Chapter Text
Darkness. The cold water chilled his bones, the sea was huge, infinite, and yet, so lonely.
He had been born there, did that mean he should love it? Something would be wrong then. Because he didn't, and neither did all the other fish men.
No one dared to say anything, because everyone believed the same, they were all born surrounded by darkness and grew up used to the cold water. If they were born there, then they all were meant to stay there, and yet, all of them yearned to see the sunlight, to feel its warmness, but they were trapped. It wasn't a gift, it was more like a punishment, but he had resigned himself a long time ago, everyone had accepted the punishment of being born different.
Jinbei's entire life had been about chasing the sun, he hadn't realized until later on, and it didn't make any sense, or maybe it did, because, just like his homeland, his mind felt the same, floating among the darkness, cold to the core, surrounded by infinite water, still lonely.
***
The first sun Jinbei ever met was a raging one. It happened when he was young, at least younger than he was now. And this sun wasn't a star, but another Fishman, and the type of warmness he carried, was the one you'd feel in the heat of an explosion, they called him Fisher Tiger. This man had seen what no one else had, the very root of cruelty, and done what no one else did, breaking laws like every stupid young mind would. Explosions were dangerous, everyone could tell, but so was the world, and he was young enough to follow. When the boat surfaced, Jinbei knew it, he loved the sun, and he would forever.
Meeting him was also the first time he ever saw the sun burn out, the one in the sky was still there, but it was fake, or it had to be fake because even at its peak, the Fishman couldn't feel that warmness or see that light it was supposed to bring, the room was bitterly cold and gloomy as they all heard their captain's last breath.
The Sun Pirates, the name stayed, and they kept going, night was doomed to fall sooner or later, the problem was that, inside the ship, when no one talked, they all thought the same, it made no sense, their sun and its flames had extinguished, uncertainty filled their minds, they didn't hate the night, just like they didn't hate the sea, they just feared, in silence, that they would never see a sunrise again.
The only one that didn't fear, was Jinbei. He had no way of proving it, but he could feel it inside, they would find another sun, another soul just as bright. Maybe the rest of the crew knew it and trusted that their new captain would find it. The truth was that even if that soul were to show up one day, it wouldn't be the same, they would all gladly watch the new sunrise, from the distance, because that closeness was gone.
***
The kid wanted to see the emperor of the sea, Whitebeard.
It had been more time than Jinbei would've liked to admit. He wasn't mad about it, the years had given him all the things he lacked when he was young, and he still smiled when he saw the young boy in the eyes. Even before fighting, the flames flickered in his eyes, and his confident smile was blinding.
The second sun Jinbei ever met was a passionate one. A young kid not old enough to be called an adult, and the type of warmness he carried was the one you'd feel in your cheeks, fists, and chest in the middle of a heated fight to the death. His name was Ace, but all would call him ''Fire Fist'' one day. Son of a king, Jinbei could be sure he had also met the cruelty of society, and wondered, who took him to where he was now? He was also a lawbreaker, a criminal, obvious just by the way he scoffed when he heard the Marines in the distance. Fights to the death could be the stupidest decision or a winning one, the captain couldn't be sure which one applied to the young kid, age didn't determine maturity or intelligence, but one needed to be smart to know a losing battle before starting to fight. Smart or not, this teenager was another sun, the first one in decades, old as they now were, his crew would be thrilled to know a new sunrise was possible.
Meeting Ace was also the first time he saw evil on the moon. The one in the sky was harmless, it was there just to fool everyone, another fake celestial body, he thought, because day or night, sitting in that prison cell, chained to the wall, he was freezing, and it was stygian. Just having a sun wouldn't mean anything if the moon refused to move. As the marines dragged Ace to the cell, the ex-warlord saw the picture perfectly, it was clear like pure water, he had made a mistake and been too blind to realize. Their bullets killed one sun, and they were about to get rid of the next one.
Why had he stayed away from the teen's business, when he wanted the sunrise so badly? Maybe because he blamed himself and his race for the death of Fisher Tiger, or because he feared finding himself in a dim, frigid room, watching the sun burn out once again.
He stared at the mistreated, haggard body, full of bruises, blood, and sweat. He lost the fight.
''Sorry, Knight of the Sea, I lost the fight''.
