Chapter Twenty-Two : Anguish
"You're coming to the ceremony?" Ace asked after he swallowed the last piece of his meat.
Roger nodded. "Yeah."
"Let me come with you!" Luffy demanded with a whine.
"No," Roger said.
The bandits also stopped eating their meals momentarily and just stare at him. They had an early breakfast since Roger hunted at dawn. He did it so that he can catch up with the ceremony later on.
Ace put his hands on his hips and raised both of his eyebrows. Roger could not help but remember how Rouge used to do the same when she was demanding something. It was almost scary seeing it on their son.
"Why do you even want to go there?" Dadan asked before eating her bowl of rice.
"Because Roger is coming!" Luffy replied. The meat in his hand almost slipped as he stomped on the floor.
Roger sighed loudly. At first, he tried not to think about it. But as days passed, it became more evident. Ever since Sabo had left, the boys had become more clingy than usual. Luffy had always been like that but what surprised him the most was Ace. Their eyes always searched for him once in a while. It was probably for comfort and reassurance.
"Just stay here," Roger stated while running his fingers through his hair. "I have a bad feeling on this one..."
Luffy pouted and Ace rolled his eyes. Roger knew that they were stubborn to the core. It was one of the traits of D after all.
"I'm just checking it quickly. I'll update you later." Roger said. He burped loudly, feeling full.
He stood up and stretched his arms. He suppressed a yawn escaping. Still, Luffy and Ace were staring at him with angry faces.
"Come on now, you two." Roger heaved a heavy sigh again. He was not ready for that kind of reaction from them. "How about this? I'll give you more meat if you stay here today."
"Meat?" Luffy perked up.
Roger chuckled. Food will always be the answer whenever you tried pursuing the boys. The same goes for him. No one in their right mind will say no to a free meal.
"I want a whole alligator by myself!" Luffy declared before grinning.
Ace looked as if he was about to argue more. The frown on his face was still present. But still, he did not say anything further.
Roger smiled. He won.
If he was to ask, it was the perfect day for sailing. The sky was the right color of blue. There were clouds but it was not enough to cover the sun.
Sabo adjusted his hat, hiding his face from the bright rays. He closed his eyes and allowed the cool sea breeze to wash over him. It was the best feeling and it gave him comfort. His breaths started slowing. He can hear the chirps of the seagulls flapping their wings up in the sky.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared up. From the books he was forced to read in the past, he learned that birds were associated with freedom. It was because of their ability to fly and roam the earth wherever they want. It sounded good in his ears. Doing whatever they want and no one was there to stop them.
Everyone in town was too busy watching the arrival of the Celestial Dragon. It was once in a lifetime opportunity after all. It was a blessing in disguise for Sabo. Because of it, it bought him some time to escape from his house again. He easily beat the guard who was sleeping in his job. After that, he went to the pier.
To start his piracy life, he stole a boat. It was a small one but still large enough to surpass the waves. No one around the dock made it easy. Even the supplies he needed, he got it in the closed stores since people were all busy for the ceremony.
As he unfurled the sails, he heard a familiar voice.
"Is this how you want it to end?"
Sabo's body froze. Tension grew in his shoulders. His breathing became more rapid, more shallow. His limbs had been trembling. With a gulp, he slowly turned around. He did not want to see a familiar face. Not now. Everything was ready.
"Roger-san..." Sabo said. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes. He allowed himself to breathe.
"This is your answer, huh?"
"I..." Sabo tried speaking but no more words came from his mouth. After all, he was caught off guard. He was not prepared for an explanation because he did not anticipate that someone would be here.
"Is this is what Ace and Luffy want you to do?"
Sabo bit down his lips and stared at Roger with wide eyes. With the mention of his two brothers, thousands of thoughts had entered his mind. He was prepared for it now. He was prepared for the consequences of his actions even if those actions would hurt his brothers. He knew that he was being selfish.
But this choice of his would be the best. If he ever goes back to his brothers, he would only hurt them more. Because Sabo never wanted his brothers to be hurt. Especially if he would be the reason behind it.
In his eyes, the desperation was visible. He choked back, not wanting a sob to escape from his mouth. It prevented any sound from escaping. Roger was just staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"I just want to be free!"
Sabo feared that one day, he would be consumed by this town. He never wanted to be like them. He despised the nobles. He hated their personality and how they treated others. They think highly of themselves and yet there was no humanity in them. There was never a humane way for them. That was his greatest fear, to end up the same.
"We all do, Sabo." Roger soothed while rubbing his back. "But leaving Dawn Island is what you want? There are still those who care about you here."
"I-I know but..." He let go of his grasp. Even if he was shaking, he managed to stand up. He was unable to look Roger straight in the eye. "My father threatened Ace and Luffy! I don't want them to be hurt because of me!"
