Chapter Text
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(Did you know that having a cat makes you immune to ghosts?)
Ace was quite pleased with this little rest stop. The animals were all too small to seem real, like little dolls rather than real-life jungle inhabitants, but that meant they were no threat to Luffy. So, weird tiny critters or not, the kids were having a blast exploring a new place.
While the kids entertained themselves with the animals and the oddly deformed former pirate who was permanently confined to a treasure chest, Ace kicked back against a tree for a nap.
His sleep had been shitty lately, and there was little reprieve from the nightmares. If it was not one of the kids waking up screaming, then Makino was trying to brush aside her shaking hands, or Bachina was crying quietly in the galley, or… well. Ace’s night terrors were not the only ones with the dubious honour of being actual memories.
Just like Luffy, who remembered his older brother falling dead. Remembered the bloody, charred-black ruin Akainu’s blow had left Ace’s chest. Remembered being pinned to the ground for hours by his brother’s too-cold, too-still mass as their home was razed to the waterline.
Just like Kuina, who remembered her father being taken away simply for teaching the wrong man how to hold a sword.
Just like Zoro, who remembered seeing his best friend struck down by a white uniform that was supposed to mean protection. The coma had lasted for weeks, more than long enough for Zoro to come to the terrified realization that Kuina might never wake up.
Just like Nojiko and Nami, who cried in their sleep and woke up screaming for their mother.
Just like Usopp, who had nearly lost his mother, who had seen a man he had known and trusted all his life exposed as the one poisoning Bachina to a slow death.
Just like Kaya, who had seen her father’s kindness betrayed and stared her parent’s murderer in the eyes as he explained in excruciating detail how Kaya herself was going to be blamed for their deaths. Just another selfish noble trying to inherit before her time.
Ace was lucky he had his Ghost on watch. Otherwise, he would have missed seeing so many of the details. These kids that he had gathered because they were supposed to be Luffy’s crew in the future… they were all so hurt. Had the other versions of the Strawhats been this hurt?
… Who was Ace trying to fool with that question? Of course, they had been. As horrible as this world was, it was still recognizable. Bad things were made worse, but they still happened.
A rustle in the leaves, the vibration more felt than heard, drew Ace away from his depressing thoughts. No danger in the approaching presence, according to Ace’s haki, just curiosity and warmth.
“Prrt?” There was a slightly too boney sabertoothed Lynx leaning over Ace, dinnerplate sized paws cautiously testing the heat the young pirate threw off. The kneading grew more confidant as Ace remained still. “Mrrp.”
Tears gathered at the corners of Ace’s eyes as he stared without blinking. The moment felt like a fever dream. Ace had honestly thought the world was determined to deny him even this much kindness. “… Kotatsu?”
The Lynx, always a sucker for a warm lap, took Ace’s attention as an invitation and flopped over across the fire-man’s legs with a smug purr. Too thrilled to laugh aloud, Ace crooned nonsense in a voice choked with relieved tears and scratched the big cat’s ears with both hands.
“Hello there, you big moocher.” Ace giggled as the Lynx wiggled and shoved further into his lap to encourage more skritching. “Silly cat, what’re you doing here?”
Breathless with relief, Ace let Kotatsu press up under his chin with a thunderous purr. It might be foolish, letting a wild predator that had only just met him so close to his throat, but Ace ignored the possible threat. It might be stupid, acting like this, but Gaimon had partially tamed every animal on the island, and now Ace had a possible explanation for why Kotatsu adapted to ship life so easily the first time around. It might be silly, getting so excited over the appearance of a cat, but it was the sign Ace had been waiting for.
The Spades were here, somewhere Ace had yet to go, had yet to reach in his travels. The Spades were out there, for all they were still scattered to the winds, but Ace knew that they existed.
Luffy was not the only one who had a second chance to gather his crew. The Strawhats were not the only crew who could come together sooner, be better, gather faster, grow stronger, be more. Kotatsu was here, Ace had found one of his old nakama again, for the first time. Kotatsu was here, and that meant Ace could and would find the rest of his Spades.
(Maybe he should start with finding Deuce again. The Spades Pirate’s First Mate and Chronicler had been shipwrecked on Sixis when they met, after all, and without Ace or the random discovery of a Devil Fruit the man would continue to languish on that tiny island until he eventually starved to death.)
