It was a few, rare quiet days of relaxation among the crew. Usopp had finally bowed to the inevitable. The three found his lies and boisterous attitude to be a great source of entertainment, though his constant requests to become captain got a trifle annoying. Kaya, though sad, was willing to let them go, and Usopp had sworn to return one day.
Finally, on the day of their departure, the crew was given their treat. "A caravel!" Nami cried in joy as the ship was revealed to them. It was a good ship: the sails were new, the hull was sturdy, and the figurehead gave off just the same clueless innocent vibe their captain did. Meri proudly declared, "This ship may be of an old design, but it will carry you far. I call it the Going Merry."
Kaya kissed Usopp before he left much to the surprise of everyone, the marksman almost fainted. After that they had one last goodbye before the man climbed onto the ship, going to join his new crew, his new life, his new destiny. As they pulled away from the island and Luffy sat perched on the figurehead, the captain had only one thing to say. "We Are Coming Grand Line!"
Nami
The amount of tears she shed was abysmally minimal, and in the beginning, she felt thoroughly alienated and disgusted by herself and guilty for her apparent lack of grief. Yes, there had been big, fat round tears in her eyes the moment the bullet's impact had thrown her mother's body backwards, like a broken marionette whose strings had all snapped at the same time.
And that was it, really, for the longest time. Nami's tears stopped the moment that cold and clam hand had grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Compared to the coldness of the shock, the sheer terror of seeing, of knowing beyond a doubt that Bellemere was, that she couldn't possibly be – Arlong's hand was positively, disgustingly warm and alive.
To this day, Nami remembers and marvels at the feeling of absolute clarity that poured into her mind that day while she was being carried away to where the Fishmen had chosen to set up base. The memory of days that followed Bellemere's death wasn't always as clear as the memory of the feeling of clarity she had experienced then.
And in the years to follow, when she'd grown and matured and begun to question and analyse herself, she would often wonder: Had her mind been truly that much sharper or had the world only suddenly become a lot more blurred? Of course, it didn't matter, in retrospect, even if it was an interesting conundrum to contemplate.
As they pierced her skin with the needle dipped in Hatchan's ink over and over again, for hours to no end, there were no tears. As they laughed and joked about the foolhardy human Arlong had put into place on the day of their arrival, whenever Nami was within earshot, there were no tears.
As Arlong himself tore up the small sketch of her mother's grinning face, there were no tears. As she argued and haggled for the village's worth, for every single house and life it contained and that she wanted to protect, to finalise their deal and pin that monster down if only verbally, there were no tears.
As the villagers turned their back on her as one so unexpectedly, there were no tears. As the grave was dug on a cliff overlooking the vast oceans, there were no tears. As the casket holding her mother's lifeless form was entrusted to the island's live-giving soil, there were no tears.
As Genzo spoke a few words over the grave, loud enough that it carried to the bushes where Nami crouched, hidden from everyone's sight and simply remembered the woman that had given her the greatest gifts of all – twice - there were no tears. Not even when the crudely made cross was placed upon the grave as a marker were there any tears.
No tears at all.
But when the sun set on the day of Bellemere's funeral when the shadows invaded the house that had been the only home she'd ever known, the best and richest home she could have had, it now seemed to her, that was when the tears finally did come.
And gods, did they come.
Every piece of furniture held echoes of her mother, had her mother's love written all over it. Her mother's ghost was lingering by the stove, stirring the memory of tangerine sauce. Her shadow was gently tugging on the old, faded curtains as she waited for Nojiko's blue hair to separate from the dark sky and long shadows to come home finally. Her voice echoed in Nami's ears, like an intake of breath that would, could, should be followed by a mouth, a tongue forming a word, forming her name.
"Nami."
That was when the tears were there, suddenly, and broke through her lashes, through stubbornly pressed closed eyelids very much like the force of nature they were. A tidal wave of emotion, of agony, of desperation, of denial, of anger – so much that she felt she was drowning in them. Her mother couldn't be dead; her mother had no right to be dead, her mother didn't deserve to be dead, how in the name of all that was holy could her mother truly be dead? How could she when they, when she needed her, would always need her like air to breath and food to eat and water to drink and sun and wind and earth and all those things that essentially spelt life but that you never think about because they're always there, readily accessible and in abundance?
Was it stupid of her to hope that the steps she heard outside of the house were her mother's? Was it delusional to pray and beg to every deity that the door slowly swinging open and allowing the cool evening air access to the house was being opened the woman she knew – logically knew – to be dead and buried on a cliff with a view? Was it selfish of her to wish that the arms embracing her, rocking her back and forth in an attempt to soothe, were not her sisters but hers? Even as they cried and sobbed together, as tears painfully crawled down both of their faces, Nami couldn't stop herself from wishing... from hoping... from praying... dreaming... begging and bargaining with every deity that would listen to make it not real, to take it back.
She'd do anything, give anything, sacrifice anything, anything just please, please, I beg you, give us back our mother!
What Should I do? Please help us, Mother...
