Chapter 23- Nami vs. Beau-Père
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda
Beau-Père, William Henley, and Ashley © HatOnFire/Me
Author's Note: I thought I'd wait a little longer before I upload this chapter, maybe later this week, but what the heck? No harm in spoiling you guys.
The mood quickly became tense when Beau-Père arrived on the ninth floor of the G-13 Base. Nami raised her weapon as cautiously as possible, stepping a little away from the cell.
"Well, this is extremely uncomfortable," The commander stated, jokingly. He felt his nerves calm, but there was still some fear in him. He had to fight his sister's daughter, and keep the boy who saved her behind bars. The thought made him visibly sweat.
"How did you get past the battle downstairs?" Nami wondered, "Wouldn't the others have seen you?"
"I move completely fast, I'll have you know," Beau-Père answered, "Besides that, I tend to show up unexpectedly."
'Gee, who got that from you?' The navigator murmured in her mind before speaking up, "I'm right in assuming you have the keys to Luffy's cuffs?"
"Yes, you'd be correct," Beau-Père nodded, "I have the key. Singular."
"You're beginning to come off as patronizing," Nami clutched the Clima-Tact as hard as she could, "I don't like it."
"Thought you'd like to know that it's only one key, that's all."
"Nami, are you really going to fight this guy?" Luffy questioned, taking his eyes off the commander for a moment.
"I'll do whatever it takes," The navigator confirmed, charging right at him. She swung her weapon, attempting to clock Beau-Père's face.
"Iron Body."
The Clima-Tact hit Beau-Père's face, but he did not wince from the pain. In fact, it appeared she didn't hurt him at all, despite landing the blow.
"Oh crap," Nami cursed, pulling back. "Your powers are just like those assassins in CP9, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are," Beau-Père almost smirked, taking pride in his skills. "On top of that, I can determine a person's Power Level from observing their skills. If I wanted to, I'd tell by looking at them, but that would be patronizing."
"We'll see about that!" Nami quickly performed a leg sweep with her right leg, but the commander hopped over it, with one foot.
"Tempest Kick!" One kick to the stomach was enough for Nami to be pushed back, coughing.
"Nami, are you alright?!" Luffy called out, concerned.
"Ugh, I'm fine," She gave him a quick thumbs-up, holding her bruise. "I should've guessed you got beaten by a guy like him!"
"Technically, I didn't beat him through strength and speed," Beau-Père stated for the record, "I only did so through planning. His Power Level, from what I gather, is only supposed to be at two thousand. Then again, he did beat Rob Lucci, who was at twice his supposed level."
"Four thousand?!" Nami queried in surprise, "And I had trouble fighting one of the weakest of that group!"
"Kalifa, Power Level at 630. I read the files on them. Take a guess where my number is."
"Are you trying to discourage me from fighting you for the key?!" Nami started to get a little angry, "This isn't the first time, you know!"
"True, but you may as well consider it. After all, my level is at least four times hers."
"W-What?!"
"Wait a second!" Luffy interjected, "When we fought, you said you weren't like Pigeon Guy!"
"I wasn't," Beau-Père told, "I happen to be more empathetic than him." He looked back at Nami. "That's why I'm allowing you to leave, without your captain."
"N-Not happening!" Nami slightly quivered from intimidation, but she steeled herself.
'I did not come all this way to give up!' She thought, 'Whether six hundred or six thousand, I won't back down to someone like him!'
"Thunder Charge!" The top of Nami's weapon crackled with electricity, and she sent the rod out to hit Beau-Père.
"Shave!" Except he disappeared before it hit him.
Nami pulled back the rod through the cord in time to swing it behind her when the commander appeared to strike!
"Swing Arm!" A surging shock coursed through Beau-Père's body, brightening the room for a moment.
"AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" He cried out, plummeting to the tile floor of the hall and flailing for a moment. "Oh god, that hurts! It beats getting struck by lightning, but still! Not fun!"
"Wait, you got struck by lightning?" Luffy queried, "I had that happen to me a couple of times! It didn't do much, though."
"That's why you have the Gum-Gum Fruit, Luffy," Nami answered, "But you already figured on that."
