Aria Pov
Luffy had entered full brother mode now. The world shrank to one point: Ace. I was his eyes and ears now. A terrifying, sweaty, panicked pair of eyes and ears.
Every explosion, every cannon, every Admiral's attack—I had to anticipate it all. Luffy was charging like a man possessed, oblivious to the fact that several large explosions were aimed at him and several more were exactly where he was running.
I found myself teleporting constantly—left, right, behind, over—just to yank him out of the path of doom. A cannonball? Wish—pull him behind Jinbe. A magma punch from Akainu? Yank him sideways. He was trying to get to where Ace was before anything drastic could happen.
Marines were whispering around me. I was basically teleporting left and right and they were probably trying to figure my devil fruit out. But if they had the time to be in that much awe, they could bring me some water. I was about to die from the continuous running and dodgeing.
Plus, teleporting Luffy and I over and over was draining me!
We reached the scaffold. Luffy had that moment with Garp before he swung his arm, punching him, and finally made it close enough to Ace. I froze for a moment—time slowing as Ace's eyes locked onto mine.
"You shouldn't have come," he said softly, worry bleeding into warmth. "You're not a fighter."
"Yeah," I said, muttering while brushing dust off my hair. "Well, I'm also not sane. Clearly."
His smile was quiet, Ace's kind of quiet—full of gratitude and unspoken understanding. That brief glance was a soft moment, like the world paused just to acknowledge it. He didn't have time for more, though—Luffy was punching, Marines were screaming, and death was very real around us.
Luffy finally freed Ace with the wax key, and fire erupted just like in the anime. Ace moved, using his Devil Fruit to protect me and Luffy. I thought to grab his hand and teleport both of us out before he could make another stupid, self-sacrificing decision—but I hesitated. If I pulled them out now, so much would change: Sabo wouldn't regain his memories, the Straw Hats wouldn't train for two years, canon events would fracture.
So much was happening at once I hadn't taken the time to think of what I would do in this moment. I wanted him alive! I had gone through so much to save him. He deserved better than the donut memes on Earth. But his death was also incredibly crucial to Sabo's memories and Luffy's development. Post timeskip wouldn't be post timeskip without Ace's death.
But then couldn't I be selfish? Who knows, none of this might affect canon. I'm wasn't a character in the anime yet here I was. Maybe being selfish wouldn't affect–
That hesitation was enough. We've been running for a while but Akainu's voice cut through the chaos, venomous and mocking. Ace's focus wavered. He froze for a split second. I grabbed his hand, trying to keep him moving, to not fall for the bait, but it was too late. Canon was already in motion and I could only shout and watch as he escaped from my grip .
Everything next was smoke. Heat. Screaming. The smell of magma and blood. Ace had a hole in his chest, had dropped to the ground and was cradled in Luffy's arms, his body slumping.
I dropped to my knees beside them so fast my legs nearly snapped. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. The world around me blurred to static.
Ace was smiling.
Why was he smiling? It didn't feel cool like it did from the screen. I only felt dread.
His fingertips brushed weakly against Luffy's cheek.
"Luffy… you idiot," he whispered, voice so thin it hurt to hear. "Why'd you… come this far for me?"
Luffy was sobbing so hard it sounded like his lungs were tearing.
"Ace!! Don't talk! We're gonna get you help. I-I promise we're gonna—"
Ace shook his head faintly, his breath hitching.
Then his eyes flicked to me.
"A-Aria…" he murmured, breath trembling. "You… really shouldn't have come."
His smile softened. Gentle. Painful.
"Thank you… for caring. For watching over him. For… everything."
My throat burned. "Stop. Stop, don't do this. This can't happen again-"
He lifted a shaky hand and pressed it lightly to my forehead—a tiny, affectionate gesture.
A goodbye disguised as comfort.
Then he turned back to Luffy.
His voice cracked, but his smile didn't.
"Luffy… I've always… only ever wanted one thing… To know I wasn't a mistake. That… that it was okay I was born."
Luffy shook so violently I thought he'd break apart.
"You were!!" he screamed. "You were!! Ace, you were!!"
Ace's tears slipped sideways, streaking soot down his face.
"Thanks… little brother," he whispered. "For loving me."
Those were his last words.
I didn't remember standing up.
I barely remembered the way the world tilted and collapsed into white noise the moment Ace stopped breathing.
I kept seeing Ace's smile.
That soft, stupid, gentle smile.
The one he gave right before he died.
My fault.
My fault.
My fault.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"I could've saved him."
The words spilled out of me, broken and hysterical.
I pressed my palms into my scalp, nails digging into my skin.
"I could have saved him. I had him. I had his hand. I could've wished us out— I could've—"
The battlefield thundered around me, but all I heard was my own voice cracking.
"I hesitated. I fucking hesitated. Because of the timeline, because I was scared, because I didn't want to break canon—"
My stomach lurched.
"I killed him."
The words barely made sound. But they scraped out of me like broken glass.
I felt someone's shadow fall across me.
Crocodile.
He didn't touch me. He just stood there for a moment, looking down at me with that unreadable face.
"You are spiraling," he said simply.
I laughed. Or choked. One of the two.
"Wow. Thank you. Very helpful. Love that from you."
"You hesitating didn't kill him," he said flatly. "Akainu did."
My vision blurred again. "He wouldn't have had the chance if I—"
Crocodile's jaw tightened—not in sympathy, but irritation.
"You are a child playing in a battlefield of titans. You were never going to be able to save everyone."
He didn't wait for me to respond. He simply turned and walked away, sand swirling behind him as he went back into the chaos.
