WARPING BOUNTY HUNTER LUFFY

CHAPTER 2:

NAMI'S CONFESSION AND LUFFY'S DECISION

Her sleep was surprisingly untroubled, storm noises aside, so Nami woke the following morning refreshed and, aside from a headache, fine. She found her clothes laid out for her in the room, oddly dry considering the storm. She swiftly donned them, and then walked out of the room, finding herself in a bar, where Makino was cleaning a glass. "Ah, Nami, are you all right to walk like that?" Makino asked.

"I've got a headache, but I seem to be all right anyway," Nami said. "Did you clean my clothes?"

"I washed them, and managed to dry them over the fire. I know a few tricks to stop them from shrinking. Luffy asked after you. He's a good kid, even if he's a bit rambunctious."

"Are you his sister or something?"

"Oh, no, no," Makino chuckled. "I am a sort of surrogate mother to him at times, but Luffy's…well, I'm not sure I can call him an orphan, as I don't know whether his father's alive, or his mother for that matter. But his parents are not here."

"Is his grandfather really Admiral Garp?"

"Yes. He's…rather tough on Luffy. Oh, he loves him, but Admiral Garp is very much a proponent of tough love…and tough training. Garp's one of the better Marines in charge, though. He'd probably laugh at what you do, though. Luffy told me you steal from other pirates. That's dangerous, you know. I've told the others something different, just in case, especially the Mayor. I told them you were a bounty hunter between jobs, so if they find a lot of money on your boat, they'll leave it alone. Luffy's guarding your things anyway."

Nami, after a moment, nodded. "Thank you. And there was quite a lot of money, though I guess I'm going to have to use some of that to pay for repairs to the boat."

"You'll probably be here for a week, maybe, unless another boat comes around in the meantime, if you're willing to pay for passage. I've asked Luffy to keep your career quiet, especially from Woop Slap, our mayor. He hates pirates, and in any case, even if you steal from them, he'd be worried about pirates coming to our island to take revenge on you."

"There shouldn't be any fear of that," Nami said, thinking back on her escapades. "I'm careful. But thanks." After a moment, Nami then asked, "Makino…can I ask, how did Luffy get a Devil Fruit? And one that might even be a Logia?"

"It's a bit of a long story, I'm afraid. About ten years ago, Luffy was trying very hard to impress a group of pirates led by Red-Haired Shanks. He's a decent man, Shanks, not like most pirates, and Luffy wanted desperately to join his crew. Luffy, who was feeling hungry, stole a Devil Fruit from a box, one of a couple the pirates had to sell. They didn't even know what one the one Luffy ate was. And after an argument with Shanks over an apparent lack of anger towards mountain bandits who were making trouble, he stormed off, only for Shanks to grab his hand. Then, Luffy's arm dissolved into…well, squares, and they both fell onto the ground. Sometime afterwards, Luffy went to attack the bandit chief, Higuma, and his bandits. And things…went wrong."

The way Makino said that made Nami dread asking. But she did regardless. "Wrong…how?"

Makino gathered herself, before she said, "You haven't seen all of Luffy's abilities yet. He created a portal in space to try and avoid a bandit's attack. The bandit lunged through, Luffy let the portal close…and the bandit was bisected diagonally, from shoulder to hip. Imagine a boy of the age of seven killing. Up until that point, those bandits did little more than harass us and the pirates. But they got angry once they got over their shock. And Luffy…well…" Makino shuddered at the memory, an action Nami mirrored. "When Luffy saw what he had done, he was frozen in shock and horror at what happened. He didn't even resist when Higuma, the bandit leader, began to beat him up. He didn't use the power of the Devil Fruit simply because he was too much in shock at taking a life. Thankfully, Shanks intervened…but Higuma fled on a boat with Luffy as a hostage. However, given how dangerous Luffy was, Higuma opted to throw him overboard to drown, only to be eaten by the Lord of the Coast. Shanks saved him, but not before the Lord of the Coast ate his arm."

