"LUFFY!"

Blatant avatars of rage come in many shapes and sizes. Nami was more than aware of this, having seen her fair share of them in the past. That didn't make her recoiling any less of a natural reflex. After, this was what any living thing would do when a new fighter hurtled into the fray wielding one sword more than any sane person would deem necessary.

She could feel the heat of him at fifty meters.

Perhaps in better circumstances, someone's comrade would take the time to gauge a situation before rushing in, announcing their presence like some kind of moron inflating a dirigible-sized target over their heads. Unfortunately for her, this was not that day.

He was closing in rapidly, jumping over unconscious bodies and up a narrow railing Nami would never chance. With a start, she realized that he had marked her as prey in order to avenge, well, what effectively turned out to be no one.

She barely had time to register what was happening, but Nami had her primary asset to work with. She watched his muscles ripple, the angle of his pivot. His first attack could be parried with her pole if she felt the need to engage. She could just shout out the truth, of course. His little friend was still very much alive. On the other hand, Buggy or Cabaji would probably kill the both of them in mere seconds after this admission.

As Nami considered staying alive to be more important a virtue than sincerity itself, she chose to purse her lips and look for a way out of this. Someone her beliefs isn't craven simply because they are afraid. They are craven because it is a moral imperative.

Nami flipped backwards before the swordsman could reach her, sticking the landing like a cat and baring her pole in lieu of fangs and a hiss. A small wind passed between them. His landing had created something of a whirlwind effect, and those eyes…

She shivered as something subconscious identified them as predatory. Perhaps that was why he covered his head: to force foes to make eye contact.

He flew at her, lashing out a single strike from three points. She managed block the worst of it but flew backwards, her quarterstaff scarred and thrown from her grasp. Her shaking legs would not be conducive to escaping. She desperately needed to turn his ire. She, to her shame, had to rely on someone else. Only one was a safe bet at this point.

"Captain!" she shouted, betraying genuine fear.

Buggy the Clown had not been in the same position as his new crewmember. He had the luxury of watching and identifying what Nami could not. Also, despite his fearsome reputation, he wasn't about to let the young girl who'd just shown her worth to die unless it meant a victory against the celebrity before him.

"Roronoa Zoro, have you come for my head?" Buggy asked, haughty despite his mighty nosebleed. Zoro. The swordsman gave him a sidelong glance, murderous as ever.

Nami's pallor gave ghosts something to aspire to. This was Roronoa Zoro, one of the most dangerous men on the Eastern Blue. And she'd pissed him off… by doing the right thing.

Zoro grunted assent, narrowing his eyes and taking in what was clearly Luffy's doing. There was something unspoken in the sound that set Nami's hair to stand on end. She took a step back as Zoro pulled out his swords into a dramatic pose, nearly taking her nose out.

She let her eyes fall on the unconscious Luffy and allowed herself to wallow in the irony of the situation. She had made an enemy by positioning herself to backstab this man's bounties and delaying his companion's demise.

Confusingly, the very idea of the enemy of one's enemy being their friend was subverted in such a way that Nami had to forget the idiom entirely as Buggy hollered for his first-in-command to fight.

Cabaji did this with glee, uncomfortable in his saddle but still quite dextrous. He came at Zoro from behind, calling him out by name and challenging him to the duel. Nami never understood why swordsmen felt the need to do this every chance they got, what with firearms becoming more sophisticated by the year, but she wouldn't complain now. If she had to put money on this duel, she would bet for the green and pointy devil.

Zoro shot his opponent a glare which might have been appraising if it wasn't for the palpable levels of enmity shadowing any other human attribute the bounty hunter manifested.

"I don't have time for small fry like you."

"Shame we don't feel the same way." Buggy interjected, pulling out his knives. "Because the victors will get to write this story, just like all the others."

The effect was less menacing for the crumpled, dislocated nose gushing all over the man's face. Zoro had to spin around as Cabaji wheeled behind him. He was now surrounded by a perfect triangle of supposed enemies, and Nami could tell from his posture that he didn't come here for a drawn-out fight. This would be over quickly, one way or another.

"Your grave shall mark my greatest victory yet," the clown captain asserted, attacking Zoro head-on. He was ripped to pieces for his trouble, which only reduced Cabaji to chuckling. Nami couldn't hide surprise and horror. She had intended to rob this man blind, but not kill him. Killing… that was the purview of pirates, criminals, and.. well, Zoro, apparantly.

