"Are you sure this is where he fell?" Thatch asked as Sanji frowned.
"No, but it's my best guess."
"Way to go." Zoro said sarcastically.
"What if the hunters get to him first?"
"They have their hands full with the invasion." Marco said grimly. Although it looked like it was the wolves who were on the run instead.
"Stop!" Zoro said suddenly as Marco slammed on the breaks.
"What?"
Zoro was already leaving the car. He knelt near the bushes showing them his hand. Blood.
The rest of them followed him, shifting the car into park.
"Ace!" Thatch called in concern.
"Here," Zoro said finding a trail of crushed shrubs and drying blood. He traced the trail to a particularly thorny bush trying to pull it aside only for pin-pricks of blood to appear on his arm. The thorns were deceivingly sharp.
"Ace!" Zoro called as Sanji came over to help, tearing up his hands to push the bushes aside.
They saw patches of dark fur streaked with wet red patches. Sanji grabbed the wolf and tried to pull him out only for him to growl and try to snap at them weakly before burrowing deeper in the bushes.
"Ace, please we just want to help."
The wolf let out a low growl as the two of them managed to pull him out of his hiding place.
Zoro had once seen an injured cat crawl into a bin to hide. He suspected Ace was doing the same thing. As what was basically considered a second class creature he couldn't afford to let anyone find him.
Ace let out another warning growl as they pulled him out. His eyes were half lidded and it was clear he was barley awake. Still every time they tried to lift him he would snap at them viciously.
Marco and Thatch came over and knelt by him as the four of them tried to lift the large wolf. His fur was soft, far softer then it looked. Ace let out another low growl as he thrashed about trying to viciously bite their hands.
They managed to load him into the back of the truck, but only after each one received a bite-mark.
Ace passed out sometime during the ride home, his injuries were obviously bothering him, although he didn't show it with how loud he was being. Marco worried that with their luck someone may hear and alert the hunters or something. Thankful the streets were still deserted.
With limited options they decided to take him to Marco's place as he was the only one with a garage so they wouldn't be spotted.
The four of them together managed to carry Ace into the living room, which was a lot easier when he wasn't trying to maul them. While Thatch and Marco pathed up Ace's wounds Zoro and Sanji went out looking for the other two brothers, which as it turns out wasn't as much of a chore as they thought it would be. Zoro found the Luffy after only an hour. He was at the town boundary a little worse for wear but much better off then Ace.
In the meantime Ace had woken up and resumed snapping at everything that moved, once again reminding Marco of a cornered cat.
He only pause his incessant growls when he saw Luffy, who receive a large lick across the nose.
"Are you okay?" Luffy asked sinking down besides his brother who was trying his best to pull his beaten body over to him. His large languish wolf tail was pounding against the floor so intently Marco was worried someone outside might hear.
Ace settled his head in Luffy's lap digging his snout as far as he could into his brother's stomach before giving off a low growl.
Luffy frowned and looked at the teens behind him before turning back to Ace, scratching his ears absentmindedly.
"It's fine Ace." He told him.
Ace apparently didn't agree and let out a bark that made the nervous teenagers in the doorway shush him.
Luffy ignored them as he rolled his eyes in response. "And I say its fine."
Not liking the answer Ace barked again, earning him another round of shushes. Luffy's hand tightened on Ace's pelt and temporarily stopped its ministrations before continuing to scratch his ears.
"What is he saying?" Thatch asked. "We have been trying to figure it out for the last hour but he keeps growling at us."
Luffy looked up at them thoughtfully. "Ace thinks you're going to double cross him."
Ace had apparently elected not to tell them that as he snapped at his brother lunging at his hand only for Luffy to pull it away before Ace could bite him.
"Stop it!" He said irritated, "Or ill bite you back."
"Why would Ace think that?" Thatch asked rather hurt.
"Because that's what usually ends up happening." Luffy said. Ace huffed in response as if reminding his brother of the facts.
