Dark Truth
Chapter 3: Heavy Decisions
Pain bled through Luffy's body, limbs shook and his breath came in short, strangled gasps. The coarse rope around his neck tightened once more. It chafed and burned his skin as he struggled against its hold. It pulled him upwards mercilessly, suspending him in the air. Luffy bucked and flailed in the air as he was slowly suffocated. His fight became frantic, fuelled by panic. His hands rose instinctively to pull at the noose but the drug they'd injected him with left him weak and uncoordinated. It was no use. Just as his thrashing began to wane, the rope loosened and Luffy crashed to the floor in a slumped heap. He greedily sucked in gulps of air as his chest heaved with his heavy panting. He took a few moments to compose himself, Luffy stood, a slight wobble in his legs as he straightened was the only giveaway of his weakness. He stood tall, eyes shadowed under the rim of his straw hat. His attacker wasted no time in repeating the torture.
"You don't seem so strong now, captain."
Luffy jerked awake with a strangled gasp. He released it in a shuddery breath and tried to calm his breathing down. A hand suddenly settled on his shoulder in a firm but gentle grip and Luffy released a shrill yelp as he pulled away and twisted on the infirmary cot to see who was there. Usopp's worried eyes gazed back at him and Luffy shrank away from his touch. Usopp swallowed back the hurt and surprise at Luffy's reaction, still unused to his captain's sudden change in personality. He quickly recovered and lifted his hands up in a placating gesture.
"My bad." He said simply and offered Luffy a shaky smile.
Luffy stared back at Usopp, too exhausted to humour his marksman. His gaze settled on Usopp's lips, once again avoiding eye contact. It made Usopp uncomfortable, though he tried not to show it. There were a lot of things he'd seen in the last few weeks that had made him uncomfortable; like how small Luffy looked curled up on his side, or how his fearless captain jerked at any contact and startled at any sound. A few hours ago had hopefully been a start to Luffy's recovery at last. He had foolishly hoped that Luffy might wake up as Luffy again, but here sat this stranger that had taken his place that looked through Usopp and not at him. It made his insides churn, but Usopp knew he had to be strong and brave for Luffy now, like Luffy had always been for him.
Luffy was surprised when Usopp's tanned hand slipped into his vision. He had been lost in thought for a moment, staring at the bed sheets. He followed the length of the arm with his eyes and blinked curiously.
"Here," Usopp said as he shifted his hand closer.
Luffy looked down again at the intruding appendage and realised Usopp was offering him a damp cloth. It brought it to his attention that his nightmare had left him sweaty and sticky and he gratefully accepted the cloth with a shaky hand.
Usopp smiled as Luffy accepted the cloth. His gaze drifted over to the soaked bedsheet and Luffy's soggy bandages. He wondered what terrible monsters Luffy faced in his dreams to bring out such a reaction. Nightmares were nothing new after all – Luffy had them fairly frequently even before this happened. Though he always appeared so untouchable, the scars of their violent encounters had obviously marked him in some way. Now it was different though. Usopp recognised the haunted look Luffy carried with him now. It was the same one that flitted across his face after those past nightmares for the briefest of moments before Luffy realised where he was and that he had only been dreaming. Usopp wondered what demons lingered in Luffy's mind to make him wear that expression all the time.
"Was it bad...?" he asked, gently.
Luffy lifted his bowed head again and regarded Usopp with a curious, tired expression.
"The dream, I mean..." Usopp elaborated. "It..." he started and then hesitated a moment, unsure. He swallowed thickly and decided to go ahead with his question. "It was of that night, right?" It felt taboo to even mention it, as though bringing the issue up would revert Luffy back to the catatonic state he'd been in the first few days after he'd woken.
Luffy nodded mutely and averted his eyes as he continued to wipe away the physical remnants of the nightmare. Usopp's sad eyes made him uncomfortable.
"It's a little past three, I think." Usopp said, breaking the awkward silence that settled between them. "Everybody else but us is asleep. We're gonna be docking in a few hours to resupply."
Luffy tensed at Usopp's words. He'd been so lost in thought as of late he'd failed to register most of the conversations going on around him. The thought of facing strangers was a terrifying prospect. The emotion in itself was foreign for Luffy. He was used to embracing adventures and new people into his world but after that night... what happened... he just didn't know who he could trust.
