Marco and Thatch to the rescue? Marco being possessive and finally making MaLu a thing.

Enjoy ~


Chapter 12 ~ Blood soaked

The sun was just beginning to rise when Marco and Thatch arrived and they were greeted with carnage. From afar, they could see broken, floating pieces of marine vessels. The forest was slightly burnt with smoke rising. He could only sense 2 people alive on the island but Marco was still worried, he was about to fly ahead when a familiar sea king rose up and he had to stop his brother from killing it. Aone, he remembered, seemed to recognise him and lifted their small ship on his head and brought them to the island faster. If it wasn't for his worries, he would've enjoyed the look of gaping Thatch.

"Wha… eh? What is it doing, Marco?!" Thatch half yelled.

"Don't worry yoi, he recognised me," he stated like it's normal, maybe Luffy is rubbing off on him.

"Sea Kings aren't supposed to recognise people."

However, before he could reply, they arrived. They were speechless, there were bodies everywhere, burned and charred, some mutilated. Even as veteran pirates it was gory, the stab wounds were always around the neck and face. Some had twisted necks and some had lost most of their body parts, sliced clean. Almost the whole beach was covered in red. Marco ignored the sight and stench, everything, in favour of finding his raven while Thatch continued gaping at the scene. Who's this guy if they sent this many marines to capture him and they were annihilated. Walking further in they heard a feral growling and finally saw its source.

There was a slender but lean teen with messy black hair. He was almost naked, remnants of a torn black turtleneck shirt hanging by the collar, the front torn open and loose black shorts drooping down. His legs were encircled around a muscular and tall man dressed in a white suit with a goatee. He was behind him using a chain from his shackles to choke the bigger one, he growled 'die!' and the man's neck snapped. Thatch winced slightly while Marco just rushed forward calling for 'Luffy'. The cook wondered if the muscular guy was the one they were looking for but then Marco approached the smaller teen.

When they reached, the teen had untangled himself from the man and collapsed, they could see now that he was bruised, stabbed in multiple places and was bleeding everywhere, they could barely see anything but blood. He was panting harshly and when Marco tried to touch him, he freaked out and started to struggle.

Marco grabbed his face, "Luffy, Luffy! It's me yoi," he felt angry, hurt, and sad at the same time when he saw the state the raven was in. Luffy's eyes were wide and unfocused, the blond gripped firmly and pulled him closer, making sure he was all Luffy could see right now.

"Ma...Marco?" He stuttered as recognition filled his previously clouded eyes, "What...hah...are you…haaa...doing here?" He panted out. Luffy looked tired, his eyes were dropping and red, he had tear tracks down his face. Why was he crying? Marco thought. He was shivering, especially his legs.

"What the…" Thatch whispered at the sight, "we need to patch that up! How are you still alive kid?"

Luffy glared at the man, "tch, not...a kid," then he turned his eyes towards Marco and his eyes softened, "whoss he?" He slurred.

"That's Thatch, yoi," he told him, "we actually came to ask for your help in the war, but-"

"I'm going," the raven cut in with determination, his eyes cold and hard, "I'll make them pay," he said quietly.

Marco and Thatch exchanged glances, "we need to get those shackles off," Marco said as he tried to heal some of the raven's wounds with his flames.

"How're you gonna help us, you're wrecked," Thatch asked sceptically. Luffy couldn't help the slight flinch at those words, "this would take longer than a week to heal and the execution is in 5 days."

Luffy chuckled dryly and scoffed, "I'll be healed in 3."

"That's what I'm saying, brat," Thatch huffed.

"I meant days,"

"That's not humanly possible, give it up," the two sword user said.

"Ahh, whatever, just tell me the plans and I'll be there," Luffy said, winding down, "also, good to know you survived Thatch. Marco was worried," Luffy smiled slightly, reminiscing when the bird would sigh non-stop and frown at nothing.

