Chapter 6: The Hunting of Innocent Children

A/N: A lot of people think I'm already six foot under the ground by now, or at least in a coma, or even missing a limb, since I haven't been updating this project for more than 2 years. Yeah, well, rejoice than. I'm alive and kicking, only with less than one microgram inspiration to write. The outlines of how this story are always there swimming inside my head. Hell, I've even had outlines ready on how the story would end. But to write it out is another story. I'm not even sure which strategy I should use, especially when I have other dozens of projects waiting to be updated. Any ideas..?

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There are three reasons for Ace to hiss at every living thing that crossed his path.

One: He hates Monday with passion.

Two: He hates cloudy morning

Three: More than anything, he hates it when Luffy nags him regarding a certain issue over and over again.

"But Ace…" Luffy's shorter legs tried their hardest to match with Ace's longer, impatient strides.

The pitter patter noise of their little footsteps on the walkway sounded was lurid enough, especially on muted morning like this. Dark clouds were filling the sky in rapid speed—even the sun now has no power to grant Ace's longing ray. At every gust of wind, the dead leaves fall to the ground and the tree branches swayed from left to right. It was indeed the melody of the incoming rain.

"What is it now, Luffy?"

Shifting his bag pack slightly, the eight-year old huffed. Today, his bag was heavier than usual since there was an additional item crammed inside—two folding umbrellas. They even put on their waterproof, hooded jackets just in case if they are caught by the rain.

"Why didn't you show daddy the paper? Daddy is supposed to come to your school today." This was probably the third time Luffy asking the very same question since yesterday, but his brother managed to dodge the last two. Unsatisfied with the lack of respond, the child tugged the hem of Ace's red jacket.

Ace tugged his jacket back from the smaller's grasp with a small scowl adorning his face. "How am I supposed to show him when dad always came home late?" He answered Luffy's persistent nag with another question.

"You could leave it on his bed. Then he'd see it when he came home." Luffy reasoned more. When another cold breeze slapped all over his body, the child shuddered and quickly stuffed his small hands into the side pockets of his jacket.

Too late. Ace whispered in his heart as he clenched the paper in his hand harder until it was crinkled under the force. Without a doubt, it was far too late to tell his father about his school Parent's Visitation Day. It was a tradition in their school that gave the parents to spend time in school with their kids while observing the learning program on a typical school day. Not surprisingly, the event also would be organized in Luffy's kindergarten but that wouldn't happen for another two months.

However, for his school, it was today.

Foot kicking the small, innocent pebble, Ace shook his head. "Dad couldn't come anyway. He's probably too tired."

"But daddy always comes every year."

"Not this year." The freckled boy cut the smaller one. Not anymore, he almost added but Ace was faster to hold his tongue. There was a knot tightening in his chest and his eyes prickled with heat, but the eight year old ignored the unwelcome sensation and stared at the empty path.

"But if we wake him now—"

"No!" In instant, Ace spun 90-degree on his heels and stared down at his younger brother—hard and firm. "Why is it so hard for you to understand, Luffy?! Dad's NOT going to come. And if you ever tell him about this, I'm going to hate you for the rest of my life and I won't read you stories anymore. Ever!"

Anger was dripping from Ace's clenching teeth, leaving a horrible bitter taste in his mouth. He saw the smaller's eyes began to mist and Ace quickly bit his lower lips since the boy too, was warding off the tears from clouding his vision. His skin was prickled with tension, more so when the freckled boy realized his harsh voice had caused his brother to flinch in fright.

"Now, now. There's no need to be mean to your brother."

Ace was only an inch close from screaming profanity when he felt Marco's presence looming from behind. The boy was fast to spin on his heels but regretted afterward as he bumped his nose against the man's stomach due to the close proximity. As if Luffy clinginess wasn't enough to make him grit his teeth in annoyance, now with Marco sticking that close close to him, it was like an icing to his not-so-bright day. To prove his frustration, Ace slapped the man's hand away when the blonde tried to remove the wild strand obscuring his eyes and flashed a rather deep, intense scowl.

Undaunted with the harsh, not to mention rude reaction from the eight year old, Marco stood on his ground, forcing the boy to move back by two steps. Next to Ace, the younger of the two was pursing his lips with his head slightly bowed down. The translucent, fragile tears were caught by the long lashes, waiting for a perfect moment to spill over and caress the smooth cheeks.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Marco cooed and tapped the left cheek of the sniffling boy. "Did your brother get mad at you? Here, have some candy."

The man rummaged through his side pocket and pulled out a small piece of candy in a bright, red wrapper. After Marco had un-wrapped the tootsies roll, Luffy solemnly took it in between his lips and allowed the cherry flavored candy to dissolve and fill his mouth with sticky sweetness. Simple and small as it might seem, the sugary hard candy did manage to brighten his mood even just by a little bit. The five-year old rolled the tootsie with his tongue with a muffled 'clack' and beamed at Marco before hugging the man's leg.

Marco gazed down at the small figure latching on his leg. Deep down, the blonde man reckoned the child's clinging behavior had something to do with the lack of parental figure in their household and by clinging to adults close to him was one of many means to express his loneliness. Both Kidd and himself had first hand experience of losing family member but back there, things were different.

They have Edward Newgate—their foster dad and also one of few people who offered unconditional support throughout their bereavement period. All the man did was simply listening, being there and talking but for a middle school kids who were dealing with bereavement and loss, such gestures were more than enough. He remembered clearly how the man helped them make sense of what had happened and reassured that nobody is to be blamed for the death of their parents. Newgate's approach bore fruits when they were able to cope with their losses and rebuild their lives in the absence of their parents.

"What's that in your hand?" All of sudden, Marco inched closer towards the eight year old, eyes zeroing on the crumpled paper in the confinement of the small fist.

Startled with the man sudden advancement, once again, Ace reared back to increase the distance. "Nothing." The freckled boy mumbled and tried putting his hand behind his back to hide the paper.

But Marco was a fraction faster and he snatched the crumpled paper from the boy.

"Give it back!" Irritated with Marco's snooping attitude, Ace hopped a few inches off the floor in hope to retrieve the paper from his neighbor. However, given that the blonde was a lot taller than his eight year old build, his attempt was met with zero success and Ace could do nothing productive but watched as the man's eyes scanned the paper—up and down, left to right.

"Oh?" One golden eyebrow rose with interest. "Visitation day? So your dad's coming?"

Simple question, simple query and yet Ace felt his skin again prickled with tension, more so when he was pinned under Marco's scrutinizing gaze. Something sharp was clawing his throat raw. It hurt—no, everything was hurting as a matter of fact. His throat, his chest, his tummy and even his eyes. And when the prickling heat in his eyes was too much to bear, Ace broke their eye contact and stared down at the invisible dirt on the walkway instead.

Unaware of his brother inner turmoil, Luffy was more than happy to answer their neighbor. "Daddy can't come. He's still sleeping."

Ace frowned heavily at his brother and grabbed Luffy's hand before tugging the small wrist towards him and away from Marco. "Come on. We'll be late for school."

There was a small noise came from the younger that almost sounded like a protest but it only made Ace glared harder. Luffy immediately bit his lower lip, knowing better not to disagree with his big brother at that moment. Instead, his knuckle was used to dry any leftover tears clinging onto his thick lashes. He did however, managed to throw a wave—just a quick one—at Marco who stood there, gazing softly at the retreating back of the boys. By the time the blonde man waved back, they've already rounded the corner, unable to see their neighbor's returning gesture.

