Hello everyone, here is the next chapter
We'll have different things happening and pirates getting more used to the fact Ace is vampire and try to make him more comfortable
Hope you enjoy
Read and relax
Ace stood outside the infirmary, preparing himself to go in and ask Bay for something to drink.
Thatch had told him he was empty of the blood they had gotten from Shanks a few days ago, and Thatch had told him to go and speak to Bay, which Ace didn't want to do, and had tried to keep on going on the flesh and organs they had left. But, after doing that for two days, Marco had come and told him to follow him to the infirmary, so they could speak to Bay, Marco following him the entire way, now waiting for him to move again. ¨Come on, yoi. You need to do it, Ace. You need the blood.¨
Ace didn't make any movement, not wanting to go and ask for it from Bay, knowing she hadn't been happy about it before, and Ace knew it was the blood Pops generally used. And, Ace really didn't like he needed to ask for it. He didn't like to admit things like this, knowing the pirates were uncomfortable with it. Marco gave a sigh beside him. ¨Ace, yoi. There is no reason to be nervous, Bay isn't mad and we have enough for you too.¨ Ace gave a small nod, kind of knowing Marco was right, but Ace still didn't want to do this.
When Ace felt a hand half-push him forward, Ace took a breath and went in, going to try and do this. Marco was at least with him.
When they got into the infirmary, Bay was beside a bed and doing something, moving to look at them when they went through the door. ¨Portgas, Commander Marco, what brings you here?¨ The doctor asked. Ace was on his way to speak, but his confidence left him, not wanting to tell he needed blood. Ace didn't like to admit that, especially since this was new with them. It always took him time to give trust to speak about what he ate or about himself in this way. As he didn't speak, fidgeting a bit, Marco moved a hand to his shoulder in a supporting way. ¨We ran out of the blood we got from Shanks, yoi.¨
Bay clicked her tongue. ¨I see. How much do you need?¨ Ace took a deep breath; he could do this. ¨Um. One bag..?¨ Bay lifted an eyebrow. ¨Is that a question?¨ Ace shook his head, going to do this. ¨One bag.¨ Bay gave a nod. ¨How often would you need it?¨ Ace thought for a bit, on how long he would last without alerting anyone. ¨Umm... every 6 days...¨ Ace felt Marco send him a look at that, Ace seeing Bay lifting an eyebrow again. ¨And,¨ Started the doctor, ¨How hungry are you at the 6th day?¨ Ace gave a fidget, not wanting to admit he would be really hungry then.
Bay clicked her tongue again, seeming to have understood that. ¨I want you here every third day. If you are injured or sick, I want you here every day. If you do not show up at those times, someone will get you.¨ Ace gave a nod to that, not wanting to argue with the doctor. As he did, Bay left to the medicine cabinet, coming back out after a few seconds with a blood bag, handing it to him. As Ace reached for it, feeling he was hungry, Bay gave him a look. ¨Even if I say every third day, don't be afraid to come every other day.¨ Ace gave a nod, even though he wouldn't do that. He didn't want to use up too much of the blood supply they had.
When Ace held the blood bag, Bay gave a look again. ¨And, I would like the empty bags back, seeing as we can use them for things later.¨ Ace gave a nod. ¨I can give them back after I have used them.¨ Bay lifted an eyebrow. ¨Why not just drink it here?¨ Ace gave a fidget. ¨I- I don't like to… eat in front of others.¨ Bay gave a nod accepting that.
Ace gave a last nod to Bay, which she returned, before he and Marco left, Ace feeling relieved to be out. Ace gave a goodbye and thank you to Marco, glad he had joined, before Ace went to his room, enjoying that he got some blood, feeling more hungry than he believed.
After he had emptied the bag, he relaxed for a bit, before handing the empty bag back and continuing his day.
When the evening came, Thatch got him in on playing a prank on Marco during the night, something about changing his clothes out with chicken ones, Haruta joining in.
When the first commander woke up the next day, coming out of his room in fury and yelling after the 3 trouble makers, they tried to hide, even getting help from Rakuyo. But, it was not enough to escape and was caught, being ordered to fix and clean the side of the ship, Marco even punishing Rakuyo from trying to hide them.
