Chapter Text
"If I seem different somehow...I want you to kill me."
Zoro chews on the inside of his cheek. Ever since the crew went up against Kaido, the words had not once left his mind. It sounded idiotic—and whilst Zoro has spent more than enough time thinking about the 'why's', he just can't seem to make any sense of it. 'Before it's too late', he said, 'Before I hurt anyone'. Maybe Sanji was scared. Maybe he wanted to be cautious. Utterly cautious in a way that would only hurt the crew, but also kill him because why the fuck not.
Zoro wanted to believe that things would be alright. That it really was all just some shitty dream he had, or that he didn't hear him correctly due to King attacking him so ferociously that his hearing got damaged. That he wouldn't have to kill Sanji.
It would be a shame, really. Having to kill off the bastard after finally talking to one another like proper adults and fucking like tomorrow wouldn't come. He can clearly remember that night. The images were still vivid, as if it had been yesterday. Sanji came up to him and hugged him. Zoro couldn't tell if he was laughing or sobbing.
And then they talked. And that led to, after a painstakingly long amount of time, a confirmation of sorts. That they were more than just this amalgamation of feelings that neither of them could make sense of. Zoro knows he cried a little. For once, he didn't even mind.
What he did mind, however, was that the ship wasn't moving. Zoro had stationed himself on the deck, leaning on the railing as he watched wave after wave pass them by. Until they didn't anymore.
"Yo! Everyone! Emergency meeting, now," Franky spoke through the intercom he had recently installed. The cyborg found it to be more effective than yelling his lungs out every time he needed to make an announcement. They were still his own after all.
Zoro strode over to the Sunny's lounge, the fishes in the aquarium looking at him in all sorts of funny ways. Zoro had once joked that one of them looked just as ugly as Sanji due to its elongated tail and seemingly swirled fins. The blonde, however, did not appreciate the joke in the slightest.
"What's going on?" Brook questioned, concern lacing whatever parts of his face that could show it. Chopper took the liberty of answering, hoisting himself onto the couch as he cleared his throat.
"Nami is sick. She collapsed just now, and luckily Jinbei noticed soon enough. He brought her to me, but she's—I don't know," Chopper sighs, rubbing at his face with his hooves, "I can't make out just what she has, which is scary and plain awful because I'm supposed to know!"
"Do you think it'd be a better idea to head back to Wano for the time being?" Robin suggested.
"No. I thought about it, but it won't do much good. The entrance to Wano is too rough, even if we're able to take an easier route. We need to continue on until the next island and then immediately stop there. It's not as if I won't be able to do research on the Sunny, but it'd be better for Nami if we went ashore."
"Roger that," Franky hummed. "I'll stay on the lookout for any islands."
"Thank you, Franky." Chopper sighed in relief. "Nami is currently resting in her room. For the time being I'm just....gonna try, I suppose. I will ask you all to please keep the noise down."
Zoro shot Sanji a dirty yet playful look. But he never even dared to turn his gaze to Zoro. Right. One day he's hyper as could be and the next he's— whatever this emotion even is. Zoro has gotten used to that by now.
Nami was sick, big fucking deal. There was no need for Sanji to sulk so much about it. This has already happened before. She wasn't going to die.
Hopefully, anyways.
"She's been sick before. She'll be fine, Chopper, I'm sure you'll be able to help her," Zoro says. Chopper grins cheekily, rubbing at the back of his neck, a giggle accompanying it. Ever since they've met him back on Drum Island, that part of him hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Don't think you're going to get far with flattery, dummy—Oh, uhm, I guess that was all. I'm going to continue on with my research!"
"Then I'll take the liberty of making Nami a tasty meal whilst she heals," Sanji grins, clasping his hands together with that stupid grin he always has when he talks about Nami— or any woman for that matter. Zoro can't say he hates it, but at times he wishes he just— wouldn't. By now it's obvious it's more an act of sorts rather than anything else, and if Zoro were honest, he would rather have Sanji cling onto him than Nami or Robin. It hurt to see, in a way. That he'd rather be as vulnerable as he is with anyone that wasn't him. Made it feel as if Sanji didn't trust him.