"I promised myself that I will do everything to protect you three," Roger said, holding the blond's shoulders and staring at him. "Don't force yourself into doing something you don't want. That's not what freedom means, Sabo."
He gasped because of those words. It was just too much. He was far from overwhelmed.
He wanted to stay on this island. He wanted to be with his brothers. He wanted to train with them, grow with them and live with them. Deep down, that was what he wanted. But if staying here would hurt his brothers, he did the decision of distancing himself.
He knew that Ace and Luffy will never agree. But for the first time since they shared that cup, he wanted to be selfish. It was a selfish decision.
But in the end, Roger was always right. What he was doing right now, he did not like it. He was forced to do it. Even if he still doesn't have a personal meaning behind the word, he knew that it was not freedom.
"All this talk of freedom coming from a young child..."
Sabo turned abruptly to the source of the voice. He thought that there would be no one in here because of the ceremony.
"So it was you." Roger acknowledged.
"You're the old man who helped me last night..." Sabo said in a hushed tone.
Sabo has a clear view of him now since the cloak was not in the way anymore. Sabo remembered that red tattoo clearly. The man has long silky black hair. His face was stoic and his expression was unreadable.
"It's been a while. Garp said that you're a famous criminal now. You even exceeded my bounty!" Roger said with a laugh.
That sent chills on Sabo's spine as he stared at the other man with wide eyes. To hear that this man has such a high bounty, was not what he had expected.
"Who is he?" Sabo asked, glancing at Roger.
Roger answered with a grin. "Well, he is Luffy's—"
"I would appreciate it if you don't tell who am I, Roger." The man stated immediately, cutting Roger from speaking.
"Sorry, sorry," Roger said sheepishly.
He then turned to look at Sabo. "Boy, I heard everything. You wanted to stay on this island, don't you?"
Sabo was silent for a moment. "Yes..."
"It's a good thing that you changed your mind, then."
"You seemed to have a plan in your mind, Dragon," Roger said, smirking enticingly.
"I do although, it's up to you if you want to do it." The man— Dragon said.
"Let's hear it then. We still have time." Roger crossed his arms, looking serious.
Dragon turned to face Sabo.
"What if we fake your death?"
"Ace, I can't find your Dad anywhere! There are too many people!" Luffy whined. He has a deep frown on his face. He turned his head left and right trying to find the familiar man.
"Keep looking, Luffy," Ace ordered in a harsh tone.
Ace was never the one to listen to orders. Once he wanted to do something, he will do everything to make it happen. After Roger had left earlier, he waited for at least half an hour to follow him.
He dragged Luffy with him. Luffy did argue not to since Roger said so. But Ace managed to convince him in the end. They made their way towards the ceremony. Ace immediately noticed the difference today. He did not manage to see it yesterday since guards were swarming the forest. Gray Terminal has been burned to the ground. He grew up around that area used to see every kind of trash. Seeing it clean was foreign to him. There were no more people in there. Probably burned together with the trash.
The guards stationed at the gate in the entrance of Gray Terminal and Edge Town were fewer than normal. Ace and Luffy quickly dodged them and made their way to High Town.
Ace looked at the scenery. It was clean as usual but what caught his attention was the festive atmosphere. Colorful flags were hanging in the streets. Not far, they can hear the faint sound of a band playing a happy tune. They made their way towards the pier and people had gathered in there. The nobles were dressed in their most extravagant clothing. Ace thought that the person visiting the kingdom must be really important.
And as usual, the nobles had been avoiding the two. It made Ace put a cloak on himself and Luffy to avoid any more attention to themselves. The guards might be called to arrest them if they weren't careful.
"Ace, I'm hungry..." Luffy complained again.
Ace yelled in irritation. "We just ate an hour ago!"
"But that's an hour ago!" Luffy puffed.
"I shouldn't have brought you here." Ace rolled his eyes.
They tried looking again. But Ace had heard the concerned tone and hushed voices from the nobles.
"Hey, you! Get back here! You're disrupting the ceremony!"
"A child is sailing it!"
"That's my fishing boat!"
"Somebody stop that boat!"
That did not sit well with Ace. He quickly grabbed Luffy by his wrist, not wanting his younger brother to leave his sight. They squeeze themselves as they made their way towards the front.
Ace froze as he saw the flag on the fishing boat. He grabbed binoculars from one of the bystanders. He saw the familiar top hat but before he could see more, the binoculars were snatched away from him by the owner.
"Sabo!" Luffy screamed in a desperate tone.
"Sabo!" Ace croaked out. "Come back!"
But they were late. They had already noticed the fishing boat. In a moment, it was hit and fire erupted onboard. It wasn't the end of it, they aimed again and the boat was blown to pieces this time.
"SABO!"
They screamed as the world around them stopped.
A/N: Time sure flies. The anniversary of this fanfic is this week. I wrote it on Father's day last year
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