Closest Thing to a Brother Ch 9
and so, after far too long, here's the newest chapter! Enjoy!
Ch. 9. Boys Being Boys
The next morning, the four boys were back at the river finishing up a meal of crocodile.
"Hey, Nati?" Luffy began. "Can we continue my target practice after breakfast?"
Nati smiled and shook his head in amusement.
"You're full of surprises." He chuckled. "Tomorrow, Luffy, I promise."
"Okay."
"Why not now?" Sabo asked.
"Because I have another promise to keep that's overdue." Nati threw his last bone into his pile and looked at Ace and Sabo. "I believe I owe you two a fight."
"Are you serious?" Ace said.
"Of course!" Nati replied. "I don't go back on a promise."
"Told ya!"
After ruffling Luffy's hair in response to his comment, Nati stood up and straightened out his vest.
"So, who wants to go first?"
"Me." Sabo answered as he jumped to his feet. "If you went up against Ace first, there's no way you'd have the energy to fight me. And besides, from the way I've seen you fight before, I'm pretty sure we're on the same level."
"Fair enough." Nati replied, although it sounded more like he was saying, 'you keep telling yourself that,' as he walked out to the center of the riverside, then looked back at Sabo, and motioned for him to follow. As they took positions across from each other, Nati grabbed the back and front of his Robin Hood cap and adjusted it firmly onto his head and lowered into a fighting stance.
"Whenever you're ready, Sabo."
With that invitation, Sabo came running towards Nati. It was only when Sabo was a few feet away that the 8-year-old met his charge. Just before the two made contact, Nati ducked under Sabo's punch and pivoted behind him, but Sabo spun around in the opposite direction with such speed, that Nati almost didn't have time to jump back and dodge the punch thrown at him. As he skidded to a stop and regained his balance that he nearly lost from his sudden change in momentum, Nati looked up at the blond and smiled.
"I almost forgot it's not Luffy I'm fighting." He said.
"Yeah." Sabo smirked. "The feeling's mutual."
"Then I assume you won't make the same mistake again either."
"No, I won't."
"Good."
With that, the two boys charged each other again, both meeting the other with more ferocity than the first exchange and both meeting each other blow for blow. Nati tried to land a roundhouse kick to Sabo's ribcage, but the blond backstepped, then sprung forward with a punch to Nati's chest that he sidestepped, then countered with a jab to Sabo's head, only to have his fist deflected to the side. All the while, Ace watched with more interest than usual and Luffy was somehow cheering on both his best friend and his older brother.
Then, just as he redirected a punch Sabo threw, Nati used his other hand to grab the rim of Sabo's top hat and yanked it down over his eyes. As the blond staggered back, trying to pull his hat off, Nati did another sharp pivot around Sabo, grabbing his coattails as he went, and once he was back in front of him, Nati pulled the tail hard and spun Sabo off balance. While the 10-year-old struggled to remove his hat, Nati relaxed out of his stance and folded his arms in front of him.
"That was a dirty trick!" Sabo pulled his top hat off over his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Nati standing in front of him smirking.
"If you go into any fight thinking that," the maroon haired boy held out his hand for Sabo, "then you won't last longer than a minute."
"Why do I get the feeling that's the voice of experience talking?" Sabo took Nati's hand and pulled himself onto his feet.
"'There's no such thing as a fair fight'. My father said that every time I complained about a cheap shot he took at me; I could probably say it in my sleep, I've heard it so many times." Nati looked over at Ace. "Hey, Ace, it's your turn. Let's go!"
With that invitation, Ace stood up and walked to the center of the riverside, passing Sabo who sat down next to Luffy.
"Alright, Ace," Nati once again adjusted his Robin Hood cap firmly onto his head, "whenever you're-"
But Ace was already charging him, determined to get the first hit before the 8-year-old knew what was coming. Caught off guard at first, Nati was just barely able to bring his arms up in front of him to block the punch to his chest that was strong enough to push him back several feet.
"No sense of common courtesy, Ace?" Nati said as he rubbed the spot on his arm where the 10-year-old's punch hit.
"Like you said before, there's no such thing as a fair fight." Ace replied, cracking his knuckles.
Nati smirked at his response as he lowered into a fighting stance. "I like you."
The two boys charged each other, both meeting in the middle with a punch to their fists so powerful that both Luffy and Sabo felt the shockwave that accompanied it. As Nati spun around Ace to try and land a punch to the side of his jaw, Ace responded by raising his arm to block it, then countered with a punch of his own to the maroon haired boy's head. Nati grabbed the incoming punch and tried to bring his knee up into the 10-year-old's diaphragm only to have Ace block it with his other arm and use the leverage and momentum to get enough air to successfully land a powerful kick to Nati's face. Nati staggered backwards, holding his mouth and nose. After a moment, he looked down at the blood on his palm dripping from his nose.
