Oh, my goodness this chapter was hard to write! I am terrible at action scenes, no matter how short or un-epic they are, so.. be prepared for terrible action in this chapter!

Also, the responses I got to Ace's little quirk have been amazingly kind and I thank you all for that :)

So, this is the final ASL chapter! Next will be Usopp's prologue, which is only going to be one chapter. Actually, after this chapter, all the prologue chapters will be in one-shot form, featuring quite a few time-skips, going over the changes made in the lives of the characters featured in said prologue. So, next chapter is Usopp, and the chapter after is Zoro and Sanji's prologue, followed by Nami and Koala, and finally Law, so look forward to that :)

Afterwards, there will be an interlude chapter featuring MarcoAce, then we'll get into the One Piece plot and how it changes due to the new circumstances of how the characters grew up.

Prologue 1 Part 3: Haki and Devil Fruits

...

Ace appears much more open afterwards; his grin is more genuine and he actually speaks more than two words to people who aren't his brothers. The crew, of course, is quick to take notice and advantage, and the men spend the boys' day off doing what they can to get close to Ace in the same way they have all gotten close to Luffy and Sabo. Ace is surprisingly shy under all the attention, but he handles it better than Shanks would expect him to, and he allows the crew to tug him back and forth; he even appears amused by it to a certain extent.

Sabo and Luffy catch on quickly, though, and they drag him all around deck to their favorite spots and their favorite people. And Shanks is glad, because he hasn't seen Ace so care free since he joined this crew. He gives them their space as they work on getting Ace more settled in. He wants Ace to understand that everyone on this crew, not just him or Benn, will listen and understand and accept.

And then the day is over, and he wakes them bright and early for Haki training.

He clears the stern of the deck, keeping it to himself and the boys during this day to avoid any... problems.

"Let's get started," Shanks says, sitting on a barrel in front of them, "Haki... is a little hard to describe. It's both one's lifeforce and their willpower. Everyone has it, but not everyone it capable of using it. Haki can be used in many ways, though those ways are often divided into three categories. Observation Haki allows you sense living things around you, get a glimpse of where they are even though you're nowhere near them... some people have been known to be able to hear conversations they shouldn't be able to through Observation; it's best use, though, is the ability to sense or even outright see what your opponent's going to do before they even do it. Follow me so far?"

They nod, Luffy as well, as surprising as others may find it; the boy can pick up on a lot more than people give him credit for, though it's usually only toward things that interest him. Fighting, Shanks knows, is definitely one of those interests.

"Armament Haki is sort of like a shield, though it can be used for more than that," He continues, "It can defend you from anything that would otherwise cause you harm or it can be used to increase your own physical strength; make you run faster, make you hit harder. It's best used against Devil Fruit users; it can bypass any of their powers. It can hit Logia, despite their ability to go intangible, it make can punches against Luffy hurt despite his Devil Fruit protecting him from blunt damage."

"Ah!" Sabo yelps in understanding, "That's what Garp uses on us!"

"Shitty Gramps..." Ace mutters irritably, "He didn't have to do it on us... we don't have Devil Fruits..."

"That's how Gramps' hits hurt?" Luffy asks, "Can I do it even though I have a Devil Fruit?"

"Sure," Shanks shrugs, "It doesn't really affect the user, whether they have a Fruit or not. Some people I've met have learned how to combine it with their power; it can be implemented onto weapons, too. Armament might be pretty useful for you, Luffy."

"Yeah?" Luffy grins.

"Wait," Sabo interrupts, "But, what about the third one?"

"The third one is called Conqueror's Haki," Shanks answers, though he focuses more on Ace as he says it, and the boy picks up on it, "It can't be unlocked through training. That one's unique because you're either born with it or you're not. Conqueror's Haki, at its core, is the ability to overpower the will of all things. It can knock people unconscious, it can send them to their knees, it can intimidate them to the point that they can't move an inch... it all really depends on how much pressure you put into it. It can even intimidate or outright tame wild animals. It's what I did to that Sea King that attacked us back on Dawn, Luffy."

"That's what you did?" Luffy blinks.

"So, you have it?" Sabo asks, "If not everyone can get it, how common is it?"

"Not very," Shanks shrugs, keeping his gaze on Ace, "Only about every one in one thousandth person has it. It's said that it's proof one has the qualities of a king. That's why it's also called King's Disposition."

He ignores the way Ace stiffens up the second the word "king" leaves his mouth.

"Alright!" Shanks grins, "We'll start working on Observation, first! That's the easiest to unlock."

"How do we unlock it?" Sabo tilts his head curiously, and Shanks gives him a beaming grin.

"We'll start with blindfolds!"

"...Blind...folds...?"

"I'll blindfold you, and you'll try to dodge me," Shanks grins, "We'll keep on doing that until you can do it flawlessly."

They groan helplessly, and Shanks laughs at them in response. He wonders if Rayleigh felt this gleeful when he taught him; their reactions are hilarious! It's probably why Rayleigh is such a monster when it came to teaching him; the man probably got far more entertainment out of it than he should have.

It's fine; he won't toss them to Sea Kings like Rayleigh did to him and Buggy.

"Worse than Gramps," Ace mutters.

It's late at night when Shanks and Ace begin working on Conqueror's Haki, the ship docked near an uninhabited island known for its unusual animals. They leave the ship in one of their rafts and take to the island alone, the only ones in the know Benn and whoever happens to be on nightwatch.

"You said you used it when you were angry, which is fine," Shanks says as they walk through the thick forest, "It's normal to unlock Haki of any kind during moments of stress. But, it can't stay that way, because you could accidentally use it on someone you care for. Learning control is difficult, but it will come to you."

"And how do I do that?" Ace asks, and they come to a stop.

"When I was first learning, my teacher told me that the Haki can be felt," Shanks says, "Though, he never truly explained what it felt like; said because no one is the same, so no one's Haki would be the same, either. It's how Observation locks onto everyone, because they all feel different. But, anyway, you have to concentrate, focus on you before you focus on anything else, and try to find that pressure inside you. Try to increase it, try to push out into the open with you, make it so that the world can feel it."

Shanks remains as still as he can as he watches the boy close his eyes, brows furrowed in concentration. The last thing Ace needs is distractions; with how volatile untrained King's Disposition is, that could end disastrously for both of them.

Ace does as he's told and he tries to focus on himself as much as he can. He doesn't know how long it takes for him to find that feeling, but it's long enough for him to begin to get frustrated. The frustration, he thinks, might start to break his concentration, but he doesn't stop trying. It feels like hours before something in him sparks to life. His first instinct is to recoil, because that pressure feels far too much like something smoldering, like a fire waiting to happen. He manages to catch himself on time, keeping his concentration, because he realizes that this fire isn't hurting him, that it feels almost familiar, and he realizes that this must be what his Haki feels like.

He turns his focus onto increasing the pressure like Shanks told him to. It almost reminds him of restarting a campfire, how one would blow onto the smoldering embers to breathe the fire back to life. He fans the flames until the spark ignites, and suddenly the pressure isn't smoldering anymore, it's an inferno that wants to rage across the forest around him.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when a hand lands on his shoulder, and he opens his eyes to stare up at Shanks. The man stares at him for a moment before grinning lightly and jerking his head forward. Ace follows his line of sight, eyes widening in shock at the sight of the boar, almost the size of the trees around it, collapsed on the ground, eyes wide and bearing into Ace's own, as if it can't look away.

How did he not notice something that big coming their way?

"You managed to intimidate it," Shanks grins, voice proud, "I bet if we practice the rest of the night, you can knock a couple of them out. We'll work on taming later, though, that's a bit more difficult."

"Uh huh..." Ace mumbles, voice far away in his shock, eyes remaining on the boar.

He suddenly blinks, glancing up at Shanks, "I did that?"

"Yes," Shanks smiles.

"All on my own?" Ace asks, "You didn't help?"

"Nope," He pops the 'p', grin widening.

"So... I'm getting better?" Ace asks, "Already? I keep doing that, and I won't do it on accident anymore?"

"Just keep practicing," Shanks shrugs, "Even managing to do that on your first try was quite impressive. Keep this up, and your control should be top notch in no time."

Ace suddenly beams, "I did it!? That's great, I- uh-"

He cuts himself off when he notices Shanks' wide-eyed stare - because the boy had never looked so completely open and childish before, even with his newfound willingness to bond with the crew - and he snaps his mouth shut, pursing his lips in embarrassment.