"It will be fine this time!" Luff told Ace again, only louder this time.
Ace once again voiced his disagreement.
"Then trust me!" Luffy told him.
Ace did not look pleased at this but he laid his head back on his brother's lap circling his tail around Luffy sending the teenagers a glare.
"Ace we would ever do that!" Thatch cried, outraged by the thought Ace still didn't trust them.
Ace sent them a snort that didn't need to be translated, but Luffy did anyways further adding to their sour mood.
"That's what they say as well." He turned his attention back to Ace, running his fingers through the dark fur. He found the stained patches of fur and frowned.
"Ace what happened?"
"He got shot by hunters." Marco told him tapping the first aid box with his foot. "We tried to patch him up but he tried to bite off our hand every time we got near."
Luffy looked down at Ace who glared back at him. "And you call me reckless." He said to which Ace growled back in response. He reached across the wolf for the first aid kit only for Ace to snap at his fingers. He pushed his snout away in order to grab the bandages.
"Don't be such a baby!"
Ace snapped again, this time nipping his palm, biting deep enough to break the skin.
"No I won't! stop it."
"Do you need any help?" Sanji asked unsurley as he watched Ace chomp down again, this time catching a bit of his finger.
"That will just make him worse." He told them once again pushing Aces snout down as he tried to bandage the wounds.
"Are you okay?" Sanji asked Luffy. "You don't look so good yourself."
Luffy looked down at his jeans picking absently at a hole in the fabric. He felt guilt well up inside him at the memory of his grandfather's face. He had hurt Garp. He could tell that much. What was worse was the fact that Garp didn't have anything to do with his disappearance. It would have been so easy to tell his grandfather he was still alive but he thought Garp would tell Dragon and the hunters and they would take him away from his brothers.
Luffy could only shrug in response.
"You look like crap."
He looked down at himself realizing it was true.
"I got tazed." He said distractedly. "….and pepper sprayed."
"Where's the blond one?" Sanji asked.
"Sabo?" Luffy's frown deepened. "I don't know. I need to go find him." He rose despite a whine from Ace just as the sound of a key sliding into the lock got their attention.
They all froze for a second looking at the door. Then in the next second the teenagers scattered. Thatch made a dash for the kitchen while Zoro and Sanji took off upstairs shoving each other the entire way.
Marco and Luffy helped Ace limp behind the couch. Thankfully the space was large enough for the skinny boy and smallish wolf teen.
Marco was just covering the blood stain with a rug when his father walked in looking like his sports team just struck out.
"Hey dad." Marco greeted casually from his awkward place standing in the middle of the living room.
"Thank goodness you didn't get caught up in the violence." Whitebeard said relieved as he put down his crossbow.
"Rough day?" Marco guessed as he walked to the kitchen to get his father a drink. Thatch was hiding behind the counter and put his finger to his lips. Marco hoped his dad didn't decide to go into the kitchen. Although Thatch's sudden appearance would be a lot easier to explain then Zoro and Sanji's. And all hell would break loose if he saw Ace and Luffy.
"I'm sure you heard about the commotion in town today?" The man said as he took the drink gratefully.
Marco watched in horror as his father walked into the living room sitting down on the very couch Ace and Luffy were hiding behind.
"Of course." Marco said a little too quickly as he followed his dad into the living room.
"Well on top of that, remember that boy from the photo."
"Which one?" Marco asked trying to keep his tone casual as he clenched his fists.
"The little one, he payed us a visit at city hall today. To warn us about the alliance. Still it messed Garp up. He hadn't seen the kid in like seven years or something like that and his grandson hardly even looked at him.
Behind the couch Ace looked up at Luffy who refused to meet his eyes, although his hands did tighten on the pelt. Luffy didn't want to talk about it or think about it right now. He most certainly did not want to hear how he hurt his grandfather. Things with his family were… complicated to say the least. He didn't know who he could trust and who would hurt him. The only one who he could always trust was his mother, but she was gone now. Just thinking about it caused a phantom ache in his chest. The moment he saw his grandfather all those feelings he had repressed came rushing back full force. He didn't know if Garp was going to hug him or kill him or even remember him. All he could think was how he may never see his brothers again.
