Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

-

Gol D. Roger, the 'King of the Pirates,' had achieved it all. Wealth, fame, and power had all been his. Not surprisingly, the final words he spoke before they lopped off his head inspired adventurers throughout the world to sail the seas.

"My treasure? Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it, but you'll have to search the whole world!" 

The world is about to witness a great era of piracy. 

-

There's a steady drip from some crack in the cell's ceiling you're sitting in. 

"So they've still got you in here." You didn't expect to hear him talking at all, left quiet even if you both know it isn't by choice, and one ear twitches ever so slightly to have a better angle. With how still the air is, you already assume that everything is going to fall apart yet again. You open an eye to glance towards the blurry figure standing there with your throat still so raw the idea of speaking seems like complete hell. It all hurts.

In a way, all of this was supposed to be something cinematic. Perhaps even dramatic. But look, you're just laying there in a cell, the last few hours of your life a complete blur. 

Six, as that's the only thing he clings to rather than a name, is far quieter when the two of you aren't needed for something or another, but he always spoke faster than a regular person. You find that a strange quirk, always having to pause for a second to mentally catch up to what he was saying. No matter what happened, you supposed this minor aspect had become routine. Yet a scoff escaped your lips once realization hit you and your fangs gleam at him. A clear warning. He's seen that you'll fight if you have to, even in a weaker state. 

There was supposed to be something you could have pointed to. Gramps hadn't mentioned it much. But you'd heard whispers in the tavern growing up of ghost stories. Strangers in the dark, rejections ignored, something that proved something terrible was about to happen. That's what people said. That's what they told you. It could happen suddenly, but there was something to trace it back to. 

"What do you need?" There was no lost love between the two of you, merely the understanding that you both were in the same crab pot, and in that sense kinship was easy enough to settle on. Tension still rose higher and higher. Chained down, all you could do was fester in the tension. In that anger sparking like a live wire. You wonder what he thinks when he sees you chained to the floor of a cell like a worthless animal. Seven hundred thousand Beri for a Mink. You're worth far more than he is and both of you know it. 

Well, you were a liar. Because you claimed nothing sparked this when that's a fucking lie. 

You weren't even supposed to be here. 

Every fucking day you woke up in a cell or bed knowing that there was someone waiting for you. That you had a promise to complete, and you needed to be needed in a way that gave all of this hell a purpose beyond you being some sad story or a trophy on display. You don't even have desires anymore, just the crushing fact that you were nothing more than a prop and that at one point, you had mattered. Maybe you still did in some far off sea? Wrong place at the wrong time. Every part of you ripped apart and remade into this damn shape. Would anyone even be able to recognize you?

No, no, no. 

They would have to. 

Because you had tried to escape and failed completely. It went terribly. Your owner had been screaming in rage, forcing you to lower your head and take the beating. Take the Seastone. Take the cell. Yet again trapped. Left hating yourself for hating and wanting everyone here dead. You just wanted to go home. Six shouldn't be here talking with you. Some deep, dark part of you almost wished the man who owned you would see this and beat him. Let him bleed. Your own wounds stung and everything was still blurred. The chains were keeping you from even thinking about using your devil fruit abilities. 

After that beating, you were alone, then you weren't, and then your owner was gone. Unassuming. As if you had imagined the whole thing or dreamed it up. But you didn't have the ability to dream. You were in Seastone chains. So this was real, and it just happened.

You hated your owner. A worthless piece of shit. There wasn't anything to like about any of the Celestial Dragons. All of them were worthless things that you would maul to death if given the chance. Laughing about you as if you were nothing but a fucking dog that could be beaten and broken. Break the bitch. 

Time might as well have halted entirely as you stare at the blurry stone floors. You're pretty sure you should be feeling something. Crying? Pain? You don't know anymore. All of this was familiar. It happened. There was bile in the back of your throat. Throwing up would be better than being numb. You just wanted to feel something that meant you were alive. 

This was all so wrong. You felt wrong. Numb and empty, as if you had just missed something important. There had to be a reason, yet there was no fucking reason. 

Six sits down, and your brain snaps back to the present, left watching him. You both are slaves, yet he has a chance to take advantage of you like everyone else does when given the chance. A growl escapes your lips. Because fuck him. Your ear twitches. 

"Why did you do it?" Your tail weakly swishes back and forth at his words, unable to lash out, even when all you want to do is let your claws sink in deep. 

"I don't need a reason." You hate your voice nowadays, but especially now when your throat feels so dry. The uncomfortable wetness between your legs making you feel completely ill. Or is that cold sweat? You're only half Mink, so you're human enough to sweat. It always feels uncomfortable. Like you weren't meant to sweat. Six only hums, perhaps kind enough not to comment on your current state, but the rest of you only hates him more. Does it feel good to play nice by not acknowledging what happened to you? He should just say something. It isn't as if there's anything else for you to do expect linger in the aftermath. You swallow. Feeling sick and gross. All you feel is dry and stiff. A corpse. 

"Do you feel alright?" It takes a moment for you to register that as a real question. Six wants an actual answer. You stare. Left scrambling for something to say before the ice breaks and you laugh. Hard. So hard it hurts. So hard you nearly throw up. 

"Do I look alright?" Is what you manage to say when the ability to speak returns. Left staring in both shock and awe at the bold idiocy on display for him to ask that question. 

"Am I not allowed to care?" 

"...you shouldn't." Is all you say with a scoff. 

"You know that dumb isn't a good look on you."

"Your mauled corpse won't be a good look, either." And really, you wish he'd just leave you alone, but he doesn't. 

"We're stuck in this pot together. I might as well know the crab next to me." 

"I don't need to know you." You say softly, desperate for the words to be true, and maybe, if you lie hard enough, it'll be real. "I won't be here for much longer." 

"Do you still believe that?" He's doing that thing where if he talks slower and softer, you'll listen and ain't that just a riot to hear? So you scoff because, of course, this is happening. He treats you like a wild thing that is little more than an actual animal. You're more than that. 

"I have to." 

"Aren't you a little old for this behavior?" You want to laugh. He's probably twice your age, but it isn't as if Six will outlive you. No. Despite his brief moments of kindness, you know that Six will die in these shackles. He's decided he will. Gave up at some point along the way.

Wasn't it just hilarious? 

"Not at all." You try hard to not think about your current state or how all of this worked. Hands gripping your hips. Being expected to play along. If someone like your owner wanted something, then they'd get it. You know that dance. 

"You're still delusional, I get it." Six's words make you want to scream. You're just too tired and sore to even consider that at the moment. 

"Can't you just mind your own business for five fucking seconds?" You don't want to think about it.

"All I'm saying is that you live completely under this delusion, that one day you'll escape. What happens then? They just put out a wanted poster and you'll get caught by the marines. Learn to adapt."

Adapt? 

You don't want to. In fact, you're pretty sure you would rather die. 

So no, you won't adapt, but you can dream. 

You'd rather pretend than live in this hell. 

This isn't a big deal. 

You're used to that bastard taking what he wants from you, so you don't even bat an eye at Six standing with a sigh. Knowing that he didn't get through to you in the way he wants. Sure, he's trying to help, but you don't want it. You decided a long time ago that wasn't how this story ends. 

Like always, you've decided that you'll deal with it.

If only because you're far too stubborn to just adapt. 

-

One year ago, a pirate ship made the village its base. The wind blows from the east and the village is at peace.

"Hey, Luffy! What're you up to now?!" A voice called to the two small figures on the figurehead of the ship. Noticing the second one, the smaller of the two, still mostly hidden behind the boy in front, earned a confused noise from the person speaking. "And why is M/n up there with you? I thought he was afraid of heights?" 

"Hmph! I've had it with you guys! Now you'll have to take me seriously! This is how tough I am!" The village boy, Monkey D. Luffy, yelled from his perch as the other seemed to be clinging tightly to the back of his shirt. He was shaking. Ears flattened and tail puffed up. While Luffy was holding a knife, he'd likely swiped from one of the pirates. "And M/n is fine!" 

"I hate it here..." The other boy mumbled out softly, though no one seemed to hear it. 

"Get it over with!" The captain called out as he adjusted the strawhat he wore while looking at the pair with a hint of amusement. "Whatever it is..."

"What's that pup up to now?" One of his crewmates asked with a good-natured laugh. "Dragging the kit along with him again, too." 

The red-haired captain didn't get a chance to answer that question or even joke about how easily M/n would do things that terrified him when Luffy asked before the boy plunged the knife into his own face. Silence hung in the air. Then the ship was filled with the sound of pirates screaming in panic and the captain took off running for the figurehead as the black-haired boy wailed in pain. The smaller screamed in panic with it sounding like a cat's yowl. 

"You idiot! What'd you do that for?!" 

-

There's a unique feeling of waking in and out of your drugged state while being transported as if you were left plummeting down from the heavens. Not yet close enough to feel the fall. It was a feeling that clung to your skin like a weighted blanket. Pressing against the back of your eyelids. The world seemed to slowly sway back and forth, leading you to guess that you were on a ship. The rocking was almost calming as the drugs pressed further down on your mind. It was a weight that you couldn't easily throw off. Even the act of simply extending your claws or opening your mouth felt like an impossible task. All of it stung. 

Where were you even going?

Yet you couldn't look around before your world went dark again. 

-

"A toast! To Luffy's courage and to our great voyage!" That earned a round of cheering in the tavern from the crew, with rounds of booze being brought to the tables. A constant chatter filling the room and making the entire building practically shake from the commotion. Sitting away from the louder parts of the party were the two boys. The mink hybrid playing with a torn shred of bandage. 

"Drink up!" 

"More!" 

"Hey! That's my meat!" 

"Not anymore! I'm gonna eat it!" 

"Hey, stop fighting! You'll spoil our fun!" 

"It didn't hurt a bit!" Luffy managed to chirp out now that his wound was bandaged, yet his eyes were welling up with tears as he spoke. Voice shaking softly. M/n's ears snapped up, and he looked towards the other with a confused head tilt to one side. Claws half stuck on the scrap of bandage. 

"But you're crying, Lu...?" M/n mumbled out as the captain shook his head. 

"Liar! That was a foolish thing to do!" 

"I'm not the least bit afraid of getting hurt! Take me with you on your next voyage!" Luffy exclaimed, completely ignoring what both of them said, earning a confused noise akin to a meow from M/n. "I wanna be a pirate, too!" 

"You?! A pirate?! Impossible!" 'Red-haired' Shanks said with a laugh, earning an offended noise from the boy. "Luffy, do you know why we call you anchor? Because you can't swim! You just sink! What good is a pirate that can't swim?" 

"What about me?" M/n asked, pointing at himself with a slight swish of his tail, causing Shanks to give a somewhat softer explanation to the quieter of the two. 

"You're a bit too small...and you're terrified of heights, deep water, and..." Noticing how he shrank at those words, Shanks waved a hand and laughed. "Let's just say that you need a bit of growing up before you can hit the seas!" 

"But if I don't fall overboard, then it doesn't matter if I'm an anchor! And I'm a strong fighter! So I can protect M/n, too!" Luffy snapped out, with M/n moving slightly to let him speak. Luffy taking the moment to mimic throwing a punch with a grin. "I've been training! My punch is as powerful as a pistol!" 

"A pistol, eh?" Shanks rolled his eyes as he rested one arm on the bar, his head propped up with the palm of his hand, ignoring how M/n was inching closer to try to touch the scars running down Shanks' face. "Is that so...?"

"Are you doubting me?!" Luffy snapped as M/n finally touched the end of a scar. Shanks more focused on Luffy at the moment than swatting away M/n's hand.

"Calm down, Luffy!" One of the crewmates called out, making Luffy look over as the crew danced and made merry.

"Let's just have a good time!" Yasopp cheered while raising his glass without even batting an eye followed by the rest of the group cheering. 

"Yeah! Pirates always have a good time!" Lucky Roux added on as they carried on. 

"The sea is vast and there's lots of islands to explore!" 

"And best of all, pirates have freedom!" 

"Wow!" Both Luffy and M/n watched on with stars in their eyes, the mink hybrid forgetting about messing with Shanks' scars, as they listened. 

"You guys stop filling their heads with crazy ideas." Shanks said with a sigh as he looked back towards his crew, earning multiple groans and scoffs from all of them. 

"But it's true, right?" Lucky Roux said with a snicker as Yasopp nodded, the pair grinning at each other as Shanks rolled his eyes again, even as a fond smile formed on his face.

"C'mon cap'n," a crewmate at a table halfway across the room called out while leaning back in his seat to look towards Shanks and the boys. "Let's take the lads with us just this once. Can't be that bad if we do a small voyage while we're still in the East Blue."

"Aye!"

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as M/n purred happily at that statement. 

"Okay, but two of you will have to stay behind to make room on the ship." Shanks said with a simple shrug of the shoulders as M/n watched the crew immediately give up on arguing for them. 

"Sorry lads, you both have just been beached! Let's drink!" 

"Hey! I thought you guys were on our side!" Luffy yelped as he watched them wander off. 

"You're just too young, kid. The both of you are," Shanks said with a soft smile and roll of the eyes. "Maybe in ten years I'll give you both a chance."

"Cap'n Shanks, I'm telling you, I'm not a little kid," Luffy snapped as M/n didn't seem quite as willing to argue over that.

"Don't get upset now. Here, have some milk, both of you." Shanks said, sighing, yet tone completely fond as always. Waving a hand for two glasses of milk to be poured as he passed them to the two boys. Watching for the predicted course of events like a ship sailing with the wind. 

"Oh, boy! Thanks!" 

"Thank you," is M/n's softer reply, yet both grab the glasses and Shanks can only hold back his laughter for a moment before he completely loses it. 

"See?! A real pirate would never drink milk!" 

"Huh?!"

"That was a dirty trick!" Luffy snapped as M/n blinked and looked between them in slight confusion before following after Luffy when the boy hopped off the barstool. The mink following after as Luffy looked down into the glass with a pout. "Hmph! I'm getting tired of this. I even stabbed myself in the face so you'd take us with you." 

"I thought you looked really cool." 

"You did?" Luffy asked excitedly as M/n nodded with a swish of his tail.

"Yeah," M/n blinked before patting him on the back. "Besides, Shanks said that we can go in ten years." 

"That's too long!" Luffy huffed, immediately pouting again as M/n seemed to be considering what to say to comfort Luffy before a new voice spoke up. 

"Luffy, M/n, the captain's just doing what's best for everyone." 

"How do you figure, Mr. First Mate?" Luffy asked as M/n immediately tried to hide behind Luffy again. 

"The safety of the entire crew and ship rests on his shoulders. Being a pirate isn't all fun and games, you know. There's lots of duties like pillaging, hostage taking, heavy drinking, and swimming." Benn Beckman said with an amused huff, though his voice remained gentle as he explained the reality of the situation to them both. "And the captain knows all about the dangers of the sea, too. It can kill you in a thousand ways. It's not that he wants to crush either of your dreams about becoming a pirate." 

"Well, I don't believe it!" Luffy snapped, waving one hand as he looked to almost be pouting. "Shanks just likes to make me look dumb." 

"Hey, anchor!" Shanks called from his seat, only to burst into laughter when Luffy glared at him.

"I told you!" 

"Ho boy, I just love making fun of this kid!" Shanks laughed as he threw his head back with a delighted grin on his face. 

"Hm, maybe the lad's got a point." Benn mused as he looked between the two of them while M/n twitched and cocked his head to one side. 

"Captain Shanks, I'm glad to see you and your crew are enjoying yourselves." Makino said with a soft laugh, the tavern owner's voice soft and clearly amused by the rowdy crowd that had become regulars in her tavern. Her attention darted to the two boys as she set the barrel of ale she was carrying down, earning a rapid series of thanks from the pirates. "Luffy, M/n, would you guys like something to eat?" 

"Yeah! Just put it on our treasure tab!" Luffy cheered as he darted to climb onto a barstool with M/n following close behind. Shanks reaching out to grab the mink hybrid by the scruff when he failed to climb onto the barstool by jumping for it. Placing him down and nodding his head at the quiet, thanks said in turn. His attention turning to Luffy with a shake of the head.

"Treasure tab? Look boy, don't try to swindle the lady, and don't drag M/n down with you." 

"M'not swindling! Me and M/n are gonna become pirates, find lots of treasure, and then we'll come back and pay her!" Luffy snapped back with a huff and M/n nodded his head eagerly. 

"When that day comes, we'll celebrate together when you both return." Makino said with a laugh, earning excited grins and laughs from the two boys. As she walked away to grab food for the two, Luffy looked over to the red-haired captain sitting next to them.

"Shanks," 

"Yeah, kid?" He asked, hardly looking up from his own plate of food as Luffy continued talking. 

"How much longer will you stay at this village?" That comment caused M/n's ears to shoot up with a slight twitch, his tail giving a soft swish, and leaning over Luffy to get a better view of Shanks' face. 

"Hm, let's see. We've been using this village as our base for about a year." Shanks mused as he stopped eating to give the question some proper thought. "After two or three more voyages, we'll leave here for good and head north."

"I see," Luffy mumbled out before he ripped off a chunk of steak as M/n was happily eating a plate of fish. "Two or three more trips, eh?" 

"..." Makino glanced between the two with a soft smile, though neither child seemed to pick up on it. 

"I'm gonna learn how to swim by the time you leave!" Luffy declared before nudging M/n causing him to blink in surprise. 

"...and I'll work on my fear of heights...and deep water..." M/n mumbled out, earning a slight smile from the man as he looked between the two of them. 

"That's good, kids. Do whatever you two want." 

The door to the tavern was kicked open before any of them could continue speaking. 

-

Monkey D Garp is a man of more regrets than he can think to name just as much as a man that clings to the freedoms he has and wants in life. This applies to his grandchildren. All four of them, even if only one of them is his by blood. If asked, he might lie and say he only has one depending on who asks, but he never claims that he has a favorite. 

There was a brief moment when he first met his grandson, less than a year old, not quite walking without falling every few steps, and completely terrified of Garp. Not letting him draw closer or speak. Sometimes he finds himself watching as the little boy's face goes red, tears rolling down, and that loud wailing starts up. Garp is certain that he hasn't earned that level of terror just yet, give it time when he starts training the boy, but he'll never say it out loud. Yet he's proud of the fact that Luffy is so loud, so alive, that he's certain Luffy will live and grow to be a strong man decades from now. 

Makino, bless her heart, is sixteen and strong. A spark of fury in her gaze when someone undervalues her that Garp finds endearing. She would never be a child or grandchild of his own, but he could keep an eye out. Subtly remind people at the tavern she tries so hard to run for her family that he doesn't see the humor in giving her any trouble. Those aspects of her are the same reason why he considered her a good option to keep watch of his grandson. The boy needed someone when he wasn't here, and he could just imagine the laughter of his men if he showed up with a baby in a wrap around his chest. 

He had asked her once why she assumed that Luffy acted this way and she had just blinked at him as if he were a fool.

"He just doesn't like you." Is what she says with the giggle of a sixteen-year-old who doesn't care at all if she offends him. The passion of youth, he assumes. Her next words seem to be little more than an afterthought. "You're probably too loud."

"A brat and a crybaby," he huffs out with no real anger in his voice. "It'll be difficult to make him a marine if he's like this." 

"He's a baby." Makino says, not giving him room to argue as she bounces the boy on one knee. Her mother is running the tavern alone, and the girl doesn't seem desperate to go back to work just yet. "Besides, I bet he'll beat you when he's all grown up." 

A part of Garp feels like she's pitting Luffy against him, but he doesn't say that out loud, either. Left with a grin forming on his face as Luffy giggles despite how badly he tries to play the role of grumpy old man. 

Still, Garp is a marine. 

Meaning, he leaves, because the sea calls his name alongside the wind. 

Because he craves freedom. 

When he returns to Windmill Village, years have passed, almost four, and Luffy now walks and talks like a real person now. The wind calls him back, and he docks his boat and finds his grandson again. This time, he isn't alone. Luffy has someone that's mostly a ball of orange fur. Garp would have assumed that Luffy had gotten a pet while he was away, but then he sees the face. A mink, or rather, a half mink given the face, completely furless. Human. Luffy is holding one hand so tightly, as if scared of losing the other. This time, he isn't afraid of Garp. Dragging the other along and laughing freely. He is all dark, unkempt hair, a wide smile, and scrapped knees. Garp can see what parts of him shine through in the boy. Most of his features seem to be from his unknown mother. 

The grin is all him and Dragon. 

Maybe he shouldn't dwell on it. 

It takes three more visits before Garp has learned enough about the newest child that Makino is watching. His name is M/n, he showed up water logged and with no parents, and Luffy is the one that saved him. According to his grandson, the boy is his new best friend, and as the only kid his age that seems to hang around Luffy, it certainly explains why the two are so tight-knit. Where Luffy goes M/n goes. He's less Makino's and more his grandson's. Like a four-year-old should be adopting random mink hybrids. They don't even belong on this sea. 

