I needed some angst and nakamaship in my life, and this was born.

Warnings: Main character death, angst, more angst.

Betaed by the lovely Emygrl99.

Permission to Set Sail

The Straw Hat Pirates lay on the ground, bloodied and brutalized but victorious. There is no hint of the elation and the pride that they are used to feeling after surviving another day's worth of arduous fighting. In its place is a collective cloud hanging above their heads, dribbling down droplets of freezing cold foreboding, and it is all they can focus on. The air is heavy and oppressive, full of lingering memories of pain, the stench of blood and the echoes of battle cries.

Their battered bodies protest every breath drawn and their minds are crying for a moment's respite, for a small breather to recover and rest. They want nothing more than to simply give in and let sleep claim them, but they fight the heaviness, even when all they have done for hours is fight.

Their adversaries, a cocky band of pirates who had been audacious enough to challenge them, had outnumbered the Straw Hats with weaponry and pure, overwhelming brute force, leaving the prospects of a new tomorrow slim but not non-existent.

And yet, their captain had simply smiled in that carefree manner they had all grown accustomed to over the years, and reassured them with a simple sentence.

We can take them.

It was almost magical how those four words, filled with unwavering confidence and trust, had the ability to wash away their fears and worries, leaving room for hope and conviction. And now the rivaling pirates are beaten, scattered all around the victors, unconscious and vulnerable. The Straw Hats pay them no heed as they force their weary and injured bodies to function, and raise from the dead.

Their opponents are defeated, broken past recognition in both their physique and resolve. They are not a threat anymore.

The battlefield is tainted red with crimson, the blood of both friend and foe mixing together and sticking to their skin as an unwanted memento. Their groans, curses and grunts fill the air, cracking the otherwise booming silence and, one by one, the pirates reassemble. They search each other for injuries and scan their surroundings for loved ones yet to arrive.

Usopp can't remember ever feeling like this before. The lump in his throat is unfamiliar, for it doesn't stem from fear or insecurity, but a knowledge as certain as his trust in his nakama. He knows that something is terribly wrong, or in any case is about to be. So he looks over his crewmates with scrutiny, making note of every scratch and bruise, grimacing when he sees Zoro's bleeding shoulder and whispering words of concern to Chopper when the reindeer stumbles.

Despite the dread that envelops them all, Usopp smiles, knowing that his family is safe. In need of a good meal and a pair of attentive hooves, but safe.

"Where's Luffy?"

The unofficial first mate's words shatter the silence and the moment of relief along with it, and the small smile on the marksman's face is gone in a flash. Their captain is nowhere to be seen, and in an instant the cloud of gloomy uncertainty transforms into a full blown storm of dread, with the pirates trapped in the middle of it.

All pains are discarded, pushed aside for later. They lean on each other for support and call out for their captain, expecting him to wave to them from under some rock, wounded and exhausted but smiling.

Alas, they get no response. Nami stifles a sob and hides her apprehension with anger, grumbling about venturesome rubber men. She fools no one, but they all understand.

They circle the battlefield, but their injuries slow their stride and it takes them time to find the tell-tale signs of rubbery destruction. Chopper smells the blood before any of them see the large pool of crimson and the boy lying in the middle of it.

Suddenly it's as if there are no injuries to ignore, because they can see the outlines of a torn and tattered straw hat on the person's head, shadowing his eyes, and they don't need Chopper's nose to know where all that blood came from. The green haired swordsman shares a look with the Straw Hats' resident chef, and they run to him with urgency and trepidation.

The only word on their tongues and in their minds is his name, accompanied by the silent, desperate plea that the blood isn't really his to begin with. But it is, for there is no such thing as justice for pirates, and life is a cruel, sadistic mistress. They can't see past the blood covering every inch of his skin, but they know that their friend's life is hanging by a straw.

Chopper reaches him first, and he stifles a horrified gasp when he sees his captain, the man who had taught him the joys of being a monster and accepted and embraced him as his friend. He is badly wounded and his prone body is bent in an unnatural angle. Even for a rubber man.

Luffy's eyes are half-lidded and glazed over and his breath comes out as weaks, rasping gasps, but his lips still curl to form a small smile nonetheless when he hears their approach. He opens his mouth to give them what they can only assume to be a greeting, and a look of annoyance flashes on his face when nothing but a weak wheeze leaves his lips.

"Luffy!" The doctor cries out, and the remaining distance between the captain and his crew is closed before anyone has time to pay too much attention to the worst case scenarios flashing in their eyes. The reindeer is in his human form, transformed without a conscious thought, and Zoro helps him gently flip Luffy onto his back.

A pained cry escapes the young captain, and the pirates' hearts break at the sound. The smell of tears mix with the stench of blood, exacerbating the sense of despair.

Zoro's breath hitches in his throat and it takes all his self-control to hold onto the bleeding boy when he sees the gruesome wound in his friend's back; a large shrapnel of rock all but impales him, reducing his backside into a myriad of torn flesh and bleeding gashes.

The swordsman has thought himself weathered enough to be immune to gore, but seeing Luffy's battered body and hearing his tormented whimpers bring tears in Zoro's emerald eyes regardless of his past experiences. Seeing the mask of death and agony on a stranger's face doesn't hold a candle to the sight of it on Luffy's features.

