Stolen // One Piece

chapter eleven

A flare went up in the sky.

At once, every group ran in the direction of the flare, racing to find their captain. Nami was far behind every other crew member, but she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. At one point, she had to remove her shoes because, although they were cute, heels weren't an effective form of footwear when it came to running in the forest.

There was a clearing in the trees up ahead. From where Nami was currently panting and trying to catch her breath, she could see her group of pirates, standing around something. Taking one last deep breath to satisfy the stitch in her side, she bolted for the clearing.

When she arrived, the pirates still stood in a circle around something. Usopp was incredibly pale, and stepped aside to puke. Chopper was shivering, tears spilling over his eyes. Robin's eyes were dark, as if angry. Zoro's face was turned away from whatever he stood in front of. Brook was quaking, his bones rattling against each other. Franky stood blank faced, his eyes glazed over, as if he wasn't sure what he was looking at. Sanji was on his knees, reaching for something, although Brook was blocking Nami's view as to what it was.

"Did you find him?" she asked between pants. The Straw Hat pirates turned to look at the navigator, and in everyone's eyes, and Brook's lack thereof, she saw pain, and she saw fear. Brook, still shaking, stepped aside, and Nami's heart stopped.

Luffy's hat was sitting in a dark red pool of blood.

"Oh god," she breathed, dropping to her knees as well. "Oh god, no, no no no no no, please no!" Tears slipped down her face as she crawled over to the familiar straw hat, now soaked with her captain's blood. Tenderly, she lifted it, and held it to her body, curling up, bringing her knees up to her chest. She began to sob.

"There's a path... It looks like he was dragged." Zoro had turned his face again, and gestured with his thumb at a trail of blood and moved leaves pointing at the south beach. "I've already checked, and the trail stops about halfway to the water. Someone probably put him on a boat, or took him to their ship."

"So he was kidnapped," Sanji mumbled.

"Stolen," Zoro corrected bitterly. "Our captain is our treasure. He was stolen."

~  ~   •  ~  ~

The Straw Hat crew, save for the captain, sat around the kitchen table. Nami had a map of the island splayed out in front of her, pointing to where they had found Luffy's hat and where his trail ended. She had washed the hat and now wore it on her head, grasping it every now and then as if to tell herself that her captain was beside her. She wasn't really paying attention to what everyone was saying, but instead stroking the straws woven together, and the places they had to be stitched because Luffy wasn't very good at protecting it. She smiled to herself at all the times he had to ask her to fix it, how disappointed he looked when it was torn, and how elated he was when Nami had sewn it back together again.

"Nami?" Usopp said, pulling the orange-haired girl from the depths of her mind. She gasped softly at the suddenness of it, and had to blink several times to fully concentrate on her fellow crewmates.

"Huh?"

"You zoned out," he said. He sounded tired, and Nami was sure he was, that the entire crew was. Losing your captain tends to be exhausting. The navigator mumbled an apology. "It's okay," the long-nosed sniper replied, scratching the back of his neck.

A sorrowful silence ensued.

"Someone should tell Sabo," Zoro piped. He had dark circles under his eyes, signalling to everyone that he had not napped since the revelation that Luffy was stolen. Robin dropped the glass of water she had in her hand, her features going slack with shock.

"Sabo-san!" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "I didn't even think about him!" She stood and began pacing. "Oh, he's going to be devastated! He entrusted Luffy to us and we let him down!" Zoro stood and placed his hands on her shoulders, embracing her. She leaned her head against his chest.

"Sabo?" Chopper said, looking around. Robin turned.

"Luffy's other older brother. He and I met during our two years apart, and he told me how much he cared about his little brother, and he thanked me for watching Luffy when he couldn't."

"Do you know how to contact him?" Zoro asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. The raven-haired woman thought for a long moment, before turning and picking up the Transponder Snail behind her. It rang for several minutes, before someone finally answered.

"Hello?" Sabo's voice carried through, slightly confused.

"Sabo-san!" Robin cried.

"Robin! What a pleasant surprise! It's the middle of the night, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sabo sounded fairly groggy, but awake enough to speak.

"It's Luffy." Robin's tone alone was enough to drop the smile off of the blonde's face.

"What's wrong?" His voice was equally serious.

"He's... Well he's–" Sabo cut her off.

"What's wrong with Luffy, Robin?" Sabo was not angry. He was scared, and it carried in his voice.

"He's been kidnapped."

There was a long silence on the other end, and the Straw Hat crew held their breath, waiting, for what, they did not know.

"Where is your ship located?" he asked finally. There was rustling heard in the background. Nami took the Snail and answered.

"Just off the north coast of Neobi Island," she said firmly.

"Understood. Do not go anywhere. I'll be there in a day."

The man hung up.

More silence followed.