Beta'ed by: van0koko

A Short Break

Chapter 7

O O O

"Will he be okay?"

"Of course he will be, shishishi."

"It's already been a day, Luffy."

"You don't need to worry."

Voices around the small room got louder and louder as the only unconscious Straw Hat was slowly waking up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he met black.

'Where am I? What happened?' Usopp tried moving, but he couldn't feel his limbs. He panicked. 'A-am I dead? Oh, God. I must be dead! I-if that's the c-c-case, then please, God, let me see Kaya for one l-last time!'

He cried and sniffed, before his thoughts wandered somewhere else. He sniffed again. "Heaven smells like cooked fish?"

Luffy turned his gaze towards the now moving body on the chair next to his, covered from face to toes by a quilt. "Usopp!" He exclaimed as he stretched his hand to pull away the upper edge of the quilt that was covering his face.

The sniper's muffled voice grew louder, and his face was now clear.

"Please, let this—" Usopp shut his mouth when he saw his captain grinning in front of him. "Lu-Luffy?"

"Oh, Usopp. You finally woke up."

Another voice caught Usopp's attention. He turned his head to see Zoro, who was drinking from a medium-sized mug, not even looking his way. The sniper also took note that they were all currently sitting around a circular, wooden table, which was full with plates of food, and glasses and mugs of drinks. He could suddenly sense himself getting angry. He then looked back at Luffy and shouted. "Were you trying to kill me? You wrapped me way too tight! I couldn't move at all and it felt like I had no air, Luffy!"

Luffy scratched the back of his head. "I thought you might be cold, so I asked the nice lady from this place for something that could warm you up," he simply said.

"Cold? It's way too hot out here, Luffy! How can you even—" Usopp paused, then turned his head to his right, and then left, finally noticing that he had no idea where he was.

He calmed himself after looking around for a while. He noticed that they were currently inside what looked like a small inn. "Why are we here?"

"We came here because they sell great meat!" Luffy exclaimed, taking a bite of his food from his almost empty plate.

"I see, I see." Usopp nodded twice as if understanding the reason, before realizing that was not the answer that he was looking for. He then yelled at Luffy again. "Argh, no! I meant, why aren't we on Sunny? Where is this place?!"

Zoro shrugged. "No idea. We woke up this morning in the middle of a meadow. Then, we saw a village not too far away from us, which is this one, and decided to head here for some answers." Zoro finished the rest of his drink in one gulp.

"And did you find anything?"

"Not really. We asked around some people, but they were either stupid or scared, for some reason."

Usopp tried not to slap his own forehead. He could easily picture how everyone would get scared if someone like Zoro began questioning them. He also wouldn't be surprised if Zoro took out his swords to threaten the ones who had annoyed him.

"So… what happened then?"

Luffy butted in. "We just looked around the village to find the others," he said, pouting. "But this place is so boring. Everything looks sad. It's not as cool as those statues!" Zoro shrugged when Luffy turned his gaze to the swordsman.

"Sad?" Usopp asked.

Luffy nodded, turning his gaze back to the other Straw Hat. "Yeah, but the view outside this village is awesome! Everything is colored. You have to see it, Usopp!"

The long-nosed pirate was now confused. He shook his head before staring at the ceiling for a while, trying to figure out what he last remembered. Shortly after, his gaze drifted towards his crewmates. "You woke up in the middle of a meadow and you don't remember how we got here?"

Zoro and Luffy shook their heads.

"What is the last thing you remember then?"

Zoro crossed his arms, and thought for a second. "I was sleeping."

The swordsman earned a glare from Usopp, who was not satisfied with his answer.

He then continued. "But then everyone started talking. The noise woke me up, so I went over to them to see what's up. That's the last thing I remember."

Usopp turned his gaze to his other crewmate.

Luffy had just finished eating by the time Zoro was done. He then looked at them and said, "Torao and Nami."

Usopp blinked.

Zoro raised an eyebrow.

Luffy went on, ignoring their reactions. "They were talking about something. But I can't remember what," he said, picking his nose. "That's really weird."

"Oh, that's right. The last thing I remember was playing cards with you, before you stretched your head up to those two." Usopp then groaned. "It has to be his fault."

