"You see, i had foreknowledge but going with the main character would be boring." Aren explained, they were sitting in the living room after Marco was told of the situation. "I wanted power, there are factors in this world that didn't exist in mine. Fruits that give you power? Eyes that evolve through time? It was -sigh- exhilarating. Leo –the lucky prick- got the most powerful, rare ability since the founder of our family." His curly hair swayed in front of his eyes as he spoke with emotion.
"And he turned out to be a genius!" his voice wavered –jealous?- as he spoke. "I, who had at least twenty years of experience before him, was made a complete fool when the kid turned 6!" Marco leaned back in his seat. Aren is smart, a good actor if what he said is true, and Leo is smarter than him? That might be a problem.
And so he listened, Rei by his side, he listened to Aren through the night.
-x-
So this is the capital, was Leo's first thought as they rode the super fast ducks towards the city. It held its title with honor, even during a civil war. It had defenses, unseen to civilian eyes. The buildings –some of them- were placed in a high to low manner for gunners to not shoot their allies while fighting.
Leo was riding his duck alone, unlike the rest. Maybe they'll think I'm the princess because I'm alone. I would love to test my blade against somebody strong. Making a note to spar with Zoro after this, he urged his duck to run faster. He 'hid' his eyes, blue -normal- eyes replacing the magnificent golden color. His vision was reduced this way, but he still had a 360 view, allowing him to see his crewmate split up. He rode directly towards the wall and jumped when he was close enough. He held on to the wall with his feet, walking upwards.
-x-
Aren woke up with a gasp, alerting the other three agents in the room. Marco had slept on the chair, Rei was in another room but woke up early and their newest addition didn't sleep at all. He was close to two meters in height with a lean build. White, wavy hair reached his shoulders, his bangs nearly blocking his green eyes. He was wearing a traveler cloak, having arrived a few days after Aren explained everything.
"He is here." Aren said, hiding his excitement. I will make an impact.
The group, already ready with their weapons, left the building. A katana for Rei, greatsword for Marco, brass knuckles for their new friend and double daggers for Aren.
"He is strong, probably a lot more than he used to be." Aren stated, it was a warning to everyone, including himself. He was planning for a way to finish his cousin. These idiots won't be enough, I don't know what Marco is capable of. That was a troubling, Aren didn't know his partners power even after working with him for a year. He only fought hand to hand, haki and whatnot.
The group made their way silently, a war was about to begin after all.
"Where is he?" Marco asked, he was still the leader for this hit even though Aren had a vendetta against their target.
"Walking up the wall of the city."
….
….
"What? " everyone asked, at the same time. That kid must be good with his powers, Marco thought, walking ahead.
"Okay, as far as I can see, each of the straw hats have their own missions. Leo however is going ahead, we should wait for him to tire out and take him out." Marco said, breaking the silence. His eyes didn't see too far ahead even though it was mature. His right index finger sparked without his notice. Having combat abilities is better.
"Eric, what do you think about the situation?" Rei asked their newest addition, walking next to him. Eric was silent for some time, almost making them think he ignored the man next to him.
"Mercy D. Leo, rumored to be extremely powerful, I think we should follow what Marco-san said. I don't know about his weapon choice so double teaming him at first to use whatever he has would be a good option. His ability of manipulation is troublesome, I have no idea about its limits." Eric explained, he was young –twenty at best- and his voice showed it. Nobody could deny about his logic.
Aren nodded in confirmation, clearing his throat as they took to the rooftops. "Last time I saw him he could crush objects given enough time. Crush isn't the right word -sorry- he I quote cut through the molecules." Marco raised an eyebrow at that, not turning back from his position in the front of the group and jumped to another rooftop.
"So what do you think he can do right now?" Marco inquired, pushing his hair out of his hair. He heard Aren sigh behind him, in thought. "I guess it wouldn't take as much time to 'cut through molecules' as it used to. He could float stuff around, use them as a weapon or shield."
-x-
Leo walked in the middle of a seemingly empty street, sighing in disappointment. I got no one to fight, except knock out both sides of the war. A few seconds later, a platoon of Royal Guards filed into the street, standing in front of him. Leo already had his sword in hand, hopping in place.
"I advise you surrender and give us information on whereabouts of your leader!" the apparent leader of the platoon shouted, they were quite far away after all. Leo tilted his head to the side, confused.
"Why?" he asked, taking them by surprise. Their leader shook his head in disappointment. And we get the idiots, best just explain.
"You see, we clearly out-" his words died in his throat as he witnessed something impossible. His soldiers, all knocked out –there was no blood- he quickly turned around and came face to face with Leo, just inches away from him.
"-number me?" he finished for the wide eyed man. The captain nodded and Leo promptly knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.
Leo just whistled a tune and walked through the unconscious soldiers.
-x-
Aren's eyes widened, their entire group witnessed that power play by their target. I didn't even see him move! He wasn't showing his concern on the outside, just like the rest of the group. Except Marco, he truly didn't care.
He could think of only one thing as he saw Rei grin at him. A bunch of rookies but this will be fun.
Marco got up from his crouch and urged the rest to do the same.
"Let's do this, shall we? By we need a plan." He grinned at his group.
-x-
Half an hour later…
Leo looked at his opponent, a red haired man holding a greatsword with one hand, not an easy feat. His sword looked weirder than Leo's, pitch black with a white cross in the middle.
"Hello Mercy D. Leonidas" he started with a bow, "I am Marco." The man called Marco retrieved something from his pocket. It was a metallic box, square without any specific details. Leo guessed it was the size of his fist.
