Written for MyLadyDay. The theme was "Alternate History".
Pushing aside yet another branch, Izo's eyes widened when he finally saw the goal of his journey. Deep inside this jungle of madness, he saw the spring he had been looking for.
The surroundings were beautiful, serene even, but right now, Izo couldn't care less. His life had become dark and his senses numb. While some might have gasped in awe at the beauty of nature, he merely scanned the surroundings for what he was looking for.
In the past months, Izo's life had fallen apart because of one man, and one man only. Teach had been his nakama, his brother, and he had betrayed them all. It started when Teach killed Thatch over a devil's fruit. Izo had found Thatch in a pool of his own blood and Thatch had died in his arms. Izo wouldn't have been able to go on in it weren't for his brothers, especially Ace's determination to avenge Thatch's death. That had been the only thing to keep Izo going, the knowledge that Teach would get what was coming to him. But then Ace had been captured and his execution had been announced. Izo had been barely able to pull himself together on the rescue mission, but he couldn't lose another brother. Instead, he lost both his brother and his father.
The Whitebeard pirates, once feared, had to slink away. Marco had taken over command, as Pops would have wanted, and gave the crew a while to grieve. Izo knew that Marco had been hit harder than any of them, maybe with the exception of Izo himself. Marco had been with Whitebeard the longest, he had been close with Thatch and Ace… Well, Izo knew Marco had been in love with him, yet he had never said a word about it. And Izo knew as well that that was Marco's biggest regret.
Everything had gone wrong. In a short amount of time, the family they had built and the happiness they had felt was demolished and smashed to pieces. All because of Teach.
Some had suggested a revenge mission, all of them, to get rid of Teach for once and for all, but Marco had refused. They would take time to heal before they would go back to their pirating ways.
Izo didn't think he would be able to handle it. The love of his life had been brutally murdered and because of that, he had lost his father and brother. Yet he knew that while killing Teach would be satisfying, it wouldn't bring his dead loved ones back.
During their travels, Izo had heard of a rumour of a fairy-like creature that could grant your wish to go back in time. Izo wasn't one to believe in magic – it was probably a weird, unknown devil's fruit – but he didn't have anything else to lose. If there was a way to get Thatch, Pops and Ace back, he would have to try. He hadn't told Marco or anyone about it. They would only have stopped him, preventing from losing another family member, and claim he had gone mad with grief. Perhaps they were right, but what if they weren't? To get Thatch back, Izo was willing to sacrifice a lot.
Standing in front of the spring, Izo resisted the urge to use the water to wash his face. He hadn't bathed properly in weeks in his search for this place. But perhaps the water was sacred and he didn't want to mess things up.
"Hello?" he called out. "Is someone there?"
For a moment, all he could hear were chirping birds, but then, suddenly, a figure appeared. They were clad in a silver mantel, the hood covering their eyes.
Izo wasn't easily frightened, but not knowing what or whom to expect, he gripped his revolvers tighter. "Can you do what they say?" he asked.
The figure chuckled. "That depends on what they say."
Izo straightened. "My family has been torn apart because of the work of one man. My lover, my father and my brother died on his hands. I want them back."
"We all want back what we lost."
Izo gripped at his kimono. "It wasn't their time!"
"That's not up to you to decide."
Izo stared at the figure and slowly sunk to his knees. "So it was all for nothing?" he whispered. "I abandoned my family in their hour of need for nothing?"
"I didn't say that."
Izo's head snapped up.
"I can take you back until before you lost your loved ones and you can try to right the wrong. If you're right and it wasn't their time, you can save them all. However, you will be the only one who remembers what happened. You're not allowed to tell anyone of their fate, or the timeline will be restored to normal. You have one chance. Do you agree?"
The figure held out their hand and Izo didn't hesitate to grab it.
He woke up in his quarters aboard the Moby Dick. He hardly had to open his eyes to know where he was, so much was he used to his bed, and he felt a pang of disappointment. It hadn't worked? Had his journey all been a dream, a fantasy made up by his grieving brain to cope?
Sighing, he sat up and left his room to get a glass of water from the kitchen. He needed some fresh air. Tears welled up in his eyes as he made his way over the abandoned deck. Life without Thatch, Pops and Ace, was it really worth it?
