(Warning! Pirates be doing pirate things)

Nami stared out of the window, watching as Nick and Zoro walked away from the mansion. She understood the plan, it was simple enough that even Luffy could understand it, but that didn't mean she liked separating.

Never split the party! That was just common sense.

Speaking of separating, "Where is he going?" she asked aloud, her voice dripping with confusion as Zoro started walking off in a random direction. Doesn't he know that's not the way to the shipyard?

"Something wrong?" a voice behind her asked. Nami turned around, eyes meeting with Kaya's. She was laying in her bed, having had an episode as they finished eating dinner. Merry and her helped her back to her room where she could rest.

"No, just watching the boys leave," Nami said, trying to assuage the other girl's fears. Kaya seemed to relax a bit at that, giving Nami a soft smile, "Are you worried about them?"

"What? Why would I be worried about them?" Nami asked, a bit too fast to be believable. The knowing smirk Kaya wore seemed to confirm those suspicions.

"Oh, so it's just Nick you're worried about, is it?" Kaya asked. Nami felt a bit of heat rise to her face, "I don't know what you're talking about," she denied, as Kaya giggled in response. It wasn't a very believable lie, especially considering the conversation they had earlier.

"If you say so," Kaya responded, mirth still in her eyes. Nami sighed and walked over to the bed, before sitting down on it. Her eyes then traveled to the other occupants in the room, "Honestly, I'm more worried about them," she said in a monotone voice, her eyes devoid of emotion.

Kaya followed her line of sight, and sweat dropped at the sight, "I-I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, trying to sound confident. But the nervousness of her voice told a different story.

Over in the corner were the other boys of their merry little group, namely Luffy, Usopp, and Akisu. They were making battle plans or something, but Nami had very little hope for their effectiveness, hearing how silly they were.

And just where do they plan to find a rabid raccoon? More importantly, what were they going to use it for?

"Alright, listen up men! It's time to put Operation: Booby Trap the House and Protect Kaya into play!" Usoopp shouted, standing up and standing proudly. But the others didn't look so impressed.

"That name's too long," Luffy complained.

"Yeah," agreed Akisu. But Usopp was having none of their sass.

"Silence! I drew the plans so I get to name it!" he shouted.

"Boo!" Luffy and Akisu shouted, causing Usopp to gain a tick mark. Nami could only sigh in exasperation as they devolved into pointless bickering. These were supposed to be the ones they counted on?

"It's nice to see them so lively," Kaya said with a giggle. She may have been nervous about the so-called operation they were planning, but it was nice to see them so animated.

Usopp was normally in high spirits when he saw her but that was mostly for her benefit. He did so to hide just how worried he was for her. She appreciated it, of course, but she liked seeing him being so genuine for a change.

"Right…" Nami muttered, not really agreeing with the other girl. She knew Luffy was tough and all, but it sure was hard to see him as dependable when he was pulling on another man's cheeks like that while a child gnawed on his leg.

Nami gave them a few minutes before she could no longer take their behavior. "Alright that's it! If you're going to fight, take it somewhere else!" she shouted, causing the three squabbling boys to halt in their fight.

"But Nami…" Luffy whined, as he and the others gave her the puppy dog eyes. But she was undeterred, pointing at the door with one hand, hand on her hip with the other.

"No, now leave. Kaya is supposed to be resting, remember? How is she supposed to do that with you fighting?" she commanded. Luffy and Akisu hung their heads, as a cloud of misery swirled above them. But Usopp only looked smug.

"That's right, all those who disturb Kaya's rest will be banished. So go on, shoo!" he said, making a shooing motion as he did so.

"I meant you too!" Nami shouted. Usopp turned to look at her bewildered, pointing to himself in innocent confusion, "Who, me?"

"Especially you! Now get out!" she yelled. The three of them booked it out of there as fast as they could, slamming the door open and almost hitting Merry in the process.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed as the three ran off down the halls. Nami stood there, panting in fury as the three morons left. "Idiots," she mumbled under breath, as Kaya giggled behind her.

"They certainly are lively, aren't they?" Merry asked, parroting Kaya's earlier comment while walking into the room carrying a tray with a tea kettle on it along with a cup and other essentials he used to prepare Kaya her tea.

"Aren't they?" Kaya said with a smile.

"Let's just hope they don't destroy the manor in their enthusiasm," he commented dryly as he made his way over to Kaya. His comment and delivery caused another round of giggles to escape the sickly girl's mouth.

"If they do, I'm not paying for it," Nami said with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the door the boys left out of. The other two occupants of the room felt a bead of sweat go down the back of their necks at her tone.

