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Something Worth Dying For	By : slj812000 Category: +M to R > One Piece Views: 10730 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter Eight: Nami
Why had she done that?
Nami wrestled with an endless loop of thoughts. First and foremost was, why had she taken home a complete stranger and slept with him? In the East Blue? He could have been a homicidal maniac. Was she trying to die?
Maybe.
Nami contemplated that as she sat at her desk, staring blankly at the test before her. It was algebra; technically not very difficult subject matter for her. But she couldn’t bring herself to concentrate on it. The next turn in her loop of thought brought her to nine words that were still trying to dominate every thought in her head.
You, my dear, are going to become a Mermaid.
Those were bad enough, bringing her back to the inevitable depression and hopelessness that she had been struggling with before she had gone to get drunk in a park. But now another set of words were also rattling around in her head.
Just so you know, the name’s Sabo. And you can’t stop me from trying to help you.
Just another person who could get hurt, or worse, from being around her. Which inevitably brought her full circle with her thoughts to why she had ever brought home the stranger named Sabo in the first place.
Thankfully, she had never told him her name. He had nothing more to go on than that she was about to be a Mermaid for Fishman Village. He’d never find her boss’s stronghold. No one did, unless they knew a Fish personally.
But the words he’d said had pierced her deeply. She did want help. Very badly. But there was no such thing as hope for her. The best she could do was fulfill her duty as a Mermaid and keep Bell-mère and Nojiko out of the line of fire. All she had to do was give up everything.
Everything. Her family. Her friends. School. Life. Her future. Her dream…
When her mother had come home that Tuesday, Nami had been sitting in the hall, barely recovered from her bout of tears since the Sabo’s declaration. Obviously looking pretty bad, Bell-mère had asked her why she was in the hallway. Nami had answered mechanically that she meant to switch out her laundry. When asked why she felt the need to wash her sheets when she was obviously sick, Nami had lied and said she’d thrown up on them.
Bell-mère actually considered taking her to the hospital. Nami talked her out of it in the end, but she couldn’t talk her mother out of holding her at home the next day due to illness, exam reviews begotten. Nami had been held home from school for the rest of the week.
But when the following Monday came, Nami had insisted on going to school for exams, wanting to finish out the semester, though she knew she wouldn’t finish out the year. For some reason, Nami had felt compelled to complete it, if only for herself.
The boys had noticed too. They had all inquired as to where she’d been, and Zoro had even thrown a random insult on her appearance, but must have been put off by her lack of reply. The whole of the morning, they had been giving her worried glances. But she simply sat at her desk waiting for class to start and mostly ignored them. Still, once the first test was handed out, Nami’s mind fled her.
She forced herself to look at the first question. It was fairly easy; a simple find ‘x’ equation. But the effort to solve it was excruciating. Looking up at the clock, she saw she had wasted away a half an hour of test time. At this rate, she was never going to finish the exam.
Frustrated with herself, Nami laid her head on the desk. What was the point? Why was she so gung-ho about finishing out the semester? It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be returning after summer break so why was she sitting through these stupid exams?
Because she wanted to pretend for just a little bit longer that she was a normal teenage girl. She wanted to feel like this was the most important thing in her life right now, not the stupid promotion she’d been given. That today belonged to her and not some jackass head of the yakuza.
She sat up and concentrated on her test again. She got through a few more questions. She could do it. She kept telling herself that as she went through the questions as quickly as she could. Somehow, she made it through all of the test questions before the examination time was over.
Miss Nico gave her a look of concern when she turned in her exam. Nami ignored it and returned to her seat, waiting for the next exam to begin. Somehow, she made it through geography and grammar as well. When the final bell rang to release them, Nami was slow to stand and last to leave the room.
In the halls, three idiots awaited.
“Still grounded,” Nami spit out when she saw Luffy open his mouth. She knew he was going to try to talk her into doing something after school and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to put on a happy façade for them. She was not wrong.
“Can we walk you to work?” he asked sheepishly. “We never get to hang out with you.”
Nami sighed hard. That was the point. The more she hung out with them, the more dangerous it would be for them. And the worse it would be when she ultimately left them.
But then again…
She was going to lose everything in a matter of days. Why couldn’t she spend time with the only people who had ever tried to be more than just a general acquaintance with her? To say goodbye to them in her own way, even though they would not know it meant for a longer period than just for the night? After all, they were just asking to walk her to work.
