Long chapter ahead (as in 9,300 words) so grab your popcorn kids!


The Misadventures of Nora

Chapter 3

Not Again!


"Shouldn't you have run off with your crew?" Nami asked as the two girls walked through the streets, trying to find said pirates.

"I'm not on their crew." Nora replied as she walked besides her. "I just hitched a ride to this island."

"Wait, you're not a pirate?" Nami asked, her posture suddenly becoming less tense and guarded.

"Nope." She replied with a shake of her head. "I just keep getting dragged into Luffy's messes."

They continued to walk through the empty streets in silence, looking for any trace of the two pirates. When reading and watching One Piece, she hadn't realised just how big this town was. There were streets everywhere and the emptiness made them hard to tell the difference. For all she knew, she could have been walking in circles. Eventually, they were able to find a trail of blood, most likely belonging to Zoro. Following it, they were able to locate Luffy and Zoro and a dog. It was quite an interesting sight as well, so interesting that she quickly snapped a pictures before tucking the film away. Both Luffy and Zoro were laying flat on their backs, only Luffy was covered in dog saliva while his first mate was covered in blood. And then there was the dog, sitting there and not moving.

She was pretty sure that it was the dog that they had, for some reason, had a human voice.

"Look at you two. Not to criticize you but…" Nami said as she stared down at their sorry states and let out a sigh. "Is the middle of the street really the best hiding place you could come up with?"

"Hey! It's our writer and navigator!" Luffy and Zoro said in unison, lifting their heads up slightly.

"I never agreed to that!" Both Nami and Nora yelled out in response to the pair on the ground.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me." Nami said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the key, throwing it in front of the cage.

"Thank us? Hey!" Luffy said as he stared at the key in front of him with a grin. "The key! You stole the key to the cage!"

As the trio continued to talk, Nora went over to the dog, crouching beside it as she cautiously reached out to pat it. She didn't want the dog to bite off her hand or anything if it decided it didn't like her. She wasn't a logia devil fruit user. It was just as she had finally got up the nerve to pat the dog when he had leant forward and swallowed the key.

Oh. She had forgotten that was going to happen.

While Luffy, Zoro and Nami let out sounds varying from shock to anger, she burst into a fit of laughter. How had she managed to forget this would happen? The looks on their faces were absolutely hilarious.

"Cough it up! That's not food! Gimme that key." Luffy yelled, reaching across as strangling the dog in an attempt to make it spit the key up. He then turned towards her. "And stop laughing at me! I'm gonna be stuck in this cage forever!"

"Dern whippersnappers!" A man, who she remembered to be the mayor, shouted as he stepped towards them. "Don't you pick on poor ol' Chou-Chou!"

"That's such a cute name…" Nora said, reaching over to pull the dog from Luffy's grip as Zoro asked the man who he was.

Once introducing himself, the mayor, Boodle, had noticed Zoro's injuries and taken him somewhere that he would be able to rest and recover. Nami had followed while Nora had stayed to take care of Luffy who was still in a cage, much to the pirates annoyance. He sat there, sending glares to the dog with a pout on his face. She could tell that he wanted to get out of that cage as soon as possible. Suddenly, he had opened his mouth to speak.

"Tell me your name."

"Why?" She replied as she continued to stroke the dog. "I told you I'm not joining your crew."

"Just tell me your name." He replied with a pout as he slumped against the cage. "Please!"

As Nora thought about it, she there wasn't really any point for her to say no now. Once Luffy, Zoro and Nami defeated the Buggy Pirates, they would be leaving and she would stay on the island that had been returned to it's peaceful state. There'd be no harm done in telling him her name. Besides, she was beginning to get sick of being referred to as her and she. With Nami around, things would end up getting confusing.

"...Fine." She finally replied letting out a sigh. "It's Nora."

"Nora…" Luffy said as he grinned at her. "So you're joining my crew now?"

"No!" She shouted out. "When did I ever say that?"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of shoes tapping on the cobblestone road. Looking up, she saw Nami and the mayor making there way towards them. Noticing that Zoro hadn't come back with them Luffy asked where he had gone to which the mayor explained that he wasn't to far away sleeping off his injuries.

"This dog's name is Chou-Chou?" Luffy asked the mayor as he pointed to the dog. When the mayor confirmed this he continued. "Why's he the only one left in town?"

"He's guarding the shop!" The mayor explained once he'd placed some food in a bowl for the dog. "I just came to feed him."

"Oh. So he's a guard dog!" Nami said with raised eyebrows. "For a pet store…"

It was then that the mayor began to explain Chou-Chou's story, something she remembered had made her very sad the first time she read it and even sadder when she had seen it in the anime. She hoped she didn't cry listening to it in person. He told them about the dog's previous owner and how they had opened the store together. Nora couldn't help but frown when the mayor mentioned that he had been waiting for his owner for three months. She never had been good at dealing with sad animal stories. Marly & Me had been the worst…

Going over to sit near the dog, she softly stroked his fur as he continued to eat up the food that was left in his bowl. When the others left the island and she felt lonely or sad, perhaps she'd be able to spend some time with Chou-Chou. They could keep each other company and she would enjoy looking after him. He was a cute little dog.

"Chou-Chou's a smart dog." He said when commented on the sad situation. "I think he knows his master is dead."

