Authors' Note:
Welcome back, wonderful readers! Here's chapter nine, it was...interesting to write XD Hope you enjoy!
Review Responses:
Final Syai Lunar Generation: *monster screech* glad you loved it! There is pretty much never ending Luffy cuteness...Poor Lucci didn't even know what he was doing, oh well, it worked out alright in the end ;) We have to stick the Straw Hats in where we can because they're great. The "happy cat" scenario was actually based on a true story involving Author Lu's cat! Yay KataLu bonding!
Jordansdevil: Thanks for the review! Lucci helped Luffy because his instincts took over, it wasn't really a conscious decision and then he just went with it...we made him not quite as much of a jerk as well.
Jui-Imouto-Chan: So...definitely just read the chapter in regards to that first bit... Both Lucci and Katakuri are great and we just had to give them a connection with each other through Luffy, even if it was small. We are also glad we made Lucci not quite as much of a jerk, though he seems confused by it. ...that was also quite confusing to read but we got it eventually...we think...most of the Straw Hats have made an appearance, some have bigger roles than others. Unfortunately, Jimbei and Carrot won't be in this story, though we love them very much. As always, we love reading your reviews, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Warnings:
- panic attacks
- every misunderstanding under the sun
- torture
- Garp
LUFFY'S POV
Luffy was rudely awakened far too early in the morning by Kuri groaning and getting out of bed. He tried to keep him there so he could mooch off of his warmth but no such luck. The man merely stoked his fur a few times and told him to go back to sleep...while taking the scarf that he'd been using as a bed. Disappointed, he decided to go to plan B, curling up on his favorite of Kuri's pillows and glaring at the man for a moment before shutting his eyes again.
His sleep was not nearly as quiet as it had been with Kuri next to him.
Luffy was running. There was fire everywhere they turned and Sabo was unconscious. Ace tried to carry them both, yelling for him to stop crying, telling him they would be fine. He almost believed him, until their pursuer caught up, a nasty sneer on his face. Ace put him down and told him to run. He didn't want to, they both knew how strong Bluejam was, but he obeyed. Luffy sprinted through the burning rubble, the smoke blurring his vision. He'd thought that he'd taken off towards an area that the fire hadn't yet reached but, in his panic, couldn't be certain, not when the screams of others still filled the hot air and he dared not slow down. The loud groaning of metal cut through the other horrifying sounds as a large beam gave way. Luffy had no time to react, he couldn't even see the thing coming before it was there, pinning his small body to the ground as he added his own screams to the rest.
Luffy shot up, sitting straight up in bed, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to calm himself as he whispered,
"I'm okay. Ace is okay. Sabo is okay." he shut his eyes, focusing on regulating his breathing, "what can you feel? Blankets, Kuri's pillows." his heartbeat began slowing down, "what can you hear? Birds outside. Kuri's family in the rest of the house." The shaking in his hands calmed and he opened his eyes, "What can you see? Kuri's room, my hands." Luffy took one more deep breath, fully grounded. The attack was over. Then he looked back down at his hands,
"Wait...hands?!" now that he was fully aware, Luffy realized that he had been actually speaking, the meows that he had gotten used to in the past couple of weeks were now actual words!
"I'm back!" he exclaimed, leaping up from the bed, only to fall flat on his face as lost his balance, "...hmm...out of practice.." It was there on the ground that he realized that he was not completely back yet, as his long, fluffy tail swished back and forth. Luffy grabbed the appendage and smiled, "that's...really cool actually…" he commented before trying to stand again, this time being very careful.
As he finally made it to his feet, Luffy caught sight of himself in the mirror. It would appear that the tail wasn't the only feline feature he had kept, two black cat ears poked up through his messy hair as though they had always been there, twitching as he reached up to poke at them. Then he realized that he was also completely naked except for the collar he'd picked out the day before.
"Wow! This is a really stretchy collar...Ah, I bet Kuri won't mind if I use his clothes…" he said brightly, making his way over to the man's dresser. He rummaged through the options, finally deciding on a black tshirt that, once he had slipped it over his head, came down to his knees, one side slipping off of his shoulder. "shishishi, even though I'm bigger now, Kuri's still so big!" Luffy laughed before he spotted the man's personal phone sitting on the nightstand.
"OH! I need to call Ace!" Luffy exclaimed, picking up the device and punching in the password he'd seen Kuri use multiple times. He frowned as he moved to the keypad, "...what was Ace's number again?"
ACE'S POV
Ace was feeling pretty great. It had been a long time since he'd been able to let loose all of his anger and pent up frustration, too long. He was done crying. He would find Luffy no matter what.
These thoughts ran through his head as he let his fist fly once again, landing an insanely satisfying punch in the pathetic man's face.
"Hit me all you want!" the man spat, "I'll never talk!" Ace's answering grin was predatory,
"Oh? Trying to be tough, are we?" he asked, "Well, you must not know who I am." He didn't wait for the man's response, turning away and walking over to where he had laid out some of his favorite tools.
Ace studied the table's contents for a moment before glancing over at where Sabo sat, watching.
