ANOTHER UPDATE? in the same month? ah, the beauty of being off during the summer.

thank you all so much for reviewing, faving and liking! i hope you all continue to enjoy it.

Some notes about this chapter:

- the flashback here is from Skypiea—which is one of my favorite arcs, next to Water 7 and Thriller Bark.

- Luffy is somewhat OOC here (lol, i know, who isn't at this point?), at least regarding his sexuality. I'm of the mind that he is on the ace spectrum—but he's willing to have sex if his partner requests it. Sometimes, if he's feeling very, very horny, he'll initiate it as well. Either way, he's all about having fun with someone he loves! (Tho his ideas of fun might lead to many surprises)

- also there are hints of LuNa and UsoNa (two of my One Piece OTPs! i couldn't choose which to include), which I know will seem hypocritical, as this chapter implies that various people in the Strawhats are in relationships with each other. but it's honestly to make a point: the idea of a harem/polyamorous romance isn't inherently bad (at least in fiction)...but when there's no real trust or communication between the multiple partners, it ends up becoming unhealthy.

And when there's no trust or communication, it doesn't matter how deeply the people involved might love or care for each other, any relationship is doomed to fail.

That's honestly why many of Naruto's relationships (outside of Sakura and Hinata) tended not to last long.

- ALSO, it's hinted at, but I aged Hancock down to like 22. Love her character, but not a big fan of the HUGE age difference between her and Luffy. i personally don't think that's a problem but if you're not a fan, don't worry, she's not really going to be in this story anyway.

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own either One Piece or Naruto or any of their characters. I also make no money from this story.

Chapter 8: Complicated

Luffy realized something was deeply wrong first when he saw that Zoro was covered in scorch marks and bruises, the very same ones that covered the other bodies around him, including Robin and that old man. Then he looked a lot closer, took a quick headcount of those who were there, those who were starting to recover—and he realized Nami was missing. And that, that just made him see red.

Despite hearing Aisa's yelling behind him, Luffy leaped from the building and ran towards his crew, anger lighting up his nerves like fire. Who? He could only think. Who did this?

When he finally got to them, finally saw the damage first hand, he realized just how terrible the situation was but was no less confused than when he first saw the aftermath. He heard Aisa cry out for Wyper, faintly heard her leap down the hole he was lying in, but no other voices—at first.

"...You."

He flinched in shock, then felt relief as he turned to face her, only to have a fist slammed into his face.

He cried out and then turned to glare at her, grasping his jaw. "The fuck, Sakura?"

Sakura was glowering up at him, her eyes full of something that Luffy had never seen from her before, an intense emotion that was enough to make him flinch a little. This wasn't a joking sort of anger, like how Nami acted when he got stupid. This wasn't another one of Sakura's mood swings. She looked like she was slowly turning into someone else, someone who would only get satisfaction from causing another person pain; this was pure and unadulterated fury.

"Where the fuck were you, Luffy? Where, huh?" Sakura seethed, baring her teeth. "Were you fucking around, like always? While the rest of us were getting our asses kicked?"

Luffy glared. "I just got out of that snake back there, I don't know what's going on—"

"No, you never do, do you?"

"Sakura, I'm trying to—"

"You just love to show up when it's convenient, don't you? After we've all put in the work, shed the sweat and blood, for your adventure! Your every fucking whim!" Sakura's eyes became clouded, vacant, even as her rage continued, her voice rising to a roar. "What kind of captain are you? You can't even protect us when we need you to, you just go off to wherever you want, to suit whatever fancy you want. You're so selfish, selfish, selfish—"

Luffy's eyes narrowed as Sakura continued her rant. This conversation was going nowhere, nowhere useful at least. His gaze rolled to look around until he saw Hinata crouching near Naruto, who was sitting against a stone wall with vacant blue eyes, his shoulders too slumped, and Robin, who was still a motionless heap on the ground. Naruto was burned up and bruised and Hinata seemed a bit shaken up, but they were conscious; Luffy felt some relief about that, at least.

"—Are you even listening to me, you damned monkey?!"

Instead of answering, Luffy sidestepped Sakura and went right for the other two shinobi, leaving the latter to gape after him.

"—Naruto, I'm going to heal Robin now, okay?" Hinata was saying gently, her hand on his shoulder. "Will you be alright?"