Nami was horrified. "So…Luffy killed a man…and that young? He saw death at such an age? I had no idea…"

"No. Luffy hides a lot of his pain. I think, had the same thing happened today, he would have disabled the bandits unless they killed someone. Luffy has a very strong sense of justice. He doesn't want to kill anyone unless they've killed others, especially for the wrong reasons, like for profit or enjoyment. But he didn't use his powers out of fear of them for a long time. I can see it in your eyes, Nami. I tend to notice it when people see someone die at too young an age. You hide it well…but I think you've seen it happen."

Nami was shocked by the perceptiveness of this woman. She was tempted to snap at her for poking her nose into something Nami didn't want her to, before eventually saying, "My adoptive mother was murdered by a Fishman pirate right in front of me, along with my sister, Nojiko." It wasn't the whole truth: she had omitted the fact that Arlong had shanghaied her into his group, and that she was stealing the money to buy back Cocoyashi Village. But it was close enough.

"…I'm sorry. I truly am. Our village is more peaceful than many around the East Blue," Makino said. "Would you like breakfast?"

"…Yeah."

Nami decided to head back to her boat, see if she could get her valuables off it. She hoped Makino was telling the truth when she said Luffy would be trustworthy of guarding them.

She found Luffy on the beach near where her boat had been careened onto the sand, with her treasure chest and the supplies she had of food, water, clothes, navigational paraphernalia, medicine, and so on. He seemed to be taking his job seriously enough, though he was reading one of her chart books, not her log book, thankfully, but a book of maps. As she approached, he looked up, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I just wanted to look at your maps. Some of this navigation stuff is a bit beyond me, shishishi."

"It's okay. You didn't go through anything else?"

"Nope. It's your private stuff. I just got bored guarding your things, that's all."

Nami decided to check anyway, opening the chest quickly to see if the contents were all there. They seemed to be, even if they had been tossed about a little by her encounter with the Lord of the Coast. Luffy, who was looking on, whistled. "Wow, you've got a lot of stuff stealing from pirates," he said quietly. "That's got to be millions of Berries right there."

"It's profitable, and pirates aren't exactly in a position to complain, given that they steal this stuff in the first place," Nami said quietly, before shutting the chest. "I'll probably have to use some of this to pay for repairs to the boat and for the food Makino's given me."

"Hey…better you spend a little money than end up dead," Luffy said gently.

Nami flinched at the reassurance. She knew Luffy meant well, but it was a reminder of the money Arlong had extorted from the villagers back home…and the cause of her mother's demise.

Luffy seemed to notice the set of Nami's lips when he made that remark. "Is something wrong?" he asked, apparently hoping he could help her.

Maybe he could. One way or another. He wanted to be a bounty hunter, didn't he? Well, maybe he could be of help. And if he had a Logia…

Nami debated with herself whether to tell him for what felt like ages, before sighing, and sitting down next to him on the beach. "Makino told me about the incident involving the bandits. I saw someone die when I was young too."

Luffy's demeanour became truly solemn. Quietly, he asked, "Did you kill someone too?"

"Not exactly…though I got someone killed. My mother…my adoptive mother, Belle-mère. It was so stupid…I had a bad argument with her while times were tough not long beforehand. She kept how bad things were from us, but even so, I was so damned bratty and selfish." Nami seemed to steel herself for what seemed to be a confession, before admitting, "A Fishman pirate called Arlong invaded our village, Cocoyashi, and demanded ransom money in exchange for each citizen's life. He called it tribute money. My mother only had enough for either herself…or my sister and I." Tears began to run from her eyes. "And my mother…my mother…"

"Chose to save you," Luffy finished her sentence quietly.

Nami nodded, blinking away the tears. "Yes. She stood up to Arlong, and told him then and there that she would rather die than stop being a mother. And Arlong…shot her in the head. Right in front of us. I may not have pulled the trigger, but I wonder if she could have survived if she didn't have me to deal with." The next bit took some courage to admit, but she eventually said, "Because I have a talent for maps, drawing them and so on, Arlong conscripted me into his crew. Eventually, he gave me an offer: if I could obtain 100 million Berries, I could effectively buy my hometown back from him. I've been doing this for some time, and I'm almost finished. But…there's part of me that's worried. Arlong plays dirty, and I have a feeling he might renege on the deal. I don't want to believe that…but would he leave us alone when he sucks so much money from us? On top of everything? He's a Fishman-supremacist. I'm the human he speaks most highly of, and…even that's not that good." She gently rolled up her sleeve to reveal the tattoo on her left shoulder, showing the emblem of Arlong's pirate gang.

