~~~

I am a fighter and I

I ain't goin' stop

There is no turning back

I've had enough

'Cause it makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

It makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

~~~

Time passed inside the simulation field, and both Ace and Sabo watched the cascading droplets, detaching the battle from curious eyes of beholders. They both had finished with their opponents with no deep scars running their bodies. The ferocity from hours ago disappeared and was replaced with slight concern, while still rooting for the youngest member of the family. The raven and blonde would have been lying if they said that they had been 100% concentrated solely on their own fights. The scanning eyes dropped to the wide alley and searched for any signs of their friends, praying that they were fast enough to avoid any attacks that could send them flying away.

"You think he's capable enough to beat him?"

Ace drew his hand from his hip with a low whistle. "I don't see how he could fail. He has been the most unpredictable of us all."

Sabo's head jerked up and directly faced his brother, a grim plastering the dark expression. "I don't know how the hell will they go up against anyone at this point. I'm 100% sure we'll just end as an easy bait."

"And? Won't it be fun? Exhilarating? Don't look at me like you have seen the biggest idiot. One way or another, this was meant to happen. So why cry over some spilt milk? Relax man. Using too much brain cells won't help you this time, my nerdy brother."

"I'll be dammed if you use any. Don't you understand? They know about us. That freaky man has probably realized by now what connections we have with Y/n. It doesn't take a genius to put one plus one together." He looked away from the raven with a mock-seriousness. "Of course, you are an exception, dear idiotic brother."

"Ha, then prepare yourself to strangle me when I'll finally confess something. You know that phone call Luffy 'allegedly' made? Well..." The raven grinned. "It was all me. Yep. The idea, the deactivating of the GPS system. I even told Robin to contact a friend of mine and make them a couple of fake IDs for the smooth transfer between the borders. No traces after them." Ace triumphally straightened his back. "Who's a low IQ slacker?"

Sabo was clearly prepared to get rid of the male with a single push down the hill. However, with simple, deep breathing, he calmed himself to the degree of only spatting at his brother. "Then, why the fuck all the act?! What was the point of it?!"

"Oh, only because if things went south, then I wouldn't be the first one to blame." Before the fist could dwell into his abdomen, Ace stopped the blonde. "Joking, I'm joking!" He sighed. "I wanted Luffy to receive the feeling of finally getting the redemption for Shanks sacrifice. He still feels guilty for all the scars that accidents had left on the old man."

"He was a kid. It wasn't his fault."

"I know. But Luffy doesn't."

"So that's why we are leaving him in the hands of that beast? So he would get even?"

"That's our little brother. Either way, he would have done it in his own way." Ace nonchalantly shrugged. "Better to support him and let him know we have his back, rather than abandon him. And regarding Eustass Kid... He may be a brute, but let's not forget he saved Y/n. In a bizarre, strange, questionable way."

"Yeah right. She's now drooling all over him." Sabo's fists tightened.

"I don't support entirely her decision, but who are we to judge? She wasn't injured nor does she hold any hatred towards the redhead." They both stared in silence at Luffy, the straw-hat boy patiently waiting on the dusty field. "I wanted to ask, but it seemed a bit too rude... And a bit inappropriate."

"What?"

"... Are you jealous? Of Eustass, I mean."

"Jealous?" Sabo echoed derisively.

"Don't try to deny it. I have noticed the way you speak to her and the look you give her whenever she's with you." Ace gazed down at his hands. The red marks were meant to stay for a quite some time as well as the mild bruises from the hits. He would have to treat the injuries after this. "Don't lie because it's pointless now. You love her, don't you?"

Sabo said nothing.

"After all these years," Ace continued, "you have been crushing on her and yet you decide to stay quiet. And now, that you see that somebody can easily snatch her away, you finally choose to open up."

Entirely tired from the topic, the blonde simply gave what the raven wanted to hear. "...Y/n once told me," he said quietly, "that she liked me. But perhaps at that time, she meant only as friends, but my mind didn't really want to accept that. It easier to lie to ourselves than face the truth."

Ace nodded. "Good. Now, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, idiot. Are you going to fight for her? Till the end? The battle hasn't finished yet, you can still get her. Take this opportunity to show yourself as the righteous knight in shining armor. I heard that the ladies like macho men like that."

"I–"

It was more than just a slight tingle that ran underneath his skin. No, it was as though someone had attached a live wire to each of his nerves, and his body convulsed as the violent electrical current pulsed through him. "What was that?"