"I mean... this is great, Shanks," He mumbles, cheeks flushing, "I mean Captain... I mean Shanks, err... yeah, Shanks..."

Shanks snorts, bringing up his hand to muffle his snickers as the boy glares at him, face flushing deeper. He feels if he laughs outright, the boy would never show him that open look again, at least not for a long time. He manages to contain himself, shooting the boy another grin.

"Let's practice a couple more times tonight," Shanks says quietly, grin firmly in place, "Then we'll head back to the ship. Sound good?"

"Good," Ace allows himself to grin a little.

They practice on a few more animals before heading back to the ship, and Ace tells Shanks about the feeling of his Haki, that when not in use, it was like flickering ashes and embers, that when he focused on that pressure, it raged and burnt everything around him, that when Shanks pulled him out of it, it felt almost like a calm lightly fluttering flame before flickering out into embers and ashes once more.

"Fire, huh?" Is all Shanks says before he grins brightly, "Well, I guess that just means you were meant to have the Mera Mera no Mi, yeah?"

It's three months later when they hear word of the Marines based in the West Blue getting their hands on a Logia Fruit. Shanks has the crew sail closer to the West Blue just in case, but refrains from leaving the New World, instead sticking close to the Western Calm Belt. He has Benn look more into it, which takes another week of dodging questions from the boys about where Benn has disappeared to. Benn brings him back news of how the Fruit is bright orange and flaring, how the Marines' research into unveiled its name.

The Mera Mera no Mi is finally in their sights.

They sail toward the West Blue, but they never truly explain to the boys where and why they're going. Shanks contemplates his plan for when they reach the Marine Base. It's true that would be no problem for him at all to simply walk into the Base and take the Fruit himself, but he thinks over the boys and the progress they've made over the past three months and a week since their Haki training has started.

Luffy's improvement is probably the biggest. The boy finally begins to understand the need for a plan (though, his plans still usually involve just going in and beating up the problem), and he had been working on different ways to make rubber useful beyond stretching for unreachable places or being immune (to an extent) to blunt damage. The boy's been creating all sorts of techniques - Gumo Gumo techniques, he calls them. His fighting style isn't wild and erratic anymore, though, despite its newfound refinery, it's just as unpredictable as ever. His physical strength is improving, as well, which is a bit of a frightening thought considering just how strong he was to begin with. His instincts are remarkable, able to dodge and counterattack with an accuracy one would mistake for Observation if they didn't know he hasn't awoken it yet. Kid's got no qualms about fighting dirty, either, no problems with hitting below the belt, attacking his opponents even if they have their backs turned or are otherwise unprepared or unsuspecting, using opponents as human shields, and even biting people (the boy even broke skin, Shanks grumbles in his head), which makes it quite easy for him to catch one off guard. Highly adept at improvising, he regularly comes up with creative counterattacks and unusual techniques. He's fast, too, able to skirt around Kincaid and Benn like he's not even trying, and that speed combined with his strength and the uniqueness of his Devil Fruit will turn him into a formidable foe one day. Shanks is going to look forward to that fight in the future.

Sabo's marksmanship skills have become something to brag about amongst the crew. Yasopp even ended up creating a set of knives just for Sabo, a set of pitch black blades that he's found different uses for - long-bladed knives for speed and added lethality, double-bladed knives he's learned to throw like disks, thicker knives that can be used to immobilize foes (and wasn't that quite a sight, seeing Lucky Roo pinned to the deck by nothing but the boy's blades, his accuracy so deadly he was able to do so while they had both been moving around, dodging each other's attacks), and single-bladed daggers that he's learned to use for a multitude of purposes, and though his eyesight isn't anywhere near as good as Yasopp or Benn's, his aim is impeccable. The new pipe Yasopp made for him, as well, has become quite useful in the boys' hands. While he did have to relearn to wield the pipe - the material much heavier than his former one - his skills remained remarkable, utilizing it as a staff rather than a club like he did before his training with Kincaid. Slashing, swinging, stabbing, striking, using it as a vault or even a prop for hand-to-hand strikes, his staff techniques combined with his raw strength and marksmanship skills make him quite frightening, deadly even.

Ace has taken to Kincaid's lessons quite well - honestly, Shanks is starting to believe these boys are geniuses when it comes to fighting - his movements more refined and his balance perfected. Shanks had been surprised to discover just how agile the boy is, able to execute somersaults and cartwheels, flips, handsprings, able to outmaneuver almost any opponent that's challenged him to a spar and jump exceptionally high and far, even from a stationary position (then again, Shanks had noticed the boy could jump like a flea even before his training began). This, combined with the parkour and free-running skills acquired during his time in the jungle makes him exceptionally hard to land a hit on. His close-range and bare-handed combat skills have become noticeably skillful, and he even caught Kincaid off guard with a shoulder-throw the other day (it was actually quite funny, now that Shanks thinks about it, considering how much smaller Ace is than the man). Like Luffy, his physical strength is increasing, though it's not quite up to Luffy's level - it seems the boy surpassed his older brothers in physical strength, though he still isn't able to actually defeat either of them in a spar. Despite his lack of pipe, though, he's still quite handy with a weapon. He and Sabo seem to alternate between sparring bare-handed and with staffs and pipes, and he wields it just as well as Sabo wields his special pipe - though, his movements and transitions are slower and less smooth than Sabo's own.

All three of them are capable parkour and freerunning practitioners, learned during their time maneuvering throughout the jungle they once lived in - though, Ace, who had grown up in that forest and lived there far longer than the other two, has skills in that particular area of expertise that completely surpass his brothers. All three of them possess immense raw strength - though, as Shanks had previously contemplated, Luffy's strength has surpassed that of his brothers. Their durability is nothing to laugh at either; the three of them can definitely take a hit and just keep going like nothing ever struck them in the first place - Shanks has no doubt that the amount of pure punishment they can take will increase with age.

They haven't awoken their Haki yet, though that's to be expected quite honestly. With how quickly their fighting skills are improving, something has to come difficult for them. Ace's King's Disposition is getting much better, though. He's reached the point where he can not only intimidate the animals, but freeze them in place and even knock them unconscious. They've been working on taming a few, though he's still having a bit of trouble with it. Shanks hasn't started him on other training techniques just yet, as he wants him to be able to tame animals before they try to learn how to focus his Haki onto specific people instead of just knocking out anyone in his way.

As he thinks over their improvements, their strengths and their weaknesses, Shanks thinks it would be okay for them - supervised, of course - to help him break into the Base and steal the Fruit. It would be a good experience for them to say the least.

He grins.

Benn's probably gonna punch him.

"Boys!" He calls out gleefully, "How would you like to join me for a job?"

"You're gonna let us break into a Marine Base with you!?" Luffy grins excitedly.

"Is this even a good idea...?" Benn mutters somewhere in the background.

Shanks ignores him.

He's pretty good at that.

"Sure!" Shanks grins, "You're gonna be supervised, of course. Me an' Benn'll be watching your backs, and Yasopp's gonna be on the lookout for us, just in case. But, we'll let you do most of the work; we'll only cut in if you really need it. You need some planning experience, anyway..."

"What're we breaking in for?" Sabo asks.

"A Devil Fruit," Shanks grins at the gleam of both understanding and excitement that ignites in Ace's eyes, "I want to get my hands on it. Besides, we don't need the Marines to get their hands on a Logia, anyway."

"A Logia?" Sabo tilts his head curiously, "What do you want it for?"

"Do you want to eat it?" Luffy asks.

"We steal Devil Fruits all the time," Shanks answers, "We sell them depending on what they are. It's true that any Devil Fruit, no matter how ridiculous they seem, can be powerful in a creative person's hands, but we do tend to sell the Paramecia. The Zoan go either way depending on the animal. We like to keep all the Logia we find, though; we don't need them falling into the wrong hands, you know."

"Are we stealing this Fruit because it's a Logia?" Sabo asks, "I read about how powerful they are; and you've been teaching us about them, too..."

"My reasons for wanting this Fruit are secret," Shanks grins, holding a finger over his mouth, "Though, I'm sure you'll learn those reasons soon enough."

He holds out his hand in a silent order, and Benn gives him the map of the Base he managed to procure from the fools that "gave" him the information on the Fruit. He unfolds it, flattening it out and allowing the boys to get a good look at it.

