A/N
Few things I wanted to say.
First of all, thank you for all the support, guys. And thank you for sticking with me, despite my super slow and extremely sporadic updates. You're totally awesome! Nothing is abandoned, and never will be until I'm alive. I'll finish my stories even if I'll be the only one writing fics for that fandom!
Second, you can find me on Tumblr now under syluk-sky name.
Third, this story now has its own Tv Tropes page! Thank you Nyame for creating it! The link: impossible to write here... you can find it on my profile!
Betaread by DemonicWhispers
Chapter IX
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! ACE IS ON FIRE!"
(Luffy/Usopp ~8, Nami ~9, Zoro/Sanji ~10, Bepo/Ace/Sabo ~11, Law ~15 y.o.)
Sanji was absolutely sure that he was going to die. He didn't want to, of course, but his wish couldn't change the fact that he was now barely holding onto his consciousness. There was no strength left to even be afraid.
He was lying on his back, his hollow gaze fixed on the endless blue, stretching above. Like the legendary sea – the All Blue.
He wanted to find it! He wanted to prove that it existed to unbelievers! He wanted to cook the best meal from ingredients found in that sea and then share it with the nakama that he would have inevitably met on the journey.
Now, it truly seemed like an unreachable dream.
If Sanji had any energy or fluids left in his body, he would have cried right now.
Suddenly, a black-haired boy's head covered by a straw hat popped into his line of sight, his face etched with open concern. "Sanji?" he spoke slowly.
The blond blinked. He didn't know that starving to death actually made the person see hallucinations. Even if it did, he mused, it would definitely be some kind of food. Maybe a juicy roast, freshly baked bread, or even an appetizing–
"Law!" the boy yelled, looking up and to the side. "Law, hurry up!"
Sanji got curious. Mustering all his leftover strength, he turned his head toward the direction his illusion was looking.
Another boy appeared out of thin air at the edge of the rock, this time older, probably in his mid-teen years. His keen gaze quickly scanned the area, taking in every detail, gauging the situation before meeting Sanji's blank stare. With his brow furrowed, the teen turned around. "Cora-san, catch!" he said, dropping down the sword he carried.
There was a surprised yelp, and then something heavy falling. "Law, you brat!"
Law smirked, but then he looked back at Sanji, all the mirth was replaced with a serious and worried expression. A moment later, he was already leaning above him. The straw-hatted kid was still here too, hovering anxiously nearby, but giving space for the guy.
Sanji drew a sharp breath when two fingers pressed at the side of his neck, checking his pulse. This felt so real. He tried to open his mouth, a question if they were real or simply a product of his deteriorating brain on the tip of his tongue, but nothing happened. Parched lips refused to move, and no sound left his caked throat.
"Will Sanji be fine?" the younger boy asked.
The teen hummed softly under his breath, counting the heartbeat. "He's severally dehydrated and has been starving for several months if I have to guess." He pursed his lips and his scowl became more profound as he pulled his hand away from Sanji's neck. Golden eyes quickly scanned the emaciated body, mare bones, and skin at this point. "How do you know his name, Luffy?"
That was a good question. Sanji was positive that he had never seen that kid.
"He's nakama," was an instant reply with a subtle, invisible 'obviously' hanging somewhere in the air.
Oh. So the moment he thought about reaching All Blue with his nakama, his mind decided to conjure the image of them. How cruel.
"Right," Law sighed as he stood up.
Sanji watched him walk towards the old geezer and squatting down to check on him. His attention was drawn by two more kids with different hats on their heads and... a bear? Why a bear?
"This is a lot of treasure," the boy with a cowboy hat noted, examining the old pirate's bag.
Sanji's blood ran cold. All that gold and jewelry were supposed to fund the construction of the sea restaurant Zeff dreamed about. He destroyed his life as a pirate, there was no way he would allow someone to even touch that money. Illusion or not, he needed to stop them at any cost. "No…" he croaked out. With the help of a sudden surge of adrenaline, he actually managed to flip his body on his stomach. "Don't tou–" A dry heave interrupted his sentence, sending his fragile frame into a painful convulsion.
"Sanji!" the straw-hatted boy gasped in alarm. Rubbery arms embraced Sanji from behind into a gentle hug, holding him in place. "Don't worry, we'll take care of you. You're safe now. I'll protect you. Everything will be fine. You'll be fine. Law's gonna fix you. You and cook-ossan are gonna be okay," Luffy babbled into the blond boy's ear.
His quiet voice was comforting and soothing. It wrapped around Sanji and carried him off to a world where nothing was wrong. Slowly, he relaxed. This was supposed to be his imaginary nakama, so he could trust them, right?
"We'll get stronger. All of us. Together," the kid continued. And while the volume of his voice stayed the same, a sheer conviction in that statement spurred Sanji's heart into an excited flutter. "And then we'll leave for our journey, have tons of fun adventures, meet a lot of people, defeat all our enemies, and this time you'll reach All Blue. I'll make sure of that, I promise."
