Chapter I: Making Friends

A/N: Thanks to all reader who had taken the time to read my first honest attempt at fanfiction. I am now in the process of running through this entire story for minor (and possible major) editing.

New game plan: For the first story, I plan to edit at least five chapters then submit those changes all at once. I will place author notes marking the date. Once I finish with the first story, I will go through the sequel, and submit it as a new version separate from the old version as suggested. I definitely overestimated how much time I have to dedicate to this story, but I will do my best to finish what I started.

Word of warning, I decided to review kitsune folklore and characteristics of real fire and have changed Kitsune's devil fruit accordingly.

Thank you for your dedication, faithful readers!

"Speech"

Thoughts or emphasis or scenery changes or significant time gaps

ANGRY VOICE

/Flashbacks and summaries/

*noises* (except laughter)

*actions*

Dawn Island, East Blue

Mt. Corvo

Four Years Later…

"Luffy!"

A small, dark-haired child nearly toppled off a rocky slope and into a fast-flowing stream. Just as he fell, another child - black-haired but for the odd blond locks framing his face - pulled the younger child into his arms. The ground just about gave away when the older child made a swift leap backward onto more solid ground.

"You rubber-brained idiot! Neither of us can swim! How many times do I have to tell you that? I can't believe you fell for this trick…again, actually, no, I can," sighed the twelve-year-old. Sol D. Kitsune was the adoptive older brother of the small raven-headed monster brat he called Luffy, and some days being a big brother was a headache in a half. "Seriously, though, Luffy, please if you insist on following Ace, take more care of yourself. What if I was busy hunting or something or if you fell in the current before I could grab you? The bandits live too far up the mountain for me to fetch someone in time."

A~and, here came the puppy eyes, complete with wet-looking eyes.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Kit," sniffed Luffy.

I'm such a sucker of a brother, mentally sighed the pre-teen. "It's alright, Luffy. I'm not mad at you…just made with this whole situation. That new "brother" of ours could test a saint's patience. But if you really want to follow him…"

Portgas D. Ace was a little hellion to be honest. Already, Luffy had fallen into a pit, fell off a cliff, was chased by wolves, and nearly found out what the belly of a gator was like. And that was just this week.

But, Luffy was determined to follow that Ace to wherever he was going.

This whole chasing-thing couldn't go on for forever. Sure, a rubber body from eating the Gum-Gum fruit came in handy with stuffy like bouncing off flat rocks or softening otherwise deadly blows from the forest inhabitants, but, sooner or later, the straw-hatted boy's luck will run out.

Kitsune just hoped he would be there to intervene when it does. To him, Luffy was his precious baby brother, after all, ever since he first laid eyes on the toddler.

Four years ago, Vice-Admiral Garp dropped young Kitsune off on Dawn Island to stay and live with his own grandson Luffy.

A few months ago, shortly after the incident with a certain pirate group, Grandfather decided that the two should stay with a bunch of mountain bandits on Mt. Corvo along with Garp's other grandkid Ace. To this day, Kitsune wondered what in the world Grandfather was thinking. Raised by mountain bandits but insisting that they all will become marines?!

Somehow, that all made sense in the old marine's mind.

Right…

There was definitely a story here, Kitsune didn't have to be a mind reader to tell how mess up this Ace was. The younger boy had old eyes that seen too much pain for his few years, not unlike Kitsune's own eyes whenever he was by himself and a reflective surface.

Maybe if Kitsune cared enough, he would listen to Ace's big backstory, but any empathy and patience he had was rapidly running out with the repeated and deliberate attempts at killing Luffy.

All the understanding in the world meant about zero when his naïve and ball of sunshine brother was at stake.

"Aargh, alright. I'll give you a hand this time, 'kay? Just promise to be careful. I really don't want to see you in the hospital…ever."

"Shishishi. Don't worry Kit, I can take care of myself. Someday, I'll be King of the Pirates!" Luffy giggled. The younger D surely lived up to his devil fruit, bouncing back from despair relatively quickly.

And when those eyes were paired with Luffy too big smile… Honestly, if Ace stuck around more, I doubt even a sourpuss like him would be able to resist Luffy's sheer brightness. Seriously, Luffy's puppy look was insidious enough to melt even the iciest of heart while his smile was something else. If Luffy was a bit less moral and straightforward, he could probably trick anyone into doing what he wanted to just turn off that sheer fluffy cuteness.

Kitsune was certainly not completely immune to it after all these years, obviously.

