12Important Note!
AUish where Marco is not the ship's doctor. He is just a division commander and first mate. He can only heal himself. None of those chick nurses too. It's a hassle to add more details in a oneshot.
I actually outlined this plot years ago and only finished about 60% before I got really busy. Found this in my old device and decided to just finish it. To hell with it, you know.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters.
"You think some big animal ran this over?"
"I don't know. But if it was an animal, then that must be some huge ass beast."
Ace let a smirk plaster his face at Thatch's answer as he casually lit a small fire at the tip of his index finger to light up the other's cigarette.
"You wanna bet your money on that, brother?"
Thatch thought about the idea for moment. Well, he was feeling a bit confident. In the years he experienced in the life of piracy, he was used to deducing some causes of destruction just by observing the damage. He was sure that the watchtower of this island, which is under their crew's protection, wasn't destroyed by some explosion as it seems it was toppled over by some impact from the outside.
Well, beast it was.
He puffed out a smoke and answered, "5,000 beli."
Ace grinned. "Wrecking ball for me. Deal."
Thatch mentally cursed. That was... also possible. Highly possible, considering the mess in the surrounding area and nearby toppled trees.
Huffing, he turned to stride away from the destruction. "Come on, birdy would get mad again if we're late."
Ace excitedly jogs ahead of him. It would take about 8 minutes tops for them to arrive at the village as the trek goes uphill. "Race ya! Remember, 5000 beli!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Thatch promptly put out his cigarette. "Hey! Don't get ahead of yourself!" He was answered with a childish expression from the freckled boy, who sticks out his tongue before sprinting ahead.
Marco the Phoenix was stuck. To clarify, he was stuck in his thoughts. He came to the village on the island at full speed leaving Thatch and Ace behind to catch up to him. He was the fastest, after all, and there was no time to dilly-dally. When the Moby Dick received a distressed call 6 days ago, it took almost another entire day to find out which island it came from. Well, they assumed it was a distressed call. When Haruta picked it up, no words were spoken from the other end of the line. The only thing he heard was a labored breathing like someone was in pain and a weak "...help" being uttered before hanging up.
Considering that line was for contact with their territories, it seems that one of them was in need of their protection.
Haruta quickly had his division to quickly check each territory using their multiple transponder snails. There were quite a lot of them, so it took until the sun was setting that they pinpointed it to be from an island in Paradise. None of their allies and smaller ships were near there. As it was an emergency, Whitebeard decided to send three of his commanders.
It took almost a week for them to arrive by boat and when the island was in sight, Marco shifted into his phoenix form and went ahead. God knows in what ruins the village is in by now. It would be a waste. Aside from being a larger than average village, they made the best drinks in Paradise and is one of crew's favorite places to restock. Marco prepared himself for a disastrous sight...
or so he thought.
In the middle of the bustling main street, Marco blinked in surprise before he shook it off and proceeded to calmly observe his surroundings with a laidback stance.
It seemed like it was any normal and content routine day of the villagers here.
"Oh my," a sandy, old voice of a man spoke from behind Marco so he turned around. It was the village chief. With a slouch back, trimmed beard, but still as healthy as he remembered from their last visit. "If it isn't commander Marco."
Marco greeted him in return.
"We received a distress call a few days ago, yoi. If we're not mistaken, it was your village that called."
The old man combed his beard in wonder. "I don't think I ever had the chance to make a call, though. I was... preoccupied." he sighed. "It had been a busy week. Oh wait, maybe Kenji had called when he was in the watchtower. We had a spare transponder snail there. Might I ask at what day you received this call?"
"About 6 days ago, yoi."
"Ahh, it must be Kenji, all right." the old man closed his eyes with his expression quite solemn. "It was a terrible event."
So something did happen. Marco scanned his surroundings again, also observing the pepople passing by. He noticed that the bar nearby that Thatch and many others loved to party in was under construction and it looked like it was nearly finished. A kid he saw holding hands with his guardian had a bandage on his knee. Some of the market sellers, he had now noticed, had little bandages on their bodies. Some on their faces, too, but not that noticeable as they were little and nobody seemed to be expressing any pain.
Hmm...
Well, what's important is that whatever seemed to have happened, seemed to have finished quickly, and the villagers also recovered fast.
But to have some buildings broken down and many people hurt from a few days ago...seems like the fast recovery is a bit abnormal.
"What exactly happened?"
"It's quite a complicated story," the old man told him. "Take a walk with me as I tell you. My doctor advised me to take walks often because my blood pressure rose, hoho." And so Marco complied and they started their stroll.
"A group of bandits dropped by that day." The old man started. "They behaved at first but then they started to get barbaric when they partied at the bar. They started harassing the women and even hit a bartender. We tried to detain them but they were bigger and stronger than us that our fighters lost to them. We told them that they would regret their actions, because we are under the flagship of Whitebeard and therefore along under his protection. But..."
The village chief had a pained expression, looking ahead as he recalled the memory.
" Huh?! I don't see any Whitebeard shit here. You call that flag your protector? Well let's see if anyone shows up when I rip off your mouth, shitty old man."
"I... I almost lost my life. They left then, just like that, hauling our food and money with them. They must have left because they know Kenji called you. Poor boy had his leg ripped off."
Marco felt anger bubble in his chest, as well as regret. With gritted teeth behind his lips, he was about to apologize when the other laughed.
"...but thank goodness. It is because of Doctor that I am able to see you like this again."
"Doctor?"
"Yes, she arrived at the island when those horrible people left. We were lucky that she had a lot of knowledge in medicine and helped us." The village chief now had a fond smile on his face. "She's very efficient too, she practically fixed most of us up. And she takes good care of Kenji."
He laughed.
"She did all that in just under a week! She's an amazing woman. So it is thanks to her that no one died that day."
"I see." Marco replied. "I'm very sorry that this happened when no one was near."
"Oh you don't have to, commander." the older man grinned. "I'm still here, aren't I? And the village is still standing. I just thank God for sending us an angel when we needed it. No one could have foreseen it, they were a reckless gang for doing this to us and left just as quickly because of their fear for Whitebeard when they sobered up."
Marco nodded. "We'll track them down, yoi. I also want to meet this doctor you mentioned."
"Oh, sure. That's where we're heading right now, anyways. Doctor Sakura should be on her break time right now but knowing her, she must be tending to her patients as always."
Doctor Sakura, huh.
They arrived at the hospital. It wasn't that big, nor that small. Its size just fit in the large village. Inside, nurses and other medical staff were busy with work, paying no mind to the two individuals that just entered. The village chief waved to get the attention of a passing individual.
"Ah, excuse me. Is doctor Sakura around?"
"Village chief," the person acknowledged. "Yes, I just saw her tending to Kenji earlier."
"Thank you, young man."
Marco knows Kenji. He is the village chief's adopted son. Cheeky, but not a total brat. The teenager was very social and tries to help his father in managing the village as much as he could. Overall, he's a good kid from what he could remember.
Those thoughts were swiftly set aside as he and the village chief reached a room for admitted patients. It was a shared ward, Marco noted as they entered. There were about six beds inside divided by curtains for each patient's privacy. The village chief went to the left far side section, and Marco assumed that's where Kenji's bed is. As they neared, they heard murmurs from the other side of the closed curtain. The older man with him cleared his throat before sliding it open.
"Excuse me, Doctor."
Marco had noted the bright pink hair first, of course, but did not linger on that as there were many people he had met with more weirder colors in the Grand Line and New World. It was long and French braided loosely until the length stopped mid-back. Frankly, he was more caught up on her eyes. Maybe it was the color as he had never met a person with that shade of green on their eyes before, like it was of nature but more than that. Or maybe it was the way she held her gaze when their eyes met. Marco wasn't intimidated in the slightest nor did he feel any ill intent, but something in those eyes made him feel like he had to keep himself on his toes. Like he didn't want to slip up with those eyes on him, which was weird now that he thought of it.
On her forehead rested a rhombus shaped lilac mark. Huh. Marco wondered if that meant anything.
Holding her gaze felt like it went for too long but as it broke, he realized just how brief that moment was.
Doctor Sakura tipped her head in acknowledgement at their presence. "Ah, chief. Good morning. You're visiting Kenji earlier than usual."
