Chapter Text
The Hero of Marines, Vice Admiral Garp, has a photo of Sabo as a kid in his wallet.
Now, it's a very cute photo! Cheesy grins, corny family photo outfits, obvious wrangling of rambunctious kids. If it was anyone else, both in owner and in subject, Sabo would’ve smiled and moved on. But it's a photo of Sabo, the Revolutionary Army's residential amnesiac, in the Hero of the Marines Vice Admiral Garp's wallet.
What the fuck.
Sabo rubs his eye and looks at the photo again.
Yup. Definitely still him. He’s lacking the severe scarring he's had as far back as he can remember, but otherwise the face is the same as the one he remembers staring at in the mirror right after his accident, gap tooth and all. Younger Sabo is beaming at him in the world's dumbest marine costume with two other kids wearing equally cheesy smiles and stupid costumes.
Sabo only took the wallet on a whim. He's not even on a real mission, just on a sketchy island called Dodge to resupply before he sets sail for home. It dropped out of the vice admiral's pocket, and before Vice Admiral Garp could notice, Sabo had given into the temptation and spirited it away to a nice private area without even a thought other than maybe there was a security ID card or information tucked in for safekeeping he could use, and even if there wasn't anything useful the pure joy of inconveniencing a high ranking marine and a couple of beri for snack money was just as good too. If he couldn't keep a hold of his wallet when Sabo wasn't even actively pickpocketing, he didn't deserve it!
But now he has a photo of him of when he was a kid, presumably from when he was a part of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp's family, if judging by the cheesy family photo grins and matching costumes. It's clearly well loved, laminated to prevent the water damage that commonly plagues everything on the Grandline, but with the soft wear on the plastic that only comes from being carried around everywhere over years. When he turns it around there's the date the photo must've been taken on written on the back, along with bold, messy handwriting that mockingly says, "Happy birthday shitty gramps! Enjoy the only time we'll ever wear a uniform!", Sabos own clean signature, and a drawing of what might be a beetle in crayon next to it.
‘Well,’ Sabo thinks a bit hysterically. ‘There was definitely information. Not really what I was looking for at all though.'
The cheerful family photo contrasts so severely with everything he potentially knows about his past- which admittedly is fuckall minus the assumption he came from a well-off noble family and didn’t care for the life and the casual cruelty- but the dirty faces, awkward costumes, and cheesy fakey family photo grins implies something else; that there may have been something to miss- some people to miss. A grief and anger for this life he doesn't remember starts well up in his throat in a way he can't remember but feels so uncomfortably familiar that his head starts to hurt.
What does he even do with this is the question- He knows himself, he can't leave the scab alone, can't leave a mystery unturned- but he also sure as hell can't return the wallet, can't find out who the other two boys are from Garp. Lord knows what would happen if he just walked up and said: ‘Hello sir, I have reasons to believe that I may be the blonde kid in the photo, sorry I’ve been missing for over 10 years, I have amnesia and have no clue how we know each other. Please ignore the fact I stole your wallet and that I'm a known fugitive wanted by Cipher Pol, please.’
Yeah, that’d go over really well.
Ultimately, he runs off with the wallet and gets the hell out of Dodge and back to Baltigo before Vice Admiral Garp can catch him. If he’s going to have to inevitably deal with the man, he’d rather choose the time and place.
There's an unofficial rule in the kitchen, that you don't go in if Sabos in there unless absolutely necessary, because he's likely to accidently bite off your hand while eating if you're too close. He'd like to argue that it was once, and a prosthetic hand that the owner liked to wear on the looser side, and therefore easier to accidentally bite off. The only real exceptions to the rule are Koala, who can murder him, and Dragon, who can eat even more than him and also murder him if necessary. Right now though he can't help but feel a bit grateful, as the rule is really helpful for having a nice private freakout.
