Chapter 1: Silent Child

Rating: T

Genre: Family/Comfort/Hurt

Warnings: Angst, OOC-ness and grammar

Summary: A phone call from the Child Protective Services changes Eustass Kid's life, especially when told that he has a half brother he never knew about. Can they adjust to a life as a family when Luffy carries a dark past with him? Modern AU setting.

A/N: OMG. This is my third attempt in writing sad story involving Luffy. The ideas just rushed into me out of nowhere and I'm hell excited. Too excited in fact, I didn't do much re-check, so there should be dozens of grammar mistakes. Be gentle with me. T.T . Still, hope you guys enjoy it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Name: Monkey D. Luffy

Age: 8 years old

Sex: Male

Eye color: Brown

Description: Due to the death of legal guardian (mother), child is placed under the care of child protection agency until a permanent placement can be made. Negligence, physical and psychological abuse by previous guardian detected.

10 minutes.

That was the exact time taken by Kidd to analyze every word printed on the simple white paper. No flowery design, no cartoon character at the corner, just words. Even reading a newspaper took less time than this. For the umpteenth times, his amber eyes scanned the document to digest the information, from top to bottom. At last, he lowered the paper from obscuring his face and placed it back onto the oak table. Although the redhead forced himself to make a neutral expression, he knew he was frowning, even for the slightest.

His earlier guess wasn't far off track though when he saw the blonde lady in front of him, only a table apart wore a concern look. A little intimidated maybe.

"So," The woman with the nametag spelled 'Ms. Conis' drawled. "What is your decision, Mr. Eustass?"

Silent hung in the air, except for the thrumming noise of the air conditioner. Suddenly, Kidd felt the room seemed smaller than it supposed to be. Deep and intense calculation was whirling inside his head. This was no regular decision. It wasn't to decide whether to have pancakes or toast for breakfast, or which clothes to wear for today. No, this was entirely different.

For this, Kidd actually had spent the entire weekend thinking.

Taking a deep breath, the man finally gave out his answer. "I'll do it."

The concern look was still apparent on her face. Only now, there was a small frown added to the expression. "Are you certain, Mr. Eustass? This is a big decision. You cannot back down if—"

A single sharp look from Kidd was more than enough to make the blonde snap her mouth shut and cowered against the black, leather chair.

"You think I'm not capable?"

"No, of course not!" She squeaked, almost like a small animal when barked by a dog. Lost for words, Conis manicured fingers quickly grabbed the forgotten blue colored file by the edge and brought it closer.

She unfolded the file and slowly pushed it towards the redhead. "If that's the case, these are the particulars that you need to fill in before putting down your sign."

Another words filled paper, Kidd sighed inwardly before reaching for the black ink ball pen sitting idly on the desk.

Another fifteen minutes spent inside the cold room before the man finally done with filling the paperwork. Once finished, Kidd put down the pen and pushed the file back to the awaiting blonde.

Baby blue eyes scanned every piece of paper to make sure the blanks were all filled in correctly. Satisfied, Conis closed the file and focused her attention back to the man.

"Alright. Are you ready?"

Kidd nodded. Words of confirmation weren't necessary when she knew what will be the answer. Both of them stood up while pushing the chair further away with the back of their knees. They exited the room in silence—Conis first, followed by Kidd.

Aside from the clacking sound their shoes were making, they walked in silence as Conis led the way through the hallway. There was nothing else to discuss about since he was already briefed earlier when he first stepped into the office. After making a few turns, she stopped in front of a corner room. Unlike other doors Kidd has seen so far inside the building, this one was different. Instead of painted with burgundy color along a single door tag hung in the middle, a vibrantly colored mural was painted on this one—fury animals of rabbits, cats and foxes in a hot air balloon.

Then, the petite blonde turned to him and gave a tiny smile as she grabbed the knob. "Here we go."

With a single flick of her wrist, the door creaked open, revealing the only occupant inside the room.

