Here is chapter 2! Based on a review I got on a separate story, I know there may be a typo somewhere, it's inevitable. Enjoy~
Marco walked out onto deck and came up to his father and the 2nd division commander. "Left the kid in the guest room. He seems to have severe anxiety. It's a bit sad," he said. Then he turned to Ace. "What did he act like when you first found him?"
Ace frowned. "Well, he was sitting inside of a cage and told me to leave him there, until suddenly he completely changed and asked to be let out. There was this look in his eyes, very brief, where he was totally terrified. Then he came out and had his episode in front of pops." He paused. "There is something off with him, though. I could tell by the first time I looked at him. He said he lives alone and goes 'wherever'. How old do you think he is?"
"Looks around five or six," Marco commented. He looked to Whitebeard, who hadnt spoken. "What do you think?"
"There is darkness in his eyes. He's had to have gone through something very traumatic to look that frightened. I do look intimidating, though," Whitebeard added. "Well, he'll only be here a little while and then he can go on his way and not be scared of us." Ace frowned.
"He's a little kid, we can't just let him leave by himself," the fire man said. He frowned. When he looked at the kid the first time, he could tell Luffy had never smiled. He could just tell somehow. He had the most haunted eyes. More haunted and dark than anyone's eyes he'd ever seen. Even people who'd seen horrible things didn't look that tormented.
"Don't worry about it, Ace," Marco told the younger man. "He'll be fine if we just leave him alone."
Ace continued to frown deeply.
A knock on the door came and startled Luffy, making him hit his head on the crate above him. He'd made a fort around himself. He didn't say anything when there was a knock on the door.
"Dinner is ready!" the person behind the door shouted. He left before Luffy replied, thankfully.
"I don't want to go," Luffy whispered. "Too many people…"
Luffy flinched when Dark Luffy spoke up, irritated. "Suck it up and go. I'm hungry. Go, now!" Luffy flinched and hurried out of the door and down the hall towards the noise. He peeked out of the crack in between the door and doorway to see just how many people were there. How many people would be dead if Dark Luffy was in a particularly bad mood.
Luffy kept his head low, not looking at anyone, as he headed to a random table, one that didn't have many people. He only looked up to see food, but nothing seemed appetizing. He didn't want to eat. He would throw it up, but as angry voice in his head commanded him to eat, Luffy just snatched something off of the table and ate it.
He didn't really taste whatever it was, but he didn't want anymore. He began to hyperventilate as he was commanded to eat more. And it was made worse by Dark Luffy telling him to calm down or he'd bring negative attention. Yelling it at him.
Luffy curled in on himself, covering his ears with his hands, though they didn't muffle the voice of his tormentor shouting at him angrily. Tears fell from Luffy's shut eyes. It was like he was hearing with cotton balls in his ears as others came over and tried to help him. All the while, Dark Luffy was insulting him.
Luffy began to sob. Finally, the yelling in his head stopped, but Luffy was already too upset to stop. He felt Ace there first, touching his hand and asking Luffy if he was okay. Ace must've said something since everyone dispersed. Even the captain and Marco left. Soon it was only the little boy and Ace.
Luffy couldn't help but start to mumble what was going on inside his head.
"He's gonna kill me and then you and he's gonna make me watch and then fire everywhere. I'm never gonna be free. Kill me kill me kill me…" Luffy mumbled through quick breaths.
"Shut up! Stop telling him stuff!" Dark Luffy shouted. It was too much for Luffy. Everything was too much, and he gagged, turning to the side and throwing up the little food he had in his stomach. Dark Luffy wasn't going to like that.
Luffy felt warm arms around his small body. He was startled out of his panic attack and looked at Ace, who was smiling at him. Luffy began to sob horrible sobs of fear, anxiety and stress. So much stress. He was going to be killed just by the stress of living with two in his head.
"It's okay, Luffy. I got you," Ace said kindly. Luffy grew warmer from Ace's heat, but still cried. Ace didn't ask him to explain anything he'd let out. He was sure now that something was wrong with Luffy, mentally. Though he still had a feeling of unease about the whole thing, but all the signs so far pointed to a mental illness or severe trauma. Even Ace could tell that. God, and Luffy was only six. His simple mind couldn't function under all of this stress. A little kid shouldn't be having panic attacks like this, right?
What the hell happened to him to cause this?
"Why don't you have something good to eat, Luffy? Anything you want to have, I'll get you," Ace said gently, still hugging the little boy, even though he seemed a bit calmer. He'd been in that position for over twenty minutes. He had continued to mumble, but they'd become unintelligible and quieter, then less frequent.
