A/N: Two things, first… wow. I wasn't expecting that type of response to the first chapter at all. I was positive that no one was going to like this story. I'm really beyond flattered that you guys think otherwise. So for your sakes and for the sake of fun I'm going to continue and this will be a full-fledged story like it was originally intended to be anyways.

Second (and this one is kind of important so read FIRST): Werewolf lore varies a lot, I've heard they still have heartbeats and other stories where they are just dead. I've talked to a lot of my dear friends about this topic. However I'm going to completely disregard that and go with the lore I am familiar with. It comes from a Scottish family somewhere. Any who let me explain, there is a difference between bitten and natural-born werewolves. Victims die and aren't as powerful but they are in a sense immortal. Born werewolves live out their natural lifespan and either die with their curse or can find some way to die before their natural death and become immortal. That is why silver is so important because it stops the werewolves from healing and in a sense lifts the curse but it kills them…

That is just one of the freaking millions of theories and I'm not sure how accurate that is. This is one I heard when my mom was telling me bedtime stories so I'm going to stick with what I (kinda) know. Now… sorry for my rant, enjoy this installment of~

Dead End

Chapter Two – Riot

Nami stared at the velvety fabric that lined the walls of her coffin. It was luxurious to be sure; all she had ever wanted when she was alive was to enjoy the finer things in life. She wanted to wear the best clothing, eat the best food, drink the best wine, flirt with the highest aristocrats and rob them blind when they weren't paying attention, and travel. Oh how she had wanted to travel and escape that desolate town. She would have given anything…

Now she had been dead for two days and all the things that had mattered so much when she was alive seemed trivial. In fact, she hadn't even changed out of the men's clothing that Luffy and Zoro had given her. She didn't see the point of putting up the pretense of caring, because quite frankly, she didn't care.

She had gotten her revenge. Why should she help Luffy get his? She should just throw her body on a flaming wooden stake and hope that the ashes spread her body so far that it could never be rejoined or run into the sunlight. She had thought of it and mentioned that she found this 'afterlife' pointless now. Zoro had been the one to tell her that it was impossible to commit suicide. She hated how that man looked at her. It had really only been a day, she had decided she wanted to know as much about the two of them as possible.

Zoro was blunt and cruel. He seemed to enjoy taunting her to her wit's end and often made her uncomfortable. However even with the short lapse of time she could tell they would be good friends. He was blunt about her character, he pointed out her flaws when he saw them, and for the most part he could accept his flaws when she flung them in his face. He really didn't talk too much, which she was okay with. She still managed to pry information from him.

Luffy's, for lack of a better word, minions all had a common factor. He saved them from an untimely death and let them complete a task that life had deprived from them. It created loyalty and judging by what he was asking for in return he needed a lot of it. For example, Zoro the once feared and noble vampire slayer hadn't quite been prepared when he stumbled paths with Dracula… the Hawk eyed demon that has tortured lower London for the past twenty years. He would have died, had Luffy not stumbled upon him a few years back after he was dealt that fatal wound to his chest. He asked if he would like to go on killing vampires and making a name for himself even in death and that was exactly what Zoro wanted. The two worked well together. She would have asked who the others were, but she was uneasy about this. Did she really want to pledge herself to such a creature? She had hated vampires so strongly when she had been alive, and so had Zoro… how did he get over it? She would have asked him, but she kept the question to herself, now hardly seemed appropriate with that idiot bouncing around.

In fact Nami hadn't known that Zoro was dead until that night she lost her life. There were still rumors going around that he was taking down vampires, demons, and werewolves all across the country to this day. His nightly activities were easily excusable since the creatures he hunted dwelled at that time. It was a lie that he was still living, but it was no lie that he still hunted down these creatures and protected everyone he came across.

While Luffy had answered all her questions, he was too vague and was easily distracted. It was possibly that, or he was cunning and knew how to divert the subject discreetly. Either way she simply could only think one word to describe Luffy, and that is idiot. He practically bounced around the room with such a high energy it made it seem like he had just drank an entire village dry. He talked loudly when he addressed her, and when he sounded intelligent there was that mad like smile that tainted his face giving her the impression that he was off his rocker. She didn't like to make eye contact with him and so far they hadn't kissed or drank each other's blood since the first time. Not that she could see any event that would lead up to that, they hardly spoke outside of the questions she asked and Zoro hadn't left them alone again.

They both taught her things. Like how to live off of other animals besides humans as a blood source, how to track down prey that was human if she couldn't handle animal blood and where to track down a homeless person or someone who wouldn't be missed, and how to avoid detection. There were things that they reassured her would take time to master again, things like talking to humans would take time. The heightened senses allowed her to hear a heartbeat, and it was a tattletale sign when someone was lying. It made it hard to actually focus on what the humans were saying, the thrum of their heart was so fascinating to her now and so very distracting to the burning sensation in her throat.

