WARNING: Swearing. (However, as a tip: if you don't like swearing, fanfiction does allow you to filter it.)

Sabo did not sign up for this shit.

"I'm going out to sea," he grumbled under his breath. "I'm going to be a pirate," he rolled his eyes. "I'm going to be free." He threw his hands up, absolutely done. "What happened to just peacefully pirate-ing?"

In front of him, Marco the Phoenix raised an eyebrow, an odd mixture between amusement and curiosity pulling his lips into a smirk. "Now that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one," He spoke casually, as though he didn't just threaten to kill Sabo a thousand different ways. "A peaceful pirate?"

Sabo wrinkled his nose, a decidedly Luffy-esque expression taking over his features. "Well, maybe not peaceful." He conceded regretfully. "But at least less..." He made a vague gesture towards the Phoenix, hoping that it would be understood, "And a bit more low key." (He had more than enough of that at home, taking care of Luffy.)

The Phoenix shrugged, blue flames beginning to lick his shoulders as he remarked airily, "Well, you know, Blue Gentleman, if you wanted that, then you probably shouldn't have attacked one of our villages."

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "Is that what this is about? Yeesh, and I thought that here you were just itching for a fight."

The Phoenix leveled him with an unimpressed stare, and Sabo had to bite down a snicker at how absolutely serious he seemed, and at the thought that he must have looked at Luffy the same way thousands of times before.

"Alright, well," Sabo cracked his knuckles and grinned brightly, relaxing his shoulders and smoothing out his back muscles. "I guess it'd be fun to fight you, so why not give it a shot?"

The Phoenix snorted, rolling his eyes ever so slightly as he sighed, "You're a complete rookie, aren't you?"

Sabo shrugged, childish and unrepentant as he answered, "I figure you won't kill me, so why not?"

"Oh?" At this, the Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure of that?"

Sabo hummed distractedly, taking in the way that the flames shadowed the Phoenix's features. "Just a hunch," He answered airily, lifting a shoulder as he rolled his head back. "Anywho, aren't you going to do whatever you came here to do?"

"Was it an accident?" Flames dying for a moment, the Phoenix's eyebrows drew together, forehead creasing ever so slightly. "Is that it? Did you destroy the village by accident?"

"You mean, the village with your flag?" Sabo shook his head, lifting his chin in something that vaguely resembled arrogance. "Nah. That was 100% on purpose. No take backs."

And his world turned blue.

"What the fuck?" The Phoenix snarled, leaping forwards to shove a flaming fist into Sabo's chest.

Haki quickly pooled over his ribs, and he lifted an inky fist to slam into the Phoenix, who ducked, allowing it to brush past a few wisps of hair. "I'm not so careless as to destroy a whole village by accident." Sabo responded, forcing himself to shrug, as though he were acting carelessly, trying not to let the Phoenix see the fury tightening his muscles.

"It's people like you who bring a bad name to pirates." The Phoenix hissed, leg lifting to slam Sabo into the ground.

Sabo choked, feeling the ground give way under him as he was shoved further down, and the Phoenix reached down to pull him up by his collar.

"I'm the one who brings a bad name to pirates?" He asked incredulously, features darkening. "Fuck you, Phoenix. You bring a bad name to humanity." He coated his palms with Haki and slammed them onto the Phoenix's wrist, barely waiting to be dropped before he crouched down and swept his leg out under the Phoenix's. "And here I was, thinking that you might have been decent."

"I bring a bad name to humanity." Incredulous didn't even begin to describe how the Phoenix sounded as he leaped up, legs furling up for a moment before he kicked them out and wrapped them around Sabo's waist, leaning forwards to swing his fist at Sabo's head. "You murdered so many innocent people!"

"Innocent!?" Sabo's head whipped the the side, and he took the opportunity to slam it against the Phoenix's. "What messed up world are you living in, Phoenix? Human lives aren't so worthless that they can be sold for coin!"

