:note:
I ACTUALLY UPDATED- I hope you enjoy this chapter, BECAAAUUUSSSEE I LOVED IT.
And most of you will hate me for the cliffhanger.
...
I love you too.
Disclaimer: NAPH.
(P.S This chapter is dedicated to Coffee, because it wouldn't have been here without it.)
Sabo was surprised to say the least. He never in a million years would have thought that Koala would have ever agreed to follow such an absurd plan, let alone go through with it.
But here they both were- or more like here he was.
Letting out a deep sigh, the blonde wiped his forehead, his train of thought jumbled by seeing his brother fighting out in the arena below. Swallowing down what he pretended to be most of his doubts, the blonde glanced over to his colleague, earning a small frown on his lips as he saw her face.
"What ever is the matter Sabo?" She asked with a tint of amusement, digging into the bag of sweets with what seemed like no worries. "Perhaps you've realized that maybe your plan might not go down so well as you thought it would. After all, it seems to me that your brother could handle himself quite well, seeing how well he is holding himself up against that Whitebeard Captain over there."
Twitching at her words, Sabo childishly turned away from Koala, earning yet another laugh from the bob-hatted girl.
Splitting out a smirk from her lips, Koala giggled, swinging herself around to face her colleague. "Oh! I've got it spot on then?"
"You haven't." The blonde responded hastily, closing his eyes as he heard the sides of the arena break down from the fight. "We're still going through with it as we planned."
"Well, if you're going to do it at any time, now would be the best." She mumbled back, her eyes rolling over to see the slightly scratched straw-hatted teen. "After all, it doesn't look like this fight will be going on much longer."
Narrowing his eyebrows at her words, Sabo hesitantly turned around to face towards the arena, his eyes widening at the sight.
Luffy was going to lose.
From his view, it was fairly obvious from the start that the younger wouldn't stand that much of a chance of winning, but being the thick-skinned revolutionary he was; he refused to believe it.
Chucking all his previous concerns away, the blonde looked directly into Koala's eyes. "Damn it!" He muttered angrily, leaping up from his seat as the bob-hatted girl chuckled once more.
"So, I'll take that as a 'Yes, the plan is still going ahead?'" Koala questioned closely into Sabo's ear, her voice tinted with amusement.
Looking down directly into the others eyes, Sabo hesitantly nodded, his eyes narrowing.
Standing up from the seat, Koala smirked, chucking up her hand with a small wave. "Well then! See you on the other side Sabo. If I die, it's all your fault!"
Comforting Sabo with those last words, Koala disappeared from his side, seemingly re-appearing in the midst of the contest below. Not bothering to stay any longer to check, the blonde whipped up his cloak, hiding most of his features behind the shadows.
As if on cue, the collessuem exploded with screams of surprise and fear as countless onlookers pointed to the center of the arena.
"The hell?!" Not bothering to glance towards the onlooker's scream, Sabo stepped forward, ignoring the commotion the explosion in the midst of the arena had caused. Dodging the scurrying toys and people, the blonde glanced towards the path leading it's way into the entrance of the tunnels, to which he will hopefully find Haruta.
Finally spotting the door, Sabo halted, letting out a deep breath.
The Marines would surely be alerted by the unexpected events at the collessuem, so the blonde knew he didn't have much time to grab both Luffy and Haruta's crews and escape as safely as they could.
It was a challenge, but one that he didn't have any other choice to accept.
Pushing the door open hesitantly, Sabo was instantly met with light; something that was unexpected to be found at the start of a tunnel. Wincing, the blonde took a step forward, accidentally stumbling backwards onto the door causing for it to slam with a crash.
Blinking, Sabo grumbled, wiping the dust off his face as he straightened his back. Re-adjusting his gloves, the blonde took in his surrounding's once more, before being stopped by a figure in the distance.
Calling out to the figure with slight relief, Sabo slowly walked up to it; letting out a small smile. "Haru-?" Almost instantly as he had started, the revolutionary halted; his eyes narrowing and stance hardening.
As the dust parted from the air, Sabo's vision became clearer, showing him that he figure before him didn't belong to woman in the slightest, let alone Haruta. "It appears," He started, his fists clenching. "...that you are not the lovely Haruta I was waiting for."
The man continued to be silent, his eyes glaring at the blondes with annoyance.
Frowning, the blonde's eyes darted to what the man had in his hand, which to his shock, was the small piece of paper he had previously handed Haruta. "Where did you get that?" He asked with caution, his mind focused on where the girl-commander now was.