But, it was still all in good fun.
-x-
Marco gave a sigh, just having found his sandals again, the damn troublemakers changing them out with orange socks, matching a chicken outfit. Those three could really do some annoying things, especially Thatch, who was most likely the mastermind behind this one, always calling him a chicken or turkey. How they had managed to get Rakuyo in on their prank was something he wondered a bit about, but didn't think about and decided to just punish all 4, having them fix and clean the side of the ship for most of the day, at least until dinner, which was a good 8 hours away. The deck was really calm without the three main troublemakers.
An hour later, a ship was sighted.
It didn't look like someone they knew, and not a big ship either, but it was fast, it seemed like. They were just about to tell people to get ready for a possible battle when they were closer, but to stand low as the ship still didn't seem to want to fight. When the ship was a bit away, Marco looking to see how everyone was and Marco looking back at the ship, he had to blink.
The ship had already passed them? Marco hadn't looked away for more than a second, he was sure of it.
Many around him seemed to think the same, not seeing any logic in it, but had to dismiss it as the ship being really fast, maybe getting a good gust of wind. The ship quickly disappeared in the distance within an hour. But, an hour after that, Marco heard a small panicked and worried-mad voice yell out for him. ¨Marco! We have a huge problem!¨ Marco turned to look behind himself, seeing Jozu there, having a serious but worried look.
Marco felt a bit of worry settle in him, looking at Jozu, who looked even more worried and mad when he looked closer. ¨What, yoi?¨ Jozu shook his head. ¨Ace, Thatch, Rakuyo, and Haruta are missing. We think they were captured by the passing ship. They were working on the side of the ship when it passed.¨ Marco gave a nod. That was plausible. They had thought they would end up having a battle, but the ship had just passed by. This was probably why; they had managed to get the four commanders, who Marco had placed there as a punishment for a prank.
¨Tell Pops. And change our course, now.¨ Jozu gave a nod and went off, Marco heading to get the others ready and prepare to get their family back.
-x-
Thatch tried to shake the bars of the cell he was in, having been placed in a cell alone, same with the others. They hadn't even noticed what had happened before they were in the cells, Thatch knowing the others weren't far away. There had to be some sort of devil fruit user on the ship, that made some sort of illusion or mind loss or something. How else had they managed to be captured.
¨Thatch, it won't work.¨ Thatch looked over at Rakuyo, who sat in the cell next to him. ¨We need to try! We can't stay here!¨ Haruta, who had a cell on the other side of him, Ace next to her, gave a sound. ¨But, like, the others must have notice we are gone now… Right? We have been away for 3 days now.¨ Thatch gave a nod. ¨They have, and they are probably on their way here. But, that doesn't mean we should just sit here and do nothing!¨ Rakuyo gave a sigh again. ¨I feel with you. But, we should try and not make too much sounds. They can make this worse.¨ Thatch gave a sigh; Rakuyo was right. They were lucky to not be chained, being in cells made from seastone, meaning not even Ace could do anything. The second he touched the cell, he would lose his strength. They had tried that.
As Thatch was on his way to ask if any of the others had come up with anything, a door opened and a set of two guys came through, holding four plates with food. One guy shoved the food under the bars at his cell. ¨Eat, we can't have you dying on us. At least, not yet.¨ Thatch gave a small snarl. ¨Fuck you!¨ The man rolled his eyes. ¨Fine, be like that.¨ He said as he slid a plate under Rakuyo's cell. As the man turned to leave, the other spoke up.
¨Hey Kent, I think this one is dead.¨
Thatch froze, looking over to the other guy, who stood in front of Ace's cell. Ace laid way to still for his liking. Ace couldn't be dead… right? They had only been here for 3 days. The first guy, Kent, went over to the cell and looked at Ace. ¨Huh. Doesn't look to be breathing.¨ The sentence had Thatch bite his teeth together. It couldn't be. They had to be man gave a motion to the other, and the second guy took his gun out as the first guy opened the cell and went inside. Thatch moved to the bars on his cell, waiting for Ace to jump up and attack the guy. Ace wasn't dead! He couldn't die like this! The guy inside the cell nudged Ace with his food. ¨Oi, Kid!¨ No reaction. Thatch hoped this was all a play on Ace's behalf. That Ace was asleep or something. But, why wasn't his body moving as be breathed?