"R-right. Anyway, I've brought you your medicine, Miss Kaya," Merry stated, placing the tray down next to her on her nightstand.

"Oh, thank you Merry. You're too kind," Kaya said with a smile, as Merry began to pour her a cup of tea. He returned her smile with one of his own. "Nonsense, I'm merely doing my job."

Nami watched this with a curious glint in her eyes, "So, what kind of medicine is this exactly?" she asked, breathing in the aroma of the tea. It was really quite pleasant, she had to admit, and the tea itself had such a lovely shade of blue.

"It's called Velvet Blue. It's a special blend of tea leaves and spices procured from the North Blue, from a delightful island where flowers bloom year round, aptly named, Flower Island," Merry explained, as he finished pouring the tea.

"Sounds beautiful. I'd love to visit it someday," Nami commented.

"As would I," Kaya chimed in, sounding rather excited about the whole thing, as Merry added two sugars and a dollop of locally made honey to the tea to finish it off.

Once done, he carefully handed it to the young woman. She took it from his hands, gently blowing on it to cool it down. After a few breaths, she took a light sip.

"Ah, perfect as always, Merry," she said, eye's closed in contentment as she savored the taste of her tea.

"You flatter me, Miss," he responded.

Kaya took another sip and some color returned to her somewhat pale face. "Would you like some?" she asked Nami after noticing her staring. The orange haired girl gave her a grateful smile, "No thanks. You need it more than I do. If anything, I need a stiffer kind of drink," Nami joked.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Kaya said, giving another light chuckle. Merry watched the interaction with a smile on his face. It really did warm his heart to see his mistress with such a simple look of joy on her face.

But a loud crash distracted all of them, along with the sound of shouting. Nami groaned, recognizing the voices. "Just what do those boys think they're doing?" she groused. The three of them stared at the door, wondering if they would hear another cacophony of sound, but all they heard was silence.

Which was even more worrying.

"Should I go and check on them?" Merry asked, but his tone suggested he would rather do anything but.

"Someone definitely should," Kay said. But what she didn't say is who should do it. When the conversation died off, Nami turned around to see both of them staring expectantly at her.

"What? Why me?" Nami asked, or more like, whined. She had to deal with them enough, it was someone else's turn!

"Well you do have the most experience," Kaya said, somewhat nervously.

"Yes, you truly are the most qualified," stated Merry matter of factly. Nami glared at both of them, but seeing as neither of them were budging, gave a sigh of defeat.

"Fine… but don't blame me if they're doing something stupid," she ordered. The other two looked relieved, especially Merry, who already had to enforce some house rules on them once today, and didn't want to deal with the headache a second time.

"Thank you Nami," Kaya chirped. Nami rolled her eyes, heading out the door with a backward wave. "Yeah, yeah."

Time to see what those knuckleheads were up to. It didn't take her long before she could hear the shouts of the intellectually impaired.

"Hey, be careful with that!"

"Sorry," she heard Luffy apologize. Curious, she sped up her pace a bit, hoping to see them doing something that wasn't stupid.

"And just what are you three up to?" Nami asked as she finally spotted them. Usopp was sitting on top of a ladder with Akisu standing on a step below him. Luffy had his feet firmly on the ground, watching them with curiosity.

"Oh, hey Nami," Luffy greeted with his usual carefree grin. She watched as Usopp, along with Akisu, rigged up a pot of something above the door leading to the cellar.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked, feeling a familiar headache start to form. At least they didn't have a raccoon.

"Isn't it obvious?" Usopp questioned, not taking his eyes off the task he was doing.

"It's obviously something stupid," Nami said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Usopp gave a tsking noise as he gave her a side look, "Oh Nami, it must be nice going through life so simpleminded. So carefree. How I envy you…" he said with an exaggerated smug tone.

"Excuse me?" Nami said with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Akisu, seeing the aura of feminine fury building up around her, gulped in fear, and tried to get his brother to shut his mouth.

"Listen, if someone comes in through the cellar they'll be met with my patented, Super Secret Sticky Surprise! They won't know what hit them!" Usopp responded, looking exceedingly proud of himself.

Nami was less than impressed however, giving a sigh of resignation at his plan. "These aren't a bunch of kids trying to burglarize the place. These are hardened criminals. A childish ploy like that won't work," she explained.

"Don't you think I know that! This'll work, trust me. Besides, don't you remember how well our Dragon Tank MKll did against him," Usopp said, with a bit of heat to his voice, pointing at a certain rubber man. He didn't like his plans being doubted.

"Luffy's not a hardened criminal. He's an idiot. Big difference," she explained.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice," Luffy said with a pout. He wasn't stupid, he was just differently educated.

"Truth hurts," she told Luffy. But seeing as she was being ignored in favor of three morons intending to take on pirates with a bunch of kid pranks, she decided it was time to take her leave.

"Well good luck with that. If nothing else it might just slow them down," she said, walking away. The others gave her the stink eye, blowing raspberries at her behind her back.

"She's just jealous she didn't think of it first. Come one, let's get the rest of the house prepared," Usopp said. The other two agreed, and they began to fully put Operation: Booby Trap the House and Protect Kaya into motion.

About an hour later they were nearly done. Usopp grinned, once more on a ladder, rigging up another trap. This one contained a box full of angry bees. Don't ask him where he got it. He was placing it above the front entrance, the door opened to allow him to properly set it.

It was perfect, at least in his mind. After all, who expected bees to fall on your head when you opened a door? No one, and that's exactly what made it so diabolical.

He really was too smart for his own good. "Well, what do you think? That ought to protect Kaya," Usoop said, turning to his companions who were covered in various amounts of grime. Akisu with paint. And Luffy with feathers.

Yeah, they had a bit of an accident or two.

"This better have been worth it," Akisu huffs, dripping yellow all over the floor, glaring at the long nosed man. Usopp let out a nervous laugh, coughing into his hand.

"Don't worry. They won't know what hit them!" Usopp reassured him. But then, a loud rumbling noise distracted them.

"Are they here already!?" Usopp screamed, looking around in panic, nearly falling off his ladder. When the noise showed up again, he and Akisu looked right at Luffy, who was holding his stomach in despair.

"So hungry…" he moaned.

"You just ate!" Usopp yelled, while Akisu watched on in disbelief. It shouldn't have been possible for such a glutton to exist, and yet, he was standing right before his eyes.

"Nuh uh! That was forever ago. And all this running around made me hungry again," Luffy explained. The other two could only stare in disbelief. How was it possible to keep someone like Luffy fed? It would take some kind of miracle.

Or a whole lot of Beris.

"Ugh, fine, let's go get a snack from the kitchens. Just give me a sec to finish this up," he agreed. Luffy cheered happily at the promise of more food.

As Usopp finished setting up his final trap, a massive explosion rocked the house, the surprise making him fall off the ladder this time. He yelped in pain as he hit the floor.

"What the hell was that!?" Usopp shouted in fear, rubbing his head in pain. The explosion was so bright, that for a second, night had become day. He and the others ran to the window, eyes widening in shock and horror at the enormous flames coming from the shipyard.

"Hey, isn't that where those other guys went? Think they're ok?" Akisu asked with worry. Usopp turned to his frightened younger brother, trying to gather the courage to alleviate his worries, but Luffy's own concerned scream prevented him from doing so.

"Nick! Zoro!" he shouted, before taking off, sprinting towards the front door.

"Hey! Where are you going!" yelled Usopp, but Luffy wasn't listening. He charged through the still open door, heading straight for the shipyard.

Nami, who was with Kaya and Merry, stared out of the window, eyes wide with horror. The whole sky was lit up with a violent orange and she was certain she could hear the crackling of the flames, even from here.

"Nick…" Nami said quietly. She hoped her friend was ok, but that explosion was something else. She's never seen one so big.

"Oh my…" muttered Merry, coming to stand next to Nami staring out of the window as well.

But the one who was most distraught was none other than Kaya. "This… this is all my fault," she said. Nami and Merry turned to her at the sound of her voice, seeing her sitting up in her bed, staring out of the window with her hands covering her mouth and tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Hey, this isn't your fault," Nami said, but when Kaya didn't respond, she walked to the bed and sat down once again, taking the younger girls hands in her own. That drew her attention, and she turned her tear filled eyes towards the orange haired girl.

"Nami…" she muttered, sniffing slightly. The sight of despair on her face broke Nami's heart. She had to do something to make her feel better.

"Listen to me, none of this is your fault, ok. Not a single bit," she said, but the look in Kaya's eyes said she didn't believe her.

"But if I just agreed to marry him, none of this would be happening. Nobody would have to suffer because of me," Kaya cried, tears now freely falling from her face.

"Oh, Miss Kaya…" muttered Merry. The young lady really was too kind for her own good. Even after all her misfortune, she still places the well-being of others ahead of her own.

"Any man who has to use threats of violence to get a woman isn't worth the time of day. Let alone marrying. He's just a pathetic creep. And I promise, not a single person on this island would want to see you suffer for them," Nami promised.

