The Change: see previous chapter.
Genre: Humor/Family/Fluff
Warning(s): Major Alternate Universe; probably a bit of Super!Danni; Danni isn't sick; blatant denial of things on my part; major screwing with canon happenings; adorable children; kick ass Danni
Note(s): Final installment for Switch.
SWITCH 3
Danni smiled, eyes closed and looking perfectly serene as she swung her leg out and nailed the silver haired man in the gut. The former pirate doubled over coughing, wincing in pain. "Right. Stupid question," the man moaned.
Still smiling, the woman gestured to Ace and said rather pointedly, "This is Gol D. Ace." Rayleigh started, straightening up from his doubled over position and eyeing the freckled boy critically. Ace stared back rather owlishly. "Ace, this is your dad's first mate, Rayleigh. You can call him Ray-jiji." The last part was said with a rather evil undertone and Rayleigh winced internally at the name.
Ace grinned at the man and chirped, "Nice to meet you, Ray-jiji!"
"Ne, ne, Ray-jiji, did you really sail with the pirate king and bachan?" Luffy asked, staring at the man with a wide, owlish gaze and a face splitting grin. Rayleigh groaned, hiding his face in his hands and Danni cackled in the background.
"And who are the other two runts?" the former pirate asked, voice slightly muffled behind his hands.
Danni answered rather nonchalantly, "The blonde's, Sabo, and the midget is Monkey D. Luffy. They're my other charges; one found me, the other got dumped on me."
Rayleigh choked, "Monkey D. Luffy? As in Monkey D. Garp?"
"Yes. Do keep up, would you?" the woman answered lightly taking a sip of her drink. Luffy and Ace were snickering from their spots next to her, and Sabo was hiding a grin behind his cup. "But that's not why I'm here. I've got a question. You know where Whitebeard is right now?" Danni asked seriously.
Rayleigh moved his hands from his face and straightened, "Why do you want to know that, Danni?"
Luffy and Sabo stared at the man in confusion at the name, while Ace winced, leaning away from said woman slightly. She had frozen and her face had sharpened dangerously as she pinned the man with a glare, "Devi. My name is Devi."
Rayleigh held his hands up, "Alright, alright. Relax, Devi." He stressed the name slightly, and didn't bother questioning her on why she'd changed her name. He understood. With the kids, especially Ace, she needed to keep her real name hidden in order to keep them relatively safe. "My question still stands though, why do you want to know where he is?"
Her body eased and she shrugged elegantly, "I've got business with him."
He raised an eyebrow, "And you're taking the kids with you? Are you sure that's a...smart idea?" He simply stared back when she glared at him viciously, eyes bleeding gold and the air around her sharpening into a feral intensity.
"Do not question my judgment about the boys, Silvers," she hissed. "And do not question my ability to keep them safe!" She took a deep calming breath and the gold bled away back to dark brown and the air calmed. She then narrowed her eyes at him and said somewhat icily, "Need I remind you of Edward's views on children, Rayleigh?"
He rolled his eyes, "Hai, hai, don't get your panties all twisted. Yes, I know where he is." He then eyed her slightly and asked, "Was there anything else you wanted?"
She glanced at the three boys who were all staring at them with owlish eyes, and nodded, "Yes. A favor from you." Rayleigh barely refrained from flinching. Danni's "favors" didn't usually end well for him. "I want you to train the boys for a year each."
He stared at her, as did the boys (this having been the first time they'd been hearing about it), and in unison they all said in shock, "Eh!?"
xxx
"Oyaji, there's a ship heading our way," Marco informed the large man in a lazy drawl. Whitebeard blinked; putting down the bottle of sake he was drinking from and lifting an enquiring brow. "Isn't marines, and it could be pirates, but there isn't a flag."
"How close are they?" the captain asked, curious as to who would be approaching a Yonko's ship when they weren't marines or pirates.
Marco shrugged, "About 15 meters close to the ship."
It was at that moment that a clearly female voice shouted, "Oii! Newgate!"
Then the sound of a clearly young boy's voice piped up in awe, "Bachan, it's a whale! A humongous mystery whale! I wanna play with it! Can I? Can I?"
This was followed by another young boy's voice scolding, "Idiot! You can't play with a ship!"
"But it's not a ship! It's a whale!"
A different young boy's sighed in exasperation and said dryly, "It's not a whale, Luffy. It's a ship."
"Huh?"
Marco couldn't help but stare as did the rest of the crew on deck. Whitebeard, however, chuckled, looking a bit startled. "I don't believe we'll be battling, my children," he laughed loudly, the sound echoing around.
"MYSTERY SOUND!" the youngest sounding boy shouted. There was a curious noise, and small hands appeared on the railing, and before any of the crew could react, a small blur was catapulting straight for the deck.
"LUFFY!" the second young voice yelled. "Bachan!"
