[Well, it means he's certainly not in denial at least. Though somehow the gentle touches just make him cry more. He shakes his head almost wanting to tell Japan he's wrong, but no, Marco is sure he's strong, so then why. Why wasn't it enough?]
I still failed him. [It's deathly quiet and the tears are stopped, only making the words that much more still. The four hardest words Marco's ever said in his life. Because it wasn't just him, it was all of them. They wanted to see Ace happy, and that had been completed. But somehow they'd let him think Blackbeard was his responsibility alone and trying to convince him otherwise was too little too late. Except, that was on Blackbeard's head wasn't it? Even still, Ace should have been free and happy and loved and Marco wanted to fight for that dream a million times over until it created some sort of lasting permanency.]
[action]
I still failed him. [It's deathly quiet and the tears are stopped, only making the words that much more still. The four hardest words Marco's ever said in his life. Because it wasn't just him, it was all of them. They wanted to see Ace happy, and that had been completed. But somehow they'd let him think Blackbeard was his responsibility alone and trying to convince him otherwise was too little too late. Except, that was on Blackbeard's head wasn't it? Even still, Ace should have been free and happy and loved and Marco wanted to fight for that dream a million times over until it created some sort of lasting permanency.]