OKAY, I reposted the story because fucked it up beyond repair so I had to do a lot to get it to work and it still didn't transcribe correctly so something may not be italicized or bolded correctly. I am sorry. I'll fix it when I get a chance right now I just want it to work. Thank you.

EDIT: Fixed some spelling errors

*sweats nervously* Look another chapter story. Uhh well yeah, I saw a few blind!Ace fics and I really liked them so I though that I would jump on the bandwagon. I'm going to say this now 1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please. 2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace. 3.) I am going to update this irregularly, and I'm telling you this now because I know how my life is, I'll try to get chapters out as soon as I can but there's other stuff I have to do.

Some other things, I'm pretty sure that once I hit a certain point I'm just going to alter cannon slightly if the story continues to that point. Its not beta read and I am only human so I can't catch every mistake, if you see one you can't ignore tell me and I'll fix it. I'm posting this late after getting up early so I'm sure I missed some. This is really long, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep it this length but I will try to.

Because this site only allows two genres I will inform you here that there will be several other ones including, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Family among other minor once. Thank you!

Now that we're done with that we can move on to the story, and I'm going to post these on the bottom and keep them there! Now, let's begin.

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

See you at the bottom!

It started out innocent enough, his brother's faces were a little less defined at night. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, and it was easy enough to brush off as tiredness or lack of light. Perfectly reasonable. Besides, his brothers didn't notice, he was fine.

But, as with all things in Ace's life, it got worse. It was two years after Sabo's death. Thankfully he had moved back to Dadan's place there was a nice feeling about having a roof over his head that wouldn't leak at the smallest amount of rain, but one morning he found that it was blurry.

Ace blinked his eyes, figuring it was just the last remnants of sleep, he had been startled awake, and he guess it had something to do with Luffy clinging to his legs. After a few more seconds of vigorously blinking he found that his eyes had cleared somewhat but the ceiling was still blurry. With a frown Ace turned his head, the window seemed to blend into the wall, and the planks looked like a solid piece of wood.

His frown deepened, it had been awhile since he last noticed a drastic change with his eyesight. There was something about this situation that didn't sit well with him, and during his time in the jungle he learned that listening to your instincts would always prove to be the correct thing to do. He needed to see a doctor, as much as that pained him to admit. Only there were two problems with that: How would he sneak into the city and how would he stop Luffy from following him?

That answer came to him in the form of Makino. She came up the mountain the very same morning bringing with her clothes and food. It was easy to get her to promise to watch over Luffy for him, not that Luffy would care much about his whereabouts so long as there was meat in the general vicinity.

Ace didn't know how he should feel about his ranking in his brother's life, at the moment; however, it worked in his favor.

He was admittedly afraid of walking around the jungle with his blurry eyesight, he couldn't see what was ahead and when he squinted he couldn't see what was next to him. Even though he had grown up in this jungle, it always changed. Those caught unaware would most likely die.

It was for that reason he decided to take the bandits hunting trail, he'd be able to get at least halfway to the city in relative safety. His problem would come after he reached the end of the path. Then it'd be a long way down. He'd get there in a few hours, and most likely he would be back before it got dark outside. Ace knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the city if it was too late in the day, it was risky enough in the jungle during the day but at night it was a different story, throw in failing eyesight, there was simply no way he could make it home. Luffy would understand, if worse came to be.

The trip to town went as well as expected, for once in Ace's life. Nothing but humans would go near a well traveled path, and even humans were scarce this far into the jungle. When the trail did end, Ace stuck to walking in the middle of the path. His pace dramatically slowed as he tried to feel for any obstacles in his way, the last thing he needed was a sprained ankle. The trip did end up taking longer than he expected, and by the time he hit the Gray Terminal, the sun was already in the middle of the day.

Town was easier to navigate, aside from trying to avoid running into people, there were no sudden dips, turns, or wild beasts to be worried about. Now, the only thing that was hindering him was finding a doctor. He was grateful that he had enough foresight to grab some money, the doctors would be more willing to see someone paying than a street rat.

A few hours of wandering around blindly, both literally and figuratively, Ace finally came across a clinic, it was the only one he found and he wasn't about to be picky. He entered.

There wasn't a bell, and the lady at the desk seemed absorbed in some paperwork. Ace walked straight over to her and coughed. The lady, now identified as a nurse looked up, she seemed surprised to find a kid standing at her desk.

She smiled, and it was filled with false warmth. "Are you lost? If you are the station is just down the road a little way, you can't miss it."

