A/N: GUESS WHO IS SERIOUSLY TRYING TO BE A WRITER AGAIN :'D

For real though. I won't bore you with the crazy details, but I'm in such a better place than I have been in years. I'm living with Ascaisil again! (I spend my days working or covered in nephews. Holy fffff they got big.)

I'm still not really okay after what happened three years ago, but I'm still here. And I'm trying to let all the negativity I've had for my writing kindly fuck off so I can get back to doing what I love. It's really difficult to explain how ephemeral time is for me, and how I struggle sometimes with wanting to write things for other people. (Ascaisil knows. She ALWAYS KNOWS XD)

That being said SHISHIIIIIIIIIIIIII I started writing both your stories again too ; ; I am human garbage. I wanna be reborn as a flea.

Now. About this story. Clearly none of it is canon compliant anymore because LMAO THIS WAS LIKE, ALL HEADCANON BEFORE ODA STARTED TELLING US ABOUT THE WBP! So obv I am trying to incorporate what I can, but basically everything with Oden is like… whelp. My bad? And the end of the story is closer to Dressrosa than Wano so… WE DIE LIKE MEN?! idk what I'm gonna do about it yet. But I'll do something or blissfully cut off before that plot hole bites me in the ass.

Also I love Yamato and Jinbe (Jinbei? Jimbei? FISHDAD?) so much it physically pains me.


Bonds of Sea and Fire

Chapter 29: Nagi Nagi no Mi


It was a surprisingly calm afternoon, all things considered. Even without three delinquent children running around, crashing into everything and shouting loud enough for the entire mountain to hear them, it was hardly quiet during the day. Dozens of bandits scurried around doing chores or working to prepare any recent kills for meals, and if Makino herself happened to pay a visit, the boisterous crowd couldn't be calmed without copious amounts of alcohol to knock them all out.

Even in the relative peacefulness of a lazy afternoon, Dadan couldn't relax. She'd been on edge lately, waiting for another letter or some kind of sign in the newspaper, maybe about a trio of terror causing mayhem and wreaking havoc in some poor town that hadn't been prepared, but the news hadn't offered anything useful. The letter hadn't come.

Maybe it was greedy to hope the little brats - her little brats - would keep in contact, but after they'd declared her as their mother, Dadan felt like she had every right to want some sort of consistency in contacting them. Some way to make sure they were still alive. Eating full meals. Bathing. Having fun.

Not that she cared, if anyone asked about her mood. Makino's secretive smiles and Magra's damn chipper ones were bad enough without her admitting anything out loud.

Almost everyone knew better by now than to bother her when she sat pensively by the window, and the only ones who could make her stand up and acknowledge them were Makino and Garp, anyway. Luckily, Garp hadn't come back since that first visit, and she was positive he would have dragged all three boys back by their hair if he had found them, so her life was currently peaceful.

Dull.

It wasn't like she necessarily wanted them back, either. She couldn't convince anyone she didn't have maternal instincts for the boys anymore, and having them close would have been a huge weight lifted from her sturdy shoulders… but at the same time, she knew why they hadn't come home. She knew why they couldn't. And if missing their entire childhood, entrusting them to the same world that had condemned them, lying awake some nights with no reassurance or tangible way to ensure their safety… if that was the price she paid as their mother for their chance at happiness and freedom, then she was sure as hell going to pay it with interest.

That didn't mean she couldn't hope for a few damn updates once in a while.


...


"If he doesn't recoil soon, I'm yanking," Ace warned.

"I'm ready to catch," Sabo promised.

"I'm ready for ricochet," Haruta added.

"I'm staying out of it," Lami chimed in, keeping up with the banter even though she was barely paying attention.

"I'm worried about all five of you," Rakuyo muttered, ushering Lami closer to Sabo while they walked. She obliged, not because she thought it was necessary, but because Rakuyo would only continue to fuss if she wandered too far from his little herd.

"You didn't need to escort us, you know," Haruta pointed out. "I can watch them."

"And we don't need supervision," Sabo added as a reminder.

"Maybe I'm lonely?" Rakuyo challenged. He couldn't argue that Haruta could handle the younger kids, or that more often than not, they handled themselves. Of course, someone was always looking out, either by hovering near the area the boys had gone or actually hovering over them once, in Marco's case - but the boys didn't need to know that.

"Incoming," Ace commented, pulling Rakuyo out of his thoughts.

"What?" He stared down at Ace for a moment, only for his words to click - claiming to be lonely even as a joke was not something one could do around Luffy without repercussions - and he barely had a chance to brace himself. Even prepared, it still felt like a rubber cannonball right to his chest, and it took everything he had to remain on his feet while accepting the rambunctious hug.

"If you braced with haki, it wouldn't hurt," Ace teased, folding both hands behind his head with a devilish grin. They could all hear Rakuyo wheezing even with Luffy's shouts that Rakuyo shouldn't be lonely.

"It'd bloody well hurt him," Rakuyo groaned, patting Luffy on the back and then letting him go.

Unfazed, Luffy snapped back into his regular shape and landed near Ace, jumping on his back in a hug instead. Ace simply took it in stride without losing an inch of composure as he grinned.

"Maybe he could use the life lesson?" Ace teased.

"Well someone else can teach it," Rakuyo huffed, rubbing his chest and checking for a Luffy-shaped bruise.

"You big softie," Haruta teased.

"Yar," Lami agreed, which only had the entire group - Rakuyo included - struggling not to laugh.