Name opened her eyes, almost screaming, her eyes immediately looked around, fearing she was back in that cursed room, only to see she was in the new ship, Going Merry, she reminded herself, she sighed in relief as cold sweat rolled down her forehead, still trying to catch her breath. She was with her crew; she wasn't alone with that monster.
Suddenly the memories of her mother rushed in; she felt her eyes welling, tears falling on her lap, his laughter ringing in her ears like a bell.
Shahahahaha
Her fingernails almost tore the mattress of her bed, her teeth clenching, remembering his cursed laughter, laughing at the body of her mother, a hole between her eyes.
She suddenly remembered the promise Luffy had given her...
'You're my Nakama. I would go through Hell for you.'
Her arms relaxed at his voice, Nami knew her captain wasn't lying to her, he spoke sincerely to her, the way he smiled at her, a smile slowly erupted on her face, using her right hand, she wiped away the tears from her eyes and cheek.
You're my Nakama
Nami didn't know how, but she found herself standing right in front of Luffy's door; it was the middle of the night, the sea was as calm as ever, now that Nami thought about it, she couldn't remember the sea being calm for so long, there should have been at least a storm by now, she wondered if they were just lucky or Luffy's Storm fruit had anything to do with it.
Raising her hand, she prepared to knock on his door, taking a deep breath; she knocked three times before stopping...
The door opened, revealing Luffy with his shirt on but not covering his chest; Nami knew Luffy had quickly just worn a shirt before opening the door.
"Nami, What is it?" Luffy asked, concerned before noticing her red eyes from crying; he was about to ask what was wrong...
"Luffy, can I come in? I... I need to tell you something," Nami requested, with a slight tone, almost as if she didn't want the rest of the ship to hear despite being in the middle of the night.
Luffy quickly nodded, opening the door wider, stepping aside as Nami walked inside; surprisingly, she saw his clothes were well organised in a chair and not just around the floor.
Luffy seemed to understand what she was thinking, "Makino, she made sure always to tell me that I should always clean my room, and whatnot," Luffy stated with a melancholy smile on his face before gesturing for Nami to sit either in his bed or chair.
Nami sat at the edge of the bed; it was a king-sized bed, her legs outside of the bed's frame. Luffy sat at the chair near the bed, but Nami gestured for him to sit in the bed; Luffy said nothing but sat at the end of the bed across her.
Turning her eyes at him, she felt her courage returning, her heart beating like a hammer on her chest.
"Luffy, you said you would always help your Nakama," she said, her voice insecure.
"Of course, Nami," Luffy said in a heartbeat, with no second thoughts.
"Do you consider me as your Nakama?"
"Always Nami," Luffy spoke, putting his hand on her shoulder, ensuring her.
"Luffy. I ... I need you to kill someone for Me,"
"Who?"
"Arlong, The Saw," She spoke the name with venom, her hands clenching against the mattress of his bed.
"What did he do to you?" Luffy asked with a dangerous tone, the same tone he used against the likes of Morgan and Buggy.
Nami found herself shedding tears; she started telling him but didn't stop until she told him everything, Arlong killing her mother, forcing her to draw maps for him, and the deal to buy the village with 100 million berry.
Luffy held her close as she sobbed against his chest, her hands holding his shirt.
"He will Die Nami. Slowly. He will Pay for everything. You have my Word," Luffy promised, holding her close; the state of anger in Luffy caused violent Winds to suddenly erupt around the sea, but not close enough to damage the ship.
She cried for a minute before silence fell over them; Luffy held her close; the silence went on for ten minutes before Nami pulled away.
"Thank You, Luffy; you have no idea how much that means to me" Nami thanked him; Luffy noticed the mark on her shoulder, his hand touching her skin around the tattoo.
"He marked me with his tattoo," Nami said, Luffy's eyes narrowed.
"I will tear his whole arm apart for this," Luffy promised; this caused a dark smile on Nami's face, quite liking the thought of him being torn apart to shreds, to become nothing.
She stopped her thoughts; her eyes were fixated on his eyes, the closeness made her feel... good, his breath close to her face, the man in front of her had saved her three times, had trained her, done nothing but good things, her cheeks went red, Luffy got concerned that Nami was perhaps sick.
"Nami, are you si..." he was stopped by Nami's lips crushing against his mouth, Luffy's eyes widened, but the feeling of her sweet lips felt like nothing ever before, immediately made him wanting more, he kissed her back, a moan escaped Nami's lips as she swung her arms behind his neck, wanting more...
Her tongue licked his lips; he opened his mouth, her tongue battling with his tongue for dominance. Luffy kissed back hungry before he immediately remembered, pulling away; Nami left out a sigh of disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Nami," Luffy apologised quickly, moving slightly away.
"Why are you apologising?"
"You're not my Girlfriend, Makino and even Granpa always told me that I should never kiss a girl that is not my girlfriend," Luffy explained; Makino, Grandpa and the doctor of the town had given him and his brothers a small talk when it came to women, well mostly the doctor, since his grandpa seemed not to like to explain that kind of stuff that much, and Makino would turn bright red.
Nami smiled at his words before leaning closer to his face. Luffy couldn't help his eyes from going to her cleavage; the way her face was leaning close to his face made her cleavage quite open to him.