The room emptied itself out soon enough, leaving only Zoro and Brook. The skeleton sat next to the swordsman, his head— or skull— cocked to the side.
"Are you worried about Nami?" Brook asked.
Zoro didn't want to admit to it, but Brook was annoyingly observant. Not a bad trait of course, but god could it get on his nerves. Zoro shrugged, his eye following one of the fishes that swam overhead.
"Hm. She'll make it. Don't see why I should worry over it."
"But you are worried, are you not?" Brook persisted, "I can see it with my own two eyes— oh, wait, I don't have eyes!"
"What are you trying to get at?" Zoro groans, sitting upright. Brook cleared his throat (despite not having one), his tone reverting back to a calmer one.
"Not much, really. More so trying to have a lovely chat with my lovely crewmate."
"Noted." Zoro sighed. The tension he's felt the past...well, while, really, hadn't done much good. Other than making sure Zoro couldn't sleep and thus letting the others sleep more as he took night watch after night watch. He supposes the constant stream of sheer anxiety coursing through his veins was at least good for that.
Zoro's afraid. And Brook noticed it. Zoro might not be the most social person ever but he's not dense.
"When we were fighting Kaido's crew," Zoro begins, "Sanji had called me via a transponder snail. Mid-battle, even."
"Oh, my, how scandalous. What did he say?"
"He told me to kill him if he 'changed '. It's been scaring the shit out of me ever since because I don't know if I can. I'm sure I won't have to consider it but still."
Brook falls silent. And he takes his damn time thinking, too. As much as it annoys Zoro, he lets Brook take that time. He's been through his fair share of things. He trusts the man.
"Have you told anyone else yet?"
"Nope," Zoro replies, "you're the first person I've told."
"I see. That must feel nice, having that secret off your chest." Brook taps his boney fingers on his knee, his gaze to the ground.
"Hm, just don't go telling anyone else. I want to do this in my own time."
"Of course! Hand on my heart that I won't betray you. Or, well, if I had a heart that is!"
Brook's laughter filled the room, earning a small grin from Zoro. He knew he could trust him as much as any other person on this crew— yet he's sure that none of them won't freak out about it, or at least get pissed that he agreed to such an idiotic proposal. But what else could Zoro even do? Shake Sanji silly in the hopes of having him take back what he said? That's not how the man worked. Sanji was as stubborn as could be. Zoro sighs, running his hand through his hair.
"Thanks. I think I'm gonna head back. Are you coming?"
"I will join you all soon enough." Brook answered, smiling (even though he doesn't have a mouth to smile with which was still odd to think about, let alone see).
Zoro found himself back at the railing of the ship, the waves finally moving beneath the Sunny. The faster the better, Zoro guessed. The sooner they found an island to dock at and get Nami to feel better, the faster they would be able to continue their journey. It's not as if Zoro wanted everything to be done and over with, no, far from it.
It's just that the possibility of Sanji doing something that might just force him to—
Zoro shook his head, pushing the thought to the far back of his mind. Nothing was going to happen. Nothing. He wouldn't allow it, damnit.
—
The Thousand Sunny. The embodiment of Franky's hard work. The home of the Strawhats. All of the good stuff any normal person wouldn't even dare to dream of. And here Franky was, manning the ship. He was lucky enough to have Nami help him when he decided to add in a radar to detect nearby islands. It was their priority to make sure she got all the rest she needed. And steering a ship isn't really something you do when you're sick, after all.
It took longer than Franky would've hoped or liked to detect something on the radar. The island seemed to be small, but still island sized. But there seemed to be something bugging the signal. Franky hit the radar softly a couple of times, cocking his brow. That was odd. His devices always work, no matter how simple or difficult its construction was. The cyborg took a look at the cables—maybe that was the issue at hand.
But of course, when Franky looked down, all the cables were lined up and tied together perfectly, just as they always have been.
