Author's Note: Hey guys, I want to give a quick plug to my new tumblr, which matches my new username. If you have any questions for me about the story or any behind the scenes info, I'd be more than happy to answer them over there!

Just look up ghost-puppy on tumblr :)

Ten years before Romance Dawn

Hitoshi rubbed his forehead roughly, trying to alleviate the pounding pressure in his head. He gave up on trying to finish the paperwork that was strewn haphazardly across his desk and decided that his time would be better spent on deck with his men.

Ever since the beginning of this assignment, tension amongst his crew had been at an all-time high. It wasn't a difficult mission, or a particularly dangerous one, but it was taxing in a way that none of them were used to. Their charge, for lack of a better word, was an unpleasant human being on his best day and an absolute terror on his worst.

Hitoshi wasn't surprised to hear one of the rookies joke about starting a mutiny. She had clammed up when she noticed him, and he was sure she was about to start spouting apologies, but Hitoshi just shot her an indulgent smile and continued on his way.

Three weeks with a Celestial Dragon was enough to try anyone's patience, after all.

Hitoshi had regrouped with his crew at the Loguetown base after departing from Valhalla. He was frustrated that Sengoku had assigned him this mission; it was, in Hitoshi's opinion, of low priority and low risk. To assign a Commodore to guard duty was a waste of resources, and frankly, a waste of his time.

But orders were orders, so he set sail to the coordinates provided for him. They convened with the Celestial Dragon's pleasure yacht at the edge of the Calm Belt at the pre-set meeting point. This was when Hitoshi realized that this assignment was going to be worse than he had previously imagined.

When he had first read through the missive the Fleet Admiral had sent, he was annoyed that he was put on what was basically glorified babysitting duty. After meeting Saint Jalmack, however, he realized that the next month of duty was going to be an exercise in self-control and frustration.

From the moment they met, the Celestial Dragon treated the marines that were assigned to him like scum. Not only did he already have a personal guard force that was more than enough to protect him from any of the petty threats he could possibly face in the East Blue, but his ship was also equipped with advanced weaponry that was overkill against anything that the weakest of all of the seas could throw at him.

Due to either some great luck or (more likely) Garp's interference, Hitoshi had never met any of the World Nobles. He was grateful that he had gone so long without having to be in their presence, because he quickly found that this supposedly superior being was utterly disgusting. Saint Jalmack's attitude towards not only the marines, but his own personal crew, was appalling. The Celestial Dragon acted like they weren't even human.

And that's not including how he treated his slaves.

Hitoshi had heard rumors about the World Nobles and their collections, but he had assumed that they were baseless. He thought that the Revolutionaries had planted these fabrications in order to demonize the World Government and give the civilians a reason to band together and join the uprising.

But oh, how wrong he was.

After a brief introduction to Saint Jalmack, in which he was immediately degraded and made aware of his position in comparison to the World Noble, Hitoshi met with the head of the personal guard. As protocol dictated, he then joined the guard on a short tour of the vessel to look for possible security breaches and weak points that could be taken advantage of by enemies.

What he saw was nothing short of horrific.

The upper levels of the yacht were ornately decorated to the point of gaudiness. Everything was made of gold, encrusted with jewels, or covered in expensive fabric. The whole place reeked of perfume. In many instances, Hitoshi noted that function was discarded in favor of comfort. The vessel was much slower than other boats of its size due to the weight of the gold pillars and the marble floors. A delicate, and easily broken, paddling system was needed in order to keep the yacht moving at a pace faster than a transponder snail. Garish curtains covered many of the windows, lowering visibility, and guards were prohibited from entering certain "private" areas.

Throughout the whole encounter, Hitoshi's face had remained impassive. He endured Saint Jalmack's belittling, the head guard's air of superiority, and surveyed the ridiculousness of the pleasure yacht without a flicker of emotion.

His façade almost broke when they reached the bowels of the ship.

All of the luxury he had seen on the upper levels was gone. The chamber was uncomfortably cold and the only source of light was from the small portholes that lined the metal walls. The space was split into six cells, three on each side with a narrow hallway running down the middle.

But what truly horrified him was the condition of the people being held in the cells. There were around thirty slaves altogether, each looking about one step away from death's embrace. Most of them were huddled together, trying to preserve any body heat they could before it was sapped away into the chilly metal floors. Their necks, wrists, and ankles were rubbed raw from the heavy iron shackles that chained them together and to the walls of the cells.

They were all dressed in some sort of uniform bearing Saint Jalmack's insignia. Some of the young women were wearing a skimpier version of the same outfit, through which Hitoshi could see that they had been branded with the World Nobles' mark. On others, he saw bloodstains on their clothes that crisscrossed their backs, as if they had been lashed with a whip. All of them were thin, like they were given just enough food to keep them from keeling over.

It was completely silent except for the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship.

The air in the room was oppressive. Hitoshi could feel their misery and utter hopelessness pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe. His chest tightened and his throat closed up, but after the initial shock, he had let nothing show on his face.

The most disturbing aspect was their eyes.

They followed Hitoshi's movement down the hallway as he continued with the farce of an inspection. Instead of seeing a spark of hope or reassurance at his presence, there was nothing. Their eyes were void of emotion, personality, anything – it was like they were already gone. They were just husks of the people they used to be.

Which made Hitoshi believe that he wasn't the first marine to find out about this.

He turned abruptly and made his way back to the staircase, surprised to see that even the head guard looked perturbed by the atrocity that his boss was committing. Hitoshi thanked him for the guided tour without stopping and forced himself to not break into a run. With calm, measured steps, he traced his way back up to the deck of the vessel, back to his own ship, into his personal quarters, and sprinted over to the toilet so he could puke up his lunch.

After he emptied his stomach of its contents, he shuffled closer to the wall and rested his head against the cool tiles.

Was this the cost of peace?

It was obvious that the World Government was aware of the actions of the Celestial Dragons. There was no way that these many people could have gone missing without Marine Headquarters noticing. He shuddered at the sheer number of slaves the Celestial Dragons must have taken. If Saint Jalmack felt it necessary to bring thirty slaves for a short tour of the East Blue, how many did he leave back in Mariejois? How many did his family own? How many people had been ripped away from their homes and their lives because of the whims of one of these World Nobles?

Is this what the world had come to? The Marines allowed the Celestial Dragons certain liberties because it was the easiest way to maintain order. With the World Government in place, the Marines were able to maintain the status quo and enforce justice – to a certain extent.

Hitoshi felt sick.

Was it really the best possible solution?

He felt as if he had lived his whole life with blinders, only to have them suddenly removed. His perspective had been so wrong, so biased, and so limited.

He didn't know what to do. He was torn between his need for justice and his desire to give the organization he had dedicated his life to the benefit of the doubt.

So he decided to continue the mission. He had been taught to follow orders. Obedience had been ingrained into him through his training and through his years of experience as a marine. When in doubt, just do as you're told.

But as soon as he made it back to HQ, all bets were off. He was going to demand answers from his superiors and make sure that the slaves – no, the victims – were set free and allowed to return home.

Until then, nothing could be resolved.

He was glad that he had been the only one to see the depths of depravity Saint Jalmack was capable of, because he didn't think he would have been able to keep his crew under his control otherwise.

Frankly, he didn't know if he would have wanted to.

So he did his best to limit contact between his men and the Celestial Dragon. It was impossible to keep them completely in the dark, though. Saint Jalmack spent a number of hours on the marine battleship daily and he did nothing to hide his disdain towards the crew or his proclivity for cruelty.

It quickly became evident that the marines weren't actually there to protect the World Noble. Saint Jalmack's guards were professionally trained, armed to the teeth, and extremely capable. The marines were there as a status symbol. It was a subtle reminder that the Celestial Dragons could make an admiral appear with the snap of their fingers.

He was sure that Saint Jalmack had ordered Sengoku to put the highest ranked marine in the East Blue on his escort detail, and thanks to the timing of Hitoshi's month-long leave on Valhalla, the burden had fallen on him. Any captain would have been overqualified for the assignment, so to have a commodore for a bodyguard was just another power move to flaunt the amount of influence the Celestial Dragons had over the Marines.

Hitoshi's frustration over the assignment and revulsion for the Celestial Dragon only increased as the weeks went on. Saint Jalmack stopped at the richest cities in the East Blue as part of an "inspection tour." Really, it was just a chance for the lesser nobles to curry favor with the Celestial Dragon and an opportunity for ambitious brownnosers to ingratiate themselves with the upper echelon of society.

The lengths the lesser nobles went to keep Saint Jalmack pleased disgusted Hitoshi. They bent over backward to fulfill his every demand, no matter how ridiculous. They weren't fazed by his self-entitlement or his alleged superiority over them; instead, they seemed to agree with him. They treated Saint Jalmack like he was some sort of deity who bestowed a great honor upon them by gracing them with his presence.

As the weeks passed, Hitoshi was surprised he was able to hide the true extent of Saint Jalmack's inhumanity from his crew so easily. Since the nobles at each of the islands were so accommodating, the Celestial Dragon felt no need to bring along his slaves. He also had his personal guard patrolling his vessel, which meant that the marines were free to stay on their own ship.

It was Hitoshi's responsibility as their superior to shoulder this burden. He didn't want them to be placed in the same position – to choose between their loyalty to the marines and the oaths they made to protect and serve. Not to mention, disobeying a Celestial Dragon was considered treason and assaulting one was punishable by death. As their commanding officer, he was responsible for their lives. He wasn't willing to sacrifice his men when there was a peaceful alternative.

It was a shitty compromise and he knew it.

In order to assuage his guilt, he had snuck into the Celestial Dragon's ship every night to deliver supplies to the slaves. He brought them blankets, pillows, food, water, and spare clothes. He talked to them and listened to their stories. Almost all of them were taken from the Grand Line. Even if he wanted to stage an escape, they would all have been left stranded in the East Blue without the means to survive or a way back home. It reinforced the fact that the best solution was to continue the mission, escort the Celestial Dragon back to Marine Headquarters, but to confront the Fleet Admiral before Saint Jalmack headed back to Mariejois.

He refused to believe that Sengoku would knowingly allow the Celestial Dragon to continue to enslave these people. Maybe the Fleet Admiral had turned a blind eye in the past, or lived blissfully in denial, but Hitoshi was determined to make Sengoku face these people and see the direct consequences of his actions.

The purpose of the Marines was to protect civilians from harm. Their duty was to the people first, and the World Government second. Hitoshi truly believed that. He had dedicated his life to that purpose; it had been the driving force behind his loyalty to the Marines and his dedication to the cause.

Which was why he thought that Fleet Admiral Sengoku deserved the chance to correct his mistakes and do right by the people who were harmed due to his actions.

He was eager to get back to Headquarters and to give those people their much-deserved freedom, which was why he was relieved that they had finally reached their last stop: Goa Kingdom.

He had just finished his patrol and was moving towards the upper deck to supervise the docking process when he heard the first gunshot.

Hitoshi was unnerved. It wasn't unusual for nobles to welcome the Celestial Dragon by shooting ceremonial rifles or through a color guard performance, but he had a bad feeling about this. As he raced towards Saint Jalmack's yacht he heard a second and third shot fired in quick succession. He Moonwalked over to where the uproar was coming from and was horrified at what he saw.

Saint Jalmack had a smoking hand-held cannon aimed at a small fishing boat, which was engulfed in flames. Aboard the boat, Hitoshi was able to make out the figure of a child running about frantically trying to put out the raging inferno that was consuming his ship.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Hitoshi yelled, no longer caring that Saint Jalmack had the power to destroy his career. He landed in front of the World Noble, blocking the child from sight.

To Hitoshi's surprise, Jalmack's guard seemed to agree with him.

"Sir! There was a child on that boat!"

"Are you imbeciles blind?" Jalmack sneered. "Do you not see the black flag? That piece of scum is a pirate! His age is irrelevant! Besides, filthy commoners should know better than to cross in front of my ship! Step aside, Commodore!"

