Scales and Whitebeards

by BlueMoonChaos

The ASL brothers move to the Grand Line much earlier than in Canon!verse due to problems at home. After a few years, they meet up with the Whitebeard Pirates and Ace is kidnapped after the fight. What the Whitebeards weren't prepared for was the two brothers who followed after them. Luffy's a Dragon but still has his Devil Fruit. Smart!Luffy Strong!ASL Bros AU! Rated M

14. Countdown Hits Zero!

A/N: So chapter 14 which is really more Part 2 of 13. At least it's long again. Power might (most likely will) go out for me at some point this weekend because I live on the west coast and there is a huge storm coming. Supposed to be worst one a couple decades. Yay. Get surgery later today on both feet (fuck me) and I might freeze to death overnight because the power goes out and I can't get up to grab another blanket. Or, will go insane because I won't freeze to death but will have nothing to do as I lay bed-ridden (or couch-ridden) for a few days. Kinda screwed either way.

That said, expect the next couple of chapters to be a little…off in what happens. Will be feeling sadistic and vindictive over my situation and won't hesitate to take it out on the characters. Monroes Island is going to be an interesting time for everyone and I don't care if nothing makes sense because it will make me feel better. Don't worry. ASL won't be picked on too much. I'd worry more for the Whitebeards.

I also don't care that both last chapter's and this chapter's titles suck. There. I said it. On with the show!

UPDATE (10/23/16): Noticed that some of the last part of this chapter didn't make it in the first posting so am adding that now. Still going over previous chapters and making edits, so will let you know next time if there will need to be rereading (most might end up being optional but Chapter 1 gets somewhat of an overhaul). Also, after getting several PMs about Ace's 'Wisps' I decided to add that particular move to the ending A/N so I don't have to keep repeating myself over why they are more than glorified orbs of floating fire or why they're different from his 'Fireflies'.

Disclaimers: you know the routine.

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Chapter 14: Countdown Hits Zero! Of Rodeos, Hopes, and Nicknames

---

The next day wasn't overly eventful and passed by relatively smoothly. 'Relatively' being the key word; this is the Troublesome Trio, after all.

---

Luffy, to Sabo and Ace's pleasure, had managed to sleep through most of the night with no bad dreams. The three had fallen asleep up in the foremast's crow's nest due to the dragon fledgling's rising aversion to being cooped up in a room. While there were no nightmares, it wasn't a peaceful sleep either. Many times the older brothers caught Lu's muscles twitch and spaz during their turn taking watch—no matter what their baby brother said of the new Humans around them, old habits die hard.

Although Luffy hadn't experienced any "bad" dreams that night, from the way he woke up his siblings knew they were unsettling. He'd dreamed about playing with his Atce and Sávbó—in both forms, it was a dream after all—then having to hide because more Humans came but the three had been fine because Lu managed to fly them away. What the Drakkón left out, however, was how the sand in his dream turned to tiny rubies, the strands of long and thin beach grass turn golden… And the brief instant Luffy thought he saw Ace and Sabo's eyes glow violet. Of course, the older pair weren't stupid and knew something more had happened. They also knew Lu would tell if pressed, but refrained since they sensed nothing overly negative from the youngest after hinting towards the hidden pieces.

As usual, the Trio woke at the cusp of dawn just before the sun had risen and clambered down to sit on the ship's white figurehead. Ace and Sabo were dismayed to find Lu already getting antsy—the fidgeting, rubbing of arms and legs, and air of restlessness even worse than the day before—and, after creating a Wisp for Luffy to play with, the blond had Ace go inform the Fourth they'd be eating on the stern deck. The dragon was smothering his discomfort from bleeding across their mental bond but the other two could still feel the shadows of it (along with Luffy's rising irritation). Luffy liked the figurehead because he could see his personal representations of his family and it was the easiest place to focus on the quiet Whispers. They were difficult to hear sometimes, especially right now with how distracting the crawling sensation under his skin was, but seemed able to curb some of the irritability bubbling inside.

Ace, positive Sabo's still sore over getting his shirt a little scuffed up and this was some attempt at punishing him, took his displeasure out on poor Thatch. He needed to practice his infiltration skills anyhow—Waves confirmed, through snooping about the Whitebeards' Navigations Room and eavesdropping on the helm operators yesterday, that there is a Marine base/outpost on the island they're headed for—and what better way than to do so than sneaking up on one of the Old Mustache Bastard's commanders? (The fire wielding teen ignoring that this "sneak attack" is also partially to distract him from the residual embarrassment of remembering his apology to the chef, plus him lashing out over his Little Lu having to block off part of the bond. Both Ace and Sabo hated when Luffy had to do that and tended to get very testy at those times.)

Kingdew, who'd woken up early and couldn't get back to sleep, was heading to one of the training rooms when he caught sight of Fire-Fist walking (stomping almost) down a hall he was passing. The Eleventh Commander stopped to watch the teen for a moment—fire crackled across the other's shoulders, arms crossed, booted feet landing heavily on the floorboards, a dark look on a freckled face—before moving on when Fire-Fist passed out of sight. The large man paused mid-step, peering over his shoulder at the opening to the corridor where he'd spotted the younger pirate. Running over the brief image he'd caught of the teen's expression, Kingdew wondered confusedly, 'Was Fire-Fist pouting?'

---

Izou, up early as usual and on his way to the kitchens for a nice cup of creamy coffee, stared at the odd sight of two division members—from his division the geisha realizes after a slow handful of seconds—in front of him. The taller of the two, about his height, balancing the shorter standing on their shoulders and trying to go on tip-toes to give the shorter a boost. The shoulder-stander directed the other while attempting to reach a vent tucked up against the ceiling. So distracted by the odd sight, it was another moment before the non-caffeinated commander took notice of a third person—from Haruta's division this time—off to the side asking the duo to "please stop."

Heaving a sigh, mentally griping that he shouldn't have to deal with this crap so early and without coffee, Izou asked, "What are you three doing?"

Surprised at the Sixteenth's sudden appearance, all three crewmen yelp at the sharp voice. The two by the wall lose focus and tumble to the ground; the tall member having jumped when he was startled, causing the shorter to unbalance and land awkwardly on his fellow before they collapsed in a pile at the wall's base. The third member had spun around to face Izou, issuing more of a squeak than a yelp as he did so. Izou folded his arms, left pointer-finger tapping against his right arm to iterate his previous question without speaking.

"Mornin'. Uh, we were…" The tall member glanced over at his shorter partner.

"Ummm… We, uh, thought we saw something and…wanted to check it out?" A manicure eyebrow rose.

"You 'saw something'….?"

"I saw a blue light disappear into the wall near the vent and these two heard me shout and came running and I told them about the light and they thought it was one of those ghosts everyone's been seeing and I said to leave it alone in case it was and they upset and make it curse us and I don' wanna be cursed by no ghost!" Izou stared blankly at the third pirate now sucking in much needed air after his one-breath-rant.

'It was probably one of Ace's blue fireballs.' Which meant their hopeful soon-to-be-brothers were up because the freckled fire-user wouldn't leave the other two's side if they weren't as well. This also meant Ace was nearby, however a quick search using haki revealed nothing to Izou.

Wanting to get his coffee, Izou curtly instructed his ship-brothers to "stop being idiots" and that what they saw was not a 'ghost' but a simple trick. If they couldn't figure out the truth behind the ghost rumors before Ace revealed his hand in them, Izou vowed to seriously rework his division members and schedule new training sessions. After the three idiots left, the kimono-clad male strode down the last bit of hall before making a left to head for the kitchen.

He didn't notice the screw-less grate covering another vent by the ceiling he'd just passed. Or that this one conveniently connected to one of the vent ducts that opened into the kitchen.

---

Sabo waited until Ace 'nudged' him, letting the younger know the early breakfast was set up and waiting at the stern for them, before making his way over from the whale figurehead. Luffy made for the nearest rope lines and scaled them to take a higher route to the ship's aft. Ace met the top-hatted blond at the base of the stairs with a steaming cup of coffee (with two sugar cubes, just like Sabo preferred) and a smug grin. Sabo accepted the peace offering—so what if he was still sore over the coat and shirt from yesterday? He really liked that coat, dammit, and the shirt had been (kinda) new!—then gave his brother's face a pointed glance. The freckled teen grinned wider, threw a look up to make sure Lu was behaving (aka not trying to scratch his skin off), then strode up the stairs.

Luffy made it first but didn't stray from his perch on the half wall of the mizzenmast's crow's nest. Instead, not wanting to share the yummy meat he spied, the dragon waited for Thatchy to turn around to greet his brothers. Sabo, ignoring the younger's stretching arms snagging the large dish of steaks, blinked at the sight of the chef.

"I see," he muttered, taking a long sip of his drink. Thatch stared incredulously as the blond simply gave Ace an unimpressed look then maneuvered around the commander to sit down and start eating.

"That's it? 'I see'," the Fourth poorly mimicked. Turning around to watch the brothers, Ace having joined the blond in chowing down, Thatch dramatically waved to himself and cried, "Aren't you concerned or gonna ask if I'm okay?" It took a second for the larger man to notice that something was off about the scene before him. "Hey, where's Luffy at? And… Where'd the steaks and pork chops go!?"

In answer, not bothering to pause eating, Ace reached out to grab an apple. Catching the stupid chef's eye, the freckled teen threw it towards his baby brother and shot a small burst of flame after the fruit.

/Here, Lu. You can't have just meat./ At least the dragon took some white meat with the red. He and Sabo knew the extra rare meat would be the first to go.

Thatch watched the now-roasted fruit, refraining from commenting about wasting food, arc towards the crow's nest where a hand snapped out to catch it. The Fourth mouthed an 'Oh' then frowned. 'Why's he up there?'

Finished with his meat, having basically swallowed the plates' contents in almost one go, Luffy leaned over the side to see if there were any more toasted treats being thrown at him. He pouted at finding the answer to be a 'no'. 'But there's more meat!' The dragon wiggled in excitement at spotting the platter of steak medallions wrapped in bacon.

/No, Lu. You need to eat something else first. And get down here!/ Thatch glanced confusedly from the sudden scowl on the small straw-hatted pirate's face to the recipient, Sabo.

"Me 'n Sabo'll eat them if you don't, Lu," Ace called, stuffing a large scoop of hashbrowns into his mouth.

Luffy growled, baring his teeth at the threat. He wanted the meat!

Eyeing the growling boy above him somewhat nervously, Thatch heard Sabo mutter quietly, "Did you have to wind him up? Light's already in a bad mood." The older raven shrugged, deftly batting away grabby rubber hands aiming for the desired plate of bacon-wrapped medallions.

A little stunned at the unexpected show of Strawhat's Devil Fruit power, Thatch gaped as the thin arms tried stealing the food a few more times. Luffy let out another annoyed growl. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get the yummy meat unless he did as asked, the dragon relented and hopped down to the helm's roof then the ground. Ace and Sabo made room for their little brother to sit between them and returned to eating.

Thatch carefully observed how Ace and Sabo seemed to direct and coax the youngest sibling into things like they had last night. Any attempts by Luffy to snatch the platter of medallions were skillfully thwarted by one of the older two. The boy would growl, sometimes getting a retaliatory one from the sibling who'd stopped him, until his attention was caught by another food item Ace or Sabo put near him. It also wasn't lost on the chef that, amongst the rather chaotic scramble of hands shoving food into their mouths, Sabo and Ace were making sure Luffy was eating the food with the most carbs and calories. He laughed when Luffy practically cheered at finally being allowed to eat the coveted steak medallions (which Ace had reheated right before snagging some for himself).

Luffy jumped up and made to leave—to get somewhere high, see if the wind might soothe this maddening incessant itch—but Ace was quick to grab his little brother's ankle. Thatch winced at the resulting yelp and 'thud', also standing so he could begin collecting all of the empty serving platters and bowls (the surrounding deck was full of them). The small pirate was quick to release an irritated growl at the owner of the hand latched around his foot, earning a similar but deeper one from Ace. A 'sharp' tap from Sabo's mind against Luffy's strangled the sound swiftly after its birth; one, to get their little brother's attention and, two, to keep Lu from growing irritated enough to decide challenging Ace right now might be a good idea.

Sabo stared reproachfully at his younger sibling. /(Disappointment Knowbetteryes?) Light, we went over this last night. What are you supposed to say?/ The dragon ducked his head, making a short apologetic whine (and shooting his oldest brother a mild glare to which Ace responded with a second brief growl as he let go).

As Lu picked himself up the fiery sibling asked his second brother /(Confused Dislike) Why do we need to do that? We didn't last night./

Sabo rolled his eyes. /You didn't because you had another narcolepsy attack—Light pretended to fall on you and knock your ass out, by the way—so I was the one to say it while Lú carried you up here./ He didn't mention the youngest had still been sore over Ace's "revenge" in the bathroom last night and let Ace's head connect with a couple doorframes on the way to the deck. The bumps had been superficial and though Ace had woken up a few minutes later with a minor headache no thought was given to the small ailment; it wouldn't be the first time he had fallen asleep and hit his head on something. /Plus, Mr. Thatch was willing to move the meal up here after you…/ the blond glanced at the chef with an amused glint in his eyes /Did whatever to him./

Intrigued by that statement, the dragon turned to see what Sávbó was talking about. Luffy immediately dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.

The normally white outfit the man wore was covered in a huge black splotch, centered mostly on the chest and splaying up to the shoulders, to the sides, then down towards the tops of his pants. Several smaller splotches decorated the sleeves and ran down in drips down the legs. Thatch also had a few dots staining his face. The coloring, though obviously black, was more translucent and watery and made a several of the dark stains appear as a faded, dark grey-brown on the white cloth. It honestly looked like someone had walked up to the Fourth Commander and popped a balloon full of watered-down ink on him.

"Hahahaha! W-wha' shishishi!" Thatch sighed as he put another empty platter into the huge canvas bag he'd brought.

'Kid's just now noticing?'

"Luffy sometimes has trouble being aware of his surroundings when food is involved," Sabo supplied, having guessed the commander's thoughts.

Ace nodded. Lu is a growing dragon and he and Waves had long reconciled the fact that, sometimes, the youngest's sole focus revolved around food. The fire-user bared a proud smirk when Sabo finally inquired as to what happened to Thatch's attire—done more for Light's sake since the blond already held the rough idea that Ace is largely responsible for the mess.

Turning to face the top hat wearing brother, Thatch dramatically waved at the smirking raven and exclaimed, "He snuck up on me when I was in the process of making a new dish!" The chef didn't know how the kid did it either.

One moment, he's in the kitchen almost completely by himself (there were a few of his division present with more trickling in to start preparing breakfast for the rest of the crew) and the next… Bam! Ace is leaning against the counter right next to his station and munching on a toasted pear. The chef had been so startled by the other's unexpected appearance—'Seriously, how in the hell did I not sense him?!'—that he'd squeezed the damn ink sac he was about to use. What made everything worse, at least to Thatch, was that Izou came in right afterwards. His brother was the first to fall to giggles, swiftly upgrading to snorts and outright laughter that was picked up by everyone else in the room. Ace just stood there watching with an extremely smug look on his freckled face; Thatch promptly promised himself to get back at the teen upon seeing it. Whether the cowboy hat wearer knew it or not, he'd just as good as declared war on the ship's Master of Pranks!

"What were you about to make with that smelly thing anyway? Didn't look very good to eat…" Ace broadcasted an image of the odd sac-like thing the commander had been holding when his question received curious prods from Sabo and Lu. The dragon settled down enough to listen to the Commander's response (though Waves needed to coax him a bit to do so).

"It was an ink sac from a squid," Thatch started, a little surprised at the sudden shift in the three. "I was going to try a little twist on this squid ink seafood risotto using truffle oil and maybe serve it for dinner tonight." Luffy made a face at the "squid ink" part.

He'd caught a squid before—or was it an octopus? It had a lot of legs either way—so he can say for sure that the ink is not very tasty. But maybe it would taste good on this 'ree-zo-tow' because of the chocolate oil? Luffy cocked his head to the side and asked, "Ne, does chocolate oil and 'ree-zo-tow' make the nasty ink taste yummy?" Ace and Sabo also looked up at the chef in interest.

"Uh…" Where did the kid get "chocolate oil"? "It's 'risotto', which is a type of rice-like pasta. Depending on how you use it, squid ink can add a unique and very good flavor to it. And…are you talking about 'truffle' oil when you say 'chocolate'?" Luffy nodded.

"Mm! 'Cause truffles are chocolate, right? So oil from them would be chocolate!" Thatch chuckled at that simple logic.

