Chapter 3: Star of the Show

Tap. Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. SLAP!

"OW! What the hell man-"

My voice died in my throat when my eyes locked onto Nami's, her face flat and a finger tapping on the board impatiently.

"Have a good night's sleep?"

Messy strands of hair fell in front of my face as I sheepishly nodded. I brushed the strands away, looking out into the lightened sky, stars having completely faded out in favor for a baby blue dawn. The moon hadn't yet fully disappeared, simply being drowned out into the blue recesses of the atmosphere. It was morning. The thought struck me that I've now lived in this world for nearly a full day.

Nami didn't exactly smile, but her face relaxed as she sat back in her boat. "We tried waking you up last night so you could take a watching shift, but you wouldn't wake up so we left you alone."

"You literally just slapped me and you're telling me you willingly let me sleep earlier?" I said, also leaning back.

She scoffed. "Alright, I'll admit Zoro stopped me at first, but it was the middle of the night, I suppose I was too tired to bother…"

I looked over to my side, seeing Zoro peacefully sleeping with his arms crossed behind his head. I felt pretty bad knowing that they had to stay up because of me, but it wasn't like I could help it. As soon as we set off from Shells, my body decided it would be a marvelous idea to dispose of all energy; I fell asleep right after we all discussed we were heading to Orange Town. Not to mention I didn't have a single dream over the presumably long time period, which was extremely abnormal for me. Except I'm not all too bright, so I shoved that red flag onto the back burner to catch on fire at a later time.

For now, I focused my attention back on the one other awake person, giving her one of my signature casual smiles.

"We're still on route to Orange Town, correct?" I asked, leaning my elbow on the edge of the boat and resting my head in my hand.

Nami nodded, picking up the compass. "Yes. In fact, we should be arriving in a short time. We could've arrived sooner, but considering we'd be heading into a pirate's territory at night… that isn't exactly a smart idea."

"Tch, you're telling me." I waved my hand. "I'm barely aware of my surroundings as it is, let alone in the dark."

"That makes the both of you," Nami joked, rousing a small chuckle at Zoro's expense. To be fair, she wasn't wrong, but I'd like to pray that Zoro's directional challenges wouldn't be too bad until later, like in canon. However forgone his sense of direction may already be, that is.

We continued to make slow small talk, still feeling the awkward tension filling the air. I very much didn't complain though, it was leagues better knowing Nami was obliging to converse with me rather than not. Obviously, she was still far from being a friend, but I would respect her distance. She was doing me an enormous favor by simply even considering to help us, especially after flipping Shells' Marine base inside out.

Zoro, meanwhile, slept all the way to the last second. As the island came into view, I pulled Zoro back into the world of the living, my first mate drearily peering over the ledge and yawning. He notched his swords onto his hip, not adding any commentary into our elementary conversation until we hit the shore.

I stretched as I climbed out, watching Nami pocket the compass and fake map. Zoro gave one look over the town and raised an eyebrow.

"For a man worth 15 million beri, what's he doing hiding in a nowhere village like this?"

I shrugged, replying with "Easy target." Then I eyeballed Zoro. "By the way, he's like me in that he has a Devil Fruit, aptly named the Bara-Bara no Mi. So I'm sorry to say, but you won't be able to hurt him worth shit."

Nami stepped back with her face scrunched up. "More Devil Fruit users? And here I thought I couldn't meet any more freaks…"

I wanted to make a playful counter argument, but I held my tongue. At least Zoro didn't make any snide comments, just accepting the facts as they were and turning to me.

"What about the others then?" he asked. "Don't tell me I'm gonna miss out on good fights."

"Don't worry, don't worry." I held up a hand. "The others will likely be as useful as fish feed. His crew is said to fit in the majority, where the captains get all the clout because their crew members are sub-par in comparison. Just from what I've heard."

Nami interjected by crossing her arms. "Whatever the case, I'm here to grab some cash and a real map. I'm more than fine leaving you two and those ruffians to brawl if you leave me out of it!"

With all that established, we started walking through the town. It became increasingly clear the houses were vacant, the streets were dead, and not a soul occupied the townish part of the village anymore. Shells town read like a bustling shopping district comparatively, which added to the eerie and somber character of Orange town. It was like people never existed here in the first place, save for the distinct decorations on some houses or the footprints left in the dirt. In retrospect, it was more sad than anything.