“Fine,” she consented with a put on huff. She didn’t want them to think she liked them or something. Despite this, Luffy burst out into a huge grin while Ussop rooted for their success in the air. Even Zoro didn’t look too opposed to spending time in her company.
Together they boarded the train that sent them to a rare part of the city that was not completely under the control of Fishman Village. Not to say that it wasn’t claimed. Nami knew that the area that housed Smoker’s attorney’s office was formerly claimed by the Don Krieg. Formerly being the operative word, since the information she’d given to her boss that fateful day had been that the Don Krieg mafia had been recently ransacked by Garp’s men and were down to only twenty percent of their former ranks.
It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Her employer had sent his infamous Trio, Hachi, Chew and Kuroobi, to finish off the so-called mafia and claim the territory. That had been a week ago. No doubt, the area had come close to changing hands without Smoker being any wiser. But as to occupying the area, that took more finesse. Manpower had to be shifted from one area to another and was likely not done yet. Nami guessed that it would be another week or so before Fish started roaming the area.
It didn’t matter. She likely wouldn’t see any of it. It was a sobering thought, but Nami tried her best to ignore that fact. She somehow managed to smile and laugh at the typical antics of Luffy and Ussop on the train as they tried to rope Zoro into their craziness. They were not very successful.
When they left the train, Nami did a cursory glance out of habit to make sure her estimate on the move in time of the Fish was accurate. She didn’t want any Fish ratting to her boss about her hanging out with a bunch of people who could be classified as ‘friends.’ She didn’t need any more people to be able to be used against her.
Thankfully, she saw no one she knew. As they began walking towards Smoker’s office, Nami smirked at the boys, amazed that she was able to put maintain a pleasant mood. For some reason, she didn’t have to work as hard around them.
“So you rode the train all the way out here just to walk me to work,” she summed up as they turned down the street of Smoker’s office. Luffy grinned at her while Ussop nodded enthusiastically. “It was a sad waste of five hundred berries, if you ask me.”
“It was fun!” Luffy insisted.
“But you have to pay to ride back to the other side of town,” Nami pointed out. “If you think paying for things that are pointless is fun, I have a few things of mine you could pay for.”
Luffy laughed, unruffled.
“The food’s good out here,” Ussop put forth. “We could go get something to eat and head back.”
Nami shrugged and rolled her eyes. “So your answer to wasting money on a pointless train ride is to waste more money on food.”
“No money spent on food is ever a waste,” Luffy insisted, sounding very serious. Nami couldn’t help herself. She laughed.
“If you say so,” she conceded. She could see Smoker’s office across the street. “Look, if you want to visit the food district, it’s two blocks that way. I’m gonna go to work. Have fun.”
She gave the three of them a small wave as she casually checked for cars and jogged across the street. As she made it to the door, she looked back one more time to see the three of them still standing there and surprisingly, looking very deep in conversation. Well, as deep as those three could get, anyway, which Nami figured to be somewhere between the depth of a puddle and a pothole.
Stepping into the office, she was startled to be confronted immediately by her mother.
“What? Am I late?” Nami asked, looking around for a clock. No, she wasn’t late. It was only quarter to three.
“How were your final exams?” Bell-mère asked, trying to be nonchalant, but the stance she had with her hands on her hips gave her away instantly. She was in interrogation mode. For what, Nami had no clue.
“Fine I guess,” Nami shrugged. “Math, geography and grammar. Pretty easy subjects.”
“You look better than this morning,” Bell-mère told her. “You still feeling sick?”
“I’m fine,” she answered automatically. Nami had told her mother the same thing that morning in order to be allowed to go to school, but it seemed that Bell-mère had not been fooled.
“I’m not sure you should work today,” Bell-mère assessed. “Maybe you should take it easy.”
Nami shrugged. “I’ll go home and study if you want.”
Bell-mère put on a half-smile. “That’s not what I meant when I said take it easy.”
Nami gave her mother a confused look. “What do you want me to do? Read a book? There’s not exactly a lot to do at home.”
Bell-mère sighed and dropped her head. “For such a smart girl, you aren’t getting what I’m trying to say.”
When she looked up again, she pointedly looked beyond Nami out of the window. Nami turned to see the three idiots still standing across the street. They looked like they were arguing now.
“You want me to go hang out with my friends?” Nami guessed. “I’m ungrounded?”