Or even the heavy disapproval frown spreading across his forehead.

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"Luffy!"

Ace screamed for the umpteenth time and each time with increase in volume and desperation. His breaths left his lungs in quick, disoriented pants when he felt the heavy air pressing upon him. Fear began to consume the eight year old boy as his vision was robbed by the darkness that was closing up on him, more so when his little brother was nowhere in sight.

"Luffy!" The raven haired boy tried again. "Where are you?!"

Taking few large gulps of most wanted air, Ace tried to calm his fluttering heart and assess his surrounding despite the lack of luminosity. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to detect any telltale of Luffy's whereabouts. As he scrunched his brows together, the boy listened to the noises or even scents permeating his world of darkness.

There was a faint scrapping sound like dried, shivering leaves that falls onto the ground in mid autumn. The smell of rotten flesh and marrow clung on him almost like a second skin and it took every ounce of his will not to gag at the revolting scent. Despite the discomfort sensation, Ace then pressed his bare foot into the ground to feel the integrity. Judging by the softness, the dampness and earthy-like scent, the raven haired boy had so little clue regarding the ground he was currently standing on.

A damp sticky soil similar to that inside a very dense forest—one that always appear in typical horror story.

One by one the realizations struck Ace like a brick and before his heart had the chance to palpitate in trepidation, the sound of wolfs howling echoed dangerously close to him, giving him the chilly vibe that the beasts were only meters away from reach, if the scrapping noise of claws was any indication.

The eight year old boy didn't wait for another howl to follow suit and raced off the ground, running into pure darkness. There was no insinuation to where he was heading, but Ace forced his limbs to move faster—away from the scrapping and the eerie howling.

For minutes the boy ran, ignoring his protesting legs. But regardless how fast he sprinted, Ace felt as though he was running through quick sand where the unending path just went on and on like vast piece of jet black clothe spread out on a never-ending ground. The frightened boy tried to keep up with his pace but the cuts on his feet eventually slowed him down and before long, Ace finally fell to the hard ground. Sharp, slicing pain assaulted his knees and palms as if his delicate skin was pierced by millions of prickly thorns.

"Luffy… Where are you..?" Vulnerable and weak like the dead leaves around him, Ace whimpered as he lay on the damp ground and clutching on his throbbing foot. The soles were wet but either it was from blood or the wetness of the ground, Ace was too much in pain to actually bother.

"Please, no more…"

Ace tried to push his body off the ground only to have his limp body fall back into the soggy soil. He could barely focus on anything but the thought in his head that he was all alone at that moment without the presence of his little brother.

The boy sobbed and clenched his little fists. His courage, along with fresh tears, fell to the blood-stained, withering grass. "Don't take Luffy away from me…" So much has been taken away from him, and Ace just couldn't bear the thought of losing his only brother at a place as disturbing as this.

"Don't leave me alone."

Yet, the Ace's pleas were answered by sinister laughter that were drawing closer to the wilting body, well aware that the broken child was left with so little courage nor strength to even lift a finger, let alone to move. Through the tiny slits of his eyes, Ace still could catch a glimpse of wicked eyes gleaming in the darkness. The grins, the sharp teeth of wild starving beast and the scary serpent with long hood—they're getting closer to him, all ready to crack his bones into pieces and ripped his skin to cover the earth with blood.

"Nooo! Help! Daaaddddd!"

Weakly, Ace screamed, struggled and fought with all his might. But the longer he lay there—chest pinned by the bonny fingers and limbs restrained by the sharp talons, Ace felt the hope to escape the place was gradually thinned by the malevolent wind.

And then, ever so slowly, the boy's cries fade to nothing.

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In the beginning, Luffy found it was rather odd for him to be awake in this kind of hour where the moon shone so brightly outside and the silver illumination still creeping evenly across his bedspread. The child's half lidded eyes stared at the ceiling where the tree outside the window had left an interesting shadow pattern on it. Strange event had left him quaking, but clearly the small child didn't remember what it was.

Then the second event occurred—a loud scream pierced the walls, followed by series of 'thunk' and 'squeak'.

Jolting on his bed, Luffy felt his heart thumped madly inside its cage and the boy quickly pulled himself into a sitting position. The leftover sandman dust vanished within three sets of blinks as Luffy's sense now heightened tenfold. For a moment, the noise had him completely paralyzed. But when the third wave of screaming fit again reached his room, the five year old made no haste reaching for the door.

His destination—Ace's bedroom.

Once outside his own bedroom door, Luffy gripped the hem of his pajama top tightly. In contrast with the screeching coming from Ace's room, the small child somewhat felt stillness creeping through him. Darkness was sealing every corner and every cranny of their house and the five year old had to squint under the poor illumination. Luckily enough, the bright stars and moon were kind enough to share their brilliant light, enabling Luffy to maneuver his way without bumping anything.

The child walked along the halfway, his bare feet barely made any apparent noise until he reached Ace's bedroom door. Swallowing the dry lump in his throat, Luffy's clammy hands shakily reached for the knob. His palms somewhat felt too slippery and the action of turning the knob itself in some way had became an act of challenge. Prayed and prayed was all Luffy done, hoping that nobody or nothing else inside his brother's room. After few unsuccessful attempts, the child finally managed to get a firm grip against the knob, twisted it and pushed the door open.

And there he was. Inside Ace's bedroom. From where he stood, the child's field of vision was immediately filled by a scene that was so far from peaceful—one that was clocked with terror.

Bathed under the silver moonlight, Ace was seen tossing, turning and wrestling by himself. His quilt had long landed on the floor, kicked by the boy's rebellious legs. Similar to its owner, the bed frame made a protesting noise due to the writhing body, squeaking and thumping against the wall. In Luffy's ears however, those wasn't a distress sounds in any other way. It was like a telltale of nightmare making an appearance. Worse, the nightmare was hurting his brother emotionally and mentally and the younger was well aware of that.

Luffy legs quaked under him as he inched forward, not stopping until the child was only a foot away. He could clearly see how Ace trashed around as if something was pinning him chest firmly to the mattress. Every once in a while, the older opened his mouth, but what came out was nothing but strangled cries—audible and yet too disarrayed for Luffy to recognize if there was any syllable within it.

"Ace, wake up…" Regardless the fear fluttering in his tummy, Luffy shook his brother's shoulder—a frail attempt to wake the older. But when his effort was met with another blood curdling scream that was enough to make the child jumped back with a start, Luffy realized that his brother required more than just a feeble wakeup call in order to be freed from his nightmare.

With more force, the five year old shook his brother with both hands. But nothing happened to the child's expectation. Scream after scream kept pouring out from Ace's raw throat, inducing more fear to the frightened, little Luffy. His arms were flying in every direction, fending off something that the younger didn't dare to guess what it was and occasionally hitting Luffy in the face.

"Wake up, Ace! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Luffy chanted those words while relentlessly trying to disturb his brother's sleep but to no avail. At the same time, a slightest pain was beginning to set his lungs on fire when the child breathes left him too fast for his small body to keep up.

Not giving his body and mind to the chance to adjust, the boy left his brother and ran downstairs as careful as he could manage so he wouldn't trip himself. The house phone located in the living room was within his tiny grasp in mere ten seconds after he had left the room and Luffy's trembling finger did its best to punch the speed dial.

