Chapter 2: Introductions and Explanations
(Hey guyz~! So I chose to update again. Why not, ya know? On to the crap!)
Warning: This chapter has not been checked for errors. This will not be fixed unless pointed out. Enjoy.
-x-x-x-
Previously:
"Cool. I trust you guys. I don't know why but I feel like I should." Luffy said with a smile before swaying only to be caught by Ace.
"Relax. We'll get you home and cleaned up. You'll be up and runnin' in no time flat." Ace said with a small smirk.
Luffy stared at Ace for a few moments before nodding slightly. Luffy was surprised with how easily Ace had picked him up. He was strong but gentle at the same time. Luffy couldn't help but think of how weird that was, almost as weird as the fact that Ace wasn't wearing a shirt. Soon enough, Luffy's thoughts washed away as he unconsciously snuggled closer to the warmth that was Ace before falling asleep in the older raven's arms.
-x-x-x-
Luffy woke up the next day, later than usual. He sat up in his plush bed and remembered his strange dream. He remembered being cornered in an alley then attacked by thugs but then saved by a noble looking blonde and a shirtless raven-haired man. The names 'Ace' and 'Sabo' coming to mind when imagining his two saviors. He couldn't stop the smile that slowly grew across his face.
Suddenly a sharp pain shot through the left side of his face causing him to wince. Instinctually, his hand raised to his left cheek causing slightly more pain. Once the pain subsided, he remembered the nightmare part of his dream. 'It… Was a dream… Right?' Luffy thought to himself while looking for anything that would show his reflection. Soon enough, he found a glass of water sitting on the oak desk that sat across from his bed.
Luffy stood from his bed and walked over to the desk noticing all of his homework and notes were in neat stacks; one stack for notes and the other being homework. Luffy looked through the papers quickly and saw all of his homework was already completed but didn't remember doing any of it. Remembering the reason for going to his desk, he picked up the glass of water and looked at his left cheek. His eyes widened slightly and he ran to his bathroom just down the hall.
Luffy stared wide eyed at his reflection, particularly the stitches on his left cheek. Slowly, and with some fear, he pulled on the collar of his shirt, allowing the marks on his shoulder and neck to be seen. Unconsciously, Luffy moved to touch the marks, hoping his mirror was just playing tricks on him. The raven winced when his cold finger tips touched the painful marks that covered his smooth skin.
"It wasn't a dream…" Luffy muttered under his breath.
The only thing stopping him from panicking was the memory of how it all ended. Nothing worse than those disgusting bites and stab to his face had happened to him. Then there were his so-called 'Guardian Angels' who had killed the men that attacked him. 'Wait. If that attack was real then… Does that mean they are too?' Luffy silently questioned before the smell of bacon and sausage reached his nose.
Luffy walked out of his bathroom and towards his kitchen as silently as possible. Someone was in his house and he was about to find out who. For a moment, he thought it was the same guys as the night before but that thought was quickly washed away when he remembered their screams of horror and agony. He didn't know what that Ace guy had done but part of him was curious while the other part didn't want to know.
As soon as he got to the entrance of his living room, he saw his television on and someone sitting on his couch. He could see an arm laying on the back of his couch and boots on an arm of the couch. He could see a tattoo on the tanned arm and tilted his head to read it. He noticed it said 'ASCE' but with the 'S' crossed out. 'Did they mess up? No, they would have removed it I'm sure. So it's like that on purpose?' Luffy silently thought.
Getting rid of the 'mistake', Luffy smiled slightly at the tattoo. It read 'Ace' meaning one of his saviors was there, the second most likely making the breakfast he was smelling. Without noticing, Luffy had calmed down and wasn't trying to sneak around anymore. Still choosing to stay silent though, Luffy walked into the kitchen and found he was correct.
Sabo was silently, and happily, making breakfast for himself and the two ravens. Quickly, he moved the perfectly cooked bacon and sausages onto a plate he had set out before moving the scrambled eggs and nearly golden hash-browns so he could make some toast as well.
Silently, Luffy watched Sabo run around the small kitchen before realizing he never got a good look at the blonde last night. Now that they were in the light, Luffy could see him clearly.