She fought to keep her lunch down before noticing the utter lack of blood. She took in a deep breath.

Zoro stared at Cabaji like a madman for a moment, leaving his back to Buggy's remains. Cabaji took advantage of this moment to jump up into the air and throw tiny daggers and rings. Nami didn't think he was putting forth a great deal of effort considering how well he'd done attacking an incredibly mobile opponent mere minutes before. This was child's play for the bounty hunter.

He threw himself into the fight, shredding the acrobat's toy-based weaponry into nothing, enduring explosions like light breezes. The only thing that Cabaji consistently seemed to put any effort into was riding away, though, and after six passes, he did nothing but throw a smoke pellet into Zoro's vicinity.

The reason for this became obvious in a split second. Zoro's eyes widened as a knife jutted through his haramaki. He'd been stabbed, and Nami had been the only witness to the clown pirate's horrifying revival.

"I guess you didn't hear… but I'm a chop-chop man." Buggy said, giggling at the end of the sentence for emphasis.

Nami didn't understand how those words were supposed to make a coherent sentence, but Zoro did. "Another… fucking… devilfruit," he murmured, his rage now mixed with physical pain. "It figures you'd fight dirty."

He took a few rattling breaths.

Cabaji began a flurry of slashes through the rapidly-thinning haze Zoro was slower, but by no means out of the fight.

"Pity. It looks like I missed your vital organs." Buggy said, disspointed.

"Consider it a gift, Captain Buggy." Cabaji muttered, his voice far more excited than it should be. "You left the best for me!"

Zoro responded by hacking apart a nearby clown limb between parries. It instantly knitted back together.

This was not a fight he could conceivably win.

Cabaji began to ride in a rapid spiral, alternating his tactics in the minutes that followed.

"Feel free to join in, Nami." he chimed. "Anytime you want, really."

She immediately smiled and waved her hands dismissively. "Now, now.. I wouldn't dream of stealing any of your fun, boys."

Apparently Buggy was fine with this answer, as maniacal laughter followed. "Now that's what I call respecting your superiors. Well said, Nami. Well said."

As common as her dishonesty was, Nami felt dirty. Every choice available to her was unpalatable, and she was beginning to see a pattern forming before her. Cabaji would aim some of his attacks at Zoro's unconscious comrade, trapping the pirate hunter in place so that he could mount a defense. Buggy would then make a couple of opportunistic lunges and soak up all retaliatory strikes. He became Cabaji's human shield when Zoro finally had a chance to turn the tides of battle against the only foe he could damage.

Any openings Zoro allowed on himself were met by attacks to his singular gaping wound.

It would be untrue to say Nami couldn't allow this to continue, but it would be deceptive to say that she would. It took Zoro shielding his unconscious friend with his own body as Cabaji unleashed his explosive toys to force her hand, but she couldn't take this anymore.

"WAIT!" she called out into the chaos, casually walking towards the fight. Surprisingly, all three main participants seemed receptive to her words, though they all still pointed their sharp implements at one another. "Doesn't this seem… anticlimactic?"

"Hm?" Cabaji stared at her like she had grown a vestigial chicken wing, sporting only one feather and flapping haphazardly in the wind. It was a really specific expression, to say the least.

"I just mean… wouldn't it make more sense to do this in front of a crowd?" She shook her head. "Any old pirate can claim they killed a powerful opponent, even if they die in a fluke. Well, to be honest, anyone can brag about beating someone else. What matters is publicity."

Buggy made a stifled choking sound, sporting the face of a fool caught off-guard. She didn't know quite how well this idea would go over. While Buggy had been receptive to her meddling thus far, she was grasping at straws now and she knew it.

Zoro's eyes were hidden from her, but she saw him panting and shaking.

"Why, Nami…," Buggy started, his voice growling and low, before switching moods entirely. "What a FLASHILY good idea!"

Oh, good. She was still surrounded by idiots.

"I won't go quietly." Zoro muttered, voice somehow clear despite the sword in his mouth. He snuck a glance at his friend's bleeding body before adding. "-letting me live will be the last mistake you ever make."