The guy leaned down and moved his hand to Ace's neck, two finger on Ace's neck. The guy gave a sigh. ¨No pulse. Kid's dead. Cold too.¨
Thatch's entire world stopped. Ace was dead? Thatch couldn't believe that, believe them. They had to be lying! The guy inside the cell looked at the other outside. ¨Think we'll still get his bounty?¨ The second guy shrugged. ¨The bounty does say dead or alive.¨ Thatch gritted his teeth. They were more worried about their money than the fact Ace was dead?! ¨What the fuck did you do to him?!¨ They have had to done something! Ace wouldn't just die like this!The first guy scoffed at him as he walked out of the cell. ¨Nothing. The kid's just weak apparently.¨ Thatch gave a glare- ¨He's not!¨ The guy rolled his eyes, waving at him. ¨Yeah yeah.¨
The first guy looked at the second guy. ¨Let's just hurry up and deliver them before he starts decomposing.¨ The second guy nodded and they left, leaving the cell opened as Ace was dead. How would Thatch tell this to Pops? That Ace had died? This had to be nightmare. The other two looked shocked too, Haruta looking close to breaking down.
Just as Thatch was about to try and yell or something, shake the bars to get out and get Ace back to life, Ace moved.
Ace sat up and looked behind him, before moving to sit up and taking his ring on, then standing up. ¨Idiots.¨ Said the kid, walking out of the cell.
Thatch could only stare. Ace was okay? But, the guy had said Ace didn't have a pulse and was cold, and the chef clearly saw Ace wasn't breathing. ¨H-how?¨ Thatch managed to stutter out. Shocked and glad by this. Ace shrugged a bit, walking over to where the keys were. ¨I don't have a pulse and don't need to breathe.¨ The kid muttered lowly, before throwing a key to him and the others. Thatch blinked. Right, Ace was a vampire. He didn't know they didn't have a pulse.
Thatch quickly opened the cell and moved out, bringing Ace into a hug, shocking Ace. ¨Wha- Thatch?¨ Thatch hugged Ace tighter, so relieved to know Ace was fine, that he wasn't dead. ¨I'm so glad you're not dead.¨ Ace gave an unsure sound. ¨Um. Thank you? I didn't mean to scare you.¨ Thatch let go and Rakuyo was there, clapping Ace on the back. ¨Good idea, Ace. How did you know it would work?¨ Ace shrugged. ¨I've done it before...¨ The kid muttered. Thatch gave a nod. Ace had probably gotten away a lot with doing that. Hauta gave a look to Ace. ¨Do you really have no pulse? And, I know you breathe… Don't you?¨
Ace gave a small uncomfortable sound. ¨I really don't have a pulse. And, I don't need to breathe, but I don't know how my lungs work… Sometimes I breathe and sometimes not...¨ They gave a nod, Thatch seeing Ace looking uncomfortable and remembered Ace didn't like to speak about this. He wished the kid did, knowing that if he did, it meant he trusted them. Thatch felt a bit down on that thought. They needed to work harder to get Ace to trust them.
They soon moved and found a few things to use as weapons, like poles, hammers, and such, and moved to take on the ones on the ship. Ace just used his devil fruit, getting rid of everyone. The two that had brought them food yelled something about Ace being a monster, which had Thatch mad. Ace wasn't a monster! He was their brother! They were quickly dealt with, the fact they managed to sneak up on them helped. As they were dealt with, they trapped them in the cells they had just been in, before turning the boat around, knowing they would meet their ship soon, hopefully fast.
Thatch was still glad everyone was fine.
-x-
Ace sat on a box outside on the deck, still being on the enemy boat and trying to get back home.
They had been here for almost 6 days now. How far away could the others be? They couldn't have been on this boat for more than 6 days? That would be impossible. Maybe it had taken the others to notice they were gone. Either that, or they still hadn't figured out yet. No, that was stupid, they must have figured it out. But, it could have taken a few hours before they did. Maybe a day at most as they had been set to fix the side of the boat for the entire day. If they had been going different ways, Ace got it. They weren't going at full speed either, in case they were a bit off course.
