Luffy panted slightly as he tried to stop his fall by creating a small hovering platform. He used it as a launching pad to attack the giant tiger. There was a resounding metallic ching sound as Luffy's sword and the tigers claw meet. The boy remained airborne as they tried to overpower each other, a few drops of perspiration trailed down from his eyebrow to his throat before the tigers other paw attacked him from the side. Luffy frowned as he was forced to hold his sword with only one of his hands. As he raised his hand a transparent- blue-ish wall appeared. The tiger's gigantic paw meet with the resistance and the boy smirked. It was possible that even Garp would have trouble now getting past his wall. He then snapped his fingers and the wall exploded in flames. Luffy grinned as the tiger snarled in anger as he got slightly singed before the other paw of the large feline overpowered him and pushed him into the dirt. He let his whole body get ablaze and created a doom made from fire that slowly grow outwards making the giant feline snarl and back away.
The little boy looked more like a specter than a human being. Standing in the middle of the field, while unnatural blue colored flames danced on and around him. His cat ears were pointed and looked more like horns than ears while flames danced on the end of tail. He stared to run as he readied his blade and tiger pounced seemingly agitated by the flames. Blue mist seem to follow the boy leaving behind a weird after image all while brilliant flashed accompanied his every attack.
He smiled inwardly as he felt his brothers 'stealthily' approach them. Letting his neko features fade he gazed apologetically into the giant tigers eyes who huffed almost annoyed that their 'playtime' was shortened. They continued for a small while neither wanting to end up as a loser. Whoever drew blood first won so they both concentrated on their opponent. To the viewers it probably looked like a fast paced fight but thanks to the adrenaline rush they were both experiencing it felt slow. Luffy ignored the feeling in his muscles as they were practically screaming in pain as continued this dangerous dance. They were circling each other carefully testing the other's defense before going in for the kill, while carefully reading the other's body language. It was over in a moment, no even before their strike landed. Luffy skidded a few meters before stopping the giant tiger did the same. A few seconds later blood started dripping down Luffy's arm while the tiger's fur become red and wet at the juncture between it's leg and neck.
Luffy stood up not showing any of the pain he was currently in before he nodded thankfully at the tiger before he walked over to his brothers all while placing his long sword on his back.
~.~
"Are you sure your sensor isn't broken?" Ace asked skeptically as they climbed the mountain making the blond seethe in anger.
"There is no way I-" He couldn't finish the sentence as they hear the battle cry of their youngest brother. All thoughts set aside both rushed to the clearing to help only to be shocked. Luffy was fighting the boss of Mount Corvo. The large tiger actually appeared to be eager. There were blue flashes accompanying Luffy's attacks but they couldn't really discern what it was from such a distance only that the sword that was always on the small boys back was now in his hands.
The two watched with wide eyes as the boy managed to go one on one with the large feline. The two combatants seemed to ignore both their wounds and them both as they sparred relentlessly. After what felt like an eternity for the two Luffy and the tiger stopped their fight. They had to gather their jaws from the floor as a large gushes appeared on both the tiger and Luffy. The small raven haired boy nodded seemingly thankful to the tiger who snorted before leaving.
"What was that?!" Ace shouted completely freaked out.
"Well my dear spying brother" Ace flushed red hearing that. "That was my rival." Sabo looked like he wanted to argue with the adjective 'spying' but he was too shocked and only managed to let out a strained "Rival?"
"That's your rival?" Ace rephrased the blond's eloquent question.
"Yup." Luffy said with a small smile before he tried to bandage the gush on his arm that covered even his shoulder making Sabo return to reality. A few centimeters and Luffy's neck would have been torn open. He had no illusion, such a wound would have been fatal even for Luffy.
"Let me Lu." The small raven haired boy nodded with a small Shishishi.
"So that's why you're always so banged up?" Ace asked as Sabo bandaged the smaller boy's wound.
"Myeah… Some of our spars… well let's just say they don't always end so… nicely and in such friendly terms." Ace and Sabo exchanged worried glances. They had such long ways to go before they could fight alongside their baby brother. It just wasn't natural, for the one they sought to protect to be so strong. It was just against the natural order, older brothers were supposed to be stronger than their youngest. They both sighed in synch before gaining a determined gleam in their eyes. At least they now know how to get even stronger. First things first whoever. They needed to beat the giant tiger.
It soon became a competition between the three, since they all tried to recruit the others in their pirate crews. Thanks to Luffy's insistence through they both started on beating up on smaller animals, since you can't just challenge the boss outright. True to be told Sabo and Ace both couldn't care about all that stating that they were pirates and didn't have to follow rules but after Luffy added that he already beat them all up they got real determined to beat them all too. Couldn't be outdone by their younger brother now, could they? It's how they meet Naguri. The man who battled against the pirate king. Luffy couldn't help but be amazed after hearing the stories the old man told them about Roger.
"Oh yeah, old pirate man… give me some tips." The small boy demanded shocking both Sabo and the still eavesdropping Ace. Luffy rarely spoke when they were there to act as a buffer between others and him. The boy smiled mischievously. "I need to be strong."
"I don't think-"
"You were a captain once… I need to be strong enough to protect my nakama." Luffy interrupted before the man could protest. His eyes were burning with determination making the older man smile slightly troubled.
"Okay."
"Okay?!" Sabo asked shocked while Luffy let a loud Shishishi out before turning toward the forest.
"Well …See you tomorrow then."