Sanji shifted, trying to look behind. The embrace loosened up, and Luffy moved so that he could see his face and the wide, bright grin that adorned it. The blond stared, a spark of emotions – joy, awe, hope, gratitude – flickering through his dull blue eyes.
A Sea King arose from the ocean, fixing his curious gaze on the kids scattered around the rock. No one even twitched at the sudden appearance of the powerful sea creature, and Sanji had to admit that he was completely losing his mind.
Sadness swept over him, and he wanted to cry again. None of this was real. All of them were just a creation of his dying brain that were bound to disappear any moment.
"Sanji?"
Sanji glanced back at the straw-hatted boy. The latter's smile was gone, replaced by the concerned frown. He wanted to tell him that it was fine, that he didn't want to die, but he accepted that and he was glad that despite his hallucination being so bizarre, it turned out absolutely amazing.
But there was no energy left, so all Sanji could muster was a faint quirk up of his lips before he closed his eyes and slipped into a blissful darkness.
When Sanji slumped in his arms, Luffy panicked.
He knew Sanji's story, of course, but hearing about it and experiencing it by holding such a frail body of his nakama was two entirely different things. What if changing events of the past caused the absence of the ship that was supposed to save them? What if it was too late now? What if he can't help Sanji?
…What if Sanji died?
"Law!" Luffy cried out desperately, extreme terror coursing through his veins. "Sanji is… Please, help Sanji!"
Alarmed by his tone, Law's attention snapped from giving instructions to Corazon and Zoro down on their ship to his youngest brother, then immediately moved on the unconscious boy in his arms. He quickly walked closer and gripped the blond's wrist, checking his pulse.
"Calm down," he said to Luffy, flicking his forehead in order to ground the boy. "He's alive. Nobody is dying on my watch. Once Cora-san and Zoro are done, we'll bring them to the ship and I'll take care of them."
"B-but…"
With a sigh, the teen took Luffy's hand and guided it to Sanji's wrist, setting his fingers above the vein. "Can you feel the heartbeat?" The younger raven's expression hardened as he focused on the pulsing sensation under his fingers before giving a small nod. "Now count it."
Law observed his brother, how his lips moved with a soundless counting, and how with every higher number his posture lost its stiffness and wild panic in his eyes receded. He looked at the blond boy again, his eyebrows drawing together.
Despite what he told Luffy, this was a tough situation. He had already taken account of medical supply that came with a ship – the first thing he did when Luffy showed up with it – and it wasn't enough to save these people. Stabilize for a day, maybe two, yeah, but they needed hospital as soon as possible.
Law tsked. He hated hospitals.
Turning around, he noticed Sabo standing at the edge of the rock. Ace and Bepo were nowhere to be seen, probably already down on the ship with the treasure they collected to safeguard.
"Sabo," he called as he walked closer. "They need a hospital. How far is the nearest inhabited island?"
The blond scrunched up his face in thought. "At this point, our best bet would be Loguetown," he said. "All other villages in this area are too small to have anything other than a tiny doctor office."
"How long till Loguetown?"
"Two days if the wind is favorable."
"Hmm," Law hummed, glancing briefly over his shoulder to Luffy. "Hey, Kinto-un!" The Sea King's red eyes narrowed as he aimed his attention at the teen. "Can you pull the ship of this size?"
Kinto-un cocked his head to the side, considering. After a moment, he looked at the ship, then at Luffy, back at Law, and gave a firm nod.
"Everything's prepared!" Zoro yelled from below.
"Alright," Law breathed out. "Luffy, bring your friend to the ship." The younger boy wordlessly went into motion, carefully picking Sanji up to carry him. "Zoro, gather Ace with Bepo and put harnesses on Kinto-un." The future swordsman grunted an affirmative, already strolling inside the galley to look for two brothers. The Sea King submerged in water and appeared again in front of the vessel, in position to be tackled for the job. "Sabo, you help me with the old man."
Sanji woke up.
An impossible feat on its own really, because he should have been a dry corpse on that godforsaken rock by now. An annoying beeping on both of his sides, an equally annoying, weirdly shaped smudge on the white ceiling, and the smell of antiseptics stated otherwise.
There was no sky above or stone under, no salty breeze, no scorching sun. Sanji was not in pain and actually felt quite good, despite the inability to muster enough strength to move his limbs. He was also lying in a comfy bed. Just how long was it since the last time he slept in a bed?
Sanji could hear murmuring and half whispering somewhere in the room, but the words eluded him. He was about to drift back into peaceful sleep when a sharp "But he's a pirate!" jolted him into full awareness again. Wide-eyed in surprise and confusion, he turned his head slightly to the side.
