Doragon no Yōsei (Dragon's Fairy)
by Kaline Reine
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I don't own any of the OC's in this, they belong to my friend, Mugiwara Luffia. The only exception is Shiori, she's mine.
WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. And this one is AU, so it has very little to do with canon. xD
This is written for Mugiwara Luffia as a commission. The pairing is Dragon!Sabo x Fairy!Alesha (her lovely OC). Hope you like it! ;D
Chapter 5:
Sabo came back into his room, blushing furiously. He'd asked Alesha to borrow a pencil today. For some reason, he was all flustered.
Crossing the room, he walked up to the little shrine he'd made for her. The top of his dresser was covered with all sorts of things... He was pleased with how it had been growing in the weeks that had followed that night at the pub. It was like a secret garden; his own little private homage to her. And the best part was, no one knew about it except for him. He wouldn't allow anyone into his room lately and this was a big part of the reason why.
He'd actually managed to hang onto her shirt. He'd washed it, and the cream colored garment was neatly folded in the corner of the dresser. He'd been careful not to soil it again, since he didn't want to wash anymore of her scent out of it. He knew he had been hanging onto it for a while, and he missed his jacket dearly, but he wasn't sure he was ready to part with such a personal thing yet. He also wasn't sure exactly how he should go about returning it to her...
The dragon lifted the shirt to his nostrils, taking his usual whiff of it, before placing it back where it belonged. Sitting next to it, there was the pencil she'd just loaned him, along with the lock of her hair he'd secretly taken, several photos of her that he'd managed to snap when no one was looking.
There was another new addition that he'd obtained today... A piece of her chewing gum, stuck inside the wrapper. Sabo had heroically rescued it from the waste bin in English class earlier. Tentatively, he reached for the little wad of gum.
'Pink...' His thoughts ran away with him again. 'Pink; like her...'
It was classic original bubblegum flavor. Sabo plucked it from it's confines within the tiny aluminum wrapper. He removed it and rolled it between his fingers for a bit. Taking it out, he pressed it against his lips, taking a deep breath. He put it in his mouth and took several bites, savoring the moist remnants of her saliva that were still coating the rubbery lump. He chewed her disposed gum for several minutes, before sinking back onto his bed, lost in bliss...
Sabo swore that he could still taste her on it, and he continued to just savor the sweetness. It was intoxicating to him. He couldn't get enough of her... He could taste her, he could smell her, he could sense her all around him, and yet he could not have her.
'Life is cruel...'
His thoughts drifted to his plans later in the evening. Tonight was when he would finally put his plan into action. He'd been wanting to get a hold of more of her stuff. There was something about having those little pieces of her, those simple fragments of her life, that was so enticing. He had to have more... And he'd already set a plan in motion earlier.
Several days ago, he'd told everyone that he was going to meet them at the arcade tonight for some after school fun. It was meant to be a lighthearted outing and no one suspected a thing. Everyone would be there... Ace, Luffy, Devon, Shiori, and especially Alesha.
He had come up with a story to give them so he would be unable to attend. It may have been the classic homework excuse, but it was also true. He did have to study... The part he didn't tell anyone was that he'd already taken the exam he'd needed to study for and passed it. He hoped Ace and Luffy would still go, but he doubted Luffy would ever turn down a chance to go to the arcade, regardless of who else was or wasn't there. He knew his brothers were well aware of how he felt about Alesha, so they were pretty much the only people he trusted with her. Well, them and Devon. He didn't seem to have any feelings for her than ran any deeper than friendship, so Sabo sort of liked him. And he kept the other males away, so he was a valuable asset.
Sabo enjoyed her gum for a few more minutes before putting it back in the wrapper and placing it precariously on the dresser, taking care not to put it too close to anything else. He didn't want another sticky mess to clean up. He had to change clothes and get ready to do this. He wore his blue jeans and a sleeveless black T-shirt, trying to appear more casual today since he wasn't actually going out with the group.
"Hey bro," Ace knocked on the door and opened it a bit, peeking his head in. "You ready yet? We g-"
"Don't come in here!" The blonde yelled. "This is my room, I didn't say you could come in. Get out!"
The elder dragon promptly did as he'd been told. Ace really didn't care about going in his room, he was just seeing if he was ready to go. But why had he been do hasty about getting rid of him? He was acting rather strange lately...
"You ready to go to the arcade, or what?"
