To Raise a Vampire

A Surprise Guest

"That guy! I hate him!" Ace hissed to Sabo as they all walked to the galley for food, Ace in a sour mood from the grumpy and rude commander. Sabo wasn't happy with it either, but he kept his anger cold and collected. Luffy was walking in a more subdued gait, head down and a deep frown plastered on his face. An expression that should never be worn by him.

"I'm not happy either, but you can't be so loud. Vampires are out right now, we don't want anyone knowing that you hate one of their leaders," Sabo reasoned. He smacked Ace's arm to stop him from ranting some more what Thatch entered the room from another doorway. Ace scowled but not at Thatch, who had scolded Kingdew (stupid name...). Thatch was one of the ones Ace liked the most, if he liked any of them.

When they reached the bar counter, Luffy climbed onto his usual seat. He was still looking sad. Ace and Sabo sat next to him. He was quiet, and didn't ask for food like he usually would. The boy then turned to Sabo, and asked sadly, "Sabo, am I bad?" Ace and Sabo both stiffened at the question. How could Luffy think he was bad? He was perfect, that damned commander!

"Luffy, don't worry about Kingdew. He's always been a stick in the mud," Thatch said from across the counter. "You didn't do anything wrong or bad, we just want to make sure nothing bad could happen." Luffy frowned at this.

"I wasn't alive back when Marco first got his fruit, but he'd accidentally set the original crew's ship on fire and it had burned to nothing, leaving the original members stranded on an island in the Grand Line. He's still here, he didn't mean to do anything wrong. It had been pure accident. They happen, but the best thing to do is to forgive and move on. No one would blame you if something out of control happened. Not even Kingdew, though he would definitely be grumpier than usual. So, don't worry too much about it," the cook finished, setting a steaming bowl of stew in front of each brother. Luffy seemed a bit more cheerful after that, but was still droopy.

He really missed his bedroom and home. Sure, he liked new and more people and vampires, but he did miss the little ship now. Were there others on the ship that would be mad at him about his powers? Should he not use them anymore? But the thought made him sad. He liked his powers, they were fun and cool! And they didn't even last that long, so what was the problem?

His brothers noticed his quietness and frowned, still irritated with Kingdew, no matter if he was like that with everyone. But, the story about Marco helped little. Marco had already been part of the crew. The longest member as far as the Spades knew. Of course they wouldn't kick him off for an accident, even if it was a huge one. Luffy wasn't part of the crew, just a temporary passenger.

Ace was thinking differently than Sabo, though. Sabo already knew whitebeard wanted to keep them, and based on what he had said and not said, he didn't feel any different than before Luffy projected a bad dream. And they didn't even know what the bad dream had been of. They couldn't ask with Luffy around, and they hadn't asked the boy about it yet. If Luffy wanted to talk about it, he would have brought it up himself.

The brothers would ask another time.

The rest of the night, Luffy was still pretty quiet, making Ace and Sabo worried. "Luffy, are you still upset over the commander?" Sabo asked gently after they were all done with their food.

Luffy shrugged. "Will my powers hurt people?" he asked quietly. Ace gently took him into his lap while the rest of the Spades and their captain looked at one another, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to upset the boy.

"Well, if they were used in the wrong way, it's possible," Sabo answered truthfully. Luffy looked back at his hands.

Then, with more determination than Ace or Sabo had ever heard, Luffy said, "I promise I'll learn how to use them good! You hafta help me, though," the vampire added. Everyone nodded with a smile. Luffy did what he set his mind to do, even if it ended up being trouble for others. However, this was necessary for the safety of the Spades and the Whitebeards, who were kind enough not to kick them off and leave them stranded once they found out Luffy might be a liability.