We all

Are merely monsters,

If we do not find

The words on our tongues

To save each other.

We must save each other.

For heaven's sake,

We must save each other,

For God built an empire

Inside us all, and with

A tear leaving his eye:

He called it love

-Christopher Poindexter

A month had passed since Natsuki started teaching manners, and albeit slightly slow, she was nearly there. Luffy started saying his please's and thank you's a bit more, though it was only limited to the public. He wouldn't ever be polite in front of his friends. Sabo was himself as always. A gentleman unless it was about, again like Luffy, his friends.

Ace was the one who changed the most. Though he was less stiff with friends, he was much politer, and wasn't as obnoxious and stuck-up as he was before. Though Natsuki worried that he was losing his child-like qualities.

One day, Natsuki confronted him.

"Ace, what's up? You're not being yourself nowadays."

"What are you talking about? I just learnt a lesson that's all."

"This isn't the lesson I wanted you to learn."

"Is the lesson you're talking about, mine though?" He asked in a matter-of-a-fact tone.

"I'm talking about your manners Ace. I know you understand what I mean."

"What's wrong with my manners? They are better, aren't they?"

"They certainly are Ace. Though the way you're acting, it makes you sound as if you're in your sixties! It's so unusual!"

"You're the one who told me to be polite! Geez!!" Natsuki smiled. He was getting back to his former attitude again.

"Yeah, I did. Doesn't mean you need to be as stiff as you are now. I wanted you to learn basic manners, like Luffy's learnt. Being sociable, amiable, polite, and respectable. They're all very important and difficult lessons Ace. You've skipped a few steps, and you've got the manners that not even adults seem to posses, but that doesn't mean you should stop being your natural, energetic self." She lectured, and Ace wondered who was losing their child-like qualities more. Himself or her. Then he remembered how she used to be much older.

"So? What do I need lessons on now!?" He exclaimed, his question dripping with sass.

"We, need to play tag." Ace had no idea what she was talking about and followed her as she found Sabo and Luffy.

"Guys, do you want to play tag?"

"Yeah!!" Luffy jumped up.

"Weapons allowed?" Sabo asked, holding out his pipe.

"Yep."

"Here, Ace, yours."

"Thanks." Natsuki smiled at Ace. That's all the manners he needed at this age.

"I'll be it first. You can only stay in the forest okay? Also, I'll count twenty seconds, so off you go!" She turned around, and closed her eyes, starting her counting. "Twenty! Nineteen! -"

"Ace, where are you gonna go?"

"I'm going to hide up in one of the trees."

"Really? I'm going to the alligator's den. I'm sure Natsuki wouldn't want to go there." He tottered off, and only a second later did Sabo and Ace realise what he had just said.

"LUFFY! GET BACK HERE!" They ran after him.

"Two! One! Ready or not! Here I come!" She said and jumped down from the tree house. She sensed all three of her brothers in the same place and smirked. This was going to be easy.

"Luffy! You idiot! What do you think you're doing! Why should you come here, when even Natsu doesn't come!" Ace whispered harshly as he held Luffy's collar. Luffy himself was dangerously dangling above a congregation of alligators huddled beneath his feet.

Sabo watched from the bank, his palms sweaty as he replayed the scene in his mind, when Luffy was climbing up a tree, his foot slipped because of the dampness of the lake next to it, and he nearly fell. He was hanging on a branch, when his arm started to stretch, his powers still not controlled.

Ace ran past him, and hurriedly climbed up the tree, and grabbed onto Luffy's collar, and that was what had happened until the present time.

The fact that Ace grabbed onto a part of him that didn't stretch was the good part, though the problem were Luffy's limbs hanging from it. His arms were beginning to droop downwards, his abdomen and legs doing the same.

Sabo closed his eyes, and Ace yelled at Luffy to stop stretching, and concentrate on contracting.

With a whoosh of wind, Sabo heard a simple, "Tag, you're it." From Natsuki, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Now, what's happened... Luffy, look at me!" She called at the boy whose eyes were blurry, his tears disturbing his sight. He looked like an incredibly lanky giant now. He had a small head, but his whole body had stretched downwards, like the effects of gravitropism. "Focus on my voice Luffy. Think of food. Think of birthdays! When's your birthday?"

"Fifth of May..."

"That's soon! It's the twenty-seventh of April today! Only eight days away! You should've told me!"

"I forgot..." Luffy's arms and legs seemed to be slowly shrinking.

"Mine's on the tenth of October! Your birthday is exactly half of mine! I'm 10/10, you're 5/5!! What do you want to eat for your birthday Lu?"

"Meat!!"

"Why didn't I guess. What do you want for a present?"

"Um. I want to have Natsuki!" Ace nearly dropped Luffy and thank goodness he didn't.

"I'm not an object young man." She scolded half-heartedly.

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant! I wanted you as my sister!" He beamed, and Natsuki felt butterflies in her stomach as she witnessed one of the cutest things she ever saw.

"Aww! Of course I'll be your sister!" She smiled when his limbs were no longer stretched, and he was a regular Luffy size again. Ace was able to pull him up, and they both huffed. Luffy jumped onto Ace, but then they both slipped, and Ace couldn't grab onto the branch Luffy was holding onto just a few seconds ago.

