They've been bottling up their anger, maybe their grief, and you do your best to help them.
Characters:
Katakuri
Marco
Koby
Notes:
Also found on Ao3!
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You gasp as something whistles past your ribs, a sharp sting following after. A hand clamps on your shoulder, strong enough to root you in place, and you find yourself staring into the blazing eyes of Big Mom’s second eldest son. Katakuri’s face is impassive, but the tension in his jaw betrays the storm inside.
“Leave.” The single word curls out like smoke, calm — but edged in warning.
The pirate barks a laugh, staggering to his feet. “Not a chance, mochi boy.” He levels his spear at you.
Katakuri doesn’t hesitate. His arm lashes forward, mochi stretching, wrapping around the man. With brutal efficiency, he slams the pirate into the ground. The other hand never leaves your shoulder.
You squirm against his grip, but it doesn’t budge. “Let me go.”
“No.” His voice is low, clipped. The pirate groans on the ground, and Katakuri smashes him down again before flinging him away like refuse. Only then does his gaze return to you, sharp and assessing. “You’re hurt.”
You let out a low huff. "Just a scratch. That's all."
Without warning, he scoops you up and holds you against his chest. "You're an idiot. You're bleeding. A lot."
Shifting uncomfortably against his chest, you groan. "Kata, let me down," you whine. "It's just a scratch, I promise."
A quiet sigh, but he doesn't stop until you've reached the infirmary. Sitting you down on the table in the middle of the room, he moves to the counter and grabs a first aid kit. "Shirt off."
A little embarrassed, you hesitate, but at his glare you strip it off. "Look, it's fine," you huff, frowning at him.
His gaze pierces you, pinning you to the table, and he kneels. "If it were fine, you wouldn't be shaking."
You clamp your jaws shut, face burning at that. 'Damnit...' You say nothing though as he quietly pulls out some gauze, bandages, and antiseptic. Wincing as he dabs a soaked cottonball along the long cut, you watch his face as he concentrates. After a moment, you notice his gaze seems elsewhere. Not like when he uses observation, but more like he's thinking of something else.
His gaze flicks to yours as he applies the bandage. "What?"
"You're thinking about something," you say bluntly. "You seem kind of...angry."
A quiet scoff sounds from behind his scarf as he turns back to the bandage. "I'm not angry."
"You are." Carefully, you reach out. Tracing your fingers on his cheek, you don't flinch when his gaze snaps to yours. "Kata, what's wrong?"
He says nothing at first, but when the kit's packed, he takes your face in his hands. "You are a fool. You shouldn't have been fighting. Every time you fight, you get hurt." His hands linger against your cheeks for a moment, then he drops them. "Stop trying to fight when you don't need to."
Your face burned, your hands clenching. "I don't need to fight, but I want to. I can't always have you and everyone else protecting me." It didn't matter if you weren't very good yet; you didn't want to have to rely on the others all the time.
“You wouldn't need to protect yourself like that if you stayed below,” he grunted, putting the kit away. Without waiting for an answer, he picked you up against his chest. “If you get in a fight and don't come out, what will I do without you?”
Wincing as your side pulled, you sighed and laid your head against his chest. "I can't always have you protecting me though, Kata... You won't always be there."
"I would if you'd let me." Leaving the infirmary, he passed a few others, who quickly avoided his gaze. He nudged open the door to his cabin. "But you're stubborn."
You scowled as he sat you down on the bed. "At least I don't keep shit to myself," you shot back. 'I swear he's alway keeping quiet about what's bothering him. He never tells me anything, but he knows he can.'
He sat by you, then carefully unwound his scarf. "You make me worry, alright?"
You watched in surprised as he laid the scarf aside. 'He...took it off? In front of me?' You couldn't remember him ever doing that before. "Kata..."
He pulled you to him. "If I said more, would you keep yourself safe? For me?"
Letting out a low breath as his warmth seeped into your skin, you gave a reluctant nod. "I can...but I still want to be able to protect myself, okay? Please?" You tilted your head up to look at him. The lines across his face, the sharp teeth - it was all unexpected. 'So he's...a fishman? Or part?'
He meets your gaze for a long moment, then lets out a quiet sigh. "I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt."
You laid your hand on his arm. "I know...and I can't promise I won't, but if I train, I can keep from getting hurt worse." You smile faintly at his huff. "But if you're worried, you don't need to wait for me to get hurt to say anything."
His gaze softened, and he wrapped his arm around you.
Leaning into his embrace, you rested your head against him. "But...I'll stay below for a while." You smirk and shoot him a sly look. "And maybe if you talk to me more, I'll get you some donuts from Lanai next time we stop there."
He scowled and gently shoved you away. "You play dirty." Getting up, he left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
You couldn't help but laugh. 'Maybe he'll finally talk more and not bottle everything up.'
