iceyshenanigans

[iceyshenanigans]

Giant Gear 5 Luffy watching Zoro fight makes me think of reader fighting someone and Gear 5 Luffy just giggling and kicking his feet in the clouds, giggling as he begs reader to watch him fight like they aren't currently beating someone up themself. Giant Gear 5 Luffy picking reader up and poking at them while reader is trying not to fall.

Gear 5 Luffy my beloved~

[iceyshenanigans]

Thank you for writing!!!

Hehehe I'm glad you liked my silly drawings! :]

I was most excited to draw Ace and Luffy, thankfully I was able to get their emotions across properly.🙏(it was a lot of trial and error lol)

I felt really inspired by @rollinouttahere-writes ‘s post about what goes on with Lucky around Marineford! Sorry it’s ramble esc if you want to understand better just read the og post I reblogged before this one. :]

Bonus unused Shanks! I thought he looked too soft so I ditched it.

[iceyshenanigans]

I felt really inspired by @rollinouttahere-writes ‘s post about what goes on with Lucky around Marineford! Sorry it’s ramble esc if you want to understand better just read the og post I reblogged before this one. :]

Bonus unused Shanks! I thought he looked too soft so I ditched it.

[iceyshenanigans]

Omg I would love to hear lucky lore if you have the energy for it!!!! My depressed queen!!!! After watching saboady do you have any more things for that arc? Oh God I just know she's dying at Duval

I am kissing you platonically on the forehead for asking. Thank you for giving me an opening to talk about Lucky Break. But you have opened Pandora's Box by asking, so I'm also going to yap about Marineford and the timeskip because I've retconned what was previously established for both.

Under the cut because I don't know how to shut up

Her reaction to Duval's face reveal is identical to Brook's. She's wheezing from how hard she's laughing and giving extremely unconvincing apologies to Sanji between breaths. Once Duval's face gets rearranged and he starts aggressively hitting on Lucky, she just kinda roles her eyes at his antics and doesn't take it very seriously. Though she does accidentally spit out her drink into his face when he tries to wink at her.

When they first get to Sabaody, it's pretty chill. Nami drags her along to go shopping with her and Robin, so she misses out on initially seeing the Celestial Dragons and Camie getting kidnapped. It's once she gets to the auction house that it starts to get messy.

Kidd has been obsessing over her ever since he found her lost backpack, and it only got worse once she got a bounty poster and he now had concrete proof that the woman in the ID he found is alive and well. He spots her the second she runs into the auction house with Nami, but he doesn't confront her immediately. He wants to just observe for a moment. However, he does use his devil fruit powers to covertly wrap some scrap metal around her wrist. Lucky notices this, but she doesn't know who did it, and given how stressed out everyone is over Camie, she decides to keep it to herself for the time being.

They don't properly meet until after they all escaped the auction house and have gotten the vivre papers from Rayleigh. During the chaos that happens when the Pacifista attacks the Straw Hats, Lucky get yanked away by the metal on her wrist. It happens so quickly that no one even notices she's gone until Kuma is there, and everyone assumes that he must have gotten her when they weren't looking.

In reality, Lucky is being hauled away by Kidd, who is making a terrible first impression. He calls her by her real name, something that she thought only Luffy knew, and it shakes her up to put it mildly. She gets hauled back to the Punk Victoria by Kidd and his crew and is forced to try and explain how the technology in her backpack works to him all while being worried about the rest of the Straw Hats (and she doesn't even know about Kuma showing up and sending everyone away).

Kidd initially says that he'll let her leave after she explains her stuff to him, but he doesn't keep his word. He was already obsessed with her before, but finally being in her presence (and under the influence of her amulet) amplifies it to the nth degree. He doesn't just want her knowledge, he wants her. And being a pirate, he has no problem taking what he wants, so he goes back on his word to let her go and states that she's a member of his crew now whether she likes it or not.

While she's on the Victoria Punk is when she sees the paper announcing Ace's execution, and she starts losing her shit and demanding that Kidd lets her go so she can go help save him. Kidd is unmoved by her pleas, so she has to get creative. She tells Kidd that she actually has more pieces of technology from her world, but that it's on the Thousand Sunny. And she reasons that since Ace is Luffy's brother, that the ship will be at Marineford because of course Luffy is going to come to his brother's rescue. This sways Kidd enough to agree to go, but he tells her that he just wants the chance to take out some big shot marines to increase his bounty and to get her things off the ship. He totally doesn't want to do this to make her like him or anything like that.

So Lucky, Kidd, and Killer set out to go to Marineford. He doesn't want to risk the Punk Victoria by putting her in range of a bunch of navy ships, so he has the rest of the crew stay behind after they get as close as they reasonably can. After that, the trio sets out on a small motor boat lined with metal so Kidd can use his powers to bypass particularly rough waters and the gates.

Kidd is more than a little irritated when they get there and see that the Thousand Sunny is nowhere to be seen, but at that point it feels like it would be a waste to just leave without killing at least a few high ranking marines or pirates, so he agrees to let Lucky do what she needs to do, but he tells her that she's on her own. If she wants to save Ace, she's going to have to do it herself.

While Lucky is staring at the chaos of the all out war in front of her and wondering how the fuck she's supposed to do anything to help, "A" takes pity on her and decides to give her something. A single pair of sea stone cuffs appear in front of her with a note telling her to use it wisely. It initially doesn't feel very helpful given that there are at least 10 different people here that she could use these on, so she pockets them and runs into the thick of it, figuring that she'll just know when she really needs to use them.

When she does feel the need to use them is after Ace is already freed. She sees Akainu lunging towards Luffy to kill him, and she also sees Ace running in to take the hit for him. She breaks into a sprint, and thanks to Akainu having a severe case of tunnel vision, he doesn't notice her until one of the cuffs locks around his wrist, completely snuffing out his powers. She gets it on him less than a second before he could land the fatal blow to Ace.

Lucky is in such an intense euphoria from getting there in time that she completely forgets that she needs to run because she just royally pissed off Akainu, and while his powers are canceled out by the cuffs, he's still more than capable of killing her given that only one cuff is on him and he can still move freely.

Akainu grabs her by the throat and has her lifted off the ground, ready to snap her neck. Before Ace of Luffy can even react, a massive heap of metal hits Akainu, forcing him to drop her and lose his footing. While he's disoriented and stumbling, Killer runs up and decapitates him from behind.

A hush falls over the battlefield. No one anticipated that an Admiral would die here, and especially not at the hands of a bunch of newbie pirates. Lucky is slack-jawed as she realizes that she is going to be credited with having a hand in killing a fucking Admiral. Kidd, now more than content with this kill, grabs her and says that they're leaving now. Ace and Luffy try to save her, but Marco swoops down to snatch both of them up before they can have anymore near death experiences.

Akainu's devil fruit will replace Ace's at the coliseum in Dressrosa now.

Lucky will now be spending a bulk of the timeskip on Kidd's crew, and with their now skyrocketed bounties, they spend a lot of that time fighting marines and pirates wanting to kill/challenge the people who killed an Admiral. Between that and training with Killer, Lucky becomes a much more formidable fighter over the timeskip.

When Kidd challenges Shanks and then loses violently, Shanks is all like "Hey, I remember you!" and brings Lucky with him when they leave. They briefly ran into each other at Marineford, and between Lucky being a part of Luffy's crew and saving Ace, he's more than happy to let her stay on the Red Force until the two years are up.

This seems like a good thing at first since Shanks is openly willing to let her go, meanwhile Kidd made it clear that he had zero intentions of letting her leave. But, it doesn't take long for her to notice that Shanks is getting a little too fond of her. And when he starts floating the idea that maybe she doesn't really need to go back to the Straw Hats, she knows that she just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The rest of the timeskip involves her being the subject of a game of tug-of-war between Kidd and Shanks as they keep stealing her away from the other, and the only reason that she is able to get away from both and back to Sabaody is because "A" appears and offers to take her there herself. All she asks for in exchange is for Lucky to close her eyes for a second. As soon as she does, "A" snatches back the amulet, extracts the wish from it, and implants it into Lucky to amplify the effects of it. Lucky is then teleported to the Thousand Sunny without any memory of the exchange with "A".

Okay I'm done now. Thank you for letting me get that out of my system.

[iceyshenanigans]

You mentioned in a previous post how one of Law's biggest fantasies is to hold/have Readers heart, and I was wondering if you would be able to make a small drabble or story of where that kind of happens? Maybe set during the alliance to take down Doflamingo, Reader is curious about Laws devil fruit abilities and asks him all kinds of questions. Reader, having a morbid curiosity, asks if they could see their heart with his ability and Law is mentally freaking out and gnawing on the bars of his enclosure while outwardly he is just side-eyeing us really hard. It could be a mixture of softness due to Law interpreting Readers actions as a sign of trust, literally holding their heart in his hands, which may or may not help his growing obsession..