She zoned out of the conversation after this, already being aware that this store was his treasure. Just like her journals, Zoro's swords, Nami's hometown and Luffy's straw hat, this shop was Chou-Chou's treasure. She stroked him sadly as she thought about what she knew would soon happen. It wouldn't be long before Mohji and Richie made their appearance and destroyed the shop. Once again, she wished she could do something but she was weak. She couldn't stop a giant lion…

It was then that she heard the loud roar of said lion.

"That did not sound good." Nora said, wincing at the piercing sound.

"What's that horrible roar?" Nami yelled out with a gasp of shock as she whipped her head in the direction that it had come from.

"I-It must be Mohji the lion tamer!" The mayor yelled out in terror.

When they heard another roar, this time closer, the two took off running. Quickly glancing at Luffy and Chou-Chou, she remembered that they would be somewhat okay. With that in mind, she sprinted off after the other two, away from the giant lion that was steadily approaching.

"Is Luffy provoking that guy?" Nami asked as she trembled and they peeked their heads around the corner.

"If he is, he wouldn't be doing it purposely." Nora replied as she stared at the massive lion with wide eyes.

They continued to watch from the safety behind the building. She was quite unnerved as the whole scene played out but she did let a quiet snicker out when Chou-Chou bit the lion tamer after he'd just claimed to able to tame him. When Luffy refused to say where the Zoro was, Mohji had Richie jump forward and rip the cage apart, something she knew Luffy would be happy to finally be freed from.

"The cage!" Nami cried out.

"That boys a goner!" The mayor said, agreeing with Nami.

"He finally managed to get out of the cage. That's good." Nora said as she let out a sigh of relief.

Nami and Mayor Boodle looked at her like she'd gone insane and the expressions didn't get any better when she snickered as they saw Luffy get sent flying through the air and into a building. She may have known that it wouldn't hurt him but they didn't know that. Her laughing halted when she saw the lion go to stand in front of the pet store however. All traces of amusement were gone as she watched the poor dog growl at the much larger creature.

"We should go to Luffy." Nora said, being unable to watch the scene that would soon playout.

With a nod, they began to sneak away from Mohji and his lion before breaking out into a full run and heading in the direction that Luffy had crashed to. When they saw him, alive and well, Nami and the mayor let out yells of shock, unable to believe that he had managed to survive the impact of what he had just gone through.

"Why did you all come to this town anyway?" The mayor asked as he turned to Luffy, a still perturbed look on his face. "Why take on pirates?"

"I just figured out why I'm here." Luffy replied with a slight nod. "I'm after the map of the Grand Line and a navigator!"

Nami once again denied his statement, while the mayor looked shocked. Nora on the other hand just shook her head. It was then that she could hear the barking of Chou-Chou in the distance, causing her to flinch slightly. The poor dog…

"I'm going to look for Zoro." Luffy said as he began to walk away. "I'd better find him before that weird costume guy does."

"I'll come with you." She said as she began to follow while the mayor tried to stop them.

The pair walked in silence through the deserted streets. After she had told him her name, he hadn't been bugging her about joining his crew, something she was very glad about. Not only because it was slightly annoying but because she knew that eventually she'd give in and say yes. That was something she just couldn't do. She just needed to find a nice peaceful island to stay on and then perhaps she could try and figure out how she had gotten into this world later. Going into the Grand Line would be suicide for her and she had already died once.

It was as they were about to walk around the corner of a street that she smelt it. The pungent smell burned her throat and filled her lungs. It was horrible. She then heard the barks of Chou-Chou and she knew Luffy had noticed it to. They walked around the corner and she noticed his eyes wide, taking in the scene before them. The poor dog was sitting in front of the shop, crying out as he watched it burn to the ground. The heat from the fire was radiating towards them, making her eyes water. Nora clenched her fists at the sight of this. Her and Luffy stood there, a frown on her face and a blank look on his. They watched the building burn and the dog howl.

She truly hated the Buggy Pirates in that moment.

"Nora." Luffy said, stepping forwards and quickly glancing back at her. "Stay here with the dog. I'll be back."

Nora nodded in responce and watched as he walked away, no doubt heading in the direction of Mohji the lion tamer. Once he had disappeared from her sights, she stepped forward, ignoring the stinging of her eyes and sat down besides the dog. In that moment, she knew that the poor dog didn't need any physical comfort, he truly didn't even need her there. That wouldn't stop her though. The least she could do was sit down next to him and watch it burn. She had nothing else to offer.

She couldn't go and beat the Buggy Pirates up, she couldn't cut them down and she couldn't steal from them. She was weak and she hated it. She simply could not do a thing but sit and watch as the building, Chou-Chou's treasure, burned to the ground.

By the time Nami and the mayor had made their way over, the building was burned to the ground. All that remained was a pile of rubble and smoke. Nora was still on the ground, gritting her teeth as she glared at the remains of the building. Nami began to rant about pirates and how they were horrible and despite what she knew, deep down Nora agreed with her. While there were good pirates like Luffy, they were outnumbered by the ones like Buggy and Blackbeard…

Just thinking his name made chills run down her spine.

"You're still alive?" Nami asked suddenly turning when Luffy made his appearance. "I was hoping that lion would eat you."

"Hey. what the?" The mayor suddenly question before jumping into hold back Nami, just before she hauled herself at Luffy. He struggled to hold back the cursing navigator as she yelled at Luffy. "Now, simmer down!"

"You don't stand a chance against me." Luffy said to her, sticking his tongue out and making Nora think of Shanks.

