Chapter 1: Brothers

(Hey guyz~! So I came up with this idea about a week ago but didn't know if I should make it. In the end, I asked if it should be made and I got a few people to say I should make it. I don't know if this is a one-shot or not. You tell me after reading okay? On to the crap!)

Luffy was being strangely quiet. Everyone knew he was different because he had lost Ace two years ago and they were separated the whole time, but he was being too quiet for their liking. Luffy was just sitting on Sunny's head; his legs crossed, hands in his lap, and staring blankly out to the sea. Every once in a while, someone would look over at him and see him shutter slightly. If you listened close enough, and somehow managed to block out the sounds of the small waves hitting their ship, you could hear Luffy almost sniffling. A clear sign the boy was crying but trying not to show it.

After a few minutes of sitting in his spot, Luffy put his infamous straw hat on his head, allowing it to shadow his eyes. He turned around and jumped down on to the deck. Slowly and quietly he made his way to the kitchen. Everyone had started to ease up, believing the boy would just try to get into the fridge and steal something to eat. But that wasn't it at all.

When Luffy came back out of the kitchen, he was holding three red cups and a bottle of sake. Normally Nami, Zoro, and Sanji would have been mad – seeing as how the boy had just broke into the kitchen and took an expensive bottle of sake – but that wasn't the case. Instead they were all curious, worried even. Everyone knew how much Luffy hated alcohol. So why did he have it?

Luffy stopped in the middle of the lawn deck and turned his head as if looking for something, his hat still covering his eyes and half his face. Slowly Luffy walked over to Robin and Chopper, who were sitting at one of the tables with Robin reading to Chopper while he was coloring something. Robin looked up at her captain questioningly when he stopped at the table. He pointed at the marker while with his head turned slightly towards Chopper, almost as if asking for permission to use it. Chopper nodded and handed the spare marker to his captain who nodded his thanks.

Luffy slowly turned back towards Sunny's figure head and went back to sitting on it. He placed the three cups in a small circle in front of him and uncapped the marker before writing a small letter on each cup. The first having an 'A', the second having an 'S', and the last one having an 'L'. He put the cap back on the marker before putting it in his lap and opening the sake. Slowly and carefully, he poured the sake into the cups until they were filled. He closed the bottle and placed it back in his lap before grabbing the cup with the 'L'.

"...I'm sorry... To being brothers..." Luffy said in a shaky and quiet tone before downing the contents of the cup.

"Luffy...?" Nami called out quietly.

Luffy flinched at the sudden sound and slightly turned his head towards Nami, showing she had his attention.

"Are... Are you okay?" Nami asked slowly. "You aren't acting like yourself."

Luffy hesitated for a moment before slightly nodding his head. He didn't want to worry his friends so he thought he would lie. His body betrayed him though and he started shaking as tears streamed down his cheeks again. The only thing saving Luffy was the fact that he had his back to his friends so they couldn't see.

"Luffy..." Chopper whispered with worry, having heard the faint sounds of sniffling.

In an attempt to help his captain, Chopper slowly walked up to Luffy and gave him a small hug from behind. Chopper felt Luffy flinch but didn't let go. After a few moments, Luffy turned slightly and grabbed the small doctor. Chopper was surprised when Luffy gave him a hug and buried his face into the reindeer's hat. After a few seconds, Chopper could hear Luffy crying again. The gasping of breath and feeling of shaking worried Chopper and the small doctor just hugged his captain back. A minute or so passed before Luffy let go of Chopper.

"Sorry..." Luffy muttered with a shaky breath, eyes still covered.

"Why are you crying? You can tell us." Chopper whispered.

"It's nothing... Just... Today's painful..." Luffy explained.

"What do you mean?" Chopper pressed on.

"Twelve years ago today... It was the happiest day of my life... Now its almost the saddest... It was the day I stopped being lonely... But now their gone..." Luffy muttered, his voice fading off towards the end as another tear fell down his cheek.

"...I miss them so much..." Luffy whispered as he reached towards the sake filled cups.

Chopper looked at the cups and noticed the letters, "'ASL'?" the small boy questioned.

Luffy nodded, a small smile forming on his lips before fading.

"Who are they?" Chopper asked.

"Ace, Sabo, Luffy. It was for me and my brothers." Luffy stated.

