Captivity

06 - Foreboding

MONKEY D LUFFY HELD CAPTIVE BY THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES!!

Akainu Sakazuki strode through the corridor of Impel Down, newspaper clutched ragefully in his right hand. He destroyed the door to Magellan's office and took a document from his coat. The prison's Chairman didn't bat an eye at the clear show of impoliteness, Sengoku did warn him about the Admiral's temper. Instead, he poured themselves some tea and took the document the other offered.

As expected, the files were about passing the custody of the prisoner in the sixth level, Portgas D Ace, to Admiral Akainu. It was signed by the Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the Vice Admiral Monkey D Garp. The reason scribbled on the second paper explained that the prisoner was to be used as a mean of freeing the Rear Admiral Monkey D Luffy from captivity under the Yonko Whitebeard.

The marine was already fuming in front of him, sipping his tea, somewhat calmly, so Magellan wasted no greetings in ordering Hannyabal to go take the pirate. He ignored the whines to settle for doing some needed paperwork.

Akainu, meanwhile, was literally feeling the lava of his body increasing in heat as seconds passed by. His high blood pressure was reaching new heights. That spawn of the devil had finally done it. How many times had he told Sengoku to just kill him? He was the nephew of Garp the Hero, but he was also the son of Dragon, the Head of the Revolutionary Army. A threat to the Absolute Justice. The bastard had all but given the pirates the upper hand by ending in their hands. And, now, they had no choice but to give away their chance of eradicating the spawn of Gol D Roger, worse than the devil for Justice.

He had warned them. Countlessly. Kizaru and Aokiji's snickers at his growing rage had been mind-blowing, successfully hindering his objective of killing the bastard. And now, there it was, the proof he had been right all along. The proof that Monkey D Luffy had to be eradicated.

Yes. He would follow through with the orders given to him by the Fleet Admiral. Yes. He would exchange a pirate for a marine. But. Yes. He would kill at least one devil, one way or another. For Absolute Justice's sake.

*-._.-*

Whitebeard was baffled. And currently felt a bit cheated. He didn't hold back his pout, because only Marco was able to recognize it. Considering the First Division Commander's attention was a bit taken, he had no worries of being discovered.

No, because Marco was sitting on the roof, cross-legged, watching intently their captive. Now, it was not strange. It shouldn't have been. But. His eyes were different than the day before. They were careful, scrutinizing as always. However, there was a softness, a struggling happiness that yearned to surface through. And, if Whitebeard knew his son well enough, it was not because the brat was pranking the whole ship, blaming everything on Thatch.

The reason why he felt cheated? Marco, his first son, was not relying on him, nor confiding in him. Why baffled? Because he knew what those eyes meant. And he recognized almost the same thing in the marine brat, when he turned to look over.

"Son." He called, gaining his divided attention. "You're different."

Marco arched a brow. "Different, yoi?"

Whitebeard nodded, drinking from his bottle. "Starry-eyed, I'd say." He chuckled.

"Star–... Pops..." He face-palmed.

"Gurarara... Hard not to notice."

"And what have you understood, exactly?"

"That you're falling."

Marco scoffed. "Such threatening words, yoi..."

"Threat? You see a threat in 'falling'?" He turned to look better at his son, that was sighing. "Son, there's nothing wrong in falling for someone."