Makino would understand taking a small detour. Ace needed to find Deuce, and the sooner they went, the less out of their way the trip to Sixis would be.
/…/
(And now for a small detour before our detour.)
Kotatsu was lounging on the deck of the Going Merry like he belonged there. Ace grinned at the sight of his ship’s cat, feeling something inside him settle with concrete proof that his Spades were still out there. They were just waiting for Ace to find them again.
Humming cheerfully, Ace wandered over to the figurehead and leaned on the rail, keeping an ear on Luffy and the rest of the mini monsters as they played in the rigging. What kind of face would Deuce make when Ace rescued him? Would Deuce even agree to join Ace’s crew without them spending all those days marooned on Sixis together?
Determined not to invite bad luck by thinking about it, Ace instead started to consider how to best convince Deuce to join him.
… Oooh, Ace had a secret weapon this time! Tiny, adorable children who needed big strong pirates to keep them safe! It was brilliant! Ace was a criminal mastermind. Deuce would sign up no problem! Ace had won Deuce over with half a rotten-tasing fruit last time, saving him from certain doom would go over even better.
Ghost flickered into sight beside Kotatsu, petting the Lynx before moving over to where Ace was watching the water. Kotatsu’s sleepy eyes tracked the ghost as he moved away, and it was the first bit of proof Ace had that his ghost was more than just a trauma induced hallucination.
Well, good to know that he was not entirely crazy.
Ace tilted his head curiously at the thoughtful look on his ghost’s face. It did not take long for the ghost to speak once he was standing next to Ace at the rail. ‘You had that cat… before.’
“Mmhm. His name’s Kotatsu.” Ace nodded at the lynx and grinned again. “He was the Spades ship’s cat. Don’t really know where he came from the first time. He just showed up on board one day and liked us enough that he stuck around.”
Ghost frowned slightly. ‘I’ve been looking through your memories about him. He left with the other Spades when Whitebeard took you, right?’
“He… no, that’s…” Ace winced, pressing a knuckle to his temple as pain spiked up and faded just as fast. Where did Kotatsu go? The Spades had been absorbed into the Whitebeard crew. So… so what had happened to Ace’s cat? Why did Ace not know this? Kotatsu had been nakama, was nakama again, just as much as Stefan had been. Cats and dogs. How long had it taken for Kotatsu and Stefan to learn to get along? “I… I don’t know. Why don’t I know? I was the Captain, they’re my nakama. I would’ve known. I should know this!”
‘Haoshoku. The Will of the Conqueror.’ Ace’s ghost hovered by his shoulder in concern as Ace sank back against the rail with his head cradled in his hands, a fierce ache raging in his temples. ‘We’ve had it active since we were ten, but Whitebeard… He’s been a pirate longer than we’ve been alive. Combined. It took him one-hundred days to force you into submission, and you were starving, and wounded… How much of that time do you actually remember?’
“No, that wasn’t what… Pops didn’t… You don’t understand.” Ace’s protest was weak even to his own ears as stabbing pressure built behind his eyes. “… You don’t understand.”
‘I understand enough to know it wasn’t right of him to do that.’ Ghost held up a hand to stop Ace from speaking. ‘You challenged him to a one-on-one Captain’s Match to gauge your strength. Instead of accepting, he set one of the World Government’s pet privateers on you and launched a surprise attack on your crew when you were weakened and exhausted by a five-day battle with a Warlord.’
“But…” Ace winced and looked away from his ghost. “Pops didn’t know Jimbei was going to challenge me…”
‘He didn’t put a stop to it, either. Ace…’ Ace’s ghost sighed and looked at his living counterpart with sad understanding. ‘Would you accept those excuses… if the same thing had happened to Luffy?’
For a moment Ace thought he had died again. Cold clarity fell over his mind, a wordless fury that stole the breath from his lungs and shook him to the core. Faintly, Ace could hear the harsh whisper of his own voice. “I would kill them. Anyone who dared trap my little brother. I would kill them.”
‘Exactly.’ The ghost crouched down in front of Ace, his bloodless face serious and intent. ‘All we’ve ever wanted was to be free. I just don’t… can’t understand how you could let Whitebeard take your freedom away from you.’
“That’s not… not what Pops did.” Ace shook his head, horror and denial still clouding his thoughts. “The Whitebeard Pirates are a family.”
