Chapter 15
Two Years Later
"What is haki?" Luffy asked, leaning over Ace's shoulder. "Can you eat it?"
Ace rolled his eyes. They were having their weekly call with Sabo, who was happily going on about some haki thing neither he nor Luffy understood. Law had mentioned it briefly a couple of times, and he had seen the Heart pirates trying to practise it, but Ace didn't really know much about it. Mum had promised to start teaching him about it when he was older, so hopefully now that Sabo was learning about it Ace could too.
The rain poured down all around them, but Ace kept himself and Luffy sheltered from it by simply holding up his hand, coaxing the water to go around them instead of on top of them. He could see Law doing the same thing for him and Bepo across the meadow they where in, but Law was struggling in comparison, Ace could see droplets of water leaking through every so often, hitting Law's hood that protected his hat or Bepo's head.
Mum had said other clans trying to use each others specialities was very difficult. Ace couldn't heal to save himself. It took so much patience and energy that by the time Ace managed to heal all his cuts he'd pass out. Mum was the same way, healing did not come naturally to her at all. She had no patience for it.
"No!" Sabo huffed. "Dragon told me that it's a power that utilizes a person's spiritual energy for various purposes. Like sensing other people's spiritual energy to predict their action. That's Observation Haki. Or another type is one that uses their energy to coat their body in a protective layer. That one is Armament Haki."
"There is one more," Mum said. "You've used it before, Ace."
Ace startled. He whirled round, spotting his mum sitting beneath a tree. He tried to think of what she meant, but he had no idea. Sabo sounded baffled too. Law perked up, curious, as did Bepo, Shachi and Penguin. Shachi and Penguin who had stopped their wrestling on the soaking wet grass to watch them.
'Dragon said that was a really rare type!" Sabo breathed out. "Yet Ace has used it already?"
Mum nodded. "He used it two years ago to knock out all of Bluejam's men. It's the ability to overwhelm the willpower of others. It is said whoever possesses this has the quality of a King. I have it, and so did Roger."
"I got it from both of you?" Ace frowned.
He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He still hated Roger some days, but his mum had been trying to tell him more about Roger. The man she knew and loved. Ace wasn't sure how to feel about that Roger, because of how different he sounded from the monster Ace had been told of millions of times.
The monster whose blood ran through Ace's veins.
The monster his mum loved.
Dragon had said a lot of things to do with Roger had been propaganda too, lies told by the government to keep the populace fearing Roger. It was hard though to think of Roger as anything but a monster. There were so many people who hated him.
"Most likely. It does seem to pass down from parent to child," Rouge said, glancing at Luffy. "I'm expecting you to awaken it one day too."
"Me?" Luffy blinked.
"Yep. I guess if Sabo is starting to train with haki I may as well start you two as well," Rouge mused. "I was going to wait until Ace was about fourteen, but I suppose now is fine too."
"Eh? You waited with us!" Shachi whined.
"You're weaklings who don't have freakishly human strength," Rouge pointed out. "And Law was still in recovery. Of course I wasn't going to push you three too hard."
"Three?" Penguin tilted his head.
"Bepo's a mink," Rouge said. "He would have been fine."
"Wait, minks are real?!" Shachi cried.
Rouge laughed. "Did you think Bepo was just a random talking bear?"
"They didn't believe me when I told them about minks and where my home is," Bepo said.
"Rahahahaha! Blue kids." Rouge shook her head fondly. "So sweet and innocent."
"Oi-" Law scowled.
"Shush you, you know I wasn't talking about you, even if you are a sweetheart," Rouge teased.
Law rolled his eyes.
"Yeah! Let's do what Sabo is doing. Shishishishishi!" Luffy beamed.
"How are you getting on so far, Sabo?" Ace asked.
"I'm getting on with Observation better than Armament." The snail grimaced. "It's really hard! And it's going to take a lot of time. I've been working on the theory for a month, and that's me only just gotten into the proper training itself."
"You'll get it in no time," Ace reassured. "It's just a shame we can't practise with you."
"Yeah! We miss you, Sabo. Ace is nicer now, but he's still sometimes grumpy," Luffy complained.
"I'll kick your ass for that later." Ace scowled.
"See!" Luffy gasped. "Save me, Sabo!"
Sabo laughed. "You dug that hole yourself, Lu. But I'm glad you're happier, Ace. You sound much more relaxed these days."
Ace shifted. "Well, I'm meant to be the responsible big brother now, right?"
The snail grinned. "Exactly!"
"Besides, we have the Hearts to annoy now too." Luffy grinned.
"Room."
Ace watched as Luffy's head popped off. Luffy who screeched as his head floated away from his body.
"AHHHH, NOT MY HEAD!" Luffy cried.
"Ha!" Shachi cackled.
"Yeah, the Hearts wouldn't exactly be my choice of target considering Law's devil fruit abilities," Sabo admitted.
Ace laughed. "Law does have a cool ability, that's for sure!"
