Chapter 1:
One Piece PETs: Freedom
(I DO NOT, NOR WILL I EVER, OWN THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC! SAME GOES FOR THE AU OF PETs!!!)
Hi. I'm Nami. I'm a thief who only steals from pirates...even though I kind of work for one. Or, at least I used to work for one, but now I'm a member of another pirate crew. Complicated, I know.
Anyway, I was at a place called Orange Town running from some pirates. Earlier, I had stolen a boat from a couple of other pirates and left them in a storm.
Back to Orange Town, I was running from some pirates.
Then out of nowhere, this Monkey Boy falls from the sky. It was strange, but I decided that maybe I could use him.
I pretended that he was my boss.
I asked him if he could take care of those thugs, and before he could even answer, I ran away. To be honest, I thought they'd kill him.
To my surprise, he ended up kicking all of their asses.
I don't know how he did it, but he did.
"You're pretty strong, aren't you, kid?" I asked him.
He turned and faced me.
"You beat those guys with swords bare-handed!"
"Ah? Who are you, anyways?" he asked me.
"I'm a thief who steals treasure from pirates! My name is Nami, want to be partners?" I introduced myself to him.
"Only steal treasure from pirates?" he questioned.
"That's right! So, what do you say? Wanna join up with me?"
"Uh, no thanks," he said before he walks away.
"Hang on a second!" I ran after him.
"So what's that hat? When you said they nearly damaged it, you got so mad! Is it expensive?"
"This is my treasure!" he patted his straw hat.
Now, when he said "treasure", naturally I thought of something like material things like jewels or maybe a map.
Anyhoo, he told me he got separated from his crew.
Before he could tell me more...his stomach growled.
"Heh, sorry about that. Guess I'm kinda hungry." he laughed.
I sighed.
'Well...I guess I could find him a little something to eat.' I thought.
So, I did.
I then explained to him about my goal to gain 100 Million berries.
That's when he pretty much found out that I was a navigator, and a very talented one at that.
He then revealed that he was a pirate and had the balls to try and recruit me into his crew!
Ugh...pirates! And here I am, thinking he was a nice guy! How can someone who looked so sweet and innocent, not to mention a bit dopey, be something so evil?!
Guess it's true what they say about appearances being deceiving.
I told him that I didn't wanna join him, and figured he was gonna use the map I thought he had in his hat to find the treasure, yet he tells me there isn't one in that old hat!
"Yeah, right! Then what is it? Why call that stupid rag of a hat your treasure?" I asked him.
"Because I made a promise to a friend of mine!" he tells me. "I promised to give this hat back to him once I became a great pirate!" he answered.
'Huh. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought...'
However, I dismissed that thought, saying:
"Huh, everything's pirate this, pirate that...it's a pathetically sad era! The things I hate most in this world are pirates!!! I only like money and tangerines!"
At least...that's what I believed for a while.
"Hey, come on, become our navigator!"
"You think I'm crazy?! Shut up, you dumb pirate!"
'Jeez! So damn persistent!'
In the end, I agreed to partner up with the idiot at least for a bit.
Besides, he could be of use to me.
I tied him up and delivered him to Buggy, the pirate who was terrorizing this small community.
At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly. During the party, I beat a few guys at a drinking contest.
As for that moron, he was put in a cage.
He was trying to bite the bars to free himself. A futile attempt, really.
He said he was hungry and wanted something to eat. I give him some food and he said I was a nice person and he'd let me join his crew!
"I don't want to, you idiot!!! I'm a Booted Puss, so unless you've got a pair of boots to give me, you can forget about recruiting me!"
Then...the craziest thing happened.
Buggy...wanted me to shoot him with a cannon.
I was torn between two choices:
Don't kill him and die, or, kill him and I'd be no better than those other pirates.
"You're hands are shaking," he said to me. "That's what happens when you don't have a pirate's resolve."
"Ho, a pirate's resolve. Wonder what that is... is it killing innocent people like insects?"
"No," he said. "A pirate's resolve is when you're willing to risk your life!"
I heard all the other Buggy pirates telling me to shoot.
The next thing I know, one of them snatches the matchbox outta my hand is about to light the fuse for me!
Without thinking, I take out my staff and whacked that guy!
"What the hell?!" Buggy questioned.
"Oh, so now you wanna help me?" the kid asks me.
"Shut up, you idiot!" I shouted to the Monkey Boy.
"Pirates took the life of someone very dear to me, and I'll never be like them!"
"Ah...so that's why you don't like pirates..." he realized.
All of a sudden, he started to yelp.
"NAMI!! THE FUSE IS LIT!!"
I gasped and turned to see that he was right. In all the commotion, I didn't notice that the fuse has been lit! I had to stop it before the cannon fired!
I swung my staff at three of the thugs who were coming at me but I missed!
That didn't matter! I had to stop that fuse, so I used my hands to put it out!
It hurt like hell!
I was so busy, I didn't notice those pirates about to gang up on me!
"Just how many of you are charging on one girl?!"
I look back and I see this green-haired Tiger Man. If I didn't know any better, he looked just like...
"Zoro!" the Monkey Boy shouted.
'Wait...Zoro? As in Zoro the Pirate Hunter?! Zoro, the Pirate Hunter who is known for being a living demon and uses three swords?! THAT Zoro?!?'
I can't believe these two knew each other!
'So when he said that he was looking for his crew...he meant Zoro?!' I thought.
Anyhow, Buggy wanted to take Zoro's head and become even more famous.
Of course, Zoro defeated him easily...at least...that's what it looked like, at first. For some reason, Buggy's crew was laughing after Zoro cut him down.
Before I realized it, Zoro got stabbed!
Buggy had eaten a Devil Fruit: the Chop Chop Fruit!
I always thought those were a myth!
"So he's a Chop Chop Man? That's kinda freaky." the Monkey Boy pointed out.
"Who cares about that?! We gotta get outta here or we're dead!" I said.
Soon after, that fool said probably one of the dumbest things ever!
"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK'S A COWARDLY MOVE, YA BIG NOSE!!!"
That's the worst thing he could've said to him.
Buggy didn't take it too well, obviously.
It almost looked like we were gonna get killed, until Zoro took the cannon and pointed it at Buggy and his men!
You should've seen the looks on their faces!
So, with quick thinking, we made it outta there! Though, Zoro was pretty hurt.
We had to get him medical attention right away!
Zoro carried the cage that the boy was in almost halfway across town...but he lost a lot of blood.
That's when we ran into this little dog.
I gave the Monkey Boy the key to the cage...and then the dog ate it.
He got so mad, he reached out and tried to strangle the poor dog, but lucky for him the mayor showed up: Mayor Boodle.
...yes, that is his name.
Ahem! After he got Zoro into his house, he told us the story of the little dog. Turns out his name is Chou-Chou, and the reason why he's sitting in front of this pet shop is because he's guarding it for his master...who passed away a long time ago.
Poor sweetie.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, we hear this roaring sound.
We looked outside and see a man riding a huge lion!
We had to hightail it out of there, but we left that Monkey Kid behind! Oh, well. Better him than me.
... ... ....oh, all right, already! My conscience took over! I couldn't leave that guy back there to get himself killed! It goes against everything I stand for!
Later on, when the mayor and I got back there...poor Chou Chou's shop had been burned to the ground...
"This is exactly why I hate pirates! They're nothing but cruel, hateful, heartless bastards with no regard for others!" I said.
A while later, that Monkey Boy came back.
"Hmm?"
"Oho Mr. Pirate, so you're still alive...!" I told him. "I thought you would have finally been finished off by that lion..."
"Hey...What are you saying?" asked the mayor.
"Before you get your pirate pals over to raid this village, why don't you just go to hell?!" I screamed, Mayor Boodle holding me back.
The boy stared at me.
"You think that you can hurt me?" he stuck his tongue out at me. "Bleh!"
"WHAT?!?"
'That little--!'
"O-Okay, so you wanna fight me, huh!!? Stupid pirate!!!" I shouted.
"Will you just stop it?! Why are you two acting like this!?" the mayor questioned.
