Warning for mentions of torture methods
This chapter won't be super graphic, but Luffy is going to talk about torture, not in any extreme detail but a lot of it is Eeeek-ish. I chose things I have a hard time thinking about, so I do apologize. No part of me was like; wow this is such a fun thing to think about. But on the other hand, I feel like I really hyped up expert torturer dude so I had to be a bit more creative then just saying; and then he punched him like a pro. What a superior interrogator that one is.
As always if anyone at all feels like they want to skip that just hit me up and I can send/ post an edited version without ickyness.
XXX
"I can't believe he didn't go with you."
"Well blondie wasn't looking so good. The doctors don't know what's wrong with him. They think it's some type of brain damage. But they won't know how serious until he wakes up- if he wakes up."
"I understand," Whitebeard said honestly. "But everything Ace has done as of yet was for his brother. I have a hard time believing he would suddenly put someone else before him. Simply because he has yet to do so."
"Honestly," Marco told him. "No one knows what's going on inside Ace's head except Ace."
"For his sake and ours I pray your mission is a success."
"Me too," Marco said thinking of Thatch. "I can't help but get the feeling, that if we lose Luffy we lose Ace."
-Three days ago
XXX
"Can you look up for me Luffy," Marco asked.
Luffy continued to stare at the man, as if he hadn't spoken at all.
"Luffy," Sabo said softly, reminding the other to behave. Luffy huffed but looked up, then down, then side to side as Marco commanded, following his finger.
"You don't like me much do you?" The kid Ace had described to him was outgoing, friendly and cheerful. But this kid wouldn't stop glaring daggers at him. Not that they had gotten off to a great start yesterday. "Can you open your mouth."
"Why?"
"So I can take a look."
Luffy opened his mouth reluctantly, letting Marco poke around his tongue. "Some of your back molars are missing," Marco said. "Do you remember what happened to them?"
"…"
"Look Luffy, I'm on your side. If something is hurting you can tell me. I might be able to help."
A few beats of silence passed before Luffy turned away from Marco. "Someone took them."
"Took them?" Marco said and then it clicked. 'Oh shit.' He glanced at Sabo whose brow was furrowed in worry. He had gotten the message before Marco had.
"What else did they do to you?" He asked.
Luffy turned to look at him. He didn't say a word but the expression on his face clearly read, 'screw you.' And Marco fought back the urge to sigh. Why did this remind him a bit of Ace when they had first met. Only Ace had been quite vocal and had no shortage of creative swears. Luffy was mostly silent and preferred to ignore and avoid the Whitebeard pirates, with the exception of Thatch who he was super sweet too like he was with Ace and Sabo.
Marco considered himself an empathetic person, to an extent. But he was also a pirate with medical training and healing abilities. He wasn't an expert in child psychology or trauma, so he didn't exactly know what the correct thing to say to a kid that he just found out had four of his teeth pulled out by a psychopath. Somehow 'that's rough buddy,' didn't seem like it would cover it. He couldn't sit there and ask; how did getting your teeth pulled make you feel? Or whatever it was those guys would say to him.
What he could do was try and help him as a doctor. Screw what the proper procedure was. It wouldn't matter if he hurt Luffy's feelings if he ended up dying before they could escape. Time to stop trying to be gentle, not that it was working anyways.
"What are his symptoms Thatch?" Marco called over to his friend, who had been sitting with Izo, eating an enriching breakfast of protein bars and stale water.
"Huh?" Thatch looked up, mouth full of food. "How would I know?" He garbled out. "I ain't no doctor?"
"You were with him for most of it, were you not? You should have seen something?"
Thatch frowned as he moved to stand up, stumbling quite noticeably before Izo went to help him. "Uhh, he spent nearly an entire month puking up blood. What!" He said in response to Luffy's betrayed look. "He's just trying to help you." Thatch promised. "He's not like the other doctor alright? Teach's doctor," He said for Marco's edification.
"And what was he like?" He asked searching around in his bag for his cotton swab.
"A sadistic drunk."
"That doesn't surprise me," Marco said as he moved the tool towards the teenager's ear. Caught off guard Luffy flinched, his hand shot up to cover it protectively.
"Luffy," Sabo sighed. "Please."
Luffy turned to his brother, still shielding his ear. "Can we go back to sleep."
"You already slept eight straight hours. It took ten minutes to wake you up. It nearly gave me a heart attack." Sabo told him. It was right after that Sabo had forced Luffy to let Marco look at him.
"Are you tired Luffy?" Marco asked reaching up to pull his hand away from his ear. "This isn't meant to hurt." He said as the teen reluctantly let his hand fall so Marco could poke around inside his ear.
Luffy nodded after a long moment.
"On a scale of one to ten how tired do you feel usually?" When he didn't answer Marco turned the question onto Thatch.
"I'm not sure, but by the end he wasn't able to stay awake for very long. Like an hour or two and he would fall back asleep for half a day. Right in the middle of a sentence sometimes. It was kind of scary."
That wasn't good. But Marco figured everyone could figure that our on their own. He traded the cotton swab out for a clean one as he changed ears. The right one had been infected; he had expected a similar situation for the other but the moment he looked inside he immediately understood Luffy's defensiveness.
"Sabo he's really dirty. Do you think you could find something to try and clean him up with? If the dirt gets into a cut it could cause an infection."
"Uh, sure."
"It's cool," Haruta said standing up. "I can go instead." He caught Marco's look. "Never mind. Maybe not." Sabo looked between the two of them and Marco found himself wishing he wasn't the smart one out of his brothers.
"Sabo?"
"Uh, yea. I guess." Sabo stood up. "You good?" He asked Luffy who stared up at him. He didn't say anything either way, so his brother took that as a yes, leaving to go 'find something' everyone knew Marco already had.
"What really happened to your ear," Marco asked once Sabo was out of earshot. His eardrum was perforated, and it didn't look like it happened naturally. And Marco could imagine, from his own experience of having siblings, that Luffy didn't want to worry his brother more then he already was.
When Luffy didn't answer he continued. "We can talk about this now or we can talk about it when your brother get's back. As well as everything that was done to you. up to you."
"Jesus Marco, maybe go a little bit easier on him," Thatch told him, disapproval clear in his voice.
"Going easier on you isn't going to make you feel better," Marco told Luffy. "I'm going to try and help you whether you want me to or not. Because I'm not an alcoholic doctor. So if you don't want Sabo finding out I suggest you start talking to me."
"A needle," Luffy said after a long moment. "He put a needle in my ear and I couldn't hear anymore."
"Hearing loss is temporary," Marco told him. "It's badly damaged but it can typically heal on it's own as yours is doing. If not, we can fix it…. Okay?" Luffy nodded at him. For once not fighting him. He seemed almost… trusting? Maybe he was just grateful to know he wasn't going to be half deaf forever. Although he had done a good job at hiding it.
Marco patted his head gently. Silently telling him he had done a good job before moving on. He checked his sinuses which were infected and his nose which had been fractured but it was mostly healed now. Thanks to his devil fruit powers for that one. Luffy didn't seem to break bones like normal people did. It was possible with Teach's newfound devil fruit power. But they healed like puzzle pieces, quickly and without the bruising or marks most people would get. The only sign his nose had been displaced was the subtle bump in the bone, which was common a year after breakage for normal people. And apparently after only a week or so in Luffy's case.
Marco moved onto his torso next, where most of the damage was. He asked Luffy to take off his shirt and when the kid was slow to obey, he made the three staring pirates turn around.
Luffy fumbled clumsily with the buttons. While Marco got his bandages ready. From the brief glimpse he had seen yesterday there was some major bruising on his stomach, likely internal bleeding. It was being treated by the sadistic doctor but not nearly as closely as it should have been. Like Thatch, Luffy must have been dealing with this throughout captivity.
"Abdominal pain, bruising, trouble breathing." Marco asked, more out of habit then anything else. He didn't need the confirmation; he had seen these enough times to know. Most recently on Thatch. But even Thatch's wasn't this extensive. When Luffy finally conquered the last button Marco gently pushed the shirt off of his shoulders, getting it out of the way as much as he could with the way Luffy's arms were bound in front of him. His stomach, chest and shoulders were covered in a sickly purple color, blackening in some places.
Luffy was staring at him. He realized it only when the other's breathing hitched, and he moved to pull his shirt back up.
Marco forced himself to smile at the kid. "You'll be okay." He lied. "But leave it a little longer okay. I'm going to change your bandages. It might sting a bit."
Someone had been taking care of him, at least a bit. There were grimy but not yet stained bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and parts of his arms and legs. He could worry about that later.
"Did the doctor do this?" He asked as he began to remove the old wrappings. Luffy nodded. "Everyday?"
"No."
When the bandages came off Marco finally understood Luffy's panic. This was a lot. Even for him, and he had seen it all by now. Nothing needed stitches, at least the other doctor could handle that part. There was no need to ask who had done this.
"Can we turn around yet," Thatch asked. Bored already in typical Thatch fashion.
"No," Marco told him pushing Luffy to lie down on the blanket while he took care of the various cuts and contusions the bandages had been hiding. He cleaned the area first (as if he didn't have a rag all along).
"This is going to sting all right." Luffy hissed as he tried to sit up but Marco gently held him down until the sensation passed.
"I saw where you were," Marco told him after a moment. "Want to tell me about it?" Unsurprisingly Luffy shook his head. "What about Sabo? Would you tell him?" Luffy shook his head again. "Whys that?"
"Why would I want to make him sad?" Luffy asked and Marco didn't have an answer for him.
"How long were you there?"
"I don't know."
"Did they ever let you out."
"No."
"You can sit up bud," Marco said, as he helped him up so he could rewrap the bandages. "Do you know what month it is now?" Luffy shook his head.
"Can you guess?"
"July?" Luffy said softly.
"What about you Thatch?"
"Can I turn around yet? Staring at this wall is starting to give me a headache."
"Listening to Thatch complain about watching the wall is giving me one," Haruta said.
"Fine," Marco said. He was almost done anyways.
"Uhh- it's probably fall by now isn't it?"
"It's October," Marco confirmed.
"Oh," Luffy pulled his knee into his chest, hugging it close to him in that way that he seemed to do when he was upset and trying to comfort himself.
Thatch saw this as well as he came to sit besides Luffy, throwing a hand over his shoulder. Luffy made a surprised noise, somewhere between a yelp and a squeak as he was pulled against the man.
"It's okay," Thatch promised. "I once went on a bender for like a straight week. It was so bad that I thought it was Christmas in like June." Marco remembered that. Thatch tried to put up Christmas decorations on a palm tree and the entire ship ate Christmas ham and eggnog for a solid three days.
"Really?"
"Yes," The Izo and Haruta said together and Thatch smiled. "What I wouldn't give to see Pops and everyone again.
"You don't have to give anything," Marco told him without looking up. "They will be here before you know it."
"Aw," Thatch said, "You old softy."
"Get off my patient," He said but Thatch just laughed.
Sabo came back while he was rewrapping Luffy's fingers. Marco was glad the blond had missed that part. Luffy had been hurt there as well, and although Marco was certain that if given the chance it would heal nicely it was obviously causing him a great deal of pain.
"Still okay?" Sabo asked as he came to sit down beside him, patting Luffy's head affectionately when he nodded at him. He had actually managed to find some sheets, which he had cut up into rags. Marco paused to let Sabo clean the other. He started with Luffy's face as he scrubbed viciously at the dirt and blood layered onto his skin.