Usopp didn't miss the reaction. He had hoped the idea of meeting new people and exploring a new island would invoke a small spark of excitement in Luffy. Now he felt foolish for even harbouring that hope. His heart clenched as dark thoughts crept wickedly into his mind. What if this really was the end for them? If Luffy didn't claw his way back from this could they go on without him? It was unthinkable!
"Luffy..." Usopp choked out, his voice suddenly tight with emotion.
Luffy lifted tired eyes and studied Usopp in a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. He focussed on Usopp's nose and avoided direct eye contact.
"Please Luffy... you're gonna be okay, right?" Usopp whispered shakily. Tears pooled in his eyes and Luffy's widened at the sight. Luffy's heart hammered in his chest at the question. He looked every bit the deer caught in the headlights. A heavy silence hung between them for several moments that felt a lifetime before a tired groan sounded from beside the bed. Sanji, who had fallen asleep there after he'd delivered Luffy his first successful meal, sat up with a grunt and scratched his sleep scuffed hair.
"You can't ask him something like that now, idiot." He reprimanded quietly, though there was no malice or anger in his tone. He had listened half heartedly to the pair as he floated between sleep and consciousness.
Usopp choked out a quiet sob as he knuckled away the tears and bit his lip. "But... But I..."
"He can't answer that right now." Sanji continued coolly as he patted his shirt in search of a cigarette and cursed half heartedly as he realised he was out. He knew exactly how Usopp felt but Luffy had only opened his heart to them the barest bit just hours earlier. It was too soon to expect more from him. "Ne, Captain?"
Luffy lowered his head once more as his shoulders sagged with guilt. He shook his head from side to side. Sanji resisted the urge to sigh. Like Usopp a foolishly hopeful shred of hope still waited for Luffy to jump up and declare that he would find the asshole that did this to him and kick his ass. It was just a dream, but their crew lived by their dreams and so he didn't try to stamp out the hope. Luffy was as unpredictable as a tornado and just about as destructive. He could come back to them yet.
"Luffy..." Usopp said, his voice quivering with emotion.
Slowly, gently he leaned forward and embraced his captain. Luffy resisted the urge to pull away and instead clenched his eyes closed and endured the contact. Sanji watched wordlessly as Luffy's face reddened with the effort of allowing the embrace. The cook figured it was the best thing Luffy could give to Usopp right now in ways of an apology or hope. Luffy couldn't help the tremors that shook his body though and reluctantly Usopp pulled away.
"Thanks." Usopp whispered and offered a watery smile. Luffy nodded his response, head still bowed.
"Since you're up," Sanji spoke quietly and rose to his feet. "There's some stuff you should know."
Luffy fiddled with the bed sheets nervously as Sanji circled the bed and sat on the edge of the thin mattress.
"We have to go back." Sanji finally said. He almost flinched when Luffy's head snapped up, eyed wide with fright.
"Sanji!" Usopp hissed, his anger obvious. "You said it yourself, you jerk! Luffy isn't ready for this!"
"He should know." Sanji replied simply, eyes narrowed at Usopp heatedly. "This is his ship and we're his crew so ultimately the decision is his and it's not like I'm asking him to make the decision now. I just think he should know."
Usopp clenched his fists and glared at the floorboards furiously. He didn't want to wake his fellow crewmates from their much needed rest by kicking up and argument and so settled back into silence. The rest of the crew could deal with Sanji's decision when they woke. Seeing no signs of further protest, Sanji continued.
"Nami-san called us together and explained that there's no way around it. If we want to continue our journey we have to sail through those waters again."
To say Luffy looked devastated would have been an understatement. What colour he had left in his face drained away at Sanji's words as his eyes adopted that haunted look the crew had grown used to seeing on their captain over the last few weeks. Sanji clenched his jaw and chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought of his next words.
"There's no way around it, Luffy." Sanji explained slowly. "Nami-san said she would look for more information on the island, but as it stands you only have two choices. You can sail those waters again, or your journey can end here."
Luffy's head snapped up at the suggestion, the fear in his eyes as clear as any other emotion they'd seen on him.
"I don't expect an answer from you now – none of us do." Sanji continued, "But it's something you should know. The decision is yours to make and you should think it over carefully."
