Hello, reader, and welcome to Whispers in the Dark, the sequel to my previous story, the Stuff of Legends. You do not need to have read that in order to understand the plot of this, but any references I may make to it will be better understood if you skim it.
If you're lazy like me and don't feel like it, don't worry. It won't impact the storyline so much as to the point of absolute and utter confusion.
To those who followed SoL so diligently, great to see you! The long awaited sequel is here. I mentioned in SoL that I would try out a new updating pattern here, and I'm going to explain it;
In order to quicken my updates, I won't post a chapter until the chapter following it is done. Which means, as I post this, chapter 2 is already done and I'm working on Chapter 3. It also gives me time to read over it several times, make changes and correct mistakes.
All quotes are linked to the events in the chapter. Some you have to really think about it, but others are straightforward. All will be taken from One Piece, and referenced. If I don't know who made the quote, it will be labeled as Anonymous.
That being said, please enjoy the first chapter of Whispers in the Dark.
Chapter 1 – The Mysterious Box
"Let the heavens deal with life and death;
even the most fearful lose to that.
Let's live for another moment."
- Marshall D. Teach
Zoro POV
Being the master swordsman I was, I had full confidence in my ability to overcome any obstacle. I had fought monstrous crabs, giant sea kings, rival swordsmen, obnoxious marines and a giraffe man, zombies, the kraken and fishmen, and had come out virtually unscathed every time. Since my vow to never lose again, I had in my personal opinion, never lost a battle. I was confident I had absolutely no weaknesses.
Until Robin, that is. That woman was my only weakness. Just that mysterious smile, slim legs and incredible intellect drew my attention like a moth to flame when I was trying to preoccupy myself with other things like training. The fact that I even gave in to the temptations drove me mad. And Robin knew it.
She would poke me from halfway across the room, chuckling when I glared around for the culprit. She played footsie with me under the table during meals, and watched me train. The last one wasn't quite as different from the past, only now I had worked harder and dispelled foreign self-consciousness. Call it what you will: showing off, working hard, impressing a woman, but it all was lumped into one giant mess of sweat and concentration.
Then again, I didn't exactly discourage any of her childish antics. She may steal a kiss, but I'm the one who gets it back. She watches me, and I watch her. There was a mutual understanding between us that didn't need to be expressed in words. Nami attempted to interfere often, trying to deepen our relationship in somewhat unnecessary ways, for instance stealing Robin's clothes while she was in the shower, forcing her to wear only a revealing bikini for a few days. Ero-cook, of course fell all over himself with joy, and while I admit the heat in my abdomen was intense and lustful, I didn't want to give the witch satisfaction. Robin realized it as well and after the first day used a bed sheet as a dress. When I commented on how it looked, she flushed and we didn't need to ask what the other was thinking of.
A fight was rare, and often over something petty like if she could join me in town so I wouldn't get lost or if I wanted to sit somewhere unexpected and someone tripped. Not my fault, they should be watching where they're going. Most of these arguments Robin won, but only because I let her. More often than not, our verbal battle was resolved with a kiss.
But after one particularly intense disagreement, she and I were left alone in the women's room, me standing by the door and Robin sitting on the bed, rubbing her arms as though cold, though I knew it was her way of communicating discomfort. There was an awkward silence as the sounds of Luffy and Usopp horsing around on deck drifted through the door.
"Look, Robin," I finally mumbled, scratching the back of my head agitatedly. I never was good at apologies. "I'm... sorry... I yelled and…"
"No," Robin interrupted, standing. "I'm the one who should apologize. I overreacted and judged the situation incorrectly."
I chuckled. "Accepted."
She crossed the room, wrapping her arms around my torso in an intimate embrace. I returned it, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair. When she eventually tried to pull away, I turned and brought her with me, pressing the raven-haired beauty against the wall, restricting her movements as I leaned into her, closing the distance between us and bringing our lips together in a soft kiss, silently locking the door.
Her initial surprise ebbed away, and she accepted the contact with vigor, lips soft and plush. She forced my jaw open with her tongue, exploring my mouth was a merciless force. I responded with an equal amount of power, pulling her her even closer, bodies folding perfectly into one another.