"Sabo?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah... He was my older brother..." Luffy chuckled slightly to himself. "He was always nicer than Ace... He was smart, nice, fun, and strong..."

"'Was'?" Chopper asked, almost fearing the answer.

Immediately, the small smile that was forming on Luffy's lips, fell. "He... He died twelve years ago... He was trying to escape from his parents and our island when a Celestial Dragon shot his boat and killed him." Luffy explained.

Chopper was speechless. Luffy had two brothers? And now both of them were gone? Chopper was angry at himself for not knowing. But how could he have known? Luffy never mentioned him. Hell they wouldn't have known about him and Ace being brothers if they didn't run into the older in Alabasta.

"'His parents'? Don't you mean your parents?" Nami asked quietly.

Luffy turned his head slightly, almost forgetting the rest of the crew that was behind him. "Ace, Sabo, and I weren't related. Ace and I were left by my gramps to be raised by mountain bandits so we would be strong Marines. Messed up logic, I know. Sabo was a noble who hated his parents and all other nobles. He ran away and met Ace. A few years later I came in and met them. We were just misfits." Luffy explained.

"Then you aren't brothers?" Zoro asked bluntly.

"Yes we are!" Luffy shouted angrily as he spun around completely to glare at Zoro.

Everyone knew those eyes. Whoever those eyes were aimed at was usually an enemy that had pissed of Luffy to no end. But the boy never showed those eyes to any of them – except maybe Robin or Franky but that was before Luffy really knew them. Seeing Luffy look at his best friend and first mate like that meant the swordsman had touched a nerve.

"We are brothers! No one can take that away from me! They saved me! They saved me from my loneliness and pain. Being alone... It hurts far more than physical pain ever could... They brought me away from that. We even made a vow of brotherhood. Twelve years ago today we became brothers, and I thought I'd never be lonely again. How wrong I was..." Luffy said as he calmed down and his hat covered his eyes again.

"Luffy..." Nami whispered in shock.

"I'm not surprised you don't understand. You all had someone to raise you correctly. Chopper and Robin are the only one's that would be able to understand. I lived seven years in a village by myself without knowing who my parents were. Only one person truly helped me until Shanks came along. Makino wasn't my mom but she treated me like her son. Then gramps came and took me away from her to be raised by mountain bandits instead. The first thing they told me was I had to fend for myself. They wouldn't feed me unless I worked. They didn't care about me at all in the beginning. The only person I thought I could have a chance at getting along with was Ace and he hated me.

"Everyday I would try to hang out with him and he would just try to kill me. Throw me off a bridge, roll a boulder down a cliff and run me over, break trees and make them land on me or roll them down and hope they hit me, etc. He hated me but I kept chasing him. Eventually I started getting faster and avoided most the stuff he sent at me. I followed him to Gray Terminal and back towards the forest again. That's when I met Sabo. He even wanted to kill me because I knew where all their gold was, where their pirate fund was. Some guys were looking for them and my screams for help brought them. Ace and Sabo hid while the guys found me. They wanted the money, bu I never told. If I told then Ace and Sabo would hate me even more and I would still be lonely. Those men tortured me. They tied me up, hung me from the ceiling, and punched me with spiked gloves. When they were about the kill me, Ace and Sabo saved me.

"After Ace and Sabo beat them up, they helped me with my wounds. That night Sabo stayed with us and the bandits. Everyday we hunted and brought home dinner. Everyday we got just a little closer. Eventually, Ace told us if we exchanged sake cups, we would be brothers. He said 'When we become pirates, we might not be crewmates on the same ship but our bonds will keep us together as brothers. No matter where we are or what we do, our bond will not be broken.' After that, we decided to make a secret base. It was amazing. Just the three of us built it and lived in it. At the top we had our flag and an amazing view of the entire island. But then a storm came and destroyed a good amount of it. That storm was the first thing to ruin our happiness and started a huge chain of events that didn't end well.

