Author's Note: I have a feeling this is gonna be a long chapter … Let's see. XP I really hope you guys enjoy this one! Please read, enjoy, and review! X)

Genderly Challenged

Chapter 17: Nothing Thee Shall Fear

Luffy weaved in and out of the town, not knowing where he was going. The tears continued to relentlessly fall without cease, and the pain was being just as stubborn. It hurt … It hurt a lot. Did that mean his feelings had been hurt? How girly and stupid was that? After awhile, he finally slowed to a walk, but continued to wipe away his tears. He sniffed up his snot before stopping at an alley and leaning against the wall inside it. Now that he'd cried himself into an official girl, he felt himself becoming angry again.

"Stupid … Stupid girls … Stupid … Meany … or … Manny … or whatever the hell her name was …" He muttered to himself as he scowled at the opposite wall. "She had better change us back soon, or I will go hunting for her myself! I'm not gonna wait around like Nami says!"

"Ah, well hello there, lil' chick."

Blinking, Luffy turned to see a man standing in the opening of the alleyway. "What do you want?"

"I just saw you cryin' an' thought you might need a shoulder."

Dipping his brows deeply, Luffy pushed himself off the wall, not liking this man at all. "Well, I don't! Now leave me alone!" He said as he turned to go deeper into the alley, to the other side.

"Ah, but we really think you need our company, lass …"

Stiffening up rigidly, Luffy felt a shiver run down his spine before he turned to glare at the man, but noticed there were now men. Each and every one was sneering and leering at him. His eyes slowly widened as he backed away from them, before realizing he backed down from no man. Narrowing his eyes into a glare, he stood his ground as he lifted his chin into the air.

"You'd better leave me alone old guy, if you know what's best for you …"

The older man burst into laughter as well as his men as he grabbed a hold of his surprisingly flat belly. "If we know what's best for us?!"

Baring his teeth into a scowl, Luffy clenched his fists shut tight as his glare deepened into a scowl. "Don't say I didn't warn you … I'm really not in the mood for this, old guy …" He seethed as he got into a fighting position.

"Oh, is the lil' chick gonna fight us now?"

"That's right!" Luffy exclaimed as he threw a punch, catching the older man in the face.

Crying out in surprise, the old man fell back to the ground as his men gaped down at him. Sitting up, he wiped the blood from his mouth before scowling at Luffy.

"Get her!"

Turning their own scowls on Luffy, the men cried out as they all ran towards him. Getting back into position, Luffy then threw himself into the fight, having needed to relieve some stress.

xxxx

Having slowed to a fast walk, Nami looked around the town, but couldn't find Luffy anywhere. Sighing and drooping a bit, she continued on, hoping she might find him soon, because it was getting dark out. If they stayed out for too long, the others might get worried. She wondered just how far he had gone, or perhaps she had already gone too far. Either way, she would try and find him.

xxxx

Back slamming into the wall, Luffy wiped the blood pouring from the corner of his mouth before tackling one of the men into the other wall with a cry. However, when said man slammed into the wall, he recovered quickly and rammed his fist into Luffy's gut.

"Guh!" He cried as blood spewed from his mouth.

"It's just one little girl, boys! Don't let her beat ya!" The older man cried as he grabbed Luffy's shoulders.

Wringing out of his grasp, Luffy quickly turned to deck the man before more arms grabbed him from behind. Crying out, he threw his head back, slamming it against an unsuspecting nose, feeling it crack against his hard skull. He broke free of their many hands and arms before using his Gattling Gun.

"Gomu Gomu no … Gattling Gun!" He yelled as he punched the men that had held him down.

However, only more hands grabbed a hold of him, stopping his attack. "Gah!" He cried as he turned his head to see scowling faces.

"You're almost too much trouble more than you're worth little girl! But you are one fine piece of meat …"

Horrified by his words, Luffy's eyes shot open wide as he gaped at the man. "Wa-Wait a minute! You don't …!"

Chuckling, the older man wiped away his blood as he approached Luffy. Gasping, Luffy's eyes managed to open twice as big as usually as he tried to back away, but was held down by a lot of hands.

"You're a real spitfire, you are lass …"

"Wait … You've got it all wrong!"

"Do I now?" He asked as he ran a finger down Luffy's face, which caused his eyes to open wider and show a little more fear.

Shaking his head, to move away from the hand and to chase away the fear, he then scowled at him. "You don't understand!" He exclaimed as he began to struggle. "You don't want me!"

