Entry 01

Salvation

On the Going Marry

Nami looked back as she sailed the Caravel to the direction of her Village. She didn't want them to be hurt by her troubles; she needed to do this on her own. She felt a pang of guilt for stealing this beautiful ship and leaving her new friends at the floating restaurant while they fought that egoistic Kreig. After having seen Zoro fighting one of the Seven Warlords, Mihawk she knew they were strong and Sanji was no slouch despite being a chef.

"What if... No I have to do this on my own." She whispered to herself.

But the guilt slowly built up and it just grew the further away she went. Deep in her mind she hoped that they would follow her to her hometown and that they -especially Luffy - would forgive her for this act.

"Please forgive me..." Her thoughts rang as tears fell from her face.

Scene Change

Cocoyashi Village

"Luffy.. Please, help me." Nami says brokenly the tears flowing as the boy in the Straw Hat let go of her hand and the knife had cluttered on the ground.

They had followed her after all, when she had left. It was Ussop the new Sniper of the crew who told her that Luffy had insisted that he and Zoro went first while the black haired captain and Sanji finished things up in the Baratie. Then the newly established Cook said that no matter how they had pointed out that she didn't want to be followed Luffy pushed for them to do so, stating that she must have had something big bothering her if she had been this desperate, that despite not knowing what her problems were they should at least help her.

She had been floored by how the boy with the straw hat responded to her betrayal that she took a long look at him. This aspiring pirate clearly scared and bruised was still willing to go to another battle just to help her. She saw the clear determination in his onyx gaze, he wasn't smiling; his lips in a tight line, as she looked up after finding his straw hat on her head.

"Of course I will!" He exclaimed fist raised as he faced the general direction of Arlong Park.

She saw the other boys move all with smirks on their faces; even the cowardly sniper had a show of bravery. She felt like a large weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, she took a breath and felt a gods to honest genuine smile stretch on her face, the first one she had ever had for the longest time.

"Let's go guys." Luffy says walking with fast strides.

The boys nod to one another, "Yes Captain!"

Scene shift

Arlong Park

She stared on amazed just like everyone else as she saw each of the boys face off against Arlong and his top officers. Each holding were their own, well Ussop had ran out with Choo following after him at a faster pace despite being on land. Hatchi who wielded three swords more then the green haired swordsman evenly matched Zoro, Sanji fought Kurobi, and despite bringing their fight into the water the curly browed young man was surprisingly holding his own! Luffy though, the boy was something else... his tenacity was higher then that of a normal person. Despite Arlong having the upper hand the boy had the willpower to go on, despite the pain she knew he was feeling.

"Is this guy for real?" She wondered as her eyes followed the all out brawl between her captor and the boy.

Johnny nods also observing the respective fights, "You better believe he's real! Despite fighting Don Kreig he is still rearing to get the best of this guy."

"Big Bro Zoro got flattened by Mihawk and he is still fighting. The Cook is actually pretty great as well." Yosaku adds nodding along to his bounty hunting partner.

The water suddenly exploded showing a bleeding Fishman while Sanji wasn't looking any better with his suite crinkled and a few serious injuries, which made it so unbelievable that he was still standing. He studied the field, slowly walking towards the group as he saw the moss-headed swordsman about to finish his own battle with the Octopus Man. His eyes ran towards his new captain, the young man who had dragged him into this crazy adventure.

Later on the fight between the Fishman and rubber boy moved inside the superficial representation of Arlong's oppression on the Village and most of all the symbol of Nami's own pain. Later on, a table shot out of the top floor of the building making Nami gasp recognizing the piece of furniture that represented her childhood misery.

"L-Luffy.." She breathed as the onslaught of the room continued.

Johnny suddenly yelled, "What's that?!"

An outstretched leg came out of the roof, they watched it descend onto the building like a huge hammer ending the age of darkness and oppression on the Village. The sun shone over the newly made rubble of the building, showing the light and freedom of Cocoyashi. Arlong was down for the count, bleeding and doesn't look like he was going to stand up any time soon.