"We went to Gray Terminal again and started getting pieces we could use to repair the base. That's when Sabo's dad found us... He forced Sabo to go back with the threat of hurting Ace and me. That was the last time we saw Sabo... A few days later, Gray Terminal was burning down and Ace and I were stuck in the middle of it. Some pirates came and started yelling at us to hand over our pirate funds or else they would kill me. Ace did as told and they turned on us. They attacked us. When they were about to kill me, Ace yelled at them to stop and they all fell unconscious except for the captain. He was about to kill Ace when the mountain bandits came and stopped him. Dadan, the leader, told the mountain bandits to get me out of there as her and Ace fought. They were missing for three days. I wanted to find Ace. I knew Sabo was safe because he was in the city but nobody had heard anything from Ace or Dadan. But just as I was about to go look for them, they returned. Dadan had used herself as a shield from the flames so Ace would be safe. But both were alive. Everyone started getting happier.

"A day or two later, one of the bandits, Dogra, had returned and told us he saw Sabo on a small boat heading out to sea. But a ship was coming in, carrying a Celestial Dragon. The Celestial Dragon shot Sabo's boat... He killed my brother... Ace snapped and had to be tied to a tree so that he wouldn't hunt down the Celestial Dragon, Saint Jalmack. The next day we got a letter. The letter was for me and Ace from Sabo. Ace was untied and he walked away with the letter. I followed him in secret and saw him stop at a cliff before he started crying. That was the first time I ever saw him cry... The next day he found me on that same cliff, crying. He punched me and told me 'A man doesn't show his tears'. That was the day I promised to get stronger so I wouldn't lose anyone important ever again. Ace made me promise we would live without regrets. I told Ace not to die... He even promised he wouldn't. He told me 'There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you.' He lied...

"He died in my arms and Marineford after telling me he had one regret. That he couldn't see me live my dream. He broke our only two promises... And his promise to Sabo. Sabo's letter said for Ace to watch over me and never leave me alone... You have no idea how painful that is..." Luffy explained, tears pouring down his cheeks towards the end.

"Luffy..." Nami muttered in shock, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to hold back her tears unlike Chopper, Usopp, and Franky.

"Luffy!" Chopper and Usopp cried as they hugged their captain.

"That's so beautiful and so sad..." Brook said quietly.

"Your bro's sounded like great guys Luffy-bro!" Franky cried while trying to wipe away the tears.

"Sorry Luffy... I didn't know..." Zoro muttered.

"Luffy-san? Do you mind describing Sabo-san?" Robin asked.

"Blonde, curly hair. Dark blue eyes. Had a gap in his teeth. Always wore a blue tail coat and a black top hat with blue goggles on it." Luffy described quietly.

"What did he use as a weapon?" Robin asked.

"The three of us used pipes to fight." Luffy said. "Why do you ask?"

"He reminds me of someone I knew. But if what you say is true then I suppose I'm wrong." Robin said.

There were a few moments of silence before everyone heard a sigh.

"Damn... Now I feel bad..." An unfamiliar voice said.

Everyone looked around but didn't see anyone new.

"Hey... Are you crying?" The voice asked before the sound of someone being punched was heard. "Ow! Don't hit me!"

Everyone was on guard at this point, in case the voice belong to an attacker. Luffy wiped his eyes and stood up. "Who's there?" he called out.

"Man... You got soft." the voice said only to be punched again. "OW! I said stop hitting me! It's not my fault you can't keep your emotions at bay it comes to Lu!"

Luffy froze. Nobody called him that. Not even his own crew. Only two people did. But they were dead! Luffy fought with himself for a few more moments before slowly heading to the railing.

"Seriously... Do you want him to see you like this?" a pause. "Ha! Missed me! Ow! Seriously! Stop. Hitting. Me!"

"Stop making fun of me!" A second and slightly more familiar voice sounded.

"It isn't my fault you're a baby!" The first voice said.

"I'm older than you!" the second shouted.

"So? Age doesn't matter. I'm more mature while you might as well be a baby!" the first voice teezed, sounding like he was smiling.

"Shut the hell up!" the second voice shouted.

"You are so immature." the first voice said before laughing.

At this point, Luffy was at the railing. Slowly he leaned over and looked down. His eyes widening at the sight before he started backing away. While backing away, Luffy tripped and fell to the ground but kept backing up while still staring at the rails.

"It's... It's not possible..." Luffy muttered.

"Luffy? What's wrong?" Usopp called out.

A sigh. "I guess we've been found out. Come on cry baby." the first voice said.

"I'm not a cry baby!" the second argued.

"Yeah yeah. Your tears say otherwise. Wipe 'em away already. It's not right to see you crying." The first voice said.

