They Don't Know About Us
Author's Note: Hey everyone and welcome back to They Don't Know About Us! I do hope that you are enjoying this fic! Thank you all for all the comments and kudos! I really do appreciate them all! Just a small update on me! My surgery went extremely well and wasn't as invasive as I thought it was going to be so I am already walking around and doing really good! Thanks to those who sent me support! Thank you!
On a side note: I realized I made a HUGE error within the first chapter of this fic xD So, I recently discovered I flipped Dragon and Rouge's ages and accidentally messed up Dragon's canon age. Rouge is actually supposed to be three years older than Dragon. I can't fix this here xD On a side note, I am doing a rewrite of this entire fic just because I feel like it. Though I will be finishing this xD I've been obsessing over the thought of a rewrite and now I just want to do it xD
Additional Note: So, I wrote the "rewrite" xD It's no longer a rewrite, I changed so much that it's just its own damn thing xD sorry I keep doing so much of this dynamic. I just really love them. It's fun. Like, I'm still going to do a rewrite of this but maybe I'll stay on track with it xD I have so many different universes of the same universe it's just kinda its own thing now. I'll take an idea and be like "What if I have this family dynamic" with it and end up with all of these xD For the rewrite, I think I'm just going to go through edit, fix some things, maybe add more to Rouge's backstory and take out some things I don't actually like. I will let you in on a secret, so this entire Shanks being kidnapped "arc" was a last-minute addition because I got writer's block and the best way to get me out of it is by causing a stir xD Though, it's been fun to write. Either way, I've hoped that you've enjoyed! On with the fic!
On with the fic!
Chapter Thirty-Seven: If Today Was Your Last Day (by Nickelback)
Chapter Summary: As Shanks realizes the plan of the Marines, Marco works to get everyone off of the island while the fighting is still happening. Everything changes as suddenly a new face appears as tragedy starts to strike as the Buster Call continues.
The man waltzed his way through the scorched area. Humming to himself as he got up to the bloodied body laying on the ground. He hummed again, tilting his head as stood over it.
"What a shame." He tsked.
He could smell the remnants of his scent still lingering. His pheromones dying out. The small hole in his chest where his heart had been.
The man smirked, almost sadistically as his placed the heel of his shoe on the Alpha's face. "You let darkness consume your soul and karma came back for you, Marshall D. Teach. Maybe you actually had a heart in there. That was if that red-haired Omega you were obsessed with actually cared about your worthless sack of crap." He kicked, hitting Teach's head with the sole of his shoe. "I always have to come clean up your messes, don't I?"
He sighed, turning, and sitting on Teach's chest.
"Should I leave you like this?" He questioned, humming as he looked down at the deceased face of Teach. "The world would be a far better place without your sorry ass in it."
The man exhaled sharply, standing up and moving around the dead pirate's body. Stopping at his heart. Without a second thought, he slipped the organ back into Teach's chest cavity.
"It's up to you, Teach. Maybe do this world a favor and stay dead. Portgas D. Ace got his vengeance. Much deserved vengeance. You are the scum of the world." Without saying anything else, he turned and started down the next path.
Well, he guessed he would put his own plan into place.
He would let them get comfortable. All of them. He would watch and see.
It was nice watching the world burn. Even just for a little bit.
X
This was bad. Really bad. The cannon fire was exploding all over the island on all sides that even Marco wasn't able to get an eye on anyone. He could hear the frantic sounds. He had taken the second to see the call over the den den mushi, hoping that anyone could hear him.
This was probably the worst-case scenario that any of them could be involved in. Buster calls were not easy to get away from. Especially considering the Devil Fruit users. They couldn't just escape into the ocean. Even then, this was the Grand Line. There was no telling what was in the waters waiting for them.
He wanted to stay with Ace. Everything screamed at him too. He was the only one who could do this fast enough. Ace was fine with his family. They would make sure he was safe. He had to do his part. They just left a war. He refused to have any more causalities. They were in Shanks' debt for ending the war. This was his repayment. Getting his ass off of this island. Getting him away from Teach. Even if that had been Ace's doing. He would make sure that Shanks at least got out of here. Then their debt would be over.
He called into the den den mushi again, praying for anyone to answer him back. Most of their people would have been on the island. They had brought numbers. While it wasn't all of them, they had brought enough along with them. Even falling one short of what they came with was a failure.
Damnit.
Marco flew down, dodging the cannon fire as he went. Twisting and turning in the air as he kept his eyes on the ground. He couldn't see anything through the smoke and the fire that was filling his nose and throat. Burning all the way down to his lungs. He could feel the heat from it.