"Oh, but I think we do. Don't we boys?" The older man asked as he looked around, which caused a few cheers and whistles from his men.

"No! You've got it wrong! I'm not a girl!"

The older man's brows rose up high as he regarded Luffy with utmost amusement. "Not a girl?!" He exclaimed loudly as he and his men burst into laughter.

"No, you don't understand! I'm not a girl! I look like one, but I'm not! There was a woman and she turned us like this!"

"A woman would say a lot of things when she doesn't want the attention! But this?! This is the best thing I've heard yet!"

Scowling deeper, but his fear rising when he couldn't break free, Luffy lifted his leg quickly to kick the man. "You're not … listening!!" He yelled as he caught the man's shin, which caused him to cry out from the pain.

"You bitch!" He yelled as he back handed Luffy across the face, which caused him to cry out slightly from the sudden sting.

However, he didn't give up. He turned to scowl back at him. "It's true! My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I'm a pirate! See this scar?! It's on the bounty! So is my straw hat! It's on my back, hidden behind my hair! My navigator told me not to let anyone see it, or they might know it's me!"

Narrowing his eyes, the older man stared at Luffy for awhile before his eyes lowered down to his heaving chest. Smirking, he reached up and grabbed one roughly, which caused Luffy to cry out from the pain and shock of being touched in a place he knew he shouldn't be touched.

"No don't!" He cried as his eyes widened, no longer able to hide his fear.

"You feel like a woman to me. You're lying."

"No!" He cried as he shook his head, feeling panic begin to rise in his chest. "No, I'm not a woman! I'm not! I'm a man!"

"You're a strong woman. I'll give ya that. You managed to knock out quite a few of my men … But we're stronger, see? And we're starving …"

Gasping shakily, Luffy felt his body begin to shake as his fear built. "No …" He whispered as he shook his head. "You don't want me …"

"Take her to our hideout, boys. It's gonna be a fun night."

"No!! No, stop!!"

"Get that mouth covered!"

xxxx

Sighing, Nami looked around with a deep frown on her face. She couldn't find Luffy anywhere. How far off into town did he go? Maybe she really did pass him up already. Maybe he was on a rooftop somewhere.

"That idiot … Where the hell did he run off to?" She muttered to herself as she continued on walking.

She slowly made her way through the evening crowd, still looking around. She knew it wasn't going to be easy now that he was no longer wearing his straw hat, but she was going to try at least. 'Not that he deserves it …' She thought as her frown deepened. However, she did hit him, and he seemed hurt by it. Taking in a deep sigh in defeat, she continued on, still looking around for him.

As she continued on, she found herself in a less crowded part of town. Shuddering from the shadiness of it, she was beginning to wish she hadn't come alone. Although, she had to remember she was a man now, and probably wouldn't be bothered. However, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she should have brought someone with her.

'I should have asked Zoro or Sanji to come with me …' She thought as her frown softened, but then it turned exasperated. 'Although, they're women now and probably would have attracted more attention than I would want … Then … maybe I should have brought either Brook or Franky with me … or even Chopper …' She thought, but then had to shake her head. 'No, I don't need them. I can do this …'

Taking a deep breath, she continued to walk with a more purposeful stride.

"You've got a real pretty mouth for a man …"

Inhaling sharply and eyes widening, a shiver ran up Nami's spine as she stiffened and stopped walking. However, she recovered her composure quickly, remembering she was a man and turned to the man, who had spoken to her.

"Beat it, asshole. Or I will show you what the owner of this mouth can do to you …"

Brow twitching, the man mumbled to himself as he pushed himself off the wall and walked away in the opposite direction. Watching to make sure he kept going, Nami then slumped and gave a huge sigh in relief as she shuddered. 'This is just too much …' She thought to herself as she turned and continued on.

xxxx

Throwing the doors open, the men dragged Luffy inside, who was tugging at his restrained arms and digging his feet into the ground and chewing on the gag in his mouth.

"Get 'er inside, dammit! Close them damn doors!"

Doing as they were told, they closed the doors to the abandoned warehouse they've inhabited for a few days now. Looking around with large black orbs, Luffy continued to attempt to pull his arms out of their grasp as he dug his heels into the ground.

"Mmm!!"

"Bring her over here!"

The men began to drag him over towards a stack of pallets. His eyes widened in horror as his struggles began anew with more fervor. He began to shake his head as he stared at the pallets continuing to dig his heels into the ground. Grinding his teeth, one of the men kicked Luffy in the back of his legs.

