Now
Of all the things to have been pointed at the crew of five Straw Hats, a gun certainly was not one of them. Having only stepped one foot onto the blue-haired woman's property, said blue-haired woman, slammed her front door open and aimed her weapon at the small group. Usopp practically jumped into the bushes just off the path that led to the front door. Zoro, Sanji, and Reyna's eyes widened in surprise. And Luffy, he didn't seem phased whatsoever.
"Turn around and leave," she pointed the gun straight at Luffy's chest. "Now."
"That's what I've been saying," Usopp mumbled.
"Hey, I saw you earlier," Luffy said with a smile planted on his face. "I think you and I may have something in common."
"I've got the gun," she cocked it, making the gun ready to fire if the situation called for it. "And you're standing in front of it. What could we possibly have in common?"
"Let's start with Nami," Luffy answered. "Seems you know her very well."
"She's a thief with no conscience," Bluey stated. "And when there's no more left to take, she leaves and doesn't turn back. Now get off my property."
"Nami's part of our crew," Luffy continued. "She's our friend."
Was she though?
"My sister doesn't have any friends," the woman shook her head. "The sooner you guys realize that, the better."
"I have to agree with the lady with the gun," Reyna commented.
"Sisters, that makes sense," Sanji shook his head. "Both are as beautiful as each other."
"Give it up," Zoro and Reyna both rolled their eyes.
"I can tell she really did a number on you guys," Bluey scanned over the small group standing in front of her home. "You're not special, and I can't help you."
"How about a meal?"
"Sanji, I don't think now's the best time," Reyna interjected. "We kind of-"
"A what?"
"An exchange of sorts for your valuable time and information," Sanji continued.
"You cook?"
"He's a waiter," Zoro deadpanned.
"Could very well be the best cook in all of the East Blue, actually," Reyna complimented.
"Aw, thank you, Reyna," Sanji beamed at her.
"Ain't got much to cook with," Bluey explained.
"You'd be surprised with how much I can make with very little ingredients. What do you say?" Sanji asked.
"There better be dessert," the woman retreated back into her house.
"Not going to lie," Reyna sighed. "That was pretty smooth. Nicely done, Sanji."
+++++
Sanji had talent. There was no denying it. Even Zoro couldn't hide how appetizing the meal Sanji prepared for all of them was. Reyna caught him sneaking seconds.
Nojiko, who formerly introduced herself after the first bite, was blown away at how Sanji was able to take only four ingredients from her small kitchen and transform it into something right out of a Five-Star restaurant.
Getting information about Nami came very quickly after the luscious. Unfortunately, the information wasn't what Luffy or any of the crew were anticipating. Learning about Nojiko and Nami's childhood struck a chord deep in Reyna's chest at how similar a situation they all faced in their past.
Reyna couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks as Nojiko finished the story. Even Sanji covered up a few sobs from behind her.
"Wait. Nami's working for the pirate that killed your mother?" Usopp asked, clearly confused.
Wordlessly, Luffy rose from the table and exited the tiny house. Clearly, the words he'd just heard were not what he was expecting. Was he finally coming to his senses? Did he finally switch to the 'Nami is Bad' team?
Zoro followed him soon after.
"I, um," Reyna grabbed her empty plate, and she too got to her feet. "I can help with the dishes."
"That would be great," Nojiko smiled softly. "Thank you."
"I'll help, too," Sanji quickly followed the women into the kitchen.
"I can, um, do something," Usopp scrambled to his feet, not wanting to be the only one alone at the table. "Maybe get together some smoke bombs or something. I- I am running a little low."
"Smart idea," Reyna agreed, grabbing a towel from the cabinet. "You never know when we will need them."
"You- you think we'll need them sooner than later?" Usopp asked, dumping his supplies on a small counter top.
"It's possible," Reyna shrugged her shoulders. "It's better to be prepared, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I guess," the man agreed, nodding his head.
"And who's bright idea was to let the clown head out of the bag?" Reyna asked aloud, spotting the obnoxious pirate clown's head bobbing back and forth on one of the side tables beside the sink.
