Enter Cat Burglar Nami...

Chapter 13 - Enter Cat Burglar Nami...

"You're weak, Zoro… nothing ever changes…"

Kuina…

"It'll be alright. If you can destroy the creature, we'll explain everything to you. Now prove that you're stronger than when you used to lose to me."

Two thousand and one… that's how many times they fought… and it was also the same number of times he lost to her. Zoro always knew that he was weaker than she was. His first goal had merely been to grow stronger so that he could defeat her one day… but every time he got stronger, so did she.

At the time he didn't care how long it took before he would finally beat her. However she had died before they could finally settle it once and for all. Two thousand and one fights… there will never be a two thousand and two…

What he said that night was true in more ways than he thought.

It would be the last time they ever fought…

Once he lost to her again, they vowed that they would race to the top and see who got there first. But then… she died… not in battle, but because she was stupid enough to trip on some stairs and broke her neck. He remembered how furious he had been with her. It was as if she was running away from their vow! Now he was stuck here forced to go on for both of them. His greatest rival was gone.

Since that day, he trained day and night so that he could become the best… and when he finally set off on his journey to fulfill that promise, he decided to merely put it all in fate's hands. Who would've thought that he would be here now?

Countless adventures and immeasurable spirit… that was what made him grow stronger. For the sake of the people he made vows with… he will continue to fight for his dream no matter how long it took or what stood in his way.

"Zoro…" Kuina's voice seemed to echo around him and suddenly his one eye snapped open. Breathing hard, he first thought that he was trapped in the darkness again, but he realized that there were little twinkling lights above him. It took him a minute to realize that those were starts in the night sky…

Sitting bolt-upright, he stared around, and realized that he knew where he was. He was back in those old ruins… The rest of the crew, minus Luffy, was there with him and there was Brook playing his guitar and singing the sorrowful version of Binks Sake.

Chopper heard him move and looked up in time to see him sitting up. "Zoro!" he cried, running over to him as Brook stopped his sad song.

"Zoro," Usopp said looking up, also coming over.

"Are you ok, Zoro-san?" Brook asked in concerned.

"Y-yeah," Zoro admitted, glancing around him. "What happened?" he asked in confusion as he slowly got back to his feet, Ace's and Kuina's voice still in his head. Was that all just a dream?

"Well, we're not sure," Nami said, rubbing her head and staring around at the dark ruins. "We've only been awake a few minutes. But it looks like we're back out of that hole."

"Or lack-there-of," Sanji muttered, pointing to where the large pit had been before, only for them to see as if it had been filled in. "We woke up out here and suddenly we find that it's gone. And our Rubber Brain Captain is nowhere to be found."

"But what happened?" Chopper asked fearfully, "Luffy was still down there!"

"Don't worry. He's safe for now," Zoro said, thinking back, his head pounding slightly. "He's with his brother." They looked up at him, startled, as he explained how he spoke with Ace and what he told him; but he didn't mention Kuina.

"You… spoke with him?" Usopp asked in a stunned tone. "Ace…? As in… ACE?"

"I don't know if it was a dream or not," he confessed, his head finally clearing up, "But if it wasn't a dream, then Ace really did say that Luffy's with him, but he can't bring him back as long as that monster's out there. He didn't say why though."

"So there's some kind of monster that was released and has taken the form of someone from Luffy's memory?" Sanji summed up.

"That's just what I remember," Zoro said as Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Brook all screamed at the thought. "And now it's somewhere on the island."

"But what did Ace mean by how it's using the power of the in-between to change the island?" Robin asked.

"Don't know," Zoro said, as he looked around the ruins. "But apparently if we want Luffy back, we have to go and lure it back here and destroy it… at least that's what I think we have to do."

"Man, if it was Ace, you think he would've given us more of a clue to what it is he wants us to do," Nami groaned.

"N-now hold on!" Usopp stuttered out as they all headed to the doors. "Just who is this thing supposed to look like?" he asked.

"Don't know," Zoro told him, "I already told you everything that I heard. I don't know if that was Ace's ghost or not, but something tells me that wasn't a dream."

"Wait a minute! So you mean to tell me that we just have to go stumbling around until we find the monster and bring it back here?" Usopp cried out in panic.

"You have any better ideas?" Sanji asked in annoyance.

Usopp gulped as he thought it all over. Sure, he was terrified at the thought of what they might find… but after seeing some of those memories, he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't at least help out here. "O-ok…" he said. "I don't want to do this… but if we can get Luffy back I'll do it! The Great Master Usopp always looks out for his friends after all!"