It was Rakuyo who regained his composure first, coughing and tossing his hair off one shoulder. He tried to look stern. "Just remember, even if the whole lot of you are capable of taking care of yourselves and wearing Oyaji's mark, that doesn't change how dangerous some of these islands can be," he huffed. "You're all younger than a typical pirate apprentice or cabin boy - be thankful you get to wander without supervision as often as you do!"

"Yar," Lami repeated, which only had the boys doubling over in laughter and Rakuyo struggling to keep his stern expression.

"Sounding more and more like a pirate every day," Haruta teased, holding his side as he straightened back up.

"I'm working on it. Some of the crewmembers said I should try tossing a few F-bombs in for shock value, but if I'm going to do something that drastic, I should probably save it," Lami chirped.

"Who told you to do that?! Does Kingdew know?! Does the pineapple know!?" Rakuyo demanded.

Giggling, Lami turned to look up at Rakuyo while they walked. "I can't tell you that. Snitches get stitches."

"WHO TOLD YOU THAT?!" Rakuyo all but exploded.

Lami burst out laughing. "Isn't that a rule?"

"Is it really?" Luffy asked, scrambling up onto Ace's shoulders to sit.

Ace barely reacted to suddenly having Luffy perched on top of him, even though Luffy's knees were digging into his shoulders and he had to move his hands to grasp Luffy's waist to keep him from squirming. "Probably. You don't sell out your friends."

"I'd never sell out my friends!" Luffy agreed.

"No one would ever expect you to sell out your friends, Luffy," Sabo promised, grinning up at him.

"And in any case, Luffy would probably never need stitches, anyway," Lami added. "Since his skin is rubber, as long as you close the wound tightly and bandage it, it should heal seamlessly. That's why his only scar is from before he ate his fruit."

Rakuyo snatched Luffy off of Ace's shoulders, hugging him. "I still can't believe you stabbed yourself in your bloody face!"

"I'm brave," Luffy answered, readily hugging onto Rakuyo instead.

Rakuyo sighed. He didn't want to admonish Luffy about whether or not it was brave to stab himself in the face. Half the crew had spit out food and drinks when they'd heard the story and the other half had laughed because it was such a Luffy thing to do, but no one wanted him repeating it.

"Aye, you're brave," Rakuyo agreed. "So no need to prove it by stabbing yourself ever again!"

"Shishishi," Luffy flopped backwards, bending so he could see everyone else. Even though Lami looked downright exhausted most days, and Sabo had kept to himself a little more than usual, everyone seemed to be in high spirits and happy to be on an excursion at a new island.

Sabo seemed anxious to get to the commerce section of town. According to Vista, the island they were on had impressive wares, boasting trades with every sea shy of the New World, and even with a strictly imposed budget that Sabo and Lami had worked out to get what they needed, neither one could deny wanting to look at everything.

That the vendors and restaurants boasted every kind of delicacy from each of those seas… well, Ace already knew where his funds were headed. Luffy's tongue had nearly fallen out of his face at the possibilities. Thatch hadn't been much better; Izo and Marco had both appeared to be losing patience with the chef while he revised and even tried to improvise his provisioning budget.

"Where are we going first? Just the first store we see, or someplace in particular?" Lami asked.

"Food!" Luffy supplied, throwing both hands into the air.

"We can stop and get food if we see any," Sabo agreed. "I'd like to find a store to buy stationary and a new journal - maybe a few more pens - and make sure I don't get tempted into buying something else."

"I'm hoping I can just… I don't know, resist temptation," Lami sighed. "I don't have any extra money to get frivolous things. I need some braces for my training and materials for weapon maintenance. Not to mention the notebooks, pens, ink… and some earplugs."

"Earplugs?" Ace questioned, reaching up to snag one of Luffy's hands so he could tug him off of Rakuyo and get him walking beside him again.

"Yeah…" Lami ducked her head, looking a little flustered. "It's just… really loud sometimes. It makes it harder for me to study."

"Even in the library?" Ace asked, looking surprised.

"Sometimes," Lami admitted. "It's not like anyone enforces the idea of being quiet in the library. And besides, most of the ones who make noise are just enjoying themselves."

"We should enforce it," Sabo decided. "We'll make it a rule."

"You don't have to-" Lami started, only to look up as Haruta chimed in.

"No, it's a good idea! The library is supposed to be quiet, after all." Haruta gave her a sheepish grin. "I know we're the ones making the noise sometimes when we come to see you."

"Well…" Lami fidgeted, then smiled. "I do appreciate it. At least while I'm in the library. I'm still going to get earplugs in case I want to be around everyone, like if I want to study in the galley."

"I can't even pretend to imagine studying in the galley," Sabo huffed, grinning. "Between the pranks and the rowdy pirates and the drunks-"

"Rude," Rakuyo muttered.

"-it seems like you really would need the Nagi Nagi no Mi to get anything done."

"Oh? Looking to become a hammer?" Rakuyo turned his interest to Lami, who blushed.

"I've mentioned it a few times to a few people," Lami admitted. "The book Teach let me have - I looked through it and that's one of the only ones that seemed appealing. I mostly use it now to study what other abilities might do in case I need to operate on someone who was injured by them, but… yeah. I don't want to push the issue and ask Oyaji for help, but if I could find it…"

"Sounds like an admirable ambition, lass," Rakuyo agreed. "I'll keep an eye out. Last thing we need is someone finding it and selling it for booze without knowing you wanted it."

"Bay said something like that," Lami murmured with a small smile.

"Ace! Ace, Sabo, meat!" Luffy interrupted the conversation, flailing his free arm and trying to point with the other, causing him to wiggle Ace's arm up and down.

"Okay, okay! I smell it too," Ace scolded, shaking his hand free and then grabbing onto Luffy's wrist before the smallest of the group could go rocketing off in search of food.

