Hey guys! My brother let me use his iPod for the weekend and so I spent a bunch of time kicking this long chapter out and even made it extra long to boot. So enjoy, please vote and comment. I really want your thoughts on this chapter. Also let me know what you think of D.
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Nami sat in her room drawing maps of several of the seas she had been to while she was away this time. She decided she wouldn't include Ussop's island in any of the maps. It wasn't that she cared about him. Just that she wouldn't wish her situation on anyone.
"Nami." Arlong called her name as he entered the room causing her to jump a little. "We're going to the other side of the island to collect this month's fee for one of the villages over there."
"Fine by me." She waved over her shoulder as she returned to her map drawing. She felt Arlong's presence approach her.
"About that D person that was mentioned yesterday." She glanced at him as he spoke. He looked quite concerned about something. "Are you sure there wasn't anything else of note? Did he try to buy your soul or anything?"
"My soul?" She laughed. "Nope." She put emphasis on the p. She wasn't actually lying since during the time she spent on the ship he hadn't tried to buy her soul or anything. He just would mention that their deal was still on the table. "Though he did want my body." She lifted her hands over her head and assumed a sexy pose. "I don't really blame him though." She laughed again. "Why, do you know someone who goes by D?" She looked at him, hopefully he would tell her something.
"I know of someone, but I don't know the person personally." Arlong looked out the window. "The person I heard about is shrouded in mystery. They say he did the impossible and ate more than one devil fruit. Some say that he is wanted so highly by the government that if someone captured him they would receive a place amongst the World Nobles." He sighed as he turned away and made his way out. "Others say that he was once the ruler of the seas." Nami almost didn't hear that last part.
Arlong!" She heard Hachi calling Arlong from outside. "Everyone is ready to go!" She looked out to see the three leaders under Arlong as well as the fishmen directly beneath them waiting outside.
"I'll be on my way." Arlong said as he went out.
"I might visit home." She called after him. He simply waved as he grumbled that she could do whatever she wanted.
•. •. •. •. •. •. •.
Zoro struggled against the ropes that held him but they were to tight for him to break in his current condition. Which reminded him of the intense burning he felt from the wound on his chest. He winced in pain as he remembered the day before. He hadn't been able to take as deep a breath as he normally would have when he had pushed himself in the water. And holding his breath for so long mixed with the salt burning his wounds made it a very close call.
"Man!" He hit his head against the wall hard enough to make it sting hoping the pain would be able to distract him his chest. "Why is it I always end up in a mess because of that woman." He remembered the incident on Ussop's home island. He was still mad at her for pushing him down the oiled hill.
"Arlong!" He heard a voice shout from outside. "Everyone's ready to go!" After several minutes he heard Arlong come outside and the group left.
"Wonder where their going." He said out loud. He doubted anyone would tell him. He was mostly bored. He had given Nami D's message as he said to. Though the jumping in the pool was his own test. He winced as he breathed in a little to deeply, stretching his stitches. Maybe that hadn't been the best idea. He slowly shifted his body to the center of the room and positioned himself next to a pillar to give himself shade. As he leaned his head against the cool stone he felt a presence enter the room. He kept his eyes closed so that they would think he was sleeping. Hopefully they had a knife or something so he could get out of these ropes.
"What idiot do you think would get near you?" He heard Nami say as the ropes slackened. He slowly pulled his arms in front of himself and rubbed his wrists to help his circulation to return to normal.
"So you decided to help- hey!?" Zoro began to say when Nami threw his swords at him. "How many times do I need to tell you to be careful with other people's things?" This was the second time she had thrown his swords. Hopefully she wouldn't make a habit of it. He quickly began tying them in place. It felt good to have the weight of his swords on his hip again.
"I'm not helping you with anything." She said as she checked to make sure no one was looking. "I'm only letting you go so you can find Ussop and go tell Luffy to give up on me joining the crew."
"You really don't plan on joining." Zoro stated as he watched her. She looked at him for a moment before nodding and looking away. That was all he needed.
"Just don't be here when I come back, OK?" Nami huffed as she turned and left. Zoro watched her through the window as she left the compound.
"I guess you were right." He sighed as he turned around to look at the pillar he was previously sitting against. Slowly a shadow peeled away from the side facing away from the windows.
"I told you not to judge people solely by their actions." D grinned as his body became solid. "Did you make your decision?" He asked Zoro.