Everyone, get out of here.
The thought had crossed his mind to why the Marines were doing this. Why they would resort to a buster call so close to Marineford and the war. He didn't think Sengoku would risk going after the Whitebeard Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, Strawhats, or the Revolutionary Army with the world looking over their shoulders. The uprising that had been all over the news since the war.
There was only one common denominator in this situation.
The Blackbeard Pirates and Marshall D. Teach.
The Marines had to be after them. The world wasn't in an uprising over them. They were clearly enemies of the alliance and the World Government.
He just hoped he was right.
X
Shanks kept his eyes on Marco until he was completely out of sight. Marco would be safe in the skies, but he didn't doubt that he would put himself in harm's way to protect anyone else. Marco was an honorable man. Even though Shanks did like to get under his feathers for the hell of it.
His attention was only pulled away from Marco as he heard Ace question, "What's a Buster call?" His mind must have been so clouded from the mixture of exhaustion of his own fatigue that he didn't actually register the severity of the situation. He didn't even look like he had the strength to be able to move from Sabo's back.
"Ace…" Shanks whispered.
His brave son.
Ace had put himself in harm's way more than once for him. It was Ace's time to rest. Shanks was supposed to protect his children. Not the other way around.
"Wait…" The realization came to Ace's face a second later, "They can't."
"They already are, so we need to get off this island." Shanks stated.
Buggy had pulled him along, causing Shanks to gasp as the pain erupted through his abdomen. All the adrenaline that had been pumping through him had been wearing off. Letting him feel everything now. Thankfully for his abnormally high pain tolerance, he couldn't feel it as much as most people normally would.
"Get your ass going, Red-Hair." Buggy hissed, "I can't drag your ass across this island without some help."
Shanks snorted. Leave it to Buggy to continue to try and fight him even as they took off moving as fast as they could. "Striker is on the other side of the island." Ace whispered.
"Someone will grab it, Ace." Sabo stated. "Just worry about getting you guys off of the island for the time being."
"All the pathways are slowly getting blocked." Ace stated, "Let me down and I can create a path."
Sabo paused, "Do you have enough strength?"
"I finally understand what Mom meant for all these years. Nothing will stop me." Ace said.
Sabo nodded, kneeling down enough to let Ace get off of his back. The Omega took a couple of steps forward, flames engulfing his arms as he moved them, creating a tunnel into the flames that were starting to take over the forest. Clearing a path ahead of them. "Go while I hold this!" Ace exclaimed.
Buggy pulled Shanks forward before he had a chance to even try and fight back against it. "Not today, Shanks. Get your ass moving."
"But—"
"Shut up!"
As they got across, Ace rushed forward, dropping the tunnel of flames that he had brought up. Looking back at the others with a grin, "I've got this. I'm not so little anymore, Mom."
Shanks smiled.
"No, you aren't." Shanks muttered.
That's what they kept doing, Ace would stay ahead of them, creating as much of a path as possible that they could get through as they tried to get to the edge of the island. It was taking time. The cannon fire going off around them.
Shanks felt the airs on the back of his neck standing as he heard the cracking sounds from above him. His eyes widened as he looked up to see the tree cracking. He moved, shoving Buggy forward and into the others before the tree fell down.
"MOM!"
"DAD!"
"SHANKS-SAN!"
X
Rouge's heart was beating against her chest as she directed her nakama back towards the ships, using her Observation haki to find anyone that she could within the area that it stretched over. The smoke was feeling her lungs and she could feel flames grazing over her clothing. Thankfully, she didn't get any burns. So far.
The World Government would really stoop this low?
Were they that upset over the events that happened Marine Headquarters?
There was the thought that they weren't the targets at all. How did the Marines even know they were here?
She huffed, coughing into her elbow as she tried to keep the smoke out of her lungs. She could barely see around her from the flames. Her worry for Shanks spiking. He was somewhere on this island. Ace was here somewhere. Luffy and Sabo were. Dragon was. They were all here and this was happening. She didn't want to leave, but she also had to command the Second Division in Ace's absence. She had to make sure her nakama got back to the ships.
She never expected the Marines to resort to the same assault that they had done on Ohara. On Enies Lobby. Though, it wasn't surprising.
Her guess was the true targets of this attack was indeed the Blackbeard Pirates.
