Gray terminal's future.

One day when they were scourging across the Gray Terminal.

A big guy with strange teeth had knocked down Ace and Luffy. Akane had hidden with an illusion, ready to step in if something went wrong. But she still couldn't make a move.

The man on the front, who'd knocked Ace and Luffy down, Bluejam, was holding Sabo by the scruff.

One wrong move and he might do something to Sabo.

Ace motioned to her too that she should wait.

"Sabo.."

"Give Sabo back!"

Luffy and Ace yelled angrily at Bluejam.

On of Bluejam' s crew knocked Ace down again, while Sabo and Luffy were yelling at them to stop.

"I'm okay…"

Ace said as he viciously looked at Bluejam.

Luffy angry yelled "Give him back, Bluejam!"

"What do you mean "give him back"? Sabo is my son. How dare you tempt Sabo to run away!"

The man who spoke was the one who had weeks before called out to Sabo in the streets.

"Nobody tempted me! I ran away of my own will!"

Sabo yelled at his father.

"You stay out of this! I'll leave the rest up to you, pirates." Sabo's father said.

Meanwhile Akane had disguised herself and mingled amongst the soldiers Sabo's father had brought with him.

"Of course, mister. We will take care of these two so they won't bother your boy again."

Bluejam responded. He drew his sword and pointed it at Ace and Luffy.

Like Akane, Sabo freaked out after seeing the sword.

"Wait a minute, Bluejam! Dad, that's enough! I understand!"

Bluejam put Sabo down, who pleaded to his father.

His father who still held his handkerchief against his nose, questioned his son.

"What do you understand?"

Ace Yelled at Sabo not to do it, but was ignored.

"I'll live as you want so please don't hurt these two! I'm begging you. They're very important to me, they're my brothers!"

Ace was shocked at Sabo's words.

"Sabo…"

Sabo's father didn't react much, other than, "Let's go home, Sabo."

Sabo walked towards his father, while Ace yelled, "Don't go Sabo! Run! You don't have to worry about us! You said you wanna live freely with us"

Akane was still waiting. If one thing went wrong, she would kill everyone here.

Sabo gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face. He kept walking, while his father couldn't help but laugh in joy.

Akane really wanted to kill this man.

"Are you gonna put an end to your dream, Sabo?!"

Ace yelled, while Ace and Luffy both called his name.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Akane was still following Sabo, but this time she was hidden in the shadows, out of everyone's sight.

She even saw Sabo's mother.

That woman's very being made Akane nauseous. The way she acted and how she behaved were all without any love.

As Sabo entered his house, Akane lost sight of him as the doors closed behind him.

*Inside Sabo's home*

"Hohoho, welcome home Sabo. Now Sterry, say "Hi" to your older brother."

The little boy next to the woman was smiling with a creepy smile. He didn't even remotely look like Sabo, he probably wasn't related to Sabo at all.

The boy smilingly responded to the woman's words.

"Nice to meet you, brother-sama! My name is Sterry and I'm 8."

Sabo was surprised to see the boy.

"Who is he?"

Sabo looked with big eyes at Stelly.

Sabo's father responded without any emotion.

"We adopted him. Just in case you failed in life..."

Cough

"Anyway, he's your smart younger brother."

Sabo looked at his family as if they were strangers, completely lacking in the basic human emotions as they wore their fake caring masks.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Currently Akane was waiting for Sabo to appear, when she noticed a slight disturbance near the gates. She looked once behind her before she took of towards the source.

what she saw shocked her. The gates leading to the Gray terminal, that had always been open during the day were now closed with a lot of armed guards around it.

she looked disbeliefing at the curent diplay, while she fervently hoped Ace and Luffy had managed to get out of the Gray Terminal. She had the feeling something terrible was about to happen.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

*Inside Sabo's room*

Sterry's behaviour was different than it was at the entry.

"You have the devil's luck because they're gonna take care of the burnables tomorrow night. If you had stayed in the Trash Mountain, you would've died."

