CHAPTER 3: Recollections - Part II

"AAACCCEEE!" He hears her screech. They are so fraught that it's almost as if her lungs are bleeding. He can hear her sobs, but it is slowly fading away, along with his consciousness. He wants to tell her not to cry—is she really going to send him off in tears?—but he doesn't even have the energy to breathe.

He hears her ask—beg—him to wake up, stand up, and run away with her but that's not possible at the moment.

That's Luffy for you, he tells himself with a pained smile, asking for the impossible.

It is also how he knows she'll get through this.

So when he finally lets go of his strength, there is a smile eternally pasted on his face.

...

EN-ROUTE TO ERUMALU

Two Years Prior

"Food!"

"Water!"

"Shade!"

"I feel like I'm walking on the suuuunnnn." Luffy dragged her feet through the sand and, while the orange-head yelled for her to be quiet, Ace only saw adorableness. He just wanted to give her his barrel of water.

Unfortunately, the same woman (along with most of her crew) told him not to spoil Luffy. As she was looking at him, there was little doubt that she was thinking that it's no wonder Luffy was so selfish and spontaneous.

(Although... he would partly agree to this. Luffy had the predisposition of a ruthless adventurer, but it was Sabo and he who protected and trained her through everything and gave her everything she wanted with a little pout that she never really changed).

So, a bit guiltily and mostly amused, he watched Luffy carry on as everybody else had.

"Food!"

"Wateerr!"

"Shaaaaaade!"

"Shut UP, LUFFY!"

Luffy didn't seem to hear the navigator's command and she whipped her head to him, eyes begging and he could practically hear her thoughts. CARRY ME AAACCEEE, she said, but he knew how torturous that would be for him, and it wasn't because she was heavy or that he wasn't strong enough.

Instead of carrying her though he only walked side-by-side with her and leaned down a little so they were eye-to-eye as they spoke.

He had to stop a laugh from coming out because Luffy was so tired and so bored that her rubber body was practically sagging. He told her she should be a bit more patient, because everybody else is, and a captain should be able to endure more. (Although he didn't doubt she'd be the one to endure the most during their fights, and that worried him the most).

"Fine," she grumbled and she received a proud ruffling of her hair, and decided she can endure a bit longer.

Meanwhile, everyone else stared.

After all... Luffy actually listened to someone!

...

As he traveled with them to Erumalu, his dark-colored orbs watched as Luffy continuously caused trouble to her crewmates (i.e. she often disappeared, ate cacti and underwent major hallucinations of Crocodile, she wasted water, she'd be noisy and impatient, and she ran after the most dangerous desert critters, among others).

And it hadn't even been a day.

It was not a surprise, knowing Luffy, and it troubled him a little. She may have incredible amounts of charm and can turn almost anyone into a friend, but having to stay with her as a nakama was a grueling task not for the weak of mind and heart.

So although by experience he knew there's nothing to worry about, a part of him still did. He feared for the day his sister may get hurt by being left behind.

But soon after he noticed how—despite the seeming lack of captain-treatment she got—including being yelled at, hit, and being called insults—her crew genuinely cared for her.

When she got into trouble, the crew—particularly that swordsman, whom she could share wordless messages with—despite being vocal about how troublesome the captain was, would thoughtlessly jump into danger to help without a care of whatever injury could be inflicted on them in the process. When she was hungry he could see how they'd all secretly ponder on how to feed her, even the money-loving navigator, whom he could tell was willing to spend money to make sure the captain was well-fed. And when she's thirsty they'll quietly think of the ratio they have left.

He smiled, relating to their dilemmas. Luffy was a troublesome person—a captain—who's followed by danger anywhere she went, and vice versa, but they happily (not that some would admit) care for her anyway.

He could tell—as someone who has had his share of disloyal human beings—and even after knowing most of them for such a short time that they'd be willing to die for her, as she would to them. They seem to truly love her. Almost as much as he and Sabo did.

Almost, he told himself. Almost.

...

The desert was cold, windy, and dangerous during the night—as it was every other night. It was never lonely though, as the rambunctious set of pirates illustrated.

He smiled as he watched Luffy cuddle with the cute reindeer for warmth, along with another one of her friends. The long-nose was a good friend that didn't eye Luffy like she was a woman (he had a sense in these things, and he also mumbled the name 'Kaya' a bit too many times), so he did not burn him for practically cuddling with Luffy.

