She is running out of stamina, she realises as sweat poured down her and her heart shuddered in her breastbone. The map clutched in her hand is slick with sweat and her clothes are damp. She can hear the roars of the enraged men behind her and she gulps: their fear of their captain far exceeded their need for rest. She can't help but imagine what they will do to her when they catch her.
Her shoe catches on a stone as she sprints down the dusty road and her heel snaps clean off. She tumbles down into the dirt and realises the vicious men will be upon her any second. All her wiles and cunning will be useless to her in the face of their fury. A tear falls onto the ground.
Nami is scared.
"Bellemere, everyone, I'm sorry," the thief whispers into the crook of her arm.
"Shishi Sonson!"
Bushido let out a relieved sigh as the four men fell dead and their blood splattered the air. He places his sheathed katana back on his hip. He rises to his full height of 5'10 and turned to face the woman lying prone on the ground. That had been too close.
The swordsman raised a hand in greeting as the orange-haired woman raised her head up from the ground. "Yo."
Nami stares up him in disbelief from her position on the ground, her eyes slightly puffy. "Who the hell are you?"
Bushido jabbed his thumb against his chest. "Names Roronoa Zoro. And youseff?."
He saw the sly spark he was so familiar with reappear in her eyes. "The Pirate Hunter? I think I have a proposition for a man of your caliber."
Bushido arched an eyebrow. "Go on."
Monkey D. Luffy was, quite frankly pissed.
"Stupid Zoro," he mumbled, kicking up some dust with his foot. "I can't find this Buffon guy anywhere and I'm hungry."
The rubber boy sniffed the air as a curious scent whiffed across his nose: burning wood. With renewed purpose, he strode forward. He turned the corner and frowned. A small shop was burning to the ground. A small white dog with blood-stained fur was lain in front of it, defeated.
Luffy walked up and knelt down beside it. He absent-mindedly scratched its head. "Hey buddy," he whispered quietly, "what happened?"
The dog whined and craned its neck towards a side street. Luffy glanced in that direction and understood. A debatably large (after Mt. Corvo it took a lot for Luffy to consider something big) lion was walking away, a pouch of pet food between its lips. The lion's owner sat on its back, merrily laughing away to himself.
"I'll be right back," the raven-haired teen swore, "you wait right here." Luffy charged forward, his normally goofy features twisted by anger. He braced his body and threw himself high into the air, right above the unsuspecting duo. They would pay.
"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"
Bushido guzzled down the last of the booze and slammed the tankard back onto the table. "An alliance?"
Nami nodded from where she was perched on the counter, twirling a finger through her vivid short hair. "With you strength and my cunning, we could make a killing. We'd split the profits fifty fifty, of course."
Bushido struggled to keep a straight face. This Nami was as subtle as Luffy was. "I have no problem with it," the green-haired man began, " but you seem to have a misconception."
Nami put her palm under her chin. "Oh? And that would be?"
"I'm not a bounty hunter," he revealed, "I'm a pirate."
Nami's blue eyes immediately hardened like he knew they would. "Get out," she ordered, bitterness evident in her voice, "get out right now."
Bushido complied, swiftly rising and moving to the exit. He paused in the doorway. "Why are you risking your life for gold?"
"..."
"Well?"
"Greed."
The swordsman moved forward, letting the door swing shut behind him. The cold afternoon air ruffled his hair as he contemplated their conversation.
Yup, just as subtle as Luffy.
Nami felt anger and disappointment well up deep inside her. Of course it was too good to be true. The strongest bounty hunter in East Blue showing up and saving her. Of course he was actually a damn pirate in disguise.
For the second time that day, tears pricked in her eyes corners. She was a fool to think, even for a second, that maybe Arlong could be defeated. Rubbing her eyes clean with her arm, Nami jumped off the counter and grabbed her bo staff and newly acquired map. She wouldn't falter.
Not when she was so close.
Her mouth set into a grim line of determination, Nami set out into the street. She would steal Buggy's treasure and then leave.
She would survive. Just as she always did.
The rubber teen gave the nice doggy one last pat on the hat before setting out. He sighed and struck a thinking pose. It seemed that this Broggy was actually a bad person. Could a friend of Shanks' be bad? Feeling a headache coming on, Luffy stopped thinking. Oh well, he'd just go meet the guy and beat him up if he was bad.
"Stop right there, you scoundrel!" A voice roared out behind Luffy, stopping him in his tracks. An elderly looking man with spectacles and a mane of grey hair was pointing at him. The man wore a yellow shirt and green pants, mostly covered up by a leather chestplate.
Cocking his head to the side, the raven-haired boy asked, "Who? Me?"
The man began to march forward and Luffy noticed he was dragging a polearm behind him. "Yes, you," the mysterious man hissed, "you will pay!" The man roared and charged, polearm swung above him in the air. The sunlight gleamed off the wicked blade as it descended towards its target, eager for retribution and bloo-
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol."
His fist smashed into the old man's face, destroying his glasses and sending him flying into a group of barrels. The polearm clattered to the ground and the barrels shattered. The old man didn't get back up.
"That was interesting." Luffy decided before turning back to continue his walk. After a minute or two, he stopped. What had he been doing again? Oh, yeah.
Finding Barty.
"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"
"Ichirin Zashi!" Cabaji roared out, descending from high in the sky towards Bushido. A manic grin was plastered across the acrobats face. "Just try and survive!"
Not bothered to use any of his real attacks, Bushido swung his blade out to catch the falling acrobat. He cut cleanly through the unicycle moments before it would've entered his skull. Cabaji was sent flying and smashed his head against a brick wall.
