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Chapter 59

Thief versus thief

"This time, we're gonna have fun!"

Franky turned to his friends, a sparkling smile on his lips. The boys of the straw hat crew had met at the end of the afternoon while the girls had gone to a club reserved exclusively for the female audience after their shopping trip, much to the despair of the cook who had accompanied them so far. Nami had successfully completed most of the negotiations that morning at the market and supplies were ensured for the next few days at sea.

When Sanji had met his crewmates, however, he had noted it hadn't gone so well for them and that the island's reputation wasn't usurped: Luffy had lost all his money while being distracted by a magic trick, Brook had bought an actually broken flute and Zoro had been embarked by locals who had been quick to buy him a drink, thinking they might rob him this way. Of course, the swordsman had gotten rid of them without difficulty but then, it had taken him more than two hours to find his friends again… As for Usopp and Chopper, they remained terrified at each street crossing and hid behind the cyborg at the slightest suspicious noise.

Franky therefore pushed open the door of a small tavern a little away from the city center. The place seemed a bit noisy but offered a lot of entertainment, from the pool table to the pinball machine, cards games and darts. The decor was simple and rustic, and the clientele of exclusively male regulars didn't seem to weigh themselves down with excessively restrictive hygienic conditions.

When they entered, everyone widely stared at them as if to size up their possibility of enjoying the place and Sanji and Zoro looked right back at those who were trying to intimidate them before each resumed their activities.

"I don't trust this place", Usopp winced behind them.

"Darts, awesome!"

Unaware of the heavy atmosphere, Luffy rushed to the reserved corner and Sanji shrugged.

"It'll be okay. It doesn't look that good but it'll pass the time."

Ussop worriedly looked around him. No one seemed to care for them anymore but he wasn't reassured.

"I'm gonna stay near the pinball machine…"

"I'm coming with you!" Chopper said right away, also afraid.

"Let's see if they got something to drink", the swordsman who had spotted the bar growled.

"Take something for everyone while you're at it, marimo", the cook asked him while his partner was rushing towards the owner who was serving a customer.

"I haven't played pool for ages!" Brook got enthused alongside the blond.

"Neither do I", Sanji agreed, grabbing a cue. "You wanna play?"

"My pleasure, dear friend!"

"I'm gonna show them my super poker skills!" Franky then decided, walking towards the players table with a confident step.

"Well, I won."

Luffy stared at the spot where his dart had disappeared out of the window, dumbfounded, before turning his attention back to his playmate, a bearded man whose belly was sticking out of his badly washed tee-shirt.

"Wanna play again?" the captain asked, a delighted smile on his lips.

The man shrugged.

"If you wanna but you got no darts anymore."

"I'll go get them!"

The straw hat boy rushed out of the tavern. For the third time indeed, he had sent the dart several meters away from its target, literally making it pass through the window open to the outside.

In the street, Luffy quickly bent down in search of his three darts. He was cheerfully getting up when a door violently slammed from the opposite building. He then saw a young woman with pink hair raised in a ponytail leaving it with an exasperated step and going to the owner of the tavern busy to take out the trash.

"Hector, this can't go on!" she got indignant.

"Hey, Angie. What you doing here?" this one replied, an evil smile on his lips.

"Your drunkard customers keep fighting in front of my club!"

In the dead end of their common backyard a few steps away, she pointed out a dozen men busy tossing back their beers while coarsely laughing.

"What can I do?" the man sniffed at her contemptuously.

"They assault my waitresses during their breaks and scare away tourists!" she reproached him again.

"Not my fault if your bitches tease them, you just have to pay for a security service", he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'd have one if I could afford it, but your alcoholics scare off the customers!"

"Ask your trannies then", he sneered, pretending to move away.

"Hector!"

At that moment, a scream was heard and Luffy turned his head towards the building. A woman with blue hair and long golden earrings was obviously in trouble, two particularly tipsy customers of the tavern having fun pushing her more and more roughly. The pink hair young woman rushed towards them and tried to help her waitress.

