【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 413 Thank You for Being Alive

Sabo took a breath and calmed himself. Not now, Sabo, he reminded himself, he would do it later. What was more important now was the situation at hand.

Sabo looked at Lucci, who remained silent and bowed his head, feeling a little sad. Could it be that Lucci still couldn't forgive him? He had, after all, let Lucci face it all alone, and brought so much pain to his brothers. Before Sabo could sink deeper into guilt, a faint sob interrupted the guilt that was creeping up in his heart.

Ace looked at Sabo with a genuine smile on his face. He was truly glad that Sabo was still alive, just like Lucci, who had found them even after losing his memories. He had never thought he would see Sabo again. They had both changed a lot, but the similarities remained. He still had that stupid scarf and that tall hat with the goggles he never needed on it, and that noble-looking clothes.

He heard a faint sob, and Ace immediately turned his attention away from Sabo. Realization struck him like a bolt of lightning, and guilt overwhelmed him. He didn't know when Lucci lost his memory, but before he lost his memory, Lucci must have thought that Sabo was dead, just like them. He must have been suffering from Sabo's death at that time.

He and Luffy only managed to get through those painful days of immense sorrow due to their brother's death by accompanying each other, but Lucci had to endure this sorrow and pain alone, which might have been even worse. Thinking of the wanted poster he saw at the naval base, Ace clenched his fists in anger.

It was me who caused all this pain, Lucci lowered his head and thought over and over again, if it weren't for him, Sabo would not have experienced all this. He knew the feeling of losing his memory, the pain and powerlessness involved, and even the need to relearn and recognize everything he knew.

He would never wish this kind of pain on his brother, but Sabo had been through it all because of him, and he couldn't help but feel guilty, tears welling up in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.

Lucci bit his lip hard, trying to control his emotions, not wanting his brother to see him losing control of his emotions, but the guilt completely overwhelmed him, and his voice still revealed an unconcealable sob. "I'm sorry, Sabo, if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened. They wanted me, and Sabo is like this because of me..."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Ace gritted his teeth and interrupted Lucci. He clenched his fists in anger and wanted to hit something, but he told himself not to do it. The last thing Lucci needed right now was his anger. "How could it be your fault! It's the fault of those bastards who wanted to catch you. What kind of bastards would attack a 10-year-old child!!"

Sabo gritted his teeth in anger, feeling tears streaming down his cheeks. Was this what Lucci had been thinking all along? He took all the blame on himself, which made Sabo feel sick. What on earth had those guys done to his brother?

He had never seen his brother so broken before, the aura of self-blame emanating from him was so obvious, he almost didn't know how to deal with it, although Ace had had moments like this occasionally when he was a child, but never to this extent, and Lucci would even do this with him to make sure Ace was okay enough.

But now, Sabo hoped that he knew how to communicate with Lucci. No matter what, the first thing he had to do was to stop his brother. He had to stop him. He couldn't let Lucci continue to blame himself like this.

"Look at me, Lucci." Sabo moved his body so that Lucci faced him so that he could raise his head and see his face. Looking at the bloodshot in Lucci's eyes and the obvious self-loathing on his face, Sabo felt his heart tighten. He almost saw the same darkness in Lucci's eyes that appeared in Ace's eyes as a child. Lucci should not have such emotions, never. At this moment, he really wanted to hammer something.

But he knew now was not the time. Sabo slowly wiped the tears from Lucci's cheeks, looked at his face carefully, and said softly, "This is not your fault. None of this is your fault. We were attacked because..."

Sabo swallowed hard, looking at Lucci who tried to cover his face again. Sabo stopped him and forced Lucci to look him in the eyes. "It's because those guys are a bunch of bastards, a bunch of bastards who attacked children."

"How can all this be your fault?" Sabo continued. "If it is your fault, then all this pain is also my fault, because I couldn't get us out of those people, and I couldn't stop them from capturing you. I left you alone to face that situation."

When Lucci shook his head in denial, tears welling up in his eyes once again, Sabo closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his brother's, continuing to speak softly, a desperation in his tone that even he was unaware of.

"But we had no choice at the time, but even so, we all fought, didn't we? We fought with all our might, and you also tried your best to protect me, didn't you? Even though all this happened, I'm here, we're all here, right? That's what matters most."

Feeling Lucci's hands clutching his shirt tightly, as if more desperate, Sabo pulled away, grabbed his face, and forced him to look into his eyes. He had to make Lucci understand. "Honestly, Lucci, this isn't your fault, nor is it my fault, nor is it anyone else's fault. It's the fault of those disgusting World Governments. Or do you regret rescuing me and setting me free?"

"No, I will never regret this!" Lucci said seriously. This was the thing he had never regretted. "If it happens again, I will find you and bring you back!"

"What an idiot." Sabo felt a warm feeling in his heart. Lucci was still the same Lucci as before. He was very happy that his brother was back with him. "In that case, how can you say it's your fault?"

Lucci lowered his head, wiped his tears, and finally nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Sabo, thank you for being alive."

"Me too. Thank you, Lucci. Thank you for being alive." Sabo grinned and carefully hugged his brother. "Now let's just focus on the fact that we're both still alive, okay? We're out of prison and Luffy is out of danger. He'll wake up soon and we'll all be together again soon!"

"Yeah, soon the four of us will be together again," Ace said as well before firmly putting his arm around the shoulders of the two brothers he was hugging, he was glad that Sabo was here and that he had managed to get Lucci back to his form.

"Ugh!" Lucci didn't expect Ace to suddenly press down on him. "Idiot...you're heavy!"

After a moment, Ace grinned and let his brother go, they would have many more chances later.

"Seriously, Ace, don't come at me all of a sudden like Luffy!" Sabo complained.

"I will die in your hands sooner or later." Lucci groaned in pain. Ace's sudden action just now made all the muscles in his body begin to ache.

"Lucci, you need to stay in bed for a few days and get some rest." Ace shook his head, acting like a mature older brother.

Lucci and Sabo looked at each other in confusion, then looked at Ace. Lucci hesitated and said, "Did something happen after I fell asleep? Is our Ace so mature?"

"No," Sabo said without hesitation.

"So... asshole, stop pretending to be the big brother in front of us!" Lucci frowned and accused Ace with an unhappy look on his face.

"Yes, we are the same size." Sabo said to Ace with his arms crossed in the same dissatisfied manner.

"Hey, you guys remember it really well." Ace said dissatisfiedly, but then all three of them laughed.