"Ugh. We just ate, though," Rakuyo complained.

"I'm actually pretty hungry, too," Lami realized. "I didn't think I was until I smelled it…"

"I'm not that hungry but I still want to try it," Sabo agreed, grabbing Haruta's wrist to tug him along. "C'mon!"

"Ack!" Haruta's undignified yelp had Rakuyo laughing as Ace and Luffy took off after their brothers.

"Guess we should sprint too, eh?" Rakuyo asked.

"Yar," Lami answered.


...


"Want any help carrying that?"

Sabo looked up, grinning sheepishly. While it was still difficult to recognize every member of the crew on sight when they went ashore, there were some who stood out. Gil was one of them, even though his looks weren't remarkable or noteworthy in any way. He reminded Sabo of Ace in some ways, how he pretended not to worry or care, only to give everything away with a single expression.

Of course, if Sabo stopped to think about it, Ace hadn't been acting that way for a while. He had his moments… but he'd opened up so much in such a short period of time; he was even positive about keeping Whitebeard's mark on his back instead of changing his mind to try and match Sabo or Haruta when it came up.

It hadn't escaped anyone's notice that Izo had started putting the full Jolly Roger on the backs of Ace's shirts, something Ace must have requested in private with a shy blush and a proud smile.

"Nah," Sabo answered, balancing his stack of stationary, journals, pens, and ink in one arm while he adjusted the other to more comfortably hold his impulse buy; a large, leatherbound book with blank pages and a sealed package of different craft supplies. Lami was somewhere in the store with Haruta carrying everything she needed him to, but Ace had taken Luffy outside to stop him from knocking anything else over. After making him bow and apologize for the mess. "I'm used to carrying a ton of stuff. Thanks though, Gil."

"No trouble, brat," Gil answered. "A few of the others are already talking about heading back if you want us to take your bags with us to free up space when you're done."

Sabo tilted his head to the side, glancing at Lami; her hands were full of notebooks and stationary, but in quantities higher than she'd expected to be buying. He hoped it was still within her budget. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. You sure you don't mind?"

"Not like I'm gonna organize it by color," Gil teased, reaching out to bop the side of his hat and send it askew, knowing full well Sabo wouldn't be able to fix it until his hands were both free. Sabo's scowl seemed to amuse him. "We'll just dump all the bags in your room and you guys can figure it out when you get back."

"Thanks," Sabo nodded, trying to get his hat back into place in the same motion. "I'm almost done - I'll see how Lami's faring."

"I'll be out front. Already got what I came here for," Gil answered, knocking his hat askew again on the way out.

"You ass," Sabo muttered, grinning when he heard Gil laughing all the way out the door. He steadied his loot again, then made his way over to Haruta and Lami. "I thought you weren't going to get any impulse buys, Lami."

"Don't judge me," Lami muttered, hiding her face in a stack of stationary. "It's… it's necessary."

Sabo raised an eyebrow, looking at everything Haruta had in his hands, and then back at her. "Necessary," he echoed in a skeptical, teasing voice.

"Necessary," Lami confirmed, cheeks flushing.

"Well, let's get our necessary supplies to the counter and buy them. Gil said he'd take all of this back to the ship for us so we can look around without having to carry it. He'll put it in my room with Ace and Luffy."

"Oh, that's kind of him!" Lami lit up at the idea of not having to cart around - or ask Haruta to help cart around - all of her purchases while they explored. "Is he waiting outside?"

"Yeah," Sabo confirmed, heading for the counter while they moved to follow. "Later, I'll find a way to get him back for messing with my hat, but for now, I'll be grateful that he's doing us a favor."

Haruta snickered. "We'll get him on the next prank. Fossa found some wood stains in neon colors. That stuff doesn't come out for weeks."

"Minimal stain on Gil, maximum on everyone else," Sabo decided.

Lami exhaled, shaking her head and moving past to place her items on the counter. Once she'd paid for everything, grimacing at the cost and all of her wasted budgeting, she took all her bags and stood to the side to wait for Sabo.

He couldn't help but grimace as well when he saw just how much over his budget he'd gone, but he didn't complain.

"Neither one of you stuck to your lists, did you?" Haruta scolded as they headed back out. "What was that giant book thing you got?"

"It's not exactly a book," Sabo explained, glancing over at Ace, Luffy, and Gil. It looked like Gil had gone to one of the nearby vendors to bring them both treats. Rakuyo was long gone, having followed a busty woman into a bar; Sabo made a mental note to tell Marco in case Rakuyo needed to be rescued from another drunk and likely naked game of poker. "It's a scrapbook."

"A scrapbook?" Lami echoed.

"It's like a photo album but you put more than photos in it. For memories," Sabo explained. "I want to keep my journals and write my book, but I also want to chronicle our lives in some way. One of the extra stickers I bought was a sheet of different utensils. Not sure why people want chopsticks or bentos but that's the point of scrapbooking - anything can embellish the memory. Anyway, the stickers had sake cups, so I'm going to start the book with three together and just sketch Dadan's sake bottle."

"Wow, that's actually really cool," Haruta admitted, impressed.

"I wonder if I should do something like that," Lami contemplated with a thoughtful look. "I don't have much of a life to remember right now, but I could start my own… a birthday cake with a calendar for October sixth, and then anything I remember, and all my new memories…"

"You guys could work on that together, too," Haruta added. "You could help each other or give each other ideas."

"Yeah…" Lami bit her lip. "I want to, but for now I can't afford to get a fancy scrapbook like that."

