There are many different stories told across all four seas about what it’s like to experience your First Touch. One thing that’s pretty consistent between every variation: the way the whole world seems to fade when you touch your soulmate for the first time, everything hyper-focused on the point of contact.
Some people describe the feeling as a warmth flooding through their chest. A sudden sense of completion. That’s the side that you fell on that day.
On the other end of the spectrum, however, are the people who have been running from this moment their whole lives. People like Kid, who think having a soulmate is an unnecessary, useless fact of life, and that they’re better off without their other half.
When someone like Kid meets their soulmate, it feels like the ground has been ripped out from under them. A deep sense of dread pools low in their gut. Not because they don’t want it. It’s actually the opposite: they spend their lives convinced they don’t need it, but all they can think when it happens is why does this feel so right?
Regardless of which side you fall on, the First Touch is a pivotal moment. It’s terrifying, really. Even if you’ve been waiting for it, the feeling of being connected to someone so strongly is just so… overwhelming.
That’s why both you, the hopeless romantic who’s been fantasizing about this your whole life, and Kid, the hot-headed soulmate denier, remain frozen in the middle of the battlefield. Your back is still pressed to his chest, his heart pounding against your spine as his palm stays hot and firm on your shoulder.
The marine captain is still a few feet away, taking this lull in the fight to get his bearings. Neither you nor Kid notices him. Not even when he takes a breath and moves to attack you again.
You finally snap out of it when you feel your captain yell your name, his rubber arm looping around you and yanking you back out of the line of fire. From the other side, Law steps in to take down the marine captain.
Once you and Kid are separated thanks to Luffy’s interference, the strange soulmate-induced fog seems to slowly release the both of you from its grasp, subsequently allowing the fight to continue.
You go back to fighting with your crew, putting aside the adrenaline from meeting your soulmate to focus on getting out of Sabaody.
~~~
Later in the fight, you and your crew finally take down a Pacifista, a cyborg designed in the image of Bartholomew Kuma. The single Pacifista put up an unexpectedly tough fight, requiring assists from nearly all of the Straw Hats before it goes down. Of course, there isn’t a chance to react before Sentomaru appears with yet another Pacifista.
Having spent all your energy on taking down the first cyborg, Luffy calls for you all to split up and run, knowing you simply can’t win this one.
You end up in a group with Luffy, Robin, and Chopper, while two other groups form: Sanji, Nami, and Franky in one, Usopp, Zoro, and Brook in the other. Sentomaru targets your group, and you and Robin watch Luffy’s back as he jumps into action.
Sentomaru easily deflects Luffy’s Gatling attack and lands a particularly hard hit, sending the Straw Hat captain flying. The sound of him hitting the tree, nearly getting knocked unconscious, makes something click in your brain. With a sudden, devastating sense of despair, you only have one thought: we can’t beat them.
You can’t tell what happened to the other groups, but by the sounds of the battles and explosions all around, you don’t think things are going according to plan.
“EVERYONE FOCUS ON ESCAPING!” you hear your captain’s voice ring out. “WE CAN’T BEAT THESE GUYS AS WE ARE NOW!”
You all turn to stare at Luffy for a moment, expressions a mix of terror and surprise, before kicking into gear. All three groups start running, trying to escape from Kizaru, who has been fighting Zoro’s group, along with Sentomaru and his Pacifista.
The next few moments are a blur of chaos. It seems completely hopeless for the Straw Hats, with everyone taking hits and not making any headway in escaping.
Unbeknownst to you at the time, the tides are about to change at the appearance of the real Bartholomew Kuma, who intercepts a Pacifistas attack on Chopper and Zoro which likely would have been fatal.
“If you were to take a trip, where would you want to go?” the giant man asks an injured Zoro, who was sprawled on the ground after being dropped by Usopp.
As he speaks, Kuma slowly removes the glove from his right hand. Zoro grits his teeth, both in pain and at the recent memory of his encounter with Kuma at Thriller Bark.
“Come on, Zoro!” Usopp says from behind him, his voice shaky and laced with desperation. “We gotta get outta here, quick!”
Before Zoro can open his mouth, Kuma lifts his now bare hand, swiping it towards Zoro.
POP!
When Kuma’s large paw-like hand makes contact with Zoro’s arm, the green-haired man vanishes. An icy hush settles over the battlefield at the sudden disappearance, thick and heavy.
One-by-one, your nakama are sent away. Brook. Usopp. Sanji. Nami. You scream, yelling at Robin and Chopper to run as you turn back to face Kuma, blade drawn and expression icy even as your breath comes fast.
But what can you do against Kuma that the others couldn’t?
From further down the archipelago, the Kid Pirates are using the Marines’ focus on your crew as a cover to flee. He freezes as he at the sound of your voice.
Kid couldn’t tell you why he did what came next. Maybe it’s because of the soulmate bond. Maybe it’s because of that hit to the head he took earlier in the fight. Obviously, something is making him act in spite of himself.
Killer and Heat, who were previously flanking Kid as they fled, don’t even have time to react as their captain skids to a halt, nearly losing his balance at the sudden change in trajectory. He turns on his heel, and suddenly his feet are pounding against the dirt in the opposite direction, carrying him towards Grove 12. Towards you.
If you had asked him, he would tell you that he wasn’t in his right mind. That he was being controlled by something else.
Killer and Heat yell after him, completely thrown through a loop by their captain’s sudden change in demeanor. Killer turns to Heat.
“Get back to the ship and get ready to set sail. I’ll get him.” He jerks his head towards Kid.
Killer sets off in pursuit of the red-haired captain, trying to get his attention by calling out to him to no avail. Kid doesn’t stop. He doesn’t even make any indication of slowing down.