Just when I think that he's the bad guy, he pulls off a complete 180 and gives Chou Chou some dog food that the lion stole!
This completely surprised me! Perhaps he wasn't like all those other pirates I've stolen treasure from.
Then I realized something else: he never told me his name.
Before I could even ask him, that freak Buggy fired one of his cannonballs and destroyed most of the village! Even the mayor's house!
Zoro was still in there!
What truly shocked me was that he survived!
'Is he for real?!'
Not only that, but Mayor Boodle ran off to go and fight Buggy! That crazy old man! He could've died!
Lucky for him that boy knocked him out when he tried to challenge him! Although, he could've been a little less rough.
So, he and Buggy fight. During their scuffle, I learned that the boy had eaten a Devil Fruit: The Gum Gum Fruit, and his hat was damaged.
He got really pissed.
I guess that hat really was special after all.
That's when I learned that the hat used to belong someone else before the boy had it: THE Red-Haired Shanks!
'Dear Ceiling Cat, how many famous pirates does he know, anyway?!' I thought.
Moving on, I decided to swipe Buggy's treasure while he was busy.
As I was doing so, he noticed me and went after me! I hightailed it outta there!
For some reason, he started making all these crazy faces as he chase me. Probably because that boy was doing something with his detached foot.
...also, he kicked Buggy square in the balls.
'Ouch.'
Moving on!
In the end, the Monkey Boy defeated Buggy. He sent that clown flying!
I noticed that he looked a little sad when he saw his hat, so I decided to fix it up as soon as we left the village.
"By the way," I said. "You never told me your name."
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy." he said with a grin.
Luffy...I don't know why, but...I kinda like that name.
It's sort of cute, in a way.
Wait, what the hell am I saying?!
He's a goddamn pirate! I take back everything I said about his name being cute and about liking it!
Even though he does have this cute face and this really bright smile and--AH! THERE I GO AGAIN!!
What is wrong with me?!
Ahem! The villagers came and saw that the mayor was hurt.
Luffy decided to be a loudmouth and say that he knocked him out.
They didn't take that very well...
We were forced to high-tail it outta there! Luckily, Chou-Chou came to our rescue! He stopped the townsfolk from chasing us! Guess it's his way of saying thanks for helping him, sweet thing.
"Thanks, doggy!" Luffy called.
We make it to the pier and run into the guys I swiped that boat from!
Luckily, Zoro scared them away.
As we're sailing away, the mayor called out to us.
"YOU DAMN BRATS!! THANK YOU~!!!"
We smiled.
A few seconds later, I found out that Luffy left half of the treasure back on the island!
I wanted to drown that idiot!
But, I decided not to. He struggled too much, anyway.
After that little ordeal, I decided to fix his hat up for him, and after that, we had a few adventures together. We sailed to an island filled with strange hybrid animals and met a guy who got stuck in a treasure chest. After that, we sailed to another village and met a long-nosed Ferret Man named Usopp, who turned out to be the son of a pirate! Then we had to help him save his village from the Cat Man, Captain Kuro. We even got a new ship, the Going Merry, out of it from Usopp's friend, Kaya!
After that, we came upon a floating restaurant at sea called the Baratie, where we meet Johnny and Yosaku, two of Zoro's bounty hunter friends, and a Fox Man named Sanji. He was pretty nice...and perhaps a bit of a pervert. However, I knew I had a job to do, so...I pretty much hijacked the Going Merry.
It was sad, really. I didn't wanna turn on my back on them, but I had no choice!
I knew that they'd probably hate me if we met again.
So, anyway, I got back home with all the treasure I had collected.
My first destination was Arlong Park.
Ugh...even now, his name leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Then, this boy showed up, wanting to take his head for killing his father.
It wasn't my fault his father's dead. Arlong's the one that killed him.
Knowing that fact, I took out staff and smacked that boy. He fell to the ground and I kept beating him.
I really didn't wanna do it, mind you.
Nevertheless, I couldn't let him throw his life away.
He was just a kid, for crying out loud!
I stood over him and tell him:
"Go home, brat. Arlong doesn't have time to bother with some snot-nosed runt."
Then...I gave him a stack of money.
"Take this and buy yourself a ticket back home."
I entered the park.
And there was Arlong with that big toothy smirk on his face.
"Welcome home, Nami," he said.
Oh, I hate him so much.
Not long after that, the rest of the Arlong pirates appeared to greet me as well.
Ugh...I could not STAND them.
Later, Zoro appeared as a prisoner, and Arlong goes into his usual little rant about how Fishmen are the superior race, as always.
Dick.
He even had the absolute nerve to say that I'm the type of person who would betray my own family for the sake of money!
'As if, you asshole!' I screamed in my head.
Zoro never truly trusted me from the start.
I don't blame him. I did some pretty awful things.
All of a sudden, that green-haired Tiger Man threw himself into the water knowing full well that he was tied up!
What the hell was he thinking?!
Oh well, too bad so sad, I guess.
...
Oh, okay! You really expect me to let him drown?!
After I save him, he told me:
"What's wrong? I thought a witch like you would like to see a man drown."
Smart-ass tiger.
"STOP MOCKING ME!" I yelled as I stomped on his back.
"Get involved with me next time and you're dead!"
"Oh really?" he replied.
"That's a lot of bandages. You must've been hurt pretty bad."
"Actually, I forgot my shirt. Grabbed these to cover up, so you wouldn't get distracted."
Like I said: SMART ASS TIGER.
Punched him in the gut to teach him a lesson.
Then I decided to let him go while Arlong was out.
Before I did that, one of Arlong's men came back saying that he and another crew member let the long-nosed Ferret Man get away from them.
'Usopp?! Don't tell me he's here, too! Idiot! It wouldn't surprise me if Luffy showed up, too!' I thought.
Arlong said that he was just about to go there to attend to some business.
As I was saying, I let Zoro go and told him to get out now before Arlong came back, and that's what he did.
Following that, I headed back to my village and greeted everyone.
Naturally, they didn't look all that happy to see me.
I didn't blame them, at all. Considering all that had happened.
I noticed that one of the houses had been put out of place. Arlong did it, no doubt.
Subsequent to that, I visited my mother's, Bellemere's, grave.
...Bellemere...I still can't believe she's gone. If she saw me right now, working for someone like Arlong, I bet she'd be disappointed.
I know I would...
The thing is, eight years ago, that bastard Arlong murdered my mother, Bellemere, in front of my sister and me. After he did this, he found one of my maps and discovered my talent for drawing them, took me away from my sister, and he forced me to join his crew. We made a deal: If I could collect 100 million berries for him, he'd let my village, and myself, go free.
That's what I've been doing all these years. None of the villagers knew about this and thought I had betrayed them, except Nojiko, my older sister...or so I had thought.
"Seven million berries to go." I said, sitting in front of her grave.
Next, my big sis, Nojiko, shows up.
"Your name is still bad." she said.
"I'm a pirate, but Arlong is an understandable person. I collect and steal money for them. Soon, I will be able to complete my promise."
I smiled and said: "If I can get one billion berries, I'll be able to buy this village."
(A/N: Oh, if only you knew, Nami...)
Then we went back home and started to talk...about Luffy and the others.
"So you actually enjoyed being with them? Like you actually had fun?" Nojiko asked me. "I thought you hated pirates, Nami."
"Oh, I do but these guys are different...especially Luffy."
Nojiko smirked at this.
"What?" I asked.
"I mean, Luffy is...so cheerful and always smiling," I said, "and he always makes me laugh, no matter how sad I feel and--WHAT THE HELL AM I SAYING?!"
"You li~ke him!" Nojiko teased.
"I DO NOT!" I yelled, blushing.
Honestly, where the FUCK does she get off?!
Anyhoo, I went back to Arlong Park and overhear Kuroobi saying that I'm a traitor.
I respond to this by saying:
"Hey! That's not nice! Watch what you say! You wanna mess with me?!"
"Nami!" said Usopp.
"I swore to this tattoo eight years ago that I would become one of the Arlong Pirates. I almost got the amount of money you wanted. I won't be stupid and create any trouble now!"
'But what Zoro did is too much this time.' I thought.
