Chapter 8: Silent War

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine.

Song of the Day: Lacrymosa by Regina Spektor


Luffy panted as he hopped into the small boat and leaned against the side. Intense pain throbbed in his abdomen. He clutched the skin and pouted. Of course he was happy to feel pain, but this was almost too much. The pain was comparable to the aftermath of his fight with Lucci. The boat swayed as his elder brothers joined him. Ace briefly checked the log pose that was strapped on his wrist before giving Luffy a quick examination with his eyes.

"You've gotta be more careful," Sabo sighed. "Your body may look fine, but remember that you're actually really hurt. I'm surprised you've been running around this long without noticing. That blow must have irritated the wound."

Luffy frowned and traced his fingers over his abs. He didn't really have anything to say back. Now, he was starting to come down from the euphoria of being with his brothers again. The cold reality of his situation was rearing its ugly head once more. He had a thirst to fight that he couldn't quench. And although he enjoyed being with his brothers again, an ache formed in his chest when he realized that he only had a few more days with them at the most.

"Luckily," Ace began, finally breaking the unpleasant silence, "The log pose sets quickly on this island. So we can leave now. I'm sure that old guy won't be too happy if he sees us walking around again."

"Alright, I'll raise the sails," Sabo agreed. He gave Luffy a playful punch in the arm and added, "Cheer up, idiot. Let's get you back to your nakama."

The Straw Hat captain quickly shook off the disgruntled expression on his face and replaced it with an impossibly large grin. Ignoring the searing pain burning in the pit of his stomach, he pushed up to his feet and helped out his brothers to the best of his ability.

"Shishishi, alright. Let's go!"


"The bleeding won't stop," cried a distressed Chopper.

The reindeer shoved aside the sheets further to reveal a bloody mess pooling in his captain's abdomen. Unsure of what to do and ignoring his own wound (which looked like a paper cut in comparison,) the swordsman sidled up next to the tiny doctor and held out his hands, waiting for further instruction. Chopper guided Zoro's hands to press down on Luffy's wound.

"Keep pressing down hard," the reindeer instructed, now in his heavy point. "I'm sorry! I'll treat you as soon as this blood stops!"

Zoro put all his effort into pressing down on the wound, making sure not to put too much strength in. The warm, thick liquid touched his skin, dying his fingers scarlet. After a few painstaking minutes, the flowing blood finally came to a stop and the tiny reindeer by his side let out a huge sigh. The swordsman relaxed his arms and sank back in the chair beside his bedside.

"Is everything okay in here…?"

Zoro looked up in surprise to see Nami's head peering through the door of the infirmary. She shuffled into the room and bit her lip when she saw the puddle of blood surrounding Luffy.

"He's fine now," Chopper sighed with exhaustion. He was now tending to Zoro's wound with speed and precision. After shakily finishing up the stitches, he looked up at the navigator with wide, tired eyes. "While you were fighting, his condition suddenly spiked and got worse again! I finally stabilized him and… Zoro helped to stop the bleeding, but he lost so much blood! Nami, you have the same blood type as Luffy, right?"

"I think so. Yeah," Nami murmured; worry still tangled in her voice. She held out her arm to Chopper, who's expression was suddenly overcome with relief. The little reindeer tied off her forearm and instructed her to make a fist. After feeling for the vein and patting the skin with alcohol, he gingerly guided the needle into the skin. Nami winced slightly at the sudden intrusion, but ignored it and turned to Zoro. "We set anchor for the night. The rest of the guys are resting now and I told Sanji to take guard duty tonight."

"Good. Thanks," Zoro mumbled, lounging back in the chair to stare at the ceiling.

"I never realized how different fighting would be without Luffy," Nami admitted after a few moments of quiet. Chopper had instructed her to sit down as he set Luffy up with the blood transfusion. "Chopper, do you think he'll wake up soon?"

The little reindeer looked at her briefly, and then ran his eyes over his captain's unconscious body. The massive wound on his abdomen caused him to frown. After a quick observation, he gazed over at Nami. "I…can't tell. I haven't dealt with many comatose cases before… but Luffy won't let us down! So he'll wake up soon… Right?"

Zoro allowed a small smile to creep onto his lips. As long as Luffy had the slightest pulse, there was still hope. "Right."

"You're right," Nami smiled. She hopped up to her feet and wandered to the door. She gave Chopper and Zoro a questioning look. "What are you two going to do?"

"I'll watch over Luffy," Zoro said curtly, "Chopper can rest. I'll get him if I need to."