"Not lost. Here to see the doctor." Ace replied firmly.

The nurse's eyes widened. "Well, do you have a way to pay?"

Ace thought about answering in the affirmative, but decided that she would need visual proof before she let him see the doctor. So, instead he pulled out some of the coins in his pocket.

She seemed to be even more surprised that he had money. "Well, I can't turn away a patient. Please have a seat. Also can I have your name?"

"Ac-" He cleared his throat. "Mason."

He didn't want people to figure out that he was one of the kids that used to cause havoc around here. Even though they hadn't done anything recently, he could guess that there were still some pretty upset people.

"Alright Mason, I'll call for you when the doctor is ready to see you. It shouldn't be long." She smiled, and it was still fake, not that Ace cared that much.

He sat in one of the chairs, looking around a finding that there was only another couple waiting for with him. In a few minutes however they were called back, and it left Ace alone. Some time later they left, with small smiles, Ace wondered what kind of news they got. One looked outside the window told him that it was entering late afternoon. Finally, he was called back, it seemed him and the nurse had different meanings of "not long."

He followed the nurse to a room in the back of the building, it was empty but he could hear some rustling around in cabinets a little ways away, he figured it was the doctor.

The room itself was nothing special, white walled with a bed and a stool, with a desk that had several medical tools sitting on it. Ace climbed onto the bed and swung his legs, he just wanted this to be over with and soon.

When the doctor did come in he had a friendly smile, it was real unlike the nurses. "Good afternoon, Mason. How are you today?"

Ace blinked. "Uhh... I've been better?"

The doctor nodded. "That's why you're here, right? What seems to be the problem? I''m Doctor Conner by the way."

Ace filed the name away. "My eyes are blurry."

Doctor Conner wrote that down on a notepad. "Blurry? As in a certain distance?" Ace nodded. "When did this start?"

Ace thought about it, he might as well tell the entire thing, he needed a proper diagnosis. "It got harder to see at night about two years ago, and I guess they've been getting worse in the day since, but this morning it was really noticeable."

He noticed the doctor had written all of this down. Doctor Conner didn't speak again until his pen stopped moving.

"Do either of your parents have poor eyesight?"

Ace swallowed, he didn't know and as far as he was concerned he didn't have parents. "I don't think so."

"Hmm. Am I blurry to you?"

Ace shook his head.

"At what distance does it become blurry?"

He looked around the room, and then out of the door, there was a picture frame in the hallway that he couldn't make out real well. "That picture."

Doctor Conner followed his line of sight. "So, you can't see that far."

The doctor scribbled something on the paper, and then he reached for one of the tools on the desk. "I'm going to look into your eyes alright Mason? It'll be a bright light, but it won't hurt."

Ace nodded.

The light was extremely bright, and Ace could feel his eyes drying out from the extended time that he went without blinking. When Doctor Conner switched eyes, Ace repeatedly blinked the other one. He could hear the doctor hum in interest. A few minutes later the doctor pulled back, and Ace's eyes were dancing with spots.

"I'm going to double check something in a medical journal, I'll be back shortly, but continue blinking to restore the moisture." Doctor Conner got up and left.

Ace swallowed. What did he have that required a second opinion. That couldn't be good. He sighed, this was just life dumping more shit on him because he shouldn't have been born.

He was lost in his own train of thought, but jumped out of it when the doctor returned. He had lost all of his former cheeriness, and Ace went cold. This was apparently a very severe condition.

"Mason, I'm sorry I'm the one to tell you this."

Ace cut him off. "What's wrong with my eyes?"

"You're going blind."

The room went silent, and in an uncharacteristic show of emotion Ace jumped up. "Blind? How? You've got to be kidding!"

"Mason, please calm down. Its a rare condition that may sometime skip a generation in a family. Basically its a disease that will slowly steal your eyesight over the next few years, and eventually you won't be able to see at all."

"Years?" Ace was fighting down the panic.

"Most patients that were diagnosed happened to be your age, and they lost their sight anywhere from five to seven years later."

Ace couldn't breath, he'd most likely be blind before he went out to sea or would lose it quickly thereafter. What was he going to do? What the hell was he going to tell Luffy? "Everyone's gone blind that had this condition?"

Doctor Conner only nodded. "There's unfortunately no treatment to delay it either, we could give you corrective wear, but it wouldn't do anything for the degeneration."

Silence filled the room, it was a lot to take in and Ace was on the verge of losing what was left of his calm, he had heard that blind people only see darkness, and he wasn't going to see a lot of the world before he was surrounded in it. How poetic, Ace's inner cynic sneered, a monster's kid swallowed by darkness.