The green-haired man waited a moment to see if his opponent would get back up. After a few moments, he resheathed his katana. "Pathetic," he muttered. under his breath.
Bushido glanced upwards, he was only a street away from Drinkers Bar and Buggy. As he observed the large wooden building, he noticed a human sized projectile flying towards it. It smashed into the roof, sending splinters so high that Bushido could clearly see them from his position. "That idiot," he sighed fondly.
He turned to face the empty street. "So, are you going to come out now or keep hiding until we reach the bar?"
The guilty silence was deafening as the swordsman waited patiently for a response. With a growl, Nami slipped into view. "How the hell did you know I was there."
"Trade secret," Bushido replied vaguely with an offhand wave.
"Like hell it was." Nami scowled, readjusting the bo staff strapped across her back. "So where's your crew?"
"Did you see that object that went flying into the bar?" He asked.
"Yeah," the navigator acknowledged, " I assumed that was an accident or something, no one would be suicidal enough in the town to launch a cannon at Buggy on purpose."
"That would be the crew."
Nami did a double-take. "What? One of your crew used himself as a weapon? That's crazy!"
"That's the captain for you," Bushido laughed, "you're not the first to think he's crazy and you won't be the last."
"Captain? Then...you aren't the captain!"
"Nope," Bushido said with a smirk, turning around so he could see her while walking, "Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates at your service."
"What flashy bastard just did that?" A shrill voice screeched, assaulting Luffy's ears as he sat up. The teen stood up and dusted off his shorts, looking around as he did so. A bunch of weirdos had thrown themselves against a wall to avoid him and an even bigger weirdo stood in front of him.
The weirdo wore cyan blue pants and a red and white striped shirt, an orange captain's coat thrown over his shoulder. A bright orange pirate hat on his head with blue tassels coming out of either side. But Luffy didn't focus on that, he focused on the man's face.
Or rather, his nose.
"Shishishi," the raven-haired boy chuckled, "your nose is weird, old man."
The man's (Whose face was covered in clown makeup) eyes nearly bulged out of his head at the comment and his crew collectible gasped, several of them fleeing the room. "How dare you," the man growled," I, the great and powerful Buggy, will kill you in a flashy way for that!" The clown pulled some knives out of his pockets
"Oh yeah!" Luffy snapped his fingers suddenly as he remembered. "I was looking for a guy called Borsalino."
"Bara Bara Ho!".
Buggy's lower right arm detached and came flying at Luffy like a homing missile. Starry-eyed, the teen didn't bother to dodge. "So. Cool." He murmure feverently. He was a second away from being skewered when it happened..
For the second time that day the bar took heavy damage, the far wall exploded. Luffy's eyes darted upwards to view the falling splinters and by the time they looked back down, Zoro had blocked the hand a centimetre from Luffy's vest. "You can't help but attract trouble, can you?" The swordsman said as he stared down the clown.
"Oi," Luffy complained, "I can't find that Borris guy anywhere. I need to beat him up or maybe talk to him, I'll decide when I see him."
"Buggy," Zoro corrected, who was watching warily as the clown's arm reattached to its body. "And you're in luck. That's him."
"Weird clown old man!" Luffy exclaimed, running forward to shake the other pirate's hand. "It's a pheasant to meet you."
"Pleasant," Zoro absent-mindedly corrected, "he's a splitting human."
Splitting human? Luffy cocked his head to the side, what did that mean? While he was deep in thought, Buggy slapped his hand away and jumped backwards. "Bara Bara Punch!" The clown exclaimed, literally shooting his hand forward.
The outstretched fist smashed into the Luffy's face, he grinned beneath it. "Not gonna work," he announced, latching onto the appendage and refusing to let it go. He smoothed out the fist and began to tickle the palm.
"Gyahahahaha," Buggy chortled with tears in his eyes as he clutched at his stomach, "s-stop that you f-flashy fiend."
Luffy threw the hand down and raced forward towards the recovering clown pirate. "I've decided that you're a bad guy," Luffy announced as he jumped high into the air, " so I'mma deck you in the nose."
"What did you say about my flashy nose?" Buggy roared, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Gomu Gomu no Yari!" The rubber boy sent his legs snapping downwards towards Buggy's upturned face.
"Bara Bara Festival!" Buggy grinned as his body separated into dozens of spinning pieces. But it was too late.
Luffy's feet smashed down on the pieces, pulverizing most of them into the floorboards. The pirate did a backflip while still in the air before turning to Zoro, ignoring the now unconscious Buggy.. "Boozo sucked. I'll hear about Shanks from the man himself. "
Before the green-haired man could respond, Luffy notice an orange-haired woman slinking along the wall, overstuffed duffel bag over her shoulder. "Who the hell are you? One of Brazen's men?" He demanded to know, fist outstretched.
"That's Nami," Zoro revealed, "she's our navigator now."
Yes! With a laugh, Luffy ran forward to introduce himself to his next crew mate. "Heya, I'm Lu-"
"LIke hell!" The woman, Nami, roared as she karate chopped him in the head. "I'm not joining some pirate scum!"
"We'll let you keep all the treasure," Zoro bartered.
"...Seriously?" Nami whispered suspiciously.
"Yup!" Luffy interrupted with a grin, "not like we need it for anything."
"I'll form an alliance with you for now," Nami agreed cautiously and held out her hand. "Partners?"
Luffy excitedly shook the offered appendage with both hands and laughed.
It was good enough for him.
