I am sorry for the late update. Apparently, finishing finals and going on winter break is free reign to schedule me non-stop at work.

Also, I lied last chapter. This chapter isn't actually the Buggy vs Luffy fight. I had almost forgotten about Zoro's fight so while it does have the start of Luffy's fight, their actual fight starts next chapter. Sorry. But I give you sexy, overprotective Zoro instead!

Tairulz - Thanks so much for the review.

Shirani-Chan - I feel like you're just going to be a permanent person I thank. The last chapter is one of my personal favorites too but my real favorite is coming up in chapter 13 or 14.

This is not completely my story. Some conversations and parts have been borrowed from other Fem!Luffy and LuffyxZoro fanfictions. However, most of this has been completely redone and rewritten by me.

The authors I have borrowed from are: Pen-Woman, ChemGirl, and Killjou. (If someone thinks I have added some of their story, I apologize for not listing you. PM me and I will add you)

Beta reader for Pen-Woman is TheBlackSeaReaper.

One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda

Epic Showdown! Swordsman Zoro vs. Acrobat Cabaji

I'll never give up fighting till the end, if I fall along the way I'll get up and try again but never shall I accept the fact of defeat, I've set goals in life and those I must meet but never will I let negativity hold me down. Those who think positive I keep them around, never shall I dwell on things in the past, bad times come but never do they last I shall never give in to those who are weaker than I. If I give up now why not lie down and die. Never give up….by Mark Howard.

Captain Buggy of the Buggy Pirates was livid. His plans had been foiled far too often today, and now he couldn't even kill one weak old man without being stopped. The girl continued to hold his hand preventing him from returning it to his body, and he was getting more furious by the second at the smug smirk that refused to leave her face. Her two companions, the swordsman and the thief, stood behind her lost in their own conversation, Zoro's tone and expression bored.

"Listen, all I want is the map and the treasure. You both can do what you please."

"Yeah, we got it."

Luffy kept her hand firmly gripping Buggy's for a while, enjoying the struggle and the angry veins appearing on his face. After a while though she got bored with counting the veins and let go of the hand with a sigh. The hand flew all the way back to the top building and reattached itself back on the stump of Buggy's arm. The clown massaged his wrist, more than a little annoyed, and yelled down at her.

"Damn you, you stupid little girl! How dare you?! You can't just walk up to me and treat me like this, I'M CAPTAIN BUGGY AND I WON'T STAND FOR IT!" Luffy watched Buggy's childish ranting for a minute, her head tilted in an almost confused manner. While she watched, Nami pulled mayor Boodle back to his feet and placed a hand reassuringly on his back as he wheezed and coughed, trying to catch his breath.

"Get out of here!" He rasped, waving his arm in a shooing motion, the other massaging his sore throat. "Why did you follow me? You're outsiders, so leave this to me!" Luffy turned her head away from Buggy's rant to stare at him, Zoro and Nami doing the same. Their expressions were blank as they watched the mayor struggle to catch his breath.

"This is my fight! I need to be the one to save my town!" Then he grabbed a broken metal pole near him and yelled, trying to sound bold.

"Buggy is my fight, so leave!"

As he spoke, Luffy had begun to walk quietly back towards him, her eyes shadowed under her hat. With no warning, and before the mayor could even take a step past her, she brought her fist back and slammed it into the mayor's head. The strike was so hard, it sent the old man back against the wall of the nearest building, out of the way. Nami gasped in shock as the mayor slid to the ground unconscious while Zoro's expression remained unchanged. Even Captain Buggy and his crew were baffled by the girl's sudden assault on one of her supposed teammates.

"Why the hell did you knock out the mayor?" Nami screeched at Luffy, wanting an answer for the girl's sudden change. But the younger girl just turned around and grinned brightly, pointing one hand over to where Buggy and his crew stood dumbfounded.

"That's why." She replied, as if her answer made all the sense in the world. Nami just stared at her, having no clue what the hell she was talking about and wondering if the raven-haired girl ever made any sort of sense. Then Zoro spoke up from her left.

"That's not a bad idea. If the old man had fought he would've died. It's for the best."

"Okay, I get it but still…YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HIT HIM LIKE THAT! DON'T BE SO RASH AND LET ME HANDLE THIS KIND OF THING FROM NOW ON! YOU ARE HOPELESS!" Nami howled but Luffy ignored her outburst and walked back towards the building where Buggy was still standing, watching her silently. When she was sure she was ahead of her crew enough to protect them from the next attack, she smirked mischievously.

"Here goes." She took a deep long breath and then shouted something that no one in their right mind would dare say to Buggy once, let alone twice.

"HEY BIG NOSE!" The Buggy pirates dropped their jaws in shock, cringing as the girl mentioned the unholy word. Even Nami had cringed when Luffy yelled out.

"That was the worst thing you could've said to him!" She hissed fearfully, gripping her hair in her hands as she watched the veins appearing on Buggy's forehead.

"You damn flashy idiot girl! You're going to pay dearly for that! TAKE AIM AND FIRE THE BUGGY BALL!" He screamed, glaring at his stunned crew. They quickly scrambled to flip the cannon so it faced Luffy, ready to fire.

"Why did you have to say that?!" Nami screamed, running left into the nearest alley to try and take cover from the cannon.

"C'mon Luffy. We gotta get out of here," Zoro agreed, worried when the raven-haired girl didn't move so much as a step. She continued to smirk up at Buggy but slid her eyes over to make eye contact with her first mate.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I got this!" She said.

"Time to die!" Buggy shouted angrily as he fired his Special Buggy Ball, heart pounding in excitement. There was no way for that straw-hat wearing bitch to dodge this one, but Luffy just planted her feet on the ground, reading her counterattack.

