You made it to chapter 2! Yay! I'll be honest, the chapters in the Paradise and East Blue arcs vary greatly in word length. I didn't make any breaks in the story while writing it, so some chapters might feel jarring with how the cut off, but it was necessary! Enjoy chapter 2~
"Island! Island!" Luffy screamed, shaking Zoro awake. "Island!" he screeched again. He could smell it before seeing it. Zoro pushed his face away. "Where?" Luffy started paddling with his hands, trying to get there faster. Zoro moved the boat over so the wind got them there. "That way! It's a place that smells like towns and people! Food, meat… food, meat…"
"Booze," Zoro said, grinning. Both were craving food and drinks. Luffy wanted orange juice. "Orange juice? What are you, a kid?"
"Hey! Blood tastes good but even too much of that gets boring." Zoro scowled. "Haha, Zoro's sensitive. I mean I like drinking stuff other than blood. Even if it's super tasty," he explained. They reached the island and tied the ship to the dock, and both of them jumped out. They were completely out of any food. The apples were gone, the water long gone except for some lucky rain water.
Zoro was the one in the worst shape, since Luffy just lived off of his blood. He never seemed to suffer blood loss, though. But he was stoic, even his stomach wouldn't rumble. And he never complained about being hungry, just wanting some good alcohol. Well, now he just wanted any alcohol, desperate to get rid of his craving.
They walked into town, Luffy shouting out for anyone he couldn't hear, as it seemed completely empty. The scents of people were fairly old. He wondered where everyone went. "Who cares? All these empty houses have to have food, right?" Zoro asked. Luffy grinned and nodded, and both went to the nearest empty house. It was like dine and dashing, only also breaking and entering.
Well, they were pirates, it wasn't so strange. They broke into the first with Luffy destroying the door handle. He had been distracted and not even noticed somebody was in there. Oops. They found a girl was already in there. "Aw, I thought nobody was here," he said, irritated with himself. She had orange hair, and was looking out the third story window. She jerked to look at them, brandishing a pole. Wooden, not a pipe like he'd used for a long time.
Luffy could smell meat, though. It smelled so good! He ran past her, getting hit in the head but only bouncing back as he hurried to the fridge and ate everything he saw. "Oi, Zoro! They got alcohol," Luffy said.
"Hell yes," Zoro said and got the alcohol out. He was a bit disappointed it was wine, but he was starved for booze, and chugged the bottle immediately. The girl demanded to know who they were. Luffy said his name around a mouthful of chicken.
She eyed Zoro, looking at his swords as he drank the second bottle of wine, white wine this time. Luffy wondered what his mouth tasted like now. "Are you both strong?" Luffy nodded, asking who she was. "I'm Nami. A thief that steals from pirates. Hey, you wanna team up with me? We can get some serious cash if we team up."
Luffy looked to Zoro, who gave a shrug. It was his choice. Luffy was the captain after all. And he thought it would be good to make friends when he could. "What do you have in mind?" Luffy asked curiously, now munching on dessert dishes. He wondered if Nami hadn't eaten any of the food in there. What a waste! Though it was all there for him, so that was nice.
Nami gave her plan, but Luffy didn't think it was that good. He didn't really want to be bait, he wanted to fight. "But I can't fight! And I need that money!" she snapped. Zoro asked why. "None of your business."
"Are you sure you should be rude to people who you want help from?" Zoro asked, a challenge in his voice, amused as well. "Besides, how do we know you won't just run off with the money?" Luffy chimed in that he could catch her if she tried. Nami demanded to know if it was a threat.
"Nope. Just a fact. Hey, where is everyone? It's like a ghost town here! All the houses are completely empty," Luffy said, munching on crackers now.
Nami leaned against the wall, her staff still in her hand. She wasn't brandishing it at them, and it couldn't hurt either of them anyways. She explained the situation to them. Buggy the Clown, a pirate, had taken over the city. Everyone fled the place, so she took advantage of it. She was here to steal a map of the Grand Line, as well as all the treasure they had.
"But they know what I look like and that I'm a thief. So I'm limited on my options. Besides, I don't want to seduce pirates of all people," she said harshly. Luffy could tell she didn't like pirates. He asked why. "They're evil and selfish. They do whatever they want with no regard to anyone else's lives or happiness. They're the worst scum in this world." His voice was cold and hateful.
Luffy said, "Well, not all pirates are bad. One crew was on my island for a year and they got along with everyone and helped out with things-"
"Pirates are bad. I don't care if there's one crew with guys that seem nice, pirates are terrible." She insisted this pretty strongly, so Luffy didn't mention that he was a pirate, building a crew and chasing the dream to become the Pirate King. Though he didn't want to be a bad pirate to regular people, even if they'd be bad for marines.
He didn't care about them, though. "Well, I guess a lot of pirates are bad. And these Buggy guys are jerks from driving people out. I'm sure we could take them," he said confidently. Zoro nodded, but said he needed to eat first.
Nami frowned, clearly wondering if this was the right thing to do. Luffy sat on the kitchen counter as Zoro pulled everything left out of the cupboards. The inside of the house was smaller than he expected. The kitchen was small, as well. From the outside, it looked a lot bigger. There were photos on the walls.