"I'm sorry to have suspected you. We've been friends for eight years, so you have the right to be mad at us." said Arlong.
"Friends", my ass.
"We're just a little bit confused here, but I trust you."
'Phew. That's a relief.'
"But first, we must kill Roronoa Zoro's friend." he grabbed Usopp and held a knife to his throat.
"Wait! Don't kill me!" he screamed.
'Oh, no!'
I couldn't let them kill him!
"My head's worth 20 million berries, the highest price in all of East Blue. All the famous pirate hunters must be looking for me." he said as he pressed the knife closer to Usopp's throat.
"Where is Roronoa Zoro? It's not nice of him to beat up all my crewmen while I was away."
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! Who's Roronoa Zoro? I don't even know who he is! Please let me go!"
"Stop lying! Besides, you've made Arlong-san upset. You will die here." Chu spoke out.
"Hey! You should know that I'm Roronoa Zoro's best friend! If you do something to me, he'll kill all of you!"
"He changes easily." a member of the crew lamp-shaded.
Hate to agree with him, but he's right.
"Hmm...so if I kill you, Zoro will come here?" Arlong questioned, pointing the knife to the Ferret Man.
"What?! You misunderstand! If you kill me, it'll get worse! If you let me live, Zoro will come and rescue me! If you kill me, Zoro will never come here! Hey Nami! Say something!!!"
"What's wrong, Nami? Why do you look so strange?" asked Kuroobi.
Nosy prick.
"It seems that you're still suspicious of me." I tell him.
"Yes, we're suspicious because you're too smart." he told me.
'Who wants to die because of these stupid reasons?' was what I was thinking at the time.
'Why is everything going wrong at a time like this? My plan has almost succeeded.'
"I'm really disappointed in you, Nami!" Usopp shouted.
"You really are a witch!"
'Why that...!'
"Even if you took all the treasure, Luffy has never once become suspicious of you! Luffy absolutely trusts you even now! But you're so low to trick him with that beautiful face of yours!"
"Thank you for the compliment, but the only thing I trust is money! It's all your fault for being stupid and allowing yourself to be tricked by me."
"What did you say!?" yelled the Ferret Man.
Then, something popped out of the water! Turned out to be Hachi.
'I wonder where he's been, this whole time.'
He noticed that some of the crew members were injured and asked what had happened.
"It was Roronoa Zoro, the Pirate Hunter." Arlong told him.
"Where did you go, Hachi? If you were here, this wouldn't have happened."
"You're right, sir! I surely won't let anyone do this to my friends! I will kill him for sure!" Hachi said.
"So you don't know where Zoro is?" asked Kuroobi.
"Err...just a while ago, I met one suspicious swordsman."
'Oh, don't tell me...'
"EH?! COULD THAT HAVE BEEN HIM?!"
'Oh my god...'
"YOU MORON! YOU MET HIM AND DIDN'T KNOW!?" the other crewmembers yelled.
"Where did he go?!"
"I just took him to Cocoyashi Village." he said.
"What?! You helped him, too!?"
"He said that he was Arlong-san's guest, so I helped him." Hachi explained.
"Besides, I never thought you would come back so early."
"So, we don't have to worry. Because he's looking for me, too." Arlong said.
'It's not good to let them do anything now.' I thought.
"Who's that?" Hachi asked, pointing at Usopp.
"Roronoa Zoro's friend. He thought that he could easily defeat the Fishmen."
'Really, Usopp? Really?!'
I took out my staff and whipped him right in the face.
It was the only thing I could think of that would shut him up!
"Nami." this surprised the Shark Fishman.
"You wanna fight me?!" Usopp asked.
"You moron! It's your fault for messing with Arlong." I told him.
He glared at me.
"It's my fault for letting you follow me to this place. However, every guest must obey the house rules! You shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. If I let you go, the business that I've done for the past eight years could be ruined! So I would like to help you rest in peace."
"Rest in peace!?" he wondered. Then, he laughed.
"That's very funny. It's not that easy to kill me!"
"Ho! She's grown to become a perfect pirate."
"Kill him, Nami!" the other pirates cheer.
Tch! Bastards.
"For your sake, don't try to compare yourself to me."
As if I could really kill him.
He shot one of his smoke bombs in an attempt to run away.
"I already thought that you would use this."
I find him and say:
"I know what you're thinking."
Then I hit him again with my staff. I take out a knife and prepared to strike.
"Don't!" he screamed.
I hesitate for a moment...
...and then I stabbed my hand.
Usopp probably noticed this and played along.
"Ugh!"
Blood dripped from my hand.
"You...Nami..."
"It's all about my business. I have no choice."
He panted and and saw the blood on his hand. I pulled the knife out of my hand as he collapsed on the ground.
"Just rest in peace."
"Shahahaha! That's very good, Nami!"
"I'm not angry anymore!"
"You're a real member of the Arlong pirate crew!" said Kuroobi.
"You told me that you wanted to die in the sea, right? I hope this will satisfy you." I told Usopp's "corpse" as I kicked him into the water.
"I'm sorry that I suspected you, Nami. You're our friend."
'As if I'd ever be friends with asswipes like you.' I thought.
"Friend? I've never had friends. I joined you because...I will be able to collect 100 million berries and buy Cocoyashi Village from you."
"A person like you, who betrayed her hometown and trusts nothing but money. I always wondered why you're so interested in that small village. I understood when I found this thing." he held up a piece of paper.
"That's mine!" I said.
"Huh? What's that?" Arlong asked.
"Yours? What? Just this thing can anger you?"
'That prick...!'
"It's a treasure map, which indicates where the treasure is hidden in Cocoyashi village."
All the other crew members swarmed around him, wondering if the map lead to diamonds or gold.
"Give that back to her. It belongs to Nami!" The Saw-nosed Shark fishman told Kuroobi.
"Don't touch this. It's my treasure." I told the jerkass as I snatched the map from him.
"There are still many mysteries about this, and I don't hope that anyone will understand. However, the real problem is the buying of the village. Don't tell me that you won't sell it to me."
"If I am going to break our promise, I'd rather die! That's my way of doing business."
(A/N: Oh, I know exactly how you do business, you jackass. XC)
"You're very understandable, Arlong." I said as I walked away.
"Witch!" said Kuroobi.
'Like I care, you dick.'
"Shahahaha! She's grown up."
I folded my ears back in anger, not wanting to hear anymore.
Following that, I run into Luffy and the others.
"Nami?" said Zoro.
"Who's your friend, Luffy?"
He looked and saw me.
"What are you doing here?"
"Why're you asking? You're my friend, so I came to take you back with us." was his answer.
"You give me such a headache."
He really does.
"Friend? Don't make me laugh. All you needed was someone to give you a hand. Am I right?"
He looked surprised.
"Ah! Nami-san, do you remember me? Let's go travel together!" said Sanji.
"Get lost! Why do you have to make it more complicated?" Zoro asked the Fox Man.
"What? Don't you realize that my love for Nami-san is stronger than a mountain?"
'Oh, brother.' I thought.
"I told you that is an evil-hearted woman!" Johnny pointed at me.
"In order to get all the treasure underneath her hometown, she joined Arlong and is willing to kill anyone! She's a cold-blooded witch! All of you have been tricked by her! I saw her kill Bro Usopp with my own eyes!"
"So what? You wanna seek revenge and kill me?" I asked him.
All this time...Luffy had on that toothy ear-to-grin, like he was actually happy to see me. It frustrated me, because he knows I betrayed him, but he's not letting it bother him at all!
Why couldn't this idiot just take a hint?!
"Let me tell you something. Now, Arlong really wants to kill Roronoa Zoro and his friends because he has angered him! Even though you're as strong as the Devil, you can't compare your strength to real devils!"
"Never mind that. Where's Usopp?" Zoro demanded.
"Why don't you look for him at the bottom of the sea?"
"Watch your mouth!" he said.
"You too, idiot!" Sanji tried to kick him, but Zoro dodged.
"What kind of swordsman would hurt a lady?"
Ugh...I hated lying to them, but it was the only thing I could do to make them leave!
"What? You better get out of my way. It's none of your damn business." The Tiger Man warned.
"Heh, ever since you lost in that shameful battle, you've become a high-tempered person." Sanji told him.
"Huh!?" he pulled out his sword and held it to the Fox Man's neck.
"Hey! Watch your mouth! Otherwise, you'll lose your head."
"Can you do that in your current condition?" Sanji questioned.
"You shouldn't fight each other in a situation like this!" Yosaku spoke out.
"Yes! If you wanna fight, leave this island! I don't want outsiders to waste their lives here. Don't you understand? The reason I befriended you was for your money! And now you don't have anything, so I don't have to care about you anymore."
That was also a lie...I do care about them...but I couldn't let them get involved with all of this!
"I will return your ship to you. Just get out of here and find a new navigator or One Piece or whatever you want to do! Get out of here. You're starting to piss me off! Goodbye!"
"Nami." Luffy said.
"JUST GET OUTTA HERE, LUFFY!!" I shouted. "DON'T YOU GET IT?! I DON'T NEED YOU!!!"
He then fell to the ground.
"I'm going to sleep here."
"Sleep!? At a time like this!?" Yosaku shouted.
"And you're gonna sleep in the middle of the street like this?" Sanji asked.
"I've never thought of getting off this island, and I don't care about what happens here. Besides, I feel a little sleepy now." he said.
The others were dumbfounded.
"I'll sleep now."
"STOP PLAYING AROUND!!! YOU'LL GET KILLED!!!"
Honestly, I DO NOT BELIEVE HIM! He is so irritating, and stubborn, and so simpleminded!
I HATE HIM!!
Afterwards, I leave for my, and Nojiko's, house. Ended up trashing the place out of frustration because of that damned Luffy!
"A-ha! You've destroyed many things, Nami. What happened?"
"Nothing! I just want to rest for a while."
'I am such a damn liar.' I thought.
Usopp's been rubbing off on me.
"Rest? But you don't have to destroy stuff while taking a rest," Nojiko told me.
My big sister. She could read my like a book.
"and if there really was nothing going on, you would not have brought out that map."
She sat down at the table.
"You promised me that you would tell me everything."
"It's just something stupid."
She sighed.
"It's them, right? Those pirates?"
I looked up at her.
"You've met them?"
"Yep! But I've only met the captain who loved to lie. That's all. I didn't see that Monkey Boy you've been crushing on, sadly."
"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM, DAMMIT!!" I shouted at her, blushing again.
"Mm-hmm, right. Whatever you say, little sis." she rolled her eyes.
With that, I fell asleep.
Then I wake up with a gasp.
For some reason...I couldn't stop dreaming about Luffy.
Don't know why I was dreaming about him.
'It's been a long way, but I only need seven million berries more, and I'll have 100 million berries. I can go out one more time, and get that money.'
"Just one more time and everything will be the same again. Everything will come back to me."
'...and I will be free from Arlong. Bellemere-san. Finally, I can laugh with all my heart.'
...at least, that's what I had hoped...
I stepped outside.
"Steal one more time and I can get 100 million berries. Let's go."
Boy, was I wrong.
Next thing I know, Gen-san and the Marines show up.
'What were they doing here?' I wondered.
"Hehehe. I am Major Nezumi of the 16th Marine Unit. You are the outlaw named Nami, am I correct?"
"An outlaw? You're right. I'm a pirate, so that also means I'm an outlaw. But I belong to Arlong's pirate crew. You're a Marine major, so you should easily understand. If you do something to me, Arlong won't let you go. What do you want from me?"
I saw this smug little grin on his little rat face...and I didn't like it.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand at all. A pirate? I've never heard of that before," he told me.
"and I wasn't thinking about hurting you, but someone reported to us that you're a thief."
'What?'
"As I have heard, it seems that you stole from pirates. Because of that, I've decided not to hurt you. However, a thief is still a thief and a sin is still a sin. Do you understand? If those treasures were stolen from the outlaws, the Government will take care of those treasures and give them back to their owners."
"What did you say?" I asked.
"I said that you should give us all the treasures you stole." answered the Rat Man.
'Is...is he serious?!'
They started searching my house to look for where I hid all the treasure!
"Hey! Don't go into my house without my permission! Stop!" I took out my staff and whipped two of the soldiers.
"Why? The work that the Marines should be doing now...There are many things that you have to take care of. Don't you know that Arlong has killed many people and destroyed many villages?! Under his control, everyone was treated like a slave, and you didn't do a single thing about that!!! And now, you just want to find the treasure of one thief?! Is this a real government!!?"
"Why...whatever do you mean?" Nezumi asked me.
'Is he blind or just stupid?!'
"Heheheh. You're an outlaw, so you'd better shut up. Men, don't worry about her and continue the search."
'How dare he...?!' I seethed.
"Everyone is expecting help from you, but you come here and don't think about doing anything to help these people?!"
"Sir! There is something in the tangerine farm." said a soldier.
"Just dig it up!" Nezumi ordered.
'Oh, HELL NO!!'
"Don't touch Bellemere-san's tangerines with your filthy hands!" I yelled as I whacked one of the soldiers with my staff and scratched him in the face with my claws as he was about to dig up my treasure.
"I won't give that money to you! That money is--"
"THAT MONEY BELONGS TO NAMI, AND IT'S GOING TO SAVE THIS VILLAGE!!!"
I gasped and turned to Gen-san. How did he know about the money?!
"WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT MONEY AWAY, MARINE!?"
"What? Are those the words that you are supposed to say to a Marine major?" asked Nezumi.
"Gen-san...how do you know about that?"
"I knew, Nami," Gen-san said. "We didn't believe that you would just join Arlong for the sake of money, so we pressured Nojiko. The whole village knows what you've been up to. We only pretended because we didn't want you to feel like you should give up because we were counting on you."
"What?" I asked.
I couldn't believe it. All this time, they knew!
"What are you talking about? So, you're saying that everyone in this village is a thief, and you want us to arrest all of you?" Nezumi asked.
"We're trying to say that we cannot expect anything from the government! So, we fight by ourselves!"
Nojiko had appeared.
"Nojiko..."
"If you didn't come here to help us, you'd better get of out here! If you don't hurry, Arlong'll sink your ship!"
"Arlong?" Nezumi asked. "I find that highly unlikely. Now the rest of you, hurry up and dig! It's 100 million Berries! It's not that hard to find!"
"How'd you know she had that much?!" Gen-san questioned.
"Oh...a lucky guess," Nezumi said with a snicker.
'Wait. Could it be...?!'
"Did Arlong send you here?!" I asked angrily. "Answer me!!"
"Arlong?" Nezumi asked with that same smug grin. "Don't be absurd, little girl. We're simply doing our job: confiscating stolen property from a thief."
"What did you say, you piece of crap!?" Gen-san asked.
"You're a marine, yet you've become a pirate's pet!" Nojiko shouted.
'Arlong!' I thought.
'That bastard...he lied to me! He's been playing me for years!'
"Take care of them! Don't let them get involved with the search!" Nezumi ordered as he turned away.
"Yes, sir!" said the soldiers as they prepared to shoot at us.
Those bastards shot my sister!
The villagers came and wanted to know what had happened.
Then, Luffy showed up...
"What happened, Nami? You need some help?" he asked with that same big, stupid grin.
"You still here?" I growled as I grabbed his collar.
"Eh?"
"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
I push him aside and run straight back to Arlong Park.
"Where are you going, Nami?" asked one of the villagers.
'Arlong! Arlong! Arlong!!' was what went through my mind.
Then I burst into Arlong Park and ran up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"What's wrong, my precious navi-"
"DON'T YOU GIVE ME ANY OF THAT BULL CRAP, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" I barked. "WHY DID YOU SEND THOSE MARINES TO STEAL ALL MY MONEY?!? YOU GAVE ME YOUR WORD!!!"
"Break my promise? When did I break my promise?" he asked.
"DON'T PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU ORDERED THOSE--" he grabbed my face and said:
"Tell me. When did I break my promise?" then he and the others laugh.
"Sorry, Nami," said Arlong, "but I guess this means you can't buy your village back. Looks like you'll have to collect all that money all over again. SHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
My eyes were overflowing with tears of anger.