"Usopp, mind giving me a hand here bud?" Franky asks through the intercom— secretly he really enjoys using the thing. But then again, who doesn't? He's already allowed Brook to play a couple of his songs through it, and Luffy had, jokingly for once, asked Sanji to make him more meat, which didn't go too well for his captain. This got Luffy 'banned' from using the intercom (but it's not as if they could really stop him if he really wanted to).
Usopp bursts through the door not too long after. There were two helms on the ship, one above deck and one below deck. The one above deck gets used the most out of the two, which is understandable— Nami mans that one most of the time since she doesn't really need any of the fancy equipment that Franky just finds to come in handy. The one below deck has additional graphs and screens surrounding it, a stark contrast to the open air surrounding the one above deck.
"What's up? Did something break?" Usopp asks, now standing next to Franky. Almost immediately, a small 'ohh' falls from his lips.
"Oh, come on— the radar's jammed?"
"Yeah, and I have no clue why. I know for a fact the Cola-supply is plenty, and the cables are untouched. So, it's either some outside force jamming it up or I somehow managed to make a machine that doesn't work, which I doubt," Franky sighs, rubbing his eyes, "so I need your input here bro. Because I don't make flawed machines."
"Well, hey, as much as the radar might be...." Usopp glares at the screen and watches the blue light flash and glitch into shapes it most definitely shouldn't be showing, "uh, y'know, showing odd behavior, we still found an island. That's a good thing."
"Fair point. But then again, that means there's something not cool about it. I don't think we should dock too close to the island, and take the Mini-Merry instead. I don't wanne risk it."
"Yeah, no, sounds good to me. I'll go tell the rest," Usopp responds. Franky watches the sharpshooter run off, now alone once more, the only thing keeping him company being the noises coming from the screens. He scans over them, trying to make sense of the mess in front of him. One graph says that the island is cold, another says it's warm, and the damn radar keeps showing different shapes that don't even look remotely close to islands anymore.
Something was out there. Franky knew it in his bones. He set course for the island, a feeling of uncertainty settling in the back of his mind.
That certain 'something' was going to creep up to them and crash their party.
—
"Everybody! Island up ahead!" Usopp yells out from the top deck. He quickly dashes down the stairs with Luffy on his heel, who had swung himself to the head of the ship. Sanji slowly emerged from the kitchen, an eerie look on his face that Zoro doesn't seem to recognize. The blonde's eyes seemed hollow—if that makes sense. Zoro can't see the life behind them like he usually does.
Forget it. He must be tired and simply seeing things.
Zoro lazily walked over to the rest of the crew, half-listening to whatever Usopp seemed to be rambling about. He couldn't be bothered by the details, really.
"So, yeah. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to put Nami and Luffy on the Mini-Merry first and then have the rest come over afterwards." Usopp suggests. No one seems to have any objections thus far.
"Uh, that's fine and all, but has anyone noticed that the sky is....not really sky-colored?" Jinbei mentions, pointing upwards.
Zoro's a sword-guy, not a weather-guy, though despite that, he was pretty sure that the sky wasn't supposed to look a light shade of purple when it was still in the middle of the day. The sun was still out, he felt it burning on his skin, so he must be at least a little correct.
"Oh crap! Hey, that might be what jammed Franky's radar just now..."
"I don't think it'll be too great of an issue," Robin interrupts, "I'm quite certain that this has to do with the magnetic field of the island. The only thing it'll truly affect is the log-pose, but that should be that. Or, I hope so, anyway. Who knows, maybe it'll lead us to a whole different dimension and kill us all."
"Not helping here," Usopp mutters through an awkward laugh.
"Yo! Let's get this show rollin'!" Franky shouts, earning a weak hit from Nami whom he carried in his metallic hands. Luffy ran ahead to get to the Mini-Merry with Franky and Nami following suit.
Nami was pale as a snake. She looked absolutely miserable, as if she'd been through hell and back all in the span of a couple of hours. This wasn't the same as the last time she felt ill— that was different. She wasn't completely knocked out. She could still move herself around. But this? This was unlike anything he’d ever seen her go through.