The old geezer was in the hospital bed next to his, an IV and a heart monitor attached to his withered body, and the boy realized that he would see the same equipment on his left. Four people were gathered near the closed door, the sight that made Sanji pause.
Two boys – the straw-hatted kid and the teen with a sword – that he had seen already and considered to be an illusion were glowering at the middle-aged man in a white coat, definitely a doctor. A giant blond man, wearing a black feathered coat, was leaning over the poor doctor with a stormy expression on his tattooed face.
"He's Red-Leg Zeff, the famous pirate from the Grand Line. Even in this condition, even without his leg, he's easy to recognize," the doctor insisted feverishly, taking a defensive step back. "The Marines will know about him being brought here sooner or later. There's nothing I can do!"
Luffy outright growled, his fists tightening, and the doctor backed off even more. However, his only escape route was blocked by the blond man.
"Tch," Law clicked his tongue, clearly irritated. His eyes narrowed into furious slits as he glared at the doctor. "This is why I hate hospitals. No one ever cares about patients in these places."
"Pirates or not, they need help!" the giant added.
The man heaved a deep sigh, lifting his hand to rub his forehead. "Look," he said in a defeated voice. "I can withhold informing the Marines till tomorrow, but that's it. The boy is in a stable condition now, so I suggest you take him with you and leave the pira–"
"Shut up."
It was uttered in a quiet voice, almost whispered by Luffy, but Sanji felt his hair stand on end, and he wasn't even a recipient of that order. The doctor seemed to freeze in his spot, the color draining from his face. His eyes were like saucers, unadulterated fear swimming in them.
Luffy leveled a death glare at the man. "We don't leave our own behind," he stated after a moment. "No matter what."
The tension in the room was palpable. The air seemed to thicken, and its pressure weighted more heavily on everyone's shoulders. The atmosphere was so brittle that it threatened to snap any moment into something uncontrollable and violent.
The blond giant's sigh finally broke it. "Boys," he prompted.
"We'll leave," Law hissed, tapping the sword against his shoulder and inevitably drawing the man's terrified eyes on it. "You better keep your word and don't snitch on us till tomorrow."
"Y-yes!" the doctor squeaked. He immediately darted through the door when the opportunity presented itself.
The blond leaned against the wall and slid down, plopping on the floor. He absentmindedly started rummage through the inner pockets, earning a disapproving scowl from the teen.
"No smoking, Cora-san," he chided.
The man froze like a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar. His mouth stretched into a sheepish smile as he quickly pulled his hand from inside the coat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry."
Law rolled his eyes.
Luffy clutched the corner of the teen's hoodie, helplessly staring up at him. With small and pleading voice, he mumbled, "Traffy…"
A flicker of concern crossed Law's face as he glanced at the boy before a warm smile replaced it. He pushed the straw hat from Luffy's head with his free hand and ruffled his hair. "Hey, everything's fine," he spoke softly. "You have me, and you trust your brother, don't you?"
The younger raven perked up. "Of course!"
"Once Ace and Sabo collect the bounty money, I'm gonna buy all the necessary medical supply and we'll be good to go. Quit worrying. I told you that nobody is dying on my watch."
Luffy beamed. "Okay!"
"Still, was it a good idea to threaten the doctor?" Corazon wondered.
Law looked at him with disbelief. "Said the man who had destroyed all hospitals he visited back in the North Blue."
A light hue of pink spread across the man's cheeks. After a moment he cleared his throat. "That was different," he defended himself.
"Why would Cora-san destroy hospitals?" Luffy asked curiously.
"What? You don't know?" Law shot back, raising an amused eyebrow. It was quite rare for the little menace not know something about their past. "He tried to find a doctor who would treat me. But the moment they heard that it was Amber Lead, they all freaked out, called me a monster, and tried to kill me."
Luffy's face darkened. "Jerks!"
"Agreed," the blond muttered.
"Besides, if Marines come, we can just beat them," Law stated nonchalantly.
"I know you can," Corazon sighed. "But it would attract too much unnecessary attention."
"We can be subtle about it."
Law's and Corazon's eyes were blown wide, their jaws slackening as they gawked at Luffy. "Who are you and what did you do to Luffy?!" both demanded at the same time.
"Oi! I can be subtle when I want to!" The proclamation pushed the two of them into merry laughter. Luffy crossed his arms in front of him with a pout. "I can!" he huffed.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," the teen agreed with a grin, giving another fond ruffle to his younger brother's black mop.
Watching the three of them interact, Sanji didn't notice tears that gathered in his eyes. So, this was how real family looked like. They comforted, defended, and playfully teased each other; they laughed, fought, and spend time together. Definitely nothing like–
Sanji mentally shook himself. Now was not the time to think about that, if there even was a good time for such a thing.
"So, are you bounty hunters or outlaws?"
The trio looked at the old pirate in the bed, meeting his intense stare.