That...THAT DEVIL!!
"You...Monster!"
"But that's okay! 100 million berries! You can collect that anytime!" he laughed.
"Or do you wanna escape from this island? I'll kill everyone in Cocoyashi Village because of you."
I remembered Gen-san's words.
'I knew, Nami. We didn't believe that you would just join Arlong for the sake of money, so we pressured Nojiko. The whole village knows what you've been up to. We only pretended because we didn't want you to feel like you should give up because we were counting on you.'
I smacked Arlong's hand away and ran off.
"So, Nami! Are you thinking of getting out of here?" he called out as he laughed.
'I can't...I can't let them die! Not for my mistake! If I have to recollect the money all over again, then that's fine! As long as no one has to die again!' I thought.
'I can't stand the thought of losing someone else! Gen-san...Nojiko...everyone! I can't lose any one of you!'
I ran back to the village and saw that everyone had prepared to fight Arlong and his crew!
'Are they insane?!'
"WAIT!" I cried out.
"Nami." said Nojiko.
"Please, everyone!" I pleaded. "Just...wait a little longer, okay?! I can always try again! Just give me another chance, and it'll be easy this time! I swear!"
Gen-san looked up at me...and I saw a tear falling down from his eye.
Then...he pulled me into a hug.
"No, Nami," he said. "You've done enough for us, already! You can't carry the burden of the whole village on your shoulders anymore! You fought long and hard, and I can imagine that it must've been worse than death for you to join Arlong and his ranks. You fought well, Nami..."
"Gen-san...!" I whispered with tears in my eyes.
"But now," he said as he pulled away, "I think it's best if you leave this island."
I gasped.
"What? Wait."
"You're a very smart person, and you also have your dream to accomplish, right?" my sister said to me.
"Nojiko."
"Everyone! Don't go! I don't want to see anyone get hurt by them!" I pointed a knife towards them.
"If you go, you'll get killed!"
"We know that, Nami," said Gen-san as he grabbed the knife's blade, causing his hand to bleed. "NOW STAND ASIDE!!"
I gasped in horror and disbelief as they charged passed me.
"FORWARD, PEOPLE!!" Gen-san roared. "EVEN IF WE CAN'T WIN, WE'LL GIVE THOSE DEMONS ONE HELL OF A FIGHT!!!"
I fell to my knees, horrified.
It was over. Everyone was gonna die...and it was all Arlong's fault!
I looked over my shoulder at that wretched tattoo. I could hear Arlong's mocking laughter as I glared at it! I hated it! I hated it so much!
I screamed as I grabbed the knife...and plunged the blade into my shoulder, screaming Arlong's name as I kept stabbing that cursed mark!!
'I hate him! I HATE HIM~!!'
"ARLONG~!!" I screamed as I kept stabbing my shoulder. "ARLONG!! ARLONG!! ARLONG! ARLONG!! ARLONG!! ARLONG!!! AR-"
I stopped...when I felt a hand grab my wrist. I turned...and there was Luffy.
"Luffy...what do you want? You don't know anything about this. You don't know what's been happening on this island for the past eight years."
"Nope, I don't." he said, bluntly.
"This has nothing to do with you...! I told you to leave this place!"
"Yep, you sure did."
"SO LEAVE! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW! GO! GO AWAY! GO! Go! Go..." I screamed as I threw dirt at him and then broke into sobs.
Then...I turned to him with tears flowing down my cheeks and I said...
"Luffy...help me...!"
He put his hat over my crown, saying:
"Of course. That's what friends do."
He walked up a couple steps, took in a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"HE'S GONNA PAY~!!!"
I put my hand on his hat...and I remembered when he got mad at one of Buggy's thugs for so much as touching it. That's when I realized...if he was willing to let me wear his hat...then he must really trust me, even after all the things I did to him!
"Lu...Luffy..."
I watched as Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji went off to Arlong Park...and then I realized...in some way, I had to help!
Knowing that, I bandaged up my arm and went to the Park.
When I got there, I saw Zoro and Sanji-kun fighting Arlong, but I didn't see Luffy, or Usopp anywhere. Then...Arlong turned to look at me, and for a moment, I felt that fear in my heart coming back.
"I was just about to crush these worthless pirates into the ground. What're you doing here?" he asked.
"I've come here to kill you."
I had to admit, I did NOT sound confident...because I wasn't.
"Kill me?"
He only laughed.
"For the past eight years, how many times have you tried to kill me? Attack me while I was off-guard, poison me, or even hired someone to do the job? After all, you can't kill me, right? You should realize by now that you, a half-human/half-Cat Person, don't even have a prayer at trying to kill me."
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Listen. I won't kill you and I won't let you go. You will be our navigator forever!"
I gasped silently at this...because I knew he meant it.
"But as you've already known, I'm not a cruel person. I won't lock you up. If possible, I want you to still be our navigator. I'm going to kill every single human and Animal Person here, except you."
'Oh, god no. Not that! Anything but that!' I thought.
"However, if you say that you'll join us again and continue drawing maps for us, I will spare the lives of the villagers in Cocoyashi Village."
I chewed my lip.
What could I do?!
"But not for these guys because they've created too much trouble. I will let you choose between joining us and saving Cocoyashi's villagers or following these insects and trying to kill me. And as you can see, these hopeful people can't do anything anymore. You can see a big tragedy with your eyes."
'No...I-I can't! Not again!'
"So, Nami. Will you join us? Or are you going to choose them?"
"I...I...!"
"That's dirty! You're pressuring Nami, anyway!" the villagers yelled.
'I can't be confused by his words!'
I face them all and say:
"I'm sorry, everyone! I want you all...to fight and die with me!!"
Everybody cheered.
"You asked for it." Arlong said.
All of a sudden, we heard a scream.
We all wondered who it came from...turns out it was from Luffy.
Zoro gave us a thumbs down for some reason.
"Eh?"
"I'll give you 30 seconds. I can't take any more than that." Zoro told Sanji as he put one of his swords in his mouth.
"That's more than enough!" Sanji dove into the water for some reason.
"We don't have a fountain over there. Was it the Rubber Man?!"
Zoro cut him.
"Don't worry. There's nothing going on. You half-fish, half-human!"
"I told you not to say that word. Do you want to die that much, Roronoa Zoro?" the Shark Fishman licked the blood dripping from his cut.
Oh, god, that gave me the creeps.
"ROTTEN EGGS SHOT!"
Someone shot eggs at Arlong, but he swatted it away.
'Really, Usopp?!'
"I'VE COME HERE TO RESCUE YOU, ZORO!"
"Is that Bro Usopp?" asked Yosaku.
"He's safe, but where is he?" Johnny wondered.
"PLEASE FIGHT HARD!"
He was behind a hole in the wall...Yeah...a real hero, this guy.
"You're over there?" Zoro said.
"Usopp!" I said.
"Hey Nami! I defeated one of the Fishmen!" he told me.
Hmm...you know, come to think of it, I was wondering why Chu was missing.
Usopp actually defeated him!?
"I won't allow you to do that." Hachi struggled to get up.
"I don't know what big bro chef is doing, but it seems that that's the most important key to win." said Johnny.
"Big Bro Zoro! Fight on! Fight on!" Yosaku cheered.
"The person who received the powers of a Devil Fruit will lose all power underwater and die. If that kid is still alive, it means that there is someone else getting involved in this fight." explained Arlong.
"Get involved? I've never thought that this game was fair anyway." Zoro said.
"But I have to check who those rats are." the Shark Fishman replied.
"HEY ARLONG! COME OVER HERE!" Usopp yelled.
"Bro Usopp!" said Johnny and Yosaku.
'Are you kidding me, Usopp?!' I thought.
"USOPP'S...RUBBER BAND!"
"How dare you try to stop me? You really wanna be the first person to die, right? Roronoa Zoro!!!"
"Now, go get him, Zoro!" said Usopp.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I asked him.
Honestly, I don't believe him! A hero one minute, then a coward the next!
"I will break your long nose!!!" roared the Tiger Man.
He tried to cut Arlong's nose off but to no avail.
"Sh..."
