Written for the OPBigBang 2015, hosted by ImperialMint

My partner for this event was the wonderful Kania. Please visit my profile page for the link to admire her art. The cover is part of her art.

I'd like to thank ImperialMint for hosting this event and helping me out when needed. I also like to thank MaiKusakabe for beta'ing and helping too, as well as MyLadyDay, Lunarshores and Vergina-SPVA for mental encouragement and suggestions.

The story takes place several years before Korra comes to Republic City.

This was it. One more hill and their journey would be complete. Their goal, Republic City, was just on the other side of that mountain. That thought alone gave Ace new energy and Luffy stopped whining about hunger. This was it. They were so close. Even Sabo smiled and tipped back his hat.

They had been travelling for a long time to reach the city in time for the pro-bending tournament, but now, they had almost made it with time to spare. It would be their first year participating, yet Ace was confident they got what it took to win. He had known Luffy and Sabo almost his whole life. As soon as they had heard from the sport called pro-bending, they had wanted to participate in the greatest tournament of the year, but they had had to wait until they were old enough. This year, Luffy had turned seventeen, which meant he could participate. Fortunately, coincidence would have it that they all bended a different element, which meant they could form a team.

Ace himself was a firebender and he hadn't realised there were other kinds of benders too before he met Sabo and Luffy. None of the bandits that had raised Ace were benders themselves, but they had encouraged Ace's practice, challenging him, and Dadan even had brought him a scroll with firebending moves when he was eight. Still, training alone was boring and it was only when he had met Sabo and Luffy that he had become serious about it.

Luffy was an earthbender and, while he was sometimes a little reckless, he was one of the best Ace knew. Then again, he didn't know that many benders in the first place, as they grew up somewhere in the mountains with only non-benders for company, with the exception of Gramps, who was an earthbender like Luffy. But he only stopped by every once in a while.

Sabo was a waterbender who lived in the rich part of the city closest to the mountains. He was the one that had told Ace and Luffy about pro-bending, as his parents had a radio. Sabo had stolen it at some point and brought it to his friends so they could listen to matches. The reception in the mountains hadn't been great, of course, but they had heard enough of the sport to fall in love with it.

Ace had lived with the mountain bandits since he was a baby, as the guy he called Gramps had brought him there. At a certain point, he had met Sabo and they soon had become friends, though Ace hadn't known Sabo was actually a rich kid whose parents were still alive by then. Not that had he cared once he found out, but he had been under the impression that Sabo just lived around the woods. Gramps had brought Luffy, his grandson by blood, at some point and, while Ace had found him annoying at first – and sometimes he still did – he had grown fond of him over time. Plus, they had needed an earthbender for their team. Still, Ace couldn't imagine his life without Sabo and Luffy. They were the only two people who loved him for who he was, unconditionally, like brothers.

It had been Ace's idea to form a team and enter the large tournament when they were grown up. Sabo and Ace had been practicing the sport since they were twelve, fighting imaginary opponents because they hadn't found actual ones. They had memorised the rules of the game a long time ago. Every team should have a waterbender, an earthbender and a firebender, because, apparently, there were almost no airbenders left. Which was a good thing, because Ace didn't know any airbenders.

Ace would be this year's team captain, but the next year, they would rotate so everyone got their turn. Sabo would be up next and then Luffy. Eventually, they all wanted to start their own team, but for now, it was their goal to dethrone the current champions. The Whitebeard Pirates, as they called themselves, were the champions for three years already, so it was time to end their reign.

However, despite their desire to defeat them, Ace and his brothers were quite the fans of the Whitebeard Pirates. For years, they had hung to the commentators' every word when the Whitebeard Pirates had been in a match. The firebender of the group, Marco, had even earned himself the nickname "the Phoenix" from his bending skills. This year, Ace, Sabo and Luffy would meet the Whitebeard Pirates in real life – preferably when they faced them in the finale.

In all honesty, Ace wasn't sure who they would face. Every year, new teams like themselves tried their luck in the tournament before they had even been in official matches. This year wouldn't be an exception.

Republic City came into view and the boys took a moment to take in the sight. None of them had seen a city larger than the one near the mountains Sabo had lived in, so finally seeing the capital, the place where pro-bending originated, was breath-taking.

"I bet they have a lot of meat there," Luffy sighed happily and didn't bother to wipe the drool from his face.

Ace snickered, but couldn't help his mouth from watering. Sure, they had hunted during their journey here, but what they could catch depended on the scenery and more than once they had had to share a fish or a rabbit for dinner, which was satisfying for none of them.

"So what do we do first?" Sabo asked. "Eat or look for a place to stay?"

Entering the tournament wasn't free, so they were tight on money. They had to pay thirty thousand yuan to be able to participate. If they won the championship, though, it would all be worth it. While they had managed to save up the money for the pot and a little more while they practiced and waited until they were old enough, they didn't have enough to spend the entire week the tournament lasted in a hotel. That meant they had to find a different place to stay for free or camp outside. Ace figured the latter would be the only option, as he had heard stories that the people in the big city were very rude and inhospitable.

"Food!" Luffy exclaimed while Ace snickered.

They asked a passer-by for the nearest restaurant and they were pointed to a very luxurious looking place. The signboard had a large fish on it and underneath it was written "The Baratie".