"Mason? Are you alright?" Doctor Conner put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, its just a lot to take in."

"We could monitor the degeneration over the next few months to see when exactly your eyesight will be gone. At least then you'll be prepared."

Ace shook his head. It wasn't realistic, Luffy would catch on, even if the bandits didn't, and he wanted to keep this a secret for as long as possible. While he wanted to know when he went blind, he would have to manage by himself. "I can't, it was hard enough getting down here today."

The doctor nodded apologetically. "I won't make you pay today, go home and tell your parents, if they have any questions please come back."

Ace bit back a laugh, if he had to guess this condition was most likely from his father's side. Great, now even his ancestors hate him.

Upon leaving the clinic the sky was already blue with night. He sighed, now he couldn't even go home at the moment and seek comfort from his brother. Sabo would know how to handle this, Luffy would most likely just cry and ask the same questions he had. How was he going to be a pirate if he couldn't see?

Ace walked around town until he found a reasonably sheltered alley. He didn't want to spend money on an inn, and he didn't think he would get much rest tonight, his mind too active to even try.

There were small miracles apparently, Ace thought as he woke up in the morning. It was just before the hustle of the city people. He didn't remember falling asleep but it seemed like it was a restful night.

On his way back to the jungle he thought of all the possible ways he could still perform acts of piracy while blind. He knew that there were pirates who functioned well with only one eye, but in general their one good eye was well good. He hadn't ever heard of a blind pirate, but there had to be a way. He promised Sabo and Luffy he'd set sail when he hit seventeen, but he might be blind by that time.

It was early enough that the jungle was quiet, there were the occasional sounds of an animal moving but it was nothing threatening, and since he was on the same path that he was on yesterday he was able to speed up his pace, remembering where the biggest obstacles laid in the path.

He got back to the path and he was relieved to see that it was still morning, and it would be by the time he got back. He knew this path well enough to let his mind wander.

Ace knew that he would have to tell Luffy at some point, but he could get by without telling Dadan and there was no way lay. He made it back around mid-morning going by the sun's position.

Ace wasn't expecting to be knocked backwards by Luffy, who thankfully didn't have the waterworks going (though he wondered if they would come later.)

"You didn't come back last night!" Luffy yelled. "Makino said that you would be back later."

"Sorry, I got held up in town." It was partially the truth.

"Eh? Why were you in town to begin with?" Luffy tilted his head.

"I had to do something, its fine." Again, he wasn't directly lying to his brother which made him feel slightly better.

"What?"

"Something."

"Tell me!"

Ace sighed, he figured this was going to happen. "No."

"Come on!" Luffy was starting to pout.

The older of the two looked away, determined to keep this to himself for a little while longer. "I said no."

"Tell me! Ace! Tell me! Come on, tell me! Tell me!" Luffy repeated.

"I will, just not now?" He tried, otherwise he was going to go nuts, Luffy was just as stubborn as him.

Luffy was quiet, maybe thinking about the deal. "Fine, but tell me soon. Dadan was really mad you didn't come back last night."

That was fast. Ace thought. "She'll get over it. Did you eat yet?"

"Yeah!"

Ace nodded, so he wouldn't eat until dinner, providing they were both able to catch something. It was going to be a challenge with Luffy's youth and his lack of eyesight. How long would he be able to do things like this with his brother?

Three years later and his eyesight had been steadily getting worse like Doctor Conner had said. Ace hadn't seen the man since he was given his prognosis, but he guessed he was in line with losing his sight, it didn't seem like he was losing his vision that fast; but at the same time it was disappearing way to quickly. He knew that he would have to tell Luffy soon, it was getting harder to maneuver in the jungle, his vision extending only about five feet in front of him before it was too blurry to distinguish anything. He was relieved there hadn't been an incident yet.

Ace rolled over and nudged Luffy with his foot, and he got a grunt in reply. Dadan had asked just last week why they both felt the need to sleep so close together. He had teased that Luffy was scared of sleeping alone (but truthfully it was a comfort to him with his fading eyesight to be able to see his younger brother so clearly, he wanted to cherish it for as long as he could.)

"Luffy come on, we have to get up. Everyone else is starting to wake up as well."

"F''w m're minutes." Luffy slurred.

"I gave a you a few more minutes. Come on." Ace sat up leaving his brother alone on the mat.

As he expected, his younger brother slowly woke up, pating the mat beside him for Ace.

