Chapter 1 : Home

It was peaceful on Mt. Colubo, bathed in the beautiful flora and fauna of the East Blue. The trees were enormous, having existed for centuries on the island. The scenery painted by gaps in the tall canopy with sunset filtering through them presented a picture of something out of a movie. None would have guessed such a place to exist. Yet it did.

The sounds of different birds, the constant chirping only added to the peacefulness of the forest. The atmosphere was even more lively with an occasional gentle gust of wind which blew rustling the leaves around.

It was an amazing evening, to be out with your family and just enjoy.

Ace didn't have such a liberty. Not since five years ago. Not since the day when his whole world came crashing down in less than day. He didn't pay attention to the split knuckles as his body caught up with the exhaustion of training the whole day.

He had spent five years grieving the death of one and disappearance of his other brother. Sabo had been killed just for an excuse of crossing a ship which carried someone who could kill an innocent child and get away with it. No amount of denial, uprooted trees or hatred for his murderers could change that. He had seen the ship explode and sink himself. Far away from coastline. He had stayed there the entire night in the hopes that Sabo would come any moment now, unharmed from the explosion.

Sabo never returned.

Luffy's disappearance on the other hand had hit Ace even worse than the revelation that his father was the former King of Pirates. When he returned back to the bandit camp, still heartbroken from Sabo's death, he had been greeted by the news that Luffy had gone missing. By that time, Dadan, Makino and Wood Slap had already turned the Foosha Village and Mt. Colubo upside down in Luffy's search.

Ace had joined them, not wanting to lose another brother. Yet, his spirit broke when he and Makino found Luffy's most precious possession, his straw hat almost destroyed in a dump in the Goa Kingdom. Soon, any clues which they had found led to a dead end in Goa Kingdom.

Since then, his night had been often harrowed by nightmares. One where his little brother, that rubber ball of energy was living a happy life away from him, a burden carrying the hated blood of the Gol D. Roger, a person who never should have been born. Sometimes, his mind would conjure up situations, which would make him want to puke in the middle of the night.

Ace shifted his head to his right to look at two simple graves. He knew that Sabo wouldn't return. He was dead, dead, dead, because he was weak. Garp had tried his best to send out missing person flyers, sent them in the four Seas, Grand Line and the New World. When even the Marine Vice-Admiral turned up empty handed after two years of sleepless nights, deep down Ace finally lost all hope. Nobody knew about the two graves which he had made at the same cliff where they had sworn each other as brothers.

A cup of sake rested in front of both of the graves, while a straw hat was tied to one of the stones of the left grave. Ace glanced back at the sea and the setting sun, his face turning into a snarl seeing the calmness and beauty of the ocean.

"GAAAAHHHHHHH!", he screamed loudly in frustration. Even after his scream died down, the anger stayed deep down in his eyes as he relaxed again. "Two more years, Luffy, Sabo. I will make you two proud of me"

I just wish you were with me too, Sabo, Luffy. It's not the same without you guys.

Dinner had been a short affair. He had eaten his dinner quietly, not conversing with any person present there. He didn't know when his exhaustion caught up to him, like any other day. But, he knew that he would wake up in the middle of the night to another nightmare his own subconscious would create.

He hadn't expected someone to hammer the door in the dead of the night. And he certainly hadn't expected the culprit of all the ruckus to be the calm and patient Makino. "Why are breaking down the poor door in what...?", Dadan glanced at the clock in the small hut.

"What do you want at three in the morning, Makino-san?", Ace asked somewhat politely. Over the five years, he had come to respect the woman for all she had done for Luffy in his younger years, and the lengths she had went to find him after his disappearance.

"Ace! You need to come with me right now! You would want to see this!", were the only words which Makino said before dragging Ace by his arm. Halfway down the mountain enroute to Foosha Village, Makino had left his hand and was leading him and a following Dadan at a fast pace. Ace didn't know the woman could run that fast.

He was quickly taken to Wood Slap's house, where one of the mayor's servants was standing outside, waiting for them. Not knowing what to expect, Ace had cautiously entered the house, only to be greeted by what seemed a pre-teen wrapped in bandages resting on the lone cot in the house, the patient's face being obscured by the village doctor checking the pre-teen's vitals.

"What did you bring me here f...or?", Ace trailed off, his eyes widening in shock as the doctor moved away to tell something to Wood Slap's servant. "Lu..ffy? LUFFY!", he cried loudly as he knelt beside the unconscious pre-teen. He wanted to hug his little brother tightly, but was stopped by a faint pull from the doctor behind him. He wanted to argue, but it was forgotten after seeing the amount of bandages and the smell of the disinfectant herbs coming from them.

He didn't how long he sat there as he held Luffy's arm in his, but all that mattered was that his little brother was back. This time he promised he won't let anyone touch a hair on Luffy's head if he had anything to say about it.

"One the merchant's found him on the docks late last night. He was on his last reserves of strength when he collapsed on the docks. Seeing his condition they quickly took him to one of their ships and called for the resident ship doctor, while they alert Wood Slap about the presence of the newcomer on the docks. As soon as Wood Slap confirmed it was Luffy, he instantly sent for Ashiro-san and asked me to bring you here", Makino said in a low voice as got across Ace on the other side of the cot. It was only then Ace realized that Makino had been crying. "You dummy! You made us worry a lot! You big, big dummy", she cried quietly as she took Luffy's left arm in a loose hug.

