Hello everyone. Here is an another one shot

And before we start, there have been a popular demand of Ace being injured. And yes, this will happen, but it will in the main story. I might add to it here after I written it.

In this, we see Ace's first kill

Hope you enjoy

Read and relax

Ace walked around in a house, mansion actually. He was with Azuruko, Trevor and Daisuke. He had done this many times the last months, so he could get used to go on assignments. Azuruko had continually told him he wasn't ready to go on a solo assignment, unless it was something really easy, which meant no fighting or killing. He was good at stealth, making it so they didn't mind him tagging along or checking rooms out on his own, but only rooms they were sure was empty.

Ace understood why they didn't let him fight anyone. He was a good fighter based on his age, but he could still not win over many. He was also small, the usual size for a thirteen year old year old. He was easily overpowered by larger ones. He was okay with this arrangement, at least for now. He had wanted to join in a few times when they fought, but he was always told to wait, to let them handle everything. He had asked about it, about why he hadn't been allowed to join in. And apparently, it was because he had not yet killed anyone. Based on what he had been told, the first kill was always the one that would haunt them for a bit, no matter how evil they were. When the time came, he was told Azuruko would join him and they would go alone. Ace had accepted that.

¨Ace,¨ He heard Daisuke say, getting his attention. Daisuke was looking in a room, standing in the doorway. ¨You can check in here while we search the other rooms.¨ Ace gave a nod and headed in the room, the door closing behind him as the others headed for different rooms. They were on the hunt for some information, information about the whereabouts of some noble Trevor was after. Trevor was having some trouble and had asked for help, also letting Ace join in. The small mansion was almost abandoned, only a few living there. The few who did, wasn't really bad people, but not good ones either. They did some sketchy business. But nothing too bad, making it so they were not supposed to kill anyone.

When Ace looked around in the room, he saw it was an empty bedroom. He usually got to check bedrooms, closets and offices. Especially when they were in hallways like this one, making it so no one could go into the room without the others noticing, making it safe for Ace. Ace always thought it was a bit too much, he could care for himself. He had tried to tell Azuruko this, but he was always told to not get presumptuous. That he was still young and inexperienced. Ace always accepted it and went with it, even though he didn't agree most of the time.

Ace looked a bit more around, seeing a closet and a door, most likely leading to a bathroom or walk-in-closet, some shelves with books, a bed and a desk with a chair. Ace decided to check the desk first, seeing as important files would most likely be there or in the shelf. The desk was located on the other side of the room from the bed, the shelf to its left and the door on the wall to his right, close to the bed. When Ace got to the desk, he started to rummage through some stuff carefully, not wanting to make a mess. When he saw a parchment that looked interesting and was lifting it, he didn't notice it was placed under a candle, making it fall and making some noise.

Ace let out an irritated huff, somehow managing to still make rookie mistakes like this. He was glad the candle wasn't lit and hadn't been for a while, making so no wax got spilled. Ace took the candle and placed it at an empty spot on the desk, making so it wouldn't happen again. Ace then continued to check trough the files, not finding the information he was after. He was just about to look through the last few files,

When a hand was suddenly placed on his mouth and an arm around his waist lifting him up.

Ace instantly panicked, knowing at once it wasn't any of the others. They would never lift him up, maybe place a hand on his mouth to silence him, but never this harshly. Ace tried to kick and scratch the person behind him, to get out of his grasp. He managed to find the person's face and instantly scratched at his eyes, hoping the person would let go, or at least take his hand away from his mouth, making him able to get the others attention. He heard a pained sound, but that was it, no other reaction. Making Ace panic more, not seeing an escape. The person moved towards the bed, ¨You little shit,¨ He herd the man bite out in a low voice. ¨Think you can come in here and mess with my stuff. But at least I can have some fun now.¨

Ace felt his panic rise even more as the man tore on his shirt, now understanding what he meant. Ace felt disgusted at the thought of men getting off on children, and now he was about to be one of those. Ace tried to fight more, but the man clearly being stronger and having the upper hand. Ace tried to think of a way out, but his panic clouding his mind. When the man's hand moved towards his pants, also ripping them a bit, Ace used his foot to kick him in the crotch. The man let out a pained sound, but didn't let go. ¨You'll pay for that.¨ Grunted the man, throwing him down on the bed. Before he could scream or do anything, the hand was over his mouth again as the man sat on top of him, pinning him to the bed, the man's other going to his own pants, unfastening his belt.