"Whose? Torao's?" Luffy shook his head. "It can't be. He's a good guy."

"Well, someone must have done something."

Zoro got up, reached for his swords, and looked at the other two. "The only thing we did find out was the name of this island, which is Sko-Land, and that there is a huge city on the other side of this island." He started walking towards the exit of the open house. "Now that you're up, I say we better head out there. There is a good chance of finding everybody else in that place. If they're not on Sunny already, waiting for us."

For once, Usopp agreed with Zoro. But before he got up, Usopp tried his best to eat what food was left on the table. He was hungry, and he wanted to order some more food, but they didn't have any more time to waste.

Once Usopp felt content, he and Luffy followed Zoro's tracks as they all went outside.

The sniper gasped when he finally took notice of their whereabouts. The village looked horrible. The air smelled like dust. The houses were built poorly—the ones that were at least fully built, and the atmosphere around felt awful. It was evening and the streets were already empty. Well, almost empty. Usopp spotted a few people walking around the small streets, holding huge bags with what might have been food, or things that they needed. It looked just as if their lives depended on what they were holding in their hands or on their back.

Usopp felt bad about it. They must've been living a hard life. The village was also very small, as he could see the ends of it. He wondered if the city they were going to visit looked the same.

As they were walking, Usopp reminded himself of the little inn where he woke up. Even if the place looked like it was going to fall apart any time now, the food they served looked and tasted all right. As soon as he remembered that thought, a question hit him. He turned to his captain and said, "Where'd you get the money to pay for that food?"

Luffy only chuckled in response.

Realization dawned on Usopp as he immediately grabbed his pocket-bag. He opened it, his face full of despair, and discovered that half of his money was missing.

O O O

Law and Nami were once again passing through the crowds as they were walking around the city. They had left Lovely Green a few hours ago and ever since then, they had gone back to asking around the locals to seek out more information, before they were about to look for any sign of the Marines.

However, the citizens didn't help them much. Most of them gave them confused looks when they were asked about navy soldiers or the Den Den Mushi, while others pointed towards the city's hospital as a sign of them needing to consult a medic. Such actions only resulted in Law getting angry. At some point, Nami could have sworn that she heard Law mumbling to himself about him already being a doctor and that he did not need the treatment of anyone else.

It was now official that there was something completely wrong with this island. After an entire day of looking around and talking with the locals, the two didn't come up with any relevant information.

Instead, they were left with more questions.

What kind of island was this? Nami shook her head. She really had to stop making herself feeling even more worried than she already was.

She decided to look up and stare at the sky. The stars could be seen clearly now and she had to admit that the view was pleasing. Whenever Nami felt aggravated by this place, she'd just enjoy the view.

While they were making their way out of Grand River, she turned her gaze to admire the small lights that were floating around the statues. They looked even better now than they did before, when the sun was still up. She wondered how those little lights could float in the air. There were no wires binding them together to the statues, or to anything else. They were simply floating—flying, like fireflies.

She smiled nonetheless, appreciating the way they completed the rest of the picture. She turned her head to gaze at Law, and noticed that he, too, was looking at the same thing. His usual stern look was replaced with something else.

Curiosity.

The thought pleased Nami.

But she decided not to talk to him about it. If anything else, she was just glad that he wasn't as grouchy as he had been the first half of the day.

"Where do you think the Marine Base could be located?" she asked.

Law shifted his gaze to meet hers. "Since no one seems to know, it must be hidden somewhere outside the city," he said. "Someone also mentioned something about the little villages located at the other end of the island, so we could look around there as well, after we're done with the east side."

Nami nodded. For a second she thought that they could call it a day. They had done enough and it was already dark outside. But Nami believed that if she wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible, she had to concentrate on the matter only.

The two left the main area and walked towards another street, one that they had briefly visited before, when they had to ask the people who lived around there. This time, however, they were planning to see what was on the other side of it. The street was covered in blue. The houses, trees and mostly everything else was blue; and if Nami didn't know any better, she'd guess that this area was the Blue District.

Since she had seen most of the big parts of the city, Nami memorized the rest of the districts as well. There were four of them, and they all lead to the circular-shaped central district, Grand River. There was the Blue District, Yellow District, Red District and Green District. It was easy to figure out the names of the main streets, since each of them corresponded with the color of the place.