"Yay! I got so many quarters!" Luffy raced down the hall and paused in front of the door to Sabo's bedroom. "Why are we standing here talking when we could be at the arcade? Let's go! I want to see what kind of snacks they have there. Let's go, let's go!"
"In a minute, Luffy. Calm down." Ace told him, before turning his attention back to Sabo. He gave him a quick once-over. "You're not even really dressed yet. Hurry up, slowpoke."
"Guys... That's because I'm not going." At the crestfallen look Luffy was currently giving him, he attempted to explain his reasoning. "I want to, but I really have to stay here and study. I can't go out tonight... I have a big test tomorrow, so I don't have a choice. Sorry."
"Awww! But Sabo, this was your idea!" Luffy whined, pouting.
"I know you wouldn't miss a chance to spend time with Alesha, unless your life depended on it or something..." Ace turned to leave, seeming to know more than he let on. "If you don't wanna go, that's fine with me. Hope you don't mind if we still go?" He looked at him over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow.
"No, no... It's fine! Just go on without me. I'll keep an eye on the dorm too. I'll be here all night. Like I said, I have to study."
"Guess that means we still get to go. Yay!" Luffy rationalized everything with his simple child-like antics, as usual.
He breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone. Sabo was just thankful they hadn't caught onto his plan. He hadn't had to tell them the reason he was staying behind tonight. Normally he wouldn't miss a chance to spend time with the object of his affections, and Ace was right. They probably all knew that, but he wasn't sure if she did. By the time this was all over, she definitely would.
Soon the door slammed closed and their footsteps echoed down the hall. He gave his brothers plenty of time to get from their dorm to meet Devon and the girls. He could probably count on Ace to stick with the plans they'd already made. He seemed to like the little albino girl a lot more than he let on, although he wasn't exactly being very subtle about things lately either.
Sabo felt like a certain neko owed him a favor for sparing his life. Alex could usually be found around the main entrance to the school, picking out his next targets as they prepared to leave for the day... He shouldn't be too hard to find. About half an hour after they'd all left, he made his way downstairs. He played it off like he'd gone to get a soda from one of the vending machines in the student lounge.
Just as predicted, he was leaning against the guard rail. His red ear was tilted upward and his blue ear was lying more flat, like he was trying to listen intently to something. He was staring at a group of college girls, most likely freshmen. He appeared to be trying to eavesdrop on their conversation without being too obvious about it.
'Heh,' Sabo thought. 'Looks like the cat's on the prowl again tonight. Good.'
"Yo! Alex!" The dragon approached him, watching him immediately flinch away the moment he caught sight of him.
"What do you want? If it's money you're after, I'm bone dry, sorry. But if you just give me a few, I'll-"
"Relax." He grinned at the smaller blonde. "Do you think I'm some kind of petty bully or something? That's not why I did what I did that night. I'm here because I have a little preposition for you."
"What? Me? Why?" Alex stared at him with wide eyes, wondering what the heck he was up to.
He'd only just recovered from the beating he'd received from the blonde dragon and his brothers a couple of weeks ago. His black eye had only just healed enough so that it could be concealed. He wasn't sure why this guy would come to him about anything.
"You're a thief. I need your... rather 'unique' talents tonight. It's a secret, but if you meet me over by the girl's dorms in a few minutes, you'll find out why."
Curious, the cat stopped what he was doing and went off to make it seem like he was casually walking toward the girl's side of the dormitory hall. The bell that hung from the white scarf around his neck jingled while he walked. The dragon approached within a few minutes of him waiting there.
"Glad you decided to come through. Here's what I had in mind."
The dragon slipped him a folded piece of paper. Alex opened the note and read it. His expression changed several times while he was reading. In the end, he was left with a sinister grin.
The neko didn't outright show it, but it was obvious that he was intimidated by Sabo. His hands shook a little and he licked his lips, thinking about his offer. It would be tempting to steal from one of the girls' dorms. He'd never had that opportunity yet, mainly because he hadn't thought of it. And even if he had, he wasn't bold enough to go that far on his own. There was too much risk of getting caught.
"I'll need a lookout while I work. Picking a lock takes time."
"Got you covered," Sabo smiled, happy that they could strike a deal. "I'll keep an eye on things. I just need you to get us in. I don't know anything about lock picking."
"Alright," Alex shook his hand, quickly. "It's a deal then."
"Great! Come on..."
