It was late, and the moon was high in the sky, when Tikka and Zoro finally strolled into the town, only to find that excitement was lacing the air.

Tikka's interest was instantly piqued. She reached out, so casually, not even thinking, and lightly tugged on Zoro's hand, "Come on, let's see what's going on!"

With a grin over her shoulder at him, her eyes dancing, she took off, weaving through the crowd and finally found herself at the docks, stopping dead. Her mouth popped open in surprise.

Tied to the docks as a GIANT ship, and as her eyes filtered up the side, over the railing, and up to the flag, her heart stuttered. It was...the Pirate Ball.

She'd heard about this ship from her father, who avoided this ship like the plague. It was a bunch of pirates who believed that Piracy didn't have to be ugly or dirty, and that even pirates deserved Balls in their honor.

"Tikka! Tikka! Where have you been! Did you see?" Tikka whirled around at Luffy's voice, seeing her captain waving at her as he ran towards them. A huge grin was plastered on his face. Over his shoulders, she could see Sanji and Robin standing together, and Chopper pulling at Robin's shorts, clearly asking what was going on.

"It's the Pirate Ball!" Tikka answered, grinning an identical grin to Luffy's.

"That's amazing!" Luffy exclaimed back at her in the same pitch of delight.

"Apparently, the ball is tomorrow night. They have dress and tuxedo rentals and stores on the ship. Isn't that incredible?" Nami suddenly appeared, staring up at the ship with interest. "I hope their prices are reasonable..." she added speculatively.

Tikka grinned, and took a step to the side to loop her arm into Nami's. "Who cares? Let's do that tomorrow! I love dresses!"

Nami laughed and nodded, but Tikka couldn't help but notice the glance she gave Luffy out of the corner of her eye, one that made Tikka instantly curious, setting her drama-detector buzzing.

"Man, this is so AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed.

Zoro thought Luffy usually only ever looked this excited when he was faced with a plate load of meat. With a gleeful chuckle, he grabbed the front of Zoro's shirt and dragged him towards the men's dressing rooms. Behind them, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky close behind.

It was evening time already and all day, it had become apparent to much of the island that the Pirate Ball ship had arrived. People came out of the woodwork in interest; people, Zoro was pretty positive, that weren't actually pirates, but were coming to enjoy the festivities anyway. The girls had already gone all giggly before and disappeared into the women's dressing room and if it was anything like what Zoro was looking at now, they were going to be a while.

The place was gigantic; rows and rows of hangers with clothing and accessories. Everything anyone could possibly ever want to have was here in this place. Scattered around were members of the pirate crew, there to assist other hopelessly lost males trying to find something to wear that wasn't bloody or dirty.

Luffy could hardly contain himself. In a second, he raced down the aisles, literally leaving dust in his trail. Zoro followed him with an eye roll. Behind him, Sanji and the rest of the boys were idly perusing. Chopper was staring at some suits with stars in his eyes, touching the soft silk with his human-ish hands. Zoro reached out and touched one of the tuxedos hanging up and cocked and eye brow. No way was he going to wear any of this crap. He was not cut for this.

"ZORO!"

He snapped his head up to see Luffy coming his way, a regal expression on his face, "THIS is what I'm going to wear," he had a red jacket with gold shoulder tassels and gold buttons running down the lapels. It looked like a replica of Gol D. Roger's jacket and it fit him surprisingly well, "I'm the king of the pirates!"

"That fits the bill," Zoro agreed, "You gonna wear something different underneath that?" he glanced at Luffy's red sleeveless shirt and blue surf shorts.

"Nope."

He could understand that.

"You aren't going to wear ANYTHING ELSE?" Sanji came up behind Zoro and was giving Luffy the hairy eyeball, "The king of the pirates should dress sharp. You'll wear a tux for the ladies."

"Nope." Luffy's defiant comment was echoed by Zoro.