The princess approached him as the crew continued to play, while he continued to watch Luffy, obviously wondering if he was worried for Luffy and how she acted, including how she was being treated. He smiled and he thanked her for her concern, and for being with Luffy and mustering the patience of a saint.

His joking demeanor soon changed to a sincere one as he turned his sights back to his sworn sister. He agreed. Luffy just had the charm to attract people and rouse loyalty to be admired by many, it was her strongest trait, and would continue to be so.

That night, he volunteered to be the one on watch, simply because it was comfortable to be protecting Luffy and her crew when he could. He felt the swordsman watching him from behind, a little warily, but the latter soon dozed off to sleep as well.

Midnight soon approached and—as a particularly cold wind passed by them—he turned his head to where Luffy had been. She was beginning to shift, woken up by the breeze. She opened her eyes and looked around her, eyes ending to his spot, before dragging herself to sit beside him. He realized she was half-asleep.

He could only watch as she somewhat lifted his coat so she could enter its folds, subsequently wrapping her arms around him and she dwelled on his warmth. But, really, it was him who felt so much warmer. And as someone made of fire, that was saying something.

He closed his eyes, remembering the first time he had met. "I'm Luffy! Yoroshiku!"

Who'd have thought she'd grow to be such a massive—essential—part of his whole being?

With a soft smile, he patted her head and her back making her smile, and she gave out a hum of contentment when he increased his body temperature. He chuckled at this and thought that he has never been as thankful for eating the devil fruit as he was now.

...

It was during one of the messes she made, one of the first things she did that morning (which was lose all of their stuff), when Luffy managed to bring back a camel. What she had in mind was to eat it though—emergency food supply, to be precise, as she did just bring back a massive lizard—unaware of its use.

It was apparently named 'Eyebrows' by Nami when Vivi told them its use, and ero-camel by Usopp and Luffy.

"Only two can ride him," Chopper said translating for Eyebrow and Vivi said she can walk when Eyebrow turned its head to Luffy, with a cool sparkle in his eyes. Their eyes meet and Luffy stared back. "Why?" She asked and they realize she's asking the camel, and it replied with a grunt.

"Oi, Chopper! What did it say?"

"He is thankful for you saving him, but he says only Vivi and Nami are the only ones allowed to ride him," the reindeer said, almost robotically. "Because they have boobs."

"I'M GONNA EAT YOU YOU DAMNED CAMEL!" She yelled, biting the poor camel somewhere near its humps. Usopp tried to pull her (and her teeth) away from the camel while everybody else blinked.

Although, Usopp and Carue was still cackling a bit too loudly at that, only to receive a shark-like bitemarks of their own.

...

For the next hour or so, the main sound they hear across the desert was Luffy's mumbling complaint.

"You're not feminine at all, though. Maybe he thinks you're a guy." Usopp said. She's cute on her own way, he thought, but sexy? Luffy? He cracked himself up.

She 'tsked', and although she had never really cared for boobs in general, why she couldn't get a ride on the convenient camel was beyond her. Well, okay, she knew that Vivi and Nami needed it a thousand more times than she did but c'mon she wanted to ride the thing, too!

She puffed out her chest. "I do have boobs! I dare say they're normal sized." She turned as they walked and pointed up at the other girls. "Yours are just too big!"

The camel then twinkled again, and Chopper (as he was lying down on the piece of wood Zoro was pulling) half-heartedly translated. "Show me."

This earned the camel four punches, courtesy of: Ace, Sanji, Nami, and Zoro.

.

Furthermore, Ace had to stop her before she showed anything more to the blasted camel. With his arms draped around her, they look up as the princess began speaking.

"I'm... really okay with walking, though..." Vivi said, eyeing Luffy. And, inadvertently, she eyed him as well. She had been doing that since that morning, when she saw Luffy sleeping contentedly between his legs and under his embrace.

But Luffy crossed her arms and pompously said she'll forgive Eyelashes (Luffy code: She wouldn't eat him), if she followed Vivi's wish. The camel genuinely looked torn.

Ace knew pushing Luffy's patience (which is stretched thin since he has asked her to be considerate for hours) could spell disaster so, telling himself to steel up for the upcoming contact, and got on his knees with his back on Luffy.

"Get on my back." He said and Luffy absolutely brightened, while the others were just surprised.

"AACCEE~!" She yelled/squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood up and supported her legs as well.

As expected, his jaw tightened at the contact and he threw a passing glare at the camel responsible for making him go through this pleasing-but-torturous ordeal.

"You're the best, Ace!" She announced, hugging him just a little tighter.