"Had enough yet?" Ace smirked.
Nati only responded by glaring at Ace as he forcefully wiped the blood away from his nose and brought his fists up in front of him.
"I'll take that as a 'no'."
Ace ran at Nati, fist reared back for a punch that the 8-year-old ducked under and countered with an uppercut that barely missed when Ace backstepped. The 10-year-old prepared to bring his fist down on top of Nati's head, but the maroon haired boy had already sprung backwards, well out of reach, the moment he saw his last attack didn't connect, but Ace was already on top of him, charging in with another punch that Nati moved out of the way of and countered with a punch that Ace grabbed.
When Ace tried to land a punch while he had Nati caught, the maroon haired boy responded by grabbing the fist as well. The two boys held this position for several tense moments, both pushing to land a punch and to keep the other from landing a punch on them. Suddenly, Nati screwed his mouth as if he had something in it and spat a large glob of red at the 10-year-old's face.
Ace recoiled and moved to wipe the blood away, but Nati was already on him, grabbing his wrist and in one swift movement, rolled backwards and planted his feet on the raven haired boy's stomach pushing him up and over and into the river, then pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. He looked back at the river as Ace resurfaced coughing and smiled before he walked over to the edge.
"Bit the inside of my mouth when you hit me." Nati offered his hand to Ace. "Had enough yet?"
Ace only growled and pushed Nati's hand away as he climbed out of the river. If he noticed a small glimmer of admiration in Ace's eyes as he passed, Nati didn't comment; he only rinsed the blood out of his mouth and followed. The two boys rejoined Luffy and Sabo, the former of the two wrapping his arms around Nati, laughing excitedly.
"Disgusting, but effective." Sabo chuckled.
"Second rule of fighting: anything can be used as a weapon. Luffy, do you mind; your straw hat's scratching my eye."
"Another lesson from your dad?" Ace said.
"He once beat me by using a feather."
"Was it the one in your hat?" Sabo asked.
Nati's mood shifted somewhat as he looked down for a second before he stood up.
"What's wrong?" Sabo said.
"Nothing, it's just…" Nati slung his seabag over his shoulder. "I'm going to Windmill Village to do some purchasing and trading; I'll be back later."
As he walked away from the group, Ace and Sabo both looked at each other in confusion then at Luffy, who had pulled his straw hat down over his eyes in hopes to avoid the obvious question they had.
"Luffy…" Ace began.
"Please don't ask me, Ace, I promised him I wouldn't tell."
With both knowing how Luffy felt in regards to his loyalty to his friends, the two 10-year-old's had no choice but to leave the subject at that.
During the next few days, the four boys did everything together. The only time when that wasn't the case was when the brothers went to Gray Terminal and Nati vanished either into the forest to do hunting or into High Town to, "take care of some important matters," but they would always meet up at the river when they were done. One day, the three brothers were waiting at the river for Nati to join them, but he was taking much longer than usual.
"You think he's okay?" Luffy asked.
"I'm sure he's fine." Sabo replied.
"Yeah, but still, what's keeping him?" Ace said.
At that moment, a loud yell brought their attention to the forest, where they saw Nati come stumbling out as if he had been thrown.
"Hi, Nati!" Luffy exclaimed.
"What happened to you?" Sabo asked.
"Where have you been?" Ace said.
Nati got onto his knees and was about to answer when his eyes went wide, and he froze.
"Nobody move." He said.
"What?" Luffy replied.
"Don't…move." Nati got to his feet very slowly, eyes transfixed on Luffy.
"Why?" Sabo asked.
"Everyone just stay still; no sudden movements."
Nati moved very slowly towards the three brothers, eyes still focused on Luffy. Then suddenly, he pounced at the 7-year-old, who stumbled backwards with a surprised yelp as his friend crashed into him. The two boys lay sprawled on the ground dazed before Nati quickly got up on all fours.
"What in the hell was-" Ace tried to say.
"GIMME THAT!" Disregarding his seabag next to Luffy, Nati scrambled to his feet and in one swift movement, snatched Sabo's hat off his head and shoved past the two 10-year-olds. He then lunged forward and landed a few feet away with Sabo's hat held firmly with both hands on the ground in front of him.
"Ha, ha! Gotcha!" He exclaimed as he shoved his hand under the hat. "Now where are you, you little – OWW!"