Luffy thought it was mean to drive people out of their homes. But were they really that scary in the first place? East Blue pirates were weak, weren't they? Garp had said that before, and so had Shanks. So how strong was he, or the crew as a whole? And what kind of name was "Buggy the Clown". It didn't really sound tough or anything. Maybe he was a clown because people were afraid of clowns, so he was betting on them being scared of them! He giggled to himself quietly, earning an amused look from Zoro.
Now he wanted to see the guy for himself. After Zoro stuffed himself, and all of the food in the kitchen was gone, the alcohol was depleted completely. "So, we just go and kick their asses and then come back? With money?" Luffy asked cheerily. Nami nodded. The three lef the house, and Luffy rocketed himself up to the roof to look.
He saw their base easily. It was on top of another building, and was set up like a circus. He could smell them, and they reeked. His senses were better, but sometimes that was really a drawback. Sound and smell were stronger. His eyes weren't any better than normal. He hadn't told Zoro, and he hadn't asked about Luffy smelling the island. He didn't know why. Maybe he didn't want to come across any weirder than he already was. Zoro said he liked it, but there had to be a limit, right?
There was a huge path of destruction from the circus camp, having blown apart a whole street of shops and houses alike. Obliterated, burnt away with piles of rock and wooden debris. No dead bodies, or he'd be able to smell them. He closed his eyes and filtered out the birds, the sea, the wind, until he only heard the pirates. He could hear them talking about the bomb they'd been using.
Also, talking of hunting Nami for stealing from them. Maybe it wasn't good to have her come with them. She'd be a target, but she looked like she wanted to take part in it. To have her own share of treasure. Why would she get any share if she did none of the work? Luffy couldn't tell Zoro and Nami that he could hear them, though. He dropped down and landed with a bounce to his feet.
"There's a circus that way. It doesn't look fun, though. I thought circuses had rides and candy and popcorn. It's a fake circus. Jerks got my hopes up," Luffy complained. "But it still looks interesting! Let's go, let's go," Luffy said, and went running down the street. Zoro ran after without a word, with Nami asking why they were running.
"To get there faster, duh," Zoro said dismissively. Nami bristled. Luffy asked why she wanted the money.
"To buy back my village," she said. "I need 100 million berrieses." Luffy wondered why she didn't just take it by force. "There's no way I could pull that off! Those pirates are strong, and evil." So, that's why she hated pirates, huh? That was sad. Her home was taken over by bad pirates. Hopefully she could buy it back successfully. But 100 million was a lot of money. Well, he planned on having her on his crew already, so he would gladly help her get her village back.
He wouldn't say that for now. He didn't want to bribe her in! He also bribed Zoro, though his actions made it clear he didn't really feel it was a bribe anymore. He made it very clear in multiple ways. Luffy's face turned red at just the thoughts.
When they made it to the building with the circus on the roof, Luffy looked up, hearing the sounds of a lot of guys. God, they smelled bad. Though he and Zoro both didn't smell the best, not having bathed since Rika's house. Nami said nothing about it, which was nice. Luffy wished he didn't smell, though he got used to his and Zoro's on the boat. Oh well. They could shower at one of these houses probably. They also stole food, what's a few showers bad for? They looked up, and Luffy told them to hang onto them.
"Why?" Zoro asked, not grabbing on. Luffy said they'd get there quicker that way. "Or we could just use the stairs right there," Zoro said, pointing to the side. Luffy laughed and said that wasn't as fun but was easier. Zoro smiled.
"You two together or something?" Nami asked, a teasing look on her face, a smug one. Luffy just simply said they were together. And that it was awesome. Zoro grinned and looked at her. She looked a bit disappointed that she couldn't tease them about it. They weren't blushing with embarrassment about it.
They hurried up the stairs and to the roof. "Hey! It's you! Give us back our map!" a guy with strange hair said. It was like it covered his whole face. Maybe it was weird facial hair, or a headband, a furry one. He was sitting on a lion! "Richie, get them!" he ordered. The lion didn't, looking at Luffy with wide eyes.
Luffy let out an almost silent growl, but the lion could hear it, and ran away and off the roof. "Richie! Where are you going!?" the guy called, his lion ignoring him, out of sight. Luffy could hear it's heavy paws pounding on the cobblestone ground. It was still running. The guy turned and demanded to know what they did to Richie.
Zoro asked, "Did it look like we did anything?" The Buggy crew looked a bit worried, with the lion deserting them out of fear for one of the two teenagers. Nami was staying behind them, her staff out. She looked nervous and like she was regretting this completely. Zoro drew two swords. Buggy, the guy with the captain's hat, turned to them, a dark look on his face.
"Wow! Is your nose real?" Luffy wondered. A tick formed on Buggy's head and he erupted. Apparently his nose was a sore spot. He was very angry about it, and used a devil fruit to chop his body up into pieces that he flung at Zoro and Luffy. They ducked, and Luffy punched them away.
Despite being a demon with better senses, he did not have super strength or super speed. So he worked really hard to be strong all on his own with his own efforts and years of training harshly. He grabbed and squeezed his gut, punching it when it came close. Apparently, even when he was split apart, he still felt pain. Luffy found his groin and grabbed that part by the hip by stretching his arm, and snapped it back to punch him straight in the crotch. Buggy screamed in pain, and Zoro laughed around his sword as he cut down enemies.
Nami got in on the action and was confident enough to beat up some of the pirates. So, she wasn't useless at all. Smart, since she stole from pirates, and courageous when push came to shove. Or maybe when she felt she was safer. Well, either option wasn't shameful.
He wasn't paying attention when one of Buggy's hands, with three knives in it, were jammed into his side. He grabbed the hand and broke the fingers by crushing it. He threw it away, and pressed his hands to the puncture wounds. "I'll be back, Zoro, Nami!" he shouted, and grabbed the nearest unconscious pirate, jumping off of the roof and down. He hurried into an alleyway and sat.
He lifted his shirt to see it was bleeding badly. The wounds were very deep. He bit down on the pirate's neck and sucked out enough of the gross blood for the wounds to stitch themselves up. It was still bright red, and sensitive. He would need rest and some time for it to heal completely. He threw the guy aside, and made his way back up. He wiped his mouth on his shirt.
When he landed, he found Buggy's parts tied up in a sack that Nami was forcing shut. His head was all that was out of it. "Damn you!" he screeched, his voice shrill. Luffy picked him up and placed his head on the sack of body parts, unable to reconnect. Nami smirked, and said they'd be taking his treasure and maps now. "Damnit!" he shouted when Zoro punted him off with a powerful kick.
Luffy asked if he was hurt. He had minor cuts and bruises, and said he was fine otherwise. But then his side was a deep red and Luffy obviously smelled blood. Luffy frowned and pulled his shirt up and haramaki down. He lied, he had been stabbed, too. Luffy said they were going to the hospital now. "Nami, don't run off with the treasure."
"I'll come, too… I-I have some bumps and cuts as well," she said, dragging the treasure bag while Luffy carried the bag of maps and navigation tools. They should be very helpful. Zoro insisted he was fine. He pointed out Luffy had blood on his shorts.
Luffy told the truth when he said it was no big deal for him. He lifted it up, and showed scratches but not stab wounds. "Wait, I saw you get hurt! How… how did that happen?" she asked, looking at the three slices. They looked like they were poorly stitched up. Zoro simply said his devil fruit let him heal super quick, so Luffy didn't have to lie. Though that was the one thing he could lie about, out of self-preservation. "Lucky," Nami sighed.
She was able to carry the bag of treasure pretty well. "Hey, wanna join our crew?" Luffy suddenly asked. Nami frowned in confusion. "We're pirates. Want to join us?" Zoro and Luffy watched her closely. Then a knife was thrown at them and Luffy grabbed Nami and pulled her out of the way right before it hit, slamming into the ground hard enough to break the blade.
Nami was shaking, looking at the knife that was to impale her neck. Luffy let loose a punch that stretched far enough to slam the guy in the face. "Maybe we should walk down a different street," Zoro said. He was bleeding a lot, but had already shown he didn't get sick from blood loss easily. Maybe that wasn't actually a good thing…
"You saved my life," Nami said, still shaken.
"He does that a lot. Rescued me from execution, too," Zoro said. He started to look unstable, so Luffy put him on his back regardless of being several inches shorter. They should hurry. The three ran to the hospital, where Nami knew the villagers were. When they got there, Zoro was immediately taken in for treatment, while Luffy and Nami waited in the small lobby. It was lucky there weren't many people there.
But Luffy could hear a lot of voices outside, so that was probably where all the villagers were. "So, wanna join? We're not bad pirates, right? It'll be fun!" Nami frowned, but then smiled.
"For now. You won't have a better navigator with you! Plus, we have a map of the Grand Line. That's very rare to find and really valuable. I was going to sell it, but I guess I don't have to anymore," she said. Luffy cheered loudly. He touched his hat, only to realize there was a hole in it. He took it off, and looked at the slice in the brim.
Nami offered to fix it for him. "Really?!"
"Yeah. It's not like it would take a long time," she said. She sounded actually happy, which was really nice! And he could tell she wasn't lying. Hearing the signs of lies wasn't much useful up until now, since he was surrounded by honest people on Dawn Island.
Luffy wanted his crew to be happy when sailing with him and was glad she wasn't seeming like a bad person so far. She commented on his hair. "Did you dye it like that?" she wondered. Luffy put the hat back on and said he was born with that. "Wow, it looks really unique." She looked at a strand of her own hair in disappointment, but didn't say anything about it. Luffy asked if she was jealous, and she shoved his shoulder, making Luffy giggle.
"You really don't seem like a pirate," Nami said. Luffy didn't know if it was praise of a sort of disappointed sound.
"I'm super strong and cool, but I won't kill people. I'll try not to. Neehee, I'll get better at stealing, though. I dined and dashed with my brother a lot," Luffy explained. Nami got invested in sharing her exploits and skill as a thief. It seemed a topic she was proud to brag about.
They waited in the lobby for Zoro to come out, grumpy and scowling. He was moving cautiously, slowly. Luffy asked if he was okay. "Yeah. I just gotta be careful with the stitches," Zoro said. "So, did you join us yet?" he asked bluntly.
"Yup. I'm going to be your navigator. For now," she said confidently. "And we have all this money to buy a better ship. You two have a boat you came in, right?" Luffy made a pinched face. "What?"