"Really?" Thatch asked rhetorically, grinning, "thanks, glad to be alive."

Marco had been quiet for a while, he was observing something. First when he arrived he saw the developing bruise marks on Luffy's neck, it looked painful and shaped like a hand as he brushed his fingers on it. Then he saw the stab wounds on his hand that lined up, his hands were pinned with a knife. He went further down, his torso was stabbed and slashed at random places, extremely bruised. The bleeding slowed as he sealed it slightly. Then he saw something that made his blood boil, there were more hand printed bruises developing on his hips and waists. A set from the back and a set from the front, he didn't like what those implied and he was struggling to keep his rising temper in check. The blond looked further down, more bruises on his thighs and knees all of them looked like they came from death grips. Lastly, he saw semen dripping down his legs mixing with blood, he was breathing heavily and a growl escaped his throat, hands clenched. Luffy noticed, gripped his arm and smiled at him tiredly but still as brightly.

"I'm alright, Marco," Luffy said voice a little rough from the growling and groaning. Marco's expressionless face was now carrying a frown.

His words didn't help much of his hurt but he managed to reign his temper and sighed, "I'm sorry yoi, I should've came earlier."

Luffy giggled slightly, "it's not your fault, silly," he said softly before apologising when the sea stone touched Marco causing him to grunt.

"We really need to get that off yoi." Thatch heard and went searching for keys.

Thatch was clueless and surprised when he saw the hen growl and was frowning, Marco looked really angry and he was rarely outright angry. Did Marco's mother hen tendencies mark the teen as his brother already. He can't blame him, the kid looked young and they sent this many people to kill him? Thatch would be delighted to get a new brother and this guy seemed really nice and strong. Thankfully the muscular man killed earlier had the key in one of his breast pockets allowing them to unlock the cuffs.

Luffy's energy was returning after removing the shackles and getting healed up by Marco, he could hear soft whines from the baby tiger. HIs heart ached, its mom and his friend died because of him… for him… again… He released a shuddering breath and sat up wincing. Marco could only heal him slightly, stopping the bleeding

"Oi oi, you're still severely wounded, stay down!" Thach exclaimed, which the teen ignored.

Luffy continued getting up wobbly, wincing and grimacing when he felt more of those disgusting fluids flow down his legs. Marco helped him up and walked him over to the baby tiger where he landed on his knees grunting.

Marco was frowning at something, Thatch followed his line of sight and gasped, "Is that…" he trailed off, "what I think it is?" and Marco only grunted in response. Thatch clenched his fist and frowned, finally realising why his brother was so angry.

"Didn't you notice the bruises yoi?" The blond breathed and no, Thatch didn't, not under all the blood and grime. The conversation ended in favour of watching the raven.

He approached the whimpering tiger cub and reached out a hand, the tiger growled and bit his arm. The raven flinched slightly, Thatch was going to interfere but was stopped by Marco who just shook his head. They saw the teen cry slightly before quickly wiping them.

"I'm sorry… little guy," he gulped and lifted the tiger onto his lap, it finally let go of the arm. Luffy stroked it, he wasn't crying anymore, face expressionless but those eyes could definitely burn the world. They heard a familiar screech and Luffy raised his left arm out while stroking the sleeping cub, the eagle that had been visiting the Moby Dick landed on the raven's arm scratching it a little. Thatch realised now it was the teen's eagle as it nuzzled him and handed him an eternal pose, so much stuff was clicking in place. The raven smirked ferally, as he twirled the eternal pose and the cook had to suppress a shiver. Ohhh, oyaji would love to adopt Luffy, he was sure.

Luffy stood up carrying the cub in his arms, he was struggling slightly but barely feeling his wounds anymore. He turned towards them and passed Marco Kazuki.

"Take care of birdie for me, birdie," Luffy snickered. Thatch outright laughed, "Oh~ what are you laughing at breadhaired?" The raven teased smiling cheekily, foxes were known to be playful after all.