The Phoenix caught Sabo's head with his hand and then slammed it into a nearby tree before pausing and dropping Sabo. "Wait, what? Are you implying that..."

"That you and your crew are lousy excuses for living organisms?" Sabo sneered, wiping some blood from his forehead. "Yeah. And here I was thinking that only trash like the World Government did this kind of stuff."

"That was a slave trading port?" Marco whispered, his body suddenly feeling heavy and weary.

"No," Sabo rolled his eyes sarcastically, wincing as he pressed his hand against his head. "That was actually a town full of fairies and magical pixies that help Father Christmas deliver gifts."

Marco's head spun, and he pressed his back against another tree. "Shit. Shit. I'm... I'm sorry, Blue Gentleman." He paused, and twisted his lips to the side. "I didn't mean to, I didn't, we didn't... wait, you're not lying, are you?"

"To a piece of crap like you?" Sabo snorted, stretching his legs out and relaxing his shoulders. "Waste of breath. So I take it that this was a misunderstanding?"

Marco nodded numbly, feeling a bit like a bobble head toy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you."

Sabo waved a hand flippantly, pressing his hands against his head as he laughed, light yet bitter. "I'm pretty sure you meant to." He snickered, though when Marco made to apologize, he waved him off. "You know what? You're not half bad, Phoenix."

"Am I more than half?" Marco asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Sabo made a half laugh, half sighing sound. "Maybe. Aren't you just a dirty pirate, anyways? How would I know?" He paused, and stood up, scowling as he brushed some blood from his eyes. "I don't suppose my ship's still in the harbor?"

The Phoenix closed his eyes, trying to think about it. "There wasn't anything in the harbor. There wasn't even a harbor left."

"Of course." Sabo snorted, dusting something from his pants. "Just my luck."

The Phoenix cracked an eye open, eyes widening as he asked, "Could it be... do you not have any way to get off this island?"

Sabo offered him a frown that seemed to imply that he was stupid. "Well, considering that my shipwright is now..." His features closed off, immediately as icy as hail, "Dead. Then, yeah." He pursed his lips together. "Maybe I can make a raft out of the trees or something. Whatever. Least I'm not Luffy, the idiot would..." He shook his head, the ghost of a smile tracing his lips.

The Phoenix drummed his fingers against the ground thoughtfully, curiously, for a moment, before sighing, "Come with us. We'll drop you off wherever you're heading, alright?"

Surprise flickered over Sabo's features for a moment, before suspicion replaced it. "Why?" His voice was meant to be sharp and biting, but it came out more exhausted, as though the events of the day had finally come down on him.

The Phoenix inclined his head towards Sabo's general direction. "To make it up for attacking you needlessly."

"Oh." Sabo shrugged, brushing his hair from his face and pressing his hat onto his head. "You don't have to."

"Then, with your permission," Marco tried to channel his inner 100%-drama-queen-Thatch. "Allow us the honor of your company."

Sabo's lips twitched upwards, quick and hesitant, before he sighed, "Fine. But if you're going to kill me, do it quick, alright? Don't drown me or give me some stupidly long torturous death."

"As you wish," The Phoenix raised an eyebrow as they started towards the ship. "I'll be sure to make your death quick and painless."

Sabo laughed at that, a bit lighter than before. "Are you planning on feeding me?"

The Phoenix grinned at him, a crooked thing, with one edge of his lips pulling a bit too much upwards, casting a mischievous gleam into his eyes. "We'll see." He answered, shrugging. "Don't worry, starvation's a boring way to kill someone."

Sabo laughed again, and Marco realized that he really wasn't quite so bad after all.

(Here's to hoping, he thought to himself, that Oyaji takes a liking to him as well.)

A/N: Sooo... did you like it? How was it? I think this may be my new long running fic. I just can't seem to leave the Whitebeards alone... I don't know, though. I might end up working full time on an origin fic for the Whitebeards. What do you guys think?