Hitoshi stood his ground. "No."

From his small ship, Sabo tried to see past the black smoke to catch a glimpse of the man who had shot at him. He didn't understand what he had done wrong! He ripped off his coat to desperately try to smother the flames, but no matter what he did the fire kept spreading. The smoke was filling his lungs, making him lightheaded and causing his vision to blur.

"You dare to defy my orders, you insignificant worm!?" Saint Jalmack bellowed, his face contorted in an apoplectic rage.

"I cannot allow you to execute that child. As a marine, I took an oath to protect the innocent and I will uphold that oath even if it's the last thing I do," Hitoshi replied.

Sabo continued to panic as his ship started to fall apart. The wood groaned and cracked as it collapsed around him. The smoke inhalation had left him too weak to move out of the way or even attempt to jump ship. He stumbled onto his knees as his body heaved with relentless coughs.

He didn't even see the burning mast tip over.

A piercing scream was ripped from his chest as the mast pinned him to the deck. Sabo cried out in pain and fear as he felt the skin on the right side of his body sear away. The weight of the mast crashed down on him, and he swore he heard bones snap.

As the lack of oxygen and the unbearable agony his body was under pulled at his consciousness, Sabo used the last of his strength to peer up at the massive yacht. A strangely opportune gust of wind swept over the remains of his ship, clearing away the smoke momentarily.

The last thing Sabo saw was the back of a marine, standing proud, in between him and the barrel of the strange man's cannon. He succumbed to oblivion, allowing his eyes to fall shut, the kanji for justice emblazoned onto the back of his eyelids.

Hitoshi's heart twisted when he heard the child's screams, further cementing his decision to confront the Celestial Dragon.

Saint Jalmack reloaded and cocked the cannon, ready to shoot again.

"You would sacrifice your life for your principles?" Jalmack asked, looking momentarily surprised before his face settled in derision once more. "Then die."

Hitoshi sent mental apologies to Selena and Etsuko, sorry that he was going to break his promises. He wasn't going to be returning safely to them.

The cannon went off with a loud bang, followed almost instantaneously by an explosion as the cannonball detonated when it hit Hitoshi's chest.

The crowd of nobles watching the spectacle-turned-double-execution screamed as the Celestial Dragon shot at one of his own men, only to fall into a shocked silence when the smoke cleared to show the marine still standing.

Hitoshi's ears were ringing from being so close to the explosion. He dazedly looked down, half expecting to see a hole in his chest, only to find that his body had reacted automatically to the danger and had coated itself in armament haki. It hurt like a bitch, and he didn't want to do it ever again, but he just survived being hit by a cannon at point-blank range.

Laughing almost hysterically at his unexpected survival, Hitoshi's hope soared. He could still salvage this, he would be able to go to HQ and explain himself, he would be able to go back home-

After a second of bewildered consternation, Saint Jalmack addressed his underling with a severe glare.

"Guard."

Jalmack's personal guard sent a sorrowful glance towards Hitoshi, which was almost completely hidden by his dark sunglasses. Ducking his head so that the brim of his hat cast a shadow across his face, he lifted his arm regretfully.

Responding to the unspoken order, the guard reached for the cannon and rested his pointer finger on the barrel.

Hitoshi watched with bitterness as the guard's hand turned obsidian, reflecting the sunlight. The darkness spread from his palm to his fingertips, down the barrel of the cannon, until the whole weapon was covered in armament haki.

Of course the head of the World Noble's personal guard had haki. Hadn't Hitoshi already realized that the Celestial Dragon had the best security money could buy? That the marines' presence was just for show, a symbol of the superiority the World Noble had over all other nobles?

Hitoshi's last thoughts weren't of the injustice of the situation or of the betrayal he felt.

Hitoshi thought of the boy on the boat, and hoped he had enough time to escape. His death would have meaning if the boy survived.

He thought of his men, and hoped that they learned the truth of what happened here. That they wouldn't be as blind as he had been, and that they would be given the opportunity to find their own sense of justice.

He thought of Bellemère, and how she had given up everything for two girls she hadn't even known. He felt that he understood her now more than ever.

Hitoshi thought of Garp, and wondered if he would be proud. He had followed his shishou's lessons until the very end. He hoped Garp knew how much he meant to him.

Finally, he thought of Etsuko and Selena. The two great loves of his life. He was sorry he would never see their smiles again, that he would never hold them again, that he was breaking his word and leaving them behind. But he knew they would understand. They loved him for who he was, and he was a marine first.

"Commodore Hitoshi, your services are no longer required," Jalmack stated coldly.

BANG.

Selena listened quietly as Garp recounted the tale of Hitoshi's demise.

She felt numb.

Her mother wept silently as Garp explained Hitoshi's last mission, what Celestial Dragons were really like, and how Hitoshi had laid down his life for an unknown child. By the end of the story, Garp's voice was hoarse and Etsuko's shoulders were shaking with choked back sobs.

Etsuko gave Garp a small bow, then headed back to the kitchen to turn off the stove and oven. She managed to keep her composure long enough to close up and to rush home, where she locked herself in the bedroom she once shared with Hitoshi.

Selena didn't react when she heard the back door of the restaurant slam. She sat unmoving on Garp's lap, staring off into nothing. She didn't know how long she just stayed there, trying to process that this was her new reality.

She was finally brought out of her stupor when she felt Garp's thumb sweeping across her cheek, wiping off tears she didn't know were there.

The small act of care opened up the floodgates. She buried her face in Garp's shirt, wretched sobs tearing through her chest. She completely broke down. Her body heaved with utter grief as she bawled uncontrollably.

Her dad was gone.

In a moment of desperation, her hysterical mind clutched onto one thought, one last connection to him. If she could only learn-

"His sword! Gramps! Where's his sword!?"

It didn't matter that she wasn't suited to swordsmanship, that she was best at hand-to-hand combat and had dedicated all of her time to it. If it let her feel close to her father, if she could carry on his legacy-

"I'm sorry, pup," Garp replied, startled at her mood swing. "It was taken to HQ. There's no way the higher-ups would allow such a powerful weapon to be retired. They'll keep it in storage until they find a new swordsman with potential and then recycle it back into the ranks."

Garp had pulled some strings to get Hitoshi one of the Twenty-one Great Swords when he first saw his student's skill as a swordsman. But even though the sword recognized Hitoshi as its master, the weapon never truly belonged to him.

Selena's hope was crushed. Her last lifeline to her father had been cut.

Her body wracked with sobs once more and she didn't bother to try and stop the stream of tears falling down her face.

Garp held her the entire time, alternating between rubbing his hand up and down her back and petting her head. After a while, he just held her tight and buried his face in her hair. She felt like he was the only thing keeping her together.

She ignored the wetness of Garp's tears in her hair and burrowed closer to him. Maybe she was helping keep him together too.

By the time she lifted her head and regained her composure, she was surprised to see that the sun was setting and they had been sitting in the dark.

Garp hadn't completely loosened his hold of her but he allowed her to scoot back. She reached up to wipe the tear tracks on his face with her small hands then wiped them off on his shirt, making him snort weakly in response.

Without a word, Selena grabbed his hand and led him to the back to clean up the mess of half-cooked meals Etsuko had left behind. They focused on the mindless task of scrubbing down the kitchen. Selena locked up and left a note on the front doors stating that Mama's would be closed for the next few days due to a family matter.

As soon as she was done, Garp scooped her back into his arms and carried her back home.

She didn't mind.

The front door had been left unlocked and all of the lights were off. It would have seemed like no one was home if it weren't for the quiet sobs escaping from one of the bedrooms.

Selena started off towards her parents' bedroom, appalled at her own self-centeredness. She had been so wrapped up in her own grief that she had left her mother alone.

Yes, Selena had lost her father, but Etsuko had lost her soul mate. Selena couldn't even begin to understand what that felt like.

Before she could knock on the door, Garp stopped her.

"Give her some time, pup. When she's ready to talk, she'll open the door."

She gave a longing look towards the door, but turned back down the hallway. Garp ruffled her hair in approval.

"How about we make dinner, so when she's ready to come out she'll have a hot meal waiting for her?" Garp asked.

"Good idea, Gramps. Comfort food should help."

She set out to make Etsuko's favorite meal, straight from the family secret recipe book. Garp did what he could to help, even though he was absolutely useless in the kitchen. Selena settled for letting him wash the dirty dishes and allowing him to taste test. She had to admit that bossing around a vice admiral did cheer her up a bit.

Etsuko didn't come out of her room.

Selena spent a subdued evening with Garp, never leaving his reach for too long. She spent almost the entire time plastered to his side. She would have crawled into bed with him if she had been young enough to get away with it.

Instead, they parted ways when exhaustion caught up to them. When Selena closed the door to her room, alone for the first time since she had heard the news, all of the emotions came crashing back. She smothered the whimpers coming out of her mouth with her hand, not wanting to worry Gramps again, but unable to hold back.

She would never see her dad again.

He was never going to come home.

She felt the despair wash over her again, like waves crashing on a shore threatening to drown her with overwhelming grief.

She needed to get it out. As much as she wanted to wail and destroy her room, she knew that wouldn't be fair to her mother or Garp. They were both struggling with their own mourning process and didn't need to deal with her too.

In a stroke of clarity, or maybe desperation, she scrambled for her stationary and a pen. She poured her heart out to Nami and Nojiko, transferring all of her sorrow onto the page. She explained everything that had happened and how she was feeling, not bothering to hide the tear stains that scattered the paper. She wrote another short letter to Bellemère, figuring that she had to be the one to deliver the news.

Feeling marginally better, like she had purged some of the anguish from her heart, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

From the next room over, Garp allowed himself to relax once he could no longer hear Selena's sobs. He figured she must have exhausted herself by crying until she passed out.

He rolled over on the bed so that he was lying on his back and stared at the ceiling of the plain guest room. Guilt weighed heavy on his conscience.

Was there more he could have done for his student?

Should he have told Hitoshi the truth about the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, marring the reputation of The Marines in the process? If he was being honest with himself, Garp had naively hoped that Hitoshi would never cross paths with any of the World Nobles. It's not like Garp himself ever spent any time with those bastards – Sengoku knew better than to let him near any of them.

Garp felt a few tears leak from the corners of his eyes, across his temples, and into his hair.

He hadn't been able to lie to Etsuko and Selena. HQ had wanted him back in the Grand Line as soon as possible, but Garp had insisted on being the one to break the news to Hitoshi's family. They had wanted him to lie, to go along with the cover story about a rogue pirate with a vendetta against the marines, but he refused to hide the truth from Hitoshi's wife and daughter. They deserved to know that Hitoshi died a hero.

He hadn't told them everything – how the nobles waiting to welcome the Celestial Dragon had been paid off to keep quiet, how Hitoshi's men had been fed the same cover story they were telling the public, or about how for the first time in his life he had regretted ever becoming a marine.

He was glad they hadn't asked about the fate of the young boy, because he didn't want to tell them that a body was never recovered and that the kid Hitoshi had sacrificed himself for was probably dead.

In the privacy of the small guest room, his room – however seldom he used it, Garp cried for Hitoshi. The world lost a great man, someone who had the potential to become a bastion of justice. He cried for Etsuko, who had lost the love of her life. He cried for Selena, who lost the best father anyone could have asked for. Lastly, he cried for himself.

Garp lost one of his precious students. Hitoshi, more than any of his other pupils, had carried on his legacy by striking out on his own and moving up the ranks instead of remaining on Garp's crew. He had made the East Blue a safer place and eventually left his mark on the Grand Line, all while making sure he was there for his family.

Garp was never going to share another drink with Hitoshi, listening as his student told exaggerated reports of his feats on the Grand Line. He would never get to see his comrade in arms decimate their enemies on the battlefield, using the things Garp himself had taught him.