"Its going to be a nice day." He said as he stood up. "I bet the animals will be really active and we could get something good."

At the mention of food Luffy shot up. "Meat!"

"Yeah, but first we have to get some breakfast before it's all gone."

His younger brother slingshotted himself off of the landing and out of Ace's vision, but the sounds of the pained moans below Luffy managed to land on one of the still sleeping bandits. He wasted no time in following his brother to the first floor, but he was careful, using his foot to find the edge of the ladder. By the time he reached the main room most of the bandits were up and wrestling over whatever they had left from dinner the previous night, he tried to not look too lost while he located Luffy.

"Ace over here! I managed to save you some!" Thank god his little brother was so loud.

He had heard stories about people who lost one of their sense gained stronger senses, he was starting to think that it was just people learning to rely on the other senses, he certainly couldn't hear any better.

Luffy handed him a plate, and he could see that there was quite a bit of meat. It must've been hard for the younger to hold back from eating it all.

"Thanks."

"Where should we hunt today?" Luffy asked with mouth full.

Ace hummed while thinking about it. "How about the east section, near the river? The buffalo should be passing through there, it's migration season."

"Sounds good."

And not that dangerous. Ace thought to himself, he knew that Luffy would catch on soon that they weren't going after predators that much anymore. He didn't think he would be much help in a fight like that and Luffy was still too careless.

They ate quickly and headed out, ignoring Dadan's protests of them skipping out on their chores Ace was pretty sure it was just a habit now. He was right the day was already warm and he could feel the sun beating down on the top of his head, he guessed it was going to be hot. Not a surprise considering they were in the middle of summer.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Luffy's yell of "look out!" Ace turned his head towards the sound of his brother, hoping the other was close enough he could see the pointing along with the cry, no suck luck. Ace whipped his head around trying to decipher any change in the foliage, he hated jungle predators they blended in so well. In was another second before something pounced on him, clawing at his shoulder. He let out a yell of pain.

Seconds later he heard the familiar stretching of his brother as he tried to punch whatever beast was clawing at him. At the same time Ace could make out a body and moved so he could kick the thing off of him. Luffy's punched missed, but it distracted the beast (which Ace eventually assumed was a tiger) enough that he could successfully kick the underside. The tiger roared in pain, but only dug his claws in further, he sent out another kick hitting it in the ribs. This and another stretch attack from his brother was enough to send the tiger running away. It must be young if it got scared from that.

Luffy was next to him in a second. "Ace are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ace looked at his shoulder. It was bleeding a lot but it wasn't deep enough to cause any lasting damage, at worse it would leave an impressive scar.

"Why didn't you dodge?" Luffy was yelling and talking fast. Shit I worried him.

He could see Luffy's worried face, his eyes were wide and his chest heaved in wild gasps. Ace sighed, looks like he had to tell his secret.

"Luffy-"

"Wait, let's get you back first. You need to get treated." Luffy was still panicking but he was also serious.

It reminded him of the time he carried him back to Dadan's after the bear attack, the thought of his brother limp on his back was enough to get Ace to push himself up; he understood what Luffy was going through and he was determined to not let the younger feel the same kind of worry he felt back then.

"Help me stand. We have to move fast, otherwise scavengers will be drawn to the scent of blood."

His brother did as he was told and they limped back to Dadan's together. It took them almost an hour to get back, and it was barely past noon. This was embarrassing.

Ace ducked his head when Luffy called out to Dogra who then yelled to Magra. The entire bandit clan knew that he was injured within a few minutes of him arriving, this was not his day. He was relieved that Luffy hadn't been hurt in the fight or on the way back, just tired, it couldn't have been easy to give support to someone who was so much larger than him.

Magra picked him up and carried him into the main room of the house, not as gently as he would've liked and he ended up biting his lip to keep from crying out. Dogra came running in with bandages and a bowl filled with water. He had no idea where Luffy was since he couldn't see him. His panicked spiked when he realized that he couldn't see who was coming and going into the room. Luffy settled next to him a few seconds later, on the opposite side of where Magra was working on cleaning his shoulder with warm water.

It was a while before Magra finished treating his cuts, he didn't like that he wasn't going to be able to move very much, he had stitches in and he had ripped some out before and it wasn't an experience he was keen to repeat. Magra and Dogra left the room a little later, spewing something about having to go hunting so they had something to eat. Ace felt a little bad at them having to hunt so late in the day, but it didn't compare at all to the feeling he got when he turned his head to look at Luffy.

