Chapter 5: Flames of Retribution
Sabo arrived at this part of town a few days ago, leaving the security of the Maryois behind, and not a moment too soon. He honestly felt that he was going to lose what was left of his sanity if he had to stay there for even one more second—stuck listening to his parents bemoaning what a disappointment he was while his step-brother secretly grinned behind their backs so they couldn't see…?
Now that he was on his own though, with only a suitcase of meager belongings, he wasn't sure were to go next. For the last few days he could only wander around, having found a small, cheap motel to crash at while he looked for a place to live. Well, a more permanent place to live seemed to be a decent place to start, which was how he found himself in a small café at the edge of Edge Town; scrolling on his phone for cheap places to rent. Once he had a roof over his head, he could focus on finding a job and start making his own money again.
He would show his family.
Sabo never got along with his greedy parents and stuck-up step-brother, simply hating even being in the same room as them. For as long as he could remember, Sabo was stuck being treated like trash for not living up to their ridiculously high standards.
They would fight about literally everything.
Everything from his low grades at school to his lack of ambitions in wanting to marry a rich girl; they would find reasons to start an argument. They would constantly go on about how he had no pride as a noble and should be grateful to have been born into a family of such high privilege…? Honestly, he couldn't remember a time when he was truly happy living with them. Or even come up with a single time he felt loved by his own parents…? From the moment he was able to take his first few steps on his own, he was never anything more than a tool to them, a puppet that his parents could control to try and improve their status even further—as if being disgustingly wealthy wasn't enough for them.
He only wished he had been able to leave their control sooner, but every time he had tried to escape before now, they would send the authorities out to collect him and drag him back home. And every time that they had to go through that, he lost more privileges until he was pretty much locked in his room 24/7. After they finally boarded up his bedroom window to keep him from escaping, he realized that he had to play this game long-term if he wanted to be truly free someday. So, from that moment on, he worked in secret, planning everything out as best as he could while pretending to 'reflect' upon his past actions.
It was agony keeping his head down and pretending to agree with them during those first few months, but he eventually was able to get them to loosen their reins enough that he could put everything into action.
The second he started attending high school, he picked up a part-time job to save up his own money so that he would be ready to leave as soon as he was a legal adult. Thank God that his parents had no common sense! Otherwise they never would've swallowed his lies that he had just been going to the library every day after class to continue studying.
Though initially happy about his sudden change in attitude, it was right after his Sophomore year did they become more and more frustrated by his lack of improvement in school. They even went as far as to adopt a boy named Stelly as a 'back-up' should their biological son continue to fail living up to their expectations. Though they never came out and said that out loud to him, Stelly was more than happy to rub it in his face whenever he got the chance. As for Stelly…? God, Stelly was even worse this his parents! Rude and snobby… not to mention a weak coward who was as clueless as a brick…? Sabo rolled his eyes just thinking about it, feeling a wave of shame flow through him at the thought of being related to such disgusting people.
Now that he was a legal adult, they had no right to try and stop him this time which was the best birthday present he could've asked for.
Sabo thought back to a few days prior to his birthday as he prepared to leave for good. His parents saw him packing and demanded an explanation to what he thought he was doing. With no more reason to hide it, Sabo told them that he was leaving this hellhole and not to bother looking for him ever again as he slammed the suitcase shut. His father shouted at him that he would be disowned he dared to take one step outside that door and not to expect a single beri from him in the future.
Sabo just snapped back he didn't need their stupid money and he would make his own way without relying upon them. He even got a shot in by yelling that he had been working after school at minimum wage for the last four years—causing his mother to actually faint from the horror.
He smirked a little at the memory while remembering how he left with his single bag and the clothes on his back—not wanting to listen to another word as he slammed the door behind him, though knowing that it wasn't the end just yet.
The only things of value he had with him were his phone and watch—that latter he was planning to pawn off for a little more money when he got the chance. That wasn't his biggest problem at the moment though since he didn't have all of his important documents with him. He suspected that his father may have been afraid he would try something like that and made it almost impossible for Sabo to find them. That left Sabo in a bad position since he didn't want to postpone his escape for any longer than necessary. He then decided that he would sneak back to his parents' house when he next had the chance and steal them back before he would close the book on that chapter of his life for good.
For now though, he was just relieved to be away from them and be able to breathe freely without their golden noose around his neck. He leaned back in the chair, enjoying a cup of coffee as he continued to look for small houses and apartments nearby that could work. He was even looking for potential roommates—having never had any friends that he could get along with since they were all stuck-up snobs at his school so he was excited to finally be able to connect with people who could get him.
After about another hour of scrolling, he felt that he had some good leads and set his phone down to give his eyes a break from the screen before rubbing the exhaustion from them. He took a long sip of his coffee as he looked out at the street, enjoying watching the few people coming by.