"Yohohoho! That's the spirit Usopp-san!" Brook cheered happily as Zoro was the first out the door and glanced around the forest. In the darkness, this dark forest reminded him almost of Thriller Bark… he tried his best to ignore it as he went on ahead. But as soon as they all stepped outside the ruins something happened.

The next step that Zoro took, everything around faded and started to shift around violently in a whirl of colored smoke. And the next thing that they knew was that the sun was out and there was a bright blue sky above them. The dark forest and old ruins were gone and instead they were all in a town with bright cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings on either side of them—mostly houses but with the occasional shop.

"What the Hell?" Sanji gasped, dropping his cigarette. "What just happened? Call me crazy but wasn't it the middle of the night just a second ago?"

"And weren't we in a forest?" Chopper cried out, shifting to his Kung-fu point, suddenly anxious.

"No…" Nami gasped out, her eyes wide as she recognized where they were, "This is… but it can't be…"

"But it is," Zoro said to her, his hand still cautiously on his swords, "It's Orange Town."

"Wait, you two been here?" Usopp asked them startled.

"Only once, but I didn't forget it," Zoro said, glancing around. "This town was where Luffy and I met up with Nami."

"It's also where we fought Buggy," Nami added darkly.

"Buggy?" Chopper asked in confusion.

"He was the infamous Pirate Clown," she answered him dully.

"A clown?" Franky repeated with a sweatdrop. "You're kidding right?"

"Wish she was," Sanji said, remembering how ridiculous the pirate looked when he saw him at Loguetown.

"And this is the same guy who was part of the Pirate King's crew right?" Robin asked politely, "The same pirate who was named a Warlord in the last two years?"

"Yeah that's… hey wait a minute," Nami said staring at her, "You're saying that Buggy was made into one of the Warlords?!"

"Yes," she answered coolly. "Apparently, he replaced Jinbe after the war two years ago."

Nami, Zoro, and Sanji all stared at her—having actually seen the clown themselves—and they couldn't believe that.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Zoro said, sure she was joking.

"That idiot replaced Jinbe-chan?" Nami asked, looking ready to collapse.

Sanji sighed as he quickly let another match and cigarette. He puffed on it to calm his nerves before he said, "Well, word got out about his connection to Roger. So I guess that the Government thought to try and make him an ally."

"It's only because of that," Nami said shaking her head. "That idiot's nothing."

"Ahhh… excuse me," Brook said in confusion, "But what is wrong here?"

As Nami looked ready to go into a long rant about what an idiot Buggy was, Usopp interrupted. "What I want to know is what's going on!" he demanded. "If this really is a memory, then how are we watching it? I thought we were out of that creepy hole!"

"We are," Robin answered as she calmly walked over to the building and slowly reached out to touch it. "This is different," she said softly, while her hand did pass through the stone, it was different… it was suddenly cool to the touch as well.

"Damn," Sanji cursed as he looked around, touching one of the passing windows and it felt almost like his hand was passing through water. "What's going on here?"

Chopper sniffed the air cautiously. He could feel a light breeze coming from somewhere as well as smell all sorts of scents like flowers and fresh air… he could hardly smell anything before in the last few memories.

"Just when I thought we were getting the hang of this," Franky said looking around. "What the hell is this?"

"I think it makes sense," Robin said turning back to look at Zoro. "Zoro, didn't you say that the creature was changing the island around?"

"Yeah," he answered, gritting his teeth as he looked, "Something about changing the island into pieces of memories."

"I see," she said frowning to herself, "If that's the case, then it's changed the entire island into more of Luffy's memories in order to hide itself. And if it has taken the form of someone from Luffy's past, then that would make sense to do so."

"It's easy to hide when you blend in," Sanji finished for her, now understanding.

"And since we're back in the real world, I suppose it would make sense that we are able to feel more, but still not able to really touch anything.

"Wait," Chopper said, "So we have to go hopping through more of Luffy's memories?"

"Looks like it," Franky said glancing around.

"The last memory was when you two set off," Sanji said to Zoro, "So this is where you came to next?"

"We sailed around for awhile," Zoro said, struggling to remember. It took him a few days to really get used to Luffy's company. After travelling around on his own for so long, having someone else with him was… awkward to say the least. But after a while, he had started to enjoy Luffy's straightforward personality. "Until Luffy was dumb enough to get captured by a bird," he added, "And I followed him here."

"A bird?" Robin repeated in mild surprise.

"Yeah," Zoro said, thinking back, "We were starving, and he spotted this giant bird and when he tried to grab it… it carried him off here."

"What a complete idiot," Usopp sighed. What had he been thinking?

"Man, it must've been hard for you to find him," Brook said, knowing how Zoro's sense of direction was completely off.

