[OP] Matchless 無双 / AceLu

03 PROLOGUE: Occurence at Party's Bar

Dadan started to notice more odd things regarding Ace's behaviour; for starters, Ace just never talked. We know that already but that's a big thing. He's 10 already, and not a peep.

So what was different, was that the burly woman had finally decided to bring the topic up to the boy's adoptive grandfather, he was responsible after all.

Garp used to make excuses, saying that it was her that interrupted his first words. Dadan would then grunt and wave it off, pretending she didn't ask in the first place. She knew that anyone who argued with Garp received unspeakable punishments, hers would be a life sentence in prison. No thanks, Dadan thought.

This time, Garp responded with a sigh, "I'll go get him a checkup then."

Dadan's eyes widened at the words, "No you id-" She lunged forward shouting. Just as Garp was about to raise his eyebrow at her tone, Dadan quickly covered her mouth, "...G-Garp-san... a-as I was saying! You can't bring him to a doctor! Don't you remember who he is??" She glared at him with gritted teeth.

"Ah right." Garp replied, scratching his head, "Darn it, then what do you want me to do? If the boy doesn't talk, he doesn't talk, not like we can do anything about it."

Dadan very much wanted to beat the man up, he was not being a good grandfather, heck not even a good person with this careless statement! He wasn't even around to take care of his grandkid, and she, a completely unrelated person, takes better care of him than the marine does-

Well come to think of it, Garp wasn't exactly related to the kid either.

Dadan shook her head, "No! You're missing the point!" She spat her cigarette as she started to protest again, "He does need to get a checkup.. just... ah don't you have any doctor friends that can keep a secret??"

"Doctor friends that can keep a secret?" Garp echoed in confusion, "Well.. I suppose I can bring Ace down to Fuusha and see what I can do there."

"F-Fuusha??" Dadan blurted, she was hesitant for a second, but there really was nowhere else that might be able to work, "A-Alright then, we still need to wait for Ace to come back."

Garp let out a belly laugh, startling the other, "Ah, why wait when we can go right now? He's usually in the jungle, yes?" The marine started marching toward the trees of Midway Forest.

"U-Uh.. yes.... I'm not sure you'll be able to find him though-!" Dadan helpfully pointed out as she watched the man disappear into the forest.

Dadan wasn't sure how long she'd be waiting. She herself knew that Ace was a hard catch. Believe me, she tried, she had a whole group of mountain bandits with her. Ace would be out of sight until he came back himself. However, just minutes later, Garp came out, holding Ace by the back of his shirt, leaving him hanging down his hand. Ace looked at Dadan with a straight face as she responded with a gaping mouth.

"WH-WH..?? H-HOW...?" Was all Dadan could muster up, completely bewildered by what she was seeing.

"Fished the little critter out, it wasn't that hard." Garp shrugged. Dadan felt like turning into stone and toppling over. He turned to Ace, "Ready for a doctor's appointment, boy?"

Ace didn't look at him, he continued staring at Dadan, who was frozen in place.

Garp chuckled, "You're always ready aren't you? Come on, let's go give Fuusha Village a visit." Saying that, he started heading downhill to the little village.

----

It was a habit by now that Garp would drop by a specific bar, called "Party's Bar" to greet a young woman by the name of Makino.

"Good afternoon Garp-san!" The green-haired woman smiled up at him as she wiped the tables, "What brings you here today?"

Garp put Ace on a tall stool, "Figured I'd stop by for a drink, came back from duty only yesterday. 2 glasses please, and how're things for you, Makino?"

"I'm doing just fine, thank you for asking!" Makino replied, pouring the marine a glass. She then noticed Ace, who sat still on the stool looking at the glass.

"Oh! Aren't you too young for these kind of drinks!" She exclaimed as she empties the second glass and replaces it with orange juice instead, "How does juice sound to you, little one?"

Ace didn't respond nor look up, he just stared at the orange liquid in his glass, like he was searching for something in it.

Makino smiled, "My, aren't you a cute one! I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?" She lowered herself to come into eye contact with Ace, who looked up slightly from his drink.

Garp gulped down his beer quickly, then wiped his mouth, "Ah, his name's Ace. He's my other grandson."

The response intrigued the young woman as she looked back to the boy with a kind grin, "Really! Hello there, Ace! I'm Makino, I work at this bar. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Ace just stared at her, but he understood and acknowledged her greeting mentally.

"Makino, Makino!!!" A little voice shouted after ducking down from the swinging doors, "You've got orange juice today?" It appeared to be a short boy in quite an oversized straw hat that barely sat on top of his head without drooping down his eyes.

The boy caught Ace's attention when he saw him scramble up his way to the tall seat next to him. He also started to tap on the counter with his hands repeatedly, his legs kicking his chair.

Makino couldn't help but laugh, "Yes Luffy, I almost thought you wouldn't come today." She beamed, sliding a glass to the thirsty boy, who immediately drank it down.

"Luffy!" Garp's voice nearly made the kid, Luffy, choke on his drink, "Been training yourself like a good marine while I was gone?"

Luffy gulped, "N-No.." he muttered quietly, hoping something else would get in the way of the outcome of his response. Ace understood the feeling. He could actually relate. Whoever this Luffy kid was, he also goes through whatever Gramps called "marine training".

"Did I hear a 'no', boy?" Garp's voice grew low as he furrowed his eyebrows. Ace knew he had to do something before the poor boy that he just met, faced hell. Oh right! Ace just met him! He can probably try to introduce himself to him to change the topic.

As Garp walked menacingly closer to the both of them, Ace saw the horrified expression on Luffy's face and he knew he'd have to act fast.

"I'm Ace." He also took out his hand, for good measure. Ace squeezed his eyes shut and faced the other way, only to be met with silence for one millisecond.

Ace almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a chubby hand firmly grab onto his own, "I'm Luffy!" Ace opened his eyes to see the boy, smiling so impossibly wide at him.

Luffy.

Yeah.. something about the name... or about the kid made a lasting impression on Ace. He'd never seen such a smile, or felt such an immediate warmth.

Luffy.