"NO!" Natsuki yelled, her irises turning silver like the time when Luffy was pushed off of the boat by the bandit. The alligators went unconscious and sank into the water. Ace and Luffy fell into the lake, safely, though Luffy's strength dissipated because of the water. Ace dragged Luffy out of the water, and they lay on the ground, huffing and puffing.

"What- what was... What was that..." Ace finally got out.

"It seems that I have the conqueror's haki." She seemed surprised herself. She helped Ace, and Sabo helped Luffy up to his feet.

"Natsu! Will you really be my sister?"

"Only on your birthday Luffy, then I'll be your sister forever. Would the boys like to join?" She joked. The boys considered it. They felt like they were siblings from the beginning. Why not make it official?

"Yeah! Why not!?" Sabo grinned.

"I'll-" Ace was stopped by a sudden rustle of leaves from a bush. A figure who was as tall as Benn, so basically a giant, came out, and Luffy yelled out first, looking at the silhouette of this giant who had what looked like fur.

"BEAR!!" The children stood their ground. Bear meat was one of the best!

"Who're you calling bear you idiot grandson!" The 'bear' yelled, hitting Luffy's head. The 'bear' turned out to be a man wearing khaki shorts and a tropical t-shirt. White hair, which was spiky like Luffy's, and glaring eyes.

His gaze turned to the rest, and he counted each one, including his grandson who now had a massive bump on his head.

"Four? I thought I only left three last time I came... A girl as well? Hm. You look familiar girlie. What's your name?"

"You shouldn't ask for someone's name without introducing yourself first." Natsuki said, giving her a slight Deja vu to when she first met Sabo and Ace.

"Right. Where are my manners. My name is Monkey D. Garp. I'm Luffy's grandfather, and carer of Ace and Sabo."

"My name is Natsuki. Nice to meet you Ojii-chan." She said, though the moment she said those last words, he jumped in front of her, clasping her hands with his massive ones.

"What did you call me?"

"Ojii-chan?"

"Finally!!!! Someone has finally called me Ojii-chan! You brats, learn from her!"

"Already am, jiji." He hit Ace's head hard.

"Call me Ojii-chan! Also, what's she teaching you?" Natsuki stood in front of Sabo, because by the pace he was going, Sabo would be the next victim of the ferocious punch of this man.

"I'm teaching them manners. Because it's always a good idea to be well mannered in the pirate world."

"Boy, you want to become a pirate?" Natsuki scolded herself. She should've remembered that this was Garp, the marine vice admiral. Known for his hate for pirates.

"Yeah! We're going to set sail when we're seventeen!" Sabo continued, and Natsuki tried to discreetly shut him up, but the man was already cracking his knuckles.

"Hmm? A pirate eh?"

"Yeah! Just like Natsuki's dad!" Natsuki sighed.

"Natsuki's dad? Who is he? Wait a second... Red hair, bluebell eyes. Natsuki... You're Shanks and Tomomi's daughter aren't you."

"Yep! That's me! Nice to meet you too." She then took off, carrying Ace and Luffy on each shoulder, dragging Sabo along, and for the first time, tried to use her own developed hiraishin. It was slightly difficult, but a few seconds of concentration did it. She and the three disappeared in a ray of light, and again, took some concentration to get their physical bodies again.

Sabo jumped out of the treehouse and threw up in a near-by bush, and Ace and Luffy woke up with massive headaches.

"What did you do Natsu?"

"Um, maybe a new jutsu?"

"Why'd you do it in the first place?"

"Because your grandfather's incredibly angry right now..." That's what she had thought anyway. Garp was actually quite sentimental at the moment.

Shanks was like his son, who grew up with his son, Dragon at the Foosha village. Dragon then fell in love, a forbidden love, and he wasn't the one who was punished. His lover was punished, and she died, just after giving birth to Luffy. The Celestial dragons said that it was a life for a life. Dragon left to become a revolutionary, to change the world for the better, and Shanks soon followed in his steps, only difference was that he became a page boy for the late pirate king.

He too fell in love with Dracule Tomomi, a pirate-hunter with a bounty high enough to buy a couple of whole islands.

She had met him after Shanks started his own crew, when she had set out to get his bounty, but decided that Shanks was good enough to keep alive, after a spar with each other.

Shanks nearly beat her, until he found out she was only toying with him.

They fell in love after continuous meeting with each other, and she gave birth to their daughter. Though Tomomi was targeted by many for her high bounty, and on the night, she gave birth, seeing as she was weak, cowards took the opportunity to kill her.

It broke him. Shanks didn't smile for a long time, his only solace the smiles of his daughter. Dragon even asked him whether he wanted to join the revolutionaries, but Shanks declined, saying that he wanted to stay at the sea, which Tomomi loved with all her heart.

He had not heard from either of them, until just recently, he heard from Makino that Shanks had visited the village, and in hopes of meeting him and his daughter, he came as quickly as he could, only to find out that Shanks had left a week before. So he was climbing up the hill, through the forest when he saw his grandson, Ace, the son of Gol, and a blond boy, and a red headed girl. He almost ran to save them as Ace and Luffy fell from the branch, a mere second from becoming the alligator's lunch, when he felt a wave of haki, conqueror's haki nonetheless. From the girl.

So he decided to appear in front of the girl, who reminded him so much of Shanks and Tomomi, only to find out that she was, indeed the daughter of the pair.

He vaguely wondered how she possessed the same ability as Borsalino, to move at the speed of light, but decided to find out the next day.