XxXxXxXxFour days earlier…XxXxXxXxXxXx

"THERE'S A WHAT?" Kidd's muffled voice came from behind the hood of a car.

With all the noises made by the machineries inside the big garage, it was no surprise that the redhead couldn't perceive his earlier remark. It didn't make it any easier when he was standing right next to another car who's the mechanic was pressing down the accelerator.

Killer moved forward by few steps and shouted again. "I SAID THERE'S A PHONE CALL FOR YOU!"

As expected, a red blob (more like a spike) immerged from underneath the hood. Although his goggles were still on, the blonde male was certain Kidd was frowning in confusion. With a small shrug, Kidd tossed the wrench in his hand into the tool box and made his way towards the waiting room.

"Who is it?" The redhead inquired as he passed his blonde friend who was munching on a chocolate bar.

"Don't know, didn't recognize the voice. It's a woman that's for sure." Killer mumbled.

The frown marred the pale face went deeper. Who could it be? No one has ever contacted him via the shop's phone; much less came from a woman. As he approached the room, the pondering still hung in the air but Kidd simply brushed it off. The only way to find out was to answer the damn phone and be done with it, wasn't it?

Dragging a wooden chair along as he reached the small table, he placed it on the floor before he sat down, left leg crossed over the right one. Kidd picked up the receiver and brought it up close to his ear.

"Eustass speaking." The redhead started, his voice was in medium note. The room he was in was a lot cooler than outside, and Kidd sighed in relief.

The room itself was simple and bland looking, in contrast with those of high class offices belonged to great companies—the walls were coated with vanilla color, lined with pictures of vintage car and an equally boring calendar. Then, there were few other chairs, a beat up couch, a water cooler, T.V and a coffee table. The floor wasn't furnished with carpet since the shop owner knew better that his workers were a bunch of douchebag whose lazy enough to peel their work boots off when entering sacred room.

"Oh good afternoon, Mr. Eustass." The voice at the other end of the receiver greeted him. The manner of speaking was professional, unlike the laidback, rough conversation he hears everyday in the car repair shop. This cannot be good.

"My name is Conis and I'm calling from the Child Protective Services."

The first part of the speech sounded a little blurry for Kidd. It was the second part that pulled his attention. Why would the CPS call him?

"Based on the document sent to me," The redhead picked up the sound of rustling paper. "… Eustass Layla is your birth mother, am I correct?"

Something stirred inside him. Mother huh… Kidd wondered why the word sounded so foreign even to his ears. The last time he heard the term 'mother' was probably twelve years ago when the person who carries that title left the house. With a single luggage clutched in her hand, the mechanic recalled the scene of the front door slammed shut and the string of words from her mouth that even a two year old kid could recognize as bad words. It wasn't a rosy glasses memory, and Kidd preferred not to remember much of what happened afterward.

"Yes, she is. Why do you ask?" Kidd demanded. The feeling of uneasiness started to build up inside him. It certainly wasn't an everyday thing to get called by CPA, questioning about your forgotten mother.

There was a short pause, as if the person behind the receiver was deep in her thought, calculating. At last, she responded. "I'm going to get straight to the point, Mr. Eustass."

The serious demeanor in that tone caused Kidd to straighten his pose. This ought to be important after all.

"Your mother passed away last month."

Almost a minute passed by until the man could give an appropriate come back. At least to him it sounded appropriate. "Oh, I see."

When Kidd knew he should at least pronounce the words a little bit sadly, the redhead didn't make an effort at all. Not when he had forgotten long time ago the sensation of having a person referred as 'mother' around. Now, the words that left his mouth were flat. There weren't hateful, but there was neither compassion nor sadness present at the same time.

"How is that related with child protective service?"

"It doesn't." She replied. "It's the later issue that I'm calling you for. It states here that your mother remarried and had a child."

At the moment, Kidd was making a frantic calculation. That means—

"That makes that child your half brother." The woman beat him to it. "So here's the thing. With her death and the father has long been missing from the household, there are no one to care for him. We are unable to track down his other kin, except for you, who is the closest, biological family member."

