Boy With a Scar

Chapter 15: Chasing the Nightmares Away

A serene smile found its way onto Nami's lips from that line of thought, vanishing completely a moment later when a blood-chilling scream from below pierced the peaceful night's silence.

Nami hastily climbed down from the crow's nest to check whatever was happening downstairs. The instant her feet touched the deck, the hatch to the boy's room slammed open. The thief jumped, startled by the loud bang, and turned to look at that direction.

Bareheaded, Luffy leapt out from the inside and immediately started to look around the ship wildly. He had his back turned to Nami, and hadn't noticed her approach.

"Luffy?" the navigator called, touching the boy's shoulder to get his attention. She hadn't expected him to swivel around so fast, absolute terror and despair etched on his face. Nami flinched when Luffy smacked her hand with a considerable amount of strength.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, backing away from her. "Go away! You're not real!"

Nami just blinked at the teen's actions and words, ignoring the throbbing of her hand, but pulling it to her chest nonetheless. She couldn't understand why he acted so scared, completely out of his mind from fear which was simmering openly in his obsidian eyes.

"I guess now we know why he wasn't sleeping."

Zoro's voice right behind her startled Nami, and she briefly glanced at the swordsman who stopped at her side, before looking back at Luffy. "What happened?" she asked.

The swordsman rubbed his jaw where Luffy punched him when he had tried to wake him up, staring intently at his captain. Luffy backed away from them until he hit the wall. "One moment we were all sleeping, and the next Luffy woke us with his screams," Zoro replied. "I don't think he realizes what he's doing right now."

They needed to shake Luffy out of his nightmare or hallucination, whatever it was, but Zoro was wary about approaching him in that kind of state. He got punched halfheartedly while trying to get ahold of his flailing arms, but nobody was able to tell whether the rubber boy would attack them for real if he felt cornered.

Luffy suddenly stilled. His eyes stopped darting around and fixed on the people in front of him. The overwhelming terror was pushed to the side by steely resolve. His hand slipped behind his back. Fingers slowly curled around the handle of the dagger.

Zoro felt his stomach churning as his eyes followed Luffy's hand, and he realized what the boy was thinking. "Wait, Luffy, what are you doing?!" the swordsman exclaimed, stepping forward. "You're safe here! Nobody is threatening your freedom, so just calm down!"

Nami and Usopp, who climbed onto the deck after Zoro, shared a bewildered glance with each other. None of them knew what their swordsman was talking about, and why all of the sudden he seemed on a brink of panic.

"Shit..." Zoro muttered when there was no recognition sparking in Luffy's eyes. "The hat!" he shouted unexpectedly before turning around. "Where is his hat?!"

"Uh, I think it's still down in the room," Usopp answered.

"Go get it."

"How does the hat hel–"

"NOW!"

The long-nosed teen sprang to action and clambered back down into the men's room without any further questions. He emerged from below after several seconds with Luffy's straw hat in hand. Zoro grabbed it, and quickly strode towards his captain, closely observing his hand behind his back.

The swordsman was within a few feet of him when Luffy drew his dagger. In one swift motion, Zoro gripped the blade, successfully stopping it mid-move, and jammed the straw hat on the teen's head, praying that he would be right about it.