Just looking at the fish almost made Ace drool and, with a large grin on his face, he turned to his brothers. "Look at this fancy place."

"There is no way we can afford something like this," Sabo said worriedly.

The three of them looked at each other and then burst into laughter. In their whole life, they had never paid for food in a restaurant, being no strangers to dine-'n-dashing. Fancy places like this overpriced everything anyway.

As they entered the building, a waiter came up to them and greeted them. He didn't seem to care that they were dusty and sweaty from travelling, but then again, the waiter himself seemed somewhat out of place as well in this fancy place. He was gruff looking and appeared as if he would feel more at home robbing a bank than working in a restaurant like this. He brought the boys to their table and handed them the menu. Luffy had barely looked at it when he started to point at dishes.

"I want this one, and this one, and one of these and can I get this with a steak as a side dish?" he asked.

The waiter noted everything down, but did raise his eyebrow. "Can you afford all this?"

To reassure the man, Ace planted the bag of money, containing the entering fee to the tournament and their savings, on the table after having jingled it. Not that they were planning to spend any of the money here, but the waiter didn't need to know that. For now, he seemed to buy it, as his eyes almost turned to yuan-signs, and he bowed lightly when he left with their order.

Ace grinned and leaned back. This would be the best meal they had had in weeks, maybe even years. They were finally in Republic City, and after they had won the tournament, they might even spend some of the money here as compensation for today. But first, they needed to try if the food was good – though, Ace had to admit, he and his brothers where hardly picky eaters.

Their drinks were brought along with some complementary bread – after all, the waiter didn't know they were planning on making the whole meal complementary.

"So," Sabo said with his mouth full of bread after he had managed to fight a piece away from his brothers, "after dinner we should probably subscribe for the tournament before doing anything else. I'd love to see more of Republic City after that, though."

"And twy ouwt mwore wrestauwrants," Luffy said with his mouth full. "Wif mweat!"

"I don't know, maybe we could try a vegetarian restaurant," Ace said teasingly. The distressed look on Luffy's face almost made him feel bad, so he quickly said reassuringly, "I was just kidding."

"You're so mean!" His brother kicked him under the table and stole the piece of bread Ace was eating.

While it usually would turn into an all-out fight if Luffy tried to steal his food, this time Ace guessed he deserved it.

The food – or at least the first round – was brought by several waiters, dishing up until the table wasn't visible anymore. The boys attacked the food like they hadn't eaten in days, which wasn't far from the truth as far as Ace and Luffy where concerned. More than once, Sabo had to use his waterbending to keep them off his plate, while he was the one who had ordered the least.

After they had dinner, they ordered dessert, and the waiter came to ask if they wanted anything else, leering at the bag of money. Sabo waved him away and continued eating.

As they cleared their plates, Ace slowly and inconspicuously put away the bag of money. He exchanged a look with Sabo and Luffy, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Casting a last glance at the waiter, who was at the other side of the room, they jumped up and made for the door. They heard the waiter yell after them, but by then they had already stormed out of the door.

Outside, Ace could taste freedom and, laughing, he looked over his shoulder to Luffy and Sabo. They were close behind him.

Suddenly, he saw a flash of black and Luffy fell to the ground with a loud groan. Not prepared to leave anyone behind, Sabo and Ace came to a stop as well and turned around.

Luffy was lying on the ground, unable to get up as he was held down by an unknown man, who had placed his foot on Luffy's back. The man's blond hair covered half of his face and he was casually smoking a cigarette like he hadn't been chasing three dine-'n-dashers.

Ace clenched his fists to prevent himself from firebending the hell out of the guy. "Let Luffy go!"

The blond man took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled. "First pay every dime you owe."

Ace exchanged a look with Sabo, who nodded. Jumping into a fighting stance, Ace sent several flames in the direction of the unknown blond. Not enough to hurt him, just to scare him and throw him off balance. Much to his surprise, however, the blond moved his hands and steered the flames right back at Ace.

Ace was too shocked to react, so it was only due to Sabo's quick thinking and extinguishing the flames with water from a nearby fountain that Ace wasn't burned.

"You're… You're a firebender too?" Ace asked, his voice breaking in excitement.

The blond man raised an unusual curly eyebrow. "Yeah? You've never seen another firebender before?" He sounded mocking, but his facial expression changed to curious when Ace shook his head. "You're not from here, are you?"

"Do you also know a waterbender?" Sabo asked excitedly.

"And an earthbender?" Luffy had crawled from underneath the flabbergasted blond's foot and scrambled to his feet.

"Fire, water and earth? What, are you guys pro-benders or something?" the blond asked.

"We're gonna enter the tournament," Ace announced proudly.

The other man raised an eyebrow again. "If you've never seen other benders before, you can't have played a match, so how do you want to get into the tournament? Only the best sixteen teams are allowed to participate."

"But we're the best," Luffy announced proudly, and Ace and Sabo nodded fiercely.

"Look," Ace said, "the only money we have is the thirty thousand yuan we need for the tournament. But I promise, after we've won and collected the pot, we'll pay you everything we owe."

"Is that right?" When Ace nodded, the blond continued with a small smile, "you really think you can beat me?"