"Nah. It's not chocolate. These truffles are a type of fungus which grows in the ground. They're very expensive because they can be hard to find, most people use specially bred animals to find them." The dragon frowned, finding the pasta dish less appetizing again. Ace and Sabo privately agreed with their younger brother's opinion. The Fourth just laughed at their sour faces, saying as he went back to grabbing the last of the food platters, "Don't knock it 'til you try it! I'll make some later for you three."

The Trio shrugged, not particularly caring but also not willing to deny the offer of free food. Luffy, fed up with sitting so long and wanting to do something that might help distract him from the buzzing under his skin, moved to depart again.

"Luffy," Sabo warned, also catching his older sibling's gaze to inform Ace he was required to take part as well. Both ravens huffed but conceded to the middle one and, as one, the three stood and faced the now very confused Thatch.

"Thanks for the meal," Ace, Sabo and Luffy intoned; the first two with a small and polite bow while the dragon grinned brightly. The chef stared, feeling kind of lost at the unexpected show of gratitude—last night not counting to him because it was only Sabo and the teen seemed to have a default setting of being polite.

"You're welcome…" Thatch came out of his daze when he noticed the three about to skedaddle. "Wait! Luffy, didn't you eat a couple plates up in the crow's nest?" Lu paused then nodded. The Commander grinned at him. "Would you mind bringing the dishes back down? Unless you need help or can't because…" The Fourth trailed off looking at the boy's rotund middle. 'He looks skinnier than a few minutes ago and compared to when he just finished scarfing everything down. Come to think of it… Luffy wasn't nearly as round when he left with Ace either last night. I thought for sure he wouldn't be able to move before he got up to chase that fireball.'

"Oh! Woops," the dragon uttered, having completely forgotten about the platters he'd left behind. Or rather, platter. Ace and Sabo glanced at their baby brother, wondering at the small spike in apprehension they sensed.

Thatch's eyes bugged when the kid's arm suddenly stretched all the way up to the crow's nest, hazel orbs widening further when the plump pirate's body followed after with an excited 'whoop!' They squinted shut in a wince when Luffy misjudged the angle of approach and smacked into the nest's edge, causing him to bounce and collide with the mast in the center before sliding out of sight into the basket. The older pair of brothers, completely unfazed by the harsh impact, snickered at their sibling's misfortune. Luffy, clutching the only metal serving dish in the crow's nest, jumped back out and fell straight to the ground between his brothers and the Commander.

"Here," he said, holding the dish out to the Fourth.

Taking the solitary serving item, the chef looked between the metal in his hands, the grinning straw hatted teen, and the crow's nest above him. "Where's the other one?"

The dragon bit his lip and shuffled his feet nervously. He didn't want to admit what he'd done—not normal, Humans don't do such a thing and he'd be seen as weirddifferentfreak!bad and that was no good because then these Humans might not want to help his Sun anymore—but this Human had been nice enough to put up with Atce's moodiness. Maybe Commander Thatchy wouldn't be too upset and angry?

Ace and Sabo narrowed their eyes and stared at the youngest's back. Thatch was concerned they were angry with the smaller pirate but that went away when he caught a glint of apprehension in the grey gaze that flicked to him for a moment. 'So they know and are worried about my reaction,' he thought.

"…ate it…" The chef blinked at the quiet voice.

Looking at the twitchy little pirate, dark orbs hidden under the rim of his yellow-gold hat, the commander frowned. He wiped it away a second later to grin brightly at the nervous teen. "Sorry, what was that, Luffy?"

The dragon stiffened slightly and rubbed his arm, even more anxious at the show of fake cheer when he could smell and sense the confusion and mild fear/worry/dread coming from the Human. Sabo stepped up and pulled his little brother to his left side and slightly behind him. Ace came up and laid a reassuring hand on the younger raven's other shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

Aloud, Sabo answered, "He said that he accidentally ate it."

/(Accident Didn'tmeanto) Was oorí'armen…/

'That would do it,' Ace and Sabo thought.

Luffy, like most dragons they learned, had a weakness for precious metals, specifically: gold, silver, and platinum. Although Ace had seen Lu snag—i.e. stole from an unsuspecting (and very annoying) street vendor—and then eat a platinum bracelet before, Luffy definitely preferred the former two metals to the latter. Apparently, gold and silver, and to a lesser extent platinum, appealed to dragons not for its monetary value—a wholly Human concept that has no meaning to them—but its biological value. Eating these metals (raw or refined) helped make a dragon's scales more lustrous (and a Drakkón's mane silkier) while adding a small boost in developing new strong scales to replace old or damaged ones. With their little brother already fighting off the urge to Shift, suppressing several instinctual desires (wanting to hunt chief among them), containing his increasing aggression, shielding Ace and Sabo to keep them from being overwhelmed by his own roiling mental state…

Yeah, the older brother duo can understand how a silver platter covered in steak juices would be too good to deny. Any other time, Ace and Sabo would be glaring at the Fourth Commander with suspicion and would've immediately high-tailed it off this damn ship, thinking their little dragon had been the victim of a setup. Since Thatch had such a concerned and worried look on his face after hearing Sabo's answer, and Luffy wasn't sensing any hostility, the blond and older raven doubted that possibility.

"Is…is he—" The chef glanced worriedly between Luffy and the brothers, trying to get his question out but not sure who to direct it to. Finally settling on the tense, Human-shaped dragon, raising his hands up slightly as he took a step toward the Trio, Thatch asked hurriedly, "Ar-are you okay, Luffy?"

Spotting the hands reaching up as if to grab him, scenting the fear coming from the Human—completely absorbed by the two and the negative connection they held in his mind—and wary of the sudden invasion of space, Lu opened his mouth a fractions and hissed a warning. The chef halted, a small tinge of guilt adding itself to the other feelings swirling in him, watching Luffy take a couple steps back. Ace and Sabo close ranks in front of their brother, standing shoulder to shoulder and shielding their Light from Thatch's gaze.

"Crap! Sorry, Luffy," Thatch grimaced. Berating himself for the slip, having acted on instinct to check if the small pirate was okay—just like he would do for any of his other brothers onboard—and completely forgetting that Luffy hated being touched. 'Remember Marco's arm? That could've been you, stupid!' Turning to Ace, darting looks at the large-bellied boy hiding behind, the commander tried again. "Uh, he'll be fine! Right?! Yeah, j-just out—we have to get it out—Bay! I'll go get Bay!"

Sabo tensed at the name, recalling the bluenette doctor. 'Shit!'

Ace quickly darted a hand forward to grab the distressed man's sleeve, stopping the other from dashing off. A small burst of flame cut off the other's exit and worked to startle the pompadoured chef into stillness. Luffy couldn't remember who this 'Bay' is but decided that they were someone to avoid since Ace and Sabo gave off a negative vibe at the name.

Thatch stared at the hand in mild shock until Ace let go a few seconds later, the fire going as he did so. Turning back to look at the Trio and seeing how calmly (kind of) they were—at least where Luffy's possible health is concerned—standing there, the youngest raven peeking around Ace's left with guarded eyes. Sabo reached behind settle a hand on his little brother's right shoulder, gently squeezing it when he felt a smaller one clench the back of his shirt. Flames wound around Luffy's arms, Ace trying to settle the twitchy dragon before he got too jumpy and worked up.

"Um… Why aren't you guys freaking out?" 'Their brother just ate a damn metal platter! They should be freaking out more than me!'

Ace shrugged and answered, "Not the first time, doubt it will be the last." The Fourth blinked at that.

Hazel eyes focused on the hiding raven, trying to see through the fire-user and glimpse inside the over-sized stomach of the dragon. Keeping his gaze on the youngest, the Whitebeard inquired, "So… He'll be okay? He's not gonna get sick or anything bad?" Sabo scoffed, relaxing his form.

"Lu has a strong stomach and is capable of eating virtually anything. A helpful trait when he gets too enthusiastic about eating and inhales any unfortunate tableware."

Recalling how Luffy closed up due to a similar comment from Izou last night, Thatch refrained from making any remarks over the unusualness of one being able to eat large, metal dishes. Taking a deep breath to calm the last of his anxiety, forcing down the niggling worry he still felt, the commander gave the black dragon-child a relieved grin.

"Whew! If you say he'll be fine then I'll believe that." The three just stared, a little surprised at the sudden turn in the older pirate's demeanor. Luffy sidled up between his brothers to get a clearer look. "Don't worry about the plate, Luffy. There's plenty more where that came from so just be careful about not eating them in the future. Wouldn't want to run out of them, now would we?" The dragon responded with a nod, giving a second more firm one and a white smile when Thatch's grin brightened.

The Trio quickly departed after that. Luffy needed space now after that conversation and its emotional ups and downs. Ace ran after Luffy, both heading for the figurehead again, to make sure the dragon didn't try scratching his skin off. Sabo stayed behind long enough to inform Thatch that they'd need to have the rest of their meals up here if they were to stick with yesterday's agreement. An eyebrow rose when the chef heard he would need to start making a separate set of courses for Luffy that were mainly meat-based. The blond looked as if he wanted to say something else but chose to remain silent and headed off to rejoin his siblings. Thatch heaved a sigh, grumbled about teens with too many trust-issues, then left with his dirty dishes for the kitchen.

Once they were dropped off for his division to clean, he would go talk with his own brothers and see if they could make a plan about getting the Trio to loosen up.

---

Luffy flitted between perching in one of the crow's nests and sitting on the figurehead.

First Lunch had come and gone, the dragon seated on the helm's roof and reaching down to replace and grab empty platters of meat for full ones. Sabo and Ace didn't even try getting him to eat anything else. The whole meal passed in relative silence, the Commander sitting off to the side and smelling of nerves as he observed them. Like breakfast, Luffy said thanks for the food (not nearly as cheery as earlier though) and rolled himself onto his back to stare up at the sky through the sails and rigging. Second Lunch passed in much the same manner, albeit with Luffy noticeably grumpier and Thatchy and Iz-Iz trying to subtly scrutinize him. Not that they were very successful, he could smell and sense their agitation with his atypical (to them) behavior and that only made the dragon twitchier.

After each meal, in an attempt to temporarily distract himself from how his skin felt like there were insects crawling beneath it, the dragon focused his ki on his stomach. He'd learned by accident some years ago that doing this helped speed up his digestion of food, storing gathered nutrients quickly and efficiently. It also enabled him to move more easily with his stomach shrinking down to a manageable size. Luffy couldn't stand to be still for long right now so lazing in the sun after a meal like he normally would was absolutely out of the question.

He's also now avoiding getting close to any of the Commanders that come to chat with him and his brothers, too keyed up to let a Human he hasn't acknowledged as either sídna or kynsínya near him. That went double—perhaps even triple—for the other kýn'vráls, Captain Whitebeard. Normally he liked being near the Human. He told awesome stories, made Lu feel kinda safe, reminded him of someone(s)—not that he quite understands who, just that the odd feeling he senses in the other Alpha is reminiscent of something he knows he's felt from others before—and most importantly, to the dragon, the Human seemed genuinely interested in adding them to the sídna'Whitebeard. The problem Luffy is having a hard time with is the fact that Giant Banana-Mustache Man is an Alpha (and a strong one at that).

Three Alphas in a small space like the Moby Dick is not good.

Though their ship was smaller, Lu could still handle being with Ace (despite his brother being a fellow Alpha) at times like this thanks to their bond and close relationship. Yes, he got aggressive and would pick fights with the older teen—one challenge lead to them needing to replace a previous ship they sailed with and traumatized the ex-Spade crew into ensuring Luffy got to explore an island at least once a month—over the smallest of things if Sabo wasn't in time to stop them. But he still loved, respected and implicitly trusted his brother, recognizing the other as the lead Alpha of their tiny family. Luffy had none of that with Captain Whitebeard; the dragon's agitated state made him hyper-sensitive to the other Human Alpha's presence, much worse than he ever felt around his big brother. Not wanting to make a scene—a definite possibility with how out of sorts he is right now—and cause trouble for his siblings (and him), Luffy opted to stay away from the Captain until he was able to spend a solid day in his other form.

'Not long, not long,' the dragon mused, the thought repeating itself in a prayer-like chant. Rocking back and forth on the figurehead, the Whispers gently cooing to him, Lu focused inside himself to that part which could sense the island they were headed for. At the speed the ship was sailing, and assuming o bad weather cropped up, the island would be in sight the morning after tomorrow.

"Luffy…" Two hands removed his own from their grip on his forearms.

The pirate blinked, only just realizing he'd been gripping the appendages so tight his claws—'When did they come out?'—were biting into the skin and drawing blood. He grimaced at the slip, not liking he hadn't noticed the slight sting due to the awful prickling sensation traveling all over his body.

"Sorry, Sávbó," Luffy mumbled, quickly licking the minor wounds to clean the blood and help heal the damage. They'd be gone by nightfall. He shivered at the taste and scent of fresh blood, not minding that it was his; the desirewantneed to hunt coming to the forefront again. His soft hide practically rippled at the surge and the Human-shaped dragon forced back the struggling appearance of black scales. Lu's already sour mood darkened further as the itch ratcheted to feeling like ants were biting him everywhere while bees buzzed under his flesh.

Luffy growled low in his throat when Sabo kept ahold of his arms, preventing him from trying to scratch at the atrocious feeling enveloping him in the vain hopes of alleviating it. Fire, hot sand, dry beach pine and warm salt wind reached his nose just as he sensed Atce crawl over and sit right behind him, taking Luffy's arms from Sabo and holding them against the dragon's chest. Lu struggled in the hold, snapping and growling until Sabo quickly gave his nose a harsh tap. Stunned, the fourteen-year-old paused in his endeavor long enough to comprehend what he'd just tried to do.

Sinking into his big brother's encircling arms, pushing his back into the muscular and very warm chest, Luffy softly keened in apology and distress. Ace relaxed the tight grip on his skinnier limbs (though not letting go) and drew the dragon closer into the comforting embrace. Lu felt his eldest sibling nuzzle the back of his head before resting his chin atop it, Sabo having flipped the straw hat around to dangle over Lu's front. Sabo, lips remaining closed, smiled gently at him; sapphire eyes filled with the understanding, worry, concern and love the dragon sensed coming from both his siblings. Luffy began to thrum, trying to placate his brothers through the soft sound and vibrations. It swiftly included notes of appreciation when Sabo started massaging the dragon's legs.

"We know your miserable right now, Light. Just please bear with it a little longer," Sabo whispered. Ace squeezed him slightly before loosening up a little, trails of fire adding themselves to soothe the dragon alongside the blond's hands.

Luffy responded with a glum nod. He hated how he had to distance himself from his brothers mentally, throwing up shields and building them thicker and thicker to keep Ace and Sabo from being too affected by his worsening condition. It was worse than how he purposely often kept a physical distance from Ace during these types of episodes in an attempt to offer a buffer between his brother and his own instincts. Closing down on the mental bond—shrinking it, blocking it—to almost nothing is something Luffy essentially abhors, doing so only out of necessity for his siblings' health. The sensation is too close to the isolation he'd been forced through when a hatchling.

"It's gonna be okay, Lú." Ace's body grew warmer and the dragon snuggled closer, soaking up the physical warmth to make up for the lack against his mind.

---

Sabo quietly sat against the rail lining the main deck, petting a sulky Stefan's head—Lu refused to play with the large dog; too afraid he might hurt or maybe even eat his new friend (though both older brothers had serious doubts about the latter being an issue)—in consolation, while waiting for a grumpy Ace to enact his latest assassination attempt. The fourth one today. The blond rolled his eyes at that.

Ace may have been completely gung-ho about his goal to off Captain Whitebeard in the very beginning but his more recent endeavors had been…lacking. With the exception of today, of course; however, that could be attributed to the bleed-over from their bond with Lu. Or, it could be due to Luffy nearly squeezing the mental connection the three shared to a bare trickle. Honestly, it's likely a combination of the two and Sabo could sympathize with his older sibling's frustration. Even the blond was starting to get grouchy despite actively shielding his mind (preventing any flow of his own negative emotions to Lu and vice-versa) and also trying to radiate a sense of calm and peace to his two brothers. An effort to help the dragon that was only mildly successful, seeing as Ace hadn't been trying quite as hard on his end after Sabo told the other to do so too. Then again, Ace had always been more dependent on the áżda than the top-hatted sibling (whether the fire-happy teen was aware of it or not), so this wasn't a real shocker to him. It was still annoying, though.

/(Exasperated) Charcoal-for-brains, hurry up already. You are moving slower than a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk./ He smirked upon feeling Ace come to a mental standstill. Glancing up from under the rim of his hat, Sabo caught the older teen (currently hiding atop the mainmast's lowest sail's yard) sending him a baffled 'what the fuck' look.