Just as he was stretching out, thinking of heading back to the motel, he caught the sight of someone running out from a nearby alley. Sabo let out a yawn while watching as a little kid, looking no older than five or six years old, come skipping along the sidewalk. He was wearing a straw hat on a head of thick, black hair while carrying a backpack in the shape of a weird kind of raccoon dog with a cape or something on his back as he had the biggest grin on his face.
Sabo smiled a little at the sight of the cute kid and watched him looking around with an eager expression. That was, at least, before Sabo realized that the kid was on his own. He blinked, suddenly wondering where his parents were? He shouldn't be on his own on a busy street like this one…?
He felt himself tense up as the kid crossed the street, without looking both ways no less, before he made it to a beat-up looking fence down the ways from here. Sabo remembered when he first saw the Grey Terminal, and felt a bit disgusted with how much that the nobles would throw away. But it was the first time that he realized that the entrance was just down the street from here. And… wait, was the kid heading straight for it? Sabo tried to ignore it, reminding himself that it wasn't his business what some random kid was doing. But he found himself watching on curiously as the kid carefully slipped through the gap in the rusted gate before disappearing behind a pile of trash.
Sabo felt himself quickly finish the rest of his coffee before immediately heading to the door. He barely paid attention to a couple people he almost ended up mowing down, giving a vague apology, as he quickly made his way down the street. Ironically, he was the one almost hit by a car when he crossed since he had his eyes focused entirely upon the chain-link fence. He managed to make it there in one piece, trying to find a trace of the kid, but unable to see anything but mounds of garbage.
Where did he go? Even Sabo knew that coming to a place like this was dangerous place for a little kid like that?
He looked around, wondering again where the kid's parents were. He waited at the entrance for a few seconds, half expecting a couple to come running out, calling the kid's name…? He was fully prepared to help by informing them what he saw, but upon realizing that no one was coming, he started to grow deeply concerned.
What was he doing? This kid wasn't his responsibility? So why was he so concerned for his safety?
He shook his head, knowing that he was sounding just like his scummy father just for thinking that and knew that this was the right thing to do. His eyes scanned the area as he took stock of the situation. His eyes soon spotted some pipes laying off to the side of the fence—as if someone threw away their old plumbing and had been too lazy to throw them over the fence properly so they left them outside like it was good enough. He grabbed one of the longer ones as he went hammering against the rusted chain on the gate until he managed to break one of the links to get inside. He bolted through and went running up a slope of some cracked concrete and broken boards to get a better view of the area, trying to find the kid…?
After a few minutes of searching, he spotted the little boy being grabbed by one of three gorilla-looking thugs. They were laughing as the little boy was kicking at them, screaming at them to give something back before the one holding his arm gave him a sharp kick and he went crashing into a pile of scrap metal.
Feeling a rush of anger, Sabo sped ahead, stepping in at the last second and beat all three thugs until they were out cold on the ground. He even took back a bracelet that they took from the kid while he was at it as the boy cheered and thanked him for saving him.
The kid, Luffy he learned his name was, held his hand as he happily told him about how he got here as they made their way out of the junkyard and back to the street where they were safe.
"So, when they weren't watching I snuck out and came here," Luffy finished explaining as to where his babysitters were.
"Really? Three adults couldn't look after one kid?" Sabo asked, finding himself more amused than shocked as the kid was all smiles and giggles—as if he hadn't just been attacked by three punks in a junkyard. Indeed, the kid was like a ball of sunshine, practically bouncing on his feet like his limbs were made of rubber as he swung on his arm. Sabo couldn't help but laugh at Luffy's antics as he tried to get a handle on their surroundings.
"So, where is this burger place? I can walk you back?" he asked and Luffy tilted his head at the question.
"Not sure," he answered as Sabo felt sweat falling from his head at how unconcerned Luffy was about being lost.
"You don't know? How did you plan to get back?" Sabo asked as he pulled out his phone, which was already low on battery, as he tried to search for nearby restaurants and see if any of them fit the bill. He didn't think the kid could've walked here from that far away…?
"Don't know, I didn't think that far ahead," Luffy answered back matter-of-factly, still without a hint of concern as Sabo wasn't sure if he should laugh or not.
But as Sabo started searching his maps for possible locations, he heard a panicked voice screaming out, "LUFFY!"
Sabo looked up as a man, with a head the shape of a pineapple, came sprinting around the corner—his eyes wide, even from this distance, as he stared around wildly. Upon seeing him, Luffy let out a happy cry, letting go of Sabo's hand, and waved energetically to get the man's attention.
"Marco!" Luffy out as the man turned to look at him.