Haruta's expression fell. "Oh. Right." He glanced around, then shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, let's go give these bags to Gil and then go get the rest of the stuff you guys need. Before Luffy charms him into spending all his money on meat kebabs."

Lami banished all thoughts of the scrapbook from her mind, grinning and nodding. Her smile softened when she saw how happy Luffy looked. He was waving both arms while half-dancing a circle around Ace from his excitement, and Gil was doing his damndest not to blush and snatch him in a hug. He was fooling exactly one person. Luffy.

"Find everything you needed?" Ace asked, turning his head to look at them without disrupting Luffy's spastic movements.

"More than we needed," Sabo assured him, grinning. "Gil's taking it back to the ship for us."

"Did you get meat?" Luffy asked, hopping up into Sabo's arms and nearly making him drop his bags.

"No, you already got plenty," Sabo laughed, grinning at Gil when the older man came over to take the bags. "We're gonna look around some more - and then maybe get more meat for you."

"Maybe?" Luffy whined.

"Maybe," Ace confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If you don't wander off from us or complain, we'll definitely get you more meat," Haruta promised, which had Luffy's face lighting right back up.

"Just remember to stay out of trouble," Gil reminded them, taking the bags from Haruta and Lami as well. "Rakuyo's off to drink himself stupid - well, more stupid than usual - and almost everyone's distracted."

"We can handle it," Ace said, squaring his shoulders.

"Yeah, and if anyone starts giving us any kind of trouble we don't want to handle, we'll start shouting," Haruta promised.

"Okay," Gil relaxed at their reassurances, knowing full well that if any of them started to shout in legitimate alarm, a swarm of Whitebeard Pirates would descend upon whatever had caused the sound. "See you kids later."

"Bye bye, Grill!" Luffy cheered.

Haruta snorted into his hand, then turned to the others. "Let's hurry up before someone else sees us wandering and decides to come babysit."

"Agreed!" Sabo reached for Ace's arm, tugging him along as they took off down the street.

Lami stumbled once, her legs still sore and aching from one of the latest training sessions, but she kept pace without complaining.


...


His shoes slid on the training mat as he struggled from a rebound of Izo blocking a full-force pipe swing with only his arm, and it was only through years of honed instincts for danger and quick reaction time that Sabo managed to pivot on his heel and use the momentum to spring out of the way of a strike.

He'd never seen Izo use a sword before. When he'd shown up to his very first session, he'd expected to be dodging bullets or the butt of a pistol aimed at his head. He had not expected Izo to whip out a sword - a katana - and change his entire battle stance to match.

That also did not mean he had abandoned his pistols. There had been a few times where he'd moved his pipe to block a blade, only to find Izo had switched back without warning and there was no time to adjust for the difference.

He landed with a grunt, raising his pipe to go back on the offensive, only to yelp as he heard a shot being fired, the force of which knocked his weapon from his hands and sent a rattling vibration all the way from his hands to his toes. The blunt edge of a katana caught him in the side with enough force to leave a definite bruise and toss him like he weighed nothing.

"Oof!"

Sabo hit the ground and bounced, rolling several feet away until he smacked into a wall. His hat rolled off his head and landed near his pipe.

"Are you okay?" Thatch rushed over and knelt, looking ready to scoop him up and try to shield him from any further attacks.

"He's fine. His pride is probably bruised more than his body," Izo cut in, sauntering over and coming to a stop in front of them. "I made sure not to counter hard enough to actually hurt him beyond leaving a few welts."

Thatch shot him a dubious look, but Sabo managed to push himself up a moment later, grunting.

"I'm okay," Sabo promised. "I miscalculated that attack… and moving while concentrating on my haki is a lot harder than I thought it'd be."

"It's impressive that you managed what you did," Izo commended him. "But it's that hesitation - it's doubt - that weakens your haki in the first place. You need to remove all doubt."

"Removing all doubt…" Sabo started to stumble over to his hat, but Thatch got there first, picking it up and handing it back to him along with his pipe. "Wouldn't that just be arrogance?"

"Only if you choose to be arrogant," Izo answered. He regarded Sabo for a moment before sheathing his katana, clearly calling an end to the training for the day. "I want you to watch something."

Sabo tilted his head to the side in kind, idly twirling his pipe in one hand.

"Thatch, I want to shoot you twice. Stomach," Izo said, withdrawing one of his pistols.

"I don't think I need such a drastic demonstration-" Sabo started, nearly dropping his pipe, but Thatch waved him off with a grin.

"It's cool," he promised Sabo. "This is one of the things haki is for. And even if Izo uses his, I'm sure I can guard against it. This is why I got scolded so much when Ace stabbed me back in East Blue - I really could have stopped it from hurting me."

Sabo looked between the two of them with uncertainty. "I know, I mean, I've heard you can do things like stop bullets and blades in addition to sensing attacks, but…"

"So far, the most demonstration you've seen has been during drunken competitions and Ace's training," Izo continued. "You need to understand what you're up against and what you're trying to accomplish. That's why it's so important for Ace to learn haki. Marco would never test a lethal attack during training with Ace, not at this stage anyway, but make no mistake. A lethal haki-infused attack will negate his abilities to turn into fire to avoid it. My bullets, someone's sword, a punch… Luffy is going to need to learn too, and this is why. Now, watch closely. This should explain better than words."

Sabo grimaced, but he let his pipe touch the ground, holding it straight and leaning most of his weight on it as he nodded with understanding.

"Izo is going to use haki on his bullets - they would go through fire and someone's rubber abilities as if they were made of kairouseki," Thatch explained. He took his stance and tore open his jacket to reveal his scarred chest, bracing himself. "I'm going to match his haki with mine so the bullets just bounce off."

