Never, in all twenty years of Monkey D. Luffy's life, had he ever seen the real sky.
The sky above was a dull one. Drab, a messy patchwork of cement and mismatched stretches of metal, shot through with decades old wiring jobs that rained sparks down on the dreary streets below.
Sunlight never reached the Dregs, and the half hearted illumination from the lamplights hardly did any good fighting back the inky shadows lurking around every corner and clinging to the dirt like a heavy fog.
Luffy sat atop a throne of scrap metal and garbage, the vast expanse of the junkyard spreading out in all directions. It reeked of ozone and motor oil, with the occasional whiff of rotting flesh to wrinkle one's nose. Raspy voices harmonized with the clinking of meal and scraping of uneven mechanical components.
Sorry souls rooted through mounds upon mounds of garbage, traversing the rotten wasteland in an attempt to find anything of value. The scavengers hunted the junkyard day in and day out, spending so much time balls deep in waste that oil and dirt was eternally caked under fingernails and staining hands black.
Smudges of oil on one's face was considered somewhat of a right of passage in the Dregs. Running water, and clean water at that, was a rarity. Bathing was a luxury when water smugglers were almost too scarce to provide basic drinking water. Seeing half a cup of water a day was worth celebrating.
Not that Luffy was complaining. If he never saw a barrel of water again then he'd die a happy man.
With greasy bangs hanging down to brush his eyes, Luffy craned his neck upwards. This high up, he could have touched the sky if he wanted to. A sky of metal. Of bolts and cement and wires that drooped like jungle vines.
The sky was Luffy's favorite thing. Aside from meat, of course.
Being this close to the sky felt so freeing. The sky was at the very top, the crown that adorned the bruised and bleeding skull of the Dregs. Oil and contaminated water seeped through the cracks like blood from a wound, like snot and tears from an eternity of pain. But while others felt caged by the metal barricade over their heads, Luffy felt nothing but freedom when he gazed upwards.
He was on the lowest Layer, covered in mud and filth and littered with the Uppers' garbage, but this was home, and Luffy wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
With a flimsy satchel resting against his hip and a cheerful grin on his face, Luffy leaned back on his hands and reveled in the hollow breeze drifting down from the garbage chute. It was a massive hole in the sky, pitch black on the inside and slick with a sticky condensation from the humid machinery that lurked between the Layers.
The chute hung right at the crown of the highest pile of garbage in the junkyard; it was the source of all the trash, after all. Every day at each hour on the dot a fresh load of garbage would come tumbling down the chute to join the mountains of scrap and the scrappers that hunted amidst their peaks.
Being the first to sift through the new load was always the best bet at finding something worth more than nothing, and Luffy was one of the few brave enough to climb to the top of the junkyard to greet the downpour of garbage when it arrived.
So Luffy waited, gazing thoughtfully up into the abyss of the chute as the breeze from above tousled his hair and popped shirt, each and every button long since lost. The air from the recesses of the garbage chute stunk like a mother fucker, but Luffy didn't mind. He loved the wind, any type of it. It made the air feel thinner, less dense. Some of his best childhood memories involved yelling into the enormous air compressor fans whenever they were actually up and running.
The raven was pulled from childhood nostalgia when a heavy drop of lukewarm liquid fell from the chute to splatter across his nose. Luffy blinked, bringing his fingers to his cheeks to swipe a sluggish brown ooze from his skin. He felt it smear across his face, and when he rubbed his fingertips together to investigate he found a thick, goopy sludge from the bowels of the chute.
Luffy grinned. It was time.
He shot to his feet and threw his arms up with a joyous shout. His laughter echoed against the metal sky and ping ponged off the mounds of garbage. Fellow scrappers craned their necks to find a familiar sight: the boy with the scar on his chest cackling like a mad man as he greeted the shower of scrap and garbage.
Luffy giggled as he was splattered with more droplets of brown ooze, before the chute gave a heaving groan and several barrels worth of crap rained down from the chute to pelt his face and bury him up to his ankles.
The shower was over almost as soon as it began, and Luffy gazed almost forlornly into the abyss of the chute. The load had been pretty light this hour. Too bad! It was more fun when Luffy got buried up to his waist.
Well, no time to lose! Today was an important day, because it'd been half a week since the Shadow Market ended! That meant he needed to get home at a reasonable time, reasonable meaning only two hours past the curfew at the very most.
Luffy dropped to a crouch and began rooting through the latest load, searching for anything of moderate value. He hummed absentmindedly to himself as he pawed through rotten food, broken beer bottles, and the usual assortment of junk. Based on how light the load had been, Luffy had to guess that this particular load had been all the way from the Clear. That was awesome! It meant that his chances of finding something of value were a tad higher.
He discarded broken trinkets and ripped shreds of plastic. A silver fork engraved with flowers and snakes looked promising, alongside a couple of shards of stained glass that were probably worth a few berries.
Luffy stuffed a few odds and ends into his satchel, only mildly disappointed that he hadn't found anything interesting. He shot to his feet and stretched his arms high over his head, bending backwards and popping several vertebrae in his back.
"Alright!" he exclaimed, loud voice echoing up into the abyss of the chute. "Time to go!"
With that, Luffy leapt off of the mountain of garbage and slid down the enormous slope, cackling like a madman as he brought an avalanche of crap along with him. The other scrappers grumbled and glared, though some snorted under their breath or smiled faintly. Luffy was always making a scene, much to the dismay of his brothers.
