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After surviving Wano, there was hardly anything that could still faze the Strawhat pirates. After departing in their usual chaotic manner, partially due to their Captain’s childish rivalry with Law and Kidd, they were now sailing calmly and for a change without someone hot on their tail.
With their newest crew member Jinbei, at the helm after being shown how to operate the Sunny’s more unique features, Nami making sure their course was set flawlessly and everyone else up and about, doing their own thing, it almost seemed like a perfect day at sea. The sun was shining, large fish were swimming alongside them, occasionally jumping out of the water, and a soft breeze promised an easy journey.
With the direction they were going, nothing much was supposed to come up for at least a week, giving all of them time to wind down and reacquaint themselves with life onboard the Sunny after spending so much time in the country of the Samurai.
Though, with Brook’s sudden shout from the crows nest, their peace and quiet were once again interrupted.
“Everyone! Marine Ships ahead!“
Collectively, the entire crew groaned. Seriously, wasn’t it possible for them to get at least one day off?
Everyone was on guard now, Sanji, Zoro and Luffy all ready to attack those vessels as soon as they were in reach. Usopp was currently climbing up into the rafters in order to get into a better shooting position. If those were only normal marines, they wouldn’t need any of the Sunny’s weapons for this.
Both woman of the crew had sat up in their lawn chairs, eyeing the approaching ships wearily, trying to assess if their help was needed, or if they could leave the danger to their more offensive fighters.
So far, no figureheads or other defining features could be seen, so at least, it didn’t seem like an admiral’s ship was present at the time.
Apparently, just as they’d come to the conclusion that they would most likely be fine, the first cannonballs started flying. The loud boom followed by a high whistling sound ripped the silence apart, that had so far only occasionally been interrupted by natural sounds, the smell of gunpowder filling the air strongly.
With one powerful kick, the first wave of projectiles was dispatched by their chef almost effortlessly, the second by Zoro, who’d pulled out Enma and sliced through all of them in a heartbeat, leaving the pieces to fall harmlessly into the ocean.
“Yo, Luffy! Wanna take the next one?”
Instead of answering their swordsman, the Strawhat’s Captain only stood silently, staring ahead with a strangely blank look on his face. When the next canon was fired, the dark haired pirate flinched badly, before shaking himself out of whatever that had been, getting right to inflating himself to abnormal proportions in order to block that particular attack.
As always, the enemies projectile bounced off Luffy’s rubber body and was flung back towards, where it had come from, taking off the main mast from the leading ship in the process.
“Oi, you okay?”
This little delay hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Sure, just thought about jumping over there really quickly. They don’t look all that strong!” Something about their Captain’s tone and smile was off.
They still were quite far from their attackers and even if Luffy could probably manage to fling himself over that kind of distance, there was still a large risk of him missing the target area and landing in the ocean. Though before either of the guys could tell their enthusiastic Captain as much, said man had already decided that he was going to risk it. Not a second later, he was off, soaring over the open waves and, to all the other pirate’s relief, landed safely onboard one of the marine ships.
Turning towards their helmsman, who’d been watching on with a mildly amused smile, Nami was quick to tell him to follow their Captain.
“We need to get after him! Seriously, can’t that idiot wait for more then two seconds?!”
“Already on it, Nami. We’ll catch up in no time.” True to his word, the large fishman took the wheel and with a few expertly tugs and turns, had them sailing after Luffy as fast as the Sunny was able to. “We can’t let him have all the fun for himself, now can we?”
“Well said, Jinbei!” Standing on the railing, Sanji looked seconds away from air walking after their wayward leader. “Would be pretty boring to just sit back and watch.”
“Guys…” Nami sounded more exasperated then annoyed right now. “Can you at least once behave like civilized people?”
“Huh? What are you going on about?” Zoro looked at her in confusion. “We’re pirates. Being uncivilized is kinda our thing.”
Throwing her hands up in surrender, their red haired navigator gave up and returned back to her previous spot next to Robin. “Seriously, I can’t with those guys sometimes…”
The devil child only smiled. “Now now, this is part of what makes them all so lively.”
Something green suddenly exploded onboard one of the enemy ships. Apparently, Usopp had decided to join in the fight as well. Now, a giant monster plant was knocking marines into the sea left and right.
When Sunny pulled up next to the numerous ships, no more time was wasted. Luffy had already sank half their enemies, currently working on his fourth ship, shattering wood and bone under lightning fast fists and flashes of Haki. He seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit.
His wings didn’t need more of an invitation and in mere seconds, the sound of breaking planks and ripping sails could be heard echoing over the seas as Zoro and Sanji got to destroying the few ships, Luffy hadn’t gotten to yet. Blades were drawing blood, feet were striking down the few marines who felt brave enough to challenge the newly crowned emperor’s comrades.