His crewmates are already shedding tears, but Zoro denies himself any show of emotion. He refuses to believe what his eyes are telling him, because should Luffy die, it would mean that he has failed his captain. And Zoro knows that he couldn't live with himself if the man he had promised to make King would perish while he lived on.

In any case, wherever Luffy went, Zoro would follow.

"It's… He's…" Chopper stammers. The doctor who dreams of being able to cure all ailments is at a loss for words, and he looks to his family with pleading eyes. While no words are truly needed for the doctor to get his point across, Sanji is the one to say them aloud.

"He's dying."

The chef's voice is disbelieving, almost challenging the others to prove him wrong. And truthfully, a part of him is secretly hoping for Luffy to jump to his feet, grinning that shit-eating grin of his, and to reveal it all to be nothing but an elaborate prank.

But it isn't, and the reality of the situation hits them all with a tidal wave of guilt and horror.

They know he has danced on the lines between death and life before, but this time the circumstances, in all their cruelty, have stretched him beyond his limits. It's like Loguetown and Alabasta all over again, and the feeling of helplessness is so familiar that it feels like a punch to the gut.

It doesn't seem fair.

Suddenly the fallen captain is enveloped in tearful smiles and whispered words as his family gathers around him for one last time, forming a protective bubble around him even if it is all too late. There is no need for protecting those already lost, but they do it anyway. He has always shielded them, so the least they can do is offer Luffy the same unconditional love, comfort and sense of security he has always given them.

Only, he isn't gone yet, for there's still a flame in his eyes and he still draws breath. While the flicker is only a watered down version of the captivating firestorm they are used to seeing, it's enough to give them hope and to assure them that all is not lost. Questioning and pleading eyes find Chopper, begging for the small doctor to disprove their worst fears, but the reindeer can do nothing besides bite back tears before shaking his head dejectedly.

The time they have left is dwindling, a fleeting moment of wholeness before they will lose Luffy for good.

"I'm sorry." Chopper sniffles, his fur matted with caked on blood. "There's nothing I can do."

He shrinks to his smallest form and crawls closer to Luffy, until he is lying partly on top of his stomach. The teen smiles softly at the reindeer and shakes his head with far too much effort -it's okay, not your fault- and Chopper sniffles. There are tears streaming freely from his large eyes and snot dripping from his nose, but he doesn't make note of it. A disembodied arm blooms next to the tiny doctor and pets his head with soothing motions.

They all share his pain.

Nami falls on her knees and horrified sobs rack her body. The man who had saved her, liberated her and singlehandedly won back her future had no right to die before her. How dare he.

"Stupid, stupid…" The navigator sobs, and lifts Luffy's head onto her lap with delicate, ginger hands. "You couldn't wait for us, huh? Always so damn reckless." She chides, but there is no scorn in her voice, only affection and pure grief.

Usopp takes Luffy's hand in his, holding onto it as if he hopes to force his best friend to remain with them with brute strength alone. There's denial in his eyes, but for once, the sniper is not frightened. He knows that his captain is undefeatable, even if he will continue to fight his battles elsewhere.

"Thank you for being my friend. I… I'll tell stories about you." He says with pride , for he knows that he will not have to lie to tell the tale of Straw Hat Luffy's bravery.

Sanji grits his teeth and rests his hand on the dying boy's left knee. Luffy's shorts are tattered and the skin on his leg is as torn as the rest of him, but for once Sanji doesn't even notice the dirt on his hands. "It's alright, captain." The cook says, but his voice is broken and hoarse. "You go check the waters on the other side, we'll follow you soon enough."

"Moron… Always rushing into things." They hear Zoro mutter as he runs his fingers through the teen's dark hair, and there are tears welling in his eyes that make the words far heavier than they sound. "We'll make you king, Luffy. I promise."

They can hear the resolve and the volition behind those four words as clearly as they hear Luffy's last rasping breaths, and each of the pirates surrounding their fallen captain concur with the unofficial first mate.

Robin remains silent, but a stray tear falls on Luffy's bloodied free palm and the captain, in a feat of strength he has always had an overabundance of, takes the archaeologist's hand in his. Robin smiles genuinely and gently squeezes the small hand that is already so, so cold. "Thank you." She whispers, voice heavy with emotion.

"We love you, Luffy." Nami says with a level voice, but her hands tremble as she wipes away some blood from the wounded raven's cheek.

Their friend looks confused but content, as if he wants to say something but utterly lacks the energy needed to form the words. It doesn't matter to his crew, however, as they wish to be the ones to speak for him this once. They already know what he wants to say, and they can't ever hope to match his words, unspoken or not.

They know what he would say to wipe the tears away from their eyes, assure them that he is not sad to meet his maker. They know that for him, this is simply the start of something new, and even though he is yet to reach his goal, he is at ease with the knowledge that he tried. He has given it his all, but it wasn't enough, not this time.

From their foolhardy and rambunctious captain's point of view, this has only been round one.

As if to confirm those thoughts, their leading light is grinning despite it all, taking in his crew's faces while he still can, before the new unknown claims him. And he laughs with air his lungs shouldn't have, the small snicker raising their spirits one last time.

"See you around." Luffy whispers with a wide smile that says far more than any words ever could, and his brown eyes flutter shut for the final time. The second king of pirates dies before his coronation, never reaching what he set out to find.

But it matters not, because he will always be King to them.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, I want to hear your thoughts.