/(Confused irritated) I know you're insulting me, ass. But what the hell is a terra-pull-gastro-thing?/

A small spike of interest from Lu (camped out on the port-side yardarm to the sail Ace is using) made Sabo tilt his head up to see the dragon-boy perched almost directly above him, head canted slightly to the side. The blond smiled as he replied to his brothers' query with the image of a snail. Luffy immediately started snickering while Ace silently spluttered and fumed in his hiding place.

/(Impatient Irritated) Just wait until we get to that island! You are so toast!/

The blond countered with a mental impression of Ace, sporting a pair of cat ears, whiskers and a tail, hissing cutely while a much taller Sabo calmly patted him placatingly on the head. Luffy burst out laughing and fell backwards to dangle from the wooden beam, Sabo joining in his younger brother's show of mirth from his spot next to the rail. They only laughed harder when Ace seemed to puff up and began hurling curses at the blond and Sabo responded with the previous image of Ace (except making the cat-tail puffy).

In-between tries of getting air into his lungs before losing it again in a peal of laughter, Sabo caught many of the surrounding Whitebeards (and the Captain himself) looking over at him and Lu questioningly. Those gazes quickly turned to concern and alarm and the blond figured the older pirates must've taken note of his little brother's precarious (to the Whitebeard Pirates) position. Stefan also let out a small whine of worry, eyes fixed on the dangling dragon. Sabo quietly shushed the huge hound, telling the other that Luffy is fine and not in any real danger (he's not far enough out to be hanging over the sea and will simply bounce should he fall to the deck).

Ace apparently chose that moment to make a diving attack on Whitebeard, a fist cocked back and coated in flame.

Sabo sighed and began tugging off his boots and coat. If this went like the previous try, there's a good chance his stubborn brother will be taking a swim.

---

Luffy tracked his brother's passage through the air, calm with the knowledge that Waves had already gotten ready to fetch the other should it be necessary. Which it was.

Quickly scuttling to the very end of the yardarm, catching Sparkles and Mini-Mustache tossing a ladder in the corner of his eye, the dragon waited for his Treasures to pop back up. A phantom urge to twitch his tail hit him, back muscles spasming, before being roughly shoved aside. Using their bond to monitor his big brothers, Luffy kept himself calm until they finally broke the sea's surface. A line was tossed out to them (a quick check showing that it was Mini-Mustache who'd done it) and they were pulled over to the ladder.

Something caught his attention in the water beyond the bow. Listening to his siblings bicker below him as Sabo climbed the ladder carrying Ace, Luffy turned his head to eye the surrounding waves ahead. He furrowed his brow, wondering if it had just been some sunlight reflecting off a wave's crest.

At a prod from Waves, the dragon refocused on the two below. Hunching down a little and leaning toward them, he called out, "Three points for the flight plus two for style 'cause Ace did a flip. Ten for the landing and seven for splash."

"What are you—"

"Why a ten, Lu? Quit struggling, Ember-Head!"

"Belly flop, duh!" Giant Banana-Mustache laughed loudly at his answer.

Again, Luffy spotted something off the bow of the ship. Sitting up a tad from his hunkered crouch, he surveyed the sea.

Below his perch, the dragon heard Mini-Mustache Man mutter, "That explains the 'smack' I heard…"

A 'thud' followed by Ace cursing informed the youngest that this brothers had at last reached the deck. Lu, still trying to find whatever had caught his eye, barely paid the snarking duo any mind.

"The hell? I ain't a damn bag of potatoes, Waves!"

"You are perfectly correct. Tubers would not give me a difficult time trying to fish them out of the damn ocean! I reckon a sack of them would weigh less than your fire-retardant ass, too!"

Oh, there! Something shimmered!

"Nerd! You're just upset that you got a little wet!" Luffy sat up a bit straighter, trying to get a fix on the shiny thing in the water.

"That water is fucking cold, dammit! Thanks to a certain ash-headed nincompoop and his stubborn, over-inflated ego I had to go swimming in said freezing water twice!"

The dragon's eyes narrowed when he saw a tail breach the surface. He wriggled in place, suddenly very excited over the idea of prey…the chance to hunt…

"I can fix that right now…do you prefer 'well-done'? I'm thinkin' 'extra-crispy'!"

"How about I just toss you overboard and watch you sizzle?"

A rumble of anticipation flowed from the fledgling's chest. Licking his lips, Luffy lunged.

---

Kingdew and Jiru were standing back by Pops and watching the spectacle that was the brawling/wrestling Ace and Sabo. Stefan (holding Sabo's hat and collecting Ace's), Jozu and Vista made the smart decision to back away or risk getting hit by a wayward punch. Or being bowled over when the duo rolled around. Several of the watching pirates were cheering one or the other on, exchanging bets on who would win the scuffle. Rakuyo stepped out on deck, scowled at the cause of the ruckus (figuring the young hothead had attacked Pops again), then made his way over to the giant captain's chair.

Newgate was distracted from the roughhousing when a yellowish object fell from the yard above to land near his dog. At the same time, a small blur struck the rail beyond Sabo and Ace before speeding off towards the ship's bow. The two brothers paused at the rapid appearance and departure of the presence, staring at one another in confusion. Those around the duo were equally off-kilter and silent, taken aback by the sudden spike of killing-intent before it faded. Seconds after the small pirate's entrance and exit, Sabo and Ace paled as realization hit them.

"Shit, Luffy!" They cried, scrambling to their feet and then racing after the younger teen.

Vista, snapping out of his daze first, immediately took off to catch up with the Trio. Jiru joining him a second later. Both commanders wondered at the speed being shown by the Trio, the swordsman automatically recalling how Sabo managed to outpace him and reach his brothers just as the Fifth made it to the deck several days ago. It didn't help that most of their fellows were still in a muddled daze at the swift turn of events, impeding Jiru and Vista's progress.

Whitebeard's yellow gaze widened in shock and concern when he spotted the smallest of the Trio jumping overboard. The sound of a small splash knocked the other pirates out of their stupor. The commanders, followed by their captain at a slower pace, started running for the point where Strawhat had jumped in. The Fifth and Fourteenth Commanders, thankful that their siblings had finally cleared the way for them, were just in time to see Sabo diving over the side. Ace stood on the wooden rail, tense and fists ablaze. More splashes were heard, like something large was struggling, along with colorful curses.

Jiru, being faster than the swordsman commander, reached Fire-Fist first. Stretching an arm out, hoping to grab the teen before he could fall back into the sea, the reaching hand snatched nothing but air. Vista, watching his fellow closing in on Ace, saw the teen smirk and jump before Jiru could even touch him. Whitebeard, concern growing after seeing all three siblings leap into the sea (two of which were Devil Fruit eaters), slowed his approach when a large blast vibrated the ship. A plume of steam erupted from the Trio's point of disappearance, quickly trailed by a few more vibrating booms that caused more towering plumes of steam. Two long shouts of surprise (and perhaps…fear?) accompanied with a loud growl were preceded by a final large boom, the resulting cloud of hot vapor mixing with the previous ones and settling across the deck.

The Whitebeard Pirates froze when something…somethings hit the deck just a few yards in front of where Newgate, Rakuyo and Kingdew stood. Vista and Jiru turned to eye what had landed on their ship, having some difficulty seeing until the surrounding vapor cleared. The commanders and captain relaxed when they sensed the Trio's presence but stiffened when they heard something large flopping around and growling.

There was a pained moan followed by, "Sab, you're heavy. Get off me."

"Dammit, Ace! I told you not to do that shit!" Jiru winced at the harsh sound of a fist meeting flesh.

"The hell," Ace gasped out, leading Kingdew to suspect the blond had targeted the fire-user's stomach. "Wha's that for, ya lump of seafoam? It worked didn't it?" Another punch. "Ow! Stop hitting me!"

"You almost blew us up!"

The breeze cleared the last traces of mist, allowing the pirates to see a dripping Sabo sitting on an equally wet Ace with his hands fisted in the other's shirt. The dark brunet was sprawled across the ground looking very tired—'Probably from consecutive dips in the sea,' Kingdew thought—and had a pleased grin on his face.

"Technically," Fire-Fist's grin broadened, "I did blow us up." Rakuyo turned away when he saw the blond's expression morph from a scowl to a deceptive calm.

Releasing Ace's shirt, Sabo gracefully stood from his seat on the fire-teen's hips. Casting a brief glance at the older sibling, Vista grimaced when the blond planted a foot in the other's gut while walking away with a mutter of "damned idiot". Ace flailed at the abuse, curling up to clutch his stomach and falling over onto his side, grumbling breathy curses at Sabo's back. Rakuyo followed the blond's movements and blinked in surprise, jaw dropping to the floor, as he finally acknowledged where the growling and loud thumps (which had been going on the entire time) originated from. Whitebeard, however, had been watching the source with great amusement since the mist cleared.

Luffy, growling all the while, had his arms encircling the neck of his prize, legs wrapped about the middle behind the dorsal fin, teeth sunk into the skin next to the gills of a catfish. A silvery large catfish. A massive, nearly twelve-foot-long, fat catfish that was grunting and flopping around wildly as it tried to dislodge the clingy, little pirate. Whitebeard noticed how, despite the fish repeatedly slamming him into the deck, Luffy never cringed or released the creature.

'Either he has a high pain threshold or the attacks aren't effective against him.' The captain wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out to be the former reason, given the older pair of brothers.

"Somebody get Thatch," Vista called out. He recognized that fish; long black whiskers tipped with white, silvery coloring that faded to shimmery white on the belly, black spots decorating the tail and fluke… "Now!"

A speckled silver catfish. A rare, sea-going species that have really sweet meat and could grow to huge sizes (the one Luffy's riding being relatively medium-sized). Special slime to lock in moisture, strong pectoral fins and an extra set of lungs that allowed them to breathe air meant they could travel across land or stay out of the water if they got trapped somewhere (such as on a beach or in a pool running out of air/food). Speckled silvers are also a pain to catch, not just due to how rare they are, but because of the nasty, venomous spines/barbs they sported and their armor-plated heads. Two small barbs were attached to the edge of each gill-plate, the front of the pectoral fins ended in a sharp spine, a large one followed by four smaller ones comprised the bony ribs of the dorsal fin, and the top of the fish's fluke included a final partially-hidden spine. Paralytic in nature, the venom is very strong and able to paralyze creatures twice the catfish's size. It also had the horrid side-effect of causing any wound inflicted by the fish's barbs to become infected thanks to the bacteria on the barbs/spines and the creature's slimy coating. The bony, tough heads were useful for ramming and stunning prey or predator, contributing nicely to the catfish's notoriety for being an aggressive creature.

And the Little One is currently playing rodeo with the dangerous thing.

Seeing Vista's grim face, Rakuyo wandered over (avoiding the flailing beast) to see what had upset his brother. The Seventh paled when he received the news.

"Can we no' tell him ta let go? Grab him real quick once ee does?" At the look Vista shot him, the dread-haired blond clarified, "No' us! I mean' either Fire-Fist or the other one!"

"I don't think even I'm fast enough to reach him before the fish can stab him," Jiru added from the side. "That's if the little growler doesn't get distracted by me getting close or turning on me the second he finds out someone other than his siblings is touching him. I don't have Marco's healing abilities."

Kingdew, having sidled nearer to the other commanders to catch pieces of their conversation and to get a better view of the small, crazy brat wrestling a huge catfish, frowned at what he'd heard. To him, it sounded as if it were only a matter of time before the crazy child gets hit by one of those barbs. True, the brat is doing a great job of holding on no matter how the fish flops back and forth and seems to be consciously avoiding letting any of his skin near a spine. However, the fish doesn't appear to be tiring (though neither does the kid) and none of them can attack the beast without risking the kid's safety. Jozu shifting off to the side of Pops catches Kingdew's attention, giving the commander an idea that he hopes will work. The Third Commander notices Kingdew gesture at him then at the fish-rodeo occurring before them.

Whitebeard watches his son mime instructions to the diamond-Paramecia out of the corner of his eye, keeping his yellow gaze firmly on the Trio. The two older siblings are strangely at ease, calmly observing the "precious little brother" they're normally over-protective of wrestling with a giant and dangerous animal. They don't approach bucking fish and its unwanted passenger, only moving to get out of the way should it frenzied flopping carry it too close. What's more, Ace and Sabo are wearing smiles that are of an indulgent disposition.

Thatch comes up next to the giant captain's side, swearing under his breath at finding Luffy latched onto a giant catfish. 'A fish that obviously want to eat him,' the Fourth silently moaned, seeing the large animal make several attempts to bite the human clutching it as it twists and flops around.

Jozu maneuvers to the opposite side of Ace and Sabo, hoping that once he grabs hold of the stupid fish they'll grab the imp. Ace glances up from his baby brother, fixing grey orbs on the older pirate's suspicious movement. From behind and to the side of the young fire-user, Jiru sees the freckled teen's fists clench at his sides. When Jozu moves a little closer to the raging fish, Sabo tenses and lifts his head to make visual sweeps of the area. Both Vista and Thatch see small traces of flame flickering along Ace's arms and Sabo barely holding one of his own slightly further from his body, fingers curling a fraction, when Jozu takes another careful step in Luffy's shifting direction.

"Pops, tell Jozu to stop. I know he wants to help but he's going to have two very pissed and defensive brothers after him, with a third when Luffy finds out."

"The rambunctious brat is going to get hurt if we wait, my son. I would rather face the three's ire than risk the runt's health," came the quiet rumble. Thatch nodded hesitantly, agreeing with his father's choice but not comfortable with the method.

"I get that, Pops, but Luffy has been acting really weird today and Ace and Sabo have been arguing with each other more." The chef left out how he'd accidentally caught Luffy biting Ace (not hard enough to draw blood but pretty damn close from how Ace swore up a storm) not too long ago after what looked like some type of silent argument between the two. "Honestly, before Jozu started sneaking around, this is the most relaxed I've seen Ace and Sabo so far today."

"You have a better idea." Newgate could tell his son was thinking of some alternative. Nodding to confirm his captain's statement, Thatch waited for the other's decision.

Seeing the Third trying to get another step closer to the flailing fish—speckled silvers were too damn hardy for their own good—the pompadoured man added, "Vista's also interested in Sabo's knives, saying that they're of an odd material he isn't certain about but thinks he's seen somewhere. Sabo's really fast on the draw with them and, without knowing what they're made of, I don't want to pit them against Jozu's Fruit."

Whitebeard followed the younger pirate's hazel gaze to the barely curled, gloved fingers…that looked about two seconds (or two of his son's steps) away from twitching a blade into their grasp. Folding his massive arms across his chest, Newgate gave a discrete nod to Thatch's request. Breathing out a relieved sigh, the chef strode forward to the older pair of the Trio (making sure they could hear his steps and sense his approach) while motioning for Jozu to get back.

Most of the watching pirates visibly startled when a ring of flames sprouted up, surrounding the three brothers (and fish). The only ones who didn't noticeably react were Whitebeard, Vista and Thatch. Jozu jumped away from the sudden heat that formed inches from his face, listening to his siblings shout in surprise at the appearance. Thatch wanted to chuckle when he noticed the part near him was merely warm and only a few feet high before the fiery ring snuffed out a second later.

Chuckling at the Third nearly losing his beard, the chef sauntered over to the watchful pair. Conscious of the calculating blue orbs tracking him (thankful the knife he'd seen as the fire went up was no longer in the teen's hand), he stage whispered conspiratorially, "Try going for the beard next time. Diamond-Butt is very anal about maintaining it." Ace cracked a smirk, a mischievous gleam in his grey eyes, and Sabo's lips twitched into a ghost of the same look. All in all, the Fourth counted it as a win.

Ace went back to keeping an eye on the smaller teen, leaving Sabo to deal with Thatch. "Need something, Fourth?"

"Ah, yeah. Dinner's gonna be ready soon and," he glanced meaningly at the rodeo show going on, "we're concerned about Luffy's…situation." Ace tilted his head at the last word.

"What situation?" Thatch stared at the two, then the crazy kid clinging to the dangerous fish, then back to the (equally) crazy older siblings.

"Uuuh…" The chef dumbly pointed at the aforementioned scene. "That one?"

At this, both brothers turned to stare at him like the commander had a second head. Several quiet seconds later (broken only by the floundering, pissed catfish and the growling Luffy) the two ex-captains grinned before outright laughing like Thatch had just told some grand joke. It was kind of creepy how in-sync their actions were.

"Lu's fine," Sabo chuckled, waving off the surrounding pirates' concerns for the energetic shrimp.

Ace snorted at the disbelieving face Thatch knew he showed at the blond's lack of worry. "Our baby brother has fought tougher things than some stupid fish." Vista stared at the two's nonchalance. Newgate raised an eyebrow at the casual delivery of the comment.