"B-but…" Kaya hiccuped and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but no matter how many times she wiped, more just fell to replace them.

"No buts. Everything is going to turn out fine, you'll see. Nick and Zoro are just fine, and if anyone shows up here, Luffy will send them packing," Nami assured her with a grin. That seemed to do the trick, as the tears finally stopped falling.

"T-thank you, Nami. I-Oh, thank you too Merry," Kaya said, taking the tissue Merry offered and blowing her nose. Nami smiled as the girl calmed down, as was just about to say something when Usopp burst into the room.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Luffy's gone!" he shouted, out of breath. The others stared at him as he stood there panting. But when his eyes met Kaya's, he shouted in concern. "Kaya, what's wrong!?"

He ran up to her and began looking her over, making the distraught girl giggle at his worry, a happy blush on her face. "I'm ok, Usopp, really."

"Oh, that's good. You had me worried for a second there," he said, taking a step back from the girl. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, slowly becoming lost in the moment, before an angry ginger interrupted them.

"Hang on, what were you saying about Luffy?" Nami asked. Usopp snapped out of his trance, blinking in confusion at the angry woman, before her question sunk into his mind.

"Oh, right! When Luffy heard the explosion he ran out the front door. Probably to go check on the others," Usopp responded.

"That idiot!" Nami growled, frightening the others in the room from her pure rage. "We were counting on him to make sure nothing happened here. Now what are we supposed to do?"

The others watched her pace around the room fuming, before she stopped and her eyes landed on Usopp. He gulped, and his knees started shaking. She looked like she wanted to kill him.

"But I'm too young to die!" he screamed in his head. Nami stalked up to him and he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. But when all she did was start to pull him towards the exit, he opened them, confused and relieved at the same time.

"Come on! Without Luffy it's up to us. Merry, you stay here and look after her, would you?" she asked, leaving out the door.

"Hey, wait a second!" Usopp shouted.

"Of course," Merry agreed.

Once the two of them left, Merry locked the door. They could still hear Usopp screaming as he was dragged down the hall.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Kaya asked with concern, eyes red from crying.

"We can only hope," Merry responded.

*Line Break*

Nick and Zoro popped out of the water, clinging to the shore as they dragged themselves and Pett out of the sea. Nick started coughing up water as he flopped over, completely drained from the ordeal.

"You still alive?" he asked Zoro after a minute, panting for breath. The swordsman was sitting there, staring at the burning ship, eyes reflecting an equal amount of anger to the roaring blaze.

"What do you think?" he asked. Nick gave him a look but didn't say anything further. He was alive, and that was good enough for him. He forced himself into a sitting position, as he too stared at the inferno.

"Well shit…" he said. Well, at least he didn't have to be worried about Pett getting upset about the holes he put in the ship. Because, you know… it was burning.

"Come on. We need to get back to the others," Zoro said, standing up. He was right, Nick knew that, but his whole body protested the very thought of more movement. Not only did it likely have rabies from Buchi biting him, it was also severely waterlogged.

But since when did he listen to his body? That thing was an idiot. If he took his advice, Nick would eat nothing but cake, pizza,and peanut butter for every meal. And as good as that sounded, he needed more than that.

You know, like vegetables and stuff. Fruit too, probably. Especially if he was going to be sailing around the world. If he got scurvy and lost all his teeth, then Nami might not want to get kissy with him.

And that just couldn't be allowed!

"Right. Guess there really is no rest for the wicked, is there?" Nick joked, as he forced himself to his feet. It felt like he just spent several hours lifting heavy weights, but that wouldn't stop him.

"We should probably get the old guy somewhere safe first," Nick said, looking at the pale form of Pett as he struggled to take in air. He most likely got some water in his lungs to go with the blood. Not good.

"Right," Zoro agreed. Together, the two of them flung the older man's arms over their shoulders once more and began to carry him out of the shipyard. As they reached the halfway point, they could see lights in the distance.

"Guess the whole town is up now, huh?" Nick said, as they continued to leave. The lights, likely torches, were coming closer and closer to the shipyard. Whoever it was would be upon them soon enough. Hopefully, they didn't mistake them for the arsonist.

"Can you blame them? My ears are still ringing…" Zoro complained. Nick chuckled, feeling the same. And he thought the tinnitus he got from fighting the damn cat was bad, it didn't hold a candle to this. His head was pounding worse than when he woke up in the jail cell in Shells Town.

Fuck that hangover hurt. And the vomit stunk to high heaven. So did his shit bucket. So did he from the piss covering his everything… Maybe it was best to just forget that time of his life…

Although, he did meet Nami there, so it wasn't all bad.