The crew stared at the ten year old now standing on their deck, holding his hand to a worn straw hat on his head as he tilted it up and gaped up at Whitebeard with sparkling eyes. "Woah," the kid breathed. "You're one huge jiji..." There was another blur and another dark haired boy, this one about thirteen, landed on the deck next to the straw hat wearing brat.
Without any fanfare the new boy slammed his fist on top of the ten year old's head, making the boy's head stretch and slam face down on the deck before snapping back into place. "OW!" the boy cried out, holding his nose and eyes tearing up to dangerous levels.
"You idiot! What have we told you about flinging yourself into unknown places?" the older boy snarled, cheeks flushed and shaking his fist at the now sniffing boy (obviously trying to keep his tears at bay). "You could get hurt or worse killed doing that out here on the sea, idiot!"
The crew could only watch in a somewhat stupefied silence as the thirteen year old continued to scold his younger brother, who was still clutching his nose (which was amazingly enough not bleeding) and fighting back tears. Marco had slipped from his place in the crowd at the motion of his captain and moved to throw a rope ladder over the edge of the ship for the rest of the members on the boat. He wisely kept his mouth shut when he saw the look on Danni M. Ferus's (and wasn't that a shock) face as she climbed up the ladder with a blonde ten year old boy clinging to her back looking nervous.
By the time the two other visitors touched down on the deck, Ace had hit Luffy over the head again and was telling the now crying and sobbing boy to quit crying. Luffy would visibly try to stop his crying and yell he wasn't crying but would quickly fail and the process would start all over again. Sabo trailed after his caregiver closely, face wary and nervous, as she marched her way through the crew and towards her two other wayward charges.
Ace had no time to react before a fist was slammed onto his own head and he heard his aunt's voice hiss, "What the hell have I told you about hitting Luffy!?" Ace whimpered, clutching his head and crouching down on the deck.
"B-bachan!" Luffy blubbered, looking at her pitifully with tears streaming down his face and snot dripping from his nose.
Danni pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips as she stared down at the rubber boy. Luffy's bottom lip trembled and he clutched the edge of his shirt tightly with his fists. "Luffy," she started, tone scolding and tinged with faint disappointment, "I've told you time and time again that just because you want to find out whatever mystery you find, doesn't mean you can go after it on your own." Luffy scuffed the ground with his toe, biting his lip and looking down, cheeks flushing. "Next time, you wait for me, brat."
Luffy nodded, and the woman turned to her captain's son next, eyeing him with a slight frown. The boy was still crouched down, clutching his head, but he was utterly still, and she sighed tiredly. "We will be talking later, Ace," she told the boy calmly, her tone giving nothing away. Ace nodded silently, slowly uncurling from his crouch and arms falling back to his sides. It was then that the two dark haired boys noticed the stares they were getting.
"What are you looking at?" Ace snapped, crossing his arms and glaring. Luffy simply blinked at them, snot dripping from his nose and cheeks flushed from his crying. Sabo was half hiding behind Danni, who was rolling her eyes heavenward and couldn't decide whether she should laugh uproariously or cry at the dumbfounded or incredulous looks the Whitebeard crew was giving them.
xxx
"I have to say, I never thought I would be seeing you again," Whitebeard rumbled as he poured the woman sitting across from a cup of sake. "Especially when no one could find you after Roger's death." She winced at the reminder of her captain's death, but the pain had dulled years ago, and it no longer brought agonized pain and horrible memories.
"Honestly, I wasn't going to let anyone know I was still alive," she said in response, taking the cup gratefully and sighing deeply.
Whitebeard hummed in question, "Oh? Then why are you here? With three brats no less?" He stared down at the small woman who looked so much older than he remembered. She had been a formidable opponent, but an equally fierce friend. She had been as fiery as an inferno, and just as bright. But now that flame seemed to have puttered out until it was merely the small flame of a lit candle. Her eyes were shadowed with loss and a grief that never got to be settled.
"I...," she started, brow furrowing slightly before she continued. "I needed a break."
He stared at her silently for a moment before saying lowly, "You mean you needed the sea again." It didn't take a genius to figure out she hadn't been out to sea for a long while. She wouldn't have been able to until the boys were old enough to go as well. She laughed, but it wasn't happy. It was slightly broken and mostly bitter.
"You know me better than I thought," she chuckled mirthlessly, taking a swallow of her alcohol and gazing into the cup with blank eyes.
Whitebeard hummed, taking a swig of his own drink before he asked, "The brats yours?" Danni blinked, looking up from her cup, the dullness vanishing from her gaze. She laughed again, but this one was warm and bright, rather than broken and bitter.
"They're as good as, but by blood? No," she answered, smile bright but turning nostalgic as she continued, "I only have one actual brat by blood, and he's been out at sea for years now. Not to mention, I wouldn't have been able to be with another man after my husband died; now, at my age, I can't even have another child, anyway." She laughed again, grinning up at her old friend.
