Revolutionary army

It's soft and warm. Those were the first thoughts that came to mind when Akane woke up.

She closed her eyes again, burrowing her head deeper in the soft pillow.

I hope they won't wake up early, I'm still tired, Akane thought. Ace would always be the one to wake her up, so today probably too.

When she thought that, memories of the Gray Terminal's fire came back.

With a gasp, the memories of being shot down were fresh in her mind.

Her body shot up, only to cringe at the fierce pain in her back.

She hissed as it reached from her lower back to her neck.

Reaching out her trembling hand, she felt bandages cover her back and neck, slightly damp by fresh blood.

"Ah, your awake now?"

From beside her bed, she could hear the voice of a man.

It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Almost by instinct, her body moved away, as stood against the wall.

Again, the pain burned her back, resulting in a painful yelp escaping her mouth.

"Now calm down. You're opening your wounds again."

She looked up, only to see the man with red tatoo's on face in front of her.

"The man from back then."

She mumbled as she lowered her guard a little. She faintly remembered him while she was waking unp and falling from unconscious.

Behind the man stood another man with a huge head and purple hair.

Raising her guard a little for the other man, she leaned heavily against the wall.

"Where's Sabo?"

The man with the tattoo gave a nod to the man with the big head.

Opening the door, she saw Sabo run inside, the left side of his face covered in bandages.

"Akane!"

"I'm glad you're…okay."

The strength in her legs left her when she saw Sabo was all right.

Before Sabo could move, the man with the tattoo had already picked her up and brought her back to the bed.

"The injured should rest. Iva, call for the medic."

The big headed man stepped forward.

"Really now Dragon, picking up children is really rare for you."

With a wave of 'Iva's' hand, a doctor came in, examining Akane's wounds.

"Now then, what are you planning to do?"

The man with the tattoo, Dragon, looked at Sabo.

"I don't want to go back. There is nothing for me there except the smell of rotten people. I wish to join the Revolutionary Army."

Dragon gave a nod, shifting his gaze to Akane. Even though she'd collapsed, she was still conscious.

"I'll need to think about it." She responded.

She didn't leave him, she first needed to be sure if Ace and Luffy survived or not.

Dragon nodded again, respecting their decisions.

He stood up and left the room.

Iva watched as Dragon left the room, unsure of what he was thinking.

"Akane, are you alright?"

Sabo stood at the side of Akane's bed.

The doctor had finished his treatment and left the room.

"I'm alright."

She gave a faint smile.

Her eyes closed again as she fell into a slumber.

Sabo sighed in relief, and snickered when her ears and tails peaked out from her covers.

"Still the same."

He gently patted her head, which caused a smile to appear on her face.

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A few weeks had passed when they finally reached Baltigo. Akane had mostly recovered from her wounds due to her devil fruit. What remained were light burn marks that covered her body from her neck to her lower back.

Even if the scarring was huge, it didn't hurt, nor did it affect her movements at all.

The only thing it was, was discoloured skin.

The injuries on Sabo's face were healing slowly.

He often mentioned how jealous he was of her healing speed.

"We're almost there."

A yellow man with long light blue hair and a moustache said.

The man was apparently called Hack and he was a fish-man.

She had never seen a fish-man before and often looked at him in wonder.

"Can you breath underwater? You have gills on your neck, so you should be able to. Can you attack with water? Are there more like you? You look really interesting, I've never seen a fish-man before."

Akane circled around Hack as she continued her stream of questions.

"Ah, I will answer your questions later, so be quiet for now."

This was the first time for Hack to experience a young child so interested in fish-man.

Akane would often touch his bare, yellow skin, while looking at her own.

She would also ask questions on end, intrigued by his answers while coming up with new questions on the spot.

This child was really energetic, so she should do fine with the training exercises if she joined the Revolutionary, Hack thought.

The ship docked at a port near the Baltigo shore.

As far as the eye could see, the island was compromised entirely of white stone.

There were white rock pillars everywhere, while the wind was blowing constantly.

The sight around her intrigued her as much as the fish-man did.

As the rest of the crew left the ship, they could already see Akane running around the island as she explored it.

