He watched, motionless as the blood splattered across the ground. A few droplets impacted with his face but he continued to stare. His dark pink hair was pulled back, the random white tufts being used as a sort of band to keep the hair together. His bangs swept over his forehead and ended on the left side of his chin, the uncovered right eye was an emotionless violet as he watched the scene. The pale skin seemed to flush the longer he watched the gruesomeness in front of him. The moonlight coming through the windows making his already pale skin even paler and the red in his face stick out even more.
Snap
His eyes moved sluggishly to look at the now shattered arm. He could distantly hear the screaming, smell the burning flesh that he was oh so accustomed to. He absently licked his lips, unknowingly tasting the blood on his face, and wondered whether his empty stomach or the various similar scenes were to blame for the lack of bile in his mouth. A sword sliced downwards, cutting off the scream and spreading more blood everywhere. He blinked as a lot of the blood flew on his face. He clinched his jaw for a moment before relaxing and looking up.
The large man stood over the now dead body of the child, watching him. The pink and white-haired child watched him numbly. The man smirked bringing the large sword, a nodachi the child thought absently, to his face and making a small cut on his face. The child continued to watch him and the man scoffed, slicing the child's face. The child didn't move a muscle and the man huffed wiping the blood-soaked sword across the child's chest.
"Get out of my face, ya damn freak." The man told the child and began walking away, the sword sitting on his shoulder. The child watched the man go, making sure he left the corridor that this all took place in, before glancing at the detached head. The eyes of the head were already glossed over, with no light left in them. The mouth forever in that screaming state.
"Ne, Nobu-nii will you sing to me tonight?" He glanced at the child, those emerald green eyes were always going to be his weakness.
"Eto… Why me? Why not Koi-san or Leimi-san?" He really wanted to know. Koi was known to take care of the kids a lot more than either himself or Leimi but at least Leimi was more approachable than either of them. The only thing that Nobu could say he had over them was that his species seemed to entertain the kids here.
"'Cause you actually sing to me! They just complain all the time! They think we don't know but we do. But with you, we all know you just try to help us, even if you seem mean at times."
"Fine." Nobu sighed but a small smile graced his face as he heard the child shout out a success, calling all the other kids in. His eye twitched slightly and he opened his mouth, about to state that he wasn't going to sing to all of them, only to see those eyes again.
"Che. Alright, come on." The kids all cheered and Nobu rolled his eyes, an amused smile tugging at his lips.
Those green eyes were still looking at him, along with the heads of Koi, Leimi, and all the other kids. The corridor, filled with blood. His own intermingling as it poured down his face.
"I wonder… would you still want me to sing for you? After I've become such a monster? Would you let me keep you in my mind? Or does the thought of me give you a sense of betrayal?" Nobu asked, voice devoid of emotion.
"Habata itara modoranai to itte. Mezashita no wa aoi aoi ano sora." Nobu whispered, leaning down and looking into the emerald eyes one last time. Reaching out, he closed ran his hand across the face, closing the eyes as he went.
"It was your favorite, ne? Blue Bird? You always wanted to fly… You always wanted to be a part of the sky… just like your namesake…" Getting back up, he turned on his heels and walked away from the carnage. He stepped over all the bodies and continued on, slowly leaving the corridor, following the bloody trail that the man left. As he was leaving, he picked up the blood-soaked sheath that was discarded.
"One, two! But that's no good. You see, that's no good? My heart will develop, more and more." his voice resonated throughout the building. The sound of footsteps stopped and he listened as they began to sound like they were coming towards him.
"If words will destroy our relationship, we'll be fine without them." Nobu continued to speak as the man came back around the corner, the moonlight coming through the windows were illuminating his red-dyed pants and his deep blue hair. A woman followed him, chest length black hair trailing after her as they watched Nobu approach.
"Hey, freak. Didn't I tell you to get outta my face. You do know that means go to your damn cell, don't ya?" the man seemed calm but he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
"Did you think so? Were you afraid?" he sung, holding the large sheath up until it was level with his eyes.
"Why are you singing brat? And who the hell do you think you are asking if I'm afraid?" the man asked, pointing the nodachi at Nobu.
