One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter Two Hundred and Nineteen-
"Usopp is willing to risk his life to fight me, he's more than just angry" Luffy calmly explained. "Besides, if just talking it over was enough to make things right, we wouldn't have come to this in the first place—that's all I have to say, so goodnight" and with that, he turned away. Leaving nothing more than an infuriated Nami glaring at him as I silently mulled over his words. It wasn't long before my shoulders eventually slumped as I heaved a sigh and let my head droop.
"Luffy!" Nami frowned.
"Maybe he's right..." I muttered, placing a gentle hand on the navigator's shoulder as I motioned with my head for us to leave since there was nothing more to say. It was clear that Luffy had made up his mind—it was clear that he wasn't going to change it no matter what we said. She was reluctant at first before finally, she heaved a sigh of her own as she nodded and followed.
"Both of you, shut up!" Nami snapped the second we entered the kitchen and saw that Zoro and Sanji were already starting to fight.
"Now's not the time for fighting" I scolded.
"She's right, there's been enough fighting already" Nami tiredly sighed, already looking practically drained by the events from earlier. "Whatever happened is over now..." she sadly muttered.
"I know, but this wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for him" Sanji growled, already starting to point fingers as he tried pushing all the blame onto Zoro.
"There's no point in pointing fingers, Sanji!" I frowned. "We're not children, this is serious."
"Oh, hey, you're back" Zoro remarked the second Chopper entered the room. "You were going after Usopp, weren't you?" he asked.
"Even if he was mad, I still wanted to treat his wounds" Chopper admitted, bringing a small smile to my lips. "But he turned me away—he found a place to stay, so at least he can get some rest. But...do you know what he said to me?" he quietly asked, dropping to the floor as tears started welling up in his eyes. "He said we aren't friends anymore, so I should leave him alone and just go back to the ship" he shakily sniffed.
"Oh, honey" I sat down beside the reindeer and quickly pulled him into a comforting hug, doing my best to soothe him as I rubbed my hand up and down his back the second he started clinging to my shirt and began sobbing. "I know...just let it all out..." I softly shushed, gently stroking the fur of his back as he let him cry it out.
"Just this morning we were all so happy and now...what?" Nami sadly asked as she looked around. "We lost Usopp, Robin's still missing...I feel like if we don't do something, the whole crew is going to fall apart" her worry caused a tense silence to wash over everyone, leaving nothing but Chopper's sobs to fill the room.
As ten o'clock rolled around, I disappeared below deck—retiring for the night down in the men's quarters. I had no shame in admitting to the others that I didn't want to witness the fight that was about to break out between our friends. Nami and Chopper tried to coax me to stay and watch with the belief that something might happen that could end up fixing this whole mess, but I had my doubts as what Luffy said earlier still swirled around in my head. It was Zoro who eventually got them to back off, leaving me to take my leave right as Usopp finally arrived just as he promised he would.
Lying there on the couch of the men's room, I winced at every explosion and muffled cry that came fluttering through the floorboards of the ship. Every sound that came seeping through those boards was nothing more than a bitter reminder of what was happening just outside...
Despite having taken to the safety of the room below, I could still hear their fighting.
Quietly, I sniffed as my chest began to painfully ache. Curling into a ball, my hands soon covered my ears as I closed my eyes and hoped that—by some miracle—everything would work itself out just fine and that this would all be over soon.
-The Next Day-
I tiredly sighed as I looked up at the cloudless sky from the top of the inn's roof. Zoro sat silently behind me, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist as he held me close. Chopper stood not that far from where we were, his gaze currently focused on Luffy who sat further away from everyone. No one said a word...not like there was really anything to say.
"So, this is where you've been—we went to all the trouble of renting a room, and no one's using it" Sanji remarked as he stepped out onto the roof. "I guess nobody can sleep, huh?"
"Hm" I only hummed, gaze still focused on the sky as I listened to the blond heavily sigh before walking over to Chopper.
"And where's Luffy?" he asked when he didn't immediately spot the captain.
"Over there" Chopper and I pointed.
"So…where were you?" the reindeer curiously asked.
"I kept lookout around the rocky cape all night" Sanji answered.
"Why?" I raised an eyebrow as I shifted around in the swordsman's grip and finally looked at the blond.
"I wanted to be there in case Robin came back" he explained.
"Smart thinking..." I mumbled.
"Oh..." was all Chopper had to say to the chef's reasoning.
"She never said anything about leaving, I wonder where she went" Sanji pondered aloud, causing my chest to tighten with worry...