Something must have died in his throat because he couldn't even meek, let alone making out intelligent phrase.

"Are you still with me, Mr. Eustass?"

Swallowing the hard lump, Kidd worked on his jaws. "Yeah. So uh…" He drawled, knowing the exact reason why she had called him.

"Mr. Eustass, we, the child protective service is asking if you are willing to adopt him and become his legal guardian. I know this is too sudden for you, so I will give you this entire week to make decision. You can give me your answer by this Saturday, and perhaps you could come down to the agency?"

"… Yeah, sure." His voice was soft Kidd could barely recognize it himself.

Another shuffling sound was heard behind the receiver. "That's all for now. Have a nice day, Mr. Eustass."

A click. Then the line was dead. But Kidd was still holding the receiver in his hand for a good two minutes before he finally placed it back down. The one sided staring contest between him and the inanimate object prolonged until he heard a fake cough coming from behind.

There, leaning against the door frame, was Killer. Similar to him, the blonde wore a pair of dingy, dark grey coveralls, except that, they were cinched around his waist with a black tank top covering his torso.

"Is everything okay?" Questioned his friend while eyeing the jittery man before him. His chocolate bar had long gone, now replaced with a cheap-branded cheese cracker. The crunching sound filled the entire quiet room.

"Yeah…" Finally, Kidd finally found his voice. "…Yeah, everything's fine."

Deep down, the redhead knew Killer would be the last person on the earth to buy his little white lie, but otherwise he was glad when the blond didn't press the matter further.

XxXxXxXx Present time…XxXxXxXxXxXx

Dark.

That was the best description Kidd could think of at the exact moment his eyes casted upon the figure before him.

His hair was dark as the raven in mid flight.

His eyes seemed dark as ebony, despite the information on the paper stated that they were actually brown. When the orbs met his amber eyes, Kidd felt the chill ran up and down along his spine. Which was the exact opposite of what the mechanic had expected. Before this, most first timer would cower or at least flinch at his appearance. At the age of 23, he was 6' 4" tall, with flaming red hair, strong built with broad shoulders and a scowling face. Yeah, he pretty much leaves a strong impression.

Except for this one. The figure, which stood a couple of feet shorter than him only gave him a look that Kidd couldn't exactly put a word to it. It wasn't the type of boring or 'I-don't-know-who-you-are-so-I-don't-give-shit' look.

It was cold and as silent as the dead of night.

Conis was the first to break the eerie silence inside the room. "Luffy…"

The one who carried the name shifted his gaze and turned to the lady. He didn't answer her, but the action of looking back at the blond meant that the boy acknowledged her.

As though Conis was dealing a small animal, she slowly made her way towards the boy and crouched down so she was on his eye level. "This is Mr. Eustass Kidd, the one I told you about." Her voice was gentle like a summer breeze, enough to make an infant lulled to sleep. "He's your brother. So from now one, you'll be staying with him."

Once again, the child named Luffy let his gaze fall on the man. He stared with unreadable expression. Nothing beyond that. The short untamed hair slightly obscured his eyes, but behind those bangs, Kidd didn't fail to notice the small scar just underneath his left eyes. Around 3'8" tall, the child looked more like a 6 year old boy rather than 8. Shouldn't boys at his age be few inches taller? When he was at his age, Kidd was already reaching 4'4".

Then, Luffy nodded slowly, at last acknowledging his presence in the room before his eyes darted away, suddenly interested with the pictured wall on his left. They lingered on the painting of purples stripped, tabby cat that looked a lot like Cheshire Cat.

"Hey." Kidd greeted with the simplest form of word. Part of him, he didn't know how to act in front of his newly found brother. To be honest, Kidd didn't have the slightest idea how to handle an 8 year old boy.

"So…" Time to escape the awkward silence, Kidd mused. "Where's his stuff?" The sooner they leave the agency, the better. That place somehow made him all skittish.

