HAPPY NEW YEAR! And what a bright and shiny one it is! Brace yourselves, because we're about to dive into a real divergence from canon! Don't forget to give me your thoughts in the comments below. Also, if you don't want your questions to show up in the review section before every chapter, just let me know in the review! It'll be our little secret~
King0fP0wers: Isn't it though!? I'll do my best to give the new deckhands as much narrative as possible, some more than others, but you can catch some of their escapades in Wonder Tales, so look forward to that!
Xanxouz: Glad you like it! Frankly, I feel it was a bit shaky in the beginning, but I feel I got my stride by the Orange Town Arc. As for favorite Devil Fruits, I can see why this one would be on your list. As for my favorite, aside from the Gum-Gum, it'd have to be the Rumble-Rumble Fruit – but that's just because I watched Static Shock as a kid!
Hey, that gives me an idea! If you read this whole AN (or at least this part), leave a comment on what your favorite DF is.
9/13 A/N: Wow, this rewrite's taking a second! Chapter 28 has to be pretty impressive when I get there! Hope that doesn't put too much pressure on me! Hahaha! Ha...Ha...
Chapter 16: The New Deal
As Bullet grew, so too did his thirst for victory. His goal was The Medal, the reward that showed all who could be called most fearsome. Gray, his superior, placed him on countless perilous missions – the kind very few survive, let alone a 6-year-old. Before long, he found himself so close to his goal. Just one more mission…but it was not meant to be. His comrades, fellow child soldiers, jealous of his success…led him into a trap. A trap he barely escaped from with his life…
As he crawled away from the ambush, Bullet did not cry or scream; only one emotion dominated his mind – vengeance. Vengeance he could never have because he would very well die…had fortune not smiled upon him.
A comrade, a tad older than he, had hated the thought of what his fellows would do. Command would not care, Gray would hardly think on it, but he…was impressed by the rookie's tenacity. So, on the edge of the ambush, he waited to see what would happen…and as he watched a very much alive Bullet crawl out, while none of his former comrades were even moving, he made a call and went over to the victorious boy.
He was Douglas Brutus. They became very good friends.
As the Going Merry made landfall at the seemingly unassuming Conomi Islands, the shanghaied ship was busy with the activity of its false crew. As Siam finished tying the ship to the dock, Kuro as the ever-present warden stood close by to Nami at all times. Said imprisoned girl scratched her arm self-consciously, looking uncomfortable without her weapons or tools. She had, for all to see, the appearance of a helpless damsel.
...Yeah, not her scene. 'I might be captured, but I refused to stay here!' Not comfortable with giving up, Nami chose to act caged ('Lotta practice there,' she thought bitterly) until she could etch out an escape. Trying to look unassuming, she stepped away from the rail-
"And where are you going on?" Kuro fixed her with an acidic glare.
"Just walking around. Like you can't catch me in an instant." The scary thing was that was more than true. Between Kuro and Carina's feathered spy, the thief had very little mobility. With that sobering thought of her reality, Nami wandered over to the front of the Merry to lean against the figurehead.
"Don't worry Merry, Hook will come for you – well, hopefully, us soon…" Nami sighed; with everything that had happened, and no one else to relate the rather crazy events over the last two weeks, talking to the ship hardly seemed stupid at this point. She laughed morosely. "I never thought I'd ever say this, but…I can't wait to see Hook kick Arlong's ass. This situation sucks, but that'd cheer me up! Hehehehehe!" The thought was so exhilarating, Nami could have sworn she heard a second, fainter chuckle right next to her. 'Ok, no more moping!' Nami cheered silently. Even with some dumbass weapons, Nami was still the better thief between her and Carina! Except with the bullet-spitting parrot, one wrong step outside of her 'plan' could lead to some consequences…
'Alright... let's assess the situation.' Leaning next to the figurehead, Nami scanned the hypnotist and his crewmate. 'Jango would be the next weakest. Because seriously! He puts himself to sleep with his own tricks! It would hardly be a big challenge when I already beat him before!' Her gaze then moved to the considerably worse of the pair. 'Siam might be a bit more dangerous to overcome physically. Thankfully, Carina left a gaping wound in his defense…' She frowned grimly as she glanced at the watery grave that had become Butchie's. 'If I could convince him that Carina needed to be put down, the distraction could be enough to grab Johnny and run…except Kuro would see through it all.' Unfortunately, it was not just a hasty conclusion. Nami had already tried three escape attempts, and they had all been countered by the mad tactician. 'Gah! It's like trying to outsmart... well, myself!'
