Disclaimer: …really?

"I'm leaving."

Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji were in the treehouse; Zoro was leaning against the wall, while Luffy and Sanji were sitting around Sogeking, letting him regale them all with a story—although Sanji rolled his eyes at most parts, and Zoro was nearly asleep. Sogeking paused at the sound of Nami's voice and they all looked toward the entrance.

Usopp blinked. "…What?"

"I'm leaving," Nami repeated.

Sanji immediately scrambled up and hurried to take her hand in his. "Where, Nami-san? Why? Is it me? Did I do something wrong? I knew I should have made it strawberry instead of peach..."

With a sigh, Nami pulled her hand from Sanji's grip, already accustomed to his antics. "I'm going home. My uncle decided that I don't need to stay here anymore. I have to say that I agree." The orange-haired girl fought to keep her face emotionless. She dreaded having to return home. Arlong would only send her out again—next time, she probably wouldn't be able to pull it off easily and comfortably like she had at the Going Merry.

"Bullshit."

Luffy was looking at her, face blank. His eyes were challenging, almost expectant.

"What do you mean?" She feigned cluelessness. It surprised her that Luffy—dense, naïve Luffy—was able to see through her, but she knew exactly what he meant.

Luffy stood, keeping his gaze trained on Nami. "You don't want to go. Your uncle is forcing you." Luffy crossed his arms, and Nami felt a lump form in her throat at the fiercely protective stare. "Isn't he, Nami?" Usopp was rapidly glancing between the two, while Zoro looked indifferent—although if one looked close enough, they'd notice the curious glint in his eyes.

Sanji looked skeptical at Luffy's claim and opened his mouth to say something, but was beaten to it by Nami. "Don't assume things," she scoffed. She had meant for it to eradicate any doubts Luffy may have brought up about her family, but instead the uncharacteristically cold tone she spoke with only confirmed the boy's statement. "I need to go. Uncle is probably waiting for me."

Without a backwards glance, Nami climbed down the ladder, landing softly on the floor. She held back tears. Luffy and the others were the first and only people apart from her family and neighbor that she had come to trust completely. She'd miss them. She'd miss Luffy's contagious laugh, the way Usopp brightened whenever the others listened to his stories, how content Sanji seemed after a good job in the kitchen…hell, she'd even miss Zoro's obnoxious snoring.

A quiet thump sounded behind her and Luffy was suddenly walking next to her, hands in his pockets. Soon after, the others caught up and were all walking around her. Nami would never admit it, but it reassured her.

As they made their way into the lobby area, they caught sight of Arlong waiting by the doors with a sickening grin. Nami briefly wondered why Nojiko wasn't there but decided that Arlong had ordered for her to remain home for whatever reason. She felt her mouth go dry. It was time for her to go home.

The kleptomaniac felt a hand land on her shoulder and she turned to see Luffy looking straight at her uncle. He was tense, his gaze accusing. He seemed to be waiting for something—waiting for her. Nami took a deep breath. She'd always believed that no one could ever free her, that no one would ever suspect Arlong and take the girl and her sister away. Now, she had a chance, but she was terrified of taking it. There were so many things that could go wrong—things that wouldn't end well for her.

She rested her hand on top of Luffy's.

He grinned at her briefly, and Nami felt inexplicably relieved. He turned back to Arlong and a glare formed on his face. He began walking towards him. The only reaction her uncle gave at Luffy's approach was a slight twitch of the lips. He was amused by the boy's idiotic audacity. The lanky teen stopped in front of him, then grabbed his hat and placed it firmly on his head. Luffy formed his hand into a fist.

Arlong coughed and staggered back as Luffy's punch rammed into his face. There was a barely audible crack as the man's nose broke. Arlong gently touched his nose and flinched at the pain it caused. He glowered at the offender and straightened up.

"You're not taking her," Luffy announced. "She's ours now, and we're not giving her back."

Zoro, Sanji, and Sogeking stepped up and stood protectively in front of Nami, simultaneously blocking her from Arlong and showing their support for Luffy.

The tall man leered at them. "You know nothing, kid. She belongs to me. I've been her legal guardian since her mother's death." He smirked at his niece. "Besides, I'd hate for something to happen to dear Nojiko and Genzo during Nami's absence if she stayed. They tend to get into trouble without her."

