Chapter 4: Helping Hand
Ace returned home to tell Makino what happened at the meeting, which left her just staring at him with a mixture of incredulity and anxiety. It was clear she wasn't happy in the slightest about this arrangement, but upon listening to Ace all the way to the end, she had to come to face the hard truth that there wasn't many other options at this point.
"Just promise me, that if it gets too dangerous, you will leave," she begged firmly, her hands on his shoulders as she looked him dead in the eye. "I know you are a highly capable young man, Ace, but if you aren't careful, you could get seriously hurt or even killed. If, at any point, you start getting pulled into these dangerous activities, then swear to me that you will get out."
He nodded, promising her that much, before she made to leave.
"Wait… you can stay and use my room the rest of tonight," he told her, feeling terrible that she had been up so late worrying because of him. She tried to refuse, but he insisted, promising her that he wasn't tired anyway. Which wasn't a complete lie; it was true he was exhausted but his mind was racing so much with all that he learned that he didn't feel like sleep would come easily for a while.
In the end, her own exhaustion won out and she went to go lay down in his room as he sat on the couch, thinking over what he got himself into this time. He spent the rest of that night just lost in thought until the first rays of sunrise caught his attention through the window. Even then, he found that he didn't have the energy to get up to get anything done that day.
Good news for him, was that Luffy woke up soon after that, beaming with excitement as he ran into the living room to find Ace still there.
"ACE!" he called out happily and Ace held out his hands as Luffy leapt up into his arms with a big hug and asked, "Did you have fun last night?"
"Yeah, kid," he promised, and he meant it as he finally laid back down on the couch so that Luffy could climb up onto his chest, still beaming like the sunniest sunflower.
"Did you make a lot of friends last night?" was Luffy's next surprising question as Ace could only grin back.
"I hope so," he said truthfully, "I want you to meet some of them."
"Really? When?" Luffy asked eagerly.
"Hopefully soon. After I get to know them a big more," was all he could promise as Luffy cheered.
He was still protective over Luffy, that was never going to change, and he wasn't so naïve as to allow just anyone to look after his brother without his approval. Right now, his number one priority was to get used to this new 'job' and hope that it all worked out for the best.
Life over the next few months was very different to what Ace thought it would be—and definitely more busy than what he was used to.
After speaking with Whitebeard about his options, Ace decided to take a position that would put him on the front lines. He was worried at first since he knew how much riskier it was, but he wasn't sure he could really handle a steady job while leaving Luffy without someone he could readily trust during most of the day.
As for the gang fights themselves, they tended to be pretty short; usually over in a few minutes with them breaking up disputes between rival gangs. Most of the time, the gangs backed down upon learning they worked for Whitebeard, but there were more than a handful who were eager to try their luck at facing off against them. But Ace practically grew up fighting against bigger, tougher guys than him so he was more than eager to vent the pent-up anger he tended to carry around. He soon earned a reputation by being a promising new fighter and had several wins under his belt already.
Marco explained that the reason that such fights were more common at night was because the gangs had a higher chance of escaping should the authorities show up. He also warned him to get used to long nights since they were often forced to hunt down thugs in the dark.
Because of this, Ace decided to explain to Luffy that he had found a new job that required him to work late hours sometimes, though he never went into details on what this job was all about. Either way, he always promised him that Makino or one of his friends were in the house with him so he had nothing to be worried about since he was never alone. Since then, Ace did his best to ensure he made it back before Luffy woke up, though it was becoming rare to go home without some manner of injury.
It didn't take too long for Luffy to start noticing the bandages here and there and the tears in his clothes, leaving Ace to come up with all manner of excuses as to why that was. Ace meant what he said to Whitebeard in that he didn't want his brother caught up in such a dangerous lifestyle so he would usually tell Luffy that there were a few accidents at his new job when he couldn't hide the bandages.
Good thing for him though was that Luffy never asked too many questions, usually letting the matter go with little explanation, and the kid even laughed as he told Ace not to be so clumsy.
It took some time to get used to it, but eventually, Ace did find himself opening up to some of the other members of Whitebeard's crew. (He also learned that they prefer the term crew over gang since they didn't see themselves as the kind of lowlife thugs that usually came to mind when one hears that word.)
As soon as he officially accepted the offer to join, he was surrounded on all sides by new comrades—which was a very foreign feeling since he was never very social till now. Seemingly overnight, he went from practically no support, to having a flood of it as he was welcomed into their crew with open arms.
After getting to know several members, he found that most of them seemed to be pretty decent people. He was even surprised to find himself growing to like some of them such as Marco, Jozu, and Thatch—he found himself growing more fond of the commanders than he cared to admit. But after about a month of meetings with them, he allowed a few to meet with Luffy in person. Marco and Thatch, of course, already met him, but other members like Jozu, Vista, and Izo were soon common faces appearing around their house.
They even introduced him to several other members who lived nearby who served as spies for Whitebeard. Since most of the commanders were expected to rush in should a fight break out, it was a relief to know that Ace had others he could drop Luffy off in case of emergencies.