"You look like a person again Lu," Sabo teased him lightly tapping the tip of his nose with his finger.
Marco figured this was why Luffy liked Sabo so much. He was obviously worried about his brother and everything that had been done to him. But he let very little of it show on his face, choosing instead to try and make him feel better, shoving the darker emotions and worries down in a true revolutionary fashion. Sabo was hard to read, or at least harder than Ace who wore his emotions openly. Usually this was annoying to him, mostly because Marco had been trying to figure out Sabo's motivations for the last month. But now he was grateful for the blond. Sabo was good in these types of situations. Even though this one was clearly hitting too close to home for him. After all it was different when it was your own family that needed saving.
Marco rewrapped Luffy's legs next, his toes had been injured much like his fingertips were. There was no way Sabo hadn't noticed the missing nails, but he didn't say anything, only let Luffy slump against him in absolute exhaustion.
"Now breathe in…. And back out."
Luffy did, although he began to cough on the exhale, which was a worrying rattling sound.
"Good," Marco lied anyways moving his stethoscope around a bit to locate the blockage. Perfect, on top of everything else Luffy may have pneumonia. Like he wasn't already dealing with enough. Not that it had surprised Marco after hearing how ragged his breathing was.
It was honestly a miracle he was still standing. Not only standing but he was running and fighting and doing everything he could to defy Teach. It was so- well there wasn't even words for how impossibly stubborn he was. Except maybe Ace's brother. Either way he had Marco's respect. Although respect wasn't going to keep him breathing.
"Lay down for me one last time," Marco told him.
"Can I go back to bed," Luffy asked his brother. "I'm bored, and super sleepy."
Marco caught Sabo's worried look. For the second time that day he wished Sabo was just a little bit dumber. He might not know exactly what Marco knew about medicine, but Sabo knew it was bad. Otherwise he wouldn't be as pale as he was right now.
"In a bit, after you eat something okay."
Luffy said nothing as he let Marco gently push him onto his back once more.
"I don't want you to be scared. This isn't going to hurt you all right." Marco explained to him and Sabo, who he knew would send him flying halfway across the room if he thought Marco was about to burn Luffy with phoenix fire. "You probably figured it out, but I have powers like you do."
"Your stretchy?" Luffy asked confused.
"No, I am a phoenix?"
"A Kleenex?"
"I can make you feel better," Marco told him figuring it wasn't worth the explanation. Not When Luffy was a few minutes away from falling asleep on him. "It's going to heal you, but I can only do so much." Especially when the injuries were this extensive. He hardly knew where to start. Powerful as he was he wasn't a miracle worker. There were limits to even what Marco could do. He couldn't replace organs, generate blood, or magically un-infect lungs. What he could do was give Luffy some more time.
"No more kicking me if you get surprised all right, I have enough bruises from you already."
"Okay," Luffy promised as he watched Marco summon his fire into his palms, holding the blue blaze in his hands for a moment.
"Whoa," Luffy said impressed. Marco started at his chest, letting the power seep into where it was needed. "It's warm."
"Oh shit, I had forgotten." Izo said. "The guards told us something about him, I meant to tell you before, but it slipped my mind."
"Yea?"
"The marines said something about him not eating. I guess he was refusing. I don't know for how long though."
Marco had guessed as much. Most people with Luffy's type of injuries weren't overly concerned with food. But while it may not have been news to him it was to Thatch and Sabo.
"Wait seriously?" Thatch said, looking between them like Izo was pranking him. "Are you sure they were talking about him, and not someone else."
"It was definitely him."
"Aren't you hungry Luffy?" Sabo asked him his tone steady as it always was. But he was clearly scared. From their reactions Marco gathered this was highly unusual.
"When was the last time you ate?" Marco asked him and he shrugged, picking at a stray thread on the blanket below him. Clearly not the least bit interested in the turn the conversation had taken.
"Luffy it's important." Marco told him.
"Don't know."
"What do you mean?" Sabo asked him gently.
"I don't know… time."
And Marco understood. Luffy couldn't tell time where he was. He had no idea how long it had been for him, or how many days had passed while he had been there. Marco remembered how withdrawn Luffy had become when he had asked about the month.
"That's okay," Marco said cutting off Sabo's questions. The other had missed that part and he wasn't going to be the one to fill him in.
"What do you think?" Marco said turning to Thatch. If his friend was surprised by the news, then it must be a recent development. That was good. But Thatch couldn't give him anything concrete to cling on too.
"I don't- I don't really know." He admitted.
"You didn't see him eat?"
"No, I mean I have seen him eat. He eats a lot, like Ace level fast. Maybe even quicker. But I don't know when he last… I mean I haven't seen him eat since before he-." Thatch trailed off, his face becoming pale as Luffy looked up at him curiously. He looked around realizing all eyes were on him.
"Before?" Marco prompted.
Thatch opened his mouth, and then seemed to think better of it when he caught Sabo's worried expression. "We kind of got separated, he settled on. I haven't seen him in a while before yesterday. So, I don't know."
"How long is a while?"
"A couple months, three-ish I think. I wasn't that great at tracking days either." He said apologetically. "Sorry, I wish I could be more help."
"What do you guys know about it?" Marco asked turning his attention to the two pirates behind him.
"Nothing really," Haruta said as he shared a look with Izo. "Just what the guards told us. That he had stopped eating so they were forcing him too and it would make him sick."
"Narc," Luffy told them disapprovingly.
"They're trying to help you," Marco told him turning his attention to Sabo. "Can I talk to you?" he asked the blond boy.
"Uh sure," Sabo rose to his feet once more, alongside Marco. He smiled at Luffy over his shoulder silently telling him he would be right back before following Marco. He led them out of the room and into the darkened tunnels.
"Thanks for doing that," Sabo told him as they went. "I'm sorry about the biting, he's not usually like this."
