Stolen // One Piece

chapter forty-seven

"Why should I trust you?" He shushed her, before freezing and looking to the door, as if expecting someone to burst in. He turned back to her.

"Because I could be killed for helping you."

"You betrayed us," she whispered angrily. She could barely see him drop his eyes.

"He... He told me that my mother is still alive, and in return for helping him steal you, he said he'd tell me where to find her." He met her eyes again, muttering, "I'm sorry. I really, really am. But if someone told you your last family member was still alive despite thinking your whole life they were dead what would you risk?" Nami, not having an answer, dropped her head.

After a moment, she opened her mouth and looked away. Kaito was careful not to touch her tongue, but he placed a warm, slimy plant in her mouth.

She shuddered as she swallowed whatever it was he had given her.

~ ~ ~ • ~ ~ ~

It was near dusk, and the Thousand Sunny was finally only an hour's travel from the location that the Revolutionary Army had last spotted Bluejam's ship. Luffy had been pacing back and forth on the deck, anxiously picking at the fraying ends of his signature straw-hat, running the plan over in his mind.

Ace and Chopper were to row Luffy and Sabo to the spot under window that the brunet and Nami had escaped from the last time. Sabo was to climb around and start a fire on the hull of the ship, while Robin was to sprout replicas of her eyes all throughout the Lost Maria, watching for any of Bluejam's crew and also to locate the room Nami was being held in.  Sabo would climb back, and then he, Chopper and Ace would wait there, out of sight, until Luffy had climbed up, freed Nami from her shackles and then the two would hop into the boat, and be rowed to the safety of the Thousand Sunny. The others would wait nearby, so should battle break out, they would be prepared.

The plan was simple. Effective. So why was Luffy so fucking terrified?

Maybe it was the fact that Luffy knew that ship. He had suffered for five months in its depths. He had succumbed to the idea of dying cold and alone in that storage room, with out the possibility of saying goodbye to his family. He shuddered as memories of Bluejam's face crossed his mind.

Nami was going to be saved. She wouldn't escape unharmed, Luffy wasn't as naïve as to think that she would, but she would be saved. She would recover, albeit slowly, and eventually she would be okay. Just like he would. It would just take some time, he reminded himself.

"Luffy," came a soft, familiar voice from behind him. Usopp placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder, forcing him to cease his frantic pacing. The Captain looked up at him. "You're gonna wear yourself out, relax a bit." There was concern, and something else Luffy didn't quite recognize, written on his features. The younger sighed.

"I'm just anxious," he admitted, reaching behind him and scratching his neck. Usopp nodded, following the movement with his eyes, before extending his arms and pulling Luffy into a tight hug. The Captain immediately melted into his best friend's embrace, burying his face into his shoulder. It had been a while since they had hugged like this, exchanging silent support and easing the other's fear.

"It's going to be okay. It's going to get better," he mumbled, squeezing tighter before releasing his Captain. They looked at each other for a long moment, before Usopp sighed, turning to gaze at the sinking sun. "You know," he began, casting a sly smile to Luffy, "I once rescued a beautiful maiden from her captor!" Catching on to Usopp's story, Luffy cracked a large grin.

"Yeah? How many bad guys did you fight off?"

"Hundreds! Thousands!" Usopp swept his arms out, before placing a fist on his hip. "Hundreds of thousands!" Luffy snorted, before giggling, and then the two of them were laughing so hard they were wheezing, hanging off of each other and clutching their stomachs. Wiping a tear from his eye, Luffy thanked his sharpshooter and hugged him once more.

It was a nice second of relief from the terrifying reality they faced.

~ ~ ~ • ~ ~ ~

Kaito had sat with Nami for the remainder of the day, carefully wiping the blood off of her with a rag and doing his best to keep her company. Nami felt dizzy, but grateful that the herb Kaito had given her, had made the rest of her body numb.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly, as he washed the branding on her thigh. She looked at him, though it was hard to focus on his face while her mind felt like it was floating in gelatin. Noticing the slightly confused expression she wore under all of the haze in her eyes, he continued. "Usopp told me the story of how Luffy saved you. I'm sorry that Bluejam... I'm sorry." Nami felt tears gathering in her eyes once more, though she felt to hazy to do anything.

Just then, the two heard a shout from the floor above them, and frantic stomping coming towards the storage room's door. Kaito hopped up and away from her, but Bluejam stormed inside and shoved him to the floor. It took Nami an immense amount of effort to focus on what he was shouting, while Kaito scrambled to his feet.

"You useless piece of shit!" he screamed in the boys face, spit spraying from his mouth like bullets from a gun. He raised his hand and slapped him, before shoving him to the ground once more, where he then kicked him in the stomach and face several times. The boy cried out for mercy, but Bluejam continued to yell obscenities at him. "Where are they!?" he screamed, "Where are all of the plans?! The ammo?! Where are they?!" Kaito could only manage sobs.

"Captain Bluejam!" yelled a sweating pirate as he stumbled through the door, taking no notice to the scene ahead of him. Bluejam glowered at him.

"What is it? I'm in the middle of something."

"There's a fire—!" Bluejam's eyes widened. Pausing to look at the boy crumpled on the floor, he instructed the man to chain him like he had to Nami. The pirate did so, and Kaito and Nami were then left in the damp darkness, with only the sound of the teenager's sniffles, and the creaking of the Lost Maria's wooden planks against the ocean's waves.

In her impaired state, Nami hadn't noticed (or rather, processed) the familiar eyeball that just materialized out of nowhere on the ceiling she was staring at above her. Or the ear right beside it.

Or the opening of the door. Or the fact that Luffy had stepped through the threshold.