"Oh, it's here." Standing up, Conis pointed at the certain spot. Two meters away, resting idly on the floor was the smallest duffel bag Kidd has ever seen in his life. He didn't know the bag was available for this size.

Frowning, the man shot a disbelieving look at the women. "Is this all?" Damn, even people who goes to 2 days and 1 night camping has larger bag than this.

"Yes." She nodded, sympathy was laced in her voice. "This is all we could find in the house. His other clothes weren't really that… wearable to say."

Taken back, the redhead could only close his mouth from making any further comment. Looking back, Luffy was covered in simple clothes in the first place, probably courtesy of the agency. He wore a knee length shorts, a blue and white stripped collared T-shirts and a pair of black snickers.

With a mental notes to buy the kid new clothes, Kidd picked up the light bag. "Is there anything else? Can I take him home now?"

The blond shook her head, causing her earrings to dangle slightly. "No, there isn't. He is free to go."

Before Kidd could say anything else, Conis bent down her frame to have last words with Luffy, though it can be hardly considered as conversation when the boy wasn't saying anything in verbal. "Good bye, Luffy. Be good to your brother, alright?"

In which he only responded by casting his eyes lower towards the carpeted floor. Nobody knew what lingered in Luffy's thought at the moment. Nobody at all.

"Alright, we are leaving then." Kidd slowly paced across the room, knowing well enough Luffy would follow him suit. He was right though. Through the sideway glance, the boy trailed behind him, two small steps apart.

After a simple, professional farewell, both brothers left the agency.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Nothing peculiar with today's weather, it was favorable in fact. With the lack of the blazing sun, some clouds here and there, and a little bit wind. The type of wind that was slow, moving around 8-12 knots, best referred as gentle breeze. It fluttered across the body and gently through your hair, pulling Kidd away from feeling anxious and stress.

After changing multiple trains and busses, Kidd finally reached the familiar town with an 8 year old child tagging along. Instead of walking behind him, Luffy was now pacing next to him, eyes staring at the distance. Those orbs were looking at nothing in particular. He was there, right beside him, but at the same time, Kidd felt like he was alone on the street. Like the kid didn't emit any presence at all.

Kidd recalled the earlier conversation when he was first arrived at the office:

"My mother… How did she die?" There was no purpose in asking that, but somehow as her son, Kidd sensed that he ought to know. Like an obligation.

Lacing her fingers on the desk, Conis appeared to be hesitated, but otherwise, responded to him. "Suicide. She hung herself…"

Typical of her. Miraculously, that didn't shock him. "Did the kid—"

"Oh no, he didn't." She interrupted, knowing well what dwelled in his mind. "Thank God he didn't witness it. He was at school during that time. The neighbor saw the front door was opened and took a peek inside. That's when… you can guess the rest."

Kidd couldn't agree more. Witnessing your dead mother dangling on the ceiling with a rope around her neck, her bulging eyes probably stared back at you, even adults would have nightmare for weeks. And the boy was only 8 years old.

A sudden strong gush of wind brought his mind back to the present. Looking up, the redhead caught the sight of soothing streaks of color, lighting up the sky like a fire. The sun, like a ball of energy, wrapped by the clouds with strokes of pink and orange acted as the background. Simple as it sounded, the scenery had a calming effect on him. During this moment, birds probably had return to their perspective nest while nocturnal creature began to crawl out.

They had spent more than half a day outside and Kidd wasn't even aware.

"Hey uhh…" For the second time of the day, the mechanic beckoned the boy.

Luffy looked up at him, eyes void of emotion.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

Lips secured tight, the boy didn't utter anything, but Kidd visualized he had nodded. He had to, for he knew it would take some time and patience for Luffy to open up due to his condition.

"C'mon." Kidd urged him to match his pace. "Let's get something to eat."

Few buildings passed by, they finally stood in front of a café. The signboard of 'Spider Café' hanged on top of the entrance and Luffy had to strain his neck a bit to read the letter. Kidd wrapped his hand around the brushed silver handle of the glass door and held open the door for Luffy to enter first, he followed after.