Ace was starting to get hungry; really hungry.
He had gotten accustomed to eating everyday during the last two months of the pirates knowing. And, even if he hadn't, 6 days was pushing it. Ace should really find something to eat soon, no matter what it was. But, it was a small boat, so there wasn't anything for him to eat here. He had checked yesterday. he hadn't even found a single animal or anything. The boat was clean. Ace had decided to try and not move too much, to use as little energy he could. They couldn't be far away from the Moby now. Ace just needed to hang on.
¨Oi Ace!¨ Ace turned to his side, seeing Thatch coming up to him. ¨Watcha doing? No reason to look so upset! We're going to get home soon! It will happen in the next day or three.¨ Ace gave a small sound, hand tightening on his arm. Ace wouldn't even last 2 more days. ¨Ace?¨ Ace didn't know what to do or how to respond to Thatch. Ace just wanted back home and something to eat.
¨Wait. Ace,¨Ace turned to see Rakuyo there, having a worried frown. ¨Are you hungry? You haven't eaten in… 6 days!¨ The last part was said in small shock, seeming to remember how long they had been here now. Ace gave a small nod to that, placing his head in his arms. Ace didn't want to scare them or anything. Ace would never bite them.
Thatch gave a strained sound. ¨I forgot! We need to check if we can find anything!¨ Ace shook his head, lifting his head so he could see the empty ocean over the railing and the two commanders to his side. ¨I've checked. There's nothing.¨ The two looked more worried by that, and Ace spoke before any of them could. ¨It's fine. I can handle a day or so more.¨ The two commanders gave a worried look to him. ¨You sure?¨ Asked Rakuyo. ¨We can try and figure something out.¨ Ace nodded. ¨I'm going to be fine. If not, I'll try and get a seagull or something tomorrow.¨ Thatch gave a frown to him. ¨Will that be enough?¨ Ace gave a small noise he didn't mean to give, sounding unsure himself. ¨I'll survive on it.¨ The two commanders gave a nod to him, looking unsure. Rakuyo stayed with him a bit, keeping him a bit up in spirits, before he left to fix some things too. Maybe take over for Haruta who was steering the ship.
Ace was really starting to push a few limits. He hadn't even gone this long without food before the pirates found out. And, he had managed to spare the flesh he got so he at least had something. Ace would concentrate and try really hard to manage this. He could do it.
Half a day later, Ace was going in the prison to feed the people there.
The rest were busy, seeing as they had met a bit of bad weather and needed to repair a few things to be able to sail. They did feed the ones in the prison too, Thatch not wanting them to go hungry. It was probably a chef's thing, and Ace didn't mind. They hadn't done anything to them aside from kidnapping them. True, they were going to hand them over to the marines, but they never got that far. They were mostly quiet, which were good.
As Ace had handed them the food, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment, looking at one guy that stretched to eat, seeing an artery pulsating on his neck.
It would be easy, really easy to just bite down, to just take what he wanted for a bit. Just to look into his eyes and trap him, before carefully moving teeth into the skin and getting warm perfect blo-.
His thoughts was cut off by the door opening and Thatch standing there, Ace turning to look at him, not having realised what he was thinking. ¨Ace, we-.¨ Thatch cut off and got a shocked and half-scared face. Ace managed to see a bit of his reflection in some glass. Specifically seeing red eyes, his fangs most likely out too.
Ace moved to turn his back to Thatch, holding a hand over his mouth and closing his eyes, trying to get himself back under control again. He almost did something he shouldn't have done. He almost gave in to the instinct to bite a person. ¨H- hey, Ace? You okay?¨ Ace heard the stutter and fear in the fourth commander's voice. Ace used a second to really get himself back under control, at least enough so his eyes were back to normal and fangs went away, before he gave a look to Thatch. ¨Y-yeah, sorry.¨ Ace was thankful the chef came now, snapping him out of his own mind.
