A/N: So this is my favorite chapter so far. This is when we start to see a certain romance forming, and we also meet the orange haired thief. Hehehehehehe

please enjoy!

edited February 18, 2021

I was leaning over the edge of our tiny boat, running my hand over the surface of the water, watching it ripple. Even just dipping my fingers in the water had a small effect on my energy, but I didn't care. I swam every day before I ate my devil fruit, and I missed it. Zoro was stretched out beside me, seemingly unaware of the world around him. His hand lightly gripped my shirt, pulling my body back until I was safe within the boat again. We'd learned that lesson the hard way in the past.

¨I´m hungry,¨ Luffy whined, and I looked over my shoulder at him to see him also leaning over the railing of the boat, looking completely pitiful. ¨You ate the last of our food an hour ago,¨ Zoro grumbled, and Luffy groaned. ¨How long before we reach land?¨ I questioned, feeling pity for the boy.

¨Who knows?¨ Luffy replied, looking out to the sea with a blank look on his face. ¨That's up to the wind and the sea,¨ he finished, and I laughed lightly at his carefree voice. ¨We'll get to an island eventually.¨

¨You sound as though you don't know the first thing about navigation,¨ Zoro mused, and Luffy shrugged. ¨I just drift. I wait to see where the boat takes me.¨ He looked over and raised an eyebrow at us. ¨What about you two? Do you know how to navigate?¨

I snorted. ¨Zoro-nii here just happens to be a navigational genius.¨ Zoro threw me a glare. ¨Really?¨ Luffy said, shooting up from his slouched position, eyes shining with excitement. I laughed, shaking my head.

¨No way. He sucks.¨ I said bluntly, grunting when he smacked the back of my head. ¨Shut up! Like you're any better.¨ I shrugged. He was right. We both sucked.

¨Aren't you a great bounty hunter or something though?¨ Luffy asked Zoro, sounding suspicious. I laughed. ¨If by great you mean lazy, then yes,¨ I said, and Luffy looked confused. ¨I don't recall ever saying I was a bounty hunter,¨ Zoro clarified. ¨I went out to sea to look for a certain man...¨

¨...and then he got lost...¨ I finished, nodding. ¨Oi!" Zoro said indignantly. ¨I didn't get lost. I was searching.¨

¨Wait, really?¨ Luffy asked me, laughing, ignoring the last bit of Zoro's remark. I giggled. ¨Yep. The whole bounty hunter thing isn't necessarily true. The only reason we started catching pirates is cuz we were starving and needed money. Rumors began to spread though, and people began calling Zoro-nii a bounty hunter. We never bothered denying it, and the name just stuck,¨ I shrugged.

¨So you two got lost and didn't know how to get back home,¨ Luffy nodded, sounding as though he had everything figured out. ¨I didn't get lost!¨ Zoro shouted at him, his body shooting up toward the young captain. His body bumped mine when he set up, and the force of it all made our tiny mode of transportation rock wildly, making my body lean back a little too far over the boat.

I gasped and waved my arms around frantically, trying to regain my balance.

Zoro was shaking his fist in the captain's face when he heard his sister gasp. He looked over quickly to see that her body was half in, half out of the boat. He cursed and lunged over, launching himself at her.

Her body had just fallen into the water when he got to her, and he reached down, quick as lightning, grabbing onto her arm as she began to sink. He easily pulled her back up into the boat, sitting her soaked form in his lap.

I breathed in and out, trying to catch my breath. Zoro-nii rubbed my back, looking at me apologetically. I smiled at him half-heartedly.

Luffy looked at the brother and sister duo curiously. He opened his mouth to ask if Aela was okay, when suddenly, a sharp breeze flew by, blowing the captain´s straw hat off of his head. Luffy watched on in horror, looking as though he was going to jump out of the boat for his treasure.

The hat blew towards Zoro and I. I reached my hand up to try and grab it but it was just out of my reach. Zoro gently moved me off of his lap, standing up halfway in the boat to reach for the hat. He managed to grab the very edge of it before it sailed completely out of reach.