The moment he stepped inside, Kidd breathed in. Underneath the whiff of multiple dishes, the redhead still could distinguish the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Although he visited cheap local diner more often (mainly because they serves the food faster), Kidd still favored this place. Low, warm lighting gave the space a cozy atmosphere that can numb down any form of psychological stress.

Perfect for someone like Luffy, who was suffering from avoidant personality disorder.[2]

Dozens of painted metal tables arranged in a way that made the café seemed more spacious and each of them was surrounded on all sides by dining chairs. Each wall of the place was plastered with light brown wallpapers with the illustration of checker board and fat cats. Artistic paintings were hanged at numerous spots, adding a life force to the place. Kidd had heard the works of art were done by one of the worker.

They settled into a table in the corner next to the window, facing each other. For a Saturday evening, the café was surprisingly vacant. A young woman sat alone in the far corner with a cup of tea, rapidly tapping the keyboards of her slick laptop. Once in a while, she scrunched her nose in annoyance. In the middle, a middle cage couple was enjoying their early dinner along with what Kidd expected to be their granddaughter. There are few other people, but only keeping silent to themselves.

Kidd reached for the menu stacked at the edge of the table and pulled two—one for him and another for Luffy. It didn't take long for Kidd to scan down the menu since he had already decided what he wanted. In the mood for something simple, the mechanic opted the chicken club sandwich.

Looking up, the redhead saw Luffy was mimicking him—scanning the menu. His gaze moved around, from top to bottom, left to right. But it didn't linger at any specific meal. Which meant, the boy didn't know on what to get. Not a good sign.

"What do you want?" Asked Kidd. Luffy didn't as much look at him, his eyes still fixated on the menu.

"Luffy." Kidd tried again. The café was in quiet mode, so he doubted the boy didn't hear his earlier question. In other words, he was practically being ignored.

At hearing his name being called, Luffy lifted his head and met the older man's eyes before tearing his gaze away.

"Um…" Luffy said quietly for the first time. It wasn't even a word, but at least there was a progress. Now Kidd was hundred percent certain that his brother wasn't mute.

Did he just refer the kid as his brother? Of course he was, but still, it sounded so… alien.

"Well?" The redhead pressed.

"Anything is fine." The voice finally formed a perfect whole sentence. It was small and relatively high and Kidd could hear it damn fine.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, the slightly high-pitched voice was kind of cute.

He added, "You choose."

Sighing, the mechanic decided that was enough for now. At least, Luffy was talking.

Soon enough, a familiar waitress was striding towards them. Middle school girl with her brunette hair neatly braided, she stood before him with a small curiosity in her eyes. She was a relative to the owner and usually spent her weekend helping out at the café. In addition, she was the miracle, talented girl who did all the paintings as mentioned earlier.

"Eustass…" Recognizing the man, she drawled his name. "Haven't seen you for a while."

"What's wrong? Have this place gone bankrupt while I was gone?" Kidd joked though he knew that wouldn't happen in the nearest future.

Producing a rice cracker out of nowhere, she nibbled on the snack while eyeing Luffy. "Who is this…?"

"Long story, kiddo. Where's Paula?" In order to escape more interrogation, Kidd quickly changed the subject. It worked.

"She went out a bit to order new sets up tea cup." In laid back manner, she responded before fishing out a notepad from the front pocket of her apron while the half eaten rice cracker dangled in between her lips. "Yogh oghder?" The speech was slurred thanks to the snack clenched in between her front teeth.

"Chicken club sandwich and water." Kidd muttered out. When she turned and gave a questioning look to the boy's direction, the man added, "He'll have chicken burger set and orange juice."

"'Kaayyy…" The girl scribbled down their orders before leaving the table while humming an unrecognized tune.

The boy got the impression that the man in front of him was silently observing him. So Luffy ignored it. By the time he looked passed the window, the sun was long gone, leaving behind the clouds in the mercy of darkness. Nevertheless, the clouds that assembled together like a flock of sheep still could be spotted even for the faintest. But Luffy didn't fret himself to guess what sort of shape the clouds were making.