Halfway through our scenic stroll, a clunking sound alerted us all.

We all tensed, turning around to guard each other's back. If anyone here was still left, it was going to be a pirate, no questions to it.

"You dumbass!" I heard, growled from a space off between the houses.

I sat unimpressed as four men rounded the corner, feet grinding into the Earth like their teeth grinded in anger. I was mildly surprised when I realized they didn't look recognizable at all, questioning whether that meant I had shit memory or these Buggy pirates weren't the same that tried to attack Nami in the story.

"You there! What are you doing, walking in Buggy's turf?!" One yelled, purple feathered hat fluffing out for exaggeration.

"Yeah! Don't you know what he'll do to people like you?" Another announced in the same manner as the first.

Instead of responding, we sat with blank, apathetic stares. We didn't have to say it, but we made it unmistakably clear that we truly didn't care- or at the very least, Zoro and I sure didn't. With every second that passed, their faces evolved from angry to furious, and eventually they drew their weapons.

"Stop mocking us! We'll kill you ourselves!"

"We didn't even say anything!" I said, gliding out of the way of one man's sword.

No rebuttal except for a frustrated groan. I swung my leg out as the same person tried to maim me again, only to trip over my leg into Zoro's path and get sliced into. The feather hat guy paled at the sight, hesitating long enough for Zoro to thwack him in the head with the blunt edge of his sword. He fell to the ground pretty dramatically. With two more left, their already low standard power was now cut in half. They stared at their small knives and then charged at us, specifically targeting Nami.

She flinched, locked up, and looked away, taking wary steps backwards. There was no need, however, when I thrust my arm into an abdomen coming forward and arched down. I plunged his body into the ground, dust clouds poofing out from under him, and stood up straight ready to protect Nami again. Fortunately, Zoro had already dealt with the other person, whose strands of hair was littered about.

I caught my breath, dusting my hands off. Nami blinked, uncoiling from herself and sighing in relief.

"M-maybe it isn't so bad to travel with freaks if they're freakishly strong," she said.

We continued on walking ahead and I snorted. "Trust me, we're gonna be the most normal freaks you'll meet!"

The air grew quiet and uncomfortable again as we aimlessly walked around. I assumed that we were making a beeline for Buggy's base, but none of us actually established a set goal of what to do. Zoro sure as hell wasn't leading the pack, Nami was smart enough to know to avoid direct contact, and I was too nervous to say anything. But, I guess there wasn't any reason to, as we walked into a clearing split off into multiple paths.

A clearing with a dog sitting at the center building.

"Is that a doggie?!" I squealed, half exaggerated half serious.

"Are you a five year old?" Nami said, taken aback by my uncharacteristic childishness.

I admittedly felt my face flush up, but I didn't let that damper my enthusiasm. "What?" I pouted, "I really like dogs, and that is a small doggie right there."

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Did I choose the right man to follow?"

By now, I was just rolling my eyes. "Come on," I huffed, leading my partners-in-crime forward, "I've got homesickness here. Give me some mercy, I'm… I'm missing my own dog just looking at that one!"

Which frankly, I was. My empathy for humans fluctuated dangerously but I'd cry if I so much witnessed a dog sleeping. However, I could flip this emotional disadvantage of mine into a strategic advantage if I was careful enough. Chouchou wasn't the friendliest dog to strangers but at least I knew he wasn't a dumb dog. Hell, I could even go so far as to say Chouchou was more intelligent than any dog back on Earth, like most of the One Piece species. Dare I say, he may even have human emotional capacity.

Chouchou did not react to our banter, nor our slow approach. I think he gathered we were not immediate threats, either that, or he was waiting for the mayor to come out with food.

Speaking of the mayor, where was-?

"What are you three kids doing here?!" A gangly voice rang out, forcing my eyes to snap up.

Mayor Boodle stalked out of the pet store, holding a bowl of dog food and scowling so intensely I could count no less than 20 wrinkle lines on his face. His clothes made an uncomfortable sound when they rubbed together, probably cause the fabric was older than all three of us combined. Not to mention his hair was whiter than the clouds in the sky.

"And here I thought this was a ghost town," Nami said, scrolling her eyes between Chouchou and Mayor Boodle.