"This is a map of the Base," Shanks states, "The Devil Fruit is being kept in a safe here."

He points to a room on the far left of the map, surprisingly in a place not that deep within the Base. Shanks can only assume it's the Marines way of attempting to fool whoever wishes to steal the Fruit into going too far into the Base to get out of. Too bad they didn't take into account blabber mouths and cowards willing to sell out their own comrades. The Base itself is rather large; like most Bases, there is a wall surrounding it, which will be quite easy for the boys to climb or even outright vault over. The Base spreads out into several hallways and rooms, as well as a mailing room, a cafeteria, a docking space, and, of course, the Captain of the Base's office. While it does span up three floors, the Devil Fruit is only kept on the second, in a storage room down the second hallway one would come across should they enter through the set of stairs within the cafeteria.

"This is your mission," Shanks states, "Come up with a plan based on your own weaknesses and strengths."

Ace and Luffy immediately look to Sabo in response, and Shanks snorts in amusement when the boy shoots them a deadpan look. Sabo sighs through his nose in minor irritation before turning his attention to the map and the location of the Fruit. He tries to go over everything he knows about Luffy and Ace, everything Shanks and Benn taught them about Marine tactics and how most Bases are set up, scratching at his scabbing over burn (it's peeling off into a scar, and it itches!) in thought.

"Um... Well, Luffy could probably use his Fruit to slingshot us over the wall around the Base, but we'd have to find a blind spot to do that. Luffy's really fast and strong, but Ace is better at outmaneuvering people, so either one of them could probably make a good distraction for me to sneak into the room with the Fruit. I mean, we're all good at lockpicking, but I've been doing it longer to sneak out back when I lived with my parents, so I might be able to get into the safe quicker than them. I'd need someone to watch my back in case someone comes after us while I'm trying to get the Fruit... um..."

Sabo trails off, glancing between Luffy and Ace a couple times. Ace quirks a brow in response, but refrains from commenting, crossing his arms as he waits for Sabo to continue.

"I think Luffy would make the better distraction," Sabo finally says, "Even if Ace is better at outmaneuvering people, there's still a chance for him to get caught. I know he could probably fight his way out, but Luffy is physically stronger than both of us, so he'd probably have an easier time at crowd control than Ace. Ace could be my backup - with Luffy as a distraction, Ace can focus more on watching my back than worrying about crowd control, and we've always been pretty good at tag-teaming people. We could meet back up with Luffy, and he can slingshot us back out of the Base without any problems."

"That's your plan?" Shanks grins, and Sabo nods a bit uncertainly, "Dahahaha! Not bad! Needs a bit more detail first, but it should do the trick. Good work, Sabo. Before we do anything else, though, we need to talk about disguises."

"Disguises?" The three blink at once.

"I don't want you getting bounties before you're old enough to set out on your own," Shanks states, "We're going to have to wear masks, as well as remove anything eye-catching. Benn, Yasopp, and I are going to do the same - after all, you're the only kids aboard the Red Force, so if people recognize me, they'll make the connection pretty quickly. I'm going to have cover up my hair..."

"What counts as eye-catching?" Sabo asks.

"Ace's necklaces, your hats," Shanks grins at the indignant squawk Luffy releases, "Your scars and tooth, Luffy's scar, and Ace's freckles could be considered identifying marks, but there's not much we can do about that beyond the masks."

"I can't wear my hat?" Luffy whines.

"No," Shanks deadpans.

Luffy huffs, and Shanks grins victoriously when the boy sulkily removes the accessory.

They dock the Red Force relatively far away from the island the Base resides on, keeping it hidden from the Marines' view. Shanks, Benn, Yasopp, and the boys row to the island on one of their rafts, away from the town in a more forested area.

Shanks sulkily tugs on the dark beanie Benn threw over his head to hide his hair, glancing down at the boys. Sabo and Luffy had left their hats behind on the Red Force, along with Ace's beaded necklace. The masks they wear are simple - cloths with viewing holes tied over their eyes, wide enough to cover most of Ace's freckles, as well as Sabo and Luffy's scars. Benn had given Sabo a beanie to hide his hair, as well - after all, light hair is rather uncommon amongst those who don't possess Noble blood.

They sneak their way through the forest, toward the back part of the Base that was said to be left unguarded. Benn and Yasopp take up positions in a couple of the high trees to act as lookouts, while Shanks remains stationary, using his Observation Haki to keep an eye on the boys' progress.

...

"This is stupid."

"You're not helping, Ace."

"I'm just saying..."

"I can't hold on forever!"

Luffy's exclamation interrupts the argument waiting to happen, and the two older siblings glance down at Luffy in mild concern. Reaching the large wall, Luffy had immediately stretched out his arms and latched onto the ledge, but Ace and Sabo had quickly grabbed onto him before he could sling off without them. As it stands, the only thing preventing the rubber boy from launching over the wall and straight into the Marine Base are his feet bracing themselves against the stone bricks.

"Why are we waiting?" Luffy continues.

"I've been trying to tell you!" Sabo shouts before sighing through his nose heavily, calming, "First of all, you can't just launch off without us. Second, I wanted to tell you to try and not use your powers, Luffy, not unless you have to."

"But why?" Luffy whines.

"Because Shanks said he doesn't want us getting bounties until we're older," Sabo explains, "You're the only person alive made of rubber, so if you used your powers here, then they'll put it in the bounty description our disguises will get; and if you, for some reason, need to use your powers when we're with Shanks, then it'll be easy for people to put two and two together, right? If they recognize your powers, then they'll update your bounty with your actual information, which is what Shanks wants us to avoid."

"Besides, Luffy," Ace smirks, and Sabo wants to know just what has his normally brooding brother in such a good mood; why he's been in such a good mood since Shanks came to them with this mission, "You said you wanted to start recruiting in the East Blue because it's where you come from, so if you got a bounty before then, that would be cheating, wouldn't it?"

"Ah! I'm not a cheater!" Luffy exclaims, determination bright in his eyes, and Sabo sighs in relief because now he's satisfied that his little brother will do what he can to avoid using his powers. The last thing Luffy would ever want to be called is a cheater, especially by Ace, the boy he is determined to defeat one day in a fair fight.

"Alright," Sabo begins, "Now, remember the plan, Luffy. Try to launch us a little away from the actual Base. We want to sneak into the cafeteria, not bust in. I mean, you're our distraction, but Ace and I still need to sneak past everybody so we can reach the stairs, so-"

Suddenly, Luffy's foot skids up the wall. His balance lost, he and the two boys clinging to him immediately get launched straight into the air with shrieks of surprise, right over the wall and straight toward the Marine Base.

"LUFFY!"

...

"Ah," Shanks snorts before he sighs almost miserably, "Luffy..."

...

Terrible way to start off their plan, Sabo grumbles in his head. Because now, instead of landing in the courtyard as was intended so that Ace and Sabo may sneak in while Luffy heads for the cafeteria to begin his distraction, they're headed straight for the cafeteria where all of them will be seen instead of just Luffy.

And the landing will probably be more painful than not.

Luffy seems to understand this, as well, having it completely drilled into his head by Shanks that Sabo and Ace will be injured and feel pain where Luffy may not because of his powers, and so the rubber boy quickly begins sucking in air. Luffy wants to learn how to be able to do this instantly for the times he may be trying to shield his nakama, but for now it's a gradual process. Not too gradual, though, for he quickly pulls in enough air to expand his body like a balloon right as they crash through one of the large windows, allowing him to cushion his brothers from the fall.

Ace and Sabo bounce off his body as if he were a trampoline, and the two older boys end up flying off once again, Luffy quickly deflating in response. They crash land somewhere near a door to the far right of the rather enormous room with twin groans of pain, exasperation, and resignation just as the occupants seem to finally jump into action.

"W-Wait!" One of the men shout, causing the men reaching for their guns to quickly halt their movements, "I-It's just a kid!"

"Eh?"

"A kid?"

"'The hell? How'd a kid crash through the window?"

"How'd he even get over the wall is what I'd like to know."

"You know how the kids around here are; they like to try to climb the walls; s'a popular dare around here, actually."

"What's with the mask, though?"

"Er... playing dress-up...?"

"... Dress-up?"

