approached.
The archaeologist smiled softly at him as she took a seat at the table as usual. Often she would be the first to wake after the cook, so seeing her rise so early was commonplace. One thing bothered Sanji: she looked tired. And he knew why.
It seemed that, while Luffy was the only person that brat opened up to, Sanji's lovely Robin grew quite close to him as well. Because she gave him daily lessons while out at sea, she spent a lot of time with him. It was natural for her to grow attached. Not only that, but both understood what it was like to truly be alone. He'd be surprised if she wasn't worried.
"So how's the runt?" he asked. He knew she'd kept an eye on him periodically during the night with her ability. That was just how she was. And while he would be content with complimenting her and praising her as he so often did, he felt that allowing her to talk about it would put her at ease. When confronted with a beautiful lady Sanji was always a gentleman, so of course he brought it up.
Robin's blue eyes stared into his, likely surprised by the question. He didn't show much care for the boy, despite the admiration he felt towards his past self. Her smile grew a little. "He's still sleeping."
"That so?" Sanji glanced over at the stove before moving to grab his pack of cigarettes at the far end of the counter. "Think he's hungry?"
She nodded. "He didn't eat yesterday," Robin stated as she moved to place her book on her lap, staring across the room.
Oh yeah, he forgot about that. He palmed his face in his sudden realization. How could he be so stupid? He was in charge of everyone's meals; he should have realized! But instead he was too busy brooding. Well, one day wasn't going to kill him, and he was almost back to full health so there was no danger there. He'd be in pain when he woke up, though. "I'll prepare something light."
"Thank you, Cook-san."
The blonde smiled back at his crewman, placing a cigarette between his lips. "Anything for the lovely Robin-chwan," he exclaimed.
Sanji entered the storeroom, tray in hand, scowling down at the four-foot-tall brat huddled against some crates. He hated having to put his food in such an unkempt area, but that was the kid's safe-haven so there wasn't much he could do.
The blonde took quick strides towards the sleeping bundle, glaring down at him from only a foot away. Really, what was the little shit's problem? What made him freak out all of a sudden? He was there when Ace saw Luffy—heard the scream and saw him pass out—and thought maybe that was the start of it all. But, when he recalled the previous day further, he remembered that before then he simply did not react to anything that happened to him. He didn't move, didn't speak—just sat there, staring at nothing in particular, like some sort of doll. So then it had to do with seeing Luffy 'die' didn't it?
Groaning at the annoyance of it all, Sanji knelt down and placed the tray next to the child. With a light soup, bread and some fruit, he hoped the kid would recover from his missing meals from before. At least until lunch, of course.
Glancing Ace's way one last time, he wondered about all of the shit that went on over the past two days. Both brothers were messed up in one way or another, all because of the damned marines and their attack—which was obviously planned beforehand, seeing as they retreated as soon as Luffy was injected with the liquid seastone. Something was off about the whole thing.
"Overcome this, ya shitty brat."
A/N: Remember the chapter The Darkest Memoir where I explained that it would be a while before I revealed the 2nd half of Ace's past? Well it's coming up! I'm not sure if I'll put it next chapter or the one after that, though, because I want to make sure it doesn't mess with the flow of the story. It has to do with the reason he's suddenly so scared and all of the weird dreams he had. And a small tiny section of it is kind of brutal. A little. But we'll get to that later. So if the flashbacks this chapter confused you then don't worry because they'll be included in the continuation of his past and will be told from his mother's perspective so you'll have more to go on. Oh, and the ones in this chapter weren't in order. The first one was last, just so you know.
To my lovelies~
azab: Glad you like!
buslimpan: Glad you like the others, because they're in this arch a lot more ^^ Sadly Luffy's going to take a back seat for a little bit.
xxxWolvesInTheNightxxx: Here it is :)
StrawberryGirlKairi: Ace isn't that bad off. It's just... you'll see. No, he's not trying to erase his memories. Regression doesn't deal with actual memories, just his body's behaviour/reaction. Due to the recent trauma of Luffy 'dying' he started behaving as he did before, because that's how he felt safest. So physically he's gone back to how he was, but memory-wise he's the same as before. Hope that helps :)
deadlycute17: It was the same length as every chapter, which is between 2,000 and 3,000 words. Yep, Luffy's up! Sort of.
Guest: Here it is!
Diclonious57: I agree completely.
Guest (2): Here's an update!
MysteriousEyez: They know where he is :) Nope, he's not going to approach him, for reasons stated in the chapter.
Kitsune Foxfire: Yep, and even she admits it was her fault! Hehe you are correct! Mmm... that last bit is debatable. You'll see what I mean after the big flashback chapter, whenever I put it in.
Starry Roses: It's okay! How many chapter's left? Good question XD Well there's this arc, then the one involving the Yonko, then the final one and a few mini-arcs inbetween so... umm... maybe somewhere around 20? I'm not good at guessing these things and I tend to change up parts of the story as I go so there's really no telling ^^;
Bluebird42: Glad you liked!
Son Goshen: Lol why would he try to kill himself? He's just scared, not suicidal XD Nah, he won't do anything like that, I promise. No drastic measures will be taken, I assure you :)
The-Chibi-Master564: I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter! Hope to hear from you again once you catch up!
Red-The-Drawing-Ninja: Yeah, kinda sad isn't it? Honestly pain-wise it would have been worse than the burn I got, which was 3rd degree (since the nerves died and i couldn't feel it) so I felt kinda bad for writing that ^^; Yes she has! And she'll continue to take good care of him! But I think I want to add the others in a bit too, since I kind of forget about them sometimes hehe... A lot of people said they'd like that mini-fic so I think I'll do it, though I don't know when. Maybe after I finish Skip or To Be a Boy before starting another long fic. I'm glad you like my fics! Here's an update! :D
Honeydee: Lol sorry no sweet interactions. In fact, things are not gonna be all Luffy-saves-the-day this time. Yep, Skip is a pretty short fic. It covers a large amount of time, but only so much of that is important so there are some time skips coming up and, well, that'll be that. I'm most looking forward to writing the epilogue for it, though. Yeah, last chapter was when things diverged. And now the differences will increase :D I'm also going to have fun with a certain interaction between two Yonko... You'll get an explanation, don't worry, but not until like the last chapter and epilogue :P The only difficulties I had with Skip were figuring out how to plot it and a lack of motivation for a while because of a certain few reviews I got closer to the beginning. I kinda had trouble with writing it because of that and messed everything up u_u So it's not as good as it should have been. Hurt!Luffy fan? Then you must be enjoying Divide right about now, eh? XD Or, wait, do you read that? Ah well, doesn't matter. Hope you liked this update!
TheBlackSpirit: We do it because tragedy is fun to write! XD Glad you enjoyed!
spoons-are-evil: It's okay, no problem ^^ Yep, I loosely based if off of Son Goshen's story Two Worlds. You should definitely give it a try! Such a great story~ Awe yeah, interruptions such. That's why I'll probably divide the next long bonus into parts so that you guys can take breaks in between. Lol yep, Sanji's ladies come first XD You know I think it's been like 3-4 chapters since Ace said any lines (other than in his dream) o.o. I'm only cruel so that we can get on with the plot! It's justified! XD
(Well I hope you all enjoyed this little update. I'm going to try working on some others now before bed... though my air conditioner is broken and so I'm dying of heat and can't think straight -_-; Canadians are not made for hot weather. Anyways, hope this'll tide you over until the next update! Adieu~)