"Yes." Zoro closed his eyes as he looked back to the moment Nami had answered his question. Their was hesitation in her nod, as well as a cry for help in her eyes. It was only for a second but he had caught it.
"Good." D grinned again. "By the way." Zoro looked at him. "I sent you a warmup. You need to loosen up from your last fight." Zoro watched as he then began to cackle like a mad man. "I'll see you later." D began running in circles with his arms waving stupidly in the air. Zoro was about to ask him what he meant about a warmup when the seemingly demented man proceeded to run into the wall causing Zoro to wince. Then D turned around, waved, and his body faded into nothing.
"Hey!?" Zoro looked back the way Nami had left to see a fishman staring at him. "How did you undo your ropes?"
Zoro grinned as he placed his favored sword, Wado Iichimonji, in his mouth and unsheathed his other two. "This is going to be fun." He chuckled as the fishman realized the danger he was in. Zoro cut him down as he turned to warn his comrades. He then proceeded to take out every fishman he came upon.
Zoro sat in the large chair that Arlong had been sitting in when he had been brought in. It had only taken him a half hour to clean out the place and he had been waiting for Arlong to return for several hours since then. As he looked up to check the position of the sun his stomach growled letting him know it was lunch time. "Guess I'll go check the kitchen to see what they have." He sighed as he stood up.
"I've got a big one!" A voice shouted from over the far wall near where the pool joined the ocean. Zoro silently crept over to the wall as whoever was on the other side continued to talk to themselves. Once he was next to the wall he jumped up to where he could see over. On the other side was a octopus fishman. Beside him was a pot of boiling water and in his hands was a fishing pole.
"Hey." Zoro decided to say. If the fishman attacked him he would simply cut it down like the others. The octopus jumped back in surprise at the sound of his voice and assumed a fighting pose.
"Who are you?" The octopus asked him as some of its hands pointed it him while several pointed at itself. Zoro debated on what to tell it when it decided to introduce itself.
"Who me? I'm Hachi." The octopus who was apparently named Hachi grinned. It was at this moment Zoro decided that this particular fishman was an idiot. "Are you a guest?" Hachi asked him. Zoro looked back to his side of the wall and studied all the fishmen that he had cut down.
"You could say that." He answered, it wasn't exactly a lie since he had been brought there. "I'm looking for Arlong. Do you know where he went?"
"Yes." Hachi smiled. Zoro waited for him to continue for about a minute. Hachi sat there smiling the entire time.
"Soo." Zoro was loosing what little patience he had. "Where is Arlong?"
"Right." Hachi stopped smiling as he remembered he was supposed to tell their guest where Arlong was. "He went to visit one of the villages on the far side of the island." He answered.
"Great." Zoro sighed. "Guess I'll just have to walk there." He began climbing off the while and stood beside Hachi. "I go this way, right?" He asked Hachi as he pointed out to sea.
"I couldn't let a guest walk." Hachi seemed dismayed that Zoro was going to walk. "I'll give you a ride over there in this." Hachi pulled a large jar from behind a boulder. It had ropes strung across it which Hachi put his arms threw turning it into a backpack. "Jump on in." Hachi said after climbing into the water.
Zoro took one last look at the compound before jumping in the jar. As soon as he was in Hachi took of to the far side of the island. The ride passed by surprisingly quick. It only took them a half hour verses the hours it would have taken him if he had ran. Once they arrived at the docks for the village he jumped out and said his goodbyes.
"Please don't hesitate to visit us again." Hachi waved as he swam away. Zoro watched him as he left and wondered if he would figure out what happened at the compound. Probably not without help.
"Now to find Arlong and take care of him." Zoro smiled as he headed towards the village.
Nami sat at the kitchen table in the house she grew up in. All the memories rushed around inside her head as she placed her forehead on the cool wood of the table. Bellemere would sit at this table as she repaired Nojiko's old clothes for her. At the time she didn't appreciate those close now she wished she could go back and change that. Funny how hindsight did that. Made you look back and see how good you really had it, the things you wanted to change, and the people that really mattered to you.
"I know you have this self hate thing going on." She heard Nojiko say as she entered the house. "But do you really need to trash the place when ever you stop by?" Nami looked at her and the open door behind her. She then looked around the room at all the tools and broken things thrown about as if a tornado had hit.
