Hi everybody ! This is my very first fanfiction in English ! I hope you'll like it, and please tell me if I've made some mistakes or anything that you felt I wrote in a strange way, I might have written some sentences directly on the French sentence model...
I hope you'll have a good time reading this one-shot !
My Captain, Oh My Captain
Every person who met Monkey D. Luffy had seen their lives changed. For some of them, it was in a permanent and positive way. Others owed him their lives. They lived thanks to him; and they chose to live for him. These people are, and will always be the Straw-Hat Crew. The crew made of desperate people who found a reason to live and to dream thanks to this boy.
These lost children had been found by a boy who decided to take them as they were, simply because he liked their potential. Because he liked their nerves. But that was never what he actually said to them. He always told them that they were really cool, that he loved their power, and if they made mistakes –well, it happened to everyone. The only thing he needed to hear was their sincere apologies and will to live. Once that was done, he was willing to fight against any enemy if that meant protecting them.
Monkey D. Luffy was always considered as an odd boy, and ironically, although he was charged of a strong bill, he was underestimated by most of his opponents. What they just didn't understand was that whatever their power was, he would defeat them if they were threatening the people who he cared about.
And that was why most of the people who knew him ended up loving him. Even the Marine struggled to catch him, and most of them knew that he kind of let them take him down. He was alone that time, each of his comrades hidden in a safe place that had never been revealed; because Straw-Hat Luffy was not any pirate. He was claimed, two years ago, the Young King of the Pirates, Gold Roger's glorious legacy. And he simply continued. And the more time went, the more his crew was losing its members, until he came alone on the Shabondy Isle again, and simply waited for the Marine to pick him up.
What astonished Smoker when he came to take him was his gentle grin all over his face, and that word, which made him strongly believe that the boy was not just stupid or didn't just loose his comrades. His crew was not dead; he only hid it away from the Marine's eyes. Because this boy just said "Finally!" when they came, he didn't move a bit when they took his arms and put seastone handcuffs around his wrists. He just smiled at him in particular, as if he tried to tell him something that only he could understand. Smoker understood "I am going to distract you as much as possible from my friends' path by doing what I do best: a lot of noise", because that actually worked.
The execution brought a lot, lot of people, so many people that you couldn't even recognize a face, even if you wanted to. But Smoker was absolutely certain that in the middle of this crowd, he saw for a second "Black Leg" Sanji. If he was there, then he was also certain that each member of the crew was somewhere, maybe hidden far away from them, watching as they could, but they were all there. And how wouldn't he understand that? They were his crew, wanted on all the oceans, hiding from the Marine for about six months, and there they came back, when their Captain was about to be executed. They had always worked like that –when their crewmates were in danger, they always showed up. He didn't even understand how he could be the only one to understand that.
"I don't like that, Captain." Tashigi mouthed next to him. "It is too steady."
"I know, Tashigi. They should already have declared war by now."
The visual Denden Mushi had been placed all around the stand, intensely watching the boy, and the ruthless Akainu took a voicing Mushi. "Everyone, who are gathered here today for a very particular execution –the execution of the King of the Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy, son of the Dragon, late chief of the Revolutionary Army." For some reason, Straw-Hat grinned. Smoker was actually quite tempted to let him slip once again, he kind of grew attached to the boy, and he believed that he still had things to do with his life.
But Straw-Hat as good as gave himself to the Marine, staying for about three months on the Shabondy Archipelagos and making himself notice, so that they would finally come to pick him up. Nobody knew why he did that, and why he surrendered without even fighting. He was the one who came to fight him, and he saw him smile, in a way that scared off a lot of his subordinates, but all Smoker had needed to do had been to put the seastone handcuffs around his wrists and take him to prison.
They had fixed the execution three weeks after he was brought to Impel Down, and there they were. A grinning, handcuffed and trapped rubber man, without anyone interfering. Or so it seemed. Smoker saw the terrible thing coming, and he was not going to like it at all.
