A/N

Regarding an unnamed Guest review on Ch14 at Aug 21: I'm not changing this story's rating. I haven't written anything graphic or explicit, and I'm sure that 13+ y.o. can handle it no problem. If not, they shouldn't be on the Internet altogether. I put a warning at the beginning of previous chapter for a reason, too.
There will be no romance in this story. Not with Nami, not with Robin, not with Hancock, or any other girl/woman. The same with slash. No romance with Zoro, or Law (even if it breaks my heart to state that!), or any other male. If you can live through this chapter, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to handle the rest of the story :)

Betaread and final touches done by The Patient One!

Chapter 15. Chasing the Nightmares Away

A serene smile found its way onto Nami's lips from that line of thought, vanishing completely a moment later when a blood-chilling scream from below pierced the peaceful night's silence.

Nami hastily climbed down from the crow's nest to check whatever was happening downstairs. The instant her feet touched the deck, the hatch to the boy's room slammed open. The thief jumped, startled by the loud bang, and turned to look at that direction.

Bareheaded, Luffy leapt out from the inside and immediately started to look around the ship wildly. He had his back turned to Nami, and hadn't noticed her approach.

"Luffy?" the navigator called, touching the boy's shoulder to get his attention. She hadn't expected him to swivel around so fast, absolute terror and despair etched on his face. Nami flinched when Luffy smacked her hand with a considerable amount of strength.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, backing away from her. "Go away! You're not real!"

Nami just blinked at the teen's actions and words, ignoring the throbbing of her hand, but pulling it to her chest nonetheless. She couldn't understand why he acted so scared, completely out of his mind from fear which was simmering openly in his obsidian eyes.

"I guess now we know why he wasn't sleeping."

Zoro's voice right behind her startled Nami, and she briefly glanced at the swordsman who stopped at her side, before looking back at Luffy. "What happened?" she asked.

The swordsman rubbed his jaw where Luffy punched him when he had tried to wake him up, staring intently at his captain. Luffy backed away from them until he hit the wall. "One moment we were all sleeping, and the next Luffy woke us with his screams," Zoro replied. "I don't think he realizes what he's doing right now."

They needed to shake Luffy out of his nightmare or hallucination, whatever it was, but Zoro was wary about approaching him in that kind of state. He got punched halfheartedly while trying to get ahold of his flailing arms, but nobody was able to tell whether the rubber boy would attack them for real if he felt cornered.

Luffy suddenly stilled. His eyes stopped darting around and fixed on the people in front of him. The overwhelming terror was pushed to the side by steely resolve. His hand slipped behind his back. Fingers slowly curled around the handle of the dagger.

Zoro felt his stomach churning as his eyes followed Luffy's hand, and he realized what the boy was thinking. "Wait, Luffy, what are you doing?!" the swordsman exclaimed, stepping forward. "You're safe here! Nobody is threatening your freedom, so just calm down!"

Nami and Usopp, who climbed onto the deck after Zoro, shared a bewildered glance with each other. None of them knew what their swordsman was talking about, and why all of the sudden he seemed on a brink of panic.

"Shit…" Zoro muttered when there was no recognition sparking in Luffy's eyes. "The hat!" he shouted unexpectedly before turning around. "Where is his hat?!"

"Uh, I think it's still down in the room," Usopp answered.

"Go get it."

"How does the hat hel–"

"NOW!"

The long-nosed teen sprang to action and clambered back down into the men's room without any further questions. He emerged from below after several seconds with Luffy's straw hat in hand. Zoro grabbed it, and quickly strode towards his captain, closely observing his hand behind his back.

The swordsman was within a few feet of him when Luffy drew his dagger. In one swift motion, Zoro gripped the blade, successfully stopping it mid-move, and jammed the straw hat on the teen's head, praying that he would be right about it.

Luffy's tensed frame sagged instantly. His unoccupied, trembling hand rose and gingerly brushed over the hat's rim before clenching it tightly.

"Are you with me, Luffy?" Zoro asked, still holding the dagger's blade in his palm.

The boy flinched at the voice. He lifted his head and stared at his nakama. "Zoro," Luffy finally whispered. His eyes drifted to the side, widening at the sight of his drawn dagger and Zoro's blood dripping through his fingers onto the deck. He looked back at the swordsman, his eyes suddenly guarded and wary. "I'm sorry, Zoro."

Zoro's gaze lingered on his face for a bit longer, trying to ascertain if Luffy was truly fully there. Deciding that it was safe, he unclenched the fist from around the blade, and grunted, "It's fine."