‘Maybe they were, in the end. For you. Maybe. But… Ace…’ His ghost hesitated over his next words while his immaterial hands clenched into futile fists. ‘Whitebeard trapped you, like a feral animal. He took your flag down, he took your crew away, and he didn’t let you see any of your nakama again until after you were branded as his.’
Branded. Ace winced at the thought. That was not the purpose of the Whitebeard Mark, but… but Ace’s ghost was looking at it from the outside. If Ace ignored everything he had learned about Pops and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates after he joined them, if Ace looked only at what had happened, at only the actions taken, and if he looked at those acts with the same mindset he had when he first set out on his journey…
Ace felt cold, and it had nothing to do with how close his ghost was standing. “You’re right. I don’t want you to be, but…”
‘But they trapped you. They made you think that the only good choice was the choice they wanted you to be making. They didn’t give your nakama back until after you were so firmly chained to them that you’d accepted Whitebeard’s Mark. They didn’t let you hear another opinion until after there was no way for you to safely change your mind.’ The ghost sighed, soft and unspeakably weary. ‘They were good to you in the end, and genuine in their care of you, but… Ace. You don’t need to be broken to be accepted. You don’t need to be tamed to be worth keeping around. You have to see the truth about what happened. They broke you deliberately so that you would join them. And you still haven’t recovered from that.’
Ace choked on a bitter laugh as he struggled with his memories to find proof that his ghost was wrong. There was no proof to find. He had been emotionally exhausted and broken down the night Marco convinced him to… to give up. To surrender his independence. Beaten down and too tired to struggle and unable to see a way out that did not end with him on Whitebeard’s crew.
Ace’s ship, his flag, even his cat had been taken from him and never returned. Aces’ crew had been scattered among the divisions, and only a paltry handful had been allowed to remain on the Moby Dick. Ace had been so caught up in his new family that he had not asked when his former crew left.
Banshee had always liked to fight, but Pops did not let the women on his crew fight. Seas, how long had his nakama stuck around, waiting for Ace to come to his senses? How betrayed had they been when he set fire to the Piece of Spadille? Ace had no memory of seeing the Spades crewmembers on the Moby Dick after their ship burned. “… I’m a horrible Captain.”
‘You made a mistake, but it’s not all on you.’ There was an echo through their connection. An explosion. Blood on Luffy’s face. Fire and smoke. Ace’s ghost rocked back on his heels and looked out at the horizon. ‘I’ve used Conquerors Haki to tame enough animals to know that it has side effects. Whitebeard was old and canny enough to know how hitting you with his Will every day would make it easier to convince you to follow him. He probably counted on it.’
“But… why?” Ace swallowed hard and gripped his knees, comparing hazy memories of belonging to that massive family against the crystal-clear recollection of the time spent on his solo hunt for Teach. “Why would Pops do that?”
‘Whitebeard may be the ‘nice’ Yonko, but he’s still a Pirate Emperor.’ The ghost shrugged and Bluejam’s face sneered in their shared memory. ‘He wanted you for his crew, so he took you.’
“He took me away from my crew.” Tears gathered in Ace’s eyes as the two sides of himself struggled to reconcile two very different opinions. “My nakama left, and I didn’t even notice. It didn’t matter, because Pops…”
‘Your crew was collateral damage. That’s what happens to bystanders when pirates decide to pillage.’ Ghost huffed in distain and then grimaced as he noticed how much Ace grieved. ‘There’s a reason Teach got away with what he did, for as long as he did. He was part of the Whitebeard crew for years and years without suspicion. He fit in, and he probably wasn’t the only one playing the long game. Whitebeard probably had more than one traitor lurking beneath notice. Teach just happened to be the first one to take advantage of an opportunity.’
The tears fell as Ace mourned the past he could no longer change and his mistakes that he had no chance to fix. Ace refused to think that they had meant to hurt him, but Ace also could not deny that joining Whitebeard had gotten him killed. Would Pops have taken Luffy away from him too, if Ace’s little brother had been a member of the Spades? It hurt to think about it, like fishhooks in his brain, but Ace could not be sure that Whitebeard would have cared. Ace could not say for certain that Whitebeard would have listened to Ace’s words. Not with the way his Spades all-but disappeared from his memories after the Spadille burned. Not with the way Ace could now remember how the Spades had stopped mattering after he stopped fighting. Not with the way his ghost was bringing up doubts that Ace had deliberately buried when he took Whitebeard’s mark on his back.