Bell-mère smiled widely. “Ungrounded, but still curfewed. I want you home by nine. After all, it is exams week. And no fighting.”
“Okay,” Nami agreed, smiling at her mom. She could hang out with her friends today, and maybe tomorrow, splurge in her now useless cash collection and buy a decent dinner to have with Bell-mère and Nojiko. A kind of goodbye dinner or sorts. Saying goodbye in these small ways became suddenly very important to her. “No fighting. I promise. I’ll leave if the idiots start anything.”
Bell-mère ruffled Nami’s hair and pushed her towards the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That’s a short list,” Nami retorted as she stepped out the door, smirking at her mom. She crossed back to the other side of the street and bonked Luffy lightly on the head. “What are you guys arguing about?”
Luffy again looked very serious. “I want okonomiyaki. Ussop says that’s too boring and wants to go to a tonkatsu and Zoro just wants ramen.”
“We can’t decide where to go to eat,” Ussop summed up, but Nami had already gathered that. She sighed heavily and shook her head at them.
“You three are worthless without me,” she assessed, smirking. “Come on. Let’s go to a new shudoku that opened up recently. I think it’s called the Baratie.”
“Don’t you have to work?” Ussop asked, puzzled.
“I’ve been given the afternoon off,” Nami told them. “And, for today at least, I am ungrounded.”
Luffy let out a whoop and danced around in victory.
“Calm down, you idiot!” Nami chided, grabbing his arm to still him. “If you act like a hooligan, my mother will probably come out here and yell at all of us!”
As if on cue, all of them looked over to the windows of Smoker’s office and saw Bell-mère staring at them. She grinned widely and waved.
“Come on,” Nami said, pulling Luffy’s arm down the street. “Before she calls us out for loitering.”
They all walked down the street in the direction that Nami had pointed out earlier as the food district. They were slow to move along when they got there, since the guys were distracted by almost every food vendor on the street. But Nami kept nudging them along until they came to the shudoku called Baratie.
“This place looks to swanky for us,” Zoro complained at the sight.
“I swear this place will serve you ramen,” Nami told him, exasperated. “And it’s not too swanky. Just because we can walk in and sit down versus get it off a yatai—”
“Alright, alright,” Zoro interrupted. “Anything to get you to quit bitching at me.”
The four of them walked into the newly opened restaurant and looked around. It was small, as a shudoku typically was, but not crowded. It could easily hold a group of probably forty to fifty people. Since it was still early in the day, there were only a few patrons scattered about, none of which paid them any mind when they stepped in.
“Welcome to the Baratie,” greeted a young man around their age with golden yellow hair. “Shall I show you to—”
He stopped abruptly at the sight of them, even going so far as to drop the menus he was holding.
“Show us to what?” Luffy asked. “The closet? The bathroom?”
“The exit?” Zoro muttered under his breath. Nami elbowed him.
Suddenly, the blonde haired man dropped to his knees before them and clasped Nami’s hand.
“What beauty has stepped forth into our humble restaurant to grace us with her presence?” the blonde cooed at Nami. “I am forever a marked man as of this day, for I have never before and likely will never again see such exquisite elegance with these unworthy eyes.”
All four of them, even Nami, sweatdropped at the obvious over-complimenting.
“Uh, thanks,” Nami said, breaking the utter silence that had gone on since the speech. “Can you show us to where we may sit?”
He was up in an instant, though he did not let go of her hand, and guiding them to a large booth in the corner of the room.
“Forgive me, I was too stunned by the sight of this orange-haired beauty to remember my place,” the blonde spoke. “You look parched. Shall I fetch you a glass of water? No, perhaps a strawberry and honeysuckle lemonade? Surely such a sweet appearance speaks of a sweet tooth as well.”
“Water’s fine,” Nami replied, not sure how to take the overzealous compliments.
“Can we have water too?” Ussop asked. The blonde looked behind him to where the three guys were trailing them.
“Eh? What? Fine, I suppose,” he grumbled, then returned his attention to Nami. “I shall be back momentarily with your water, my angel.”
With that, the blonde scurried away, but still with a swagger than couldn’t be called anything less than ridiculous. Nami looked around at the three guys sitting with her in the booth and they all burst out laughing.
“He’s got it bad,” Ussop deduced, sniggering.
“What a moron,” Zoro supplied.