One of the men kneel before him, and Luffy quickly notices that all of the men have pocketed their weapons as they look him over, coming to the conclusion that it is not a malicious intruder but a lost kid that they don't wish to harm or scare. None of them seem to have noticed Ace and Sabo, and the two older boys quickly realize the same, and they quickly and quietly begin making their way further to the right, toward the nearly hidden staircase near the foodbar the cooks stand behind - the staircase that leads to the second floor, where the Fruit is held.

"Hey, little guy," The man kneeling before him says kindly, "How'd you get in here? Did you get lost? Um... did someone throw you? Do you need a doctor?"

He's boring, Luffy decides, all of them are. They all look the same with those hats, and why do every one of them roll up their sleeves? Marine uniforms are stupid, Luffy thinks. Gramps' was cooler - he had a big cape-jacket-cloak-thing.

The smell of food wading through the cafeteria finally hits him, and he stares up at the man with wide, blank eyes, holding back a grin when he notices the man begins sweating under the scrutiny.

"Say," Luffy begins, and the man blinks at him, "Do you have any meat?"

"M-Meat?" The man sputters before sighing almost impatiently, "Look, kid, do you even know where you are? You're in a Marine Base. Look, just come here; we can call your parents or something-"

Luffy jumps back when he sees the man reaching out for him, and he lands near another Marine. Said Marine tries to snatch him up, as well, and Luffy quickly dodges with a high hop. He lands right on the head of the man that originally tried to grab him, using him as a stepping stone to hop over the crowd of gathered Marines, landing on one of the large tables.

Suddenly, the chase is on, but luckily for him, they seem to think of him as more of an unruly kid than an actual threat and focus more on subduing and catching rather than harming or killing. Luffy snickers when they begin shouting, dodging every one that comes his way. It's something Shanks had helped him out with; rubber is bouncy, so Luffy can use that to his advantage to speed up his movements and make split-second turns by simply manipulating the bounce in his step. It's not only useful for him in this situation, but it's something that no one could truly connect with a Devil Fruit, allowing him to use his powers to his advantage without actually revealing them.

He jumps out of the way from two approaching Marines, and he can't hold back a laugh when their momentum causes them to slam right into each other and go down with identical groans.

"GET BACK HERE!"

"HE'S A LIKE A DAMN MONKEY!"

"SOMEONE STOP HIM!"

"WHAT WITH THIS KID?!"

"Shishishishi~!"

...

Ace glances back at the sounds of stomping and shouting before snorting, turning his attention back to keeping up with Sabo and following him through the long halls.

"Sounds like Luffy's having fun," Ace mutters, and Sabo releases a snort of his own.

"With all the noise they're making, the whole Base will be after him soon," Sabo mumbles back, a hint of concern in his tone.

"Maybe, but he can handle it," Ace states, knowing Luffy is perfectly capable of dodging, even more capable of fighting, a few men, "Besides, it might make our job easier, right? Are we almost there, anyway?"

"Yeah, it should be in this door up ahead," Sabo says, and they come to a stop in front of the storage room Sabo had memorized off of the map. Ace stands lookout as Sabo quickly gets to work picking the lock with the small kit Shanks had given him just for the occasion. The door is open quickly, something Sabo takes pride in - he had opened it even faster than usual, and he guesses using the kit might be easier than whatever pins he had come across before.

They quickly shuffle inside, Ace quietly shutting the door behind them. It takes them a second to actually find the safe, far less obvious than they had thought it would be. It's built into the wall, right beside the door, so that, when opened, the safe would be hidden behind it. Sabo quickly snatches one of the few stools strewn around the small storage room, using it as a boost to see the safe better. It's not a combination safe - though, it probably would've been smarter had it been - but a simple padlock.

It doesn't take long at all for Sabo to pick the lock - Sabo himself stops to think about what exactly they would've done had the safe been a proper combination lock - and the two stop in their tracks at the sight of the Fruit. From what Sabo's read, the shape of Devil Fruits often resemble actual fruits, like bananas or grapes; he supposes the Mera Mera no Mi is meant to resemble an orange, but to him it looks more like a flaring sun. Each swirl flares off into the shape of a flame, and even the stem flares up a little.

Its close resemblance to fire suddenly makes him nervous, though he's not sure why. Sure, it can turn people into fire, but it's not an actual fire. So, why is he so afraid to touch it?

Ace seems to take note of his sudden bout of nerves, and he reaches in and grabs it himself. Sabo watches as his older brother stares at the Fruit for a brief moment, a look in his eyes that Sabo can't quite decipher, before he boy suddenly grabs the satchel resting on Sabo's hip and shoves the Fruit inside. Sabo squawks indignantly as he's jerked by the move, shooting Ace a brief glare.

The boy merely grins at him, "We got the Fruit, so let's go catch up with Luffy."

Sabo sighs, but agrees. However, just as the two turn to leave, the door swings wide open, forcing them to hop back to avoid being smacked.

They stare up at the large Marine blinking down at him, a stack of files in hand, and the Marine stares back.

The contest lasts for a long moment before the man suddenly realizes there are intruders in the room, and Sabo and Ace yelp when he shouts and lashes out to grab them, paperwork scattering to the ground. The two avoid his hands, ducking around his legs and sprinting out of the room.

"Oi!" The Marine shouts before he blinks, taking in the sight of the open safe, eyes widening in understanding and a hint of fear, "O-Oi! The Devil Fruit! OI! THE DEVIL FRUIT'S BEEN STOLEN!"

A few of the many doors in the hall slam open, Marines rushing out of their offices at the call.

"The Devil Fruit?" One yells before he catches sight of Sabo and Ace in front of him, having skidded to a halt when they noticed the doors opening.

Suddenly, they find themselves surrounded.

Sabo sighs, muttering, "I knew it couldn't be that easy..."

...

Shanks sighs, "No, it's never that easy..."

He suddenly blinks, somewhat surprised, murmuring, "Ah, Luffy seems to have a found a friend..."

...

The chase forces Luffy out of the cafeteria and through one of the many halls in the Base. He sprints far ahead of the crowd of Marines chasing and shouting after him, glancing back at them with a hint of annoyance in his young features.

They just don't quit. And normally, Luffy would think that's awesome, but he has his brothers to worry about right now.

"Man, these guys are annoying," He mutters to himself, turning his attention back to the hallway in front of him. He blinks, catching sight of someone rushing from the hall he's in to around the corner of a hallway to the left he's coming up to.

It's a boy, a bit older than him from what Luffy can glimpse. Actually, a lot older; he looks like a teenager, not a kid. He's kind of pale, but his skin is darker than Sabo's - but that's normal, Sabo is probably the palest person he knows. What catches Luffy's attention is the white spots splattered across his face and neck, and the dark eyes that glance at the crowd of Marines chasing him with a hint of awe, incredulity, and disdain before rushing through the first door of the hall he turns into.

He's pretty, Luffy decides.

And interesting enough to get distracted by.

He looks back to check how far behind him the Marines are, and he decides that they're far enough away that they won't see him use his powers. He quickly stretches out his arms, latching onto the corner of the hall he saw the boy rush into, allowing him to quickly snap his way into it. He waits for a moment, hidden around the corner just to see if his plan worked, and the crowd of Marines go rushing past him, shouting all the while.

He snickers a little before turning his attention to the door he saw the boy run into, and he quickly slams it open.

The boy inside, sitting on a single bed and reading a stack of papers, appears to nearly jump out of his skin at the sudden interruption. Some papers fall out of his hands, but he manages to save most of the stack. He shoots Luffy a rather impressive glare - it's not as scary as Ace's, though, so Luffy ignores it and shuts the door behind him.

The boy stares at him for a little while before his eyebrow begins twitching. It's another moment before he finally snaps, "What is it?"

"Who are you?" Luffy quickly begins questioning, "Are you a Marine? You don't look like a Marine. Why are you in a Marine Base? Oi, oi, why do you have spots? They look cool, can I have spots, too?"

Throughout his rapid questioning, the boy can do little more than blink. His expression quickly falls to a look of disdain with a hint of something Luffy recognizes from his own experiences from before he met Shanks, Ace, and Sabo; loneliness.

He sighs through his nose, closing his eyes in what looks like an attempt to find patience, "No, I am not a Marine, nor will I ever be. I'm in a Marine Base because my guardian thought I'd be safer here. And... my spots are my business, and I doubt you'd really want them."

Luffy blinks, "Why would you be safe with Marines?"

His look quickly falls into a pout, "And why wouldn't I want spots? They look pretty on you, so why can't I have them?"

