Hey readers! How are you?! I finished re-reading Magisterium last night, in a rush of two days, and I'm still baffled, with eyes red from crying and mind full of so many new information and possibilities... Can you imagine I found mistakes? Now, I know no one is perfect, me the farthest from that, but... What were the editors doing? There's even a broken sentence and a broken word and a name written in the place of another... But, you know what? I don't care! So beautiful!
YaMi: Stop with your rambling.
Okay. *glares into nothingness*
As for the two points of the previous chapter's notes... Okay, so... The answers to the reviews will stay here, on the top of the chapter. I apologize to those that don't like this, just skip it, okay? Thanks... The hyphens... I'm really troubled... Because of a certain review that irked me at the beginning... The irritation faded, but I'm still... Feeling uncomfortable.. Right now, we're at a tie. Two pro and two against the change... So, here's the deal: a poll.
Please answer it! It's already posted on my profile and sorry for the trouble!
sousie: Marco will tie Luffy! That's his desire!
Neko Gina: Thank you! I have no intention to stop until it's finished and on the "shelf"!
Rei: Oh, really? Well... I'm still not sure, but I'll take every opinion into consideration :) I'm sorry for delays, though... Well, find out ;D You take your working time to review? Oh God... You shouldn't, you seriously shouldn't... But I'm so happy ;') Thanks! Kiss Lu for me! And, about a present... I think you should go for some toy that catches his attention ;) Or something useful... but he wouldn't even notice! Troubling troubling...
Nougat: Strangeness is like craziness. I prefer to be so than normal, right now. Well, think about it this way: can you picture Marco in a relationship and not being possessive? Because... wow. Sabo and Ace will have their little, precious moment, I've already written that and I hope it will satisfy you greedy readers ;D Wow, thank you! This flatters me a lot, like... You recognized my writing style and that's... Fantastic! And thank you for your opinions, they maytter a lot to me ;)
Words: 2805.
Enjoy!
10 –Weekly Black Journal
Marco walked through the empty corridor. All his brothers were helping with setting sail and tracing a route thanks to Izo's directions. The crew had been informed of the happenings of the day before and almost all were eager to find out if their former host was truly still alive. For different reasons than his own – they didn't know every detail – but it was a comforting factor.
He quickly reached the room of the brothers and didn't bother knocking. Marco opened the door and surveyed the damage. Both were sitting on the floor, face hidden in their arms or legs. Ace was against the wall, Sabo with his back on the bed's side. They didn't even notice his presence until he cleared his throat and crossed his arms, drumming his fingers on the opposite elbows.
"Marco…?" Sabo weakly said.
"Yes, that's me, yoi."
"What?" The phoenix thought he was done with Ace's aggressive treatment.
"I'm here to give you good news. Do you want it or have I to disappear?" He may be feeling a little resentful.
Ace arched an angry brow. "What the hell–"
"What good news?" At least, one of them was still thinking.
Marco looked once more, just to be sure it hadn't been a beautiful dream, over the article. He then launched it at Sabo. The blonde grabbed the paper and slowly read the page. His brows shot up.
"Wha…"
His eyes swiftly drank every word. His mouth opened, dropping to the floor. The happiness, however, was still visible amidst the surprise. Sabo looked up at him.
"Is.. Is this reliable?" He swallowed.
Ace put in his anger. "What's the matter!"
"Izo is a big fan of your brother, yoi. He's always been. After knowing of your hate towards marines, he thought it was better not telling you two about it." He explained. "That newspaper has been, so far, his way of knowing everything about him, yoi." He sighed. "I think it's reliable. And that's why… We're currently searching for their seat."
Sabo's eyes got teary. Big, round tears started slipping on his cheeks and dripping from his chin. Ace blinked. Marco almost smiled.
"But… How?"
"What's going on?!"
"I think it's thanks to his Devil Fruit, whatever that is."
Sabo looked down, blinking. "Black dust."
Marco nodded. "It's better than nothing, yoi."
"Ok, I'm fed up. You tell me now what the hell–…"
"Luffy may be alive." Sabo stood, smiling, eyes full of the same hope Marco was feeling. "Our nii"san may still be alive…" The blonde passed the newspaper to the raven and Ace displayed similar expressions.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Sabo oh-so-gently smacked his head. "Language! Haven't you heard our conversation just now?"
