Write For Me

Makeshift Meanings

Pant, pant, pant. Hiss.

Sabo sprinted through streets of Goa City's High Town, steadily making his way to the winding paths and alleys of Edge Town, subsequently in the opposite direction of the frenzied shouting behind him. He held one of his wrists in front of himself, clutched to his chest, in hopes of minimising how much his movements jolted it.

While escaping his room by climbing down the rope he had made of bedsheets, he had managed to sprain his wrist. Not halfway down the rope the old sheet he had been wary about including in the rope, ripped, causing him to drop the last story he had to go whilst unprepared to land. 

Unfortunately, the way he fell had him turning mid-air, making it a choice between either his head or his hands that would ultimately meet the earth first. That was one of the easier choices he had to make recently; the outcome of his decision definitely the best compared to what he had been going through.

As he made it to the border between the two tiers of Goa City, Sabo skidded to a halt, feeling horror gnaw away at his insides as he gazed out beyond the containing wall of the city. Where once you would be able to see the trash heaps of Grey terminal and forests of Mt Colubo, was now completely obscured by thick swirling smoke. The fumes were  an ominous black, a shocking contrast to the orange-yellow of the setting sun.

Unfortunately, Sabo only got a moment to spend his thoughts wholly on how big the fire in Grey Terminal would have to be to create such a large amount of smoke, before he registered how the yelling formerly coming from his 'home' had gotten louder  and closer.

Staring out towards the terminal, then to the mountain, for a few seconds more, Sabo quickly resumed his mad dash for the city's exit. As he ran, he spent his thoughts on his real family.
'Ace, Luffy. Please, where ever you are, be safe!'

-----

"Shit!"

Quickly, Ace righted himself from where he almost fell after tripping. It was hard to see the rudimentary path that led to Grey Terminal on a good day, routine more than sight granting him easy passage, but now with the factor of sight almost entirely stripped away due to the lateness and the smoke blocking the remains of the sun's light it was nigh impossible to traverse the terrain without continuously stumbling!

As it stood, Ace found himself mid-fall once again not a minute later, unfortunately this time he was not able to stop his descent and was sent face first into the dirt.
Frustration welled up inside of Ace, with no other outlet all he could do was fist his hand and pound the earth while the other simply clawed at it, both limbs aching from impacting the ground.

"Dammit.... God dammit! " Ace lifted his head from the ground, gazing hatefully at the spiraling plumes of smoke ahead. "Sabo's in serious trouble and here I am unable to do anything to help all because of some smoke? How useless can I get! " Laughing bitterly, he hauled himself up to his feet, stumbling forwards not because of obstructions but because of the exhaustion that hit him like a brick wall. Never had a trip down the mountain seemed so hard.

Forced to pause for a second, Ace bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to regain his energy for the last bit of the trip. Closing his eyes, he imagined what Sabo would think right now, how pathetic he would seem to his best friend, to the person who wouldn't even know that Ace forgave him-!

Regret washed over Ace. In his rush he had entirely forgotten to tell Sabo what was going on, forgot that he had the option to reassure the other through their soulmate link; that fact made him feel ashamed, he could not believe that something so special to them had been glossed over in his panic. What's more, Ace did not even have anything to write with since he never went to Dadan's with Luffy.

Opening his eyes, Ace was met with the sight of his dirtied front, soiled by his fall, the dampness of the substance making it stick to his clothes and skin. Unsteadily, Ace brought he muddy hand to his arm, attempting to write on his skin with the dirt, but found it did not work. Without thinking, Ace rubbed his hand against the chafed skin of his other, coming away bloody; while blood was not much better than mud, at least it stayed somewhat legible on his skin. 

Now, as Ace continued on his way, he just had to hope that the unconventional method of writing would show up on his soulmate's own skin.

-----

He was too late.
Too late and did not even know he was on a time-limit.

Flames that licked at his skin faded, paling in comparison to the borderline dazzling explosion he could see floating above the ocean's surface, partly obscured by the gargantuan ship sailing steadily past the carnage. The people on board only visible thanks to all the fire surrounding the area, a type of light that they took in with childish awe, seemingly unaware of the lives their entertainment cost or uncaring of that particular spending.

His knees burned and blistered from the hot metal he knelt on. He found the physical pain feeling numb compared to the emotional turmoil the fading bloody words on his arm brought his heart.

Ace brought his forearm up, clutching it in a protective way, as if to stop the words from fading. Trying to prevent his reassurance to Sabo from being wiped away. He covered his hand in ash from the nearby fire, the danger of staying where he was escaping him, and franticly traced the words on his arm over and over again in the residue.

'Be safe. I'll help you, Sabo.'

-----
AN:
So sorry about the long wait for this chapter and if it may not live up to previous chapters! The last bit was added in order to further the plot and not just have the little boys running around the whole time; I think it fulfils it's purpose well.
As to why this was so late, well, my body decided it wanted to get all up and personal with the ER (Emergency Room/Response) of my local hospital. Luckily, the medication I've switched to seems to deal with all of my pain-related problems much more efficiently. So here's hoping I'll be able to write on a more regular basis!