Taking a step forward, Jiru asked, "You two do know what fish that thing is, right?"

"Speckled silver catfish. Possesses several barbs that excrete a numbing, paralytic venom and is an active hunter with an aggressive temperament," Sabo promptly started listing off, sounding like he was reading an entry from an encyclopedia. "Have armored heads used for defense as well as stunning prey via ramming before swallowing them whole. Males have been known to grow as big as eighteen feet in length and weighing 1,200 pounds. Females to twenty-two feet and weighing around 1,400 pounds. The belly on Lu's catch is white, therefore he is playing with an approximately 700-pound male. There are also occasional claims reporting large individuals attacking small sailing vessels or fishing boats and devouring the passengers aboard." The blond turned to peer at the Whitebeard Commander with a silent question of 'does that satisfy you?' on his face.

The Whitebeard Pirates stared dumbfounded at the teen's off-hand display of background knowledge. Thatch rubbed his chin, fingering the goatee a little, as he considered what had been said. 'Never heard about 'em attacking boats… Where would he find out about that?'

When he asked as much, Ace shrugged and replied, "We were looking for something." The Fourth huffed at the non-answer.

Vista caught Sabo flicking his eyes from Whitebeard, to Thatch, to Jozu, to Little One, a smirk slowly blooming on his peach lips. What surprised him was the appearance of a similar expression on the freckled sibling's face a scant few seconds later. "You know…" Everyone turned to eye Sabo, an uneasy feeling slithering down their spines at the glint in his blue orbs. "If you're that worried about whether our little Lu can handle a simple fish," the blond pointed at suddenly wary Jozu, "he can try to take the fish away from Luffy."

No. Jozu did not like the look on the blond Liar's face. It was too close to how the lying brat looked when tricking the Third into allowing the Liar and Imp escape that first day.

"Okay," the Head Chef grinned. Jozu scowled at the younger commander, silently vowing to get even for this (including the scheming Liar into his thoughts of revenge). Several of the division members near him backed away when they spied an ominous aura emanating from the diamond-Paramecia commander.

"Fine," the Third Commander growled.

Ace flashed a cheeky grin that froze Thatch's previously warm expression. "Oi, Lú. Mr. Sparkles wants to take your food!"

---

The dragon was enjoying wrestling with his prey, letting it fight him rather than ending things quickly. He didn't want to end it quickly. Wanted to keep it going for as long as possible to stave off the clamoring need to Shift and hunt more. To have his scales coating him like a second skin as he sank his claws into freshly acquired food, still warm with the fading echoes of life. Ship-food tasted fine and all, but it lacked the sense of fulfillment he experienced from taking down his own prey. Like his need to Shift and spend a prolonged amount of time in his other form, Luffy's desire (need) to hunt would also grow over time. It's just his unfortunate luck that both needs grew to a peak at the same time; one exacerbating the other with both being compounded by the stress of being forced into an unfamiliar environment.

So, when he finally had the chance to alleviate a fraction of one of those two needs via the tasty fish in his grasp—with the added bonus of said fish being one of his Top 10 Tasty Sea-Creatures to Eat—only to hear Atce's shout… Yeah. Saying the dragon is unhappy would be an understatement. He already felt upset that the fish was weakening in its struggles, not overly noticeable to watchers but Luffy could feel its strength waning. Now, he learns that someone wanted to take the spoils of his hunt from him. That is a big no!

When the fish next bucked to try slam him down onto the deck, the dragon growled slightly louder at seeing Sparkles coming closer. 'No no no no! Mine!'

He bit down harder, more warm blood mixed with fishy oils sliding across his tongue, and at the same time squeezed his legs tighter around the fish's back. The catfish, spurred on by the increase of pain, leapt and thrashed its tail wildly to the side. Luffy felt the fluke smack solidly against one of the large Human's legs, easing up on his grip to entice the fish to flop so he could see the potential thief better. His glee at making the other stumble was short-lived when the Commander came after him again.

Moving from the previous bite site to one closer to the top of the gill-plate, he sunk sharp teeth into the soft skin. He almost groaned from the taste of fresh blood, though he did wrinkle his nose at the icky, bitter slime that accompanied it. Flexing his fingers, letting the nails become small claws, he dug his digits into the flesh beneath them. Extremely disliking the second round of intense pain, the poor catfish raised its head before slamming it down with the tail coming up behind. With the tail in the air, Luffy used his legs to wrench it around so that it would hit the big Human in the stomach this time. He shifted to accommodate for the impact's recoil on the fish, not wanting to get stuck by one of the stupid venom-leaking spines. He'd already gone through that once or twice and he is not keen on repeating the unpleasant experience.

He grinned, mouth bloody, upon hearing the Commander curse as he staggered. The fish might be smaller than the big Human but Luffy knows that small things can still be very strong. Predatory fish are also generally one massive muscle so they usually pack a wallop when striking someone. Soon enough, the dragon felt the deck vibrate as heavy thuds announced the closing distance between him and the stubborn, large Commander Sparkles.

"Lu, don't break the spines! I need those!" The dragon growled a grumble but acquiesced to Sabo's request, aborting his next plan of attack…which would've likely resulted in the tail barb being snapped off.

Knowing the fish wouldn't last much longer, its last couple of flails holding less power than even a minute ago (then again, he had been using it as a weapon), Luffy decided to make one last go at getting mean Sparkles to keep away from his prey. Shifting down to the fish's back a bit more, wary of the dorsal, he stretched his neck to bite into the muscle directly behind the upper bottom half of the fish's gills. Running his fingers down to stop directly off to his sides, also stretching the limbs to reach the animal's belly, he gave a quick squeeze to make the fish lurch backwards a couple feet. As soon as the body hit, Luffy gave another tight squeeze of his legs and pulled the fish around to face Commander Sparkles. He took a moment to watch the Human's face contort to an expression depicting dawning dread, before enacting his 'master plan'.

Not wasting a second to avoid the potential thief dodging the close-range attack, Luffy got the flopping fish under him to panic. All at once, clawed fingers dug into the supple belly skin to pierce the muscle, arms and legs clamped around the animal's neck and back to strangle airflow and movement, then sharpened teeth thrust further into the spot right behind the gill. The silvery catfish grunted loudly in pained protest as it jerked its body up and forward in a high flail. The dragon used its stranglehold to direct the abrupt flight so that the bony head would collide with the huge Commander's.

A jarring strike later, Luffy is grinning happily (teeth still stuck in the catfish's neck) and making pleased rumbles. Sparkles is on the ground glaring at him (not that Lu cares) after having been rammed by a pissed, 700-pound fish. The dragon is only mildly disappointed that the other's sparkly defensive actions saved the Commander from having both a concussion and broken jaw/nose. Still…

'Human got run over by a fishy~ It knocked Sparkles on his tail~!' Lu decided to share his little sing-song chant with his brothers. The dazed fish flailed half-heartedly, trying to recover from the dragon's abusive actions.

He heard them laugh as Commander Sparkles got up and growled, "I'm done. The imp can play 'rodeo clown' with the damn fish." Luffy released the flesh in his mouth, Shifting the sharp bones back to those of a Human's, to stick his tongue out at the mean Commander (he's still upset at the larger male for grabbing him a while ago).

"Oi, Lu!" The dragon swung his head to look questioningly at Atce. "Chef says dinner's ready so finish up." /Fish is yours since you caught it./

Nodding, Luffy waited for the latest tired flail to cease. He was going to end it anyway after fending off the potential Human thief. He's not cruel and wouldn't want the animal to suffer longer than necessary. A slow, painful death is not something he would lightly wish upon anything. The fish would've been dead long before now if he could use his other form; since he can't, he gave the animal an opportunity to fight and weaken itself to make killing it easier. Punching a wildly flailing fish with barbs is not recommended; it took one instance to learn that lesson and take it to heart.

When the catfish paused for rest, he quickly let go and leapt into the air above the fish's huge head. Cocking his right fist back, gathering kí to reinforce the limb's structure and strengthen the hand's skin, bones and muscles (though not enough to cause the skin to develop the dark, armor-like coating), Luffy slammed his fist down between the catfish's wide-set eyes. "Bullet!"(*)

A full-body shudder pulsed once through the sea-creature before going slack.

---

Marco was drawn out of his room, where he'd been working on some reports, due to all the commotion on-deck. Slipping through the crowd to Pops' side, he was shocked to see little Strawhat Luffy riding a giant damn fish. Even more shocked when the First Commander realized, via whispers from his siblings and a flash of jagged spines on the animal's fins, that the shrimp is riding a potentially deadly fish…and Ace and Sabo are actually letting him. Then the shrimp, somehow making it look like an act of careful planning, has Jozu run over by the fish.

Yeah, even he had to laugh at the sheer amount of surprise and disbelief coloring his friend's face at that one. They were not going to let the Third forget this incident for a long time to come. (His family would willingly ignore said fish's size for this tease-worthy material.)

Finally, to stun everyone watching, the kid jumps in the air with a fist raised (arm oddly looking longer than it should be for a second) before thrusting down towards the thick bony plate beneath him. This time Marco can very clearly see the arm stretching to cover the extra yard of distance. What everyone (sans Ace, Sabo, and obviously Luffy) expected was for Strawhat's fist to either break against the hard surface, bounce off painfully, or maybe dent/crack the plating. Yeah, the fourteen-year-old might be strong, but that catfish's armor is thick and specifically designed to handle blunt-force trauma.

Which is why Ace and Sabo began laughing at the stunned faces taking in the aftermath of Luffy's (fairly weak) attack. Releasing a few chuckles of his own after a few seconds, taking in the way Strawhat Runt was staring at his handiwork with a sense of accomplishment, Kingdew left to go below. He had a report to finish if he wanted an early night tonight. Several other pirates, finding the show essentially over, also departed (though decent-sized crowd still remained, too stunned to move yet).

Luffy was checking over his handy-work, pleased that his control had gotten better…meaning he didn't punch a fist-sized hole through the fish's head and continue into the deck. Pulling his hand out of the skull—noting the deep cracks spreading out from the impact site and resolving to further refine the technique to make the hit cleaner—Lu stood up and looked over at his big brothers.

Casually flicking his hand to rid it of some of the brain-matter and blood clinging to it, the dragon glanced down at the dead prey beneath his feet then back up at the chuckling pair. /(ExcitedPleasedContent EatnowYes?) I get first bite! Need to bleed or fine?/

The commanders, captain and several of the other Whitebeards viewing the brat standing proudly atop his quarry's head notice how Luffy doesn't seem all that phased by the blood staining his lips, face and front. Or that the brat's right hand is still dripping blood, the small flick of the appendage only dislodging fragments of skull, skin and brain. It's a disquieting sight to the vast majority of division members watching and insightful to the crew's commanding officers. That Ace and Sabo aren't visually reactive to the younger's appearance also hints that seeing the kid like this isn't uncommon.

"You can eat after Ace gives it a quick toasting, Lu." The warm look in the blond sibling's eyes gains a mischievous glimmer as he adds, "I do not appreciate my bedmate having fish-slime-breath." Ace pauses for a heartbeat and solidly nods in agreement to Sabo's comment as he continues striding over to the dragon.

Most of the surrounding pirates (with the exception of Marco and Whitebeard) blush and splutter, or imitate gaping fish, at the implications of those words. Several betters shifted their previous stances to align with one of the "inappropriate relationship" camps in the ongoing betting pool.

Casting a light flame across the body, Ace quickly dried out the slime so that he and Sabo could grab the fish…and Lu could stop giving him puppy-eyes. "We'll take it to the back and clean it there," the freckled brother replied to Luffy's earlier inquiry. They would be out of the way there and their little brother could eat in peace. Plus, Sabo will make a mess trying to get to the damn thing's glands and Ace has never been overly fond of watching the process or the smell. He'll go and grab some containers from their temporary room instead.

Sabo, meanwhile, checked the head to ascertain whether the dragon's attack might've damaged the venom glands tucked under the cheek muscles. "Good job, Lu, you're getting better. The left might be ruptured, hard to tell, but the right should be unharmed." Thatch blinked to lessen the glare from Luffy's radiant smile at the praise.

Rakuyo gaped when the two brothers, on either side of the fish, lifted it up with no discernable difficulty. The dragon moved to sit just in front of the dorsal fin, leaning over to take a bite out of fish's side as the older teens began ferrying the body through the parting crowd. As Luffy continued taking bites out of the fish, trusting his brothers to watch things while he enjoyed the spoils of a successful hunt, the observing pirates snapped out of their stunned stupor.

"That's gross," Jiru and Rakuyo mumbled. Vista nodded, lips twisting in mild disgust, beside them. Jozu gave a disturbed grunt at the unpleasant sight.

Mutters of disgust and revulsion at seeing Strawhat munching on a freshly-killed fish—either not caring or just ignorant about the blood dribbling down his chin—with a smile on his face. Shivers went down some of the pirates' spines. Words of "not normal", "weird", "sickening" and others passed around. A few commented that they could understand why the Trio's old crew spoke the way they did about the youngest.

"Too strong, he is. Acts and eats like a little beasty, too. Is no wonder they called Strawhat Runt 'a little monster'," someone from the Third Division grumbled. Nauseated agreement met the man.

Newgate felt torn between the need to berate his children and concern for what he is seeing. Ace and Sabo, apparently more aware of the rising volume of voices than their dining brother, were quickening their pace in an attempt to get away from the crowd faster. As they weren't doing anything about the Little Brat eating raw fish, in addition to the practiced-looking routine and conversation, he could conclude that such behavior is normal on Strawhat's part. The Blond and Fire Brats' switches between glaring at the people around them and flicking worried eyes to the ignorant brat atop the fish also spoke to the captain.

Marco and Thatch were trying to get their brothers to shut up and disperse (quietly, because they don't want the shrimp realizing what's going on), having noted the same details their adoptive father had. Unlike him, however, they knew better (or at least possessed a better notion) about how Luffy might react to the negative atmosphere. Whitebeard and Vista, aware of the two commanders' rising tension at the scene and their methods, also start helping. Newgate's more successful at getting his sons to listen but none of them can prevent the others from staring and whispering.

The dragon halted half-way into taking another chunk of sweet meat, teeth already sunk deep and severing the section from the rest of the muscle. A scent comparable to the bitter taste of lime peels coming from his brothers. Why were they afraid? What were they worried about? Vista is the first to find out that Little One has stopped eating, now staring questioningly at the two ex-captains carrying his 'seat' at the very edge of the crowd.

Sabo glances up at Luffy and smiles. /(Calmcalm Don'tworry) It's okay, Light. You're alright./ The younger raven doesn't listen.

That smile is supposed to be reassuring. Comforting. An expression any other person would see and believe instantly with no qualm or reason to doubt. Lu knows his Treasure, though.

All the fledgling sees are the tight corners that make the gesture look more forced than it should be; tense cheeks trying to hold the stretched lips and keep the 'smile' in place. Blue eyes avoiding meeting his near-obsidian ones directly, appearing too hard and cool, are the dead-giveaway.

Pulling his latest mouthful from the carcass, the dragon checks Ace to find his oldest sibling in much the same state. It's easier to see the falsity in his face than Waves', who's the best liar and deceiver between the three. It would still fool anyone who didn't know Ace. Didn't know his tells. Like Sabo, the person would only see the—very real, there is no falseness to the emotions they are trying to convey to him—comfort and 'everything is okay' being shown. But the lips are stiff, a touch too many teeth being shown, the smile slightly too wide…and grey refuses to touch black. The tiny pricks of flame sparking along Atce's skin also reveal him.

/(Finefinefine Safe Okay)/ Ace projects to his baby brother. Luffy's frame has finally lost some of its pent-up tension thanks to this "hunting" stint. His little dragon can enjoy the rush of catching and eating fresh prey like he wants to do. He doesn't need to realize what's going on. Their Lu can't realize.

The fledgling's eyes narrow at the mental supposed-to-be-calming-but-somehow-isn't nudge from his his big brother. No. His brothers aren't lying or being outright deceptive, per se… However, they are trying to hide something from the young dragon.

Jozu, from his vantage above most of his ship-siblings' heads, spies the imp frowning darkly at whatever he finds in the Liar and Fire-Fist's faces. Something has clearly upset Luffy's precious brothers and the dragon doesn't like that. They should be happy, not this weird worriedfearfuldesperateupset he senses. Jiru, trying to get his adopted family to quiet and leave, looks up to see Luffy, body tensed to fight on his meal-turned-seat, raise his head to find the pirates staring at the Trio and loudly whispering rude comments and words.

Luffy stiffens, sensing the negativity directed at the dragon and his Treasures. It takes another moment to hear the words. To find the target of the negative emotions and speech is not Ace and Sabo and Luffy but just only Luffy. The bite of meat feels heavy on his tongue, almost choking him as he swallows.