"Not really," Zoro admitted. After he ran into those three loser pirates at sea, getting them to row in the direction Luffy had been carried off in had been easy enough. They just kept going until they reached shore. And almost as soon as he landed he heard the explosions and just knew where to start looking.

Suddenly they heard a scream breaking their thoughts and turned around in time to see that someone was running towards them. Nami gasped, realizing who it was. There she was, two years ago, with a map clamped tightly in her hands and running as fast as she could from a group of men chasing after her—each one looking angry and carrying a sword.

"Why those bastards! Ganging up on my sweet Nami!" Sanji yelled in fury charging ahead. "Don't worry my dear, your brave knight is here to resu…" but before he could finish, Nami ran right through him and the words got stuck in his throat. Moaning miserably, he fell to his knees, crying the whole way.

"I guess we still can't touch the people," Robin offered obviously as Nami ran closer towards them.

"What'd you do to make those guys so angry?" Usopp demanded of their Nami who laughed awkwardly.

"I kinda stole their map?" she offered, sounding more like a question. But just then, there was a large explosion in the air and next thing they knew, something fell from the sky between Nami and the pirates—causing them all to stop dead in their tracks.

"What was that?!" Nami in the memory screamed, staring back at the crater.

"My future captain," Nami answered, now understanding what happened. "That idiot…"

"Who would've thought," Brook laughed as the dust cleared, to show that it was indeed Luffy sitting there. And he was happily talking to himself.

"Finally, I'm safe now," Luffy moaned as he stood up and dusted himself, gazing around him in interest. "And what just happened to me was awesome."

Zoro rolled his eyes. Back on Sky Island, he had been carried off by a giant South Bird and it was anything but awesome. "Of course he would've thought that was cool."

Luffy was gazing around, trying to figure out where he was and what to do next. Nami and the pirates were staring at him with their jaws open… while the present-day Nami gazed at her past self sadly. She looked at the shirt she was wearing—how it was now hiding Arlong's mark. And to think… if Luffy hadn't come falling out of the sky… she'd probably still be serving Arlong… or worse… she and her village would be dead.

"So that's how you two officially met?" Robin asked Nami, noticing the sad look in her friend's eyes.

"Yeah," she said softly, feeling a rush of shame come over her as she watched the dark look in her past self's face. She saw an opportunity to escape, and she took it without a second thought. She watched how she walked to him, as Luffy was whining about how hungry he was.

Clasping her hands together, she said in an excited voice, "Oh, hey Boss, thanks for coming to save me!"

"Boss?" Chopper said, tilting his head in confusion. "But I thought that you guys didn't know each other here."

"We didn't," Nami admitted sadly. "I'm not exactly proud of it. If Luffy hadn't been so strong, I think I could've gotten him killed here."

"What do you…?" Brook began but Luffy was already looking up at Nami's past self.

"Who are you?" he asked her, but instead of answering, she turned and ran away, calling back, "They're all yours now, Boss! Have fun!"

"Hey! That girl's getting away!" one of the pirates yelled angrily.

"That's ok," the second said, looking at Luffy with a rather evil grin. "We've got her Boss now."

"Oh, so that's what you meant," Robin answered, "You made him a decoy."

"You're in trouble kid," the third pirate said, holding up his sword. "You should've let your crony fend for herself."

The men who were chasing Nami glared at Luffy, who was still watching Nami run down the street. But Luffy finally noticed them and asked bluntly, as if he didn't hear what they said, "Do you guys know anywhere good to eat around here?"

"Luffy, stop worrying about your stomach here and just beat them up," Usopp yelled, standing close to him, and tried yelling in his ear.

But, of course, Luffy was completely deaf to him as one of the pirates came closer and held up a fist. "Foods the least of your worries now!" he yelled smugly as he threw a punch. Now they knew that it couldn't have hurt him, but the impact of it was enough to knock the straw hat off. They all knew right away that these guys weren't going to be let off the hook for that as Luffy watched his hat go flying off.

His face filled with anger, Luffy punched him right back and sent him crashing into the ground. He was out cold before Luffy caught his hat and placed it back on his head, warning them to keep their hands off it.

"After seeing what it means to him, I don't blame him for being so protective of it," Franky said, his heart hurting at the memory of seeing Shanks entrust it to him.

"Yeah! Show those guys no mercy!" Chopper and Usopp cheered on as the two other pirates charged, ready to take him out. Of course, it was no contest. Luffy took them both out with one punch each… now all three of them were lying unconscious on the ground like broken toys.

"I see what you mean," Usopp said, staring back at Nami, "you could've gotten him killed if he wasn't so freaking strong!"

"Wow!" Nami exclaimed.

