WARNING: I'm not sure I actually need to say this, but maybe the really squeamish people should stay away.
Also this contains spoilers for the manga until chapter 731.
Fractured
There was an eerie silence in the room, the kind you could physically feel crushing your chest with nervousness and fear. The almost empty infirmary was mostly dark, illuminated only by the scarce light of the sunset, barely visible from a small window. The visitor to the sole patient in there hadn't bothered to brighten the place up He was somehow comfortable in the darkness, surrounded by a thick smell of antiseptic, a feature relatively common for this particular part of the ship.
The young revolutionary was seated on one of the ridiculously uncomfortable chairs next to the infirmary bed, his hand softly rubbing the limp one of the unconscious boy on the bed, his eyes firmly glued on his brother's young face.
"Say, Luffy…" he began. His tongue unconsciously ran over his parched lips. He should really get himself something to drink soon. How long had he been sitting there? "Aren't you bored yet? Lying there all day… Since when are you this quiet anyway?" He chuckled softly, feeling his throat scratch, protesting the extensive use. "Damn, I should get us some water, huh?"
At a slow pace he made his way over to the sink and filled two glasses of water he had brought here the day before. Luffy had been unconscious for a day and a half now and the older brother couldn't help the worry building up in the pit of his stomach. Poor kid had taken quite a beating, that much was obvious. His normally strong, tan body was a pale mess of cuts and bruises, a discarded ragdoll on the bed. Sabo's heart ached at the sight.
"You know…" he continued, ignoring how his little brother couldn't reply or even hear him to begin with. "… I have no idea where we are heading towards, but I'm sure we'll arrive somewhere soon. Hopefully you will have woken up by then." A small smile played on his lips at the idea of seeing the bouncy boy awake again as he brought a glass to his lips and let the cool liquid wash his throat. The other one was used to soak a small towel with which the man tried to clean the young one's face a little. "Don't worry, little brother. I'll wait for you. I always will…" His expression contorted a little and the next words came out choked. "That's what brothers are for. At least one of us will always look out for you. No matter what."
With that he took his seat again and lethargically watched the light fade away, waiting for Luffy to come back to him.
When Sabo woke up sometime the next morning, he was quick to find disappointment in his brother's still unmoving form. A deep sigh unwillingly left his chest, his eyes shadowing over with grief. Luffy truly knew how to make them worry. He sensed a hunger in his stomach but at the same time he knew he wouldn't be able to eat. He couldn't recall the last thing he had eaten. It was probably sometime before Luffy fell asleep. Truth be told, that was most likely the last time he had left this room as well.
"I really should get some fresh air at some point, huh?" He remarked, before getting off his seat. He stretched a couple of times, trying and failing to shake off the fatigue.
The room really felt stuffy after three days. The usual scent of the infirmary was now mixed with the mildly unpleasant smell of an inappropriately ventilated room and something else, something rather odd. Sabo wrinkled his nose, failing to pinpoint exactly what that strange stench was. "Something really smells funny in here."
His eyes fell to his baby brother on the bed, brows furrowing in thought. "Luffy… Don't tell me you're the one stinking up the place…" A pained groan escaped his lips as realization soon dawned on him. "Oh, please don't tell me I have to clean you up. You're way too old for me to give you a bath, Lu!"
Sabo studied the other for a moment before giving up and starting to look for the things necessary for it. "Well, I don't have much choice. You really do stink."
There was a small bathroom connected to the infirmary, usually used for giving sponge baths to the sick. The blond took the shower chair away, as Luffy couldn't sit on it anyway and checked the temperature of the water. Once he was satisfied with that, he went to fetch his brother.
It shouldn't have been so shocking, not really. But Sabo's breath hitched when the frail body was settled in his arms. It felt so wrong to be doing this. It felt so wrong to hold him like this, limp and lifeless, almost as if he were dead.
"You're a pain in the ass of a little brother, you know that?" He muttered as he carried him over to the bathroom. "Making me worry like that…"
The water poured over the boy's head, soaking his body and hopefully cleaning it up. Sabo felt like looking away through most of it, appalled that he had to do this. It wasn't that he wouldn't do anything, anything for his brother. But the thought of Luffy being unable to do even that on his own, the thought that Luffy was unconscious through something like this violently twisted his stomach and brought a lump to his throat he just could not swallow. "See, if you would wake up already…" he all but yelled at the unconscious boy in front of him, his hands robotically scrubbing away. "… it would be mighty great, you know."
Some of the water he ended up splashing on his own face to wash away the liquid that had gathered there, so he could pretend just a for a little longer that he wasn't worried, he wasn't scared. Everything was going to be fine.
Everything was going to be… just… fine.
The fourth day came and Luffy was still unconscious. But then again he wasn't.
Sabo was awoken by someone abruptly knocking on the door. The blonde jumped up at the sound. Wasn't he… wasn't he alone here? Suddenly his legs buckled underneath him, a wave of nausea causing him to double over. Perhaps neglecting to eat had been a seriously bad idea.
However he had more important things to worry about. "Who's there?!"
"Sabo-kun! Enough is enough! It's been three days! You won't come out! You won't eat! I'm not going to stand by and let you die in there! Unlock the door now or I'm breaking it!"