Garp is not someone known for being soft-hearted. 

Well, with civilians, maybe, but even that would be muffled by the rest of his past as a marine. The boy is innocent. Small, with claws and fangs that couldn't possibly fight anyone, and that was a problem. An adult mink was seven hundred thousand Beri. A child could go for more or less depending on what animal they were and who they were being sold to. Garp would be a fool to not know such things. Zou is far away and if the boy ever leaves the East Blue, he'll likely be trafficked. So he attempts to take the boy on one trip to see if he can find a hint of his human or mink parents. His grandson panics and wails and the hybrid sobs openly and whimpers. He doesn't find anything. His men struggle with the knowledge that most mink are rather vicious, even at a young age. It seems hybrids aren't any different. Hell, he finds himself gaining a few nicks here and there from the wailing mink hybrid. 

When he brings the boy back, Luffy basically latches onto him with a tight grip and doesn't dare to let go while glaring at Garp. The boy hisses as if Garp would hurt Luffy and mentally he sighs at how the pair acts. As if he tortured the boy instead of trying to find his home. 

Somewhere along the way, this means that being Luffy's grandfather is also being M/n's grandfather. 

It isn't new.

M/n seems to want nothing to do with him. 

Garp can't help but wonder if such things are merely part of mink nature given how they seem to keep far away from humans if given the chance, but the rest of him assumes he had made a poor first impression. He tries to tell M/n one day about why it would be better to find his parents or perhaps make the long journey to Zou, but while it does have the intended effect of scaring the boy, it doesn't change his mind. M/n may be quiet, but he's quick to showcase that he's fully attached to Luffy. Garp can only make peace with it. He's never been great with kids, certainly not good enough to have a serious conversation with one, but he had to explain the reality of the world. Though at the moment it remains less of a complete problem. East Blue lacks most of the slave markets and the like that makes up so much of the islands past the Grand Line, so most simply stare at the boy, not knowing that he's worth so much. M/n lives in a world where those threats are on the same level as scary stories meant to keep kids from stealing a second piece of dessert. Makino doesn't push those ideals which Garp can't even blame her for. It can't be easy to explain to a child that the rest of the world views him as lesser. To be owned and used. All that the East Blue has left is whispers and the inherent unease around anyone so different, Windmill Village is far enough from it all that a boy can grow without feeling like he's worthless. 

Garp has to make sure M/n, like his other grandchildren, won't break when faced with the cruelty of the world. 

M/n isn't wild enough to throw himself into fights like Ace or Sabo. He bares his fangs if Luffy gets upset, but the difference between him and the others is like night and day. He's something strange. Maybe because he's part mink? Garp has seen a few in pirate crews, none in the navy, and the rest as slaves or just people trying their hardest to live. Slaves are most common. They're broken and tamed. Pirate minks are wild, as if they have to showcase the animalistic aspects of their species just to prove that they aren't ashamed of who and what they are. Garp respects them just as he respects the fish-men who act the same even when he has to defeat or capture them. He won't pretend he isn't part of the problem, he never has rather he just ignored the uncomfortable reality, but raising a mink child puts that into perspective. There isn't anything he can look into compared to raising a human child. Class C savage. People don't tell you more than how to keep one alive. No one cares enough to raise one like an actual person. M/n can pretend that he's completely fine with it, but he's a kid looking for answers. 

The boy doesn't ask much about that. 

Mostly he talks about pirates after Luffy gets it in his head that he wants to be a pirate. M/n is convinced that he'll be Luffy's first mate and the two of them will rule the seas. He waves tiny clawed hands, and he's the loudest Garp has ever heard the boy be since their very first meeting. A part of him wants to curb the other's ideals, just as he tries with Luffy, but he can't bring himself to do that. There are no minks enlisted in the marines for a reason. Too close to the world nobles and everyone knows regardless of standing if they say they own you then that's it. Minks and Fish-Men are at risk completely for such instances. So he can't offer the boy anything like he can with his other grandsons. Yet if M/n did join a pirate and it was an important one, like the warlords or an emperor, then he'd be safer than he would as just a random civilian who didn't return to Zou.  

It makes him think of Roger. 

Garp wouldn't lie and claim that some part of him hadn't learned to like the supposed king of the pirates, after all he had spent over a third of his life it seemed trying to catch the laughing captain and that ship as it crossed the waves. As much as he would try to break the word 'pirate' out of Luffy's vocabulary, he wouldn't pretend that Roger hadn't been a good man. Merely one aiming too high. A foolish dream. He would have made a damn good marine if he hadn't chosen the life of a pirate. Stubborn, reckless, wild, free and loyal to his men. Despite the history there, Garp prays to a God he isn't sure he even believes in that should M/n become a pirate he lands with one like Roger. Someone who would die in combat before letting his crew become slaves. He almost wishes he could have told that red-haired idiot who filled Luffy's head with dreams bigger than him to take M/n. But the pirate is long gone with the wind that beckons him in much the same way as it beckons Garp. Had beckoned Roger the same all those years ago now. 

He leaves Luffy and M/n with bandits. With his other grandsons hoping that in the end, even if they become something he can't understand or support, they'll make each other stronger and fill the gaps. Make Luffy less of a crybaby and push M/n to be more independent. Ace is hungry for more and angry at the world just because of the blood flowing through his veins. Even if they never see each other as brothers, he figures they'll force change and hopefully not kill each other before they're young men rather than snot-nosed brats. 

Regardless of the end result, Garp is certain that they'll be fine men, marines or not, and for that he allows himself to feel nothing but pride. 

Then he loses two of his grandsons before they even reach eighteen. 

It changes everyone. 

Ace closes himself off, Dadan blames herself, and Luffy...well, he calls it delusion. There is clearly a part of him that doesn't feel the proper amount of grief, too young or perhaps too stupid to realize that Sabo and M/n are gone for good. He looks at Garp and proudly tells him that when he sets off to sea to become a pirate, M/n will be there. Because he promised to be Luffy's first mate. Garp calls him a fool, hits him with the fists of love, and tries his hardest not to think about the quiet hybrid and blond boy who would eagerly beg alongside Ace and Luffy for them to eat at the tavern whenever Garp was there. It leaves him with the knowledge that his grandsons will never turn into the marines he wanted. No sailors or admirals in the same way he looked at Dragon one day and knew that his son would be something that would claw furrows into the world and die screaming for change. He still isn't sure how he figures that out, but he can tell. The look in their eyes screams it. No matter how long he tries to keep his head buried in the sands. 

Garp liked Roger enough, understood Roger enough, that he knows they will still be great men as pirates, but he still fights it. 

He's afraid for his two remaining grandsons. 

Because the world is vast and cruel, Garp has seen all that it does to those that are weak. He's seen it when the world claimed two of his grandsons without a warning. The seas they plan on sailing drive the weaker men mad, bring them down to their lowest, and still demand more. His remaining grandsons need to be strong enough to survive. A grandfather should never have to outlive his grandchildren. Garp refuses to let them be sent out to sail unprepared. They will stand tall and live however they please.  

He can live with their hatred. 

As long as they live. 

Then he hears rumors, small ones that he tries to ignore, and then he throws his weight around. Hearing the sordid tale from Sengoku of the purple furred tiger mink, that is a prized slave among the Celestial Dragons, found in the East Blue. His world goes still. Heart racing. Garp finds out one can feel a pain worse than ever imaginable. Because it was hard enough burying two empty coffins and pretending that he wasn't broken by it. This is different. Garp knows what Celestial Dragons do with those they keep as slaves. With no use for labor in factories or fields, it becomes what they can do for them personally. At best, his grandson is being someone's surrogate child, so the world nobles can play house until he grows up and stops being cute enough to keep and play with. At worst, he's an attack dog for someone's amusement or being used to satisfy some fetish. Garp wants to remember what he learned over the course of his career in the marines. That he's on the right side because this is the path we've chosen, yet all that comes to mind is the boy he thought dead purring and excitedly chatting to him about his plans for the future.  

That breaks him. 

Because his grandson is not a man who chose to become a criminal, rather a boy who merely was born in a body that deemed him lesser. 

So he forces himself to pay more attention for even the smallest piece of info about his grandson and where he is. There are always moments where the Celestial Dragons come down from their fancy homes, even if it's just to purchase more slaves. There is a part of him so desperate for this one thing that he stops thinking of consequence and punishment. In a way, he deserves it. Garp has been a marine for almost the entirety of his life. Fighting, bleeding, and killing for what he thought was the greater good, yet this still happened to his grandson. Look at all he's allowed to happen because he thought it would benefit the world in the long run. 

The buster calls, slavery, Impel Down torturing their prisoners, and Ohara...

Garp ignored those things because he was a marine. 

He was free to make that choice because he wasn't the one suffering. 

In this moment, he can't turn a blind eye to his grandson. 

He has earned this one act of rebellion because of how much he's given to the World Government. Giving and giving till he's little more than a monster with chipped edges and fists that have scars and calluses down to the bone. He is a hero to the people when he allows all of this. Surely a hero can be selfish just this once. Out of everything he's done, this is something that Garp can easily take to the grave. He would do anything for his grandsons, right? 

This is a perfect sin to add to his list. 

Over ten years later, he gets his chance.

So when a group of Celestial Dragons come to market, he offers to guard their ship, having used every favor he had for this information and had to confide in Sengoku, who frowned and say this would be the only time he looked the other way. Garp can accept that. He takes the time to check the ship and feels a wave of sickness when he finds in the hull a steel door. Inside M/n hangs almost limp from seastone chains. His grandson has grown so much, he seems to be the only one close to reaching Garp's height. Underweight, fur matted with stains, covered in half healed bloody cuts. The signs of a slave who still fought back given that his face is coated in his blood and Garp can see chunks of someone's flesh in those sharp fangs. He's wearing what looks like a straitjacket, but the chains mean they don't bother keeping his arms held in place. This is what they've done to his grandson for over a decade. 

"...gramps...?" It's so quiet when M/n speaks, voice entirely flat, and Garp sees in that patchy, almost mange filled fur a massive open wound on his throat with patches of thick scar tissue. Can he even emote vocally anymore? A frown forms on his face as he stares at him, M/n is weakly mouthing out words but seems too dehydrated to speak. He can see the words 'not real' being mouthed out. Garp feels a rage that he can't act out. 

"I'm here." He murmurs softly as he crosses the room. Kneeling down. Garp already knows that he'll be a monster if it means his grandson gets to be free. M/n tries to smile. It's a poor attempt at it, as if he's forgotten how and Garp can only feel a wave of anguish. Even like this M/n knows his grandfather loves him, a true the boy never seemed to have questioned, even after decades of being owned. Still, there's something there in the way he watches Garp as if he knows on some level that his grandfather won't save him because he is a marine. Garp is not the kind of man who does selfish things that go against the greater good he pushed so hard on Luffy years ago. 

M/n never begs. 

Only smiles at him. 

His grandson, who went through all of this and assumes Garp is damning him for the rest of his life smiles and fucking accepts it because he loves his grandfather. 

He is seventeen, a few days away from eighteen if Garp remembers the date they made M/n's birthday, and he is certain that he'll break if M/n says any of it out loud. 

"Luffy is still in Windmill Village," he says casually as he moves. The seastone cuffs and chains fall to the floor, a hand rubbing M/n's wrist gently, and his eyes are glossy from trying not to cry. "He won't set sail without his first mate."

A choked sob escapes M/n, raspy, it obviously hurts. 

It should have been obvious after seeing both Luffy and Dragon that Garp's blood was selfish and chased after what it wanted without batting an eye, no matter what it cost. Luffy and Dragon had to have gotten it from somewhere, and who had been the one to chase Roger across the seas like a rabid hound? 

A sob escapes his wayward grandson and Garp wipes his tears. 

"I can only give you this one chance," he keeps talking to keep himself from falling apart at the seams. "The entire world government will call for you to be either killed or recaptured." 

Ugly, painful, and raw. 

"It will feel as if the entire world has become your enemy, boy. Don't ever let them catch you." 

A beat of silence.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner that I can't do-" 

M/n lurches forward, starved and weak, yet arms with the strength of the desperate wrap weakly around him. His grandson is trying to stand on his toes to hug him better. Garp knows they are working on borrowed time, yet he can't help but hold him. M/n is too thin, too weak, too damaged, and he has failed. But he can only hope this is enough. Maybe in this moment Garp is sobbing along with his grandson missing the days where he was a mere cub begging for pirate stories and waving sticks around like toy swords, but who can say? 

And, his grandson pulls away, slamming Garp in a wall so later he can lie and say he was caught off guard by an unexpected escape. 

His grandson is gone with the wind, which blows stronger than it has in decades under the lofty moon. 

-

"Make way for the scourge of the mountains!" The newcomer shouted as M/n looked away for a second to stare at the man, trying to press himself further down on the barstool to look smaller, only to get distracted by Luffy putting two different shaped fruit down on their plates. Nudging M/n and gesturing for him to pick which one he wanted. One a deep purple, almost normal besides for the swirling patterns on it, but the other one was far stranger. Those eye patterns seemed real. Almost as if it was watching. 

"Which one do you want, Lu'?" He mumbled out softly, the other pausing before pushing the one with the eyes towards him. M/n blinked at the strange fruit. Noticing Luffy take a bite, he forces himself to ignore the unease about it. Taking a bite and almost wincing. It tastes rotten. Like bile or something long since forgotten, Luffy keeps eating his, and M/n swallows the first bite without a grimace. It doesn't taste good. The next bite is easier with something sweet finally reaching your tongue. 

"So you call yourselves pirates, eh? First time I've seen pirates, you look like a sorry lot to me." The man said as he walked through the tavern to approach the bar. Shanks' crew had fallen silent, all watching the newcomer and the men behind him, yet none of them had stopped eating or drinking yet. Makino tensed when he finally rested a hand on the bar, having recognized the man as Higuma the Bear. A mountain bandit that had grown far more rowdy since Luffy's grandfather had gone back to sea. "We're mountain bandits. Oh, don't wet yourselves. We're not here to bust up the place. Just sell us ten barrels of your finest, and we'll injure only the bare minimum." 

"I'm sorry," Makino spoke, keeping her voice light even though the slight tensing in her shoulders suggested her discomfort. "We just ran out of liquor."

"Hm, that's strange. What're all these pirates drinking?" Higuma pointed out with an annoyed glare towards the closest pirate, which happened to be Shanks. "Fruit juice?" 

"It's true, they are drinking liquor. I just served the last of it." 

"I feel kinda guilty. I guess we drank up all the liquor. Sorry about that." Shanks said with a laugh as he reached for an unopened bottle with a grin. "Why don't you have this? It's still unopened." 

There was silence as Higuma watched Shanks before smashing the bottle without a word. Silence fell over the bar as Luffy and M/n tensed up while Makino covered her mouth with a hand. 

"What do you take me for? You can't make a fool of me!" He snapped, glaring down at Shanks who was looking at the spilled liquor and glass shards on the floor. "What good is one bottle?" 

"Oh my," Shanks murmured out with a frown. "What a mess."

"Look at this," Higuma said coldly, reaching into his coat to pull out a wanted poster which displayed a picture of him as he looked down at Shanks with a glare. Not noticing how M/n shifted to be fully hidden by Luffy, orange fur puffed up, while Luffy shifted to better cover the other. "My head's worth eight million Beri. I'm a wanted man. I've killed fifty-six people. Mostly fools like you. Watch yourself if you're fond of breathing. If you're smart, you'll sail away from here, so I never see you again."

"Sorry about this mess, Makino." Everyone froze as Shanks got off the stool and kneeled down in front of the mess with a frown on his face. Picking up one of the larger pieces of glass to better examine it. Completely ignoring the bandit. Luffy frowned while M/n tilted his head to the side with a puzzled expression. "Give me a rag and I'll clean it up." 

"Uh...don't worry about it..." Makino tried to say before yelping and scrambling backwards when the bandit drew his sword and swung it. Sending everything down in a crash of shattered glass. Coating Shanks in bits of food and spilled booze. "...!"

"So, you like to clean?" He mused as he looked down at the red-haired captain with a scoff, as if Shanks were beneath him. "That ought to keep you busy for a while. Hmph. Farewell, cowards."

As the group spilled out of the tavern, the pirates remained silent as they heard the last bit of conversation come from the group of bandits.

"No booze! That's an outrage!" 

"Let's go to another village."

"Captain, are you okay?" Makino asked, voice almost frantic as he darted around the bar to kneel in front of Shanks and better examine him. "Are you hurt?" 

"I'm fine. No harm done." Was all he said with a sigh before almost of the crew burst into laughter. 

"Cap'n, he got you good!" Lucky Roux howled with glee and Shanks followed suit while taking off his hat, seeming to make sure that it wasn't damaged. 

"You think it's funny?!" Luffy suddenly snapped, causing everyone to look towards him while M/n tried to tug at the back of Luffy's shirt.

"Lu', calm down..."

"Huh?"

"He made you look like a weakling! Why didn't you fight him?!" Luffy started yelling as M/n tried to pull his back. Fur puffed up and looking twitchy compared to how he usually was. "Sure, they outnumbered you, and maybe they looked pretty tough, but what kind of man lets himself be treated like that then laughs about it?! You're a disgrace to all pirates!"

"...when you grow up maybe you'll understand, kid." Was all Shanks said with a fond smile on his face as he placed his hat back on. "He just got some booze on me, that's all. Needless killing doesn't make you a man."

"See Lu'," M/n tried to say before squeaking as he was now getting pulled in the other direction by the boy suddenly moving. "H-hey!" 

"Hey, where are you going?" Shanks asked looking slightly surprised by Luffy suddenly trying to leave.

"To go find a real role model!" 

"Hey!" Shanks said, reaching out to grab Luffy's wrist, yet the boy kept walking. Everyone in the tavern went silent when Luffy's arm stretched with the sound of pulled rubber filling the air. 

"WHAT?!?"

"His arm's stretching!" Shanks hissed out, eyes widening and then narrowing a moment later as realization began to sink in. "Does that mean...? Did he-" 

"He couldn't have!" Yasopp snapped out as the rest of the crew began to panic.

"What's wrong with me?!?"

"Calm down, Lu'!" M/n yelped out, trying to get the other to stop panicking as Shanks noticed the floor was starting to be littered with clumps of orange and black fur. 

'M/n's...fur...?"

"It's not here! Wait! Both of them are gone!" Lucky Roux shouted out as he opened a chest the pirates had brought in with them earning a panicked shout among the pirates. "The devil fruits we took from that enemy ship!" 

"HUH?!"

"Luffy, you didn't eat those fruits, did you?" Lucky Roux quickly stammered out as he held up a book with drawings of the two devil fruits. 

"Yeah, I ate it for dessert." 

"He ate that one, and I ate the other..." M/n mumbled out, shrinking in on himself at the realization that Luffy hadn't just given him some strange fruit, but rather something he stole. Still, he pointed to each fruit as he spoke to show who had eaten what.

"It didn't taste all that great, though..." Was what Luffy added with a nod. 

"That was the Gomu Gomu no Mi and the Yume Yume no Mi! Both of them are fruits of the devil! One of the secret treasures of the ocean!" Shanks snapped, grabbing both and pulling them closer, the action causing even more fur to fall free as he ended up shaking the two children. "Luffy, if you eat that fruit your entire body becomes made of rubber, and since both of you ate one, that means you two will never be able to swim for the rest of your life!" 

"Wha-?!" 

"You idiot!" Shanks shouted before both he and Luffy screamed when the shaking caused all the orange and black fur to fall off revealing a fresh coat of purple and gold.

-

You're halfway through the city, almost to the docks, when the sound of yelling gets loud enough to hurt. Mass panic takes over. You're almost running on all fours at points. Desperate to get out of here and your body is moving faster than you had ever thought possible. Or maybe you had just forgotten what you were capable of? But for now, all you could do was run. Finally, free of those damned chains. All because of gramps. He wouldn't be able to help you anymore, but you wouldn't ask for anything else. People were starting to actually scream as someone was starting to chase after you. A frenzy forming. Spots on the ground you were touching glowed or changed colors. Your abilities were running wild after being in seastone for so long, faint forms half made and mostly see through as they danced along. Taking their own paths away from you. There isn't much time before an admiral or someone caught your trail, if not something worse than that. 

Someone lunges. 

There's someone further behind, and with them the air is cold. 

Too cold.

Instinct makes you roll out of the way with a panicked snarl escaping your lips before it turns to a feral yowl as someone grabs your tail. Firm, almost like steel, grip tight enough that something cracks and gets crushed. A yowl turns into a raw scream as that voice echoes from somewhere behind you. 

"Don't you dare damage it!" 