Luffy nodded as his gaze drifted away from Sanji and flitted back and forth between his slumbering crew. Sanji hated to see Luffy in such turmoil, but ultimately his decision would affect all of their lives, not just his own. They could put off telling him to save him the distress, but he would have to make the decision one way or another anyway so he would rather Luffy think long and hard about it.
Usopp continued to glare heatedly at Sanji but the chef ignored it. Usopp was entitled to feel like he did. It was torture to watch Luffy go through this and everybody's emotions were running high. Luffy had done nothing but help the people they'd come across – who would want to do something like that to him? They'd sat many times in the first days, guarding Luffy's recovering body like dogs as they sat and contemplated the possibilities of who and why. Perhaps an old enemy? Was it Kuro? Krieg? The world government, maybe? Just who the hell would have the strength and intelligence to do this to Luffy on their own ship, their Sunny, without even waking any of the remaining crew? It was infuriating. Robin had even been on watch that night, so nobody should have been able to get past her with her devil fruit ability.
All of them just wished Luffy would tell them, would say something – anything! If he could give them some kind of clue, an idea of just what had had taken place that night maybe they could concoct a plan to prevent it from happening again. Right now though it was enough a task for him to just consider the idea of facing those evils again with the possibility that his crew might not be able to prevent whatever happened from happening again.
The first ray of sunlight started to peek through to the Sunny's infirmary and Sanji palmed at his eyes sleepily. It was going to be a long day.
"You what!?"
Nami's voice echoed across the expanse of the sunlit deck. Sanji didn't flinch at the scolding from his precious Nami-swan and stood his ground as she stared him down with a fury reserved for those that stole her gold and hurt her nakama.
"He needed to know, Nami-san." Sanji replied softly.
"Not right now he didn't!" Nami yelled back as she felt and insetting headache and rubbed her temples. "Luffy's got more than enough on his plate right now."
"He's always been able to clear his plate as long as I've known him." Sanji quipped back, to the navigator's surprise. "No matter how full."
"We're not talking about food here, Sanji-kun!" Nami hissed, furious at the chef's decision to go ahead and tell Luffy of their predicament without his fellow crewmates consent.
"He needed to know." Sanji stated again and held his ground.
Nami opened her mouth to bite back another argument but Zoro beat her to it. From across the deck he called, "Just what gave you that idea, shitty cook?" There was no anger in his deep voice. His weights shuffled together with soft clinks as he fixed his gaze on Sanji. A quiet storm rumbled within Zoro's eyes that promised punishment should his answer be less than satisfactory. Sanji contemplated his words before he answered. He had already known that the crew would be furious with his actions, but he didn't care. Luffy needed to know.
"It's not fair to do that to him." He finally answered. "After Usopp told him we would be docking today... his face..."
"But docking is nothing!" Nami protested, as she flailed her arms to emphasise her point.
"It wasn't 'nothing' to him," Sanji explained and turned to look at Usopp. "I saw the look on his face and so did you, Usopp!"
"What look?" Zoro asked as he set his weights now and stepped forward to join the conversation fully.
"He was terrified..." Usopp admitted. "I thought... I'd hoped that maybe seeing new people... exploring and island would..." he felt foolish and his excuses died in his throat. "I told him we were docking today to resupply and he looked terrified."
"It's to be expected after all Luffy-san's been through." Brook said suddenly. "It fills me with rage to think that the culprit might be lurking somewhere on that very island."
"Telling him we're docking is one thing, bro." Franky said as he too joined the discussion. "But why did he need to know about going back there? It could have waited."
"How long?" Sanji answered. "We would have waited one day after another to see another little improvement, too frightened to set him back with news like that! We left telling him about docking until now – hours before we planned to do it! He needs as much time as he can get to make this decision. It might be the biggest choice of his life."
"We could have waited, Sanji-kun!" Nami argued back. "He didn't need to know he had to go back to that place yet!"
"That's the thing, Nami-san," Sanji answered, his own voice quiet and dull. "He doesn't."
His words hit Nami like a ton of bricks. It had never occurred to her that Luffy might not choose to keep going. If somebody had suggested it to her a few weeks ago she'd have laughed in their face but now... Luffy was a different person. The reality knocked the wind from her and the rest of the crew.
"...it's a big decision." Sanji said, finally. "He needs to know it's his to make."