Tears were building up, but he guessed Luffy was refusing to let them fall (he hadn't cried since turning ten much to Ace's surprise and relief) and his bottom lip was bunched up. He looked like someone had told him all of the meat in the world was gone.

"Lu."

His brother looked at him. "Does your shoulder hurt?"

"Not really, Magra stitched it up fine." Ace replied. "Come here."

Luffy shifted towards him, carefully nestling into Ace's side, it was so similar to the position that they had slept in after Luffy's run in with the bear, but they hadn't slept like this in years.

"I'm going to tell you something and you have to keep it a secret okay? Even more so than the one about the Pirate King." Ace started, his chest tightening as he thought about spilling all of his fears as well as his secrets.

He felt Luffy nod into his torso. "Promise."

Ace inhaled. "Don't freak out and start crying."

"Are you dying?" Luffy interrupted

"No, I promised I wouldn't and promises are meant to be kept."

Again, he got another nod.

"I'm losing my vision."

He felt his brother's frown. "What does that mean?"

"I'm going to be blind."

"Blind? What's that?"

Ace blinked, he had forgotten Luffy wasn't a fan of listening to people's conversations, and he had been with pirates and then the bandits for most of his life, he probably didn't know that there were people who couldn't see. Not for the first time Ace found himself wishing that Sabo was here, the other would be able to explain this so much better.

"It means I won't be able to see."

"How come? You have both of your eyes and your aren't old." Luffy's voice was curious.

"Sometimes things just happen, and you can't stop them. This is one of those things."

"Are you still going out to sea?"

"Of course, it'll be a little harder but I'll manage. I'm your big brother after all I can't lose to you!"

"You're going to!" Luffy yelled.

Ace laughed. He knew that in a few years Luffy would figure out exactly what he meant, but he couldn't keep his eyes open as a sleep attack claimed him.

Luffy did figure out what blind meant when Makino next showed up, and truthfully he hadn't ever seen his brother that mad before. Saying that it wasn't "a little more dangerous? Its a lot more dangerous!" As Ace guessed his brother asked him to wait until he was old enough to set sail, saying they could be co-captains. He had to turn him down, they were all meant to set sail at seventeen, he had made that promise to Sabo and he wasn't about to break it, blindness be dammed.

When the time did come for him to set sail he was completely blind, but it wasn't like he had thought it would be. His world wasn't drenched in darkness, but instead it was blurry to the point that he couldn't make out his hand even when he held it up directly to his eye. Ace guessed that this was better than a world of dark, but he was reminded of what he had loss.

He had gone to Doctor Conner a week ago, to ask if this was as bad as it got or if it worsened. His hopes weren't lifted by the answer. The doctor had told him that his eyes would keep deteriorating, and from what he read the blurriness wouldn't stop at just figures but it would take away his color perception, but the end of if he was lucky he would be left with his ability to see light and dark, but most others say that they couldn't make out even that.

Still Ace set out. Maybe somewhere in the Grand Line there would be someone who could help with this, the secrets of that ocean were still unknown to many and there weren't a lot of goods that made it out since pirates ransacked trade ships. He knew that his first step would be to get a crew and a boat that was up to the rigors of long term sea travel.

The first island he came to didn't give him any men, but it gave him a hint of where to go. There was an island not to far away that was generally ignored by the marines and a lot of East Blue troublemakers gathered there. It was a proving grounds of sort. He headed in that direction, or so he hoped.

It was hard, not being able to see, but he still had his wits and after living with his vanishing sight for seven years he had a pretty could handle on acting like he wasn't blind. Most of the people on the island were fairly disgusting, dealing with the less savory of the underworld, human trafficking, prostitution, organ selling. Ace wanted to leave as soon as possible, but he wanted to find a first mate first.

Find a first mate and get directions to the next island. At least that was his plan, but with all things in Ace's life it didn't work out.

It had been a rainy day, about his third day on the island when there was a commotion coming from down the street. Ace followed the sound of like minded people who were curious to see what the sound was.

"Listen here kid you're going to tell me where the Devil's Fruit is located, and maybe I'll spare you." The voice was angry.

"No I found out where it was fair and square its mine!" A voice yelled back, gruff but youthful.

Ace was sensing an opportunity.

"If you won't spill it, then we'll just make sure that no one will find it!" Ace heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and that's when made his move.

"Now, now. Why don't we all calm down and talk about this over a drink." Ace raised his hands up in a peaceful gesture, and he prayed he was looking at the aggressor.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Portgas D. Ace." He answered.