"Gum Gum Balloon!" She shouted, taking a deep breath and expanding her stomach, making a sort of buffer for the cannonball. Everyone stared at her, slightly dumbstruck, except for Zoro who just shook his head slightly in exasperation.

"I should have expected something like this." The cannonball struck her stomach and sunk in slightly before she used her strength to force it back out. It rebounded back towards the squawking Buggy Pirates, instantly taking out them along with the two story building they stood on. Luffy and Zoro shielded their faces slightly as debris from the bar flew in all directions, Luffy's happy smirk even wider now. When the dust cleared they lowered their arms to see the damage the Buggy Ball had caused to the building. All around them were bits of wood and metal, all of the Buggy pirates appearing to be either dead or unconscious.

"All right, I got them all!" The she-captain cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"WHO THE HELL AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" Nami screeched, leaning her head out of the alley. She had stayed, slightly worried for the two pirates and had seen Luffy rebound the cannonball like it was nothing. Nothing made any sense to her anymore, first Buggy and now this! Zoro watched the panicking orangette emerge from the alley after determining it was safe and blankly said.

"You know, it would've been nice to tell her instead of freaking her out." Luffy giggled and whispered 'oops', scratching the top of her head in embarrassment. She had forgotten to tell Nami that she was a devil fruit user like Buggy. Oh well, it wasn't that important right now, Nami had never asked and she was having too much fun here to really care.

Zoro turned to look at his captain, about to ask her what their next move was when his eyes widened and he let out a choked sound. "Gah, Luffy!" He cried, slapping his hand up to cover his eyes.

Nami approached the raven-haired girl, staring at her back confused, wondering what was wrong with the swordsman when she suddenly saw it, her own face turning slightly red. With deliberate calmness she stomped up to Luffy, who was staring at her first mate in startled bewilderment, and jerked her red tank closed.

"In the future you might want to be more mindful of that attack." she said in a voice of forced calm, her fingers deftly fastening the buttons of Luffy's red shirt. 'Especially if you're going to keep wearing button-up tanks'.

Luffy blinked and tilted her head to the side, completely oblivious. "Why?"

Nami glared at her. "Because I said so, that why."

Luffy only looked more confused, but nodded nonetheless, prompting Nami to let out a relieved sigh.

Zoro cautiously lowered his hand from his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. It would not do good for his heart should this turn out to be a regular occurrence. 'Maybe having that girl on our team won't be such a bad thing.' He thought, trying to will away the bright red blush still present on his cheeks and all the way to his ears.

Nami stepped back from Luffy and did a quick once over of the girl with her eyes before continuing with her earlier rant, now that the raven-haired girl was presentable. "I knew that something was wrong with you when you fought and survived from that lion, no human being could have done that! Now explain, how in the hell did you stretch like that? YOU JUST REFLECTED A GIANT CANNONBALL!" 'And nearly lost your shirt in the process.'

Nami stared at the seemingly normal girl in both amazement and shock eyes focused on the happy and open face. Ever since she had met this girl everything had happened almost all at once; Buggy could detach and reattach his body parts, Roronoa Zoro the famous pirate hunter had become a pirate, she saw a giant lion, and now a girl who could stretch and expand her body like a rubber band. Nami wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

"Well, I ate a devil fruit and now I'm made of rubber." Luffy's grin widened and she pinched her cheeks before stretching them out slightly.

"Wait, you're devil fruit user like Buggy? Why didn't you say anything?!" Nami yelled, still slightly in shock.

"Because you didn't ask?" Luffy cocked her head and stared at Nami innocently. The orangette scratched her head and sighed in frustration at the girl's simple but logical answer. She couldn't exactly argue with Luffy's logic. Zoro watched the two girls bicker with mild amusement but the sound of crumbling rocks drew his attention to the rubble of the building. They all looked over to see Captain Buggy standing, apparently unscathed. He was holding two of his men like shields with his chop-chop fruit that he must have grabbed just before the explosion.

"How dare you try to flashily do me in!" said Buggy as he threw his human shields to the side and reattached his hands back to his wrists, leveling a glare at the small group who continued to oppose him. Nami frowned in disgust, muttering under her breath.

"Typical, using his men as his shield." Once she said it Luffy and Zoro's frowns deepened as well, hating the clown even more.

In the heap of the destroyed building, Mohji had just woken up, the attack and commotion jarring him awake. He glanced around, gasping in shock at the destruction that was left from the Buggy ball. Their lair in pieces and most of the crew half dead or worse.

"What in the world just happened here?!" Mohji asked. He quickly stood up, intending to find the one responsible for attack and froze when his eyes fell upon the straw hat chick from earlier.

"Oh no, not you!" He begged, freaking out. When Luffy saw Mohji, she put on a friendly smile and waved.

"Hey, weirdo!"

"AHHHHH~ it's that straw hat girl! AHHH! Captain Buggy we have to be careful, she has devil fruit powers!" said the panicky Mohji, turning to his captain.

"What!?" Buggy couldn't believe what he was hearing. That had to be how she reflected the Buggy Ball but it what his first mate said was true than that girl was no weak skinny girl. He smiled sadistically, it had been a while since he had last fought a devil fruit user and killing this girl would certainly boost his bounty.

"A devil fruit user, huh? Hehehe, this should be interesting." Buggy chuckled darkly. Mohji wanted to protest but decided against it. He knew his captain well and if there was one thing that Buggy liked more than smashing buildings with his Buggy Ball, it was flashy death that increased his reputation. A sound echoed from behind Mohji and he turned around to see a man emerging from the rubble, holding an unconscious Richie as a shield the same way Buggy had.