Ace nosed Luffy with his snout letting him know he was breathing too loudly. The early stages of a panic attack. If they were discovered now that's exactly what would happen, he would never see them again. They would kill Ace, punish him for the bloodline, make an example out of him no doubt. Luffy too, although they wouldn't kill him. Instead the disciplinary comity would have their fun. That's what happens to hunters who defect or abandon their position. Luffy had heard enough horror stories about them growing up. Rumor had it any of the members could break a full grown man's spirit in under half an hour with only a paperclip. He didn't know if that was true or not but he didn't want to ever find out.
This train of thought was doing nothing to calm his breathing. Luffy closed his eyes and he buried his face in Ace's soft fur trying to keep his breath under control.
Ace blinked up at Luffy with understanding eyes and something told Luffy he knew exactly what he was thinking about. No doubt the same thoughts crossed his mind. Luffy hugged Ace tightly ignoring the patches of wet fur. He wouldn't let that happen, besides he didn't want to even think about what would happen to their other brother if they didn't come back.
"Then we somehow managed to lose the kid. Who knows how?" Newgate's voice cut back in.
Luffy hardly payed attention as he instead listened for Aces heartbeat. A little faster then he would have liked but Ace was strong. He would survive, he always did.
"So are you going to look for him?" Marco asked.
"If we haven't found him after all these years I doubt now will be any different. He knows how to disappear and for whatever reason he doesn't want to be found. What's more concerning is that wolf boy Ace. He could be bad news for us."
"How do you figure that?" Marco asked tensely.
"Well he's somewhat of a loose cannon. He could potentially be some kind of rallying point for the wolves."
"The prince of wolves." Marco recalled what Doflamingo said.
Newgate's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"
Marco shrugged quickly. "Just something I heard somewhere. I can't remember now though."
The man gave his son a careful look. "I would be very careful who you share that with. There are some that fear Ace is going to try to finish what his father started."
Marco elected not to ask who Ace's father was knowing full well his father wouldn't tell him. He did however add, "How do you know Ace wants to destroy the village."
Newgate sighed deeply and for the first time he seemed much much older. "There is a lot of history there son. I have to admit that the hunters have made a lot of mistakes. The town has made many as well. And after what happened to that boy I can't imagine he carries anything good in his heart about humans or this village."
"Maybe you underestimate him." Marco said somewhat heated.
Newgate put his drink down as he rose to his feet. "That's a nice thought son." He patted Marco on the head as he pulled his coat back on. "I have to head back. I just came back to make sure you were alright."
Marco waved at his dad as he closed the door behind him. Making sure to lock it when his father was far enough away. As he turned back around he saw four faces and one snout peeking out at him from their various hiding places.
"That was a close one," He told Luffy as he crawled out from behind the couch.
Luffy didn't reply. His face uncharacteristically serious. If Marco had to guess he was thinking about what his dad said.
"I have to go find Sabo." Luffy said, "Its way past when he promised to meet so he's probably worried.
Ace let out a bark as he tried to rise to his feet only for Luffy to push him back down.
"No you stay."
Ace let out another bark. Quite loud this time.
"You're not fine. I promise I'll come back as soon as I found him."
"Can you guys look after Ace for me?" Luffy asked the group.
They all nodded with the exception of Thatch who looked at Luffy then back at Ace who was growling.
"Is he going to dismember us if we get too close?"
Luffy tilted his head confused, "Why would he do that?"
"Because I'm pretty sure that's what he's been threatening to do all day. I mean I don't speak wolf but I'm reading between the lines here."
Luffy frowned. "He's not angry he's scared. You would be too if you were a wolf and everyone was trying to kill you."