Blinking, the man tilted his head slightly before tucking the said piece of paper away. Gritting his teeth, he took a small step back, uttering out a small question between his lips. "And who the fuck are you?"
Seeing he wasn't going to get any straight answer out of the figure, Sabo sighed; bringing his hand up to his forehead with a wince. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that." Deciding to respond with a half-bothered answer, the blonde smirked slightly.
The man wanted to be cryptic? Well, two could play that game.
"But you see, the young lady I gave that too-" Sabo quickly gestured towards the pocket the paper was placed in. "...She's supposed to be here."
Unexpectedly, the man just laughed, causing the revolutionary to raise an eyebrow. "I don't care about that." He uttered out, straightening his back with a mirrored smirk. "What I want to know is who the hell you are."
Twitching, a small frown stretched across the blonde's lips, his eyes assessing the figure curiously.
The man- he was familiar. Sabo couldn't quite put his finger on where he had seen him before, but he definitely knew this wasn't the first time they had talked.
It wasn't that surprising to the revolutionary that he'd met such an annoying character before, seeing as he dealt with them day to day.
But something about this person- it gave a twisting feeling in his gut.
Shaking away those thought for the mean-time, the blonde stretched out the fabric of his gloves, pulling them off swiftly as he threw them onto the ground with a grumble. "I haven't got time to mess around, Mr. So if you could quickly tell me where Miss Haruta might be, that would be great."
Irritably, the figure just laughed again, his smirk showing through the shadows of the cloak. "Afraid I can't do that, weirdo." Sabo narrowed his eyebrows, not liking the cockiness of the man's attitude.
He was definitely familiar. There was no doubt about it.
And the fact that Sabo couldn't think of where he'd seen him before irritated him more than the man's actual words.
"See..." The figure gestured his hands out, his voice tinted in amusement.
Maybe it had been in the past? But that couldn't of been it. After all, the only people he'd had known in the past had been Luffy and A-
"I could just be handing her over to a creepy pervert, or even a Marine."
He could just ask him- though the thought of not figuring it out by himself was insulting to the blonde. Maybe he had previously worked in the revolutionaries? Though wouldn't that mean that the man would recognise him as well?
"...And I don't know which one is worst to be honest."
Damn it!- Hearing the man finish his words, Sabo twitched, his arm unconsciously making it's way towards the figure's head, colliding with the wall behind him almost instantly.
"It looks like I'll just have to force it out of you." The blonde muttered to himself almost too loudly, causing the man to stare widely at the revolutionary.
Sure, the man might not have been Haruta- god knows where she is...but Sabo was sure of one thing.
He was going to find out who the hell this man was.
Luffy was, as some put it, confused to say the least.
Hearing such a statement referring to the rubber-captain wasn't uncommon, due to the fact he lacked in common sense.
Though in this situation, it wouldn't be surprising.
Standing beside the Whitebeard Captain he was previously fighting, Luffy pouted; stretching out his arms with a groan. "Is this going to take much longer?"
Staying silent, the mysterious bob-hatted girl continued to lead the way through the tunnel, causing for the rubber-teen to complain once more. "Where are you taking us?"
Still, the girl said nothing.
Earning a small frown of his own, the blonde Captain narrowed his eyes; cautiously taking steps in the girl's direction. "You do realize that if the Marines are actually coming to this island, that I'm not going to just leave without my crew."
Seemingly not thinking this through himself, Luffy uttered a small gasp, his eyes widening in what could be a combination of surprise and fury. "What!? Hey, you! Is pineapple-"
"My name is Marco. Mar-co."
"-right?! Are you taking us off the island without our crews?!" Luffy finished, running up to the girl's side.
Humming, the bob-hatted girl smiled; like she was enjoying the two Captain's curiosity in where they were going.
But she continued to stay silent.
Letting out a small huff, Marco glanced to the side, before his eyes scrolled over towards the straw-hatted boy. "You might as well give up, it doesn't look she's going to say anything useful to us any time soon."
Glancing back at the blonde Captain, Luffy pouted, slowing down his steps to be by the side of Marco once more. "Then why are we following her?" He muttered out childishly, causing the Whitebeard Captain to raise an eyebrow.
"It does seem pretty daring of you to interrupt our fight like that." Marco whispered to himself, though his words were heard by the others.
