Individual: Ace and Sabo
Prompt: Seeing Ghosts AU. For restlesstsukiriver.
Rating: T for angst
-o-o-o-o-
It had been painful to hear, not wanting to believe for a minute that Sabo was really…
Gone.
It couldn't have happened, they all promised to wait! Ace had been angry and felt consumed with such frustration that it was practically bathing him in negativity. Any spirits that would come visit him, including his mother and father, stayed far away as his emotions could affect them. The anger is dark and they waited for him to finally breakdown into sadness before comforting him.
The thing that got to Ace the most is that he stood by the cliff edge, waiting for his friend's arrival to come visit him. They mentioned if it ever happened that they would find each other, sharing the gift, and it had been funny to see Luffy get mad. They always explained to him that it wouldn't matter if he couldn't see spirits because they would still watch over him if they passed. Luffy always protested, saying they promised they wouldn't leave him and now with this reality coming down on them it brought Luffy to also be anxious every time he would return back to the home. If Ace could talk with Sabo then it would almost be like before, but…
Sabo never came.
Every passing day, Ace would go out and be somewhere that the other could easily find him in case he got lost, not knowing what the other side looks like. He would ask his parents, questioning if they had seen him and if there was any way to tell. They tried to tell him that they hadn't seen him, which meant he could be alive, but Ace also knew how spirits get lost. It happened with someone that Rouge had mentioned before and she probably regretted telling that little fact to him.
"I'm sure he will find you soon, honey." The reassuring words are there with the feel of a hand lingering in his hair, Ace curled up against a tree near the cliff area they would frequent to overlook. "He could also be alive," that is supposed to raise his hope, but he isn't sure how to feel on everything.
The following years don't get any easier and by the time he's an adult, he is always finding himself hurting in realization that whether Sabo was alive or not, he wouldn't want to associate with a monster like him. No matter how many times he was told he wasn't by his parents, he had still heard all the words up until he could see spirits and they embedded deep into his soul, leaving himself to carry a bit of darkness in his heart that would grow a little in size in pained thoughts of Sabo.
-o-o-o-o-
"Who are you?" The question arises when his green eyes meeting dark ones that are staring in surprise at him.
Sabo knew he could see ghosts, some would come pester him after killing someone if needed for the mission. If he ignored them, though, they went away after spiting him and doing some grumblings before moving on somewhere else. He doesn't really see them unless they want to associate with him and that was how he saw some past comrades, everyone knowing of his talent. It was sometimes a good way to tell if they lost a man or not in the field.
If anything, Sabo wasn't bothered by it and acted nothing of it as some past comrades would linger to tell jokes before going to do some things. Of course, he would have to also help in relaying information on what their deceased men had gone through since they couldn't write anything down. Sometimes that was hard on Sabo, hearing all the things said and had to repeat them either through mouth or writing.
"Who am I? Is that some kind of sick joke?" The spirit asks in a bit of frustration and crosses arms over his bare chest, feet up a bit as he seems to be a new one that floats. "Here we thought you died when we were younger and you are alive and well!" He claims with hands gripping biceps and giving a frustrated clicking of his tongue and it was evident dark eyes had tears welling. "We thought… we thought we had lost our brother and you have…" The tone is pained, confusing Sabo as he thinks he has the wrong guy because they look nothing alike to be brothers.
"I think you have the wrong person?" The question lingers as those dark eyes snap back in pain and realization.
"You… you don't remember me?" It is filled with so much pain that it hurts Sabo to hear and something about the other is familiar, but he ignores it.
"I don't remember anything before my accident." The words are chosen carefully, not caring too much for what happened and left him with such a permanent reminder. Though he says this, it does nothing to quell the individual that may be around the same age as him, still young to die and makes him wonder on how he did.
"Sabo…" The name leaves the spirit, filled with hurt as lips tremble and his appearance fades a bit, like his light was pulled from him. "I… Even if you don't…" He starts while tears are slipping along his cheeks and it hurts Sabo as he wants to know how he could make someone suffer so much. "Luffy and I loved you so much. You were the best brother we could have ever asked for." The words linger as this shadowing is on the male and Sabo knew it all too well.
The soul is being corrupted.
The pain this spirit is going through is becoming too consuming and slowly overtaking him. Starting from within his chest and spiraling around his body as there is a shaky breath and Sabo doesn't know what to do. He hasn't encountered a soul this pained with something about him instead of being consumed by failure for something more selfish.
"W-Wait," Sabo stands from his chair as he tries to keep himself steady. "If… If you say I was your brother, give me time, please? Let me try to remember you, so that we can talk again, okay?" The question is out as he fears seeing this spirit becoming corrupted by the pain and Sabo wasn't sure why. There is a sad smile of appreciation, the darkness starting to slowly ebb away back to where it came. The sight makes him happy to see, not wanting the other to be shrouded in it.
"I will be there when you do, okay?" The question is accompanied with the spirit soon disappearing to someplace else for now with that lingering reassurance.
-o-o-o-o-
Later, Sabo comes across the newspaper on what happened at Marineford and is filled with the largest slap of reality. He hardly registers Ace there to try and comfort him as he goes into shock from so much pain filling him.
How could he not be there for his brothers?
