Chapter 15

Luffy clung to the blond child like a leech, sobbing in happiness, his words unrecognizable.

Ace rolled his eyes at the sight before a sharp jab of pain pulled his attention back to where Shanks was checking the wound on his upper arm.

Shanks didn't look happy, and that might actually be a first.

Ace pulled his arm back. "It's not bad. It'll heal on its own."

"If you want the bullet in there, then that's fine with me, but don't be surprised if your arm falls off one day cause it got infected." Shanks gave him a look that was a bit amused but also serious.

Ace looked away.

The pirate got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. "If you just stop the bleeding, it should be fine till my doctor can take a look at it."

Ace muttered something unkind.

Shanks smirked. "Oh, is that right? I didn't know you wanted to be carried so much that you'd pass out to get it."

"I DON'T! GET IT RIGHT YOU STUPID PIRATE!"

The irritating red head threw his head back and laughed.

Sabo trotted up to the moron, Luffy still clinging to him, and Ace could see the curiosity in his gaze. He tch'ed, looking around for his pipe only to remember that he'd lost it somewhere during the fight. Damn Bluejam.

"I'm Sabo. Luffy's told me a lot about you. Are you really a pirate?"

Ace rolled his eyes as Shanks grinned. "Are you planing on becoming a pirate too?"

Sabo smiled widely, showing off his gaptooth. "Dunno yet. But I'm definitely going to become an outlaw!"

"Dahahahahaha!"

"I'm gonna become a pirate," Luffy proclaimed to Sabo proudly, not for the first time and Ace had the feeling he'd be hearing it a lot more. "A great pirate like Shanks and then I'll have adventures and be free and then I can't become a marine!"

Ace didn't like that it was because of Shanks, but Luffy had a very good point and however irritating Shanks was, piracy sounded awesome. That was...surprising and...nice…That not all pirates were like Bluejam and that piracy was fun too and not just power over power was...reliving.

"We aren't going to become marines," Ace and Sabo said in tandem on pure reflex. Luffy laughed.

"Garp'll get what he deserves," Shanks grinned gleefully.

Ace snorted to cover up a shiver. "He sure as hell wasn't happy when Luffy shouted it in his face. But It's not like the damn geezer can do anything about it."

Sabo looked at the little boy hugging his waist. "And you survived that?"

Luffy beamed. "I almost didn't. The stupid balloons didn't wanna let me down and then the birds wouldn't let them alone when there was water everywhere. But Shanks was there! Yasopp is so cool! They just shot me down and then I sailed on their big ship!"

Ace and Sabo stared at him. Then they switched their gazes to the pirate who was getting up his feet, dusting off now that he deemed Ace's first aid treatment finished.

"Thanks," Ace blurted.

"Thank you very much for saving our little brother," Sabo said, bowing at the waist.

Shanks actually blinked at them in surprise. Ace squirmed uncomfortably. The pirate smiled. "You don't need to thank me. It was luck that we saw him and you're my friends. Of course I helped."

Even without looking, Ace knew that the words made Luffy so happy, he was sparkling like the sun. That he launched himself from Sabo to Shanks all but sobbing with joy was all confirmation needed.

Sabo cleared his throat. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. My name is Sabo and I'm Ace and Luffy's brother. It is nice to meet you." Ace stared at him. Sabo didn't do manners any more than they did.

"Great! I'm sure you're just as much fun as Anchor and Ace, but you all gotta fist visit my doctor. The guys should have docked in Fuushaviallge by now."

"We don't need a doctor," Ace muttered without heat.

"Does that mean Sabo is coming down to Fuusha with us?!" Luffy shouted, twisting his head to look at Sabo while refusing to let go of Shanks. When Sabo nodded, smiling but shakily, Luffy continued, "Yes! Fuusha is nice. Makino always cooks dinner for us and she cooks much better than Dadan! And pirates are there and Shanks and his crew are so cool~"

Ace dropped a smile he hadn't noticed he wore when it came back to him what it meant that Sabo could come with them. He opened his mouth to tell Luffy, but the words died in his mouth in face of his brother's happiness. Whatever. Ace could see the moron had been driving himself crazy again and Luffy didn't need to know now. And they didn't need to leave now either.

