AN:

Sorry about being gone for a little bit! I've been dealing with some stuff and just haven't been writing as much but I'm still working on this! I want to say thank you to everyone who has commented and all of the favorites and follows it means a ton to see people enjoying my writing. There are a ton of new comments that I loved reading and some that gave some good ideas for the future as well. So thank you guys so much and I hope the comments keep coming in! I absolutely love reading them.

This chapter has some slightly graphic parts so just a little warning. It's nothing too bad, at least I don't think it's that bad, but I thought a little warning couldn't hurt. I like this chapter and I'm relatively pleased with the way it turned out. Like usual I'll probably sure some stuff up later but I wanted to get this chapter out because I know you all have been waiting:) Honestly, I'm never really sure how a chapter will be received so regardless if you hate it or love it, let me know!

The last thing I wanted to mention is for my own conscience. I honestly have no idea if you guys get notifications when I update chapters but I do it a lot. It's really just me going back and editing small stuff like typos and maybe rewording certain things. If I ever change something that I think I should tell you guys about, I will more than likely add it to the author's note in the latest chapter, that way you don't have to go through and look at every single author's note. In the future, I'll try and keep the editing updates to a minimum. I just don't want to annoy anyone with constant notifications when nothing in the story is really being changed. All of this being said, I do update the chapters quite a bit and some of them will read a little better now than they probably did when I first posted them. So, if you want to, definitely go back and re-read. Anyways, I still don't actually know if you get update notifications. If not... Well, just disregard this. :)

Without further ado, here's chapter 12 :)

Chapter 12: A Lust for Blood

Luffy woke abruptly, heckles raised, his hat falling from his face to hang around his neck. Something was wrong. There weren't many things that could bring him out of his meat dreams but something had and he wanted to know what. He sniffed the air, immediately rising from the bed he occupied, and headed toward the door, jumping into his sandals on the way.

Bloodlust. He just knew it. He couldn't even really smell it. It was a feeling more than anything but that was how the wolves had done it and it was how he'd learned. White had always liked to interrupt fights between different animals because it usually meant more food for the pack. So, being able to 'smell' bloodlust became almost second nature to Luffy in the month he spent with them.

"You too?", Zoro asked, following his future captain out of the door. He held his hand on Kitetsu's hilt as it practically vibrated in its sheath.

The straw-hatted boy said nothing, dropping to all fours and closing his eyes.

Shuffling and the ruffling of clothes came from behind Zoro as he exited the room. "Where the hell are the two of you going? We shouldn't be snooping around Kaya's house!", Usopp whisper-yelled, quickly trying to tie his sash around his waist.

Luffy didn't respond, instead, prowling down the hallway with his conscious mind all but shut down and his senses dialed up to eleven. Something had happened but it was faint, like it had taken place some time ago. The boy berated himself for sleeping so heavily. Then again... the meat had been really tasty. He shook his head and followed the trail he'd discovered by the bathroom to the stairs. Zoro must've felt something similar because the two quickly began making their way down them and from there to the front door.

"Where the hell are you two going?!", Usopp repeated as he followed. He didn't really want to but what choice did he have?! He wasn't going to let the two mess up his first-ever stay in Kaya's mansion! His response was the sound of pouring rain now coming from the open door.

The straw-hatted boy stood to his feet as he walked through the entrance. The water was masking everything. It happened in the woods on East Lodestone too. It was always harder to hunt in the rain.

Suddenly, Luffy's eyes widened, his hair standing on end. He burst from his place at the entrance of the mansion, Zoro and Usopp hot on his heels. His feet skid along the ground as he pumped his legs as fast as he could. He didn't even really know why, he just knew that if he didn't… something bad was going to happen. He turned the corner and was faced with a path that lead to the back of the house.

Zoro and Usopp followed Luffy down the trail, the three companions sprinting their way through the pouring rain. The boys quickly made it to the opposite end of the path and came to a grinding halt, reaching a large clearing holding a sight so gruesome that all three were shocked to stillness... One from actual shock and the other two, frozen in place by anger.

The entire area was shredded. Cuts littered the ground, walls, everything. Almost nothing was left untouched.

More cuts continued to appear in seemingly random places while the group looked on in silence. In the middle of the area stood Nami, her skin coated in water and blood, smiling sadly at the sky. The girl's body was littered with slices, crimson liquid flowing freely from them as the rain washed it to the ground below. The clothing she wore was in tatters, leaving her in almost nothing but bloodied skin.

