You had stopped running a long time ago. Having given up the chase way too quickly compared to the other 3 involved, who had a lot more stamina and energy to waste then you ever did. For that reason, you simply walked tiredly across the street, kicking up dirt and dust across the road with your half hearted steps. But even that turned boring after a while, especially since you were completely lost and didn't know where you were walking at all. The lively streets of the city seemed all too deserted now.

You stopped, letting out a long sigh of frustration at the situation. That dumbass... He had left you the moment he had gotten a whiff of his brother. Not that you expected anything else from him, but they could at least make enough noise to help you find them. But nooo- all of them had suddenly decided to be quiet, an atmosphere you would usually beg to come across in situations these two brothers were involved in. 

Your conflicted mood was short lived, however, when you came across a green moss of hair hiding behind a pillar, accompanied by 5 other people you knew all too well...

You stood in your spot, taking in the surprise of not having found Luffy but rather his crew. As you watched them crouched down, glancing out of the pillar that stood between you, them and the street, you couldn't help but think back on the last time you had seen them. It had been a long time but nevertheless it was a memory you couldn't forget. Especially their expression of discomfort as you had laid on the ground bloodied and seconds from death.

-"What's going on?" Chopper's question pulled you out of your reminiscing mood, causing your gaze to wander back to their laughable hiding spot. Their location was close enough for you to hear their conversations, which worked in your favour; You weren't in much of a mood to start another conversation. You weren't the only one to notice the rapid shift in the streets atmosphere as a crowd of people moved about, stirring up a commotion.

-"Marines." Zoro stated, glaring behind the pillar, annoyed at the prospect of being involved in another chase. And his statement was confirmed soon after with the group's shouts as evidence:

-"Don't let him escape!"

- "After him!"

-"It's probably just some dumbass pirate running all over the place." Sanji raised his hand nonchalantly, seeming uncaring.

-"Dumbass pirate!?" They shrieked, and you didn't need any help understanding what they were thinking. All of you knew exactly who that was.

-"UWEEEEEEeeeeeeee-"

-"Halt, Straw hat!"

-"It's you!!" The crew screamed again, Luffy visible even from their hiding spot. Luffy stopped at their shouts, his worried expression turning to one of happiness.

-"Yo, Zoro!"

Zoro flinched.

-"Whoa, everyone is over there!" Not waiting for their response, Luffy began running over.

-"IDIOT! Don't come over here until you've lost them!!" Zoro shouted, but it was too late.

-"It's the strawhat pirates! We have sighted them!" One marine's shout began their reformation, guiding the others to the now discovered crew.

-"Hey what should we do..?" Usoop questioned, looking at the reorganized group with apprehension.

-"Our only option is to run back to the ship." Nami answered. Already having packed up the bags next to her she began to move.

-"What's taking you so long? Let's get going!" Luffy yelled out zooming past his unprepared crew.

-"Everyone fall back!" Smokers' shouted out, prying your stares away from the running crew. "The straw hat is mine!"

You looked back, noticing the pirates hadn't gotten far away enough to have a proper escape and sighed. Hesitation slowed your steps, plaguing your mind with your option between stepping in or continuing to hide. The thought of revealing your final options too soon stopped you from moving, resurfacing your anxiety about these "abilities" you had been bestowed with in this new world. Nothing ever good had come after you had displayed your devil fruit, not with Ace, not with Blackbeard. So you didn't expect anything else from this ordeal either.

-"Ahh-h, he caught up with me." Luffy complained, having also noticed Smokers presence. At the sound of his panic you stepped forward, deciding it would be best to block Smoker after all, pushing away the part of your brain that urged you to step back, to shrink away.  You faced Smoker, who was already shouting out some fighting words and raised your hand but paused for a second, staring at your hand in worry. That second was enough, however, for someone else to take the matter into their own hands, away from yours.

-"You won't escape!"

-"Heat Haze!" A familiar voice rang out. Fire colliding with smoke mid-air, meeting each other in a sudden push and pull. You stood in the middle, staring at the collision with your head raised high and your face dim, watching the elements reek their havok, a sizzling noise reaching each ear the street accompanied by stunned silence. Fire danced around, whooshing and scheming into shape next to your side, revealing the black haired and tattooed man. The country of desert was now hotter than ever, the scalding fire causing little beads of sweat to drip down your neck. Smoker watched his smoke dwindle down, lowering his head to meet Ace's sneering smile.