There was no necessity in doing that. Nobody has commanded for such. When lived with his alcoholic mother with major depression disorder, Luffy had learnt an important lesson.

Always do what was told and nothing beyond that. Questions, opinions and personal necessity must be avoided at all cost because if any of the above carried out, it would only lead towards offense. Without doubt, he would be the easiest pray for any act of violence.

So, when the food arrived on the table and Kidd murmured 'eat up' to him, Luffy would exonerate his mind from anything and did as told. Even if he dislike the sourly taste of the pickles and orange juice or anything that was orange flavor. But he shoved the wicked thought far away and swallowed whole, not even a scrap left. If he was granted with shark-like teeth, the boy wouldn't hesitate to devour the plate and glass along.

They ate in silent and didn't take a long time to finish their meal. Mainly because they didn't extend the clock by chit-chating, asking each other anything. It was the most awkward and tense dinner Kidd has experienced in his entire life.

The boy had eaten indiscriminately. Nothing was left on his plate. No leftover, not even a ketchup stain on the surface. Most people would clap their hands and praise the boy for not being a picky, but not Kidd. It was… odd, in his opinion. Normal boys mostly must have something they don't like to eat and left it out. The salad, the pickle or maybe the onion. The same theory applied to Kidd. Until now, he still loathed the presence of pickles in his meal. Did Luffy was truly a miracle worker who wasn't picky when it comes to food? That, or did he fear that he would be scolded when foods wasn't polished from the plate?

Kidd sighed inwardly. This was harder than he thought would be.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As the pair exited the café, the biting night wind chilled the man to the core and he shuddered. He should have brought a coat with him after all. Then Kidd glanced at the kid who didn't even flinch.

And for him too, the redhead thought.

Ten minutes of non-hurry walking, they reached in front of Kidd's apartment. Fishing out the keys from his side pocket, the mechanic unlocked the door. On instinct, his hand scrambled for the switched and once the tip of his fingers recognized the protruding bump on the wall, he pressed. And light was turned on.

It wasn't a type of rundown apartment, but it was far from fancy or luxurious either. Although Kidd could afford much better one, a condo perhaps thanks to his late father's long life saving that he inherited, he didn't feel the need to do so. This place was comfortable to live in and close to his work place.

Closing the door behind him after Luffy had entered, Kidd stride across the living room and along the short distance hall while passing the kitchen before arriving to his bedroom. With his short legs, Luffy had the difficulty to match the man's pace. So when he finally caught up with Kidd, the taller male was inside his bedroom and in the middle of setting down the duffel bag on the floor next to queen sized bed. Luffy shuffled into the midsize room, waiting.

"It's a short notice so I haven't bought a bed for you." Once he deposited the bag, Kidd turned to face the boy. He was inside the room, but clearly Luffy was keeping his distance. There was another empty room at the other end of hall, close to the kitchen, but as described, it was clear from any type of furniture since Kidd never had a roommate before.

"We'll find a bed and other stuff tomorrow. For tonight, you can have the bed here and I'll settle on the couch… or something." Seeing Luffy nodding slowly, Kidd looked around to think of the next step.

Then he went to his birch wardrobe and opened the bottom drawer only to produce a fresh, clean towel. "Here, why don't you take a bath then you can go to sleep early. We'll be having another long day tomorrow."

And thank god tomorrow is Sunday.

The small hand grasped the cotton fabric from Kidd's hand. Just as Luffy was about to reach for his bag to pull out his night clothes, the redhead halted him. "Just go ahead and take a shower. I'll sort out your clothes."

The boy looked at him with a blank gaze. For a moment only though before he followed the instruction and left the room. Kidd stared at the direction where he had last seen his brother until the soft footfall of bare feet vanished, followed by the clicking sound of the closing bathroom door.

Don't get him wrong. It wasn't as if he purposely forced Luffy to appear half naked in front of him later for a sick pleasure.