Hand slung casually across the strap of his satchel, Luffy marched to the edge of the junkyard with a spring in his step and a whistle on his lips. It was about time he turned in for the night. It was an hour and a half past the curfew, and Ace was definitely going to kill him this time if he was late. Thirty minutes was enough to make it back to the apartment, though. He'd make it no problem!
Luffy walked up to the ten foot metal wall that enclosed the junkyard, walking slowly up to the makeshift rope tossed over the top as he glanced around in what was hopefully an inconspicuous manner. It wasn't, but luckily there was no one else close enough to see.
With a crooked grin, Luffy cranked his elbow back and extended his arm all the way up to grip the top of the wall. After one last check to be sure he wouldn't be seen, he retracted his arm and slung himself up to the top of the wall.
A springy whistle echoed against the wall as Luffy's rubbery arm pulled him up, and he quickly dropped to a crouch once he landed at the top. He glanced across the other side, and was pleased to find that the surrounding streets were also vacant.
Luffy snickered and took a front flip off the wall, landing flat footed with rubbery ankles that squished to soften the fall. He waltzed down the street as if nothing was amiss, humming cheerfully to himself as he twirled his satchel around his finger by the strap.
Flip flops slapping against cracked pavement, Luffy descended into the disorganized streets and alleyways of the Dregs. It was a patchwork of mismatched buildings and abandoned factories down here, sloppily thrown together in a lopsided grid that left dead ends and slanted roads. The buildings were in varying states of decay, with metal structures holding up rather well and stone high rises all but dilapidated.
Metal poles protruded from the sidewalk at even intervals (the only calculated infrastructure on the entire Layer), casting the murky yellow glow of centuries old lamplights across the lurching forms of buildings and the uneven streets below. Pools of contaminated water and stale gasoline dotted the worn urban landscape, leaking from the creaky pipes in the sky and oozing up from the finicky sewage system that lurked beneath the concrete floor.
It was at ten hours past noon, and the only indication was from the worn watch that Luffy had strapped around his wrist. Sabo had found it for him on a scrap run; told him that if a watch didn't provide him a sense of time then nothing would. It had worked… somewhat. The only times of day that Luffy bothered to acknowledge were curfew and noon. Curfew because it was somewhat illegal to be out after it had passed, and noon because that was when he got to eat.
There was no distinguishable difference between the day cycle and the night cycle on the Dregs, as the sky lights had crapped out decades ago. Time passed at a whimsical rate, dragging at some points and whizzing by at others. The days ran together and months turned into years; most people didn't have a clue how long they'd been down here.
Luffy didn't have the slightest inkling as to how many years he'd spent wasting away at the bottom. But he didn't mind. The Dregs was awesome!
The Dregs also happened to be the only home that Luffy had ever known, not that he knew it made any difference.
After all, it was impossible to crave sunlight when the brightest pull on one's reality was that of a match flame.
The deeper Luffy traveled into the recesses of the underground metropolis, the darker the streets became. The area surrounding the junkyard was more open due to the absence of tall buildings around the chute, but the same was not the case for everywhere else, save for understaffed military outposts that guarded the border.
Lamplights flickered as they grew more decayed with age, and the streets grew more haphazard. Shattered glass from busted windows littered the ground, and diseased rodents scurried about in the shadows of upturned concrete and asphalt. The streets grew more inhabited further from the junkyard, and shady figures watched Luffy as he walked, passing through various gang territories on the way back home.
Thugs knew better than to mess with Luffy, due to the threat of his brothers as well as their benefactor. Though Luffy liked to believe it was because they knew (thought) he was strong.
Contrary to the brothers' belief, their alleged reputation was far less than impressive.
But they didn't have to know that.
Luffy continued his walk, slowly picking his way through piles of rubble and slanted infrastructure. Light cast across the streets from nearby windows. The faint crackle of smuggled music disks echoed faintly between the buildings. Luffy's feet scuffed across bullet shells and ground glass. Drug deals went down in secluded alleyways. People laughed as they tossed knives at a strung up military officer.
Ah, the Dregs. Luffy truly loved it down here.
It was paradise! Anyone and everyone could climb down the ladder several rungs and make it here. The going was tough, but Luffy wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He was content in the life that he led, and had never known to question it. Ace and Sabo liked to call him naive…
But Luffy wasn't stupid.
Passing through a particularly dark and narrow street, Luffy gave pause. The smell of blood wouldn't have drawn his attention any other day, a fight in the streets was just plain ordinary. However, it was the sound that accompanied that smell that turned Luffy's mouth sour. Or rather, more accurately, the commotion.
He was passing through a backstreet, narrow and long. Sandwiched between two massive buildings and rithe with shadows that rose to the neck. There was a door attached to the wall on Luffy's right. Had it been closed he wouldn't have noticed, but it was hanging ajar.
Splatters of blood painted the inside of the door, flashing in the tiny pinprick of illumination that shone from the inch-sized lamplight Luffy kept around his neck.
Shouts and laughter drifted from the inside. But it wasn't nice laughter, and Luffy had learned to tell the difference. He walked closer with a new determination, a crease growing in his brow.