Nami and Usopp let out the breaths they were holding once they heard Zoro's statement. The swordsman turned around, leaving Luffy to stare at his retreating back, and without a word went down to the men's room. Usopp scrambled after him in haste, muttering quietly that he'd help him to bandage his hand.

Luffy's eyes flickered to his dagger, coated in his nakama's blood.

He thought he was able to shove all those memories aside, bury them in the deepest layers of his mind. He thought that he could hold those night terrors at bay, that he already got over the nightmares and flashbacks. He thought that they didn't have any hold over him any longer.

The teen's grip on the dagger's handle tightened as he narrowed his eyes at it.

No, he would not lose to them and all the horrors they inflicted on him. He would show the world that they were unable to break Monkey D. Luffy, the future Pirate King!

"Luffy?"

Luffy glanced up, meeting worried brown orbs of Nami's eyes. That's right, he was not alone anymore. Hopefully, he would never have to be alone ever again. A ghost of a smile crossed the rubber pirate's features from that thought.

"You can go to sleep, Nami," Luffy said, brushing the blood from the dagger with his fingers. "I'll take over the night watch."

Nami wanted to help, really wanted to say something to comfort Luffy, but she couldn't find any words to tell him. She was a damaged person herself. The night when she cried into his chest was still fresh in the thief's mind. Luffy managed to give her what she needed most at that moment: the strong presence beside her who overshadowed Arlong's threat. Nami was weaker than Luffy. She couldn't become the pillar he would be able to hide behind from whatever demons were haunting him.

And Nami hated that all she was able to do was to mutter, "Okay. Good night, then," and turn her back to her captain.

Doing so, Nami missed a true, soft smile which curled on Luffy's lips. He knew that she cared, that they all did, and it was all he needed to push away the darkness that threatened to overwhelm him.

It was a nice, sunny day. The wind was almost down, so the Going Merry floated peacefully on the calm waters of the East Blue.

The ship was silent for the moment. All morning, Usopp played the hide-and-seek game with Luffy, and again lost miserably. Now, he was nursing his pride by crafting something in the lounge area. Trying to avoid being included in the teens' hide-and-tag game, Zoro climbed onto the roof of the lounge for his usual nap and was snoring undisturbed there. Luffy sat on Merry's figurehead, and with a smile observed the surrounding never-ending sea.

And Nami was standing on the stern deck, glowering at the wooden Bo staff in her hands. Being a thief who stole from pirates wasn't an easy profession, especially for a girl, so Nami had to learn how to wield a weapon. But there was no one around to teach her properly, so all her skills were self-taught, and consequently mediocre at the best. After witnessing sparring between Luffy and Zoro, the navigator started to wonder if she really was capable of defending herself in a pinch.

Remembering how Luffy spun his own Bo staff, Nami tried to copy that. She somewhat succeeded, until she decided to quicken her pace. The staff slipped from her hands, clattered on the floor and almost rolled off of the ship before the thief managed to grab it. She glared at it. Luffy used his weapon so masterly in both defensive and offensive techniques, but Nami could merely whack her opponents without any grace.

The thief peeked around the corner at the lonely figure on the sheep's head. She bit her lip, hesitating to go and ask him for some training tips. Nami didn't want to give herself additional reasons to like these people and get attached to them even more. This voyage was only temporary for her. Once she collected enough money, she'd have to go back. Arlong was probably already getting antsy because of her long absence.

Nami shook her head to disperse thoughts about that despicable Fishman. She took a deep breath and walked across the ship. "Luffy," the navigator called, once she reached ship's bow.

The straw-hatted teen glanced back. His gaze flickered to the Bo staff, Nami was holding in her hand, then back again at her face, and he raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Um, I saw you using a Bo staff," Nami started, uncertain. "It happens that I'm using one too, so I was wondering if you could give me some tips."

"Sure!" Luffy replied cheerfully, sliding from his spot to stand beside his navigator. "Show me your stance."

Nami blinked. Stance? Show him her stance? What stance? She glared at the staff again, gripped it with both her hands, unsure of what stance should really be, and looked at Luffy for guidance.

A light frown crossed his features, but the boy hadn't commented on Nami's lack of knowledge. "Can you spin it?" he asked instead.

The thief gritted her teeth while the blush dyed her cheeks, remembering how she almost lost her staff trying to repeat Luffy's spectacular spinning. "No!" she denied forcefully. "Why is it so important?!"

