Cause and Effect

Law took pride in his crew. The Heart Pirates were known to be a fearsome bunch. A crew that cast terror and panic in the very soul of their opponents. The Surgeon of Death couldn't pick a finer group of men to pirate the high seas with. As proud as Law was of his crew... this was not one of their finer moments. True, he knew bringing a woman aboard a ship filled with men that don't typically interact much with the opposite sex, he expected some sort of reaction. But this was far from what he anticipated. These fools were jumping up and down like star-stuck fans. Even Nami was at a lost in calming these men down.

"Crimin girl! You're Crimin girl!" yelled one of the men wearing a yellow cap.

It took a moment for Nami to realize what the man was talking about. That all changed when she noticed what the men were holding in their hands. It was a magazine. Not just any magazine, it was the latest Crimin swim suit catalog. Before leaving Fishman Island Nami negotiated a modeling gig with Pappug. He had approached her before about posing in his latest catalog. The Crimin brand was starting to become more popular with the population outside of Fishman Island, however he had yet to feature a human in his fashion magazine. The fashion designer thought she would perfect to represent his latest swimwear collection. Nami agreed, but only for the right price. She could use that extra cash once they arrived into the New World. It was a heavy amount of money, but Pappug agreed. He owed the Straw Hats so much, what was a few hundred thousand belis between old friends? Nami didn't even bother to look at the negatives of the photo shoot, she got what she wanted out of the deal and was ready to ship off with her crew. She had long forgotten about it and now here it was hitting her in the face. The Heart Pirates were her fans! She couldn't believe her luck! Posing for that magazine was paying off more that she thought.

"Yup! That's me," smiled Nami, pointing at her red and yellow crimin bikini top.

"Oh my god! Can we get your autograph?" asked Penguin, opening the magazine up to his favorite page.

"For my fans? Of course," charmed Nami, bringing out a feathered pen. "But it will cost you…10,000 beli each."

Law felt a sweat drop roll down his forehead. With no hesitation belis were being pulled out from his crew's wallets.

"Wait a minute!" yelled the annoyed Captain.

Nami looked up from all the money fanning her face and gave Law an understanding nod.

"Oh that's right! You guys get a special discount for allowing me to travel with you. It will be only 9,000 beli each."

"That's not what I meant," growled Law, teleporting Crimin model next to him and cuffing her hands together behind her back.

"Hey! What are you doing?" yelled Nami, struggling against his grasp.

"Yeah Captain, how is she going to sign autographs if she's handcuffed?"

"Listen now and listen closely. Many of you have identified this woman as "Crimin girl", but she is also known as "Cat Burglar" Nami-ya, a member of the Straw Hat crew. She is not a guest on this ship. She's a hostage and will be treated as one. I order all this "Crimin girl" nonsense to stop at once. Is this understood?"

"Does this mean no autographs?" asked Shachi.

Law felt another sweat drop fall down his forehead.

"No autographs."

The heart crew let out a whinny huff, crossing their arms against their chest.

"Hey! What is all this hostage business? Let me go!" demanded Nami.

"No."

Law threw the frazzled navigator into Bepo's arms and prepared to exit the room. To Nami's horror, Law teleported all the treasure out of the room as well.

"My treasure! You bastard! What did you do with it?" screamed Nami, trying to worm herself out of the bear's grasp.

"Bepo, watch the hostage. And make sure to keep these nose-bleeding fan boys from falling into her pace. I'm counting on you, Bepo."

"Aye-aye Captain!" answered Bepo, bringing one paw up to salute. "You can count on me!"

Law nodded and excited the room, leaving the rest of crew in a state of embarrassment. All the men were blushing in shame. The Heart Crew couldn't let their captain down. They were much more than just nose-bleeding fan boys! They were some fearsome pirates dammit!

Nami looked up at the crew encircling her and Bepo.

"Hey, how about you guys unlock these handcuffs and I'll show you some of my favorite bikinis from the Crimin magazine?"

The heart pirates all had stone cold looks on their faces. Nami let out a nervous laugh. Perhaps these guys were not as easy to break as she thought. She laid back into Bepo's bear-hug grip. Nami had to think of a plan and quick. The sooner she escaped the better. Who knew what this mad doctor was up to? Why would he want to make her a hostage? What was he trying to gain from her capture? She didn't want to stay and find out.