Nami rolled her eyes and shoved past the acrobat to kick the swordsman in his wound with all of her might. She expertly bit down her bile once more as his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped down, beaten and unconscious.

"Whoa, vicious." Cabaji whistled. "Remind me not to piss you off, my dear."

"Very well, Cabaji." she said sweetly, tracing a finger teasingly under his chin. "Don't piss me off." she whispered to sinister effect.

Buggy, meanwhile, laughed like he had hidden hyena DNA and picked up the unconscious Zoro by the scruff of his neck while stepping on his comrade's head in a pose of total victory.

Injured crew members crawled out of the woodwork, whooping and cheering.

Luffy opened her eyes to a brand-new night and blinding pain. She knew she had bled through her clothes, which had since dried into an hard, itchy mass against her skin. A brief flash of panic washed through her when she realized she wasn't laying down so much as dangling from a long, and admittedly shitty, noose off of a pole someone had found somewhere and driven into the patio in front of the pub. She felt the breeze in her hair and immediately known someone had taken her beloved hat. That almost made her cry out, but she managed to keep calm… for now.

The pub itself was still a mess from earlier, but someone had taken the time to set up a few tarps and stack the rubble to make a crude wall. There weren't any mooks strewn about, but no one had taken the time to right the tables or ruined crates from earlier.

This wasn't to say the area was deserted, but the scant ten crew members wandering around cleaning with lit torches and hand lanterns and what she assumed was a lone guard next to the stairwell hardly put panic into her heart. The fact the bastards had taken her hat? That was another matter entirely. She NEEDED her hat.

She could smell food from inside and began to drool. She thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't destroyed the kitchen.

Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she was pleased to note that she was alone. There were no other spikes. That faded in just a few moments.

No Zoro. No Nami. Even her hat had abandoned her. Damn, did she screw that one up. She had to try again, dammit! And no more playing dead, either.

She grimaced. Cheap talk from someone still doing so after being awake for a whole minute.

Her wounds still bothered her, but apparently her abnormally bountiful amount of blood handn't done her wrong. She was still woozy, still weak, but not dead and certainly able to make it out of her captivity without making a sweat.

She did so by merely stretching and popping out of the ropes. The drop was nothing. It was just loud enough that some of the men in the vicinity turned to look at her, but she'd already hid behind a few leaking barrels. Stealth was not her strong suit, but the last thing she needed was to run into Cabaji and Buggy together, brought out by an alarm. At least, not until she knew where Zoro was. She had heard him earlier today, right? He couldn't be that far away.

A small wave of fear crept through her. What if they had already fought? Did Zoro lose? Did he get stabbed again? And what of Nami?! Did she get find out? Or worse, was the Nami she was saddled with not going to come with her?

She was met with resounding mental static and hunger bordering on starvation. First things first. They had delicious food inside.

She could hear the men outside had noticed her absence already, and had set off some kind of minor alarm, but as they suspected some refugee of cutting her down rather than impending violence, no one was shrieking for their captain to come out and deal with the situation. Even so, she needed to be careful. She wandered over to an intact window on bare feet.

She saw close to two dozen men in the common dining area. Most of them were sporting heavy bandages or crutches. There were two on stretchers on the floor. There was a distinct lack of hat or nakama. She really tried to feel something other than hunger looking at her victims, but there wasn't anything but annoyance that they were getting food and she wasn't.

She found the kitchen exit and found a broken window that let her enter. Being that there were only two cooks, this job was easier. She just grabbed an entire pan of half-cooked meat while they weren't looking…. And pulled it right outside to devour it like the animal she was.

Relief and clarity came almost instantly. Yes, she was still hungry, but she could function in combat again. Maybe even go for Cabaji Round 2 if she warmed up first.

Well, that is what she told herself. Instead, she clambered onto the roof of the inn and proceeded to dangle from the eaves of the roof. Humans tended to look for intruders at ground level. Not on rooftops.

She mimicked her primate namesake in the attempt to scout out all available upstairs rooms. One appeared to be the master suite. It was covered with circus decorations and knives, as well as a curtained bed opened to reveal that one Bohgzi dude sleeping like a baby. There, on his night table, was her hat.

She felt like she'd been violated, somehow. Bloodlust told her to break in. She could smother the clown with his own cushions. It would be so easy…

..but also dumb. She'd probably set off all the alarms the instant she broke the window.