As the mayor continued to hold back the yelling and cursing girl, Luffy made his way over the Chou-Chou and Nora, who was still sitting next to the dog. As she noticed what was in his hand, she knew that this was a moment she wanted to remember, a silver lining in this horrible event. She took out her polaroid and watched as Luffy placed the last remaining item from the store, a bag of dog food, in front of Chou-Chou. She pressed the button, forever cementing this memory in both mental and physical form. She never wanted to forget this.

She watched as Nami, the future navigator, watched on, a shocked look on her face. She couldn't blame her for the look. Monkey D. Luffy was truly a one of a kind pirate. She'd even go as far as to call him an anomaly. He and his crew, both future and present, were all one of a kind. They were special. Something she wasn't and never would be.

"I didn't get to see you in action…" She heard Luffy say as she tore herself from her thoughts. "But I know you did good!"

As Luffy watched on with a smile, the dog picked up the lone back of food and padded down the street and away from them. Before leaving, he turned around, dropped the food and let out a happy bark. Nora felt her heart swell. This was why she wanted to remember it. Despite everything, this scene was truly heartwarming.

"Thanks." Luffy said with, to no surprise, his usual large grin. "Good luck to you to!"

"Sorry I yelled at you." Nami said with a smile, staring down at Luffy.

"That's okay. I know you lost someone to pirates." Luffy said as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I understand… Not that I want to hear the details or anything."

"I can't stand it no more!" The mayor suddenly yelled and he let out a loud shout of frustration.

Nora lifted herself off of the ground as she watched the mayor of this town finally explode. He had had enough of the Buggy Pirates and it seemed that Chou-Chou's fight had increased his moral. As Nami tried to calm him down and make him think rationally about the situation, he turned to Luffy.

"Sometimes a man gotta do what a man's gotta go!" He yelled out. "Isn't that right sonny?"

"That's right!" Luffy said as he crossed his arms and grinned at the mayor. "You said it old man!"

Nora shook her head at Luffy and the mayor's antics. She admired his moral but the fact was that Buggy and his crew were strong. Despite everything, they could do some serious damage, especially to an old man who wasn't thinking straight. His moral only increased as he began to talk about the town's history and the fifty years of hard work that they put into shape this town into what it was today. They had run away from their old town at the pirates that had destroyed it and built a new town in the wilderness.

"This town and it's people are my treasure!" He yelled as he raised his spear into the air. "I'd be a sorry excuse for a mayor if I didn't try to protect the town! I'm gonna fight!"

Almost ironically, immediately after the mayor finished his sentence, an explosion rocked the town. Another Buggy Ball had been fired, destroying a whole row of houses and shops. Building after building was torn apart by the cannon ball. The force of the explosion directly besides them sent them sprawling across the floor. She winced at slightly at the pain that was sent through her body, truthfully though, it was nothing compared to the pain she had felt when the car had hit her.

"My house was ruined!" The mayor spoke with gritted teeth and a look of anger on his face.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled upon hearing the mayor's statement. "Zoro was sleeping in there!"

With Luffy's shocked yell, the four of them ran off, following the mayor in the direction that his house had once stood. Nora knew that he would be fine but she followed anyway, not wanting to get lost in the deserted and winding streets. Especially when there was pirates in the town. They stood in front of the rubble, watching as the smoke cleared, looking for any sign of Zoro being alive. Soon, it came.

"That's one hell of an alarm clock." Zoro said as he let out a groan. The smoke had cleared enough for them to see him sitting on the ground and clutching his head.

"That's your response to nearly getting blown to pieces?" Nora asked as she shook her in disbelief. "That is not normal."

"Hey!" Luffy yelled out in happiness. "You're alive!"

"How could anyone live through that?" Nami said in shock as she watched Zoro stand up. This was the second time she had seen someone survive something they shouldn't have that day.

This was the final straw for the mayor. He heaved in anger, his grip on his spear tightening to the point she was sure that the old man would manage to break it. Her, Nami, Zoro and Luffy watched on as the mayor spoke, moreso to himself, and decided that he was going to save the town. With his spear in the air, he began to ran off in the direction of where they Buggy pirates had set up camp. Nami tried desperately to stop him but he had made up his mind.

"Getting yourself killed won't accomplish anything!" Nami said as she grabbed onto his back. "You're being reckless!"

"I know I'm being reckless!" The mayor roared as he whipped around before quickly going back to his original mission. "Buggy the Clown! Prepare to face the mayor."

"The mayor…" Nami said as she watched him run away. "He was crying."

"It didn't look that way to me!" Luffy said as he watched the mayor run, a look of respect in his eyes.

"Things are finally gonna get fun!" Zoro exclaimed from the floor with a smirk as his captain laughed and agreed.

"I'm probably going to have another near death experience." Nora said as she let out a sigh and shook her head. "It will be interesting to watch though…"

"This is no laughing matter!" Nami yelled as Luffy continued to laugh.

"Don't worry, I like that old man." He replied. "I won't let him get killed."

Nora knew for a fact that he meant that.

She felt a smile come onto her face as she looked between the trio in front of her. Watching them talk, about getting the map, saving the mayor and going to the Grand Line made her happy. They would go on so many adventures soon and they would gain so many friends along the way.

She just hoped that once they left this island that they would remember her.

"Let's just say we'll join forces..." Nami said as she and Luffy confirmed the deal with a slap of their hands. "Work together for a common goal."

And with that, they took off in the direction that the mayor had run. As they walked, she couldn't help but be nervous. The fear of dying was still there and even stronger than the run in with the marines. Buggy and his crew were pirates that wouldn't have a problem killing her while the marines weren't so dead set on killing anything that moved. There would be many more opportunities for her to lose her life and she just hoped she'd be able to avoid them.