The blonde dragon led him to Alesha and Shiori's dorm. The neko immediately took out a set of lock picks from his vest. He went to work on the door and had it open in no time. He seemed to practically glow with pride when it finally swung open and they stepped inside. He loved having a chance to show off his notorious skills.
"Ah, no way! They have a flat screen TV!" Alex marveled at everything in the room, his tail swishing eagerly from side and side. "And look at this! There's so much stuff to steal... Are you sure we can't take anything?"
"You really wouldn't be a very good thief if they knew we were here," Sabo warned. "So watch yourself. And remember our deal. I'm paying you not to take anything. So hands off!"
"Alright, alright... It had better be worth it..."
"My parents are rich, so it definitely will be."
"If you're so well off, why didn't you just hire a professional locksmith instead of some college kid?" Alex glared at him, hating the bastard even more now.
"Yeah right!" The dragon scoffed. "You try finding a locksmith who's dishonest enough to help me break into a girl's room. Idiot. Now keep it down! We don't want to get caught."
He looked around, going over to Alesha's side of the room. He knew which bed was hers from when they'd hung out here together a few times. It was fun, but all he could think about was what it would be like to lie in that bed with her, all night... He opened her dresser and very carefully went through her things.
Even the neko blushed when he took out a pair of pink silk panties from the top drawer. They looked clean and unworn, but they were really cute, with frilly lace along the edges. Sabo couldn't resist the urge to sniff them once before putting them in his pocket.
"What are you doing?!" It was Alex's turn to scoff. "Put those back!"
"Surely you have to know it's one of the reasons I'm here... There's more though."
Sabo reached for one of the plushies that sat on top of the small white dresser in the corner. It was a cute stuffed butterfly that reminded him of her. While it seemed an odd choice for a stuffed animal, she did have a taste for things that were unusual. He had no doubt that it belonged to her. The fairy's scent was all over it. And in many ways, it reminded him of her. He could tell she cuddled with this one a lot. It was worn in some places and even had a couple of small stains.
He pried the edge of her mattress up from the box spring. There was nothing under it, so he put it back down. Then he repeated the action along the other side and at the foot of the bed too.
"What are you looking for?" The cat guy asked him, sounding annoyed.
"Her diary... I guess she doesn't have one though."
To tell the truth, he was really disappointed that she didn't keep a diary. He'd hoped to learn more about her by reading it, before putting it back. Maybe it was a good thing she didn't have one, or that he hadn't found it at least. If he read anything negative about himself in there, he doubted that he would be able to stand it. He'd been hoping to read some juicy bits from her life tonight, and it was a shame to learn that there was actually nothing there to read. She seemed like the private type though.
"Couldn't you just pay me now so I can get out of here? There's no reason for us both to hang out in their room..." Alex sighed, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Actually no," Sabo wore a somber look, closing yet another drawer he'd peeked through. "I need you here in case they come back from the arcade early. We can say we needed a place to talk to try to reconcile our differences. I'm sure the girls will be understanding about that. They'll probably think it's cute or something... And if all else fails, we can say they left the door unlocked. They'll never remember if they definitely locked it or not."
"If you say so... Most people would remember that though."
He shrugged. "Look, it's not like you have any better ideas, so stop criticizing everything. If you keep on whining like this, I won't pay you a single cent."
"Ehh, you probably weren't going to anyway."
"That's not true, I-"
"Shhh!" The neko shushed him, putting one finger to his lips. "You're being really loud. Do you want us to get caught?"
"I'm almost done," Sabo rummaged through his pockets, looking for the money he was going to give him. "That's odd... I can't find my money."
Alex flashed him a clever grin, holding up two stacks of crisp hundred dollar bills that were banded together. "Looking for these?"
"Hey! How did you-" He let out a defeated sigh. "Nevermind. I knew you'd try something like that, so I only brought the amount I was planning to pay you. I trust that should be enough to quell the temptation of robbing the girls?"
"I should say so! However, now that I've gotten what I wanted, you're on your own now. Later, sucker!"
Alex fled the room and ditched him. Sabo shrugged. He really didn't care much about that right now. He still had a few places to search for her diary before he could leave. And having the neko here was only riling him up and causing him to raise his voice, which could alert someone to their presence. So it was better off to avoid the risk and just let him go, especially if he wanted to leave so badly anyway.
