Stolen // One Piece

chapter nine

"LUFFY IS MISSING!" Chopper's screams alerted the rest of the crew. Every pirate was down in the Men's Quarters in under thirty seconds, eager to see the commotion. Chopper stood between the middle hammock and the one to the far left, in his largest size. Tears waterfalled down his face as he frantically checked Luffy's hammock, tossing the blankets and pillows aside. It appeared as if Luffy had arranged them to look like he was in his bed, with the blanket tucked all the way up over his head, but when Chopper had removed them, Luffy had not been there.

As the other men woke up, they simply assumed that it was in fact Luffy in his bed, and they chose not to wake him, wanting him to get as much well-earned sleep as he could. Chopper had gone down the ladder to wake Luffy for breakfast, which he was late for, only to find him missing.

At first, there was only the sound of Chopper's wails.

Then panic erupted.

Every corner, every inch of the ship was scoured, and then the waters. Nami, Ussop, Zoro, and Sanji swam out to sea, only to be swept up in the current and carried back to the shore of the island. They decided then, as they wrung the water out of their soaked clothes, that they needed to check further on the island first before assumptions were made. And so, the Straw Hat crew split up into groups : Nami and Brook, Franky and Ussop, Zoro and Chopper, and Sanji and Robin.

"We are here. The south. We'll search the west side of the island, Franky and Usopp will search the east, Zoro, you and Chopper will search the north, and Sanji and Robin will search the south," Nami commanded, pointing to a map she had made the previous day. She pointed each group in their appointed direction, and they set off. Nami sighed as the green-haired man went left, and was going to say something but Chopper grabbed his wrist and pulled him in the right direction. "Be sure to set off a flare if you find him!" Nami called after the rest.

"Nami-san? Do you think we'll find him?" Brook asked after a long hour of silence between the two. Nami was grateful for an end to the awkward silence, but it wasn't the distraction she wanted.

"Of course. I mean, he couldn't have gone too far," she replied, more for herself than her friend. "He is an idiot, afterall," she added softly, trying to ease the tension of her mind. Another twig snapped under her foot, and Brook visibly cringed. "Sorry, I know you hate that sound."

"It's alright. I just get a horrible vision of one of my many bones cracking." Nami nodded, this time avoiding a long, thin branch lying in her path. "You know what would make me feel better?" the skeleton man asked, making Nami shake her head. "If you would let me see your panties~" he sang. The navigator rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head, having to hop up in order to reach. He laughed loudly, and eventually Nami joined in.

~  ~   •  ~  ~

"Robin-chwan! Let me carry you! It would be my honor! Your feet must be terribly exhausted!" the blond cook sang, swooning over the tall woman. She chuckled lightly.

"I am quite alright, dear Cook-san. My feet aren't very tired at all, just my mind," she added softly. The man sighed.

"Are you worried for Luffy?" he asked, lighting a cigarette. Robin nodded, carefully picking her way along the beach. "He'll be fine."

"I am not sure that you know that this time. I have seen his incredible abilities, and I have complete and utter faith in our captain, but the last time we thought he would be fine, his brother died," she finished solemnly. Sanji froze slightly, before taking a long drag.

"Luffy can handle his own–" he insisted, but Robin stopped and pivoted to look at him.

"I know he can! He's done it before! I'm just worried that he's hurt somewhere and we can't find him! You saw him the other night, how... how... broken he was! He tried to kill himself, Cook-san!" She froze. Robin had never yelled at anyone before. This was fairly new to her. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm just... scared," she muttered, turning to continue walking.

They searched in silence from that point on.

~   ~  •   ~   ~

Zoro and Chopper were still wandering around, calling for their captain. He had to be around here somewhere, he couldn't have just... vanished. Still, a lump hung in Chopper's throat, and Zoro, though he'd never admit it, had a knot in his stomach. Anxiety clutched the small reindeer as he stepped over rocks, and shuffled through leaves.

"He's okay, right?" the doctor asked suddenly. Zoro sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Absolutely. It's Luffy. Luffy can handle anything."

Silence ensued, other than the calls for the captain that rang through the air.

~  ~   •  ~   ~

Franky and Usopp had been chatting about menial things since they broke off from the rest of the crew. Currently, they were discussing the different uses of wood.

"I'm just saying that you don't always have to use oak to patch a ship, you know?" the shorter man said. Franky shrugged, plucking a leaf from his hair. The east side of the island seemed to be only forest and weird looking huts, from which people would emerge every now and then to stare at the pirates, before scuttling back inside.

"Oak's very strong and very durable, but I suppose we could use pine... it is way less expensive but we'd need to buy a lot more, because it isn't as water-resistant." Usopp nodded.

"I can help pay. I just don't want to spend even more of Nami's money and get even further in debt," he said, chuckling. At that moment, he tripped on a gnarled tree root, falling flat on his nose. He cursed sharply, sitting up and rubbing his nose, while the cyborg simply burst into laughter.

"You look like an idiot," the taller man laughed, causing the liar to chuck a handful of dirt at him.

"Yeah well, you are an idiot!" The cyborg helped Usopp stand, and patted his head.

"Luffy's gonna have a laugh when I tell him," he said. Uncomfortable silence followed.

"We'll find him, right?" Usopp asked, looking up at the sky.

"Of course. It's Luffy, he's probably looking for us right now."