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I've spent the weekend reading Animal X. It was... an exprerience. I won't say the manga was good or bad because... um Malin kept protesting. Here are a few of her inputs;

Malin; That's a guy, you know! That can't be done with a DRUG! Or a ceremony! There won't be any babies if you eat him when you're done! Is he your mate or common property?!

Me; And that was just the first chapter... It's a rather heavy manga about existance and evolution (also contains boy-love... in a sense... and rape, so stay away if that bothers you)

Advertisement done with. Now on with the story.

Beta reader; KuroKitsune1

Part 10; Betrayal

Chapter 5/5; As Ruffy waits for Nami's soul to break

Ruffy laughed heartily as the wind and water hit her face. The sea cow was cutting through the water at a speed that made her stomach dance and she had to hold on tight to not get thrown off the boat as it jumped on the tidal waves the cow's fins created.

Sanji stood close behind her, holding on to the rope he had tied to the cow's horns and placed a hand on Ruffy's back whenever she risked losing her balance. His heart was beating with the same kind of excitement as Ruffy's and that, for some reason the girl captain couldn't explain, made her so happy. She hadn't even listened to his heart yet and still this shared excitement felt like a bonding of the same level.

In a rush of adrenaline and fear she couldn't choke, Ruffy climbed out to the tip of the bowsprit. Sanji wouldn't reach her here, but he wouldn't disappear either. But that was okay; Sanji wasn't a cook out to hurt her. The adrenaline still pumped and Ruffy locked her gaze on the landmass the cow was heading for. She could clearly see their destination, and her excitement dulled a little.

Josack had called it Arlong's Park.

The boat jumped and jerked when the cow started swimming even faster and Ruffy almost fell into the ocean. She caught herself at the same time as she felt a warm hand around her ankle. She decided to answer to the pull and fell back against Sanji's chest. In there was the heart of a kind and vulnerable man.

"I see the island," Ruffy called over the wind. "I see Arlong's Park."

Over Sanji's shoulder she saw Josack. The bounty hunter's face was an interesting shade of pale green and his knuckles were white from the grip they had on the railing.

"The hippo was a good idea," Sanji said. "We wouldn't have reached the island until tomorrow at a normal pace."

Ruffy grinned widely and jumped back onto the bowsprit, giggling almost madly at the speed. Unfortunately, the sea cow wasn't built for swimming this fast, and definitely not for so long. He was getting dizzy and couldn't see straight anymore. In fact, he saw double. Swaying for an indecisive moment, Mohmoo swiftly settled for the Arlong's Park to the right.

This close, Sanji and Josack could see their destination too and they both started frowning.

"Where are you going?" Ruffy called and pointed at the real Arlong's Park. "The house is that way!"

"Hey, hey, hippo! Left! More to the left!" Sanji cried.

"We'll crash!" Josack added hysterically.

And crash Mohmoo did. At full speed, straight into the rocky shore pretty much in the middle between Cocoyashi village and Arlong's Park. The abrupt stop didn't include Sanji's boat though. It hit the sea cow's slippery skin and was high in the air before either of the passengers realized what happened.

Mohmoo was knocked out cold and silently sank into the darkness of the sea, hoping someone nice would find him and kiss the pain away.

"It feels like we're flying!" Ruffy cried out excitedly as she held onto a rope, hovering over the wood of the deck as gravity had temporarily lost its hold of her.

"We are!" Sanji and Josack called back, much less excited. Both men were holding onto whatever their hands could hold, hoping it would soften their no doubt violent landing.

Under them were trees, palm trees growing sparsely with shrubbery covering the ground. The boat was still fairly level to the ground as it came down as fast as it ascended.

"We're crashing! We're crashing!" Josack chanted.

The keel of the small boat connected with the undergrowth.

"We've landed!" Ruffy reported merrily.

"But we didn't stop," Sanji pointed out as he tried to decide if he should grab his newly appointed captain and abandon the boat or stay put. The trees breaking against the sides of the ship decided it for him and the cook quickly moved his precious hands the hell away from the railing.

They skidded out of the small forest, across a road where they picked up Zoro who was just passing and way across a rice field until a big old rock decided it was time to stop.

The boat was reduced to splinters. Sanji was unharmed, so was Ruffy as she jumped clear of the sharp pieces of wood, Josack had fallen off and had his face planted in the ground with his legs in the air.

"You okay?" the cook asked, silently wondered how the man had managed to land so badly.

Zoro was bleeding from a wound on his temple. "Where the hell did you come from?!" the swordsman demanded as he pressed a hand to the wound.

