Author's Note: I'm so happy! We got our internet back as well as our cable! XD However, the bad news is … for some reason my laptop can only connect locally and can't get to the internet … T.T Luckily, we have another PC in the house that can connect! X) So, that's how I'm able to post! XP Anyways, here's the next chapter! Read, enjoy and review! XD

Genderly Challenged

Chapter 16: Why Dost Thee Cry?

Sighing deeply, Usopp decided he really should talk to Luffy, and if he got nowhere with that, then he would have to talk to Nami. Walking over to Sunny's head, he looked up with a frown.

"Luffy …?"

Turning around, Luffy looked down at Usopp with the frown, that Usopp was sure hadn't left his face since he first frowned at Nami.

"What?"

"Can we talk …?"

"What about?"

Usopp closed his eyes and looked down. "I just wanna know what's going on …" He said before frowning up at Luffy in concern.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and Nami …" Usopp said in a low voice so the others couldn't hear him.

Luffy's lips pursed out. "Nothin' ta talk about …" He said before whirling back around.

Usopp's frown deepened. "Luffy …" He called in some reproach to Luffy's response.

Huffing deeply, Luffy looked down at him over his shoulder without turning. Usopp only kept a deep frown on him. Giving in with a sigh, Luffy finally turned back around and jumped down.

"Let's go fishing …"

Nodding, Usopp followed behind Luffy to the back of the ship after grabbing their poles. As soon as they were situated on the rail and both lines cast, Usopp turned to Luffy.

"So?"

The frown hadn't left Luffy's face at all. "So …?"

"What's going on with you and Nami? What's going on with you? You're not usually like this …"

"I'm not usually a girl either!"

"What does that have to do anything?"

"The same reason you were crying about being laughed at!" Luffy yelled in irritation.

Blinking, Usopp only gaped at Luffy. "Luffy … what the hell are you-?"

"Why the hell were you crying about being laughed at?!" Luffy yelled as he turned to Usopp.

Just gaping at him, he could not understand where Luffy's anger was coming from. Why was he so angry? "Luffy … I don't understand what you're-"

"I don't know! Okay?!"

Furrowing his brows, Usopp released a breath at the back of his throat as Luffy turned back towards the sea. After awhile, Usopp did the same. He wasn't sure why, but Luffy's unexplainable anger and outburst towards him made him feel sad as his frown deepened. He had never seen Luffy blow up or get angry for no reason at all. For that matter, no one really cared about being laughed at before either. This whole situation was just plain weird to him.

"Look … I don't really know why I'm so upset … but I just feel … angry! Also … why is she singling me out?! I mean … usually I wouldn't care … but … I don't know … Things are just so weird right now and … I just … I don't get it … and I feel … I feel like there's nothing I can do about it …Or rather … not sure if I can …… I'm always sure …"

As he stared at him, Usopp could only gape at Luffy in some surprise by his ramblings. "You're feeling insecure …?"

"What the hell is that?! No, I'm not feeling insecure!" Luffy yelled as he scowled at Usopp. "What the hell have I got to feel insecure for?! And what the hell was with all the hugging?!"

"The-The what?" Usopp asked as he quirked a brow.

"Nothing! Just forget it!" Luffy exclaimed as he turned back to the ocean.

"Luffy … What-?"

"Why is she always so nice to everyone else, except for me …?"

Usopp's lips parted in his gape at Luffy's soft question. Even Luffy's face had softened. "I … I-"

"She always goes off and talks to everyone … Makes them feel better … She probably wouldn't do that for me …"

Continuing to gape for awhile, Usopp finally closed his mouth before turning away. "I think she would …"

"Yeah, right …" Luffy said sarcastically with pursed lips.

"I really do …"

"I guess we will see …"

Turning to him, Usopp's frown turned confused. 'What does he mean …?'

xxxx

They had managed to catch a few fish and had remained in relative silence. They placed their catches in the tank and then headed back towards the deck. Just as they did, Sanji came out of the kitchen.

"Dinner time, you pricks!" He called before turning to Nami and Robin. "Ah, it is dinner time my beautiful maidens of such pure and divine delight!"

Turning to look at him, Nami stood up from her chair and smiled at him. "Thank you, Sanji-kun."

Snorting quietly to himself, Luffy rounded the corner with Usopp behind him and headed for the kitchen, but stopped just before getting to it, knowing what Sanji would say. As if on queue, Sanji held up his hand.