"I was going to ask the same question," Nojiko said. "Do I want to know why you have a clown head in a knapsack in the first place?"
"No, you really don't," Reyna told her. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, Bougie. I can tell you have something disgusting to say."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, princess," the clown snickered. "And for the last time, it's-"
"No one gives a shit," a knife lodged itself beside Buggy's head. "Now shut up while we do the dishes."
+++++
With Luffy and Zoro still taking the rooftop of the house, Reyna decided the next best spot was the small garden behind Nojiko's home. It wasn't much, but it was enough to be alone. A place Reyna could process everything she'd learned over the last couple of hours.
It was almost too much for the woman to unravel. Between when she already knew about Nami and the new information from Nojiko, there should have been absolutely no doubt in Reyna's mind that Nami was a bad egg. To work for the man who killed the woman who raised her; Reyna shook her head at that single fact alone. That was the equivalent to her working with her devil step-father.
"Never in a million years," Reyna looked up into the dark abyss.
The stars twinkled above her.
Which was why the tiniest voice in the back of her head was beginning to think there was more going on, and that Luffy and Sanji might have been right all along.
"Damn them," Reyna slammed her fist into the dying grass beside her. "I hate being wrong."
If she is wrong. She very well could still be one hundred percent correct, and Nami was just a horrible person with no moral compass whatsoever. But with each passing moment, that option seemed less and less likely.
"Of all the places, I find you here," footsteps approached her, stopping near Reyna's head. "Is this seat taken?"
"Yes, actually," Reyna answered, eyes never leaving the stars overhead. "My invisible pet velociraptor, Bertram, is currently occupying that space and taking a nap. It could be hours before he wakes up."
"You think you're funny, don't you?" Sanji chuckled from above her. His voice sent her stomach into a tizzy.
Damn it. Not this again.
"Only when someone laughs at what I have to say," Reyna turned her head to get a better look at the blond. "Which you did, so, yes. I would say that I am pretty funny."
"You are one of the strangest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing," he sighed.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she slid over a scooch then patted the grass beside her. "Mind Bertram's tail though."
"Hilarious, Reyna. Really," Sanji laid down beside her.
"You love it though," Reyna insisted. "It's one of my many charming qualities."
"You are a mystery, Reyna. That's for sure," Sanji folded his hands behind his head, crossed his ankles, and stared up at the sky. "So, are you going to tell me what's been going on in that head of yours? You've been acting odd since breakfast this morning."
"No, I really wasn't planning on it," Reyna told him. "But I will man up enough and say you and Luffy might be right about Nami."
"Oh," Sanji's head turned to the woman in surprise. "What changed your mind?"
Reyna let out a loud sigh before rolling onto her side to face him.
"When I was younger, I had a similar situation happen to me. The man who took my mother and I in, my step-father, treated the two of us terribly for years. Eventually, one day, my mother gathered up enough courage to pack up our belongings and leave. He didn't like that very much," Reyna glanced down at the blades of grass between her fingers. "At least I was able to avenge my mother. In the end. So, because of knowing what having my mother killed by someone, the idea of working for the monster that killed my mother makes me absolutely furious. There has to be something we don't know when it comes to Nami's situation. She wouldn't dare work for a devil like that willingly."
A huge weight lifted off of Reyna's chest. It felt relieving, in a way, to finally get some of it out into the open. Some of the trauma of her past. Maybe there was something to talking about it that made it easier to move on.
"I'm sorry about your mother," Sanji replied after a few moments of silence. "But I do appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me about it."
"Thanks," she sniffed, turning back to look at the night sky. "It's all in the past now. I don't think I ever told anyone that story before. You are very easy to talk to. Did you know that?"
"I have been told I am a very good listener," Sanji smiled.
"By all those ladies you try to schmooze, right?" The question came out of her mouth so fast there was no way for Reyna to stop it.
She wanted to smack herself.
"Oh, so that's what this is all about," the smile on his face quickly turned into a smirk. "Reyna, are you jealous?"