-"You again..." Smokers grumbling was easy to hear. A slight chuckle escaped between Ace's lips.

-"Give it up." He retorted. By the side of your eye you could see Luffy's wide eyes and confused expression. "You may be smoke, but I am fire. With our abilities a fight would be pointless."

-"That guy has a devil's fruit ability?" Zoro voiced out to no one in particular, making an observation.

-"Who the hell is he? Why is he helping us?" Ussop pursued but he didn't get an answer.

-"Ace!" Luffy called out to his brother fervently. Ace turned around looking at his brother's eyes.

-"You never change, Luffy." You watched them silently taking in the scene.

-"Ace...It's Ace! You ate a devil's fruit?"

-"Captain Smoker! Your orders?" The marines inquiry shot through the conversation, breaking off the reunion short. Ace shook his head, his black hair looping side to side in a fluid manner.

-"Anyway, we can't talk like this! We'll catch up later! You guys run for it! I'll keep these guys busy!" At the mention of the word we, Luffy's eyes turned to you, meeting your gaze for a moment. But the gaze was gone not even a second later, your presence a fleeting study. You only an observing soul. A viewer to the events passing on by.

Although you had never felt like that before. The revelation was groundbreaking to you.

-"Let's go!" Luffy shouted, turning to run towards the ship.

-"But, Luffy..." Nami's voice sounded hesitant, even though she followed closely behind her captain.

-"Who the hell is that?" Sanji pursued, confused by the sudden appearance of the man yielding a devil fruit. Gazing to their slowly shrinking figures, you didn't need Luffy's response to know the correct answer. Brothers. These two were sworn brothers, family. You gazed between the two, as much as you could as Luffy ran and for a second your heart felt hollow. As if it had fallen into your stomach. An ache taking it place, reaching your lungs and your ribs, filling into your bones. They were gone now.

-"I don't get it. Why did you help Straw Hat?" Smoker spoke, although it reached your ears little.

-"Having a younger brother who's a bit on the slow side makes his older brother worry." Ace's answer reached your ears distantly.

-"What do you mean, 'younger brother'? That means..." Silence ensued as they stared at each other, your gaze, however, was still lingering on the path Luffy had run towards.

-"Move! Portgas D. Ace!"

-"I don't think so." His response was swift, pulling you back into the battlefield as Fire engulfed the surrounding place once again taking in the oxygen in the air, making it harder for you to breath but easier for you to come to terms with your feelings.

Family, it was not a concept that was too hard to grasp. In families there could be brothers, sisters or maybe a single child or none at all. And these families had other relations as well: friends, acquaintances, relatives or maybe even pets. In the end one little title called family was only the beginning to intricate cycle of relation called life. Alas the idea of it was out of reach for a singular person.

In this instance, a person with no such relations to form a part in this life tree was you. And it had taken you ample amount of time to come to term with your omission, of your position in this place. And with that came the loneliness. A certain type of loneliness brought about by your erasure, of your rebirth, of your deaths.

You were reliving it all, forgotten by people who you had labelled as dear, as important and lost enough to forget your core.

It felt like everyone had something or someone important to them to fight for, while your will from the start of your journey was being worn down into nothing as time went on. It not as if you hadn't thought the cause of your loneliness was your fault, for being weak, for being emotional. You had spent countless awake nights wondering whether it was a curse or a blessing to never die, to countlessly relive. But they naught provided any final statement, any closure. So you had stopped. Not accepting your reality but tolerating your disposition.

You had stopped listening to their conversation now. You knew he could deal with it. 

You simply gazed down at your hands, that had been a second too slow to help once again.

________________________________________________________________________________

Hi guys! How are you!

I wanted to ask you a question!

What do you think about Sav?

Sometimes when I'm writing I worry that you might not like the portrayal of the characters. She at this point in time has gone through lots of traumatic events, having "died" multiple times and been forgotten by people she saw as her friends and battling with the feeling of inadequacy. I just wander if I'm writing it in a way where you can relate because I don't want to bore you guys. So it stresses me out, but emotions are a part of being human and I think she has to deal with her own demons while battling the ones that could harm her friends as well.

I hope you hear lots of answers from you so don't hold back!

Did you enjoy this chapter?

I hope so and see you next time!