There weren't any shocked gasps he was still unknown after all but he did hear the sound of laughter. "And here I thought we had some big shot. Get him boys!"
Ace sighed, he figured the would happen. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to only focus on the footsteps that grew closer. To him this was a test, if all that training he did with Luffy in the jungle to sense his opponents actually worked against people he had never met. Sure enough, it did. Ace sensed there were about six guys coming towards him.

He raised his hands in a defensive stance. There were a few seconds of pre-fight equilibrium and then the guy furthest left took to first swing. Ace dodged it easily, and used the time the guy had to recover to step in a jab him in the space between his ribs. The guy doubled over with a wheeze.

Another had moved behind him and was trying to surprise him, instead Ace pressed his advantage and lashed out with a backwards kick, the man went flying if the lack of resistance his foot met and the sound of a body crashing to the ground were anything to go by.

A third stepped up, and kicked at Ace, he caught the foot and spun it, not feeling the least bit sorry as he felt the hip give more than it should and the shout of pain. Behind him the crowd was shifting away from the fight. Another one approached him, Ace somehow knew this one was different he wasn't disappointed when heard the swish of blade narrowly miss his chest as he leapt back. But what he didn't count on was there being a guy there.

The man wrapped a thick arm around his neck and the guy with the blade stepped closer. Ace stepped on his captors foot as hard as he could, and when the man loosened his grip Ace used his smaller body type to maneuver fully out of the grip and while he was spinning he stuck his foot out catching the man in the small of his back. He was sent crashing into the one with the blade. There was only one left.

Ace had lost track of the sixth one in the struggle with the other five, he spent precious seconds trying to locate him. When he did it was almost too late. He had heard the schink of a blade being removed from a scabbard and he turned around wanting to try and deflect it the best he could. Before the blade could meet with his chest another blade was being drawn and the sound of swords clashing hit his ears. He could only guess that this was the guy he was saving.

"Thanks." He said.

"I couldn't let these bastards get away with publicly humiliating me, nor could I let a stranger completely fight for me."

"This one is all yours then." Ace turned his attention to he figured the boss was.

"Now, you should apologize for being so rude."

The boss made sounds that were similar to a fish flopping on sands. Instead, of an apology Ace heard the sounds of an overweight male trying to run away.

"What a coward." Ace mumbled to himself, and he figured the fight behind him was done as well, he didn't hear the sounds of swords any longer.

"The only reason people listened to him were because of his cronies, but you took care of them pretty easily. You must be new here."

"Landed only a few days ago."

"How about we get out of this rain and into one of the taverns and talk?" The man asked.

"Sure, by the way what's your name?"

"Jared Smith. Smith being the last name."

"Weird way of introducing yourself." Ace commented, following after Jared.

"Yeah, its common where I come from and haven't grown out of the habit yet."

They walked silently next to each other. He was relieved to find that Jared didn't mind leading from the side, Ace didn't like it when people walked ahead of him, he couldn't see them and sometimes he couldn't make out who the footsteps belonged to which just lead him to get lost.

Eventually they found a tavern, which seemed nice judging by the lively atmosphere and good smell.

"Nice place." Ace commented.

"Local favorite, been here for years. Everyone has to try it at least once. Best fish in a ten island area."

"Can't wait."

Aparently Jared was well known at this tavern, and friendly. The waitress knew him by name.

"Come here often?"

"Weekly."

Ace sat back in his chair. The waitress came over a few minutes later asking for their orders. Jared didn't help Ace out by just saying "the usual."

"I heard you had some pretty good fish? I think I'd like to try that."

"The fried fish?" Ace shrugged. "Alright it'll be right out, want some water while you wait?"

"Sure." Ace replied.

There were a few minutes of silence, only broken by the waitress coming back and gave him his water.

"So, Ace, what brings you here?" Jared asked, his tone conversational.

"Looking for a pirate crew." He replied honestly. "Figured a basically lawless zone was the best place to pick one up."

"That's true. You a new captain? Haven't heard about you before."

"I only started my journey a few weeks ago."

"Ah."

The food came and the two of them ignored conversation in favor of scarfing down their meals.

Jared apparently finished first. "What are you looking for in a crew anyway?"

Ace hummed. "I think being good person is my number one thing, and of course strength. But I don't have any particular requirements. I just have to like you."
"So no positions have been filled yet?"

"Nope." Ace answered, and then set down his fork. "Say, you seem to be rather curious."

"I do? Its just I kind of wanted to join a pirate crew, but none have been recruiting, and I don't have a lot of skills other than being a somewhat decent fighter. I'm good at finding things out too."

