Stolen // One Piece

chapter seventeen

Sabo blamed himself.

Ever since recovering from his amnesia, he had never forgiven himself for not being there when Ace was killed. He figured had he been there, his rank in the Revolutionary Army alone could have saved him. The Marines would have been focused on capturing the blond, which would have given Ace a chance to escape with Luffy. He also hated himself for not recovering sooner. Had he, he could have reunited with his brothers before the Battle of Marineford, and they could have been together again.

Even though it was a major factor, missing Ace wasn't the only reason he despised himself. It was Luffy. The last time Sabo had seen Luffy face to face, he recognized the pain in his eyes. Pain didn't belong in his brother's eyes, Sabo decided. Luffy deserved to be happy all the time. He had been through so much and had been so ruined as a kid that all he needed was a break. Sabo had seen how hard Luffy worked to get to where he was as a pirate, and knew he had suffered to get stronger.

Sabo also understood that Luffy blamed himself for what happened. He had been right there, and Ace decided to put Luffy's life over his own, no matter the consequences that came with that choice. Luffy watched it happen. He held him as the life drained from the older boy.

For two years, Sabo had spent the time he had alone sitting in silence, tears pouring down his face as he remembered his brothers. He focused on their laughs, and spent so much time replaying them in his head that he almost forgot what they sounded like. He strained to remember the last time he saw Ace smile.

Sabo would spend hours at night holding his hand over his mouth, trying to hold his sobs in, so Koala wouldn't be worried. He tried to act like he was okay, that Ace's death wasn't chewing him up from the inside out. He tried to act like he got plenty of sleep at night, and he wasn't usually up until sunrise. He ignored the bags under his eyes, and did not acknowledge the concerned stares his comrades gave him when they saw how much of a mess he was.

Koala once found him curled up in the corner, hat over his eyes, bawling. She sat with him, didn't ask what it was about, but just sat with him until he was finished.

"It wasn't your fault," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. Sabo hiccuped. He didn't believe her.

Ace's death destroyed Sabo. Yet, here he was, smiling while tears spilled over from his eyes, as his brother laughed and opened his arms.

"Sabo!" the brunet shouted, as the blond rushed over to him. The impact knocked the two to the ground, and they sat there, rocking back and forth, just enjoying the fact that they were together.

"Ace! Ace!" Sabo cried. His hat had fallen beside the two men, and Ace chuckled. "You're alive!" The slightly shorter one smiled brightly, as tears slid down his cheeks.

"Yeah! And so are you!" Neither asked questions as to how, because they didn't really care right now, and there was time for that later. "I've missed you so, so much!"

"I've missed you too!" Sabo replied, pulling back and wiping his eyes. Ace let his tears fall, not truly caring whether or not he looked stupid right now. He was just happy to have his first friend back.

"Shit, there they are!" Smoker's gritty voice growled, interrupting the touching moment. The men scrambled to their feet, and ran the opposite direction. Sabo had to grab his weapon first, though.

They moved smoothly through the marketplace, dodging vendors and shoppers left and right. As they passed, they heard people shouting.

"That's Fire Fist Ace!"

"I thought he was dead?"

"Look! It's Sabo! Number Two for the Revolutionary Army!"

"Ace is supposed to be dead!"

"I was there for his funeral!"

Eventually, a large crowd had gathered, unintentionally blocking the path out of the marketplace. Still running, Sabo clicked his tongue, grabbed Ace's wrist, and turned a sharp corner, into another alleyway. Suddenly, as they were running toward the street at the end of the alley, Sabo tripped over something, and he landed face down on the dirt, taking Ace down with him.

"Ohohohoho~ I'm so sorry!" Brook emerged from the pile of boxes and barrels, and reached out his hand to help the other two men up. Ace, confused, froze and said nothing, but Sabo took the skeleton's hand gratefully.

"It's fine, Brook." Somehow, the skeleton, despite having no facial muscles, seemed to look incredibly guilty.

"I was trying to trip Marines, but instead tripped you two! Many apologies!" he said. Ace found the skeleton unsettling, but accepted his help to stand anyway. He brushed himself off, sighed at his scratched, bare torso, and looked to Sabo for an explanation. The blond simply shrugged. Brook looked at the brunet, and froze.

"I'll explain later," he said to the both of them. "Let's get to the ship, first." The three took off toward the coast.

When they arrived, the others were waiting.

"Let's go! Let's go! Come on! The Marines are coming!" Nami shouted, pointing to things that needed to be done in order for the group to leave. As they rushed around, no one seemed to notice Ace, standing awkwardly by the Thousand Sunny's head. That is, until Sabo walked over to him. Everyone froze, staring at the dark-haired man. He smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, guys," he said to the Straw Hat crew.