Nami then looked to her right, noticing the river flowing in the middle of the wide street, which created a narrow path where the people didn't walk, instead the purple water passed there. It didn't affect the citizens in any way, since there was enough space on both ends of the riverside for people to walk, visit the countless shops and enter their homes. If Nami remembered right, the river flowed from the end of this area to the Grand River and continued through the Yellow District. The ends extended outside of the two districts, leading to the smaller streets and alleys, until it reached the sea.

"Could this island possibly be unprotected?" Nami asked, looking at Law again. "I mean, besides those guards near the sea. Do you think that there is really no need for the Marines to try and keep any pirate ships away from this place?"

"As I recall, no one mentioned ever seeing visitors on this island, especially with the problem regarding the sea. However, we woke up in here. In one way or another, we were brought to this place."

"I also didn't see any inns that could keep guests for the night. It's just as they say. No one new comes around here, so basically there's no need for rented rooms where people can stay," she said. "But you're right. There should be a way since we are here."

"As far as I've seen, there are no other pirates around here either, which could explain why there are no soldiers patrolling around the place." He assumed.

Upon hearing his words, Nami clenched her fists, feeling an empty pitch in her stomach. She never experienced a situation such as this, and most importantly, she never expected it to be without her crewmates.

"Do you think the others are here as well?"

As low as her voice was in that moment, he heard her very well. Yet he did not say a word.

Law could not respond to her question when he did not know what the answer was.

O O O

The two pirates passed the small alleys and finally reached the shore. Once again, there was nothing much around them but sand. Nami looked at the sea and spotted some guards standing at its edge. The distance between those men and them was big enough to not catch their attention.

She looked around, noticing that it was the same as the other part they had visited when they wanted to know about the abilities of the water.

Something, however, was different. When Nami looked to her left, instead of seeing nothing but sand, her eyes met a narrow path, made out of rocks, created right above a small portion of the sand. The direction was straight forward, no left turns that would head to the small houses. It just followed along the sea, as if one wanted to walk on it and make a tour around the whole island, or half of it, since it didn't appear to be complete.

Law noticed it as well, and they made their way towards it. It began out of nowhere, as if someone was too lazy to continue working on what they had already started. They stepped on the first pebbles, slowly walking on the slightly bigger rocks, until they were all similar to each other and it was easy to walk on.

Law looked ahead, trying took catch a glimpse of a sign or something that suggested an explanation, but couldn't see anything helpful. He was about to tell Nami to head back, when the unexpected happened.

Both Law and Nami looked down to their feet, wide eyes glued to the rocks below them. The dull shades of the grey rocks transformed into several other colors in that exact moment. They were all glowing red, blue, yellow, brown, and every other color that could have possibly ever existed. The once simple rocks that they had stepped on at first were now something completely different. Their shapes and sizes were the same, but the way they looked, the colors—the strong pigment coming out of them like small rays, was like nothing the two had seen up until now.

"W-what…" Nami gasped, too confused by the sight to say anything else. She took a step back to look under her feet. Nami then traced her eyes to the road, looking straight ahead as she noticed that the entire road was now colored.

Law bent down and took a stone—a red stone—in his hand. He inspected it for a few seconds, and noticed its glow, radiating strongly, and leaving a trail of dark pink shadow on his palm. After his failed attempts at trying to come up with an explanation, he decided to put it back down. He had thought for a bit, however, that it might be a hint, and that maybe by walking on this road, they could end up at another point on the seashore which actually mattered. An important part of this island.

The two looked at each other and nodded, thinking the same thing.

After taking a few steps, Nami looked to her right, noticing a few guards, who didn't seem to mind them being there. "Should we ask them if it leads anywhere in particular?"

Law shrugged one shoulder. "Do however you want. I doubt it matters."

Nami stopped in her tracks and snorted. She faced one of the guards, who was no less than a few feet away from them, right on the shoreline, and waved.

"Hello! Do you know where the end of this road is supposed to reach?" Nami half-shouted, trying to catch his attention.

The guard didn't reply.

Nami blinked, then asked again.

Nothing.

