Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Hillman, who had been watching Ace from afar, was impressed, not just by the level of talent required to perform a perfect 'Qi building stance' almost immediately after seeing it for the first time, but also by his ability to hold the position for so long.

Out of all those from the youngest group, over half had given up, unable to hold out any longer, and of those who were still going, other than Ace and Killian, the rest had all been there for at least a year already.

Hillman watched silently as more and more children from the youngest batch dropped out, unable to hold their positions until only Killian and Ace were left standing.

Not even a minute later, Killian collapsed, leaving Ace as the last man standing from his batch. Not that he'd even noticed, he was too busy focusing on his breathing to care for anyone else.

It took another 5 mins later for his legs to even start shaking. He forced himself to hold on for as long as possible, but after another few minutes, not even he could continue, but by that point, over half the middle group had fallen, unable to carry on.

It was only after he fell that Ace realised he was being stared at like he was some sort of monster by Hillman and most of the other kids.

"Is…

Is today really your first day?" Killian asked, clearly still shy.

"It is." Ace responded as he fought to steady his breathing whilst studying the looks he was getting.

'So they were bullying Killian out of jealousy.'

Ace concluded from the looks both he and Killian were getting from the other kids their age.

"Ace, Killian, you two will train with the middle group from now."

As Ace heard Hillman's booming voice, he turned around to see Lance smiling and nodding at him. It wasn't hard to guess that his mother's crush more than likely had something to do with his rapid advance.

The truth was that Hillman had wanted to put Killian in the group for older kids for a while now, but he didn't want to add to the poor boy's problems with the jealous kids.

Had it not been for Ace's presence, he never would've told Killian to train with the older kids today so as not to attract any further unwanted attention but seeing how Ace didn't seem to care and how both boys seemed to be getting on, it made him more comfortable with his decision.

Ace ignored the looks he received as he rolled to his feet and began waddling over to where the middle group was. After taking a few steps, he noticed that Killian hadn't moved. He was still sat motionless, just staring at the older kids, clearly daunted by their presence.

"You're not going to let your new friend go over there by himself now, are you?!" Ace asked as he stretched his hand out to help his new friend up.

Though still intimidated, hearing Ace refer to him as a friend gave Killian the strength he needed to face his fears.

'Friend…

I've never had one of those before.' Killian thought to himself as his heart warmed.

As the duo began their pained walk over, Ace's attention was on a brown-haired child who looked no older than eight but was training with the teenagers. Not only was he training with them, he was one of the only seven able to carry on.

'I guess the rumours about Linley's talent as a warrior are true.' Ace noted having recognised the famous young master of their little town.

Ace and Killian spent the rest of the morning session training with the 9 to 12-year-old kids. Ace was a fish amongst water, able to easily keep up with their session, and although Killian was among the weakest of that age group, he showed great determination, not wanting to let down his first true friend.

After the session, Lance came over with a flask of water for each of the boys. "You both did extremely well today. Keep it up, and you might just be the next Linley."

"I have no interest in being the next anyone but me." Ace said in response, not appreciating being compared to a child.

To which Lance merely chuckled, not wanting to offend the child of his crush.

Killian, on the other hand, was doing everything to suppress the feelings of joy he was feeling. First, he made a friend, and now he was being praised by one of the instructors. He was truly on cloud nine right now.

Ignoring Lance's reaction, Ace led Killian back to where his mom was.

"Killian, this is my mom. Mom, this is Killian, my friend. As we're going to the daycare after lunch, can Killian come with us?"

As one of the carers at the orphanage, Milianna knew who Killian was. Since they were going to the same place, she had no reason to say no, but most importantly, she was over the moon that Ace had finally made a friend.

"Hi, Killian darling. Would you like to come for lunch with us?"

"Ye… Yes, please."

Still shy, Killian's response came out as nothing more than a whisper, but it was enough for Ace to grab his mom and Killian by their arms and lead them back home.

"Kil, you're okay if I call you Kil, right?" Ace asked before continuing, not giving him a chance to respond. "You're in for a real treat. My mom is the best cook in the whole of Wushan town."

.

.

.

From that day on, Ace and Killian became nearly inseparable. They would train together, then go and 'play' in private at the daycare where Milianna worked, and Killian lived.

Although the games they played weren't your typical games. It would be ones for Ace to train his observation haki, for example, rock dodging. Killian would throw rocks as hard as he could, and Ace would dodge them whilst wearing a blindfold.

Ace knew they couldn't play those games in front of others, so they made the woods behind the orphanage their personal playground.

During that time, Killian's confidence grew steadily. He remained a boy of few words, but that was more because he didn't like talking to anyone who wasn't Ace, Milianna, or even Lance, who spent a lot of time 'helping' them with their training. Or, as Ace thought of it, 'buttering up his mom.'