There was something else that Kidd needed to verify.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

In the shower, Luffy enjoyed the feeling of the hot water running down every inch of his small frame. He tilted up his head in every attention for the messaging spray to fall straight into his face. After a minute or two staying in that position, the raven haired boy ran his fingers through locks to check for any shampoo residue. None. His hair was squeaky clean and so was his body.

Satisfied, Luffy twisted the knob to turn of the shower and reached for the hanging towel. The smell of fresh linen was still there as he patted it all over his body to remove the excess water. Almost touching the floor, the boy wrapped the towel around his waist and curled them at the top to erase any possibility for the woolly material to get dragged along the wet floor.

As he entered the bedroom, his night clothes were there, displayed on the bed. It was the baby blue pajama with the image of different color kittens printed all over the top shirts and pants. The blonde lady had bought it for him during the first night he arrived at the agency.

"Hurry up and wear the clothes, Luffy. You'll get cold like that." Kidd murmured, his back was facing him as he rummaged the wardrobe.

Extra blanket and pillow in his hand, Kidd turned back and saw Luffy remained next to his bed, half naked. Just the way the man wanted it.

That way, he could inspect it.

From the document he studied earlier in the office, it stated that Luffy was physically abused. Kidd wanted to find out the damage inflicted on the boy first handedly.

This was where it got stranger.

There was none.

Either the florescence light illuminated the room poorly or Kidd's eyesight was getting bad, he couldn't detect anything on Luffy. Scars, bruises and healing cuts; none of the above could be spotted at any part of his skin. There wasn't any evidence of abuse at all! Although his frame was small, Kidd knew it was due to the bone structure, not from malnutrition.

Did he read the document wrong? There was no way for scars or bruises to disappear in only a couple of week.

Oblivious that his brother was examining him, Luffy slowly climbed the bed halfway to reach for his pajama that was in the middle of the bed.

That was when Kidd caught sight of them and immediately he felt something like a barb wire coiled around his heart. It ached.

There, on the bottom surface of Luffy feet were numerous marks. Burnt marks to be precise and all of them were around ten millimeters in circumference. It didn't need a genius with an IQ of 200 to guess those marks came from a burnt cigarette.

Kidd clenched the blanket in his hand tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. That woman probably selected that particular area so outsider wouldn't notice any evident of violence. Because if report is made, lawsuit might be subjected to perpetrators of abuse and in this case, it would be the mother.

Her own blood. Her own flesh. And yet…

He didn't know for how long he had been staring into space but by the time Kidd snapped back, Luffy was already fully clothed, watching him, and standing next to the bed.

"Alright…" Kidd said, readjusting the insensate bundle in his hand. "All done… Sleep time then."

At what Luffy considered as command, he climbed back into the bed and slowly dove under the cover. Then, the redhead made his way out and paused by the door frame while his free hand reached for the switch. Back on the bed, Kidd saw a shifting movement underneath the blanket, assuming the boy was adjusting his sleeping posture before it went still.

"I'm turning off the light." Informed the mechanic to the soon-to-be sleeping figure. "I'll let the door open a bit, alright? If there's anything, I'll be in the living room."

Without waiting for any form of confirmation, Kidd flicked the switch and darkness immediately engulfed the entire room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The bone chilling night was enveloped by noises from the howling wind and rustling leaves. Occasionally, there was a tapping sound made by the tree branches knocking on the glass window.

Tap…

Tap…

Tap…

It didn't feel ordinary, like something wasn't right.

As fear started to creep in and captured his attention, Luffy felt his tiny palms starting to get sweaty. He had thought to for Kidd, but the boy had known better not to wake a possible sleeping lion.

Mama had educated him the lesson. Through the hard way nevertheless.

Staying still was what he did, though he felt something coiled around his neck, causing the breathing act itself was like a tough procedure.

All of sudden, everything went silent. It was as if the time itself had stopped and all movement ceased. Not all though. The sound of the tapping persisted, paused, then followed by the clicking noise of the window hatch being opened. Luffy held his breaths and tried to be still as much as his body was able to. His heart started thumping in his chest, so hard he could feel the front of his pajama moving.