The boy blinks, brows furrowed incredulously, and Luffy grins wide when he notices a hint of pink spread across the boy's cheeks. The boy sighs again, "Please tell me why you want to hear the life story of a stranger?"

"My name's Luffy," Luffy says immediately, "My brothers and I are here to steal stuff from the Marines. Now what's your name?"

The boy blinks; he does that a lot, Luffy thinks.

"What?"

"Well, I told you my name and why I'm here, so now it's your turn," Luffy grins, "That way we won't be strangers anymore."

"I don't think it works like that..." The boy mumbles before his words seem to finally catch up with him, "Wait, you're here to steal something? Is that why everyone's been screaming for past twenty minutes?"

"Probably," Luffy shrugs, uncaring, "Now, your name? Er... Please...?"

The boy sighs, "My name is Law. Now why are you in my room?"

"I saw you run in the hall, and you looked way more interesting than those guys," Luffy shrugs again, "Marines are kind of boring."

Law snorts, a hint of a smirk crawling up his features, "They are boring, aren't they?"

"Ne, you said your guardian thinks you'd be safer here," Luffy says, "But why?"

Law sighs again; he does that even more than he blinks, Luffy thinks, "I'm from the North Blue. Some stuff happened there that sort of... made me a bit of a target for some pirates, so he decided to take me far away from the North Blue to some crummy little Base in the West Blue with the hopes that it would be safer here. Get it?"

"Yeah," Luffy grins, "Your guardian sounds awesome. He must really care about you if he's willing to travel so far. But, why doesn't he just beat the pirates up so they can't go after you?"

Law stares at him a moment, the hint of pink darkening slightly as he looks away in grudging embarrassment, mumbling, "Cora-san is just a nice person... it's not just because of me..."

Luffy's grin widens, and he agrees just to make the boy less embarrassed; he's dealt with an embarrassed Ace enough to know how to properly react, "Right."

"Ah, and not every pirate crew can just be beaten up, you know," Law states, "Some pirate crews are too smart or just too famous for that."

"Like Shanks!" Luffy exclaims happily, "I'm gonna be famous like that one day! No Marine would ever be stupid enough to mess with the Pirate King! Er, well... maybe Gramps would be, but he doesn't count."

Law stares at him for a long moment, face completely and utterly blank in a way that would make most feel uncomfortable. But not Luffy. Luffy understands that Law is just trying to figure him out, see if he actually means what he says, see if there's any hints of doubt within him. Luffy does it to people a lot; Ace does it, too. Actually, Gramps does it a lot, as well.

Ah, Shanks did say that people with D's in their name share certain traits. Maybe looking at people weird is one of them? He doesn't know. Shanks never tells him what the D means even though he acts like he knows.

Suddenly, the smirk returns to Law's face, and a hint of amusement causes his eyes to light up in a way that Luffy appreciates, "You said you have brothers here with you? Shouldn't you be trying to find them to make sure they're not caught?"

Luffy blinks before a sudden look of pure panic takes over his face, "AH! I FORGOT ABOUT ACE AND SABO!"

He quickly spins around and jerks the door open, sprinting out of the room as fast as he can to find his brothers. He can't believe he forgot about them! What's wrong with him!? What if they're in trouble!? Ah, wait, he almost forgot something else...

Back inside the room, Law returns to sorting through his papers.

"Pirate King, huh..." Law murmurs, tiny smirk remaining firmly on his face, "Not bad..."

Suddenly, the door slams back open, causing him to yelp in surprise. He feels his face warm at the near feminine sound that escaped his lips, and he shoots Luffy a glare for waltzing back in so violently.

"What now?" He growls.

"I almost forgot!" Luffy grins, "Do you wanna join my crew?"

Law blinks in surprise, brow raising incredulously. He gives Luffy another long, soul-searching stare before he suddenly snorts once before breaking out into soft laughter. Luffy smiles when the older boy shoots him a D-worthy grin - though, it's a bit smaller than his and Ace's own - before stating, "You know what, Luffy? I'm way older than you, and I have my own dreams, so I can't wait for you. But when you set sail, and if you find me? I think joining your crew might not be half bad."

Luffy releases a happy, triumphant exclamation before sprinting back out of the room to find Ace and Sabo.

Law's the first person who ever agreed to join his future crew, and he wants to tell them all about it.

But, first, he's got to find them so they can get out of this stupid, boring Base.

...

Shanks snorts, a grin lighting up his features.

"What now, Boss?" Benn sighs from above, looking a bit resigned.

"Luffy," Shanks snorts again, "Recruiting already."

...

"YOUR PLAN WAS TERRIBLE, SABO!" Ace shouts, quickly ducking under a swipe from one of the many Marines rushing them through the halls.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT SOME RANDOM MARINE CAME IN WHEN HE DID!" Sabo shouts back, quickly catching up with him as they sprint from the crowd of Marines as quickly as they can, "DON'T BLAME ME FOR THAT!"

Ace scoffs when Sabo finally catches up to him, the two running side by side, and he grumbles, "If anything, we should blame Shanks, he's the reason we're here..."

"Right, it's all Shanks' fault," Sabo quickly agrees.

...

Shanks' brow twitches, "Those brats..."

...

Sabo and Ace quickly make their way down the stairs and back into the cafeteria. It's almost emptied out save for a couple of Marines here and there, and Sabo can only assume that they're chasing Luffy through the downstairs halls somewhere. He hopes his brother is okay, but as it stands, he has a bit more to worry about at the moment. They're so close to completing this mission, their first mission as pirates - cabin boys, sure, but still - and Sabo doesn't want to lose. He knows Ace feels the same, can tell by the boy's determined gait and the way he quickly falls into fighting off Marines with the hand-to-hand techniques he's learned from Kincaid.

Ace almost appears unbeatable from Sabo's line of sight. Sabo has seen Ace take down men over twice his size many times, but to see him do it with his newly found finesse is quite a sight to see. Sabo quickly falls in line, using the plain wooden staff - his pipe being far too recognizable, the same reason his knives had been left behind - given to him by Kincaid, and taking down a few himself to give Ace more breathing room, the boy being far too surrounded for Sabo's liking.

Suddenly, he sees the butt of a gun being swung toward him, and he yelps when it nails him right in the temple with a too loud crunch.

Sabo gasps, blinking rapidly.

Because he's not on the ground, groaning from the smack of a gun, skin broken and bleeding. He's standing in the middle of a crowd of Marines, and he blinks again when he realizes that the scene looks far too familiar for his liking. He sucks in a breath, quickly ducking under the butt of a gun being swung his way.

The shock of it all causes him to lose his balance, and he falls back on his rear, hands splayed out behind him to hold his weight. Ace quickly jumps in front of him, rushing the Marines coming toward him so that they can't reach him, but Sabo isn't paying as much attention to the situation as he should.

What was that?

Was that... Haki...?

He jerks to attention when he hears a yelp, and he hops to his feet in concern when he sees Ace get pushed back. He and Ace are strong; they can handle the Red-Haired Pirates' training sessions just fine, they can handle Garp's just fine, but there are far too many people here and they're still learning. They're surrounded by far too many Marines, and they have no idea where Luffy is.

His concerns are quickly answered, though, when Luffy comes crashing into the room from one of the halls.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE, JERKS!" Luffy bellows out, launching himself at the crowd of Marines surrounding them. Sabo isn't sure what happens, then. It's almost like a shockwave, but not as powerful. When Luffy hits the ground in the middle of the crowd, the floor crunches beneath his feet and a couple of Marines too close to him get pushed back.

Sabo doesn't have the time to dwell on it, because Luffy quickly winds a rubber arm around him and Ace, ignoring the shocked sputtering of the Marines around them, and uses his free arm to stretch out and latch onto one of the ceiling bars and quickly launch them out of the cafeteria.

They go sailing right out of the Base and into the courtyard. Luffy doesn't waste any time, though, stretching out again to launch them over the wall. It's by a miracle that they land near where their mission first started, and the boys quickly go rushing back toward Shanks and the others. They hear shouts behind them, but they're too far away, and Sabo knows that Shanks and the others can lose them before they can catch back up again.

Shanks is grinning when they reach them, the kind of wide grin that would put Luffy or Garp's to shame.

"Dahahaha!" Shanks laughs proudly, "Not bad for a first try."

With that, Shanks, Benn, and Yasopp don't waste any time, rushing the boys back to their little raft back to the Red Force. It's the fastest Sabo has ever seen the crew move getting the ship ready to sail, and soon they're going back the way they came, back to the Grand Line and back to the New World.

