Chapter 13: After Nami!

I hate my life so much right now: 2 hour Calculus final at 8am? No thank you, but I had to anyway. Ugh. I still have Physics to go, but I'm not too worried about that one. On a more positive note, no one has been able to guess the other members, but I will say that I haven't even gotten to where they meet their pet; said pet is even after Thriller Bark. I probably just made that too easy, but oh well.

I'll admit, this is kind of a filler. Important filler, but still mostly filler.

Note: many of Gin's characteristics are based off of his character in Bluejay Blaze's One Piece, Two Piece, Red Piece, Blue Piece.

Chapter 13:

After Nami!

The surviving Krieg pirates were piled onto the Baratié's errand boat and sent off to sea. Gin had been able to say his goodbyes to them and they to him, each wishing luck on their paths. Yosaku had returned in the mouth of a pan shark (how was still a mystery) and had informed Luffy that he thought they'd figured out where Nami was going. Luffy, a still-pale Coby, Sanji, Gin, and Yosaku prepared depart as soon as they could on Sanji's personal ship, a small boat painted with green stripes.

Bad news: the place they were going was probably really dangerous and controlled by a bloodthirsty fishman.

Good news: Coby was still recovering, so Sanji had time to pack and say his goodbyes.

Their departure was heartfelt for Sanji who cried as he thanked Zeff, but they were able to leave with no problems. Their destination was Cocoyashi Village. Their enemy: Arlong the Fishman.

On the way, Yosaku and Coby ended up talking about the powers that ruled the Grand Line, mainly the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Sanji listened silently, but Luffy didn't pay any attention except wanting to meet all the Warlords. After their conversation, Sanji cooked a meal of meat and bean sprouts.

Unfortunately, the delicious scent attracted a giant sea-cow. Not a manatee, but a literal sea-cow, a monstrous sea creature with white skin covered in large splotches of green and a golden nose piercing. Luffy had attacked it for wanting their food and Sanji had knocked it out for trying to bite his hand, then they returned to their meal. Afterwards, the quintet tied a rope out the beast and had it drag them to their destination.

When they were nearing the island, the beast began to veer off coarse, slamming into the island with a dizzy expresstion. The boat was flung forward like it had been shot out of a slingshot. They flew over the island before slowing falling to the ground and skidding the rest of the way into a cliff. The also just so happened to hit Zoro as he was running along a path.

"We're here!" Luffy called, popping out of the ruined ship.

"What the Hell?" the swordsman shouted, pushing rubble off of himself. "What the actual Hell, Luffy? Oh god. Luffy, Arlong has Usopp. We need to save him. Now, before he gets killed."

"It's too late!" Johnny lamented, walking onto the scene after finding his way via the sound. "Big Sis Nami murdered Big Bro Usopp!"

"WHAT?" everyone shouted.

"No way!" Luffy yelled.

"Nami, why?!" Coby wailed

"It's true," Johnny cried. "She's a traitor! And she's a member of Arlong's crew-"

"Shut up!" Luffy ordered. "Nami would never to that."

"I would never do what?" Nami approached, a look of contempt on her face. She had changed her top, now wearing a light green shirt with dark green spots. Her left hand was covered in a glove and she had her bo out. She had no sleeves on revealing the tattoo on her left bicep: Arlong's mark.

"Naaaamiiiii-swaaaan!" Sanji called with hearts in his eyes, his broken ship forgotten. "Do you remember me?"

"You bitch!" Johnny yelled at her. "You killed him!" Luffy held back both Johnny and Yosaku who were trying to rush the girl with their swords.

"Where's Usopp?" Zoro demanded, prepping his single blade. Next to him, Coby lifted his bokken with tears in his eyes.

"Sleeping with the fishes," Nami answered without a shred of emotion.

"Why you!" Zoro and his student ran at her, but the former was blocked by Sanji, claiming that a man should never hit a woman under any circumstances. The latter was able to duck around and attack, but the female blocked with her bo. She flinched when the force of the blow hit her gloved hand and pulled away quickly, kicking Coby in the side. The boy stumbled.