Five minutes later, both the captain and the master swordsman were ushered into a fitting room, each sporting identical eggs on their heads and watering eyes.

Damn cook caught him off guard.

Tux after tux after tux was thrust into the room and Zoro was forced to try them on. Though, once he got a solid black on black one on and got a good look at himself in the mirror, he decided it wasn't so bad after all. He looked good, sharp, maybe even a little menacing. He was simple in a black blazer, slacks and black button down underneath. He opened the door at the same time as Luffy did and they both gave each other the once over.

"This is hard," Luffy complained, tugging at the sleeves. He was dressed exactly opposite of Zoro in solid white, "It isn't as exciting anymore."

"Add the jacket," Zoro nodded, "Then it'll be more exciting."

Luffy snapped his fingers, "So right!" he darted into the dressing room and came out with the pirate jacket over his shoulders, "Oh ya. Way better."

The smell of cigarette smoke preceded Sanji's arrival, "You guys ready?" he asked, taking a drag and releasing a smoke ring. He was in the full get up with a navy blue vest and tie and sleeve cuffs, "Can't keep the girls waiting."

The day of the pirate ball was extremely busy, much to Tikka's surprise. The dress and tuxedo shop, at least the girls' one, was so busy with requests that they had to schedule their slot to get their dresses. Most of the male pirates tried to get in and out as fast as possible, so they hadn't been as busy.

Tikka figured she'd have the rest of the day to try and find Zoro to corner him in some back alley, but once the dressing appointment had been made, Nami had mentioned something about a girl spa day and Robin had seconded the idea.

So, rather than finding Zoro, she'd spent the day surrounded by females instead. Which, it turns out, was really fun. In the morning, they'd laid out in their bikinis on the deck, enjoying drinks that Sanji kept bringing out for them. Afterwards, Nami had found a barber's shop that agreed to do some haircuts for them, followed by a mud facial, which, according to Nami, really improved the skin.

She sorta remembered Loo telling her that...

And once she remembered that Loo was also fond of "spa days," she made her own contributions to the spa day. Nami suggested going back to the boat, but Tikka stopped both of them with a perked brow. "THIS is what you call a spa day? Clearly, you've never lived with a flamboyant gay guy…"

With a glance between them, Robin and Nami both shrugged, grinned, and looked to her in expectation.

They then proceeded to get massages, endured a purifying sweat-out, then scrapped the sweat off before enjoying bubble baths drawn at the local in, and finally, rubbed fine oils into their skins, before Tikka gave them new make-up tips that had both surprised and delighted the lady pirates.

Tikka didn't wear make-up usually, but she'd watch Loo do it enough time that she was basically a pro. So before they went for their dressing appointment, they got all gussied up. By the end of everything, as they walked to the Pirate Ball Ship, Robin said, "I've never felt so...girly."

Nami snorted, "We deserve it. It's good for us to have days like this...we're constantly surrounded by dirty men on a pirate ship. This is healthy for us."

Tikka grinned, thinking that she'd had "pampering" most of her life, and much preferred the pirate ship, though she kept that thought to herself.

As they were led to the Dress Shop, Tikka was surprised by the opulence of the ship, but then remembered that the Captain was from one of the wealthiest of the noble families. A supposedly disowned member. He was the black sheep of the family, but wealthy none-the-less. He must really love parties, Tikka thought as she followed Nami and Robin into the room.

What met their eyes was an explosion of color. She was dazzled by all of the dresses, and all of the girls went over the appointed time simply because it was so hard to pick a dress.

Tikka had decided to go with red, because it was her favorite color. The gown was sleek and shimmering, a partial sheath dress that hugged her hour-glass form down to her knees, then gently flared out so that the silken material rippled with every step she took. The gown was strapless, held up by a golden rose clasp securing the bunched red silk above her breasts. Below the clasp, the fabric was slit open along the line of her cleavage and down along the center of her stomach to three inches above her navel in the shape of a curling tentacle, a fine lace stretched across the opening that did little to mask her tanned flesh. It was daring, but so was she, as Robin put it.