Ace grumbled, massaging his bump. "Yeah, yeah, I heard…" He looked at Marco. "If… If this is true, doesn't it mean that… We abandoned him?"
The phoenix looked away. "Probably true."
Sabo just stayed silent.
"I said to speed up, what's with this slowness?!"
"S-sorry, Rear Admiral Smoker!"
"Don't apologize, hurry up!"
Yes. He was grumpy. He was angry. He was even hasty.
How the hell did things become so… So… Messy… Luffy was a trouble-maker, always been, but… All of what was happening… Was on a whole new level. A dangerous level…
First, he had come to him with a crazy plan to free a to-be-prisoner of the marines, a brother and Smoker's… He sighed. What were they? He didn't know anymore… Whatever. He had asked for help. Smoker had helped, sneakily and without arising suspicions. That was not all he had helped with, he was currently waiting for the other favour.
But back to the mess. Luffy had successfully boarded a no-name pirate's ship, the kind of idiot that gets allured by the idea of defeating a weak Yonko. As if, what idiocy… Well, thank whatever that those people existed, he guessed.
Smoker didn't exactly know what happened onboard the Moby Dick, but he knew what the newspaper's main articles for a few days had been about. Ace captured. Luffy held captive. Silence. … Luffy's death.
He had read that pile of bullshits ten times and ten more. It was all shit over shit and… Bluntly impossible. Whitebeard was a pirate, but he was not as stupid as to kill a Rear Admiral during an exchange. And Luffy was surely not one to be killed so easily. If the brat had been killed at first try, then he had not tried to evade. The raven was not the type to stay put when threatened. Smoker knew that even too well…
But, what was important, he knew Luffy was alive. Wounded, probably by something that burnt, given the state of his Vivre card, but alive. And that had to suffice for the moment being. The piece of paper was scorched, but not burning anymore. That meant Luffy had somehow managed to, not only escape death, but even to escape whoever wanted to kill him, safely. Smoker had a huge suspicion who that was.
He felt angry. At the world, to be exact. Because daring to try killing Garp's grandson, a Rear Admiral, a capable young man, his friend… Smoker was compressing so much anger in his body that his smoke started to take strange, ominous shapes all around his persona. Scaring the living shits out of his subordinates.
The marine looked at the deck, searching for Tashigi. She was leaning on the wooden rail with determined but teary eyes. A sigh escaped his lips. The lad better be all right, in more ways than bodily, or he'll have to answer for making his most loyal subordinate cry.
What a mess.
"Ship on the horizon!"
Smoker swiftly looked forward, narrowing his eyes. There was a little, maybe approaching, shape. He took his spyglass and, as the ship neared them, he recognized the lion figurehead.
"They're allies." He said. "Get near them."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Allies?" Tashigi had reached his side. "Who?"
He held back a sigh. "The brat's crew."
"I TOLD YOU I NEEDED THAT INFO FOR YESTERDAY'S EDITION!"
"Come on, it's been hard to find~~…."
"I DON'T CARE! THE NEWSPAPER HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT THIS MORNING!"
"And what am I supposed to do~~~…. That island was super hard to track."
Well… That may be true…
"Whatever… I don't even know any more if we should put the info in the article."
Bartolomeo straightened a bit in his fluffy armchair. "I agree. He needs resting, after being pierced with a lava punch."
"As always, Lady Luck favours the right ones!" Gambia had just lost all his anger, fawning over his star with hearty eyes.
The other frowned. "Trying to blame Whitebeard, seriously…" Strangely, he was not really in the mood for fanboying around.
"You can't declare war on the World Government." The blonde countered.
"HELL YES I CAN!" He stood, their places swapped as anger flared. "THAT FUCKER AKAINU TRIED TO KILL HIM!"
"I'm equally angry, Captain, but we're not the only ones." Gambia slowly said. "This event will have many repercussions and, with our article going around for an entire week, each of our followers, everyone that had at heart his safety, even his colleagues and family… Who will not move, civilians aside?"
Bartolomeo fell back on his armchair and grumbled something like: "We count, too."
"Of co–…"
"PIRATES APPROACHING!"
The green-haired smirked. "Oh, I can kill? Marvellous~~…"
They both stood, leaving the office to reach the deck. Bartolomeo looked around. There was a big ship coming near them. He didn't need to bark orders as his crew readied for the attack and the shape got bigger. His eyes widened.