Upon hearing his name, the man looked over at them. For a moment, nothing but pure relief came over his face as he rushed over. But upon seeing Sabo there, his face suddenly darkened, causing Sabo to hold up his hands to show he didn't mean them any harm. Marco sprinted over to them, looking over Luffy's dirty state and asked anxiously, "Luffy, are you alright? The second we saw you were gone we were looking everywhere for you?!"
He glanced up at Sabo for a second before asking, "What happened? Did you find him? Where was he?"
"He was at the Grey Terminal looking for a present for someone named Ace," Sabo answered as Marco's jaw dropped.
"Please explain," Marco pleaded to Sabo with a squeak in his voice. Sabo nodded and explained what he saw and reassured him that they were both just fine. Luffy confirmed this by holding up the bracelet he found, asking if he thought Ace would like it. Upon hearing the danger Luffy was in, Marco dropped to his knees and looked Luffy over, as if making sure there were no permanent damage.
"Luffy," he gasped nervously, "Are you sure you're ok? Those guys didn't hurt you?"
Luffy nodded still looking proudly at his find as he went on again about giving it to Ace. Marco could only sigh in relief as he pulled him into a tight hug and ruffled up his hair with a slightly shaking hand. Upon seeing how worried the man was, Sabo felt some of his anger fade. It wasn't entirely his fault Luffy got into such trouble. Sure he should have been keeping a closer eye on the kid, but Luffy was the one who went wandering off.
Marco soon pulled away before pulling out his phone to text the others, letting them know where he was and that he found Luffy. As he typed, he explained to Sabo, "The second we saw he was gone, we about had heart attacks! We were looking around everywhere for him, thinking someone took him while he was playing. But when we asked the restaurant to pull up the security footage, we saw that he just walked right out on his own! We were looking the streets until I remembered what Thatch said about treasure being at the Grey Terminal and came here to check. But you're telling me you made it here on your own? It's dangerous out here, Luffy!"
"Yeah, some jerks tried to take Ace's present but Sabo came and saved me," Luffy answered happily as Marco could only shake his head, taking in Luffy's dirty appearance again before informing him that he was going to be taking a bath when they got home.
"Ahhhh, do I have to?" Luffy whined at the idea of a bath and suddenly both Sabo and Marco were chuckling at the adorable annoyed look on Luffy's face. Marco seemed to let out a long breath he had been holding before he stood up, shaking Sabo's hand, and thanking him for saving their little buddy. To Sabo's surprise, he took out his wallet and pulled out a few crisp bills for him, which he tried to refuse but Marco wouldn't hear of it.
"It's not much, but we owe you big time for protecting him," Marco reassured, shoving the bills into his hand. "Really, thank you so much. This is the least I can do. Treat yourself to a nice lunch and dinner tonight. On me."
Sabo only chuckled awkwardly as he thanked him and pocketed the money, knowing he couldn't afford to be too humble right now. Marco then looked to Luffy, promising him the lecture of a lifetime when they got home, which finally seemed to click for Luffy that he did something wrong and he looked down, mumbling an apology.
Thankfully for him, two other people came bolting down from opposite ends of the street, calling for Marco and Luffy. One of them had a large pompadour and the other had black hair tied up in the manner of a geisha with a long strand of hair falling over his face.
Sabo was a little taken aback by their appearances, but both of them looked ready to cry with relief when they caught up with them.
"Oh, Thank God!" the one with a pompadour panted out, trying to catch his breath as he bent over with his hands on his knees, "I thought for sure we were dead."
"Yeah, Ace was going to flip out if we lost him?" the other agreed before he stepped forward and snapped at the kid, "Luffy! You got some explaining to do!"
"I'll tell you about it later," Marco said before tossing some keys over to the black-haired man, "Go get the car. We're taking Luffy home now before anything else happens."
"Huh? Why? Am I in trouble?" Luffy asked worriedly.
"Yes, buddy. You are in big trouble," Marco scolded, his relief fading as a rather cross expression took hold. "We are going home, and like I promised, you're gonna get a real lecture. You hear me?"
Luffy pouted and looked down again as Sabo patted the kid's head. He wanted to feel sympathetic to him, but he had to admit that he had this coming.
"Sorry, bud," he said to Luffy. "But you know you must've really worried them."
"You have no idea how freaked out we were when he looked up to the play area to see he was gone," the pompadour man said as the other left to get the car, "We thought he was in the tunnels or something but when we watched for a while, we realized he wasn't coming out. So we tried calling his name. And…? Well, we should probably head back and apologize to the employees there before heading back, Marco?"
"Already on it," Marco said as he sent another text, "Just texted Izo to take us back there when he gets the car. In the meantime Thatch, make sure you leave a really nice tip for the workers that we yelled at."