"If that's the case, then I would be happy to be your girlfriend. Luffy, do you want to be my boyfriend?" Nami asked, her lips almost touching his.
Luffy found himself surprised by her words; he had never thought a woman as beautiful as Nami would want him.
Warning - Semi-Lemon
"I would like that," Luffy said as he closed the gap between them; Nami immediately returned the kiss with passion, her body jumped on him, pressed against his. Luffy felt her breasts against his chest.
Nami felt her body temperature skyrocketing, the heat between her legs; she left something she had never felt before; she felt lust, love and desire.
She wanted more as her hands went to his shirt, wanting to remove it from him, but Luffy suddenly stopped kissing, making her pout in disappointment; she was about to ask...
"Nami. I'm quite happy to be your boyfriend, but this is just the beginning; maybe we shouldn't go this far yet," Luffy stated despite being rock hard for her; his cock was very uncomfortable against his pants.
Nami pouted, she wanted to take this as far as could go, but at the same time, she knew perhaps he was right.
"Very well, Luffy, but can I sleep with you?" She asked innocently, despite crossing her arms right below her breasts, making them look larger, having the desired effect of gaining Luffy's attention, whose eyes moved at the valley of her breasts.
"Of course, Nami. You can sleep here whenever you want," Luffy said; Nami jumped in delight, before laying on the bed, Luffy behind her, she felt his arms holding her close, his arms felt warm, sending shivers of pleasure through her whole body, she couldn't stop her body, his hands felt so good.
His chin resting on her shoulder, taking on her orange scent on her hair and skin, he quiet liked her hair, they smelled like fresh orange, his breath send tingling...
His arms around her waist but not at her breasts, "Nami, can I?" Luffy asked against her ear; his tone alone made her moan in pleasure.
"Yess, Please, You can Touch Me as much As you Want," She moaned, her voice husky, filled with lust.
Luffy moved his hand to her breasts, his palms not being able to hold her whole breasts, his fingers sinking on the valley of her breasts, her smooth skin felt so good on his hands, her blue bra the only thing separating his hands from her nipple.
Nami couldn't stop her moan, "Yes, Please, Luffy More," She begged as Luffy played more with her delicious looking breasts, kissing her just below her earlobe. Her nipple had grown hard like diamonds.
"I like you, Nami," he whispered.
"I likee you Tooo Luffy,"
Soon the sleep came over them, Luffy holding her close; Nami couldn't remember the last time she had felt so safe, so loved. My captain, I will do my best to ensure that you become the king of the pirates...
Lemon End
Tomorrow
Nami continued to steer her course while Zoro had went to the upper deck to swing his weight covered practice blade.
Right now, Luffy was actually taking care of one of the more important duties of being the ship's captain and designing the flag.
"FINISHED!" Luffy declared loudly while holding up the black painted cloth. "What do you think?"
'That you badly need lessons' was what they were all thinking.
They could see what he had tried to create; they really could. If they squinted and tilted their heads a little, they could just make out a grinning skull wearing what was supposed to be Luffy's hat.
"Uh, Luffy, How can I say this?" Said Nami, who was trying to think of a nice way to let him know that his flag was not that good.
"Your flag looks like crap," Zoro said, saving Nami the trouble.
Luffy's brow furrowed in confusion; he looked down on it and eyed it with what would pass for him as critically. "Really? What's wrong with it? Do you think it should look angry?
"Nah. It's fine. Your just crap at drawing." Replied Zoro.
"For a second, I thought you just didn't like the design", Luffy stated, sighing in relief.
"Lucky for you. I the great and powerful Usopp just so happen to be a world-famous artist..."
"Riiighhtt." "I don't believe you."
"...So have taken the task of designing our Jolly Roger on myself. Witness the awe-inspiring symbol of this mighty crew!" He unfurled another large black cloth.
Wow! They had to admit that it was a really nice flag.
Now, this showed real promise. From the flag, it was clear that Usopp had a steady hand and genuine artistic talent. As well as a serious case of narcissism.
"Not your symbol, idiot!" Nami belted out along with a rap to the back of the liars head.
Usopp quickly drawn another flag with Luffy's design. With Luffy's powers, the flag was ready, and so were the sails.
*BAM*
Luffy and Nami jolted up at the sound of something heavy hitting the deck. Then jumping a mile as they came face to face with the business end of a cannon.
"Look what I found in the captains quarters!"
*GANK*
"Usopp. Next time you want us to look at the ship cannon DON'T POINT IT AT US!"
Usopp rubbed his head and looked at his seething shipmates. "Aw, don't be like that. This thing not even loaded see."
*KA-BOOM*
The smell of gunpowder, deafening noise and falling onto the floor when the cannon wheeled backwards from the blast told him otherwise.
The cannonball skimmed above the ocean, Hitting a small spit of land and blowing it to pieces.
"Ow. My head." He once again was rubbing the back of his skull gently. Nami turned to Luffy after hitting Usopp.
"What member do we need now?" Nami asked, looking at Luffy.
"We. Need. A. Cook?" Grumbled Zoro while seated in the corner, feeling too cool to sit at the table like a normal person.