Finally, Luffy calmed down, though tears still fell from his eyes. He was so embarrassed. It was all Dark Luffy's fault. He knew he couldn't handle all of this stress, and that's why he got sick often. The monster didn't seem to understand that. He was ruining Luffy's health. He'd end up killing Luffy by being a scary and horrible thing bullying and tormenting him.
"What would you like to eat?" Ace asked him as he lead the boy to the kitchen and the massive refrigerator. "We have -" Ace began, but Luffy cut him off.
"Are you strong Ace?" Luffy asked him quietly.
"Yeah, I think so. I have a over a 500,000,000 beri bounty, and blades or punches can't hurt me. Why do you ask?" he questioned, curious and surprised about Luffy's sudden question. The boy bit his lips nervously. Dark Luffy would be mad, but he needed someone to talk to right now.
"So you could win against me?" Ace nodded. "P-promise you won't tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you. Promise," Luffy said quickly.
"Alright, I promise," Ace said warily. He was worried about what Luffy was going to tell him, but at least the boy seemed to trust him. Quickly as well. Considering how withdrawn and anti-social he'd been since he got here, he wondered why he chose Ace to talk to, though he was glad it was him.
"There's a monster inside me… He likes to kill people and takes over my body and I don't remember anything when I wake up," Luffy said hurriedly, not wanting Dark Luffy to come in during this conversation. He seemed to have left once Luffy didn't stop crying. Did he annoy the evil thing?
"When did this start?" Ace asked seriously, conflicted about whether Luffy had something wrong with his brain or there really was some sort of monster ruining his life.
"When I was four. He talks to me in my head. He's mean and when I need help he comes out, but he kills everyone. And he won't let me get hurt, no matter what. Everytime he comes out and kills someone, one of my feathers turns black…" Ace looked at his wings. There were splotches of black here and there. "I have sixty four black feathers," Luffy whispered.
"He controls me and I can't do anything about it or he'll kill the people around me as punishment… He's scared of Marco and Whitebeard. I feel what he feels, and it's making me sick. I'm not crazy, Ace. I swear. I even got admitted to a hospital but he burned it to the ground because he didn't like the jacket they put on me.
"I don't know what to do… STOP. Don't talk about this, he's waking up," Luffy said quickly. Ace watched as Luffy grimaced at whatever was happening inside his head. The boy either had a spectacular imagination, or he was telling the absolute truth. Ace bet on the second option.
Luffy asked Ace for something to eat, because he was super hungry. His face looked miserable, and Ace did his best to look at him normally. Whatever was happening inside his head, he didn't want the other part of him to know Luffy had confessed to Ace. And Ace wouldn't piss off this entity because Luffy was in the middle.
He wished he could get rid of it somehow, but he'd have to ask for help, and that would violate his promise to the little boy. No little boy should have that look on his face, or panic attacks so severe as the one he'd just had. Ace scowled at the food he took out of the fridge. Luffy ended up eating fresh smores made from Ace's fire, which Dark Luffy was satisfied with, as was Luffy.
"Don't do anything stupid…" the thing said to Luffy as it disappeared. He was seeming to disappear more when they got onto this ship. Maybe, if Luffy stayed here, Dark Luffy would go to sleep all the time until he just never woke up again. Maybe Ace could help him somehow. Come up with some ideas…? But, Luffy would be leaving the ship soon, and things would go back how they had always been. He was unstoppable. A ridiculously strong monster that does whatever he wants. If only Luffy was strong enough to tell him "no" and take control over his life.
But he wasn't brave enough. He'd been too traumatized by Dark Luffy to stand up to him at all. He'd woken up to too many dead bodies. Too much blood and fire, and to know his own hands killed all of the people laying around him or behind him as he walked away.
Luffy ate as much food as was possible for him to please Dark Luffy. He didn't want to by bullied right then. Well, never, but he felt nervous being around Ace right after he'd told him the truth about all of his horrible problems. Did Ace think Luffy was crazy? He wouldn't blame him if he did. It did sound crazy after all.
Maybe if he knew what Dark Luffy was, or why it was there with him, Ace would believe Luffy. He hoped the man would keep his promise. Would his crew try to kill him before the evil in the little boy's head killed everyone else.
Luffy didn't want to die. His body didn't want to die, but maybe he'd be free if he died. Would he move on to somewhere nice, or would he go to hell for all of the people he'd killed?
By the time Dark Luffy was satisfied, Luffy was so full he felt like he was going to throw up. He hadnt had a big meal like that in awhile. "I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for the food. I'm sorry… about my episode. And all the food got cold," Luffy said miserably. He was so embarrassed.
"It's fine. You can talk to me whenever you can," Ace said nicely, not straightforward enough for Dark Luffy to get suspicious. "I'll walk you to your room."
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