Of Scars

Most people would tell you that Luffy was a generally forgetful person; someone who never cared enough to remember things other than meat or bugs. Most people are wrong. Luffy tries to remember things, and if he understands them, he does, but Luffy has a hard time understanding things. This is what leads to his "forgetfulness". Can you really forget when you never knew in the first place?

Monkey D. Garp is another person that is commonly mistaken as forgetful. He files everything away, information is always in the back of his head, but if he doesn't care, he acts like he doesn't know. One of the many pieces of information Garp has stored is the fact that his grandson, Luffy, does not understand much. Usually, this is one of those facts that he doesn't care about, but right now Garp needs Luffy to understand.

So we see, Monkey D. Garp, with a severe expression, staring at his grandson, pleading with him to remember to run if he ever heard those words. Luffy knew that he should listen when Garp looked at him with those eyes. Luffy had never seen Garp with such eyes; eyes that reminded him of the ones Shanks had when he told sad stories. And so, Luffy listened as best he could.

Luffy and Ace snuck through the forest on the edges of High-Town, slowly creeping by until they found the tower they were looking for. The tower stood tall, larger than all of the others, and could be seen from the outside of the wall. That was the tower they had Sabo in. Sabo was their brother, some of the only family they had. He had accepted Ace despite his heritage, and now it was time for Ace to return the favor.

The moon was high in the sky, yet hidden by the blanket of clouds. The nobles would be sound asleep in their homes, trusting the guards with their safety. They had waited almost three days, these were the best conditions they were going to get; they needed to get Sabo out tonight!

Luffy stretched his arms to the top of the wall before helping Ace get up there. They crept closer to the window overlooking the forest, the one they remembered Sabo telling them about before he was taken. After getting to the window, Ace was about to open it and jump in, but just then he heard the door open harshly.

"That's all the punishment you have for tonight, but just know you're not done yet brat. Tomorrow's punishment will be ten times worse!"

After that, the door closed just as harshly as it had opened. Ace and Luffy peered into the window again, only to see Sabo quivering in his bed, tears cascading down his face. That sight was all it took for Luffy to all but break down the window, tumbling in to grab Sabo, Ace not far behind.

Luffy, vaguely remembering that he had to be quiet on the mission, whispered to Sabo once he had climbed into the bed with him. "Sabo! What happened? What did those idiots do?!"

Sabo recognized their voices immediately, and while a small part in the back of his mind told him that they would never come for him, the bigger part told him that these were his brothers. That would never change, and so, Sabo allowed them to touch him, even if it reminded him of them. His brothers would never do that.

Ace had picked Sabo up and prepared to leave with him when Sabo spoke up. His voice was hoarse and scratchy, and he spoke in a small voice. "Ace, Luffy… They- they raped me. I tried to get them off, but they just wouldn't go. I begged and begged and begged but they just wouldn't… I didn't want them to…" Sabo trailed off at the end before burying his face in Ace's shirt.

He was terribly embarrassed. He was too weak to get some noble off of him. Even if the noble had no training. He couldn't do anything. He was supposed to be strong to protect Luffy, but he couldn't even protect himself. Heck, he couldn't even stop himself from crying in front of his brothers.

Luffy was enraged. He grew up in a bar, and then with mountain bandits; of course, he knew what sex was. He also knew it was special, meant for people you loved and wanted to marry, but those people took that away from Sabo, and he would never forgive them for that.

Ace didn't know what he felt more: anger or guilt. If they had gotten there earlier, if they hadn't waited as long, then maybe he could have prevented this whole situation. He would kill those bastards the moment Sabo was safe, they would pay for the things they did to his brother.

Ace held Sabo close, hugging him tightly after that bombshell. Luffy quickly grabbed the black tophat and blue goggles that sat on the nightstand before nuzzling his face into Sabo's hair quickly. After that, they were gone. Not a noble in High-Town noticed them, and they were back in their treehouse before three in the morning.

As soon as he reached their home, Luffy grabbed the big blanket from the corner and wrapped it around himself and his brothers. He sat Sabo's head on his lap and started carding his fingers through his brother's hair. Sabo slowly stopped crying, but it took a few more hours for him to go to sleep. Luffy stayed with him the entire time, comforting him through small gestures and making sure to keep his hands in Sabo's hair or around his chest, nothing lower.

