pipi96: Hmm, I'll think about it. But...not sure it'll happen.
Aarik Wrath: No, I understood that, but you said that was the only good fight he had besides Mihawk. I'm asking what fight you are referring to. His fight with Cabaji in Cannon? His fight with the Buggy Pirates in my story? His fight with Pearl in my story? You couldn't have meant Daz Bones because that's afterward, that's why I was asking which battle you were referring to. They didn't? I believe you're right about that. It's been so long since I've seen that fight, I need to go back and watch it.
F-ckthesystem125: Yes, just a bit more and it'll all come to a head, yay! As for how far I plan on taking this story, I assume you mean when will the final chapter take place? If that is what you're asking, let me tell you that I plan on going through until each member of the Straw Hat Pirates has reached their dream, so in other words, to the very end.
Chop2NV: Thank you! And I enjoyed Zoro finally chewing Nami out for what she's done to Luffy as well. As for Luffy, Zoro and Sanji fighting at full strength, well, not exactly. Remember how Sanji had most of his ribs broken? Yeah, while he definitely heals faster than the normal human, he doesn't heal as fast as Luffy does, so he won't be at full strength for his fight I'm afraid. As for not being able to wait for the next chapter, well, here it is.
Guest talking about Zoro and Robin: I'm not sure to be honest. I mean...there are two other pairings in my mind that make more sense than that. One I can't go with, and the other...well, like I said, I'm thinking it over.
thewittywhy: Do you honestly think he'll leave him alive? Just ask yourself that.
GTI: Thank you so much, I very much appreciate that you recognize the work that goes into this. Not that it's just work, I find it fun too, don't worry. As for how the story is being told, I'm glad you like it, and I'm also glad you stuck with it and didn't abandon it when you saw it was sticking close to Cannon for awhile. I promise all of you, the further we get into the story, the less Cannon should be involved. Now onto your thoughts on Robin, I understand completely. One of the only real pairings with her that works, to me at least, is with Luffy. And well...this isn't a harem story. I will be writing a few of them though, so yeah. I'll probably go that route and leave Robin unpaired for this story. Thanks for your input.
Finally, as for Luffy yelling something different, I'm thinking on it. As of right now, unless I come up with something better, he's going to shout what he told her when they were children, that she would always be his navigator.
Ranger Station Charlie: I think I may be starting to spoil people's fun by telling them who won't join, so I'll just say this, there will be two more Straw Hats than the original nine, one of them will be male, the other will be female. Anyway, yes, Zoro is definitely one hell of a bro, the best in fact.
LordCanine: Yes, we are almost there. Only a little further...man I cannot wait! Will he snap when he finds that out? Hmmm...you'll just have to wait and see.
Johnny Spectre: Goddamn that is impressive. Very nice indeed. I wonder just how many things you'll sense coming from my story? I guess we'll see as I go along.
Second chapter of the Arlong arc is here! Please read, enjoy and review.
Luffy and Sanji neared the Conomi Islands, and while they had been tempted to hit Arlong Park first, the sight of the boat Zoro, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku left in convinced them to bring their boat up to theirs, tying it to a tree as well. "Alright we're here, now where are the others?" Sanji questioned after taking a particularly long drag of his cigarette.
"Well Zoro gets lost a lot, so they might be looking for him." Luffy offered.
The blonde sighed at that. "I knew that guy was a moron."
Luffy took a look around then, wondering where they should go. "Hmmm..." Thinking it over, he just followed his instincts and took a right, "We'll go this way."
The newest member of the crew quirked a brow at that, "Do you even know where you're going?"
"No clue." Luffy answered bluntly.
He rolled his eyes at that, saying under his breath, "Rubber idiot." Nevertheless he followed after the younger teen.
The two walked along for a few good minutes, until they managed to come across a village. The moment they stepped foot into the village, all eyes were on them, staring. They weren't stares of hate, anger, fear or even curiosity, they were stares of pure confusion.
"They're looking at us as if we both grew second heads." Sanji remarked.
"Yeah." Luffy affirmed simply.
"Don't you even care why?"
"Not really. I just want to find the others." Luffy told him.
"Alright." Sanji responded, knowing that it wasn't even worth the argument.
As they made it deeper into the village, a man stepped forward and blocked their path. "What are you two doing here? Don't you know what's going on here on this island?"
"Not really." The straw hat teen replied, taking a good look at the man as he did, sure he knew him from somewhere. Then, he noticed the pinwheel on his hat. "Wait a sec, you're Genzo aren't you?"
The man looked taken back by that, "How do you know my name young man?"
Just as a smirk crossed the rubber pirate's face, cries of, "Luffy!", were heard.