"…Why didn't it work? Why didn't the Six Paths open up to me? It should work even without Kurama, shouldn't it? I still have some of his chakra in me," said Naruto, staring at his hand but seeing something neither Luffy nor Hinata could see. "If it did, I could have won—but I lost. I lost. How…?"

"I…I…" Hinata didn't have the answers. "Naruto, I'm sorry…"

Luffy felt his guts twist. He really hated to interrupt but he had to. He crouched down in front of Hinata, his eyes immediately finding hers as she turned to look at him.

"What happened?"

Hinata's mouth trembled before she answered, her voice cold as her eyes narrowed. "Enel—that man everyone here calls 'God'. He did this."

Luffy's jaw clenched. He never thought much of God to begin with, but to hear that this Enel attacked his crew—

A deep growl rose from his chest as his eyes narrowed into a piercing glare. He is fucked.

"And Nami?"

Hinata parted her mouth to answer but Naruto beat her to it.

"She left with him," he said, his voice hollow. "She abandoned us."

Luffy twitched, turning to give Naruto a look, like he'd grown two heads. The hell?

"N-Naruto, no," Hinata said, her eyes lighting up—in anger? Worry? "That's not what happened—"

"Of course it is," Sakura scoffed from behind them. "Isn't backstabbing her specialty? After all, she was that fish guy's main wh—"

"Sakura, you better think really, really hard before you complete that sentence," Luffy said, his voice full of burning ice as he turned to pin her with eyes so dark, they were like the pit itself. "Otherwise, you will regret it…"

Sakura paled under the look, her eyes lighting up with fear as her mouth shut. Luffy narrowed his eyes while watching her step back. Good.

"Ms. Navigator left to give us time."

The new voice caused them all to jolt and turn in the direction of the voice. Hinata gasped, then leapt to her feet, already walking over to her.

"Robin-san, don't! Your wounds are still severe," she said.

Robin smiled at her softly, then grunted as she sat up against the wall next to Naruto. "Don't worry about me too much, Ms. Hyuga," she said with a slight wink. "I'm sturdier than you think."

"So Enel took Nami?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, and he's planning on destroying this whole island," Robin added solemnly.

"Okay, then that's where I'm going. Aisa!" He turned over to see Aisa rubbing her face next to Pierre, and asked, "Could you take me to where Nami and this asshole are?"

Aisa rubbed the last of her tears, then glared forward, giving a solemn nod. "Yeah."

"Great. Get ready to take me to them. Robin?"

"I'm going to help transport everyone to somewhere safe so they can heal. I have a feeling being around these ruins is not safe for us any longer," she said.

"Good. Hinata?" Luffy said.

Hinata jumped at the ready, turning to look up at him. "Y-yes?"

"I'm giving you three jobs," he said, giving her a gentle smile. "Number one, help Robin move everyone somewhere safe. Number two, help Sakura heal everyone who's hurt. We might need to run to the Merry soon, so everyone should be in top shape when we make our escape.

"And number three…" Luffy paused to put his hand on her shoulder and turn them so their backs are facing everyone else. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, throwing a worried look over at Naruto and Sakura, "Try to hold those two together, if you can."

Hinata stared ahead, her expression blank. Then she was biting her lip, her trembling hands finding each other and squeezing together. The expression tore something inside Luffy. She looked so small, he realized with a worried frown. Worse than that, from this defeat from Enel—from watching the whole crew get decimated by him—she was made to feel small. No one in this world should ever make her or anyone on his crew feel small.

They're the crew of the future Pirate King, after all.

"Hinata? Can you handle all of that?" he asked carefully.

Hinata stared away from him for another moment before her hands went still. The gaze in her eyes hardened, as well as the rest of her expression. Then as she turned her body to meet with Luffy's gaze, her shoulders squared up, looking steady as a rock.

"I'll do my best, Captain," she said.

He regarded her for a moment, his brow knitted with concern. "You sure? Because if it's too much—"

Hinata held up a hand to interrupt him. "I admit, it is overwhelming…but I still feel better knowing you're here," she added with a smile.