"Get out of here, you apes! Leave her alone!"

In response, she was pushed back in her turn and landed on her knees in the alley while the owner of the tavern burst out laughing next to the straw hat boy.

"Good luck, Angie", he sneered again as he walked back through the door.

This one got up, furious, and tried again to protect her employee. She grabbed the arm of one of the men to get him off, but unfortunately couldn't move him.

"She asked you to leave her alone so do it", Luffy intervened in a dark voice.

Angie turned and stared at the strange boy who had approached them. At that moment, the man tightened his grip on the waitress' arm, a provocative smile on his lips, and the woman contorted to escape the pain. The next second, the man had landed in the trash cans of the street with his drinking buddy, knocked out by an elastic fist.

The noise attracted the other tottering men slumped against the walls. In a flash, however, everyone understood what was going on and after an exchange of hostile glances, the customers returned to drink and have fun, shrugging their shoulders.

The young owner helped her waitress to get up and sent her inside so she could recover from her emotions. Then she turned to the straw hat boy, relieved.

"Thank you very much. These bullies don't understand anything…"

"No problem, it was great!"

The bright smile of her savior surprised the young woman and she frowned for a moment.

"You're straw hat Luffy, aren't you?"

"Wow, you know me!" the concerned one wondered.

Angie was gently smiling in front of his innocent face.

"Your wanted poster is everywhere in town. Three hundred million berries and elastic members, it doesn't go unnoticed."

"Yeah, I'm the one who's gonna be the Pirate King!" the captain claimed, laughing.

His conquering air touched a little more the young woman who suddenly began to blush.

"I… Uh, in order to thank you, let me invite you to spend some time in my club", she then offered him.

"Really? That's really nice!"

Smiling again, she nodded.

"I could offer you a drink."

"And food?!"

"If you like."

"Awesome! I'm gonna get my friends!"

"Wow."

Usopp glanced at the huge club before them, incredulous. Compared to the decrepit tavern they had just left, this place was sparkling with modernity. Dozens of metallic tables were circling the room, offering soft sofas to guests as well as more or less accentuated darkness depending on the location. Many customers were crowding there while dancers in the center of the room were enjoying far too loud electro-pop music.

"She said her club was trendy", Franky remembered.

"Angie simply is splendid!" the cook drooled, looking at her while she was taking the captain to the bar.

"She only has eyes for Luffy", the sniper commented.

"It makes sense, he saved her!" Chopper reminded him.

"Anyhow, he is entitled to privileged treatment", Brook noted.

Indeed, the straw hat boy quickly got a huge plate in the middle of the counter and despite the crowd around him, he was given a substantial place and he began to eat his meal at high speed. Angie was facing him from the other side of the bar and despite the little conversation of her guest, she was obviously under a spell.

"Let's find a quieter place", the swordsman growled.

Sanji nodded and took his friends to en empty table. Although a little packed, the cook quickly grabbed the menu and leafed through it to see what the club was offering. When he raised his nose, a gorgeous waitress with long red hair, tight shirt and ultra-short shorts gave him a magnificent smile, his tray pressed against her right hip.

"I'm Anna, your hostess for the evening. What would you like?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Anything you want, lovely creature!" the blond frolicked immediately.

She smiled even wider and advanced her huge chest.

"Striptease is my specialty."

At these words, the cook's eyes rolled back and he liquefied on the table while the skeleton was quickly raising his head.

"Can we see your panties?" he asked with interest.

"That's the principle", the young woman approved.

"Count me in!" the musician exclaimed.

"Three thousand berries plus a thousand", Anna said.

"Take out your money!" Sanji, who had suddenly straightened up, exclaimed.

"Why a thousand more?" Usopp asked.

"Hazard pay", the waitress replied, pointing to Brook's skeletal look and the blond's overly enthusiastic attitude.