"Walk, dammit!"

Falling to his knees, he pulled on his arms, but he couldn't get free. Stretching them, he wrapped an arm around one of their necks and kicked at the other one.

"Get her!"

Getting up, he pulled the gag out of his mouth and scowled. "You sons of bitches!!" He cried as he began to fight them all off again.

"Get that bitch under control!"

He punched and kicked anyone in his way before he ran for the closed doors. However, he didn't make it far as he was tackled to the ground. He reached his hand towards the door, but was quickly pulled away from it. His hands immediately went down to the ground as he clawed at it, desperately trying to get to the door.

"No!!" He screamed as he felt his eyes beginning to sting. 'No! I will not let this happen! This will not happen! Not to me! Not to me!'

He felt hands grab for his arms as he was roughly pulled up by his hair off of the ground, which caused him to scream in pain. "Aaah!"

"Get her to the damned pallets!"

"No!!" He screamed as he continued to struggle. 'No! How am I not stronger than them?! How am I not strong?! I should have beaten them!! I should have!'

"She has a fuckin' ability!"

"It just means she'll be flexible!"

"No! N-o!" Luffy cried as his vision began to blur. 'Not me! Not like this!'

"Get 'er up there!"

"No!!"

xxxx

Crying out in frustration, Nami turned around in a circle before she threw her hands up into the air. "Where is he?!" She cried to no one but herself as she let her arms fall to her sides.

Huffing deeply, her brows dipped into a deep frown as she shook her head. Turning around, she stared down the empty street as the darkness engulfed it. The sun had already set and had darkened the sky. She was sure she'd been searching for close to an hour now, but she'd still yet to find him. Shaking her head, she turned in the opposite direction.

"Fine … whatever … If you wanna be alone … if you don't wanna be found … then so be it …" She muttered to herself as she began to walk back where she had come from.

"I'm going back to the ship …"

xxxx

Luffy cried out in a scream when his back was slammed onto the wooden pallets. He clawed and reached up with his hands, desperately trying to get away.

"No!! No!! Don't touch me!! I'm a man, dammit! I'm a man!"

A hand shot out to squeeze one of his breasts none too gently. "Yeah, you sure as hell feel like a man … Get these clothes off!!" The older man yelled before he began to chuckle.

"No please!" Luffy pleaded as tears began to stream down his temples as he fought to push away the hands that began to tear at his shirt. "N-o!!"

"Oooh! She's real soft, Cap'n …"

"That's right, boys … She's real soft …" The older man said as he pushed his way through and smirked down at Luffy. "I get first, of course."

"No …" Luffy whispered as he clenched his teeth down hard.

They're hands were like acid, making his skin burn in disgust. He cringed as he tried to move away from the touch.

"Don't fucking touch me!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he continued to struggle.

The older man grabbed his legs and spread them apart harshly. Panting heavily, Luffy's eyes shot open as he looked downward. Then he let his head drop back as he shook it.

"No …" He whispered before he threw his head back. "N—o!!"

"Shut her up, dammit!"

"Gah!!"

"What the …?" The older man muttered as he turned around to be greeted in the face with a hit.

"Get your hands off my captain, assholes …" Nami seethed as she bared her clenched teeth to them in a scowl.

Getting up in a daze, the older man wiped the blood and looked down at it before scowling at Nami. "Get him! I want him dead! Keep her held down!" He said as he turned to the men still holding Luffy.

"Yes'r!"

Lunging forward, men began to advance on Nami. However, she whipped her Perfect Clima Tact out, swiping at all of them and sent them flying. Then she twirled it and pointed it upward.

"Lightning Tempo!!"

Men screamed in pain as their bodies and skin were singed from the lightning attack. Anyone who wasn't struck by the lightning advanced on Nami. Taking a few hits, Nami fought as best she could, using her clima tact before it was taken from her. Clenching her teeth down, she used all she had left, her fists, as she fought them off. She felt as one of the men jumped on her back. Grunting, she whirled around before slamming him into another man standing nearby. Then she elbowed him in the gut.

Another man came toward her front and punched her gut, while another man wrapped his arm around her neck. Grinding her teeth, she grabbed the man's arm and then flipped him over her shoulder and sent him flying into the man in front of her. Another of the men came up and punched her across the face, crying out, but not giving in, she turned back around quickly and dealt her own punch and several more for the others that tried to attack her.

"Fuck this! Bitch ain't worth all this trouble! Let's get out of here!"