"How do you plan to respond such insult, Captain?" The newcomer asked casually.

"Oh Cabaji, I don't know. I'm too angry to even think." Buggy pretended to think about it. He was glad to see his 2nd best fighter after Mohji, He would need the swordsman to kill that straw hat wannabe. Cabaji was a tall, slender man with a very unique hairstyle. Long on one side and parallel shaved stripes of hair on the other. He wore a large blue and white checkered scarf that covered the lower portion of his face, a sleeveless purple coat reaching down to his knees, white bell bottom pants held up by a light blue sash, and white shoes. Then Mohji started to yell furiously, finally registering that Cabaji was holding his pet.

"Put him down Cabaji! What the hell did you do to my Richie?!"

"This cat? I used it as a shield to keep my clothes from getting dirty," replied Cabaji, his tone bored as he let Richie drop to the ground in a heap.

"RICHIE! Say something, please say something!" Mohji begged praying that his friend was alright and sighed in relief when Richie regained consciousness. When the large lion saw Cabaji, however, he scrambled away in fright like a small kitty cat and hid behind a still standing section of wall.

"Richie…damn you Cabaji!" Mohji shouted as he charged Cabaji, intending to hit the other man in retaliation for Richie's injuries, but the guy dodged his attack effortlessly and kicked Mohji, sending him flying toward Luffy. When Luffy saw Mohji hurling toward her, she flipped herself into the air and smacked Mohji on the side of his face with her foot, sending him flying into a wall, creating a large circular crack pattern around him. The, now unconscious, man slid down to the ground with a thud.

Buggy and Cabaji watched the spectacular event before them. This girl was unique and was starting to interest them. Cabaji smirked darkly and glanced over at Buggy.

"Captain Buggy, allow me to repay their disrespect." He asked.

"Very well, but make it a good show for everyone," Buggy replied, a hint of malice in his tone, and Cabaji smirked. He was about to make the most extravagant show that they had ever seen. Even though the girl was a devil fruit user her body was tiny and frail and he would relish the screams he forced from her with every cut. He jumped high up in the air, leaping over his captain and landing on a unicycle he had magically brought out from under his coat. He charged Luffy, his sword in his hand, the blade almost thirsting for her blood.

"You may call me Acrobat Cabaji, Captain Buggy's second mate. You will pay for your insolence!" As he was about to reach Luffy, he was suddenly halted by Zoro's katana, the pirate hunter stepping in front of the straw hat girl. Zoro had seen the way Cabaji had smirked at his captain and there was no way he was letting that sick bastard anywhere near her.

"I'll clash swords with you" Zoro smirked coldly.

"It's an honor, Roronoa Zoro. As a Swordsman myself, I relish this chance to slay you." Then Cabaji noticed that Zoro's wound was still soaked with blood. Luffy noticed as well and rushed to Zoro's side.

"Zoro, you should rest. Let me handle this guy."

Zoro refused to look at her, refused to break eye contact with the enemy in front of him, and he knew if he looked at Luffy she would find a way to convince him to let her fight. He would not let this Cabaji guy get any pleasure from fighting his captain. Even a small strike against her, a tiny splash of blood, would make this creep happy and Zoro knew it. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Luffy was about to protest but Zoro interrupted her.

"Captain…have faith in me. I can beat this guy and I will NOT back down from a sword fight." He didn't look at her but Zoro could feel her gaze on him, feel her gaze soften before he heard her sigh. She nodded, knowing Zoro was serious and that she wouldn't be able to change his mind, and took a few steps back, giving her first mate a confident smile that he could feel. Zoro gave a short nod in return, chest swelling with pride; knowing his captain trusted in him gave him a shot of adrenaline and his hand tightened on the handle of his sword as he readied himself for the fight.

A wicked smirk came to Cabaji's face as he thought of an idea. 'That's the stab wound that the Captain inflected on this fool.'

"You know," Cabaji smirked, eyes sliding over to the straw hat girl and giving her a once over. "You should've listened to your cute little captain, because you're about to be in a world of hurt, Arsonist Technique!" Zoro's eyes narrowed when Cabaji almost purred out the word 'cute' and slid his gaze from the green haired swordsman to glance at Luffy, but before he could push the acrobat back and attack, Cabaji blew a small stream of fire at Zoro's face. Luckily, Zoro manged to block the blazing heat using his katana, but Cabaji's plan wasn't to actually burn Zoro, no, just to get him to leave his body wide open. He smirked as he swung his right leg out and slammed his foot into Zoro's wound. Both Luffy and Nami gasped as Zoro screamed and dropped to his knees. He hissed at the pain in his left side, it felt like it was on fire, and Cabaji chuckled darkly.

"I didn't even kick you that hard, Roronoa Zoro."

"That guy plays dirty! Going after his injury like that." Nami was utterly disgusted with that Cabaji guy but Luffy just stood silently next to her. She appeared to be calm but her fists were clenched tightly at her sides and she could feel her blood boiling on the inside. She wanted nothing more than to bash that guy's head till his skull shattered but she remained still, because this was Zoro's fight and she would not intervene, no matter what. And then Cabaji stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground.

"Acrobat Technique: Murder at the Steam Bath!" He spun his sword around quickly, a cloud of dust forming and concealing Cabaji from Zoro.