"You've got it right, missy," Boodle started, "this is certainly a ghost town. So, I'll ask again; what're you three up to wandering around these parts?"

I placed a hand on my hip. "We're here to crash a party sir. I'd think you know the name of Buggy, correct?"

Boodle's face immediately sharpened, eyes narrowing at the mention of Buggy's name. He stepped away from Chouchou and gave us a wide berth while he scowled once more.

"Of course I know Buggy's name, he damn ransacked this town of its life! Do you have some connection to him, hmm? I won't hesitate to kick you out right now!" He threatened, pointing an accusing finger at us.

Credit where it's due, Boodle managed to stir up a sliver of nervousness in me. Not because he could harm me, obviously, but because he was good at using the elder authority card to draw out a fear of adults within my subconscious. At least it was good to know he had spirit, just, I didn't want it directed towards me.

Nami carefully held a hand out. "Now now," she soothed, "let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't have anything to do with Buggy- actually, we're his enemy too! A couple of his henchmen tried to jump us only a couple of minutes ago!"

I nodded. "She's right. With that being said, do you have directions to where his base is? We got a bit of an unspoken deal to settle."

Boodle's face quickly went from suspicious to confused. "Do you have a death wish?!" he sputtered, "I can't lead you to his base, he'll kill you all in an instant!"

"As if" Zoro mocked, tapping his sheathed swords.

"Yeah, see here old man? We don't really have time to worry about that," I said slightly impatiently. "If you're that concerned, don't be; green hair is Roronoa Zoro, I have a Devil Fruit, and little miss oranges isn't gonna be fighting. Now please, spare us some information?"

I could feel Zoro and Nami glaring daggers into the back of my head, but I was waiting for Boodle to spill. Naturally, the Mayor gave up and hung his head, looking back at me with a defeated expression.

"Don't blame me if you die," he warned, "but, Buggy's base is not too far from here. Go down this street-" he pointed towards our right, back behind him, "-and a few blocks down. He camps on the roof, but they're always loud so you can't miss it."

We thanked him as we walked on. I looked behind me for a moment to see the Mayor take Chouchou's empty bowl and lead the dog inside, leaving us on the empty streets alone. The silence that followed was definitely more than awkward, spurred on by wayward glances, fidgety hands, and anticipatory expressions. I bit my lip while I thought, keeping our walking pace steady.

"So…" I started, "plan of action?"

Nami blanked. "I thought you had one."

I started laughing nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "W-well, I do! That is to say, uh, I'm reevaluating it! Yes, reevaluating…"

"You're a bad liar," Zoro said with an amused smirk.

I shot him a dead look before crossing my arms. "I'm not lying." Then I started biting my fingernails. "I'm thinking carefully okay? I'm sticking by what I said earlier; Nami, you can leave again to find what you want 'cause Zoro and I will be more than enough of a distraction. However, from what I've heard- and this is mostly for you, Zoro- there's three or maybe four of them we'll have to worry about being dangerous."

Zoro stayed silent and Nami sighed, mirroring my stance. "Sounds good enough for me," she said, "have fun killing each other."

I rolled my eyes. "We aren't killing anybody, thank you very much."

In another few minutes of walking we slowed ourselves at the sound of pirate business booming off the rooftops. We hurriedly slid into a corner and peeked out, gasping when we saw a disembodied figure floating in the air, its cape flowing when it moved around. Of course, I knew that disembodied figure was Buggy, but both Nami and Zoro seemed a bit more than creeped out by what they were seeing. I couldn't blame them though, I've already seen some freaky shit since coming here, but a floating torso was not one of them.

"Now I know what you mean by my attacks not being able to do shit," Zoro mumbled, sweat rolling down his face.

I nodded seriously and gave Nami the go ahead to break off from the group. If Buggy was going to be floating around all over the place, we were going to have to be more discreet than moseying on in with no cover. Glancing around, it didn't take much time for me to piece together our next step.

When Buggy lowered himself from the air, I motioned for Zoro to follow me and we dashed out from our hiding spot.

"Check the door and the other window!" I called, seeing if any of the openings of the house were, well, open. The bottom one was shut, but when I checked the second floor window, there was enough of a gap for me to stick my arm through. Just barely enough at that, cause my arm got stuck and it wouldn't unstretch. I would have found it funny if it didn't compromise my plan.