He would never get to see his son at home with his – no, their – family, joking around without a care in the world.

For the first time in years, Garp let down the walls he had built up for himself. In the sanctuary that was the guest bedroom, he didn't have to be strong, or be the protector, or a vice admiral; he was a father who lost a child. And while he had felt hurt when Dragon cut contact with him and when Bellemère renounced him…

It didn't even begin to compare to the pain he was feeling in that moment.

Selena awoke with a start on the following morning.

She somehow felt even more tired than when she had gone to bed. Her room was still dark. She peeked through the curtains and saw that the sun was just a sliver on the horizon, meaning that she had somehow woken up before Garp (who in true marine fashion, rose with the sun every day and made sure the whole household did as well). She dragged herself out of bed and into the hallway, dragging her blankets with her.

Her parents' bedroom door was firmly shut.

Steeling herself for whatever outcome, she stepped into the bedroom, slightly surprised that the door had been unlocked.

The room was in total disarray. Hitoshi's clothes were strewn all over. Broken glass was scattered over the floor, paintings had been ripped from the walls, and the whole room was inundated with the scent of the cologne Hitoshi wore on special occasions.

Selena carefully made her way across the room, stopping once she reached her mom. Etsuko was curled up on Hitoshi's side of the bed, clutching a picture frame. Selena knew without turning it over that it would be a photo taken on their wedding day, taken shortly after the guests had started leaving, of Etsuko and Hitoshi smiling dreamily at each other. It was a candid picture, in which Etsuko's hair had started falling out of her updo and Hitoshi had frosting smeared on the lapel of his marine uniform – but it really captured the essence of their relationship.

After tugging the frame out of Etsuko's grip, Selena studied her mother's face. Her eyes were puffy, almost swollen looking, and her skin was visibly splotchy even with what little light had filtered into the room.

Selena crawled into her mother's arms and rested her head on Etsuko's chest. The steady thump, thump, thump, of her mother's heart was beginning to lull her to sleep when she felt fingers carding through her hair.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I tried," Etsuko responded dejectedly.

They found comfort in each other, watching as the sun slowly rose and marked the beginning of a new day.

Eventually they made their way to the kitchen, where they were surprised to find Garp had prepared breakfast.

The eggs were runny, the toast was burnt, and the orange juice was mostly pulp; but they ate every bite, touched by Garp's attempt to take care of them.

After their rather quiet breakfast, in which Selena managed to sneak in half a cup of coffee before her mother noticed, Etsuko began to clear the table.

"We need to start the funeral preparations."

She spoke while scrubbing one of the many pans Garp had used, her back towards the table.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that Etsuko, I can-"

He was cut off by the loud clang of the metal pan hitting the sink.

"No, I need to do this," Etsuko stated unsteadily. "I need to be doing something, need to keep my mind off of things-"

"Okay."

"I'm sorry Garp-san, I just don't know how- I can't-"

"It's okay."

Etsuko let out a deep breath and took a moment to recompose herself.

"Thank you."

In those two words, she tried to inject all of the gratitude she felt towards the man her husband had admired so greatly. She was grateful he had told them the truth about his death, at great risk to himself and his career. She was immensely thankful that he had supported Hitoshi throughout his whole life, acting as a mentor and father when needed.

She would never be able to repay him for the kindness he was showing to her and Selena by supporting them when he had no obligation to do so. She didn't know who they could have turned to in his stead.

Garp understood. After all, he had gone through this himself when his wife died.

He cleared his throat before starting up again.

"There's going to be a memorial for Hitoshi at the Loguetown base tomorrow. All of his men are going to be there, as well as all of the other captains from the East Blue. A missive was sent out the day after Hitoshi's death, so anyone who wants to pay their respects has had enough time to arrive at Loguetown and leave standing orders for their men in their absence," he paused shortly before adding, "We're expecting a lot of people."

"I refuse."

"Er, sorry, what?"

"I refuse to stand there and watch as the same people who are letting his executioner go free spout lies about my husband. I will not stand there to see them disrespect his memory like that."

Garp grimaced, but decided not to push the issue.

"I wanna go."

Garp and Etsuko turned at the sound of Selena's voice.

"I wanna go," Selena repeated firmly. "His crew didn't do anything wrong and they deserve closure. And besides, I want to look the higher-ups in the eyes as they cover up what happened. I want them to know that I know."

Garp got up and kneeled on the floor next to Selena's chair, taking her small hands in his.

"Look, Selena, I know that you're upset – and I am too – but you can not say anything. If it got out that a World Noble killed a marine, let alone a commodore, it would be utter chaos. People would lose all trust in the World Government; after all, if they would kill one of their own men, what's to stop them from hurting civilians? It could spark riots or even a revolution. Honestly, I'm afraid of the lengths they would go to protect their secret. I can't be here all of the time to protect you, pup."

Selena's eyebrows scrunched up in frustration.

"I won't say anything. I wasn't going to. But I need to be there- I can't explain it… I just… I don't know. I feel like I have to do this for tou-chan," she said pleadingly.

"I won't stop you if this is something you need to do, angel."

Selena sent a wobbly smile towards her mom, which she returned sadly.

"We still have to plan the funeral, Garp-san. Where exactly… where is his body?"

"He's been preserved and is on the island," Garp replied almost tiredly. "We… I have a room on my ship where we keep the bodies of fallen soldiers to return to their families if we can."

The mood of the room turned even more somber, if that was even possible.

"Well, that makes things easier," Etsuko replied bravely, giving up on the dirty dishes and rejoining her family at the table. "Hitoshi may not have been born here, but he made this island his home. He deserves a proper Valhallan funeral."

She sniffed and forced the tears threatening to fall from her eyes back through sheer willpower.

"I'll take care of everything while you two go to the memorial. I'm sure some of our neighbors will want to help once I tell them… once I tell them about Hitoshi."

Once the plan was set they all sprung into action, eager to have something to do and to keep them occupied.

Garp headed back to his ship, where he had Hitoshi moved to the funeral home located on the island. He also finished planning the memorial and prepared his ship to set off for Loguetown.

Etsuko fixed herself up before leaving the house, donning a simple black blouse and slacks. She then went straight to Bruce's hardware store. He was reliable and would be able to recruit people from the community to help with what needed to be done. Once she built up the courage to tell him the news, that is.

Meanwhile, Selena braced herself for telling Kingsley.

She retreated back to her room, glad that she hadn't yet sent out the letters to Cocoyashi village. Garp's warning had really made her think. She was still going to tell Nami and Nojiko the truth, but not in a letter that could be lost or intercepted.

Using an inky black marker, she redacted the portions of the letter that contained sensitive information. Normally she would have taken the time to rewrite everything, but she didn't really want to retell the story more than she had to. Every time she thought of what her father's last moments must have been like, her heart twisted.

Pushing those thoughts away, she quickly threw on a drab black tee and denim shorts before running out of the house. She wanted to tell Kingsley before she lost her courage.

Pausing only to mail the letters with the first news coo she saw, she jogged down to the beach. There were a few fishing boats scattered throughout the bay and fluffy white clouds spotted the sky, painting a serene picture that didn't match Selena's mood at all. Luckily, Marcus and Kingsley were visible from the shore.

Waving her arms frantically until she was sure they had spotted her, Selena looked on as Marcus and Kingsley argued back and forth. Gesticulating wildly, Kingsley then huffed before stripping off his shirt and swimming to shore.

He dragged himself out of the water and onto the sand, holding up his now drenched cargo shorts with one hand to ensure they didn't fall. Slightly out of breath he asked, "Is everything okay? You never come to see me while I'm out with grandpa."

Selena took one look at him before promptly bursting into tears.

She threw herself into his arms, not caring that he was soaked. She caught him off-guard, but he managed to maintain both of them upright. Bewildered and alarmed, Kingsley instinctively held her close.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my dad."

Through hiccupping breaths and intermittent sobs, Selena recounted the tale. She repeated Garp's account of what happened almost verbatim.

All the while, Kingsley listened intently. About halfway through, he lowered them down onto the ground, ignoring how uncomfortable his soggy clothes were and how the sand stuck onto his wet skin.

By the end of her retelling, Selena and Kingsley were both crying. He had only gotten close to Hitoshi in recent years, but Kingsley had looked up to him and learned a lot from him. The three of them had spent countless hours in the forests of Valhalla together, sparring and practicing their kata. Hitoshi had always set aside time for them and made Kingsley feel like he was part of the family.

Kingsley was also heartbroken for his sister. While he was too young to remember his own parents' passing, he knew what it felt like to grow up without them. He was sure it was going to take a long time for Selena to adjust to life without Hitoshi.

"I'm going with you."

"What? Where?"

"To the memorial, of course. There's no way I'm going to let you do that alone."

Selena lifted her head to look him in the eyes, gratitude apparent. "I mean, Gramps is going to be there. You really don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to," he replied firmly. He gave her a sidelong glance. "Let me be there for you, Selena."

"Okay," she responded, voice thick. "Thank you, Kings."

Kingsley gently pushed her head down so that it was resting on his shoulder once more. He didn't quite know what to say – how to make things better – but wanted to comfort her all the same.

His presence alone helped her more than he realized.

Ace watched on as Luffy repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, worked on improving his devil fruit powers.

Every shout of "Gum Gum Pistol!" was followed by a grunt of dissatisfaction and occasionally by the sound of Luffy untangling his rubbery limbs from whatever they had gotten caught on. Yet each failure was followed by another, and then another.

Ever since Sabo had died, Luffy had worked relentlessly on his promise to become "stronger and stronger and even stronger!" in a way that was probably unhealthy for a seven-year-old, but Ace didn't know what to do. When he wasn't training, Luffy often fell into sullen moods that worried Ace more so than his little brother's obsession with getting stronger.

The last few weeks had been… difficult.

Grief had made Ace testier than usual; he was angry over his brother's death, at the fucking "world noble" who killed him for no good reason, at Outlook for taking their brother away for them in the first place, at Bluejam for the terminal fire, at the marine who failed at saving him, at all of the bystanders who did nothing… the list went on and on.

And that anger just compounded the rage he usually held close and had ready to go at any given moment.

Mostly, he was angry with himself.

Ace finally had people he was supposed to protect – he finally had a purpose, a reason worth living for, something that gave him a place in this shitty world – and he failed them.

It was his choice not to go after his brother, to trust Sabo's decision to go back to Goa and to believe that he would find a way back to them somehow.

He was the one who agreed to Bluejam's plan – he was responsible for their role in starting the terminal fire and he deserved to be blamed for getting Luffy and Dadan hurt. The bandit boss should have never risked her life for his worthless one.

A part of him was itching to get in his own training – to give his anger an outlet and actually feel like he's doing something productive – but he couldn't bear to take his eyes off of Luffy. He had already failed to keep him safe once. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

The absolute terror he had felt when he saw all of the blood gushing out of Luffy's chest was something he never wanted to feel again. He had just lost one brother; he couldn't lose another one. The bone-chilling fear was swiftly replaced by a stifling amount of guilt, once he knew Luffy was going to be okay.

Luffy had asked him to help takedown that lion and Ace had goaded him! He practically fed his little brother to the beast himself!

And of course, Luffy had forgiven him almost immediately after gaining consciousness, which was somehow worse than the reaction Ace had been expecting.

It cemented something in his mind that he had previously suspected: Sabo had definitely been the better brother.

But Ace felt like he owed it to Sabo to look after Luffy like he would have done if he could have. Even if his best was nowhere near good enough.

With a sigh, Ace turned to face the open ocean. Luffy had taken to training on the coastal cliff where he had made his vow to get stronger, the same place where they had first become brothers, as some sort of constant reminder of what he needed to do.

The cliff was completely isolated and the bandits weren't aware of it, which was why Ace was instantly on edge when he heard something rustling from the direction of the trees. He quickly grabbed Luffy and placed himself in front of his little brother, effectively shielding him from view and hopefully harm.