"Why me?" the one named Thatch demanded even as he pulled out his wallet with a resigned expression.
"Because you were the one freaking out the most," Marco answered back as if it was obvious, "You were shaking that poor guy…?"
"Only because my life was on the line here!" Thatch tried to reason, "I'm already on thin ice after what happened this morning! Ace was going to seriously, literally, kill me if I went back and told him that we lost his little brother! You know how overprotective he is over him? He would've lost his mind!"
"Oh, shut it," Marco snapped. "I mean, you aren't wrong! But this is your fault to begin with! You telling Luffy that stupid story about treasure in the Grey Terminal…?"
"But there was treasure!" Luffy said as he held up the bracelet again.
"Yes, Luffy, it's pretty and I think that Ace will like it, but you can't just wander off like that!" Marco scolded as he crouched down to eye level with him, still with that serious expression. "You should have told us what you were going to do! We thought we lost you! We were all really sad about that, you know? So please… you have to promise me that you won't do that again."
Luffy frowned sadly, looking properly ashamed as Marco stood back up, running a hand over his face.
"Hey, who're you anyway?" Thatch asked Sabo, as if he only just noticed him there, as Sabo could only watch on with a mixture of amusement and sympathy. Rather than have him explain it all over again, Marco jumped in to explain Sabo had saved Luffy from some thugs in the Grey Terminal.
"You're kidding! He was seriously in the Grey Terminal?!" Thatch gasped in horror.
"Is it really that bad?" Luffy mumbled as he sniffled, looking upset, and all three men froze at the sight of tears welling up in his big, brown eyes.
"Hey, Luffy," Sabo said in as calming a voice as he could, "It's alright. They'll get over it. But yes, it was very dangerous of you to go off without at least telling them where you were going. Next time, just tell them where you're heading before you go?"
"R-Right," Thatch said, trying to laugh but failing. "You can trust us! We would've made sure that nothing happened to you! But… promise us you won't come back here?"
Luffy nodded before Thatch added in a tense voice, "And don't tell Ace about this."
"You don't want me to tell Ace?" Luffy asked in surprise.
"Luffy… this is important," Marco said seriously, looking Luffy dead in the eye. "If you tell Ace about your little adventure… he will never let us babysit again. You understand?"
"Huh? Why not?" Luffy asked innocently, not understanding how serious this was.
"We'll talk more when we get back," Marco said as he looked back to Sabo and said again, "Thank you. You may have saved our lives."
"I think you mean Luffy's," Sabo tried to correct with a laugh as the other two shook their heads.
"No… no, you really saved our hides," Thatch informed him. "We promised his brother that we would babysit him for the day while he was taking some much-needed R&R…? He is very overprotective of Luffy and is very careful in who he lets look after him when he has to work. But he's been working so much lately that he looked ready to collapse! We practically had to beg the man to take a night off for himself! And well… this happened?"
"Izo is coming, he's got the car," Marco said after his phone binged. "Luffy, thank Sabo and say goodbye. We're going home."
"Alright," Luffy said before looking back up to Sabo with a big grin back on his face while holding out his arms, wanting a hug. That earned a laugh from Sabo as he bent down and the kid wrapped his tiny arms around his neck in a big hug.
"Thank you for saving me," he chirped up brightly.
"You're very welcome," Sabo answered back, hugging him back hard, not realizing how badly he needed one right now. "You be good alright? It was a pleasure to meet you, Luffy."
Sabo pulled back as he left with the men, waving happily until Izo returned with the car and they all climbed in. Sabo stood there and waved when he saw Luffy's face in the back window, waving with both hands until he was out of sight.
Once he was alone again, Sabo sighed, feeling strangely lonely now as he looked to the money. A part of him had been worried about making things work but after this…? It felt like a good omen to him. So, he stuffed it into his pocket as he headed down the street, wondering where he could get some good ramen around these parts.
*The Next Morning*
Ace felt a lot better than he had been the day before. He felt well-rested and looked refreshed with the dark shadows under his eyes faded significantly by the time that he arrived home.
"I'm back!" he called as he kicked off his shoes at the front door. As soon as he spoke, Ace heard a loud cry of excitement as an energetic five-year-old came bolting from his room.
"Ace!" Luffy cried out happily as he jumped into the air and straight into Ace's arms. Ace grinned as he instinctively caught him, giving the kid a big hug upon realizing that he missed seeing him even in the short time he had been gone.
"Hey, Luffy!" Ace said fondly as Marco and Izo came out from around the corner of the kitchen, looking a little guilty. Ace didn't notice this immediately as Luffy hung onto Ace like a little monkey, asking if he was feeling better.
"Yes, much better, I think I needed that night off," Ace promised, as he set his keys down in the bowl they kept at the door. "Did you have fun with the boys while I was gone?"