Zoro nearly laughed when he turned back to me, but one glare shut him right up. I clicked my tongue as I said, "help me climb up! I can open the window like that!"

His expression fell as he took no time grabbing and hoisting me above his shoulders. My hands grew clammy and my legs were unsteady, but I could easily maneuver my arm again, restlessly groping the window frame to find a latch. After a couple of unbearably frantic seconds, I slammed the window open and stretched myself in. Not a second later did I turn and grab Zoro's arm, pulling him up so he could jump through as well.

I sighed in relief, inconspicuously closing the curtains. Zoro dusted himself off, giving me an interrogative look and getting quite handsy with his swords.

"Now what, captain?" he asked, obviously impatient and itching for a fight.

"Now," I said, grinning venomously, "it's time for, shall we say… a dynamic entry."

He followed me once more as we wandered through the house into another room with a window parallel to Buggy's base. We had a clear shot from the room to the roof, and if we were lucky, we could've knocked a few people out by becoming a makeshift cannonball.

"Don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing," Zoro wearily pleaded.

My grin widened as I opened the window. "Who said I was doing it? This is a we operation here, so you better hold on tight boy!"

He looked more terrified than when he saw Buggy from earlier, but knowing that there was no other option, he shook his head and secured his swords.

I clenched my fingers on the outside window frame, backing all the way up to the opposite wall. Zoro slung a tight arm around my shoulders and held on dearly to his hip, gritting his teeth as I aimed myself accurately. Then finally, I felt my body surge as my feet left the floor, my arms snapping back into place and the air around me rushing past my ears with a whoosh! We were probably in the air for no more than five seconds, but it was five seconds of my stomach feeling like it was trying to do somersaults and Zoro unconsciously putting me in a chokehold.

Now, the best part was undoubtedly the last half second, where I could see the mortified expressions on the Buggy pirates right before my body hammered into them at what felt like mach 10. Plus, I got a good heap of asphalt for a snack, courtesy of me doing a few barrel rolls.

My vision spun for a little bit, but I dazedly stood up, whipping my head around to observe the damage. It wasn't that bad, but we caught the attention all right.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Zoro screamed, unearthing himself from all the rubble.

"What? You knew that was going to happen!"

"Like hell I knew it was going to-!"

"Who the hell are you flashy bastards?!"

We both stopped dead, humor gone in an instant as we directed our view towards none other than Buggy the clown. His hair was as blue as the sky and his nose was as red as blood, but for as colorful as his getup was, his eyes were coated in malign anger.

'So much for the entry part of the dynamic entry' I thought, subtly taking guard while Zoro got his reigns back.

"You think you can just flashily crash in here and get away with it?!" Buggy continued to shout. "Answer me you bastards!"

A couple thoughts scrolled through my mind before I let my face settle completely. "I could ask the same of you," I answered.

Buggy paused for a moment before bursting out laughing, along with the rest of his crew. "And just who do you think you are, huh?!" He laughed some more as he flounced through the crowd, frightened and embarrassed butterflies flying around in my stomach.

Zoro took the time to stand his ground besides me, snapping me out of it and making me feel less nervous. I swallowed my fear and glowered at Buggy, hissing out, "I'm going to kick your ass, that's who I think I am." Risky, sure, but I needed a catalyst for our conversation.

All laughter was cut short. Buggy's jaw dropped at my words, eyes twitching and face swelling red with anger. Zoro smirked out of the corner of my eye and he drew his blades, signaling to me I best prepare myself for the romp of the day. In the span of a moment, Buggy ordered all his men to charge at us- with the exception of Cabaji and Mohji standing next to Buggy- and my feet were no longer still.

I turned my back and led half of the group on a goose chase, snapping my fingers hoping an idea would come to me. After a couple of clicks, I got it. I dodged some strays attempting to skin me alive, but ultimately they were going to lose.

I continued bolting it and ran all the way to the edge of the roof. Bracing myself, I spun around, leaped off the roof, and clutched the ledge. My fall was significantly slowed by my stretched out arms, so I stuck the landing with no pain and fed the momentum into running backwards. I vindictively smiled as my new victims paled in horror at this new development. They may have tried to turn tail and run away, but it was too late for them the second I let go of the ledge, launching myself full force for the second time this day.

