To celebrate the end of the semester I'm updating all 11 of my ongoing fics :D I apologise for the inbox spam u_u And for the long wait. Things have been difficult this semester but in no way have I stopped writing any of my stories. Hopefully I can write more often in the future!

(Also I started some new stories if anyone's interested~)

Ace wasn't sure how, exactly, it turned out like that. He wasn't sure how he and that strange lady got into some sort of eating competition, or why he was so vigorously shoving food down his throat while glaring across the table at her, for that matter. But he didn't question it, even as his stomach filled with more food than it was meant to contain. He'd lose the competition, he knew. Soon he wouldn't be able to fit anything more into his tiny body. It didn't help that she had about three times the height he did, and possibly five times the stomach. Ah, damn it, he hated to lose! Wait, did he? Since when did he hate to lose? Well, whatever, he hated it regardless. He could remember when he was seventeen years old, being able to easily match his brother's appe—

…Could he remember? Conscious thought had him slowing his inhale of the spread in front of him. The more he delved into the darkness of his memories, the hazier everything became. What did Luffy look like when he was a boy? What did it feel like to be taller than him—stronger?

The woman belched, leading Ace to crinkle his nose and shake his head. He was about done eating, else he throw up, and it looked to be the same for her as she dropped a picked-clean drumstick onto one of her multitudes of empty plates. Placing his fork on the table he dropped his head into a bow, mimicking something he remembered from a far-off dream.

"Thanks for the food." A sense of déjà vu filled him as those words left his mouth. He ignored it; he'd been getting a lot of that as of late.

The woman snorted as she leaned back in her chair—because at some point she had been coaxed off the table. "It wasn't like I gave you permission, you damn brat. Ace, was it?" He nodded. "You're a formidable opponent."

The boy raised an eyebrow and tilted his head but decidedly just went with it. "I told you that you couldn't eat it all alone," he said, gesturing to the few scattered plates that hadn't been ravished.

"Gives you no reason to take my lunch, ya little shit." Again he bowed, mouthing a not-so-remorseful 'sorry'. "But looks like I win. You're too small to match up to me." She seemed almost boastful of her ridiculous appetite.

Was that supposed to be an insult? Because he couldn't eat the way she could? Regardless, that 'small' comment got to him and he clenched his fist, glaring holes into the table. "…It's not like I wanna be like this."

A flash of red and orange crossed his memory—fire. And Luffy. He looked so small, so tiny, so helpless, tears streaming down his face. Hurt. Broken.

"You promised! You said you wouldn't die!"

His lip quivered, a sudden pain in his chest—not like the pain he usually experience of guilt or fear or dread. It was physical, burning, like someone melted his innards. It hurt.

…What is this?

"Oh?" The woman's amused tone pulled him back to reality and he watched as she rested her head in her palm with a grin. "Don't like being a brat?"

Ace pulled his mouth taught and furrowed his brows. "No."

"And why's that?"

Good question—why was that? He was bigger than he was on the island. Stronger. Faster. He was growing but it wasn't enough, never enough. Because…

Because the pirate king had eighteen years on him. Because he was behind. Because he needed protecting.

He swallowed. "I… don't want to burden them."

"Them?"

"…My family," he added in a hushed whisper. The restaurant became quiet, still. He wondered if he said something wrong, if he'd revealed too much to that complete stranger. It felt strange, not being scared of someone new without Luffy around. Based on past experiences he knew he should have been, but he wasn't. Why wasn't he cowering away? Why had he stayed—defied her?

"Well," her voice cut through the silence, "we can't have that, now can we?"

Ace's head snapped up as she lifted her legs onto the table and reclined in her seat, a smug look to her face and crumbs surrounding her lips. Needless to say, he was confused. That confusion only multiplied when she nodded to the piles of clothes on the floor.

"Pick something ya like."

For a while he stared dumbly and the pink-haired woman, unsure of how to react. He felt uncertainty well in his chest as he nodded and slipped off the chair. Looking across the floor he noticed that most of the discarded outfits were white and blue. Those colours stuck out in his mind, a perfect match to what Luffy's attackers wore before. But he didn't let it get to him. They were just clothes, nothing more. Just clothes.

As he scoured through the pieces of cloth he came to a realisation and, upon it, turned to stare at the amused woman across the room. "Umm…"

"Hm?"

"They're all too big."

Quiet stretched before the elder burst into peals of laughter, banging her hand against the tabletop as though that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "Don't worry about it, brat. Just pick something."

Ace knitted his brows together but shrugged it off, looking down at the pile at his feet. It was really big for him—too big for even Luffy, he suspected—but since everything on the ground seemed to be pieces of naval uniforms and she said not to pay the size any mind, he grabbed the shirt and held it up, signifying his decision.

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Now close your eyes."

"…"

"Just do it, you shit—before I change my mind."

Her snappy tone had him squeezing his eyes shut tight, nervously tensing as he waited for… well, he didn't know what. But as he waited he noticed something strange—a strong pull at his legs and arms that made him want to move. She protested when he tried, though, and again when he attempted to peek.

"I said keep 'em closed."

Ace's back was starting to hurt. The pain moved down towards his waist and hip, then to his calves until settling on his feet and shooting right back up again.

Riiiiip.

That sound had him instinctively shooting his eyes open and looking down, a red-hot heat rising to his face.

The woman gave an annoyed groan. "See, this is why I hate kids. Goddamn chibi can't listen to one instruction."

Immediately Ace moved to cover himself with the shirt in his hands, locating the tattered remains of the outfit he'd been wearing on the floor. It was… smaller? Looking further down at himself his jaw went slack. Was… was that really him? Was he really…? But it couldn't be. No, no, it couldn't.