So now he's sitting in the kitchen, inspecting the photo and wallet that have been burning a hole into his pocket ever since he found them, running his fingers across them like he's going to find secret compartments or the answer to life in a well-worn leather wallet that's definitely older than him- and might be older than Garp as well for that matter, judging by all the scuffs and scratches and the fact it's literally held together by strategic rubber band placements.
"What do you have there Sabo? I don't think I've ever seen you do anything in a kitchen other than eating us out house and home."
Koalas voice by his good ear him makes him jump, snapping him out of his engrossed inspection. Sabo swears she can sense when he's thinking too hard about something like a blood seeking shark and ambush him accordingly.
"Shit! you startled me!"
Koala laughs in his face "Normally you're more attentive than this! What if I was an enemy? I didn't even have to conceal myself!" she teases, sitting down on the table next to him and swinging her legs to kick him as she does so.
"If you we're an enemy I'd just beat you with my pipe and question how the hell you got this far into the compound without any alarms sounding." Sabo grumbles rubbing his forehead. He's had an on and off again headache ever since he found the damn wallet as if someone's trying to hit him repeatedly for forgetting Garp and the other boys in the photo. "Look, I don't really know how to explain this." He sighs as he passes the photo to Koala "Just... take a look."
Koala takes the photo and squawks in surprise once she sees just exactly who is on it "Holy shit!" She stares at it again and then flips it over to read the back, scanning her eyes over it thoroughly in the way that Sabo knows means she's memorizing it. "Where the hell did you find this? "
"It was in Vice Admiral Garp's wallet" he deadpans holding up said busted wallet.
Koala balks, her expression rapidly going through horror, pity, and finally settling into a sort of amused exasperation. Sabo kind of wishes he had a den den to take a video to show how funny she looks. Private recording den den mushi are a big no no in Baltigo though because they're a huge potential security breach, so it's a hopeless wish.
"Of course, you'd have the guy who went toe to toe with Roger as your grandfather" Koala muses "Probably why you were able to beat up grown men with nothing but a pipe when we were twelve. Kinda conflicts with some of what we know about your past though, doesn't it?"
Sabo shrugs. "No way of really knowing until I find the other two boys in the photo."
Koala stares at the photo for a bit longer before handing it back to him. "Can I get a copy? It's really cute, I promise I won't even blackmail you that much with it"
"Shove off"
...He did make her that copy. Koala promised to help him with his research once she's done doing what she has to do for the day, and there's nobody Sabo trusts more to sniff out information based on a handful of clues, so after he's made the copy and handed the sheet of paper to her he reluctantly tucks away the wallet into the breast of his coat and heads off down the hall as he also has shit to do. Mostly in the form of paperwork. Ugh.
He should probably inform Dragon about his potential connection with a Marine too, now that he thinks of it. Infact, he'll go do that first. Just as a precaution against a potential security breach, of course. His room and Dragons room are nearby each other anyways, and the boss is always doing some form of paperwork around this time of day, whether that be budgeting or reading reports, so he knows he'll catch him.
Deep breath, knock on the door.
Dragons muffled voice comes through the door "Come in Sabo"
Sabo comes in, gently shutting the door behind him. "Hello Dragon-san..."
Dragon gestures towards the chair across from his desk, both of them know that Sabo wouldn't bug him during paperwork hour unless if it was serious. "How was your trip Sabo?"
Sabo takes a deep breath. "I learned some information that... I think will be better to show than to explain." he says as he pulls out the wallet from his breast pocket.
Dragon pales upon seeing the wallet. It's such a foreign expression on Dragon's face, almost always stoic and confident, and it's downright horrifying on him. "He still has that busted thing?"
Sabo blinks. "You know Vice Admiral Garp's wallet?"
"He's had the same one since before I was born," Dragon rasps "He's going to hunt you down for picking it you know."
Sabo wants to ask how the hell Dragon knows this, but he bites his tongue for now. "I think I'm going to be hunted down if he hears anything about my existence anyways, the wallet isn't the super important part, it's what's inside." He says while pulling out the photo and sliding it across the desk
Dragon holds up the photo to the light and squints a bit- Sabo keeps telling him he needs new readers, but Dragon won't hear it. Something about being the night and glasses being too glinty for that- his eyes widen when he sees the subject matter, and when he flips it around, he winces reading the back.
