Nami gasped for breath as she ran through the abandoned city. Her chest felt heavy, not only from the lack of oxygen, but also from emotional turmoil. What had Nami so distressed you may be wondering?

She was forced to abandon her companion.

After the two of them successfully snuck onto Buggy's boat and retrieved the map, they ran into a little snafu. And by snafu, I mean a big fucking bear. Nick had tripped over the thing as they made their escape and woke it up.

Things went downhill fast after that. Not only was the bear loud, it was surprisingly acrobatic. Who knew bears could do a backflip?

Nick started fighting the thing, only to get bitch slapped into the bar. He was fine, mostly. He then started chucking booze at it, which just made it even more angry. But it was now doused in alcohol. Very flammable alcohol.

I'm sure you can see where this is going. Nick set the thing on fire, which set everything else on fire. You might be thinking that setting it on fire would stop it, but you would be wrong. Oh so very wrong.

This bear in particular seemed to be flame retardant. Maybe because it was a circus bear? Nami didn't know, nor did she intend to ponder it at the moment.

Now fighting an angry, burning bear was noisy. Very noisy. So, it should surprise no one that several of Buggy's crew came to investigate. Apparently, the ship wasn't nearly as vacant as they believed.

Nick was in trouble, he knew it, she knew it, and frighteningly enough the bear knew it. Nami wasn't aware that bears could grin so maliciously. She was learning an awful lot about them, not that she ever wanted to in the first place.

Unfortunately for Nick, he was trapped. The bear had knocked him into the bar, which was on the side of the room. The exit, the one Nami was conveniently next to, was blocked by the bear, and the pirates were closing in on him from the other side.

He was boxed in.

So, he did the one thing he could think of at the moment. He told her to run. Nami could only stare in disbelief. This guy she barely met was willing to sacrifice himself for her. Why? It didn't make any sense. She wouldn't sacrifice herself for him, she knew that much for certain. There were too many people counting on her.

Nick sent her one last smile before loudly challenging the pirates and the bear. She was almost certain he implied their mother's slept with a variety of barnyard animals, and that was why they were so ugly.

Strangely enough, it was the bear that was most insulted by that remark. Seriously, she knew nothing about bears before this day.

Nami did the only thing she could do in that situation, run. At least that was what she told herself. Could she have brought out her ass whooping stick and show them why she called it that?

Yes, yes she could have. But did she? No, no she did not.

She ran. As fast as she could, trying the whole way to forget about his smiling face as she did so. It would be the last time she ever saw it and remembering it would only cause her pain.

Eventually, she had to stop for a break, taking in large gulps of air as she did so. She was bent over with her hands on her knees, completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

Looking up, the early morning sun illuminated the silent town, allowing her to recognize just where she was. She was near the docks, where her newly acquired boat was. The boat she acquired due to Nick. Well, due to his screw-up to be precise, but still technically due to him.

"No, stop it! Don't think about him right now! You got what you came here for, so just forget about him and get the hell out of here. It's only a matter of time until they come after you as well."

But try as she might, she couldn't take a single step. Her legs shook with the effort to move, but she just couldn't do it. She was stuck there, trapped by her own guilty conscience over a man she met barely a day ago. It didn't make any sense.

Logic and reason don't get along very well with emotion. They tended to argue over every little thing. She knew, logically, that there was very little she could do to save her friend, not know and not back then. Even if she had decided to fight them, there was little doubt she would lose, her stick would be next to useless against a bear.

Especially a bear on fire.

Who was also a ninja.

Even now, there was little she could do. Sure, she could try to negotiate for his release, using her pilfered items as a bargaining chip, but more than likely, Buggy would just kill them both. No, that was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

But she couldn't leave him either. She closed her eyes in frustration. Damn it, what the hell was she supposed to do?

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Fancy meeting you again girly," said a voice in front of Nami. Opening her eyes, she was met with the visage of three pirates, that just so happened to look familiar.

"Uh, who are you again?" she asked them. Ok, maybe they weren't that familiar, but come on, she stole from a lot of different people, you can't expect her to remember them all. Besides, they looked like generic background pirates so really, this was their fault.

"You bitch! How could you not remember us!? We met yesterday! You stole our boat!

Stole their boat? Oh, those guys!

Oh, those guys…

Nami crossed her arms around her chest, now remembering exactly who these guys were. They were the creeps who wanted to "inspect her chest." How could she have forgotten them already? She was just thinking about them. Her head was a real mess right now.

"Seems like that sparked yer memory, eh?" one said with a lewd grin. His eyes stared unblinkingly at her ample, bouncy chest. His hands made squeezing motions unconsciously.