"If that was Kid..." he grabbed the younger guy's collar and dragged him towards the end of the cliff. "I'd rather make a bigger distance between us." Ace gulped and nervously looked at Sabo, apologizing for his roughness.

Clouds swirled around the redhead in a dry greeting as the layer of sand covered the mountain top. The rain drenched his red locks and concealed half of his face, yet still the beast was more than comfortable in the creepy environment. "You are finally here." he narrowed his eyes at the shorter male.

"Shishishi~! You betcha! I'll beat your ass."

The veins in Kid's neck strained but his smile remained intact. "Cocky bastard, aren't you?"

"Same goes for you, shishishi!"

The beginning wasn't that exhilarating to watch so Ace took the opportunity and continued where he and the blonde left off. However, before he could utter something, his brother was already ahead of him.

"It's over, mate." Sabo silently stared at the beast's determined face. While it was true that Eustass did all of this for his own satisfaction, he was aware that if Y/n wasn't involved or if he didn't care for her, he wouldn't have simply left them off the hook.

"How the fuck can you say that? I'll knock some senses into you if that's your wish."

"You don't understand. She's the same as I am. The look, the feelings... She truly loves him. And if I love her, then I need to let her go and give her the happiness she deserves."

"Fucking snooty bastard." Ace let go of his brother's collar and went through his hair, desperately trying to find a way to express his anger. "Don't blame me, if you get hurt."

"Well, that's what Luffy's for. And kicking other asses."

"Good enough for me."

They both looked down at their brother and then at Kid. "Why do I think this is going to end badly?"

"You and me both. I really hope Y/n and the others will arrive before one of them dies."

From that point on, a battle of two polar opposites rapidly proceeded. While Luffy still had to get accustomed to the pistol's grip, Kid swung it like it was an extension of his hand. However, no matter how skilled the red-head was, he missed his target every single time. The younger male was agile and quickly adapted to the speed. And frankly put, the redhead imagined Y/n's hurt expression.

"Is that how you want to play?! Then so be it. Let's do it the old fashion way."

~~~

"I'm fine," pouted Luffy and sent a funny glare at the scowl that featured my face, "it's just a few bruises."

I clucked my tongue, raising my hand towards Nami as she handed me another bandage, "you are not fine, idiot. You could have gotten yourself killed if it weren't for Killer." What an ironic sentence.

The stimulation finished with satisfying scores from all of us, though it weren't meant to be closed before the final battle. Kid was determined to join the examination and was most definitely ecstatic when his opponent, Luffy, fully excepted the dual without even batting his eyes. I wasn't surprised as we arrived, that both of them were bloody, half limping and growling at each other like some savages.

"Stop this damn thing!" The only one who listened to me and immediately intertwined was Kid's right hand, Killer. He reached into his pocket and in a low voice, barked something to the other side of the line. A loud, reedy sound stretched around us. The whole space dissolved into small pixels until we all stood on the metallic floor, wires and tubes surrounding us as we took a deep breath of relief. Mine was the shortest as I marched towards the two guys and with Heat's help, forced them apart.

I sat Luffy down, throwing a few half-exasperated and half-concerned glances at Kid, but his childish confidence repelled me from offering any medical attention, so I just focused on the youngest of the Newgate siblings. I clenched the rough material, soaked in disinfectant, in my fist and drew a tracking line across his deep cut on the shoulder.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Good. It should." I murmured. When I finished I rose up to my feet and looked around the small room to which Law directed us. The other bosses were absent, possibly gossiping about us, the dumb kids, in the comfort of the luxurious chambers.

Usopp awkwardly stationed himself beside Zoro and Ace, opposite the group of others that frantically whispered to each other and from time to time threw a glance towards the redhead. He was the only one who was excluded from any interaction, sitting in the corner while blood dripped from him.

"I'm going to take a break from all of this. Tell the guys that Law will lead them to their rooms. I think all of us deserve a good night's rest."

Luffy nodded and jumped, bumping into his brother while swiftly slithering his hand around his neck. A laughter erupted. The message was clear. We are accepted.

Now, for the hardest part. I marched across the room, towards the door and before I excited, I whispered, almost impossible for anyone else to catch my message. It was way off my usual personality and in any other situation I would have stuttered and be nervous, but after experiencing today's events I was prepared to jeopardize my own image. "I'll be waiting in the room. These cuts can get infected."

~~~

To be continued ...