She continued commanding the others, shouting orders to anyone she could see before pain split through her shoulder. The Omega gritted her teeth, reaching up and placing a hand on her shoulder. Bringing her hand close to her face so she could see. Blood coated her fingers as her knees gave out. Already feeling the fatigue from the fight she had been in before.
What the hell?
She lifted her head, looking around before she heard the click. Pausing completely.
The air caught in her throat noticing the gun leveled on her forehead. She narrowed her gaze on the person before her. "Move and I will shoot you."
A smirk came to her face as she coughed, the blood pooling down her chin. "You know that guns aren't for threats, right? If you are going to point that at me, you better kill me."
The gun barrel was pressed into her forehead, but Rouge couldn't find the strength to move. Her dominate arm had been shot. She wasn't like Shanks who could easily use both if he wanted. She didn't recognize this man. He wasn't a Blackbeard Pirate. Wasn't a Marine from what she could tell. She definitely wasn't one of the men they brought along to rescue Shanks.
"That red-haired son of yours said the same thing years ago. Well… close to it." Rouge growled at the mention of Shanks, snarling as she went to move. "What do you think people will say about the death of Hibiscus Rouge. The former Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. The mate of Gol D. Roger. Supposed mate of Silvers Rayleigh. Would they rejoice in the death of a notorious pirate? Or shed fake tears at the grandmother who would do anything for her grandsons?"
Rouge ground her teeth, hand digging into her bloody shoulder. "Who the hell are you?"
"That is none of your concern, but I'm out for blood of my own. Blackbeard kidnapping Red-Haired Shanks made for a good cover." A smirk came to the man's face, lifting his other hand, the glow on his palm, "Devil Fruit powers really are amazing, especially when you have one as strong as mine. What does life mean to the great Hibiscus Rouge?"
A second later a gun shot rang out through the air.
X
Everyone was panicking as Mihawk rushed by, weaving through every person that he crossed. He had one purpose for being here. If they were smart – and they should be with the crews, they respectively belonged too – they would get back to the ships. Mihawk couldn't with a good heart just leave knowing that his husband and children were on this island. He would rather die.
He would rather die than let them get hurt anymore.
It disgusted him at the thoughts of what could have been happening to Shanks and Ace. He could no longer feel his bond to Shanks. It was just gone. The only connection he had now aside from their children was the fact that he had a piece of his vivre card. Assuring that he was alive. He had been watching it. Watching it burn.
Shanks was somewhere on this island, and he was injured. Which only put the speed back into Mihawk's movements. He didn't care about the Marines. He didn't care about anything. Only getting to Shank as soon as he could. He had seen the flames before the cannon fire. Ace had been fighting. He had to be with Shanks. He didn't feel like he was wrong in this situation.
Everything felt off. His Observation Haki was going haywire. Impending danger coming from all sides. It didn't matter from what direction. He didn't think twice before he was moving past Koala and the other Revolutionaries, cutting down Doc Q without a second thought.
"Get out of here!" He shouted, moving forward. If they were still entangled in fights, there could be a huge possibility that many of them weren't able to just freely get away.
This felt like a lose-lose situation at this point. What could they do? The smoke and fire were making it harder to breathe. Making visibility quickly go down.
He sucked in a deep breath. Closing his eyes as he ran. This would deplete his energy a lot quicker, but it needed to be done. Not many people could just willingly do this. It wasn't easily done. He felt the change almost immediately. His senses sharpening. His nails extending. His canines coming out in more of points. He snapped his eyes open as he felt the surge of power going through his body. His sense of smell was what he wanted. It would be key here in differing from the natural scents of the world, to the smoke and debris, to the people.
He would find them.
"Hang on a moment." He muttered.
He was moving as quickly as possible. Coming up to Zoro and Sanji immediately. The two were struggling in their fight with Burgess. He was getting the upper hand on them strictly based off of the stamina the two were lacking. Both were injured previously. Not having enough time to heal up.
"Move!" He barked out, bringing Yoru forward and sending his haki directly in the blade.
He was done screwing around. He was pulling out full strength.
Nothing would stop them.
He slashed his sword, making sure that the two were safely behind him. Watching the green visualization of his haki slicing towards Burgess. The man barely had time to react before it hit him dead on.
"Hawkeyes!" Zoro exclaimed, "How did you get here so fast?"
"You're in a… rage." Sanji whispered, "But you're not lashing out."
"There are many things the two of you need to learn." Mihawk stated, "Get back to the ships. Find anyone you can and go."
He didn't even wait for them to answer him back before he was taking off again. Sniffing into the air. Letting the aromas fill his nose. His gaze sharpened as he caught a specific one.
