Ace's life had turned into hell in the span of a single day. He had gone from being loved and cared for by his parents to an existence alone. Hunted to the ends of the earth by hunters and wolves alike. Dragon apparently hadn't stopped by ruining his life, he had to ensure that Ace's life was nothing but suffering. Following the night of the attack Dragon had sent swarms of hunter units to catch Ace.

They came during the day, while most of the forest was sleeping. But they weren't there for the usual creature feature chase, no they had one purpose and one purpose alone. To capture and kill Ace. They had taken him by surprise the first time. He had been sleeping huddled in on himself trying to keep the cold away. He was not used to sleeping outside and wasn't ready for the brutal night temperatures. But that hadn't stopped the hunters, neither did his age or the way he cried out so piteously when one of their knives sliced through his right paw. There was only satisfaction in their cold eyes.

But it didn't stop there. So unnerved by the sudden stampeded of hunters the very wolves who swore loyalty to his father now turned on him. Desperate to distance themselves from the infamous king of wolves they pursed Ace with the same reckless abandon. They figured that if they could just kill him and offer up his body to the hunters the fierce raids would subside. The wolves did not like hunters in their woods any more than the hunters liked being there. But they were willing to risk it to get to Ace.

Nowhere was safe for Ace. The outskirts between the human territory and the woods was out. There was no protection over there and it was frequently patrolled. It would take them all of ten minutes to catch him. So that just left the woods. Big enough to keep him hidden and aid in his escape. Except for the fact that he was hounded by both sides. Ace didn't know where the vampires stood on the issue but the ones he had run into did not thank him for the commotion he caused. If he had to guess they would kill him if they could just to be rid of the headache. Rotten bastards.

Ace had quickly learned that an existence without a family was a very cold and lonely one. In those early days he had seeked out other wolf mothers with litters around his age asking for any scrap of food they could spare. Rouge had told him once that mothers were all the same when it came to kids. He had thought they would be nice, like his mom was. As it turns out they were more vicious then the males. The females did not like the threat Ace's presence posed for their young ones. Like everything else in these woods they had tried to kill him and just like every other creature he had encountered they did not stop when his blood began to stain his fur.

Ace had to adapt quickly. He was not a coward, he knew that much. He was brave and there was a fire in his chest that made him want to survive no matter how wretched his life was. He had not shifted back into human form since burying his mother. It was easier to live as a wolf. His emotions were less intense and his thoughts were survival driven rather than social, which his humans thoughts tended to be sometimes.

Two and a half years had passed since the death of his parents. Ace was seven now. At least he figured he was. Winter had come and gone twice and now the days were beginning to shorten once again. He used to hate winter. Nothing reminds someone that they are alone like freezing half to death every single night, all the while watching the injuries of that day slowly dye the snow a sickly red color. On top of that the hunters could track him easier this way and it was harder for a black pup to hide in the snow. But Ace had learned from his mistakes. Long gone were the days when he had opinions. No he took each unpleasant thing in his rather unpleasant life like a solider. He knew the winter nights would practically freeze him stiff the same way he knew he would survive them like he survived everything else nowadays. Moment by moment and utterly alone.

Ace had learned how to fight pretty quickly. He was vicious by now going for the kill the second an opportunity opened up. He knew the ones who hunted him wouldn't falter to kill him if they could and he saw no reason he should either. In the beginning he had tried to be good, follow his mother's teachings. But too many times did he leave a hunter escape only for them to come back the next day more determined than ever to shoot him.

But starting two days ago Ace had gotten the upper hand. A hunter party had come at him and these guys were meaner than usual crowed which had caused Ace to lose his temper. Only unlike previous instances one pitiful hunter was left alive and begging for his life as Ace towered over him.

"Please," the man had spluttered. "I have a family." Ace cared little for his pleas. After all he too had a family once and that hadn't seemed to stop them.

Ace raised his claws to deliver the final blow but the man wasn't done bargaining.

"I can tell you where Dragon lives!"

Ace paused. Now that was interesting.

"1822 Foosha street!" The man called desperately clawing the ground. "Blue house first one on the street. With his wife and kid. I'll tell you anything just please let me g….."

