My Own One Piece.

Reunited

Aoi's POV

I smiled as I saw Luffy and Ace talking on the Sunny's head.

"You know, call me crazy, but I think Luffy's glad to have his brother back. To be honest, I'm also kinda relieved that Ace didn't die." Nami said as she stood beside me.

"What do you mean, Nami?" I asked.

"I'm just saying that it's relieving to know Ace didn't die at Marineford. I mean, you can see how much those brothers love each other. Imagine if Ace had died. Luffy would most likely be a completely different person! And to be honest, even if he is kind of a pain, Luffy is better as a happy-go-lucking kinda guy. So yeah, I'm glad Ace didn't die at Marineford." Nami said.

"Nami... Ace did die at Marineford. I was just lucky enough to be possessed by the sea goddess and she revived him." I said. Nami stared at me. I sighed as I leaned against the wall.

"Listen, just because it was reversed, doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. It was very real. Luffy and I were both right by Ace when it happened. We saw the magma pass through his head. We felt his heart stop. It was very real." I said. Nami looked over at Ace and Luffy, then back to me.

"Yeah, but that doesn't seem to matter to Luffy. All that matters is he has his big brother." Nami said.

"And as long as he has his brothers, he can do anything." I said. Nami didn't seem to notice that I put the plural on brothers. We stood there in silence, watching the brothers talk and laugh. I could see a bright, true smile on Luffy's face and I couldn't help but smile, too. When Luffy smiled a true smile, it was infectious.

"Do you miss them? The Whitebeard Pirates?" Nami asked. I sighed softly.

"Well, yeah I miss them. They were my first family." I said.

"Your first family? What about your birth family?" Nami asked. I scoffed violently.

"Who gives a shit?" I asked. I sighed again.

"Sorry, that was rude. It's just.... I don't like talking about my birth family. We never really were a family. I was left alone from the very start, even if I wasn't actually orphaned until I was about eight. But once I was on Whitebeard's ship? It was like I had a real family. People that actually cared about me, looked up to me, loved me. Pops was a great dad, Marco, Izo, Haruta.... Thatch.... They were all great brothers. Everyone was. We took care of each other and had each other's backs. We were all so close until Teach betrayed us." I said.

"Teach?"

"Blackbeard."

"Ah."

"That pig had to just kill Thatch. If he had just taken the devil fruit with out anyone noticing, then Thatch wouldn't have died, and the whole war at Marineford never would have happened. Everyone wouldn't have been separated." I said.

"And you and Ace would still be there." Nami said. I shook my head.

"No?" She asked.

"Nope. Remember my gift of seeing the future of those close to me?" I asked. Nami nodded.

"Well... That's why Ace and I are here. I had a vision. Luffy is going to need the two of us at his back. Something is coming. And it's going to be big." I said.

"Should I be scared?" Nami asked. I thought for a moment.

"No. There's nothing to fear." I said.

"Hey, Aoi-chan, why are you and Ace still wearing your disguises?" Nami asked.

"The whole world believes Ace is dead, and since "I" killed Akainu, every marine in the world will be hunting me down. I figure that it's probably best for Ace and I to stay disguised for a while. At least for just a little while longer. When we absolutely need to shed our disguises, we will." I said.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Nami said. I cast my eyes over towards our current "hostage" Caribou. I gave him an icy glare as he feigned innocence.

"Keep an eye on that one. He'll be a trouble maker." I said. Nami looked at Caribou. She shuddered.

"He gives me the creeps." Nami said.

"You get that creep vibe from him, too?" I asked. She nodded. We both laughed.

"Well, I'm gonna go see if I can help Sanji out in the kitchen." I said. I took maybe two steps when a rubber arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me to the Sunny's head. I found myself sitting next to Luffy where Ace had been.

"Wha- Luffy? Where did Ace go?" I asked.

"Ace went to help Franky with something." He said.

"Oh. Did you need me for some-" I was cut off when Luffy suddenly hugged me tightly. This hug was different from other Luffy hugs. I don't know how to describe it. It was gentler, yet still firm.

"Thank you." He said. I blinked at my little brother. I smiled softly and returned the hug.

"I should be saying that to you." I said.

"Me? Why?" He asked. I chuckled and shook my head.

"You're the one that reminded me to stay strong." I said. Luffy nuzzled in to my shoulder.

"Aoi-chan... Thank you for getting Ace to finally love himself." Luffy said. I hugged him tighter. We sat there for a little bit.

"I'm glad you're part of my family now. And I can't wait to meet Rogue and Rose!" Luffy said. I laughed.

"I look forward to the day you meet them, too. I'm glad you're my family. I don't remember what my birth family was like, but I know that it wasn't the best. What little I do remember isn't pleasent. But looking at what I have right here, with you and Ace, I wouldn't trade it for anything." I said.

"I love you, onee-chan!" Luffy said. I blinked.

"O-onee-chan?" I asked. I hugged Luffy tightly.

"AAAAAAWWWW! You called me Onee-chan!" I said. Luffy squirmed in my grip.

"A-ah! Onee-chan! That hurts! Stop!"
Luffy said. I laughed.

I really was happy.