"Arlong is looking for Zoro and 'his crew'," Nami told them, trying to hide the pain from her hand, "so I'd suggest you leave now while you have the chance." She turned and left.

"Dammit," Zoro growled, sitting under a tree. "What do we do now?"

"I will accept no one but Nami as our navigator," Luffy stated, 'so I'm staying."

"Are you crazy, Big Bro Luffy?" Yosaku questioned.

"She killed Big Bro Usopp!" Johnny added.

"I don't believe it." Luffy shook his head. "Nami's our friend. She'd never do something like that."

"Well I, for one, am leaving," Yosaku stated. "Johnny, Big Bro Zoro, let's go."

"I'm staying," Zoro told him. "I'm not the captain, I don't decide the crewmembers. If Luffy wants Nami as the navigator, then we'll convince her to join one way or another."

"Fine. Good luck, guys." The bounty hunters walked away, leaving the crew in the road. With some momentary peace and quiet, Zoro was able to collect his thoughts and look at the people around him.

"Wait. You're that guy from Krieg's crew, aren't you?"

"I am," Gin answered. "Krieg fired me for disobedience when I refused to kill Red Foot Zeff. Don Luffy saved my life and offered me a place on his crew. I am known as Man-Demon Gin and have a bounty of 2,400,000 Beris. I fight with dual weighted tonfa and am good at making tattoos. It's nice to meet you, Pirate Hunter Roranoa Zoro."

"I know of you, Gin, and you obviously know me. Good. Hey, Shrimp. Why are you so pale?"

"He was poisoned by Krieg," Luffy said before Coby could answer, some of his dislike for the dead pirate brought up by the mention of his action, "so I kicked his ass."

"And I see you got the perverted cook to join us," Zoro observed.

"You wanna say that again, Moss-Head?"

"I'll say it as many times as I want to, Blondie!"

"Come at me, you third-rate swordsman!"

"Sure thing, swirly-eyed bastard!" The two would have started fighting if Gin had not grabbed Sanji from behind and Coby tried to hold his mentor back. All attention was diverted from the growing aggression, however, when a figure in a cloak ran through, stopped, slowly turned around, yelled in surprise, and revealed himself to be Usopp. The previously-thought-dead sniper proceeded to explain that Nami had saved him by stabbing her own hand and pushing him into the water, using the blood to cover up his lack of a stab wound.

"See?" Luffy smiled. "I told you Nami was good and that she wouldn't kill Usopp."

"Well, yeah," Zoro admitted, "but she's still a member of Arlong's crew. If we're going to help her, we're going to need to know what's going on and why she's working for him."

"I think I can help with that," Usopp said. "Or, I know someone who can. Follow me." The long-nosed teen led them into Cocoyashi Village before directing them to an out-of-the-way house with a tangerine orchard. He explained that he'd met this person when they'd saved him from capture when he first got to the island. Inside was a woman with short, light blue hair and several tattoos around her right arm and collarbone. She was dressed in a blue crop top that matched her hair and a pair of jeans. She also had dark blue eyes and a red bandana.

Sanji instantly swooned over her.

"Oh my darling! Your beauty knows no bounds! Not even a hoard of fishman could keep me from helping a woman such as yourself!"

"Uh, thanks?" she answered.

"Nojiko, this is my crew-"

"My crew, not yours."

"This is Luffy," Usopp continued, ignoring his captain, "Zoro, Coby, Sanji, and... Gin, right? Guys, this is Nojiko, Nami's sister."

"Nojiko, a beautiful name fitting of such an attractive woman!"

"Oi! Pervy cook! Shut up!"

"You wanna make me, Marimo?"

"Not now," Gin sighed, hitting the swordsman and chef on the head with one of his tonfa each.