Ruffy stood before him, dusting herself off with a confused look. "What do you mean? We're here to fetch Nami of course. And Merry." She glanced around. "Where's Usopp?"

"Oh shit, Usopp," Zoro swore and stumbled to get up. "Usopp was captured by Arlong. We have to…"

"HE'S ALREADY DEAD!"

Everybody stilled.

Johnny stood on the road, face wet with tears and mouth snarling. "Usopp no aniki, it's too late. He was murdered by Nami no aneki!"

Ruffy flinched. Johnny was telling the truth. He was honest to God upset, yet somehow it wasn't true anyway.

"But Usopp isn't dead," she said slowly.

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Johnny cried, but Ruffy wasn't looking at him. Nami was walking up the road looking for all the world like she owned everything. The perfect opposite of the sound her heart made. She wore a black leather glove on one hand, which Ruffy found even odder. Nami was stylish and her weapon was a staff, it didn't make sense for her to wear only one glove.

Ruffy had survived through hell by being unable to lie and learning how to tell when someone else was lying. It was nothing she doubted. She was however very aware that here, in the real world, a lot of people lied as hard as Usopp to survive. She hadn't realized Nami was one of those.

"So here you all are, together at last," Nami said with a disgusted frown to her mouth. "The sheer pig-headedness of you is really starting to grate on my nerves."

That was true, but the reason for it was not the one Nami let them see on her features.

"Usopp isn't dead," Ruffy said.

"He is," Nami corrected haughtily. "Sleeping at the bottom of the sea."

Ruffy stayed quiet. She thought of pointing out that she could tell Nami was lying and that she could still feel Usopp's heartbeat in her own heart. Ruffy had felt the death of those she had bonded with too many times and she knew how much that hurt. Usopp wasn't dead.

But there was something else in Nami's heart that was screaming. A voice that tried to protect something by any means possible. Ruffy could even tell what that something was, which surprised her a little. Nami's heart had always been a little difficult to read, but now it was loud and clear.

Zoro didn't share Ruffy's knowledge though and started for the bright-haired girl, only to be stopped by Sanji. Ruffy let them be and concentrated on Nami.

"Don't trust her! She's a witch!" Johnny shouted angrily. "She's been Arlong's right hand man for years. You guys have been deceived from the very start. This woman won't even hesitate to kill for money! She stabbed Usopp no aniki in the heart!"

"So what? Want to avenge him?"

Nami said it so easily, almost laughing, and Johnny flinched back.

"Let me tell you something; after Zoro's stupid stunt Arlong wants the heads of Zoro and his men on a platter. You're pretty strong monsters, but you don't stand a chance against real monsters."

Behind Ruffy Zoro and Sanji was getting pretty hot-headed. The girl captain turned to separate them, but Josack was up, with a few scrapes across his face and blood in his nose.

"Don't fight among yourselves! This is an emergency!" he yelled angrily.

"Yes, please take your fighting elsewhere, preferably to a different island," Nami said loudly, annoyed, heartbeat shoving furiously at them. "I'd rather not have you outsiders stick your noses in this island's affairs. I was only ever in it for the money. Now that you don't have a single beli I couldn't care less about you. If it's the ship you want she's yours. Take her and get off this island, you're an eyesore."

Ruffy blinked slowly. Nami just told them to escape because Arlong wanted them dead and because Nami thought they wouldn't stand a chance. That's why Ruffy couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not leaving without you," she said firmly, smile not slipping in spite of the wild sound of fright from Nami's heart. "I'm not interested in what happens on this island, but I'll stick around until you're ready to leave with us. Come and find me then."

And with that Ruffy turned and left, smiling as she waved over her shoulder. She heard Nami choke and scream at her to go ahead and die before she ran away.

Zoro, Sanji, Josack and Johnny stayed on the road, unsure of which girl to follow, or what to believe. Among the men Sanji was the one most torn. The beautiful Nami-san said she didn't want them there, which was a crying shame. Sanji would have loved to be at her beck and call. But Ruffy was a lot more difficult to understand. He had watched her interact with Gin, how well she understood the older woman, and Sanji was unsure if Ruffy understood Nami-san just as well.

Josack and Johnny quickly made up their minds. They didn't want to be involved, didn't want to be killed by Arlong. Josack believed what Johnny said; that Nami had killed Usopp.

"It was only for a short while, but I'm afraid this is where we part," Johnny said seriously.

Zoro shrugged. "That's fine."