Law knows he should feel gross, disgusted at his thoughts. He knows that any normal person would refuse you, scoff at your mere question, but he knows that he's no normal person. 

Law holds your heart in his large hands, watching it beat with such attentiveness that it burns the image of the organ into his brain. You watch as well, in awe at the depth of Law's abilities--gaping like a fish as you restrict the urge to poke and prod at your own heart. 

A disgusting part of Law wants to believe you're just as secretly strange deep down as him, that you're fascinated by the functions and behaviors of the human body. A part of Law wants to believe that's why he's so taken with the image of your heart in his hands, that he is just so innately curious he can't help but accept when you ask to see your own organ. It's a much easier idea to believe than what is currently stewing in his mind. 

Despite the clear, almost gel-like film of the organ, Law can feel the beats, the blood rushing on his fingertips. With it, he can imagine your lungs expanding and deflating, your blood rushing through your veins. He swallows hard, feeling so impossibly close to you at this moment. He knows that, in an instant, he could close his fingers, restrict your breathing, and pause your blood flow. But as he feels you push up against his side in order to see the organ better, he's a wave of calm wash over him. 

His breathing, or lack thereof, becomes more normal as he realizes what this is. It's trust, the ultimate sign of trust. Looking at your face, he could tell you feel no fear, just fascination, never even recognizing the danger you've put yourself in. In a strange way, it is peaceful, knowing you don't fear him, even though you realistically should. 

Law wonders if he deserves this feeling, if he deserves the peace and calm. He wonders if he should've refused you, pushed you away and kept you at an arm's length. It would make what he's feeling a lot easier to understand. He wouldn't feel his own heart beating so quickly in his chest, he wouldn't feel his stomach twist at how close you were to him, he wouldn't want to burn his moment into his brain forever.

"--you good Law?" He hears your voice, breaking him out of his own thoughts. You're looking at him already, and he can feel his face heat up. In a moment, he's pushing the heart back into your hands, causing you to stumble slightly as you catch the organ. Law stands, coughing slightly, looking over at you for a split second before walking away. 

Frowning, you push the organ back into your chest--feeling little difference, before rushing back towards Law, who seemingly refuses to look back at you.

[iceyshenanigans]

That Stupid Kid (Yandere One Piece x Isekai Reader)

Based on this post right here, I wanted to expand upon the idea and write something about it. This is apart of my Isekai One Piece AU. This takes place right after the two year time skip, during the reunion on Sabaody.

Warning: A kid mentions his mother and father in reference to Ace and Reader. This is not meant to be commentary on readers Gender. In my AU, reader is Gender Neutral, and are depicted as such throughout the fic. I just couldn't find a better way to word this.

This is also very Ace focused, so if there are other characters you want to see, please let me know.

AU Masterlist

---

It's a hot day, unbearably so, the hood over your head doing little at keeping away the heat. You could feel the sun beam down onto you, making you uncomfortably aware of the sweat traveling all over your body. Sweat does little to offer reprieve as you feel the arm around your shoulder tighten. Taking a quick look at the man on your right, you sigh, groaning at the sight. He must be hot too, because his hood is draped lazily on his back, the cloak open as he uses his free hand to fan himself. The freckles on his face are easier to see in the harsh lighting of the sun, along with the pout on his lips, making you feel even warmer. 

You’re both supposed to be keeping a low profile, even making him promise to not cause any trouble before you both left for Sabaody. The cloaks were a precautionary measure to make sure people didn’t recognize you, both your bounties were too high to risk being spotted, even if it was hot out. So to see him so blatantly–uncaring, you didn’t know if it was guts, stupidity, or simply this damn heat. 

After these two years, reuniting with Luffy was proving to be harder than anticipated, the heat proving to be just the tip of the iceberg. The moment you stepped down on the archipelago, you were dragged to store after store by Ace, watching with creased brows as he ate and bought everything in sight. You tried your hardest to enjoy your last day with Ace, but the whispers all around you were taking up most of your attention. Everyone was talking about the Strawhats, children, adults, Marines, no matter where you turned the voices followed you everywhere. It made it difficult to pay attention, despite how hard Ace tried, attempting to lure you in with food and trinkets he found around the island. Maybe you would be more interested if you weren’t so nervous. Even after two years, you doubt your own strength. So much of this world was still a mystery to you, no amount of training or acclimating could get rid of that. You wondered if they’d even be excited to see you, if they even wanted to see you, or if they changed their mind in the past two years. It was silly, but you hoped they were just as excited to see you. Spending the last two years with Ace was–fun, to say the least, but you wished to see your crew. 

The people must be just as excited as you, because many were crowded around the small walkways in between buildings, intrigued by the presence of Marines. In contrast, you just grew more nervous, especially as Ace kept getting lost on the way to the ship. 

"Do you know where you're going Ace?" You whisper while maneuvering around the thick crowd of people in front of you. Carefully peering over a few peoples shoulders, you attempt to figure out what's holding people up, only to grow impatient as the crowd just gets thicker. You click your tongue while looking at the man at your side, who is way calmer than you are now. Ace doesn't answer you immediately, holding you tighter against him as someone pushes against your opposite side. 

"I'm pretty sure we went the right way--" Ace speaks in a low voice, his head moving from side to side in an attempt to find an exit. Grumbling, your attention is swayed by the sound of yelling, causing people to push closer to the noise. From the sound of it, there must be a fight going on, peaking your interest. Standing as tall as possible, you try to get a clearer view, only to be blocked by more people. 

"Ace, hey--what's going on? Can you see?” Ace shakes his head, letting out a low laugh at your excitement, though neither last long as you shoved up against a body yet again. Unable to move, you watch as Ace huffs, his playful attitude being replaced with frustration. He uses the arm around your shoulder to push you free, while using his other hand to shove more people out of the way, freeing you both from the crowd. 

You’re able to take a breath as you rest in an alley, feeling marginally cool now that you aren’t back to back with walls of people, though you still feel gross from the sweat sticking to your back. 

“I thought you said you knew where you were going?” Your words are filled with slight annoyance as you watch people rush down the walkways in droves, following and pushing past each other to get closer to the fighting. 

Ace only yawns as he takes a seat on the ground, much more relaxed than he was a few seconds ago. He places his hands behind his head while he closes his eyes “I didn’t think a fight was going to break out in the main part of town.” He states, causing you to cross your arms. The laugh that leaves him only makes you more frustrated. “Take a seat, we just have to wait for it to clear up.” He smirks as he peers at you through one eye as he pats the spot next to him “unless you wanna join the fight, i’m not against it.” 

You feel embarrassment fill your chest as you’re led to remember your small bout of excitement at the sound of battle. “What–No, I just–” Somehow you feel hotter than before. 

Ace’s eyes are now fully open as he watches you fumble, amusement written all over his face. “No need to be embarrassed, you got a lot stronger over the years, it only makes sense you wanna show off.” 

“I do not wanna show off!” 

“Aww, really? But I like it when you do.” He playfully pouts, pushing you over the edge. 

“Shut up!” You yell “let’s just find a way around the crowd. I don’t want to be the last one there.” Ace doesn’t say anything after that, making you calm slightly, though you still don’t enjoy feeling his eyes on you. Ace always has enjoyed making fun of you, pushing your buttons and seeing how far you’ll go until you break. You’re usually not as receptive, though today he seems especially desperate to see you go insane. Maybe it’s because he’s excited to see his brother, making him more of a pain than usual? Regardless, at this rate neither of you were going to see Luffy. 

“Are you two married?” You nearly choked at the worlds, judging by Ace’s surprised expression he wasn’t much better. Turning your head towards the noise, you’re met with the sight of a little boy, probably around the age of nine or ten. He’s half hidden behind a wall slightly further down the alley, his brown eyes wide and full of curiosity, though you’d call it mischief. The boy only continued to stare at you as you gaped, confused and devoid of answer 

“NO” you cough, shocked by your own quick response “no–we’re not.” You answer much more calmly, though all sense of calm left your body as you heard Ace let out a hard laugh, holding his stomach as he doubled over himself, unable to contain the joy he got out of the situation. You, in fact, were the exact opposite, your mouth a thin line as you resist the urge to pull your hair out.

“My mommy argues like that with my Daddy.” The boy says like that clears everything up. Tears are coming out of Ace’s eyes now, his laughs definitely causing some odd looks. 

“Okay?--You should go find your parent’s kid.” You step closer to him and shoo him away with your hands. As you get closer to him, the kid's eyes grow even wider, pushing himself away from the wall and closer to you in little kid excitement. 