"I like your hair," I murmured in a brief moment of clarity.
"What?"
"I never complimented your hair after the past two years. I like it.."
She flushed a deeper shade of red. "Thank you."
I captured her lips again.
Someone jiggled the knob to the women's quarters, surprised at finding it locked. "Hey, Robin," Nami's voice spoke on the other side. "Open up, I need a shower."
"Not now," Robin spoke, voice a bit breathless. "Zoro and I are in the middle of something."
A pregnant silence. Then, "Holy shit!" Nami screeched. "What the hell is going on in there!"
"Please don't disturb us," Robin continued, her hands sliding my yukata from my shoulders, leaving my chest bare. An animalistic grin flashed in her eyes, and I caught on immediately, an excited grin curling my lips.
"Don't touch my stuff!" Nami warned, but whatever was said after that was tuned out as the archaeologist reconnected us without a breath of hesitation.
Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep that night.
.o0o.
Robin POV
The next several days passed without turmoil, save for the band of rogues who ambushed us on the last island. Unfortunately, most of the bandits perished in the struggle, burning to death after the forest caught fire due to Luffy's Red Hawk technique. For a band of rogues, the men were fiercely strong, but not strong enough to withstand the flames. I could smell the stench of burning flesh as we fled the scene.
A week after the rogue incident, the sun had granted us that of a burning desert, drying our bodies in seconds the moment we stepped from the shade. My plants withered, the grassy lawn turning a sickly shade of brown. And yet despite the heat, Luffy and Usopp raced almost naked over the deck, spraying each other with the hose.
Poor Chopper was holed up inside; his fur coat would fry him in milliseconds in this heat. Nami had withdrawn to the depths of the ship, taking advantage of the temporary calm to sketch in the topographic measurements of the latest island. Sanji had promised cool drinks, Franky offering to help yet barely fitting inside the kitchen. Brook played soft music on his violin, being unable to feel hot or cold, while I reclined on my usual deck chair, Zoro propped up on my bare legs with our skin sticking together thanks to the sweat. Zoro had taken it upon himself to not wear sunscreen and attempt to take the heat head on only in swimming trunks. The little care he gave to his body made me wonder if the man was impregnable to weather's fury.
"Ah, hold on a sec," Usopp giggled, blocking his eyes from Luffy's aquatic assault. "My newest invention should make this more fun!"
"Go get it!" Luffy demanded, raising the hose into the air and making the water fountain over the deck. The drops that landed on my skin sizzled on contact, yet felt nicely refreshing.
Usopp disappeared below deck as Sanji emerged from the kitchen, Franky right behind. "Robin-chwan!" the chef sang, twirling down the stairs in his bathing trunks, sunglasses perched on the edge of his nose. He proffered the drink tray, iced light blue liquid clinking merrily against the glass. "A drink to drive out the heat."
I smiled and accepted the glass. "Thank you, Sanji-san."
"Yo, cook," Zoro piped up. "I want one."
His demand was met with getting a face full of the yummy drink. In no time, the swordsman and cook engaged in a deadly game of tag, Luffy, Brook, Franky and I laughing at their exploits.
"OI!" The door to the lower decks flew open, and an enraged Usopp appeared in the frame, hands firmly on his hips. "Who the hell is stealing my stuff? Is it you, Franky!?"
"Chill, Long-nose-bro," the esteemed shipwright raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "I don't take your stuff."
"Then who the hell is stealing the lumber I use for my projects?"
"Lumber?" Luffy cocked his head.
"Yeah. Some went missing yesterday, too, but I thought I just misplaced a board. But now I'm certain someone's stealing. This time an entire stack of boards is gone, and it doesn't just sprout legs and walk away!"
"I don't know what to tell you," Sanji sighed, ending his and Zoro's confrontation and lighting a fresh cigarette, flicking sweaty hair from his eye. "But we'll just get you new wood at the next island."
"You know…" Chopper's voice panted from the entrance to the sick bay. Everyone looked to the doctor, who was doing his best to shield himself from the sun's blistering heat. "Some of my herbs have been going missing, too…"
Sanji narrowed his eyes. "Now that I think about it, even though the fridge is locked, I've noticed some of the canned food from the cabinets aren't there." He immediately glared in Luffy's direction. The captain shrank into himself at his cook's menacing glare. "Though I think I know the culprit."
