00005. Fighting monkeys.

Ace woke up and rubbed his head as he tried to remember what happened. He grimaced as he ran his hand over a large lump before he jumped up, remembering Garp had just punched him. He looked around in confusion, he was no longer at Dadan's shack. He seemed to be in a small clearing in the woods.

"Good, you're up."

Ace looked towards the sound of the voice and saw Garp with two young boys standing next to him. Garp patted the boys heads as he said, "These are my grandsons, This is Luffy and Marcus. You three are gonna train together for the next week."

Ace crossed his arms over his chest as he said, "Don't tell me what to do old man."

Garp smiled sinisterly as he said, "You don't have any choice, the training's already started."

"What are…" Garp disappeared from view as some howling could be heard from the trees around the clearing. Luffy moved closer to Marcus as he said, "I don't wanna run from gators again."

Marcus shook his head as he said, "I don't think these are gators Luffy."

A couple of monkeys jumped down from the trees and looked at each boy. A slightly bigger monkey landed on the ground a few moments later and pounded its chest as it stared down at Ace. Ace took a fighting stance and said, "Bring it on you stupid monkey."

The monkey shot a glare at Ace before it charged at him. When it came close it threw a wild punch at Ace who moved to one side to dodge it. Apparently that was what the monkey wanted as it spun into the punch and smacked Ace in the chest with its thick tail. It sent the boy flying and he rolled through the dirt to stop just in front of Luffy and Marcus. 

Luffy glanced around the clearing as more monkeys landed in the ground around them and said, "Maybe the gators weren't so bad."

Marcus nodded lightly as he reached down to help Ace up. Ace slapped his hand away as he said, "I don't need your help."

"Maybe not, but we need your help." Marcus said as he pointed towards more monkeys coming out of the trees.

Ace rubbed his sore chest as he locked eyes with the larger monkey who sent him flying. He then raised his hands up as he said, "Come on you stupid ape, lets see if you can do that again."

The monkey nodded as it moved towards Ace while it lifted its arms. Ace moved in first this time and went to attack. Ace tossed out a right jab, but the monkey easily swatted it away. The monkey smirked, raised one of its fingers up and waved it back and forth in a taunting manner as it made a come here motion with its other hand.

Ace gritted his teeth and started to throw a combo of punches towards the monkey. The monkey easily swatted away each punch before it slipped past Ace's guard and hit him square in the jaw. Ace staggered back slightly before he smiled up at the monkey and asked, "Is that the best you got?"

Marcus and Luffy wanted to watch Ace keep fighting, but some of the other smaller monkeys came for them. Luffy and Marcus had no experience fighting before and it easily showed. Within a few seconds both boys were on the ground with some new bruises. Ace joined them a few moments later as all the monkeys started to howl and cheer around them.

Ace was the first to get back up and as he took his fighting stance he said, "What are you cheering for? I can do this all day."

Marcus and Luffy joined him a few moments later as they also took up a fighting stance. Both boys lasted slightly longer the second time they fought, but it wasn't long before they were in the dirt again. Ace even managed a glancing blow on the larger monkey before he was also slammed back into the ground.

Garp couldn't help but smile as he watched his grandkids get beaten up. He was seated in a tree eating some crackers as he watched the boys fight the weaker monkeys. If they were lucky, they would be able to beat all of these monkeys before the end of the day.

He watched Ace closely for a while and knew the boy would be fine with the task. Then he glanced at Luffy and Marcus, who were just knocked to the ground again. They would definitely have trouble with the overall task… It's a good thing he made it a group exercise. Ace can easily pick up their slack.

Hours passed by as the boys fought. Well it was mostly them getting beaten and tossed to the ground. But they had each started to make improvements in their fighting techniques. Ace could now hit the large monkey he fought a handful of times before he would be struck down.

Luffy was able to dodge a few hits and even throw a couple of his own before he would be knocked down again. While Marcus was able to land at least one solid punch on his enemy before he went down. His landed punch normally came with a counter strike though, which always knocked him down.

Marcus was covered in sweat, bruises and a little bit of blood as he struggled to get up again. He had no idea how long they had been fighting for, but the sun already started to set. And the dimming light was making it hard to see properly in the clearing.

Around him and the others lay a bunch of monkeys. Most of them were beaten by Ace, but a handful were taken down by himself and Luffy. Ace was in the process of beating up the last monkey as Marcus and Luffy tried to catch their breath.

Marcus turned to look at Luffy who smiled at him. It was hard to see as Luffy's whole face was swollen and currently looked like an extra lumpy potato. Marcus smiled back as he said, "I think this might have been easier than the gators."