“Woah! Are you a Strawhat?” You feel your heart drop, Ace’s laughter stops as he takes a confused look at the kid from his spot on the ground. “Does that mean you’re Ace–woah!” His eyes sparkle as he moves closer towards the man. 

“Um–well” You don’t know how to respond, avoiding eye contact with the little boy. 

“I sure am kid.” Ace smiles as he sits back up, recovered from his laughing spree, causing you to groan at the man. 

“Ace! You can’t just tell him that!” Ace smiles at the kid as he pats him on the head, both of them  reveling in the attention. 

“But he’s so excited to see us.” Clearly he’s more excited to see him, but you hold your tongue. “And what’s he gonna do? He’s like five.” 

“I’m ten.” 

“He’s like ten.” 

You take a deep sigh as you rub your eyes, noticing a headache coming on. Finally giving up, you take a seat next to Ace, close to the kid who is rambling onto him about something, he’s talking too fast for you to really tell what it’s about. Ace seems accustomed to it though, listening intently as he nods along with the kid, offering commentary ever so often that makes you smile. Moments like this really reminded you how much Ace liked being a brother, he must really be excited to see Luffy. 

You’re broken out of your trance as you feel Ace take your hand, holding it up for the boy to see. “See them, they’re the one who saved me, so better thank them a lot, m’kay?” The kid nods his head, quickly wrapping his small arms around your body. You’re only shocked for a moment, before you feel Ace wrap his arm around your shoulder again, smiling against the side of your head. Awkwardly patting the boy on the head, you internally thank everyone you can think of as soon as the kid runs away with a little wave, leaving you and Ace behind. 

The sun feels hot on your body once more as you turn your head to look over at the walkways, the once thick crowd of people, gone. For a moment, it was silent, you and Ace relaxing in the comfort of each other. 

“Are you excited to see Luffy?” You whisper, trying not to disturb the peace. 

“Yeah–but I'm gonna miss you, y’know.” He whispers back. “It won't be the same without you.” 

You let out a small laugh “I’m sure you’ll manage.” 

Ace doesn’t respond, so you don’t continue speaking. At least until you find that it’s time to continue walking. You stand up, feeling Ace’s arm fall back to his body. You take one long stretch before turning to face Ace, who’s staring up at you with a small smile. You outstretch your hand, smiling back at him. “Come on Ace, let's get going.” His smile grows and he takes your hand, interlocking your fingers with his. 

“Yeah, let’s go find that stupid brother of mine.” 

---

“Welp–that wasn’t hard.” 

Luffy was currently fighting with a Pacifista, oblivious to the people, world, and situation around him. If you were even close to his strength you would punch him right in the face, but he seems to be holding his own fine, Ace’s confidence in his brother making you feel a little better. 

“Should we help him?” You ask Ace, who shrugs in response.

“Nah, he’s fine.” He smiles at you “He’s almost done anyway, we should probably find the ship.” 

Nodding, you take one more look at Luffy. He was clearly enjoying the fight, and you could tell by the confidence that he exuded that it was no struggle for him. He stretched around from building to building, narrowing avoiding lasers and bullets. Part of you wants to help, but you knew he could handle his own, he was your captain after all. 

You smile, covering your face with your hood, walking away from the battle excited to see your captain once he was done being a dork. 

“Ace, do you think that kids are going to tell anyone about seeing us?” 

He laughs “Nah, he was a sweetheart though, wasn’t he?” 

---

Bonus: 

A scream reverberates through the Sunny, causing the crew to rush onto the deck. “W-what’s going on–(Y/n)? Are you okay?” 

Your hands shake as you hold the paper, wide eyes locked onto the title. 

Strawhat Charmer Tames Fire Fist Ace! First Exclusive Look After Two Years!

“That stupid kid!”

---

A/n: sorry for any spelling mistakes

[iceyshenanigans]

I know it’s another Ace-centric thing, but you mentioned how you wanted to write about Marineford and Ace being saved by isekai reader from his perspective. And I would absolutely love to read it if you do want to write it

I'll Live for You (Yandere Ace x Isekai Reader)

For reference, some things might not line up with actual Marineford, and I'm sorry about that. Hopefully it doesn’t ruin your enjoyment. I haven’t watched Marineford recently except for in One Piece Fan Letter (does that even count) so i probably forgot some stuff. 

Two Ace fics back to back that's crazy, I hope you enjoy.

AU Masterlist

---

Ace doesn’t believe in a god. He doesn’t believe there’s anything that good out there looking out for him. He doesn’t believe that someone would care enough to try and keep him safe. If there is a god, it sure doesn’t care about him, and it never has. 

Ace’s hands are kept locked behind his back, his knees hurt from how long he’s been forced into this wretched position, propped up for everyone to see like a fool in a play. His mouth is uncomfortably dry and his body feels weak in a way he hasn’t felt in years. Ace doesn’t believe in god, but maybe this is some devine punishment. The son of Gol D. Rodger must be punished for his sin of existence. It’s cruel isn’t it, from the moment he let out his first cries, Ace has been punished by the world, and maybe he deserves it. Ace has spent the better half of his life trying to find the meaning behind his existence, understand why he was put on this Earth if simply to suffer. And now, as he watches his friends, his family, his brother fight for his life, he can’t bring himself to understand if he’s truly worth it all. 

Ace doesn’t believe in a god, but he believes this is his punishment. It’s not his birth, it’s not his childhood, it’s not even his unavoidable death, it’s watching the ones he loves the most throw away their lives in hopes of saving him. 

It kills him, listening to their screams, their cries, but the sound of their determination kills him the most. It rips into his chest and carves into his heart, destroying him in the most real sense possible. He doesn’t want this, he doesn’t want people to fight for him, he doesn’t want to be saved. 

He wants them to live. 

Live in spite of him. 

Ace forces himself to lower his head, pushing his forehead flush into the boards of the stand as he hears his baby brother's cries. Luffy shouldn’t be here, he doesn’t want him to be here, but he’s locked, unmoving as he’s forced to accept the fact that his brother is putting his life on the line for him. Ace doesn’t know what to do except push his head impossibly deeper into the boards, pain radiating throughout his head as he grits his teeth and cries. The pain of the wood digging into his head fills itself into every other part of his body, but he doesn’t seem to care, or he lacks the ability to anymore. 

The old man left to keep his brother at bay a while ago, but it felt like hours, alone up on the podium. In that time, Ace has found himself thinking of the things he wishes he did. He wishes he spoke to Dadan more, wishes he told Luffy he loves him more, wishes he got to experience more of you. Before all this, Ace thought it was strange to think about his brother's crewmate so much, but he doesn’t seem to care anymore. He wishes to feel the warmth of your hands in his again, like back in Alabasta. You held his hand for mere seconds, but it felt magical, following you like a lost puppy as he was dragged around the ship. He wished to know more about you, what are your dreams, your aspirations, your desires. Maybe he’s just cocky, but he’d find a way to give them all to you and more, as long as it was never leaving him.

When he first heard of your predicament, being stuck here from another world, he didn’t believe you, but your curiosity and naivety to everything around you spoke volumes to your situation. You confided in him about it one night, talking about how you missed your family. At that moment, Ace felt like he understood you the most, quiet and revealing. He was flushed right next to you, not that you seemed to care much, the only lighting being that of the moon and the stars, lighting your eyes in a way that he could only call ethereal. You talked, and talked, and talked, and for once, Ace was quiet, listening to every word like a gospel. You seemed to care about the people in your life very much, wondering how they were doing and if they even missed you. 

At those words, Ace took your hands, moving close to your face, staring into your eyes. His gaze was intense, causing you to move back slightly from him, still connected by your hands in his. 

“Don’t say that, of course they do!” He huffed “They’re your family.” It was the alcohol in him, but Ace felt unreasonably confident in everything he was saying. You mean a lot to his brother and his crew, you’re starting to mean a lot to him, you mean a lot to many people. So he never wants to hear that again. 

“I-I just mean, you mean–a lot of people care about you, you shouldn’t talk like that.” He explains, slightly embarrassed, glad that it was too dark to see the blush on his cheeks. 

“Do you care about me, Ace?” He didn’t know if that was a genuine question, or flirting, but regardless, he said yes in an instant. You meant more to him then you could possibly know. 

“A lot of people care about you too Ace.” You say, staring into the starry sky. “So we should both live for them, right?” 

Ace didn’t answer, he couldn’t bring himself to, but he desperately wanted you to live. Even in these moments, he was comforted by the thought of you exploring the world, living with his brother, creating a better world for other. Ace wanted you to be happy, he needed you to be. 

He needed you to live in spite of him. 