"As I said." Koala started, making the two Captain's go silent and listen to her words intensely. "It wasn't me who thought up interrupting your little 'fight'." Chuckling softly, the bob-hatted girl turned to face both Marco and Luffy, her feet still skipping forwards.
"It was your companion?" Marco finished off for her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "That isn't going to cut it. You have to give us more information than that." Halting in his steps, the blonde Captain put his hand directly onto his hip, his eyes glued to the bob-hatted girl.
Seeing the other stop, Luffy quickly followed, crossing his arms over his chest; his pout still visible on his lips. "I'm not going anywhere I don't want to." He stated, his eyebrows narrowing.
Seeing this, Koala slowly stopped, letting out a small sigh. Mirroring the Whitebeard Captain's actions, the brunette placed her hands on her hips, her head tilting to the side. Her face grew a tired look, as she closed her eyes with a huff. "He had to give me the job of handling you two. Didn't he."
Taking a few steps closer to the two halted Captain's, Koala unexpectedly sat down on the ground, crossing her legs over with another sigh. "Well, fine. Let's have it your way."
Blinking Luffy stared down at the girl with confusion, before parting his lips to ask a question. Quickly interrupting anything the rubber-teen had to say, the brunette spoke up once more, her voice easily recognized as being irritated. "Let's just sit here and stare at each other in this damp, dark tunnel whilst Marines take over this island and most possibly; attack your crews."
"...What?" Marco started, his features completely changed from what they were before.
But once again, before any of the Captain's had a thing to say, Koala had started to talk; silencing the blonde from speaking.
"Or, you could just quietly follow the person who might possibly have just saved your asses from being whipped by both Marines and Dolflamingo's men and leave this island as safely as possible." Clicking her finger's, Koala pointed bluntly to both Captain's, her mouth still drawn in a frown.
"You'll be happy, I'll be happy- The Marines? Not so much. But doesn't it seem better than just constantly questioning what I am doing?"
Tilting his head, Luffy stared blankly at the girl. "Dolflamingo's ...men?" He whispered to himself, before his eyes widened considerably. "I'd completely forgotten about him!" He screamed aloud, causing for the blonde Captain to re-think the situation he was in.
"Yes, we realized that." Koala muttered out, her head now leaning on her palm. "And that's why you have to trust me on this. So what'd 'ya say? Do you want to continue sitting here or do you actually want to escape this thing in one piece?"
"But my crew-!" Luffy started, his arms gesturing outwards. "They're still all around the island! I'd completely for-"
"-gotten about it. Yes. I registered that. Now can we please move on so we can actually gather your crew." Koala had stated with some annoyance, before her eyes scrolled over to Marco's. "Any more complaints or questions?"
Narrowing his eyes, Marco let out a small sigh, before shaking his head slightly. "Let's just get this over and done with. Though I can't believe I'm putting my trust in some stranger."
Splitting out a smirk, Koala leapt from the ground, clapping her hands together with a small laugh. "...that just saved you." Turning her back to the two Captains, the brunette skipped forward cheerfully. "That was easier than I had expected." She mumbled to herself, her smirk widening as she heard both Luffy and Marco follow her.
"Hey..." The straw-hat teen mumbled out, his head tilted back in wonder.
"...Where are we?"
-Or maybe she had just spoken to soon.
Zoro winced, his sight almost instantly blurred by the explosion of dust which overtook the arena. "The..." He mumbled out, causing him to cough out the debris which had floated into his mouth. "-hell was that!?"
Standing up from the seat, Robin scanned the area, her eyes darting everywhere. "It wasn't Captain-san, that's for sure." Her voice tinted in worry, the dark-haired woman glanced down to the swords-man, her hand settling on his shoulder. "We need to go."
"What's up with all this dust?!" The clown shouted out beside the two straw-hat pirate's, his arms flailing everywhere.
"Why?" Zoro asked almost instantly, his eyebrow's furrowed towards Robin.
Her fists clenching slightly, the dark-haired woman frowned, her eyes darted over to the arena once more. "Luffy. He's not there anymore." She whispered out, causing for the green-haired swordsman to jump from his seat.
"What?!" He shouted out, his voice a little louder than needed. Leaning forward towards the row of seats in front of him, Zoro stared intensely at the arena before him, waiting for the dust to part and make his sight clearer.
To his shock, the previously active arena before him was bare; no sign of either Luffy or the Whitebeard Captain anywhere.