Sabo had wavy blonde hair that went just above his shoulder, sea blue eyes that seemed to glow slightly, and a burn scar that ran from his left jaw and over his left eye. He was wearing an old black top hat with worn blue goggles on it, a white dress shirt which was loosely tucked into black dress pants, and black boots which were somewhat covered by the pants.
After a few moments, Sabo noticed Luffy and smiled. "Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Could be better. My cheek hurts a lot but, other than that, I'm pretty good." Luffy said with a small smile. "Thanks again."
"It was nothing. Also, I figured you'd be in pain so I went looking for pain killers. When I couldn't find any, I went and bought some." Sabo stated before picking up a bottle from the counter and opening it. "How bad is the pain?"
"Pretty bad but not enough to complain too much." Luffy said simply.
"Okay, how 'bout this; on a scale from one to ten, how bad?" Sabo asked with an amused smirk.
"Hm… Maybe a seven?" Luffy muttered in thought.
"Not enough to complain, huh?" Sabo questioned with a chuckle as he tilted the bottle and let two pills fall out. "Here. Take these with some water. Breakfast will be ready soon, mind telling Ace?"
"Alright." Luffy said taking the pills and swallowing them dry.
"Oh, and tell him he owes me ten bucks." Sabo said, flipping the bread so it didn't burn.
"Sure, but why?" Luffy asked curiously.
"We made a bet last night. I said you would wake up before him while he disagreed. Whoever wins gets ten bucks. I won." Sabo said simply as if it were common.
"Um… Okay?" Luffy said quietly before walking back into the living room and over to the couch. The closer he got to the couch, the more he could see of Ace. He noticed the man wasn't wearing a shirt but definitely had the muscles to allow it. He wore black short with a teal bag strapped to his left thigh, black combat boots, an elbow guard on his left arm, a red and white stripped bracelet on each wrist, a red bead necklace, and an orange cowboy hat in his right hand which was hanging off the couch.
Luffy looked at Ace's face and noticed the childish freckles that covered his cheeks. Looking at his face all together, Luffy was slightly frightened. Ace looked so calm and peaceful; he looked almost dead. Luffy nervously reached over to touch Ace's shoulder so he could shake him awake. "Ace… You have to wake up. Breakfast is almost ready. Ace?"
When Luffy touched Ace's shoulder, he pulled his hand back immediately with wide and panicked eyes. 'He's ice cold! But… H-how!? Even if he did die in his sleep, he shouldn't be this cold this soon!' Luffy thought to himself in complete panic.
Luffy was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a groan. "Five more minutes." Luffy's eyes shot open – he didn't remember closing them – and looked at Ace. Luffy's pupils quivered as he silently begged for the older raven to move or something.
Luffy's wish was granted when Ace rolled onto his side to get more comfortable, nearly falling onto the floor. Luffy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and calmed down. "Five more minutes and breakfast will be gone. Also, you owe Sabo ten bucks." Luffy said with a small smile.
"What!?" Ace shouted as he tried to sit up but instead fell onto the floor.
Luffy had to cover his mouth so that he wouldn't laugh at the way Ace had landed. Ace's face was pressed against the floor while his butt was in the air. After a few moments, Ace rolled onto his back and looked up at Luffy before smiling. "Morning Lu."
"'Lu'?" Luffy questioned after his giggles faded.
"Yeah. It's a nickname. Don't like it?" Ace asked as he slowly sat back up and leaned against the couch.
"I don't get it." Luffy said bluntly.
"It's a shorter version of your name." Ace said simply with a shrug.
"But-" Luffy started but stopped himself. 'What does he think my name is?' Luffy thought to himself but then remembered something Ace had said last night.
"We had a little brother who looked exactly like you. We watched him die and couldn't do anything. When we saw you, we decided to make it up to him and to protect you."
'Oh yeah… Their brother's name must have been Lu. Lu… Sounds nothing like Annry but I guess I could go with it.' Luffy thought to himself with a small smile.
"You alright?" Ace asks, tilting his head curiously.
"Hm? Oh yeah! Just… thinking about the nickname. I like it." Luffy says happily and somewhat nervously.