Turning to look at who was calling his name, the pirate captain saw Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku all rushing towards him. "Hey you guys! Where's Zoro? Have you found Nami yet?" He asked them as they came closer.
"Nami?" Genzo questioned, wondering to himself, "They're here for Nami...?"
"Never mind that!" Usopp shouted.
"Yeah, we need to find Big Bro Zoro and get the hell out of here now!" Yosaku yelled.
"Nami was a traitor all along! She's been gaining Arlong's trust so that she could have the treasure buried in Cocoyashi village all to herself! And as soon as she finds out we're here, she'll sick him and his fishmen on us! Because she'll stop at nothing until she gets what she's after!" Johnny yelled as well, as they came to a stop in front of the other two.
Luffy reached out and grabbed the tanned bounty hunter, pulling him close, as he yelled back, "Shut your mouth! Nami isn't like that!"
In spite of being manhandled at the moment, Johnny continued on. "Yes she is! She betrayed her entire village and her family, all so she could join Arlong's crew!"
Luffy, his anger clear in his eyes and on his face, proceeded to toss Johnny to the ground, the man landing on his back, before the rubber man was on top of him, pinning him to the ground, his right fist cocked back and his left hand holding tightly onto his collar. "Don't you say another goddamn word! Nami would never betray Bellemere and Nojiko, not in a million years! If you so much as think that again, I'll kill you!" He screamed in the older man's face.
All the villagers eyes were wide at this scene, their thoughts all running along the same track, "He has that much faith in her?"
"Luffy, he's telling the truth!" Yosaku told him, trying to get him to believe them.
"Nami's sister told me this herself Luffy!" Usopp spoke up, trying to get Luffy to listen.
"You're lying!" Luffy bit, looking up at the long nosed teen as he did.
"You really think I'd lie about something like this!?" Usopp inquired angrily.
"You have to be! Nami wouldn't do that, ever!" Luffy insisted.
"Listen all of you-" Before Genzo could finish his sentence, someone else spoke. "I thought I told you not to go running off and making a scene." A feminine voice said.
All eyes then went to Nojiko, as she entered the village. Her eyes widened suddenly, as she caught sight of a certain raven haired teen. "Luffy, what are you doing here?" She asked, as she came closer to him.
Genzo's eyes widened at that, "That's the Luffy?"
"Nojiko...what's going on?" The sixteen year old questioned, as he got off of Johnny and stood up. "Nami's hiding something from me and no matter how hard I try, I can't get her to tell me what it is. Just what is going on here on this island?"
The blue haired teen came close and proceeded to hug the rubber man, said man returning the hug, the two pulling apart after a few moments. "There's so much that's happened...so much you need to know...and none of it is good." She informed him sadly.
"I see." Luffy lowered his head then, unsure of what to say. He settled on not focusing on all of this yet, as he introduced Nojiko to his friends. "Guys, this is Nojiko, Nami's sister."
"Wait, this is Nami's sister, no wonder she's so hot!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes turning into hearts as he did.
"I've already met these three." She said, referring to Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku as she did, while ignoring Sanji. "You know, if you had told me that you were apart of Luffy's crew, then I would have explained things a little better." She told Usopp in particular, as when Johnny and Yosaku showed up at her house, Usopp had told them what she had told him and they took off running.
"How was I supposed to know you weren't telling me the truth!?" Usopp asked incredulously.
"I was telling you the truth, only it was all a half truth, that's all." Nojiko explained.
"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that!?" He repeated his question.
"Look it doesn't matter now. I just need you guys to follow me back to my house and I'll tell you everything there."
"Why can't you do that here?" The marksman inquired.
"Because Arlong's men could visit this village at any time, and if they spot you, it won't be good for anyone."
Usopp gulped in fear at that. "R-right."
"Let's go then." Luffy said.
As they prepared to leave the village, Genzo stepped forward to try and talk to them but Nojiko stopped him. "Not now Genzo. I need to let Luffy know what's happened since Nami and I saw him last. And he's not going to take it well, the less people there when he finds out, the better."
"But-"
"Please, just trust me on this."
Zoro and Nami were currently on their way to her house, as after she had went back into Arlong Park and grabbed her bag full of treasure and berris, she came out and told him to follow her. He of course asked where they were going, so she told him, during one of the times she had to go back and turn him around so he would continue to follow her. As they made their way there, they argued...
"I can't believe how stupid your being!"
"Stupid!? You're the stupid one! Don't you understand, if I do things my way there won't even be a chance for any more blood to be spilled!"
"If we do things Luffy's way, this'll all be done and over with in an hour!"
"Maybe, but I don't want to take that chance! What if Arlong's too strong and Luffy can't beat him!? What if before Luffy does defeat him, he kills Usopp or you or one of the villagers of Cocoyashi!? I refuse to take that chance!"