“I like him,” Luffy decided. “He’s funny.”
“He’s quite the flirt,” Nami agreed. “But I don’t think it’s all just for me. We need to see what happens when another girl comes in.”
Before anything else could be said, the blonde came back with their waters. He gently set Nami’s down while somehow managing to bow, whereas with the guys, he all but tossed the waters down onto the table.
“My dear lady, my name is Sanji, and I am here to serve you,” he introduced, handing her a menu since he’d dropped the others he’d had when they’d entered. “Tell me, what may I get for you to delight your senses?”
Trying very hard to hold a straight face, Nami glanced at the menu briefly. There was too much to choose from when put so suddenly on the spot.
“What do you recommend?” she asked. The blonde named Sanji almost danced with delight.
“Well, there are many dishes that are worthy of your palette, but if I may be so bold, may I suggest my own special concoction?” he offered.
Nami hesitated. This could be really good, or really bad. It could end up like a bento from a school girl with hearts and love signs incorporated throughout it and taste like ass, or it could be something really good. She let the usual thing decide.
“How much is it?” she asked.
“For such a gorgeous angel as yourself, it will be compliments of the house,” he told her. Well shit. It could be riddled with hearts and taste like burnt udon but as long as it was free…
“Sure,” she smiled, handing him back the menu. Sanji looked as if he were floating as he turned to head back to the kitchen.
“Hey you piece of shit!” Zoro snapped. “Take our orders too!”
Sanji spun back around in an instant and was face to face with Zoro. “You’ll get the scrapings off of my shoes and like it, you moss-haired cretin.”
Zoro stood to face Sanji and give him a piece of his mind but Nami grabbed him by his neck tie and pulled him back down into the seat.
“Three more specials please, Sanji-kun,” she requested in a voice that could only be called sickly-sweet. The effect was instant. Sanji straightened up into the well-behaved amorous waiter from before and began floating again.
“As my angel wishes,” he bade as he went to the kitchen.
“What the hell, woman?” Zoro demanded, dislodging his tie from her grip. “That asshole was asking for it.”
“Don’t get us kicked out for fighting,” Nami told him. “You definitely won’t get a meal then.”
“Didn’t want to come here anyway,” Zoro muttered.
“Hey, here comes another chick,” Ussop pointed out. Nami gave him a disparaging look. “Sorry, I meant girl.”
Indeed, another girl had walked in with what was obviously her boyfriend. Sanji appeared in from the kitchen and went over to the two, bowed lowly, and went as far as to kiss the girl’s hand, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. But no declarations of love.
“You must be special,” Luffy gathered, looking at Nami. She cringed.
“I swear, if any one of you lets this guy know my name, where I live, or what school I go to, I will bust your front teeth out myself,” she threatened. Zoro smirked at her.
“No problem,” he shrugged, an evil glint in his eye. “I’m sure he’ll be satisfied with knowing where you work.”
Nami raised an eyebrow. “Just as satisfied as everyone at school when they find out about the blender incident from seven years ago.”
Zoro’s grin dropped. He even paled a little. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“No I wouldn’t,” she shrugged. “Unless provoked.”
“What blender incident?” Luffy asked, his interest piqued.
Nami and Zoro stared each other down for a long minute. Zoro broke eye contact first.
“How do you even know about that?” he muttered.
“Smoker keeps extensive files,” Nami answered, gazing at her nails disinterestedly. “Dating back more than a decade. I know a lot of things about you, Zoro-chan.”
Somehow, Zoro got paler at that statement even as the anger at the endearment registered. Before any other comment could be made, Sanji appeared from the kitchen, his arms carrying two trays of food. Dish after dish was set onto their table until the entire surface was covered in food that looked straight out of a cookbook and smelled like heaven. Nami was relieved to see no bento hearts at all.
“Four specials,” he announced. The three guys dove in without preamble while Nami took her chopsticks in hand and smiled sweetly at Sanji.
“Thank you very much, Sanji-kun,” she thanked in that overly sweet voice. Nami swore she saw hearts in his eyes at her praise.
“This lowly one deserves no such praise…” he went on, but Nami was saved—sort of—from listening to it when Luffy made a grab at one of her plates. She deflected with the chopsticks, barely missing stabbing his hand.
“No way, piggy-boy,” Nami denied, having eaten with the guys before and knowing the food stealing would commence, “eat your own food or I will pin your hands to the table with my chopsticks.”