"Acrobat my ass, it just an ordinary dust cloud." Zoro grumbled in annoyance, forcing himself to his knees as he tried to breathe through the pain. But Zoro what didn't know was that Cabaji was using this as a part of his sickening game. Zoro saw something glint in the cloud of dust to his left and brought two of his swords up as Cabaji charged out of the dust, ready to slice him in half. Zoro easily blocked the attack but once again Cabaji swung his leg out and hit at Zoro's unprotected wound. The pirate hunter screamed in agony as the strength of the kick sent him sliding across the ground, the burning ache on his left side flaring up again. Luffy's eyes were as wide as saucers. Seeing her first mate in pain was far worse than any pain she herself had ever been in and she dug her nails deeper into her palms, fighting the urge to charge in.

'I promised him, I'd only get in his way if I tried to help. This is your fight Zoro and I trust you, kick this guy's ass! Don't make me have to help you, you would never forgive me for that.' She brought herself out of her thoughts and forced herself to keep watching Zoro's battle against Cabaji.

"What's this?! It's such a disgrace to see a grown man on the ground moaning. I suppose now you can see how foolish it was to make an enemy of the Buggy Pirates." Cabaji laughed darkly as he watched the great Roronoa Zoro, Demon of the East Blue, bent over on the ground, groveling. His eyes slide to the two girls standing on the side lines and licked his lips. Nami was not sure how much longer she could stand to see Zoro like this. It amazed her that he had managed to survive this long with such an injury; even an inhuman person like him couldn't take much more of this.

"To keep fighting with such a bad injury, it's suicidal! He's hurt so bad, I don't know how he's managing to stay in the fight." Then she turned her head sharply to glare at Luffy, who had done nothing to stop the fight.

"Why are you just standing there?! Aren't you going to do something about this?! Don't you care what happens to him?!" She shouted angrily. She knew Luffy cared about Zoro and yet she was just standing there, her expression blank, Nami couldn't understand it. Luffy kept her gaze firmly on Zoro, completely ignoring Nami's shout. She didn't bother to answer her because she didn't need to. Her job was to watch as Zoro strove to get back on his feet, wordlessly believing in him and sending her support. He would win this battle!

And then Cabaji smirked suddenly and said.

"Roronoa Zoro, this fight is finished, and your captain is next!" He spun his pedals as he charged at Zoro with his sword ready.

"You annoying little bastard" Zoro hissed as he got up from the ground, how dare Cabaji try and goad him. He would not lose to him, would not let Luffy face this creep.

"Are you having fun poking at my wound? Then GO AHEAD!" He glared demonically at the approaching Cabaji and then to everyone's complete shock, Zoro let Cabaji stab right through his wound, causing fresh blood to soak his haramaki and drip to the ground. No one could believe it, even though they were seeing it with their very eyes. Zoro had just stood there and let Cabaji hurt him even worse, even Cabaji was stunned that Zoro hadn't tried to dodge. What shocked him even more was that Zoro didn't even flinch as the sword gored its way through his flesh, and when he pulled the sword back out, the swordsman still didn't make a single move. He silently wondered if what he had heard about Zoro was really true, that he was an unholy demon who was not afraid of death itself. He stared at Zoro who had bent his head down, shadowing his eyes under his bandana.

"Why didn't you evade the attack?!" Nami shrieked.

"Is that enough of a handicap for ya?" Zoro lifted his head up and smirked threateningly.

"And now, let me show you just how superior my skills are to yours." Cabaji recoiled at the look on Zoro's face, it sent shivers down his spine. This man was not like any of the other men he had killed, no, this one…this one was a monster of hell.

"YEAH, ZORO! SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS!" Luffy cheered, slight relief in her tone. The amount of blood he had lost was worrying her.

"You fool, you have made a vast error in judgment! I won't be mocked," Cabaji snarled, forcing himself to retake his fighting stance and finish Zoro off despite his mind's warnings.

"My swords aim to be the World's Greatest…I refuse to lose even once to anyone who calls themselves a swordsmen," Zoro said as he pulled out his prized sword, his Wado Ichimonji.

"I see…a strong resolve keeps you going but have no fear, wounds as bad as yours are more than enough of an excuse…to lose to me." Cabaji pointed his blade towards Zoro in a threatening way, smirking at the injured swordsman.

"To hell with that! If I lose to someone like you with these minimal injuries, than I don't have a very bright future, do I?" Zoro put his Wado between his teeth as Cabaji seethed angrily at Zoro's insult. He would take his time in killing him, he would wipe that dark smirk off the green-haired man's face. Luffy cheered Zoro on from the sidelines, Nami standing behind the small pirate with her arms crossed over her chest. She really couldn't take much more of this.

"I won't stay and watch this, you pirates can stand around for the rest of time and kill each other for all I care!" She hissed, turning to walk away, finally fed up. Luffy turned her head from watching Zoro to just stare at Nami.

"And it doesn't matter to me whether you guys win or lose, so I'm going to take this opportunity to swipe their treasure and get out of here. Who knows maybe we get to team up if we ever see each other again, so see ya and good luck with the fight!" Nami grinned smugly and gave Luffy a short wave before turning and running back into the alley.

"Okay, see ya and thanks!" Luffy just returned the wave with a smile, turning back to Zoro's fight.

"Here is a taste of my ultimate Acrobatic move," Cabaji said as he held out his hands. On his palms were a variety of spinning tops. Zoro had no idea what those were for but he couldn't let his guard down, not after all the dirty tricks Cabaji had been throwing at him. Suddenly, Cabaji yelled.

"Acrobat Technique: Dance of 100 Kamikaze Tops!" He swept his arms out, unleashing hundreds of spinning tops and throwing them in Zoro's direction, but Zoro just stood his ground and prepared himself for another showdown.

Nami was currently taking the long way around on her way to the remains of Buggy's hideout, knowing he had hidden his treasure and the chart in the basement of the building. She stopped for a second and turned her head to look in the direction where she had left Luffy and Zoro, both still fighting the ruthless Buggy Pirates.

