Ominous
Truce
Luffy was stumbling through the forest without any grace. Rubbing her face, she could barely keep her eyes open. Today was one of those days, she was so sleepy! Even her demon continued drowsing, no matter how hard she tried to poke it. Didn't help that it was past midday already, the time any of her kind always felt the least alert.
Due to being so sluggish, Luffy missed all the telltales of someone sneaking up on her. She heard leaves crunching right behind her and spun around, eyes wide. A metal pipe smashed into her face, sending her crashing into the ground, face first.
That woke both of them—her and her demon. Luffy jumped up, spluttering dirt and other nastiness out of her mouth. Her cheek stung. "You jerk!" she snarled.
Ace met her glare, equally enraged. "What did you do to him?!" he yelled, brandishing his pipe for another swing.
That was it. Luffy growled, a low, feral sound from the back of her throat. Her demon rose, angry and demanding retribution. And this time, she didn't suppress it, letting it simmer just beneath her skin. They shared the same goal—Buttface was going down.
Luffy shot from her spot in a blur of motion, her demon so close to the surface giving her strength and speed beyond what a child her age should possess.
But Ace was also a D and with his own demon's help, he could easily match her. He swung his pipe when the girl closed the distance in a blink of an eye. Luffy dropped down on all four to avoid it before kicking her leg out, only to miss when her opponent stepped backward. She rolled to the side, the metal pipe slammed down where she had been a moment ago.
Luffy blasted off the ground and flew toward Ace, arms outstretched, ready to claw his throat out. He dodged, weaving around her attack and driving his punch into her abdomen.
Luffy's demon roared. Its sudden burst of outrage overwhelmed Ace's senses just for a split second, just long enough for the girl to regain her footing and kick his legs from under him. The moment he landed with a shocking force that left him wheezing, she was already on top of him. Claws dug into his shoulders, knees pinned his arms down, and the girl's furious face was only an inch from his. Ace could feel her breath on his skin and her whole body trembling in sheer fury.
Luffy kept growling, claws digging deeper and deeper, but made no other move. Her demon whispered to her at the back of her head, urged to bite him, to assert her dominance once and for all.
And Ace realized it. Even without anyone around to teach them, they followed their instincts and guidance of their demons more often than not. A brief flash of fear passed his red irises. He pushed it aside, lips curling back in contempt. More importantly than his pride was, "What did you do to Sabo?!"
"I left my mark on him!" Luffy practically snarled it into his face.
Ace's eyes widened. "W-What?" he stammered out, voice quiet and layered with utter disbelief.
"I left my mark on him!" the girl repeated with even more force. "You haven't bothered to do it, so I did it for you! Got a problem with that?!"
Ace stared at her still livid face. His previously angry expression vanished, replaced by the sheer shock. "You left your—you didn't hurt him?"
"I like Sabo!" Luffy declared, firm and solid.
Because she really did. Sure, she forced her friendship on him at first, usually finding the blond when he wasn't with Ace and just stuck with him, regardless of his wishes. Her stubbornness paid out—after a couple of months, he warmed up to her.
Luffy's wrath started to ebb away. Her demon slowly receded into the depth of her soul, its disappointment weighing heavily on her insides. Not the first time, so she paid no attention to it. Something was very wrong here. "Why would you think I hurt him?" she asked.
The boy looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. "I found a blood patch that smelled like Sabo," he muttered. With his fury gone, the worry and desperation returned and despite his best effort, he couldn't hide it. "I couldn't track it with all the stench, so I assumed…"
Luffy's mouth thinned, brow furrowing. Not a surprise that Ace couldn't track it, their noses didn't work properly in the Gray Terminal. Neither was the reason behind his attack, however misplaced, she would have done the same if someone hurt her Pack. With the last growl, she got up to her feet and immediately marched away, grabbing her straw hat as she passed it.
Ace pushed himself up, scowling at the girl's back.
"I'm going to search for Sabo!" After a few more steps, Luffy stopped and shot an impatient glare over her shoulder at the stunned boy. "You coming or not?!"
There was an unspoken truce between Ace and Luffy. Sabo's safety preceded their naturally volatile personalities and two kids worked in perfect tandem to find him.
Starting from where Ace found Sabo's blood, two Ds scoured the whole Gray Terminal. Ace tried to sniff his friend despite the horrid stench and Luffy kept her senses alert to feel her protection mark. She was climbing the mountain of trash, wrinkling her nose in disgust, when it hit her. For a moment, she froze. And then she scrambled up in double the speed, already screaming her lungs out for Ace who was a few trash hills away.
The boy stood at her side in a mere second. He panted, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. A wordless question hung on his lips.
The sun was already dipping closer to the horizon, painting the sky gold, amber, and red. Ace and Luffy raced through the Gray Terminal. Soon, they stopped in front of yet another mountain of trash, consisting mostly of broken bottles and hazardous metal wreckage. They haven't even looked at the narrow path that went around it, even though both noticed it, and rushed up to the top without a shred of hesitation. They couldn't waste a single minute any longer—even with the horrible smell all around, the scent of Sabo's blood sent them both into a frenzy. Scrapes and bruises from glass and sharp edges were the least of their problems.
There was a rundown shack on the other side. Walls slanted dangerously to the side, the roof caved in, and obviously abandoned by its residents a long time ago.
Throwing caution to the wind, they burst inside, eyes glowing crimson. It was dark inside, dwindling light barely illuminating the room through boarded windows. Ds had no trouble seeing in the dark and their stomachs flipped at the sight in front of them.
Sabo was lying in the middle, lifeless, clothes torn and bloody. His curly hair was not even blond anymore, so mated and caked with blood that it turned into rusty brown. The whole room was covered in blood, floors and walls splashed with it. A raw, acrid, heavy, and festering scent permeated the air, like a slaughterhouse.
Luffy and Ace's demons howled in unison, the amalgamation of grief, anger, helplessness, and rage. It jolted both Ds out of their momentary stupor and they surged forward.
Because Sabo was alive.
Their heightened senses picked on his weakly beating heart, desperately pumping remaining blood into his veins. And they could hear that song of life, merely a wisp now, yet still there.
Ace ripped apart the ropes that bound Sabo's wrist behind his back with a snarl. And then he stopped, uncertain, his hands hovering above his friend's broken body, just shy of touching. Panic like acid bubbled inside him. Bandits wouldn't be able to help with such serious injuries and no doctor in the Goa Kingdom would agree to let them in.
"Ace, you carry him."
He flinched at Luffy's voice. The girl stared at him expectantly, standing above Sabo and ready to move him on Ace's back. "Where?" Ace whispered even as he maneuvered into a position for the task, each limb moving on autopilot.
"To Foosha. I know a doctor there." Luffy's hands lingered on Sabo until Ace had a good grip on the boy. She turned towards the exit, eyes hard and face determined. "If we cut straight through at full speed, we should make it in time." They were about to step outside when Luffy abruptly halted and he almost walked into her. "Don't stop for anything," she growled. It sounded different somehow, deeper and more guttural. "I'll take care of the beasts, you go straight ahead."
Ace gulped and nodded. He had never imagined that it was possible to stay coherent when the inner demon took over, but Luffy still seemed in full control. His own demon retreated and curled up with something akin to a whimper.
With such a strong smell of blood accompanying them and a night quickly approaching, there was no way they could have a safe and clean passage through the heart of the Mt Colubo forest. Various predators roamed the mountain after dark, waiting for unsuspecting easy prey to wander into their territory.
Unfortunately for them, the most dangerous beast was about to storm through, leaving only slaughter and destruction in her wake.
Ace was simply glad she was on their side.
