"So, let me get this straight," spoke Nami, staring out of the cave's mouth from her resting place beneath the chilly shelter. "There's a monster that lives on this island, and you're thinking that it's the only creature here."

"Right," was Zoro's gruff response.

"And we're the only people here -- except this Raffles guy." A pause. "Who's…invisible?"

"Yeah."

"And he's after the monster you mentioned earlier. In addition, he wants Luffy's head so he can get a pardon from the government." Nami lightly rubbed her chin with a feminine finger, her eyebrows furrowing somewhat. "I guess it's safe to say that he's a wanted criminal. Probably got in trouble for illegal hunting. The fact that he's going after a rare animal like that monster should say enough."

"Ahh, Nami-san is so smart!" chimed in Sanji, who was relaxing near the navigator. Zoro threw a searing glare at the chef, which was met with an equally burning glower.

Ignoring the two, Nami frowned lightly and said, "So Luffy is playing a 'game' with Raffles. And he seemed to know about the invisibility thing when you talked to him, right, Zoro?"

"Yes."

"And we don't know why Luffy accepted," sighed the girl, running a hand through her orange hair. "And most importantly, I don't understand why you let him go like that!" Her dark eyes darted over to Zoro, narrowed with a scrutiny of sorts.

The green-haired man blinked suddenly and looked over at Nami. "What?" he said. "What was I supposed to do?"

"You should have stopped him," admonished Nami. "What were you thinking? Just letting him go like that! Without even a clear explanation of why he was leaving to begin with!"

Zoro was offended. "Playing a game was a clear enough explanation for me." His own eyes closed as he leaned against the wall, arms folding over his chest. "Even if I didn't have a clear explanation, I still trust the captain."

The last statement hung within the cave's cold, night air for a few moments.

"Why, you--" Sanji sputtered. "Nami-san is only trying to help. She--"

Nami sighed. "No, he has a point, Sanji-kun." Her eyes shifted over to the dimly lit clearing, a soft frown tugging at her lips. "We should all have a little bit more faith in Luffy. He hasn't done anything to deserve different."

Sanji was silent for a moment before he took a deep drag from his cigarette, the curling smoke lazily making its way through the air. A light smile allowed itself to appear on Zoro's face before he completely lowered himself onto the ground. Nami interrupted his silent gloat in victory, however.

"That still doesn't excuse you from not stopping Luffy, stupid."

"What?!" Zoro gawked at the woman.

"You heard me!" And before the swordsman knew it, Sanji had chipped in with his own scolding in an effort to aide the navigator.

"Will the both of you just shut up?" hissed Zoro. "I did my best. If that isn't good enough for you, then tough." The man rolled over onto his side. "I'm goin' to sleep." Nami knew that sleep was last thing on his mind, however, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Her voice cut through the silence. "Those injuries of yours don't look so good." The swordsman snorted.

"It's no big deal. I'm fine."

The navigator rolled her eyes. "I shouldn't have expected any different from you." She paused and regarded him sincerely for a moment. "You could at least let me look at them."

"I said I was fine."

"What are you talking about?" She incredulously gestured at the shirtless man, dried blood crusting along his dark scars and in his green hair. Despite the darkness, she could already see the splotchy bruises that were beginning to take form. Nami didn't even want to think about whether there were any broken bones. "Zoro, you're a mess!"

"I've seen worse."

"So?! That doesn't make it any less of a problem!"

Zoro's eyes flew open, and he suddenly looked over at Nami. "It's not important," he snapped. "Leave me alone."

Suddenly, however, a black shoe came down upon the swordsman's chest and threw him completely back onto the ground, pinning him the process. "Nami-san is nice enough to show concern for you," Sanji coolly added, blowing another trail of smoke from his mouth. Zoro's eyes flashed, but he was interrupted before he could even speak. "The leastyou could do -- aside from worshipping her -- is let her look you over." A silly smile overtook his features, and he gazed over at the navigator. "Ahh, and while you're at it, I think I'm injured too, Nami-san! Could you, ah, look me over? Please?"

Trying to drown out Sanji's incessant begging and Zoro's escalating squabbling, Nami rubbed at her aching temples.

The sooner they were able to leave, the better.