The village chief greeted her in return. "Good morning to you too, doctor Sakura. I must apologize for interrupting you while you're working, but this young man has asked me to show him who I owe for saving the people here."
Him? Young man? Well, if Ace and Thatch were here, they would be howling non stop. Hopefully, this doctor Sakura wasn't judging him to be flamboyant in his age.
"Ah," Marco tries to form a sentence when those eyes suddenly landed back on him.
Don't stutter now.
At the inside voice, the blonde haired pirate managed to plaster a natural lazy smile on his face as he pockets his hands. "I'm Marco, yoi."
That was the first time they met, and that was also the first time Marco heard the Phoenix him croon in his head in the woman's presence—however brief it was.
Doctor Sakura was a pleasant conversationalist, and that was high praise coming from Marco.
They had only introduced themselves and somewhere along the lines, something had clicked and both persons went from a formal acquainted vibe to having a full on relaxed random topics. And somewhere along way, the village chief had left them to their own devices and the both of them had walked out the local hospital, walking towards a random eatery.
The Whitebeard first mate learnt that Doctor Sakura—"Just Sakura, please." was a freelance doctor. She doesn't seem have a fixed home, from what Marco had picked up in their conversation. She says she is dedicated to helping any people in need of a doctor's care. She doesn't care if they could pay her or not, which is very unselfish of her and normally Marco would snort at those kind of lines but he continued to listen to her side. He was quite surprised when she mentioned that when she meant any people, she meant everyone, including sick or injured pirates and marines. She says she swore an oath, and a promise. At that, Marco noted the vagueness.
In turn, Marco shared some of his piracy life. Not the specific happenings, but how it felt. He might have slipped his very open love to his crew. He was pretty sure that she got the hint that Marco thought of the crew as his home. His family. He wasn't embarrassed, though. And Sakura continued to have a pleasant smile on her face, completely understanding of his story.
"I had people like that, too. We weren't connected by blood but the bond we had was as good as a family." Sakura reminisced.
Too immersed in continuing the conversation, Marco did not think before speaking, "May I know what happened?"
That was a bad thing to ask, as his brain caught up to the fact that Sakura had used past tenses. However, that slight panicked thought vanished when she smiled. Marco could not place if the humor she displayed was sincere or not.
"Oh, you know." She took a sip of her drink. "Family drama."
.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Unknowingly to Marco, his other companions were just outside the eatery and both were sporting gaping faces in his direction.
.
Pops wanted to meet Sakura.
I think I know where this is going.
He had just talked to his captain through the transponder snail to report on what and what not had happened. The "hmm" in thought from the other line and the "I'd like to meet this doctor" had Marco get the inkling feeling that he wouldn't be saying goodbye to the doctor anytime soon. There was also the fact that the last member that retired from the life of piracy in their crew was the ship's doctor.
"What do ya know? Old birdie here still got his game, after all." Said old birdie oof-ed when Thatch patted his shoulders aggressively.
"Maybe it's the bod?" Ace holds his chin in thought. "He does have a nice bod."
Hold that shit.
"What," Marco stared incredulously at Ace. "are you guys on about?"
Thatch tutted at him and draped his arm around the other to whisper dramatically, "the hot babe."
The first mate wanted to equally dramatically roll his eyes at his friend.
"That babe is a respectable doctor here, yoi. You'd do well to behave until Pops get here."
"Pops is coming?"
Both Marco and Thatch ignored the youngest of their group.
The cook had his brows raised. "A doctor! Well, I'd be." and proceeded to let out a boisterous laugh. "Marco the Phoenix, you just had to have such standard. Hah! I feel sorry for all the ladies I set you up with before. No wonder you never budged."
Marco was quite irritated now. Thatch was wrong. He wasn't attracted to her. And those ladies were just plain pimps from the local bars they crash on islands. And as the first mate and the only member who seems to be the only mature and more responsible than the others, he brushes those women off to watch over the crew instead for when they'll black out from over partying.
"I am too old for flings, yoi."
"Don't say that. It's like you're saying I am old too. I'm only a year younger than you."
"You are, yoi." he deadpanned.
Thatch of course the dramatic he is got offended, "Mind you, late 30's is the most fun age ever."
Ace decided to comment right then, concluding his analysis on Marco. "Right, it must be the bod because you look old."
Later that night, Ace laid on the inn's rooftop as he was kicked out by the first mate and was at the mercy of annoying mosquitos that he had to fry the insects with a flaming finger every minute or so. He couldn't exactly "flame on" his body at the risk of burning the building. Marco would have his head for that.
Thatch wisely decided to zip his mouth through the rest of the day.
"Sorry. Doctor's out, and I don't think she's still on the island."
That was what the local nurse told them sleepily, likely due to having the night shift.
It was early in the morning now. Surprisingly, the Moby Dick arrived a day and a night later. Turns out, the old captain had ordered to steer their course to the island right after Marco and company left, says he had a gut feeling to catch up to them. Not out of worry, but just plain instinct that he needs to visit the island to satiate it.
'Maybe I just miss the sake here.' His captain had guffawed.
Well, it was kind of a letdown that Pops didn't get to meet the pink haired doctor. Marco had the feeling that the captain would've liked her. She was mature, clever, and a great conversationalist.
Also, a very talented doctor. Marco mused as he watched young Kenji, the village chief's son, doing his physical therapy. The boy walked ever so carefully holding the hands that assisted him so he wouldn't fall over, with his intact and whole pair of legs.
"Poor boy got his leg ripped off." the village chief sadly told him.
Whitebeard had this wide grin on his face as they witnessed the boy having his leg miraculously whole and functional in such a short time.
Oh, Marco definitely knows where this is going.
The next time Marco saw her, a month had passed.
Whitebeard was relentless in ransacking the entire New World trying to find the pink haired doctor. They had contacted allies from all over to get a hint of where she was seen last. A few times it got quite frustrating that just when they have finally stepped on an island to where she was, they would miss her by a day or two at most, and a few hours at the least.
If it had been anybody else, Marco would have thought that Sakura knew that they were looking for her. But that can't be. They had been assured by their allies that no one spoke to her or mentioned "Whitebeard pirates" in her presence.
Now as they stopped by Sabaody Archipelago, Marco did not make any expectations this time. They didn't land because they got a tip that the doctor might be here, but because they had just left the island to where she apparently had stayed a week over and yet again, they missed her by just over 5 hours. The Moby Dick have almost ran out of supplies, so they decided to stop by Sabaody and dock at one of the more inconspicuous groves.
As mentioned earlier, he did not make any expectations that Sakura would head here. But his captain seems to think otherwise.
"Gurararara! I have a good feeling, this time." he had said before cutting off with an abrupt cough. Only once though, and pretended to clear his throat.
His siblings might brush off the quick save, but Marco with all his phoenix instincts know that there might be something wrong. That got him worried for his father figure of a captain.
Alas, said captain is as sly as he can be as he ordered Marco and the others to go fetch the much needed supplies (as well as some precious local sake). Marco huffed.
Stubborn old man.
Edward Newgate was strong, though. Marco had no doubt that the captain wouldn't be keeling over anytime soon while they are away from the ship. Maybe he'll consult with a doctor here secretly. But that thought was soon shoved out his head because no, just describing a simple occasional cough to a professional would not be enough for an accurate diagnosis.
He could feel the phoenix bird in him ruffle its feather in irritation, or maybe distress. Giving up, Marco decided to head to an old acquaintance living on the island to clear up his mind after he made sure everyone went on their assigned tasks.
By coincidence, that was where Marco saw the pink haired doctor again, with unique green eyes slightly widened in surprise looking straight at his equally surprised blinking.
Well, Marco gathered his thoughts and fixed his surprised expression.
What a pleasant surprise.
Like the first encounter, he heard the bird croon pleasantly in his mind.
She wasn't wearing her doctor's coat this time. Instead, she wore a maroon haori over a simple white tank top and had white pedal pants. Her shoes were black open-toed slip-ons. She had her back turned to him when he first entered, and Marco noticed the huge white circle on the back of the maroon haori. At least, he assumed it was a plain circle in shape from what he could tell behind the braided pink hair.