"You damn stubborn woman! You finally admit you're wrong and then you go right back to being your pig headed know it all self! I thought I made it clear to you, Luffy will save you from that fishman bastard!"
"And I thought I made it clear to you, I'm doing this my way, whether you like it or not! I've already collected eighty five million berris, with what I have in this bag, the total goes up to ninety eight million berris! Understand!? I only have two million berris left to go, and then I can free this island and myself from that monster! And without anyone else dying in the process! That's all I want!"
Zoro growled in annoyance at that. "You're more trouble than you're worth you damn witch!"
"I could say the same about you moron." She shot back.
As the two continued to bicker, they eventually reached Nami's house, and when they went inside, they were surprised to see Luffy, Nojiko, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku waiting for them.
"Nami!" Luffy, Nojiko, Usopp and Sanji exclaimed upon seeing her.
"Big Sis!" Yosaku and Johnny exclaimed as well.
"Luffy!" Nami said in surprise, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Luffy." Zoro greeted, knowing he'd have been here sooner or later, a small smirk on his face as he did.
"Nami, we need to talk. I-" Luffy began moving toward Nami as he did, but was cut off as she dropped her bag and ran to him, slamming into him as she wrapped him in a tight embrace, beginning to cry as she did. "I'm so sorry Luffy!"
He was taken back, that was for sure. After all she had said and done...well, while he knew it was an act in his heart, it still made him believe she didn't love him like he did her. Nevertheless, as she buried her head in the side of his neck and began to cry, he returned the embrace, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
And as she began to cry, Nojiko and Zoro ushered everyone out, so that the two could be alone for what came next.
Nami was sobbing into Luffy, holding onto him for dear life as she did. She pulled her head away from his neck so she could look into his eyes, as she begged for his forgiveness. "Please Luffy, forgive me! I never wanted to hurt you! All those things I said to you, none of them were true! Not even a single one! I do love you! I love you more than anything else in the world! All I want is to sail with you and be your navigator, nothing would make me happier! I want to be yours! I am yours! I swear to you I-"
She was cut off as Luffy's lips met hers, claiming them with his, her eyes widening as he kissed her for the first time, stealing her first kiss and giving her his in return. After a moment though, her eyes relaxed and closed, as she melted into it. It felt as if the whole world fell away as held her in his arms and kissed her.
She wasn't sure when he pulled away, but he eventually did, both his and her cheeks somewhat flushed from not breathing for awhile. "L-Luffy..." She spoke his name hesitantly.
His eyes were fierce as he stared back into hers. "You didn't mean it right? So it doesn't matter. You don't need to apologize, so don't. I love you Nami...I don't when when it started...but I've loved you for a really long time. I still don't really know what it means to be in love, whether there are certain things you are supposed to do or whatever...but what I do know, is that I want you by my side for the rest of my life and that if that's what you want too, then nothing can stand in the way of us making it happen."
Staring back at him, Nami was rendered speechless for several long moments, before she finally said through sobs, "I-it doesn't work like that, y-you idiot."
"Why not?" Luffy questioned seriously.
"Be-because i-it j-just does-doesn't."
"Then I'll make it work like that." He told her firmly, leaving no room for argument.
She couldn't help but crack a smile at that, fighting back giggles as she did. "Yo-you are ju-just so...you, you know that?"
"Is that a bad thing?" He inquired honestly.
She shook her head at that. "Not at all. It's the best thing in the world in fact." She kissed him on his cheek after she said that.
She leaned forward then and rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent as she did. He did the same, letting the silence between them be, as there was no need to break it.
However, the orange haired teen eventually did. "Luffy?" She said his name without removing her head from his shoulder, wanting to stay where she was.
"Yeah?"
"I have to ask you to do something...and you're going to hate it."
"Nami...I'll do anything for you, no matter what it is." He told her, trying to relieve her of her worries over the matter.
"I know but...you aren't going to like this one bit." She bit her bottom lip then, not hard enough to hurt, just doing so because she wasn't certain how to say this. After a few moments, she released the pressure her teeth had on her bottom lip, and spoke up. "I want you to let me handle Arlong on my own."
He pulled away so he could look at her and opened his mouth to immediately object, but she put her hand to his mouth gently, as she said, "Shush and let me finish." While it was obvious he didn't like it, he kept quiet as she pulled her hand away and continued to speak, "Arlong is a vile, narcissistic, racist monster...but he never ever breaks a promise when it comes to money." She sighed then, not one of defeat or annoyance, more like one of someone who knew there ordeal was almost over, not quite relieved, but close enough. "I've seen it with my own eyes, it doesn't matter if he hates their guts, if the two of them made a deal with money, then he will uphold his end of the bargain no matter what." She explained to the boy she loved.