"Wait Lu before you go there is something you should know. Is about Ace's father…" Sabo glanced at Naguri suspiciously before walking away for some privacy. The small raven haired boy followed him closely but didn't speak the whole time Sabo explained about Ace and Roger's connection. Luffy knew that Ace hated Roger ever since before but now he understood why. Suddenly Dadan's words made more sense. But…
"I see… eh whatever I have some stuff to do so I'll be home later."
"That's all?" Sabo asked almost shocked.
"Roger is Roger, Ace is Ace just like Sabo is Sabo and not his father. All the other stuff... I don't really care about that." The blond smiled to himself as he watched their little brother vanished.
"Ace... did you hear all that…" His older brother didn't reply instead he just nodded, if his eyes were just a bit wet Sabo didn't mention it.
~.~
"I'll be counting on you. " The well dressed man said haughtily. The pirates all smiled as they awaited orders.
"Yes, I'll leave no stone unturned…" Captain Bluejam said as he watched the liquid move gently in the glass as the noble walked away before addressing his pirate crew. "You heard what you have to do!"
"Yes." The crew shouted as one.
"And if you do find him, don't do anything… yet." The captain added again shocking the pirates. "Can't you see, we need to make his father feel indebt to us. The longer he worries the more he'll appreciate us when we find Sabo." Most pirates snickered hearing that. "Until the time comes, don't do anything just monitor him." A small black rat squeaked before quickly disappeared. His boss needed to know about this.
~.~
Dadan frowned "When the Spring comes we will visit… Dogra! Magra! Where is the country called Goa?!"
"Mt Corvo, Gray Terminal and Windmill Villa-"
"On this island." Luffy said from the window he was sitting in before he started reading his newly acquired newspaper.
"Oh...Wait what are you doing here, brat?! And stop stealing my newspaper!"
"… this is bad." Luffy said with a dark frown making the bandits freeze in shock. The boy wasn't scared from Garp and his visits which was crazy but he was panicking over some stupid noble. The bandits frowned as one just who were this Celestial Dragons? And what was Luffy's connection to them.
~.~
Celestial Dragon one of the reasons the World Government was as corrupt as it was. They were called the closes things to God by the ugly-fat noble that he once called master. Ever since he got back he started to forget about the time he was a slave. But now the place where his brand once was seemed to burn; he flinched when one of the bandits moved too hastily. He took the newspaper and jumped out the window ignoring Dadan and the bandits shouting. He didn't trust himself not to lash out. He ran until he found his rival.
"Just the one I was looking for." He said with a dark smile while the tigers fur seemed to puff up in a seemingly threatening way. At least that's what it probably looked like. The truth was that the tiger was only responding to the dark and dangerous air that was surrounding the small boy. Not to mention the one letting out enough killer intent to make the other animals run far away in fear was him. Naguri found him a few hours later. Exhausted on the ground with a large bite mark on his upper torso, apparently his rival didn't enjoy being used as a stress reliever. He should have known but his mind was just so clouded by fear that he blanked out and simply run on instinct. And there was nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal.
"That was reckless." The old pirate said with a small frown.
"Yeah…"
"I hope not all our training session will start like this."
"I…" the boy flinched as he sit up. "…need to keep them safe… I just don't know how…" He would never let the same happen to his brothers that happened to him.
"You'll be a good captain one day…" Naguri said finally before he helped him up. "Let's treat your wounds first and then let's make you stronger."
"Thank you." The boy smiled gently making the older man only nod.
~.~
The older pirate made him do peculiar things like meditating. He didn't know how or why but it helped him with his devil fruit powers. He was learning how to ignite his flames without his hands, but the process was just too slow for his liking. He had a candle placed in front of him to help him concentrate. At first he barely managed to create a spark, later as he tried to will the particles to ignite the whole candle and wood the candle was placed on started burning. His physical training consisted mostly on enhancing his already monstrous strength and controlling it. That didn't really sounded right practically he had a large amount of brute force already but as he learned to concentrated it and guide it in the right way he could do more damage with lesser effort. Another thing was yoga… he had no idea what that meant but he became more and more flexible even without the help of his devil fruit powers.
In the first week he barely saw his brothers both were busy with their own training. But after that they visited more often which made him all happy inside. Because of his ego Ace couldn't in good fate ask Naguri to help him train not to mention Sabo refused to leave Ace's side while he was in bad place emotionally. Ace in the end challenged Naguri to a fight and lost, badly. But it wasn't all in vain in exchange for a bit of help to repair the old-man's pirate ship they got their training.
Luffy watched fondly as his brothers challenged his rival. They lost but the giant tiger didn't hurt them knowing they were his 'litter mates'. He smirked as he saw his brothers determined faces. He knew that if they worked together they could probably defeat the tiger; he could do it alone by now but he refused. While Ace and Sabo were here; trying their best to get stronger they were nowhere near Gray Terminal. The stronger they got the more chances they had. So what if he had to give up on his chance to become the captain of his brothers it was a small sacrifice. Unfortunately he could feel it underneath his skin the bakeneko refusing to acknowledge his decision. The monster cat was too prideful to admit defeat even if it meant to protect someone dear to him. It was frustrating and scary if he had to admit. To think that his will was the only thing restraining the Monster-cat from unleashing his might. He shuddered slightly as images of the feline's claws; his claws torn apart people like a hot knife would butter. He couldn't let that happen again, not when innocent people and more importantly his brothers could get hurt.