When Nami looked up again at the silent young cook/waiter, he was the one sweatdropping. Nami smiled sheepishly, knowing it must look terribly unclassy from his point of view. Wanting to eat her own meal before it cooled, Nami dug in.
It. Was. Amazing.
There was no question about it; Sanji could cook better than any other cook Nami had ever eaten from in her entire life. If he had been the one to cook. Deciding to test her curiosity, Nami looked again to Sanji, who was lingering near their table, in awe of the obvious lack of table manners shared by her three dinner companions.
“Sanji-kun,” she called to him. He was by her side in an instant. “Tell me how you made this wonderful dish.”
If he hadn’t made it, she was sure he would go on about it being a secret that he couldn’t reveal to any other soul or some bullshit like that. But instead of that, Sanji became another person entirely as he dropped down to their level and began describing the different techniques he’d used in cutting the vegetables, sautéing the meats, and seasoning the glazes. He looked like any other boy their age who was describing a long loved hobby.
The smile that she gave to him was genuine, and she was sure that the one she received back was too. No flirtations added.
Somehow, a chair was sidled up to their booth as they ate. Despite being a host/waiter/cook, Sanji spent quite a bit of time at the table with him. He and Zoro took cheap shots at each other, but otherwise the conversation at the table was amiable. Occasionally, Sanji would revert to his flirtatious self, but for the most part, he was just a nice guy.
It was nearly seven o’clock when a disturbance rocked the shudoku. A gruff, dirty looking man stumbled into the restaurant and sat himself at a table a few feet away from the booth where Nami and the guys sat. Doing his duty, Sanji stood and made his way over to the table.
It was the usual schpiel. Welcome to the Baratie. My name is Sanji. How may I serve you?
But Nami was tense as a bow string. She’d read that file she’d given to her employer front to back. She recognized the man instantly. Gin the Demon. The Don’s number two man. Known throughout the underground for his cruelty. An enforcer for the Don Krieg’s mafia. The list of suspected murders and connections with brutal assaults was two pages long.
The man, Gin, reached up and grabbed a fist full of Sanji’s shirt and yanked it down to his level.
“Listen here, boy,” Gin’s gravelly voice spoke, “you’re going to go back to that kitchen and get me a plate of something. I don’t care what. I ain’t eaten in three days, so you better be fucking quick about it. It ain’t wise to piss of one of the Don’s men.”
“The Don?” Sanji repeated, obviously unaware of who he spoke of.
“Krieg. The Don of this neighborhood,” Gin clarified. “The one you pay for protection.”
Sanji yanked himself out of Gin’s grip. “Sir. We pay no one for protection.”
Nami was shaking in her seat. So much so that Zoro had noticed. He was staring at her instead of the altercation that took place just one table away.
“Well, you can start by bringing me some fucking food,” Gin snapped, losing his patience. “And why don’t you empty your cash register while you’re at it.”
“I suggest you leave,” Sanji advised. “We only serve paying customers here.”
Gin stood abruptly from his chair, knocking it away. He tried to grab for Sanji again but the young man deflected Gin’s fist. Nami was just getting up from her seat to stop them and tell Sanji she’d pay for Gin’s meal when a man she hadn’t noticed beat her to the punch.
Literally.
The man had a long, braided mustache and a tall chef’s hat. He also had a shuffle in his walk that indicated that one leg wasn’t working as well as it should have. It did nothing to hinder his fist, though. The new man punched Gin hard in the jaw and sent him down to the ground.
The surprising thing was that Gin did not get back up. Nami looked on wide eyed as the ruthless enforcer of the Don’s mafia huffed on the ground, made two or three attempts to get up, but ultimately stayed there. Then it hit her: he’d no doubt had a run in with the Trio.
I ain’t eaten in three days.
The Trio had been exterminating the last of the Don’s mafia for the last week. No doubt, Gin had been in an altercation with one or two, or possibly even all three of her employer’s own enforcers and had to lay low. His usual strength and ferocity had been depleted and he had not been able to recover. Hence, his stopping in for a meal.
“As the boy said,” spoke up the chef, “we pay for protection to no one. And if all you have is idle threats to stand on and no real money, he’s right. You need to leave. Now.”
