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Bright orange eyes took in the cliffs critically, mentally calculating the distance it would take to jump to them. He wouldn’t—the crew had complained about him taking off on his own enough times to make it not worth the lecture. They were a motley crew of former Beast Pirates that wanted to join him after the defeat of Kaido, eager to help with Yamato’s subsequent desire to set out on his own.
It wasn’t quite a nakama, not quite a family, however, he was grateful for the support. But he still felt like something was… missing, at times.
Shaking his head, he pushed aside those pesky negative thoughts and focused on the present.
Although Yamato was captain of his own ship, there were still some responsibilities he was expected to do, which was fine.
Unfortunately, one of them was not instantly leaping onto every island they came across, which was slightly less fine. Yamato burned with the urge to explore as ex-Beast Pirates ran around preparing the ship for docking. This island apparently had a port on its other side; steep cliffs protected most of the island from view.
The sound of an explosion burst through the air, as a plume of fire and smoke large enough to be seen from their vantage point expelled violently into the sky, and Yamato smiled wide as the resulting waves from the explosion rocked the ship.
Adventure was calling!
“Captain—”
He didn’t bother to hear the rest, sandals slapping loudly on the deck as he ran and took a flying leap at the side of a cliff. Sharp rock dug into his palms as he landed but he didn’t slow, just easily scaled it until he reached the top and scrambled onto land. Taking a peek down at the ship below, he waved cheerfully before another explosion blew his ponytail into his face with an overwhelming blast of heat. Wiping the strands away with a grin he started running towards it.
By the time he reached the town, what seemed to be a mansion on a hill set back from the rest of the city was on fire. Walking through the streets towards the smoke—his nose twitching all the while—he spotted a few buildings here and there that looked damaged but most were intact. Yamato wondered what had happened as he came upon a large gathering silently watching the mansion burn. Despite the silence, the mood was far from gloomy. If anything, there was an air of defiance hanging around the people of the town. None seemed particularly upset about the burning or the damage.
A figure peeled itself away from the crowd and began walking down the street, catching his eye. Or well, the figure’s top hat did and, curious, Yamato followed.
It quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse, the figure catching onto Yamato’s tail and trying to lose him in the winding back alleys.
Once a light of a streetlight caught on the man’s face Yamato grinned with recognition. “Oiiii, Sabo?!” he called. The figure didn’t slow, just disappeared around a corner and Yamato put on a burst of speed.
When he turned the corner and didn’t see the other man, he straightened with a smile. Cupping his hands around his mouth he yelled down the seemingly empty alley. “Oi, Sabo! I met your brothers, Luffy and Ace?! Come out!”
“Ace? Really, you met him?” a voice immediately replied from above and Yamato looked up to see Sabo leaning over the rooftop, peering down at him with interest, holding onto his top hat.
Yamato grinned. “Sure did! Luffy told me about ya though.” The news had come in shortly after the defeat of his father and saving Wano while everyone was nursing their wounds.
Sabo—the Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff—presumed dead, had appeared once more, seemingly back from the afterlife. Luffy was ecstatic and spent several hours telling stories of his brother, as if the news had broken a dam inside him. It had been an amazing afternoon, hearing the stories of the three brothers. And now Yamato could claim to have met them all!
“No kidding.” Sabo tilted his head, giving Yamato a considering look before jumping down, landing before him effortlessly. “Well, a friend of my brothers is a friend of mine! I got a little bit of time before I gotta skedaddle, you up for a drink?”
“Absolutely!” Yamato agreed eagerly.
They ended up back at the cliffside, a campfire between them. It reminded Yamato of the conversation he'd had with Ace so long ago and his heart ached for a moment. Seeing Sabo use his brothers' flames so easily made him smile though, it was strange to watch how the two used it so differently!
Whereas Ace had carelessly tossed the flames into the wood in order to get it to catch, Sabo did it slowly. He held the flames with reverence as if they were something more than just his devil fruit.
Yamato didn’t comment on it—everyone grieved a little differently and he wondered how much of a comfort as well as a burden carrying Ace's devil fruit was for the other man. He waited patiently until Sabo straightened and the dog zoan took the time to really take him in.
The top hat and goggles were easily recognizable, but the scar that took up half of the man’s face was the biggest feature. Yamato could tell it was an old burn, the skin pocketed and red, eye drooping on that side, its iris a milky white.
Still, the other dark eye gleamed, the firelight making it spark and seem like its own flame. “So, how did you meet my brothers?” Sabo asked as he smoothly pulled something out of his jacket, glass flashing in the flickering light. How he’d managed to fit an entire bottle of wine in there Yamato wasn’t sure but he didn’t ask as he made a grabby hand at the bottle.