Ace doesn’t believe in god. If god existed, it would let him live alongside you. Your paths wouldn’t be so diverged, you could exist together. Both of you could live for the people you cared about, you could live for eachother. 

Ace doesn’t believe in God. 

But he does believe in you. 

“Ace! Don’t worry, I'm here to save you!” 

Ace shoots his head up, why are you here? His eyes, filled with tears, take in the sight of you. You’re in a Marine uniform, hair tucked up into the hat, dirt covering your face and body, why are you here? He feels your hands, cold and shaking from the ice covering the battlefield, why are you here? His hands are unchained, freeing him from his binds, causing him to fall forward as he sobs, why are you here? 

As he looks up at you once again as you look at his body quickly before taking his hands, he sees blood near your stomach, too much not to be from someone else. He slumps over, frowns digging into his cheeks as you sobs at the sight of you. 

“Why are you here!” 

You visibly recoil at the sound of his horse scream, looking to make sure no one heard before shushing him with a finger. 

“Shhh–they’re going to realize what’s going on soon if you’re too loud–”

“Why are you here!” He yells again, almost like a child throwing a tantrum. 

You look confused, wondering what he means, before sighing, taking his face into his hands. “I care for you Ace–you promised me that you’d live!” You yell much quieter than him, feeling his tears on your fingers as he coughs up sobs. He itches to wrap his hands around you, hug you, feel your warmth, but instead you take his hands, ripping him from his position and leaping with him off the platform. 

For a moment, while in the air, Ace comes to terms with the fact that if god did exist, it’s within that heart of yours. It’s you he wishes to worship, it’s you he wishes to live for, it’s you who he believes in. 

Ace realizes while in the thick of battle with his remnant of strength that he can’t sense you with his Haki. You’re right in front of him, but to his Haki, you’re nonexistent. That must be how you’ve snuck around for so long amongst the fighting and war. He wonders though how you managed to get hurt. Did you slip and fall on the ice, coming face to face with a pirate? Was it one of his brothers, did they recognize you from his stories, or did they pierce you through the stomach indiscriminately like any pirate would to a Marine? Did they revel in your screams, or did they realize their mistake and regret it later? Did they twist their sword as you cried out for help, or did you remain silent in hopes of maintaining your cover? 

Did you hide your pain in hopes of a better chance to save him? Did you think of him as you cupped the wound on your stomach? Did you curse him for putting you in this situation? 

He knew you wouldn’t, but he wished you would. 

Ace didn’t know how you both found yourselves here, slumped over behind a way, away from the fighting. It was a miracle only you could provide that no one noticed the two of you, but that wasn’t his concern. 

To his side, there was you, cupping your stomach in pain. The blood had spread taking over most of the white Marine issued shirt. Your hands, once warm and comforting, were covered in blood, shaking due to what had to be the cold and fear. Your breathing was shallow, quiet, and your eyes were distant–

“H–hey, stay with me, please–” Ace moves closer to you, taking your face in his hands. He looks at you intensely, patting you on the cheek in an attempt to focus or eyes. It didn’t work though, your head lulling almost like liquid as he moved you easily. You were losing too much blood, some was leaking from your nose and mouth. “Please–I don’t–please stay–” Ace stuttered, cries leaving him. 

In what seemed like cosmic irony, you shushed him, almost like he wasn’t breaking down in front of you. “They’ll hear you…go…to the ship” You said in broken words, interrupted by spirits of blood. Ace shook his head, waves of “no” leaving his mouth. 

“No, no, no, no.” Ace shook his head, he refused to let you die, and he refused to leave you alone. He moved closer to you, sitting right in front of you, straddling your waist. In another world, Ace would burn up, laughing off the intimate scene as he attempted to woo you. In this world, where the world is cold and the only sounds he can focus on are the screams of pirates and Marines and the huffs of your breaths, Ace feels something inside him burn, deep within him. Something within him screamed as he moved up your shirt slightly, just enough to see the dark red wound. His body nearly recoiled at the sight, thick and deep, bruises littering the skin around it. It made him sick with rage, igniting inside him at the thought of you dying, only to be quelled by the sight of your tears, you knew what he was going to do. 

In a second, his hand heats up, placing the entirety of his palm on the wound as the flames travel along your skin. You cry, scream for him to stop, squirm and take hold of his arm as he mumbles out apologies. He moves closer to, his forehead resting against yours, sweat, blood, and dirt mixing. “I’m sorry, it’s almost over–i’m sorry, please–” Ace keeps talking, he can’t listen to your pain, but he can’t let you die. 

He can’t let you die. So he’d sit here, burn your wound, and let you hate him for these few moments, even if it kills him. He screws his eyes shut, pushing his hand deeper, biting his tongue, drowning out his own sobs.

A few more seconds later, and it’s over, the flames die down, and you're left sniffling. Ace doesn’t move, slowly opening his eyes to look at you. He doesn’t want to look at your wound, so he feels it with the palm of his hand, hoping that it’s mostly burnt over. He’ll take you Marco, get you fixed, you’ll be better, you live. 

You’ll live for him. 

Ace eventually moves to sit flushed right next to you. Your cries and panting have died down, and you’ve moved your hand from his arm down to his hand, holding it tight. He can feel the crescent moon shaped scars on his forearm stinging, but he can’t bring himself to care. 

“Why did you come?” Ace whispers, not expecting you to answer. 

“You mean a lot to Luffy.” You whisper, blood drying around your mouth, “you mean a lot to me–i couldn’t just let you die.” 

“So you thought killing yourself was better.” He didn’t mean for it to sound mean, in fact it was the opposite. Though that didn’t mean he understood your thought process. 

“Would you do the same for me?” 

“Yes” He said in an instant, looking over at you, only to find yourself smiling at him. Tears were in your eyes, blood was staining your teeth, but you still smiled. 

“So we should both live, right?” 

Ace, frowned as tears flooded his eyes, but before he could do anything, you passed out into his arms. 

He felt you slump into him as his breath quicked, gripping you tightly. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want this. From a distance, he could hear the yells of pirates, of Marines, of his brother. They’ve probably noticed his absence, but he didn’t seem to care, too focused on your unmoving body. All he could do is sob into you as he looked around, begging for something. Where’s Marco, he needed him, he didn’t know what he was doing, but he didn’t want this. 

Ace sat there, unmoving, scared, wanting to rip out his heart and give it to you if it meant you’d live. But he’s stuck, and it terrifies him. 

You’re going to die, and it’s his fault. 

Ace feels someone looking at him from above, holding you closer to him, he looks up at the person through tear filled eyes. The man, dark and ominous, Trafalgar Law. Ace knew of him, but he didn’t know what he wanted. His gaze looked almost ambivalent, focused on you as he spoke. 

“I’m a doctor, give them to me.” Is all he says, and Ace doesn’t know to trust him, but as he looks at you, feels your shallow breaths, and thinks about the severity of your wounds, he doesn’t have a choice. 

Ace maneuvers you to face the man, brows furrowing as he addresses the man with a snarl “save them–please.” 

—

Ace is awoken to the sound of crying. 

His eyes open up slowly, the first thing he does is look for you, making him realize that he doesn’t know where he is. It’s quiet, and cold, but the medical med he is feels like the most comfortable thing in the world. The sound of crying only becomes more recognizable as Ace wakes up more, rubbing his eyes as he yawns. The cries were loud, filled with emotion, and raw. 

They were Luffy’s. 

Ace wakes up immediately at the realization, looking around, only to see both him and you on the other side of the room. 

“You idiot! Get off them.” He watches as Law tries to push Luffy off of you, but to no avail. Luffy’s legs are wrapped around your torso, his arms around your neck, and his head in your shoulder. Despite that, he can hear his brother clearly. 

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left you, thank you so much–” His brother sniffs, much to the disgust of Law. “Please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t–” 

“You idiot!” Law hits Luffy on the head, still trying to push him away from you. “They’re going to die if you don’t get away from them.” Luffy still doesn’t move, in fact he gets closer to you, making Ace laugh. 

Ace doesn’t mind that none of you have realized that he’s awake yet, he’s just happy to see you and his brother, happy and alive. When Ace was forced onto the podium, he never thought he’d live another day, but because of you, he’s here. He’ll see his brothers another day, he’ll see Luffy another day, he’ll see you another day. 

“Ace! You’re awake!” At the words, Luffy gasps, moving his attention onto Ace. Finally, you’re free, though Ace can’t focus on you as he feels Luffy hold him so close. For once, everything felt good, felt perfect even. He pat Luffy on the head, feeling him laugh against his chest, and he looks over at you. 

