Stolen // One Piece

chapter nineteen

It was quiet in the storage area of the Lost Maria. Kaito was curled up beside Luffy, sleeping soundlessly. Luffy was leaning his head against the wall, trying to rest. It was night; Kaito had told him. It must have been around midnight, because, although there were still pirates talking and laughing upstairs, it was mostly quiet, as if the others had fallen asleep. Luffy sighed as his eyes fluttered open again.

He was exhausted. Yet somehow, he was unable to sleep. Perhaps it was boredom, or anxiety, or sorrow, but no matter what, Luffy could not keep his eyes closed. It was beginning to get annoying.

Deciding that sleep was not going to be an option that night, Luffy focused on other things. Like his crew.

He wondered what they were doing right now. Probably sleeping, he guessed. He wondered if they had been looking for him like he had hoped. Of course they were, they were his crewmates. They wouldn't just leave him, would they? They'd come find him, and rescue him, let him heal, and then kick some ass. That's what he would do for them, so they would do that for him. Right? Right.

Or, perhaps, they wouldn't. Perhaps they had decided he wasn't a good enough captain to rescue. That he was too stupid and too reckless. That he was weak.

Weak.

Too weak to protect himself, let alone others. Especially those he cared about. Like Ace. Luffy had been right there. He had the chance to save him, but he couldn't. Because he was too weak. And, if he couldn't save his own brother, how would he be able to save his crew from harm?

It was no wonder why the crew hadn't saved him yet, Luffy realized.

Tears formed in his eyes.

I'm a magnet for misery, he thought to himself.

He thought back on all the times he had unknowingly put his friends' lives in danger. He realized, that from the very beginning, he had been endangering them. He hadn't meant to, but Luffy had been selfish, subconsciously choosing to put their lives on the line for him and his stupid, reckless whims.

His stomach churned with each thought that passed through his head, as the tears in his eyes spilled over. He bit his lip to try and keep himself from crying out.

"Stop it, stop it!" he whispered, trying to calm himself down. Crying wasn't going to do anything but make Kaito worried. It wasn't going to make his friends come save him any sooner, or get the bindings on his wrists and ankles to come off for good. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to change a damn thing. So he took a deep, shaky breath, wiped his eyes on his sleeves, and relaxed.

Kaito.

Luffy looked over to the small boy. He was still fast asleep, his eyelids fluttering every now and then as he dreamt. Luffy hoped he was dreaming of freedom.

Luffy's resolve to get off that goddamned ship grew stronger. He needed to kick Bluejam's ass, not only for himself, but for Kaito. Kaito had been here longer, and had endured more than Luffy, so it was only natural for the older boy want to kick the evil captain's ass for the younger one.

"I'm going to get us out of here," he whispered softly to the blue-haired boy.

His eyelids felt heavy, and so they drooped slowly closed.

Finally, he got some well-deserved sleep.

~    ~    •    ~   ~

Bluejam swaggered in, three fairly large goons trailing behind him, like lost puppies. Luffy rolled his eyes.

"You never show up alone. Are you scared I might kick your ass?" the boy taunted, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Bluejam sighed.

"You're chained to a wall, and yet you don't seem to understand that I have the upper hand." Luffy huffed.

"Only 'cuz you play dirty." Bluejam stepped closer to the boy, brandishing a bucket. Upon closer inspection, Luffy saw it was full of lemons. The older pirate unsheathed a dagger. "Are you serious right now?" Luffy asked, narrowing his eyes. Bluejam shrugged, set the bucket on the floor, retrieved a lemon, and sliced it in half. "Lame," Luffy mumbled. Bluejam crouched, and pressed the dagger to the boy's throat. The older man opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when a shout from upstairs stole his attention.

"Captain! Land!" Bluejam's eyes widened in surprise, before he stood, grabbed the bucket, resheathed his dagger, and walked to the stairway across the room.

Over his shoulder, the man said, "I'll be back to deal with you later." He and his goons disappeared upstairs. Kaito rushed down a while later, brandishing keys in his hands. There was a bright look in his eyes.

"We've landed, and the rest of the pirates have gone deeper into the island. We're good to go!" Luffy smiled as Kaito unlocked the bindings on his wrists and ankles.

Two weeks had passed since Luffy had his quiet epiphany, and he had been working on a plan with Kaito since.

Kaito had stolen a few maps from the Captain's desk and brought them down when no one was paying attention. He and Luffy mapped out the route that the Bluejam Pirates were going to take, and chose the fifth island from the one away from the island they were at, because it was the largest, and meant that it would be harder for him and the younger boy to be found, should their plan fail.

Their plan, if carried out correctly, would go like this:

Luffy and Kaito would sneak off the ship, onto the island. They would follow the map (Kaito would direct Luffy where to go), down a path along the small river that ran through the island and into the ocean, until they came across the city in the center of the island, Ikos. From there, they would head to the mountain range that separated the two divided sides of the country, the rebel territory and the King's domain. They would then climb the tallest mountain, and hide out in one of the many caves. Then, Luffy would wait until the Straw Hat crew arrived, and he and Kaito would finally be free.

As the solid bindings fell to the floor, Kaito stood and offered his hand to Luffy. They both understood that travelling would be difficult, since Luffy was incredibly injured, but they were optimistic. As Luffy draped his arm around Kaito's shoulder, he leaned on him and the two hobbled upstairs. Kaito stopped in the kitchen, leaned the older boy against the doorframe, and ran over to the pantry. He dug through it for a moment, before pulling a large backpack from behind a large stack of bags of flour. He slung it onto his back, returned to Luffy, and the two headed onto the deck. Kaito looked around, checking for any pirates stationed to guard the ship.

Luffy chuckled as Kaito said the coast was clear.

"Bluejam's an idiot," the taller boy scoffed. Kaito smiled up at the older boy, and the two hopped off the ship, onto the sandy beach, and began their journey to freedom.