Impassive
A/N: Okay, so.
I love One Piece. I mean, I LOVE ONE PIECE. Which many of you have probably gathered from the One Piece mood theme and everything. But I hadn't written any fanfic for it. In reality, this is because I love it so much. I would never presume to impinge upon Oda-sensei by writing, say, Zoro/Luffy, which makes me want to claw my eyes out.
But the recent arc just has me in such a grip of OMG WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT that before I knew it, this fic popped out.
SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING. Seriously, everything. Up to the current chapter of the manga. Although very little is mentioned of the Thriller Park arc, it's in there. (And I refuse to call it Thriller Bark. Sorry.)
This is basically a short vignette based on the theory that Kuma tells the Straw Hats about Ace's fate and they rush off to rescue him. That's about all you need to know since I have no idea what's actually going to happen and this is just what I want to see happen. Possible warning for OOC!Luffy - you see him be serious so *seldom* that it seems OOC to write him that way, but in the long run it probably isn't give the circumstances.
The atmosphere on the Thousand Sunny did not have its usual boisterous whimsicality to it as they continued to sail further from the Florian Triangle and the island where they had found Ace, his body twisted and mangled, washed up onto a rocky shore.
The seas were rough and choppy. Nami was taking her turn at the wheel, stating that she needed to be careful about sudden swells and gusts. Sanji thought that perhaps she just wanted to escape the strained environment on deck. He himself had done the same, going into his kitchen and starting to make onigiri. With the seas rough and Chopper in for what would likely be an all-night doctor session, they would need to keep their strength up.
Franky and Brook were helping Nami with the ship, and there was no dancing or shit-talking from Franky as usual, and no leering or flirting from Brook as they had come to expect. Usopp was up in the crow’s nest, acting as look-out. Robin was helping Chopper in the infirmary; he had stated that he would like an extra pair of hands, and Robin could supply several.
It was the first time that any of them had seen Chopper ask for help with his work, and the moment he had asked, a deathly silence had fallen on the ship. Besides the creaking of the wood and the whipping of the sails in the high wind, the only noise was the constant shiiiiiing as Zoro sat against the rail and sharpened his katana.
Sanji came out with a plate of onigiri. His ladies were most important, of course, so first he went up to the wheel and offered some to Nami, without any of his usual spinning and twirling. Nami smiled, which did admittedly make his heart do a little pitter-patter, and took two to munch on.
After that, Sanji walked over to the door of the infirmary and knocked gently. Robin answered and saw the onigiri. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Cook-san,” she said, taking the plate.
“Try to get Chopper to eat some, if you can,” Sanji said.
Robin nodded and closed the door again. Sanji did not ask permission to enter. He knew it would be denied, and in any case, he was not particularly eager to see the progress inside. It was a miracle that Ace had still been alive when they had gotten to him, courtesy of that odd piece of paper that Ace had given them on Alabasta, what seemed like centuries ago. Sanji chalked that up to the strange invincibility that seemed to hover around Luffy like a fog.
Sanji took a deep breath and finally glanced at Luffy. His captain had abandoned his usual spot on Sunny’s head, and was instead sitting on the deck with his back against one of the masts. It was how he had sat while they were waiting to depart from Water 7, waiting for Usopp to come rejoin them. Sanji wondered idly if he felt more secure with something at his back.
Since pondering that was stupid and a waste of time, Sanji tried to dispel his worry about what his next words were going to bring, and shouted, “Food, everyone!”
Much to his relief, Luffy was next to him in less than point three seconds, and promptly emptied an entire plate of onigiri into his mouth. Sanji silently handed him another plate, then gave a third plate to Franky, Brook, and Usopp. He was grateful beyond words that he had not needed to coax Luffy to eat; that would surely mean that the world had been turned on its head.
After eating, however, Luffy returned to his place sitting against the mast. Franky, Brook, and Usopp went back to their positions. And Zoro continued to sit next to the railing as if Sanji had never called him at all. Shiiiiing.
Sanji dropped a half-full plate of onigiri next to him. “Food, asshole,” he said.
Zoro grunted an acknowledgement but continued what he was doing.
Sanji walked away. It wasn’t his business if the onigiri got dry on the outside because Zoro was too much of a dickhead to properly enjoy his cooking. Then he turned and walked back. “Hey,” he said, his voice a challenge. “Eat them before they go stale, marimo.”