Suddenly, he bumped into someone. Of course, Marco was responsible and wouldn't leave the ship without a watchman, no matter how sad they all were.
"Izo, what are you doing up?"
That voice… Could it really be?
Izo's head snapped up and sure enough, he was looking in Ace's freckled face. Ace cocked his head to the side. "You okay? Izo…?" He didn't have time to continue before Izo threw his arms around his neck and, crying, buried his face in Ace's neck.
Awkwardly, Ace patted his back. "There, there. What's wrong, Izo? You miss Thatch that much?" he asked teasing.
Hastily, Izo let go of Ace and wiped away his tears. Of course, Ace didn't know he had been dead, and from the tone of his voice, Thatch was obviously not dead either. Then Izo must have been placed back in time right before Thatch returned with the Yami Yami no Mi, which would cause his demise. Izo was tempted to tell Ace everything, but it had been expressly forbidden to discuss their fates. He would have to solve things himself.
"Yeah, I guess I do," he said in answer to Ace's question.
The freckled man laughed. "Man, you got it bad. Well, I have watch, so good night, I guess."
Before he could leave, however, Izo grabbed his wrist. "Would you mind if I came with you? I don't think I can sleep right now."
"Sure," Ace shrugged. "I won't say no to some company. Mind if we stop by the kitchen first?"
Chuckling, Izo shook his head. This was the Ace he knew and loved, with a black hole for a stomach.
The next day, Izo felt a mixture of excitement and dread. Thatch would come back today – not that anyone else knew that – with the Yami Yami no Mi. Tomorrow by this time, he would be dead. That was, of course, what caused the anxiety. On the other hand, however, he would see Thatch again, alive and well.
For now, there was nothing he could do. Once Thatch came back, Izo would make sure that Thatch would give the fruit he found to Teach and everything would be well. That was what was bothering him the most; Teach had killed Thatch for the fruit, which Thatch hadn't eaten himself and would probably have just given it to Teach if he had asked. That was the kind of person Thatch was.
Izo decided to distract himself by doing some meddling he should have done a long time ago. If everything went wrong and things returned to their original timeline, then the least Izo could do was make sure Marco didn't have any regrets. It was no secret Izo and Thatch were lovers and the whole crew supported him, so why Marco had never made a move on Ace was beyond Izo. It wasn't like a relationship between crewmembers was being frowned upon, so what was stopping him? The fear of losing a friendship? Not wanting to fall in love because Marco would outlive Ace – whether he was killed at Marineford or not?
Speaking of Marco, Izo saw him standing at the railing with Ace, laughing and casting him that adoring look only Ace was oblivious to. With confident strides, Izo made his was over to them.
"Hey, Izo!" Ace greeted him cheerfully. "Feeling better?"
"Better, yoi?" Marco asked.
"Yes, yes. I have a feeling Thatch will be back very soon," Izo hastily said. "Now, could you two come with me for a moment? I have something important to discuss."
He turned around and smiled when Marco and Ace both followed him. Izo led them to Marco's quarters – after all, if everything went according to plan, he would want to have the option to leave.
"Sit," he said once they were inside.
Marco raised an eyebrow. "This is my room," he protested.
"Sit."
Obediently, he did what he was told and took place next to Ace on the bed. "So what is this pressing matter, yoi?"
Izo tapped his feet on the floor. "This has been going on long enough. The crew is getting restless."
Confused, Ace and Marco shared a look. "Restless about what?" the latter asked.
"You two."
"Us?" It was Ace's turn to sound puzzled.
"Yes. Please do the world a favour and just kiss already." Izo took both their heads and pressed them together. Sitting down, he watched with second hand embarrassment how the two kept sitting in the same position, lips pressed awkwardly together. It was Marco's brain that caught up the quickest and hesitantly, he started to kiss Ace.
Izo sighed in relief when Ace wrapped his arms around Marco's torso, and Izo rose to leave. They could work the rest out themselves.
That evening, just after dinner, Thatch's party returned. Tears stinging in his eyes, Izo watched Thatch approach with that damned fruit in his hand.
Being one of the most popular crewmembers, Thatch received a warm welcome, but as soon as Izo caught his eye, he left the others and walked over to him. "I'm back," he said sheepishly.
"So I see," Izo whispered. He bit his lip to prevent himself from crying.