Newgate feels a swell of anger and disappointment towards his sons' over how the cheeky runt's demeanor changes.

All the fight that had been building up in the teen, stored behind that stormy frown, vanishes. In its wake is a small face with wide eyes, features rapidly shifting from confusion to comprehension and understanding…finally plummeting into absolute dejection. The dragon fledgling shrinks into himself and Thatch can almost see the little puppy-tail and ears curl in. Jiru didn't know an already small kid could make himself seem so much smaller while Rakuyo felt a pang of guilt at the way he'd viewed the brat barely a couple minutes ago.

Ace and Sabo were trying to kill people with twin glares while using the bond attempting to soothe and assure their baby brother. Luffy wasn't responding and they could only sense a deepening shadow enveloping the other's mind, the dragon having instinctively blocked them to prevent Ace and Sabo from being overwhelmed. When their Light, head tucked down close to his chest and eyes squeezed shut, flinched at hearing the word "monster" spoken again, Ace snapped.

Fire roars outwards, sending the remaining onlookers and the unfortunately-too-close scrambling to keep from getting burned. At the same instant, both the blond and fire-wielder bellowed at the offenders, "SHUT-UP, YOU DAMN BASTARDS!"

Having spent the most time around them, the First, Fourth, and Fifth Commanders are amazed Sabo is capable of being as loud as Ace. He's shouted around them before and also yelled on several occasions, of course. However, in the Trio he is often the quieter sibling and the one who calms and tempers the other two. That Sabo's icy anger can somehow hold the same heat as Ace's fiery temper is unsettling because, although they've seen the younger blond's rage, it was never like this.

"We don't call them that when they're around…"

"Fuck," Marco sighs, feeling as if he were dunked in cold seawater.

Thatch, seeing his older adopted brother pale and jerk to a standstill, heads over to see what happened. Vista joins them and listens as Marco tells them to pay attention to what is being said. Whitebeard, overhearing their conversation, does so as well. All three stiffen in abrupt comprehension, the captain pushing out a fleeting wave of Conqueror's Haki to get his children under control.

Ace's flames snuff out as he and Sabo stagger under the assault, dropping the fish to the ground between them. Sabo turns azure eyes that glimmer like ice onto the Captain's giant figure, mirrored by Ace's molten silver. The Whitebeard Pirates on-deck, who'd fallen quiet as they stumbled under the pressure, stared up at their father before cringing at the withering yellow gaze; feeling ashamed at the disappointment they saw directed at them.

"You will clean this deck and have it spotless before returning to your bunks for the night. No dinner. Thatch?" The Fourth bit his lip, conflicted over the order from his captain. Eventually, he gave in with a hesitant nod.

Thatch did not at all like the idea of his brothers going without food. As both a chef and their brother, he hated seeing them hungry. However, even he is pissed at them for how they'd acted so insensitively. They'd all been told not to call or refer to any of the Trio with that word on this ship and yet many had callously done that right in front of the kid. As long Pops kept the 'no dinner' command to tonight the pompadoured chef could abide by it.

Ace and Sabo, eyes fading back to their more natural colors, silently watched as the giant Captain made eye-contact with each of the commanders and received a firm nod in return. Ace's anger still simmered beneath his skin, fire bright and hot flaring in tiny wisps along his arms and hands. Then the fire doused, grey eyes going wide. Sabo wondered at the shift from barely contained anger (which he knew still exuded from himself) to the cold confusion and worry he sensed in the other's mind. It only took a moment for him to take stalk of their current circumstance to grasp what had unsettled Ace, a similar heavy stone thudding in Sabo's gut.

Their Light had vanished without alerting them. Their precious Lu who is still blocking them from his mind, too emotional to risk letting them in, and making it hard to find the dragon via their bond. Their baby brother who's so upset he's nearly erased his presence in his desperation to hide away.

Marco looked over in time to see two things: one, there were two brothers instead of three by the dead catfish; two, said two brothers were pale as hell and sprinting for the nearest door to below-deck. In a distant corner of his mind, the Phoenix-zoan recalled how none of the Trio had been wearing their iconic hats. Thatch, followed by Vista and Jozu, went up to Marco and effectively disrupted the stray observation from venturing any further.

"Since we're kinda off the hook with Pops, I need your help," Thatch started. Marco raised a brow, lazy expression back in place (though a few cracks ran through it since he was still a little edgy), sending inquiring glances at the two following behind.

"Suppose they are too, yoi?" Vista nodded, eyes flicking worriedly to the door the Ace and Sabo almost ripped off the hinges opening and disappearing behind.

Jozu grunted and replied, "Thatch wants to cook the fish."

'I said "prepare" not "cook",' said commander groused. Aloud, he dramatically snarked, "Heathen! Giant brute! Uncultured scallywag! There is a world of difference between 'preparing' a fish and merely 'cooking' one." At the unimpressed looks he received, Jozu pretending to remove a bit of wax from one of his ears, Thatch heaved a put-upon sigh. "Just carry the damn thing down to the kitchen and tell my idiot chef-cadre to not touch it."

The diamond-man shrugged and complied, a tiny smirk at the corner of his lips. If whatever Thatch has planned cheered up the little imp then he won't mind acting the part of a pack-mule. He may not be particularly fond of the brat (and he won't admit otherwise), but nobody should look that beaten-down and defeated. Especially the noisy, bouncy ball of enigma who has two over-protective brothers—though Jozu can understand some of that tendency after having witnessed the crazy imp jump overboard to catch a venomous fish, wrestle the giant fish, then wither in the face of some careless words; all in less than a half-hour too, dammit—wrapped in a tight knot around his fingers.

"What're me and Marco for?" Thatch beamed at his two brothers. The First Commander twitched, not liking the look one bit.

"Visty is gonna help with some slicin' and dicin'!"

"And me, yoi?" The pompadoured chef's grin grew bigger.

"Some paralyzing venom shouldn't be an issue with your abilities, right Pineapple-Head?"

---

In a dark cubby hidden in a small closet, Luffy has himself swaddled up in a spare blanket while huddled in a corner. He'd escaped from the attention outside right as his big brothers' tempers flared, using the distraction for all it was worth to get away.

Somewhere in him, he'd hoped that this sídna might like him—want him—like they want Atce and then Sávbó.

Yeah, many of those out on-deck hadn't really talked to him like some of the Commanders, but the majority would always throw him a "hello" or "good morning/afternoon/evening" if they saw him. They were nice to him and would sometimes show concern and worry if they saw him doing something that, to them, is dangerous. And, though it would make his Sun and Sea jealous and a little angry, those Humans would occasionally call him their "soon-to-be little brother"—he would 'look' and sense little else besides curiosity and interest plus a sense that they truly believed what they told him.

It's weird to Lu because most who meet him and who are around him—be they animal, Human, etc.—are put off by him.

Animals catch his scent and they immediately know he is not what he seems. That, even in his Human form, part of him still registers as predatordangerous so they react with wariness; often deciding to either get away or become hostile.

Humans would get a feeling of notright, primal instincts trying to warn them, but most would ignore it (usually adults) and try to treat him like any other of their kind. Kids were more sensitive, generally listening to their subconscious' whispers, and would act much like the animals: avoid Lu or bully him. The fact that he was much stronger than children (plus most adults) only further alienated the dragon when he was young—still does to this day. That he had to learn how to be Human, or at least act like one, certainly doesn't help his case.

When Waves told him and Fire about Fishmen and Merfolk and how the World generally treated them, Luffy had been as excited as Sabo to meet them. They were a people he could actually relate to! Perhaps they might be able to accept him, understand him, because of their similar situations. Luffy should've known better. The second they caught a whiff of the Human-shaped dragon, the seafolk shied away while looking at him with eyes filled with confusion and caution. Then that one mean shark-lady pointed at him and started shouting. Those eyes following him and the ones who owned them radiated nothing but fear, hate, disdain, outrage, disgust, and rejection. It hurt. These people, whose home reminded Lu of the "cities" his kind had built or been welcomed in that he saw in memories-that-weren't-his… A place that shined bright with color and felt warm and kind… It hurt to know that he is nothing more than a hated monster—a reviled devil—to even these diverse peoples.

At that point, he resolved himself with the knowledge that the only ones who could or would ever truly see Luffy as Luffy were his Treasures, Shanks and a few of his crew, Makino, Gramps (maybe)…and that one guy who was the first Descendant he'd met. Seven, for sure, Humans who loved him and accepted him. Eight if Gramps' "love" counted, though Lu wasn't sure about the 'acceptance' portion. Then one unknown Human who at least cared about him despite knowing he is a Drakkón.

Lu stared blankly at the fingers acting as placeholders for the aforementioned people. Specifically, at the unused finger(s). 'I thought it was more…' The number somehow seemed bigger in his head until he counted them out. Fingers folded until two were left; the number of people who have stayed with him through everything. Who continue to stay with him.

He clenched his hands, hiding them in the folds of fabric to erase the sight. Curling more into a ball, he sits in silence in the dark.

'Stupid. So stupid!'

His actions…losing control for a moment…might have completely derailed his plans—hopes—that these Humans might take Atce and Sávbó under their wings and protect them. Protection they needed because, although it raises his hackles to admit it, none of them are strong enough to protect each other from those targeting them. Yes, the fledgling had been pissed that the Alpha of this sídna had stolen his Ace—the thought still irks him, honestly. But they had done it because they wanted Ace to join their flight. Become a wing-brother of theirs. If they got Ace to 'fly' with them then Sabo would follow. Both his brothers would be protected by a powerful sídna! Alpha Old Banana-Mustache Man said that Luffy could stay even if he didn't join so the dragon didn't have to worry about being separated from his asalkynn.

He curled tighter. 'Stupidstupidstupid!'

Being around these Humans… People so different from one another in so very many ways, yet still called one another wing-brothers and scale-brothers. Still saw one another as valued members in the same Flight and led by an Alpha who calls them scale-sons and –daughters.

Luffy hadn't been aware that he held a wish—a tiny, fragmented spark of hope—that maybe this sídna would welcome him, too.

Not until he was met with the scene above. The same one he experienced over and over and over again since he lost her. The one where others realized how odd and different Luffy is, in actions and behavior, from them. How "weird" or "freakish" or "not normal" he is compared to them. A monster.

That tiny budding hope that had been growing, and doing so without his conscious knowing it, died and shriveled. Stamped out by the slap of rejection he received and the reminder of his world's reality.

For something he wasn't aware of, that spark's death hurt so deeply. He should be used to it. It's happened so many times. So whywhywhy did this hurt?!

His skin burned with need to Shift; the desire to cover himself in scales for protection in this vulnerable state. To be in his other form that hummed with strength. To have his wings wrap around him, shielding him from the feeling of rejection and shattered hope. His throat and chest ached like he swallowed a barrel of seawater, the inside stinging as if needles were lodged in it. His head throbbed; mind a jumbled mess between the emotional pain and physical discomfort.

Gripping himself tighter, like he's trying to hold himself together, Luffy keened. The broken sound high-pitched and raspy despite coming out no louder than a whisper.

---

He'd been on his way to the deck from one of the lounges, sensing a commotion up there for some time now and finally curious enough to investigate. He was couple turns from reaching the ladder—because stairs that steep were not considered 'stairs' anymore—when he spotted the weird Strawhat Fry, blood staining his front, hands and face, race for a closet and throw himself inside.

Deciding this seemed more important than whatever the hell was occurring up top, Namur follows.

Turning down the other hall, he walked over to the—

'Closet. What is the fry doing in a closet?' And why was he covered in blood of all things?

Getting closer, Namur peeks in through the crack. Nothing. The room is dark but it's small and filled with shelves along the walls. Still, he couldn't spot Strawhat anywhere inside (not that there were really any places to hide in the little closet). However, the strong scent of salt, blood and fish—'Probably the source of the blood, unless the weird fry bit Marco again.'—tells the fishman otherwise. The fry is in there even if the Eighth Commander can't visually see the boy.

Taking a step back, he looks up and down the corridor and listens for the sound of thundering steps. The older pair never leave the youngest unsupervised, one always within eyesight of the straw-hatted fry. He doesn't want to deal with their antics on the off-chance they blame him for something that may or may not have happened to Strawhat. Or get twitchy because their "precious baby brother" was alone with a "stranger" without Big Brothers Ace and Sabo—yes, that deserves caps with the two's behavior from what's been seen and heard—around to defend him. But a quick search of the immediate area reveals no overprotective siblings coming after the fry.

Namur debates leaving the brat to his own devices or going back and figuring out what's up with the hatless fry.

The fishman isn't fond of kids. They're loud, spoiled little brats who, more often than not, run in fear at the sight of him, call him something degrading or ask degrading things, or… Kids are noisy little terrors that he doesn't like being around due to the amount of headaches they cause. There!

Commander Namur does not like normal brats and the Strawhat Fry is worse. The fourteen-year-old (what a shock that was to learn) is loud, hyper, causes mayhem (either on directions from the older two or on his own with the older pair helping), makes no sense half the time when he speaks, behaves oddly, is in a weird relationship with Ace and Sabo… And causes a shiver to go down the fishman's spine whenever he locks eyes with the fry while his instincts beg him to be watchful and wary of the teen.

Looking over his shoulder at the barely open door, the Division Commander's shoulders slump a few seconds later. "Dammit," Namur grumbles.

Turning away from the closet, the fishman begins his trek for the kitchen (since it's closer than the nearest bathroom). He may not really like the small brat, or kids in general, but he clearly saw the distraught look under the messy appearance. The hatless fry's expression, although it was just a glimpse, held pain, defeat, fear and sadness. Like the little Devil Fruit user was about to be chucked in the sea to drown and was completely resigned to the fact. Namur isn't so cold he'd knowingly leave the weird fry alone when the brat's like that.

Which is why, not long after, the Eighth Commander is back in front of the slightly ajar door with a damp, warm towel in his hand. He still couldn't see the small teen, the odor of blood and fish remained but that could've been left behind if the kid had decided to relocate. Namur knew that wasn't the case because, unlike his initial visit, this time he could hear muffled, strained breaths and a very depressing hoarse whine. If you were just walking by or the hall from the door, neither of the sounds would be heard or noticed. The pained cries emitting from the small fry were eerily like a tamer, less despairing version of the keening wails Marco had made in his Phoenix form when their old Second Division Commander had died.

Namur shook his head, pushing away the morbid thought. Raising the hand not clutching the wet towel, he knocked lightly on the doorjamb. "Small fry?"

The sound jolted the dragon, finally bringing the extra presence to his attention. 'Go away, go away!' The voice isn't immediately recognized so he's having trouble placing the identity of the other. Luffy also doesn't like that someone other than his asalkynn found him.

"Strawhat?" The fishman wants the kid's permission to enter. Some sort of response other than the brat going quiet. He knows that if he goes in before then he could be attacked; not good since he still can't see where the fry is. The kid's presence is barely registering through Namur's liberal use of Observation Haki, so he really is clueless on where the brat's hiding. "I saw you come in here."

Well shit. Looks like Luffy couldn't pretend to not be here then. He can't quite recall the owner of the deep voice and he didn't want to risk the use of kisú in his current condition to find out. Since his throat continues to feel constricted and his head is pounding, the dragon can only manage a miserable mutter of "leave".

'Brat sounds terrible.' If he was going to call it quits and leave before, the commander certainly isn't going to now. Not after hearing that. "Can I come in?" Luffy gives a hoarse growl.

Namur tries to think back on what he's heard about the Trio, especially Strawhat, from his fellows. He knows there's a way to get near when one of them is like this. Some sort of keyword or phrase—

"I want to give you something…" 'Promise! They said to make a promise,' he finally remembers. But about what? He eyes the dark room and listens how his gut warns to be careful. "Promise it's nothing bad. Just a towel. I'll leave once you take it."

Luffy shifts around in his corner. 'Forgot,' he mused, taking a small sniff and remembering the blood from his kill. It doesn't usually bother him as he normally washes himself after a fight or kill to keep his scales clean (or skin, as the case may be). He hesitates though. The dragon is in a small space and the other—Fishman, he finally identifies from the scent just now wafting to him—could easily pen him in.

The commander opens the door a little wider to get a better view of the room. As he looks about, he spots a pile of rags that have been knocked over on one of the lower shelves in the corner of the room. 'Must be hiding over there.' Not good. Strawhat Fry registers more like an animal than a person to him (mostly from what he's seen and been told); cornering anything when it's upset is a recipe for disaster.

"Fry, if you want you can come get it? I won't do anything," he offers. Should be a reasonable compromise, giving the brat the choice to stay in his hiding spot or approach him. Better than invading the fry's space right now.

