Chapter 10

Ace and Vash arrived at the place Moris said was his apartment. They stood in front of Magazine Bank looking at one of the buildings in front of it. Only one building matched the description Moris said.

"That must be it," Ace said. Him and Vash walked up to that building.

"How long were you watching, anyway?" Vash asked.

"Since you and I met at that market."

"I didn't notice you."

"Thanks! I worked hard on my hiding skills," Ace said, shivering at the memories of him trying to hide from Garp unsuccessfully.

They entered the building. The moment they entered, they were greeted by a rather clean and well lit reception area. One man stood behind a long counter, eyes glued on a local newspaper.

Ace and Vash ignored that man and made for the stairs. But not before being interrupted by the man reading the newspaper.

"Hey, hold on! You can't just waltz in here! Who are you?"

"Damn," Ace heard Vash whisper under his breath before addressing the man. "Sorry sir! Moris said I could just go up to his room."

"Moris?" the man who was working like both a receptionist and a guard asked, recognizing the name.

"Yes. We're his friends. I have his key right here," Vash said as he took a key with a keychain from his pockets. He twirled the keychain in front of the guard, no doubt hoping it's distracting enough to pass off as an apartment key.

"This apartment doesn't use keys," the guard scoffed. "We use cards. Now I'll have to ca-"

The guard was about to threaten them with calling the proper authorities, so Ace promptly used a controlled burst of his Conqueror's Haki on the guard. The guard instantly collapsed, slumped on the counter. Vash just looked confused. He turned to Ace, no doubt suspecting him.

"How'd you do that?" Vash asked.

"Do what?" Ace pretended he didn't know what Vash was talking about.

Vash narrowed his eyes at Ace, but didn't pry any further. Everyone has their own secrets. They resumed walking to the stairs and going up the third floor where Moris's room was.

They found the door to Moris's room, if they were to believe his words. Vash had no other choice, so he just accepted them. They stood there, thinking about how to open the door. They didn't have Moris's card key. The door was technologically locked, and breaking open the door forcefully would surely alarm people; or worse, the cops. Whatever this town called their peace-keeping authorities.

"Remind me again why you didn't check Moris's belongings?"

"Someone," Vash sarcastically rolled his eyes at Ace. "Distracted me."

"Ah! Sorry, my bad!" Ace said as he scratched the back of his head, not really feeling sorry.

Vash just sighed before straight up kicking the door down. Alarms instantly blared. The whole building can probably hear it.

"How gung-ho of you," Ace commented.

"Shut up!" Vash retorted. They entered the room and looked around. It was bigger than they expected. "Help me find that briefcase!"

"I would if you join my crew." Ace gave Vash a sly grin.

"...I'll think about it."

"Great!" Ace said. He pointed at a closet after using Observation Haki. "It's in that closet."

Vash looked at Ace strangely before humoring him. He opened the closet, looked around inside, and was surprised to find there really was a briefcase there. It had the symbol Moris said it had on the handle. Vash took it and furrowed his eyebrows at Ace.

"How the hell did you know?"

"I'm an expert at hide and seek."

"Whatever," Vash scoffed. "Let's just get out of here before the sheriffs come."

"Follow me," Ace said before taking the flintlock pistol tied on his hip. He shot at the window leading out of the room before jumping out of it. Vash quickly followed.

The moment they landed, they saw sheriffs round the corner near them. Ace whistled after seeing the sheer amount of them. The sheriffs ran toward Ace and Vash, prompting them to start running.

"Punctual cops! They really do only exist if you're a criminal!" Ace laughed. They kept running before turning to an alley. Ace followed Vash since he knew more about this place. "Why aren't they shooting at us, though? They have weapons."

"Civilians are in the area. Of course they won't shoot," Vash explained as they vaulted over obstacle after obstacle in the alley. They ended up climbing to a flat roof where they could run.

"Really? Cops here are like that? This country must be great!" Ace said.

"...yes," Vash simply answered before looking down from the rooftop they were running on. The cops were still giving chase on the ground.

"They're trying to encircle us. We need to disappear from their sight," Vash said, clearly familiar with their strategy.

"I can just deal with them if you want," Ace offered but was only met with a glare.