My airtime was brief before I crashed into my enemies, their bodies splashing out across the area with a sea of pained cries. The people who I directly hit were out cold, while the collateral damage rolled on the floor with groans and wails.

I turned to see Zoro in a similar situation, bodies surrounding him like they were game. Then again, his epithet was the pirate hunter for a reason.

We stood together once more, facing down Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji. They looked practically dead in the water, all of them were in varying degrees of fear and panic. Buggy himself looked a few synapses away from having a stroke but maybe that was just his natural surprised face, it was hard to tell underneath the egregious amounts of makeup.

"You… dare…" Buggy grumbled, fists shaking, "You dare make a mockery of me?!"

I raised a challenging eyebrow, not replying. All the words I had to say to him could wait till after everyone else was out of the equation. Buggy, though eccentric, was a… marginally reasonable man. I could wait to speak to him alone.

"Cabaji, Mohji! End their lives right this second!"

"Yes, Buggy-sama!"

The two charged at us and it was time for round two. Zoro jumped away as Cabaji pulled a unicycle out of thin air, while I scurried around trying not to get pounced on by Richie.

Taking on an opponent like Richie was going to be far more difficult on the roof. Not only were my previous opponents in the way, but our battlefield was too restrictive. I was fighting a lion for gods sake! Not to mention, we were likely to get in the way of Zoro's battle.

I pressed on, dodging swipes from Richies's paws only to stumble over one of Buggy's men for a split second too long. My hands flew up to protect my face as I was swatted away, Richie's claws ripping into my skin like tissue paper. I soared through the air, crashing clean through a window and smacked into the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

I winced as I sat up, gripping my arm as trickles of blood slid along my fingers. To top it off, shards of glass stuck itself to my clothes and hair, making me want to itch all over.

"Sweet shit," I cursed to myself, "that damned lion needs a manicure!"

Flicking the blood off my hand, I shook myself free of the glass shards. Mohji and Richie had done me the favor of removing themselves from the roof, so hey, that was one good thing about being batted across the street.

Mohji cynically smiled. "How'd you like that?" he bragged.

"Quite a lot, actually," I said seriously, hopping over the windowsill.

His smile vanished, growling something to Richie under his breath. The lion started to move again as did I, having much more advantage to utilize the space with enhanced effectiveness.

I latched onto roof to roof to evade their attacks, then, swinging myself up, I landed on Richie's back, right behind Mohji. He gasped in surprise. I already had a hand around his neck, gripping hard so I could throw him off properly. Wherever he landed I didn't really care, because Richie was the dangerous one. And thankfully enough, the stupid one too. After about ten seconds passed I realized that Richie didn't even notice Mohji got slugged off into a ditch.

Knowing this, I grabbed fistsfuls of his hair and jumped backwards off his back, tugging him with me. He yapped, prancing around in confusion. I kept my hold steady as I stretched and then snapped forward like a rocket for the third time in a row. This time, however, I didn't let go of Richie's hair, arching over him, landing flatly, and heaving that oversized cat over my head by using the force of my launch. Following through, Richie hit the ground with a loud, reverberating thump! and sludged dirt all over the place.

I slumped over in relief, wiping any excess blood off with the ends of my vest. In doing that, I realized how lucky I was that all Luffy wore was red, or else I'd look like a hell of a murderer otherwise.

Anyways, I paced back up to the main field, not even surprised in the slightest that Cabaji was bleeding out, dead to the world. Zoro had his sash tied on his head and his swords were still out, aimed at Buggy no less. My arrival intercepted any fighting that may have occurred.

Buggy… didn't look too happy. I believe the only appropriate descriptor of his face shouldn't be anything but an apoplectic, mortally terrified, absolutely dejected jaw drop to rival the gods. It contrasted with the scornfully insipid glare Zoro and I were pinning him with.

He stumbled for his words for a second before steaming in anger. "Don't look at me like that! Especially you-" he pointed at me "-you straw hatted bastard!"

His words reminded me of that specific issue, so I took my hat off my head and wordlessly passed it to Zoro. I nodded my head off to some direction, and he backed away, holding my hat to his body for good measure. Then, I returned my emotionless stare back to Buggy.

"For a pirate, you sure hold on to your vendetta's longer than most," I said, letting a sly smile grace me. "Do I remind you of Red Haired that much? That's quite the compliment!"

He audibly choked, his expression somehow darkening even more.