She'd grinned at that and plopped her hat on, completing the ensemble with Robin's amused chuckle to make her grin. A lady called Robin's name, finishing up the adjustments to the woman's dress, and Robin headed over in that direction, leaving Tikka to stare at herself in the mirror, feeling completely foreign in something so...beautiful.

"What do you think?" Nami's voice came from behind Tikka. She whirled around, the red fabric of her dress swirling out elegantly, to find Nami in a knock-out dress that left Tikka stunned.

The dress was white, with small gemstones woven into the fabric in a floral pattern across her breasts and down the left side, stopping at the top of the very high slit that came up to mid-thigh, and showing off Nami's long and elegant left leg. The dress was a sheath dress, much like Tikka's, but the top was an elegant halter with a silver clasp, leaving most of her back exposed as the dress slung low across her hips, almost low enough to show her ass. Essentially...breathtaking.

"Wow…Nami, that's beautiful," Tikka said in an awed voice, and Nami waved her hand dismissively.

"It's nothing compared to yours...you're a real bombshell Tikka."

Tikka grinned and winked, "I do my best."

"I'm sure Zoro will appreciate it," Nami added with a wink, and Tikka felt her face heat with awareness. Had it been that obvious? Or was Nami just as sensitive to that sort of thing as Tikka was?

Deciding that if Nami could be so casual about it, then Tikka was going to return the favor in regards to some thoughts she'd been having recently about the red-head. "Well," she said slyly, a cheeky grin pulling at her lips, "I'm sure Luffy will appreciate your dress too."

Nami went utterly still, then her face cleared and she let out a laugh. "Why would Luffy notice something like that? It's just a dress. He's just as likely to notice yours or Robins." Nami said in a breathy, dismissive voice, then suddenly turned towards the rack holding jewelry and started oooing and awing over them. Tikka gave her a calculated look, then decided to table the topic for another time.

"Well ladies?"

Both turned to see Robin in a deep purple dress that came just shy of mid-thigh, and hugged her voluptuous body. Unlike Nami or Tikka's dress, hers was full sleeved, attached to her ring fingers with two gold rings. The front featured a scoop neck that revealed her generous cleavage, and mirrored the scoop back that displayed the sinuous curve of her spine, not quite as low as Nami's. The fabric shimmered with faint gold glitter. It was a sleek, stunning dress that had both girls gushed their appreciation of it.

The three girls got to the ball late, since they'd taken so long with the dresses, and appeared to find that the party was already bustling with activity. People were chatting, some were dancing, and Luffy was eating.

Tikka found him easily just by looking for the buffet table. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and then headed in that direction, since most of the crew was also within the vicinity of their voracious captain.

"Luffy, stop eating. You're not going to fit in your suit if you keep at it," Nami admonished, the first to speak as they came up to them. Franky and Sanji glanced over their shoulders...and almost fell over in their hurry to turn around and face them.

"Wow!" Sanji burst out, rushing forward to grab Nami, Robin, and Tikka's hands all in both of his. "You're so beautiful!"

"Who are you talking to?" Robin asked calmly, amusement flickering in her cool eyes.

"All of you!" Sanji swooned, and Tikka couldn't help but laugh. This was going to be a good night.

Zoro was fixing Chopper's tie when he heard Sanji's exclamation about the girls and when he turned around, his eyes instantly fixated on Tikka.

She was… devastating, in a word. Dressed in red, that damned color that turned him on just thinking about it, with a deep plunge in the front of her dress that showed off her massive cleavage. Tumbles of snowy curls fell from a chignon on the top of her head and danced around her bare shoulders. Even in his formal garb, he felt massively underdressed compared to her.

"Move it, cook," Zoro growled at Sanji, surprising even himself at the outburst, and forcibly removed his hand from Tikka's, "You don't get to touch her."

"I'll hold her hand if I want, mosshead," Sanji returned after a rather surprised but calculated look at the swordsman.

