One Piece: Unforeseen

| The Luminous Island (Part 2) |

Mae began to panic, her lungs tightening as she sank further into the island. She struggled to fight her way out of the sand, but the grains enveloped around her like a tight blanket and kept her in an inflexible hold. Refusing to give up, she continued to anxiously battle for her freedom. But the battle didn't last long and her attempts to break free failed miserably. And because of the lack of oxygen, she started to lose a grip on reality.

Suddenly though, as she was on the verge of falling unconscious, the sand unexpectedly let her go and sent her spiraling downward into an underground cavern. The second she broke through the sand, she clutched at her throat and frantically sucked in a breath.

"Guh!"

Falling right behind her, Usopp straightened up and grabbed at his hips in triumph. "I did it! I broke out of the sand! I'm the greatest pirate of them all!"

Spitting out bits of sand, Mae stretched her hand out and swatted at him. "D-Don't c-c-celebrate just y-yet!" She coughed, pointing downward.

"Huh?" Doing a somersault in the air, Usopp flipped himself upside down. That's when he saw that they were headed straight for a raging river with jagged rocks protruding from it.

"Awaaaaah!" Scratching at nothing but air, he tried to climb away from the dangerous waters, but his efforts failed and in the blink of an eye, he crashed into the icy river.

A heavy current smashed against him when he submerged into the water. Just before he was swept away though, he grabbed onto a rock and yanked himself against it. Flinging his head back, he broke the surface with a long gasp.

"Oh man! That was close!"

Hoisting himself out of the water, he slung his body over a large boulder. After he caught his breath, he sat up and took off his red knapsack. Wringing the water out of it, he examined the sharp rocks around him.

"Talk about being lucky! We could've been skewered!"

"Now," slinging his bag back around his shoulder, he stood up and looked around, "where do you think we are?"

"Mae?" Scratching at his head, he glanced around the area. "Mae?"

When he didn't see any sign of her, he yanked his goggles off in alarm and searched the water before looking up at the ceiling. "Mae?!"

Turning his attention back to the river, he stared at it for a long minute before realization finally struck him. "She can't swim!"

Throwing his bag aside, he jumped back into the water. Fighting the current, as he swam from rock to rock. "Hang on, Mae! I'm coming for you!"

Sucking in a deep breath, he dived underwater and swam to the floor. Even though the glowing sand provided him with some light, it wasn't enough. Squinting through the dark and mucky water, he blindly touched the floor and felt around for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Mway!"

"Mway!"

As he shouted against the water, he accidentally swallowed a mouthful and started to choke. Coughing up a lung, he clasped a hand over his mouth and propelled himself back up for air.

"Bleh!" Spitting out the slime filled water, he held onto a boulder for support.

"Ugh," he groaned, "that's some nasty water!"

"Then don't drink it," Mae suggested from behind him.

"Wha-?" Usopp's heart jumped when he heard her voice.

Whipping his head back, he almost lost it when he saw her resting on the boulder behind him.

"Mae!" Paddling himself around, he swam over to her and climbed onto the rock. "I thought- But wait- How long have you been there?!"

"I've been here the entire time."

Usopp pointed an accusing finger at her. "You've been here the entire time?! And you just sat there and watched me try to find you?!"

Gripping onto her shoulder, she shrugged indifferently. "It was kind of fun to watch."

Usopp prepared to tear her a new one, but when he saw the blood leaking from between her fingers, he focused on her shoulder.

"What happened?!"

Lifting her hand up, Mae revealed a rather large gash on her shoulder. "I missed the water by an inch and fell on the rocks."

"Are you okay?! That looks bad!"

She gave him a short smile. "I'll be fine, it's a small cut."

"A small cut?! You're bleeding all over the place! We should get you to Chopper right away!"

Standing up, Mae grabbed at her white tank top and tore the fabric along the bottom. Handing it to him, she nudged her head to the gash. "It'll stop bleeding once we wrap it."

Usopp looked at her hand and then down at her abdomen with flushed cheeks. He couldn't help but notice that she had a tattoo leading down her hip. He recognized it, but he couldn't figure out from where.

Promptly breaking his gaze, he turned his eyes elsewhere and snatched the piece of fabric. Once his cheeks stopped burning, he turned back to her and began to wrap the cloth around her shoulder. Finishing it off with a tightened knot, he stood up and observed his work.

"That should stop the bleeding for now," he said.

Touching her the bandage, Mae nodded. "It'll have to do."

Inclining her head back, she stared up at the sandy ceiling. She noticed that in one particular spot, the sand pulsed. "I think that's where we fell," she noted, following the ceiling to the walls around them. "I'm guessing that we're inside the island."

"Inside the island?" Usopp inspected the area. "How do you think we get out?"

"How about we follow that path?" Mae suggested, nudging her head towards the riverfront that had a connecting road.