"You sure have missed me," Thatch said jokingly.
"You have no idea!" Izo threw himself on him, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing his face all over.
Thatch chuckled and held him close. "It's okay," he murmured soothingly. "I'm back and I'm not going anywhere for a while." He kissed Izo's temple. "Come on, I'm gonna greet Pops and I need to show you what I found!"
Hand in hand, they walked over to Pops, who was sitting on his chair on deck. Most crewmembers had already gathered to listen to Thatch's adventures. Thatch had always been a charismatic storyteller.
Izo watched him adoringly as Thatch went over the events that had happened to their search party. The climax of the story was of course the retrieval of the Yami Yami no Mi and, proudly, Thatch presented the fruit.
"Are you going to eat it?" Haruta asked excitedly, but Thatch shrugged.
"I'm not sure yet. I mean, I don't really need the powers," he said cockily – though, he did have a point, Thatch was an amazing fighter. "And being able to swim sometimes comes in handy."
"At least you don't have to worry anymore about Ace being kicked overboard by Pops," someone joked and, laughing, Izo saw Ace turn bright red. Izo also noticed, however, how Marco's and Ace's hands were holding.
Thatch followed Izo's stare and seemed to notice the handholding as well. "When did that happen?"
"Today." Izo joined Thatch. "Finally."
Thatch started to laugh. "Well, congrats, you guys. So who won the pool?"
"Nobody, the pool was over a month ago," Haruta said with an eye roll. "We waited so long, it wasn't fun anymore."
Izo was the first to notice Marco's famous eyebrow twitch, but fortunately, they were saved by Whitebeard's roaring laughter.
Same as the first time, the evening ended in a welcome back party for Thatch and his men, but this time, it was also a celebration for Marco and Ace getting together. Izo looked around as he made his way through his drunken crewmembers. The last time, he had been drunk as well, but now, he didn't dare to touch a drop.
He reached Thatch and sat down next to him. Thatch was pretty drunk already and was singing some kind of sailor song loudly along with some others. Izo chuckled. Noticing him only now, Thatch turned to Izo and pulled him close. "Ace said you missed me so much," he said, his words slurring a little.
Izo rolled his eyes. "Of course I missed you."
"I missed you too!" Thatch made an attempt to hug him, but instead ended up being draped over Izo.
Izo chuckled and caressed his hair. "I need to talk to you about something," he whispered in Thatch's ear. "But I suppose you're too drunk right now."
"Or you're not drunk enough." Thatch pushed himself up. "But I've always time for you." He rose and held his hand out to help Izo up as well.
Izo grabbed his hand and together, they made their way to Thatch sleeping quarters. On their way there, they passed Marco's room, from which loud moans could be heard. Thatch chuckled. "Man, if they get together, they get together good."
"I think the booze had something to do with that," Izo added with a smile.
Inside Thatch's room, Thatch wrapped his arms around Izo and kissed him passionately. Chuckling, Izo pushed him back. "That's not talking."
"I know, but I missed you."
Izo sat down on Thatch's lap and kissed him again. "I know." Happily, he inhaled the scent Thatch gave off. He hoped he wasn't dreaming and that this was real. He didn't know if he would survive losing Thatch again…
"What did you want to talk about?"
Izo closed his eyes and enjoyed the sound of Thatch's voice for a moment, before he sat back and said, "The fruit you found. If you're not going to eat it, I want you to give it to Teach."
"Teach?" Thatch asked frowning. "He isn't even in my division, nor in yours. Why would you want that?"
Izo pressed his forehead against Thatch's and thought for a moment how he could explain. He couldn't say Teach would kill him if he didn't, so what other good reason would there be to give?
The powers of the Yami Yami no Mi were quite terrifying in Teach's hands. Even if he didn't murder Thatch, Teach had been able to beat Ace, who was one of the commanders. The world would be better off with someone else wielding that power, someone Izo knew would be trustworthy.
"Forget what I said."
Thatch hummed as he gently rocked them. "What did you say?"
Izo rolled his eyes. Right, Thatch was still drunk. He took Thatch head between his hands, forcing him to look at Izo. "You should eat it. The fruit, I mean."
"You think so?"