"What happened to your great principles of not exploiting poor young women?" the cyborg asked the cook who was emptying his pockets.

The latter ignored him and began to count what he had collected: he had more than a thousand berries and Brook seven hundred. He then looked up at Chopper and Usopp hopefully.

"I have eight hundred berries but I was planning to do something else", the sniper muttered.

"I can give you all I have if it's makes you happy", the little reindeer replied, handing him his berries.

"Franky-san?" Brook asked.

"Sorry, guys, I barely have a hundred berries. I spent everything in poker…"

"Zoro, show me what you got", the cook ordered him.

"No, I wanna drink", the fencer growled, preventing his partner from rummaging through his pockets.

"Where's Luffy?" Sanji then asked, looking for him.

"He has nothing, he's been robbed", Usopp reminded him.

"Oh…"

Anna leaned over the table and picked up the money.

"Sorry, honey, but you only have three thousand berries."

In front of his crestfallen look, she shook her head.

"I won't skip the hazard pay."

"It's okay, he has a boyfriend", Chopper chimed in to reassure her.

The red head glanced curiously at the still disappointed cook before nodding and taking out his order book.

"So what do you wanna drink?"

After Anna had went away in her high heels, their orders noted, Sanji sighed in his chair.

"If I had these 4,000 berries, I'd have given it to her without even asking her to undress…"

"Sucker", Zoro sneered.

The blond kicked him in the ribs and they were about to fight when Franky spoke.

"Nami called and I told her where to find us. She and Robin should be here soon."

"I'm not sure she's gonna like to see this Angie clinging to Luffy", Brook noted, looking at the young woman and the captain still seated at the counter.

This one had leaned forward and was now listening to her guest with adoration while the latter was making big moves as if to describe something to her.

"I wonder if she's really grateful or if she wants to take advantage of him", Zoro said. "After all, she knew who we were immediately…"

"Stop talking shit, marimo. Angie explained she's working hard to live honestly with her business and this bastard at the tavern keeps bringing her into a life of hell!" the blond growled.

The swordsman shook his head, looking sorry.

"You really are a sucker…"

Almost fighting again, a waiter interrupted them, leaning towards to serve them and Sanji bit his lips. With his clothes made of only tight shorts and a shirt wide open on his bare chest, the cook noticed he had lost out on this one. Where was the red goddess who had come to take their order?

The man skillfully handed out the glasses before finally giving a flirtatious smile to the blond who had gloomily grabbed his drink.

"Anna wasn't lying, you're really cute despite your weird eyebrow. If you're interested, I'll do the full strip tease performance for three thousand berries. Just for you."

Sanji chocked on his sip of white wine and past the surprise, his crewmates got absorbed in their drinks to keep from laughing.

The cook had a fit. This guy had managed to hit on him and insult him in the same sentence: he was a dead man. Red with anger, he turned a murderous glance towards the pleasant smile.

"I seriously suggest you to forget what you just said if you want to keep your manhood. I know how to handle a knife perfectly."

The waiter stared at him, frankly astonished, before going pale in front of the still threatening look of his customer. He then walked away without asking for his rest.

"Not bad cook, I think he really freaked out", Zoro pointed out with a smirk after the unfortunate man had disappeared. "If you're lucky, he won't even be able to look a guy in the eye now."

"Shut the fuck up", the cook hissed. "And all of you, I don't wanna hear a word about it when Nami-san and Robin-chan are here or I swear I'll serve you on skewers at the next meal!"

The blond's demonic aura cooled off his friends, who swallowed their drinks without flinching. Still furious, the latter brutally pushed away his drink before getting up.

"Where are you going, Sanji?" the reindeer got worried.

"Clear my head."

The cook then rushed towards the center of the club, disappearing quickly among the dancers.