"Idiot! My nose cannot be broken. That's why it's really long." he told Zoro.
"If you're at 100%, maybe you can try and scar it!!!"
They continued their fight.
"Look! That octopus is waking up!" one of the villagers pointed out.
"Eh? What's he doing?"
Hachi looked as though he was defending himself...then...
"What? I thought that you were going to shoot the rubber band at me!" he said.
(A/N: Now, that's just sad.)
"WHAT~!?"
'...Seriously, Hachi? You're THAT MUCH of a dumb-ass?' was what I was thinking.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Usopp yelled.
"I was aiming at that guy! I said Arlong, too! Can't you hear that at all?!"
"Squidy!" Zoro called Hachi.
"I won't allow your plan to succeed, Roronoa Zoro!" Hachi said.
"I will go down there and kill all of your friends!" he jumped into the water and went after Sanji.
Oh, no! Sanji-kun's in trouble...or so I thought.
"Don't worry about them because all of you will die anyway!!!" Arlong then attacked Zoro.
"Big Bro!" Johnny and Yosaku cried.
"ZORO!!!" screamed Usopp.
'Is Zoro insane?! He'll die with all those injuries!'
Worst of all, Arlong ripped off his bandages!
"Oh, look at these wounds," Arlong said. "And all this blood, too. You won't last much longer."
It was horrible! He had a deep slash across his torso!
Where the hell did he get it from, anyway?!
Arlong was about to finish him off, then Zoro began to laugh.
At first, I thought dying was making him crazy!
I was proven wrong when he said:
"Just lying still...would've kept those wounds from opening up, wouldn't you say?"
"That's right. You're a very strange person." the Shark Fishman smirked.
"I wasn't talking about myself. I was talking to that Squid Man."
"What?"
"I told you that we would win this game!" Zoro said to him.
'Wait...he meant Hachi?'
Well, it's not surprising, actually.
Then, out of the blue...I saw Luffy, high up in the air!
"I'M BACK!" he roared.
"RUBBER MAN!" one of the villagers shouted.
"BIG BRO LUFFY!" cried Johnny.
"LUFFY!" I cried out, happily.
Usopp looked happy, also.
"You're late, idiot!" Zoro said.
"ZORO! SWITCH!!" Luffy called out as he stretched his arms and grabbed Zoro by the back of his neck.
"Hey! Wait a sec...! You're not gonna--!"
Too late. Luffy sent Zoro flying.
...It was actually pretty funny.
Don't tell him I said that...or Zoro.
"STUPID!!!" we all shouted at Luffy, even if I did think that him sending Zoro flying was funny.
Soon...it was just Luffy and Arlong.
"GUM GU~M...BELL!" the Monkey Man shouted as he brought his head down on the Shark Fishman's, hard.
"Followed by...WHIP!" Luffy outstretched his right leg and kicked Arlong in the side.
"PISTOL!" he punched him right in the gut. Following that, he delivered multiple punches to the Fishman.
"GATLING!" he shouted.
I couldn't believe it!
I couldn't believe that Luffy was willing to fight Arlong like that...for me!
Unfortunately...Arlong just stood back up like those attacks were nothing!
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"IT'S NOT WORKING AT ALL!" Yosaku and Johnny cried.
"I've just finished warming up!" Luffy cracked his knuckles.
"There are a lot of snacks for me this time. I thought that it would be better if you died under there." Arlong said.
Luffy was either really confident or really stupid, because he didn't look worried or scared at all...then again, he was always like that.
I've known that fact for a while now.
"I'm happy that Sanji and the others got me out of there." he said and he was stretching.
"Do you know how upset I am?" the Shark Man asked.
"Later, you will give up and die. I'm so upset that my beloved crew was beaten by a bunch of worthless insects."
Hmph... "worthless insects", my ass.
"I wonder if Big Bro Luffy can defeat him. Even though he hit him, he's still fine." Yosaku wondered.
"What about big bro Zoro!? Where was he thrown to?!" asked Johnny.
"Go get him, Luffy! I'll stay here and cheer you on!"
"That's not necessary." I sweat-dropped.
Arlong started going on about the difference between humans, Fishmen, and other Animal People. Ugh...it gets me even more mad every time.
Luffy, unknowingly, insulted him. Ordinarily, he was only saying what he really thought, as Johnny pointed out. This caused Arlong to bite at him.
He would have bit Luffy's head off, if Luffy hadn't stretched his head out of the way. Arlong ended up biting the pillar instead and shattered it!
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT!? YOU BITE THE PILLAR AND YOUR TEETH WILL BREAK!" Usopp hollered.
"THIS MUST BE A JOKE!!! HE CAN DESTROY PILLARS WITH ONLY HIS TEETH!!!" Johnny and Yosaku were bugging out!
Even Luffy looked a little nervous.
"This is the power of Fishmen ever since the day we were born. Heaven gave us the power to separate us from you. So, we are different! Humans have been lower and weaker than us since the day they were born!" Arlong went on.
'My god, again with this?!' I yelled in my head.
"No matter how hard humans practice their jaws, they can't do that." Usopp said.
"So what?! It's no big deal!"
Luffy then punched the rest of the pillar that Arlong crushed.
"Who said you need big teeth to crush stone?!" he questioned.
Gotta say, that kinda turned me on.
"OUCH! THAT HURT!" Yosaku shouted.
"SEE THAT? THE RESULT'S STILL THE SAME ANYWAY!" Johnny yelled.
"Boring." seethed the Shark Fishman.
"HUMANS ARE A STUPID SPECIES WITH NO POWER! SAME WITH YOU MONKEY PEOPLE! WHEN YOU WERE DROWNING, YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING! SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?!"
"Because I can't do anything, others have to help me." Luffy said as he picked up two swords.
'Does Luffy really know how to use a sword, let alone two swords?!' I wondered.
Sanji asked the same thing, too.
Apparently...he does not. He just swung the swords wildly.
Eh, at least he tried.
Arlong was able to toss one of the swords away with his nose.
"If you want to play, I don't have to play with you! Huh?"
Luffy then swung his other sword at Arlong, albeit, he bit it in half.
"This is meaningless." he said, half of the blade still in his mouth.
"YOUR TEETH WILL BREAK!" Luffy yelled.
BAM!! Luffy punched Arlong right in the jaw and busted his teeth!
"HOW CAN I KNOW WHO TO USE SWORDS, YOU IDIOT?!" he shouted to Arlong.
"Wha...What's he talking about?" asked Yosaku.
"I'm terrible at navigating!"
I gasped silently when he said that.
"I can't cook...and I can't even lie!"
"Hey!" Usopp snapped.
"But I do know this much! Without my friends, I'd be long dead, by now!!"
'...Oh, Luffy...'
Arlong laughed. Bastard.
"I never thought you were that worthless. You're only good at boasting! Your crew must have a headache with a captain like you. I don't know why these people have to risk their lives for you."
"I can still do one thing," Luffy said.
Everyone else cheered him on.
"That's the way it should be!" Sanji said.
"I'll support you from behind!" Usopp hollered.
"I can kick your ass," Luffy said to Arlong.
"SHUT UP, YOU PUNY MONKEY!" Arlong's teeth grew back in an instant!
Dammit, I forgot he's a shark! Of course his teeth will grow back!
He pulled his new set of teeth out and then pulled the next set out as well!
"This the gift that the heavens bestowed upon us!" explained Arlong.
"That's so cool!" Luffy said.
THAT IS NOT COOL, YOU IDIOT!
"So, do you understand how great Fishmen are?"
I still don't see what's so great, but that didn't mean I wasn't worried.
He began attacking Luffy with those fangs!
Then Luffy did the most surprising thing, ever!
He actually used one of Arlong's men as a shield! I didn't think Luffy would even do such a thing!
Arlong was pissed.
"You used my crewmate as a shield, you little brat!" he shouted.
"That's so scary!" Usopp said.
"Hey," Luffy said. "That gives me an idea!"
Everyone wanted to know what Luffy's idea was.
Arlong attacked him, again.
Luffy knocked his teeth out, again...and this was his big idea:
He put Arlong's teeth in his mouth.