"It's the easiest way to get accustomed to your staff. A weapon can be just a tool you use, or it can become an extension of your arm. I'm sure you understand which one is better," Luffy explained. "You can ask Zoro if you want. He'll tell you the same thing." He waved in the direction where the swordsman was.

Nami turned to see Zoro sitting in his previous napping spot, observing them closely. Noticing her gaze on him, he nodded in agreement with Luffy's statement.

The rubber boy continued, "It also helps to train your hold on your staff. You can't afford to lose your only weapon in a fight." He smiled. "Here, I'll show you." Luffy stepped a bit further from the girl and motioned to her. "C'mon, attack me."

Nami snapped her head to stare at him. "What? I'm not going to spar with you!"

The straw-hatted pirate tilted his head in confusion. "We're not sparring. I just want to show you one move." After a pause, he nonchalantly added as an afterthought, "Besides, you can't hit me anyways."

The thief narrowed her eyes. Inability to land a hit on Luffy was extremely frustrating to her, and damn that Luffy's talent to taunt people with only his words!

Luffy smirked mischievously when Nami thrust her staff towards him, caught it easily with one hand and held firmly in place. "What are you gonna do in this kind of situation?" he asked.

The navigator stared dumbly at first, then vainly tried to yank her weapon out of the captain's grip. Luffy put one foot forward for better balance and brought his free hand down on the staff so hard that Nami squealed when it was violently ripped from her grasp. The black-haired teen wasn't finished, though. He slightly shifted position of his hands, twisted his wrist, and the other end of the staff promptly swung around and stopped merely an inch from the thief's top of the head.

Nami's eyes widened as she realized what happened, quickly stepping from under the staff.

"That's why you need to have a good hold on it," Luffy concluded, casually spinning the Bo staff. He did it slowly so that Nami was able to see how his hands moved. Then he stopped and extended the weapon for the girl. "It doesn't matter how slow you go at first. Now, practice!"

The thief took the staff without a word and tried to repeat what she just saw, with Luffy correcting her.

"What are you guys doing?" Usopp asked, coming up onto the bow deck.

"Nami is training," Luffy informed him.

"Training?" The liar eyed the orange-haired girl, twirling her staff with knitted brows in concentration. "Oh, I know!" he suddenly exclaimed, bolting to the storage room. "Luffy, come here to help me!" came a shout from inside.

"With what?!" the captain yelled back.

"With a cannon!"

Zoro leaned forward so that he could see Usopp pushing cannon out from the storage room. "Why do you need a cannon?" he asked, curious.

The sharpshooter looked up at him and shook his finger together with his head. "Tsk-tsk-tsk, Zoro, I see that you still have no idea of my position in this crew!"

The swordsman blinked at him. "And what is that?"

Usopp smirked. "I'm the great capt–"

"He's our sniper!" Luffy cut him off cheerfully as he wrapped his rubbery arms around the cannon several times and with one swift move lifted it easily from the floor.

The long-nosed teen gulped nervously at such display of power. There was no way that he would be able to stand against Luffy on equal ground. Usopp also guessed that because of all the mood swings, nightmares plaguing his sleep, and other haunting psychological problems, Luffy was probably not the sanest person in the world. Yeah, the sniper nodded to himself, agreeing with his own thoughts, there was really no need to aggravate his captain by claiming his position.

"Hurry up, Usopp!" Luffy called from the back of the ship. "I can see a rock in the middle of the sea, you can practice on it!"

"Roger that!"

Luffy stared excited at the rock, sticking above the surface, while Usopp made preparations to shoot the cannon for the first time.

"Judging the distance between here and the target… The wind direction…" the newly appointed ship's sniper mumbled under his nose. "This should about do it…"

The straw-hatted pirate suddenly froze as his mystery power picked up a human presence on that small rocky island. "Usopp, wait…!" he cried out, simultaneously shoving cannon to the side. It slid away slightly and fired. The shot caused recoil, and cannon rolled backwards, straight on Usopp's foot.

As his long-nosed nakama screamed from pain in the background, Luffy heaved a relieved sigh when cannonball plummeted into the water with a huge splash next to the island. He concentrated on it. There was a second presence there too, very dim and weak. The rubber boy frowned at that. "Nami!" he hollered. "Can we go to that rock?!"

"Why?!"

"There are people there!"

"…Alright!" an answer came after a short pause.

Zoro jumped from the lounge roof. "People?" he asked, a hand instinctively sliding on his white katana's handle.