"Zoro-sensei!" Coby fretted as Luffy laughed at two the men nursing their head wounds.

"Well you sure are a lively bunch," Nojiko giggled, causing Sanji to swoon again and turn noodle-y. "I can see why Nami enjoyed her time with you."

"Can you tell us why Nami left?" Coby asked.

"Well... It all started when we were younger. Eight years ago to be exact-" Nojiko began, but Luffy stopped her.

"I don't what to hear this from someone who isn't Nami," he stated. "Pasts are a personal thing. I'm going to go for a walk." He left.

While confused by the younger man's action, Nojiko talked about their adoptive mother Belimere, Nami's dream to draw a map of the world, the arrival of Arlong, Belimere's death, and Nami's deal with the fishmen to buy back her village. By the end of the story Coby, Usopp, and Sanji were crying with the latter rambling about how Nami was just as brave as she was beautiful. Zoro and Gin were silent, the former because that's just who he was and the latter because he'd seen and heard worse. There was a commotion outside that drew their attention

"Stay here," Nojiko ordered. She went outside, but the five in the building could still hear her voice. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Chichichi," another rat-like voice laughed. "I am Marine Colonel Nazumi of Marine Branch 16." Coby tensed. More corrupt marines here to crush his old dream further into the dust? That'd make three (if one counted Fullbody) in the two weeks he'd been a pirate. "Am I correct in assuming this is the home of the pirate thief Nami?"

"She grew up here, but this is no longer her home. I'm her sister, Nojiko. Can I help you?"

"I think you can. You see, we've received word that she has a large stash of stolen treasure somewhere here on this property. Since she's only stolen from pirates, no charges will be pressed, but stolen is stolen, no matter who from. From this point forward, all that money will be the sole property of the World Government. Could you lead us to it?"

"So this is what the Marines have fallen to?" Coby whispered angrily. "Stealing from petty thieves instead of arresting pirates holding an entire island hostage?"

Nojiko was more composed outside. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't spoken to my sister in nearly eight years."

"Fine," Nazumi grunted. "If you can't lead us to it, we'll just have to find it ourselves. Men, search the orchard!"

"No!" Nojiko screamed. Inside, it was taking everything the crew had to keep Sanji from steeping out and blowing their cover to beat the Hell out of this man for upsetting the woman. Coby was holding himself back from attacking the marine, though just barely. "Don't touch Belimere's tangerines!"

"If you won't comply, girl, then I'll have to shoot you for disrupting an investigation."

"And I'd have to shoot you for disrupting my livelihood without due cause, you rat! Hey! Don't pull up the trees!" There was a scuffle. "Let me go!"

"Come on men!" Nazumi yelled. "How hard can it be to find 100 million Beris?"

Nojiko's voice audibly tensed. "How did you know that number?" she hissed.

"What? Oh, let's just say I had a hunch. Chichichi." That laugh was just too much for Coby to hold back anymore. He ran out of the house and drew his bokken. Nazumi was a seedy-looking man with a whisker-like mustache and a small goatee, the hairs swishing as the man's lower face twitched like a rodent. His marine uniform had an added hood pulled up to show the extra mouse ears on top. With the group was another man who was dressed in an old maroon army uniform. He had scars crisscrossing over his face and arms and a black mustache on his shocked face. A pinwheel spun in the wind from its spot on his hat. He was pinned to the ground by three nameless marines so he couldn't help. Off to the side, Nojiko was held down by another two.

"You corrupt bastard!" the pink-haired boy yelled angrily, pointing his right bokken at the rat. "You're working with Arlong, aren't you?"

"Where did you come from, little boy?" Coby didn't answer. Instead he rushed the officer who drew a gun.

"No! Coby!" Nojiko's yell came too late to stop the enraged pre-teen.

Nazumi fired.

End of Chapter 13

Does this count as a cliffhanger? I feel like this counts as a cliffhanger I don't usually do those, but when the situation calls for it, I must! MUHAHAHA!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods