The tension in the room is palpable. Everyone sits on edge, expecting one another to attack at any moment. The only noise is the taunting ticking of the clock as time continues to pass by at an excruciatingly slow pace.

The small room is crowded with people lining the walls or sitting on the floor and on the few pieces of furniture. Not a single soul speaks. They all hold their breaths, watching the front door expectantly.

"Where the hell is he?" Someone asks, breaking the silence.

Everyone turns their head to the red haired man. He sits on the worn leather chair, head propped up on his hand. The man looks livid, tapping his foot against the wooden floor in impatience. The others stare at him warily, expecting his temper to explode in full fury at any moment.

"We're simply early, Eustass-ya." Another voice speaks up in a rough voice. "Try being patient for a change."

"Shut up, Cow Hat." The red head growls, lifting his head up. Some of his crew mates visibly flinch at the outburst. They must be new recruits. "This was your plan anyway."

The dark haired man lifts his gaze and glowers back. He lifts his hand, ready to reach for his sword. "No one forced you to come. We can do this without you."

"Shut up!"

"No, the both of you should shut up!" A voice yells.

Heads whip in the direction of the kitchen doorway. A middle aged woman stands with a hard look in her eyes. In her hand is a wooden bat. She twirls it dangerously, her hard gaze never faltering. Her red, curly hair is unkempt, giving her a wild look. She looks ready to kill.

"I don't want to hear any useless bickering between you two." She growls as her eyes scan each and every person present. "Any of you."

She turns and heads back to the kitchen, leaving the room in complete silence. The others continue to sit, staring at clock as time drags on. A couple of them doze off into a restless slumber, trying to snag a couple hours of rest before the remaining guests arrive.

Day melts into night and everyone has dozed off except for four of those inside the building. The red head continues to glare at the dark haired man, menacingly. The two seem to be barely restraining themselves. They yearn to attack each other, but they know that the timing isn't right. They know there will be a chance after everything is over—after they find her.

Upstairs in the same building, a man stands by the window of a bedroom. He watches the alleyway with vacant eyes as tears continue to spill down his cheeks. He makes no effort to wipe them away and merely watches as the stars twinkle in the dark sky.

In his hand is a letter addressed to him. His fist is clenched, crumpling the paper in his grasp. He can't bear to read the words again as they cause him grief. He knows he needs to burn the letter, but can't bring himself to destroy the last words he'll ever receive from her.

His sister plays a big role in his life. He wants her with him, safe by his side where he can protect her. He waited a long time for her to join him at sea. Life took a twist and just a few mere months after they reunited, she disappeared.

He turns around slowly and his sad eyes scan the room. It's exactly the same as his sister had left it. The bed is unmade and the side table is messy. One drawer seems to have been opened and closed in haste and it's contents spill out from the edge. The closet door is partially open, giving view to the messy pile of clothes that litter the floor.

The man continues to cry. His knees give out from under him and he leans against the wall. His shoulders shudder as his sobs rip out from his throat. He can't bear to be in her room, one of the only memories of her that remain. It causes him far too much grief. He cannot bear such a burden.

The door creaks open, but he doesn't look up. He keeps his face buried in his hands as large arms wrap around his torso, pulling him forward into an embrace. A soothing hand rubs his head as he tries to stop the tears.

"I'm sorry," he sobs, looking up at the old woman with tearful eyes. "I tried, I swear I tried."

The woman doesn't question his words and continues to hold on to him. She cannot make sense of him as he continues to speak between his sobs. But she doesn't reply in fear that the dam holding back her tears will break loose.

As she consoles the young man, a knock comes at the front door. Downstairs, the two men staring each other down turn to face door.

"Are you gonna get it?" The red head sneers.

"Weren't you the one desperately awaiting their arrival, Eustass-ya."

Muttering angrily, the man with the fiery hair rises from his seat and makes his way into the kitchen. He pulls open the door and comes face to face with a man donning his straw hat.

"Took you long enough, Luffy." The red head huffs.

"Where's (F/N), Kid?" Luffy asks hurriedly, peering over the broad man's shoulders and into the empty kitchen.

Kid moves to the side, allowing Luffy to slip into the building. His crew silently follows him in, crowding the small kitchen. They have no choice but to remain there, seeing that members of two pirate crews take up all the space in the other rooms.

"Where's Law?" Nami asks, flipping her red hair over her shoulder.

"Cow Hat, get in here," Kid calls into the living room. "The late guests have finally arrived."

Law rises from his seat and leans against the doorframe of the kitchen with his arms crossed. "Is anyone going to call, (F/N)?"

Footsteps can be heard coming down the staircase. Everyone watches as the red haired woman and (F/N) appear. (F/N)'s eyes are bloodshot and swollen from the lack of sleep and tears. Nobody says anything about his appearance.

"Do you have a plan, Luffy?" Kid asks gruffly.

"First, we need to know everything we can about (Y/N)." Nami speaks up. "(F/N), you're her brother. You of all people should know more about her than any of us."

(F/N) stares at the floor in shame. He knows he can't say anything. He knows more than anyone else here.

I cannot break my promise.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything that would be of help."

"Don't you have any clues as to where she could have gone?" Robin pipes up.

They all stand in silence, staring at (F/N) as he continues to squirm under their scrutiny. He remains silent as he tries to fight back a new wave of tears that threaten to spill down his cheeks.

I promised.

In the silence, a loud thump can be heard outside the building. Luffy quickly turns to the door and throws it open. On the front doormat is a newspaper. Puzzled, he picks it up as the others watch him expectantly.

"What is it, Luffy?" Ussop asks in confusion.

Luffy can't speak. His eyes skim the words and the picture on the front page of the paper. Nami snatches it out of hand and lets out a small cry as she reads its contents.

"What happened?" (F/N) speaks out, desperately wanting to know.

When he sees the paper, his heart stops. Suddenly he can't breath and his hands begin to shake. On the front page is his sister. She's smiling at the camera, but her eyes are clouded over as if she isn't aware of her surroundings.

"What the hell..." Kid mutters angrily under his breath.

No...this wasn't supposed to happen!

After reading the title, (F/N) drops the paper as if it burned him. The tears he tried to hold back spill down his cheeks in a torrent. Everyone stares in horror at the newspaper that lies on the floor.

(F/N) turns and bolts out the front door.

I promised.

Everyone yells after him, wanting an explanation, but no one chases him. Yuki can be heard keeping them back, telling them to give him space. But he knows he won't be able to say anything. His heart breaks as he continues to run. He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to forgive himself.

I couldn't save her.

- - - -

A/N

Woah, it's been forever, huh? It's hard to believe I started writing Wait For Me when I was fourteen and I began Wait For Us when I was fifteen. I decided to take a break from writing at sixteen because things became a bit hectic in my personal life and I'm really sorry for not being able to update.

Well, it seems that my writer's block is beginning to fade. I hope you'll all continue to read until the end. I swear I'll try harder to update because my younger self really poured all that she had into writing this series. I'm also hoping that now, at seventeen, my writing is better than it used to be and that it'll be more enjoyable.

If you're reading this, thank you so much for sticking around for so long! You don't know just how happy all the support I've gotten has made me. I hope you'll stick around a bit longer!

This chapter* won't make much sense until later! Everything will be explained eventually.

*This chapter was previously published, but taken down. After some editing, I finally decided what direction to go in from this point until the end. If any of you still remember the old version, I ask that you not spoil anything for those reading this the first time around. Thank you!

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~ mwzxxx

NEXT UPDATE: July 14, 2019