"That's Moby Dick."
Bartolomeo turned to Gambia. "No shits Sherlock."
"So? Orders?"
The other shrugged. "Guess I won't get to kill anyone…"
"Ooookay… GUYS! Don't engage combat! Wait for them to come near!"
The ship did indeed reach theirs. It was a lot bigger, resembling a whale, as legends told. Bartolomeo didn't bother trying to make contact. They did the first move. Precisely, the First Division Commander and some female-dressed male. Izo, if his memory was serving him right, a Division Commander.
He mocked a bow with flourishes. "Why, what an honour."
"Are you the one that writes the Weekly Black Journal?" Oh, straight to the point, the phoenix.
Bartolomeo narrowed his eyes. "What if?" How would someone like Whitebeard or his crew know of its existence, by the way?
"Pops wants to talk to you, yoi."
The cross-dresser cleared his throat. "I knew of your journal and we read of… Of…" He blushed.
Bartolomeo arched a brow as Marco sighed. "We read you know Luffy is alive, yoi." Then, he added, right index pointing at the other: "He's a huge fan."
Oh. Well… That could work. Fine.
"Ok." He shrugged. "My Vice comes with me, though." He pointed his left thumb behind, where Gambia was.
"Whatever."
The four jumped onboard Moby Dick. The green-haired quickly noticed how not every member of the crew was on deck, waiting for the meeting. Sure, someone walked by sometimes, giving them the curious glance, but the welcoming party was another.
Whitebeard was sitting on a huge chair. The freaking man surely induced a foreign fear in his very bones. Fire-Fist Ace and Pipe-Demon Sabo were standing on his left, the first with an angry scowl, the second with a forced smile. On the right was the Fourth Division Commander, Thatch, in a wheelchair. Ah, right… Blackbeard.
The one behind all this mess.
The bastard that forced his idol to…
"Brat." Damn Haki… "What's the problem with my son?"
"Oh, nothing at all~." He held back a shiver. "Makes me remember a certain shit roaming the seas~." How did his idol manage to stay onboard… Oh, so awesome!
The Yonko nodded thoughtfully. "Do you know why we are here?" In the meantime, Izo had moved to Thatch's side and Marco was near the other two.
Bartolomeo swallowed subtly. "From the phoenix mentioning Luffy, guess the Rear Admiral made home in your hearts." Hook and line. "You want the Vivre card." Awesome, Bartolomeo. Pat on the shoulder.
Whitebeard grinned. "Correct, brat."
"Before that…" Gambia scratched his nape. "We know you're not to blame, but… Really, what happened?"
Everyone flinched, apart Whitebeard, that just lost his grin. It was Marco that answered.
"Akainu used his lava against Luffy once they boarded the marine ship. He was still cuffed, but I had given him the key before the exchange, yoi. I guess he calculated the best moment to get free and survived, someway."
Bartolomeo blinked. Was that sadness that had slipped in his tone? Was that anger in his eyes? Luffy's doing, alright. So fucking awesome!
"I see…" Gambia fake-smiled, hiding his own fury.
The green-haired scowled. "We were right, then… The Vivre card we have is an entire paper, so we'll give you a piece. Know that it stopped burning some days ago, so he may be completely safe right now." His vice jumped on their ship to retrieve it. "We also know who saved him."
They tensed, wide-eyed. "How?" Pipe-demon asked.
"We have many contacts." He lied. "We were going to follow the lead to make sure of his safety, but…" Gambia appeared next to him with a scorched piece of paper. "We'll leave it to you." He divided it in two parts, holding up to them one. "We don't want to risk his career being seen with our lots."
The phoenix took it. "I don't think that matters anymore, yoi."
Bartolomeo scowled. "You may be right. Just…" He sighed. "Send us some good news, ok?"
Whitebeard nodded. "We will."
"I'll use the crow. Thank you." Izo said with a smile.
"Keep on cheering for him! He's too awesome~~!"
Ace wanted to groan. The cross-dresser cheered with him. Marco shook his head. Whitebeard laughed, although quietly. Sabo smiled. Thatch… scowled.