He started with niceties, the usual how-are-yous given to friendly acquaintances. He did not speak a hint that they were looking for her lest he'll alert the traveling doctor, and instead just asked for Sakura's medical expertise after having thought of his captain's slip up earlier.
"I might need a little help, yoi. Care to come with me?"
That was what he said and Sakura had hummed in a considering tone for a moment before agreeing to come along. She seemed to get the hint that there was a potential patient involved.
When they arrived at the Moby Dick, only few of the crew members were there. Weirdly enough, none of them seem to notice that Marco arrived with a woman.
Huh, a part of Marco had thought that his brothers would make a comical scene at seeing a beautiful woman with him. Guess not. The phoenix echoed a pleased hum in his head.
"Gurarara! It is wonderful to finally meet you, doctor." bellowed Whitebeard.
"Likewise," Sakura smoothly replied with a polite smile. Unnoticed by the first mate, the pink haired medic did a quick scan over the gigantic figure of the captain. She was subtle with her intent. Keeping on her smile and careful to not give anything away, she told Marco, "I would require privacy between me and my patient. It helps me focus and usually patients are more honest that way," she says.
Marco nodded and agreed, knowing his captain. He was also not worried about her doing any harm since he didn't think that she could be dangerous. He relies his instincts with the phoenix, and judging by the quietness in his head, it trusts Sakura.
He waited outside the room the entire time. Not guarding, only waiting. As the first mate, Marco wanted to be the first to know about the condition of his captain, whether it be good or bad news.
Lost in thought and some time passed. The next thing Marco knew, Whitebeard had announced a welcome party for their new crew member and who is now also their ship's doctor.
Amidst the cheers and "Aye!" of his brothers, Marco was near enough to witness the pink haired doctor sigh with an exasperated smile.
"I only said that I'll be staying long term due to your treatment being long term. Oh well."
The party went on, the joyous atmosphere not abating anytime soon. Marco's brothers took this time to get to know the pretty recruit, like the suckers they usually are.
Sakura had handled them smoothly, much to Marco's surprise. It didn't take long before they were all laughing and joking around. Some tried to flirt with her like Thatch (he thinks he's a real sweet talker), but it all went for naught. It was kind of a funny sight to him.
He had subconsciously plastered a smirk on his face. When the doctor had finally met his gaze, Ace had the impeccable timing to arrive and the others were then distracted with his light banter with Thatch. It was always an entertaining scene for them all. With distraction provided, Sakura descreetly escaped the little crowd and went to him.
Marco acknowledged her presence by giving her a mug of sake.
"Well, who would have guessed, yoi."
"Guess what?" Sakura raised a brow.
"That we would become family."
"Family?"
Marco chuckled. "Yeah, yoi. This crew is one whole big family. And now you're a part of it."
"Huh. You're all a weird bunch." Sakura laughed good heartedly.
She had a nice smile, Marco thought. Not too wide, not forced, not fake. Only relaxed.
"But I like it," she says. "Being part of this weird bunch is a nice change of pace."
"I'll pretend that didn't sound like a backhanded comment, yoi."
She laughs again, and Marco lightly feels the happy hum of the phoenix.
Apparently, Sakura had joined the crew on one condition aside from treating their captain. It was that she would never fight, and that Whitebeard shall never order her to fight.
"I just hate fighting. I don't like it."
It was said in a tone so empty, so devoid of emotion aside from a spark of bitterness at the end, that Marco and the others noticed there must be a reason why she was resolute on that.
"Aw, man. If you say so, I respect that," Ace pouted because he was excited to teach her some moves and finally make himself feel like he's not the latest recruit on the ship.
Marco wasn't included in the conversation, but heightened senses due to his devil fruit allowed him to eavesdrop. He thinks in his head that Sakura not being able to fight was not a problem at all. Most of his brothers were strong. They would be capable to protect their new sister. He could also do it alone, fighting while protecting her.
The last bit was more or less added by the phoenix part of him.
He feels a gaze on him, and he averts his gaze to his far side, where he sees Izo crossing his arms and sending him a knowing smirk. Izo nears him.
"Got a crush now, brother dear?"
"Not really, yoi. Now shoo, " Marco waved him off, ignoring how the other was still sending him a teasing grin as he goes away.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Yet."
Marco just sends him a deadpan look.
Few months have passed. By now, everyone was comfortable with Sakura in the family. The ones who had tried to flirt with her at the start gave up long ago and instead forms a sisterly bond with her. Especially Thatch, he now likes to disturb her peace at every chance he gets but always makes it up to her with food of his own specialty.
Every day, at any time, Sakura provides treatment to their captain at least once per day. But nobody knows how she does it as she strictly bans everyone from entering the sickbay until she is done dealing with her patient. No one complains, however. As each time Whitebeard leaves the room, he looks more and more vibrant and much more full of life. By then, only had others just realized that their acknowledged father had been sick for quite a while before Sakura arrived.
Through time, they had already encountered some enemies in the middle of the ocean and occasionally on land. The first time Sakura had provided her use to the crew apart from their captain, marines had attacked their ship in the middle of the night. They won with minimal damage but some sustained injuries, but none were severe. Sakura took one look at them and told them since they were not severe or in need of urgent treatment, she provides them with a special salve of her own making. She instructs them to apply and reapply before changing new bandages everytime.
"These are miracle workers! Woah."
The crew had been amazed with her salve, as injuries were quick to heal with them.
"You're the best, doc!"
What do you know, pops may have just adopted quite a skillful and knowledgeable doctor for a daughter.
That was what the first division commander had thought silently at the time.
.
.
.
But now, they were quite in a dilemma.
Marco's phoenix weakly echoes a distressed sound in his head.
To make the long story short, they arrived on an island. Their captain and some divisions stayed until Marco and the others give the go signal after investigating. Said island was thought to be scarce of civilization at first but turns out, there was one. It was quite hidden. The civilization was small. They were welcomed rather quickly. They partied all night there. Whitebeard and the others joined along. They blacked out. When Marco woke up, he saw the whole crew tied up and bunched together. They were in some kind of deep cave. He realized he was cuffed with seastone along with Ace and Whitebeard.
Turns out, the civilization was some kind of weird ass cult...and they were about to be served as sacrifices to their beastly god in the mountains. At least, that was what the cult leader said before ordering his people to light explosions at the far entrance of the cage to trap them inside, leaving them in the dark.
Well, what the fuck.
"Man, I..." Thatch sobs dramatically. "I never regretted joining this crew. I enjoyed cooking food for you every day, guys. Especially you, Ace. I wish I didn't limit my serving for you last time as revenge for dyeing my hair lime green." He wails.
"God," Ace groans weakly, likely due to the seastone. "Thatch, shut up please. You're killing my head."
Whatever they were fed last night that made them black out, it gave them sideffects too, because Marco could feel his head like it was about to explode from throbbing so much.
Some of his brothers started wailing, too.
"Shut the fuck up, yoi."
And they tried muffling their cries at that. Only short sniffles could be heard.
Marco tries to scan and count the members in the cave with them with his observation haki.
Looks like they got all of us from the main ship.
The divisions on rotation at the main was Thatch's (his was permanent as they cook food for Pops everyday), his (first mate, duh), Ace's (he just got appointed the other day, what luck), Haruta's, and Namur's. Another division, Izo's, was left on another spare ship, tasked to patrol around the island if there would be any unexpected enemies like marines. The rest were away on their on missions and tasks like visiting other allied lands.
Marco notices that his captain was oddly silent. He looks at his side.
"Pops?"
"Yeah, son?" Whitebeard grunts.
"You're oddly calm, yoi."
The giant lets out a soft chuckle. "You seem to forget, son, that we have backup."
Marco was puzzled.
"She ought to have noticed by now that we've been gone for too long."
It then clicked in the first mate's head. Sakura. Right, she stayed back in the ship because she was restocking her supplies and salves. She can contact Izo-
"Cha!"
A loud sound, and the earth vibrates.
He swiftly ignores the heavy headache and forces his senses to be alert.
They all notice the entrance that had been blocked with thick stones start to crack and crumble. The light seeping in and then they all had to squint from the sudden brightness.
He coudn't believe it. Marco let's out a breathy laugh.