He was sure to keep his feet silent, and moved the satchel back to his shoulder. As he drew closer to the open door, he could hear the rough sounds of punches, kicks, and jabs. Hollow thuds of a body against a hard surface. Grunts of pain through gritted teeth, almost indecipherable through the jeering of a small group. The faint splatter of blood across concrete.
And then there was the cheering.
Luffy poked his head in the door and peered inside. It was a warehouse, cleared out and stinking of mildew. The floors were shiny and gray, a sealed concrete, characteristic of some of the nicer buildings. In the corner, right against the wall, stood a crowd of people. A blonde guy stood at the front of the pack, and before him was a man tied up and pushed against the wall.
"Heheh, jackass," the blonde snickered, kicking the man roughly in the gut. He gagged, vomiting up a mouthful of blood that soaked into a white cloth that was tied across his mouth.
Luffy frowned.
"It serves you right!" leered a woman, leaning on the blonde's shoulder as he kicked the guy again.
"You got a lot of nerve, one of your kind showing your disgusting face around me," the blonde laughed darkly. He picked the guy up by the collar, holding him up high. The woman spit in his face. The guy didn't so much as blink.
The blonde sneered, "Damn Devil freak."
Luffy glared.
Blonde Guy tossed the man into the air and swung a hard punch, knocking him roughly across the floor. The crowd laughed, echoing the insult and hollering like hyenas as they closed back in on the man bound in ropes.
The man didn't flinch or cry out, even as his blood smeared across the concrete. He just glared, staring right into the eyes of Blonde Guy with a look that could kill.
Blonde Guy laughed wolfishly as he cranked back his leg for a blow that would cave a skull in.
Luffy clenched his fists.
"Hey!"
The blonde gave pause, standing still for a moment before he turned to glance over his shoulder. The others turned as well, Luffy's yell still echoing throughout the abandoned warehouse.
"Leave him alone," Luffy ordered, voice low and threatening.
The guy on the ground glared at him in confusion. Luffy glanced down at him, meeting his gaze. His eyes were the color of molten metal, an acidic yellow that flashed against the sickly gray concrete.
I'll save you, Luffy thought.
The guy blinked, seemingly reading the confident words through the steely look in Luffy's eyes.
Recovering from the initial surprise of someone busting in on his beat down, a crooked smirk spread across Blonde Guy's face. He had a scar on the right side of his forehead. The grin pulled at it and made it bend. There was an enormous sword tossed lazily across his back, which looked out of place poking over his shoulder.
It was too nice of a sword to be carried by such a brute.
"What's this now?" Blonde Guy asked, amusement in his voice. But not the good kind.
"I said to leave him alone," Luffy repeated tersely. He glared the group down, determined to put a stop to this.
Blonde Guy scrutinized Luffy, thoughts slowly churning in his mind. Blood winked where it lay in thick pools across the ground. It slathered the walls like a sick form of art. The guy on the floor watched Luffy with a shadow cast across his eyes, questions laced in the deep furrow in his brow.
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, and Blonde Guy finally spoke up. "Are you joking?" he snorted. "Tell me he's joking!" he chuckled, glancing at his group of thugs. The crowd cackled, giggling behind their hands as they watched Luffy with judging eyes.
Luffy ignored them.
Blonde Guy turned back around. "Are you defending a filthy rat?" he asked, eyes flashing with a chilling gleam.
"So what if I am?" Luffy asked. He raised his arms before him and cracked his knuckles.
Blonde Guy scoffed. "It's a Devil," he snapped, gesturing rudely over his shoulder at the guy on the floor. "That thing deserves to die."
"I'm gonna kick your ass," Luffy stated simply.
The blonde's eyebrow twitched. He burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as his barks rang out against the walls of the warehouse and into the surrounding streets. "Who do you think you are, defending that thing?" he demanded, voice loud and jarring. "You're a fucking dumbass if you think you're being noble or some stuffed up shit."
Luffy slowly walked forward, squeezing his fists. His nails bit into his palms.
Blonde Guy huffed a quick laugh. "You're serious, aren't you? Fine then. Defend the rat if you want. I'll just have to kill you too."
"Go ahead and try it," Luffy taunted.
The crowd behind him erupted into wicked cheers and laughs. They spread out towards the wall, forming a loose circle around Luffy and the blonde. Blonde Guy slipped the sword off his shoulder, dropping it carelessly where it clattered in its scabbard against the floor.
The guy barked a laugh and rushed Luffy, bending low and cranking back for a punch that would no doubt shatter a nose with ease.
Sorry Ace, Luffy thought unremorsefully. I've gotta do it.
"Take this, you smartass!" the blonde yelled, taking a wild swing at Luffy.
All in the blink of an eye, Luffy ducked out of the way. His torso contorted, evading in a most unnatural manner. The blonde's eyes widened in realization and dawning rage, but by then it was too late. Luffy clenched his fist, tossed his arm five feet backwards, then swung a punch as hard as a pistol.
He connected directly with the Blonde Guy's gut, cracking ribs and sending blood bubbling past his lips. He gagged and coughed up bile as Luffy followed through, the force of his punch sending the guy flying all the way across the warehouse to crash into the far wall.
"Bellamy!" several of the onlookers screamed, the crowd erupting into an uproar.
All eyes turned on Luffy, flashing with rage as teeth ground together.
"He's a fucking Devil too!" a man accused.
"He knocked out Boss Bellamy!" wailed the woman who had spat in the bound man's face.