Zoro thumbed open the top of his sword, his temper taking over in the presence of the chef, "I'll stab you," he rumbled. It was a hand on each of their shoulders from Robin's flower flower fruit that had each of them backing down. Sanji waved a hand at him dismissively and went to chase after another woman. So easily satisfied, that man whore…

He glanced at Tikka with a half droll, half ravished look with an eye brow cocked up, "You had to wear the red, didn't you?" he muttered to her, low enough that no one else paid attention.

He couldn't believe the food they had on this ship! Luffy had dragged his crew to the buffet table the moment they arrived so that he could stuff his face. He hadn't even gotten through his standard consumption when he heard the girls' voices and turned around, dinner roll stuffed in his cheek and another in his hand.

His eyes skated over Tikka and Robin, acknowledging that they looked nice in dresses before his eyes hit Nami and his stomach did this strange roll over. He swallowed hard, downing the whole bun, and dropped the other one on the table.

He supposed it was because he rarely saw her in anything so formal before, but she was a knock out with the white halter and slit up her left side, showing off an awful lot of leg. And her coppery waves were pulled up in a twisty thing on the top of her head with a few pieces curling in front of her face.

"That's a nice dress on you, Nami," he told her, feeling like he was trying to talk around the bread in his esophagus, his voice tight.

Nami's eyes were instantly drawn to Luffy, and she was surprised to see that he matched her. Both of them wore white, though a red jacket made him look like he was already the King of the Pirates. In a word...he was more attractive than he'd ever been to her. He looked...mature. Sexy even.

Heat flushed in her cheeks, but she studiously avoided Luffy's stare, feeling uncomfortable when he merely glanced over the other two girls, and then openly stared at her. Why was he staring at her? He was normally so...clueless.

He had even complimented her dress, and she was at such a loss of words that she could only stare back at him, until Tikka casually bumped into her, jolting Nami out of her daze. Man, this... crush, interest, whatever, was getting out of hand. Get a grip girl..."Uh, thank you, Luffy." Nami responded, grateful for the distraction when Franky started singing madly about SUPA ladies. She shot Tikka a suspicious, though subtle, glare. What, exactly, was that girl doing? She seemed particularly...well, convenient. Did she know...?

Shrugging it off, she forced herself to look like she was enjoying herself. She actually WAS excited about the ball, so it wasn't too hard of a stretch, but her mind was constantly pulled back to that dark place, the knowledge that she had a limited amount of time before...before bad things happened.

She couldn't draw any more attention to herself than necessary, not until she'd figured out how to fix the bind she was in...with or without her crew, and Luffy's, help. Her eyes were drawn to the captain, now laughing and stuffing his face while chatting with Usopp, and her stomach tightened in anxiety. Suddenly, Tikka appeared in front of her and instantly struck up a conversation, to Nami's surprised relief. As they talked, she began to relax.

Tikka's blood pressure spiked at the look in Zoro's eyes when he turned around at their approach and took her in. She LIKED that she had that affect on him, enjoyed the way she could turn his switch with a pretty dress.

But then, he certainly turned her switches too. He looked positively devastating and dangerous, dressed black on black. He was dashing, sexy, and just plain hot. When he reclaimed her hand from Sanji, even briefly, a thrill went through her at the possessive gesture.

His words were like a declaration of ownership. She turned her eyes up to him, smiling softly and seductively, a smile meant just for him, as she reached up and trailed a finger down the silky fabric covering his hard chest. "I wore this color just for you, Zoro. I'm glad you like it."

She winked, then turned away to greet the rest of the crew, letting out a laugh when she caught sight of Franky, who'd clearly refused to wear pants and was wearing black, silky spankies instead. It matched the vest and jacket he'd donned.

Sanji looked immaculate in his navy suit, as ever, and his eyes were moving between Robin and Nami with excitement as if he couldn't decide who he wanted to ravish and drown with compliments more.

