Protectors [One Piece Fanfiction]

The Monster Called Regret

"I miss him, Marco-san..."

"Me too, Irin. Me too-yoi..."

In her heart there was another cross out, another person she cared for she lost. First it was her father who left her, then it was her mother who died protecting her, third it was Sabo who died in the most terrible manner, and lastly, it was Thatch who was murdered by someone she thought could be trusted.

She hated this.

How could this happen?

How could she lose so many people she had cared about?

Sure, her father was not dead, but the emotional scar of him leaving was there.

These deaths and losses were wounds that would never be healed. It hurt her so much. Every time she gets over a death, a new one arises. She thought life would be less painful when she's older but now it seems that life only gets worse.

All the memories she had with Thatch flashed in her mind.

All those laughs they shared.

All those little moments that made her look up to him.

And now he was simply gone. There was no one to cook her favourite dishes whenever she came aboard Moby Dick. She could no longer see the bright grin on Thatch's face whenever she complimented his cooking anymore.

Thatch was gone.

The memories, however, remain.

Those memories both calmed Irin and saddened her. The happy moments made her smile but the thought of not being able to create new ones hurt her.

She missed Thatch.

He was a great cook.

He was a great friend.

He was a great person in general.

Irin wanted to send Teach to Impel Down just so Thatch could rest, but she was not allowed to.

She was not allowed to just drop her job and hunt for a nameless pirate and Pops did not want her to pursue him. She was frustrated.

Oh how she longed to just drop everything and hunt down Teach.

"Listen to me, Irin, don't go after Teach and don't face him alone when you encounter him. Thatch was not weak... You know what this means right?" Marco warned, looking at the girl worriedly.

The Whitebeard Pirates had failed to stop Ace, the last thing they wanted was to have Irin follow after him.

Neither of the two were weak, but there was something strange.

Pops had a strange feeling about Teach, and this strange feeling was something bad.

"I– I understand... But I'll still be on a lookout for him... I'll try to put in some word with the Navy and issue a search for him... It'd be hard but I can't just ignore this... This is the only compromise I can come up with... I won't personally search for him but I'll keep an eye out for him at all times.... Is that... okay?" Irin asked, after explaining her plans to Marco.

The man only stared at her worriedly before nodding, "Sure, as long as you don't go out of your way to search for him and try to fight him yourself," he said, reassuring, "Don't beat yourself up for this, Irin, Thatch wouldn't want you risking your life for him-yoi... He wouldn't want you to die because of this."