Where exactly had she gone? Why did she suddenly disappear out of the blue like that? Was she hurt? Is she okay?
So many questions and yet...none of them could be answered as we found ourselves left in nothing but the dark...
"Ever since we've got to this island, it's been one bad thing after another..." Chopper sadly sniffed. "Our money was stolen, and then there's everything that happened to poor Usopp—he's injured, he could barely stand up, and now on top of everything else, he's probably got a fever" his breathing picked up as he began to list off all of the things that had happened since we've arrived on this stupid island.
"Chopper, that's enough" Zoro said, tightening his hold around my now shaking body.
"But he's right" I trembled, doing my best to hold back my tears as I now thought over everything the reindeer had just said. "Everything's just gone wrong since we've arrived here—Robin's gone, Merry's damaged beyond repair, and Usopp's just so badly hurt...and...and..." I sniffed.
"Don't talk about him anymore" Zoro said.
"I think I'll try looking around for her in town today" Sanji suddenly remarked as if attempting to change the subject and settle down the tension that had now begun to build up around us.
"Do you think we're going to find her?" Chopper asked.
"Who knows?" Sanji shrugged. "It's not like I have any place specifically in mind to check out, and I feel certain she's still here somewhere" he admitted, certain that she was still somewhere on the island. "If anything should happen, we should use this inn as our meetup point" he suggested.
"It's not like we have anywhere else to go..." I bitterly grumbled.
"I want to help, I'm going to come too!" Chopper suddenly proclaimed with newfound determination. Quick in deciding that he no longer wanted to just sit around and mope while one of our friends was still missing.
"Alright, then come on" Sanji nodded, motioning for the reindeer to follow before stopping as Nami suddenly came bursting through the door to the roof.
"Luffy!" she frantically shouted, immediately putting everyone on alert.
"Nami, what's wrong?" Sanji worriedly asked.
"It's awful! The whole city is talking about it!" Nami panted as she tried to catch her breath. "Luffy, listen to me! Last night, something terrible happened to Iceburg!" she shouted.
"Icepop from the shipyard?" Luffy questioned, immediately turning to face us as the woman's words now caught his attention.
"Yes, I heard he's still unconscious!" Nami wildly nodded as she quickly explained everything that she had recently found out about to us.
"I thought everybody in this city loved that guy, why him?" Luffy frowned, causing my lips to twitch downward at such a stupid question.
"Because it doesn't matter if everyone loves him or not, there's always going to be monsters hidden within plain sight no matter where you go" I spat. "There's always going to be people in the crowd who pretend to be just like everyone else—who pretend to be perfect and sane and generous when in reality they're nothing more than a horrible individual who wants nothing more than to see those around them suffer" I frowned, jaw tightening as I suddenly found myself thinking of my father. "Him being a beloved figure on this island only made the target on his back bigger, something like this was probably always going to happen no matter what—genuinely good people aren't really meant to last in this world, they're too kind for their own good..." I hatefully muttered.
"Skylar...?" Nami quietly mumbled as I averted my gaze downward, refusing to really look at her or anyone else as I curled my fingers into fists.
"Who are you talking about?" Sanji suddenly asked as he looked down at the paper in Nami's hand, both curious to know who this Iceburg fellow was and to get everyone back on the topic at hand.
"He's the nice man who helped us out so much yesterday" Nami answered after a moment of silence, her gaze hesitantly looking away from me and toward the blond. "The president of the shipbuilding company as well as the mayor of Water Seven" she explained.
"He sounds like an important guy" Sanji frowned.
"Yeah, it's pretty much the worst thing to happen to this town" Nami nodded.
"I'll go check on him!" Luffy suddenly offered before jumping down from the rooftop he had been seated on.
"Luffy, wait up! I'm coming too!" Nami shouted as she quickly chased after him.
"On that note, let's go look for Robin—come on, Chopper" Sanji motioned once the ginger was gone. "What about you two?" he suddenly asked, stopping to look back at Zoro and me before they left.
"Well, I think I'll just wait a while" Zoro answered. "See how things turn out."
"Same..." I mumbled, not quite in the mood to go searching for Robin just yet as my mind continued to swirl with unpleasant thoughts. Sanji only nodded before waving as he and Chopper finally took their leave, descending the stairs as the door leading to the room slammed shut behind them.
"What exactly did you mean earlier?" Zoro suddenly asked after a beat of silence, already turning me around on his lap as if wanting me to look him straight in the eye while he talked. "It almost sounded as if you've had personal experience with people like that before..." he quietly remarked.
