Stolen // One Piece

chapter twenty-eight

Ace was angry.

Angry at himself, mostly, for failing to save his younger brother, but he inflicted that anger outward. He paced the deck while he, the Straw Hats, Kaito, and Sabo struggled to recuperate after their bitter and complete and utter defeat. He began to mutter as he went back and reviewed what had happened during the rescue attempt. Sabo rubbed his temples in distress.

"What are we going to do now?" His voice cracked, and his eyes were watery. Ace was not in an empathetic mood, so he pivoted to face his blond brother.

"Well, fuck! I don't know!" Ace said, sarcasm dripping from his words, thick and heavy as he narrowed his eyes. "What do we do now, oh, 'strong and independent self-appointed leader'?" His words were intended to hurt, and they did their job slightly too well. Sabo's face went slack in shock, but quickly screwed in anger.

"What, you think this is my fault?" Ace scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't my idea to rush in guns blazing!" Sabo puffed his chest and stepped forward, squinting his eyes so tight that Ace thought they might pop out of his eye sockets like peas out of a pod.

"I didn't hear you offering any better ideas!" Ace clicked his tongue and stomped over to him, stopping just before their noses touched. 

"I shouldn't have to offer them!" he shouted, pushing a hand against his brother's chest firmly. Sabo, equally pissed, pushed back. Zoro, who had seen enough, decided then that it would be best to step in before punches were thrown.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, both of you!" he exclaimed, pushing them apart. Ace turned away and crossed his arms.

Under his breath, he muttered, "You should have stayed under the radar. We wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't decide to play 'big brother.'" Sabo froze and turned to face Ace so fast his hair and coattails made a loud whoosh.

"What are you trying to say?" he shouted. Ace clicked his tongue and turned around as well.

"Ten years, Sabo! Not a word from you! We believed you were dead!" Ace's eyes stung with tears, and his throat was blocked with emotion. "And then you show up out of nowhere! All that time! Not a word!" The thoughts he had been biting back rushed out of his mouth like a waterfall, and once he started, he could not stop. "Luffy was devastated! Ruined!" He pauses as a shiver shook his spine. "He tried to drown himself in the river! He had chronic nightmares about losing you! Again and again! So did I! And eventually, we healed! And then you show up, pretending like that time hadn't passed! Playing the part of 'big brother' like nothing happened!" Another pause. "We would have been better off if you hadn't shown up at all!"

Sabo's tears were fueled by anger and sorrow, and like Ace's words, could not stop flowing.

"You did the exact same thing! You died, Ace! Luffy thought he was alone! Do you even remember how ruined he was when we met him? Because he was alone?" Sabo shouted in response. "I sought him out, so he wasn't ruined! You fucked him up, too, Ace! Before he went missing, Luffy tried to jump ship!" Ace bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. "You're not innocent! Sorry for trying to save what few pieces were left of our shattered brother!"

A pained groan escaped Ace's throat as he turned to hide his own tears.

"It's not my fault the rescue went wrong," Sabo whispered, before turning away and stomped to the Men's Quarters.

~   ~   •   ~   ~

Nami could not sleep.

The fight between Luffy's brothers was incredibly distressing. Everyone was falling apart without the captain.

Nami rolled over onto her side once more, and stared across the room at the wall. Robin was sound asleep, her light snores echoing in the room. The young navigator sighed as she listened. Usually, she could fall asleep to the sound of Robin's snores, but Nami's mind was running too fast. As she was about to get up to get a glass of water, an idea struck her mind.

She could save Luffy on her own, if she planned the rescue well enough. The problem with the previous rescue attempt was the fact that there were just too many people for a stealth mission. The plan had been solid in logic, and sound in reasoning, but there were too many people involved.

Had there been only one person who went in, and two that came out, it would have worked.

Nami sat straight up in the bed, and looked over at Robin, still sleeping.

In the quiet darkness, she whispered, "I'm going to get him back." She stood slowly, grabbed Luffy's hat, and padded over to the door. Before closing it behind her, she looked at Robin one more time. "I promise."

She placed his hat on her head, climbed down to the kitchen, and walked to her office. Nami lit a candle, and stepped over to the desk, and sat down, before quickly sketching her plan, scribbling here and there things that would not work, and things that would.