"…Get me if your wound gets worse too," Chopper reminded him. The little reindeer smiled, and, after making sure that his captain's condition was stable, he followed behind Nami.

As the door shut behind the reindeer, the swordsman heaved a heavy side. He was exhausted to say the least. It felt like ages since the Sea King incident, and he had barely been able to sleep since then. He couldn't help but wonder what things would be like when their captain did wake up. Ever since he had taken over the temporary position of captain, the Straw Hats had lost their adventure-loving attitude. Without the obnoxiously loud laughter and impossibly wide grin of their captain, it had become increasingly hard to return to their normal antics. Even if Zoro was a good captain, he wasn't Luffy.

The crew had begun to avoid the infirmary like the plague. Seeing the unconscious man was too painful a reminder that things were different. Zoro wondered if things would instantly go back to the way they were as soon as Luffy opened his eyes, or if it would be a process. The swordsman released a disgruntled huff.


The moonlit water gently rocked the boat back and forth. The brothers had set anchor as night finally fell upon them. Luffy had refused sleep ever since they had left the autumn island, no matter how tempting it may have seemed. He was trying to make the most of his brother's presence. The pain didn't help either. There wasn't a thing he could do about it. If Chopper were here, he would have given him something for the pain.

The Straw Hat captain frowned. There it was again: that odd conflict of emotions bubbling deep in his chest. He closed his eyes and felt himself sitting on the Thousand Sunny's head, with his nakama surrounding him. Then the pain in his core brought him back to the present and he looked up to see his brothers sitting around him. This was the childhood he could have had. His older brothers were his guiding lights in the ocean. He had lost them once, and now, as he felt their adventure quickly drawing to an end, he wondered if he could deal with losing them again. He knew his nakama were strong, and he knew that if he didn't make it, they should be able to make it without him…

"Luffy…"

The raven-haired man perked his head when he heard his name called out softly. It was Sabo, seeing as Ace had fallen into another one of his narcoleptic fits and was comfortably sprawled out against the side of the ship.

"Hmm?"

"How's that dream of yours coming?" his older brother smiled, exposing the gap in his teeth. "You're gonna be Pirate King, right?"

"Yeah," Luffy said. However, this time, his voice almost seemed hesitant.

"Somehow, I believe it more now than when you were just a little runt back on Corvo Mountain. But you know…"

"Huh?" Luffy asked, cocking his head in curiosity.

"There is no Pirate King in these oceans."

The Straw Hat captain seemed surprised when the words reached his ears. He shifted slightly to reach a more comfortable position.

"You've got nakama and a dream," Sabo continued. "If you die, then you die. But do it after you become Pirate King. Ace and I may not be there to share it with you, but its not like we're going anywhere. After you become Pirate King, you can come here and tell us all about it."

"But…"

Luffy jumped slightly as he heard Ace's voice. The freckled man had apparently woken up and was now shuffling into a sitting position. He cast his onyx gaze over Luffy and smiled warmly. "If you die before you become the Pirate King, then I'll personally find a way to kill you again."

"Got it?" Sabo asked, smiling widely as he stared over at his little brother.

Luffy was quiet for a while, but the grin slowly creeping over his face was more than enough information to let Ace and Sabo know that their words had gotten through his thick head. His internal conflict seemed to lift. Maybe in the end, he didn't have to choose between his nakama and his brothers. He'd just have to wait a little to have both. "…I know! I'm the man who will be Pirate King!"

The three brothers chuckled warmly. The moonlight softly illuminated their faces.

"Alright. Well, let's sleep. We'll set off again as soon as the sun rises," Ace said.

Luffy nodded and leaned back against the side of the boat. The swaying motion of the waves helped to take his mind off of the pain in his core and he felt himself slowly drift off into sleep.

To be continued…


Alright! The finish line is in sight. I've got everything I need for the end of the story, now I just need to build my way up to it. Also I don't know if Nami and Luffy have the same blood type, I just put that in there for the sake of keeping her around a little longer to talk to Zoro.

CheekySorceror: Thanks for pointing out the linebreakers! I usually put them in, but I forgot this time. I fixed that. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

BaconRainbow: Hehe yes. I'm afraid for the rat if Zoro would ever manage to find him again. And Sabo's death made me so sad when I read it. The Tenryuubito are jerks. :c

Ghost of the Moonlight: Hehe! I'm glad you enjoy my Luffy-torturing. X3 I love Luffy, Sabo and Ace's interactions in the story. I wish there could have been more chapters with them. They're all so cute. (:

vivi: Ace's narcolepsy always manages to make me laugh. X3 Especially when he was on Buggy's boat.