"Where is he?" Asked the now worried Usopp.

Nami looked at the rubble in worry, she felt her heart sink... Wait, her heart sink? Why? She didn't know why she would feel this way, but she shelved this thought deep in her mind. She ran towards the rubble.

"Luffy!" She called her voice shaking.

There was a rustle then a part of the rubble burst to reveal a bloodied Monkey D. Luffy, breathing heavily. She gasps lifting her hand to her mouth, in relieved wonder at his appearance.

He looked at her his eyes dark and determined, "Nami!"

Her shock was swept away from his exclamation. But her attention gravitated towards him.

He smiled and screamed, "You are our friend!"

Looking at his visage; the sun shining behind him, his fist raised on clear victory, and that goofy easy going smile. Again something funny happened to her heart, this time it skipped a beat. Again she dismissed this. Warmth spread through her chest, Luffy swayed as his injuries and fatigue got to him but he raised his hand prompting Nami to high five him. The crowd went to him and lifted the boy celebrating their new found freedom. Once they placed him back on the ground the fatigue finally settled in as he swayed right into her now waiting arms.

"Thank you." She whispered softly as tears came out of her eyes her smile wide and bright.

She carries him down hearing his soft snores. Sanji and Usopp came up to her ready to assist with Luffy. Of course this ended with them being rushed to the Hospital and tended to by the village doctor, Zoro having sustained the most injuries being wrapped in bandages, Luffy not faring any better with the enormous shark bites on his shoulder. Sanji and Usopp were given the clear after only eight hours in the hospital and were shooed away to enjoy the peace of the village. Nami though was contemplating whether she should leave or join these boys, she owed them a lot despite being a total witch to them since the beginning, while she knew Zoro and Usopp never really warmed to her during those few days they had sailed together, there was another factor to her decision.

"If you are worried about his thoughts about you joining then stop. The young man certainly won't mind at all." Said a voice from behind her, she spun around to see Nojiko who smiled at her.

Nami faced her adoptive sister with a skeptical look, "How do you know?"

"Well for one, he came here when you asked him to leave you be. And for another, he told off the swordsman and long nosed one when they said that you couldn't be trusted and told them that he wasn't going to give up on you. The last fact was that when I offered to tell them about your relations to Arlong, he simply said he didn't why you were working with him bun that he would save you no matter the cost even if it was his life." Explained the blue haired girl much to the surprise of the oragnenette.

Nami gasped clutching at her now scared arm, "What? Even when he finally knew about my past he still..."

"He may seem dumb at first glance but he isn't as stupid as people will perceive him to be. I wouldn't be willing to follow a total idiot on this grand adventure. His decisions may seem thoughtless at first but they are actually calculated and very on point. I learned that first hand when he freed me from execution by the Marines, he also showed his devious side when he goaded that kid Koby into punching him to show the Marines that he had no connection to Luffy." Says Zoro as he saw the two girls across the small infirmary.

He had somehow "sensed" them approaching the place. But knew why they were there, he had been half awake every time Nami had visited the infirmary a couple of times within the week. He couldn't help but smile to himself being proven wrong by his Captain about the infamous cat burglar, once they got her full story he was more then ready to fight for her freedom from Arlong, despite the fact that Luffy walked away from the tale. He was more agreeable to Nami joining the crew, admitting that she was a capable navigator seeing the maps she had drawn spoke of her potential.

Nami eyed the green haired boy, "I remember him saying that I was not a bad person despite stealing from pirates. He also knew that I was not a killer, despite shooting a canon ball at Buggy's men only moments after he proclaimed that. He was right about me not being a killer none the less."

The girl sat beside Luffy's hospital bed. She glanced at the boy who slept oh so peacefully, his face a stark contrast to to the serious fighter she had seen just a day ago. She smiled suddenly getting the urge to run a hand through his hair.

"He was right about you." Zoro says quietly as he observed her treatment of his Captain.

Nojiko laughed, "I never thought someone would be able to read her so well. But it looks like she has met her match."