Law smirked. The Pirate King, the son of Gol D. Roger, the runaway noble, the strayed mink, the survivor of Flevance, hunted by one of the most powerful pirate in the world, the said pirate's younger brother who also was a deserter from the Navy, and a bunch of kids that their little Pirate King deemed nakama and recruited to his crew… "Definitely outlaws," he replied. "Currently doing some bandit cleaning duty."
"And why would a group of outlaws care this much about two random starving people?" Zeff inquired. "Who are you exactly?"
Luffy reached for his straw hat and put it back on his head, tipping it a bit forward. Only his grin was visible as it grew into a perfect D shape. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the Pirate King," he introduced before pointing at the boy in the bed next to the window. "And Sanji's nakama."
Everyone glanced at Sanji. Startled blue eyes met theirs. Luffy's smile amplitude immediately cranked up past the million. "Sanji!" he cheered.
"Wha–" the boy coughed feebly, getting the feeling of his own voice back. "Why? I don't know you."
"Doesn't matter," the straw-hatted boy declared. "You're the cook in my crew. That's what's most important."
Sanji blinked. It was delivered as a mere fact, in the same manner as if saying the sky was blue and grass was green. "…Huh?"
Zeff let out a deep rumbling laughter. "What a selfish Pirate King," he commented with a crooked smile.
"You have no idea…" Corazon and Law groaned together.
"Shishishishi!"
"But a King who cares about his subjects…" he trailed off, eyes glazing over as he reminisced about something. "I can accept that."
Ace pushed his cowboy hat up with one of his fingers so that he could look at the five-storey building in front of him. Walls were painted blue, and a big sign board with a seagull and 'MARINE' written under was attached to it between third storey's windows.
"So, this is Marine headquarters in the East Blue?" Sabo wondered next to Ace. His hand was holding the brim of his top hat so that it wouldn't fall down as he also gazed at the house. "Not really that grand."
The freckled raven snorted, adjusting a bag thrown over his shoulder. That was true: this building was neither impressive nor imposing. "Doesn't matter," he said. "Let's just hope that they'll pay the money for all our bounties."
They entered the base and quickly walked to the free reception desk. There were only a few people milling about: two scruffy men stared at the board of bounty posters and whispered something among themselves in sharp hisses as if arguing; the woman was filling some papers at the other reception desk with a boy of Ace's and Sabo's age sitting on the chair next to her and seemingly bored out of his mind; a couple Marines working behind their respective desks, and an old man cleaning the floor.
"Hello," Sabo greeted the marine. A toothy smile instantly appeared on his face, giving him that childishly charming and innocent look.
The man glanced at the two kids lazily. "Hi, are you here to report something?"
"No," Ace replied as he hefted the bag on the reception desk and opened it, revealing its content.
"We're here to collect bounty money," Sabo said at the same time putting three bounty posters next to the bag.
The Marine gawked at the three heads which in return were glaring at him. All people present stared at the scene with wide eyes.
"Watcha looking at, eh?!" one of the heads snapped. "Wanna fight?!"
The other one rolled his eyes. "Like you could fight in this condition."
"I can do headbutts!" the first head huffed angrily.
"AAAAAAAH!" the third head suddenly yelled out, startling everyone. "Something just bit me in my ass! Shit! That hurts!"
"Shut up!" Ace bonked the screaming bandit causing him to bit his tongue, and then looked at the Marine expectantly. "Can we get our money?"
The Marine sprang from his chair like he was electrocuted. "J-J-Just w-wait!" he stuttered out, immediately scrambling out of the room with a shout, "Cap… CAPTAIN!"
Few minutes later, a female Marine entered the room with the receptionist in tow. She was wearing a light blue formal outfit, a Captain's coat draped over her shoulders, with a sandy blond hair tied into a loose bun. She quickly swept the entire room with her eyes and scowled at the two kids and three separate heads.
The Captain wasn't shocked though. She transferred here from the main HQ in the Grand Line, so it wasn't the strangest sight she had ever witnessed. Though, to see a Devil Fruit user in the East Blue was still quite surprising.
"Are you the ones who brought these bounties down?" the Captain asked as she walked to the desk, her gaze quickly flickering through all three posters on it.
"Of course not," Sabo confessed with a smile. "We're just kids. Our older brother and adoptive father caught them all, we're just helping guard the bounties."
"Why they aren't here?"
"While traveling we found a starving boy on one of the bare rock islands. He shipwrecked there. Luckily we were passing by and rescued him. Cora-san and our oldest brother brought him to the hospital while we offered to help by collecting money for their work and guarding the rest of the captives on our ship," Sabo explained smoothly.
The female Marine blinked. "The rest of the captives?"
"Yeah. We still have seven bounties. With bodies attached."
The silence in the room was deafening.