"You're coming too?" Nami yelled out as Zoro stood and followed them, pulling out his bandanna. "What about your wounds?"

"They got better." Was his detailed response.

"Zoro. You're an idiot." Nora said as she turned to look at him with a flat stare. "That isn't how the human body works. But then again, I'm not convinced you're human…"

"I'm more worried about my reputation than my guts. Right now, I've got a score to settle." The swordsman spoke with a smirk as he fastened the bandana around his head. "Let's do it."

"I can't wait!" Luffy said, cracking his knuckles with a smirk of his own.

Nami and Nora followed behind them, both shaking their heads at the boys antics. Things were truly about to get interesting. And dangerous.

As they got closer to the tavern that Buggy and his pirates were using as a makeshift base, they heard the pained cries of the mayor. Luffy rushed forward to see what was going on and to help the mayor. Nora didn't need to rush forward though. She knew that was Buggy who was strangling the mayor and she knew that Luffy would save him.

"I'm back." Luffy said as he ripped Buggy's detached hand away from the mayor. "I told you I'd clobber you!"

"I don't believe it! You two must enjoy pain." Buggy yelled out to them as they stood below the tavern. "But this time you won't escape me!"

"Have fun fighting boys." Nami said to Zoro and Luffy as she ignored Buggy's outburst. "I'm just here for the map and the treasure!"

"I'm just here to watch." Nora added in with a slight nod. "...And maybe so get some good photos."

"Whatever." Zoro replied placing his hands on his swords and shaking his head.

"You young whippersnappers. You're outsiders… Not your fight." The mayor said from the ground as he struggled to speak. "This is my battle. It's my town and I'll protect it! So don't intere!"

With those words, Luffy slammed the mayor's head into a wall without even the slightest hint of mercy. Everyone watched in shock as the sound of his face hitting the wall echoed through the streets. Even Buggy was watching in confusion at the younger captains actions. Her on the other hand? She just let out a sigh and shook her head for what felt like the millionth time that day. Luffy had good intentions but there were better ways that he could have gone about it. Knocking someone out really wasn't the best way to shut them up. She watched as the mayor fell to the ground like a rock. He was completely out cold.

"Argh you! Whose side are you on!?" Nami bellowed in anger. "Why'd you do that to the mayor?"

"He was in the way!" Luffy replied with a grin, sending a grin to Buggy.

"Good thinking… He would have gotten himself killed." Zoro said with a nod of approval. "He'll be safer unconscious."

"Safer unconscious?" Nora echoed as a thought crossed her mind. "If that's the case then go ahead and knock me out!"

"You're to reckless!" Nami continued to yell at Luffy before turning to her and Zoro. "And are you two stupid or something?"

"Hey you!" Luffy yelled to Buggy who was on the taverns roof. "Big Nose!"

And this is where things get interesting. Nora thought as she let out a laugh at the reaction of Buggy and his pirates. Even Nami and Zoro's reactions were pretty funny. She'd always wondered what it would be like to see anime and manga reactions in real life. Would they be as funny or would it just look normal? Well after being in the One Piece world for a mere two days, she could confirm that they were funny. As in really funny. If she was close enough, she would have snapped a picture.

"Kill him!" Buggy roared in absolute fury as his face grew red. "Give 'im the Buggy Ball!"

As she watched his crew move to follow his orders, she decided that perhaps it was in her best interests to move to the side a bit. While she knew they would all be fine, her memory of this particular scene was a bit hazy. She didn't want to take any chances. Those Buggy Balls could do some serious damage.

"That measly cannon ball's not gonna work on me!" Luffy said with a smirk, ignoring Zoro and Nami's warning shouts. He then took in a deep breath. "Gum Gum Balloon!"

She looked on in awe and amazement as Luffy's body increased and stretched. Seeing his arms stretch was weird. Seeing him get shot and have the bullets merely bounce off of him was weirder. But this! This definitely took the cake. Seeing him expand like that just didn't seem normal! Based on the reactions of Buggy, his crew and Nami, she wasn't the only one thinking this. Although there reactions were more so shocked while hers was awe.

"You could have at least told us what you planning." Zoro said as he covered his face at his captains antics.

"Seeing him stretch is truly an amazing sight." Nora said with a laugh as she stepped back closer to the others and watched the Buggy Ball fly back towards the tavern.

A large grin grew on her face as she watched it crash into the tavern. The explosion completely destroyed the building. It send some of the pirates flying while others were buried under the debris of what had once been a building. Watching it made her happy because it felt like this was, in a way, for Chou-Chou. It didn't change what had happened but it did feel like a good taste of karma for the Buggy Pirates.

"That evens the odds a little!" Luffy said with a hand on his hat. "Let's get 'em!"

"What are you?!" Nami screeched, having fallen to the ground in shock.

"Made me worry for nothing…" Zoro said as he shook his head.

They looked on as the building continued to fall apart, crashing to the ground and burying even more of the pirates. As they waited for the Buggy Pirates to make a move, Nami began to question Luffy about what he was and how he'd managed to inflate himself like a balloon. Nora couldn't quite understand why she was asking what he was when earlier she had been seeing Buggy detach his body parts… As Nami and Luffy continued to talk, a figure appeared from the dust. Well moreso three figures and a lion. Buggy had used his crew as a shield and Cabaji had used Richie. As they spoke between each other, another figure emerged from the rubble. This time it was Mohji. A very angry Mohji. He didn't seem to take very well to his lion being used as a shield.