Not a single guard turned their gaze towards the two pirates. They were just standing in their spots, unaware of their presence.

Nami decided to walk towards one of them, leaving Law behind.

"Hello!"

One of the guards turned around. "Miss, what are you doing out here?"

"I wanted to know where that colored, stone-made road could lead," Nami said. "My, uh—friend and I decided to take a long walk and we ended up here."

"Well, you better go back the way you came then. There's no other road that leads back to the Blue District."

"What about that one?" Nami pointed behind her.

"Which road?" The guard looked behind her, but didn't see anything. "I suggest you go back, miss. It's already night and your friend isn't out there." He patted her shoulder, gesturing her to turn around and leave.

Gone? Nami turned around and saw Law standing in the same spot. She looked back at the guard and said, "He's right there."

The guardian sighed. "There's no one out there. Look, I will ask for someone to walk you home."

Nami's right eye twitched in annoyance and she walked away from him, making her way to Law.

That man must have been blind or something. How could he not notice Law? Hell. Anyone could notice that guy. The way he was dressed and his face were the only things needed that could catch anyone's attention.

"Miss, wait! You should—"

Nami ignored his words and came up to where Law was standing.

"Useless?"

"More like dumb," she retorted.

Law smirked for a fraction of a second, before Nami could even catch it. The two were about to walk on the road once again, when the guard came, standing a few steps away from the two of them, looking around desperately.

"Miss!" He shouted while looking around, scratching the back of his head. "Where did she go?"

Nami observed him for a few seconds before answering, with a raised eyebrow. "I'm right here..."

The man was still walking around, ignoring both her words and presence.

"What is wrong with him?" Nami mumbled, waving repeatedly at the man who was standing right beside her now.

"He can't see us," Law said.

"What? Why?"

The two looked at the guard. He walked a few more steps forward, and did what neither of them ever expected to do.

"Oh, my God!" Nami cried, running her hands through the roots of her hair.

Law opened his mouth to say something, but immediately shut it. He was stunned, to say the least.

The guard had passed right through them.

"I—is he a gho—ghost?" Nami covered her mouth, trying her best not to scream as she instantly stepped sideways. "Oh, God…"

Law tried to take hold of the guard's collar, only to wave his hand through the man, feeling nothing but the wind blowing from the sea.

The said man took another look around, before heading back to the shoreline.

Law looked at the man's back, before turning his head to Nami. "What did the two of you talk about back there?"

She didn't answer.

"Nami-ya?"

Silence.

Law realized that she was in shock. He grabbed her shoulder to catch her attention, but her body didn't respond to the contact.

Law gently shook her several times, trying not to scare her even more, but before Nami could say anything, her body slowly leaned towards him, ready to fall.

He caught her fast enough with his free hand before she could hit the hard rocks. "Nami-ya, are you okay?"

His right hand was around her waist, holding her firmly against his chest, while he was slowly shaking her shoulder with his other.

"He is gone, Nami-ya."

It took Nami a while to get a hold of herself. She looked up at Law and noticed that he was looking right back at her. His face was not clear at first, but she slowly managed to make out his features as she fluttered her eyelids a few times.

"What is...? I—uh…I'm sorry."

Law eyed her movements, and noticed that she was slowly regaining more strength. He then let go of her and said, "Do you remember what you talked about with that man?"

Nami turned and faced the spot where the guard was currently standing. "He couldn't see you," she mumbled, still not fully grasping what had just happened. "When I pointed towards you and asked about this road, he didn't seem to see anything…"

Law looked at the rocks below them. They were not invisible or anything. Anyone could notice such a ridiculous looking road built in the middle of—

Law blinked slowly. He thought about the matter and looked back at Nami. "He touched your shoulder back there and nothing happened. This path is somehow invisible to him, and most likely to those other guards as well. As if it does not exist at all."

Law had heard about devil fruit users who could use their powers to make something—someone invisible, but this was slightly different than what he had imagined.

He was sure that there was somebody out there who did this, and he had a feeling that whoever was behind this, was the same person responsible for them being on this island. Though, if they couldn't find what they were looking for in one day, Law doubted that they could be able to get back on the ship any sooner.