Shanks stares at the flaring Fruit in his hand before a grin lights up his features, glancing down at the boys in front of him. They had quickly ditched their disguises, Luffy rushing to put his hat back on, and now they stare up at him in their normal attire, excitement barely contained.

"You did good," Shanks smiles, "You even unlocked your Haki."

"I was right?" Sabo grins widely, "I used Haki? And Luffy, too?"

"Ah," Shanks grins, releasing a hum affirmation, "Sabo appears to have used Observation, while Luffy here used a hint of Armament. It's rather unusual, actually. All this time I've been teaching you to unlock Observation, but Luffy decides to skip ahead. Tch, that's just like you, Luffy."

"Oi!" Luffy complains, "That's a good thing, though, right? You said it's one of the most dangerous forms of Haki, and now I might not have such a hard time with it!"

"Aye, that's true," Shanks agrees easily, grin never fading. He looks the boys over for a quick moment. Their excitement at completing such a mission doesn't fade, but they look exhausted, and Shanks can't blame them. It's their first time fighting a crowd of Marines, and two of them unlocked Haki. Shanks has a feeling that Ace had come close to using his own Conqueror's Haki, but his fear of his brothers getting caught up in it - not yet able to control who gets affected by it - held him back, which is exhausting in itself.

"That's enough excitement for one day," Shanks states, "Why don't you take a bath and go rest for a little while."

Sabo and Luffy quickly hum in agreement, twisting around to make their way into the lower levels of the ship where the bathing areas are kept. Shanks sends Ace a meaningful look before the boy can do the same, and Ace nods in understanding before following his brothers.

Later, They agree.

Tonight.

"Your first crewmate, huh?" Sabo mutters, leaning back against the wall of the large tub, on one of the benches that bordered it, "It's just like you to start recruiting now when you know you have to wait at least nine years before you can even set sail. You're gonna keep people waiting, Luffy."

"Oi!" Luffy complains, a groan in his voice; he sits on one of the highest benches he can find, trying to lessen to the pull of the water. Sabo has come to the conclusion that moving water, like rain or the water from a shower, doesn't really affect Luffy. It's still water that's the problem, but usually only when it's high enough to reach his knees. He knows this because he's seen Luffy stand in water at least ankle deep without it affecting him, but any higher than that, and the boy ends up falling out quite quickly. He wonders if it's like that for all Devil Fruit users, or if the affects of water depend on the Devil Fruit itself.

"I had to recruit him then!" Luffy continues, "He's older, and he lives there, so who knows when I'll see him again? Besides, I keep my promises! When I'm Captain, I'll find him and he'll be on my crew!"

"When you're Captain, huh?" Sabo grins, "Does that mean you're not gonna be on a crew with us?"

"No!" Luffy immediately denies, "You guys should be on my crew!"

Sabo sighs, having gone over this with the boy before, "Luffy-"

"Fine."

Sabo, and even Luffy, can't hold back their blinks of shock, quickly snapping their attentions to Ace. The boy flushes under their scrutiny, ducking so that his mouth falls beneath the water, but so that his nose is free to breath, glancing away from them with a hint of a glower in his features. Sabo stares at him for a moment, wondering where the sudden agreement to let Luffy be Captain came from. Some of the cream that Ace had scrubbed onto his face fizzles out in the water, and it looks like some of his conditioner is still in his hair in a few places. Shanks had bought Ace a lot of stuff when he found out about the boy's quirk - and Sabo couldn't be more thankful for the man's acceptance - and the work he's been doing is starting to make him look a bit softer than before. His hair is always shiny now, and his skin is always clear and even seems to glow sometimes. Sabo likes it. He thinks it makes Ace look nice.

He shoots Ace a small smile, "What's this? You're suddenly fine with Luffy being Captain?"

Ace lifts his face out of the water, shooting Sabo a tiny, halfhearted glare, "Shut up, I just... I've been thinking about it, and today sort of sold it for me. I mean, Luffy wants to be Pirate King, Sabo, and the Pirate King can't have a captain to answer to. You and I don't care about that, though, right? We just want to be free. And today..."

Ace suddenly grins, bright and happy, and it's such a grin that Sabo is so unused to that he can't help but blink in awe at the sight, "If being on the same crew as you and Luffy is anything like today, I think it'd be pretty great."

Sabo thinks it over, and he suddenly understands what Ace means. He, Ace, and Luffy had always gone on adventures together, fighting the giant animals in their jungle, stealing from the townsfolk, and running around the Grey Terminal, but it was nothing like today had been. Fighting the Marines alongside his brothers, unlocking his Haki, watching Luffy unlock his own Haki... it had been stressful, but at the same time it had been one of the best days of Sabo's life. The adrenaline rush and the excitement had actually been quite fun, and Sabo wouldn't mind doing it all over again.

"I see what you mean," Sabo murmurs, grinning lightly, and he shoots Luffy a look, catching sight of the boy's excited trembling, and he shoots him down before he can explode, "BUT... we need to compromise first."

"Ah, compromise...?" Luffy whines.

"You can be Captain, Luffy," Sabo agrees, grinning a little, "But, Ace and I get special treatment, got it? We'll be members of your crew, but there's no way we'll be taking orders from out little brother. Ace and I want to be more free than anyone, Luffy, and we can't do that if we have someone to answer to."

"What he's saying, Luffy," Ace interrupts, "Is that we'll join your crew and you'll be Captain, but, unlike the other members of your future crew, we don't have to take orders from you or whatever First Mate you find. Get it?"

"But... you'll still be on my crew, right?" Luffy asks.

"Yeah," Sabo and Ace grin simultaneously, and Luffy quickly bellows out in joy, splashing them both in his excitement.

Ace is right. Having Luffy for a Captain won't be so bad.

It's late at night, like they had agreed through Shanks' small look, when Ace sneaks out his and his brothers' shared room. He spares them a small glance, snorting at the sight of Luffy sprawled across his bed like the monkey he is. He doesn't know where Shanks would be or where he wants them to meet, so he just climbs the ratlines and makes his way up to the main royal yard where Shanks first learned about Ace's quirk and his true feelings about his father, where they had their first proper conversation.

He takes a seat on the royal, positioned identical to how he had been when he and Shanks first conversed here, knees drawn up so that his feet can rest flatly on the royal. It doesn't take long for Shanks to shuffle up the ropes next to him, a small sack thrown over his shoulders - more than likely containing the Devil Fruit Ace and his brothers worked so hard for.

Shanks doesn't say anything when he takes a seat next to Ace. He merely digs through the bag and pulls the Mera Mera no Mi free, silently handing it over to Ace. Ace isn't quite sure what he's feeling as he looks the Fruit in his hands over, but he feels his fingers trembling. He thinks he should feel excited or scared or something along those lines, but he doesn't. He thinks he might feel a slight bit of triumph for being able to help his brother fight their way through the Marines to get their hands on it, but it's the only feeling he truly recognizes.

The Fruit looks magnificent, like a flaring sun, but it doesn't feel any different from a normal Fruit. It doesn't feel hot in his hands, just a bit warm from being shoved in that bag for so long. The skin of the Fruit kind of feels like an orange would, a bit smooth, a bit textured, but nothing about it aside from its appearance makes him think of fire. There's no warmth behind it, no fire, and he wonders how these normal feeling, but not so normal looking Fruits could contain and give such power.

"Um," He swallows; he thinks his nerves are finally starting to kick in, "Do I eat all of it...? Luffy says he did, but Luffy tends to swallow things whole."

Shanks snorts, eyes narrowing in a hint of annoyance, muttering, "You're tellin' me..."

He quickly sober up, though, shooting Ace an encouraging smile, "From what I've learned over the years, it's only the first bite that transfers the power. I have been told that people tend to eat all of the Fruit, though, because of a lack of knowledge on how the whole process works. You can eat all of it if you want, but I've been told they taste horrendous."

"Mm," Ace hums quietly. He looks the Fruit over for another moment before taking a deep breath through his nose. He decides to just go for it; he worked hard for this thing, and he and his brothers exhausted themselves earning it, and he won't let that go to waste. He takes as big a bite as he can right off the side. He manages to maintain a straight face as he chews - it feels like an orange, but it sure as hell doesn't taste like one - and swallows.

Then he cringes.

