Day 2 - Lyrics/Quotes
"We have to live a life of no regrets!"
Ace tried. A life of no regrets? It was almost laughable. He'd always regretted being born, for being the son of that demon, for a start. Sure, that was beyond his control, and that made it easier to bear, but that didn't mean it didn't eat at him. It didn't mean he was happy about it.
But he could still try to live without regrets. For the most part, he did well at it. He had regretted losing to and being captured by the Whitebeard Pirates; he spent a while regretting that. It had worked out for him though, and in the end he was happy things had turned out the way they did. He didn't regret joining his new family now.
He had felt regret when Thatch was killed. He should have suspected something would happen, he should have been there to stop it. He knew Thatch's death hadn't directly been his fault, but he regretted not being able to help.
It wasn't his fault though. It was Teach, their traitorous brother, and Ace knew how to make things right. He couldn't leave Teach to someone else. He wanted to make amends to Thatch for not being there. If he could bring Teach back and hold him accountable for his actions, he could make things right.
He hadn't been successful in that, but he'd given his all to try. He knew Thatch would appreciate that; he would thank Ace for trying, probably pat him on the back and offer him a consolation drink. No, Ace didn't regret his failure.
In all of his life, he did pretty well in living without regrets. There were hiccups and dark times when he almost felt them, almost let them sink permanently into his heart, but they were always washed away. Sabo would be proud. Ace could face his brother in the afterlife without shame.
There was just one thing left for Ace to regret.
His body had grown cold, he could feel his life fading. Luffy's skin was hot against him, like a glowing ember. It made sense, he supposed. Luffy was his sun, his reason for living. No one wanted a child like him, but his brother needed him.
"I just have… one regret…"
He wanted to see Luffy become pirate king. He had never wanted to live more than he did in that moment. He wanted to see his brother's dreams come true. Of course Luffy could do it, Ace had no doubt about that. He was just sorry he wouldn't be around to see it.
"Just like we promised back then," it was getting difficult to speak, but Ace kept going. "I have no regrets about how I lived my life."
When he thinks about the people around him, he thinks he did really well, actually.
"Thank you… for loving me."