Usopp lifted his head up from where he fell down, eyes still full of tears as he clutched his sore foot in his hands. "Eh, people?" he sniffled.

"Yeah," Luffy replied them both, turning around to face them. He couldn't fight an amused smile from the sight of Usopp. "Sorry about your foot," he apologized.

The liar glared at him. "You don't sound sorry at all!"

All crew gathered on the bow deck as Going Merry neared the rocky island. The first thing they spotted was an average sized boat with a small cabin and a mast in the middle of it. Then they noticed a person on the island. He was sitting next to another person, lying on the ground, but jumped up to his feet once he noticed the pirate ship approaching.

It was a man with a short black hair, sunglasses, and a black tattoo on his left cheek. He tightly gripped a sword hanging on his waist, before all of a sudden, a surprised expression appeared on his face. "Zoro-aniki?" he asked in disbelief.

"Huh?" Zoro squinted at the man, recognition crossing his features. "Hey, aren't you Johnny?!"

"Anikiiiii!" the stranger exclaimed happily.

"What are you doing here?" the swordsman inquired, then he looked behind Johnny at the second man who hadn't given any reaction to the pirates. "Is that Yosaku? What happened?"

The man clenched his teeth. "Yosaku is… He's sick."

"Sick?!" Zoro echoed, voice layered by surprise and worry.

"With what?" Usopp asked.

"I-I don't know… He was just fine a couple of days ago," Johnny recalled, sitting beside his friend again. His eyes were trained on the lying man, hunched shoulders showing despair and grief. "But then he turned pale and kept passing out! His teeth have begun to fall out, and his old wounds have reopened…" His voice grew shaky, and Johnny put a palm on his forehead. "I don't know what to do anymore. I was trying to let Yosaku get some rest here, but he's not getting any better!"

Luffy cocked his head to the side in thought. Where had he heard those symptoms before?

Johnny was crying now. "Yosaku and I lived and worked together as bounty hunters for years! Is this… how it's all gonna end?!"

Luffy remembered where he'd heard about it with a jolt. His brother gave him a very long and boring lecture about how he had to eat all kind of fruits and vegetables if he wanted to be healthy. "Maybe he just needs to eat some fruits to get better," he suggested.

"What?!" Johnny bristled, jumping on his feet again and grabbing a handle of his sword. "A no-name pirate dares to make a mockery on my partner's suffering..!"

"No, Luffy is right," Nami concurred. "Usopp, there are some limes in the storage. Squeeze some juice out and bring it here."

While the sharpshooter scurried off to the storage room, the straw-hatted teen turned to his swordsman and quietly asked, "You trust them?"

Zoro's attention snapped to him, but seeing that his captain was completely serious with his question, he nodded.

"Alright, then," Luffy accepted his answer. He motioned to Johnny and smiled. "Bring your friend onto our ship."

"He's afflicted with scurvy," Nami stated after Usopp brought a mug of fresh lime juice and with the help from Luffy was trying to make a bounty hunter to drink it. "If we're not too late, he should recover just fine in a few days."

"A-are you telling me the truth, aneki?!" Johnny shouted, ecstatic about the news.

"Please, don't call me that." The navigator scowled at him, but continued her explanation, "It's caused by lack of nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, so it's like Luffy said – you need to eat them to stay healthy while sailing."

"Wow, I'm surprised you knew that, Luffy," Usopp commented.

"Shishishishi!"

Suddenly the sick man opened his eyes, blinked dumbly at all the people around him, then leapt from the floor with a joyful yell, "It's working! I'm recovering!"

Johnny grinned at his friend, hooked an arm around his, and they started to dance around. "Haha, my partner's fine now! Welcome back!"

Nami's eyebrow twitched. "You don't recover that fast!" she shrieked.

The two men stopped, striking the same pose – one arm around their waist and another touching their jaw.

"Sorry for the late introductions," one of them said. "The name's Johnny!"

"And I'm Yosaku," the second one added. "We're pirate hunters!"

"Zoro-aniki used to be one of us, too," Johnny remarked. "It's a pleasure to meet you all!"

Yosaku bowed down. "I don't know how to thank you. I thought I bit the dust for sure."

"Zoro's friends are our friends," Luffy replied, giving them a friendly smile, "even if you're pirate hunters."

"Well, I'm so surprised! I never would've expected the infamous pirate hunter Zoro to have become a pirate himself!" Johnny babbled happily. Yosaku paled, swayed and lost his footing as the blood gushed out of his nose and mouth. "Whoa, partner!" his friend yelped, rushing to help him.