Sabo clearly was just as aware of what they had to do now that they couldn't go back, and it showed in the anxious energy he had about him. Yet to Ace it was also very obvious that while the blond was still reeling, he was also incredibly, wonderfully relieved. If Ace had had any doubts about their decision before, they were gone seeing how good it did Sabo.

"Oh yeah, Ace. Shanks said he knew Roger and he's gonna tell us stories."

He flailed in mid jump and landed in the river they he had just been crossing. "WHAT?! LUFFY WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM?!"

Luffy whistled and looked to the side. "Nooooothing at all. And I definitely didn't tell Shanks about dad. I didn't!"

"LUFFY!" Ace and Sabo shouted.

Shanks stood by and laughed, the bastard.

"You've got it good, Sabo," Luffy pouted. "Getting carried by Shanks is so much fun."

Sabo glanced down at his little brother doubtfully. "How so?"

Luffy smiled widely. "Shanks can walk so fast! And we jumped over the deep down river! It was like flying!"

Ace slated a look at the little boy attached to his hand. "I don't wanna do flying again any time soon. Gramp's version was enough." He and Luffy promptly shivered, drifting off into traumatic memories.

Sabo sighed, muttering "I'd walk by myself if I could" under his breath, which made Luffy's new idol chuckle, who was indeed carrying him on his back.

"Don't take it so hard. You already fought with your leg twisted like that, no need to make it worse if you don't have to."

"That's true, I guess. Sorry for the trouble," Sabo offered, doing a rare exception of using his manners. "Looking after our little brother can't have been easy. Even Ace is grateful, even if he doesn't show it."

Shanks burst out laughing.

From the corner of his eyes, Sabo saw his two brothers return to the present, now watching curiously to see what's so funny. Sabo would like to know too.

It never got that far.

"Oh yeah, Ace," Luffy beamed innocently. "I ate this really disgusting fruit Shanks had on his ship!"

Sabo felt the man carrying him go rigid, stiff like stone, radiating an air a whole lot like terror...

"Look what I can do now!"

An odd twang sounded behind the blond, and he turned to see frozen just as stiff as the pirate. Ace's eyes were round like, his jaw dropped, and as Sabo watched, he picked up the latter, his freckled face turning into something incredibly blank and terrifying in equal means. Even Sabo shivered.

Ace reached out, poking his little brother's cheek almost hesitantly, then pulled. And pulled. And pulled.

Luffy giggled.

Sabo was aware his jaw must have dropped just like Ace's had before, even as his freckled brother's expression morphed into truly and well pissed off and more.

If Sabo weren't in shock himself, he'd have eeped by sheer proxy when Ace's glare cut around at the intended target.

The pirate, ten steps ahead of the two walking boys, shivered without even looking back, before laughing hollowly. Then Sabo got to know what Luffy meant with 'can walk fast'.

The trees rushed by and Luffy and Ace were out of sight long before Sabo managed to gather himself. Luffy's skin stretched. Luffy's skin stretched. Luffy's skin stretched. Luffy's skin stretched! LUFFY'S SKIN STRETCHED?!

It was at that point that Sabo remembered he was a) getting carried around by someone who at the very least had the explanation, if not the guilt, and b) that he still had his weapon in his right hand.

Which he promptly swung around the red headed pirate's neck, caught the end in his second hand and applied pressure.

He smiled very widely and very insincerely, not that the man could see his expression. "What the heck was that?"

The grown man turned his head enough that Sabo could identify a very uncomfortable and awkward smile. "Ah he hehe. Overprotective brother number two – just my luck." He cleared his throat and tried to come across as charming and uninvolved. "Funny that you ask. I had absolutely nothing to do with it!"