Luffy's eyes go wide and something inside his chest warmed and gave a slight tug towards her. That happened sometimes, he noticed. Little things Hinata did, such as the smooth tone in her voice or perhaps a smile, did things to his insides that he could not explain. All he really knew was that when she looked up at him like that, with that amount of trust in her bright eyes, tinged with confidence, he felt like he could do anything.

He grinned wide.

"Atta girl, you got this," he said, giving her one last pat on the shoulder. With a tip of his straw hat, Luffy winked at Hinata and added, "Be right back!"

Then he was off, already running as Aisa rode Pierre in the direction where Enel was holding Nami, his whole body fired up from the anger and the anticipation of a fight.

And in all that time, Luffy never truly noticed, or at least wondered, about the chilling way both Naruto and Sakura's eyes followed his every move.

What could I have done differently? Luffy wonders now, his stare on the floor but his mind elsewhere—for once, reflecting on the past—as he walks with Law back to the Strawhats. He wonders some more before sighing, shutting his eyes as he shakes his head. Because the truth is, there were many things he should have done differently, regarding Naruto and Sakura; he'd just been so fucking blind to the issues building in the two of them.

The thing was, it wasn't always bad. Sure, there were times when either Sakura or Naruto would have moods that would burst out from them—varying between an explosive sort of anger, to outright mania—but those moments were so few and far between that they were barely noticeable, at first.

As for relationships, Luffy remembers him and Naruto being thick as thieves, for the most part. The minute they met, when the Straw Hats stormed through The Scientist's lab where nothing but terrible experiments took place, the two clicked instantly—jumping right into a conversation with each other, hyping each other up about their respective abilities, and all of that—much like kindred spirits reuniting after so long. They had an understanding—or at least Luffy thought so.

As for Sakura…well, looking back, she was a different story. In a sharp contrast to Hinata, Sakura often sneered at him and his crew's ridiculous antics, and Luffy often found himself annoyed with her and her moods—especially if it got to the point of insults and those damn punches of hers. But she also acted nice to most people on the crew, as well as any patients she helped Chopper treat, so he was certain that she had some kindness inside her. They just rubbed each other the wrong way, no matter how much Luffy tried to ease the tension between them.

And Hinata? Well, his friendship with her is…complicated.

He pauses in walking to think of her, all the memories (many of them good) he had of her while she was on the crew, before letting out a deep exhale. Then he chuckles, awkwardly scratching at his cheek. That is definitely the word for it, Luffy thinks.

All in all, Monkey D. Luffy thought everything was good between him and his ninjas—until it wasn't.

Luffy's brow twists as his expression darkens. Unconsciously, his right hand goes to his left side, where once, a kunai knife carved in sea stone slashed into him. The scar has long healed, but the memory is still burned into his mind. He still recalls how Hinata turned as he collapsed, how her eyes filled with tears of regret from her actions with her fist clenched around the kunai dripping with his blood, how Naruto stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder, his eyes lit up with this smug look—like he won the fight, despite Hinata being the one to jump in for him.

She was loyal to you. Insanely loyal, he thinks. No matter what she did, doesn't that mean something to you?

"…You're awful quiet."

Law's voice draws Luffy back to reality. He smiles up at his friend, then rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry, Tra-guy! I was just thinking."

"Were you?" Law hums before adding, "I'm surprised your brain hasn't exploded."

Luffy laughs instantly, then lightly punches his shoulder. "Fuck you, man! Believe it or not, I'm capable of thinking without getting a headache." Sometimes…

"If you say so."

Pause.

"Hey, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Why are we walking back to the room when you can just do that shamble-lamble thing you do?" Luffy asks, his eyes narrow.

Law pauses in walking and slowly turns to him, seething, "Because Strawhat-ya, like I said on Wano and like I say every other time, I'm not your personal transportation device at your beck and call!" Then, with a bit of a smirk, he adds, "Plus, I like the view. Don't you?"

Luffy lets out a groan, rolling his eyes. He has been trying to ignore everything happening around him, the area overwhelmed with the smell of sex and the sounds of skin and moans and ugh—he lightly cages his ears with his hands.

"Bit too obnoxious for me," he says dryly while walking faster. "I was hoping this party would be more of a party, y'know? Like with music, food, and dancing, maybe a little fun with a girl or two. But this is…a lot. This seems more like your scene, I guess."