What met him only intensified the trepidation in his heart.

'Sorry, the number you have dialed cannot be reached at the moment—"

"No! Daddy!" Whimpered the child when his attempt to reach for his father was dampened completely by the answering machine. Panic gripped at his chest as Luffy made a tiny hopping motion to calm his pounding hearts.

And then it just happened without warning —instinct to protect his brother took over the vulnerability and helpless feeling.

Throwing the phone onto the floor, Luffy dashed for the front door. He was only millimeter from unlocking the door when he saw the green beeping light on the alarm control panel mounted to the wall next to the door. Quickly the child retracted his hand. Had he opened the door without deactivating the system, the house alarm would be triggered which required an additional procedure to disarm it.

Luffy realized what was needed to be done and reached for the keypads. But to his frustration, the tip of his fingers barely grazed the bottom of the panel even after hopping few inches off the floor. The alarm in any case wasn't designed for the convenience of small children.

"Ugghhh..!" Frustrated as he was, the five years old was sensible enough to search for a chair or some sort as a makeshift ladder. The chair from the dining room had become Luffy's first choice. Loud scrapping noise bounced off the wall as the boy dragged the chair across the room and continued pushing until the piece of furniture pressed firmly against the wall where the panel was located at.

As he stood on the chair, the child stared at the keypads in apprehension. "6…1…5—no… that's wrong!" Luffy mumbled desperately while he tried to remember the coding number Ace had thought him—that is by the date of their birthday.

"5…1…no!" Again he tried and again he failed. "Daddy's on the 6th… Mommy on 6th… Ace on the first and mine on the fifth…" Convinced with the arrangement, it was only then Luffy punched the numbering and he could tell that he got it right when the alarm only beeped twice.

The boy wasted not even a second to unlock the door, opened it in full swing and ran out. His heart was pumping fiercely as Luffy ran along the cold, hard walkway. With the lack of shoes to cover his delicate skin, the child felt the unwanted sting assaulting his bare foot. And still, he willed himself to keep going, kept running faster with every short huff that escaped his lips.

Less than a minute and Luffy was in front the familiar mahogany door. The child strained his neck slightly and looked up. There was no bright light shining through the window, not even a dim one. But Luffy didn't allowed hope to abandon him that quickly. He stood on his tippy toe, pushing himself up as far as he could until the pad of his fingertips touched the doorbell.

Then, the bell was ringed.

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Kidd looked up from the sink with mouth still half filled with gargled tap water. Something was happening downstairs—a faint noise that pierced the silence of the night and made him frown in confusion. It was near one o'clock in the morning and the redhead was certain that his brothers had retired from the day—much earlier that he was about to. Perhaps it was just the lonely wind moaning outside or stray cats hissing at each other in the shadows, hence Kidd wanted to assure himself. But the noise was there again. Only this time, more apparent and without doubt, more relentless. It was only then Kidd recognized the sound he was trying to ignore earlier on.

Their doorbell was ringing. Not only that, someone was slamming their door. Desperately.

Spitting the rest of the water, the redhead exited the bathroom and carefully made his way downstairs. After all, it was not an every night basis to have your door knocked in the middle of the night. At that moment, Kidd knew he should have woken up Killer or even Marco. But he didn't. And he didn't know why. Instead, the man headed towards the front door and took a tentative look at outside through the peek hole.

There was no one outside and for a split second, the redhead felt his brain had just fluttered at the sight.

Another set of ring forced Kidd to jump back with a stuttering curse. "F-fuck!" If this was a sick joke of someone to disturb the occupant of the house, clearly the asshole had picked the wrong household to mess with. The redhead was about search for some kind of weapon to scare the asshole away when he heard the distressed wails coming from outside.

"Kidd! Kiddo! Please open up!"

Kidd's eyes widened to a size of a dinner plate. There was no way for any assholes in the world to have called him that, hiccupping and wailing like his life was at the stake. In fact, there was only one person in this era would use that name.

Hand reached out for the knob, the man opened the door and for some unknown reason, Kidd wasn't that surprised to find Luffy attacking him with a flying tackle. Still, he managed to catch the living bundle midair and brought him close to his chest.

"Kiddo… Kiddo…" It was actually difficult for Kidd to actually conclude that the child was calling his name when Luffy had his face pressed firmly into his shoulder, trembling and quaking like a leaf. The boy was crying, no doubt about that, judging by the wetness that has started to seep through his night shirt.

"Hey Luffy… What's wrong?" Kidd readjusted his hold on the child and rocked him slightly in hope that the gesture could somehow offer a little comfort.

But it wasn't anywhere close to soothe the frightened child and Kidd too was starting to get worried, more so when Ace was absent from the whole scene. "Ssshhh, its okay, Luffy… Come one, tell me what happened."

"What's going on..?"

Kidd turned around and saw Killer made his way towards them. The blond was a light sleeper after all and it was not a shocker for him to be awake just from the small ruckus. He squinted at the harsh light from outside, but quickly widened his eyes when he caught sight of Luffy clinging on the redhead like the man was his dear life.

"What," The blond cleared his throat to make his voice less groggy. "What's he doing here?"

"Good question." Kidd ran his fingers through the jet black locks and scrapped his fingernails gently along the scalp to coax the child to speak. "Please, Luffy… What's wrong?"

"A-Ace…" Two sets of hiccups followed after. "Ace…" Luffy whimpered and tightened his hold around Kidd's neck.

The boy's answer did nothing but intensified the worrisome frown on the adults. So this was about Ace after all.

"What's wrong with Ace?" Kidd tried to peel the child's head from his shoulders to get a better hearing of his answer. When he was answered with more sets of hiccups and sniffles, the redhead felt even his heart palpated in fear which began to synchronize with Luffy's. If Ace's safety was in danger line, then this was probably the best moment to act.

It was nearly impossible for the frightened boy to actually narrate the whole story, so Kidd just had to take initiative to dig out the answer himself. "Luffy, Luffy… Listen to me. Is there anyone else in the house?"

Still sniffling, Luffy looked up and wiped his watery eyes with his knuckles before shaking his head.

"So it's just you and your brother?" When a nod came, Kidd's pursed his lips only to release a relieved sigh. At very least, there's no perverted, sadistic bastard lurking in the boys' house. Still, that fact didn't put that much ease in the man's heart unless he knew that Ace was hundred-percent off any type of danger.

"Ace… h-he wouldn't wake up." The small child swallowed the thick lump in his throat to make his voice more audible. "I tried waking him up, but Ace wouldn't open his eyes. He was screaming and he looked like he was fighting s-something." Luffy then buried his face into the fold of Kidd's shirt before continuing, "He looked like he was in pain. I'm scared…"

They exchanged yet another worried look, both Killer and Kidd that is. Even though Luffy had exclaimed that nobody else was present at their house, but Kidd still felt the obligation to make sure everything was alright. Especially when there's a child crying in front them as though someone in their house was currently mauled by a sea serpent.

"What happened?" A forth voice joined them and before long, Marco was already standing next to him. Free from any shirt covering his top, the older blond usually preferred a loose flannel pants as his sleeping wear. He stroked Luffy's head gently, as if to reassure the quivering child that everything would be fine. Even though Marco was still in a gray area about the current situation, but whatever thing the child was afraid of, they were definitely going to fix it.

