Author's Note:
For off I want to thank everyone for the compliments to the last chapter. That one wins for most rewrites so far but I am glad it turned out well. As for this one well, let's see how it turns out. This is based on episode 36. As always please review and leave suggestions. Reviews make me happy.
This is the remastered version.
I do not own One Piece
Firmly set in the path they wanted to take it wasn't much longer until they reached the village. Luffy had let go of her hand and placed his hands on his hips while Addy was swinging her arms back and forth. The sun was shining behind them warming their backs as they looked over Cocoyashi village.
The street was filled with people of all sorts. The town was lively despite basically living under the oppression of a dictator, though one of the people stuck out to Addy. Next to a man, wearing a brown uniform and a pinwheel on his hat, who looked like he had been slashed with a sword several times was a Marine. He looked like a rat with the whiskers and the ears which were attached to his Marine cap. Unlike other Marines he had a greyish-blue button up coat that went down to his feet, a black belt and what looked like some of the ugliest blue shoulder pads that she had seen. The guy looked like he was dressed by his mother who was color blind. It only then dawned on her that Hachi mentioned something about Marines. Perhaps this was what he was talking about. Were they working for Arlong then? As if they could sink any lower.
'Showing your true colors then,' Addy thought as they walked closer to each other. If only other Marines would be so courteous as to do the same. Would make her life somewhat easier. She placed one hand on her whip, running her thumb over the handle, ready to attack at any moment. She counted several Marines behind him. Looks like rat-face was the captain. The Marines must be desperate if they made this guy a captain.
She glanced over at Luffy who had a strange look on his face. His mouth was hanging wide open and sweat was dripping down. Did he notice something that she missed? Addy was completely plastered so it was possible. As the Marines got closer she prepared to jump out to attack when Luffy placed a hand on her shoulder. The message was clear. Do not attack. She grumbled but did what Luffy asked. Straining her ears she managed to catch a little of what pinwheel guy was saying to rat face.
"What business do the Marines have with Nami?" he asked rat face. All the rat face man did was squeak as he walked straight past Luffy and Addy. She glared at them as they walked past.
"You should remain quiet and escort us," rat face man said. Addy tightened her grip on the whip. She was calling dibs on that guy. Luffy and Zoro can beat up as many fishmen as they want but that Marine was hers. She turned her head to see where they were headed. Out of the village apparently to where though Addy was uncertain.
"Why does he have a pinwheel on his head?" Luffy asked. "That's TOO cool!"
Addy turned to face him. "What? Is that what's got you all worked up?" She probably shouldn't be surprised. Luffy was fascinated by the oddest things. "Anyway, Captain may I see what these Marines are up to?"
"If you want," he said before walking deeper into the village. Addy waited a moment before turning around and following the Marines. There stomping was loud enough that it would easily cover her lighter footsteps. Question was how to separate one from the pack. They were tightly in formation. Smart move. As much as she wanted to jump in and start beating the crap out of them she figured Zoro would probably not be too happy with her if she got injured again. Not to mention Luffy and she really didn't want to deal with the backlash of those two.
As they walked further out of the village the scent of oranges began to fill the air, which sent Addy reeling. Normally she didn't mind the scent of citrus, actually liked it a lot considering she couldn't eat any of it. However, when she was drunk off her ass it wasn't a good combination.
Quickly turning off the path she vomited into some bushes. The taste of bile filled her mouth. Her whole body was trembling, wanting to give out on her. She felt absolutely woozy and was rocking back and forth on her heels. She felt her vision become blurry and rubbing her eyes only made it worse. Everything was spinning around her. Oh this was bad. Really, really, really bad.
Using her primal instincts she stumbled around in the woods trying to sense out any body of water, a puddle would do at this point, running into several trees along the way. Or perhaps one tree over and over again, she was unsure. Somehow through sheer force of instinct she managed to directly fall straight into a pond.