As if he was conjured by her thoughts of hate and spite, Kuro appeared like thin air at the girl's side, a knife in his lazy, but still defended grip. "Time to go. Let's head for our goal."
As Nami was marched to the gangplank with nothing more than Kuro's glare, Jango looked over at a semi-roused Johnny. "So…what do we do with him?"
Carina gave the captured bounty hunter an unimpressed look. "Keep him tied obviously. But should we bring him or not?"
Nami gave a catty grin. "Well, if you want my opinion…"
"No, we don't!" was the general consensus.
Carina pinched the bridge of her nose, as Iago chuckled. "Don't ask, don't tell," the bird said.
Finally, the violette said, "Just tie him to the mast! We have more important things to do!"
After tying their captive/hostage to the main mast, the group made the slow walk to Arlong Park. As they continued on their way – Kuro, Nami, and Carina in the lead – Abu jumped from Carina's shoulder and flung himself at Jango, who screeched as the monkey climbed around, and in, his clothes. Carina turned and ran back. "Abu! No! Bad monkey!" As Carina pried the energetic ape off the hypnotist, Siam fixed her with a glare. Carina glared back at the lanky prick. "Got something to say?"
The cross shipguard clicked his tongue. "Kuro's not my captain. Not anymore, and not after this. The moment you're not looking-"
"What? You'll avenge your brother? I thought you 'scurvy dogs' liked a burial at sea." Carina scoffed, before nearly swallowing her tongue as Siam all but pounced on her, leaning over her with rancid breath. 'And that's what they are in the end.' The thief thought to herself, trying to maintain a calm expression. 'Smelly, threatening…and a few easily scared.' With that, she adopted a look she had perfected during her…time with him. It never scared him, but his underlings never went near her. And Siam certainly seemed like an underling. "You wanna 'join him'?"
As Siam pulled back like his tail had been stepped on, the girl nodded and continued walking just a little ahead of the cowed pair. 'No, pirates never change. Greedy, selfish, unyielding-'
I told you, I can handle it! Whatever you need a bodyguard from-
'NO!' She shook her head to get rid of those traitorous thoughts. 'He was just lying! They're all just lying! There's n-no such thing as a nice pirate!'
"Uh…hey are you alright?" The other stupid one – Jenga, or something like that – tapped her elbow. "You're, uh, kinda…"
'Shaking,' the thought splashed over her as she realized she had involuntarily hugged herself as she trembled. So caught up in her memories she didn't even-
'Okay, just calm down-JUST CALM DOWN! He's not here, which is good! Means life, means a chance! Can't die can't die won't go hungry won't starve won't go hungry won't starve…' Carina wasn't sure if she was saying it out loud or in her head. Hopefully her head. The last thing that oaf needed was some rope to hang-! And just like that – an idea struck! Siam was right…when they stopped working together, he had no reason not to hunt her down…so time to fix that. Three small breathes, then Carina turned around, ignoring Abu and Iago's worried looks. "I'm f-fine. (She bit the inside of her cheek to cut the stuttering off.) In fact, I have an amazing idea!" She looked ahead to see Nami and Kuro still walking and unaware of the conversation behind them as the group came upon the rice fields outside their destination.
She grabbed either of Siam's (dontkillmepleasedontkillme!) and Jenga's arms to slow them as she whispered. "Be honest…do you two like or respect Kuro?"
They look at each other alarmed. "N-no!" the hypnotist said, "But, he scares the piss outta me! Whatever you're thinking is a bad idea! No one can fight Kuro-"
"We are literally heading to a pirate that can!" That shut up their sniveling; Carina continued, "Nami and I know a lot about each other! If there's one thing I've heard her say about Saw Tooth Arlong, he loooooves~ money! And Kuro, a man thought dead by the Marines, suddenly popping up in some backwater village? Sounds like pay dirt to me!"
The two looked at each other. Were they really about to throw their captain to the sea devils for money? "You're…not serious, right?" Siam, the real person she was trying to convince, spoke up.
Carina raised an eyebrow, maintaining eye contact, despite her shaky hands. "What do you think?" As she let the (notscarynotscarynotscary) pirates came to their own conclusion, she crossed her arms, which also did a great job of hiding her shivering hands. "Arlong is a Fishman, ya know. 10 times stronger than an average human, from what I've heard. Plus, I hear he served under a Warlord of the Sea!"