Nami stiffened at the threat. Luffy didn't falter. "As if, Fishman."

The man froze at the seemingly random nickname. Nami started. Where did Luffy hear that name? Long before Nami and Nojiko had been put in the man's custody, Arlong had been the leader of a gang that called itself the Fishmen. They were unbelievably adept at keeping under the radar and keeping their identities and operations a secret. The only reason she herself had ever learned about them was because she'd had to work with them plenty of times in the past.

Arlong's expression darkened and Nami shuddered. He'd want to eliminate the threat.

She wasn't wrong. Arlong yelled and swung at Luffy, who was only just able to dodge it. He prepared for another shot, but his fist was stopped and he was held back. Arlong glared at the offender, but Smoker only looked at Luffy, who was being held back by Marco.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Smoker growled at the teen. These brats were going to be the death of him.

Luffy ignored him, instead opting to turn to the man grabbing him. "He's a bad man, Marco," he disclosed. Marco looked at him blankly for a few moments before turning to Smoker. An understanding seemed to pass between them and Smoker promptly forced Arlong to his knees and placed handcuffs on his wrists.

The others were surprised at the sudden turn of events. They hadn't expected for Marco and Smoker to take Luffy's word so seriously—especially since it was only a hunch; no evidence, no basis. Only Luffy's instinct.

"You better be right, brat," Smoker cautioned. "Or else, Phoenix and I will lose our jobs and the facility will most likely lose thousands in a law suit from this guy."

Luffy held his gaze. "He's a Fishman," the boy announced. "The leader, actually."

The guards' eyes widened and Marco asked, "How do you know?" The Fishmen gang was considered one of the hardest to catch in their area because no one knew of their identities. They'd bribed some of the higher ups to ensure they'd never be discovered. How could Luffy have possibly acquired that information?

"Jimbei told me," he shrugged.

"Ah," Marco replied. He nodded and nothing more was said.

After they went through the entire process of calling the police and convincing them to hold Arlong in custody until a full investigation was conducted, Luffy spoke to Nami.

"You're our friend, got it?"

Nami nodded, holding back tears. She smiled. "Got it," she agreed.

"So, he's the reason you came here?" Usopp inquired.

Nami made a confirming noise. "When I was young, my mother died. My neighbor, Genzo, suspected foul play, but Arlong quickly freed him from that notion." Nami frowned. She hated how her uncle had threatened Genzo. The man was practically a father to her and Nojiko. "Arlong became our legal guardian, and he wanted to take advantage of my skills. He forced me to join his gang." At this, Nami pulled back her sleeve to reveal a tattoo on her shoulder. The Fishman symbol.

"He sent me out as his money scout. I'd go and trick people into pitying me and giving me money," she admitted shamefully. Sanji put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him thankfully. "When I got older, he made me infiltrate enemy gangs and get information and money from them. It was dangerous, but it was the only way to keep my sister and me safe.

"It became a normal routine, but one day my school councilor asked Arlong to have a meeting with her. She said that I have kleptomania and she recommended that I be admitted here. He was furious, at first. But, like always, he made it work." Nami looked around at the others and hung her head. "I was to become a patient, and steal money from the facility," she spat. She stole from an institution whose only purpose was to help, and she hated it. Although she knew it wasn't entirely her fault, she felt so utterly ashamed.

With a disgusted snort—directed toward her uncle, Nami hoped—Zoro shook his head. Luffy's fist was clenched tightly and Sanji looked absolutely livid.

There was silence until Usopp spoke up, voice devoid of any nervousness or stuttering. "Is it bad that I'm kinda glad he did that?" He rubbed the back of his head, looking guilty. "If it weren't for him forcing you here, we'd never have met you." The open honesty and uncharacteristic confidence in his eyes made Nami relax and smile.

"I guess that's true."

And that was that.

Bonus:

Luffy panted and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. His gramps was batshit insane; he'd been chasing him around all fucking day. He slid down and decided to watch the other patients interact with their visitors. Sanji was talking heatedly with an older man who had the coolest beard ever and Usopp was laughing along with his dad, gesturing wildly.