"Yep!" Luffy said, still all sunshine as Marco and Izo glanced nervously at each other when Luffy added, "Even with their lecture."
"Lecture? Why? Did you get into trouble?" Ace asked curiously, not thinking too much about why his friends would be lecturing Luffy.
"Oh, you know… little boys being little boys," Marco tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, we took care of everything. Glad to see that you're feeling better though. You were very much missed yesterday."
"I was gone for one night," Ace laughed as he stepped into the kitchen, wondering if there was any food that he could just heat up since he was too lazy to cook right now.
"No, trust me, you were very much thought of yesterday," Izo promised.
"Ace?" Luffy asked but Ace, deciding to be a jerk, decided to pretend he couldn't hear Luffy for a second.
"Is that so? Well, the house is still standing and Luffy's got all his limbs attached, so I guess it all worked out," Ace offered.
"Ace?" Luffy said again, waving his hand in front of Ace's face.
"So thank you for keeping an eye on him for me," Ace went on, acting like he still couldn't hear him.
"Please, it was nothing, trust me… as soon as we got him home, we watched him like hawks," Marco reassured him.
"Yeah, didn't let him out of our sights," Izo agreed, the smile a bit forced and Ace felt his own grin fading slightly at the sight of that.
"Sorry? Did you guys have something to do? You were the ones who insisted that I take the night off and…?" Ace began with some worry.
"Ace!" Luffy said impatiently, wanting his brother's attention.
"Yes, what is it?" Ace said, done with pretending to ignore Luffy. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Luffy only grinned proudly as he pulled out a bracelet and held it out for him. Ace blinked in surprise, having not expected this as he shifted Luffy so he was holding onto him with one arm, using his free hand to take the bracelet. As he looked it over, he saw how sparkled slightly even in the faint light of the kitchen as he looked over the white and red stripes, thinking that it resembled a life preserve you'd see on a lifeboat.
"It's cool, Luffy," Ace said, "Where'd you get it?"
"It's Ace's!" Luffy answered, causing Ace to stare at him as Luffy went on proudly, "Marco cleaned it up for me but I found it for you, Ace!"
Ace was so surprised that he didn't notice the nervous expressions on Marco and Izo's faces. They hd tried to explain to Luffy several times last night not to speak about what happened but it looked like Luffy either forgot it all in his excitement, or didn't realize what was going to be coming for any of them once Ace put the pieces together.
Deciding not to take any chances, Marco cleared his throat.
"Well, now that you're home and well-rested, Ace, it seems our tasks is done," Marco said in a rushed voice, still looking nervous. "Thatch's in the bathroom, but you can tell him that we'll be heading out ahead of him."
"Huh? So soon? But…?" Ace stuttered, not understanding as they hurried past.
"There's plenty of leftovers from dinner last night, which wasn't easy keeping from Luffy," Izo added, "So help yourself. We got something important to deal with at the Grey Terminal tonight."
"Wait, don't tell me…?" Ace began, fearing another fight had broken out.
"No, nothing serious," Marco reassured him, "Just gonna teach some thugs not to mess with one of our buddies. That's all."
"Hey, wait…?" Ace called as the two gave a quick wave and bolted as if they couldn't get out fast enough.
Ace was deeply confused as Luffy giggled again, just happy to be back in his brother's arms, before Ace asked, "Jeez, Luffy. I asked that you go easy on them. What happened? And what do you mean this bracelet's for me?"
"I found it for Ace!" Luffy repeated, kicking out his feet, eager to tell him the story. "I wanted to get you something to thank you for everything! I wanted to do something nice for you Ace since you're always getting me presents!"
Ace felt himself grow red in the face but also was deeply touched as he set Luffy down and put the bracelet on. He looked at it fondly as he patted Luffy's head and told him, "I love it. Thank you very much, Luffy. But… how did you pay for this?"
"I didn't! I found it!" Luffy explained as Ace blinked again at that before frowning slightly.
"Luffy, what'd I tell you about stealing?" Ace asked slowly before Luffy shook his head.
"I didn't steal it, Ace! I promise," he countered, "I found it in Trash Mountain!"
"Trash Mountain?" Ace repeated slowly just as Thatch came into the room, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of him there.
"Ace? When'd you show up? And where's Marco and Izo?" he asked with a jumpy smile and cold sweat. Upon seeing that, Ace frowned even more as he looked back to Luffy—for once, grateful that his brother couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"Luffy? Where did you go yesterday after I left? Can you name all the places you were?" he asked, determined to keep his voice calm.
"Oh, we went out to eat and then…?" Luffy began as Thatch tried to shush him before Luffy talked all about his fun adventure in the mountains of garbage and how he was attacked but saved by the guy in blue named Sabo.
