Author's Note: Since I was still saddened over last chapter's events, I decided to write this chapter, since things get better for the Capricorns this chapter.

On a related note, this is the last chapter of the Mr. Chung-Feng Arc, so this means no more of Aki's sadistic father, since he's now in prison as of this chapter. The Last Samurai Arc will begin in the next chapter, which will be the 75th chapter of this fic. I can't wait for the next arc, since the upcoming arc will introduce some new faces to the Capricorn Pirates.

One last note, what should I do to celebrate the 75th chapter? Should I do an omake, a special chapter of The DysFUNctional Pirates, or a new fic?

Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eichiiro Oda. Please support the official release.

Ch. 74: "How to Save a Life."

The next morning at breakfast, all of the Capricorns were silent. Nobody made jokes or talked, they just ate in silence.

"So…" Yuki-Rin said with a sigh. "I'm sure you all heard about what happened last night with Heathcliffe. We can… We can only hope that he wakes up and gets better."

Aki sighed as she looked to the empty chair between herself and Soren. Normally, Heathcliffe would be sitting next to Aki for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but not today, and maybe not for the rest of her life.

"Ageha, how's my baby brother doing?" Holden asked after a long moment of silence.

"I managed to get Heathcliffe bandaged up, but he lost a lot of blood. I need to perform a blood transfusion so Heathcliffe can live," Ageha answered.

"What blood type does he need?" Soren asked Ageha.

"Heathcliffe has type AB+ blood, meaning that any one of us can give him blood, since anyone with an AB+ blood is a universal recipient," Ageha explained. "Who would like to give blood?"

"I will!" Aki said right when Ageha finished speaking. Everyone looked to Aki.

"Aki, are you sure you want to do this? You can't make these types of decisions impulsively," Ageha explained.

"I have to. Sarutobi-kun never backs down on anything. Whenever he makes a promise, it's not a pipe dream. Sarutobi-kun does whatever he can to make that promise come true. Sarutobi-kun is headstrong to a fault, and, like I said, he won't back down on anything. Sarutobi-kun would never back down on giving up his own life to save myself, his brothers, or his nakama. He promised that we would be together forever, which is why I want to give my blood to Sarutobi-kun – To help him make his dreams come true," Aki explained.

"Yep! Sounds like my baby brother!" Holden said with a smile.

"Alright, then, I will allow you to give Heathcliffe blood," Ageha told Aki. "What's your blood type?"

"A positive," Aki answered. Ageha smiled.

"Alright, I will draw your blood this afternoon," Ageha explained.

"That's good, but I need to do something first," Aki said as she got up from her seat.

"What are you going to do?" Holden asked. Aki gave him a small smile.

"I'm going to give my father what he deserves," Aki explained.

"You mean… You're going to kill him?!" Holden cried.

"Nope. I'm going to let the town sheriff know of his deeds. My father had this coming to him for a long time, and I believe that it's overdue," Aki explained. Soren got up and put his hand on Aki's shoulder.

"Let Holden and I come with you. We need to avenge our baby bro. Your father deserves prison. Let him suffer slowly until the day he dies," Soren explained. Aki nodded.

"Well, then… Let's go," Aki said before she left the ship with the Sarutobi brothers.

Later that afternoon, Aki, Holden, and Soren returned to the Hyperion.

"How did it go?" Kartik asked the three.

"Exhausting," Aki said as she sat down and rubbed her temples. "The sheriff searched the mansion and the house where the butlers and maids were at. When he saw the terrible conditions my father's staff had to live in, the sheriff had to interview each and every single maid and butler. Then, after he took my my father to the prison, Holden, Soren, and I went through the mansion and took things we could sell or use. We have some clothes, blankets, books, expensive heirlooms Wolfgang and Enlai could sell, and lots of money."

"Aki's dad is loaded. Soren and I still need to count all of the Beri bills and coins we found," Holden commented. Kartik chuckled.

"Looks like we need a quartermaster next," Kartik commented.

"Quartermaster? What's that?" Holden asked Kartik.

"A quartermaster handles a pirate crew's money," Kartik explained.

"I thought Wolfgang was our quartermaster," Soren pointed out.

"I don't think so. Wolfgang may love money, but it seems like he only does the finances for his business," Kartik explained before he turned to Aki. "Aki, I believe that Ageha is looking for you. She's about to start the transfusion."

"How's Sarutobi-kun?" Aki asked Kartik.

"He's hanging in there. It's a miracle that he's still alive after all he went through," Kartik answered. Aki sighed.

"Well, I'm going to go give my blood to Sarutobi-kun," Aki said.

"Good luck," Kartik said as Aki walked out of the hall.

"Hang in there, Sarutobi-kun," Aki thought to herself.

What seemed like hours later, Aki awoke from a dazed state after giving blood.

"Oh, you're awake," Ageha said. Aki looked around, and she saw that she was in the sick bay.

"How did it go?" Aki asked Ageha.

"It went well, but you seemed to faint when I stuck you with my needle," Ageha explained. "As for Heathcliffe, it's very likely that he's going to live. But, he's going to need a couple of days to rest up. As for you, Aki, you should stay here in the sick bay for a bit to get your energy back."

"Sarutobi-kun… He's alive?!" Aki said, almost wanting to yell. Ageha nodded.

"You saved your boyfriend's life, Aki. You should feel extremely grateful and happy that you were able to give somebody you love the gift of life," Ageha explained. Aki looked to Heathcliffe, who was sleeping in the bed next to hers. Heathcliffe was stripped down to his boxers, revealing bandages around his hand, forehead, shoulder, and torso and the IV line supplying him with new blood.

"May I stay here until Sarutobi-kun wakes up?" Aki asked.

"Yes, you may," Ageha said. "In the meantime, I will tell everyone the great news. Be sure to eat the cookies and drink the juice I left for you so your blood sugar doesn't drop."

Ageha left the room. Aki then grabbed a chocolate chip cookie on a nearby plate of cookies and began eating it.

"Sarutobi-kun… My baby is alive. I saved his life. He's going to live," Aki thought to herself as she looked out the window, where the sun already set. "It's that late?"

Looking to the hallway to see if the coast was clear, Aki got off of her bed and lied down on Heathcliffe's bed.

"Today has been a long day… I'm just glad that we get to leave the island," Aki commented before taking a few sips of juice. Her eyes trailed to Heathcliffe's neck, where a thin scar was, a sign of the pain Heathcliffe had to endure trying to save Aki. Aki traced the scar with her finger. "You're going to live, Sarutobi-kun. I saved your life."

Aki kissed Heathcliffe and wrapped his non-injured arm around her.

"Aki?"

Aki awoke the next morning, and she sat up.

"Yes?" Aki asked to what seemed like nobody. Then, it hit Aki, and she turned to her right, where she was looking face-to-face with a smiling Heathcliffe.

"Thank you very much for saving my life. You did the right thing," Heathcliffe whispered before he kissed Aki, who smiled.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Sarutobi-kun," Aki said, tears falling from her eyes out of happiness.

Ending Note: Yeah! Heathcliffe's alive! Fangirls, rejoice!

Review if you want the new arc to begin.