•Black Hat•

•2•

My relationship with Ace could be characterized like that of admiration. I admired him for achieving his goal and becoming what he wanted to be, even though he became a criminal for the world government. I tried countless times to make him tell me why he was imprisoned but he never spoke a word about it! He would narrate his adventures to me and he kept mentioning his younger brother. Apparently he was a reckless crybaby that needed protection. I laughed at the thought of him punching his brother on the head every time he cried.

One day someone paid Ace a visit. The tall big figure that showed up in the stairs indicated immediately that he was a man, but as he was coming closer to the cell my eyes opened widely seeing the man that had captured me 8 years ago and had brought me in this hell. My breath became intense and i was ready to scream at him when suddenly I heard Ace saying:

"I didn't want you to see me like this gramps!" My stiff body relaxed and I refrained from interrupting their conversation. My time with that marine would come. But at the end I was more shocked than ever.

I stared at the floor unable to comprehend what I had just heard.

"He was your father?" I asked him eventually referring to Gol D Roger.

"Oh, at least you know who the pirate king was!" He said sarcastically but I didn't pay attention to his comment. "Whitebeard is my father!" He added afterwards repeating something from the conversation he had with that marine.

After I gave what he had just said a second thought I chuckled kindheartedly. I heard Ace's chains clacking and felt him ready to attack me with his words.

"I'm happy you found a father... I'm sure that's a blessing for people like us!" I said and turned my head a bit to give him a big, slightly bitter smile.

"Thank you..." he muttered.

"And" I hesitated, I was scared to ask him what that marine was to him. "that man? Was he your..." I left my sentence unfinished.

"He is my grandfather".

"By blood or-?"

"He protected me. Blood doesn't mean shit." Ace interrupted me. I didn't say anything else, he sounded upset and I figured it would be better if I stopped talking. "But he's by blood the grandfather of my brother Luffy" he said in the end.

I bit my lip and raised my eyes to the ceiling.

Grandfather of his brother but not his grandfather by blood cause his father was Gol d Roger and that marine wasn't the father of Gol d Roger... so much information.
So... his brother wasn't his brother by blood either.

I shook my head throwing, what I thought were, useless thoughts away.

Blood doesn't mean shit!

I kept hearing that sentence inside my head. It rang so wrong to me. Blood links are the most important in this world, I thought. You are a part of your parents, and you will always be, no matter how hard you try to change that.

Blood doesn't mean shit.

"Blood ain't shit!" I muttered under my breath, like I wanted to hear that sentence again.

"That's right" said Ace. I didn't know it at that time and I wouldn't be able to imagine that this phrase would become my motto in less than three months. It would always be in my head but I wouldn't truly believe it and it would need more than two years to pass for me to understand the phrase and live by it. Because freeing yourself from your family bounds is harder than it seems and more painful than one can imagine.

With all that I had forgotten to tell him about his... grandfather, apparently.

"You know... that marine-"

"Monkey D Garp, that's his name" said Ace, as if he didn't like that I called him a marine.

"Garp then" I continued. "He..." I hesitated.

"Get on with it!" He hissed impatiently.

"He was the one that brought me here when I was 8" I admitted.

"What?"

"Yeah" I mumbled not knowing what else to say.

"Oh right... why the hell are you here, again. My memory seems to be failing me". He asked confused.

I breathed out irritated. "I haven't told you, just like you haven't told me!"

"Who are you?" Ace asked.

"Pearl?" I replied not really knowing what he wanted to learn.

"What's your last name?"

I clenched my fists.

"I don't have one" I replied with the steadiest voice I could provide. Ace didn't say anything and I was persuaded that he was trying to imagine what I had done wrong. "I never killed, never robbed, never blackmailed, obviously! I was eight when I came here!"

"Yeah, you should had seen me at that age!" Ace muttered under his breath.

I continued. "I didn't use any kinds of dark magic nor found out any dark secrets of the government. I'm simply someone's mistake and I am responsible for existing." I said and my voice cracked on the last words.

"Oh..." He seemed to be thinking of what I had said. "Unwanted by a family member?" Silence from my side. "Your father, right?" I caught myself nodding.
Ace smirked. "Kill him when you get out!"

I tried to protest telling him I would never get out but the words that came out his mouth afterwards shut me up.

"Blood ain't shit! Remember that".

________
Okay before y'all lame asses start judging me and saying stuff like "how dare you say that blood ain't shit!" It's what the effin character said! Ace hates his father and he doesn't want to live under his name but he respects his mother that died to protect him. What he wants to say is that you shouldn't respect and love your parents just because they gave birth to you but because they are worth your love and respect.