(The half-formulated plan to join Pop’s crew again faded away, discarded with only a faint feeling of wistful regret. Pirates took care of their own, first and foremost. Ace had to think about Luffy and the rest. He could not be selfish anymore. He could never lose his freedom to another’s control ever again.)
‘I’m sorry.’ His ghost was hesitant now, and regret weighed him down like anchor chains. ‘I know you loved them.’
“Well… nobody’s perfect.” Ace barked a half-hysterical laugh. “Like Makino said back on Dawn. I can be thankful they loved me and still be pissed off about the shitty things they did.”
‘Heh. Yeah.’ Nodding slowly, Ace’s ghost looked relieved. ‘Makino’s smart about stuff like this. Following her lead’s probably the best bet for us.’
“Right.” Ace tried to force his breathing to calm, eyes catching on Kotatsu again. Right.
Ace had to get his shit together. Between Luffy and the rest of the Strawhats crew being ten years too young, and the way the Marines had reached new depths of fucked up cruelty in this world, Ace needed to have his shit under control.
Yeah. Listen to Makino’s advice. Good call.
/…/
(Think happy thoughts!)
Wary of sinking the Merry on the shoals that had wrecked him the first time around, Ace anchored the caravel well away from the shoreline of Sixis. Bound and determined to catch his First Mate, Ace packed extra food into their picnic boxes before tossing the kids onto the pincke and rowing them to shore.
Thanks to haki, Ace already knew that Deuce was there and watching them warily as their landing party approached. His ghost helped by floating above Deuce’s head and providing a quick description of Deuce’s physical state.
‘Yeah, this guy has gone hungry for a while.’ Ace’s ghost commented with a hunter’s knowledge on what people looked like after living lean for a time. ‘He’s probably been here for weeks.’
Ah, that was something Ace had not considered. Ace had found Deuce so early in his voyage, the first time. The other Ace had been seventeen for a few months already by the time he died. Deuce would have been stuck starving on Sixis, alone, this whole time.
Ace winced. Not that he begrudged Luffy finding his crewmates, but Ace felt scoured by guilt and regret. He should have remembered. The only reason Deuce survived Sixis was because Ace and the Mera Mera no Mi had been there.
This time Ace had been on Dawn, and the Ocean had kept the Mera Mera away from Sixis. Yeah, Ace was going to have to make this up to his First Mate.
Starting with informing the man that he was going to be Ace’s First Mate.
/…/
“Nice mask!” Watching Deuce jump and scream and fall over was both hilarious and a little sad. This Deuce was so… unseasoned. Inexperienced. It was a jarring difference from the Deuce who had backed Ace through the Grand Line from East Blue to the New World. “Ah, sorry? Are you alright?”
“I’m… I’m fine.” Deuce looked really rough. Worse than he had the first time around. Still, he managed to stand on his own and face Ace on his feet. Good. It looked like the food Ace had been purposefully ‘misplacing’ over the last few days had helped Deuce recover a bit of strength. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ace! Captain of the Spade Pirates.” Ace grinned, watching avidly as Deuce’s jaw slackened and the castaway took a step back before firming his stance. That was fine. Deuce only became a pirate the first time because Ace had. It was smart to be wary of strange pirates. It only hurt a little bit that Deuce was so distrustful. “What’s your name?”
“I…” Deuce paused, hesitant. Then, just like Ace expected, just like he remembered, Deuce shook his head. “… I don’t have one.”
“You don’t have a name?” Ace stared, drinking in the sight of his First Mate. Was he being creepy? Ace hoped Deuce ignored the weird intensity of the moment. Holding back his emotions was not one of Ace’s skills.
‘You are being super creepy right now.’ Ace’s ghost commented from the side, arms crossed and projecting smug judgement. Stupid ghosts who no longer had to worry about manners or social pressure because they were invisible and immaterial could shut their stupid pieholes.
“I gave it up.” Deuce looked away from Ace’s intent eyes, mouth twisted in obvious reluctance to speak further.
Ace was not going to let things stop here, especially since Deuce was right there. He was so close to having his first mate back. “Why?”
“Because… that name trapped me. I wanted to be free. I wanted adventure, so… I had to get rid of my old name. I didn’t like it much in the first place, but… hm.” Deuce lost some of his nervousness as he started thinking about the logistical repercussions of his decision to abandon everything about his old life. “This does make introductions a bit awkward.”