"And if none of this actually works the way you said, do I get Bay or Jiru first?" Sabo asked, only to nearly jump out of his skin as Izo raised his pistol and fired two shots without so much as a warning. Thatch staggered back two steps, the grin never leaving his face as the bullets hit his stomach, the sound closer to a 'thud' than a 'clang', before both bullets fell to the ground, smoking.

Izo quietly holstered the pistol, shooting Sabo a look, though it didn't last, his gaze returning to Thatch out of the corner of his eye.

"Ace's knife should have broken on my arm that first night," Thatch explained, straightening up so he could button his jacket again. He seemed completely unfazed by the display, which Sabo had found to be nothing short of amazing. "In Paradise, not using haki might not be that big of a deal, especially for a logia user, but in the New World, it's a quick way to get yourself killed."

Sabo's pipe hit the floor again, his eyes fixed on the bullets and his mind racing. The casual tone of Thatch's voice told him just how far he had to catch up. And not just to Ace - to everyone, to everything that could hurt Ace or Luffy, too. "How… how long do you think it'll be before I can do that?"

"With regular bullets, it'll depend on how hard you work. Against someone using haki… it depends on how strong you get as you learn," Izo answered. "After the way this session went, I think I want to work more on your observation haki first. Make sure you're strengthening your swing in the meantime."

Sabo nodded, kneeling down to pick up his pipe. He hadn't really been hurt save for a dull ache in his side that reminded him of training with Garp, but his stamina and endurance had been put to the test and he felt ready to drop. "I'll practice on the dummy in our room during my free time."

Izo nodded with clear approval, glancing back at Thatch as he finished with his jacket.

"I better go help with inventory before dinner prep," Thatch chuckled, taking a moment to smooth and fluff his pompadour. "See you there?"

"Yeah… hey, Thatch? You've joked about Izo greeting you with guns out all the time. Are you using haki when that happens?" Sabo asked, looking back up.

"What, when Izo's cranky with me or I've been gone a while? Nah," Thatch flashed a bright, sunshine grin. "Izo would never actually hurt me. His bullets never hit anything he doesn't intend for them to hit, so even if I startled him, he'd make sure to pull his shot. I trust him enough to not need it. That's why he had to tell me his intentions today, to make sure I guarded properly."

"Oh," Sabo answered as Thatch waved over his shoulder and headed from the room. He turned to Izo to ask if that was true or if Thatch just wasn't cautious enough, only to go still at the look on Izo's face.

The other man hadn't moved from the spot, staring after the carefree chef with a complicated expression of endearment and pain, and in the split second before he was able to compose himself, Sabo saw far more than he probably should have. He knew for sure when Izo turned to look at him, as if just remembering he was there, and quickly tried to look away to hide his expression.

"Huh," Sabo's voice came out soft and thoughtful. The silence stretched on for several moments as he warred with the idea of pretending he hadn't seen anything versus saying something to comfort Izo, when he finally asked, "Thatch really is an idiot, isn't he?"

"You have no idea," Izo murmured in reply.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm not gonna say anything," Sabo promised. He headed for the door, hesitating briefly to turn and offer a bright smile. "You're really cool, Izo."

Izo watched him go in silence, then smiled, shaking his head. He hadn't intended for any of his younger siblings to find out like that, or at all, but he found he didn't mind Sabo knowing. He had the tact to keep it to himself and the presence of mind to keep him from slipping or changing his behavior. Even his parting words… he clearly understood the situation, and Izo's intentions in keeping his feelings to himself.

He walked over to the section of the training room Thatch had just been standing, then knelt to retrieve his bullets, holding them in his palm before closing his hand around them and standing with a melancholy smile.


...


"Where were you, anyway?" Haruta shot Thatch a shrewd look. "How are we supposed to do kitchen duty when the kitchen is chaos? Some of them told us to count potatoes. Count. Potatoes."

Thatch rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh. "Sorry, sorry! I honestly forgot you two had kitchen duty. Everyone else just kinda knows what to do without having any orders unless I need something specific. And it's not the potatoes I need counted - we need to do inventory on all the supplies we got from the island!"

"Inventory on each individual potato?" Lami questioned, shooting the crates and satchels a dubious look.

"I don't know who said anything about potatoes, but no!" Thatch laughed. "We're counting fruit!"

"...fruit," Haruta echoed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Thatch cried, throwing a hand over his chest like the word had physically struck him. "Yes, fruit! This island is a treasure trove for chefs!"

"That's true, with commerce reaching each of the four Blues, it's a convenient trading post with fair prices if there's a particularly exotic or native ingredient you're looking for," Lami soothed him. "It'll be exciting to, er, count fruit with you."

"Lami understands me," Thatch sighed with dramatic flair. "Most of the spices and base ingredients are being handled by the other division members, but the fruit is usually my responsibility, and since you two are still new, you get to work with me on this."

"I don't remember you specifically being a fruit wrangler," Haruta commented, skeptical.

"Not when it's normal fruit, but when it's imported like this? It's all me," Thatch puffed up, motioning for them to follow him towards the crates they had in storage. There were empty containers, wire mesh shelving and bags to sort everything, and a clipboard with daunting script adorning every single crate.

"So… it looks like boxes of fruit," Haruta pointed out.

"Yes, but since these come from North Blue, South Blue, and West Blue, we have no idea what might have hitched a ride," Thatch reasoned. "Last time I got a delivery from West Blue, there was a nest of spider-scorpions in the corner and they jumped out while I was trying to count the coconut grapes. I almost pissed myself!"

Lami wasn't sure which part short-circuited her brain the most. That he'd just said 'coconut grapes', or that there had been spider-scorpions waiting to attack him. Or that something called a spider-scorpion existed.