Tired of his cries Ace had slashed his throat. But already a plan was forming. He would show the Dragon what a raid felt like. But first he needed his other form.

It had been so long that Ace couldn't manage to change back until the next morning when finally breathless and exhausted he was a human child again. But one glance at himself in a pond and he knew no one would mistake him. He was a mess. His hair had grown to his shoulders now and it was a ridden with dirt and twigs. As was the rest of him. It had taken three baths to scrub the layers off in order to see his skin. His hair was far too matted to be untangled so instead he just cut the knots out. He found some old clothes in the pits near the wastelands which fit him well enough.

Ace left first thing in the morning before the light had fully crept into the world. He briefly recalled all the times he had begged his mother to take him with her to town. Was there a reason she had always declined? What if it was a terrible place where wolves were hung up in the streets? Despite himself his bruised stomach felt fluttery. This was a risky move in any setting. The odds of being discovered either by hunters or their scout dogs was high. But his adrenaline ad pride wouldn't allow him to back down.

By the time he made it into the town limits it was still early morning but the world had begun to wake up. White faced and utterly terrified Ace stiffly made his way down the streets expecting at any second to be recognized. He stuck to the wooded parts when he could but the further he got into town they rapidly became few and far in between. The first person he saw Ace had panicked and ran the other way, not at all inconspicuously either. Since then things he had gotten better.

An old man had asked him if he was lost and in a very scratchy unused voice Ace had asked the way to Foosha street.

He had been worried the hunter was lying but sure enough on the end of Foosha street there was a little blue house that reeked of the Dragon hunter.

Ace had been expecting an evil laboratory or some sort of hideous cave but no it was a sunny looking house with a red mailbox and everything. It looked pleasant and quaint like the rest of the houses on the street.

The human settlement was very strange indeed. Ace wasn't sure if he liked it here. It felt very crowded and there weren't many trees. All the plants looked too perfect to be real. He had no clue how this may people managed to live together and keep the place so clean. It was…off-putting.

Still he pressed forwards hyper aware that at any second he could be discovered by none other than Dragon. Along the side of the house there was a small row of trees that served as a fence between the blue house and the one besides it. Ace slipped between them feeling much more at ease here among their shade as he made his way around the house.

There was another scent, not unlike Dragons but still different. Ace tensed as he clung to the trees peaking around the house to the backyard.

In the grass sat a young boy playing. He was holding a mug full of some kind of liquid. Ace knew this because it sloshed out when the boy moved it, which he did frequently. There were other toys spread out around him but he seemed most transfixed with the mug as it zoomed in between the toys interacting with all of them.

Ace crept forwards careful to stay hidden behind the trees and out of the eyes of prying neighbors. This must be Dragons son.

He heard sounds of arguing from inside the house, very loud arguing. Was the dragon hunter in there? Ace hoped not. That would almost ensure his death. He glanced back at the boy. Was there enough time to kill the child and then escape back to the woods? He didn't know.

Casting one last glance at the empty back door he crept forwards towards the kid. He prayed whatever the argument was about it would keep the adults distracted.

The boy looked up as Ace approached him and the wolf cub prepared himself to bolt after to child, or in turn bolt if the child screamed.

Ace put a finger to his lips and the boy nodded.

'Human children are trusting,' Ace thought to himself as he settled gingerly in the grass between the toys and the kid. He thought he used to be like this as well.

"Who are you?" The boy asked loudly. Ace brought his finger to his lips again warningly. He was close enough to lean forwards and cut his vocal cords with a single claw if he needed to.

"Does the Dragon hunter live here?"

The kid nodded, his mug clutched between his two tiny hands as he regarded Ace. A smile broke out across his face as he did so.

"Do you want to play with me?"

"No!" Ace snapped before remembering to keep his voice low.

"Is he your father?"

"Who?"

"Dragon!"

The boy made a face. "I guess, want to play with me!"

Ace furrowed his brow as he looked back at the house relived to find that no one had seen him yet.

"My names Luffy."

Ace turned back to him, "Is your dad home right now?"

Luffy nodded and Ace felt his blood run cold.

"He's talking to mommy."

Ace glanced back at the house rapidly. Why was he here, now of all times. God dammit. Should he retreat now and count his blessings. Did Dragon already know he was here?