The instant her body hit the water she felt her mind clear. The fogginess was gone and her reflexes were back. Sitting at the bottom of what was a rather shallow pond she composed herself for a moment. It would do her no good to run straight into a fight with her emotions out of whack. That was asking for trouble. Not to mention go against her training. After taking in several gulps of water and eating a couple of the frogs and snails that called this pond their home she felt that she was well enough to fight. Or at least not fall flat on her face. She jumped out of the pond and landed softly back on the ground.
Only to come face to face with two Marines who were staring at her, eyes wide and mouths hung open. Perfect. In a flash Addy drew her whip and slammed the hilt into the forehead of one of the Marines dropping him to the ground instantly. The other one tried to bring his gun up to shoot her but Addy lashed at his hands causing him to drop it. Before he could grab it again, she hooked her whip around it and sent it flying into some bushes.
The two of them stared at each for a moment before the marine turned around and attempted to run for it. Addy sighed. Would these idiots ever learn? Lashing out her whip she wrapped it around the guy's neck making sure that it wasn't too tight. As soon as he reached the maximum distance he could go she yanked back on the whip causing him to fall on the ground as well with a thump. Keeping a hold of the handle she walked closer to the Marine who was now out cold. She started pulling back on the whip, bundling it in her hands, making sure that it was still around his neck, creating a tighter leash.
Standing over him, he looked like the typical Marine grunt. Poor soul. Addy almost felt bad for him. Perhaps this was his first assignment. He was looking forward to stopping what he considered 'bad guys.' Or maybe he had been doing this for years and this was just one of many assignments that hurt more people then helped. Whatever the case it looks like it wasn't meant to be. If only he didn't join an organization that runs on corruption and the pain of others than he wouldn't have to be in this position.
Kneeling down Addy checked his pulse, placing his fingers against her neck, making sure that he wasn't dead. It would be pretty hard to interrogate him if he was. Luckily his pulse was still going strong and she gave him a large slap across the face. His eyes immediately opened and he tried to sit up only for Addy to push him back down again.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "One wrong move and I will kill you."
"You're a monster," the marine spit at her though she nimbly dodged it.
"Wow I have never heard that one before. Truly original. Now are you going to tell me what I want to know?"
"I will never succumb to torture."
Addy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Typical Marine nonsense.
"Okay look here is the deal. I don't have time to give you the full work up so I will just speed this alone. If you tell me what I want to know then I will let you and your friend go to be killed by someone else on another day. Assuming of course your friend is still alive." She heard the Marine gulp and his eyes drifted over towards his friend. Things were going her way now. "Or you cannot tell me and I just kill you and move on to the next Marine who will tell me what is going on."
"No please don't. I have a wife and a child on the way."
"That's nice. Still going to kill you. Maybe your wife will remarry someone with a less risky job. Merchants are usually a safe bet. They have great job security. Also nice benefits from what I am told."
The Marine seem to struggle, looking back and forth between his comrade and her. Addy arched an eyebrow. As fun as this was, she wasn't going to wait around forever. Eventually her hostage collapsed in on himself and he looked up at her defeated, tears streaming down his face.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"Why are you here?" she asked him slacking the whip slightly. Might as well give him some reward for talking.
"We are here to recover some stolen pirate treasure."
"Stolen treasure? From who?"
"Nami. She is a girl who lives outside the village, in the house by the orange grove." Addy tightened her grip on the whip and he made a chocking sound. She lessened the tension around his neck slightly allowing the man to continue. "Apparently she is a pirate thief and has a collection of gold buried somewhere in the grove."
"Who told you this?" At that the guy clammed up. Addy tighten her grip and pulled on the whip lifting him up off the ground so that they were directly at eye level. "Tell me now before I decide to rip your throat out."
"Arlong. Arlong told us. He is the fishman that lives on this island. We have been taking bribes from him for years. When he told us about the treasure Captain Nezumi jumped on it."