Finally, his steps come to a stop when he finally spots you. You’re standing in a fighting stance with your feet spread apart for balance, one foot turned to the side. Your chest is heaving as you stare up at who Kid quickly identifies as Bartholomew Kuma, your blade drawn horizontal in front of you.
He doesn’t notice the fact that over half of your crew is gone. He doesn’t notice anything, can’t notice anything but you, the feral look in your eyes and the terror you’re trying to hide.
He steps forward, ready to step in. Then, he freezes.
What am I doing? He asks himself. Why should I care about some Straw Hat freak?
He knows he should turn around and leave while he’s still out of the spotlight…
But again, his body betrays him. He takes another step towards you, the air around him crackling as he generates his own magnetic fields.
Kid doesn’t get the chance to step in.
He can only watch as Kuma’s large hand lifts towards you, making a swipe in your direction. Your wide eyes dart to the side and lock with Kid’s where he stands some way behind Kuma, his expression mirroring your own terror.
POP!
The man’s large paw-like hand makes contact with your shoulder, and the space that you had just occupied is unexpectedly empty, just like the other Straw Hats before you.
Kid doesn’t move; his eyes stay locked onto that spot. He doesn’t look away or even blink at the following three pops as Robin, Chopper, and Luffy are also caught by Kuma, signaling the complete annihilation of the Straw Hat Pirates.
It’s not until Killer grabs Kid by the arm and drags him away that Kid forces his legs to move, though his eyes are reluctant to do the same.
“Kid!” Killer growls from under his mask, his fingers digging painfully into Kid’s left bicep. “Snap the hell out of it! We gotta move. NOW.”
Kid stays frozen for a moment longer, forcing Killer to physically drag him away. Kid blinks back into reality, forcing his eyes away from where you vanished and stumbling after Killer towards the docks.
By some miracle, Kid and Killer don’t get caught as they slip away, since Kuma is seemingly not concerned with anyone but the Straw Hats.
The anchor on the Victoria Punk is already raised thanks to Heat’s earlier arrival, and when the crew spots their captain and first mate approaching, they begin raising the sails.
~~~
The air on the deck of the Kid Pirate’s ship is tense as the crew scrambles to escape the Archipelago. Kid stands at the helm, the cloud of rage surrounding him thick enough to make even the strongest pirate keep their distance.
Unfortunately for Kid, Killer doesn’t give a damn about his captain’s so-called rage. He can see through the tense shoulders and strained vein in his forehead.
When the ship gets a safe distance from the Archipelago, Killer approaches Kid, ignoring the look of warning the younger man shoots him.
“So,” Killer says casually, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a hip against the railing near the helm. “What the hell was that?”
The nonchalant aura that Killer exudes is enough to make Kid’s eye twitch. He hates the way that his first mate isn’t afraid of him.
“Tch. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ bout.” Kid spits, his tone clipped in an attempt to signal to Killer to drop it.
Killer does not drop it.
He tilts his head, eyes narrowing into slits behind his blue-and-white striped mask. “Bullshit.” He says plainly.
Kid’s head snaps to the side so he can glare dramatically at Killer again, trying to intimidate him into silence.
After a long, tense silent standoff, Kid growls angrily. He turns and strides away, his long black coat flailing behind him. Killer pushes off the railing, shoving his hands in his pant pockets and following Kid silently.
Kid stomps down the corridor of the ship, making his way to his private quarters. Kicking the door open, he storms in and sits on the edge of his bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. Killer knows that the open door is as good as an invitation as he’s going to get.
Entering the room, he closes the door behind him before dragging the desk chair across the room and sitting a few feet away from Kid’s bed.
A few minutes later, Kid is still sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor between his feet. Killer sits with his legs stretched out in front of him. He doesn’t speak first, knowing his friend well enough to know that pushing will only make him shut down.
Kid exhales, loud and drawn out, before lifting his head to meet Killer’s gaze. The mask does nothing to muffle the quiet sound of Killer’s breath hitching when their eyes meet.
He has never seen his captain like this. Over all the years of knowing him, fighting by his side, suffering through losses unimaginable, Killer has never seen this.
Kid’s golden eyes, usually so fierce and full of self-absorbed confidence, are raw with a sort of vulnerability that no one thought possible from him. Even when Victoria died, it was never like this.
His brows are furrowed as if he’s in some sort of agony, and Killer notices that his friend’s eyes are getting glossy.
When a tear falls down his hard-headed captain’s cheek, Killer’s eyes go wide behind his mask. His chest clenches in sudden sympathy, but for what he doesn’t know.
Before he can ask, Kid speaks up, his voice hoarse and broken, barely above a whisper.
“…that woman…”
Killer closes his mouth, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.
“What woman?” he asks, leaning forward in his chair slightly, sensing that this moment is about to be more intense than he bargained for. “The Straw Hat one?”
Eustass Kid, usually one to run from emotions and hide from vulnerability, doesn’t look away from Killer, even as another tear slips down his cheek. The nod he gives is barely perceptible as the flurry of emotions behind his eyes seems to be tearing him apart.
When he speaks again, both his voice and expression are filled with complete and utter fear.
With wide, wet eyes, the usually loud and arrogant Captain Kid seems less like the ruthless supernova and more like a man who just had his world ripped away from him after learning it existed.
heyyyyy captain 😁😁 i have a little favour to ask of you. would you be able to hop over to the tang and show penguin a good time- he's not gonna run off again!!!!! he means it! the outcome will benefit all of us, we'll have access to two exclusive premium videos of law acting stupid. i'd say it's a pretty good deal yk