His eye widening almost instantaneously, Zoro gripped the seat harshly, before looking back to Robin. "Damn it, Luffy!" He once again shouted out before the crowds, causing strange looks to penetrate towards the trio.
Previously ignoring the discussion of the disappearance of the Straw-hat Captain, Buggy exaggeratedly spat out the dust from his mouth, before glancing to where the other two pirate's where staring out. "Eh?" He whispered out, blinking once more. "Eh?!" Joining the others in standing up, the clown screamed out, his hand pointing towards the centre of the arena.
"Where's Straw-Hat gone?!"
Seeing as this brought more attention towards them, Robin twitched, grabbing the clown's shoulder harshly and dragging him down; out of the sight of the on-looker's.
"Hey, isn't that...?"
"W-What are they doing here?!"
"It's the Straw-Hat Pirate's!"
"...And Buggy the Clown? Isn't he a Shichibukai?"
Realising that the trio where being recognized, Zoro slowly gulped, before glancing towards Robin. "You're right. We need to get out of here, quickly."
Hearing a high-pitch scream echo from the crowd, the two Straw-Hat Pirates took it as this was a good time to run. Grabbing Buggy in tow, Robin and Zoro dodged through the shocked on-looker's as they searched for places to escape.
"Where the hell did Luffy go?" Zoro whispered frustratedly to himself, his eye searching the collessuem for some kind of exit.
"I wouldn't worry about Straw-Hat right now." Buggy squeaked out, patting the swordsman on the shoulder cautiously.
Twitching at the touch, Zoro instantly looked over his shoulder, his eye once again widening as his steps came to a halt.
Hearing the sounds of her companions stopping, Robin parted her lips to speak, before her eyes fell onto what the other two where seeing. Her words faltering, the dark-haired woman stared towards the other side of the arena, her heart-beat quickening almost instantly.
Standing at the edge of the collessuem, was an immense figure; one that was recognizable to any citizen living in the Grandline.
The Marines were here.
And by the look of what the trio were seeing, there were thousands.
Swallowing, the navigator glanced briefly towards the green-haired swordsman, almost fearful of the shock on his face as well.
Well, Robin wasn't wrong at least.
Things were sure to become interesting, though not in the way she'd wanted.
Ace hadn't expected for the figure to attack him so unexpectedly; let alone being so committed to 'beat' some kind of information out of him. Taking one glance at the man- he had quickly realised that the figure's voice belonged to a man, it was obvious that he was pissed at the fire-thrower.
Hints of that had been showed when the man had tried to flip him harshly into the ground, or when he had connected his fist directly into the ex-Commander's face.
Ace had supposed he'd pissed the figure off, though didn't understand what he did to this extent.
Dodging yet another one of the figure's attacks towards his head, the fire-thrower twitched, flinging himself over to the opposite side of the room.
"Shit-!" He muttered to himself, trying to straighten his way back into his stance. Wheezing out a cough, the fire-thrower stared directly towards the blonde, his fists clenching in annoyance.
Those moves- he'd seen them before.
Narrowing his eyes, Ace stumbled forward, his back swaying slightly from the previous hit.
A long time ago.
Wincing at the sudden pain in his shoulder, the ex-Commander darted quickly to the left; his eyes widening as he saw the wall beside him completely shattered.
His eyebrow's furrowing, Ace yelled out to the figure as he clutched his shoulder tightly. "Wait! Where have I seen you befor-"
Before he could finish off his sentence, another fist appeared before him, causing the fire-thrower to gulp and duck instantly. Taking the only chance he had had so far to hit the man, Ace swerved out his leg below, immediately making contact with the figure's ankles.
Not expecting this, the figure yelped; stumbling towards the ex-Commander with his arms stretched out. Placing his palm on the floor, the man quickly regained himself, lifting himself instantly off the ground and his feet directly into the air.
Seeing this, Ace ducked once more to the side; watching as the figure's leg darted fiercely into the ground.
/
"And that makes it a draw!" The small straw-hatted boy shouted out in amazement, watching with joy at the previously battling boys as they tirelessly collapsed onto the floor.
/
His eyes glazing over, Ace glanced down, suddenly ignoring the next attack the man was firing.
But that was impossible.
/
"You've improved..." A kid similar to the age of Ace sputtered out, his breaths drawn and heavy. "Seriously. I can just about keep up with you!"
Dressed in the unique blue coat and black top-hat that Ace had come to get used to, the kid laughed cheerfully, throwing his hands up in the air with a sigh.