"And why are you getting riled up over the brat. We can't kill him or else we'll lose out on valuable information." the woman's voice was tinkling and very even.
"But what's that? This might be wrong. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, if your will is as strong as stones." Nobu continued, letting himself breathe deeply. The expression on both of the adults' faces never changing. He swung the sheath a few times in their direction and they both raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell are you doing?" the man asked
"Little strokes they say, but I'm an old-fashioned boy. Living without words, no, dying, huh?" he sung, allowing the sheath to fall to the ground. He fell with it, landing on his behind and looking at the two of them.
"Fluffy and fluttering, fluttery and fluffy. I'll float to heaven just like that. Fluttery and fluffy, fluffy and fluttering. Seeing you laugh puts a smile on my face just like that." He watched the two of them with emotionless eyes as they began to choke. The man raised his weapon at Nobu, a thin line of blood collecting across his neck.
"What…?" the woman's voice was softer, weaker. He glanced at her, glaring at the blood that covered her hands before she covered her neck.
"Kami-sama, arigatou. Even with my wretched fate, our chance meeting is bliss." their heads slipped off their bodies and began to roll over to him. The woman's head stopped prematurely but the man's head continued to roll until it was at Nobu's feet.
"But that's no good. You see that's no good? My heart will develop more and more." He got onto his knees and crouched lower, making eye contact with the man's slowly diming eyes.
"So yes don't stop yet. Hey, keep looking. Keep looking at me forever and ever." He whispered as all the light left his eyes.
It was this scene that the world government was treated to when they got in the base. Their leader, tall and imposing was the one to approach the child, who couldn't be older than 9.
"Hey, it's alright. Everything is fine now." The child looked up at him with such dead eyes that he clenched his jaw and decided then and there what he was going to do. Damn it all to the consequences.
"Ne, nice to meet you marine-san. I know what you are thinking right now and I would rather not be troubled by you in the near future, however I can see that you may be too stubborn for me to do anything about without trying to kill you. Will you allow me to at least bury the rest of the children here? They did not deserve their fate." The marine blinked owlishly, nodding and motioning for his squad to help this child.
Together, they gathered up the remains of the children and brought them outside. The other marines were hesitant to allow the child to aid in picking up the body parts, but as he continued to reaffirm them on his condition, he eventually got the leader's consent to helping.
As soon as all the children were buried, Nobu grasped his hands together in what looked to be a prayer.
"Please don't forget. We fight together." He whispered. He let his hands fall and looked over at the marine.
"Eto… Garp-san. We can leave now." the now identified Garp jumped slightly at the child knowing his name.
"How do you know who I am, young one?" The child tilted his head and looked at him, his bangs slid slightly and Garp's eyes widened as he took in the third eye.
"Ah. That's how." Garp muttered and Nobu watched him, emotionless.
"Yes, now, can we leave?" he questioned, going up to the marine and grabbing a hold of his hand. "I do not wish to be here any longer."
"Gotcha." The child was lifted off his feet and thrown on Garp's shoulders. Nobu simply grabbed his dark hair and looked forward.
"You have no shame." Garp cracked a smile but continued to walk.
"So what is your name?"
"It's Sonoo Nobu. Nice to meet you."
"Itai! Why'd you hit me!?" the small dark haired child yelled at him and he simply blinked in response, clonking him over the head once again with his hand.
"If you want to become strong, do not allow anyone to touch you. Do not allow anyone to get through your defenses. And especially do not allow anyone to play mind tricks on you. They will be your downfall." He answered, folding his arms, his pink and white hair flowing down his back. The child also crossed his arms but looked away from him, pouting.
"That's not being strong. That's being a punk. And I never back down from a fight." the child was once again hit by him, causing a small bump to form on the child's head.
"Itai! Nobu! Stop it!" Nobu grinned wickedly, his violet eyes glinting as he hit the child again.
