The End of The King
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
There was no wind that day. The sky was devoid of clouds, too. The sun shone, but for some reason, to him, it lacked the lustre it usually did, looking like more of a dull light. But what annoyed him most of all was that everyone was so silent. In the words of his best friend Rayleigh, he was a man who loved big, flashy things. There was a huge crowd of people from the world over gathered in the square of his home town, but the fact they seemed to do nothing but stand quietly and stare did nothing for him. A tension was building, and he really hated that.
In an incredibly convincing act he had managed to remain smiling wide with a grin like no other, chuckling to himself. But again it was an act – There was something incredibly hollow and dead about today, something that unnerved him and made him wish that little red-head on his crew with the straw hat would show up and throw some sort of farewell party along with his red-nosed friend (But sadly, even if they were here, their presence went unnoticed by him – fading into the background with the rest of the dull, quiet crowd gathered).
It wasn't long now, he could see – before him stood the execution stand, where today he would meet his end. To think that the final journey he had started but four years ago was finally to come to an end – despite how little time it had been, he felt as though he had done a lifetime's worth of adventure. He had found the island in the sky, amassed a great treasure, met many different faces and had even managed to find a rival in Whitebeard – A man many considered capable of destroying even the world with that Devil Fruit of his! He chuckled a little again – That he had managed to fight said man to a draw certainly made his ego feel a little better after the harsh treatment of silence he had been receiving all day.
By now he had arrived at the stand and slowly he brought his black-booted feet up, walking slowly up the steps to his execution. His footsteps echoed throughout the area, or at least to his ears it sounded like that, and as he found himself rising higher and higher up his thoughts turned to a beautiful woman with a flower in her hair, the only woman who had ever managed to make him feel nervous, with butterflies in his stomach – and the only one who he couldn't bear to stop keeping his eyes on! There were many beauties on the sea – The Kuja Empress, Nico Olivia – But of all of them the only one he ever had these unusual feelings for was her. But despite the feelings he was not a fool – He knew these feelings to be love. But that saddened him even more today – Nowhere in the crowds was Portgas D. Rouge to be found, as per his own requests. She was nowhere near Loguetown, far across the sea on another island somewhere, hiding. Right now he wanted to see her face, but he knew that to be impossible. For her safety, not even today could he see her.
He tensed a little, though the Marines guarding him seemed not to notice. He was almost to the top of the steps and on the stand, he noted, though he cared little – by today he would be on top, high above everyone else, before dying.
'No, that's not right' he told himself in his thoughts, looking towards the execution stand. 'I told Rayleigh I wasn't going to die here. I'm not gonna die' he corrected, remembering his promise, and his last words, to his First Mate Silvers Rayleigh – a man who had stood by him all throughout his life, always at his right hand. He was both the best friend he ever knew and the only crewmate he had that could stand beside him in a fight, no matter how intense. He chuckled a little to himself again when he thought of his dear friend. 'And to think, I never told him I was left-handed, heheh…'.
Finally, after the long walk he finally stood atop the execution stand, gazing in wonder at the great sight before him – the crowd of people was monumentally huge, enormous, to the point that the square looked like it could burst if another man was thrown in. He smiled again, but this time it was more genuine – Maybe it was silent, but damn, having this many people appear for his own execution? It was like a dream come true, almost, save for the fact that he was going to be executed today. But regardless, he couldn't help but smile. As he stood upon the stand one of the two executioners regarded him with a stern, dutiful look, asking if he had any last words. Responding with a grin he raised his bound hands, showing them to the man.
"Yeah, think you could take this off? It's chafing me" he responded with no sense of sarcasm evident in his voice, though he couldn't help but allow a sense of humor to show through. The young man simply frowned, stating that he would not dare remove his cuffs. Letting out a little laugh he spoke again. "Why would I run away now? Hmm… That's a little saddening…" he commented, before sitting himself down upon the stand, his dark hair breezing about his face – Had the wind picked up a little? He hadn't even noticed until now. His thoughts turned back to Rouge involuntarily.
'I wonder where she is now… And what she's doing… I wonder if Garp will keep his word… I may not be long for this world, but I have done everything I can to protect her… And my unborn child…' his thoughts at this very moment were only of Rouge and his child, and a desperate plea that Garp would keep his word as he had hoped and let his son or daughter live on in this world. He trusted Garp as a man of Justice, knowing that on his pride, even if he were to disobey the Marines, he would never dare disobey the Justice he had sworn himself to. He had told Garp that his own child bore no sins, and he hoped that that plea had been good enough for him to listen. 'Heh, even if he doesn't… If I do meet a big man up there, I'll kick his ass and make him bless my child! Because that child will be the one who becomes the Pirate King!'.
Wider than he had ever grinned before on this day he bared his teeth to the world, a short laughter escaping him. Yes, he was not going to die this day! He was not going to lose his life here! Because his child's spirit, whether he loved or hated him, would keep him alive! That kid was going to be a great inferno, greater than he had ever been! A flame of life that not Garp nor Sengoku nor even Whitebeard could put out!
In that moment he had looked up a little, facing the crowd, but even as he looked at them he spoke to the men standing next to him with their spears, ready to deal the blow. "Well," he started, catching their attention instantly. "May as well get over with it, eh?" he spoke, his eyes looking towards them. But before either could move a great voice stood out amongst the silent crowd, a booming voice shouting out to the Pirate King as he sat there on the execution stand.
"HEY! PIRATE KING!" the man in the crowd bellowed, catching the attention of every last person in the square, including Roger himself. With only a brief pause to catch his breath again he yelled to the heavens themselves and to Roger "What did you do with your treasure? It's somewhere on the Grand Line, isn't it?! You have it, don't you? The greatest treasure in the world?! Your one great tresure, ONE PIECE?!".
The words shocked and stunned the entire crowd, but only Roger could find himself smiling through them, the grin widening with every word said. Yes, his flame of life would not be put out here! It was not just his child who would carry it, but this one moment! This one moment that he knew would define his life forever! Just as great as the man's shouting he let out a howling laughter, catching the attention again of all present.
"My treasure…?" he spoke calmly, the mood shifting instantly as the eyes of the world rested upon him in what he knew were to be the final moments of his existence on Earth. "If you want it, I'll give it to you… Go and search for it!".
The executioners quickly brought their spears up, holding them against the Pirate King, but even so, he continued speaking, unafraid of death and unafraid to speak once more.
"I left all of it at that place!" he shouted out to the world with a wide smile as the blades of the spears pierced his back. Their sharp edges had struck him without warning, but despite their efforts they had failed to stop the smile of the Pirate King from spreading across his face. Sitting there as though still alive, with that grin intact, the whole world erupted in cheering, laugther and celebration resounding throughout the square, but not from his death – No, he had not died on this day, he had survived, and in that one moment he had swallowed the Earth in a great inferno! The people now had a great treasure to seek, a great treasure by the name of One Piece! In one last breath the Pirate King had turned his execution into the beginning of the Great Age of Piracy.
'Rouge… My child… I am going to a place you two cannot follow… So live! Live and become great flames, brighter than mine ever could!'.
The Pirate King had not died this day – He had been immortalized.
Shinobi-dono: Shinobi-dono here! And what has he done now, you ask? He has written a one-shot dedicated to, undoubtedly, the greatest man who ever lived in One Piece! So yeah, this idea came to me suddenly – With Ace being Roger's son, how did this affect his death? What were his thoughts at the execution? I tried to capture all of this in my one-shot, and I hope I succeeded. If you think I did, please tell me, as it will be much appreciated!