"Ah, ah-"

"Yeah, yeah … we know …" Luffy interrupted in an irritated tone as he glared at Sanji, who frowned in a bit of confusion.

Passing by him, Nami released a puff of breath with her nose in the air and eyes closed. Glaring in turn, Luffy just watched her pass.

"Oi! Don't give Nami-san that look!"

Shifting his eyes to Sanji, Luffy's glare deepened even further. At hearing Sanji's outburst, Nami turned in time to see Luffy shift his angry glare to Sanji.

"Make me, balloon chest …"

"Ba-Ba-Ba …" Sanji sputtered as he gaped down at him.

"Ha! Balloon chest! Why didn't I think of that?!"

"Shut it, overgrown weed!"

"Sanji-kun …"

"Ha-i, Nami-swan?!"

"Aren't you supposed to serve lunch …?"

"Yes, of course, Nami-swan!" Sanji sang in his husky voice as he twirled around and pranced towards the kitchen, brushing off both Luffy and Zoro for the time being.

Nami turned to frown at Luffy deeply before following Sanji and Robin into the dining room. Luffy only frowned back and then followed her along with everyone else. They all entered the dining area and then took a seat at the table. When Sanji began to serve their meals, he dropped Luffy's plate in front of him roughly. Brows twitching, Luffy stared down at the plate, deciding to let it go and began to eat with everyone else.

Then Sanji pranced over to Nami. "Is there anything else you need from your humble servant, Nami-san?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Sanji-kun." Nami replied as she smiled up at him.

Reaching over, Luffy snatched his cup, the water sloshing onto the table and took a drink. Then he slammed his cup down onto the table, and continued to eat. Everyone immediately turned to him and blinked in some confusion to his unexplained action.

"What is your problem …?"

Not bothering to look up, he only continued to shovel food into his mouth, but then paused for a moment. "What's yours …?"

"Wha-What's … mine?" Nami asked as she gaped at him in disbelief.

"Oi, just answer Nami-san's question!"

"Oh … and are you going to play lackey and make me answer, bubble butt?" Luffy asked as he shifted his eyes to Sanji, which oozed disdain.

"Bu-Bubble …?" Sanji sputtered as his jaw dropped.

Zoro burst into laughter as he slammed his hands onto the table. "Nice! Bubble butt!"

"Luffy, what is the matter with y-?"

"Nothing!" Luffy yelled as he slammed his fork down onto the table. "Nothing's wrong with me, Nami! The question is, what the hell is the matter with you?! With all of you?!" He continued to yell as he looked at everyone at the table.

"Luffy … what …?"

"Forget it!" He said as he shifted his gaze back to Nami. Lifting his fork back up, he began to shovel food back into his mouth as he looked down at his plate.

"The only person I see a problem with here is you!"

Pausing with the fork on the way to his mouth, Luffy took a deep, slow and calming breath before slowly shifting his eyes to Sanji in a glare.

"Why are you always giving Nami-san such a hard time?!"

"Oi, Sanji-kun …"

Luffy slowly stood up to meet Sanji eye to eye. "Well … maybe if you weren't such an ass kisser … you might actually see it yourself …" He seethed quietly into Sanji's face.

"Oi, Luffy!" Nami cried as her face took on a gaping frown in shock.

"What did you say, asshole?!"

"Get your head out of her ass, and then maybe you might hear me better!"

Grinding his teeth, Sanji lifted up his leg and pulled it towards his chest quickly before shoving it into Luffy's chest hard. The kick sent him flying back into his chair forcefully, which dislodged the chair from the floor and sent flying along with Luffy.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami yelled as she and the others quickly stood up from their seats.

"Oi!"

Pushing the chair off from him, Luffy sat up with his hand immediately going to his chest and released a coughing fit from the air being knocked out of him. Then he lifted his chin to scowl at Sanji. Releasing a cry, Luffy leapt to his feet and lunged towards Sanji quickly. He rammed into his gut, tackling him onto the table.

"Oi, that's enough!" Nami yelled, but neither seemed inclined to stop fighting and struggling with one another on the table as they screamed and squawked loudly.

They rolled around on the table as Luffy threw a punch and Sanji tried to kick him off. Eventually, they rolled right off the table.

"Aaah!" Luffy screamed as he sat on top of Sanji and dealt a few punches before they rolled over again. Hair was pulled as well as scratches made on their skin as they struggled.