Easily Sabo handed it over, although confusion knitted his brow. Using a single nail, Yamato pierced the cork before pulling it out with a loud pop!
Sabo blinked before he grinned wide and Yamato answered it with one of his own.
They traded stories back and forth, along with the bottle; the alcohol quickly warmed his belly and made his limbs loose.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sabo said before taking a deep swallow and pulling off with a relieved sigh. He wiped the rim before handing it over to Yamato who took a careless swig. “You’ll find your nakama soon enough. You just set out right?”
“Yes. I just wish…" He fidgeted awkwardly. "I wish that it was more like Luffy’s crew.”
Sabo nodded with understanding. “They have a close bond. I was lucky enough to meet one while they were separated. She was amazing. Haven’t met most of the rest but I bet they’re all the same. Luffy has that kind of aura. Attracts the best kind of people.” He winked with his good eye, making Yamato snort with laughter at the implication.
“I guess. I just hope to have that same power someday. Right now the crew I have, they're not bad, I just keep comparing it to others I’ve seen. They’re helpful of course! And it’s good because they can actually sail since I never learned. But they’re only following me because I’m my father’s son, not because of who I actually am. They're good people but I want friends not people who just… follow my orders.” He sighed wistfully, idly listening to the song of crickets on the night breeze.
“We have the same dream, by the way!” Yamato announced suddenly, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer. When Sabo quirked his only remaining brow at him, he clarified. “To travel and write a book!”
Digging into his kimono top, he withdrew his own journal. He presented it proudly, holding it in both hands as he thrust it out. “I’m doing just like Oden did! Traveling and writing what I see and experience. Luffy said you wanted to do the same!”
“Ah.” Sabo scratched at his scarred cheek awkwardly. “That was my dream, yeah. Then I up and lost all my memories and joined the RA. Doesn’t really apply anymore.”
Slowly Yamato brought his journal back into his lap, tilting his head. “Why’s that matter? What changed? You still travel, dontcha?”
“Well yeah—”
“So is it just ‘cause you ain’t a pirate? I don’t think that matters at all!”
Sabo chuckled. “Well I can’t write about a lot of the stuff the army does is all.”
“Why not?” Yamato asked with curiosity.
“Safety,” Sabo answered immediately. “A lot of the world needs saving. The World Government and the Marines” —His face twisted into a scowl— “they’re all oppressors. We try to save people but there’s just so much. The work is never finished. It can take years of planning to pull off one mission and sometimes even that isn’t enough.”
A gloved hand fisted in blonde locks, tugging for a moment before he straightened, grinning at Yamato. The expression was wild, a feral beast in a cage a hair’s breadth from breaking loose and causing havoc. Yamato kept his gaze and didn’t back down until Sabo relaxed a fraction.
“This world is eating itself. The rich and powerful keep everyone else down, they trap people below them with chains. It doesn’t have to be real cuffs, people are chained by the money they must give up and the work they’re forced to perform.”
Yamato for a moment felt the weight of shackles on his wrists before Sabo continued, voice raised and furious. “All of this to support an upper class that does what exactly?? Nothing! People slave away, are actually slaves, and for what? So someone who is better off than them can have another shiny toy for their collection?" A gloved hand gestured, alighting in flame as its orange glow arched in the air between them, echoing Sabo's righteous anger. "It’s disgusting. The Revolutionary Army, we’re going to change all that. We liberate islands, get them out from under their oppressors and—”
“Like Luffy did for me,” Yamato interrupted, voice awed as his eyes grew wide. Sabo quieted. “For all of Wano. Ace promised he’d come back but he couldn’t. Luffy, he defeated my father and literally broke the chains around my wrists.” He wiggled his arms as if the rattle of the chains could still be heard, as if the other man would be able to hear the distant echo that Yamato still heard with every movement. With the way Sabo’s expression darkened, maybe he could.
“Yeah,” Sabo agreed, voice raspy. Yamato thought it might be with barely concealed rage. “Yeah, just like that. That’s why we do what we do. To free people, let them achieve their dreams. Let them live in the sun.” He exhaled loudly, leaning back on his palms and looking up at the stars above. The sun had long since set as they sat and chatted. “There’s a couple we can’t help, not yet. Wano was a big one, it was so hard to get inside. Fish Man Island is another.”
Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled. “Almost feels like my little brother is doing all the things we can’t. Just muscle right through, damn the politics.” He tilted his head down and shot a childish grin at Yamato. “That’s the great thing about him, right?”