"Hey, there's someone over here!" shouted a voice, dragging Nick out of his reverie. Probably for the best, as he was starting to think of Nami again, and we all know where that leads.

Hearing the man shout, several people came running, until Nick and Zoro were staring down a multitude of people.

"Who the hell are you people? Are you the ones responsible for this?" one asked, anger and fear present in his voice in equal measure. He and the others were all carrying makeshift weapons, such as shovels, hammers, broomsticks, and one guy had a fucking frying pan.

Not that Nick would dismiss the humble frying pan. He watched DBZ. He saw what Chi-Chi could do with one of those things.

"Damn it, we don't have time for this. What a pain in the ass," muttered Zoro, growing frustrated by the slow progress they were making. If he was on his own he could have been back at the mansion by now. But he had to get Pett to a doctor and make sure Nick didn't get lost again.

"What did you say!?" shouted a villager. They all gripped their "weapons" tighter, ready to use them at a moment's notice.

Feeling an escalation about to happen, Nick decided to be the voice of reason, as terrifying as that thought is, and try to calm everybody down.

"Listen, we don't have time to explain everything. Kaya hired us to stop the attacks, that's the gist of it. The shipyard was attacked and several people have been killed. We also need to get this man to a doctor," Nick explained, calmly and quickly.

The group of angry villagers started murmuring and glancing at each other, unsure of what to do. This is the problem with crowds, everyone expected the next person to be the one to do something, and so nothing ever gets done.

"Hang on a second, isn't that Pett?" questioned some rando from the crowd.

"Hey yeah! What happened to him?" questioned another.

Nick quickly grew frustrated at the morons standing around waiting for someone to make a decision, and decided to abandon the voice of reason. That guy was a loser anyway.

"Oi, he needs a doctor not a bunch of layabouts with their thumbs up their asses! So either go get one or tell us which way to go, I don't care which!"

The crowd took a step back in fright, but did little else. It looked as if Nick and Zoro would have to just force their way past the crowd until a voice spoke up.

"No need to shout, I'm right here," stated a somewhat elderly voice. The crowd parted, and a middle aged man walked through them, wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. His hair was thin and combed over, with a scraggly, unkempt beard covering his face. He wore a pair of thick glasses, and the rest of his clothes looked disheveled, like he threw them on in a hurry.

Which he probably did.

"Figured somebody would need medical attention so I made my way over here right away. You can call me Shingo. Now, let me see the patient," he said, walking up to the two of them.

"Well it's about tim-" but Zoro's admonishment was interrupted by the sound of another explosion, this one coming from town. The whole group looked up, seeing smaller, but no less concerning flames erupting from inside the village.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Nick said. He vaguely remembered that pirates were supposed to invade the town in the anime, but they never got to do so thanks to Luffy and the others. But it looks like things were a bit different this time.

"Shit. Come on, let's go," Zoro said, eyes meeting Nick's. A silent communication happened between them, and Nick nodded his head in agreement.

"Right. Hey doc, take care of the old guy would you? He's been through a lot," Nick said, as he and Zoro gently lowered the man to the ground. The doctor looked bewildered for a moment, staring at the clearly injured men.

"What? But you can't go out there. You need treatment of your own. Hey!" he shouted, as Zoro ignored him, walking through the crowd of people who eagerly moved out of the way for him, his angry face parting them like the red sea.

"Come on doc, don't you know the wicked never get to rest? Hell, it looks like they're working overtime tonight," Nick joked, moving past the doctor. Nobody stopped him either as he made his way through the crowd of onlookers.

"We'll send anyone we find this way, alright? So be prepared," Nick said, as he and Zoro began to run towards the town. Shingo stared at them for a moment, before a cough reminded him of the situation at hand. He could gripe about them later, if they lived. Right now, he had a job to do.

As the two sped towards the town, Nick hoped Zoro's battle sense would keep him going in the right direction, because he didn't have time to look after him if he got lost. Unknowingly to Nick, Zoro was having very similar thoughts about him.

After a few minutes of running, they finally saw the town, stopping to take in the carnage in front of them. People were screaming and pirates were cheering. "Tsk, bastards. Come on, let's take out the trash," Zoro said. Nick agreed wholeheartedly, even if his body was still trying to get him to stop.

"Don't worry, I got your back," Nick said. But before the two of them could charge into the fray, Nick spotted something leaning against the fence, something that made his face split into a grin.