Cherry blossoms and sangria.
He wasn't alone. He picked up four more with him. One of them was Luffy's forest type scent. They were safe. Well, safe enough that he could tell that they were at least alive.
His heart skipped a beat when he noticed, he couldn't pick up Shanks' scent.
Where was he?
X
Marco suddenly stopped as he heard the first gun shot. Halting in mid air as he looked around. It had almost been concealed within the cannon fire, but he had heard it. He looked around, barely catching the glimpse of Rouge falling to her knees.
"Rouge…" He whispered, starting to fly down. He quickened his flight as he saw the man approaching her, the gun to her head. It felt like time was slowing down by the second. Seeing the man standing there. His shaggy black hair framing his face. Marco didn't recognize him. He could tell instantly that this man was dangerous.
How the hell did he get here?
Just as he saw the man's finger moving back to the trigger, Marco came down, swiping his foot out and slamming into into his wrist. Not thinking twice before he was scooping Rouge up and taking flight again. He wasn't going to take the time to fight. They just had to leave.
"Marco!" Rouge exclaimed. "Man, am I happy to see you!"
"Same here, Commander Rouge." Marco stated, swinging his leg so Rouge could move to his back. The woman clinging on with her one good arm. "Let me get you to safety and we'll take care of that arm."
"Don't worry about me! Just focus on our nakama!"
Marco smiled, nodding, "Alright."
His smile quickly faded. Who the hell was that man?
X
Ace was staring in disbelief at the fallen trees. Five of them had came down at the same time. It had happened all too quickly. Seeing Shanks move. Shoving Buggy away from him to get the Alpha out of harms way before Shanks had disappeared.
The Omega felt like he couldn't breathe.
"MOM!" He screamed, rushing forward, not caring as he dug through the burning trees. They weren't harming him as it was. He was the only one out of all of them that could do this. Maybe aside from Law. Law had rushed forward, holding his hand out like Ace had seen him do many times at this point. His face was contorted. The shock on his face.
"Room." Law said, the blue sphere forming around them quickly before he was making a sign with his hand and adding, "Takt."
The trees lifted as Ace backed away, his heart still racing.
"Where is he?!" Luffy exclaimed. "Dad! Where are you!?" Luffy and Sabo rushed forward, careful of the burning branches as they kneeled down. Ace immediately got onto his stomach, looking around. Cursing as he saw nothing.
Shanks wasn't even there.
What the hell?
"Why did he…" Buggy muttered in disbelief.
"He's not here!" Ace screamed. "People don't just disappear!"
Law maneuvered the burning branches out of the way. Unblocking the path completely as they decided to head back. Ace couldn't breathe. The panic coursing through him as they couldn't see any signs that Shanks was still within the path. All sides of them were blocked off by walls of fire. Walls that Ace had made.
He moved a hand to cover his mouth. Did Shanks go through one?
If he did, he would have been burned and severely.
"Mom!" He screamed again, bringing down the walls of flames and looking around again.
Still. Nothing.
He didn't know what to do. They couldn't just leave. He had came here with the purpose of bringing Shanks back. Defeating Teach once and for all. He had been so close. They were close enough to going home that they couldn't lose all of it now. Not when they were all almost together again.
Shanks couldn't die.
Ace felt his knees buckle as the tears came to his eyes. Shanks would still be safe in the New World if he hadn't been captured. He never would have been at Sabaody Archipelago. Teach never would have gone after him.
"Damnit!" Ace screamed.
"Ace! Watch out!" Luffy suddenly screamed, forcing him to look up in time to see a cannon ball coming his way.
His eyes widened just in time before he was jumping back. It landed, breaking up the ground and sending him back. He crashed on the ground, rolling across it before he landed hard. Knocking the air clean out of his lungs.
He pushed himself up, coughing and sputtering as his back and lungs screamed at him. He heaved turning over back into a kneeling position before he had lost the contents of his stomach.
The Omega looked up, peering around as he tried to catch sight of anyone that he had been with. Shaking his head in disbelief. How far was he sent?
"Luffy!" He started, coughing from his scratchy throat. "Sabo! Law! Buggy!"
He didn't gain a reply as he pushed himself up. The pain coursing through his abdomen again. He bit down on his lip as the involuntary whine left him as he doubled over, bracing himself on the nearby tree that had yet to catch fire. He shook his head again as tears came to his eyes. This couldn't be happening.
