Captivity

05 - Revelations

"Oy, stupid cook!!"

"What the hell, idiot marimo!!"

"Will you two stop it?!?!" Two punches gave them two huge bumps.

"I miss Luffyyyy...." A reindeer's whine.

"Me, too..." A crying skeleton clutching a straw hat.

"Our Cap'n's fine!! SUPEEERRR!!"

"Huhuhuh... Of course he is... Though. This newspaper is exactly what he was expecting."

"And our signal to move." A cannon ball to a pirate's ship approaching.

"Where to, Zoro?" A whack to the marimo's head.

"Stop it, stupid woman."

"Don't you dare treat Nami-swaaaan like that, bastard marimo!!"

"Shut it, cook! To Paradise! Follow the vivre card!"

*-._.-*

"This is..."

Marco looked gravely at Izo, gazing then over his pops. Whitebeard had been looking at the newspaper with unspoken sadness and rage. He knew fully well what those, coupled with the news, meant.

"War, yoi."

Izo and Thatch, that had been extraordinarily let out of the infirmary in a wheelchair, nodded, still shaken. For once, thankfully, Luffy was silent, leaning on the wall behind the Captain's huge chair, arms crossed and gaze to the sea. He wondered briefly why was he frowning...

"Marco."

"Pops."

"Make calls for every Commander to reach us. Then..."

The door to the deck opened and they looked at Sabo. He nodded at Thatch before speaking.

"Rakuyo told me to come, what happened?"

Marco silently gave him the newspaper, waiting for the impending wrath. Since welcoming this one and Ace to the crew, they immediately learnt their mutual hate towards marines and the World Government. The reasons were still deeply hidden, despite their growing attachment to the crew and the Captain. And that was why they had not told him about their captive, silently watching them with narrowed eyes.

His Haki flaring all around was the first sign. The crumpled paper falling to the ground was the second. And, unfortunately, that was when Sabo noticed the other. For the life of him, Marco could not fathom how exactly Sabo immediately understood he was a marine, because the blonde punched him straight in the stomach. At the same time, he did not understand why the other had just taken the hit without dodging or fighting back.

It took every ounce of strength Marco and Izo had to stop Sabo. By then, Luffy was sitting, his back to the wall, bleeding from the mouth, but still smirking.

"Why the hell is HE here?!" He asked, still irate.

"Sabo, calm down!" Marco flared his own Haki, successfully making the other stop. "He's the captive, yoi! Why the hell are you hitting him?!"

The blonde glared at him, then at Luffy, then looked at Whitebeard. "Because he is a fucking marine."

The Captain frowned, hunching forward. "Sabo, you usually do not attack marines like that. What's the real reason?" No answers. "Is it the same one that explains your and Ace's hate towards the Government?"

Sabo looked at his right, slightly nodding. Luffy's smirk didn't fall, but Marco noticed the change in his eyes. They were hiding sadness. Did... did the two know each other? And Ace?