You hadn't missed the excited look on his face when you mentioned his favorite food.
Watching the blonde man from your spot on the grass, you couldn't help but worry. 'He's taking this a lot harder than he's letting on.' Not that you could blame him. Looking at the graves in front of you, you tried to ignore the freshness of the stone. The names carved there.
Didn't matter that you'd never forget who was here. You didn't like seeing it, no matter how many times you came back.
Letting out a yell, Marco suddenly launched upwards, startling you, in a burst of blue fire.
Calmly, you walked back to the meeting spot. 'He'll come down soon. You had to wait, like, two fucking hours, but you can survive this again. You know he's just grieving still.' Many of the crew still were. A few had gone back home to families, some had drifted to other crews, and the remnants aboard the Moby Dick were struggling.
Especially Marco.
Sitting under the tree, watching the dappled shadows, you glanced down the path and spotted the Red-Haired Pirates moored there. 'I'm so glad Shanks is protecting this place.' You'd been afraid someone would've desecrated the graves had they been elsewhere.
But no one wanted to mess with the Yonko who stopped the war eight months ago.
Heat washed over you and Marco landed a few feet away, his gaze fixed on the ground. Walking over, he leaned against the tree next to you, then slid down to sit. Still looking down, he reached out and pulled you to him.
You didn't object, knowing how much he needed this. It was quiet for a while, then you glanced at him with a small smile. "Want to talk yet?" You'd been trying for months. Not pressuring, just offering an ear to the grieving first division commander.
His hands shook, and his grip on you grew tighter. "I should have protected them." A shuddering intake. "Pops...he trusted me."
Frowning, you lifted your hand to cup his cheek. "Marco, you did what you could."
"It wasn't enough!" His shout hurt your ears, but you didn't flinch away. He closed his eyes, tipping his head against the tree. Your hand slid down to his chest, feeling the tremor beneath. His voice lowered to a hoarse whisper. "It wasn't enough. Ace...that idiot... He took Akainu's bait. He was too proud."
Lifting your hand to rub along his shoulder and neck, you sighed. "He was trying to protect his brother." You give a faint snort. "You know how he was when he got protective."
Marco scowled at you, but there was no heat behind it. "Yes, I remember. I remember you getting yourself caught by those bounty hunters and that hot headed fool bursting in to save you." He brought his hand to yours, his scowl relaxing. "I thought your burns would never heal."
Your smile grows a little. "You did your best considering the circumstances, Marco. And everyone knows it." Your gaze flicked to the graves. They stood against the reddening sky like sentinels, the weapons in front of them gleaming. "Pops... He knew what he was doing. He knew it was either him or Ace."
Marco's scoff rasped against the air. "And it ended up being neither." He pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan, then tipped his head forward until his lips touched your forehead. "So many others were lost, too..."
You swallowed at that; you'd tried not to dwell on the Voices lost, one by one, snuffing out suddenly and leaving a void. "But it could have been worse."
A sigh left him, and you felt him relax under your hand. "I owe Shanks so much..." He smiled, though you could tell it was forced. "And you. I think I might've lost it completely had you not dragged me away afterwards."
You sniffed, wrinkling your nose as a teasing hint colored your tone. "I only did that because Shanks asked me."
Marco's brow shot up. "Oh, only because he asked you?" He chuckled. It was warm - the first you'd heard in nearly a year. "And here I thought it was because you liked me." His voice cracked on the last word, but when he looked at you, there was the faintest ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.
"Debatable," you respond, turning your head away before he could kiss you. Grinning, you turned and kissed his cheek. "Feel good enough to go yet? Or do you want to stay a bit longer?"
His gaze drifted to the graves. A big inhale that lifted his chest, then he let it out slowly. "I think I'm fine. Not...not completely, but better than I was before." Standing, he picked you up. "Want me to fly us to the ship? Or are you okay to walk some more?"
You rolled your eyes. "I will walk, thank you. Last thing I want is more of Shanks' teasing." You loved the red-haired man, but for someone nearing forty, you could swear he was an overgrown, drunk teenager.
Marco grinned. "You know...if I fly us back and he teases us, I'll you something he did as a kid that will embarrass the hell out of him, yoi."
You grinned back. "Okay, I can deal with it then. But you have to promise me it's something good."
His laugh warmed your chest as he set you down. "When we tease him, Beckman won't resist needling him for weeks, yoi."
Clinging to his back, you wrapped your arms around his neck. "More than worth it." Kissing his cheek again, you tightened your grip as he spread his wings and laughed as he took off.
Panting, you stumbled to a stop as you looked around the darkened area. Shadows lengthened from the ships and remains of ships scattered here. The setting sun, almost gone, made the ship graveyard seem almost eerie. But you didn't think to be nervous about being out here at night. 'Come on... Helmeppo said he trains out here a lot. He has to be close by!'