"Yeah, wow," Usopp said, now glaring at her, "But do you know that if that was anyone else he could've…"

"That wasn't me," Nami said, pointing up to the roof. "I mean it was me… but that me!"

He looked, and sure enough there was Nami looking over the roof edge, down at Luffy. She stared at the beaten pirates before she called to Luffy, "You're really strong!"

Luffy looked up at her as she jumped down to the balcony below her, calling out in an impressed voice, "Even though both of them had sabers you beat them barehanded."

"Hey, you're the girl who set me up. Who are you?" Luffy asked; though he didn't sound angry, merely curious.

"I'm a talented thief who steals strictly from pirates," Nami answered him. "The name's Nami. Hey, wanna team up with me?"

"You were asking Luffy to join you?" Chopper asked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't know he was looking for crewmates himself at the time," Nami explained. "I wanted him to help me steal."

"In other words you wanted to take advantage of him and then leave with all the treasure?" Zoro said while Sanji glared at him.

"How dare you accuse Nami-swan of something like that," Sanji snapped at him.

"Actually," she said, looking embarrassed, "That's about right."

"Oh, Nami, you're so cute even when you're deceiving people," Sanji swooned, hearts back in his eyes.

"Um, thanks anyway lady but I think I'll pass," Luffy answered her coolly as he started walking away. Nami blinked down in surprise at that.

"Hold on!" she yelled after him as she followed him, "At least think about it first!"

"I never met someone who turned down the chance to get treasure," Nami laughed as they followed after the two, "I guess that should've been my first clue that he wasn't normal."

Luffy suddenly stopped, his hands over his stomach. "I just remembered…" he said to himself before he fell to his knees as if he was too weak to stand up. "I'm so hungry," he whined out.

"Well, come with me and I'll find you something to eat?" Nami offered him.

That got his attention, Luffy bolted up and stared at her hungrily, which took her aback. "Yeah? Are you serious!?"

"You're unusually generous here," Zoro muttered to her suspiciously.

"I thought he'd be more willing to listen if I helped him out," Nami said as she watched herself snap out of it and led him down the street to one of the bigger houses.

"Wow, so do you live here, Nami?" Chopper asked her interested.

"Not quite," she answered, "I was just staying there while I tried to collect treasure. No one else was living there so I don't think there was any problem."

"Treasure for what?" Chopper asked innocently, but Nami didn't answer as she led the way, following the two to one of the larger rooms where Luffy was helping himself to all the food he could find.

"Yummy!" Luffy yelled happily, shoving food into his mouth with a satisfied expression. After a few mouthfuls, he finally turned back to Nami and asked, "So do you live here in this big house all by yourself?"

"This isn't my house I'm just staying here for the time being," Nami told him casually, as if he just asked what the weather was like today as she sat on the edge of the table, watching him eat. "Everyone's left this town because of Captain Buggy."

"Again with this Buggy guy?" Chopper said, "Is he really that bad of a guy?"

"Well, I guess to normal people he's dangerous," Nami admitted thinking it over, "But really, he's an idiot."

"So this guy came to this town and basically took over? Forcing all the citizens out?" Franky asked, hating pirates like them.

"Rather he was using this town for target practice," Nami confessed, remembering of those Buggy Balls and all the destruction he had caused.

"Oh, so you're just a petty thief," Luffy summed up for them all.

"He got it sooner than I thought," Zoro said in full agreement.

"Shut moss head if you know what's good for you!" Sanji threatened.

"How rude," memory Nami huffed at him, "I only steal from people who deserve it! Pirates! So don't compare me to some scumbag, petty thief."

"A thief's a thief as far as I'm concerned," Luffy said after he managed a big swallow of bread.

"I agree with you there," Zoro nodded with him and Sanji went and tried to kick him in the head.

As the two began to fight, Nami tuned them all out as she watched her past admit to Luffy, "My goal is to earn one-hundred million beli's, no matter what I have to do or how long it takes."

Luffy looked at her curiously. "What do you need so many beri's for anyway?"

"It's a secret," Nami said bluntly, clearly letting him know that she didn't want to talk about it as Luffy went back to the food.

"Geez, I know you love money and everything sis, but really, what's it all for?" Franky asked.

Nami looked away, not wanting to think about it. "I'm sure that you'll find out," she admitted sadly as the others continued to look at her. "But I can tell you that money wasn't for me."

"But if not you then…?" Brook began, but he stopped. He could see that Nami was looking more upset by the moment. So instead he asked if he could see her panties instead. It worked to take her mind off that as she gave him a hard punch in the head and knocked him to the ground, yelling at him to shut up.

"But with this chart Grand Line, the one-hundred million is definitely a possibility," memory Nami said as she tucked the chart safely under her shirt.