Shiiiiing. “I’ll eat them when I’m ready to eat them.”
The tension built, crackled between them. Sanji savored it. He thought that kicking the shit out of the ungrateful bastard might make him feel a little better. “Eat them before I shove them down your throat.”
“I said,” shiiiiiing, “that I’ll eat them when I’m ready. Asshole.”
“What’d you call me?” Sanji asked, despite the fact that Zoro called him an asshole fifteen times a day.
“Asshole.”
Luffy glanced up at them. “Not now,” he said flatly.
Shiiiiiing.
Sanji nudged the plate of onigiri with his toe so it was a few inches closer, and Zoro picked one up. A peace offering.
By the time dawn broke, the seas were calm. Sanji had taken over at the helm so Nami could rest for a while. Robin came out onto the deck, looking tired. Luffy glanced up at her but did not speak. “Ace is resting now,” she said. “Sensei has done all he can. He says we have to wait.”
“Ace is strong,” Luffy said, and nobody argued with him.
Of course Ace was strong. They all knew Ace was strong. They had seen him take down an entire fleet of Baroque Works ships without breaking into a sweat. They had no doubt that he would have been an equal match for their captain and anyone they had fought to date. He had eaten a Logia fruit, and their powers were unmatched.
So what in the name of the Grand Line had done this to him?
That, more than Ace’s fate itself, was what had led to the nearly unbearable tension all night long on the Thousand Sunny.
Whoever had done that to Ace – whether it had been Blackbeard or not – was going to be their next opponent. They knew that. They all knew that. There was no way that Luffy was going to let this go. He was their captain and they would follow him to the ends of the earth, to the ends of the sea, into hell itself.
“Get some rest, Robin,” Franky told her.
Robin nodded and headed for her bunk.
“Nami!” Luffy’s voice was sudden and broke the tension to some degree. Nami gave him a questioning glance. “Once Ace tells us where to go, how are we going to get there?”
“When we reach the next island, we can buy or trade for an Eternal Pose,” Nami replied, and although she looked uncomfortable with this prospect, she did not voice an objection. Luffy nodded and pushed his back more firmly against the mast, closing his eyes. A moment later, they realized that he was asleep.
They waited.
It was nearly twelve hours later when Chopper emerged from the infirmary. The sun was setting and the temperature had dropped a good twenty degrees. The crew had donned coats and privately cursed the weird weather on the Grand Line. Chopper glanced around the deck and his gaze alighted on Luffy. “Luffy,” the doctor called out, “Ace is asking for you.”
Luffy rocketed himself across the deck and to the infirmary door. The others had a brief scuffle over who, if anyone, would get to accompany him. Zoro won, by virtue of the fact that he was not opposed to running Nami over when she tried to protest that it was going to be a private moment. He was, however, slow enough that by the time he entered the room, the beginning of the reunion was over.
“Sorry to be so much trouble,” Ace said.
“What happened?” Luffy asked.
Zoro and Luffy waited in silence while Ace relayed to them in a hoarse, scratchy voice, the details of his fight with Blackbeard. Zoro glanced over at Luffy and saw that his captain’s face was impassive – a bad sign. With Luffy, a very bad sign.
When Ace was finished, Luffy said, “Stay here and rest up,” and turned to go.
“Luffy, don’t,” Ace said, his voice a warning. He reached out and grabbed Luffy by the wrist.
“Ah, Ace, please don’t move,” Chopper said, hastily getting out of his chair.
Luffy reached up and tugged on the brim of his hat so it covered his eyes. He made no effort to shake off Ace’s grip, although it seemed he easily could.
“This isn’t your fight,” Ace said. “It’s not as if Teach chased me or fought unfairly. I challenged him; I lost. It’s over, and it isn’t your business. If Teach wants to become a Shichibukai by crowing over his victory, that’s his right. It isn’t as though he were lying. I won’t let you go challenge him on my behalf.”
“I won’t lose,” Luffy said.
“That’s not what this is about,” Ace said.
“Blackbeard says he’ll become the Pirate King,” Luffy said, and tugged his wrist free of Ace’s grip. “That makes him my opponent, Ace, whether you like it or not.”
He left the infirmary without another word.
Ace tried to sit up, winced, and laid back against the pillow without prompting. He looked at Zoro. “Stop him,” he said. “You have to stop him.”
Zoro just let out a soft snort as he stood up to follow his captain. “In this sort of mood? As if anybody could.”