"S-spider-scorpions?" Haruta echoed, eyes wide, clearly having the same struggle.

Lami snapped out of it at the tone of his voice, then lifted an eyebrow and studied his expression with a sly grin."Are you scared of spiders, Haruta?"

"No!" Haruta insisted, flustered. He wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Well, I'm not afraid of spiders or scorpions," Lami decided, and she found her claim to ring true as far as her memories could tell her. "Coconut grapes though… that sounds frightening."

"Tedious but delicious," Thatch promised. "And it's not like I'd have my little novice helpers harvesting the meat out of coconut grapes for me. I have division members for that," he teased.

"I'd like to learn how sometime," Haruta admitted, even though he was casting wary glances towards every single crate like he expected something to jump out specifically at him.

"Then I'll teach you if we got any," Thatch told him, cracking his knuckles. "Let's start with this crate. The inventory list says it's from West Blue."

Lami moved to tie her hair back in a messy ponytail, reaching for the clipboard once she was done. Thatch readily handed it to her before cracking the crate open with a plain old crowbar despite Haruta hissing at him to use his scimitar.

It took them the better part of two hours to get through the first batch of crates, warring with the idea of doing just one more while they had time or leaving it for later. In the end, Lami offered to do it on her own since she had less to do after - Haruta would have training with Vista and Thatch had to work on dinner prep, while her options were study or rest - and Thatch decided one more wouldn't hurt so she wouldn't be doing it alone. Or, he had boasted, without protection. After all, there hadn't been any surprises yet, but that didn't mean they were in the clear.

He had just pried the lid off when the door opened, but instead of a member of his division coming to report or offer assistance, it was Rakuyo. His cheeks were still a little flushed and his hair seemed to be a little more east than normal, but he had clearly come to check on them all. Or at least check on Lami and Haruta.

"Hey Rakuyo," Haruta greeted, already accepting a giant bag of candy-red fruit with glossy skin. They were the size of regular apples and a little mesmerizing to look at. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just thought I'd see what you were up to," Rakuyo answered with a mild slur in his voice. "Haven't seen you since we went ashore!"

"You wandered into a bar and ditched us," Haruta reminded him.

"Bah! You don't need babysitters," he reasoned, contradicting his usual actions and making his way over to Lami to sit beside her. "What do you have there, lass?"

"The inventory list from this crate," Lami answered. She'd seemed to enjoy cataloguing and organizing, so Thatch and Haruta had left that part entirely up to her. "This is supposed to be a crate from Minion Island in North Blue, containing a special kind of apple that you have to boil before you cook, strawberries that are harvested in the snow and ripen while frozen, and pears that come naturally in the shape of a spiral. Those are best when roasted," she mused, looking over the list and notes.

"Oh, I like those pear thingies," Rakuyo agreed. "Thatch makes a nice drink infused with the pear flavor and cinnamon, and he uses the roasted skin as a garnish. You should try it when you're old enough!"

"I will," Lami decided, barely holding back a laugh when she saw how much Thatch was sparkling.

"Rakuyo! You do pay attention to my recipes!" Thatch cried, abandoning his work to tackle his brother in a hug.

"Meanwhile, I'll get to work actually counting these," Haruta informed Lami, shaking his head as Rakuyo's attempts to push Thatch off led to them rolling around.

"Appreciated," Lami told him, tapping her pen against the paper as she watched him open the bag of apples. It seemed to be the largest from the crate, but due to the size, had the least number of individual fruits. "Do you want any help?"

"Nah, I got it," Haruta promised, flashing her a grin before he started to transfer each apple into the designated bag, counting them.

"Alright, alright! Do you want them doing all the work?" Rakuyo demanded, finally managing to shove Thatch off of him.

"Well, no," Thatch relented, fixing his pompadour and then heading over to collect the smaller crates that he knew contained the pears. "Come help me count these."

"I didn't come here to get suckered into fruit inventory," Rakuyo griped. He joined Thatch anyway, yanking one of the boxes open with his bare hands.

"And yet, here you are," Lami teased with a sweet smile.

"I just don't want this fool pinning all the work on you two!" Rakuyo scowled.

"Appreciated," Lami chirped, hiding a giggle behind the clipboard. She watched them both start filling small mesh sacks with spiral pears, counting them off in twenties before starting a new bag, only to pause when she noticed Haruta had stopped moving. She hadn't been watching him, but she'd been aware of his movements out of the corner of her eye.

She turned to look at him, to ask if something was wrong, but the question died on the tip of her tongue when she saw the look on his face. He'd barely even started counting the apples, eyes locked on the bag in front of him, and he seemed stunned.

"Haruta?" she ventured after a moment of watching him, her voice uncertain. It was uncertain enough that both Rakuyo and Thatch stopped what they were doing to pay attention.

"Lami, is this… is this it?" Haruta whispered.

"Is what…?" Lami stood, closing the distance between them with the intention of sitting next to him. She froze almost immediately once she made it to his side, eyes widening and clipboard falling from her hands.

"What's all the fuss about?" Rakuyo asked, moving to stand with Thatch's help as the other man quietly made his way over.

"Oh - hey, that's not even the first time this has happened." Thatch laughed, putting his hands on his hips. "One time, a shipment from South Blue had two Devil Fruits in it!"

"Ah, a Devil Fruit, huh? Is this your first time seeing one?" Rakuyo asked, grinning.