Sometimes, being so beautiful was a curse.

"Listen, I don't have time for you creeps, so why don't you just scram?" she growled. Could this day get any worse? First she lost Nick, and now she has to deal with these assholes. Come on!

"I don't think so sweetheart, you still owe us something. And we're not leaving 'till we collect."

The three of them began to advance toward Nami, as she backed up until she hit a wall. That wasn't good. As she stared into the eyes of the would-be predators slowly surrounding her, filled with nothing but lust and vengeance, something in her snapped. Face twisted with she let loose a vicious snarl.

And kicked the lead pirate in the testicles.

"Ah, not again!" he wailed, bent over and clutching his bean bag in pain. It was so much worse than last time.

Nami used his body and rolled over his prone form to get out of the encirclement. She was no longer surrounded by them. But her vengeance wasn't over, her anger had yet to abate. So she kicked him in the beanbag, for the third and final time.

As the searing pain reached his brain, he promptly vomited, shit himself, pissed blood, and passed out foaming at the mouth. His friends could only stare in shock, outrage, and enormous amounts of pity. For they knew, deep within their male hearts, he would never be able to use his penis again.

Now enraged at their friend's impotence, they drew their weapons and attacked in a blind fury. The first swung his blade downward toward the beautiful thief. Nami knew she wouldn't be able to block, so she parried, using her three-piece bo staff.

His swing went careening left, and Nami used the momentum to spin her body, and her stick, straight into the back of his knee, bringing him down to said knee. Then she spun in the opposite direction, and swung her staff into his face, making it so his next bowel movement included his teeth.

"Alright, two down, one to go. I got this," Nami thought to herself, with a confident grin.

Sill mad, but more cautious than his comrades, the third pirate advanced slowly, swinging his blade from left to right. Nami managed to duck the swing, and tried to jab her staff into his face, only for him to shift his weight, and dodge out of the way.

They continued this for several more bouts, neither one getting the better of the other. Both were breathing heavily, staring at their opponent with caution. Then the pirate did something Nami didn't see coming. He chucked his blade at her.

With a panicked expression she managed to knock the blade away, only to realize it was a distraction. A realization that came too late.

The pirate charged her, grabbing her staff. She tried to yank it out of his grip, but it was too strong. With a savage grin, he kneed her in the stomach, and flung her to the side. Nami couldn't keep her grip and was forced to release her staff.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Coughing, she stared up at the pirate defiantly, even as he tossed her staff away. Her ankle was on fire. Hopefully it wasn't broken, and only sprained. Ironically, it was the same foot that made sure that first guy would never procreate.

"Just you and me now girly, your boyfriend ain't gonna save you this time. When I'm through with you, that little shit won't even recognize you."

He advanced toward the girl once more, dark intentions clearly on his mind. His grin grew more sinister with each step. Nami could only stare in horror at what was about to happen. He reached for her, and Nami shut her eyes.

"Nick… Someone… Help me…"

As if by some miracle, a loud explosion rang out. And by loud, it was near deafening. Both Nami and the pirate stared at the source in shock. It came from the tent set up in the middle of town.

"What the hell? That sounded like one of the Captain's Buggy Balls. Ah who cares, I got more important things to worry about. You ready girly? I'm gonna show you what a real man is. Wait, where did she go?"

Nami had used the momentary distraction caused by the blast to stagger away, hobbling down the road as quickly as she could. Her foot was on fire and felt tight against her boot. It was definitely swollen.

She turned into an alley littered with debris. Damn pirates make a mess wherever they go! Now she had to be extra careful, she couldn't afford to trip and fall.

"Don't think you can get away from me! When I find you, I'll make you wish you were never born! Once I'm done with you, I'll take you back to the crew, and they can take turns breaking you! Do you hear me!"

Nami did her best to drown out the threats. It wouldn't do to dwell on what could be, and she would make damn sure it never came to pass. She shuddered just thinking about it, all those yellow, scurvy ridden teeth, smiling as they took turns with her. She was sick just thinking about it.

She made her way through the alley, making sure she didn't go in a straight line, wanting to make her capture as difficult as possible. It wasn't doing her ankle any favors, but it had to be done.

Turning another corner, her eyes widened in horror at the dead end. Shit, shit, shit! This wasn't what she needed right now. Turning quickly, she made her way back the way she came. Unfortunately, in her haste, she did the one thing she didn't want to do.

She tripped.

She yelped as she fell, a loud clinging noise ringing out through the otherwise silent town. She had tripped on a can and sent it down the alley in the absolute loudest way possible.