It didn't take much longer for Sabo to finish searching. He couldn't find a diary anywhere, so he assumed she'd either hidden it well or maybe she just didn't have one. Not all girls even kept diaries anymore, so it wasn't that uncommon. It just would have been nice to find, since it would have been an easy way to find out about her feelings for him, if she had any at all.
Sabo was convinced that she loved him, no matter what. That was what his instincts told him. He didn't want to risk getting caught at the scene of the crime, so he left their room once he'd gotten all of the things he'd wanted. He didn't risk taking anything else, since it would have been too suspicious. Alesha would notice if she were missing a lot of things or if something really big went missing.
So he darted outside and tried to close to door, only to find that it was actually jammed. The lock on the outside had been broken.
"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath.
Alex hadn't done as good of a job as he would have let on... It probably hadn't been done on purpose, but it was a rather unfortunate side effect of breaking into their room. All he could do was push it closed, for now, and hope no one noticed him leaving. He knew he had to get out of there quickly, so Sabo rushed to get back to his own dorm. Luckily he hadn't passed anyone in the halls. He hoped against all odds that everyone was still at the arcade.
"Hello?" He called, to an empty dorm. "Anyone home? Guys? You here?"
Sabo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the dorm was still empty. He'd gotten away with it! He went straight to his room, taking the plushie out for the first time since he'd left her room. It really looked out of place in the solitude of his bedroom. His was done in a tasteful deep blue and different shades of white and gray. The pastel pink and light blue butterfly really stood out like a sore thumb.
He wasn't able to enjoy it more, because he was worried someone might walk in on him. He stashed it inside his dresser. For some reason, he felt it was too much of a risk for him to place it on top with everything else right now, even though he knew he was probably just being silly. He hurriedly stashed her panties in there beside the plush butterfly... As a final touch, the dragon grabbed some of his books from his backpack and tossed them haphazardly onto his bed.
And it was just in time too... He jumped when he heard the door open. It could only be his roommates, since he'd locked the door from the inside, and only someone with a key could enter. Footsteps thudded until they reached the threshold of his bedroom, then stopped short.
Luffy rushed in, panic in his beady black eyes as he nearly slid across the carpet. "Sabo! Come quick! Something happened, it's the girls and and... Just come on!"
In mock alarm, he jumped up from the bed and ran after his younger sibling. He didn't stop running until they'd reached Alesha's dorm. She was standing outside next to Shiori and the two girls looked very panicked. Ace was trying to comfort Shiori, who was currently sobbing against his bare chest. Sabo had never expected that... And surprisingly, Alesha had managed to keep her cool during all of this, so far.
"Yes, and then we came back... I don't know what happened." She was busy telling a member of the staff. "We just found the door open and our doorknob like this. It won't stay closed now and the locks won't work. There are scratches all around it, like someone picked it or something."
"We'll look into this right away." The man assured her, hurrying off to do paperwork. "I'll send for more members of the staff, one moment.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sabo finally got a chance to ask her, even though he already knew why she was so distressed.
"Sabo!" The fairy wasted no time in fluttering over to him. She hugged him warmly and he was shocked, but returned the hug anyway. "Thank goodness you're here! Someone broke into our room while we were at the arcade!"
It made him smile when he realized that she was still wearing his jacket over her regular clothes. He'd managed to keep her shirt for a little while longer. Every time she asked for it back, Sabo just made the excuse that he still hadn't gotten the stain out... Even though he actually had. He'd only washed it once. He wanted to keep as much of her scent on it as possible.
"It's... It's s-so awful!" Shiori tried to control her sobs, wiping her face with the sleeve of her favorite worn out blue sweater. "I don't know if we'll e-ever feel safe here again..."
"Oh no, this is terrible!" Sabo feigned concern, lightly petting her hair in an effort to calm her. "And where's Devon?" He wondered if maybe the voodoo demon might be able to put a curse on the person who did it... He hoped not!
He still hadn't let go of her yet. Sabo finally released her from the embrace, letting her move away and already missing her. His hands trailed along the sleeve of the leather jacket when she pulled away. She seemed to notice, but was too distracted to say anything about it. And there were too many people here for her to worry about something so trivial at a time like this.
"He went down to let the school know about it," Alesha explained. "Then said he needed to get home. He was pretty upset too, but he has to be up early. They're sending someone up from maintenance to fix the door and install a new set of locks. But that isn't much help..."
"Wow... Did they steal anything?"
