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In the aftermath of Wano, and apparently awakening his devil fruit, Luffy didn’t tell his crew that he was feeling different from before. It wasn’t even a bad thing, even if the recuperation time he needed after using gear 5 was much more than all of his other gears combined.
He tried not to think about Marineford and the way he felt then. Having managed to get out of Impel Down and keep on his feet despite being exhausted hit a little too close to home.
For some reason Ace’s cooling body popped up in his head, he could feel his brother leaning against him again as he whispered his last words. As Ace, who in his eyes had been indestructible, was killed for who his dad was.
Shaking his head, Luffy tried to get his mind on other things, trying to concentrate on the voices that were suddenly clear in his head.
He had gotten impressions before, almost as if someone was trying to nudge him one direction or another. Training with Rayleigh had taught him that this was an advanced form of observation haki.
Gol D. Roger had been able to do it, which is why Rayleigh knew about it. He and a person called Oden had been able to hear the Voice of All things.
He had laughed it off then, but the moment on Zou when he heard Zunisha’s voice had cemented the belief that it was true. That there was such a thing as the Voice of all Things.
Much more in tune with it, Luffy loved to listen to it. It gave him insights that he never had before, thoughts unexplored or not thought about for ages.
Feeling Shanks close, and hearing his voice, even if it was his inner voice, was special. He had always made it. Was so close to being at a level that he would be able to give Shanks his hat back. For years this had been his goal, that and becoming the freest person on these seas.
It was at Egghead island that other questions he had were answered by Old Man Punk. For as long as he had eaten his devil fruit, he had been assuming that it was a paramecia fruit. Only affecting himself, and able to alter his own body.
But that wasn’t the case anymore, not since he awakened gear 5 and was able to influence his surroundings in a way that he didn’t know what to compare it to. In a way it reminded him of how a logia became their element, but not totally like that at the same time.
It was hard to think about, to try and make sense of it all.
Old Man Punk had known, once they got him out of the cell, he had told Luffy all about the legendary warrior Nika and how he had eaten the fruit that either embodied Nika, or that Nika himself had possessed. The ancient texts weren’t clear on that, not that it mattered in the end.
It was a whole adjustment to know that he wasn’t in the possession of a paramecia fruit, he was much more than that. A mythical zoan, and one not seen for so long as the World Government had tried to keep it under wraps as to what it was. Maybe that was why Shanks had gone to steal it, wanting to see what it was about and never expecting a 6 year old kid to eat it.
Part of him wondered if knowing this earlier would have made any difference, as usually with questions like this his mind wandered first to Sabo and what he could have done to make certain the middle brother never lost his memory. Eventually he would end up on Marineford, again, and think about how much it would have changed if he was that little bit stronger. If he had been able to hold on that little longer instead of making Ace lunge to save him from Akainu.
Shaking his head as they boarded the Sunny again, Luffy was happy to be away from Egghead, too many things had come to light, things he didn’t know how to deal with. Despite wanting to live without regrets, a part of him was wondering where Sabo was, what was going on with the older brother he still had.
It started to make even more sense when he ran into Sabo on an island not that far from Laughtale. Recognizing his brother’s voice calling out, getting off of the Sunny before anyone knew what was going on. Running towards where he could hear Sabo, tackling him in a hug that had him sighing in relief as soon as he felt the heat coming from his body.
Knew that Sabo was still fire and flames, and was still a part of the power that Nika wielded.
Blinking at the thought that came up then, Luffy bit his lip. Where had that thought come from, his brothers were their own people. So why was he thinking about them as a part of him?
“Luffy?”
Humming, while still not looking at Sabo. It took his brother cupping his cheeks to tilt up his chin before he was looking into blue eyes. As if the thought only just appeared he realized that the shot fired at Sabo should have killed him as a 10 year old.
Sinking through his knees, he took Sabo with him to the ground.
“Luffy, you’re scaring me. What’s going on.”
Blinking back tears, Luffy gnarled on his lip before releasing and opening his mouth.
“That blast, back when you were 10, it should have killed you.”
Sabo blinked at that, touching the scar on his face, “I… Dragon-san and Iva-chan always said that they didn’t know how I survived that. I shouldn’t have, on all accounts.”
With a trembling lip, Luffy whispered, “I think I did it, I think I made you survive.”
Sabo’s startled gaze had Luffy whimpering before he was telling his older brother everything that he had found out about his fruit and about himself in the past months since they had last seen each other.
Concluding his story with a wailing, “Why didn’t I save Ace-nii too!”
Sobbing, he felt Sabo pull him close and into his embrace, falling into those arms as he tried to make sense of it all. How had it been that he had saved Sabo when he had still been learning on how to deal with his devil fruit, but hadn’t been able to save Ace when he was much more proficient in it.
“Why…”
Sabo shook his head, wiping at the tears on his own cheeks, “I don’t know, Lu, I’m sure there was a reason for that.”