Izo even introduced him and Luffy to his sister, Kiku, who had become the number two person that he would call as a babysitter whenever he had to leave for 'work' as he called it. Naturally, he still trusted Makino over anyone else to look after Luffy, but it wasn't fair to have to call her several times a week, especially when she still had to work herself. Kiku had more flexible hours since she worked part time at a small diner, and she was more understanding when he got a call. Though such emergencies tended to happen at night, usually after he put Luffy to bed, there were some instances when they happened in broad daylight, which made things a little more complicated. Thankfully, he could usually send her a quick text message, where she would either tell him to drop him off at the diner where she could keep an eye on him, or she would rush over in less than ten minutes with a big smile on her face.
This kept up until Ace got his first paycheck, and he all but fell over at how much he ended up earning during the first month of this—which was way higher than he thought it would be. As a special treat, he took Luffy out to the aquarium, just the two of them, since he knew how much his brother loved the sea and fish. Finally, finally… he found steady employment and he was more optimistic about the future than he had been in a long time.
On the plus side, since he watched Luffy like a hawk during that trip, it ended without Luffy jumping into the exhibits so he didn't have to worry about them becoming banned there like they almost did at the zoo. He even told his new friends about that incident with the dolphins, which caused them all to burst out laughing.
"Damn, you got your hands full with this one, don't ya, Ace?" Jozu asked as they gathered around the table one night, his friends having brought enough food for an army—or just a very hungry Luffy. Ace could only laugh in response as Luffy sat on his lap, stuffing his face with whatever his little hands could grasp and grinning mischievously. It was only too clear that he didn't learn his lesson and would likely do it again in the future if he could.
Just like that, six months had passed before he knew it.
As much as Ace loved Luffy, he couldn't deny that it felt so good to be able to speak with other people closer to his age and to even take a break from constant parenting when he really needed it. Luffy also seemed to like hanging out with them, not that it was saying much since Luffy just loved being around people in general. Besides, since he thought the world of Ace… he decided that any friends of his big brother had to be his as well—which everyone was only too happy to oblige.
When Luffy's fifth birthday came around, he ended up receiving so many toys and gifts from so many people that his eyes all but popped outta his head when he saw the giant pile in the living room. Even more so when Whitebeard, the man himself, showed up for a few minutes to officially meet Luffy.
"Wow! You look just like a pirate!" Luffy pointed out as he stared up at the towering figure, causing the man to burst out laughing at the blunt remark.
"And you're the little trouble-maker I heard so much about," Whitebeard grinned down at him, "Good to finally meet you. Your brother talked so much about you that it was enough to make my eardrums bleed."
Ace blushed and looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck and everyone else laughed. But Luffy only hopped up and down as he pointed at his face before asking, "You have a cool mustache, old man! But I don't get why they call you Whitebeard when you don't have a beard?"
"Luffy! You don't ask such questions!" Thatch whispered nervously.
But Whitebeard didn't seem offended at all and just burst out laughing again and patted Luffy's head fondly.
"If there was any doubt that he's your brother, Ace, it's gone now," the old man said with a smirk over at him.
Ace could only shrug, glad that the old man had a sense of humor—at least when it came to kids—before ending the party with cake and ice cream. When he put Luffy to bed that night, the kid had the biggest grin on his face and was giggling excitedly in his sleep as Ace tucked him in.
Though now that Luffy was five… it did cause him to want to start thinking more of the immediate future…? Something that Izo pointed out to him at one point a few weeks after the party.
"You planning on sending the kid off to school soon?" Izo asked after Ace set Luffy in front of the TV to watch Chopperman while he and Izo could talk about the raid from a few nights before—away from his brother's ears.
"I've looked into it, but even with the money I make here, it might be tight," Ace confessed as he looked over the papers with a frown.
"It would make things a bit easier for you, since he would be somewhere safe during a chunk of the day so you don't need to worry about constantly finding babysitters…?" Izo offered but Ace couldn't help but feel frustrated at the thought.
He hated to admit it, but the truth was he got anxious whenever Luffy wasn't in his sights. It was just a habit that he built up over those few years he had to keep their situation secret. He knew that it wasn't healthy, and he had been thinking that sending him off to school was going to be a good first step to address that issue. The problem was that Luffy had no attention span, Ace knew that better than anyone else, and also knew that the chances of getting Luffy to sit still in a classroom was a disaster waiting to happen. Still, he knew that Luffy needed to be around more kids his age as well and he was struggling to decide the best course of action to take with that.
Izo seemed to understand his internal struggles as he rested a hand on Ace's shoulder.
"I get it," he promised and he had told Ace about how he and his sister were orphaned when they were teens and he had to take full responsibility over her until he met with Pops when they needed the support most. It felt good to be able to speak to someone who understood the difficulties he had to go through. Though Ace knew the situation wasn't exactly the same since Kiku was closer in age to Izo, thus being more of a sibling relationship than the parent relationship between him and Luffy. Regardless, Izo was able to help him to feel less alone than he had before.
"Give it some thought," Izo said bracingly, "If you need help, all you need to do is ask and we'll be backing you up all the way."
Ace smiled at that and nodded, feeling more and more connected to the outside world with every day that passed.