Sabo gritted his teeth behind his smile so hard, it hurt. "I don't believe you. Truth. Now."

The pirate forced down a grimace. "Er, I may have had a Devil Fruit on board. Luffy…. may have eaten it while no one paid attention?"

Sabo stilled, easing up on the pressure on his pipe. "Devil Fruit? Those things exist? "He tried to process that. "Wait. You let Luffy eat one of those?"

"I didn't let him!"

"You weren't watching him right, so you let him!"

The pirate tossed a nervous glance over his shoulder, not aimed at Sabo but behind him. When he saw that there wasn't a demon wrecking a warpath through the forest in sight, he finally slowed down to more normal speeds, sighing. "Don't tell me he never did something you didn't disapprove of under your noses."

"That's beside the point! My little brother ate a Devil Fruit!" Sabo shouted. "That's a bit more serious than getting swallowed by a crocodile!"

"...swallowed by a crocodile?…" Shanks muttered. "The more I hear, the more I get the impression it's lucky that Luffy ate it. If he's made of rubber, besides sharp and pointy things, there isn't a lot that can harm him anymore..."

Luckily for Shanks, Sabo hadn't thought of it like that before. Even more lucky for the pirate, it was the most penetrating argument he could have made.

Sabo considered. Rubber was it? Sabo knew rubber. Rubber could stretch and shrink, it could bent and inflate. Imagining Luffy as a rubber ball gave the blond a headache, but just take the recent Gramps Training Session – falling from high up was definitely saver when one was made of rubber. If Luffy fell down one of the many cliffs, or ravines, or got buried under an avalanche of boulders on accident, or just plain got hit…

Shanks noticed the murderous intent fading and breathed in relief. That was one down. Only the short tempered one left.

...and also the stuff that happened today…

Ace descended on Fuushavillage shrouded in the aura of a demon. Luffy was chattering ignorantly by his side, oblivious to the fact that ever word leaving him dug the grave of his idol deeper.

The villagers did the wise thing and scrambled out of his way, pressing against the walls of their homes as if they feared the very air around Ace could burn them. They further proved their common sense by all pointing in the very same direction.

Not towards the pub for once, but the red, gargantuan three masted ship. The fact that he had a bullet stuck in his arm, should be loosing consciousness due to blood loss, and that he by all means should not be able to lift and or use force with said limp was (not for the first time) overwritten by his temper.

When he got his hands on that bastard -!

On the way to the ship, he passed Sabo, who until they had arrived had very busily been slurping a delicious soup created by the wonderful Makino he had heard so much about. His right leg was in a cast, a newly carpentered crutch (courtesy of the Red Hair Pirates' shipwright, most likely as bribe) was leaning against the bench Sabo was sitting on.

Ace acknowledged him but didn't stop, much rather expecting Sabo to fall into step, which the blond did with some difficulty (hobbling and handing the remains of his late lunch to Luffy to get his hands free).

Luffy, one track mind that he had, did not hear how Sabo at first tried calming Ace down (but only a bit because the rest the pirate certainly deserved for being careless), how Ace did snapped out in just a few sentences a recollection of how Luffy had spend his day before they met, and Luffy certainly did not notice how Sabo's expression fell and darkened and darkened, being too busy running for Makino's pub and demanding more food.

Shanks, hiding with a barrel full of sake in a hay barn under the hay, felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

Author's Note:

Hi! Here we are again with the next chapter. I finally convinced Shanks and Sabo to take part of the same dialog, which of course was awfully easy once I found the right topic of conversation.

As I have mentioned before, as much fun as it is when I really got the feel for it, I want to finish Fuushavillage up fairly soon. This story has been eating at me for (holy crap!) almost five years, always in the back of my mind, waiting to be completed. I want it out! Er, at the moment I'm estimating another three chapters plus minus an epilogue.

Please drop a review on the way out and I'll see you soon,
~freefan1412