From what Zoro's gathered thus far, Nami and Luffy would go first. Jinbei, Brook and Robin would be next. Then Chopper would join him and Sanji, since he was small enough to fit between the two. Franky and Usopp would come last, since they had to make sure that The Sunny would be safe. Or so Zoro guesses, anyway.
Sanji waved at Nami and Luffy, watching them sail off towards the rocky beach. There were rocks and boulders scattered all around, almost as if it were some sort of wall. It was surely man-made— had to be. This didn't look anything like what mother nature herself would just form out of nowhere.
Next went Robin and Brook, with Jinbei swimming behind them. Sanji, again, waved, trying to desperately to catch Robin's attention. Zoro gently shoved Sanji with his elbow, as if trying to get him to cut it out. The cook growled, shoving Zoro in return with a grin on his face— Zoro really must have been seeing things then.
They were next, with Chopper too of course. The reindeer sat in front of them, half-squished onto the seat but still sitting comfortably. Zoro glanced at Sanji for the millionth time, the words repeating themselves as if it were merely the first time he's heard them.
"I need you to kill me."
Just what did it mean? Why would he have to kill him? For what? When? And how, if it ever came that far? Just with his blades? Zoro doesn't think he'd ever be able to use them again if he does.
Fuck, trying to decipher something as cryptic as that was giving him a headache.
Zoro had...liked, Sanji ever since he had laid his eyes on the bastard. He doesn't like using that word in the slightest. Made his skin crawl. He'd rather call it 'devotion', or something like that. It's easier to. The concept of devotion itself wasn't difficult for Zoro to grasp either— he considered himself to be decently devoted to his friends. And what is love, if not a stronger form of it?
"You have anything on your mind or do you just like staring at people?" Sanji suddenly snorted. Zoro turned his gaze back to the water, clearing his throat as if he didn’t know what the cook was talking about.
"No, it's nothing," Zoro said, "just thinking is all."
"Oh wow, that's a new one." Sanji has to really try not to laugh at his own joke.
"Now look who's talking."
"Whatever," Sanji hums, leaning back in his seat a bit. He whispers, and Zoro can feel Sanji's breath on his skin.
"What were you thinking about?" Sanji asks. Zoro turns away. Right now wasn't convenient. For starters, Chopper was here. And if Chopper got to find out about what he'd promised the cook, Zoro was sure that he'd tell everyone else. Their doctor wasn't one to hold secrets from people.
They would talk about it. Just now.
"You," is what Zoro eventually settles on. It wasn't entirely wrong either. Sanji playfully punches Zoro's arm, a mix of disgust (no real disgust, rather the disgust one would feel after looking at an overly sweet couple or the disgust you feel after tasting overly sweet and sour lemonade) and what Zoro hopes to be some form of admiration.
"Jerk."
"Asshole."
"Dumbass."
"Guys!" Chopper interrupts. Sanji chuckles and falls silent.
The rest of the trip to the island was spent in silence. Only the sound of the waves clashing against the Mini-Merry's wood seemed to accompany the trio. Zoro knew for a fact that the trip shouldn't take any longer than five minutes, yet it sure as hell felt like more. Every second felt like a minute, and every minute felt like ten.
Zoro's mind was playing tricks on him. He blamed it on stress. On the fight with King. On the fear he had felt when Luffy almost died but somehow didn't. Because no way in hell would Sanji change out of nowhere. Zoro was worried over a joke.
A joke. A very timed, very funny fucking joke.
Was it something that Queen had said? Must be. The bastard is a weird sort of cyborg himself, after all. Not as extravagant as Franky, but a cyborg, nonetheless.
Maybe Sanji's family— what was its name again, Germs? Germa?— was mentioned. Maybe Queen said something about them. And Sanji got worried. That made sense.
Whatever. What-the-fuck ever. If Zoro wanted an answer he'd have to ask Sanji.
The Mini-Merry came to a halt, and Chopper eagerly jumped out onto one of the rocks that surrounded the island, almost falling on his face as he did so.