“Okay. I got it.” Ace clapped his hands together and grinned at the blue haired castaway. “I’m gonna call you Masked Deuce.”
Stunned, Deuce blinked at Ace with his mouth open. “What?”
“Your name!” Ace nodded to himself, because yes, excellent, everything was going according to plan. “It’s Deuce now. I’ve decided.”
“What…” Deuce shook his head, the last of his wariness disappearing as he sputtered. “Why are you giving me a new name?”
“Because… names are supposed to be given to you by other people?” Tilting his head to one side, Ace did his best to make his eyes huge and innocent. Think Luffy thoughts! Aww, so cute. “That’s what Makino says, anyway.”
Now Deuce was suspicious again. Was Ace that bad at acting innocent? Boo, Deuce needed to be less suspicious. “Makino?”
“My quartermaster! And bartender.” Ace decided to leave the question of his acting abilities for another time. There were things Deuce needed to know upfront. “Be nice to Makino, she’s scary when she’s mad.”
“Who else is on your crew?” Looking both bemused and curious, Deuce glanced over at the camp where Ace and his crew had been sleeping for the last few days.
“Just Bachina.” Ace pointed at where the curly haired woman was packing away the cooking gear. “She’s a chemist. And really good at making things explode. I’m not allowed in her workroom though.”
“Why not?” Deuce glanced at Ace with a lifted brow.
“Um.” Ace poked his fingers together and suddenly found the clouds very interesting. So white. So puffy. So unlikely to accuse him of being a workplace safety hazard. “Because I’m made of fire and we store the gunpowder in there.”
“You’re made of…” Deuce did a doubletake, looking Ace over in confusion. “You what?”
“I’m a fire-man! See?” Ace promptly burst into flames.
“What the fuck?” Deuce scrambled back and nearly fell over again as heat washed out from Ace’s ignition. “Why are you on fire? How are you on fire?”
“Ah, I ate the Mera Mera no Mi, the Fire Logia Devil Fruit.” Letting the flames die out, Ace waved his hand back and forth. A single Devil Fruit user was going to be the least of what Deuce had to deal with in the future. “It means I can’t swim, and I’m made of fire now.”
Deuce gaped as he tried to process Ace’s explanation. “… what the fuck.”
“Yeah.” Ace stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “The Ocean is pretty wild.”
“I …” Deuce slowly shook his head. “… the fuck?”
“Soooo…” Ace sidled closer and beamed hopefully at Deuce when the other man let him approach. “Wanna join my crew?”
Jerking upright, Deuce whipped his eyes around to stare at Ace. “What?”
“I promise to feed you and protect you and take you on lots of adventures and I give you unrestricted permission to take whatever actions you deem necessary to deal with bounty hunters!” Folding his hand together Ace leaned towards Deuce as he listed all the things his First Mate liked best. “Oh, and Marines. You can decide what to do with the Marines too. I promise not to argue.”
Why did Deuce look like Ace had hit him in the face with a jellyfish? Deuce liked kicking bounty hunters off the side of the ship! “… What the fuck.”
Pouting, Ace peered sadly at his First Mate’s stunned expression. “You don’t want to?”
“I… oh sweet seas why are you looking at me like that?” Deuce twitched and shook his head, but he did not move away from Ace. Amusement slowly started to take over Deuce’s face. Yes! Progress! “What the hell kind of recruitment pitch is that?”
Ace blinked, frowned, and pouted harder. “… You don’t like adventures?”
“I meant the bit about bounty hunters.” Deuce slapped a palm to his eyes to hide from Ace’s sad face. It was a futile effort. Ace had learned to project the pout from Luffy. There could be no escape from his wiles! “Are you crazy? Why would I need unlimited authority over dealing with bounty hunters?”
“Ah.” Oh, Ace understood now. He might be moving too fast, but Deuce was worth it! Also, his other Deuce would probably appreciate the fact that Ace was giving the new Deuce permission to do exactly what Deuce had always wanted to do. Which was deal with Ace’s enemies as creatively as possible. Just accept your control freak tendencies, Deuce. You know you want to. Be appreciative of your kind, understanding Captain. “You look like the kind of person who likes to make sure things are dealt with properly? Also, my bounty is kinda… ridiculously huge, even though the Marines haven’t actually announced it to the general public yet.”