"It's tiny. It barely fits the two of us," Luffy replied. Nami frowned. They could just buy one with all of the treasure they had. But they were still spitting them in half. Half for them, half for her, though she initially wanted more than half. Luffy agreed to this, and they left. Zoro still walked slowly. They passed part of the decimated city, and Nami frowned, stopping walking.
The other two stopped, but didn't ask anything. She was clearly thinking about something. "This place needs the money more than I do, doesn't it?"
Zoro replied, "Well, that's your decision. It's your money right now, you choose what to do with it, don't you?" Luffy stayed quiet, wondering what Nami would choose to do. He had a feeling she'd do the right thing. They could keep some of the money. There were only three of them. She sighed and closed her eyes. She walked off, saying she'd be back later.
Luffy looked to Zoro. "Well, we should go get some food and water right? And alcohol." Zoro nodded. "Okay, you go back to the ship and I'll go shopping."
"Hell no. You can't go shopping on your own." Luffy pouted, but then laughed, admitting he was probably right. Zoro smiled and the two walked through the city, following the smell. Zoro asked how Luffy knew where the market was. He couldn't lie, of course, which was annoying. "Is there more to your thing than you told me? Your wound healed pretty well unnaturally fast."
The youngest had a fairly straight face, but Zoro was patient as they found the market. It was far from the side of the city where the pirates had been, where they'd destroyed so much. So many homes and shops. "Yeah," Luffy finally said. "Nothing major, really. Just better senses of smell and sound. And blood makes me heal faster."
"Cool," Zoro said simply. "Too bad nothing can make me heal fast like that. Though I already heal pretty well on my own. Though this wound is annoying. I can't even run right." Luffy frowned. He asked if the blood loss was really bad. "Not bad enough to go buy some blood bags. Besides, I did ask. The doctor wouldn't tell me, bitch."
Luffy looked down. "It's not a problem. Besides you had some today already. You won't need any before all of my blood is replenished. Don't worry so much, captain." Luffy nodded, and took his hand. Zoro took it without a word, intertwining their fingers. They went shopping and got a lot of apples, booze, water, and jerky. They had no kitchen or fridge to keep food good on their boat. And any boat Nami got wouldn't have a kitchen either. They were sure.
When they got back to the dock, Nami was there, with her own boat. It had a tiny cabin. "Oh, I was wondering where you went," she said. Luffy lifted up the bags, saying they went to the market, unnecessarily. "What did you buy?"
"Meat and apples and booze and water."
"How much did you spend?"
"300 berrieses. Not that much."
"Good. Listen here. All I like is money and tangerines. So we're wasting no money at all! I'll be in charge of all of it," Nami said forcefully, and took the bag of treasure. Zoro scowled, but Luffy just loaded the ships. He could tell they were taking both when he saw Nami had connected them with rope. Luffy was glad Nami had a cabin on hers. They'd no doubt be out to sea more than a week, meaning Luffy would need Zoro.
He wasn't his blood bank. More like his donor. Definitely more that than a blood bank. They got into the boats, and Luffy made to go into hers. "Hey! This is my space, that's yours," she said harshly. Zoro snapped that Luffy was the captain, not her. "I paid for this boat with my side of the money. And I'm the navigator, so all the other supplies belong to me," she countered. "Let's go, now." Zoro seethed at her, but Luffy wasn't especially upset. He got into the boat, and Nami looked at a compass and the map. "We're going to the nearest island."
"Great! Then we can get some meat there. Mmm, I want steak." He took out a strip of jerky. "It's good, but real meat is better. Juicy and hot. Mmmm~" he said, imagining eating a steak. One he'd caught would be best, but he wasn't hunting off the island. Nami frowned.
"How did you two even survive? You had nothing to navigate with." Zoro sat down and told her they just wandered around, hoping for the best. They had run out of food and water a while ago. "You're both idiots! You sailed the open ocean without any navigation tools?" Luffy chimed that he'd had a compass but had lost it quickly.
Zoro snapped back that they were alive. "Just because you can't do something like that doesn't mean we're stupid for doing it." Nami shouted on why on earth she would choose to sail around like that. Luffy interrupted them, putting his hat out. "You said you'd fix it, right?" he asked. He hated seeing it damaged at all. And he felt bad for not even noticing when it happened.
Nami snatched it away, and as they sailed, she stitched it back together quickly. He was so happy when it was given back in perfect condition. "Thanks!" Nami said to not pull it too hard. "Okay." He pulled it to see how durable it was. It ripped. "Hey, that's not durable at all! Ahhh! Fix it, Nami!"
"I just told you not to pull on it," she snapped. But she fixed it again. "If you rip it again I'm not fixing it for you." Luffy promised he wouldn't rip it, and covered his hair. She kept looking at the compass, keeping track of where they were going. The next island. He wondered what it would be like. He assumed the Grand Line islands were more exciting than here. The East Blue was boring, but an easy start.
She asked about his hair again. "I mean, black with white spots is kind of odd, isn't it? Is it genetic?" Luffy asked if it mattered. He didn't want to talk about it. "Is that why you wear your hat?" she wondered, though sounding nicer. "I think it looks cool. Besides, Buggy had blue hair, Zoro had green. What's so weird about black and white?"