"He made a promise to me eight years ago when he first arrived on this island, that if I could amass a sum of one hundred million berris, I could buy my village and my freedom from him. So if I can come up with the money, he'll leave and never come back. I've already collected ninety eight million Luffy, I'm so close, so very close to freeing this place and myself. I ask that you wait patiently for one day, only twenty four hours, and I'll have it taken care of."
"Nami-" He began to protest, but was cut off by her once more. "Please Luffy, let me handle this my way, I'm begging you. You, Zoro and Sanji may be monsters, but you might not be a match for the real monsters that Arlong and his men are. And above all else, I'm terrified of losing you to him. I can't bare the thought of you dying Luffy. Please, please, if I take care of this with money, no more blood has to be spilled, no one else has to die. Promise me that you'll let me do this my way."
Luffy didn't seem so sure, the expression on his face making that more than clear. So, Nami tried one more time. "You've waited eight long years to be with me Luffy, I'm just asking you to wait for one more day, surely that won't be too bad right?"
Luffy pouted then, half serious as he did. "Fine Nami, you win. I promise to wait one day while you take care of it your way."
"Yes! Thank you so much Luff-" He cut her off then. "On one condition."
She blinked in surprise at that. "Uh, okay, sure. What is it?"
His eyes narrowed a bit then, "Tell me what happened to Bellemere." He hadn't seen her once since arriving, no one who lived on this island had mention her, and when he mention her to Nami she would avoid him, he knew something was up.
Her eyes widened considerably at that. She didn't speak though, she couldn't, the lump in her throat was preventing her from doing so. She swallowed it down after a few moments, managing to force a few words out afterwards, "Alright...come with me then." She managed to get those words out without her voice quivering.
She pulled away from him, ending their embrace, as she moved toward the door. He followed after her as they exited the house, to see Zoro sitting with his legs crossed, Usopp bickering with Sanji, a footprint visible on his face as he did, Johnny and Yosaku talking about something, and Nojiko standing near the green haired swordsman, sharing what seemed to be a small conversation with him. All their eyes went to Luffy and Nami as they came outside though.
"So, what are we doing?" Zoro questioned.
Nami was the one to answer however. "Follow me, Nojiko and I have something to tell you guys."
Nojiko, who saw the emotions in her little sister's eyes, knew what this was going to be about immediately. "Come on, keep up." She told everyone but Luffy and Nami, as she followed after the two, the rest of them coming along as well.
Nami and Nojiko led them through a forest out onto a grassy cliff with a grave on it, a wooden cross sticking out of it. And as soon as Luffy and Zoro laid their eyes on it, they widened a great deal, as they knew who's it was immediately.
"A grave?" Usopp questioned.
"Obviously." Sanji commented.
"Who's is it?" Both bounty hunters asked together.
"This is where our mother...Bellemere lies." Nami told them.
Sanji's, Usopp's, Johnny's and Yosaku's eyes all widened at those words.
"As for how she died..." Nojiko began.
"It all started a week after we got back to Cocoyashi." Nami added, intending to help her sister tell this story.
Eight Years Ago...
Nami pouted as Bellemere presented her a sunflower dress that used to belong to Nojiko, that the red haired woman had altered into a lion dress, with the words I am lion stitched onto it. "Whaddaya think Nami?" The thirty year old asked her.
"Why do I always have to get Nojiko's hand me downs? Can't I have some new clothes for once?" She whined.
"I know it's not new, but it won't be so bad to wear it right? At least it's not the same as when Nojiko wore it." She drew her daughter's attention to the lion on the shirt as she said that.
"I guess, but that lion used to be a sun flower, anyone can tell that." She told her mother.
"You should be happy with what you get Nami. If it wasn't for hand me downs then you wouldn't get any new clothes at all." Nojiko said a little harshly.
"But that's not fair! You get new clothes all the time!" Nami replied heatedly.
"I do not! I have to wear old hand me downs too ya know!" Nojiko responded just as heatedly.
Just as Nami was going to say something she would regret, she remembered something that Bellemere had once said to Luffy. 'It doesn't matter if you aren't related to us by blood, as far as I'm concerned, you're family.' And that kept her from saying what she was about say. Still angry though, she huffed, before walking to the door. "I'm gonna go see Genzo." She slammed the door on her way out.
Bellemere sighed at that. "You two girls...one minute you're the best of friends and the next you're fighting like cats and dogs."
"Yeah well...she's just stubborn." Nojiko said.
"But so are you." Bellemere pointed out.
"I know, that's why we fight so much." Nojiko explained.
Bellemere chuckled at that. "Yeah, I guess that make sense."
