One day, tattoos appeared on their back.
Both flame-shaped, Ace’s was black like the marks on Law’s old body, while Law’s looked as vivid as his past-life lover’s blazing fire.
A coloured tattoo for once… it feels strange, but I don’t dislike it.
Law glanced at the mirror reflecting his back one last time, then pulled up the zipper of the black collared shirt he always wore under his uniform. His school discouraged students from adding personal touches to their attires, but Law didn’t care; maybe, his past existence as a pirate still influenced him somehow.
And Ace, too.
Law had visited the freckled boy in the hospital the afternoon before. He was still unconscious, but doctors assured him he was recovering. Law agreed with them: since starting to remember his past, the medical knowledge he had once learned was resurfacing as well.
You’ll open your eyes again soon.
Still, Law clenched his fists. Everything had happened so fast: he and Ace confessing about their tattoos and old memories, and then that incident. Upon seeing Ace’s body covered in scars and injuries, Law had started trembling as if submerged in thick, freezing water. Frozen on the spot, the images had passed before his vision as if Law wasn’t really there.
Damned Blackbeard!
Law’s arms trembled. It had all been Blackbeard… Teach’s fault. He had played dirty at a mere school sports competition; maybe, Teach too had remembered his past life as a pirate: a cursed past of betraying his own companions and condemning Ace to die…
I won’t let it happen again.
Law chuckled bitterly. For a moment, he had sounded like his old self. He felt silly. Ace’s current predicament wasn’t a life-or-death one; he was just taking a bit to wake up after the surgery.
Then, why am I grieving so much?
It probably was just a side-effect of recovering the memories of his past: a past filled with marvellous adventures and incredible powers—but also blood and death.
Law inspired deeply, trying to clear his mind. Then, he took his school bag and stepped outside the door of his house, into the sun.
It isn’t like that anymore. I’ve got a normal life, friends—a family, even… And I’ve found my soulmate again.
A smile appeared under Law’s black-ringed eyes, but it lingered there only for a moment. Things were easier in this new reality, but past burdens wouldn’t be easily forgotten.
No, I don’t want to forget anything… I don’t want to forget anyone anymore.
A warm breeze eased the pain weighing on Law’s heart, and his golden eyes looked up at the blue sky.
A flash fiction written for the AceLaw Week 2023 @acelaw-week (inspired by the “tattoos”, “freckles”, “scars”, “grief”, and “modern/soulmate/hospital AUs” prompts).
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