Jango snorted at that. "Please! Warlords are just something kids are told at night! 'Don't be a pirate, or a Warlord will getcha!' It's just some old wives' tale!"
The girl shrugged, jostling Abu. "Maybe they are stories…but the guy who kicked your asses isn't!" Jango's laugh died as a gurgle in his throat. "Nami hasn't stopped talking about it! 'Hook is coming! He'll bury you, dumbasses! He'll string up Arlong, blah blah blah!' It might be annoying…but if she's right…do you want to be in between him and Arlong?"
Siam and Jango went silent as Carina caused the impossible: idiots to contemplate. Deeply. And that, Carina thought as she hi-fived Abu discreetly, is all she needed…
As the group got closer to the gates of Arlong Park, they came upon the scene of some small kid storming up to the gates…and a Fishman Nami didn't recognize sitting at the gate. He sat cross-leg, a sword wrapped in bandages hanging on the back of his open olive drab vest. He was wearing a hat with ribbons blocking the sun from his face. "Outta my way!" The kid yelled, sheathed blade in hand and tears running down his face. "Arlong killed my father! I'm gonna get him!"
The Fishman sighed. "If you have a death wish, little shit, seek it elsewhere. Arlong would just eat you whole, and crap you out in five minutes."
The child ripped out the blade, to point it at the gate guard. "Move! Or I'll kill you too!"
The person's head tilted up, dark eyes looking at the boy. "Oh ho. Are you…a true warrior?" He reached for his weapon-
Before Kuro could blink, Nami sprinted over, reared back, and slapped the kid hard. Hard enough that the sword flew from his hands as he fell to the dirt, spitting out blood and tears. Before she could turn, the redhead heard a sword go back into its holster. "You are back from your trip, Nami."
Nami doesn't answer immediately; instead, she walked over to the weapon the weeping child was crawling to and stomped on the hand guard. The kid looked up…and only saw an ice queen looking back. "Unless, you want Arlong to kill you and what family you have left…beat it, and don't come back."
The kid sniffled pathetically, before turning to trudge off, walking back up the road. When he was out of sight, Nami picked up the blade and sheath, attaching it to her hip. Now, she had a weapon – that was very good news, enough to bring a smirk to the pirate thief's face. Kuro's glare deepened as he walked toward the girl, every intention of taking away said boon from her. "Well met, stranger!" Only to get interrupted by the sword-wielding Fishman, who wrapped an arm around the thin man's shoulders, stopping him firmly in place. It was clear on Kuro's face he had meant to push the man off and was rightly shocked when he could not. "I suppose I, too, am a stranger to these parts, but never mind that!"
The Fishman laughed jovially as Carina's group caught up. "Oh! Hello," Carina greeted as Iago landed from his vigil of Nami. "I wasn't aware Arlong was expecting us…"
Nami frowned. "This isn't Arlong…maybe a new recruit or an old friend of his…"
The Fishman stopped laughing, but never unslung his arm from Kuro's shoulders, much to the latter's chagrin. "Indeed, I am your new guardsman, Kisame. It is a pleasure to meet you face-to-face, Nami."
Nami shot the uncomfortable Kuro a smirk. "Sounds like they're recruiting! Wanna new ship, Captain~?" Nami only gave a catty grin at Kuro's attempt to maintain some composure that close to a Fishman's armpit. "So, are you and Arlong old friends?" she asked Kisame.
Kisame grinned, a full row of teeth almost as numerous as Arlong's. "Actually, I learned of Arlong through our mutual connection – Jimbe, Warlord of the Sea!"
For some reason, Jango and Siam coughed like they had forgotten to breathe. With the biggest smile on her face, Carina clapped her hands and leaned in. "Ooh~ A Warlord, you say? What is that?" Abu copied his mistress in posture, while Iago crowed 'Warlord!'
Kisame turned his attention to the curious violette, even as Kuro wriggled under the Fishman's weight. "The Warlords are eight pirates that sail the Grand Line. Unlike other pirates, though, they sail at the behest of the Marines! Every single one of them is pardoned for their crimes…but, in return, they bring in pirates to appease their masters." He punctuated his thoughts on the subject by spitting on the ground ("My shoes!") …by spitting onto Kuro's shoes. "I prefer to think of them as 'Government Dogs,' myself…"
"Warlords…" Nami frowned at that. 'Eight pirates that the Marines control…Hook has to learn about that – we might be sunk if we ran into a Warlord in East Blue of all places!'