The red head stood there, thinking as she watched Nojiko. Before finally, she decided on what she had been thinking about. Crouching down, she opened some cabinets and got out some pots and pans, bringing them back up with her and placing them on the counter. "Nojiko, why don't you go get your sister and bring her home, tell her I'm making her favorite and she should come right on back. That way you two can make up over dinner."
Nojiko couldn't help but smile at that, "Okay!"
As she ran out to go get her sister, Bellemere got ready to cook. "Well, it's gonna wipe out my budget, but for my girls, it's worth it."
As Nojiko poked her head through Genzo's door, she saw Nami sitting with him and talking. Upon seeing her, they greeted her. Coming into the house, she spoke to her younger sister, "Come on Nami, Bellemere wants us to come home and make up."
"Yeah, okay." She agreed, as she got down and came outside with her older sister.
"Oh and guess what?"
"What?"
"Bellemere's making your favorite, omelettes with tangerine sauce!"
Nami's face lit up at that. "I love omelettes with tangerine sauce!"
"Well that's why she's making it, now come on!"
Nami giggled and nodded her head, and the two prepared to take off towards their house. Before they could however, shouts of, "Pirates are coming, everybody run!", caught their attention, the two turning around to see what was going on.
"It's the Arlong Pirates!"
"That's impossible!"
"Why would fishmen from the Grand Line come here!?"
As the villagers continued to freak out about the fishmen pirates, Genzo came to the two girls. "Nami, Nojiko."
"Genzo, what's going on?" They asked worriedly.
"Pirates are coming, so it's too dangerous for you here, go hide in the woods."
"But what about-" Nami began, before Genzo cut her off. "You must go, now!"
Both girls looked apprehensive about running, but did so anyway. Little did Genzo know they stopped and hid behind a house, as the pirates came into the village.
Arlong, Hatchan, Kuroobi and Chu led a large group of fishmen into Cocoyashi village, coming to a stop in the middle of it with all the villagers eyes on them. "Greetings and salutations you pathetic little humans. From this moment on this entire island and it's inhabitants are a part of my domain!" All his fishmen brethren cheered as Arlong made this proclamation. "Now listen closely, on the first day of every month you will buy your lives from me. A hundred thousand berris for adults, fifty thousand for children. Those who cannot pay will die!" The sawshark fishman began to laugh after that, finding the horrified looks on all the villagers faces just too amusing.
"What are we going to do Nojiko? We don't have that much money." Nami voiced her worry to her big sister.
"These fishmen shouldn't be able to find our house, I mean, you can't see it from here." Nojiko said, trying to keep her sister from worrying,
Unfortunately, after the money had been gathered up from everyone else, one of the fishmen spoke up. "Arlong look, there's smoke coming from outside the village."
"Huh? Well, looks like we almost missed one. Let's go collect." Arlong said with a sinister smirk.
Both young girl's eyes widened to the max at that. "Bellemere!"
Bellemere hummed to herself as she cooked her youngest daughter's favorite dish. "Come to think of it, this is Luffy's favorite dish of mine too. He'd still take meat off the bone over it anytime though." She giggled to herself as she thought about that.
Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the door. Stopping what she was doing, she looked over to it, as if that would somehow tell her who was there. "That's strange..." She thought to herself.
Looking out the window, she saw bunches of shadows, and as she did, her eyes narrowed. "I smell trouble."
She took off the apron she put on to cook, lying it on the kitchen counter, as she left the kitchen and moved over to the door. "It's open, come in."
"Why thank you." She heard a voice respond, as she slipped behind the door, retrieving her rifle as she did.
Arlong stepped into the house, looking around for it's owner as he did, a smug, almost evil smirk on his face. After looking around for a couple of moments however, that fell away to a toothy scowl, as he couldn't see anyone.
Bellemere lit a match, which she used to light a cigarette she had taken out of a pack and put in her mouth when she was hiding, before waving the match, extinguishing the flame. Just as Arlong noticed the light from the flame, Bellemere decked him square in the jaw with a left kick, knocking him back and out of the house, falling onto the ground outside, the red head coming with him, landing on his chest in a sitting position as she cocked the rifle she held, before placing the barrel of the rifle firmly in his mouth near the back of his throat.
The rest of the fishmen outside didn't so much as bat an eye as this happened.
Now looking down into Arlong's eyes, Bellemere spoke, "I guess you weren't expecting a former marine, otherwise you would have better defended yourself. Now, what would a pirate from the Grand Line want with a little village like Cocoyashi?" She questioned, though she was sure she already knew the answer, as she had studied his file thoroughly when she was a marine.
All of the fishmen, including Arlong, began to laugh at that. "What's so funny?" She scoffed.