"Gurarara! There you are, my daughter. Didn't take you long enough."
The crew gaped at Sakura, who had one hand on her hips to let her body lean to the side and one hand formed in a fist. She lets out an exasperated sigh.
"I thought it was too good to be true that my morning was peaceful."
Thatch wails out. "My savior! My goddess!" He dramatically kneels and bows to the ground with his tied up body, making him look like a worm. It was a comical sight. And it was even more comical when Haruta copied beside him. Ace would have joined but because of the seastone and headache, he couldn't even lift a finger.
These kids in adult bodies.
"Please don't." she deadpans.
Everyone then gapes when their doctor who was supposedly incapable of fighting, clutches the seastone cuffs and crushes them with her fist.
The phoenix caws to life in his head as he feels energized again.
No. Marco forces himself to stay grounded. He definitely shouldn't be turned on right now.
"How are you feeling?"
"Gurarara! I'm feeling immensely proud, my daughter."
"Aside from headaches, we're fine." Namur helpfully provides.
"Headache? My head feels like it's about to explode!" Haruta complains. "And also I'm definitely mindblown right now. Didn't know ya were crazy strong!"
"Yeah," Ace mutters. "I still feel like shit even though the seastone's off now."
"Hm, let me." Sakura hovers her hand on his head, and a greenish glow appears on her hand.
And after that incident, everyone except Whitebeard, were caught in surprise at the unexpected ability of their doctor. Their headaches were gone and they felt good as new!
"Holy shit. Are you for real a goddess?!"
"Wait, wait! So you just punched the wall to break in? Just like that?"
"With a single punch? Damn."
"I never knew haki can be used for brute force like that."
Sakura chuckles in an attempt to smother the embarrassment she was feeling at the moment.
"It's not haki, per se. It's just a technique I learned back from where I come from."
Izo had been staring at her for a while now and it was getting uncomfortable. After her explanation, he decided to ask a thought that had been on his mind for a while after hearing from his brother about what had transpired while he was on patrol in the seas.
"Where do you come from?"
There was a beat of silence, and Marco was thinking of inserting a comment to divert the subject when he saw Sakura placing a carefully blank expression. He admits that he was curious, too. Meeting this wonderful and talented doctor in the wide seas, and having her join the family crew (albeit she had insisted at first that it was only temporarily)— was too much of a luck for them. It has been 8? or perhaps 10 months by now. He witnessed her adapting smoothly to the crew, she got along with everyone and especially Pops who got fond of her. But despite the many fun moments, playing games, pranks, and lectures from the doctor when they get injured from recklessness, he realizes they didn't know much about her.
"Konoha" Sakura says as she had a faraway look in her eyes. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves of the Land of Fire."
Izo gasped. "The Elemental Nations?!"
"Huh, Izo? You know that place?" Ace asked.
"I heard of it from back home…" Wano. "Back in the first era where Wano only had samurai as fighters, the first ninjas migrated there from a place called Elemental Nations. They called themselves shinobi, and taught our ancestors the ninja art. From there, the art was passed down for generations until the present."
Izo held eye contact with Sakura.
"It is said that those first ninjas left one day. As if they had not spent years living in the country, they disappeared without a trace except for the ninja art that they had passed on to the ancestors. I have heard of this story since I was a child. In fact, all children of Wano know of it. It is said that the Elemental Nations is a myth, a legend of the foundation of ninja art."
Sakura smiled. "A legend, huh," she crossed her arms. "Well I guess the place is worth a legend."
Marco and the others knew she was having a moment, as he saw that her eyes glossed and not looking at anything or anyone in particular. But of course Ace being his obnoxious self, remained oblivious to the atmosphere and went straight to her face with stars in his eyes.
"Ninja?!"
"Hey, hey." Oh look, Haruta joined too. "Doctor, are you a ninja?"
"Yes. Specifically, I'm a medic-nin." Sakura confirmed.
"Woah, that's awesome! Can you show us some ninja tricks?"
"Come on, please~"
Behind the two ninja fanatics, Izo had a thoughtful look on his face as he cupped his shin. No doubt that he was curious to confirm too.
Marco was ready to grab the two youngsters' heads but surprisingly, Sakura complied to their wishes.
"Sure. I can show you a basic ninjutsu." and she did a clone jutsu.
"Whoa~!"
"There's two of you!"
"Hey, hey. I heard that ninjas can walk on walls, can you do that?" Haruta requested.
"Yeah." and she proceeded to casually walk a nearby wall to show them. Her clone followed, too.
"So cool!"
"Ninjas are so awesome!"
These kids…
Everyone sweatdropped. Though, some of them were mildly interested, too.
"Alright, that's enough." Marco grabbed them by their ears. His phoenix self was starting to get agitated at the sight of them hogging her and to be honest, he himself also thought that they were invading the pink haired doctor's space too much.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"That hurts, you stupid birdie!"
That was the wrong plea as Marco pulled even more.
"Pfft. Hahaha!" Sakura laughed at their antics, and redness creeped up to Marco's neck because that was the first time he heard her genuine laugh.
Like wind chimes, it was loud but not disturbing.
Later that night, Marco awoke from his slumber and could not fall back to sleep. He proceeded to do some patrol rounds to tire some of his energy. That's when he sees Sakura at the back of the deck, where it was dark and overlooking the waves. She didn't say anything, but he knew that she was aware of his presence.
They stood in silence, watching the dark sea and the bright stars.
"What's it like, yoi? Your home."
Sakura pondered for a second before deciding on a short answer, but a truthful one. "Like any other home. There were people I considered family, even if not by blood."
Sakura smiles as she reminisces.
"It's nights like this where I remember them. My homeland. My friends and teachers."
"Do you miss them?" Do you want to go back?
"Yes." The woman continued to smile, yet her tone was bittersweet. "But there's nothing left for me there."
Silence befalls them. There wasn't any right reply to that, but Marco thinks a moment of silence is the right way to give the other time to settle her emotions.
"I hope you don't regret this, doctor." Thatch tells Sakura from the opposite side of the table.
Sakura smiles in good nature. "Right back to you, commander Thatch."
Said commander balked at the address.
"Gurarara! This ought to be interesting."
Marco deadpans, "Pops, don't encourage them please."
All around them, the entire crew on the main ship cheers.
"Now don't embarrass yourself in front of a woman, Thatch!"
"That's not the way of chivalry if you go easy on her!"
"Hey!" Thatch yells at them.
"Gurarara!"
Marco was mildly thankful that Ace wasn't here as the flame boy's division was away for a mission. The little shit would have egged Thatch more.
The chef decides to behave and grins at Sakura. "I got a decade or so of experience than you, ya know. Are you sure you're not backing away?"
"Nonsense." She giggles. "You're only a year older than me. I remember your medical profile."
"…"
"WHAT?!"
"THE HELL?!"
"Hey Thatch, aren't you in your late 30s?"
Opposite her, said person that was supposed to challenge her to a drinking contest, gaped.
Sakura frowns, "What? Did you all think I was in my 40s already?"
"WE THOUGHT YOU WERE YOUNGER!" Everyone except Marco and Whitebeard said in unison.
"Oh, my. You guys are making me blush." Sakura shyly covered her face.
Marco thinks she's had too much to drink already for her to be acting this way. At this rate, this would be an easy win for Thatch.
"Nevermind that." Thatch finally puts his game face on. "Let's get to it."
And so the drinking contest continues.
.
"M-monster.." someone said as Sakura gulps the 50th? 60th? mug. A thin line of rum slipping outside her lips that proceeded to trickle down her chin, to her chest-
Marco decides to stop such observation. That was dangerous territory.
Sakura slams down the mug with a satisfied breath. Another thump followed as her current challenger slumped down on the table. It was Jozu. Thatch was laying down by the side, having been beaten about 30 mugs ago.
"Alright! Next one!" Sakura grins. There was a flush on her cheeks but it doesn't look like she's going down anytime soon.
Izo was near them and Sakura made eye contact, but the marksman immediately backed away.
"No thanks. I'd rather not ruin my look."
Everyone dispersed. All of them not wanting to make eye contact in case she'd ask to challenge them.
Sakura pouts. "What? No fun. Just when I was just warming up."