"Hey Bemo," whispered Nami into his fury ear.

"It's Bepo."

"Oh sorry, that's what I meant. Listen, you need to stop your Captain from opening those treasure chests!"

"Nope, I'm watching you! Captain's orders!"

"But they're booby-trapped! If he opens them, they will explode!"

"Captain is counting on me to watch you. I'm listening to my Captain!"

Nami just let out a soft sigh.

"Fine, but if the explosion blows your Captain's head off… it will be all your fault."

Bepo felt a shadow of guilt hovering above him. He couldn't get the image of his headless Captain out of his mind.

"Captain!" cried Bepo, running out the room. "I'll save you!"

"Hey Bepo, where are you going?" yelled out one of his crewmembers. "We need to be guarding the hostage!"

"I swear, Bepo can be so reckless at times," complained Shachi, adjusting his glasses. "I guess we'll have to take it from here. You heard the Captain, no falling into her pace! We need to stay firm. She is the hostage and we are capturers and nothing is going to change that."

Nami could feel the whole crew leering down at her. She knew a challenge when she saw one. Too bad these boys didn't stand a chance.

"Well if I'm going to be held here against my will, I refuse to do so in this state. I haven't taken a bath in a few days and I feel filthy. I need a bath and I will allow one of you to stand guard as I bathe myself. Now who will it be?"

All hands were up immediately. The men were fighting each other like dogs to gain the coveted position. Nami were scanning each crew member, observing their nearly covered faces. She finally set her eyes on one man.

"You with the penguin hat."

"Me," choked Penguin, pointing his fingers at his hat.

"Yes you. I don't want this to be some competition, so I'm choosing you at random. You'll be my guard. Now please lead me to the bath quarters."

"Lucky bastard," growled the rest of the crew. Penguin fanned himself from fainting. He couldn't believe his luck!

Nami followed Penguin down the hall, but she could hear the rest of the men following close behind. Nami turned towards them and spoke out.

"And where do you think you guys are going?"

"We are coming too! The Captain ordered all of us to watch you and that's what we attend to do. We respect your privacy and allow only Penguin in the bathing quarters with you, but we will be standing guard in front of the door in the mean time," answered Shachi, narrowing his eyes on the prisoner. "Will this be a problem?"

"That's fine. As long as it's only one person inside the bathing quarters with me, I won't have a problem. I can't have you all watching me take a bath...I'm a shy girl," murmured Nami. The crew could see a little blush forming on her cheeks. They were taken by her sudden bashfulness.

"She so cute," whispered the pirates, blushing a bit themselves.

As Nami and Penguin entered into the bath quarters she noticed the room was dimly lit and the air felt rather cool. Nami could tell Penguin was shaking like a leaf next to her, but she knew it wasn't due to the temperature. They finally walked up to a circular tub in the middle of the bath quarters.

"Can you please draw a bath for me? I really can't do anything when I'm in handcuffs."

The pirate nodded as he turned the bath nubs, letting the warm water fill the bathtub. When it finally reached a respectable amount, he added bubbles and a washcloth. Nami fiddled in her back pocket as he drew the bath. She brought her head down in order to hide her grin. She had to admit being an experienced thief had really paid off. The cards were falling into place. It's not the hand you're dealt that matters; it's the delivery.

Penguin started at her, waiting for her next move. Nami looked up with big eyes and rosy cheeks.

"Well, I guess you'll have to undress me as well. But please be gentle and close your eyes when you do so! I'm a very shy girl."

Penguin wiped the drool dripping down his chin. He couldn't believe his luck again! This had to be the happiest day of his life. He closed his eyes and let his fingers do the talking. He grabbed her shoulders tenderly, dancing his hands towards the tied bikini top strings.

The crew was jealously waiting outside. Some of them tried their best to peek inside, but there was no use. Penguin and Nami were too deep in the bathing quarters to be seen. Never had they ever envied someone much. On the "cool meter" Penguin was now at par with their very own Captain! And it was all due to his sheer dumb luck! It wasn't fair!

They heard a scream coming from within the bathing quarters. It was the hostage yelling out something.

"How dare you! Get out! GET OUT! I don't want any pervert watching me take a bath!"