"You can have this one." The kid said shoving a toy into his hands. It was one of those little army guys. Ace used to have one or two at his house but he never had any interest in them rather than chewing on.

He put the toy aside and regarded the boy carefully. He could act now. Snap his neck and be halfway to the woods before anyone realized. He had no clue how long the argument would last.

"What's your name?"

But halfway to the woods was not the same thing as being able to escape back into the woods. The hunters would surely be mobilized and ready to cut him into a million pieces for daring to raise a hand against one of their precious children.

"Want to meet my other friend?"

"We're not friends," Ace muttered distractedly. Even as the boy shoved the mug under his nose.

Ace was about to push him away when… "Is that a fish?"

"His name is Wolfie!" Luffy chirped happily. "My grandpa gave him to me yesterday."

"Why is he in a mug?"

Luffy looked at him like he was an idiot, "So he can play with me."

The fighting from the house grew louder and Ace looked up, Luffy did as well.

"What are they fighting about?"

Luffy shrugged. He didn't know. He was too young to wonder about those kinds of things.

Ace stood up, well aware that they were losing time. He took the mug from the kid and put it down.

"I changed my mind, let's be friends okay."

Luffy nodded a smile on his face. "Okay!"

Ace gestured for him to stand and he did. "I want to show you something."

"Is it cool?" He asked excited.

Ace nodded and he bent down to pick Luffy up. He didn't resist Ace and locked his hands behind his neck to hang on better like a baby monkey.

Slipping out the way he had come Ace went quickly. When forced to cross a street they passed a man walking his dog. It was nothing out of the ordinary but it sent a thrill of fear through Ace while Luffy simply waved at the dog.

Any second Ace was expecting sirens to go up and hunters to rush out guns blazing but they didn't.

He finally stopped in a patch of brambles, relatively confident that they would not be spotted here so easy. When he sat down the human looked up at him curiously. He said something no doubt wondering what Ace was doing but he ignored him too caught up in the whirlwind going on in his head.

Ace had killed before, on accident and on purpose. These last few years it had been the only thing keeping him alive. While he never enjoyed the feeling of taking a life he had gotten to the point where it didn't bother him as much anymore. He felt almost disconnected from it. But that was as a wolf when his emotions were muted behind a wall of intense instinct. This was different and the usual buffer between his instincts and heart was no longer there.

"Can we go back?" The tiny thing asked. "We are going to get in trouble."

If he only knew how much trouble Ace would be in. But no this humans life was all about joy and love. He no doubt had a warm bed and two warm parents to give him food and company and apparently a fish.

Dragon had taken everything from him, Ace reminded himself. Now it was time to show him how that felt. He lifted Luffy onto his lap so that his back touched Ace's chest. The tiny human looked up at Ace's face curiously as Ace's hand closed around his throat.

"What are you doing?"

As Ace tightened his grip Luffy squeaked and began to squirm. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him but it was starting to be uncomfortable.

'One move,' Ace reasoned to himself. And his throat would be slashed and Dragon would feel what it was like. He felt the familiar stinging sensation as his claws crept out.

"Let go," The kid whined as it tried to free itself firm Ace's grip which was suddenly much too tight.

Just a second, Ace reasoned. And it would be done. He tightened his grip feeling Luffy struggle for breath as he did.

Rouge would hate him. On some level Ace was okay with that. He wanted to hurt her like she had hurt him. She had left him alone in this world so it was only fair.

In the distance some ways off he could hear a feint call for Luffy. They had realized he was missing. Ace cocked his head listening intently.

"Luffy! Where are you?"

That was the Dragon hunter. It was now or never. Ace tensed covering the child's mouth with his other had to stop him from calling back to them as the calls got louder.

"Luffy come here this instant!"

"Baby where are you?"

"Baby where did you run off to?"

Ace froze as memories of better times polluted his brain, dulling his bloodlust. That must be Luffy's mother. Rouge used to call out just like that, her voice underlined with worry when Ace wondered too far past the boundary.

With his grip weakened Luffy pulled Ace's hand off his mouth perking up. "Mommy!"

Ace shushed him roughly.