"You?" Ace, Sabo and Luffy asked simultaneously.

"You're a pro-bender too?" Sabo added.

The other blond smirked. "I'm in one of the best sixteen teams. But I'll make you a deal: if by some stroke of luck you guys get into the tournament and win, you'll pay back the money you owe. If not, you'll have to work it off. And don't even think of escaping. What do you say?"

Ace, Sabo and Luffy huddled together and conferred in a whispering tone. Eventually, Sabo turned around. "We accept, but only if you let us meet your teammates."

The other man shrugged. "They should stop by any minute now, so I don't see why not. I'm Sanji, by the way."

"I'm Ace," Ace said and introduced his brothers as well.

"Nice to meet you. Just remember I'll kick your ass if you try to dine-'n-dash at the Baratie again. You're lucky the owner is my old man," Sanji said as he turned round. With his head, he motioned the boys to follow him.

Inside the restaurant, it took Sanji a while to convince his old man not to shove his peg leg up the boys' arses as payback for them eating all the food, but eventually, he managed – though it was touch and go for a moment when Luffy asked for more food.

"So where are you staying if you don't have any money?" Sanji asked as he poured tea for the boys. They had taken a seat in a back room of the restaurant next to the kitchen.

Sabo shrugged. "We figured we'd camp."

Sanji hummed. "Just don't do it in the park, it's illegal. Perhaps once the old fart has cooled off, you can ask him if it's okay to sleep in our yard. Don't get your hopes up though, he's a stubborn bastard."

When they were drinking their second cup of tea, two men entered the room. One of them had dark curly hair and a long nose, and the other man's hair was green. Sabo, Ace and Luffy stared their eyes out. They had just come to Republic City and already they had met some interesting characters. Sanji introduced his teammates as Usopp and Marimo, to which the green haired man started yelling that that wasn't his name and called Sanji 'Curly-brow', which again led to Sanji yelling obscenities, and soon, the two had started an all-out brawl. Oddly enough, they didn't even use their bending; Sanji used his legs to kick at the green haired man and said man had drawn three swords he had hanging from his hips.

While Ace and Sabo watched in fascination and Luffy cheered Sanji and the green haired man on, Usopp sighed tiredly and sunk to the floor.

"Are they always like this?" Sabo asked him.

"Unfortunately, yes. Then again, once they work together, they're an amazing team. Not as amazing as me, of course," he added smugly. "But as the team captain, of course I have to be the best."

"So, what kind of bender are you?" Sabo asked excitedly. "Water or earth?"

"Me? I'm Captain Usopp, the world's greatest waterbender!" Usopp folded his arms before his chest and laughed loudly.

Sabo's eyes widened and, immediately, he started to ask all kinds of questions about water bending. Ace chuckled as he saw that Usopp was caught off guard, and the waterbender tripped over his tongue to answer Sabo.

Finally, the fight between Sanji and the green haired man – or Zoro, as he kept yelling was his name – was stopped by Luffy, who had overheard Usopp was the waterbender, which meant that Zoro had to be the earthbender of the team. Tackling Zoro, Luffy rolled with him over the floor until he landed on top of the other man and then straddled him as he fired questions at Zoro.

Eventually, Sanji intercepted and gathered them all around the table. He explained to his teammates who Ace, Sabo and Luffy were and that they would also participate in the tournament.

"Oh?" Zoro said. "I don't think I've seen you before. What's your team called?"

"We're Team Meat," Luffy exclaimed excitedly as Ace and Sabo sighed in exasperation.

They had had long and tiring discussions about how they would name the team. Of course, any name with one of their names or elements in it had been vetoed by the other two. Ace had suggested Team Fire Fist, for example, but he had been booed away. Eventually, they had all grown tired of the discussion and had decided to draw straws to decide who could pick the name. The winner had been Luffy, unfortunately, and after thinking long and hard – for him – he had come to a decision. His reasoning was as follows: the team name should be something they all loved, and who didn't love meat? Ergo, they should be called Team Meat. Arguing would be useless, so Sabo and Ace had reconciled with his facts and let it go.

Zoro quirked an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Sanji and Usopp.

Ace sighed and shook his head. "Just don't ask. Anyway, what is your team called?"

"Team Captain-Usopp-sama-and-his-Followers."

"Team Amuse-bouche."

"Team Onigiri."

Usopp, Sanji and Zoro all spoke simultaneously, and whipped their heads around to look at each other. "What did you say?"

"I thought we all agreed on Amuse-bouche," Sanji said, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, we all agreed it was stupid," Zoro snorted. "You can't just make up words."

"An amuse-bouche is a small hors d'oeuvre, you Neanderthal!" Sanji snapped. "Why the hell would you want to name us after a rice ball?"

"What did you call me?!"

"Actually," Usopp said carefully, "I'm the one that filled out the form." He started sweating when Zoro and Sanji focused their attention on him and cleared his throat. "So, officially, we are called Captain-Usopp-sama-and-his-Followers… Don't kill me!" Usopp shrieked when Zoro and Sanji dove on top of him.

Ace and Sabo once again watched wide-eyed while Luffy excitedly cheered them on, but after the initial shock, the former two pulled Zoro and Sanji away from poor Usopp.

