Chapter Text
All that Ace remembered was the burn. Then, pain in his chest, pain coursing through his body. The expression on Luffy's face was heartbreaking. It reminded him of Sabo's death. He promised to never let Luffy suffer the loss of a brother again, and yet…
And yet he died.
Ace may regret falling for Akainu's bait, where he had insulted his father, but he would never regret protecting his brother.
Luffy, who had so much to live for. Luffy, who was the second to worm into his black, rotten heart. Luffy, this little ball of sunshine that gave him hope. Luffy, his precious little brother.
He hoped that Luffy could forgive him for breaking his promise; and even if he didn't forgive him, that would be fine with Ace. In the end, Luffy was safe. Luffy is safe, and that was all that mattered.
It was time for Ace to let go of this life and sink down to meet Davy Jones, to reunite with his mother, and Sabo, and…
And his father, the pirate king.
Ace expected to be in some sort of afterlife. Heaven was a stretch for a pirate like him. Hell, he had expected, or even Davy Jones' locker in the ocean.
Instead, he was currently in the arm of a weathered old man, scar crossed over his right eye that reminded Ace of the swordsman in his brother's crew. In the man's other arm was another boy with blue eyes and messy black hair; his brother.
"I'm Mun-dok. What are your names?" The old man questioned, looking down at the two boys that he carried. "Hak," Ace's brother answered quietly, "This is my little brother, Ha-neul."
Ha-neul, meaning Heaven, or sky.
How ironic, Ace thought.
They were placed onto a horse, before the man sat down behind them, grabbing onto the reins of the animal, "Hold on tight. I'm bringing the two of you back to my home."
Ace wasn't used to being called Ha-neul. That was often what happened when you've been called by another name for the twenty short years of his life. But here, no one knew Portgas D. Ace. No one knew the offspring of the pirate king, and certainly no one knew about the pirate king himself.
So, Ace would have to adapt. It wasn't a replacement, no. Ace was Ha-neul, and Ha-neul was Ace. That was all it was.
Ha-neul had the same appearance that Ace did when he was a child; wavy black hair, slightly tanned skin, and freckled all over.
In some ways, it brought him comfort. Comfort that he was still him.
In other ways, it brought reluctance. Ace belonged to his previous life, so why would he be here? Why were his memories carried over?
When the horse came to a stop, Mun-dok scooped them into his arms again. Ha-neul peered at their destination, a slight flinch racking his body at the number of people gathered by the entrance.
Was Mun-dok an important person?
Beside him, Hak's tiny hand clasped around his own, as though offering reassurance. Ha-neul turned to look at his brother, whose lips were pressed in a thin line, outwardly showing a brave expression, and yet his palm was clammy against his, a slight tremor in his fingertips.
Ah. He was scared, too.
Ha-neul's fingers curled back around his brother's, giving a slight nod to him.
"This will be your new home from now on," Mun-dok spoke softly, different from the strong, merciless general that Ha-neul had seen fighting against the Xing, "I'll take care of you, Hak, Ha-neul."
Son Ha-neul. This was yet another family that he wouldn't be related to (other than Hak), yet the bond would seep deep into his bones.
"Hak, Ha-neul, stay here," Mun-dok had instructed, as they were pointed to a bench outside the meeting room where the five tribes would be discussing political strategies.
As soon as the elder had entered the room, door shutting behind him, Hak and Ha-neul exchanged mischievous glances.
"Let's go find something fun to do!" Hak declared, and Ha-neul nodded, hopping off the bench as he ran behind his brother, a wide grin on his face.
Quiet giggles escaped their lips as they ran around.
"Hi!" A boy — or girl? — exclaimed. "Who are you two?"
They hesitated, before spilling their situation.
"I see… come in, here!" Soo-won beamed, pulling the gate open.
"So… are you a boy or girl?" Hak asked, and Ha-neul immediately elbowed him in the rib.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Hak cried out, cradling his side, as he glared at his brother, teary-eyed from the pain.
"Haha, it's okay! I get that a lot," Soo-won giggled, "I'm a boy!"
They played around a little, before Hak and Ha-neul got restless.
They climbed up a tree with ease, Ha-neul right after Hak.
"Wow! How did you do that?" Soo-won gaped, "You're so fast! Let me try, too!"
"Huh?"
"Wait—"
Hak and Ha-neul's hesitation mixed together. He was quite obviously a noble, and the two might get in trouble.