"Yeah, our Captain is awesome!" Shachi stuck out his tongue at Luffy. "Much better than you, Straw hat!"
"I'll get you back when I get my head back!" Luffy yelled.
Ace grinned, but he paused when he saw Law looking into the distance. He had grown quiet again, but Bepo nudged him out of his trance. Ace understood it of course. Ever since he had turned twelve there was this feeling that he needed to be somewhere in the same direction Law kept looking off to.
There was something waiting for them, and it was unnerving not knowing what it was.
Thankfully there was a lot here to do to distract them, and it was never quiet, even at nighttime, but still. Sometimes the calling was so great that not even the noise around them blanked it out entirely.
Maybe one day they could discover what it was without being captured and brought to it, but until then Ace wouldn't risk it. He liked being free. He liked being here, even if he did miss Sabo.
.::.
Luffy stared intently at the hat store while Law handed the elderly lady her money for their groceries. It was the most focused Law swore he had ever seen Luffy. It was a little unnerving actually.
"Luffy-ya, what are you doing?" Law finally asked.
"Ace needs a hat."
Law raised a brow. "Okay, I'm curious, why?"
"I have a hat, Sabo has a hat, you have a hat, and so does Shachi and Penguin! Only Bepo, Shadow Lady and Ace don't, but Bepo is fluffy and doesn't really need a hat."
Law nodded. "Alright, and which hat suits Ace the most?"
"That is what I'm picking out now," Luffy said, tilting his head. "I'm stuck on which ones look coolest!"
Luffy pointed at a pair that were very bright in colour. A bit too bright for Law's taste, but it would probably suit Ace.
.::.
"Ace! Ace! Ace!"
Ace had been trying to fix the plants, but the sudden yelling startled his concentration, and they flopped over again. He hated trying to use earth, water, yes, fire, hell yes, but wind and earth elements were such a pain.
"Dammit," Ace huffed.
"Yeah I don't think they're coming back," Shachi sighed. "Thanks for trying though."
"You need to water them more often," Ace said, crossing his arms.
"I just get distracted and forget about them," Shachi admitted.
"Oh yeah, duck!" Ace yelled, yanking Shachi down.
Ace barely dodged Luffy flying at him. He caught his brother before Luffy could hit the plants. Luffy was beaming, eyes bright and fidgeting all over. He had a bag in his hands, and he was already squirming free of Ace's grasp.
"What's got you so excited, Lu?" Ace ruffled his hair.
"I got you a present!" Luffy grinned. "I even bought it. It's so cool!"
"Uh oh." Shachi grimaced.
"Why did you buy me a present?" Ace snorted. "It's not my birthday."
"You have to have it!" Luffy reached into the bag. "You don't have a hat, but we all do- Except Bepo, but Bepo doesn't need a hat! And Shadow Lady too! She needs a hat!"
Law walked over clutching their shopping, smirking. "He spent quite a bit of timing picking the right one too, so hopefully you like it, Ace-ya."
Luffy pulled out the most glorious hat in the world. Ace beamed. It looked like his mum's hat. Except instead of white his was orange. It had a smiley face and a sad face resting upon it's rim, both blue, a complete contrast to the orange hat.
It was perfect.
"Now you can have a hat!" Luffy cheered, planting it on his head. "We all have hats now! Except the Shadow Lady and Bepo!"
"Rouge," Mum corrected with a heavy sigh. "And I did have a hat. Two in fact, but that was because I stole an old friend's one and he never got a chance to claim it back."
"I don't think he's ever going to say your name, Mum," Ace laughed.
"It doesn't seem like it. The little shit." Mum scowled, but there was a fondness to her tone.
Luffy hugged him. "I hope you like it!"
Ace softened. "Thanks for the gift, Luffy."
"That I paid for," Law cut in.
Ace paused. "Luffy, I thought you said you paid for it?"
"No, he tried to run off with it to show you first, so I paid for it when the poor store man started yelling," Law explained.
"Shishishishi, oh yeah, forgot about that!" Luffy grinned. "I was so excited to give Ace his gift!"
"I noticed," Law said dryly.
.::.
Law trembled as he clutched the newspaper tightly in his hands. He had gone pale, almost white as a sheet, while Dragon sat next to him, looking grim. Dragon had arrived late that night, or well, very early that morning, Ace should say. He had woken Law up (and of course the rest of them had followed) and showed Law the newspaper.
"What's wrong, Traffy?" Luffy asked, leaning over Law's shoulder, peering at the newspaper. "Ah! That's the Flamingo!"
"What?!" Ace gasped, pushing in too.
All of them squeezed in to look at the newspaper, trapping Law between them. Law looked devastated, but Ace could see Bepo already tugging Law into his lap, wrapping him up in a comforting hug.
"He took over Dressrosa," Law said weakly, head hung low. "And it's all my fault... If I hadn't given Cora-san's information to Vergo-"
"You couldn't have known Vergo was a spy for Doflamingo," Dragon soothed.