Of course, you should've known that he wouldn't care if you got hurt as long as you weren't broken. If you could heal correctly from it, then it didn't matter. Physically or emotionally, you were just something to be owned. Fucking obvious. Your claws scrap at the ground as you're pulled back with another yowl escaping you. This was bad. Both are good at physical combat, if you had to guess, given how confident they both seem to be about getting so close to a mink. While the one lagging behind seemed to be the reason why the air was so cold, making your fur bristle, and the entire world almost tips over as you finally get fully pulled back. Your claws dig deep enough into the ground that it hurts. Your hands are bleeding. This man's hands are firmer and his scent is something different. Wild. Like you, almost. As you get dragged even closer, the air feels so cold that it burns at the parts of your skin without fur. Yet it isn't too bad. It can be ignored. You have fur for a reason. You force your body to twist in a way that makes everything sting and hurt. Kicking backwards, letting go of the ground to slash backwards, and you feel the resistance of flesh as blood stains your hand. This small opportunity is enough for you to take off. 

This wasn't how you assumed your escape would go. 

Your tail is aching. Hurting worse than it has in years, but you can get over it, just like how you can ignore that your body is ice cold. Doesn't matter. Forcing yourself to race on is all you can do. The simple reality of the situation what that if you allowed yourself to be captured again, then you will never escape again. You'll die in chains. Gramps will have risked everything for you only for it to not matter. 

Then something hits you hard, sending you flying through the air like a paper ball being thrown in the wind. Not even able to scream in pain when you crash through multiple things in the base. The impact doesn't stop. After breaking through something that felt like metal, you can't even hear the wind going past you, vision turned black, and all you could register was how cold the air was. You really want to vomit, but you can't even breathe properly and the idea of vomiting feels like risking it. Drowning in your vomit feels like the worst way to die. Yet you can't help but feel worse than you have in years. Everything hurts, not entirely new, but you feel like everything is so close yet so far. As your hearing comes back, you're left listening to whatever you're currently on give way and the next thing you land on feels weaker, but your fall is slow enough that it doesn't break. Whatever it is, seems to be slowly rocking back and forth. 

...as if it was resting on the water.

To prove you right, a small splash of salt water hits your cheek and you immediately feel sick.

How funny. 

Then again, everything was funny to the fool, right? 

The pain and salt water combine in a way that it takes all you have to pull yourself into a sitting position, maybe even more than you have, and yet you force your claws to rip the rope tethering you to the port. None of this was going to be wasted. It wouldn't be in vain. No, it couldn't be. Not after spending what felt like decades as someone's owned pet watching others die and fuck up. Left knowing that in the face of the Celestial Dragons, no one was untouchable. You were thrown from buyer to buyer and each one of them passed you along till you ended up where you were now.

Yet despite all your anger, the world is still moving as your boat slowly drifts off. 

The world gets quieter. 

It feels strange to be on the open ocean after so long as well as hard for you to be angry while slowly leaving everything you'd been stuck in. As a kid, you had loved the ocean, yet had been afraid of the deep water. Till today you'd been kept in chains so much that you had almost forgotten that the ocean was real. Now you're left with the air slowly warming and the tang of salt heavy in each breath you took as the waves continued to crash against the rowboat. You end up laying in the small wooden casket you've chosen to trust. Left occasionally looking back and forth as you try not to black out just yet. The ocean is vast. Endless blue as you get further away from everything else. 

You never loved the ocean as much as Luffy, did you?

No, not really. 

Besides, the ocean only loves those who haven't eaten a devil fruit. You did. So the world rips away the ability to swim, it rips away the water, and it leaves you wanting. A thrum of power in your frame. Despite the ache in your tail. Despite how much all of it hurts. You ate a devil fruit so now you're something unnatural with those eyes watching you in your sleep. Left knowing that reality has changed. 

You can love the ocean till the world ends, but it doesn't love you back. 

...what a joke. 

You never cared for the ocean half as much as the future pirate king.

Must be hilarious. 

...so, why aren't you laughing?

-

"Hey, Mr. Fishmonger! Give me some fish!" Luffy chirped out loudly as he and M/n, following slowly behind him, while moving to set the basket he was holding on the counter of the shop with a happy smile on his face.

"Hey, rubber boy! Why are you in such a good mood lately?" The fishmonger said with a laugh as his assistant nodded to M/n who took the opportunity to settle by the counter and start pointing to the types of fish they were supposed to get for Makino. His now golden claws gleamed slightly in the light as he happily nodded as the assistant started to grab different cuts and fish. "The pirates set sail without you and M/n today, you know? And you guys won't be able to swim for the rest of your lives."

"It doesn't matter. If I sink like an anchor, then I'll just be a pirate that never falls overboard!" Luffy said, completely unbothered by the threat of the ocean now forever looming over him and M/n. Grabbing the sides of his face and stretching them to show off his new powers. "I'm glad I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi just look at what I can do!" 

"And what about you?" The fishmonger asked as he looked at M/n who stiffened up at being suddenly addressed. "What did that fruit do to you?"

"...um...I'm purple...?" M/n offered up, not seeming that sure himself, while Luffy proudly nodded as if that was amazing.

"And you two think being gawked at because your freaks is a great thing, huh? Well, this village doesn't need any more idiots, sonny!"

"Good morning, Mr. Mayor!" Luffy chirped while M/n moved to hide behind him at the sudden yelling from the town's mayor. 

"For the last time, both of you, I won't allow you two to become pirates! It'd make the village look bad! Now, the captain's not such a bad fellow, but you stay away from those pirates!"

-

The world goes in and out of focus the further your ship sails. You aren't sure how long each blackout is anymore, but every time you do focus back on the world around you, even the sky feels different. How did you forget? The entire world, even if all you have now is just the sky and sea, is so colorful. Each time you woke up there were so many colors embroidered like some fancy outfit or maybe the patchwork blankets Makino would make with whatever scrap fabric she would have lying around. She'd give them to you and Luffy growing up. You can't quite remember what they felt like anymore. Not as soft as your fur, less plush and silky, but smoother, right? Maybe the sky was like that? Would the skies feel soft and smooth to the touch?

How did you come across a tapestry so fine?

There's a part of you that almost hopes the ship will hit something and take you down with it. Just let sleeping dogs lie. It feels like you never stop taking and taking. Gramps had risked so much to get you out that even the idea of giving up seemed so selfish. You wake up yet again. This blackout was longer given how hungry you are, vision still blurring, but it seems like it was raining. You open your mouth to drink as much as you can. There's not enough, but enough that you can keep going. Or at least you think so. Sitting up, you watch fish swim by the ship, and let the tips of your claws glide over the surface of the water. Taking the moment to look up at the stormy sky.

But what is this? 

Burning holes in the stitching till all the colors were nothing but a mess of grey. It looks messy. Ugly, even. The rain is wet on your skin, which seems obvious in hindsight, yet you can't help but marvel, even if the colors aren't as wild and vibrant as they were before. Was this the world you had been missing out on for all those years? Feels bad. To think about all of that and the realization that you might let the fabric fray. Purple dances in your vision, a sign of your powers, and all the world almost feels to fade as it coos and sings. 

'And though I'm one of them, rarest of my kin, many fell but only I arose,' it whispered like some far off song. Your tail twitched at the words. Too tired to really think about whatever it meant. You assumed that some part of the Yume Yume no Mi just allowed for such things. An occasional sight or sound that wasn't actually real. Just some part of a dream. 

"You know, it's been so long since I saw the world, the sun, so who's to say if the colors are right? I mean, what if they faded?" You muse, letting your voice echo in the storm as you look back down at the water. The voice is silent after that. You think for a moment it won't keep talking and you'll be left alone on the water yet again. 

'Where do you stand, child of man and beast? Virgin journeys lie before us, patient and inscrutable.' It laughs and you cock your head to one side. Ears perked as you waited to see if it would say anymore before falling silent, and it seemed talkative today. More than it had in months or years. Your devil fruit must like freedom, too. 'They line you up at the palace of reality and demand. They demand for sacrifice, so I laugh and praise them, because between all us fool who but I am suitable?'

You manage to spear a fish with your claws and rip it apart and eat it raw. Barely anything. Not enough. You feel a familiar want for more and then anger because if you were better, you'd be home already and Luffy would smile. Did you even remember that smile anymore? You aren't sure. The question makes you stiffen up and feel ill. Maybe the fish was poisonous? Forcing yourself to ignore the sensation or whatever whispers were in the back of your mind or even the memories of finally getting food, only to throw up with blood on your tongue. The memories are better smothered and you find yourself blacking out again. 

The world is forever churning beneath a sea of eyes that never blinked. 

"And what do we have here?" A voice, deep and raspy, fills your ears after you wake up after what feels like days of being dead to the world. There's a weight on the ship that threatens to tip it over and your vision is blurry before you realize that you've hit land. The small wooden frame is pressed against sand. Looking up, your reflection is slightly warped in the red lens of the man's sunglasses. His head is cocked to one side with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Your claws extended to full length, and you slashed them at his face, so close to your own, desperate to put some distance between yourself and this man in the pink feathers. Laughter rings in your ears. 

You blink.

And you're alone. 

-

"The pirates have been out at sea for a long time," Luffy mumbled out, and M/n looked at him with a head tilt, fluffy tail twitching back and forth. Though the mink hybrid seemed far more interested in the cup of warm milk Makino had given him. The woman behind the bar tilted her head to look towards the boys as she continued wiping down glasses. 

"Do you miss them, Luffy?" Was all she asked with a knowing smile.

"After the way those mountain bandits humiliated them? No way!" Luffy huffed before resting his chin on the surface of the bar with a pout as he looked at the glass, now empty besides for a few loose ice cubes that were half melted. "I really misjudged those guys! I thought they were brave and tough, but they're really just a bunch of wimps."

"I miss 'em." M/n mumbled softly while Luffy was speaking earning a laugh from Makino.

"Are you sure about that?" She said carefully, in much the same gentleness as how she set the clean glass down to grab a new one. "Maybe sometimes it takes more courage not to fight?"

"You just wouldn't understand, Makino. A real man has to stand up for himself, no matter what." Luffy grumbled, earning another laugh from her.

"Is that right? I guess I don't understand."

"That's right. You don't."

"Make way for the terror of the highlands!" All three people in the tavern jolted at the doors suddenly swinging open. Luffy just looked over in confusion, Makino tensed, and M/n silently jolted with his fur bristling. Higuma walked in without batting his eye. Leading his men behind him as he glanced around the mostly empty tavern with a slight smirk on his face. "No pirates today, eh? Smells better. We were in the area, so we stopped by."

Everyone takes a seat at the tables scattered throughout the building. The silence and tension carries as Makino visibly glares when the man props his feet up on one of those tables. He only laughs and meets her gaze without any concern.

"What're you waiting for? We're customers. Serve us drinks!"

-

The place you've docked in is some massive kingdom bustling with life, colors, and sights that give you a headache. Windmill Village was a quiet place and you remember bandits and the jungle in the same way you remember the sun. As something blurry and caught more in a dream than something you could honestly say you had lived through. Makino was someone who you remembered in hazy bits that didn't add up to anything major. A smile, a soft voice, and a strength that didn't present in her looks but rather in character. You didn't know what color her eyes were anymore. Luffy feels clearer in the grand scheme of things, but still, you can't recreate those details. 

People and toys roam this place in piles and packs, sparing you brief glances as if you were the weirdest thing here, and they're probably right. Toy soldiers and animals when you're a bit of human and animal. Not quite cute enough to keep for long, yet special enough that it took your future away and never gave it back. Making you the thing that was left wandering the world until he found his way home. You think if you weren't human and mink, you'd be a gun. The trigger jammed when someone was cleaning it and leaving the gunsmith wondering if it had been jammed when the person using it had needed it most. 

Somehow you find someone that shows you a place to take a quick bath and they wash the straightjacket you always wore. There's a part of you that wants to burn the thing, but it fits and actually looks halfway decent when you put it back on. Some part of it is almost comforting when you get it back on. The slight pressure of wearing something designed to press down on you is a feeling you think you'd miss the day you finally decide to stop wearing it. 

You think of the East Blue and Luffy. 

No matter what it led to you'd find your way back home. 

You knew the costs and risks from day one. 

So you deserve anything that comes your way.

What a fucking shame.

-

"Mayor! We've got a problem!" Makino shouted as she slammed the door open, causing the older man to jolt and stare at her wide eyed.

"What's wrong, Makino?!"

"It's Luffy, M/n, and the mountain bandits!" Was all she said in explanation to him before racing out the door and back to the town's center. 

"P-put him down!" M/n hissed out, only to yelp as he was kicked aside, followed by Luffy angrily trying to punch the leader of the bandits while dangling in the man's grasp. The hybrid made a strangled hiss noise as someone grabbed him from the back of his neck.

"You've got a strange body, boy." One bandit spoke as he looked at Luffy with a slight narrowing of the eyes. "Our punches and kicks aren't hurting you at all." 

"Both of them are weird. I mean, look at this one. He's got a tail." Another said with a scoff as he tilted M/n back and forth, earning a panicked growl.

"Hey! We gotta help them!" One of the townsfolk hissed out, ready to stand up before the man next to him grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him down.

"Are you crazy?! Those mountain bandits would kill us!" The man snapped as he looked back at the crowd of bandits with a frown. "Besides, Luffy's the one that started the fight!"

"Damn you! You'd better take it back!" Luffy snapped despite the hand on his throat and Higuma using his free hand to see how far Luffy's cheek could stretch. Ultimately unbothered by the boy's threats. "You jerk!"

"There sure are some weird creatures in the world, eh, rubber boy?" Higuma said with a laugh as he let go of Luffy's throat and threw the boy to the ground by his cheek earning a pained yelp and a panicked hiss from M/n. "I've just discovered a new lifeform. And I'm sure whatever this other one is would be uncommon, even on the open seas."

"Damn you! I'll make you so sorry for this!"

"Maybe I'll sell you both off to some freak show? I bet they'll pay good money for the complete set."

"Boss, we should keep the cat. Least he's quiet." The bandit holding M/n said with a laugh causing Luffy to growl and shoot to his feet. Grabbing a stick and lunging at Higuma again with an angry shout.

"You stubborn little brat!" And M/n yelps when Luffy gets kicked in the head and goes down again. "I was just drinking and talking to my men. I didn't say anything to offend you."

"Yes, you did! You better apologize!"

"Curse that Luffy!" One of the townsfolk hissed from their window as they watched the scene unfold. "Why'd he have to pick a fight with those guys?"

"Move your foot! You stinking mountain ape!"

"Let the boys go! Please!" Everyone turned to the mayor, who had Makino behind him, yet before any of the bandits could speak, he fell to a full bow on his hands and knees. "I don't know what Luffy and M/n did, and I have no intention of fighting you people, but if it's money you want, you'll get it. Just don't hurt the boys!"

"...mayor...?" Luffy mumbled out and M/n twitched at how much the other was offering for them.

"Nice try, old man. You know how the world works, but I'm afraid it's too late. No one can save these brats now." Higuma said with a smirk, clearly unbothered and self assured that no one could touch him in this moment. "He's done the unpardonable, he attacked me, and he called me names. I can't take that from this little rubber spined freak!"

"You started this, bandit! You mountain macaque!"

"That does it. I'm not gonna sell you." Higuma hissed as he unsheathed his sword and held it above Luffy's pinned body. M/n began to struggle harder, ignoring the harsh blow to his head as he tried to get free. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Luffy!"

"Please forgive him!" The mayor shouted while grabbing Makino's arm to hold her back when she had been about to shoot forward to help the boys.

"Nobody came to greet us at the harbor. I was wondering what was going on." The crowd was left scrambling to get out of the way as a familiar man in a strawhat stepped forward with a hand resting on the hilt of his own sword. His expression calm, almost amused as he smiled at the sight. "Oh, it's you mountain bandits again!"

"Captain Shanks...?" Makino gasped as she moved out of the way, a hint of relief on her face as he casually walked in front of the mayor.

"Luffy, I thought your punch was as powerful as a pistol." He mused, voice teasing as Luffy twitched from his position pinned beneath Higuma's boot.

"Now now, Cap'n!" Luffy snapped out with a glare.

"Lu' means help would be nice!" M/n weakly called out, earning a soft laugh from Shanks.

"Hmph. You pirates are still here? Taking a break from your cleaning duties?" Higuma mocked as he watched Shanks step forward with his crew behind him. "I don't know what you want, but you'd better back off before you get hurt. Come any closer and we'll have to kill you cowards."

Yet Shanks only walked forward till a bandit moved, a single click filling the silence when he took the safety off the pistol now aimed at Shanks' head.

"Didn't you hear him?! Don't come any closer or I'll blow your head off!" He said with a laugh as the other bandits joined in while Shanks merely tilted his head to the side to look at the gun pointed at him.

"You're putting your life on the line by pointing that at me," was all Shanks said, causing the other to freeze and blink.

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"I'm saying it's not safe to point guns." Was all Shanks said bluntly before there was a bang and the bandit's body hit the ground in a heap. Lucky Roux was holding the still smoking gun but seemed more focused on biting the meat he was holding than the body left behind.

"Wha-?!"

"Now you've done it!" 

"What've you done?! That wasn't fair!"

"Fair?!" Yasopp said with a laugh, clearly finding that phrase to be little more than a joke before Benn Beckmen spoke up.

"Stop whining, landlubbers! You're not dealing with saints here." 

"We're pirates and we don't play by the rules." Shanks added on with a hint of a glare starting to appear as he watched the bandits flounder.

"This was none of your business!" One snapped out as the captain approached the group with a frown.

"Listen up, you can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me, you can even spit on me. I'll just laugh that stuff off. But good reason or not, nobody hurts a friend of mine!" Shanks snapped, causing both Luffy and M/n to freeze up in shock at those words. 

"...friend...?" Luffy mumbled out before the laughter of Higuma cut him off.

"Nice speech, very intimidating!" He said with a shake of the head as he gestured for his men to attack, sending a surge of bandits at the crew. "You pirates spend your time floating around in your little ships. And you think you can stand up to mountain bandits? Don't make me laugh! Kill them!"

"Cap'n, I'll take care of this," Benn said calmly as he moved forward with a hand resting on his gun, yet when a bandit lunged all he did was side step the sword's swing. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, Benn pushed it against the man's face and twisted. Not at all bothered by the bandit hitting the ground and wailing as his hands covered his eyes. "Next!"

The next man who charged him went down when Beckman swung his gun like a baseball bat and there was a sickening crack when it made contact with his skull. Pointing his gun towards the rest with one hand as his other lit a new cigarette, he slipped between his lips with a loose match. Completely unbothered by the bodies at his feet, both writhing in pain.

"You were saying something about mountain bandits and pirates?" Beckman asked as he watched Higuma step back as he looked at his men on the ground and the pirates all standing there unharmed. "If you wanna fight us you better bring a battleship."

"Wow, he's strong!" Luffy chirped out while M/n remained silent. Eyes on the blood pooling on the ground.

"Wow..."

"But...that brat started it!" Higuma stammered out, still keeping Luffy pinned beneath his boot.

"Doesn't matter. There's a price on your head, isn't there?" Shanks asked as the other tensed, but before the red-haired captain could take another step forward Higuma threw a smoke bomb to the ground earning a series of shouts.

"C'mere brats!" 

"Hey, let go!"

"Lu'!"

"Luffy! M/n!" Shanks yelled out before immediately panicking when the smoke cleared and he didn't spot either child or the bandit leader. "Oh no! I let him escape! We've gotta save them!" 

"Calm down, captain! We'll all go out and look for them! We'll find them!" Lucky Roux said as he tried to calm the frantic captain down.

"Hm. Cap'n," Beckman said, drawing Shanks' attention to the open waters.

-

'I'm off. Do your best to behave while I'm gone.'

You wake up with the words of your last owner ringing in your head and the familiar anger that comes with it. Five weeks since you left Dressrosa still in a rather small ship, but with a few bags and pink feathers tucked away safely. Yet you still feel the anger brewing as you curl up more on the ship's floor and try to ignore the urge to break something. He had always been like that. Never saying goodbye, but instead reminding you to behave like a disobedient pet. Never said anything else, and you never expected it. All that same rambling that seemed to be more of a waste of air than anything useful. 'I'm off' and 'Do your best to keep things in order' all added to even more useless rambling. As if you were anything but an item and acting like he was the husband leaving to go to work and you were just a little spouse to be sitting there waiting for him to return.

It pissed you off. 

The whole thing pisses you off.

Nowadays you thought assumptions like that or the idea that you can't ever speak as if you'd lose to be foolish and unrealistic. It didn't matter if you lost. A battle was one thing, the war was another. You had lost dozens of times before you'd gotten free and now you didn't plan on making the same mistakes. No matter what anyone says, you're not dumb enough to bet on losing dogs. There's no such thing as a front as you trace your claws along the grooves of wood in the ship, and unlike Luffy, this isn't genuine, you're just desperately trying to believe your own bullshit compared to whatever reality actually is.