The old pirate let out a booming laugh, throwing his head back, before he calmed. "Then whose are they?" he asked, wiping a mirthful tear away. If anything, Danni's grin widened and a mischievous sparkle lit up her eyes.
"You'll get a kick out of this," she started, chuckling. "Sabo, the blonde, is a kid that found my home after wandering out the forest. He won't give me a full name, but I have my suspicions on where he's from." She shook her head, a wry smile curling her lips before continuing, "Luffy, the little bouncy ball of sunshine, is Monkey D. Luffy."
Whitebeard choked on his drink before laughing uproariously, slapping his leg. "Monkey D. Luffy! Grahahahahahaha!" the Yonko exclaimed jovially. "How'd you manage that?"
Danni snickered as she took another drink of her sake, "Garp dropped him off, saying he couldn't raise the kid, and neither could the father. Didn't even realize who I am, and if he's figured it out by now, he hasn't said anything. He drops by every now and again, usually stealing Luffy for some insane training trip that nearly kills the kid every time." She trailed off into angry muttering, glaring down at her cup sullenly. She was still pissed about the island.
"And the Ace brat?" Whitebeard prodded, amused at the woman's irritated muttering. She blinked, dragged away from her murderous thoughts, and then smiled widely. She nudged the much larger man with her foot, and waved her arm up in the air, the sake nearly spilling out of the cup with the move.
"Gol D. Ace!" she announced proudly, arm up in the air and face split in a wide, proud smile, the pride practically glowing in her eyes. "Roger's kid! The old fool asked me to take care of him if Rouge didn't make it through the birth. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't been on his crew he would've asked Garp to take care of the kid, and who knows how that would've turned out!" She laughed cheerily, and the old captain was glad to see that the life hadn't left the woman completely.
Her laughter died away and he hummed thoughtfully in a nostalgic way, "Gol D. Ace..." He was pulled out of his reminiscing of the time when Roger was still alive, by the sudden feral intensity the air around his guest sharpened into. He stared down in surprise, eyebrows raised as he caught sight of the now golden eyes of Danni staring at the wall of his rooms, piercing in their intensity as if they could see through the wood. "What is it?" he questioned.
Her ears twitched and then she was on her feet and practically tearing her way through his doors, a low, menacing growl ripping through her throat. Whitebeard quickly followed, but maintained a slight distance, it wouldn't be a good idea to get in the woman's way when she was feral like this. He had scars to prove it. The rest of the crew were practically diving out of her way as she bulled her way through, heading straight for the deck where the boys were supposed to be being occupied by Marco and Izo. The old captain furrowed his brow, mouth tightening, when he realized where she was heading. Nothing had better have happened to the brats while they were under his crew's watch, or there was going to be hell to pay, and it wouldn't be from just him.
Danni didn't pay attention to anything other than to getting her cubs. She could feel Luffy's fear, and even Ace and Sabo were feeling fear though it was masked by the surging protective feelings. She snarled, causing some of the pirates to jump, startled even as they moved out of her way and their captain's.
Whitebeard's eyes widened as he saw the woman leap forward and crash into whom she perceived as a threat to her cubs. Her tiny frame slammed into the bulky form of Marshall D. Teach, and the two of them went flying across the deck, which caught the rest of the crew on the deck's attention. The captain of the Moby Dick swept the three boys into his arms, moving away from where Danni was pinning Teach to the deck, a furious expression on her face. Luffy squirmed in his arms, while Ace and Sabo practically wrapped themselves around the rubber boy protectively, Ace even making a rather impressive growling noise.
Danni glared down at the fat pirate, eyes glowing gold and fangs peeking over her lips as she hissed, "What did you do?" Her voice was a mixture of human speech and snarling animal and it sent shivers crawling down many spines, Teach including. Whitebeard peered down at the children currently in his arms, eyeing them critically and frowning when he spotted a slowly forming bruise on the youngest's cheek.
He didn't want to think of one of his own son's to be capable of such a thing, but it didn't look like he had much of a choice. Danni wouldn't have reacted so violently otherwise. Teach made some sort of response he couldn't hear, but Danni's body went rigid and silence fell over the deck. Everyone was watching the former pirate warily, but she only had eyes for the threat to her cubs. Her pupils contracted into thin slits and her deceptively slim hands wrapped around his throat with bruising force, the bones creaking under her hold.
"Do not threaten my cubs," her voice echoed around the deck, frozen over and oozing malice. Her fingers tightened, nails digging into skin before with a loud snap bone broke under her hands and the life faded from the shocked man's eyes. She was off the man in an instant and next to Whitebeard, easily stealing the children from his arms and curling around them with a low purring like sound. Whitebeard eyed the dead form of one of his son's and couldn't seem to dredge up even the slightest bit of sympathy. What that man had done, striking a child, was unforgivable, and from Danni's words before she'd snapped his neck he had threatened to do worse to all three of the boys. He hummed and then said, "Why don't you take the boys to your room?"
