It had become a habit for Sabo to spend his nights keeping Anastasia company to help her with her nightmares. And, to Sabo's pleasure, she was getting easier to calm after she awoke from them. However, because of this new arrangement, Sabo's bed found itself unslept in for a little over a week. He only went to his room now to shower and change. He had started to wonder if he should just have her sleep in his room instead—being Chief of Staff meant that his room was somewhat nicer than the rest.
Regardless, Sabo was more than glad with his new sleeping arrangements. Even if he was busy all day he knew that at the end of it, he would still be able to see her and spend some time with her. He was, however, dreading the day either of them would have to leave for a mission—he was dreading the day that she would have to wake up terrified without him there to comfort her. But for now, thought Sabo, he'd make her nights something for her to cherish.
"My father," she has told him one night, "was a pirate and my mother was the doctor who saved his life. After his crew left him for dead, he decided to stay with my mother because he had fallen in love with her. Then I was born. When I was ten, my mother died so my father and I decided to leave home. I spent the next three years at sea with him. He's the reason I always wanted to become a pirate. I was only at sea for three years because then he was killed. That's when I was taken and sold. And, as you know, it was horrible after that. I spent five long, dreadful years in the home of that celestial dragon that bought me. It was when I was 18 that I lost my sight. He hit me really hard in the back of my head so I got what's called cortical blindness. My eyes still work. My eyes are currently seeing, but my brain can't process those images anymore. Once he realized that I had lost my sight, he started preparing to try and sell me off. He said that he didn't like 'broken toys'. That's when me and Kaito, who had also been there with me for several years, decided to try and escape. After we did escape, we decided to start our own pirate crew. Because of our pasts we ended up saving slaves when we ran into them and so our crew grew. In the end, we decided to stick to saving people from enduring what we all had to."
"I see," Sabo had replied. "Was your father a well-known pirate." Anastasia laughed.
"No. He was the sharpshooter in a crew that nobody cared about."
"Then he would be proud of you for surpassing him as a pirate," said Sabo with a grin.
"I never thought about that," said Anastasia as she appeared lost in thought for a moment. "What about your family?" She eventually asked.
"I had two brothers. We weren't related by blood, but that didn't matter to us. I actually didn't remember them until recently. After the incident with the celestial dragon, I lost my memory and they thought I was dead. But I got my memory back recently. You've actually probably heard of both of my brothers."
"I have? Who are they?"
"Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy." Sabo watched as Anastasia's eyes widened in response. She placed her hand on his own comfortingly as the two sat in silence for a bit—it was her way of expressing that she understood that his brother's death must have been, and probably still is, painful for him and that she would be there for him if he ever needed it.
Anastasia was the one that broke the silence.
"Can you introduce me to Luffy sometime?" She asked him.
"Why?" he questioned.
"I need to congratulate him for punching that damn celestial dragon at Sabaody Archipelago. I mean, how many pirates actually have the balls to do that?"
"Besides your crew?"
"I also want to let him know that if he ever needs to beat up anymore Celestial Dragons that he can give the Freedom Pirates a call."
"Well, whenever I find out where he is, sure. But, just so you know, he'll get you into a lot more trouble than you bargained for."
"I would hope so," she said with a grin stretching across her face. "What about your parents? Did you have any?" Sabo bit his lip nervously. He had been actively avoiding telling her about them and his heritage for a while; he was afraid of how she would react because he knew just how much she despised nobles as well as celestial dragons. He considered lying to her. He could say that he was an orphan. He could say that he never knew his parents. But the thought of lying to the woman in front of him made his stomach turn—he didn't want to do.
"Well," began Sabo after taking a deep breath, "I was never fond of them." He hoped that she would decide to not press any further.
"Why?" She asked.
"They're nobles and—."
"What?!" Shouted Anastasia. She quickly pushed herself off of the bed and away from Sabo. The floor felt cold against her bare feet and her body was begging for his warmth, but she refused to oblige to it. Her heart ached at the newfound knowledge. She felt betrayed—completely and utterly betrayed. The man in front of her, who she had realized that she had fallen in love with, was the exact thing that she hated.