"Sorry about the mess." She sighed as she placed her head back on the table, this time she lay on her cheek so she could look at Nojiko. "I'll clean it up later."
Nojiko made her way over to the table and grabbed a overturned chair to sit on. "You say that every time and I end up cleaning it up anyways." She reached over and began stroking Nami's hair. "I met the strangest person today." Nami stiffened as Nojiko began running her fingers threw her hair. "He was just a kid, about your age actually, and yet he was able to say things with an air of confidence."
"What did he say?" Nami whispered. The first person that came to mind was Luffy. He was the only person that she knew could say the most ridiculous things with a straight and confident face. If he was already hear then she had to find him an get him to leave. It didn't matter how strong he thought he was. Arlong was on a whole other level.
"First he declared that he was the great pirate captain Ussop." Nojiko laughed as she remembered. "Then he said he was here to bring you back to his crew. Said that you guys were friends." Nami felt her heart sink a little. A part of her had hoped Luffy was here already. When she had seen Zoro she had felt a sense of hope that D's words had been true. That Luffy wouldn't just let her walk away like that. She clenched her fist as she remembered the feeling. All it took was for Arlong to laugh to shatter that hope. She remembered there was no way for Luffy and the others to best Arlong. He was too strong. If D fought it would be a different matter. But he insisted that he couldn't get personally involved. She felt a tear slide down her face an hope Nojiko didn't notice.
"So he wasn't lying huh?" Nojiko wiped the tear away.
Nami laughed softly. "He did lie. He isn't the captain."
"I didn't mean that. Even I could tell he wasn't a captain." Nojiko lifted her face so she could look into her eyes. "You and that crew are friends." She didn't ask, it was a statement.
"I'm feeling tired." Nami turned away. "Mind if I take your bed for an hour or so?" She walked over to the bedroom. She already knew that Nojiko didn't mind.
Nojiko watched her as she closed the door to her bedroom. She could see how much pain Nami was feeling over this pirate crew that was supposedly here for her. And a small part of her hated ten for that pain. Though the larger part was happy that her little sister had found friends she wanted to be with. If Arlong wasn't part of the picture she felt that Nami could truly be happy with them. She sighed as she leaned back and glanced around the room. "Guess I should start cleaning up. I still need to cull the tangerines." She looked at the bedroom and smiled. "She always causes so much trouble for me. Guess thats what little sisters are for."
Nami woke up feeling fresh and invigorated after her nap. She hadn't slept that well since, since she had stayed on the Going Mary last. She quickly slapped her cheeks to get her out of her sudden somber mood. She should be happy. One more trip out to sea and she would have enough money to buy her village. Then she could go out and find Luffy and the others. Till then she would just have to keep smiling like Bellemere taught her. Just thinking positive did wonders for her mood and she went outside to find Nojiko.
"How you feeling?" Nojiko asked her as she stepped outside. "You slept for about an hour."
"I'm feeling like culling some of these tangerines." Nami grinned as she grabbed a empty basket and proceeded to inspect the nearest tree for any branches with too much fruit. Within a few minutes voices could be heard approaching their house and both Nami and Nojiko looked up to see Genzo leading a marine officer and a group of marine grunts towards them.
"What's going on Genzo?" Nojiko asked as they got closer. Nami on the other hand moved back a little to be less noticeable. She wasn't exactly wanted but it never hurt to be careful.
"I wish I knew." Genzo shook his head, the scars on his face shifting as he scowled. "They asked me to take them here once they arrived in town."
Everyone looked at the marine officer whose face happened to resemble that of a rat as he snickered. "I'll take things from here officer Genzo. I am marine Lt Nezumi." He introduced himself. Even his voice made Nami think of a rat. "Men! Search the house." The marines proceed to obey orders and began search the house.
"What are you guys doing?" Nojiko asked in dismay as they ransacked her home.
"We received a tip that the pirate thief Nami was stashing her stolen goods here. As stolen goods the Government has the right to confiscate it all." The marine officer grinned as he spoke in his squeaky voice. "Being since it is stolen from pirates and not hard working citizens we have decided to be lenient with you." He looked at Nami as he said this.
"Sir!" One of the marines came back out from the house. "We can't find anything inside."
"What?!" Nezumi shouted. He looked around trying to think of where the treasure could be hidden. "Its got to be here. We're looking for a sum of one hundred million beris." Nami froze in fear and realization. "Check the groves. Dig it up if you have to." He shouted.