Thatch gave a nod. ¨We can see the Moby.¨ That had Ace relieved, so glad to know they were soon back home. Ace gave a nod and walked towards Thatch to head out, at least going away from the people in the cells and the temptation. Ace didn't care about them and could potentially bite them, who woul-. Ace shook his head, getting the thought away. Ace couldn't wait before he was on the boat again and got something to eat.
Thatch gave him a worried look. ¨You sure you're fine?¨ Ace gave a nod. ¨Yeah.¨ He was fine, or would at least be soon, going to get food. Thatch gave him an uncertain look. ¨Where you going to...¨ Ace opened his mouth to speak, to say no. But closed it and swallowed. ¨I- I don't know.¨ The chef gave a nod to that, looking at him in worry, hopefully only because Ace was hungry and not in worry of Ace attacking them or anyone. ¨We'll be at the boat in a couple of hours at most.¨ Ace gave a nod. That was good. When Ace got out of the prison and out on deck, he halted as a familiar scent hit him. ¨Ace?¨ He heard Thatch ask, seeing Rakuyo looking at him in worry from the side.
Ace didn't answer as he went to the railing, seeing the Moby in the distance, smelling the air.
It was Aoba! Aoba was on the boat!
-x-
Whitebeard sat in his chair, looking out at the ocean, seeing a boat in the distance, looking like the boat that had been the one to pass them 6 days ago, when 4 of his children had disappeared. What the captain found weird, was that the boat was heading their way. Who would head towards them after kidnapping one of his children? Maybe it wasn't them after all. But, at the same time, it couldn't be anyone else. It had to be them. They would head and see, fight to get their family back.
They had met Shanks on the way, the man going to see how Ace was, and had been shocked when he learned that Ace had been kidnapped, along with the other 3, and was now heading with them to get Ace and the others back. They had bound the Red-Haireds' ship behind their boat, the pirates staying on their boat for now, which would be a great help if a battle happened. When they were closer to the boat, managing to see someone out on the deck of the ship, Aoba tilted his head as he looked at Shanks.
¨Shanks. Go get a couple, or maybe three, blood bags.¨
Whitebeard blinked, worried by that. Before he could speak and ask if Ace was fine, Shanks spoke. ¨Is Ace okay?¨ Said the red-haired captain as he moved. Aoba gave a small frown as he looked at the boat again, giving a sniff. ¨Yeah. Only hungry.¨ Whitebeard gave a nod, seeing Shanks doing the same as he left to go and get the items. Whitebeard thought it was good Ace was only hungry, not injured. But, he hoped all of them were fine too. They had been gone for 6 days now. That was a long time, especially for Ace if he had no food. When Shanks returned, he handed the blood bags to Aoba.
Half an hour later, they were close enough to see who were on the ship, and saw his children were the ones who were out, making him him wonder where the ones who owned the ship were. When they were close enough, Curiel on his way to drop the boarding plank between the ships, Ace took a leap and leaped to their ship, running to hug Aoba. ¨Aoba!¨ Said Ace as he hugged the blue-haired man, also biting down in a blood pack at the same time, looking happy.
Aoba was taller than Ace, so they didn't see him actually drinking the blood, which probably made it easier for Ace. Ace still hadn't eaten out so they could see, nothing that clearly was for the vampire. The only thing they saw him eat was the normal food that was dripped in blood or was made with blood, nothing more. The captain knew Ace ate organs too, but even that was something he hadn't admitted by himself. Aoba hugged Ace back, giving a small laugh, looking happy himself. The captain guessed they were happy to see each other both because they were friends and both were vampires.
