Three [Eustass Kid × Reader]

Thirty-nine

"How did you survive that fall?" he asks silently.

"Answer my questions before I answer yours!" you shout at him.

King's hand falls, and you close your eyes because you can't believe seeing him in chains. For a reason that you can't explain, you can't stand it.

"I wanted Kaido-san to become the King of the Pirates," sounds his deep voice again. You let go of the grating.

"That's not a reason to keep me around you for such a long time," you whisper. "To train me personally, supervise me, to... keep me safe from everyone else."

"I told you in the war," he answers. "I took you in because you had a similar curse to mine."

"You can say it out," you look up, and his muscles strain. "I know who I am."

"How?"

"Why would I trust you?" you ask.

"You kept my secrets, and I always kept yours too," he answers, then takes a deep breath. "If I tell you everything you want to know, will you do the same?"

"I give my word."

King stays silent for a minute, so you decide to repeat your question.

"You caused me more pain than anyone else," you say, but he doesn't even shiver. "But you never tortured me just to hurt me. You trained me to become stronger and forced me to use my Devil Fruit because you wanted to find something. I deserve to know what it was."

The man turns his head away.

"Not something," he answers, and you freeze. "Someone."

King casts down his eyes. You see his body relaxing as he starts to talk, telling this story for the first time in his life.

"Once you visited my nightmare," he says. "But I doubt you remember it because it was before the Awakening of your power. You found me in the field of corpses of my kind and helped to wake me up."

You can't stop the shaking of your hand, but don't interrupt him.

"You know that I'm from the Red Line," continues King. You notice how every emotion disappears from his voice and his face. He often does it to set a wall between himself and reality. One more thing you always tried to avoid. "The Lunarians are almost extinct today. There's a chance that I'm the last one alive."

His white hair falls above his shoulder as he looks down at his own hands. He moves the black wings subconsciously, hiding himself a little.

"But when I lived at the old home, I wasn't alone," he whispers. "I had her, more important than anyone."

Her?

King smiles sadly, and you tremble from the soft, gentle expression.

"She had the same dream as you, Three. She wanted to touch the sea. And even if I knew it was dangerous, I believed in my power, that it would be enough to protect us if anything happens. So I agreed to go."

When he looks into your eyes again, you feel like his gaze binds you down.

"I wasn't strong enough," he continues. "Not at that age, not at that time. I got injured, and the Government captured me. My last memory is seeing her falling into the ocean. I was taken to Punk Hazard, and they experimented on me for years before Kaido-san freed me."

The man hesitates for a moment, his fist clenching.

"We didn't find her there," he whispers. "And ever since that day at the sea, I have the same nightmares every time I fall asleep. I stand in the field of skeletons of my people, walking to see them one by one, the bones I leave behind shatter under my feet. I look for her corpse."