Addy uncoiled her whip and got up off the ground, leaving the Marine coughing and sputtering on the ground. She should kill him but unlike Marines she actually kept her word. Glancing over to the two Marines she saw lying on the forest floor she turned back and started heading for the path. Or at least in the direction she thought the path was. She sort of lost track during her drunken rampage through the woods. That was what probably caused the Marines to find her. Now if only she could remember what caused her to wander into the woods in the first place.
She felt her brain become fuzzy again. Fresh water would only do so much. What she really needed was a nice long swim in Ocean or a waterfall though she couldn't exactly do either right now. She took a deep breath and the scent of oranges hit her like a wave. Oranges…. That's right. And the Marine did say that Nami lived in an orange grove. Taking another deep breath she started following the scent of oranges. She would kill for Luffy at this moment. He would find the place in about two seconds.
Instead Addy had to rely on her poor sense of smell above water in order to find where Nami was. Or where she assumed Nami was. The Marine could have been lying. Addy let out a growl. This was bad, really really bad. If something happened to Nami while she was wandering in the woods, Addy wasn't sure she could forgive herself. Not a second time, not after….
She took another deep breath. Getting into a panic attack would not help anyone at this moment. Least of all Nami.
Addy paused and leaned against a tree, curling herself up in a ball. She started taking deep breaths until she was light headed. Normally when this happened she just drank but now that she was running empty she was going to have to fight through it before it overwhelmed her. That sense of emptiness. Overbearing, overwhelming, overpowering emptiness.
She opened up her locket and stared at the picture of the two of them. Back when things were good and the emptiness wasn't trying to consume her. Addy had to remember that she was still here for a reason. She couldn't join Riley, not yet. Not unless she fulfilled or more likely tried to fulfill the promise that they made. The image of Nami screaming at the Straw Hats flashed in her mind and Addy closed the locket. The pain was evident on her face. Nami needed her right now. Her nakama needed her. Nothing else mattered. If Addy kept that in mind then she would be okay. At least for now.
Sniffing at the air she noticed that the scent of oranges was even stronger. By some miracle she was getting closer. Addy took off full blaze through the forest, weaving through the trees. She had wasted enough time already though she still had to be cautious. Both fishmen and Marines were about and the last thing that she wanted was another delay.
Soon enough the forest ended and Addy found herself standing in front of an orange grove. The scent was overpowering. Addy could taste it on the tip of her tongue. An almost bitter sweetness. Reminded Addy of elephant tuna. She thought she could also hear yelling and the sounds of digging. This was bad. The Marines were already here and were searching for the treasure. Why would Nami bury treasure here of all places instead of some desolate island? They had certainly run into several of those already.
"Hey who are you?!" a voice yelled at her. Addy turned and saw three Marines staring at her, two with shovels and one with a gun pointed directly at her. Curse her luck. This was going to be a hassle. Ah well what could she do.
Uncurling her whip she cracked it, sending the Marines back a few steps. Rolling her shoulders she let out a grin. The Marines started trembling and Addy couldn't help but bark out a laugh. Marines usually offered a good fight though these ones... it was going to be less of a fight and more of a workout. Addy could definitely use it. 'After all' she thought stepping closer to the marines. She still had a fishman to fight as well as a Marine captain. There adventure was just getting started and after all they couldn't sail anywhere without there navigator.
hellspam-Are you psychic because that is what I was planning on doing. Giving Addy a seastone whip. Then I realized that it would make the Doflamingo fight way easier as all she had to do was get her whip around him and then let Luffy and Law beat him up. The whip will definitely involve seastone but I am not sure how yet. And I am happy you liked the conversation
blackcat711- The relationship between her and Luffy might actually be one of the most important relationships in this series if not the most important. They are going to be having a lot more conversations like that. Heart to hearts don't happen a lot for him, but that also makes them really difficult to write. Glad it turned out well.
RedHairedOctavia- I definitely have some better chapters and some worse ones though I like to think they can be all called good. I am so happy that I was able to capture Luffy that well. Merry leaving is going to be sad but I already have some ideas brewing. No I think what is going to be most difficult to write is going to be the second half of Skypeia. Not looking forward to that. As for Arlong... well wait and see :)