"I swear it wasn't me!" Luffy protested feebly, not helping his case at all.
I smiled coyly, standing from my chair and joining the crowd that had gathered. "It appears we have a thief aboard the Sunny," I summarized. "All that's left is the identity of the culprit and what they would need with wood, food, and herbs."
"Add ink to that list." Nami emerged on deck, stripping her shirt to reveal her bikini underneath and making the cook fall over backward. "A lot of my rare colored ink is missing, too. And I only use it for labels, so I only have to restock every other island. But all my bottles aren't where I put them last."
"Oh," Usopp sighed. "I thought since Nami was a thief before she joined…"
"Do you want to finish that sentence?" The navigator asked dangerously, pulling on the liar's cheek threateningly.
"Not really…"
"In any case," I said, breaking apart the confrontation. "The culprit has to still be on board. We should –"
"Oi," Luffy spoke, and the crew fell silent, looking toward our captain for instruction. If there was a thief on board, it was his job to decide how we deal with it. His head was bent low as he spoke, and that strange air drew around him like it usually did when he was going to say something deep and philosophical.
Only too late did I realize his left arm was stretched out and slowly retracting, dragging something along with it. I followed his arm with my eyes only, and inwardly smirked as I slowly took a step back.
Luffy grinned widely, bringing up his head to show off the mischievous glint in his eyes. In one fluid motion, he brought the hose up in front of him and let the water spray out, dousing everyone in a heartbeat. "Gotcha!" he chanted, dancing away from the onslaught of feet, swords, electric spheres, raging plants, and homing missiles.
I laughed merrily as the crew gave chase to their captain, covering my mouth with a hand to stifle the sound. The subject of the stolen goods was quickly suppressed from our minds, which in hindsight should have been given more attention, because if we had known what they were being used for, a lot of trouble could have been avoided.
.o0o.
"Hey, what's this weird box?"
Nami and I stepped from the women's quarters, a week following the blistering hot day. Now in contrast, the deck was lightly dusted with a blanket of snow, and the crew was bundled in our warmest attire. Breath escaped our lips in chilling clouds, dissipating in the air to be followed immediately by another.
Luffy, in his red-and-white striped coat he had kept from Punk Hazard, was kneeling by the swing on deck, dragging a large wooden box from behind the thick trunk. Usopp, wearing six layers, helped him maneuver the crate to the center of the deck, a completely confortable Chopper watching excitedly. Sanji dished out hot cocoa to the remaining members, and as soon as the navigator and I made an appearance, he almost seemed to teleport to our sides, handing us the warmest cups.
I thanked him and pulled my coat tighter, descending the staircase to stand near Zoro, who smiled briefly as I approached before returning his attention to Luffy and Usopp. I nestled into his shoulder, savoring the heat emitted by his body. It was so pleasant, to have the warmth of life rolling from him in waves; sometimes it took that heat to remind me that our endeavors on Myth Island had succeeded, and then memories of what would have happened had we failed clouded my subconscious.
"What's up?" Zoro's gruff voice asked suddenly, and I looked up at him.
"What?"
"You're crying."
I lifted a hand to my cheek, wiping away the salty tear about to freeze to my face. "So I am."
"Why?"
"I don't know," I admitted with a laugh, pressing into him harder. "I'm just happy."
He put a hand on my shoulder as we watched Franky produce a crowbar from who knows where and proceed to peel the lid off the crate. The top had been frozen to the rest of the box, and a sudden air of caution narrowed my eyes. A random box, not belonging to any of us, appeared in the middle of the night, hidden away in secrecy? It was like it had "trap" written across it in big red letters.
"There we go!" Franky rejoiced, retracing his blowtorch back into his palm. The lid slid easily off and crunched in the snow. The Straw Hats all gathered around, peering into the box individually.
"Oh, cool!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.
"So cute!" Nami gushed.
"What the hell is it?" Sanji muttered.
"They got it eerily accurate…" Brook whispered.
"KYA! Voodoo!" Usopp screeched.