Luffy poked his head out from behind Ace, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was dumb enough to try to sneak up on them.

A man emerged from the foliage, sporting a grin that was as wild as the jungle he emerged from. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with tanned skin and a fierce red tattoo on his face.

There was something about him that intimidated Ace more than Bluejam ever did.

Ace remained hyper-focused on the incoming threat, which was why Luffy noticed his passenger first.

"SABO!"

Luffy launched himself past Ace's extended arm before he could react.

With some help from his devil fruit, Luffy sprang forward and tackled Sabo off of the strange man's back. Ignoring Sabo's yelps of pain, Luffy wrapped his legs and arms around him – afraid he would disappear.

Luffy began to cry almost hysterically – whether out of joy or relief was hard to tell. Tears streamed down his face at a ridiculous rate, and his expression would have been comical if it wasn't so heartbreakingly authentic.

"SA-A-A-ABO!" he continued to wail, burying his snot-covered face in Sabo's bandage-wrapped chest.

Sabo grunted, but made no move to push him off.

"I missed you too Lu, but do you think you could loosen up a bit?"

"No!"

As if the sound of Sabo's voice had broken him from a trance, Ace shook his head to try to dispel the illusion. It wouldn't have been the first time him or Luffy thought they saw Sabo after his death. However, this Sabo looked strikingly different from the figments of his imagination.

Whenever Ace had deluded himself into thinking he saw Sabo, his brother looked the same as he always did: goofy gap tooth smile in place and ready to go on whatever misadventure they had planned for the day. The Sabo standing before him now looked like he had been through hell. He was wrapped almost completely in bandages, which spanned from his head and slipped under his clothes. What was visible of his hair appeared to be singed or in the stages of growing back, and his one visible eyebrow had been almost completely seared off. While the right side of his face was completely hidden by the ridiculous amount of bandages he was sporting, the left side of his face also looked different than what he remembered. He looked haggard and older, even though it had only been a couple of months since they had last seen each other.

Seeing that he was still there, and now giving Ace a teary-eyed yet encouraging smile, Ace started moving forwards.

Once in reach of his lost brother, Ace punched him in his good eye.

"WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Ace bellowed, before joining Luffy in squeezing the hell out of Sabo.

"I know! I know! I'm so sorry!" Sabo got out in between sobs, now that the three of them were unashamedly bawling their eyes out. Well, he and Luffy were blatantly crying while Ace hid his face (and tears) in Sabo's hair. "I'll explain everything but I'm so sorry!"

"I'm so ha-happy you're o-o-okay!" Luffy hiccupped.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry!"

"You better tell us what the hell happened!" Ace added, not so quick to let him off the hook.

"It's kind of a long story, and Dragon-san will have to help me explain some of it-"

Ace shot him a sharp look.

"But I'll tell you everything! I promise!"

Ace gave this "Dragon" a considering glance. The man had remained quiet during their tearful reunion and had just watched the proceedings with a confident smile. Ace still hadn't let his guard down, but it seemed like Sabo respected this man if the honorific was anything to go by. He was willing to hear him out.

"I have no issue helping you explain the circumstances to your brothers, Sabo, as long as you stick to the stipulations we have set," Dragon interjected as he made himself comfortable on the grassy knoll.

There was still something disconcerting about this guy, no matter how casual he seemed or how relaxed his body language was. Ace wasn't buying it. Something about this stranger set him on edge. And Ace didn't like how he seemed fixated on Luffy, never letting his eyes wander off of him for too long.

Sabo was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. He was overjoyed to finally be back with his brothers, but felt guilty over what he put them through. He couldn't imagine what losing a brother would be like and he hoped he would never have to find out.

"I guess I'll start at the beginning," he began, taking a seat on the grass and pulling his brothers down with him. "On the night that I left with Outlook-"

"You shouldn't have left us!"

"I had to, Lu," Sabo responded firmly. "I wasn't – couldn't – let him threaten you. He could have done whatever he wanted to me, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he hurt my brothers because of me."

"I don't care! You shouldn't have gone!" Luffy interrupted.

Ace scowled. "He thought he was doing the right thing." They had been outnumbered and out-skilled. Besides, Ace had just let him go. If anyone deserved the blame, it was him.

"I wanted to stay with you guys more than anything, but I had to keep you safe," Sabo continued. "I also had a tiny bit of hope that things would be different once I went back to Goa."

Sabo shifted his head so that he no longer was making eye contact with either of his brothers.

"Outlook had gone through so much trouble to find me. I just wanted to believe that they missed me, I guess." He sighed. "It was dumb."

"There's nothing wrong with a child wanting to be accepted and cared for by his parents," Dragon interjected. "You are not at fault here, Sabo, society is. Nobles care more for their status than for the well being of their families, more about their reputation than their own kin. Greed has infected this world like a disease and innocent people like you are suffering because of it."

"I still should have known better, Dragon-san. I know what kind of people they are."

"What did they do?" Ace practically hissed.

"They didn't bring me back because they were worried about me – my parents didn't want the other nobles to know that their son was a runaway. They thought it would reflect badly on them." Sabo shrugged. "They even had me replaced after I first moved to the Grey Terminal. They adopted a 'promising' boy from a good noble family," he said, the last phrase dripping in sarcasm.

Most of what Sabo was saying was going over Luffy's head. He didn't understand why anyone wouldn't want Sabo – he's the nice brother, after all – but there was one part he did catch.

And he didn't like it.

"But we're your brothers Sabo!" Luffy whined. "If your new brother wants to keep you, I'll fight him!"

"You probably could beat up the little jerk if you wanted to," Sabo chuckled, although his laughter was short-lived. "He's not my brother, though."

"Oh!" Luffy's expression brightened. "That's okay then!"

"Yeah, if Luffy can take him then he's nothing to worry about," Ace added casually.

"Hey!"

Sabo sighed as Ace and Luffy began to argue. It was good to see that some things never changed. If Luffy's limbs weren't wrapped so tight around him he would have head-locked the two, but since he couldn't move he settled for speaking over their squabbling.

"Anyways!" Sabo interrupted.

Dragon watched the three interact, amusement crinkling the corner of his eyes.

Ace and Luffy immediately stopped bickering and sobered up once more.

Sabo's smile dropped. His brow furrowed as he continued on. "They finally had the son they always wanted – Sterry impressed all of his tutors and sucked up to all the right people. He never had a button out of place and recognized all of the members of the king's court on sight. He was just like them. But they still needed me there for appearance's sake. So they kept me locked in my room like an animal. They had guards placed outside the door and my meals were brought to me. The only thing I was allowed to do was study. It was worse than when I first ran away."

Luffy tightened his hold on Sabo even more, ignoring Sabo's subsequent grunt of pain. If there was anything he understood, it was the importance of freedom. He couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to be trapped like that, especially by people who were supposed to be your family.

Ace was using all of the self-control he had to stop himself from marching into Goa and decking Outlook in his smug face.

Sabo was touched by how much his brothers were being affected by the story, but hurried on before they decided to do anything stupid. "At first, I just did as I was told. I was miserable, but I knew that you two were safe."

His expression darkened.

"Then Sterry told me about the plan to burn down the Grey Terminal."

Sabo didn't notice the way Ace and Luffy shifted guiltily.

"He was talking about burning people alive like they were just taking out the trash. He didn't see them as living people – more like objects that served no purpose other than tarnishing the reputation of Goa. At first, I thought it was something only my family knew about because of their connections to the court. But then I managed to escape and tried to find help, only to find out that everyone in the inner city knew about it and no one cared," he continued, his words strained.

Ace chanced a look at Dragon and immediately regretted it. If he thought the man was intimidating before, it was nothing compared to the way he felt now. Anger was practically radiating from him and Ace was just glad it wasn't directed at him.

"I just didn't understand how they could be so cruel. They really believed that burning down the Grey Terminal was the right thing to do – that they were cleaning up their city," Sabo went on, looking even more and more distraught. "I've always hated being a noble – but that was the first time I truly felt ashamed of being one of them."

"But then we met," Dragon interjected. "Some greater force brought us together - call it chance, or destiny, or what have you – and because of your intel, we were able to relocate almost all of the residents of the Grey Terminal. Even the ones who chose not to trust in the Revolutionary Army found other shelter on that night."

"I didn't do much."

"You did everything you could," Dragon countered. "It took an incredible amount of courage to turn your back on a life of security and luxury. You gave up everything to help the very people most nobles consider the dredges of society, spitting in the face of your very own upbringing in order to do so. You showed strength and true nobility when you could have done nothing."

"Shishishi! You did good Sabo!"

Sabo sputtered and blushed under the praise.

"But there's something I don't get," Luffy added. "If you were free, how come you didn't come back? We missed you," he said forlornly.

Ace paused, surprised that Luffy was actually paying attention and was catching on quicker than he was, before rounding on Sabo. "Yeah! What the hell?!"

Sabo sighed. "Because I knew I would be putting you guys in danger. I had been gone for over a year and Outlook never stopped searching for me. The only thing that would have changed this time around is that he would know exactly where to look first."

"We don't care! You're one of us!"

"Luffy's right, Sabo. You're being dumb. We could take care of ourselves," Ace joined in.

Sabo smiled sadly in response. "Could we?" he asked softly. "Bluejam's crew took us out so easily."

"They're not going to be a problem anymore," Ace said darkly.

"Elaborate," Dragon practically demanded. "We investigated thoroughly, and although we were able to identify them as the arsonists, we were unable to find any trace of them. We assumed they had taken their pay and fled once the job was done."

Ace hesitated. They didn't know anything about this man, and although they had been unwilling pawns in Bluejam's plan, he wasn't so sure Dragon would see it that way-

"It was our fault!"

Ace groaned at Luffy's admission. Why couldn't his little brother learn to keep his mouth shut?!

Reluctantly, Ace recounted how they had been coerced into helping the Bluejam pirates start the fire, how the nobles had gone back on their deal, how the pirates' desperation at being betrayed and trapped in the fire had driven them to the point of madness. He conveniently left out the part where he somehow had knocked out the rest of the Bluejam crew except for the captain himself, because he honestly didn't understand it and he wasn't stupid enough to tell a stranger about it. He continued his tale uninterrupted until-

"Dadan came to rescue you?!" Sabo yelped.

"Yeah. We fought Bluejam together," Ace replied proudly, with an undercurrent of gratitude in his voice. He never expected Dadan to put herself at risk for him. And while he still felt guilty that she was injured trying to protect him, it felt good to know that she had grown to care for him over the years. He didn't understand it, but it was nice.

"She was so manly!" Luffy added with nothing but admiration tinting his tone, meaning it only as the highest compliment.

Sabo couldn't help it- he started to laugh. Oh, he was wracked with guilt over not knowing what his brothers had gone through and how they had suffered while he was gone, but Luffy always knew exactly what to say to cheer him up. Ace smirked in approval, while Luffy joined in with his signature, "shishishi!" not really understanding what he said that was funny, but happy that he got everyone to laugh.

To Sabo's surprise, even Dragon chuckled along with them.

Once their laughter died down, Dragon went back to business. "So the only victims of the Grey Terminal fire were the Bluejam pirates?" he asked, wanting confirmation.

Ace nodded. "Yeah, the rest of the bandits had taken Luffy to safety before the fire went out of control. Me and Dadan fought off Bluejam, but we barely got out. There was no way he would have been able to drag himself out of there."

"Thank you for sharing that," Dragon replied. "It will allow us to direct some of our people towards other matters instead of letting them continue in a fruitless search."

"I still don't get who you are or what you do," Ace finally snapped. "How do you fit into this, anyway?"

"Oh, right!" Sabo jumped in. "Sorry, I still haven't finished explaining everything."

"We kind of know what happens next," Ace replied, the bite gone from his voice.

"We thought you died!" Luffy cried out.

