The Next Morning…

Dressing in a red tank-top, black leather jacket and a long, black skirt, Hancock decided to not let her near ravaging the other night keep her from her work. So, making her way through the streets, she found her property, named "Kuja Klub".

Empty, of course. Hancock shook her head. She knew, just as everyone else did, that she was the only one who would arrive to the club early in the morning. Willfully sacrificing one's social life would do that to a person. In truth, she just enjoyed the peace and quiet a completely empty building gave her, and she would be content to stay and run errands throughout the club. Things such as: making sure the bar was full and of varying quality, re-categorizing the records for her DJ, making phone-calls to random celebrities for their input on their experience at her club, and so on and so forth…

Bustling about, she didn't see or hear a person walking into her building, and it wasn't until she had ran by the main bar the fifth time did she finally notice a woman wearing a small vest along with a cow-boy hat and skin tight leather jeans, all in the color purple.

"Miss Robin!" Hancock exclaimed, coming to a halt in front of the oval-eyed woman. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, come now…" Robin started, rising from her seat atop a stool. "I can't come and see how my old club is?" She gestured around, a small smile alighting her lips. "And from the looks of things, all you need is a break every once and a while!" The other woman chuckled.

"That's one thing I don't need nor want. Not with how much fun I have here, in this place." Hancock gave Robin her own smile, happy to see her benefactor in such an apparently good mood. "And, I know you well enough to know that you need something important if you're here so early."

"You learn so quickly!" Robin replied, clicking her high heels on the floor softly. "Honestly, I wanted to know if you knew anything about the murders that happened close to here." Hancock blinked and shook her head.

"No, not at all. I had no idea anyone was murdered!" She gulped. "How close was it?"

"Oh, the news reports said that they happened on one of the side streets near here. Called Mariejois Road, I believe." She sighed and put a hand on her head. "Since it's so frigging close, I was worried about you." Hancock nodded and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, Miss Robin. As you can see, I'm alive and kicking and very not dead!" The other raven-haired beauty laughed, unable to keep it within.

"'Very not dead'??" Hancock suddenly blushed when she realized what she had said. Embarrassing, to say the least, to say something so stupid sounding to a woman she looked up to so fondly. She sighed and Robin reached forward to put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for the laugh, I needed that. Although, I think I should tell you that you shouldn't expect too many people over the next few nights." She informed the club owner, her voice and face setting into a serious tone. "From what I heard, the murders were pretty gruesome, they only found pieces of the men that were there, and people will probably avoid that and adjacent streets like the plague." Hancock nodded; secretly wishing what Robin told her wasn't true. However, she couldn't waste her time with such nonsense, and she decided to continue her errands after Robin left so that any who did arrive would still have as much fun as possible.

"I see. I'll keep that in mind, Miss Robin."

"And when are you ever going to take my advice and just call me Robin?"

"Never, Miss Robin! 3"

And, with that last exchange, the two women bid each other adieu and Robin walked out of the club, waving back to Hancock and closing the doors behind her. Hancock, on the other hand, walked around to her office in the back of the building and started to write up her daily inventory of drinks, records and remaining decorations.

And suddenly, it hit her like a sack of manga. Mariejois Road was the street that she had been accosted on. She wanted it to be a coincidence, but she couldn't fight the ever-growing thought that the murdered man, or men, could have been either the men who tried to rape her or the man who had saved her. And the more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to think about it. It could be her fault that this person was dead; all because he heard her and wanted to do the right thing.

Sighing, Hancock just continued and hoped that the evening would take her mind off of the words of her mentor and friend.

It was just as Robin had foretold; there was barely anyone at the Kuja Klub. The even the music chosen by the DJ was slower and less energetic than you would think to find in a dance club. It did slightly depress Hancock, but she was glad to have any patrons at all. So, in her truest fashion, she went into the throng of people on the dance floor and forgot about her duties as the owner and danced along with her customers. DJ Sandersonia laughed when she saw this and put some more upbeat dance music on the table. Now the club was jumping, and everyone was able to forget the horrible things that had occurred only two streets down.