"May we meet again someday. Live well, brothers," Josack said and waved as he and Johnny left.

"You too," Zoro answered calmly. In difference from Sanji, Zoro knew who he put his faith in. Ruffy was erratic, there was no way to predict what she would do or figure out how her mind worked. Still, her accuracy in telling what was going on in other people had been spot on for as long as Zoro had known her. If Ruffy said Usopp was alive, Zoro believed her, even if everything else indicated she was wrong.

"Hey."

The swordsman turned. He'd almost forgotten about the blond cook, which reminded him. "What the hell are you even doing here?"

The blond made a face at him, something that could be either a smirk or a snarl, Zoro wasn't really sure. "How can an oaf like you be one of Ruffy's men? She should have a crew of beautiful women and me only!"

"How the fuck does your brain work?! Ruffy's not a beautiful girl, so why'd you join the crew?"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

Zoro reflexively raised his katana to block the incoming attack, it's just that between his block and the cook's attack Usopp appeared. Out of nowhere.

"Oh, he was alive," Sanji said meekly.

"Yeah," Zoro croaked hoarsely. "Was."

Nami ran. Adrenaline and fury and hopelessness spurred her on, making her run even faster. She passed trees, the tangerine fields and straight into the house that still smelled like sandalwood and cinnamon. She grabbed the thirst loose thing her hands reached and hurled it against the wall with a cry. How dared she? How could Ruffy just shrug off Nami's deceit and say she'd wait?! Whit for what? If Arlong found them they'd die. They'd all be killed and Nami couldn't do a damn thing to save them.

Ruffy was too weak.

With one last thing flying through a window, Nami felt the fury drain from her, leaving her with nothing but the hopeless feeling squeezing her heart. She sank down on a chair and pulled out the chart she had drawn as a child. It usually calmed her, but now, with Ruffy's confident smile and words fresh in her mind, Nami fought back tears. She pulled her hands through her hair as her head fell onto the table top. What was she going to do?

"Nice mess you've made for me, Nami. What happened?"

"Nothing," the girl snapped, not even bothering to look up at her sister. "I just need a break. I came to rest."

"To rest, huh? And the windows and furniture just happened to break for that?" Nojiko's footsteps came closer. "Would you really take out this old treasure map for nothing?"

Sometimes the older girl was just too insightful. Nami lifted her head enough so she could look at the chart. It was this dream's fault Arlong had recruited her, it was for this she was about to fall apart inside. It was thanks to this she had managed to bargain with Arlong.

"You have promised to tell me everything," Nojiko continued and sat in the chair opposite of Nami.

"I just lost my cool a bit," she offered, not willing to say more.

"Is it because of those people? Who are they?"

Startled, Nami's head snapped up. "You've met them?"

"The captain," Nojiko said lightly. "I think he lied though."

The younger girl let out a breath that had hitched at the mention of her captain. For a second she had thought Nojiko had met Ruffy. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Ruffy had just arrived.

"She refuse to leave!"

That was all it took. The dam broke and the whole story tumbled out of Nami in a most confusing order. Zoro was a pig-headed idiot with too much pride who cut himself up to give his enemies a handicap and had cut down half of Arlong's men today. He was the only one who could put Ruffy to sleep because Zoro was the king of sleep. He had even slept in his cell at Arlong's Park when Nami had gone to get him out.

Usopp was a fool who lied worse than an asshole (Nojiko didn't really get that reference, but Nami was too upset to think too much about which words she used) was a worthless fighter and still had tried to fight an entire pirate crew on his own. Nami pitied him because the girl Usopp was in love with apparently swayed the other way.

And then there was Ruffy. This part of the story Nojiko couldn't follow at all. Apparently Ruffy was a monster that tried to kill itself through starvation and not sleeping. She was strong like a demon and couldn't use a sword. She had listened to Nami's heart and there had been an old man kneeling on the floor. And now when Nami had told Ruffy to her face Nami had betrayed her Ruffy had smiled, smiled and said she wasn't leaving without Nami. But Ruffy was too small. Even if she was a monster she was so tiny she would be crushed if Arlong only swatted at her and she was too kind even to a little dog that had just lost everything it had left and she had left five million beli behind!

In the end Nami fell back into the chair and slumped over the table. The hand closest to Nojiko was covered by a soft leather glove.

"So what happened to your hand?" the older sister asked and gently pulled the glove off. Underneath Nami had hidden a bandage that had already bled through.

"Usopp got caught by Arlong," the younger mumbled sourly. "I managed to make a show of killing him. He's pretty smart, so he played along well."