Well okay, the torture's worth it.

...

As they walked they talked about a lot of things, primarily a continuation of her stories the previous day which were stories that started from getting sucked by a whirlpool (stupid Luffy) all the way to getting the ship and the sniper after finishing off a kinda-retired-cat-captain.

He had to open it up primarily to distract him. Thankfully, everyone was happy to share. By this time, Chopper managed to get out of his tired stance to join in the story, and the other crew members added details that Luffy missed or got wrong. They were currently on Arlong, whose defeat gave her her very first bounty, with Usopp adding he beat a merman all by himself too. "He was a scary fish." She said.

"He's a shark," Usopp corrected her. "A very sharp-teethed shark."

Then there was a talk of dragons and thousand-year disappearing islands and he had to admit that the crew had been through a lot even during the first few months of their travel. Heck, while they were still in the weakest sea!

She continued with her animated story telling (she had a gift for it) with Ace and the others occasionally laughing, until— "Then we went down rev...erse mountain and... met... ahwhale....Laboon...Zzzz."

And so, after a few hours of talking, everyone decided to keep their energy in to walking—especially since the captain was visibly beginning to doze off.

Nami slowed down the camel a little and looked at them with a bemused smile. "You sure spoiled her, huh?" She asked with words that were supposed to be sardonic, but the expression on her face told him the girl on his back probably looked peaceful and cute.

"I couldn't help it," was all he said, unable to stop a nostalgic grin. "She's the person I loved the most for as far as I can remember."

...

For hours on end, comfortable silence dominated the party's environment—possible only because the noisy captain's sound asleep. It lasted until he felt one of her arms move and began tracing his upper arm and the area just below his collar bones.

He couldn't help but shiver. "What are you doing?" He hissed, startled and annoyed now that he was finally getting closer to becoming physically indifferent to her being attached to his back, she decided to destroy his composure again.

But as he felt her head change positions, all he heard was a heavy sigh. "I'm strong too. I'm very strong." He can feel her pout even without looking. "But why don't I have hard muscles... they look cool...and hard as a rock."

He pushed down the embarrassment and gave her a small smile. "Your strength lies on your elasticity. You become more elastic and sturdy as you grow stronger. Didn't Sabo teach you this before?" Ah scratch that, she probably never listened.

Then he felt another intrusive hand and turned his head. It was Usopp. "It's true! Hard as a rock." He said, impressed, before turning his head to the swordsman, his hand wiggling to see if Zoro's were the same, which earned him a shoe print on his long face.

"Damned idiot," he grumbled as he trudged pass Usopp and continued walking, pulling Chopper on his little sled.

Ace only sweat-dropped at this and continued to walk, as well. It was then that he can felt the swordsman stare at his back at a stronger vehemence than before. Occasionally, he also felt the cook's, who had (until a while ago) been passing off his ogling warm stares and lingering touches to Luffy as an unusual case of sister complex.

He was taken back to the present by Luffy's laugh. "Shishishi—Usopp's getting buried by the sand! Good thing he has such a large nose so he can still breathe..."

This made the swordsman sigh and then grumble again when Nami ordered him to take Usopp out of the sand, or else his debt will increase. "Devil woman," he muttered and went to the sniper, which only made Luffy laugh harder.

Speaking of the swordsman... "Hey, Luffy." He called, and once again both her arms wrapped his neck so she could listen closely. "I've been meaning to ask..." He paused at the recollection of the chemistry between the two crewmates.

"What did you ask the swordsman to get?"

"Huh?"

"That time in the ship, when we escaped from Nanohana."

"Oh, this?" She grinned and lifted her sleeves up. It was a bead bracelet, similar to the necklace he was wearing. "You got one just like Dadan's, and I got one just like yours!"

He laughed at this, jealousy dissipating. "When did you get the chance to ask?"

"While you were saving us. I saw it in the shop and asked Zoro to get one for me." Then she chuckled at what was apparently a funny memory, hugging him a bit tighter. "We were kinda running away and he usually gets lost easily, so it's impressive."

Well, okay, that did deserve a compliment. The swordsman did give Luffy something to remember him by, anyway.

...

The second night they managed to camp on a small outcropping. Like the previous one, they huddled around a campfire made easily by his devil fruit. Everyone was tired and stretching the fatigue out.

Well, except for Luffy, who was stretching for a different reason altogether. "What a great naaappp!"