That was a warm up?!
Marco sighs, and decides to end the game before anyone could suffer any alcohol poisoning.
"Alright. Come here, yoi." He holds her arm to make her stand up. Sakura wanted to protest but then again, no one wants to challenge her anymore so she gives in and they walk to the cabins. "They're going to pass out soon, anyways. Even Pops went to bed already. Might as well retire to your room, yoi."
Sakura sighs exasperatedly. "Alright I gotcha, yoi." she says the last part teasingly.
God, this woman.
Marco clears his throat, deciding to change the subject. "Was it one of your tricks?"
"The what?"
"So that you cannot get drunk, is it some ninja trick? Or just one of your abilities?"
Sakura grins. This was the moment that Marco realized that the other was smiling more around them, more carefree, more cheeky…
The pink haired doctor grips Marco's arm with her own.
…and definitely more touchy. Though, he doesn't mind and feels a slight tingle at the touch.
"You saw through that, huh?" She laughs. "Always so perceptive even at the smallest things, Marco the Phoenix."
Only for you, though.
It is at the surprised look on Sakura did Marco's mind register that he said the thought out loud.
"Oh…"
Oh, indeed.
His mind was blank, and all he could notice was the sweat forming in his palms. Here was the pink haired woman, the wonder doctor he had met on an island in Paradise somewhere, the reason why the Phoenix in him was restless at times, the source of his distractions when doing his duties so he finds himself dropping by the clinic to see her from time to time. A beautiful woman that could pack a punch through a thick wall and heal a limb from amputation at the same time. He only has a vague understanding of her past, but he finds himself wanting to know more, to be near her all the time, to be a constant presence around her.
Sometimes, all of these feelings become too much like he could drown from it, but he wouldn't mind drowning if it's for her. This cluster of emotions seeded when he first laid eyes on her, and proceeded to grow throughout the months.
At first, he tried to ignore his growing feelings— that a talented young woman wouldn't be slightly interested in his old self. So imagine his elation at the reveal of her true age. Honestly, he was a laughable mess.
Back to the present, his mind short circuits and restarts. He had contemplated making an excuse at his slip of feelings, But decided against it. A moment like this, the two of them only in the hallway with the background noise of the crew at the deck, it might never come again. So he continues the eye contact, his gaze unwavering from the emerald eyes of the woman. Said woman in turn seems to register his true intent and not just a simple slip of the tongue.
"Is that…is that really how you feel about me?"
"Yes, yoi."
"I see," Sakura says, breaking eye contact to look down. Her arm looses from his and Marco is already feeling the twinge in his chest like a sharp poke of a needle in his heart. The phoenix wails sadly in his mind.
Gentle hands grab his neck and his lips meet another.
Their secret relationship lasted only for a month, before Izo slipped and Thatch was there to spread the news, and they were out in the open.
Only a month but it was filled with stealing glances with one another, teasing smiles, and secret night endeavors. They also got to date on a random island without anyone knowing. It was fun, private, and real. They both knew this amount of privacy wouldn't last long, so they grabbed every chance to spend time together.
Izo being Izo, he noticed immediately after a week in their official relationship but promised to keep his mouth shut.
"For now." He teasingly told them. "Enjoy, lovebirds~"
That was about 4 weeks ago.
The time came where they needed to restock again and they stopped by on an unclaimed random island somewhere in the New World. Well specifically, it was Sakura who needed to restock her clinical supplies. They had just encountered marines in the middle of the sea a few days ago and many of the crew had acquired moderate to mild injuries. Their doctor demanded for a resupply soon because of how they could encounter another unpredictable attack, and her salves and disposable materials were running out.
And so they docked on a nearby island with a large city.
"Lie low, okay? That goes especially to you too, Ace, yoi."
"What? Me?"
"Yes, you." Everyone chorused.
The one to accompany Sakura and assist her were Ace and Vista. Since the pink haired doctor was adamant in not fighting anyone, Whitebeard requires her to be constantly accompanied with at least two division commanders. What a special treatment for their only doctor.
Marco would have loved to accompany her but he was tasked to guard the main ship with their captain this time. Izo was tasked to survey the area with his division and Thatch decided to shop for more food or if there were any interesting new recipes. Others were free to do as they please.
"We'll be back shortly, shouldn't take long." Sakura tells him and as her two companions turn their back, she sends an inconspicuous wink to Marco.
Marco sighs but smiles back at her. There were many times that they had to separate, but he still feels anxious letting her out of his sight or territory.
Mother hen. Thatch would have teased him if the said cook knew.
Back to Sakura and company, they were quick to gather the needed supplies from clinical stores. She was glad that the crew she joined were powerful and had a lot of money from treasures stacked in their ship storage. She didn't have to worry about any spending limit as Pops had granted her freedom to spend as much for any needed supplies for the health of his crew.
And himself. Sakura thought.
Her personal allowance on the other hand, she does need to be conscious of what she spends. The thought had formed in her mind as they passed a clothing store. A woman's lingerie store to be specific, and Sakura grins internally.
I wonder how he would react with a little surprise.
"Ace, Vista. I'm going shopping for a bit. Hold these for me." She hands over the bags she was carrying to Vista, who already had stacks of boxes in his arms. "You don't have to follow me."
"But Marco said- oh." Ace stopped in his tracks as he realized just where she went in and blushed. "I-I guess we'll wait here then."
Vista, ever the modest gentleman he was, agreed and both of them proceeded to stand outside the lingerie store.
And so, they waited.
And waited.
And waited.
She sure is taking her time. Ace had thought.
"Hey, Ace. Don't you think-" Vista was cut off by the sound of a snail transponder.
"Oh, that must be Marco. Hold on. Hey, Marco!"
"Ace!" the snail shouted angrily in the first mate's voice. Ace sensed the urgency.
"What's wrong?" Vista asked.
"Is Sakura there with you?"
"Ah, she went into this store but…" Ace's eyes widened in horror. "Shit!"
He and Vista hurriedly slammed open the door and there was no one inside, not even a saleslady or a desk clerk. They went further inside and that's when Ace smelt it. The iron in the air. He hurries to the fitting room where the smell was strong and the sight horrified him.
In front of him was a broken mirror with blood splattered all over it. There was blood all over one side of the wall too.
"Someone got her."
.
"My name is Katsuyu. I am princess Sakura's summon. She sent me here to tell you that she has been captured by a pirate crew, though she does not know the name of the crew."
"What?" Marco had uttered at the same time as Thatch, who had just returned to the ship with a mini chest in hand, gaped "Princess?"
"Excuse me, is that a fucking slug?"
Marco immediately reached for a transponder snail to contact Ace, his hands were shaking but he forced himself to remain calm.
"Hey, Marco!" came Ace's good natured voice. God, he wants to strangle the boy through the snail.
"Ace!" Well, remaining calm goes out the window.
As they confirmed that Sakura was indeed taken away under their noses, all Marco could see was red.
"Katsuyu, right? Can you take us to where Sakura is?"
.
Breathe.
In.
Out.
Sakura could still remember her master's voice like it was yesterday.
You'll be okay, Sakura. You are strong.
Her mentor, her leader, her second mother. Tsunade.
I'm weak, master. Sakura thought weakly. If you could see how I am now, you would disown me.
She mentally counts her breaths again before focusing on her surroundings. It looked like a prison cell and judging by the slow swaying, she was on a ship. A prison cell in a ship.
I froze again. She curses mentally. Years have passed and she has yet to escape her trauma. She could not fight back from her captors.
Wars do that to a soldier.
Being imprisoned was not new to her. If she was in her adolescent self, she would have gotten out this sorry ass of a prison easily and stealthily. But that was not her now. She freezes in combat. She's a damaged product. If she encounters her captors while escaping, they'd capture her again and again.
Useless, so useless.
Chains rattled as she curled on herself. They had put seastone cuffs on her, she didn't know why they think she's a devil fruit user. Precaution, perhaps?
She summons Katsuyu, which she seldom does nowadays.
"Princess Sakura, you are hurt!"
She smiles at the slug. "I missed you, too. Lady Katsuyu."
"Why have you not healed yourself?"