Seconds later the tangerine-haired girl was asleep. It had been a long, stressful day. She was exhausted.

Nojiko sat quiet for a long time. She had seen Nami upset before, but never to the point of incoherency. There were also little details, single words of frustration that had slipped out without Nami's notice. The older girl was the only one who knew how sensitive Nami really was, how fragile her defences were.

"My little sister has fallen in love," Nojiko whispered. "No wonder you seem so frayed."

With her mind made up the older sister fetched a blanket and gently wrapped it around Nami's shoulders before she left the house.

Ruffy had reached a village. Some people were milling about, talking in low voices. The air was subdued and the heartbeats sounded like a prisoner's. So this was what Nami wanted to save. Nami's heart was beating here, in this village, as strongly as it did in the thief's own body. She was in the hearts of the people who were glancing at Ruffy as if they had never seen a stranger before.

The pirate girl nodded, satisfied with her findings. She would wait around here. Ruffy didn't doubt Nami would come looking for her sooner or later. The navigator's defences were already cracked.

Turning a corner Ruffy stopped and stared. The first thing she noticed was the man at the lead of a group of marines; he had a pinwheel on his hat! A pretty red and yellow one that spun merrily as the man walked.

The second thing she noticed, and dismissed just as fast to stare some more at the pinwheel, was that the marine who dressed like an officer looked like a rat. His heartbeat sounded like a rat too. But that pinwheel was so pretty!

The group passed them and Ruffy had to steel herself to not follow them. She had decided she would wait for Nami in this village and she couldn't go back on her word after only a minute! No, Ruffy would stay right where she was.

"Right here," she said aloud and sat under a parasol with a resolute nod. From here she had a good view of the main street and the people and even had a strip of sea to watch. There was a mist rolling over the waves at the far edge of her vision. Mist and steam was caused by heat, so it was probably warm out there.

That was strange. Every time Ruffy had fallen into the sea, it had been cold or cool. Never hot enough to cause steam.

"It's a mystery," she mumbled sagely to herself, undeniably fascinated.

Turning her head Ruffy watched the village. Birds flew above it, casting interesting shadows on the street. People walked by with haunted but curious eyes set in thin faces. Everyone made sure not to go too close or hold Ruffy's gaze long enough to indicate they were interesting in a chat. Ruffy didn't care either way. Even though Nami wasn't close enough for Ruffy to properly hear her heartbeat, the bond Ruffy had made with the other girl was strong enough to pick up on Nami's distress.

Distress that was growing by the second. Frustration added the mix, closely followed by rage. Then panic.

"Was that a gunshot?"

The pirate lifted her head and glanced around. People were looking up towards the direction Ruffy could hear Nami at. They were mumbling about gunshots, but Ruffy hadn't heard anything.

People had started to gather, lingered in the doorways of their homes. A few minutes later the man with the pinwheel came running into the village, carrying a woman with blood covering her midsection.

"Doctor! Nojiko has been shot!"

Ruffy perked up. That was Nami's voice.

People had already rushed forward as soon as they saw the pinwheel. The bleeding girl was taken out of his arms and carefully carried into a house that the pirate supposed was the village's sickbay.

In a hesitant circle of people sat Nami. She was shaking on the outside, breaking on the inside.

"What's happening, Nami?" Ruffy asked. "Do you need help?"

People jumped away. Nami looked perfectly mad, like she was teething on the edge of insanity.

"You're still here?" she hissed before she jumped up and grabbed Ruffy's throat. "GET LOST! This has nothing to do with you! Leave the island NOW!" and then she ran away throwing Ruffy on the ground as she did.

The pirate coughed and rubbed her throat. Nami was so furious her fingers had actually cut off Ruffy's breathing for a moment.

"M-miss, are you okay?"

Ruffy glanced up into the concerned and frightened eyes of a man with glasses. He had his hands out, as if he was about to help, but didn't dare finish the move.

"I'll be fine. But Nami's really strong when she's pissed," the straw-hat girl smiled at him before she stood and walked away. The people were starting to gather, tension filling the air like electricity and the pirate didn't want to be too close, else she might get involved in something she didn't want to.

"Ruffy, there you are!"

The girl looked up. "Oh, Usopp." She took in the bruises on his face. "Did Nami do that?"

Behind Usopp Sanji smiled innocently and pointed at Zoro. "No, it was him and I."

"It was you," Zoro growled crossly at the cook.

Ruffy blinked at them, but Usopp quickly pulled the captain's attention back to him.