He dragged a hand down his face before he offered the younger boy a hand, hauling him to his feet. He gestured for the boy to climb on his back.

Once Luffy settled onto the blond and raven's back, a plume of coppery red smoke covered the pair. As it cleared, Luffy no longer straddled the older boy but instead laid on top a red fox a bit bigger than a normal fox (though, still tiny compared to the usual inhabitants of the forest). A regular or older child wouldn't be able to possibly straddle the fox, but Luffy's form was so slight compared to other children (and his rubber body probably made him even lighter), Kitsune hardly even felt the younger boy's weight. A single plumed tail lashed behind him.

Tannish red fur rustled as the fox curled his hunches back. Kitsune whispered, "Hold on tight, Anchor."

The young fox suddenly bounded forward, his fleet feet racing across several rocks poking out from the river below. Luffy clutched the fur tight with one hand as the other kept his hat from falling off entirely as the fox began to scale back up nearly vertical, but his carefree laughter reassured the fox.

The raced through the woods with the little boy giggling the whole time. All irritation from earlier slowly seeped away, and the fox wore a content grin (or as close as a grin a fox can make).

Ace certainly had taken some precautions in case Luffy actually managed the ravine. His scent trail seemed to loop and double back on itself at several points. But, the younger boy didn't, couldn't, account for senses keener than any human's. The fox gave a more feral grin as his human mind picked out the general direction where scent and tracks led.

Maybe it was time for Kitsune to exactly where the other "grandson" of Garp ran off. He was the oldest brother, after all, when all was said and done.

Ten minutes later, mid-afternoon

Somewhere on edge of the forest before the Gray Terminal

"You're taking way too long to meet up here, Ace!" scolded a blue-coated kid.

He was blond, wore a top hat, and definitely was not anyone Kitsune seen before.

The two boys had met in a small clearing. Judging by the signs of wear on the grass, they met here fairly often, probably for years judging by the numerous scent layers Kitsune's keen nose could still pick out in human form.

The older boy crouched down, throwing an arm around Luffy and pulling him to do the same. The rubber boy opened his mouth, but Kitsune shot him a look saying do what I say and stay quiet. Luffy still squirmed in his hold, but the boy listened and stayed silent, if pouty. The pout disappeared as Luffy tuned in to the conversation playing out not more than a few feet away from their hiding spot.

"It's not my fault, Sabo! The little crybaby keeps following me around. I think I lost him for good this time, though, since he kind of fell off a cliff…*sweat drop*…and into a river full of rocks," retorted the soon-to-be-unconscious Ace.

Before Kitsune could finish planning the appropriate payback punishment, the well-dressed kid – Sabo - snorted and waved off the raven-haired boy's outburst.

"Well, whatever. Let's head off and grab what loot we can for the pirate fund." And with that, the two approximate ten-year-olds scampered off toward what looked like a massive trash heap beyond the forest line.

"Luffy, why don't you stay here, and I'll grab us some food," Kitsune proposed.

He needed some time to cool off lest he do something unfortunate to Ace. It was one thing to suspect, it was another thing to have it confirmed that Ace knew exactly what he was doing. Plus, food was always an instant plus with Luffy.

"Those two probably will return here in a bit so don't leave this hiding spot. It'll be like a game, like hide-and-go-seek. Just don't move from this area, okay?" The blond-and-black-haired boy murmured to the smaller dark-hair boy.

"Shishishishi! Okay, Kit-nii. Bring lots of meat!"

Yeah, why not anything else? The older boy rolled his eyes again before nodding his head in acquiescence. That particular nickname always did it for the fox-child.

"Meat and plenty of greens, too, because you're a growing boy, Luffy," asserted Kitsune with a stern look at the other's pout. "Be a good young man while I'm gone," and with that last note, the 12-year-old turned back into his red fox form. Turning away from the seven-year-old, the fox bounded away in a steady lope toward the deeper parts of the forest.

This is so boring thought the young boy. For what felt like hours (about 18 minutes), the boy had explored the nearby forest where Kit had order him to remain. But waiting was so boring!

After snacking on some hopefully nonpoisonous bugs from a nearby tree (what Kit didn't know wouldn't hurt), Luffy decided that he since he was a young man, so he should go and show Kit how much he was one by finding his new friends by himself.

Luffy scampered past the forest boundaries and into a large dump. He wandered around the trash heaps, openly gaping at the fuming piles and the scraggly men scavenging through the trash. Luffy yelled for Ace until he saw the boy sometime later enter the forest with a large sack over his shoulder. Naturally, Luffy decided to trail behind him.