The pain sharpened that had him sucking air in through his nose as he tried to wait for it to pass.
"Don't do this." He whispered. "Please, no."
The black dots were covering his vision again as pain shot through him. Spiking up his back as he slid down. He could feel the fear hitting him now. He looked down, noticing the blood starting to run down his legs. The panic setting in. "No, no, no, no." He started denying. Gasping at the stabbing feeling that he felt.
"I fucked up." He whispered. "I… don't let this happen." He muttered, his vision starting to blur as he looked back up. Everything around him spinning as a figure started to approach him. He had no energy left. His eyes slipped shut just as the figure kneeled down.
He didn't even have a chance to see their face before he lost consciousness.
The last thing he felt was lips pressing against his own and a sudden warm feeling engulfing his entire body.
X
Pain was coursing through his body. He couldn't feel a thing. The world was spinning around him. His vision going between dark and trying to figure out what was in front of him. He was face down in the dirt. His entire body hurt. Screaming at him. His haki was telling him he needed to move. Get out of there, but he had absolutely no more strength left.
Like it had been depleted.
A pool of his own blood was moving around him. Blood moving down his chin as he wheezed. He couldn't breathe. Feeling the wetness in his lungs. He had metal sticking through his back, going all the way through his chest right by his heart. With every beat of his heart, he was bleeding out more.
How did metal pierce through his chest?
This didn't make sense.
This couldn't be how it ended.
He still had so much to do. He lived a fulfilling life, but he refused to die like this. This couldn't be. If he moved, he would only send the metal further into his chest. If he pulled it out, he would bleed out.
Through the blur of his vision, boots appeared in his vision.
"Mihawk…" He whispered. Letting his eyes slip shut. He couldn't smell anything anymore. His body was cold. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe.
He grunted as he felt the metal getting jerked from his body before he was being moved onto his back. He forced his eyes open again. He could see the sky now. The sky was covering in storm clouds. It was almost fitting. He could hear the thunder. At least, that's what he thought it was. It sounded far away.
A hand landed on his chest, right over the wound in his chest. For a moment, he felt like everything was calm. Nothing was hurting anymore. This is not how he wanted it to end. He still had so much to do, but this wasn't right. Yet, he couldn't move anymore. No matter what he tried. He was tired. The pain he had felt before numb to him.
A smile came to his face, his family flashing before his mind. His nakama.
His eyes completely shut as he drew his last breath.
He welcomed death with open arms.
Even if it wasn't what he wanted.
X
The world was a blur as his eyes cracked open, his chest suddenly rising as the scenery fixed. He was looking at the sky. He pushed himself up, grimacing as he noticed that he was able to see with two eyes. That was impossible. He only had the one now.
He reached up, placing a hand over his chest. He had died. He knew he did. Ace had killed him. This was wrong. He had died fair and square in that fight.
Teach pushed himself up, stumbling as he looked around. The island was on fire. Burning away quickly around him. What was going on?
He stumbled forward. He had to find his nakama. They had to leave. He was alive now for some reason. There was only one power that he knew that could do this. He gritted his teeth.
That meant he was here.
Teach pushed himself forward, catching the haki signature immediately. He ignored all the others. Ace. Luffy. Mihawk. Marco. Izou. Thatch. Whitebeard.
He was only looking for one.
He hurried his movements, pushing himself forward. Making himself continue forward. He had to find him. He might be dangerous, but this man was worse.
His entire body shook has he kept going. Ignoring the flames that flickered and burnt at his skin. He was alive for a reason. This was no mistake.
He had finally gotten to a clearing. One that was not covered in flames. Where no fire could reach as he froze completely.
There stood the man, standing above the prone body of Shanks.
Shanks was on his back. His red hair framing his face. Blood moving down his face from his mouth. His eyes closed. Hands placed over his stomach. He looked peaceful.
"No…" Teach whispered.
The man turned to look at him, a sadistic smirk on his face as he tilted his head, his black shaggy hair falling into his cerulean blue eyes. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Teach."
"What did you do to him?" Teach hissed.
The man turned his head, looking down, "What does it look like?"
Teach felt the anger flare through him. "Bastard!"
The man's smirk got bigger as his eyes turned from blue to red for a moment. "Didn't you say yourself that you would rather him be dead than belong to anyone else?" Teach paused, gritting his teeth. "So, I took care of it. I've had to take care of your bullshit for all these years. Fixing your mistakes. Now I have to do it again."
Teach snarled, "How dare you?"