Luffy grit his teeth so hard they almost cracked. However, he didn't have the time to sit and be angry. Her smile said everything he needed to know. Nami was going to die if he didn't do something. He grit his teeth even harder. She wouldn't be dying tonight. Not while he could do something about it. She still hadn't told him her dream yet. His foot dug into the earth and it cracked as he blasted off toward the girl who would be his navigator, his face consumed with a frightening scowl. Almost as if his anger was palpable, the rain thundering around him seemed to vibrate as it made its way to the ground.

Zoro was a half-step behind his future captain, his foot making a similar crack in the ground. Nami was their navigator in all but name. Luffy was just like that. So, seeing the girl in the state she was in… He growled to himself and it came out sounding more beast-like than human. His fury needed a target. It was a good thing Kitetsu happened to smell one.

Usopp could only look on in horror as Luffy and Zoro flashed toward Nami, looks of rage consuming both of their faces. What the hell had happened?! The scene they'd come upon was the last thing the long-nosed teen expected to see when he decided to follow his two new friends. Why the hell was the clearing practically destroyed?! His thoughts were interrupted as lightning struck the ground directly where Nami stood, the sky flashing a blinding white.

"ZORO! LUFFY! NAMI!", Usopp screamed, dropping to his knees, shock consuming his face. Everything had happened so fast. Had his new friends just... Died? White spots blocked his vision as he desperately searched for them, hoping they were all ok. But, how could they be? Getting hit by lightning killed you! End of story! His mind spun to panic while he waited for his vision to clear. When it did, he couldn't help but gape and simultaneously breathe a sigh of relief.

The orangette sighed. She didn't think death would be so warm. She unconsciously snuggled into the warmth as the ringing in her head began to die down. Wait… Was that rain she was starting to hear?… She slowly opened her eyes to find someone... Holding her? Through her hazy vision, the orange-haired girl thought she saw a large smile of white teeth. Why did they look so bright?... Oh yeah, she'd been struck by lightning... Hadn't she? "Are you an angel?", asked Nami, deliriously.

Her reply was a laugh that warmed what she thought should have been her dead heart.

It took a moment for the realization to hit, but when it did she couldn't help the tears that rushed from her eyes. It was Luffy's laugh. She was alive. Maybe not for much longer... but she was for now. Her heart slightly sped up at the thought. The orangette looked over to the place she thought would be her grave and saw someone with green hair standing there. He held two sets of sharp claws in place with his own two sharp swords, the rain rattling off their sheaths. It had to be Zoro. He was the only person she knew that had green hair...

The verdet stood just in front of a large round burn mark, steam rising from his back. The steam came from his burned-open shirt but... He didn't seem hurt... Like he'd somehow not been hit by the lighting. Nami didn't have a good answer for how that worked. Maybe she was just delirious from the blood loss or... Maybe he was just... Lucky?

Zoro turned and faced Nami in the middle of his clash, almost completely ignoring the struggling Kuro. "I hate to admit it.", said the swordsman, sending an impressed smirk at the girl, "But that was damn cool.". His smile morphed into a bloodthirsty grin as he turned to his enemy, speaking just once more before he faced his opponent fully, "I think I just might start calling you Weather Witch.".

'Weather Witch... Why do I kind of like it?', Nami thought to herself before immediately passing out in Luffy's arms, tears of relief and happiness coating her cheeks. It was the nicest thing Zoro had ever said to her... Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Rest now, Nami.", the straw-hatted boy whispered to the unconscious girl in his arms. His straw hat shadowed his eyes as he carefully stood from his crouched position, beginning to walk back toward the front of the mansion while rain and blood dripped from his retreating form. His steps seemed heavier than they should have been, the ground almost seeming to shudder beneath the teen's feet. "Zoro.", he said in a low voice, the name somehow cutting its way through the thundering rain as if it wasn't there at all.

The black-haired boy softly brushed shoulders with a shell-shocked Usopp, now on his feet, as he walked to the entrance of the house without looking back.

The swordsman didn't need anything more. "You heard him.", he growled at his opponent. He pushed outward on his katanas with a burst of strength and shoved a bewildered Kuro off balance. Another flash of lightning illuminated Zoro's figure as he grinned maliciously at the butler's bumbling form. He wanted blood. The verdet slashed his swords out to his sides, "Looks like you gotta die.".

Kuro turned to dash away from the demon walking toward him, he would need to use Stealth Foot again. He didn't think he could kill the green-haired swordsman otherwise. He looked quite frightening.

