You don't know what you've got until it's gone (One Piece ff)

4. Wait

Ben POV:

We're all sitting in the meeting room now, eagerly looking at Shanks. "Who do you want to contact?" asks Lou. "Dragon. He is the only one I can think of who could have such information. I can't think of anyone else and we can't just attack the Navy and provoke a war." Shanks replies immediately. I see Tobias' face brightening. He has not yet given up hope. I don't give up hope either! I keep going until I can either see her lifeless body in front of me or embrace her again! "Do you even have his transponder snail number?" asks Yasopp. To this question, Shanks simply nods and dials a number. You can hear this noise that the transponder snail always makes when it builds up a Call. The transponder snail is also called 'Den Den Mushi'.
We hear this typical 'KATSHA' telling us that the call has been answered. Before anyone could say anything, Shanks starts talking: "Here's Shanks. We need your help! I would never ask you for anything, but unfortunately I have no other choice. Please!"
You can clearly hear the concern in his voice. It is quiet for a while until we hear a deep voice. "All right. Stay where you are. We'll come around." says the voice and then the conversation ends immediately. That's it? "We are not moving a millimeter further! Dragon finds us here." says Shanks and gets up. The rest of us follow him back to the deck, where he already gives the orders that the anchor should be set, which happens immediately. Now it's time to wait... How I hate waiting! With Anna, the wait would pass quickly, she would have already brought us delicious snacks and cakes. "If I can get my hands on Billy, I'll kill him myself!" I say unintentionally out loud. Shortly thereafter, all eyes are on me.

Shanks POV:

I've never heard Ben say anything like that in the whole 20 years we've been sailing together. I also miss Anna a lot and I am extremely worried. Not to mention the accusations. But I have never experienced that Ben threatens to kill someone on his own. Anna means much more to him than he realizes. I watch as Ben sits down on a barrel and stares out at the water. If Billy really has anything to do with Anna's disappearance, he will die a miserable death. If Anna is already dead because of Billy, then I personally make sure that he suffers. Anna is not just a simple crew member. She is the little sister for many here. For Lou, Yasopp and for me, it is. On our ship she has slowly blossomed. When she laughed heartily for the first time, we all dropped our jaws. She has such a beautiful laugh. That was also the first time I ever saw Ben turn red. Ahh! That's it! This way I can put him in a slightly better mood. So I go over to Ben, stand next to him and look at the sea. "Do you remember the first time she laughed heartily?" I ask him quietly. He doesn't say anything for a while, but out of the corner of my eye I can see the corners of his mouth lifting a little bit. It works! He nods to me in response. "I don't remember the reason why she laughed so much. Do you remember?" I ask. Now he smiles a little. "It was a few months after we got her out of this shit hole. We were on deck. You and Yasopp had decided to do the laundry up here on deck instead of the laundry room. Lou has helped hang the clotheslines in the meantime. It took a maximum of 5 minutes and in those damn 5 minutes you and Yasopp actually managed to cover the whole damn deck with foam. That was such an extreme mess! The soap foam also made the deck very slippery and when I gave you a an ear full, you got one of your stupid ideas again." says Ben. "Hey! I only have great ideas!" I protest directly. This makes Ben smile a little more. "Well, not always. In any case, this idea was for the garbage. You played football with Yasopp through the foam. And as a ball you took the lump of soap. You also did not know consideration for others. One led to the other and in the end the whole ship was full of soap foam. The laundry was still dirty. Thanks to you and Yasopp we were all wet and I gave you a an ear full because you tore my legs away during your game and I hit the deck. I completely ignored the foam on my head. A beautiful laugh from a beautiful woman immediately caught our attention. I even forgot to snort at you! Her laughter. Anna's beautiful laugh. That was the only thing I could think about at that moment. Since then, she has been much more open to us and has trusted us more. We also had the opportunity to see her smile or even laugh more often." Ben tells the event from that time to the end. "Thanks to both of you idiots, the deck was eel-smooth for 2 weeks!" he adds and gives me a head nut. "Ouch! Yes, okay, that was really a stupid idea, but hey, we all laughed didn't we." I say, after which I get a slight chuckle from him. His happy face, which he had during the story, slowly becomes sad as he continues to look at the sea. "Shanks?" he asks quietly. I give a slight hum, whereupon he continues to speak: "I miss her so terribly... I noticed that she wasn't in the usual places, but I didn't think anything of it. Anna is, after all, our little ghost. Because she is so shy and doesn't talk to everyone, she got the nickname 'ghost' from some of the crew. Somehow the name suits her.. I should have noticed sooner that she is missing. Damn Shanks.." at the end of his explanation his voice breaks slightly. I don't know what I can or should say. Nothing would alleviate the pain we all feel. Ben and Tobias are probably the two who have hit it the worst. I put my arm around Ben's shoulder and say in a firm and confident voice: "We will find her again and bring her back to us! Anna is part of our family and we don't leave her alone! We'll get your Anna back Ben."
He nods until he looks up at me and blinks several times. "My Anna?" he asks quietly. "Yes, or do you still want to let me believe that you don't love her?" I ask Ben. He is silent and looks at me confused. I sighed annoyed. And everyone says I'm a thick head! "You've always been the most relaxed around her. As soon as she was on deck, your eyes were immediately with her. In an attack 10 years ago, a few people from the enemy pirate gang made it aboard our ship and broke into the kitchen where Anna was staying. None of us could react as quickly as you did. You were the first to come and protect her. She is something special for you. Did you notice when she was on land and we were traveling as a group? She was always with you and held on to either your trousers or your shirt. With you, she felt the safest. Anna was also the first one you went to when something depressed you. She always gave you one of your favorite drinks and a little dessert. After that, she sat down with you. Sometimes you didn't exchange a word, just sat there, ate and drank something. After that, you always felt much better. I have been watching you. That's why I know that. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask Yasopp or Lou, they've always watched that, too." I explain to Ben. He is quiet for a long time and looks at me, then I see his eyes widening slightly. "You've only now realized that she's the woman you love, right?" I ask quietly. He nods and looks out at the wide open sea again. "Do you think she feels the same for me as I do for her? Do you think she would forgive me for letting her down? Do you think so....-" he breaks off. "Yes, I'm sure Anna is still alive and somewhere out there. And if she loves you too, you have to ask her yourself. Regarding forgiveness.. She has to forgive us all. We have all abandoned her my friend." I say sadly.
Please Anna, don't give up! We will bring you back to us! Just hold on a little bit..
The voice of Yasopp from the Crow's Nest attracts all our attention. "A SHIP IS APPROACHING US! NO NAVY! PIRATE FLAG IS NOT TO BE SEEN!" Good! "That should be Dragon." I say quietly to Ben, who also gets up immediately.