Pain, suffering, the feeling of failure, the feeling of letting everyone down who had done so much to save his life. He felt so much when he was there, resting in his beloved brother's arms. He also felt so blessed that so many people cared so much about him, that they had given their lives for his own protection, his own future, and they had done so without any thoughts whatsoever.
He felt blessed to have lived with such a great brother, a great father, and a great family, even if they were all adopted. They meant the world to him, and he was going to lose it all; he was going to die right here, right now. He knew it, he could see the darkness at the edge of his vision as it closed in, the light slowly fading before it as he knew he was going to die.
He had to say something, he had to force something out of his mouth as he spoke, he let his emotions show, his feelings, his gratitude for what had happened, what these people had done. 'Thank you for loving me,' he finished as the darkness was just about to close in. He made three wishes in that moment in time.
The first one was that his brother would achieve his goal, that he would find all the happiness in the world. He believed he would do this anyhow, but a wish wouldn't harm anything. Second, he wished that the others who cared about him could find happiness in their lives, be it Marco, Yamato, or Isuka. Lastly, selfishly, he wished he had another chance to start this whole adventure somewhere where events before he was born would affect his life and shape the course of his life. A place where he could be free and could follow the path he chose for himself.
With that, Portgas D. Ace, the fire fist, was no more, his life ending at the age of twenty. His life, akin to that of a meteor, blazed brightly for a moment before swiftly fading, just as it had appeared in the sky.
Ace figured he was going to see the afterlife. He wasn't sure if he would see the gates of heaven, the fiery pits of hell, or something in between, but he figured he would see one of the two things when he opened his eyes the next time. He knew that most likely it wasn't going to be heaven; he had done too many things that were considered bad in the eyes of so many, and that was why he had been killed for the first time. That was why his grandpa had to suffer for his actions. Would he change them? No, but he did feel a twinge of guilt for that.
"A second chance free of the past, and the situation you were born into, is that really what you want?" a voice said into his mind. This voice had no shape or form; the sound of the voice was as neutral as possible. "So you want to go on more adventures and see how far you can get without the baggage of those who came before you?"
Ace found himself in this void for a moment, nothing around him as he thought about it. He smiled, a grin forming on his lips that was a bit cheeky in nature as he looked into the nothingness. "Of course, it sounds fun, I want to see how far I can take and what great adventures I can go on. I want to prove my power, my worth through my actions, and I want to have a fun once again," he yelled out loudly as he confirmed the wish to the void that was around himself in that moment.
Ace could sweat he heard a laugh from the voice, an odd thing to hear from something without shape or form, but he was pretty sure he heard it. "Well, Portgas D Ace, consider this to be your lucky day, but there are two catches, one you must play by the rules of this new world," the voice said pausing.
Ace thought about this for a moment; it was a hard request. Playing by the rules, doing things not his own way, wasn't really his style, but for a second chance, it would be worth it. "Sure, I guess so. It's never been my style, but I can give it a shot, I guess, for this new adventure."
"Okay, then next you will lose all your memories, but this first agreement will be in your mind, that you must play by the rules. All other memories will be locked away so you can get used to this new world of yours, as you go make new ones. You should not focus on the old or who you were, but who you will be," the voice said calmly and collectively as it remained rather neutral in tone. "In exchange, you will keep your natural potential and talent. You will be blessed in this new world with abilities that are as impressive as in your last life."
Ace thought about this as he frowned. "I want to at least remember my family, please. That is all I want, even if it is only in dreams. The rest of that is fine, whatever," he pleaded with this unknown and invisible voice that he couldn't see.
"I see. Well, I think that can be arranged. You will keep the memories of them, but you will only have them after a while, after you have found your place in this new world. Can't have you confused about who you are and all," the voice replied, giving in a bit to Ace on this point of contention.
"Then fine, I accept. I will play by the rules of this world, and I will find my new path while doing so. I will prove myself strong and have the greatest adventure ever in this new world that you are sending me to," Ace said, agreeing to the deal.
"Good, then I shall wish you the best of luck in this new life of yours. May fortune serve you well, and may your path be an interesting one," the voice said as Ace soon would fade from view once again, as the voice, the figureless, remained.