Sanji huffed and lit a cigarette using his bending. "That name is the worst."

"Come on, the name isn't what counts," Sabo said encouragingly. "You heard ours."

Zoro rolled his eyes and lay back on the floor, his hands behind his head. "The whole thing is stupid anyway. The only reason I'm participating is because of the booze money and to get the cook to stop nagging me."

"Cook?" Luffy almost started to drool at the word and turned to Sanji. "You're a cook?"

"I ain't a waiter," Sanji snorted, but after seeing Luffy's confused face, he sighed and added, "I'm a chef."

"Yay! Cook me meat!" Luffy demanded, but Ace hit him in the head.

"Be polite!" he snapped.

"Ow!" Luffy rubbed the bump. "Cook me meat, please."

Ace nodded approvingly.

"No, you just ate. What, you have a black hole for a stomach or something?" Sanji snorted.

Sabo rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

"Oh!" Suddenly, a thought struck Ace and his eyes started to shine. "Seeing you guys are pro-benders, do you know the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Who doesn't know them?" Usopp retorted. "They're pretty amazing, though their waterbender is no match for me of course…"

"Please. He could beat you with his hands tied behind his back," Sanji said, taking a drag of his cigarette. "You don't want to mess with those guys."

Sabo sat upright. "So you've met them?"

Sanji scratched the back of his head. "Not face-to-face, no. To be honest, this is the first year we made it to the best sixteen teams so we can be in the tournament. But from what I've heard, their sponsor, Edward Newgate, is quite influential and rich."

"So you think the matches are fixed?" Sabo asked excitedly. He was always one to love drama and intrigue.

"I don't think so," Usopp said slowly. "I was at the finals last year, and the Whitebeard Pirates were either really good or great actors. The match was really amazing."

"Yeah, we heard it on the radio, it sounded so cool!" Ace said, his eyes sparkling.

"Not meaning to sound impolite, but Sanji said you guys were gonna join the tournament. How are you going to do that if no one has ever heard of you?" Usopp asked. "Since only the sixteen best teams are allowed to join."

Sabo smiled mysteriously. "Oh, we have our way."

"I guess it's none of our business. Then again, it might be tough for you guys if you've never played an actual match before, even if you do get in," Sanji remarked.

Usopp's jaw dropped. "You've never played an actual pro-bending match?"

"How could they have if they've never seen another bender before?" Sanji snorted.

"Don't underestimate us," Ace said a little indignantly. "We've been practicing for like ten years and we know the rules inside and out."

Sanji rose. "Then how about you prove it? Outside, we have recreated the arena to train, we can hold a mock-match there."

Ace stood up as well, almost pressing his nose against Sanji's. "Alright, care to make it interesting? If you lose, you have to cook for us." He gestured to himself, Sabo and Luffy, who was busy drawing a moustache on the sleeping Zoro's face. Hearing the word 'cook', he looked up excitedly.

"Fine, and if we win?" Sanji pressed his forehead against Ace's.

For a moment, Ace was taken aback. He pulled back and scratched the back of his head. "What do you want?"

Sanji thought for a moment, before the strangest thing happened. He started to wiggle like his body had turned into noodles, and Ace could have sworn his eyes took the shape of hearts. "I know something! There is this wonderful lady who, in all her shyness, hasn't noticed me–"

"And you're a hard guy to ignore," Zoro said, without bothering to open his eyes.

"Shut up, lazy moss!" Sanji kicked him hard enough it made Zoro wince. "Anyway," he continued like had nothing happened, "I'd like you to invite her to the tournament for me since she is er… hard to approach."

"Which means she'd rather swallow a rock than to talk to Ero-cook here," Zoro commented.

"I told you to shut up!" Fire coming from his fist, Sanji dove on top of Zoro, and fighting and bending they rolled across the floor.

Usopp just sighed and divided the last bit of tea while they waited for the two to stop fighting.

Finally, Sanji crawled back to the table. "So, if we win the match, I want you to ask her. Her name is Boa Hancock." He said her name like it was an amazing dish, but then his face got serious again and he studied Ace and Sabo. "Wait, not you two."

The two exchanged a look. "Why not?"

"'Cause…" Sanji opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out.

Zoro helped him out. "Love-cook here is afraid she'd rather date you than him." He jerked his thumb in the direction of Sanji. "Which is a justified fear, 'cause I sure as hell can't think of anyone who would date him."

"I will kill you!" Again, another fight started.

Ace finished his tea. "Okay, so if we win, you'll cook for us and if you win, Luffy will ask this chick of yours. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great," Sanji managed to force out when he was on top, before he was thrown back on the floor.

"Wait a minute, why do only you get something?" Zoro said once he managed to hold Sanji down. "What about me and Usopp?"

"Do you want us to ask someone out for you too?" Ace asked half-jokingly, until he saw a slight tinting of Zoro's cheeks. "You do?"

"No! Just… Buy me booze or something!"

"And I want you to tell everyone that I'm the best waterbender in the world," Usopp said. "Not that everyone doesn't know that already, I'm the great Usopp after all, but some extra advertising couldn't hurt."

Ace nodded, trying not to laugh at the moustache Luffy had drawn on Zoro and which he still hadn't discovered. "Fine, let's get to it then."