"Kill his ass!" leered another.
The crowd descended upon Luffy, drawing weapons and thirsty for blood.
Luffy lowered his stance and stretched out his leg. "Gum Gum Whip!" he yelled, swiping his leg across the crowd and knocking a fraction into the wall. Several screamed in horror, some even choosing to turn tail and run out the door. Luffy threw a punch, his rubbery arm giving a high pitched whistle as it extended across the warehouse to knock them out before they could escape.
Several people came at Luffy at once, but he wasn't concerned. He wasn't holding back this time. To hell with the consequences. He threw punches and kicks with inhuman force and limbs that stretched, slinging the crowd against the walls and knocking each of his opponents bloody and unconscious in under a minute.
Once the final body hit the ground, Luffy straightened and sighed. His arm snapped as it retracted back. He brushed the dust off his pants, checked to be sure nothing had fallen out of his satchel, and took a quick look around to make sure no one passing by had witnessed the fight.
The coast was clear.
Luffy grinned. With a pleased nod, he turned on his heel and marched over to the guy on the floor. He picked up the enormous sword on the way, stretching his arm out and snatching it off the ground as he passed.
Golden-yellow eyes followed Luffy's every move, watching as he approached and never blinking.
With a cheerful snicker, Luffy dropped to a crouch in front of the guy he'd saved. "There! I beat 'em all up!" he bragged.
The guy narrowed his eyes. He had a fluffy cap on his head, the bill hanging low over his brow. Inky black hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, and the heavy bags under his eyes matched the smears of oil and dirt across his face.
Luffy reached around the back of his neck, swiftly unknotting the cloth that gagged him. He noticed the jarring brand of the Dregs on his skin where it poked out from the collar of the guy's shirt.
Pulling the cloth away, Luffy blinked as he revealed the rest of the guy's face. Woah, he's really pretty, was Luffy's first thought. He sat in pause for a moment, transfixed. His eyes slide shamelessly across the guy's face, taking in sharp features and pouty lips.
"Are you going to untie me or what?" the guy huffed, drawing Luffy's attention from his mouth back to his eyes.
"Yup! Sorry," Luffy laughed. He grabbed the ropes around the guy's midsection and ripped them off with ease. "There you go!" he chirped, pushing himself to his feet as the guy slouched against the wall and rolled his shoulders out. He was covered in bruises and blood, and looked utterly exhausted. He looked pretty strong, so it was strange that such a lightweight had gotten the better of him.
Luffy decided not to ask.
He tossed the sword into the guy's lap. "Here."
"...Thanks," he muttered.
"It was nothin,'" Luffy snickered. His eyes flicked to the Blonde Guy where he lay passed out in a pool of blood and rubble. "It happens." He turned on his heel and walked for the door, tossing a lazy wave over his shoulder as he left. "Nice knowin' ya!"
"Yeah," the guy said slowly.
Luffy felt his eyes boring into his back as he walked away, but Hat Guy didn't say anything else. A satisfied smile pulling at his lips, Luffy strolled out of the warehouse and continued his walk home. He hummed as he walked, twirling the satchel around his finger.
"Sea-wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide…"
…
On the south side of the Dregs, near the rental complex that backed up to the field of air compressor fans, the air always stunk like smoke. People assumed that the stench came from the decaying wiring and machinery, but Luffy was one of the few with the (unfortunate) privilege of knowing where that smell came from.
"Dammit, Luffy, I can't believe you're late again!"
"I wasn't late this time!" Luffy shrieked, sprinting in circles around the run-down apartment he shared with his brothers. "I got here at 10:30, that's fine!"
"That's two and a half hours after curfew!" roared the culprit of the smokey smell. Ace chased Luffy back and forth across the living room, his arms engulfed in flames and sending heavy clouds of smoke seeping out the cracks in the windows and the walls. "I told you to get here at curfew, dammit!"
"So?!" Luffy demanded, swiftly ducking from one side of a reclining chair to the other. Ace mirrored his every move, rage spelled all over his face and fists engulfed in threatening flames. "Curfew is stupid! Besides, I don't really have to be here until eleven anyways! So I'm early!"
"You jackass! When your brother tells you something you listen to him!"
"You're no boss of me!" Luffy declared, sticking his tongue out. He immediately regretted his actions when Ace punched forward and sent a ball of fire flying straight for his head. Luffy squeaked and quickly ducked behind the chair to avoid being set aflame. The ball of fire evaporated once it missed, embers raining down on Luffy and singing his clothes.
"I'm gonna kick your ass so hard!" Ace threatened, launching himself over the back of the chair.
Luffy screamed and ran, thundering into the kitchen to continue their game of cat and mouse on the counters and under the kitchen table. Their footsteps shook the floors, making the floorboards creak and sending puffs of dust raining down on their unfortunate downstairs neighbors. Before long the chase turned playful, with grins busting out across their faces and the heat of Ace's fire turning down, if only slightly.
It was a constant state of utter chaos in room 451, much to the dismay of all the others who rented out from the same complex. The brothers living there were rambunctious and loud, but had been living in the complex for longer than anyone could remember, and wouldn't be getting kicked out any time soon. The noise pollution simply couldn't be helped.
Luffy cackled as he ducked and rolled behind the kitchen counter to dodge one of Ace's fireballs. He retaliated with a swift punch, stretching his arm across the apartment to take a swing at his brother. Ace dodged though, like he always did.