He watches as Law moves your shirt up slowly, his movements methodical and soft. Your torso is bandaged, blood still seeping through. Law moves his tattooed fingers across the bandages, assuring that you’re okay after Luffy jumped onto you. You say something quietly that Law smiles at, and Ace feels his chest tightened at the sight.

Ace watches as Law moves your shirt back down, smoothing it slowly as his hand stays near your waist. It doesn’t need to stay there, he can move it back to his own dumb body, but his fingers hold onto you, and Ace wishes to rip them off of his body. But you seem comfortable, blissfully unaware of the man so close to you, his hand on your waist, his eyes locked onto yours. 

And for some reason, that hurts the most. 

But for now, Ace doesn’t find himself caring, because you're here, he’s here, and that’s all that matters. 

Ace takes a breath. 

He’ll live

He’ll live for you

And you will be his, he’d rather die than have it any other way.

---

A/n: Sorry for any spelling errors

[iceyshenanigans]

late merry Christmas lol

[iceyshenanigans]

I’ve been thinking about this idea forever XP

[iceyshenanigans]

Very silly

[iceyshenanigans]

We'll Never Know the Place

title is from a Fever the Ghost song that felt appropriate for this piece

Chrollo x Cute Hunter!reader

Warnings: death, torture, gore, body horror, mentions of captivity, implied kidnapping

Word Count: 7.9k

“You don't need me for this.”

Chrollo paused in his step, taking a moment to glance over his shoulder as he looked back at you. Feitan halted as well, having been making his way out of the room, and you felt the way he watched you, his expression no doubt turning to one of concern and displeasure at the fact that you were already kicking up a fuss.

Despite having both of these particular men staring at you, you didn't meet the gaze of either; your attention was on focused solely on the unknown male in the chair that sat in the center of the room.

He was slumped forward, his short, dirty blonde hair covering his face somewhat while the blood that had dripped down from his neck stained the bare skin of his torso. It had gone on to soak into the material of his pants before it ultimately created a puddle on the seat of the chair beneath him and dripped off the edge as it continued to pool below. He was only able to lean forward to a certain extent as his wrists were firmly secured to the arms of the chair by way of two pieces of thick rope that kept him firmly attached and thoroughly unable to get away from whatever he had been put through. Which had undoubtedly been a lot, based on what you had heard before and from what you could see now. There were several fingers missing on both of his hands, you noted, as well as something that was off with the skin of his left bicep that appeared to be blackened. A glance at his legs revealed that one of them had been broken severely as it was bruised and bent beyond belief.

There was more damage – there was always more damage with the things Feitan did to people – and while you didn't want to know what it was, the things you could smell clued you in to what he had done to this man. A distinct burning smell, combined with an odor so foul that it made you want to vomit.

The man was dead. Obviously, as you wouldn't have been brought in otherwise.

You had known this was coming, too. After hours of hearing him scream and cry and beg for the pain to cease, you knew what would be happening once Feitan stepped into the main room where the troupe was gathered and whispered something into Chrollo's ear. That had been followed by a quick nod of acknowledgment by Chrollo before he ordered the torturer to end the man's life. You knew that, not long after, the head of the troupe would stand and tell you to follow.

You knew what he expected from you, and there was absolutely no part of you that wanted to go through with it.

“You don't need me for this,” you repeated.

Chrollo stared at you over the fine white fur that lined his coat, his gaze unyielding and his presence as oppressive as ever.

Then he spoke your name, his tone stern.

“I would have thought by now that you knew how useless of an effort it is to try and get out of this,” he continued.

“Insisting on using my ability is stupid,” you argued. You stepped backwards despite knowing Feitan was right behind you. He was watching you carefully as well, likely poised to grab you if you made any attempt to run.

You weren't going to do that. But you would argue with Chrollo.

“Shizuku is right outside,” you continued, “Blinky is better suited for this. It'll take literally a second if you have her do it. Just use her and leave me out of it.”

Chrollo observed you silently, his gray eyes watching as you tried to convince him that Shizuku was the better option for what he wanted. Your argument wasn't just a way of a bullshitting to get out of what you didn't want. You knew that you were right. More importantly, he knew you were right.

But those cold eyes remained impassive no matter what you said.

“I brought you here for a reason,” Chrollo told you, “now I need you to do your part.”

His tone was a tad more dangerous that time, and that was enough to put the fear into you as you tore your gaze away and looked to the side, your fists clenching hard enough that the way your nails were digging into your palms was starting to cause you pain.

“….. I don't want to,” you answered.

“That's a shame,” he said.

He then turned so he faced the body of the man as he said “but I'm afraid this is the last chance you'll get to do it of your own volition before I'm forced to make you do so.”

“……”

There was little other choice than to do it before it got to that point, you told yourself. Otherwise he would give that order, and a sharp pain would form in your skull, getting worse and causing you absolute agony until you did as he had told you. Nor would it end there, as your defiance going that far would mean trouble for you once the troupe's business had finished and you were left alone with Chrollo again. You hated the way he was able to control you, but there wasn't anything else you could do. It was a lose-lose situation.

With a frown on your face and your eyes cast downward, you steeled yourself before you began approaching the man's body, your clenched fists shaking ever so slightly as you made your legs walk you forward.

I hate this

You kept your gaze downwards as you walked by Chrollo, keeping your eyes only on what was directly in front of your feet, not wanting to make more eye contact with him than was necessary. A small bit of defiance that did little to affect him, you knew, but it was all you could do.

How childish, you could hear him say in that subtly mocking tone that you were all too familiar with.

I hate you

After a few moments, you heard Feitan's footsteps walking out of the room before growing quieter. He had stayed when you had spoken out, his warning gaze heavy upon you as you had felt him silently urge you to do as Chrollo had said. Now that you were getting down to business, he was gone, having returned to that main room to sit with the others.

He knew what Chrollo was making you do, as did the rest of them.

I hate every last one of you

They were aware of those feelings of yours as well, and for certain members, it bothered them deeply. They didn't like how upset you became with them, nor how emotional you would get when Chrollo put your abilities to work. But no matter how much it bothered those members, all of them were in support of their boss.

None of them would ever come to your aid. All because in their minds, you were the one who was in the wrong.

The burnt odor coming from the man was stronger when you moved closer to him. Once you were standing directly in front of him, you were able to confirm that the darkened mark on his bicep was, in fact, a burn mark. The sight had you biting your lip in disgust as you thought of the agony he had gone through at the unfortunately creative hands of Feitan and the wide variety of pain he had no doubt experienced before his throat was finally slit wide open.

Hopefully with everything else that had happened, that final slicing of flesh wouldn't have been as painful.

Hopefully.

A cursory glance about the room revealed the moderately sized wooden box that Feitan had been using as a table that was stuck in the corner, as his tools were lined up neatly on top of it. Almost all of them were covered in blood. When you narrowed your gaze, you saw bits of flesh that were still stuck to the metal.

Chrollo already knew what you were thinking.

“Take care of whatever is left over of him over there,” he began, “but you're to do nothing that alters Feitan's tools.”

…. Damn. It looked as though that stunt of yours from last time really was a one time only thing, much to your disappointment. But it wasn't that surprising.

If Chrollo was ever to make a mistake, he only made it once.

Turning your attention back to the man's body, you kept your focus on him while Chrollo stood behind you, watching your every move as you prepared to use your nen. Thoughts of what would work best in the environment and how much you needed to alter came to mind, but first….. First was to make him more presentable. To give him at least a little bit of dignity in death. Because at the end of the day, he was a person who had a life, goals and ambitions, all of which had been snuffed out for the sake of whatever it was the troupe was up to now.

Was it possible that he had been just as bad as Chrollo and the others? Or potentially even worse? Yes.

But you still wanted to show some kindness.

You began by undoing the ties around his wrists, and immediately you found that the rope had been wrapped so tightly that the skin in that area was raw and bleeding, some of it even scraped away against the harsh material that bound him. How much had he attempted to break those bindings while Feitan was removing his fingers?

It didn't matter, you told yourself, because you were undoing them now. Once both pieces of rope were untied and laying on the ground beside him, you placed his hands upon his lap which allowed you to hide the stumps of his fingers somewhat. Though that action caused him to lean too far forward and you were forced to adjust him before he fell over onto the floor. You quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him so he would lean back, and that made his head roll backwards as it followed the pull of gravity.

Now not only did you have a good look at that awful gash in his throat, but also the lifelessness in his unblinking eyes and the way in which his slack jaw hung open.

…. You could fix this. While you couldn't do anything about his throat, you could fix the way his expression looked.