*Line Break*

A young woman ran with everything that she had, holding her young daughter's hand as they made their way through the chaos all around them. The smell of smoke stung her nose and the sound of screams traumatized her ears as people she knew and loved, people she had known all her life, died all around her.

"Mommy, I'm scared!" cried her daughter. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she tried her best to keep up with her mother.

"I know baby, but I need you to be brave right now, ok? We have to keep moving," she said, trying her best to keep her emotions in check as they desperately tried to escape the village. It was made all the harder from the feminine pleas for mercy she could hear as they were violated.

Nothing would ever be the same. Their whole world was turned upside down in a single moment. But as long as she could assure her daughter's safety, she would overcome this.

The edge of the town was in sight, and she could feel hope rising in her chest. They were almost free from this nightmare. Just a little more, and they could escape to safety.

But hope was an easy thing to lose, and life likes to find any opportunity it could to snatch it away. The daughter, already struggling to keep up with her mother, tripped over her own feet, landing hard on the ground.

"Mary!" shouted the woman in panic, stopping to get her daughter. The young girl pushed herself to her hands and knees, rubbing her eyes as tears started to fall.

"Owie! Mommy it hurts!" she cried as she began to ball her eyes out. Her mother knelt down, grabbing her into her arms, intent on picking her up and carrying her.

"I know sweetheart, but we need to go, now!" she shouted. She stood up to continue her escape but her path was blocked by a large, rotund body.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he asked with a sneer. The man in front of her was dirty, with a shirt three sizes too small that was unable to cover his entire stomach. He held a cutlass in one of his hands.

A cutlass covered in blood.

"S-stay away from me!" she shouted, backing away from the ugly, dirty man. But her pleas only seemed to amuse him. He advanced with a hungry look in his eyes, licking his lips as he looked her up and down.

"Aw, come on… Don't be like that. Why don't you ditch the brat and the two of us can have a real good time?" he suggested, though it wasn't really a suggestion. She knew her compliance wasn't a factor.

She continued to back away, looking for a way to escape, which only got a chuckle from the man stalking her. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. The choice is yours," he said with a sick smile, taking perverse pleasure from her fear.

"No! Don't come near me!" she shouted as she turned to run. But before she could take more than a single step, a sharp pain was felt from her head. She dropped her daughter, hands going to her head to try and remove the hand gripping onto her hair.

"Ahh! Let go!" she cried, but she would once again be ignored. The sad excuse for a man forced her face down into the ground, pinning her there with his same sick smile.

"You know, I'm kind of glad you wanted to do this the hard way. I just love the thrill of breaking in a stubborn bitch like you," he said, before licking her cheek. The tears fell freely from her face as her gaze met her terrified daughter's.

"Run Mary! Run!" she screamed, as the man above her began to tear her clothes off. But the panic-stricken girl couldn't bring herself to move, sitting there petrified as her mother was reduced to a sobbing mess, unable to stop the man from taking what he wanted.

"Don't worry little girl. Your mommy will come to like it soon enough, I promise hehehe," the man grinned, his putrid breath making the woman want to vomit. Actually, everything about the man made her want to vomit.

Her dress was in tatters by now, and the man couldn't wait to claim his prize any longer. He began to undo his belt, fiddling with the buckle when he was struck in the head by something hard.

He landed on the ground next to his victim, cradling his skull. He brought his hands in front of his face, and saw them covered in red.

"Ah, fuck that hurt! Alright, who's the dead man?" he screamed, looking around for his attacker, only to receive a boot to the face. His head slammed back into the ground as he let out another curse. But his tirade was cut short by something pressing against his throat.

"You know, I really can't stand guys like you. Gives the rest of us a bad name," said a deep, angry voice. The pirate opened his eyes, staring at a tall, brown haired man with blue eyes.

But it wasn't the color that frightened him. No, it was the sheer emptiness of them. There was no anger, no hate, no sadness, no joy; nothing. The windows to his soul were completely devoid of emotion.

He tried to speak, but the object pressing on his throat increased its pressure. Looking at it, he saw it was a shovel of all things.

"Shh, shh, shh… Don't talk. I don't want to hear anything you have to say," the man said, the tone of his voice just as empty as his eyes.

"You know, a friend of mine once asked if I would have killed a man who threatened to rape her. Do you know what the answer was?" he asked, picking his foot off the ground, raising it up as if to stomp on something.

The pirate's eyes widened as he realized what that something was. He tried to remove it, tried to plead for his life, but all his attempts were futile, his cries nothing more than wind.

"The answer was yes," he stated, before bringing his foot down on the step of the shovel. The pirate had just enough time to widen his teary eyes before his head was severed from his body.