"Cool! Now how about we eat? I'm hungry." Ace said with a smile as he got to his feet.
"Sure." Luffy said with a smile before running to the kitchen. When he got there, he saw Ace already sitting in one of the chairs at the table. Luffy looked at Ace then the couch then Ace again. He was more than confused. Wasn't Ace behind him?
"What's wrong, Lu?" Sabo asked as he put the plates on the table.
"H-how…? You were behind me. How'd you get here so fast?" Luffy asked as he sat next to Ace, not hearing Sabo.
"I'm fast?" Ace tried to answer but it came out as more of a question.
"You're weird, you know that?" Luffy states while looking at Ace. "First you appear out of nowhere last night, saying you're supposedly my guardian angels, then, after killing all those guys, you say their blood was horrid. I wake up this morning and see you asleep on my couch – looking like a corpse I might add – and when I go to wake you, your skin is ice cold! Now all of a sudden you're appearing in a completely different room?"
"And you." Luffy continues, looking at Sabo now. "You appeared out of nowhere last night saying the same thing. And when you killed that guy, he asked what you are and you said 'you don't wanna know'. What's up with that? Now you're in my kitchen randomly cooking all my food? Plus, what's with the noble outfit? There is nothing in this town that you need to dress like that for."
Ace and Sabo were both left staring at Luffy with wide eyes. The boy had been so calm and happy a moment ago and yet now he was just throwing out questions. They didn't know what to say or which question to answer first. They both looked at each other and realized they were thinking the same thing; tell him everything.
Ace sighed and looked at Luffy with a completely serious face. "Lu… We aren't exactly what you think we are. I know I told you we might as well be your guardian angels but… We're far from being angels."
"What do you mean?" Luffy questions, taking an instinctive step back.
"We've been alive for hundreds of years, way back into the Great Pirate Era. We were separately attacked. We were meant to be pawns. A beginning of war. I'm sure you've heard the stories about how vampires and wolves used to be at war? Well… Two 'men' found us and intended for us to fight, and even kill each other, so that there would be war. They hadn't counted on us being brothers and definitely didn't predict us being the ones to end centuries of hatred. But during all of this… Our little brother got involved without know and was killed. Only a few days later, the feud had ended… Mostly due to our blind rage though…" Sabo explained, trailing off into his memories towards the end.
"What 'blind rage'?" Luffy asked quietly.
"As soon as we found out he had been killed, we went after the ones who did it. We killed the ones in charge – since they were the ones who had done it – and every high ranking creature. We couldn't protect our little brother, our treasure. So like I said before. When we saw you, we made a vow to protect you at all costs. Even if it means dying for real and going to Hell." Ace informed, finishing up Sabo's speech.
Luffy was silent at he stared at the two men in front of him. "I was wrong." He finally said. "You guys aren't weird. You're bat shit insane. Do you really expect me to believe you're some pirates turned vampire and werewolf?"
"I really don't like that term…" Sabo muttered as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Like I give a damn! That's not the point! You want me to trust you and yet you're lying to me and treating me like a child? Screw this. I don't want to see either of you ever again. Scratch that. I don't want you within a ten mile radius of me!" Luffy yelled as he turned the other way and started to go to his room.
Ace and Sabo were shocked. They didn't know what to do. They had never seen Luffy – the original or this one – so angry before. Suddenly, it dawned on them. Luffy had left the room and didn't want them around. Both quickly stood and ran to Luffy's room, hoping to stop him and calm him down. "Luffy! Wait!" They both yelled in panic as soon as they saw said boy opening his bedroom door.
Luffy turned to them angrily. "That's not even my name, you assholes! My name's Annry for Christ's sake!" He shouted before entering his room and slamming his door shut.
Ace and Sabo were beyond confused. Slowly, they turned their heads towards each other and saw the other was just as confused. They stood there silently in shock for a few minutes before the first words were finally spoken.
"Did he just say…?" Ace questioned quietly.
"His name's Annry… And we've been calling him 'Luffy' this whole time…" Sabo whispered.
"He really is different… I should have seen it sooner…" Ace muttered as he slowly walked over to the couch he had used as a bed the night before.