She looked around, not noticing that one of her plushies was missing. He'd carefully rearranged them so it wouldn't be as obvious. She mostly looked at the various electronics and other valuable things that they had.
Alesha shook her head. "Nothing that we've noticed so far... But that doesn't mean they won't try to come back. I hate it here! Since they didn't take anything, who knows what they were really after?"
"M-maybe they thought we were in here..." Shiori suggested, sniffling. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were swollen and puffy.
"It'll be okay," Ace told her. "We'll protect you, ladies."
"Oh I'm so sure!" Alesha smacked him lightly, half-playfully. "Leave her alone, okay? Can't you see we've been through enough?"
"I can see how that's upsetting..." Sabo attempted to appeal to her logical side. "If it would make you feel better, you could stay with me in our dorm tonight. Shiori could come too. She could sleep on the couch?"
He'd tried to offer a practical solution. It had started out as a joke in his mind, at first, but now he was hoping she'd say yes.
"Well..." She seemed to actually be considering it. Alesha saw the way his dark eyes lit up with hope. "I think we'll be fine. We can always call you guys if something happens."
"Yeah... You're right. That was silly of me to think that you'd be inter- That you'd, you know, want to spend time with me..." Sabo muttered, sheepishly. He was actually acting a little shy right now, and also kind of hurt.
"I don't mean you hurt your feelings, Sabo... It's just-"
"We'll find whoever did it," Luffy growled, his tail swishing back and forth in anger. He cracked his knuckles. "And kick their ass! I'll tear them limb from limb, I'll rip their damn heads off!"
"Now, calm down..." Another voice said, from behind the crowd of young adults. Marco the phoenix showed up. "There's no need for that kind of talk. We'll handle it from here. I was sent here to help investigate this problem. You said someone broke into your room?"
"Yes," Alesha nodded, thankful to see someone with such a level head. "We were all at the arcade earlier just goofing around and when we got back, our door was open."
He leaned down, messing with the broken lock. The man fiddled with it for several minutes, before walking into their dorm. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.
"Did they take anything?"
"No, not that we've discovered so far. We don't know why they broke in."
"Any clues as to who it might be?" Marco seemed to eye all of the guys suspiciously for a moment.
"They were th-there with us..." Shiori told him, fidgeting with her sweater. "So they c-couldn't have done it!"
Sabo's face lit up with a smile. They were apparently completely forgetting about the fact that he wasn't with them at the time! This seemed to be working out in his favor...
"I see... That only leaves one option. I'll have to ask around and see if anyone saw anything unusual here today. Just sit tight. You girls stick together for the rest of the night, okay? Even after maintenance gets here. I don't want you going anywhere alone."
"Are we allowed to leave?" Luffy whined, rubbing his stomach. "I'm hungry..."
"Sure, I guess you're all free to leave, unless we find anything. We'll call your dorm if we need you. My advice is to stay clear of this area for a while until we can sort this out."
They all nodded, the group getting ready to disperse and mumbling their goodbyes to each other.
"Alesha..." Sabo pulled her to the side, rather forcefully. Everyone else was too wrapped up to notice. "Are you sure you don't wanna come back with me? It might be safer."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do," She told him, eyeing him hesitantly. "But I also know what you're trying to do."
The fairy was no idiot. She knew all about college guys and their misguided habits of inviting unsuspecting girls into their rooms. It was no secret that he liked her that way. If she went with him, there was only one thing that was bound to happen... And she wanted more than just a brief fling, it anything was going to happen.
"What do you mean?"
"Thanks, but no thanks... He said to stay here. But it's sweet of you to offer." Her voice held little sincerity in it right now. "Look, it's just a confusing time. And I'd rather stay here with Shiori. That way we can make sure our stuff is okay."
"Alright," He nodded, begrudgingly accepting her answer. "Just be careful. I'm worried about you."
"I will."
Before they could talk more, she had to answer even more questions from the school faculty. More people had just arrived. They'd gathered a group of innocent onlookers too. This seemed to be escalating pretty quickly. Sabo knew his best bet was probably to lay low, and wait for this whole thing to blow over...
He watched Ace walking away from the group already. He went to join him, grabbing Luffy by the collar of his shirt and dragging him along.
"Let's get going. They'll be fine with so many people around."
Alone in his room, Sabo opened the dresser drawer. He'd locked the door so no one else would come in. He didn't want to be disturbed right now.