Lu tenses at the offer, debating whether he should risk coming out or not. His head throbs again, making his task of trying to think clearly through mire clouding his mind more difficult. Eventually, he concedes to the need to wash some of the dried blood off. It's making his itchy skin worse.

Shuffling to the cubby's entrance, remaining cocooned in his blanket to hide his reflective eyes and messy appearance, Luffy peeks up at the intruding Commander. Namur remains still and relaxed right in the closet's entryway as the younger pirate looks him over, trying to make his large body less threatening to the teen. The dragon eyes the wet towel before resting his hidden gaze on the big pirate's face.

"Why?" Namur frowns at the quiet, suspicion-laden voice, not quite understanding what he's being asked.

"Eh? Why what?" The blanket-clad figure shifts the direction of its gaze to the towel dripping onto the floor then back up at the Commander's confused face.

"Big Shark-Guy like others," Luffy mumbles out, thinking of those he met in the undersea city as well as several other people who avoided him after becoming unnerved by his presence. "Don't like Luffy, so why help?"

Namur is a little surprised the small pirate noticed the fishman's behavior, seeing as he hadn't been obvious in his attempts to avoid the Trio (specifically Luffy). Taking things from how the brat must view them the commander's actions could be seen as suspicious. Strawhat isn't quite wrong in his assumption that Namur doesn't like him…

'But I did sorta say I'd try to get to know them better,' he sighs.

The dragon catches the larger male's shoulders slump in a meager shrug as they mumble under their breath. Taking a second to tell his whispering instincts to quiet, choosing to go ahead with what his gut told him instead, the Eighth Commander opened the door to halfway before taking a few steps back. Luffy, trying to keep focused on his surroundings and also ignore the tumult festering in his head, wondered at the other's retreat. When the Fishman was almost at the opposite side of the hall from the door he sat down, crossing his legs underneath him with his lower back resting against the wall. Lu quietly and carefully made his way out of the cubby, curious as to why the Fishman would back off, but didn't venture further than in front of the low shelf blocking the hideaway's entrance. Though it was hard, Namur managed to see the younger pirate's movements within the semi-shadows. Once the boy stopped moving, the commander spoke up, trying to keep his somewhat gravelly voice low and non-threatening (only partially succeeding as he isn't used of making this kind of effort).

"I don't like human brats in general," Namur opened, deciding to be blunt. "I also don't know you, or your brothers, enough to claim if I like you or not." The dragon listened quietly, rubbing a bloody hand against his forehead in a vain move to alleviate the throbbing ache behind it. "But Pops wants you three around and I'm gettin' tired o' Thatch, Izou and Vista badgerin' me." Namur sighed and rubbed his own head in mild frustration before relenting, "And I'm not callous enough to ignore a brat, human or not, that's as…upset as you are." Luffy perked up hearing that.

'Maybe…not like others? Not mean, but nice?' He didn't want to hope too much, wincing at the stark reminder of the event topside. But…maybe this Fishman would be more like Big Blue-Guy—'Jinbor' or 'Jinbeam' Sabo had called him—who had been way nicer and politer to the dragon than the Seafolk he'd met previously. (Granted, the big Fishman had been more focused on defeating Ace at the time… And, because of said previous meeting with similar peoples, Luffy hadn't gotten very close to the other…)

The pungent aroma of blood and fish is overpowering so Lu couldn't get an accurate read of the Commander's scent. Grudgingly, the dragon opens his mind a sliver and briefly touches against the Fishman's, just the barest amount to establish the validity and honesty behind the other's words. It's difficult; requiring Luffy to slog through the turmoil of his own mind and set it aside, along with the burning desire to rake his blunt nails over his skin, to properly 'read' Namur. But he manages and gains the feeling of his brain pulsing in his skull as a reward.

The fishman commander in question is admittedly stunned to find a small hand (or what's likely a hand, considering the thing is covered in a blanket) grasp the edge of the closet door. Luffy pushes the door, opening it a margin wider, and stands just inside the entryway. The dragon, seeing as this person found him anyway, drops the effort of masking his presence—from his brothers and any making the effort to search for him at least. Namur notices the change but doesn't bring it up, instead holding out the damp, now cold instead of warm, towel to the smaller male. Lu bites his lip and wavers, not wanting to let go of his meager comfort in having the blanket around him. In the end, seeing the Fishman lower the towel and about to set off to the side plus the uncomfortable itch of blood flaking off his hide decides for him.

Namur blinks, startled at the abrupt stretching of the thin limb to reach the towel in his hand before watching it snap back to the fry's petite frame. The blanket-less, blood-splattered fry sporting a face scrunched in what looks to be pain. The dragon gets to work scrubbing off the dried blood, keeping the larger individual in his sights all the while.

"Where're your brothers at?" Luffy glances up at the Commander and shrugs.

"Coming." They were probably mad, too, that he hid even from them. He's not looking forward to that, or for the questions they were probably (definitely) going to ask.

"Hn." Wanting to find out why the hatless fry looks how he does, keeping his tone mild and voice "gentle", Namur asks, "Why were you hiding in the closet?" The smaller pirate freezes, darting a quick look at the Commander's face.

Continuing with his self-cleaning, the dragon stammers out, "W-wasn't hiding. Not-not at all." He doesn't want to talk about it. What if Big Shark-Guy turned out like the others?

"Hm? 'Kay." Going for a different angle that would, hopefully, get some answers, the Eighth tries, "Then, why are you upset?" Luffy sits down atop his pilfered blanket, towel clutched loosely in his hands.

He really, really didn't want to talk about this. Worrying the off-white towel covered in splotches of rust-red and grimy, yellowish slime, Namur raises a brow when timid dark eyes rise to lock on the area of his nose. "Why does Shark-Guy wanna know?"

Namur huffs at the nickname but doesn't say anything against it. People have called him worse, using his status as a fishman to insult him, and it's better than "Pineapple-Head" or "Pom-Pom". The brat doesn't make the name sound insulting or derogatory so he's willing to let it slide. "Like I said, I'm not a callous person who'll ignore an obviously distraught brat." The raven's brows furrowed, not fully recognizing the words Namur used and thereby throwing off his understanding of what the Commander was trying to say. Correctly interpreting the dragon's predicament, Namur just bluntly throws out, "You looked upset and I got worried." Another huff, this one more of amusement, escaped the large fishman when the fry's face lit up with comprehension.

Unfortunately, for Namur who didn't understand why, Luffy's features swiftly twisted into confusion. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why 'worried'?"

"I already said! I saw you running off all upset."

"But why would that make Shark-Guy worry?"

"I told you—" Namur broke off and stared at the little brat seated in front of him. Luffy waited, eyes never venturing further north than the Commander's chest. Scowling, the fishman replied grumpily, "I didn't like seeing you upset because it made me upset. There." The dragon's eyes widened hearing that, confirmation of the words' truthfulness evident in the steady rhythm of the older male's heartbeat (much easier to focus on than trying to emotionally read the other). He frowned when Namur continued, "Now. Why were you upset?"

'Damn,' he thought. Luffy twisted the towel in his hands, not wanting to speak but not liking the silence right now either. He debated telling the Commander and seeing his reaction but feared it would turn out like many prior encounters involving this type of subject.

"Does… Does Shark-Guy like fish? Like eating them?" Namur blinked at the odd question but nodded. Yes, he ate fish; many merpeople and fishmen at fish. Hesitantly, Lu ventured, "Umm, does Shark-Guy…eat raw fish?" He snuck a glance up at the Fishman's face, darting his dark browns back to the chest after catching sight of Namur's growing frown.

Thinking he now had a vague clue as to where this might be headed, Namur answered lightly, "Yeah, I sometimes eat raw fish. It's called 'sushi', Thatch sometimes makes it if I ask." Luffy puzzled over the new word, silently mouthing it to himself. The commander felt like chuckling at the kid until he remembered the reason behind the brat's question. "Did someone," it had to be Namur's fellow crewmates, "get upset that you ate raw fish, Strawhat?" Luffy hunched his shoulders but gave a shallow nod. Eyeing the blood on the towel, Namur went on, "Did they say mean things?" A pause, then a second shallow nod.

Namur leaned back against the wall a little more, not having realized he'd been gradually leaning towards the dragon. Some of the building tension in Luffy's body ebbed at the move, though he remained tuned into the Commander's heartbeat which had picked up its pace by a few beats. With most of the fish blood and slime off him it's easier to scent the older pirate's shifting moods, though not by much. The Eighth Commander now felt worried for different reason, no longer as confident that the blood on the towel wasn't perhaps some of his siblings'. When Luffy had first mentioned the subject of eating raw fish, Namur'd instantly pictured that being the source of the blood. However, if his brothers had tried to do something about the weird fry eating said fish raw then…

'Might as well ask. Won't get anywhere wondering about it.' Narrowing black eyes on the smaller figure, he inquires, "Did you get upset by what was said?" Luffy clenches the towel tighter.

He can smell the beginnings of something akin to anger in the Fishman. The dragon remained quiet, only giving a third small nod in answer. Maybe it would've been better to never ask. To have ignored the other's concern and his own—stupid, feeble—hope that someone might try to understand him like his brothers do.

Trying to keep his voice low—really hating how this was not one of his strong suits, not that he possessed any social know-how when speaking to kids or people not of his family—Namur soldiered on. He needed to know what led to the brat getting covered in blood. "What happened when you got upset?" Lu hesitated, not entirely certain about how to answer. "Did anyone get hurt?" A tinge of guilt hit Namur when the little raven cringed at that question.

Quietly, hoping the Fishman might understand, the dragon murmured, "Luffy didn't like what the H-they were saying... How they looked at Luffy… Ace and Sabo got mad but…but Luffy… Luffy just wanted to get away." The fledgling glanced up in time to catch a look of relief flash across Namur's face.

It quickly degenerated into one of scorn and irritation, confusing the dragon and causing the younger to stiffen at the rapid change.

Pointing behind Luffy at the closet, whose entrance the fry is seated in, Namur says, "That's why you were in there." Lu nods at the not-question. Namur huffs and sits back again, grumbling about idiotic siblings with no filters between their heads and mouth. Luffy cants his head, not quite understanding why someone would have a "filter" stuck in their head. Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

Still, it doesn't sound like the Fishman is mad at him. Or disgusted at hearing why the dragon had had blood on him. It's actually a small comfort to know that someone else, besides Atce and Sávbó, thought eating raw things is fine.

"Shark-Guy likes raw fish, right?" Namur shifts his gaze back onto the small pirate, who's now looking up at his face with something like…

'Hope? Why would Strawhat Fry look hopeful about that?' Curious as to where this line of questioning might go, and also sticking with his commitment of endeavoring to learn about the Trio, the commander grunts and nods in affirmation.

Luffy weakly grins. "So, Luffy liking raw fish isn't…weird?"

'Uh… Ooooh…' Well, that certainly explains the oddly hopeful air surrounding the brat. There's too many questions that pop up in the commander's head courtesy of that one innocent query. Chief among them being something along the lines of 'what the hell did I miss', followed closely by a need to find Marco and question his feathered butt on what the hell happened. Maybe find one of those brothers of the fry's and see if they might shed some light on this odd kid before him. Until then…

"No. It's not weird."

Lu's grin brightened, the young pirate absolutely delighted at the Fishman's answer. Luffy wriggles in place, bad mood quickly dispersing (read: shoved to the back of his mind to be dealt with later—or never), happy that he found someone who seems to genuinely like the same things as him. Food-wise, of course.

Taking in the excited gleam, Namur responds, "Why would eating raw fish be weird?" He's already mentioned that he liked sushi; several of his ship-mates also enjoy Thatch's sushi.

"Dunno. Everyone just acts funny or says mean things when Luffy eats it." Namur huffs.

Eyeing the small pirate, the commander holds out a hand. Luffy stares at it, confused, until the Fishman gestures at the towel in his hand. "You missed a spot."

The dragon checks over himself but doesn't find anything except the stains on his clothes. When Namur casually motions to hand him the towel again, Luffy hesitates. The other male hasn't done anything to hurt him. Or do anything bad to him. Compared to the other Fish-people, this one has been very nice to the dragon. It takes a few more moments before Luffy, slowly, gets up and inches toward Namur. The commander stays very still, waiting until the fry stops just within arm's reach and holds the towel out for him. Taking it, Namur carefully raises it to Luffy's forehead and gently wipes away the swipe of blood sitting there. The dragon analyzes each movement the other makes, eyes tracking the hand and Namur wants to chuckle at how the brat goes momentarily cross-eyed trying to keep his hand in sight.

When he finished, Namur dropped the dirty towel on the floor next to him. Lu, sensing his brothers would be there in a couple more minutes, thanked "Mur-Mur" for his help. Stunned at the sudden name-change, Namur blankly watched as the dragon backed up a couple feet before plopping onto the floor, a bright grin adorning Lu's face once he focused back on the Fishman. Luffy filled the time asking Mur-Mur what kind of fish he liked the best to eat and why. Too dazed by the new nickname and wondering about the younger's reasons for doing so, Namur absently answered the rather inane line of questions.

---

Marco, after joining the search for little Strawhat, is internally grumbling to himself about going along with stupid Thatch's equally stupid ideas—not that he wouldn't have helped anyway after seeing the devastated look on Luffy's face; just that he did not appreciate the uncomfortable spare moments of numbing paralysis thanks to accidentally poking himself on those stupid barbs—when he comes upon Haruta crouched at the corner of two intersecting halls. Silently stalking up behind his youngest (for now) brother, Marco peeks around the edge to see what the other is so engrossed with…and stills.

Bending down, the phoenix deftly clamps a hand around the Twelfth Commander's mouth at the same time an arm wraps about the smaller torso like an iron band. In one, swift motion the First lifts the smaller commander off the ground and pins him against the blond's front. "Go tell Thatch that the Trio will be coming soon yoi," he quietly whispers into the redhead's ear. Getting a nod from Haruta, who stops struggling at the sound of his voice, Marco quietly sets him on the ground.

Understanding that he needs to be quiet, Haruta rushes off to do as asked (ordered). Tracking the retreating figure, the blond-haired commander makes a note to inquire what his sibling overheard at a later time (tonight or tomorrow). Marco sneaks another glance to see Namur setting the red-stained cloth on the floor.

"Mur-Mur is nice… Thanks, Mur-Mur!" The smile is different from the others he's seen on the kid's face. Smaller, though somehow just as bright as the large ones that practically glow, if not brighter.

Ducking back around the corner's edge, remaining unseen to the other corridor's sole occupants, Marco eavesdrops on their conversation while pondering what he's just witnessed. Simply recalling the image of Luffy actually allowing Namur to wipe the blood—what else could have been on the teen's face that required cleaning off?—from the other has a flare of jealousy rolling through the phoenix against his will. It's a terrible feeling and he hates that he feels such a thing at all… However he can't quite help himself.

He and Thatch, later joined by Vista and Izou, and then Pops, had been working to get the Trio to trust them enough to do something like this for the past few weeks. Weeks! Yet Namur, who hasn't spent more than a grand total of maybe ten minutes in any of the Trio's presence combined since that first day, was just let into that "forbidden" personal space the three brothers constantly maintain. And so easily. What in the flaming hell had Namur—the same commander who'd been avoiding the Trio when Marco last questioned him (also unashamedly confessing to outright avoiding Luffy)—done to get this reaction?

His Phoenix feels miffed at the knowledge, too. Although Strawhat's scent ruffled its feathers and made it leery of the young teen, the firebird in him has developed an interest in the kid the more time Marco's spent with Luffy. It's nowhere near the level of fascination the bird-half of Marco holds for Ace—the commander blames that on the bird's attraction to fire—but Marco isn't having to settle the Phoenix down every time he's by the youngest sibling anymore. Progress. (Though, that might also have to do with the Phoenix preening under the attention it received from the Trio whenever they caught him flying above the ship. Even Marco relished the sense of smug pride upon witnessing the looks of envy and awe plastered on the three's faces.)

Moving on… Why does Luffy appear more relaxed speaking with Namur than when he's with him, Pops, or one of the other commanders? Two presences he's gotten used of being on alert for rapidly closing on their location reminded Marco of another important factor.

'Ace and Sabo weren't around yoi.' He blinked. The thought clanged, bouncing off the walls of his mind as it sank in. 'Luffy let Namur touch him and Ace and Sabo weren't around!'

Might Bay's theory of the older pair of brother's unusual show of possessiveness, theoretically "masked as protectiveness" (according to the female doctor), concerning the youngest sibling carry some validity? Could that have something to do with Luffy's behavior? The lack of his brothers influencing Luffy to allow others closer to him?