"What is it?" A serious frown was etched on Marco usual laid back features.

"I'm not sure. But I'm not going to sit around and wait for the answer." The redhead patted Luffy's head one last time before turning to Killer. "Here Kill, hold him." Was all Kidd said before he peeled the child from him only to pass it to his blond housemate.

On instinct, Killer reached out his hands and accepted the living bundle into his arms. It was downright awkward, not to mention that he had no experience in handling small creature, let alone a frightened child. Still, he let Luffy loop his arms around his neck and clung on him. Once the boy felt he was in secure position, he continued where he left off—burying his face into Killer's shoulder and sniffled in fear. It was clear how disturbed Luffy was too actually care about the person he was holding on to as long could seek some sort of comfort.

"You're going there?" Marco asked when the redhead was about to exit the entrance.

"Yeah." Kidd simply answered and watched silently as Killer rocked the five year old in his arms gently.

"Wait," Marco halted his youngest housemate. "I'm coming with you." Without waiting for any answer, the blond hurried back inside. Moments later, Marco finally returned, only this time, a simple, loose black t-shirt was seen covering his upper body.

Foot rooted firmly into the ground, Killer was entirely speechless as he watched his housemates raced across the walkway and towards the boys' house. In his arms, Luffy was still shaking but not as bad as he first arrived and the sniffles too had toned down to a more tolerable degree that the child was able to breathe more softly this time.

"Don't worry," The blond said and rubbed the boy's back in every attention to offer as much comfort as he could despite his lack of experience in handling this kind of situation.

"They're going to fix everything."

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Both Kidd and Marco was already inside the boys' house not more than minute after they left theirs. As they navigate their way slowly for the stairs without bumping against any furniture or cabinets. From a distance, they could hear a faint ticking from a wall clock as it counted the time. Every sound seemed to be amplified inside the cold house—the electricity running through the walls, the tree branch tapping against the window glass or even the croaking cries of the crow that had landed on the window sill, staring in at the lifeless rooms.

However, what stood out the most was the startling scream of terror that filled up the chilly air of the night. It echoed, bounced from wall to another wall and eventually died down.

Marco looked at the staircase before back at the younger redhead. "Are you sure there isn't anyone else in this house?"

"I'm not." Kidd admitted and almost jumped a foot when another shriek resurfaced. He didn't give any warning to his housemate before climbing up the stairs in top speed and by any means towards the boys' room.

"Kidd, wait!" Marco hissed and clicked his tongue. He could almost understand the reason behind Kidd's brash action, but at the same moment, cursed at the redhead's lack of skill to be vigilant when you never knew what could be hiding in the darkness of the night. Even so, the blond went after Kidd, trying his best to heighten his senses and prepared for the worst to make an appearance.

"That idiot…"

The next moment he saw Kidd was when the redhead was standing by the entrance of the room, without actually entering it. He just stood there, eyes fixated into the room.

"What is it…?" Marco inched closer to Kidd and looked over to what the other had been staring for a while.

It wasn't the worst sight. But at the same time, it was disturbing as it could get—the broken cries of a ten year old, the desperate, forlorn air that wasn't supposed to linger inside a ten year old room.

"What the last time you saw someone with that kind of nightmare?" Eyes still pinned onto the struggling, whimpering figure of Ace's, Kidd asked the blond.

"I've never." Marco answer. Deep inside, he couldn't help but to wonder what was it that the boy was seeing, hearing or felt at that moment that was enough to put him under such state. "At least, not from you two."

Kidd didn't reply. Another minute of standing and the redhead entered the room. Nothing came into his mind on what to do next even when he finally stopped next to the bed. But instinct came first and he made a mechanical decision of placing his hand on Ace's shoulder and gently rocked the smaller figure.

"Ace… wake up." It went on for a couple of minute and on the third minute, Kidd realized his attempt was fruitless and thus he needed a different approach. This time, the redhead put his hands both on the boys' shoulder and gave a firm shake, still calling the boy's name.

When that didn't work either, Kidd then began slapping the eight year old's cheek. No, he couldn't even bring himself to give a shit or two at the idea of Ace roaring him later for slapping him senseless. For now, he was too content at having the boy to wake up right that instant.

And it really did happen much to what Kidd had hoped for, although without any prior warning. Ace snapped his eyes open, too sudden that it actually made the redhead jolted few inches off the mattress. The ten year old boy finally made a startling wake up with a layer of sweat stuck upon his flushed skin—his forehead, his neck and his chest.

Silence fell for eternity.

It took minutes for Ace's consciousness to mend back together and it was only then, the first born finally caught sight of silver light filtering through his room. Cognac brown orbs then darted to the right and saw a figure sitting close next to him. In the midst of fright and confusion, Ace made a sudden move to rear backward and away from the unknown, but Kidd, who comprehended the situation better quickly but gently grabbed the boy by his shoulders.

"Hey, hey, Ace. Calm down… It's me, Kidd." The redhead tried to shush the anxiety away from the freckled boy and winced when Ace's nails dug deep into his arms.

Quick, unsettled breaths left the boy's lungs as he forced himself to stare into the eyes of the unknown. He was frightened and he didn't want to look up. But Ace had no choice given that he was partially immobilized by a pair of strong yet gentle arms. It took another minute for the blurry, horrendous images to be replaced by the familiar face that clearly spelled concern. Only then, Ace realized with whom he was dealing with.

In one swift unexpected move, Ace dove in for a hug, wrapping his limbs around Kidd's neck so tightly that the redhead felt a large portion of air was squeezed out from his lungs. Clearly the engineer was startled with the sudden arrangement, but still allowed the boy to press his body closer to his much larger one until Ace was practically sitting on his laps. The human bundle was quivering and puffs of warm breaths against the skin of his neck clearly indicating that the eight year old was gasping.

Kidd let the boy clung on him while his hand made a circular rubbing motion across the boy's back. "Shhh… Everything is alright, Ace. It's just a bad dream."

Teeth clattering, Ace didn't make any apparent indication that he fully understood the redhead. Instead, the boy pressed closer—close enough for Kidd to be able to feel the rapid thumping of smaller heart against his chest. As he hummed words of comfort, the man combed the boy's damp hair with his fingers and allowed for the frightened child to buried his face deep into the crook of his neck as if to hide himself from the world—from anything that could cause harm to his frail body.

Just by the entrance, Marco stood still for a couple minutes, watching how the first born clung helplessly on his housemate, clearly spooked out of his mind. Then, silently, the blond moved away, exited the boy's room fully. As it appeared that Ace was more familiar with the redhead, Marco deemed it was best for him not to make an appearance since the man feared that his presence would only increase the boy's anxiety. Downstairs, especially kitchen, seemed a lot more appealing at that time.

Not long after Marco's departure, Kidd felt the living bundle in his arms stirred, more like a jolt actually, as if the boy was hit by a sudden realization.

"Luffy…" As he peeled away from the man, Ace made a quick scan around his room. His voice, due to earlier non-stop screaming was hoarse and could barely make perceptible words. "Where's Luffy…?"

Left and right, back and forth, and yet, Ace still couldn't find his brother anywhere in the scene. With a slight trepidation, the eight year old struggled in Kidd's arms as he tried to make a frog leap off the bed but the blanket tangling around his feet managed to dampen his effort. Kidd used that particular moment to seize a hold on Ace—his arms around the boy's mid-section—to prevent the child from making any dangerous move.