He was about to be given a ceremony to be upgraded, but he wasn't even sure to deserve it. It had been far too easy to catch the boy, and he feared that the Straw Hat crew would burst out in the middle of the crowd.
The crowd remained in a solemn silence, watching Straw Hat as he was forced to knee on the ground, head down, and the axe was prepared to use.
"He is guilty of trying to destroy the world's order with the destruction of Marine Ford and of Impel Down, of taking control of the Fish Men's Isle against their will, of joining the side of the Revolutionary Army, of fighting high officials. Therefore, he will be beheaded on this day, third of April, to expiate his sins. Do you wish to say a few last words?"
The boy smiled. "I found the One Piece and gave equal parts of it to my crew. But there is another treasure there that I didn't take with me. I suggest that you all look for it!"
No. This was worse than what Gold Roger had done. Straw Hat had just stated that finding the place where the One Piece had been hidden was possible for anyone who would try enough. And he was basically inviting anyone to go after this other treasure and after his own crew to try and assemble the One Piece again. He was inviting people to go to suicide against the strongest pirates of this generation. But any pirate would hear the offer, and try it out, just as it happened at Gold Roger's execution.
As the executioners lifted their axes, Smoker saw a shy lightning coming from the other side of the city, and clouds began to gather around the execution platform. Fuck. He knew it. This wasn't the end. This lightning was only the beginning. And indeed, when the axes were lowered with the intention to behead the King of the Pirates, lightning struck the men, who collapsed on the spot. Even the boy seemed surprised, and he looked at the growing clouds. "You shouldn't have…" he heard him say, as the crowd began its uproar. There was not even a second to waste, he already heard someone jump on the platform behind him, and as he took his seastone stick and turned over to face Roronoa Zoro, who already had one sword out, Nico Robin had just landed behind the bearer of the handcuff key, and was already busy stealing it from him. Roronoa jumped, all swords out, directly on his stick, and at the same moment, thunder struck the two men who were guarding Straw Hat's sides, giving Nico Robin the chance she needed to free him. Below them, people started attacking the guards spread in the crowd, and it wasn't really clear why they did. Anyway, he had to concentrate on the swordsman, or he would die a stupid way. Everything was going so fast, he wouldn't have any time to breathe now.
He'd managed to avoid being hurt in any way from then on thanks to his ability, but the swordsman was gaining some field, and with a little more effort, he would be able to take his seastone stick off and use it against him. His attacks were brutal, straight to the point, and extremely dangerous, and whatever happened, there was no way Smoker would let Tashigi fight that guy, and he was glad he had been able to push her in the middle of the crowd. If he hadn't been a devil fruit user, he would've been killed three times already, and he wasn't a bad fighter. His stick didn't even begin to reach Roronoa, who finally saw a breach and made his hands slip and his stick fly. He had to take it back; otherwise he would be in a very bad posture afterwards. The swordsman's grin couldn't be good for him, in any way he would look at it. Straw Hat was out of his handcuffs and between his crew's hands, thunder was striking among the soldiers, making them all panic for their own lives, and the whole crew hadn't even been seen yet. Black Leg, the animal, the red-haired –although she made her presence noticed by her thunder strikes-, the sniper and the skeleton were yet nowhere to be seen.
Now was the time. He embraced Roronoa with his smoky body and tried to suffocate him. But of course, that wouldn't be enough; the boy escaped quickly, but it gave him enough time to take his stick back and try and hit him with it. He knew that he managed to bruise the boy in some places, but he didn't seem to feel any pain, and just kept attacking, and actually starting to hurt him. He didn't notice on the spot; Roronoa had opened his severed eye; then he understood. He was another user of the fighting Haki at the highest level, which gave him the capacity to hurt devil fruit users of his kind. Now he needed to be very careful, because his attacks became even more brutal and deadly at each minute passing by.