"They're not normal, both Luffy and Zoro are completely crazy. If I joined up with them... I can tell nothing good would come of it," she muttered to herself, returning to the task at hand. When she reached the end of the alley, she spotted Buggy but he was too focused on the fight between Cabaji and Zoro and she was able to quietly sneak past him towards the remains of the bar. She began to rummage through the debris as quietly as she could, attempting to find the secret door that she had located earlier.

Mere seconds later she let out a silent cheer as she revealed the door hidden under a few wooden support beams. She opened it and quickly walked down the stairs, shutting the door after her. The orangette spotted a passed out pirate sitting near the entrance that looked like he had drank too much sake. It didn't matter to her right now, he didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon so she walked past him towards the locked door at the end of the isle. She knew that behind the door was the prized treasures and the chart of the Grand Line so she took out her Bō staff and readied her attack.

"Now I steal their treasure and the chart and get the hell out of here!" She muttered as she slammed her staff into the lock, hitting it dead center and breaking it instantly.

Back with Zoro, the swordsman was being kept busy slicing each and every one of the tops, cutting them perfectly in half and using very little effort on his part. He began to wonder absently about the effectiveness of the attack but then he saw Cabaji smirk again.

"Acrobat Technique: A Hike in the Mountains!" Cabaji turned and rode straight up the walls and before Zoro could even try and predict what the other man's attack would be, Cabaji leapt off of the top of the wall, high into the air.

"Fireworks in the Cool Summer Breeze!" He yelled from above.

"Whoa, that's high!" Luffy commented, slightly impressed. She stared up at the flying Cabaji while putting her hand on her forehead to keep the sunlight from hitting her eyes, a little curious as to what the man's next move would be.

"Sting of the Unicycle," as Cabaji positioned his sword towards Zoro, preparing to drop straight down and skewer the injured pirate hunter, Buggy held out his right arm and yelled.

"Chop-Chop Cannon!" His hand came off at the wrist and launched at the unsuspecting Zoro like it had been shot from a cannon.

"Cabaji, I'll hold him, then you finish him off" Buggy shouted, grinning.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Cabaji called as he began to fall, more than ready to finish this fight. He could use Zoro's head as a trophy and then take his time with the man's still cheering captain. Zoro cursed; if he sliced Buggy's hand he'd only end up as cubes for Cabaji, but if he let Buggy's hand grab him he'd end up dead anyway. He was in a tight situation and everyone there knew it. Suddenly, Luffy was moving, slamming her foot into Buggy's hand and stomping it to the ground, stopping his interference. Buggy winced in pain as Zoro dodged Cabaji's attack in the nick of time.

"You little bitch!" Buggy shouted at her.

Luffy grinned, somewhat sadistically."This is Zoro's fight. Stay out of it. If you wanna fight someone, then how about me?"

Nami lit a small lamp she had found, using one of the leftover matches that the pirates had given her earlier. As the light illuminated the room, she noticed the huge pile of treasure stacked in the center of the room and her eyes widened, sparkling like diamonds.

"Look at all this stuff! And every last berri is mine!" She laughed with glee as she scooped some of the treasure into her hands, loving the feeling of solid valuable gold within her grasp. She saw a gold crown on top of the pile and quickly grabbed it and placed it on top of her head, posing and thinking that she probably looked like a princess. Her fun ended when a sword appeared in her peripheral vision, blade pointed ominously towards her face. She dropped the crown and turned to see the same Pirate who had been knocked out at the entrance was now awake and looking very flushed.

"What do you think you're doing with our treasure?" he slurred.

'Oh crap, this is not good, not good at all!' Nami thought fearfully, eyes darting from side to side as she attempted to think of a way out.

"By the order of Captain Buggy, anyone who gets near the treasure will be…" before he could finish his sentence he glanced down at the bottle in his hand. It appeared to be empty and he tipped it over, checking to see if there was any sake left. He raised it to his eyes and looked through the hole before whining.

"Uhh~ it's all gone," he slurred, his high pitched whine like that of a child. Nami smirked, thinking of a great idea. She quickly dropped to one knee and clutched at her chest, pretending to be in pain.

"Ow, it hurts," Nami grunted, catching the pirate's attention.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"My chest hurts really bad."

"Your…chest?" The pirate glanced down at Nami's chest. She had leaned forward to make it more visible and the pirate took the bait, drooling like a pervert. Nami smirked, pleased her plan had worked before quickly reaching for the three pieces of her Bo staff attached to her right thigh. Faster than he could blink she had assembled the three parts and smacked the drunk pirate upside the head. She giggled slightly as he crumpled into a heap on the ground before noticing several keys strapped around his neck. One was gold and glinted faintly in the candle light. She snatched the keys up and glanced around the room, quickly spotting a wooden box with a gold lock on it. The their made her way over to the box and unlocked it before slowly lifting the lid.

'Score!' she thought cheerfully, staring down at the rolled chart of the Grand Line.

Buggy ground his teeth angrily, the move producing a chain saw like sound, when Luffy shot him a cocky smirk, still standing on his hand. Zoro knelt on the ground a short distance away, panting hard, starting to feel dizzy because of the amount of blood he had lost.

"Hehehehe, I assure you that I don't need my captain's aid to finish you off." Cabaji huffed confidently, slightly put off by Luffy's interference..

"Shut…up, I'm tired of this." Zoro hissed back, panting between each word. Cabaji laughed at him humorlessly.

"So you've finally given up, have you? Though I must say, I'm quite impressed that you lasted this long with such a serious injury." Cabaji's tone grew even more smug as he stared down at Zoro, thinking he had won.