Sterry acted as if it had nothing to do with him. He even seemed happy when he said it all.

"What do you mean?"

Sabo seemed confused. What did Sterry mean with that?

Sterry happily replied, "They'll burn down the Gray Terminal."

Sabo aghast as he grabbed Sterry violently at his blouse.

"What?!"

Sterry replied arduously with, "They decided it months ago. A group of observers from the World Government will arrive in Goa Kingdom three days later! And they'll have a world noble – a Celestial Dragon with them on the ship. So to gain his favour, the members of the royal family decided to burn up all the shameful parts of this country. "

Sabo Angry yelled in Sterry's face, "There are a lot of people living there! They can't…"

Sterry interrupted Sabo, "I said they'll burn up all of the shame of this country."

Sabo's face became pale. "You mean, the people, too?" Cold sweat dripped from Sabo's face at the realisation.

He pushed Sterry away and jumped from the window.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Akane was still searching around the gates to look for a way out when she saw Sabo arrive.

"Sabo! They closed the gates! They won't open it." Akane said as she was still looking for a way to get to Ace and Luffy.

Sabo stepped forwards, arguing that he had to get his brothers on the other side of the gate.

The guards didn't relent as they kicked Sabo away. Sabo ran forward, wanting to beat the guards to get outside, only to be punched and kicked black and blue.

"Sabo! Sabo, be careful." Akane took Sabo away as she placed him in an alley against the wall. "I'll find a way to get out, I need to find Ace and Luffy."

Sabo nodded as he sent her away, hoping she would find a way out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Unfortunately Akane still hadn't found a way out when the fires started to burn. Tears ran down her face as she feared Ace and Luffy were still out there. The fire had to be huge as she could see the flames above the wall.

All hope dissapeared when the screaming on the other side of the wall ceased.

The only thing she could do was pray that they were safe and make sure. Sabo would stay safe too.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next morning, the smell of something burnt clung to the air, making Sabo and Akane gag.

They had already no hope of seeing Ace and Luffy alive, so they had decided to steal a boat and leave this country for good.

Even so, he still planned to leave a letter in case they survived and were all right.

While they were thinking of the plan, Sabo's father had locked him up in his room.

Even the windows had been nailed shut with wooden planks.

With the help of Akane, he managed to leave his room, and they went towards the port.

The found a small boat and filled it with rations.

"Sabo, are you ready to leave?"

Akane said, while looking with warm eyes at Sabo.

He was the only brother she had left of the three, so she would make sure they survived.

"I'm ready. Only the last check-ups before we go."

While having checked everything, they set sail, a pirate flag with a big S on the mast.

They could hear the commotion from the port, but they didn't care.

From in front they could see a really big ship coming towards them.

Sabo manoeuvred to the side, meaning to pass the ship.

Sailing besides it, suddenly a shot was loosened at their ship.

"Sabo?! Are you okay?!" Akane firmly gripped the railing, while checking the damage.

"I'm okay! First we need to put out that fire! Who the hell shot at us?"

While waving their jackets, they tried to put out the fire.

Akane cast a side look, searching for the one who shot them, only to see a big gun pointed at Sabo. Without thinking she jumped in front of it, trying to block Sabo.

A blast was heard, as it hit their ship.

An explosion sounded at the middle of the ship as shrapnel's of wood and iron flew around them as the ship collapsed.

Through the pain of the fire, Akane saw the mast coming down as she shielded Sabo from the worst.

"Sabo, are…you alright?"

Akane smiled weakly at Sabo, who had received a severe burn at the left side of his face.

Sabo didn't respond.

She activated her devil fruit and carried him, despite her pain, on a higher piece of wood as they drifted away from the port.

Before long, she felt faint, as she felt heat draining from her body, while also burning it.

"This will probably be the end, eh. I really whished I could at least see Shanks nii-sama one more time."

She smiled as she closed her eyes, still protecting Sabo with her body as her tails curled protectively arouond them.