Then, a mistake emerged. Too concentrated on his fight, Smoker hadn't noticed that his most faithful second woman was running to his rescue. Too concentrated on his fight, he hadn't noticed when she came between them. And when he saw her, it was too late. She had managed to stop the three swords with her own one, but all he was able to do because of his mistake was push her with all his weight and make her miss the aim, and receive the three swords directly in her heart. Time froze at that moment. He did not see her face; but he saw the horror in Roronoa's eyes as he realized what had just happened. He did not see her face; but he felt her body losing its balance and weighing on his own. He did not see her face; but he knew that this would not be a happy dying face. He did not see her face; but he felt, through the body weighing on him, the three swords stinging his torso, and saw them being slowly retrieved. Then only, he saw her face, as she slid on the ground, head up to the sky, life leaving her eyes. She died surprised of her captain pushing her in a deadly mistake.
He was not allowed to break down. The code did not allow it. The code also stipulated that any pirate to be seen had to be captured or killed. And it was easy right now. Roronoa was mortified, in front of him. He just needed to extend his arm and crush his neck. He just needed to put some handcuffs around his arms. He just needed to move before him and he would be in his mercy. He just needed… to move. But Roronoa, and not himself, was kneeling in front of his second-in-command and closing her eyes. Taking her sword and laying it on her chest. "… Why are you doing this?" The pirate did not answer. The Straw Hats. They were not usual pirates, or usual people. He had followed them for so long, tried to catch them for so long, but now… Tashigi was dead, dead because of him.
"Fuck the code." He raised his seastone stick. "Run, pirates. I'll manage the big boss." Roronoa looked at him from below and nodded. Then only, they both realized the state of the place after the beginning of the uproar. Straw Hat had disappeared with Nico Robin; Shank the Red-Haired had appeared out of nowhere, fighting Akainu, and in the crowd, he finally noticed the red-haired girl, taken away by the princess of Alabasta, if he wasn't mistaken; a bomb exploded further on the stage, and a few soldiers were blown away. It was like an apocalypse going on. "Go away, Roronoa. Run to your ship and fly away." The boy nodded and jumped in the middle of the crowd fighting the officials to disappear. Smoker began to understand what had happened, where this unsteady feeling had come from before everything happened; he knew that crowd. It was all the people Straw Hat had managed to help somehow, the people who remembered him and felt like they owed him. His crew had been splendid, making all these people come to the same place with one and only point: saving their captain.
He aimed in the direction of the big boss. Once he was sure of what he was doing, he took a moment to breathe, and then disappeared into fin air, to reappear just behind the magma man and lock him with his stick. "Smoker! What are you doing?!" He looked in Shanks's eyes, who understood and did what he came for. Another dying body lay on him, and he just let go of it. Perhaps was it better that way. Akainu wasn't exactly the best leader the Marine had known, having another person in charge might be of a great help for everyone. But then again, he didn't even care. Tashigi was dead. The code was shit. The Straw Hats had gone away. He was probably going to be killed for treason against the government. He didn't care about that. He had a good time on earth, did his job according to his own convictions, and didn't wish to do more. Either he died, killed by his own allies, or he turned toward another life, away from all that shit.
The Red-Haired looked at him for a while. He gave him a deal, joining the Revolutionary Army, by Luffy's side, at the price of which he would be protected of the people who would look for him in order to execute him. Life or immediate death. He didn't respond. Shanks didn't mind, and left with a code for him to crack if he wanted to find him again. He stood there, with at his feet, Akainu. He felt empty, he didn't care whether he would live or die, he didn't even feel anything at that exact moment. All the fighting people around him, the bodies falling, and he was thinking, all of that was in the name of Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy. This entire crowd fighting the authorities: men, women, fishmen even.
