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He stared out over the expansive sea as the sun rose, hating the pain in his chest. Ivankov had warned him, and now he was learning that it was a real warning. He had lived a good life, surrounded by friends. Sure some of it had hurt, like Ace, Shanks, Sabo, and Benn, but that was okay.
Because he was human things would never be as easy as they could be. Because he was a pirate, that doubled. Because he was Straw hat Luffy, he had fun with life anyways. Ivankov was gone, so there was no way he could ask if there was a way to reverse the effects.
The sun was rising and Sanji was in the kitchen, he could hear him. Likely making lots of food, delicious delicious food. Food he’d find a hard time eating, because he’d been hiding this secret for years. He never wanted to worry them, so he hid the memory away in his mind from even himself.
Everything sucked, he decided, life sucked and so did having to keep this secret. He was going to tell them, he decided. As he made his way to the dining room when Sanji called, he knew he was going to say something. Then he saw the spread of food, and decided it was worth it to wait until after breakfast.
Soon breakfast was over and he had forgotten everything he wanted to say. He had forgotten, for now about the pain that had woke him up in the middle of the night. He had decided that he wouldn’t tell them today. He had decided to simply enjoy his day with his crew and friends. Occasionally he’d stop running around to grab his chest, and yet it didn’t concern him. He was simply winded after all.
He had gotten so good at holding back his pain, his memories of Ivankov’s warning, that it slipped his mind and went back behind his ‘mental wall’. In a moment of rest he sat and observed the sea as the sunny sailed, he didn’t notice as he fell asleep.
He was sleeping more now, not that he noticed, or his crew as Luffy could fall asleep anywhere and he always woke up when they needed him. So it wasn’t concerning, but it was due to the effect of the hormones he had Ivankov inject him with years ago.
Days later, he stared as his crew ate dinner, and saw how happy they were. It was getting harder to do much of anything, and he knew he needed to say something. Yet, Chopper was chasing Usopp with chopsticks, and Zoro was drinking, and Nami was getting money from Sanji, and Sanji was having, as always, falling for her charms, and Robin was reading while eating slowly, and Jinbei was being so polite, offering to shield Robin’s food, and Franky was about to get his guitar out. Sometimes the crew needed a good day, after a week of good days, to feel better. He wouldn’t ruin it. He didn’t say anything.
He woke up with a startled gasp when he heard whoever was on lookout call out and say marines were on the horizon. He was so sluggish as he stood up, knowing the marines had seen his ship and would want to start something, He wondered as he got his muscles ready what exactly he was thinking, why was he doing this any longer?
He didn’t have the time to keep thinking when the first blast came, it seemed they had the fire logia after Sabo here. And he would normally feel anger at the thought of someone else with his brothers fruit, but he couldn’t be bothered today. It was hard enough to just breath and focus on the fight.
His mind kept wandering, and he kept thinking even in the middle of the fight, letting his body simply run on instincts. It was due to this that when a sword caught his side he barely had time to put a layer of armament on where it would connect.
But the sword’s weilder was stronger, and he was thrown off the Sunny, hearing his crew call his name as he slammed into the water right as he was stretching his arms out to grab the railing.
He hit the water with a splash, his energy sapping immediately, and he started to feel his eyes droop closed. He knew his crew was busy with the marines, they were deep into the new world, the marines here were the best of the best.
He remembered his brothers last moments, last words as he sank deeper and deeper, the ocean curling over him like a blanket. “Thank you for loving me.” Ace had said, with tears in his baby brothers arms, a hole in his chest.
“Thanks for never giving up on me. Love you Lu.” Sabo had said as Luffy couldn’t pull the slave collar off his neck, his haki refusing to work with him, refusing to move past his own limbs as he barely had any left after rescuing Sabo from a Celestial Dragon ship.
He remembered, Benn and Shanks, when he caught up to them and tried to return the hat, as he had promised too. Benn had ruffled his hair and simply smiled, before leading him to the medbay where Shanks lay, barely breathing and unconscious. He had an infected wound, one that couldn’t be healed due to being inside his body.
Benn died soon after, from a broken heart Hongo had said, the first mate had simply given up once Shanks had passed from his wound. Never left Luffy with any last words, or wisdom to be passed on. Neither had Shanks.
He sank deeper, his memories rushing past him and through him, seeing faces long past and faces he’d miss as he moved into the next life.
Deeper and deeper he sank, his heart starting to slow, to get weaker, he could no longer hear the drums he always faintly heard, and he knew his time was now. He could see a light starting to glow in front of his eyes, his brothers were waiting for him.
Suddenly he was yanked into the air, Zoro breathing heavily as he bled from multiple wounds. Yet he could still feel his heart stopping, it seemed Zoros best was simply not enough. He would say something, but something was stopping him, and he knew the only reason he was still even slightly concious was because of the Gum Gum fruit.
“Ch..er!” He could barely hear, his ears still swimming as he was laid on the deck of the sunny, and he wondered, his thoughts fading, why he couldn’t hear.
As he faded, the world turned back his crew gathering around him as Chopper did CPR. His crew without a captain, and his body without life.