Ace barked, furious at his brother for saying that. In that moment it was very easy to imagine the wolf as human and yelling at Luffy. Probably blushing as he did it.
The teenagers tried to shush him to no avail.
Luffy petted Ace's head, despite his brother still being angry with him. He allowed it as his worry for the kid's safety overshadowed his embarrassment.
"I'll be right back." Luffy promised as he turned to leave.
Ace watched him slip out the door. Pulling his hood up as he left. Once Luffy was out of sight Ace turned his attention back to the teenagers, making sure to be extra short tempered to let them know he was neither pleased with them nor afraid as Luffy had suggested.
"So is that why you didn't like us at first?" Marco asked after a few minutes of tense silence. "Humans always screw you over."
For his part Marco was starting to understand Ace and Luffy a lot more. No wonder they were so close since the world around them was insane. Ace was mistrustful of humans because they made him that way. Luffy didn't like the village because they would try to take him away from his family. And Sabo… well to be honest he had no idea about Sabo. The vampire was still a total mystery.
Ace laid his head down on his paws letting out a huff.
"You don't really seem like you want to take over the world though?"
He flicked his ear thinking about what that old man said. Sure he hated the town, quite a lot actually. That's also why he disliked most people instantly. But to be fair he didn't care for other wolves or vampires either. It's not like they showed him any kindness when he was a pup. He could be bitter and hateful about humans without being homicidal and hell bent on destroying hundreds of innocent families.
Satisfied that he had stopped growling at them the teens settled down around the living room. Content to keep the wolf company while he waited for his brothers to come back.
XXX
Sabo watched from the doorway as Luffy approached the wolf, a brush in hand.
Ace looked up at him decidedly unimpressed as he let out a loud growl, warning the child to stay away.
"He says go away." Sabo translated for him as he leaned against the door frame.
"But your fur," The little kid pointed to the young wolves pelt. "It's so dirty."
Ace let out another bark translated by Sabo.
"That's how he likes it."
Luffy settled down besides Ace on his hands and knees. "But your fur is so pretty. You can look like Mr. Tibbits."
"Who?" Sabo asked for both of them.
"The neighborhood cat." Luffy told them to which Ace responded with a huff of air in his face. Loudly telling the boy he was not amused.
"Leave him be if you want to keep your fingers." Sabo told Luffy.
Luffy ignored the fledgling as he brought the brush to Ace's tail. The response was immediate and completely expected as Ace lashed out and bit Luffy's hand angrily. It was just enough force to draw blood but not enough to do permanent damage. It was a warning.
Luffy yelped as sucked the area.
"I told you!" Sabo said with a sigh. "Now will you come on already?"
Luffy shook his head stubbornly as he picked the brush back up intent to do Ace's tail only to receive the same reaction. This time Ace's teeth sunk deeper into his hand.
Somehow Luffy managed to hold onto the brush as he shook his hand making a face.
"Ouch!"
Ace sat up, his tail thumping irately besides Luffy's legs. Luffy tried once more only for Ace to snap at his hand. He griped his tiny finger in his jaws and shook it fiercely trying to get his point across.
"Ace enough!" Sabo said as he pulled Luffy's arm free.
Ace growled at both of them as he stood up, walking pointedly out of the room.
Sabo frowned as he knelt down besides Luffy inspecting his bloody hand. "You're going to need stiches on that last one." He told him dismayed. "Why did you do that? Just leave him be and you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Luffy pouted. "Ace's fur is really dirty. I want to clean it to thank him. Maybe then he wouldn't be so itchy and mad."
"All you did was made him angry with you." Sabo told the child as he went to go grab the medical kit.
"He's always angry." Luffy told him when he returned. "And he ignores me anyway so it doesn't matter."
Sabo sighed as he took the tiny hand into his slightly larger ones. There was a lot he wanted to tell the human child, he wanted to somehow make him understand why Ace was like this. But he didn't know how to even begin so instead he remained silent.