Ace clawed at his arm, feeling and seeing the skin peel off, but the man not caring. Ace didn't have a lot of nails, not making it hurt enough to make him let go. Ace felt tears starting to flow down his cheeks. As he saw the belt being removed, he remembered something, he had a knife in his belt. Ace moved his head a bit, making the man's hand change position, making him able to bite down on his hand, hard. This time, the man let out a yell of pain, his hand being taken away.

The moment it was, Ace reached for his knife, taking it out and leaning up before the man had a chance to recover and slashed his throat.

Instantly, the man did a small lurch, trying to make any sound, blood pouring from the cut in his throat, covering Ace's entire upper body. Ace reacted on instinct, not liking the feeling of blood splashing on him, pushed the man to the side. When the man was off of him, Ace tried to stand up, but only fell down, still panicked. Ace watched as the man convulsed on the bed, trying to cover the wound on his neck with his hand. Ace felt himself hyperventilating as everything dawned on him. He had almost been raped and had killed a man. He realized he was not supposed to kill anyone, the only rule aside from not being noticed. Not only had he managed to get caught and almost taken advantage off, but he had killed. He had ruined the assignment.

Ace felt everything starting to get blurry, his brain not getting enough oxygen from his panicked state. His ears were ringing and his min was reeling. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he panicked again and jumped to the side, letting out a noise. When his head turned, he was met with pink hair and reddish eyes. He felt hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at Azuruko. He could see his mouth moving, but couldn't hear anything. He tried to concentrate, ¨alm-, ow-, ce-, eath-,¨ Ace couldn't understand and frowned, panic rising. He felt the hands tighten and making his focus shift to Azuruko's eyes. When he saw calm eyes, he felt his ears stopping to ring a bit.

¨Calm down and breathe.¨ He heard Azuruko say, voice calm and strong. Ace tried to take a deep breath, but not able too. He could hear Azuruko telling him to calm down and breathe, to take slow breaths. Ace tried a few times and was finally able too after a few times. When he did, he felt his foggy mind clearing a bit. After he had managed to take few breaths, he saw Azuruko nodding. ¨What happened?¨ He asked, looking at him directly in the eyes. Ace opened his mouth, trying to speak. ¨I- I-, He-, It-,¨ Was all he could get out, everything hitting him at once. He could see Azuruko frowning and looking down at him before looking at the bed, where the blood came from. When Azuruko moved to look at the bed, Ace saw the man lying completely still and he realized the man was dead, completely unmoving.

He could see Azuruko frowning as he noticed the man's belt gone, pants lose and scratches on his face and arm. When he looked back at Ace and saw the ripped pants and shirt, Ace was sure he managed to connect the dots. Azuruko then looked up, ¨Daisuke, can you handle this while I take Ace back to the boat?¨ Ace managed to turn his head to the door, seeing Daisuke there. When he saw the man, he saw shock before the usual expressionless and professional face was back as he nodded. Ace then felt arms around him as he was lifted and instantly held around Azuruko, not caring how childish and weak he seemed like. He just wanted out.

The entire walk was done in silence, Ace trying to calm down entirely to get his breathing under control, trying to not think about what had happened. When they got to the boat, Azuruko headed for his rooms. Ace had pressed his head against Azuruko's neck, closing his eyes, trying to not cry. ¨Moira, get a bucket of water and a cloth.¨ He heard Azuruko say as he was put down in a sofa. When he was placed in the sofa and looked up at Azuruko, he saw his clothes, his white clothes, filled with blood from him. When he did, he slowly brought his hands up to his face, looking at them. They were bloody, completely red and sticky. The full impact that he had killed someone setting in as his hands started to shake and his breath hitching again.

But before he could panic again, a pair of hands was placed over his. ¨Just breathe.¨ He heard Azuruko said. Ace nodded and looked at him, taking deep breaths. He heard a door open and looked over to see Moira coming in with a small bucket in her hands. She didn't say anything as she walked in and placed the bucket next to him and walking out. He saw Azuruko taking a cloth from the bucket and wring it a bit, before bringing it to his face, washing the blood away. When he felt the cloth stroke his face, he felt tears in his eyes, knowing he had messed everything up. ¨I'm sorry.¨ He choked out. Azuruko shook his head, turning the cloth and continuing to clean the blood away. ¨You have nothing to be sorry for, Ace. We should have checked the bathroom, it wasn't your fault.¨ Said Azuruko calmly. Ace nodded, feeling tears threatening to fall.