The First Commander doesn't want to think that his potential new brothers are psychologically manipulating the runt like Bay is alluding to. In fact, he's fairly damn sure that isn't the case with the enigmatic Trio. But…he can't say with a hundred percent certainty that his adopted sister is wrong, either (no matter how much he wishes otherwise).

Eyes closed, a hand rises to pinch the bridge of his nose, the back of the blond's head gently 'thunking' against the wooden wall he's leaning against. 'Three weeks and we know next to nothing about them, yoi.' A self-deprecating smirk works into being at the thought. The scene from before, his ship-brothers' reaction to Luffy's casual display of raw power and animalistic behavior, has Marco frowning.

'Too secretive…' The blond commander can't see any of the Trio as being "normal" teens with a pleasant past. Not with how they act or how easily they hide, both physically and using words. Yes, the Whitebeards (mostly Pops and a select few commanders) have learned lots about the Trio from observing them and talking to them. 'But never something they aren't concerned about letting slip, yoi.'

Any info they've learned from the Trio is inane and relatively useless (barring the discovery of what sets Ace/Sabo/Luffy off into a spree of violence). Nothing is given away about who they were (as pirates or individuals) prior to the debut of the Spades. There's rumors Marco and the others are working off of, but nothing substantiating or solidifying regarding the Trio's past. Izou, Haruta and he have been struggling for any worthwhile leads on the three brothers' lives and they are getting nowhere. Despite the best efforts of their information network, it's like the Trio sprang up out of thin air one day and declared themselves pirates.

Hearing the pounding 'thump thump thump' of what can only be two worried and very protective brothers, Marco drops his hand and leans over to snatch another glance at the Eighth Commander and Strawhat. Namur is looking very lost and confused as he stares down at a grinning, jabbering Luffy.

Marco needs to speak with his fishman brother about what he missed prior to sending Haruta off.

Ace and Sabo come sliding around the far corner at the corridor's other end, the latter noticing his presence off the bat. If the oldest sibling knows he's here, Ace doesn't show it. Both brothers are careening for the smaller of the sitting pirates, tackling him into the ground and rolling in a tangled mass for a handful of feet. During a flurry of "Are you alright?", "Where were you?" and "How are you?", Marco finds that Ace is aware of his presence thanks to the suspicious glare tossed his way. (Namur receives a double-dose of the same until Luffy squeezes the glaring duo in a tight hug, redirecting Ace and Sabo back to fussing over the youngest's condition.)

Namur got up (grabbing the discarded towel on the way) and started walking towards Marco. As he passed the three younger pirates, Luffy chirped, "Thanks, Mur-Mur!"

His fellow commander looked down at the boy, grunted out something that sounded like "sure", and then kept going. When the fishman drew even with Marco, the phoenix gave his brother a we-need-to-talk look. Namur peered over his shoulder at the Trio before giving the blond Whitebeard a barely perceptible nod. As the Eighth left down the opposite hall Marco stepped out of his spot and into full view of the younger pirates, casually leaning against the corner with his arms crossed. He didn't want to box the brats in and this would give them the most room to go around him if they wished to leave.

"Thatch-yoi says dinner's ready." Three multi-colored pairs of eyes fixed on Marco. He bit back the urge to sigh seeing Ace and Sabo nudge Luffy into the small space between the duo, placing the fire-teen at the front and Sabo at the back. "Your fish is there too, Luffy. With that thing's damn venom-sacs removed and set aside for you three," Marco added, the last part coming out a bit more bitter than he meant. He rubbed a hand, which had the unfortunate fate of getting pricked during the ordeal, against his side.

Luffy had a mystified expression on his face, head resting on Ace's right shoulder. Sabo was running a hand through Strawhat's hair like he's petting the smaller teen, the sea-blue orbs scrutinizing Marco. Frowning, features a cross between the youngest brother's confusion and his own (typical) suspicion, Ace asks, "What you mean?"

"When you three left, Thatch had the fish brought to the kitchen so it wouldn't go to waste. Said something about it being 'Luffy's big catch so he should get to enjoy it', yoi. He also wanted to add the fish to some pasta he was cooking." The Phoenix-zoan paused for a moment seeing Strawhat's happy smile. "Idiot roped me into removing the damn sacs and barbs for him, yoi, seeing as Sabo wanted them."

The annoying smirk on the younger blond's face answered Marco's unspoken question with an equally silent 'I know you'd love to know but I don't feel like sharing'.

"If you were wondering," the commander continued, seeing Ace and Sabo cast a hesitant eye at Luffy, "Thatch kept the fish raw with a few seasonings here and there. Said he doesn't get to make sushi often but since Luffy seems to really like raw fish he 'has a golden opportunity to show off his skills' yoi." Marco left out the chef's added words of "to my brothers-to-be"; however, the scowl on Ace's face shows the younger fire-user can guess what else Thatch had said.

"Ne," Luffy poked his brothers in the shoulder, "Mur-Mur said Thatchy makes good fish." Ace and Sabo look ready to question the younger raven, either over the monikers or taking up the Fourth's offer. Meanwhile, the phoenix's jaw almost drops to the floor in disbelief.

'The hell yoi?! Am I the only one who's still being called by some ridiculous name?' He's gotten beat out by Izou, a dog, Namur (who, again, spent less time with Strawhat than any of them), and now Thatch! Vista had better still be "Mini-Mustache" or "Sword Mustache Guy". There's nothing to worry about Jozu's nickname having been changed, though Marco is starting to pray that that doesn't change before his own. 'What are the damn requirements to getting rid of the stupid names yoi?'

Focusing back on the Trio, Marco finds them in the midst of another silent conversation. All the pineapple-head commander is privy to are a series of half-shrugs, scowls (mostly Ace but Sabo also makes one or two), heavy looks and a set of huffs as the older pair of siblings (apparently) give in to Luffy.

The smallest pirate grinned and listed, "Hat, then food, then bath."

"Lu… We don't know where Stefan is right now," Ace groaned.

"Probably waiting for Lu somewhere," Sabo sighed. Jabbing a finger into the younger raven's chest, the wavy-haired blond griped, "And I only agree to the bath coming last because you'll need a serious tooth and tongue scrubbing! That fish-slime-breath stench is horrid to deal with, Lu, so no backing out." Sabo wacked Luffy on the back of the head when the raven mockingly mouthed his brother's words, earning a chuckle from Ace and a smile from Marco.

"If you want to know where Stefan is," he paused until he had Ace and Sabo's attention, Luffy too busy trying to hit Sabo back, "I think I saw him near the mess hall—"

"Hat!" Luffy could've left a dust trail with how fast the brat took off. The remaining three pirates stared blankly after the runt until, shouting Strawhat's name, Ace and Sabo gave chase.

Marco stood there for a few more moments, his seemingly bored expression carrying an additional layer of blankness. 'Damn mood swings yoi.' At least the kid doesn't look depressed anymore.

The First Commander casually strolled back to the kitchen, debating whether or not to tell Thatch about the change of address. 'Nope. I won't be the one to tell, yoi. He'll just mock me for still being "Pineapple-Head".'

---

He's running.

Claws piercing the ground to help push him forward. Faster, faster. Twisting around and through the trees and shrubs, tail scraping off bark as it hit against them while acting as a counterbalance. Wings stay glued to his flanks, close but never touching the obstacles he dodges.

Scents of animals come and go, mixing with the steady aroma of dry wood, dirt, and decaying leaves. The wind laden with an omnipresent smell of water and salt, getting stronger as he races on.

Air rushes in and out of his lungs. Harsh breaths echo the rapid drumming of his heart just as the softer thump-thump-thump from two smaller pairs of feet echo large paws. The sounds permeate the dark woods. The shadows growing, swallowing him and those after him.

—Can't get caught! Can't lose!—

The two pairs of feet grow closer and closer. Their breaths faint against his own loud ones, but their curses and shouts are easily heard. A breathy bark shows his amusement when one stumbles over a bush he'd flattened seconds prior. It helps he can see better in the night than his pursuers.

He yelps in surprise when one of them lands on his back, just above his haunches. A growl and quick buck dislodge the other before they can get a proper hold.

—Tiredexhaustedthirstysore… Gogogo! Keep going!—

Faster faster faster! Lungs burn and ache, the chase has lasted for an hour but he needs to keep going! He can't stop. Won't stop. Won't lose!

Branches and leaves scrape against the scales of his face. Webs, vines and moss catch his horns. He pushes to go faster, claws grip and rip earth and root in his drive to reach sandy surf.

He's running.

Running for all he is worth and he is so happy!

Breaking through the final patch of scrub, he bugles his triumph at the sight of moonlit sand and surf. He barrels forward, leaping into the sea just as those after him finally make it onto the beach. A bellowed curse and a heaving, breathy laugh are cut off as cold water envelops him. Swimming lazily just outside the surf, feeling the sound of waves hitting beach ripple across his scaly hide, he waits a few minutes before tiredly floating to the surface.

His Treasures are laying on the beach and he can sense their exhaustion and frustration. Doesn't matter, he won! Won won won! He surges forward, wanting to be near his asalkynn and share his happiness with them.

—Happy! Proud! His Sun and Sea are getting stronger!—

Bounding out of the waves, he shakes off seawater and looks over to them—eyes closed, can't see him, too tired!—seeing they're catching their breath still.

Perfect perfect!

He creeps up to their side and quickly pounces on them, stretching to lay across them—but careful careful! Not squish! Just pin!—and lets rumbling chortles and yips tell them aloud how happy he is. His mind busy rubbing against theirs—he growls when his Waves shares the impression of a small cat purring, flicking sand onto the two with his tail in retaliation—and sharing his pride and happiness over his success and their attempts to catch him.

He becomes even happier when his brothers' frustration melts into laughter and pleas for him to let them go. He thrums and pretends to consider as they beat at his scaly hide, loving their laughter and enjoying the joy he senses from them.

He blinks.

Air freezes in his lungs and he can't breathe! Gone! His asalkynn aren't next to him anymore. Alone, he's alone!

—Nonono! Can't lose can't lose! Where where?!—

"C'mon, Lú! We need to go!"

He breathes again. —Not alone! Not left behind!—

Atce and Sávbó are a little down the beach, standing where the darker, thicker forest starts. He gets up, claws sinking into sand and small grains sliding off his scales and leathery wings. He begins padding over, gentle rasp of sand against his tail scales accenting the soft 'thump' of his strides.

"Hurry Lú, they'll see you!" Steps falter and slow.

—Confused. Ace and Sabo feel of panicfearworry, whywhywhy?—

It's night. Who will see?

He looks down but the tiny grains aren't touched with silver anymore. They're painted gold with brushes of rosy pink. Twisting his neck, he looks up and behind to find a rosy-orange sun above the sea…

A sea carrying ships closer and closer.

—Dread fear Danger! Runrunrun!—

He races forward and turns back to look for his brothers, icy fear coursing alongside the fire in his blood. He roars, an urge for them to movefleerunescape! They wait until he is beside them, scooping them onto his back and trying to runhideescape into the forest.

—Happy happy, waited and not left behind. So angrymadscaredterrified they'll suffer because of it!—

He blinks.

The awful scent of char and death surround him. He's smaller and the trees around him are burning. Smoke smothers him and he hears his Sun gag and Sea choke on it. A warble of confusion escapes him. The desperation, despair and fear of his brothers mixes and tangles with his own.

Tall figures lace the flames trapping his tiny kynsínya. The crackle of fire changing and shifting to include voices of hateragefear. The figures' misshapen and claw-like hands reaching to swipe at them, burn them!

"Demon!"

"Devil!"

"Monster!"

—Not true not true! Not evil, not a demon! His Sun and Sea wouldn't lie to him!—

He tries to protect his brothers—acceptancesafetylovefamily—but the touches burnhurtache just like the awful nottrue words hissing at him from the fire.

He blinks.

He's even smaller and his black—prettybeautifulshinyprotection—scales are gone! Gone and he's left with only soft hide covered in scratches and bruises and burns. He ducks down and covers his head, tears sliding down and stinging the cuts on his too-soft Human skin.

His Atce and Sávbó are small too and trying to shield him from the hateful fire. New figures, some small like him and others much taller and bigger, with barely familiar voices—ones he hasn't heard in years—appear in the blaze. More words and touches of burning fire blister against him.

"Freak!"

"Weirdo!"

"—Monster! Don't get close!"

"Freakish child—"

"He's not normal—"

"Dangerous, stay away!"

He cries more when he sees his precious Sun and Sea are being hurt over and over trying to protect him from the familiar words and voices. Listens to the voices shift from the old words to the previous ones, leaping back and forth. He criesbegspleads for his brothers— his Treasures!—to get awayawayaway!

The fire-words-touches burn and claw at his only remaining family and it's all his fault! Those words are meant for him but they are being hurt because he was careless and now they are being hurthurthurthurt!

He looks up to plead with them again—

Runrun leave save! Go!

Beg his only family to get away—

—Don't leave! Hate aloneleftbehind! Helphelp please!—

And wails in despair when he sees dull amethyst staring down at him.

---

The Drakkón fledgling jolted awake. Harsh gasps, their near-silence born from years of forced habit, endeavored to suck in the cool oxygen around him. Luffy quickly went about reining in his chaotic thoughts and emotions, forcing the roiling mess into a tight, controlled ball within him. The dragon didn't want his brothers sensing his distress and waking. They needed more sleep than him.

To help, he tried centering himself in the now like Sabo had taught him. Feeling the soft blanket spread over him and his big brothers (Ace having gathered most of it from how it stretches across Lu's front). The salt-water-wood-air scent of the wind swirling down into the crow's nest they'd nested in, bringing with it the light oiled canvas-cloth smell of the sails and mixing it with his siblings' unique scents. The feathery-soft-but-firm pillow against his lower back, feeling added pressure to either side from where Ace and Sabo's heads lay against it.

(The dark, unwanted memories, brought to the fore by his nightmare, began to recede. The balled mass of negativity began settling, no longer threatening to burst at the seams.)

Two hands slid away. One to rest delicately on the older raven's chest, right above the heart, the other mirroring it on the blond's body. Luffy's gasping slowly ceased as he took in the feel of two hearts beating beneath his palms. Felt air casually being drawn into each set of lungs to be gently exhaled a few beats later. Felt the firm muscles moving under his palms; one chest a couple degrees warmer than his own, the other a couple degrees cooler.

(Alive. Both his Treasures are alive. Not hurt. Not injured. Not gone. He isn't alone.)

Lu takes in a deep breath, holding it for a count of seven, and then gradually releases it along with the residual tension in his frame. He repeats the exercise once. Twice. By the third, the dragon has calmed considerably; the ball of fearpainhurtloss more manageable and less threatening now, floating almost harmlessly in his inner-mind. It will need to be addressed and dealt with…but not right now.

Opening his eyes and sitting up a little from his slouched position against the wall of the lookout basket, Luffy turns his gaze upward to the night sky.

Thankfully, the dream-turned-nightmare hadn't been nearly bad enough to shake the thick walls he'd erected around his mind prior to sleeping. That would've been bad. Sabo and Ace can't be mentally in-sync with him when he sleeps; napping, sure, though only lightly. Luffy's—Drakkón minds are too different to a Human's when they sleep. His dreams are emotionally heavy and also sensory-heavy. Compared to the dreams Sabo and Ace often have—which they sometimes allow him to 'watch'— that are merely disjointed impressions strung together into a whole picture, his are too much like being awake in the real world. In Luffy's dreams, the environment is almost an exact replica of what he experiences when awake: the sea smells like the sea, he can feel the resistance and give of the ground against his paws, hear the 'snap' and 'swish' of the branches breaking against his body as he runs by, the working of his muscles under his hide… And he is (emotionally) prone to being more reactive to undesirable situations than if it were real.

It took only one really bad nightmare—Sabo had called it a 'night-terror'—to accidentally send his precious asalkynn into a three-day coma. Their minds couldn't handle the raw force of his unrestrained subconscious (again, Sabo's words) and were subsequently overloaded by the influx of sensory and emotional transmitted. Luffy never went to sleep without first completely walling himself off from them ever since; only the barest hint of the link to his siblings (one-way) is allowed in the off-chance they're in trouble while he's resting. Eventually, the ritual that had once taken several minutes to accomplish became second-nature, occurring without the dragon's conscious directive whenever he fell asleep. Essentially on the level of being instinctual now and useful as he hadn't meant to fall from a light nap to actual sleep.

Luffy retracted his hands from his brothers' forms.

His skin and muscles twitched, small bumps—'Sávbó and Atce called them something..."birdbumps"?' The thought floats aimlessly in the recesses of his mind—raised along the surface, shouting to give in and don his scales. Lu shook his head and fought the tidal waves of want. That dream had been awful but it reminded him of the fact he really, really needed to be careful tomorrow (today?) when in front of the other Humans. Their kind didn't react well to things that were different—an understatement if his memories and the memories-not-his are anything to go by—and he'd already put his (tentative) plans of this sídna accepting Ace and Sabo in enough jeopardy.