Luffy nodded a little as he glanced towards Ace, who just laid out the last monkey. Ace slowly turned around, he was in slightly better shape then the brothers. He eyed them both for a few moments before he said, "Your grandpa sucks."

Ace hit the dirt a moment later as Garp appeared over him. His fist was resting in the air, where the top of Ace's head used to be. Garp smiled at Luffy and Marcus before he said, "Good job you brats. Let's go eat."

Garp tossed Ace over his shoulder before he grabbed Luffy and Marcus. The boys wanted to protest, but passed out after being picked up. Garp smiled for a moment before he jumped in the air and headed back down to the village. Makino should already have dinner prepared for him and the boys.

It wasn't long before Ace, Marcus and Luffy woke up to the smell of grilled meat. Ace was the quickest to come to his senses and frowned at Garp who was happily eating. Garp just smiled as he pointed at the table and said, "Make sure to eat a lot, it'll help you heal faster."

As Marcus focused on the table of food. Garp handed him a large bottle of milk about half his total size as he said, "Make sure you drink it all. It'll heal your fractured bones."

Luffy on the other hand didn't wait for an invitation and just started inhaling food as soon as he was awake. Garp laughed loudly at Luffy's actions before he started to eat again. Marcus joined in next as he used a straw to drink his milk and shoveled meat into his mouth. He couldn't remember a time when he was ever this hungry before.

Ace on the other hand crossed his arms over his chest and didn't seem to want to eat with everyone else. Garp raised an eyebrow at the boy as he asked, "What's wrong? Did those monkeys hit you so hard you forgot how to eat?"

Ace looked to the side and didn't answer as he tried to ignore the food in front of him. Garp watched the boy for a few moments before he picked up a meat bun. Before anyone could react the meat bun exploded on impact with Ace's face.

Luffy and Marcus stopped eating to stare at the sight, before they both started to laugh. Ace huffed and after he wiped his face clean he asked, "What the hell do you think you're doing, you shitty old man."

"I'm trying to feed you, since you're too stupid to eat yourself." Garp said matter of factly.

Garp picked up another meatbun as he said, "And I'm not a shitty old man, I'm your grandfather!"

Ace turned to look at Garp with wide eyes before another meatbun smashed into his face. Ace took a few moments before he cleaned his face again. His eyes were narrowed as he said, "Just try that again old man."

A second later another meatbun sailed across the room and Ace barely moved his head in time for it to miss. As it slammed into the wall behind his head, Ace smiled in victory as another meatbun hit him square in the face.

Garp's boisterous laugh filled the room for a moment before something slammed into his face. As Garp went to clean up his face Luffy started to laugh before a meatbun collided with his face. Marcus couldn't help it and also started laughing before something hit him in the face too.

As Marcus went to clean his face, he heard Luffy laughing again. So Marcus wiped his eyes clean, picked up the closest thing to him and whipped it at Luffy. Within moments the room was filled with laughter and the sound of food hitting people.

After about a minute of this going on, Makino opened the door to see what was going on and froze. The room was a complete mess and food was everywhere, while the occupants were also covered in food. Makino was about to yell at them before a handful of mashed potatoes hit her directly in the face.

Instantly the room went completely silent and everyone stopped to look at Makino. Makino slowly reached up and started to clean her face. When she was done, she casted a death glare on everyone in the room. Before she focused her gaze on Garp as she said, "I want this room cleaned spotless in half an hour."

Makino then backed out of the room as she said, "If it's not, I'll never cook another thing for any of you, ever again." The door slammed shut and Makino's raised voice was heard as she yelled, "It better be clean when I get back!"

The boys all looked at Garp who started to laugh. Garp picked up a big piece of meat on a bone and pointed at the boys with it as he said, "Hurry up and clean up this mess."

"You're the one who started it!" All the boys yelled out at the same time.

Garp took a bite of his meat as he asked, "And? What's your point?"

"You need to help us!" Marcus yelled out.

Ace nodded his head as Luffy said, "Ya, you can't just watch. You shitty grandpa."

Garp hit Luffy over the head with the food in his hand before he said, "Show some respect brat and start cleaning."

Luffy rubbed his head as Ace and Marcus crossed their arms over their chests. Marcus nodded his head to the messy table as he said, "We'll only clean after you start cleaning."

"Stupid brats, not showing your elders any respect." Garp said as he started to clean up the mess on the table while he was eating his food with his other hand. The boys all joined him after a few moments and by the time Makino came back the room was clean. But Garp and the boys were still covered in food.

Makino looked around the room for a few moments before she said, "Now all of you go get cleaned up in the bathroom and I'll make some more food."

She turned to glare at all of them as she said, "And the next time you waste any food, I won't feed you for a week! Now go take a bath, you stink!"