An Eternal Bond

Reunion

I walked along the shore of Oyaji's island. It was a beautiful sight.

I took off my shoes and wriggled my toes in the sand as the ocean waved damped my soles.

The water was cold but comforting. It was the one thing that was always there. I always knew that there was someone else staring at the same thing.

I breathed in the salty sea air and let the wind blow through my hair. Calm yourself.

I stepped forward. Then another step. And many more.

I walked along the ocean's surface, ice forming under my feet. My shoes were still at shore, but they were burnt, worn, and about a size too small. I flicked my wrist and saw the shoes burn in the distance.

A soft hum began playing through my lips and I closed my eyes. I've never thought of lyrics to the melody, but I remember Ace trying to think of some.

Where the sea meets the land

That's where I'll see you stand

As the waves are crashing on my feet

Your gentle smile shining back at me

Just the one thing I want to see

You're the one that I'll meet

I remember the crew thinking that the lyrics were for me. He really just thought of them off the top of his head after taking a shower. He still had the towel around his neck from what I remember.

In my head, I could still hear his silly singing voice as he grabbed me by the waist and sung the song into my shoulder. I remember giggling and smiling almost all the time on that ship.

"Y/N." Marco flew up next to me and hovered just above the surface of the water. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I was just.. calming down."

"Did you have another nightmare?"

"You could say that." I moved my hair out of the way and looked out to the ocean. "Did you finish up with the townspeople's issues?"

"Already done."

I nodded. "That's good. Are you going to do anything else now?" He shook his head. "I just came to check up on you. Are you going to visit again?"

With a hum and a nod, I walked passed him. "I should be back before sundown. Sayonara."

Every other day, I'd visit Ace and Oyaji's graves. It sounds strange, I get it, but it calms me down. When my mind is going from the East Blue to the West, that's the place that lets me relax.

I plopped down in between the graves, leaning my back on Ace's and feeling a comforting warmth on my back.

I quietly hummed as I scanned through the newspaper, clearly seeing the lack of articles about Luffy. "Oh... Law became a Shichibukai." I mumbled to myself before turning the page. I never really thought that he would want that.

Five months since Marineford. I saw on the top right corner of the newspaper. Three months since the payback war. Two months since Marco and I moved to Oyaji's home island.

Time flies.

I closed my newspaper and stood up, silent and still for a moment before speeding passed Ace's grave and holding my sword up to the person I saw standing there.

"Who are you?"

They raised their hands, a bag slumping off their shoulder and on the ground with a clink. "You don't recognize me? What a shame."

"You aren't the first fancy dressed blonde I've met, so spill it. Who are you?"

He glanced at the bag that just fell to the floor. "Do you mind checking if everything in there's intact? It'd be a shame for it to be broken."

I furrowed my brow. I was holding him at sword point and he's worried about the contents of his bag?

I flicked my wrist and the bag flew into my hand. I peeked inside the bag and my eyes widened.

Three sake cups and a sake bottle.

The bag slipped from my hands and I stepped back, my hand over my mouth and my eyes wide.

"Man, I asked you to check if anything was broken and you dropped it again."

I bumped into Ace's grave and pressed my hand up against the concrete. This... is this happening? The boy looked at me with a smile.

"Your surprised face hasn't changed too much, has it?"

"N-No..." I balled my hand into a fist as if I was grabbing something on Ace's grave. "No, this.. you're not- you can't be. This is... just a coincidence. Yeah, just a coincidence."

He laughed and held the brim of his top hat. "Trash Mountain. That's where our secret hideout was. It was you, Luffy, Ace, and I. Does that ring a bell?"

My eyes filled with tears as I just barely whispered,

"...Sabo...?"

I stared at the boy, my head going who knows how far per hour. My back was still pressed against Ace's grave, my sword clattered on the ground next to Sabo.

He lifted the sword and looked at the name on the handle. "I was right.. you're one of the people I'm looking for."

"I-I..." At a lost for words, I lowered to the ground and sat there with my hand over my mouth.

"Y/N... you haven't changed a bit, have you?"

Finally, I stood up and sped over to him, jumping in his arms. "SABO!!" I sobbed into his shoulder, feeling his arms wrap around me and he buried his face in my shoulder. "I missed you... so much."

"I thought you died!! You missed me? I thought you were gone forever, I thought I'd never, ever see you again!" I held him tightly. "I thought...."

"I know, I know. I can't imagine how that felt..." He eyed Ace's grave longingly. "Well... now I can."

Memories came flooding into my brain as I felt his warm embrace. "I-I'm sorry."

"What? Why?"

"I couldn't protect Ace... he would've been so happy to see you..."

Sabo pushed away a bit and knelt down in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sure he would've... but it would've been extra painful if I lost you and Luffy in the process, don't you think? Besides..." He poked my forehead with a smile. "I can see him in you."

"Wh-What?"

"I can see his warm smile, his courage, his kindness, his love... right there."

He put his hands on my cheeks and wiped away my tears with his thumbs. "Ace isn't gone as long as we're here. So you need to stay strong for him, okay? Now, where's that smile that you always had when you saw me?"

I chuckled, and for the first time in months... I smiled.