Aces and Eights
"I thought he was wearing body armor!" Zoro shouted standing outside the hotel room that was once the meeting room.
"Calm down. We have our medics working on it." Yasopp called back quieter "Lower your voice, we only moved the kids down three doors"
"Then let me in!" Zoro pushed, a whirlwind of emotions going through his head.
"I cant, its sterile in there." Yasopp replied calmly
"Godammit Yasopp." Zoro bit out angrily and started to pace. "Where the hell is Nami in a time like this? shouldn't she be in there at least? I mean this is Sanji!"
"She is with Chopper and Usopp, speaking of which Zoro, I wanted to talk about him."
Zoro stopped walking dead in his place and turned to Yasopp "This is NOT the time Yasopp."
"Good time as ever by my call."
"You're not getting him" Zoro spat.
"Look, I know what I did way back when wasn-"
Zoro moved in only leaving a few inches between their faces "He is my kid, he is staying my kid, and he doesn't need to know the truth because I am his father, not you." He whispered venomously
"He is an adult Zoro, I think he should know the truth about himself. If you won't tell him… I will." Yasopp said slowly.
Zoro flung around pulling out a sword and swinging it, stopping as it pointed right at Yasopp's chest, who at the sound of metal had pulled out a pistol and aimed it between Zoros eyes. They stayed like that for a few moments, staring each other down, then Yasopp spoke
"You know you don't stand a chance."
"Tch" Zoro stared defiantly "Im aware that your reflexes are better then mine, but I can stand a bullet to the chest or two, you'l-"
Yasopp cut him off "I mean in the grand scheme of things. If you don't run, which you wont cause I know you, then you'll die. Give Usopp to me, he will lose a father, but still have one. You wont have to worry about his safety then, because I wont die so easily, and nothing will ever happen to him. I can send him to whatever college he want's, buy him anything he needs, give him a good life. It's a good deal to make right now Zoro and you know it. Usopp is gonna need me before this thing is over."
Zoro mulled this over, getting angrier and angrier every second he actually considered it before he responded, sheathing his sword "You fucked her and left" he started "I stayed behind, feel in love and then a few months later she died in child birth, he lived. You were contacted and didn't come back. So you wanting to be a father now? Your about 18 years too fucking late! Shanks and most of his crew are good men, but a man like you… he doesn't deserve a chance at redemption. You're a deadbeat. Deal with it, he is my kid. And I ani't gonna die. He ani't gonna die, Sanji ani't gonna die, no one is gonna die so long as I breath."
…
"Where did they go?" Luffy asked looking around the empty lobby of the hotel they had rented out
"They went to have a talk with White beard" Ben said back.
Luffy nodded "Okay, but why?"
"To give them a friendly warning about the rookies." Ben puffed on his smoke stick
"Ah" Was Luffy's reply as he stopped looking around the lobby for them "So they should be back soon?"
"No, after that there gonna go Stop Akainu from continuing this hunt."
Luffy scoffed "I thought this was a politics no no his shanks' book"
Ben chuckled "You sometimes forget that Shanks really only has a sliver more patience then you."
"So what are we suppose to do here then? Wait around bored?" Luffy said into the lobby.
"We're guards."
"I don't like it. Doing nothing is lazy."
Ben chuckled at the childish display as Luffy slumped into a chair.
…
"Well, if you're sure, then I wish you guys the best, where to again?" Nami asked as Franky and Robin loaded there belongings onto Franky's boat. Her eyes danced to Franky who hosted a plethora of bandages and band-aids.
"France or somewhere like that" Franky said in a loud chuckle "She is romantic like that" he said loudly again
Nami chuckled and looked to Robin who simply sighed and whispered "The Netherlands"
"So in other words" Nami started "You guys can't tell me"
Robin winked and Franky laughed as they got onto the boat.
Nami quickly hopped on and hugged both of them. "It's going to be a slow life, missing you both. Maybe never seeing you guys again." She started to tear up. But Franky beign the groups fatherly figure for many years piped up
"Do you really think that after this all blows over Luffy won't track us down?"
The three of them chuckled then Nami let go and hugged each of the three kids, from oldest to youngest. And instead of hugging the third one, she simply kissed her forehead. "She is so cute when she sleeps. But I guess that's true for a babies" Nami said looking to Robin, who replied;
"I'm just glad she can sleep through Franky."
They both laughed again.
"Okay, time to go honey, we got navy coming in from far out, I want to beat them out of here"
"Got it" Robin said back then hugged Nami one last time whispering in her ear "Give them all our best for us."
"Will do" Nami whispered back then let go, jumping of the ship and taking a few strides back. The large boat quickly went a few hundred feet out to sea in a roaring blaze and then suddenly it turned sideways and then flew through the sky at a moment's notice, the water, in its wake, thrashed hundreds of feet, and rained down on the docks as sprinkles. Nami would never understand how Franky built such weird things.
She quickly turned and started jogging back to the hotel, deciding that she too would want to avoid the navy.