In a different clearing, he found the two older boys hovering over some sack.

They were talking about treasure!

"Good haul this time. Those suckers sure weren't that strong. And look at all this gold. We're getting closer and closer to our goal, huh, Sabo?" exclaimed Ace.

"Just a few more years if we can just keep getting decent loot from suckers like those two," the top hatter-Sabo?-answered. The Sabo-guy lifted a hidden compartment in the large tree branch where even more treasure shined.

"Five years' worth of treasure so far. We'll need thousands, maybe millions of berries, though, for a pirate ship."

A PIRATE SHIP?! Luffy couldn't wait any more. The excitement was too much.

"Wow! Look at all that gold! You guys are going to buy a pirate ship? Are you guys going to be pirates? Cool, so am I!"

The boys startled before they trained their glares on their unwanted witness. They scrambled down from the monster tree where they had perched and headed straight for Luffy, simultaneously smacking the younger boy on the head.

After some scuffling and much head banging and smacking and rope, Luffy was now tied to a tree and the two older boys were in a heated discussion.

"Wow, so you guys are pirates? Neat. Hi, who are you buddy? Will you be my friend, too?" babbled an oblivious Luffy.

"My name's Sa-It's not buddy, and no, I will not be your friend!" yelled the top hatter. "What now? Isn't this the guy that was following you around all the time, Ace? And wasn't there someone else supposed to be with him, too?"

"Yeah, but I thought I lost him for sure this morning. Last I saw, this idiot raced right off the bridge and into the ravine. Not sure where the other one is, but maybe he rescued him? How much do you think Luffy here knows?"

"I totally did not hear you guys talking about your treasure stash, or that you stole that money from a couple of guys you two beat up," revealed Luffy in typical Luffy-chatter. "Oh, are you guys really going to buy a ship and sail as great pirates?" Luffy still remain somewhat oblivious of the tension and the effect of his words.

"He knows too much. We have no choice," Ace intoned grimly.

"You're right. We're gonna have to kill him."

Luffy stilled before blubbering in great gasps and sobs. "Please don't kill me! *sob, scream* I don't wanna die! Someone help me! *Waaaaaah*!"

Ace gestured for Sabo to do the deed, but the other boy blanched.

"I never killed someone before in my life. Why don't you do it?"

"I never killed anyone either!"

"You do it! I don't know how to kill someone!"

"No, you!"

"You've been the one trying to kill him this whole time anyways!"

"That was different!"

"How was it diff-?!"

"Don't throw me in the water!"

"Seriously, you just told us that?"

"Are you stupid or something?"

*Snap!*

Two pairs of eyes widened even as their heads shot up to look frantically around for the source of the noise. The heavy patter of boots thumped toward the clearing.

"Shit, did they follow me?"

"Who knows, hurry up and hide!"

Considering leaving the loudmouth who gave away his own true weakness in a panic was a BAD idea, the two boys freed him before hauling the smaller boy over to some bushes to hide. Unfortunately, they underestimated just how stupid and reckless Luffy could be.

/ Luffy does the very Luffy-thing and gets caught by the Bluejam Pirates. Ace and Sabo abandon him with the thought that the little crybaby will give away their treasure's location soon.

Meanwhile, a very pissed-off Kitsune darts around the forest looking for his wayward brother. "Luffy, if you're not dead, you will be when I find you!" snarled the worried fox-child as he sniffed the air in the hope of catching his little brother's scent trail.

While Ace and Sabo go to move the treasure, the Bluejam pirates take Luffy with them to interrogate about the whereabouts of their treasure.

Evening falls. The boys finally realize what a mistake they've made when it became apparent Luffy had not given away their secret. Guilty and terrified of the younger boy's fate, the two rush into the Grey Terminal and the Bluejam Pirates' hideout. /

Shack in the Grey Terminal

"No…I won't tell…" muttered Luffy.

His bruised, bloody, and battered body hung limply. The enraged and desperate pirate in front of him was relentless with pounding the young rubber boy with spiked gloves when ordinary tactics failed to do any damage. The pirates sighed in frustration before slinging off his gloves and grabbing his large and sharp sword.

Luffy's breath catches as the metal catches the light of the lone bulb of the room. He winces as the somewhat familiar scent of copper and rust tinges the air. Luffy knows exactly what the blade is used for, if only subconsciously. He shrinks back on instinct, or as much as he could with his poor and battered body.