Retracting his arm with a snap, Luffy jumped onto the counter and slipped the fork he'd found in the junkyard from his satchel. He flung it for the center of Ace's ugly mug, laughing like a madman at the expression of shock that crossed his freckled features.
Ace hit the ground, and the fork embedded itself in the wall.
"Hey, that could have killed me!" Ace accused.
Luffy snickered, "You dodged it!"
"Jackass," Ace snorted, leaping towards Luffy to tackle him off the counter.
A hellish banging erupted from the hall outside their front door, startling Ace and knocking him off balance. He face planted before making it to Luffy, much to the raven's amusement. Luffy wasn't laughing for long, though. Unfortunately the smoke from their little scuffle had gained the attention of a certain old hag.
"Boys!" came a scream from the other side of the door. Ace and Luffy flinched in unison, glancing in the direction of the racket with displeased pouts on their faces. "Calm the hell down!" Dadan yelled, rattling the door with her fists. "It's eleven in the fucking night cycle, people are trying to sleep!"
"We weren't being that loud," Ace huffed.
"I saw that smoke!" Dadan snapped.
Ace winced. Luffy slapped his hand over his face to stifle his laughter.
"How many times do I have to tell you, no fires!" Dadan scolded. "Are you trying to burn the entire Layer to the ground?!" The lighting of flames, firearms, explosives. Anything that caused a spark was collectively agreed to be off limits on the Dregs. What with the copious amount of gasoline and oil laying around, spontaneous combustions were highly destructive and incredibly easy to set off.
Ace grumbled and pulled his hat low over his eyes. "Sorry."
"What was that?" Dadan demanded.
"I'm sorry!" Ace yelled. "Damn, are you deaf?"
"You brat! I'm gonna stab you!"
"Shit," Ace hissed, scrambling around the counter to hide behind Luffy… who was still laughing.
"Don't laugh, you jackass!" Ace huffed, slapping Luffy upside the head. The raven just kept giggling, he was made of rubber! He couldn't feel a thing!
Luckily Ace's murder was once again subdued, as intervention was made before Dadan could bust the door down and rip his head off.
"What's all this, now?" came a smooth voice from the other side of the door. It was calm and soothing, the stark opposite of Dadan's patented chewing-out-voice. Luffy gasped in delight when he heard the voice, Ace breaking out into a wild grin beside him.
The two brothers busted through the front door in a matter of seconds.
"Sabo!" Luffy screamed in excitement, using the door jam and outstretched rubber arms to catapult himself at his favorite brother (Ace was mean, so he got second favorite).
At the sound of Luffy's shout, a young man with golden hair perked up. A grin broke out across his face to match his brothers', a crescent of white against honey colored skin. He chuckled as Luffy crashed into his chest, wrapping all four limbs around his body like an anaconda.
"Hey, Luffy," Sabo greeted cheerily, voice strained as he actively had all the air squeezed out of him.
Luffy laughed joyously as he squeezed the daylights out of his brother, "You're finally back! It's been forever!"
"Not any longer than every other time," Ace drawled from the doorframe. He leaned his elbow against the cracked and peeling wood, hip cocked as he watched his brothers with a fond expression.
"It's good to have you back, Sabo," Dadan sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Thick caramel box braids swished at her back as she shook her head, ever exasperated with her most troublesome renters. "You're the only reasonable one." She tossed a glare in Ace's direction.
The freckled man threw his hands up, aggravated that he was the only one getting glared at. Luffy tossed him a wicked sneer from where he perched on Sabo's shoulder, pulling at his eyelid and letting his tongue droop past his chin. Ace flipped him off.
Sabo shook his head, wiggling his arms about until Luffy loosened his grip enough to allow airflow. "I'm sorry, Dadan," the blonde said sincerely. "I hope my brothers havn't caused too much– Is that smoke I smell?"
"No…" Ace and Luffy said slowly, lips poking out in matching expressions of conspicuity.
Sabo sighed, shooting a glare in Ace's direction.
He threw his hands up once again, "Why are you looking at me? He started it!"
Sabo followed Ace's point to Luffy, who was leaning his chin on the blonde's shoulder and blinking innocently up at him with the most pitiful pair of puppy eyes to grace the City. "Right, I'm sure," Sabo retorted sarcastically.
Ace huffed and crossed his arms, descending into a pout.
Luffy snickered, having successfully evaded Sabo's wrath once again.
"My deepest apologies," Sabo said to Dadan. His eyes wavered with an accountability that his brothers were incapable of mustering, there was a reason why Sabo was Dadan's favorite. "There won't be any more smoke on my watch," he promised, reaching into his pocket. He tossed a heavy pouch in Dadan's direction.
The dark skinned woman caught it with ease, raising an eyebrow when the song of coinage rattled about within. She pulled the drawstrings and peeked inside. A hefty amount of gold winked up at her, reflecting across her face… while doing little to ease her frown. If anything, it grew.
"There's our rent!" Sabo chirped.
"It's three months late and five times lighter than it should be," Dadan retorted.
"We'll catch up next month!" Sabo promised, flashing a dazzling grin that Dadan knew damn well was lying straight to her face.
The woman sighed, tying the pouch and sticking it down her cleavage. "I suppose I should be grateful that you shits bothered to pay anything at all," she grumbled. "This helps a little, but you're still 7,500 berries behind. Plus interest."
