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.....

It didn't take long for the Straw Hats to wind themselves into trouble, thanks to their captain.

Luffy could have just walked away, not concerning himself with the old lady being harassed by two rough men. But, he had to send them to Dreamland, alerting the Marines who were patrolling the area.

After a series of events, they found themselves inside a cave.

And it's been hours since they were inside. With a little light from the lamp Robin brought with her, they were managing. Barely.

"Luffy, you didn't have to kick those thieves, you know," Usopp whined, shaking the captain by the collar. "Now, look what you got ourselves into."

"Let's go back," Luffy was confident. "We can take them."

"I suggest you don't do that, Luffy. According to what I heard, Vice Admirals are somewhere near the island," Robin warned while sitting comfortably on a boulder, one leg over the other. "Luckily, I think the Marines didn't exactly see any of us."

"Although why are they here in the first place?" Sanji pondered as he puffed one stick.

After a few more conversations, the crew present decided to venture deeper into the cave, to gain more distance from the men-in-white possibly on their tails. They needed to leave the island as early as possible. With Chopper and the others on board Sunny, Luffy, Robin, Sanji, and Usopp had to look for another exit from the dark.

As the crew went deeper and deeper, the light they had got dimmer and dimmer. When Robin's lamp was on its last spark, Usopp had to make ends meet. After some modifications, they proceeded. Until they found themselves in the entrance of a big area within the cave.

Furniture were everywhere - chairs, tables, even boards. Training equipment also littered the floor. Aside from the dumbbells, everything else were neatly arranged.

"It's as if someone is taking care of these things here," commented Robin while wiping a nearby table with a finger to check for dust.

The four pirates looked around the place. In Sanji's case, he found some notes neatly stacked on another table, pictures of plants stapled on some of them. He checked further. They were recipes for some dishes he thought of as interesting

All four were eyeing the room when soft echoes resonated from the darkness. Sanji and Luffy shot up, alert. Robin stood on her spot, her ears focusing on the intensifying sound. Usopp wrapped his hands around his weapon while shaking on his feet. From a distance, a flicker of light caught the attention of the pirates. All prepared for combat, fearing that the Marines have gained on them. When Sanji noticed a lone shadow within the approaching light, he loosened his stance, confused.

A few seconds passed and, from the opposite side of the room, a young male approached the pirates. Clad in torn clothing and holding a single torch, the male was also covered in dirt and mud, his real [Hair Colour] hair completely brown.

"This is unusual," said the male with a faint hint of surprise over his monotonous voice, "People are here. May I ask what your purpose is?"

"We got lost in this cave and we would like to get out," Sanji said politely, still treading with caution against the stranger.

The shorter male nodded and, without skipping a beat, turned around, offering his service to guide the pirates out of the cave. At first, all four were shocked by the kindness, but the male they encountered simply dispersed their thought after a few words.

'It would be a hassle cleaning up after dead bodies in this cave, so you better follow me now.'

The trail they treaded, aside from being completely covered with darkness, was windy and full of corners. While her captain felt no sense of danger whatsoever, Robin already grew suspicious of the man, but decided not to speak, in knowledge that it is only that guy who can help them at that moment. Usopp was just as tensed, but was also coping up with the situation.

Sanji, on the other hand, was more vocal.

"Who are you and why are you helping us?" The man with a torch halted.

"What good would it do you if I answer that question?" Sanji was thrown more into the dark.

"It's already suspicious enough that you know this place like the back of your hand. How can we be sure that you are not a mole sent here by the Marines?" The other male presented a ghost of a grin.

He closed his eyes, breathed out of his nose, and showed his [Eye Color] orbs once more, focusing on the blonde male across him.

"If you must know, I'm a member of the pirate crew using this island as headquarters. The Marines are here to completely catch all of us. Scared for their own lives, my crew mates left me behind. Luckily, the cave we use as a hideout is a fortress on its own. I decided to hide here until the chaos outside settles."

Sanji was slightly convinced.

"Besides, as if someone like me can work under O-Tsuru." The four shot up at the name.

"O-O-Tsuru??" Usopp parroted. "S-She's on the island?"

"Not really. I heard she's nearby but not on the island itself." Usopp relaxed with a sigh.

Robin interrupted. "If you know that Tsuru is outside, why are you still helping us?"

"I only will help you reach the exit. Facing or running from O-Tsuru is none of my concern anymore." The male deadpanned. [Eye Colour] orbs scanned the other pirates. As expected, they were now warier than before, especially Sanji who was glaring daggers at him. "Well, do you guys still want to get out of here or not? It will not be a good thing if they find out that the Straw Hat Pirates are on the island. Marines can round up your friends if you don't get out of here fast."

The Straw Hats stared at each other, as if talking with their heads. They all knew the dangers of exposing themselves outside, but Nami and the others can only do so much especially against a hot-shot from the Marine HQ. If they want to get out alive, they have reunite as soon as possible.

"Okay," Luffy stood strong. "Guide us outside as fast as you can. Our friends are in danger."

"Good choice, Straw Hat."

