Drip. Drip. Drip.

Dark eyes opened to an equally dark room, small, dim rays of moonlight seeping in from the window. Disoriented, lost, he lifted his arm—the only one that would listen—to the itch fabric on his face. Bandages, he knew. They were tight, almost painfully so, as though they were trying to keep him together. Maybe they were. Maybe they were the only reason he hadn't fallen apart.

Most of his body wouldn't move as he tried sitting up on the soft mattress beneath, his body burning as his muscles moved. He couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, how determined he was, the pain would begin its merciless assault with every attempt and he was forced to give up. It wouldn't work.

He swallowed.

With only half his vision, one eye obscured by the wrappings around his head, he stared at the moon, the sting of tears fighting to break free. His whole body shivered as he took in that shining silver orb, somehow more beautiful than ever before. Biting back a whimper, he wiped his eye, one thought circling in his head: I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive.

When he closed his eyes again he was met with flashes of orange and red burning across the sky, his tiny, frail limbs being swallowed by the vast emptiness of the ocean. Oxygen left him and his lungs burned, starved as he flailed his arms in a feeble attempt to stay afloat. His vision was red, body torn and tattered and he couldn't breathe couldn't feel couldn't move couldn't—

Again they opened to that room, to the sheen of the moon as it stared at him from amidst a blanket or stars. Somewhere out there his brothers were looking at the same moon, weren't they? They were back on the island, back home, separated by unending ocean, but didn't they still share the same sky—the same world?

Ace.

Luffy.

They survived. The fire wouldn't have killed them, he knew. They were too strong for that. He wished he could see them just once, though, just to be sure. He wanted to hug Luffy close, tell them that they would meet again, that it would be okay. Then he would place a hand on Ace's shoulder, remind him to watch out for their little brother. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't be there to say goodbye. Every word he wanted to say, ever feeling he wanted them to know, he transcribed it all into one short, simple letter. Hopefully they wouldn't be too mad; Ace might try to kill him when they next met.

A broken chuckle escaped his mouth, imaginings of their next meeting dancing through his head, soon turning sour as he wondered just how long it would be before that day came. He bit his lip, sniffling as tears trailed across the sides of his face. It hurt. Not the burns, not the cuts, not the parts of his body that just wouldn't work, but the heavy, crippling fear swelling in his chest.

Will we meet again?

They would. They had to because, no matter how far apart they were, they were brothers. He loved them.

Ace… Luffy…

He would save his apologies for that day, when he could finally meet them face to face, tell them how much he missed them.

Everything was decorated with flowers: the field, the swords, the graves. It was beautiful—breathtaking, even—making the weight on his chest heavier with each passing moment. Still he pressed on, moved forward, plopping cross-legged in front of the carved blocks of marble, a nostalgic name etched boldly into the one on his left. He took a deep breath, fighting against his quivering lip as he set out three cups of sake and a newspaper.

He swallowed.

"Luffy's back," he stated hesitantly, carefully, as though his dead brother would snap back at him any moment, chastise him for his absence, bombard him with questions of why he didn't save him. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. And I—"

Silence.

He began drinking from his cup, taking small sips before his hand started to shake, almost spilling the drink down his front. "I'm going to see him soon, I think. I'll go meet him."

All that met his words was the wind.

"I'm sorry…"

I didn't mean…

"I'm so, so sorry."

Can you forgive me?

"I couldn't…"

He took a shivering breath, never getting a reply.

…We're still brothers, aren't we?

I miss you, Ace.

It was 4am and I felt like writing this so I did. Hope you enjoyed!

Adieu~