''Don't give up yet, you can't'' The ex-warlord thought. ''Don't ever tell yourself you've lost, you'll believe it, even when the fight is over, even in front of your next opponent''. But he didn't say anything. He sat there in silence, watching the new sun he had found, lose its light, and soon he'll watch him die, just like the last time. The passion in his eyes was gone, the hope in his heart was lost. Words wouldn't mean anything, he had been useless himself, not being able to do anything to change the situation even with all the status and power he worked so hard for.
''My brother is here''
Ace said. And maybe, in the darkness and the silence, he had lost his sanity, because he could almost see the man pour every last bit of emotion and strength he had left into those words, passion, hope, love, what an irony, Ace's eyes darkened with every word that came out of his mouth, he could see his soul die slowly with that knowledge, yet, the air, the room, his own soul, brightened. Those words lingered in the air, floating like a tiny firefly, carrying hope.
The Marines dragged Ace out of the cell. The first son of the sea hadn't lost hope, the man's words were still there, lighting up his own heart. He had failed once, he had failed twice, but there would be one last chance, he knew it, he just had to wait. His heart started jumping around, he had no strength left to bother about trying to keep his childish side controlled, his mind started wondering, What kind of sun would he meet this time?
A bunch of weirdos ran around the place in questionable outfits. But among all of them, came a little kid, a teen, maybe even younger than Ace when he met him. Jinbei knew even before he heard him shouting Ace's name, that this was the brother he'd been waiting for.
The ex-warlord stared, his heart ached, because the teen looked terrible, something felt wrong in him. The Fishman had been right, this brother was also a Sun, even if, unlike the other two, there was no confident smile or huge challenges he wanted to overcome, or maybe there were, so huge that he couldn't see them from where he was standing, the only thing he could see was the young teen being crushed by the shadow of something huge and powerful, and he had no idea what it was.
The rubber boy was breathing heavily, a harsh look in his eyes, full of fear and uncertainty, desperate, looking for something. His body was in way worse shape than maybe Ace himself, compared to whatever the kid had gone through just to get there, Blackbeard and the Marines looked kind and compassionate. Jinbei couldn't believe it, there were no flames, confidence, or brightness anywhere in his eyes, yet the fishman knew he was staring at the biggest, most powerful sun he had ever met in his entire life. The reason was, simply because the boy was there, alive.
The moon that kept their entire world stuck in an endless night had been so huge that no sun had been competence, ending completely overshadowed the moment the moon stood in front of them, no one could see their light anymore, and yet, this time, Jinbei felt like staring directly into a sun eclipse. The faint ring of light managed to shine behind the gigantic moon, just how huge did that sun need to be? How powerful??
The knight of the sea watched as this newfound sun ran desperately, and fought with everything he had, the boy had barely any strength left, he was a nobody with no name among a crowd of thousands, he had gone inside that prison alone, but he left with many. No one knew him, and still, he somehow had people watching his back, making openings for him alone to cross, The ex-warlord soon realized, he wasn't the only one waiting expectantly for that moon to fade in the sky and let the sun shine. All of them were fighting for it.
Ace was freed and all of them watched the sun's power multiply, and shine so brightly everyone stopped to stare, they had all forgotten how it felt like. They all watched too as it decreased until going almost extinct. Ace was dead, yet no one could afford to lose hope. No one was disheartened even as the father's and son's bodies stood there, dead. The light was still there, it was faint, but it was there, and the moon knew it, otherwise, the fight would've ended, but the marines kept fighting, kept killing, because the spark was still there, sitting on the ground in shock, next to the corpse that was once his brother.
No matter what, this time he wouldn't make the same mistake, this sun would shine brightly even at the cost of a third life. The Fishman ran away, holding in his arms all the hope he had left, his heart ached, it wasn't fair, no one deserved to go through this suffering just for the blood that ran through their veins, it meant nothing, blood, past, none of them mattered, just the soul. Was it the night blinding everyone? Why could no one understand It?
The first son of the sea soon understood that this eclipse would last long, as he watched Luffy take all the burden, the blame, and the pain. His body, white and red, had more blood and bandages than clothes. It was darker than ever.
"Do not fear" The Knight of the Sea told himself. "The sun will rise, you know It, you always have, just wait a little longer". He reminded himself as he stopped the teen, who was tearing his own body apart in rage, his tormented, aching screams would've been able to break other souls into pieces. Tears. Jinbei could understand it even if he had never felt it. Luffy's mind would be hell, and the worst torture would come from his memories. But Jinbei had to trust him, the kid would make it. He had no doubt.
In fact, he couldn't wait to see him shine brighter, brighter than anyone could ever have.