Her eyes were drawn back to Nami, and saw how she was staring at Luffy with a tight expression. Her curiosity about the girl and their captain had only increased since they'd arrived, especially with the expression on Luffy's face when he'd complimented Nami. This just gets more and more interesting by the day! she thought with a mental giggle.

With a twinge of sympathy for whatever was going on in the navigators mind with such an unreadable expression on her face, she stepped up to Nami and drew her into a conversation, suspecting that the girl needed a break from her own thoughts.

Nearby, Sanji asked Robin to dance with an elaborate flourish that had the woman giggling into her hand. Tikka suppressed her own grin, and her eyes were inevitably drawn to Zoro.

She knew, without a doubt, that she was going to be staring at him all night long.

She turned back to Nami to ask her a question when suddenly a man stepped up onto the small stage located to the side of the giant dancing floor located in the center of the room. She knew, instantly, that the man was gay, because he walked with the same stride that Loo did.

"Ladies and Gentle-pirates," the man called, holding a megaphone to his lips to amplify to sound. "May I call your attention to the dance floor? A ball, my doves, is not a ball without DANCING."

He pronounced the word with glee, but she heard the mutters and groans that came from several of the pirates in the room. Many of these pirates she knew to be sworn enemies with one another, but everyone had been forced to sign a contract of amicability for the night, and if any fights occurred, that individual and their whole crew would be kicked off the ship, and would be put on a black list forbidding them from future balls.

Her eyes skittered over to Zoro at the mention of dancing, then back to the man as he started speaking again.

"Now, I KNOW that many of you fine pieces of ass can't dance," the man winked at a nearby pirate, who scowled blackly at him. The announcer, clearly a member of the Pirate Ball Crew, grinned despite the buff, and continued. "So, I will be teaching you how to dance. And you WILL dance." The pirate, jovial, clearly fun loving, suddenly turned serious, dire, and menacing, his black gaze sweeping the room with enough ferocity that even Tikka felt a minor shiver go down her spine, even if amusement rose sharply in her chest.

"So, please," the pirate continued, his smile sliding back into place, "find yourself a partner, and get your asses on the dance floor!"

Tikka grinned, and without a second thought hurried over to grab Zoro's hand, and started dragging him towards the floor, ignoring all and any protest.

Nearby, Franky turned to Robin, who had been standing next to him, and offered a hand with a large grin on his face. She accepted with a gracious tilt of her head, laughter dancing in her eyes from Franky's exaggerated movements as he drew her towards the floor. Sanji was running like a madman between three different women, clearly unable to choose who to ask to dance first, while the women barely constrained their laughter. Chopper was laughing with a young pirate girl who was smitten with his huge arms and blue nose. Usopp had been snagged and was in a deep conversation with a some lady who's outfit, riddled with bits and bobs, clearly screamed I-Build-Things-For-Fun, which was perfect for him. That would leave...Nami and Luffy.

Tikka grinned, and turned to face Zoro as they arrived in the center of the dance floor. "I already know how to dance, so you can follow my lead if you want," she murmured, her eyes instantly going warm and alluring as her mind shifted from plotting the doom of her nakama to...well...Zoro.

Luffy's eyes lit up as the strange ostentatious man jumped up onto the little stage and starting explaining the events for the evening. Dancing! That sounded like so much fun! He didn't know much about how to dance. What better time than now to learn?

"Come on, Nami! Let's learn how to dance!" Luffy grabbed her hand and nothing short of dragged her onto the floor, his spare hand holding his straw hat to his head.

"Alright, fine gentle-pirates! Take your lovely lady's right hand with your left and place your right hand on her hip," the gay man clapped his hands together, "Now, get to it!"

Luffy glanced around for reference and made a face of hard concentration before doing exactly what he was told… at an arm's distance away from Nami, "This doesn't look right…" he muttered to her just as the dance instructor approached them.