She said the magic words. As soon as Luffy registered what she said he whispered, "A chart?" he then looked up at Nami and asked, "So you must be a navigator?"

Nami gave him a proud smile and said, with no hints of humility, "I'm the most skilled navigator you're ever likely to meet."

"As modest as ever I see," Robin teased her with a smile.

She laughed, her hand behind her head and admitted, "Well, it's true."

Zoro and Usopp both shared a dark look, knowing that she honestly hasn't changed a bit since then. And it didn't help that Sanji was there praising her beauty and brains all at once. "I still don't get how we got stuck with these two," Zoro sighed to them.

But then Luffy stood up excitedly.

"Oh, wow! That's perfect. Then how about you join my crew?" he asked eagerly, "I've been looking to recruit a navigator!"

Nami's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really?"

"Sure! You can be the navigator for our pirate crew!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

At once, Nami's happy expression turned sour. It was startling how her mood had shifted to a much colder expression with her smile quickly turning into a frown. She glared hard at Luffy and said firmly, "NO!"

"Geez, what'd say?" Franky asked her.

"Pirate," she muttered with a sigh. "In those days, I was convinced that all pirates were rotten to the core."

Luffy was looking at her in surprised as Nami sighed. "I didn't realize you were a pirate," she said darkly.

"Yeah, I made an important promise," Luffy said as he took off his hat and stared at it fondly, "I promised the guy who gave me this hat that I'd form a crew and become the greatest pirate ever."

"Yeah, I see that now," Nami muttered to herself as her past self slammed her hands on the table angrily. "There's nothing in the world that I despise more than pirates!" she almost screamed at him, "I only love money and tangerines!"

"Nami-san," Brook said in surprise.

"I know," Nami sighed, "I see that not all pirates are the same. But you see I suffered a lot because of a certain pirate crew for a long time. And all the pirates that I stolen from were the same as them. I didn't think that there were any good pirates out there."

"Really?" Chopper asked, "You only like money and tangerines?"

"This was years ago Chopper," she answered with a smile. "I've changed a lot since then. And I'm honestly happy here."

"Oh, that's good!" Chopper said happily.

"Come on," Luffy whined, "be our navigator."

"I said no," Nami said harshly as she walked towards the window, refusing to say anything else.

Luffy looked after her before he shrugged it off and went back to his food, "Your lost."

"Wait… did he just give up?" Usopp said startled. "Like that?"

"Yeah, with me he wouldn't stop bugging me about joining," Sanji said in bewilderment. "And he wouldn't let moss head here off the hook."

"True, but let's not forget that he barely knew Nami here," Robin reminded them. "Even with Zoro, he was impressed when he heard about Zoro's character. But he just met her and she did set him up before they even introduced themselves. And she made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with a pirate. Like I said, Luffy wouldn't actually force someone to join if they truly didn't want to join."

"That's about it," Nami said, feeling a little bit relieved at that.

Nami continued to stare out the window as the present Nami sighed. She remembered seeing Buggy's henchmen out there looking for her and came up with a stupid plan that almost got them al killed. And sure enough, she watched herself look back to Luffy with a wicked grin… mean that she had a plan to make her rich.

"What are you planning here?" Usopp asked, feeling nervous for Luffy as she walked back to the table—like how a cat would when it was stalking a bird.

"Nothing good," Zoro said rolling his eye, already aware of where these two were gonna end up. So it was Nami who got them almost killed and blown apart by Buggy… he had been sure that it was Luffy.

"I know, I'm not proud of it," Nami muttered softly. Luffy had unknowingly helped her out by taking out those thugs for her. She knew that stunt could've gotten him killed, but at the time her hatred for pirates justified everything.

"I guess I might consider joining you but only if you agree to certain conditions," Nami said with a sweet tone that got Luffy's attention.

"Really? I'll do anything," he said at once happily.

"Did he have to say that?" Usopp said, quickly muttering a prayer for Luffy.

"He's toast," Franky nodded with him.

"He's too naïve," Robin sighed, "He trusts too easily."

"That's gotten him into a lot of trouble," Zoro agreed at once.

"But what did you want from him, Nami-san?" Brook asked curiously.

Nami's past self answered that as she pulled out a length of rope, "Well then, I want you to come with me to meet Buggy the Clown. But first…"

Faster than blinking, she had Luffy tied up and held up a long length of it like a leash.

"Why'd you have to tie me up?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Luffy you idiot," Zoro sighed.

"The rope's just for appearances," Nami lied.

"If that's not a lie, I don't know what is," Usopp said, looking ready to fall over. How could Luffy be so dense? It was obvious that she was going to get them in trouble.

"Hey, just because I wanted to use him to get to Buggy's treasure didn't mean that I wanted him killed," Nami snapped at them all.

