Three days later, Garp came to tell him that his friend Kuzan had prepared the ship to set sail and that they were waiting for him at dawn for the trip to the continent.

"Are you sure it will be okay to go with them?"

"Do not worry" Garp clapped him with enough force to send him to the front "you'll arrive safely while you're still hiding where we told you"

They were going to take it in one of the inferior rooms of the ship, far from the sight of the sea, it had to remain there until they touched firm ground. He could not risk going out, and the triton could see him and bring the other siren school.

In addition, the boat knew the legend and used to wear ear plugs, Kuzan himself had faced one too and if it was not because he used to pay attention to Garp's warnings about the mysteries of the sea ...

Anyway.

Not even a ray of sunlight had risen even above the ocean when Ace reached the ship. He was covered with a dark green hood and carried in his backpack his few belongings and some money he had saved during his years of life.

"So you're the grandson of Garp?" Asked the dark haired Afro man as he guided him inside the boat.

"Yes, thank you very much"

The man did not respond, taking him to the lower rooms of the ship.

"This will be your room"

It was a small room, with a bed, a table and a chair, quite dark because of the distance between it and the deck.

"We'll bring you the meals at eight, one and seven ..."without giving him any further explanations or another word, he left the room.

Ace entered the small cabin and sat on the hard bed. The boat swayed gently and I could hear some gentle waves hit the boat. He threw the bag with his belongings aside and lit a candle, throwing himself on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

He had no one to say goodbye to on his native island because there were not many who wanted him having the father he had, only Garp ever cared for him, Luffy and Sabo, but he could not depend on them forever.

" Maybe I can start a new life ..." Ace smiled " I'll go to a country where nobody knows my past or my offspring, where people do not judge me because Roger was a son of a bitch ... it will be great ..."

The truth is that all those words he was telling to console himself, knowing that he left behind the security of the only thing he had known and that he was afraid of.

Afraid to be in a strange place with strange people and afraid of what the sea had for him.

The wound on his shoulder was still fresh, and it hurt ... even though he had received the right treatment, it seemed that he did not want to heal well ... he was not infected but did not close.

"tch..."

Since he could not leave, he decided that he would at least try to have a little sleep.

It had been three days since the game and Ace was terribly bored.

Locked in that small room, the hours were eternal and the days seemed centuries.

His shoulder hurt a lot, and the medicines his grandfather had given him did not seem to be working. He got dizzy and almost did not sleep, making his stay even more unbearable.

He had a strange feeling ... he was sure that the blond triton was there ... in part, he could feel it, that feeling of fear and attraction mixed.

where it was?

The answer to that was presented that same night when the ship suffered a much stronger impact than any of the previous ones and the boy knew he was going through a storm.

One of Kuzán's men informed him that they were in the middle of a typhoon and that they needed all the men from the ship on the deck, to collect the sails and to take the ship out of the storm.

Even though he wanted to stay behind and in his heart he knew he was falling into a trap, he left.

When it came on deck, everything was in chaos.

The ship shuddered, throwing sailors from one side to another, no doubt that one has fallen down the railing at this point.

He ran to one of the sails and helped the crew to roll them up to prevent the ship from being severely affected.

The sound of the water deafened him and the real lightning flashed that stormy night with a deadly shine.

Where had such a storm come from? This was not something I could not predict, the clouds would be seen from a distance and the captain should have been able to change course before being wrapped.

An especially strong wave stirred the ship, a few degrees more than those who are healthy for life and Ace and some of the sailors with whom he was raising the sail, were shaken and hit the railing.

"Shit ..."Ace was thrown back to the floor of the deck when the boat stabilized even though it had almost capsized.

He knelt and clung to the railing and cleared his vision.

He was there.

there, there, there, there.

Looking at it

Time was paralyzed, the raindrops fell so slowly that they almost assured him he could count them.

His soaked clothes clung to his body and made it difficult for him to move.

"How ...? How did he know?"

I've been following the ship all these days? Planning the way to get it out? See how Ace got on the ship?

He shook his head, shooing away all the questions he did not need at this time. The problem was that he was there, swimming on the surface, with a dark look and a deadly smile.

My own ...

Come ...

Now ...

"Stop ... ¡stop!" Ace look directly into the other's blue eyes "are you going to sink the boat?"

The creature's smile widened and Ace knew it was just what he was looking for.

Come with me…

Now…

Always…

Lightning struck one of the masts and burned.

Before the destruction of the ship, before the storm, for a single moment, there was nobody but them.

Would it be ... would it be so bad?

The triton was willing to take all the necessary lives to have it, had saved it and killed anyone who had tried to harm him.

All because I wanted him.

Because I wanted it.

Thick drink, thinking ... deciding.

The triton planned to sink the ship and take it away.