The next day had gone in a blur. The entire gang had come down from the mountain, taking turns to guard Wood Slap's hut. The aura they gave off had made them look ready to tear into someone if that person got a bright idea to barge into the mayor's house. Safe to say, nobody other than the doctor, Ashiro, Ace, Wood Slap and Makino were allowed in the periphery of the house.

Ace had resisted and urge to strangle Dadan after that damn woman had went in the afternoon and returned with Luffy's straw hat, commenting along the lines of 'There's no need to let it rot away on a grave if the person is alive'.

That damn woman knew about the graves all along, Ace thought in anger.

The fifteen-year-old had not moved since the previous night, Luffy's hand always in contact with his own. Sometime into the night, Makino had entered the hut with some food and a pillow. Ace barely acknowledged the woman, his eyes never leaving Luffy's prone form.

"Ace! You idiot! Starving yourself isn't going to help Luffy regain his consciousness faster! And take some rest too. The only thing that is going to happen id that you will be asleep when Luffy wakes up!", Makino scolded as she place a tray on the side table and a pillow beside Ace. "Eat up and take some rest. Luffy won't be happy if you fall ill because of him!"

Those words struck Ace in the heart as he quickly started eating the food. No. He wouldn't let Luffy be sad ever again. Ace hadn't needed anyone to say that Luffy had been through a lot if the scars he had were anything to go by.

Makino smiled sadly as she watched Ace silently eat while tears ran down his face. Yet, his eyes never left the sleeping form of Luffy. She knew what Ace had been through in the past five years. She waited until Ace quietly finished his dinner, before falling asleep beside Luffy in a sitting position. Not wanting to wake the teen, she quietly closed the door to the hut and left.

Sometime during the night, Ace woke up hearing a rustle of fabrics. He blearily blinked his eyes to adjust them to the darkness. A whimper from across him, made him remember his situation, which was enough to blow away any sign of drowsiness with a force of a hundred cannons. Fully awake, his head snapped to the direction from where the noise had originated, spotting a small figure trying to make himself as small as possible. In the darkness, he realized the Luffy was clutching the white-and-blue intertwined fabric which looked some kind of clothing accessory. He faintly remembered the merchant saying that it was around his waist when he was first spotted at the docks.

He had only gotten up from his seat to go towards Luffy, when a growl from the said boy made him freeze. Taking in the boy's features, he noticed the fear-laden eyes and the tense muscles. The same as that of a cornered beast. It broke Ace's heart to see that. What had his little brother had gone through to make him react such to Ace?

"Luffy, it's me. Ace, your brother", Ace said quietly as he inched towards the boy.

"No", the Luffy replied in a a cracked voice. It sent another crack through Ace's fragile heart. "You're not real. Ace.. Ace would never come for me... They would never let me meet Ace... I am not falling for t-this a-again"

It took Ace all his strength to not collapse hearing his sweet little energetic brother's broken voice. What had his brother through? Did he not believe that Ace in front of him was real? He didn't know what to do, except that he wanted to wither away in the wind. He gulped at the silence which had followed. He quietly and slowly walked over to Luffy, who had now pushed himself to one of the corner's in the room.

"Don't c-come closer, please. P-please go aw-away", the pre-teen sobbed quietly, every sob sending more and more crack in Ace's fragile heart. Ace quietly put the straw hat on Luffy's head and turned away. He wanted to run away. Ace couldn't see his little brother in such a state.

Yet, he was stopped when a hand gripped his arm tightly. "Shanks", he heard Luffy murmur quietly. He turned around to see Luffy clutching the hat with his other hand, like his life depended upon it. "Ace? Y-You're real?"

Ace couldn't hold himself any longer as he hugged his little brother tightly. "I-I am here, Luffy. No one is going to hurt you", he said softly as he felt Luffy's arms tighten around himself in a hug.

"AAACCCEEEEE! Ace, I'm so so sorry. I'll never do that again! I'm sorry! Don't make me return to that place. Please, Ace! I don't want to go back. Don't—don't send me back, please… Please, Ace, don't send me back… I will do anything, please just don't send me back there Ace... They said that you would never come for me, Sabo and Grandpa also would never come, not Shanks, not you... I don't want to go back there Ace, please... I won't eat a lot, I won't cry, please... just d-don't send me back Ace...", Luffy sobbed quietly into Ace's shirt.

Ace couldn't take it anymore. Every please, every plea hurt him more than anything else. He couldn't keep his tears anymore. He wanted to be strong, but everything Luffy said, hurt. It hurt him a lot. "You don't have to go back to that place if you don't want. You can eat as much as you want. You can do whatever you want. You don't have to be sorry for anything, little brother. This is your home. I'm your big brother, and nobody is going to hurt you, Luffy. No one if I have a say in it", Ace replied as tears silently streaked down his face.

"Please.. d-don't send me... back...", Luffy murmured before falling unconscious again, his arms still wrapped around Ace.

Ace smiled a little as Luffy fell asleep against him. He closed his own eyes, content that one of his brothers had return.

Ace swore on his blood to make those bastards pay who hurt Luffy this much. He would burn those bastards down.