Gold eyes flashed up at him, before she nodded swiftly and scooped them all up with surprising ease and made her way to the rooms they had been given. She needed to soothe her beast (and herself) and calm the boys down from the event. She wouldn't be letting them out of her sight for a while.
xxx
"Ace," Danni started, staring at the boy with a piercing gaze that made him avoid said gaze and fidget nervously. "What's going on?" Luffy and Sabo were currently with Marco in the first commander's quarters, her beast having finally calmed down from the Teach fiasco. She'd used the opportunity to finally talk to Ace about his much more violent and angry mannerisms as of late.
He scuffed the ground, knuckles turning white from the force of his grip on the edge of his shirt. He didn't want to talk about what he'd done and how it affected him. He didn't want to see her sad, and he knew she'd probably start crying if he told. And there was also that small, tiny part of him that whispered maybe they had been right.
Maybe he shouldn't have been born.
"That's bullshit," Danni hissed, fury sparking in her eyes, even as her stomach dropped in dismay. Ace's head shot up, dark eyes wide in surprise, obviously having realized he had spoken the words out loud. He stared at her, freckles standing out on his pale face. "Everyone deserves to be born! What they do with their life is their own choice, but no one has the right to say someone shouldn't have been born! Now, why the hell would you say such a thing?"
Ace swallowed thickly, tears pricking his eyes and he sniffed wetly, before the whole story spilled out. How he had gone to a bar and had asked innocently what people thought about if the Pirate King had had a kid; that nearly everyone he had asked had said the kid should never have been born and would be better off dead; that he was probably worse than his father.
Danni's anger mellowed out to a simmer and she sighed, gathering the boy into her arms and pulling him onto her lap as she cuddled him close. "Oh, Ace," she breathed out, closing her eyes in pain and cursing her stupid captain. She made a rumbling noise in the back of her throat and chest, rocking the suddenly sobbing child in her arms gently. Her eyes flickered over to the doorway, where two distressed faces were peeking around the door.
She quirked an eyebrow at Marco, who was standing behind the two boys looking faintly uncomfortable. The blonde shrugged, giving her an 'I don't know' look. She shook her head, a small amused smile flickering across her face, before she motioned the two boys over. Luffy immediately rushed over and wriggled his way under her arms and into Ace's, while Sabo made his way over a bit more slowly and simply leaned against her side and clutching Ace's hand with his own.
They didn't know why Ace was so upset, but they would stick with him anyways.
xxx
Danni grinned as she waved goodbye to Luffy, the last of the three to leave the island and start their adventure. She snickered as the teen took down the Sea King guarding their bay, before stretching languidly and humming in satisfaction. She was going to be a bit lonely now that all the brats had left, but she was looking forward to reading about the mischief her boys would be getting up too. Ace and Sabo had made their own waves (Sabo a bit more subtly than Ace, as he had joined the Revolution), and Luffy promised to be making humongous waves in the world.
"So, what are you going to do now, Devi-san?" Makino asked curiously, eyeing the much older woman seriously. She was sixty now, and her hair had turned a silvery white completely, and she had a few wrinkles, but she didn't really look her age. She still moved with the fluid grace of a predator, and she was still as dangerous.
Danni hummed, face turning thoughtful briefly before a wide grin threatened to split her face in half. "I think it's time I set sail again," she answered. "Maybe I'll go visit my wayward son and his brat of a captain. Then I think I'll just wander around, keep tabs on the boys, avoid Garp, the usual."
Makino raised an eyebrow and questioned in confusion, "Avoid Garp? Why?"
Danni's grin was particularly mischievous as she answered cheerfully, "It won't be long now before he figures out I'm a wanted pirate, especially since Luffy's off to be King of the Pirate's and he was none the wiser to the kid's goal. I believe he'll be rather irate with me, hahahaha!" Makino stared at the laughing woman. Devi-san used to (is?) a wanted pirate?
Eh?
xxx
FOXGEISHA: Welp, that's the end of Switch! Isn't quite what I wanted, but eh, oh well. I'm pretty happy with it nonetheless. Hope you enjoyed it!
(IMPORTANT) I've hit a major block for CMH, so that's been placed on temporary hiatus. MD will be updated, however, because it's a way for me to try and get back into the mood for writing Danni, and just writing in general. (Repeating this again, because I didn't get any feedback of Possess)
On another note, for juliedoo, I haven't forgotten your requests! Heart Pirate!Danni won't happen until after Law shows up in CMH, but actual Mihawk/Danni interaction I have planned out, I just need to get around to writing it.
Reviews are welcome and much appreciated! Also, don't forget to check out the blog for Danni!