Aside from tag, hide n' seek had to be one of the easiest games in existence. All Luffy ever had to do was either go hide in hopes of not being found or look for anyone who was hiding. Plain and simple -- just how he liked it.

In fact, there were several places he enjoyed hiding in. Take the kitchen pantry for example. When it wasn't locked by Sanji, he could hide from the seeker and eat snacks at the same time! The idea was nothing short of brilliant, and he inwardly thanked Usopp for the suggestion every time he took refuge there. Unfortunately, there were no kitchen pantries on the island, and Luffy was beginning to wonder where he should go.

He knew the darkness of the night was to his advantage, since that would simply make it difficult for Raffles to see clearly. However, it was also difficult for Luffy to locate a suitable hiding place. It wasn't uncommon for him to hide somewhere on a whim -- generally because it looked like a fun place to sit or it seemed to be an unusual area. This time, however, he felt the weight of a slightly heavier wage other than running the risk of being "it."

He paused in his walking for a moment and took the time to gaze up into some of the dark, looming trees around him. Realizing that they held some promise, he threw his rubber arm up into the branches and pulled himself up onto a swaying perch. The tree vaguely shook in protest, and a few stray leaves fell upon the brim of the boy's straw hat.

After settling himself securely atop a sturdy branch, he stared out into the eerily quiet forest that surrounded him. He wondered how long it would take for Raffles to give up looking for him. In honest truth, he didn't think a tree was that good of a hiding place. But it was outside, and there were a lot of trees for Raffles to look through. He grinned, and he decided that he would hide in the caves if the current situation became too boring.

As he rested there, his mind eventually drifted to his comrades. He was so glad that Nami and Sanji had finally found their way to the island. Briefly, he wondered if Usopp and Chopper were there too. If that were indeed the case, then it would only be a matter of time before he could actually eat a juicy piece of steak! The pirate's tummy rumbled at the thought of food, and Luffy inwardly hoped that it wouldn't be loud enough to give away his hiding place. He shrugged to himself, though. If it did, he'd just find another.

Closing his eyes, he gave a mighty yawn and settled within what had become his cradle of branches and leaves. It wasn't long before soft snores comfortably emitted from his throat.

Usopp practically shook with excitement, as he suddenly leaned forward within the crow's nest. He adjusted his goggles to zoom in within the dark ocean, and he was confident of what he saw.

"Oi!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Chopper! I see land!"

The kitchen door burst open, and the reindeer scurried out onto the deck. "Really?!" he exclaimed, his eyes bright with a sort of relief. "Are you sure?!" The doctor held his breath with anticipation, and he bit down on his lower lip as he waited for his friend's response.

"Uh-huh!" affirmed Usopp, now using a telescope to focus on what he saw. "Seems like it has a lot of trees on it. And a mountain in the center!"

Chopper let out his breath, lungs pleasantly burning, and laughed. "That's great!"

Usopp joined the doctor with his own hoot of joy, but paused as soon as a thought struck him. He called out, his voice holding a nervous edge. "H-hey, aren't you supposed to be, you know, steering?"

The reindeer was mortified. "A-ah! I'm sorry!" And with that, he dashed back into the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind him.

Sighing, Usopp stared up at the sky with a soft grin. His eyes were glued to the clouds, as a hefty weight hung at the back of his mind. His smile faded. What if this isn't the right island? Although he had put on a bright, yellow poncho, it hadn't even started raining yet. Why is this time different? Maybe they really were at the wrong island. But he mentally kicked his mind into a more optimistic direction.

"The weather just changed for us, that's all!" he laughed aloud, his voice barely trembling. "In fact, I'll bet anything that The Great Captain Usopp scared that storm away!" His arms folded over his chest. "That's right, Storm! You can't resist my almighty power!" Thrusting a finger at the sky, he guffawed. "I dare you to come against me, you little--"

"Usopp," came Chopper's feeble cry from within the kitchen. "You're making me nervous!"

"There's no need to fear!" exclaimed the sharpshooter. "Forward, Chopper! Forward!"

"F-forward!"

And then, soft droplets of rain began to fall. As did Usopp's triumphant expression. Then the winds began to pick up speed. The clouds, a sharp charcoal color, billowed madly in the sky. As the winds suddenly raged without an apparent direction, Usopp realized that he and Chopper would not reach their destination without a fight.