"Ace, you need to take a deep breath and calm down. Luffy's fine." Kidd tried to reason with the eight year old. Hell, he wasn't certain what had caused the sudden panic attack. One thing for sure, it had something to do with his little brother.

"N-no! Let go!" Ace tried to pry the arms around his waist but to no avail. "I need to find Lu—"

"… Ace?"

As if on cue, the little brother made a sudden appearance, still cradled in Killer's arms. Both had just entered the room, slightly confused—most definitely—and Kidd noticed the previous tense body in his arms relaxed even only by a hair.

Luffy wriggled a little and the blond understood the child's intention almost immediately. Gently, he lowered the five year old to the floor and the second Luffy was no longer in Killer's hold, the boy was quick to run across the room towards his brother. Before the second born could even climb on the mattress. Ace was two seconds quicker to pull his little brother and by any means, closer to him. Once Luffy was on the bed, Ace made tentative patting all over his brother's smaller body—chest, side, tummy, arms, legs and even the face. To Kidd, it was as though the first born was inspecting Luffy for any injuries. If that was the case, then the reason behind Ace's earlier panicking was as clear as any sky.

"Ace, that tickles!" Unaware of his brother's apprehension, Luffy giggled when Ace's wondering fingers accidentally brushed against his ticklish spot, just beneath his armpits. "What are you doing?"

No answer came from the freckled boy as he continued with his examination. Satisfied with the lack of injury on his brother, Ace pulled Luffy closer to him until they both practically bundled together on Kidd's laps.

"I'm so sorry Luffy… I'm sorry that I yelled at you this morning." Whispered the first born as he hugged Luffy, wrapping his arms around his brother protectively. "Don't leave me." Ace was close to sobbing, his small fist clutched onto the fabric of Luffy's pajama top.

Specks of confusion were clearly reflected in those luminous eyes, filling the child's dark orbs. Still, Luffy patted his brother's back. "It's okay, Ace… I'm not mad."

Ace bit his lower lip and pressed his forehead against the Luffy's shoulder. Their height difference was barely noticeable since they were both sitting and that only made thing easier for the older brother as now he didn't have to hunch his frame to get closer to the smaller one.

"What's wrong, Ace..?" Luffy murmured again when his brother didn't make any audible respond apart from the occasional sniffles. "Did you dream about monsters again? Don't worry. I'll protect you!"

Towering above the children, Kidd frowned. Again?

"Hey… There's no need to do that." The redhead placed his right hand on Luffy's back. "You both are safe here. Nothing is going to get you as long as I'm here."

Little Luffy peeked through Ace's longer strands. "Really, Kiddo..? Promise?"

From his back, Kidd then let his hand to travel upward and stroke the youngest head. He used his other hand to do the same with Ace. The boy didn't flinch from the touch and that somehow made Kidd felt at ease.

"I promise. And if I'm not enough, there's Marco and Killer to protect you guys."

Odd… Even though they were simply neighbors, Kidd felt as if he was compelled to feel that—the need to protect the children from any danger. To him, the boys were still hatchlings, barely out of their shells and too young and frail to face the world on their own. Leave them alone and they wouldn't survive. Them, on the other hands, were full grown adults. So it's only natural for adult to protect children, yes?

Luffy beamed at the assurance and his brother too, seemed pleased with it, nodding his head solemnly. They stayed close like that—on Kidd's laps—and murmured comforting words towards each other until at some point, they began to lean sideway against the redhead's upper torso.

Minutes later, Marco returned to the room with a white mug in his hand. During the tremor earlier, the blond had slipped into the kitchen to find something that could help the boys.

"Here." The man handed two mugs to the boys.

Ace accepted the mug from Marco. It was warm in the confinement of his palms. To determine whatever it was that was given to him, the freckled boy made a tentative sniff. When the sudden whiff of familiar creamy drink assaulted his nose, Ace then knew what was.

It was warm milk.

"… Honey?" The eight year old asked the blonde man. His voice sounded timid—

Uncharacteristic enough that it was hard to believe this was the very same boy that has been scowling and barring teeth at them for months.

A warm smiled curved his lips as Marco patted the boy's head. "I put lots of them. And cherry juice too."

Somehow, that made the eight year old to frown even by the slightest since he has never heard of cherry juice and milk blend before. But he decided not to make any comment out of it. The blond watched silently while Ace took small sips of his drink, slightly pleased that the child seemed to enjoy the concoction he made. Luckily, all the ingredients he needed were present in the kitchen downstairs. Nobody could resist the combination of warm milk, honey and cherry juice after all. While warm milk has a psychological affect that makes the drinker calm and drowsy, honey and cherry are incredibly rich in melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep-wake cycle. So when all three are combined together, the concoction itself was like a ticket to a Snoozefest.

Exactly what the boys needed at that time.

The children drank in silence saved for the occasional hiccup when Luffy swallowed a little too fast. Few more sips and gulps later, they both finished their drink with the youngest in lead by three seconds. They appeared much more relaxed than before where the previous flecks of fear began to diminish from those innocent pairs of eyes.

Marco collected the empty mugs from the children to have them washed later. "Why don't you two get back to sleep, hhmm?" He massaged the back of Luffy's neck, earning himself a ticklish laugh from the small child. After patting the boys' head, Ace include, the blond left the room with Killer in tow.

Five seconds after his housemates had left, it was only then Kidd focused back on the children. "Alright you two, off to bed…"

He watched silently while the boys shuffled off from his laps and towards the center of the bed. Like a cub inspecting their den, Ace made a circling motion on the mattress few times while Luffy only observed his brother in curiosity.

"Are you going to leave?" Ace suddenly asked after he had finished rounding the mattress.

"I'm not sure. Why?"

A worried frown pulled the eight year old eyebrows together as he fisted his pajama bottom. "Don't leave…" Ace's voice was barely above whisper, but in the disturbing silence of the night, his words rang so clear that Kidd was able to pick the hint of apprehension shadowing the child.

"Yeah, don't leave, Kiddo." This time, Luffy too had spoken with fear laced in his voice. "What if the monsters from Ace's nightmare are hiding inside this room?"

Kidd tilted his head to the side slightly at Luffy's assumption. "Hiding? What do you mean?"

"The monsters must be hiding somewhere, right? That's why they keep coming for Ace." The child reasoned, oblivious of the alarmed look on the redhead's.

But Kidd quickly softened his gaze and gave a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about the monsters, okay? I'll stay here and keep watch. And as for now…" The redhead stood up and placed his hands on both hips. "I'm going to make sure that no scary monster is hiding inside this room."

Trailed by the children's curious gaze, the engineer walked towards the closet which is located in the opposite direction of the bed. He opened the door connecting to the built in closet wide enough for the children to peek whatever inside. As a result, Luffy did jolt on the bed like he was expecting something with two heads to suddenly leap out from the closet.

"See, there's nothing in here." The redhead spread his arms to emphasize his finding.

"Under the bed too, Kidd! Look under the bed!" Luffy pointed the empty space under the bed they were sitting on.

To comply with the child's request, the man closed the door behind him and went to back to bed. He kneeled down and bent his body almost completely until his cheek touched the carpeted floor so he could inspect the space under the bed as well. For two long minutes Kidd stayed in that position in order to satisfy the children's demand before he rose up and gave a firm headshake.

