“I feel ashamed to be related to you.”
That was the only thing my brother, who usually ignored me, actually said to my face. The words replayed in my mind, as clear as when it happened, and I clenched my fists.
“Well, good for you. You’ve got a home to go back to,” I found myself saying, although it was more the start of a sulking monologue to myself. “Why’d you even come here, then? Just go back to your brother…”
“H-hey, what’s wrong, man?”
“I’m not like you! You should be happy that you’ve got somewhere to call home!” I shot to my feet, though they were unsteady. “You’ve got a home, and a brother who’s not a blood relative but who’s family in your heart. You’re a damn lucky guy, you know that? Do you? And I bet your precious mom and dad are worried sick about you right now. You’re the luckiest jerk in the world!”
My anger was truly satisfying. I turned to walk away from him.
But then Ace murmured, “My mom’s gone.”
It was a quiet, subdued voice, not at all the same tone he’d been speaking in until now. I couldn’t help but stop. I knew that I was the one being a jerk, but I still couldn’t keep myself from spinning around and saying, “And your dad? What about your dad, huh?”
Ace’s eyes wandered as he replied, “Don’t have a dad, either…”
It had been a bad idea. Now things were very awkward. But since it was already ugly, I pushed ahead and made more excuses for myself.
“When I see my dad, all he says is, ‘Don’t embarrass me.’ I’m sure whatever your family situation was, it was better than that. Who cares if he’s gone? At least you have some happy memories to comfort you.”
I faltered there for some reason. Ace was staring at me. He seemed hesitant to speak up, and when he did, he said, “I don’t have any happy memories. I don’t even know what my mother’s face looked like. And my father was a no-good man. Basically, he was a criminal.”
“A criminal? So he’s dead already. It’s not like you’re responsible for his crimes. Why do you look so gloomy? That’s a minor problem!”
Silence. Ace’s expression did not lighten at all.
I cajoled him. “He probably wasn’t even such a bad guy, I bet! You’re just dwelling on the situation! Nobody remembers a garden-variety criminal. In fact, I doubt anyone thinks much about you at all! Not that committing crimes is acceptable—if your dad was the King of the Pirates, I’d understand why you’d worry, y’know? Because that guy’s the worst. I mean, I’d want to kill myself if that were the case. But your situation isn’t that bad, right? Eh? So stop acting like you’re the protagonist of some trage…dy…”
I trailed off. Ace was staring down at the dunes. His lips were pursed tightly shut.
“I mean… Hang on…why are you making that face?”
Something was wrong. It felt weird. I tried an awkward smile, but it had no effect.
“You’re…you’re joking, right?”
Ace closed his eyes. His head shook side to side, barely perceptible.
“R-Roger…? The Roger…? The King of the Pirates?”
Without saying a word, Ace nodded.
The sun was on its way down by now, and the far end of the sky was turning red. Ace was silent. Even the seabirds, with their obnoxious calls, had gone quiet at some point. I was keenly aware of the solitary sound of the waves. I didn’t know the island could be so quiet.
I stared at him, directly in the face.
King of the Pirates, Gold Roger.
He wasn’t some “garden-variety criminal.” He was a legendary outlaw, whose name was familiar to every single person in the world.
He was the pirate who conquered the Grand Line, and got his hands on the legendary treasure, the One Piece.
In fact, his public execution essentially changed the world overnight.
There was the time before Roger, and the time after Roger: that was how huge his influence was on the rest of society. The common people were terrified of him, the Navy and the World Government were wary, and those who didn’t fit into either category considered him a god. That was the kind of man Roger was.
To be perfectly honest, I thought of him almost as a legendary monster from a storybook. And now that monster’s son, his flesh and blood, was standing right before me?
It was impossible to take seriously. If it weren’t for the fact that we were stranded together on a deserted island without any water or food, I would have laughed in his face. But now…
The extreme hunger and thirst in a circumstance like this brings out a human being’s true nature. You do and say things you wouldn’t normally do and say—which is why I had acted the way I did.
Neither Ace nor I could lie in this situation. We weren’t really in a state to exchange tall tales.
Ace still wasn’t saying anything. What could be running through his head at that moment?
It could have been regret; wishing that he hadn’t let slip the secret of his background. But it was the truth, straight from his deepest self, brought to the surface by the reality of our predicament…
“Dammit…”
I clicked my tongue and turned my back on Ace again.
“Ah, h-hey, wanna build a boat with—” he said.
“Don’t talk to me again. I had no interest in helping you from the start…”
I told him I didn’t need any friends, and walked away across the sand.
The scene I left behind felt very awkward, indeed.