Inside the box were nine puppets. The wood was smoothed to perfection, painted with the utmost care and precision, not a line out of place. Clothes sewn on to perfectly fit the shape of the body. The scariest part, however, were the doll's faces, each bearing a Straw Hat pirates' likeness.
Luffy stroked the puppet that represented himself, pulling at its red cardigan and imitating its wide grin. Its sandals had been painted, but the straw hat was detachable and hung around the puppet's neck by a string. The hair was jet black and appeared to have been inserted into the wood itself, rustling in the snowy air. He held it next to himself and asked Usopp if it looked like him.
The sniper was too preoccupied with his own replica to answer. The artist had even carved out his long nose, albeit the length was a bit exaggerated. "Voodoo… voodoo…." The poor sharpshooter muttered, but I could detect the ghost of a smile beneath the worried frown.
Franky wasted no time criticizing his doll. "My shoulders are not this small and my hair is way more super than this!" he mumbled angrily, pressing a small button on the doll's shoulder to release a hatch and reveal his cola abdomen.
Sanji appeared grateful that his puppet's hair had been glued to his face, painted eyebrow spiraling down. He poked and prodded it, occasionally making odd comments about the craftsmanship.
Brook didn't have much to say about his skeleton puppet dressed as Soul King. The tuft of hair on its head to represent his afro appeared to disappoint the musician, but the guitar could be played with the puppet's fingers, and that seemed to make up for it. "Yohohoho!" he laughed, practicing Bink's Sake on the tiny instrument.
Nami fawned over her puppet like it was her own child, stroking its hair with her fingers and fondling the bikini strap. The three log poses on its arm rotated on their own and she found this delightful.
Chopper's doll was in his Brain Point form, a stick of painted cotton candy in his hoof. The doctor rolled in the snow with his new toy, laughing merrily like a newborn babe. The doll was completely covered with a soft fluff almost identical to the reindeer's original pelt which raised my suspicions higher.
"The hell is this?" Zoro growled, pulling the tiny Wado Ichimonji from its wooden sheath. "This thing looks nothing like me." I begged to differ. The amount of detail was exquisite, down to the skin tones. The yukata fit perfectly, the small swords tucked through the haramaki. I laughed when the doll's face met my eyes, the irked frown and narrow eyes a solid match.
"Someone has done their research," I murmured, stroking my doll's smooth hair. My duplicate looked back up at me, a sly look on her features. I moved her sunglasses over the eyes, fingering the doll cautiously, like any moment a bomb might erupt and spill our innards on the deck, an unfortunate sight for the next person to come across us.
"I wonder who left these here," Nami wondered aloud, seating the mini-Nami on her shoulder.
"Who cares?" Luffy giggled, leaping around the deck with his replica and attempting to do battle with Chopper, who agreed to the challenge.
"Well they did a super job, I guess," Franky finally admitted. "Whoever they are."
I said nothing, my guard going up. Mysterious dolls all looking like us? This was a recipe for disaster, and the Straw Hat pirates had just been thrust into the middle of it. Whatever it was.
"Sanji! Lunch!"
"I guess it is about that time, isn't it? Fine, give me a few minutes."
"But I want some now."
"BE PATIENT."
I continued a thorough examination of my tiny replica as the rest of the crew filed into the kitchen for a hearty meal. There didn't seem to be any real threat directly from the puppet, except from the eerily accurate expressions. I would have stood there longer had Zoro not taken my arm gently and guided me to the kitchen.
"Forget about the thing," he said. "It's stupid." His hand tightened around his doll. "Someone's just trying to scare us."
I could tell he was a bit unnerved by the arrival of the puppets; he was on guard as well. But I allowed the mysterious origin of the marionettes to be put on hold as the delicious scents of a deli lunch filled my nostrils. I smiled and took his hand. "You'll protect me, right?"
His complexion took a red tint. "Yeah."
I laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Hungry?"
Chapter 1, complete. Thanks for reading, it's appreciated. Drop me a review if you would, and I'll get back to you next chapter. It's already been written, but I'm just waiting to finish chapter 3 before it's posted.
Once again, thank you very much if you're a new reader, and if you're an old follower of SoL, I hope this sequel lives up to your expectations.
Coming Up: Chapter 2 – Creature in the Night