"Now, where to put him to give him an interesting adventure," the voice said to itself. "Yes, that would work. Now let's see, I could give him to someone of note, but that would be boring. I could give him to someone without much, or I could really be selfish," the voice said as it thought about where it was going to leave the fire user. "Yes, I think that would work well enough. It should be interesting too."
A young man had just fought an impossible battle, and somehow he was still kind of alive. His long brown hair was spread on the ground beneath him as he blinked. This man had fought a great battle against a group of bandits who were aiming to cause a lot of problems. As he breathed, he knew that his life was going to end. He knew that his life was at its last moment as he felt his life force growing weak.
Looking up at the perfect night sky, the stars were so beautiful that night as he reached out with his hand, his long fingers grasping for the stars themselves. He was breathing heavily as he lay on the battleground; his own abilities had used his life force to win this fight, but they left him on the edge of death.
As his brown eyes looked at the sky above, he saw what looked like a falling star that flew down and hit the earth, but there was no explosion whatsoever. What an odd thing to see. Was it because he was going to die? It would make sense. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking he was going to die.
"Mister, there is a boy that fell nearby. I have a task for you: take the boy in, raise him, and do your best. I am giving you this task, and if you agree to do so, you will be given back enough life force to live a normal life as long as you don't do anything crazy. Understood, Ryota?" the voice said to his mind as he blinked, shocked. "I know you're a man of your word, and you're a religious man. Swear you will do this on the spirit of light, and I shall do this for you. You may never tell anyone of this deal as well; this is to be forgotten."
Ryota paused, thinking about this. "Well, that is a tall order, but if it is a kid who needs help, sure, I don't mind if you give me a longer life, as there are things I still have to do still with this life of mine," Ryota said as he looked up. "By the spirit of life, I promise to watch after this kid that you have put forth. That isn't hard in the least; a kid should have a good chance for a good life after all."
Suddenly, the brown-haired man felt a surge of power flowing through his body as his own life force returned to him in full. He felt alive, and he felt better than he had in a long while. He pushed himself off the ground of a canyon floor; before him were the fallen bandits whom he had defeated. He looked toward the sight of the place where the light had fallen from the sky and found it: the basket with a baby inside, tufts of black hair popping out as he looked at it.
Ryota looked at it for a moment as he picked it up. He had made a promise, and this was the kid. He figured he had to get this kid home to his home in Konoha, and he would give him a better future. To think this moment had happened, he closed his eyes for a moment as the lean, tall ninja of Konoha thanked the spirit of light for giving him a second chance at life. The twenty-three-year-old would have a chance to return home, where he planned to help out and focus on being a good man for his wife, this kid, and for his own son who was going to be born within a few months.
He walked through the night to get home in Konoha, the news of the defeat of the bandits behind him. It had been a hell of a fight, he had gone all out. The importance of the fight was lost on Ryota, though, as it had been a fight to protect others, and the details were not that important to him. He was more excited to get home as he walked to the outskirts of town, where he found his old home near the gate of the village. He wasn't sure how this was going to go over, but it was the deal, and he had to make this work.
Walking to the door, he knocked, and then, as the door opened, he was hugged tightly by a shorter, beautiful, and elegant woman with lush flowing black hair. She hugged him tightly, pulling him close, her round stomach pressing against him as he felt the happiness in her arms to have him back.
"Ryota," she said weakly as she looked at him, "I had this feeling that I had lost you, my love," she said as she looked at him, her voice filled with worry and concern. She was the shrine maiden, a beauty who had once been seen as bad luck and was run out of her small home village. "Your mom is asleep, but I think she is worried too," she said softly as she then noticed the basket. Her eyes searched his for an explanation.
"I found the boy in the destruction caused by a group of bandits up near the border. The parents had begged me to watch out for him and give him a chance in their final moments. I couldn't say no, and I am fine. I will be fine. I have never felt better in my life. I promise I will never leave your side, my love," he said as he looked her in the eye, the baby still very much asleep at that moment.
"I see. Then bring in the baby. We can figure this out together. You do look much better than before," she said softly, as she looked at him. Tia was sure there was more at play; her husband had been at death's door before, his life force fading, and now he was back to the man he was in his prime. Something had happened, and she could guess it had something to do with the kid, but it was a blessing any way she looked at it, and she wasn't going to push it.