WARNING! SPOILERS I'm not sure but just in case this story might contain spoliers concerning Luffy's family and heritage.
-Giri does not own One Piece!
A STRONG MARINE!
Luffy struggled vainly against the strong hand clasped around his rubbery neck. This was it, he couldn't escape this time, his punches, as strong as they were had no effect on his enemy.
"Lemme go!" He screeched, thrashing his limbs through the air.
"Shuddup you good for nothing brat and look down!" The larger man roared, tightening his grip on the neck.
Luffy went silent, biting his bottom lip in worry as he stole a glance down. The dark crevasse howled below his dangling feet, beckoning for him to join whatever slimy thing dwelled at its bottom. His hands began to sweat and his eyes widened, he looked at his captor. "No! Please!" He began his thrashing again, squirming like a fish out of water.
The man holding him over the cliff's lip gave no expression of pity - or any emotion for that matter. "This is for your own good Luffy," he said, slackening his grasp. "One day you'll become a strong marine."
With that he dropped his grandson into the ravine.
"I WANNA BE A PIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
General Monkey D. Garp chuckled to himself and called after the rapidly disappearing child. "You're to be back by breakfast!" He made his way to the bar; no one dared questioned why he was two grandsons short.
"Stupid fart."
"Stupid fart," agreed his younger brother.
"Old buffoon."
"Old buffoon," nodded Luffy.
"Stupid old frigging fart shit buffoon."
"Stupid old fri-" Luffy dodged Ace's punch. "OI!"
"No swearing Luffy," Ace warned maturely. He wiped his forehead and looked up. They couldn't see the top as of yet and the sun was setting, the purple shadows made it hard to navigate through the rockiness, loose stones continually gave way under their feet.
"Hmm" the older boy looked to his younger brother, "it's getting dark."
"I'm hungry," Luffy complained, hugging his small body and looking to his older brother for guidance.
"Ugh, you're always hungry." Ace dragged his body over a small ledge and turned to help Luffy.
Luffy clasped his hand and wriggled up beside his brother. "I am not!"
"Are too. Face it, you're a bottomless pit."
At the mention of bottomless pit, Luffy looked down at the one they were in. "We've barely moved," he moaned. "I can't even see the top."
Ace punched his brother playfully on the shoulder. "First one to the top?"
"No point," objected Luffy.
The boy raised a dark eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Because I'm gonna beat you anyway!" Luffy scrambled frantically up the cliff face, intent on flogging his older brother.
"Don't tire yourself…" Ace sighed and began the long ascent, always keeping an eye on his younger brother's behind fading in the darkness.
It was night; pitch black, there wasn't a star or a moon to shed even the slightest light. It was cold, not freezing, but enough to make one's hands clammy and send a slight shiver through the body. Clinging to the side of a crevasse clung two young boys, half way to accomplishing their given task. In a position where they couldn't see the bottom, couldn't see the top and couldn't see where they placed their hands and feet.
Ace frowned as Luffy, having exhausted his energy in his one man race, paused in front of him. "Take…take your time," panted his brother, patting Luffy's feet in encouragement. "Look for good…good supports. Bit by bit, Luffy."
"Ace," Luffy whined, "I'm hungry!"
Rolling his eyes, Ace replied, "What would Shanks say if he heard you say that?"
"Nothing," the young boy grumbled, "he'd just laugh."
"Damn right," grunted Ace, bringing himself up to his sibling's level. "And what would Grandpa do?"
Luffy pressed his face to the rock, gritted his teeth and forced his aching limbs to keep climbing. Ace clapped the small figure on the back, giving the boy a new energy burst.
"Let's show Grandpa!" He mumbled in determination.
"Yeah!" Ace declared breathlessly.
"Stupid old frigging fart shit buffoon."
"Yeah, stupid old frig- Luffy," he warned dangerously.
General Garp sat himself at the bar with a loud chuckle. "Those two kids don't seem to be coming," he said to Makino as she served him his breakfast. The old general took up his spoon and plunged it into his bowl; he stared at his breakfast-filled spoon and shrugged. "Eh, knew they couldn't do it," just as he was about to eat, a loud explosion filled the entire bar with dust and wood splinters.
