- Smoker and Hina on cover. They’re on leave I see
- where were we? Oh right, father abducting his own son
- “One of your trio was an aristocrat. Deep down, he probably despised you two” you take that back this instant, mister
- “Sabo isn’t like that! We’re brothers!” yeah!
- what is it, by the way. I’m glad Ace and Luffy weren’t “dealt with” by Bluejam but I’m a little confused right now
- oh. This is being “dealt with” by Bluejam. He’s offering them job on his ship. Horrible circumstances, but also lol
- “I don’t know what’s really best for Sabo.” “He’s strong! If he really hates it there, he’ll come back to us.” Aww. I’m glad they’re not endangering themselves further, Sabo’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing
- speaking of sacrifice, how is Sabo’s doing
- being blackmailed by his dad I see *dials child services*
- (he didn’t go for it, by the way. I’m proud of you Sabo even if that didn’t change anything)
- physical abuse too? Sure, sure
- ah, ‘how law works for rich people’ in action
- “Welcome home, young master” ha ha, this is fine
- adopted younger brother?
- wow, pitting them against each other even before they meet? It’s like they’re going through Worst Parents Ever Manual, trying to check all the boxes like it’s Bingo
- (I really hope there are no more despicable parents in One Piece, for I won’t think of a better phrase for this than that^ . Sadly, Garp remains a pretty bad parent, so we need to bring worse ones to make him look pretty ok, considering)
- wait, what. They’re going to set fire to the Gray Terminal (our trash pile)!!!??? Shit, Luffy and Ace
- also, they really don’t care for environment, lol
- oh, it’s because of Celestial Dragons. They want to look good, so they’ll burn all the trash. Don’t they know it will stink like hell? They’ll poison themselves
- ok, no, that’s not important, Ace and Luffy are important, time to save them. And all the other people who LIVE THERE, good point Sabo, I totally forgot
- “They’re going to burn this country’s trash! ALL of it.” “…Even the people?” …damn, I got chills
- Sabo ran into the night and found out where they’re hiding the fuel and explosives they’ll use to burn everything
- :(
- next day
- everyone knows about the fire. And nobody cares :(
- Sabo is SCARED and so am I
- to Trash Mountain he goes, he wants nothing to do with these highland people
- Bluejam told Luffy and Ace about the fire. And now they’re kinda hostages, I think. There’s no way Bluejam cares if they live or die
- …
- shit, they actually did it. They burnt Gray Terminal
- “It’s like a wildfire!” *remembers Jaime Lannister fondly* I wish Jaime was here to stab everyone responsible
- People in Gray Terminal are DYING and running away but there’s nowhere to run and it’s panic everywhere and god, why
- oh, Captain Bluejam did it cause he wanted to be an aristocrat but they trapped him and his crew on Trash Mountain. Genocide doesn’t pay off, huh?
- Luffy and Ace are right in the middle of this fire :(
- …Sabo…
- :(
- “What’s wrong, young man?” wait, is that…
- yes, it is Dragon
-…
- WHY ARE YOU HERE WITH SABO INSTEAD OF SAVING YOUR SON! IF YOU’RE SO GREAT THEN HELP BOTH OF THEM!
- “I’m ashamed I was born an aristocrat!” “Goa Kingdom! You’ve caused this boy to despise his own kind…” LUFFY AND ACE ARE HIS KIND
- “I understand. I was born in this country too! But I still don’t have the power to change it.” Oh
- “What I said… matters to you?” “Of course it does. I’ll never forget it.”
- “Dragon! The preparations are ready!” “All right.” Preparations, you say
Please be a plan of “How to Put Out The Fire In Gray Terminal”.
Can you please do a Hoshimatsu story with them as killing game survivors? Gonta’s their third surviving friend. They all deal with guilt on certain deaths.
Ryoma’s hands shook; Kaede took one of them between her own. He jumped, but stilled the moment he recognized the touch as hers. She brought his hand up for a soft kiss, his skin cold and clammy against her lips. His haunted gaze looked up to her.
She searched for the words to comfort him. The memories still followed all three of them--her, Ryoma, and Gonta--and the guilt haunted them all. Yet even though she empathize with him, she found no platitudes to offer. Nothing could make better the trauma they had gone through.
His eyes looked past her, past the blank wall they fixed on, straight back through time, to the killing game.
“She only wanted to save the world, you know.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“And I... for some reason, I selfishly decided to live.” Ryoma closed his eyes, trembling. “No one to live for, and I fought her anyway. I don’t deserve...”
Kaede shook her head and squeezed his hand. “No, it’s not... I’m glad you’re with me. It was self-defense...”
Her words had no effect on him. “I wish I let her kill me.”
She closed her eyes, sobbing even though her tears had long since dried away. Now she was shaking, holding his hand tight. It was no longer for his comfort, however; she needed something to ground her.
“I’m sorry,” she cried, her throat rough and raw. So many times she’d apologized, for being a coward, for not being able to take on the Mastermind like she’d meant to from the beginning. If she’d killed Tsumugi back then, then the killing game could’ve ended before it began. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Ryoma rested a hand on her cheek, surprising her into abrupt silence. When she opened her eyes, his empty gaze held just a little bit of warmth. It was like a passing affection, just a little spark of companionship that was all that remained between them.
They needed each other. They couldn’t live without that mutual understanding of the guilt they felt. It wasn’t healthy, but neither were the other temptations that called out to them, promising oblivion for just a little while. At least together, they avoided those.
“You did nothing wrong by not taking another’s life,” he said.
“And you did nothing wrong protecting your own,” she echoed.
It wasn’t enough, no, it didn’t make anything better. It got them through each day, however, and maybe someday that would be enough. Maybe one day they would share a smile, real and genuine and full of life.
Not today, no. But the faint semblance of hope still in their hearts called them forward, as long as they had each other. Someday... someday they’d reclaim what they lost back then.
uh, just because Dy/la/n R/o/o/f was sentenced to death today doesn’t mean he’s gonna get put to death this year. In fact, due to appeals and all that jazz it can take up to 16 years for someone to go from being sentenced to death to actually being executed