That's when Arlong tried to bite down on the rifle, just before his teeth could make contact with it however, she yanked the barrel out of his mouth. "Not fast enough." She remarked with a smirk.
Taking aim she proceeded to fire on one of the fishmen standing before her, hitting him dead on in the head, killing him instantly as the bullet ripped through his flesh and bone and popped out the back of his head, his body falling to the ground with a thud right afterward. Switching sights to another one, she fired again, the bullet hitting it's mark as it tore through his chest and pierced his heart, the oddly colored skin man gasping before he fell to the ground, dead the moment he hit it.
All the other fishmen, excluding Arlong, were surprised by this and then quickly angered. Arlong was pissed, his eyes narrowing a great deal. "You filthy human bitch!" As he tried to grab her, she put her feet to the ground and kicked herself off of his abdomen, landing on her back just a foot or so away. A third shot came racing out of the barrel of the rifle then, flying in the direction of a particularly husky fishman, going straight through his throat like it was nothing, said large fishman grasping his neck as if that would somehow help him, falling to his knees as he began to choke on his own blood. The other fishmen tried to help him, but it was of no use. Hatchan was then in her sights, firing a fourth round from the chamber of her rifle as soon as he was. The bullet came speeding at him, hitting him in the stomach but failing to go all the way through, the octopus man yelping in pain. "Hachi!" Many of them yelled in worry.
Now on his feet, Arlong stepped forward and reached down to grab ahold of Bellemere, his teeth bared as he did. "Stop it now! I won't allow you to harm my brothers!"
Before he could actually grab her though, she spat her lit cigarette in his face, it hitting him in the yes, causing him to stop his movements as he shut his eyes tight, grunting in pain and annoyance as he did. Taking advantage of that, Bellemere rolled backward up onto her feet, putting her back against the door to her house as she did. Not wasting any time, she fired the rifle once more, the bullet taking off toward Chu, hitting him in the arm despite the fact that he tried to dodge, yelping in pain just as Hachi did upon being injured. She then fired upon Kuroobi, the bullet nicking his leg as he dodged.
That was the last shot Bellemere was able to fire unfortunately, as Arlong was in her face, his right webbed hand wrapped around her throat, as he proceeded to lift her several feet into the air before bringing her rushing back down, slamming her down hard onto her back, cracking her spine and causing her to scream out in pain, losing her grip on the rifle all the while. "NO MORE!"
He stomped on the rifle, smashing it into pieces, as he looked down at the red haired woman, his eyes full of rage. "YOU FUCKING HUMAN SCUM! HOW DARE YOU KILL MY BROTHERS!"
Nami and Nojiko were running as fast as they could toward their house, it well within sight, when Dr. Nako managed to get out in front of them, having been running after them for a bit, and caught them, keeping them from going any further. "Stop!"
"Doctor!" Nami protested, as she and Nojiko tried to get through.
"You can't go back home!" He told them bluntly.
"But we have to save Bellemere!" Nami insisted.
"Nami, Nojiko, be quiet and listen to me." The aging man lifted his sunglasses so they could see in his eyes how serious he was. "There will be times, times in life like this moment now, when you have to learn the truth no matter how hard it is to take." Before he could finish, the sound of a scream being ripped from Bellemere's throat reached the young girl's ears. "Bellemere!" They shouted in concern, as they tried to get through Dr. Nako once more, to no avail.
Bellemere lie on the ground, bloodied and bruised, her left arm almost completely black and blue with nasty looking bruises, as Arlong stomped on it again, breaking it completely in half, causing her to scream in pain louder than ever before. "Useless, foolish, stupid, empty, worthless, vile, filthy, selfish human scum! That's all you are!" The sawshark fishman shouted in rage, as he continously stomped on the thirty year old's arm.
"Bellemere!" A voice called, drawing said woman's and all the fishmen's attention to none other than Genzo. "Don't throw away your life because you're a stubborn fool! There's no reason for this fight when it can be resolved with a simple exchange of money!" He yelled at her, as he began coming closer.
"Oh no, not for this scum. She killed three of my brothers and wounded three others, she won't be walking with her life for all the money in the world!" Arlong exclaimed.
"Please, I beg you, she's a foolish hot head with marine training, something like this was bound to happen with you dropping by so unexpectedly! I'll pay twice the amount for my own life every month, just spare her, please!"
Arlong didn't seem very pleased by the man's offer, but after a lot more begging and pleading, he turned back to look at his men to see what they thought. They seemed okay with that proposal, they might not like it, but they were okay with it. Looking back towards Genzo, he agreed. "Fine, but she still has to pay the hundred thousand berris for her own life."
Genzo came over to Bellemere and helped her to her feet, it was hard, but he managed to get her standing. "How much money do you have? You need two hundred thousand." He whispered to her.