Luffy simply said he didn't know it was genetic. He'd never met either of his parents. "Only my grandpa, and then my brothers. But we're not genetically related or anything. So I don't know if my mom or dad had this. But I don't wear it just to cover it. It's just a plus side that it does! s This hat is really important to me. Shanks gave it to me, and once I'm strong and the Pirate King, I'm giving it back." He smiled at the end, his hand on the Straw Hat.
"So, it's a promise."
"Yeah." Nami smiled, and said that was sweet. "Shanks is awesome. I hope I get to see him soon. So, what's your dream? Zoro wants to be the strongest swordsman in the world. I want to be the Pirate King. What's your dream?" Luffy asked curiously. Nami smiled back.
She said, in a dreamy voice, "I want to make a map of the world. But with both of your dreams, it's not that far fetched." Zoro was watched with a thoughtful look on. Luffy sat opposite of him, facing Nami. They sailed for a while before they had apples and jerky for dinner, and then slept. Luffy kept watch the first half, and Nami the second. Zoro was to rest and heal, which he thought was humiliating.
Nami called him ridiculous, and Zoro called her weak. It looked like it would be awhile until they became friends. They sailed for a few days, and Luffy noticed Nami kept watching them when he leaned against Zoro, or sat in his lap. He could hear her in the cabin, saying they were "so cute".
"She thinks we're cute," Luffy said one day, Nami in her cabin. Luffy wished they could have a cabin when it rained or was cold at night. But she wouldn't even let them on that ship, the stolen Buggy one. She lied, she hadn't bought it, she stole it. Though with the pirate flag on it, maybe it was stupid to have believed that lie. Zoro looked down at Luffy in his lap.
"Well, I guess that's partially true," he admitted. Luffy giggled.
-x-
"Island! Island!" Luffy screamed three days after they started their journey. Zoro jerked awake and smacked Luffy on the head for screaming in his ear. Luffy got up and stretched his arm to bang on Nami's cabin wall. He could hear her swearing colofully, threatening to bludgen him with her staff if he was saying something stupid.
Jeez. She said mean things when she thought nobody was listening. "What?!" she demanded. Luffy pointed to the island excitedly. He wanted to explore somewhere fun, and that island smelled like a forest, not a city. The navigator hurried inside and got her telescope and looked at the island. Luffy grabbed at it, but she pulled it away.
"That island is no good! It's unpopulated, so it's useless. Let's keep going," she said. Luffy refused. They would have an adventure on every island they crossed. "That will take forever!"
"You in a hurry for some reason?" Zoro asked calmly. He wasn't sharing the excitement Luffy was, even though he had a look of content on. Nami didn't know what to say for a minute before she admitted there was no real reason to hurry. Luffy grinned, and declared, "Captain's orders, we are going to that island!"
They moved to dock at that island, and Luffy heard and smelled all sorts of different animals. It would be fun, his first time on another island that wasn't a city. When they docked on the shore, they pulled the boats to the sand so they wouldn't float away, and looked up at the dense foliage and large rock mountains.
Nami had her staff out. "Don't worry, we're here!" he said. "Besides, it's not like there's bad people here or anything."
"And how do you know that?" she asked, though it didn't sound snappy. Luffy vaguely said he just did. They went in further, Luffy entering the forest, running, looking for anything interesting. He barely caught sight of interesting animals before they fled from him. His face fell, and he slowed to a stop.
Animals had always been uneasy around him. He didn't always like it. All animals ran from him. He'd never actually pet any animal. Even the dog at the bandit's hut refused to touch him. "What's wrong?" Zoro asked, Nami following behind. Luffy quietly said the animals were all afraid of him. "Like that lion." The youngest nodded.
Nami asked why. Luffy just shrugged. "Hey, Luffy? I have some questions." Luffy looked, nervous that she'd caught onto something. He hadn't done anything in front of Nami with Zoro. he wasn't nearly thirsty enough to risk anything. Maybe they could get some alone time here. Say they were bathing or something, and have Nami ditch. "How did your wound heal? They were deep, I saw them. And how would rubber heal that fast? Then there's all the bite marks on Zoro, and how you scare off animals. Not to mention how you knew an island was there when it wasn't even in sight for the naked eye yet."
Luffy looked down, not knowing if he could trust Nami. he didn't want to scare her away. Zoro was standing with his arms crossed, tense. How did they not notice the bite marks that were visible on him? On his arms, though not completely easy to see under regular light.
"You can tell me," she said sincerely. Luffy said he didn't want her to leave. "I won't. I have my own secrets, too." Luffy knew they were nothing like his. Zoro searched her face, and it was earnest and understanding. He nodded to Luffy, telling him he thought it was safe to tell her.
Luffy turned to her, and said, "I'm not fully human." He took one of his contacts out, and Nami was startled by the red. But she didn't look afraid. She slowly asked what the other part of him was. She promised she wouldn't freak out. "Well, I don't really know. My grandpa and brother called it being half demon, but I don't actually know. It's not like I came from hell or anything."
Nami's eyebrows were raised as high as they could, and her eyes were wide. "Well… I wasn't expecting that. Do you b-bite Zoro?"
"Luffy has to ingest blood to survive. If he doesn't, he'll die. I'm a donor for him." Both boys stared at her hard, Luffy's gaze cold and Zoro's defensive. She asked if he was a vampire or something. "It's not like he burns in the sunlight."