"But it's mommy." He argued twisting to escape Ace's grip. "And I don't like this game. Your hurting me."

"Red? Please come home now baby."

Shit! They were too close now. Ace's window was quickly closing.

He let Luffy go but grabbed the boys wrist instead as he tried to crawl out of the bushes.

"You said you wanted to be friends?"

Luffy paused as he turned to look up at Ace with wide eyes. He nodded slowly.

"Well my name's Ace. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'll be your friend but you have to do something for me okay?"

Luffy nodded slowly. "Okay."

XXX

"Luffy please come back now." Makino called fighting the intense panic in her chest. Besides her she knew Dragon was doing the same. It was a stupid argument. One she had regretted instantly. They should never of left Luffy alone that long. These last few weeks she and Dragon had been getting into more and more arguments. Something that had never happened before for the couple. And almost all of them were about the Ace. Dragon was becoming increasingly paranoid and it was effecting his parenting. Just last week Luffy had gone over to their neighbor's house without telling them, something he did from time to time. Their neighbor was a kind old lady whose children didnn't visit often so she tended to spoil Luffy with cookies whenever he came over.

Usually this wasn't as much of an issue and Luffy only received a slap on the wrist when he forgot to tell them first. But yesterday had been different as Makino was at the store while Dragon was supposed to be watching him. When he came down from his work to find Luffy gone he had overreacted in a big way. He had eventually found Luffy but only after a few hours of searching.

When Makino returned she had been the one to let Luffy out of the closet he had been locked in crying his eyes out the entire time. It took her over thirty minutes to get him to stop crying, a rare occurrence for her unusually happy child. She told Dragon in no uncertain terms that they did not lock children in closets when they misbehaved. They had spent the rest of the day feuding and bad feelings had persisted a good while after that.

"Red! Where are you?"

"Mommy!"

Makino and Dragon whirled around to see Luffy standing near the brambles behind them.

Makino slumped in relief as she let out the breath of nervous air as Luffy sprinted over to her happily.

"Oh baby," She breathed into his hair as she scooped him up from the ground. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry mom." Luffy said not sounding sorry at all as he gave Dragon an anxious look.

"Luffy that was very dangerous!" Dragon said sharply. "Why did you run off?"

At his tone Luffy shrunk closer to Makino. "Sorry," he said again much more sincere this time. "I was playing a game."

"Why didn't you tell us before you ran so far away?"

"Sorry," he said again into Makino's shoulder. "I won't do it again."

"No you won't." Dragon agreed.

XXX

By the time Luffy made it out of the brambles Ace was already far away and racing back to the woods. When he didn't hear sirens after thirty minutes he figured he was in the clear. At least for now. But he needed to be much more careful from now on. Provoking the hunter leader was not something to be undertaken lightly. If Luffy carried through with his promise Ace's life was about to get that much more dangerous. Ace knew all of this and it somehow didn't faze him. He wanted more than this. Raids, fighting, running, surviving, more running, fighting and killing. He was only seven years old and already he was tired of it all. He couldn't do this forever. Well he could but he didn't want to. Ace just wanted it to end and if that meant either Dragon, Luffy or himself dying to make it happen then so be it. As long as there was a means to an end in sight he was willing to do it. Anything to unseat Dragon. A distracted hunter was an at risk hunter. And he needed the man to know that just because Ace was a child that didn't mean he wasn't a threat. Maybe now the man would think twice before sending his brigade after him now.

When Ace finally made it back to base he was exhausted and his stomach was growling non- stop. But he didn't think he had it in him to go hunting for food and his very meager reserves had gotten poached while he had been away.

At the moment he was living in an abandoned hunting cabin. Rodger had brought him here once years ago. Apparently the man had spent a good chunk of his childhood here. By now it was so run down and haggard it did little to keep the chill away but Ace didn't care. It was fine for now. He padded over to a corner where he had piled old newspaper and settled down pulling his tail close to him to conserve whatever body heat he had. He didn't know at which point he had reverted back to a wolf but he hardly cared. Being in human form again had made him ahe with lonliness.

XXX

"What did you do to yourself?" Makino asked as she bandaged the worst of Luffy's scrapes. He giggled at her concern.

"I was playing."