"Oh, no, sugar," he tisked, giving Luffy a once over as Luffy stared blankly back, "You need to get CLOSER." And with that, the flamboyant gentleman placed his hands on the small of their backs and thrust them together, hard, until Luffy and Nami were literally hip to hip, chest to chest. The action forced his hand around to the small of her back, his hand brushing over the exposed skin. Instantly the excitement of learning to dance was seriously compromised by her pressed against him and that hard-to-explain Mystery Feeling swirled through his blood.

The instructor gave a nod of approval, "Much better, baby cakes," he winked at Luffy and took off to aggravate the next couple on his prowl.

"That guy was checking me out…" Luffy leaned down to whisper in Nami's ear, "I should kick his ass for that."

"Okay, lovelies! And a 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4!" and the music began in a slow waltz.

Zoro grit his teeth, his thoughts stuck on that vibrant dress of hers. She wore it just for him, huh? The way she walked her fingers up his chest had his heart doing somersaults and mentally, he couldn't help but undress her with his eyes. Other women had men at "hello". She had him at "let's fight."

The dance instructor came onto the stage and Tikka started pulling him onto the dance floor, explaining that because she already knew all the formal dances, that she would lead. He gave her a cursory glance with a raised brow. Her lead him in a dance? Even if dancing wasn't his thing, he was confident that he would do the leading in anything they did. He wasn't about to let her do it for him.

"I'll do it," he told her, failing to suppress the commanding air in his voice as he grasped her hand and her hip, inadvertently running his palm over the satiny material. Oh, fuck him…

"You aren't wearing any panties…" he growled accusingly in her ear as he pulled her in closer to him. She was going to kill him before the end of the night, what with their encounter the night before still ringing in his head.

"Okay kiddies! 1 and 2 and 3 and 4! Forward and back, forward and back!" the instructor's pitched voice echoed through the megaphone, guiding them through the steps. He tried to lead, and was helped considerably by the fact that Tikka already knew the steps.

Tikka couldn't suppress the sensual smirk that lifted the corners of her lips when he whispered in her ear about the status of her undergarments...that being, none.

"That was also just for you," she whispered back, then when it was her turn to step forward and his turn to step back, she extended her stride just enough to press her body flush against his with enough pressure to allow him to feel every curve of her body through the thin, satiny material hugging it.

"In fact, just consider most of what I do tonight...to be aimed towards you," she added wickedly, then shifted her hips to brush against the bulge in his pants provocatively before they swept around full circle, now moving in the reverse.

"Wow! Someone looks like they know how to dance!" A gasping and flattering voice suddenly came from behind her, interrupting their dance and jolting her out of her frame of mind. She looked over her shoulder to see the instructor beaming at them, one of the few couples not belonging to the Pirate Ball crew who was more-or-less successfully dancing.

"Well, when Loo Bear is your instructor, you learn how to dance," Tikka threw out offhandedly, figuring the guy would have no idea what she was talking about, intending her comment more for Zoro's benefit than anything else.

"Loo Bear?" The man practically shrieked, earning him a few scowls from nearby dancers. "You know Loo-Loo the Honey Bear?"

Tikka stopped, effectively forcing Zoro to stop with a scowl, and gaped at him. "Loo...Loo...the Honey...Bear?" she asked slowly, trying to keep the laughter from her voice. She'd never heard THAT nickname before.

The man blushed, actually blushed, and Tikka slapped a hand over her eyes. "Oh, gross!"

The man opened his mouth to say something, a sheepish expression on his face, when he suddenly whipped around away from her and pointed to a pair of pirates who had given up and were trying to sneak off the dance floor. "I see you! You can't escape, my lambs...not until this dance is over! ONE two thee ONE two three, keep at it!"

And just like that, the pirate was gone to corral the dancers like an anxious shepherd.