Zoro wordlessly handed the captain's treasure back to him, and Luffy held onto the hat, gazing at it seriously. The hat obviously meant a lot to him. I made a personal vow to keep an eye on the hat and help him protect his treasure. My brother and I were now a part of Luffy's crew, meaning that if the hat was important to Luffy, it was important to me.

Everything was silent at this point, and the boat traveled peacefully through the water, the now soft breeze catching our sail and moving us steadily along. My energy level was low from the activity earlier, and I was hungry which never helped.

I yawned and snuggled into oniichan. He glanced over at me and shifted, and I sighed in satisfaction when I found my comfy spot. I felt Zoro-nii´s hands playing with my hair, gently sifting through the locs, and the world around me slowly faded away.

….

¨Sit down, idiot!¨ I woke up to the sound of Zoro berating Luffy. I blinked blearily, rubbing my eyes and smacking my lips. I sat up and shoved my hands through my hair, looking around at my surroundings. ¨Ẅhaz goin´ on?¨ I said sleepily. I was always out of it after a nap. Finally getting my senses back, I looked up to see Luffy sitting across from me, drool pouring heavily out of his mouth. He was looking upwards to the sky, and I followed his gaze to see a bird high up in the sky.

¨Food,¨ Luffy said, sounding like a zombie. ¨Uh, Luffy,¨ I started, looking at him worriedly. He was planning something. ¨That bird is a little too far away...¨ I could feel its energy but it was faint.

¨You're gonna tip the boat over, dumb ass!¨ Zoro shouted, grabbing a hold of the edge of the boat when Luffy surged up. ¨Uhhh...¨ I started, looking up at the rubber boy. What was he about to….

¨Gomu gomu...¨ he started, winding his arm back. ¨Luffy don't…" I said, standing up as well. Like an idiot, I grabbed on to my captain´s arm, trying in vain to get him to sit back down. ¨Aela let go,¨ Zoro said, panic in his voice. He quickly shot up from his seat. He had obviously figured out what I had. He reached out to grab my arm to get me let go of the Captain, but it was too late.

¨Rocket!¨ Luffy finished, and suddenly, I was in the air. I screamed in shock, looking down at the boat that was slowly fading into the distance. I could faintly hear Zoro screaming for me, but the wind blowing around my body and the shock of the situation dulled my senses. In desperation I latched as hard as I could on to Luffy. It felt like we had been in the air for several years, when finally, we made it to the bird. Luffy grasped my waist and swung the both of us around, and I was shocked to discover that the bird was a lot bigger than what I had first suspected, because we were currently riding the damn thing!

¨Oh God Oh God Oh God...¨ I chanted to myself over and over, on the verge of hyperventilation. I was ridiculously afraid of heights, and this..this was my worst nightmare come to life. ¨Aela, you ok?¨ Luffy asked, when he noticed I had loosened my grip around him. In fact, it had tightened.

¨...scared of heights….¨ I whispered, trying desperately not to look down. Luffy pulled me closer to him when I said that, and I was grateful for the comfort. We sailed on top of the bird for a few seconds, and I was about to begin calming my heart down, when suddenly, an awful thought hit me.

¨Luffy...how are we going to get down?¨ I gulped, and he looked at me with wide eyes. Luffy leaned over the side of the bird making me yelp. ¨Zoro help!¨ he cried, and I could very faintly hear Zoro calling Luffy a dumbass, but it might've just been my imagination.

I had my eyes closed as tightly as possible and was trying to block out the situation. ¨Look Aela, a town!¨ Luffy spoke, and I squinted my eyelids open an inch or two, discovering that he was correct. We were quickly approaching a town. The bird flew very quickly, and if we weren't careful, we were going to soar over it and be stuck in the air forever, which is something I would never allow.

Apparently my captain agreed with me, because just then, he yelled out, ¨That's enough from you bird!¨ and began kicking the poor thing in the side. I screamed when the bird squawked out an indignant cry and began careening side to side, trying to shake us off.

Luffy threw his foot down again, and suddenly, we were in the air for a second time. This time though, we were falling towards the ground. Fear like I'd never known shot through me, and my voice got caught in my throat so I wasn't even able to scream out.

