FANFICTION

Finally! Chapter 4 at last! It's a bit short, but I've had not enough time to work on it... I'm busy with something else. However, chapters 4 and 5 are going to explain a lot of things. I meant to condense the contents onto just chap 4 but I had not enough time. ..

Disclaimer: Like I said before, in no way do I own one piece. I have a lot of VCDs but the collection is nowhere near complete... TT

Nevertheless, please read and enjoy!

Oh wait... this chapter is dedicated to my best friends Marcus and Jeremy... 

One Piece: Lost dog

Chapter 4 (Flashback)

Bright sunlight filtered through the porthole of the prison cell as Nami woke up,

rubbing her eyes. She felt strangely light-headed and decided to call Sanji to bring her

breakfast in bed, but when she lay back down and rolled over, the call stuck in her throat.

She was lying against a warm body. Marcus's warm body in fact- and they were

both naked.

"Oh God!" She exclaimed, backing off from his sleeping form, when all the

memories of the previous night came rushing back to her.

Oh that's right. She started it first.

Nami hastily pulled on her clothes, trying and failing not to look at every part of

his naked body. Marcus chose that moment to wake up, with a healthy erection- catching

Nami topless.

"Waah!" He cried, like he did the first time, jumping behind- nothing. There were

no boxes or crates in the prison cell he could hide behind. Blushing like the setting sun,

he settled for coving his vital parts with his hands, inching slowly over to his pants.

"It's alright." Nami said, looking at him again. "Last night... I saw everything..."

Marcus reached his pants and hastily put them on. "Ah! Last night! Erm..." He

tried, failing miserably to come up with an explanation.

"Sorry." He stuttered at last.

"Sorry?" Nami blinked. "Sorry for what?"

"Y'know...About...about the whole... thing..." Marcus said, staring at the floor.

He shivered in the morning cold and quickly sprouted a coat of fur over his whole

body, half grateful to hide his near-nakedness.

Nami smiled. "It's okay. I don't mind. After all..." she bit her lip and couldn't say

any more. Tears welled up in her eyes. Was her memory really a memory? Or was it

reality, and a reality she couldn't accept at that?

Marcus slid his arm around her shoulder. Comforting, caring.

"This is... this is the first time, I've ever been so emotional, not since I left Arlong

Park..." Nami sobbed, throwing herself into his chest.

For a second, Marcus felt a flicker of rage which he couldn't quite place at these

words. "Arlong...Park?" A voice kept repeating to him at the back of his head.

He then began to pat her on the back rather awkwardly. "Don't worry, we'll be

fine... Your Nakama will be along soon- I just know it- and they'll rescue us from this

nightmare."

Nami just shook her head harder, letting her tears trickle down into the thick coat

of hair on his chest.

Marcus held her smaller form helplessly. He felt attracted somehow to this

stranger he'd met less than twenty-four hours ago. They had had sex. And he still felt a

kind of attachment to her, but his heart ached, not being to help in any way.

-----------------

The savory smell of breakfast hung heavily in the air around the Going Merry, yet

nobody seemed to want to eat, except for Luffy, who had been helpfully assisting

everybody with finishing their share.

This was probably a good thing, seeing as everybody was just poking the food

around on their plates gloomily, even Sanji did not give the Thou-shalt-be-cast-into-the-

eternal-fires-of-hell-if-you-waste-food look to any of them- he was too busy staring

dazed at his plate. Zoro was worse off; glaring at his plate like it owed him a debt of

blood.

Eventually, They all got out of the kitchen one by one, leaving Zoro alone with

Sanji, who was doing the dishes.

"Hey." Zoro said suddenly, staring at the ceiling.

Sanji grunted through a mouthful of cigarette.

"You really like Nami a lot don't you?" He asked.

Sanji grunted again. Zoro supposed this meant yes.

He opened his mouth again but was forced to shut it when Sanji suddenly

materialized in front of him brandishing a soapy kitchen knife. "You're eyeing my

precious Nami-san?" Sanji growled, holding the knife under Zoro's throat threateningly.