The half human said, "I'd never hurt you. And it's not like I have claws, or super strength or speed. All I have is some enhanced smell and hearing senses. Other than that, I can't really do much. I only healed my wound by drinking from one of the pirates," he explained. Now was the moment of truth. Would she run away and ditch them, or accept him how he was?
They were all quiet for a beat. "I'm not scared of you. I'm a little unnerved about the blood drinking thing, which I think is kind of warranted. But it's not like you've attacked me when I'm sleeping and vulnerable or anything. And I don't think you're evil, either." She smiled at Luffy, who beamed, too. "Your hair has to do with it, too, doesn't it?" Luffy nodded. He thought so.
She then turned to Zoro, asking him why he let Luffy drink from him. It wasn't in disgust or shock, just curiosity. It was clear Zoro liked Luffy more than a friend, though Luffy wasn't going to claim it was love yet. It had only been a little over two weeks since they met. Zoro simply said the truth. "It looked interesting. So I wanted to try it."
"And it doesn't hurt?"
"Shishishi, Zoro thinks it feels good," Luffy said honestly. Zoro crossed his arms tighter and Nami looked at him dryly. He asked if there was a problem with that. "It doesn't hurt him or anything, he offers to do it for me. I need blood at least once a week. If I tire myself out or get hurt, then I need it more frequently." He felt lighter, feeling confident to explain everything openly.
Nami was accepting him. It felt uplifting. "Maybe we should get some blood bags at the next inhabited island. So you don't have to drink from Zoro too often," she said conversationally. She smiled at Luffy. "Not scared, and I'm not gonna run away. Things just got more interesting." Luffy laughed, beaming so wide it should be painful.
Zoro looked happy for Luffy, and he took his hand. "Even if the animals are running away, there's still stuff to explore," he pointed out. Luffy nodded, and the three walked deeper into the forest.
"Hey, can you transform your body?" Nami asked, oddly interested in the whole thing. Luffy shook his head. "Do your teeth get sharper? I mean, they look completely normal. Do the bites hurt later? What's blood taste like? Is it gross? It smells bad and tastes like metal."
"Do you ever stop talking?" Zoro asked in annoyance. Nami shot back that she was talking to Luffy, not him. She grinned and accused Zoro of being jealous. He wasn't the only one keeping the secret anymore. "I'm not jealous," he snapped back. Luffy laughed, and then answered Nami's questions honestly.
He replied, "I can't change my shape, but that would be super cool! My teeth don't get sharper. I mean, my canines are sharper than the others, but everyone has that. You'll have to ask Zoro about the bites. But blood tastes different from each person. It's all made up of the same stuff, but nothing tastes the same. Zoro tastes really good." Nami's face turned red and she looked away, Zoro laughing at her. He chimed in that the bites felt sore later, but healed quickly. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want Zoro to hurt a lot afterwards."
Zoro grabbed him around the waist. "It's totally worth any soreness later," he said. "You don't get to feed off any future members. Only me, got it?" Luffy grinned and laughed, agreeing just fine. Nami's face was nearly steaming about listening to this conversation. "You don't get to make a move on him, either. If you do, I'll chuck you into the sea."
"Shishishi, Nami likes girls," Luffy observed.
"What?! How do you know that?!" Nami demanded angrily. Luffy was surprised, and shrugged. Zoro snickered. Looks like there were zero straight people on the crew so far. "Don't tell anybody else!"
Luffy said she shouldn't be upset about it. "Me and Zoro are obviously not liking the opposite sex. Not like it's weird to the crew. Shishishi, what if we only recruited gay people!" Nami couldn't help but snort and break into laughter. Luffy was glad she was liking travleing with them so far. "Maybe you'll find someone you like, too!"
Nami smiled. "That would be nice," she said softly. They found the animals continued to hide from them, but Luffy soon smelled a human. He stunk. But Zoro and Luffy didn't smell good. They forgot to take a shower back on the other island, so their remedy had been to scrub sea water and apple bits all over their bodies, trying to make it smell different. Even Nami had tried that out, but it didn't work well and she only ended up being embarrassed about trying their stupid hack.
Luffy alerted them that there was someone there. But then a gunshot went off and one slammed into Luffy's back. Zoro and Nami screamed in horror before the bullet bounced back the way it came. "Ah, that surprised me!" Luffy said. "Where'd it come from?" Zoro and Nami were speechless. "I'm made of rubber," he stated simply. Both let a heavy sigh in relief. Then they whirled around to look for the culprit.
"It's that furry chest! That's the other human!" Luffy shouted. It went running away. "Wait! Let me see you! Why are you in a chest! Doesn't your back hurt!" he shouted as he chased him. He shot his arms out and grabbed the chest, lifting it up so it couldn't go anywhere. He kicked his hairy feet, shouting to be let go.
"Let me go, monster!" Zoro hurried forward and put his sword to the guy's face.
"You say that again and I'll cut you into pieces," he threatened darkly. "You also tried to kill him. Just for that, you deserve death yourself." He was furious that somebody tried to kill and then insult Luffy. Nami didn't look like she disagreed.