Teach would have to kill Thatch in order to get the devil's fruit to grow again. He then had to search for it all over, making him vulnerable to attack. Teach wouldn't be a match for Ace without the power of the fruit. But Thatch would be dead. Izo would have saved two lives, Ace's and Pops', but the man he loved would still die. Wouldn't it be easier to just cast the fruit overboard? The chance of Thatch finding it again would be near to none.
"The power of the fruit is terrifying," Izo whispered.
"How do you know?"
"I… read it in a book," he hastily made up.
Thatch hummed again. "Would you be afraid of me if I ate it?"
"No." Izo kissed him again. "You're the only person I would trust with powers like that."
"That's settled then."
Izo rose from Thatch's lap and picked up the Yami Yami no Mi. "Eat it tomorrow, when you're sober. If you decide you don't want the powers after all, promise me to cast it overboard."
"These things are really valuable," Thatch protested.
"Promise me!" Izo repeated. "These are not powers you want to fall in the wrong hands. Promise me."
"Okay, I promise," Thatch said soothingly and wrapped his arms around him when Izo reclaimed his spot. "I'm glad you think I have right hands."
"You have wonderful hands," Izo said suggestively. "But," he continued in a more serious tone, "I want you to make me another promise." When Thatch looked at him expectantly, he said, "Never turn your back on anyone, you hear me?"
"You mean in general or…?"
"On the ship. Promise me."
Thatch scratched the back of his neck. "That's a hard thing to promise. I only have one front… We're aboard the ship, Izo, with family. What's there to be afraid of?"
Izo bit his lip not to blurt out everything. Instead, he shook his head.
"Are you okay?" Thatch asked worriedly. He sounded like he had sobered up a bit. "What's going on? We have a traitor aboard?"
Izo closed his eyes. "Please don't ask me because I can't tell you. Just trust me, okay?"
"Okay," Thatch said reluctantly, his eyebrows frowned.
"I love you," Izo whispered. "Please stay safe."
Thatch wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into bed. "I will, I promise."
Thatch was still sleep when Izo hosted himself out of bed that morning. He dressed and, quickly, wrote Thatch a note to remind him what they had talked about the night before.
The last time, they had drunken sex after the party and in the morning, they had fought over something stupid like Thatch's socks that were everywhere. Izo had left him angrily, but a few hours later, he had found Thatch nearly dead after being stabbed in the back. He wouldn't let that happen again, even if Thatch's sock really were everywhere.
When Izo left the room, he called over two crewmembers from his division and ordered them keep an eye on Thatch without him noticing. When they asked if there was anything in particular they should pay attention to, he said, "Just watch out for anything that could harm him. Don't leave him out of your sight until further notice."
He needed to talk to Pops. When lying in bed, there had been only one solution he had been able to come up with to prevent Teach from ruining their lives. By stopping him before it was too late.
"Oi!" Haruta ran over to him. "Why do you have two of your guys following Thatch?"
Izo sighed. They had been discovered already?
"He yelled at them when they tried to enter the bathroom with him," Haruta said snickering, but then continued more seriously, "What's going on? You think Thatch is cheating on you?"
"He wouldn't dare," Izo snorted. "No, it's just… Trust me, okay? It's for his own good."
Haruta shrugged. "If you say so."
Izo watched Haruta leave and heaved another sigh. Changing fate wasn't an easy task, especially not with extra help.
Izo arrived at Pops' room and after having knocked, he soon was called in by a familiar warm voice. Pushing the door open, he entered the room where Pops was sitting at his desk, Marco standing next to him.
"Hi, Pops," Izo greeted. "Would it be possible to talk… in private?"
Pops nodded at Marco, who left swiftly. Alone time with Pops was never denied.
Izo took a seat and pondered over how he could start. He couldn't tell Pops about Teach or what would happen, not directly. "Hypothetically," he started, "if someone from the crew was to harm someone else in the crew, deliberate harm I mean, not from the fights they always get into, maybe even kill them, and someone knew this in advance, what would you want that person to do?"
Pops considered his words for a moment, but then said, "I would want to talk to this person who would want to kill one of their own, and see if we can sort it out in a nonviolent way."
"But what if there is no such a way? What if this person doesn't care about the crew and is only here to get their hands on something, and once they have, they cause the death of more crewmembers and the crew to fall apart…" His breath hitched.