Sitting on a boat slowly drifting through the ocean reminds you of back then. Less stressful than when the bandits were in town, but you could almost picture the East Blue's calmer waters. An easier time. The idea of being scared of something like deep water seems absurd now. For as much as the ocean hates you, well, it isn't as if you can live with it. Left playing the universe's shittiest game of chicken with the entire government. 

'It isn't as if I need any help.' 

As if. You weren't some spouse, pet, or slave. Even if you were captured again, you didn't plan on ever playing cute little pet that kisses your owner on his cheek and sits there waiting for him to come back. Honestly, you just hope if you ever do get caught that bastard will have dropped dead, and you get stuck with someone else. 

Because that was the life you chose, and clearly this is the game you've chosen to play. 

Then again, maybe next time if you do see him you'll just get it over with. 

-

"What a brilliant escape! And nobody would ever expect a mountain bandit to hide out at sea!" Higuma said with an almost mad laugh as he stood at one end of the ship. M/n was hidden behind Luffy, shaking like a leaf, while the rubber boy was angrily glaring at the bandit. "You know, I brought you along as a hostage, but I no longer have a use for you. At least the cat can be sold for something if I find the right merchants. Just leaves you. I've already killed fifty-six people who were foolish enough to make me mad, what's one more?"

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted out, trying to throw a punch before he was kicked off the boat and into the water. M/n wailed in shock and panic before attempting to jump in the water to go after Luffy, earning an annoyed hiss from Higuma who reached for him and managed to grab the boy by the scruff.

"Tsk...stay still till we're back on land." He murmured out before sighing and shaking his head. "Goodbye brat."

'Jerk...' Luffy mentally thought as he found himself sinking lower and lower into the water. It felt like everything was being drained the longer he was in the water. 'That guy is scum, and I didn't even get one punch in! Damn it!' 

His mind went back to what had happened in that bar.

"Did you see the look on those pirates' faces? I broke a bottle over his head, and not one word of protest! How pathetic!" Higuma had said with a loud laugh as his men all shook their heads and laughed alongside him. "Cowards like that make me sick! I wanted to kill him! Pirates are all talk."

"Take that back!" 

"Huh?" Higuma looked over in confusion as Luffy tried to charge at the mountain bandit leader while Makino and Luffy had each grabbed onto him to prevent him from moving.

"Luffy! Stop!"

"Take back what you said about Shanks! He's not a coward! Stop talking bad about Shanks!"

"It's not worth it, Lu'." M/n mumbled out as he held onto the other with a panicked hiss. "Shanks wouldn't want us to do this."

And Luffy's mind was brought back to the present by M/n's wailing on the boat when something started to rise out of the water as the mountain bandit laughed. Gleaming red eyes and a dark greyish brown skin as the man spun around with a panicked shout as his laughter died. Not even fully registering M/n's claws ripping into his wrist to get him to drop the boy onto the floor of the boat.

"What the-"

And that was all he said before the entire boat was swallowed whole by the massive sea serpent. Broken wooden boards hitting the water alongside thin trails of red hitting the water and mixing with sea foam. M/n's form was a purple blur as he jumped into the water. Unintentionally going in the opposite direction as Luffy as he hit the water with a shocked hiss. The creature whipped its head back and forth to look between the two children as if sizing up which it should eat first. Slowly it looked at M/n and looked as it was about to lunch at him before suddenly freezing as it stared at the half drowning mink hybrid before suddenly recoiling. Almost as if scared. 

"Somebody help us!" Luffy managed to call out when his head was above water. Right as the creature seemed to get over its fear and move to eat Luffy, instead something grabbed both boys in a blur of motion and pulled them into their chest. Looking up, Luffy let out a shocked gasp at the sight of the man. "Shanks!"

"...Shanks is here...?" M/n mumbled out, the sea water seemed to have a more extreme reaction on him then Luffy. 

"Get out of here!" The red-haired captain snapped at the sea monster, which halted the beast as it watched him with a low snarl before its eyes widened and it dived back beneath the water with a snap of the jaws.

The waves slowly settled.

"Luffy, I'm sorry. Makino told me what happened. You stood up for me." Shanks said with a laugh and gentle smile as the toy boys realized the situation. Yet he only managed a soft smile at the pair. "Hey, stop crying. You're a tough guy, remember? You too, M/n! It isn't like you to be so loud!"

"B-but Shanks..." Luffy sobbed out as M/n hid his face in the other boy's shoulder to not look at the grisly sight. "What about your arm?!"

"It's a small price to pay. Just an arm. I'm glad you two are okay."

That moment changed the pair completely.

Luffy and M/n understood why Shanks wouldn't take them out to sea. The dangers of the sea were simply too great, and they were not yet strong enough. But most of all, Luffy realized what a great man Shanks was. He vowed to be just like him one day.

-

You aren't sure if you've been taking months or years to get back to Luffy anymore. 

But you're starting to hate it. 

You just want to see Windmill Village again. Not the coast of Arabasta or Dressrosa or any other island you had stopped at during this long journey back home. Right now you just undocked from the coast of Arabasta and you were certain that you were starting to get close to home. Still, after spending enough time in the sandy country, you decided fairly quickly you were not a fan of deserts. Or manual labor. Well, you had never been that fond of labor, but in a desert, it might as well be a form of torture during the day. Your fur was not designed for such hot days. But you made it to the coast, didn't you?

That's how you view labor at the end of the day. You can do it just fine when needed, but it all starts to blend. The place where you had been hadn't had much use for farmers or miners, but you had worked in gardens and decorating before. Gardening was the kind of thing where if you did it for a week, you could zone out for thirty years and not have missed a thing. Like a waking dream. 

No buyer, no name, so they work you over and over again until some fancy auction takes place in which they'll clean you up and then put you on display till you're bought or overlooked. Then you're stuck with a new form of work until they trade you off. It's delightful to be popular among the world nobles. Enough that a few groups trade you as a trophy. 

Gardening was probably the best, though. 

There was something to be found in sitting outside or in a greenhouse working on flowers for those perfect families and their perfect lives that wouldn't be seen in those massive homes. The sun was something you knew could be taken away just as easily as it was given, yet it was time where your mind could race. Pluck, harvest, water, rinse and repeat, just change the measurements for each plant. Some are poisonous, a few actually eat meat, but you knew how to handle them. It had been years since you were a kid who couldn't get the clippers to fully close on a thick stem. 

Yet your mind used to wander to places like the doctor's office, chemicals, and medicine. All with a bored tilt of the head. Bullshit, you didn't need to know in the grand scheme of things. To be fair, you were much more interested in the arts, anyway. Those big rooms are full of the expensive paints and charcoal. A few times you would sit at the feet of some noble woman as she painted, while a different group of slaves would play her music as she worked. You curled up at her feet like a pet and every so often she would reach down and scratch behind your ears. Almost every slave is given a role from the very beginning. Yours was decided early on as well, being considered for the more physical side of things. Certainly not designed for something as soft as the arts. 

There was always a sticky layer of pulp and plant juice stuck in your claw sheaths. 

Sometimes her husband would have you stay in his office. 

Your fur was always sticky when you were allowed to leave that office. 

All you can do is clip another plant with your claws. 

There's never enough to be done because these people don't need hard work. If they let everyone stop working, the rest of the world would be scrambling to care for them as if they weren't nobles but rather babies needing a mother. It makes you feel sick. All of them are richer than gods and terrible all the same. Those bubble helmets remind you of how they all function and every time you see them, all you want to do is just pop them. Let them breathe in the air and see if it kills them. 

That lady is probably still drawing, and he's probably still in that office.

Yet you're free.

You couldn't tell why you were upset. 

-

"So you won't be coming back to the village after this voyage?" Luffy asked Shanks, M/n's form further back as he watched the pirates unpack while perched on a barrel that had yet to be moved. The red-haired captain cocked his head in thought after the question, one foot lazily tapping against the wooden dock.

"That's right. We've been using this harbor as a base of operations for a long time. Maybe too long." One hand absentmindedly went up to where the stump of his left arm was heavily wrapped beneath his coat. Squeezing the area as if to make sure that he had really lost the limb. "Are you sad?"

"Yeah, I'm sad," Luffy said after a moment before grinning at Shanks. "But I won't ask you to take us with you! I've decided to become a pirate on my own with M/n!"

"It wouldn't do you any good. You're still too little! M/n too!" Shanks said with a laugh. "There's no way you two can become pirates!"

"Oh yes, we will!" Luffy yelled out, attracting the attention of everyone around him. "One day I'll have a ship and crew better than yours! And we'll have the biggest hoard of treasure in the world! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"Hm, you're gonna be better than us, huh? Well then," Shanks grinned as he took the strawhat he wore off of his head and moved to place it on Luffy's head. The boy's eyes widening as he felt tears beginning to well up as Shanks smiled down at the boy. "Do me a favor keep this hat safe for me? This hat means a lot to me." 

Luffy opened his mouth with no words escaping his lips only a shaky sob as Shanks turned to walk back to the ship. Looking over his shoulder and smiling at Luffy's shaking frame.

"Promise that you'll give it back to me someday when you've become a great pirate." As Shanks walked up to the ship and started boarding Benn was soon at his side, a lit cigarette in his mouth as he watched M/n dart over to comfort Luffy. The hybrid was clearly crying as well. "What do you think?"

"That kid's gonna make something of himself. Both of them." Benn said simply, as if stating fact. 

"Yeah. Luffy acts just like I did when I was a kid," Shanks mused, a softer smile on his face as he thought about something long since gone. His eyes darted to his first mate before he suddenly laughed. "And you claimed I was going soft. You were giving M/n a pep talk, weren't you?" 

"Well, he's going to be first mate one day," was all Benn said with a laugh as the sails were raised. "Someone's going to have to keep Luffy in check when he becomes a captain."

"Weight the anchor!"

"Raise the sails! We're off with the tide!"

And the wind blows them away.

-

You would assume that you didn't have what it takes to join the marines. Maybe it was from a lack of loyalty? Because it was expected in the navy and you would certainly never be loyal if Luffy wasn't there with you. Or maybe because you were part mink? Hard to say. Not like you would be asking Gramps for a place in his fleet any time soon. 

The wind keeps blowing. 

Absolute loyalty and being impossible to defeat are the expectations of the navy.. 

You see an island appearing on the horizon. 

You had been loyal. Even when you didn't need to be because, honestly, you had just been dragged into things through circumstances that you hadn't been expecting. No one had been able to break you from Luffy, no matter what they did or how hard they tried. All those years passed and you were still stuck in Windmill Village with a boy that wore a strawhat as if his life depended on it. A smile so bright and addicting that you would have been willing to forsake the sun after so long of being kept in the dark. Luffy is the sun, warm, in all that he is and isn't. That's a simple fact. 

Gramps had said he was still waiting for you.

There's a lone figure on the dock by a small ship. 

He wears a strawhat. 

The wind only stops when you dock and fall into his arms. 

Luffy is all laughter. Self assured and confident that you were always going to come back to him. A first mate to the king of the pirates. Even though there was no proof when the rest of the world must have assumed you dead. There was no way anyone could have known. Maybe Gramps had told him? But you doubt it. 

You don't even realize how mentally exhausted you are till the world goes black. 

The moon sets for the sun yet again as the wind settles. 

-

Pink was a color that clung to your world now more than ever.

Pink feathers, a pinkish red tint of glass, pink like drops of blood mingling with water or staining white fabric even after being washed.

Pink is the color you think of when you hear Dressrosa.

Loud clubs and a nightlife that always nearly gave you a headache, but never enough to really make you want to leave. Only complain about how the land of love and passion could learn to be a little quieter. Learn a little bit more from Windmill Village and the quieter side of life where living toys would be little more than myth. Makino's tavern had felt more loving than a low tavern or nightclub, but you admitted the drinks were better quality. Then again, you just remember Shanks and his crew drinking rum like it was water. It wasn't as if you were the one drinking it back then.

He'd been a breath of fresh air that night.

The entire building changed the moment he walked in, a subtle shift in the air, like everyone being jerked by an invisible string and made to dance. Bow their heads, clasp hands in thanks, chime out with praise. It was clear if this man wanted the world, they would hand it over if only they could. You knew people were easy to control. How quickly the right person could snap their fingers and even the most noble would fall into place to follow their orders. The world is completely different if you know how to get people to do what you want, and better yet, if you know what to do to all those that try to defy you.

Donquixote Doflamingo.

He's so much like them from how he carries himself that it hurts. Something raw and primal burning beneath your skin when his head tilts in your direction. You aren't sure if you want to kill him or something else. He towers over you. Your height had always been enough to make them seem so small even if they put their hands on you, inside, and made you bleed. Because you could hurt them. You aren't sure if you could hurt him in a straight fight. 

First drink. You think of him as charismatic with something deeper. Like those waters you were so terrified of as a kid. There's the threat of drowning in waters you can no longer swim in. Something scary. The threat of it when he's being nice. You can play nice for a little while and make it seem real if that's what he wants. 

Second drink and you're looser. Nodding along to some story he's telling, which paints it as if the world was made for this man in sunglasses and feathers to take whatever he wants. His hand is so large when it rests on your hip in a way that no other man had held you. Doflamingo is like no one from your past. Older, crueler, and with a casual sense of self importance that no one in Windmill Village had. His hands are a threat. You don't know how or where the threat comes from, other than the obvious, but instinct demands you keep attention on those hands. One at your hip and the other holding a glass that seems almost comically small in his hand till they bring him one clearly meant for him and him alone. That was the joke. Despite everything, that heat in your body was far more than you could understand. You liked it. 

Third drink and you were stealing sips of his from the man's own lips. You aren't sure when it changed from a teasing tension between the two of you to something real, but you realize you like this. A lot. The way he talks and acts suggests he could bring the strongest to their knees, just like them, and it comes with the crushing realization that everything about him that marks him as someone you should stay away from. He's older, self assured, and you enjoyed it all. Being appreciated by a man who could make the strongest dance like he was god deciding fate was something you wanted. All that time being owned had been one thing, but to have someone so quick to give you the attention the people who literally bought you never did was addictive in a way you couldn't explain. This was a man who acted as if no one could defy him and live. 

What would he do for your attention?

And what level of attention would you reward him with for each action?

If you could make a man like this kneel for you, then wouldn't you be strong as well?

-

"Well, they're finally setting out, eh, mayor?" Makino mused, expression soft as here eyes followed the boy slowly moving away from the dock. Something tender in her expression as the older man stood next to her. "And only a week late. Though with M/n's return, well, guess I can't blame them too much for taking a bit of time. Still, I'll miss those rascals."

She didn't dare bring up how haunted the mink hybrid's eyes were when she had first seen him again, or the puzzled look that had appeared there.

"But if they do become pirates, they'll bring shame to the village." The mayor grumbled and Makino gave a laugh and elbowed the man in the side to get him to loosen up.

"I never thought he'd do it!" 

"Let alone that M/n would be here with him!"

Yet no one can deny how the wind blows.

"Wow! It's a good day to set out to sea!" Luffy laughed, all bright and gleaming like the sun above, and M/n nods his head in agreement. Throat stinging enough that he doesn't bother talking at the moment. It doesn't seem to bother his captain at all. Which is good. M/n remembers being quiet when they were kids and back then Luffy had never demanded more conversation than M/n was willing to give. It lingers in a way M/n decides he likes probably as much as he did when they were both kids, if not even more. His claws rest on the side of the boat as he hums absentmindedly.

The ship they were on was smaller than what M/n had arrived on, yet Luffy seemed to not want some special advantage in much the same way he told M/n three times over not to spoil anything. M/n had only laughed at that. It was so Luffy it hurt. A reminder of the world he now had in his clawed hands. His tail was mostly resting on the floor of the small boat, with Luffy doing his best to avoid stepping on the furry limb. At least with him here Luffy had picked a boat large enough to hold more than just him and a barrel considering the hybrid's height.

When the water starts to ripple, waves rocking against the boat hard enough to threaten tipping it over, M/n feels a familiar spark of fear. Yet he wasn't sure if it came from the idea of deep waters, a fear he considered long since forgotten over the years, but there was a slight hint of something else there. Luffy. Both of them were devil fruit users, which made the waters a threat he didn't want to consider. M/n couldn't help but hope as the boat kept rocking that the next crewmate they found was someone who could swim. It would be a small comfort to know someone could pull Luffy out of the water if he fell in. His thoughts go elsewhere when a familiar grey form emerges from the water. The Lord of the Coast was something he had remembered despite the many years that passed to the point that M/n could still taste the tang of salt water and iron in his mouth when he thought about that day. 

"Hm, thing's still alive?" He mumbled out, having assumed that Gramps would have killed it given how many times people had probably complained about the ancient sea king that hunted the waters around the village.

"Our local sea monster! Sorry I have to do this, but here's an attack I've been perfecting since the last time we met!" Luffy happily spoke to the sea king as it opened its mouth to attempt to devour the ship and M/n raised an eyebrow. Curious to see what exactly Luffy had been doing while he was gone. The other hadn't mentioned much, which didn't surprise him, as Luffy was someone who lived in the moment rather than the past. Or maybe M/n was simply too much of a coward to ask about that day and the aftermath? After all, he hadn't seen or heard a single thing about Ace or Sabo since he arrived here. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" 

M/n felt a wave of interest in how Luffy attacked and the sickening sound of rubber hitting the sea king's scales as he leaned forward to be against Luffy's back. Noting how Luffy handled the recoil by rubbing his arm M/n rested his own hand over the spot to lightly press. Eyes narrowing in thought as he took in who and what his friend had become after ten years of being gone.

"That's what you get, you damn fish! That was for Shanks!" Luffy cheered with a laugh and M/n hummed in agreement the tang of iron in his mouth as he remembered what happened that day and the blood that had turned the water red. The mink hybrid leaned over more to watch the creature slowly sink back into the water. 

"Nice one, Lu'," was all he said, his claws scraping against the wood when he had to adjust to allow Luffy to sit back on his lap. An action that the rubber man didn't seem bothered by, so he made sure he didn't show any negative reaction to it either. Only getting comfortable and allowing his captain to do the same. "You really got strong while I was gone."

"Told you so!" Luffy said with a laugh, grinning, and M/n thought back to those blurry memories of the past. Was the grin the same? It felt the same, but M/n couldn't say for sure. His expression calmed as he watched how Luffy reacted to him. How trusting he was. 

"And that move is called pistol?"

"Yup!" Luffy just nods, all smiles, and M/n remembers a brief moment from their youth. He'd always claimed his punches were like a pistol going off and that had probably only gotten worse if Gramps had taken some of his time to train Luffy. 

"So, what's next, Cap'n?" He asked, remembering how Benn had referred to Shanks, trying his hardest to mimic that seamless conversation the other had done. 

"Next? Hm, first thing first, we've got to get a crew." Luffy said, expression thoughtful, one hand absentmindedly tugging at the thick fur growing around his neck. "I think about ten men should do it. What do you think?"

"Ten? I guess that would be good. Especially as a starting point," he said with a nod as his tail moved to rest over Luffy's legs as he adjusted to be comfortable. 

"And we'll need a pirate flag!"

"Of course."

"Just look out world, here we come!" Luffy shouted out, causing M/n to jolt slightly at the sudden noises before Luffy pulled him in closer with a loud laugh. "And I'm going to become King of the Pirates!"

And so the wind blows them onward. No crew yet, but an entire world awaiting them. 

The sun overhangs the moon.

-

"You don't have to leave just yet," his voice is husky from the rough night and it sends a pleasant shiver down your spine. A thigh is hooked somewhere over your stomach as easily as a chain to hold you in place. You consider it. Thinking over the situation as part of you really wants to press yourself more against his chest and drift back off to sleep. Apparently, you take too long to say anything because he huffs at being ignored, shifting his weight over more, so his knee is now keeping one of your hips pinned to the bed. The power in his legs sparks both the soreness in your hips and the pleasant warmth when you consider how he'd kept you tied up and rode you hard. Those thoughts get cut off by him fully moving to be sitting on your groin and, despite how spent you feel, your body reacts as he sinks down. The angle is strange. Head and temples half pressed against the pillows with still drying tears and drool running down your face. You must look sloppy.

"I know." You murmured out as he began to adjust his position. Not giving you any motion till he's certain that he's comfortable. A casual sense of power and control in everything he does that makes you hungry. "But I have to leave, eventually."

"Not yet," Doflamingo says in answer, the contact between the two of you almost sweetly done. Enough to linger and get lost in like a waking dream. It makes you lax more into the contract as he obviously wanted. Another day, another night, another week. It was always a little bit more from you. He wanted you. That was exactly what you had wanted, and it was just as addictive as you had feared, despite craving the sun more and more each day. Your tail was half wrapped around one of his legs. 

"You keep saying that," you muse softly as he grins, tongue partially hanging out of his mouth. He lifts up his hips slowly, one hand resting on your shoulder, and the motion is easy. This is the first round of the morning, yet both of you are so overstimulated that it feels overwhelming. He never makes it past the tip before he sinks back down in the slow motion as his hips occasionally shook. Doflamingo was hiding it better than you. 

