Work Text:
So I have 54 pages of unfinished story ideas and I want to get some out. Here's one that's been floating around for a long time as a one-shot. Enjoy~
Thatch watched the cluster of tiny children put on their play for the Whitebeards arrival, all dressed as flowers or bees. The narrative had been drowned out as the kids forgot their lines or just danced while not knowing what to do, but it had started out something about a bee pollinating flowers and making friends with them.
The kids were all in the range of three to five year olds, and they were fucking adorable. Thatch had hearts in his eyes at the cute children. They were having so much fun on stage, not even caring about their cheaply made outfits falling off, or forgetting any and all lines before erupting into giggles.
The crew didn't see children much, and Thatch had always loved kids. It was the one major drawback of his pirate life. Never seeing children. So it was always nice to dock at one of their islands where the kids were comfortable to come out and mingle. Well, their parents were comfortable with them doing so.
There were mostly adults, parents, in the crowd but many pirates were watching and cheering the children on as they had a blast. There was one in particular which was going to melt Thatch into a puddle over joy. He looked about four and had a flower hat on with paper leaves stuck to both hands as he bounced around as one of the flowers.
"Go, Luffy! Be the best flower!" a black haired young man shouted from the stands, taking photos with a camera den den, wearing a proud grin. Thatch assumed it was an older brother. Luffy, Thatch's favorite so far, put on a wide grin and jumped up, one of his leaves coming unstuck and he gasped to reach down and stick it back on. It wouldn't stick and he started to get a little upset. "Don't worry, Luffy, lots of flowers only have one leave!" Luffy brightened and started dancing again.
His older brother clearly knew how to handle the little boy. What was left of the play was about to be finished when Luffy locked eyes with Thatch, who grinned at him with a wave. "Ah! He's gonna die!" he shouted, and Thatch lost his smile.
"Later, Luffy! You have to finish the play!" the same young man said, completely brushing off what Luffy had just declared. No one seemed particularly put off with it, so Thatch had a feeling he said that a lot for some reason. But in his gut, it gave him a bad feeling. Luffy bowed with the other flowers, and ran to Ace, who he shouted his name, jumping into his arms. "Did you see me, Ace?" Luffy asked brightly.
"I did! You were my favorite flower," Ace said with a grin. "Why don't you have some cake with your friends? I know you worked really hard on it." Luffy nodded and dropped down and ran to a little table that had small slices of chocolate cake being served. No one, still, had seemed like Luffy's sudden exclamation was strange.
It still made Thatch uneasy. He turned to the nearest person, an old man, and asked, "Why did Luffy tell me I was gonna die?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light and curious, even though the feeling was growing stronger.
"Well, he says that a lot…" the man said, clearly uncomfortable. Thatch asked if he was ever correct. "Well, there have been multiple heart attacks or other types of deaths, but usually the people leave too quickly to tell. It could just be a coincidence, no one knows," he explained. Thatch's face went white. "You could always go ask him, but Ace is very protective of him. He might snap at you. But he's a sweet boy, too." The old man walked away, and Thatch waited as the crowd dispersed for Luffy and Ace to leave the little circle where the kids were eating cake.
Once he was done, Luffy looked longingly at Ace's plate, who gave it to him without a second thought. Luffy devoured it, cake all over his face, which Ace cleaned off with a napkin. "Why don't we go to the market? I think your performance deserves some yummy strawberries," Ace said, and picked Luffy up. Luffy cheered, and Thatch felt weird to interrupt.
"Um, excuse me," he said weakly, and Ace turned around, Luffy's eyes wide and curious. Ace gave him a look. The big brother look. "You told me I was going to die. C-Can you tell me what you meant?" he asked uneasily.
Luffy nodded, and Ace agreed. "Only since you seem to be a Whitebeard," Ace said, and the three walked to an empty picnic table. Luffy sat down in Ace's lap while Thatch sat awkwardly across from them. "Luffy, can you explain why you said he was going to die?"