Panting heavily, Nami stumbled to catch her balance as she closed an eye and watched them all run out of the warehouse with her one good eye. She could feel the blood flowing down her face and from her mouth as well as feel all the sore places on her body. Blinking to clear her vision, she then turned around towards the pallets, but Luffy was nowhere in sight.

Blinking now in confusion, she began to turn her body and look around everywhere. "Luffy …"

Limping forward, she looked around, but still didn't see him. Feeling a bit of panic rising, she rushed towards the pallets and crates and looked around them. "Luffy!"

Heaving in her panic as it began to rise further, she stood still before finally hearing the heavy breathing from within the crates. Gasping, she quickly turned to them and then walked towards them. Looking through them, she finally found him hidden in between the crates with his knees drawn to his chest. His eyes were massively wide and terrified.

"Oh … Luffy …" She whispered as her expression saddened. "Luffy, it's all right … You can come out now …" She said softly as she got onto her hands and knees and reached her hand into the small opening.

Gasping, he quickly backed away from her as his eyes managed to widen further. Furrowing her brows as her lips parted, she gaped at him in complete surprise by his action. "Luffy … Luffy, it's me. It's Nami …"

Breathing shallowly, he only stared at her as tears began to stream down his face. She could see that he was shaking and badly. "Oh my God, Luffy …" She whispered as her face saddened further. "Luffy, it's okay now. They won't hurt you again …They're gone now …"

"They touched me, Nami …"

Releasing her breath quickly, she gaped at the quietness of his voice. However, her expression then saddened again. "I know they did, Luffy … but they're gone now … Please come out so we can go back to the ship. Let's get out of here."

"I didn't help you … I hid instead …"

"It's okay, Luffy … I don't blame you … and I'm not upset with you. I would have done the same thing …"

"I don't do that, Nami … I would never do this …"

"Luffy … we're not ourselves right now … It's okay …"

"No! It's not okay, Nami! It's not okay! I'm a man, dammit! I'm a man!!" He screamed as he began to cry more.

"No, Luffy, you're not! At least … not right now … It's okay to be afraid …"

"It's not okay to be afraid, Nami! I should have beaten them! I should have been stronger! Instead … you had to save me! I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Well, then if you're not afraid of anything, come out of there!"

Sitting where he was for awhile, he finally uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to crawl out. Flushing slightly, she averted her eyes as he crawled out of the small cramped space. Standing up to get out of his way, she then took a few steps back. As soon as he was out of the small space, he then attempted to stand, but then ended up falling back down to his hands and knees. With his head lowered, he sat up on his knees as he began to shake again, but she was sure for a different reason.

"I can't even get my legs to work … Such an embarrassment …" He seethed quietly. "I feel so ashamed …"

"Luffy … don't think about it … I'll carry you back …"

"No! I will not be carried back!"

"Luffy, we can either wait here in this horrible place, chancing the fact that they might return, or I carry you back to the ship!" She yelled as she pulled her shirt over her head. "Put this on first."

Blinking up at her, he blushed a bit at her exposed chest before quickly grabbing the shirt and pulling it on over his head. Once he had it on, she knelt down and lifted him into her arms quickly, which caused him to gasp and blush deeper in embarrassment. Turning around, Nami then walked towards the still open doors and peered out cautiously. When she didn't see anyone, she quickly made her way out and back towards the ship. Lowering his head, Luffy allowed his hair to cover his face from his shame.

Looking down at him, Nami let the corners of her lips tilt downward in a frown before looking ahead of her. "If it's any consolation … you were still really strong … Stronger than I am as a man … When I got there, I noticed they were all pretty beat to shit … I think that's the only reason I was able to chase them off, because they were already beat up pretty bad …"

"Yeah … but I wasn't strong enough to stop them …"

"You're not staying like this for much longer, Luffy … Soon you will be your strong self again, and you will never have to worry about anything like this happening to you ever again."

"What about you …?"

Blinking, she looked down at him, not having heard his soft whisper. "What?"

Not lifting his head, he only turned it away from her. "Nothing …"

Blinking down at him awhile longer, she finally looked back ahead of her and continued back towards the ship, ignoring the pain her body was in. Slowly turning his head back towards her, he could see the bruises already forming on her body. Looking up slightly and through his hair, he could also see the bruises on her face. One of her cheeks was swelling slightly as well as her lip having been busted open. One of her eyes was half closed and swollen, and blood was running down from her head and mouth.