Luffy gently reached out to touch it. "…It's a cool tattoo. Is that his emblem?" She nodded. "I heard stories of Arlong from some of the sailors who stop by, and he's nasty. I'm sorry about what happened." On an impulse, Luffy hugged her gently. Nami froze, but then relaxed. The boy wasn't trying to do anything more sinister than reassure her.

Were there really people this kind in the East Blue? Willing to do this for strangers? Especially now that he knew she had a lot of money.

Luffy then broke his embrace, and looked at Nami with a smile. "You know what? I've made my decision. When you go, I'm coming with you! I'm not gonna be King of the Pirates! I'm gonna be King of the Bounty-Hunters! And I'm going to start by helping you get the money you need to pay off Arlong…and if he backs out of your deal…I'll make him regret it!"

Nami opened her mouth to protest, but she was, frankly, stunned by Luffy's earnestness. And the fact was, he went out of his way to save her life, even though going out even a short distance to sea was dangerous with his condition, and with no expectation of reward. Even when he saw how much money she carried, there was little greed in his eyes, if at all, and she fancied herself a good enough reader of people, all the better to be able to con them.

And as self-sufficient as she was, there were a few target destinations she had in mind where she could use a little muscle. She had heard rumours of Buggy the Clown terrorising nearby towns, and of the map he held, and there were some charts in the possession of 'Axe-Hand' Morgan in Shell Town that she was considering looking for. What's more, having the grandson of Admiral Garp on side might help protect her a little, especially if he wanted to be a bounty-hunter rather than a pirate.

Even so, she didn't get to where she was today without injecting some caution into audacious moves. "Can I think about it? I mean, I've got a week until the boat is fixed, if not longer. Can I have until then for me to decide whether you can come along?"

"Okay, but you won't regret me coming along if you do," Luffy said. "Believe it!"

In another world populated by people with weird powers, a blonde-haired boy with whisker-like birthmarks on his face, and wearing an eye-searing orange jumpsuit, sneezed. "Huh? Am I catching a cold?"

I'm not sure I do believe it, Nami thought to herself. But at least Luffy was willing to concede something. She assumed so, anyway. And hopefully, a week, or however long her boat took to get fixed, would be enough time to get the measure of Monkey D Luffy properly…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Nami's considering an alliance with Luffy, and we've got an insight into why Luffy is a little different.

Now, if you think I'm being darker about Luffy's past just for the sake of being dark…well, you've got that wrong. Okay, Luffy did (supposedly) lose Sabo in canon, and Ace went off to be a pirate, but I wanted something that would shake Luffy up. He's still not far from canon Luffy, he's just smarter and has a different goal. Unlike in canon, his cheerfulness is, in part, a mask, or at least used as a mask. I dunno if it is a mask in canon, but he seems so damned cheerful all the time that it's kind of jarring when he gets serious or furious. Here, Luffy is a little more nuanced, a little more human. He understands consequences more. But he also stands up for what is right, so he still will be opposed to many of the Marines he meets, not to mention the pirates. Plus, he's actually attracted to Nami.

I personally think that Oda didn't want to create a human being in Luffy, just an archetype of shounen manga hero. That would have been laudable if Luffy had a bit more to him than loyalty, tenacity and bravery. If anything, Luffy's tendency to annoy unwittingly is more annoying than Naruto's frequently deliberate obnoxiousness.

Okay, rant over. Though I am sure that a few will be thinking Nami is acting OOC. I think she's been a little surprised at the generosity she has been shown, and while she is acting a little OOC, she's also looking to recruit Luffy for his strength for her own purposes, hence her honesty. She's being a little manipulative, sure, but she also wants to free herself and her fellow villagers from Arlong.

No numbered annotations this time…