Nami narrowed her eyes. She was about to say that it couldn't be possible, but then again, she was pretty sure that she had told herself that same phrase a lot that day. "Well, he didn't hear me at first, which would make sense." She rubbed her cheek with her thumb, thinking about the problem. "So then, he can't see us while were standing on this road?"

"I suppose."

"But anyone could phase right through us while we're standing on it?"

"Apparently, yes."

"And ghosts aren't behind this..."

"Not as far as I know."

"But how did I see you then? When I went up to him, I could clearly see you."

"I'm not the one who holds the answers to what's going on, Nami-ya." He glared.

Nami frowned. "That's it. I'm going back."

She was about to turn and leave when Law grabbed her arm. "I think we should see where this path leads."

"No. Something tells me that it's not a good idea. This island is weird enough as it is already." She felt the pressure tighten on her forearm. She looked up at him and glared.

Law realized it and pulled his hand away. He had told himself that day that he wouldn't anger her. The two of them needed to get out of this place safe. Together.

They locked their gazes, and Law saw her stiffen. She was angry, bothered and most likely hesitant.

"It might lead us to the others, Nami-ya."

His voice was calm, and for a moment, Nami was quiet. She kept looking at him, trying to figure out if he actually meant what he had said, and somehow, Nami hoped that he did.

The navigator closed her eyes long enough to take a breath, before she opened them to fix her gaze on the road. "You might be right."

Her voice was different this time. She seemed determined, and Law for one, was at ease with that.

"Very well."

The two pirates began walking next to each other on the glowing rocks. Neither one of them said another word.

O O O

For a while, it was quiet.

The walk felt more like a late-night stroll for someone who needed to relax. In some way, Nami got used to it. The gentle wind was blowing her hair to the side, her long locks dancing in the air. The waves were making their way to the shore, one by one, like a rhythm with a pleasant sound.

Nami pushed the thoughts that reminded her of the guard away, and she slowly began to ponder on the view again. It was the only thing that she liked on this island, and it was the only thing that she was thinking about right now.

The silence broke once Law heard Nami chuckle. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking about this island. Despite it being messed up, the place looks lovely. It feels…magical." She half smiled. "Like a dream."

A dream.

Law recalled the events of that morning. He remembered telling himself the same thing when he had first woken up. The tall captain stared ahead and considered that option.

At first, he kept thinking that someone was behind this whole thing. That there was someone out there who must have brought them to this place, and right now they were most likely trying to play with their minds, or that maybe there was just something more to this island than he could not understand yet. He still strongly believed that someone was behind it.

But another part of his thoughts were considering the possibility that it wasn't real at all.

But a dream.

A dream they could remember for the rest of their lives in that exact moment, recollecting everything that had happened that day, when in reality, it only happened in a few minutes, only before waking up and forgetting all about it in a matter of hours.

The two pirates thought about it, and considering the situation, they added such a possibility to their list. Although, if that was the case, they couldn't help but wonder one thing.

Why were they in the each other's dream?

O O O

A/N: A new chapter, finally!

I kinda liked how it turned out.

I'd like to thank van0koko, my new beta, who has gone through the previous chapters to edit where it was needed, including this one. Now the small mistakes are gone. Thank you VK!

Kagehime3: I'm so glad you enjoyed that part! It was fun to write, hehe.

Son of Whitebeard: Thank you! The island is pretty much essential in the story, so I'm trying to describe it as best as possible.

Hanasho: You will see! I'm not done with this island, hehe. Don't worry, I appreciate it a lot!

TheLastNumberOfPi: Thank you very much!

Keke xp: Of course I am! I am sorry for the late updates, though. I've been pretty busy, but I will try to update faster. Thank you! That's what I was going for actually. A sort of side arc that happens between the main ones, like those fillers in the anime.

AwaitTheRise: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

Is a flying cookie 22: I'm glad you like it!

Apple21: I'm happy to hear that! I promise I won't.

AmethystTail: Thank you! I will, hehe.

I'm glad to know that many enjoy this story already. It might be slow right now, but I'm trying to make it a long fic. I don't wanna rush the important stuff. I hope you will continue to read it.

Let me know what you think by dropping a review. They really do encourage me to go on and they help me out to know what you think about each chapter!