"He isn't a total idiot when it comes to it. He has this special ability to understand people. He hasn't been wrong about any of us so far. He even made a friend with a new Navy Cadet! Not all of the Navy is corrupt, it depends on the people leading the bases. It just so happens the Ax Hand Morgan was one prideful fool." Zoro explained.

Nami smiles, "That kid is going to make a fair and just Marine. Probably as good as the Vice-Admiral Garp."

"Mm. That will be something." Nojiko says laughing.

Their adoptive mother was a student of the Marine hero and had adapted to his ways of Justice. Garp disliked the underlaying corruption within the Marines, those who are less about protecting the innocent and more about the money. Just like Captain Nezumi.

Luffy was up and eating again the next day, though still patched up he was moving with the gusto as if he hasn't sustained any injuries at all! While he was looking for more meat though he came across a grave on a cliff's edge. He stopped and paid his respects to the deceased adoptive mother of his soon-to-be navigator. Nami had been slightly more attentive towards him since he woke that morning, he had heard her conversation with Nojiko and Zoro. He'll need to tell the crew about his family sooner or later, but he needed to find a way to break the news gently. He wouldn't be surprised if Koby had already met his Grandfather and is now training with the old man.

"What brings you here boy?" Asked the voice of the girl's father figure and the village's chief Genzo.

Luffy scratched his head sheepishly, "I was looking for more meat."

Genzo chuckled, he could see why Nami had not stopped smiling. Her new friends - despite her prior denials - were really good people. If there were two types of Pirates they would be Peace Manes, those pirates that don't plunder innocents but protect them form the Pirates that do the plundering. The elder man took the pinwheel off of his hat and it placed on the grave.

"Why did you take off the pinwheel gramps?" Luffy asked looking on curiously.

Genzo chuckles, "When Nami was a babe she would cry a lot. Bellemare would often say I was scaring her because of the scars on my face. So I placed the pinwheel on my hat to make her laugh."

"I knew she was a good person. And Bellemare being a Marine makes me wonder if she had met or been trained by my grandfather." Luffy says smiling enigmatically.

Genzo was tempted to ask about that but chose to leave it. He could understand why the kid was a bit disillusioned by the idea of working in the Marines. But then the older man suddenly got a serious look on his face.

Luffy met the man's gaze, "Promise me something kiddo."

"Yes sir." Luffy says straightening himself.

Genzo nods to himself, "Whatever you guys go up against out there make sure she smiles. Don't you dare do anything that takes the smile away from her face."

Luffy felt a bit hurt by the idea of being the cause of Nami's pain in the future. He would never dream of inflicting any sort of pain on her, and vowed any retribution to anyone who would cause her any sort of pain. He considered it a crime to make tears fall from her eyes ever again. His gut wrenched just seeing her fall to her knees in the face of Arlong's tyranny of her village.

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything to make her cry! I'll keep that smile on her face no matter what, even if it is in the expense of my embarrassment." Luffy says seriously shaking the man's hand.

Genzo smiled patting his shoulder, "Good. Now, let's get back to the village."

A day or two later the crew set sail, Nami's farewell was met by fan fare as the villagers bid her good tidings with her new friends. She jumped onto the boat with a little help from her new captain who caught her by the hand before she fall into the sea.

And so her new adventure began...

One Piece fans out there! All you Nakama better have your Straw Hats, swords, log posts, kicks, snipers, and what other items you need and join me on this reimagined version of the our favorite crew's voyage. Sadly Oda making any romance happen between the crew is probably not going to happen, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it. LuNa is the main couple on this cruise, with a few others in the wings.

This will be a bit of a slow burn, Luffy and Nami's feelings slowly simmering as the story goes on. I'll be taking different parts from various arcs and weaving different situations in which they slowly analyze their feelings for each other. Of course, there will be a little help from the crew mainly Robin and Zoro. There will other pairings, with Zobin being out Secondary pairing.

Luffy is slightly more intelligent in this story, but he is still the reckless and sometimes dumb rubber man we come to know and love. I won't be changing his personality much.

I really hope this story will be to your liking! Enjoy.