Ace, Sabo and Luffy were pointed to a room where they could put on their protective gear. If this was going to be a real match, they had to be dressed the part. From what Ace had heard, in the past, it hadn't been required to wear protective gear during matches, but he assumed after several burns and concussions from flying rocks to the head, it had been made mandatory. Their team had chosen orange with black uniforms, though that too had been a long and exhausting discussion.

Ace placed his helmet with a red stripe on it – indicating he was the firebender of the team – on his head, and they followed the other team outside, where they were led to a field. Ace noted that the lines drawn into the sandy ground resembled the arena where the matches would be held. He had only seen a picture of it, as they had followed pro-bending only via radio.

Usopp explained: "This is what we use for practice. Waterbenders can only use the water in the buckets over there," he pointed, "and earthbenders have to keep to the pile of rocks there. Firebenders don't have restrictions, like in the actual match. And, you know, no fire or water blast longer than a second duration."

"We know the rules," Ace assured him. "Let's just start. I bet Luffy's getting hungry again."

"I am!" Luffy exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Wait!" Sabo said when everyone took their positions. "Don't we need a referee?"

Zoro huffed and stomped off the field, only to come back holding someone by their collar. The young man, barely more than a boy, was wide-eyed and looked from one team to the other.

"Will this one do?" Zoro asked as he put the boy down and took his position again.

Luffy curiously looked at the newcomer. After a thorough once over, he tipped back the straw hat he was wearing despite his helmet and grinned. "Hi! I'm Luffy. You're our referee."

"I-I am?" the other boy asked hesitantly. "I'm Coby. Are you pro-benders?"

Luffy nodded proudly. "I'm an earthbender! And this is my team. We're called Team Meat, 'cause everyone likes meat."

Coby chuckled a little. "Alright, I'll referee."

The teams introduced themselves and they gave Coby pen and paper to keep score. Then, finally, they took their positions. Coby raised his arm and shouted for them to begin. Immediately, both parties started attacking. Ace aimed his flames at Sanji, who easily dodged them and sent them back.

Ace's heart was racing like mad. A real match was nothing like practice and seeing Sanji being able to bend the same elements as he could was very exciting. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he dodged another attack, this time from Usopp. The waterbender hadn't just been bragging, like Ace had suspected; he was actually quite good and Sabo seemed to be in trouble. As Sabo blocked a hit, he was knocked backwards over the first line. Cursing, he took his pose again, farther away this time.

A group of spectators had gathered around the training arena and cheered them on. Ace tried to drown out the sounds and to focus on dodging attacks. His forehead was beaded with sweat. He had never expected a match to be so exhausting. He had to pay attention to everything at the same time, from his own attacks, to his opponents, to his teammates. Luffy seemed to stand his ground and Sabo did well as well from one zone behind them.

A sudden rock hit Ace in the ankle and he almost lost his balance. He shot a blast of fire Zoro's way, before a blast of water hit him. Rolling back into zone two, he saw Luffy lying beside him, looking dizzy. Ace scrambled to his feet and was ready to fire again, when Coby raised his hand.

"Time's up! Captain-Usopp-sama-and-his-Followers win this round," Coby announced. They had, after all, gained the most territory.

While Usopp's team seemed pleased about the result, Zoro and Sanji still didn't appear to be happy with the name.

Ace took his former position in the first zone for the second round and sighed. Participating in an actual match was harder than he had expected. "Come on, we can still win," he tried to encourage his teammates, but fortunately, Luffy was already pulling his serious face.

Coby started the next round again. This time, Ace waited with attacking until Sanji did and blocked the blast of fire. Dodging a rock heading his way, he shot a blast of fire Usopp's way, catching him off guard. Usopp tumbled backwards into the second zone.

"Yay! Go, Ace!" Luffy yelled excitedly, only to be knocked off the edge by a rock coming his way.

"Dammit, Lu, you're out!" Ace called over his shoulder, a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Ace," Luffy said in a whiny tone.

"Stop distracting him!" Sabo called.

"Sorry, Sabo!"

Sabo wisely ignored him and shot a blast of water at Sanji. Sanji stumbled, but managed to stay standing.

"Don't let your guard down, Cook," Zoro growled.

Seeing an opening, Ace attacked. Zoro tried to block his attack, but was knocked into zone three. A loud cheering sounded, both from Luffy and the crowd. A cocky smirk appeared on Ace's face, but his victory didn't last long.

A water blast from Usopp and a rock coming from Zoro hit Ace shortly after each other, causing him to throw off the back of the arena as well.

"Yay! Ace's so cool," Luffy cheered.

Ace huffed. While it was kinda nice he couldn't do wrong in his brother's eyes, he had let his guard down, and now Sabo was all on his own. Ace had to admit that his brother was doing a great job dodging the elements coming his way, but he didn't have time to attack himself.

Coby called the round in Captain-Usopp-sama-and-his-Followers' favour again, as Team Meat had lost two team members.

Ace let out a frustrated growl. They could still win if they managed to knock all members of the opposite team off the back of the playing field, but since they hadn't managed to do that even once with one, he deemed their chances to win quite slim. Not that the penalty for losing was so great, but if they couldn't beat Usopp's team, did they even stand a chance against the Whitebeard Pirates?