That was how Ace found himself playing host to Thatch, Izo, and Marco on a chilly, Saturday morning nearly seven months after he first met them. He had just dragged a half-asleep Luffy out of bed and had him at the table, with his head nodding off as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Ace could only smirk at how adorable it was before he began frying up some breakfast for them.
He had just been cracking open some eggs when a knock came at the door. He looked up in time to see Marco, Izo, and Thatch all entering as if this was their own house, and he grinned as they greeted him as if they hadn't seen him in weeks—even though they had been here just last night.
Marco was the first to cross the kitchen and settle at the table before grinning at Luffy.
"Hey, someone sleepy today?" Marco asked teasingly when he spotted Luffy dozing in his chair.
"Had a rough night trying to get him to sleep since someone in this room gave him sugar before they left," Ace said before shooting Thatch a nasty look.
"I didn't tell him to eat my private stash of candy!" Thatch countered.
"Private? You left it right in front of him before leaving him alone in the room!" Ace retorted with a bitterness to his voice, "What kind of idiot thinks that it's a good idea to leave a box full of candy right in front of a little kid before going away and not expect them to eat it?"
"He got ya there, Thatch," Izo grinned as Thatch rolled his eyes.
"Hey, I'm the victim here! The kid swallowed everything the moment I took my eyes off him," Thatch grumbled as he joined Marco and Luffy at the table. Ace just rolled his eyes before turning the heat low as he headed to the bathroom.
"Yoi, you stink to high heaven, bud," Thatch laughed as Ace passed by. Ace sniggered before he pulled off his shirt and threw it at him with an annoyed smile.
"I get it!" he called with a wave, "Watch Luffy and the bacon for me, I'm gonna take a quick shower!"
Izo gave him a thumbs up before going over to check on the food and piled the finished pieces onto a plate for the rest of them as Thatch started to tickle Luffy, who shrieked with laughter and was wide awake in minutes.
He leapt down from his chair and Thatch chased him around the table as Marco watched fondly.
Hard to believe that it's already been months since they first met these troublesome brothers… suddenly he couldn't imagine life without them. Ace had threw himself into working with them, taking all manner of calls to different parts of the city—and saving everyone's hides more than once—as for Luffy… the kid was like a ray of sunshine that they couldn't get enough of. Everyone just loved coming to visit and seeing that smile was enough to get them to forget about the rougher parts of this job so easily. Though he did make a mental note they would have to dial it back a bit if they wanted to avoid spoiling the kid too much.
"If this keeps up, it wouldn't surprise me if he was named a commander soon," Izo said to Marco in a quiet voice, as if guessing what he was thinking. "I think that the Second Division commander's slot's still open?"
"It is, but I think that we might be getting a bit ahead of ourselves," Marco said, knowing that there was no need to hurry. He personally felt it might be better to wait till Luffy was older, and required less attention, before Ace took up such a big job since that was sure to dig into his time even more than it did now. But they would cross that bridge when they got there.
They spent the next few minutes watching Thatch and Luffy laughing and rolling on the floor before Izo's smile faded when he reached into his kimono to pull out the morning paper he picked up before coming here.
"Did you see this?" Izo asked as he held it out to Marco.
"I heard about it," Marco said, his sleepy smile fading slightly as he looked over it with a critical eye. "And from what I heard, this was part of what Mihawk and Pops talked about during their last meeting. Apparently, someone in the police force has grown bold and is pushing for rather extreme punishments to get rid of gang activity once and for all."
"I mean… I get it," Izo whispered back with a frown, "It would make our lives easier if we didn't have to worry so much about the ever-growing violence, but doesn't this seem to be a bit extreme? I mean… the authorities are going around arresting people over the slightest rumors. And I heard that their questioning methods are becoming violent themselves. Instead of just trying to capture anyone associated with gangs, there's a new force that seems happy with pretty much maiming anyone who gets in the way. They've even starting going after the Warlords, which is serious. I heard that Hancock's place was recently raided until she drove them out…? And don't get me started on how Crocodile's been moving forward with his own plans recently because someone raided his casino in Rainbase. The authorities sure aren't making friends here and it's only gonna be a matter of time until the Warlords start to retaliate against them."
"I know," Marco sighed as he looked over the report. "Whoever's behind this is really pushing for violence against violence. A lot of people could get hurt, to say the least."
"Do any of our boys in on the force know anything?" he asked worriedly as Marco shook his head.
"None of them are that high ranking yet," he reminded Izo. "But I did speak with someone who informed me that they think the most likely candidate is from one of the admirals, if not the fleet admiral himself."
"Well, that narrows down our list, not that it helps us even if we knew who it was we're dealing with," Izo grumbled.
"Yeah, and this guy is gonna get a lot of people, even those on the police force, killed if they keep going down this path," Marco spoke up with concern. "I'll be sure to contact our allies to ask what they know, but I wouldn't hold my breath just yet. For now, we should just keep our eyes open and try not to push things too far. These new gangs are growing more and more reckless."
"You think that maybe one of them has something to do with the rise of violence going on in the area?" Izo asked curiously, "All these random battles taking place across the city…? It doesn't seem right. I think that the number of battles has also increased from what they used to be. I can't help but wonder…?"