"Yeah. Someone who can tell at a glance what we can and can't eat out on the ocean and how to prepare it safely. A cook is almost if not just as important as a navigator on long voyages."
Luffy agreed with Zoro's and Nami's reasoning; Luffy promised her last night that they would deal with Arlong after they got another crew member; Nami was fine with that; she still had a month left to pay.
Later
"COME OUT AND FACE ME!" A deep masculine voice yelled from outside on the deck.
Luffy was on his feet in an instant. Rushing out the door to see a guy with a Kantian taking up his left cheek, waving a thick saber about and wrecking whatever he could see.
"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are tearing up my ship?" Luffy asked angrily.
The man sneered. His glare was visible even past his kick-ass sunglasses. "It doesn't matter who I am. Theirs no point in telling someone who I'm gonna kill!" He charged at Luffy with his blade held over his head to cleave the boy in half.
It was all too easy for him to simply side step the sword as it swung down, then bring his fist up casually to deliver a tremendous gut punch to his attacker. Making the swordsman cough out a small amount of blood before falling limp on Luffy's arm.
"I didn't ask who you are. Cause I really don't care. But I won't stand guys like you just jumping onto Merry and trying to wreck it!" He tossed the attacker towards the cabin wall, making a loud thud when he hit the timber, followed by sliding down and sitting in a manner similar to the crews' own swordsman.
Johnny?" Zoro exclaimed at the site as he stepped out of the cabin.
The downed man. Despite seconds before being tossed around like a rag doll was back on his feet in an instant at the sound of the familiar voice. Surprise and relief on his face. "ZORO, MY BROTHER!"
"EHH! ZORO HAS A BROTHER!" The captain of the ship was quite surprised. In the same way, Usopp was quite a liar, or Nami was quite a thief.
"Relax, Luffy. It's just a thing that swordsmen have with each other." Zoro explained before turning back to his old friend. He looked around a little first, then asked something that was nagging at him. "Hey, where is Yosaku? Usually, you guys are harder to separate than white from rice."
Johnny started tearing up. Which naturally meant that every hole on his face was starting to run like a freaking river. "Brother, it's horrible. J-Johnny is...is..."
"Is what?"
"...dying!"
A new man was sprawled out across the deck as he'd dropped dead there. He wore a long coat, ugly checkered shorts and a black t-shirt that was quite clearly covered in fresh bloodstains, as was the symbol less forehead protector that he wore on his shaved bald head.
"This came upon him all at once." Said Johnny. "One minute he was fine then *BAM* he collapses. His teeth start falling out like they were held in with old gum, his wounds reopened, and he can barely move. He was too sick to be moved, so I shored on that little spit of land over there. That is until you decided to shoot a CANNON AT US!"
Usopp felt guilty and looked down in shame. "Sorry."
"You're completely forgiven," Johnny said straightly.
"Well, that was easy," Nami commented dryly. What was the point in being mad if you forgave that quickly?
"What's the point in getting angry? My brother is going to die anyway." He brought his arm up to his eyes and rubbed them.
"My brother and I have been travelling the east Blue for years. Picking off the small-time bounty's and ending a few reigns of terror before they even really start. Sure we're not one of the greats, but we've managed to make a name for ourselves." He snorted and bit back his tears. "But that's all over now. My brother and all we accomplished together are gonna die right here."
"YOU IDIOT!"
The men turned to see Nami march up to Yosakus downed form. Poking and prodding him and lifting his lips to check his mouth like a horse.
"Nami!" Zoro exclaimed.
"Show some respect for the almost dead!" Added Usopp.
"Usopp!" She snapped at him. "Go into the galley with Zoro and juice about a dozen limes them bring it back here."
The two just looked at her in confusion.
"GO!"
The second time got the required response. The two raced back up the stairs and into the ship's kitchen. Returning about a minute later with a tankard of Lime juice which Nami instructed to make the sick man drink.
"Looks like your lucky that we shot at you. Otherwise, you never would have come aboard, and your friend would have succumbed to scurvy." Smirked the navigator. Trying not to laugh at the fact that if her newest Nakama hadn't almost killed them, one of them would be dead for sure.
"Scurvy? That sounds familiar." Johnny said, rubbing his chin, trying to remember where he'd heard that before.
Nami nodded. "It should. Scurvy used to be about as common as a sunburn for sailors. You get it if you don't get enough fruits and vegetables in your diet, which used to cause problems since they didn't have proper techniques to preserve them for longer voyages. Nowadays only people going on short trips or the brain dead travel without any fruit or veg."
"Uuuuhhhh...would you believe we were doing the first one?"
"No, I would not."
"Nuts."
Johnny was impressed. "Wow! So you are a doctor."
Nami looked at him like he was stupid. "This isn't doctoring. Practically anyone who ever goes sailing has to know this. Weren't you ever taught that!"
Suddenly there was a rustle beneath them. They didn't have time to react before the dying man at their feet jumped up and embraced his friend in a manly hug.