Sanji eventually pushed into the background the incident and pleasantly enjoyed the music, allowing himself to be carried away by the crowd of dancers around him. The rhythm was steady and he followed the motions around him, sweeping along with the people into the same trance, intoxicated by the sound of bass.

Suddenly, a hand gently touched his shoulder and the cook casually turned around before nearly choking when a new half-naked waiter handed him a cocktail.

"Wh-What…", the blond stammered.

"That's from the handsome guy over there."

Sanji craned his neck in the appointed direction and felt his cheeks flush with anger at the provocative smile of the swordsman still seated at the back of the room who nodded at him with his chin.

"That bastard…"

"Are you taking it?" the waiter asked him. "Because if you don't, I'll keep it."

The cook stared at him for a second, wondering what he should deduce from his strange remark. In doubt, he decided to grab the glass.

"It's fine, I'll take it."

The waiter nodded before leaving and Sanji wanted to glare at his partner again, but he was gone. Sighing, the blond made his way through the compact crowd.

He didn't want to go back and sit next to his friends to hear them laughing at him so he finally made his way to the bathroom and let a man come out before stepping through the door. The toilets were visibly empty and clean, which he appreciated. Five sparkling sinks were shining on his left and he walked over, observing himself in the large mirror that overlooked it.

He looked stupid with his glass in his hand so he set it on the edge near the faucet and began washing his hands.

"This cocktail cost me plenty, you better drink it."

Sanji turned off the water and sourly turned to the fencer who had followed him.

"Then drink it, I don't want it", his partner grinded.

"I'll be damned, there's a lot of sissy in this thing. Grenadine and fruit juice. That's why I knew you'd like it."

"Yeah, sure. You never bought me a drink before, you want me to believe you did this out of the goodness of your heart?"

Sanji shook his head and without waiting, he turned to the mirror to dry his hands by grabbing a few paper towels. He then noticed the mocking smile of the swordsman behind him thanks to the reflective surface.

"Watching your face when you thought this guy was giving you a drink was worth it", the fencer claimed, a broad smile on his lips. "After your threats on the other waiter, I thought you really were gonna cut this one."

"Dumbass."

The blond threw the wet towels in the trash bin then turned around again before taking out a cigarette that Zoro removed from his lips, pointing to a small sign prohibiting from smoking.

"So, you're not interested in guys?" he went on with a knowing look.

"Exactly, marimo", the cook firmly replied, facing him.

"Weird…"

Sanji shifted to get his glass, annoyed.

"You, you're not a guy, you're a seaweed. I'm making an exception, that's all."

"You could do better, cook", the swordsman sneered.

"I'm not kidding, shitty bastard", the blond got annoyed. "I don't find men attractive and seeing them undress in an attempt to seduce is beyond my strength."

"If you don't mind, you should be indifferent", his partner pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that's not the case and there's no need to question it. If one of these guys comes closer me again, I disfigure him."

"Touchy", Zoro noted, suddenly snatching his glass from his hands and resting it abruptly on the sink.

He then leaned over to put his lips to his neck and Sanji shivered.

"Maybe so, but I don't care", the cook mumbled. "And by the way, you could pretend to be jealous", he got annoyed again. "What am I supposed to think now?"

"Jealous of what?" Zoro replied against his ear. "You can't take a chick home and you're afraid of guys, that's a win-win for me…"

He began to kiss him but Sanji scowled.

"I'm not afraid, it's just… You enjoy seeing them?"

The fencer shrugged as he was coming down towards his jaw.

"I don't care; they don't interest me."

"I don't care either anyway. Who would want an asocial wild beast like you?" the blond boldly pointed out to him.

"A kinky cook?"

"You wish."

Yet the cook seized the lips of the fencer and dutifully applied himself to contradict his own words.

After a few moments, however, he looked up at his partner.

"Still, you never buy me a drink, marimo. It'd be nice, you know."

"Drink this one and we'll talk about it if you're not drunk."