"Nope. Nothing's under here too Luffy."

Satisfied with the findings, the eight year old picked up the extra pillow from the floor and placed it next to the existing one on the bed. Ace kneaded one of the pillows a bit before finally lying down with his head on the center of the pillow, motioning his little brother to do the same. In respond, the smallest child immediately flopped down without bothering to give his pillow a pat or two. At any other time, Ace would never allow such sleeping arrangement to take place since the boy deemed that they both were big enough to share a bed.

For tonight however, Ace didn't mind having his brother close to him.

Once they made themselves comfortable, Kidd collected the blanket that was kicked earlier from the floor, eased it out before covering the children with it. He tucked the boys' in, doing his best to make them feel safe for the night. With a slight extend of his arm, the redhead reached for matching chair of Ace's study desk and slowly brought it closer to minimize the scrapping noise and sat down.

Instead of telling the boys to just sleep and don't mind the nightmare, Kidd suddenly said, "Rainbow."

Puzzled, Ace opened his mouth to say something, but the man was quicker to intercept his word. "Close your eyes and imagine that you're sleeping on a rainbow with glitters."

However, little Luffy hesitated and didn't close his eyes. "But rainbow is too high… What if we fall down?"

Kidd paused. Good point.

"Then imagine that you're a lying down on a pile of multicolored balloons." The redhead tried again.

"What if the balloon pops? It would be noisy and we won't be able to get back to sleep." Ace murmured.

Kidd paused again. Another logic point.

"Then, how about this? Imagine yourself being surrounded by all types of sweets. Bubblegum, lollipops, gummy bears and even ginger bread man—"

"Will there be marshmallow too?!" The idea seemed appealing to the children especially Luffy. "I want to sleep on fluffy marshmallows!"

"Of course there'll be marshmallows too." Kidd chuckled at the child enthusiasm.

"Everything is floating all around you. Even if you fall down, you won't get hurt because the floor is made from cotton candy. And as long they're in your head, nothing scary will come after you."

With a relief smile, Luffy was the first to close his eyes while Ace was still cynical with the idea. The eight year old enjoys marshmallow, he really does. Indeed, they were a resistible sweet treat with spongy consistency. But then again, they were too quick to melt. Be it humidity or even mild heat—these two are the famous elements that would melt marshmallow in no time. Wouldn't it be sticky and uncomfortable if they were to sleep on a marshmallow?

"Ace."

Before the said boy could make out the mental image of sticky and gooey marshmallow, his journey was interrupted by the Kidd. Ace looked up only to meet with the man's open stare. From where he lied, the boy could almost see the palpitations of the redhead's heart through his night shirt as well as worried gaze beyond those amber eyes.

"Do you always have nightmares like this?" Kidd asked with voice slightly above whisper so he wouldn't disturb little Luffy who was on his three quarter way to the Snoozing Fest.

At first, an internal dilemma clouded Ace's brown eyes when the first born child seemed reluctant to answer the other. But the boy must have reasoned that Kidd had the right to know, especially when the man was willing to give up the sanctuary of his own bed and stay with them instead to take away any insecurity feelings. He made them felt safe.

"Not really. I'm not used to have nightmare." The boy spoke softly. "But I've been having them lately…"

"—since you moved here?" Kidd prompted the boy.

Ace nodded. "But Luffy always managed to wake me up before. But tonight they won't go away. I was all alone in that dream, there's no one there… Not even Luffy, not even dad." Fisting his blanket, the eight year old gave out shuddering breaths. "Kidd, I'm scared… I'm scared that they'll go after Luffy too."

That moment, Kidd knew what exactly that had frightened Ace. It wasn't whispering noise of the unknown that gave him the scare. It wasn't the eerie shadows on the walls that gave him the terror. More than any sound and darkness, the one thing that terrified the boy the most was the absence of the person who holds them together and the fear was manifested in a form of nightmare, daunting Ace mercilessly. Ace wasn't aware of this.

Nobody was aware of this.

Nobody except Kidd. Probably because Ace was similar to him from seventeen years ago…

The redhead took Ace's hand into his and squeezed it gently. "It's okay to be scared, Ace… Nothing's wrong that." Like any child seeking comfort, Kidd felt the small hand slowly curled around his fingers. "I used to have nightmares too, you see."

"You do?"

"Yeah." The man smiled slightly. It was a bitter smile by any means—a type of smile that only came when one was assaulted by sad recollections. "It happened a lot after I'd lost my parent."

Indeed, Kidd dimly recalled the feeling of lost that summoned heavy shivers as he stared at the coffins filled by his deceased parent during the funeral. It had brought forward cold cringes and painful tears to his twelve year old body. That time, the redhead remembered how he had thought that the coffins were a little too small for his parent, but he didn't say anything even when the coffins were being lowered into the ground—probably because Marco had slung an arm across his shoulders and held him close to him protectively.

"What happened to your parent?" The freckled boy squeezed his fingers harder to gain his attention.

"Car accident."

"Oh."

That was the only respond Ace could think of. He didn't know what else to say under such circumstances. Perhaps he himself wasn't in a condition to console other people. Before he could open his mouth, Kidd patted his hand and smiled. "Sleep, Ace. You need it."

"Promise you won't leave..?" The freckled boy was aware that he had just repeated his request, but nevertheless, Ace needed to make sure.

Since fear still consumed his mind and heart, Ace held the strong and secure hand close to his chest. That time, the redhead didn't seem to mind the boy's choice of action in seeking comfort, not that he would mind at any other given time. Although it didn't harm Kidd physically, something did convulse in his chest at hearing the innocent request however.

Towering above the eight year old, Kidd stroked the boy's head and murmured, "I promise. I'll stay here as long as you want me to."

There was possibility for horrid images to reappear and hunt him behind his closed eyelid. Even so, the older of the two followed his brother's action, closing his eyes softly and convinced himself that the room are cool like mid autumn.

Almost instantly, a flood of pink, blue and green lollipops filled the room, all floating around him. Animal shaped gummy jellies were bouncing up and down as if they were doing some sort of dance—elephant, giraffe, bear, squirrel and many more. When looked down, Ace noticed he was bare footed and yet, he had no worry about getting the sole of his feet cut or bruised because he the floor he was standing on was made out of cotton candy. He made a tentative hop and giggled when his foot sank few inches into the soft ground.

From a distance, the eight year old heard Luffy's—his irreplaceable little brother—familiar joy laughter, sang in innocent tunes, coated with sweetness of the candies. A toothy smile curled the boy's lips upward as Ace padded his way towards his sibling to join him with Luffy's seemingly interesting play. Once reunited, they jumped, they ran around and they giggled when the flower shaped balloon suddenly popped, releasing sprinkles of hard candies. No more wicked witches dancing around the fire. No more drooling beasts behind them. No more gory devils eating flesh and bones with jaws so wide. There are only them—with room as bright as rainbow to ward off any monsters hiding in the closet and music so gentle like a church's bells.

Merry and wild, their laughter reverberating across the room with its innocent gush, almost like the thrill of canaries at the crack of dawn.

