Metal Heart

The train track was old and disused as [Y/N] nimbly and confidently walked across the boards that were wrecked with age and rot. Slinging the bag of goodies onto her shoulders, she wasn't afraid of falling through the wooden planks even though one wrong step and one would likely drop to their death, into the vast chasm that yawned beneath the tracks. The rusty, metal buildings that made up this part of the city barely reflected the early morning light; smog being puffed into the air through various pipes sticking out of the buildings.

This part of town wasn't as nice or clean as the side [Y/N] just came from; the nobles' portion of the city was majestic and fancy, all due to the work of people that worked sometimes days and nights at a time just to get enough money to eat. Not [Y/N] though. She didn't want to work her life away like her parents had, so she left home during her teenage years and learned how to survive in this city without having to spend all her time working for food.

Pickpocketing and employing herself through odd jobs worked until she was about 21 when she stole from the wrong guy, the General of the kingdom's army: Akainu. He earned a fearsome reputation of being ruthless when cracking down on the various thieves and gangs littering the city like an infestation of rats; more just seemed to crawl out of the woodworks whenever some died or disappeared.

While on the run from the Magma Mutt, (as those in the slums had taken to calling him from his frequent usage of pouring molten metal into underground hideouts to force those inside to flee right into Akainu's awaiting forces) [Y/N] somehow managed to lose him but she ended up in the territory of Eustass "Captain" Kid.

Other lone thieves called Kid a "sadistic bastard with no sense of a moral compass" who crucified those that dared to try and take him on. [Y/N] was apprehensive being here just from hiding in the shadows, but she dare not go where Akainu would surely capture and kill her. No, it was better to stay where the lesser of the two evils could find her and risk his wrath rather than an immediate death via Magma Mutt.

The late afternoon of that day turned to chilling night, but [Y/N] still hadn't moved. Akainu wasn't known for giving up so it was likely she'd be stuck here for the night; maybe even for a few days if he decided to set up patrols in the area to shoot her on sight.

She tried to get comfortable between the tall buildings in that cramped alley, but since it was the dead of winter and [Y/N] only had the clothes on her back to keep her warm it looked like this was going to be a very unpleasant night. She may have gotten through worse nights but that didn't mean she had to like the possibility of hypothermia and frostbite.

Drifting in and out of slumber due to the cold, [Y/N] had visions of warmth and being carried away. Chocking it up to being delusional dreams caused by sleeping outside, she didn't think to panic at the time. Well not until she woke up in an unfamiliar bed and heard distinct voices outside.

Taking a quick glance around the room, she was dismayed to find there were no windows to escape from. [Y/N/ gave herself a swift pat down and sighed gratefully when nothing seemed to be missing.

Not even a beat later did Eustass fucking Kid storm into the room and demanded why [Y/N] was on his turf. Being smart, she told him about her misadventure the day before running from Akainu himself and showed the man Magma Mutt's very own wallet as proof. The tall, red-haired male didn't look very convinced before he glanced over at his companion; who wore a white and blue mask with medium blond hair flowing from his head.

The man, whose name she later found out was Killer, corroborated her story and said that Akainu circled the area, where Killer found [Y/N], no less than five times before setting up a 24-hour patrol for a few days.