The man stared at the decapitated figure for a moment, before turning to look at the mother and daughter duo, who were currently clinging onto each other for dear life. He casually walked over to them, trying to appear less intimidating than he was.

A rather difficult thing after removing a guy's head with a shovel.

He stopped in front of them, with the woman hugging her daughter close. "Please, do what you want with me, just don't hurt my daughter," she begged. The man felt his heart drop at the broken tone of her voice.

Looking to his left, he spotted a jacket on the ground. He walked over to it and picked it up. It was a bit dirty, but it would have to do. He wiped it off as best he could before making his way back to the pair. He then gently placed the jacket over the woman, doing his best to ignore the flinch she made as he did so.

The woman was waiting for the torment to continue, but when nothing happened, she opened her watery eyes and saw a brown, leather jacket covering her frame. Confused, she turned back to the man, seeing him give her a kind, reassuring smile.

"Hey there's no need to be afraid. My name is Nick, and I'm not here to hurt you, I promise," he said, as tenderly as he could. Her eyes were wide, filled with disbelief, as the man spoke once again.

"We're sending whoever we can to the shipyard. There's people already there and it should be safe. Do you think you can make it?" he asked kindly.

"I…I…" she said, but couldn't force any more words from her mouth. Nick then turned his attention to the little girl, hoping he could get her to help the traumatized woman.

"Hello there, what's your name?" he asked. She poked her head out from behind her mother's arms to stare at the man. Seeing as he wasn't trying to hurt them, she gave a timid, quiet response.

"M-Mary."

"Well it's nice to meet you Mary. I'm Nick. Now, do you think you can do something for me?" he asked. She sniffled, and wiped the tears from her eyes, giving him another nod.

"Great. What I need you to do is help your mother here get to the shipyards? Only a big girl can do this, and only if she's brave. Can you do that Mary? Can you be brave for me?" he asked. Mary's eyes widened before she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. Once he could see them again, they were filled with nothing but determination.

"Yes! I can be brave for mommy!" she shouted. Her mother nearly burst into tears again at hearing the courage her daughter was displaying. Nick gave her a grin, before standing up to his full height.

"Atta girl. I knew I could count on you," he said, making her grin back at him. He then held his hand out for the woman to take. It took her a moment, part of her still not believing she was just saved right in the nick of time.

But she eventually took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Once she was standing, she clung to the jacket as tight as she could to hide her bare skin as much as possible.

"How can I ever thank you?" she asked, with tears of gratitude, rather than despair, threatening to fall from her eyes. Nick looked confused for a moment, before another soft smile lit up his face.

"Tell you what. Make sure she grows up big and strong, and we'll call it even. Alright?" Nick asked, as he walked around the pair, seeing Zoro cutting down a couple more pirates in the distance.

The woman looked down at her daughter, who gave her a big, happy smile in return. The world around them might have been burning down, but they were given a second chance, and she would make sure not to waste it.

"Yeah, I can do that," she said softly. But her daughter wasn't nearly so soft spoken in her gratitude.

"By Nick! Thank you for saving my mommy and me!" she shouted. Nick smiled, giving them a backwards wave as he walked further into the hell raging all around them.

Nick made his way over to Zoro, counting no less than five bodies surrounding him. Dude really got to work when he was motivated. He whistled with appreciation as he came to stand beside him.

"Whew, not bad. Not sure I even need to be here," he said, placing his shovel over his shoulder. Zoro glared at him from the corner of his eye, swiping the blood from his blade.

"Don't even think about leaving. If I have to deal with these clowns, then so do you," he said. His gaze then went to the shovel the other man was carrying. "Still can't believe you stopped to pick up that thing."

"What do you mean? What else am I supposed to use to dig a grave?" Nick said with a chuckle. Zoro rolled his eyes, but he had a smirk on his face nonetheless.

"Well, I hope you're ready to do a whole lot of digging," he said, staring at the crowd of pirates who gathered around them. Nick stared at the group of assorted thugs, thieves and ne'er-do-wells, a light smirk still on his face.

"Aw you got me a present? You shouldn't have?"

Zoro snorted in amusement, but the rest of them weren't so happy about his words. "What did you say, asshole!? Just who do you think you are!?" one of them shouted. Nick grinned, eyes alight with mischief.

"I'm glad you asked!" Nick shouted, spinning his shovel like a staff, its movements little more than a blur.

"You wish to know of my identity? Then open up your ears and listen well, for I will only say this once!" he shouted, making a pose, as everyone watched flabbergasted.