"No, I…" Lami trailed off, swallowing. "Yes, yes it's my first time seeing one, but…"

"The book Teach gave Lami has pictures for almost every fruit," Haruta explained, looking up from where he sat almost perfectly still, the Devil Fruit cradled in both hands like he was afraid it would turn into a normal fruit the moment he let go. "This looks like the Nagi Nagi no Mi… right?"

"It doesn't look like it," Lami whispered, her voice shaking. "That's it. I'm sure of it!"

"Oh, the fruit you wanted?" Rakuyo threw his head back with a raucous laugh. "What a coincidence!"

"That's the one you wanted?" Thatch asked, casually plucking it from Haruta's hand to examine it. Even toss it up and down a few times while Haruta wordlessly panicked.

"Yes," Lami blurted out, staring up at Thatch, at the fruit, with wide eyes. Both hands came up to clasp together in an almost pleading manner. "Thatch - Thatch, I know the fruit belongs to whoever found it or bought it so that means it'd be yours, and I don't have much money right now, and I don't know how much they cost, but if you let me pay you back I'll save every coin I get from now on, and I'll peel all the potatoes or clean the galley or-"

"Whoa!" Thatch cut Lami off with a cheerful, joyful laugh. "Slow down, Lami-chan! You want it, right? Go ahead!" He punctuated the last word by tossing the fruit right towards her clasped hands, grinning with pure affection when she fumbled to catch it and wound up hugging it to her chest. "You don't have to buy it from me. You can just have it."

"I… I can what?" Lami asked, tearing her gaze from the swirling patterns on the fruit to look Thatch in the eye. "But everyone says those are worth a fortune!"

"Yeah, well, I really do have everything I need already," Thatch said with a sappy grin. "And if I was gonna become a user, it wouldn't be for this particular fruit. I'm number two in hammer-saving, you know - Namur barely has me beat, and he's a cheater because he's a fish!"

"Telling him you said that," Haruta muttered under his breath, making Thatch gasp. Neither one argued or bantered further than that, though, both giving Lami their attention as she drew in another soft breath and looked back at the fruit.

"Well, what do you say, lass? You wanted it, right?" Rakuyo asked, grin softening at the way Lami held the fruit to her chest. "Take a bite, already! And Thatch, grab something else for her to eat after so she doesn't get stuck with the taste…"

"Uh…" Thatch looked around frantically, which had Rakuyo rolling his eyes and reaching into his own pocket. He pulled his hand back out, three pieces of candy in his palm.

"Why do you have candy in your pocket?" Haruta asked with a suspicious frown.

"No reason. I didn't know it was there," Rakuyo lied.

"It's for Luffy, usually," Lami mumbled absently, tracing the swirling pattern near the top of the fruit. "Thatch… is it really okay?"

"Of course it is," Thatch promised, moving closer and then kneeling in front of her. He reached up to put one of his hands on her shoulder, smiling. "Even if I did need the money, or I did want the ability, this is something you put a lot of thought and consideration into, right? That's what you do with all of your decisions. I want to support your ambitions, Lami-chan. So. What are you waiting for?"

Lami swallowed, eyes burning as she struggled to hold back her tears. "Who the hell knows?" she asked, lifting the fruit with one hand and taking a giant bite while the others grinned at her.


...


Dadan,

How have things been on the mountain? I'll bet it's quiet. Not too quiet, I hope.

I know it's been a while since we sent you that picture to let you know we were safe. I guess all I can say in our defense is that time really flies. It somehow feels like yesterday we were living in our treehouse, while also managing to feel like a thousand years since we set out to rescue Luffy.

I don't know what kind of questions you might have, but I'll try to answer everything. And more.

We aren't on our own. You and Makino and the others don't have to worry about that. The same people who rescued Luffy took all of us with them back to their captain. He's apparently really famous. Have you ever heard of Whitebeard? Anyway, he calls his crew his sons and daughters, and we all call him 'Oyaji'. Ah, about that… Ace and I joined the crew and plan to take his mark when we turn sixteen. All of Oyaji's sons and daughters have it. Izo has been sewing it into our clothes so everyone else knows not to mess with us. Ace wants his mark on his back - that's where Oyaji's is. Should I put mine on my chest or arm? Luffy wears it on his back most of the time too just because Ace does, but he already said he won't get the mark since he's going to leave eventually to start his own crew. He wants to be the captain, after all.

No one minds it, though. He's still considered an honorary crewmember and always will be.

We're the youngest. Well, Luffy is. There are five of us that the crew considers 'children'. Haruta is the oldest. He's fourteen, almost fifteen. Lami is next - we think she's thirteen but we don't know for sure. She has amnesia. She chose a birthday in October, though, so she'll be fourteen before the end of the year. Did you know Ace is older than me? We don't really count it that way, though. When it comes to the three of us, we're the eldest brothers, and Luffy is our little brother.

You'd be proud of how far we've all come. Did you know Ace ate a Devil Fruit? He's become living fire. Oyaji got the fruit for him, but he's the one who took the step to ask for it. Oyaji gave it to him for Children's Day. (I got new goggles and a sturdy pipe. Luffy got a huge party and a giant meat cake.) Want to know the coolest part? Ace trained with Marco to make sure his fire only burned what he wanted. He has never burned anyone by accident. Luffy even jumped on him immediately after he showed us his ability and startled Ace, but Luffy never doubted his belief that Ace's fire wouldn't hurt him. He had complete faith because it's Ace.

Luffy really is something, isn't he?