Sabo sighed, running his hand through the scruffs of hair that poked out from between his bandages. "I kind of did," he admits. "If it wasn't for Dragon-san, I would have. But how did you guys find out? Did you put the pieces together after getting my letter?"

"Dogra saw the whole thing."

"We were all really sad, Sabo," Luffy added. "Why did that guy hurt you? I don't get it."

"Saint Jalmack is what is known as a Celestial Dragon or a World Noble," Dragon began to explain. "They wield an incredible amount of influence over both the World Government and the Marines, which means they believe themselves to be above the law. They have isolated themselves from the rest of society, which has contributed to their deluded view of not only the world, but their own sense of self-importance. Most do not even believe they are human, but gods."

"Huh?" Luffy replied, head cocked to the side quizzically.

"Explain it better. Luffy doesn't get it," Ace added, masking his own sense of confusion.

"Basically, these guys are really powerful and everyone listens to them," Sabo tried to simplify. "They don't have to follow the rules because they were born into these special families."

"Oh! So they're boss nobles!"

"Why didn't you just say so?" Ace asked, feeling annoyed.

"They must be really strong then, if they can get away with whatever they want," Luffy added.

"Not exactly, Lu." Sabo tried to figure out the best way to make Luffy understand. "They're powerful because they're rich and because they were given that fancy title."

"Like Outlook?"

"Yeah, exactly. He's not strong, but he used his money to hire guys to do what he wanted. And he thinks he's better than everyone because he was born into a noble family. Just like that, except Celestial Dragons are a thousand times worse."

"Oh, then I hate those guys!" Luffy concluded sagely.

Dragon grinned in approval.

"But why did he shoot at you in the first place?" Ace asked. "Dogra wasn't able to explain that part."

"Yeah, I didn't understand what I did either. Apparently, it was because I crossed in front of his ship."

"What?!"

"You have to understand that the World Nobles don't need a reason to do anything. None of their actions have consequences." Dragon sneered. "He probably spotted your black flag and made up any excuse to justify attacking without provocation."

"Start from the beginning. I wanna understand," Luffy requested, unusually serious.

"After I met Dragon-san, I spent the rest of the night dodging my father's bodyguards and avoiding anyone who I knew would report back to him. When I figured out a plan, I wrote the letter to you guys and sent it. Once the sun rose, I headed down to the docks. I knew I had to get away from my parents, but as long as I stayed on the island I knew Outlook would come after you guys, whether I was with you or not."

"We would have protected each other!" Luffy tried to argue.

"I know Lu, but I couldn't put that burden on you."

Luffy looked like he wanted to say more, but Ace quieted him down.

"I thought it had all worked out perfectly. I found a boat that was small enough for me to steer by myself, already stocked. All I did was hang my black flag – because even if I didn't have a jolly roger just yet, I wanted everyone to know that they were dealing with a real pirate. There was even a crowd gathered, so I knew someone was bound to tell Outlook that they saw me sail off."

He had marveled at his own luck, thinking that everything was finally going to work out. Even though he wasn't able to keep his promise to his brothers about waiting until he was seventeen to set out, he knew they would understand. He was ready to escape Goa and begin a new adventure.

"There were two big ships coming into port, and I figured that the crowd was there for them, but they were moving so slowly that I didn't even think twice about crossing in front of them. I was adjusting the sails when, all of a sudden, a shot rings out. I guess it must have hit an oil container, or maybe a gas lamp, because the ship was up in flames before I even noticed what was going on."

Ace and Luffy listened helplessly as their brother relived the worst moment of his life.

"I tried to put it out, but nothing was making a difference. I couldn't breathe, and I was panicking, but it all happened so fast! I think there were more shots? And then I look up, and I see the guy who shot at me, but in between us is a marine with his arms spread out. Like he was trying to shield me. And then that's when the pain started."

Ace and Luffy shifted closer to Sabo, trying to offer whatever comfort they could. While Luffy had started crying quietly once more after hearing what Sabo had to go through, Ace was shaking with barely repressed rage.

"I'll… I'll never forget what that felt like. I was being crushed and burned at the same time, but what was almost worse was how helpless I was. I was being pinned by something heavy so I couldn't move, and every time I tried to struggle I just lost my breath. I blacked out soon after that."

"The actions of Commodore Hitoshi cannot be undermined. He was an honorable man. If every marine were like him, the world would be in less dire need of an organization like ours," Dragon stated solemnly.

"So this Hito guy stood up to his boss to try to save you? Even though he didn't know you?" Luffy asked quietly.

"More like he stood up to his boss's boss's boss to help me, Lu. He was a hero."

"Is he okay?"

"Commodore Hitoshi died soon after the final cannonball was shot. He did not suffer, and I can assure you that he died knowing he did what was right. His sacrifice allowed me to reach young Sabo undetected and deliver him safely to shore, where I performed CPR. I don't know what would have happened if he had not been there, or if he had made a different choice. He will be remembered."

Luffy nodded, his brow furrowed together in concentration, but didn't speak up again.

"So what happened?" Ace prompted, more frustrated than before. Not only did his brother go through something traumatic and extremely painful, but apparently he had actually died for a few minutes. "How come you waited until now to come see us?"

"Do you see the extent of Sabo's injuries?" Dragon interjected, coming to Sabo's defense. "This is what he looks like after weeks of constant care and treatment from some of the best medical experts in the world. He remained unconscious for three days after I dragged him out of the water. Not only are there extensive burns along the right side of his body, but there were also several broken bones, and we were concerned about the possible neurological side effects from the oxygen deprivation."

He took a breath to calm himself down.

"He asked for you almost as soon as he woke up," he added in a much gentler tone. "He begged me to bring him back to Dawn Island once he was able to walk on his own again. I turned him down the first few times, but young Sabo convinced me. He didn't want to lose the only opportunity he would have to properly say goodbye to his brothers."

"What do you mean? Goodbye?" Ace asked aggressively. "What is he talking about, Sabo?"

"I- I'm not staying," Sabo replied regretfully. "After everything that happened, I can't."

"You don't want to be a pirate anymore," Luffy said slowly, drying what remained of his tears. "You want to be… whatever he is," he concluded, gesturing towards Dragon.

Everyone looked at Luffy, shocked at his intuition.

"Explain," Ace bit out.

"When I woke up on Dragon-san's ship, they offered to drop me off on an island not too far away from here once it was safe for me to travel, so I could make my way back to Goa once I was healed. At first, I was so excited to see you guys again. But as I spent more time on the ship during my recovery, the more I learned about Dragon-san's organization, The Revolutionary Army. The more I learned about them, the more I realized that, well, I belong there."

"While our goals are always changing and evolving as we grow as an organization, our primary objective will always remain the same," Dragon helped explain, his gaze locked on Luffy. "To take down the World Government and the Celestial Dragons who control it."

Ace looked at Sabo, then Dragon, and back. "So you're leaving? Just like that?! When?!"

Sabo swallowed thickly. "Tonight."

Ace took one last look at Sabo before jumping up from his seat. He strode over to a decently sized tree, knocked it over with one swift kick, before storming off into the jungle.

"I'll go after him," Sabo sighed.

"Are you sure?" Dragon inquired. "You are not yet fully healed. I could accompany you, if you'd like."

"No, just stay here. I don't think he's going to respond well to anyone but me right now. I'll talk to him."

"Very well."

Sabo limped after Ace.

Dragon took a moment to truly study his son. The last time he had seen him, Luffy had been not even a year old. Dragon had dropped him off into Garp's waiting arms, half-expecting to never see or hear from him again.

He should have known that any member of the Monkey family, anyone bearing that infamous middle initial, was bound to make his mark on the world somehow.

Now here he was, reunited with his unwitting son once more. His boy was a devil fruit user, sworn brother of Gold Roger's son, and (if what Sabo had told him was true) self-proclaimed future King of the Pirates.

He could not have been prouder.

Luffy interrupted Dragon's quiet contemplation by plopping himself down in front of him. "So you're the boss of the Revolutionary Army, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm their leader and founder of the organization."

"So when Sabo joins you, you'll be like his captain?"

"More or less, yes."

Luffy nodded decidedly. "Then I need you to promise that you'll take care of him."

"Do you not trust in your brother's ability to protect himself?" he asked, more curious than anything.

"Sabo… is tough," Luffy started. "But after what happened… I never want to feel that way again. We can't lose him."

"We will prepare him for the dangers ahead to the best of our ability, but like piracy, this lifestyle is risky in itself. We are wanted by every major government agency, in addition to our individual bounties."

Luffy took his Hat off of his head and studied it as he began to talk. "I'm working on getting stronger so something like this never happens again. But Sabo can't die again. I don't think I'll ever be strong enough for that," he finished in an almost-whisper.

Dragon hesitated, before slowly raising his hand and placing it on Luffy's head. "I can promise that we won't send him on missions until he is ready and that we will train him with the best instructors we have, but beyond that, you will have to trust in Sabo. Trust that he will take care of himself because he knows that his brothers are out there worrying about him," he offered, hoping that it would be enough.

Luffy stared down at his Hat once more, then shot Dragon his classic D grin. "If you can do that for him, then Sabo can take care of the rest. He would never let me down."

"Then it's a promise," Dragon agreed, his grin mirroring his son's.

Sabo hobbled along through the jungle, doing his best to not aggravate his injuries. He really regretted leaving his crutches on-board.

Following Ace's tracks wasn't difficult, seeing as he had left a path of destruction in his wake. Sabo scrambled over toppled trees and cracked boulders, hoping that Ace hadn't gone too far. Eventually he followed the trail to a familiar clearing, where he could hear the rhythmic thudding of Ace pounding on their makeshift punching bag.

It looked like their training ground hadn't been used in a while. Sabo spotted a few new saplings closing in around the edges of the clearing trying to find their own patch of sunlight. Moss had covered a few of the boulders they had used as seats and he spotted one of his t-shirts hanging on a branch, right where he had left it to dry. The chalkboard they had salvaged from the Grey Terminal to use as a scoreboard for all of their spars seemed to be untouched, the counts remaining the same as before he had left.

"Ace?"

No response. He didn't even pause in his assault of the punching bag.

"C'mon Ace, we should talk."

Ace grunted.

Thud-thud-thud.

"Ace, I know you're upset-"

"You don't know what I'm feeling right now," Ace finally replied.

"You're right. I don't know what it was like for you and Luffy while I was gone. While you thought I was… While you thought I was dead. I don't know what you guys have been through. So explain it to me."

Ace abandoned the punching bag to stare down Sabo. "You want to know what it was like? What we went through?! It was awful! First Dadan was hurt, and we weren't sure everyone else had made it back okay. Then, when we finally are all reunited, we find out that you died."

He began pacing agitatedly.

"Everyone took it badly, but it hit Luffy the worst. He didn't sleep, he didn't want to eat – imagine that, a Luffy who isn't hungry – he just cried. It took weeks for him to smile again. And then, he got it into his head that none of this would have happened if he had been stronger. So he starts training like a maniac! And I don't know what to do, but it's better than what he was doing before, so I just let him!"

"What about you?" Sabo prompted, knowing Ace would focus on everyone but himself unless he asked directly.

"Me? I was- I was just-" He tried to find the right words. "I was just so angry. And not how I usually am – everything was pissing me off. I was angry with Dogra for telling us the bad news, at that World Noble for killing you, at Outlook for everything, at me for not being able to do anything and- and- at you for dying in the first place!"

Sabo flinched away from him.

"And now you're back, and everything was going to go back to the way it was. Luffy was going to be happy, we were all going to be brothers, and we were all going to set sail one day. But now that's all gone. Because you're leaving us, again."

"You know I don't want to be separated from you guys! This is really important to me. Joining the Revolutionary army is an opportunity to fix everything wrong with this world. To stop kids from growing up like me, to stop the Celestial Dragons from hurting anyone just because they feel like it, to change everyone's lives for the better. I could use the stuff I learned growing up as a noble to actually help people!"