The man growled to himself at the loss of his original prey. How could she have been so lucky?! There was simply no other answer than luck. It still baffled him that she wasn't dead. And now, she was escaping back to the house. His whole plan was about to be ruined! All of the work he had put in over the past two years, wasted! All because some orange-haired brat was too curious for her own good. He needed to deal with his current opponent quickly, she still needed to die. Scratch that... They all needed to die.

"You know... If we hadn't gotten here in time, you'd both be dead.", Zoro said to Kuro's back as he looked at him through narrowed eyes, his voice eerily calm. The look on his face and his tone of voice were extremely mismatched making his visage all the more frightening.

The ex-pirate stopped in place and turned to growl at the swordsman. "Of course I know that.", Kuro spat. Getting directly stuck by lightning was a surefire way to die, that was common sense. The worst part was, he wouldn't have even known. He still wasn't able to see correctly while using Stealth Foot. "That little orange-haired girl has the luck of the devil.", he growled.

Zoro smiled maliciously at Kuro. "While I don't doubt that she's a lucky girl, something tells me… nothing about what I saw was luck. I should know. I'm a pretty lucky guy myself.", he stated. The swordsman smirked at the look of indignation resting on his face as steam continued to rise from his form.

"You can't possibly mean that she knew where the lightning would strike!", the black-haired man yelled incredulously through the rain, "The very thought is ludicrous.". Kuro scowled once more. It simply wasn't possible. There was absolutely no possible way she could have known.

"That's exactly what I mean. The look on her face told me as much.", Zoro replied. The image of Nami smiling sadly at the sky flashed in his mind's eye. It was the face of someone who'd accepted dying. Likely not willingly, but accepted it nonetheless. The verdant swordsman grit his teeth in anger. He wanted blood. And he wanted it now. It seemed Kitetsu and Wado were of a similar mind.

He pointed the tip of Kitetsu, held in his left hand, in the direction of Kuro's face. "I couldn't give less of a shit why you did it. All that matters is that you did.", he paused and shuddered thinking about his future captain carrying their bloodied navigator back inside. He'd never seen that look on Luffy's face before and there was definitely some weird pressure around him... Not many things scared the green-haired teen, but he wouldn't want to be the one on the receiving end of his friend right now. "Just be glad that it's me here and not Luffy.", the swordsman stated. And he meant the words.

"The small straw-hatted boy?", the man scoffed as he watched Zoro rotate the sword in his left hand to hold it like an ice pick. "I'm sure he will fall to my claws much the same as you soon will. Once I have killed you and the stupid long-nosed brat,", he pointed over the teen's shoulder to Usopp, shock keeping the other boy frozen in place, "the other two wi-".

"There are days when the sun and moon split the skies in equal lengths.", Zoro interrupted. He no longer cared what the man had to say. He wanted blood. He, Kitetsu, and Wado were all of one mind. "Days when the two create a perfect circle in time.", he said more to himself than Kuro.

The swordsman held Kitetsu out to his left side, still holding it like an ice pick, "One blade represents the night". He held Wado out to the right, grasping it in the traditional way a katana would be, "And the other represents the day.". The backs of his hands pointed to the sky as he held his swords parallel to the ground. "I'll have to apologize to Kaya for this.", he sighed, making sure Kuro heard.

"There will be no apology to make. You will soon be dead.", the ex-pirate rebutted, confidence filling his voice. The man began to sway from side to side, wasting no more time. Something was telling him he didn't have much to waste. "Stealth Foot", Kuro said, vanishing from his place in front of the swordsman.

Zoro breathed in deeply. The last time he'd tried with one hand, it hadn't turned out so well. But at the moment, he knew that whatever he lacked in strength, his anger and bloodlust would make up for. His knuckles turned white from the force with which he gripped Wado and Kitetsu. The swordsman paid no attention as cuts began to appear around the clearing again, overlapping some of the ones already there. He shut his eyes and bent at the knee. "Usopp.", he yelled to the boy still standing in place at the end of the trail, "Lie down.".

Said boy practically smashed his body flat to the muddy grass as Zoro's words registered, gaping. Where the hell had the butler gone?! He had just disappeared! And now cuts were appearing out of nowhere! Dirt and debris flew everywhere and slashes began to slice into the surrounding area once again, making it look even more destroyed than before. He guessed he at least knew why the clearing was all cut up now. Usopp watched his new friend with wide eyes. For some reason, his survival instincts were telling him that if he didn't listen when he did, he would have died in the coming moments.