The pirate with the penguin hat flew out of the bathroom, hands fully covering the face. Even though his crewmates couldn't see their comrade's face, they knew exactly what had happened. Hunched over with blood dripping from his hands, they knew Penguin had succumbed to a massive nosebleed. They could hear a muffled whisper coming from his bloody palms.

"Boobs."

The crew let out a loud laugh and patted him on the back.

"You couldn't help but have a little peek, huh?"

Their hunched crewmate gave them a little nod.

"Well hurry up and get cleaned up in the infirmary! The Captain will not be pleased to see you in such a state!"

Penguin nodded and ran out of the room. The rest of the crew's laughter died down as they focused on their attention back on the bathing quarters. Everyone hesitated to make a move.

"Should someone else go in there?"

There was a brief silence before another crewmate answered.

"I don't think the Captain would be pleased to see a bunch of us with nosebleed stains on our uniforms. Perhaps it's best we just wait for her to finish and come out."

The crew regrettably agreed. As much as they would love to take a glance of this bathing beauty, they wanted to prove their Captain wrong. They were much more that just some nose-bleeding fan boys! They were nose-bleeding fan boys with some dignity damnit!

"Captain! No," screamed Bepo, jumping on his frazzled leader. Law was in the middle of opening a treasure chest when the bear entered the room.

"Bepo! What are you doing? Get off!" ordered the crushed Captain.

"Only if you promise not to open any of these treasure chests!"

Law hiked one of his eyebrows up in confusion.

"Now why would I promise you something like that?"

"Please, Captain! I don't want you to die! It will be all my fault!"

"Bepo please get off me. Captain's orders."

"Aye-aye, Captain!" called out Bepo, jumping up into a saluting pose.

"Just so I have an understanding of the situation, what would cause my death, Bepo?"

"An explosion would blow your head off!"

"I see. Yes, I believe that would do it. Now what would cause such an explosion?"

"The treasure chests are booby-trapped, Captain!"

Law adjusted his cap as he picked himself off the floor.

"I can understand your concern, but I promise you none of these treasure chests are actually booby-trapped."

"Are you sure, Captain?"

"I'm positive, I scanned them myself just to be sure. And even if there were any, I could deactivate them with my powers."

"Captain," gushed out the polar bear in joy. "You are so cool!"

"Now how did such an idea get in your head, I wonder…"

The bear went silent as his head fell in shame.

"Let me guess…the woman?"

"Sorry, Captain."

Damnit, I underestimated the cleverness of this woman.

"Bepo, you stay here and stand guard. If she tries escape she will not go without her precious treasure. And this Cat Burglar is not to be trusted, so ignore her comments. Understood?"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

Grabbing his sword Law made a swift exit out of the room and into the hallway. Time was of the essence. Who knew what this woman was up to with these lovesick pirates watching over her? The dark doctor teleported himself into the room he last left his crew. Scanning the area he noticed the room was empty.

Where on earth is everyone?

He could hear chattering coming from down the eastern halls. It was where the bathing quarters were located.

"Wonderful. I'm going to be performing blood transfusions all day," grumbled Law, entering the bathing quarters.

He was surprised to see most of his crew standing guard clean and in good health. But he noticed right away the woman was missing.

"What is the meaning of this? Where is the hostage?"

"Now Captain, before you get upset, hear us out! The hostage is just taking a bath! That's all! We have been standing guard this whole time and nothing has gone wrong."

Law looked down at the little droplets of thick red liquid. He looked back up at his crew and narrowed his eyes on them.

"Oh that! You see, Penguin had a little accident and had to go to the infirmary! But nothing serious," assured Shachi, scratching the back of his head. "Everything is fine."

But something wasn't sitting right with the Surgeon of Death. Law bent down and wiped the bloody substance with his finger. As he observed the texture and color of the blood closely. He could feel his jaw clenching tensely. Law jumped up and busted through the bathroom door. He ran into the bathing chambers calling out for the Straw Hat's navigator.

"Captain! There's no way she escaped! There's no way out but though this door! And we've been standing guard this whole time."

But their captain ignored their claims and entered further into the bathing chambers. There was a fog of steam covering his view of the room. He noticed someone resting in the circular tub towards the middle of chambers. Was it the woman? He couldn't tell from this distance. All he could see was a person with towel wrapped around their head. Law walked up to get a closer look at the slouching figure. Law eyes grew bigs as he quickly removed the towel.