Thatch didn't like how lightly everyone was taking it. It would usually make him think Luffy was just a weird little boy who said random things, but the man earlier had a look of unease. No one else seemed surprised, though. It confused him a bit.
"There's a big hairy guy with you and he stabs you in da back tonight," Luffy explained, and Thatch's draw dropped. Ace didn't seem bothered. "Cause you have a swirly apple and he wants it." The devil fruit in Thatch's pocket suddenly felt ten tons heavier. Ace asked if there was any more to the story, to which Luffy shook his head.
Ace stood up to walk away, and Luffy waved over his shoulder, and said, "Careful, big hair!" cheerily. Thatch couldn't stand for a couple minutes, legs feeling like jelly. A big hairy guy? They had plenty of those on the ship, and no one on their protected island would be stupid enough to kill a commander.
Did that mean someone on the ship would kill Thatch? Over this devil fruit? He wanted to ask Luffy for more specifics, but the two were already lost in the crowd, heading towards the market. They were out of view before Thatch had the courage to ask anything else. He slowly walked back to the ship. Haruta came up next to him and grabbed his arm, which caused Thatch to jump and push him away.
Haruta looked surprised. "Sorry, Haruta," Thatch apologized. The younger commander looked concerned now, and asked what was wrong. Since he felt and looked ill. "Well, a little boy just told me I am going to be murdered tonight. Kinda a crappy way to end an outing."
Haruta laughed it off. "C'mon, Thatch, it's just a kid. Don't take it too seriously," the fellow commander said lightly.
"He knew I found a devil fruit before I told anyone. And someone told me that his predictions are often correct," Thatch said quietly, very seriously. Haruta lost his cheerful look and asked if he told him anything more. "He just told me a big hairy guy will stab me in the back tonight for a devil fruit."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah. I want to go tell Pops. It's still day time, so I won't die anytime soon," Thatch said in a weak voice. Maybe it was stupid to put so much onto this four year olds' statement. Usually, he'd think the kid was just a bit weird, but him knowing about the devil fruit really concerned Thatch.
The two walked onto the ship to look for Pops, running into some of the other commanders and their subordinates. It was too early to be drunk, but some still were. Thatch found himself looking for anyone hairy, and felt bad for doubting them. But his gut instinct was telling him that something was seriously wrong with the situation. And he took Luffy's claim extremely seriously.
Marco had seen Thatch and Haruta's expressions and came to ask what the problem was. "I thought you were going to go watch the little play with the kids," he said, wondering what was up with the expression on Thatch's face.
"I did. It ended a couple minutes ago. And I was told I'm gonna be murdered tonight, so I'd really like to talk to Pops right now," Thatch said, all trace of his usual cheeriness absent from his voice. He felt and sounded cold, and Marco was stunned, but said nothing and walked with him inside to find Pops in the infirmary, getting a check up.
The three waited outside the door for him to be done, and the moment he walked through the doorway, they got his immediate attention. "Sons, how did the play go? I'm sad to say I couldn't see it," Whitebeard said in a sad tone before he saw the seriousness on his three sons' faces. And how Thatch looked like he was going to be sick. "What happened?" the captain asked.
They walked to the nearest bedroom, closing the door. "A kid told me a big hairy guy is going to stab me in the back tonight for a devil fruit I just found," Thatch said, getting straight to the point. Whitebeard's face went very dark in an instant.
"And you are believing what he said?" The man didn't sound belittling to Thatch believing a four year old, and instead wondered if the claim had any merit. If they should investigate immediately. Thatch nodded.
"I believe what he said. No one else knew I had found a devil fruit, and a man told me that when he tells someone they're going to die, it often comes true," Thatch explained, looking at the dark devil fruit in worry. Was he going to die for this? Why would anyone kill him for it, they could just ask.
The captain stood up straighter, and told Thatch to put the fruit away, and that they were going to go pay a visit to the boy and ask some more questions. They were not angry at him, or thinking he had said it in malicious intent.
The three commanders asked around if they knew where Ace and Luffy lived. They were directed to an orphanage near the edge of town. It wasn't a bad place. It was actually pretty nice and in good condition. It meant that Ace was still under 18, and that both of them were orphans.
When Whitebeard showed up at the doorstep, it shocked everyone inside who went out to answer who it was. Kids flocked out of the building to crowd around Whitebeard's big boots, and he chuckled and patted their heads fondly. "Hello, children. Are your friends Luffy and Ace home? We'd like to talk to them."
A girl with orange hair asked, "Did he tell you you are gonna die?" Thatch nodded and the girl sighed, calling Luffy an idiot. "Well, they're not here." Whitebeard kindly asked them to tell them when the two got back so they could speak immediately. The children wandered back inside to resume what they were doing.
As it got late, Thatch started to really panic. But they came across the two on their way back to town, Luffy with a huge bag full of strawberries that he ate whole, stem and all. He was walking next to Ace and holding onto his shorts' pant leg. They stopped at the sight of the men in front of them.
"Hello, boys. We'd like to speak with you two," Marco said in a friendly voice. When Ace's expression turned uneasy, Haruta made clear they werent in trouble. Ace nodded and steered Luffy to the nearest bench. Whitebeard was too big to sit on it, so he stood. "So, Luffy, you said something bad will happen to Thatch, right?" Marco prompted.
"I forget," the four year old said. Thatch put his face in his hands while Marco and Haruta sighed. Ace handled the situation well.
"Remember the swirly apple? It looked like a yummy one, right? Thatch had the swirly apple. Do you remember?" Ace prompted.
Luffy exclaimed, "Oh yeah! I remember now. Yeah, I don't like it, looks bad." Whitebeard patiently asked him to explain the story more. Luffy was more than happy to share. "A bad man, big and hairy and ugly man stabbed in the back! And he eats the fruit and then runs away. And den he dies. It's sad," Luffy said bluntly.
Marco asked if he knew anything more about the bad man. Anything else he could describe about him. "His teeth like a piano. Black and white. And a bad laugh, too," Luffy said, nodding along with his own words in between mouthfuls of strawberries. The bag was getting smaller and smaller but he didn't seem ready to stop any time soon.
"Do you remember his laugh?" Haruta asked pleasantly. While they were being patient and understanding, it was slightly annoying that they had to pull teeth to get information. But he was only four, and they were lucky he was doing this at all. Luffy nodded and swallowed his last mouthful of strawberries.
"Zehahaha!" Luffy laughed. It didn't sound threatening at all in his high pitched voice, but they all recognized it immediately. Their faces either went cold or pale. There was way too much Luffy knew than to make it up. He knew about the devil fruit, about the looks, and the most damning evidence was him knowing the laugh that was distinctively Teach's laugh.
Marco asked, "Have you ever met any of our crew before, Luffy?" Ace was the one to answer.
"We've never met any of you before, which was why I was so rude to Thatch before. I apologize. Usually Luffy and I are at home or in the park. So he's never met anyone with that laugh before," Ace explained. Luffy nodded his head in agreement, and crawled onto Ace's lap, who rubbed his hair affectionately.
Luffy turned to the pirates and said, "I don't like da big hairy guy. You should make him not kill you."
Whitebeard gave him a smile. "Oh, I promise we won't. I'm sure we'll be seeing you tomorrow sometime. Goodnight, you two. And thank you for the information, Luffy." The boy grinned and nodded at the captain, and the four left them, heading back to the ship while the two orphans made their way back to their home.
"Teach kills me?" Thatch asked in a high voice. Marco put his hand around Thatch's shoulder. "I mean, I don't want to believe it, but he knows too many specific things…"
Whitebeard agreed. "I sensed no lie or fib. I think he was telling the truth. And I agree, he knew too many things for it to be him just making up an elaborate story. But we can't just execute Teach without any sort of proof that he does what Luffy says he will," the captain said. He didn't want to believe it either, but a child that young couldn't make something like this up with all of the right facts and details. Plus, he had apparently never met any of the crew.
It made sense why Ace was so disrespectful to a commander earlier, since he'd never met any of them before. It was all very concerning.