"I think you misunderstood." Zoro huffed. "I'm tired of facing someone with such pathetic skills. It's a waste of my time." His disinterest angered Cabaji.

"So sorry that I have disappointed you." Cabaji exclaimed, charging Zoro, ready to unleash his final move." How about I show you my real Swordsmen skill?!" Luffy watched silently, cheering Zoro on in her head with everything she had. Buggy just watched the final confrontation with a grin. He knew who the victor would be. Zoro just rose to his feet silently, crossing his arms over his chest, one sword on each side of his head with his Wado clutched tightly between his teeth. He glanced up from under his bandana and smirked.

"Oni Giri!" Before Cabaji could perform any kind of counter, Zoro slid past him, cutting through him by swinging the swords across his chest, resulting in a descending diagonal-crossing slash from both swords while the mouth blade performed a horizontal cut.

"CABAJI!" Buggy could not believe that his second mate was defeated by Roronoa Zoro with only one attack. Cabaji had never lost before. Luffy just smiled proudly, releasing Buggy's hand from under her sandal.

"I can't believe the Buggy Pirates were defeated by petty thieves." Cabaji muttered, falling from his unicycle with a heavy thud, completely unconscious by the time he hit the ground.

"For your information, we are not petty thieves, we're real Pirates." Zoro replied calmly, sliding his swords back into their sheathes. After making sure that Cabaji would not be getting back up he allowed himself to wobble slightly, the blood loss finally starting to catch up to him. His vision swam before his eyes and he was about to fall when suddenly Luffy was behind him, supporting him. The raven-haired girl slowly and carefully lowered her first mate to the ground, wincing when he grunted in pain. His eyes cracked open to stare at her for a second before they closed again and he sighed, completely exhausted.

"Lu...? I'm going…to sleep." He wasn't concerned about leaving the rest of it to his captain. Luffy could handle Buggy now that the creep had been taken care of.

"Okay," Luffy smiled, giggling as Zoro started to snore softly. She ruffled Zoro's hair before standing back up. "I guess it's my turn, Buggy." She laughed, walking away from Zoro and getting into her fighting stance, ready to go. Buggy growled angrily, the sound like a rabid animal, this girl was way too cocky. He would show her.

Nami rounded a corner, dragging a large sack of treasure behind her, feeling like the bag was growing heavier with every step. She stopped for a second, needing a slight breather. Wiping at her forehead, she stood straight, attempting to stretch out the growing cramp in her lower back. She sighed with relief, the bag was a lot heavier than she had originally thought.

"I scored an impressive amount of treasure from the Buggy Pirates. Who knew that clown had managed to accumulate so much. I didn't expect it to be so heavy though." She sighed again before freezing, remembering Luffy and Zoro, wondering if they were still fighting for their lives in the town square. And they weren't just fighting for themselves but for the sake of the town and all the citizens in it, people they had no obligation to help. It still confused her that there were pirates like them that would do...good things, act heroically. She shook her head, dismissing the weird thought and turned back to the bag of loot.

"Anyway, I need to get back to my boat and high tail it out of here." As she was about to resume pulling the sack, a nagging feeling in her heart stopped her from going any further. Being around Luffy had reminded Nami of herself, granted, the girl was a more scatterbrained version of herself. Her heart swelled with guilt as she thought of Luffy, she had just left the girl there. Before she even realized it she was unconsciously turning her head in the direction of the town square where Luffy and Zoro were fighting, a distant and somewhat sad look on her face.

"You guys are Pirates?!" Buggy asked incredulously, not sure he had heard the green swordsman correctly.

"That's right! We're searching for the Grand Line!" Luffy replied happily, a large grin on her face, completely missing the disbelief and contempt in Buggy's voice.

"HA! That's not a place you can just casually go to, idiot. Even if you two halfwits managed to make it there, what would you do? Go sightseeing or something?" Buggy began to laugh at his own joke, finding the whole situation a little humorous. A girl like this, going to the Grand Line? Preposterous. Luffy just watched him blankly, not quite understanding the reason he was laughing, before replying to the obviously rhetorical question.

"I'm gonna be the first ever Queen of the Pirates." She said calmly. Buggy choked on his laugh, his eyes bugging out of his head in shock.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, YOU IDIOT! There is no way you can be the Pirate Queen! A girl like you?! There can only be a Pirate King, KING! And that title, along with all of the treasure, belongs to me!" Buggy angrily bared his teeth at her. "So stop dreaming!

"You know, you talk too much," Luffy sighed, starting to get a little annoyed. "Just bring it on clown guy." She stepped back into her fighting stance, left hand gripping her right bicep, as Buggy let his eight knives drop down into his hands.

"Seeing that Straw Hat of yours brings back memories. Reminds me of that man and that really pisses me off. Bring it on you little wannabe, I'll take my frustrations against that cheeky red-haired bastard on you!" Buggy was hissing by the end, his anger flaring up just thinking of him.

"Red-haired? Wait a minute, you said red-haired?! Do you mean Shanks? You know Shanks?!" Luffy asked, getting excited. Maybe he would know where he was. Luffy hadn't heard anything about Shanks since he left 10 years ago and she was curious.

"What?" Buggy asked, confused at the girl's sudden change in mood. "So what if I know him?"

"Do you know where he is now? How is he doing? Benn, Yasopp, Lucky Roo and the others? Are they ok?" Luffy began to spit out one question after another, her eyes shining with excitement.

"I don't know. It depends Straw Hat; maybe I do and maybe I don't." Buggy grinned watching the excited girl, the grin almost sadistic looking.

"What do you mean?…you forget where he is or something?... Are you an idiot?" Luffy asked, slightly confused.