"It's that kid in the straw hat! Cap'n Buggy watch out for him!" Mohji suddenly yelled out with a gasp when he noticed Luffy. "He's got special powers from eating the devil fruit. Just like you! He's a rubberman."

"A bit late to mention that now…" Nora muttered, looking at the rubble of what was once the tavern.

"Rubber man?" Nami yelled at Luffy in shock.

"Yep… See?" Was Luffy's response as he stretched his cheeks.

Mohji was suddenly sent flying by an angered Buggy, right in the direction of them. Deciding to take a note from Buggy's book, she stepped behind Zoro. She did not want to get hit by a human missile. Luffy, to no surprise, didn't share her concerns and got into stance with a grin. Swinging his leg up, he landed a solid kick onto the lion tamers face, altering his direction. Nami had to jump out of the way as he was sent in her direction. Nora winced slightly at the noise it made when Luffy's foot connected with his face. That would've hurt.

"Buggy's second mate, Cabaji the Acrobat!" Cabaji yelled out with a his sword in his hand, making her laugh slightly. Who addressed themselves in third person? "I'll cut 'em to mince meat cap'n!"

"If it's a sword duel you want…" Zoro said, stepping in front of Luffy and blocking the attack with his own sword. "I'm your man."

As Cabaji made his reply about it 'being an honour to cut him down' she noticed Zoro's slightly wince. Despite what he said, his earlier wounds hadn't healed and he really was in no condition to fight. She wasn't the only one to notice this fact. Both Nami and Luffy turned to him. Luffy tried to get Zoro to stop, telling him that he'd handle him, but that didn't happen. Instead, Cabaji pulled down the scarf around his neck and blew a breath of fire at Zoro before rushing forward and sending a solid kick to his wound. She winced as she watched, not even wanting to imagine how much that would have hurt. She got her answer when he let out a yell of pain, falling backwards to the floor.

"That's dirty!" Nami said with gritted teeth and a glare. "You're aiming for his injuries."

"I really don't like this crew." Nora said with a glare of her own.

Cabaji had no mercy and moved onto his next dirty trick. This one he called 'Murder At The Steam Bath', quite a stupid name in her opinion. He ran his swords along the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and making it impossible for Zoro to see. As the swordsman was on the floor, questioning what sort of trick that was, the acrobat jumped forward into the cloud of dust. She couldn't see what was going on but she could hear the clinking of swords. Soon enough, Zoro was sent out of the dust cloud with another kick to his wound.

"Zoro's hurt bad! How's he supposed to fight?" Nami said, turning to Luffy. "How can you just stand there and watch your friend get killed?"

Rather than answering, Luffy simply watched on. She watched as Cabaji got ready to give the final blow and cut down Zoro, only, that didn't happen. Zoro, while still pained, had managed to get up and knock the other swordsman down. It was truly quite a remarkable thing to be able to do with wounds like the ones he had. Especially after they'd just been kicked.

"You're a very annoying person." Zoro said as he huffed with his sword in hand. "I hope you enjoyed kicking my wound."

He then did something that made everyone, even Nora, to be shocked. He took his own sword and slashed the wound himself, making it even deeper than it had been before. Even though she knew it would happen, seeing it just made her realise how real everything was.

"My goal is to be the world's greatest swordsman." He spoke, much to Cabaji's confusion. "Is that enough of a handicap for you? Now I'll show you some real swordplay."

"Wow! Zoro's so cool!" Luffy cried out with a grin as he watched his first mate place place a sword in his mouth.

"He is." Nora said with a nod as she watched on in awe.

Even this early on he managed to be so cool!

"I'm feeling faint just watching this." Nami said while Luffy cheered Zoro on.

They watched as the two swordsman faced each other, a heavy tension filling the air. The pair talked and the deadly aura around Zoro increased. She watched as he positioned his swords. A fight was about to break out and it was going to amazing to watch. So amazing that she decided this was worthy of a photo. Her film was running low but she knew it was worth it. She wanted to remember her time with the Straw Hats, even if it was a short time.

"Hey. That shack behind the ruins of the tavern… That's where they keep their treasure and Buggy's probably got the map of the Grand Line." Nami said to her and Luffy as she gestured to the shack.

She began to tell them that she was going to go off and make her escape with the treasure and how she didn't really care whether they won or lost the fight. But she did mention that she would team up with them if they managed to get the map off of Buggy. Seeing Nami like this made Nora sad. Just knowing why she was doing this and what was going on made her, once again, wish she could help. That wasn't possible for her though.

Once Nami had run off, she turned her attention back to the two swordsman just in time to see Cabaji throwing spinning tops across the ground and then ride up the wall on his unicycle. The rules of physics really didn't apply to anyone in the One Piece world… As Zoro cut the spinning tops away from him, Cabaji bounced off of the building, directly above Zoro, and began to fall with his sword aimed directly at him. It was then, that her hate for the Buggy pirates increased. Buggy sent his hand to Zoro, interrupting the duel between the two. This crew truly fought using dirty tricks.

"Cabaji! I'll hold Zoro down!" He yelled to his second mate. "You finish him off!"

Zoro's teeth clenched around his sword as he noticed the position he was in. Thankfully, Luffy managed to save the day. He ran forward and slammed his foot onto Buggy's hand, halting it in it's path. Buggy let out a yell of pain while Nora let out a sigh of relief. Her memory of this arc was to hazy for her to be sure if everything was going exactly as it should so she was tense with every move.