"Well, ok then," Luffy said agreeably, "I've been looking forward to meeting some other pirates. So let's going!"

"Just hold your horses, what's the big rush?" she complained as they left the house. Nami felt terrible as she watched the excited expression on Luffy's face. Like he was a child who thought was gonna get a treat. Nami hated all pirates… after she lost her mother to Arlong, she had believed that all pirates were the same. But it was after meeting Luffy here did she see that just because you call yourself a pirate didn't mean that you were bad.

"So where ah… where are we going…?" Brook asked.

"To the Drinker's Bar," Nami sighed.

"Sounds like my kinda place," Zoro said to himself. Luffy didn't complain the whole time as he walked happily along, like how a dog would. No one said anything else until they came to Buggy's place just on the roof of the bar… they were all taken aback by it aside from Nami and Zoro.

"Is the circus in town?" Brook asked interestedly. "I always loved the circus, yohohoho!"

"Well, believe me, this isn't the type of circus you want to go to," Zoro said darkly as he looked at the pirates all running around performing tricks or drinking.

"I don't know about you guys but I can't take these guys seriously," Franky muttered staring around them. "I mean… when I think of scary pirates, clowns and balloons aren't what comes to my mind."

Nami sighed in agreement, as she looked to the tent where Buggy was sitting.

"That's Buggy?" Chopper asked hesitantly.

"He was on board the Pirate King's crew?" Usopp asked with another sweatdrop.

"Huh?" Brook asked as he watched Nami come forward with Luffy. The Buggy Pirates stopped partying long enough to look up at them in surprise. As soon as they were in front of Buggy, Nami shoved Luffy to the ground before she stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're scaring me now Nami," Chopper whispered fearfully.

"That is a cruel thing to do to someone," Usopp said with a gulp, now moving cautiously away from her, as if thinking that she'd do the same thing to him.

She looked down at her feet sadly, feeling more grateful to Luffy than ever. If it had been anyone else, they never would've forgiven her for something like this. Who she was back then, she wasn't proud of it. But at the same time, everything she did, she did for her village and she was proud of that.

"I've captured the real thief captain Buggy the Clown and here's your chart back!" called her own voice, and it snapped her out of it as she watched her past walk over to Buggy with the chart.

Buggy smirked as he watched her, "Not that I don't appreciate it, by why the sudden change of heart little girl?"

She handed the chart to him and stepped back as she said shrugged casually, "I had another fight with my boss and I just can't take it anymore." She then looked up innocently and asked benevolently, "So I thought I'd see if I could join your crew instead."

Buggy looked at her as the rest of his crew gulped down, looking nervous.

"What's with them?" Chopper asked confused.

"Not all pirates appreciate being stolen from," Robin answered, knowing how brutal pirates could be. "Even though Nami brought the chart back to him, she was still the one who stole it in the first place. Buggy might've still killed her to make an example for others."

Chopper screamed in terror.

"Don't worry," Nami said, looking at him. "He bought the lie hook, line, and sinker."

No sooner had she said that did Buggy start snorting out in laughter. "You're fed up huh? I must admit you're an amusing girl," he said grinning evilly at her, "I like you. Of course you can join my crew!"

Nami just continued to smile at him, even as Luffy was shoved into stone and metal cage behind them.

"Huh, so that's how he got locked in that thing," Zoro muttered to himself.

"It's a great day to be a pirate," Buggy said before looking at Nami, "Girl… what do you call yourself?"

"I'm Nami," she answered happily and he laughed again and declared a welcome party for their newest crewmate.

Cheers were sounded everywhere as a party erupted, bringing out food and booze. That was when the party really came out.

"This Buggy guy may not be the best example of a pirate," Franky said looking at the drinking pirates, "But you gotta hand it to him. He knows how to party."

"That I can't deny," Zoro said, looking longingly at the booze that everyone was guzzling down. As for Luffy, he spent the time trying to stretch his arm out from his bounds to grab some meat, but it was like how he couldn't reach for the glass back in Bluejam's hideout. He kept falling short. Then there was Nami, who was drinking with Buggy, her eyes were narrowed as she looked around at the partying pirates.

"Why do I not like that look in your eyes?" Franky asked.

Nami shrugged, "The best way to steal from a pirate is when they're drunk. I was just waiting for them to pass out before I steal their treasure."

"Now listen up!" Buggy suddenly cried out, getting everyone's attention. "Men, it's time to prepare the Buggy Ball!"

"Buggy Ball?" Sanji repeated at a lost.

"Think of it as like an exploding cannonball," Nami said. In her opinion, that really was Buggy's only weapon. Even with his Chop Chop abilities, he wasn't much of a threat… at least not anymore. She was sure that even she could take him on easily by herself now.