After a minute, Ace let go of Aoba, also having emptied the three blood bags, and Ace looked at Aoba. ¨Are you staying for a small bit?¨ Aoba gave a nod. ¨Yeah. We can stay for a few more hours.¨ Ace gave a nod and turned around. ¨Then, I'm going to take a quick shower.¨ And Ace left, heading for his shower. Aoba gave a small chuckle, shaking his head. As he was sure Ace was okay, the captain turned to look at his other children. ¨How are you? How did you get out to be on the deck?¨
Thatch looked at him. ¨We are fine, they didn't do anything. And, you should have seen it! Ace tricked them! Well, he did trick us too, but still!¨ Whitebeard blinked. ¨Tricked them? How?¨ Thatch gave a small laugh. ¨He didn't move and had his eyes closed, so the one guy commented that he didn't breath, and went to check, only to find out he didn't have a pulse and was cold. So they left the cell open, and Ace literally just stands up and says 'idiots' and releases us!¨ Whitebeard blinked, before giving a frown. ¨What do you mean didn't have a pulse?¨ Before Thatch could answer, Aoba did. ¨We don't have a pulse. We don't need to breathe normally, but lungs are weird.¨
Whitebeard blinked. ¨So, Ace doesn't have a pulse or breathes?¨ Aoba gave a nod. ¨He has no pulse, skin is cold when he has his ring off too, same goes for me. And, we don't need to breathe if we're fine, but sometimes we use them or something. They're weird. I've done the same thing.¨ Shanks gave a laugh. ¨He has. Scared the hell out of me when he did it the first time.¨ Aoba gave a shrug. ¨We sometimes… forget. It's just normal for us.¨ Whitebeard gave a nod. He would be sure to remember this, in case it happened and they couldn't find a pulse on Ace, or that he didn't breathe.
Haruta gave a chuckle. ¨You should have seen Thatch! He looked like he would cry when he figured out Ace was not dead!¨ Thatch gave a small glare. ¨Hey! I was relieved, okay!¨ Haruta gave a small chuckle. Whitebeard gave one himself. He could understand that. He would have been shocked and scared himself if someone said Ace didn't have a pulse or breathed before he knew this. He would make sure Bay knew this, in case Ace wounded up in the infirmary. But, he did hope she knew.
Aoba looked at Thatch. ¨Did Ace have anything to eat?¨ Thatch shook his head. ¨No. But, he did well. He had this moment, where he really was about to bite one of the guys on the ship in the prison just before we saw you.¨ Whitebeard gave a frown. ¨But, he didn't do it?¨ Thatch shook his head. ¨He didn't. But, I think the reason he didn't was because I interrupted.¨ Whitebeard gave a nod, thinking that was good. Aoba also gave a nod, looking at Thatch. ¨It's good you did. We can… lose ourselves at times when we're hungry, but we're easily gotten out of it. It's not like when we snap.¨
Whitebeard gave a nod. ¨When you say 'snap', how would we know the difference?¨ Whitebeard wanted to know in case it happened. Aoba gave a small sigh. ¨Our eyes will be red, and the more red they are, the more we are gone. And, our nails will come out; they don't normally do.¨ Whitebeard gave a nod. ¨How do we help? If it happens?¨ Aoba gave a small fidget, Whitebeard having seen Ace do the same a lot, but Aoba seemed more okay with speaking about this. ¨We kind of just need to get out of it. Speaking can help, seeing as that can snap us out. That, or give us a blood pack or meat.¨
¨But… We… If… If we get wings, that's bad...¨ Whitebeard gave a nod. That seemed to be a sore spot for Aoba, so the captain decided to not ask about that now. If it happened, they would be cautious. ¨Thank you for telling, Aoba.¨ Aoba gave a nod and smile. ¨I'm glad to help. Ace likes it here; he's happy.¨ That had the captain and many smile. He guessed the vampires could sort of feel how the other were.
After half an hour, Ace came back out, and he and Aoba seemed to have a lot of fun together, Thatch and Haruta joining in. Aoba was a fun kid, who was apparently 32. He didn't seem that old. When it came time for the red-haired pirates to leave, Ace looked a bit down. Thatch asked a quick ¨Why don't you stay here for a bit?¨ Which had both vampires perk up, but Shanks said no, saying they needed Aoba for something. But, they could do it later, which had them still smile.
After they said goodbye, the red-haired pirates left and things went back to normal.
And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed
Things are getting along and the pirates are trying to get more used to Ace and everything, but are still kind of scared and nervous
And, the chapters are being posted often now, as I have a few finished, but it will be around once a week soon, when I need to go to school and work again. The same goes for Black Heart for those who read that
If you have the time, I greatly appreciate feedback