"This is going to hurt." Sabo said as he threaded the needle.
Outside on the deck Ace's ears lay flat against his head as he heard Luffy yell in pain. He lay his head on his paws as he tried to ignore the grunts of pain. It was all his own fault after all, honestly what a stupid kid. Most humans were at least intelligent enough to know that when a wolf growls you leave them the hell alone. Why on earth couldn't Luffy figure that out?
At the very least Ace figured he must have learned his lesson this time.
Except apparently he hadn't.
In the following weeks Luffy turned his attention on grooming Ace. Ace reacted very negatively to this and in turn gave the kid many more stiches on his hands all the way up to his elbow. The latest one Ace snapped and took a real divet out of Luffy's palm. Sabo had to intervene that time.
"Are you suicidal or just incredibly stupid?" The young vampire yelled as he was yet again stuck patching Luffy up. By the eighth or ninth attempt his temper was officially frayed. Which was very hard to do.
Luffy just stuck out his cheeks. "His coat is messy!"
"So! Who cares? Just leave it. Ace can take care of himself"
"I care!" Luffy retorted. "You keep saying he can take care of himself but he doesn't. And you let him!"
With that the tiny human got up and stomped off before Sabo even had a chance to finish on his hand.
The vampire sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Luffy's words mulled around in his head. He had never seen the kid angry before. Was that why Luffy was so insistent? Because he was trying to look after Ace. It as a weird thought considering he couldn't even look after himself. Although he did have a point. Ace could take care of himself but chose not to. And he was supposed to be Ace's friend but instead he choose to sit back, content to merely observe Ace's destructive behavior.
Sabo groaned. When the hell had his life gotten so complicated.
He found Ace easily as the young wolf was near the pond outside. Sabo sighed as he sat down next to him. Ace looked up at him curiously.
"I might… owe you an apology."
Ace gave him a weird look, no doubt asking why.
"I think Luffy might be right about somethings."
Ace rolled his eyes at that turning his attention away.
"No! Listen. You are self-destructive. This we know." And by now Sabo knew it was something they would have to live with until Ace either decided to change or he managed to go too far and get himself killed. But that didn't mean Sabo should go along with it. Especially not since Ace was his only friend in the world.
"But I think I should probably be looking after you more. I mean I know you would do it for me in a heartbeat. Even if you don't care what happens to you, I do. Luffy too apparently…So I'm sorry."
Sabo got up and brushed himself off before leaving to go find Luffy.
"And for heaven's sake stop biting him. I'm tired of having to patch him up each time."
Ace put his head down on his paws and let out an odd sort of growl that sounded a bit like a whimper.
Sabo patched Luffy's hands up. He did it the next time as well although Ace had listened and Luffy didn't need stiches this time around. The injuries got increasingly milder at each attempt. Although Luffy's hands still looked worse for wear. The stiches were still healing and they were covered in so many bandages and bruises that it looked like something out of a horror movie.
Finally at the fifteenth attempt Ace looked over at the brush then Luffy's beaten hands and folded.
Sabo wasn't sure if it was because Luffy had worn him down or he couldn't find a place on those tiny hands that wasn't injured.
"I never thought I would see the day where you met someone more stubborn then you."
Ace growled back an insult making Sabo laugh.
Luffy, who was busy brushing Ace's dirty fur paused to look over at Sabo.
"I don't think you are an…ass…. Hat?"
Sabo's eyes grew wide as he and Ace shared a shocked look. Had Luffy understood Ace? They looked back at the kid who was making headway with the grimy pelt. That was surprising. Sabo didn't know of a single human who could understand the wolves. This was an interesting creature after all. He would be almost sorry to see him go. But he didn't belong here after all. Once the found his grandmother Luffy would go back. It was for the best.
XXX
Sabo woke up from the midst of memories somewhat disoriented. There was a weight on his chest and a splitting feeling in his head. What's more was something felt weird…off. But a good off, a lighter off. Like the things he thought mattered were all put into perspective and he realized he was being silly. In the grand scheme of things none of this was important. And even if it was he still didn't care.