The Sniper made a face and hit her with a booger-shot, landing on the middle of her eyes. "...what... GAH!" She yelled and went to attack the sniper, who was definitely in a bad mood at the unfairness of it all.

Everyone laughed, including Ace, until he felt a bit of a strain on his back. It wasn't much, but the fact that it felt uncomfortable was natural considering he carried a person for hours. "My back hurts. " He said. An exaggeration, but not exactly a lie. "Luffy, fix it. It's your fault anyway."

Luffy puffed her cheek at this, but did as she was told. "Mah, maybe I can get you to carry me tomorrow too," she smirked as she went behind him to massage his back.

The crew stared, no doubt waiting for Luffy to accidentally break his back. Of course, he'd spent years living with her. He was bound to teach her a few things.

She put light pressure just at the right spots as he sat, and he let out a hum of relaxation, managing to maintain composure under her touch. (Otherwise he wouldn't have asked her to do this, even if she begged him to).

Her crew, amusingly, gaped. "U-Unbelievable."

"Didn't think she'd know that."

"T-This doesn't make any sense!"

"Oh~ Maybe I could get her to massage me, too!"

This comment by the navigator made Luffy's eyebrows meet. "EHHHH..."

"I'll give you meat."

"Oh, okay."

They watched as their usually-clumsy captain gently made his back pain go away. He hears tiny hoove-steps and opens his eyes to see Chopper observing Luffy and his back. "Luffy's doing the right thing," he said, completely in awe. "Just the right type of therapy after heavy-lifting."

"Ehh..." That was Zoro, interested, but Ace was sure to stare at him with eyes that said don't you dare. The swordsman frowned, before smugly staring back: As if you can do anything about it when you go.

This bastard.

But he wasn't able to retort as the doctor was now in front of him. "How would Luffy know that?" he asked, well aware Luffy wouldn't be able to a decent answer.

"We taught her." He said, "She needed an activity to increase her control—her pistol never hit the right spots—and we taught that might as well make the exercise useful.

Sanji tentatively put down his cigar and blew smoke. "We?"

"Sabo and I," he said. "He's another brother. His name is Sabo."

"You had another brother?!" Chopper squeaked, amazed at how big the world was. "Sugoi."

"Maaan. It sure's a surprise to find out Luffy even had a brother."

"Ehhhh—she didn't even talk about me?" He said, turning his head to her with a pout. "I talked about you all the time in my boat." He said, seeing one of Marco loose comments about his sister-complex very clearly inside his head. "I'm hurt."

"But they never asked." She said bluntly and Ace gasped and he glared at the crew. "Why? Didn't you care enough for your captain's personal life, huh?"

Nami and Vivi sweat-dropped, with Vivi defensively raising her hands. "W-Well it isn't that per se. It's just that—"

"Luffy-san just emits a 'present is what matters' aura." Vivi supplied. "It just doesn't invite much question about the past."

Ace 'tsked' and turned his head back to Luffy. "You know the old man practically knows you."

"Old man?"

"Whitebeard."

Almost everyone paled a little. "Whitebeard!?"

"Who's that?" Luffy asked, and Chopper also stared in curiosity.

Usopp stuttered at this, animatedly raising his hand. "Oh, h-he's just the greatest pirate alive." "He's the closest guy to One Piece."

"EH?!" Luffy was surprised (intrigued and offended), and she didn't notice she poked a spot rather strongly.

"I-ITTE!" Ace yelled, losing his sitting position. He ended up dropping on his back, with Luffy as a cushion. Tilting his head up, he glared at Luffy who chuckled guiltily.

"Whoops." She said. "Sorry."

He gritted his teeth and raised his hand, pinching the girl's cheek—as far as they could go. "I swaid I'm swooweee!" She yelled, placing a palm on his face, which lead to a casual wrestling fight between siblings.

Only everyone's gut was telling them there was something misplaced in the scene.

"I hope it's okay to ask, but... are you two really blood-related?" Vivi asked, getting the two stop their match, with Luffy practically sitting on Ace's abdomen, straddling him. Zoro stood up and pulled her up with her cardigan like a child and with a flop she landed at sand nearby.

Ace sat up, while most of the crew stared at Vivi and her rather blunt question. She realized this, too—and as a person who was supposed to be educated in diplomacy—she was embarrassed. "Eh? I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that wa—"

"We're not." Ace answered with similar bluntness, and internally admitted (with a shrug) that he was a bit touchy with Luffy. "We became brothers through sake."

"Sworn siblings, eh..." The swordsman mumbled.

"So... the guy Sabo. He was sworn in, as well?"