Kisame looked away in frustration. "I challenged Jimbe – to prove I was the stronger! …I didn't stand a chance. His mastery of Fishman Karate is unparalleled…I was able to escape, but people who were…very interested in owning Fishmen chased me all the way here." Kisame looked back at Nami, a fiery determination in his eyes. "I will return one day to the Grand Line and challenge him! I swear on my pride as a Fishman!"
Kuro, finally having enough, shouted, "Can we just go already!? I've had enough of passionate assholes!"
The air grew very tense as Kisame's smile suddenly became very strained. Jango swallowed his tongue, Siam's eyes bulged, and even Carina and Nami looked at each other scared of what could happen next. A vein pulsed in Kisame's cheek, as he glared murderously at the trapped former pirate. "Even if I am an asshole…" Kuro had just enough time to realize his mistake, as Kisame turned, and in one thrust, chucked Kuro at the stone doors of Arlong Park! "SOME SMALL SEA WEAKLING DOESN'T GET TO DECIDE THAT!"
Kuro would surely be a mess on the door…if it didn't spring open as one of Arlong's men opened the door. "Hey! New chum! Why're you yelling so – oof!"
Despite being ten times stronger than a human…when you slam the skull of a human at Mach speed into a Fishman's diaphragm, they collapse like everyone else. Who knew? Everyone stood there, shocked into silence before a piercing yell rent the air: "KISAME! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"
As the humans and one Fishman entered the compound of Arlong Park, Nami is greeted by her least favorite sight: Fishmen everywhere, and all the bad memories associated with them…the worst of them, though, was holding a very bloodied Kuro by his neck, sitting in his usual throne. "Kisame…you can throw all the human trash you want, but not at my precious crew, you lunkhead!" Saw Nose Arlong roared at his new crewmember.
Kisame nodded. "My apologies, Captain! He mocked my ambition, and I saw an opportunity to…"
Arlong waved his free hand. "It's water under the bridge. Just be careful from now on, yeah?" Finally, dropping the wounded buttler, Arlong turned his cold eyes to the stoic woman. "Ah, Nami! Glad to see you've returned! How was your trip?"
Like a comfortable top, Nami slipped into her 'pirate officer' persona; Arlong was gonna die soon, sure, but she'd like to live to tell about it! "Oh, the usual… Shit-for-profits, compared to the norm, I'll say that much, but not all bad." The pirate thief nodded her head at Kisame, readjusting the sword on her hip. "You're guarding the place now?"
Arlong just laughed like a madman. "Shahahahaha! Of course not! Who the hell would attack us! We just needed him to do something besides bug everybody!" As Kisame began to protest, the shark Fishman nudged Kuro with his foot. "So, what's this you brought me?"
Nami scanned her nails, solid granite on the outside but smirked internally at the opportunity. "That piece of shit is called Kuro. Big-name pirate, before he faked his death – just because he hated being a pirate. Sad, really. Think of him as a down payment for what I owe you."
The Arlong Pirates looked at each other, before breaking out into laughter! "That's hilarious! The pirate thief that stole a whole pirate! Way to go, Nami!"
"Shahahahaha! Agreed! This calls for a cele-" Arlong never finished that thought as all eyes turned toward the sudden movement of where Kuro was.
…and turned again when he appeared behind Nami about to stab her! "You wretched little-!"
BANG! BANG!
Kuro's growl became a wet gurgle as he dropped to the ground, alive but in immense pain.
"He's very fast, isn't he?" Carina said as all eyes fell on her. She had no animals on her shoulders, and her smoking pistol spoke volumes in the silence, as Jango and Siam flanked her sides, somewhat reluctantly. "Two to the kneecaps should take care of that. So, you're in charge here?"
Arlong frowned as Carina came forward, his eyes looked like (Madmadmadmadmadma-) the type of pirate she could strike a deal with. At least until she had to betray him. (Becauseifyoudonthewillkillyouorworse!)
"So," Arlong said, regarding the girl with a cold look. "Who the hell are you?"
As Carina passed by Kuro, the thief stepped on his knee, earning a grunt of pain. She curtsied with an imaginary skirt. "I'm the girl who's going to give you a great opportunity! See, Nami and I see things the same as you…namely, that money is everything."