"I am here to kill you, I guess." Marco said with an awkward shrug. Leo smirked, he looked strong.
"And that box is here because…?" he trailed off, he was curious as to what it contained.
Marco smiled, and cleared his throat. "That is your reward if you manage to defeat me." A massive amount of Haki burst out of Marco after that sentence, bringing Leo to his knees.
Leo could barely hear Marco's footsteps, echoing off the walls. "I'm getting rusty, you are not down yet." The amount of pure power that emanated from Marco was incredible. The buildings around them shook to their foundations, pebbles defying gravity -levitating- off the ground at his feet.
His body wouldn't move, even as he tried desperately to run away. This man was dangerous, the world gave way under him, bending to his will. What is this!? Marco stopped in front of Leo, crouching down to his level.
"You see, there will always be stronger opponents out there." Marco said, placing the box in front of Leo. He got up and walked away, leaving a stunned Leo behind.
"You won, Leo!" was the last thing Marco said to him. Just like that, the suffocating feeling of helplessness, of power was gone. Leo snarled, pushing himself up, and took the box.
-x-
Aren woke up with a start, looking around to see everyone unconscious, except Marco and Rei.
Then it all came back to him.
"We need to plan?" Aren asked, shocked. "We just need to go and kill him, he is outnumbered!" as he finished his sentence, Rei took Eric out and Marco was walking towards him. Aren scrambled backwards, eyes wide in shock.
Then he saw black.
"That damn traitor! No matter, I'll take care of Leo myself."
-x-
Which was how Leo was stuck looking at his cousin. He was still pissed off about his crushing defeat, and wasn't pleased with his new opponent.
"Payback time, cousin." Aren spat, charging at Leo with his daggers. Leo blocked both daggers, and pushed back his cousin. The moment their eyes met, something snapped within Leo.
Then it came back to him too.
He was sitting with Marco, drinking sake. They both looked sad for some reason.
"You sure its true?" Marco asked, hand subconsciously going to his eyes. Leo nodded, looking devastated.
"These are a curse, I confirmed it." Leo replied, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to know this. He felt lost. But there was a small chance, their hope.
"I-I… think there is a solution." Leo said, voice a whisper. Marco looked at him, they were young, this might just take it all away.
"What is it?" Marco asked, hoping it was easy. But it never was.
"A Devil Fruit."
….
"But that means tha-"
"I know what it means, only one person can be saved. That is a small chance, this fruit is rare. We probably won't even find it." Leo gave a dry chuckle, leaning back to his leather chair.
"Which fruit is it?" Marco asked, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.
He couldn't.
"It is called Seal-Seal fruit? I don't know, it is just a chance." Leo answered, slumping back with a sigh. It was bad for a twelve year old to drink, but he was mature.
"My cousin will try to kill me after what I'm gonna do. I need you to get that fruit. There are more, they will hinder our original powers but that's a small price to pay." And instantly, the mood brightened.
"I need more than manipulation to survive the journey ahead. It doesn't work on humans stronger than me you know?" Leo joked, Marco joining in after.
Aren blocked another kick from a smiling Leo. They had been doing this since the fight started, him on the defensive since the first strike.
"Do you know what happens when one of our kind eats a Devil Fruit, Aren?" Leo asked out of nowhere. They both knew the answer.
Death.
Their eyes are absorbers, taking potential abilities for themselves, so if one ate a fruit, their eyes would refuse the plant of power and kill the user in the process.
"Enlighten me." Aren said in a condescending tone, ducking under his swing, attempting a cut to the throat.
"We die from refusal of power." Leo started, jumping backwards then darting forward, clashing against his cousin.
"I found the solution. Cataloged Devil Fruits." There were fruits on the market, powers known beforehand. Aren realized what Leo meant after three seconds.
"Then you just need to find a match to your eyes?" Aren concluded, blocking an elbow strike. Then a huge boom stopped their fight.
"That's a big ass bomb." Leo commented, before Aren stabbed him in the back. He fell forward with a curse, turning around and swinging his sword for a potential attack. Which ended up with Aren missing two fingers.
"I almost -agh- forgot that… you were a backstabbing son of a bitch." Leo got out between gasps. Aren was just looking at his left hand in shock, index and middle finger gone.
"You see, I used to think about why our people died early. Without anything done to them at all. It took a few years but, I managed to find the problem." Leo sweeper Aren's eyes off the ground while explaining.
"Our precious eyes, they are the problem. They feed off of our lifespan. But I got a solution for that too, apparently I wasn't the only one who thought this way. Our ancestors left notes Aren. Fruits are the solution, we can use them to fix ourselves!"
"We lose powers depending on the fruit power but it basically allows our eyes to get a different source of energy to feed on!"
Leo got up, with some difficulty. Aren had gotten him near the lung, a close call in Leo's opinion.
"But" he moved his sword to Aren's neck, "too bad you won't get to see it."
"Savio D. Aren, you are hereby sentenced to death for the crimes of killing the royal family, attempted assassination of the last of the Mercy family –right hand of the royal family- and the destruction of the kingdom of Tyra."
With a clean strike, Leo painted the street and his clothes in blood.
I'm back! There are some side stories that will be explained later, like how Marco and Leo know each other. And to those who guessed what it was about Leo thinking he had a Devil Fruit, here is the answer.
*Drum Roll*
He changed his own memories. And Aren's. Why did you think he kept following Leo around? Hope you enjoyed!