Placing both of your thumbs over his eyelids, you gently pulled them shut. Then, while you kept your thumbs pressed over his eyes, you exerted a tiny bit of your nen that spread over the lids. When you pulled your hands away, his eyes stayed closed. You did the same with his jaw, locking the joints in place so his mouth would no longer hang wide open. When that was done, you stepped away, and the nen you had infused into those places on his face stayed strong. With his face looking like that, it was as though he was sleeping.

Even though that illusion was quickly shattered with one glance towards his throat, that felt better to you.

The other person in the room was clearly of a different opinion.

“You're wasting effort, love. No one who cared for him will know what you did,” Chrollo told you.

You frowned.

“He was a person; he deserves respect, even if it's just this much,” you answered.

“He was a person who existed outside of the troupe,” Chrollo corrected, “therefore he isn't important.”

“Maybe not to you.”

Damn it. Your voice was already starting to crack.

Chrollo noticed that as well and wasted no time in pouncing on your vulnerability.

“You haven't even begun and you're ready to shed tears?” he asked.

“With the things you make me do, what do you expect?” you responded bitterly.

“I expected that you would have grown used to this.”

“Maybe if being involved in this awful shit was something that I actually wanted,” you said, “but I still don't, and I never will.”

He didn't respond that time. Instead, as you were looking at the body of the unknown man and trying to figure out if there was anything else you could do for him, you heard movement coming from behind you as Chrollo walked to the side of the room. What he was doing was obvious when you heard the sounds of chair legs scraping against the concrete floor before they were lifted into the air, and then again moments later, when they were placed a few feet from where you were standing and directly in front of the dead man. An aged chair creaked as Chrollo settled down upon it, and suddenly the full intensity of his gaze was upon you once more.

“Whenever you're ready, love.”

“….”

There was no more stalling to be had, then. Nothing more you could do to put this off. Chrollo probably felt as though he'd been generous in allowing you to take your time and do what he felt were pointless actions in rearranging the man's body. After all, the troupe was still in the middle of a job, and he wanted you to get on with it so they could continue with the current loose end being fully tied up.

If you took any longer he would invoke that pain on you again.

With a deep sigh, you activated your hatsu.

Revival Gardener

In moments, your nen had conjured up your watering can. Moderately sized and brightly colored, it stood out among the gray rock and rotting wood of the abandoned room. The can itself was a pastel yellow and adorned with pink accents, topped off by the two handles that were shaped to resemble cartoonishly cute hearts. It was very likely that if there was ever a magical girl character with abilities that were focused on gardening, your watering can would surely be in her inventory. The light purple packet of seeds that was also adorned with hearts fell into your palm after the watering can, and you figured that would likely also be something she would use, though you wondered how her abilities might differ from yours.

Maybe she would've been smart and would have some sort of ability that was more effective in combat.

As interesting as it might have been to consider the show about a hypothetical magical gardening girl, you couldn't focus on that forever. Definitely not with Chrollo staring down your back. Placing the empty watering can on the floor next to you, you adjusted the packet in your hand, both sides of which were left blank, and reached into your pocket for a pen as you looked to the man again.

His body, his clothes, the chair, and the blood that had been dripped and spattered across the floor. Four things to make note of. Another glance over at Feitan's tools and the blood and gore that covered them, not to mention the blood trail that led from them and back to the body. You would need to make sure you covered all of that area as well.

With all that Revival Gardener was capable of, it sadly wouldn't be a difficult task.

Holding the pen to the packet, you began to write:

Male human body

Adult's clothing

You were about to write down shoes when you stopped to double check yourself. It turned out he wasn't wearing any shoes, so that wasn't something you needed to bother with. You continued with the list.

Wooden chair with rope

Human blood

….. That was it. After double and triple checking what was before you and what you had written down, that was all you needed to change. You flipped to the other side of the packet which had yet to be filled in, and you paused a moment as you decided what you would write.

During that time, you didn't hear anything from Chrollo. He stayed silent as you wrote on the packet, but you could tell that his gaze was still on you. You didn't need to turn your head to confirm that.

After a moment of pondering, you decided to write the word “lavender”. The area the building was in was appropriate for it, with dry temperatures and lots of sunlight. That would grow well here.

With the decision made, the pen went back into your pocket, and you ripped open the packet before dumping the entire thing into the watering can. The seeds, the packet and the words you had written all broke apart within the space of the can, transforming into liquid that began to swirl about within your conjured creation, emitting a soft purple glow as it filled the can to the brim.

When the water stilled was when you could begin, and now with the can in hand, you looked again to the dead man. Exhaling a shaky breath as you clenched the the handles tightly, you took a few more moments before lifting the can above him, and with a tilt of your hands, you proceeded to pour the contents upon the poor man's body. He was quickly soaked from the water while the blood was washed down all over him, pooling in that same place in the seat of the chair. The chair was soaked as well; you made sure of that as you walked around it to make sure you covered every inch.

The body, the clothes, the chair, the blood. All of the blood. You needed to take a few steps back as you covered the floor in the unending water, making sure that you got every last stray drop.

All of it needed to be changed.

The man still looked as though he was sleeping as the water ran down his face and caused his hair to stick to his forehead. The blood from his neck washed down fast, however, joining the growing puddle beneath him that now had the water mixed in.

You then walked over to where Feitan's tools sat and poured the water over them. Though the box and the tools were quickly soaked as well, those items would remain as they were once this was over.

The last thing to be done was to cover the floor where the blood had dropped between the tools and the chair, and just like everything else, the water soon engulfed it.

When you returned to the body to make sure you had gotten everything was when the conjured water finally ran out.

With that, the first part was done.

You took a step back, staying behind the body while your watering can vanished. The second half of the process was going to begin soon, and you needed to watch all of it.

Chrollo chose then to speak once more.

“Come sit with me, love.”

You looked over to him and frowned when you found him motioning to an empty chair that sat beside him. The temptation was there to refuse and insist that you would stand for the rest of it. But just like everything else, this wasn't something you could get out of no matter how much you protested.

You remained silent as you walked around the body and took your place by Chrollo's side, your eyes immediately going back to the man while you gripped at your knees while you desperately hoped that, just once, Chrollo would refrain from saying anything further. Even though you knew that was incredibly unlikely, both due to the fact that there was a fair amount of time that needed to be filled out before you could leave this room, and because there was no way Chrollo would overlook your continued resistance.

Still, you dared to hope that he might, just this once, keep quiet while you suffered.

But of course that didn't happen.

“You know that it doesn't need to be this way, love,” he began.

You frowned again.

“You're right; it doesn't,” you agreed, “and yet you're dead set on forcing things to be this awful.”

You then cut him off before he could speak, saying “don't bother telling me that I'm the one making things difficult. I'm sick of hearing it.”

Chrollo let out a hum in response. Hearing that only had your frown deepen while your hands clutched at your knees harder, all the while you kept your gaze focused on the body. There was no change to be seen as of yet. But that would take a little while, as it always started internally before spreading out beyond.

Right now the man still looked like he was sleeping.

“Have our discussions become so stale that you immediately know what I'm going to say?” he asked.

“They only ever go around in circles. Honestly, I would've thought you'd be sick of the same conversations over and over,” you said.

“Be sick of them? Never.”

Chrollo leaned forward on his knees as he gazed at you, and from your peripheral vision, you saw the serious look on his face as he told you “if it's a chance to help you, then I'll gladly have the same conversation tens of thousands of times.”

“You're not helping me.”

“I am, love. You just aren't able to see it yet.”

“Because kidnapping me and making me dispose of your victims is such a great way to help someone,” you sarcastically answered.

The man's body shifted somewhat as he slouched back in the seat, though even now he still appeared to be asleep.

“I'm putting your abilities to good use,” Chrollo countered, casting his gaze towards the body as well.

“They weren't meant for this.”

“And yet they work quite nicely.”

“Shizuku's ability is more effective.”

“So you've said.”

Chrollo leaned back in his seat as he continued “but Shizuku isn't the one that I'm worried about.”

You scoffed.

“You're trying to say that you're worried about me?”

“I am.”

You shook your head.

“That's a lie. You're not worried; you just want to control me,” you said.

“That's not true.”

“How is it not? You took me away from my work when I didn't want to go with you and you used one of your stolen abilities to make me do what you want. How is that anything other than you controlling me?”

“Because it's for your own good,” he answered.

“I think I know what's good for me.”

“And I say that you don't,” said Chrollo, “the others are in agreement with me.”

Because all of you are monsters

You couldn't say that part. Because even though you knew it to be true, there was no way you could bring yourself to voice such a thing. You had grown up with Chrollo and most of the others, after all. All of you living together and finding those little scraps of happiness within that city of junk and decay.

Even though you hated the people they had become and you made that feeling of them clear, there was still some affection you had for them, for the children they had once been and who were now nowhere to be found.

The man's body twitched, arms and legs moving in response to your nen.