Everything seemed fine. Not a hair was out of place even though their father was nowhere to be seen inside their dream…

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Back in reality, Kidd watched as the boys' chest rose up and down in a steady rhythmic pattern. The grip of Ace's smaller fingers around his has loosened to a considerable degree where the redhead could easily pluck them from his hand. He placed the boy's hand back to rest on his stomach and saw how Ace's features softened significantly in contrast to half an hour prior. No longer harsh lines adorning his boyish face and for a split moment, the man could have sworn the corner of Ace's lips was tugged into a very rare smile. Once in a while, the boy's soft exhale would fan his long lashes and Kidd dimly wondered if he inherits it from Law or his mother.

Next to his older brother, Luffy had made himself more comfortable by turning to his side and buried his face further into Ace's shoulder. Half of his right thumb was trapped in between the plump lips as he softly suckled on it and when Kidd stroked the round, soft cheek with his fingers, Luffy made a muffled gurgle and tried to have a bite on the offending fingers. Startled, Kidd immediately wretched his hand away in fear of losing one or two fingers before amused chuckles followed after. He stroked the children's heads for another moment just to make sure that sweet dream was their only visitor before slowly stood up and headed to the door. Right after the entrance to Ace's room was left slightly ajar behind him to minimize any sudden noise, Kidd didn't waste his time walking along the hallway and padded his way straight to downstairs where he was certain his housemates were waiting.

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"How are they doing?" Was the first thing that came out from Marco right the second Kidd entered the living room—a clear evidence of how concerned the blond was of the children's wellbeing. While the older man sat crossed legs on the single seat sofa leg, Killer had decided that the carpeted floor was more comfortable as the said man stretched languidly until his toes touched the sofa leg while his free hands tugged and pulled at the loose thread sprouting off from the carpet.

Kidd's left eyebrow rose up slightly. Trust Killer to act less like man and more like house cat even when basked by tense atmosphere as this.

"There are sleeping. For now." The redhead took a seat himself and made himself comfortable, disregarding the fact that they were indeed in someone else's house. A soft, nervous sigh pursed his lips as Kidd rubbed his face a couple of time.

No obvious respond came from the older blond while he rummaged his pants pocket, clearly looking for something. Marco's expression at that time was anything but happy and Kidd knew he couldn't blame the lack of lighting inside the room. Something was thrust into his hand and it took more that five seconds for the redhead to decipher the nature of the object—a crumpled piece of paper.

Marco nodded at the paper. "Ace had it with him today… Before I snatched it away."

The need to frown disapprovingly at the older male was there, but Kidd decided to save it for later judging by the serious look Marco was throwing at him. Instead, the engineer smoothed out the crumpled paper in his hand and squinted just to make out the words littering on it due to the poor lighting. And when he finally did, an upset expression clung heavily on the younger's features.

"Parent's visitation day..?"

"It's today." The other confirmed before letting his fingers raked through his coarse blond strands. Marco appeared disturbed more than he often allowed to—a very rare occurrence for someone as laidback as Marco.

It just didn't feel right to see the older blond behaving like this. Kidd has known the man his entire life and he had accepted the fact that Marco was blessed with the ability to stay calm and cool headed regardless the chaos they were thrown into. Unlike him and Killer, he was the kind of person who leads his life with his brain and common sense, not with emotion. More than often they imagined his as the dependable older brother, with a touch of mild assho-lish character. So when Marco appeared distressed, then Kidd believed they had more than a thousand reasons to feel the same, with a much higher level.

"It—" The blond paused, and Kidd refused to believe that Marco had just stuttered. Alright, that really wasn't a promising sign. "This is actually worse than I've thought…"

Although the redhead understood the trailing sub-context behind Marco's statement just now, Kidd couldn't help but responded with, "What is..?"

"This whole bereavement period." Without doubt, they were aware of what subject the blond was referring to, but for some reason, it sounded so much scarier when Marco was the one who brought it up.

"We need to do something." Oh yes. Too scary indeed that Kidd unconsciously bit his lower lips and frowned. "We have to interfere and get Law—"

"No we don't." Kidd was quick to cut Marco, something that Killer and him usually didn't dare to—Marco never was a person who preferred his words to hang in the air. And he never will be judging by the way he glared slightly at the younger redhead. Kidd winced, but still trying to make his line hearable in the play. "He's—Law is still grieving. He needs time to piece everything back up and—"

"Until when?" This time, Marco challenged the other with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Until when he needs time for himself? How about his children? How long they have to wait before they could finally reach him?"

Resting his elbows on both his knees, the redhead offered a contemplative sigh. "Don't say that, Marco. He's been through a lot. You and I both know how it felt like losing someone important. Back then, even we secluded ourselves from the world and it takes a while for us to get back to our feet."

"Don't put words into my mouth, Kidd." Almost like a thunder, Marco's unfriendly tone pierced through his heart in not a very good way. It left splinters of trepidation everywhere, enough to make the redhead shrunk against the cushion. Even Killer had stopped tugging on the carpet and shot few worried glances towards Kidd and Marco one after another, clearly ready to intervene if the conversation was to head to something more… intense.

"Yes, we grieved, we mourned and it took a while for us just to take a step forward." Marco kept the note at bay to make sure their conversation wouldn't be heard by the children sleeping upstairs. "But back there, we have no commitment to anything or anyone in that matter. We didn't have anyone depending on us."

"Law does, unfortunately." The older blond continued, not giving Kidd even a smallest opportunity to disagree. "Those two small things up there sleeping? They are heavily depending on him, their father. If he can't get himself together, then his family is done for."

Short breaths of a long depression filled the air around them, mainly from Kidd. He kept his lips sealed shut, clearly wanting Marco to finish pouring whatever in his mind before offering his, although he had no suggestion on what to say next.

"Look, Kidd." The engineer appeared startled, but not startled enough to jolt in his seat seeing that Marco's tone was toned down into what Kidd would have consider as Marco's usual gentle intonation. "I know this is harsh thing to say about someone who had lost his loved one, but the despair Law's feeling right now, it's draining and eating away any interest in others. I'm sure he doesn't even realize that he's starting to loose sight of his own boys. Right now… he probably feels that life itself have less meaning and sense."

"We can always be around the kids…" Killer's voice was only a fraction close to a whisper. That was the first time the younger blonde spoke since his arrival at Law's household and it Marco was indeed taken back when the other had chosen to stand by Kidd's side of argument. "Look after them a bit until Trafalgar gets through the bereavement moments."

Marco gave the side of his head a gentle massage with his fingers. The conversation wasn't going anywhere productive, not when Killer had decided to jump into Kidd's boat. More than anything, his younger housemates just made it sound like he was the heartless bastard here.

"You're not getting what I'm trying to say here." The blonde sighed. "Luffy and Ace don't need us, Killer. What they need is their father. What we're doing right now, hug them in the morning, feeding them dinner, and tuck them back to sleep, all of them are just temporary solution. Band aid. We need to get to the root if we really want to help this family. There's fifty-fifty percent chance that things are going to get better or worse. Call me meddlesome, but I'm not one to take chances and watch as this family torn apart."

The deafening silence made Kidd's inside clenched, tightening his muscles that needed to be oiled. Crystal clear images of a Law's family possible future played before his half-lidded eyes—Ace and Luffy in the cold, dark house, longing for their father's warm embrace—In his vision, Law was there right in front of them, sitting on the sofa while cradling his head in despair, but he couldn't see nor hear them. The powerful and desperate feeling left the man feeling devastated towards everything in this world, including his own family.