Before I could scream at him, Jinbe came and got Luffy.
Right, Luffy was definitely in a worse state than I am.
He wasn't moving at all.
Jinbe had to carry him—running, bleeding, panting.
I wished beside them and nearly crumpled; Jinbe had to grab my arm to keep me upright.
"Stay close," he barked, eyes wild with grief and urgency.
I nodded numbly.
The world was a blur now. My eyes wouldn't focus on anything. Tears kept forming without my permission, hot and constant, sliding down my cheeks even as the wind dried them into salt crusts.
"Ace… Ace…" Luffy whispered over and over, voice cracked open like a broken shell.
Something inside me fractured again.
I tried to wipe my face with the back of my hand, but my arm trembled too hard. It didn't help anyway — the tears kept coming, stinging my eyes, turning the world into a watercolor smear of red, white, and blue uniforms rushing around us.
A shadow.
Warm.
Soft.
Heavy.
Like someone draped a legend over the sunlight.
I blinked through the blur.
At first, all I saw was red.
Then a silhouette.
Then a coat.
Then—
"Oh… f—fuck me," I whispered weakly, my filter currently on life support.
Shanks.
Red-Haired Shanks.
God-tier dilf pirate emperor.
The man whose fanart I had absolutely not stared at for ungodly hours in my old life.
He stood there like a painting brought to life — calm in the chaos, coat billowing, sword still sheathed. Eyes steady. Expression stormy with grief, authority, and don't-test-me energy.
Around him, Marines froze.
Near him, even the air seemed to hush.
Behind him, his crew stood poised and ready.
He looked like the world bowed when he inhaled.
Jinbe didn't stop moving, but he slowed.
Luffy didn't notice anything—he was too deep in despair.
Me?
I was a shaking, broken mess who still somehow found the mental bandwidth to think:
Holy shit he's even hotter in person.
Shanks' gaze swept across the battlefield…
…and landed on Luffy.
His expression cracked — heartbreak flickering across his face like a wound reopening.
Then his eyes shifted.
Onto me.
Red.
Sharp.
Perceptive.
His brows pinched — concern and recognition colliding as he took in:
Me trembling,
covered in ash,
choking on sobs,
clutching Luffy's hand like it was my lifeline.
Jinbe bowed his head slightly. "Shanks. We need to get the boy out."
Shanks nodded once. Slow. Heavy.
Then he addressed me directly, voice warm, rough, impossibly gentle amidst the carnage.
"You fought to protect him."
Not a question. A statement.
I opened my mouth, intending to be cool or witty or anything.
What came out was an ugly, hiccuping sob.
Shanks stepped closer, and in the softest tone someone of his rank had no right to use in a warzone, he added:
"You did well."
I nearly dissolved into the ground on the spot.
It wasn't flirtatious.
It was grateful.
Sincere.
The kind of praise you give someone hanging on by a thread.
"Th-thank you," I managed, voice shredded.
He gave a faint, sad smile.
His crew formed a defensive wall, giving us a path forward.
"Go," Shanks said softly. "I'll hold the line."
Jinbe tightened his grip around us. "We're in your debt."
Shanks' eyes lingered on Luffy… then on me once more.
Noticing everything.
Understanding too much.
Saying nothing.
I swallowed hard, chest tightening, and stumbled after Jinbe.
As we left, I used the last scrap of strength in my voice:
"Shanks…"
He looked back.
"You're—"
A sob cut me off.
"—really hot…"
Silence.
Then Benn Beckman snorted.
Shanks blinked… then laughed.
A warm, brief, utterly unfair sound.
"Take care of him," he said.
Then he turned, sword finally unsheathing, becoming a wall between us and death.
And I let myself be dragged away — heartbroken, shaking, and more emotionally ruined than I had ever been in two lifetimes.
We were still being pursued, and Luffy remained unconscious. My panic hadn't left me, but my mind was beginning to creep back from its spiral. I glanced at him, hoping he'd be okay, and remembered: Law was coming.
That was what my brain fixated on as Jinbe hauled us toward the edge of Marineford—waves crashing like they were trying to swallow the island whole, cannons screaming overhead.
Ahead of us, the water exploded.
A submarine broke the surface like a beast answering a call, steel hull slicing through the waves. The Heart Pirates swarmed the deck, shouting, ropes flying.
And standing at the edge—
Law.
Black coat snapping in the wind. Sword at his side. Eyes sharp and calculating even with Marineford burning behind him.
I registered him distantly, barely mustering the strength to acknowledge his beauty as someone screamed about admirals behind us.
Aokiji and Kizaru.
The Heart Pirates yelled for us to hurry.
Law didn't shout.
He just said, calm and deadly serious, "Get them aboard. Now."
Jinbe leapt.
We hit the deck hard. I rolled, shielding Luffy's head with my body without thinking, the impact rattling through my bones.
Hands grabbed us. Pulled us in. The hatch slammed shut behind us as light and ice collided above.
The submarine dove.
I felt it in my stomach—the sudden drop, pressure swallowing us whole as the sounds of the war dulled into a distant, muffled roar.
I lay there on the cold metal floor, someone shouted about damage, someone else cursed about admirals.
I only got up when I saw Jinbe give Luffy to Law.
I tried to follow.
"You can't be in the room," he said.
"I—" My throat closed. "I won't get in the way. I'll just—"
"You'll be in the way," he said flatly. Not cruel. Just honest.
"You want him alive, yes?"
That did it.
As they took him away, I slid down the wall and hugged my knees, staring at the floor,
wiping another stray tear.
I didn't remember the anime hurting as much as this.