The cave was revealed to them as a chain of networks, a labyrinth underneath the island. Their guide knew fully well where to turn and proceed. He mentioned that the place had booby traps set up at certain areas. Robin, Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy were following the other male patiently, feeling a bit eager to run towards Sunny and rescue their friends from possible assaults.

The male in tattered clothing was up front, but Sanji decided to walk beside him, confusing the guide.

"Thank you in advance for leading us to the exit."

"Not a problem. After all, seeing you in the dark once again is not a beautiful sight."

"What did you say?"

"Never mind."

The cook disregarded the statement, deeming it not important, but for the male beside him, it was beyond essential.

After many years of not seeing each other, it seems you finally have found people who'd accept you, Curly-chan.

"Wait a minute," the male stopped on his tracks as Luffy voiced out a concern. "May we ask for your name? You've been guiding us this whole time but we don't know who you are."

The guide stared at the four with no emotion, but deep inside, he was alarmed. If he tells them his name, Sanji may figure out who he is, a childhood friend back then at Germa Kingdom who disappeared during one of the kingdom's sieges in North Blue. Then again, the cook didn't recognise his face. But, if he tells them his name, there would be no surprise. He can't say, 'It's been a long time, Curly-chan' to his first crush at the end of the tunnel

He had a choice to make. To tell them or not to tell them.

He opted for the third option. "Call me [Fake Male Name]."

There goes his surprise, however. Oh, well.

Or is it?

Seeing that the four were satisfied, [Fake Male Name] returned on the road, failing to notice a certain pair of eyes sticking on his back like a leech.

After a few more twists and turns, the five were welcomed by bright sunlight, just in time for [Fake Male Name]'s torch and Robin's lamp to extinguish. Luffy screamed in joy, stretching his arms over his head. Robin and Usopp were just as glad, evident by the smile on their faces. Sanji was the same.

Though something was still bothering him.

He has a feeling that he has heard a name, [Fake Male Name] before. But he can't put his finger on it. On the other hand, [Fake Male Name] was standing a few inches away, satisfied at what he did.

"Thanks for helping us, [Fake Male Name]!" Luffy faced the male and beamed, receiving a simple smile in return.

"So, what will you do now," Usopp asked, "will you go back in there?"

"I think I'd rather hide somewhere else now. The fact that you came into the cave from another point of entry must have meant that you were being chased by someone," the male proudly stated.

"In that case, you can come with us for a while if you want," Luffy offered. "You did help us."

[Fake Male Name] brushed the kind offer off. "Don't worry. I can manage. Thanks for the offer though."

"Are you sure?" Sanji confirmed. The male nodded, unmoved.

"I can consider this as a chance to start anew, since I really have a feeling that those idiots will be apprehended by the Marines," the shorter male commented, venom slightly emitted in every letter.

Luffy was convinced, he didn't fight back, so with a rejuvenated soul, he turned his back against the cave once more and yelled. "Okay! Everyone, let's go back and find the others!" The others voiced their ayes.

The four started distancing themselves from the dark cavern, not witnessing a genuinely smiling male.

"Rei-nee was right. You did meet people who'd support you. I can finally be free from worrying. Be sure to protect them, Curly-chan."

Luffy, Robin, and Usopp didn't seem.to notice, but Sanji immediately stopped on his heels. Rei-nee? Curly-chan? He caught wind.

In his memory, those names are only uttered by one and one person only. Though it may have been ages since then, he couldn't forget it. When this person got lost at sea while people from his old home laid waste to a poor empire, he spent days crying on his mother's lap with Reiju staring from behind. The incident got engraved in the young blonde's memory, never removed even until manhood.

And [Fake Male Name]. It immediately made sense. It's the name his friend gave to a teddy bear Sanji received from him Sadly, the toy landed in the hands of his brothers, and the rest was history.

He processed further. The sarcastic responses. The occasional dead-fish eyes. The words he heard inside the cave.

In a span of seconds, Sanji twisted around, immediately wanting to be reunited with a lost friend.

"[Male Name]!"

What welcomed him is a barren cavern entrance. The guide who helped them vanished into thin air. The cook, without a second thought, tried to check the cavern from the outside as well as the nearby shrubs and trees. But all he got was wind kissing his facial features, his hair tousled by the breeze.

There was nothing.

In the end, the Straw Hats got out of the island safely without alerting Tsuru or her people. The pirates who controlled the area, however, as what [Male Name] guessed, ended up in chains, lining themselves in remorse inside one warship.

On Sunny, Sanji stared at the distance, towards the island, preoccupied with his friend's farewell. Little did he know, from atop of a mountain on the same island, a male with [Hair Colour] locks and a beauty mark near his lips stood, completely free from any deformities as his neat, tear-free attire made him brighter in appearance than earlier.

"It may haunt me that I never really talked with you, but making sure you're alive and happy is enough."

After a few seconds, he motioned his hands in front of him, a wide void as tall as he is opening across him as a result.

"Well then, I better visit Rei-nee again to get some of those cookies she makes."

And the male entered the void, vanishing from the island.

.....

2,146 words.