"I'M COMPLETELY HEALED!" Cheered Yosaku, waving his arm about merrily while giving everyone a big goofy and completely intact smile. Causing the Straw hats to wonder if he had eaten some sort of healing devil fruit...before collapsing back to the floor unconscious with blood pouring out of his mouth.
Nami turned to her shipmates. "What did we learn today."
"Always prepare for long voyages?" Said Usopp.
"Don't you think that you'll be healed immediately after being cured?" Guessed Zoro.
"That to not understatement the Sea," Luffy said.
"Good enough."
Eventually, the talk came back to cooking, with Luffy stating that they needed someone who also would want to be in the Sea for a long time and be a pirate.
"Can't be just anyone either." Said Zoro while lazing against the mast. "If he's coming aboard this ship, then they can't just cook. They have to be able to defend themselves at least."
Johnny, who was busy tending to the still ill Yosaku, perked up at the description. "Brother. I know of such a chef."
Zoro and the rest turned to him. "You do?"
Johnny nodded. "Yeah. But getting him to join might be a real pain."
Luffy just grinned in response. "So he'll fit right in then. Just tell us where to go."
Later
After two days, the new people in the ship soon found out that Captain Luffy was a Slave Driver. At 7 am, the whole crew was awake, first eating breakfast before Luffy started training them as if there was no tomorrow, with Usopp being tired within an hour after they started.
Right now, The crew was just resting before a ship soon came into view.
It wasn't 'exactly' a fish. It was a fairly large ship with a big fish head for the figurehead and a large fishtail for the rudder. It had two masts that had their masts furled up, and from what the crew could see, several anchors since the boat barely rocked against the waves. They could tell that the ship obviously wasn't built for speed since it was almost completely round and about as dynamic as a brick.
"I ain't kidding." Johnny huffed. "This is Baratie. The..."
"BARATIE! As in the famous ocean-going five-star restaurant? I hear that this place has the best and most exotic food outside of the grand line, and you don't even need to book a table since not everyone can get to it!" Exclaimed the giddy Nami, who, after so long of eating only the basics, was ready for some civilised cuisine.
Suddenly a deafening roar came out of nowhere. Rocking the ship.
"MMEEAATT!" The storm boy moaned loudly. Visions of foods the likes of which he'd never tasted filling his vision.
Zoro sighed and grasped the back of his captain's shirt "We better hurry inside before he freaks out everyone in the restaurant."
"Yeah, right, brother. I remember your face when I told you 'he' often comes here." Yosaku snidely remarked, coughing a little as he still wasn't a hundred percent.
Zoro grinned in a manner usually reserved for men who twirl their facial hair between their fingers, sending a chill up everyone but the hungry captain's spine.
Of course, that did nothing to match the absolute terror they felt when a massive thunderclap echoed through the air, and the ocean just next to Merry exploded, causing the small ship to rock harshly
Usopp landed on his behinds while Zoro unintentionally let go of Luffy in surprise as Luffy grabbed Nami not to fall.
"Pirate scum! Surrender or die!" A male voice shouted out past the water spout the explosion made.
It was a marine vessel, alright. The butt ugly zebra stripe pattern it had and the word 'MARINES' in big, bold letters painted across the sail left no one wondering that.
"Mmmm, wait. I don't recognise your jolly roger." The voice said again. Coming from the impeccably dressed man aboard.
He was a fairly tall man, not all that surprising since short marines don't garner much in the way of intimidation, and reasonably well built, showing he could probably hold his own in a fight if he wasn't afraid of getting his purple and black pinstripe suit ruined. His non-girly pink hair was combed back and part at either side of his rather average and forgettable face.
On his fists, however, were a pair of unusual knuckle dusters. Instead of the smooth design that flowed with every bump of a finger joint, four screw heads were over each of them.
"Well, well well. If you don't just look like a bunch of kids playing pretend of your daddy's boat." The man taunted, "I'm lieutenant 'Iron fist' Fullbody of the marines. And who might you brats be? Are you really pirates or just pretending?"
"Were the Straw hat pirates! We just made our roger two days ago," Luffy stated, standing in front of his crew.
"Oh? Who's the Captain? Fullbody asked, scanning the crew.
"I'm the Captain," Luffy stated; he noticed Usopp from the corner of his eyes, slightly moving forward and ready to raise his hand and perhaps say something, but Luffy sent a wave of Conqueror's Haki at him, which caused Usopp to almost fall flat on his face. Shaking in Fear.
Luffy knew it was all fun and games within the crew, but Usopp needed to realise that it was another thing entirely when in front of Strangers. Especially Marines or other Pirate crews.
The Marine Focused on Zoro briefly before stopping on Johnny and Yosaku. "You two are those low-rank bounty hunters. Jamie and Kosaku or something, right?"
'Jamie' narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "That's Johnny and Yosaku!"
"Oh, like it's important," Fullbody smirked. "From the look of it, you two were kidnapped by these no-name rookies. That's kinda sad Because I don't think even the weakest of crews would waste their time recruiting a couple of idiots who've never claimed a bounty past a few million."
"Eeehhh?" Johnny said with his hand to his ear. "Brother, I think this two-bit marine just insulted us." He said in a mocking tone.