Arlong shifted forward, clearly interested. "Oh ho. You think you can be as valuable as my precious mapmaker? Just what can you do?"
Carina tapped her chin in thought. "Well~ what about…Pure Gold?" Carina beamed at the level of shock everyone – Nami included! – showed on their faces. "Oh? Have you heard of it?" she adds coyly.
Arlong growled and jumped up, snarling (deargoddon'teatmehelp) in Carina's face. "Pure Gold!? Don't try to make a fool of me, girl!"
Carina maintained her confident grin, hiding her shaking arms by crossing them defiantly. "No tricks, I swear. Ever hear of…Mad Treasure?" She paused, swallowing her bile; she needed to stand firm right now to tell this story…puking can come later. "He's my old boss. Thought it was smart or some crap to yell about something that could buy the entire world around a thief! Now that I got out, I could use some help getting to infinite riches, and why not? Not like anyone needs more than a few billion, right~?"
Arlong stood there, not moving an inch, as he leered over the violette doing her best to glare right back. The entire group just stood there, shocked at the spine of this girl who was not cowering under the captain's gaze. Abu and Iago fought over a cracker because they did not give a crap about money or tense atmosphere.
Finally, Arlong stood up, took a breath… "SHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" …and laughed his head off. After about a minute of laughing like a loon, the shark Fishman grinned with a mouth full of knife-sharp teeth. "Hey, girl. You're starting to talk my language! One thing though…we jump on this bandwagon of yours, we lose a good thing here." He spread out his arms, raising his voice to be heard to the heavens. "We rule this island! It's all ours!" His eyes roamed over Carina, catching her poorly hid trembling. "How sure are you about this?"
Carina adjusts her body language, smirking at Arlong. "Dead serious, Captain sir~! Besides, this island ain't going nowhere…we could find the Pure Gold, sell it to some World Nobles, and be right b-!" Carina's words died in her throat, and even Jango and Siam froze at the look Arlong was delivering. If there was a word to describe it: fury.
As Carina tried and failed to retrieve her tongue from the roof of her mouth, Nami cut in. "W-wait a second, Arlong! If you kill her, then how would we find the Pure Gold!?" Arlong, now only looking like he was considering eating his visitors whole, paused as Nami continued. "Plus, you could buy twenty islands, and still have enough to horde…sounds like a good deal, and it's exactly why I brought her!"
Carina opened her mouth (about to make a check Nami would have to convince was not phony, the redhead was sure of that!) when Arlong just chuckled darkly. "Well…that's our Nami, right, guys!?" As the pirate crew cheered, Arlong grabbed Kisame by the back of his neck and threw him in the general vicinity of the castle that was their HQ. "Hey, fresh meat! Get out the good grog! Tonight, we don't just feast for the safe return of one of our own…" Arlong paused long enough to take a big breath, before stomping the ground and bellowing, "BUT AN EVEN GRANDER FUTURE! FOR THE ARLONG PIRATES AND FISHMEN EVERYWHERE! SO, DRINK UP!" The cheer that arose from the crowd only grew louder and wilder. This was no more a welcome back feast…this was a pre-voyage meal. The Arlong Pirates were about to set sail, and East Blue might be all the poorer for it…
As the party got underway, Nami dragged Carina off with an offhanded excuse to talk privately. Lady to lady…well, thief to thief…except one thief had a shell-spitting parrot trained on the other. Carina frowned as Nami led her into and up through Arlong's base. (Itsatrapitsatrapitsatrap-) 'But that's impossible,' Carina thought. 'With Iago, she'd be dead in a heartbeat.' (Shesabetterthiefwasalwaysabetterthief-) 'She doesn't go for a kill shot,' Carina internally debated. 'Also, I have two guns! She only has one sword...' (Shedoesntneedit...) Carina was startled from her thoughts as she entered a room with a very minimalist design. Concrete walls, unpainted and unadorned, save for maps and sea charts dotting the walls, and bookshelves bursting with cartography books. "Wha-" Carina reeled on Nami, Abu hissing as Iago made a displeased clicking noise. "What are you doing!? If you think you can get the jump on me-!"
