(Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any related characters)
That was the day photographers flinched away from publicizing a catastrophe. That was the day they ran from abandoned cameras. That was the day they could have taken front-page pictures of begging marines.
Heads smacked up against walls. Blades went clattering to the ground or were forced into their owner's forms.
Blood painted sidewalks where children's chalk used to shine. The children that used to cry because of corrupt marines now cried for them. Men hid behind women and women abandoned their children.
Those who were once so bold as to challenge now wanted anything but.
That was the day the marines regretted their acts of absolute justice and freedom. That was the day they were jealous of the safety the Strawhat Pirates had during the madness. That was the day they saw the smiling boy on the wanted poster become the son of Monkey D. Dragon— worst criminal of the era. That was the day they saw that Hell wasn't the only place demons roamed.
Roaring and screaming. Blood and gore. The scarlet liquid dripping from fingers and faces and pooling on the floor like small oceans of wine. Havoc. Terrified calls of horror from marine to marine as they were practically ripped apart in the name of revenge.
That was the day three swords were left abandoned on the ground. That was the day no slingshots were used. That was the day a cigarette was left on the ground abandoned. That was the day the jaw of a skeleton refused to close. That was the day no super~s were shouted in glee. That was the day the smell of citrus was overcome by the smell of copper. That was the day a reindeer fretted for the sake of enemy marines
All it took was a bullet and a certain raven-haired blue-eyed woman's limp form on the ground for a split second for it to happen.
All it took was the sight of her pained gasps and frightened eyes.
That's all it took.
Before so much death and destruction in such a short amount of time.
That was the day the Strawhat crew saw their captain inflict pain and misery. That was the day they saw the protective ruthlessness he had buried within himself. That was the day they, for once in their time together, feared the happy go-lucky Luffy.