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Gramps brought another kid here. Everyone seems…happy with the little runt. Even Gramps. Ann hates him, he won't stop following her around, it's annoying.
“Get lost! I don't like you!” The freckled girl yelled out to the younger boy causing him to falter. “Go get eaten by a crocodile for all I care, you little leach!!” Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and he ran back to the bandits hut where he would be coddled by Dadan and the others.
Why did they care more about him than her?! What did she do!!
Ann turned on the heel of her shoe and stormed deeper into the forest. She spent the whole day hunting animals and was able to kill a crocodile. A crocodile all for herself!!
Cutting a piece off of the crocodile she placed it on a sharpened stick and stabbed the bottom of the stick into the ground to cook handsfree. Ooh boy it smelt good.
“Ann.” A gruff voice called out from behind her. Turning around she saw the tall and imposing form of her grandfather standing in front of some trees with his arms crossed over his chest and an annoyed look on his face. “What's this I hear about you being a brat to your brother.”
…Figures the only time Gramps shows up is to berate her.
Rolling her eyes Ann looks back to the little fire she created to cook the meat. “Because I don't like him. He's annoying and won't leave me alone.”
She heard the man sigh and walk closer to her, taking a seat between her and the crocodile. “May I?” The old Marine motioned to the animal carcass, receiving a nod from the ten year old Garp ripped off a chunk of the meat and shoved it onto a duller stick before sticking into the ground.
“Ann, you gotta be nice to Luffy. He's your-”
“He’s not my brother. Why does everyone keep saying that!” Ann glared at her Grandfather, her eyes demanding a response. The Marine sighed before placing his hand on her head
“Look Ann, he's my grandson and you're my granddaughter. Doesn't that make you two siblings?” The girl rolled her eyes.
“It makes us nothing! I hate him!”
Garp tried to be patient, he really did. Garp raised his hand and slammed it into the back of her head.
Tiny hands raised up and held the spot that was hurting, tear and pain filled eyes looked up at Garp in fear and shock. “W-Why…?”
“Luffy is your little brother. Don't be a little bitch about it. I expect to hear nothing more about you being mean to him. Unless you want me to hit you more.” Garp felt a tiny pang of regret at seeing the look of betrayal on his granddaughter's face.
“I…fine..” She looked away from him and back towards the fire and the still cooking meat. Little sniffles escaped her, her little shoulders shaking.
“Ann, I'm sorry. I shou-”
“Don't lie. It's fine…you can have the crocodile. I'm not hungry..” Ann stood up and walked away from her grandfather and the fire, rubbing her eyes trying to stop the tears.
⸻
The crying girl walked all the way from Mt. Corvo to the Gray Terminal, hopefully her Sabo was there. He always makes her feel better. Wiping the tears from her eyes the little girl tried to climb up the trash heaps to where her and Sabo's meet up spot was.
“Sabo! Are you here?” Her gray eyes moved over the flattened out top of the trash heap, nothing. No Sabo, nothing that even showed he was here.
Fine, she'll just sleep here until Sabo comes. Sitting down the girl pulled her shirt over her scuffed up knees and then her arms through the sleeves to keep herself warm.
Ann doesn't know when exactly she fell asleep, she knows when she woke up though, she wasn't in the same position as when she fell asleep. She was covered up with a warm jacket and a soft arm being used as a pillow by her.
Her Sabo was sleeping next to her looking content. Laughing to herself the girl moved a little bit forward and gently bonked their foreheads together. “Wake up Sabo…” Her hand reached over and patted the sleeping boy's cheek. A smile on her face when he opened his eyes and blearily stared at her, a smile on his face as well.
⸻
He saw their treasure. He saw their treasure!
“What should we do with him, Ann?” Her Sabo looked from the struggling tied up child who was kicking and screaming and crying so loudly the sole girl was kind of scared that Dadan and her bandits would hear and tell Garp. He is going to hit her again .
“...We gotta kill him.” That's a good idea, she can say he was eaten by a tiger or a crocodile. She wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore and she wouldn’t be hit again. Her gray eyes moved to look at her Sabo who just nodded.
“Right. Let’s kill him.”
“No! Don’t kill me! I don’t wanna die! I promise I won’t say anything! Please don’t throw me into the river! I can’t swim so I’ll drown!!” The cry baby moved around a lot more pulling the rope tighter against him.
“Shut up! Stop yelling before someone hears you!” Ann gripped her pipe and glared at the boy, why wouldn’t he just shut up and let them kill him in peace!
“Help! Dadan! Ann’s being me-” Her pipe hit him in the head, causing tiny whimpers to be heard, he looked up at his ‘big sister’ and through tears threatening to fall saw her terrified look.