Exchanging a look with Sabo and Luffy, they nodded grimly at each other as they took their positions.

A fire blast passed right by him, but Sabo's water caught it before it could hit Ace. As a show of his gratitude, Ace aimed at Zoro who was about to throw a rock at Sabo's head. Unfortunately, his blast caused Zoro to be blasted over the side-line. On the real playing field, he would have fallen off the side, which meant a foul. Coby knew the pro-bending rules as well and, as referee, sent Ace a zone back.

Luffy was on a roll this last round, managing to knock back both Sanji and Usopp with two quick attacks in a row. However, none of them had gone over the edge when Coby called the round. While Ace's team had won, with only one person in another zone instead of two, they had lost the match.

Sighing in defeat, Ace watched as the crowd cheered for team Captain-Usopp-sama-and-his-Followers – he also kind of hoped they would pick a shorter name next time – and, along with Sabo and Luffy, he walked to the winners.

"Congratulations." Sabo sounded more sincere than Ace would be able to at the moment. Luffy seemed to have shrugged off the match already and was distracted by someone holding food.

"You did well for a first match," Sanji offered. "But you'll have to step up your game if you don't want to go out in the first round of the tournament."

"I know," Ace said with more venom than he intended. Immediately realising his rudeness – and encouraged by Sabo kicking him in the shin – he bowed. "Sorry, we just have never lost before."

Zoro shrugged. "You have never won either. Look, we're in the best sixteen, sure, but we're not number sixteen, if you catch my drift. Even if you can't beat us, there're plenty of teams you can beat."

"And now you have to ask my sweet Hancock to come watch me," Sanji said, nearly swooning.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, we won't go back on our word." Ace turned to Sabo. "Since Luffy has that task, do you want to buy booze or tell the world about the great Captain Usopp?"

"I'll buy the booze," Sabo said. "You're not going to leave Luffy alone, are you?" he added worriedly.

"Of course not. I'll just have to stay out of sight, I guess." Ace shrugged, before turning to Sanji. "Is the offer to sleep in your yard still available?"

"Sure, I'll ask my old man," Sanji answered, lighting a cigarette.

"Let's meet back there then," Sabo said to Ace, who nodded.

As they went their separate ways – after Sanji had informed them where this Hancock lived and where a store that sold liquor was located – Ace was surprised to see Zoro following them. "Are you coming with us?" he asked.

"I'm on my way to the Baratie," Zoro replied.

Ace stopped in his tracks. "Then… Shouldn't you have followed Sanji instead of us?"

Zoro looked around in confusion. "Where did that blond bastard go?"

"The other way," Ace said slowly. He could have sworn he saw Zoro's cheeks turn slightly red.

Luffy snickered. "You're so funny."

"You can tag along, if you want," Ace offered. "Though Sanji might not want this Hancock to see you either. Since you're hot too."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Are you hitting on me?"

Ace shrugged. "Merely stating a fact. Though, if physical attraction is the only thing, Sanji shouldn't have to worry. He's hot."

"I'll say," Luffy added.

Ace looked up in surprise.

"I burned my mouth at the first bite. But the food was sooooo good," Luffy said, almost moaning.

Ace chuckled and turned back to Zoro. "Don't you agree? About Sanji, not the food."

"Whatever. He might be attractive if you're into the whole blond, strong chef with abs and legs that go on forever," Zoro muttered.

Somehow, Ace got the feeling that Zoro was into just that, but decided not to comment. Keeping to his word, however, Ace approached some random passers-by and told them about the great Usopp, whether they would listen or not.

Oddly enough, despite this being Luffy and Ace's first time in Republic City, they seemed to do better with directions than Zoro did. More than once, they had to grab him by the collar – not having bothered to take off their pro-bending uniform – so he wouldn't go into some random alley.

Eventually, they reached the house Sanji had identified as Hancock's and, impatiently as ever, Luffy banged on the door.

"Anyone home?"

A red haired woman answered the door.

"Are you Hammock?" Luffy asked.

Ace kicked him in the shin. "That's not her name!"

"I think you mean my sister, Hancock," the woman said. "She's upstairs, but–"

Luffy had already pushed past her and ran up the stairs before the woman or Ace could object, shouting Hancock's name – though wrongly. Ace bowed and apologised for Luffy's rudeness.

From upstairs sounded a loud shriek. Ace facepalmed; knowing Luffy, he had most likely dashed into the room when she was changing or something.

"Are you okay, sis?" the red haired woman called upstairs. When it stayed silent for a moment, she made ready to go up the stairs, but then a female voice sounded.

"I'm okay."

Ace sighed in relief. It didn't sound like Luffy had broken anything, nothing of value anyway, so they didn't have to spend their money on repairs. While they waited for Luffy, Ace explained to the sister why they were here – and took the liberty to tell about the great Usopp while he was at it.

The red haired woman sighed. "It doesn't surprise me. My sister has many suitors, but she hates men."

Ace exchanged a look with Zoro. "Well, it doesn't sound like she has thrown Luffy out of the window yet, but then again, he has a way to befriend people against their will."

The red haired woman cocked an eyebrow, but Luffy chose that moment to come downstairs again. "She's coming to the tournament. Now, let's eat!"