"Anne," he said in a pleading voice. "Please just listen to me."
"You're a liar!"
"I didn't lie."
"You didn't tell the truth!" She shouted, but then her voice grew quiet. "I can't believe I trusted you," her voice held a sadness in it that made Sabo himself for causing that sadness. This was the reaction that he had been afraid of. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want her to push him away. He didn't want her to hate him. But, Sabo could tell, those things were all about to happen.
"You're nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing," she said. The fragility in her voice had disappeared. It was now cold and each word that she uttered became an icicle that stabbed at Sabo's heart. He wanted to say something back—to tell that she was wrong; that he could prove it to her, but he couldn't. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and his mouth felt dry.
"You damn noble," was the last thing that Anastasia said before she rushed out of the room, not caring about her lack of appropriate attire at that moment. Sabo did nothing but look after her. He thought that maybe she just needed some time alone. Maybe she just needed time to process the information. He let out a heavy sigh as he lay back down onto the bed that he had been seated on. He could smell Anastasia's scent on her pillow and sheets; it engulfed him, but the lack of the warm body that he was used to at his side made him feel more alone than he ever had.
***
Anastasia didn't know what to do or where to go. She stood in the middle of the hallway in just her thin nightgown. She was cold and she was lost. She had run off in her emotional state without paying attention to where she was heading and now she had no way of seeing where she was. The walls were plain and held nothing that she could use as a marker to distinguish where she was. Her only hope now was bumping into someone, but she knew that because of how late it was that that was highly unlikely—most people were asleep. Thankfully for Anastasia, Nico Robin wasn't most people.
"Ana-san," said Robin. "What are you doing out here dressed like that?" Anastasia felt her shoulders relax at the sound of the familiar voice. Over the past few months she had become friends with Robin through Koala. Often, when Sabo was busy, she would spend time with the two revolutionary females.
"Ah. I got lost," said Anastasia.
"I thought you knew this place well."
"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Help, please?" She asked with a pout. Robin smiled at the girl.
"Of course," she said. "Would you like me to take you to your room?"
"No," replied Anastasia a bit too quickly, which spiked Robin's curiosity.
"Then how about to Koala's room?" She asked. Anastasia agreed to that and followed Robin's footsteps as she led the way. They knocked on Koala's door when they arrived, which woke up the room's inhabitant. Koala opened the door, her annoyance turning to surprise when she saw who it was that had woken her up.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asked the two. "You should be in bed." She turned her attention to Anastasia. "Did Sabo not show up or something?" Anastasia was caught off guard. She hadn't told anyone about Sabo spending the nights with her; was it possible that Sabo had told her?
"No. He's in my room," admitted Anastasia with distaste. Koala looked at the girl with surprise at her tone of voice. She grabbed onto Anastasia's arm and pulled her into the room, motioning for Robin to follow.
"Okay. What happened?" Asked Koala as soon as the door to her room was shut.
"He lied," said Anastasia.
"How?"
"He's from a noble family."
"So?"
"So he's a noble! That means he's just like them. They're all the same," hissed Anastasia.
"Anne, you know Sabo and you know that he's not like them," Koala tried to reason. "That's why he left behind his life as a noble more than ten years ago."
"That's not how it works. Once a noble, always a noble."
"Yes, it is how it works!" Said Koala a bit louder. The situation was starting to get her worked up. "His past does not define who he is just like it doesn't define who you are or who I am; or are you suggesting that 'once a slave, always a slave'."
"No, that's different. We—," Anastasia started, but Koala cut her off.
"Stop being a damn hypocrite." Before anything more could be said, Anya appeared in the room. She had phased through the walls with the use of her devil fruit powers.
"There you are!" exclaimed Anya. She paused when she saw the angry looks on Anastasia's and Koala's faces and felt the tense atmosphere in the air. "I've got information about a certain celestial dragon," she said, "who's leaving the safety of his kingdom. I've got a route; we can cut them off."
"Alright," said Anastasia. "Tell everyone to meet up at the ship. We're gonna teach the world nobles that they have something to be afraid of now." And without another word, she left.
