Author's Note: And two years later, here we are. The fanfic is still incomplete and we haven't updated since 2007. Over this time, each time a new person reviews or a new person adds this fanfic to their Fanfic Alert list thing, I thought to myself, "Wow, what? People are still reading that?" and I tell myself we'll update it soon – but as you can tell, we never do.

Well, I want to say Stostina and I both love and thank everyone who read or reviewed A Memory Forgotten so far. We're SUUUUUUUUPER sorry for not updating in so long, guys!

Chapter Five:

I Miss You

* * * * * * *

Days had passed since the storm and still Luffy hadn't pulled himself together, appearing only briefly in front of his crew only to disappear moments later. He had tried to put a brave face on for his nakama, tried to smile for them when they asked if he was alright, tried to help with the chores about the ship.

Luffy may have lost a precious nakama, but the rest of his crew were beginning to feel as though they had lost their Captain. If Luffy kept on like this, they feared only a hollow shell of his former self would remain.

The crew, save for Luffy, had gathered in the galley. Their Captain had taken it upon himself to take watch duty for the day, leaving the rest of them the opportunity to sort things out.

Sanji stood in the kitchen, Franky lounged on the couch, and the rest of the crew were gathered around the table.

"There has to be something we can do." Sanji murmured around his cigarette.

"What is there that we haven't done already?" Usopp sighed, head on the table and looking as depressed as he could get.

"What about playing with him?" Nami offered.

Chopper mimicked Usopp's actions perfectly, sighing along with him, "Luffy doesn't want to play."

"I wouldn't suppose he would." Robin began quietly, "He has just lost one of his nakama, after all. He must be in a lot of pain right now."

Nami slammed her cup down, leaning forward, "But that Zoro doesn't even exist!"

"Even so, he existed to Luffy. Even if Zoro was never here, it hurts just as much for him."

Nami lowered her gaze, gripping onto her cup.

"Straw hat totally off his rocker." Franky lolled his head to one side in gesture, then to the other side continuing, "Some nakama of mine lost and dead and me not really give a damn. I don't know which one is worse! Aaow, this must be SUPER tough on Straw hat, either way! This is the worse week ever!" He cried out before turning away from the others to sniff tearfully.

Sanji threw his burnt out cigarette on the floor angrily and ground it with the end of his shoe, "What kind of shitty situation is this, anyway? If someone's responsible for this, there's going to be hell to pay when I find him."

"I don't get it, things like this don't just happen to people for no reason." Chopper began, pulling himself up and looking determinedly at the others, "I don't know if something's happened to Luffy, or if something's happened to us but until we can figure out what's going on, we have to be there for him."

Everyone let out a yeah at Chopper, each of them drawing out of their pitying state to a look of determination.

Usopp perked up, sitting up as well, "What if we all do something or get him something at the next island to try to cheer him up? Like a lot of meat?"

A thin plume of smoke came from a newly lit cigarette as Sanji shook his head, "It won't cheer him up if he won't eat it. He's hardly touched his food since the storm. If Chopper wasn't packing vitamins into what little he does eat, I'd be worried he'd pass out from lack of nutrition."

"Even if all we can do is be at his side, our feelings will reach Luffy. Just knowing that his nakama are there for him will be of some comfort." Robin said with a sad smile, "I'm sure most of us understand to some degree what he's going through, losing a precious person."

Franky sniffed loudly behind them all, staring out a window and trying his best not to look on the verge of crying his eyes out for their Captain, "You got that right, Nico Robin."

Chopper nodded, "And maybe if we get things we know he likes, maybe it'll make him feel better since we thought so much about him."

"Uuuuuuumm," Luffy's voice came suddenly from the Den Den Announcement, "There's an Island over there."

Everyone had turned towards the sullen Den Den at the sound of their Captain. There was none of the usual excitement when he spotted a new island. That bright ring that always brought a smile to their faces had disappeared, and there wasn't a single one of them that didn't miss it.

"Alright, it's decided then. Someone should stay on the ship with Luffy, everyone else can split up when we get to the island. Find something you know he'll like, or try to figure out what's going on. Maybe someone there will know something."

They all stood as one when Nami finished, as determined as if they were about to head into battle for one of their nakama's sakes.