The second thing he realized was that he was starving. Whatever he had eaten before had been burned up along with his energy reserves. If he didn't get something to eat right now he may literally keel over… although he was already laying on the ground. He could smell the sweet coppery smell of blood just above him, practically feel the way the blood sloshed around in the veins. It felt like everything else was muted except his need to feed, which was stronger than ever.
He opened his eyes to find the sky was dark. A familiar figure was above him speaking desperate but hushed words, asking him to get up and to be all right.
Sabo obeyed, although more out of hunger than anything else. He sat up wearily pressing a palm to his temple. Only to be tackled back into the ground again as the human hugged him tightly.
"Sabo what happened? I looked all over for you!" It said in distress. "You weren't at the meet up spot so I got scared. Then you wouldn't wake up. You aren't hurt are you?"
All the noise the creature was making was making his headache worse. He felt himself be pulled into a hug so tight that it was impossible to ignore the smell of the heartbeat.
"Say something!" The human said miserably. "You're okay right?"
"Luffy?" Sabo said to stop his loud rant as he grabbed his shoulders pulling him closer.
"Yea?"
Not even bothering to fight the urge the vampire sunk his fangs deep into the human. He felt Luffy go stiff with surprise. It wasn't until he tore deeper that it tried to instinctively pull away. Sabo however was much stronger as he easily pinned the human to the ground. Luffy writhed in pain under him.
"What…what are you doing?" It panted trying to free itself.
Sabo just shushed him, feeling the teen go slack under him.
This was bound to be entertaining. At the very least it would give him something to do.
XXX
Like usual I apologize for the extended absence. Last semester tried to kill me slowly and painfully. I will spare you the gory details of the life of a broke and idiotic science major. Anyway I have much more time this semester so hopefully I will get a lot more chapters out. I already started chapter 20 which is about Sabo and his recent bout of insanity. Chapter 21 should be another backstory chapter. I threw the Luffy stalker in last minute in chapter 7 not anticipating it would get so much attention. I hope it is a good enough reveal. Please ignore spelling mistakes as I am half asleep and terrible at spell checking. Please tell me what you think!
Guest #2
Deal! I won't abandon this. This story is my happy place. My life was just quite hectic, I would have much preferred to write over studying. I'm really glad you like it!
Alexandta27
¿Aceptarás hermanos muy cercanos / almas gemelas platónicas?
(google translate)
Guest #1
(cries) I hope I never accidently write twilight fanfiction. On that day I will know it's officially time to give up. I'm glad you like it.
Cheshire Kat02
Yes! And then no to the later, it's a male wolf. I'm glad you liked the chapter.
lostdoggy
Yes! And more about how Luffy felt about meeting Garp. At least he had mixed feelings about it as well. More Luffy past in chapter 21 so hopefully soon. Not at all, I love answering questions.
I hadn't really given Zeff much thought. I guess he probably was something like a hunter. I think he retired before he saved Sanji so he could open up his restaurant/bar. So far the wolf that attacked Luffy is just a random dudette and not so much a villain. As much as I hate non-canon characters there's a bit of a morale there that fits with the story's theme. Bluejam gets his own special role much later on as an actual evil villain.
I don't think Garp and Ace know each other very well. They probably haven't even met or if they did it as just in passing. Hopefully this chapter shed some light on the Ace stuff. Everyone knows of Ace just no one actually knows him.
I'm really glad you liked it.
Rin27
Yay! Thank you. I'm glad you like it.
poemado
thank you!
Insomniac Dormouse
More backstory! And more in chapter 21! Sabos not quite right unfortunately. I will try to have a new chapter soon. Thank you soooooo much for the review!
SEllen23
Thank you for the nice words! I can neither confirm nor deny. I'm really glad you liked it though and hopefully you will like this one as well.