Before Marco could answer, there was a loud bang and a crash, startling them both as they jumped and looked up. It seemed that in their excitement, Thatch—who was swinging Luffy around as he tickled him—had accidently knocked him into one of the sharper corners of the table, which the impact caused them both to fall back onto the floor.
"Shit! Crap! I mean…? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I didn't think…?" Thatch blabbered on in a panic, realizing that his game didn't turn out like how he intended it. Luffy was sitting up, looking dazed and confused before they saw blood dripping down from a deep cut beneath his left eye.
"Oh shit…" Thatch gasped as Luffy blinked, not entirely sure what just happened, but obviously felt the stinging pain in his face as he pulled his fingers away from his cheek to see blood on his fingers.
"Oh no…" Izo winced, knowing that this couldn't end well.
"You are so dead…" Marco whispered, feeling true fear for Thatch at that moment before Luffy let out a loud wail.
"H-Hey! L-Luffy!" Thatch whispered, trying to shush the little boy before Ace heard, "Come on now buddy… you don't want anything to happen to me? Do you?"
"Luffy?!"
Thatch felt as if the cold hands of death were wrapping themselves around him as the thundering stomps of Ace came into the kitchen. Ace's hair was still wet from the shower and he was dressed in nothing but his shorts, not even having time to put on a shirt, as his eyes narrowed dangerously to each of them, before they came to rest upon Luffy and the blood.
"Ace… Ace stay calm… it was an accident…?" Izo began, looking on nervously as Thatch backed away, holding Luffy out in front of him like he was a shield. Which wasn't a bad option here since they all knew that the only reason he wasn't dead right now was because Ace would never attack him with Luffy.
Ace's face was as stiff as a statues' as he took a few steps to Thatch before snatching Luffy away from him like he was afraid that he was carrying a deadly disease. After giving his brother a quick look over, as if checking for anything else wrong, he held him up in his arms in a comforting way as he tried to shush Luffy's cries.
"Hey, you ok, Luffy?" Ace asked, his tone completely different than it had been a minute ago, becoming calm and affectionate, trying to get him to relax. At his tone of voice, Luffy immediately stopped crying as the other three men stared. It really was astonishing to witness… it was almost like Ace had a split personality. One minute he was a raging panther on the battlefield, to a doting parent whenever his little brother was involved.
"Y-Yeah… I cut my face a-a-against the table," Luffy sniffled, tears mixing with the blood.
"Yeah, looks like you hit it hard," Ace said, wincing as he looked to the cut as his fingers brushed some of the blood away. Meanwhile, Thatch tried to use the distraction to sneak away…?
"You stay right where you are," Ace snarled, his voice back to being menacing, which was enough to cause Thatch to freeze up.
Izo, deciding that he rather not be around as a witness when Ace killed Thatch, stood up and offered, "How about I take Luffy and clean him up? You have a first aid kit in the bathroom, right?"
Ace agreed in letting Izo leave the room with his brother, his tears slowly drying up.
"Traitor," Thatch hissed as Izo gave him a salute, as if he was about to be dropped into the middle of a combat zone.
Once Luffy was out of the room, Ace turned back to Thatch, his eyes practically ablaze as he asked coldly, "So… how do you intend to die?"
"Ace, calm down, it was an accident," Marco reasoned, standing up between Ace and Thatch, "And I rather not have to explain to Pops where Thatch went…?"
"Just tell him he went to Hell, cause that's where I'm gonna send him in a minute," Ace answered as he cracked his knuckles and Thatch gulped nervously.
"Yes, that would be difficult to explain to Pops on why Thatch isn't coming back," Marco pointed out.
"He had it coming for a long time. No one would think twice," Ace snarled dangerously, one could almost see flames leaping off his body as he glowered at Thatch's direction, who cowered back against the wall. "Before I kill him though… I'll be nice and ask what happened?"
"I swear! I didn't mean to do anything to get the kid hurt!" Thatch reasoned. "We were playing a game of chase and I just caught him and was tickling him as punishment…? And the next thing I knew… he hit the corner of the table!"
That was enough for Ace to decide on Thatch's punishment.
Good news for Thatch was that since Marco confirmed that it had been an accident, as well as Thatch's first offense, Ace decided not to kill him.
Bad news for Thatch was that he still was dealt with a punch to the top of his head and was left with a swollen bump as he face-planted in the floor.
"About the best you could've hoped for, Thatch," Marco informed him, knowing that it could've been a lot worse for his friend as Ace sat down, looking irritated while running hand through his wet hair. It was here that Marco's smile faded as he got a good look at Ace's face and could see the bruise-like shadows under his bloodshot eyes.
"Ace…? Did you sleep last night? Like… at all? Luffy couldn't have been up that late, was he?" he asked and Ace shook his head.
"No, I had to call Kiku again to stay with him as I went to an emergency call near Edge Town," he confessed before resting his face against his hands. "I couldn't say no. I rushed over to help take care of a few thugs who were causing trouble. It was because of some idiot named Bellamy causing a lot of destruction and was smashing up buildings. Don't worry I took care of it."