"Of course!" he spat, "I should have known you were friends with that son of a bitch. You look just as infuriating as him!"

I shook my head. "That isn't my fault, you sleazeball. Look, I know you're not that bad of a person, considering you managed to get on his crew-" he flinched, "-but raiding a small town like this one isn't helping your case."

His rage settled somewhat, but I knew I was nowhere near safe. "Psh, like I need to be a good person! All I need is treasure and power, isn't that right, fake Red Haired?"

"Can't say I didn't try…" I sighed to myself. Then I started grinning, saying, "Alright you walking circus, why don't we go at it? Prove yourself. I can't guarantee you'll like the results."

"You want to fight me? I think it's you who'll be regretting your actions here, cheap shot!"

And from there led to the last fight of the day.

•

Zoro decided to leave the premises as soon as the fight began underway. Luffy was wholly capable of defending himself, as shown to Zoro thus far, so there wasn't any huge need to get involved. He was more occupied with finding somewhere to slip a quick nap in anyways.

When he climbed down from the roof, though, he was met with that orange haired girl who didn't seem to like him very much. She herself was dragging a large bag that made an extravagant amount of noise, drugging up dirt. Their eyes met, but her eyes immediately narrowed, a grimace sliding on her lips like he was her arch nemesis.

"Oh, it's you," she bit out, "did you guys finish Buggy off already?"

Zoro pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Not yet. The crew was taken care of, but Buggy is fighting Luffy right now."

Her eyes scrolled up and she somewhat cringed at the freakshow taking place. Even Zoro had to admit this whole Devil Fruit thing was strange and confusing, but he didn't have a Devil Fruit so it wasn't his problem. It made his captain strong and immune to bullets; what more could you want after that?

Nami shook her head, then focused in on Luffy's hat. "Why do you have… that?"

Zoro held the hat up. "I dunno actually." He shrugged. "He gave it to me before he started fighting. Maybe he wanted to keep it safe."

"Tch. He's a damn weirdo," Nami said, continuing to drag the sack away. "And a freak. And a good for nothing."

"I'd suggest you not say that in front of me," Zoro threatened, following Nami into a hiding spot.

Nami spun around and glared at him. "Or what, pirate? You've known him for less than a day, you can't be getting protective of him already!"

Zoro didn't even flinch. "You don't seem to have known him for long either, thief. He saved my life and he's my captain. It'd be shameful of me to let you disrespect him."

She bit her lip but didn't give a response, simply slumping down on the ground and leaning against the wall. Zoro did the same, leaning against the opposite wall and placing Luffy's hat adjacent to him. The air was thick with unrelieved tension, suffocating them with vitriol as a battle raged on in the background. The swordsman eventually crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

The slightest of breezes swept pass them, the sounds of the battle grew more distant, and the sun gently pressed its warmth onto his eyelids. All of this, yet for the life of him, he just couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was because of that woman, or maybe it was because of what she said. After all… a "good for nothing"? With that kind of attitude, how did Luffy manage to tolerate her at all, let alone let her travel with them? Oh well, if she had some personal vendetta, it wasn't any of his business until it endangered his life or his captain's life.

She had her goals and he had his goals. Luffy's goal required them both. It wasn't hard to balance being loyal and being independent, but Nami clearly didn't see that. She was likely going to leave the crew if she got a chance.

Zoro sighed. What a shame for his captain. What a shame.

•

"Yikes!" I yelped, hopping backwards a little too late. A small stinging sensation grew on the right side of my chin.

I was having a hard time fighting Buggy after he whipped out his knives, not knowing how to fight back without causing too much property damage.

The wind picked up as Buggy lurched forward. My eyes were trying to focus on multiple things at once: Buggy's body, Buggy's hands, my own hands, and where I was stepping. It was like a cursed version of Dance Dance Revolution with a bad case of homicide.

My body clenched up as Buggy's bladed hands swooped towards me, suddenly taking a 90° change of direction upwards. In my confusion, I foolishly turned my head towards the sky, only for Buggy's other hand to clasp my open neck and shoot me over the roof. I gagged when I tried to pull him off of me. My legs dangled in the air before I was pummeled into a wall spine first.

There was a stunned screech that followed my decent, but the ringing in my ears drowned everything out. I had to force myself to my knees. Thrumming pain coursed in my throat since it was violently squeezed and I coughed.