The whole fight didn’t last more then a couple of minutes.
When the last ship was about to sink, both Zoro and Sanji were swiftly delivering their final attacks, before jumping back onboard the Sunny, expecting their Captain to follow right being them.
Strangely enough, the sound of snapping and stretching rubber couldn’t be heard at all.
Turning around, both men saw something they hadn’t expected, something that send ice straight through their veins.
Luffy was standing onboard the burning remains of what had been a perfectly functional ship only minutes ago, staring at his hands with a look of pure terror in his eyes.
By now, the rest of the crew had noticed something being off as well.
“Hey Luffy! Get over here, now!”
Really, Nami was the only one who had the nerve to order their Captain around.
Water was starting to flood the sinking ship’s deck now rapidly, already lapping at their Captain’s feet greedily.
“Damn it, what’s he doing?!” Not waiting for anyone to answer his question, Zoro jumped back onto the other vessel and quickly grabbed Luffy around the waist. Not waiting for the younger to react or protest, the swordsman then quickly preceded to get back onboard the Sunny again, landing on deck safely, with his Captain tucked against his side tightly.
Setting the still quiet pirate down, he roughly grabbed Luffy’s shoulder, shaking him, a pretty damn pissed expression on his face. “Oi, Luffy! What the fuck was that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
They all knew of course that Zoro was only reacting like that because their Captain had scared him just now, so none of them interfered.
“Come on, talk to me! Are you hurt? Why didn’t you get back?”
Still no answer.
By now, Jinbei had steered them away a safe distance from the rapidly sinking wreckage and was now walking towards Captain and swordsman.
“Luffy-kun?” His voice was way softer then Zoro’s, apparently trying a different approach.
Upon hearing the fishman’s voice, Luffy suddenly flinched, before shaking himself slightly and getting back up onto his feet.
“Ah, sorry guys, got distracted!”
It didn’t escape the crew that Luffy was definitely acting strange. The young man was frantically wiping his hands on his pants, trying not to be too obvious about it, while a smile stretched over his face that looked so genuinely false, it shocked them all, not used to this from their Captain.
Jinbei now looked even more worried, carefully placing himself between Luffy and Zoro.
“Luffy-kun, are you okay? Did you hurt your hands?”
At the mention of an injury, Chopper scurried forward, now obviously concerned. “Show me!” He demanded with all the seriousness of a panicking medical professional.
“Haha… really guys, I’m fine!” Showing his hands, traces and half dried smears of blood could be seen, though no injuries. “I’ll just… uhhm, go wash up real quick!” Jumping away, Luffy made his way towards the bathroom way more quickly then was considered normal under these circumstances.
“Luffy, Wait-”
The harshly slammed bathroom door interrupted Jinbei’s plea as Luffy vanished from sight.
After a few seconds of silence, in which they all stared at each other, Zoro was the first one to move. Grip tightening on his sheathed swords, the green haired male stormed after their Captain. However, before he could get far, Jinbei’s large, webbed hand was holding him back.
“What?!” Right now, Zoro looked as if he was ready to cut the fishman’s arm off.
Startled, their helmsman pulled his hand back. “Sorry but… I think you should leave him alone for now.”
“Not happening. He’s acting off and with him, I know from experience that this is always something bad and will end in one catastrophe or another.”
“And what are you planning to do?”
At that, Zoro actually halted, uncertainty crossing his features for a short moment. “Well, I…”
Just shaking his head, Jinbei returned to the helm, unusually somber look on his face.
“Maybe he’s right, Marimo.”
“Huh?”
“Well it’s just… the way he totally spaced out on us reminded me of the barbecue incident. Maybe he just needs to calm down or something. I’ll make something to eat and check on him later.”
While Usopp took it upon himself to inform their newest addition about the aforementioned incident, the rest of them slowly went back to their usual tasks, the earlier good mood all but forgotten, replaced by a strange tenseness. After half an hour, Luffy still hadn’t returned from his hurried retreat to the bathroom.
They were starting to get restless now.
When finally, the unmistakable sound of Luffy flinging himself across the Sunny could be heard, they all wanted to believe that things were okay now, though this was hard to do since he went straight to his spot on the figurehead, disappearing behind Sunny’s mane, not saying a word to any of them.
When the sun started to set, he still hadn’t come down again, not even when the scent of Sanji’s cooking called everyone else to dinner.
Once settled at the table, they waited for a couple of minutes, but when even then, Luffy didn’t come join them, the mood fell even further.
“I’ll go get that idiot myself if he doesn’t get his ass over here right now!” Despite his fierce words, Sanji was obviously worried, just as the rest of them. “How dare he miss dinner?”
“I… I think I may have an idea about what happened earlier.”