Monkey D. Luffy. As he finally decided to go into the crowd and leave the place for the moment, he thought about the boy who managed to make himself a crew out of a little fisherman boat. He gave each member of his crew a reason to follow him. He gave Roronoa Zorro, the swordsman, a direction to follow. He gave Usopp, the Sniper, a reason to be brave. He gave Nami, the Cat Thief, hope for her village. He gave Sanji, the Black Leg, a new place to live in. He gave Chopper, their pet, a reason to go on an adventure. He gave Franky, the carpenter, a boat to cherish. He gave Brook, the skeleton, a reason to carry on. He gave Nico Robin, the Ohara survivor, a reason to live. They all had a reason to come and save him, to pay the debts they thought they owed him, and came back to every island they visited to ask for some help from the inhabitants. And that was when Straw Hat's influence was real: every island had provided a surprising amount of people to come at the execution. He had given every person who had crossed his path what they needed. He gave peace to the Alabasta kingdom. He became a regent to the Fishmen Island. He fought Doflamingo off Dressrosa. He even gave the government what they wanted: a dangerous pirate who had to be stopped.
Smoker ended up on the beach, and from his place, he could see the Straw Hat boat leave the island. He was close enough to recognize each one of them, and the Black Leg was the first to notice him, but he did not move or say anything until Straw Hat came to see him. They talked quickly, looking at him, and then the boy waved at him, and screamed something that he could barely hear, something that sounded like "come on board". Smoker couldn't keep a smile from appearing. That boy was something special. He did understand why his crew went through so much trouble to save him. Maybe he should take the offer and travel with them to the next island. Fifty meters separated him from the ship though, and even he couldn't jump like that, in his smoke form or not. He approached the sea, wondering if dying that way would be painful. If being dead would be existing in an aching world, or being in peace with himself. Considering Shanks's offer again, he thought that being on Straw Hat's side couldn't be that bad –could it? Would he give him a reason to live on? He gave him a sign telling him that he would gladly come on board, but didn't move any further. He was very curious to see what the boy would do. Several hands gripped his ankles, and a bridge of arms grew out of the sand, leading him directly into the ship, where he was released again. Good job, Nico Robin.
Then he heard the sniper's screech, and running to Straw Hat, the boy asked him what he was doing on the ship. Straw Hat had already received special words from Shanks, who apparently said that Smoker could be trusted for now. The sniper seemed outraged by the idea, and took Straw Hat inside the cabins to give him his point of view. The others watched him carefully, seemed very unsure about that decision and ready to attack at any moment. He had seen them all grow in strength, and he had a pretty good idea of what they were capable of. The stubborn swordsman, who would never let go, even at the gates of his own death; the bloody cook, who would not touch a woman but would cook his enemies if they were flesh to eat; the soul-slicer skeleton, come back from the dead to cross paths with Straw Hat; the red-haired weather-controller, whose lightning strikes made her signature; the blue-eyed Oharian, whose devil powers became legendary; the long-nosed sniper, whose aim could attain up to hundred meters long; the red-nosed deer, whose unexpectedly deadly powers were just as good as his medical knowledge; the cyborg carpenter, whose skills were as powerful as precise. What a crew Monkey D. Luffy had gathered. Monkey D. Luffy, the straw hat boy, so brave that he was being reckless, so impulsive that he was being stupid, and yet so gentle that he was helped by fifteen islands, currently fighting against the government to give him a chance to fly away.
The boy came out of the cabin with his crew member, who seemed a little comforted, and faced him. "Shanks gave me a fix pose to the island where he wants you to meet him; do you want to come with us?" That was a question whose answer would define his life from then on. He had always been a Marine, how could he go into the Revolutionary Army? But then again, where would he go into the Marine, now that he had helped in Akainu's murder? He still hadn't figured that out, and didn't wish to figure it out anyway. To be honest with himself, he just wished to be alone somewhere quiet.
"For now, I will come with you." He finally answered. Meeting Shanks may be a way to figure his future life out. Fuck the code, fuck the Marine, for now at least.