But if he gave him his hand and followed him ... What would happen to him? Would it be devoured? Would he be dragged to the ocean?

He got up and walked the few steps that separated him from the edge of the ship.

His heart burned with desire.

Since childhood his fear had been to follow that desire that filled him every time the bright tail and blond hair of the fish man appeared.

He had tried to take the opposite, had feared the day he could not resist.

In that his desire to touch that pale skin and those frozen lips, he won.

Today was that day.

The creature's right hand rose again and reached out to him.

There was no malicious smile, there were no deadly eyes, his face was serious and inscrutable.

What is your answer?

Ace did not hear the shouts of the sailors running towards him, he did not hear the lightning or the rain as he jumped over the edge of the ship.

"yes"

It was seconds that seemed like hours those that took to fall squarely to the sea.

The water covered him completely and he opened his eyes observing the black waters that surrounded him.

Even if he was going to die or not, he had made his decision.

He heard a kind of whistle crossing the water and was soon caught by those strong arms. There was a violent pull that pushed him away from the ship where the men were still shouting and was dragged like a doll through the waves until he was far enough away not to hear a noise coming from the crew.

They came to the surface and Ace took the water and he swallowed and recovered his breathing.

Once he did, he looked at the blond triton's face, waiting for whatever was going to happen to him, now that he was in his arms and no one would save him.

The blond returned his penetrating gaze, and Ace felt it pierce his soul.

His webbed hands encircled the young man's neck and drew him to him, kissing him possessively.

It was desperate, violent.

The blond bit his lips with those serrated teeth and savored the blood that came from the wounds.

Mine, Mine, Mine…

You will not escape again ...

Never.

He smiled again and one of his webbed hands separated from Ace's body and went to his own jaw.

The freckled could not help noticing that he had no scars from the bullets that Garp had given him, and that he did not look in bad shape. What's more, he was radiant.

He saw only a small flash of that sharp teeth and the black blood of the triton began to circulate through the wound in his palm.

It was dark as night, even darker than the sea, like oil.

He was confused for a moment, but the second after that, the other hand of the triton caught his jaw, opening his mouth.

"Huh?"

Black droplets slid down his lips and his tongue lost in his throat.

He tasted bad, horrible, like gall.

He choked and tried to spit but he did not let him, forced him to swallow that black liquid until it started to burn.

It hurt

Ace scream.

Why?

His body began to ache, to burn, to writhe, his screams who knows if they could listen to the ship, or to the other side of the ocean.

The triton remained impassive trying to give him some peace, held his head so it would not sink, and could not see what happened to his body.

The bones of his feet thundered and he felt his flesh open and close, why did not he lose consciousness? His clothes were torn and he was naked in front of the blonde who still looked into his eyes without flinching.

Soon it will end ...

He lost the notion of time and was between conscience and unconsciousness for who knows how much.

When he regained his sense of self a little, no longer felt pain.

He was somewhat stunned and looked at the blonde in search of an explanation.

The other swam around him. He seemed very satisfied as he looked him up and down.

Look at their feet to see what they had on specials.

They were not there.

Instead, a bright and powerful red tail stretched where its lower extremities were, ending in a golden-colored fin.

His hands had also changed and were now webbed, ending in sharp claws and red scales ranging from the wrist to the elbow, he touched his neck and could feel the gills.

Your teeth ...

His teeth were pointed.

In the midst of his confusion the other triton pounced on him and hugged him.

Forever…

Forever…

You belong to Me.

While assimilating those changes, the other took him by the hand and plunged him into the ocean swimming in the direction of the ship.

What did he want to do there?

The storm was over and although the sky was covered by dark clouds and even drizzling the waves and the winds were gentle.

The boat had not come out unscathed at all. The mast struck by lightning had fallen and the sails had been torn despite everything.

He would probably be stranded until some ship responded to his distress signals.

They had not all left alive from that. Under the surface of the sea and the ship, there were several floating bodies, sailors who fell overboard and did not resist long enough to receive help.

They approached at a random corpse.

Ace recognized him a little, but felt nothing seeing him dead.

The blue-tailed triton came a little closer and took the body in his arms, digging his teeth into the fresh flesh, letting out the blood that dyed the water and came to Ace.

It was intoxicating.

The metallic smell that would have given him repulsion suddenly felt very good.

Ace opened his mouth and tasted the seawater flavored with blood

Suddenly he felt very hungry.

The other seemed to know and surely that was why he had taken him there.

look at him and beckon him to come closer. The freckled man did it without hesitation.

They devoured the meat until there was nothing left but a diffuse mess of dismembered parts and inedible organs.

He did not feel remorse or sorrow, it was like eating anything, there was no evil in it.

There was nothing wrong with it.

His tail moved gently with the compass of the sea and took the hand that the blond offered, sinking into the dark waters, to the bottom of the sea, to the place that no human would ever see.