Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 16 - Water 7

I spotted some bread kept at the back of the upper cabinets and grabbed the jam to make myself a sandwich for lunch. I put the water to boil and checked if we had any tea bags, thankfully there were some left. Once the tea was ready, I grabbed my food, making my way to the empty deck chair Robin or Nami were usually found lounging on.

Settling down, I grabbed the book Robin had allowed me to borrow as I munched on my food. I had reached up to chapter 7 when I heard a pair of feet moving around on the lower deck, there footsteps so light I wouldn't have noticed it if the blowing wind hadn't settled at that moment.

I put the book down, curious to who was on our ship uninvited. At first I assumed it was Zoro but I wasn't so sure after having another listen. Zoro's footsteps were heavier than this person, Zoro having the grace of a wild boar at times so it couldn't have been him. I climbed down the steps to spot the top of a hat moving around in the cargo hold. I walked closer, hovering above the person to see him ruffling through the piping that ran below deck. 

"Excuse me? Yeah, I don't think you should be doing that" I yelled down, hoping to get his attention. I wasn't too worried after seeing what the person was up to because they seemed to be more concerned with our plumbing than what was in our hidden coffers. My thoughts drifted to the shipyard, perhaps this was who Nami had sent.

"By any chance, did a scary lady with orange hair, a man with a funny nose and another with a straw hat send you here?" I asked. It seemed that caught his attention because that caused him to look up.

"Oh! It's Usopp!" Someone stated from behind me. I whipped around to see Zoro hovering just a step behind me. I quickly whacked him away, half frightened at not noticing him sooner.

"Oi Zoro! When did you get here?!" I asked, annoyed and scared at how I hadn't heard him. Maybe I was loosing my touch, it would seem I would have to start training again if I couldn't hear Zoro of all people approach.

"Just got down from the crow's nest" he grumbled rubbing his eyes, before turning his attention to the man who went back to ignoring us as he turned to make note of all the damages we had. It was clear that he had just woken up from a nap at the state of his clothes and his bleary eyes that were trained on the shipwright. 

"Why am I not surprised? You were meant to be watching the ship, yet you fall asleep. Typical!" I scolded him then turned my attention back to Usopp's nose alike.

~Time lapse~ 

Everything had just... fallen apart. I noted that it could take less than 24 hours for our crew to be totally screwed, quite literally. If anything it just showed how fragile we all really were.

Usopp had challenged Luffy to a duel when it was revealed that Merry, our ship, was never going to be able to sail anymore. Robin was officially missing, the last person to see her being Chopper from earlier on in the day, and we were all being blamed for attempting to assassinate the Mayor of Water 7, Iceberg. All within the span of one day.

Right now we were hiding out in a hotel, far from the angry residents and citizens of the island. Luffy was all depressed and currently sitting on the roof, far from the rest of us. Sanji, Nami, Chopper and I were in our room sorting out our belongings, well what was left of them. I sighed knowing it would have to be my job to console Luffy.

"Where are you going?" Chopper asked when he noticed me leaving the room. Ever since Robin went missing, he had been blaming himself for her disappearance. It was clear that he was scared that someone else would go missing as well.

"I have to do something about Luffy, he can't stay like that all day. We're going to have to move soon, we're already on everyone's wanted list in this blasted town" I climbed the stairway and opened the door that led to the rooftop.

I spotted Luffy sitting on a neighbouring rooftop with Zoro lying nearby, I could tell he was there to make sure Luffy didn't do anything stupid. I walked towards the edge and somersaulted onto the second rooftop where Luffy was moping and plopped myself down next to him. I took the time to scan our surroundings and noticed that from here you could get a clear view of the Great monstrosity.

"Nice choice Luffy, I never realised that this place could get any prettier" I tried to start the conversation but no reply escaped him. I sighed at my efforts, it was clear no one was going to appreciate the humour. 

"You know that you can't sit like this all day, we have to move soon" I stated, fully expecting his silence to continue.

"Are you going to tell me the same thing? How Robin was a no good traitor for running off like the others are saying and that Usopp should be forgotten for what he did" I thought about his words and looked towards the horizon at the setting sun.

"No" I answered simply. At this, he turned curiously, eyes clear with vulnerability and sadness.

"No?" He questioned as if double checking my response, I nodded without looking back, eyes trained on the setting sun.

"Mmhh... No. Usopp was just being an idiot and wasn't thinking about what he was saying, at the same time it doesn't pardon the words he said to his captain. There is still respect and hierarchy in piracy that should be followed. Robin is another case however. I think I know what's going on if not have a rough idea of what she's really planning, but I can tell you this. Don't give up on her, on either of them. Of all the times I've meet her, I've never seen her as happy as she was with us. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, I think she's keeping in mind the crew and it's Baka captain" I chuckled, placing my hand on his head as a form of reassurance. He laughed but his smile didn't reach his eyes, he kept his eyes on the ground, not looking up. 

"Don't worry. The time will come where everything will make sense" he turned to smile down at me.

"You always know what to say. Thank you for joining my crew" he admitted, looking as if he wanted to lean over and hug me. I wasn't about to let him go all mushy with me, not with the current state of things. We needed him to have a clear head after all. Well, as clear of a head he was capable off. 

"Come on captain, you can't show favouritism. Don't even think about hugging me, who knows when the last time you showered was" I joked. He grabbed me in a bear hug nevertheless. I shrieked in mock anger, drawing laughter from both Luffy and Zoro, who had up till that point pretended to be asleep. 

I managed to push him away before standing up slowly so I wouldn't go toppling to my death. It was a deep fall... Wow I've been spending too much time with Robin, I've become even more morbid if that was possible. Brushing the small specks of dust from my black jeans, I reached my hand out for Luffy to grab hold of.

"Come on. Let's get Sanji to make something because I am starving. Then... let's go save our crew mates"

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Sorry for the late update but I'll make it up to you next chapter. I promise :)