Zoro doesn't know what exactly he was expecting but it certainly wasn't something as seemingly serene as this. The sand up close looked as white as any pearl, and the atmosphere was pleasant— it made him feel drowsy. Which was fucking bad because that meant that if they got attacked then he wouldn't be as alert. Seems like the others didn't feel the same, however. Luffy was as jumpy as ever, and Robin hadn't said anything dark about how the island made her feel yet. Zoro shrugged it off as the lack of sleep catching up to him.
A sudden, high-pitched shriek filled the air as Chopper took multiple steps back from a plant he was examining. He didn't seem hurt, or sad in the slightest. There was a smile on the doctor's face instead, and a bright one at that. A laugh quickly followed as Chopper rushed over to Nami, who had covered her ears with her hands by now.
"Nami, Nami! Oh, you have no idea what I just found!"
"You're too loud," is all the navigator groaned in return. Chopper muttered a quiet apology before clearing his throat and starting anew.
"Doctor Hiriluk has only showed me this in one of his books once, but I'm sure it's what I think it is. That species of flower is called the 'Pyrgos iroa', or 'Hero's tower', and they're rumored to have an all-healing effect! I thought it was a myth, but— it's here! There's about four different types of flowers, but only one truly heals. The other three don't. But that means it's gotta be on this island somewhere!" Chopper cheered, running back over to the flower to examine it further.
"Wow, now that's what I call an awesome flower," Franky chipped in.
"Indeed," Robin hummed, "but we'll first have to find the correct flower. And from looking at the sky alone, I don't think that's going to be an easy task. We are still unfamiliar with the islands' environment after all."
"That's not that awesome."
Zoro sighed. So now they were going to have to hunt down a flower somewhere on this cursed island. Cursed may be a harsh word to use, but still. Zoro never liked tedious tasks such as these, but he wouldn't mind it if it meant Nami would feel better.
What even got her sick in the first place? Did she get poisoned during the fight with Kaido? Or maybe she was allergic to something very specifically from Wano and now she was suffering from it? Only time will tell, really.
"Hey! I don't know what you want but hands up in the air!" A voice yelled out from somewhere. A group of people with guns— old ones, as far as anyone could tell— approached the lot of them. The front man of the group had his hair tied into a bun, some hairs jumping out here and there, with a most definitely not so pleasant expression on his face. Well, that explained the wall of boulders and rocks.
"If you even as much as try to set foot towards our village it will not end well, got that?" The front man said. The crowd behind him cheered, raising their guns up in the air in unison.
"We're not here to cause any mayhem," Jinbei said, "our friend is sick, and—"
A shot was fired up into the air, cutting Jinbei off.
"Sure. Oh, let me guess, you're here for a remedy, right? Lookin' for that all mighty flower so many people have come to our island for. Well let me tell you this," the front man sneered, taking a step towards Jinbei, "the sooner you leave the better. The last time some poor witted bastard came to search for the thing they didn't even manage to get past the forest! So don't bother wasting your time here."
That was quite the response. The people behind the front man seemed tense, as if they knew that they only had their words to defend them. It wasn't as if they were out to get everyone that stood in their way. That wasn't like Luffy— or anyone on their crew really. But of course, the booing crowd in front of them didn't seem to realize that.
"Might I sing you all a song then? Perhaps that will show you all we are not the evil you think we are," Brook proposed. Yet another gunshot was fired up into the air, which most likely meant that they didn't want Brook to perform for them. The skeleton laughed, stepped back and bowed.
"What a rusty crowd," he muttered.
"Y'know what? Either get moving or leave. You'll die in that forest, so that's yet another task we won't have to worry 'bout."
How nice of them. The crowd shouted with mixed emotions, leaving them an opening to get moving. Luffy ran off first with Nami wrapped in his arms. Multiple gunshots were fired their way, and they all followed their captain in a hurry.
The scenery changed from an open beach to windy fields with flowers scattered as far as you could look. The grass reached up to Zoro's hip. If the flower they were looking for was anywhere near here, then they were fucked. Sort of, anyways. The field looked more long than it was wide. But no forest in sight anywhere.