He blinked his eyes open. The first thing he registered was the light. Then, the pain. Luffy gritted his teeth, silently cussing colourfully. The memories of what happened to him slowly came back and he seethed, damning his superior and the mess all of this was going to cause.
He painfully lifted a hand to massage his eyes and force them open. It was a white room that resembled an infirmary. Who could have saved him…
Mihawk.
A smile bloomed on his mouth and he collected enough strength to push himself seated on the fluffy bed. Hissing for the pain, an eyelid flipped closed. He looked through a window and recognized the island immediately. Feeling somewhat safe, Luffy checked better the room. Near his bed was a drawer with a lamp, wet clothes and bandages.
For how many days had he been out of it? Several, if the bloody bandages on the farther corner of the room were any hint. Damn Akainu… All this trouble for the fucking Absolute Justice. Going so far as to kill a Rear Admiral… He had surely announced his death, already. Not having a body, the geezer wouldn't have been too sure, after all…
He had blamed Whitebeard. For sure. The damn numbness in his head was killing him, but he had to act quickly. Damn Akainu, damn medicines and damn painful wound!
He purposefully ignored the pang in his heart as the image of the gaping pirates flooded his mind. It was not the right moment to think about it. They didn't know he was alive, so he had to act in the shadows once again and make sure his brothers were safe. Marco, too… Only because he was to check on the pirate's crew, after all…
He blushed lightly. It was not supposed to happen. Yet, he had let it happen…
And his own crew… They were supposed to meet with Smoker. He would have known what to do, once the news reached him. With Luffy dead, the crew was in danger. Thank God no one had his Vivre Card, that would have caused such a mayhem and… he didn't even want to think about it.
No, he was dead. He was a ghost walking. Not a marine anymore? More than fine. Not a pirate, that was, unfortunately, out of question. A bounty, hunters… no. No, he needed to be invisible.
The door opposite his bed opened.
Mihawk was wearing simple black trousers and a white, laced shirt. He looked at him, blinking twice, before frowning.
"Why are you seated…"
Luffy tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Because…" He cleared his throat, dry for being unused. "I wanted to."
The swordsman sighed, entering and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Ten days." He looked at the other, serious. "I'm not a doctor, I had to confide in a colleague." Luffy nodded, glancing at the bandages all over his chest. "Trafalgar Law." Ah, good choice. "He's downstairs, resting. He's been taking care of you every day." He had to thank him.
"Why did he help?"
Mihawk shrugged subtly. "I can't fathom. Ask him."
Luffy nodded. "News from the World?"
The other darkened. "Akainu announced you killed by Whitebeard the day after I found you." The younger one scowled. "I didn't know about the whole ordeal, else…"
He swiftly, but painfully, gripped the other's shoulder. "It's fine. I was playing the captive to free Ace, Mihawk. I planned it. Several things went good, better than I thought…" He bit his lip. "Others, I couldn't have expected."
"A suicide plan."
Luffy cringed at the scolding glare. "To my defence, I was doing the exact thing I did when I joined the Marines." The glare didn't soften. "Uhm… I'm sorry?"
"Say that to those that think you're dead."
Harsh… "I most likely won't." If possible, the glare hardened. "Well… I'll go into hiding. I'm dead, after all."
Mihawk faltered at that. "Why."
"Because Akainu tried to kill me? Because no one, aside you, knows I'm alive? Because I'm not a marine anymore? Because I want to watch over my brothers from the shadows?"
He didn't answer for a while. "I don't like that."
Luffy smiled softly. "Maybe it's not the best… But how can I protect them if not–…"
"Not that." He sighed. "You're sure stubborn." Mihawk stood, going to the door. "It you're not a marine anymore, why go into hiding? Protect them by being with them. For now, though…" He waved some Haki. "Rest, or I'll force Trafalgar to tranquilize you."
The man left and Luffy chuckled after the door closed. With them, huh? A nice dream… They believed he was dead… And that must have been already a huge blow… Suddenly appearing safe and sound after such a fright? It was like asking to be killed. No, thanks…
He laid back on the bed, hissing a bit, and fell in a forced sleep.
You know, I've been writing this one today and I've done a lot of researches because of the 14th chap... I seriously hope not to do mistakes because I'm feeling so lazy lately...
YaMi: Easy solved, I'll force you into editing.
As always...
YaMi: Thank you for reading. *bows*
See ya!