Grinding her teeth, Nami turned to the kitchen before hopping over the bar. Grabbing one of Sanji's big pots, she filled it with water and then carried it over to them. Once they rolled towards her feet, she tilted the pot, letting the water drench them. Both gasped and squealed from the cold water drenching them completely.

"I said that's enough!"

Sitting up on his knees, Luffy reached up to move his drenched hair out of his face as he panted from the fight and sudden chill from the cold water. Sanji also sat up as he waved his arms, trying to get the water out of his clothes. Nami frowned down at them, but then blinked before her eyes slowly widened and a slight blush crept across her nose.

"I-I …"

After awhile both stood up as they wrung the water from their hair.

"I apologize … Nami-san …" Sanji said as he turned toward her, but then blinked at her expression. "Eh? Nami-san?"

Slowly backing away from them, her eyes widened further as she shifted her eyes away from them and covered her mouth with her hand. "I just … You shouldn't have been … fighting …"

"Now what's the matter with you?!"

"Your shirts …"

"Eh?" Luffy questioned as he turned to Zoro, who was calmly pointing to his chest.

Both looked down and then blinked. Gasping, Sanji quickly crossed his arms across his chest as a slight blush crept over his face. Blinking, Luffy also found himself crossing his arms as well, but not as quickly as he looked over at Nami in some bewilderment. Nami could only stare down at the ground with her hand still over her mouth, completely embarrassed by her lack of composure.

"Yohohohoho!" Blissful, cold and perky nipples! Co-me to daddy!" Brook sang with hearts in his eyes as he leapt for both Luffy and Sanji.

Without looking, Sanji lifted a leg and Luffy lifted an arm. Sanji shoved his foot in Brook's boney face as Luffy smashed the back of his fist into it. He slid down with his skeletal face dented in, collapsing onto the ground.

"I … I apologize … Nami-san …" Sanji repeated as he tightened his arms across his chest.

"It's alright … Sanji-kun … Don't worry about it … I understand why you did it … Just go change-"

"What?!"

Releasing her breath with a click at the back of her throat, Nami furrowed her brows as she looked over at Luffy and lowered her hand. "You were the one being a jerk …"

Luffy clenched his teeth down tightly as he frowned deeply right back at her. "I'm the one …?"

"That's right …"

His lips slowly pursed in anger as he clenched his teeth down harder before a scowl slowly formed on his face and he revealed his tightly clenched teeth. Usopp and Chopper grabbed Brook and dragged him to the other side of the table where the others were.

Looking down at the skeleton, Zoro sneered at him. "Fuckin' weirdo …"

Lifting her chin into the air, Nami held her ground as she furrowed her brows deeper. Deciding to stay out of this one, Sanji backed away from the two and the severely thick atmosphere emitting from them.

"I'm the one …?" Luffy repeated in a much quieter voice as he finally closed his mouth, but kept his deep and angry frown.

"Yes … You've laughed at all of your friends … and now this?" She said as she motioned towards the mess in the dining room.

Luffy released a soft laugh that was completely devoid of any humor as he shook his head at her. Just as he thought, she had completely failed to notice that he had been the only one who hadn't laughed at Zoro. Only when he did make himself laugh, did she notice, and of course, it wasn't in a good way. He knew that she had been about to yell at him, something she didn't do to the others, even though they had laughed too.

Grinding his teeth further, he closed his eyes to slits as he glared at her. "Right …" He seethed before walking out, bumping his shoulder into her as he walked past with his head lowered.

Throwing the door open, he turned to walk towards the back of the ship. A hand immediately went up to grab at his chest as he quickly walked away. It felt heavy … just like the time with Usopp. It felt so incredibly heavy. His eyes began to sting as he rounded the corner to the back.

"Luffy!"

Grinding his teeth and baring them, he didn't stop, but quickened his pace. Nami rounded the corner and spotted him walking away quickly.

"Luffy, stop!"

"Why?!" He yelled over his shoulder, but didn't stop. "So you can yell at me some more?!"

She slowed to almost a stop as she gaped at the sound of his voice. Then she began to jog after him after awhile. "Luffy, wait!"

"Go away!"

"Luffy!"

Clenching his teeth down harder, he growled in frustration and irritation as he whirled around to face her. "What do you want, Nami?! What do you want, huh?!"

Stopping completely, her face softened as she gaped at him. His eyes were red, but they were dry. 'Is he …?' Then she let herself frown. "Luffy … what is the matter with you …?"