They could even see her climb the tall rock pillars, her claws leaving deep marks in the stone.

To clarify her current state; after Akane woke up, she'd been unable to turn back in her human form, resulting in her being stuck in her human-beast form.

Even so, it didn't bother her as she continued to do as she liked.

"Akane, calm down!" Sabo called, while laughing at her energetic state.

When she heard Sabo calling, Akane dropped down the pillar and landed in front of him.

"I'll try."

She said, her tails bouncing back and forth, indicating her happy mood.

They walked for a while, with Dragon on the front, until they spotted something like a fortress in the distance.

It seemed as if it was carved out of a mountain, the whole building seemed to be obscured inside the rock.

Sabo and Akane were both amazed at the sight of it.

As they came closer to it, they could hear the clattering of metal on metal and faint yelling.

"The recruits are currently training to improve their strength in battle. After a few days, you will join them."

Hack said to Sabo, as he came to explain about the noise.

Sabo seemed eager to start. Of course Akane wouldn't refuse to learn more if she could.

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

As Hack had told them, after a few days had passed, Sabo and Akane both joined the recruits in their training.

The recruits averaged between six and sixteen years old.

The instructor teaching them to fight was none other than Hack.

"We'll start were we left of the last time. Everyone, pick your sparring partner and continue. Akane, Sabo, you will start to spar with me first. I want to see what you are capable of."

Hack said, walking of to an area with more space.

Sabo stepped forward first, picking out a steel pipe from the weapon stack and confronted Hack.

Their fight didn't last long, yet all the other recruits seemed amazed by Sabo's fight.

"Sugoi!" "He's really strong!" "Honestly, he's able to fight Hack-sensei for that long, who is that guy?"

All kinds of voices were heard across the battlefield.

"A nice battle, Sabo. With more experience and battle insight, you'll be strong in no time."

Sabo awkwardly scratched his head, a bit embarrassed but mostly proud.

"Next, Akane. Pick your weapon."

Hack indicated at the weapon stack.

"Um, Hack-san, can I use my own?"

"Sure? But I don't see your weapon?"

Hack seemed a bit confused at Akane's words, but it soon turned into amazement.

From thin air, Akane grabbed two swords in her hand.

Both had a curved blade with a ripple pattern.

Immediately when the swords appeared, unsheathed, Akane's eyes had gone cold.

"I'm not sure how strong they are, for they never faced a real challenge, so be careful."

As soon as she said it, it seemed as if she disappeared.

Hack felt a cold shiver run down his spine, sensing cold killing intent.

He dodged sideways, dodging the sword by a hair width.

Cold sweat seeped down his neck as he stared at Akane's cold eyes.

It was like a switch was flipped.

The cheerful girl was gone and in its place was a cold-hearted killing machine.

"Watch out, Hack-san! Akane is serious!"

Sabo noticed as well, slightly worrying.

"I'll be careful Hack-san. I won't cause any injuries. Kay?"

Akane's cold and monotone voice said, a small smile on her face as she disappeared again.

Hack nervously scanned his surroundings, careful not to lower his guard.

"Hack-sensei, above!"

Hack looked up, only to see Akane standing still in mid-air.

When he reacted it was already too late.

The tip of her sword was already against his neck.

"I admit defeat."

Hack sighed. They had recruited a little monster in their ranks.

Akane lowered her swords. When they disappeared, her face flushed red.

"I'm sorry Hack-san! I really tried to hold back, but when I start, it's like instinct takes over. I'm really sorry!"

Akane bowed again, little tears in her eyes from shame. She had felt a change in her Wakizashi, but she didn't know that it would lead to this result.

"A-ah, don't worry. You're just really strong. To be honest, I'm unable to teach you anything."

Hack awkwardly scratched his head.

Even if he had lowered his guard in the beginning, he hadn't done so halfway. Even if he'd been prepared, he wasn't sure if he could beat her if he 'flipped her switch'.

"Maa, there's nothing I can do about that. Meanwhile, while I'll talk to the higher-ups, you can visit the archives. See if you can learn a bit of what we do as the Revolutionary Army."

He gave Akane a pass, after which he dismissed her and continued to teach the rest of the recruits.