She knew she should be asking them endless amounts of questions about their kind now and things about themselves that she should know. How old were they? Are there others nearby? Was that whole garlic thing real? Things like that, yet she couldn't really find the words to ask. The longer she spent in their company though, the less she felt like she had to know every single detail and she dropped questioning Luffy about his burning need for revenge. In fact she could only grill them about trivial things, like why Zoro had three piercings on his ear or why Luffy had a straw hat.

The sun finally set, and with it her third day of being dead started. She felt weird sliding the lid of her coffin off her grave and rose to meet the black eyes of her companions. Only as she did so she was met with two extra pairs.

If her heart had still been beating it would have jumped in surprise. Her life had taught her how to hide her emotions and she was sure that even in death she hadn't given any sign of it. She didn't speak or make eye contact. She felt her body tense as she slid out of her coffin with grace and landed on her feet with a dull thud. Her arm draped over the side elegantly, gripping the edge in case she could use it as a makeshift shield somehow.

"Another one, eh Luff?"

This one had blond hair, and his hair fell in such a way that it hid one eye from her view. His brow curled oddly and the look in his eye left her feeling uneasy. She coiled her hand at her side and sucked in a discreet calming breath to collect herself. There was another at his side, and despite his black eyes she could hear the faint thrum of his heartbeat. She gave him a curious look but he shrank back into the shadow that the first man offered, and successfully hid himself from her gaze.

"She's mine, Sanji," her… erm… leader… snarled.

"Unfair," the man named Sanji cried. "Why do you get all the gorgeous girls before I do?"

"Shut up you rotting sleaze ball," Zoro growled impatiently. "Time is running out, we need to make a move fast."

Luffy's fist connected with the wall as he let out a frustrated growl. It was the first time she had ever seen any display of strength from him and anger. It had her quaking slightly as she saw the giant hole in the wall he left. He might be an idiot, but he was ridiculously strong, even for a vampire.

"Luffy?"

She was surprised at her own voice and how timid she sounded. She was reaching out to him, disregarding the safety her coffin offered and strode toward him timidly. Her hand caught his shoulder, and she was surprised to feel him shaking under her grasp.

"We need to go. Now," he hissed lowly. He gently removed her hand from his shoulder and turned slowly, his demeanor barely seemed collected, and the small group noticed. He shot Zoro a look. "I'm going to have to rely on you this time."

The green haired vampire nodded before striding out of the room without a word.

"Luffy I can get Robin and Franky ready and we'll head over for back up," Sanji said. He slicked his hair back and made sure to give Nami a pointed look and a small discreet wink. She was tempted to cringe and stick her tongue out but she ignored him. He followed after Zoro with a nonchalant wave to them.

"It can't be helped then. I'll gather up Usopp and Brook. Chopper, you stay here with Nami. She isn't ready for this."

"Ready for what?" she asked again despite herself her voice called out to him before she could control it.

The wild and fierce look in his eyes disappeared for a second as he glanced over her. He took a deep breath his hand catching hers and pulling her surprisingly close. She was off balance but she didn't fall, she couldn't, not with her reflexes. Luffy braced her still, and stared hard into her eyes.

"Trust me," he breathed out.

His voice so faint she was sure that even with their superior hearing in the room only she caught what he said. He leaned in close, and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her until she felt the soft weight of something fall onto her head. Her hand reached up to touch what he had left to her, and she felt herself warm slightly as her fingers brushed against the straw hat. Luffy told her it was a promise that he hadn't been able to keep in life, and he seemed like the kind of man who wouldn't just let anyone touch his beloved treasure. She wasn't going to dwell too much on his actions as he pulled back so sharply it made it seem like she had burned him. She was still weary of him and he knew it.

"Chopper, I'm counting on you," he said and with a sharp turn of his heel he followed after Zoro and Sanji.

That left her alone with the man he called Chopper. Now forced out of the shadows she took in his appearance. He was young, younger than what Luffy appeared to be. At the most he was 15 years old, but even that was pushing it. He had light brown hair that fell into his eyes with two awkward cow licks right above his ears, his skin that showed was unnaturally pale in the dancing candle light, and his piercing blue eyes danced around the room nervously as he looked at everything but her. His clothes were tattered and looked so worn down that they would fall off at any second, but a small medic patch was sewn onto his coat where he had rolled up his sleeves to expose his oddly hairy arms. His heart thundered loudly in his chest now and his breath became ragged.

"You're alive," she breathed out. She was… fascinated by this. She could smell something different about him, but she couldn't tell what it was. He didn't smell fully human, but it wasn't as musky as an animal either.