"We'll make it back," Sabo said with conviction, the determined grin on his face matching with Luffy's and Ace's.
Dadan sighed once again, though this time her frown eased and her confrontational stance deflated. "In any case, it's good to have you back, Sabo. Keep those two in line, I don't want to have to add any more fire charges to your tab."
"Will do!" Sabo chirped, waving around Luffy's rubbery hug as Dadan turned on her heel and marched down the hall.
"Aw, you're such a lady's man," Ace teased the second Dadan fell out of earshot.
The moment she was gone, Sabo's polite demeanor vanished with the flip of a switch. "Shut the fuck up, greasy-ass, when's the last time you bathed?" Sabo snapped without hesitation.
Luffy cackled, and Ace along with him. "It's good to have you back, blondey," he snickered, pushing off the doorframe to wrap the other two up in a hug, lifting them off the ground.
"Yeah, I missed you guys!" Sabo said affectionately. "Even if you two smell like shit."
Luffy stuck his tongue out, burying his nose into Sabo's neck and inhaling against his skin. He always smelled so good when he returned from his Shadow Market runs. His skin was always free of dirt when he got back, the grease scrubbed out of his hair, leaving it soft and tumbling in golden waves to brush his shoulders.
The raven spat strands of gold out of his mouth, nose brushing across the brand of the Dregs on Sabo's neck as he shook his head back and forth. "Bleh, you need to get a haircut," Luffy complained. Soap made it smell good, but it sure didn't taste any good!
Sabo cracked a laugh, "Probably. Come on, let's head inside. I have a surprise."
Luffy gasped, "A surprise?! What is it?! Meat?! Tell me it's meat!"
Ace shook his head, chuckling under his breath as he held the door for his brothers and followed them inside the apartment, shutting the door behind them and slipping the locks into place.
"Better than meat," Sabo said in a dramatic tone, struggling to peel Luffy off his body as he walked into the kitchen. The raven jumped down from his brother's shoulders, skipping alongside him and scanning him up and down instead.
"What could be better than meat?!" Luffy demanded.
"Liquor?" Ace mused. "Gunpowder? Shirtless women?"
Sabo shot him a glare, "No, better than those things. Not that those things are good in the first place."
Ace shrugged, leaning against the counter to watch his brothers as they milled around the kitchen. Luffy was bouncing up and down, his legs springing underneath him and sending funny little sound effects bouncing off the walls. Sabo took his tophat off his head, tossing it haphazardly across the room where it spun like a frisbee to land on the couch across the main space. He then slung his backpack off his shoulders, grunting as he lowered it onto the counter. It was stuffed to the brim and bulging with its contents.
"Is it meat?!" Luffy asked again, eyes sparkling and drool slipping down his chin. "Sausage meat?! Pork meat?! Chicken meat?! Goat meat?!"
"Goat meat?" Ace retorted. "Have you ever even seen one of those things?"
"No! But I bet goats taste awesome!" Luffy declared.
"Doubtful," Ace grumbled, shuddering at the prospect.
"It's better than goat meat!" Sabo announced, slowly unzipping his backpack while angling himself to prevent Luffy from peeking inside. He flicked the raven in the forehead when he stretched his neck out to try and see around him.
"What could possibly be better than goat meat?!" Luffy demanded.
"Everything?" Ace snorted.
Sabo flashed a wicked grin, plunging his hands into the depths of his backpack. He glanced at each of his brothers in suspense, all but vibrating with excitement. "It's Cloudie meat."
Luffy gasped, his jaw dropping and literally hitting the counter. "WHAT?!" he shrieked, immediately grabbing Sabo's shoulders and shaking him violently back and forth. "No way! No fucking way, are you serious?! Sabo!"
"Deadass?" Ace gasped, leaning across the counter to get closer.
Sabo snickered, "A genuine cut of Cloudie meat, directly from the Paradise Farm. I had to fight like sixteen guys just to get it, and it was expensive as fuck, but it's the real deal."
Ace and Luffy shared an astonished expression, gawking at Sabo in disbelief. The blonde pulled his arms out of the bag, bringing out a large, awkwardly shaped object that was wrapped in butcher paper. They leaned in closer, eyes wide in awe as Sabo slowly unwrapped the package and revealed the prize that lay inside.
It was red, cut through with a bone as thick as Luffy's forearm, and oozing with blood and grease. His mouth was watering just looking at it.
"Are you sure that's meat?" Ace asked skeptically, his eyebrows were turned down in borderline disgust. "It's all… red and slimy."
"That's because it's real, unlike the crap you're used to eating," Sabo snorted, slapping Luffy's grabbing hands as they attempted to grab fistfuls of the stuff. Ace's eyes drifted to their garbage can, where plastic containers peeked from the overflowing lid, perfectly rectangular boxes with ripped labels and long lists of nutritional components.
"How do we eat it?" Luffy drooled, stars in his eyes as he draped himself from Sabo's shoulders in his attempt to eat the entire chuck of meat whole.
"We have to cook it first," Sabo chuckled, doing his best to fend his younger brother off. "Raw meat will make you sick."
"How do we do that?" Ace asked, fingers on his chin. "I don't think it'll fit in the microwave."
"Usually we'd need a stovetop," Sabo mused.
"What's that?" Luffy deadpanned.