Before Ace or Zoro could say anything, he was out of the door. Ace shrugged and, after bowing again and thanking the woman for her hospitality, he and Zoro followed the energetic Luffy back to the restaurant. While Luffy usually was easily distracted and lost his way, this time he just seemed to follow his nose.

When they got back to the restaurant, Sanji almost swooned at the news that Hancock would come to the tournament, causing Zoro to roll his eyes and insult him. Of course, that resulted in another fight. Usopp had already left, apparently to see his girlfriend, so they didn't have an experienced peace weaver this time. Sabo waved the bottle of booze around, which effectively distracted Zoro from the fight, at least until Sanji called him a drunk and they went at it again. This continued until a stocky man with a peg leg and a blond, braided moustache entered and kicked Zoro out – quite literally.

Sanji huffed as he straightened and dusted himself off. "I could have handled him, old fart."

"Like hell you could, egg-plant. Now, these are the hooligans who tried to dine-'n-dash?" He gestured to Sabo, Ace and Luffy, who grinned awkwardly.

"Apparently, they're pro-benders too. They're joining the tournament," Sanji explained curtly. "Can they sleep in the garden tonight?"

The man with the peg leg eyed them closely, and Ace decided to set an example. He rose and bowed deeply. "I apologise for trying to steal your food. We are short on cash at the moment, considering the entrance fee of the tournament, but we'll happily pay you back afterwards or make up for it by working. We would be very grateful if we could sleep in the garden. We have our own tent. Oh, I'm Ace, and these are my brothers Sabo and Luffy."

"Zeff," the man growled. "Don't you ever try something like that again, or I'll cut you julienne." Then with a huff, he turned around. "They can sleep in the garden if they wash the dishes tonight."

"Well, you heard the guy," Sanji said, walking after Zeff towards the kitchen. "I'll bring you something to eat first, but you'll have to work after."

Sabo and Ace went outside to put up their tent so they wouldn't have to do that later. Luffy started out helping, but was soon distracted by some insects, so Sabo and Ace let him be.

"Well, it's no hotel, but I suppose it could have been worse," Sabo said as they threw their mattresses into the tent. "At least we get good food and a place to sleep inside the city. Though, we should really sign up for the tournament first thing tomorrow, or we've travelled all this way for nothing."

"Yeah," Ace replied. His thoughts were still at the match from today. "You think that we really have a shot at winning this?" he asked hesitantly.

Sabo pursed his lips. "I think it was a good thing we ran into team Captain-Usopp-sama… Usopp's team, so we could experience what a real match is like. We underestimated it, or maybe overestimated ourselves. Either way, we know what we're up against now, so yeah, we might stand a chance."

The next morning, Ace woke up in a familiar entanglement with Sabo's and Luffy's limbs. Both were still snoring peacefully, but Ace was too excited to sleep anymore. Carefully freeing himself, he stepped outside and breathed in the morning air – which was a lot better than the musky air inside the tent. His bare feet were wet from the morning dew, and, smiling, Ace wiggled his toes in the grass.

He grabbed his pants from inside the tent and, after putting them on, he walked over to the restaurant. Despite the early hour, there were already people walking inside, even though last night, it had been quite late before the last person had left. Ace could know, because he was in that last group. Zeff, apparently the head chef and the owner of the place, had made them scrub pots until their fingers bled, mostly because Luffy had dropped a few plates when they only had to do the dishes. Their hard work was worth it though, as Sanji promised them breakfast in the morning.

It was morning now, and Ace's stomach rumbled. If he could convince Sanji to serve breakfast right away, he wouldn't have to share and try to battle food away from Luffy. A grin on his face because of his master plan, Ace entered the restaurant and waved at Sanji, who was already shouting orders and stirring breakfast dishes. Before he could ask for his breakfast, however, Ace felt two familiar presences at his side and he sighed. So much for a quiet breakfast.

Fortunately, Sanji was generous when it came to food and didn't stop handing out dishes until no one was hungry anymore. They agreed with Sanji that Ace, Sabo and Luffy could sleep in the garden during the week of the tournament as long as they pulled their weight when it came to doing the dishes. And afterwards, they still had to either work off their debt or pay up for the first meal.

Since they could leave the tent, they now only had to carry their uniforms through Republic City. They were currently on their way to the arena to sign up for the tournament. Sanji had still seemed a bit sceptical about if they could join, as they were not in the top sixteen. Ace had assured him that they would see each other on the playing field.

During their walk to the arena, Ace and Sabo had to keep Luffy on a short leash, to prevent him from disappearing into the crowd. It didn't help that they had to pass a market where all kinds of delicious scents of cooked dishes filled the air.

Fortunately, the arena wasn't hard to find. It was a colossal, glass-domed building, located on a small peninsula. A narrow path connected the island to the mainland.

Ace and his brothers gaped at the enormous building towering over them. They had seen pictures of it, but Ace had never imagined a building could be so huge. The exterior of the arena appeared to be gold and, as a helpful passer-by told them, it was illuminated at night. The outside had a rectangular shape with four tall pillars on each corner and an entrance facing the city.