Moving again, you hadn't gone far when night slammed down like one of Sentomaru's axe's. Sighing, you squinted, trying to see in the weak starlight and nearly-gone sunlight that was weakening by the second. A dull thud echoed in the quiet after you passed a large pile of shattered keels.
A pained cry echoed faintly in the next second.
Letting out a breath of pure relief, you bolted forward. Rounding the next pile - looked like shattered masts - you spotted a shape huddled in the shadow of a Man o' War. "Koby!"
"Leave me alone!" he yelled, struggling to his feet. His fist curled back and before you could reach him, he landed a blow against the bent keel of the behemoth. A pained hiss reached your ears.
Growling, you strode forward purposefully and grabbed his bandaged arm before he could do it again. "Goddammit, Koby, stop it!"
He tried to shake you off. "Get off me!"
You held firm, fingers digging into his arm almost painfully. "Not until you sit the fuck down!"
He froze; you never cursed. Not this much, especially. His tearful gaze snapped to yours. "Why are you out here?"
Pulling him to the side, you forced him to sit down on an old capstan. "Looking for you, idiot." You sat next to him, keeping a firm grip on his arm. "Look, ever since Luffy reappeared on Fishman Island, you've been a mess. He comes back, Garp and Akainu call you to the Fleet Admirals office, and suddenly you storm off for a damn week and come back bandaged to hell!" Taking a deep breath, you forced your voice to not rise. "What's wrong?"
His eyes widened as you spoke, but when you finished, his breath hitched, then he broke down sobbing. Landing across your lap, face against your stomach, arms painfully wrapped around your waist, his entire body shook with the force of his crying. His voice came out in choked, shuddering breaths. Your shirt was soaked in seconds.
Shocked, you couldn't react for a few heartbeats. 'Geez, I know he's emotional, but this is...new.' Gingerly, you rubbed your hand along his back. "Koby...what's wrong?" you asked softly.
Sniffing, his grip tightened. "I'm scared..." When you frowned, the words came tumbling out like a flood, like he couldn't hold them back, his voice muffled against you. "What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't be the marine Sakazuki wants? All those deaths at Marineford, all those pirates from Impel Down that escaped, what are we even doing here?!" His voice rang among the desecrated ships, cracking sharply, the blackened sky seeming to crush them under its weight.
Curling your fingers, you slowly combed through his hair. It had never failed to calm him before, not once in the last three years since he'd arrived to the marines. "What did Sakazuki want exactly?"
Gradually, his sobs subsided. Finally, wiping his face, he sat up. "S-Sorry...."
Letting go of him, you waited patiently.
After a few hiccupy breaths, he spoke. "H-He wants me to stop training with Helmeppo. Said he's too weak, that I won't get far with him."
You frown at this. "Stop training with him? But didn't you come here with Helmoppo? Both of you training under Garp?" He nodded and you wrapped your arms around him. "That's ridiculous. Don't listen to him. What did Garp say about it?"
"Called him an idiot," Koby muttered. Rubbing a hand across his face, he leaned against you. "Garp said I could do fine with him. Maybe better than if I left him behind. I'm already captain; Garp thinks I could go further." Bringing his hands up to grip your arm, you could feel his barely suppressed tremors. "Sakazuki... He said I...I was weak with him. T-That relying on Helmeppo w-would only hold me back."
Groaning, you tightened your grip around him. "Sakazuki is an idiot! Who knows how far you'd be without Helmeppo!" Bringing your hand up to card through his hair again, you smooth back his bangs. "He's really worried about you, you know. I am, too."
Koby tilted his head to meet your gaze. "Why are you two always worried about me? You should be more worried about yourself! Aren't you a lieutenant commander now?"
You roll your eyes. "So what? I'm not the one having a breakdown in the ship graveyard." Smiling softly as his shoulders slump, you chuckle. "Seriously, Koby. Ignore Akainu. You're doing fine. You don't need to abandon Helmeppo, and Garp and everyone else knows it."
He sighed quietly, wiping his arm across his eyes. "O-Okay... I wouldn't have done that, but...thanks for saying it."
Standing, making him stand with you, you keep your arm around his waist as you guide him back towards the marine base in the distance. "Of course. Now, let's get you back before Helmeppo comes out here frantic."
He groaned, hanging his head. "He won't leave me alone for days..."
You chuckle, pulling him closer as you walk. "No, and neither will I."
You're never satisfied you fucking cunts, look at your lives. You fucked and gave birth to me, a fuck up. Couldn't even breed and raise me right to be like the monotone topper you wanted, IT'S HILARIOUS. And well, I'm never saying I'm even the slightest bit good, but atleast I'm not a fucking life sucker like you guys. Eat shit, seethe, cope harder.