"Half, I've only got half of that." She whispered back.
"Get the damn money already or you'll die anyway, I'm sick of looking at your disgusting face!" Arlong yelled.
"Fine." Bellemere said, before entering her house.
"Listen, there's no way that the pirates will ever find out about you, you were never registered as Bellemere's children, nothing can link her to you. But you have to leave this island immediately and you can't ever look back, it's the only way for all three of you to survive, we can't afford it any other way. You're much too young to be at sea alone, but you've survived before. And if there's even a chance-" Dr Nako tried to convince them, before he was cut off by the younger of the two girls.
"No, I don't want to! Why do we have to leave, they're the ones who came here! It's because we're poor, that's why we can't stay together. That isn't fair! Why does everyone care about money so much!? It's not worth more than peoples lives, so why do they act like it is!?" An image of Bluejam appeared in her mind as she said this. "Why, why can't they just go away!?" Nami questioned, tears falling down her face.
"Fine, we'll leave this island!" Nojiko gave in, as she turned and began marching away, tears streaming down her face as well.
"Nojiko!" Nami called after her sister.
"We have to leave or Bellemere will die!" The older girl threw back at her.
Nami hesitated to follow, her thoughts racing, "Why...why does all this bad stuff keep happening!? Higuma, Bluejam, Arlong...why are there so many bad people in this world!? I...I wish Luffy was here to help us like he did with those other two bastards."
Nami then turned and followed after her older sister, knowing there was no use, as it was the only way to save their mother.
Bellemere had given the fishmen the money and was watching as they walked away, clutching at her badly broken arm as she did. "They won't leave this island...they'll continued to suck it's inhabitants dry until they can no longer pay and then they'll kill them. And there's nowhere to run, as they won't so much as let a dinghy get out of here. It'll only be a matter of time before they find my girls and kill them. I can't let that happen."
"Wait, who said I was paying for me?" Bellemere called after them.
Genzo's eyes widened to the max, his mouth hanging open slight, as he was just so shocked at what she had just done.
The fishmen looked back to see what she was going on about, and as they did, she smirked, as she explained what she meant. "That money I gave up was for my two daughters, but I can't pay for myself."
"What are you doing!?" Genzo asked incredulously.
"It's okay, I have to do this for my family. Even if it costs me my life." She said softly to him. "It's true that the three of us aren't related by blood, but we're family. All I ever really wanted...was to be their mother. And now...I can be." She said a little louder, her voice almost quivering as she did.
Cries of 'Bellemere!' were heard as the red haired woman's daughters came racing around the house to the front of it, running straight into their mother's arms as they did, the woman crouching so that they could hug her properly. They were crying into her, gripping her tightly as if she would disappear at any moment. "Don't cry girls." She told them, as she forced her busted arm up in spite of the agony it caused her, so that she could hug both of them in return, tears running down her face now as well. "I wish I could've...I could have provided for you better. I wish I could've been a b-better mother to the both of you."
"Don't say that!" Nojiko cried.
"We don't need anything, just don't die!" Nami pleaded.
"Don't leave us, please!" Nojiko begged.
"You need to see the map I'm going to draw of the whole world!" Nami told her, as if it would somehow help.
"Yes, your map. Go and make your dreams come true, for me. And Luffy...you told me that you love him right?" She could remember it like yesterday, despite the fact that it felt like ages ago at that moment, though it had happened only a few months prior, after Nami had told Luffy she loved him, she had told Bellemere about it. It was supposed to be like a friend love or a family love, but the red head had a hunch it was much more than that, even if the children themselves didn't know it.
Nami nodded, too choked up to speak.
"Then when you find him...don't ever let him go. If being with him makes you happy, then I want you to stay with him forever."
"So these are your daughters." It was more of a statement than a question from the shark fishman, but Bellemere answered it anyways. "Yeah that's right. And you have to promise me that you'll leave them alone." Her eyes were fierce as she said this.
"No problem, especially since I want to kill you so much anyway."
Nami couldn't take it anymore. "Somebody help us!" She screamed.
Genzo let out a battle cry, as he produced two pistols and began to fire upon Arlong. Only Kuroobi intercepted the bullets, blocking them with the hard fin that extended from his arm, before giving the mustached man a good slash to the chest with the sword he was currently holding, knocking him to the ground and getting him to drop the guns.
The sound of shouts of anger were heard then, as all of Cocoyashi village was seen running toward the scene. Arlong paid them one glance, before giving an order to his men. "Don't kill them boys, just teach them a lesson." Most of the fishmen nodded, before moving to intercept the villagers, beginning to beat them down as they did.
"Now to set an example." Arlong said to no one in particular, as he stepped forward toward Bellemere. "And I'm going to enjoy doing it too." He commented unneededly.