Yosaku took a drag on his cigarette and nodded. Bringing his hand up to take the cigarette and discretely cough up some blood. "Yeah. We can't let some colour blind idiot tarnish are good name..."
Without a second thought, they drew their swords and charged at Fullbody. Jumping over Merry's side and directly at the marine boat.
"...GET READY, YOU MARINE PEACOCK!"
Without flinching, Fullbody brought his metal knuckled right fist to block against Johnny's swords. Smashing through the blade like plaster and ramming his fist right between the bounty hunters eyes. His unguarded fist corkscrewed, both deflecting Yosakus sword away from him and catching him in the solar plexus.
The two were dropped like weights; the marine then picked up the two and, with minimal effort, flung them back onto Luffy's ship face first.
"A marines rank reflects his power like a bounty reflects a pirate. You two couldn't make it past ensign or break a million beri like you are. Know your limits." He sneered.
"Fuullbooddddyyy." A female moan came from inside the marine ship cabin just before a door opened, and a pair of thin, hairless arms reached out to grasp his. "Come on, quit picking on those kids. You know the Baratie doesn't hold tables if were late.
He looked into the cabin and smiled. "Fine." He turned back to the straw-hats. "Today's my day off, and this ship isn't made for capturing scum like you, so I'll leave for now. But if I see you again out there, you'll be mine."
With that, the ship began to sail away. Luffy, Zoro and Usopp stared after the ship while Nami knelt down beside Yosaku to check the damage.
Back on the ship Fullbody, leaving the cabin he was in and covered in lipstick marks, turned to an ensign keeping an eye on the pirate ship they were leaving.
"Let's nip this in the bud, okay."
"Aye, sir." The marine said and lit the cannon, sending the round shell at them with a loud 'BOOM'!
Fullbody watched almost in slow motion as the ball went rocketing at the crew. Glad he stopped something that hadn't even started. He was so gonna enjoy this...or at least that's what he thought until the cannon stopped just before hitting the ship.
"LUFFY! THEY'RE GONNA FIRE ON US!" He then followed his first instinct to jump so the explosion would carry him to safety. Of course, the canon hadn't even been fired yet, so instead, he just crashed face-first beside Johnny.
"BOOM!"
Just as the cannonball was fired, Luffy jumped onto the bulwark before grabbing the ball in his hands.
The bounty hunters and Usopp's jaws were hanging at their knees, Nami just smirked, she found herself quite liking when Luffy showed his strength, and Zoro was more annoyed than anything that he hadn't had the chance to see if he could split it in two before it exploded.
Fullbody, on the other hand, was angry.
Luffy grinned as he threw the cannonball around his hands as if it was a mere toy.
"Do you want this back?" He asked innocently.
It collided with the marine that had shot the cannon and sent him crashing into the captain's cabin hard enough to make the wood crack.
Back on Going, Merry Usopp had lifted his jaw back up and was staring after the marine vessel. He made a mental note never to be surprised by whatever his captain does.
Soon the Pirate Crew walked inside the restaurant; it looked quite good; Luffy couldn't wait until they ate food.
They soon choose a table. Luffy and Nami sat close to each other, his arm around her waist; Usopp looked shocked; he hadn't thought the two were together; Zoro just raised an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders. Who cares...
A blonde suddenly came over to their table, eyeing Nami with hearts on his eyes. Nami immediately knew she could play this kind of person like a fiddle.
"The Sea has brought such a beautiful woman as you into our restaurant; what can I serve you, my lady," The blonde spoke slightly, bowing at Nami, who started acting as if she was impressed.
Luffy just rolled his eyes.
"Oh, Thank you for the compliment. I like everything on the menu, but they're quite expensive," Nami said, playing the innocent girl masterfully.
Zoro murmured 'witch' under his breath. Sanji had hearts on his eyes, almost drooling from his mouth.
"No need to pay. For such a beautiful lady such as you. There's no Price for you; we are grateful to have you here," Sanji stated, walking away, ready to prepare the dishes.
Luffy smiled, kissing Nami on the cheek, who quite liked it.
The crew suddenly noticed the captain with his date, acting all smugly.
Sitting across from a beautiful woman and would soon be eating the most delicious food in all the seas. The admiring hushed whispers made it all the sweeter he of the other patrons. This was how it should be.
The waiter was at their table in just a few scant minutes. He poured their wine while balancing their food in his other hand and on his head.
Fullbody picked up his glass and sniffed it, catching the eye of his date. He took a delicate sip of the wine and swirled it in his mouth gently before swallowing. "Ah, a delicate bouquet from north Mikkyuo. I'd know that rare taste anywhere. A wine that is dry, full-bodied and slightly acidic such as this could only be Iturutsubulgastien. Right, waiter?"
He lapped up the sounds of amazement at his wine tasting skills.
"Completely wrong, sir."
Fullbody coughed and glared at the waiter.
"North Mikkyuo doesn't make red wine. And I don't know what you think 'full bodied' or 'dry' meant either, but this wine certainly isn't either." The chef smiled without dropping his cigarette. "And I'm the assistant chef Sanji, not a waiter."