Gin began pulling himself up with the help of a nearby chair. The look on his face clearly stated that he wasn’t planning on leaving, and the chef must have noticed as well. He grabbed Gin roughly by the neck and dragged the man toward the door. With one final shove, Gin left their view.
Sanji and this cook had just made a very dangerous enemy. Nami looked to them, worrying for their safety. Whether or not this area was soon to become a part of Fishman Village or not, angering a former mafia enforcer would not go without consequence.
After the disturbance, Sanji did not immediately return to their table. Nami considered it a blessing, because what she was about to do was very stupid and she didn’t want to have Sanji following her like a lost puppy, like she thought he might.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” she told the guys as she stood from their booth. “Be back in a bit.”
Ussop and Luffy paid her no mind, already gossiping like old women about the altercation that had just taken place. Zoro gave her the disbelieving eye, but stayed seated. Nami went to the area indicated to lead to the bathrooms. Luckily, it was near the back exit, which was propped open by a plastic crate for air circulation probably.
Bypassing the bathrooms and stepping over the crate, Nami walked into the back alley that was full of garbage bins and back doors to other establishments. She was not surprised to see Gin at the opening of the alley, either trying to assemble his injured pride or trying to walk off his wounds unsuccessfully.
What she was doing was ludicrous. She had no business doing what she was about to do, but Nami had one fatal flaw: she inherently needed to take care of people. Sanji, in the short afternoon she had known him, had become someone she felt obligated to protect, the same way she had felt pushed to protect Ussop and Kaya despite knowing nothing about them beyond their names.
So Nami took a step towards the dangerous enforcer, fully intending on giving him the usual threat: this area was now protected by Fishman Village, and if he valued what was left of his life, he would beat it and not consider coming back. Her threat was going to be fleeting at best; she had no real power besides a mean fist to back her up against a man that was probably as dangerous as the men in her own yakuza, but hopefully, the threat would reach the beaten and battered Gin.
But before Nami could take a second step, she heard someone coming towards the back door from inside the restaurant.
“Eat shit, old man! I’ll do as I please!”
Nami recognized Sanji’s voice and internally cursed, hiding behind the semi-open door. Had he seen her go outside? Was he following her?
Sanji walked out of the door and headed towards the mouth of the alley, passing Nami unawares. Nami watched the blonde cook, perplexed, as he took a Styrofoam container towards the man who he had just kicked out of the restaurant.
Gin, who was no longer standing, didn’t seem to notice Sanji’s approach as he sat at the mouth of the alley clutching his middle. Only when Sanji stood directly next to him did Gin look up. The surprise was evident on his face.
“The fuck do you want?” Gin snapped. “Trying to get your own punches in?”
Sanji set the Styrofoam container on the ground in the space between them, and then sat down himself. From one side of his jacket he pulled chopsticks and from the other pocket, a pack of cigarettes. He set the silverware on the Styrofoam and slid it closer to Gin.
“I thought you might be more amenable to civil conversation in return for a meal,” Sanji replied, lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag. “Now that you’re not trying to show off.”
Gin looked a little insulted, but hunger obviously won out. He picked up the container and popped it open. Nami saw from where she stood, still hiding behind the back door of the restaurant, that it was heaping full with food.
Gin dug in. It was at least a good half a minute before any other conversation was to be had.
“Why?” Gin asked between bites, then went back to shoveling food into his mouth.
“I’ve gone three days without food too,” Sanji answered, shrugging. “Actually, it was a lot longer than that. But the point is, I know how that feels. And I vowed that as long as it was in my power, I’d never let someone go hungry again. I don’t think anyone should have to feel the effects of starvation.”
Nami knew exactly what he meant, figuratively, if not literally. She had been in the clutches of utter despair before and always felt compelled to save others from being in the same situation, any way she could. It was most of the reason she’d come out to this alley.
“You’re stupid,” Gin told him, between bites again. He took a longer pause to regard Sanji critically. “I could be a man who holds vendettas. You could be feeding the tiger that could come back and bite that hand.”
Sanji nodded slowly. “I understand that. But I still couldn’t stand by and watch you starve.”
Nami snuck back through the back door into the restaurant. She realized that up until that moment, she had been looking down on Sanji, feeling superior to him in a way, the same way she did with the guys waiting for her at the booth. It was an unfair thing for her to do. She was by no means superior to any of them. They all at least had the strength of character to be honest about themselves, whereas she did nothing but walk through life tied up in lies.