"Mission cheer up Luffy GO!" Usopp declared loudly, nose pointed in the air.

* * * * *

Luffy felt sick.

He had tried to do his best for his nakama's sake, but everything he did was only half-hearted. Nothing he could do was enough to put his crew at ease.

It was tiring and painful.

Everywhere he went on the ship he kept expecting to see Zoro standing there or sleeping against something. Every time he had the harsh reality slap him in the face when he realized Zoro wasn't going to be there. It hurt more than any wound he could have gotten from an enemy, like seeing Shanks sacrifice his arm over and over again for his sake.

The worse part was that no matter how he looked at it the situation just didn't make sense. Luffy knew damn well he wasn't insane. He couldn't just completely imagine all this time they had with Zoro. He wouldn't accept that.

Earlier that day he had retreated to the crow's nest to try to get a hold of himself and maybe sort out his head. Now, even though the rest of his crew were running around below on the deck preparing to dock, he still couldn't bring himself to go down to help. He knew his crew could take care of it, if they saw his sullen face it would only cause them more worry.

"Zoro... what happened to you?" Luffy quietly spoke into the empty room.

Even though he had come to terms with Zoro's fate, Luffy still couldn't help but have a feeling of uncertainty.

However, he knew he needed to accept what happened. Even for someone as strong as Zoro, he doubted he'd be able to survive a storm like that with nothing to keep him afloat in the middle of the sea.

Luffy slumped in his seat and closed his eyes, listening to the distant sound of Nami bossing everyone around on deck, making the ship ready to dock. He knew he should be down there with them, giving the orders himself and working along side his nakama, but they could handle this job on their own this time. He couldn't bring himself to put on a lying face for them, smiling, cheerful - it would hurt them as much as it would himself.

Even as he sat there slumped, staring out the window at the port they drew closer to, he could hear Zoro's voice in his mind chiding him.

'So what are you going to do now, Luffy? Just sit here for the rest of your life, moping, letting your crew do everything for you while someone else passes you up and takes One Piece?'

Luffy pulled his Strawhat off his head and idly turned it between his hands. He knew it wasn't a rare thing for a pirate crew to lose one of their men. Ace had that burden to bear as well, and it was one of his brother's own men that had done the killing. Luffy had wanted to ask him how he could handle it. Luffy knew his brother felt the same way toward nakama that he did - your nakama were your family.

As much as he had wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to ask the question.

Maybe Luffy couldn't stand and face the sea with his head raised today, but he knew that he wouldn't keep himself hidden away for the rest of his life. Would Zoro have followed such a weak man? Would his crew?

He knew he was entitled to his mourning, but he could only allow it to last for so long. This definitely wasn't the time to be giving up.

"Um.. Luffy?" Chopper cautiously peeked his head into the room, snapping his Captain out of his daze, "We're at the island. Some of us are going to split up so we can replenish supplies. Robin's going to stay here.. Are you going to be okay?"

Luffy looked up at Chopper and gave a small smile, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Robin doesn't really have to stay, I'll watch the ship."

Chopper fidgeted for a moment before a hopeful look appeared, "Hey! Why don't you come with Usopp and me? Maybe you might -"

"Nah, that's okay. You guys go ahead - I'll come later."

The little reindeer's hope faded some, but he still smiled at the prospect of later. "Alright, we'll be back in a little bit, then!"

With that, Chopper took off back down the mast, leaving Luffy alone with his thoughts once again. The smile faded and he turned back to his hat, slowly turning it in his hands. His foot nudged a ridiculously large dumbbell in front of him idly.

"I don't get it..." Luffy quietly said to the empty room, "Why are there so many useless weights if Zoro really wasn't here like they say?"

* * * * *

"So, what'd he say Chopper?"

Chopper looked up at Usopp, "He still wants to stay up there. But he did say he was going to come with us around the city later!"

Usopp gave a small smile and set his hand on top of Chopper's hat, "Alright then. We'll just have to work hard to cheer him up!"

Chopper smiled back and nodded enthusiastically, a determined spark in his eyes.

* * * * *

"Aow! This is totally the worst week ever! How can I just forget my nakama so easily?! What kind of aniki am I? Uwoooo~!" Franky let his head fall limply on his drafting table, sideways next to Thousand Sunny's blueprints, wailing pathetically.

