Disclaimer: Everything in One Piece belongs to "Goda".

Ch 1 | The First Letter

"Nani? What are you talking about? Where is everyone?"

"They left, Luffy."

"... Nani?"

"They're not here."

x.

Luffy stares at the piece of paper in his hand. It's spotted with grease and dirt, its creases deep and vein-like, as if it had been folded and unfolded a hundred times. The inked scrawl is messy but legible, written in surprisingly straight lines. Standing in the middle of his shared room, Luffy's eyes rake through the words until they start to blur.

With a start, he realizes he's shaking. The thin page trembles along with his hands.

Luffy wills himself to steady, then rereads the message slowly, clutching the paper tightly.

Dear Luffy,

Do you remember the first time we fought? Not the dumb one we had over who took the last piece of meat (it was you, you jerk) or over that one time you broke my new fishing pole. No, it was that one fight we had - just me and you - a duel between the captain and his rebelling crewmate. It was decided from the moment I challenged you that I would lose. You knew it. I knew it. Everyone who was there knew it. But we fought anyway. What else for a nakama?

I'll let you in on something, Luffy, 'cause it's easy to admit it now on paper: Some part of me always wanted to fight you. I knew I would lose, but just the fact that I could go one-on-one with the strongest person I ever had the chance of meeting… well, if I was going to be the bravest warrior of the sea, I would have to fight the guy at least once, ne?

So while a huge part of me was angry at you - all of you - for trying to abandon Merry, a nakama that had been loyally sailing with us for so long, I was also happy that you didn't turn your back on me, scoff that I was too weak to duel with. You, somehow, understood. Yeah, it hurt. Yeah, I lost. But past my pride, I was grateful Luffy. And of course, you forgave me like the kind idiot you are.

Thank you.

Luffy. I believed that that fight was the first and last one we would ever have. For the sake of our friendship and the crew's.

But it wasn't.

I'm sure you can agree - a crew that's fighting amongst themselves might as well be considered dead, especially in the New World. I can't say I'll be back, because I really don't know the future. Heck, if I knew about this future, I would've stayed back at Water 7. But I can't say I regret my time with you. It was really fun.

I'm leaving the crew, Luffy.

But you should know it's not only me this time. We are.

I'm sorry.

- Usopp

x.

"W-what the hell is this?" Luffy whispers. His voice is small and uneven.

His signature smile is gone from his face, replaced with a confused frown.

His mind whirls. Usopp's words - fight, sorry, thank you, leaving the crew - spin around in his head before they start bashing his brain in with a sledgehammer. His heart hasn't felt this heavy since the fight in Water 7. It's unbearable.

But with the heavy pain comes confusion. What did the sharpshooter mean when he said it wasn't their last fight? When had they ever had a big fight after that?

Luffy tries to think hard, but he can't focus, can't breathe, can't actually think because Usopp left. His nakama just up and left.

No warning.

Not even a goodbye.

Just this stupid letter. Why, why, why? Luffy tries again to think, searching his memory for any clues - anything - but can't find an answer to his nakama's sudden departure.

Usopp…

He reads the letter a third time. A fourth. Each time it gets harder to breathe, as if the air around him was thinning.

"What happened?" Luffy whispers aloud. No one answers.

He finally takes notice of the two words written in bold, inscribed forcefully into the paper. He blinks and reads the words again, mouthing them silently.

His heart skips one beat. Two.

Luffy suddenly runs forwards and all but crashes into the door, whipping it open with a sudden vigor. A grassy deck greets him with the smell of fresh morning dew and the faint sounds of creaking wooden boards. The tire swing sways slightly below the tree in the center of the deck and the sea gleams brilliantly beyond Sunny's figurehead.

The serenity of the scene feels suddenly wrong and twisted. The silence blares in Luffy's ears as his eyes dart to the places they would usually be at. No one is fishing or sun-bathing or even tinkering.

'Not only me this time.' Usopp's voice is abruptly there, beside him. Luffy whips around. No one.

No, Luffy denies.

He rushes up to the upper deck, straw hat flying off his messy head to bounce on his back. The small rubber boy slams the door to the girls' room open, not even bothering to knock. He almost wishes that a certain someone would greet him with a severe punch to the head.

Empty.

He checks the library, the aquarium, the bathrooms, the observation room, the gardens, the Crow's nest - repeatedly yelling all their names. Nothing.

'We are.'

Luffy is panting by the time he rushes up the stairs again. His breaths are ragged and shaky, his throat dry. Tears build in his wide, panicked eyes. Slowly, he opens the door to the dining room.

He falls to his knees and feels his heart shatter.

Eight empty seats. Seven more letters.

"Minna?" he croaks out.

Only the silence answers him back.

x.

End of Chapter I

x.

So this idea's been floating around in my head ( and in my docs ) for a while now so, after some time to think about the plot, I think I can get this terrible idea into a good story. Of course, it will require lots of work. This was a tough chapter to barf out cause I wanted to comfort Lu so badly… this'll be a rough road both for me and you guys. So buckle up.

Chapter lengths will vary.

All your questions will be answered... in due time. For now, leave a review! Tell me what you guys think ;)

Next update will be on Nami (check it out if you haven't already!)

Ja ne,

Forgottensongs

P.S. Have you guys seen the new chapter (868)?! *_*

P.P. S. The first time I uploaded this something went wrong so I had to delete it and reupload it. Thank you to that one reviewer that kindly told me what was wrong so that I could fix it (I didn't catch his/her name darn it, i was so embarrassed and wanted to quickly delete it haha). But please be kind, guys, things happen, and one reviewer made me feel really bad for no reason. Almost didn't want to publish this again :(

(But I did cuz i reminded myself that I liked writing for you guys and one person won't change that :P)