Groaning, she popped over three more windows before finally seeing something promising. Nami was sitting on a chair in a small bedroom. How she'd gotten to get them to agree to letting her have her own room, Luffy was unsure.

Her would-be navigator was moving her quarterstaff over in her hands. Luffy imagined it was mostly being held together by glue and positive thinking, now. It had three slashing gouges in it.

Oh dear.

Luffy shook her head. She could blame herself for things later, if she was so inclined. Chances are, she'd have forgotten by then.

She looked for any means of quiet ingress. She didn't want to chance being ratted out by Nami, but it was a better chance of finding Zoro without engaging in combat that anything else she could see.

This window wasn't the massive, ornate, unopenable affair that had been Buggy's master chamber, but it still didn't look possible to open from the outside. Luffy still tried, and got caught by Nami in the attempt.

Nami's eyes first widened like she'd seen a vengeful phantasm rise from the grave. Given her appearance, Luffy didn't fault her this, but she quickly gave an upside-down thumbs up and massive grin.

It took a second, but Nami relaxed and quickly let her guest inside.

"Thanks." Luffy breathed, keeping her voice quiet. "I think I overslept."

Nami pulled a finger to her lips in the universal command for silence. She wandered over to a dresser and pulled some random clothes out of it before pulling a strange contraption out from under its high legs. She placed a black disk inside it and shoved a short needle on top of it. Stringed music sang through the chamber.

Luffy quickly changed into the new clothing. It was a simple hoodie fitted for a large body and pants that she had to fasten on tightly with a belt. She felt like a half-inflated balloon. Nami stared at her in morbid fascination, likely noting the mess that was Luffy's torso due to blades and a Buggy Ball.

"They're more shallow than they look." Luffy said simply, knotting the belt to make it fit her tiny waist. "-Besides, I ate a lot of meat. So they'll be gone soon."

"What kind of monster…." Nami began to raise her voice despite herself. Luffy grinned again, mirroring Nami's earlier plea for silence.

"I'm a rubber human." Her smile melted in half an instant. "But that isn't important right now. Where's Zoro?" There was a note of concern that palpably hung in the air.

"Alive. In the cellar." Nami answered brusquely. "-But I hope you don't plan to just run down there and break him out."

"Why shouldn't I?" Luffy asked.

"They left him with Cabaji. Fighting him didn't go well for you last time." Nami stopped for a moment, her face turning to consternation. "Why haven't you asked me why I'm helping you?"

Luffy shrugged and waited for what must surely follow.

"Wait, why AM I helping you?" Nami asked with a sigh, glaring at her guest.

"Because we're the good guys?" Luffy offered helpfully.

"Bounty hunters aren't good guys."

Luffy laughed into her hands. This was going to be the hardest moment in trying to get Nami to join her, but dammit if she didn't want to see the look on her face.

"We aren't bounty hunters. We're pirates."

Nami's face contorted with immedate hatred. She moved over to the closed door and nearly grasped at the handle. She was probably about to shout the alarm. Luffy really shouldn't have pushed her luck, but no one could stop her now.

"I'm going after the One Piece." She said excitedly. "-I'm going to be the Pirate KING."

Nami changed her mind, if only to approach Luffy and lift her up by the shoulders of her shirt.

"I… hate… pirates." she hissed.

"You don't say." Luffy said, disinterested and smiling. "Oh, hey. You should join us!" she added as an afterthought. "I bet you're good with maps. That's what you were doing with Boogy-"

"-Buggy," Nami corrected.

"-with that one guy when I came to kick his ass."

"Well done, by the way." Nami droned. "You got my hopes up for nothing."

"If at first you don't suncteed, try, try again." Luffy said, adopting a sagely posture, only to be punched lightly in the head.

"It's 'succeed', Dumbass."

"So, you're like a navigator, right?" Luffy pressed the issue, nonplussed.

"...Yes."

"Then, yeah, I am TOTALLY bringing you with me."

"No. I won't work with dirty pirates."

Luffy started to suppress more laughter. "Obviously."

Nami narrowed her eyes. "I could just rat you out right now. Throw you to the wolves. Then there'd be one less of you." She spat in Luffy's direction. "I could have died because of you. That friend of yours was going to cut me into ribbons."