"It's times like these which I wish lasted forever." He whispered out, forming a toothy grin across his lips.
/
There was only one person who he'd seen fight in such a similar way that Ace had used- one person that couldn't possibly be here no more.
Closing his eyes, the ex-Commander shook his head, his eyes re-falling onto the attacking figure a few steps away from him.
How could he possibly be thinking of him now? Even after all the years he'd spent trying to live up to his departed brother's wish, it seemed like Ace had still wanted to somehow believe that he was fine; living his life out on the seas as free as he could be, just like he had said.
Trying his best to throw away those thoughts for the time being, the fire-thrower leapt up from where he had stumbled, regaining his stance as the figure ran up to him.
The man had wanted a fight. And Ace was happy to return that call, despite the unwanted recollections it had just brought him.
Deciding that activating his Devil-Fruit might not be the cleverest idea, the ex-Commander settled in using his bare fists; similar to what the man before him was using.
Flinging his hand back, Ace clenched down harshly into his palm, directing it towards the center of the figure's chest.
"...It really is him."
A familiar voice echoed around the room, instantly distracting the fire-thrower from his attack. Twitching at the sound of it's voice, Ace darted his eyes towards the Voice's figure; his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"B-but that's impossible." The Voice stuttered-? causing the ex-Commander to instantly lose his glare; it being quickly replaced by widened eyes. The Voice was staring, almost stunned at the sight of the man beside him; it's mouth wide open as countless mumbles fell out.
Raising an eyebrow, Ace was about to ask what the Voice so shocked about, before a familiar fist interrupted and threw him to the center of the 'Golden Room'.
"Damn it!" The man had yelled out in frustration, quickly making his way over to where Ace had been thrown.
The fire-thrower winced in pain once more, coughing out a mixture of debris and blood from his mouth as he stared up at the oncoming figure; his fist clenching ever so slightly. "I don't know why you want Haruta this badly," Ace slowly mumbled out, leaning up against the circular wall placed in the center of the room. "...but if you seriously think I'm going to tell you, you're highly mistaken. Highly."
"...Huh?" The figure responded, it's voice almost surprised at the statement.
"Isn't that what this is all about?" Ace bellowed out, twitching as the pain from his shoulder returned.
The man suddenly went silent, seemingly thinking over what the fire-thrower had just said; leaving Ace to stare blankly at the man with confusion.
Then, out of the blue, the figure leaned down to the height Ace was propped at; the features of his face showing slightly through the shadows.
"...Who are you?"
Blinking, Ace pondered the question for a moment, re-asking it in his head. "What?"
"..." The man said nothing, his stare still gazing harshly into Ace's eyes; seemingly trying to get a glance of what the fire-thrower looked like.
Noticing the awkwardness of the situation Ace had now found himself in, he quickly cleared his chest; before narrowing his eyes directly into the man's, almost mirroring his stare. "I could ask you the same question as well." He asked with his voice tinted in caution. "Because no matter how much you stare at me, I'm not revealing anything."
It had seemed that for a few moments, the man hadn't heard him, for he continued to stare into brim's of Ace's cloak. But finally, the man let out an exhausted sigh, moving back slightly as he stood up once more.
"Very well." He stated, moving his hand up towards the hood of his own cloak. "I guess it would be rude not to introduce myself first." Grasping the fabric with hesitance, the figure drew back the hood; the feature's in his face almost instantly becoming clearer as it hit the light.
"The name is Sabo, and it's a pleasure to meet you."
Ohgodpleasedon'tkillmeforendingitthere.
DID ANYONE LIKE THIS CHAPTER? YAY? NAY? /sigh/ I couldn't pass up the chance to finish the chapter here. I mean, yes it might be slightly cruel, but Sabo revealed himself! soplsdontharmmeokie?.
ANYWAYS!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and a THANKYOU to all the people who still read this. I know I am an awful author to you all sometimes, with my mistakes, cliffhangers and delayed updates...
But to see that people are still liking this story, makes me want to improve those negatives /cue cheesy music.
Cliffhangers excluded. I love them.
AND THE VOICE. CAN. ANYONE. GUESS. WHO. IT. IS. NOW?!
Big clue in this chapter. It's a big ass clue.
-KayaaHiko
(Oh god I need sleep.)
(ANY MISTAKES WILL BE FIXED LATER BECAUSE OF THE STATEMENT ABOVE.)