Upon hearing all that, Ace was able to put the pieces together.
"Thatch… is that true? Did you guys lose sight of my brother and he went to the Grey Terminal by himself?" Ace asked, his voice still in that light tone as to not lose it in front of Luffy, but anger was quickly rising inside him at the realization of what could've happened.
Thatch's incoherent rambles were all the proof he needed that it was true.
"I see…" he said slowly and carefully as Thatch felt himself gulp.
Ace gently patted Luffy's head before telling him with a twitching eye and forced smile, "Luffy? How about you go watch TV in my room for a minute? I need to have a talk with Thatch about… you know… grown up things? If you do this, I think we can go out and play for a little while before lunch. Oh, and make sure you turn up the volume pretty loud for a few minutes. Just too… ah… make sure it's working right?"
"Really? Ok!" Luffy agreed happily as he went off to do as he was told, all the while, Thatch was sending some very rude messages to Marco and Izo—which were a combination of threats for the filthy traitors that they were, and pleas for help.
The moment that Luffy was gone, he felt Ace's eyes upon him; he could feel the anger radiating off him like the flames of hell as the sounds of cracking knuckles could be heard.
*That Night*
This house, while still small, had three rooms that could be used for bedrooms. The largest one used to be for his parents before he moved in, slowly turning his old room into a makeshift storage space, while the smallest was used for Luffy's.
It always felt strange for him to be sleeping in the same room his parents used to live in, but he took to decorating it with most of the things he still had from when he was a teenager. The bed was covered with fluffy, black blankets that were covered with hot rod flames that helped keep cold nights at bay. His own furnishings were cheap and worn as the walls were covered with various posters and some black and yellow 'Do Not Cross' tape wrapped around the borders of the room like how one would string up Christmas Lights.
It had gotten late by the time that Ace finally collapsed onto his bed, any kind of relaxation he felt earlier was now long gone as he tried to reason with himself if this was the right course of action to take. He rolled onto his side to stare out the window as heavy rainfall hit the glass, showing that the storm was bad tonight as he became lost in thought.
What the hell had he been thinking letting idiots like them in charge of watching his brother? Thatch was already at the bottom of his list but he thought Marco and Izo were able to keep Luffy out of trouble! Didn't he always tell them that Luffy tended to wander off? What were they doing that not one of them realized that he'd was gone? And Luffy?! What the hell had he been thinking? Going off to the Grey Terminal all on his own?!
He looked to his wrist where the Log Pose, and now the bracelet, were settled and he watched how the light twinkled off the band slightly.
He couldn't keep this up for much longer…? He needed help.
Ace knew he had to figure out a better system to make sure Luffy was safe—clearly one that didn't involve his friends watching Luffy if he could help it. So… after Thatch got his 'punishment' he made sure to take Luffy back to the park so that he could get his energy out while he made a few phone calls. As Luffy ran around the grass, fighting imaginary battles on the high seas, Ace was able to use some of Whitebeard's connections to find a good kindergarten that wasn't too far from their home.
*Flashback of a few hours earlier*
"So the one in charge of this school is a man named Shanks?" Ace repeated over the phone to Vista while watching Luffy playing on the swings from his usual spot on the park bench.
"Yes, he and Pops go way back," Vista answered back.
"Don't tell me he's involved in any illegal activity?" Ace sighed at the thought, starting to think that pretty much everyone in town had some kind of connection to the criminal underworld.
"Believe it or not, he's doesn't. At least, not anymore. He lost his left arm in an accident a few years back. Since then he's enjoying life by running the school as an early retirement," Vista answered back, "He does tend to leave for periods of time for his travels, but the kids all love him and I think that he would be more than a match for Luffy. Even Pops vouches for him. I think that Luffy would be well looked after there."
"Alright, I'll give the school a call and get everything set up as soon as possible," Ace decided.
"Why the sudden rush anyway?" Vista asked curiously. "And have you seen Thatch? Marco and Izo came back earlier looking like they just escaped from the devil but we haven't heard back from Thatch?"
"He's alive, that's all I'll say on the matter," Ace grumbled, still furious at what he learned, "He'll make back there eventually, I suppose. When you see him though, tell him, from me, that he's lost his Luffy privileges for the foreseeable future."
There was a moment of silence before Vista asked, "Damn, what did he do?"
"Ask Marco and Izo for more info," Ace growled, "And tell them that they're next when I see them."
*End of Flashback*
Ace couldn't ban his friends forever since he knew how fond Luffy was of them, but they were not going to be left alone with him again if he could help it.
So, despite his concerns, Ace decided to go ahead and enroll Luffy at this school. With Luffy somewhere for at least part of the day, he could get some rest or other tasks done during those few hours. He would still have people like Makino and Kiku to call on to stay at the house at night should he have to go out for his duties as part of Whitebeard's crew, but this should help take some of the burden off his shoulders for the time being.