"All of us were found by Cora-san and adopted by him. We're a big family and we need quite a sum of beli to buy food, clothes, blankets, medical supplies, and all other necessities," the blond continued. The smile was still plastered on his face, and his tone was polite and sincere. "While we're already learning how to fight to protect ourselves and help our dad, only our oldest brother follow him to the job. Despite that, everyone pulls their own weight in our family. Even our cute little brother help with small jobs that are suitable for him."
Sabo talked and talked and talked, telling how Cora-san found their oldest brother when he was sick and nursed him to health; how he himself was abused by his real parents, ran away from home and was eventually found by Cora-san too; how they met Ace who was just a wild boy abandoned in the jungles (Ace swore to himself to kick Sabo's ass for that story); how they saved a mink, the member of the Grand Line tribe, kidnapped by the pirates, and welcomed him into their ragtag family; and finally how they discovered an orphaned boy in the bandit's nest where he was kept to do chores and usually kept locked up, even though he was only an adorable small kid who couldn't hurt a butterfly.
At this point, the room was already crowded by people, civilians and Marines alike, most of them crying and sniffling, moved by everything these boys went through, and muttering in awe what a great guy this Cora was.
Sabo didn't stop there. Speaking in half-truths and half-fantasies, he winded a tearful life story of their everyday struggles to survive, added Zoro and Sanji into the mix for a good measure, and once all the listeners were bawling their eyes out, he ended it all with a blink of his big, dewy blue eyes and an innocent question.
"So, can we get the bounty money?"
The female Captain was also moved by the story, but at least managed to compose herself enough not to cry. She instantly snapped out of her emotional state, straightened up, and commanded her soldiers: "Commander! Get a group of men to help detain all these criminals! Lieutenant! Take care of these three bounties!"
"Yes, ma'am!" both men chorused together, saluting.
"Boys," she turned to Sabo and Ace, smiling kindly. "Once we get all your captives in custody, we will pay down the grand total for them all, alright?"
They both grinned. "Yeah!"
Luffy stepped through the door and looked around. The roof was empty. The hospital was one of the highest buildings in the Loguetown, and bustling city panorama opened before him. He walked to the faraway edge and sat down cross-legged.
Luffy watched Loguetown for a while, observing people scurrying around in a rush or strolling slowly, enjoying the warm and sunny day. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The city noise gradually faded into nothingness, leaving the young Pirate King suspended in a bubble of silence.
And when he heard it. The Voice.
'Heard' was a term used loosely here, because the Voice never uttered words or sentences. Instead, it conveyed intentions, purposes, and impressions. Most of it was diluted, only bleak tired wisps of all the houses and pavement, stomped by thousands of feet every day. Some of them were more vivid, expressed by the objects that were more loved and cared for. And very rarely, the Voice would ripple with echoes of profound intent by the things that evolved sentience and the soul of their own.
Luffy tilted his head slightly to the side, surprised by hearing two such ripples in Loguetown.
One was speaking of rage and massacre, accompanied by an unhealthy amount of bloodlust and permeated with murderous intent. It was a distant echo, but it seemed like the Voice was talking inside his head, whispering at the back of his mind, tempting to act, to kill, to slaughter–
Luffy's lips curled into a wry smile.
Always awake, endlessly craving to devour the weak and unprepared, Sandai Kitetsu was as wild and bloodthirsty as he remembered. The same sword that sung from pure satisfaction in his first mate's hand, cleaving through the mob and bathing in the blood of their enemies. The same sword that roared out all its excruciating fury the moment some random Marine picked it up, overjoyed by the opportunity to obtain a trophy of the infamous Pirate Hunter after he fell in battle. The same sword that brought victory to them that day by slaying hundreds of Marines and eventually falling into deep slumber.
The indomitable cursed blade that Zoro managed to tame and make his most trusted ally. Luffy was definitely eager to obtain it before leaving.
When he focused on the second ripple, it soaked him in familiar warmth and the sound of burning fire. The Voice carried the impression of flames and ashes, and Luffy's heart quickened as a bright grin grew on his face. He felt excited! He didn't think that he would find it so soon and in Loguetown of all places!
"Luffy?"
The boy opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. He already knew that Ace and Sabo had been waiting for a few minutes, undecided whether to disturb him or not.
"Did everything go well with collecting the money?" Luffy asked as he stood up to speak with his brothers face to face.
"Yep," Sabo replied with a pleased smile.
"He made them all cry," Ace deadpanned.
Luffy cocked his head to the side, confused. "Cry?"
"Hahahaha," the blond laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It worked better than I thought it would."
"Sabo was scary there," the freckled raven admitted, eyeing his brother warily.
Sabo shot a brief glare his way. "Anyway!" he said forcefully, looking back at Luffy. "Law took the money and went to buy medical supplies. He said that we need to leave tomorrow at the latest?"