Bellemere stood then, before shoving both of her daughters into the house, out of harms way.
"You ready to die you filth?" Arlong inquired, as he brandished an extra long flintlock pistol he had hidden in his coat and aimed it dead at her chest, the barrel almost touching her.
Once more, despite the pain, Bellemere forced her broken right arm up and crossed her arms, facing the fishman with no fear as she did. She purposely didn't answer his question, as his eyes bore into hers. "This man...this monster...he won't ever let this village go...he won't ever let my daughters go. My time is up, I can't save them now. It's up to you...Luffy, come and save my daughters, please."
"Nojiko, Nami!" She shouted, getting her daughters eyes on her, where she could meet them out the corner of her own. "Love you." And with that, the pistol was fired, the bullet hitting her flesh and ripping into it within less than a moment, bursting out the other side of her a moment later, falling to the ground once coming out of her back, blood beginning to run from the hole in her chest and back, as she fell back, collapsing on to the ground with an audible thud, dead before she even touched the ground.
"BELLEMERE!" Both young girls cried at the top of their lungs.
Arlong just began to laugh, finding it all so amusing. "While I'm in charge those without money will die! Now, do you understand me you worms!?" He asked to all the beaten villagers that lie on the ground around them, not even a single one still standing.
"What's this?" Hachi asked to no one in particular, as he reached down to pull out the piece of paper in the now deceased Bellemere's back pants pocket. "A map?" He questioned, as he looked at it.
"NO! That's my map, I drew it, you can't have it!" Nami cried.
"A child drew this? Impressive." Arlong remarked, as he took a look at the map himself.
"Give it back!" Nami tried again to get them to give the map back
"Hmm, very good. She could be useful, bring her with us." Arlong ordered.
"Right." Hatchan said, as he obeyed, picking up Nami with one of his hands, it being big enough to cover her whole body but her head.
"AHHHH! No! Help! Somebody help me!" Nami pleaded, as Nojiko hung on the back of Hachi by his clothes, trying to get him to stop. "Let her go! Let her go! Drop her, drop my little sister!"
Genzo had climbed to his feet, a sword stolen from the one of the fishmen clutched tightly in his left hand, as he blocked Arlong's path. "Wait! You promised not to hurt her if you got your money!"
"Right. And I'll keep my word, I won't hurt her. I'll just borrow her for awhile."
"Genzo, help me!"
"I won't let you take her!" Genzo roared.
"Kuroobi." Arlong said, letting him know to take care of this. Pivoting forward, Kuroobi delivered several slashes to Genzo, cutting him up real good with the the sword he was holding.
Blood spurt from all the slash marks, as Genzo's grip on the sword faltered and he dropped it, he himself dropping to the ground along with it.
"Genzo! Genzo, Genzo, Genzo!" Nami repeated over and over again in fear.
Genzo forced himself back up on his feet then, his body fighting him every step of the way, the man not even having enough strength left to stand up fully. "I'll...I'll save you Nami." He managed to rasp out through all the pain, the blood running down his face and the rest of his body making him look like he was half dead, which he technically was. "I won't let you go."
"No, please! It's okay, you don't need to save me!" Nami cried, not wanting him to die trying to save her.
Nojiko couldn't hold onto Hatchan any longer, falling off and on to the ground, fighting back sobs strong enough to shake her entire body as she did.
"I will...save you Nami...I will..." Genzo rasped out once more.
"Enough of this!" Kuroobi finally said, before pulling his sword back and ramming the butt of it into the side of Genzo's head, knocking him unconscious and causing him to collapse onto the ground.
"PLEASE, NO MORE KILLING!" Nami screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I'm sure you guys can figure out the rest." Nami stated, fighting back tears as she was forced to relive those horrible memories.
Nojiko too had a tear or two in her eye, but she wouldn't let them fall.
Sanji's eyes were wide and his face was almost like it was dumbstruck, completely unsure of what to say at this point.
Zoro wore a deep scowl with hard eyes to match, he was quite angry, that was for sure.
Usopp was speechless, his eyes on the ground, completely unsure of what to say.
Johnny and Yosaku were on all fours balling their eyes out.
And Luffy, his hat was down, overshadowing his face, keeping his emotions from being seen. He moved forward, walking without saying a word, coming to a stop before Bellemere's grave. That was when he raised the rim of his hat, revealing that he too was crying, his fists clenched dangerously tight. "I'm sorry Bellemere...I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Forgive me...Mother." He removed his hat and placed it on her cross then, as he sat down seiza and mourned her death.
To Be Continued...
Again, no one say anything about the flashbacks having parts in them that the people who are having them didn't experience. The anime is guilty of that as well. Thank you.