"We knew he would be… Luffy… He was just so rare… It's not possible to find someone else like him… No matter how long we live…" Sabo whispered with a quivering voice as he sat next to Ace and held his head in his hands.
"What have we done…?" Ace muttered under his breath. "The first chance in centuries and we ruin it because we just presume he's the exact same…"
"But he's not. He's different and we need to know that. He's showed us the differences and we've ignored them. We need to pay better attention. Hell, we'll make a list of differences if we have to." Sabo said into his hands, his head never moving.
"But where do we start…?" Ace asked quietly.
Sabo sighed. "I don't know."
-x-x-x-
An hour had passed and Luffy was still sitting on his bed hugging his knees and staring at the wall directly across from him. Part of him had still been angry at the two older men but the other part had already forgiven them. He understood what they had been through. They lost their brother and he lost his family. He couldn't help but think he would do the same if he saw someone who looked like his sister. But that would be impossible. Robin was far too beautiful and could never be copied.
"Robin… Mom…" He whispered into his knees, burying his face more.
He missed his sister. He missed his mother. He even missed his father who had abandoned them all. His mother and sister had been in a car accident with a drunk driver and were killed instantly while the drunk had just barely survived. His father, although never being reported as deceased, had vanished on the face of the Earth years ago. He had been all alone for over two years now and had learned to hide it well. It wasn't hard. Just show everyone a big smile and they stop asking you if you're alright.
He was having that feeling again. Where he felt like his sister would be able to fix anything. He could practically hear her voice. 'They want to help. Let them. Open up for once. It doesn't hurt.' Her voice echoed throughout his mind.
He wanted to cry. He wasn't even sure if that voice was his sister, his mother, or just some random voice. He couldn't remember what they sounded like anymore. He had been strong for too long and just wanted to stop. He wanted to be one of those people that could easily go to his friends, tell them what's wrong, and cry when he felt like he should. But he couldn't. Every time he was about to tell them what was wrong, he'd just smile and say he was fine. Almost every day he did this. Almost every day, he would push somebody away. And now he was doing it again.
Ace and Sabo wanted to help. He knew they did. They made it painfully obvious by watching him every night. Yes he knew. He had seen the orange cowboy hat and white dress shirts on the roofs before, either when walking home or when doing his homework. When he realized they wouldn't attack him – they would have by now if they really wanted to – he started to feel safer. True that's not what you usually say about a stalker but, even though he didn't know them, he felt like they were watching over him instead. And last night proved it.
Suddenly, there was a soft knocking on his door. He knew it was them. But he didn't want to move. He didn't want them to see him like this. He had hidden it ever since he first noticed them and now he was finally able to let it lose. "What?" he questioned, his voice betraying him and speaking instead of staying silent.
"Lu- Annry… We're sorry. We really are. We saw what you looked like and… and we ended up ignoring everything else. You aren't Luffy and we know that. We're sorry we thought you were. You're your own person and we brushed that aside completely. All we're asking, is that you give us a second chance. A chance to start over and to do this correctly. Please, Annry." Ace apologized through the door.
He wiped away the few tears that had slipped out and took a few calming breaths. "Just… No more lying, okay?"
"We would never lie to you. What we said was the truth." Sabo stated sadly.
"Prove it…" He said.
"Are we allowed to come in?" Sabo asked slowly.
He nodded but quickly realized they couldn't see him. "Y-yeah."
Slowly and carefully, the door opened and Ace and Sabo walked in. The three silently stared at each other for a few moments before Sabo decided to get it over with. The blonde slowly reached up and grabbed the brim of his top hat and slowly pulled it off. Once the hat was fully off, two light grey wolf ears slowly rose up before falling slightly making Sabo look like a sad puppy.
Luffy was amazed, his wide eyes proving so. He inched closer to Sabo, who kneeled down at the edge of the bed. He slowly raised his hand to touch one of the ears and found it was softer than it looked. A small smile unknowingly grew as he kept petting the ears. Soon enough, he was scratching behind Sabo's ear causing the blonde to lean into his hand. He couldn't help but giggle but stopped when he saw something moving behind Sabo. He leaned over a little – still scratching behind Sabo's ear – and saw a fluffy light grey tail wagging. He had to cover his mouth and force himself from laughing.