Beau-Père then backflipped off the ground and got some distance away from the navigator.
"Okay," He began demanding, "You have an impressive weapon. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you keep going with an effort that may prove fruitless. So will you just quit?"
"No," Nami said again, running to attack Beau-Père once more.
"Paper Arts," Beau-Père dodged left and right easily as Nami swiped at him with her weapon. She kept going several times until she quickly disassembled the top of her weapon.
"Thunder Ball!" She quickly fired a ball of lightning at Beau-Père, getting him electrocuted again. As he was stunned, Nami put the weapon together and swing it in his face. She also kicked him in his stomach, punched him while holding the weapon, and sent her heel to his side.
The commander slammed against the bars as Nami decked him in his nose. As blood began to drip from his nose, he quickly grabbed Nami's right hand when she tried to hit him again. He pushed her away and went in to punch her with his right fist, hitting her across her face.
"NAMI!" Luffy shouted in worry, seeing Beau-Père take hold of her arm and send her forward.
"Iron Single Action Gun!" He clenched his fists and his arms above one another. One of them was underhanded, whereas the other was overhanded, not too different from Rob Lucci's ultimate attack. Then, a tremendous shockwave shot from his knuckles, pushing Nami back down the hallway. She went a good fourteen yards from Beau-Père before landing on the floor.
"Nami!" Luffy cried, then looked back to Beau-Père. "You bastard! How can you do that?!"
"Don't worry," He replied, wiping the blood from his nose. "That's usually one of my strongest attacks, but I modified it for her."
"M-Modified, huh?" Nami picked herself up, slightly seething from touching her cheek. "I'm not looking forward to the true version, then."
"Well, I've figured out your Power Level, sort of. Five hundred is the minimum to be qualified as superhuman."
"And mine is lower than that, isn't it?"
"I can't seem to tell if you're at three hundred, above that, or below. You would be slightly above four hundred if you devoted your time to fighting, but you've likely squandered your potential at superhuman strength by fighting with that toy."
"Way to be a downer, commander," Nami began to quip, almost grinning slyly. "You must be the party pooper everyone invites just because a party needs one."
'I've got an advantage, though,' She thought, 'As long as I play it right, I won't have to waste my stamina trying to outlast an opponent stronger than me.'
"Nami, you should get outta here," Luffy suggested, interrupting her thoughts.
"What?!" Nami got taken off guard, "Not you too, Luffy!"
"We both know this guy is stronger than you can even hope to match him in!" The former captain argued.
"You fight people stronger than you all the time!" Nami fired back, careful not to let her eyes escape Beau-Père.
"Yeah, and I'm clearly stronger!"
(BGM: Encounter, Metal Gear Solid)
"Tempest Kick Chakram!" The commander launched a series of kicks, letting out a blue surge of energy in the form of jagged circles with holes in the center. The chakrams spun toward Nami, who jumped out of the way of some, getting a part of her shirt torn on her front.
"Can we not do this now?!" Nami questioned, blocking a kick from Beau-Père with her weapon. "I'm in the middle of something!"
"Finger Pistol Single Action!" Beau-Père put his index and middle finger together, with some form of invisible energy gathering around them, and tried to jab it in Nami's shoulder. She dodged it, or so she thought.
A strange, invisible burst erupted from the commander's fingers, pushing Nami back a few feet before she landed on the ground.
"What was that?!" She looked around her body, seeing there were no holes anywhere on her.
"My variation in Finger Pistol doesn't call for piercing flesh and bone," Beau-Père explained, "But then again, the Six Powers weren't all I've learned."
"S-So you have more power than I think you do," Nami concluded, before attempting another leg sweep that failed again.
"Moon Walk!" The commander hopped in the air for a while before allowing himself to fall. It appeared he would fall facefirst, but he somersaulted a little before bringing both heels down to the floor of white squares.
"Tempest Kick Iron Hinds!" The kick created two cracks where Nami initially stood. She wasn't anywhere to be seen now.
"Where did she-?" Beau-Père couldn't finish his question, seeing as he was punched in the stomach by something invisible to him. Next, he was hit in the face and kicked in one of his shins.