Thatch gasped slightly before laughing, "Hahahahaha, I like him Marco!" Marco rolled his eyes at them while stretching his arm to accommodate the eagle.

Marco knew his brother didn't mean it that way but somehow he felt slight possessiveness rise in him, he really can't stop it anymore not with what happened.

They went into the small cabin, Luffy gently laid the sleeping cub onto the bed and gave it a peck on its head. Thatch noticed the raven was really kind and gentle unlike what all those dead bodies outside indicated.

"Marco, can you help me clean up? I feel kind of tired," Luffy asked, eyes drooping and Marco nodded as they went into the bathroom like it was casual and Thatch just sat there blinking stupidly.

The bath was eventless, they didn't want to talk about what happened. Marco helped Luffy get blood off of his body and hair. Luffy got the blond to grab his clothes and bandages while he quickly cleaned out all the semen from his ass.

When the raven came out he was in a large loose Yellow T-shirt drooping on the side and black knee length shorts with bandages all over his body underneath. Luffy has grown to love wearing an oversized shirt when he's alone, it's comfy unlike his turtlenecked outfits. It made him look even smaller, but what caught Thatch's sight was his face which was previously covered in blood, dirt and grime. Luffy was pretty, his eyes were half-lidded from exhaustion and his face was overall cute with a small crescent scar below his left eye, not to mention his slender body with lean muscles. Thatch usually went for females but right now he was outright blushing and gaping slightly, he shouldn't drool over their potential brother but oh my Oda.

Luffy noticed this and decided to tease the red head, "Like what you see~" he asked flirtuously and giggling. Owh those sounds like chiming bells, Thatch thought until Marco came out of the toilet and knocked the raven's head from the back which made him pout.

"Stop teasing him yoi," -gained a tick mark- "and stop blushing," before proceeding to drag the teen by the waist to the dining chair. Thatch raised his hands in a surrendering gesture but raised a brow at the possessive action.

Thatch made some food using Luffy's provisions, it smelled so good Luffy was drooling, "So, who's this Ace guy? I mean why would they do a public execution," The raven asked, waiting for food.

"What do you mean? They just want a war," the cook responded while cooking.

"Hmm… I don't think so," the raven said, raising brows, "If they wanted war, they could still just execute him now and you guys would still fight, no?"

They were surprised, it made sense. "So, what do you think, yoi?" Marco asked.

"Ermm…marines love the 'absolute justice' crap..." 'Like me, maybe' Luffy thought, "did he declare war on the government or is he a 'devil spawn' or something like that?"

"What do you mean?" Thatch asked harshly, he doesn't like people insulting any of his family.

"Whoa no offence, I'm not a fan of that word either," he said, raising his hands, "It's the most likely reason," smiling knowingly.

"Well not that we know of yoi," Marco said.

What's with that sad, knowing look? But it was gone the second it came out so it was left forgotten. After lunch Luffy asked if they were staying but they said no and there was no space anyway. So, Marco and Thatch helped get rid of the bodies, fed them to the sea king and let Luffy rest. The raven only went to gather his weapons around the battlefield and placed them in his cabin. Thatch noticed the katanas and was interested since he was a swordsman himself.

"What's your sword's name?" Thatch asked, he recognised the nodachi as a meito, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords and the ninjato was a Grade sword. Marco perked up at this, he recognised the quality the 1st time he laid eyes on it too.

"Hmm…the nodachi is called 'Chigosaku', the white ninjato is called 'Hinohana'," the teen finished smiling, "they're gifts," Marco thought it was probably Mihawk, that man adores his student apparently.

"Wow, precious gifts," he grunted as he lifted the last body, "so who are these? I recognised the marines but there were others."

"They're CP9 agents," they were shocked, that meant the raven had fought 7 Cipher Pol agents alone, "They're mostly nothing compared to CP0 and CP1," he gulped, trembling slightly. The leader of CP0 was cruel and the worst and honestly, Luffy was still scared of that man, probably more due to built up trauma.