Excitedly, Ace turned to his brothers, who beamed back at him. Then, without needing to say anything, they started running towards the entrance. There were some people walking around as the arena was a prominent landmark and an attraction even without matches, but as the tournament would start tomorrow, it wasn't that crowded.

The team stopped in front of the reception and Ace coughed.

"Brochures and maps are on the left of the counter," the receptionist said without looking up from the newspaper.

"We're not here for a tour, we're here to sign up for the tournament," Ace said brightly.

That caught the man's attention and he finally looked up. One by one, he eyed them closely, and then huffed. "I don't recognise you."

"We're Team Meat," Luffy said helpfully.

"Never heard of ya." The receptionist continued reading the paper.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. "Didn't you hear that my grandsons would come to sign up?" a gruff voice said.

Terrified, the receptionist looked up and, trembling, he said, "O-of course, sir. I was told to let you know right away when they would arrive."

"Then what do you think you're doing?"

The receptionist looked from the boys to the man standing behind him and back. Then, realisation hit him and his mouth dropped open. "Wait, you mean these are–"

"Hi Gramps," Ace greeted the man standing behind the receptionist cheerfully.

Garp huffed. "You're late. Not that I expected anything else. And what a ridiculous name you've chosen."

Sabo sighed. "Luffy's idea."

"Figures." Garp slapped his hand on the desk of the receptionist. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give them the papers to fill in."

The next half hour Ace, Sabo and Luffy spent filling in all sorts of paperwork, stating their name, declaring that Republic City was in no way liable for any injuries happening during the tournament, that they would pay the entrance fee and all sorts of other legal issues. When they were finally done – and Sabo had helped Luffy with his – they brought the paperwork back to the receptionist, along with the thirty thousand yuan. The receptionist placed several stamps on the papers, before handing them their passes, which would give them unlimited access in the arena during the tournament.

All this time, Garp had watched closely over them, probably making sure that they wouldn't mess anything up. Now that they were done, he huffed again. "You better win this thing or at least win a few rounds. I've had to pull a lot of strings to get you into the tournament without you having proven yourself and I don't like looking like a fool."

"Relax, Gramps. You've seen us, we're good," Ace said with more confidence than he felt.

Garp snorted. "You better be. Now, come on, I'll give you a tour."

They followed him through the hallways, looking around in awe. It was a good thing that Garp was in the counsel of the mayor, or they wouldn't have been able to join the tournament this year. Something about sneaking in like this didn't sit right with Ace, but what choice did they have? The alternative was fighting their way up to the top sixteen, but who knew how long that would take? Another year? Longer? This was the only way they could be in the tournament right away, and Ace was sure they deserved the spot. They would have to do really well, though, or they would be the laughingstock of the pro-bending world and they would never be taken seriously again, of that he was certain. It made his stomach turn uncomfortably, but he decided not to share his fear with his brothers. That would only worry them.

In the meantime, Garp had led them to the inside of the arena. They had gone through the spectators' entrance and had now reached the stands. Ace stared his eyes out. He noted that the roof of the building was made from glass, so he could see the sky.

The playing field looked small from here, placed in a large pond of water and standing on high legs. One half of the field was red and the other blue. Several disk shapes were made in both sides of the field for earthbenders to use during the match, Ace recalled.

"Can we go onto the field?" Luffy asked excitedly.

Garp shrugged. "If you want. Just don't break anything. Come on, I'll show you the players' entrance."

They followed him again, somehow twice as excited. To stand on the actual field would be so much better than on the fake one they had played against Usopp's team. Garp showed them the training area and the changing rooms. Then, he led them to the entrance to the field.

They stepped on a mobile platform, which brought them towards the playing field. Ace peered over the edge. Deep down below them, there was a body of water. An involuntary shiver went down his spine. He wasn't the best swimmer, so falling down didn't sound particularly appealing, even if he trusted Sabo to get him out in time. He remembered it was one of the requirements on the forms he had to fill in, all participants needed to know how to swim. It wasn't that he couldn't swim, he just preferred not to.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and almost caused him to plunge into the deep, but the same hand also pulled him away from the edge. When Ace looked up, he saw Sabo looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and, satisfied, Sabo let go of him. The moving platform had reached the playing field and they stepped on the solid floor.

"This is so awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, and Ace had to agree with him.

The playing field might not have seemed big from the stands, but now that they were on it, it was rather impressive.

"Ace! Think quick!"

Ace could barely avoid the disk that came flying towards him. "Oh yeah?" He sent a fire blast Luffy's way, which he avoided laughing.

A gust of water extinguished his fire and Ace turned around to a smirking Sabo. They continued their fight, until three earthen disks hit them simultaneously in the head.

"Quit fooling around!" Garp barked at them. "I'm not cleaning up after you. And you better not do anything to embarrass me while you are in Republic City, or I'll make your lives a living hell!"

AN

There are four elements which can be bended, air, fire, earth and water. Aside from the offspring from the previous Avatar, Aang, there are no airbenders left.

Subskills: Some benders are, aside from their main element, able to bend other things as well.
Water: Healing, ice making and, in rare cases, bloodbending
Fire: Lighningbending (generating and redirecting) and combustionbending
Earth: Metalbending and lavabending.

For details about bending, pro-bending and characters, I refer you to the Avatar Wikia.