Luffy's face darkened. "Yeah," he said, frowning. "Before that, I want to pick a few things in the town. Where's Zoro?"
"He's guarding the ship."
The young Pirate King thought for a bit, and then muttered, "Well, I can always grab Sandai Kitetsu later." He started to walk to the exit before turning around to call for his brothers: "Come on, Ace! Sabo! Let's go!"
Two preteens glanced at each other, puzzled by Luffy's mischievous grin. "Where are we going?" Ace asked curiously as they followed the younger boy through the door and down the staircase.
"To pick up the Devil Fruit."
The eyes of both boys widened. "Devil Fruit?" Sabo echoed, while Ace at the same time inquired, "What kind?"
Luffy hopped over the last few stairs and burst outside, already listening from where the Voice was calling. "This way!"
-almost an hour later-
Three boys were panting with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breaths after running the whole way here.
Luffy managed to even out his breathing first, and he regarded the mansion in front of him with his eyes shining in delight.
Sabo looked around. Luxurious mansions with their perfectly mowed lawns, fancy gardens, and fenced yards flanked both sides of the wide, cobbled street. Not a single person walked it as far as he could see.
The blond scrunched his face in distaste. A view of this place was too familiar, too suffocating, too painful. "Why are we here?" he asked, his voice easily betraying his anxiety and irritation.
Ace shot him a strange glance. Luffy pointed at the mansion he was staring at and cheerfully exclaimed, "The fruit is there!"
"Oh? So how we're gonna–" Sabo trailed off when he saw the younger raven suddenly stretch his arms and grab the top of the fence. "Whoa! Wait wait wait wait wait!" he yelled in alarm.
Ace also noticed Luffy's actions. "Shit!"
They both grabbed onto their little brother, trying to stop him, but the latter's arms snapped back, sending all three soaring through the air at high speed. They flew through the window on the second floor, across the whole room and crashed into the wall, destroying it in the process.
When the cloud of dust settled down, debris moved and three heads popped out of it.
"Shishishishi!"
"You moron!" Ace yelled, smacking the little idiot upside his head.
Sabo climbed from the remnants of the wall and blew the air out of his lungs. "Well, I guess that's one way to break and enter," he commented coolly while dusting himself off and looking around. His gaze fell on a glass display on the other side of the room.
"We should hurry up before people show up here," Ace grumbled, pushing the rubble away to free himself.
"Hey, Luffy, isn't that the fruit you were talking about?"
Luffy looked at Sabo, then followed his gaze to the display, and his face lit up.
There it was – a round orange fruit, composed of many flame-shaped components with swirl patterns on each one, and a swirled stem on the top. Flame-Flame Fruit. Ace's Devil Fruit.
"Yep!" the straw-hatted boy cried out, leaping out of the debris and rushing to the display.
"So, what kind of fruit is this?" Ace asked again as he and Sabo stopped right behind their brother.
Luffy punched the glass and picked up the Devil Fruit with one hand. "This is the Flame-Flame Fruit, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to create, control, and transform into fire at will," he explained, extending the fruit towards them. "A very powerful one. One of you should eat it."
Sabo raised his eyebrow at Luffy's statement, then noticed how Ace's eyes simmered with interest. He folded his arms. "I don't want it," he declared.
"Really?" the freckled raven asked, barely concealing his excitement.
Sabo smirked. "I'd rather save your drowning asses than become one myself."
"Suit yourself," Ace huffed, snatching it from Luffy. "Flame fruit sounds cool. I'm definitely gonna kick the creep's ass with this!" He took a big bite, chew on it a bit, and then suddenly paled. He struggled between throwing it up and swallowing it. Eventually, the prospect of beating Law won, and Ace gulped it down. "It's disgusting!" he growled, glaring at the rest of the fruit.
Sabo burst into merry laughter.
"Ace," Luffy called. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were intense as he stared at his older brother. "Fire is dangerous. It can hurt and it can kill. Before you take full control of your fruit's power, I'll be the only one to spar with you."
Ace held his gaze before nodding. "Okay," he agreed. As much as he wanted to beat Law, he didn't want to hurt him or anyone else. He glared at the fruit again. "Do I need to eat all of it?"
"Shishishishi, nope. One bite is enough."
At that moment, a group of armed men stormed into the room. They lined up and cocked their guns at the intruders, not even blinking at the fact that it was just three kids.
The group parted, allowing a pompous noble to step through. He opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw the bitten Devil Fruit in Ace's hand his jaw dropped and eyes bulged out. "Kill them all!" he ordered, his face flushing red with anger. "I want them all dead!"
"Oh, they finally found us," Sabo remarked nonchalantly. "It took them a while."
"Shishishishi!" Luffy chuckled. "Time to run away!"
In a blink of an eye, the three brothers jumped through the broken window, smoothly landed on the ground and bolted.
"Whoa, this is the second floor!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.