"Did you want a piece of him?" he asked,
"No," the blonde answered, "I had my fun with the last one we captured." Thatch snorted at that,
"You know, believe it or not, it's hard for someone to talk with their skull crushed." Sabo shrugged,
"He made me angry, what else was I supposed to do?" Ace laughed, turning his attention back to the task at hand as he removed his shirt. The captive gasped as the large tattoo was revealed,
"w-what does Whitebeard want with us?"
"The one called Dogtooth has stolen someone very precious to me." Ace informed the man, stalking back over to him and grabbing him by the front of his shirt so that he could pull him closer as a crazed smirk stole across his face, "and you're going to help me get him back."
"What are you talking about?!" the grunt protested, "We haven't touched any of Whitebeard's family! We have no reason to! He rules a completely different city and we don't have a death wish!"
"The person that Dogtooth took is not officially a Whitebeard." Marco said calmly, "His name is Monkey D Luffy, that ring any bells?"
"The kid from the news?! We didn't have anything to do with that!"
Ace's fist landed in the man's gut the second the words were out of his mouth, followed by a movement too quick for the eyes to see, Ace's hand jabbing into the man's hip joint and popping the bone out of its socket.
"I don't believe you," he growled as the prisoner screamed, "All the evidence points to him."
"...I...I sw...I swear we don't have him!" the grunt gasped, fighting for air, tears streaming down his face "We have a few prisoners yes, but none of them are the kid!"
At this, Ace decided to dislocate the man's other leg before snapping his clavicle with a single hit.
"Why don't we let him stew for a while?" Sabo asked, noting that his brother was getting a bit too...fired up...to properly interrogate their prisoner, if they let him continue, Ace would just be playing with the man instead of trying to get any actual information, "Maybe then he'll be a bit more cooperative."
"Oh! That's a great idea," Ace agreed
"We just finished putting the steel plates on it and everything!" Thatch put in, "I'll take him down myself."
"Make sure he doesn't die, Thatch." Marco ordered, "We still need him alive."
"Aye, aye, Sir!" Thatch replied, moving forward to take their prisoner down from where he hung so that he could escort him to the modified sauna.
"I need a drink." Ace said suddenly, stalking out of the improvised torture room and into the kitchen,
"We are sure that Garp's not coming back anytime soon, right?" Sabo asked, trailing behind his brother.
"He's been out of the country for nearly a decade," Ace snorted, "He's completely isolated from the rest of the world wherever he is, it'll be fine."
"Yeah but...borrowing his estate...it kinda makes me nervous." Sabo admitted, looking around the spacious kitchen.
"Makes for a better home base than a hotel room." Ace pointed out as he pulled a beer from the fridge. Before Sabo could reply, Ace's phone began to ring. He sighed and pulled the thing out, noting that the caller was unknown before picking it up,
"Yes, who's this?" he asked, taking a drink, only to spit it out all over the floor as disturbingly familiar voice replied,
"ACE, MY BOY! MY GRANDPA SENSES WERE TINGLING! WERE YOU BAD-MOUTHING ME BEHIND MY BACK?"
"G...Gramps!" Ace managed to reply as Sabo's mouth dropped open, "Weren't you on a secret mission or something and unable to contact all family members?"
"Oh, right! I decided to retire...yesterday!" Garp replied,
"...retire?" Ace asked in disbelief,
"Yes! Luffy sent me the sweetest I love you Grandpa card! The drawing on the front was...well...it sucked...I think it was supposed to be me...but Luffy sent it so I love it anyway! It made me think about all of the years I've missed with my grandchildren, so I've decided to make it up to you and come home."
"Why? Of all the times for him to suddenly have a heart…" Ace resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall and replied as happily as he could,
"Oh! That's...that's great…"
"You don't sound too happy, Ace." Garp commented, "Put Luffy on, he'll appreciate my news! I actually tried to call him first but he wouldn't answer…"
Ace's eyes widened and he glanced briefly at Sabo, who began to vehemently shake his head as he realized what his brother was about to do,
"OH! Look who just walked in! I'm sure your favorite grandson, Sabo, would love to hear the good news!" with that, he shoved the phone into the blonde's hands, ignoring the glare sent his way, and taking a long drink from his beer.
"Garp!" Sabo exclaimed, his attempt at a happy tone much more convincing than Ace's had been, "How are you?"
"Y-yes, I graduated high school, Garp, and college…"
"I'm a journalist."
"I don't take political sides, I'm neutral."
"NO, I don't still sleep with a teddy bear" (Ace snorted at that)
"Oh, um, Luffy's at a...friend's house, I...think he forgot to take his phone…"
"I'll tell him you called."
"No, he's still single as far as I know."
"Ah...you're coming home in a month...that's exciting!" Sabo looked at Ace, frowning.
"No, no one's touched your house, Garp. We've been looking after it very carefully."
"Yes,yes….love you too….I'll tell them...okay….bye" Sabo hung up and threw the phone at Ace,
"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT! I'M NOT EVEN RELATED TO HIM!"