…But it was.

"Stop gawking and get dressed!"

"R-right!"

"Luffy!" he heard Nami call from behind, "Hey, Luffy! Slow down!"

"No," he immediately refused, never breaking in his rushed stride to look back at her. His eyes scanned the area, flicking from one place to the next as he desperately searched for a child with messy black hair. Ace, where are you…?

An hour had passed. A whole hour went by without any sign of his little brother. He didn't show up on the Thousand Sunny, not even the port. The waiting was agonising, knowing just how scared Ace was to be alone. Was he crying? Did he think they abandoned him? It wouldn't have been a far stretch, considering his insecurities. That only made the pirate king quicken his pace.

"Luffy!" the navigator shouted again, her hand locking onto his shoulder barely making him stop. He did, though, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he looked at her. But he wanted to make it quick—didn't want to waste any more time. "Look: Ace is a smart kid. He knows we wouldn't leave him." Did he? "He's probably just waiting for us somewhere, alright? You need to calm down."

After a lengthy stare-down the pirate king sighed, reaching atop his head for his absent hat. The redhead seemed pleased by that, delighted when he continued at a less rushed pace. Maybe Nami was right. He hoped she was, because he didn't want to imagine what Ace would have felt if she wasn't. He should have paid closer attention. He should have been watching him.

As he went down each street he peeked into every building, met with alarm and confusion more often than not. He ignored it when the civilians inside chastised him, simply moving on to the next. This repeated for quite some time until eventually the crowds dispersed as he passed through the town square and made his way onto the side streets, Nami matching his pace easily now that he wasn't practically sprinting.

Just as he had been, he flung open the door to a restaurant, systematically preparing to close it and leave. But this time he stopped. This time he paused long enough for his eyes to catch on a woman with long, pink hair. She was alone, shovelling food into her mouth at a much slower pace than what Luffy was used to seeing. His eyes flicked downward for little more than a second, catching on a scattered mess of marine uniforms on the floor. It wasn't hard to guess what happened: they found her, tried to arrest her and, as per the norm, she shrunk them. They probably ran away after that.

Lowering his arms to his side, Luffy straightened his poster. She hadn't looked at him yet, and he wasn't sure if she noticed he was there, so he said her name, "Bonney."

The call stopped her from biting into a slice of pizza, closing her mouth into a grin. Brown eyes glanced up for but a moment, meeting his evenly, before settling back on the table. "Straw Hat Luffy," she greeted calmly, "or should I call you Pirate King now?"

He pulled his mouth taut. They'd found who they were looking for initially but it wasn't Ace and as much as he knew he needed to talk to her, he wanted to just continue his search for his brother.

"Well this explains some things," she stated as she tore through the pizza's crust, grease from the cheese surrounding her mouth. After finishing the slice she wiped her mouth on her sleeve, a contemplative look in her eyes even as her smile grew. "Never thought I'd see it again—that face from a forgotten era."

Luffy narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

She looked at him, smile stretching, and said not a word.

When Robin and Franky arrived back on Sunny and Luffy stormed off to go look for their little companion, Usopp went on a search of his own. But the sniper took a very different approach, one that he thought would be more appropriate for looking for a lost child than simply storming through town and invading the privacy of innocent bystanders.

"Ace!" he shouted, hands cupped over his mouth in an attempt to project his voice just a little further than it would normally reach. "Come on, Ace! Let's go back to the ship!"

People were staring at him, whispering around him, and he could blame them; he'd been at it so long that his throat was getting sore. With a groan he looked around, trying to spot a child matching Ace's description. The sniper slouched when, again, he was met with failure. Just where could that kid have gotten to? It was time for a new tactic!

"Hey, Ace," he shouted again, "Sanji's gonna start dinner soon! Don't you wanna eat?"

"Ugh, don't mention food…" Usopp blinked, the voice behind him unfamiliar and yet he felt he knew it from somewhere. "Never thought I'd say it, but… no food. Just no food."

Slowly the sniper turned, facing the source of the voice. He swallowed, his eyes travelling upwards to meet the man's face and he gulped, taking in the blue and white uniform, the name emblazoned on the cap. "Y-you're…"

The man grinned. "You look a lot smaller now. I feel… tall. I like it."

"…A-Ace?!"

And there ya go~ Funny thing is, I'd been planning this part since before Marco was introduced and almost forgot about it XD

To my lovelies~

MysteriousEyez: Yes, 'tis Bonney. Sometimes school does not feel worth the effort :,D

kickassdani: Yes, yes she is! Awe you're welcome hun~ I'm glad I can make people happy :)

CrazySarahify: Here's an update~

Leite Destiny: Yep, he was injected with liquid seastone. But they weren't looking for a doctor. Chopper called Law but he refused to help. They were looking for the last Yonko :)

StarLuna: Well, there was a competition between Ace and Bonney at least XD

: I see her as being a little calmer yet still very selfish XD Hopefully she doesn't feel too OOC. Yup, she cried when she saw what happened at Marineford, so I tried to show that.

xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: So am I XD

Yvonne Park: Here's more~

READINGhearts17: That was like my favourite line XD

Son Goshen: Yes it is! :D Here's more~

Little missy: ./. You flatter me. I'm really happy to hear you liked it!

Travellingfirefist: Really happy I was able to keep your attention that long :D Hope you stick around for the rest~

portgas d ace forever: Now you know :P

: I am sorry the update was slow but at least there was one :D

ggtherescuer: Here you go~

Thank you all for waiting patiently as I stressed over life and school :,D Hope you enjoyed! Please drop a review and tell me what you think if you have the time~