He gave her a timid smile at her words.

"Yes, and you're dead."

His words weren't meant to be cruel; in fact he seemed to be too nervous to even realize that his words might be offensive to her. She decided to ignore the cutting remark. Luffy knew this boy, but this boy knew nothing of her. Surely he couldn't be too bad. From what Zoro had told her earlier Luffy only turned people when he had to, and half of the 'crew' he had found like Robin, Sanji, and Brook had already been turned before he found them. This boy was still alive, and yet here he was associating with vampires and here he was left alone with a new one all by himself. Did Luffy trust her that much? Was this a test of some kind?

"How?" she asked.

Her bluntness tonight was starting to annoy her. She needed to be in better control, but her curiosity and instincts were taking over. She found herself sitting down at an elegant table that rested in the middle of the room. She had never really paid much mind to this place. Luffy told her they were staying in a catacomb that his father had built underground and Franky had turned it into a makeshift mansion. The details hadn't really been important before. She had thought her natural sense of curiosity had died when she did. She didn't press for details as hard as she did when she was alive.

"How?" he mimicked. He seemed confused and took a step forward into the room. "How am I alive?" he tried to clarify. She nodded, urging him to continue and to take a seat next to her. He hovered wearily from his spot.

"I'm a werewolf. I'm not actually dead like the ones that are bitten. I inherited this curse. I was born with a heartbeat."

"Then why are you here? Aren't werewolves and vampires enemies?" she asked.

Again she was curious and it had her leaning in closer to study his frame better. The uneasiness seemed to melt off the boy as he took a few more steps towards her and took the offered seat from moments before.

"They are, but if you haven't noticed Luffy isn't exactly a typical vampire," his grin was so wide it seemed to give him pause for a second before he continued, "and I'm not exactly a typical werewolf."

She was silent for a while, her thoughts raced ahead of her as she careful analyzed what exactly he was saying. He was her natural enemy but she had no urge, no desire to hurt him in any way. He was friendly and just a kid. To be honest she felt a natural instinct to protect him take over the second she had heard his heartbeat. She just couldn't understand why that was or why that feeling was so surprisingly strong.

"I haven't been dead long. I'm not exactly sure what is going on," she said evenly. "Not much has been explained to me."

"Luffy does that," Chopper said with a shrug of his shoulders. "He isn't the best at explaining things. His type is more comfortable taking action than to sit down and explain what is going on beforehand."

She nodded because from what she had gathered these few days was that Chopper was right. Luffy seemed to be exactly like that. She felt like she could trust him, like he would pull through, after all he had freed her from that life. He had freed her from her prison in a sense by giving her this afterlife. Suddenly the depression and loss of interest with her surroundings disappeared. She had something to strive for, and that was to help Luffy. Luffy wasn't a typical vampire. It would take time but she knew she was going to accept that fact. There was just something about him that made her want to place this newfound faith in him.

"Can you tell me why he needs to get revenge?" she asked.

It could be a yes or no answer by the way she phrased it but she hoped that Chopper would see her interest and indulge her. She wasn't mistaken. The young werewolf smiled showing flashy white teeth.

"Luffy seems to like you," he said bluntly avoiding her question. If she had been alive her cheeks would have blushed, she rolled her eyes to cover up her shock.

"Yes well…"

What was protocol for having feelings for another vampire? She might be new to this world but she couldn't deny that there is something there. Maybe it was a little too fast… but she couldn't find herself resenting that fact. Maybe she was just reading way too far into the situation.

"A vampire killed his brother and turned Luffy into a vampire against his will. Black Beard," he said the name with a frown and interrupted her thoughts. "That is really all the information I know. Luffy doesn't like to talk about it."

She felt a pang of sympathy, and again she was surprised at the depth of emotion she was capable of feeling. She had thought that in death she wouldn't care anymore, and despite her best efforts she was caring without meaning to. She frowned at Chopper.

"So where did they all just run off to?" she asked, and she hoped that he didn't mutter the name that Luffy hated so much again. He frowned back to her.

"Crocodile is messing with Luffy's turf again. Apparently he stole the princess and is trying to uproot us from this spot."

There was so much she didn't know about. She felt like this was going to be a long night for the both of them as she started grilling the poor wolf with thousands of questions.

A/N: Just wow... I really wasn't expecting the feedback that the first chapter got. I'm in awe. This was an idea that struck me and I couldn't shake. I did always intend for it to be a story but I figured I would update every few months whenever I felt like indulging in my 'dark' side or just simply leave it be. I honestly thought no one would be interested and this was going to be a one-shot purely for me and for the fun of it hahaha. I'm flattered and amazed at the response so far. So this story is officially in story mode. I hope I don't disappoint from here on out.