Last time, around him Luffy's friends come to terms with his health and his crazy plan to rescue Marco.


"...Do you want to tell me something, yoi?" Marco is absolutely fed up with the Admiral's staring.

"Mahh. Nothing that's really any of my business." Aokiji is the one Admiral Marco has minimal experience with, the youngest and the most relaxed for appearance's sake. Ever since Coby carried Marco into his ship, waking up the Admiral from his nap in the process, Aokiji has dedicated his little attention span to dissecting Marco with his gaze.

"Why keep me here?" Marco gives the posh office a significant glance. He hasn't sat on a cushioned chair since he left the Moby Dick. This is how one begins appreciating the small things in life, really.

"I want to keep an eye on you," Aokiji explains, apparently sincere, "if there's one thing I know, it is to expect the unexpected from Monkey D. Luffy."

"Do you really think some random hookup would come to rescue me, yoi? It's my siblings that you need to worry about," Marco drawls out, "this is delusional." Aokiji nods, agreeing with Marco.

"Which is exactly why it makes it right up the Rear-Admiral's alley."

"...What, yoi?"

"Luffy," the Admiral says with intention, calling Luffy by his name and staring at Marco meaningfully. Cut the bullshit, his eyes seem to say. Marco refuses to break off the staring contest. "He has always been... different."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"I would have believed you, honest," Aokiji offers, "I've always been on the fence about Akainu's overbearing surveillance of Luffy's actions, even when it was outside of his jurisdiction. I was suspicious of him when he returned, of course, he carries a very distinctive scar, but he wasn't the only marine with burn scars..."

"What are you getting at?"

"See, I was at HQ when Luffy was summoned after taking Doflamingo to Impel Down, where I hear, he found you. He was... upset."

Ehhhh? Do I know you?

"Oh," Marco feigns surprise, "that's him? The guy who brought Joker in... We might actually get along if he hadn't sold his soul to you people." It burns a little on his tongue, uncomfortably close to the truth. "Government dogs are not really my style."

And yet,

Oh my god, you know how to cook, I am so happy you crashed here, please stay forever.

What did you have for breakfast?

I'll be in trouble if I tell people that I came here just to fuck you instead.

I like you.

"Then I can see why you'd like Luffy," Aokiji doesn't smile, but something in his eyes lightens. "He's as far as you can lawfully get from government dog. Shame what happened to him though, he was going to be great."

Marco thinks of Luffy sneaking into the Moby, Luffy destroying the Noah, Luffy bringing down Doflamingo and...

He is. The pirate manages to bite his lip at the last minute and maybe regrets everything a little. He feels the rain pelting down on feathered skin, wings chilled and slow. Haruta's fading voice...

Marco should've picked up the goddamn phone, fuck.


"Sensei," Coby asks for Akainu's attention, the older marine going over permit documents in his desk, last-minute details for his departure, "am I coming with you?

Akainu shakes his head. He'd already considered it, but he doesn't want Coby near Luffy nor his criminal crew. Who knows what dirty tricks they've been hiding up their sleeves.

"Not this time, Coby." He pretends to not see how Coby's hands fist into his coat at his answer, thinking back to the angry, abused child that arrived at Marine HQ all those years ago.

"Be careful then, sensei." Akainu grunts in acknowledgment. Coby stands up to leave, hesitating at the door. The Logia wonders if his subordinate will insist on going; if he does, Akainu might honestly let him. Instead, his face is grim, worried. "Thank you for everything up until now, sensei," Coby tells him solemnly, walking off before he gets a response.

Akainu doesn't say it but, things are going to be different this time.


"We put Enies Lobby to rest today." Zoro's eye is hard, and it reminds Robin how the East Blue native got named the Strongest Swordsman in the World. This isn't her playful crewmate, always eager to pick a fight.

"You know what needs to happen, no?" Nami, her hair braided tightly at her back, asks the revolutionaries on deck all around the ships steering wheel, as the Thousand Sunny sails full-speed into an ambush. Their orders are to delay the marines as much as they can, sink them if possible. The worst situation would be backup making its way to the real transport ship after all.

The revolutionary pod has its own directive, though.

"Akainu..." Chopper swallows as he mutters out the name.

"Cannot leave this fight," Usopp finishes, looking just as nervous. Nami reminds herself that her younger Nakama didn't live a rampant life of crime previous to joining the marines, and all this back-handed violence doesn't seem to suit them. (Once, it didn't suit Nami either.)

"It's time to end what Luffy started," Sanji pitches in, there is a cigarette in his mouth, burned down to a stub already.

