Protectors [One Piece Fanfiction]

His Protector

His Protector

A gentle and knowing smile could be seen on her face as she glanced at him from the side, "I know," she said, "I know I won't have much time left if this goes on..."

Her mutter, though soft, did not go unheard.

As she was about to leave, Ivankov grabbed ahold of her arm. It was unlike him to make such sudden actions like this, especially towards someone he had just met, but her words were concerning and he could not let the daughter of his leader just storm off in the direction of death.

"Irin-chan! What do you mean by that..." Ivankov asked, his voice holding a subtle tone of cautiousness and worry.

Irin glanced back, the look on her face filled with guilt. She remained silent as she tore her gaze away from Ivankov, she could not look him in the eye and lie. Nay, she was not even sure if she could just lie and say that nothing was wrong.

"I–" she mumbled as she glanced at the ground, pulling together her string of thoughts and trying to find where they lead.

After her lengthy consideration that took a little amount of time in reality, she came to a conclusion.

"I'm going to die," she said, calmly, locking eyes with the indigo haired man, "I'll die if this war doesn't end soon."

"My body is weak and my strength is elsewhere. And this strength won't come back to me until I know that Ace is safe."

Ivankov could only stare at the pink haired girl with shock and worry in his eyes, what was she saying? He could not even begin to form thoughts about this situation and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to help her; why was she even telling him this?

The indigo haired man remained speechless as he looked her in the eye while his brows were furrowed.

A gentle smile only grew on her face as she stared at the man with much kindness radiating from behind the brownness of her eyes, "It won't be your fault, Ivankov-san," she said, her voice calm and soothing. Almost as if she was singing a lullaby that could soothe and calm anyone who was scared.

"If I die, it wouldn't be anyone's fault. It would solely be mine and I wouldn't regret it, as long as Ace, Luffy, and my family survive, I am prepared to die."

Ivankov looked her in the eye and saw that there was no deceit or doubt in her words, "But vhy?! Vhy would you go to such lengths?! No one would be happy about this! And vhy would you even tell me this?!" he questioned, speaking in an increased volume.

Her smile still remained on her face as her brow arched down slightly, "I'm sorry for burdening you with this, but please let them know, let Luffy know, that my death would never be his fault and..."

"If it isn't too much, please help me ask a favour from Luffy... Tell him–"

"Tell him vyourself!" Ivankov snapped, interrupting her, "Don't come to me talking about dying when I just gave you a chance to continue fighting! I've told you, vyou are precious! Not only are vyou the daughter of someone I respect but he also loves vyou dearly! Vyou have to survive so vyou can meet your father one day and so he can tell vyou how proud he is of you!"

And those were the words that threw her slightly off her balance. Silence hung between the two of them, as she stared at the indigo haired man wordlessly and only the sound of the raging war surrounding them could be heard.

Her widened eyes from his words only returned to normal as her usual gentle smile grew back onto her lips, "I barely knew him, Ivankov-san," she said, "I can't just risk losing the person I've loved and known my whole life in hopes of gaining approval from my dad who I don't even remember saying 'I love you' to."