Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry for the wait, but it could be helped; tried taking this story through a chapter that didn't need writing and found myself in a writer's lockdown for a week, so Kieri and I decided it would be better to simply move on.
Please enjoy the next chapter; the next update will come sooner than the last, so I hope that makes up for the pathetic length of this installment.
Until next time!
—Koru-chan
PS: Remember that last time when I said there would be nine chapters in this thing? Well, I lied. It's more like five chapters. But that's only in this issue—never fear, for there is more to come! With pairings! Sweet mother of hamstrings!
Yeah, I'm a liar. You should hate me. Kieri does.
Chapter Three
Despite the length and the weight of the night behind them, the three pirates stood tirelessly against the coming dawn, almost anxiously awaiting the telltale bump that would mark their docking in a rocky lagoon nearby Logue.
Not a word was spoken as Sanji went to work anchoring, and Nami and Usopp leapt swiftly from the deck to shore, taking off towards town.
It was a welcome relief to stretch their legs over land once more; although they were still tired from the chase given at the docks mere hours ago as well as the sleepless night they had endured afterwards, they had spent it both pacing restlessly. No matter their methods of persuasion, they could not get Sanji to speak of what he had seen in Logue after they had repossessed the Going Merry from the hands of both Buggy's lackeys and the Marines. He had even shrugged off Nami's touch when she insisted she treat his wounds from his earlier battle with the pursuing Marines.
Both she and Usopp had been worried from the moment Nami had called out to him from the drifting vessel.
"What about Luffy and Zoro!" she had shouted over the rain.
When Sanji didn't reply, Nami had felt her heart seize in her chest.
It couldn't be…she thought.
Just as Usopp had been about to ask again, though, Sanji had been attacked by the Marines that were pursuing the Going Merry. Spared a reply to his crewmates, Sanji turned to retaliate.
Nami and Usopp stood frozen aboard the ship, each contemplating what his silence could possibly have meant; each combating the thoughts with their own forms of denial. Usopp didn't even think to use his slingshot to aid Sanji, but the cook didn't seem to care; he dealt kick after furious kick to his surrounding assailants, uncaring of the damage he did—to himself as well as his attackers. By the time he had finished and swam to the ship, he was bleeding from numerous wounds all over his body. Usopp and Nami helped him almost numbly downstairs to the boys' room. Usopp went back to the deck to watch for their other crewmates, whom Usopp claimed were bound to come in soon, while Nami went to find something to treat Sanji's wounds with, reminded as she had been before of their need for a doctor.
The night that had followed the episode had taken its toll on both the navigator and the liar, but neither would admit to themselves the implications of Sanji's silence. They would only be satisfied if they could see it for themselves; what they expected to see—what they hoped to see—they could only guess, but neither had any desire to.
They split up once they reached the town and spent a better part of the morning searching the streets for any sign of their lost comrades.
After a while, Usopp found that there was no other part of the western side of the city he had not checked aside from the square that displayed the execution platform. Wondering if he had avoided it subconsciously, he made his way there on heavy feet. The chaos and crowds of the former day had dissipated since the storm. Grey clouds still hung in the sky, but no threat of rain kept the townspeople indoors. Usopp tried his best to shut out their gossip by pulling his bandana over his ears, and tried to convince himself that it worked, but even an accomplished liar cannot lie to himself. This was made painfully clear to him as he laid eyes on the platform suspended forty feet above the square.
Where? Nami wondered frantically as she cast her gaze through alleyways and main streets alike for a white katana or a red vest. Where could they be?
Well, she though to herself. Considering both of their navigational skills, it's likely they've gotten themselves lost and are looking for us on the other side of this godforsaken island.
She tried laughing, but it came out as hollow, so she decided to stick to inner dialogue.
Where would those two be without me? she went on. Certainly not anywhere near—.
Her thoughts were cut short as she spotted the green-haired swordsman leaning on his side against an alley wall, his back to her.
Overjoyed to see him—though she would never admit it—Nami ran up to him.
"Oi, Zoro!" she called. "Where have you been, you stupid—!"
She was stopped again when she caught a glimpse of something over his shoulder. She swallowed hard, and suddenly wished that she had not called out to him; that he would not turn around; that he would not show her what he held in his hands.
A straw hat.
AU: Heehee--confused yet? Don't worry about it. You're supposed to be confused as to the continutiy of the current storyline. But stick around--all shall be made clear in good time.