So funny story... After the last update, I found out that I had exams the first 2 weeks of November. And the first 2 weeks of December. I only get 2 weeks between exams, isn't that great? I'M GOING INSANE! So yeah, I ended up having to go on FULL hiatus. I hated myself for it. I really, really did. But school is important. Very important. Especially when you're paying over 3,000 BLOODY CANADIAN DOLLARS PER SEMESTER! Don't go to North America if you want a higher education... just... so much money... I'm probably going to be in debt by graduation. I hate life.
On the bright side, I get a month off from December to January in between semesters. I'll be sure to (try) to update a decent amount during that time. And I have an update for you! Yay~ Next chapter will be the start of the island arc. Yes, it's a whole arc. Well, the first part of an arc. And then we'll have the final arc. And then you'll all hate me. But that is okay.
Also, I'm going to try to make the chapters after this one longer at about 3,000 words instead of 2,000. I kept this one at 2,000 because, well... I think it ended well where it was and I just wanted to get an update for you guys. Because I felt bad for not updating a few of my stories for a while. Hope you like it :D
Ace sat with his back against the mast, staring blankly at the blue skies and flying gulls. The sun beat hard against the wood of the deck, warming his body as he remained still. Luffy, as always, was with Chopper. With each day his time in the infirmary seemed more and more frequent. Every time the captain was gone, the boy had to find something to occupy himself with. It normally involved silently assisting the pirates with whatever they were doing at the time. At the moment, though, he was simply relaxing. He didn't do enough of that.
"Hey, Robin," he called absently, continuing to look upwards and listen to the roll of the waves rocking the ship.
"Hm?" she answered, followed promptly by the sound of a turning paper. The historian sat beside the boy in a chair, a glass of juice on the table next to her as she read.
"Is it common?" he asked, barely moving. It took a while, but he started to accept the fact that he lived before. He didn't have much conscious memory of it—could 'see' his former memories—but when asked some things, he could answer even without conscious retention of various events. They spent last night quizzing him about certain things, like Portgas D. Ace's childhood. After an hour of that they realized that he knew barely anything, but it was a start. It was still something. After that, how could he possibly deny it? "R-re…rein…"
"Reincarnation?" Robin supplied.
"Yeah," he confirmed with a nod.
Again, he heard the sound of a page turning. "I'm not sure. I suppose it's rare to find out you lived before, though."
"Why?"
"The chances of meeting the people from your past life are almost non-existent. You're very lucky, Ace." He could hear the smile in her voice. "It explains a few things, as well."
That caught his attention. Finally he turned curious eyes from the sky to the dark-haired woman, blinking quizzically. "Like what?" he inquired.
For a moment she was quiet, again flipping the page of whatever book she was reading. "Well," she started, "it explains your speech. Children deprived of language in their early years are unable to learn at a normal rate. You can remember words and grammar after only hearing them once or twice."
"Is that good?"
She reached out, running her long fingers through his dark strands, "Very good."
Returning his gaze to the sky, Ace smiled. If it meant he could communicate with Luffy and the crew, even if he wasn't comfortable with all of them yet, he was grateful.
"Thanks, Robin."
The pirate turned amused eyes to her young pupil. "For what?" she asked.
"For telling me the truth."
Sometime after lunch, Chopper returned from the infirmary, stating that the captain had fallen asleep. It wasn't surprising; ever since the attack, he'd needed a lot of rest. Sometimes he'd start to doze off randomly, even in the middle of a conversation. Chopper said it was his immune system fighting off the foreign elements in his body, similar to a bad cold. Somehow he doubted it was that simple.
Ace took that as his chance to sneak into the pirate king's office. He'd been meaning to do that for quite some time, but never had a chance. He was certain the crewmembers wouldn't want him in there so attempting entry while someone was on deck was bound to fail. Luckily they were all in the mess hall bombarding Chopper with questions as he tried to eat. So, at the doctor's expense, he snuck in.
It looked just as small and empty as always. Luffy wasn't really the 'office' type. Hell, he wasn't the 'working' type, either. Hopping onto the desk chair, he began opening drawers one by one, scanning their contents intently. It wasn't long before he came across a sheet of paper with names and numbers. Ace grinned—just what he was looking for.
Searching the list, he stopped on a familiar name—Whitebeard. A surge of nostalgia rushed through him as he stared at the name, his grin morphing into a soft, fond smile. He was doing that thing where he remembers but doesn't actually remember, wasn't he? Well, whatever. He kind of expected it. If he knew Marco before then he had to know that name, right? Marco was the captain, after all. And he said it, too, hadn't he?
"He was my little brother and closest friend."