Luffy told them to calm down. "I'm not dead, right? Besides, he's so weird, I want to know what happened to him! How is your body stuck in there?" he asked, standing in front of him. He no doubt had heard everything. How had Luffy not smelled him before? Maybe because he reeked, probably going decades without a bath. And how would he, trapped in a treasure chest?
He fell onto his back, and kicked his feet, yelling at them to lift him up. Zoro sat on top of the chest, keeping him on his back. It was sturdy and didn't bend. He was pissed still at how he'd treated Luffy. Luffy didn't really care. He wasn't injured, and he was interested, now. "So. What the fuck are you? Broccoli head."
"Wow, he's really mad," Nami whispered. "Stooping so low as to petty insults. Tch."
"You shut up, woman!"
"What did you just say?!"
"Hey, mister, why are you here all alone?" Luffy asked, ignoring the arguing of his two nakama. "And how did you get stuck there. And how did you even hold a gun like that?" Luffy looked perfectly harmless, and he was for the most part, but this guy had already heard about what Luffy was and what he had to do to survive.
The guy turned his head to the side to not talk even though he couldn't leave. Zoro was still sitting on him. Luffy wondered if he was born like that. "Of course I wasn't born like this! It was from an accident. I've been trapped here ever since, but stay for the animals. Your presence is frightening them! Get off this island, now!" Zoro said they didn't take orders from him. Luffy felt sad. That he was scaring all the animals. He wasn't going to hurt them. He wished they wouldn't be afraid of just his presence. At home, on Dawn Island, frighting off the animals was fun. Having to run after them to hunt. And Luffy never drank animal blood because Ace said it made him sick when he didn't remember himself.
But now it just made him upset, feeling like he was losing valuable experiences. Animals were amazing, and yet he didn't even get to see any that were on this island, even knowing the forest was densely populated. "That still gives you no right to try and kill him!" Nami scolded, kicking his head.
Zoro agreed, and refused to get up. Luffy composed himself again. "Maybe we should leave," Luffy said to his friends. "I don't want to scare all the animals. I don't mean to. I just can't control it," he said sadly. Nami's face fell in sympathy and Zoro just looked pitying. "It's always been like that. Animals are always afraid of me, even when I don't do anything."
"Cause you're a demon," the chest guy said. He didn't sound like he was throwing it as an insult anymore, but it hurt more than a gunshot did. Luffy swallowed, and said he knew that. They were leaving, now. He turned around and walked towards the boat. Zoro grabbed the chest guy and tossed him into a tree.
"Have fun trying to get down!" he shouted. Nami walked up to Luffy and told him he wasn't scary when it mattered. She never was close with animals either.
Luffy smiled. "I'm fine. I'm not leaving because I'm sad. I don't want the animals to be upset." Zoro took his hand. They could hear the jerk shouting from the tree. "Man! And I was so interested! How does he fit in that tiny chest?" Luffy said in disappointment. Nami said it was unnatural. "I wonder if it hurts."
Zoro said he didn't care if it hurt, still very sour. Luffy smiled, and didn't tell him to calm down. He let him be angry. He'd cool off eventually. He'd just get irritated if he was told to calm down. Nami knew this, too, and didn't say a thing either. "Well, onto the next island, I guess," the navigator said, stretching. "Hopefully we can stay on land longer at the next island, huh?"
The other two nodded, and she added that they shouldn't talk about Luffy's circumstances so openly. Obviously, people could be listening in, and could try to harm him. It was just so lucky he wasn't hurt from being shot. Zoro still was kind of traumatized by that. He pulled up Luffy's shirt on the ship, looking at the small purple circle. "Does it hurt?"
"Nope! I'm surprised there's a bruise. Usually I never bruise," Luffy said conversationally. "I've been beaten up a lot by my brothers who we fought. Shishishi, I was the weakest one. Not anymore!" he said, and then laughed again.
The next island was three more days away, so not too bad. The East Blue wasn't as small as some may think. It was still part of the ocean, one fourth of what wasn't the Grand Line. He looked forward to it so much! But Nami was right when she said they had zero chance of surviving with the crew and supplies they had now.
"Yeah, we need something with a kitchen."
"Well, yeah, but I also mean a more sturdy ship with more navigation tools. And a bigger crew would be the best to enter the Grand Line in. Three of us won't do. We need at least a few more," Nami explained, slightly altering the direction of the boats in the right direction. "Sadly, we don't have much money in the end. Not enough to buy a big ship, but we need something."
Luffy grinned. "I already have an idea for the flag, too. Then we can be real pirates! And get bounties, too. I can't wait." Nami asked why they'd want bounties. "Because it shows the world you're strong! I'm sure Zoro will get a big one, too. He's gonna be the best swordsman in the world, after all," Luffy mused.
Zoro then ruined the mood. "Luffy, are you hungry?" he asked suddenly. Luffy looked to the side. "Have you been hiding it since Nami's here?" Nami frowned. Luffy didn't answer, but that was enough. "If you didn't want her to watch, you could have asked. Not starve yourself." The eldest teen sounded sour. Luffy frowned, and admitted he was really hungry. "Nami, go inside," Zoro said.