(The fledgling blatantly ignored the sight of his mother's eyes in place of his brothers'. How the memory jarred the swelling emptiness in his core. Luffy hurt more than usual thinking of her right now, internally floundering in confusion over why he's seeing hints and flashes of her in his dreams as of late.)

A shiver racks the rubber-like body. He can't wait to reach the island—Ace and Sabo having already promised they'd slip away at the first opportunity—where he'd finally get to stretch his legs. And wings. Luffy's worried, however, that the much anticipated island romp could end up being delayed.

Not long after passing the unseen barrier of calm created by the close arrangement of the islands, he's felt a growing pressure in the air as of a handful of hours ago. A storm is brewing. Naturally, his brothers were informed and plans prepped and set aside should anything occur to create said delay. The dragon, predictably, only got antsier as the odd sensation grew instead of dwindling as they'd hoped since he'd picked up on the possible storm. It isn't much currently; a simmering pot that had an equal chance of boiling over or returning to placidity thanks to the New World's shoddy weather consistency. Lu scowled, making a silent plea that the potential-storm went the way of the latter option.

Though drained from accumulated stress, he is still restless and knows that a light nap is no longer a possibility. Delicately extricating himself from between Sabo and Ace, giving their slumbering minds a gentle brush of finesleepsleeppeacefine to make sure they wouldn't stir, Luffy gingerly climbs out of the basket and onto the adjoining yard that juts out to the right. He ambles along for several feet, swaying with the ship's rocking while countering the constant wind, before sitting and staring out to sea. The dragon lets his treasured hat slip from his head to rest against his back seeing as no one is close enough to spot the green-tinged gleam of his eyes should the sporadic moonlight hit them just so.

Clothes constricting and irksome against his hide, he unbuttons his vest to alleviate some of the feeling; letting the wind hiss in his ears and run along his form in a meager attempt to soothe his fading scratches and the blistering heat under his skin. Dark eyes return to the almost equally dark visage stretched out at the giant ship's fore. Deep-grey expanses of cloud drift by, their masses almost matching the inky shadows between the glowing stars they regularly blot out. Only the crescent moon, between its disappearances, casts a small silvery glow on the backs of the sprawling dark shapes. Waves of blue darker than his older brother's eyes could ever be lap against the hull beneath him; the sea's barely deeper shadows colliding with a multitude of crests and slopes that glow and glitter in the patchy light shining on it.

The ensemble is rather hypnotic, providing a measure of peace even as it provokes the urge to let out his wings and take flight. Luffy quells the urge, content to submerge himself in prolonging this moment. Several minutes pass (or so he assumes, the dragon possesses a poor sense of time on the best of days) before he hears the warm murmurs of the Whispers. A small smile graces the little raven-hair's face, a light hum passing his lips as the fledgling takes up their offer of solace and lets them carry the dregs of his latest nightmare away.

The Human-shaped dragon acted as his kynsínya's sentinel until they woke near dawn.

---

Dinner had been a silent affair, the Trio almost mechanical in their movements as they ate. Vista, receiving a telling look from Marco, left after greeting the teens with a smiling nod. For his part, Thatch presented the approaching brothers an air of dramatized joy and pride. The former covering his concern and worry for Strawhat and the latter aimed at his accomplishment with the speckled silver catfish. After letting the Trio into the kitchen (dinner underway in the mess on the other side of the barrier and wall) and shooing out the rest of the cooks, the two commanders sat eating their own meals at another table on the room's other side.

(Throughout the small-talk between them, Marco never mentioned that Thatch had earned a better nickname than "Pom-Pom" from Luffy. The phoenix was too worried that he'd let slip the trickles of mild jealousy he felt in asking how his brother had accomplished the feat.)

The Head Chef had done a number on the catfish in his attempt to cheer Luffy up; the platters of sashimi differing from one to the next in the herbs and sauces anointing the white meat. Only a few pieces of each variety went to the older brothers which had confused Marco. Both teens were oddly complacent over the meager bits proffered by the youngest. Although they left the majority of food to be consumed by Strawhat, normally Ace and Sabo would squabble for a bigger share. This time, the ex-captains stuck with filching morsels from only each other (or trying to) while leaving Luffy to himself.

Once the three finished eating—Luffy hadn't touched anything after his fish and, surprisingly, Ace and Sabo let it be—dinner, they bowed to Thatch and politely thanked him for his efforts on their meal. That Luffy bowed to the chef in-sync with his brothers, if not as deeply, wasn't too surprising in itself. He'd caught (a couple) similar displays before.

No. It was when they said their thanks.

"Thank you, Mr. Thatch," echoed from the older pair, nearly covering the slightly quieter "Thanks, Thatchy." The trio of brothers made a quick exit immediately after.

Marco doubted they heard the pompadoured chef's mumbled reply of, "Welcome." Hell, he'd barely heard it himself.

The phoenix commander had been too engrossed by the absolute shock mixed with no small amount of bewildered confusion on the Fourth's face.

Marco grumbled as he climbed the ladder to the deck from the Moby's interior and opened the door. Muted light, the sun's midmorning rays hampered by oppressive clouds, filtered into his eyes. By his brother's reaction the night before he knew Luffy had never called the other by that name before. It had to have been a very recent action on Thatch's part. Right?

'But making a meal out of Strawhat's fish seems…too…'

Simple? Inadequate? Or had it been a combination of things?

'Izou-yoi only got someone to watch over a pillow, though.' That sounded extremely minor to Marco. Unless that particular pillow—his brother had described it to be the large, lumpy red one with crude black stitching (in greater detail, it's Izou after all)—is a favorite of the kid's. 'Still a pillow yoi.'

Namur's sudden change from "Shark-Guy" to "Mur-Mur" is shocking because Marco is damn positive his brother hasn't spoken a word to Luffy since the runt's been aboard. The commander still needs to ask the fishman what the hell happened between Strawhat's disappearance and subsequent reappearance in the corridor chatting it up with the larger pirate. Which reminds Marco…

'I need to have another chat with Haruta about privacy.' Being the youngest (officially) of their family, the Twelfth Commander began trying to prove himself capable of his rank by gathering as much intel on anything that he could. Eventually, it developed into a bad habit of the young redhead often overstepping the boundary of personal privacy in regards to his siblings and father-figure. His smaller size didn't help matters either; merely giving Haruta an easier time of sneaking into places he sometimes shouldn't be. Haruta's nosiness got especially bad whenever something piqued his interest, taking over the spot of 'Number One Most Nosy Commander' (usually occupied by Izou) with little trouble.

'Also need to find out how in the hell Luffy managed to disappear in front of us, yoi!' And it would mark the second time since the kid's been aboard that he's done such. The first, that Marco is aware of, being that meeting with Pops. In both cases, the little pirate had been center of attention and yet somehow pulled a vanishing act with numerous people watching.

"Just what kind of Fruit did he eat yoi," the irked commander grumbled.

Just because he'd been paying more attention as of late didn't exactly equate to Marco (or others in on the betting pool) being any closer to the answer—Sabo's "hint" be damned. They had managed to cross some suspected Devil Fruit off the list, however that was all the progress that'd been achieved. For the sake of being honest with himself, Marco knew the only way to effectively find out was to learn more about the Trio's spotty past. How else were the Whitebeards to know if something Luffy did is a result of his Devil Fruit or a learned behavior? Unless the Trio upfront told someone, which the phoenix sincerely doubted ever occurring; Ace and Sabo appeared to be having far too much fun watching the lot of them struggle along.

All the ex-Spades were tight-lipped on the subject (the few times they were asked), none more-so than Zack. Their only contribution was the detail that Strawhat's had his Fruit longer than Ace and the ex-first mate's confirmation the Trio "were flaunting Little Luffy's abilities like prancing ponies". Not much, considering nobody knew precisely when Ace came into possession of the Flame-Flame Fruit (Izou's assumptions aside). On the note of Zack's comment, Marco was forced into permanently adding to the list of suspects—causing the damn thing to grow after it'd finally been wheedled down—upon taking into account the ridiculous names the elder brothers called Luffy.

(Haruta threw a small fit when the First Commander had compared ideas with the younger—Marco's yielding more Paramecia/Logia types versus Zoan than the Twelfth's. Thanks to a particularly foul mood, courtesy of one too many bird-puns via Thatch, Marco casually added on that the lists didn't account for the possibility of an unrecorded Fruit. The smaller commander broke down into a frustrated rant hearing this; the bird Zoan, hiding a smirk and feeling a might better, left his sibling in the mess hall to stew.)

"Keep yer face like tha' and it'll stick. Thatch'll have more reason ta call ya a 'moody hen'."

Sighing, Marco paused on the first step up to the wheelhouse. "You have room to talk, yoi?"

Fossa, seated against the ship's rail by the steps and smoking the usual cigar, grinned good-naturedly. "Lassies call it bein' 'ruggedly handsome'. Some migh' prefer 'broody blonds' though…" Marco snorted.

Glancing over at the large Fifteenth Commander, he asked, "What's with the confused look?" Fossa jerked his chin up to indicate something behind the blond.

All Marco saw were two grumpy ex-captains stiffly lounging at the base of the mainmast and glaring at anyone who ventured too close. Seeing that Pops isn't in his usual seat, the First assumes either Bay or one of the nurses dragged him off for a scheduled check-up. (If their father had been experiencing one of his bad days then Marco would've been informed long before now.) A quick scout with haki revealed a very faded presence that the First had begun to associate as Luffy's default. He already knew the boy to be nearby—Ace and Sabo's presence attested to that—however he couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

"Where's Luffy, yoi?"

"Think the squirt's tha' black thing dangling from the arm up there," the smoker gestured with a head tilt.

Turning to look a little closer in the indicated direction, Marco swiftly took several deep breaths to calm his suddenly jumpy nerves.

The mentioned "black thing" was hanging from the first-tier sail's yardarm with a roughly 60-foot drop between it and the deck below. If Luffy is the "black thing", and the Zoan doubted otherwise, then the little raven had bundled himself up in a blanket to look like some sort of black-colored cocoon. What made the commander beyond nervous is the fact the little pirate seems to only have either his feet crossed over the beam or (preferably) his knees hooked over it. Unfortunately, besides the slim possibility the kid catches himself on the line running the length of the yard's underside, there is nothing stopping Luffy from a one-way trip with a bad ending.

Really, the only reason Marco isn't freaking out more is because of Strawhat's older brothers. There's no doubt as to the duo's awareness of the younger's precarious situation. If they aren't showing obvious concern—keyword being 'showing'—over the matter, than he also won't raise a word against it. (He'll still keep a vigilant eye on Luffy; one strong gust and the kid could fall.)

Likely guessing Marco's next question, Fossa continued, "Squirt's 'parently been in a bad mood all day, even snappin' at Fire-Fist and Blondie once 'r twice. Crawled up there 'bout half-hour ago an' hasn't moved since." The phoenix, eyes staying on the blanketed pirate being buffeted by the wind, listened to his ship-brother take a long pull from the cigar. Exhaling, the other quietly asked, "Heard wha' happened yesterday. Any o' it true?"

"Probably most of it."

"Buncha blubberin' idiots our brothers can be." Marco's acknowledgement to the statement was a simple nod before resuming his course for the helm. "Where're you headed?"

"Wheel, yoi. Wanted to know when we'd be getting to Monroes and," he speculatively eyed Luffy and the thickening grey clouds, "if this turns into a storm, how far it might set us back."

Trust something jarring to occur in the few seconds between speaking with his brother and taking four more steps.

About to lift his foot for the fifth wooden step, Fossa's alarmed and choked gasp—likely due to an inopportune puff on the roll of tobacco when he startled—had Marco whirling around immediately. Heart in his chest, wide blue eyes zeroed-in on the spot where Luffy had been hanging while Fossa scrambled madly to his feet.

Luffy was falling.

Both pirates made a beeline for the deck under the yard hoping to catch the plummeting teen. They would've, too, if it hadn't been for the surging wave of orange fire that stopped them yards short of their goal. (Marco, too focused on Strawhat's rapidly descending figure, was yanked back by Fossa when the larger noticed his sibling to be unaware of the threat.) Ace, steel orbs glaring at them from beneath the lowered rim of the orange cowboy hat, materialized amongst the swath of flame. Marco barely saw Sabo calmly walking behind the younger fire-user towards where Luffy would hit the deck.

The First Commander was too stunned at Ace, once his mind registered the pirate's presence, stopping him and Fossa from getting to Luffy. A bigger shock came as he realized neither brother to be moving or showing some goddamned concern over the younger teen's imminent, bloody impact with the wood floor! The kid's about to violently—

Except, a bare second or two from colliding with the deck, the black cocoon that's Luffy…

Expanded like a damn balloon; the blanketed mass hitting the deck and bouncing as if Strawhat were a ball then "deflating" before landing in Sabo's expectant arms.

Marco is fairly positive his weren't the only eyes looking ready to pop out of his head. Beside him, Fossa accidentally dropped his cigar as the other's jaw hung open uselessly.

Sabo, still holding a blanket-clad Strawhat, shot them an amused look as he left. Ace immediately followed the retreating blond, casting a momentary, odd look over his shoulder at Marco and Fossa as he did. (Later, the First would find that the look had been odd because, under the glimmering amusement, he'd seen an unsettling amount of confusion in it.)

"We're gonna die o' heart-attack before these brats'll join us," Fossa rumbled.

The Phoenix-zoan silently lamented his brother may be right.

---

A/N: So yeah, long…ass…chapter before I split into two. Would've been the longest so far, possibly longest to be written as an entire before splitting. Again, did not mean for it get so damned loooong. Was a royal pain to type up (you know how many 80 Word pages equals in a notebook?!) and still think I missed a few things. Will check back later but want to ignore any mistakes for now (feel free to point any out so I have less searching to deal with) and continue typing up the next chapter. I know not too much happened, sorry about that btw, but hey! Next one is "Island Fun Time"! But "fun" for who? Hmmmm…

As per usual, PM if any questions or put in a review and will try to answer.

ATTACKS: (because I guess it's a little necessary now)

"Gum Gum Bullet"—similar to "Pistol", but not quite the same. "Bullet" utilizes kí to make a more localized impact point with less surrounding damage; a small spike of kí positioned at the very front of the fist acts as the main point of impact. Luffy doesn't usually stretch his arm back far when using "Bullet" mostly because he doesn't need to for most enemies. I guess you could think of the two as "Pistol" being the force driving the bullet, whereas "Bullet" is the piercing force at the bullet's tip. So… "Bullet" = piercing damage, "Pistol" = blunt-force damage. (Think of a diver jumping into a pool with hands breaking water first versus just belly-flopping, if that helps.)

"Will-O-Wisp (aka Wisp)"—an orb of fire (generally mid- to light-blue in color) that is strictly Sensory-based and lacks any ability to actually burn. It also carries no heat and is shamelessly used as a glorified lightbulb (think 'Magelight' in Skyrim). Inside each Wisp is a 'core' of condensed flame (generally unseen thanks to the surrounding fire) that acts as the Wisp's power source—which Ace can remotely alter. The core also contains the Wisp's basic commands given by Ace (e.g. "stay within X-amount of feet of Luffy but don't get caught", "follow while remaining at this fixed position", "travel in this pattern while sensing for ki for X-amount of time") though he can choose to manipulate it remotely/directly as well.

To keep control over them and utilize them for their intended purpose to the greatest effect, Ace has every Wisp automatically 'programmed' with the condition of not being able to burn anything. (Literally, they could come into direct contact with the most flammable of things and nothing will happen. That part of the programming is unconditional and Ace can't dictate otherwise.) In return for their non-flammability, the Wisps function as remote sensor nodes. Things Ace can somewhat mentally connect with to 'feel' out an area, without needing to be present, through use of the Wisp's core. (Note: this will be explained by the Trio at a later date.)

TERMS:

Armen—[ar-men] Meaning 'silvery' or 'silver-like' in color.

Áżda—[ah-zh-duh, 'ż' being like the 's' in 'measure'] General term for a mental bond between Drakkón and another individual (Drakkón, dragon, Human, or other).

Kynsínya—[kin-seen-yuh] Term for 'family', whether of blood or heart/soul, which includes an individual's parents and siblings. Different from 'sídna' or 'kynsídna' as those only relate to the group(s) of Drakkón an individual associates with.

Oorí'armen—[ō-ree-ar-men] Term for actual silver metal; 'oorí' indicating the 'silver' in question to be of the metal/ore variety and not the color.