Sanji was certainly dressed like a waiter. He was tall, thin and dressed in a black double-breasted jacket suit. A blue striped shirt and black tie. He had bright blond hair combed to cover his left eye, with strange whirlpool eyebrows.
He put down the soup he balanced in front of the giggling woman and livid Marine.
The admiration had turned into mocking laughter. This idiot had made him a laughing stock. He'd paid extra to have that bit set up so he could impress his date. How DARE this punk do that to him.
He took something from his pocket and discreetly dropped it in his food. A gag toy he'd confiscated from one of his men when he thought to play a trick on his commanding officer.
"HEY! What's the big idea!" He crowed just as Sanji had turned to leave.
"There a problem, sir?"
The lieutenant snorted, "Your damn right there is. Do you mind telling me what a fly is doing in my soup?"
Sanji looked down at the offending bowl. Seeing a small mayfly floating in the creamy broth.
"Mmm, it Looks like the backstroke to me."
The tittering and whispers turned into full-blown guffaws as the marine was completely made to look like an idiot.
"Now, if you'll excuse me I..."
*CRASH*
The offending bowl, along with the hardwood table it was sitting on, were broken into pieces when a metal covered fist came crashing down on it. Sending crystal and cutlery everywhere. People stopped their dining and mocking suddenly while chefs ran into the restaurant from the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.
"Who the HELL do you think you are dealing with!" Fullbody snarled. Standing up and glaring at the assistant chef. "I'm 'Iron fist' Fullbody of the marines! Not some run of the mill nobody you think you can mess with!"
The charming humour drained from Sanji's face. He kneeled down at the broken table and looked at the two broken and empty bowls, their former contents spilt and inedible.
"If you'd just taken out that rubber fly you put in, you could have eaten the soup," Sanji said flatly. Making the whispering at the drama goes up that much more.
"I'm a customer, you crap waiter!" Fullbody retorted, "That mean I paid you to treat me like royalty! Not a court jester!"
The chefs watching all paled considerably, "Sanji don't."
Sanji stood up to his full height. He was about an inch or so taller than the marine and glared him down with his single visible eye.
"That right? And I suppose you think money gives you the right to act like a di..."
"MESSER RIGHT!"
The end result was a pink-haired and purple suited man now sporting a red face being held by his jaw up in the air by an angry chef.
"The first and only rule of the Baratie." He said with no slight edge. "Don't. Waste. Food."
Fullbody could help but gulp out in fear. This really wasn't his day. He continued to think that when he found himself flying through the air to land on the floor, whacking the back of his head onto the back of a table.
"SANJI, WHAT THE HELL DA YA THINK YER DOING!"
Patty cooker was...the patty cooker of the boat. In charge of grilling, braising, frying and baking burger patties as well as steaks and chops.
Patty, the sailor man, grabbed Sanji by the wrist, being careful not to touch the hands and glared at him. "You idiot! 'The' number one rule o this establishment is that the customer is king! They're the lifeblood of the business! So why pray tell. Why is his lifeblood leaking out of him!"
Sanji pulled his arm out of the cook's grip and shrugged. "He wasted food."
The larger cook gripped the side of his head. "AGH, what the blast is it with you and food. Your gonna get us closed one day, you idiot!"
"Yeah. Like today." Fullbody moaned and got up. "I'm going to make sure that this madhouse is shut down! And this lousy waiter is put away for a long time!"
"Not if I send you away first." The cook said calmly. Earning a horrified look from Fullbody and a gasp from almost everyone else.
Luffy watched in interest; he was quite impressed by the blonde. Zoro caught up with what Luffy was thinking and prayed that he wouldn't choose the Pervert.
The other chefs rushed the blond. Grabbing at him every which way to stop their comrade from making a bigger mistake than he'd already made.
"Chef Zeff, a little help." Said one of the cooks restraining Sanji.
Zeff's reaction was immediate. His peg lashed out at the teen, catching him where the neck meets the shoulder and sending him to the floor.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE US GO UNDER YOU EGGPLANT!"
"Well, at least you know how to discipline the customer. Not that that's going to make me reconsider shutting you down," Chuckled Fullbody while pulling himself up. Only to be sent back to the floor by the angry Zeff.
"Are you insane! Do you know who I am?" Groaned the marine trying once more to pick himself up.
Zeff was the owner and head chef of the Baratie. In his youth, he had a tall and imposing figure, but years had worn away at the tall side a little leaving him with only the imposing part.
The head chef snorted. "Yeah. Your the lousy asshole that thinks he can shut me down. Feel free to try; I'll leave a place as the dishwasher boy open for you when you get laughed out of the marines."
Fullbody stared at the elder man with wide eyes. This was the place that had everyone singing praises? Were these guys even really cooks?
Just as he was thinking about the implausibility of the situation, the entrance flung open, and a marine ran in.
"Lieutenant Fullbody! He's escaped!" The marine declared, "That Krieg pirate we caught a few days ago busted out of the holding cell and beat the whole crew half t...!"
The marines chest exploded in a shower of blood when a bullet passed through. Causing the man to fall to his knees and the floor, gasping for life.
