Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Trial by Error	By : Opinionated_Asmodeus Category: +M to R > One Piece Views: 5045 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: One Piece is own by Eiichiro Oda. I make no profit off of this work.

Chapter List
- 1-A Legend Brought Down! Shanks Appears!
- 2-The War Ends! Perilous Escape from Marineford!
- 1
- 2
Silence reigned over the battlefield at the declaration made by the Yonkou. No one dared challenge him, not even the not so inconspicuous Buggy who hovered high above the ground to make a getaway of his own. It was the blue-haired pirate's indignation at Shanks having caused such a spectacular scene that drew the attention of nearby pirates and Marines alike to him. Buggy blamed it on Shanks of course, who had to respond to him. The Yonkou even had the nerve to give him an order! It was Luffy's own fault if he lost that stupid straw hat that had been rather synonymous with the Red-haired pirate up until he had given it to Luffy.
Why the damned hat was so important was beyond him, but Buggy had delivered it to Trafalgar Law's submersible with a little of complaining. He had every right to complain over the trivial task after everything he had gone through in this brief war between Whitebeard and his allies and the Marines. It had been his moment to shine and he had lost it! Not that he had ever had an actual moment to shine from the start of this war. The escaped Impel Down prisoners were far too gullible if they had thought that he would have been able to kill Whitebeard. Maybe he could sneak away with Shanks.
-TbE-
Law had Luffy's unconscious and heavily injured body brought down to his operating theater while Ace was conducted to the crew's cabin with some struggle. The Death Surgeon made it quite clear that Luffy was in no condition to be bothered, even by the brother he had fought so hard to save, and that he was in great need of immediate surgery. The polar-bear looking person, whose name Ace hadn't caught and couldn't care about, had given the Mera Mera no Mi user some salves and bandages for his minor wounds. After that was done he was left alone in the cabin while an alarm started to blare. A red light above the door flashed as the submersible lurched to one side in its escape from the rapidly growing ice that was being controlled by Aokiji.
The yellow submersible dodged and dove deeper into the water as it headed straight for the Gates of Justice. The ice stopped once they were far enough away, though it was more likely that Aokiji had stopped giving chase to them than sheer luck. Ace wasn't thinking about any of that, the battle now far behind him, but certainly not out of mind. He had that tucked away in the back of his mind. Right now he was focused on Luffy, who was no doubt in the midst of a very delicate surgery. Even though he couldn't be there for his little brother, and probably not do anything for him physically, there was always the option of prayer.
Now Ace wasn't exactly a religious person, so to speak, but Luffy would need a miracle to pull through this time. "You idiot... You better not die, Luffy." He had been so ready to give up his own life in exchange for Luffy's, despite the promise that he wouldn't ever die. It had been rather foolish of him to make such a hard-to-keep promise, one that his simple-minded little brother would definitely hold him to. "Kami-sama, please save my brother." Somehow he found himself on his knees as he prayed for Luffy's survival, oblivious to the slight creak of the cabin door. Ace did, however, hear the muffled footsteps of the polar-bear creature, but continued on in his prayer to a God he was hoping that was listening.
A familiar yellow straw hat with a red ribbon was set down in front of the logia user, and it brought tears to his eyes to see a bloodstained piece of paper tucked behind the ribbon. Ace reached out with trembling hands and picked up the straw hat that was older than him. The hat was in pretty good condition, even with the neatly stitched slices going through the top of it, and it was obvious that Luffy greatly treasured it. He ran his fingers along the edge of the brim and rotated that hat until his Vivre Card was in full view. The little scrap of paper was pulled out from behind the ribbon and he balled it up in his hand as he became choked up with emotion. Luffy had nearly been killed over this, over him, and he still wasn't even out of danger! Ace could very well lose his little brother, and it would be his fault.
Had he listened to Whitebeard and his Nakama...surely none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have gotten caught by Teach and thrown into Impel Down. Luffy wouldn't have risked his life breaking into both the prison and Marineford. Garp wouldn't have... Garp wouldn't have sacrificed himself to save him and Luffy. Sakazuki's blow would have surely killed him, despite his logia powers, and it would have happened right in front of Luffy. Ace wasn't sure how much the younger pirate would be affected by Garp's death, but he was sure that his own would break the boy's mind and spirit outright. Especially after what had happened to Sabo.
A wave of guilt washed through the logia user as he recalled his childhood. He had been so mean to Luffy the first few weeks...well, the first few months to be honest. It hadn't been until he had been caught by Porchemy and brutally tortured had he actually started to care about the younger pirate. He had been so sure that Luffy would tell Porchemy where their hidden treasure was, but the brat had withstood hours of being beaten. It was from that point on that he had seen Luffy in a different, but still very annoying, light. Luffy was his brother, his everything, and he couldn't stand the thought that Luffy was dying because of him.
"I don't know Mugiwara-ya very well, but I know he wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this." Law took a seat adjacent to the chair Ace was kneeling at, his expression unreadable. He let the logia user hastily wipe away his tears and move to sit in the seat as he tried to forget the last several hours of extensive surgery. The rubbery nuisance had managed to make a complete mess of his insides, and telling Ace as much would make the fire user that much more distraught. "I managed to get him stabilized, but he's still in critical condition." And would be for a while. Law did relay the information that they were heading to Amazon Lily, where Luffy would be safest while he recovered.
Ace hadn't noticed it when they had stopped because of Boa Hancock's serpent Salome. Nor had he noticed the submersible rising to the surface. He had been out of it for quite a while when he had been dwelling on what was now the past. "How long will it take for us to reach Amazon Lily?" That Luffy had somehow managed to woo the Pirate Empress wasn't news to him. She had been head over heels for his little brother when she had come to visit him in Impel Down. Not only had she helped Luffy break into the prison she had helped him to reach the execution scaffold by attacking the Marines. Well, she had attacked any man that wasn't Luffy, but that was the point.
"We'll be there in a few days' time." Law let his thoughts drift from the topic on hand, his gaze growing distant as he recalled his crew's surprise when they had learned of his intentions. They had been eager to go to the New World, and it was irksome that Kid had gotten a head start on him, but something had compelled him to go to Marineford. The enigmatic Straw Hat had to be part of the reason, but Law certainly didn't want to think of it like that. The young captain was dangerous to be around, what with declaring open war against the World Government at Enies Lobby, punching a Tenryuubito, breaking into and out of Impel Down and last of all keeping Fire Fist Ace from being executed by the Marines. Mugiwara also had the extremely dangerous ability to befriend almost anyone, as proven by his diverse Nakama and his allies, both known and unknown.
"Can I go see him?" Ace's expression became hopeful, and when Law nodded in consent there was a trace of happiness in his eyes. The Surgeon wasn't going to keep him from seeing his brother now that Luffy was stable. "He won't be waking up for a while, but he doesn't need to be touched or moved. If those wounds reopen he will die." The finality of Law's tone had Ace pausing as he got up and went to the door. The logia user said nothing, couldn't think of anything to say to that, and left to go visit his little brother. Law glanced at the straw hat that had been left behind, a crumpled Vivre Card next to it, and wondered if he needed to worry about his crew being endangered. Mugiwara was a magnet for trouble.
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Trial by Error