...Idiot. That was just straight-up nasty!
"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK ME!!!" Arlong roared.
He slashed Luffy with his other teeth.
"AH! HE'S BITING ME!" Luffy screamed.
"STOP PLAYING AROUND!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted.
"Who said I was playing!?" Luffy questioned.
It looked to me like he was.
Luffy tried blocking Arlong's attacks with a piece of the floor but his fangs were too strong.
Then Arlong's teeth hit him in the stomach!
He cried out. Then, unexpectedly, Luffy bit him in the shoulder with his teeth!
So that was his plan the whole time?!
Who knew he was such an evil genius?!
I like it!
"How was that?! You got hurt by your own teeth!!!" he said, with a devious grin.
"Hmph!" Arlong grunted as he took the teeth off his shoulder. "Even if they're my teeth, your inferior monkey jaws are too weak! A shark's teeth are deadly because its jaw muscle have the power...TO BITE THROUGH FLESH AND BONE!!"
Then he bites down on Luffy's arm!
Ouch!
'I'd hate to be Luffy, right now!' I thought.
Suddenly, he cried out and flipped Arlong right into the ground! Elbowing him in the mouth in the process!
'That's gotta hurt!'
He yanked the pair of teeth from his stomach and wondered where Arlong went.
"LUFFY! IN THE SEA!" Usopp shouted.
"The sea?" Luffy repeated before he looked into the water...and he saw a dorsal fin emerge from underneath.
"It's just a shark!" he said.
"THAT'S ARLONG!" Usopp told him.
Then Arlong's fin disappeared.
"Hey...he went underwater!" Luffy said. "Did he run away?"
"SHARK ON DARTS!!"
Arlong jumped out of the water and hit Luffy with his nose!
"WHAT'S THAT!?" Usopp asked.
I only watch in concern and fear.
'I should've told Luffy about this stuff before he went to fight Arlong! Now he's just lying there, in pain, and probably bleeding to death! I'm such an idiot!' I thought.
"Ouch! That hurt!" he clutched his wound.
"I see you've survived," says Arlong. "However...that only means YOUR DEATH IS IMMINENT!!"
Then he just started pummeling Luffy with all those Shark On Darts attacks! He got his nose stuck in the ground once, but even then, he attacked so fast! Luffy barely had time to defend himself!
"LUFFY! DON'T STAND THERE! HE WENT UNDER THE WATER AGAIN!!!" Usopp warned.
"GET OUT OF THERE, BRO!!!" Yosaku and Johnny yelled.
"NO WAY!!" Luffy shouts.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?! YOU'RE HIS TARGET! GET OUT OF THERE!" Sanji told him.
"I'm gonna get him," Luffy answered, "and I'm gonna kick his ass!!"
'How was he gonna do that?!' I thought.
"Come on out, you damn shark guy!" Luffy shouted.
"I told you to get out of there! Don't you understand, Luffy?! If you stand like that, he'll get you and you'll be killed!" Usopp yelled.
"Gum Gum...SHIELD!!"
"What's that?" Yosaku asked.
"So, he wants to directly confront the attack?" wondered Johnny.
"SHARK ON DARTS!!"
Arlong jumped out of the water again, and I was almost certain he hit Luffy right in the forehead...almost.
Turns out that he didn't get him.
Instead, Arlong caused Luffy to bounce back against Arlong Park! Thank god he's a rubber-monkey!
"What's that?! He got hurt?" Usopp asked.
"No, Luffy's the one who jumped himself!" explained Sanji.
"Ha! That's not gonna work on me, you stupid shark!" Luffy shouted, clinging to the wall. "You're finished!"
"SHARK ON DARTS!"
Arlong jumped out of the buidling and hit Luffy again!
"You can't escape from me!" he said.
"That was a lucky shot! You scared me!" Luffy shouted.
Uh, yeah, that would've done MORE than scare him!
That Monkey Man amazed me every time.
"THIS WILL PUT AN END TO IT!!" Arlong shouted as he lunged at Luffy again, nose-first.
"LUFFY, LOOK OUT!!" I cried.
"So, you got a problem?! GUM GUM..."
"FINGER NET!!"
He had his fingers all tangled up like some kind of net.
He even caught Arlong with it!
"Looks like I'm going fishing!" he shouted before he threw Arlong to the ground. "Now Gum Gumm...SPEAR!!"
He stretched both feet and hit Arlong in the stomach.
There was a cloud of dust for a moment...and I didn't see Arlong for a while...but I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
"Is he dead?" Luffy asked.
The dust clears, and we see Arlong, just lying there, mouth all bloody. It was kinda scary.
You should've seen his eyes!
When he woke up...they looked all slit and bloodshot! I never saw them like that before!
"YOU'RE JUST A PUNY MONKEY!!!" Arlong grabbed Luffy.
Then he started swinging him around.
Next, he threw Luffy through a wall!
"I AM A MIGHTY FISHMAN! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!?"
"That was so scary! I'm not hurt, but that guy's become reckless!" Luffy said.
"AH!"
Arlong was charging right at him!
Thank goodness Luffy dodged his attack.
Then Arlong reached his hand into the wall and he pulled out...the Kiribachi!
'Oh no! Not that blade!'
"What's that?" Luffy asked.
"A GIANT BLADE!" Johnny and Yosaku cried out.
"KIRIBACHI!" I said.
The next thing I know, I see Luffy, running for his life from Arlong until they disappear inside Arlong Park!
"He went inside." said Sanji.
"The left window of the highest floor." I said. "The Navigation Room."
I hated that room.
That very room was like a dungeon to me. Day in, day out, I had to draw maps for that accursed Arlong!
If I drew the wrong map for him, I'd get punished!
I was never allowed to leave that room until I had finished a certain map for that monster!
It was my prison! So long as that room existed, I would never be free of Arlong!
Then, all of sudden, we hear a crash...and something comes flying out of the room!
It was...the desk.
'Wait...what? Seriously?'
"Luffy?"
'Luffy...oh, my god.'
I was crying tears of joy! I couldn't even get my words out because I was so grateful!
He kicked out the book shelf, and all of the other furniture as well!
We see all the maps that Arlong forced me to draw for him, falling from the room, too!
"Thank you." I whispered.
"What the hell's happening?!" Usopp asked.
"It stopped." said Sanji.
It felt like hours until something happened again. I saw...Luffy's leg, shooting out through the roof, and then he pulled it back down, and the next thing we know...Arlong Park starts to collapse!
"Big Sis Nami! We gotta go!" shouted Johnny. "The place is gonna collapse!!"
"But Luffy's still in there!!" I cried.
Before I could go and help...Arlong Park completely fell...and Luffy was still inside!
"LUFFY!!!" I screamed.
Arlong Park had completely collapsed...and we stood there, waiting for a voice...a sound...a sign...something.
'Oh, dear god, Luffy, please be okay...!' I thought.
"Who won!?" Sanji demanded.
"Arlong Park has collapsed." Gen-san said. He then noticed something.
"Isn't that..."
"Luffy!" said Usopp.
It was him! Luffy came out!
'Oh, thank god!'
I was so relieved, you have no idea!
"Luffy!" I cried out, happily.
"BRO~!" cried Johnny and Yosaku.
He seemed to be a bit shaky...not surprising, seeing as how he's lost a lot of blood.
"Is he hurt?" asked Usopp. Dumb question, I know.
Luffy sighed and said:
"NAMI!!!"
I was speechless for a bit. Then, he said:
"YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MY FRIEND!!!"
My eyes go wide...and I felt my tears welling up again.
I know he said "friend"...but at that moment, it felt like it meant something more to me. That's when I realized...
I'm in love with him.
I sobbed a bit.
"Yes."
"We win!" cheered Usopp.
Everyone else started to cheer, as well.
It took eight long, painful years...but at last...we had finally gained our freedom!
"Stop right there!" said a voice.
'Oh, great, it's Nezumi again! That damn rat.'
"This is my lucky day. I had a chance to see a very interesting fight from the beginning to the end. It's not strange to say that you're very lucky because no one will believe that unknown pirates could defeat those Fishmen!" he said, with that same smug grin.