"Keep your mitts out of Zoro's duel!" Luffy said with a smirk while Buggy cursed.

"I don't need captain to lend me a hand to kill you!" Cabaji shouted, seconds before his sword hit the ground, completely missing Zoro who had dived out of the way.

"I've had enough." Zoro said as he kneeled on the ground and huffed. "I'm tired."

Cabaji seemed to take those words as Zoro surrendering as he began to laugh at him and begin to taunt him about giving up. Nora grinned when she saw Zoro kick the unicycle, knocking the other pirate to the ground. With this, one of his truly intimidating glares came onto his face as he corrected the other pirate, telling him he was sick of the stupid circus tricks. Cabaji charged forwards in anger but she knew that that was a mistake. He would now lose the fight. Seconds later, this was proved to be true as Zoro cut him down with his Onigiri attack.

It was very satisfying.

"We're not common thieves. We're pirates!" Zoro said as he took of his bandana, his posture unbalanced before he slumped to the floor. "Luffy. I'm going to sleep now."

"Go ahead and sleep." Luffy said as he prepared to fight. "I'll take it from here!"

Nora shook her head at their casualness. They were acting like Zoro didn't have life threatening wounds. Deciding that she could at least try and be useful, she chose to go over and attempt to stop the blood flowing from Zoro's wound. She tuned out the conversations of Buggy and Luffy in favour of pushing Zoro over so that she could get a better view of his wound. She was no doctor but she knew this was a nasty cut. He would be fine whether she helped or not, but perhaps this way, he'd recover a bit quicker and be in less pain.

Even though she hadn't been listening, she heard Luffy's infamous claims of becoming the King of the Pirates. As she turned to watch Buggy's reaction, she knew there was more to it than there may seem. He had, after all, been a part of the Pirate King's crew.

"You and your straw hat remind me of him when he was younger. The insolent dog with the red hair!" She heard Buggy say as she tied so material around Zoro's sides. She then felt a piercing gaze on her back. "And then that girl over there looks exactly like her!"

Wait? Was he talking about me looking like someone? Nora thought as she looked back with a frown at the glaring pirate. What was he on about?

"Red hair?" Luffy said, recapturing Buggy's attention. "Did you know Shanks?"

"Hmmm. What's this? Looks like you are considerably interested." Buggy replied with a grin on his face, looking like he'd somehow won. "I know him but why do you want to know?"

As the two continued to talk about Shanks, Luffy asking questions and Buggy not answering them, she thought of what Buggy had said to her. Who did she look like and what did he mean by that? Were their eyes the same or perhaps the colour of their hair? As she pondered his statement, she decided it was probably nothing. She didn't have wildly coloured hair or eyes that would make her stand out or be incredibly noticeable. Her hair was light brown and her eyes were green! There were probably millions of people that looked like her. Buggy must have just been seeing things through the eyes of anger.

By the time she had come to the conclusion that there was nothing to worry about, she had managed to place a makeshift bandage around Zoro's wound. Glancing back to the two pirate captains she saw Buggy's leg flying through the air with a knife attached to the boot. Just thinking that sentence was enough to make her frown. What a weird world she had been put into…

Luffy was able to avoid the leg but Buggy wasn't done yet. He threw a barrage of knives at the rubber boy, all of which Luffy was able to dodge by pulling himself out of the way. Letting go of the pole and landing back on the floor, he stretched his arm and sent a punch in the clowns direction only for Buggy to avoid the attack as well. She watched in amusement as Buggy grabbed onto his arm, preparing to cut it, only for Luffy to send himself flying through the air like a human cannonball. To avoid this attack, Buggy split his head off just in time.

"Watching people fight with devil fruit powers is weird." Nora muttered to herself at the sheer oddity of the fight that was happening in front of her.

Luffy slammed into a building, tearing it to bits before getting up from the rubble with a frown as he adjusted his signature hat. In the distance, she could see Nami watching the fight play out with a look of disbelief on her face. She then saw Buggy's hand detach, knives between his fingers, as it flew in Luffy's direction. He was able to catch it just in time but had another near miss when the hand disconnected from the forearm.

Huh. It's kinda like that one song. Nora mused. The hand bones connected to the arm bone…

Luffy was once again sent into the rubble of the building and when he got up this time, he did not look happy. There was a line of blood dripping from where the blade had cut him and he scowled as he held the hat in his hand. He looked absolutely furious.

"What? So you're pissed that your face is scarred?" Buggy asked, slightly taken back at the boy's anger.

"How dare you mess up…" Luffy ground out with a dark look in his eyes. "This hat!"

"What?" Was Buggy's response as he frowned slightly.

"This is my treasure!" Luffy roared out with a look of fury on his face. "I will never forgive anyone who messes up this hat!"

She watched as a smirk grew onto Buggy's face and he questioned Luffy if the hat was truly that precious to him. She could see his hand, still holding the knives, rise from the rubble just behind Luffy. The knives then began to chase Luffy around, aiming specifically for his hat. She watched on with a sad frown as the three knives pierced the top of the hat and Luffy's eyes widened. As Buggy began to laugh, pure rage surrounded Luffy and it seemed that everyone but Buggy was able to notice it. Even his crew, who were pretending to be passed out, looked unnerved.

"That's the hat I swore myself to with Shanks!" Luffy bellowed as he ran towards Buggy and his hat.