“Right!” Yamato nodded enthusiastically. “That’s so cool! It’s great what you do. I was never quite sure what the army did, only heard of it distantly. Why can’t you write your book though?” he asked, returning to the matter at hand. Sabo had gotten a little lost in the explanation, not that Yamato was complaining.
“Oh! A bunch of it I can’t say right? There's so much planning involved.” Sabo flapped his hand with disinterest. “Don’t want to ruin it before it even gets started. Leaves a lot of people without the help they need if someone else got ahold of the plan before we were able to get in there and fix things. I wouldn’t want my book to be the reason an island couldn’t overcome whatever troubles they’re facing. I couldn’t live with myself.”
“Yeah but… couldn’t you write a book later? Doesn’t have to be right now. Can just take some notes so you don't forget stuff!” At Sabo’s skeptical face, Yamato was quick to tack on, “Nothing explicit! Just little things, you could even make up a special code for yourself. Like a real spy!”
“Hmm,” Sabo hummed gaze distant as he thought it over.
Yamato was getting fired up at the notion, fists clenched as he leaned towards Sabo, the fire warming his face dangerously. “You could write it years after the fact. After you’ve helped shape this world into a better one!”
Sabo smiled then, slow but it split his face apart like the sunrise. “A better world huh?”
A loud cawing broke the moment and both men looked up to see a crow circling overhead. “Ah,” Sabo said as he stood. “That’s my cue, time for me to get going.”
“Aww,” Yamato whined, shoulders slumping with disappointment. Sabo shoved up the rim of his top hat, finger ablaze.
“Sorry but duty calls! If I don’t leave now I gotta find my own way and that’s always a pain.”
“I could help with that!” Yamato said quickly but wilted as Sabo shook his head.
Still, the fire user didn’t immediately turn to walk away, instead, his dark eye turned calculating before he took a few quick steps closer and crouched by Yamato’s side. “Hey. What do you think of the Revolutionary Army now that you know what it’s all about?”
Not at all perturbed by the random change in topic Yamato smiled bright, fangs flashing in the light of the fire. “I think it’s amazing! I hope I can change people’s lives like that as I go along. Just like mine has been changed.”
Sabo nodded. “Great.” He dug into his pocket and withdrew a familiar piece of paper. Yamato sucked in a breath. “Then think of this as an open invitation if pirating’s not all you thought it would be. The RA would be happy to have you.” He straightened after Yamato took his vivre card with careful fingers. “Ta for now!” He saluted with two fingers before he started walking to the cliffside as Yamato scrambled onto his feet.
“Oh,” Sabo added, turning to look over his shoulder. “And if that starts burning, I’ll give Ace your regards!” Yamato had told him earlier about Ace’s vivre card.
The familiar feeling of pain at Ace’s loss washed over him but Yamato covered it with an easy smile. “Better not! I’ll kick your ass and Ace will join me!”
Sabo laughed before he did a fancy spin off the side of the cliffside, grabbing onto the brim of his hat before his figure dropped below the edge. Yamato stood still, waiting for something to happen. Flames maybe?
Several seconds passed before he started to get anxious. Taking a single step forward, a flock of crows exploded into the air, several of them flying close enough for Yamato to feel the air from the beating of their wings, and he let out a swell of laughter as he ran to the edge.
He was just in time to see Sabo seated on several crow’s backs, flying away and his arm shot up, pumping back and forth with excitement.
“Bye Sabo!! See you later then!”
Yamato watched until Sabo and his flock disappeared before he finally lowered his hand. The sound of crickets and the crackling of the fire were the only things that broke up the sudden quiet in the wake of Sabo's absence. He felt the loneliness of the moment and let it sit for a second—let it wash over him before he gathered himself.
Looking down at Sabo’s vivre card, he felt along the ripped edges. The offer was nice. He wasn’t sure if he’d take Sabo up on it but it was tempting. Imagining saving people the way Luffy had saved him. That was a life Oden would be proud of, wouldn’t it?!
Smiling slowly he looked up and into the night sky's horizon, the ocean dark beneath the moonless night.
Maybe it didn’t matter if Oden would have approved of the decision, or if Luffy would be happy for him or anyone else. Maybe the most important thing was doing something for himself, simply because Yamato wanted to do it. For now, he’d continue on his course. Maybe he’d find his nakama out there on the sea or maybe he’d give up and join the RA.
Whatever he decided, it would be his decision and his alone. And that? That freedom alone was what he’d always wanted.
Turning back to the fire, Yamato took a deep breath before releasing it out of his nose. He could smell food drifting in from the town.
Time to find some adventure!