"Hey old pirate man-"Naguri hummed showing that he was listening. "What is the tallest and steepest mountain on this island?"
"Why?"
"I need to make peace with my inner beast." The small boy said with a small troubled smile.
~.~
The entire sky was enveloped by a giant gray cloud making him frown slightly. He stared up to the mountain peak that disappeared into said cloud and frowned. Luffy let the nails on his fingers turn into claws to help him climb but all in vain his power seemingly refused to cooperate with him. The claws vanished as soon as he summoned them.
"A little help would be appreciated…" He said with a frown as he dangled almost 50 meters in the air without a stable footing. His hands were already blistered and bloody and he swore that the moment he got down from this fuckin' mountain he will buy himself some damn gloves. Sturdy ones he thought before he slipped thanks to his own blood he cursed inwardly while a small scream left his mouth. He managed to break his fall but got some nasty scrapes on practically his whole body, and he managed to dislocated his shoulder. He tried not to shout but the pain was just too strong. He grunted as he pulled himself up and even the wind seemed to pick up. It looked like a nasty storm was coming. Worst timing ever.
~.~
Sabo and Ace were in Gray Terminal since Naguri already left. They needed to repair their hideout thanks to the giant storm that just passed, couldn't wait their youngest brother home into a wrecked place. Naguri told them he went for some extreme training to the mountains. Sabo smiled as he found a telescope on the ground, he knew Luffy had been looking for one for some time now.
"Hey kiddo." The pirate greeted him with a foul smile. "I never would have guessed that one of the infamous three troublemakers was a noble."
"Bluejam, how did you find out about that?" the blond asked with a glare as Ace grabbed his weapon.
"Don't hurt him now!" The fight that followed was over too soon, Sabo and Ace fought bravely and almost nabbed the win but unfortunately Bluejam brought out a flintlock and after that everything went downhill.
"Stop You stupid bastard let me go!" Ace shouted enraged as a tall pirate hold him back.
Sabo was shouting profanities too like "Unhand me!" and "Bloody bastards!" and many things Ace never heard in his life but would bet everything he had that were insults.
"Looks like we barely made it." The tall well-dressed male said as he stopped beside the pirate-captain while many guards from the city followed him. Sabo's eyes widened as he recognized the man "Father" he muttered broken.
"He doesn't have a single scratch on him." Bluejam said as the pirate holding Sabo took a few steps forward.
"Hey!" Ace struggled "Dammit you!" He growled before he was hit. But it was enough for the noble to turn his eyes to him.
"I see, it must because of this boy? He led Sabo down on the path of evil!"
"Give Sabo back!" Ace shouted.
"What do you mean give him back? Sabo is my child! It is the responsibility of every child to live according to the will of their parents who gave them life. You have some nerve, lying to Sabo and convincing him to run away from home! You are but a stupid child! What are you truly after? Are you attempting to steal my fortune?"
"What was that you bastard?!" Ace's remark wasn't appreciated. The more Ace fought the harder he got beat up the more Sabo protested the more he was ignored. All they could think of was that they weren't strong enough.
"Hey now, pirate! Be careful how you handle this kid! I don't want the blood of this inferior filth on my face!" Outlook III said as Ace's blood got splashed on the ground near his shoes.
Sabo shout grew even louder. "Please stop! Nobody deceived me! It was my choice to leave"
"Just be quiet! Hey, pirates I trust you will handle everything from here on. "
"Of course we will, after all we received payment. Rest assured. I'll finish off him and their little friend so they will never bother your child again." The pirate captain said with a dark gleam in his eyes.
"Wait a second Bluejam! Father is alright I understand!" Sabo shouted frightened. He couldn't lose his brothers, he couldn't allow that to happen. Not when he just found them. Not because of him. It just wasn't worth it. He just wasn't worth it.
"What did you understand?!" His father Outlook III asked his son with little to no patience.
"Don't do it Sabo!" Ace's words were all ignored.
The blond gulped before he started talking. "I'll do whatever you ask of me. I'll live just the way you tell me to… so don't hurt them… That's all I ask. Please… They're my irreplaceable... brothers"
"Sabo…" Ace's voice was merely a whisper.
"In that case come home, now. Stop this ridiculous pirate game right now."
"Wait, don't go! Sabo! Just run! We will be fine! We were gonna share our freedom together, remember?! Are you gonna just let it end like this?! Saboo! " Ace couldn't do anything but shout in vain as his brother was taken away.
~.~
"Why did you bring me here for?!" Ace demanded as he struggled against his ropes.
"Those bastard nobles have it all, don't they? They look down on us and think we're trash… while they live their proud, carefree life. Wouldn't you say he's better off living like as a noble too?" Bluejam said as he sit on his chair like a king.
"What the hell are you trying to say?"
"I feel sorry for you, hey you untie his ropes. Truly why do you think the child of a noble would leave High Town and go to Gray Terminal? All nobles are the same whether they are adults or kids. There's no doubt he thought we are all fools. In his heart he was looking down on you too."
"Don't be ridiculous, Sabo isn't that kind of guy." Ace protested heatedly.