And waiting. Something was approaching his bed in a very slow manner, almost like creeping. Or slithering like a serpent. It was making a rhythm. A horrendous one.

It paused. Then the bed cover was torn, leaving the boy bare for any assault. Pitch black, Luffy couldn't see the assailant, except for the feeling of his neck getting throttled, killing the chances to call for help. His limbs trashed around in a hope to slacken the grip, but all the effort was only for naught. At the same time, the offending claws were shaking him, hard and persistently. It yelled his name, though Luffy wondered how it knew his name. The shaking act continued until his pitch black world distorted, replaced by the sudden pour of blinding glow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

An ear-piercing scream tore Kidd from his slumber rather violently. Too violent, he actually tumbled from couch. Confusion mixed with panic, amber eyes darted around to determine the source of the noise. It wasn't an every night basis to be woken up by a screaming fit, so it took more than necessary time to get his consciousness to fully kick in.

Wha—Luffy!

That sudden realization made him to bolt towards his bedroom and like a pro, he switched on the light. He squinted, eyes quickly scanned the whole room. On the bed, Luffy was trashing, his limbs were flailing as though he was wrestling with something big. The bedcover was nowhere to be found on the mattress since it was resting on the floor.

Three long strides were all it took for Kidd to reach by the bedside. His large hands quickly grabbed the narrow shoulders and gave a quick shakes. Back and forth, back and forth. After few failed attempts, the man was ready to make a dash towards the bathroom to retrieve some water and splash Luffy with it. But before he could proceed, the child finally opened his eyes so sudden, Kidd thought they might popped out from his eye sockets.

Like any other person who just experienced a nightmare, Luffy was drenched in sweat, his bangs were sticking to his forehead. His breathings were labored, and his eyes dilated almost to a size of an olive, darting towards all direction. He was inspecting the room.

"Hey, hey calm down. It's me." Kidd held his brother's head to gain his attention. When that worked, he continued speaking with the most gentle and softest voice he could muster. "It's okay. It's only a nightmare."

Slowly, the dilated eyes went back to the normal size. Even his breathing had started to calm down but the fear was still there.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." And Kidd sprinted to the kitchen and filled the glass from the dish rack with cold water. Almost stumbling on his way, the mechanic emerged back inside the room, a glass of water in his hand and walked over to the bed.

He held the rim of the glass up near Luffy's dry lips. "Here, drink this."

Half of glass water later, Luffy nodded and the man pulled the glass back only to have it placed on the bedside table.

"Okay?" Kidd asked, eyes concerned.

"Yeah." Luffy answered although he wasn't sure which part Kidd was referring to.

Retrieving the cover back from the floor, Kidd spread it out and waited for the boy to lie back down on the mattress. Once his tiny head rested on the center of the pillow, the older male covered to small frame with the dark green comforter up until his chin. He tried his best to tuck in Luffy, to make an 8 year old boy felt comfortable… and safe.

"Get back to sleep, 'kay…" He murmured softly and padded as quietly as possible from the room before switching off the light.

As he reached the center of the living room, Kidd immediately slouched into the traditional grey couch and let out a deep sigh. Resting his head against the furniture, there was no way he could return back to his slumber. Not when another screaming fit might follow suit. It was only his first night, and Luffy was already taunted by nightmare.

It was just a start and Kidd was aware of that.

-To be Continued-

Note (1): The waitress in the café is Miss Goldenweek if you haven't figured it out. Somehow I forgot to mention her name.

Note (2): Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a personality disorder recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders handbook in a person characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of social interaction.

A/N: *Pant*Pant* This is the first time in my life finishing up two chapters (diff. story) within a week and I'm pretty much look like a panda right now. Hail to panda! *Dipping omelet into the instant oat*. Anyway, for this story I want the diversity in my characters so it wont revolve only among supernovas. And ooh, totally major AU for this one. *sorting the damn onion from the egg*