Part of Sabo screamed at him not to let people touch him, but the other part craved the comfort of his brothers. Ace's touch was warm, comforting in a way no one else's was. Luffy's, in contrast, was cold. Not in an uncomfortable way, but in a grounding way. He was with his brothers, not them. In the end, he chose the part that craved touch, and slowly drifted off to sleep, which was not the best he's ever had, but the best he's had in the last three days.

Once Sabo was asleep, Ace got up from his position next to his brothers, leaving the treehouse with a promise to return before breakfast. He needed to blow off some steam, he was so angry. With himself, with the nobles, with everyone but his brothers, Ace hated everything at the moment. Luffy knew this, he and Sabo knew Ace better than anyone, so he let him go and cuddled with Sabo until he awoke a few hours later.

Despite none of the brothers sleeping well the past few days, it was six in the morning when Luffy and Sabo woke. Breakfast is in an hour, Ace should be back soon. So, Sabo and Luffy waited patiently for their brother's return; however, it wasn't long before their waiting was interrupted by a marine intercom.

Luffy perked up waiting for the message, waiting to see if it was one of the marine codes that he remembered from gramps' lessons. Sabo was also waiting for the message, curious as to why the marines had an announcement for such a small island. There were no marine bases on the island, and no pirates at the moment.

"Your sun shall set at midday!" The intercom blared out.

Luffy froze. Thoughts started going through his head at a million miles a minute. "Why? Why now? Where's Ace? We need to go! Now!" Luffy mumbled. Sabo could only stare in shock. What did that code mean that had Luffy so messed up? Was Luffy okay?

Luffy stood quickly after getting his thoughts in order. "We need to get Ace and go, now!" he yelled frantically.

"What's going on Luffy? What did that message mean?" Sabo questioned.

"No time! I'll tell you later!" Luffy said back just as frantically as before. He stood and grabbed his Ace's hat and secured his straw hat on his head. Sabo stood soon after with a wince and turned to grab their emergency bags and his own hat. If Luffy was this distressed, it was important.

The two brothers were descending the rope ladder that led up to their home when it happened. The first shot. Luffy got even more frantic, jumping the rest of the way down, while Sabo climbed down faster. "What is going on? Are we under attack?" Sabo thought to himself.

Somehow Luffy could feel that Ace was at his usual spot. He didn't question it, there was no time. They needed to get Ace.

Feet pounded across the forest floor as Luffy and Sabo ran to get Ace. Luffy was regretting letting him go; if he had stopped him they could be running to the shore by now. Sabo was obviously tired, He didn't know how much running he could take right now.

The next seven minutes felt like hours. Luffy and Sabo continued to run towards Ace's usual spot, screaming for him. More shots rang out through the island, fires were starting in the forest. It wouldn't be long before the entire forest was in flames. They needed to hurry.

Luffy reached Ace's spot first, closely followed by Sabo. What used to be a densely packed forest with stones everywhere was now a clearing with debris scattered across it. Ace lay in the center of the newly made clearing, passed out from exhaustion.

"Shit!" Sabo cursed. They needed to move quickly! Now was not the time for Ace to be unconscious!

Luffy ran up and tried to wake Ace up, but after a few minutes, Sabo declared it was useless. Luffy gave Sabo Ace's backpack that was on his back before slinging Ace across his back. With Luffy's backpack on his chest and Ace firmly situated on his back, the brothers set off again.

With the new weight, Luffy slowed down to a pace slightly slower than Sabo's. They could hear the contents of the three backpacks shaking as they ran, avoiding all the fire they could. By this time, there were flames everywhere; smoke was starting to cloud the area causing it to look dark out. It was as if the sun had set even though it was midmorning.

They had slowed down to a pace just above a jog, tired from the lack of sleep and running. There was still another mile until they reached the shore that Garp said the emergency boat was on, so they continued across the forest as fast as they could. Trees were falling around them due to the fire, and it was getting hard to breathe because of the smoke.

Luffy had just passed a flaming tree when he heard Sabo yelp. He turned to see Sabo underneath the burning tree. Luffy watches as Sabo passes out from the pain of the flames spreading up his side. Luffy set Ace on the ground before running toward the tree. He quickly punched and pushed at the tree several times, reducing it to mere ash and wood chips, while his hands started to burn from the flames.

The fire continued to creep up Sabo and was nearly at his face now. Luffy started patting the fire out with his hands while grabbing the bottle of water out of Sabo's burning bag. He poured the bottle over his brother, putting the rest of the flames out.