"Scary! This really gets my blood pumping, though I have no blood! Skull joke!" Politely, Robin is the only one to even smile.

"We'll need to be careful," the archeologist reminds them.

"Our specialty," Franky deadpans.

"We'll be there any minute now, Zoro, you should..." but where the swordsman had been standing, there is only air.

"You didn't see him go, Miss Nami?"

"That idiot," she facepalms.

It's been almost three years, but Luffy's crew has not forgotten the smell of burning rubber. Akainu had almost taken him away, and none of them is going to forgive that.


"I never thought of it as sending you out to die," Shanks murmurs. They've been sailing in the Shark Submerge for hours. Regardless of Marco's vivre card, the Emperor has them change course many a time. Clearly, he knows the way, although Luffy would never be able to explain how. (Which is a significant relief.)

"That might be what pisses me off the most," Luffy answers him from where he's idly twisting around his chair in the corner. He's been restless and irritable the entire trip; Shanks doesn't think his company has improved the younger man's mood.

"You would've made a great Pirate King," Luffy looks at Shanks suspiciously, but he's too relieved for his help to complain. Truthfully, being angry at Shanks has been weighing on him for a long time; it just didn't make the sentiment go away.

"Probably, shishishishi," Luffy laughs whole-heartedly, "but I've seen first-hand what that title does to the people you care about..." Ace's mom, who'd died to save him. Ace himself, who still sometimes seemed to ask permission to breathe. Luffy couldn't endanger his precious people like that. He couldn't do that to Gramps either. But Luffy promised to reach the end of the Gran Line, and he would.

"Why did you not get examined earlier?" The results of Luffy's biopsy, performed in the Red Force -much to Chopper's chagrin, are still being processed, but from what Usopp told Shanks, he believes Luffy's probably been keeping his declining health for a while.

It must've been a struck of incredible luck for Marco to catch it.

Shanks, having also witnessed Luffy's sudden collapse, really doubts the Phoenix appreciated the experience.

"I'm busy," the revolutionary answers dismissively, as if his health was a small concern.

"Too busy to live?"

"...Chopper can't help me," Shanks eyes narrow at the declaration. As far as he understands, Luffy has a minimal understanding of his condition. Indeed, not enough to decide this. "That's all the test is going to say." Shanks is a tempered man, it takes a lot to make him lose his self-control, but when Luffy says this, it sounds like... it sounds like he's given up. It makes Shanks immeasurably angry.

"So, you just decided to give up?"

"Never," Luffy bites back, eyes blazing at the challenge. Shanks sits back down, hesitant of setting Luffy off, but he cannot curve his tongue even if he wants to. He readjusts their course before continuing.

"How do you expect to make it to Marco? Or to Laugh Tale? What will you do if you suddenly collapse when your friends need you the most? How can they trust you when you don't trust them?"

"Shut up!" Luffy screams. Clearly, Shanks touched a nerve. "That's not true! I trust my Nakama with my life!"

"Do you?" Shanks shouts back, "Is that how you trust people? Hiding your health status from your doctor?"

"I already told you he can't help me!"

"Who decided t-?" But Luffy's hearing none of it.

"I'm not going to let Chopper blame himself because he couldn't fix me!"

"Again, how do you-"

"Shanks," Luffy's tone demands his attention, it pierces through Shanks' anger and fear. It brings the Emperor back in time more than a decade. For just one moment, he doesn't see the stubborn, strong twenty-something revolutionary but a terrified 7-year-old kid. "Shanks," He doesn't know what to do when Luffy's eyes fill with tears, when his forearm raises up to cover his face, and he takes worryingly unstable heaps of air as he cries. "I'm dying."

Holy shit.

Shanks should've kept his fucking mouth shut.

Of course. It's a reflex, extending out a hand to place on Luffy's raven locks and bring him towards his chest, of course, he's scared. No matter his drive, his courage, or his strength, Luffy's just as human as everyone else. Barely out of being a boy, just starting to live as a man. Of course, he doesn't want to make anyone feel responsible. Of course, he doesn't want to die.


Guys, guys, guys, guysssssss

Finally, today, like 20 minutes ago, everything made sense in my head. I KNOW HOW THIS ENDS NOW. aksdjadkjs I'm screaming, I wrote it out and everything and like asdfghj

I'm so happy, hahahah, if you've been here from the beginning, you know this was born as leftover pieces from LMB and then turned into this monster, and it had no purpose whatsoever, no specific endgame really planned, and NOW IT DOES.

Anyways, we still have a bit to go yet before that.

Sidenote, today's chapter hits different; that last scene with Shanks hit me hard; it came outta nowhere. Thoughts?

much love,

dee