Wide eyes stared at the closed door, blank and uncomprehending. "K-Koala?" In a daze, he made his way over to the door, numbness and cold taking hold of his body. A shaky hand reached for the handle, but found the door locked. For some reason he couldn't comprehend, he feared to open it. He thought he was alone in the ship. He thought…
"Help! Please! Oh, please help him! Someone! Anyone!"
"SABO! What happened?"
"Sabo-kun!"
A scream tore through his throat as the memory flashed in his mind and left just as quickly. When Sabo's eyes opened again, wide and horrified, his hands were painfully clutching at his head, fingers harshly wrapped around locks of blond hair.
"Sabo-kun! Open the door!"
Following a shake of the head to clear his mind, he complied to the girl's wish quickly so he wouldn't have time to think about it any longer. The door opened to reveal the distressed face of his closest friend, looking at him as if she was just as surprised he had opened the door as he was. Mere seconds later, the young revolutionary had latched herself on the man, her teary face buried in his chest.
"You… you idiot… Three days… buried in here… No one would dare go near you… What have you been doing?"
Sabo narrowed his eyes against the sudden light from outside but didn't fail to notice more sounds coming from a little farther away from them. There were more people here. Why had he believed he was alone anyway…? Wait, how had he gotten here in the first place?
He realized the woman was still expecting a response, so he turned to her, an awkward smile plastered on his face, confusion evident in his lost look. "I was… I was just looking out for Luffy until he woke up."
The way Koala's face adopted an expression of true horror that made Sabo's stomach turn in all the wrong ways. With her mouth hanging open in pure shock, she actually took a step away from him, large eyes guarded and terrified. "Sabo-kun… What… are you talking about?"
Before there was a chance to reply, a hunched figure approached them and Sabo struggled to recognize him as their leader. "Dragon-san?"
"We're here," he announced, voice colder than ever before, everything that made him human seemingly gone. Sabo fought to understand what was happening before him, yet failed miserably. Even so, he followed the urge to find out where here was. Curiosity taking over, he made his way outside to sneak a peek at their location.
It took all his willpower not to break down at the sight.
"No… No. Why here? Why are we here?"
Of all the places in the world, why here? It haunted him. Oh, how it haunted his sleep. I had a dream once… That I was to bury you right next to him. "Why are we here?!" he screamed at whoever was listening to him, the island where his brother was resting looming over them.
"Sabo-kun…" Koala neared him, her voice small and uncertain. "Don't you remember?" The man turned to her with a bewildered look. He briefly caught a glimpse of Dragon walking out of the infirmary whilst carrying something. In a mad dash he made his way over.
The older man was wearing a stone-cold mask that kept cracking at places the times his gaze fell on the body lying still in his arms. However, a fiery rage built up inside Sabo at the other's actions.
"Dragon-san! What do you think you're doing?!" For once he didn't care if this man was his superior, if this man had saved him. Orders and formalities meant nothing compared to his brother's wellbeing.
Dragon himself barely took notice of him. "We've waited too long. This is unacceptable. Is his crew here already?"
"They're waiting for us on the island," Koala informed him. "They agreed this is the best place to do it." She shivered slightly. "How will we ever face them, Dragon-san?"
Sabo felt like punching someone. His head was swimming from the overflow of information, while his exhausted body was ready to crumble down. "STOP! STOP FOR A SECOND!" He yelled, effectively gaining the attention of them both. "What…what is going on? I don't understand… Why are the Straw Hats here? Why are we here?! And for crying out loud, what are you doing with Luffy?! He needs to rest, he needs…." He trailed off once he noticed the disappointed look he was given. "… What is it?"
A pained sigh left their leader's mouth. "I should not have let you stay in there alone… Sabo.. Don't you realize? Don't you remember what happened?" The blank look on the blonde's face was all the answer he needed. "He's dead, Sabo. He's been dead the entire time you were there with him."
Sabo took a step back, but tripped. As he tumbled, his entire world went down with him.
Since when are you this quiet anyway?
At least one of us will always look out for you. Ace… ? Not Sabo, but Ace…?
Something really smells funny in here.
A hand flew to his mouth, his face the epitome of horror. Oh… Oh… The man struggled from his place on the ground, body shaking badly with every dry heave that racked his weakened body.
He felt a comforting touch on the small of his back, most likely a gesture of his friend, but it did nothing to soothe him. All this time… "But I… But I… No… No… No, no…" The word kept flowing freely, a mantra, a prayer, a sound of the outmost desperation from a man who had lost the one thing he truly wanted.
It had all come back to him now. Running to the ship with a bleeding Luffy in his arms, already beyond help, beyond saving. The boy had never had a chance to begin with. Locking himself up in the infirmary with him, somehow… somehow managing to convince his mind to believe… to believe…
I had a dream once… That I was to bury you next to him…
He wasn't dreaming. He was not dreaming. He was not…
No, no, please no.
Luffy…
Ace, wait a little longer…
I need him for a little more…
Please. Please.
Luffy…!
A/N: Know that there is no way any of you hate me more for writing this than I hate myself. I am a little curious about what you thought of it, though.