"NO, I DIDN'T FORGET YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL! But I'm not going to tell you what you want to know out of the kindness of my heart. I'm not that nice of a guy." Buggy scoffed, raising his knives, watching as the girl grinned and settled back into her fighting stance.

"Fine than. I'll make you talk."

"HAHAHA, you can try little girl, but you'll be dead before you get to ask! Rubber can't bounce back knives." Buggy chuckled, stamping his feet and releasing the two knives in the front soles of his shoes.

Luffy watched Buggy carefully, knowing he would make the first move and preparing her own counter attack. Nami slid to the end of one of the buildings at the edge of the plaza and glanced around the corner, just in time to watch the fight between Luffy and Buggy begin, Captain vs. Captain.

"Chop-Chop Rice Cracker!" Buggy raised himself off the ground and threw his lower half, cartwheeling it across the ground towards Luffy. Timing it just right, Luffy jumped up, her legs spread wide, allowing the attack to pass harmlessly beneath her. Buggy just grinned.

"When you're in the air I can predict your movements," he chuckled, readying the eight knives in his hands and tossing them towards the airborne girl.

Luffy smirked, grabbing her hat with one hand and sticking her tongue out at Buggy. "Who says you can, stupid!" Stretching her arm and gripping the post of a porch to her right, Luffy allowed herself to be yanked towards the house, easily missing Buggy's knives. Buggy ground his teeth in annoyance as his lower half was returned to him, this girl was starting to be a pain.

"Ho ho, how interesting." Buggy said, not showing his frustration.

"You're not so bad yourself but it's my turn now! Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy jumped back into her fighting stance and shot her fist forward with blinding speed, stretching it and aiming straight for Buggy's head.

"Chop-Chop Quick Escape!" Buggy's head separated from the rest of his body, causing Luffy's attack to go straight through him and her fist slammed into the wall, creating a huge crater. Buggy laughed as his head floated around the plaza once before returning to his body.

"Not good enough, little girl," He sanf, sticking out his tongue in an imitation of her previous taunt.

Luffy threw a few more punches but they always had the same effect, she would aim and Buggy would detach the limb and dodge her before taunting the younger girl. Luffy was starting to get annoyed, her teeth grinding together.

"Damn it! You keep breaking into pieces, you stupid!" She hissed and Buggy laughed insanely.

"I can't believe they're still fighting?! These two are insane, it's like watching a dream." Nami muttered, her eyes wide as she continued to watch the crazy fight that was still ongoing. She wasn't the only one watching the fight either. A few of the Buggy pirates had finally regained consciousness and were now watching the fight, shock and disbelief on their faces.

"Did you see that?!" one of them muttered.

"Be quiet! Act like you're still unconscious. If we get involved in this we'll never get out of here alive," another said all of them turning to focus back on the freakiest fight they had ever seen, cold sweats breaking out across their bodies.

"Chop-Chop Cannon!" Buggy shot out one forearm with 4 daggers in his hand, one clasped between each finger. Luffy easily caught the arm before it could reach her face but Buggy just grinned, the idiot had walked right into his trap and now she would pay for it.

"Separate!" Buggy detached his fist from his forearm, continuing his forward attack as if Luffy had not stopped him. Squeaking in surprise, Luffy let go of his forearm and jumped to the side, missing most of the attack. Instead of slamming into her face, the knives grazed her cheek, leaving a few deep scratches back towards her ear. Buggy began to laugh manically at the sight of the blood dripping down her face.

"How do you like that you cocky little bitch?!" His gleeful expression faltered after a few seconds and then faded into a confused frown when Luffy didn't reply. She just stood there, unmoving, with blood oozing down her face, eyes hidden under her hair as she stared at the straw hat in her hand. Buggy's attack had caught the edge of her hat, causing a tear in the brim.

"YOU BASTARD!" She screamed, her eyes filled with rage and teeth bared.

"Aww, did I scratch your pretty little face?" Buggy asked, taunting the raven-haired girl. Who knew the raven haired girl was so worried about her appearance. The way she dressed certainly didn't make him think she cared about fashion.

Luffy stared down at her hat, fighting the urge to cry as her blood boiled just beneath her skin. Luffy's hat meant the world to her, if there was even a tiny smudge on her hat, she would snap like an animal on a rampage. Her eyes that normally held happiness and showed off her carefree spirit were now filled with an absolute, crazed fury.

"Bastard, how dare you damage this hat. No one damages my lucky hat and walks away from it alive!" She rose to her feet as she yelled, eyes laser focused on Buggy's face. "THIS HAT IS MY ONLY TREASURE! I WON'T FORGIVE ANYONE WHO SO MUCH AS LAYS A FINGER ON IT!" Her tone was dark and cut through the air like knives, a sound that would make even sea kings whine in fear. Buggy raised his eyebrow at Luffy, not expecting her to react so harshly over a silly hat. Nami, who was still watching the fight from the sidelines, was stunned to see Luffy, carefree, scatterbrained Luffy, screaming at Buggy with such rage that she hardly recognized the girl. Suddenly she recalled what the raven-haired girl had told her earlier.

"I made a promise on this hat. I promised the man who gave me it that I would form the world's best crew and become the first ever Queen of the Pirates!"

"And here I thought that she couldn't take anything seriously. But just look at her, getting so upset over a scratch in her hat." Nami couldn't tell if she was impressed or just shocked at the girl's passion. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she continued to watch the battle, the tables starting to turn in Buggy's favor. Luffy ground her teeth as she held the hat to her chest in a gentle manner, as if sheltering it, and Buggy smiled wickedly, suddenly having an evil idea.