"I was just speaking my mind, that's all..." I muttered, averting my gaze only to quickly look back at him the second I felt him gently take hold of my chin and tilt my head upward. I felt my cheeks flush as his lips now hovered just a few inches away from mine as he stared intently into my eyes.
"You're lying, there's something you're not telling me..." he breathed out, causing his warm breath to fan across my face and send a shiver down my spine.
"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not" I breathed right back. "We could probably sit here for hours and argue about whether I'm hiding something or not from you, but you should know me by now—I can sometimes be just as stubborn as you and anyone else on this ship when it comes to the things I don't wish to share" and with that, I gave him a small smile and peck on the lips, causing his face to grow slightly warm. Before either of us could say any more, our ears soon perked up to the sudden sound of an alarm.
"Your attention, please, your attention, please—this is the Water Seven Weather Forecasting Center, as of now, an Aqua Laguna severe weather warning has just been issued for the entire island" a woman's delicate voice announced from around the island. "Its arrival time is somewhere between midnight and twelve-thirty."
"I wonder what an Aqua Laguna is..." I curiously muttered, tilting my head as Zoro quietly mumbled to himself.
-Later-
"In compliance with the Aqua Laguna warning that was issued for the entire island earlier today, all docks on the shipbuilding island are now to be considered public shelters and evacuation centers" the woman from earlier suddenly announced as another alarm went off. "Large showers are to be expected, so please take shelter as quickly as possible. Additionally, keep in mind that Dock One is currently in a dangerous state" she reminded everyone.
"So Aqua Laguna's basically a dangerous storm—must be local here if they have evacuation centers and designated warning system..." I muttered as I pulled up the hood of my jacket. I chose something more casual this morning to wear, opting for a plain white tank top and jeans with a black jacket. Quietly, I listened as the people around me scampered about—all of them hastily preparing for the approaching storm. Shortly after the first alarm, Zoro and I had gone out looking for Robin together...although, it didn't take long before I found myself alone and now walking back to the inn now after having lost sight of the swordsman. Paying little attention to the conversations happening around me, I soon halted as my ears perked up to the sudden sound of paper crumbling beneath my foot.
"A newspaper?" I hummed as I bent down, picking up the crinkled and slightly torn pieces of paper underneath my foot. Carefully, I straightened it out until I could finally read the words printed out on the front page. My feet continued to guide me toward my destination until I came to another halt as I blankly stared at the front-page article and the three pictures that accompanied it. "We were all at the ship when this happened...," I mumbled, "we couldn't have done it—the only person not there with us would have to have been…Robin…" I couldn't believe what I had read as my eyebrows furrowed together. "But...she wouldn't do something so awful, would so...?" I asked no in particular, finding it hard to believe that she'd have the guts to do such an awful thing as shooting the mayor of this island.
Shaking my head, I crumbled up the paper once more and carelessly threw it back, ready to continue onward...only to stop as my ears perked up to the sudden sound of frustrated grumbles that came from right behind me. Curiously looking back, I chuckled the moment I saw that the newspaper had been blown straight back into Zoro's face by the wind. Quietly, I followed after him as he stumbled back before finally, he ripped the paper off his face and stared down at it.
"Wait a sec! Is this why everyone's chasing after me?!" he frowned.
"Guess so" I hummed, watching as he quickly lifted his head.
"There you are" he sighed in relief the moment he spotted me. "I need to get a leash or something for you, you keep getting lost" he softly frowned, quick to push the blame on me as to why we had suddenly been split up without warning.
"Yeah, I'm the one that keeps getting lost" I sweat dropped.
"Culprits in the assassination plot? Well, that sucks..." Zoro grumbled as he and I soon took refuge in one of the nearby alleyways so that we could safely read the newspaper without the risk of being hounded by the citizens of this city. "Looks like we can't go back to the inn now, we'd be out in the open" he realized.
"Yeah" I nodded with a sigh before curiously glancing back the second I heard fast approaching footsteps. "Oh, it looks like we have company..." I muttered.
"Hey! Who goes there? Who are you two?" the man who had spotted us quickly asked. "Over here! A suspicious guy and girl are hiding in the alley!"
-Later-
"Hold it right there!" someone shouted as we quickly ran from the crowd that now chased us. At some point during our chase, Zoro and I eventually ran into Nami and Luffy who were also being chased down by an angry crowd of people.
"Don't let them get away!" someone else shouted.
A/N: Enjoy
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