A growl was heard before a man dressed in blue with a top hat on jumped on deck. He looked like a noble. A long blue tail coat with rolled up sleeves, a black shirt that was tucked into cyan pants that stopped just above black boots, and an old white cravat with holes in it around his neck. The only thing that stopped you from believing he was a noble was the fact that he had some burns on his arms, slight burns on his neck and face, a bandage on his right cheek, a missing tooth, and messing blond hair that stuck out from under an old and beat up black top hat with blue goggles on it.

The man took off his hat before putting it over his heart and bowing towards the crew. "Good evening everyone." he greeted. "Hello Miss. Robin."

"Hello Sabo-san." Robin greeted with a smile.

Immediately everyone looked at Robin, then the man, then Robin again.

"You know him?" Zoro questioned, almost accusingly.

"Of coarse. When we were separated, I was sent to the Revolutionary Armies base. They helped me for a while until we met up again." Robin said before turning back to the man. "I hope Dragon-san didn't send you to ask me to come back."

"Not at all. I actually came of my own accord." the man said as he put his hat back on.

"Who are you?" Nami asked.

"Sabo!" the second voice growled.

The man sighed. "I told you to hurry. But no! The cry baby has to be a drama queen and take forever!"

Within seconds, everyone saw a flash of orange speeding towards the man. Before the flash could hit him though, the man grabbed a pipe from his back and hit the flash, sending it to the floor, and pointed it at the man who was face down on the ground.

The man on the ground had black, wavy hair, an orange shirt on with black shorts, and black combat boots. Around his left leg was a light blue pouch and around his waist were two belts, one loosely hanging on while the other was tighter and seemed to actually hold the shorts on him. On his left arm was a log pose, a red and white stripped bracelet, an elbow guard, and the bottom of a tattoo along with a red beaded necklace around his neck. A few feet away from him was a bag that looked like it had green zebra stripes and next to it was an orange cowboy hat with red beads wrapped around it and two blue medallions; one smiling mischievously, and the other frowning. Two strings were attached and connected to another wooden medallion that had the image of a bull's skull carved out of it. At the bottom of the medallion, was what looked like two pieces of bamboo with a red tassel sticking out. That hat was far too familiar.

"No way..." Nami muttered.

"Ow..." the man on the ground sounded as he started getting up.

"What is it now? Six to five? You're getting slow in your old age." The noble looking man said before chuckling.

"I'm not old! Were the same age! Hell there isn't even much of a difference! We're two months apart!" the man on the ground shouted as he got to his knees, grabbed his hat, and put it on his head before standing.

"A... Ace...?" Luffy stuttered in complete shock.

"Lu..." Ace muttered.

"H-how...? I... I'm insane... I have to be... You're dead!" Luffy shouted, completely confused.

"Luffy..." Ace whispered in shock.

With a sigh the noble looking man punched Ace again.

"Ow! Hit me again! See what happens!" Ace shouted, lifting a flaming fist to emphasize his point.

"There's you're proof that he's alive." the man said.

"What?" Ace questioned.

"The dead don't feel pain and devil fruit users lose their abilities when they die." he stated. "There for, Ace is alive."

"Oh yeah... But did you really have to hit me?" Ace asked after putting out his flames.

"Nah. I could have just pinched you. I just wanted to punch you." the man snickered causing Ace to growl. "You're acting like when we were kids, right Lu?"

Luffy didn't say anything. He sat in the middle of the deck with wide eyes, frozen and confused. After a few moments the man walked over and waved his hand in front of Luffy's eyes. Luffy's eyes never moved, he never blinked. He just kept staring at Ace. After a few seconds of the staring, Ace started feeling weird. He walked over to Luffy and just before he could touch the boys shoulder, Luffy moved away. Luffy started moving away from both men.

"No... You're lying... Please... Stop this..." Luffy muttered the tears returning to his eyes. "Go away... Ace is dead... Sabo is dead... Quit messing with me!"

"Luffy. We didn't die. We're here right now. Snap out of it!" Ace stated before grabbing Luffy's shoulder.

As soon as Ace touched Luffy, the younger flinched before freezing completely. The hand was solid. It was real. It was warm. It had the same heat that Luffy hadn't felt in two years and wanted more than anything. It was his brother. It was Ace.