Though, Soo-won, determined, clumsily clambered up to the branch where they sat.
And so, the three stayed up at the tree, talking about anything and everything.
"Soo-won!" A distant voice called out, and the boy in question perked up, expression bright, "Mother!"
"Soo-won, we're leaving," his mother spoke, before flinching at the sight of her son waving at her from a tall tree, "Agh! Soo-won! What are you doing?!"
Soo-won laughed, "I'm coming down now!"
As he climbed down the tree, Hak and Ha-neul followed, landing on the ground with a thump.
"That was fun!" Soo-won exclaimed, running back to his mother, while Hak and Ha-neul dusted off their clothes.
"Um… Who are these, now?" His mother questioned, glancing at the brothers.
"Their names are Hak and Ha-neul!"
"Hak and Ha-neul…? Um…"
"They said they were following General Mun-dok of the Wind Tribe, who's attending the Five-Tribe Council. They got lost and was standing in front of the garden, so I invited them in. They're amazing! They can climb the tallest tree like a squirrel! They were moving from tree to tree, but I wasn't going to be outdone, so I kept climbing higher with them. They were like noble beasts!"
Ha-neul almost combusted from the information overload.
"Slow down, Soo-won," his mother sighed, "If they're lost, we should take them straight to General Mun-dok."
"We're not lost," Hak answered blankly. Ha-neul added, "We didn't follow him. He dragged us along."
"Hehe," Soo-won smiled sheepishly, "They weren't lost, just going for a walk. Sorry, Hak, Ha-neul. Mother, may I play with them a little longer?"
Soo-won grabbed onto Hak and Ha-neul's wrists, and they stared at him in slight dread and surprise respectively.
"All right, but climbing trees is dangerous, so—"
"Lady Yon-hi. It's been quite some time."
Ha-neul's gaze flickered over to a woman, as elegant and exquisite as Yon-hi was.
"Igni!"
"I didn't realise you were in the garden. Please forgive me for taking so long to greet you."
"It's fine! don't mind me…"
"I'd also like to apologise… for my disrespect to you over the years."
"Kashi…"
Hak and Ha-neul glanced between the adults cluelessly, before turning to look at Soo-won, who only smiled.
That didn't help at all… Ha-neul thought.
"Yona…" Kashi murmured, pushing forward gently a red-haired girl, who seemed younger than them, even just slightly.
"Hello," Yona spoke quietly.
"Hello, Yona. I'm Yon-hi. I'm your father's older brother's—"
"Huh?! Yona! Wow, you're so big now. But I knew it was you from your fuzzy red hair!"
"Hold on, Soo-won."
"I'm your cousin, Soo-won!"
"Lady Yon-hi. It's all right. I'm sorry," Kashi murmured. Before Ha-neul could dwell on it, he was suddenly pulled over.
"Yona, this is Hak! And Ha-neul!"
The two brothers blinked, baffled, before standing in front of the red-haired girl, who stayed silent, a hand clutched onto her mother's dress.
"I don't think she likes us," Hak commented. Ha-neul waved slightly with a small smile, and Yona hesitated, before waving back. She's cute. Like a little sister. "… or maybe it's just me she doesn't like?" Hak muttered. "Should I leave?"
"You're not allowed to leave," Soo-won declared, "She's just nervous because of all the strangers. Right?"
Hak stared at the girl for a long moment, before offering, "There's a cat in this garden. Want to go see? I saw it while climbing the trees."
"A cat?" Yona answered, hesitant.
"You saw a cat? I want to see it! Yona, cats are so furry and cute!" Soo-won exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Ha-neul was already contemplating ways to smuggle the cat back to Fuuga, a hand placed under his chin.
"Wait, where are you going?" Yon-hi questioned, panicked.
"We won't leave the garden," Soo-won reassured.
Gently, Hak and Ha-neul picked up Yona's hand on each side, as the latter smiled at her softly. "Let's go see the cat, Yona."
Before they took another step, Hak and Ha-neul were held back by a hand on their shoulders. Startled, they looked back, to see Kashi, Yona's mother, who also stared at them, wide-eyed.
Hm? She pulled us back, but she's surprised…? Ha-neul wondered, but didn't voice it out.
"… Please… protect Yona," she spoke quietly.
What…?
Ha-neul blinked slowly, before nodding, and went to the garden with Soo-won, Hak and Yona.
That was… the start of Ha-neul's (and Ace's second) life.