Marco noticed and was in front of him in a moment, "Luffy yoi, you alright?" Luffy shook his head slightly before nodding. Marco had thought the raven was strong but it was only based on a spar with a dagger and no devil fruit. He really wants to see the teen unleash his full power.

They gathered around to discuss the plan for the war and the raven gave them some input of what could be changed and what he slightly knew about Marineford. He had an eternal pose now and would join them during the day itself, but wouldn't tell them how he planned on going. They were done by afternoon and Thatch left to call oyaji and report what happened, giving time for Marco and Luffy to talk.

"I missed you yoi," Marco said, breaking the silence. They were standing outside and Luffy was leaning on the cabin wall.

"I missed you too, pineapple man," he replied, giggling and Marco could only sigh in relief that the teen was still smiling after what happened. However at the same time that was worrisome, he's acting like it was nothing. He walked over to the teen and touched his bruised neck gently, frowning and clenching his teeth.

"I'm alright, Marco," Luffy repeated like before.

"No yoi, it's not alright," he said through clenched teeth, this time inspecting the bruise on his hips. Someone hurt Luffy, someone touched him and left marks on his... his what?

"You do realise this isn't the 1st time right…" he trembled out, "I'm not as pure and innocent as I look, I'm used," Luffy finished, smiling bitterly.

Marco knew, he suspected that right from the beginning, knew it but hearing it come out from the raven's own lips made him very angry and growl. Luffy bit his lips, his eyes downcast.

"I knew, but at least this shouldn't be happening anymore yoi," he fumed, as he brushed his hand over the raven's bruised hips jostling it slightly. Luffy winced slightly, it was already fading due to his healing speed but was still hurting. "You're mine, yoi," Marco stated, not hiding his thoughts anymore, as he pulled the raven against him by the waist. He was feeling rather possessive right now and realised he doesn't want anyone touching Luffy, kissing him, or to see those warm, loving onyx eyes pointed at someone else.

Luffy was surprised at the sudden claim and gaped at the blond, who just looked at him with protectiveness reflected on those ocean blue eyes and Luffy couldn't help but laugh.

"Shishishishi, since when," he said grinning and tilted his head sideways, cutely.

"Probably since the 1st time i kissed you yoi," the blond answered honestly, "but I just realised, I don't want anyone else touching you that way, so will you be mine?" He asked with the usual bored face but Luffy can see that he was serious. The raven rolled his eyes but then smiled all the same.

"Hmm...does that mean I have a pineapple chicken as a lover now?" Luffy said dryly.

Marco groaned and exhaled at the same time but couldn't help the smile blooming on his face, 'lover huh?' He loved the sound of that. He grabbed the teens face and smashed their lips together causing Luffy to yelp and tumble backwards slightly while Marco made sure he didn't fall. One of his hands behind the teen, holding him tightly against him and another buried in soft raven hair on the back of his head to tilt his head back and lift him up slightly. Luffy was tiptoeing, his hands were gripping the blond's shirt before he lost his balance and was now against a wall but Marco was still gripping his waist tightly, it hurts a little but he doesn't care right now. Marco bit his lower lip causing him to moan, allowing the blond entry as he slipped his tongue into the raven's mouth. He could taste blood and the chocolate the raven was snacking on earlier. Soon enough, Luffy pushed back with his own tongue, battling for dominance. His arms had found the pirate's neck and he hung on it for balance. They parted after a while panting, lips swollen but smiling and satisfied.

"You taste like rum," Luffy said breathlessly, making Marco chuckle. Marco had drunk some earlier too, almost emptying his stash.

"And you taste like chocolate yoi," he grinned.

Luffy leaned his head on the blond's chest and Marco buried his head on the raven's hair, it smelled like the shampoo he used to clean him up earlier. Luffy started sniffling, Marco leaned back and grabbed the raven's face.