Soon enough, Sabo had moved so that he could hide his blush of embarrassment. When Ace noticed the blush, he couldn't help but laugh. "Aw~! Such a cute puppy!" Sabo turned and glared daggers at Ace, who was completely unaffected. "Dude. You're a puppy. You don't scare me." Ace said with a smirk.
Sabo growled at Ace. The whites of his eyes were now black and his once sea blue iris' were now large and a burning gold. In return, Ace scoffed before he hissed back with the same eyes as Sabo only, instead of gold, they were glowing in a crimson shade along with his fangs being fully shown.
Sabo sighed and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they were back to their usual glowing sea blue. "Even?" He asked bluntly.
Ace closed his eyes and sighed before chuckling. When he opened his eyes again, they were the glowing obsidian they had been before. "Even." Ace said with a smirk that showed part of a fang as is slowly retracted and into its original size as one of his canines.
"So… You weren't lying…" Luffy muttered in mild shock and awe.
"Of course not. Like what Sabo said, we would never. We don't want to hurt you Annry." Ace said with a small and trusting smile.
Luffy chuckled lightly. "Don't call me that. It sounds weird when you say it. Just call me 'Lu' again."
"Why the sudden change?" Ace asked curiously.
"I realized, after my mom and sister died, every time someone calls me that, it doesn't feel like it belongs to me. Like… the name died with them… But now I have a new family, so I guess it's time for a new name." Luffy said with shut eyes and the biggest smile he could that didn't give him pain.
"Are you alright? Losing both of them must have been hard." Sabo asked sadly.
"I'm fine. Happy even. I have you guys now so I'm not alone anymore." Luffy said, his voice getting watery towards the end.
Suddenly, Luffy felt strong and warm arms wrap around him. He opened his eyes and saw a bare chest. Slowly, Luffy hugged Ace in return and felt a few tears stream down his cheeks. He didn't know why, but he was crying. Crying more than at the funeral even. His grasp on Ace tightened and his cries got louder. All the sadness and loneliness he had from over the years was now leaving him and he couldn't stop it.
After a while, Luffy's sadness was completely gone and so were his tears. The loneliness, however, was still there but just barely. He may have stopped crying, but he still wanted comfort which was why he was still sitting in Ace's lap and leaning against the vampire's chest. He was surprised with how warm he had been now and actually liked the warmth but silently wished there was a soothing heartbeat that would come with it.
"Hey guys…" Luffy eventually got around to speaking, his voice somewhat hoarse due to his crying.
"Yeah?" Ace and Sabo quietly pressed on.
"I want you two to stay here. I want you to stay with me. I don't want to be alone anymore." Luffy whispered.
"Lu… You're never alone. You always had your friends and now you have us." Ace said with a soft smile.
"Yeah but I don't want guys to watch me from the roof anymore." Luffy mumbled, slowly falling back asleep.
"How did you…?" Sabo asked quietly in shock.
"Orange cowboy hat and white dress shirt on a black roof at midnight. Do you really think I'm not gonna notice?" Luffy questioned, slightly offended.
Ace chuckled lightly. "Go to sleep Lu. We'll be here when you wake up."
Luffy nodded before once again falling asleep in Ace's arms.
(Aaaaaaaand done! With the name 'Annry', I actually searched 'Brazilian Boys Names' on Google. What? I'm not that lazy as to say 'He shall be named Luffy because why the fuck not!' This chapter is mostly for, as you can tell, Ace and Sabo to realize this isn't the Luffy they know and for Luffy to find out more about them. As a side note, I had my mom read the first chapter and her only question was "Why do you say the word 'raven' so much?" For those of you wondering the same, it's because Ace and Luffy's hair is a raven's shade of black in my opinion. I use it mostly because I don't want to say their name a dozen times per paragraph. As usual. Fave, follow, read my other stuff, and review! Bai~! c(X )
Start time – 2:30 P.M.
End Time – 2:30 A.M.