Sakura glances at the seastone cuffs on her person. "Just a hunch. Don't worry, I made sure to heal a little bit of the severe ones. I won't die today." She assures the slug. "I have a task for you. I need you to send a message to my friends."
It was when Katsuyu poofed out to deliver her task that Sakura realized she had instructed the slug to go to Marco instead of her captain.
Oh, well.
Sakura hears the faint sound of footsteps nearing her cell. She hopes that Marco, or rather her crewmates, will come soon.
.
"You must remain, Marco."
"But Pops!"
"The captors will watch out for the sky in case you are out for them. The moment they see you, there is no assurance that they will not move their hiding spot to hide even more. Do not be reckless."
Whitebeard's gaze was grim and Marco could only stay silent in compliance.
"I have sent Ace and Vista to redeem themselves by rescuing Sakura, as well as Haruta as he specializes in stealth. Have faith in your brothers. We shall wait for their signal before charging. We must secure Sakura's safety first," his captain drilled him sense. "Before we slaughter them all for daring to scare us." Whitebeard said with finality.
.
Her hunch was right, her captors believed that she was a devil fruit user who could heal. And what she thought as obnoxious pirate crew were not pirate crew at all.
They were slave traders.
Sakura closes her eyes, her face grim. She thinks that another pirate crew or marines would be better than this. Another thought creeped up her mind. How did they know she could heal? As far as she remembers, with her careful actions outside the crew, she only showed her healing abilities around the crew and no one else. Most of her previous patients were unconscious to witness her 'miraculous healing', she had made sure of that.
All this thinking leads to one reason and nothing else. There was a reason she was said to be the second smartest in her batch, even exceeding Sasuke.
An insider. A traitor.
As much as she wanted to deny such a possibility… well there was no other possible reason for this information leak. She thinks of her captain, Pops, who loves all of the crew members dearly and equally. How will she ever tell him? It will hurt him deeply for sure. Would he get angry at her for daring to blame one of his sons?
Hah. This is so annoying. Sakura thinks as she forcibly breaks the seastones and heals herself. Just in time, Haruta with Katsuyu on his shoulder shows up in front of her cell.
.
"She's here. We got her."
At those words, Marco transforms and flies away.
"God damnit! So impatient. I wanted to hitch a ride ya know?!" Thatch exclaims to the sky, but clearly the Phoenix would not make a u-turn.
Whitebeard gazes at the disappearing figure with a considering look before ordering his sons to unfurl the sails and set course at full speed.
Upon finding out that it was slave traders that captured their sister, the crew was merciless in eliminating every last one of them. The phoenix in particular enjoyed their scream at his might. Sakura witnessed the chaotic scene and could not help but be mesmerized at the blazing glory of Marco the Phoenix.
.
"Thank you, Katsuyu."
"At your service always, princess." Katsuyu poofed out.
Sakura sighs in relief. She was glad that the excitement was over, but she still has one important thing to report to her captain immediately. However…
"Are you not planning to place me on my feet?" She says to Marco who was holding her in bridal carry.
"You're heavily injured, yoi. Your clothes are covered in your own blood."
"I've already healed myself." she deadpans.
"Oh."
Izo snickered. "We have a lot of questions, princess. But I guess your knight in shining armor has awakened his total mother hen mode on you."
Thatch laughs, still oblivious at Izo's hint. "Yeah, he does that. You better get used to it, doc."
"Technically, Haruta's my knight in shining armor." Sakura says as Marco lets her go. He visibly deflates at her comment.
Izo laughs outwardly. "Bahaha! Don't say that Sakura. Your boyfriend may not look like it, but he's very sensitive," he teases before promptly leaving to supervise his division in surveying the aftermath on the area.
A second passed and everyone was processing Izo's words until their captain confirmed their second thoughts.
"Gurarara! I knew it. Congratulations to my son and daughter!"
"...WHAT?!"
Their exclamation is giving Sakura déjà vu vibes.
"Well who would have thought…"
"Should've known you had it in you!" Thatch exclaims as he hooks his arm around Marco's neck, who almost stumbles at the sudden impact.
"Get off, yoi."
Ace nears them and analyzes Marco from head to toe, and then back to the first mate's face. He turns to face Sakura, "So, is it really the bod?"
Marco had enough of the merciless jabs and teasing, so he transformed into his phoenix form and grabbed the two men with his claws to throw them overboard.
"Wha-! Hey!"
They'll be alright, Thatch can swim for the both of them.
The rest of the crew that watched their comical scene soon dispersed and went on their duties. Marco left to supervise the clean up. As Sakura was about to retire to her cabin craving for a bath and change into a clean set of clothes, she notices a mini chest on the floor near the doorway. She had half a mind to ignore it and go on her way, but her subconscious was pushing on her curious button.
"Hm? What's this?"
She opens it and sees a weirdly shaped fruit, dark purple with multiple swirls on it, arranged like the eye shapes on a pineapple. A devil fruit.
Just by looking and holding it in her hands, she had a bad feeling about the fruit itself.
"Hey, who owns this?"
"Ah!" Thatch waves his hands to her way. Ace was helping him get dry with a moderate flame on his hand. "I brought that. I striked a good deal on that with a weirdly suspicious vendor, I thought there was a secret map or a rare weapon in it, but"
He shrugs.
"It's just a devil fruit. Well, I didn't spend a lot of money for it so I don't mind." The chef nears her and takes the fruit in her hands.
"Are you going to eat it?" she asks.
Thatch shrugs again, ignoring Ace's excitement saying that he should eat it so him, Marco, and Ace would become a devil fruit-user trio.
"I'm still thinking about it. I mean, I would really miss swimming if I do."
Just then, the ninja in her picked up the slightest sense of killing intent. Sakura snaps her head around, but all she could observe was the bustling of the crew busy doing their own tasks and cleaning up shrapnels.
Was it my imagination?
Sakura internally sighs. She needs a lot of rest from all the mental strain she had gone through that day.
"You okay, doc?" Thatch follows where she had looked at alarmingly.
"No," a random thought then popped up in her mind. "I just remembered I have something to tell Pops."
.
Later that night, she had joined Marco to sleep in his cabin. But really, it was the first mate who insisted that she stays within his reach. Sakura noticed the worry and tiredness in his eyes and she finds herself giving in easily. Her kidnapping today must have really scared him.
Huffing in fond exasperation, she kisses the snoring man by the forehead and follows his slumber. A dream manifesting from a deeply buried memory starts to form.
The roaring of her people and enemies were almost deafening.
She finds herself in the standard Konoha combat uniform, which was greased and torn in many areas. Sakura gazes at her open glove covered palms. These were her combat gloves, covered in dried blood and dirt.
She stands above a pile of mutilated bodies of friends and foe alike. Bile was creeping up her throat at the disgusting sight. When she inhales, she could smell the stench of iron from fresh blood.
…fresh blood?
Sakura wakes with a gasp. She takes a deep breath.
Inhale.
Wood, sea salt…and iron?
It was very faint. Only because of her heightened senses from ninja training could she immediately catch a whiff. A ninja should be able to detect the slightest bit of danger even when asleep. She knows how to have her senses stay alert even in the subconscious state constantly. Sakura had learnt this from her first teacher, Kakashi the Copycat Ninja.
Glancing at Marco, who thankfully had not awoken from her sudden fright, she decides to investigate on her own. Knowing him, he would overreact and make the assaulter (if there was any) hide away. She had not pegged him to be the irrational-at-times kind from her first impression of the pirate. Love does that to a person, she guesses.
Been there, done that.
"Only for you, though."
That particular memory made her stomach flutter. Sakura steels herself and carefully detangles the limbs from her person. She mentally apologizes and quietly leaves the room, having mastered to silence her rustling and footsteps.
Following the scent, she starts to regret not waking Marco first as she finds herself following the familiar hall to Thatch's room. The iron stench was only getting stronger as she neared, and she could feel the presence of two people from the room.
No, please.
"I see. Are you really sure of your accusation?" Whitebeard fixes a grim look to Sakura's way.
She gulps. "Yes,"
"Very well. I will let the commanders know first thing in the morning. For now, let our worries rest for the night."
Sakura turns to leave.
"I trust you very much, my daughter. But I do hope that this is not true."