"But of course!" The sniper folded sun-baked arms over his thin chest. "It wouldn't be any sort of adventure without some obstacle!" The long-nosed man laughed out loud, although he knew Chopper would barely be able to hear him from his steering post in the kitchen due to the sudden torrent that billowed around them.

Thunder began to rumble, and a streak of lighting ripped through the sky. Waves crashed against the Going Merry's side, shoving her to and fro in an attempt to tip her over. Deep down, Usopp had been ready for this moment. Nami's beloved orange trees were covered and protected, and all loose equipment on deck had been properly tended to. But, despite all of his careful preparations, the sniper's knees trembled.

At least Chopper's inside, he told himself. It was of the highest priority to keep Chopper out of the churning sea water. If the doctor were to fall overboard, Usopp knew with a grim surety that it would be near impossible to rescue him without abandoning the ship first. This was obviously unacceptable, for a ship with no crew was a doomed ship indeed.

A lurch shook the man out of his thoughts, and he tightly gripped onto the rail of the tall crow's nest. With furrowed brows, he decided to move to the actual deck in order to try and reduce his chance of getting struck by lightning. Soaking wet by now, he carefully made his way towards a hopefully safer place via the ladder that trailed down to the deck. His knees continued to tremble; his knuckles were white. But resolve glimmered in his stinging eyes, and he cast a longing gaze over to the dark island that loomed in the distance.

Will we make it?

Sir William Raffles III looked up at the sky as a sudden shower of rainwater began to peck at his tanned skin. Pausing from where he crouched upon the forest floor, his eyes narrowed. It looks as though we have more visitors.

The huntsman immediately looked towards the mountain, but he saw no unusual activity about its summit. "The Blue-Tailed Fisher isn't roaming about this time," he murmured under his breath. "Has it already gone out to sea?" Pausing for a moment, he decided it didn't matter anyway. The creature would return soon enough. And with that, he shifted his attention back to his latest discovery - a trail of footprints that had been engraved into the moist dirt beneath the botanist's gaze.

What an idiot, he inwardly cackled when he realized that the markings belonged to a certain, flip-flop clad man. Not even bothering to cover up his own footprints. Experience in hunting told him that he had better hurry or else he risked losing his clue to the eroding properties of harshly falling rain. The hunter barely took time to brush his wet, light-colored bangs from his eyes before he swiftly and stealthily made his way alongside the path that his prey had made. The older man's eyes and body had grown adjusted to the dark nights of the island long ago -- heaven only knew how many months he had spent there, searching every nook and cranny for that blasted monster.

He knew the island like the back of his hand, and he intended to use that to his advantage. That straw-hat boy hardly stands a chance…

The path of footprints continued to wind through the trees -- along the way, he saw snapped twigs and crushed leaves. More signs of someone having been through the area. He almost wanted to laugh out loud with glee, but knew that something so idiotic would give away his position.

Finally, the trail ended at a particular tree. Having carefully crouched down, Raffles gazed up at the ancient, looming, potential hiding place. Its branches stretched out into all sorts of directions, and a satisfied smile lit up his rough face. Squinting, he knew he saw something resting amidst its branches. A large something. A large lump of something.

Undoubtedly a person in hiding. He rolled his eyes at his prey's stupidity, and allowed his power to take affect. His whole body suddenly blended with its surroundings, to the point that the hunter couldn't even tell where his own being began and ended. Inwardly laughing, he gripped onto the bark of the tree and began to haul himself up towards the branches and what they were hiding. Although the tree shook, it would have been easy for an unsuspecting person to attribute it to the fierce winds that were running through the forest.

When Raffles finally reached a stable perch for himself to ease onto, he immediately located the lump towards the other side of the tree. He already had one of three knives in hand. Like a spider rushing across its web to devour a helpless fly, the hunter sped from one branch to another. The tree furiously shook, as if trying to dump the intruder onto the ground, but Raffles beamed when his boot collided onto the branch that rested behind his victim.

He gripped onto the knife's hilt, raised it, and plunged it into his kill.

A scream sounded through the island, shrouded by night's darkness and the violent storm that raged within it.