"Eh, I prefer the dungeons downstairs honestly," Law replies with a shrug. "A lot more private, they have the materials I need to get…creative. And the walls are soundproof."

"Oh? No shit?" Luffy hums at that, more pleasant thoughts and ideas entering his mind. Images of a pretty girl wrapped in leather or lace on her knees for him, her hands bound behind her back as he leads her right where he wants her with a tug of the chain connected to the collar on her pretty neck.

His mouth spreads into a grin as he snickers, wondering just who would suit such a scenario.

Nami? Luffy's eyes darken at the image before he snickers. She'd likely try to do the reverse on him, the sly hellcat she is—which, usually, he wouldn't mind; Nami's games are always fun, and neither of them ever leave unsated. But Luffy's blood is still thrumming from the victory of beating Kaido and the discovery of just what sort of power his Devil Fruit truly holds. Just the thought of it all gets his blood pumping anew with excitement, not that different from what he feels before a big fight. He needs to spend this extra energy on something, and he can't think of anything better than to do so by exerting his control over a willing participant who'd be pliable under his hands, who'd grace him with sweet sounds as he toys with her.

Plus, he knows that Nami has plans with Usopp and his inventions tonight and he promised he wouldn't interfere between the two unless they request otherwise.

Robin's a no right off the bat, since she's practically his mother and already has that arrangement with Franky and Jimbei—and maybe Brook, occasionally. Maybe? Somehow? Luffy pauses to tilt his head at this, then quickly shakes his head. I don't wanna know, he thinks with a flat expression, and that's that.

So who? Hancock's a tempting choice but also out of the question, she's still dealing with the fallout of the Reverie—which has fortunately died down, as the Marines seem to be tired of getting their asses handed to them—and she's still hesitant about meeting Nami and the rest of his crew, for some odd reason. Plus, as hot and powerful as she is, she's still way too clingy, even for a woman just a couple of years older than him. Luffy's certain it will be a while before whatever they have balances out into something more—comfortable, for the both of them.

Someone dark haired is a must, though, his instincts nearly scream at him. Her hair must be long, soft. Her skin pale, not sickly, but like pure alabaster or perhaps the silvery glow of the moon, and impossibly soft, even at the palms so used to killing and hurting others—with eyes that gleam like starlight, and her voice—

Heat floods Luffy's neck as he stands stiff, eyes owlishly wide and his throat going dry as his mind wanders in that direction, into that little corner he locked away two years ago, containing all thoughts that are dedicated to her and all the things he's wanted to do to her since the moment he saw her standing over that pile of men she defeated with a hit of lightning released from her chakra—

Fuuuuuck. Fuck, wait, no, I want off this ride, stop!

But the thoughts don't stop, much to Luffy's growing panic. The image of her comes to him instantly, of her soft pink lips parting for him, of that blush coloring her cheeks as she looks up at him with those pretty silvery eyes. Of those big eyes filled with tears up at him as he shoves his cock down her throat, one hand threading through her dark hair and the other tugging on the chain attached to her collar (red? purple? they'd both look so good on her skin), and the watery moans and whimpers she releases as he ravages her mouth. Of her crying out under him, her hands squeezing at his shoulders or at his chest, nails scraping against his scar—pushing him away? pulling him close? which would be more delicious?—and how her eyes look up at him, glossy from her being fucked so dumb that her brilliant mind has turned to mush, her voice weak from crying out his name.

Luffy takes in a deep breath through his flaring nostrils, then closes his eyes, one eyebrow still twitching. He gathers Armament haki into one of his fists and stretches his arm just enough—and then he slams the fist right into the side of his face.

Law hears him let out a pained groan and turns around, blinking. "Uh…Strawhat-ya?"

"I'm fine!" Luffy says, too quickly while rushing past him to get to the door, clutching his bruised cheek. "Just got a little too stupid for a moment…"

"Complicated", yep. That's the word for it, all right, he thinks while rubbing his cheek.

It almost kills Sanji to walk away from the two beauties lavishing such affection onto him—the whispers of their fingers roaming his chest and their lips on his neck still haunting him to the point of tears—but when he sees Ino and Hinata walk over to have their conversation, the back of his neck begins to prickle. His eyes follow every little movement of the latter, his instincts telling him something was going on, and he finds himself unable to move forward with the ladies in front of him.