Azuruko gave a sigh, ¨Its okay, Ace. You are allowed to cry.¨ Ace tried not to, but couldn't hold back a sob. When the second sob left him, he brought his hands to his face, sobbing into them. He felt a hand on his back, stroking slowly. Ace leaned a bit into Azuruko, taking the comfort. He always enjoyed how Azuruko never held around him, making him feel trapped. It was either a hand on his back, or none as he leaned on his shoulder. After a few minutes, Ace managed to stop the sobbing, but not the tears. When Azuruko heard he had stopped, he took the hand off his back and leaned backwards. Ace heard the cloth being put in the water and wring again, before his hands was removed from his face, Azuruko continuing to wash away the blood.

Both of them was silent, Ace not caring about the tears streaming down his cheeks, glad Azuruko didn't mention it, continuing to clean the blood away. After half an hour, he was finished and put the cloth in the now blood red water. When he had, Azuruko looked at him. ¨What happened?¨ He asked. Ace didn't want to tell, not wanting to think about it. Azuruko shook his head. ¨You need to talk about it. Ignoring it will only make it worse.¨ Ace gave a reluctant nod. Azuruko nodded too, sitting down next to him on the sofa. When he did, Ace leaned on him a bit. Azuruko didn't put his arm around him, just letting him lean on him.

Ace then started to tell what had happened. On how he was checking the desk, making the candle fall over, how he suddenly felt a hand on his mouth and around his waist lifting him and how he had fought. How his clothes had been ripped and how he was thrown on the bed before the man sat on him, going to undo his pants. How he remembered his knife and bit the man, for then to cut his throat and pushing the man off him and falling to the floor.

When he was done, Azuruko nodded. ¨You did nothing wrong. You did great in managing to think quick enough to bite his hand and cut his throat.¨ Ace liked the rumbling of his chest as he spoke, but frowned at his words. ¨But, we weren't supposed to kill anyone.¨ Said Ace in a small voice. He heard and felt Azuruko sigh. ¨If we could avoid it, that would have been the best. But you was right in killing that man, Ace.¨ Said Azuruko, voice calm and truthful, making him feel a bit better, knowing Azuruko wasn't mad at him for killing the man. But Ace couldn't get the feeling of his hands away, or the picture of him convulsing on the bed, trying to cover the wound.

Azuruko gave a sigh again, ¨Some people deserve to die. Some deserve a fast death, while some deserve a slow one. What they deserve is something we decide.¨ Ace nodded, he had heard that before. Azuruko then moved a bit, making it so he looked at Ace. ¨Now,¨ He said, looking him directly in the eyes. ¨Do you regret killing him?¨ Ace opened his mouth, on his way to say yes, knowing he wasn't supposed to have killed anyone. But before he could get a sound out, his mind almost stopped as he realized something,

He didn't regret it.

Ace shook his head. Azuruko gave a sigh again, ¨You need to say it. You need to say it to make it real. To be an assassin, you need to be able to say you don't regret killing those who deserve it.¨ Ace gave a nod, understanding what he meant. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to say it. It was hard, for him to admit killing was right, that he deserved it. A picture of Luffy in his head. Innocent Luffy, who now had a killer for a brother. But then his mind almost stopped. What if it had been Luffy? Had it been either Luffy or Sabo, Ace wouldn't have hesitated. Anyone who went after children in that kind of way, deserved to die.

Ace looked at Azuruko, eyes holding a calm, his mind feeling content with his actions. ¨I do not regret it. He deserved to die.¨ He said in an almost emotionless voice. Realizing there were people who deserved to be killed, people who deserved slow deaths. Had it been any of his brothers in that situation, Ace would have killed, and he would have enjoyed it.

Azuruko gave a nod, not caring about his emotionless voice or face. Ace had a feeling Azuruko was expecting it. ¨We'll speak more about it later. For now, go take a shower.¨ Ace nodded and headed out the door and towards his room to grab some clothes. When he got inside his room, he was met with Dust who cawed and tilted his head. Ace gave the bird a pat and grabbed some clothes, before heading to the shower. Ace had always been told that their first kill was the one they would remember, the one they either regretted or not. Ace would never regret killing the man. He would not regret killing people who went after children. People who went after innocent children, children like Luffy.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed

Nothing much to say as we end, so until next time

If you have any scenes you want to see or event you would like to go different, leave a review/comment and I'll see what I can do