"Ace… while I'm glad to see you adjusting so well to this life, you need to take care of yourself," Marco said as he got up to take over the care at the stove since it looked like the bacon was becoming extra crispy and burning at this point.
"Yeah, I know…?" Ace sighed before resting his head down on the table as he fought the urge to sleep right there. It was times like this that he wished his parents were still alive more than ever. He didn't know how different his life would've been if they were, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be as stressful as it was now. But he knew that Marco was right and the last thing he wanted to do was make himself sick and worry Luffy.
After Marco brought the bacon over to him so he had something in his stomach, they heard footsteps and Izo appeared with a sniffling Luffy and a rather nervous expression, as though the last thing he wanted to do bring bad news to Ace's attention.
"What?" Ace asked when he raised his head, not liking the look Izo was giving him.
"I can't get it to stop," Izo said, jerking his head to Luffy, who had a dishtowel pressed to his cheek, "It's been a few minutes but it's still bleeding. I think the kid's gonna need to go to the hospital for stitches."
Thatch could only sigh before another punch was dealt to the top of his head at that news.
*Later*
"Really? You had to come and see me over a cut?" Law demanded as he looked at the four men and one child gathering around the front desk when he stuck his head out of one of the examination rooms.
Ace could only shrug. After realizing that Izo was right and they couldn't get the blood to stop, they stuck a thick bandage over the cut before driving straight over to Law's hospital to see what could be done.
During the drive over, Luffy had cheered up greatly as they told him all manner of jokes to distract him so by the time that they arrived, he was smiling again. He was even waving energetically at Law when he appeared and called out, "Hey Traffy!"
You could see a muscle twitching in Law's forehead as the rest of them were trying their best not to burst a gut laughing at Luffy's innocent expression. Even a few others in the waiting room were unable to stop smiling as Law pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. He took a few seconds of him getting his annoyance under control before Law asked Ace, "Did you have to come all the way here for this, Ace-ya? Surely there was a small clinic or two on the way here?"
"Yeah, but Luffy knows you," Ace pointed out, hoping that he didn't try to question it more than that. The truth was that Ace didn't trust any other doctor but Law to look after Luffy, having still been on guard since he first took Luffy home five years ago. Ace knew he could trust him and therefore specifically requested him, even willing to wait a bit longer than normal to see the man. He looked imploringly at the doctor, who rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead before admitting defeat.
"Come in," Law groaned as they trooped in after him to the nearest examination room so he could have a look at the wound. Law removed the bandage to get a look at Luffy's cut cheek before asking, "What'd you do? Stab yourself in the face with a knife? That's not very smart, straw hatter-ya."
Luffy just smiled back when he reached up and gripped his favorite straw hat as Law went to work cleaning it up.
"No, Luffy got hurt running into the kitchen table or something earlier," Ace said before shooting Thatch another nasty look.
"It was an accident, I swear!" Thatch tried to defend himself. "I was chasing him around the table and then he ran straight into the corner!"
"Liar! You threw me in the air!" Luffy grumbled as Law declared that the cut was too deep to heal on its own and he would need stitches.
At that, Ace's glare was murderous and Thatch had to back away, holding his hands up in surrender as Law put Luffy up on the table to get the stitches put in.
"Hey! You know something? I just remembered that they're having a festival in Maryjois next month!" Thatch said, desperate for anything to deflect the attention off him. "I was gonna tell you guys about it earlier before… this happened. But I just thought that it would be a fun thing to do with Luffy. They're supposed to have all kinds of games and competitions and food…?"
Thankfully, it worked… well, for Luffy, at least.
"A festival? Food?" Luffy repeated as Law prepared the needle.
"Yeah, it's supposed to be a big event up there and even we 'commoners' are able to go visit," Thatch answered quickly, "There's supposed to be all kinds of shows and games…? I even heard a fighting competition for a big prize!"
Upon hearing that, Luffy's eyes sparkled and he quickly begged Ace, "Ace?! Can we go?!"
Ace forced a smile at him, privately feeling that he rather jump into the middle of a gun fight than head off to Maryjois and be surrounded on all sides by wealth and spoiled nobles.
"We'll see… if you behave yourself," Ace said, not making any promises bigger than that.
At that, Law pulled on his gloves before saying, "This won't take long. Once I'm finished, I'll bring him out to you. So for now… get outta my examination room."
"Alright, thanks for this, Law," Ace sighed, feeling better but still feeling a stab of guilt for not being able to prevent it. Still, he headed back to the waiting room to finish filling out the forms while his friends joined him.
"Again, I'm really sorry, Ace," Thatch mumbled. "I didn't mean to throw him that hard, I didn't think…?"
"It's fine," Ace sighed, having finally calmed down, "I get it, it was an accident. Luffy does like to play rough in games like that but you have to be careful with him. He's still just a kid."
"Alright, I promise to remember that from now on," Thatch promised, "So… to make up for it, how about you take the night off? I got a friend who works at a hotel and you can get a night to yourself. You don't have to worry about payment there and just take some time to relax."
"I'm fine," Ace promised.