Nami nodded, and went inside her cabin. Again, Luffy was grateful for at least this privacy. Zoro pulled Luffy into his lap easily, the youngest teen very lightweight, being made of rubber and all. Zoro pulled his shirt collar to the side. Luffy was salivating and moved to bite down, sucking harshly. Zoro was clearly doing his best not to react with Nami no doubt able to hear. He bit his own lip, but couldn't help the rest of his body. He shoved his hands down Luffy's pants, grabbing his ass in his calloused hands.
Luffy's face was bright red in embarrassment while he enjoyed the drinking. When Zoro started to show signs of fatigue, Luffy pulled back, panting. Zoro grabbed his face with one hand and yanked it down. He moved his hands to Luffy's front, and Luffy jerked away, shattering the moment.
There was no way he was ready for any touching like that. His face was red, and his eyes wide. He wiped his mouth and Zoro looked horrified. "Luffy? I went way too far, didn't I?" he asked with an angry voice at himself. Luffy just nodded, and Zoro put his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry. I got really carried away."
"It's -"
"Not okay. I'm sorry, really." Luffy nodded, saying he forgave him. Luffy quietly asked if he'd ever done… that with someone else. He didn't know what response he wanted. "No." It surprised Luffy. "I just… reacted. It felt so good, so I guess I just wanted to return the favor… without even asking your permission." He looked so ashamed.
Luffy walked back to him and sat next to him, leaning his head against his shoulder. Zoro vowed he wouldn't do that again. Not without permission, no matter how good it felt for him. "Thanks," Luffy said. The rest of the day, with Nami pretending like she hadn't heard everything, Zoro was down, and angry. Not at Luffy, but himself, full of self-hatred.
They agreed that Luffy wouldn't go more than four days without feeding. They both had a feeling that the longer he went without any, the more desperate he got. And the more Zoro reacted to it. So, they had a schedule. Nami said she'd remind them if they forgot. Luffy doubted they'd forget, but thanked her.
Luffy hoped they could get a new ship before they got a fourth member. Not everyone is Nami. Gay and fine with Luffy's circumstances. Not even bothered by Luffy drinking from Zoro just a few yards away. Though she said the most uncomfortable part was hearing Zoro's reaction. He covered his burning face in his hands. Nami was amused, but took pity on him. "I won't bring it up again." Then she smirked. "Hehe. But that blood drinking must feel really good, huh? To get so carried away," she teased, getting a furious glare from Zoro.
Luffy said, "I've never had anyone else who liked it. But they've also all been unconscious, and I've only done it to a few people ever. I don't want them knowing what I'm doing, y'know? So I don't know. I doubt anybody else would be fine with this like Zoro is. Besides, I promised him I wouldn't do it with anyone else who joins us. I don't care if strangers like it, they'll be asleep the whole time."
Zoro put his arm around Luffy's shoulders. Luffy smiled, glad they were able to move on from that extremely awkward and uncomfortable incident. Luffy felt bad for reacting that way, but Zoro was glad he didn't let him do anything that Luffy didn't want. "I really wonder who else will join and be okay with this."
"Don't tell them."
"I won't. It's not my secret to tell," Nami replied, and looked in the telescope around. "We should be seeing the island soon. Can you already sense it?" she asked the captain. Luffy took in a deep breath. He pointed to the west, and Nami turned the boats a bit, and the island came into view. "Damn, that's impressive!"
Luffy beamed and rubbed under his nose. "Out on the ocean, it's easy to smell land when there's only one island nearby." Zoro stood up and stretched.
"We're staying on this one for at least a few days. I don't care what's on that island. We need a break from sailing on two dingy boats with barely enough room to lay down. At least for some of us," Zoro said, throwing a glare at Nami. She wasn't bothered. Just said a lady needed her space. "Then you could have taken this boat, which is more suited for one person."
"You would seriously make me sleep outside when I can sleep inside?"
"You wouldn't even share the blanket! And Luffy's too soft to order it!" Luffy giggled as they came closer and closer to the island. He could smell people there. Four of them were at the beach. Or at least near it. "I can't believe we found an island we were actually looking for!" Luffy said, interrupting their bickering.
"Well, you have a navigator now, I'd be a terrible one if I couldn't even get us to one measly island,"' Nami said. She stood up as they got closer, and were nearly at the beach. Luffy asked if there were villages or towns here. "Yeah, a few. The closest one… hmm, is Syrup Village." Luffy said he could smell four people on the coast, waiting for them. Probably watching them.
Zoro asked, "Do you have any particular smells? Like, enemies smell one way and good guys smell another."
Luffy shook his head. "Everyone smells different. Even all of us being stinky smells different." Nami said she did not smell! "Well, we haven't bathed in a long time. It's to be expected, right? Shishishi, I used to never take baths. I lived in the forest with my brothers in a treehouse. We would bathe in the creek."
Nami looked aghast. Zoro scoffed. "They were little boys. Even if they did live indoors, boys still don't bathe all the time."
"Men are disgusting. Of all ages."
"That's why you like girls."
"Yes, that is part of why I like girls," Nami agreed with Luffy. They laughed before landing, pulling the little boats up onto the shore. "Ah! Finally on land. And for a while. Remember, no talking about it." Zoro and Luffy nodded. Luffy put his hand on his hat and looked up. Hopefully there was an adventure for them here.
Yup, Nami is gay. We can all assume who she ends up crushing on, no spoilers lol. See you next week!