“You…” Deuce dragged his hand down his face and leveled a critical look at Ace. The earlier nerves were gone, replaced by the ruthlessly rational assessment that Deuce had been best known for. “You’re some kind of trouble, aren’t you?”
“Hey! It’s either be a pirate or get messily murdered, so yo-ho-ho time to set sail.” Ace threw his arms out and waved at the pack of children currently running laps around the picnic blanket. “Also, my little brother would never forgive me if I changed my mind about piracy now that we’ve painted our flag.”
“Your little brother?” Following Ace’s flailing gesture, Deuce peered at the group of tiny figures rampaging over the beach.
“See the really bouncy kid with black hair?” On cue, Luffy tripped, fell on his face, and was catapulted across the dunes by his less than stellar control over his gum-gum abilities. The other children veered like a school of minnows and charged after Luffy’s ballistic body. “That’s my baby brother Luffy.”
Deuce appeared to be counting, and not all that happy about the number he was reaching. “Why do you have half-a-dozen children on a pirate ship?”
“Beeecause the Marines want to kill them?” Ace shrugged and whistled innocently as he avoided Deuce’s judgemental stare. “I dunno what you want from me, mate, shit happened, and the kids kinda just multiplied, and I ain’t enough of an asshole to kick them off when they don’t have anywhere else to go and be mostly safe.”
“… Where is the rest of your crew?” Ace gestured to where Makino and Bachina were lounging under a beach umbrella. Deuce’s face was blank. “You cannot be serious. There are only two other adults on this crew?”
“Yep. Oh! Hey! You said it!” Ace perked up and immediately preformed a victory dance. “That means yes! You’re part of my crew now!”
“I did not!” Deuce lunged and Ace could have dodged it, if he wanted to, but it was nice to feel Deuce’s hands on his shoulders. Real and solid and a bit dry from the deprivation Deuce had gone through recently, but still strong and familiar. “And even if I did what the fuck how do you manage to survive without sinking yourself though the sheer stupidity that is keeping that many children in one place without adult supervision?”
“We’ve done okay so far.” Ace slung an arm over Deuce’s shoulders and hauled the other man along as he started back towards the picnic area. “And we have you now! We’ll be fiiiiine, Deuce.”
“This.” Deuce gestured to all of Ace. And, hey, rude. “Is not fine.”
“Aw, don’t be mean.” Ace rubbed his head against Deuce’s shoulder with a blissfully happy chortle. “Now c’mon! I wanna introduce you to the rest of the crew.”
“Oi, wait.” Deuce stumbled as Ace released his hold, the fire logia skipping away from Deuce’s instinctive grab. “I said wait!”
“Hey, everyone! Look who I found!” Ace gestured to where Deuce was following only semi-reluctantly in his wake. “This is Deuce, he’s our new First Mate!”
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN FIRST MATE?” Deuce surged forward and Ace danced back out of reach, laughing at the face his First Mate was making as the children cheered and charged over for introductions. “Ace! Ace you stinking rat bastard get back here! I didn’t agree to this!”
/…/
(We now return to our regularly scheduled East Blue shenanigans.)
Ace stared at the two men introduced as the bounty hunting duo Johnny and Yosaku. They were idiots, they had to be. They were somewhere in their early twenties… and they were calling little Zoro ‘Big Bro’ with the unthinking ease of long habit. Not to mention the whole nearly dying of scurvy thing.
Sure, bounty hunters could operate entirely on land by hunting down bandits or haunting the dockside bars, but the most worthwhile bounties were all for Pirates. Pirates who sailed on the ocean. Eighty percent of the planet was covered in water. Sailing and ocean survival were the bare minimum educational requirements for a successful bounty hunting career. Everyone knew these facts by the time they started wearing their big-boy panties.
Unless, of course, you were an idiot.
“Big Bro…” Johnny flopped down on his belly, clinging to Zoro’s ankles. “Please don’t leave us behind again…”
“You know Boss said we had to stay together with Big Bro and Big Sis!” Yosaku clung to Kuina’s knees, wearing the most pitiful expression he could manage. Ace could not make up his mind about whether the bloody bandages wrapped around Yosaku’s torso helped him succeed in his woeful act or not. “I don’t want to die! Please don’t leave us behind again!”
“It’s not up to us anymore.” Zoro put a boot against Johnny’s tattooed face and pushed the man off. “Ask the Captain if you can stay on board.”