"You came right when Dressrosa is at its coldest. If you leave now, no one will keep me warm." He never took his glasses off, so all you see is your reflection in the tinted lenses, but he angles his head like he's staring at his hand. You haven't even grabbed hold of him yet.

"What a shame," is what you say in return. "I bet someone would take my spot." 

"None of them are as warm as you've been."

"You aren't even that cold to the touch."

"I feel cold," when he says that you listen because there's a hint of something deeper in his words. You don't know what it means, but it carries weight. "I always feel cold."

"..." You watch him before placing one hand on his hip as he keeps moving. All of his motions are never full bounces, but they feel so good that you're starting to pant. The room is still dark with the deep reds of the curtains preventing much light from slipping in. Every breath causes new shadows to form and shift. The dip of his Adam's apple is a spot that you want to bite even as, once again, your breath begins to grow unsteady. You like Doflamingo. This is the first time you've been with a man like this. Where you get to say yes and enjoy it. "I guess I can keep you warm for a while longer."

You managed to get your other hand to hold at the base of Doflamingo's spine since he hasn't tied you in strings yet. Not that you would complain about that. Still, you feel outpaced. Left tracing the line of his spine as his hand grips your throat. Not enough to scare, but to thrill. 

"That's not the way you should respond to me," he says with a laugh. You can feel him bounce down hard and it makes your entire body shudder and the moan you let out is hitched. It shouldn't be this extreme. His hole is still leaking cum, all slicked up and so easy for you, though it feels like he isn't used to your size or the barbs, but you don't hold that against him. "You make it sound like this is some obligation."

"Mhm..."

"You know, most people don't know that riding is all in the hips. Not bouncing, but rolling." The change in topic is followed by his hips moving in a slow, sensual arch. You give a full body shudder and the sound that escapes is almost a sob. His walls clench when he does it, as if he's already trying to milk you dry yet again. "A virgin your age wouldn't know that, would they?"

"N-no...th..ey wouldn't..." You manage to get out as he keeps rolling, leaning forward with the motion so your chest is brushing slightly against his own. Most of his weight is now pinning you, but you have no desire to even think about escape. With every roll forward, he places kisses on your neck alongside bites that leave drool against skin and fur, starting to add a slow up and down movement to it that makes your cock throb inside him. His own cock is leaking and bumping against your abdomen with each motion, but his strings suddenly constrict around you. Forced in place. Tears starting to run as it gets so much better when he goes faster and you want to rut but can't. 

"Let me keep you for a while longer," Doflamingo murmurs so gently against your ear after this, you're so close to cumming, and you almost nod, but can't. 

"...yes..." You sob out, but before you can cum he's suddenly off of you, the strings let go as he moves across the room. Completely naked as you sit up, cock so hard it hurts, and mind left struggling to pick up the pieces of what just happened. "...?" 

"Join me in the shower," he beckons with one finger, your eyes trace the veins in his hands, and beads of your arousal drip from your cock onto sheets likely worth the price of a home. 

You don't reply with words as you follow after like a puppet on strings. 

-

"Wow, what a great day! The weather's so nice! Who'd have thought this voyage would end in disaster so soon?" Luffy said with a laugh as he and M/n watched the giant whirlpool form so close to their ship. The hybrid was trying to use the paddle to get the boat further away before his ear twitched and he lifted it out of the water to see it had been cleanly snapped in half. With a silent frown, he seemed to just give up and throw all of it into the water. Ears flat and tail puffed up. "Hard to believe we're getting sucked into this giant whirlpool. Maybe I was a little careless?"

"...I think it's just bad luck..." M/n murmured with a frown as they were getting pulled further and further in.

"We could really use some help, but there's nobody around." Luffy said with a frown as he looked around befor focusing back on the water. "Oh well, can't be helped. Down we go...too bad we can't swim, too."

"...swim...?" M/n asked while looking at the approaching whirlpool.

"Hm? Oh, you're right! What was I thinking?" Luffy laughed and hit his open palm with a closed fist as he grinned happily. "In a giant whirlpool, it doesn't really make a difference if you can swim or not!" 

And their boat was swallowed whole by the rapid waters. 

-

Your hands run down his back, finding purchase at the curve of his hips, which makes him coo in satisfaction. Something about the way he looks and the slight motion of his body rocking against you makes your chest hurt. A warm sort of hurt. One that you think you can find enjoyment in. Or perhaps one that you can learn to love with time, if such things can ever be loved, but on the other claw you're certain that your mind is broken enough to love this given time. He always looks so content when he's riding you. You're starting to think that this is his favorite sex position, but you also remember how much he liked you on your knees between his legs, so you're just guessing. Still, a part of you wants more, especially when his strings aren't keeping you wrapped up, and you aren't sobbing and whining. You aren't sure if you love or hate how easily he can make you shatter in his grasp. It feels nice to let go like that and he seems to enjoy it. You twist his larger form off of you, pinning him to the bed, and looking down at his face.

He's beautiful in ways that you don't quite understand. Long eyelashes that are such a fine blond they seem almost white in the lighting of the bedroom when you catch glimpses. Despite all his muscle and power, he's still leaner than expected, maybe because of his height. Doflamingo is alert the moment you moved, but he shows no sign of concern or alarm. Only grinning. The weight of all this attention carries when you get to see your reflection on his sunglasses. Something ugly is inside you, starting at your heart, and racing up your throat till it hooks your tongue just as easily. You only feel uglier in these moments and your fangs throb in your mouth. Claws resting on the curve of his hips, you push backwards, rocking your hips as you angle yourself to be pinning his haunches. Straddling him in whatever way you can.

He seems almost amused by you and part of you can't help but wonder if he can see the ugly parts of you. Does he like them? Did he cause them? Why are they still there? Yet he's silent for a moment, only stretching out as if lax, and your cock isn't inside him. His arms are long enough that even in this position he keeps his wrists lazily on your shoulders. His smile softer than what he wears in public. You wish he would just point out that ugly thing making up so much of your being.

Your claws nearly dig in as you stare at his skin, tanned from a constant sun, so unlike your own, which was pale at the moment from a lack of light. The time spent here is helping, but a part of you worries you'll never look healthy again. As you roll your hips, your eyes move down to the faint blond happy trail and golden stud at his navel. He has plenty of those. Jewelry and piercings. He clearly loved the finery he wore. Still, it was a small thought, nowhere near as annoying as the ugly parts of you but still you found it strange he even had a navel. It meant this man who seemed so much larger than life had been born and nursed. Instead of showing up fully formed like a God which suited the way he acted and held himself. There are times where you remember Makino and Gramps telling you in hazy memories how Luffy had found you and there are days where you wonder if you had ever had parents or just appeared. Does he think the same? Or is he just another beast? Born and raised by fellow beasts like you were. It doesn't make sense. Yet he watches you look at his stomach and hands without a sign of weakness even when you're buried inside of him. One of his hands move up to trace the line of your neck, as if tracing the ugliest parts of you, with an occasional tug at the thick fur there. He gets closer to you, rubbing against your jaw, and underneath your ears like he was the mink hybrid trying to scent you.

Your pulse feels like it's in sync with his.

Despite not crying or being overworked by him currently, you're still left thinking that you're too close. Too much is happening, and you feel overwhelmed even though there's no reason to think so. Your motions are slow and grow unsteady. Half tempted to pull away, which he seems to pick up on.

"Hold on," he murmurs, a faint hum escaping his lips as he leans in even closer, pressing down on your shoulder blades. His body straightening out and forcing you to adjust your legs and your pelvis to press more firmly against his rear. "Don't slip away. Not right now. Stay with me a bit longer, won't you?"

"...don't..." You mumble out with a slight frown, hoping that your tone is warning enough, but his nails dig in deep enough to sting. Your own claws scrape against his skin and your tail twitched. Left staring at your own reflection as if it would give you any answers.

"Don't what?" His words aren't quite a snarl, but you can see a vein above the ridge of his brow. "M/n-"

"Just...don't say it." You feel like an idiot for wanting to snap at someone who treated you so good. Yet you feel almost afraid. You had heard a few whispers from the arena where people call Doflamingo overgrown and oversized, as if that's all he'll ever be. Looking at him you think all of that is a complete underestimate of a man that's far more. Yet you look at him and then think of yourself. Whatever Doflamingo thinks he sees when he looks at you has to be wrong.

"You're being unfair," is what he grumbles out, and you assume by his brows that his eyes are narrowed beneath the sunglasses. One wrist suddenly moving to tightly hold the base of your throat. His other hand holding onto your shoulder blades and tight enough that it feels like he's pressing against the bone.

"You've kept me here for longer than I intended," is what you hiss out, struggling to speak with the pressure on your throat, and your claws scrape against him. Fur bristling. But you realize you've over spoken when strings coil once more. For a split second you can see a glimpse of his eye in his sunglasses. He looks like he wants to eat you whole. His throat bobs when he swallows and he hooks his legs tighter around you. Pulling you in and grinding the head of your shaft against his prostate given how he gasps in satisfaction. Whatever he's thinking about is something you aren't sure you want to know. The angles of his face suggest a noble upbringing and he's a king in all that he is and isn't.

His expression in relaxed before he speaks in a tone you don't understand. "You're going to leave me here?"

You go still. 

Looking away and unable to pinpoint why you're doing it.

"Don't-" The words struggle to escape your lips and this ugly thing inside of you is making your heart race, hands making bruises in his tan skin, because his strings aren't stopping you from moving. Mind a senseless chant of 'what the hell' and left shaking slightly. "...why...? Are you cold?"

You want to curse because your voice doesn't sound right and his lips upturn and he nuzzles into your neck. Shifting his hands so one hand on the nape of your neck and he pulls you down to press kisses up your jaw. He heard the hesitation. Doflamingo's tongue laps at the corner of your mouth and when you open your mouth, it isn't a proper kiss at first. Rather him licking the inside of your mouth before pulling you into a passionate kiss. He's grinding against you. Hot and heavy. Your head clears and you pull away. He doesn't follow after you or even look upset. Merely licking his lips and seeming satisfied with the reaction as you move to get your outfit. Watching you with a smile as he lays back on the bed with no sign of covering up his groin. Arms crossed behind his head.

There's silence.

"You won't forget me, will you, tiger?"

"...you shouldn't think of yourself so lowly..." You say as you move to look at the many straps. "No one else could me cry that much."

Doflamingo looks at you as if he hadn't heard a fucking word. Merely smiling at you, dreamy, as if thinking of something far past you.

"...?"

The silence echoes.

"When you die, you'll think of me, won't you?" The weight to the question makes you stare at him in shock.

"What makes you think I'll just die, Doffy?" You ask, somewhat confused and feeling more than a bit threatened by the timing of that statement, and you're left wondering what does he think of morality. The concept of mortal life spans seems like such a strange concept in this room of finery. "Should I be scared?"

He's still.

"Doffy?"

Shoulders trembled and you watch the way he extends his arms over his head and stretches his fingers out with strings dancing around the room. Almost as if wings are extending from him or perhaps a spider's web. The vein in his temple becomes more pronounced. "Because you're the only person I've-"

He cuts himself off and tilts his head to one side.

"...?" You raise an eyebrow.

"Come back to bed." You sigh softly but walk back to the bed and sit down. "Now give me your hand."

You feel even more aware of the cum staining your fur and how messy that you are, but you offer your hand.

"Your left." He says after pressing a kiss to your knuckles and tracing one of your claws. You offer your hand and he switches with a coo. Like the actual flamingos lingering around the palace gardens. Doflamingo takes your fingers into his mouth, gasping and soaking them, and you freeze up. Wondering if this is just a method to get you to stay for even longer. He shifts so only your ring finger is in his mouth. He's grinning. Like a child getting presents. "Might wanna brace yourself, tiger."

"Brace...?" You finally look up at him, meeting his gaze as best as you could, wondering what exactly he means. Then Doflamingo suddenly bites down, clamping it between teeth, and grabs your wrist before yanking it down. The motion causes the bone to snap and break through the skin. Blood flooding his mouth and dripping down his bottom lip. "Wha-?!"

You jerk back, pulling away, but suddenly he moves closer. Clinging. One hand pressing down on the pulse point of your wrist, as he laps at the blood coating your hand and his mouth. The action is tender as he pulls you down to the bed and his free hand strokes your cock as he kisses the wound he made. His tongue pressed down and forced the bone back in place with the sound and flash of pain. You've experienced far worse that other than the shock you just blink and watch him. The pleasure, almost drowning out the pain, makes your hips rocked and shifted for more contact.

"You...?"

"Don't worry," he says so gently that it makes you blink. Tongue running over his bloody teeth as he gives that wound another quick kiss. "I'll make it better."

"You're insane...why the hell did you even do that...?" Is what escapes your lips when you look down at the wound. It isn't that bad. You've had far worse in the past. The main thing you hate is the idea of wearing a splint.

"I broke it cleanly. You won't feel anything once it heals," he says softly, despite the fact that you being injured isn't really the issue. You want to know the why. "It'll scar."

"I figured."

"Right here," he traces the rip in flesh. "Your fur will hide it, but I'll know. A scar right there."

"...why my ring finger...?" You ask before blinking and realization hits. "...really?"

"Better than a ring." That makes you think before you sigh.

"I think when I die it won't be a moment where I'm thinking of my life and specific people. I think I'll be dying and the world will fade. Like an animal. That's how death is." Without even thinking, especially when your eyes land down on the wound he's given you and the scar left behind, you can't bring yourself not to act. Suddenly slamming him down and pinning him. Hands around his throat. Tail lashing and when his strings move to coil around you, it takes only a second before your hands move and you bite down. His frame tensed completely as you both realize how deep you could dig your fangs in. All of his strings went still. You pull away, mouth coated in blood, and staring at him. Your chest heaving and he's staring at you. "Whatever you think of us doesn't mean shit if you keep it sealed up. Next time, make me cum before you break something."

He shudders slightly and you kiss him before you could let him catch his breath. When you pull away, his blood is staining him like lipstick and you can't help but adore how he looks at this moment. The action has made his sunglasses fall down the bridge of his nose. You can see his eyes. He's looking at you like he's seeing something for the first time.

"..." After a moment of silence, you tighten your hold and then slam his head back, even if it causes him to partially hit the headboard. He laughs and you grab his hips to make them wrap around your wrist and bury yourself inside him again. One claw hooking around an earring and he hisses with a grimace when you rip it free. He watches as you use that same claw to poke a hole in one ear and put the earring in. "There. Now we match. And your neck will scar like a collar."

"...I love you," he says with a delighted laugh and you realize he looks so smug for a second because he seems to think that even if you don't say it back that he knows the answer. He's right. You do love him in some sense, don't you? Is that the ugly part of you? Did he make you ugly?

"I was gonna sell the earring for the medical bill," you murmur as you stare down at him bloody and drooling as you rock your hips. "But you'll take care of me, won't you?"

“Uh-huaah.” He slurs out when you grab him and start fucking him properly, ignoring the blood gushing from his wounds in the same way you ignore the pain in your broken finger.

"I love you, too."

The night is a blur of tongues and teeth.

When you leave the room, he smiles and waves his fingers at you as you leave, and you can't stop yourself from smiling back as you go to his doctor.

-

Somewhere on an uncharted island...

"Why is there dust on my bulwark?" A woman's voice echoed on the deck of the lone ship next to the island as she swiped a finger over the railing of the ship. The crew of men going still at the sound of her voice and all of them began to openly shake and panic in a matter of moments.

"A thousand pardons, Lady Alvida! I thought I'd cleaned every inch of this ship!" One of them stammered out, hand waving, and his eyes widening in wild panic as he realized the situation. "I'll clean everything all over again! Please-"

"Please, what?" She asks cooly with a slight disappointed hum to her words that make him flinch.

"Please, not the iron mace! I don't wanna die!"

"Koby! Who is the fairest throughout all the seas?" She asked in a deep booming voice as she swung the club over her shoulder, the man's body on the wooden boards of the ship and its spikes dripping with spilled blood, and the pink-haired boy next to her flinched and kept his head lowered. Eyes wide and clearly terrified even as he gave the other a happy smile. 

"Why, you are, Lady Alvida! No one compares to you!" 

"Correct! Which is why I will not tolerate anything dirty! The ship I sail in must be as clean and beautiful as I am. Understand?" When he finally nodded his head at her words, she scoffed and looked down at him. "Remember, Koby, were it not for your vast knowledge of the seas, I would feed you to the sharks! But don't push your luck!"

"Y-yes!" Koby quickly nodding on his knees for her and looking up at her with a smile, despite the sweat running down his brow. "That's very kind of you!"

"Other than that, you're worthless! Here, shine my shoes!" Alvida snapped out, nearly kicking him in his face when she swung one shoe out in his face, yet he inched backwards, clearly used to those actions.

"Y-yes, Lady Alvida! Right away!" He said with a smile and grabbed a rag and container of polish to clean her shoes. The larger woman leaned back while adjusting the mace and looking around at her crew in a frenzy. 

"I don't want to see even one spec of dust on this ship!" 

"Aye aye!" All the crew cheered as they moved around the ship.

"That's enough! You're pathetic!" She snapped without warning, kicking Koby in the face and sending him down to the floorboards. 

"Sorry!" He said with a weak laugh as he rubbed his face. Glasses now with cracks in them and blood dripping from his nose and lip.

"If you've got time to grovel, then you've got time to scrub the toilet!" Alvida snapped as Coby bowed his head.

"Yes, Milady! Right away!" Koby said happily before turning and walking off the ship with a frown as soon as she couldn't see him. His voice was shaky when he spoke to himself once he was off the ship and his feet were on the ground. "...right away..."

-

There's a part of you sitting there wondering what kind of man he is before you even speak again. He lives his life so strangely that even two months off of Dressrosa you find yourself missing Doflamingo because you could understand him. Dracule Mihawk is what he says his name is. His island is as strange as the rest of him. You balance the bottle, one of many Doflamingo had given you before you had left, on your claws and watch him with a head tilt. He smells of iron and wine. The sea that hates you so is his domain as much as this place. Kuraigana Island. What a world.

"I don't get why you're back today," you say as you take another sip before gesturing to the small fire and cooking meat. "This is your island. Take some. Ain't like I poisoned it."

He regards you with a passive expression. "You're drinking and it isn't even past noon. Such degeneracy for one barely starting life. It reminds me of someone I know."

"If they're fun, then I'd be glad to be compared to them." Is what you say with a laugh, hoping that he either leaves or stops looking at you like that. You aren't sure you can bear the weight of those eyes. "This is my first one, ya know?"

"For now."

"I just want something to make my rest easier. Is that such a bad thing?" Your claws trace the glass as you look up at him. "I'll be out of your hair in a little while, I swear. I'm just tired."

"Do you not know who I am?"

"Yeah, I do. You said your name was Dracule Mihawk." A part of you can't help but watch his reaction with a blink because he frowns.

"And that's it?"

"I mean, you seem strong and you've got that sword, but right now, you're being nice." You drawl out as you look at him with a head tilt. "I'm not really well versed with people. Got kept inside too much."

"Is that so?" He says calmly, taking a step towards you. You're pretty sure you're taller than him if you stood up, but right now you did want to get some sleep and head out when it was darker. Or darker. Again, this island was your own form of confusion. How does he not miss the sun? You'd be chasing it till you fell apart if you lived here for a month, let alone years. A hiss escapes your lips when he swipes the bottle from you and holds it casually in one hand. "You should not make this a habit. You'll regret it later on. If you give it time, then you'll fall short of every claim you make."

"...I guess that makes sense." You murmur gently, tail twitching as you watch him take a seat at your makeshift campsite. He's a man you really can't read, and you never considered yourself bad at reading people. You could tell how bad your owners were the moment they bought you, but a man like this seemed completely different.

"Where are you headed?" He asks finally and you feel a strange shiver go down the line of your back.

"Why are you asking?"

"You said you're leaving and you seem to be on quite the journey." His eyes dart to some of your bags and then to your earring. Like he knows it. Claws twitching as you watch him stare at you so openly. "I wonder if you'll make it."

"I feel like you'd be able to tell if I'm lying." You said after a moment before considering it. "East Blue. Tiny place called Windmill Village."

"Oh?"

"Have you heard of it?" You ask that question with a slow tilt of the head.

"From someone I know. He said it was quaint." He watches you with that look you can't decide. There's a slight furrowing of his brows that makes you blink. "Why are you hoping to go all the way to the East Blue?"

"It's home, I suppose. That's reason enough." One ear twitches as you consider it before the next words escape your mouth without thinking. "I promised the sun I'd follow him when he set sail. So I'm going to find him again."

"He must mean a lot to you."

"He's my captain."

"..." His eyes are narrowed as he watches you for a moment longer before he speaks a bit more calmly. "You should rest for longer."