Sanji softly protested as the swordsman's arms possessively closed around him. With or without a cocktail, he was feeling good and that's all that mattered.

"I don't know if she realizes Luffy is gonna empty her stock", Nami sneered as she was watching the captain greedily swallow another plate of meat.

The two young women of the crew had found their friends a few moments earlier and all had squeezed up around the table when Zoro and Sanji had also turned up.

"This woman got strange tastes in music", Robin soberly commented as the rhythm of the drums was piercing the air around them.

With the advance of the evening, the sound had indeed doubled in volume to attract more dancers, making conversations more difficult.

"At least Brook likes it too", Franky noted as he was seeing the skeleton sway his hips on the dance floor.

"It's getting harder to stand this place", Chopper winced. "At the beginning I didn't pay attention to it but now this noise is unbearable for my hypersensitive ears…"

"Even for our ears, this is hard to endure", the archaeologist agreed.

Another round of drinks arrived and Nami looked at the other customers out of the corner of her eye while sipping her drink. Most of them had extravagant and colorful outfits, and the pirates were feeling more and more out of place with the massive arrival of partiers.

"Luffy's not gonna meet us?" Usopp asked after a little while trying to chat despite the music.

"Angie doesn't let him go", the cook pointed out, turning to see his captain roll on the ground with laughter.

"Don't you mind she hangs round him like that, Nami?" the gunner next to her asked.

The young woman shrugged.

"Meh, it's not like she has a shot."

"Absolutely, Nami-san!" Sanji agreed with admiration. "Angie may be sublime, radiant and wonderfully beautiful, she doesn't have your charm!"

The navigator stared at him suspiciously, unconvinced his comment was going her way, before taking her drink again.

A few minutes later, Luffy finally found his friends and Brook came back shortly after to take a break, sweat streaming down his bones. Angie then sent them many dishes the crew devoured, especially since it was apparently given.

"She invites us to go to her island!" the captain suddenly said with enthusiasm. "It looks great over there! Besides, all the food's gonna be free, she told me!"

"Her island?" Chopper asked him.

"Yeah, she said there's an island right behind that one and that's where she lives", the straw hat boy explained, grabbing a chicken leg.

"Why would we go there?" Zoro growled.

"Yeah, that's not on our way", Franky pointed out.

Luffy shrugged and picked up a new huge dish of meat.

"I dunno, she said there were lots of greats things to see."

"Treasure?" Nami inquired immediately.

"Maybe."

"She needs to be more specific", the navigator demanded.

"Okay, I'll ask her."

The friends feasted for a while again before Angie approached their table.

"How do you like the meal?" she asked with a dazzling smile that didn't fail to make the cook's heart beat faster.

"Awesome!" Luffy got enthused.

"Yes, it's very good. Thank you for your generosity", Chopper thanked her.

"It's only natural, your captain spared me a lot of trouble."

"What you told Luffy about your island, is it a treasure?" the red head chimed in with interest.

"A treasure?" the lovely young woman repeated. "Yes, something like that…"

"What does that mean?" the navigator insisted.

"I'll explain to you later if you don't mind. Luffy, I'd like to introduce you to a few people if you agree."

"Uh, okay", the straw hat boy accepted before swallowing his last bite and following her.

As he was walking away, Nami sighed. She was sure there was no treasure on this Angie's island.

The crew finished eating and the evening slowly stretched out, the music still catchy and the lights dimming as the day was fading to maintain an intimate atmosphere.

"I think our new friend is determined to move into high gear with the captain", Robin suddenly said.

They all follow her gaze to the center of the club and could observe Angie getting a little too close to Luffy, a seductive smile on her lips. Fortunately, he misunderstood her move and burst out laughing in the midst of the crowd of dancers around them.

"What the hell she thinks she's doing!" Nami exclaimed, outraged.

"Relax, Nami. Luffy doesn't understand anything anyway", Usopp said, philosophically.