"Don't even try. They're just doing their job."

"Relax! I won't kill them."

Vash thought about it for a second before shaking his head. They sped up their sprint to jump across a wide gap between rooftops.

"No. Just… follow me," Vash led Ace as they ran across rooftops. Then, Vash suddenly stopped in the middle of a rooftop lined by big white square tiles. He motioned to Ace. "Stand on this tile with me."

Ace did so and watched Vash take out a button from one of his pockets. He pressed it, and Ace felt the tile move downwards. The tile was like an elevator. Ace looked up and watched another tile take the place of the one they were standing on. The moment the tile was replaced, lights turned on in what looked like an attic room.

Ace looked around. The room had a vast assortment of guns propped along shelves placed on all its sides. There were pistols, revolvers, rifles, launchers, and grenades of all kinds.

"Nice place," Ace commented after whistling at the sight of Vash's lair.

"Feel free to take what you want," Vash said as he placed the briefcase they took on a table before going to one of the shelves. He replaced the revolver he had with two .45 caliber revolvers. He also filled the pouches he has with bullets that would fit the guns he's carrying.

"Don't mind if I do, then," Ace looked at the gun that caught his eye. It was a beautifully polished flintlock revolver with six shots in it. It's a gun that used the same circular bullets as the flintlock pistol Ace carried. He raised the gun he took and showed it to Vash.

"You know, this gun is much more common. You could run out of bullets if you stick to using those," Ace pointed at Vash's revolvers.

"I have my ways," Vash said, trying to be mysterious.

"Which are?" Ace asked as he tied the flintlock revolver he picked up on his belt, next to his other gun.

"Tell me how you knocked out that guard first."

"You need to be in my crew to know that."

"Touché."

Vash went closer to the briefcase they took from Moris's apartment. He inspected it closely with his eyes first.

"This symbol… damn it," Vash cursed under his breath.

"You recognize it?"

"Yeah. It's the Zein family's insignia. Their patriarch is the current Minister of Defense."

"And now they're your target. So much for being a lawful bounty hunter," Ace said, but the latter was focused on inspecting the briefcase.

Vash took a metallic tool to further inspect the briefcase. Ace doesn't know what it is, but from what he's seeing, Vash was using it to check the insides of the box. Probably a bomb detector. Ace just silently observed.

A while later, Vash opened the case. The inside of it was filled to the brim with stacks of Berry, a huge amount of money. It didn't look like a single Berry was missing. Probably because Moris hasn't laundered it yet.

Ace kept silent and just watched Vash. He saw Vash's face twist and turn. Finally, he exploded. With a wide swing of his arm, Vash swept aside the case full of money. The strength of his swing sent the case crashing into the wall.

Vash leaned on the table with his two hands. His hands alternated between balling into fists and relaxing. He was looking down, but Ace didn't need to see his face to know that tears were falling from his eyes. Ace kept silent and let Vash have all the time he needed.

A few minutes later, Vash regained his composure. He stood up and headed for the small fridge propped beside the only couch in the room.

"Want one?" Vash took a can of beer from the fridge and showed it to Ace.

"Sure. Thanks," Ace said. Vash tossed the can of beer to him before taking one for his own.

Vash sat on one end of the couch. Ace went ahead and sat on the other end, giving Vash a comfortable personal distance.

Vash raised his can of beer to the side, catching Ace's attention. Ace smirked at how Vash wasn't looking at him. Ace didn't say anything and just raised his own can to meet Vash's. They silently cheered before drinking.

They enjoyed a few more moments of silence until Ace broke it.

"She must have been a great woman."

"She was," Vash solemnly said before slowly opening up. "She was a scientist. Smart. Witty. Kinda arrogant though. It was obvious something was weighing her mind. I asked her about it, but she just said it's a work problem and I wouldn't understand."

Vash took a big gulp from the can in his hand, emptying its contents, before continuing.

"Sounds like she cared a lot about you," Ace commented.

"I wish she didn't. Since whatever that work problem was got her killed," Vash said as he crushed the beer in his metallic hand. Ace watched him flatten the can and roll it up into a ball before tossing it at the small trash can at the far corner of the room. "I just wish I pushed her more. Maybe she'd still be here."