"GRRR!" He growled from the pain, then was suddenly yanked by his hair and was flung into the bars with a loud clang.
"Mirage Tempo," Nami stood right next to him as he brushed off the pain. Beau-Père attempted a small gut punch to Nami, only for his fist to go through the fabrication and into one of the bars.
"Okay," He seethed from the impact of bone meeting cold metal, "This is beginning to get troublesome."
Beau-Père saw Nami stick her tongue out at him, and went to do a leg sweep kick on her. The mirage of her dissipated when his legs went through hers.
"Not fun when you miss, is it?" Nami's voice called out, and then the commander fell to the ground, having been swept down by Nami.
"Did you just do a leg sweep again, Nami?!" Luffy exclaimed, almost out of exasperation.
"I finally got one in!" She cheered, making sure she wasn't anywhere near Beau-Père when he jumped back up.
"Tempest Kick Puma Prints!" He performed a barrage of kicks in midair in front of him, missing every single one of them. He landed on his feet, stomping to Luffy's cell.
"You won't get anywhere near here," He declared, beginning to transform. "Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Puma!"
"Oh, crap!" Luffy cursed, "Nami, get outta here!"
"I said I'm not leaving!" The navigator yelled from somewhere in the room. Beau-Père used his nose and sniffed for the girl.
"I have your scent," He muttered, stepping away from Luffy's cell. He spun around, swinging his tail, and sent out another shockwave in his left direction.
"Tempest Kick Puma Tail!" Nami saw the blast coming and managed to duck in time. Her invisibility ended soon after she ducked, however. In this moment, she took apart her weapon, piece by piece.
"Nami, please stop!" Luffy yelled, "You could die from these attacks if this guy weren't holding back! I don't want that!"
The orange-haired girl simmered from Luffy's pleas, starting to become increasingly frustrated with fighting Beau-Père.
"Luffy, I'm sorry," She began, "But I'm afraid I can't do that."
"W-What?" Luffy questioned.
"You said you didn't hate me..." Nami continued, "But I know you do, somewhere in your mind. And I'm sorry for acting the way I did during all of those times!"
"Hold on," Beau-Père morphed back into his human form, becoming confused. "Are you two doing this now?"
"Shut up!" Nami bellowed at the commander before turning her sights to the former captain, "Luffy, I might not have shown it a lot of times, but I really am thankful you entered my life when you did! If you still doubt me, then I'll prove it to you!"
'What does she mean, prove it...?' Luffy thought, almost sweating. For some reason, he wouldn't like the next thing that leaves her lips...
"I don't want you to die here, let alone anywhere. I want you to live and achieve your dream! That's why... I'll do whatever it takes to save you! I'm ready to die for you!"
A significant amount of color dropped from Luffy's skin and he grew cold with fear, shocked Nami would actually suggest that. Even Beau-Père was surprised by the declaration she made, so much he didn't take notice of the cloud above him, let alone a yellow ball of lightning heading toward it!
"Thunderbolt Tempo!" Soon enough, bright yellow bolts dropped down to the ground on top of the commander, who screamed from the electrocution. He collapsed as smoke rose from his body, disappearing in the air.
"N-Nami...!" Luffy shuddered, "Y-You actually mean that?!"
"If there's one thing I know now," The navigator said as she kept an eye on Beau-Père, "It's that I care about you more than I thought I did. Although, I didn't expect to care so much for you. But that doesn't make a difference now. Just so you can live, I need to do whatever it takes!"
'I need to get the key to Luffy's cuffs!' She thought, 'It'll be hard, but hopefully not Enies Lobby hard!'
"Grrrrr..." Beau-Père growled, attempting to bear with the pain. He stood back up, throwing away the marine coat clinging to his back.
"Oh, you're back up already."
"Yes, I am..." Beau-Père's eyes darkened, transforming into his puma hybrid form. "It takes more than that to render me unconscious. But if it's any consolation, that was severely painful."
He proceeded to get on all fours and dart at Nami. He swatted at her but missed, seeing as she moved to the side.
