A Black Heart Does Not Always Stay Black

The Tipping Point

"Luffy, how big can you get?" Sabo asked in interest after taking a huge bite of his burger. "Have you ever tried bigger than on the ship when we first came?" Luffy shook his head and gulped down his own burger.

He responded with, "I've never tried bigger than that. There was no reason to. So, I don't know how big I can get." They were having dinner the night before they stopped on the next island. It was not a Whitebeard protected island, but one under Red Hair Shanks. Whitebeard had told the boys that they wouldn't be making an act of war by docking there and restocking. After all, Whitebeard and Shanks weren't enemies, but not friends either. So, the pirates docking there were only going to be attacked by the fellow emperor if they attacked any of the people on said island.

The boys were still not going to leave the ship, content to hang out by themselves or with anyone who wanted to play games while the rest were off on the island. Even Whitebeard was going off, saying he wanted off the ship after so long of not leaving. So, a few of the commanders would be staying on to keep the boys safe, not that they thought anyone would come after them on a protected island.

But, there were always idiots out there. The pirates would all be back on the ship by dinner, Thatch promising he'd bring some exotic food for the boys to try. Luffy looked forwards to eating food they'd never had before.

Marco told Luffy they'd be buying some art supplies and coloring books for him, and asked what kind he liked. "I like anything," Luffy said immediately, not wanting to ask for something that the store didn't have.

"You're allowed to have preferences, but if you actually don't have any favorites, we'll surprise you and pick them out ourselves. This is your welcome gift. What do you and Ace want?" Marco asked Sabo at the table.

The two older boys thought for a moment, not sure what they wanted. For so long it hadn't mattered that they were bored, or wishing to do something other than "play" with Luffy's toys. "I'd like some journals, so I can start writing in something instead of on scratch paper. Like, a nice journal that will last for a long time. Please," he added at the end.

"I want some stuff for training my devil fruit," Ace finally decided.

"Like what?" Marco asked, writing down these on a list of things they were to buy once they docked in the morning. Ace shrugged. "I dunno."

Marco thought for a moment, before offering, "We can do a target. For helping with practicing aim. If I find some other stuff suitable for mastering your power, we'll get that, too." Luffy asked if it was expensive to buy all those things for them. "Not really. Our crew has been around a long time, and has a lot of money to spend."

Ace and Sabo thought back to all that treasure they'd collected on their home island, and wondered if anyone had found it yet. Probably, but it had been in a good hiding place, inside a tree's trunk deep in the forest they lived next to. They wished they could have taken it with them, but all of it would have been confiscated, just like their clothes and shoes, once they were locked inside the facility.

"Thank you," Luffy said, bringing his brothers back to the present and out of their memories. "Yeah, thanks," Ace added, and Sabo bowed instead of saying anything, always the most polite.

That night, Luffy had no nightmares, and was unable to turn into the dangerous ball form due to the water. Ace kept watch, though, just to make sure. It was scary knowing that Luffy could be harming himself and his brothers didn't even notice. Sleeping was not comfortable after Luffy started having troubles again.

They hoped the baths would continue to help Luffy during the night, and he wouldn't become immune or dull to the effects it caused. Well, lack of effects, really. Sabo made sure to sleep with one part of his body touching Luffy so he would hopefully wake up if anything changed during the night. In case Ace fell asleep before they switched turns.