"How did he Escape? We haven't Fed Him, So How?" The Marine yelled as the marine died slowly.
This caused Zeff to kick the captain far away from his restaurant.
The door swung open. Everyone turned to see the new arrival. He was thin, almost unhealthily so, and there were bags under his eyes. He wore a jacket with a serpent design on the back over a dark green shirt and pants, all of them dirty and tattered. He looked like he'd been through hell and emerged out the other end. In one hand, he held a pistol.
Silence reigned over the restaurant. The man walked over to an empty table and sat down in a chair, his feet on the table. He spoke, his voice a dry rasp. "I don't care what it is; just get me something to eat." An uneasy murmuring broke out among the establishment patrons, anxious about the aura of danger around the man. The Straw-hats didn't care much but noticed he was starving.
"Welcome, mere bastard!" the man said, with nothing but cheesy compliance in his voice.
"Do you have any money to pay for your meal?" the burly cook asked, that freaky-ass smile still on his face.
The starving man aimed at the cook's head. "Do you take steel?" he asked, obviously used to intimidation tactics. The cook's smile turned into a sneer within nanoseconds. With no forewarning, the man swept the chair out from under the pirate. As the starving man fell to the ground, the cook whirled the chair above his head and brought it down quite heavily on the man's back.
Luffy didn't like what he saw, but he was quite curious about what Sanji would do. Nami had seen worse, Zoro didn't particularly care, and Usopp was terrified of the man's obvious strength, hence the lack of intervention on their part.
Zeff muttered under his breath, "Patty, you continue to disappoint me," before returning to the kitchens. Sanji disappeared, and the crew was left to eat their meal, though with much less of an appetite. Luffy exited the restaurant, looking to check up on the man.
To his mild surprise, Sanji was already there, laying a plate of food in front of the pirate. The man seemed shocked at the display of kindness, while Sanji merely leaned against the railing and lit a cigarette. "Oi, eat it. You must be hungry."
The man was starting to tear up as the aroma of the food hit his nostrils, but he turned away. "This is worse than being kicked out; I won't accept pity! My pride as a man and as a pirate won't let me. Take it away!" Sanji merely repeated his command. The pirate crumbled, and he started to eat like a starving dog. As he ate, his tears broke free, flowing freely down his face. "Delicious, delicious, it's too delicious! I've never had anything this good," he admits through his full mouth, trying to hide his tears. Sanji merely grins.
Luffy sits on the railing beside Sanji. "You're a pretty nice guy, to feed him even though he couldn't pay. You're pretty strong too. Why don't you join my crew?" Sanji looks up incredulously at Luffy, who merely waits for a reply. He had made his request; he would wait for an answer and then nag until the answer was yes if it was a no.
"Not a chance. That beauty of yours is amazing, but death itself couldn't drag me from this restaurant. That old fart needs me, whether he'll admit it or not. Besides, I have no interest in being a pirate." Sanji blew the smoke cloud in Luffy's face.
The starving man, now complete, turns to face Luffy. "You're a pirate, aren't you?" Luffy nods his head.
"Where are you headed?"
"The Grand Line,"
Sanji raised an eyebrow, but the man seemed to almost choke in shock. "Take that back. You don't want to go there. You can't imagine the horrors in that wretched ocean."
"No. I'm going to become the Pirate King, and I will never stop until I achieve my Dream,"
Navy HQ
Garp was very busy; he was sweating, struggling, on the brink of defeat.
Breathing heavily, he narrowed his eyes at his enemy; his enemy had grown stronger, "You will not Defeat Me," Garp declared loudly at his enemy.
Before eating his 809th donut, eating in delight was quite delicious, but he was trying to break the world record of eating the number of donuts eaten within an hour.
The record was held by a pirate of Big Mom's crew; Garp had forgotten his name but didn't bother to try and remember.
As he prepared to eat another one, the door swung open, almost falling on the floor; inside walked his oldest friend, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who, unlike Garp, looked furious.
"What Now?" Garp asked, bored, knowing he must stop fighting with his eternal enemy and fight another day.
"Another Good Rookie," Sengoku stated, slamming a bunch of 'WANTED' Posters on the desk.
This had Garp's attention, wondering if Luffy had already started making name, despite being a bit too soon for that.
"Who?" Garp asked curiously.
"Portgas D. Ace," Sengoku simply stated.
On the outside, Garp didn't have much of a reaction, but inside he was grinning like a madman.
"What's so special about him? What did he do to piss off the Marine?" Garp asked with an uncaring tone, picking on his nose.
"Not the Marine, the World Government," Sengoku stated with a grave tone. Garp stopped whatever he was doing after hearing his statement.
World Government?! Did they find out... No, that can't be it. If it were, the Marine would waste no time to put 'Gol D. Ace' on the wanted poster...
"What has he done?" Garp asked with more interest; Sengoku turned to his old friend and told him what had happened.
By the end, Garp looked shocked, but not for the reasons that Sengoku thought.
That's my Grandson, Garp thought as he looked at his new wanted poster.
Wanted
Dead or Alive
Portgas D. Ace
956,480,000 Berry