"Shitty cook." Zoro mumbled, though he agreed with Sanji's decision.
"Have we decided on what to do with Luffy-san when we dock?" Brook asked. "I have no business to attend to on this island, so I would be happy to stay aboard the ship with him."
"If the bastard that attacked Luffy is on this island then they would recognise the flag." Zoro stated, his body hunched over the rail in thought. It was a tough call.
"We could take turns going on land." Sanji suggested.
"I need to restock the medical supplies." Chopper muttered, "But..." he bit his lip nervously. "What if they start attacking us next...?"
"That's a possibility." Robin answered. "It would be a good strategy of attack, plucking off the strongest one by one when they are isolated."
Chopper shivered as a chill ran down his spine. Robin was creepy sometimes! "B-But... we still need to resupply." He muttered.
"Then maybe the best plan is to bring him with us?" Franky said, though he looked less than pleased with the idea. It was a risk either way – if Luffy caused a scene in public it would attract unwanted attention and his head was worth a juicy bundle of belli to anybody willing to take advantage of his weakened state. From what they'd seen of the island when they'd passed through weeks earlier, Franky had no doubt there would be many willing to try.
They had stopped at the island briefly to resupply the day before Luffy had been attacked. The island was small but dangerous, little more than a rock outcrop in the middle of the ocean. Nothing grew there and so it was left to the imagination as to where the traders that made their home there gathered the supplies they sold to passing ships. It wasn't hard to guess. The island attracted scavengers, vultures and a selection of unsavoury crowds.
Nami had called it within the first hour they'd been there. She recognised the type – she had been one of them before she met Luffy. It didn't take sharp eyes to see the shady exchanges or strong ears to hear the gloating of the men. They were people that attacked and pillaged trade ships for gold and supplies. It would definitely be a gamble bringing Luffy among such shady characters as he was now, but the best place for him was with the entire crew. After all, if the attacker had been strong enough to bring Luffy down, there was no telling how a divided crew would stand against them.
The decision fell on Zoro's shoulders. He exhaled slowly though his nose, eyes closed in thought. He was usually a man of action rather than planning, but with Luffy in his current state this one decision could spell the end for the Strawhat crew.
"We should all stay together." He finally muttered, but then added, "But we need to resupply on food and medicine first. It would be better to dock in the evening under darkness."
"The markets aren't open in the evening... I don't think there are any wild herbs I can forage."
Zoro grunted out a noise of displeasure. Under the cover of darkness Luffy would be better protected and their best chance of gathering any information surrounding the attack lay within the drunken thugs that stewed within the bars. There would have to be a compromise.
"If I can make a suggestion, Zoro-kun?" Robin interjected with a calm smile. "Since there is less danger in the day, perhaps a supply party can travel on the Mini Merry whilst the rest of us remain here with Luffy-san?"
"But what about gathering information...?" Nami asked. "That takes care of restocking, but we still need to find out all we can about what's happened and if anybody knows anything."
"We've no idea if the people that did this are still out there." Sanji stated as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He would definitely be part of the supply group to gather more food and his precious cigarettes.
"The best chance we have of keeping Luffy-san safe is to protect him as a group." Robin replied. "Once the supply group returned we could begin preparations for docking at the island and make our way out once night falls. Together."
A heavy silence hung in the air. Nobody liked the idea of taking Luffy away from the ship in the condition he was in. If he panicked or reacted badly to something it could spell trouble for all of them, but staying on the ship once docked he was a sitting duck. They had no idea of the offenders' strength and thus no idea if a divided crew could adequately defend him. They could take to the sea once more without any more information but if they were attacked again the consequences could be dire.
"Alright – Chopper, shitty cook, Franky," Zoro said. "You three can be the supply group. The rest of us will wait here for your return."
"And tonight?" Nami urged. Though she was anxious about exposing Luffy to the dangers of the island, she was also just as eager to weasel information out of the thugs that inhabited the rock. It was finally something she could do to help. Sitting around doing nothing for these past weeks had been torture, watching Luffy suffer and unable to help in any way. This was finally a way she could contribute.
"Tonight we dock." Zoro answered.
That statement was enough to spur the group into action. Chopper, Sanji and Franky set off to ready the Mini Merry whilst the rest of the crew busied themselves in preparation for docking that evening.
Thank you for reading, please feel free to share criticism and feedback.