Her eyes widened, and she held her breath, hoping he didn't hear it. But it was not to be.

"I've got you now!"

Nami sprung to her feet, wincing in pain as she did so. She limped as quickly as she could, forgoing stealth entirely. It was now a mad dash out of the alley to find a place to hide.

But once again, fate was not on her side. Eventually, she came to another dead end, the alleyway filled with trash and broken things. The pirates must have dumped it here for some reason. What that reason was, she didn't care. She only cared that it was in her way.

Knowing she couldn't turn back; she began to climb. The adrenaline having numbed the pain in her foot she quickly ascended. She winced as she cut herself on something sharp but ignored it in favor of escape.

Just as she reached the top, and freedom was in her grasp, her progress was halted by a sharp pain in her ankle. Her bad ankle. Screaming in agony, Nami looked down, only for her eyes to widen in horror.

"And just where do you think you're goin'?"

Gripping her ankle tightly was none other than the pirate she was fleeing from. His crooked, yellow teeth on full display as he grinned maliciously at her.

Doesn't this guy ever give up? Take a hint already!

"Ah!" she screamed as he threw her to the ground, the exposed parts of her arms and legs scraping along the ground painfully. She struggled to get up, her whole body reeling in pain.

"This was fun and all, but it's time to give up. Don't worry, you'll come to enjoy it, I promise. Hehehe."

He approached her with big lumbering steps. He wasn't bothered at all by her hostile look, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it. The withering glare he sent her way thrilled him. He couldn't wait to break her rebellious spirit.

Just as he was a few feet away, and her fate seemed certain, a loud noise interrupted them once again. It wasn't the deafening sound of a cannon this time however, it sounded more like a person screaming.

Looking upwards at the source, both of their eyes widened in shock. A person! There was a person falling from the sky. But more importantly than that, he was heading right for them.

The goon made to get out of the way, but before he could take a single step, the other person barreled into him like a falling meteor. A massive cloud of dust erupted from the impact site, and Nami was flung several feet away.

Groaning in pain once more, she managed to get into a sitting position. Waving the dust away with a small cough or two, she could see a silhouette standing in the cloud. But who was it? The pirate, or the stranger?

"Hoo, that was close. I thought I was a goner for sure. But what did I land on?"

It was the stranger! Nami watched as he seemed to dust himself off, and placed an old, straw hat on his head. He looked down and blinked in confusion for a moment, before his eyes went comically large.

"Oh crap! Hey are you ok? I didn't mean to land on you. Say something!"

Nami watched with a sweat drop as he grabbed the pirate and began shaking him furiously, trying to wake him up. Part of her was hoping he broke his neck. The other part was hoping for the same thing.

After a few moments he seemed to give up, sweat dripping down his face. He has yet to notice Nami at all.

"Oh man, he's dead. I didn't mean to kill him. Guess there's just one thing to do. Hide the body, just like Dadan taught you."

If he really was dead, that was no skin off her back. She was just disappointed she wouldn't be able to diss out justice herself. Honestly, he got off lucky.

Nami watched in amusement as the kid, who seemed to be about her age, dragged the body over to the pile of garbage. He grabbed the top of the pile by stretching his arms and pulled, easily burying the evidence of his supposed misdeed. Well, if he wasn't dead before, he certainly was now.

She could only stare in wonder at what she just witnessed. How did he stretch his arms like that? Did she really see that, or was she hallucinating? Or could it be a Devil Fruit? She's heard of them before but has never seen one in action.

Her mind drifted to Nick, and an idea popped into her mind. If this kid had powers, maybe he could help her. Maybe she could save him after all. She just needed to convince this guy to help.

How hard could it be? Most men were more than a little eager to help her after all, why should he be any different?

At least the path was clear now. Well not clear exactly, but enough so that even she, with her bum leg, should be able to make it through without too much difficulty.

He wiped his hands in satisfaction of a job well done, and turned around, only to finally notice he has an audience. His sweat seemed to return as he stared at her, not saying a word.

Nami was able to get a good look at her mysterious savior. He has messy black hair, black eyes, and a distinct scar under his left eye. He was wearing a red vest with blue shorts, and sandals. And on top of his head was that old straw hat.

All in all, he looked like a country bumpkin.

Without saying a word, the straw hat stranger turned around and booked it the other way. "Hey wait! Agh!" Nami yelled. She tried to stand, only to fall back down from the stabbing pain in her ankle.