"It doesn't matter. All of Cora-san's work was ruined because of me..." Law sulked, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I ruined everything..."
He had let go of the newspaper and left it in Luffy's hands. Luffy who was already doodling on Doflamingo's face, adding devil horns and a moustache.
"That's not true, Law!" Penguin protested.
"Yeah, you're being way too hard on yourself. You remember what state you were in when you had met us," Shachi reminded. "You were also a kid at the time. A very sick one."
"I'll kick the Flamingo's ass when I go there on my adventure to become Pirate King," Luffy declared.
"Pfft, I'll beat you to him," Ace insisted. "I'll be leaving before you after all, Luffy."
"Stingy, Ace! Don't kick Mingo's ass before me! I've got to do it. He upset Traffy!"
"I'm the oldest out of the two of us so I've gotta do it!" Ace protested.
"Penguin's the oldest out of all of us," Shachi pointed out.
"I can't beat Doflamingo," Penguin huffed.
"Not the time, boys," Dragon sighed. "Law, if Rosinante, a professionally trained Marine spy, didn't know about Vergo, then there was no way you ever could have known. You were also very ill if what I found out was correct. I even assume your time was coming to an end that very same week."
Luffy stiffened as did Ace. Law would have been dead if not for this 'Cora-san' guy. He had saved Law just like Shanks had saved Luffy. Ace hardened his resolve. Cora-san may be a Marine, but he would thank Cora-san for saving Law's life. Ace couldn't imagine his life now without Law's dry humour and wit. Without Bepi's hugs and Penguin's and Shachi's relentless teasing, especially over Luffy. It was nice having the three around, comforting honestly, and Ace couldn't bare with the thought of having nearly lost that.
Law flinched. "How did you know?"
"One of my spies managed to get a hold of Rosinante's reports. You were close, Law. Way too close," Dragon said. "You were not in the right mind frame for anything, especially not handing over highly classified documentation to a Marine. If Rosinante hadn't been so desperate he probably wouldn't have given it to you in your condition, but he was, he gave his information to a dying teenager who only had days left to live and could barely walk." He clutched Law's shoulders, shaking him firmly, earning a startled look. "Get it through your head, Trafalgar Law, you were dying! None of it was your fault! Dressrosa has nothing to do with you!"
Law made a choked, hiccuping sound, then let out a shaky breath and nodded.
"And if you think that way again I'll have Kuma send you flying for a week," Dragon threatened, standing up to tower over them all. "This world is suffocating under the weight of its darkness, but that weight can't be shouldered alone, nor should it ever be, and it should not have to be burdened on those who did no wrong either, but sadly the road is never that easy. Law, do not go after Doflamingo yourself, he wants you for both your devil fruit and as a witch. If you try to fight him alone he will lock you up. We both know this. Doflamingo is not your responsibility either."
"I don't know if I agree with that last part..." Law muttered, wiping his eyes.
Ace frowned. "We'll be happy to fight him with you, Law. Both my crew and Luffy's, whenever he catches up to us."
"I'll be super fast!" Luffy insisted.
"D. will make a storm..." Law mumbled softly beneath his breath.
Dragon paused, eyes wide, then he grinned sharply. He then nodded to them all. "I came to give you the news and make sure you handled it alright, Law. Now my business is done. Sabo can keep me updated."
"Sabo?" Ace raised an eyebrow.
"The Heart kids and Luffy tell him everything." Dragon smirked. "And I think you've done a great job lately, Ace. You haven't asked anyone about Roger in town despite Garp showing up here and reminding you."
Ace flushed. "You told me to keep it a secret..."
"Indeed. Well done."
"Rahahaha, praising this one always makes him embarrassed." Mum's hand patted his head, and Ace jumped, not having heard her appear. "Thank you for coming personally, Dragon. I know you're busy, but you were more helpful than me with this sort of conversation."
"Because you in part blame yourself for Baterilla," Dragon said, eyeing her coldly.
Ace choked on a gasp. She what?
.::.
Rouge smiled sharply. "Mainly the Marines and World Government. Both of whom I will one day see crushed in my fist, but yes, apart of me does feel a little blame. If I hadn't gone home there wouldn't have been rumours, or perhaps there would have been." Rouge shrugged. "Who knows?"
"We're both probably suffering survivors guilt..." Law mumbled, eyeing her. "And before you say you're dead, we both know most people don't come back as ghosts."
Rouge hummed. "True."
Rouge wasn't too worried about it at the moment. She was always busy with one of the kids, but sometimes during the quiet of the night her thoughts would drift back to the sickening stench of fear in Baterilla. Her people's desperate cries. It had been a few years since Baterilla too, but she could understand Law's pain.
It wasn't one that faded easily, but they found ways to make it better.
The kids made it better for her, and Rouge was sure they did the same for Law too. He needed friends who had his back. Friends who he could rely on, and whom he could protect too. Rouge would keep training them too. She would make sure they were strong.