Like a Brother (acexreader)

Tomorrow is War

You were on deck when the message came. About 8 days had passed since Ace left you with the Whitebeards. You were determined to follow him again but this time Pops insisted you stay. He told you that you needed to trust Ace, that he left you for a reason. You couldn't help it. You couldn't help being angry. At Pops and Marco. At Ace. Did they think you were weak? Did they not trust you enough to let you finish this?

A paper came that morning. You were there when the bird dropped it right into your hands. You didn't read the paper and went over to hand it to Pops. Something caught your eye as a page flapped open. The headline read '2nd Commander of the Whitebeards, Portgas D. Ace, is set for execution at Marineford.' You gripped the paper, shocked. You opened it up more, seeing a picture of Ace under the headline. Fear began to shake you. 

You read on. Ace had been caught by the Marines. Blackbeard turned him in and became a Shichibukai. He was set for execution. Your head was spinning and you felt sick.

"Whats so interesting in the paper?" Izo strutted over to you. You could barely hear him and didn't even look up. "You haven't glued your eyes from it."

He stopped joking around once he saw your pale face. He looked down at the paper in your sweating hands. Once he read the title, he froze. Izo grabbed the paper from your hands and read it over.

"I-i can't believe it," he shook his head in denial.

"No it c-cant be. Ace didn't l-lose," you stuttered.

"Pops. We need to talk to Pops."

You followed Izo as he went over to where your captain sat. He silently handed him the paper as Whitebeard read over it. 

Everyone was silent. Finally Whitebeard stood up. He took his staff and slammed it against the deck. The whole ship shook. He was angry.

"We have to make sure this is true before making any hasty decisions. If it is, we leave at dawn," he commanded.

Everyone nodded.

Marco walked over to you, patting your shoulder. "Come on. Let's go on a little trip."

"Where?" You looked up at him with blazing eyes.

"Where Ace and the Blackbeards had their fight."

You didn't say anything. Marco turned into his magnificent pheonix form and lifted you off the ground. He flew swiftly above the water, staying low to keep from getting detected. Neither of you said anything until you landed at the quiet island and village where Ace had his fight. The whole place was a wreck. It was all singed and destroyed. Whatever happened here was truly an unbelievable fight.

You and Marco scouted around. You took close looks at the scorch marks. This looked like fire marks. Whatever Ace did was something you had never seen and thought possible. He could've  easily beaten and killed me during our fight.

"Y/n..." Marco ran up to you. He held up a hat...a familiar hat.

"Thats...Ace's," you carefully took the hat from the blonde. Ace's hat. You had almost never seen him without it. It was his symbol. You always loved it, especially when he would put it on you to make you feel better, saying that it looked better on you than him. You smiled sadly.

"You should keep it safe for him until we get him back," Marco smiled.

You slowly put the hat on your head. It was a bit big on you. The familiar smell of Ace filled your nostrils. You were going to get him back. You were going to kill Teach. You were going to fix this.

You pulled it back so it hung around your neck. "Come on. Let's go. We know what we have to do. This execution isn't for another week so we better get going."

You and Marco headed back. 

"Have you ever been to Marineford?" Marco asked you.

"Once...it was for a mission. But I only got a small glimpse of the base," you answered.

"Don't worry. We'll get him back," he said more quietly.

"Yes...I will," you whispered.

The next few days were busier than ever. Everyone was getting ready. Whitebeard was calling back all his sons for battle. He was gathering alliances. Shanks gave a 'friendly' visit as well. It was going to be an all out battle. The Admirals, Shickibukai, and Marines were going to intercept the pirates. You just hoped you could make it in time to save Ace, to save your lover.

All of your brothers kept themselves busy. Everyone was trying to not think too much. You knew that some would die...some that you knew.

Whitebeard and Marco both tried to get you to promise to stay behind but there was no way you were going to do that. You told them that no matter who tried to stop you, you would save Ace...or die trying.

You had a lot of time to think during the stressful moments of your journey to Marineford. You thought about life and what it meant. You thought about death as well. You knew there was a chance you could die at Marineford yet you couldn't accept the fact that Ace could die as well. He couldn't die. If he did, you would too. Your heart would die. There were too many people who cared about your boyfriend. His pops, his brothers, Luffy, and many others. The only one who cared about you was...Ace, or so you thought.

You had been wearing Ace's hat ever since you found it. You promised yourself that you would be the one to give it to Ace the second he was free. You wanted to see his smile on his freckled face as you put it on his raven hair. You smiled just thinking about the fantasy. 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day. You would be at Marineford tomorrow. The day of Ace's execution. You felt anxious and nauseous just thinking about it. You could tell everyone was nervous. Even Pops looked focused and solemn.

It was already night. No stars shown in the cloudy sky. The ocean was quiet and even the breeze was afraid to stir. You could hear whispers in the wind and you swore you hear Ace's whisper. You tried focusing on the task ahead instead of thinking and fantasizing. You had your weapons and tools all packed. You also had a last resort. Your ultimate weapon. The monster inside of you. If it came to that, you knew you would do it. You would save those you love and care about and kill everyone necessary to accomplish that. You just hoped you could distinguish between the two.

You knew you wouldn't sleep tonight as most of your brothers, so you just waited around anxiously and solemnly for the sun to rise. Once the light colors of the sun brightened the sky, you knew it was time for war. A war that would change your life and many others for good. A war that would also end life for many.

Soldier - Fleurie