Chapter 8: The Straw Hat of Promises
Ace tore through the forest, slipping on grassy patches, entangling in vines, and nearly tripping over tree roots.
Where was he?!
He jumped on the fallen tree and stopped at the top for a moment to scan the surroundings, chest heaving. When he didn't notice anything, he couldn't keep the panic away anymore.
Where was his little brother?!
Ace hopped down and started running again, wildly looking around as he darted around the trees and boulders.
Where the hell was Luffy?!
It was his entire fault. If he hadn't chased after that boar when it suddenly took off, he wouldn't have lost sight of Luffy in the middle of Mt. Colubo forest.
The kid was still recovering, even after two months since coming back home. Ace allowed him to do whatever he wished and didn't force anything on him, despite some of those things being highly concerning. Like Luffy's refusal to participate in hunts. He would tag along, not wanting to stay alone, but always remained on the sideline. And then there was his expression after Ace delivered a finishing blow. As if the killing pained him somehow.
So, of course, Ace couldn't leave the kid alone in the place that was swarming with beasts only waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey.
"Shit!" Ace cursed before he looked up. Maybe he should climb the—
The sound of something big crashing through the forest on his left drew his attention. A cloud of dust spread through the trees a second later, and Ace made a sharp turn to check it out. When a fierce roar reached his ears, fear seized him by the throat. When he spotted a huge striped body moving around where the crash had come from, Ace's stomach dropped.
A tiger—one of the biggest and most ferocious beasts in these woods—fighting against something. He just hoped it wasn't someone.
Ace braked when another cloud of dust rolled through the forest and covered his face to protect himself.
The tiger roared.
Ace peeked from behind his arms just to see Luffy come sliding from the direction of the tiger.
"You damn cat," the boy muttered under his breath a moment before a smirk curled on his lips. "You asked for this…" His rubbery arms shot forward, grabbing at the two trees ahead as he himself backed off even further.
"Luffy!" Ace shouted in equal parts of surprise and panic.
Luffy's head whirled toward him. "Ace! Here you are!" A happy exclamation was topped with a wide, teeth-flashing grin.
The teen could see his little brother's plan, and he didn't like it. His anxiety spiked, but before he could give it voice—
Luffy flew off with a cheery, "Gimme a moment!" His small rubber body slammed into the tiger's side and blasted it through the trees.
Ace's jaw dropped. It must have been mind-boggling momentum that his little brother managed to reach to lift that massive mountain of pure muscles off the ground and send it flying.
Luffy immediately sprinted after the tiger, stretching one of his arms behind him. "Gomu Gomu no…" Just as the tiger was about to stand up, Luffy threw his fist, "…Pistol!" and hit it directly into his jaw.
The tiger's head snapped to the side, blood dripping from his muzzle. With a furious roar, it leaped to its feet and swiped its paw at the quickly approaching human.
Ace's heart missed a beat.
Luffy moved out of the way and, at the same time, his arm shot out to wrap around the tree. The beast lunged, the ground splitting under the impact of his paws, but the boy wasn't in that spot anymore. He allowed his rubbery arm to pull his body away from harm's way at the last possible moment, and then swung around the tree and back into the tiger. This time he slammed into its paw, pushing it from under the tiger's body.
The feline crashed down muzzle first, but Luffy caught hold of the tail and was tossed up into the sky as it flicked up. He let go of it, sending himself even higher. "…Bazooka!" Both his palms slammed into the nape of the tiger and flattened it against the ground, but Luffy wasn't done yet. He grabbed onto its ears and sent his body soaring into it like a rocket from the heavens.
The giant beast gargled, its body spasmed several times and eventually stilled, dead.
Ace's mouth was open all this time. What… what the… what the hell just happened?! Despite witnessing this fight, he could hardly believe his own eyes.
Luffy slid down from the tiger's body and beamed at his brother. "Look, Ace! I got us dinner!"
That finally snapped Ace out of his daze. He clenched his fists and stomped over to his brother. Luffy's smile fell, and he flinched visibly when he approached, but Ace was too furious to stop now. "What the hell were you thinking?! You could have died or gotten injured! But you—" His anger lost its momentum the second his brain processed the pale face in front of him. "I'm sorry for shouting… But you got me really worried, Luffy."