Kidd blinked once and the heartbreaking images vanished before him. Marco was right on his remark, something needed to be done. It was like pulling on itchy stitches—painful but necessary.

"What…" Kidd heard himself saying. "What can we do..?"

"For a start, talk some sense into him." Briefly, the blonde man answered after taking a quick glance towards upstairs, just to make sure no small living bundles has awaken and listening to their conversation.

When positive that nobody was up there, only then Marco continued. "And you, Kidd… You'll be the one who's going to pummel that senses into him."

After wincing for the second time at Marco's choice of words, Kidd then snapped his head up when he finally realized what his so-called-older-brother had just insinuated. Well, rather than insinuation, Marco made it sound more like a command. Really now…

"What?" Half of his mind was expecting a different suggestion behind Marco's words just now, but the piercing look the other was throwing was telling otherwise. "Why me? You're the one who's good with words."

"Harsh words, Kidd." The blonde corrected the other. "I'm really good with harsh words. And I'm not sure the conversation would end well if I'm the one who do the talking. Someone might even get hurt."

"But—"

"You know him better and he's more comfortable with you."

Kidd looked to his side—and down—at Killer with half pleading eyes, most probably with a high hope that the other blondie would open his titanium-filled-mouth and offered a word or two that could save him from the current predicament. The end result wasn't in his favor however when Killer returned his pleading gaze with an equal hopeless look. Clearly the other felt that he was in no position to defy Marco.

"Fine…" With an enormous length of reluctance, the redhead agreed. "What should I say?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Marco stood up and Killer followed suit. That was the cue to the end of their conversation as well as for them to return back to their house. He gave a questioning glance towards Kidd when the said male didn't make any indication to move from the sofa.

"I'm going to wait for a bit longer, just in case…I've promised Ace I'd be here when he wakes up." Kidd answered the other non-verbal question.

It was almost two in the morning, he have been supervising the on-site works everyday for the past two weeks, so no doubt the redhead was worn-out to the bones. Still he forced himself to believe that he was there for the sake of the boys', but the conscience hiding at the far back of his mind knew that wasn't the only reason. As usual, the hesitant apprehension was running wildly through every vein in his body, leaving the unpleasant cold sensation and giving him more reason to stay behind.

Marco nodded in understanding and pulled Killer by his arm before the younger blonde could as much as blink. He knew the other had wanted to say something—obviously to ask the redhead to provide more explanation or even volunteered to stay along. But Marco was having none of that as he practically dragged the other across the living room towards the front door.

Almost two minutes has slipped away since he last saw the back of housemates—Marco and the half-dragged Killer—and Kidd was still staring at the closed entryway. Another ten seconds and the finally tore his gaze away and sighed, closing his eyes and rested his head against the cushion as he did so. For a split second, he could have sworn he heard children laughter coming from upstairs, running from room to room as they chased after the ghostly bark of a dog while a lullaby was sung so sweetly, so lovingly, from a mother to her child. Another second, the scent of roasted turkey and freshly baked cake fills the air as if the house itself was recalling the happy times of an equally happy family before sad, empty mourns swallowed everything—every little evidence that show how happiness were once resided within the house.

No more laughter to shake the stale, putrid air. No more lavender scent of a freshly washed linen to charm the canaries to land and sit by the window sill to sing their happy song. Even the small, night breeze that swirled around the room sounded a lot like broken mourns one usually heard during funeral.

Kidd opened his eyes and shook his head slightly, feeling slightly foolish with himself. More than often he heard such story as hunted house, but never seen or even believed in one. When the stories did reach his ears, they centered on vengeful spirits and their sorrows. But the redhead, more than anyone else, knew this wasn't seemed to be the case.

This was no hunted house.

Deep inside however, Kidd wished it were—because then, it wouldn't look so lonely if it had a spirit or two. Because if it were, then the urge to run from room to room in hope to hear the happy laughter again would be no more.

In one sluggish movement, the redhead stood up and flexed his legs as he did so to get rid all the kinks and tension in his thighs muscles. Once he deemed that every rope of muscles was back in place, he walked across the sitting area, towards the cabinet that housed the television and among other small ornaments. He ran his fingers along the top surface, silently appreciating the stunning wood finishing. Crafted from solid oak, the furniture itself came with dovetails jointing and marvelous hand carving on the drawer's fronts which only revealed the warmth, beauty and texture of the natural timber used.

Out of pure curiosity, Kidd bent down to his knees and peeked into the single adjustable shelf in the center section behind the furniture glazed door which was utilized to house the DVD player and only that. Somehow, he felt a bit disappointed. He had wanted, or perhaps, anticipated, something else to be stored inside. Something that could reveal more about the family's story. Like framed pictures perhaps? There were two other closed drawers at the side, but Kidd didn't dare to pry further.

From the media cabinet, the engineer then shifted his curiosity towards the two doors display cabinets. Similar to the media cabinet—all the furniture inside the house in fact—this one too was crafted to suit traditional style with modern functionality. On the first and second shelves, sat fragile items—from crystal ornaments, antique silverwares, snow globes and even scented candles—while the third and forth selves was filled with items that were less… fragile with tons of cuteness. Like the bat softie, modern art plates, tinted small jars and even hand decorated candles. One glance and anyone could tell that they were made by children of ten years old and less. Five perhaps..? Just for a quick minute, the man could almost imagine the excited hops Luffy made or even the red hue dusting Ace's freckled cheeks when Law carefully placed the children handcraft gifts on the shelves.

A small smile tugged the corner of his lips upward before his eyes made a quick scan over the rest of the displayed ornaments. For the first ten minutes, fascination was blooming like wild flowers all over Kidd. The sensation didn't last long however. Fascination was slowly replaced by small foreboding. And the more he stared at the collections, the more it grew until it was heavy enough to settle at the pit of his stomach—no, perhaps further than that.

No… Surely it couldn't be that…?

With raging heartbeats, Kidd whipped his head around, eyes zeroed on every inch and every nook of the walls surrounding him. Still, the lack of something—something dire only made the breaths trapped within his lungs and mess of unfinished sentences filled his head. The redhead then made a quick dash to the balance low shelving hanging low on the wall just next to the television cabinet. Less than twenty seconds was spent to study the displayed underwater centerpieces before Kidd practically leaped his way towards the light oak book case. His last stop was the dark cherry 4-door sideboard and by that moment, the man felt how bone chilling the air around him has become. Too chilling indeed that Kidd could almost see the thin frosty air lingered in front of him that seemed to appear with every exhale he made.

Same, same all the same. Here, there, everywhere. No matter how much he squinted under the gentle illumination of the silvery moonlight, the answer that could satisfy Kidd's gravest, most harrowing fear was nowhere in sight.

There wasn't a single picture found within the vicinity—picture of the children, picture of their late mother, not even a picture of Law himself.

As Kidd stood there in the middle of the room of the sad and lonely house, the man has been struck down with a single realization.

… Any loving reminiscence of the family that was meant to add unconditional warmth to the house was missing. For the lack of something within it, this was indeed a house with despair; the caged monster trapped within, trying to break free to hunt anything in its path.

This time, the children were its target.

-To be Continued-

A/N: And there's that! Going to eat some cakes and then take four hours worth of nap before starting to write update for my other project. Cheers!