Shanks laughs at him.

Ace scowls, "Hey, I have the power now, so that means you can eat it, right? I'd like to see you try and keep a straight face."

"Meh, I'd rather not," Shanks smirks, poking his tongue out at him like the mature adult he is, "So?"

"I don't know," Ace mumbles, looking himself over, "I don't feel any different..."

"You might not feel different," Shanks states dryly, "But the fire hands says otherwise."

"What?" Ace mutters, holding up his hands.

He yelps in surprise at the sight of fire covering both his palms, and he instinctively waves his hands around to try and rush the fire out. Because it's fire, right? It's supposed to burn, right? He stops, though, when he realizes that it doesn't hurt, that the fire feels almost... soothing. He relaxes, quite a bit, actually, and stares at the fire coating his hands. It feels warm and soft, like it's caressing his skin. It feels like a piece of him, like something that he never noticed missing had finally come home, and he wonders if it's because the feeling of his Haki resembled soothing flames far more than it should. It feels... right.

Now, if only he could figure out how to put it out.

"Okay?" Shanks asks, and he hums distractedly as he continues looking the fire in his palms over, "Hm... I don't know much about controlling Devil Fruits, to be completely honest. Buggy - a fellow cabin boy of mine - told me he used to have to think about certain things in the beginning to control his own powers. But, Buggy wasn't a Logia, so it might not work so well for you, but it's worth a shot. Try thinking about something that would help you control it, yeah? Perhaps you could treat it like the Haki exercises we've been working on."

Ace takes heed of his advice, and he begins thinking it over. His Haki feels like smoldering embers that can be breathed into an inferno at any second, and... this fire, his fire, doesn't feel so different. Controlling it in a similar manner to controlling his Haki might not be such a bad idea, but at the same time, Devil Fruit powers and Haki powers are two very different things, so they should be treated as such, right? But, when learning to control his Haki, he would often think of Luffy and Sabo. What would happen if he lost control of his King's Disposition? Would he hurt them, frighten them, make them wary of him? It's something he never ever wants to happen, and he thinks about what would happen if Luffy and Sabo, still scared of fire as that, would walk out here and see how little control he has over his fire. He'd scare them. He could give Sabo another panic attack.

With these thoughts in mind, he begins tugging at the flames in his hands. The fire feels wild and it fights back a bit, but it soon begins receding. It doesn't take long after for the flames to suddenly swipe out with a quiet whoosh.

He grins triumphantly, "I did it!"

Shanks grins back, but Ace soon finds his smiling falling when another thought comes to mind.

"I can't..." Ace murmurs, "That's not enough to control it, though. What if I accidentally burn Luffy or Sabo?"

"Let me tell you what I know about Logia," Shanks states, hopping to his feet, digging through his pocket; Ace follows his movements, standing up on the royal, as well, "Logia are very unique, very powerful Fruits. They allow you to become your element. You don't just control fire now, you are fire."

Shanks pulls out a small pocket knife, unfolding it with his single hand. Ace yelps in surprise when the man suddenly swipes out at him, instinctively attempting to hop back. He freezes in shock, however, when the knife just goes right through him, a line of flames following the movement before fading out. He didn't feel a thing, not when he transformed, not when the knife went through him; it was as if the knife never touched him in the first place.

Shanks grins at the look of realization on his face, "That means... you can't be hit. However, please remember what I told you about Haki. Being Logia doesn't make you invincible. I don't want the power going to your head, right?"

Ace nods in understanding, and Shanks grins again.

"But, as I said, you are fire," He continues, "Fire is yours to command, so you should be perfectly capable of controlling who and what it burns, yes?"

"Yeah..." Ace breathes in realization, "Yeah, okay."

He holds out his hands, and it takes a few minutes, but his fire finally answers to his call, igniting in a soft flame in his hands. He holds it there for a moment, looking it over, and he decides to experiment for a moment. His fire spreads from his hands and up his arms, it winds around his torso like a coil for a brief moment before slinking back, traveling up his shoulders and toward his hair. His flames flicker briefly before receding once again, returning to rest in his hands. He tilts his head curiously, staring at the flame, and he hears Shanks let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of his curious experimenting.

The man reaches out his hand, slightly cautious. His fingers twitch when he feels the stinging heat, quickly pulling his hand back before he can be burnt.

"Ah..." Ace mumbles, slightly dejected.

"It's fine," Shanks laughs, "You ate your Fruit not even ten minutes ago. I don't expect you to get it right on the first try."

But, he doesn't get it on the second try, either. Or the third. Or the fourth or fifth. They go at it for nearly two hours before Ace finally huffs in frustration, the fire in his palms flaring in response, and he sits back on his rear in annoyance.

"It's not working..." He mumbles, "I can't go back with Sabo and Luffy before I learn how do this. I could burn them!"

Shanks sighs, looking just as tired as he feels, before the man suddenly mutters, "New plan. Wait here."

Ace watches him climb down the ratlines, huffing. He stares at the fire in his palms, turning his hands over every now and then, watching the fire spread from his palms to the back of his hands as he does so. He almost wishes he could feel the pain his flames more than likely caused Shanks with their experimenting, as it would probably make him learning to control what he hurts and what he doesn't easier. At the same time, though, he likes that his fire feels soothing to him far more than his desire to learn control faster. It feels too great for him to want to give it up, even for his brothers' sake, and he wonders if that makes him selfish or if this is just normal for Devil Fruit users when they first encounter their powers.

He jerks when Shanks makes his return, climbing back up the ropes and onto the royal yard. It's the object in his hand that causes Ace to jolt in a bit of fear.

"That's Luffy's hat," Ace states, voice containing a hint of dread.

Shanks shrugs, flipping the hat in his hand, "Technically, it's my hat, but Luffy and I decide our little deal can be altered now that he lives with me."

"Why do you have it, though?" Ace asks, but he knows, though, why Shanks has it and he doesn't even want to think aboutit.

"You," Shanks states firmly, pointing the hat at him, "Would never do anything that would hurt your brothers in any way. You would never let this hat - the hat that means the world to Luffy - be damaged in any way, yes? Because it would hurt Luffy."

"Shanks-"

"Just think about Luffy," Shanks states, "Think about Sabo."

And Ace thinks about what would happen if he accidentally burnt that hat, how much Luffy would cry, how Luffy would say he broke his promise to Shanks, how utterly devastated Luffy would be to know that the hat that means a lot to not just him, but to Shanks, as well, was permanently damaged, and it would be all Ace's fault. He thinks back to the Grey Terminal fire, how much Luffy cried when he thought they were trapped, about how he cried about how hot it was, and how the heat hurt him. He thinks about Sabo, back to that explosion. He remembers the sight of it, how he and Dogra had caught up with Sabo and called out to him. Sabo had answered, too, looked ready to make his way over to them so they could start over, but then those people had tossed that cannon at him, and Sabo had disappeared in a blast of fire and smoke. Ace remembers how much it burned, too, when he had jumped out there and pulled Sabo away before the second shot could hit, and if it burnt that much when he was only grazed by it, he can't imagine how hurt Sabo must've been when he had been hit directly. He thinks back to Sabo's panic attacks, how scared he looked of a match fire, how scared he looked to even touch the Devil Fruit that now belongs to Ace. What would happen if he lost control and burnt them? Would they forgive him? Ace would like to think so, but he also thinks that they'd be wary of him even if they say all is forgiven. He doesn't want that, not for himself or for his brothers.

Throughout his scattered thoughts, he doesn't notice Shanks step forward and hold the straw hat right over the flame on his palms. When Ace finally does notice, he tries to jerk back, but Shanks places a warning foot over his own.

"Shanks-!"

"Ace, look."

Ace stops, calms himself, and he sees what Shanks sees. The hat sits directly in the flame, but it remains undamaged. The fire touches it, but it doesn't burn it, and Ace watches in fascination as Shanks pulls the hat back and replaces it with his own hand. The fire caresses Shanks' skin, but it doesn't harm him, not in the slightest.

"See?" Shanks grins, "I knew you'd never let anything happen to them."

Shanks grabs his hand, and the fire surrounds the large palm that dwarfs his own, looking more soothing than angry, and Ace suddenly feels his mouth pull into a grin.

He can do this.

Shanks and Ace practice well into the night, and by the next morning, Ace is exhausted but giddy. Shanks allows him to sleep in, and waves off Sabo and Luffy's concerns that he is falling sick and distracts them with some training. Ace sleeps through all of it, all of Luffy Armament training and all of Sabo's Observation training, and it's well past noon by the time he finally wakes.