And so, with a sigh and a hopeful comment of seeing them later, he gets up and walks over to where Nami is standing at the bar, nervously tapping on the wood with her nails as she stares over at Ino and Hinata. Once he's standing next to her, he leans his elbows on the bar.

"What's happening now?" he asks.

"I think Ino's doing that mind reading thing," she answers.

"What does she want to find out?"

"I have no idea."

"Do…do you think Hinata will stay?" Sanji finally asks.

"Do we want her to?" Usopp speaks up, appearing so suddenly it made the other two jolt. His cheeks are still flushed from the beer he's been drinking, but the solemn mood still sobers him up a little. "I mean, she injured Luffy two years ago, remember?"

Nami narrows her eyes, her expressions darkening at the memory. Then she sighs.

"Honestly, I still don't know what to think about that whole thing, about Hinata's place in it," she says. "But…Luffy's forgiven her. That should be enough, right?"

"Of course it should," Sanji says. "Hinata was only defending her shithead boyfriend. That's not a crime."

"But she still hurt the Captain," Usopp replies. At the look they give him, he quickly adds, "Listen, I'm happy to see her as much as anyone else. But that fight she'd been involved in—we all know that wasn't an ordinary battle Luffy and Naruto engaged in."

A silence passes between them as they recall the fight—especially Nami. Sanji can't help but send her a worried look. After all, she'd been the one who witnessed their fight; she probably still thinks the fight is her fault. He watches her brows pinch together, her eyes darkening with thought—but then Nami shakes it off.

"Listen, there will be plenty of time to compare notes with Hinata, ask for apologies, and get a bigger picture of what happened in the past—but I think we've had enough drama for one night," she says firmly. "One of our crewmates has clearly gone through something. Regardless of her mistakes, most of the time whenever we needed Hinata in the past, she was ready to jump to our sides and help us. This time, she needs us to be there for her. No matter what she chooses to do after tonight, that should be our focus for the moment."

Sanji's heart flutters instantly, the way it always does whenever Nami shows such control, a natural authority flooding her voice. His mouth spreads into a dreamy smile, the temptation to sway and spin like a hurricane rising within him. Ah, Nami-swan~! She's so beautiful when she shows her leadership skills…

Despite some hesitance in his gaze, especially when he notes that Hinata and Ino have started walking towards the bar, Usopp nods.

"…What could I have done differently?" Hinata wonders out loud not long after, once she and Ino are at the bar. She stares down at her now empty shot glass, still smelling of the sweet drink she asked Franky to make for her. Her eyes narrow in thought, her mind racing through the possibilities, while both hands lightly rub at her temples. "How did I not see it?"

"Honestly? I'm asking myself the same question," Ino asks before downing her shot of sake, her eyes misting over. "I've known something has been off with Sakura for a while now, but this? This is some dark shit. I dunno. Should I have reached out more…? Sooner?" She pauses to think on it for a moment, her blue eyes narrowing, before she lets out a sigh. "But there's no point in dwelling on the past. Hinata, what are you going to do now?"

"…I have no idea. This is not how I pictured my life going."

Pause.

"You could always join the Revolutionaries."

Hinata lets out a snort, then a giggle. She sits up to send a little smirk to Ino, "I admit, that is tempting…"

Ino smirks back and wraps one arm around her shoulders. "We can fuck up the World Government together. All the marines will quiver in their boots whenever we walk into their fortress—"

"Hm, I do like fucking up marines…"

"—and we'll get to properly destroy the systemic abuses that are sinking their teeth and claws everywhere in the world, including—very slowly, albeit—our own home country," Ino adds.

Hinata crosses her arms and contemplates. Then she raises a brow and asks, "Will I get to kick Danzo's teeth in?"

"As long as you're okay with everyone else in our unit having their turn."

"Hmm. What about the elders? The ones who voted to hand me, Naruto, and Sakura to the World Government?"

"Their lives could be in your very lovely, deadly hands," Ino purrs, her voice holding all the temptation that would make Orichimaru himself shudder.

Hinata's smirk widens at the thought, causing her expression to darken, her palms already tingling like they do before delivering 64 Palms to an opponent. Then she lets out a sigh that trails off into a giggle.