"Alright, then. Sunset has come and gone, so there's no more point in this. How about I peel off that face of yours for recompense. Maybe those "friends" of yours will come out when they hear about it. Either way, kid, you're de-" The door of the shack slammed open as two familiar figures leaped with pipes raised high.

Ace and Sabo has just arrived in time.

"You bastard! Leave Luffy alone!" Ace shouted.

The pipes came down, beating back the pirates standing to the sides. Porchemy gave a wide smirk as he lowered his blade slightly and turned to his ultimate targets.

Ace intercepted Porchemy's blade as it came crashing down. Sabo slipped past the two combatants, using the distraction to free Luffy. The former noble grimaces at the amount of blood staining every visible inch of skin, clothes, and even dripping to puddle on the ground. If only we came sooner! And if we arrived even a minute later…! Sabo had to focus on Luffy right now and condemn his cowardly actions later.

The little boy could barely acknowledge his saviors beyond some murmuring of the boys' names and lifting his head ever so slightly.

The battle between pirate and pirate-to-be was going poorly; Ace could barely hold off the pirate as his blade slashed and parried his pipe. Sabo noticed Ace's dire straits and tried to support his friend. The two couldn't hold out much longer as more pirates joined in the scuffle from the outside, but Ace refused to back down from the fight. Luffy cowered behind the two boys as they are forced deeper into the shed and deliberately away from the door.

This was definitely not good.

Just as the boys were all but overwhelmed, the walls of the shack catch aflame. In mere moments, fire crawls to cover every inch of wood, the fire too dense and thick about the doorway to even see the other side.

The pirates screamed as the crimson flames licked and burned them. Suddenly a giant dark blue mass covered in writhing dark blue flames emerged through the flaming doorway and swatted the pirates aside like bugs. The fox was monstrous. Its shoulder stood even with the waist of a full-grown man, and dense muscles coiled under the fiery fur. Where the blue fire touched, deep crimson and unnatural fire would continue burning.

For Porchemy, who cringed away from the burning wisps of fire, the flaming fox spared no mercy. It charged, slamming shoulder first into the large man. Porchemy flew into the wall behind the cowering trio of boys, partially collapsing it.

Strangely, the crimson fire did not feel hot at all to them. Furthermore, the fire seems to give off no smoke, nor did it spread as if contained beyond an invisible line surrounding the trio.

Heartened, Ace went over to the semi-conscious Porchemy and bashed his head for good measure. The fox trotted over to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, its five tails lashing to the sides. A flurry of grey smoke and a very irate older brother stood in its place.

"You careless, idiotic, lame-brained—AARGH! Come on you three. We can't obviously stay here, and Luffy needs some medical treatment right away. So do the rest of you for that matter," huffed Kit. The fox-turned-boy marched out through the hole and over Porchemy's unconscious body. The boys quickly followed after him.

The ease at which Kitsune had just defeated Bluejam's worst man was more than telling that none of them want to test the fox-human's patience right now.

Cave deep in the forest north of Mt. Corvo

Kitsune took the three to a little hideout the fox kept for just this sort of emergency. He tended to his youngest brother with barely hidden rage. Luffy now resembled a mummy in all the ointment and bandages covering him from head to toe. Kitsune also treated Ace and Sabo for the various scrapes and bruises they got from today's activities (namely from the day's thefts and fighting the Bluejam Pirates).

The Zoan only needed shoot the two older boys a rather baleful and uncompromising look before the two spilled the entire knuckleheaded series of events.

By the end of the reiteration, Kitsune wants to dearly hunt down the Bluejam Pirates so willing to torture a child for just a bit of treasure. For now, he had to be satisfied many of them will spend weeks in recovery, most bearing burn scars for the rest of their lives. His foxfire burned like nothing else and healed more slowly than wounds from regular fire. Just a perk from his, in the words of Luffy, awesome devil fruit power.

As for the here and now, Kitsune needed to address something first.

"What were you idiots thinking? Those were PIRATES! You three could have died! If I had not showed when I did…" Kitsune tugged at his blond locks of hair before plopping down on a makeshift rock seat. No longer reticent about his powers, Kitsune didn't resist the urge to light several harmless foxfires around him, the flames as red as the haze threatening his focus. The edges burned bright blue, a warning sign when using his yako form's brand of flame; blue fire burned the hottest after white, and it took a lot of energy (and anger) for Kitsune to keep the flames blue rather than fade to the crimson.

