His Fault | Monster Trio

18

After a long day of endless exploring, Luffy was being carried back to the Sunny by Franky when his legs gave out beneath him from exhaustion.

Usopp and Chopper were carrying heavy crates full of keepsake items that were all handcrafted.

When leaving the atmospheric land of rare foxes, the crew began to wonder why the owner of Juniper Island wasn't there to welcome them to such a magical place.

However, Chopper insisted that the person hardly ever roams around the Island in general.

They visit Juniper Island once a week and drop off essential things for their precious foxes to remain as healthy as they always are.

Then, they take off to mysterious destinations the foxes are unaware of.

At least, that's what the foxes themselves told Chopper.

"Mmm....."

"Hmm?" Franky looked down after hearing a complaint escape Luffy's lips.

The odd facial expressions he was making seemed strange.

Staring down at his arms, Franky could see beads of sweat accumulating over the young man's forehead as he shifted in his arms.

"Someone's having a nightmare." He looked over at Zoro while the Swordsman raised an eyebrow at him.

"No.... not.." Luffy clenched his jaw, shutting his eyes tighter than before.

This look of visible discomfort was becoming concerning to Franky.

"Sure sounds like one to me."

His First Mate responded to the Shipwright, staying a few miles behind the man to observe his Captain's movements.

"L...Luffy? Buddy?" After hearing what he thought was a whimper, Franky continued to carry the boy until he made it to his room.

Back at the Captain's headquarters, he rested his weak body against his bed, removing his hands from beneath the boy's head, careful not to awaken him.

Franky then retreated from his bedroom as dusk caved in, quieting the vast cerulean seas as the skies began darkening from above.

By now, Luffy was alone in his bedroom, feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness culminating within him.

The temperatures began to drop all throughout the Sunny when the sun was shadowed by eerie clouds.

Being left alone with shades of muted matte tones of greys and blues to shade his room, Luffy began to shiver.

A cold breeze had caressed the top of his head, but the boy's body remained warm underneath his sheets, so the wind remained unnoticed by him.

Drifting back into a quieting slumber, Luffy's arms wrapped themselves around the soft woolen sheets, reminding him of the friendly foxes he had fun with all day.

With that beautiful imagery in mind, the brunette found peace and used his good memories to fall asleep faster.

Nightmares no longer tormented Luffy from then on, and he was able to rest for awhile.

What he thought would be a nap, soon turned into the most unbothered sleep of his life.

The Captain was delighted to be restoring the amount of energy he lost today while adventuring with his new, four legged friends.

He smiled in his sleep, seeing himself being surrounded by many foxes in a forest, similar to the one within Juniper Island...

Only, something had changed about the scenery he had visited earlier.

This wasn't the Juniper Island he was delighted by earlier.

Where were the enchanting trees? Or the shiny green grass?

This wasn't a fairytale-like forest any longer.

Not a single fox was in sight... No one was around Luffy at all.

The young man wondered if he was the only one on the island, and where his crewmates had gone.

The scenery he was confronted with appeared to be a lonesome road with no end.

Every which way he would turn to, there were lifeless trees with dead necrotic leaves loosely hanging from their branches, extending all throughout the forest.

"OI! ZORO! NAMI! FRANKY!! Where are you guys?"

His voice echoed when he called out to his friends, hoping for there to be an answer from nearby, or even in a faraway distance.

To his dismay, no such luck. So, being the impatient young Captain that he is, he decided to set off to find everyone on his own.

Walking straight ahead into the never-ending pathway of plain trees and gloomy skies, Luffy's steps came to a stop when he found something standing in his way.

"WOAH... It's you!" A black fox jumped onto his arms as Luffy cradled it and picked him off of the ground.

"Kiri, where am I!?" Luffy asked the small creature, receiving a yelp of confusion from Kiri.

"Your paws are freezing. Hide in here for now while I find my crewmates." Keeping the fox inside of his red button up, Luffy continued to walk around the strange forest.

Not even ten minutes in, and a painful bolt of electricity was sent all throughout Luffy's body as it began to rain.

"K-Ki..r..r..i.. It's getting colder. Really cold... I can't feel my legs."

The boy unexpectedly collapsed onto the ground, awakening later on to the sound of his window being pulled down.

"Luffy, you left the window completely open! Your bedroom was turning into a pool." Zoro said, bringing Luffy back to reality.

"Did I?" He rubbed his eyes, catching a glimpse of brightness from the small opening to his bedroom door.

"The guys are all partying out there, wanna come outside and distract yourself for a little?" The Swordsman asked.

The idea of joining his friends to sing or fool around and have a fun time was just what he needed.

"I'll be out in a minute." He assured the Swordsman with a sleepy smile drawn across his face.

Just as Zoro was about to leave, Luffy gasped loudly, pushing his back against the bed frame.

This action of his made the Swordsman wield
out his swords.

"What is it?! What happened?!"

"Zoro! Look at this!" The Swordsman lowered his head down and jolted, spotting a fox breathing slowly in his sleep, on top of Luffy's lap.

The Captain and his first mate looked at each other, then reverted their eyes back to the sleeping fox.

"Luffy, did you sneak him in here!?"

"You know I'm not good with hiding things! The only animal I ever snuck into a ship was that Octopus from Skypiea!" To that, Zoro nodded.

"Then how'd he get on this ship?"

"Maybe through the window. But then..."

Panic settled in the back of Zoro and Luffy's mind when a terrible realization struck:

"Who opened this window and let him in?"

The powerful duo got on their feet and set off to run an investigation around the Sunny.

Splitting up with his first mate, Luffy opened his door to search outside, all the while trying to maintain a low profile to not raise any suspicion.

In the midst of doing so, his blood ran cold when finding someone stood right by his doorway.

"I can't send that walking steroid to do anything. Luffy! Your food's ready! Luffy...?"

Sanji's smile disappeared when Luffy fell back, slamming himself against the wooden floor beneath him.

"Did I come at a bad time?"

~~~