"WELL I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO HIM AND YOU'RE MUCH BETTER AT KEEPING A COOL HEAD OVER THIS STUFF!" Ace shot back. Sabo sighed,
"Well, now we've got less than a month to find Luffy. If Garp comes back and he's still missing, we're all going to die." Ace nodded his agreement, attention focused on cleaning up the beer he'd spit out all over the floor, and groaned as his phone rang again. He answered without even looking at the caller id,
"Look, Gramps-" he began but was interrupted by the caller saying,
"Ace! It's me! Luffy!"
"LUFFY?!" Ace shouted, "EVERYONE GET IN HERE NOW!"
"Eh, Ace, don't yell into the phone." Luffy complained, "It hurts my ears!"
"Hold on, Lu, I'm putting you on speaker." Ace said, ignoring the boy's whining as Marco, Thatch, Zoro (who had brought them their most recent prisoner), and Mihawk ran into the room to join them. Sabo hadn't even managed to move yet, shocked.
"LU, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Ace shouted once he'd put the phone on speaker, "WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Aceeee, stop yelling!" Luffy whined, "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"
"BECAUSE YOU WERE KIDNAPPED?!"
"Ace, calm down," Sabo cut in, finally getting over his shock, "You have to stop yelling."
"Sabo, you're there too?" Luffy asked, "When did you come back?"
"That's...that's not important Luffy." Ace said, calming a bit, "I need you to tell me where you are so that we can come get you."
"Oh, I'm at Kuri's house." came the response, "He's really nice,"
"Luffy, who the heck is Kuri?" Zoro asked
"Zoro! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while!" Luffy laughed, "wait, are you guys having a party without me?"
"Luffy, focus." Sabo said, "Answer the question."
"Kuri? You know, Charlotte Katakuri?" Luffy said, "He's not as mean as you guys said he was. He feeds me and and plays with me and even lets me use his scarf as a pillow!"
"Excuse me?!" Ace exclaimed, "He does WHAT?"
"Calm down, Ace, I'm sure this is a misunderstanding," Sabo put in, "this is Lu after all. That's great Lu. Are you locked up? Can you escape? How did you get a phone?"
"Locked up? I guess the door's locked but Kuri always locks his door so his younger siblings don't mess with me...and he doesn't open the window anymore after what happened last time." Luffy informed them, "He always leaves his phone in his room when he has meetings."
Sabo couldn't find anything to say to that, staring at the phone in horror.
"Are...are you telling me that you're locked in his bedroom?" Ace asked, sounding far calmer than he felt
"Yep!" Luffy replied, "His bed is huge! And it's really comfy."
No one moved or said anything with this revelation, only snapping out of it when Luffy said,
"Hello? You still there?"
Mihawk grabbed the phone from Ace, who was still in shock, before beginning his own line of questioning,
"Hello Luffy, my name is Dracule Mihawk and I'm a private investigator working with your brothers. I want you to answer me with either yes or no. Are you in any immediate danger?"
"No,"
"Are you restrained in any way?"
"uh, no?" Mihawk frowned at the uncertainty in the boy's voice,
"Luffy, are you restrained in any way?" he asked again,
"Well, it's not like I'm tied up or something." Luffy replied, "Kuri did get me a collar yesterday though. He let me pick it out and everything!"
Ace fainted.
SABO'S POV
Sabo didn't even care that Ace had fainted, actually, he wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the detective's questions and the words coming out of Luffy's mouth.
"Is that so?" Mihawk managed, "Well, if he doesn't hurt you does he do anything...else?" he asked, ignoring the way Sabo turned green at the thought,
"Anything else?" Luffy asked, "We take naps together? His clothes are surprisingly soft, though he tends to wear leather most of the time. Yeah, today is actually the first time I've gotten to wear one of his shirts! It's pretty big on me though."
At this, Thatch had to run to stop Zoro from running out the door, unsheathed sword in hand.
"I see." Mihawk said, continuing as though none of this was happening, "And what led to you having to wear one of his shirts?"
"Oh, well I was naked when I woke up this morning so I had to find something to wear." Luffy replied casually, "I mean, I guess I still have my ears and a tail...that bit's why I'm just wearing a shirt."
Sabo lunged for the phone,
"Luffy, where are you?!" he growled, "We need to know as much as you can tell us! We are coming to get you!"
"Um, well -" Luffy began but before he could finish he was cut off by the sound of the phone dropping to the floor.
"Luffy?!" Sabo asked, "Lu, are you there? Answer me!"
The only response they got was the sound of shuffling, something jostling the phone a few times, and Luffy groaning in pain before the sound was cut off, replaced with something that sounded a lot like a high pitched whine.
"IF YOU HURT HIM, I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Sabo roared, assuming the worst. The next thing they heard was a soft,
"Mrow?"
"Cat?" Thatch asked before Ace's phone died.
"Nonononono," Sabo sputtered, "Why don't you ever charge your phone, Ace?!" He glared over at his unconscious brother, who Marco had left on the floor, before spinning to face Mihawk, "Can you trace the call?"
"No, I cannot. But the police should be able to." the man replied,
"Thatch, get Ace up. Marco, we'll use your car. We're going over to the police station right now and Smoker will be tracing this call." Sabo ordered, "Luffy's in more danger than we thought possible."