The smell however, good god. It was indescribably gross. Even Franky had trouble with it, and his nose is made of metal.
"Please don't tell me we're going to have to search here," Usopp whined, his expression matching the horrid stench.
"No, these flowers usually bloom in flat and baren environments, let's just get out of here as fast as possible," Chopper responded. He had pinched his nose with his hooves yet could still taste it in his mouth.
That was at least a relief. Zoro glanced at Sanji, who had no issue whatsoever with the smell. He stood his ground, as stoic as ever.
Zoro felt a lump form in his throat, most likely undeserving of its place there. The cook was acting stubborn. There was no way in hell he didn't at least think something about the smell.
Any, if not all of Sanji's movements were throwing Zoro off more than he would like to admit to. Maybe the way his hip swayed in a different way than it usually does, or maybe the way how he just seems to exist, really. Zoro doesn't remember ever having felt this stressed over a sentence. One single fucking sentence and he's pissing his pants every time he notices something he thinks is different but ends up being normal.
Stupid feelings. Stupid Sanji. Stupid everything. If Zoro could, he would put Sanji in a box and carry him in a bag for the rest of time. But that's not how the world works, sadly.
Zoro slowed his pace a bit, grabbing Sanji by his shoulder. The cook stopped in his tracks. Zoro ogled the distance between them and the rest before daring to speak.
"We need to talk."
"About?" Sanji asked oh so fucking innocently.
"What you told me. You told me to kill you if you changed, and— oh you have no fucking idea how much it has been bugging me. I don't get it. I know you told me to forget about it afterwards, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Because what if you do 'change'? Then what?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Sanji mutters, "I just wanted to be cautious is all. You can let it go."
"Let it go? You're kidding me, right?" Zoro sneers and oh boy does he look angry.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh yeah? Too fucking bad, we're talking about it now—"
"Zoro !" Sanji yells, almost a bit too loudly. The swordsman is taken aback, frowning. It's unlike Sanji to yell like that— heck, it's unlike him to even say his name.
"Just listen. I know what I said okay? But it doesn't matter anymore. Just forget about it. I'm..." Sanji pauses for a moment, takes a breath (regrets it, too) and crosses his arms.
"I'm sorry I made you worry like that. But it's irrelevant now. Okay? Irrelevant and stupid. Because nothing is going to happen."
Fine. Fucking fine. Zoro sighed— bad idea, holy shit was the stench horrid— and reached for Sanji's hand. The cook pulled away. Not in the mood. Noted.
"Are you done?" Sanji asked. Zoro nodded. At least they talked. At least— he tried. Zoro reached out and tried. He was just worried. But if Sanji truly thinks nothing is going to happen, Zoro will have to believe him, even if his mind is screaming at him something might happen. One doesn't just ask to be executed if everything were to be fine.
"Let's head back to the others," Sanji says. Zoro follows the cook. They walk in silence. And once again, Zoro doesn't know just what to think.
The field slowly changed to something more similar to a forest. Trees towered over them with flora and fauna decorating everywhere you looked. And that horrid smell was finally gone, thank god.
Nami didn't look any better. Luffy had been carrying her the entire time, which, in hindsight, was maybe a bit rough on the navigator. Luffy isn't one to slow down. But it was too late to turn back now.
"Where do we even go from here? This place looks like a maze!" Usopp whined, leaning against one of the trees. It was surprisingly bendy, the stem leaning to where Usopp was pushing it.
"Maybe it's best to split up. Then we can cover more ground," Robin suggested.
"Good idea! And again, one thing we'll have to look out for is open spaces and empty patches of ground. That's where it tends to grow really well."
Usopp sighed at what Chopper said. At least they wouldn't have to be crawling on the ground all the time in the hopes of finding it.
"No problemo! Who's joining who?" Franky asked. Before anyone could answer, the tree Usopp was leaning against snapped— like a toothpick. The tree came tumbling down, causing a multitude of birds, it seemed, to swarm overhead. On closer inspection, however, those birds seemed to resemble giant bugs more than anything. Luffy found it awesome— he loves bugs. The others really didn't. And Sanji— seemed indifferent.