He forgoes trying to find Sabo and Luffy for now, making his way up the ratlines to the royal he frequents. Being here now quickly reminds him of his impromptu training session with Shanks, and he curiously removes his flats and stares at his red toenails for a moment before he calls forth his fire. He watches as the small flames flicker across his ankles, the orange glow reflecting off his red nails in a way that makes him grin slightly.

He jolts, quickly willing his fire away when he notices someone climbing the ratlines near him. He grins a little at the sight of Sabo, and the boy shoots him a small grin back, taking a seat next to him.

"I was wondering where you went," Sabo states, "I went to check up on you to see if you felt better, but you weren't there."

Ace raises a brow, "Did Shanks tell you I was sick?"

"No," Sabo shrugs, "He said you were tired and to let you rest. What did you do to wear yourself out that much?"

"Shanks and I stayed up late practicing," Ace states, and he speaks a bit slowly as he thinks his words over. He feels now, when they have a semblance of privacy high up from the rest of the crew and Luffy, is the best time to tell Sabo, but he's not entirely sure how. And, he really doesn't want Sabo to have a panic attack up here, not when Ace is still learning how to deal with such things and would probably panic himself with unsureness about whether he should go get help or not leave Sabo.

"Practicing?" Sabo blinks curiously.

"I... I ate a Devil Fruit," Ace says quietly, slightly hesitantly, "And, I wanted to learn a little bit of control before I went to bed."

"Devil Fruit?" Sabo exclaims in surprise before a look of understanding washes over his features, and suddenly there is silence. It's a tense silence, and it makes Ace unsure of himself. Did he truly do the right thing when he asked for that Fruit? He can't tell, not with the blank look that Sabo is giving him. But, now that he's felt his fire, he doesn't ever want to not feel it. It's comforting, and he should probably find it strange, that the element he feared yesterday is something he's quickly come to love.

"You..." Sabo murmurs, "You're fire now?"

"I..." Ace hesitates before he continues, "I wanted us... to not be scared anymore."

"You?" Sabo breathes in surprise, brows furrowed, "You never looked scared of fire, not even when you... pulled me out."

"You could've died," Ace states, "Luffy could've died. I could've lost both of you. Because of fire. Of course I was scared of it, but... I didn't want to be scared anymore, so I asked Shanks."

"That's why he wanted us to get the Devil Fruit," Sabo mumbles, snorting a little, "He wanted you to earn it."

"Yeah," Ace laughs a little.

There is another bout of silence, far less tense than before, but still far from comfortable. Ace releases a shaky breath, looking down at his nails absentmindedly for a moment before Sabo suddenly speaks up again.

"Show me," He states.

"What?" Ace blinks in surprise.

"Show me," Sabo repeats, "Your fire. Show me."

Ace stares at him for a moment, unsure, before he allows his fire to ignite a few locks of his hair, keeping his arms wrapped around his legs in fear that he'll do something stupid with them. Sabo stares at the fire near his eyes for a long moment. Ace doesn't look at him, but Sabo can still see the way the fire reflects off of his silver eyes, making them look like molten steel. It should be terrifying, he should be panicking, but this is Ace and Ace would never hurt him, would never let him be hurt.

Sabo suddenly breathes out a small laugh, "It suits you. But now I'm stuck being the responsible one if you or Luffy falls into the water. Thanks for that."

Ace feels a small grin light up his features at Sabo's quick acceptance, snorting, "Please, you'd let us sink for a few minutes just to teach us a lesson."

"If you're a Fruit user, don't go near water, or the figurehead like Luffy does," Sabo retorts, "It's not smart."

Ace snorts out another laugh when he thinks back on the amount of times Luffy went sailing into the waters, all because the figurehead has become his favorite seat. Ace doesn't blame him. It's a nice spot, lets him see everything the sea has to offer, be it strange fish or the way the sun reflects off the waves.

A sudden yelp draws their attention to the ratlines, and Ace jolts at the sight of Luffy, realizing he never extinguished the fire in his hair.

"Ace, you're on fire!" Luffy exclaims in alarm, pointing a finger at him that almost looks accusing.

"It's okay, Luffy," Sabo grins, and Ace blinks in surprise at how genuine and natural it looks, "It's something Ace is going to be doing a lot of from now on."

"Huh?" Luffy blinks blankly.

Ace sighs, holding out a hand toward Luffy, letting it ignite. Luffy blinks, a sparkle in his eyes that Ace sees whenever Luffy thinks something is cool, but there's something else there. Luffy is far more observant and intelligent than people tend to give him credit for, and Ace sees a spark of understanding wade through his eyes.

"I ate a Devil Fruit," Ace states, "The Devil Fruit that Shanks had us stole. I'm fire now. Just like you're rubber."

"Fire?" Luffy breathes, looking almost mesmerized by the fire on Ace's palm.

"Yes," Ace nods.

"The way I'm rubber, you said?" Luffy murmurs again, and Ace raises a brow, nodding hesitantly. Suddenly, Luffy reaches out his own hand, unhesitatingly latching onto Ace's flaming palm. Sabo and Ace both yelp in surprise, making Luffy snicker, and Sabo quickly calms when he realizes that the fire isn't hurting Luffy in the slightest.

It doesn't make Ace feel better, though, "Y-You idiot! I'm still learning, what if that hurt you!?"

"You just said," Luffy states, "You're fire the way I'm rubber. So this fire is you, right? Ace's fire is Ace, and Ace wouldn't hurt me."

Sabo blinks before he grins wide, reaching out his hand to grab both of theirs, and the three watch as the fire spreads to coat all three of their hands. Sabo grins wider at the feel of Ace's fire, cool and soothing, pleasant and comforting, a hint of Ace's own rough yet gentle presence within. Ace's fire is Ace.

"Shishishi~!" Luffy suddenly chuckles, "I have a fire man on my crew! We're gonna be the coolest crew ever!"

Sabo snorts, and he can't hold back a sudden bellow of laughter that escapes him. Because suddenly fire doesn't seem all that frightening anymore, not when it's a part of Ace, the brother that does everything he can to look out for him and Luffy, keep them safe and protected. He knows that he still has a bit to go before he's fully comfortable around fire, but for now he feels fine, protected even, feeling a hint of Ace within the fire he's holding onto. And that's enough for now.

He's got Ace and Luffy to help him get better at it.

So, there's Law :) During Law's prologue, we're actually going to see that scene again, but in Law's POV so we can better understand what he's thinking and how he ended up there.

About the boys' fighting styles - I was actually inspired by the Avatar series for their fighting styles. Sabo's is based on Mai's knife throwing and Aang's staff fighting, Ace's is based off of Azula and Mako's firebending, bare-handed fighting, and acrobatics. Luffy's remains the same, though it is far more refined and it does have a hint of Sakura's fighting style from Naruto, the whole super strong thing, especially when his Armament gets added in.

So, because fire is my favorite superpower ever, I am going to take huge liberties with Ace's Devil Fruit power. For example, the color of the flames; fire can come in all kinds of colors depending on the gases and components used to create it; Ace is fire itself, so Ace should be able to fully control the gaseous levels and the fire's properties as he sees fit, as well as the density and heat of the fire, such as giving it some explosive properties or creating mirages (if Nami's Heat Balls can cause mirages, I don't see why Ace can't do the same with the heat of his fire); I mean, obviously he can compress it considering his Firefly technique, so why not try more things than just spreading the fire?

I may take liberties with Haki, as well, but I'm honestly still undecided about that. Like, I have some ideas, but they're not really defined enough for me to be able to properly work with them.

Also, I actually received a PM about what would happen once I get past the prologues, when the characters are older and are with their significant others because, while this particular PMer enjoyed my story, they aren't comfortable with reading way too detailed "scenes". So, I just wanted to go ahead and get it out there that there will be NO smut or lemons or whatever in this story. Not only do I feel it would disrupt the flow of this story, but I myself am not comfortable with writing such scenes.

Now, things between couples might get heated every now and then, someone might say or think something a bit sexual, but it will never delve into any form of illicitness or explicitness. It will remain vague and never actually go over anything too intimate. Like, maybe they'll makeout or something in a certain scene, but there's not going to be any actual sex or lemons or what not. I hope that answers that question, PMer :)