We were flying towards the ground at an insanely fast speed, and although I was sure that Luffy would be okay due to his rubber body, I sure as hell wouldn't be. We were about thirty seconds from hitting the ground, and I grit my teeth, holding my hand out, and began trying to form a shield around mine and my captain´s body. I cursed when the shield appeared but quickly flickered away.

Seconds before impact, I pushed my hand out again, and the shield's outer edges were formed. Yet again, the shield flickered away before it could form completely, and I felt panicked tears come to my eyes.

Heart beating wildly in my chest, I thrust my hand out one final time, shouting out the words, "Shield Bubble!" and low and behold, a translucent bubble formulated itself around Luffy and I, shielding us from the ground right as we slammed into the dirt. The breath was stolen from my body at the impact, and we rolled several times along the ground before coming to rest at the foot of a giant tree.

I was breathing roughly in and out, my eyes were still slammed shut, and a few tears had leaked out and were sliding down my face. I felt the shield fade away, and was surprised that instead of feeling the hard ground underneath me, I was lying on top of something soft. I cracked open my eyes and was shocked to see Luffy had rolled himself underneath me. While I was trying to get the shield to work, Luffy had wrapped himself around me, shifting me underneath him so he would slam into the ground instead of me.

I blinked at him owlishly and he looked at me concernedly. ¨Are you okay?¨ he started, and I was surprised when he reached up and wiped a tear off of my cheek. He slowly released me and I quickly climbed off of him, smiling at him sheepishly. ¨I´m fine,¨ I confirmed, reaching my hand towards him to help him up. ¨Sorry about that,¨ I continued. ¨I didn't mean to freak out on you.¨ He studied me for a few seconds longer before laughing and grabbing my hand. I pulled the both of us up and we smiled at each other in relief.

For a second there I was afraid that he was going to make a comment about my obvious weakness, but after thinking that I felt a bit silly. I hadn't known Luffy long, but I didn't think he would ever do something like that.

¨She's getting away!¨ we heard two voices shout, and looked over to see an orange haired chick running away from two thug looking guys. ¨Sorry, they're all yours now,¨ the orange haired girl called out as she passed us, waving smugly.

Wait,what?

The two guys stopped when they saw us, and both groups studied each other for a bit. ¨Sup,¨ I waved, and they grinned. ¨We couldn't grab that girl, but this one'll do,¨ one of them spoke, leering at me. He took a step towards me and I gagged, disgusted.

Luffy took a small step in front of me, and I looked at him curiously.¨Do you know where we can eat around here?¨ Luffy asked suddenly, and I sweat dropped. ¨Cap, I don't think they're who we should be asking about that….¨

¨Yeah kid, just follow us,¨ the second thug said creepily and stepped toward us.

Before I could move away, the first thug grabbed hold of my arm. The other man, bless his soul, threw a punch out at Luffy, catching him in the face. Luffy's head was jolted back, and his hat was thrown into the air. If I had blinked, I would've missed the next part. Luffy reached out and grabbed his hat, quick as a whip, and in the same motion, swung his arm back and punched the man away, sending him flying into the air away from us. The pirate captain put his hat safely back on his head.

The thug was still hanging tightly onto my arm, but it was more out of shock than anything. His mouth was hanging open, frozen, as he gazed at my Captain fearfully. I shivered a bit when I looked at Luffy. His straw hat was hanging down over his eyes, and his jaw was tense. His carefree persona that surrounded him had somehow disappeared, and a dark aura took its place.

¨Let go of her arm,¨ he said simply, and the man nodded, robotically releasing my arm and stepping away from me. Luffy waited till he had taken a few steps away from me before punching the man and sending him flying in the same direction his friend had gone.

The men got up from where they'd been thrown and ran away, not looking back. Luffy turned to me and smiled widely. ¨Shishishi, let's go find some food!¨

I sweat dropped at the quick change of emotion, but quickly shrugged it off. He was obviously very protective of his crew members. I certainly couldn't talk; Zoro and I were the same way, more so at times depending on the severity of the situation. I smiled at him widely and we began walking towards the smell of food that was wafting through the air. My stomach grumbled loudly.