"Is that so, I'm sorry then." Everyone could tell that the man was everything but sorry. Ace hated it when he was treated like a stupid child just because he was young. "But you won't ever go near that kid again? If that's what you're planning I have no chance but to kill you right here right now. If you think he's your brother, then it's better for him if you just left him alone." Seeing Ace shocked expression he knew the boy only needed just a nudge. "That's what kindness is; you will understand when you grow up. Oh and... I know we've had our differences in the past, like that incident with Porchemy but what's past is past. The truth is I rather like strong guys like you. So I got a suggestion for you, is not a bad deal. I'm short on men right now. Will you help me out with a job? Oh, it's a simple job. There's nothing dangerous about it. I got a map of Gray Terminal here. You've gotta carry some goods to the spots marked with X. That's all. "
"All ri-"
"Hell no. Do your own dirty work." The voice was so familiar that it made Ace's stomach jump. While Bluejam glared at the small boy who was leaning against a wall seemingly totally relaxed and unruffled by the looks he was receiving. He would never admit it to anyone but that little kid freaked him out. He was sitting in a room of bloodthirsty pirates and didn't even bat an eyelash. The pirate captain would bet everything he had that the one who had finished Porchemy off had been this kid. Bluejam frowned he could swear that the boy's eyes glowed for a second behind the dark hoodie as the boy turned to him. Like he knew the man had been analyzing him. But more importantly how did he get so close to him without anyone noticing? His steps were just too silent. He didn't know why but the feeling the boy gave off reminded him of that belonging to a beast more than a human. He felt like he was face to face with an enraged monster.
"Luffy."
"Oh, the third one." Bluejam said with a frown that quickly turned into a smile. "How nice of you to finally join us." His voice was but a growl. The pirate captain's blood was boiling as that chilling gaze passed him by as if judging him unworthy with a single glance. How dare the small shit ignore him.
As the younger boy walked closer Ace couldn't help but think that there was something different about Luffy. "S-sabo… h-he"
"I know." Luffy's voice was cold but gentle and it was enough to make Ace explode.
"How?! Where were you this whole time?!"
"Ace… this is not the"
"Don't tell me this isn't the time! I had enough with all your secrets! Sabo he- he trusted you! If-" the boy seemingly chocked on the last words.
"I know… When I'll get him back I'll tell you all of my secrets. It's a promise." Ace couldn't help but gape slightly as he felt a sting on his pinky finger which he ignored skillfully. Luffy didn't make promises but he always kept his word. For him to make such a promise. He could barely believe his ears. It was when Bluejam decided it was the perfect moment to butt in.
"I thought I told you that you can't see Sabo again."
"You did." Lu replied without hesitation. "But I don't trust you." The answer he gave shocked still the pirates in the room. Of course he didn't trust them, he had no reason to, they were pirates but the boy had the audacity to throw it into their faces without any anxiety all while a dead-threat looming over his head. "Besides…" the boy's voice was so low that everyone present had to strain their ears to hear it. Was he getting cold-feet now? All but Ace thought so. "you know nothing about Sabo, so don't ever presume that you'll know what's good for him!" He said letting his killing intent loose. Those words seemed to awaken the fighting spirit inside Ace too who placed himself in ready battle position. Their differences didn't matter, his place was and always will be, by his brothers side.
"W-ow frightening. I guess that you made your decision. Fighting it is!" Bluejam said as he sit up all while his fingers closed around his flintlock.
"No. I'm not going to fight, I'm going to murder you all." Luffy said with a bloodthirsty smile as he let his glove snap into place. He pounced on the captain who brought the gun forward and shoot a few rounds all in vain as they seemingly stopped in a blue wall that looked like glass.
Ace's eyes widened before in wonder as he watched a brilliant blue fire envelop his little brother's hands as he hit the still shocked Bluejam. While the weird blue glass like wall seemed to follow Ace and help him in his fight. Bluejam shouted and swore as a burning fist made contact with his stomach while the boy's other hand reached for the flintlock that melted in places as soon as the fire-blazing hands touched them. He tried to catch Luffy but the small boy was too fast too agile, too flexible. He seemed to dodge and move out the way of every attack like he knew it was coming.
Ace's mind kept replaying that scene when he first meet Luffy. Then too he had been gaping like an idiot as the small boy throw one bandit after another in a dogpile like they weighted nothing not to mention Garp's words that haunted him ever since. He was the strongest human on this island. True to be told he was frustrated that someone so powerful refused to acknowledge him. All the time he tried to well…there's no better word than kill for itt. So every time he tried to kill Luffy the boy just ignored it. Like it didn't even faze him. It was annoying and so he couldn't help but think that Luffy didn't care because Ace was simply too weak. That's why his rival was that giant tiger and not him. He hated to admit it but he wanted to be strong enough so that he could finally stand on equal footing with his little brother. And now seeing Luffy's true power he couldn't help but be amazed and feel slightly ashamed of himself. The boy never used any of his powers it in their spars and yet he always accused him of cheating all while Luffy trained himself ragged almost every day.
"I'll kill you brat!" Bluejam shouted as he tried to catch the small boy.
"I wasted enough time as it is. Soru!" Luffy said and it looked like he seemingly disappeared before Bluejam was thrown backward, the only thing that betrayed that Luffy was the culprit was the blue mist that seemed to be left behind. And then it happened again and again, and Ace's eyes widened just like the rest of the pirates who watched more than shocked as their captain got tossed from on part of the hideout to the other like a pinball before he fell forward with one of Luffy's throwing knife embedded in his back.
"Nya, who's next?" Luffy asked as his eyes seemed to glow behind his hoodie. Some pirates tried to overpower him with numbers but they failed. One tried to use Ace as leverage he died in a particularly nasty way as the wall sudden got ablaze and burned him slowly to death since he couldn't put out the fire not matter what he tried. Some seeing it was useless to fight tried to run away. Ace wasn't sure if they managed since he was too now busy fighting himself.