The navigator twirled her rod, firing another thunder ball, except Beau-Père was quick enough to move out of the way. He appeared behind her and used his tail to ensnare her waist, lifting her up to his level.
"Puma Palm Barrel!" He curled his fingers and exposed his palm, thrusting it forward. It didn't just strike Nami's stomach, it sent her flying again with a layer of air pushing her along, at least until she landed back on her rear.
"Ugh, this isn't going well," Nami slightly shook her head, winded. "Another move I don't know about?"
'I still don't exactly understand how this form of Armament Haki works,' Beau-Père thought to himself, 'But how I can use it to battle without causing critical injuries is enough.'
"Perhaps you'll find out," He answered directly, "If you can defeat me."
Nami put her weapon together again and defended herself from Beau-Père's kicks and palm strikes, whether through dodging or blocking. She attempted to find a few openings to hit back, only for the commander to utilize Iron Body to lessen any damage done to him.
'Damn it!' Nami cursed, backflipping for a few yards. 'I can't go back and forth like this! I need to get that key from him before he takes me down!'
As the two continued clashing with each other, Luffy watched the action, looking impressed.
"Nami's really giving it her all..." He mumbled, "She really does care about me if she's working this hard at it. The same probably goes for the others outside..."
'You can't actually believe that!' The negative voice in his mind protested, making Luffy convulse for a moment. 'They're all liars! They strung you along like a puppet! You can't even believe that they-!'
"Stop for a second, dammit...!" Luffy seethed, shaking his head. "Let me think...!"
When the other side of him went quiet, the black-haired boy had his chance to look back on the days before his situation. He remembered how he acted to most of them when he found out they lied to him. He made his intent to hold that against them, but not to Chopper or Brook.
"Those two didn't lie to me... Chopper only knew after the incident, but he was too scared to tell me. Brook wasn't around at that time, and he didn't like what the others did."
'So?' The negative side of him scoffed, 'If Brook were there, he'd turn on you, like the others.'
"Turn?" Luffy questioned, "He had respect for me, even though I'm a moron!"
'So did Zoro, and look what happened.'
"He was ashamed for lying to me, as far as I know. Everyone who took part in that scheme had different reasons for lying to me, but they were mainly afraid of what would happen if I found out."
'But who said she felt amused over tricking you? It was one Nico Robin, wasn't it?'
"Yeah, but she feels terrible for getting off on that."
'Maybe she only said that because she got caught in that lie. She knows what to say around you. Same for that long-nosed idiot and that useless bitch of a navigator.'
Luffy got pissed from his inner self saying that, so he slammed himself into the stone wall behind him.
"Don't talk about them like that...!" He growled, "I can't believe you're me if you can say those things without guilt...!"
'But I am you, Luffy. We hate those people for how they hurt us! They're no different from when Ashley tried to kill us!'
"They ARE different. They're not like her."
"What about Nami? She and Ashley look alike."
"It's the eyes," Luffy answered.
'Oh, right,' The voice seemingly agreed, 'Ashley may have orange hair, but her eyes were gray, not brown.'
"I meant what I could see from the eyes. When I remember Ashley, all I saw was hatred for me. But when I see Nami... I see someone different. Someone who needed help."
'You are a poor judge of character, Luffy.'
"Maybe I am. Maybe not."
'What are you saying?!' The negativity tried to kick some more, 'There's no in-between!'
"These guys are taking a chance," Luffy muttered, "Attempting to rescue me like this... ...When this is over, I want to talk to Nami."
'What?!'
"When they get me out of here, I want to try talking to Nami. I've got a few more things to say to her. Things I want to ask."
'What else is there to say?! You told her to screw off!'
"But she's here, fighting with them. Fighting with my crew."
'They're not your crew anymore! You said-'
"You're not involved in this anymore..." Luffy told his other side, "I know what I said. But this is my body, so it's my rules."
'I-I only want what's best for us!' The voice insisted, 'I'm you!'
"You're the bad part of me. The one that grew after I drank that gross drink that redheaded guy, Henley, gave me."