Me and Ace are both learning to use something called 'haki'. Ace has a kind that can knock people out if it's strong enough, but we both need to practice the other two kinds. I'm training with Izo and Thatch - they're commanders on Oyaji's ship, just like Marco. Oh. I guess I'll explain more about Marco in a bit. Anyway, I asked Thatch to train me and he agreed, but Izo invited himself along and took over most of it. I don't mind. That means two commanders are helping me get stronger. I get the feeling Izo stepped in to help because Thatch can't swing at me with real intent to hurt me, which means he's holding back too much to help me improve the way I need to. Can you believe we actually thought someone like that could have killed Luffy? Well, in our defense, we didn't know any of them back then. We were told a Whitebeard Pirate killed Bluejam and blew up his boat, along with his hostage.

Thatch is the one who actually rescued Luffy. He's been there for us from the start. He's also Luffy's favorite because he's a chef and it seems like feeding other people and making them smile is what he enjoys most in life. Also, pranks. So many pranks. It's the best.

They all know about Ace. At first, I had to convince him to try and tell at least one person he considered trustworthy. He told Marco. Marco is basically everyone's big brother. The First Mate and First Division Commander. Ace respects him a lot. I think he's more attached to Marco than any of our other new brothers and sisters. Also, according to Luffy, they can be our brothers and sisters, but we three are 'special brothers' with a deeper bond. It makes Ace get all red and flustered, but it just makes me proud.

Anyway, after Ace told Marco, he decided we could stay, and he even came to me to tell me he was gonna tell Thatch! Izo and Haruta would have been next, I'm sure… but before he could tell them at his pace, we had… um, an incident. The short version is, Luffy blurted it out in front of the entire crew. And one of the allied crews. Turns out he'd also already let it slip to Oyaji himself at some point, then asked him to forget he heard it. And Oyaji really did pretend he'd never heard it because it didn't matter to him, and because Luffy wasn't supposed to tell him.

Everyone loves Ace, Dadan. I knew they would. The best part is, I think he might be starting to love himself.

Want to hear something funny? Ace asked Izo to teach him manners. He's trying to be polite and respectful. Probably entirely for Luffy's sake. He said he wants to thank Shanks someday for saving Luffy's life, but that's a pretty small amount of etiquette to learn if that's his only goal. He's going way overboard.

We have chores and stuff, too. Each division does something different, and we all kind of take turns rotating around them to help out. We get a pirate allowance to spend when we go ashore. That's how I'm going to buy new stationary, and a journal so I can start writing about everything I see. I want to explore the entire world and write a book about everything I've seen, everyone I've met, and all the adventures we've all had. I haven't written anything special yet, but I promise I will. I also have to buy some stationary for Lami… I'm using hers to write this since I don't have my own and I don't want to rely on the other crew members to just give me everything I ask for whenever I want something. (They'll do it. Seriously.)

Ace spends most of his allowance on meat for Luffy. He's not fooling anyone when he says he's not doting on Luffy.

I know you won't sell us out, but it's important Jiji doesn't find out where we are. I don't think he'd care about attacking an infamous pirate to drag us back. And… as strong as he is, it's not like I want the pirates to wreck him either, you know? So if you try to send us a letter or anything, just make sure he doesn't see it? Or my letters to you.

Is Makino still visiting? Luffy was really angry about Bluejam hitting her, and so are we, but we all know Makino is one tough broad. Oops. Izo told me not to refer to women as broads. Bay gave us a lesson about old hags, too. Being polite is complicated, isn't it?

And I hope my last letter didn't bother you, even though I know you'd probably kick us right back off the mountain if we came home now that I've said it - but if anyone asks, my parents aren't those stupid nobles in Goa. My father is Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world (everyone here says that about him so why shouldn't I?) And my mother is Dadan, the strongest mountain bandit in all of East Blue. (I haven't told anyone else I'd say it that way except Haruta, and he said something about people getting a weird idea about you and Oyaji. I don't know what that means.)

Also, as insane as it is, that crazy old man is my grandfather too - because Luffy and Ace are my brothers, and nothing will ever change that.

We'll keep getting stronger every day. If you don't want me to keep writing, just find a way to let me know. And if I don't hear anything, I'll know you're calling me a little shit and trying not to let anyone see you crying. Tell everyone we said 'hi' once you compose yourself! :)

Sabo


...


Dadan folded the letter, pressing it to her chest while she kept her back to the rest of the bandits and their inquiring gazes. The taste of tobacco filled her mouth with an unpleasant and bitter jolt as she bit down hard enough to tear right through her cigarette in an attempt to stifle her reaction to the letter. Even as Makino - who'd happened to be visiting that night to cook for them - placed a hand on her shoulder with a knowing smile, she didn't let anyone see her face.

"Oi, Magra," Dadan grunted.

"Y-yes?" he stammered, clearly worried about her emotional state.

"Get me some paper and a pen. And a box. We're sending those brats a package."

Makino laughed softly, accepting the letter as Dadan handed it off for her to read. She was the only other person allowed to read the letters in their entirety. "I'll need time to prepare something for them…"

"That's fine," Dadan huffed. "I'm not sending it right now." She kept her gaze on the window.

The tears streaming down her cheeks tasted salty yet somehow comforting as her lips curved into a smile.


...


A/N: GUESS WHAT! I AM ALREADY WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER AND I HAVE NOTES THROUGH CHAPTER 35 GOOD TO GO :D ASCAISIL IS CHEERING FOR ME. And also, she drew me the best fking thing in the world which I will probably make into cover art for this story.

I'm also going to try to learn AO3 posting finally, because I've been living over there in the BNHA fandom and I should really just quit being a squirrel.

SO MUCH LOVE! Thank you everyone who has stuck with me through these last 3 years. Your reviews have made me cry, your messages have made me turn into a pillbug and Dadan my way to the nearest wall, and the support makes me so happy I decided to post my writing.

See you next time!

~Mithril