"For once, I have to agree with Thatch," Marco said, looking at the dark shadows under Ace's eyes again. "You look like you're about to drop any second, Ace. How about, just for tonight. You get some sleep? We'll stay with Luffy at your place and just order some take out or something. You don't need to worry about him."
"I don't know," Ace sighed as he ran an exhausted hand over his face.
"Ace, you're trying to juggle in raising a kid and your duties on the front line," Marco reminded him quietly so that others wouldn't hear, "Give yourself a break. Don't even think of answering any emergency calls until tomorrow. I can watch him and I promise not to leave him alone with Thatch."
He knew it was difficult to offer to help, knowing just how overprotective Ace was whenever it came to Luffy. It took them weeks for Ace to become comfortable enough around them to allow them to speak to Luffy without his constant supervision. Though, now that he thought of it, it wasn't such a surprise given what the two of them had been through together. Ace did warm up to him and Izo about his past and everything he went through to keep hold of his little brother so it only made sense that he would have a hard time in relaxing his role as 'parent'.
"Dude, I get it," Izo said bracingly, "My little sister was a real pain when she was young but I wouldn't trade her for the world. We're not asking for you to go on a week-long trip or anything… just take tonight off from dad duties?"
Ace yawned, looking more tired than ever before but he knew that he was right.
"You… sure you can handle it?" he asked them wearily.
"Bro, we've watched him many times over the last few months, this will be no different," Thatch reassured him as he began to send a text to his friend at the hotel. "I'll get you a ride there and just give my name at the front desk. They'll give you a room to yourself tonight. Eat room service, watch what you want on TV and get a good night's sleep. That sounds perfect, don't ya think? We'll see you off and get some lunch before we head back to your place."
Ace couldn't deny that it all sounded wonderful, and was even daydreaming about Thatch's proposal before he finally nodded, too tired to even argue. Thatch grinned as he already began setting everything up as Marco and Izo patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him that they got everything well in hand.
"Ace-ya! He's ready to go!" called a familiar voice and Ace turned to see Luffy coming out of the examination room with a couple stitches under his eye.
"Ace! Look! Does it look cool?!" Luffy asked excitedly as he ran straight up to him with a proud smile and Ace forced a grin back.
"It looks good," he promised as he ruffled his messy hair before glancing up at Law again to mutter, "Thank you."
Law only nodded before leaving them and the group of boys headed out of the hospital. Ace took a seat at a nearby bench as they waited for the cab, with Luffy in his lap as Ace tried to explain that he was going somewhere for the night.
"You going out again tonight, Ace?" Luffy asked in surprise.
"Yeah… I think so," Ace said, his body now so tired that he barely had the energy to hold Luffy steady.
"Is it for work again?" Luffy asked.
"No… not this time. There was just a lot of excitement today," Ace answered with a laugh.
"It's okay now, Ace!" Luffy promised, pointing to the scar. "It stopped bleeding! I think it looks cool!"
"Yeah, it's not so bad," Ace agreed, getting a good look at it. But Luffy's grin slowly faded as he got up close to his brother's face, which took Ace by surprise.
"Ace looks tired," Luffy commented with a small frown as he saw the bloodshot look in Ace's eyes. Ace blanched at that, but he forced another smile to try and hide how worn-out he was as he patted the top of Luffy's head.
"Just a little. But I promise I'll be fine," Ace reassured him.
"Really?" Luffy asked before he held up his Chopperman backpack and offered, "Here! So you can sleep better tonight! Chopperman helps me sleep better at night!"
Ace blinked before laughing and ruffled Luffy's hair again.
"Thanks kid, but I think Chopperman will be happier with you," he informed him kindly. "It'll be fine. Thatch is sending me out for some R&R. But Marco and Izo will be here to look after you so you don't need to worry about being alone."
"Really? Can't you sleep at our house tonight?" Luffy asked in worry as he lowered Chopperman, "Am I that noisy?"
"No, it's not that at all," Ace reassured him, "It's just my friends here think that spending some time away from the house will do me some good so I'm gonna do it just to prove them wrong. But either way, I want you to promise me to be good tonight and I'll be back in the morning. You understand? If anything happens, go straight to Marco or Izo, ok?"
"What about Thatch?" Luffy asked innocently as Ace felt his eyebrow twitch.
Rather than answer the question he repeated, "If anything happens, you go straight to Marco and Izo, ok? You'll see me again first thing in the morning. Promise."
Luffy nodded and forced a smile.
He didn't want to tell him the truth, but he hated it whenever Ace wasn't around. It wasn't so bad since they now had so many friends, but he loved Ace dearly and being around him always made him happiest. But he could see how much Ace was working lately and he didn't want to make him worry any more than he did now. So he nodded, all the while wishing there was more he could do for his big brother.
"Okay, I promise," he said before pouting, "But if Thatch is mean again then I'm gonna beat him up!"
Hearing that caused Ace to burst out laughing and Luffy smiled again briefly, glad that he could make Ace laugh before wrapping his arms around Ace's neck in a big hug; breathing in his slightly smoky scent that always seemed make him feel safe.