"And what is the swordsman with an equally sharp tongue offering me?" You ask, blaming the slight buzz you have on your sudden confidence. Your eyes lingering on the dip of his Adam's apple. He was sharp. Just like the sword when he unsheathed it, you could imagine that for sure, but you were hoping not to have to fight him. 

"A place to rest. You look like you need it."

"Rude," you murmur out with a soft huff. "I don't fully believe that."

"Oh?"

"I think you're lonely." He blinks at that as you observe him and the scent of iron that clings to him. "Or hungry."

"And that involves me inviting you to my home to sate my hungers?" He asked with what you assumed was amusement at your words. Part of you wants to rethink those words despite how casually he reacted to the statement, yet you were certain that there was a hunger in his eyes. Still, you can't help but wonder what kind of hunger men like him have. Is it the same as Doflamingo? How would it differ? "Wouldn't I simply ask for a challenge in that case?"

"Like a fight...?"

The look he gave you made it pretty obvious he considered you an idiot at best.

"...what?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Is all he says bluntly as your claws dig into the ground and your tail lashed back and forth in annoyance. "What challenge would I suggest if not a fight?"

"I don't know!" Was all you said with a hand wave. "Like an eating or drinking contest? I don't exactly have a sword...unless my claws could count...but even then...I don't know! Seriously, you're so straight forward like business is all you think about, and I've only had three conversations with you. But, yeah, if the offer is standing I'll gladly took a room for the night. Though you should still sit with me for a while. The view is nice, and the weather is...somewhat okay. I mean, for a gloomy place like this."

Mihawk settles and looks towards the water with a slow yet precise motion.

"I've lived here long enough that this view doesn't hold any interest for me anymore."

"And I do?" 

"I find any stranger who doesn't know of me interesting."

"A man could take those words the wrong way," you reply with a twitch of the ears as you moved to rip off a chunk of the cooking meat.

"Or a man could realize how his lack of knowledge may damn him," is the response he says idly. Eyes watching before he looked back to your earring and the packs you have. Lingering on a stray pink feather for a moment too long. Too knowing. "Especially when he allies himself with a warlord."

"I'm not aligned with anyone but my captain, and he ain't a damn warlord. No need to get your own feather ruffled." You said, and you moved to push the feathers back into the pack with a slight hiss.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Why would I lie?"

"People don't associate with Doflamingo lightly."

"Well, I do." Is all you say with a shrug.

"And what does it give you?" 

"..." You considered that statement with a slow head tilt. "Does it need to give me anything?"

Mihawk only regards you silently. The moment lasting for a bit longer than you expected before he silently cut himself a slice of meat. Eating it in a few quick bites as you waited for a reply before figuring he won't give you one. Taking another bite of your own cut, you kept watching and then spoke up again a few moments later.

"He keeps me invested when we talk." You finally say after considering the situation. Not yet willing to admit to all the things you thought about yourself and the ugly parts of yourself that Doflamingo saw and seemed to like just as much as the rest of you. It all was something you didn't know how to unpack, let alone with someone like this man staring at you.

"And that's all?" 

"What do you think it is?"

"Your left ring finger is crooked." He finally says with a head tilt. "You sometimes look at it as if you're not used to it. That's a fresh injury."

"Somewhat." 

"Fresh enough that you're still getting used to it." 

"Yeah, yeah, it is."

"Did he do it?"

"I'm not some abuse victim." Is what you say quickly at the remark. The question held weight as if on some level he was feeling pity for you or perhaps concern. You aren't sure which would be worse.

"Then was it an accident?" 

"Nope. And honestly, it isn't that big of a deal." 

"Speak for yourself. I doubt many would agree."

"Have you never had any fun?"

"Do you expect me to agree with you on this?"

"..." You watch him, unsure of what you were expected to do when he's looking at you like that, but finally you scoff. "You wouldn't get it." 

"Then I imagine there's something wrong with it."

"...it was a sex thing." You blurt out and he blinks and looks almost appalled for half a second. "What? Isn't that better than whatever abuse scenario you had created in your head?"

"I find it appalling how you think that sounds any better. Or that I would somehow find it less abusive." His eyes are on the sea for a moment longer.

"I don't like being looked down on." Is what you say. Suddenly moving to be next on him with your palms on his knees because some part of you is so desperate for him not to look at you with pity. You aren't some broken thing that's been used. You're an ugly thing that found a brief moment where that ugliness was celebrated by someone. Claws twitching, but making sure his pants won't be torn. He doesn't seem shocked as you speak calmly. "I know what abuse is. I know what rape is. This isn't some situation where he took advantage of some wide-eyed virgin, okay?" 

You wonder if this makes it worse.

"You seem desperate to prove your point."

"...fair enough." You huff, looking away as your tail twitched back and forth, and then speak again with a slight sigh. "Tell me about yourself. You keep making it sound weird that I barely know anything about you, so tell me about you." 

"There's not much to tell."

"That's clearly a lie." You tap your claw against his chest with a slight head tilt. "Don't be humble. People know you. They clearly do and you talk about Doflamingo like you know him on some level. That's big." 

"A fair assessment."

"People don't associate with him lightly." You throw his own words back at him.

"I was not lying when I said there wasn't much to tell."

"You reek of iron." 

"Merely a few fools I encountered that I dealt with accordingly. Nothing special. You'd find more lambs on the water these days than wolves." He says plainly as he watches you. "I didn't even unsheathe Yoru."

"And you seemed surprised I called you hungry." Are the words that escaped your lips with a small laugh as you grin at him with sharp fangs. "You're bored." 

"Okay." He said in agreement before leaning past you to get another cut of meat while you blink in surprise. Did nothing phase this guy except some random bit about sex? "There is little satisfaction one can find in a victory that's assured. A rabbit in a snare isn't something you remember in a year. I'm bored, as you put it. Are you happy enough that you know you're right, or should I tell you about the boring journey I had to return home?"

"Wouldn't mind it." You said with a thoughtful hum. "It'd be nice listening to you talk. You've got a good voice, ya know?"

"Flattery gets you nowhere."

"Really? I mean, you're still sitting with me, aren't you?"

"You're an intruder." 

"Then why aren't I bloody or dead by now?" 

"You're harmless, if delusional," Mihawk says with an even expression.

"Or you like talking to me?"

"You think too highly of yourself."

"Rude, and I don't agree." There's a slight pause as you inch a bit closer and tap the bottle he had first taken from you. "So, are you going to drink that, or am I getting it back later?"

"Did Doflamingo give this to you?" 

"Yeah," you say as he examines the bottle. "Why?"

"He has horrible taste."

"Really? I liked it well enough."

"It's common booze."

"I saw how much he paid for it. That ain't common." You say with a grimace at the thought of that being considered cheap. "Why is it common?"

"It's common for nobility. You'd find better comfort in a bottle of wine."

"Of course you'd be a wine guy."

"Meaning?"

"It's posh." 

"And is that an insult?"

"Only if you take it as one." 

Mihawk seems to consider those words before he casually takes a sip from the bottle, and you can't help but linger on how his lips part when he drinks. He doesn't pass it back to you. Your tail twitches as you watch him with a frown. "I find those who don't speak their mind annoying."

"Huh. Figured you'd prefer quiet people." You say with a slow blink as you consider the situation.

"And you're a normally quiet person?" 

You consider his words for a moment longer before silently shrugging and then grinning at him. "Hard to say. Though I was enjoying the view."

"If you want a view, then look towards the water."

"Not the kind of view I pay much mind." Is your retort, yet you look back towards the ocean, mentally wishing you could take the bottle back and get one good mouthful before he finished it off. Still, your eyes keep darting back to a thin bead of sweat running down his neck and landing in the dip of his Adam's apple. He's the kind of man you can't understand. Not now, at least. Just looking at him, there's a part of you that knows he's probably made of stronger stuff. You wonder if he'd burn you up.

"So, how long do you plan on lazing around for a view you don't even care for?"

"Long enough, I think." You said as your tail twitched. "Was just a bit tired and wanted to catch up on my sleep before heading out. Why? Am I taking too long?" 

He stays silent, and you watched him. 

This is the kind of guy eager for something. 

"If I'm boring you, then do you want me to fight you or something?" You ask, more just to see if he finds it funny, or maybe just to see if he's really that combat focused or secretly wanting you for something else. Either works. 

"You won't give me a challenge." 

"Cause I don't have a sword?" 

"Because you lack combat experience. I can see it in your eyes." He says it simply as if nothing you have could ever hope to entertain him. There's something so annoying about a guy who acts so high above everyone else. He'd mentioned a friend, yet you're really starting to wonder if anyone hangs around him. 

"So what if I do? I could spar with you or something. Isn't like I'm completely worthless." He doesn't say anything at that. There's no point in pretending that he'll give you an answer simply because you want one. "If you make me a better fighter, then you'd have fun."

"Eventually." His eyes narrow. "Yet you planned on leaving soon."

"Ocean's a big place. Not like we can't meet up again."

"And you'll fight me then?" He doesn't sound like he expects an answer and you aren't sure you have one. There's this glint in his eyes that suggests he could kill you, and maybe he will if you don't somehow win him over. The way you're dancing on some fine line makes you want to get away from this gloomy place as fast as possible, just in case the man across from you is gearing up for a fight.

"I'll at least be entertaining." Are the words you blurt without even thinking about it because you feel like you have to say something.

"Entertaining?"

"I bet you'll be happy to see me again." You say, ears pinned back as you feel like he's treating you with kid gloves, which is annoying enough that you want him to get slightly mad. "You'll miss me."

"I doubt it."

"Well, when we meet again, you can tell me if I was wrong." You said simply as he watches you before silently rising to his feet, causing you to blink in surprise. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I grow weary of your dawdling," he says calmly with his voice not hinting at any real weary feelings as he puts it. Honestly, you think he's just saying this to be an asshole. "Stop stalling. Either come with me or prepare to leave the island by nightfall."

"If I do, then will you show me some tips and tricks for fighting?" 

He doesn't say a word, but starts walking. Without even thinking, you get up, grab your stuff, and follow after him. Mentally wondering what kind of man Mihawk would be after a few more conversations. Desperate for a little bit more. Or perhaps you were just hoping that you could make a better impression of sorts. That you wanted Mihawk to look back on you as a person and not just think of some poor teen down on his luck that allowed himself to be used and abused by men like Doflamingo cause he was a weak idiot that didn't know better.

"If you do teach me anything about fighting," you start talking as you walk behind him, noticing how calm his movements were, and wanting just a bit more than what you were first given. "Then what would it take for you to say my name?"

"Be entertaining, as you put it." He sounds amused.

You can do that.

-

"What's that, Koby? Did a barrel of rum wash up on the beach?" One of the older crewmates looked at Koby's smaller frame, rolling the large barrel to the on land storage room. The pink-haired boy looked up and gave a nod, despite panting slightly from exhaustion.

"Y-yeah. And it's not empty. I wasn't sure what to do with it." Koby could already see a glint in their eyes as they stepped back to allow him to push the barrel into the small room. Noting the other two members starting to perk up at the idea of a full sized rum barrel that hadn't already been accounted for.

"Well, I know what to do with it! Let's drink it all up!" The leader of the small group said with a laugh, causing the other two to look towards him with conflicting expressions. 

"But if the captain finds out, she'll have our heads!" 

"She'll never find out!" One with a bandana wrapped around his head said with an annoyed groan as he rolled his eyes. "We're the only ones here. Just Koby and the three of us know about this."

"I guess you're right."

"And you ain't seen nothin', right, Koby?" The one with the bandana said as he glared at Koby, who stiffened up.

"Right! I-I ain't seen nothin'!" Koby quickly said as he raised his hands up with a nervous smile. Clearly trying to ease up the situation at hand and make sure none of the three men were upset with him. "Please don't hit me..."

Before they could grab a crowbar to pry the barrel open, it began to shake and almost bounce in place, causing all four of them to stare. It began to bulge before it finally burst completely, with pieces of wood scattering around the storage room like shrapnel. Revealing two figures, one shooting upwards like a loaded spring as the other, a massive furred form, uncoiled as if he'd been mainly pressed down to the bottom of the barrel before it had burst.

"What the devil-?!" Someone yelled as the male in the straitjacket rose to his full height while the smaller male in the strawhat laughed with an infectious grin on his face.

"That was a great nap!" He bounced on the balls of his feet as he spoke with the other moving to be behind him. One massive clawed hand resting on the much smaller male's waist as the long fluffy tail he had swished back and forth. Taking a moment to stretch out before snickering to himself. "Hm, looks like we survived somehow. I got so dizzy I thought I was gonna barf!" 

"...I didn't think the barrel would last..." The other spoke in a deep raspy voice that caused Koby to stiffen up and inch backwards. An instinct telling him to get as far away from this man as possible the moment he saw those unnatural eyes. The one in the red vest only laughed, moving to lean into the touch, while not seeming at all afraid. It didn't make any sense. 

"Hm? Who are you guys?" The man in the strawhat tilted his head to the side as he looked to the crewmates standing there staring at him. Neither of them seemed to have noticed Koby yet, and he could only hope it stayed that way. 

"Who the heck are you guys?!?" The three pirates snapped out while staring at the odd pair, who blinked in confusion at them. Completely unbothered by getting yelled out.

"What were you doing in there?" The one with the bandana snapped out as he reached out to grab the red vest of the smaller. A faint snarl escaped the lips of the larger one, whose ears went flat as he stared down at the pirate, but didn't get to actually move before a sudden shout and the sound of things being smashed.

"Back to work, you scurvy dogs!" Alvida yelled out as her iron mace smashed through the building and sending Luffy, M/n, and Koby flying while the other three were on the ground groaning in agony as the large woman approached. Her footsteps a solid thud as she was soon standing in front of the heap of collapsed pirates as she picked up the iron mace. "You lazy swabbies! Who's the fairest throughout all the seas?"

"Lady Alvida! You are, of course!!!" They all were quick to say and force themselves to their feet on shaky legs. 

"And you dare to defy me?" She snapped, leaning down to get in one of their faces with a scoff.

"W-what?! Never! Not in a million-"

"Don't play dumb with me! I could hear you talking all the way from the ship! Which one of you had such a great nap?!" Alvida snapped as all of them froze up at the phrase, clearly remembering the exact moment the one in the strawhat had burst out of the barrel. 

"Uh...captain! We have an intruder!"

"Yeah! That good for nothin' Koby brought those strange fellas here!" The one with the bandana spat out as he waved his hand while Alvida narrowed her eyes in thought with a frown forming on her lips as she absentmindedly clenched the end of her mace.

"What?! Could he be a bounty hunter after the price on my head?" Alvida asked, expression thoughtful before she scoffed and began walking back towards the ship. "Koby! You traitorous little runt!"

"But the only bounty hunter bold enough to come here-"

"That's ridiculous! The navy has him locked up!"

"But if he's as clever as they say, he might've escaped." Alvida mused, looking back towards the members of her crew with a smirk that bordered on sadistic. "And they say that the infamous Roronoa Zoro is that clever!" 

-

The truth of reality is that Mihawk seems to be his sword and his sword alone. 

You don't really get it, this sort of strange attachment to a blade, the idea of it being as real, of being you, as closely as another limb or organ. But you don't have to. He's a man that does everything he wants because he wants it. The world seems to be forced to accept Mihawk because if someone tries to stop him, then he'd carve his way in regardless of what happened. There are few hints of softness or any sentimental value to the gloomy home that he lives in. Same way you view the island itself. There are plenty of signs that Mihawk lives here and you can sometimes see the way the gloomy world and castle fit his clothing and style of speaking, but it isn't like Doflamingo, where his entire kingdom screamed for attention. In fact, you doubt you would have ever stopped here if not for a storm and being tired.

You don't understand him at all. 

But you think he's lonely. 

Not that a prideful guy like him would ever admit it. 

You like looking at him from a side profile, when those eyes aren't fully focused on you, and trace over sharp features with your eyes and try to mentally picture him younger and softer. Maybe if he never picked up a sword or merely before, he had such casual power behind his swings. The idea isn't appealing to you in the slightest, more casual musing, because unlike Doflamingo, you think Mihawk is really lonely and a path so far from this one might have been better. He still has all the traits you find appealing, even if they're expressed in a completely different way from a man like Doflamingo. Still, he has the power and confidence you can't ignore, as well as being an older man. It was becoming somewhat obvious what your preferences were, but you tried not to unpack it much. Rather watching his face, his hands, and mentally wondering what a man like him dreamed about. 

Maybe the wind blew him along the ocean just like you?

Is it enough? 

Even for a short time?

-

"Um...are you okay? Are either of you hurt?" Koby asked the pair after he had pulled himself up to his feet and looking towards the pair. Between the two of them, the one with the tail had landed on top of the smaller, half crushing him under his chest, and seemed to be slowly blinking while the other only laughed, making Koby nervously twitch. "After getting knocked around so much, you two must be-"

"I'm fine, just a little surprised, is all. My name's Luffy, and this is M/n, where am I?" Luffy said, gesturing to the other as he spoke who only gave Koby a thumbs up as he moved off of Luffy, who hopped up onto his feet. 

"This island is the hideout of Iron Mace Alvida, the lady pirate." Koby said with a nervous laugh as he tried not to show off how scared he was. "I'm Koby, her cabin boy."

"I see. Well, none of that really matters to me."

"Oh..."

"...he isn't trying to be rude..." Koby jumped slightly at the deep voice of M/n, meeting his gaze and nearly flinching at the blank expression, as if he felt nothing. Yet there was a hint of kindness in those eyes that prevented Koby from thinking about running from the pair.

"You wouldn't happen to have a dinghy, would you?" Luffy asked casually, moving to adjust the few of the bags still tied around M/n's hips and at the base of his tail. "Ours got sucked into a giant whirlpool."

"You two got sucked into a giant whirlpool?!"

"Yeah, it caught us by surprise." Luffy said as M/n gave Koby a thumbs up. 

"You two are lucky to be alive! But if it's a dinghy you want, I have one, sorta..." Koby said as he led the two of them to what was obviously a hand made dinghy that was awkwardly made and held together with loose planks and nails. M/n blinked in surprise while Luffy looked at it in complete surprise. 

"What's this?!" Luffy finally asked as he nudged the makeshift boat with his sandal. "A coffin?" 

"I built it myself. It took me two years..." Koby admitted as he looked down causing Luffy to look back at him in surprise. 

"Two years?! And you don't want it?"

"...I really don't need it anymore. I built it to escape from this place, but I don't have the courage to try it. I guess it's my fate to be a cabin boy for the rest of my life." His expression was soft as he spoke and M/n's ears twitched at those words as he watched the smaller male frown and mumble something out that made the mink hybrid freeze. "...but I once had a different dream..."

"Why don't you just escape?" Luffy asked, completely oblivious to the tension in Koby's shoulders and M/n looked away with his tail wrapping around Luffy's waist.

"N-no way! Just thinking about what Alvida would do to me if she caught me makes my bladder weak...I just can't risk it!" Koby was quick to wave his hands and try to shut down the question. Eyes wide as he looked away from both of them. "I'll never forget that fateful day...I just wanted to go fishing...and I boarded a pirate ship by mistake. That was two years ago. In exchange for my life, I've been working as their cabin boy."

"You're kinda clumsy and dumb!" Luffy said with a sudden laugh as Koby flinched and M/n's ears twitched slightly. "And you're gutless too! You really are worthless!"

"...Lu', that's a bit too harsh..." M/n mumbled out with an almost embarrassed huff at the other's words.

"You don't have to be that frank..." Koby mumbled out as he looked away with a slight grimace. "But you're right. I don't have the guts to float around at sea in a barrel like you two. Luffy, M/n, why did you two go to sea, anyway?"

"Well, ya see, I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"

"K-king of the pirates!" Koby yelped out, eyes wide and clearly panicked over Luffy's declaration. "But you'd have to make the whole world kneel to you! Wealth, fame, power, you'd have to achieve it all! Don't tell me you're after Gol D Roger's lost treasure, the One Piece! Do you two want to die?! Every pirate in the world is after that!"

"And so am I." Was all Luffy said in response, as if there was nothing strange about the questions being asked of him.

"But the odds against you are astronomical?! It's impossible! You want to be the King of the Pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy?! It'll never happen!" Koby didn't get to say anything else before he was suddenly sent to the ground from a punch to the temple. Yelping he rubbed the spot where he had been hit before looking up at Luffy in confusion. "Hey! W-why'd you hit me?!"

"You were hysterical."

"Okay, I'm used to it," Koby said in response with a shaky laugh, as if trying to play it off completely as M/n stepped closer to him and silently looked over the place where Luffy had hit him.

"I'm not afraid to die, Koby." Luffy said with a grin as he looked over at the pink-haired boy. "Neither is M/n."

"Huh...?"

"I've set myself to become the King of the Pirates and if I die trying than at least I tried!" Luffy said easily and all M/n did was nod his head.

