Disclaimer: Raikku of the Darkness doesn't own One Piece or any of its affiliates. She is just borrowing them for a little while.
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Whirlwind
By Raikku of the Darkness
Chapter 2: Overboard
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A breath of relief washed over the Straw hat pirates as the island of Chargin came into view. Only a few, long, snail paste filled hours had driven the small crew nearly mad; mostly Luffy. He was insane with hunger, which brought out his more primal instincts. One moment, he was running around the deck naked, which was hell for Sanji and Zoro, who had the task of wrangling the captain and taking him below deck. At one point in this little escapade, Robin noticed Nami with a piece of film paper waving it as if to dry it. The navigator smiled.
"You never know when you'll need blackmail."
The archeologist nodded in agreement.
However, Luffy wasn't the one to be tamed and was soon back on deck in his underwear and ever present hat, brandishing a broom "sword" and barrel top "shield" while chasing his "prey", Chopper. Robin was the one to get him that time, using her devil fruit hands as a rope which helped hold down the captain as Chopper gave him a tiny bit of chloroform to tire him out.
Usopp smirked as he looked at the crew before him. He was glad he didn't have to be in the middle of that. He moved against the ropes that Nami used to tie him to the mast. The marksman wondered how she could tie rope so tight.
"Alright everybody, listen up!" Nami yelled. "The island's close, so get ready to port."
She pointed at Zoro and Sanji. "You two: put some clothes on Luffy and make sure he doesn't get away again."
The cook grasped the lady-pirate's hand. "I apologize, my love." He groveled. "The stupid swordsman didn't have a good hold on him."
"What?!?" the swordsman said, his dark eyes flashing with anger.
"We don't have time for this!" said Nami as she promptly hit the men on their heads. "Get to work!"
And with that, the crew scattered, leaving nothing but Nami and Usopp on deck.
"So…what do I do?" Usopp asked.
"What…?" The navigator turned to him, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
The man began to sweat.
She turned from him, walking toward the galley. "You watch the water; make sure nothing gets in the way"
"And don't screw up." The door closed.
Usopp smirked. Watch the water. "An easy enough task." he thought to himself, as he looked at the tiny island slowly coming into view.
It wasn't very large, maybe a few miles long from what the great captain Usopp could see; which was quite well, since he was the best the sharp shooter in the entire world. However, the small island did look somewhat sinister with a thick, soup like fog hanging around it. The young pirate grimaced. He didn't feel good about this place.
It was as if something in his mind was telling him something wasn't right here. It was strange. Ever since Robin had to told the crew about the island, he had a sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach. Why would the navy abandon a teeny little island like this one, especially with it being in the middle of the Grand Line? One would think that the World Government would keep a better eye on it, with an uprising happening on it. Usopp continued to ponder.
Maybe the island was full of unholy terrors.
The young man froze. "Maybe there were humongous monsters that are under the control of evil unicorns bent on world domination and getting rid of the world's supply of pants!! Yea, yea…" His legs began to tremble.
A tap on his side yanked him from his thoughts. "Chopper, don't do that!" he exclaimed, looking down at the doctor. "You scared me have to death."
"I'm sorry." The deer replied, obvious startled as well. "Nami told me to untie you"
The rope around the man loosed and he stretched. "Thank you my good man, you will be rewarded handsomely by knowing that you helped the Great Captain Usopp!"
However, Chopper wasn't listening. His attention was in the ocean, looking over the side of the Merry. Usopp walked to him.
"Chopper, what are you-" He stopped mid-sentence. The pair stared at something strange floating in the water: a….kid.
"MAN OVERBOARD!"
Nami busted through the galley door, as Sanji, Zoro, and Robin emerged from below. "WHAT!?!"
"There's a boy in the water!" yelled Chopper, pointing down at the child as Usopp yelled down to him.
"Shit." Zoro sighed as he kicked off his boots, diving into the water.
Nami yelled. "Sanji, get the-"
"I have it, Nami-san!" he answered, the life ring in his hands.
The group all looked over the railing at Zoro, who had the boy in his arms. The waves were looking as if they wanted never to let them go. The cook tossed down the ring. "Grab it! We'll pull you up!"
Making sure the swordsman had both the boy and the life ring, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper began to tug at the rope, not stopping until both the rescuer and the kid were on the deck.
Robin was first to speak. "Are you alright, Swordsman-san?"
"Yea," he answered, wringing out his shirt. "I'm fine."
Chopper began to inspect the boy. He put his ear to his chest. "His heart beat is normal, and he hasn't ingested much water."
"Well, that's good." Nami let out a breath.
The doctor continued "It doesn't look like he's been in the water that long either. Maybe an hour at the most."
Sanji lit a cigarette. "But how in the seven levels of hell did a kid get in the middle of the ocean?"
"Marooned?" Usopp guessed.
"This close to an island?" questioned Zoro.
Suddenly the child began to cough, water spitting from his mouth. He sat up and Chopper patted his back. "You ok?"
The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking down at his lap.
Zoro began. "Oi, kid. You alright?" He looked around at the crew. The kid had to be around 12 or 13. Long tendrils of lavender hair hung loosely about his face and around his shoulder. He was a very handsome boy, with his most interesting feature being his hawk like eyes, a hypnotizing shade of blue. However, they weren't concentrating on the people surrounding him, but on the island of Chargin.
"GARRETT!!" The boy leaped to his feet and bolted in the island's direction, about to jump back into the ocean. The green and blonde haired men grabbed both of the boy's arms. "Calm down!"
The kid struggled. "GARRETT!! No! Let me GO!" He roared. "I'LL KILL HIM!!!" For a child, he was pretty strong, but the two men were definitely stronger. Their grip on him never faltered. The boy began to tire, dropping to his knees. "They've got Rachel! Please…"
"What are you talking about?" Usopp asked.
The kid's face was wet with the tears streaming down his face. "Please, my sister! Garrett's got my sister!" And with that, the child began to sob, his face buried in his arms.