Already there was bile building up at the back of your mouth. You hated how you now recognized that as being a sign that his nervous system was in the process of changing. Just how many times had you been made to do this now? You could count them if you really wanted to, but once again you kept yourself from doing so. The exact number didn't matter. The fact that you were being made to do this at all was awful enough.

Chrollo had paid no attention to the current condition of the body, his focus back on you as he asked “have we already reached the point where you ignore me? I thought we had a bit more banter to go through before that happened.”

Your scowl remained on your face as you replied “for someone who claims to be worried about me, you sure do take a lot of time to mock me.”

“I'm afraid that can only be blamed on you, love. I care about you deeply, but you make it difficult when you kick and scream at me in an attempt to test my patience.”

Hearing that made you bite your lip in frustration; he was making it sound like you were a child throwing a tantrum. That alone was enough to make you want to hit him. Not that it would do you any good, even if, in the moment, it might have been slightly satisfying.

But just like you had told yourself before, the repercussions of such an action would come fast and harsh once the troupe dispersed.

…. Maybe that was pathetic of you. That you, a Hunter, would allow something as simple as pain be enough to give him leverage over you. Weren't you supposed to be stronger? After passing the trials of your exam, how was that enough for him to control you?

Then again, you hadn't taken the exam in the hopes of proving your strength or even in the hopes of becoming stronger. Getting that license was simply the easiest way to achieve your goal.

The chair beneath the man groaned and the legs began to buckle, bending slightly forward while green began to appear in the blood soaked wood. The ropes that had been left on the floor were also being overtaken by the green color, and upon the surface of the floor that was marred by his blood, small sprouts were starting to appear.

With the way the front legs had bent forward, the man's body lurched over, his upper half leaning against one of the chair handles. Despite the change of position, his face was still largely facing towards you, and the sense of peace you had tried to grant him by shutting his eyes and mouth was still there somewhat, even with the awkward position his body was in.

You hated this. You hated that you needed to watch the body of this unknown man being slowly taken over. If you tore your eyes away for too long, the change would stop and you would be stuck in this place with Chrollo for that much longer, which he would definitely chide you for.

Though you doubted he would mind all that much.

“Who was he?” your voice whispered, your nails digging into your hands again as you were having a difficult time with the sight before you.

“No one of importance,” was his response.

“I want to know anyway.”

“You don't need to,” Chrollo said firmly before he added “if you wanted to know his name you should have made that a condition for your hatsu.”

“I didn't make it a condition because Revival Gardener wasn't meant for things like this” you replied.

“I know. Your reasons were far more pointless.”

That last part stung.

“It wasn't pointless. I was helping people,” you said.

He had the nerve to sigh deeply at that.

“Love,” he began, “you chose to become a Cute Hunter.”

“I was helping people,” you insisted.

“What were you helping with? The official role of a Cute Hunter is to maintain the beauty of people and keep them looking younger. Was helping others maintain their vanity so rewarding?” he asked, the disdain slowly but surely creeping into his voice the longer he spoke.

“You know what I was doing. You know wasn't anything like you're saying and you know how much it meant to me,” you said.

You turned your head so you could give him the full extent of your glare as you again insisted “I was helping people.”

“You were growing flowers out of trash,” Chrollo said, “such a thing is hardly life changing and I guarantee there were few who even noticed what you were doing. All of us agreed that it was a waste of your talents.”

“But it wasn't. It isn't.”

He was wrong. The troupe was wrong. It wasn't a waste. They were simply incapable of understanding because of the path they had chosen.

Chrollo shrugged at your response, saying “feel free to cling to those beliefs of yours while you still can.”

“You say that like you think-”

The words coming from your mouth were lost when the man's body moved again, this time in the way of a full body jerk as something inside him gave way to the life growing within him. Whether it was because of that movement or simply something you had done wrong when you had applied your nen earlier, you couldn't say.

But regardless, his eyelids and mouth snapped open, and with him still facing towards you even now, you were greeted with a horrific sight.

His eyes were gone.

All that stared out at you through the empty sockets were the green of the leaves and the soft purple petals of the lavender flowers that continued to grow and fill the space within the man's head. His tongue was gone as well, though his teeth still remained, sitting among the stems and leaves while his gums were being consumed, slowly but surely revealing the bone of his jaw that sat beneath.

Now with his mouth once again hanging slack and open, the flowers began to make their way out into the open, the plant life now poking out at the edges of his mouth. That seemed to have caused a chain reaction, for the plants began to make their way out of his injuries as well. The stems and buds were now hanging out of his neck wound, reaching down his bloody torso where they were met by the ones escaping through the cavities left by his missing fingers, all mingling together as the flower buds grew rapidly. Lavender was blooming in that burnt section of his arm and on his broken legs and spreading out just like the rest of the plant that had found its way to the open air.

Empty sockets continued to stare at you as the flowers continued to grow, reducing what once had been a man into nothing more than a human shaped terrarium.

All the moisture had left your mouth as you stared back. You were left unable to speak as you began to tremble within your seat.

Mercifully, Chrollo remained silent during this time.

When the change began to affect his bones, his neck was fast to break. His head quickly bent over to the side as his skull began to lose it's shape.

And upon seeing that, the horror of it all overwhelmed you.

With a hand over your mouth, the floodgates of your emotions opened wide and you began to loudly sob.

This wasn't the way things were supposed to be.

A woman in a sharp business suit and her long hair tied up in a bun looked about the trees that surrounded her in bewilderment, her mind clearly racing as she wondered how this forest had come from nowhere and if she had somehow gotten lost on the way to her intended destination.

“Are you alright?” you called out, causing her to jump as she turned to face you.

“Ah – yes! I just…..”

The woman looked about again as she said “I got mixed up somehow and ended up here. I must not have been paying attention when I was driving.”

“Where were you trying to go?” you asked.

“The abandoned strip mall,” she told you.

“The one that was built on a former garbage dump?” you clarified.

She nodded.

Your hand went to the back of your neck as you said “well, most of it's gone now, but I can take you to see what's left of it, if you want.”

The woman's eyebrows furrowed, but she followed anyway when you beckoned her. Through a moderately sized collection of trees, bushes and a few open glades filled with wildflowers, you led her to the other end of the newly formed forest, and the both of you were greeted with a mound of dirt, concrete and aged garbage, most of which had fossilized. It was large, standing high over both of your heads. That was more in line with what the woman had expected, but she again looked behind herself to see the lush greenery that was clearly present in a place that it shouldn't have been.

She looked to you as she began with “you said… You said that this was what was left of the hill?”

You nodded.

“The same one that used to be a dump that was covered over and had built the mall on top?” she asked again.

Again, you nodded.

The woman looked to the greenery and then to the remains of the old dump site before she looked at you again.

“How?” was her bewildered question.

You nervously clasped your hands together as you began to answer.

“I'd heard about it not long ago,” you told her, “that the structure was abandoned years ago because of the methane coming from the ground and the way it had been sinking, and that it was still sinking into the garbage underneath it. When I learned that nothing was being done about it, I thought I could help.”

Realizing that you hadn't actually answered her question, you added “I'm part of the Hunter Association, and I figured that my skills would be able to fix this place. So I changed the buildings and what was underneath it to this.”

You gestured to the forest as you explained “it took a long time, but I think it's turned out well.”

The woman didn't look any less shocked after you finished speaking.

“You can just….. Do that?” she asked.

You nodded.

The woman continued to stare at you in disbelief, and the longer she looked at you like that, the more you began to worry that she was upset.

Then she spoke again.

“Can I hug you?”

The request was unexpected, but you smiled as you nodded to her. The woman quickly pulled you into a hug, and she held you tightly.

“Thank you so much,” she said, “I've been trying for so long to get the city to do something about that place but they always put it off, saying there were more important things they needed to take care of. They were content to let that place rot and fall apart, and I didn't think anything would ever be done.”

“Thank you so much,” she said again, “you don't know how much it means that you've gotten rid of that junk hill.”

You smiled again as you hugged her back, and a warmth bloomed in your chest as you heard her words of thanks. What you wanted most was happening: this had been your most ambitious project in your role as a Hunter, and before you were even finished, it was making a difference.

If you could do that for this woman, then the thing you wanted most could surely happen:

You could change Meteor City.

Your sobs continued to wrack your body as you watched the man's skin fall limp, held up only by the lavender flowers inside of him. He had been reduced to a skin suit, an unnatural looking thing that few would guess had ever been a real, living and breathing human. The chair he sat on was now beginning to lose it's shape as well, and slowly, the suit of skin began to lower further and further onto the floor as the wood of the chair was also absorbed and transformed.