The top half of Zoro's body rotated slightly to the left. "Nitōryū:", he breathed out, steam flowing from his clenched teeth. Slashes rained down all around him, some even cutting into his skin, but he ignored them and focused on the movement he needed to make. He was about to really test his core strength. He was going to literally need all of it.

'Keep it thin. Cut with just the tips.', he thought to himself as Wado and Kitetsu vibrated wildly in his hands. It looked like they liked the idea. The verdant swordsman grinned a beastly grin to himself before snapping his eyes open. Using every muscle in his lower body and core, he rotated in a clockwise circle with blinding speed. Along the way, a deadly purple ring phased into existence from the tips of his blades and continued to grow larger at a rapid pace.

"EQUINOX!".

Usopp shrieked at seeing the circle of death spread from Zoro's swords. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could and held his hands over his head while the arc of the ring moved toward him. He was definitely right. If he hadn't listened he would surely be dead right now. He didn't know how Zoro had done it and honestly, he wasn't sure he even wanted to know at the moment. The whole situation was so horrifying he didn't even want to breathe out of fear for his life.

First Nami, then Luffy with the scary look on his face and the weird vibrating rain. Yeah, he felt that! And now Zoro was doing things that couldn't be real! He should know, he lied about stuff like that all the time! Plus, just how was he supposed to explain the state of the clearing behind Kaya's house?! Not to mention, her butler was trying to kill them all apparently! He buried his face even further into the ground hoping it would just swallow him up and keep him safe from all the danger he'd encountered.

Two loud thumps sounded through the rain, directly in front of the frightened boy, then a louder crash came from all around the outsides of the area. Without even opening his eyes, Usopp immediately knew that the crash was the ring hitting the walls and the house. What else could make that kind of noise? 'Not the house...', the boy cried to himself.

However, he didn't know what had made the thumps in front of him. Against his better judgment, Usopp opened his eyes to find out, immediately regretting it. The long-nosed boy screamed bloody murder as he got to his feet and scrambled away from the place he'd previously occupied. Because that was what it was. Bloody. Murder.

Khlahadore's body lie on the ground just in front of Usopp's previous position. His top half lay in the wet grass face up, severed at the sternum. He shot a dead stare into the darkness as the rain poured into his open eyes, his glasses nowhere to be found. The bottom half of his body was no more than five feet from the rest of him, completely still, the same as his other half. Blood flowed out of the two halves like a gushing waterfall, painting the wet green grass a dark crimson even as the rain tried to wash it away.

Usopp had never seen someone die before. He couldn't take his eyes off the butler... What was he supposed to tell Kaya?... That thought combined with the sight of Khlahadore severed in two sent a roiling through the long-nosed boy's stomach and he did the only logical thing to do at that moment. He vomited. He vomited until he couldn't anymore and then the dry heaving started.

The verdet groaned and sheathed both of his blades before turning and slowly walking over to Usopp, hiding the pain on his face along the way. He'd need to do some training if he wanted to be able to do that more than once. His legs would be hurting in the morning. He shook the thought out of his head and approached the long-nosed teen, still dry heaving at the sight of Kaya's dead butler. "Usopp.", Zoro said, getting his attention. He would be no use in cleaning things up. "Go back inside and tell Luffy it's over. I'll take care of the rest out here.". He eyed Kuro's two halves. 'Looks like equinox made more sense than I thought...', he mused, morbidly.

Usopp didn't respond, instead, he just nodded and turned to walk back to the entrance of the house, dry heaving all along the way.

The swordsman watched the younger boy's form disappear down the trail before turning back to the dead butler at his feet and sighing to himself... Where the hell was he supposed to bury this bastard?

Nami opened her eyes slowly, a wave of pain rolling over waking form. Where the hell was she?

The last thing she remembered was passing out in Luffy's arms. The orangette blushed slightly. He'd been warm. Her cheeks grew redder when she remembered crying but she quickly brushed the embarrassment away. For some reason, she felt like Luffy wouldn't hold it against her. Plus, it was raining. He probably didn't even notice. The orange-haired girl heard two voices as she came out of her thoughts. It sounded like Luffy and Usopp. Her vision began to clear as she started taking in her surroundings.

"But you have to come! You're gonna be a part of the crew!".

"We already talked about this, Luffy! When you become a pirate, come and get me! I need to be here for Kaya right no-".

They were loud. "Shut up.", a still-waking Nami said before being taken over by a coughing fit, "Water.".

