Beta-readed by DarkStarlet
"Ace! Sabo!"
Again.
"Ace! Sabo!"
The same names.
"Ace! Sabo!"
Desperation. Sadness. Longing.
"Ace! Sabo!"
And the cycle repeated itself. The kid didn't know when to quit, he kept screaming those names, every time ringing louder and louder, his voice not lowering a single decibel. To some degree they understood him, their hearts went out to him because they had all experienced the same, and yelled until their throat became hoarse and dry from crying out long and loud. If it could be worse, he was a young boy probably seven, maybe eight.
Even if he was still a brat, his age didn't surprise the other prisoners who stayed there longer. After all, for them age didn't matter as long as they served a purpose, their lives were meaningful for them, ones who were replaced with ease. Some lasted longer, others succumbed to depression and died shortly after they reached the cells. The question here was: would the kid have a strong enough will to survive? Or would he breakdown?
His scrawny shoulders trembled as he kept banging his closed fists against the walls of his cell, shouting the names of his brothers, tears streaming down his cheeks. Monkey D. Luffy didn't want to be here, he didn't like this place at all. He wanted to be with his brothers, not in some building that was bathed in darkness and shadows. It made his insides stir uncomfortably like when he ate a rotted fruit or when he had to much sugar.
One minute he was with his brother searching for Sabo, to rescue him from his family and the next he was snatched from the comfort and warmth of his family. Here he felt cold and there was a void like when he had been younger, before he met Shanks, and Makino wasn't around him. He was familiar with the feeling, the loneliness that sank his heart like an anchor in the deepest depths of the sea.
Being lonely hurts.
Accompanied with that came the confusion, the pain, both mental and physical, and despair. For every minute he waited there, his heart shattered piece by piece.
Where was Makino and her sweet smiles? Where was Shanks and his easy going attitude? Where was Ace and his protectiveness? Where was Sabo and his smart ass personality? Heck, Luffy even missed Gramps and his 'Fists of Love'. And Dadan and the others? Mayor Woop Slap?
He had to get out of here! But he couldn't, they had locked the door after throwing him into the small room, where the only source of light was a light bulb which was too weak to illuminate the place properly.
His neck was itchy because of the collar encircling it. These men had put it there like he was some sort of dog and called him a slave which was stupid because he was going to become the King of Pirates, the freest person in the world, bound to no one but himself!
His upper lip trembled and tears welled up. Ace was right, he was such a crybaby and this was partly his fault, he shouldn't have wandered off, he should have stayed beside Dadan and not gone off on his own to get captured by the pudgy man.
"No," he shook his head to get rid of those dark thoughts that were clouding his mind. "I'm not going to cry anymore." He wouldn't cry, his brothers would come for him. He was sure of it, he would just have to wait.
Drawing his knees close to his chest, he rested his forehead between them. Dizziness hit him hard making his head spin and the bile rose in his throat. He was hungry, yet the idea of eating anything made him nauseous, nothing appealed to him and food was the last thing on his mind. Never had he felt like this, not even when Porchemy and his henchmen tortured him that night.
Luffy didn't know how much he stayed in that fetal position, it wasn't until he heard a soft 'click' and the door squeaking loudly, that his head snapped up and he shot to his feet.
A dark shadow fell over him and Luffy was disappointed when a man with a white coat and a mask covering his face appeared. Nevertheless, Luffy approached him.
"Can I get out of there? Where are Gramps, Ace and Sabo? I don't want to here anymore, this isn't even funny, where are we anyway…?" None of his questions were answered, the guy glared at him hatefully.
"Annoying pests, I don't even know why Saint Basil keeps you when you're all a nuisances." He ground out, his face pulled into a frown.
Luffy didn't understand a word he said but he figured it out, this man wasn't here to help him. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when another two figures appeared behind the man with the white robe. Unlike him they didn't wear a mask, their faces were scrunched up in a smug expressions. His eyes travelled south and he froze when they fell on a teenage boy, much older than him, Sabo or Ace.
His breath was ragged and wild, his head downcast , black hair with wisps of blue covering his face and his body was convulsing like a fish out of water, beads of sweat dripping down his skin. He kind of reminded Luffy of when Sabo caught flu and he couldn't move from the treehouse. But Sabo didn't look as sick as this.
White Coat clicked his tongue in annoyance as he stared at the teen with open disappointment.
"Two months of slavery and you still stand. I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky." He frowned, eyes crinkling. He didn't get any reply, it was normal that the boy didn't talk very much and if he did he would spit at them. He dipped his chin at the other two and signalled them."Put him in here and don't give him the antidote, or food, until he learns that attacking spectators is foolish."
Unkindly, they hurled him to the centre of the room. The boy didn't hit the ground, catching himself before landing. Grey eyes with flecks of gold gave them a deadly look, cold and sinister.
"Screw you." The teen bit out, his voice cracking like a whip.
Stubborn boy. He wasn't broken, he still stood on his own two feet, not ever dropping his will around them.
Doctor North gazed down at the other young boy in front of him, another pet for the Master, one he bought in the last Auction. From what he gathered the boy was a Devil Fruit user. He wondered if it was as interesting as the others held here. A spark of excitement lit up in him and his fingers itched with the thought of trying his new drugs on him. Would the boy be as resistant as the teen, or would he succumb like so many of the other slaves?
The possibilities were endless but he would have to wait for permission first. North was okay with that, he was patient and had other matters to attend.
"Don't cause too much trouble, little pests." He warned them dangerously. He swivelled around with his assistants following his footsteps obediently, closing the door behind them.
And Luffy was left alone with the teen.
The dark-haired boy stretched his arms, giving a slight wince and it was then when Luffy noticed the white blotches that covered a part of his arms. For once he wasn't his usual exuberant self, Luffy was oddly quiet. His eyes burning holes into his cellmate.
He bit down his lip pondering his options, Luffy had never been the type to back off in order to gain a friend. And with this boy? Loneliness would swallow him up if he didn't talk to him. Driven by that thought he crawled over towards the older boy.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy." He presented himself with a bright grin, forgetting for an instance the cesspit they were in.
The effect was immediate, the teenager turned his head towards him, his eyes hard as steel with an underlying danger in them. Despite his sharp appearance and the hostility rolling off his shoulders, Luffy felt oddly calm. He didn't think this boy would hurt him, or so he hoped.
An eyebrow quirked, "D?"
Luffy tilted his head confused not catching the reason of why the teen seemed interested in the D. in his name. It was nothing special. Or at least it wasn't for him. Those sharp grey orbs bored into his and the teen waved his hand dismissively.
"You don't know, right? Just don't tell them your full name." He warned him before turning towards the wall, seemingly finding it more interesting than Luffy.
"Hey!" Luffy called out indignantly. "You've never told me your name!" He pouted.
That was rude, he remembered Sabo's voice telling him and Ace that it was common courtesy that when someone presented himself the other had to do so. He stamped down the bittersweet sensation that washed over him and focused on the Stranger-Who-Would-Become-Luffy's-Friend.
The silence stretched in between them, and Luffy curled his small hands in his lap waiting for an answer. If the boy was going to be stubborn then Luffy would meet it head on like a bull.
"It's Law."
Luffy's eyes widened with astonishment when the older boy, Law, answered in an aloof manner.
Onyx eyes clashed with steely grey, and Law's lips twitched up into a cutting smirk, one that matched the ice in his voice.
"Trafalgar Law."
Luffy's face split into his trademark grin. "Nice to meet you, Torao!"
'Torao' remained stoic except for the slight twitch of his eyebrow in annoyance, his back turned to him.
It was the start of a long, hard journey.