"What's wrong, Luffy yoi?"

"I, the tiger died for me, I didn't want that," he snivelled, "I didn't want anyone else dying for me…don't ever die for me Marco."

"I can't promise you that Luffy," he said as he hugged the raven softly stroking his hair, "but I promise I'm strong, I won't die easily."


Thatch's POV

Thatch called oyaji on the den-den mushi and told him and the commanders everything, missing nothing out. There were grumbles and angers at the news and more questions than answers but Thatch assured that so far he didn't seem hostile towards him or Marco, actually they seemed really close if the bath was any indication but Thatch didn't tell them that. He also said 'you would definitely like him oyaji', to which Whitebeard laughed and told him he did plan to kidnap said teen. With the update done he went back, only to catch sight of something he thought he would never see, which made him gape and squeal silently. Marco out right asked the teen to be his and he found out that they kissed before. So this was the reason Marco looked happier albeit a little every time the eagle visited and there was also the random staring at the sea. He was trying SO damn hard to not laugh at the raven's reply and squeal out loud right now, they were cute. But he pouted, Marco always gets the cute ones. The teen started crying though and said some really sad stuff but what happened next, he had coo making them realise he was there.


"They burned my island…" the raven whined and pouted at Marco, eyes red with leftover tear tracks. Cue Thatch's coo.

"Thatch were you eavesdropping yoi?" Both of them are staring at him now, Luffy looking perfectly comfortable in the blond's arms as he watches him, blinking innocently.

"It wasn't on purpose~" Thatch whined, pouting, "I didn't want to interrupt your make out session," he teased, grinning. Marco groaned but inwardly appreciated that he didn't interrupt them and Luffy just giggled.

"Alright, you guys should go before it gets too late," Luffy told them, smiling.

Marco sighs, "can't you just come with us yoi?" He asked even though he knew the answer. Thatch agreed.

"I can't and you know," he said, pushing them towards the boat, "I need to train and I'll see you guys soon, during war," he ended seriously, eyes glowing gold slightly. Thatch wondered if that was a trick of light.

"Alright, take care yoi," Marco said and kissed the raven's forehead. He felt better after this visit but he hoped they could save Ace and everything would be good.

Marco had requested Thatch to not tell his family about their new found relationship yet, he didn't want them to know right now when the situation kind of sucked. Which Thatch reluctantly agreed to, but he kept going around telling people the raven was a young adorable teen which a lot of their brothers couldn't believe. His brother loves to tell tall tales and for once he wasn't believed when he's telling the truth. Plus, Thatch kept whining about wanting him as a new brother once in a while. Marco could only roll his eyes fondly at his brother's antics, he definitely was glad Thatch was still around.


Luffy spent the next several days training his devil fruit, pushing it to the limit using all the tail's powers at once and doing it until he was exhausted. He cleaned up his forest, removed the burns and buried his dead animal friends. Then he would use his anger to train with his swords, it's been too long since he trained hard. He lifted weights and ran around his island everyday. Marco sent him a letter once in those 4 days to update him on what would be happening and Luffy had been updating him on his condition and just like the raven told Thatch he was totally healed in 3 days. Besides that, he also told the Whitebeards and their allies to tie a rope on their ships and hang it into the sea. Though he had no idea if they would listen to him. Luffy had several nightmares because of what happened with the agent, his nightmares had reduced significantly over 2 years but after what happened it came back almost every night so he spent the nights training instead.


I actually put in a lot of efforts into his katana's names cause I want it to fit the design, which I mentioned in chapter 5 briefly. Anyway,

Chigosaku - Blood blooms (nodachi with black scabbard littered with red spider lily flowers and a red cord wrapping on the handle)

Hinohana - Fire flower (ninjato with white scabbard with orange and blue flames decorating it and a white cord wrapping the handle)

(3824 words)