"Nami!", Luffy yelled, jumping from the table and rushing to the waking girl's bed, his conversation with Usopp quickly brushed to the wayside. He flashed the orangette his biggest smile and sat next to her on top of the sheets, crossing his legs with a surprising amount of care.

The orangette couldn't help but smile at her... Acquaintance?... Companion?... Friend?... She nodded toward the door, dropping her smile and repeating herself, "Can one of you please get me some water?". Her throat felt like sandpaper.

"You got it Nami. Just take it easy for now.", Luffy said, "You got banged up pretty bad.". He quickly jumped up and made his way out of the room, opening the door and closing it behind him to make his way to the bathroom to grab Nami's requested glass of water. "Zoro! She's up!", he said to the floor below him before opening the bathroom door.

"Bout damn time.", the swordsman's voice called from below. His footsteps echoed from the downstairs kitchen as he exited with what he was looking for in hand. Well… It was good enough. He popped the cork on the bottle of wine as he made his way from the kitchen to the stairs. He climbed the final step just as Luffy exited the bathroom and tossed him his requested meat stick. The straw-hatted boy jumped and caught it with his mouth while deftly handling Nami's requested beverage and the two walked together to go see their future navigator.

Luffy pushed the door open and the two walked into the room. He strode past Usopp, still at the table, and continued to the bedside, "Here Nami.", the boy mumbled through his snack, carefully holding out the glass of water.

Nami slowly sat up, taking stock of how she felt along the way. She was in more pain than she would like, but it wasn't an unbearable amount. The girl reached up to grasp the cup from Luffy and realized that she had a lot of bandages on. Most of her upper and lower body from what she could see and feel under the covers. Kuro had done her up pretty badly, huh? Her heart sped up slightly. What had happened? It was all pretty fuzzy but she thought she remembered… Zoro stopping him?

"Killed 'em.", the swordsman's voice sounded from his place sitting at the window sill. He was wearing the new shirt Merry had given him. One of the butler's 'more causal' tops as he put it. It was just another of his white button-up shirts… Zoro wore it with the top four buttons undone and it actually suited him when tucked into his haramaki, weirdly enough. "Explaining things to Kaya was hard…", he said looking at the girl. He wasn't all that torn up about it but he didn't feel great about Kaya losing someone important. Even if he was trying to kill them, "It didn't help that we don't actually know what happened.".

The orangette grabbed the glass from Luffy and took a small sip before beginning. "I was just having a bad dream.", she said. It really was how it all started. The contents of said dream entered her mind and she frowned. It always came back to Arlong. It was always his fault. Everything was his fault. Nami took another sip of her water and pushed the upsetting thoughts from her mind to continue, "I got out of bed to get some water and on the way to the bathroom I saw Kuro sharpening something in his room.".

The orange-haired girl thought back to the moment and still couldn't understand how the butler had gotten behind her so quickly. All the while making no noise whatsoever. "He came up behind me out of nowhere and led me out to the place you guys found me in.", her eyes began to prickle slightly at the thought of what almost happened in the clearing. She sniffed, brushing her unshed tears away, and continued, "He told me that he was a pirate. That he was going to kill Kaya and take her inheritance.".

Usopp girt his teeth but didn't interrupt. The butler was dead and he couldn't hurt her anymore.

"After that, everything just kind of went to hell. He started cutting everything up and honestly... I don't even really know how I'm still alive... It's all kind of hazy.". Nami said, thinking back. She just remembered that she didn't want to die. Like REALLY bad. And the rain. The rain had felt so… Right... Like it had helped her. She'd always been in tune with the weather but that night… It almost felt like a dream.

"And what about the lightning?", Usopp asked. When they'd come up on the clearing, she'd been standing there like she knew where it would hit.

The girl finished her water and scoffed when she went to place it on the bedside table, finding both Luffy and Zoro passed out in their places on the floor. "Idiots.", she sighed to herself.

However, Nami couldn't keep the smile from her face either. They were idiots... But they'd saved her... Again. She could give them at least a little credit. Not much... But a little probably wouldn't hurt. She looked at Usopp to answer his question, "Honestly I don't really know... I think I was almost dead at that point.". She really didn't remember much about it, the blood loss had made a lot of stuff hazy toward the end. She just remembered vague feelings and wanting to live… Then the acceptance.