A few minutes later, the cab pulled up and Ace got up. As he gathered with the others, he tilted his orange cowboy hat up so they can see his face as he asked, "I'm off. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and it goes without saying…?"
"If we lose Luffy or anything happens to him, we'll contact you," Izo promised, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "Relax for once, Ace. I think three grown men are more than a match for a little kid." He then glanced at Thatch and added, "Well, two grown men at least."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Thatch demanded, not missing the grin that Izo was giving him.
Ace just smirked and shook his head before privately thinking to himself that they clearly hadn't learned a thing in the last few months about keeping an eye on Luffy. But still, he was grateful for the night off, even if it was just to get some sleep.
"Alright then," he said as he passed Luffy off to them before adding in a whisper to Luffy, "You go easy on them."
Luffy only grinned and waved energetically at Ace as he got into the cab, already half asleep, before the cab sped off and out of sight.
As for the rest of them, they climbed back into Marco's car, with Luffy in the back seat with Izo as they headed back the way they came. But no more than two minutes in the car, Luffy's stomach began rumbling again and Marco laughed.
"Right on schedule," he smirked, "You know though, I'm pretty hungry too. Why don't we stop by one of those places with the kiddie area for Luffy? You alright with that, Luf?"
"Lunch? Yes! I'm hungry!" Luffy cheered out, drooling at the thought as the three men laughed at that.
"How did Ace manage to keep you both fed all this time?" Izo grinned, "Alright, let's stop and get some burgers or something before we head back. It should be calm tonight since I haven't heard anything happening throughout the city."
"If something does happen, I'll take the job if you both want to stay with Luffy," Marco offered, speaking as easily as if covering another shift at a warehouse or something for Luffy's sake. They continued talking as Luffy was happily kicking his feet from the back seat before he looked out the window, spotting something in the distance that reached up over the buildings. He paused at that as he tilted his head, trying to make out what it was as they continued down the street and took a shortcut down a side street. They soon drove pass a worn-down fence with a bent gate and warning sign hanging crookedly over the entrance. Beyond that, in the distance, Luffy could get a much better look at a towering mountain of trash and he stared on in awe.
"What's that?!" Luffy asked in amazement as they passed by the entrance to the Grey Terminal.
"Oh, that's the Grey Terminal, just a massive junkyard," Izo answered as they drove on by, "This is just the very edge of the place so we're pretty far off from Trash Mountain."
"Luffy, you've never seen the Grey Terminal?" Marco asked in surprise and the little boy shook his head.
"No, Ace talks about the Grey Terminal sometimes but never took me here. He said it's dangerous," Luffy answered.
"Well, he's not wrong," Thatch answered as he leaned back in his seat. "But they do say there's supposed to be some pretty good treasures mixed in with all the trash too."
"Treasures?!" Luffy gasped, his eyes sparkling at the very thought as Marco gave Thatch a quick slap on the head.
"Thatch, don't put ideas into his head," Izo warned as they drove onwards, trying to find a place to park. As they argued for a spot and what to have for lunch, Luffy stared, wide-eye at the mountains of trash, wondering what kinds treasure could be hiding in there as an idea formed in his mind.
Even after they finally decided on a fast food place that had tunnels and ball pits for Luffy to play in, Luffy couldn't help but continue to think how to pull it off.
Luffy all but inhaled his food like he did the first time that he went out with Marco and Thatch, who had gotten into a minor argument with Izo—by telling him that it was his turn to pay for them.
After Luffy ate enough for a small army, they sent him off to play in the ball pit again as they discussed things. Yet Luffy couldn't help but look to the windows where the peaks of the mountains of trash were looking back and he wondered what kind of 'treasure' was waiting there to be found? But for the first time, he just wasn't in the mood to run around and play. He wanted to go off and find some treasure! So, with Marco and the others talking, Luffy slipped out of the play area and went running towards Trash Mountain, giggling to himself the whole way.
*The Grey Terminal*
Normally, Luffy tended to get lost easily. Yet, thanks to the towering trash, Luffy was easily able to track where he needed to go before he finally made it to the gate, which was only held together by a rusty chain. It was still cracked open just large enough for a child to slip through, which Luffy did easily.
"Wow!" he said to himself, staring around at the endless miles of trash, and he could almost smell the adventure in the air—which smelled really bad. Still, he was grinning as he pulled his Chopperman backpack up a little higher and got to work.
The reason he was here… was because he wanted to find something special for Ace. Ace was always getting presents for him so Luffy decided that now he could go and find something for Ace to show him how much he cared! He didn't know what he was looking for, just that he wanted to find something special and cool enough for his big brother. Off he went as he stepped over some large pieces of twisted metal, using an old pipe as a kind of walking stick, as he began to dig around.
He kicked over some larger pieces, making a lot of noise without him realizing, and soon enough, he ended up gaining the attention of not-so-friendly eyes fixed in his direction.
Luffy, oblivious to this, began moving some old boards and tin cans for the next few minutes until his hand ended up brushing up against something small and he paused when the sunlight caught something sparkling. He leaned closer to see what it was and pulled out a bracelet that was decorated with red and white stripes.