Ace was silent at that. He figured what Vash needed right now was an outlet for everything he's been holding in. Vash took another can of beer from the fridge beside him before continuing.

"She died in my arms. That was three months ago, but it's still so… clear," Vash confessed. "Her last words to me were my first clue."

"Which were?" Ace asked.

"'Stay away from your brother,'" Vash said. "Which doesn't make any sense. The only brother I know has been long dead."

'And the plot thickens.'

Vash downed his entire can before balling it up and throwing it like he did with the first one. He then turned to Ace.

"You don't mind if I doze off for an hour or two first, would you?"

"Not at all, my first mate."

"I didn't say I'd join you yet."

"Yet," Ace detected the word Vash used and pointed it out with a smirk.

"...do whatever you want. Just don't wake me," Vash said before instantly falling asleep as he sat.

Ace quickly downed the rest of his beer before getting up and throwing away the empty can in the trash. He sat down on the lift he and Vash used to enter his hideout before closing his eyes to meditate.

Meditation was an exercise Ace did frequently. It was something he did to keep himself in touch with the present, a way to train his focus. Thus, a way to train Observation Haki. To be able to put aside heavy and distracting thoughts and just dwell on the now is a vital part of having strong Observation Haki.

Ace used Observation Haki as he meditated. He slowly extended his reach, making sure the image in his current range was as clear as day before extending it. He first focused on Vash's hideout. The barely noticeable vibration of the fridge, Vash's steady breathing, the insects hiding beneath the wooden planks, the cold exterior of the weapons displayed, were all vividly clear in Ace's mind with his Observation Haki.

Two hours quickly passed by. Ace currently had a clear image of everything in Casing Town as well as the next town over which was named Gunpowder Town. Within Ace's vast range, he noticed that Vash's breathing hitched. A clear sign that he was about to wake up.

Ace opened his eyes and stopped using Observation Haki. He heard Vash stand up and stretch behind him. Ace turned around.

"Morning, sleepyhead!"

"Yeah, morning," Vash yawned before doing stretching exercises. Once he was done, he was wide awake. He spotted Ace sitting in the lift.

"You ready to go?"

"Before that," Ace stopped Vash. "Do you have a toilet here?"

Vash blinked before pointing at a door on one side of the room. "You didn't piss while I slept?"

"Well, I got too engrossed with meditating," Ace said as he hurried to the toilet. Vash laughed at Ace.

…

Ace and Vash stood on a rooftop overlooking a distant mansion in Barrel City, the capital of Gunsmoke Kingdom. It only took Ace and Vash an hour to get here from Casing Town despite the distance. Vash used his motorcycle while Ace followed on foot. Vash was surprised at the raw speed Ace had.

"How gaudy," Ace commented. They were looking at a mansion surrounded by what could already be called a park. To think that all that space was private property. The one owning it wasn't even the king!

"With rank comes privilege, I guess."

"By the way," Ace said, about to ask a question. "Do you really never kill?"

Vash's face twisted slightly at Ace's question.

"It's not like that. I just don't kill those who don't deserve it."

"That guy Moris didn't fit your criteria?"

"...no," Vash said. Ace noticed how he struggled to say that. "He killed my best friend, but he wasn't the one responsible for it. I want the ones who made the decision."

Ace was impressed. To stay your hand when you could kill the one who took your loved one away from you because you had a personal principle, that takes something more than dedication. At that moment, Ace knew he needed Vash on his crew.

"How naive," Ace commented, but he still genuinely admired Vash's character.

"I am," Vash scoffed. "But it's a promise I made. Men don't go back on their word."

"You won't mind if I kill those who you choose to let go?" Ace coldly asked.

"What you do isn't part of my promise," Vash answered. Ace laughed.

"Again," Vash said to Ace. "Are you sure you wanna help me? We'll be breaking into a noble's house, making enemies of a kingdom affiliated with the World Government."

Ace just looked at Vash weirdly, making the latter suddenly remember who he was dealing with.

"I'm a pirate. The World Government has been my enemy since I decided to be one," Ace said before grinning. "Besides! It's for a good cause! It's for my dear crewmate."

Vash didn't say anything in response. His silence was all that Ace needed.