The orangette shook her head. It was in the past now and she wanted to look to the future. She wanted to use the life she had to make the future she wanted, not one that someone else wanted. She wanted to free her village from Arlong. And she would, soon. She was getting so much closer to that goal. Just a little longer. Maybe a year. Maybe less. In the grand scheme of her life, it was nothing. And if it turned out she couldn't do it by herself…

Nami looked down at the two drooling boys on the floor and frowned, shaking her head to herself. They'd said they were going to be pirates… Just like him... So, why couldn't she put Arlong's face over theirs like with Kuro? Why did they seem so different? Maybe…

The girl shook her head again, in exasperation this time. They were just so... Strange. She was going be with them a while longer anyway though, and if they were really going to be pirates, they would show their true colors eventually. She was sure of it. But until then… Maybe it wouldn't hurt to relax a little? They'd saved her twice already. And they were strong. Crazy strong. She didn't know how Zoro killed Kuro but she hadn't stood a chance. She didn't feel like the swordsman probably had that much trouble either. He didn't look all that beat up.

Usopp cleared his throat, startling Nami as he looked up from the boys. She blushed... Had she been looking at them for that long?

"Well… I guess now we know why he was trying to kill everyone at least…", the long-nosed boy remarked awkwardly. He twiddled his thumbs, "Zoro… Took care of him… If you wanted to know.".

The orangette sweatdropped, "Id guessed that... By the way he said so…".

"It was honestly pretty horrifying…", Usopp said, "I just opened my eyes… and… bam… dead body.".

"Usopp…".

"I just couldn't tear my eyes away. The two halves of him just laying there.", the boy continued, looking dramatically at the table.

"Usopp…".

"You know, it's funny.", he ignored. The boy, with his eyes closed, was oblivious to the increasing anger on Nami's face, "As a way to cope, I've spent the time that you've been unconscious turning my trauma into a story I could tell to others to bring joy instead of the absolute and true terror I felt that night.". He laid his hand against his chest and looked up to the sky, "It was called… Butler Hunter Zoro.".

Nami stood from the bed ignoring the searing pain in her skin. She couldn't take the insult. No one made her repeat herself three times… She stepped over the two sleeping boys she was still confused about and slowly made her way toward the table.

"In light of finding out that Khlahadore was actually a pirate, I think a better version might be…", Usopp stood dramatically from his seat and shot his hands out to his sides theatrically, "PIRATE HUNTE-".

"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME PINOCCHIO".

Usopp open his eyes and almost peed his pants.

Nami's orange hair was in flames and her face was shadowed as she looked down on the long-nosed boy. She reached out and grabbed his nose with one hand lifting him up to her eye level, "Get. Out.".

The girl dropped him and Usopp quickly scrambled away from her, holding his crooked nose and looking down at his brown overalls… He was safe… But just barely. He let go of his nose to get a better look at it and moaned. Why did it always have to be the nose? It was a cheap shot! He turned around to throw a quick jab back at Nami and immediately froze in place, visibly paling.

At that moment he knew one thing for sure… He would have relived seeing Khlahadore cut in half over what he was seeing right then, any day of the week. For some reason, something deep inside of his soul was superimposing the image of a mummy with flaming orange hair over Nami's form. And it scared him. It scared him so bad that his bladder let loose as he stood up and ran out of the room as quickly as humanly possible.

Nami's ire died down as Usopp exited the room and she turned to go back to the bed. She wrinkled her nose and chose to ignore the fact that he'd just peed his pants. The orangette looked to where Zoro and Luffy were on the floor and heard quiet noises coming from the two. Was it... Giggling? "And what the hell might you two be laughing about?", she asked the two obviously awake boys.

Zoro and Luffy burst into laughter as they began to roll on the floor.

"HE ACTUAL-!".

"HE PEED HI-!".

"I CAN'T BEL-!".

"USOPP PEED HIS PANTS!", they both laughed in unison. The two boys held their stomachs in pain as their muscles cramped from laughing so hard.

The orange-haired girl couldn't help but smile as well. Yeah... After Mad Treasure, she would forget about them. That part of the plan was still the same. But until then… Maybe it would be alright to relax a little, maybe enjoy something in life for once. She liked the sound of it. Cocoyashi would always be on her mind but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun on the journey to save it. The girl stepped around the two boys and sat back in bed with her mind set. They weren't pirates yet… So maybe... The three of them could be… Friends, until then?

It didn't sound too bad in her head. Nami got under the covers and laid back, closing her eyes with a small smile. She could think about it more later. Right now, she could still use more rest. Standing up had been painful.

"Oh, Nami!", exclaimed Luffy sitting up, still giggling slightly, "Don't you want to go see our new ship before you go back to sleep?".

The orangette's eyes flashed open and she was suddenly wide awake, "Ship?!".