Tikka shook her head and turned back to Zoro with a somewhat pained expression on her face. "I think I just met one of my nanny's exes...that was weird. Hurry, distract me from such horrendous thoughts." Tikka stepped back into position, feeling a shiver run down her spine the moment his hard body was pressed up against her soft one once again. So easily did her body tune itself to him; it was a little unnerving. But Tikka thrived on that kind of excitement, perhaps part of why he drew her so. She smiled up at him.

"Shall we?" she asked. She placed her hand back on his shoulder, and her thumb idly feathered over the flesh of his neck, a physical twitch that mirrored the heat rising in her eyes as she refocused her world on him. Every since the events at the lagoon the day before, she couldn't stop thinking about his delicious body and the fire in his eyes when he was touching her. It was an addictive rush that she didn't think she'd ever get enough of.

Nami stiffened when Luffy grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the dance floor. She dug in her heels a little, not that he noticed in the least, feeling like this was a terrible idea. Luffy was just being silly, and dancing with him was sooooo not going to help her situation right now.

His cluelessness was torture, honestly. So when he turned to face her and did as instructed by extending his arms all of the way, she thought she'd be safe. This wasn't so bad...dancing with her captain like this would be a breeze...he was probably going to laugh and kid his way through it.

Lighthearted=good.

So she relaxed, laughing at Luffy as he tried to follow the steps from such a distance, but the situation went south when suddenly the dance instructor pirate suddenly appeared next to them, tsking.

Just like that, the guy shoved them body to body, and Nami suddenly couldn't pay attention to what Luffy was whispering in her ear. All she could hear was a slight buzzing in her head as she instantly registered all of Luffy's hard angles pressed intimately against her, with only some flimsy silk to separate her from him.

At least the material of his tuxedo made it a little more ambiguous, and therefore, more bearable.

Desperately seeking a way out of this situation, she started scanning the room for some excuse to step away, but that was right when the instructor suddenly shouted at a few couples trying to sneak off the dance floor.

Damn...she definitely wasn't going to draw attention to herself like that.

She was attempting to ignore the way Luffy felt in her arms when suddenly, the doors to the ballroom burst open, and a group of people walked in all at once. Who…?

"It's Red-Hair Shanks!" someone said nearby, and like a cue, the whole Dancing Theme fell apart as pirates rushed off the dance floor to get a glimpse and greet him, others muttering under their breaths and crossing their arms with glares.

Nami blinked. "Shanks?" she asked, turning and stepping back from Luffy to get a good look at the Captain of the new arrivals, clearly standing in the middle. He had red hair, as per his name, and the grin on his face was...suspiciously like Luffy's.

"How dare you interrupt my dance lesson!" The gay pirate called dramatically, but no one was listening to him anymore. The man stomped his foot and cross his arms over his chest, then looked like he was going to burst into tears when the music suddenly changed from the waltz to something more...upbeat and, as far as Nami was concerned, much more appropriate for a gathering of pirates.

"Why does this always happen?" he lamented, looking like he was going to feint.

"Face it, Ronzo, pirates just aren't meant to Waltz," another pirate called from across the room, another member of the Pirate Ball Pirates.

At that, Ronzo the flamboyant pirate dance instructor burst into tears and ran from the room. Nami covered a smile with her hand as Luffy took off towards the crowd of people gathering around the newcomers.

At the change in music, some people started dancing, REALLY dancing, and Nami was grateful for the distraction. While Shanks drew many people's attention, especially Luffy's, and dancing and socializing drew the rest, she slipped away, needing air. She finally escaped outside onto the deck, and found for herself a quiet corner. She leaned against the wall, tilting her head back.

A soft breeze ruffled her hair, and she realized with a start that there was sweat beading her brow. She cursed under her breath and reached down to the garter around her right leg, and to the small pill she's hidden there. She slipped it out...then popped it into her mouth, gulping in some air while she was at it.

Time...she was running out of time…

She was going to have to leave soon...she had no choice.

A/N-New Chapter! I hope you like :) Nami and Luffy's story is soon to be published up on Jesachi's site, so stay tuned!