Marco stopped, deciding they were far enough away not to be overheard. "Sabo listen," He cut the other off. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it all the same. I think I can help him with my devil fruit, but only so much. Luffy is-,"
"He's dying." Sabo finished for him, crossing his arms over his chest.
Marco looked at him, caught off guard. "You knew?"
Sabo nodded. "His life force is disappearing."
Haki. Marco had expected an outburst, a stunt of pure stupidity. He had been expecting an Ace reaction.
"Your taking this well."
"Not really." Sabo told him. "I tried to kill a marine admiral when I found out."
"Ah," Marco said. That was what that was about.
"What's wrong with him?"
"It's hard to say without any of my equipment. Most of the worst injuries are internal so I can only guess."
"Guess what," Sabo pressed refusing to be sidetracked.
"Right now, it's everything. In addition to heavy external injuries, he has mass internal bleeding. It's been left untreated too long and other things have developed from it like fluid build up in the lungs and most concerningly, early signs of multiple organ failure."
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"My powers let me repair damages. I can fix the surface injuries, but I can't generate organs, if his body shuts down there isn't much I can do to stop it other then try and keep things under control."
"There has to be something we can do!"
"There is," Marco told him. "But not here. We need real medical supplies."
"We can do that as soon as help arrives, just a few more days."
"That's what I needed to talk to you about." Marco told him. Luffy was hardly speaking in full sentences, Ace was gone, meaning the decision fell to Sabo. "It is really tricky to tell how the body is going to respond to organ failure. Especially since I am completely in the dark with where the failure is. He could have weeks, or he could take a turn and be dead in a day."
"Then he might be fine," Sabo argued. "You said it yourself, you don't know. He can hold on until help arrives."
"Sabo," Marco said softly. "I'm telling you this because I don't think he has weeks. People stop eating and drinking for a reason."
"So what are you saying? That he's going to die, and we are all just going to watch it happen?" Marco said nothing and Sabo's eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer to the man.
"Screw you," He told him. "I'm not going to let him die."
"I know," Marco told him. "That's why we might need to come up with another plan."
"Like what? We are trapped here. Our best chance of survival is evading the marines. We don't stand a chance against them right now."
"I understand." Marco said. "I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't. I just know that it might be Luffy's only hope if he takes a turn for the worst. Which can happen anytime."
"Okay," Sabo nodded, his gaze fixed on the floor. His mind already turning through the possibilities of pulling off an impossible plan. If anyone could do it he could. "Okay, okay," He repeated as if trying to convince himself as well as Marco. "I'll come up with something. I have too. No, I will."
"I know," Marco told him gently. "You're not alone in this, neither is Ace. I'm going to help you."
"Why?" The question was so automatic it was nearly insulting.
"Well, I might be a pirate, but I've always tried to be a decent person."
"I didn't mean it like that." Sabo said but Marco waived him off.
"It doesn't matter. I don't want Luffy to die either. Plus, I owe him."
"You owe him?" Sabo echoed. "What does that mean?"
"He saved Thatch from a bad situation. But I worry it cost him a lot."
"I don't know what your talking about?"
"It's not important right now," Marco told him. "Just, try to come up with a contingency. My powers can help him, and hopefully buy some time. But until then try and keep him calm and still. All the running around and fighting isn't good for him."
Sabo nodded. "I can do that. But I need to go find Ace soon. He should have been back by now. Can you guys take care of him for a little bit longer?"
"Better if it's you. He doesn't like us." Marco told him. "I think he will try to go after you if you leave right now. I can go get Ace instead."
"I appreciate that," Sabo told him honestly. "But I can do it. No, I need to do it. I'll talk to Luffy and get him to cooperate."
"If that's what you think," Marco said. He didn't have much of a choice other then leaving it up to Sabo to decide what was best for his brothers. Even if he was stretching himself a bit thin. He followed the other back to where the group was waiting.
Izo had begun to clean his gun, as he always did when he was stressed. Haruta was watching him in a true display of boredom as was Thatch. Luffy was still sitting where they had left him, staring at the wall in disinterest. But he perked up when he saw Sabo return. Like a puppy after it had been left home alone. Or more accurately like a kid who had been stolen from his home and subjected to months of isolation torture. Marco silently vowed not to compare trauma derived behaviour to that of an animal again.
"Was that the kind of group meeting we get to hear about or?" Haruta pressed gently.
"Not so much," Marco told him apologetically as Sabo sat down again besides Luffy.
"Everything okay?" Thatch asked concern clear in his eyes as he moved to sit besides them.
Marco didn't know how to answer without lying.
"Uhh, it will be. We just need to talk." He blinked at Thatch expectantly. "…to Luffy."
Luffy turned around as if he expected to see a second Luffy behind him. When he didn't, he pointed at himself. "Me?"
"Yes."
"You already did that- a bunch." He reminded him. "Can't I be done. I didn't like that."
"Most people don't like checkups." Marco told him. "Almost okay." He looked at Thatch again. "About personal stuff."
"Oh, I'm staying." Thatch told him. "Trust me Luffy doesn't care. If it's fine with Sabo?"
"Uh, sure?"
"See," Thatch told him. "You're out voted. Now what's wrong?"
True to his word Luffy really didn't look like he cared. He just seemed bored that he also had to be there while they discussed him.
"Fine," Marco caved. "Luffy, Sabo and I were talking, and we are a bit worried about… you."
"Why do you care?" He asked. Not out of spite or meanly, but he was actually curious. Why did everyone keep asking that today?
"Doctors are supposed to care about people." Marco told him.
Luffy's nose crinkled in confusion. "I don't think so." He was no doubt thinking of the other doctor he knew.
"Luffy," Sabo said taking over the conversation before Luffy could rabbit hole them, as his brother knew he often did especially on serious matters. "Marco said he is worried about you, and how your holding up?"
