Warnings: Character Death, Dubious Consent, Forced Marriage
He would have started at the beginning had he known how it all started. Instead, he gaped at the end, hand shaking and leaden as he dropped the hammer. Sabo and Ace laid where they had fallen. They hadn't moved. Yet.
And the thing at his feet still scratched at the protruding white ash branch, raking lines on its chest that healed too slowly now. It would go still soon, but it wouldn't be over until Luffy ended it.
He pulled Sabo and Ace next to the thing, pressing hands over chests. Ignoring wounds that no longer pulsed. His teeth ground together.
After, he picked up the axe where Sabo had fallen.
He chopped once. Twice.
Thrice.
Eyes blurring, he tried not to think about what he was doing as he searched his satchel for flint, stone and dry grass. At his feet were three heads and bodies.
He dropped the flint, picked it up and lit the bit of grass. There was enough wood in the cave that he knew it would catch easily enough. He just needed to make sure their heads—
Just that.
The heat surprised him, and he raised a hand to shield himself. For a moment, he gazed at the flames, caught by it all. His stomach growled, and he gritted his teeth hard with a gagging throat.
He only had a few hours to wait.
"I can do this," he said as his fingertips found the cuts in his shoulder. The bite.
The cuts and bite were gone. Now, all that remained were scars.
"At dawn," he said, "I'll join you."