“You took forever,” Zoro chided her when she sat down at the booth again. She didn’t rise to his bait.
“I think I should buy you guys dessert,” she announced, earning a huge smile from Luffy and a skeptical look from Ussop. “What?”
“Why would you buy us dessert?” Ussop asked. “Is this a trick?”
Nami leaned over the table and punched Ussop lightly in the arm. “No, doofus. I just want to thank you guys.”
“For what?” Luffy asked.
“For being good friends,” she answered. “I have to admit, I had my doubts in the beginning. But you guys are genuinely good people, and I have enjoyed having you as my friends.”
“Well, shit,” Zoro smirked. “Who knew? You really are a chick. You do have feelings.”
She elbowed him hard in the gut. “Go fuck yourself.”
Zoro laughed as Sanji returned to join them. “And the tomboy who cusses like a sailor is back.”
“Watch your mouth, snot for brains!” Sanji cursed. “Do not refer to such an elegant flower such as Nami as a tomboy or sailor.”
The two bickered across the table at each other for a few minutes before Nami was able to put in her order for desserts. When he returned again with the desserts, the group was once again amazed at the delectable concoction Sanji brought them.
The evening wore on and though Sanji did have to manage the dinner rush of customers, he spent the majority of his time with them. It was over those easy-passing hours that they came to know more about Sanji.
He and his ‘old man’ Zeff had recently moved to East Blue from South Blue to open the Baratie. They had only opened about two weeks prior, and since Sanji had finished up at his old school early, he wasn’t schedule to start school until after summer break. But he would be attending their school when the school year started up again.
Nami smiled warmly at the young cook, but it was ultimately tainted by the remembrance that she wouldn’t be attending school next semester. Or at all anymore. Remembering the dark part of her life, Nami looked seriously at Sanji.
“I don’t know what it was like in South Blue, but here it’s dangerous,” she told him. “We have gangs and mafias and yakuzas here, and they aren’t a joke.”
She pointed to Ussop and his still healing nose. “When they threaten you, they mean it.”
Sanji looked down but smiled. “I assume you are referring to the man we threw out earlier.”
Nami figured she didn’t have to nod, but she did anyway.
“I thank you for your caution,” Sanji said, “and your warning is heard. But I do not expect trouble from the likes of him. He is but a dog that has nothing left but his bark.”
“Cornered animals can still bite you,” Nami replied. “Just please be careful.”
Sanji nodded, assuring her that he would as he snagged her hand and placed a kiss on it. He stood then, clearing the few dishes that were left on the table. Sanji had neglected picking theirs up and instead spent time loitering at their table when the last of the restaurant patrons had left. Noticing for the first time that they were the last ones there, Nami checked her watch before she pulled her purse out of her book bag and grabbed a few thousand berries to contribute to the bill.
“You’re leaving?” Ussop asked, watching her stand.
“I have to be home by nine,” she replied, shouldering her book bag. “I may not be grounded today, but I’m still on probation.”
At the mention of the time, Ussop checked his watch and yelped. He too began digging for money and collecting his bag. Zoro and Luffy, apparently sensing the finality of the night, began ruffling for their wallets as well. Nami went to the door of the kitchen and poked her head in.
“We’re taking off, Sanji,” she called, not seeing the blonde but knowing he was back there somewhere. “It was nice meeting you.”
In an instant, Sanji was at her side. He took her hand in both of his and began walking her to the door, back into his flirtatious mode and spouting compliments and even half-baked declarations of love. She smiled, shaking her head at his antics. At the door of the restaurant, they were blocked.
Two men stood in the doorway, taking up the entire space. Nami felt her stomach fall. Gin had returned, looking quite replenished from his meal, and in tow he had brought the Don himself, Krieg. Gin raised his hand and pointed at Sanji.
“This is the one I told you about,” Gin said, looking up at his boss. The Don, who looked pretty worse for wear himself, stepped into the restaurant and with little disregard, pushed Nami out of his way as he stepped up to Sanji.
“You,” the Don said, his voice ragged but still opposing. “You will feed me. And the rest of my men as well.”
The dread that Nami had felt earlier when Gin had first arrived returned with a vengeance. This was not good. This was going to turn deadly any second. She looked at Sanji, trying to convey with her eyes how bad the situation was. She thought he understood.
He must have.