Groaning, I registered Zoro and Nami surrounding me as I stood up.

"What the hell happened?!" Nami asked. Her eyes were wide.

I shook my head. "We can chat after I've taken out Buggy," I said, pushing past the two with a wince.

Buggy stood at the edge of the roof, the sun behind him shadowing his dark expression. My arm instinctually rose in front of Nami. He was likely going to target her if I got distracted, so I'd put a barrier between him and her before he got the chance. Even if his anger caused him to be more preoccupied with me, I wasn't going to put my crewmates in danger because I wasn't paying attention. Nami was backing up on her own anyway.

"Do you think you can come here, beat up my crew, steal my treasure, and walk away like nothing happened?" Buggy grit.

I took a few steps forward. "Don't act like care about what happens to your followers," I said with a hint of annoyance. "I said you weren't that bad of a person, but I'm not an idiot. You wasted your potential on greed!"

His scowl turned into a manic grin. "Clever guy, now aren't you? I wasn't the one who wasted my 'potential' all those years ago. My greed is what's going to get me money, and money means power!" He tapped one of his knives. "Everyone wants power, don't you?"

"I want you to shut the hell up, is what I want," I retaliated, pulling out the small blade I was still holding on to.

I wanted to fight with only my powers so that I could get used to hand-to-hand combat, however, it was too much of a risk. I was doing well enough so far, but it was already strikingly obvious I was having a hard time keeping up with the battle. My clumsy self could easily make one misstep and then I'd be dead.

His legs detached from his feet and he flew towards me. Both Nami and Zoro backed away while I held the knife in front of me to avoid getting diced up. My sandals skid across the ground from the force, but I managed to keep myself up right. Then, I pushed Buggy backwards and grabbed onto his ponytail, making him jolt. He wasn't fully deterred.

My jaw clenched when Buggy shoved one of his knives into my shoulder. Blood streaked across my arm. The pain made my eyes water. But, I kept my hold fixed with my fingers tangling into his hair. I didn't dare let go. He screamed as I started swinging him around, trying to split apart to avoid damage, but I don't think there was much he could do when I rammed his head into a wall, putting a dent into it.

Buggy gurgled in pain. To my surprise, he got back up and put himself back together like I didn't just slam his skull into hard stone.

'I'm starting to think I've bit off more than I can chew…' I thought. The grip on my blade was slippery from sweat and blood. I was holding on tight enough for my nails to dig into my palms.

My opponent only snarled at me before he split his hands off his arms, putting me back on defense. His tactics became clear as soon as I was pressured backwards away from him. He knew I wasn't comfortable using my powers for long distance combat and preferred using strange and alternate close combat methods instead. If I couldn't get close to him, well, there went most of my move set just like that! Launching myself at him would be too predictable since I already did it like, three times today.

In the end, I decided to thwack away Buggy's hand, duck down, and charge at his body. My arms stretched backwards like I was going to hit him with Bazooka, but I pulled a fast one by instead stopping dead in front of him and changing the direction of my hands to uppercut him. The hands that were following me fumbled before they could hit me, giving me one last opening.

I grabbed his hands out of the air and placed them onto the ground. It may have been cold hearted of me, but I drove my knife through both hands and pinned them into the dirt. Buggy howled from across the road.

My hands, at this point, were stained in red. I stood up and walked over to Buggy, holding him up by his shirt.

"Money can't save you from this."

His eyes grew wide and dilated with fear as my left arm stretched back for three slow seconds, before snapping forward in less than half a second. My fist bashed into the middle of his face and I felt his nose crunch into my knuckles. When I let go, his body careened into the air. He landed with a lifeless thunk.

My legs gave out and I crashed to my knees, letting out a long breath.

"I-Is it over?" Nami asked, poking her head out from behind a wall.

I smiled and waved her to me. "Yeah, it's over! Buggy should be out now, don't worry."

She came out, dragging her bag of gold with her and stopped in front of me. Zoro did the same, eyebrows raised. "Are you okay?" he questioned. "You've got quite a lot of blood on your hands."

I shrugged, wiping my hands on my vest. "Eh, just slap a bandaid on me and I'll be okay. That could've gone worse."