Nami's hands shook as the marines made their way to the precious tangerine groves. "Don't touch Bellemere's trees!" She shouted as she pulled the parts to her stave out and put them together. She swung as hard as she could and knocked out the nearest marine.
"Nami!" Nojiko rushed over to her when she noticed the marine Lt pull out a gun. Nami froze at the sound of gunshot and looked at Nojiko as she stood in front of her.
"Nojiko!" She quickly rushed over to see that she was ok. When she saw blood flowing down her arm she turned to face the Lt.
"Nami stop." Nojiko drew her attention back to herself. "Its only a scratch. I'll be fine."
"Search the groves!" The Lt shouted once more. Nami and Nojiko stood by scowling as the marines began digging at random. Genzo silently treated Nojiko's wound and wrapped it to keep it clean.
"Sir I found something!" One of the marines announced drawing the Lt over to him. The moment he saw the large chest he knew they had found what they wanted.
"Open it up." He grinned as the marine worked the lock till it broke. His grin widened once the chest was open. "One hundred million beri." He breathed in excitement. He had never expected to lay his eyes on such a large sum. "And ten percent of this is mine."
"You can't take that money." The Lt looked up in surprise. Genzo was walking towards him slowly. "That money intended to by back the freedom of our village. You have no right to take it from us." He looked at Nami apologetically. "Nojiko told us everything." He answered her unspoken question of how they knew. "We never let on that we knew so that you wouldn't feel obligated to earn the money for us. That way if you decided to leave you could do so with a clean conscience." He rounded on the marines. "You guys are marines! You should be protecting people like us from pirates like Arlong!" He shouted.
The marine Lt stood and smiled. "Oh I've already been to see this Arlong you speak of. And I've seen nothing to convince me that there is any pirate activity on this island." He turned to his marines. "Take the money to the ship." He ordered.
Genzo and Nojiko both stood shocked as they realized he had no intention of helping them. Something Nami had realized the moment he had shown knowledge of how much they were looking for. This marine was corrupt and was being paid off by Arlong. Nami turned and ran in the direction of Arlong Park. Tears ran down her face and her eyes burned with hate and rage. "Your going to pay Arlong!"
Zoro groaned as the villagers explained that Arlong and his group had already left to go back to his home. And to make matters worse they had a hostage that matched perfectly Ussop's description. 'Geez that idiot can't stay out of trouble if he tried.' He thought as he asked them for directions to Arlong Park. Once they told him what he wanted he ran of in the direction that they had pointed to. As he ran they started shouting something. He wasn't retain but it sounded like they said take the left path not the right. Or was it take the right not the left? Whatever, he would just decide when he got there. It should only take him a couple hours to get there.
Three hours later and Zoro was still running through woods. Of course it was the villagers fault for giving him bad directions. He should have gone with his original idea of just running straight across the island. It would have been much faster and he wouldn't be lost right now. Suddenly he heard a crashing noise to his right. He continued running but placed his hand on one of his swords as he prepared to fight whatever was coming his way. Then he heard a voice that sent a cold swear running down his back. It was the voice of a very obnoxious and carefree captain he knew. And he was shouting at the top of his voice.
"Woohoo! This is fun!" Luffy shouted as their ship went crashing through the trees. He hasn't expected that sea cow to crash into the island but it had turned into something fun so he wasn't all that bothered. A open path appeared in the distance and he caught sight of Zoro running. "Hey Zoro jump on!" He shouted as he laughed. He felt a thump as the ship bounced over something and heard Zoro voice as he started swearing. Then the ship went of a slight cliff and came crashing down into another group of trees. The ship broke apart on impact.
"Lets do that again!" Luffy cheered.
"No!" both Sanji and Yasuka shouted angrily. "We nearly died back there moron."
"Gah!" Zoro screamed as he pushed his way out from under the wreckage. "Are you guys trying to kill me?"
"Oh hey Zoro." Luffy waved. "I see you did get on."
"You guys ran me over!" He screamed. "What are you guys doing riding a ship on land anyways?"
"Fun stuff happened and we met a cow and then some more fun stuff happened and now were here." Luffy sad while smiling. Zoro felt the urge to cut him down. He also felt it wouldn't be the last time felt like that either.
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So I'm gunna give a spoiler for something coming up in a few chapters. When Nami gets the Mark something important will happen.