Truth be told though, he was still worried. Luffy was such a handful even on a good day…? But he reasoned that Luffy would be in a secure location with trained professionals to keep an eye on him. Besides, it was getting to the point that he knew he had to think more about Luffy's education since the kid couldn't even read or write yet and he had no idea where to even begin teaching him things that.
Well, what's done is done, he may as well break the news to Luffy.
"Luffy?!" he called out suddenly, rolling onto his back again, "Can you come here for a second?"
A few seconds later, he heard the familiar patter of small feet against the floor as the door opened to show Luffy in bright red pajamas with little lions that looked like sunflowers speckled across.
The little boy leapt up onto the bed and cuddled close, resting his head against Ace's chest, giggling happily as Ace enjoyed the comforting weight pressing down before he explained to Luffy what was going to happen in a couple weeks' time.
"School?" Luffy repeated in surprise, tilting his head as if he never heard of such a thing.
"Yes, I finished enrolling you just a little while ago, so everything's set up," he answered.
Luffy took the news as well as Ace thought he would as a gloomy expression came over his face; like someone had ruined the ending to a fantastic story and now there was no point in finishing it himself.
"I don't wanna go to school. I like staying with Ace all day!" he muttered grumpily as he folded his arms stubbornly.
"I know… and I'm gonna miss you too, but it's only for a few hours a day," he promised, "And then you get to come home and tell me all about what you did. If it doesn't work out by the time you leave, then we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I just really would like it if we could get some more friends for you."
At the mention of Luffy having more friends, he perked up at the thought before asking, "But what about Marco and the others?"
Ace felt his eye twitch again, making sure to have a nice, long conversation with them about their part in losing his brother before he explained, "Yeah, I mean, they care about you and I know they see you as a friend too…? But… I think that it will be good for you to meet some friends closer to you in age, and height, shrimp."
That last part definitely came out as a tease and Luffy pouted while puffing out his cheeks, causing Ace to smile back at how cute he was.
"Come on, buddy… Just go for a little while and see what happens? It could be a fun adventure?" Ace offered. Upon hearing the word 'adventure' Luffy immediately brightened up and asked, "Can I play pirates while I'm there?"
"I'm sure you can," Ace promised, "And you may get several other kids to play as your crew."
"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy said excitedly.
"Great, I'm glad to see you so open to the idea," Ace said in relief, honestly fearing that it was going to be a lot harder than that to convince Luffy to go to school. But he wasn't going to push his luck. But that did leave him with another question that he'd been wanting to ask since this morning and cleared his voice. "Ah… Luffy…?" he asked slowly, "When you went to find this treasure for me… which I love, could you tell me exactly what happened? Exactly what happened?"
"Huh? Oh! You mean with Trash Mountain?" Luffy asked, having decided that the name 'Grey Terminal' didn't sound as fun and changed it to Trash Mountain.
"Yes," Ace said, feeling his concern grow as he thought about his sweet brother in such a dangerous part of town. Even without the desperate souls who called that place home, that place was full of dangerous objects that Luffy could've gotten hurt on.
So he listened as Luffy told him everything. How he left the restaurant and walked his way over to the entrance of Trash Mountain, slipping through the gate before he began looking through the garbage. He told him about after he found the bracelet, those mean bullies tried to take it from him and kicked him. Ace's hands instantly tightened protectively around him, but he didn't interrupt as Luffy told him about how the nice guy, Sabo, stepped in to help him and even stayed with him till Marco and the others found him.
"They then talked to me about how dangerous it was when we got home," Luffy finished, some of his happiness fading as he looked to Ace's serious expression.
"They're right about that. What were you thinking? Going there on your own? You need to pay attention to what's going on," Ace scolded him as Luffy looked down at that, playing with the rim of his hat as Ace could only look on.
Luffy seemed close to tears as he mumbled another apology before whispering, "I just… wanted to get Ace something for once. You always work so hard… so I wanted to get you a present."
At that, Ace felt some of his anger fade as he gently wiped the tears away from Luffy's eyes.
'So that's why,' he thought to himself, feeling a warmth spreading in his chest to think that anyone would go through all that just for him. He began ruffling Luffy's hair in a way that always seemed to calm Luffy down whenever he was upset.
"And I love it," Ace promised, dispelling any fears Luffy may have had about Ace not liking his gift, causing him to giggle softly before Ace held Luffy closer—wanting him to understand how serious this was.
"Luffy," he said softly, making sure to have Luffy's attention, "I want you to promise me… you'll never go there without me. No matter what happens… you are never to go there by yourself again. I just… I get anxious when you're out of my sight. I can't help but think you could get hurt when I'm not around and thinking that you could be in serious danger like that…? It makes it worse. So please, you have to swear to me now that you won't go back there."
