The Morning Sun Will Rise!

Exchange for a better life

Yosaku and Johnny were helping the cooks who were unharmed to clean up the debris, only 'cause Zeff had threatened them to. In the meanwhile, Usopp and Nami were sitting beside Zoro and Luffy.

Usopp was trying his best to defuse the situation and make it less tense. He was telling stories after stories, the only thing he was best at after his shooting skills. But it wasn't working. It wasn't making the duo get up. Neither was there any change in the duo's face nor was Nami looking good. She looked worried.

.

On the other side, Sanji had finally caught up to Zeff, who was ordering the cooks and the two poor souls to clean up the restaurant.

"Old man, why?" Sanji asked, gritting his teeth.

"Why what, egg plant?" Zeff asked nonchalantly, with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"You know what I am asking about," Sanji said in anger. "Why would you use me as an exchange to the pirates? Why?" His refused to lift his head to glare at the man rather than the floor, he didn't want to show Zeff that he was weak.

"Brat, that was a deal so you need to go with them," Zeff said wanting Sanji to understand his dream and go out to search for it. "Either way we don't need a cook like you."

.

Usopp left making an excuse that he needed to give food to his pet sea kings, which was obviously a lie. But Nami didn't stop him. She needed some time alone, to process everything and it was good that Usopp was out even if it meant for a minute.

It was Zoro first, who has lost a lot of blood and no one knew when he would be getting up and then it was Luffy who fell without any reason. Yeah, he was looking pale from the beginning of the fight but that didn't mean that he has to be out like light right now without any reason. They didn't took him to a doctor 'cause Luffy wouldn't like it. But his body was burning up and they don't know what to do at all.

Nami and Usopp had to refuse Zeff's help when he offered to ask one of the cook who apparently had a medical background to look after Luffy. But what are they supposed to do right now with them down? What can make him get up? They didn't know anything about Luffy except that he has a goofy and cheerful attitude and a smile is so bright that it could make everyone forget their worries.

Drops and drops of water fell on her thighs, making Nami realize that her sight was blurry too. Her hands refused to raise up to wipe her tears and chose to grip on the skirt which she was wearing.

She felt helpless that she couldn't help her friends, she was useless at the battlefield. Maybe if she had helped in the fight, Luffy would be okay. Would be up, would be doing his regular works and would have found a way to make Zoro up too.

"P-Please," She said with a choked voice, silently crying. "I-I *hiccup* hav..e ne..ver *sob* got a single fr-friend *hiccup* in my l-life." She wasn't even able to recognize her own voice. "P-Please, I beg *hiccup* you b..oth, do-don't die."

She couldn't explain the tears which were flowing freely from her eyes. All she could do was cry and tell Zoro and Luffy in her cracked voice that how she was used as a slave by Arlong, how she was despised by the whole village all cause Arlong took her and hence never have she had a single friend, until Luffy, Zoro and Usopp came in. Even Sanji, the cook who hit on her with every chance he got was a friend of her now.

Nami harshly wiped her tears as she started telling the story of how Arlong and his crew had arrived at Cocoyashi village one day and killed her mother. How he had taken her in and used her to create his maps. How he asked money from each of the civilians in the Coconomi Islands to give them the permit to survive. And lastly, her deal with Arlong for freeing her village, her hard work of collecting 100 million berries all to save her village.