I want some noodles. My mouth watered at the thought. Yet again though, right before we made it fully into the town, we heard a voice yell down at us from a rooftop. I growled out loud in frustration. I was really freaking hungry, and all of these interruptions were making me irritated rather quickly.

¨You're really strong!¨ the voice cried out, and I sighed again when I saw it was the orange haired girl from earlier. She wasn't exactly on my good side right now; I didn't appreciate being used. The girl jumped down from the roof and landed in front of me.

¨Hey Aela, do you know this girl?¨ Luffy asked, and I shook my head. ¨Nope. Never seen her.¨

¨My name´s Nami. I'm a thief and I steal from pirates. Wanna join up with me?¨ she asked, and I looked on in exasperation when she finished her sentence with a wink. She propped her hand on her hip and tilted her chest up, showcasing her impressive cleavage.

I was unimpressed, and I had a feeling Luffy was as well. On top of that, why the hell would we team up with someone that stole from pirates? We were pirates. There's no way we would ever be able to trust her.

¨No thanks,¨ Luffy answered simply, obviously agreeing with me, and we walked around the girl. I waved sweetly and winked back at her, smirking when an angry tick appeared on her forehead. ¨Hey wait a second!¨ she called us.

¨I said wait!¨ she repeated, running towards us when we made no obvious motions to stop.

¨I´ll treat you to food,¨ she yelled, and I had to swallow at the drool that immediately began forming. Luffy and I stopped at the same time, and the girl smiled triumphantly.

Damn my food weakness, and damn her using it against me.

We followed the girl into town and she led us to a small, cute looking house. ¨Is this your home?¨ I questioned her after I finished off my humongous sandwich. She shook her head. ¨I don't live in this town. Everyone has left because of Buggy.¨

¨Who´s Buggy?¨ Luffy questioned, spitting food out as he did so. I grimaced and and leaned a bit away from him. ¨So whose house is this?¨ I asked, and before she could answer, Luffy spoke. ¨I thought you said you only stole from pirates.¨

¨I do!¨ she answered, almost sounding offended. ¨Don't compare me to scumbag petty thieves!¨

¨But you are,¨ I answered innocently, confused. ¨Shut up!¨ she yelled, smacking me in the head. I winced, and rubbed my poor head, pouting. She almost hit harder than Zoro-nii. ¨Anyway,¨ she started, sending me another quick glare, ¨my goal is to earn 100 million bellis to buy an island. I'll do it no matter what,¨ she ended.

¨Why do you need that much money?¨ I asked, curious. ¨It's a secret,¨ she winked, and my eyebrow raised. Whatever.

¨But with a map to the Grand Line, it should be easy to collect that amount!¨ she said, and her eyes lit up. Luffy turned to Nami, confused. ¨A map? Are you a navigator?¨ ¨I'm much more skilled than your average navigator,¨ she confirmed, and I sighed. I knew what was coming.

¨Really?¨ Luffy said, and I smiled. Called it. ¨Join my crew!¨ ¨Crew?¨ she said, looking disgusted all of a sudden. ¨No way in hell! So you two are pirates?¨ I nodded. ¨Hence why we decided not to join you in your thievy ways.¨

¨There´s nothing in this world I hate more than pirates,¨ Nami said vehemently. ¨I only like money and tangerines.¨ I snorted; the girl was definitely honest if nothing else. ¨Awww,¨ Luffy whined. ¨Be my navigator!¨

¨I said no!¨ I rolled my eyes. This would go on for a while. ¨I´ll join your crew on one condition,¨ she said, and I frowned. That didn't sound good. We couldn´t trust this girl. I opened my mouth to turn her down, but my captain spoke before I could. ¨Name it!¨ Damn it Luffy.

¨Come with me to Buggy headquarters.¨ I covered Luffy's mouth up quickly, knowing that he was about to agree.

¨Why the hell would we do that?¨

Luffy licked my hand and I yanked it away from his mouth, shocked. ¨What the hell Luffy!¨

¨We´ll do it!¨ he shouted, and I groaned, smacking my hand on my forehead.

Damn it, Luffy.

till next time!