Frowning sadly, he quickly looked down again in his shame. He had made her fight alone. He should have helped her. He should never have hidden himself. How were they supposed to explain to the others about both their injuries? It was far too shameful to mention to them about what almost happened to him. Especially since he had abandoned Nami like he'd done. She could have died because of his cowardice. Clenching his teeth down hard, he closed his eyes tightly and balled his hands into fists.

"I'm sorry …"

"Eh?" Nami questioned as she looked down at him.

"You're strong Nami … You're strong …"

"Luffy … what are you talking about?"

"You fought them all off by yourself … even though you knew you could have died … Even though you're a girl … you're still really strong …"

Gaping down at him, she then forced her mouth closed before looking ahead again. "I think I'm only strong because of you, Luffy …"

Expression turning surprised, Luffy then quickly looked up at her. However, then his expression saddened. "I wasn't very strong just awhile ago …"

"I already told you … Don't worry about what happened awhile ago … It wasn't your fault … You were just in shock, Luffy … You had no control of your body or mind …"

"I shouldn't have been afraid …"

"But you were …"

Face scrunching up a bit, he felt as tears bunched at the corners of his mouth before reaching up and touching the blood that spilled from her mouth. "I should have been the one to protect you …"

Gasping as she felt her heart leap into her throat, she quickly looked down at Luffy, who had quickly pulled his hand away, startled by her reaction. When she only stared down at him, his cheeks flushed slightly, but he didn't move his eyes away from hers. Vaguely noticing the flush in his cheeks, Nami felt herself being drawn in by the flush of his cheeks, as if they called to her. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed her leaning in, the flush deepening into a darker hue.

However, Nami's eyes shot open wide as she gasped and quickly leaned back up. However, in her shock from what she'd been about to do, she released her hold on Luffy, and he went crashing down to the hard ground below.

"Aah, ow!!" He screamed as he landed on the ground hard. "What the hell, Nami?! Why'd you do that?!" He yelled as he rubbed his sore backside after sitting up.

"Oh! I-I-I'm sorry!" She cried as she knelt down to pick him up again.

"No!" He said as he held up his hand. "I can walk now … Last thing I need is for you to carry me all the way back to the ship for the others to see …" He said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

However, he swayed a bit on his feet, his legs feeling week again, but perhaps for a different reason. "Ah!" Nami exclaimed as she reached out to catch him.

"Don't!" He yelled as he frowned at her and turned to walk on his own.

Sighing deeply as she looked down, she finally followed after him to the ship after awhile. As soon as they made it back, they climbed aboard the ship to be greeted with gasps.

"Nami-san! What happened to you?!" Sanji cried as he ran up to her and began to softly touch all of her bruises and injuries. Then he turned to scowl at Luffy. "What did you do to Nami-san?!"

"He didn't do anything, Sanji-kun." Nami said as she grabbed his hand and lowered it away from her face.

Frowning deeply at Sanji, Luffy turned his head away from them. Chopper immediately ran up to them. "You're both really injured! What happened?!"

"It was nothing. We ran into a bit of trouble with some guys, but don't worry, we held them off." Nami said as she smiled down at Chopper. "I took most of the damage because I was the guy, but we're fine."

Gasping softly, Luffy immediately turned to gape at Nami in utter disbelief. She was actually lying for his sake. "Eh, touble?!" Chopper exclaimed as he looked over the wounds on her torso.

"Yeah … thought we owed them some money or something …" She said as she chuckled and waved her hand in front of her face.

However, Sanji turned to scowl at Luffy again. "You should have protected her better!"

Gasping again, Luffy quickly turned to Sanji, his eyes wide at his words. "You should have protect her …" He stared at Sanji wide eyed as his eyes began to fill with water.

"I-It's nothing, Sanji-kun, really!" She said in a bit of a panic. "I'm fine, really! It will heal! Right, Chopper?!" She continued as she smiled down at the little reindeer nervously.

"A-Aa … It will heal just fine …"

"See? No harm done, Sanji-kun." She said as she smiled at Sanji before turning to Chopper. "Shall we?"

Nodding with a smile, Chopper turned to begin leading them to his infirmary. Sanji watched after them with a deep frown on his face. Something wasn't right.

'What really happened …?'

To Be Continued …

Author's Note: Just as I thought! It was a long one! X) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! XD I bet you weren't expecting that, ne?! XP I had you all worried … didn't I?! X) Anyways, let me know what you guys thought with a review! X)