"A-Ace...?" Luffy questioned, getting a nod in reply.

Luffy looked over to the man. He looked and dressed the same as what he thought an older Sabo would be. He sounded the same but his voice was deeper. He used a pipe as a weapon the same way Sabo used his. He even acted the same. Nobody could have copied Sabo this much since the boy was almost like a secret to the world.

Slowly, Luffy reached out towards the man. The man stepped closer to Luffy with a small smile and put his hand on the boy's other shoulder. Luffy looked at it and then the man it was attached to. His eyes finally stopping on those familiar dark blue eyes he hadn't seen in years.

"S-Sabo...?" Luffy questioned.

"Hey Lu." the man, Sabo, said with a smile.

Not even a second later, both men were pulled into a tight hug. After they figured out what had happened, they hugged the younger boy back. They both knew Luffy was crying but they wouldn't say anything. Like the boy said earlier. He's been alone for two years and now his brothers were back.

"How long are you going to stay?" Luffy asked quietly after a few moments.

"Dragon-san said once I found you two, I didn't have to worry about coming back. I can stay as long as you want me to." Sabo said.

"Marco said about the same. He told me he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't come back." Ace explained with a smile.

"Then..." Luffy's voice faded off before he took a deep breath and continued. "Please don't leave... I don't want to lose you guys again..."

"We'll stay as long as you want." Ace said.

"Good." Luffy said. "One more thing?"

"What?" Sabo asked curiously.

"Join my crew." Luffy said as he pulled away a little and looked his brothers in the eyes with determination.

It was quiet for a few moments before Ace and Sabo started giggling like little school girls then slowly burst into full blown laughter. When they looked at Luffy again, they saw him pouting and they started laughing more. At some point Ace fell over while clutching his stomach. Luffy and the others on deck were thoroughly confused.

"S-sorry Lu..." Sabo said between breaths. "It's the same as when we were kids. I'm not gonna let my little bro be my captain."

"Same." Ace stated as he started to sit back up.

"That's not what I meant." Luffy pouted.

Ace chuckled. "Seriously, Lu. You're acting like when we were kids. Quit pouting so much."

"What did you mean, Lu?" Sabo asked calmly.

"When we were kids we always fought for who would be captain. Then we agreed that whoever could beat the Tiger Lord would be captain." Luffy reminded.

"Yeah. None of us could do it." Ace said.

"Alone we couldn't. We beat him pretty bad when we worked together." Sabo stated.

"Exactly. Each of us are strong, but together we're stronger. What if the three of us were captains together?" Luffy questioned.

"Be co-captains huh?" Ace wondered.

"We would be together but we also don't have to fight over being captain." Luffy said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me." Sabo stated.

"But what about your crew? Shouldn't we ask them?" Ace questioned.

"Just shut up and accept the position!" Franky shouted.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy all looked at the crew. Zoro had his eyes closed with his arms crossed in front of his chest smiling slightly, Nami and Robin were smiling, Usopp was hugging Chopper and Franky as the three cried, Sanji was lighting another cigarette, and Brook was laughing and getting ready to play a song. Luffy couldn't help but smile. His crew really was amazing. Now if he could just get both of his brothers to agree then it would be his dream crew.

"Fine! I accept." Ace said with a smirk.

"Yay!" Luffy shouted as he tackled Ace.

"Hey!" Ace shouted in surprise.

Sabo chuckled evilly. "Dog pile on Ace!"

"No!" Ace shouted but it was too late.

Ace watched on in horror as the crew ran at him. He tried to move but was stopped by his brothers who were smirking evilly at him.

'Oh god... What have I gotten myself into?' Ace thought to himself before he felt more and more weight jump onto him.

Sabo just stood there watching Ace's arm smack the deck repeatedly hoping someone would figure out it meant get off. Instead of helping, Sabo just watched and laughed with Luffy by his side. How Luffy got out just before everyone jumped on the eldest brother was a mystery but Sabo didn't really care. He watched everyone and smiled at them all.

This was going to be interesting.

(And there you have it. I'm thinking about continuing it even though I said it would probably be a one-shot. I don't like one-shots much to be honest. Fave, follow, read Second Chance, and review. Bai~! c(X )

Start time – 2:30 P.M.

End time – 6:47 P.M.