His face scrunched up as he showed his frustration with that question as he released his breath loudly and shook his head. Then he turned to walk away again. There was something else in his expression that Nami couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't anger that she saw, but something else.

"Luffy, wait!"

"No!" He yelled as he whirled around again. "You wanna know what's wrong with me, Nami?! You wanna know what my problem is?!" He yelled as he took a few steps towards her. "You! You are my problem! That's what! You've been on my case since we first got turned! I let it go before, because I just figured you were being you, but this ain't you, Nami! Since when was it such a horrible thing to laugh at them, huh?! We've done it so many times before! Even you! I've even laughed at myself! But now suddenly, we all get our genders changed and that's all different now?! And why only me, huh?! You didn't even bother to notice that I was the only one who hadn't laughed at Zoro, but the moment you heard me laugh, you turned around and yelled at me! Nami … you didn't even yell at Sanji … at the others … Why me, huh?!"

Nami could only gape at him as she thought about what he was saying. It was true. She really hadn't noticed at all that he'd been the only one, who didn't laugh, but the moment he had …

After awhile, she allowed herself to frown at him again. "But … there's a difference to when it's okay to laugh, Luffy …."

"Is that right?!"

"Yes! There's a difference as to when they laugh with you, and then don't want to be laughed at …"

"But why?! It's never bothered them before! Just because their girls now?! Well, if that's the case, then girls are stupid!"

"What?!" Nami yelled back as her expression turned into a scowl.

"I'm still who I am, and I wouldn't care if they laughed at me! I would just laugh right with them! What is the big deal with you girls that we can't all just laugh, huh?!"

"Because it's embarrassing! And girls are not stupid!"

"Yes they are!"

"Luffy!" Nami yelled as she felt her anger growing.

"It's true! Look at that stupid woman who did this to us! She was stupid! Girls are stupid!"

"Luffy, that's enough!"

"Why?! Because you hate hearing the truth! Girls really are stupid, Nami! You are stup-!"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence. Nami whipped out her hand, and slapped him across the face. Gasping loudly, his eyes had widened to large black orbs as he stared into the direction her slap had directed him to. Then he slowly reached up to touch his stinging cheek. Blinking rapidly, he also felt his eyes stinging along with his cheek. He slowly turned back towards her as his vision began to blur and sway.

"You hit me …"

Blinking rapidly as if clearing her mind, Nami sucked in her breath at his soft whisper and the fact that his eyes were quickly filling with water. "I …"

She never got the chance to finish her sentence either, because Luffy quickly darted forward, bumping into her as he ran towards the deck. "Luffy, wait!" She cried as she began to run after him.

As soon as he made it to the deck, he immediately jump off of the ship and headed into town. Nami quickly ran up to the rail and looked down. "Luffy!!" She called one more time, but he didn't stop as he disappeared into the town.

"Nami-san …?"

Sighing and closing her eyes slowly, she gripped the railing tightly, feeling downright horrible. Without turning around, she jumped over the rail and landed on the dock below.

"Oi! Nami-san!" Sanji cried as he ran towards the rail and looked out. Nami was already running into town. "Nami-san!"

Ignoring him, she looked around, trying to find where he went. However, she didn't see him anywhere. Watching until she disappeared, Sanji frowned softly in confusion. What had happened?

Running through the crowd of people, Luffy wiped at the tears that kept falling from his eyes as he panted and sobbed loudly. "Stupid! Girls are so stupid! Why am I even crying?! Why do girls always gotta cry?! It's so stupid!" He yelled before his face contorted from the pain in his chest as he reached down to clutch at it.

"… I hate it … It's so heavy … It hurts …"

A few eyes watched as Luffy ran past before smirks spread across their lips and a few chuckles emanated from them.

"Well, ain't she a pretty little thing …? I think she needs some comfortin' …"

More chuckles sounded as they stepped out from the shadows.

"What do you think … boys?"

To Be Continued …

Author's Note: Uh oh … X.x Waz that dude up to …? Anywho, whad'ya think? Luffy finally blew! X) You know, I think Luffy would sound super cute if he were trying to yell in anger. I think he would have a bit of a whine in his voice and a slight husk, but not like Sanji's sexy husk. I mean a cute little husk! XD Yeah … just ignore me … Let's see what happens in the next chapter, ne?! XP Thanks for reading! Now leave me a review! XD