"What? This is Shanks' hat?! I thought it looked familiar!" Buggy said as he flicked the hat to the ground in irritation. "Me and that guy used to be on the same pirate ship. To rephrase that… He was my comrade when we were still pirate trainees."

On the Gol D. Rogers ship. Nora thought with a shake of her head as she thought about that crew and all the powerful and amazing people who were on that crew.

"Shanks is a great man! You say that he was your comrade?" As she saw Luffy rush forward, she knew this would make another amazing photo. "Don't compare yourself with him!"

With the click of a button, she was able to capture a second image of one of Luffy's infamous attacks on the villain. She was starting to have quite a good collection…

She watched as Buggy was sent sprawling across the floor, a pained look on his face as small tears escaped his eyes and his head connected back to his body. Luffy grabbed his hat and then growled at the saliva that Buggy had spat on it. Pinning him down, he rubbed the hat against the clowns face in an attempt to clean it. It was quite a trivial site to see a rookie pirate mess with a pirate that had sailed on the Oro Jackson. Luffy continued to hold him down as they talked and Luffy tugged at his cheeks. Eventually he got fed up and sent a solid karate chop to his skull.

"Through my whole life, even until today, there has not been a single person who has made me madder than he did!" Buggy yelled out, now standing up again. "That bastard, he… he took a tremendous amount of treasure from me! I can't forgive him!"

Buggy then began to tell them the tale of him and Shanks. Hs story began with him and Shanks being on a ship arguing before they were stopped by one of their superiors. Nora knowing that that superior was Rayleigh. It then led to how they were fighting with another pirate ship and how Buggy found the treasure map that claimed to lead to a huge amount of treasure at the sea bed. He told them how he hid it and how on that one fateful night, Shanks had spooked him into swallowing the devil fruit and made him lose the map.

"So I ate a one hundred million berri worth fruit and became unable to swim!" Buggy said as he finished his story. "And I also missed the treasure lying on the seabed!"

"Oh." Luffy said with a grin. "So Shanks saved your life."

It was at this statement that Buggy went off into another one of his rants about him settling for all the treasure above land. As he ranted, his body from his torso upwards was detached as he drew his knives. At first it appeared that he was aiming for Luffy but Nora could see Nami in the distance, a bag of treasure in her possession.

"Put my treasure down! Since when did you think you could fool me, Nami?" He shouted as he flew towards a shocked Nami. "Let me send you painfully to the nether-world."

Knowing what was about to happen, Nora suppressed a laugh as she once again took out her polaroid. She wanted, no needed, to catch this whole scene in the image. Everytime she read or saw it, she would laugh so a picture of the real thing would be a gift from the heavens. She position it so that both halfs of Buggy and Luffy were in the photo and clicked the button as Luffy kicked the other pirate in the crotch. She grinned as she watched the image develop.

It was a masterpiece.

She had spent spaced out for sometime as she stared at the film but was quickly brought back to reality when she saw Buggy once again split into a multitude of pieces and attacked Nami. His body flew around the air in tiny pieces, almost like a human tornado. As she watched this Buggy tornado, she saw Luffy making his way over to the detached feet which still happened to be on the ground. Upon realising that the feet couldn't fly, he dived at them and took ahold of them. He then took the feet from the boots and began to tickle them, another sight that Nora just had to get a photo of. Buggy began to let out loud laughs and shouts as he continued to chase a screaming Nami. When the tickling wasn't enough to stop him, Luffy resorted to slamming his toes to the ground and then stretching the skin, which finally caused him to stop.

"Stop it you idiot!" Buggy shouted out after a pained yell, turning back to face Luffy.

Nami took his momentary distraction and swung the giant bag of treasure at him. This, however, did not have the desired effect. He instead took a hold of the bag with a grin, starting a tug of war match between the two. For what felt like the millionth time that day, she watched as Luffy ran forward and sent yet another attack to his face, yet again sending him flying, the bag of treasure following close behind.

"That last kick was for the village mayor." Luffy said with a grin as he wiped the blood from the side of his face.

As Nami and Luffy conversed, Nora took the chance to get up from her position on the floor and head over to the pair. She wouldn't have much time left with them so she might as well savour it. She walked over to the pair with a grin on her face.

"Alright! I've finally got it!" Luffy yelled out with a piece of parchment in his hand. "The Grand Line map!"

"You did well!" Nora said with a grin as she placed an arm over his shoulder and ruffled his air. "You really kicked his ass!"

"Wait! Gomu-Gomu kid!" Buggy suddenly shouted, making her falter when she realised he wasn't down for good.

"Eh?" Luffy said in confusion. "You're still alive?"

I'll kill you once and for all!" He shouted making her roll her eyes. "Gather up Bara Bara parts!"

Once again, things didn't go as planned for Buggy the Clown. She laughed, yet again, and snapped a quick shot of the sight in front of her. Nami had managed to tie up the rest of his body parts, leaving him a pair of feet, hands and a head. It was absolutely hilarious.

"A thief definitely has some cool skills! Leave the rest to me!" Luffy said with a heartfelt laugh, stretching his arms backwards. "Get lost Buggy!"

And with that, Buggy the clown blasted off again, just like Team Rocket.

"Well that went well." Nora said with a grin. "A lot of effort for just some food though…"

"It was fun though!" Luffy replied with another laugh. "And we managed to find a navigator! Now you're both gonna be my crew mates right?"