'What guts...what determination!' Was all he could think as he watched the other readjust his hat. "Y-you're not even afraid to die?!"

"And I believe I'll succeed, too. Or am I just deluding myself?"

'I never looked at it like that before!' Koby looked up at Luffy and finally spoke again in a clearly hesitant tone. "Maybe I can be like that...if I'm willing to risk my life trying!"

"Huh?"

"...what're you talking about...?"

"...maybe it's possible! Do you think I can join the navy?!"

"The navy?"

"You want to join the marines...?" M/n asked a moment after Luffy spoke as he looked down at Koby, but luckily the pink-haired boy was clearly worked up enough that he didn't pause or stumble over his next works despite the shock in both of the pirates' voices.

"We'll end up being enemies, but I want to join the navy and fight the bad guys! It's been my dream since I was a kid!" Koby practically yelled, nearly bouncing on his heels as he looked at the both of them. "Luffy! M/n! Do you two think I can do it?!"

"How would I know?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow as M/n lightly whacked his captain with his tail. Ears twitching as he looked down at the short pink-haired boy with a head tilt.

"...I think you could do it. You would just have to work for it..." M/n murmured as he observed him. Giving a singular nod after he thought about it. If Koby was strong willed enough to survive as a cabin boy on a pirate ship, then he could probably handle basic training. 'I can put in a good word to Gramps.'

"Well, I'm gonna do it! What've I got to lose?! I don't wanna be a miserable cabin boy my whole life!" Koby snapped out, now fully worked up as he spoke up. "Better to risk my life trying to achieve my dream! I'll join the navy and then I'll capture Alvida!"

"Who are you going to capture, runt?!" At the sudden yell and blur of motion M/n found himself grabbing Luffy and jumping backwards. Wooden planks being smashed beneath the blow of an iron mace, sending Koby flying and completely ruining the hand made boat. 

The wind is picking up now.

-

When you actually convince him to spar with you is around the same moment that you learn how absolutely out of your league you are. Mihawk is pure strength that you lack. You haven't gained all weight back just yet, but your fur is no longer patchy given how much time Doflamingo put in you, but he hadn't been sparring with you. This is new. You're left struggling to even keep up with one blow, let alone the flurry of strikes, he doesn't even have that damn sword out. Just a pocket knife and you're left on the back step. You try to clip his side at the left hip with your claws, but the next thing you know is that you've been knocked on your ass. Did he kick you?

"Please tell me that I almost had you there," you say, feeling sweaty and wanting to pant at the same time which is such a gross feeling.

"Delusion is fitting for you, but ultimately worthless," is all that escapes his lips as he watches you. "Again."

"Again," you mumble out in a parody of his voice. 'Like an asshole would say.'

Still, you never considered yourself a quitter and you lunge hoping to injure his left side. But you still get sent back and you're really starting to regret asking this man for sparring tips. This is hell and he's probably a sadist. You kick out a leg and try to hook him, but he jumps past you and you end up lunging. There's a height advantage on your side of things, but that's the only thing you really have to make any of this easier. You wonder if any of this is good enough to make him glad that he agreed to this. 

You feel alive, but this can't last. 

You're exhausted. Hours blurring together and intermingling in a way that is complete hell for you. You can't tell if he's getting exhausted from this as well. But you force yourself to move and try to force him into a deadlock. Ultimately, you figure that his size and using that tiny knife are his biggest weaknesses in this. You have to push it as hard as you can. Claws clashing against his blade as you try to shoulder check him. Maybe if you can knock that blade out of his hands, you can get an advantage. It doesn't work, rather he just lets you get in a deadlock knowing that he's still stronger than you. Looking slightly downward, you can see him watching you, beads of sweat on his skin, and you can't help but stare.

Mihawk stares back at you.

A part of you wants more than anything to understand this man half as well as you think you understand Doflamingo. Yet no matter how hard you look, you can't find anything that tells on him and gives you an edge. But now you feel aware of some sort of tension that's broken or maybe is waiting to break between the two of you. He won't stop staring. Those eyes are going to drive you insane.

"You should focus on landing a hit," Mihawk finally says with a weight to his words that makes you desperate for a little more.

"I'm trying, you know that, right? It isn't easy even with you using that knife." You point out as you look at the small blade with a slight huff. Still feeling a wave of frustration at the knowledge you couldn't break this one knife. "Can't you look away?"

"Are you blaming me for your own weakness?" When Mihawk asks that question, you can tell in a heartbeat that you aren't pushing back hard enough anymore. He can win, can't he? This whole fight is already over. Yet you think Mihawk doesn't want to end it because all he does is suddenly jump back and you find yourself moving, so the both of you are walking in a circle. Sizing the other up. You're left with the knowledge that you're pretty sure you can't win. Why didn't Mihawk beat you then and there? Call it quits and just tell you it was time to go to bed and leave him alone. Yet he didn't. All the same, it ends with you managing to be knocked on your ass and he's on top of you with that stupid knife to your throat. You freeze up completely and you wonder what he's thinking at that moment.

"Well, you got me," you say with a shaky laugh. The reminder of your own mortality at your throat as Mihawk watches you with some unreadable expression on his face. He's still a beautiful man. At this angle, you can see all the sharp angles that form him and the hint of whatever sun this gloomy place gets to make those shadows deeper. Those damned eyes. Why do you hate and adore those eyes? You want him to look at you, yet the rest of you screams for him to look away because he doesn't need to see or know the ugly thing you are.

"I have," he says calmly. 

A sound escapes you that feels ragged and raw when, for a second, the blade threatens to break skin. You really like this for the same reason you always liked the way Doflamingo's strings felt when they tightened. The implied danger lingering in the actions makes your skin feel hot and your fur bristles. You place a hand on his hip, just hoping that he'll give you something more.

"You're losing focus."

"Would anyone be able to stay focused in a situation like this?" You huffed out with a flush on your face that makes you want to hide. "I'm just a man and you're attractive. You'd be blind to not know what this would do to me."

"And what am I doing to you, exactly?"

"Don't play dumb." Is all that you mumbled out as you looked away from him. 

"Speak plainly."

"You really don't want me to do that."

"Incorrect. Don't hide behind riddles like a coward." Those words make you blink and fluster even more. Unsure of where exactly to go when he looks at you like that. It's all because of those damn eyes.

"You look at me and I really hate it," you say as you move to cup his face, not even caring that the blade is pressed so sharply to your throat. "Those eyes of yours are so terrifying when they focus on me. I want more of it."

"And you think I would freely give that to you?"

"No." You say without thinking, yet not quite blurting the words out. Just wanting to speak despite the blade at your throat and his eyes staring down at you as if you weren't worth speaking to. Maybe you weren't. You were just another ugly thing, and he was clearly someone important. "I don't think you freely give anyone anything, and I certainly don't think you have to."

There's silence between the two of you.

"I'd want more." You add on. "And I'm greedy. I'd take more if given the chance."

"Have you not had enough?" He asks, tone not mocking, yet cutting all the same. "With a man like Doflamingo I imagine one would hardly be bored."

"I've never had enough." You say honestly. "And it isn't like we're exclusive. I imagine anyone can tell you about how many parties he holds at Dressrosa and the women he likes. It wouldn't hurt me any, and I doubt it would hurt him any."

"You are rather irritating." He said with a scoff, though for a brief second his eyes went lower.

"All I'm trying to get is your attention."

"You already have it, fool." Mihawk huffed as he moved away from you and the threat of his blade vanished. Part of you missed it. Still, you rose up to your feet as he looked back over at you. Those eyes were still staring, and you wanted more. 

"Really? Cause this doesn't feel like I have your attention." 

"Do you think I would do this with someone that did not have my attention?" 

"Fine, fine, I have your attention. But not enough." You grab his shoulder, so he has to keep looking at you.

"And what level of attention do you want?"

"I don't know. I don't need some deep poetic bullshit, but I want more than simple sparring." You huff out as you lower your head so he'd not being forced to look up at you. "I've been trying to catch your attention. I can see that you're staring."

"And you think you can handle more?"

"No," you say honestly, feeling more than a little breathless. "Not at all."

"You are maddening." Mihawk snaps, a scoff escaping his lips, and you blink before rolling your eyes.

"I can say the same thing to you, sweetheart."

Both of you are silent after that and you can't help but worry that you ruined everything. That thought almost feels confirmed as he takes a step away from you, your lips quirking up unintentionally even when all you want is for him to grab you, to feel that danger again. The comfort of a blade against your throat is more than you can ponder. You want to fight him again. To bite him. The idea feels terrible, yet amazing, and you want more than you think you deserve. You notice how his grip seems to tighten around that knife.

"Planning on cutting me in half?"

"I have no tolerance for cowards." Mihawk hisses out. "Be bold and ask me what you clearly want, or silence yourself."

"You make it sound so easy to ask a man like you for anything." Your tail lashes as you speak but regard him more carefully. "Being around you makes it so difficult to know where I stand."

"Then ask me."

"Now you sound like a broken-"

"Ask or be silent." He says flatly. "I have no desire to repeat myself, boy. You act so confident, yet clearly you are hiding enough from me, but you refuse to bring it to light. Then having the audacity to stare at me like that. Speak plainly."

In that silence, you go still. Mentally trying to see if you can find something on his face. Just one hint that there could be something deeper, yet he simply watches you evenly, so you take a shot in the dark. "I'm terrible with words. Can I just show you?"

He slightly nods as you move closer. Your tail moving to half wrap around his waist as you feel a hint of unease. Mentally wondering if you were doing any of this right.

"May I?"

"You may."

"Can you say my name?" You ask and he only watches you for half a moment.

"M/n," he says softly and you shudder.

"I want to touch you," you murmur out, feeling on cloud nine yet close to blacking out, as you move to trace the crook of his neck. The pad of your thumb tracing the pulse line. You'd always been aware of how strong you are, how strong your touch is compared to a Celestial Dragon who would bruise so easily beneath your claws, yet this man is smaller but stronger. You can't imagine breaking Mihawk with a touch. For a second you hesitate as you look down at his lips and then to those eyes. "Do I have permission?"

"Hm?"

"I want to kiss you," and the way he reacts makes you think those words have hit Mihawk like sparks from a whetstone. "Or whatever you can give me. I mean, I'm not trying to jump straight to anything, but I want a taste."

"What if I tell you no?"

"I'm not a kid." You say with a swish of your tail. "I can take no for an answer. Still like talking to you, and I'd probably keep asking for sparring with ya, but I know how to behave. If I'm here and you change your mind, I'll be glad to take you up on the offer. I'm not trying to ask you for something serious, certainly not forever, but whatever you can give me."

"You're a fool."

"Sure thing." You say with a content nod. "I can handle being a fool."

"And on the off chance I say yes?"

You can't help but blink at the sudden change in his wants and desires. His fingers twitch slightly and you can't help but flush as you meet his eyes. It shouldn't be so hard. You were the one making the moves while he seemed to just be allowing you to do as you please. If anything, he should be the one getting all flustered while you're in charge. You could find other handsome men. Most, if not all, of them would be easier to seduce and probably softer if not kinder than this man who's as sharp as his own sword. 

"Fine." He says calmly. "Do it."

You breathe in and then out before pulling him in, claws tracing the line of his cheekbone, and then you kiss him. It starts out as a light press of your lips against his, not a lot of pressure, as if this is just your first kiss. Nothing special. He doesn't open his mouth for you and when you pull away part of you wonders if he didn't want to kiss you.

"Was that not alright?" Your tail tightens around his waist.

"Is that all you wanted?" 

"Hell no," you huff, pulling him in closer, and you decide to take a risk. Hooking a hand to be on the base of Mihawk's spine, claws pressed to skin beneath the sheath of that giant sword, a risky place. One that gave you an edge, but you didn't linger in it. His hand is on your hip. A silent warning about if you acted up, he could still hurt you without one of his blades. You only pull him in for a proper kiss. Making sure you get your tongue in his mouth and this kiss is one you can be proud of. Pulling away, you notice the string of saliva connecting the two of you before you kiss the corner of his mouth with a purr. "This is the kind of thing I wanted. Do you like it?"

"You can try harder."

"Gotcha. So I should kiss you again?"

"Only if it makes you stop talking."

You decide in that moment you like this side of Mihawk far more. The fact that you can see a hint of something ugly in him when he acts like this, maybe the same kind of ugliness you have, makes it easier. He's still completely different from Doflamingo, but you don't think you'd do well in a world where that was the only kind of man you knew. Still, you kiss him again. He doesn't fight. In fact, you think he likes it. When you part again, you don't overthink the logic of it, instead moving to bite at his neck. Kissing and moving up the line of his throat to just beneath his ear. The soft gasp he makes is worth it. You drag your fangs over his throat and suck on the skin. Reminding yourself not to bite deeply and draw blood. When you pull away, you can see the ugliness in his gaze and it makes you happy. But you can't explain how or why. There's something almost reassuring to know a man as great as him has that same ugliness in him. 

"Do I measure up to anyone else you've kissed?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to know if I'm doing it right. Or better." You say even as your eyes keep darting back to his lips and you're thinking about stealing another kiss from him. "Don't you want me to improve? Consider it like sparring. It works out for you if I get better."

"I have no intention of adding to your irrational confidence." Mihawk speaks, voice firm and with something hungry in his tone. "Stop wasting your breath and kiss me again."

"You're gonna break my heart." You say with an amused purr, but lower your head to kiss him again.

-

"...my boat..." Koby mumbled out, eyes wide and panicked, not even noticing M/n glancing at him as he set Luffy down. The mink hybrid frowning slightly as he noted the tears forming in the corners of the boy's eyes.

"You little sneak! Did you really think you could escape from me?!" Alvida said with a laugh, the larger woman looking over towards Luffy and M/n with narrowed eyes as members of her crew stood behind her. M/n noted that the members they had encountered when emerging from the barrel were there as well. "Are those the bounty hunters you hired? Well, this certainly isn't Roronoa Zoro."

"Zoro...?" Luffy mumbled out in confusion, glancing towards M/n who just shrugged and shook his head, having no idea who the woman was walking about either.

"So I'll give you one chance to repent. Who is the fairest throughout all the seas? Answer me!" Alvida snapped, a subtle shift of her iron mace causing the boy to flinch and inch backwards. 

"Lady Alvida, you..." Koby mumbled out with a weak laugh escaping his lips but was caught off by Luffy suddenly speaking up.

"Hey, who's that tough looking old biddy?" Luffy asked, causing all the pirates and Koby to gape in shock and varying degrees of horror. Well, all except for one, M/n seemed to just accept his captain's words with little more than a sigh and his tail wrapping around Luffy's wrist and giving it a soft squeeze.

"Ain't very polite, Lu'..."

"How dare..."

"No way!"

"Luffy! Take it back! Throughout all of the seas Lady Alvida is...Lady Alvida is..." Koby trailed off after he grabbed hold of Luffy's shoulders. Eyes wide before his mind went to Luffy's words and the idea of wanting something so badly that dying for it would be worth it. "Lady Alvida is...the ugliest old hag of all!"

And silence filled the air before Alvida stepped forward and Luffy burst into laughter, causing M/n to let out a soft sigh with a hint of a smile forming on his face. 

"You little-!!!" Alvida yelled in rage and Koby could only inch back as every instinct told him to grovel and beg.

'I said it and I won't take it back! No more cringing for me! From now on, I'll fight for my dreams!' Was all Koby could think as he realized that she was approaching and clearly aiming to kill him for what he said. He was terrified, but he still couldn't bring himself to beg for forgiveness. Not anymore. 

"Good for you, Koby!" Luffy said with a laugh, one hand grabbing his shoulder, and the pink-haired male could only blink in surprise as he was pushed behind the captain in the strawhat.

"L-Luffy...?!" A clawed hand grabbed his hip and pulled him further back. Looking up, he met M/n's gaze and the man simply gave him a slight nod, as if trying to tell him that everything would be okay.

"It makes no difference to me! All three of you are going to die!" Alvida snapped out as she swung the iron mace down yet instead of blood hitting the ground or bones breaking, it almost seemed to bounce after it made contact with him. There was a faint noise from it that made Koby pause in shock. Like a 'Boing' sound. "...huh...?"

"That didn't hurt 'cause I'm made of rubber!" Luffy said with a laugh as everyone else stared in shock.

"Impossible! No one survives the iron mace!" Alvida snapped with a glare as the rest of her crew watched in shock. 

"You've gotta be kidding!" 

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Was the only warning Alvida got before Luffy reared back.

"What the-" 

And for a brief moment Koby was left watching in shock as Alvida, the pirate who had treated him like a dog for two long years, was sent flying backwards as all of her crew were left staring at Luffy in a mixture of shock and horror. Not that Koby could blame any of them for that. He managed to avert his gaze from Alvida's prone form on the ground to look to M/n who was merely watching his captain with a blank expression. 

"...is this normal...?"

"For Lu'?" M/n asked, glancing down at him before a faint smile appeared on his face. "Absolutely."

"H-his arm stretched like rubber..."

"Captain! He beat Lady Alvida! He's not human!"

"Time to go," M/n murmured and Koby blinked, looking up at him in confusion, but didn't get a chance to ask before Luffy pointed at the crew.

"Give Koby a dinghy! He's gonna join the navy!"

"Yes, sir!" The crew stammered out in what appeared to be a blind panic and Koby was only partially aware of M/n's hand on the small of his back. Guiding him along the way.

"Luffy..." Koby mumbled out, tears forming in his eyes as he allowed himself to be led along.

-

When Mihawk was younger, lacking his blade and purpose, he sets out on his own, wanting more and more. He learns to fight, to hold a blade, and he never once considers what the world is beyond his own wants. The horizon is his finish line and he'll never catch it. He sees the world for all that it is and isn't in those moments before he looks at those within it. All of them fall mostly short of what he's looking for. A rival. An equal. He finds one amongst them, but then he loses his arm, and Mihawk's world grows more boring yet again.

He falls asleep and dreams.

A strange occurrence, as he rarely dreams.

In this dream, he roams and crosses blades with as many figures that form in the misty environment he finds himself in. Most of them offer him something that he had found lacking for so long in his waking world. The longer he goes on, the more he finds himself wading through pools of blood that makes it difficult to keep ongoing, yet he can't bring himself to stop. His blood is flowing and all he can think about is the next fight. Another battle. Another chance to lose. This is what he craves when the seas ran dry from challengers who actually provided him the entertainment he craved.

It isn't enough to sate him.

Why can't it be enough?

Something is slipping away.

The dream keeps going on and his world begins getting more and more bleak because all of them stop providing any challenge to him. He can't enjoy it. None of these figures in his dream can cut him. Mihawk wants more. The simple truth of the matter is that Mihawk has made himself into one of the greatest murderers in history. There is a hollowness that formed inside of him. A want for more that he can't possibly place. No pleasure ever quite matches up to battle for him. Wine, drugs, sex, all of it blends at the end of the day. Random flings hold no interest. They bore him. So he settles with past times that he isn't as familiar with. Cooking, gardening, embroidery, music, art, and none of it works.

He feels pain.

Looking down, he sees rot and blood dripping from his chest, the pale white of his own ribs staring back at him. It made sense. He feels hollow. Nothing can satisfy him. His entrails are starting to fall out as the blood is still pooling around him. All he can think about is not his own rot, but the idea that he will die unfulfilled in this life and even the next. Skin peeling and melting away. This isn't how he wants to die. He needs a fight. Mihawk can only die through the clashing of blades even as his own organs feel like they're tearing apart. They're still not strong enough even as he falls apart and rots. He wants to die fighting, to try to claw his way out of death's jaws and still fail, to be made nothing in the heat of combat.

That's the only death Mihawk will accept.

There is laughter.

He looks up and meets the eyes of the moon as it laughs at him. The world is spinning as he rots and falls apart and the moon is staring down with familiar eyes and laughing. Making the entire world fall apart faster around him. Tendrils sprouting from behind it as the world shakes and crumbles. This is the end, and he refuses it.

He wakes in a cold sweat without a word.

Looking over, he freezes when he notes a warm body next to him. The mink hybrid seemed to have snuck into his room, laying on his stomach, not touching Mihawk other than his furry tail thrown over his waist. His breathing is steady. Mihawk notes how relaxed his expression is. Finally, losing that tension he always seemed to have in his waking hours, Mihawk can't bring himself to wake him and send him back to the guest room. 

He lays back down without a word and endures himself to a vigil with the sound of the hybrid's heartbeat serving as his metronome.

-

"I can't believe we managed to get away," Koby murmured, still feeling painfully wide eyed and bushy tailed compared to the two pirates on the boat, yet unable to look away from either of them. Luffy was laughing as if all of this was normal, while M/n had only shifted once to get comfortable. His fluffy tail was swishing back and forth as their boat slowly floated across the water. "But the way your arm stretched...you must have eaten a devil fruit...still, Luffy, M/n, if you're going after the One Piece that means you'll have to enter the Grand Line..."