"So what? Who does she think she is?" she growled.

"I thought you didn't care?" Zoro slyly pointed out to her.

"Don't worry, Nami-san, she isn't half as good as you!" Sanji chimed in with conviction.

"It's a matter of principle, you don't touch my things!"

"Nami, you can't talk about Luffy like that!" the little reindeer got frightened, staring at her.

"Still-"

"What a bitch!"

The navigator was really furious now. Angie had brought the captain closer until she was glued to him, leading him into a sensual dance.

"I'm gonna crush her", the red head decided, abruptly getting up.

"Wait, you're gonna fight with this girl?" the gunner panicked. "She's the owner of the club, she's gonna get you kicked out!"

"Nami-san, I refuse that you get your hands dirty this way, let me talk to her!" Sanji offered, always ready to support the young woman.

"Shut up, I wanna see that", the swordsman ordered him.

"No, Nami, please!" Chopper begged her, scared.

The young woman took one last look at her rival who was continuing to tighten her grip around Luffy and she took a deep breath.

"Robin, your knife."

"What?!" Usopp choked.

The archaeologist gave her the knife and to the boys' amazement, Nami sharply tore the front of her shirt, making her cleavage a little more plunging.

"She doesn't know who she's dealing with", she muttered, putting down her knife. "You don't steal a thief!"

Determined, she walked with a firm step towards the couple, or rather towards the young woman who was clinging on to her captain. When she reached them, Nami patted the straw hat boy on the shoulder.

"Luffy?"

He turned to her, pushing Angie aside to turn his back on her.

"What is it, Nami?", he asked, a smile on his lips.

She fixed her gaze on his, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Just wanna do something."

With these words, she grabbed the captain by his red vest and bluntly pressed him against her before kissing him full on the mouth under Angie's stunned gaze. Luffy was too surprised to react or even move and Nami deepened her kiss.

The rest of the crew had their eyes fixed on the scene, also hanging on to the navigator's lips somehow.

"Oh, my God!" Usopp stammered, gaping.

"What the hell is that moron doing not reacting?" Sanji soon worried.

"He's a little slow on the uptake", Zoro explained, shrugging.

As if to respond to the swordsman, the straw hat captain put his hands around the waist of his navigator, finally answering to her motion.

"Hooray!" Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Brook and Sanji yelled, drunk with joy.

Luffy and Nami prolonged their kiss for long seconds during which the dark-haired boy was appropriating more and more their embrace, seeking to deepen the contact of their mouths and tongues. Eventually they parted when the captain came to the end of his breath and he stood there in front of his girlfriend, his legs shaky and a stupid smile plastered on his face.

As for Nami, she offered a dazzling smile to her rival still standing behind the straw hat boy, punctuating her victory with a magnificent middle finger in her direction. Angie winced but got the message, turning back in anger where she had come from.

While the whole crew was cheering her, the redhead young woman grabbed Luffy's hand and led him to their table.

"Nami, you were amazing!" the gunner laughed when they arrived.

"It was high art!" Brook got enthused.

"A real lesson in good manners", Franky agreed.

"I gotta say it was kinda cool", Zoro admitted.

"Very good tactics, dear navigator", Robin congratulated her.

"Nothing and no one compares to you, Nami-san!" the cook cried out, blissfully happy.

"Luffy, are you okay?" the reindeer worried.

Still dazed, the captain seemed to wake up hearing the doctor before laughing out loud.

"It was… wow! It was awesome!" he then yelled under the amused gaze of his friends.

Nami pulled him closer to her again, grabbing him by his waistcoat, eager to set the record straight once and for all with the captain.

"When a girl other than me approaches you like that, you don't let her. Is that clear?"

"It's clear."

Satisfied, the navigator let him go and everyone giggled.

"Come on, let's get out of this dump!" she trumpeted while her crewmates strongly nodded.

I hope you had fun.

Next chapter will be post around the 08/04.