Pops frowned. "Are you still talking hypothetically?"
"O-of course I am." Izo couldn't look Pops in the face.
"Izo, if you know something, please tell me," Whitebeard said gently.
Izo shook his head. "If I did know something, and I'm not saying I do, I couldn't tell you. Please don't ask me why. It's not myself I fear for. Just answer me this," he looked Pops straight in the eye, "would you trust my judgment?"
"I didn't make you commander for nothing," Whitebeard said with a gentle smile. "But please remember, you are all my children."
"Thank you." Izo nodded at Pops and left the room. He had made a decision.
Thatch was probably getting annoyed by Izo by now, because Izo followed him everywhere and if he didn't do it himself, he had others do it. He never explained Thatch why, though, he just kept asking him to trust him. He knew he couldn't keep that up and soon Thatch would snap, but it was worth it. He had seen Teach lurking around and Izo tried to act normal around him, but he couldn't stop himself from casting deadly looks at Teach.
Thatch had decided to eat the fruit and was now practicing daily along with other devil's fruit users like Ace and Marco. Izo was pleased to see that Teach was thoroughly annoyed by losing the fruit to Thatch before he had a chance to snatch it, but it made Teach all the more dangerous.
The only solution Izo had been able to come up with was getting rid of Teach. He couldn't bring himself from murdering Teach out in the open, but the crew wouldn't accept that anyway. Izo had therefore come up with a plan, but for it to work they needed to fight someone, preferably marines.
Four days after Thatch ate the Yami Yami no Mi, they finally encountered a marine ship. Izo just hoped that the marine not finally had come to its senses and decided that the Whitebeard pirates were too strong. That would be just his luck.
Fortunately, they were still pirates and the marine still loved the law, so inevitably, they came to a clash. Before he could mix in with his crew, he was stopped by Marco, Ace and Haruta.
"What's going on, yoi?" Marco asked. "You've been asking your division members to keep an eye on Thatch and you shoot dirty looks around you. You're amongst family, yoi."
"Is Thatch in some kind of danger?" Haruta asked worriedly.
Frustrated, Izo gripped at his kimono. He didn't want to lie to his brothers, but he had come so far already! "I have everything under control," he finally said.
"Hey, if Thatch is in danger, let us help you," Ace chipped in. "He's our friend and brother too."
Izo took a deep breath. "I just have had this nagging… feeling," he said. It wasn't a total lie. "I fear Thatch is in danger, but I can't say who is threatening him."
"Can't or won't?" Marco asked suspiciously. Damn him and his observation skills!
Izo sighed. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course we do," Ace said immediately.
His fast response warmed Izo's heart. "Then please trust me to take care of it. If I could tell you, I would, but I can't. I have it under control. If you want to help me, please watch out for Thatch."
Marco, Ace and Haruta exchanged a look and then nodded.
Relieved, Izo mixed in the fight. He quickly took out a marine and snatched up his gun. Then, he started to look for Teach. He found him sneaking up on Thatch, a knife hidden in his sleeve, but Izo saw a flicker of light coming from the blade. Marco flew over them in his Phoenix form, and somehow, Izo knew he had seen it as well. He could see Marco swooping down, but before he would reach Teach, Izo fired his gun.
The sound was lost in the noise of battle, but Izo knew he had hit. Teach fell forward, the knife he had been holding rolling away across the deck. Thatch noticed as well and turned around.
Izo felt a pang of guilt when Thatch knelt next to Teach and checked for his pulse. Thatch had no idea how much that man had ruined their lives.
After the battle, which they obviously had won, they took a moment to honour their fallen crewmate. Izo had trouble keeping up a sad face, but he did manage for his other crewmates. They gave the body a seaman's funeral, casting it overboard. Izo's eyes flicked over to Marco. He knew Marco had seen everything, including him shooting Teach, but also why he did so. It would make it easier to explain himself.
He watched Pops drink another bottle of sake against the nurses' advice. Marco and Ace were sitting close to each other, their hands holding. Thatch wrapped his arm around Izo's shoulder and Izo couldn't help but smile.
He would come clean about his actions. He would tell Pops and the other commanders everything. Now that Teach was dead, he could do no more harm. His family would understand why he did what he did, but even if they wouldn't, it had been worth it to get his family back.