-II-
Flares
A veiled bridge stirs across,
Baltigo
"Does anyone know where the Chief of Staff is at? He's not in his usual office."
The main headquarters remained quiet. A few dotted officers occupied with their work walked from one end of the headquarters room to the other. And then there were the odd agents speaking over one another through the transponder snail, further heightening the slight commotion in the office.
Betty huffed out a faint groan at their indifference, "Seriously, why is it so noisy this early."
"If you're looking for Sabo, he's probably still training."
Betty directed her gaze to a couple of officers sitting on the far side of the room. Buried in mountains of papers and books, a smear of orange peeking out caught her attention. Grinning, she lowered her glasses, "Just the person I was looking for!"
Koala sprang at the sudden clatter of paperwork settling onto her desk and quickly waved her hand at the specks of dust particles filtering off the books. "Betty!"
"Take these to him. A briefing of yesterday's meeting," Betty stated as she ruffled Koala's hair in delight. "Mostly on the background of the island, its history of its rulers and all the other hassle."
Koala stretched her hand to grab one of the papers drifting out of the enclosed envelope from her seated position and skim-read the page once Betty left her hair alone. Within her heart, a trace of compassion stirred for Sabo and the countless hours he'd lose reading all of it before setting sail to yet another island fated for liberation.
As the sun emerged over the horizon, a small kindle of flame danced across the morning sky, its warm flicker of light thawing the crisp atmosphere— in a swift motion, Sabo clenched his fist, and the burst of vibrant energy disappeared.
A peculiar sensation seeped into his placid expression as he watched the flames flare and stifle at his command like a whisper from a distant memory. An eerily familiar warmth tingled over him. He stretched his hand back to the sky as a hiss of flame retreated to his body and allowed his body to descend to the barren land, head on the ashy ground.
A flash of the previous owner of the devil fruit crosses his mind momentarily...and just as quickly, he erased the thought from his mind preferring to stare at the endless blue spanning over him.
A few years ago, a part of him would be satisfied to recall his sleeping memories of a past so dear to him.
A little over a month ago, reconnecting with his dormant bond in Dressrosa ignited his life anew.
And now, a strange mix of sorrow and harmony lulled his mind.
Luffy...A—
"Sabo!"
At the call of his name, Sabo jolted up and blinked back at the shaded envelopes covering his view.
"Koala, is it time for the meeting?" He asked, bringing himself up and taking hold of the stack of papers and envelopes, on the other hand, failing to recognise his flames latching onto the pile of documents.
"Sabo, you did it again!"
Ah. Ducking, Sabo quickly released his fiery touch from the enveloped reports and clenched his hand as if to reel the flames away, "Sorry."
Several documents swiftly flew across the gusty sky like startled doves in the face of fire before ceasing into the atmosphere.
Koala jumped to grasp onto the few papers flowing from the envelope into the breeze, "You're lucky not all of it burnt this time 'round."
Sabo smiled sheepishly, picking a vivid red petal off his rolled-up sleeve that flared and instantly faded into the breeze. Truthfully, it was hard to adapt his bodily perception that he had acquired a Logia ability. He knew how to harness the flames in his mind, but when he's not focused on controlling them, they ignite everything in their natural course.
His hasty thoughts dissolved when he sensed the sudden presence of Dragon walking towards him. Sabo lifted his head when he felt his shoulder tugged.
Ignoring the trails of flames flickering off Sabo's body, Dragon eyed him curiously, "Come, our current position has deviated. We have no time to lose."
Sabo's gaze fell onto Koala's frown then he blinked back to Dragon, who handed him his gloves. He took this chance to collect the documents from Koala and mouthed a thank you.
On his way back to the ancient ruins, Sabo took this chance to gloss over the remaining documents before the meeting since Dragon was a man of few words.
One of the final islands of Paradise, Asterye Kingdom was a noble-rich island located North East to the infamous Sabody Archipelago. Unlike other islands in the Paradise, its volcanic nature, bountiful resources and pristine shores were prone to all sorts of invasions, from its neighbouring Kingdoms who wanted their fair share of their resources; to pirates trying to discover notorious ruby treasures and the expected heavenly offerings overseen by the world government.
"With the current King declining health, the heir missing, and the only other royal Princess insane. There are talks of a brewing civil war to come and the world government is at bay."
"And what of our officers currently based at the Kingdom?" Dragon asked, taking a seat at the round table.
"They are still gathering intel on the whereabouts of the Crown Prince. However, we received reports on a possible sighting of the prince lost at sea. Karasu is investigating his last whereabouts with a few other North officers."
Sabo hummed at the announcement and picked up an aged illustration of the royal family in the report. The King, a wrinkled man sitting on his throne with a windflower, badged onto his militant red uniform and robe. On his side was his heir, a rather muscular man with red-shot eyes and an odd scar running over his forehead to the tip of his left eyebrow, blankly staring back.
"We have received a message early this morning from the King himself. It seems pirates are responsible for the missing prince. The Navy's ship was also attacked."
"Pirates?" Ivankov huffed, "Are you sure the Navy are not projecting their irresponsibility?"
Ivankov crossed his arms, completely unimpressed, "Who were the pirates?"
The officer reading the report cleared his throat, "They've yet to identify the details on the culprits. But, the King wishes an audience with our high officers on quelling the exportation of its resources."
Sabo perked up at the comment of the King's wishes and huffed faintly. Now that his heir was lost at sea, he was willing to compromise his inherited wealth. Sabo flicked the photograph of the royals back on top of the sheets of paper across the table.
"No matter. We'll accept the invitation and see for ourselves."
"That's right. If we're successful—it will be another nation where we hold a strong influence over," Dragon said.
Like other kingdoms peppered across the grandline, Asterye Kingdom's status quo would soon alter for better or worse.
When Sabo arrived at the Kingdom with a few officers, the vibrant blue sky and humid air throughout the journey turned chilly and dark without notice. The moonlight shone onto his log pose, reflecting the quiet lantern-lit port across their ship. The few workers walking around the harbour were anchoring their ship and putting away boxes of goods.
Behind him, sounds of footsteps scattered over the ship's deck, where his officers prepared to depart. Sabo breathed in the chilly air and closed his eyes. The scent of fire from the light lanterns floated around him, and for a moment, he wondered if it were himself.
They were stationed on this island for a few weeks until the log resets. He'd hoped that during the two weeks, they were on this island, they'd manage to sway the nation to the revolutionary cause in time for their objective.
"We're to remain on board until our escorts arrive, apparently," Jiron announced, correcting the placement of his mask over his eyes. "Sabo-san, here you go."
At the mention of his name, Sabo looked away from the harbour and turned his attention back to the officers, who were all wearing masks over their eyes. "What's this for?"
"There's been a change of plans." Sabo felt the removal of his signature top hat.
"Before we're to meet with the King. Our escorts will direct us to a grand ball to get a feel of high society," Inazuma stated dryly.
High society? That's something he hasn't heard in quite some time. Sabo cringed at the thought of interacting with such people and hoped it wouldn't consist of the usual farce of entertaining one another in a sad endeavour of bettering one's social standing.
Although, a part of him pondered the idea of high society conspiring to overthrow their King, who was now willing to negotiate.
"Then it's a good thing we're going in disguise," Sabo said, placing the mask on at the same time as the arrival of their guarded attendants.
"It'll be easier to uncover the reality of this Kingdom."