The man hummed, singing a slight tune as he moved around Shanks, kneeling down, and running his fingers through the red strands. "You'll have a few minutes before the others arrive. This beauty got separated then his beautiful child also did. I've already paid a visit to Ace and Rouge."
The Alpha felt the air catch in his throat. He got to Ace too? And Rouge?
"This time I had a little bit of fun. His life is in my hands. Ace… he had been through so much. The small lives deserved their chance. Rouge, well, that ended a bit different than I planned." The man was still smirking as he looked back up, getting back to his full height as he waltzed over, a bounce in his step as he leaned over by Teach's ear. "I'm going to give you a choice. The only one who can fix him is me."
"You allowed me to come back… just to give me this!" Teach hollered. "What did you do?"
"He will never wake up. Isn't eternal sleep beautiful?" The man drawled. "Not until the second I say. He's seconds away from truly facing death."
Teach couldn't believe it. This was not what he wanted. "Why him?"
"Well, let's just say I'm tired of everything." The man stated, moving around Teach as he snickered. "Little brother."
Teach felt like all the air had been sucked out of him as he walked forward, dropping down to his knees. Reaching out for Shanks, "What has he done to you?" Teach questioned, his voice quiet as he leaned down. He never wanted Shanks dead. What was the point of all of this if he was dead?
Wait. No.
He was asleep.
In an eternal sleep that he wouldn't wake up from unless this bastard reversed it.
"Touch him and I will finish the job." The man snapped, walking forward and kicking Teach in the side of the head. "I did this for one reason. To put you through what you put him through."
Teach looked up at his brother, shaking his head, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You have tormented him for years. You live in a false reality where you believe that this Omega is in love with you strictly because he never called you a monster. You made it a reality in your head that he was supposed to be yours. That was never the case, Teach." His brother explained, "You threatened the lives of his children for your own gain. The lives of his grandchildren. His loved ones. You stole his bond to his mate from him. Now, you must feel that pain and face your own judgement. What matters to you? His life or your false love? He never loved you. Every word he said to you was a lie. Buying time until his family arrived. You deserve far worse than death for the crimes you have committed."
Teach shook his head. He didn't want to believe a word of this. It wasn't true.
"Don't believe me?" His brother questioned, "His mind is currently full of memories of his mother. His father. Hawkeyes. His children. His nakama. You were never a part of that. You simply just scarred him."
Teach growled as he turned to look at his brother, lashing out, only to fall face first into the dirt. "You didn't have to do this! You should have left me dead! Left him alone! Why do you have to used that cursed power for this!?"
"Someone has to give you a reality check. Even in death." His brother replied. "So, what is your decision. If you choose wrong. Shanks dies. His life is officially in your hands. If you truly love him, you will let him go."
He had no choice.
With a shaky breath, he looked at his brother, "Save him."
His brother smiled. A genuine smile compared to the sadistic smirk he had worn before. That was before it warped, and the hand latched around his neck. "You're still weak, Teach." He muttered. He was drug over to the cliffside, dangling over it before he felt the pierce in his chest. "This never happened. For all the world knows, you died by the hands of Portgas D. Ace."
Once again, he felt the pain of his heart getting ripped out before he was free falling towards the ocean.
This was it for him.
He was never coming back. Not as long as if that man held his heart. The ocean engulfed him. The world going dark as the suffocation began. The water filling his lungs. His eyes closed as he welcomed death.
This was his fate.
He had to accept it.
X
The man watched Teach plummet to his death. Waiting for the second he had fallen into the ocean before he was turning and walking back towards Shanks. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you, Red-Hair." He muttered, kneeling down next to the cold body.
Shanks wasn't truly dead, his haki being the only thing sustaining his body in his sleeping state. Shanks truly was powerful. Even if he had died, he would still be able to bring him back.
"I had every intention of keeping you alive. It's not time yet." He whispered. "I knew he would want to come back. That he would never stop his reign of terror. You were the one keeping him attached to this world."
He sighed, smiling as he moved Shanks' hair back into place.
"As promised." He whispered, leaning down, his lips ghosting over Shanks'. "You'll be back to this world soon."
Before he could complete the process, his haki signaled him and he forced himself to jump back. The green haki appearing between him and Shanks. He landed on the edge of the cliff. Looking up just in time to meet golden eyes locked to him for a split second before he blinked, and those eyes and Shanks were gone.
"Well, that's not good." He whispered.
It seemed like Hawkeyes found them.
Author's Note: a href=" /zbaUczAYwb" The Moby Hangout /a