"Pff, no," she answered way too fast to be telling the truth.
"Reyna," Sanji said. "Trust, remember?"
Cat's out of the bag now. Might as well get it all out there.
"All right, fine," she rolled back over onto her side. "All my life, the far majority of men I've come into contact with were nothing but dogs, who wined and dined a woman just so they could get into her pants and move onto the next one. At Baratie, I thought I finally met a decent guy who wasn't another one of those men. That doesn't throw himself out to every woman that smiles at him. I was wrong. Happy?"
"What if he's only throwing a wide net because he's hoping to get a single bite," Sanji countered before knitting his eyebrows together. "You think I'm a dog?"
"I did not say that," Reyna said. "I heavily implied that certain behaviors I have witnessed over the years from men who acted like dogs were similar to those that have happened in the last day or so. Wait a second, you really don't think a woman would be interested in you? Do you know how handsome you are?"
"You think I'm handsome," and just like that, the cheeky smile returned.
"I'm not blind," Reyna rolled her eyes. "You could get any woman you want to, I bet."
"What if I'm not looking for any woman, just one in particular?" he asked.
Were their fingers always touching?
"Maybe you should let her know because she's really getting tired of all these mixed signals," Reyna said quietly.
"ARLONG!"
The sudden shout in the night not only caused Reyna and Sanji to jump to their feet, but Luffy to run off into the distance. Towards the cries of complete and utter despair.
"Luffy?" Reyna called after him. "Zoro, where's he going?"
The swordsman joined the pair, his expression, as always, stern and ominous.
"It sounded like Nami."
"Nami?" Reyna wondered aloud, until the scream came a second time. "Nami!"
She was wrong. So completely and utterly wrong. Reyna followed the pathway Luffy ran off to, the pain in her chest intensifying with every additional scream that grew louder and louder as the dark-haired woman approached. She knew those cries. She knew them very well.
Once she found them, Reyna gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth and letting out a loud sob. Luffy was holding Nami's arm up in the air and there, in her fist, was a dagger. Its tip soaked in blood.
"Luffy," Reyna could barely hear Nami whisper. "Help me. Please."
Reyna dropped her head in shame.
"Of course I will," Luffy took off his straw hat and placed it on Nami's head. "Reyna, fix her arm."
Reyna was kneeling in front of Nami in an instant.
"I am so, so sorry," she cried, unbuckling the medical bag from around her waist. "I completely misjudged you. Please forgive me."
Nami shook her head and hissed as Reyna began cleaning her bleeding arm.
"You- you don't need to be sorry," Nami muttered. "I should be the one to-"
"You don't need to apologize for anything," Reyna said, wrapping a long bandage around Nami's tattoo once the blood was cleaned. "There. That should stop the bleeding-"
Nami wrapped her arms around Reyna, crying into the dark fabric of her shirt. Reyna immediately wrapped her arms around her in return, the two of them crying for how wrong the both of them were about the other. The two of them both whispered how sorry they were. Reyna lifted her head up, resting her chin on the crying woman's shoulder to see the rest of the crew standing a few feet away.
"What's that?" Usopp spun around on his feet, seeing an explosion in the distance. "They're attacking the village.
Sounds of gunshots and more explosions rang out throughout the night.
Reyna helped Nami to her feet, and together they joined the men staring off into the burning inferno that was Coco Village.
"Looks like we're going to get that fight after all," Reyna said.
Can someone say 'character development'?
A little dialogue heavy, this chapter, but important.
Not going to lie, I teared up a little writing this one.
Hopefully, you liked it as much as I did.
This is where the changes and creative liberty really start to take shape.
As much as I find the Nami/Sanji deal in the anime hilarious, this is a Sanji x OC and that is the way it will stay.
I'm sad to say, there are only a few chapters left!
Since I don't want this story to finish up quite yet, the final updates will be slower.
That's also due to the multiple fighting scenes, and I am not the best at writing those.
So, to do them justice, it will take a bit longer to write.
Thank you all for sticking with it so far.
Keep on voting and commenting!