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“I can’t do this, Sakazuki.” Borsalino whimpered as he resisted Sakazuki's grip on his wrist. The two boys were in a cave, Borsalino hidden in the shadows and Sakazuki out in the bright sun.
“You have to. You can’t stay in this cave forever. Our food is running low and we need to find a way out of this island.” Sakazuki insisted, his grip tightening as he tried to pull the older boy out from the darkness.
“We don’t know anything about the devil fruit I ate! What if I turn into light and I can’t get back to being a person? What if I get absorbed by the sunlight?” He cried out.
“You’re being an idiot!” Sakazuki grunted though he offered no retorts. What did he know about the devil fruits anyway, Borsalino was the one with all the book smarts after all.
“When I ate the devil fruit, I blacked out Saka! When I woke up, it was night time and the pirates around us were all dead.” Borsalino tugged again, “And you won’t even tell me what happened. You couldn’t even look at me!”
Sakazuki’s intentions to drag Borsalino out into the sun weren’t all that selfless. He wanted proof that his friend won’t go crazy again when he was out in the light. The way Borsalino’s eyes glowed and the sheer power he released when they were cornered haunted Sakazuki’s nights. He wouldn’t tell any of that to Borsalino, not when Sakazuki could feel the solid handle of his blade on the small of his back, ready to pounce if Borsalino was once again possessed by whatever monster lurked within the fruit he ate.
“I already told you that I don’t remember!” It was a lie. “If you don’t go out now, I’m going to leave you here and get on the first boat I see!”
“Alright!” Borsalino relented. Sakazuki stopped pulling him but kept a firm hand on his wrist. “I’ll go out. But I’ll do it slowly, okay. If I start disappearing, I’ll come straight back inside!”
“Just do it already!”
Sakazuki urged Borsalino forward by gently pulling him. As the sunlight touched his hand, Borsalino winced but continued forward until his arm was out of the cave, then his shoulder, and suddenly he was outside with the warm sun on his face and the fresh breeze greeting him like an old friend.
“I told you.” Sakazuki grumbled, letting go of Borsalino’s hand when he realized he was still gripping it. Sighing in relief, he pulled down the back his shirt to make sure the blade won’t be noticed. Borsalino’s only reply was a wide smile.
Sakazuki coughed as he looked around the wreckage of what used to be New Marineford. The screams of soldiers as they fought alongside pirates sickened him.
A beam of light caused an explosion and swept away marines and pirates alike.
“Admiral Kizaru, what are you doing sir!?” The men screamed, ignorant that they were not talking to Kizaru.
He clenched his fists as he looked at his oldest companion. His sunglasses were lowered, revealing glowing yellow eyes and illuminating the unnaturally blank expression he wore. It brought back bad memories.
“That’s not Kizaru! Attack him with everything you have otherwise you’re just going to die!” Sengoku shouted.
Sakazuki made his way closer to the former fleet admiral, dodging debris and hurling balls of magma at what used to be his friend.
“What do you know?” He demanded.
Sengoku looked at him with a frown.
“Tell me right now!” Sakazuki growled.
Reluctantly, Sengoku nodded. “It was one of the topics Vegapunk and I used to discuss—the nature and what devil fruits actually are. I believe that they’re some incarnation of gods and deities and he said they were from the wishes of the people.”
Connecting the dots, Sakazuki cursed. “You think he’s being possessed by that Imu?”
“He could be. When he began using his powers when he was recruited, I saw him being escorted to meet the elders by Kong. I thought it was odd, but I assumed they wanted to meet with a potential admiral and see if he’s worth his salt.”
Sakazuki remembered that. He and Borsalino were assigned to be on Sengoku’s ship and he was pulled aside by the then fleet admiral Kong a few days before their first mission out on see. Sakazuki overheard the words Marijoa, Elders, and Devil Fruit , but he walked away before he was caught eavesdropping. After that meeting, Borsalino was different. He was upset and it showed in the way he battled. He was more careless, aggressive, as if he didn’t know what else to do but lash out in the only way he can. All the rage mellowed down eventually, but he was never quite the same after that.
“Based on what’s happening now, he might be a vessel for Imu to do as they pleased.”
“Why would a god-like being bother having a human vessel?”
Sengoku shrugged. “Who can say for sure? The only thing we can do right now is stop Kizaru before he causes more destruction.”
Sakazuki felt the phantom weight of a dull blade tucked at the small of his back.
“I’ll distract him, you get these onto him by any means necessary.” Sakazuki ran after throwing a pair of seastone cuffs to Sengoku.
“Oi, Borsalino!” He shouted, internally wincing as he saw the same glowing yellow eyes that used to plague his nightmares. He charged forward, magma bursting from his arms aimed at the figure perched on the night sky. “Snap out of it already!”
Beams of light decimated his magma. In a blink of an eye, Borsalino disappeared and reappeared behind him, kicking him square on the back. He rolled back to his feet, wiping the dust from his eyes. Before Kizaru could take another step, bullets began to rain down on him as the marines fired back and protected their fleet admiral.
Sakazuki watched as Kizaru sent a beam of light to where they were, a sick smile beginning to creep up on his face. He swallowed back a cry of frustration. Issho and Aramaki were most likely in Marijois, at the very center of the conflict, they can’t expect backup. Not that Sakazuki would call for backup when he was right here. As he regained his bearings, he wished that he was there fighting Imu himself and punch the son of a bitch who did this to Borsalino.
It took them far longer than he thought, but he could see cracks in Imu’s control over Borsalino. His eyes would flash ever so slightly, dimming, and then flaring bright as if to assert control. Sakazuki could imagine Borsalino screaming inside his own head, pulling at metaphorical chains only for it to tighten every time he demanded freedom. However, not all hope was lost. It was subtle, but it seems that Borsalino gains more control whenever Sakazuki is in his line of sight. Not wasting the opportunity given, he took his chance when he saw an opening. With his fist covered in magma, he charged forward, aiming for the glowing eyes of his enemy. He blinked and he could have sworn he saw the light die down to reveal brown eyes wide with panic.
