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Nothing felt real to him…
As he slammed the rock onto his fingers, pain shot up his already fragile body, begging for it all to just be a twisted nightmare. Ace couldn’t be dead. He promised them long ago, that day when Sabo was shot. Ace promised them that he wouldn’t die.
The sound of blood being shed had tainted the ground around him. No longer having the ability to comprehend reality nor cope with its bitter truth, Luffy just continued to destroy his own body without a care.
Luffy’s mind had shattered into a million pieces. It was obvious. He couldn’t understand the consequences of his decisions.
Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, he lifted the rock to smash it into his chest. As the now bloodied stone hurled towards his chest, another force managed to grab his wrist. Using enough force to overpower Luffy, yet gentle enough to not hurt him.
The figure stood beside Luffy. He too was injured, but not as severely. The right side of his body was covered from the neck and lower torso covered in bandages, the arm in a sling. He had raven black hair and bared a small slit birthmark under his right eye. His facial and general body type was exactly like Luffy, if it were not for the bandages, Jenbei probably wouldn't be able to tell who’s who when he first arrived.
Monkey D. Shoku , the twin brother of Monkey D. Luffy stood over him, shaking with anger. A waterfall of tears hit the ground, mixing with the small puddle of blood. Biting his lips, his grip on Luffy’s wrist slightly became stronger.
“THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!” Shoku shouted, his tone consumed with rage. Luffy did not answer.
“All that crap about being the Pirate King , living our lives with No regrets. What happened to that?!” he demanded.
Again not answering. Instead letting out choked sobs and whimpers.
“After everything, you’ve seriously lowered yourself to this!” Shoku pulled on Luffy’s arm, gripping the sides of his shoulders, shaking him back and forth.
“We promised Ace, Sabo, that we would become Pirates, and live our lives without regrets.” he continued. “Your entire crew is waiting for you back at Sabaody, waiting for their Captain.”
Luffy let out shriveled sobs, struggling to speak. “How can I protect them? I'm so weak.” Shoku gripped his shoulders harder, white-hot anger washing over him.
“Pirate King? What a joke. I couldn’t save Ace , I can’t save anybody ! I'm a weakling !”
Shoku was now beyond furious at his brother, at Ace . He promised he would never die. Though he knew that that was a lie, a part of him, the Stupidest damn part of him believed Ace.
Look where that got the both of them
“It should’ve been me! I should have died back there, if Ace didn’t protect me, he’d still be alive-“ barely finishing his sentence, a fist met his face, knocking him several feet away from Shoku. Crashing into a boulder, Luffy’s body fell to the ground, pain shooting up across his entire body.
Shoku grabbed Luffy by the neck, lifting him a few feet from the ground, and slammed him onto the boulder again. Luffy squinted instinctively from the pain as he looked at his brother's expression. Tears pooled down his face, eyes puffy and his nose dripping with snot. His teeth gritted against each other as his body shook with rage.
But his eyes…
Beyond the anger, the boiling rage threatened to burst out of him.
His eyes held sorrow. His eyes held misery. Agony and pain that went beyond that bastard's devil fruit.
No…
Those eyes held desperation that pleaded to their older brother all those years ago. The same eyes that looked at Ace when he questioned the worth of his own life.
They pleaded for Ace to continue living, to see how much he truly meant to those around him.
And when finally, after all these years, when a small flame began to spark with life. It was snuffed out by those who enforced “ Justice ” for the same reasons that caused Ace to doubt his self-worth.
Now, those same eyes looked at Luffy…
His flame started to burn out slowly until he no longer saw anything in himself. Walking down the same dark path as Ace.
“Ace saw no value for his own life, throwing it away so he could save the ones that “had” value. You’re spitting in his face for his sacrifice!” Shoku’s screams echoed through Luffy’s mind, finally getting through his thick rubber skull.
“Everyone put their lives on the line to see you become stronger, the same reason your entire crew calls you Captain !” Jenbei watched everyone unfold from afar.
Originally, he would be the one to pull Luffy out of an ocean of grief and help him face the truth of reality. However, no words can reach further than our loved ones.
Monkey D. Shoku, the younger twin brother of Monkey D. Luffy , they were both grieving the loss of their big brother, Portgas D. Ace. Aka ‘Fire Fist’.
“Don’t you ever go saying shit like that again! You can’t die, everyone is waiting to see you become the Pirate King.” Shoku cried, his voice becoming softer.
Luffy stared at his face. He watched as his twin choked out sobs, the anger now gone, all that was left was a boy crying for his brothers. Shoku released his grasp on him, now clinging to his sides.
As Shoku fell to his knees, he sobbed. Not caring about his surroundings. “You can’t leave me alone… Please don’t leave me Luffy…” he pleaded softly. He was right. Luffy leaned against the boulder and slid down, staring off into oblivion.
With that, Jenbei decided to step in. Shoku had said what he wanted, and Jenbei respected him for it. He paid no mind to Shoku’s crying, as he stated, it wasn’t just Ace he lost. Force to face the harsh truth for the sake of others. Jenbei knew the feeling all too well.
“Luffy-kun,” Jenbei said. “This world is a cruel place, it will not wait for you. You must seize every chance to become stronger than before, to be able to protect the people you care about.”
Fisher Tiger, who died at the hands of humans, refused to take the blood of humans. Yet couldn’t bring himself to hate them entirely. His death would affect both him and Arlong in drastic ways.
“Do not lose yourself, Ace-kun had given up his own life to preserve your own. If he had truly believed you wouldn’t become Pirate King, then he wouldn’t have been able to save you.”
Queen Otohime, she died too, died at the hands of humans. However, she believed that one day, they would be united on the surface. Jenbei deep down hoped for a brighter future, the way Queen Otohime saw it.
“You have lost your guiding light in this world, feeling like your heart has been gouged out of your chest, drowning in an endless sea of agony.”
Everyone around him either saw him as a leader or a tyrant. After becoming a Warlord of the Sea many people saw Jenbei as nothing more than a lap dog for the World Government, that he might as well have been a slave for the Celestial Dragons. Oftentimes he would wonder if they were right. He couldn’t count the times when he felt like giving up, dropping the world to lie on the ground and rest.
“But you must keep your head up, be there for the people who are here now. Your brothers and your Nakama are counting on you to be their light, to guide them across the sea.”
The world won’t take such excuses, it pities no one, those who dig their heels and fall are destined for failure. Death comes for us all, each second is an inch closer to our inevitable fate. So as long as he is alive, as long as his heart still beats he will continue to fight.
“Luffy-kun, do not stop just yet, your story has still only begun…”
Shoku looked at Jenbei in awe, his sobs turning into sniffles. Luffy stared at Jenbei before looking at his little brother. He then lifted up his hands and started counting.
His heart had broken the minute Ace’s flame had gone out, but that doesn’t mean he can lay in the dirt. No, he had people who counted on him, his nakama were waiting for him so they could continue their journey.
He is the man who will become the Pirate King…
He moved over to Shoku before embracing him in a hug. Not fighting back, Shoku wrapped his arms around Luffy’s neck and buried his face into his shoulder. Tears still streamed down both their faces, no matter how hard they tried, they still felt the pain of Ace’s death. Their flames are sparks compared to the world, but they would move forward together.
Luffy would become stronger so he could protect his nakama and his younger twin, and Shoku would be by his side whenever he needed him. The two would soon shake the world, no matter what it threw at them.
It won’t be easy, that is why Monkey D. Luffy and Monkey D. Shuko would fight alongside each other…