"Thorn bushes are a bad place to play," Dragon told him. The couple were tucking Luffy into bed for the night.

To everyone's great surprise Dragon hadn't tried to punish him again, no doubt learning from how poorly that went last time. Instead he sat Luffy down and explained how dangerous that had been and why Makino and himself were worried.

"And how did you get those?" She asked as she removed his shirt. There were light bruises already beginning to form around his neck.

"My friend." Luffy told them with a wide yawn. "We were playing a game."

Dragon and Makino were instantly alert as they shared a look. "Your friend?"

Luffy nodded.

"Was it an imaginary friend?" Makino asked.

"Imagaenary?" Luffy tried to repeat after her.

"Like a friend from your mind?"

Luffy shook his head oblivious to his parents fear. "No he was real."

Dragon kneeled beside Luffy to inspect the damage. "And he did this to you?"

Luffy nodded again.

"Was that why you were out in the bushes?"

"We were playing a game." He reminded them. Although to be fair it wasn't a very fun one. Luffy had never had a friend before though so maybe that's how all children played?

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Dragon asked as he gripped Luffy's shoulders harder then he meant too.

"He told me not to." Luffy explained, confused why his parents were so upset. "He said if I did he wouldn't be my friend anymore. But that I could tell you later." Luffy thought for a second. "He really wanted me to tell you later."

Makino covered her mouth as Dragon shook Luffy, "Did he say anything else?"

Luffy tried to free himself from his father's intense grip but for the second time that day he wasn't strong enough. "He wanted me to tell you something. He said it was really important."

"What's that Luffy?"

"Let me go," Luffy said with a pant.

Gently but firmly Makino removed Dragons hands from Luffy's shoulders. "Sweetheart what did he tell you?"

"He said his name was Ace and that he didn't like you very much. He said that he was going to be back and that we could play again. Soon!"

XXX

I know the real reason people read this story isn't the plot or ASL fluff but actually for Wolfie (the fish). Some of you may be thinking; What became of Wolfie without Luffy? Where is his happy ending? And where can I buy Wolfie merchandise for an affordable price without sacrificing quality? Well all your question and more will be answered next time on The Fish Run Red!

But seriously sorry there was Sabo. I realized there was a little more Ace/Luffy plot to work out so next chapter will be Sabo instead. Now you can see why Dragon is very reluctant to trust Ace in real time when he threatened to do the exact thing that ended up happening. I will say that Dragon is not the root of all evil in Luffy's life. Although he was a part of it. Ace is much more afraid of him then Luffy is. Luffy's main source of terror is the hunters.

XXX

Guest #1: Aye aye captain.

Vongola10: Don't Read Reviews! Madness. Of course I read every review! Multiple times. And I mostly respond. And Update I shall. Hopefully a few more times before September. But we shell see as life teds to get in the way. And that is SO Sweet! I'm really glad you like my story. I will try my best to do it justice. This chapter was supposed to be about Sabo and Law but I guess Luffy and Ace had some unfinished business first. But chapter 25 will be Sabo centric for sure.

MegN: Thank you

AnimeAngel2692 : Poor Ace indeed Things do eventually get better for him. And thank you! That's so sweet. I can't guarantee this chapter is fantastic as it was seriously rushed but hopefully it will do its job. Thank you for the nice review!

Insomniac Dormouse: Aww thank you. It made me really sad to write and I know Luffy's chapter is going to make me just as sad. But Ace is strong and he will be okay in the long run!

lostdog200: Yea the poor guy. And always! I love your questions. They make me think more about things I hadn't considered before.

Eternal Empress: I'm glad! They were pretty awesome and Ace is still really broken up about it. I think Dragons more complex but his Ace paraoia is leading him down a dark path and it's starting to push his family away.

Rin27: Thank you! I'm really happy you liked it. Yes more feels here and more to come.

Green: So true so true. At least things do get better for all of them. Except Luffy who things get much much worse for before they get better. Poor baby indeed Ace's life is kind of rough. He got pretty tough since the last chapter.

Guest #2: Thank you

FairyAlchemist400: Aww thank you. And more angst. And even more later!

. : Maybe? I don't really know. I've just been playing it by ear. So I'm going to say sort of but there is still a lot to come.