His plans had failed and he was extremely frustrated. Grabbing the butterfly plushie from inside the drawer, he threw it onto his bed. He glared at it in disgust, showing his teeth. He took out a switchblade that he kept under his pillow.
"Clever girl..." He growled, picking up the stuffed animal and cuddling it close to his chest. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you?"
As he said the last part, he began drawing the blade down the sides of each wing, tenderly whispering sweet nothings to it... The plushie still smelled of her. No matter what he did to it, he could never get her scent out of it. Not completely. He alternated between squeezing the soft fluff and raking the sharp edge along it's smiling face.
He paused to take a whiff of her shirt. He would have to give it back to her soon and he was going to miss it. At least she was still wearing his jacket. That was something nice too. He wondered if she noticed his scent all over it too.
"Clever girl... You think you're better than me? Is that it?" Suddenly, without warning, the knife sank into the center of the little plush butterfly. "Think you're too good for me, huh?!" He ripped it downward, in a jagged tearing motion. He stabbed it over and over again.
The fabric ripped and stuffing began to spill out everywhere. It was all over his bed, so fluffy and white. He flopped down, burying his face in it. He reached up, the switchblade still in his hand, to stab it even more. Then he clicked the button on the side of the antique handle and the blade disappeared.
He began to cry... The tears spilled out before he could stop them. Droplets of homemade rain poured down his cheeks and onto the destroyed plushie. That was one thing she'd never get back... And for some reason, that made him really happy. It comforted him and made him feel better. But it was not enough.
"Do you want to get hurt?" He picked up the torn remnants of what had once been a cute cheerful butterfly. "I'll... I'll protect you... We could be together, always. Let me make you feel better..."
He petted it sadly afterward, heavily regretting what he did. There was a weight on his conscience. He then pressed the soft fabric against his cheek, coddling it. He even loved the torn pieces because they reminded him of her. She was delightful, with her fragile wings and cheerful smile. Sometimes he wanted to see tears in her eyes... Other times he wanted only the best for her. It was so confusing.
Mostly, he just wanted her to be his. He craved her... Wanted her like nothing else in this world!
"I love you..." He told it, pretending the plushie was her. He snorted, smoke coming from his nostrils. "But you have to go."
Sighing, Sabo did the only thing he felt he truly could. He needed some semblance of control; of power... Flames frothed forth from his mouth, and the stuffed toy crackled at the edges, burning with his breath. It sat on his bed in charred tattered pieces, barely recognizable. He sat there watching them smolder for a while before he put them out with a water bottle. He didn't want to get too carried away.
Minutes later, there was a loud frantic knock at the door.
"Sabo?" Ace called. "What are you doing in there?" He tried the door knob, it jiggled a bit but didn't unlock.
"Let us in! I smell burning! You're cooking meat in there without us and I just know it!" Luffy added in his two cents, from behind his older brother. He reached around him with his stretching ability and also knocked on the door. "Saboooooo! Open up! I want some!"
"Shut up Luffy..." Ace pinched the bridge of his nose. He was still doing so when the door opened to reveal a very surprised yellow dragon. "You okay man?"
"Sorry to worry you. Everything is under control here. No need to worry."
"Can I come in?" Without waiting for a response, the freckled dragon brushed past him, forcing his way in.
"N-no, don't come in!" Sabo tried to push him back out, but was unsuccessful.
That was when Ace saw it. There, on the bed, were the scattered remnants of whatever it was that he'd been burning. He walked in and picked up a piece of torn fabric. It was slightly burned on both ends.
"What the hell is this?" He demanded, shoving it in his brother's face.
"Uhh I don't know... I told you to stay out, so just go."
"It looks like part of a stuffed animal," He picked up the knife that was lying on the edge of the bed. He pressed the switch, causing the blade to pop out. "This looks dangerous. We need to talk. I'm worried about you, man..."
Sabo scowled at him, his demeanor suddenly changing. "There's nothing to talk about! Ace, Luffy, please get out of my room. Now!" He snarled, with a puff of smoke. He even went so far as to shove the muscular red and black dragon backward.
"I've seen this plushie before!" Luffy looked at the once-smiling face of what used to be a butterfly. "It's Alesha's butterfly."
'Damn... Why did he have to remember?'
"I... I can explain!"