Luffy put Ace back on his back, looping his stretched arms around his legs several times before bending down to carry Sabo bridal style. The beach was in sight and Luffy sprinted to the shore, searching for the boat. He quickly found it tied to a rock in the middle of a small cave on the side of a cliff.

Luffy put Ace and Sabo in the small fishing boat before climbing in himself and cutting the rope that tied them to the rock. Luffy got down on the floorboards where his brothers were, trying to make the boat look like driftwood. They managed to sail for twenty minutes before Luffy looked back at the island he called home.

He was shocked to tears when he saw the state of the island. Everything was gone; it was all burned and crushed. You could no longer see the village from the sea, and the forest was in flames, leaving only the rough rock of the mountain behind.

Once the tears started they didn't stop. Their home was gone, Makino and Dadan were gone, all of the animals -including the Tiger lord- were gone, all of the plants and bugs were gone. Luffy would never see them again. His brothers were injured and unconscious. Luffy didn't know if they were ok or not. He hoped they were, he didn't want to be alone.

Luffy stayed awake the entire day and night as the fishing boat drifted across the water. Neither of his brothers were awake to keep watch, so now it was his turn to protect them. His hands burned, he could only imagine what Sabo felt like. Ace was coughing a lot, Luffy thought it might have been from the smoke, but he wasn't sure. He felt so tired.

Luffy suddenly got an idea and started rummaging through the medical kits in the two remaining backpacks. He got some bandages and tied them around Ace's hands and feet, which were bleeding from the various attacks on rocks and trees. It wasn't the best work, but it was better than nothing. He quickly moved on to putting small tubes of burn cream on Sabo's face and shoulders. There wasn't enough to cover all of the burns, but he would make do with what they had.

It had been another day and night of Luffy staying awake and doing his best to take care of his brothers, making it about 50 hours since the attack started. He was exhausted and had only stopped crying when he had no more tears left in him. He was doing his best to stay awake when he heard Ace groan.

Luffy shot up from the relaxed position he was in and looked over to Ace. Ace had woken up and was looking confused. He coughed a few times before looking up at Luffy. His baby brother looked exhausted. What happened?

He didn't have time to ask before Luffy crawled over and hugged him so tightly the boat started shaking. It was then that Ace realized they were on a boat in the middle of the sea, and that Sabo was knocked out with burns all over him.

"Luffy, what happened!? Why are we on a boat? Is Sabo okay?!" Ace exclaimed hurriedly.

Luffy backed away from the hug to look at Ace. "Ace… there was a buster call. And- .. and you weren't there, so we went to get you but you were knocked out…" Luffy hesitated before starting again. "Sabo got hit by a tree that was on fire and got burned. I got him out, but he … wasn't awake. The island… It's gone, Ace! What are we gonna do? Were the only ones left! No Makino, No Dadan! They are all dead, Ace! I thought I was gonna be alone again…" Luffy trailed off, more tears building in his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time since they set sail.

Ace was crushed. His baby brother went through all of that and he wasn't there to help. He passed out, all because he got a little mad and he wasn't there. He wasn't there! He's the older brother, he is supposed to help his siblings, but he is never there. He's such a bad sibling.

"Stop it, Ace, it's not your fault; you're a great brother. You deserve to be alive." Luffy said in a tone that left no room for argument, a stark contrast to the desperate tone he was using only a minute ago. It was as if there was no other way to think, Luffy was simply right, but why couldn't Ace truly believe that?

Luffy stared at Ace for a few more moments before speaking again, "If you really think you're a bad brother then do something."

Ace's head snapped up to look at Luffy in confusion. "You're a great brother Ace, but nothing I say right now will make you believe that, so make yourself believe it. Right now I need an older brother that is here with me, helping me take care of Sabo. Right now I need you to be here, not in your head. So make yourself believe that you are good by doing that." Luffy said, never breaking eye contact. Ace wondered when Luffy went and got all mature.

Ace looked into Luffy's eyes. They were so sad, yet so convincing. Luffy needed him. In order to be there for him, Ace needed to forget himself for a while. Forget about being the older brother, forget about being Rodger's son. He needed to be Ace right now, so he would. He briefly wondered if that's what Luffy meant when he said "Ace is Ace"

Ace opened his arms and beckoned for Luffy to come to him. Luffy quickly settled himself on Ace, nuzzling into his chest. Ace started petting Luffy, slowly causing the adrenaline to ebb away. "Rest Luffy. I'll keep watch, and wake you if we find an island."