"Dammit! After them! After them!" the noble roared and the group scrambled to catch up.
Luffy, Ace, and Sabo were leisurely strolling through Loguetown, chatting and laughing.
"Here they are! Catch them!"
They turned around to see the noble and armed group of soldiers gaining on them.
"How did they find us?!" Ace gritted his teeth.
"Doesn't matter… Run!" Sabo grabbed Luffy's hand and dragged him with him.
"Can't we just beat them up?" the younger raven complained.
"If we want to keep a low profile, we can't," the blond explained causing Luffy to pout.
They ran for a few minutes, but soldiers didn't want to give up. Suddenly, the towering figure of Cora-san appeared in the crowd ahead, and Sabo's face lit up. "I have an idea!" he exclaimed. "Luffy, can you pretend to cry? You know, like a real eight years old?"
Ace whipped his head to look at Sabo like he was crazy. "Luffy and pretend in one sentence, Sabo?"
The blond's face blanked out before his palm hit his forehead in realization. "Ah! You're right!"
Luffy scowled at them. It was true that previously he couldn't lie to save his life, but not anymore. During all those years on the run, his nakama, mostly Robin, taught him a lot of things. He learned from the best. Luffy just chose not to lie. "I can," he stated in such a serious tone, that the other two boys were taken aback.
Without waiting for their replies, Luffy kicked off the ground, increasing his speed, and darted through all the people towards Cora-san. "DAAAAAAD!" he screamed in a teary voice, slamming into the man's leg and hugging it for dear life.
Ace and Sabo almost tripped in surprise as they heard it. They shared a wide-eyed glance, unable to believe that Luffy – their idiot, overpowered little brother with nothing but a fantasy filled head – could actually act so well.
But this was not a time to think about that. They both skidded to a halt in front of Corazon and Bepo, turning around to face their pursuers.
Corazon, though, was caught completely off guard by Luffy's actions. His body froze, and mind stopped functioning with a word 'Dad' going on an endless loop. He stiffly looked down at the kid. A cigarette fell from his open mouth when he registered that Luffy was probably crying. Crying? Luffy was crying?! Who the hell dared to make his boy cry?!
Just as the soldiers and, surprisingly, a noble finally came closer, Sabo yelled at the top of his lungs, "Stop chasing us, you pervert! Stop forcing yourself on our little brother!"
Pursuers gaped at him, while the whole street snapped their attention at the scene, dissatisfied whispers spreading among them.
"What?! Forcing yourself on the little boy?!" screamed a woman as she pushed her young daughter behind her.
"A pervert!" another woman shouted horrified.
"What do you want from these kids?!" a man with two little kids of his own demanded.
"See what he did to my little brother?!" Sabo exclaimed, pointing at Luffy who had his face buried in Corazon's leg. "This pervert scarred him for life!"
"That's not true!" the noble sputtered, finding himself as the main target of dozens of infuriated glares from the crowd.
"F-F-Forcing yourself on Luffy?" Corazon muttered, his face twisting into an ugly, dark expression. This kind of act was unforgivable! Luffy yelped when Corazon suddenly scooped him into his arms and pressed him securely against his chest.
"They are thieves!" the noble screamed, red-faced, pointing at Ace and Sabo. Corazon appeared in front of him in that instant, his eyes burning with unfathomable rage. The man shivered and gulped nervously. "Y-You… What do you want?!"
The blond lashed out with his leg and landed a kick right between the man's legs with a sickening cracking sound.
The noble's face contracted and paled, his whole body froze, arms blindly trying to sooth the damaged parts before he fell down, moaning and writhing in pain.
Everyone cringed. A life-changing injury for sure.
Luffy watched the noble, then buried his face into the blond's neck. His whole body trembled in his struggle to stifle the laughter. Corazon just scoffed at the man, gently patting Luffy over his back, comforting him.
"Hmpf! He had it coming!"
"That's what you get trying to force yourself on a child!"
Bepo was completely confused on what was happening. Ace and Sabo watched the scene stupefied. None of them expected Cora-san to go full righteous avenger mode on the man because of their lies.
"What's happening here?" A crowd parted and a group of Marines stepped in, led by the female Captain Ace and Sabo already had met.
"Those people are trying to force themselves on these boys!" someone yelled.
"Yeah! Arrest these perverts!"
"How are we're supposed to let our children walk our town's streets if this kind of person harms kids in the middle of daylight!"
The Captain frowned, looking at the lying noble, his soldiers, then at Corazon, and the boys around him. Sabo flashed a grin when their eyes met, and she blinked in surprise. Her eyes went back up again to stare at Corazon for a bit longer.
"Can someone tell me what exactly happened?"