"Holding up what?"
Marco honestly couldn't tell if Luffy's confusion was genuine or part of his symptoms. Maybe a bit of both.
"Wait- wait! What's wrong with him?" Thatch questioned. "Is it serious?"
"Serious enough that we might want to think about way's out of here before reinforcements arrive," Marco told him.
"That's suicide." Thatch said.
"Yea, we know," Sabo said softly.
And it clicked as Thatch's question answered itself. His face paled and realization dawned on him. "Shit!"
"It's okay," Marco told his friend trying to keep him calm. He hadn't expected Thatch to be the one that needed reassurance. "We're not going to let that happen. We'll think of Something. Right?" Sabo nodded.
By this time they had completely lost Luffy's interest, as his gaze had drifted back to the ceiling. Sabo nudged him with his elbow to catch his attention again.
"Luffy, what do you think?"
Luffy blinked at him, looking around the room. "Can we go?" He asked his brother. "I don't like it here."
"Not while they're still looking for us." Sabo told him. "What do you think about finding a way out of here on our own?"
"We can do that?" He asked.
To his credit Sabo seemed much more patient then Ace was as he gently re-explained the situation to his attention deficit younger brother.
"So, we are all leaving?"
"No," Sabo told him. "Just you and me."
Luffy's brow furrowed. "But what about Ace n' everyone else?"
"I don't know about Ace," Sabo said trying to keep his worry about their other brother out of his tone. "I still need to talk to him. But everyone else is safer here waiting for reinforcements."
Marco figured they were going to have to spell this out for him so he could understand. But Luffy seemed to keep catching him off guard.
"You guys are going to risk something stupid because you think I'm going to die?" He said. "And your worried that Ace might try and stay behind and get himself killed to help us."
For a second Marco wondered if Luffy had understood from the very beginning and had just played stupid because he didn't want to talk about this.
"Yea basically," Sabo sighed in surrender. So much for trying to keep Luffy calm. Although he seemed to take the news in stride.
"No." Luffy said.
"No what?"
"No."
"Give us a little more than that Lu."
"NO!"
"Stop saying no!" Sabo told him. "We might not have a choice."
"Don't let Ace die. Don't do something stupid cause your worried about me. Don't take advice from doctors," He was listing on his fingers. "Don't let stupid Teach find you. Don't leave Thatch and everyone. And I'm not going to die!"
"It's not really something you can control."
"Sabo," He said determination in his eyes. "I can handle it."
"That's not how it works," Marco told him.
"I can Handle it!" He insisted staring the man down until he sighed. This was the same boy that had challenged Oyaji. There was no doubt about it. Maybe he hadn't changed so much since then. Even if it seemed like he had.
Marco caught Sabo's eyes and the blond boy sighed again. "Your certain about this?" He asked and Luffy nodded. "Fine Lu," Sabo said. "But just for right now. If you start to go downhill, we're not going to hesitate all right."
"I won't!" Luffy insisted.
"That means I'm going to have to take a look at you every day," Marco told him. Not like he wasn't already going to do that. "Both of you."
Thatch held up his hands in surrender not liking being grouped with Luffy as a problem patient. "No arguments here. A doctor a day keeps the apples away."
Luffy made a face.
"And you have to tell me everything, no more ignoring my questions. I won't go away if you don't talk. Nothing will. Deal?"
"Fine," Luffy said after another nudge from Sabo. "Can we be done. That took forever."
"Yes," Marco told him. "You can be done."
He didn't expect Luffy to lean forwards, patting his forehead in silent gratitude. He looked to Thatch slightly confused and the man just shrugged back. Clearly nobody knew what was going on in that boy's head.
"Your welcome Luffy," Marco told him. Glad to know he wasn't hated anymore. At the very least he wasn't despised.
Satisfied his message got across Luffy leaned back onto his brother, nearly collapsing into his side. "You said we could go back to bed now."
"I guess I did. But I should probably go find Ace. He's been gone too long and I'm worried."
"Can I come?" Was the immediate and expected response.
"No," Sabo told him. "You will be safer here."
"I don't care about that."
"Well I do!"
"Why don't you both stay," Marco said, and Sabo looked at him traitorously. "Wherever Ace is he is hiding from the marines. He can probably afford to stay there another few hours. He get's into these situations enough to know how to take care of himself."
"But!"
"Sabo, get a few more hours of sleep. Your taking on too much." Marco told him. If he was anything like Ace then telling him that his little brother was dying right before sending him into a confrontational and possibly deadly situation was a bad mix. Marco wanted him to cool down for a little while and think about it.
"I'm worried about him." Sabo argued.
"Another three hours won't matter," Marco insisted. "And then I'll go with you. Alright?"
"Fine," Sabo conceded, much to the relief of his brother.
Marco left to fill in the other two, at least on most of what transpired while Sabo forced Luffy to drink some water. He took a little bit but did his best to refuse the rest. When he started to spit it out Sabo decided that was as good as he was going to do today.
"You aren't thirsty?" Sabo asked as Luffy leaned up into his shoulder sleepily. He shook his head. "Maybe later." Luffy said nothing as he slipped deeper into him.
"Lu?" He tried, putting the water beside him on the floor.
"He's been doing this a lot lately," Thatch told Sabo, seeing his look of concern.
"Doing what?"
"That," He gestured at him. "Where he falls asleep in the middle of a sentence."
"That can't be good." Sabo said reflecting Thatch's exact thoughts. Their worry only grew as Luffy slipped from his shoulder as he fell back into his sleep coma, hitting the ground. Both of them rushed to check on him. Even Marco looked over from his conversation, but Thatch waived him away. Luffy kept on sleeping, totally oblivious to the fact that he was on the floor.