As Nami answered Luffy and spoke of their temporary arrangement, Nora thought about his question. To join the Straw Hat's crew was every One Piece fans dream, but now, being in this world, she knew it wasn't realistic. After no more than two and a half days, she had seen things that were both amazing and dangerous. There were so many times she could of died and the East Blue was supposedly the weakest of the four blues! No matter how much fun it may be, she simply couldn't go.

"What about you Nora?" Luffy asked as he began to search the ground for his hat.

"I'm staying on this island." She replied with a nod. This was the right choice.

"That hat…" Nami said, preventing Luffy from responding. "Is it that precious to you?"

"Yeah but it's alright! I feel better now that I got rid of Buggy!" Luffy said with a smile as he happily placed the hat on his head and then walked over to Zoro. "Oi Zoro, get up."

"Hmm…" Zoro groaned out as he slowly woke up. "Did you finish the fight."

"Yeah he did." Nora said as she made her way to the pair, photos in hand. "And I got some amazing photos."

"Yeah!" Luffy said with a nod as he glanced at the pictures. "We also got the map and the treasure!"

"I don't think I can walk yet." Zoro said as he clutched his head.

"Obviously! If you guys can still walk you're not human!" The navigator shouted. Upon Luffy questioning why he was included she shouted once again. "You're the weirdest!"

"I'm going to assume that I wasn't included in that statement." Nora said with a shake of her head.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed. "I'll wake up the mayor!"

It was then that they heard another voice, or rather a group of voices. Nora felt herself stiffen slightly as she let out a curse under her breath. She had forgotten that the villagers would make an appearance! She let out even more silent curses as the conversation progressed and Luffy told the villagers that he was the one to knock out the mayor. It was then that the villagers turned to them with glares and readied their weapons.

"We are pirates."

And with Luffy's simple announcement, all of hell broke loose. Zoro began to laugh while Nami screamed at Luffy and Nora let out loud curses. She was once again, being thought of as a pirate. Her curses only grew louder as the four of them had to run away from the mob of angry villagers. Nami carrying her bag, Luffy carrying Zoro and the treasure and Nora carrying the weight of the fact that she wasn't going to be able to stay on this island either.

"Why do I keep getting dragged into these things?" She screeched out as she ran as fast as her legs would allow her. "I'm not a damn pirate!"

"Why the hell did you make the situation more complicated?" Nami managed to get out as they ran.

"This is a good village. For their mayor, for just one person… They're all getting mad!" He replied with a happy grin. "No matter what excuse, they'll still be mad at us."

As they quickly turned down an alleyway, they passed a now patched up Chou-Chou. Nora let out another frustrated yell as she thought about the peaceful life she could of had on the island with the cute dog. If only she had remembered that this would happen! Luffy turned back to look at confusion before grinning upon seeing it block the villagers paths. With the help of Chou-Chou, they were able to get to the docks with no problem at all.

"I was getting pretty worried. Thanks to Chou-Chou we barely got away!" Nami said as they slowed down to a walk. "Why does it always end like this?"

"Who cares what they think! We did what we came to do!" Luffy said with a grin. "Well it's not quite like that…"

"I care! This is the second island that now thinks I'm a pirate!" Nora yelled out as she tugged at her hair as she continued to sulk. "I just wanted to spend a nice, peaceful life on this island…"

"You are a pirate though." Luffy replied, making her eye twitch. His attention was quickly diverted before she had the chance to yell at him. "Is this your boat? It's so cool! I envy you!"

"I don't think so…" Nami said sheepishly. "I stole it from a bunch of stupid pirates…"

"We have been waiting for you thief!" A new voice suddenly said, one that Nora recognised from earlier in the day. She watched as the three Buggy pirates talked with Nami and Luffy, letting out a sigh and just hoping for this to end quickly. The next stop was Syrup Village. She would be able to live a peaceful life there with Kaya and those vegetable boys…

"Hey, hold your face up properly." One of the pirates said as he came over and pet Zoro's head.

With one glare from Zoro, the three pirates were sent scattering, much to her pleasure. This would mean she was one step closer to the peaceful life she wanted! She would also have a chance to record the day's events in her journal. She'd have to power through her seasickness but she could do it. She never missed a day of writing in her journal.

"That was weird." Luffy said with a laugh as he hopped onto the boat. "Oh well, let's go."

"Let's get this horrible experience over and done with." She said with a sigh as she followed the others onto the boat, choosing to go the one with Buggy's jolly roger due to it's slightly bigger size, maybe she wouldn't feel so sick.

"Stop right there you morons!" The mayor yelled as he came to a stop on the dock, halting Luffy's mindless chatter. "I'm sorry! I owe you!"

Despite everything that had happened, she felt a grin come onto her face as they began to sail away. One Piece truly did have some amazing people in it's world. Thinking about the last time she'd left an island, she took a quick snap of the mayor on the docks and added it to her growing collection, alongside the one of Coby and the marines of the docks.

"Don't worry about it!" Luffy shouted out. "Just live happy lives!"

And with that, they sailed away.


OH BOY WAS THIS A LONG CHAPTER. It was about 700 off of 10k to be exact. Sorry if it's too long, I just wanted to wrap this arc up and head onto the next one. I've got some things that I'm excited about in the next arc. Ignore and typos or mistakes btw! x

Anyway, what did you think of this incredibly long chapter? There were some pretty important things mentioned in this… Did you pick them all up? Some weren't as obvious as others.

On a seperate note, I turned 17 the other day! Another year and another birthday. I also got tickets to see All Time Low, my absolute favourite band, so I'm just super happy.

Don't forget to review/follow/favourite and I'll see all you lovely people next chapter! :)