Marco was talking about him when he said that. Knowing that, Ace's chest swelled with warmth. The Whitebeard pirates… they treated each other like family, didn't they? Was that why Marco thought of him as his brother? Was Ace part of their crew? He wasn't sure how he felt, knowing that he was a pirate… but during his stay with Luffy he learned that not all pirates were bad. He met so many great people, like Luffy and Shanks and Marco and their crews. He didn't think like he did before—didn't generalize them like he did back then.
Grabbing the den den mushi sitting on the desk, he dialed.
Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.
His heart beat fast against his ribcage, body shaking with anticipation. Perhaps it was learning the truth that led to such excitement. He always felt like he knew Marco before and now he knew that he was right.
Luffy wasn't his only big brother.
Marco slumped back on his desk chair, releasing a heavy sigh. Though he remained, for the most part, uninjured, he still felt the exhaustion. Their last battle was a tough one. After all, it was with that man. Next time he saw that bastard, he'd stab him once for each of his men in sick bay. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
That battle had been quite telling. He had a lot to report to Shanks but the drunken sot never gave him his ship's den den mushi number. If he didn't have enough reasons to beat that redheaded bastard's face in before, he did now. In the meantime, he supposed calling Luffy and telling him to pass on the details was appropriate. He didn't really want to do so right at that moment, though. He hadn't slept in almost two days. He could feel himself drift off where he sat.
So much had happened. Well, at least they confirmed that Shanks's suspicion about their enemy working with the fucking marines was confirmed. The marines had fallen so low as to work with a pirate. Well, that wasn't surprising—they did the same with the shichibukai. But that man openly admitted to mass murder. He broke all of the rules forced upon the shichibukai yet still they allied with him, no doubt under the order of the Gorosei. It was despicable. They also confirmed the Island Eater title bestowed upon the cretin. He got it for a reason.
Looking down at his arm, the swollen blue veins beneath his skin, he flexed his hand. It still hurt. He felt weak, tired. How long would it last? Not allowing himself to linger on the question, he closed his eyes. His head sank into the back of the chair. Marco would be sure to thank Jozu later; if that was what it felt like then, he didn't want to imagine how horrible he'd feel if all that damn serum had been injected. He might not have made it.
The world went quiet. Sound seemed to fade into white noise as he sat there, thought dispersing into nothingness. All he wanted was sleep…
Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.
Marco's hazy eyes peeked out into the room, glaring at the den den mushi on his desk. Whoever that was, they were going to get an earful—if he could stay awake long enough. Lifting his heavy arm from his side, he picked up the receiver. "What?" he answered with a groan, head slowly moving closer to the desk. He should have just pretended he didn't hear it.
"Marco!" a small, young voice exclaimed.
Instantly the yonko forced his eyes open, widening as the familiarity in the voice was recognized. "…Ace?"
"It's me," the boy confirmed happily.
He smiled. It'd been a while since he'd seen the brat; he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss him. "What's with the sudden call yoi? Is Luffy there?"
"Nah, he's sleeping."
"Sleeping?" the captain echoed incredulously, "At this time?" Sure he was about to nod off himself, but the circumstances surrounding that made it almost expected.
At first Ace didn't answer. It took a long while of empty silence for him to finally gather his words. "…Luffy's recovering. T-there was… and I…"
Marco had a hunch. "The marines?"
"Mm." He figured as much. "H-he stopped breathing a-and I… Chopper saved him, but he… he's still…"
"I understand yoi," he stated, saving Ace from having to relive it. Just by listening to his uneven voice, Marco could tell that the incident had taken its toll on him. He wouldn't press further—not that he needed to. He had a pretty good idea what happened. One more reason to thank Jozu. Again. "So why'd you call?"
Instantly he heard the boy brighten. "I missed you." He could help but smile. Admittedly, he never thought of the second division commander as 'adorable' but, well, at age nine he made a pretty cute kid. "And I—you know that thing you said? I get it now."
"Hm?" He hadn't the faintest idea what the boy was going on about.
"I remember."
Any lingering tiredness vanished then, replaced by shivering cold veins. He couldn't have heard right. "…What do you mean?"
"I remember. Or—sort of. I do but I don't… I don't know, it's hard to explain!" he stated, huffing in frustration. "I'm Ace, right? Portgas D. Ace. And Luffy's my brother like you said. And you, you're…"
Marco slumped back in his seat once more, taking slow breaths. That exhaustion was coming back. He could feel it rush over his skin, resting in his limbs, turning them to lead. He was starting to wonder if the tiredness was really from lack of sleep. Perhaps not. He wanted to hold on, though—for Ace. He just didn't know how long he could last.
"That's great," he managed to mumble, trying his best to keep his voice even as his lids fell shut, heavy with sleep, "I'm… I'm happy for you, Ace."
"…Marco?"
"Hm?" His voice sounded so far away…
"Is something wrong? You don't sound so good."
The corners of the phoenix's mouth curled upward. He didn't need to make the kid worry. "I'm fine," he assured, "just tired."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure yoi."