"Luffy," Sabo tapped his cheek, once and then again. But the other just shifted in his sleep. "I told you it wasn't something you could control." Sabo scolded him.
"Not like it would stop him," Thatch said as he moved to take his legs. "Can you help me? We should move him."
Together the two of them carried him back to the makeshift bed Sabo had made. It wasn't much but it was better then the floor. Sabo laid Luffy's head onto his bag, tucking his jacket over him.
"You know," Thatch told him after a long second. "I always thought you would be older. I don't know why. I just did."
Sabo turned from Luffy to give the man an odd look. "We don't know each other do we?"
"No," Thatch told him. "But I heard about you from Luffy."
"Really?"
"Yes, not a whole lot. But I just figured you were older. You're still a kid yourself."
"I'm eighteen," came the automatic reply.
"Eighteen really isn't all that old." They were all kids to Thatch. He seemed a bit too young to be completely responsible for taking care of his younger brother who was reaching the point of being beyond help and of rescuing Ace who was god knows where fighting god knows who. But he was handling it well. Surprisingly so. He was very, mature for his age. Most people who picked up this life young were. But even then, Thatch was impressed. He figured Marco was as well, which was why the man was trying to take some of the responsibility off his shoulders.
"Noland the whale right?" Thatch asked him with a smile.
"Oh my god, I had forgotten about that." Sabo said.
"He didn't tell me much," Thatch told him. "I heard the whale story. Um- you died I guess." No way to sugar coat that. "And that you were the best."
Sabo blinked. "I am?"
"According to Luffy. I asked him why and all he said was something like he just is."
"Oh that… sounds like Luffy. He's constantly over estimating people. But thank you. For telling me. And also for- I'm guessing you took care of him when no one else did."
"Friendships are mutual," Thatch told him. "He helped me as much as I helped him. And no offense but I think you're wrong. He might be slow to give people the benefit of the doubt anymore. But I've never seen him give his trust to someone who didn't deserve it."
Sabo apparently didn't have a response to that. But that was alright, Thatch didn't need one.
"You guys took care of him when you were little right?"
"Did Luffy tell you?" Sabo asked.
"Not really," Thatch said. "I can just tell." Luffy didn't want his parents because he had never known them. He wanted his brothers because he was upset and hurting, and they were the ones he had learned to rely on. He had never asked Thatch for help because that wasn't how things worked in his world. Ace's either, so instead they did everything on their own. A lot of things were making sense.
"We didn't really have parents," Sabo said somewhat hesitantly. "Or anyone that was taking care of us. And Luffy was always in danger somehow. So, we either had to start taking care of him or just let him get eaten by something."
"Um, yea." Thatch said. Not at all the answer he had been expecting. "Wait, eaten by something?"
Sabo just shrugged. "Families are weird."
Thatch looked back at his own, the three of them deep in discussion.
"Yes, they are."
XXX
Oceans away, with dozens of islands between them, a renowned pirate sat by himself, bottle in hand as he nursed a particularly bad hangover with the experience of a pro drinker.
The ocean lulled softly around him in a soothing sort of way. Only it was doing little more than irritating him right now. Stupid ocean, stupid sunlight, stupid hangover. Come to think of it they might have gone a little too wild last night. Although any excuse to drink was a good excuse.
"Oi, Captain."
"Talk to me later," He insisted, resting his forehead on his palm.
"Someone came all this way to say hello," Ben's voice broke through the rest. "Probably should hear him out."
"Old friend?" Shanks stood up, his fingers itching towards his sword. For pirates an old friend could mean a lot of things.
"Hey there kid, it's been a while."
All thoughts of conflict were completely forgone as he locked eyes with their guest.
"Oh," Shanks said a smile creeping over his face as he folded his arms. "My- my, it has been a while hasn't it?" Many many years. They had been crew mates what felt like a lifetime ago. But still, it wasn't often Shanks got to see his old friends. Usually it involved a great deal of partying and catching up. However, he knew this wouldn't be one of those times. Because Rayleigh had retired, washing his hands clean of piracy. And he had stayed uninvolved for the years following their captain's death. However, if he was here, that meant he wanted something pretty serious from him.
"I'm not exactly a kid anymore?"
"I guess not. You've certainly become your own man haven't you."
"Wouldn't be much of a captain if I couldn't even do that." Shanks told him brightly. "Now, not that I'm not thrilled to see an old friend, especially if that old friend is you, but I have to say I'm not entirely happy your here."
"Oh," Rayleigh asked. "And why would that be?"
"Well, you're obviously not here for my legendary parties, are you?"
"Unfortunately not. Although I wish I were. Consider this more of a formality. And I come seeking some clarity."
"Clarity huh? On what?"
"Perhaps the two of us might take a walk? If you can spare the time."
"Anything for an old friend," Shanks said signaling to his crew that he would be back before gesturing Rayleigh to lead the way."
The two men walked down the beach, away from the rest of the crew. Shank's headache was long forgotten as he mulled over what he had done in the past month that could piss the dark knight off enough to warrant a personal visit. He came up empty, there was too many things but nothing that actually meant anything to the retired pirate.
"So, what is this truly about? I've never been a fan of surprises. Not when they are at my expense. I can't think of a possible reason you would go through all the trouble of finding me just for a leisurely stroll."
"It's about a few things. As of late I have grown a bit concerned with the rising tension on the seas. It seems like a war is nearer than we thought."
"This is about the Whitebeards," Shanks realized. He had heard buzzing's of unrest on the ship. But he hadn't interfered. They were rivals and it was no business of his how Newgate decided to deal with traitors. "It's unusual for you to involve yourself in affairs."
"I am retired," Rayleigh agreed. "And I plan to stay that way. The course of the world including the fate of the new era is beyond my control. I played my part years ago and I am merely a spectator now. However as of late I'm finding it harder and harder to be a passive one. I fear if I don't do something now I might be letting down those who passed before me."