Ace and Sabo shared a glance… though Ace looked just as confused as Luffy.
The blonde tossed his brothers a crooked grin, "But we don't need one of those. Not when we've got a walking furnace right across the counter."
Ace blinked, and then smirked. He held up a fist, which was already engulfed in flames, all promises to stop starting fires down the drain.
Sabo and Luffy snickered, and pushed the meat across the counter to be roasted.
…
"Uuuuughhhh," Luffy moaned, clutching his bulging stomach. "That was so good," he whined. "I've never had meat that good in my life!"
Sabo chuckled, his fingers flipping swiftly through thin bars of metal as he counted berries - his earnings from the most recent Shadow Market. "Yeah, I bet," he agreed, very proud of himself. "Aren't I the best big brother ever?"
"Yes!" Luffy whimpered, on the verge of tears as he lurched towards Sabo from the center couch cushion. He flopped across the blonde's lap, clinging to his arm as if he were some sort of angel on earth. "The best big brother, I'd be dead if you weren't here to feed me such amazing meat."
Sabo laughed, adjusting his arms so he could continue counting over Luffy's head.
Ace, sitting in the ratty reclining chair with one of Luffy's shirts and a sewing kit in hand, glared over at the couch. "Hey, what about me?" he demanded, "Aren't I an awesome brother?"
Luffy opened his mouth to speak, but Sabo quickly beat him to the punch.
"You're a brother," he teased. Ace waited for a "but" that never came, before sticking the threaded needle between his teeth to flip Sabo off.
Luffy cackled, "You're a brother, Ace," he repeated.
"Fuck you. Fuck both of you," Ace huffed. "I work hard to make this house a home–"
"I don't want to hear that from you, mister fire-fist," Sabo retorted, grinning tauntingly across the room at Ace. He leaned forward to place the freshly counted stack of coins on the coffee table, where it joined an ever-growing army. All of them silver or bronze, with the gold all having gone directly to Dadan and the butcher at the Shadow Market.
"Yeah!" Luffy added, "Sabo gives me meat, but you try to set my head on fire and make me follow the curfew."
"Damn, you're such a wing-man, Luffy, thanks," Ace replied sarcastically. "I patch your clothes and this is the thanks I get?" Ace grumbled to himself, glaring poutily into his needle-work as he sewed up a hole in Luffy's favorite red cardigan.
The three of them fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by the clinking of berries as Sabo counted, the faint threading of Ace's needle through worn fabric, and Luffy's shallow snores. They bickered endlessly and fought with fists and fire over every little thing, but the smiles never left their faces in the calm spells between the constant chaos.
It was the three of them against the world, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. They'd lived together on the Dregs as long as they could remember, searching for junk in the junkyards and selling anything they could get their hands on. They'd been living in Dadan's apartment complex for years, renting out the very room they sat it to that day.
Life was difficult, and money was thinner than water. There was only enough food to scrape together on their miniscule income to eat at noon each day, and dinner feasts like the one prior were a rarity. Once in a blue moon, usually saved for special occasions like birthdays, brother-anniversaries, and celebrations.
They'd pick up odd jobs on the Dregs and occasionally the Shade if their benefactor needed an extra pair of hands, but finding work this far down was difficult. There wasn't a hint of government organization on the Dregs, and although it was a major plus side it had drastic consequences. The bulk of the money the brothers managed to pull in was at the Shadow Market, an all-come-all-serve monthly trade gathering on the Clear.
Smugglers and merchants would travel up from the Dregs and the Shade to sell anything one could imagine, and Sabo hitched a ride with their benefactor's smuggler chain every month to sell whatever they'd scavenged. The Market lasted a week in total, the last week of every month. It took a half a week to make it across the borders from both directions, meaning that Sabo was gone for two entire weeks out of every month.
All to come back with enough money to scrape by until the next Market week.
It was a sustainable lifestyle, but that didn't mean it was easy. The junkyard could be incredibly unforgiving when it wanted to be, which left less than honest means of making a living the only viable option. All of them had done things, and all of them had an alarming amount of blood on their hands.
Such was the way of things, as their benefactor liked to put it.
Luffy always looked forward to Sabo's return from the Shadow Market, because that was the best time of every month. It was when they had the most money lying around, meaning less stress and more fun. Also, the closer to the middle of the month it got the sooner Sabo would leave again. And that was never fun.
It was happy nights like these that made Luffy at peace. It didn't matter what fucked up stuff he saw in the streets, because he could come back home where it was safe and warm and be with his brothers. Just the three of them. This right here, it was all Luffy could ever ask for.
He smiled in his sleep, snuggling closer against Sabo's side like some sort of clingy dog. The blonde smiled affectionately, keeping his elbow lifted as not to disturb his younger brother. Ace watched the two from the couch with softened eyes and a contented smile.
The three of them had it rough now, but one day? They'd be big name smugglers just like their benefactor and the other powerful names on the black market. Then they wouldn't have to live at the mercy of Dadan's nagging and troublesome rent. They'd never be hungry again! They could eat Cloudie meat whenever they wanted!
That was the life each of the three wanted to create for themselves and their two brothers, a silent agreement. A goal that they all shared.
But in order to build up a reputation, they had to build up experience. They had to take risky jobs and come out on top. Which was why when a woman with green hair drifted up to Sabo's stand and offered him a job that was too good to pass up, he'd agreed immediately.
