Ace's question, laced with the raw pain of memory and the burning fire of shared resentment, hung in the quiet air of the bar. "You understand now, don't you, Akane? Why they're the real monsters?"
My own anger, carefully banked for so long, surged in response. Understand? Understand the monsters? The Celestial Dragons, the 'ones above', the untouchable elite who felt the lives of ordinary people were less significant than dust motes? The World Government, their enforcing fist, their 'justice' a shield for atrocities? Understand the architects of my nightmares, the butchers of my home?
A harsh laugh, devoid of humor, escaped my lips. "Understand?" I echoed, the word a bitter taste in my mouth. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, mirroring Ace's posture, my knuckles white. The bruises from Garp's 'Tekkai' training felt like small, insignificant pinpricks compared to the deep, searing scar etched onto my soul by the fire of Hi-no-Kuni. "I knew they were monsters the moment the sky turned black with smoke and their ships rained fire on my home!"
My voice rose, edged with the fury I usually kept locked away. "I saw their 'justice' paint the sea red with the blood of innocent people who refused to run, who believed in the very uniform he wears!" I gestured vaguely towards the mountains, towards Garp. "I watched them erase an entire island just because it held things they wanted buried!" The heat from the Kaenken, sheathed at my back, felt like the ghost of those flames, reminding me of everything lost.
"And now," I continued, my voice trembling with suppressed rage, looking from Ace's grim face to Luffy's tear-streaked one, "I see they did the same to your brother! Shot out of the water like... like garbage! Because he dared to want freedom! Because he was in their way!"
The sheer, senseless cruelty of it all boiled within me. My heart ached with a familiar, suffocating pain, not just for my own loss, but for theirs, for Sabo, for the countless others who must have fallen victim to the unchecked power and arbitrary whims of those who sat atop the world.
"Why?" I ground out, the question aimed not at Ace, but at the ceiling, at the sky beyond, at the unjust system that governed our lives. "Why?! Those bastards... AGAIN?!" The phrase, born from Ace's earlier muttered curse, felt like a brand, a shared understanding of the enemy.
My resolve, already steel, hardened further, tempered in the twin fires of Hi-no-Kuni and Sabo's grave. "I swore I'd hunt them down," I vowed, my voice low, fierce, resonating with the silent promises made to the ghosts of my island. "Every single one of them. The ones who gave the order, the ones who pulled the triggers, the ones who sit in their palaces of lies and call it 'justice'." I met Ace's gaze, finding a mirror of my own burning determination there. "And I swear it again. If I get stronger... if I get powerful enough... I will hunt them. I won't forgive them either."
Luffy was still standing there, silent, tears streaming down his face, his chest heaving with quiet sobs for the brother he had lost. Seeing his raw, uninhibited grief, the genuine pain of a heart that had experienced loss far too young, pricked something within me. It wasn't just about revenge anymore. It was about the people hurt, the dreams extinguished, the sheer, unbearable sadness of it all.
Without a second thought, I stepped forward, reaching out. It was an instinct born not of logic or Rokushiki, but of a simple, shared pain. I wrapped my arms around Luffy, pulling his lanky frame into a hug. He felt surprisingly warm, despite his tear-soaked face pressed against my shoulder. His body shook with silent sobs.
"There, there, Luffy," I murmured softly, patting his back gently, my own anger momentarily subdued by his raw grief. It felt strange, comforting someone else, especially him, after so long being alone with my own pain. But it also felt… right. "It's okay. Cry all you want. He was your brother."
Ace watched the scene, his expression a complex mix of residual anger, sorrow, and… something else. He saw me, the girl who had arrived shrouded in secrecy and bristling with sharp edges, holding his tearful brother, offering a comfort I clearly hadn't been given much of myself. He saw the quiet strength in my embrace, the genuine empathy in my gesture.
He smirked, a fleeting return of his teasing nature, though it was softer now, tinged with warmth rather than malice. He turned to Makino, who was watching us with wide, teary eyes, a hand pressed to her mouth.
"See what I mean, Makino-neechan?" Ace said, his voice low, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Told you she was falling for my little brother."
His words, the familiar teasing, should have made me flustered, argumentative, defensive. My face should have burned scarlet, and I should have immediately released Luffy and started sputtering denials. That was the easy, familiar reaction.
But holding Luffy, feeling his shuddering sobs, listening to the echoes of Sabo's tragic story, the impulse to argue didn't come. The anger had momentarily receded, replaced by a quiet understanding, a shared burden.
Maybe… maybe Ace wasn't entirely wrong. Maybe 'falling' wasn't the right word, not yet, not in any way I understood it. But there was something undeniable about Luffy. His boundless optimism, his unwavering loyalty, his ability to cut through darkness with sheer, unadulterated light. He was a force of nature, yes, but he was also kind, brave, and utterly, fundamentally good. He represented the very idea of freedom and simple joy that the monsters had tried to extinguish from the world, and from my own life.
Looking past Luffy's tear-soaked hair, meeting Ace's knowing gaze, I felt a quiet, unexpected admission form in my heart, a thought that dared to whisper against the backdrop of my burning mission.
Yeah, right, I thought, still holding Luffy close. Maybe... maybe I am.
The confirmation hung in the air, a fragile new thread woven into the complex tapestry of our shared pasts and uncertain futures, even as Ace's next words pulled us back towards the tangible act of remembrance that awaited us.
"Come on," Ace said, his voice regaining some of its usual gruffness, nodding towards the door. He looked towards Makino. "We need some of those flowers you keep outside, Makino-neechan. For the memorial."