11 Orange Town!- Part 2

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"Here," Nami said as she placed the food in front of him, which he immediately started eating as he got himself under control. Nami just stared at Luffy as she wondered how she was going to get Buggy's treasure.

"Those guys seemed to be after you for some reason," Luffy said as he looked at her. "What'd you do?"

"I took their map," she said as she pulled a map out from under her shirt, giving Luffy a view of her bare stomach. "With this, I'll be able to get 100,000,000 berries no problem."

"That's a lot of money," Luffy said with a whistle. He knew that it was to buy back her village from Arlong. He frowned as he remembered in the anime her on that dirt road, stabbing her tattoo of Arlong's mark after her village went off to fight him, knowing it was a lost cause but unable to put up with him any longer. "Care to share your trouble?"

"None of your business," she snapped and said in a cold voice. "Now that I have this chart of the Grand Line getting that money will be easy. If I'm lucky, then Buggy's treasure would fill my need today. I will not have to go to the Grand Line then," she said and hoped that Buggy had the required money. She had already gathered seventy-five million Beli. She only needed Twenty-five million Beli to free her island.

"Did something happen to you?" Luffy suddenly asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She tenses up as she looked back at him, seeing nothing but a blank face looking back. Her hand slowly went to her shoulder, which was covered by her shirt to hide that tattoo of Arlong's mark. She didn't know what it was about Luffy, but at that moment, her tension faded a little as she looked down.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said in a bit of a sad voice. She sighed as she stared out the window. Thoughts of Bellemere came to her as she closed her eyes. She remembered how they were poor, how they would fight, how she started stealing because they had no money. She started to tear up as she also remembered their fight, how she ran off in anger, how her mother sacrificed herself so that she and Nojiko could live. She grasped her shoulder when memories of when Arlong forced her onto his to draw him maps, along with his deal to release her village in exchange for 100,000,000 berries(or Beli). She missed her mother so much.

"Nami," Luffy said in a quiet voice. She turned to see that he was standing next to her. His hat shadowed his face, but she could still hear the sad tone in his voice as he continued. "Believe it or not, I also know what it's like to lose someone you care for. I lost my brother because of the world government. His name was Sabo, and he wanted to live a free life. But due to some circumstances, he had to leave me and another brother, Ace, and had to escape from my home island. He was in pain, but we were unaware. He didn't tell us, thinking it was his pain to bear alone. An accident happened, and he died. If Sabo had shared his pain with us, then maybe he would be alive now. We would have done our best to keep him alive and deal with whatever it was that troubled him. It is always better to share your trouble with someone than to live with it eating your heart. It would make you hollow. Fill you with sadness and hate."

Nami's eyes teared again as she listened to him. She thought about her past, her deal with Arlong, living in that cage to draw his maps just so that the villagers could live in peace. She found herself to be stupid to think like that. Suppose she had told someone, even if it was only Nojiko or Genjo. Maybe she wouldn't have to sleep every day in her bed in tears. Maybe, the villagers would have helped her gather 100 Million berries, and they could have freed their village by now.

"Tell me about your trouble. I promise to help you. If you worry that I would get involved and get myself killed, then you should not. No one in the East Blue can defeat me in a fight. No one! (Maybe smoker since he has Logia Devil fruit, but Luffy didn't tell Nami) Whether it is Buggy the clown, Alvida, Don Krieg, even the one with the highest bounty, Arlong Pirates. I can smack their ass anytime, any day." Luffy tried to hint and was sure it worked. Nami looked at him hesitantly when she heard about the Arlong Pirates.

"You can't possibly wish to fight with Arlong and his group of Fishmen. They are monsters of the deep sea. No human can match their power." Nami refuted Luffy's claim, her voice filled with hate.

"Ah, so your trouble has something to do with the fishermen." Luffy gave her a knowing look.

"You know about my gramps Monkey D. Garp, right? He is a world hero. He could kill fish-men like Arlong with a flick of his buggy. I was trained by him and Shank's who is one of the four Yonko. You should have some faith in me. Arlong is nothing but flesh and blood. He would die ten times if we ever crossed paths."

Before Nami could refute him again, Luffy said, "You won't believe my words because you fear Arlong in your heart. That fear has reached the core of your heart. You believe that he is invincible, infallible but let me tell you this. No one is invincible in this world. Now please tell me what problems you have with him." Luffy placed his hand on her shoulder, looking right into her eyes.

Nami tears fell down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"He...Sob... Arlong and his men have captured my village Sob... They killed Bellemere-san. They... They...Sob..." Nami started spilling her heart in between crying. She told Luffy everything. About her past, her life with Arlong, and the deal she had made with him.

After she had finished speaking, Luffy took her in his embrace and let her pour her pain on his shoulders.

"Nami, don't worry. Your problem is now my problem. I will get rid of Arlong Pirates for you."

"What? No, you can't." Nami said, lifting her face from his chest.

"I'm this close to gathering the required money and free my village. We don't have to take a risk at this stage when everything can be solved without bloodshed."

"That's where you're wrong, Nami. Your problem cannot be solved without bloodshed. Tell me; you didn't think that Arlong would let you or your village go free after taking your money. I thought you were smarter than that. I know his kind, Nami. He won't let you go free or your village. Both are too precious for him to let go. Instead, he would either renege on his promise or use underhanded means to keep you with him. He could either have one of his corrupted friends in the marine to confiscate your money, which has a dubious origin. Or he could steal your money and then play ignorant."

Nami mouth fell wide open when she thought of that possibility.

"He is playing with you, Nami, and you know it. But you can't bring yourself to believe your heart. You still have that false hope that Arlong would keep his promise on his end. Sorry to tell you, but he is a pirate, the worst kind. No one should trust a word coming out of pirates like him." Luffy ruthlessly burst her bubbles.

"What should I do, Luffy?" Nami never felt this powerless. She kept going until now only because she had hope. I hope that Arlong wouldn't renege on his promise.

"Trust me. Let me help you. The first time I met you, I had already thought of you as my Nakama. I had promised to myself long ago that I will never let anyone hurt my Nakama, not even some ugly fish- men. I will kick his ass for making you cry. I promise you that."

Nami found no lie in his eyes, no deception. She only felt care and kindness for her in his eyes. Why? Would someone really go so far for his Nakama? Fight her battles? Why? They don't even know each other well? How can he promise her so easily? Was it just his nature? Probably. But am I worthy of his trust? Do I have anything to give him in return for his help? Do I have nothing?