"You lost me," Shanks told him. "What is this truly about?"
"It's about your hat."
"My hat?" Shanks echoed faintly. Of all the things, he had not been expecting that.
"Or rather our old captains' hat."
"I told you, I gave it to a friend to hold."
"Along with your arm," Rayleigh told him humorously. "Yes, well the thing about that… What started all this is he doesn't have it anymore. Portgas D. Ace has the hat right now."
"Ace," Shanks repeated. "Why would Ace have it?"
"That's what I was wondering. This kid-."
"-Luffy," Shanks supplied him.
"Luffy right. Well Ace was particularly protective of it. I couldn't help but wonder if he knew who the previous owner of that hat-."
"No." Shanks cut him off. "No, he doesn't know. At least it doesn't seem like he does. And honestly if he did I doubt he would hold onto it. Most likely burn it." He smirked to himself at the irony.
"You know him?" Rayleigh asked.
"I've only briefly met Ace." Shanks told him. "And it's not what you think. This has nothing to do with Rodger. Ace came to thank me."
"To thank you?"
"That boy I saved, the one I entrusted my hat too was his adopted brother."
"Oh," Rayleigh said pausing a moment. "Well that's unexpected. The universe sure does have a sense of humor doesn't it."
"I've never been a big fan of coincidences." Shanks said. "Or the universal plan of it all."
"I guess not. But still, at my age you can't help but appreciate the way some things end up working out. After all you gave our captains hat to the brother of the son of our captain. That's nothing if not funny."
"Well it's not like I planned that," Shanks told him. "I didn't know until much later." Although he had a good laugh as well. Not that he had told Ace the reason for his mirth. "Although if Ace has the hat do you think somethings wrong with Luffy?"
"That's why I am here. Somethings wrong with both of them. I ran into Ace and Marco. Whitebeards first and second division commanders and they were doing the dirty work of the Whitebeard traitor Teach. Recruiting for him. I might not know Ace well but I'll be damned if that man had a son that grew to be a traitor. And even so, Marco would let the world burn before he turned on Edward."
"That's troubling," Shanks told him. Very- very troubling. Having a traitor in the crew was one thing. This was entirely different.
"Have you heard the rumors? They say the phoenix is dead. That Teach killed him. And Edward can't think about getting vengeance without risking the life of one of his favorite sons."
"I had heard whispers of blackmail and of something befalling Whitebeards right hand. But I had dismissed it. It will take a lot more then a traitor to bring Marco down. He is almost invincible. These stories are just that."
"Yes, but that's just the thing isn't it. You see all of this happened in Sabaody. And I've got my way's of getting information on my own island. So it seems like Teach was blackmailing them to get them to work for him. But then Marco disappears, and Ace returns unscathed. Teach claims the credit but no way he ever stepped foot on that island, and I doubt any lacky had the power to make that happen. So…"
"Ace would never," Shanks told him. "You might not know him but I do. He isn't the type to betray his crew mates. He would rather die."
"I figured," Rayleigh said. "That's what didn't make sense to me. If Teach has the fourth division commander that's effective for blackmail but less so for murder. You can't justify murdering one crewmate to save another, not if both are your friends. But sacrificing a friend for your family, that's a different matter."
"Oh shit," Shanks said catching the man's drift. "No-no, no. Ace wouldn't do that. I mean he wouldn't betray his whole crew. And that would mean that Teach has… Luffy."
"I honestly don't know," Rayleigh admitted. "I'm just thinking out loud here. You know more then I do about him. Because Teach is definitely blackmailing him with something and he was carrying his brothers hat around, so I connected the dots. But is there anything- anyone else- who Teach could use to control him?"
Shanks wasn't all knowing about Ace's life. He had only met the kid once. But he knew he wasn't a traitor or a backstabber. The same way he knew he cared a great deal about his brother. "No," He admitted softly. "I don't think there is. So Teach has Luffy?"
"I can't tell you for certain. But it looks like he might. Although I don't know how Teach could have pulled this off. I have a somewhat reliable information network; I like to stay up to date with the happenings of the world. And even so, if it were me with all my resources, there is no way I would have been able to pull this kidnapping off. Even if I had known Ace had a brother, I would have no idea where to look. So, I have a hard time believing Teach was capable of it on his own. And I have a harder time believing Ace told Teach or anybody where his brother was." Few pirates were stupid enough to give coordinates to their loved ones. "And that's a pretty important thing to consider. So, don't put too much weight into this idea."
"That's true," Shanks said trying to console himself. From his brief meeting with Ace it was clear that he was cautious, protective of personal information with the crews. It wasn't that he didn't trust them. He just seemed to have an extremely hard time talking about his personal life. Even to Shanks who knew everything personal there was to know about Luffy. So if his crew didn't know, and Ace didn't want to tell anyone then Teach couldn't possibly know. Right?
"I mean how many people know Ace's full story?"
"Garp," Shanks said. And the other did a double take.
"I'm sorry did you say Garp? Like the fist?"
But Garp would never, never share information like that. He had raised the two of them for that specific reason. His entire personal and professional life would be at risk if he said a single word about it. Plus he might be a questionable guardian but he wasn't a bad person. No way he would sell out his grandsons both of who he considered his family. So the only one's that could of talked were Ace, which didn't seem likely, Garp, which was even unlikely and …."
"Me." Shanks said softly.
"What?"
Dear god please forgive him. Because Teach was slippery. More treacherous then any of them had thought. And although Shanks hated to think about it the timing lined up. Perfectly. Too perfectly. A bunch of unrelated coincidences shifted to place inside his mind.
"You knew about his brothers? So what."
"No," Shanks corrected him. "It was me. I think I might have started all of this."
'Luffy I am so sorry.'
