ᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴘᴀᴅᴇꜱ

Summer Heat

You glanced towards the area where the voices were emanating from and saw Luffy discussing something with a taller, much older boy. He was a blonde fellow with a crooked smile and large dark eyes that were framed by thin, arched brows. Unlike Luffy though, he was dressed quite elegantly. The boy was adorned in a victorian, steam-punk-style outfit with goggles to match the rest of his attire.

Trying to get closer to hear their conversation, you accidentally caught the seam of your shirt on a discarded piece of glass. The two misfits glanced up to where they heard the sound, both of their eyes widened in perfect synchrony.

"Who are you?" The blonde boy snapped, all the while threateningly pointing the end of his pole your way.

"Sabo! That's the Nakama I was talking about!" Luffy glanced back at you and smiled brightly. "Actually, now that she's here, can she join our pact?"

"Why are you making it sound like you knew she was going to come here, Luffy?" The blonde, who you found out was Sabo, asked accusingly. He pressed his finger against Luffy's chest.

"I didn't know she was coming, that was purely condence!" Luffy chimed.

"Condence? Do you mean, coincidence?" The boy corrected.

"Yes! Coin-si-dance!"

Sabo shook his head at his brother but made no further comment on his idiocy.

"It's not a coincidence, you idiot! She clearly followed you here!" Sabo back-handed Luffy's neck, to which the ravenette howled in pain, clutching his sore nape.

"So, why are you here?" Sabo crossed his arms and mustered the best glare he could, but it wasn't that threatening--not compared to Mihawks.

You looked between the two boys, attempting to determine what kind of relationship they had.

"I followed Luf--" Yet, before you could even finish your sentence, another voice abruptly interrupted your own.

"Yo, Sabo, what's the problem?"

Surprised by the voice that came directly under, you slipped on your blanket and lost your balance, quickly tumbling over the ledge. Bracing yourself for impact, you squeezed your eyes shut and prepared for the worst. Instead of cold cement welcoming you into its embrace though, you felt a warm, yet oddly bumpy surface.

' Huh, that wasn't half as bad as I thought it'd be. I must be fairly resilient! '

You placed your hand down to help yourself up until you heard a guttural groan from under you. Skidding back in shock, you found yourself face to face with a freckled boy. His expression was a mask of pain and anger and his pinched lips were fixed in a nasty snarl as bits of his ebony hair fell over drawn brows, covering his eyes.

"What the hell!" He blurted out in barely concealed rage, his tan hand moving to clutch at his chest.

"Ace!" The two other boys yelled at the same time.

'Oh, so that's Ace. Oops.' You flinched at his dark glare, unable to make eye contact.

Both Luffy and Sabo ran to Ace's side, helping their fallen comrade up. As soon as he was able to support himself, the ravenette stomped over to your side and lifted you up by the collar of your shirt. His hot breath fanned over your face as he held himself back from yelling at you.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get here?" Ace growled under his breath, his face growing closer with each passing second.

"Let go of her, Ace! That's my friend!" Luffy tore you from the boy's grip and stood in front of you, going into a protective stance to defend you from his brother's fist.