Damn. Luffy had to admit she had a point. "Yeeeah. Sorry about that. I swear I'm gonna fix that one. I just need to break Zoro out, and I'll explain everything. Can't have my comrades killing eachother!"

Nami literally pulled at her hair. "I'm not-and will never be- your comrade."

Luffy ignored her as she was wont to. This wasn't a promising start to a beautiful friendship, but there was still time. She gave Nami another dazzling, inhumanly large smile.

"Thanks again. I really do mean it. I'd be a goner if it weren't for you."

This seemed to calm some of Nami's anger. "So would your friend."

All of the adrenaline and thirst for violence came back to Luffy in one fell swoop. She went rigid, her fists clenching. She was still a pallid, dirty thing coated in dry blood. Perhaps now she looked the part of a vengeful spirit.

"Did they hurt him?" she asked.

"Not fatally. Not yet. I convinced them to make a show of defeating him. It was the only way to play for time. Of course, if I'd known he was a pirate-," The second part of the phrase was barely a whisper.

"Than he'd still be my best friend." Luffy said simply, unable to resist letting her grimace contort monstrously. "And a man worth saving."

Nami shivered, her face conflicted.

"Where is the entrance to the cellar?" Luffy demanded, voice low and dangerous.

"You can't go down there. You'll get killed, and no one will be able to stop it this time."

"Is that concern for yourself or us? I don't give a FUCK about that." Luffy could hear her own verbal venom. Nami recoiled as the tone became darker still. "-Friends look out for each other, and I'll get him with or without your permission."

"E-even if you do , Buggy's men are scouring the forests and refugee encampments for an audience. If anything happens during the plan, they'll have no reason to keep those people alive." Nami pressed. She spoke the truth, though Luffy guessed she could barely admit this part of the plan even to herself.

Luffy glowered. This was not looking good. "Then what is your idea, huh?!"

The two were very lucky to have an orchestral accompaniment. The noise would have undoubtably attracted Buggy's crew into the room.

"Wait until noon tomorrow. That's when Buggy's going to kill him if the marines don't hurry the heck up."

"Did you call them?"

"What? No! They're never there when you need them." Nami trailed off. "Even if I had a mushi, I don't think that would change."

Luffy took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll just have to kick Buggy's ass in front of everyone, have Zoro take out Cabaji, and then leave it to you to help the refugees."

"That's not…," Nami bit her lip. Luffy knew full well that Nami had probably intended to take advantage of the distraction to rob the pirates blind.

"You have something better to do?" Luffy asked, temper rising again. Nami liked to think of herself as a good person, right? "You know that would be really messed up, right?"

"Erm-no… I just mean, I don't think I could, you know. I'm just a weakling, really."

Luffy looked from Nami's staff to her face, unsuccessfully hiding disappointment.

"I mean, I'm not a monster like you or Zoro, and can you really expect me to take on a bunch of armed men and lead a mob? I've only come this far because I'm clever." Nami responded defensively, her entire body ready to pounce.

Luffy flattened her affect. She didn't expect Nami to got worked up so damned quickly. Why should she care what Luffy thought?

"I bet you're stronger than Mohji." the young captain pointed out. "Besides, all you really have to do is get them all riled up. Then they'll just-"

"Are you judging me?" She asked. "You dare lecture me?!" Angry tears welled in her eyes.

"Get out." she demanded.

Luffy stared at her impassively, the judgement from earlier hidden. "I said like two sentences. Leg ashuras are supposed to be long."

"GET OUT." She repeated emphatically. Luffy didn't move. Nami had already involved the refugees. How was them fighting back with Nami's help any worse than what would happen to them otherwise?

"If you don't leave, I'll MAKE you."

Riling her would-be navigator up really felt better than it should have. She hadn't received Nami's affection, but at least this rage was something. The opposite of love wasn't hate. At least she cared enough to drag her, open the window, and literally shove Luffy outside.

Luffy quickly grabbed onto the roof to ease herself down, sneaking one last cheeky grin at Nami's window before wandering away from prying eyes into the dark night.

A/N: Please feel free to review. Reviews are addictive, even if it's just to tell me what I'm doing wrong. In fact, I'm hurting for criticism due to being terrified to show these fics to my friends.