One Piece; Book Of One Shots!

Portgas D. Ace // I'm Ready

{ nobody requested this... the idea just came to me out of absolutely nowhere, so here we go ( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ }

[ whitebeard pirate reader, a brave and proud young lady, slightly sassy and always up for a good challenge uwu ]

...angst. a lot of angst.

•

Anxiety crawled at your chest as the large ship's course was set to that place. So many thoughts raced through your already pained mind, only worsening the situation for yourself.

You were sat outside, not wanting to be confined within your room's walls at this time - fresh air was what you hoped would help clear your mind and put it at ease, even the smallest bit. Back against the wooden wall, knees pulled up to your chest, with your arms resting upon them; your head buried in them. You could hear your heart pounding, and it almost felt as if the organ would jump out your chest and land on deck in a pool of blood.

Nobody spoke too much; some men were trying to distract themselves with idle chat, readying their weapons, stuff like that, but the same thought lingered at the back of their minds despite how much they tried to ignore it for the time being. It was simply impossible to ignore, when one of their brothers was set to be killed in front of so many people.

The members of the Second Division, the one Ace was in charge of, seemed to be the most anxious of all, understandably. Their Commander was in extreme danger - though their eyes were determined, their minds made up, they would save him or die trying. Among them, majority of his former crew, the Spade Pirates, were visibly shaking and very much upset. They knew him the longest, after all.

Footsteps came your way; you didn't even have to look up to know who they belonged to, the ghost of a smile grazing your lips upon noticing the older male take a seat next to you. One of his hands was placed on your back and began to slowly move in circles, slowly but firmly - a gesture that always managed to calm you down, that made your body less tense and more relaxed.

"If the wind doesn't suddenly decide to mess this up and keeps going steadily this way, we'll be there in around half an hour," he spoke quietly, though you could distinguish a tiny hint of uneasiness in his usually casual and confident voice, "D'you think you can handle the Fourth Division? That and the Second are the most tense of all, yoi."

You sighed deeply, lifting your head to meet the blond's eyes, and offered him a small smile; not 100% like the ones he was so used to, warm and welcoming, but still better than nothing. You nodded, accepting his hand to stand up properly.

"Yeah, I can do that... I owe it to Thatch, after all he's done for me." you hummed, arms over your chest. Your heart ached at the mere mention of the deceased's name, memories of his cheerful, rather childish and teasing behaviour flashing through your head. Thatch was arguably one of your favourite brothers in here, the one you would always turn to for comfort and advice. You weren't in his Division, belonging to Marco's instead, but that didn't matter at all - you were so damn close with that man that you might as well have been, really.

He's in a better place now, hopefully.

Finding the people of the Fourth Division wasn't at all difficult. They all had a tendency to gather in the large dining hall and galley, perhaps because of their former Commander's not-so-secret cooking talent. Hell, many of them served as cooks aboard the ship as well, which sometimes had you thinking that Thatch's Division could easily own a successful restaurant, had they not chosen the pirate life.