“Shut up! D-Don’t yell for help moron!” Both Sabo and Luffy felt their hearts sink at the look of pure horror and fear in her face, the youngest quickly shut his mouth. The freckled girl grabbed Sabo’s hand and squeezed it tight. They can’t kill him now, what if Dadan heard? “...we can’t kill him.”
Sabo nodded, always the one following his Ann’s orders. “Alright, we won’t.”
⸻
Fire. So much fire.
Everything was burning.
Trash.
Buildings.
People .
“Luffy! Where are you!” Ann called out for the brat her little brother, her eyes watering thanks to the combined sting of the smoke and the smell of burning bodies. “Luffy!” Where was he? Where was Luffy?! She had to find him! She can’t go home without him! Garp would kill her!
She stumbled over something and fell to the ground, a blinding pain burst through her side and head bringing tears to her eyes. Fuck fuck fuck fuck this hurts! She wants to go home, she wants Sabo. But she can’t, she has to find Luffy.
Forcing her legs to move so she could stand up she started walking again, yelling for Luffy and ignoring the heat of the fire.
Luffy where are you….
Luffy where are………..
Luffy where…………….
Luffy……………………..
‘-nn! Ann! Ann!” Her Luffy’s voice broke through the air, getting louder with every step.
“Luffy!”
‘Ann! I’m here!” Her Luffy’s small body bound to her, bruised and bleeding but in one piece. As soon as his wide black eyes landed on Ann they went somehow wider, “Ann you-” A tied hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him away.
She needs to get Luffy to Dadan’s house, and has to get him to safety! Luffy didn’t put up a fight or struggle as she pulled him along. He didn’t even speak.
He just followed her quickly.
⸻
Dadan and her bandits were outside of the house watching the thick black smoke rise up from the gray terminal, fear climbing up their spines like a monster. “...Dogra, go check the tree house. Magra take a group of ten to check all their hunting spots,.”
The Bandit Queen didn’t need to speak twice before running off, Dadan grabbed her club and marched to the terminal. She has to find the kids.
⸻
As Ann dragged her little brother away from the fire her vision went in and out, blurring with pained tears and lingering smoke, “Ann, we need to stop!” Luffy sounded scared, why was he scared? They just need to get to Dadans than they’ll be safe…
“We can’t…gotta…Dadan’s…”
“Ann! Stop!” Luffy pulled his arm away from Ann’s hand, tears falling down his round cheeks like rivers, “Stop moving! Please!”
“Lu, we gotta keep…moving, come on..” Why was she so winded? Why was she in so much pain?...what was falling down her side?
“Ann-”
“Kids!” Both Ann and Luffy looked towards who yelled.
A tall, worried orange haired woman with a club, “…Dadan…” Ann smiled, good Luffy is gonna be safe…her eyes felt so heavy, why were they so heavy?
“Ann!”
Her world went black.
⸻
Garp sat beside the hospital bed that his granddaughter was resting on, she looked like she was resting peacefully which was the complete opposite of Garp’s racoon eyes as Luffy and Sabo called it.
It’s been six months since the gray terminal fire, even longer than that since he saw his beloved granddaughter’s eyes. No doctors on the island would have been able to help her, so he had to bring her to the one place he knew she would have hated, Marineford.
The Marine doctors were able to help her, they saved her…but they couldn’t wake her up. His precious granddaughter was laying on the bed, wasting away.
“Garp.” The infirmary door slid open, without taking his eyes off Ann the Vice-Admiral knew who it was.
“What do you want Akainu.”
“The Fleet Admiral wants you-”
“No, I’m not leaving her. Tell Senny to come here.” The older man heard the younger Admiral sigh before the scraping of chair legs.
“Go ahead and go Garp. I’ll stay with her until you get back.” Akainu leant back in his own chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his right leg over his left knee. A stoic look on his face.
“Brat, you’re not kicking me out of my own granddaughters room!”
“Look, you don’t want her to be alone, and Sengoku needs to talk to you. This,” The magma user waved his hand, “is the best solution. So go, I’ll be here with her and if she wakes up when you’re gone I'll call Sengoku’s office den den. I promise.”
Something about the Admiral’s tone put Garp at ease, “You better.” Garp stood up, placing a ever so gentle kiss on Ann’s forehead as he left the infirmary.
“She’s bleeding bad Garp! A pipe is sticking out of her side! We don’t know what to do!”
“I-I did it, gramps…I protected Luffy, are you proud…”
If
When Ann wakes up, Garp is going to do everything in his power to make up for the hit, and what he said to her all that time ago.