Ace remained silent.

Sabo decided to try a new approach. "Ace, what's the most important thing to a pirate?"

Ace scoffed. "Freedom." Everyone knew that.

Ace wanted freedom from his father's reputation, Luffy wanted to be the freest person in the world, Sabo had wanted to be free of his horrible family and noble title.

"Dragon explained the organization's main goal, but at its very core, the Revolutionary Army just wants everyone to be free. So you see? I'm not giving up on my dream, I just want everyone to be able to experience the same freedom that I have."

Ace sighed, feeling drained. He sounded exhausted. "I get it, Sabo. It's a good dream."

"Then what is it? I don't understand."

Ace lay down on the grass, placing his arms behind his head. He didn't want to see Sabo's expression.

"Luffy got hurt while you were… gone. Bad."

"During the fire?" Sabo asked confusedly. "You can't blame yourself for that, Ace-"

"It wasn't during the fire. And it was completely my fault."

Sabo paused. "What."

Ace studiously avoided eye contact. "It was after Luffy started training seriously again. We were hunting in the older part of the jungle, down by the cliffs. We were just messing around, arguing like we always do, you know? And I was glad things were getting back to normal, finally. Then we see this enormous lion. So of course, Luffy starts talking a big game. He starts on about how he was going to kick its ass, and that he was going to roast it for dinner and not give me any. So what do I do?"

"You started making fun of him," Sabo groaned. "Told him there was no way he was big enough or strong enough to take it down by himself."

Ace laughed derisively. "Worse! I egged him on! Told him that I'd love to see how he would do it, that if he could take down that lion he could definitely take me on, stuff like that. Usually, I wouldn't take it that far because-"

"Because I was always there to get in between you two."

Ace nodded tersely. "I'm not totally stupid. I would have stopped him if I knew that he would actually try. But he was gone before I knew it and the next thing I hear is him screaming for help, screaming my name, but I couldn't get to him in time-"

Ace had covered his face with his hands, hiding what Sabo suspected to be tears. He took a deep breath before continuing. "There was so much blood."

"But he's okay now," Sabo stated slowly, more of a demand than an actual question.

"The bandits patched him up," Ace replied, voice muffled by his hands. "Won't even scar, probably, because of his devil fruit powers. But for a while there, I thought I lost him too."

"Oh, Ace."

"And of course Luffy didn't even blame me for it! But I know it was my fault. If you were there none of it would have happened. You were always the better brother. What does Luffy always say? That you're the 'nice' brother?" Ace breathed out, finally letting his hand fall from his face. "I don't know how to do this without you."

Sabo looked over his brother. It was clear he hadn't been taking care of himself. Tear tracks stained his face, visible because of how dirty he was. His hair was matted up in the back and dark circles under his eyes made it clear he hadn't been sleeping very well. His face even seemed gaunter than before, his muscles more pronounced, making Sabo think that he had lost a bit of weight.

He took one more moment to allow Ace to wallow and then hauled him up into a sitting position by the front of his t-shirt.

"Are you done with this self-pity bullshit?" Sabo asked, pushing forward into Ace's personal space.

"What the hell?" Ace barked out, surprised by Sabo's shift in mood. He had been expecting disappointment, not aggression.

"So you messed up. Get over yourself! Luffy is okay and he forgave you, right?"

"Yes! Now let go of me!" he cried out, trying to wrestle out of Sabo's grip without hurting him.

Sabo responded by shoving Ace in the chest. "You made a mistake, but you learned from it! You're never going to let something like that happen again, right?!"

"No!" Ace shouted back, bewildered by the turn of events but matching Sabo's energy. At this point, they were standing face-to-face, while Sabo clutched Ace's shoulders with an unrelenting grip.

"Of course not! You know why?!" Sabo asked. Ace was about to reply when Sabo answered his own question. "Because I'll drag myself out of whatever cave I'm training in to kick your ass!"

"You're going to be training in a cave?" Ace asked, taking a break from their hype-up fest to sate his curiosity.

"Well, I don't really know, that's just what I've been picturing-" Sabo started. "Stop distracting me! Let me help you!"

"Right, yeah!" Ace shouted back, jacking up the volume once more.

"You're going to have to step up! Do both of our jobs! Be the tough brother and the nice brother! Do you know why!?"

There was an awkward pause while Sabo waited for a reply and Ace waited for him to answer his own question like before.

"Oh! Because Luffy will need me to!"

"That's right!" Sabo agreed, before continuing on in a softer tone. "You can do this, Ace. Do you remember what we were like when we first met him? We wanted to kill Luffy! I mean, I don't know if we would have actually been able to go through with it, but still! And now-"

"I'd kill anyone who tried to hurt him."

"Exactly. You can do this, Ace. You're a good brother. Who do you think has helped Luffy get better at fighting? Who pushes him to train harder? Who has made him a better hunter? You may have done it in a different way than I have, but it was just as effective. Now you just have to help him with the other stuff too."

"I'm not good at anything else. Manners, reading, math… you're so much better at that kind of stuff."

"Then you're gonna have to learn."

Ace groaned.

"You're going to have to man up. Maybe ask other people for help. You're doing both of our jobs now. I'll be counting on you to take care of our little brother."

Ace nodded. He hesitated, but after coming so close to losing Sabo, he didn't want to leave anything unsaid. "You were my first friend, Sabo. For a while, you were my only friend. You learned the truth about my father and didn't treat me any differently because of it. And then we became brothers. You met the bandits and survived training with Gramps. We went through a lot together," Ace paused, feeling extremely awkward and unsure. "I'm just trying to say that, well, that I-" he trailed off inaudibly.

Sabo swung his arm around Ace's shoulders and pulled him to his side. "I'm going to miss you too, Ace."

Once the four met up again, Luffy and Ace insisted on walking Sabo and Dragon back to their ship. It had been a risk to return to Goa at all, lest anyone suspect their involvement in the events that had transpired with the Grey Terminal, so they hadn't anchored at any of the official docks.

As they walked, Ace pestered Dragon with endless questions, doing his best to vet the guy they were handing their brother over to.

Luffy also asked questions as to not be left out, but since most were either nonsensical, irrelevant, or rhetorical, he was mostly ignored.

"So if you're the leader of this army thing, how come you came all this way just so Sabo could see us? Don't you have people you could have ordered to do that?"

"I have become personally invested in young Sabo. He is the first person of noble heritage that we have been able to recruit to our cause. Not only is he clever and remarkably precocious for his age, but also, he will undoubtedly become an indispensable asset in the future. I also feel responsible for his safety since I was the one to save his life. He placed himself under my care when he enlisted, and I will not betray that trust."

Sabo blushed under the praise from his place on Dragon's back, while Ace grunted non-committedly in response.

Ace asked a series of questions regarding the nature of the Revolutionary Army's missions and details about their home base, which Dragon answered with some variation of "that's classified."

Luffy asked him where babies came from, which again, went unanswered.

Ace and Luffy continued their annoying cop/bad cop routine until the time they reached the shore. Ace only had one question left, but it was the one observation about Dragon that had made him truly uneasy.

"How come you've been staring at Luffy so much? It's like you can't take your eyes off of him."

Sabo had finally had enough. Dragon didn't deserve this! "It's probably because of his devil fruit, Ace! I know we've gotten used to it, but it's weird for someone to be able to wind their arms around you to trap you in a hug!"

"Shishishi! They're better that way!"

"Oh," Ace responded sheepishly, his worries mostly appeased.

Dragon only chuckled in response.

Eventually, they made their way to a deserted shore that was surrounded by cliffs. It wasn't too far from Foosha village, but no one shipped out from it because there was no easy path from the cliffs down to the water. The beach itself was also extremely rocky, making it less than ideal for sunbathing and inconvenient for fishing.

Ace and Luffy had been excited to see the Revolutionary Army's ship, or one of them anyways, since Dragon had been so tight-lipped about any information about the organization. Even Sabo hadn't given them any details when pressed, saying that it had been one of the conditions Dragon had set when he agreed to escort Sabo back to Dawn.

Instead, they were met by an empty horizon – no ship in sight. Ace turned to Dragon and Sabo, thinking that they had missed their pick-up window, only to see them uncovering a small rowboat from underneath a sand-colored tarp. It looked like it would fit two people at maximum, and had a single furled sail.

Noting Ace's confusion, Dragon said, "Like I mentioned, coming back to Dawn Island was a great risk. We couldn't push our luck further by docking anywhere near the island, so we are regrouping at a predetermined set of coordinates out in the open ocean."

Ace nodded in understanding, still disappointed that they knew so little about what Sabo's new life was going to be like.

"It's about time for us to go, Sabo." Dragon turned to Ace and Luffy. "I suspect this won't be the last I hear of you. I will keep an eye out for your bounty posters in the future – I expect great things from you two."

"I don't know if your definition of 'great' matches up with ours, but yeah, one day everyone will know my name," Ace replied confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Dragon replied, wild grin back in place. "I always appreciate a good bit of chaos."

"Don't forget your promise!" Luffy exclaimed, before promptly ignoring Dragon in favor of wrapping Sabo up in a tight, rubbery hug.

Ace gave him what could almost pass for a respectful nod, before he turned his back on him to clap Sabo on the shoulder.

Dragon muffled the indignant noise that almost made its way out of his throat. Partly amused and partly disappointed by the abrupt dismissal, he turned his attention to their small boat in an attempt to give them some semblance of privacy.

Luffy clutched on to Sabo tightly, knowing it would be a while before he would see his brother again.

"I promise I'll write letters – although I don't know if you would be able to send any back – and I'll visit as soon as I can-" Sabo kept mumbling incoherent promises, his voice wobbly.

Luffy couldn't bring himself to be upset, however. Compared to how he felt this morning, this was nothing. His brother was alive, and about to start on a new adventure, about to start living out his new dream-!

"We'll miss you, Sabo! But one day we'll all meet up again on the open sea!"

"Tch. Although we'll be keeping our promise and waiting until we're seventeen," Ace snarked, his wide smile taking the bite out of his words.

Sabo smiled back at them, his eyes watery, their easy acceptance warming his heart.

"Lu, you gotta listen to Ace, okay? And don't do anything too reckless. He may not show it, but Ace worries about you."

Ace turned his head away in embarrassment. Luffy pouted but nodded.

Sabo paused.

"Luffy, you can let me go now."

"Okay," Luffy replied easily, not budging an inch.

"Really Lu, there's only about an hour of daylight left. I gotta say goodbye to Ace and get going."

"Uh-huh." Nothing.

Ace heaved a sigh. "Hold on to something Sabo."

Sabo walked over to a large boulder and grabbed on with both hands. Ace grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt and slowly started walking away from Sabo, until the stretch was too much and Luffy's limbs snapped back to his body, knocking both him and Ace down with the recoil.

"Shishishi! Sorry!"

Sabo walked over, ruffled Luffy's hair affectionately while dodging his grabby-hands, and offered Ace a hand.

Ace pulled himself up with his help, then punched Sabo's shoulder. "See you, Sabo!" He saw no reason for an emotional goodbye – they already went through all of that mushy stuff during their one-on-one talk.

Sabo wasn't going to stand for it.

He hooked his good arm around Ace's shoulders, pulling him into a tight, one-armed hug. "Remember what we talked about, alright? Take care of Lu. And look out for yourself, too. Remember, you guys are my precious brothers. I wouldn't be able to handle it if anything happened to you. Either of you."

Ace was grateful he had his back to the shore and to Luffy; he didn't want anyone to see the emotions flickering across his face. Surprise. Gratitude. Affection. Sadness.

"You too, Sabo. You're… a good person. The best. The Revolutionary Army doesn't know how lucky they are to have you." Feeling sheepish, he pulled away. He wished he was better with words like Sabo, or even Luffy in rare moments.