"Because of you, every single beri of Arlong's will be mine! Everyone drop your weapons! I, Commander Nezumi of Unit 16, will be happy to accept all the treasure!"
I wanted to claw his eyes out.
Without warning, Zoro grabbed him from behind, and boy, you should've seen Nezumi then. He was screaming!
"Zoro!" Usopp said.
"Everyone's happy. So, you'd better not disturb them!" he told the Rat Man, baring his fangs at him.
'You tell him, Zoro.' I thought, smiling.
Shortly after that, him, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp beat the crap out of him and his goons.
"You think that you can get away with this?" the Rat Man asked.
"Still talking like this?" asked Sanji.
I walked up to Luffy and put his hat back on his head.
Then I walked up to Nezumi and knelt down to his face.
"That is for shooting my sister, Nojiko, and for destroying Bellemere's tangerine farm."
"Huh?" he said.
Then I hit him with my staff.
Bastard went flying right into the water when I did that!
"Sir!" the soldiers cried.
I sighed.
"Thank you, Nami!" Nojiko said. "That was so cool!"
"Hit him a hundred times more and then we'll call it even!" shouted Gen-san.
The Rat Man resurfaced, gasping for air.
Then I pinced his whiskers and pulled his face.
I told him:
"I want you to give back all the treasure you stole! It belongs to the people of Cocoyashi Village!"
"Second, you will rebuild Goza Village!"
"Ouch! Ouch! That hurts! I will do everything you've said!!!" he cried.
"Also, you're gonna round up all the Fishmen and clean up this mess they made! And one more thing...GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!!!"
"Ok. I will return it to you."
After all that, he starts ranting stuff like, "Oh, I won't forget this, you damned pirates!" or "Something terrible will happen! Mark my words!"
Crybaby.
"Hey! He said that you deserve something!" said Sanji.
"How can he know that I deserve to become the greatest pirate?" Luffy asked.
"He didn't mean that." Zoro told him.
"What're we gonna do?! If what he said was true, then what're we gonna do?!" Usopp asked, frantically.
I heaved a sigh and smiled. I can't believe my entire village was saved by a bunch of pirates.
"I've never thought that pirates would help us." Gen-san said.
"They're very hard to understand."
Gen-san tipped his hat.
Then the townsfolk start cheering, again.
"Come on, everybody! We shouldn't be the only ones celebrating!"
"Yeah! Let's go tell everyone on the island!"
"Arlong Park has been destroyed!"
Later, Gen-san, Nojiko, and I were at Bellemere's grave.
'It's over now, Bellemere.' I thought.
'After eight painful years, we're all free!'
"Gen-san...Nojiko," I said. "Do you think that...if she were still alive, Bellemere would've tried to stop me from becoming a pirate?"
"Sure! She would never let her beloved daughter become a pirate!" Gen-san answered.
"No, she won't stop you." Nojiko spoke out. "Even if she did try and stop you, would you listen to her?"
I stuck my tongue out.
"Not a chance."
Subsequently, everyone threw a huge party that lasted for days!
During the party, Luffy walked up to me.
"What's up, Luffy?" I asked him.
Luffy didn't say anything. He just had that usual big goofy grin on his face. I couldn't help but laugh because it was kinda cute.
"So, what's up?"
Luffy then held up...a pair of red boots.
"Remember these?" he asked me.
My eyes went wide. When we were at Usopp's village, he had given those boots to me before. I rejected them and said that they were ugly boots...that was a lie.
I thought they were cute. They looked like Jack Sparrow's boots.
I'm surprised that he didn't get mad!
"Yes. I do." I replied.
"You kept them?"
"Yep! Shishishi!"
I smiled.
"Well? Aren't you gonna try 'em on?" he asked me.
I took the boots from him and put them on. They fit like gloves!
"You like?"
I looked at him...and I threw my arms around him in a hug.
"Thank you so much," I said to Luffy.
He smiled and hugged me back.
"You're welcome, Nami."
"I really do love them."
"That's good."
"Hey~! Nami!" I heard someone calling me. Luffy and I turned around and saw that it was Nojiko.
"Nojiko!"
'Oh, no, I hope she's not gonna do what I think she's gonna do.' I thought.
"So, you're the infamous Monkey Boy my baby sister's been crushing on?" she asked with a sly smirk.
"Eh?" Luffy asked.
'I knew it.'
"GODDAMN IT, NOJIKO! I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" I screamed, whiling blushing like crazy.
"Wait, you have a crush on me?" Luffy asked. "Because I have a crush on you."
I blinked.
"Eh?"
I...could not...BELIEVE...what I just heard.
"You do?"
"Uh-huh," Luffy answered.
"Wow...this is...this is totally unexpected." I said.
"Anyway, I wanted to thank you for saving our village." Nojiko spoke out.
"No problem!" Luffy said. "By the way, is there more food?"
"Of course!" nodded my sister.
Then he ran off before I could say anything else.
I sighed.
So...I went to Nako's.
"Is it cured?" I asked.
"Well, some scars don't ever go away, Nami," the doc said.
"So, I'm stuck with this for the rest of my life." I said.
***Flashback***
"I hate my tattoo!"
"I don't want anyone to see it! It's like he owns me!"
"Nami..."
***End of Flashback***
I was silent for a while.
***Flashback***
"Nojiko! That tattoo! What happened?"
"What, this? Well...I decided to get one, too! Now I look just like you!"
She laughed.
"Yes."
***End of Flashback***
That gave me an idea.
"Hey, doc?"
"Huh?"
"Here." I gave him a piece of paper.
It was supposed to be a tangerine with a pinwheel.
The next day came.
'Well...this is it. I've made up my mind. I'm going to join Luffy's crew.'
I left my house and headed to the docks where the Merry was...and I see everybody there.
This was my chance.
"SET THE SAILS!!" I shout.
Everyone turned their attention to me.
Then...I started to run.
"Nami! Wait!" Gen-san shouted. "We can't let you leave before we get a chance to thank you!"
I just kept running.
I pushed my way passed the crowd and jumped aboard the Merry.
Once I was on board...I lifted my shirt up. I saw Luffy blushing a little when he saw that...and when I did...all these wallets and purses came out. I swiped them from the crowd when I was running.
I held up a 1000 Berry bill, kissed it, and then turned to the crowd.
"Thanks a bunch!" I stuck my tongue out at them.
"You...!" Gen-san said.
Him and everyone else shouted:
"YOU DAMN LITTLE PICKPOCKET!!!"
"GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!!!"
"WE'LL MISS YOU, YOU BRAT!!!"
"TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!"
Oh, don't worry! I left them all that treasure.
"She'll never change." Usopp deadpanned.
Mm, probably not.
Zoro sighed. "Is she gonna betray us again?" he asked.
Know what, you can go fuck yourself, Zoro.
"Nami-san, that was so cool!" Sanji gave me a thumbs up.
Aw, how sweet.
Luffy only laughed.
'I'm leaving now, Bellemere.' I thought.
"Bye!" I called out to everyone as I left. "Take care!!!"
"Don't forget our promise, kid!" Gen-san called out to Luffy.
I saw Luffy grin and flash a thumbs-up.
I wonder what he meant by "promise".
Anyhoo, as we were leaving...Luffy turned to look at me.
"What's up, Luffy?" I asked.
He walked up to me...and then...he held my hand, and I blushed.
'...I hope he's about to do what I think he's about to do.'
"Luffy."
Luffy just gave me his usual grin.
I smiled.
Then...I landed a big ol' wet one on his lips.
This totally caught him off guard.
As quickly as I kissed him, I pulled away...and his face was as red as his vest.
I saw Zoro smirking as he and Usopp dragged a ranting Sanji-kun away.
"W...What was that?" he asked.
"It's my way of thanking you, Luffy." I said.
He stared at me for a moment, but then he smiled at me.
"No problem, Nami!"
I never thought I'd ever fall for a pirate, until I met Luffy.
I also never thought that I would ever be free from Arlong's hold...and that my village would never be free again.
Luffy changed all of that. He set us free. For that, I thank him, and I'll love him...always.
Thank you...Luffy.
Thank you for freeing me.
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