Eight pairs of eyes started at Jinbei, who was still frowning, obviously unhappy with something.
“So?”
“I think it may very well be about the blood…”
“Huh? How so? He fights all the time, I don’t think he’s afraid of a little bit of that.”
“No, no. That’s not what I’m getting at. It’s just that his hands were completely covered in it, before he managed to get most of it off. Also, with the cannon fire in the background, this may have brought back some pretty bad memories for him, that’s all.”
Now, Robin seemed to understand what he meant. “You’re talking about the paramount war, right?”
“Hmhmm, yes.”
“And I do assume that whatever story lies hidden here, is not something to take lightly?”
Now, Jinbei looked even more sad. “You are right about that, Nico Robin. Though it wouldn’t be right to share without his permission, maybe I should go and see if our Captain wants to have some company. I’ll make sure to bring him here in a bit, please save us some food.”
Trudging out of the kitchen with hanging shoulders, their helmsman made his way towards the Sunny’s figurehead. Thankfully, Luffy hadn’t moved ever since this morning.
The young Captain way flat on his back, face turned towards the stars as he seemed to be deeply in thought.
“May I join you for a bit?”
The fact that Luffy hadn’t even noticed him approaching at all made it clear, how distracted he’d been up until now.
Startled, the dark haired male shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide and surprised. “Oh, Jinbei? Did you need something?”
“Nah, just thought you might like some company.”
“Hmm, okay.”
Grateful that he hadn’t been sent away, the helmsman sat down cross legged next to Luffy, letting the younger lean into his side comfortably.
“Now, wanna tell me what happened earlier? The others are quite worried.”
Stiffening up slightly, Luffy took a deep breath, before shuddering slightly. “If you came here instead of Zoro, Nami or Sanji, you probably know why.”
“Am I not allowed to offer company to my Captain for any other reason?”
“I… sorry, didn’t mean it like that.” Luffy looked tired and worn out right now, not at all looking like the nineteen year old, he was.
“Don’t worry, I know. Also, you’re not wrong, you know? The cannon fire and the blood… It reminded you of Ace and the war, didn’t it?”
At the mention of his brother’s name, Luffy visibly flinched, before hiding his face under the rim of his hat. “...yeah.”
“Hmmh, thought as much. Though I doubt the others figured it out yet.” Falling silent for a moment, he decided to ask something he’d been bothered by ever since reuniting with Luffy. “You didn’t tell them about everything that happened back then, right?”
He wasn’t surprised when he received a head shake in return.
“Why?”
Now, Luffy actually laughed quietly. It was a sad and humorless sound and at that, one Jinbei never wanted to hear again. “Torao asked the same thing, you know.”
“Well, he’s a pretty smart man.”
“Yeah, he is.” Then, after a moment of silence, “I didn’t tell them because it doesn’t matter anymore. They wouldn’t take it very well and I don’t want to make them sad or scare them. It’s nothing they should need to worry about.”
“Well, looking at you right now, it clearly still matters at least to some extend. Are you angry at them for not being there? If they had been, maybe-”
“What?! No, of course not!” Large, round eyes bore into his dead serious. “I’ll be forever grateful they didn’t have to be there! Also… It wasn’t their fault we got separated. If anything, it was mine.”
“I see. And if you do not wish to give them more information, I will respect that. Though someday, you will have to tell them. They’re worried.”
“I… I know, I just can’t, not yet.”
“Luffy-kun… I still stand by what I told you on Amazon Lily two years ago. You need to focus on the future, not on things long passed.”
Was he imagining things or was Luffy slightly shaking against him?
“It’s usually fine and I don’t think about it much anymore but sometimes… things happen that suddenly feel so similar and remind me of that time… And earlier I just.. It was like his blood back then again… so warm, all over my hands… It was like I was back there again.” He sounded close to tears right about now.
Gently placing a strong arm around the small human beside him, Jinbei couldn’t do much else to provide comfort. For the kind of pain Luffy felt, there simply were no words. ‘I’ll stay here with you for as long as you need, Captain. We can sort out everything else in the morning.”
Silently, they sat on the Sunny’s figurehead in the sparse moonlight, as one of the strongest and bravest people this world had ever known cried himself to sleep.
The next morning, They were still there, one awake and tightly holding the other, keeping the far smaller body warm and comfortable.
He would be a strong and grounding presence for his Captain for as long as the younger needed him to be, the only one who knew about the horrors he’d seen and endured, someone to keep the secrets, the future pirate king couldn’t share with any of his other Nakama.
This was his purpose, the thing he could give back to Luffy for freeing him and offering him a new home and purpose.
When the first rays of sunlight turned the calm ocean a soft gold, he couldn’t recall a more beautiful morning.