“Huh?” Johnny’s sunglasses were askew, and only added to the man’s confused look. “What Captain?”
“Zoro and I joined this pirate crew!” Kuina chirped happily and pointed up at the Jolly Roger painted large and proud on the Merry’s mainsail. “The one who makes the decision is Captain.”
“… Pirates?” Yosaku’s expression was horrified. “You-you became…! Pah-? Eek… Boss is going to kill us.”
Ace frowned, trying to remember if he had heard anything about Johnny and Yosaku from the other Luffy and his crew. These guys had decent enough presences for East Blue bounty hunters despite their complete lack of any kind of forward planning ability. Being the nannies for monster-children like Zoro and Kuina would train anyone up.
Plus, Zoro and Kuina trusted them. Not respected. No child respected goofball bachelors like Johnny and Yosaku, but trust and affection did not require obedience. Awesome. It looked like Ace had just found his newest minions. Childcare mooks. Crewmembers. (Whatever.)
Time to see what level they were actually on.
“Hey~♥ there…” Ace grinned as he landed behind the two men, Luffy on his back and mimicking the bloodthirsty expression. “What’s this? Somebody’s on my ship without my permission! That’s against the rules~♥.”
Johnny and Yosaku leapt for their swords as Ace cackled madly. They had good instincts for a pair of idiots. It was a promising start!
A wave of anger swept across the deck and sent ice up Ace’s spine. The fire logia paused and carefully looked up at the galley.
Deuce stood on the upper deck with his arms crossed, scowling like a thundercloud. Ah, right. Ace had promised to leave all the bounty hunters to Deuce. Oops. These bounty hunters belonged to Zoro and Kuina though! Maybe Deuce could make an exception? Just this once?
Deciding to take it as given, Ace started the recruitment test. A thirty-minute montage of violence and sadism followed, vicious enough to entertain a bored cat… or an equally bored group of pre-pubescent pirate children.
“Well, you aren’t totally hopeless, at least!” Ace admitted cheerfully as he stood over Johnny and Yosaku’s collapsed, beaten forms. Luffy laughed gleefully in Ace’s ear, still in the same place slung over his big brother’s shoulder as he had been at the beginning of the fight. “Alright, I’ve decided! The two of you can join my crew.”
“We never… asked to join… your crew!” Johnny wheezed now that his condition was only slightly better than Yosaku’s. Fair was fair! Ace had tested both of them just as much, but Johnny kept trying to defend Yosaku which had meant he got the brunt of Ace’s beating until the two bounty hunters were equally bruised.
“Shishishi, don’t be silly! You asked to join! You said you were gonna stick with Zoro and Kuina, and to do that you gotta be crew! Why else would you be on my pirate ship? I mean, only a total idiot could miss the giant flaming demon skull on the sail.” Ace tilted his cowboy hat back with a wide grin. “Makino! Bachina! Deuce! Come meet the new guys!”
“It’s okay.” Kaya patted Yosaku on the shoulder as he gaped at the freckled pirate captain. “Captain wouldn’t have let you live if he didn’t like you.”
“So, this is my life now.” Deuce grumbled as he made his way down the stairs to the main deck. “Just… random idiots showing up and getting recruited. Fine. This is fine.”
“Aw, Deuce. You’re still my favourite.” Ace grinned the bitchface Deuce gave him for his comment. Then Ace’s grin sharpened when he looked at the pair of bounty hunters that he had just semi-press-ganged into his service.
To be fair, they did say they were staying before Ace started testing their skills. Zoro or Kuina would have spoken up against them if they were sketchy. Johnny and Yosaku would come around to Ace’s way of thinking fast enough, constant exposure to Luffy’s adorable face allowed no other outcome. They both had a decent amount of potential too. They might even be able to survive in the New World once Ace had the chance to beat some of the stupid out of the pair of them. On this crew they could probably survive Paradise as they were right now, and that was a bonus Ace had not been expecting from a pair of random East Blue natives.
“Yay! New nakama!” Luffy jumped down next to Usopp and started dancing in circles. “We need to celebrate! Party! A feast! A feast!”