That seemed to be enough for Ace, as he dropped the subject, his voice returning to the excitement from before. "Hey, was I part of your crew? I was, wasn't I? I don't remember, but… it feels right."
A weak chuckle passed his lips and he nodded, only partially aware that the other wouldn't see him, "Second division commander."
"Really? Wow… Then who was the first?"
"Me yoi. Oyaji was… was captain at the time." He was barely aware of what he was saying, fading in and out of consciousness. "He died… same day…"
"…Marco?" he heard the boy question, followed by a string of word he couldn't quite make out. The captain wasn't paying much attention, anyways. He couldn't register what the other was saying—just kept going on about the last topic he heard.
"First Thatch… then you… Went to save, but… your brother…"
"—don't understand. Marco, what's wro—"
His grasp in the receiver began to slip. "It's nice to… to have you back, Ace." Marco smiled as the receiver clanked to the floor, finally giving in. The exhaustion was too much. Hopefully Ace would understand. He'd call him back, if he remembered—had to call Luffy anyways, to tell him about what happened. Then he could relay the message to Shanks and, well… he wasn't really sure what would happen after that. There was so much to do… always so, so much that needed to be done. Just a few minutes…
"…Marco? Oi, Marco, you there?"
Goodnight, Ace.
A/N: I'll just... Goodnight, lovelies! Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows - everything that's wonderful is your to come your way~ (That song actually disturbs me, but whatever)
To my lovelies~
teengens: You're quite welcome ^^ I'm happy I could make your day! You shall get details soon, my friend. Just be thankful this story doesn't have as much going on in the background as Divide :P We actually have an ending in sight for this fic.
Magic Morgana: Lol you'll find out next chapter, I promise ;) Yep, there was a bit of necessary talking this chapter. There will be more in future chapters, too, and fortunately for you guys the mood'll lighten up a bit while they're on the island. Lol I guarantee their talk will be more dramatic and angsty than that :P
TheAnalei: Why does everyone think Luffy is going to die?! Don't dwell on death, just live in the present! XD A few big things are going to happen... like with this chapter... muahahahahaha!
MysteriousEyez: Yeah, her and Marco are pretty much the only people who are upfront with him. But you're right, she really helped him out a lot. It's because of her that he's been talking normally with people this chapter, because she put him at ease. Go Robin! We'll see about making it happen :P I've already got the end and even the epilogue mapped out so... if it's already in there, it'll happen. If not... well...
94Insane: 2,000 words is longer than quite a few authors on this site :P I've seen some who post chapters that are only like 300 words. Plus I DID update each one of my fics when this was last updated, which totaled almost 30,000 words. Just be happy with what you got, yes? ^^ Glad you like!
xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Glad you like!
Kitsune Foxfire: You should e_e Yeah, I think she's the only one not internally freaking out over everything that's happening, including Ace and Luffy themselves.
Bluebird42: You'll find out very soon, I promise :P Yep, he's remembering! Good or bad? Depends on your perspective.
Guest: It was just a bonus chapter ._. Calm yourself, murder is not the answer.
CrystalVixen93: Here's an update!
Guest (2): Umm... doing that would kind of leave the entire plot crumbling around us :P I'm not just going to go "Poof! Everything's fixed!" right when we're nearing the climax. No, he didn't. Technically he still doesn't have his memory because he doesn't consciously remember his past life, he just instinctively knows things at this point.
READINGhearts17: Wait and find out :P
spoons-are-evil: Glad you like! That'll be partially explained next chapter. Lol nope, not broken. But I won't be updating all of my stories at once like that for quite some time :P
Guest (3): Here's an update!
doubledamn: You'll find out soon enough :)
Son Goshen: Yes, yes he is :D Well, technically he's not consciously remembering them, so he's not actually seeing them. Well you'll have to tell me whether your hunch was correct or not when I reveal it :)
Hollydoor: Awe, well I'm glad my story was able to affect you :) Really happy you like it!
kickassdani: Awe, that's sweet. I'm glad I was able to help change your mind. Yeah, a lot of fanfiction has a ton of spelling and grammar errors. Mines not much of an exception to that ^^; I think that a fanfic is good so long as it's fun to read :) Seriously though, you flatter me. You're so sweet. You're very welcome and don't worry, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. I'll be writing for a while to come if I have anything to say about it ;)
lillithxxvigneau: I'm find with you asking for updates, but please be patient :) I have quite a few stories going and was on full hiatus for exams when you posted your review. If you want to know how close I am to updating or my status, you can check my profile. There I state whether I'm on hiatus or not and how far I am in writing the next chapter of each of my fics. Keep that in mind for next time, okay? :)
(And that wraps up this update. I'm sure none of you have any questions so I'll just... go now... Adieu~)