"Wow!" he whispered again, his hands already covered with grime and other filth as he held the bracelet up to look at in the sunlight. It wasn't old at all! It was sure to look really cool when it was cleaned up!
That was fast too! He only just got here but succeeded in finding something and hoped Ace would like it.
He was grinning from ear to ear as he decided his mission was over and he better get back to Marco and the others before they realize he was gone. But as he was trying to clamor over some of the garbage, looking for the exit, someone reached out and grabbed his wrist. Luffy let out a startled cry as he looked up to see three big, mean-looking guys grinning down at him.
"Hey, kid…" the one holding his arms asked, squeezing his arm hard, "Whatcha got there?"
"Let go of me!" Luffy snapped, trying to pull his arm free, gripping the bracelet even tighter before their eyes widened at the prize he found.
"Now that's a pretty thing, isn't it?" one of the thugs commented as he laughed and faster than Luffy could comprehend, the bracelet was pulled from his grasp.
"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!" Luffy yelled, trying to jump up and take it back even as the thug tucked it into his pocket. "THAT'S ACE'S PRESENT!"
"Sorry kid, but that's the law here. Finders, keepers! And we're a lot bigger than you so how about you just scram?" the jerk holding him threatened.
But Luffy wasn't giving up that easily as he bit down on his arm, causing him to cry out in pain before throwing Luffy off to the side, causing Luffy to hit the side of a large piece of twisted scrap metal.
One of the thugs gave him a kick and knocked him back as Luffy felt tears in his eyes again, and he saw a punch coming straight for him…?
BAM!
Luffy coughed, trying to recover from the kick, before he looked up and stared in shock at the long pipe that had come down upon the thug's foot—causing him to yell in pain and fall back. Luffy stared around, thinking that Marco or the others found him—but instead it was a man he never saw before. He looked around the same age as Ace, at least he was as tall as he was, had blonde hair that fell around his face, while dressed in some of the nicest clothes that Luffy had seen in a long time.
Luffy had no idea who this guy was, but quickly understood that he helped him by knocking the guy away from him. The stranger then moved to position himself directly in front of Luffy, acting the part of a guard between him and the thugs who tried to hurt him.
"Three of you against one kid?" the man demanded in a cold voice, pointing the pipe at them, "That seemed a bit of a cowardly move, don't you think?"
"Who asked you?" another shouted before he charged at him, and the blonde man hit him with the pipe. Before anyone knew what happened, the fight was over with all three thugs on the ground, groaning in pain as they blacked out.
Luffy stared on with wide eyes as the blonde stranger spit out bitterly, "Damn, what's their deal?"
With a sigh, he dropped the pipe before turning back to Luffy with a kinder expression, crouching down low to look him directly in the eye as he asked, "Hey, you ok?"
Luffy gave a slow nod before the man smiled wide and informed him, "That's good. So… why are you here? This place isn't safe for kids."
Luffy blinked before remembering his mission and pointed to the thug who took the bracelet and explained, "I was looking for something for my big brother! They took it from me!"
The man tilted his head but he didn't need to ask what it was as he went back to the unconscious bully to search his pockets. It didn't take him long to pull out the dirty bracelet and Luffy leapt up with an excited cheer as the man held it out for him to take.
"Thanks mister!" he said happily before showing it off and asked, "Isn't it cool?!"
"Sure thing, but don't tell me you came here alone? Does anyone know about you being here? This brother of yours, did he ask you to come here?" the man asked in concern before Luffy shook his head.
"No, I left while my friends weren't watching because I wanted to give him something special to show him how much he means to me, and Thatch told me all about how this place has treasure mixed up with the garbage!" Luffy answered.
"Ok… but you shouldn't be in a dangerous place like this, kid," the man sighed, shaking his head. "I just happened to be passing by when I saw you going passed the gate when I was in the cafe across the street and I was worried. Glad that I listened to my instincts. Come on, let's go and find these friends of yours."
He held out a hand and Luffy only smiled happily as he took it, allowing the man to take him back down the slope of garbage and back to the gate. Even now, he was barely panting from the scuffle as Luffy looked up with bright-eyed wonder.
"That was cool, mister!" he chirped up and the blonde man could only smile back a little shyly before Luffy started to grumble, his hand still holding onto the bracelet as he told him what happened. "And then… they tried to steal it from me! Why'd they try to take it? I found it first!"
"They saw you found something cool and they wanted it for themselves," the man answered back simply as Luffy stamped his foot in anger.
"Well, that's mean of them," Luffy pouted before they reached the gate. Though now it was left wide open with the rusty chain laying on the ground as they quickly stepped back onto the sidewalk. Once they were away from the smell of the garbage, Luffy brightened up and asked, "By the way, my name's Luffy! What's yours?"
"Luffy?" the man asked, suddenly smiling at that, "Well, Luffy. It's nice to meet you. As for me, you can just call me Sabo. Now, let's find these friends of yours, huh?"
(Yes! So Sabo finally makes an appearance and Ace is taking the night off, man needs a desperate break. It's a bit shorter than usual, but I wanted to get the next chapter out with this cuteness. And yes, I don't think that I'd be letting Thatch watch my kids anytime soon.)