Fate

02 - Saving a brother

Marco sighed. For the twelfth time. He was sitting on a roof of the Moby Dick, reflecting upon the latest events. And... what a mess...

Eight months had passed since his encounter with the black dragon. Luffy.

After he'd left, Whitebeard had asked him to be careful around one of his new brother. He had said that the dragon had warned him of a possible betrayal. Marco had not wanted to believe such a thing, but, at the same time, he'd been ready to take action against the one. Maybe it was his instinct kicking in... or some unexplainable trust towards Luffy... He honestly didn't know.

However, a month or so after, Thatch had found a devil fruit on a mission. While his brother bragged about it to everyone, Marco had felt a chill run down his spine, watching the man, Teach, smile in a sinister way. He had decided he didn't like that behaviour at all, so kept careful eyes trained on him. And luckily, too.

The phoenix couldn't watch Teach without being discovered, so he had chosen to look after the cook, instead. Fortunately. The damned one had tried to stab Thatch during the night of the same day, in his cabin. Marco stopped him in time but the man took away the fruit and disappeared with some others.

Ace had been furious. He had been appointed as Second Division Commander for only six months, so he felt responsible. They couldn't stop him, not even Whitebeard. Marco was happy that his brother took seriously his duties, it meant he was deeply attached to the crew, but... He was still away with Striker and the phoenix couldn't shrug away the bad feeling about the whole mess.

Not counting the dragon was right, they had been betrayed. So easily, too. That irked him to no end... And increased his trust in Luffy. He sighed again, massaging his temples to get rid of the headache. Mulling over things wasn't going to help, so he turned off his mind and looked at the horizon, taking a long breath.

His attempt was short-lived, Marco began wondering again how Ace was doing. He'd gone away to chase Teach the day after the betrayal. But the Captain had stolen a promise to report back every month, and it was well-kept. So, he should be back the day after, at most.

After another sigh, the pirate noticed Izo coming towards him. The man sat next to him with a smile.

"Being the usual mother-hen won't help." He said.

Marco grunted at the hellish nickname. "I know, yoi."

"Then don't."

A sigh was the answer.

"I know it's hard, ever harder for you, but try thinking of something else."

"Like?"

"Uhm... The little dragon, maybe?"

Marco's facial features relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, that's better."

The phoenix laid his back on the roof, looking now at the sky. Frankly, he had thought about him a lot. He was a good mystery, after all. He knew only his name, his devil fruit ability and his strong will. He had come and gone so fast that he thought about the events as a dream, sometimes. But, then, his palm still felt the lines drawn by Luffy. He was also puzzled, because he was sure he'd heard the name already, but couldn't remember where, nor when.

It was strange. He'd known the guy for two days, even less. Yet, he had left a burning mark in his mind. Maybe this was the studying eyes' fault. Or the prideful air around him. Or the surprises he continuously showed.

"I'm curious, too." Izo stopped his reverie. "I wonder if we'll meet him again."

"I have a feeling that we will, yoi." He said before controlling his tongue.