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The wail of the infant echoed, fat tears streaming at the small, chubby, freckled cheeks. Carina sighed at the sight. She hadn't slept a blink. Her son always cries whenever she places him in a crib, despite being fast asleep. Gently and carefully, she carries Ace again, and the baby immediately grows quiet, her tiny fist gripping her clothes, not wanting to let her go.
"You don't want to be away from me that much, huh, Ace?" And the baby mumbles incoherent words, making Carina's heart warm.
"How sweet of you."
Carina didn't know that she would have two other boys to be called sons, Ace's younger brother. She became the mother of three boys; she gave her heart to them and dedicated her life to raising them. The days and nights she spent with her children didn't fail to shower them with love and care. However, fate is cruel; Carina lost Sabo, and now Ace is slowly slipping from her hand.
Carina stared at the photo attached to her oval pendant. On the right was a picture of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy with grins plastered on their faces, and on the left side was their mother with a blond-haired man with a peculiar smile as he was showing a peace sign.
She already lost her foster father from execution; she already lost her lover from a mission; she already lost her son from the celestial dragon's hand; she can't lose Ace too. She can't lose anyone who is dear to her.
Carina would overthrow everything for the sake of her sons. She will give up everything to keep them safe. She doesn't want to fail again.
"Don't worry, Ace. Okaasan will save you. I will come to get you, son." Whispered of promise, the wind wished her luck as she was embraced by it.
From watching his crew disappear one by one from his eyesight, to traveling to an unknown island, and to finding out that his brother Ace will be executed just like his father, Gol D. Roger. For a teenager boy, it was too much to handle; everything was a mess inside Luffy's head despite the enthusiasm he was showing to his new friends.
And invading the Impel Down without a realistic plan is not the right solution, but Luffy was highly optimistic, and his dumb, simple mind is not capable of creating a plan. All that is on his mind is to save Ace; whoever comes in his way will be wiped out, even if his life is on the line. Oh, the things he would do for his older brother.
Losing one is enough; he can't lose another one. Not Ace, nor his dear mother, not even one of his crew members.
If it means losing his life to protect them, then so be it!
But is all his hard work not enough? Are all his sacrifices fruitless? Is he late? Has he already lost his older brother?
Luffy stared at the empty cell. Ace, his older brother, is no longer there. Eyes wavering, mind going blank. He can't lose Ace. He won't be able to handle the feeling of losing someone again. Not again.
NO! Luffy won't give up! It's his nature. He won't ever give up!
"I'm going to go to the Navy Headquarters! If I'm not going to give up now, I'll regret it!"
The sky was bright and azure; it was peaceful, but Sabo felt uneasiness in his heart. It was like a calm before a huge storm. His grip on his weapon tightens as his last dream dances in his mind in a slow, agonizing choreography. He needed to leave, but he did not know exactly where he needed to go. His heart begs him to return, but his mind is empty like a piece of paper. Where does he need to go? To whom was he returning? To the people in his dream? But it was clear that he couldn't remember them, so how would he find them?
Too many questions and confusion hurt both his mind and heart.
"Sabo-kun." A soft touch on his cheeks brought him back to reality. Round blue orbs staring at him with worry.
"You're breaking out in sweat; what's wrong?" His uneven breathing slowly returned to regularity.
"No, nothing is wrong." Sabo replied in a brief moment. "Everything is fine," he added.
Is everything indeed fine?
"That dumb idiot of my son!" A crack was created on the table when Carina's fist slammed on it, and her hold at the den den mushi tightened when she received a call from one of her men that Luffy invaded the Impel down in order to save Ace. Danger! That place screamed danger, and her son was walking on it.
"Keep him safe, Etel. Please." To hear her leader beg was enough for her to throw her life in the front row to make sure that Luffy would come out alive in the Impel Down.
"I promise, Carina-san."
(A/n: Last time I asked you, "Who do you ship Carina with?" But Carina's lover is a blonde; I think you could already guess who it is!)
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