They shouldn't have waited for tomorrow. The mole already made his move.
Sakura clenches her fist. Was this feeling borne from anxiousness? Shock? Fright? Anger?
Her legs are shaking, as well as her arms.
Her eyes, however, remained open and unwavering at the sight of Teach (someone she had only casually conversed with rarely, but she hadn't thought of him as someone evil— or traitorous until now) standing over the limp and bloody form of Thatch, her dear friend and brother.
"Zehahaha! What a surprising evening, doc."
.
Sakura had let the traitorous man go. She froze up again, her past trauma gripping her entire being. Teach had just sneered at her and left quickly in the dead of the night.
She snaps out of her spell a moment later and quickly kneeled besides Thatch's form. He felt cold, and the beat of his heart was slowing down. Cursing, the medic-nin in her takes over and activates her healing jutsu. The shaking of her hands were starting to subside and Sakura tries to find her voice.
"Someone…please."
Too weak, how could anyone hear such a pathetic plea. She takes a deep breath.
"SOMEONE! GET OVER HERE!"
"TEACH?! FUCKING TEACH?!" Ace roars.
"That fucktard…"
"…"
"What do we do now, Pops?" Marco asked his captain, who held a very deep frown.
"Contact our allies that are in the New World. He couldn't have gone far on his own." Whitebeard gruffly said.
"Let me go after him, Pops!" Ace exclaims.
"No," was his captain's immediate response.
Ace, with his temper, could not accept this and spewed his protests.
This was the scenario that Sakura walked into, having finished her operation on Thatch in the sickbay. She decides to insert her own input.
"That would not be wise, Ace. I understand how you feel, but-"
She couldn't help it. She had seen this kind of thing multiple times before, and they never went well.
"Revenge driven with recklessness will always cause more harm than good."
The flame user looked like he was about to send a rebuttal, but was cut off.
"How is Thatch?"
"Will he be okay?"
Sakura releases a deep breath, and the rest of the crew was unsure whether they would receive a relieving news, or the opposite.
"He is still alive, but," the men around her grew tense. "He is in a coma. The injury was critical enough to have injured some nerve vessels, and I did my best at repairing them. It is up to him to wake up in the next few days, or months, or…"
The pink haired doctor decides not to say anymore. They were bright enough to get what she meant.
Clenching his fists, Ace tries again to plead with his captain.
"It is still a no, son." Whitebeard was stern.
"Ace you must understand, yoi. We'll wait to have our chance, and we'll do it as a crew."
Gritting his teeth, Ace roars at him. "You don't understand! He's—! Teach is- Teach was in my division! He's my responsibility."
Sakura tries to console him. "Ace…"
"Shut up! You… If you were there, why didn't you stop him?!" She flinches at the jab. "You're strong, you could have just-!"
"Ace." Marco steps in, his expression dark. Ace clamps up.
This wasn't his brother speaking to him, but the first mate of the Whitebeard pirates. His superior.
"Watch your words, yoi." He menacingly said. "If Sakura hadn't been there at that moment, Thatch would have been long dead. If he hadn't received immediate medical aid, do you think he would still be placed in the sickbay, fighting for his life? Would you rather have two dead bodies, instead of none?"
Ace bows his head in shame. "No."
The young commander faces Sakura, his expression in regret. He apologizes to her, to which the woman assures him that it was alright.
The meeting had dispersed a few moments later, with Whitebeard warning the boy again to stay put on the ship and wait for orders. Though, judging by the blank expression on Ace's face that she glimpsed before heading in the sickbay again, she doubted that he would follow.
That was the kind of expression Sasuke made often before he left their beloved village.
The next day came, and the young commander was found missing along with his signature yellow raft.
Thatch opened his eyes a month later. Everyone was overjoyed, including Marco himself, albeit he didn't show it except for smiling. Even though he had fallen victim to the childish cook's pranks multiple times before, the ship would have been boring without him.
They told the chef what had transpired, as he himself could not recall the incident. He was baffled at the news of Ace sailing on his own to hunt down Teach.
"The hell? If anyone is setting off for revenge, it should be me!" Thatch exclaims.
"Well, he's always been reckless like that, yoi. Right, Pops?" Marco tells his captain, who had also visited Thatch in the sickbay after being told that his son woke up.
Whitebeard smirks at the hidden joke, remembering the time that Ace tried to take his head before eventually joining the crew.
"Gurarara! He's a stubborn fool, that son of mine."
"He's really filling the role as a reckless brat of a younger brother." Sakura comments.
"Can't deny that."
"Aye."
"Hopefully he'll give up and come back already." Izo sighs in exasperation.
A week later, the News Coo came bringing the worst headline for them.
Ace was to be executed.
"Sengoku! How many decades has it been?" Whitebeard smirks up at the fleet admiral.
"Whitebeard!"
"He's here! Watch out!"
The huge pirate makes a motion as if punching the sky, and an audible crack could be heard.
"The ground's shaking."
"A tsunami!"
"Woah…" Sakura was awed at her captain's might. This was the first time for her witnessing him in action.
"Amazing, right?" Marco smirks at his partner's reaction.
"Well, it's good that I healed his lungs if this is how he rolls with his old body."
Marco laughs.
"It froze!"
"It's Admiral Aokiji's ability!"
The crew and allies alike jumped down from their ships and charged. The main event had begun.
Sakura summons Katsuyu and orders the summon to disperse and heal as many allies as they can.
"Thanks, yoi." Marco had a pained expression. "You didn't have to come all the way here with us."
"And leave you all to die?" Sakura shoots back. "I may have a bad past with war and fighting, but I can at least still help with medical aid."
"Don't worry, Marco." Thatch nears them. "I'll be with doc all the time, as promised."
"Hey, something is falling from the sky?" Someone points out.
"A ship?"
"ACE!"
Luffy, Ace's sworn brother had come. He also dared to declare competition with Whitebeard.
Sakura could only laugh at the absurdity of it all.
It's like Naruto all over again.
"Marco," Whitebeard tells his first mate. "We can't let him die here."
"Aye, Pops." Marco transforms.
"Wait," she stops him. "Here, he would need Katsuyu too."
Nodding, Marco receives the slug and takes off again to assist Ace's brother.
Marines were already in their vicinity. Thatch and the others are already doing well in fending them off. They were far from reaching where Sakura was.
Truthfully, she was having a hard time holding herself up. The sound of guns firing and swords clashing along with the war cries. This was the worst area Sakura could be put in. The stench of blood did not help. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she felt that it was beating beside her ear.
"Fight!"
"Don't waver, men!"
'Do not give up!'
'We shall hold them back until Naruto comes!'
Sakura pinches herself to wake herself up from buried memories. She stumbled when the floor shook.
Something had hit the helm of their ship and flames were starting to consume it. She could not see where Thatch was but decides to disembark to get away from the flames.
"Sakura!"
She turns to where a presence was nearing her. It was not Thatch.
"You…" Akainu glares at her. "You're responsible for those persistent slugs."
He moves to land a magma covered fist but is deflected by Thatch's haki powered swords.
"Made it in time." The chef grins. "Marco would never forgive me for letting his woman get hurt."
"The 4th division commander…" Akainu sneers. He glances at Sakura, registering the pirate's words. "I see."
The admiral quickly swiftly melts his own fist, covering Thatch's sword in magma and proceeds to lift them and throw to the side, along with the chef who hadn't let go.
"Gah!"
Akainu prepares to bury Sakura to the ground. Time slowed and Sakura was still.
"Sakura, move!"
In a split second, she uses the body flicker technique to dodge.
That was…master's voice?
Sakura looks to where Akainu was, who was staring at her.
"Interesting."
"Akainu!" Whitebeard belows as he steps forward to shield Sakura from the admiral's view. "You dare to bully my daughter!"
Bully? What is she, a kid?
Sakura was inwardly embarrassed at her captain's words.
"Sakura…" Whitebeard did not face her as he addressed her, opting to keep his eyes on the enemy.
It dawned on the pink haired doctor that it was her captain's voice that she heard instead of her master's. The one who had urgently told her to move.
"This is not the place to die, daughter."
And he charges to parry Akainu's attacks.
Sakura was frozen to her place. Somehow, she could sense that her captain's words held more meaning.