Which was wrong. Sanji is deathly afraid of those suckers. Yet now, he simply stood there, lighting his cigarette as he looked up at them.
Zoro would have to start taking notes on him sometime soon.
"Whoops..." Usopp whispered, taking out his slingshot. At least the environment he had found himself in was convenient— perfect, even. This was the type of environment plants and life in general tends to thrive in. Sort of, anyway.
One of the gigantic bugs came swooping down, its legs extending to grab whatever found itself in its way.
Which, by the way, happened to be Brook. The skeleton yelped, almost dropping his hat as he was scooped up by the beetle.
"Hey!" Luffy yelled out. Gently enough, he handed Nami over to Franky and extended his arm to grab onto the bug, now being pulled along by it. In a way, it almost felt like flying.
Robin used her devil-fruit to 'toss' herself over to Luffy, latching onto him just in time to join him in their pursuit of Brook. The flock of bugs followed the beetle, which left the three separated from the rest in a not so intentional way.
"I swear it wasn't my fault! That tree fell by itself!" Usopp exclaimed in a panic, holding his hands up defensively.
"No one's blaming you," Sanji reassured.
"That...uh, sucks. But they'll be fine. This is Luffy we're talking about. Let's just get to searching I suppose." Jinbei sighed out. Such a dry environment wasn't optimal, but he'd live. They'd all live.
Jinbei shortly glanced over at Nami.
Damnit.
—
For once, Luffy wasn't fond of bugs. Not this one. Not when they were trying to harm his friends— no, his family. In no way would he let that slide. Why Robin decided to tag along, Luffy doesn't know, not that he minded it in the slightest anyway. The wind was harsh against his skin as the beetle soared through the sky with Brook in its front leg. He fit into it almost perfectly seeing as his waist was pretty damn small and boney.
The beetle eventually landed on a tree— it didn't bend this time. Odd. But Luffy paid it no mind. All he needed to do was make sure Brook was safe. When he looked down, he saw that the skeleton was dropped down onto the ground and immediately swooped up by someone else. Where was this all coming from?! Luffy groaned in frustration, looking down at the ground with a frown.
"Luffy," Robin said. She wiped down whatever dirt had latched onto her clothes, smiling in the way she always does. Classic Robin fashion.
"We have to chase after him! There's no time! You saw that other guy with him, didn't you?"
"I did, don't worry. We have to at least plan this out a little bit."
Luffy nodded. He doesn't like plans— not like he really follows them anyway. He didn't follow Law's plans, and the raid at Onigashima was definitely improvised for the most part. It wasn't like Luffy would've known he was able to access Gear five.
"I know. I already made a plan though," Luffy smiled, looking down at the ground once more. The man was now gone— wait, he was gone? Luffy scanned his surroundings repeatedly until he was absolutely sure that the man who had taken Brook had flat-out disappeared. Come on! Welp, no plan needed anymore.
"Crap, Robin he's gone!" Luffy exclaimed, wrapping his arm around her waist and jumping down. The beetle disappeared as they did, now no longer in sight. Out of sight, out of mind. As long as it stopped causing them trouble, Luffy didn't see the need to fight it.
The landing wasn't rough, but nowhere near cushioned. Not that Luffy cared. He put Robin down and looked behind bushes, around stones, anything really to find a trace of the guy. Was he sky-walking or something? The ground seemed untouched.
"Let me assist," Robin said. She crossed her arms over one another and hummed her all too familiar 'Cien Fleur ', eyes now popping up all over the place. It didn't take long for her to figure out where the man was headed with Brook, as she dashed off with Luffy following suit.
If this was going to be a repeated topic during their stay here on the silly-sky island, then they'd have to hurry and find that flower Chopper wanted to find. Else they'd be chasing one another more than actually searching. And that wasn't good.
Luffy hated seeing Nami like that. He was sure the others weren't a fan either, but this was now the second time this had happened. Just how many more times would she fall ill? Three times? Five times? Twelve?