Shit! Shit! SHIT!

"Penguin, are you sure Captain wants us to put all this treasure in an escape pod?" asked Bepo, carrying most of the treasure on his shoulders.

"Yes, I'm positive! He said that the Cat Burglar is not to be trusted, so we must hide the treasure," mumbled Nami in her best man-ish voice.

Being a fellow team member of the 'weak trio' and best pals with Usopp sure prepared her for this moment. Usopp gave her all types of weird capsules in case of emergencies and a few of those special capsules were filled with fake blood. Usopp was always a firm believer of faking his own death in order to get out fights or island missions. So he entrusted Nami with a few, just in case she ever needed them. Out of all the scenarios she could've imaged using these fake blood capsules she would've never believed she be using them for a moment like this. She was going to give Usopp a big hug next time she saw him. And Luffy too… after she beat the shit out of him first of course. Hanging out with her idiot Captain and Usopp, she was learned to master the art of impressions. They were always joking around on the ship, imitating different types of voices; it was hard for Nami not to get caught up in the fun. She could actually do a pretty decent Zoro voice. Luffy always commended her for her spot on impression of the sleepy swordsman.

"Penguin what's wrong with your voice? You sound funny," noted Bepo, sticking his head closer to his "companion".

Nami felt herself getting hot. Guess she wasn't as polished as she though.

"It's nothing! I'm just catching a little cold, that's all. Hurry up, Bepo," grumbled Nami, running to the nearest empty pod.

Not that Nami had a lot of time to learn Penguin's mannerism anyways. As soon as she got herself out of those handcuffs, she knocked him out with her rod. Being a professional thief she always kept a hair pin in her back pocket. It was mostly used to pick the locks of treasure chests and safes, but it could be used for handcuffs as well. And she had to thank her lucky stars she had her rod hidden with her invisibility powers. Law would of taken from her right away had he known she had such a weapon. Knocking out the Heart Pirate, Nami was able to disguise herself with his uniform and hat. In fact, Nami choose this particular pirate due to his donning hat. Out of all the hats she saw, Penguin's hat could conceal her face the best. It was a risk, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Thankfully the fake blood kept the crew distracted enough to not notice the difference in physique.

To Nami's delight Bepo finished the stuffing the last of the treasure in the escape pod. Bepo looked confused as "Penguin" jumped up and down in excitement.

Why is he so happy? Penguin can be such a weirdo sometimes.

"Well what are you standing around for? Go back to the vault," ordered "Penguin".

"Captain told me to stand guard of the treasure no matter what."

Nami let out a low growl. She had to think of something and something quick to get this bear out of the picture. She wouldn't be able to launch the escape pod with him watching. It wasn't going to happen.

"True, and why did he tell you to stand guard of it?"

"Um…so the Cat Burglar won't take it!"

"Exactly! So if we are hiding it from the Cat Burglar, we can't be around the treasure, right? Cause if we are guarding this pod, she'll know it's there and go after it!"

Bepo scratched his left ear in confusion.

"But Captain says I have to—"

"Listen, if she finds the treasure and steals it, guess who's fault will it be?"

Both of Bepo ears folded down in shame.

"Mine."

"Exactly. So hurry up and run back to the vault before you get in trouble."

His "crewmate" didn't have to tell him twice, Bepo was already rushing back to the empty fault. As the nervous bear ran away Nami felt a little guilty. She didn't want to get poor Bepo in trouble. He actually seemed like a sweet bear she would actually get along with. But it was either him or her. And she had no desire to stay hostage aboard this ship any longer. Nami jumped inside the escape pod and prepared herself for launch. As she managed the controls the power within the pod suddenly went out.

Shit! How the hell did that happen?

Breathing hard, she pulled herself together and got out her rod. Nami was able to get the power going again with one little electric shock. She pressed the launch button and braced herself for impact. The pod shot out quickly and precisely. Nami was pleased to see all the rushing bubbles surrounding her window. But there was one large bubble that concerned her. It was big…a little too big. Before she even had a moment to react she found herself laying back on the submarine's cold hard floor.

How on earth am I back on the ship? What just happened?