Once all of the bones had been completely taken over, the skin began to do the same. It started in the areas where the skin was already broken, spreading from there like a disease. You watched helplessly as the last of that unknown man was eaten up by your hatsu, as his skin was broken apart and changed from flesh into plant.

You couldn't help but cry as the thought repeated in your head: this wasn't the way things were supposed to be. Your hatsu was never meant to be used in such a way, never meant to be perverted like this. All you had wanted when you became a Cute Hunter was to help people by way of giving them small pieces of joy as you turned trash into something as simple and beautiful as a flower. Even if it was something small, it was worth it to you.

Why did Chrollo find that so objectionable?

The pieces of the man's skin that still remained reached lower to the floor as the chair gave away completely. His blood soaked pants were vanishing quickly, the rope that had once sat by his side was long since gone, and the trail of blood that had led up to the box with Feitan's tools had been replaced by a long and scattered line of flowers.

It wouldn't take long now until everything about the man – his actual body and the things done to him – would be gone completely. No one who hadn't been here would be able to guess as to what had actually happened.

All they would see was a large patch of lavender growing within the abandoned building.

Though the man was nearly gone now, it didn't make it any easier on you, as your tears still fell as you focused on the parts that were still there: the last remaining bits of his skin and his dirty blonde hair that still stuck out at the edge of the growing patch of flowers. It had spread out far enough that it had reached where the two of you sat, and when you felt the petals brushing against the edge of your shoe, you pulled up your feet.

As much as you wanted to console yourself by saying that there was some comfort in the man's body not being allowed to decompose or rot, you knew it would do little to ease your distress. You weren't a good enough liar to convince yourself of that.

Chrollo's feet had stayed where they were when the flowers had extended out towards him, drawing his gaze down to the floor. After a moment of consideration, he reached down to the space in front of him, finding a stem of lavender and grasping at it. Then without even the smallest ounce of force, he plucked it. Sitting back up, he examined your creation, twirling it as he did so and causing the flowers to spin in his fingers.

“The end result is beautiful, love, I will give you that,” he told you, “but ultimately your reasons for your ability are far more superfluous than I know you would ever want to admit.”

You had bitten your lip to keep your mouth shut, though it didn't stop the way you sniffled while you continued to cry as you watched the last of the man's strands of hair turning green and sprouting up flower buds.

“One day you'll see that it was a good thing that I stepped in.”

Again you didn't respond, but you stiffened when you felt him lean towards you and felt his fingers tucking a few stray strands of hair behind your ear. The apprehension of feeling his touch turned to disgust when he placed the flower he had pulled into your hair, tucking it in with the hair he had so gently moved only moments before.

Cruel.

That was all he was.

When the last strands of dirty blonde hair were gone and all that sat before you was the lavender, you knew it was finished. Just as Chrollo had wanted, you had done 'your part'. With no trace of the scene of bloody torture from before, you could now leave the room.

You attempted to do so without another word, but no sooner had you stood up, Chrollo ordered you to sit.

With no other choice, you did just that.

Chrollo's hand traveled to your lap in order to clasp yours, and the squeeze he gave you felt like it was meant to be encouraging, though you knew it was performative. Just like everything was with him.

“I know you think that I enjoy seeing you in distress, love,” he began, “but I need you to know that it couldn't be further from the truth. Your well-being is something that I care about deeply.”

“…. You have a funny way of showing that,” you mumbled, not having the strength to speak louder.

“Think of it as rehabilitation.”

“It's not, though,” you said, shaking your head, “I don't need to be fixed.”

“And once again, you're simply wrong, love.”

“…..”

When you pulled your hand away from his, he chose not to react. Nor did he say anything when you pulled the bit of lavender out of your hair and tossed it to the floor where it was quickly hidden among the rest.

“Can I go back to the other room already?” you asked bitterly.

Chrollo hummed as he took a moment before answering you, as if to rub more salt into your wounds by treating you like a child that needed to ask for his permission before you did anything.

You had pointed that out, once, calling him out on how degrading it was as well as insulting.

“Well, you aren't much different now than how you were as a child, are you?” he had spoken in response.

“Even now, you haven't grown past clinging to your princess dresses and playing make believe that you can force the world to match your idealized fantasy.”

You had slapped him for that. Hard enough that there was blood that dripped briefly from the corner of his mouth and a bruise that had stayed for several days after.

He didn't do anything to you for that. Not immediately.

It was when the job was over and the two of you were left alone in a location of Chrollo's choosing that he retaliated, using that ability that made your head feel like it was splitting in two as he forced you into doing things that you didn't want to do.

Again, the question surfaced: what kind of a Hunter were you that you allowed pain to keep you from fighting back?

…. One that had decided that 'Cute Hunter' was the direction to go in.

The slight self-deprecation of that thought wasn't lost on you. And it wasn't lost on you that it had come from Chrollo, his opinion sneaking its way into your brain without him needing to say anything or even knowing your own internal dialogue.

I hate this, you told yourself again.

It was the only thing you could say because it was the only thing you could do.

“It seems as though we're finished here, so I suppose you can leave,” Chrollo finally told you.

Without another word you stood and all but ran out of that room, having no desire to ever enter that place again and not wanting to risk Chrollo giving you more orders while you were still within earshot.

Chrollo himself remained seated, again gazing at the miniature field of lavender.

It wasn't right, you thought as you wiped away more tears.

Things shouldn't be this way.

Heading back to that main room where everyone else was gathered – because you'd be brought back there anyway if you went somewhere to be alone – your return was noted by all of the troupe, questioning eyes going to your form as you entered and made your way back to the spot in the corner you'd been occupying for the majority of your time here. Those questioning gazes didn't stay that way long, as one look at your tear stained face told them all that they needed to know as to how your corpse disposal had gone.

You had completed it. Everyone knew Chrollo wouldn't have let you leave without doing that. But as they continued to watch you, seeing the way you curled in on yourself and held your knees to your chest after you had taken a seat on the floor, all of them could tell that it hadn't been easy for you.

They couldn't understand it.

As they watched you obsessively and angrily wipe away the tears that you didn't want them to see, those members who had grown up with you were again at a loss as to why you cared so much about someone you didn't know. That, after the things you had experienced alongside them with your childhood in Meteor City, you had somehow managed to turn out so differently from the rest of them.

A few moments passed before Phinks got up from where he was sitting, and with his hands in his pockets, he began to walk towards you, no doubt with the intent of offering some kind of comfort. The harsh glare you sent him when he came close had him stopping in his tracks, and he floundered for a moment before turning around and returning to his seat, the awkward and disappointed look clear on his face as he did so.

You didn't want their pity or their comfort. You didn't want to be around them at all. No matter what they said, the childhood friends you had once had were nowhere to be found, not here or anywhere else in the world.

It was easier to tell yourself that the day Sarasa had been murdered, all of them had died along with her.

For the rest of this job, not another word would be said to you. You had done what was wanted of you, and so your role ended there. All you had left was the end of the job when Chrollo would force you to leave with him, making you follow him like a puppy. The troupe would part ways and then you might see a few of them sporadically between heists, but the majority of your time would be spent with Chrollo, and the head of the spider would return your reality to the one where your world revolved around him and him alone. Your abilities that you had wished to be shared with the world would be only for him, and again you would be forced to languish while you remained in his company, feeling a bit of yourself breaking apart day by day.

Maybe one day he would be successful.

Maybe one day he would manage to brainwash you and you would no longer find what they did so objectionable. Maybe a new version of yourself would emerge, one that had died just like they had with Sarasa, and you would walk around with them like a zombie, committing the same foul acts they did and feeling nothing while doing them. Maybe you would tell yourself the same things they must have, that all that mattered were those within the troupe, and in that way you could callously disregard the lives of others.

That wasn't today, though.

Eventually Feitan would return to where the body had been, no doubt needing to take a bit of time as he pulled the purple flowers that embraced his tools off one by one.

Eventually Chrollo would return to that main room and give instructions to the members that he had deemed necessary for the current job, and he would do so without casting a single glance in your direction.

The rest of the troupe would follow his lead, continuing with the job. Business as usual.

But at the back of their heads, they would remain hopeful for you.

Because if there was anyone who could fix you, it was Chrollo.

[iceyshenanigans]

GAME SPOILER ⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠

[iceyshenanigans]

My thoughts whenever Mychael said something crazy during day 3

[iceyshenanigans]

Heard this audio and thought it related to my recent experience lol

[iceyshenanigans]

Someone’s jealous 🤭

[iceyshenanigans]

MDNI:

Essentially, it's because I will interact with stuff that isn't appropriate for a younger audience. Not only do the creators of such content not allow minors to interact with their work but also I'm not comfortable with that kind of interaction knowing the warnings about the mature content.