The grinning face of Borsalino as Sakazuki pulled him out of the darkness. The warmth of blood rushing to his cheeks as he stared at the older boy.
It was enough for him to lose his concentration, his fists becoming black with haki instead of the destructive red of his element. But it was enough. Kizaru flew back straight into Sengoku, the seastone cuffs slipping onto his wrists and securing his arms behind his back.
“Sakazuki?” For the first time in hours, Sakazuki heard Borsalino’s voice. It was hoarse as if he just woke up from a long nap.
“Borsalino.” He said, unsteadily walking toward the admiral. “Are you back?”
“You should have killed me right then.” The usual airy tone was gone, replaced by something dark and pained. The admiral swayed on his feet, the seastone weakening him. He put a hand on Borsalino’s shoulder to steady him.
“What?”
“These won’t hold Imu for long. I can feel them trying to seize control of my body right now.” Borsalino tugged at the seastone cuffs but they remained intact.
“But you were fighting back—”
“I was, but you can see how hopeless it was. I wasn’t able to seize control.” Borsalino took a deep breath. “You have to kill me right now, it won’t stop them for long but—”
“Shut up!”
“No.” Borsalino sighed. “ I gave you a lot of openings, but you didn't take them. Any other person and you would have killed them right away. Why is it so hard for you to do the same to me?”
“Because…” Sakazuki faltered.
Warm hands pulling him back to sanity after a buster call gone wrong. A steady shoulder he leans on when the weight of his responsibilities threatened to crush him. A smile so quick to appear when they lock eyes at a battlefield.
“Because you’re not just any other person. Not to me.”
There was a moment of silence as they stared into each other. It was broken when Borsalino began to chuckle. “You just had to say that.” The admiral’s shoulders stopped shaking and his head fell forward to his chest. “Now I really don’t want to di—” Borsalino cut himself off as if not allowing himself the option to continue on living.
“Say it, Borsalino.” Sakazuki pleaded. “We’ll find another way. I’ll kill that Imu myself if I have to!”
Borsalino shook his head. “Please, Sakazuki.” He mumbled and Sakazuki unconsciously took a step back. “I don’t care for a lot of things, but I don’t want to be used as a puppet to destroy those that I cherish. But maybe—”
Before he could speak anymore, Borsalino doubled over with a choked cry of pain. Parts of his body were starting to shimmer with light. They were out of time.
Sakazuki clenched his fists, magma starting to drip from his arms. He made his choice decades ago on a forsaken island in North Blue. The moment that Borsalino managed to destroy the cuffs, Sakazuki’s fist was already halfway through his ribs. He winced at the wet sounds Borsalino was making as he choked on his own blood, the light fading away and leaving them back in darkness.
“You did it.” Borsalino sighed, smiling with tears gathering in his eyes. Sakazuki should pull away. He knows that with his arm out of the way, Borsalino would bleed out faster and he wouldn’t need to be in pain anymore. But he couldn't move, couldn’t even lift his head to meet Borsalino’s eyes.
“Give Admiral Kizaru his dignity!” Sengoku yelled. Sakazuki glanced to the side where most of the men were gathered and saw them saluting before turning around. He heard Borsalino chuckle in amusement, but he still didn’t have the strength to look.
“Ne~ Sakazuki, it’s okay.” Sakazuki blinked, looking up just in time for Borsalino to lean close and bump their foreheads together. “I did say you held my heart in your hands.” He chuckled, groaning as more blood flooded out his throat.
Not even acknowledging the teasing, Sakazuki clenched his teeth to keep silent. The arm lodged in Borsalino's chest shook, his fist clenched tight in an attempt to keep steady.
"I'm giving this back to you." Borsalino hoarsed out as he pulled back, one hand reaching up to remove his sunglasses and tucked it inside Sakazuki's jacket, right over his heart. "I got it from a very dear person, take care of it okay? He gave it to me to keep me safe when I kept blinding myself using my devil fruit. Always keep it with you. If it gets damaged because you got hurt, I'll be very angry with you, ne?"
"I—" Sakazuki looked up and met Borsalino's eyes. "I'll take care of it."
Without warning, the edges of Borsalino’s form began to turn into light.
“What the—” Sakazuki resisted the urge to pull away. "Borsalino!"
Sengoku must have turned back around at his cry, because he yelled out, “Imu must be trying to reabsorb the power that the pika-pika-no-mi held!”
“Ah,” Borsalino smiled wryly, “Good. You don’t have to bury me after all. If you see me again, it’s safe to say it’s no longer me. Feel free to do as you please, Saka~.” Horrified, Sakazuki saw how the right side of Borsalino's face contorted into a malicious smirk, one eye glowing brighter than before.
“Borsalino—” Sakazuki finally found his voice, but it was too late.
“You’ll be okay, Sakazuki.”
Most of Borsalino was nothing but light. Straight beams were headed straight to wherever Imu was but Sakazuki noticed something else. Soft glinting orbs drifted away from the blinding yellow and stubbornly tried to reach out to him. It reminded him of the times Borsalino would make these little fake fireflies whenever he felt nostalgic about the fireflies they used to catch in their home island.
Sakazuki reached out right where Borsalino’s face should be, catching a ghost of a smile, before the fluttering lights dimmed and disappeared, taking with them the rest of Sakazuki’s heart.
The marines who turned around witnessed the yellow light fading away before being replaced by the glow of red-hot magma. They quickly ran to find cover as lava erupted from where the fleet admiral stood screaming his loss to the darkness.