The pirates brought the bounty hunter inside for the so-needed rest and sat themselves around the main deck. The conversation went about various dangers they'd face on long voyages and how important cook's position was for the survival of the crew.

"As I've already told Zoro and Nami," Luffy said with a matter-of-fact tone, "a cook, a musician, and a fluffy one are the most important positions in a pirate crew. We're definitely getting them as soon as possible."

"A fluffy one?" Usopp asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Nami sighed. "Don't even try to understand that," she recommended. "That's Luffy for you."

"Fluffy… Luffy…" the liar mumbled. "Is it because of his name?"

The navigator frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Take the first 'F' from 'fluffy' and you get 'Luffy'."

Zoro snorted at that. Nami simply facepalmed herself, and Luffy seemed marveled by Usopp's idea.

"If you're looking for a cook," Johnny spoke, "I know where you could find one. Of course, getting one to join you is another matter altogether…"

The captain smirked confidently under his straw hat. "If there will be anyone worthy, I'll take care of it. So, where are we going?"

"The floating restaurant – Baratie!"

Luffy threw a last glance at the sea, sighed, and jumped from his favorite spot on Merry's figurehead. It was a late evening, and whole crew with their two guests was gathered in the lounge, whiling away the time remaining before they went to sleep. The rubber boy was the last one to join them.

Nami was sitting by the table and reading a newspaper, shuffling through the pages from time to time. Usopp was intently hammering something in his spot which he claimed as his 'workshop'. Zoro lounged against the wall, contently sipping from a bottle of sake. Johnny and Yosaku were sitting opposite of Nami, and imbibed lime juice with a great resolve.

Luffy stopped in front of Zoro, his face marred with a light frown. "Zoro," he called, drawing the swordsman's attention, "remember our bet?"

"You finally decided what favor you want to ask me?" his green-haired nakama asked, lifting his bottle to his lips for a sip.

"Yeah," the teen nodded. "Sleep with me."

Zoro instantly choked on his booze and went into a coughing fit. Nami ripped a newspaper in two, blinking owlishly at her captain, while Usopp smashed a hammer on his finger, but hadn't noticed, instead stared at Luffy dumbly. The bounty hunter duo spat their juice all over the table and gawked at the young pirate with remnants of it dripping from their jaws.

The straw-hatted boy frowned deeper, puzzled by their reactions. Did he just say something wrong again? Yeah, probably that. He turned to ship's guests. "Johnny, Yosaku, can you leave us for a minute?"

"S-sure, Luffy-aniki…" they both stammered out in unison, a small blush reddening their cheeks.

Once they closed a door behind them, Luffy faced Zoro again who finally managed to clear his pipe and now just gawked at him, completely dumbfounded. "My nightmares…" the teen trailed off, biting his lower lip. He took a deep breath and continued, "They are getting worse since I got sho–" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter… Thing is, they are getting out of control." All three pairs of eyes fixed on him widened as they remembered his horrible episode last night. "I used to sleep next to my brother… It helped." Luffy paused. "I just need to feel someone I trust next to me while I sleep."

A silence settled in the room after Luffy's confession. Zoro mulled over his words, remembering how this kid stepped in front of marines' rifles and stopped the bullets. And then the memory of small, round scars on Luffy's shoulders emerged from his mind, and everything clicked into place.

"Fine," the swordsman replied shortly, standing up from the ground and putting his sake bottle on the table. "Can someone take over my watch tonight?"

Usopp's hand shot up. "I'll do it!"

"I can replace Usopp in the morning," Nami offered.

Luffy smiled at his nakama. "Thank you."

Usopp carefully climbed down, trying to be as sneaky as possible. A small candle in his hand hardly lighted the men's room, but the sharpshooter wasn't bothered by it. He knew exactly where his hammock was. If he took a longer path to it past Zoro's sleeping space, it was just that – an accident.

Usopp stopped and glanced at two sleeping forms. Luffy was curled next to Zoro, his back leaning against the swordsman's side. He clutched his straw hat to his chest, and even though there was tension visible on his features, the teen was sleeping in relative peace.

A small smile appeared on the liar's lips. He looked up and winced when his gaze met sharp silver eyes.

Zoro nodded once, indicating that everything was alright, and Usopp stepped away from their hammock with his heart finally at ease.

Next Chapter: A Restaurant on the Seas