Franky had spent the entire time since they had docked locked up in his workroom trying to remember even the smallest bit of detail about this mysterious shark swordsman. In all honesty, he wasn't really that sure whether or not Zoro was a man who looked like a shark, or a shark fishman. Either way he couldn't find the slightest thing familiar about the man.

He had pulled out Sunny's blueprints to look for some sort of hint. Every bit of that King of Beasts had been specially tailored for each of the Strawhats. Kitchens for the cook, workshop for the long-nose, library for Nico Robin, play area for Strawhat, office for the tanuki, garden for the girlie, and the crow's nest with all it's weights were for anyone wanting a good workout. Honestly, he figured some of his little brothers could use a little toning up, but he definitely wasn't going to say anything about it.

What was there left for this super mysterious swordsman? Maybe he really was a fishman and hung out in the fish tank?

Well, whatever it was, Franky was determined to figure it out.

"There's no way a man can just make something like this up. Aow man~! If this wasn't so tragic, it'd make for a super song... hang in there, Strawhat. I'll remember our little shark buddy!"

* * * * *

Elsewhere on the ship while Franky scoured every page of design looking for anything to help, Robin had taken it upon herself to speak with their Captain.

"Luffy? Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" Robin had found Luffy still lurking around in the crow's nest, laying on his back in the middle of the room.

In a proper answer's stead, he only made a sort of agreeing sound.

Satisfied with this response, she made her way fully inside the room and took a seat on the floor next to Luffy.

"How are you doing? You've been up here by yourself for a while now, haven't you?" Robin smiled gently down at him, leaning over slightly to make herself within Luffy's range of sight.

Luffy let out a sigh and turned on his side to face Robin, propping his head up on his hand. "Sorry for not really helping with docking – I knew you guys could handle it."

"It's been pretty hectic this past week around here, hasn't it? With the bad turn of events, I haven't been able to find out more about Zoro. Even though none of us remember him, maybe hearing about him would stir up some memories. And if not, then at least I can know something about him."

Luffy stared at Robin for a few minutes, his thin eyebrows creasing slightly before he suddenly turned his back to her, head now propped by his opposite arm.

"I don't feel like it." He said flatly.

Robin was taken back by her Captain's flat refusal. He had seemed so excited about telling anyone who would listen about Zoro. Then again, that had been before that horrible storm.

"I know how hard this is for you, Luffy… but continuing to grieve like this for so long will only make it harder. Trust me." Robin let out a soft sigh, watching Luffy's back as he tensed. "You truly seemed to be happy before when you were talking about him. And I really would like to hear more about him."

"I know you're worried about me, but it doesn't matter if I talk about him or not. It's not like you believe in him."

"But I believe in you, Luffy."

What Robin said hit Luffy like a ton of bricks.

He slowly lifted his head and turned to look over his shoulder at the sincerity in Robin's eyes. With a loud sigh he fell backwards to his original position staring up at the ceiling.

"Zoro'd probably be mad at me." Luffy began, surprising Robin by how steady his voice was when talking, "I've been thinking about it a lot. He'd tell me to stop moping around – that I haven't lost all my nakama. He wouldn't want me to be like this over him."

Luffy said nothing for a few moments, and Robin let him have his silence.

"I want all of you to remember him. To know that he was real. He was our nakama… but a part of me is glad you don't. Part of me doesn't want you to have to feel like this."

The rubber boy sighed, his breath quivering slightly. He pulled his hat out from beneath his head and dropped it wordlessly on his face.

"But that wouldn't be fair for him, would it? I'm sure we'll find some way to remember him." Robin said quietly.

It was hard to see Luffy like this. The man who never seemed to lose that childish smile to be brought down to this. Robin knew just how horrible it was to lose someone so close to you. That was a lesson she had learned at a very young age. However, it was times like this that reminded her of just how little she knew about her Captain.

'I wonder if he's ever lost someone before'

"I miss him." Luffy finally said. He wasn't any quieter than before, but when he spoke it seemed as though it had only been a whisper, "A lot."