She was thrown back to where she was years ago, back when she was in her early twenties and assigned as a frontliner in a different war. Back when there were many lives lost, including those of her friends. Her mentor, who was her second mother, died defending her during it.
When she and other ninjas had to serve a bloodthirsty leader.
This is not the place to die.
Clenching her fists, Sakura forced to steel herself. She gets it, he wants her to fight. But he worded it in a tone that it should be on her own terms.
"Strawhat Luffy has freed Fire Fist Ace!"
Sakura turns to where the execution platform was, and the sight that greeted her were Ace's flames burning to life as he was finally freed from the seastone chains. She swears she could hear the duo's laugh from the distance.
What a relief.
She lets out a sigh. Her heart was not pounding anymore. In fact, her head and body had not felt this light in ages.
She sees Thatch trying to free his sword from the cooled magma, at the same time duking it out with any marine that neared him using his fists. But he was about to be outnumbered.
Other than him, some of their allies were already struggling and some of her Katsuyu summons were purposely destroyed by the marines, no doubt they knew what they were for and received orders to destroy them.
Sakura activates her strength of a hundred seal and punches the ground, causing a huge crack that resulted to displaced pieces of earth and shocking everyone.
"Who is that?!"
"Her abilities are similar to Whitebeard's."
She nears Thatch and crumbles the rock to bits that made his sword stuck. Said cook was gaping at her.
"What?"
He snaps back to reality. "First of all, thanks. Second, are those tattoos? Bad. Ass."
A bird's cry sounded and Marco landed in their location.
"You okay, yoi?"
"Marco, did you see what she did?" Thatch motions to the destroyed grounds around them.
"Yeah." Marco smirks at her. "Glad you finally joined the fray, love."
Thatch made a disgusted noise and Sakura playfully punched Marco's arm. They had agreed before to not say their endearments in public.
"Akainu's after Luffy and Ace!"
"Well, that's my cue. Stay safe." And Marco took off.
Thatch and Sakura were left to their places.
"Well…" Thatch says. "I guess you don't need protecting now."
Sakura smiles. "I have to carry my own weight, too. Katsuyu,"
On cue, a little slug had climbed up on Thatch's shoulder.
"Yes, Princess."
"I haven't asked you about the princess stuff yet, did I?"
She giggles. "After. I'll tell you all about it after we go home."
Home. That's such a nice word to say.
"Gotcha, princess. See ya later."
"Yeah."
They split up and fought as many marines as they could. The goal was to bring Ace home. The war is not over until then.
Sakura's movements were swift and sharp. Years of inactivity from combat had not affected her muscle memory. From a spectator's view, they would say that she was dancing if she weren't landing hits everywhere and making the earth crumble with her steps and fists.
She sees Haruta about to be attacked from behind when he was focused on the attack to his front. The ninja slams her foot with chakra to remove a portion of the earth. It floats up at the impact and she grabs it with her hands to throw it to the marine sneaking up on her crewmate's back.
She waves to Haruta who thanks her.
"LUFFY!"
Sakura turns to where she hears Ace's panicked voice.
Akainu was aiming at the younger boy's unaware form and Sakura sprints.
She sees Ace pushing his younger brother out of the way, placing himself to take the attack. She uses the body flicker technique.
It probably happened in less than a second, but she swears that time slowed as she could clearly witness Ace's horrified face. She sees Luffy's shocked face as she kicks the air with all the strength she had, so the both of them were thrown to a distance from the force.
A searing pain and Sakura glances down at a huge magma fist protruding just below her chest. Distantly, she could hear a rumbling roar and a bird's cry. The last thing she saw was the color blue and gold from her peripheral view, and she knew no more.
.
"Let go of me, Jimbe!"
"That's no good, Ace! It's too dangerous. Luffy's already passed out from exhaustion." he glances at his brother's slumped form.
"Tsk!"
"I know it frustrates you, Ace. But do not let that woman's sacrifice be in vain! The marines want your head. And your brother, crew, and allies came to save you. The way to finally stop this war is with either of those two outcomes."
Ace hated how truthful the fishman's words were. He could only look at Sakura's lifeless inked body disappearing from view through blurred sight due to his tears.
"Sakura…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've listened. Hic… nngh"
Jimbe said no more as he could hear the young man's wails and sniffles.
.
"Princess Sakur-!" gasped the little slug on his shoulder before poofing out of existence.
Whitebeard noticed the multiple poofs of Sakura's little slugs and every crew and ally was confused by their sudden simultaneous disappearance.
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, the huge pirate captain looks for his pink haired daughter that was also his ship's doctor. His eyes landed on her prone and gaping form.
He roars in anguish and releases his conqueror's haki.
…
First was a cold feeling from the shock.
Then, the pain in his chest.
Then, the pure rage.
The phoenix voice in his head was almost deafening. It demanded blood to be spilt.
In a flurry of blue flames, Marco aims for the admiral Akainu.
The marine in turn deflects his attack.
Marco was subconsciously aware that he was not in his right state of mind, but it was too late. He had already let himself drown in anguish. All he could see was red.
Red. The glaring polo shirt of Akainu's and his magma powers.
Red. The color of Sakura's haori and the pool of blood around her.
Red.
In his rage, he had failed to hear the cries of a marine who begged to let the war stop.
Red. The color of Shank's hair. One of the Emperor of the seas.
"I have come to stop this war!"
"How are you holding up?" Izo's voice cuts through the silence.
Marco removes his absent staring from the waves. He did not answer, but he must look like a mess as Izo takes him in and sighs.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
His chest twinged in pain.
I'm sorry, too. You lost a sister.
"Have you seen her yet?" Marco asks.
"Not yet. We thought…" Izo trails off. "We thought you should have a moment with her first. Even Pops thinks so."
Sakura's body was in Red Hair's ship. The said pirate captain had offered them so they had more room to treat the injured, and their ship was already pretty banged up. Both of the ships sailed together side by side. Shanks had told them they were more than welcome to come over anytime to view Sakura's body one last time before cleaning her up for burial.
"Ace contacted earlier. He's with a rookie pirate called Trafalgar Law. Apparently, he knows Luffy. Probaby a friend. He's a doctor too and is currently treating them as well as Jimbe. He," Izo glanced unsurely at Marco. "He says he's very sorry."
Marco sighs. "He probably feels really guilty now and blames himself for what happened to her. That's not it."
He gazes at the horizon. They were actually at the back of the ship, behind the cabins and away from others' sight. Marco remembers this was the spot where he and Sakura spent often to have private moments.
"We charged in there with the thought that we'd probably die, yoi. We would never leave him there no matter what, despite the possibilities and expected casualties."
Izo did not reply, but he completely agreed with the first mate's words.
"Somehow, I never thought that she'd be one of those possibilities…and be the only casualty we have."
Marco leaned his face to his palms. His elbows supported on the wooden rails. Tears flowed down easily.
"It hurts, Izo." He whimpers. "God, this shit really hurts."
It took all of Izo's will to not cry alongside him. Not only was he hurt for his brother's heartache, he himself was also grieving from losing a sister.
From the deck, there were sudden shouts and rowdiness.
"What's going on there?" Izo mutters.
"Zombie!"
Marco had ceased his crying. He and Izo looked at each other.
"Huh?" They both said, then decided to check on the deck.
"Marco! Look for commander Marco!" They heard someone say.
"I'm here, yoi. What's with all the ruckus?"
"It's Sakura! She's-!"
Marco dreaded what they were about to say. He wasn't prepared to hear what happened to his lover's body.
"Marco?" His whole being chilled. He knew that voice. Afraid that his mind was playing tricks on him, he turns to the source of the voice.
There in her dried blood glory, the source of his grievance smiled at him. The weird tattoo-like lines were gone and the hole that had haunted his head a while ago was just plain skin. If it weren't for the obvious torn hole in her outfit right by her stomach, he'd think she was just a figment of his imagination.
Sakura opens her arms and Marco did not waste a second to scoop her up in his arms, whispers of 'sorries' and 'I love you's were exchanged, as well as 'do not ever do that again'. He kisses her and swirls her around in joy and relief, to which the woman giggles at his treatment.
Her laugh was like wind chimes in the air.