With that, Luffy slowly slipped into a deep sleep, mumbling a quick "I love you, Ace." before finally going to sleep.

"I love you too, Luffy." Ace whispered while preparing for a long wait. He didn't deserve such a good family.

And that was how the day proceeded. Just Ace and Just Luffy.

Luffy woke several times during his sleep. Sometimes it was because of nightmares that plagued his dreams, and sometimes it was because of a particularly bad cough from Ace. He only managed to get around three hours of sleep a day, but he was doing better than his brother who stayed awake almost twenty-four-seven.

Sometime during the day Ace awoke, they began catching fish that they cooked with a small heater from one of the backpacks. ly wasn't enough to satisfy them, especially after they starved for more than two days, but it kept them alive.

Sabo still hadn't woken up, and they were starting to get antsy. They had been at sea for almost a week now; he should be awake! Ace had started boiling the salt water, letting it cool, and putting it on the burns Sabo had, hoping to heal them even a little bit. Luffy found some more burn cream in one of the backpacks and applied it once more.

Other than taking care of Sabo as best they could and fishing, Ace and Luffy spent their time curled up in each other's presence. With everything they'd lost, they clung to the only things they had left; each other and Sabo, who they refused to touch in case they hurt him.

That was what they did now as they sailed across the seemingly endless sea. Luffy had his head resting on Ace's chest, while Ace had his fingers tangled in Luffy's hair, rubbing soothing circles into it. The coolness of Luffy's touch combined with Ace's heat to make what could only be described as the feeling of home – well the closest feeling of home you could get when yours was just destroyed.

Luffy had just gotten off of Ace to stretch his arms when he saw it.

"ACE! Look, look!" he shouted excitedly.

Ace had snapped up the moment Luffy said his name. "What!? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?" He questioned hastily, his voice a little scratchy from the amount of coughing he'd been doing the last few days.

Luffy was simply pointing at something while nearly vibrating with excitement. Ace followed his hands before seeing the island ahead of them.

"It's an island, Ace!" Luffy exclaimed.

Ace had been worried he was hallucinating at first, but once Luffy confirmed there was an island he lit up with just as much excitement as his little brother. "There might be a doctor for Sabo!" Ace said, voice quivering.

They were exhausted, but as soon as they got on the island, Ace and Luffy pulled the boat up and made a shelter. It wasn't much, they really just put some long sticks over a pre-existing rock structure, but it was good enough for now. Ace tugged Sabo onto his back and brought him over to Luffy who was making a nest-type bed out of leaves and the few blankets they had. Once they had Sabo settled, Ace went to look for any sort of civilization. Luffy briefly wondered how long he would be gone.

Luffy stayed with Sabo for mere minutes before going to sleep. Now that they were somewhat safe, all of the fatigue from the last week had caught up to him and he was out like a light. For the first time since Sabo was taken, Luffy got more than five hours of sleep. It was full of nightmares, burning islands, his brother's tears, Makino, Dadan, even a world where his brothers didn't make it, but Luffy didn't wake the entire time.

Ace's search for civilization wasn't nearly as efficient as Luffy's sleep, but it wasn't entirely futile. Rather than finding a doctor -or anyone else for that matter- Ace found enough wood, food, and freshwater to sustain him and his brothers. The island was rather small, but from the far coast you could see another island that seemed bigger.

Ace briefly wondered if they should go ahead and go to that island instead, but then he realized just how tired he was. With the total amount of sleep he had since he woke up being less than the eight that you were recommended to get in one, Ace had been resisting sleep constantly.

There were sometimes that he didn't even mean to fall asleep, he often didn't even realize he was until he woke up. Other times he got extreme feelings of tiredness before he fell asleep. He almost never really wanted to sleep, in fact, most of the time he hated the fact that he had. It was almost like his body was forcing him to sleep.

The cough he'd had since he woke up was nearly gone, only a few every now and again. His knuckles and other scrapes from his … therapy session were also healed. The only thing Ace needed right now was sleep, and he highly doubted he would get much, but it was worth a try.

Ace headed back to the shore that their shelter was on and curled up next to his brothers. He didn't realize how much he missed them just in the short time he was gone. Sleep took him a few moments later, but only for a few hours before he woke again.

Sabo couldn't tell where he was. Everything was dark, and numb. If he had to guess he would say he's been there for around a day now. It was kind of worrying; there was no one else around.