"Look." Zoro began

"No buts, Marimo!" Sanji yelled "She's mine and mine alone!"

Then, to Zoro's surprise, Sanji dropped the kitchen knife and sank to the floor in a

flood of tears.

Zoro sat stunned for a moment, and then he realized this was the first time he'd

seen the cook crying. "S-S-S" He choked over the word. "Sanji... Nami will be...fine..."

Zoro told him.

Sanji looked up, wiping his face. "Marimo... no, Zoro... please, don't take my

Nami-san away... she... she's the light of my life... I know I'm a flirt and all but... I... I

love Nami san differently."

There was an awkward silence as the two men stared at each other for a long time.

"Zoro! Sanji!" Usopp squawked from the deck.

Sanji hastily went back to the dishes. Zoro looked stunned again, but shook it off

and started for the door.

After a few seconds, Sanji lit a fresh cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, having

finished the dishes.

"Marim-Zoro." Sanji said.

Zoro looked around quickly

"if you ever tell anyone that I... cried" Sanji choked "I'll kick

you so hard, you'll never know what hit you."

'Bring it' Zoro nearly said, but stopped himself just in time. He swallowed his

comment and stepped outside. Sanji followed a while later.

Usopp and Chopper were arguing about something. "It's an animal! You can talk

to it!" Usopp was saying.

"I can't! It won't say anything!" Chopper protested.

Robin was holding something in her hands.

"Eternal Pose." She said on spotting them, somewhat amused, looking it over as

she examined it.

"Where'd you get that!" Zoro exclaimed eagerly. There was hope for Nami yet.

"That bird dropped it. A falcon to be exact." Robin said, nodding in the direction

of Usopp and Chopper.

They looked over and saw what the commotion was about. Chopper was trying to

talk to a white falcon which was perched on the edge of the tangerine orchard. The falcon

just wasn't opening its beak.

Suddenly, the bird looked at Robin, its beady eyes fixed directly on her. She

stood up and stared back.

"Nico Robin. Your Nakama needs you, as does mine. Don't

ask questions. Just hurry." The voice of a boy boomed out from that bird's beak, it's eyes

fixed on her intently, before it spread its snowy-white wings and flew away

"Ah!" Chopper declared triumphantly. "It said, 'Nico Robin, your Nakama nee...

Oh, hang on... did that bird just..." Chopper rubbed his eyes

Usopp's mouth was hanging open. "Nope. You're not seeing or hearing things. I

heard that too."

Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, a bit surprised, and then they looked at Robin.

Somehow, Robin did no seem too bothered that she had just been spoken to by a

bird. In fact, she was smiling as she held the Eternal Pose up to the light.

The needle pointed southwest, the Red lettering reflecting the sunlight, spelling

out the name 'Shima no Aka'

"What are we waiting for?" Robin said, smiling at Zoro in particular.

The guys dashed to get the ship going and Luffy sneaked into the kitchen for a

snack, getting caught by Sanji's giant mousetrap. Served him right.

'We're coming, Nami.' Zoro thought. 'Just hold on for us...'

-----------------------

Nami and Marcus were interrupted by a loud clanging. Someone was opening the

door. They pulled apart quickly.

Jeremy stood framed in the doorway. Marcus instantly went totally werewolf a

deep growl sounding from his throat. Nami tried to pull out the Clima Tact, only to find it

had gone.

"Wait." Jeremy said, taking in their battle stances. "I have something to explain to

you."

Marcus just got ready to leap.

Jeremy pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at Nami. Something blue.

Something metallic. The Clima Tact.

"Can we talk now?" Jeremy asked.

There was something in his eyes Nami couldn't quite place. Anxiousness? Pity?

Urgency?

Whatever it was, she couldn't very well tell.

Marcus gave her a sidelong glance. 'Can we trust him?' it said.

Nami nodded. "Speak. What it is you want."

Jeremy opened his mouth but at that moment, a loud boom tore through the ship.

They could hear the frantic pattering of feet up on the deck.

Marcus looked up and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in spite of his

thick coat of fur.