Monkey D. Garp stared at the hole, then to the mess, to his empty spoon and finally to the screaming blur which crashed through the opposite wall and landed outside.
Luffy yawned widely as golden light flooded into the crevasse, illuminating everything that had previously been hidden in the night. He was moving at a snail's pace. Above was Ace, carefully hauling himself between the natural stone-work, he stopped and looked down smiling, his freckles scrunching together, he gave a cheery wave.
Luffy grinned tiredly and waved back – it never occurred to him that he should have used one hand. He was slowly falling backwards and completely unaware of the gravitational sensation, still waving and grinning like an idiot.
He did realise, however, the look of Ace's face. It morphed from weary joy to disbelief and quickly into horror. Luffy felt the stone slip from under his thongs and threw his hands out towards his brother.
"ACE! HELP! I'M FALLING!"
"JESUS LUFFY!" Ace shouted, diving down the cliff face, reaching hysterically for Luffy's hands. Their fingers brushed, Ace thought for a moment he had him, but Luffy, as concentrated as he was, plummeted faster than Ace could fall.
Luffy felt the wind snatching his cries from his mouth.
"GRAB THE BRANCH!"
Luffy opened his eyes just at the branch flashed past him. He reached out, grabbed and clung on for dear life – he couldn't afford to start from the bottom again.
Ace sighed in relief as his younger brother swung safely from the branch. He suddenly became aware of his own fate. "AAH! LUFFY! HELP!" He grabbed Luffy around the stomach and hugged him tightly, breathing rapidly. "Phew," he said nervously. "See Luffy? Nothing to it!"
"Ace!" the boy cried. "I can't hold on!"
"Luffy!"
"Why are you so heavy?" Luffy grunted. "I'M STRETCHING!"
Ace watched in disbelief as Luffy's body began extending, stretching like elastic. Ace broke out in a cold sweat. Rubber bands. He felt Luffy's body stretch to its limit and his feet, along with his brother's, brushed the floor of the ravine. He stopped – and the rubber band started to retract. For a moment he believed it was going to be a slow, gentle climb back to Luffy's other half. It was not to be. Ace opened his mouth to scream, Luffy whizzed past in a smudge of colour, and he climbed the ravine from bottom to top in two seconds flat. Clinging onto Luffy, the two soared high into the air.
"WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy shouted in glee.
"WE'RE FALLING!" Ace shouted in horror. "DO SOMETHING LUFFY!"
Luffy looked at his brother. "Like what?"
"I dunno! Anything!"
Luffy frowned. "Well…I can't think of anything."
Ace rolled his eyes and hit earth.
"Ace!" Cried Luffy as his brother finally opened his eyes. "Ace, are you okay?" He helped him sit up. "I can't believe it, we're alive!" He gasped. "ACE! WE'RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT IN TIME! GRANDPA'S GONNA KILL US!"
Ace clutched his head. "I'm sure I died just then."
"ACE!" Luffy grabbed his brother and shook him. "WE HAVE TO HURRY!"
"OKAY! Help me up!"
Luffy did so and watched Ace steady himself.
"We're going to have to run back to the village." Ace informed, he watched Luffy grab a tree and walk, his arm stretching. "W-what are you doing?"
Luffy grinned. "I've got a new technique!"
"AWESOME!" Ace exclaimed with a grin. "What's it called?"
"GOMU GOMU NO…!"
Ace's face went pale, even his freckles went into hiding. His last words, after Luffy screamed his attack, were: "Why 'Rocket'?"
Garp stepped outside via the newest entrance and looked at his two grandsons' sprawled in the grass. Ace was the first to revive, having enough energy to point at his grandpa and declare: "WE MADE IT!" Though at the risk of sounding slightly hysterical.
Luffy grinned to himself, chewing away happily on the stolen spoon-full of breakfast.
Giri: I loved the fact Luffy has a grandpa! And how he trained him! Next chapter - Balloons!
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