Because his expression changed to one of fixed determination and he took her arm gently but firmly and pushed her out of the now open doorway. The door to the restaurant closed behind her, and she knew she heard a lock slide into place.
He had just gotten rid of her to spare her the fight he had to know was coming.
Nami stood dazedly on the walkway in front of the restaurant for a moment before moving over to look in one of the windows. She felt sick when she spied Zoro, Ussop and Luffy still in the corner, not having left the booth yet. But worse were the expressions that they wore. They had the same look of determination as Sanji, and Nami instantly knew that they intended to stay and fight alongside their new friend.
She honestly felt like she was going to become sick. Wobbly legs took her to the alley way that led to the back door of the restaurant. Like hell she was going to be pushed out of the situation like a damsel in distress! She barely rounded the corner before she nearly barreled into someone. It was dark, so she didn’t recognize the face at first. But when she did, all hope dried up in an instant.
Kuroobi. He gave her a look of disinterest. “What are you doing here?”
Lost, Nami answered honestly before realizing she should have told him it was none of his fucking business. “I was eating.”
Kuroobi snorted and smirked. “Unlucky for you.”
“Actually, she might be very lucky,” sneered another, materializing out of the dark. Chew. “She got out of there before the action got going.”
As if to pontificate that point, Nami heard the crack of a gunshot, tables and chairs crashing, and the shattering of a window. She looked back at the front of the restaurant and saw that a chair had been tossed out one of the windows. Terrified for the fortune of her friends, Nami tried to return to the window to see their fate, but the strong hand of Kuroobi stopped her.
“You will stay with us,” he told her.
Nami was in her right mind again and about to tell Kuroobi to go straight to hell and rot when a black limo drove up in front of the restaurant. Terror turned into horror. The limo door opened to reveal Hachi, who held the door open for her employer. Imposing as ever in his perfect business suit, Arlong glanced casually up and down the walkway. When he spotted the three of them, his eyebrow rose. Some sort of silent signal was sent between Arlong and his enforcers. Nami was pushed in the direction of her employer.
“If it isn’t my favorite new little Mermaid,” Arlong greeted her with a sickening smile. “I hadn’t expected to find you here, of all places.”
Nami didn’t know what to say, so she stayed silent.
“You’re sure he’s in there?” Arlong confirmed, turning to Kuroobi. He received a nod in return. “Good. I will have this go on no longer. This area belongs to Fishman Village tonight. I want Krieg and the last of his subordinates eliminated.”
A third man stepped out from the limo and regarded Arlong passively. “And any witnesses?”
Nami had never before felt this degree of fear and anxiety. In front of her stood the infamous hit man Dracule Mihawk. He was renowned in the criminal underground for both his ferocity as well as attention to fine detail. Dracule Mihawk had never missed a mark in his entire career. Anyone who was to be hunted down by this man would not live to see the next sunrise, she knew. Smoker had a file on him as well and Nami had stopped reading half way through, sickened by the contents. Fear of this man nearly blocked out her ability to take in what was going on around her.
Nearly.
“No witnesses,” Arlong decreed, regaining Nami’s attention. Her boss had just signed the death warrants for her friends.
“Done,” Mihawk nodded, walking towards the locked door of the restaurant. Nami watched with her jaw agape, wishing for something she could say that would negate the situation. Nothing came to mind. There was no way for her to save her friends.
A cool hand on her skin turned her to face her employer again. He looked at her speculatively, lifting the sleeve of her blouse and then the edge of her skirt. Finally, he turned her face from side to side.
“Good enough,” he determined, putting a hand on her back and leading her to the limo. Her sluggish feet tripped a little on the way.
“Where are we going?” her fear addled mind asked. She had to climb into the limo or she would fall in, since she was being pushed. Arlong entered behind her, followed by the Trio.
“Back to Arlong Park, of course,” he stated, meaning the top two floors of the high rise in the downtown area. “Your bruising has faded enough. Tonight, my dear, you take up the mantel of Mermaid.”
A positively evil grin spread across his face.
“You have quite a few customers waiting,” he told her.
In the end, she never got to finish school. To say goodbye to her friends, even for the night. To have that last dinner with her mother and sister. Nami never got to say goodbye to anything.
A/N: Well, I finally made the decision to post this here. The content gets darker and more explicit from here. So stick with me and drop a review if you like it. Let me know if you followed me over from that other website I am forbidden from mentioning any association with.
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Something Worth Dying For