The day after

“Marco!” Haruta ran to him. “You are our captain now! Were to??” Marco put his hand on Haruta’s head and smiled a little. “Far away. Let’s disappear for a little. To organize and lick our wounds yoi.”

‘Our not healing wounds’

Haruta nodded. “Away from red line then. Clear orders captain!” He dashed away.

‘Captain.’ Marco thought. ‘Me. Captain.’ He clenched his fist and looked up at the sky. ‘Oyaji… Ace… Thatch… Help me. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to take this position.’

Tears brimmed in his eyes blurring his vision and for a second he thought he saw the three of them smiling at him between the clouds. He shook his head. “I’ll be in my room yoi.” He murmured to a passing crew member and locked himself in his room. He sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands. Happy memories passed over his mind.

When Thatch died, Oyaji and Ace helped him keep it up. He knew he had their backs and they made him smile. The loss was bearable. But now, no Ace, no Oyaji, no Thatch. Three left. Three and many others. That battle tore him apart like he was made of thin paper and he wished to burn away and die. But he was a Phoenix. He couldn’t.

He stood up and snatched a bottle of strong whiskey from his cabinet and threw the cap away. It landed somewhere clattering on the wooden planks of the floor. He sat back on his bed, his back on its headboard, and took a big gulp from the burning liquid. He felt it go down his throat and spread into his stomach. A hiss left his lips but soon he had recovered. He took a second gulp. “Oyaji yoi.” He whispered closing his eyes.

“Thatch. Oyaji and Ace paid an early visit to you yoi. Keep them safe until I come too ok?” He smiled. “Especially Ace. He is a reckless kid. Pain and danger is unknown to him. Fear. What is fear for him? An alien feeling yoi.” He sniffed.

“Blackbeard… He brought so much pain on us. First he killed you, then he gave Ace to be killed and then he killed Oyaji… Just…” He frowned and licked his lips. “I will hunt him down yoi.” He paused, thinking over his words but found no wrong in them. Only right. So he nodded agreeing with himself and drunk more whiskey. “I’ll hunt him down till he reaches hell. And if Luffy wants to help,” He smiled again at the memory of that loud mouthed equally reckless and fearless boy. “,he is more than welcome to yoi.” He sighed.

 “I want to see where that kid will go. What he’ll reach. He is strong Ace. With the willpower of steel and love for his nakama, he is destined to go far yoi.” A chuckle left him. “You’ll probably hate me for that Ace but, he is so much like you and Roger yoi. Like a real brother. Like his son.  When we learnt he is Dragon’s son I didn’t believe it at first. He is so much like you, inside out, it’s scary!” He grinned. “And at the same time, you are completely opposite. How the hell can that happen yoi?”

By now the bottle of whiskey was gone and he had moved on Vodka. Halfway down. He was a little bit tipsy but he kept drinking. Drinking and talking.

“Ace. When Oyaji brought you here, I was completely opposed to his decision. You were stinking like trouble yet he saw something in you. You were so dangerous and… I don’t know yoi. Unfriendly. I had to always watch over you yoi. I lost my sleep you bastard. And then, one day, you broke and you became one of the most loyal. First you torture us and then you turn into an extra friendly, squishy, fluffy, smiling guy like we were never your enemies yoi.”

He let his head hung, little droplets falling on him, darkening little spots on his clothes. He felt like he was suffocating so he threw his shirt away and wiped his face. His chest hurt. And it was a pain his powers couldn’t heal. Boundaries were everywhere. Even in his powers. He emptied the vodka grabbing a second bottle. He took a deep breath and drank half of it in one go. Finally. His vision was doubling. He threw his head back sighing. He hated this pain. But he couldn’t avoid it. Not anymore. He suppressed his feelings from Thatch’s departure but know the hit was double and everything washed over him like a tsunami of feelings. Bad ones. He stood up as best as he could and went to his cabinet. He opened it and found a few photos then returned to his previous position.