A Black Heart Does Not Always Stay Black

First Time on a Pirate Ship

Luffy didn't like the looks his brothers had on. The looked grossed out by him, even when he was small. He knew Ace and Sabo loved him, but they never saw this form. He was suddenly uneasy. What if, now that they're free, both of them want to leave him? Maybe they only were with him because they were forced to be.

He did his best to focus on Marco in front of them. When they turned the corner and saw other adults, Luffy grew bigger on instinct. Sabo touched Luffy again, his hand sinking into Luffy's slimy body, but he kept it there in a way of comfort. Ace followed suit, and Luffy felt warm inside. The simple gesture meant a lot to him. They touched his other form. He didn't know any difference, had always remembered being like this, and only ever saw problems with it when he wasn't using it for his missions.

It was normal to him, but he had never had a reason to change around his brothers, and didn't like starting now. His shape bubbled almost and couldn't help but having the substance crawl up his brother's arms, his way of holding their hands back.

Neither yanked their hands away. Luffy would have smiled if he had a mouth. He could see and smell, but the danger didn't come from him biting, since there was no mouth. His power was cutting, hardening every single fiber of his body to slash people and things to pieces, or consuming and then crushing them. When he attacked anyone, the blood sunk into him, feeling sticky and warm.

He didn't use it, trusting his brothers' words. Not these men, but his brothers would never lie to him. When they reached outside, passing many horrified pirates, Ace and Sabo smiled and breathed out deep breaths. Finally, they were outside! They hadn't seen the sun in years! Both wanted to spread their arms and feel the sunlight on them, but they kept their hands connected to Luffy.

When they came around the bend, and saw the massive man, Luffy immediately grew to the height of Whitebeard. He towered high over everyone but the pirate captain, who gave the shape a blank look. Luffy bristled at his look, though it was nothing disrespectful.

"You won't fit on our ship very comfortably if you are that size," Whitebeard said, dawning a cheeky grin. Everyone was shocked by the retort considering the size change was clearly a threat. "I don't know your history, brats, but everyone is a child of the sea. No one deserves to be forced to do anything they don't want to."

Luffy couldn't show his emotions, and though he felt this man was a threat, he shrunk and shrunk until he was in the hybrid form. Not quite comfortable enough to be in full human form, but also not feeling he would need all his strength at the moment. In his hybrid form, he was in the shape of a human, only covered in the black substance. He still had no face, but was less threatening. His hands were human shaped, though they were still sticky. Ace and Sabo took his hands.

"C'mon, let's get out of this dump," Thatch called from the ship. Ace and Sabo didn't hesitate, but Luffy did. His brothers' hands were still stuck to his, but when he stopped, the substance stretched the distance between him and the other two.

The rest of the crew hurried onto the ship, making sure not to look at Luffy too long. Marco came up behind him. "This place has trapped you. Don't you want to be free?" Luffy didn't know the feeling, but Ace and Sabo always talked about it. Luffy slowly started walking forwards again, though unsure.

He turned around once to look back at his previous home, broken in many places. He'd never return there. He looked to see his brothers were watching the place, too, only they looked triumphant. Suddenly, Luffy felt guilty. Guilty for bringing them there in the first place when they clearly didn't like it.

The demon child swallowed thickly, and let go of his brothers' hands. They seemed to have realized what had happened, and made sure to tell Luffy they didn't regret meeting him, even if they didn't like the place they were at much.