Ace eyed a small notebook that was lying on his bed from the homework he'd been pretending to do. It looked innocent enough, just a plain spiral notebook with a dark blue cover... He saw that the first few pages were blank, but when he picked it up and flipped to the third page, he saw there was one word written about a thousand times all over the page. 'Alesha' it said, 'Alesha' everywhere!
With a quick glance around the room, he also spotted some of Alesha's belongings on his dresser. He seemed to be hopelessly obsessed with her. This wasn't good.
"I think I see what's going on here," Ace nudged Luffy, in an effort to get him to leave the room. "Luffy, let's go. Give him some space."
"Awww but I wanted some of the meat!"
"Luffy just go make yourself some food or better yet," Ace handed him five bucks. "Go buy yourself something and shut up." He turned his attention back toward the blonde who was waiting there with his hands shaking. "I think you should maybe think about having a word with someone about this... I mean, it's dangerous. This is getting way out of hand. You could have burned this whole building down!"
"No!" He shook his head, adamant about keeping this whole incident between them. "You can't tell anyone! Especially not her, she... She wouldn't understand! Ace, I could go to jail... I stole from her!"
"This is all coming together now... Listen, you don't have to tell her. I think you should be talking to a professional about this. What you're doing is sick."
Now that he'd been caught in such a way, Sabo was humiliated. He hung his head in defeat, his bangs falling into his face. He looked up at his brother.
"Get out. Just get out and leave me alone!" He roared fearsomely.
"Fine," Ace was already on his way out. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Please let me know if you're ever feeling bad. I'll do what I can to help, okay?"
Sabo didn't want to talk. He just closed the door back and locked it again. He heard Ace leave and sat on his bed, amid all of the leftover debris from his most recent tantrum. He stayed there, lying on the bed, clutching her shirt close against his chest and sniffing it on occasion. He would wait until it was later in the evening before he decided what to do. He had lost his appetite, his friends thought he was a weirdo, Alesha was going to be very paranoid after this, and he otherwise had no reason whatsoever to want to move.
'...If only there were some way to make her see.' He thought, trying to piece everything together in his mind in a way that it would make sense.
Maybe there was still hope... If he could convince her that she meant a lot to him, show her how much she meant to him... If he could somehow let her know about what he'd done, but without her knowing it was him... There had to be a way, right?
He knew his brothers wouldn't say anything. They weren't stupid and they didn't want him to be kicked out of school over something as petty as this. It was no different from a panty raid really... And the only thing they knew he'd taken was a plushie, which could be considered a lesser offense by far. He didn't intend to let anyone know what else he'd taken.
'I have to make this right...' His thoughts began to run away with him. 'I have to go to her... Need to be near her...'
Before he could fully process his thoughts, he was scrambling to pick up the remnants of her shredded plushie. It was much later in the night by now and he knew all of the chaos from the break-in had probably died down by now. She would be in her room, most likely comforting Shiori or talking on the phone with her friend Devon. Something like that, anyway... He often wished he could see what kinds of things she did when she was alone. He thought about her night and day, and wondered if she thought about him too.
He'd stuffed the remains of the butterfly into a small paper bag. Sabo snuck out of his room and crept out of the dorm. He didn't see Ace or Luffy, he assumed they'd gone to sleep by now. He couldn't sleep. He was too upset.
The only place he wanted to be right now was near her... He made a mad dash for Alesha's room. He really wanted to make use of his powerful wings and fly there, but it actually wasn't a good idea because that would probably arouse way too much suspicion. He didn't want to make any waves or draw attention to himself right now. They were looking for the person responsible for the break in and he didn't want to be connected to any of it.
'I have to give it back to her...' He thought. 'It's only right. I shouldn't have taken it like that. I need to make sure she knows how I feel. Maybe she'll somehow realize...'
At the time, he didn't even think about how ridiculous his thought process actually was. His heart raced, his mind frantic, his pulse soaring out of control... The dragon licked his lips nervously, as he neared Alesha's room. He was glad when he saw that there was no one around. The crowd had left and the administrators were probably looking into what happened, not that they'd figure it out. It wasn't iron-clan or anything, but Sabo felt that he had a pretty good alibi.
He put his ear to the door and listened for a moment, but he didn't hear anything. He felt his own pulse pounding in his head, rushing through his ears... He held his breath. And finally, there was a small sound... Light snoring emanated from inside. So they were asleep. Good.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, the nervous dragon placed the remains of her battered stuffed animal against their door. Hopefully she would find it and know how sorry he was.