"We brought our little brother to sightsee," Sabo began, motioning to Luffy in Corazon's arms. "When we were walking around, having fun, that man," he pointed accusingly at the noble, "burst through the gates of a nearby mansion with a bunch of his guards and tried to grab my little brother!" Another wave of angry, heated murmurs rolled throughout the surrounding crowd. "We got scared, so we took Luffy and ran, but that pervert kept chasing us!"
"Lie… Lying!" the noble squeezed out, his voice definitely a few octaves higher than it was before. "T-They stole fr-fr– an it-tem and f-fled!"
The female Marine rolled her eyes. "And how had these little kids managed to flee from your security?"
"They jumped from the second floor window!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, trying to help his boss.
"Really?" the Captain looked back at the kids and they just blinked innocently at her.
"That's bullshit!"
"I'll be disappointed if you believe this pervert, Marines!"
"Just leave those boys alone!"
"Yeah! Arrest that pervert!"
Sabo turned to Bepo, quickly whispered something into his ear, and pushed him closer to the female Captain.
The mink tugged her coat. Once she looked down at him, he shyly asked, "You believe us, right?"
The Captain stared at him, her face blank, but a light hue of pink slowly spreading across her cheeks. After a moment, she coughed into her fist, composing herself, pointed at the noble and his entourage, and ordered, "Men, arrest these criminals!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Happy cheers exploded as the Marines packed the sputtering offenders and led them away.
"So, this is your father, boys?" the Captain asked, smiling gently.
"Yeah," Sabo confirmed without skipping a beat.
"Sir, I really admire your work and what you do for these boys," the woman said respectfully, giving a slight bow to the bewildered Corazon. "Please, have a nice stay in our town."
"Umm… Thank you."
People also started to disperse, but not before praising the boys for protecting their little brother and giving thumbs up to Corazon for educating his kids so well.
The blond just nodded, absolutely clueless about what was even happening.
Sabo glanced left and right. Noticing an empty alley not far from where they were standing he motioned for their group to move there.
Just as they stepped into it, Luffy couldn't hold himself any longer and melted into a loud fit of laughter. Sabo and Ace grinned and high fived each other.
"So, what exactly happened?" Corazon asked. Seeing that Luffy was actually more than okay and definitely not stressed or in need of crying, he put him back on his feet.
"He caught us in breaking and entering," Sabo informed dryly.
"And stealing," Ace added in the same nonchalant tone.
"And destroying his house!" Luffy chimed in merrily.
"That was just you!" Ace and Sabo yelled at him.
Corazon blinked. "So, you really stole something from him?"
"It's Ace's Devil Fruit!" Luffy cheered.
"So, you were all acting?" Bepo inquired. "I thought it was weird that you didn't simply beat them up."
Sabo shrugged. "It would have brought us unnecessary attention."
Corazon felt lightheaded. "Acting?" he asked, looking in disbelief at Luffy who grinned at him. Oh. So calling him 'Dad' and 'father' was just an act, obviously. His shoulders slumped. He'd be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't disappointed. "And… Devil Fruit? Ace now is a fruit user?!"
Said new fruit user smirked.
Corazon sighed and grabbed a new cigarette from his pocket, thinking that even God couldn't save the world from these kids now. Of course, there was no way for him to know that god already got his own ass kicked by Luffy once, and would experience the same fate yet again in the future.
"Shishishishi!"
Ace suddenly felt an itch in his nose. He sneezed and instantly burst into flames.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! ACE IS ON FIRE!" Corazon screamed in panic, his newly lit cigarette falling on the ground once more. "WATER! WE NEED WATER!"
-Dawn Island, Goa Kingdom-
Outlook III pulled a small, round watch from his pocket and flicked it open. Taking in the time, he furrowed his brow, irritated.
It was already late evening. The park where he waited was almost empty, only a few civilians wandered around, mostly couples, chatting and chuckling among themselves.
Outlook III tapped his foot against the stone path when he finally saw a tall, middle-aged, muscled man coming towards him. He wore sleeveless t-shirt and pants, colored in camouflage patterns, and heavy combat boots. A big hunting knife was attached to his belt together with crossbow and bolt holster.
A mercenary through and through.
"Sir," the man greeted in a monotone.
Outlook III snared in disgust. He was truly falling low, forced to associate with these kind of people. "Your money," he said, throwing the mercenary a purse, jingling with coins.
The man easily caught it, opened it and looked inside. Satisfied, he tied it to his belt. "Do you have a photo?"
"Yes," the noble replied, pulling out a small photo and giving it to the man. "I don't care how you do it, find him! He's somewhere on this island, I just know it."
"What if he's staying with someone?"
Outlook III pursed his lips. "Accidents do happen."
The mercenary's mouth stretched into a savage grin as he pushed the photo in the back pocket. "Don't worry, my team will find your son."
"You better." And with that, Outlook III turned around and quickly walked away. He glowered at nothing in particular and muttered under his breath, voice dripping with venom, "You're costing me more than you're worth, Sabo."