"Not that I don't think what you and everyone else is doing is noble, but," Hinata says finally, her expression softening. "I think I've been involved in enough killing and grisly violence for one lifetime. Turns out that it just made me miserable—and I'm tired of feeling that way."

Ino regards her with a soft expression, her smile going wide as she squeezes Hinata close. "Well, if you insist," she says. "But where will you go? What will make you happy?"

"Well, that just puts me back at square one—I don't know."

"Oh, c'mon. There must be something."

When she hears a familiar laugh, Hinata finds her eyes going forward to seeing Luffy greeting everyone with a smile, Law trailing stoically behind him. She sees him throw a grin over at his crew, seeming to just have this glow—the same one that she found herself drawn to two years ago, even when she was considering her "alliance" with the Straw Hats temporary, until Naruto and Sakura were rescued. And yet, as Hinata observes Luffy now, she sees that something about him has changed. In a good way, she thinks with a smile.

"If I have to be completely honest," she tells Ino. "The last place I ever felt happy or safe—was when I was part of this crew."

"The Strawhats?" Ino says, a bit incredulously. "These maniacs?"

Hinata nods. "Before I met Luffy, the World Government had put me in a prison where I had to fight for my life every day. They treated it like a competition, so it was really more a gladiator ring than anything else.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't have to kill again, not after…well, you know. But I kept getting put into situations where I had to and—it got to a point where I thought it would never end. And then Luffy showed up, asking me to be part of his crew. I didn't accept at first, but when he showed how strong he was? I realized he could be my way out, that he could help me save Naruto and Sakura from where they were being held. And he did—they all did.

"I hadn't intended to stay, at first. Once Naruto and Sakura were safe, I figured I wouldn't be necessary anymore. Luffy had Naruto and Sakura, two of Konoha's finest; compared to them, I'm a nobody. None of them would notice if I—disappeared, that's what I thought. But then…I didn't. I realized that I wanted to stay with them."

Hinata pauses to watch her former crew, people she'd come to consider her friends. Her eyes again focus on Luffy, who is caught in a conversation with Nami and Usopp, laughing occasionally. Her smile grows at remembering life with them two years ago, how fun it all was—even during the most chaotic of adventures and battles—and how welcomed she felt, no matter what. She never felt compelled to compete for someone's attention, she didn't even feel hostile towards the girls Naruto would fall in love with along their journey—those feelings of jealousy and all that felt so petty compared to the thrill of discovering something new or laughing with members of the crew. The happiness, the joy, it was all so addicting. Can you blame Hinata for wanting to stay?

Ino takes notice of Hinata's expression, her gaze warm. "You love these idiots, don't you?"

Hinata brightens, her cheeks flushing with happiness. "I do, actually! They reminded me that people can be kind just because they want to be. They reminded me that I can be happy again, no matter what terrible things happened to me before. And that life? It isn't a state of being where you just survive and keep your heart closed off day after day—life is an adventure."

"So then—are you going to stay?"

This makes Hinata freeze into place, her blood going cold. Just as quick as the good memories appeared, so do all the bad ones—well, the one bad one. Her eyes fall on her hands, the hands who hurt the people she'd come to care so deeply for, all through her one violent act towards the Captain—all because she felt compelled to defend Naruto during a fight. There's no way that can be overlooked, let alone forgiven, no matter how kind the Strawhats have been since seeing her again tonight.

How could they even forgive me? How could he? She thinks while clenching her hands into fists. I don't deserve it…

"I-I can't," she says in a near whisper. At Ino's confused expression, Hinata explains, "Two years ago, I did something unforgivable and…it doesn't matter how kind Luffy has been to me tonight. He likely doesn't want me to come back—"

"What are you, stupid? Of course I want you to come back!"

Hinata jolts, then whips around to see Monkey D. Luffy on the other side of the bar, practically looming over her, one forearm leaning against the wood, and pinning her with a glare so deep and furious that it makes her shrink back against the stoop she's sitting on.

"I already made the mistake of letting you walk off my ship before, I refuse to do that again," he growls, his gaze piercing. "And Hinata, as long as that whiskered shithead and his bitch are out there, I am not letting you out of my sight!"