XXX
It might not seem like it but this is step two in my 'help Luffy feel better plan'. Which goes reunion, medical attention, cuddles, victory, all the cuddles.
In his defense Shanks didn't do it on purpose. I will get into the story later. But I ran out of time in this chapter. So next time we get the Whitebeards, Garp, Sengoku, Akainu and Teach's side as well as Ace returning! For all the cuddles.
Hopefully I am not boring you yet. There are only two of three-ish more chapters like this and then war time! With a lot of interesting people getting ready to fight each other! So much fun.
Thank you, guys, for being patient with me. No part of the war arc is going to be slow. So this is like a break right before all the drama starts again. Because there is no way Ace and Sabo are going to let Luffy take part in the war and there is no way he is going to miss it.
So tell me what you thought! And also tell me if you want Garp in that war or not. I'm on the fence but right now I was planning on leaving him out. Not that he won't be important later, but I thought I would ask what you guys think.
Good luck during finals! And keep staying safe and warm this winter!
XXX
iyulia juuzou: Haha, that's so fair. Soon there is going to be all three, and then just Luffy again. But all three will return!
Urutiyori: Your English is great. And thank you! I can't tell you how long I have waited to write Luffy and Sabo together again. I'm glad people don't seem to mind he is a bit out of character right now. So thank you for saying so. I worry about it. He will go back to being crazy and fearless when he get's his confidence back and feels better. He has had to adjust to be a little more wary. Ace is coming back next time! And he will definitely try and comfort Luffy. Thank you so much for the nice review! That's so nice to say.
DemonKittyAngel: You will get your ASL puppy pile, but first they need the A part to come back. Luffy is having a hard time. He's had to deal with a lot of failure especially now that he can't do much by himself anymore. I'm sure it's pretty obviouse by now but I am a big fan of surprised WB's being caught off guard by ASL brothers. Like half of the future plot points are just them getting blindsided time and time again. Hopefully it's not repetitive, but even if it is that is a sacrifice, I'm willing to make lol. Soon they are going to have to explain everything to the whole crew who are beyond confused. Haha 'little bean'.
Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you like it! Hopefully the next part will be good.
RIAEVANS: Aw thank you for the nice review.
Straybirds' Whisper: Aw, I'm glad. I was worried people were going to be bored. Marco is finally understanding what was going on between Ace and Sabo. It seems like even in the manga the three of them maintained a lot of similarities with each other personality wise. Even after years apart. They are always shown to be unknowingly copying each other's actions. Haha, I'm glad you liked that part. Luffy's always good at being serious and ridiculous at the same time. Thank you for the really nice review!
akura240: Same here haha. I have never re read this story. I keep trying but I keep giving up because I hate the early chapters. I did not like this story when I started writing it (thus the five-chapter limit). And I think how disinterested I was shows in the writing. But since then it is my new favorite thing to write haha.
I promise feel good cuddles. Luffy is getting taking care of again and he is slowly starting to feel better. ASL cuddles soon. They definitely deserve it for everything that happened and will- cough- happen. But they will get their revenge.
And that is so nice to hear. I'm glad you like the WB and ASL together. They will be close later but a lot of things happened that makes them hesitant. I'm glad the reunion was okay. Ace is coming back next chapter! I meant to be this one but I totally ran out of room. I love ASL cuddles too, so there will be plenty from now on.
And Thank You! I was so worried I wasn't doing Luffy justice. He is a bit OC but I also don't want to write him in character with everything that happened so I was stuck. But as always lots more Sabo and Luffy. And Sabo taking care of him like the responsible one he is. I wish he stayed longer too! He and Luffy still had so many things to talk about! Or at least like one more thing.
I am so glad to hear you like it! You guys totally keep this story going with your support. And thank you for understanding. Same to you, take care of yourself and stay safe.
GeekyWolf101: Aw, thanks. That's so nice.
Wishfull-star: Wow, that is such a nice compliment. I am so glad you think so. And same too you. Stay safe.
CoolCatz14: Poor Luffy indeed. He is going to get better! I am glad you like it. They will all be together soon.
Guest #2?: And soon Ace will come back!
Thanks for the chapter! Great again! Now only Ace is missing
Mel72000: Thank you for the review!
Criis46: Aw thanks. I love them too. We need more Sabo. He is amazing. I am really glad you like the story! Thank you so much for the nice compliment.
Aquarica: Luffy needs so many hugs. But soon he will get all of them. Sabo and soon Ace and of course Thatch are happy to look out for him from now on.
SvalbardGirl: Aw, thank you. I love Sabo and Ace too. They are so strong and kind. Luffy is having a really hard time but he is a tough fluff and he will rise above, just with lots of cuddles first. And I'm glad people liked the sandwich. I always worry if I just have a weird sense of humor. Ace will be back soon!
Yes: That's so fair I made this story unnecessarily complicated. Haruta and Izo have been comepltly out of the loop on everything. They learned Luffy was Ace's brother during the throne room confrontation. They learned about Sabo last chapter because Marco told him, only because he had literally just found in from Thatch right before (chapters 43 and 44). Marco found out about Luffy much earlier. The second Ace took off and he went after him Ace spilled that Teach had stolen Luffy. Marco told Whitebeard but no one else on Ace's request. And no problem, I love answering questions. Thank you so much for the nice words.
Pause143: Aw I'm glad you like it. So much comfort to come. He definitely deserves it after everything that happened to him. You are the best! And that's so sweet to say, aw thank you.
xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Luffy loves his brothers and hates when people say bad thigns about them : )
Resnelia: I'm so glad to know you like it. It's always nice to hear people are still interested. That is so sweet of you. I am really glad you like it. Soon enough the ASL boys will be causing chaos for the WB's.
vcelinka123: Aw thanks! Luffy support will continue.
BlueHeartNina: Thank you! I love them together. Luffy will feel better a bit later.