* * * * *

The bartender slid a drink in front of Nami, and leaned on the counter watching as she downed the glass in one go. He had an amused look on his face as he pulled up his stool and made himself comfortable.

"So you've got a crazy on your ship too, huh?" Yeah, that happens around here a little too often for my liking. People say that it's the sea water. Reckon that there's somethin' funny in it that makes people go kinda loopy when they drink it. This crazy of your's got a habit of drinking sea or bilge water?" The bar keep didn't even bat an eye at the dirty look Nami shot his way at every mention of 'crazy'.

"He's not crazy. Listen, there's got to be a better explanation than sea water! Our Doctor would have caught it if it was that. Plus, if there are a lot of people going crazy, thinking some nakama's missing, then you can't just blame it on the sea water. Geez, you're completely useless." Nami set the glass back on the bar with a loud clank and crossed her arms over her chest with a stubborn frown on her face.

The truth was that she really wouldn't put anything past her idiot of a Captain. Even as a Devil Fruit user she knew Luffy wouldn't hesitate to drink some sea water if he was really inclined to. But that didn't mean that she would believe such a weak explanation.

The bartender laughed at Nami, leaning back a little and setting his hands on his knees, "You're a stubborn one, aren't you? I've heard it all, you know. Can you think of a better explanation? Really, how could an entire crew remember everything except ONE person? Ridiculous. Compared to that, crazed from sea water is a pretty logical reason."

"How can I accept something like that!" Nami snapped out, "There has to be someone behind all this. Don't you know anything that could help us?"

Nami was starting to lose her cool. The moment Sunny had safely docked, she had leapt off the ship telling the others that she'd leave the rest to them. Normally the best person for interrogating information out of locals would be Robin, but she knew that would just leave her alone to try to talk to Luffy. She hadn't the faintest idea what on Earth she could say to him to cheer him up. It had been hard enough for her to handle what had happened to Bellemere – what was she supposed to tell Luffy?

'Don't worry about it, you're just crazy.'

'Get over it.'

Nami knew if anyone could talk to Luffy and make any progress at all, it would be Robin.

"Sorry, Lady, I told you all I know. Not my problem if you can't accept it." The man shrugged and stood, "Look, I gotta get back to work. If ya' need anything, just let me know."

Nami sighed pathetically in defeat and leaned forward on the bar. "Why do we always have such problems? Can't there just be an obvious bad guy for those idiots to beat up? Geez..."

* * * * *

Junk shops were a treasure trove of wonders to the right pair of eyes. Bits and bobs that would normally be considered trash by common people was in fact exactly what Usopp was looking for. He had been in and out of junk shops all day since they docked, not knowing what it was he was looking for in the least.

'If I can just find something to keep Luffy too busy to think, I know it will help. Hell, with all of us pitching in like this I bet that alone would be enough to make him feel better.' Usopp thought to himself as he sifted through a large pile of discounted junk.

'I wonder what Chopper's doing... he seemed pretty busy when I saw him a few hours ago.'

Usopp paused in his musings to make a face at the bucket of bits in front of him, "Man, there's nothing in this shop but junk!" He suddenly whined, dropping the empty cola bottle he had picked up back into its bucket. Sure, he could have used it – but that junk really was just a bunch of trash. The worst part was that they were charging as much for an empty bottle than he would pay for a full bottle of cola.

The old man behind the counter only smiled kindly at Usopp, not hearing a word he had said, "That's nice."

Usopp scratched the back of his head and set out of the shop, not sure where to go next. He was sure that he had visited every junk shop in the village – which was surprisingly quite a few – and had gotten a few things from most of them.

He still had no idea what to do. Once he had everything laid out in his workshop, he was sure something would come to him.

"Luffy will probably think of something ridiculous to make! Hah, the great Co-Captain Usopp will definitely-" Despite the promising round of ego-stroking that Usopp was about to give himself in his train of thought, his thoughts were cut short as he was knocked back onto his bottom by a brick wall of a man that stood in his way.

"Oi! Watch where the hell you're- re –re –re – uhhh..." Usopp had started out completely offended; that is until he saw the huge, muscle-bound, sword-carrying guy who he had ran into.

"Oh? Usopp. Damn, it's about time you guys showed up. Where's the ship docked?"