Now, it happened as she was dancing. Hancock hadn't seen this person walk onto the dance floor, or even enter her club for that reason. But, for whatever reason, this man seemed to gravitate towards her like the moon around the Earth. And when this messy haired young man finally found his place next to Hancock, she finally realized that she was suddenly dancing with someone. He wasn't exactly what you would call a skilled dancer, but he seemed to be happy enough with his level of skill on the floor. The slightly older club owner was a little annoyed that she hadn't been given time to reject him properly, but she had to admit that she was still having a good time with him. His loose leather jacket was open to reveal a toned, but not ripped, torso. His jeans were only ripped in a few places, enough to look good and purposeful, but not raggedy. Nothing else about him seemed to strike her, except the single scar under his left eye.

They continued dancing for a few more minutes, neither of them seeming to tire at all. Hancock decided to finish, however, so she moved to a seat at the bar. When she turned, there he was, sitting right next to her and smiling. Now, she was really annoyed.

"Who are you??" She asked incredulously. He grinned at her, pushing her annoyance to new levels and she was ready to smack that smile off of his face, until he answered her.

"The name's Monkey D. Luffy; Luffy for short." He told her, twisting back in his seat to face the bar. "Ya know, I can't believe I found you in this club, of all of 'em in the city." He chuckled to himself, and Hancock found this interesting, albeit strange.

"What do you mean by that? I don't remember meeting you before." Which was true, she had never seen him in her life.

"Oh, you don't know me, but I have seen you." Luffy replied mysteriously. "I remember seeing you at the club last night, introducing that slobbering creep to the floor." Chuckling again at the memory, he ordered a drink before he continued. "He deserved what happened to him."

"Oh, I agree." She replied appreciatively. Hancock liked his candor, and couldn't help but be slightly attracted to his rugged, wild style; however, she needed to shut him down soon.

She hated wrestling for control of a situation from a man.

"Listen…" She leaned toward him, resting her arms on the bar's surface while Luffy took a sip of what appeared to be root beer. "You remember what I did to that asshole from the other night? Well, I can do it again, and you might experience it personally if you don't leave me be." With the warning hanging in the air between them, Luffy chuckled again; amused that she would threaten him so quickly.

"I seriously doubt it." He grinned in her direction again, however this time his face took on a much more feral quality to it, adding to the wild and untamed look he apparently strove to achieve. Taken aback by sudden change in attitude, Hancock felt a light shiver crawl down her spine. He chuckled again, keeping his grin in place.

"I mean, how would you be able to beat me, if you couldn't even defend yourself against those little weaklings from last night?" Eyes wide, Hancock jumped to her feet.

"Wh-What?! What do you know about that?!" She yelled, startling a couple of people around them. Luffy, however, simply made his way through the crowd and walked toward the exit. "Wait!! Wait, damnit!!" She yelled after him, and when he wouldn't stop, she ran after him. Reaching the exit before her, Luffy disappeared into the night. Hancock followed, but seemed to lose him as soon as she got to the doors. She couldn't believe what she heard him say. How could that person know about the men who attacked her the previous night…

Unless… no, it can't be…

Luffy landed on top of the roof of an abandoned house, chuckling to himself. He couldn't believe how easy that was; it almost seemed too good to be true. Walking through an open door, he descended into the house and shook his head.

I've got her. Hook, line and sinker, and she doesn't even know what's coming.

He found himself in a large room, the old master bedroom. Luffy walked over and sat at the foot of the bed, chuckling louder and getting the attention of the slightly older man laying across the mattress. The shadows of the room were only penetrated by the orange-and-red glow of a lit cigarette, and the figure moved it from his mouth to speak.

"Luffy. Have you got her yet?" The younger man shook his head, but continued to smile.

"Don't worry, I just need a little longer and she'll be ready for our feast." He replied, receiving a laugh in response.

"I see!" The shadow flicked a few ashes off to the ground and sat up. "Good, good. I know how you like to play with your food before you pounce, so I'll let you have as much time as you need." Luffy nodded in appreciation.

"Thank you, Big Bro." He stood and walked back out of the room, heading for his own. He needed to rest, especially if he were to continue the hunt the next day.

You're mine, Club Girl.

---to be continued