“Good luck. He’s not going to take amnesia as an excuse on why you haven't called when he hunts you down and gives you the Fist of Love.” The nauseous expression that Dragon wears continues to be the most bone chilling thing he's ever seen. “Father doesn't even take my work as an excuse to not call; he keeps sending me mail, I have no clue how- demanding that I call him, talking about the latest murder mystery show he’s seen, and complaining about the fact I never visit and that I didn’t make Luffy go to school. He’s so naggy, it's the only thing worse than his driving. I'm so sorry.”
Sabo is utterly reeling, he feels like he needs a bit of alcohol and a good lie down to recover from the fact that Dragon knows Garp on a personal level, and instead of complaining about the things one would normally complain about when they have a Marine parent, he complains about the guys driving. The name Luffy is familiar though, the kid's bounty is higher than most people in the East Blue, but what really stuck out to him was the bright grin and his strange urge to pinch the guy's cheek. "Like... Straw-hat Luffy? The rookie recently kicking the shit out of the East Blue?”
Dragon simply nods distractedly staring fondly at the picture as he points at the shortest kid in it. “He's on the Grandline now, but yes. Do you mind if I make a copy of this? I haven't met Ace personally, but you and Luffy are so cute.”
Yeah. Ok. Whatever. He nods. Dragon wants his baby photo along with one of the other kids in the photo. Sure, why not- the days already weird enough.
Actually... He does the mental math. Monkey D. Garp, Monkey D. Luffy, Dragon apparently being Garp's son... its painting a very weird picture that definitely doesn't add up. "Dragon-san..." He says carefully "If what you're implying is true, wouldn't you know if I was related to Vice Admiral Garp..?"
Dragon hums "Not particularly, I haven't contacted him directly since Luffy was a baby. You wouldn't be the first grandchild he stole from somewhere anyways; your bio family probably just stole you back around the time when we first met."
Right. Okay. Of course, Garp steals children to be his grandchildren. Did he steal Dragon as well? Does it run in the family?? Luffy doesn't look much like Dragon, is Luffy stolen??? Was he hit on the head at some point between now and the wallet???? At the very least, Dragon doesn't seem concerned by the concept of stealing children, happily going over to the printing den den mushi, showing it the photo, and watching as it slimes all over the paper and makes what looks to be three copies of both the front and back of the photo.
"So... The other kids are Straw-hat Luffy and... Ace?"
"Fire-fist Ace, he's on Whitebeards crew, although there's been reports of him wandering around Paradise recently, I'll compile a list of their recent locations so you can go track them down, don't worry about taking too much time either." Dragon pauses, as if he's reconsidering his statement. "Actually, maybe worry a bit about taking too much time, if you stay in one place too long Father will find you."
'Great way to make Garp sound like a horror antagonist Dragon' Sabo feels like years of his life were shaved away. "Alright Dragon-san, I'll head out day after tomorrow, so I have time to prepare."
Dragon simply nods and starts putting his freshly copied versions of the photograph into a manilla folder, before handing Sabo back the original photo. "I'm sorry I'm not able to be there for Luffy like I was for you, but I knew when I had him that he could never be safe with me, because I'm serving this world as vengeance." he says as softly as his gravelly voice allows. "I'm glad you were there with him, even if it was only for a little bit..." He sighs and gives Sabo a pointed look. "Nothing about my relations leaves this room, for their safety."
"Of course, Dragon-san." Sabo says quietly. He tucks away the photo into the wallet, and the wallet into his coats breast pocket once more, and tips his hat. "Have a goodnight."
Dragon nods.
Sabo leaves the room feeling strange, but lighter. He knows who's in the photos now, and he'll know where to find them in a day's time.
but wait... this means...
"FUCK! I gave Koala blackmail material for no reason!"