Carina flinched as Nami embraced her. Iago's beak opened to fire...but he could not afford a shot that wouldn't damage his master at the same time. Carina was also equally flummoxed; if Nami had a dagger on her, now would have been a good time to attack. She had slipped past her defenses and Iago couldn't hurt Nami without Carina being caught in the backlash. Instead, Nami just slipped into her space...and was just hugging her... (-shesattackingshesattackingshesattackingshesattac – notanattack?) Carina stammered. "What...Why..."
Nami laughed drily into her shoulder. "You always said you wanted to see where I make my maps..." As Carina stiffened in shock, the redhead talked on. "Now that I've proven myself to Arlong, he doesn't often come up here, so you're good to let it out. If you don't pull yourself together, even Hachi is going to figure out something's up. The walls are good for blocking screams...so, let it out."
Nami had barely finished the sentence, as Carina, probably for the first in a long time, dropped her mask and cried. It was loud, ugly, and messy...but damn did she need it. Nami was just about to ask if that was enough...
Click!
Just as her door was opened!
"Hey, Nami!" Hachi spoke, his hair just popping up from behind the door as he entered. "I saw you coming up here, nuu. You're gonna miss the..."
Nami has maybe three seconds before Hachi stepped fully through the door. She's had the time to pull herself together before, but Carina's never dealt with Arlong before; if she kept up her bawling, it would bring into question everything from earlier, and that was the last thing they needed!
...There had to be better ideas, but Nami was drawing a blank. 'Damn.' As Hachi stepped into the room, his eyes bugged out of his head to see Nami and Carina...locking lips. It's not that he hadn't seen two humans, let alone two women, kissing before (there were all kinds in the Grand Line), but he's never seen, nor imagined, Nami doing anything like...that. After about five seconds, Nami disconnected (Hachi's surprised gaze never even glancing at Carina's wide, red, and puffy eyes) and glared at the octopus Fishman. "Tell Arlong I'll be done in a minute. Don't rush me."
Hachi blinked but slipped on a smile that barely covered his shock. "O-of course, Nami! See you downstairs!" He slipped out of the room so fast, you'd think he was swimming! Praise God it was only him of all the crew! Hachi would be awkward as a preteen, but he'd never say why. That got the pair some time.
"Now that you're feeling better," Nami looked back toward her 'cohort,' who can barely keep her blush from her cheeks, and asked "Were you serious? Do you know where the Pure Gold is? Mad Treasure actually told you?"
Carina coughed, eyes and cheeks a little less red. "H-hold on! I have a question too! Why did he act like I insulted his damn pride when I mentioned Nobles? I mean, he loves money, and those creeps have it in spades-?"
"I don't know exactly! Hachi mentioned it once...mostly." Nami scratched her head, trying to recall a distant memory. "He just said 'there isn't a Fishman on or under the ocean who likes Nobles.' Wouldn't tell me more, just to never steal from one whenever I go out to sea..." Nami crossed her arms, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes at the fellow thief. "Now, your turn. Pure Gold?"
Carina looked at Nami, blushed again, and looked away. Huh, what's with that response? Nami's seen that furtive look in only two circumstances. It can't be the other one...so, she's not saying the full truth. "W-well, M-m-m... he did mention Pure Gold...I may have exaggerated on knowing where exactly it is..."
Nami's eyes widened in worry. "Carina...please tell me you know something about the Pure Gold!"
Iago nuzzled his master's shoulder, as said girl met Nami's gaze...with slightly worried eyes. "I know it might exist...and where it should be...very deep in the Grand Line...maybe."
'Vague,' the ever-observant parrot gun cawed.
"Caaaariiiinaa!" Nami groaned as she dragged her hands down her face. "If Arlong even suspects you're lying to him, he'll kill you! You already managed to tick him off once today – if he learns you're lying about this..." Nami didn't need to finish the sentence. Carina had only tasted Arlong's wrath when unpleasant; whatever he was capable of...Arlong might just match it and then some...
'...Unless there was someone who could match his wrath.' Carina considered that thought – not dismiss it like usual – before addressing Nami. "Does...is he really going to come?" She asked in a voice so small, Nami almost did not hear her.
"Oh-hohoho~ Undoubtedly!" Nami purred, a vicious grin growing on her face like she just thought up a way to destroy Christmas for orphans. "One of Hook's most positive traits...he's almost too stupid to leave a friend behind...and Arlong's gonna learn that lesson too!"
"Achoo!"
"Hm? Hook, you getting sick?"
"Don't think so...must be the sea air."
A/N: So, light on the main character's appearance, but I hope I more than made up for it.