Luffy fidgeted. "Sorry…"
The boy sounded so small, Ace almost punched himself. He was such an idiot. He really couldn't let his hot temper get the better of him now, not when his brother was so skittish. Sighing, he shook lingering rage like he would shake the water from his hands and scanned the kid up and down to make sure he was unhurt. "Luffy, just…" He looked straight into Luffy's eyes, conveying all his worry and concern for his wellbeing. "Don't fight alone. Let me help you next time, okay?"
Luffy gave a tiny nod.
Ace pulled the straw hat back on Luffy's head as he straightened up. No matter how he felt about this situation, one thing was obvious. "You were amazing!" he said in awe, sizing up the dead tiger. Now that he was closer to the beast, he realized that this might have been one of the mountain lords. "I don't think I could beat this thing so swiftly! I didn't know you could fight like this."
"I had to learn fast if I wanted to survive," Luffy murmured, frowning at the tiger. "Ne, Ace, do you enjoy fighting?"
Pushing past the sudden horror at what he had just heard, Ace stored that piece of information to ponder on a later date and instead focused on Luffy's question. Scratching the back of his head, he replied, "I think so? It's useful, makes me stronger, and we couldn't survive if we didn't fight. Besides, some people need a beating. In those cases, it's satisfying."
"So it's okay to fight if you want to? Or not to fight if you don't?"
Such a weird question, Ace had no idea what was going on in his little brother's head. The intensity of the stare he was receiving also unnerved him. "Of course. That's how it should be," he replied before adding sternly, "But if you don't want to fight, then run. Don't let anyone hurt you."
Luffy grinned. "Okay!"
"Still…" Ace looked up at the dead tiger again. "I can't believe you beat it so easily."
"I told you my Devil Fruit's awesome!"
"Okay, I'll give you that." Ace smirked mischievously. "But I bet you still can't win against me."
"Oh, yeah?" Luffy met the challenge with a confident grin. "Want to spar with me? Just like old times."
"A hundred fights per day?"
"A hundred fights per day," Luffy agreed. "But first, food!"
Ace's back hit the ground and he stayed there, sprawled across the grassy field, dazedly staring at the clouds floating above in the sky. His chin still stung, quite a lot actually, and he couldn't quite figure out how it happened.
He lost.
Luffy totally kicked his ass.
Damn.
Of course, it was only the first match. He didn't put all of his strength behind his attacks, not wanting to accidentally hurt his brother. Not that it mattered when he couldn't land a hit. Not a single one! Luffy kept avoiding and sidestepping anything Ace threw at him, dancing around the attacks without much effort. Like a gust of wind.
Ace got slightly frustrated, and he might have swung his last punch with everything he got. It never connected and an uppercut to his jaw had sent Ace flying. That was how he ended up on the ground in a daze.
Ace's chest swelled with pride. He also grinned like an idiot.
This was his little brother!
Luffy's head popped up into his line of vision, tilted in confusion. "You alright, Ace?"
"That was amazing!" Ace exclaimed, pushing himself up. "It seemed like you knew what my next attack would be! How did you do that?"
"I don't know," Luffy replied with an unconcerned shrug. "I just do."
Ace rubbed his still-stinging chin, thinking. "Instinct?" he wondered. "Or maybe some kind of mystery power?"
Luffy blinked. "Mystery power?" He paused, rolling that statement inside his head. "I guess it is. Shishishishi! Having mystery power is so cool!"
"That's not fair, you cheater!" Ace suddenly grabbed the other boy by his arm and tugged him down into his arms. "Take this! Wild hair attack!" he yelled as he began ruffling Luffy's hair in strong, rough motions.
"Ace!" Luffy whined, trying to push him away. "Stop it! Aaaaaaace!"
The teen threw his arms up in a whoop of victory. "And that's my win!" he bellowed as he fell back into the grass, bursting out into a merry laughter.
Luffy put his hat back on, cheeks puffed in an indignant pout. "I need to be focused if I want to sense your moves," he muttered, "otherwise it doesn't work."
Ace folded his arms behind his head with a huff. "Seems like a pain in the ass power to deal with as your opponent." He stared at the clouds again. "I'm glad you have it, though. With it, you'll get less hurt."
"Ace, we need to get stronger," Luffy said, his tone serious and determined, "and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and then even stronger than that! So that we can be truly free and never have to bow to anyone!"
Ace smiled softly. "And so that we can protect our loved ones and never lose anyone again."
Luffy nodded. He put his hand on top of his straw hat and held it there, vowing, "That's a promise."
Ace sat up, reaching out and placing his own hand over Luffy's. "That's a promise!"