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It’s a frightfully boring day on the Thousand Sunny. Ever since they left Wano, things had been unbearably dull in comparison. Luffy hates to admit it, but he’s even starting to miss the bickering that he, Law, and Kidd got up to. At least whenever he wanted to pick a fight, he knew one of them would rise to the bait.
But at the same time, it’s a well-deserved break for the rest of his crew. He knows not everyone likes adventuring all the time. Rest and goofing off is important, too! But it just means he has to wait until he can pester someone into playing with him. Or trying to swipe food from the kitchen. That’s always fun!
“Ship dead ahead!” Usopp yells from the crows nest. “It’s–AW HELL IT’S MARINES!”
Luffy immediately perks up. He sits up from where he was lounging on the Captain’s Seat, and slings an arm up to grab the crow’s nest. Usopp shrieks before bonking him over the head.
“Don’t scare me like that, Luffy! I’m on high alert right now!”
“You’re always on high alert, though!” Luffy replies as he snatches Usopp’s spy glass.
“Hey, careful with that! Nami’ll kill us if you break another one!”
“It’s fine, Usopp!”
Luffy raises the glass to his eye, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he adjusts it. He hears a little crack as he finally gets it to focus far enough out. That’s fine… probably. He’s more concerned with what’s emblazoned across the enemy ship’s main sail to really care. His face splits into an excited grin.
“KOBY!”
Luffy laughs and tosses the spyglass over his shoulder, ignoring the way Usopp flails in his attempts to catch it. He manages, but not without throwing some choice words at his captain. Luffy just laughs.
“Aw, c’mon Usopp! You wanted a new one anyways, right?”
“Not at the cost of my own life!”
“Hey Luffy!” Zoro yells at them. “What’re your orders? Are we going after them?”
“Nah, not yet! Let’s see what they do when they get a lil closer. Koby might not want to fight today!” Luffy yells back down.
“Is that wise?” Jinbe asks.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Zoro replies with an amused smile. He’s watching Luffy bounce around the crow’s nest in his excitement. “Koby’s an old friend. I know you haven’t really met him, but he’s a good guy.”
“If our captain is alright with it, I suppose there’s no harm. But it is odd for a marine and a pirate to be on such cordial terms, don’t you think?”
“Jinbe, what about our crew is normal?” Nami cuts in from her spot lounging on the sundeck. He laughs in reply.
“I suppose that’s a fair point!”
“But still, just in case he’s decided to make good on that promise of his, make sure the cola’s ready for a coup de burst. Luffy might seem better, but he’s still recovering after that fight. Even if he doesn’t realize it.”
“Ah, Nami worries too much!” Luffy says as he lands on the deck. “I feel fine! I mean, I took down Kaido! What’s the worst that could happen?”
The anticipation makes Luffy nearly vibrate. It’s been forever since he’d seen Koby last! And it… wasn’t the best circumstances either. But he hasn’t ordered an attack on them yet, so maybe he just wants to talk? That’d be great! He has so much to tell him. And Koby must have all kinds of stories for him, too!
Luffy hums, bouncing a little bit in his spot on the Captain’s Seat, still smiling. Maybe he’s not firing or attacking because he wants to challenge him to a one on one fight? Or even better, a showdown between their crews! He can’t stop his excited giggle at the thought.
But as the ship draws closer, something in the air makes Luffy’s skin crawl. His smile drops, and he cocks his head. The energy around Koby’s ship is all wrong. Koby, even when he was nervous or angry, always had such a nice feeling around him. Once he figured out that everyone has a different haki signature, he finally had a name for it. It’s one of Luffy’s favorites, the way it’s cool and calm, like moonlight on the open sea.
But all he feels from Koby’s ship is dread, anger, and… loss.
He shudders and rubs his arms. Koby must not be wanting to fight him because he ran into trouble, then. Is he here to warn him? It’s a kind gesture that he’d believe Koby would make, but it still annoys him a little bit. Koby should worry about himself first. Especially if they just escaped danger!