Luffy sniffled, and Sabo looked down morosely, but Ace only glared at the older boy. Kitsune sighed. He got up and fetched some food he cooked earlier that day. "Eat, rescuing your friends takes a lot of energy."

Kitsune watched as the ravenous patients devoured all his food from today's earlier hunt…and then the remaining rations tucked away in the cave. Is that what it looks like when I eat? Huh, I don't think I ever really paid attention to how much two D's can eat. Sabo's not far behind either, come to think of it. The boys rapidly chowed down on the piles of dried and salted meat, preserved fruits, and bread. They also shamelessly stole bits from one another. Kitsune was glad he chose to eat in a farther corner of the cave where he had clear view of the entrance.

Though, such a decision hardly deterred Luffy who would sometimes use his rubbery arms to snatch a piece or two.

Once satisfied, the boys sat in awkward silence. The top-hatted boy decided to break the ice.

"How did you save us if I may ask?" inquired the boy. "I saw how you turned from a fox to a human, though no fox I am aware of has multiple tails."

Interesting. Sabo's way of speaking is definitely more cultured than Ace's rough manner. Judging by the more acquired crude words sometimes lacing his normal speech, Sabo probably either came from a noble background or was well-integrated into one at a young age to retain those kinds of mannerisms while living like a wild boy.

His chosen style of clothing more or less confirms the first theory since Sabo doesn't seem like one to envy nobility enough to dress like them out of spite.

More likely, Sabo was just used to dressing like this and honestly likes the mockery aspect of his clothes. But Kitsune was getting off-topic and the duo were waiting for him to finally answer the blond.

"I'm a devil fruit user like Luffy. He ate the Gum-Gum fruit and is now a rubber man. I, however, ate the Dog-Dog fruit, model kitsune. Name's Sol D. Kitsune, and yes, my name is ironic. It also explains why that particular form has multiple tails. A kitsune is a mythical creature, a fox spirit, which develops a number of tails and powers as it ages. As a devil fruit user, I can transform into a fox creature whose appearance and abilities vary according to the number of tails I manifest.

Though, the number of tails seems limited to odd numbers for some reason or another. At the most, I can have nine tails, but I rarely use that form for more than maybe a minute or two before my strength drains away, and I become useless afterwards," explained Kitsune. "I was not named for my devil fruit, just so you know. My mom liked reading about legends and myths and liked the idea of naming me after such a mischievous being. My powers are a complete coincidence. So, I introduced myself, care to reciprocate?"

"I'm Sabo, and you know Ace, right?"

"Yes. If you had not figure out earlier, the little guy is my brother in all but blood Luffy, son of that crazy Garp.

So, I heard the two of you aspire to be pirates one day, too? If I may ask, why? And don't you think I forgot that you two left my baby brother in the care of bad pirates. Nor the little things you still haven't told me, like why Luffy was left in those pirates' hands and where the two of you were this whole time," said Kitsune with a trace of threat in the last.

Ace and Sabo shared a look of guilt and distress. They probably did not want the formidable fox to be their enemy.

The two explained they wanted to be pirates for freedom and pride. They explained how they thought Luffy would be weak and give them up, how he would probably walk away safe once he just told the pirates what they wanted. They never figured the boy would protect them. At this point, Luffy spoke up.

"I didn't give you up because I want you guys to be my friends. Even when Ace ran off, called me weak, made fun of abilities, led me over cliffs, rivers, and against scary monsters, I didn't want to have it any other way if it meant Ace would be my friend in the end. Even when the scary pirate beat me up, the pain was nothing compared to the pain of loneliness. Being alone is worse than death!" pronounced the little boy.

Luffy's eyes began to tear up, and Ace and Sabo surprisingly went to comfort the younger boy before Kitsune could. After a few moments, Luffy began again.

"I have no one else. Kit's my big brother, but most of the time he's too tired from hunting at night to play, and he's older than even you. I don't have anyone else nearer to my age! I don't want to be alone…"

Kitsune blinked. He never noticed how lonely his little brother was. Most of the time, the young boy had the widest smile this side of the East Blue. The look in the other boys' eyes was just as stunned.

/ That night began a new chapter in the four boys' lives. Kit, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were now tied by bonds of shared loneliness, grief, and victory. Ace began to trust the little boy that protected him regardless of how badly he treated him. He also grudgingly accepted the older boy that so lovingly watched his younger charges. Days later, the boys would share cups of sake and seal their bonds of brotherhood. They would spend the next several weeks hunting, training, and working toward their collective goal of freedom and adventure. /