"It seems that hat has a history to it, is it really all that special?" He scoffed, trying to bait the girl. Luffy didn't replay, just continued to glare heatedly at him, not noticing that Buggy's arm was still floating behind her back, knives grasped tightly between the fingers. He threw one of the daggers at Luffy, setting his plan into motion, and forcing her to dodge. She heard the whoosh or the dagger and saw the movement out of the corner of her eye. Thanks to her fast reflexes she was able to throw herself to the side, avoiding the dagger but unknowingly spreading her arms wide with her hat held in her outstretched hand.

"If it's that important…YOU SHOULD PROTECT IT PROPERLY!" The remaining knives, still held in Buggy's hand, shot forward, piercing the crown of her hat and yanking it out of her hand. Luffy had lost her footing on the wooden debris as she dodged the last knife and was forced to watch, in what felt like slow motion, her hat be yanked out of her grasp, horror and despair written all over her face. She felt like her heart had been torn, just like her hat, as an image of her best friend and father figure appeared in her mind.

*Flashback*

"DDDDIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE"

Higuma screamed but he could do nothing as the sea king devoured the bandit with one bite. Luffy watched in horror as the creature turned his gaze towards her. It charged but with one word from Shanks it was suddenly gone as Luffy clung to him, sobbing.

"S-S-S-Shanks," she whispered, shaking like a leaf. Shanks…the Captain of Red-Haired pirates, had sacrificed his left arm to the sea king to save her.

"Are you okay, Lu? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Shanks held Luffy with his one remaining arm as the 7 year old sobbed into his chest and clutched at his shirt, afraid that if she let go he would disappear.

"I'm in your debt Luffy. Makino told us everything, how you stood up for us, how you were willing to fight for us and put yourself on the line." Shanks said softly, kissing her forehead.

"But Shanks 'sob' your arm 'hic' YOUR ARM!"

"In that case, I'll leave this hat to you. It means more to me than anything in the world so you better take good care of it, you hear me?" Shanks said, entrusting his most valuable position to Luffy. She never would've thought that Shanks would do that and she had never felt so flattered or so grateful to him and she started to cry with happiness.

"I want you to bring this hat back to me someday, in good condition, and only once you've become the Queen of the Pirates. That's our promise, Luffyko."

*End Flashback*

As the vision faded from her mind Luffy hit the ground with a loud thud, watching as Buggy's hand flew back to its owner, knives still shoved through the brim of her hat. Buggy looked down at it as if it was the lousiest thing he had ever seen, as if it was nothing but junk.

"How is this tattered old hat a treasure? HAHAHAHA! Treasure is sparkling gold, silver, and jewels that shine and show off the owner's class. You really consider this worthless dirty straw hat a treasure? You need to grow up, little girl!" Then Buggy laughed, angering Luffy even more.

"Shut up," she screamed, clenching her fists as she rose to her knees. "That's Shanks' hat! He gave it to me and I promised to give it back!"

"What! You mean to tell me that this used be Shanks' hat?" The disgust in Buggy's voice was clear. "No wonder it looked so familiar." He tossed the hat to the ground with a mixed look of loathing and disgust.

"He always wore it when I knew him," He continued, causing Luffy to gasp.

"You and Shanks were on the same ship?!" Her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

"Yeah, back when we were pirates in training we were fellow comrades…that damned, annoying red haired bastard." Then Buggy lifted his foot and stomped on the hat angrily.

Luffy gasped, her anger tripling as she watched. Not only was that stupid clown trying to destroy her precious hat but he was bad mouthing Shanks as well. She howled in anger and stumbled to her feet before charging at Buggy.

"Shanks is a better man than you'll ever be! You have no right to call him comrade and DON'T YOU EVER BADMOUTH HIM AGAIN!" As she ran forward she drew her fist back into her pistol stance, ready to punch the bastard of a clown right in his face. But Buggy saw her attack coming and quickly yelled.

"Chop-Chop Quick Escape!" He detached his head from his body to avoid harm, thinking that Luffy was going for the same attack she had used last time but the small girl changed her attack position mid-stride and instead swung her leg out and kicked him right in the gut. Buggy wheezed, his body falling back onto the ground as his head floated slowly down next to it. He was cursing the girl silently, angry that he been fooled by her cheap trick.

"Don't you ever say you and Shanks are comrades again!" Luffy snarled, foot still raised in the air where she had kicked him. Buggy coughed multiple times as he tried to get air back into his deflated lungs, his head slowly reattaching itself to his body. "I can say what I want about Shanks, you little brat." Luffy just stormed over to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him up to her eye level.

"Tell me what happened between you and Shanks! Spit it out big nose!" She hissed at the clown pirate, her tone demanding he answer, and implying silently that there would be pain if he refused. "Damn it! How dare you do that to my hat!"

Buggy just coughed again before replying.

"Do you really want to know?" His eyes flashing with fury as he remembered the bastard, the one who had ruined his life forever.

"He is the one person I loathe. The one person I can never forgive. I will curse his name for the rest of my life."

Another chapter down! Phew, I love getting to write an overprotective Zoro. And if you didn't notice, I don't much care for Cabaji. He was arrogant and annoying and I could totally picture him being a creep like that. Just another excuse for Zoro to kick his ass! Looking forward to Luffy's fight tomorrow. We get to see her be bad-ass and take out Buggy! This chapter she has really started showing her more serious side and we'll see more of it next chapter.

Just an advance notice that the next chapter might be a few hours late as well because I haven't even finished editing it yet and it's 4 in the morning here and I work in a few hours so... Anyway, as much as I complain, I absolutely love doing this and all the reviews and story alerts keep me going.

I hope you loved the chapter as much as I liked writing/editing it.

Til tomorrow!