She was pulled up from the floor and shoved up against the sub's wall. The 'Penguin' hat was ripped off her head and she was seeing eye to eye with the Surgeon of Death. Nami tried to fight him off, but his sword was firmly pressed against her neck and torso. She would never forget the intensity she saw in his eyes. It was a look of wild delight. Nami bit back her wounded pride. She was close, so close. What was she dealing with? Some kind of demon?

Back to present time

Nami had finally gain some control over her body again. The drugs were starting wearing off and she was able to sway her body a little back and forth. Nami could see light spilling out from crack of the door. The orange-haired navigator was able to adjust her sight a bit better in the darkness. It was then she realized she was closer to the door than she originally thought. If she could muscle her way to the door... perhaps she could break herself out.

She still couldn't feel her arms or legs, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Nami gave herself another strong push and rolled herself off the bed. She fell right off the feather soft bed and onto the hard unforgiving floor.

Well that was easy, a little too easy.

The thought really bothered Nami. Why couldn't she feel her arms and legs? If she could move everything else in her body why couldn't she feel them? She heard the door creak open in front of her. The bright light was too strong and she looked down to keep the stinging rays from blinding her sight. The Cat Burglar immediately regretted this decision. Nami let out a blood-curdling scream. Both her arms and legs were missing from her body. She heard a dark chuckle coming from the doorway. Looking up Nami saw the pirate doctor leaning on the door frame. He was smiling like a lunatic, concealing something behind his back.

"Missing something?" taunted Law, bringing out what he was hiding. It was her left arm, dangling from his right hand. He cruelly swayed it side to side as if he was using her very own body part to wave hello.

Nami let out another horrid scream. If she didn't know before she knew it now. She wasn't dealing with just some demon, she was dealing with the devil himself.

Alright! Yes! Finally! I'm on the path I want to be with this story! I'm getting some meat on this boney fic! Truth be told, when OP was in its Punk Hazard arc, I wasn't too sure if I wanted to continue with this story. I thought it was a little too far fetch to continue with. But NOW things are different. The way things are going with OP (the end of Punk Hazard and into Dressrosa), my story can sorda make sense again! Yay! I'm pumped and little freak out at the same time. Omg, Oda…you can sorda read my mind. Or I can read yours? Whatever, great minds think alike. But enough of my ramblings, I wont spoil you on what I have in store for this fic. It's still a mystery. Bwhahaha!

I want to thank everyone that reviewed, followed, and favored this fic! I'm so happy many of you still have an interest in "Hostage"! It really encourages me to continue writing it :3 I freakin' love you guys :,,,,,D

Now my little responses your awesome reviews!

lexxiebaby: Nami's obsession with treasure always gets her into some type of trouble! Woman loves treasure so much…her favorite color is shiny! LOL!

Phantom: OMG I'm so happy you review this story! You always make the best observations, Phantom! OMG! YOU ARE SO RIGHT! Angre does seem like a more smooth Duval! OMG I didn't even notice that! They're pretty similar! You are brilliant for noticing that! Ha ha! Love it! Yes, Nami should take some pointers from you. The treasure! It's not worth it, woman! Blah! She'll never listen XD

Trunksmybaby: OMG! I know, Nami-swan is soooo cool *_* and so is Law! They're sooo cool…they should get together ;D ha ha!

Guest 2: Thank you! I firmly believe there should be more LawXNami fic! I think there will be the way things are going in the manga…I won't spoil it for those that are not caught up. But let me tell you…things are getting good ;) Viva LawXNami!

anime pirate 13: Thank you! Sorry I kept you waiting -_- but things will get better with this fic! Promise! Thank you for still supporting this fic :,,,,D You're a rockstar!

spiritgirl16: Yes! Law is getting a taste of the corkiness of the Strawhat crew when dealing with Nami's treasure obsession! What on earth is he up against? Bwahaha! Thank you so much for waiting for me! I'm sorry this fic is taking so long…but it will be a fun, action-packed story! Promise! Pinky promise :3

Thanks again everyone for reading, reviewing, following, and faving! Please review if you get a chance! I love to hear your awesome feedback :D

Oh and btw, I'm on tumblr! I usually post my chapter reviews, crazy theories, and OP/LawXNami spamness on my page weekly. Check it out if you want more of my craziness! My page name is lostheartcard! The link is on my profile page!

And if you follow "Heart Hazard" I should have a chapter up some time next week! k, byeeee!