"Please!" The man begged and Ace froze for a second it was the same man who beat him up when Sabo was taken away. Luffy kicked the man's head into the ground; there was now brain matter on his shoes but the little boy seemed to ignore it.
"Don't leave enemies alive... " As the small boy said that the pirate's hand opened letting Ace catch a glimpse of a small dagger, that no guess would have been turned against him the moment he let his guard down. The older raven haired boy nodded slightly shocked. He should have known by now not to trust pirates.
~.~
"Hey big brother!" Stelly said mockingly as he invited himself in. Sabo couldn't suffer hearing those words from him to think that those words he treasured so much could be sullied like this, he couldn't stand it. "I heard you're an idiot? Mother and Father kept saying that in secret. Still, you've got the devil's luck. They'll be disposing of the trash tomorrow night. If you'd stayed in Gray Terminal you would have… probably die. But, for my part, it would have been better if the real heir of this family would have never come home." The boy said without realizing the danger he was in until Sabo got too close. "W-What do you want?!"
"You " Sabo said grabbing the boy by his collar. "What did you mean by that? You are going to tell me everything!"
"There's gonna be a fire tomorrow night in the Gray Terminal! "
"Fire?" Sabo repeated the word with reasonable doubt.
"That's right. I supposed there's no way you could know since you ran away from home. It was decided several months ago. Didn't you know the inspectors from the World Government are touring East Blue? They are coming to Goa Kingdom in three days. One of the World Nobles, a Celestial Dragon, will be on the ship. People are really worked up about it. The royal family is determined that the Celestial Dragon won't see the filth in this country, so they decided to burn all of the Gray Terminal to the ground. If they do the whole country will be spotless."
"What are you talking about?! There is no way they can do that!" Sabo felt the blood in his veins freeze over. "Lots of people live there! You mean they are going to destroy everyone's homes?!"
"Let go of me!" The boy shouted as he backed away. "Didn't you hear what I just said. They are gonna burn all the filth in this country."
"Even the people." It wasn't a question. Sabo quickly got his overcoat and his trustworthy weapon.
"Hey!" Stelly shouted panicking as he saw the blond open his window. "What floor do you think we're on?!" Sabo ignored him as he masterfully jumped out the window onto the tree that was close by and then to the ground. He was gone before Stelly could utter another word. "I… I don't care."
Sabo was so frustrated that he barely avoided being seen by some of the guards. 'It's not true. It must be a lie. It can't be that easy burning such a large area.' They were his first clues so he followed them silently to what looked like a meeting.
"Are we ready for tomorrow? There can't be any mistakes. We've done our part flawlessly, but we can't be sure about those pirates. We have to make sure they burn the trash properly. Bluejam's crew should have the oil and the explosives placed all over the Gay Terminal by the scheduled time tomorrow."
Sabo couldn't help but feel even more terrified. 'Bluejam is involved in this, too? So it's true. This whole outrages story is true!'
~.~
The black cat purred satisfied as he found his target sitting on roof. He walked closer but the blond was too lost in his own thoughts well at least until he head-butted his arm. The blond's reaction was priceless. Through he smiled gently when he realized it was just a cat.
"I don't have any food…" the blond said feeling slightly bad but he chuckled as he felt the cat purring in content. "You're a cute kitten." The cat's glare was enough for him to correct himself. "a cute fellow then?" The cat wasn't happy with the description but seemingly accepted it. It felt almost blissful as he petted the small cat who purred even louder and continued his head-butting loving and relentlessly.
"So… this is your Devil Fruit then?" Luffy sighed in his cat form before he jumped away from Sabo and let himself transform in the middle of the jump.
"Tch… and here I thought I could surprise you. Yo Sabo! How you doing?" Luffy asked with a familiar warm smile that seemed to fit the petit boy perfectly.
"Better now but I don't understand it… Why did you come here for?"
Luffy frowned making Sabo feel uncomfortable. "Isn't it obvious? I came to take you home." To the nekomimi-boy it was so glaringly evident that he didn't know why he had to spell it out.
"B-but I- I can't!"
"I came back to find out that bastard had kidnapped you" everything the man did made his skin crawler. Did he even realize what he was doing? The man was practically enslaving his own son… it made him furious. "all while Bluejam imprisoned and tried to brainwash Ace…" everything that he wanted to protect his brothers from happened while he had been away. His mind couldn't help but make the connection to the saying 'when the cat's away the mice will play.' "I got admittedly a bit angry seeing Ace so ... Bluejam is now dead and I sure as hell won't let my brother sacrifice his freedom for me. Go and pack everything you think you will need because we're leaving in ten minutes." Luffy said before he turned away.
"What are you gonna do?"
"Have a little chat with that bastard. Don't worry I won't hurt him… too bad." It was weird to see such a small boy with such a feral smile. But in a weird way it did suit him.
Luffy didn't wait for Sabo's protest. It was and had been a long day and all he wanted was to tear/claw/bite at the bastards who dared hurt his brothers. He creeped inside the room Sabo's father was still sleeping without making a sound. The man was snoring loudly. Luffy's eyes were glowing green as he approached the man, he placed a dagger that he 'borrowed' from one of the bandits since it looked similar to his throwing knifes at the man's neck and then a hand over his mouth as he straddled the man's chest and hands knowing the weight would keep him from moving. As the knife nicked him the man woke up with quite a start. And if not for the hand over his mouth he would have shouted loud enough to wake up the whole town.