Nati yanked his hand backwards and the three boys were shocked to see a large, white stag beetle latched on between his thumb and index finger.
"You evil little insect." He growled while carefully removing the bug from his hand. "Hey, Luffy, could you bring me my bag?"
"You mean you nearly flattened Luffy over a stupid bug?!" Ace yelled while Luffy ran over with his friend's seabag.
"I'll have you know this 'stupid bug' is worth half a fortune to collectors." Nati opened his seabag and rummaged around until he pulled out a glass jar.
"It is?"
"I know, I didn't believe it either when my father told me that." Nati dropped the beetle in the jar and closed the lid. "But it's true; people really will pay for things like bugs."
"What kind of bugs?" Luffy asked.
"I'll teach them to you later, if you want."
"Really?!"
"I promise."
"Wow." Sabo chuckled while Nati rejoined them and gave the blond his hat back. "That's got to be the first harmless thing you've promised to teach him."
"Hey," Nati pretended to be offended, "not everything I do with Luffy is dangerous… Just most of it."
To which all four boys burst into laughter.
The next few days after that passed by in a blur and soon the three brothers were at the docks watching Nati load the last of his supplies onto the Shadow.
"So, you'll be back in about a month?" Sabo said.
"Hey, as long as I have a reason to, I'll always come back to Goa."
As a means of emphasizing his point, Nati walked over to Luffy who was sitting with his feet dangling over the side of the docks.
"I really wish you didn't have to go so soon." Luffy pouted.
"Luffy, you know I can't stay." Nati replied and ran a hand through Luffy's hair.
When the 7-year-old didn't look up at him, Nati sighed and sat down next to him, wrapping his arms around him softly.
"C'mon, little buddy, I'll be back before you know it." Nati pulled away and smiled. "You're seeing me off after all, right?"
Luffy looked back at his friend and smiled back. "Right." He nodded.
"Is there a reason that's important?" Sabo asked.
"It's a tradition on my island;" Nati replied as he stood up. "If you're seen off by someone who cares about you, then you're guaranteed a safe return."
"I've always seen Nati off from Dawn Island." Luffy added as he stood up as well.
"Wait, does that mean someone sees you off from Obsidian Island?" Ace asked.
"Does anyone remember if I put the apple barrels on yet?"
Before anyone could say anything, Nati ran off to check his remaining supplies. Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo looked first in the direction Nati had run off to, then at each other, and finally at Luffy, who was looking everywhere except at his two older brothers.
"Luffy, does he do that a lot?" Sabo asked.
"Umm…" Luffy muttered. "Well…"
"Hey, Luffy, could you come over here and give me a hand with this?" Nati called.
Luffy quickly took the opportunity to escape and darted in the direction of his friend. Of course, it didn't go unnoticed to Ace or Sabo that Nati had deliberately pulled Luffy away to keep him from answering the question. Unfortunately, there was very little either one could do about it.
Soon, Nati had all his supplies onboard and his ship was finally ready for departure.
"As always, little buddy, it was a joy spending time with you." Nati hugged Luffy tightly. "And I'll be looking forward to coming back and spending time with you again."
Luffy hugged Nati back just as tightly. "One month's time." He whispered into his vest.
"One month's time…" Nati gave the 7-year-old one last squeeze before walking over to Ace and Sabo, his gaze shifting from playful to serious.
"And you two…" the intense gaze from the 8-year-old was met by the equally intense gaze from Ace and Sabo, although more from the former than the latter, who had a shade of uncertainty behind his eyes. Then after what felt like an eternity, Nati's gaze shifted back to their playful glint. "I'm glad we were able to get things straightened out." He smiled as he held out his hand.
With a part of him relieved that the momentary tension between them had dissipated, Sabo gladly took the hand in his own and firmly shook it, smiling.
"Me too." The blond replied. "I hate seeing Luffy upset."
"I think that's one thing we can agree on." Nati glanced over at Ace. "You guys try and keep him out of trouble until I get back."
"As if you even have to ask us." Ace scoffed.
With one final nod, Nati smiled, turned to Luffy, and ruffled his hair before boarding his ship and casting off. As the Shadow disappeared from view, Luffy only continued waving both his hands in goodbye, grinning widely. Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo both looked at each other and smiled. Neither of them would openly admit it, but they were both starting to grow fond of the interesting boy from Obsidian Island.
To be continued
This chapter took much longer to write than I wanted it to, but I hope this was worth it. and the good news is that the next chapter is mostly finished, so I should have it up fairly soon!