"It sounds like you're asking to join." Ace tried to hide his grin.

"If you'll have me?"

Ace thought about it. Jared seemed nice enough, and he needed a crew not to mention he was curious about the Devil's Fruit. Maybe if I could get my hands on it, I could be a deadlier fighter, or at least not as handicapped. He would have to trust his gut on this one but he didn't think he had to worry about Jared.

"Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you!" Jared laughed, shaking Ace's extended hand. "This dinner is to thank you from saving me from those guys, and as my first act as your new crew mate I'll tell you where the Devil's fruit is."

Ace grinned, this had worked out better than he thought.

Sometime later when both he and Jared were resting in the boat Jared asked the question he had been dreading.

"Hey, is there something wrong with you? Other than the narcolepsy?"

Ace inhaled and shifted to his side. Jared had been with him for a month, they were still heading to the island with the Devil''s Fruit, which happened to be on the other side of East Blue, but in away it was a great way to know his first mate, but also for his first mate to figure out things him.

"What makes you say that?" Ace asked.

"Well sometimes when we talk I get the feeling you're not seeing me." Ace hid a wince. "And other times you don't even look at me but in my general direction. Do you not like making eye contact?"

It was bound to come out eventually, and hopefully Jared wouldn't want to leave his crew. The other seemed sensible enough.

"I'm blind, technically."

"I figured." Jared sighed. "Wait what do you mean technically?"

"Well, I can still see, but it's so blurry it doesn't matter." Ace shrugged.

"Ah. But you're still so strong. That's impressive."

"Thanks." The two fell into silence. He really appreciated Jared, he didn't think he could ask for a better first mate. Then he spoke again.

"What's your goal? Every captain has a goal."

Ace smirked. "I'm going to take Whitebeard's head."

"Oh you're going to take - Wait what?"

"I plan to kill Whitebeard."

"That's what I thought you said." Jared replied. "Its a good thing that this fruit we're going after is rumored to be pretty strong."

"What fruit is it anyway?" Ace had wanted to know for awhile but didn't think he should ask.

"The Mera Mera no Mi."

"A logia type?" Ace exclaimed.

"Yeah, strongest fire fruit." Jared replied, his voice was light, indicating that he was happy.

"That sounds awesome."

A few days later and they found themselves at the doors of the marine base that held the Devil's Fruit, they had picked up two guys who wanted to get back at the captain of the base. Ace was happy with how things were going so far. Jared would head to the room they kept the fruit, while Ace and the two new guys (Viktor and Daichi) would cause a distraction.

Still, AceSo, far the plan was working, and then the captain showed up. Viktor and Daichi attacked him at the same time and left Ace to deal with the subordinates. Fine by me, less of a chance of me getting in the way.

Jared ran up to him almost the moment he heard the captain's body fall to the ground.

"Captain! I got the fruit!" He yelled.

"That's great. Let's leave before anyone else figures out what we're doing."

As they were running they realized that Viktor and Daichi were following after them.

"Seems like we have some new crewmates." Jared yelled while they were running.

"Yes we do."

They got back to the ship, well they got back to a ship. There was a newly built carval in the docks, and it was only going to be used for trading so they did as pirates do and stole it.

Once they were safely at sea Jared presented the fruit to Ace. He took it and ran his hands over it. The fruit itself was bumpy, with little rivets in it that swirled. When he got to the top he felt the stem as well as the parts of the fruit that came into points. He realize that it probably depicted the symbol commonly used for fire; there was no mistaking it. He inhaled once and took a bite... it was awful tasting, it was like getting a mouthful of ash and char, but he knew that he had to eat the entire thing to get the powers of the fruit so he toughed it out.

A few hours later, he guessed that some of the fruits took time to give you powers, he randomly caught on fire. It was strange because it didn't burn, and it almost felt cold. He guessed it really surprised his crew (rightly, so it wasn't everyday someone caught on fire for no reason especially out in the middle of the sea). Though in that brief flare he had experienced something he hadn't in years.

Tentatively he reached his flame out, willing it to only be exploratory (he had no idea how these things worked, and Luffy's explanation of it just does it, wasn't helpful) He assumed he didn't set the ship on fair due to the lack of panicking crewmates. He confirmed what he had thought happened in that first initial blast.

His fire was able to react like a hand, in a way. It was like he was reaching out and touching the mast and the railing. He could even feel where his crewmates were. It was exhilarating to not be limited to what his other four senses could perceive in his tiny little bubble. In a way it made up for his lack of eyesight, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to ever see the mast it would better than walking into it. He knew that it was something he could learn to control and when he did it would be a great asset to him.

For the first time since he left Luffy on Dawn Island he felt some of the stress melt away from him. Ace even thought the sailing would be smoother from now on.

A year later and some months after entering the Grand Line

Ace didn't think that he would have the opportunity to try his strength so soon. Jinbei had to have been his strongest opponent to date, and he was surprised that the warlord was keeping up with him. However he was more surprised that neither of them were willing to give in drawing out this fight to an impressive length of five days.

In that time Ace found out some important things, one being that the Warlords weren't entirely talk and scum for giving up pirating for safety, and the other was that all sea water could be dangerous.

It had been about the third day of fighting that Ace let Jinbei get too close to the ocean. The fishman had taken advantage of that and hit him with his water martial arts or whatever the name for it was, Ace didn't register the name of the attack as it felt like he was getting sucker punched in the gut with water. He was sent flying, and his fire receded to somewhere he couldn't reach as the stream was continuous.

For a moment Ace was no longer the eighteen year old pirate captain with a strong Devil's Fruit but fifteen year old boy who got blindsided by a tiger, He flailed and kicked in panic, forgetting that he had to act like could see. The cannon cut off and it left Ace flying backwards. He gasped for air, verging on a panic attack as he lost his one comfort of being able to sense the terrain. Thankfully he was still able to sense Jinbei's life force and rolled to the side as a sandaled foot narrowly missed his head. It was enough to shake Ace back into the fight as he lept up, his fire coming to the surface as he fried off.

He knew that he couldn't let Jinbei get close to the water again, that was too powerful of a weapon and Ace didn't like the feeling of having his fire taken away from him.

Is that what Luffy felt whenever he fell into the water? He shook his head clear of the thought as he ducked under a fish and spun out into a back kick. He felt his foot connect. It didn't seem like Jinbei noticed the few seconds that he couldn't see, he wasn't sure what would happen if an opponent found out that he was blind he guessed that is would either take advantage of it or maybe not fight as hard as they would with someone could see. Ace didn't plan giving anyone the chance to find out to see their reaction.

The fight went on for another two days, more accurately one and a half but he'd let the legends make him sound more impressive. At what was most likely midday, he guessed from the intensity of the sun beating down on his back, he heard Jinbei collapse. Yet he didn't let himself think for a second that the fishman was dead, simply losing to exhaustion and the lack of food for days. Ace was feeling it himself, and seconds later he was down on the ground about to allow himself to close his eyes.

That's when he heard the unmistakable sound of a ship approaching land. He swallowed, too exhausted to even summon his fire to explore how big the ship actually was. By the sound of the wake it was causing it wasn't small, maybe the biggest ship he's encountered. Ace swallowed, he was in no shape to stand up much less fight a better equipped crew.

He heard his crew gasp and he guessed that meant the newest arrivals were well known. Then after a few seconds of silence a new voice spoke.

It was old, rough, and loud. "Who's the brat that wants to take my head?"

Shit. Ace felt something hard settle in his gut. This was the man he wanted to kill. He knew that even at full strength it would be a hard fight, but considerably weakened there was no way he would win.

"I'll take him on myself."

Ace forced himself to start moving, and he felt the earth tremble as something jumped down onto it. Was Whitebeard really that strong that the ground shook as he walked. Behind him his crew was growing more and more frantic. He pushed himself into a standing position. After a few seconds of trying to locate Whitebeard's presence he found it, and it was a lot closer than he expected. His legs were straining with the effort to hold him up.

He inhaled. Then let his fire flare out behind him. "Fire net!"

"Planning to run?" Whitebeard spoke, even when he wasn't yelling across land he was loud.

Ace smirked. "I'm letting my crew get away."

Judging by the subtle change in breathing he could tell that wasn't the expected answer.

Good. He thought. Then with a yell he launched himself toward his goal.

The fight as he expected didn't last long, Whitebeard got a devastating hit early on and Ace was already weakened from Jinbei. Still he fought valiantly, or at least he thought he did.

He knew he had landed some punches, and even though Whitebeard didn't give any he was sure he left some serious burn marks. But on one occasion when he left himself open, the older pirate struck him in the ribs which sent him flying.

The young fire used landed hard on his side, losing his breath and his ability to stay conscious.

At least my crew got away. Was his last thought.

We're at the bottom! Please leave your thoughts below!

AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:

1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.

2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.

3.) I am going to update this irregularly