"Shhh…" Luffy said with a feral smile displaying his fangs that seemed to glow white in the dark. "Now I'm going to talk and you will listen carefully… Nod if you understand." The man did so and Luffy continued. "I'll give you have three choices… 1 I kill you and take whatever I want-" The man's eyes widened as he tried to shake his head. "2- you open the safe and give me all your money" If he choose this he might leave him unharmed though he would still take Sabo, there was no way he would leave his brother here. "and 3- you give me one of your sons." The bakeneko inside him was grinning from ear to ear. "Now make your choice carefully because if I don't like your answer I can always choose myself. You have one minute from now Ready- start." He waited for a minute patiently. "If you decided shake your head as many times as the choice you took. You got that than nod once?" The man nodded before shaking his head once and then… again and again. Luffy growled slightly making the man tremble.
"Your choice… A bit of advice, don't look for him… or I'll come back. And I won't be so merciful then. Just as A bit of a reminder." He said as he traced the dagger slowly but with enough force to leave a scar on the man's face who would have screamed loudly in pain if not for the hand over him mouth. By the time he finished the man was out cold.
~.~
Sabo was anxious. He couldn't help but wonder what was happening. And after a few minutes he couldn't help himself but look after his brother. He thanked all heavens that his father and mother never slept in the same bedroom. His hands froze as he peaked inside the room and heard his brothers voice. It was his, but at the same time it wasn't. He wasn't sure if Luffy knew but he looked like something otherworldly at that moment.
He wasn't surprised at the choice his father made but he would have lied if he said that it did not hurt.
"So you heard all that… I'm sorry Sabo. It wasn't my intention." Luffy's eye might be glowing green but he could see the pain and fear in them as his little brother; that's right, no matter how Luffy might look he was still his little brother. He should never be scared of his little brother.
"It's okay." Sabo said as he petted his head gently. "It hurts but I have my real family."
"Shishishi! You have your things."
"Yup!"
"Let's go then. But first your room."
"Huh?" Sabo asked uncertain. His only answer was a gigantic unsettling grin.
~.~
When morning arrived the thing that woke up Outlook III was a loud scream. He huffed as he walked toward Sabo's look and was shocked to find that the entire room scorched, down from the floor to the ceiling, where the books the desk and the bed was previously only piles of ashes remained but what was even more sinister A door like black scorch mark was on the wall making the maid take a few steps back before she ran away screaming about some demons. Outlook III looked around in vain before he noticed something white, there was a note on the floor. He quickly picked it up, the edges of the note were slightly scorched.
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." He read out loud before he touched his own face gingerly. He flinched, the scar was there. In exchange of sparing his life that demon took Sabo.
~.~
"Do you really think they could do something like that?" Ace asked in disbelief.
"The guards they were talking about the plan and Bluejam was involved. I didn't have anymore time to find out the truth…" Sabo explained with a sigh.
"It's probably gonna happen." Luffy said silently. He truly hopped the people living in Gray Terminal would listen to their warning. The silence that reigned over the room was too heavy to lift. So the small boy decided to abandon his seat from the window and join his brothers at the table. He let his hoodie drop and he smiled slightly "I… well you both probably realized by now I'm not just a common house cat."
Ace snorted hearing that. "Yea. Like cat's can control fire…"
"What? You can control fire?" Sabo asked shocked making Luffy smile a bit troubled.
"Not exactly. It's complicated… " Yeah he got the look. No backing out of it. "What I control is fire but not your usual one…" he let his hands catch flame. Both boy's eyes widened as they saw brilliant blue flames dance around Luffy's hands playfully. They felt so alive. They had an alien beauty they just couldn't place. "I call it soul fire. Let's start from the beginning." As he said that the flames disappeared. "I'm a bakeneko… which is a cat 'yokai'. Is a mythical zoan and according to grandpa one of the most dangerous ones. To start with a zoan usually has three basic forms of transformation normal human, hybrid human-beast and beast form. For me it's a bit different…" He said with a small smile. "I have what Ace saw when we were fighting those pirates the human-hybrid transformation" as he said that his neko-ears and his tail appeared shocking his two brothers slightly before they instantly blushed. What? Luffy was cute even without them and with them … " in this form I have beside the obvious appendages some increase in speed, my flexibly, agility and hearing and the whole shebang. Now what differentiates a bakeneko from other yokai cats?"
"They have two tails" Sabo replied before both he and Ace looked at Luffy's back to see a single tail swishing from side to side slowly.
"Correct." Lufffy said with a small smile before he continued. "I have a second tail but I don't know how to summon it."
"But back at my… back at that house" Sabo quickly correct himself, it was never his home. "I saw-"
"Yeah well… apparently my powers react to what I'm feeling." Luffy said with a strained smile. "It happened only two times until today."
"When?"
"I… we'll get there." Luffy looked away before he started talking again. "My first beast-form that Sabo is already familiar with is this -" Ace's mouth opened as he watched his little brother practically disappear in what looked like blue mist. A small black kitten jumped on the table making Sabo chuckle as he watched Ace blink stupidly for a few seconds. With a small evil smile he reached for the cat who let him pet him on the head and started purring when the blond scratched him gently behind his ears.
"Oi Luffy I think Ace feels a bit lonely-" Sabo said with fake innocence making his older brother scowl before he had a lap full of purring kitten. As Luffy head butted him gently he caught courage and run his hand gently over the cat's fluffy and soft fur. After both of his brother familiarized themselves with his form; and not that he would admit it but he needed some reassurance right now; he turned back.
"That form has both advantages and disadvantages; while it allows me to do many thing I normally couldn't it's really…"
"Fragile…" Ace said as he looked at his hands. A rock, an angry human, an angry dog or just about everything. He felt like he could become sick at any moment as he saw flashes of his assassination attempts before his eyes.
Luffy didn't need to ask. "It's okay. I forgive you; I had for a long time now." Sabo smiled content as he saw the scene play out. He would never change his family for anything in this world. "As for how I ended up with this Devil Fruit well… I was kidnapped I already told you that. What I didn't was the fact that I was… I was a slave…"
Sabo couldn't help but feel like the wind has been knocked out of him, Ace clenched his fists tight enough to bleed. "A slave?!" the blond asked in disbelief.
"I don't want to talk about what happened there…" Luffy added and both could see the small tremors travel through his body. "But enough said that it was terrible… I broke out from there with the help of a pirate doctor. He patched me up and saved my life…"
"It's okay… you don't have to"
"I'm fine… you deserve to know. I guess I should start at the start. They found me by chance truly some pirates docked in Foosha because they knew Garp's hometown was Goa Kingdom of course we had no idea then. They were searching for just about anything that could be useful against Garp. An old friend or maybe a lover anything that was important and had the potential to hurt him. Their first stop was at Makino's… I like usually couldn't keep my mouth shout, learned from that." Luffy said with a strained smile. "I was kidnapped for revenge apparently Garp sent the captain's little brother to prison-"
~.~
Dogra's shout woke them all up. "Fire! The entire Gray Terminal is on fire!" all the three of them raced to the edge of the forest ignoring Dadan and the other bandit's shout. They couldn't believe their eyes nor could they tear them away. People were burning alive, their screams and shouts. Luffy rushed head-first into the fire unfortunately as usual Ace and Sabo were just a second too late, before they could go after their younger brother both were held back by the terrified bandits that followed them here.
"What do you both think you're doing?" Dadan shouted more than just terrified.
"Luffy he-" Ace started.
"And you thought it would be a good idea to go after him?" Dadan asked frowning. "Don't be suicidal you stupid brat."
"I'd rather die than leave him alone in there!" Ace shouted before he kicked himself free from the bandit holding him back unfortunately he couldn't see that he landed in a very precarious position, the first step forward sent a pillar from a once small shack tumbling over. He barely heard someone calling his name.
"S-sabo!"
"Augh… i-it hurts…" the blond said as his entire side was hurt by the falling burning pile of wood as he shielded his hot-headed older brother from the worst damage which could have been even fatal.
"w-WHY?!"
"Isn't it obvious we're your brothers…" The blond said with a weak but bright smile as the bandits managed to pick off the pillar with some combined effort. "Don't be in such a rush… did you forget about Luffy's devil power?" The blond asked as Ace helped him up. Sabo truly hoped he was right and didn't commit a mistake by stopping his older brother. Luffy will be alright he had to believe that.
"We need to go now. Don't wounds need to be cleaned and bandaged right this instant!" Dadan shouted before she started yelling instructions to the bandits.
~.~
Luffy let his own blue flames coat him like a shield against the still raging fire and heat. He was searching in vain for survivors in this wasteland. No this wasn't a wasteland he thought as he saw bodies burned to death, it was hell, hell on earth. He could still hear their voices even though they were long dead, their pleas for help. He had to stop walking several times as the voices grew just too loud, they were screaming at him… he fell to his knees as he saw a small teddy bear on the ground. Her small voice was now stronger than ever. As he touched the bear his eyes started glowing green.
He was seeing a small girl, younger than even him. All alone clutching her teddy bear as the tent caught fire, one step, two one more and she had nowhere to go. Her screams, her pain and the tears that couldn't stop falling, like they were his own… maybe they were. He couldn't tell the difference anymore. Slowly the other voices grew louder, he saw the girl's mother rescue her uncaring of the burns she had to suffer and drag her out. The small girl dropped her teddy as they run as fast as her small legs could to the gates. The blue fire that cloaked him grow in intensity.
"They… why?!" He asked in vain. "Those bastards! Why would they shoot them?!" He shouted in vain as more and more memories started to overtake him. Hundreds of lives lost, murdered, pain and immeasurable suffering. His brain incapable of keeping up with the loads of information he was receiving shut down. At least; he thought relieved in the endless dark that he found himself …he couldn't hear those damning voices anymore.
When he awoke the fire was almost out. Some soldiers started to clean up after the fire. He had been hidden away by Kaze. He usually summoned the undead subconsciously; similar to a defense mechanism when he found himself in grave danger and couldn't protect himself or was just emotionally distressed. The undead nodded toward him as he woke up. Luffy sighed as he looked at the piles of ashes that covered now Gray Terminal. The undead started to burn with black fire just as the sun's first ray's appeared on the gray sky and Luffy couldn't help but think it wasn't fair. The sun shouldn't shine so brightly after such a tragedy. Luffy grabbed the undead by his clothes before he could disappear but what shocked was when instead of staying he was too dragged away into the dark flames.
~.~
Ace cursed as he and the bandits searched in vain for Luffy. Sabo's words echoed in his ears giving him hope. His little brother couldn't get hurt by flames. No Luffy was stronger than that. He knew it deep inside but somehow couldn't stop his worrying.
"Ace!" Dogra shouted as he jogged up to him. "S-sabo he woke up!" The small man said between short breaths.
"But what about Luffy I still didn't found him!"
"We'll find him. Don't worry. But Sabo needs to see you now, right now!" Dogra said more than annoyed.
"I…"
"Is there maybe another reason you don't want to see Sabo right now." Ace flinched. He hated how the man managed to see through him so easily.
"I'm going alright?" The freckled teen said before Dogra could say anything else.
~.~
"I'm going! Both of my brothers are out there you can't keep me here!" Ace could hear the arguing before he even stepped inside the house.
"Yo Sabo…" The raven haired boy said with a small strained smile. The blond hugged him close before he stood back.
"Where's Lu?"
Ace sighed "I… still didn't find him." Sabo nodded before he started getting on his shoes. "Wait what are you doing?"
"Going to search for Lu what does it look like?"
"You can't!" Ace shouted exasperated.
"Why?!"
"Well… to start with you look like a mommy. You're hurt you have to stay here." The blond glared at the older raven haired boy but with a single eye it was quite ineffective. He admitted that he probably looked weird cloth in so many bandages but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Not when he was the one to stop Ace from going after their younger brother. If something happened to Luffy he could never forgive himself. But he had to stay positive… Luffy was a yokai made of fire he couldn't be hurt by fire, right?
"I'm fine!" the blond said making everyone present sigh in discontent.
Ace knew that the blond would never listen to him while Luffy is out there, just like he never would. Their stubborn streak was the same after all. But that didn't mean he couldn't use underhanded methods. It was for the blond's sake. "It's not just that! Did you forgot what Luffy told you! Gray Terminal is full of soldiers!" True to be told he knew it was not for the fact that Sabo was worried about himself that he would stay put if he mentioned this but because it would mean trouble for everyone else not to mention it would undue all the work Luffy had done so that no one would question his disappearance .
"But!"
"There is no but! We will find Luffy. You said it. He will be fine he's the strongest here. Nothing can hurt him"
"Beside his rival." Sabo said earning a small smile from Ace.
"Beside his rival." The older raven haired boy said with a nod.
~.~
As Luffy opened his eyes he couldn't help but stare. One thing he was sure about. He wasn't in Goa anymore. Where was he and why was the sky green and why was everything turned upside-down? Skeletons and chunks of buildings the kind he never saw were tilted in an impossible angle.
"So you're finally here?" A man's voice asked amused. He quickly turned around and blinked again in disbelief. Every fiber in his body was screaming at him all at once. 'Run run run' his thoughts repeated the mantra in vain as his legs stood frozen in place.
"W-who…" his body was trembling.
"Oh you can talk." Luffy would have retorted had he been able to. "Sorry." The man said with a small laughter. " I didn't meant to sound… spiteful." Somehow the man's voice kept changing with every word he spoke. He was sitting on the wall of a building that was just floating in the air. "Is just… unusual for people to talk to me."
Luffy gasped in shock. "Y-you…" The man dressed in black chuckled in a feminine voice before he smirked.
"So you made the connection already…" He said amused his voice sounding quite young now.
"Am I…"
"Dead? No. Well not yet but eh, you're as good as I mean a few years what does it truly matter. I am ageless after all. "
Luffy let out a sigh he didn't knew he was holding in. "So hhhhow come I can well you kkkknow…" He asked with a small stutter. Every word he uttered required so much effort.
"Talk to me…" The man asked as hopped off the structure and approached the petit boy who couldn't help but gag with every step the man took. "Ah sorry… I forgot. You can sense it after all. The stench of death."
~.~
Sabo sighed as he saw Ace avoid eye contact with him. "It's been three weeks already huh?"
"No news what so ever."
"Where do you think he is?" Sabo asked as they walked toward their special place.
"I have no fucking idea."
"Ace language…" Sabo said absentmindedly. Ace turned around to retort. "So you can look at me…" Sabo said with a small smirk before Ace turned his gaze toward the ground. "Listen it wasn't your fault!"
"But!"
"If it would have been me, you would have done the same thing. So stop blaming yourself."
"But… your face…"
"What I'll have you know I'm proud of my scar." The freckled boy looked troubled. "Besides it makes me look like a total badass."
"You wish." Ace teased the blond good-naturedly. As they climbed the hill they couldn't believe their eyes, they both raced to the small body laying in the grass. Luffy was snoring softly as he slept like he had no worries in the world. His clothes were torn in several places and were nothing more than rags now but the boy had no injuries beside a couple of scratches here and there.
"I can't believe him." Ace said with a small throbbing vein. Sabo only laughed amused before he sat down beside the sleeping boy who snuggled closer to the source of heat.
"~nyaaa…. Sabo…. Acesu…" the sleeping boy muttered in his sleep with a small smile making Ace blush lightly. It wasn't fair he just couldn't stay mad at his younger brother no matter what.
And that's the end of the first part of the story. Since I plan on Luffy having more crewmembers I'd like if you'd guys could give some suggestions I have only two more that I'm 100% sure that I'll add. Also other characters from One Piece and not OC. And one more thing please mention why you'd think he/she'd be a good fit in the crew and his/her dreams. Thank you everyone 3 Bye-bye! 'till next time!