Jeremy looked startled for a moment. He then pulled off his coat and handed it to

Marcus, who eyed him suspiciously.

"Why this sudden kindness?" He asked coldly, not accepting the coat.

Nami stepped in then, taking the coat and wrapping it around his shoulders.

Marcus accepted it from her without hesitation, but fixing her with a surprised look.

"Nami?" he asked quizzically.

"We can trust him... now..." She added, surprising herself as well.

"Trust?" Marcus scoffed "Trust a guy who tried to kill us a little while ago? Nami

did last night make you a little-."

Nami shot a razor sharp gaze at him and he fell silent immediately. She then

looked at Jeremy. "You can talk now." She told him

Jeremy gave the ceiling a quick panicked glance and began to tell his tale as

quickly as possible.

X-O-X-O-X-O-X-O-X-O

The sweltering afternoon sun beat down on the three figures walking closely

together. The youngest among them was a boy of 8 years old, the middle was a teen,

about 14 years old and the oldest was a man with a benevolent face.

"Papa? It's hot." The young boy declared, fanning himself with his shirt.

The teen smiled, and hoisted him on top on his shoulders. "Better now?" The

Teenage Jeremy asked.

"Arigatou!" he exclaimed, smiling.

These were the good times, when father and two sons would walk from their home

at the edge of the island to the bustling heart of Goza village. There, their father would

always set up his stall in the cool shade of the huge fountain there and set to work, the

two boys always helping.

He worked as a fortune-teller and a very famous one too. His predictions were

always accurate and he never ran out of customers- people were always coming to him

daily to see what the week ahead held for them. He never charged much, earning little,

but still, it was enough for the three of them to get by.

The boys had never known their mother. All they knew was that she had run away

with their sister when Jeremy was very little, to reunite with her clan, Ohara, in the

Grand Line. The place itself was terrifying- not even his father's clairvoyant abilities

could predict what happened within the Grand Line.

Jeremy never told his father or brother a word, but he secretly wanted to become

a pirate when he grew up, so that he could find his mother and sister, to reunite with

them, and bring them home.

His father himself held the hope that mother and daughter would still be alive. He

was never angry with his wife for leaving him. It was the order of her clan. It had to be

obeyed. Indeed, his father seemed to think that their sister, who had been eight years old

at that time, would protect their mother closely. He never mentioned why.

This was because he never got to.

It was a day like all others. Father and sons reached their famous spot under the

fountain as usual. This morning, however, they did not receive any customers. Usually,

their first visitor would be a little eight year old girl called Nami. She would take his

younger son, Marcus out to play somewhere.

This day, Nami didn't come as usual. Marcus began to get a little worried.

"Won't she come today, Papa?"

"Sure she will! The crystal ball says so." His father said, smiling, pretending to

wave his hands over the crystal ball he used only as an ornament. His abilities actually

required no props or materials.

In private, however, he bit his lip. 'No way... the future today... is a dark fog...

what could it mean?' He asked himself.

A faint shout made him look up. "Marcus, look! It's Nami-chan!" He told his son.

Marcus waved frantically at Nami, smiling. Then they noticed something. Nami

wasn't smiling. She was crying.

When she approached them, they noticed something else. Apart from her tear-

streaked face, there was blood on her clothes and on her arms. Also...

"Papa, what's this?" Marcus asked, prodding the back of Nami's right arm with

his finger. She let out a cry of pain.

His father bent over for a look. Nami , however, struggled away like a frightened

animal and grabbed her arm firmly, fixing them with an aggressive look. She looked like

she came here to say something, but now, she took off like gain like an arrow without a

backward glance at the trio.

They gave chase.

"Nami! Nami! What's wrong?" Marcus yelled, crashing into the forest where

they'd seen Nami run into. It was fine. They played here all the time, and he knew the

layout of the place like the back of his hand, and Nami knew it. 'So why did she come in

here?' He thought.

And what was that on the back of her arm...?

To be continued...

Yup, that was definitely short...Gomen, everyone! But I'll try to make the next Chapter longer... if I have the time... Well, you've read the chapter, please R&R flames are welcome too... if they make sense... Oo