“Um, well…” Johnny looked at Yosaku, and then around at the kids watching them with clear interest. The bounty hunters cowered back under the looming pressure of Deuce’s displeasure. Quickly, Johnny scrambled to offer up a distraction. “Um! If you’re looking for a cook, there’s a rumour about this ocean-going restaurant that just started up? I think it’s called Baratie…”
“The Baratie, huh?” Ace scratched his chin as he thought. Back in his first life, before Ace had really realized how deep Blackbeard’s evil ran, he had met up with the Strawhat Pirates as they rampaged through Alabasta. Ace had been determined to catch and punish the brother killing traitor back then, but he had not been so hyper-focused on his revenge that Ace would neglect his duty as Luffy’s big brother.
One by one, Ace had cornered each member of Luffy’s crew and questioned them extensively as only a paranoid elder brother with negative zero faith in humanity could. So extensively, in fact, that there was a good chance that Ace knew more about the personal histories of the Strawhat Pirate’s crewmembers than Luffy had ever bothered learning.
Ace knew that Luffy had found Sanji on the Baratie. More than that, Ace knew that Red Shoes Zeff had founded the ocean-going restaurant after being shipwrecked and nearly starving to death. Zeff had given Sanji all the food and ate his own leg rather than take the food away from the blond child. It was a deep bond forged from personal sacrifice that had made Ace wonder more than once exactly how Zeff had ever managed to convince Sanji to leave with Luffy.
The point of all this reminiscing though, was that if Sanji was the same age as the rest of his past-and-future crewmates… then there was a very good chance that Sanji and Zeff were still recovering from their starvation damage. If the Baratie was in business, then they had obviously been rescued, but the question was… how long ago had the rescue happened? Was Zeff still recovering from the loss of his leg?
Oh, that would be bad. A Grand Line Pirate Captain with a new baby apprentice to protect and already grumpy about his forced retirement and further pissed off by pain? That was a recipe for disaster.
So far, their journey away from Dawn Island had been an eerie echo of the stories Ace had been told about an older Luffy gathering his crew in the East Blue. Luck and accident and happenstance. Was this the Will of D in action? Even a life and a death and a world apart, were the Strawhat Pirates meant to come together and be nakama?
“Ah, too much thinking!” Ace slumped over the rail with a pout directed at his First Mate. “My head hurts now. Deuce! Let’s go to the restaurant! It sounds like fun!”
His heart hurt now. When would the rest of Ace’s crewmates make their appearance? The Spade Pirates might have been absorbed into Whitebeard’s crew in the end, but they had been Ace’s crew first and foremost. Ace knew that the chances of meeting Pops and the others on friendly terms was vanishingly unlikely, so the least compensation the world could provide would be Ace’s Spades showing up to be recruited again.
As happy as Ace was to have found him and recruited him again, Deuce did not count right now. Ace had deliberately gone to find Deuce. Had deliberately set out to bring Deuce into the crew he was forming anew. It lacked the sense of immutable destiny that effected the future Strawhats meetings with each other.
(At least he had Kotatsu. Best cat ever. Kotatsu had found Ace all on his own. Such a good kitty.)
After all the headaches the Spades had caused him with their antics, Ace had never imagined that he would miss them all so much. More so even than Thatch and Marco… after all, the Spades had been Ace’s people first, last, and always. The only people he had ever picked for himself, other than Sabo and Luffy.
Sands and shells, Ace hoped that they had refrained from doing anything too stupid after he had died back in the old world. Especially that other Deuce. Ace’s former First Mate got nasty even by New World standards when he was vindictive. Something about writers and creativity and knowing the best ways to get away with murder.
Ace would have paid better attention when it came up, but Deuce had been relaxed enough during that particular conversation to take his mask off and Ace had gotten distracted by his former First Mate’s pretty face.
(It was the last time the mask came off. Soon after that, Whitebeard had happened, and Ace had never seen Deuce’s bared face again.)
“… Alright, Captain.” Deuce shook his head and reluctantly stopped glaring dire threats and malice in the direction of the now thoroughly intimidated bounty hunters. “If this is a trap, I reserve the right to say, ‘I told you so’.”
With a sigh, Ace tipped his hat down over his eyes to hide the tears that welled up. Stupid insomnia. He was exhausted, but nightmares kept him from getting any rest. At this rate his narcolepsy would stop being funny and start being a liability.
Damn it, he would worry about this shit after securing them a decent cook.
(The Spades could have used a good cook, last time. Banshee tried, but she really was not chef material.)
Just one more mistake made right.
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