"Yup!" Luffy said without a care in the world while M/n just closed his eyes. Koby wasn't sure how to feel about how relaxed the both of them were about the idea of going to the Grand Line.

"...they call it the pirate's graveyard..."

"That's mostly an over exaggeration." M/n said without any further explanation, opening one eye for only a moment to look at Koby, but then he closed it and fell silent again.

"...I don't know how you can say that..." He mumbled out and the man in the straitjacket merely shrugged his shoulders.

"...I've been." M/n said after a moment, as if somewhat unwilling to give more information on the subject.

"B-but..." Koby trailed off as M/n merely adjusted himself to get more comfortable.

"M/n isn't gonna talk about it. I want to be surprised when we get there!" Luffy said with a laugh and Koby found himself looking between the two of them before managing a weak nod. 

"You act as if I saw everything out there, Lu'." Was all M/n said with a hint of a smile that vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

"You really went to the Grand Line, M/n?" 

"...yeah." 

"But that's why me and M/n are getting a crew." Luffy said, cutting Koby off from asking M/n any more questions about the Grand Line and what it had been like. Koby blinked, but Luffy kept talking as M/n moved to start rowing with a single sigh escaping his lips. "That guy imprisoned at the navy base, what's his name?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

"If he's a good guy, I'll let him join my crew!" Luffy said with a laugh and a single nod from M/n. 

"Now you're talking crazy again! Never, never, never! That'll never happen! That guy's a demonic beast!" 

"How do you know?" Luffy asked, but Koby didn't even seem to be paying attention to the question asked.

"Never!"

-

When you end up kissing him again after a few days, the island is still as gloomy as ever. The sky is rumbling with distant thunder as rain pours down. It's been a stubborn day. Not a hint of sunlight. You wouldn't blame anyone if they guessed it was impossible for this place to get any sunlight. Another sparring session. It led to this. Not that you would complain. Rain is clinging to both your skin and fur. It's clinging to him. He looks gorgeous in a way that makes you sick to your very core. You really hate how ugly you are. How he isn't ugly. Doflamingo was a pretty man, all detailed features and the like, but he had that same ugliness in him. You could see it when you two were intimate, but you had only been with Mihawk in sparring and these short moments. No hint of that ugliness shining through. It makes you sick.

He looks up, face towards the heavens, and those raindrops sliding down his skin makes you feel even sicker. There are no words or reactions as he does it. Only at this moment. When he looks back at your face, head still tilted upwards, you nearly flinch when he moves  to push some hair away from your eyes. Made all the more askew as the wind picks up. Part of you only wants to run. So he'll stop staring at you when you're this ugly thing and he's so damn beautiful it makes you sick.

"...we should get back inside." The words seem to fall flat when they escape your lips, almost like someone else said them, but he doesn't seem to notice the issue.

"Is that an invitation?" Mihawk looks at you with those eyes again. 

"It's your place." You murmur in response. Unsure of what exactly you should say to him. "I'm more than willing to do whatever ya want. Like I said I won't take more than you give me." 

"But you want more." He doesn't say it as a question.

Between the two of you, well, it's you that looks away first. "Do you blame me?" 

There's a moment of silence before he pulls your head down to kiss you again. You linger in it. Closing your eyes and allowing it to happen. There's some part of you that just wants him to lead this dance because you have no idea how he does it. Or maybe because if he doesn't take the reins, you'll end up running away like a cornered animal. There's something wrong with you in the simple sense of the matter. You know that you're a Mink hybrid and what that means, yet you feel worse. Less like one of your kind and more like an actual animal. You're probably just an actual tiger that's been caged for far too long and can't function in the wild.

In the end, you didn't consider it much of a problem since at the end of the day you planned on being back with Luffy and you knew that it would be fine. You needed someone, and he'd be there. It was a simple fact in your life. It was also why on the few islands you had stopped at before this island and after Dressrosa; you found yourself fairly unlucky with most men. Not from looks. Despite how ugly you found parts of yourself, it seemed like men were interested, but they often didn't give you what you wanted. The waves of disappointment, the brief sparks of disgust, and a few close calls made casual sex feel so uncomfortable compared to whatever you had with Doflamingo during your stay in Dressrosa. Ultimately, you realize you're a bit too wild for most, wanting a firm hand on your muzzle and neck in intimate moments that most guys you encountered for one-night stands weren't willing to provide. Besides for Luffy, who you consider less a type and more a need in your life, you've learned that your type is men at least ten years older than you with enough strength that they could probably kill you and a body that shows such strength. Doflamingo had spoiled you in that aspect because he was exactly the energy you wanted in the bedroom, with powers to match.

Unlike Doflamingo, you feel like Mihawk in this moment is going off of mostly instinct, a hand pressed tightly to your hip, the other pulling you down. One kiss becomes two and you can't help but enjoy the way he makes sure you can't pull away. When he does let you go, it has the intended reaction of you trying your best to chase after his mouth.

"You aren't playing fair," are the words you say when he raises as eyebrow at how you tried to lean in for more. The feeling isn't rejection or anything of the sort. Rather, you feel hot and a bit twitchy. The urge to grab and take is flooding you, but you'll lose. That's the reality of Mihawk in much the same way it was part of the reality with Doflamingo. No matter how violent or ugly you are, they will win. You simply don't have the power to be the person who takes and takes.

"I'm not playing, quite the contrary," are his words and you feel that he talks far sharper than even his blades. "I don't play games. I'm here because you have proven yourself to be...entertaining, as you put it."

"Told you," you say with a happy laugh, despite the heat under your skin.

"Best not to get overconfident. I expect you to keep convincing me," Mihawk said simply, turning on his heels and already walking back to his castle. "Come. I want to see if you can impress me in other ways, since your sparring is lacking."

You don't say anything at that remark, mainly because you assume he won't be as willing to humor you if you trade barbs with him, even if you really hope he'd snap back if you did actually mock him. That he'd have a hand firmly at your neck and a command. The casual way he could take control was all you wanted. His castle was as empty as ever. You often found it cold and lonely, but now you absolutely adore the building because it holds the promise for more. He lives in finery, but never in such overwhelming decadence as your old owners did. His home is also gloomy enough. You could never mistake it for a house where a Celestial Dragon lived. His bedroom feels rarely lived in, but you can't imagine him living anywhere else.

"I imagine this is less lavish than when Doflamingo wanted your attention," Mihawk mused as he looks back over at you when he stands by the bed. Watching you with those eyes. He hasn't moved to shed any of his clothing and you can't help but wonder if he's the type that likes having sex with most of his clothes on. It would be weird, but you could learn to live with it.

"I don't care about the fancy stuff," you say with a shrug as you look towards him. "This room is yours. That's all I need."

You don't know if that was the right thing to say as he looked back at you. There's a strangeness when he watches you like this. Mihawk doesn't narrow or widen his eyes that often. Even in moments like these, he's watching you with an almost blank expression with those eyes and he's still too fucking pretty. Yet in this moment, you can't bring yourself to be as angry about it in this moment. You shouldn't be angry.

"Don't waste my time," is all he says after that brief moment of consideration.

Despite no one else living on the island, you make sure to close the door behind you as you step into the room. Tail swishing as you moved to stand less than a foot away from him, left silent, as you aren't sure of what will happen next. You want to move even closer. To let your tail wrap around his waist. Or to press your claws and fangs into his skin. 

The tension in the air almost makes it hard to breathe.

You watch as he sets down Yoru, moving to sit on the bed, and you feel like a snared fox as you watch him lean backwards.

"Prove to me how much you want me," is all he says with a beckoning gesture that makes you freeze.

You move without even thinking. Hands caging Mihawk in place, as you're reminded of the fact that you're bigger than him, yet weaker. There's something even more attractive about that. Your hands are shaking. Only for a moment. Then you remind yourself that you had told him when you first met that you weren't some wide-eyed virgin getting abused by others. That had to be true. So after the quick reminder, you move to take off that fancy coat he wears, watching the rich fabric fall down in a motion that reminds you of wine being poured. Maybe because of the richness of the fabric? He remains still for you; the realization being instant, Mihawk has no intention of helping you undress him. You only get what he allows, and he will not make it any easier for you. Almost as if you're meant to serve him. That thought makes the heat underneath your skin burn all the hotter. It takes a bit longer to get his shirt off due to the simple fact that your claws and hands struggle with buttons, and you're pretty sure you'll never have sex with him if you ruin this outfit. You can't help but adore this moment. Tracing the lines of his neck and collarbone with the pad of your thumb.

You want to devour him.

You can't tell what he's thinking.

You move at the same time he does. He pulls you down with a strength that nearly makes your knees weak as you move to straddle his smaller frame. The two of you are down on the bed, the mattress sinking down at the combined weight, and Mihawk's hands are tugging at the straps of your straitjacket to get it off. There's something interesting about having no idea what the pace is. It isn't proper sex. Not at the moment. This is just grinding at a rhythm that picks up the longer you two go at it. He's still wearing pants, but your dick is out, and you're mentally hoping that he won't get upset over any precum staining those fancy pants of his. Mihawk guides you through the pacing as you pull away from the rushed kiss to lick and bite at his neck. 

"...feels good..." You mumbled out with a hitch in your breath.

"Don't stop." The command is firm. There's no world in which you would be able to ignore it, and you're enjoying this way too much to even consider the option of disobeying something that feels this good.

Your vision almost blacks out completely when Mihawk grabs you tightly and bites your neck hard enough to make you bleed. Your claws rip at his shoulders and you rut against with curses escaping your lips. He's still staring at you with those eyes. Fuck. As if you aren't even uglier in this moment. Why couldn't he close his eyes? Did he enjoy seeing this side of you? Or maybe he liked the idea of you being this ugly? You reach down and manage to get his pants and boxers down and pooling by his ankles. The feeling of your cocks aligned was driving you insane and you really want to know how tight he is, but this is already enough to drive you mad. You can't even bring yourself to stop biting and kissing his neck as his hand wraps around your cock. Shamelessly feeling it and a part of you feels an almost sickening level of pleasure at the idea that he's curious about you being half mink. He can clearly have whoever he wants, so a part of you is left hoping that this experience ruins that. That he'll be stuck thinking about you whenever he fucks some future partner. Bet half of them aren't as big and they'll lack the barbs that you have.

You feel alive.

And you want all of him.

The two of you reach an orgasm in sync, and you can't help yourself from continuing to grind against him, desperate for the overstimulation. Tears are forming in the corners of your eyes. This is even worse. You must be even uglier. Why does he get to look so pretty in these moments? Cum is staining your fur and forming a puddle on his bedsheets and stomach. Mihawk looks as handsome as ever. This is sickening. He shouldn't look like this. Even the blood running down his neck doesn't take away from his appearance. A part of you considers crushing his skull in your hand, but you know you couldn't.

You trace one of his hands with your claws. Calluses and old half faded scars. The hand of someone who put his entire life into his passion. People would consider this ugly, wouldn't they? Why can't you find it ugly? Doflamingo had an ugliness when you had sex with him. What the hell was wrong with you?

"Was this all that you wanted?"

"Fuck no."

"Good."

"Good...?"

"I have no intention of ending this after one round."

"Ah..." You feel faint after hearing that.

"And I expect you to continue impressing me." His hand is on your throat in an instance and you can't help but stiffen up.

"Anything you want."

"And you'll stay a bit longer?"

"...sure..."

-

Koby jolted slightly at the feeling of cold salt water splashing against his cheek, as well as the sensation of his heart pounding. He couldn't remember what he had been dreaming about other than those eyes staring at him. His eyes were on the sky as he slowly snapped back into focus.

A few faint noises filled the air.

The waves rocking against the boat, Luffy snoring and mumbling in his sleep, alongside humming. Koby didn't know the tune. The moon is only a quarter visible, and he finally looks across the small boat to see the large man laying there with Luffy's smaller frame sprawled out across him. As if M/n was a bed. Luffy's head was pressed down, half hidden against the white straitjacket he was wearing, yet the material didn't seem to do much to muffle the sound of Luffy's snoring. Koby's eyes naturally trailed down where it became harder to tell them apart. M/n's tail was wrapped nearly three times over Luffy's waist and Luffy's arms and legs were all wrapped around different parts of M/n like a serpent on a branch. It seemed like Luffy had no problems about using his powers in his sleep. 

One of M/n's hands was resting on the back of Luffy's head and he was looking up at the sky. Then his humming slowed down and Koby silently watched the male raise a hand up with those golden claws extended as if was trying to pluck the moon out of the sky. Despite nothing intimate happening between the two of them, Koby can't help but feel like he's intruding. Though if he's only intruding on M/n or him and Luffy is a question he can't answer. When Luffy shifted his head, Koby could see that he had an enormous grin on his face even as he tried to snuggle more into the other. One hand tugging as if he was trying to pull the outfit M/n had on away so he could bury himself more into the male's fur. Were the two of them in a relationship? There was a small pang in his chest over the idea, but Koby had no idea why that feeling was even there.

"So, you're awake?" Koby flinched at the male's voice. M/n's voice always sounded so raspy, as if talking pained him, yet it was probably the deepest voice Koby had ever heard in his life. Looking back up, he met M/n's eyes and he could feel a thin line of sweat going down his brow. Despite the other only being kind, and in certain words nicer than Luffy, Koby couldn't stop himself from being terrified of the other. "Do I scare you?" 

"H-huh?!"

The sound of rubber rubbing against rubber filled the air as M/n moved Luffy off of him. Shifting so his captain was lying on the bottom of the boat with no risk of him falling out of the boat. Koby swallowed nervously as M/n moved to sit down next to him. "I asked if I scare you?"

"..."

"I won't be hurt if you say you are. Promise. There's probably plenty of people who feel the same way when they see me. Especially in this part of the world. You shouldn't worry about it, Koby. Once we stop at the next island, you can go off and join the marines and we'll be on our way. I imagine for a little while your life will calm down plenty while you're busy with training."

"...I-I'm sorry..."

"Quit apologizing. I don't blame you. Plenty of people are scared of me. I'm intimidating." M/n's tail gives a lazy swish as he says those words. It feels simple when he puts it like that even if Koby can't help but feel guilty for even feeling scared of someone who clearly isn't going to hurt him. M/n looked at him curiously before he finally spoke in a much softer tone. "You'll make a good marine, kid. They value heart and hard work, so just keep your head high and do your best."

"...thank you..." Koby mumbled out, glancing to the side to avoid openly staring at M/n. "You sound like you know how the marines run personally...were you ever...?"

"Me?" M/n looked a bit surprised at the question before a shaky laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. "Oh no, not me. People like me aren't exactly...welcome in the marines." 

"Really?"

"Yeah." M/n gave him a content grin as his tail swished. "I've just met some good marines and bad ones. Some family of ours is in there."

"Family of ours?" Koby can't help but glance at Luffy after M/n said that. Trying and failing to find anything that seemed similar between the two of them. "Are you two...?"

"Oh..." M/n blinked and actually seemed to grow a bit flustered. "I'm really bad at phrasing this, aren't I? Me and Lu' aren't related. I grew up with him since we were four or so. His gramps helped raise me enough. I call him gramps, but Lu' ain't my brother or anything like that. But there was no way I could ever be a marine. Ain't got the cut for it."

"You said people like you," Koby murmured after a moment of consideration before looking back at M/n's frame. "Does that just mean personality...or...?"

"I'm half mink. They ain't common on this sea, but...they don't join the marines." There's something there that M/n isn't telling him, but Koby already feels as if he's overstepped. He nods and looks down. Trying his hardest to not blurt out any more questions. Koby fails miserably at that.

"You mentioned being on the Grand Line. Did you do anything interesting there?" He can't help but ask. His mind going back to his own dreams of what that part of the world must be liked, yet M/n only blinked before a soft smile formed on his face. It was a rare expression, or at least Koby assumed it was rare compared to Luffy.

"Not as much as most would expect. I mainly spent my time meeting people, not exactly causing problems, or stealing treasure. Guess I'm not that great of a pirate when I'm not with Lu', huh?" M/n says that with an almost bitter laugh that makes Koby stiffen up before he continues on with no hint of that same tone. "I mainly wound up getting dragged places for most of my life. Surrounded by the wrong sort, I guess. People who try their hardest to make you think whatever they say is gospel. Besides, back then I didn't have enough people in my corner and I was definitely dumber back then. Anyway, I left during this massive blowout and made my way back to Lu'. I'm sure what happened after that is a bit more obvious." 

"Did you get a bounty?" 

"No." M/n says it quickly, and the conversation ends there.

"...what do you want?" Koby asks and almost relaxes when M/n gives him a look of genuine confusion, as if he can't understand that question.

"In general?" He asks before simply shrugging. "To see Lu' become the Pirate King, obviously."

"I know that. But for you." 

"...freedom." M/n says, almost flat, though the look in his eyes isn't exactly annoyed. Rather something Koby can't figure out. But before he could think to ask anything else, the man's larger frame was pulling away from him and moving to sit next to Luffy again. "You should get some sleep. We'll be hitting land sometime tomorrow."

-

At the end of the night, the sun almost rising again, Mihawk finds himself laying back against the headboard as the hybrid is sound asleep. Chest rising and falling with his face buried in Mihawk's shoulder, tail over his waist, and one arm on Mihawk's chest. His breathing was steady. They'd gone on long enough that Mihawk had lost count of how many times he orgasmed. Without thinking, he allowed himself to trace the man's cheek and examine his features. He's slightly gaunt. As if underweight. A part of him almost wants to think about it through a selfish lens. The idea of this island becoming less lonely with his presence. A foolish thought. They both knew the mink hybrid was going to leave sooner rather than later. It was simply a stated fact. In a way, Mihawk found himself reminded of a pirate with red-hair and they even shared that same foolish grin.

He lingers in a world where the hybrid stayed before he simply sighed and moved to wrap an arm around the other's waist and allowed himself to settle.

He doesn't dream.

-

It isn't until Koby is sound asleep that you finally look back up at the sky with a yawn. Seemed like no matter what happened, the stars were still shining above your head. It was happening again. You really hated these nights where you'd probably only get an hour or so of sleep. Not that it mattered. You knew that you'd get some sleep, eventually. For a moment, you were left thinking about people that were so different from Luffy, who was already back to cuddling into your chest, and you couldn't help but feel a faint frown form on your face. Without even thinking about it, you rub the scar on your ring finger. There was something to be said about what you'd been doing while you were away from Luffy, the men you were with, and how it would probably reflect back on the crew if it was ever discovered, but you couldn't say you regretted any of it. It wasn't as if you hadn't lied back then. You had meant it when you said that you loved Doflamingo and if you happened to see the man again; you were sure you'd say it again. There was probably a world where you had stayed in Dressrosa if you hadn't promised Luffy forever all those years ago. 

How could you not?

Doflamingo had been one of the first in a long time outside of Luffy, who seemed to want you for something other than a status symbol or object. There was no way that he could have known you were a former slave. Not with how hard you worked to hide the tattoo on your back. Surely there hadn't been a moment where any fur was pulled out or parted in such a way that the old ink and brand was revealed. You'd been thankful for that. Well, you still were thankful for that. Still, no matter what was said or what happened, you couldn't pretend that Luffy wasn't the best option for you. You would really miss him, but the seas weren't quite as big as people believed. Surely you'd see him again someday.

It felt like something was moving and crawling beneath your skin. Like a parasite. A faint groan escaped your lips as you held Luffy even tighter to your chest. A part of you was still left worried about a future where you were caught again and put back in a cage while Luffy was once again left alone. Or worse, the idea of you being put back in a cage while outliving him. A shiver went down your back just at the idea that popped into your head. Let alone if you really tried to think about the details of something like that. If you were caught, then they'd try to keep you safe as a pet while they'd kill Luffy. Let alone any crew the two of you gathered. It wasn't fair. You'd be killing all of them all because you wanted to be happy, which isn't fair. An ugly thing like you shouldn't be selfish. 

You couldn't let any of that happen.

You found yourself looking down at a hazy reflection of your face on the sides of one claw. It was upsetting. You hated that face. Hated all of your features. What you mainly associated them with. All of it was sickening. You really were an ugly thing. Damn all of your dreams and pride or whatever else made you so selfish to stay alongside Luffy, knowing how much of a danger you were. You'd kill him, wouldn't you? Yet part of you shivered and wanted to run away at the idea of being caught again. But you could never explain this to Luffy. He would never understand why you would have to leave and, most importantly, even if he understood completely, he'd never agree with it all. No one would ever understand it, would they? How could they? Luffy didn't make sense to most people, but you knew for a fact that Luffy would burn the world down if it meant he got to keep you or anyone that he loved. That was fact. It was also why you'd rather die before Luffy if you had a choice, but you doubted you'd get a choice in the matter. As the first mate of a pirate crew it only made sense that you would die before him. Once Luffy achieved his dream there would be no room for the first mate anyway. 

You'd come far enough.

It would be a death you could live with all things considered.

-