Theme: # 15 Silence

Rating: M

Words: 1444

Disclaimer: As always, don't own it, don't sue :)

Chapter 12

The trail through the jungle had ended abruptly and the sight of the orange field under the silvery moon had been breathtaking in it's beauty. But like most things beautiful in nature, it too had a wicked secret that thankfully Chopper had warned them about.

The beautiful orange blossoms were actually a very rare form of poppy, far more potent than it's medicinal cousin, the opium poppy. Just a shake of the flower was enough to loosen the potent pollen and dust that coated the flower, and a whiff of its sickly sweet scent enough to knock a person into oblivion.

The crew had tied handkerchiefs, bandannas or bits of cloth around their faces before entering the field, which would keep them safe from the plant's effects.

There were definite signs of a struggle, a fight. Swatches of flowers, ripped away, trampled or burned and they could see the spot where Zoro had unleashed the attack that had caught their eye from the shore and the path the attack had taken.

It was silent in the field, peaceful and serene despite the signs that all had not gone well for their nakama. It was almost surreal, each of them absorbing the clues and taking it all in their own way.

Frustration, anger, tears.

Nami and Zoro were gone, stolen and somehow they were left to decipher the clues or live with not seeing them again.

"The trail ends here. There's some blood and it's pretty obvious someone was laying here...and if Marimo was fighting then Nami..." Sanji clenched his jaw, his voice raw with emotion and frustration.

"She's fine. Zoro won't go down without a fight and they're together. He'll keep her safe." Luffy said, absolute faith in his first mate, his tone booking no argument, except from the chef.

"He let her get hurt, shot probably." Sanji pointed out.

"Swords-bro is good, but he can't stop a bullet dude. He's only human..." Franky said with a shrug.

"He can sure as hell take one for her!" Sanji shouted, looking for an outlet for his anger and moving to get into Franky's face, only to be held back by Robin.

"Fighting isn't going to find them. We don't know what the situation was and it's unfair to judge it until we have all the facts. Zoro would never willingly let Nami get hurt and you know that as well as I," She said giving Sanji a meaningful look before letting him go.

Chopper sat next to Usopp, eyes large and filled with tears, Usopp patting him on the back, looking shell shocked.

Brook seemed to be examining something at the edge of the field when he straightened up, "Guys! Check this out!"

The others picked their way through the field to where Brook stood and saw Nami's climatact, dug into the ground with a letter attached.

"I think you may want to read this..." Brook said, untying it and starting to hand it to Luffy. Sanji snatched it away.

"You all know he'll just get pissed and tear it up and then we'll never know what happened. I'm sick of getting dragged into war zones with half the information."

Luffy charged him and Sanji merely stuck his foot out, pushing on Luffy's head with the sole of his shoe as he read aloud, the Captain snarling and protesting. It should have been comical really but the seriousness of the situation had them drawn to the letter's contents.

My dear Strawhats,

As you may have pieced together by now, all is not what meets the eye on this little isle of my design. I do hope you like it though, I worked hard and spent a small fortune to make it welcoming. Everything leading up to this has been prearranged. After a long year of trying to track Cat Burgler Nami since her departure from Arlong, I finally had a stroke of luck sighting you on Taras. It was a small out of the way little dump and the lot of you looked worn down. No wonder, it was short after that I heard about your battle with Gecko Moria. Well played, Strawhat.

It was easy enough to send someone aboard to sabotage your water stocks, and of course again when you restocked at Sundial Cove. The weather of course played marvellously into my hands. Even I can't control that, so it was a stroke of luck.

To cut to the chase, your beloved Nami cost me nearly everything with her little schemes and I swore revenge. She and I go way back. It's taken me years to get here. The Pirate Hunter was never a part of the plan but considering the bounty on his head, we decided to take him along anyway.

They are being kept in an undisclosed location. Don't bother checking the island, we will be long gone by the time you figure all this out. After I am done with them I made a promise to turn them over to the marines, dead or alive. I hope you understand that they will not survive this, or at least Nami won't. I have yet to decide the fate of the Swordsman. That being said, the turnover point will be an island I will reveal to you in time. The date as well.

Stay well Strawhat and await my next correspondence.

Sincerely yours,

Captain J.S. Liloquois

Sanji let his foot down, barely feeling Luffy tackle him to get the letter away, reading over it quickly, over and over.

"That bastard can't just take my crew away!" Luffy shouted, "Who does he think he is?!"

His hand crumpled the paper.

"We need to find out who this guy is, and come up with a way to find them. And for now the best place to start is the ship." Usopp said, shaking with anger.

"I'll rip him apart, I'll...I'll-" Luffy was angrier than they'd seen him in a long time, and that was saying something. He seemed, stunned, close to tears as the reality of it all sunk in. It was usually Zoro that spoke up around this time, and got them all back on track, no matter if it was a little harsh.

Robin saw that the wall Luffy leaned on when things happened was gone and she glanced at the crew. There was almost a sense of desperation in the air.

"Usopp-kun, that's a good idea. I'm sure we can figure out who he is and where to start looking." She assured him.

Sanji stood to the side and Robin gave him a pointed look, nodding to Luffy. Sanji sighed, approaching the younger man.

"Come on, shitty captain. Let's go back to the ship and plan how we're gonna kick this guy's ass. I might even make a snack." He elbowed Luffy slightly and there was a ghost of that smile.

It wasn't Luffy's famous grin, but he'd take it.


At some point he must have dozed off. He'd been fighting so hard against his own rage, anger and weakness that his brain must have just shut off. He couldn't think of any other explanation.

When he woke it was start.

Silence. No voices, no laughter, no degrading comments. Just silence that roared in his ears louder than a freight train.

"Nami!" He called out jumping to his feet, moving to look through the bars that never ceased to annoy him.

He nearly sighed in relief when he saw her, lying next to the bars. The doctor was an insane bastard but he could tell from her color that she was better and she was breathing. She was breathing without a sound, no gasping for air, no rasping.

Her shoulder was bandaged but the doctor hadn't bothered giving her a blanket or any clothing. Her shirt lay in tatters around her form, barely covering her bra.

Zoro sat down next to the bars heavily, feeling almost boneless as the adrenaline left his system. He felt exhausted, his body ached. The chill only made it worse. Every injury, every fracture, bruise and wound he'd sustained on Thriller Bark seemed to vie for his attention all at once, telling him with clarity what he already knew. He wasn't strong enough to get out of this one.

He reached his hand through the bars, reaching for Nami's hand. Her skin felt soft, warm to the touch. He leaned against the bars. She'd have an idea when she woke up. She always did.

A breathy sigh broke the silence, almost sounding content her hand curling against his, and just for a second, Zoro could close his eyes and let that small sound warm his heart.