"Yes."

"So where is he now?" Chopper asked Luffy, who looked at the starry sky.

"Sabo?" she called out, as if she was talking to him, before looking back at the reindeer. "He's dead."

This made everyone gape, and they looked at them apologetically. The doctor panicked and hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry—"

"It's okay." Luffy grinned, patting the half-animal in the head, and Ace knows it was genuine. "He died doing what he wants." And that's that.

...

"So... we're around a campfire with nothing to do..." Usopp droned as they circled the campfire, unwilling to sleep after everything that had just been revealed. Still, as the resident clown he needed to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Well, we can sleep." Nami suggested as if it was only an option, though she didn't feel like sleeping herself either. It was then that the doctor recalled one of Dr. Hiluluk's tales about campfires and storytelling.

"STORIES!" He said out loud. "We can tell stories!"

They turned to Ace.

"E-Eh? Me?"

Luffy laughed at this. "N'aw. Ace sucks at telling stories."

Rather than being discouraged though, Ace took this on as a challenge instead. Propping his chin on his hand, he darkened his face... to tell a horror story.

"NOOOOO!"

"Please don't."

It was Nami who suggested the alternative. "Why not tell us about your childhood?"

Luffy twinkled at this. "Then I'll tell everything with Sabo."

That night, the crew and Vivi listened to some tales of the ASL trio who were ten and seven, respectively, but had more adventures than most of them before they met Luffy—and most of which were so ridiculous they laughed their hearts out.

The siblings brightened at every mention of Sabo, and the crew realized they weren't really sad about his death, because he was celebrating his life until that very day.

...

A few more days passed and they reach Erumalu, the green city and they were suddenly aware of what happened to the country because of Crocodile. They continued to travel and met various people—sand pirates, rebel-imitating goons—and the final of which was a Scorpion, a bounty hunter Ace dealt with himself when he got lost from the group.

"Told you he was stupid." Luffy said when they realized he was lost, which earned her a little bump on her head courtesy of Nami.

When he returned he told them that some bounty hunter spread rumors about defeating Blackbeard so he could get him.

"Wow. You've come all this way..." Usopp mumbled empathically. Ace shrugged.

"Mah, I'm just glad I got to spend time with you guys at least." He grinned. "It was a long shot anyway." Heck, it was practically an excuse to go see Luffy and the people she was trusting her life with.

At this, he looked at them one-by-one with a smile. The navigator will keep them alive at sea, the sniper would be a great companion for her to play with, the cook will provide her delicious and healthy food, and the doctor will treat her wounds. And the swordsman... the man she could communicate best without the need for words, and the person she trusted most in her ship.

He might dislike the swordsman as a man, but every one of them was good person. He could rest his worries.

He still sent that guy a threatening glare though.

"We'd like to be alone for a while." Ace said politely, and Nami nodded, pulling every unwilling curious bystander out of the way. Luffy laughed at this before turning her gaze back to Ace.

Their eyes met and heave out heavy sighs. "So this is it, eh?"

The parting is similar to when they parted in Fuusha village, but she had her own crew now and no longer sobbed like a baby at his departure. He can feel she has grown up. He was both proud of her and sad for himself at the same time.

"Our world is expanding, and it will expand even more." He said, taking a step closer to her. "We'll follow our dreams and we'll meet on the way." She smiled at his words and he grinned in response, leaning down and tilted his head, placing a peck on her lips. They didn't even notice the collective gasp of the Nakama hidden behind a tall rock.

His hand moved to behind her neck to push her closer to him and deepen the kiss a little, with her hand resting on his bare chest. He pulled himself away just as he was to lose any shred of decency he had left.

His eyes never left her flushed face and his fond smile never left his. He almost forgot to give her something important, but he remembered it when he thought of how he'd meet her again. "Here." He said, placing a piece of paper on her hand. It was his vivre card, and he told her it will lead them back to each other.

At his words, she held on to it as if it was a treasure, and he chuckled, stealing one more kiss.

She gaped at him and he laughed, and then he began stepping backwards knowing it was time to go, or it never would be. "See yah, Luffy!" Then he looked behind her, "You too guys!" And the crew (well, most of them) awkwardly waved their goodbye.

"We'll see each other again soon." She yelled with a grin as he was walking away. He etched it in his memory.

It was a good decision, because that would be the last time he'll see her carefree smile.

.

.

CHAPTER 4: Farewells

Luffy wakes up to realize that Ace

is gone.

______