"I am the man unrivaled in all the blues! The very heavens themselves tremble at my name!" he continued, spinning his head around in a circle like he was at a rock concert.

"Men wish they could be me! Women wish they could be with me! Defeater of clowns and furries alike, even babies stop crying to stare at me in awe! I am…" Nick began hopping back and forth on one foot, doing some kind of dance.

He then stopped, making another pose with his hand facing his opponents open palmed with the other still holding his shovel behind him. He gave them a massive grin before shouting his name for all to hear.

"Big Dick Nick!"

Silence. Complete and utter silence greeted him after his introduction. It lasted for several seconds, with the only sound the crackle of the fire around them.

"Who?" one of them eventually asked, making Nick fall to the ground. Zoro smacked his forehead in frustration. "Damn moron…"

Nick should have expected that. It's not like anyone would actually know who he was or his rather excellent impersonation of Jiraiya. But it still stung his ego.

"So you've never heard of me, huh? Well after today, you'll never forget me. Those who escape with their lives that is," Nick muttered while rising back to his feet.

"Ooh, we're so scared. Look at us, we're trembling," mocked another guy. Nick's left eye twitched, and he promised to himself that that loudmouth would be the first to die.

"And what about you, tough guy? You gonna do a little dance for us too?" laughed the same guy, followed by the rest of his circle jerk buddies.

"Nope. I'm just going to kill you," Zoro said, making most of them shut up. Nick however, rolled his eyes at his partner.

"Oh come on Zoro, what's wrong with a little showmanship?" Nick teased. Zoro wasn't having any of it, as he scoffed at the idea.

"What's the point? They're all about to die anyway."

As the two of them started arguing the merits of styling on their opponents, one goon was able to put a few things together.

"Hang on a second, I've heard of that name before… Yeah, green hair, green haramaki, and three swords… Oh shit! You're the Pirate Hunter! Roronoa Zoro!" he shouted. Upon hearing this, Zoro and Nick stopped arguing, and the now revealed Pirate Hunter gained a smirk.

"Oh so you've heard of me, have you? How about that?" he said, emphasizing the me part. He gave Nick a mocking grin, who grit his teeth in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll be more famous than you some day!" Nick yelled.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that," Zoro said, accepting his challenge.

"Argh! Curse you and your hip attitude… That's it, I challenge you! I bet I can kill more of these two-bit thugs than you," Nick yelled, pointing his finger at Zoro. The aptly named thugs glared at him, with several shouting expletives, but they were completely ignored.

"Hn, sounds interesting. What are the stakes?" Zoro asked with a cocksure grin on his face.

"Hmm… Let's see… Oh, I know! How about whoever loses has to be Luffy's babysitter the next time we land on an island with a large town?" Nick suggested. At hearing the stakes, Zoro actually gave a pause.

Dealing with Luffy when it was just them was hard enough, but in a crowded city? That would be next to impossible. Hell, he even got damn near eaten by a bird on their way to an island. Did he really want to risk babysitting him in place crawling with people and things that would easily distract him?

Seeing Zoro's hesitation, Nick gave a grin, "Ah, don't tell me the great and powerful Pirate Hunter is scared? Bawk bawk bawk," Nick mocked, making chicken sounds. Zoro gained a tick mark and glared at the older man.

"Fine, you're on! But don't come crying to me when you're stuck with him!"

The two then shook hands, cementing the agreement. Each one gave the other a smirk, confident they would be the one to come out victorious. But that was only the outward appearance. Inwardly, Nick was freaking out.

"Gah, what the hell was I thinking! There's no way I can beat more guys than Zoro! Shit, now I'm going to have to babysit that hyperactive rubber moron!"

"Oi, quit ignoring us you bastards!" yelled a voice from the crowd, drawing Nick out of his thoughts. The two of them turned to face the group, and saw them seething with rage.

"Geez, what's your guys' problem?" Nick asked. This seemed to only provoke them even further.

"Maybe they're just eager to die," suggested Zoro, looking bored.

"It's sad to see so many people suicidal," Nick lamented.

"Do you really think you can take on all of us you cocky bastards!?" screamed some nameless dude in rage.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Zoro said with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes while placing his third sword in his mouth.

"You know, it might be difficult if one more shows up," Nick jested, as both parties readied themselves for combat. He may have been cracking jokes and making light of the situation, but that was just to contain the fury inside him demanding to be let free. The sight of everything around him making him angrier than he's ever been. Especially after saving that woman and her daughter.

So he was more than a little eager to engage in some violence.

"Guess that'll be the one I have to take care of then," Zoro responded. Nick smirked as the two of them charged at their opponents.