To Ace's surprise, Sabo had tears in his eyes that were threating to spill over. Looks like he didn't do too badly, after all.

Sabo started walking away backwards, trying to drink in the sight of his brothers one last time.

Ace was standing behind Luffy, hands on his little brother's shoulders, in both a show of affection and an attempt at restraining him from running into the ocean after Sabo.

After taking a second to climb into the boat without incident, Sabo turned to face them again. Dragon gave a short wave and then starting rowing, their small boat moving at a much quicker pace than anyone expected. It looked like the wind was in their favor.

"I'll miss you guys! You'll be hearing from me soon!" Sabo managed to shout before they were out of earshot.

Dragon felt a moment of panic once Luffy and Ace were nothing more than specks on the shoreline. They never discussed what they would tell the bandits entrusted with their care, or even more dauntingly, what they were allowed to tell Garp!

The moment quickly passed, however. Sabo was rational and clever to a fault. Dragon was sure that his brothers would be similar – or at least, have enough common sense to realize that they shouldn't reveal that they have ties to the Revolutionary Army to a vice admiral.

Relaxing once more, he continued pretending to row as a strong wind pushed them effortlessly along.

It was a rather grand affair, she supposed.

The courtyard of the Loguetown base had been completely transformed for the memorial. There were rows upon rows of seating, every spot filled. There was an open bar in the back and a variety of entrees waiting to be served on silver platters. Gladiolus flowers decorated the aisles that split the chairs into sections, the archways over every entrance, and every empty spot on the makeshift stage, filling the air with their aroma.

It overwhelmed her senses and made it hard for her to take a full breath, even though they were outside.

Selena followed Garp to their reserved seats in the front row, Kingsley's hand firmly intertwined with hers.

Everyone turned to look at them as they passed. At first, she thought it was because they were with Garp. After taking a look around, however, she realized why they stood out right away. Not only were they the only children in the room, they were also the only people not in uniform.

Everyone was dressed in their pristine white suits, many adorned with medals of honor or accompanied by the classic officer coat.

They were the only ones in black.

They took their seats a few minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start. She was glad that there wasn't enough time for anyone to approach her; she needed a few minutes to collect herself before sitting through what she was expecting to be an emotionally taxing service.

Kingsley gripped her hand tighter.

She looked over the program, noting that every single person chosen to speak was at least a vice admiral in rank. No names she recognized. It seemed like there wouldn't be much fanfare: just a couple of speeches about Hitoshi's career and accomplishments, ending with a eulogy by Gramps. Refreshments to follow.

She looked up when she heard the general murmur of the crowd quiet down, seeing that they did so in response to someone stepping up to the podium. Surveying the stage properly for the first time, she took note of the speakers seated off to the side, including Garp himself. They were all middle-aged – not a remarkable feature amongst them, but she knew better than to judge them by their appearance. Sharing the same title as Garp the Hero was no easy feat.

Hanging behind the stage, and wreathed with more of those damn flowers, was a giant portrait of Hitoshi.

It looked nothing like him.

It was a classic oil painting. Don't get her wrong, it was beautifully done and there was no doubt that it was of Hitoshi, but she'd never seen her father look so grim in her life. She didn't like that he would be remembered that way in his death.

She averted her eyes from the portrait, choosing instead to focus on the young woman setting up her notes on the podium. Unlike the vice admirals, she looked nervous. Referencing the program once more, Selena learned that Petty Officer Kuroko had been recruited by Hitoshi himself and then later on joined his crew.

Scrutinizing her further, Selena noted that while her nails were perfectly filed and polished, her cuticles had been picked raw. Black eyeliner did little to hide how red her eyes were. Her hands shook as she organized her note cards one last time.

She was the first person Selena had seen that actually looked upset by Hitoshi's passing. It made her feel better that there were actually people there who care about him.

Officer Kuroko started the ceremony by explaining who she was and how she had known Hitoshi. He had been the first person in the Marines who saw her potential. He took the time to get to know her, helped her start training, and later on served as her commanding officer.

Selena reveled in hearing a new story about her dad – now that he was gone, she realized there was so much about his life that she would never get to know. Hearing about the role he played in the young officer's life, Selena felt like she gained a new glimpse of him; she got to see him in a different light, even though it was through someone else's eyes.

While Officer Kuroko managed to keep her composure throughout her speech and her subsequent introduction of the next speaker, Selena did not. Although she was thrilled to learn something new about him, it also broke her heart that she would never get the chance to know everything about him. She gained a new puzzle piece, one of the millions that made up the jigsaw puzzle of his life, but she would never be able to get them all.

It also made her aware of just how precious her memories of him were.

The first of the unfamiliar vice admirals spoke next, and it was clear that she had never met Hitoshi. She spoke of his accomplishments with a rehearsed tone that made it clear she had memorized a list of facts about his life and was regurgitating them back, repackaged with flowery language. She talked about his rise in the ranks and standout moments in battle, but her retellings paled in comparison to Hitoshi's. No one could spin a tale quite like he could.

Kingsley grabbed the handkerchief doubling as a pocket square from his suit jacket and handed it to her. He let go of her hand so he could haul her from her chair to his, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and intertwined their fingers once more.

Officer Kuroko introduced the next speaker, a balding man with a wispy mustache. This speaker was drier than the last, who had at least tried to speak with elegance. This man just rattled off different ways Commodore Hitoshi had improved the Loguetown base, the training programs, and the recruitment program – reducing Hitoshi's life's work to a list of statistics. While the numbers were impressive, they didn't reflect how passionate her dad was about his job or how much he cared about every person under his charge. Numbers didn't mean anything; what mattered most was the way he touched the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to know him. It was obvious that this man hadn't been one of the lucky few.

Finally, Officer Kuroko introduced Garp – who really didn't need any introduction. It was the speech Selena had most looked forward to and dreaded most of all.

Garp stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat dramatically, which was completely unnecessary since he already had everyone's attention.

"I first met Hitoshi on a battlefield," he started. "He was the lone survivor of a pirate raid that had devastated his home island. By the time the marines had received their distress signal, it was too late to do much. I had expected to arrive in time to make the arrests but had no hope of saving anyone. But Hitoshi had never stopped fighting, even when it was just him left. One man against a whole crew, and he lived. Even managed to take out a few of the pirates, too. But that's who Hitoshi was: a fighter. He always persevered."

Garp continued speaking, covering all of Hitoshi's great milestones. His words painted a rich tapestry of Hitoshi's life, including both his professional and personal accomplishments. He spoke about Hitoshi's time as a new recruit and how he had caught Garp's attention from the very beginning. He talked about Hitoshi's potential and how it led to him training directly under Garp; how Hitoshi transformed from an angry teenager with a grudge against the world, to a dedicated marine who wanted to prevent what had happened to him from happening to anyone else.

As Garp told Hitoshi's life story, it became clear to everyone at the memorial that Garp cared for Hitoshi a great deal. Their relationship went beyond mentor and protégé, and as the tales of hard battles fought together and of treacherous voyages sailed went on, everyone could see how their relationship evolved into something more familial in nature.

Selena wasn't the only one riveted by Garp's tale. The entirety of the crowd, which was made up mostly of Hitoshi's crew, was also entranced by the touching eulogy. By the end of Garp's speech, most of them were dabbing their eyes discreetly while a few were sniffling unabashedly. Selena was right there with them, clutching onto Kingsley like he was a lifeline and sobbing into his jacket.

"Most of us here today knew Hitoshi to be a great man. To some of us, he was a teacher. To others, he was the person who made you want to become a marine. Some of you were lucky enough to call him your captain. To me, he became a son." Garp continued, his voice suspiciously gruff. "He will be remembered by all of us, and dearly missed, but I also encourage you to do as he did. Find out what you stand for, and live by it. Protect those who most need you most, even when it means putting your life on the line. Most importantly, treasure those who you care about and never stop putting them first. Hitoshi was many things: a marine commodore, a friend, and a father. But in the end, Hitoshi died as he lived: a hero."

There was a solemn pause as everyone tried to absorb what Garp had told them, before the quiet murmur of the crowd started up once more.

Even the other vice admirals seemed affected. While the statistics drone seemed uncomfortable with the blatant display of emotion by everyone present, the verbose woman looked almost… guilty? She had even winced when Garp got choked up at the end of his speech. Selena watched as Garp strode right past them, ignoring their attempts to catch his attention, marched right up to her and scooped her up in his arms.

Garp stroked her back as she tried to regain her composure once more. He patted Kingsley's head almost affectionately with his other hand, in silent thanks for being there to support his granddaughter.

After a few minutes, Selena felt collected enough to raise her head from the crook of Garp's neck, only to find that a line of people had formed while she had commandeered his attention. She scrambled down, embarrassed, as Garp chuckled. Of course people would want to talk to Gramps – either to offer their condolences or to try to get some face-time with one of The Marines' most famous heroes. She was about to drag Kingsley off to a more obscure spot to wait, but was stopped by Garp tucking her into his side.

Still clutching Kingsley's hand and feeling incredibly confused, she looked up at Garp quizzically. He only shook his head in response, before gesturing the first person to come forward.

To her surprise, he immediately dropped down to one knee so he could be at eye level with her.

"Hey kiddo, you don't know me, but I've been sailing in your dad's crew for the last few years so I kind of feel like I know you. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, and that your dad loved you more than anything. The man never shut up about you," he chuckled. "Wherever he is now, just know that he's really proud of you and that he'll never stop watching over you."

Selena must have caught him unaware with the force of her hug, because he was forced to rock back onto his heels to maintain his balance.

"Thank you," she whispered, not even trying to keep the tears at bay. The marine ruffled her hair in response, before stepping aside so that the next person could step forward. He began speaking to Garp, but Selena was too overwhelmed to pay attention to anyone else's conversations for once in her life.

Person after person stepped forward, each with kind words or a fond memory of Hitoshi. Some wanted to tell her about the time her father saved their lives, others wanted to tell her about a joke they shared, or advice he gave them, or about how he was as a captain. Almost all of them told her about how much he loved her and how much he spoke (bragged) about her when he was away from Valhalla.

Kingsley stood behind her the whole time, acting as a sort of bodyguard and emotional support. He kept the line moving and stopped anyone from lingering, while maintaining a comforting hand on her back.

They must have been there for hours after the memorial was supposed to have ended, but she didn't care. This was why she had wanted to come in the first place – it wasn't about getting restitution from The Marines, or to judge those who were in charge of the cover-up, but so that she could talk to his crew and get closure. So she could meet the people who really knew him, who spent most of the year with him, and give them a chance to say their piece.

After the memorial, the three of them sailed back to Valhalla on the ferry, The Bifrost.

They all felt both emotionally and physically exhausted, but they also felt a bit more at peace.

The next day passed in a flurry of activity, with everyone rushing to get Hitoshi's funeral preparations done before sunset. Etsuko had managed to bring together everyone on the island and had begun delegating tasks at first morning light.

Garp was put in charge of collecting all of the lumber that would be needed and had disappeared into the forest with a large ax.

Marcus and Kingsley had volunteered to construct the raft.

Bruce had donated all the supplies needed to make the paper lanterns, which were being put together by people from all over town who wanted to help.

The owners of the winery had donated a generous amount of casks of Asgardian Gold for the reception, which was to be held at Mama's. Etsuko's peers, the other restaurant owners on Valhalla, had donated enough food to last a week. It was more than what was needed for the reception – although she insisted on cooking it all herself.

So Selena spent most of the day in the kitchen at Mama's helping her mother prepare food for the hundreds of people expected to show up for the funeral. The amount of work they had to do kept their minds off of what was happening later that day, although Selena managed to tell her mom about the memorial when there was a lull.

While they waited for the roast in the oven to finish cooking, and for the desserts to cool so that they could begin frosting, Selena began recounting everything that had happened at the memorial. She told her about the unnecessary ostentatiousness of it all, about the impersonal speeches given by the unknown vice admirals, and about how no one mentioned any details of Hitoshi's death or the so-called "pirate" who killed him.