Sitting up, Sabo touched his heart, “I can feel him here at times, or I think I can feel him. These flashes of emotions as if he’s looking over me.”
Giving a soft smile, he adds, “I hope he’s watching over me, over us, to see how we’re making sure to realize our own dreams.”
Flopping on Sabo’s chest, Luffy whined, “But I want him to be here, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, not like that.”
“Then don’t…”
Luffy shot up, his eyes widening as he could swear that he heard Ace’s voice. Looking at Sabo he could see the same startled look on his brother’s face.
“D- Did you year that too?”
Sabo only nodded, pressing a hand to his heart again. Whispering, “I did…”
Almost on auto-pilot, Luffy lets his gear 5 take over, his hair and clothing turn white while his eyes gain a red sheen. Reaching out with a trembling hand towards Sabo, they both yelp as Sabo’s catches fire. His devil fruit also seemingly reaching out to Luffy - to Nika - as if there is a connection there.
“Ace?”
Reaching into the flames, Luffy doesn’t even realize that they’re both one great ball of fire. Almost as if they are a sun touching down on Earth, the heat spreading without actually setting anything on fire.
He doesn’t notice, as his hand is caught in Ace’s tan one, that same smile he had last soon on his face grinning back at him.
“Nii-chan.”
He pulls on the hand and pulls Ace out of the mass of flames, gets him to settle next to him and Sabo while all three of them just stare at the other. Finally realizing that none of them are totally tangible, flames and light making up their bodies.
His other hand end up in Sabo’s hand, Luffy keeping a hold on both of his brothers, marveling in this reunion. Not wanting this to end, afraid this was indeed a dream he and Sabo shared. Once they woke up Ace wouldn’t be there anymore.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Ace hadn’t spoken but they had heard him just fine, Ace’s other hand cupping Luffy’s cheek before his mouth opened, “Don’t you think that it’s odd that you eat this one fruit that hasn’t been eaten for ages. That managed to stay out of those hands that would misuse it, only to let a 6 year old eat it as a fluke.”
Looking at Sabo, he grins, “Just as it’s a one in a million shot that two brothers would eat the same fruit so close together. I know you’d do everything to get my fruit after I die, but that still doesn’t explain that the Mera Mera no mi let you eat it.”
Turning to Luffy again, he adds, “You did tap into Nika’s power before, little brother. Not only with Sabo, but also with us and the Gray Terminal Fire. That should have killed us, but it didn’t, it kept away because of the fruit you ate. We just didn’t know it at the time.”
Smiling softly, Ace takes his hand from Luffy’s cheek before pressing it onto his chest where a scar is seen, “You saved me, even if you couldn’t see it like that. I was happy to give my life for you, but a part of me was also at peace that I would be able to join the two of you on this adventure again.”
As they talked, the heat became less, the sun-like structure disappearing and leaving all three of them sitting there, touching each other one way or another still.
Tears started running over Luffy’s cheeks as he realized that Ace was here, that none of them looked intangible anymore. Squeezing the hand he was holding, he felt it being squeezed back before he was pulling his hand back and throwing himself onto Ace. Hugging his oldest brother closely, followed by Sabo until they were all hugging each other in a way they hadn’t been able to do since the treehouse days.
“I missed you, Nii-chan.”
A hand running through his hair, and one running up and down his back, both hot and reminding him of the flames they both wielded now, Luffy let himself sink into unconsciousness. Gear 5 disappeared leaving him weak and dry of all energy as he clung to his brother still.
Looking at their brother in their arms, Ace and Sabo blinked, “How are we going to explain this?”
Sabo shrugged, “New World shenanigans.”
Ace hummed, “That works.”
Letting Sabo help him up when the blond got to his feet, Ace readjusted Luffy in his arms before following Sabo as they started talking about everything they had missed in each other’s lives. Ace had been following along in the fruit, so he knew about what had happened since Sabo ate the Mera Mera no Mi. Sabo, likewise, knew things he had been able to find in newspaper clippings and journal entries.
But all those moments before, and in between, were things neither of them knew of this adult version of the brother they had believed to be dead. It was refreshing and so good to have this again.
Once on the beach they needed to start talking, and fast, as the Strawhats didn’t know what to do to see their captain passed out in the arms of who appeared to be Portgas D. Ace. Sabo close by did seem to help, but didn’t put the Strawhats any less on guard.
“Luffy’s more powerful than any of us could imagine.”
Sabo blurted that out, before trying to piece together what he could from Luffy’s explanation and what they had been through just now. Ending with the notion that Luffy wanted to protect them, and he did. Even if they both lost something because of it.
Zoro was the first one to snort at that, “Should have guessed he’d pull another miracle out of his ass.”
The other Strawhats laughed at that, before welcoming them all on board the Sunny. Looking on as their captain was passed along by his brothers until he woke up and bounced all around the ship.
The world didn’t know what was coming, wouldn’t know what to do with these brothers, those favored by fire.