He suddenly caught sight of a bright red hue—a hue that he'd seen years ago and believed he'd never see again. Shanks, his childhood hero, was wandering around, randomly greeting people and smiling at anything and everything.

Luffy quickly leaped up with renewed vigor and raced over to the man. He jumped onto the man's back and shouted, "Shanks!"

With a stumble, the red-head cursed and attempted to regain his balance. He turned to shout at whatever moron had the bright idea to use Shanks as a ride, but froze when he saw who it was. "Luffy?" He whispered incredulously. The boy smiled brightly—just how Shanks remembered.

"Hey, Shanks!" He chirped.

Shanks instantly brightened. "Anchor!" He thought he'd never get the chance to see the kid again. He had thought about him a lot since he'd left the small town of Fuschia, and if he was honest with himself, he'd missed Luffy more than he would like to admit.

When he arrived at the town for a short rest before continuing on to Brazil, he hadn't expected to stay there for so long and completely forgo his original vacation plans. But, somehow, after meeting the small boy with an impossibly joyful grin and endless charisma, he'd stayed. He'd stayed for months, forgetting everything else, content to spend his days at that peaceful town with the mayor shouting at him about being a bad influence, Luffy following him around like a lost puppy, and Makino—sweet Makino—chatting with him while wiping down the counters at her bar. It felt like he'd been a part of their little village forever.

Then, he left one day. He couldn't stay forever, no matter how much he would've liked to. He took Makino with him, seeing as how he'd proposed to her a few weeks before, but he had to leave Luffy behind. Garp refused to have his grandson adopted by Shanks.

The boy had cried shamelessly before the departure, and Shanks gave him his precious hat. A promise, he'd told Luffy. A promise that they'd meet again, once Luffy was all grown up. At the time, he truly believed he would never see that hat again.

Yet, here they were, sitting side by side and talking comfortably. Shanks hadn't been this excited in years. He looked at Luffy and saw that the teen looked pretty damn happy, too. He was babbling on about everything that came to mind, and the familiar hyperactive speech-pattern made Shanks smile. He wondered, though, why Luffy was here. When he'd asked, Luffy had only replied that he had ADHD. While Shanks knew from personal experience that Luffy's condition was a sight worse than others, he also knew that it wasn't enough to be placed into a mental facility.

He didn't ask, though. He figured if Luffy didn't want to talk about it, then it wasn't his place to be nosy about it.

-.-.-

Luffy watched contently as Shanks figure disappeared. He'd been so excited when he saw Shanks walking around in the facility, and their time together was almost as fun as hanging around his friends or playing with his brothers.

As he walked with Usopp back to the lounge, he gripped the edge of his hat tightly. He had offered to return it to Shanks since their promise had already been met—although, admittedly, the entire time he kept a strong hold on the rim, even while he said he was okay with giving it up. Shanks told him to keep it.

He couldn't wait to tell Ace and Sabo about the man's appearance. He'd already told them countless stories of the impressive red-haired man who'd influenced him so much in his childhood. Luffy wished they would have, for once, come out of their room for visitor's day. He wanted them to meet his idol, and he knew they wanted to meet him too. Years ago, when Luffy was only seven, Ace and Sabo said that they wanted to thank the man who'd protected their little brother and treated him so well.

Luffy smiled. One day, he thought. One day, he'd introduce them.

I know Sanji's a little OOC after Nami says she's leaving, with him having a mini panic-attack and immediately thinking it's his fault, but remember, he's histrionic. This changes his behaviors a little bit. More dramatic, more eager for approval.

There is a reason why Smoker and Marco trust Luffy's instinct so much. I didn't make them trust him so implicitly for no reason. There's regret involved in there somewhere.

I loved writing the bonus. Shanks is one of my favorite characters ever. I figured since I hadn't written their reunion last chapter, I'd just write it as an extra little thing in this one, since some of you might be curious as to how they met in the first place.

I can't thank you all enough for your support. It means so much to me. ^^ Also, thanks for understanding that I couldn't update over the weekend. Speaking of, my duet went well and the judge gave us a 1. I was so proud. Competition, not so well, but the trip was fun anyways. It's a bit weird for me to update in the middle of the week, but I'll still try to churn out another chapter by this weekend if I can.

-Spoons