"So what do we do? I don't want to be bait," Thatch said weakly. He couldn't believe his own brother would murder him over a devil fruit. Especially when he could've just asked. Though, now that he knew how far Teach would go to have it, he didn't want him having whatever power it granted.
"We won't make you bait. We will pretend to leave the fruit in your room with the door unlocked. If he enters your room tonight, then he's guilty. No one will be dying on my watch," Whitebeard said firmly. He was no happier with this situation than they were, but he was just as serious.
They put on a face at dinner, with Thatch showing everyone the devil fruit he'd found. Marco kept his eyes on Teach's expression, and his heart tanked when he saw the greedy look in his eyes. He knew this was true. He sighed, but they would carry out the plan anyways. No one else but those four knew about Luffy's detailed prediction.
Dinner passed quickly, and Thatch became more and more uncomfortable, before he announced he was going to bed, and headed to his bedroom in the commanders' hallway. He took the devil fruit (Luffy was right, it looked evil) with him, and then went into Marco's room, where he, the captain and the first mate waited. They didn't want Teach getting a hold of something that made him so desperate.
The three were silent, using their haki to tell if anyone was coming. The other commanders each went to bed, and they waited hours until Teach's presence appeared. He was easy to discern through haki since they'd known him for so long. He'd been on the crew since he was twelve.
But he did arrive, and pushed Thatch's door open. Before he realized Thatch and the fruit werent there, Marco had him pinned to the ground, a haki covered blade in his hand. Pops stood there, too, looking down at Teach was a cold glare. "Care to explain why you entered Thatch's room with a knife ready?" he asked in an ice cold voice full of rage.
Teach's face went white, and he started to sputter out excuses that really made no sense. "Thatch, go get some cuffs," the captain said bitterly. Thatch hurried to the hallway and got a heavy chains that they easily bound Teach in, cuffing his hands behind his back.
He was dragged by his hair to the brig and locked in a cell. "How did you know?!" he demanded from his cell.
"A little boy got the best of you," Marco said coldly, and they exited the brig before they locked it behind them. Teach wouldn't be getting out. By then, the other commanders had gathered and were filled in on the situation. No one protested burning the fruit into nothing after hearing what had almost transpired because of it.
They all went to bed feeling bitter and betrayed. But thankful for Luffy. So thankful, and they were going to go see him the next day.
-x-
Luffy was playing leapfrog with his other small friends in the front yard while Ace sewed a button back onto one of Luffy's shirts when the pirates arrived. Luffy looked up and said, "Big hair made it!" Ace looked up and smiled, and told Luffy to be polite. "Why?"
"They're important people, Lu. They help protect the island from bad pirates," Ace explained patiently. It was most of the commanders and the captain. They were all so much bigger than Luffy was. His other friends were watching from around the corner of the house, whispering about what was happening.
"We just wanted to thank you for telling us what was going to happen. Something very bad nearly happened and you helped stop it. So we have some gifts for you, of thanks," Thatch said, and pulled out the boxes. He gave one to Luffy, who didn't hesitate to open it, and found a beautifully made strawberry cake. Ace was given another box full of money.
He stuttered out that they didn't need to do this. "We want to. He saved one of us from being murdered and exposed a traitor. It means a lot to us, so we want to do anything to help. There is more than enough there in case you ever want to live in one of the houses on this street," Marco explained with a smile. Ace looked at the box packed with bills and coins in shock, but then gave a watery smile.
"Thank you," he said quietly as Luffy dug into the cake while Thatch talked with him lightly. Luffy was in a wonderful mood, clearly happy everything had worked out. By the time the cake was gone, Luffy's hands, face and shirt were stained and covered in frosting. "Lu, you should have waited for me to get a fork for you," Ace scolded lightly.
Luffy giggled and apologized. "It was too yummy to wait," he explained simply. Thatch cooed at the adorable life-saver. You can bet after that, they visited Luffy and Ace everytime they docked on that island. Thatch was alive all because a little boy in a flower outfit told him he was gonna die out of nowhere. What a strange turn of events.