For a brief moment, Selena was glad her mother had decided to stay behind. The iciness in Etsuko's expression had chilled Selena to her core. There was resentment pooling behind her mother's eyes and a jadedness to her that Selena had never seen before.

Selena had known about the reality of this world for a few years now, but this was a new and sudden betrayal for Etsuko. She had grown up trusting the marines blindly and had married one, knowing that there was a part of Hitoshi that would never be hers because he had given it to The Marines long before he had met her.

The moment soon passed, leaving behind Etsuko's normally unreadable expression once more.

She also told her mother about Officer Kuroko, about Garp's beautiful eulogy, and about the kindness she received from Hitoshi's crew and colleagues.

"I'm glad you went, angel. It seems like it really helped you gain some closure."

Selena shrugged. "It's not just that – it also helped remind me that there are a lot of marines that really cared about tou-chan and that the organization he dedicated his life to isn't all bad."

Etsuko hummed, expression inscrutable, but was saved from responding by the ding of the oven timer.

The rest of the day passed much too quickly, in Selena's opinion. By the time the food was ready, they only had about half an hour to get ready.

Selena bathed quickly, grateful that she didn't have to wash her hair that day. She rushed back to her room, drying herself off as she went. Her mom had laid out a prim black dress for her to wear on her bed, but something about it didn't seem right.

After glancing at the picture by her bedside table, she was struck by inspiration. She just hoped her mom would be okay with it.

She quickly tugged on a pair of black slacks and a white button down, along with her black oxfords. After giving her shoes a quick shine, she pinned her hair back so that it was tucked behind her ears. She put on Kingsley's suit jacket, which he had lent her when she had gotten cold on the ferry last night, and gave herself a once-over in the mirror.

Something was still missing.

Annoyed with her options, Selena tied a black ribbon under her collar in some semblance of a bowtie – since she didn't own a real tie and had no idea how to tie a Windsor knot anyhow.

Just as she finished with her look, Etsuko opened the door.

Selena heard an intake of breath behind her, but didn't turn to face her mom just yet. Instead, she walked over to her nightstand where the picture of Hitoshi was placed. In the photo, he was dressed in his usual attire: a crisp black suit with his officer coat draped over his shoulders.

"What do you think?" Selena asked almost nervously.

"Oh, Selena…" Etsuko started, holding back tears, "it's perfect."

Selena shot her a wobbly smile before throwing herself into her arms. Etsuko caught her effortlessly. Selena sniffled, not even sure why she was really tearing up anymore.

"He would be so proud of you, angel. You're being so strong."

Selena nodded tightly before letting her mom go.

Etsuko would have liked to have held on longer, but they were running late and she knew she didn't have the strength to carry Selena all the way to the ceremony site. She cursed her frailness once again, knowing it wouldn't be the last time her body held her back from doing what she wanted.

Etsuko and Selena held hands as they made their way down to the docks.

The sun began to dip under the horizon as they walked quietly down the path. As they went on, people stepped from their homes and businesses to join them, remaining a respectful distance behind them. By the time they had reached the boardwalk, there was a procession of people following them. It looked like everyone on Valhalla had come to pay their respects.

Marcus, Kingsley, Bruce, and Garp were already down by the shore, having finished the final preparations. Lying just out of reach of the waves was Hitoshi's coffin, resting on a large raft. A pyre had been built around the coffin, and the whole thing had been doused in the traditional oils, which ensured that the fire would burn hot enough to properly cremate the body.

Once everyone had gathered, Kingsley and Selena's friends from around the island started passing out the paper lanterns and writing instruments. Selena was touched they had gone out of their way to help, especially since they were distant friends at best. She made sure to thank each of them as they passed her by.

A small group of musicians started playing a funeral dirge, filling the air with the sound of heavy drumming and brass instruments.

Garp pushed Hitoshi's pyre into the water almost gently. The waves slowly started to drag him deeper into the ocean, and with each lap at the shore he moved further away from the island.

Everyone took their time to write out their final wishes and last words to Hitoshi on the lanterns. As a traditional part of the Valhallan funeral ceremony, a lot of the notes contained general well-wishes and hopes that the deceased would find peace in the afterlife. Close family members and friends usually wrote promises that they intended to keep, or secrets they never got to share, or what they would have wanted their last words to be.

Gas lanterns had been lit up and down the boardwalk, which became necessary after the sun finally set. Slowly, the night became filled with a soft glow as people finished writing and began lighting their paper lanterns.

Eventually, the sounds of scratching paper stopped, leaving behind only the sorrowful music and the lapping of the waves. The drumming kept building up, getting louder and louder, until coming to a complete halt with a resounding thrum.

At the trumpeted signal, the crowd spoke as one:

"May our words light the way as your journey in this world comes to an end and you cross into the next. Though your life amongst us has ended, you will never truly die - for in Valhalla, the brave live on forever!"

They released the lanterns.

"I promise to look after Selena, like I always have. You won't have to worry about her as long as I'm around."

"Your family is my family. I'll do right by them, son."

"You have my heart. Protect it until we meet again, won't you? Goodbye, my love."

"I'm going to live my life in a way that will make you proud, tou-chan. I'm going to follow my dreams and stick up for what I believe in, no matter what. I wish I could just talk to you one more time… but seeing how I ended up in this world, maybe we'll meet in the next. Love you."

They all took a moment to watch the lanterns float into the sky, the wind pushing them all in vaguely in the same direction. The drums started up once more, without accompaniment.

Selena felt her mother stir from her place by her side. Confused, she watched as Etsuko walked over to Bruce to grab the traditional bow and unlit arrow from his hands.

She had just assumed Garp would be the one to fire the arrow. Traditionally, it was done by whoever was closest to the departed; but Selena assumed Etsuko would have passed on the honor to someone more physically capable. Selena shared a bewildered look with Kingsley before she was distracted once more by Etsuko's return to their place at the front of the crowd.

Etsuko kneeled in front of Selena, wordlessly handing her a match and the arrow. Selena could feel the drums beating in time with her pulse, making the music almost feel alive. She released a shaky breath before striking the match. The arrow burst into bright blue flames that faded into a warm orange, bathing the mother and daughter pair in a ghostly, flickering light. Selena handed it over.

Lore stated that if the first arrow fired lit the pyre, it would guarantee that the departed would receive safe passage into the afterlife. If more than one arrow was needed, the person would be cursed to wander along the veil between worlds in darkness in hopes of finding their way.

Selena watched, mesmerized, as her mother confidently hoisted up the bow. Etsuko waited until the lanterns had gained enough height so that they wouldn't interfere, and then shot the arrow without hesitation.

It flew true.

The drums crescendoed once more, building in intensity and speeding up their rhythm.

The arrow arced into the sky, before landing squarely in the center of the pyre. Immediately, the whole thing went up in flames.

The drums stopped abruptly, letting their last beat echo into the night.

There's a moment of silence as everyone watched the flames build ever higher, burning brightly in the dark of night. Slowly, those at the edge of the crowd started to head back into town. Those who knew Hitoshi personally stayed a while longer, but eventually, the crowd trickled down to five.

Marcus expressed his condolences once more, stopping to pat Selena's head before he started walking away. Kingsley caught her in a tight hug before joining him.

Garp was about to turn back as well, so he could give Selena and Etsuko a private moment; but before he even got the chance to open his mouth, Selena had trapped a few of his fingers in a vice grip.

He turned a questioning glance on Etsuko, whose eyes didn't stray from the fire. Without looking, she grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, so that Selena was squished in between them.

Not that she minded.

They watched until the fire burned out, tears streaming down all of their faces.

Eventually they made their way back to Mama's Place, which was filled beyond capacity. There were people lined out the door and a crowd had gathered in the street. Etsuko automatically went into hostess mode, gathering up all of the owners and residents who lived on the street so that they could bring over whatever folding chairs or makeshift seating they had.

Inside the restaurant, the mood was still somber. It wasn't right. Mama's had always been a place where everyone would come together to celebrate, drink, and enjoy each other's company. Selena didn't like it like this.

People stepped out of their way so that Etsuko and Selena could pass through. They seemed to be of the same thought: Hitoshi wouldn't want this.

They quickly moved through the crowd, passing out the first round as they went. Within minutes, everyone had a drink in hand. Selena gave her mom's hand a reassuring squeeze, before helping her up onto a chair so everyone could see her. Immediately, the crowd quieted down even further.

"I am a woman of few words, but my husband was not. He would have come up here and won you over with his charisma, maybe made a joke at his own expense to put all of you at ease. I wish I could do the same, but well, he was always the funny one in our relationship," she said, smiling softly. "He always did everything he could to make me laugh. And let me tell you, that man was not afraid of making a fool of himself."

At this, a few people chuckled.

"If you came into Mama's enough over the last few years, you would know that firsthand. We have the rest of our lives to mourn Hitoshi, so today let us remember him like he would want us to. Today, we celebrate his life."

Everyone raised their glasses as she did.

"To Hitoshi!"

"To Hitoshi!"

At first, conversation remained stilted, the mood still reserved. Eventually, everyone started to loosen up as the liquor flowed. The band started playing again, sticking to simple tunes that could easily be tuned out; the music helped put everyone at ease and kept any pauses in conversation from becoming awkward. Etsuko and Selena spent the first hour or so serving food, but eventually they got the chance to relax as well.

It looked like everyone from the island had come to show their support, and they all had stories about Hitoshi.

Selena and Etsuko were regaled with tale after tale about Hitoshi's ridiculousness. Most of them were about Hitoshi's antics from when he was trying to win over Etsuko, but there were also a few stories from Hitoshi's first few weeks as a new dad, and a few embarrassing ones from Etsuko and Hitoshi's honeymoon phase.

Garp even shared a few new stories from Hitoshi's time as a rookie.

There were still a few tears, since those stories also reminded them of how absolutely incredible Hitoshi was and how lucky they were to know him, but there were a lot more laughs.

Selena sat there, surrounded by her family and feeling the outpouring of love from her community, and she felt like she was going to be okay.

Eventually.

Eventually, she was going to be okay.

On the other side of the East Blue, a young boy was coping with his own grief.

Why did it have to be her? Especially right after they had…

He stared down at Wado Ichimonji.

He had prostrated himself in front of his sensei and begged him for Kuina's sword on the day of her funeral. If he was going to be the best swordsman in the world, she deserved to be alongside him in some way.

Because he had no doubt in his mind that she would have fulfilled their promise. She was going to be the best.

2001 fights. 2001 victories.

He picked up the pristine sword, still not used to the weight of it in his hand. It was like Wado was also carrying the weight of their oath.

He needed to train more.

Ever since he had gotten the sword, and Koushirou-sensei's blessing, he had done nothing but try to get stronger. The other boys from the dojo had tried to get him to spend time with them, or to take breaks, but if it wasn't helping him improve as a swordsman, it wasn't worth his time.

He ate, he slept, he trained. They didn't understand.

She was his first real friend and he wasn't going to break his promise to her. That was all that mattered.

One day he was going to be the best swordsman in the world.

End Notes: You know what they say... death comes in threes.

This chapter was by far the most difficult one to write as of yet. A lot of the events in Selena's life weirdly mirror what has been going on with me - even though I had this all planned out for over a year and a half now. I drew a lot of inspiration from personal experience, so I hope it resonated with some of you. If you're going through a similar experience, just know that you're not alone.

Also, in case you were wondering, a lot of this chapter isn't in chronological order. The ASL reunion scene takes place almost two months after Hitoshi's funeral, but I thought it flowed better this way.

Anyways, let me know what you think! Did you enjoy all of this angst? Are you missing the tooth-rotting fluff as much as I am? Which Strawhats are you hoping to hear from next?

Last edited: 7/9/19