He huffed and rolled his eyes, placing my hat back on my head. I was going to readjust it, but considering how dirty my hands were, I decided to wait until I could wash them off.

I hummed as I stood up, thinking about how we could clean this mess. The Buggy pirates would no longer be an issue if I removed them from their captain. They were all pretty beat to shreds, so there wasn't any need to tie them up, but…

Aha! Now there's an idea.

"Zoro, that weird cage thing wasn't destroyed or anything, right?"

He nodded.

"Perfect. Nami, do you have any rope on hand?"

She pulled out some rope from god knows where and looked at me quizzically.

"Alrighty then! Could you please tie up Buggy? We can stick him into the cage," I requested. "This village just got 15 million beri for free!"

Zoro and Nami looked at each other before shrugging and getting to work.

The sun overhead had crossed half the sky by the time we wrapped Buggy up, stuck him in the cage, and piled the Buggy pirates into their base. Zoro and I carried Buggy's cage back to the center of the village and Nami was still carrying her bag of gold. She seemed mighty happy now that she got some fat stacks and a map, but I wasn't going to harp her on that. The only thing stopping this from being a perfect conclusion was my arm pulsing with pain every now and then. Buggy must have gotten me pretty good. Plus, I think I accidentally tore something when I heaved the cage up that first time.

When we reached the edge of the town, the Mayor happened to be outside of the shop with Chouchou. I thought he had a heart attack when he suddenly stopped and dropped the box of dog food, but Chouchou snapped him out of it.

We placed the cage down and I patted the top with a cheshire like grin. He asked us many questions but I simply brushed them off. It was no problem or don't worry about it. He did get me a bandage or two for my arm and helped me wash off, griping about how I was careless and a fool for fighting Buggy. I washed my blade off as well.

My heart almost leapt out of my chest when Chouchou jumped at me, nuzzling his head into my hand.

"I think Chouchou thanks you too," Mayor Boodle laughed.

I leaned back and smiled, scratching Chouchou behind his ears. "You're very welcome," I said, giggling at the dog's wagging tail.

Nami came over and stroked at Chouchou's fur too. She had a faint smile on her face. It was different from her money-loving smiles or her sarcastic smiles, and I caught myself staring when she glanced up at me. I directed my gaze back at Mayor Boodle.

"We're gonna head out soon. Take care of your town now," I said.

"Psh, they don't need to be taken care of."

We said our goodbyes and made our way back to the shore. The uncomfortable silence from earlier wasn't uncomfortable anymore. Instead, it felt more like a lapse of secure quietude. I believed we were making great progress on our companionship already, even if I was aware there was still a long ways to go. I didn't really care if Nami, or maybe even Zoro, didn't fully trust me yet, because all I needed to do was trust them. And I did. Fully.

I started humming as we loaded the gold onto the boats and pressed my palms against the warm wood. Nami raised an eyebrow at my jovial tune, untying the ropes from the deck.

"I take it you think that went well?" Nami asked, leaning against the bag.

I paused my humming and smiled. "A little rough around the edges, but yeah. I'd say it did. What about you?"

She perked up, maybe because she didn't expect it and tapped her cheek. "I think it went pretty well too." Then she turned away. "But, uh, I also want to properly apologize for snapping at you yesterday. You're really not as bad as I thought you were."

My mouth nearly dropped open. Where had this come from? I looked towards Zoro for an answer but he was already half asleep, and while I knew Nami had been quite subdued since yesterday morning, this was an unexpected turn of events.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Thank you, but you don't need to apologize. It was my fault for not telling you about me being a pirate," I said.

She frowned. "But it was my fault for getting angry. I knew you for only an hour before judging you!"

"Except it's my fault for being sassy and not getting straight to the point."

"Just let me apologize god damnit!"

We stopped and stared at each other for a moment before breaking into a giggling fit.

I swore to myself, right then, to protect these little moments with my life.

[Heyo! Not to interrupt, but I'd like to say thanks for all the support already! You guys are very flattering and encouraging, and also pretty thought provoking.]

[I'd like to mention I'm sorry if updates come out at a wacky pace, as right now it's exam season and then a bunch of holidays, but it should even out by mid January. It was kinda dumb of me to start this project during exam times but oh well, I was pretty impatient. Like it says in the story summary: with no pain, there just ain't no gain]

[[Chapter title from the song "Star of the Show" by GHOST]]