'Look, even if by some miracle, she gets us out, how can you look at her again?! You hit her! She hates you for that!'
"She said that 'I didn't mean to hit her,' and I truly didn't," As he stated that, his green eyes began reverting back to black. "It was out of my control, and I was angry. That means she doesn't hate me after all."
'But you said it doesn't matter anymore!'
"It still might," Luffy then kicked at the bars next to him with his right foot, "The same goes for my dream...!"
'And how do you know it'll be alright?!' The negative side's voice began to fade as something inside Luffy's gullet began growling, 'How do you know she isn't saying that just to hurt us again?! I don't want that!'
"I don't know," The former captain mumbled, "But then again, there's a lot of things I don't know."
'What about the crew?! Are they even worth being around after what they did?!'
"Maybe not, but I'll decide if I still want them around. I can't forgive them right now, but maybe, over time..."
'B-B-But what if...?! What if...?!'
"Enough, you're not a part of this anymore."
Suddenly, Luffy's stomach began to ache terribly. He slowly walked to the far corner of the cell, feeling something rise up from the belly up to his esophagus. Preparing for the unexpected moment, he closed his eyes.
"BLEGH!" He retched a green, murky liquid that splattered on the concrete floor of his cage. He coughed out a few more drops before spitting, trying to get the awful taste off his tongue.
"Puma Palm Double Barrel!" Beau-Père jabbed two palms out, but Nami dodged them with a backflip, and thrust the Clima-Tact into his gut and decked him on his chin.
The commander stumbled a few steps back, but he tried to strike again.
"Puma Palm Barrel!" He sent his right palm to hit, but Nami sidestepped it and grabbed his hand.
"Try this!" She clutched his wrist and arm, and proceeded to throw him over her shoulder, bringing him to the floor. The navigator would've attempted to relieve him of Luffy's cuff key had he not rolled over and jump back to his feet.
"Thank you, ma'am," Beau-Père joked, "May I have another?"
Nami grit her teeth, swiping at him again. He utilized Iron Body, taking the blows from her weapon.
Luffy coughed for a second before shaking his head and opening his eyes. The pupils were no longer green, but back to natural black.
"Ugh," He groaned, "Is this what feeling sick is like?"
While he still was beginning to turn a little pale, he felt a little bit better than he originally did.
"Oh, right!" He went up to the front of the cell and called out, "Nami!"
'Not again, Luffy!' Nami backed up and slammed her weapon on one of the bars of a different cell.'Not again, Luffy!' Nami backed up and slammed her weapon on one of the bars of a different cell.
(BGM: I'm Here With You, Too, One Piece Movie 6)
"Quit telling me to give up!" She began to shout, her voice the loudest it's been. "You once said you wouldn't stop until you become the King of the Pirates! I believe that you will be! I may not live to see that day, but I don't care anymore! I'm not letting you die!"
"N-Nami, I was going to say-"
"Luffy, quit telling me to stop trying! I won't leave you like this!"
"I wasn't going to say quit!" Luffy yelled, making the navigator look at him.
"W-What?!" She questioned, seeing her captain grow a little smile.
"The voice in my head has been telling me to quit," He said, his black eyes visible for Nami to see. "But my heart wants to keep going. I want to keep going. But I can't do much here. So, will you help me get outta here?"
The navigator almost dropped her weapon when she heard Luffy's request, but held it firm. Her heart just about melted from gazing at his face. He looked a little cute, despite everything that's going on.
"L-Luffy..." She stammered a bit, blushing and smiling.
"Is that a definite yes?" The black-haired boy slightly chuckled, "It's obvious already, so I shouldn't be asking-"
"It's always been a yes," Nami softly smiled, before looking back to Beau-Père with a serious expression. "Now then, where were we?"
"You realize I have you outmatched, don't you?" Beau-Père pointed out, though he couldn't help but smile at Luffy's improved mood. "You can't deny my experience and strength exceed yours, even with that weapon."
"I just found my second wind," Nami brushed her hair back and let it flow for a while, sticking her tongue out. "Pretty soon, you'll be the one who's outmatched."
The commander quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "We'll see."
TO BE CONTINUED...