The new guy heard her cry of pain and stopped, turning around to look at her. She was grabbing her ankle, eyes scrunched up in anguish. Actually, she looked like she was in pretty rough shape all around. He wondered what happened to her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. Nami opened her eyes in surprise, seeing the guy now just feet from her. She was so distracted by the throbbing ache in her ankle, that she didn't hear him approach. That wasn't like her. She was really off her game today.

"Do I look okay to you?" she snapped grumpily. The boy only stared at her with a blank expression. Whether or not he was offended by her tone she couldn't tell.

Nami sighed, irritation leaving her body. It wouldn't do to piss him off, not when she needed him, "Sorry, I've had a rough day. Thanks for your help. I really do appreciate it." She gave him a dazzling smile.

He looked at her in confusion. He didn't remember helping her. What was she talking about? Is she stupid or something? He tilted his head in thought, using all of his brain cells to puzzle out the problem he was unknowingly given.

Nami narrowed her eyes at the individual in front of her. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly irritated at him. A loud growl distracted both of them from their thoughts.

To Nami, it sounded like a wild animal, hungry and ready to pounce. Her panicked eyes darted every which way, trying to find the threat. The growl sounded out again, allowing her to finally pinpoint its location.

It was coming from the boy, who was clutching his stomach. "Ah… I'm so hungry," he wailed, slinking to the ground. Nami only stared for a moment, completely flabbergasted that a human stomach could make that noise.

With a shake of her head she offered to feed him. "Really!" he shouted, jumping to his feet in excitement. Nami nodded her head, "Yeah, you did save me after all, so it's the least I can do. I'm Nami by the way."

He still didn't know what she was talking about, but he wasn't about to turn down free food. He gave her a big, toothy grin, "Shishishi, I'm Luffy. Nice to meetcha!"

----------------------------------------

A few minutes earlier

Buggy growled, dropping the henchmen he had used as a human shield. That bastard they had caught sneaking around his ship was more slippery than he thought. Even after all the torture they put him through, he was still able to escape. Worse than that, was the humiliation of having his own weapons, his precious Buggy Balls, used against him.

He would make him pay, of that Buggy was certain. It would be slow and agonizing. His death would not be flashy, it would be a warning to all who dared to cross him.

"Find him! I want him brought to me alive, do you hear me?"

Most of his crew, the ones that weren't dead or unconscious, groaned in response. Useless, the lot of them. Was there no one he could rely on?

"Allow me Captain," said a voice behind him. Buggy turned to see who had spoken, "Ah, Mohji, good to see you aren't as worthless as the rest. But I hope you know I won't tolerate failure."

Buggy left his threat hanging in the air, knowing by the fearful expression on his underling's face he had received the message loud and clear. He truly did love the fear he could inspire.

"Of course, Captain, I won't fail you. Come Ritchie, we have work to do," Mohji shouted with barely a frightened stutter. Out of the rubble emerged a massive lion. His once pristine fur was singed and matted, and he was pissed about it. Ritchie was a very vain lion, you see, and took great pride in his fur, so he was eager to seek revenge.

Mohji jumped on top of the lion, "Now Ritchie, find his scent. He can't have gone too far." The lion complied, and began sniffing around the rather large bloodstain. They could just follow the blood trail, it was rather obvious, but on the off chance he was able to hide, they didn't want to risk losing him. Neither of them wanted to suffer their Captain's wrath.

After a moment or two, Ritchie had the scent, and the two of them leapt off the building. Buggy watched them go with eager anticipation. Soon, he would have that little bastard back in his grasp.

"Captain, are you sure it was wise to trust Mohji with this task?" questioned Cabaji, who stepped up beside his Captain. Buggy just turned his eyes toward him, noticing he barely had a hair out of place, "I'm not worried. He knows what will happen should he fail me."

Cabaji nodded, fully aware of what befalls those who fail. It wasn't pretty, but it was flashy. He then turned to the Wheel of Death, the same one they had their most recent prisoner shackled to. Blood was still splattered against it, telling a tale of an unknown horror.

"Hard to believe this mess was caused by a falling bird," he mentioned, squatting down to look at the broken wheel, a clearly dead bird underneath the wreckage. He could hear a grinding noise behind him. Turning to see what it was, he paled when he noticed it was his Captain, grinding his teeth.

The clown stared at the offending creature with hate. The bird's neck was broken. Not surprising given the landing it made. But what was surprising, was that its neck was turned a complete 180 degrees. Someone, or something, had twisted the bird's neck. It was dead long before it ever reached the ground.

Whoever, or whatever did this, was going to pay. Right alongside that other bastard. Buggy would make sure of it.