"Hey Ace. Luffy," Sabo spoke up, breaking the silence.
Ace glanced up at Sabo from over the rims of his sewing glasses (he needed them for far more than just sewing, but was too damn stubborn to wear them when he didn't have to see the tip of a needle). Luffy snorted himself awake, squinting up at Sabo as he rubbed his eyes.
The blonde grinned. "I've got something interesting to run by you guys."
Luffy sat up, yawning and stretching his arms out. He leaned his ankle on his knee and rotated towards Sabo, who had finished counting their earnings from the Shadow Market. On the chair, Ace set his sewing aside and leaned his chin on his palm.
"We're listening," the freckled man prompted.
"I think I found us a job," Sabo declared, giddy excitement in his voice.
"What kind of job?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
"Is it one where I get to kick some ass?" Luffy demanded, slamming his fist into his palm.
Sabo laughed, "Yes, depending on how bad we fuck up."
"Hahah!" Ace barked, "I like the sound of that, lay it on me."
"Yeah! Lay it on me!" Luffy repeated.
"Okay so," Sabo started, leaning over his knees and holding his hands out in front of him. His brothers mirrored the motion, eyes sparkling with anticipation. "It's a one-timer, easy. In and out."
Ace nodded, "Yeah. We're good at those."
"It's real simple too," Sabo continued. "All we have to do is intercept a trade deal."
"We've done that before!" Luffy spoke up.
Sabo nodded. "Indeed we have. Which is why we are the perfect group to take this job!" the blonde bragged, reciting the green haired woman's reasoning.
"Gimme the details!" Ace demanded, fiddling with the drawstring of his hat. The gears were already turning in his mind, he was already planning their action plan.
"Tomorrow afternoon," Sabo explained, "the military is staging a trade deal with a local gang. Our job is to drop in during the hand-off and steal the goods, then bring them to the southwest corner of the Dregs where we pass them over to our employer's people. Simple as can be."
"Where does the trade take place?" Ace asked. "It can't be on the Dregs, not if it's a military trade off."
"You're right," Sabo smirked. "It's on the Mid."
Luffy gasped, "The Mid?! We're going to the Mid?!"
"Yup," Sabo confirmed, popping the p. "Well, if you guys are down."
"Oh hell yeah!" Luffy shrieked. "I've never been on the Mid before! We're doing it!"
"Hold on a minute, Luffy," Ace drawled, holding his hand up to still his brother's enthusiastic dance. "How much are we getting paid for this?" he asked Sabo. "This is the Mid we're talking about, and it's a military trade-off. It's not too horribly risky, but it still requires a considerable amount of effort."
"Heh," Sabo laughed. Ace and Luffy leaned in, curious. "If we can pull this off, we'll get paid 200,000 berries."
"WHAT?!" Ace and Luffy erupted, flying to their feet in surprise.
"That much money?!" Luffy screamed.
"Just for a trade interception?!" Ace added, his voice going uncharacteristically high. "What the fuck, this is incredible!"
"I know right?!" Sabo gushed. "It's too good to pass up! This deal is easy as hell, we'll pull it off no problem! Then we'll be rich!"
"THIS IS AWESOME!" Luffy cheered, dancing in circles around the coffee table in all his excitement. Not only did he get to go to the Mid and kick some military ass, but they were being wildly over paid to do it! This was fantastic!
"Oh, we're taking this job alright!" Ace declared.
"Hell yeah!" Luffy yelled, pounding fists with the freckled man as he passed the reclining chair in his dance procession.
Sabo laughed victoriously, "I knew you guys would love this!"
"I can't wait!" Luffy squealed. "When are we leaving, are we leaving right now?!"
"Not just yet, we'll have to wait until morning," Sabo chuckled, swiftly grabbing the back of Luffy's shirt to prevent him from sprinting out the front door.
"Gods, I'm fucking pumped," Ace declared, plopping back down in his chair and taking his hat off to drag his fingers through silken black locks.
"Me too, me too!" Luffy giggled, hopping over the back of the couch to return to his seat.
"I'm glad you're excited," Sabo said. "We'll leave at dawn tomorrow morning. I'll give you the details as we go."
"Sounds like a plan," Ace laughed. "I can't believe we got an opportunity like this! It's insane. What type of idiot pays two hundred thousand berries for something so simple?" He cracked a laugh, "They must be real stupid if they think this is how much a group of smugglers from the Dregs demand!"
"No kidding," Sabo snorted. "But it's not like I'm gonna tell 'em. They can overpay us all they like if they're that willing to blow a fortune on a simple job."
"Damn straight!" Ace agreed.
"Who hired us, anyway?" Luffy asked, snickering under his breath. Whoever they were, they were probably really stupid!
"Some dude named Joker," Sabo mused, folding his arms behind his head as he leaned back against the couch cushions.
"Oh?" Ace hummed. "Never heard of him."
"Me either!" Luffy agreed.
"Yeah, probably means he's not that experienced on the black market," Sabo sighed. The blonde chuckled. "He'll learn eventually, but I sure as hell won't be the guy to tell him."
The brothers laughed, buzzing with excitement for the night cycle to pass so they could begin their job and make a killing off a simple mission. 200,000 berries for a trade interception? It was almost laughable!
Whoever this Joker guy was, he certainly had a few screws loose.