Five times. That's how many times one of my monsters asked to be reassigned due to the same child: Portgas D. Ace.

Everytime I would ask why, they would pale and sweat as if they themselves were the recipients of the scare. Not one could answer me without calling the boy a demon child or losing their composure. Apparently they were more scared of the ten year old than they were of me.

I wondered why any professional monster would be terrified of a child instead of vice versa. Maybe he had a haunting face? A psychotic smile? Did he have a gun? Swords? Knives, maybe? I shook my head. No, those wouldn't be plausible explanations.

What could it possibly be that a human child possessed that gave the most terrifying of beasts nightmares?

I did what any curious monster in my situation would do, and I assigned myself to the enigma that was Portgas D. Ace.

Night fell and I crept through the woods towards the treehouse where I knew he would be. I had sent a multitude of monsters up into the foliage, every single one returning shaking like autumn leaves from, presumably, the three young boys that lived there.

I slowly crept up the thick trunk, being careful not to burn the ladder hanging from the shoddily-built platform above me. I entered the treehouse, only to find my assignment staring me in the face.

Quite literally.

Ace was waiting, metal pipe in hand, staring intently at the space I emerged from. His gaze followed me as I stood up and looked around.

"This is a nice treehouse." I commented. He only glared at me.

"Are you trying to scare me? 'Cause it's not going to work." He spat.

I blinked. "I wanted to see why my monsters keep asking to be reassigned."

"Serves 'em right. They can't scare me." He scoffed.

I crossed my arms. "What are you afraid of, Portgas D. Ace?"

His eyes widened marginally at the mention of his name. He turned his head away from me.

"Everyone's afraid of something, Ace." I leaned to the right to look at his face.

"Not me." He ground out between clenched teeth.

I smirked. "Then why do you have your pipe clutched so tightly?"

For a moment, Ace said nothing. He gripped the pipe tighter.

"Go away." He growled.

I looked away from him towards the two sleeping figures on the other side of the treehouse. The duo were his younger brothers, I gathered. Outlook Sabo and Monkey D. Luffy. The monsters assigned to them were also scared off, presumably by Ace.

My eyes trained on the other boys, I asked a question.

"It's about them, isn't it?"

I turned back around and froze, well, as much as a monster made of flames could freeze.

Ace's glare was so fierce and feral, it closely resembled a threatened wild animal. His lips curled up in a snarl, his eyes so fiery they pierced my very being. His pipe swung towards my head.

"GO AWAY!" He yelled, wielding the pipe like a swordsman and leaping at me. I caught the pipe with ease, careful not to melt it. He needed it for defense, after all.

"You aren't a demon child, Ace. You just want to protect them. Isn't that right?" I asked, lowering the pipe away from my face.

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" Ace shouted, swinging the pipe again.

"But I know people like you."

This stopped him dead in his tracks. He stared for a minute before dropping the pipe, sending it clattering to the floor before dropping to the ground himself, sitting with his legs crossed. He looked down, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Everyone says I'm a demon child and that I shouldn't have been born." He whispered. My eyes widened slightly at the sudden tone change.

I sat down next to him and put a flaming hand on his shoulder, refraining myself from burning him. "You aren't a demon child. I should know, I work with demons on a daily basis."

Ace laughed a little. "You're funny."

"That's not my job, but thank you anyway." I smirked.

A loud crashing sound suddenly erupted from below us. Ace snatched up his pipe and scrambled towards the edge of the platform, peering over to see what the commotion was. I mimicked him, training my gaze at the source of the sound. Several bandits with swords emerged from the bushes, grinning maniacally up at Ace.

"Aw crap!" Ace yelped, jumping down to the forest floor, landing in a crouch before standing up.

"Just perfect…" I muttered, leaping down after him. My feet hit the ground with a crackle, and the grass underneath me started to burn. Most of the bandits kept their eyes on Ace, completely ignoring me. Few of them dared look in my direction before paling with fright and running for the hills.

"Hey, brat! It's payback time!" One of the lead bandits yelled, drawing his sword and pointing it at Ace. The others cheered.

"Give us back our money, and no one has to get hurt… too badly." A second one grinned, flashing his yellowing teeth.

"YEAH!" The other bandits shouted, readying their weapons. Ace gritted his teeth and braced himself, pipe raised and ready to strike. I sneered, raising my fists.

"Are you ready, Ace?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the bandits.

"Hell yes." He smirked.

"Then let's finish this quickly, it's almost sunrise."

Ace and I sprung forward, flame and lead pipe thrusting at our opponents. Sword met pipe as Ace clashed with the lead bandit. His cronies surrounded me in hopes to overwhelm me with numbers. Sabers and knives swung at me from all directions, trying to slice me open. The look of pure shock and horror that plastered itself on the bandits' faces when their weapons passed right through me was pure gold. I cackled as they realized they were powerless to stop me. One quick spinning fire kick later, my opponents collapsed from exhaustion and burns.

I turned around to see Ace standing on top of his opponent, lead pipe pinning the bandit leader to the ground by his throat.

"If you ever come back, I'll get my friend here to roast you alive." Ace snarled at his opponent, spit flying into his face. With that, he released the bandit, and the bandits who were still conscious grabbed their unconscious comrades and fled, dust spraying up behind them as they sprinted away, screaming about monsters.

Ace looked over his shoulder at me, smiling. "Heh, shows them not mess with us."

"Good, almost thought you forgot about me." I smirked, ruffling his hair. He laughed.

"What's your name, anyway?" He asked, swinging his pipe over his shoulders.

"Mera." I replied. He blinked.

"Your name is Flame?"

"My parents' aren't very creative."

Ace laughed again. It was a good laugh, true and hearty. After a moment, he stopped and a serious expression settled on his face.

"Are you gonna keep trying to scare me?" He inquired, kicking up dust as he shuffled his feet.

"No, I see why they're afraid of you." I answered, earning a glare.

"And why's that?" He spat. I looked him dead in the eye.

"Because you have something to fight for."

Ace stared in a what appeared to be a mix of shock and disbelief. His mouth hung open, his shoulders dropped, and his pipe clattered to the ground.

Then, he smiled the largest, most genuine ear-splitting grin I've ever seen in my entire life.

"Are you going to come back?"

"Of course. Someone has to deal with the bandits."

At that moment, Ace charged towards me, wrapping his arms around my torso and burying his face into my chest as sunlight started to pour over the tops of the mountains.

"Come back soon, okay? I want Sabo and Luffy to meet you!"

"I will. I promise. But for now, it's time for me to leave. Until then, Portgas D. Ace."

"Bye, Mera." He let go and wiped away a half-formed tear. I waved as I left.

It won't be too long, Ace. You won't wait forever. I thought as I exited the mountain forest.

Ace waved as Mera walked away. He climbed back up the ladder to the treehouse and sat down next to his sleeping brothers. He smiled to himself as he glanced at their faces.

So peaceful, He thought before his brothers began to stir.

Sabo and Luffy sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep away from their eyes.

"Hey, Ace. Morning." Sabo mumbled.

"Yeah, morning, Ace." Luffy agreed, yawning again.

"Morning." Ace replied softly. Sabo and Luffy snapped awake and stared at Ace.

"Is… is something wrong, Ace?" Sabo asked cautiously, scooting closer to his older brother. Luffy did the same.

"Nah, nothing's wrong." Ace replied. His arms wrapped around the younger boys and he pulled them into a hug.

"Everything's fine."

~o0o~

HAHAHAHAH I HAVEN'T UPDATED MY NORMAL THINGS SO HERE HAVE THIS.