~~~

"That's it. I'm going to blow up that kid's head. My patience is thinning." Capone barked, frantically tapping his shoulder with his overly decorated fingers. "Three teenagers...adequate. But a number that excels that?" He sharply spat. "I refuse."

I had stayed on the same exact spot ever since Luffy declared his intentions. My hands were locked around my torso and searching for unknown comfort in the warmth that was threateningly close to vanish. Sabo was same as me, disappointingly leaning on his knees and murmuring something too himself, even glancing towards the younger brother from time to time, who was unfortunately in Ace's deadly grasp.

Law, I presume, wasn't anymore amused by the revelation. The wrinkles between his eyes deepened as well as his composed attitude. The man that sat next to him was his complete opposite-Bartolomeo was of course the only exception. Even though the greenette was honestly amazed by the male's stupidity, he adored him like some super star and thus instantly forgave him. Which I found rather cute, for some strange, twisted reason.

And Kid.

It was detectable from miles away how much pissed off he was. Frantically pushing a lock of his hair out of his eyes and grunting, the redhead struggled to maintain a mild atmosphere around him, probably cause I was in his vicinity, but there was a twinge of annoyance lingering on his pale, yet handsome face.

"Should we move then? To another location?" Bonney suggested, more sharply than it was really meant. I already flinched, a move that suggested my disapproval and preparation to decline the offer. However the rational part of my brain somehow had the force to stop and relax the tense muscles.

Emotion are getting in my way.

But if they do come, what do you think will happen? They'll be in danger. Because of me.

I grimaced.

Do you think they will be able to withstand Joker's fury?

Though, truth be told, everyone has already turned 18, so no matter the decisions that will be made here for their own good, they won't budge even for an inch. Their pride certainly won't allow them to stay back and carelessly watch for the show to unravel.

Sometimes I wonder if they are incredibly brave or just incredibly stupid.

As my small dialogue continued to take its effect on me and my concentration, Kid clicked with his tongue. "That won't do. If Joker is really as careful as Marco said, then he will surely sooner or later find out about the ties between them and Y/n."

"I must give it you, Eustass-ya. I didn't know you can be so reasonable." Law straightened up in his chair. "Is it because of- " The raven's eyes drifted to me as he mischievously grinned. Me and the redhead both knew in what direction he was striding at. I couldn't get enough air into my lungs anything.

"Stop now, until you have that tongue of yours, you fucking shit." Kid hissed, covering up the trays of assumption and truth that would have leaked if it wasn't for the brief commotion that suddenly increased in the room.

"SHUT. THE. HELL. UP!" Kid finally roared, abruptly standing up and slamming his hand to the table, so the impact made me jump in my seat. "This is fucking taking my precious time." He furiously darted to Luffy. "You, Strawhat bastard, made quite some shit out of this situation, haven't you?" The redhead frowned when an unchangeable expression lingered on the teenager's face.

"The more the merrier." Luffy simply answered, not intimidated by the bloodlust that was freely oozing from Kid. Which ticked the older guy even more.

"That doesn' t make any sense." Law applied, hesitant at first, but as the glares on him increased, so did his ego and the usual stuck-up grin appeared like someone switched his mood. "But I think he is on to something, Eustass-ya, Capon-ya."

"Ehm." All the attention rotated towards the layer that was angrily gripping his suit case, while he corrected his glasses, so they again reached his eyes with the other hand. "Sadly, I don't follow, you." The man bitterly said. "Please, do explain yourself more clearly." I wondered how would I have reacted if I were in his place as an older sibling to the Trio Brothers.

The raven's lips curled into a sour smile. "Joker doesn't know anything about them, right?"

Marco slowly nodded. "Yes, that is true."

The raven's confidence put me and Bonney into a perilous discomfort, both for various reasons. She nervously tapped her fingers on her chin and bit on her lower, with lipstick, stained lips.

"Then why don't we take advantage of that?" His question was already sending me couple of alarming signs. It screamed, shrieked in a way I couldn't dismiss even if I tried. My heart ticked like a bomb that was just about to burst the blood in my veins and make marks on the white embroideries that were stitched to my long-sleeve shirt. "Let's make Luffy-ya and his friends our plan."

"I'm against that!" I jumped from my seat and with a ferocious yank clutched my fist in the air. Rationally, Law's words made sense, but it didn't do much to quiet down the voice that was screaming to call off this charade.

But we don't even know if we have another day to postpone all of this...

"No, Y/n..." Ace's eyes were now focused on my surprised face. "He is right." Giving a side glance towards the doctor, he mischievously grinned. "I want to show this bastard so badly that we aren't just some brats. Don't you agree with me Sabo?"

The blonde was silent for a moment, but then a triumphal smile plastered his face. "Yes. I do."

"But I don't agree!" I staggered.

"It's all against one, Y/n. The majority wins. It's simple math. Man..." The freckled boy scratched his neck and yawned, not caring about the table manners whatsoever. "How high did you even score on that mock test? 32 points?"

"Ace, it was you who scored so little. Y/n was actually who tutored you after class." Luffy smartly pointed out. "She even came late at night and corrected your exercise sheets and even gave you a pile of study books."

"Shut up! It was a onetime thing! A-and it's not the issue right now." He sighed, while he exaggeratingly went through his hair, a habit that I noticed every time he tried to shrug off his embarrassment. "That's settled then. What's the next step?" Ace rushed, staggering on his words.

Law replied with a shrug that accentuated the twist of his shoulders. "Now we patiently wait."

"You have something up your sleeve, Trafalgar, don't you?" Capone amusingly huffed for the first time today. It seemed that the confidence spread like a deadly disease and the older man was the first one that caught the symptoms.

"Thanks for asking. Yes, yes I do. Marco," he shifted to the lawyer. "You said Edward Newgate was the copresident of an independent branch in Military Section?" He rose his brow. "Or have I received some misleading information?"

"No. You heard right. But pops' only on this position, because one of our in-laws asked for his guidance."

"Perfect! And did he perhaps receive an invitation to the Dressrossa Masquerade Party?"

The blondes mouth curled into an unpleasant grimace. "You mean the Foundation Corporation? Yes. He did," Marco's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"Exactly."

Kid beside me groaned. "I see where you are getting at, Trafalgar."

"I hoped so. Cause, ladies and gentlemen, we are invading the center of the corruption. The headquarter."

Bonney gasped and Bartolomeo intriguingly smiled, satisfyingly finishing his statement: "Aka, Joker's mansion, I assume from your devilish grin, Law."

"How are we going to achieve that?" I asked, slowly starting to follow the conversation, but still timidly resuming in the background.

"How? Simple as that." He said. "Disguise."

~~~

To be continued ...