"B-but.. Robin was watching over her! Weren't you, Robin?" asked Chopper frenetically.
"Yes," Robin answered. Not as calm as she looked a few seconds ago. "There is no way she could've left without me knowing."
"Then... how could Nami have just… vanish?" asked Brook.
"There's just no way! Not with Robin and her ability!" exclaimed Ussop.
"Oi, everyone calm down," said Zoro in a low but audible voice. "We should think this through. It's getting obvious that they didn't just leave because they wanted."
"Then… you're suggesting something or someone took the away?" asked Franky.
"It's possible, considering that we're in the Grand Line." Replied Zoro with his arms crossed, while closing his eyes.
As everyone began thinking the possibilities, leading to a shrieking Chopper and Ussop at the weird ideas that came to their minds. It was then when they noticed that Luffy had not said a thing. He had kept the position he had and didn't move a muscle. What the crew didn't see were his eyes. His eyes were as wide open as plates. Having the thought that someone or something was indeed taking them away was tempting. Having at least a tiny possibility of getting them back, he was good at pushing small chances to the limit and, of course, he would try it this time.
He stood up and headed to the door. "Let's all eat first," he started. "Then we can see what we can do," and he headed outside. Everyone followed soon after.
After finishing the food, used to not letting a single grain of rice to waste, Zoro and Ussop were to wash the dishes, Robin went to the library, Chopper to the Infirmary, Franky to design some more weapons, Brook went to the observation room's roof to play a soothing melody with his violin. Luffy was the last one to leave the galley, being tempted to get something from the fridge until Zoro and Ussop stopped him.
"Aww.. Come on guys! I'm still hungry!"
"No Luffy! You'll have to live with that hunger. Without Sanji and Nami here, it'll be harder to keep everyone healthy. We don't know as much as they do." said Zoro.
By the mention of those names, Luffy looked at the fridge unlocked, thanks to Robin, and then he looked to the ground.
"Fine..." he said as he stood up and left. Once he got out, he felt a chill down his spine. "What the?" he heard Brook's violin. 'What a nice song' he thought. He felt a chill again. 'But it's not even cold!' He looked up at the sky, not a single cloud. 'I feel bad.'
He stretched his arm up at the foremast and began climbing to the top, past the Crow's Nest. 'This is bad… but why?' He jumped down and ran to the anchor. 'I don't really think I should do this.' He began pulling the paw-shaped anchor up. Once it was next to the Sunny's lion head he went out to deck again and furled the sails. The ship began shaking by the wind and waves that pushed the ship and everyone got surprised in whatever part of the ship they were. They all got out to deck and found Luffy at the wheel.
"Luffy? What's going on? Why are we sailing?" asked Chopper, approaching the captain. Luffy just lifted his arm and pointed a single, small and lonely cloud in the sky, the only one at view.
"I have a really, REALLY bad feeling about that cloud."
"What do you mean? It's the only cloud in the sky! There can't be anything bad about it." said Franky. Then, Luffy stirred the wheel hard to the left, so abruptly, they lost their balance for a second.
"Luffy! Tell us what's going on!" shouted Zoro as he went to Luffy and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away from the wheel.
"let go of me, Zoro! There's a huge storm coming! Maybe even a cyclone!" he said as he stretched both his arms to not let go of the wheel.
"What storm? There's no such thing nearing us!" said Ussop when, all of a sudden, a loud thunder was heard. The sky had turned heavily cloudy as they were arguing. Zoro, to his surprise, let go of Luffy and Luffy proceeded on stirring even harder to the left.
"Everyone! We can't let the sails catch that storm's wind, I furled them to escape but now is too late!" said Luffy, eyeing them from the corner of his eye. "Unfurl the sails! Hurry!"
Everyone, not fully over the surprise, ran to do the routine, unfurling the sails in a storm wasn't an easy task. It soon began to rain heavily. The waves grew to monstrous sizes and even with the sails fully unfurled the winds and waves still pushed the ship towards the storm.
"Mugiwara! Shouldn't we use Coup de Burst?" screamed Franky, trying to make himself clear above all the thunder.
"Not yet!"
"What?" screamed Brook, struggling to not get blown away. "Why not?"
"The current isn't right!" answered Luffy. "It'll be a waste if we use it now!"
Those who heard stood perplexed, when did Luffy learn to navigate? Wasn't Nami the only navigator around? Zoro remembered back to they day they met, when they were finally sailing in their small roe boat, that Luffy told him that he didn't know a thing about navigation and that he would always just drift around, waiting to see where the sea took him.
"We'll use it, but later, go prepare the barrels Franky!" ordered Luffy. Franky was kicked out of his thoughts as he went to fulfill the task given. The rest continued to struggle to keep everything in place, tying up the stuff inside the ship.
"There!" said Luffy after a moment. He stirred gently to the right.
"Woah, Luffy! That's the cyclone you're directing us at!" yelled Ussop over the storm. But Luffy didn't hear him as he was setting the Dock System to the number # and pulled the lever.
At the bottom of the ship, Franky had already prepared the barrels for the shaker. He got surprised when the machine began working. "About time." He said and he went to deck. When he got there, the ship began soaring into the sky, but at a direction he wouldn't imagine.
"AAHH! Mugiwara, what's wrong with you? That's the cyclone! The cyclone!" he screamed frenetically.
"I know, you just trust me," with those words, Franky didn't reply. He looked up and saw the storm getting closer and closer. But what happened later was completely unexpected.
The ship wasn't directed directly to the storm, just to its edge. The ship finally reached it when the wind blew stronger, to the direction they were going to, pushing them further and away from the storm, even with the sails unfurled. The cyclone was far behind a few seconds later.
Still shivering and not over the scare they received, Ussop and Chopper let go of the mast and approached Luffy. Luffy fell down to his knees starting to pant still grabbing the wheel.
"That was… scary," he sighed.
"Woah! That was awesome, Luffy!" praised Chopper.
"How was that even possible..." said Ussop.
"That.. That was crazy, Mugiwara!" yelled Franky, still looking back at the long gone nightmare of a storm.
"Yohoho! I can't stop trembling to the bone! Although…" you know the rest.
Zoro had reached the wheel and stood with his arms crossed next to Luffy.
"Ooi, captain, where did you learn such a trick?" he asked in a low voice so only him and Luffy would hear.
"…uhh, I don't know… I just did it," he replied, still on his knees, his head hanging from his shoulders. "I didn't even want to do it but this… feeling of danger felt too strong."
Zoro didn't look at him, as he was making sure that every eye that looked at their way would notice that they were talking privately, looking to the other side of the ship.
"A feeling of danger…" he repeated. "That still doesn't explain how you were able to read the sea and wind currents, if that's what you were do-"
"Hey, Luffy! Should we furl the sails now?" 'Stupid long-nose,' Zoro thought.
"Aa!" 'Damn you, Luffy.'
Zoro had lost the boy's short span of attention. Oh well, he'll talk to him later.
Hmm.. I'm not sure if I like this one.. Ah, I don't like the beginning, that's it. Yep. Anyway NEW CHAPTER! HOORAH! How was everyone's Spring Break? I loved mine, best Spring Break ever along with last year (I re-read One Piece xD ).
As always, feel free to correct me on any mistakes I've made. Though I know you're too lazy to.