As she went though the docks she started to hear what sounded like fainter footsteps. Stopping silently and drawing out her staff, she listened hard.
"Freeze!" A Marine to her left shouted and quickly she was surrounded by a ring of Dock camoed Marines. They looked like normal workers.
"Shit" She said dropping her weapon to the ground and holding up her hands, that's when a man from the crowd stepped forward. As she turned to face him her blood froze. "Wha-wah- what are you doing in the MARINES!" she shouted scared
Instead of replying the man drew a pistol and aimed it at her. "I'd answer that, but my orders are no prisoners, and I don't feel like talking."
"Arlong…" She whispered to herself, frozen in fear.
"Miss me?" Arlong said catching the whisper and smiling manically as he cocked the pistol. "Not for much longer"
…
"Just got word from Ben, Sanji and Franky were injured, Sanji seriously" Shanks said looking at his phone. "Sanji is still in surgery, but Franky was patched up, looks like Nami went to go give them a send off at the docks."
"Isnt that dangerous right now?" Ace asked looking over at Shanks
"I would think so too, but Ben is smarter than most in the world, if he let them go, then it should be safe. Looks like Vivi and the others went home. Mission went well" Shanks read off the last of the messages in his head, then put his phone away "Here we are" he said looking at the dingy bar.
"You sure it was okay to let the rest of your crew deal with White beard without you?" Ace asked as they started walking towards it, cracking his knuckles.
"Yeah, White beard won't hurt them, plus it's just a warning. You want to do the honors?" Shanks looked to Ace, who smiled then ran at the door, punching it off its weak hinges; they both quickly flew through the first level of the two story building, disarming and knocking out all the marines who were stationed inside, save for one, who Shanks held by the shirt.
"So where is Akainu?" Shanks asked throwing the marine on the ground.
"Dow-down stairs!" the marine shouted nearly pissing himself.
Ace smirked then knocked him out. They both quickly went downstairs, barely noticing how the scenery went from rotting wood and yellowed paint, to reinforced steel for walls and a 2 ton dead bolt door. Which lie open.
"We came to Talk!" Shanks shouted as he entered, Ace following him.
"I see that" Akainu said from the other side of the room, behind a desk. The lighting was adequate, lighting up the room. "But when I have a Yonko so close I can taste it, not to mention the 'dead son' of roger right here, how can I talk… speaking of dead, I thought you killed them."
Shanks looked back, sensing someone approaching, and when he did he Saw Mihawk closing the door. The 2 tons making a very loud clank as the lock shut.
"Yes well, I will now." He said pulling out his sword.
Ace grit his teeth, his neck flaring up again as he got into a fighting stance facing Mihawk.
"No taking then?" Shanks asked as he one handedly removed his large coat and threw it on the ground, drawing his sword.
"Just justice" Akainu said throwing his Marine coat to the ground, and pulled out a full barrel shotgun.
'shit' Shanks thought to himself. 'This is going to kill Luffy'
…
Sanji laid on the Hotel bed, various machines and surgical equipment laid around him as the red haired Yonko's medic worked on him, peacefully in an unconscious pool of memory… and wish.
"I'm home" Sanji announced as he entered
"Daddy!" Chopper ran to him giving him a great big hug. Sanji in turn lifted the young boy up and kissed him on the head.
"how are you dear boy?"
"I'm doing good! I made plenty of decorations for the tree?"
"Oh yeah? Wow I almost forgot it was getting close to chrismas… Did mommy help you out with them?"
"What did you call me?" Zoro entered the room, funnily enough with a bit of hot glue and paper in his hair Sanji noted.
Sanji quickly fell into a confusion, the memory felt good, but false, and suddenly his whole body fell limp in his dream, some where beyond the memory/wish he heard faintly;
"Clear!"
Thump
Sanji's body jumped slightly and his memory began to become blurred.
"Oi, where are you going?" he heard Zoro's voice ask
"Comeback daddy" he saw the dream Chopper start to cry
"Clear!"
Thump
His vision got a little more blurred as his body jumped again
"Come back here curly brow!" Zoro yelled at him. "Don't you want us?"
Sanji pushed himself, outreaching his arm for them as his dream became less blurry.
"Just a little farther daddy!" Chopper said as Zoro and Chopper reached out for him "Then you can live with us forever!"
"Shit, we're losing him, Clear!"
Thump
…
TBC
Hi guys! *Doges tomato's* yes yes I know, tons of drama and danger and sadness… well this chapter was shorter tehn the rest (sorry bout that by the way) but I wanted to post it this short basically for its name Aces and Eights. If you don't know what that means it's a reference to poker cards, having a pair of Aces and a pair of 8's, and the story goes that back in the west some wild men were laying poker, and someone won a huge pot of money with those cards, and he was accused of cheating, then shot on the spot. Moral of the story; you can die without doing anything wrong. And I choose this title cause I no longer have any idea whether or not this story will be a tragedy or not. Would love to hear your reviews! And thanks for reading!