"Listen, this is an emergency. Nojiko told us… Nojiko is Nami's older sister by the way, she told us the entire story. Nami isn't a traitor at all."

"I know," Ruffy said simply, causing Usopp to pause.

"You know?"

The girl shrugged. "I hear it in the heartbeats. Nami can't fight with brute force, so she fights with wits instead."

The sniper nodded earnestly. "That's exactly it. I've met the fishmen, that Arlong is strong. He forced Nami to join him but she isn't a real member of the crew. It's a lot more like she's their slave."

The captain just nodded. She had already figured that out. The only thing left was to find the bolt that tied the chains around Nami's soul.

Looking up at the other two members of her crew Ruffy took in their hard faces.

"We wait," she told them.

"Wait?" Usopp repeated stiffly. "What do you mean; wait?!"

"We wait for Nami," Ruffy clarified. "She thinks she's alone."

The boys thought for a moment, then they all nodded and followed their captain towards a parasol. Zoro instantly sank down in the shadow and closed his eyes with his white katana resting against his shoulder. Ruffy stood beside him. Usopp sat down in the sunlight with his arms crossed tight over his chest, facing the direction of Arlong's Park. Sanji lit a cigarette as he leaned against a wall on the other side of the road.

All of them concentrated their breathing, gathered their thoughts and strength. Their hearts were abuzz with energy.

So was the rest of the village. Further down the road the people had gathered around the man with the pinwheel. They were wielding weapons, all of them. Something had snapped inside them and the subdued air Ruffy had felt when she had arrived to the village and changed into the same kind of anger as an animal that snapped and attacked.

Then Nami came rushing into the village. "WAIT, EVERYONE!" she screamed.

Ruffy watched from the shadow of the parasol. Zoro reached out and touched her leg. He was upset, eager to start fighting. He needed Ruffy to stay calm, so she let his hand rest around her calf.

Usopp still sat on the road, back now towards Nami. His head hung low and his shoulders were tense.

Sanji looked like a shadow, giving Ruffy the sense of a panther about to pounce.

The man with the pinwheel took Nami into his arms and held her as his heart broke. Ruffy waited. Nami was still trying to fight despite being at her wits end. The pirate girl connected with her in that moment. She felt Nami's desperation that was reaching a peak. Felt how every hope and dream crumbled and walked away with the mob now heading towards Arlong's Park.

Alone.

Betrayed.

"ARLONG!"

Ruffy opened her eyes. On the back of Nami's shoulder was a tattoo. Arlong's mark.

"ARLONG!"

Nami had a knife in her hand and was stabbing the tattoo. Trying to cut it away as the physical pain was overshadowed by that of her soul breaking.

Sanji pushed away from the wall and made to stop the girl, but Ruffy held out her arm, warning the blond with one calm but icy glance. The cook lowered his gaze in submission.

Nami was still stabbing herself and screamed Arlong's name. It's not like Ruffy didn't understand, but she also knew the only way Nami would look up from the darkness she had been dropped into was to lift her up, so she grabbed the hand as Nami raised it to stab herself again.

The hand fought Ruffy's grasp for a second before Nami realized what happened and looked up.

"Ruffy?"

Her voice was small, like a little girl's. The pirate captain met her look with an unreadable face.

Nami quickly looked away and jerked her hand free, but the knife stayed in Ruffy's grasp.

"What is it?" the defeated girl spat angrily. "You don't know anything."

"That's right," Ruffy agreed calmly.

"This has nothing to do with you. I told you to leave!" Nami cried and started throwing dust at Ruffy's legs behind her, never looking up.

"Yes, you said that."

Nami sobbed. She was lost, had nowhere left to turn, no more way to fight as everything she had tried to protect was now fighting against her.

Behind her Ruffy stood silent, waiting, unyielding.

"Ruffy," Nami whimpered and finally looked at her. "Help…"

It wasn't until then that Ruffy realized something; there was a ball inside her. A ball packed so tightly it felt like a rock. Now it expanded, pressured Ruffy's insides until she thought she would combust.

She was absolutely infuriated.

Picking the straw hat off her hair the pirate captain pressed it down onto the head of her friend.

The ball inside her was still expanding. The rage was still building. If she didn't let it out Ruffy feared she really would burst into flames. So she took in air and threw her head back.

"DARN RIGHT!"

It felt good. The pressure eased and the heat cooled down to something more manageable. Ruffy walked up to Usopp, Sanji and Zoro who were all silently awaiting their orders.

"Let's go."

They looked up with fire in their eyes. "Aye-aye, captain."