"You have to learn that this is not going to cut it. If you're gonna be a pirate, you're going to have to learn to manage your anger. One wrong move and everything goes down the drain. And remember, once you get out there, it's not just your life on the line. It your crew's life that is also in the air." Nobu stopped his assault as the child flinched without him receiving a hit. He sighed and he bent down to look him in the eyes, but the child was looking down. He caught movement in the corner of his eyes and he waved over the little blonde child as well. The blonde ran over, bumping into the dark haired one but keeping them both upright.
"Listen, Ace, Sabo... There's going to come a time when I'm not going to be here-" Both of their heads snapped up, looking at him with wide eyes.
"But you can't!" Sabo, the blonde, yelled.
"Yeah, then who's gonna tell those idiots that I..." Ace trailed off, tugging on his shirt and looking away from both Nobu and Sabo. Nobu's expression softened and he softly brought Ace's face back to face him again.
"Hey, you deserve to live. Remember what I told you? A person isn't measured by the actions of their parents, but..." Nobu trailed off, glancing at both Ace and Sabo.
"But by the actions of themselves and their own impacts." They finished in unison and Nobu nodded, smiling at the both of them.
"You have to do that for me, alright. Always, always remember that. If not... then what would I do with Luffy? I mean, big brothers are supposed to look after their baby brothers, right?" He grinned when he got two affirmed nods.
"Yeah, if we didn't look after him, he would probably drown in a puddle." Ace exclaimed and Sabo laughed
"Or get eaten by a crocodile." Sabo added
"Or try to punch a whole in a cliff, but hurt his hand and cry for days." Nobu shrugged at the two of them stating things that has happened. He knew it was all from love though.
"Promise me you'll remember that, you two." Nobu said and they nodded.
"We promise." they said and he ruffled their heads.
"Good. No go back and check on Luffy. He may be getting control over his devil fruit. Don't want y'all to be left behind, right?" That got the two of them running back to the training site. He laughed a little at their predictable nature before turning to look over the cliff he was sitting at. He grabbed at the small necklace around his neck, an emerald sat there, on a black chain.
It's been twelve years since Garp pulled him away from Karate island. Eleven since he was introduced to the Pirate King's son, Portgas D. Ace (Then Gol D. Ace), his new brother. Eight years since meeting another new brother, Monkey D. Luffy, Garp's biological grandson. Seven since meeting yet another new brother in Outlook Sabo. And four years since he met and saved yet another brother in Trafalgar Law and Bepo. It's been a long couple of years. But now, at 22, he was thinking about leaving. By the time the boys all agreed that they wanted to set sail at seventeen, he had already missed his mark.
But eh, a few years didn't hurt anyone. He guessed he should start looking for the rest of the people that will be looking after his brothers... in the East Blue at least. Law would most likely travel back to the North Blue with Bepo and officially start his pirating journey there. He knew that Dragon and the revolutionaries would help Sabo in a few months time so he guessed the best thing would be to visit them first. Then probably visit Luffy's future crewmembers and help them out. He had already sent Garp on the trail of the blonde one to help him out. He could also tell the revolutionaries where Nico Robin is and get them to help her until she is needed to go to wherever Luffy is supposed to meet her. And hell, if he is going to send the revolutionaries to the Grand Line, he might as well meet up with Ace's future captain.
Nobu sighed, pulling his hair up into a ponytail, the tail consisting of all the white hair with the pink hair masquerading as the hair tie. His bangs flowed slightly in the wind, as well as his long, waist length ponytail. He wore a regular, sleeveless zipped-up blue hoodie and loose black pants with matching boots. His waist held a dark violet nodachi, one that Law was very interested in trying out. He crossed his arms and looked out at the sea.
"Ne, Sora... would it be alright if I was the one to always reach for the sky? I think that would be my saving grace." He smiled as a soft gust of wind rustled his hair.
"I hope you're doing well, wherever you are."
I know this is a little short but I think of this as a little bit of a prologue to the story. I like the character of Nobu and everything that could come from the three eyed tribe.
Songs used were all openings from anime.
Blue Bird - Ikimono Gakari - Naruto OP 3
Renai Circulation (All English) - Kana Hanazawa - Bakemonogatari OP 4
Fight Together - Namie Amuro - One Piece OP 14
"Mmm. Sometimes, I really hate having this third eye. Makes everything all the more complicated."