Luffy nodded, for once taking all of this very seriously. Though he still didn't understand why it was so bad for him to go off on his own like that, he understood enough to know his big brother was worried and he didn't like doing that to him. "I promise," he said as Ace leaned his head back against his pillow.
"Well, I'm sorry I never got the chance to thank Sabo," he said suddenly. "If we ever meet again, then I'll be sure to do so for helping you out."
Luffy nodded, still smiling, before he crashed and was fast asleep where he laid. Ace was a little taken aback by Luffy's sudden black out before fighting the urge to laugh again. God, he could only hope that his brother wasn't picking up his bad habit of falling asleep in random places at random times…? That was gonna be hard to explain to his teachers if that was the case. But he knew the real reason… Luffy felt safe around him and so had no problem falling asleep whenever he was around.
That thought always filled Ace with pride and tonight was no different as he reached over to the nightstand and flicked off the light. He decided that Luffy could sleep here with him for tonight since he didn't want to let him anywhere out of his sight after learning of his adventure yesterday. Luffy's soft snores filled the room as Ace held him, his small head laying against his chest, as Ace ran his fingers through the boy's messy hair in a comforting way while listening to the distant thunder and rain.
Ace couldn't deny that he secretly loved it when Luffy came to cuddle with him on nights like this. Storms, like this one, reminded him of that night when his parents died… perhaps Luffy sensed that and would grow sad as well?
He could still remember when Luffy first started this habit of wanting to sleep with him whenever he did have trouble falling asleep.
*Flashback*
Luffy hadn't even two years old when he had been awoken by the sound of thunder on a particularly stormy night. Ace was nearing his seventeenth birthday when he was awoken by his brother's frightened cries, immediately getting him outta bed and rushing to his little brother's room. After carefully stepping around the scattered toys, he made it to Luffy's crib, whose tiny hands were gripping the bars while fat tears fell down his cheeks.
"Hey bro, what's the matter?" Ace cooed as he caught Luffy's attention. Upon seeing him, Luffy's cries quieted and the tears slowly stopped when he reached out, wordlessly asking to be picked up.
"Ace…" he said, the only word he could clearly say as the rest of his sentence was no more than incoherent baby babble.
"Oh, you just wanted someone here with you?" Ace asked as he could only give a tired smile. But on command, he reached down and pulled him up and into his arms, allowing the baby to lay his head on his shoulder as Ace walked around the room, gently shushing him as the thunder continued.
Every time the thunder boomed outside, Luffy would whimper slightly as he snuggled into his brother's neck and his small fingers would hold onto Ace's hair. Ace didn't complain though as he looked to the rain, watching how the lightning flashed through the window to create shadows on the walls. It was oddly creepy and he could secretly see why Luffy would struggle to sleep through all that. So, deciding that a change of scenery was needed, he took Luffy back to his room, wrapping a blanket around him to ensure the baby didn't accidently roll off the bed.
The second that Ace climbed back into bed with him, Luffy settled instantly, his eyes already closing as he was lulled by his big brother's warmth and gentle shushes. Ace stayed awake until he was sure Luffy had fallen back asleep before he felt his own eyelids grow heavy.
"Don't worry, your big brother is here… I'll protect you…" he promised softly.
*End of Flashback*
Suddenly a burst of lightning and a boom of thunder interrupted his memory and it was enough to jerk Luffy awake, letting out a cry of fear as he almost ended up tumbling off the bed.
"ACE!" he whimpered loudly as Ace sat up, wrapping the blanket around him, while remaining composed to show him there was nothing to be scared of.
"It's alright I got you," Ace promised in a soft voice as he wrapped his arms around Luffy. Another boom of thunder crashed through the night air as a blot of lighting split the stormy sky, illuminating his brother's nervous face from the cocoon of the blanket.
"A…Ace…" Luffy mumbled quietly as Ace held him closer, his lips brushing against his forehead while he rubbed his back until he calmed down enough to lay his head against him again.
"I'm here Luffy…I'm here… you're safe here with me," he promised him, feeling strangely at peace as he cuddled his little brother close until both of them ended up falling asleep.
(These two are so sweet that it's enough to give me a toothache! So yes, Sabo and Ace didn't meet up yet, but that will change, I promise. We will be seeing him again soon enough and we will get more brotherly bonding time as well. So next chapter we have Luffy going off to kindergarten for the first time and meet some new friends. What fun that will be! Oh, and for the spelling of Maryjois… there are so many ways it's spelt and pronounced that I just picked one and decided to deal with it so please don't try to correct me on that. Hope you look forward to what comes next!)