It remains a mystery to what even caused her to fall as ill as she did. Couldn't have been something she ate— Sanji wouldn't let that kind of stuff happen. His food was always amazing and tasty and safe. So, the fact that a thought like that even dared to enter his mind made him mad. At himself, not Sanji.
They silently continued on— as silently as they could, anyway. Their path was full of leaves, the crunchy kind too. Luffy never minded the crunchy leaves, but right now he did. They needed to be at least a little stealthy! That's how sneaking up on people works. You're silent, and then you're not.
The man seemed swift. Swifter than Luffy liked. Not that it'd pose an issue. He'd just hit him really really hard, and then he'd force him to give Brook back. Punching people usually does the job fairly well.
"Oh, loneliness, my dear ol' pall, what have I done to have you treat me so well," Brook sang aloud, his voice faint but still noticeable. Luffy peaked through a bunch of leaves that Robin kindly lifted up for him using a couple extra llimbs, now getting a clearer view of the man. He was wearing very little clothing, a mere cloth that draped from his shoulder covering him up. A satchel sat neatly on his hip, holding more than just a couple of items, from what Luffy could tell. Else it wouldn't bulge like that.
"Can it, I've heard enough of your singing." The man snapped, now having finished tying Brook up. The rope work was sloppy, but not too sloppy, if that made sense. It's just kind of hard to tie up a skeleton is all.
"What's your name even? I have at least been kind enough to introduce myself," Brook pouted with his nonexistent lips. Most likely he was playing along because he simply wanted to, which was to be expected in a sense. The skeleton seemed nowhere near stressed, maybe a bit tense, sure. But truly, it seemed like he enjoyed annoying the guy.
"Fine! God damnit, my name's Morly. Ya happy now?" The man, now identified as Morly (what a silly name), hissed.
"Yes, definitely." Brook responded. It remained quiet for the next twenty or so seconds before the skeleton opened his mouth again. Morly almost threw his satchel at him.
"What do you even need me for? I must say, I am only a mere skeleton. If you wanted my assistance for something you could have asked."
"I need a sacrifice. I've been stuck on this shitty island because the villagers near Spring bay won't let me leave even if I have a raft, and that's the only sail-able exit and entrance. So, I'm going to try and sacrifice you to the island's heart and see if that does anything."
"Wait wait wait hold on— I must have misheard. Sacrifice, you say?" Brook questioned, now more tense than he was before. This wasn't good. And it only brought up more questions. Heart of the island? This island was alive ? Or was there a god? Like Enel? And how come that near Spring bay (which Luffy assumed to be the village from the angry gun-wielding people from before) was the only entrance? Were there more rocky walls around the island then? Too many questions with too little answers. Luffy thought his head might explode.
"You heard me. I am going to be sacrificing you. A creature as strange as you must get accepted by it," Morly muttered.
"A creature ? I assure you that I am just as human as the next person, even if I lack flesh around my bones!"
"I honestly could not care less." Morly growled, picking Brook up and hoisting him over his shoulder. He was light enough to be carried off like that. In that moment, the skeleton made eye contact (even though there were no eyes in his skull) with Luffy. And the laugh he let out was heartwarming.
"What's so funny? Did you lose your mind or something?"
"I assure you I do not have one, my dear friend," Brook responded. The skeleton winked at Luffy (somehow even though he has no eyebrows—you get the point) in a way that made Luffy grin just as brightly as Brook did. Robin sighed, getting as ready as she could to join in on the fight that would surely go down.
Before either of them could even do anything, however, a bundle of veins shot up from the earth, the color of them as odd as the sky. Morly turned to face Luffy and Robin, raising his hand up, the veins following the movement of his hand. It had wrapped itself tightly around the two, restricting their movement. Robin couldn't use her devil fruit if she was unable to cross her arms—which fucking sucked. Luffy wasn't off any better than her, his hands restricted next to his side, covered by the vein.
"How nice! Now I'll have more people to sacrifice."