Stolen // One Piece

chapter forty-eight

It had begun pouring rain almost as soon as the sun had sunk below the horizon, which was helpful in the sense that Ace, Chopper, Sabo, and Luffy would be harder to spot in the sheets of rain that the sky had produced. However, it had also made traversing the ocean's already erratic waves even more difficult, especially in a small dingy. Also, the temperature had dropped, and Luffy had found the chorus of soaked-to-the-bone teeth chattering rather annoying.

Chopper was fumbling with the bag of medical supplies he had brought, flipping through bandages, gauze, rags, and a plethora of medicinal herbs. Ace was rowing at a quick, steady pace, but the strain, along with the nearly painful rainstorm, was obviously taking a toll on his arms, while Sabo softly hummed the tune of an oddly ominous lullaby he had learned somewhere, sometime long ago, though it had been drowned out by the thunderstorm, as he was tapping the beat on the side of his knee. Luffy stared straight ahead, unmoving.

"Luffy!" Ace shouted over the waves, and the boy turned to face his brother, who was pointing into the darkness in front of them. "Straight ahead!" he yelled, swiping the wet hair from his eyes. Luffy nodded, his stony face unchanging as the Lost Maria slowly materialized in front of them, battling the rocky seas of the Grand Line.

As they neared the window Luffy was to climb up into, under a large ledge that shielded them from the pelting rain, Sabo began unwrapping a rope ladder, with hooks at the top, and gave it to Luffy, who (despite Chopper's protests, and the sharp pain that followed) stretched his arms and hooked it into a secure crevice above them. Sabo did his best to shake his hands free of water, stood up, and carefully stepped from the boat and clung to the ladder. When he reached the top, he slowly began to work his way around the ship, grabbing any hand holds he could find.

When he reached the hull of the ship, Sabo cursed at the realization that all of the rain had soaked the wood, and causing a fire might be nearly impossible. He turned to look for any open windows that might lead to an empty room, and he grunted as he spotted one. He nodded to the eyeball that Robin had just sprouted, before peering into the room, which appeared to be a bedroom, and then kicking his legs inside.

Landing with a soft thud, he looked for any extremely flammable items, and snorted at the outrageously convenient spilled alcohol on the floor. He looked around for any more bottles of booze, and when he located a few more unopened bottles, he dumped their contents on the unmade bed, on some of the walls, and the stack of papers on the desk, as well as slightly under the door. Sabo lit a flame on his fingers, before tossing the fire into the first puddle of alcohol, and quickly hopping back out of the window and climbing around the ship once more, and into the dingy.

Luffy nodded once to the others in the small boat, before climbing up the ladder and peeking into kitchen, and ducking out of sight when both Bluejam and one of his crewmen rushed out of the cellar door. Robin's detached mouth appeared beside him.

"Coast is clear," she whispered to him. He slid the window open, slipping inside and wasting no time to get to the storage room door. As he creaked it open, he felt his stomach drop. Memories of being stuck in that damned room flooded his mind, but he visualized shoving them all into a little box in his head, before taking a deep, shaky breath and stepping through. He pulled a candle from his pocket, as well as a match (it was a miracle they both had managed to stay dry, he realized), closed the door behind him, and lit the candle.

As the light filled the damp room, Luffy immediately focused on the figure that was chained to the wall in the corner.

"Fuck," he gasped, recognizing the woman as his navigator. She was covered in her own blood, surrounded by bloody rags, and Luffy hadn't failed to notice the burn on her bare thigh (it made him sick to his stomach, but he chose to focus on getting her out of the room before he dwelled on its meaning). Her clothes had been nearly torn off of her, and she was covered in hand-shaped bruises. Luffy swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, as he rushed over to free her, setting the candle down.

"Nami," he whispered, crouching beside her and cupping her face. He noticed the far-away, unfocused look in her eyes, and he felt panic bubbling up inside of him. "Nami?" he tried again, but there was no response, and so he tried to gently shake her. "Nami!" Tears were gathering in his eyes, but a voice from behind him startled him. Luffy turned to see Kaito, chained to the wall nearby.

"She's not dead, she's just high. I gave her really strong medicine to help with the pain." Kaito's voice was raspy and strained, and his face seemed somewhat mangled. Just then, Nami very slowly blinked, easing some of the brunet's anxiety. Luffy glared at him.

"You drugged my navigator?"

"Would you—ow—would you rather I let her suffer?" He had winced at the sharp pain in his stomach. Luffy said nothing, only continued glaring at him, before turning to attempt to free Nami's wrists. He swore at the keyhole, suddenly remembering that he had forgotten the skeleton key Usopp made for him back on the dingy. Seeing his annoyance, Kaito spoke up once more. "I've got lockpicks in my pocket. Take them."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Literally what would I gain from lying to you right now? Bluejam's already gonna kill me, so you can either free her quickly or you can keep struggling. Your choice." Luffy squinted at the boy, before standing up and walking over to him, patting his pockets, and finding a set of lock picks. The Captain of the Straw-Hats rushed back over to Nami, fumbled in the keyhole, and when he heard a short click he breathed a sigh of relief. Her wrists fell beside her, and when she began to slouch he caught her limp body, holding her tight against him. With his free hand, he unbound her ankles, and then scooped her up into his arms, carrying her as if she were a princess.

"I'm gonna take you home now, Nami," he mumbled to her, holding her tighter. "You're safe now, I promise."

"Go, now, before he comes back," Kaito whispered, nodding to the door. Luffy looked at him for a long moment, before slipping into the kitchen, and carrying Nami to the window.

Looking down at his brothers and his friend, Luffy shouted over the storm, "Take her! I'll be back in a second!" Gently, Luffy lowered the woman in his arms to the dingy below, wincing at the pain of stretching. Sabo reached his arms up, taking her. Chopper immediately began examining her, wrapping the gauze around the deeper wounds, and wiping some of the dried blood from her. Luffy disappeared back into the kitchen.

He snuck back into the cellar, brandishing the set of lockpicks, and he grabbed the rope that was used to restrain Nami, before walking over to Kaito. He looked down at him.

"I'm going to free you," he began, "but I'm taking you as prisoner of the Straw-Hat Pirates. I trusted you, and you betrayed me. You will be treated better than on this ship, but you will still be a prisoner. Got it?" Kaito opened his mouth in shock, fully expecting to have been left behind. He nodded, and Luffy picked the lock on his cuffs, pulled Kaito to his feet, before tying his wrists behind him. He picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder, before rushing into the kitchen and out the window. With one hand, he climbed the rope ladder into the dingy, unhooking it when he reached the boat. He sat his prisoner beside him, before pulling Nami from Sabo's arms into his own.

"When we get back to the ship, once you've finished mending Nami's wounds I want you to examine our prisoner. Bluejam fucked him up pretty good but I want to make sure there aren't any more injuries we can't see."

Chopper threw a suspicious glance to the blue-haired boy, but ultimately nodded to his Captain, and continued working on the navigator of the Straw-Hat Pirates.