He tried to remember what he was doing, but as soon as he got close to the answer something stopped him, adding another insignificant thought to take his attention. His body was numb. He couldn't think of the things he wanted. It was as if he wasn't in control of his own body and mind. That thought scared him to no end.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the distance. Sabo was compelled to go investigate. Once he got there, Sabo realized that the subtle glow was from a … memory? It was a small box that showed flashes of Sabo's memories.

Sabo recognized the time he became brothers with Ace and Luffy, Luffy being swallowed by a crocodile, Ace attempting to do some sort of parkour through the trees, Luffy's first time picking pockets, and several more. Sabo smiled fondly and all of the memories, sitting down to watch.

When the screen looked as if it was loading, Sabo was waiting happily for the next clip. Once the clip came on, Sabo's eyes widened a bit. His mother was leading him down a corridor, a man was grabbing him, he was begging, the man was hitting him.

Sabo tried to leave, but he once again felt numb. When he finally moved it was because of the hands. There were hands that seemed to be all over him, crawling across his skin gently. Sabo's breath hitched, and his breathing stilled.

When he looked up to see who was touching him, Sabo saw the same smile, the same eyes, and the same face as the person who appeared in the memories. His once non existent breath suddenly returned full force. As he hyperventilated, he realized he couldn't move. He was at that man's mercy.

Ace woke up to see Luffy sleeping on top of Sabo's right side. Ace wondered how even in his sleep Luffy managed to be mindful of things, especially since he doesn't know he does it most of the time. Luffy's arm had stretched to hug Ace at some point as well.

Ace looked at his brothers fondly before getting up and stretching his legs. After his knees popped several times, he heard a stomach growl. He looked at his brother's sleeping face and decided he should get some food.

Ace felt horrible for Luffy. Ace ate a lot, but Luffy ate more, and he had been awake for an extra two days. Luffy had to be starving, he was sluggishly moving. Even when they got off the boat Luffy could barely move at his regular pace.

And so, Ace determined to get food for his brothers, set out. Hunting enough food for the three of them would take a while, especially by himself, but he would manage. He had done it before, he could do it now.

When Luffy awoke, Sabo had tears in the corner of his eyes again. It had happened several times now, and every time Luffy silently wiped them away. Luffy doesn't know what is happening in Sabo's head right now, but he does know that Sabo needs him right now. He silently murmurs reassurance to Sabo while he lays with him.

The pains in his stomach returned, but Luffy ignored them. Ace was somewhere on the island, he could feel it. Ace might have food, and if not they could go hunt. Luffy had endured this before in Garp's training, there was no reason he couldn't do it now.

It was kind of lonely without Ace. Ace had been stuck to Luffy for months, constantly making sure he was okay. It was strange without him there; Luffy didn't like it. At least Sabo was there.

Just then Luffy felt Ace coming closer, and soon, Ace appeared through the brush with several boars in tow. Luffy stomach growled at the sight.

"Oi, Luffy, I got food!" Ace called out from where he stood.

"YAY!!! Thanks, Ace!" Luffy exclaimed.

The food was cooked and eaten in the next hour, and if Ace sat slightly closer to Luffy than normal, no one needed to know. That is, unless you were Luffy; Luffy always knew.

Once the two of them had their fill, Ace stood and grabbed the last few pieces of boar meat and began tearing them into smaller chunks. Luffy walked over to where Sabo lay and gently sat him in an upright position. Soon, Ace was handing the chunks of meat to Luffy, who put them in Sabo's mouth and watched as Sabo unconsciously ate them.

This had been the regular over their days at sea. Ace and Luffy would eat before giving Sabo some. Ace was suddenly very grateful for the lessons Garp gave them on eating no matter what - even if you were unconscious.

After Garp was mentioned, tears began to form in Ace's eyes. Garp may not be dead, but the chance of seeing him anytime soon was slim. Garp most likely thought they were dead. He may not have treated them the best, but he didn't hate them; he loved them in his own way.

Luffy quickly caught Ace's tears and walked back to him, leaving Sabo to sleep.

"Ace? What's wrong?"

Ace didn't think he had the heart to lie to Luffy right now. "I was thinking about Gramps."

It was a short answer but Luffy understood anyway. He wrapped his arms around Ace and hugged him for hours before they finally fell asleep. Ace never let the tears fall, it made Luffy sad.