Just then, one of the men heaved out an enormous cannon while another brought a bigger than normal red cannonball with Buggy's mark on it.

"I'm guessing that's the Buggy Ball?" Usopp asked as they carefully loaded the cannon.

"What gave it away genius?" Nami asked sarcastically.

"All set captain," the pirate said as they pointed the cannon towards the town.

Past Nami looked nervous as she asked with a slight stutter, "W-what are you going to do with that thing?"

"Just observe," Buggy answered, with a horrible evil look on his clown face—giving a justifiable reason to really be afraid of clowns, "the awesome might of the Buggy Ball. Light it."

And with once it was fired… it didn't just bang like most cannonballs did, it went off in a giant fireball. The blast was blinding as it struck the houses, going through them all like a stack of dominos would. Shrapnel was sent flying off in all directions as the boom was large enough to deafen their ears… and when the light died down they stared at the entire block that was destroyed. There wasn't anything but giant piles of splinters.

"How terrible!" Brook whispered, staring at the damage. "What kind of person would destroy a person's home like that?!"

"This is what most pirates are these days," Nami whispered as Robin nodded dully.

Brook shook his head in shame. Pirates these days weren't anything like when he was still sailing before. Yes, they loved treasure, but it was all about the adventure! Not mindless destruction!

"But man," Franky said in amazement, "Just what were those balls made of? Not that they hold anything to the things that I've made on the Sunny…" he added.

"Don't know," Nami sighed. "But I think that's when the party ended."

"That was flashy," Buggy laughed as he went on, "With these Buggy Balls and the power of the Devil Fruit, I should have no problem conquering the Grand Line!"

"He's kidding right?" Franky asked hesitantly.

"You think that someone who once sailed with Roger would have a better idea to how the world is," Zoro sighed. "But Nami was right… he's just an idiot. I think that his ego is almost as big as that nose of his."

"And that's the biggest nose I've seen," Chopper said before looking up at Usopp, "Yours is probably the longest though, Usopp."

"What?" Usopp cried out in outrage. "My mother gave me this nose I'll have you know!"

"Huh?" Luffy suddenly yelled out, gaining everyone's attention. "But it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line!"

They all stared at him.

"You know…?" Sanji said, "That sounds kinda pathetic with him stuck inside a cage like that…"

"Yep," Zoro agreed, before he blinked; horrified that he actually agreed with the crap cook.

However Buggy wasn't amused… he was glaring at Luffy with annoyance and it only got worse when Luffy continued, "And then I'm gonna become King of the Pirates."

"Shut up you idiot!" Nami yelled at him, looking scared that he went too far.

But instead of getting angry, Buggy started laughing. "I can see why you're sick of him, Nami," he said to her.

Gulping, she nodded quickly. "Yeah, I know. He never takes anything seriously, he thinks that life's a big game! He acts like a little kid!" she said, sounding nervous as she agreed with him.

"I see," Buggy agreed with her as another evil look came to his face. "In that case… how about I give you a Buggy Ball to blow away your old boss?"

"You mean…?" Usopp croaked out at the thought.

"He meant to kill him," Nami nodded as she watched her past self's eyes widen in horror at the thought. While she didn't like pirates, the idea of sinking that low was too much for her.

"It will be a great opportunity to prove your loyalty to me, your new captain," Buggy went on as his men came running up with another ball. "MEN?!" he cried as he turned the heavy cannon was ready.

"That's all right, captain," Nami quickly unable to hide the fear in her tone. "We don't need to finish him off quite yet. Let's get back to the welcoming party and have more fun."

"What was going on through your head here?" Robin asked her.

"Mostly 'what the hell did I get myself into' or something like that," Nami answered grimly.

"You wouldn't really have…?" Chopper asked anxiously.

"Of course not!" Nami told him hotly. "I have standards you know!"

But Buggy was smiling down at her in a horrible, twisted way. He looked quite mad as he confessed, "This is my idea of having more fun." And without another word he handed Nami a box of matches while the rest of the crew cheered for her to fire.

"I'm curious to know how you got out of this," Robin said.

"You better think of something, Nami-san," Brook said nervously glancing around. "I don't like these people!"

"You and me both," Nami said, but she turned to Luffy, knowing that he was about to give her some real advice here. Luffy just gazed at Nami calmly—it was impossible to know what was going through his mind.

"How dare that shitty bastard try to force a woman to do something so disgusting?" Sanji hollered furiously.

But Nami just stood there, staring at the scene in front of her. She remembered trying to think of what she would do. She knew that if she didn't fire she'd be killed… but if she did… she'd forever have blood on her hands.

"Hey! You're not wimping out on me are you?" Buggy yelled impatiently behind her past self and she jumped at his voice.

"You're shaking I see," Zoro said softly, looking at past Nami's hands.

Luffy saw it as well. "What's the matter?" he asked and she froze at his voice, as if forgetting that he could speak. "Your hands are shaking," he pointed out and she gave him an angry look. "This is what happens when you take on pirates with half-assed resolve," Luffy stated calmly.

"You know he's taking this well," Franky stated, "He's tied up and locked in a cage where they could kill him at any moment, but he's calm here."

"Because I don't think that he believed that you had what it takes to kill him, Nami-san," Brook stated.

Nami smiled a little at that, making her feel better.

"Resolve to do what?" Nami suddenly demanded, "To kill someone like it's nothing? Is that a pirate's resolve?"

"No," Luffy said as a smile appeared on his face, as if testing her. "You gotta be willing to risk your own life."

Nami stared at him—a strange look suddenly entered her eyes. One of the pirates finally got tired of waiting and marched over to light the match. But as his hand went to the fuse, Nami's eyes darkened. Here it was…

To stand back and do nothing… or risk her life for what she knew was right?

Nami smiled as she watched herself pull out her staff and finally took charge. As soon as he was out on the floor did everyone freeze at her daring; the pirates, Buggy, and even Luffy were all surprised by what she did… but none so much as Nami herself.

"Oh crap," she whispered, staring at her staff and the unconscious pirate.

"I knew it," Brook said in relief.

"Nami, what's the meaning of this outrage?" Buggy demanded.

"I'm sorry!" Nami quickly apologized to him.

"What's wrong!? Just shoot him already!" Buggy screamed at her.

"Huh? So now you've decided to save me?" Luffy questioned behind her in confusion.

"Don't be so stupid!" Nami yelled at him as she looked back at him for a moment. "I'm not doing this for you, you idiot!" she screamed, holding her staff up, finally ready to fight. "I just don't wanna lower myself to these inhuman pirates!"

Some of the Straw Hats stared at her, some of them unsure to what she was saying…

"Ok, thanks anyway," Luffy said lightly, still not looking bothered.

That seemed to be enough for Nami as she finally declared for them all to hear, "Pirates took the life of a person very dear to me! I'll never be one of them!"

"Nami…" Robin said softly, looking back at her as she kept her eyes straight forward, her own hands shaking a little.

"Nami is that true?" Chopper asked quietly and she nodded.

"My mother…" she whispered in hardly more than a croak, "Was killed by pirates when I was ten years old. That's why I hated pirates so much."

Her eyes started to burn a little at the thought but she blinked hard. She thought about her mother all the time… she missed her every single day and seeing this was just a painful reminder to what she had been forced to do by herself for so long.

"Nami-swan…" Sanji whispered gazing at her sad expression.

"It's alright," she told him, raising her head high. "It's hard… sometimes it hurts more than others. But this isn't my life anymore. That's what matters."

Franky sniffled a little as Luffy understood and said, "I see…" but that was when he screamed out, for the first time losing his cool, "AHHHHHHH! NAMI! THE FUSE!"

Nami's eyes widened when she looked down, and sure enough it was lit and burning fast.

"Oh, crap," Sanji said, trying to think of something he could do to help, but he might as well just be blowing air for all the good he could do.

"So you think that pirates are just inhuman filth do you?!" Buggy screamed furiously as he then hollered, "Get her, men!"

At once several of his crew charged, ready to attack. Nami stood back, blocking that one attack, but when she tried to swing back, they jumped up—missing it completely.

"Cowards!" Brook called furiously, "All of them against one woman?"

"They're all dead if I ever meet up with them!" Sanji declared, fire licking his body. "I'm gonna break each and every one of their faces!"

Luffy was looking every which way, chanting water over and over as Nami finally dropped the staff and went running towards the cannon. She grabbed hold of fuse with her bare hands…

"Nami!" Chopper yelled when he saw her screaming in pain, "Don't you realize the serious burns you could've gotten from that?!"

"Nami! Oh, no were you alright?" Sanji cried out, looking terrified.

"I was fine," she smiled, "That was nothing!"

"Watch out!" Luffy warned as Buggy's henchmen charged from behind, ready to kill. Nami closed her eyes, ready for the blows to strike. Sanji went charging ahead—memories be damned! He was going to protect Nami!

"Relax Nosebleed," Zoro said, smiling as he looked back to see someone jumping to the roof and charge at them. "Let someone else handle it."

Just like that, the pirates were all scattered everywhere and screaming in pain as a familiar figure jumped between Nami and the Buggy Pirates...