Finally, Koby’s ship draws up alongside the Sunny. The entire Strawhat crew is on deck, waiting to see what happens. Luffy is quick to bound over to join them. He puts himself in between them and the marines boarding their ship, just in case. He won’t forgive himself if he let them get hurt because he let his guard down. Not that Koby would ever stoop to such an underhanded attack.
The first thing he notices is that Koby isn’t the first to board. He’s not even the second or third. It’s just that Hel-hippo guy and a couple of grunts Luffy could care less about. But there’s something weird about how quiet Hippo is. But weirder is his uniform. It’s the fancy one, the kind that he only ever saw his Gramps wear when he was coming back from really important events. Like a meeting or a… funeral.
He shivers. This… something is wrong. Really wrong.
“Hey Hippo! Uh, what’s… going on?” Luffy asks.
Helmeppo doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t yell at him that he got his name wrong like he normally would. Doesn’t start blustering at Zoro about blades and rivalries and all that. He just comes to a stop a few steps away from Luffy. He’s never been afraid of Helmeppo, but in that moment, he feels incredibly small.
After what feels like an eternity, he finally acknowledges the pirates staring him down.
“Good afternoon, everyone. We’re not here to cause trouble. I hope that’s apparent,” Helmeppo says. He’s keeping his tones as neutral as he possibly can.
A cold knot of worry settles in Luffy’s stomach.
“I… sincerely wish that we were seeking you out under different circumstances.” He pauses, looking across the mixed confusion and worry of the Strawhats. He purposely avoids Luffy’s gaze. “However, protocol dictates that this be done.”
“What be done?” Luffy asks. He stretches himself up to peer over Helmeppo and the grunt’s heads. “Where’s Koby?”
Helmeppo visibly tenses at the question. The air grows heavy as Luffy settles back to his correct height.
“Strawhat, er–” Helmeppo pauses and collects himself. “Luffy. Koby… isn’t here.”
“Well yeah, I can see that,” Luffy huffs as he crosses his arms. “Go get him, will ya? I wanna talk to him!”
Helmeppo is about to say something, but a choked sob cuts him off. He turns to see one of the grunts doing his best to contain his tears. He sighs.
“Darnell, would you and Hewit please go fetch what we came to deliver?”
Helmeppo sounds tired. Tired like the way Ace was tired when Sabo was taken from them the first time. Luffy shudders and gulps down his fear.
“Helmeppo, this isn’t funny. Where’s Koby.”
It’s not a question this time, but a demand. Helmeppo turns back to him and lifts his visor. His eyes are empty and tired, rimmed red with what Luffy can only assume are unshed tears. The coldness in his stomach starts to crawl through the rest of him.
“He’s gone, Luffy… I’m sorry.”
Luffy doesn’t say a word. He just stares in disbelief as Helmeppo continues.
“We were assigned to apprehend Boa Hancock. But Blackbeard interrupted the fight, trying to take 800 marines and their ships hostage. Koby traded himself for their safety instead.”
Helmeppo’s breathing becomes unsteady, but he pushes on with the news.
“Hibari and I convinced headquarters to let us mount a rescue mission. We arrived in time to find that Koby staged an island wide prison break. He was shepherding escaped slaves to safety when we found him. But Blackbeard, he–”
Helmeppo chokes back a sob of his own. Bile crawls up Luffy’s throat.
“He put out an order to have our rescue ships smashed. A devil fruit user that could effectively control the island was going to crush our only means of escape. But Koby stopped it. He crushed what was effectively a mountain with a single punch.”
His shoulders shake, trying his best to hold himself together.
“I-I… was assigned to retrieve him after the attack. B-but I… I wasn’t fast enough.”
Helmeppo’s next words are broken between hiccuping sobs.
“Blackbeard reached him before I could. Snatched him out of the air right in front of me. I-I couldn’t do anything.”
“You’re lying,” Luffy says, voice almost too soft to hear.
“Koby, he managed to drag Blackbeard down into the water with him. We… recovered their bodies after the battle.”
“YOU’RE LYING!” Luffy screams, rushing forward and grabbing Helmeppo by the lapels of his dress uniform. “Koby’s not dead! He can’t be! He promised to be the one to bring me in! HE PROMISED!”
Luffy doesn’t care that he’s screaming. He doesn’t care that Helmeppo looks like he’s ready to break down sobbing. He should feel bad, playing such a horrible joke on him! He growls and shakes Helmeppo once harshly.
“You’re Koby’s right hand! There’s no way you’d let him get hurt! You–”
“FAILED!” Helmeppo screams back, grabbing Luffy’s wrists and trying to wrench them away from where they’re gripping the fabric of his uniform. “I FAILED, DAMNIT! KOBY’S GONE AND THERE’S NOT A DAMN THING THAT CAN CHANGE THAT!”
He finally manages to pry Luffy’s hands from his uniform and shoves him back. He’s heaving sobs, now that the dam has burst. Luffy clenches his fists, breathing shallow. This can’t be happening.
“Do you sincerely think I wouldn’t give anything to have taken his place?!” Helmeppo wails. “Koby was a good man. An honest, wonderful man that brought this, this light , everywhere he went.” He takes a deep breath, trying to regain control of himself and fight back the sobs. “He burned his brightest to protect us all. He made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy a threat unlike that which we’ve ever known.”
Helmeppo’s tears flow freely as he apologizes one last time.
“I’m sorry, Luffy.”
Luffy’s rage slowly breaks, overtaken by tears of his own. Hot, heavy tears that fall, one after the other onto the deck. He’s no stranger to crying. He’s no stranger to losing loved ones. But this? This is some sick cosmic joke.
His fists uncurl, hands falling limply by his sides. That cold dread has broken open. It’s now a yawning pit of grief. Grief he hasn’t felt in a long time. Grief he never wanted to feel again.
Memories overtake him. Koby coming out of his shell after they’d escaped Alvida. Watching him take a bullet to protect Zoro. Bidding him farewell with a smile and a salute at Shells Town. Reuniting again at Water 7. Exchanging dreams and making a promise that fueled Luffy to push himself even harder than he realized.
He suddenly realizes the last thing he ever said to Koby was “Outta my way”. The last thing he ever did was punch him in the face so hard he was knocked out cold.
It’s too much. It’s too much all at once. Empty. He wants to be empty. He needs to be empty! He–
Luffy staggers to the side and drops to his knees, throwing up onto the deck of his ship.
Helmeppos startles back, shocked. His crew all voice some form of concern, but he can’t hear them over the ringing in his ears. He’s vaguely aware of someone grabbing his shoulders and helping him back up. It’s probably for the best. He’s not sure he can stand right now.
He’s picked up and carried away by Zoro, Chopper urging them to the infirmary. That’s… good. He feels awful right now. He must have hit his head and ended up having a horrible nightmare. That has to be it.
He’s so tired. Is this how Ace felt back then? It’s no wonder he slept so much. He’s exhausted, down to his very bones.
The last thing he sees before he slips under is the grunts carefully setting a small trunk down on the deck.
*****
“-ffy. Hey, Luffy?”
Luffy groans. He swats at the air blindly, refusing to open his eyes. He wants the noise to go away.
“Captain? Can you hear me?”
He blinks his eyes open and looks around, vision bleary from unconsciousness. He’s in the infirmary again? Huh. Wonder what caused that? He glances over to the insistent voice that woke him up. Oh, it’s Zoro!
“Hey Zo–” He’s cut off by a fit of coughing. Why does his throat burn so badly? Did he throw up?
“Here, sip this,” Zoro says, offering him a glass of water. Luffy takes it gratefully, sipping slowly as he was asked. “You back? It’s been a few hours.”
“Y-yeah,” Luffy replies hesitantly. “Did I fall out of the crows nest and hit my head too hard?”
“Huh?”
“Well, I’m in the infirmary, y’know? I remember being in the crows nest with Usopp and then jumping out to the deck,” Luffy explains. “I had the worst nightmare though! Helmeppo showed up on Koby’s ship and…” His voice grows quiet and his grip on the glass tightens. “He said that Koby was dead.”
Zoro is silent. Luffy waits for some kind of response. When he gets none, he laughs nervously.
“Heh, shocked ya quiet, huh? Yeah, it’s a pretty crazy thought. Good thing that didn’t happen, though!”
Zoro’s face remains neutral, but the emotion in his eye tells a different story. One of concern, sympathy, and understanding. Luffy’s blood runs cold.
“It was just a bad dream! R-right?”
Zoro clenches his jaw and looks away, unable to meet his captain’s desperately hopeful gaze. The empty glass in Luffy’s hands shatters under the weight of his grip. That startles Zoro into action.
“Watch it!” Zoro scolds. He sighs at the mess of glass scattered over the blanket. At the very least, Luffy doesn’t have any cuts. “C’mon, lemme get that blanket off of you,” he says softly.
Luffy just nods numbly. It… wasn’t a bad dream. Koby’s really gone. A warm heat starts trickling down his cheeks. Oh, he’s crying. Zoro glances at his captain as he picks the blanket up by its corners, making a sack to contain the glass.
“Helmeppo’s gone. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome.”
“That’s fine,” Luffy murmurs. The concern in Zoro’s eye only grows.
“He… left a trunk for you. We didn’t really know what to do with it, so we put it in the captain’s quarters.”
“Ok.”
“Do you… want to see what’s in it?”
Luffy shakes his head.
“I already know what’s in it,” Luffy says. He wraps his arms around himself, holding tight. “It’s all his stuff. When a marine dies, their stuff gets given to their loved ones. I guess… that was me, huh?”
Zoro’s about to say something, but he’s cut off by a bitter laugh. One he’s never heard from his captain before.
“Go figure, right? I bet the higher ups made Koby’s life a living hell, knowing he cares about a pirate.” Luffy has to stop for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he gathers his thoughts. “So of course they’d make an exception after he’s gone.”
“Luffy–”
“I’ll be ok, Zoro,” Luffy interrupts. He offers him a weak smile. “I just… can’t look at that stuff right now. Not yet.” He casts his eyes down to his hands, adding softly, “Just thinking about it makes me feel raw.”
Zoro puts a hand on his captain’s shoulder. He won’t pry. Luffy covers it with one of his own and squeezes.
Just to make sure he’s still there, too.
*****
The next few weeks are a weird, slow haze for Luffy. His crew does their best to help him heal. They’re careful not to bring up the trunk, but that’s ok. He’s sure they’re curious. He is too, if he’s being honest. But the second he goes into that room and approaches it, his legs grow heavy. His breath comes in short gasps.
He always ends up dashing back out, slamming the door as he leaves.
It’s different than when he lost Ace. With Ace, he was there. He got to hear his last words. He knows that he died fulfilled. But Koby didn’t get that. His last moments were spent fighting a horrible man with more power than he deserved. The thought makes him sick with anger.
But at the same time, that was always Koby’s dream. To become strong, strong enough to protect those that can’t protect themselves. And he did. So Luffy can’t fault him, can’t be mad that he died in pursuit of Justice and protecting his loved ones.
It only does so much to soothe the sting, though.
*****
When they’re a week out from Egghead Island, Luffy finally works up the nerve to open the trunk.
He can’t keep running away from it. With Ace, he got closure in that moment. With Koby, closure will only come when he opens that trunk. He steels his resolve and throws the door open, staring the trunk down. He feels a little silly, it’s just a trunk, after all. But what it represents is the scary part.
He settles down in front of it, glad to see it’s shut, but there’s no lock. That’s just like Koby. Trusting his roommates to respect his privacy. He always thought the highest of people, right up until he couldn’t.
Gingerly, he lifts the lid. The contents are tidy, but by no means organized. Civilian clothing is rolled up tight to maximize space and crammed everywhere, cushioning more delicate items. A lot of it is bandannas. Luffy chuckles. It’s nice to see that Koby treated himself to something at least a little fun. A tiny part of him wonders if he’d mind him wearing one, just to see what it’s like.
Books stored with their spines down, so Luffy has no idea what he would grab. An assortment of funny trinkets, like a sock monkey and a few board games are scattered in the trunk. He lifts up a finely crafted Go board, looking it over with a smile. He must have played this all the time with Garp. Good, the only one of the brothers that was any good at the game was Sabo, and he never wanted to play against Garp anyways. He still remembers how to play… kinda. Maybe he and Jinbe can play.
As he sorts through everything, he stumbles upon a black box, tied shut with an intricate knot. It’s one he recognizes from Usopp’s never ending quest to be the self proclaimed greatest at everything. A lover’s knot.
He swallows thickly.
Does he open it? That… that should go to Koby’s partner, right? He lifts it up, searching for any sign of a name or address. He finds nothing, but peeking back in the chest reveals an envelope where the box with a name scrawled across the front.
‘Luffy’
A dusting of pink settles across the bridge of his nose. Oh, this… this box is for him .
He plucks the envelope up from where it rests with one hand and sets the box to the side with the other. His fingers shake as he tries to carefully unseal the envelope. The last thing he wants to do is rip Koby’s words to him.
Koby’s… last words to him.
He shakes his head and ignores the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.
Finally, he gets the envelope open. He pulls the letter out, looking it over. Oddly enough, it smells a little like Koby, from what he remembers from their fight at Water 7. Clean and earthy at the same time. Soothing. It must be because it was buried under his clothes.
Dear Luffy,
If you’re reading this, I’m sorry. It means that I broke my promise to you. I hope you aren’t too mad at me, but I understand if you are. I’m just glad that you’re reading this. It means that Garp and Helmeppo were able to pull it off.
I was afraid someone else would find this and burn everything. Seas knows Akainu has been sending me on risky mission after risky mission. After Marineford, I’m sure he wants me dead. But I refuse to back down from his petty attempts to crush my dreams. I just hope that whatever suicide mission he sends me on this time isn’t my last. But if you’re reading this… well. We know what happened.
If everything is still in the trunk, you should have found a black box. It should be in there somewhere. But who knows how messy this old trunk might be by the time it gets to you. The seas get rough, you know?
Anyways, that box is yours and yours alone. You see, I had this plan. When you became King, I was going to give it to you as a gift. They’re journals with all the adventures I’ve been on written down. I know we didn’t get to talk much at Water 7, but you asked me to tell you about them someday. So, here they are!
You’re definitely ahead racing to your goal, and I’m sure you must be close by now. Heck, you might have already gotten there! That would be amazing! If anyone could become Pirate King in only a few years, it would be you.
You know, I’ve always admired you, Luffy. I
(The next few lines are scribbled out so badly that Luffy can’t make out what they say.)
I’m sorry, that’s a lie. I’m not going to lie to you. Not here. You told me when we first met that I should be brave and say what I want. Well, here it is. I love you.
What started as admiration became love somewhere over the years. I’m not sure when, really. I just know that one day, I saw a news article about you and realized that I hoped I’d always see you. Even if it was just through news stories and, if I was lucky, the occasional battle, I’d be content.
You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Luffy. You gave me courage when I’d given up on everything. You gave me a reason to keep pushing for my dream. You were my first friend. My first and only love.
I know I’m not there to hold you to it, now. But please promise me you won’t hold anything back. Keep chasing your dream. Make it to the end of the line and claim your crown. Don’t let the world try to take it away. And please, keep smiling, Luffy. It always made my heart warm when I saw it. And I’m sure it warms so many others, too.
Yours Always,
- Koby
A wet spot appears on the page, quickly followed by another. Luffy sniffles and holds the letter tightly in shaking hands. He pulls it close to his chest, holding it tight.
And he smiles.
*****
In the history books, Pirate King Luffy is never seen without a smile. Even up to the day of his execution, he smiled brightly and defiantly at all who opposed him. Historians argue what the significance of the bandana he started wearing after his conquest at Egghead held. But all accounts state that he was never seen without one tied around his wrist. That they held the same weight and worth to him as his infamous straw hat.
Plenty of theories and stories exist. It covers a scar he was ashamed of. He took a liking to having one wrist covered as a sign of solidarity to some long forgotten cause. But one account is held in high regard as the closest thing to the truth that anyone will ever get.
Roronoa Zoro, the most feared and powerful swordsman of his time, said they were a promise that Luffy made. A promise to someone dear that they would be there with him at the end of the line, one way or another.