Love On The Catwalk - The Strange Woman (Chapter 1)
synopsis: your main objective is to kill straw hat luffy. but instead, you find yourself hesitant once you start getting to know him. the price you had to pay was to allow yourself to be vulnerable and learn to love.
genres: slowburn, angst, romance, suspense, abuse and trauma, growth and self-discovery, psychological
requests: open
word count: 4.6k
now playing: pink and gold and blue - you'll never get to heaven
The cold blue sea harshly swept side by side, carrying The Thousand Sunny with the waves that helped take the Straw Hat Pirates to their next designated island. Although the ocean felt cold and lonely, the atmosphere of the ship certainly didn't feel that way at all.
On the ship's deck, the crew did what was in their usual routine.
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were fooling around playing games with each other. Zoro is taking his hourly nap, which he definitely needed. Robin, Brook, and Jinbe watch their crewmate's everyday stupidity as they drink tea and talk about their common interests. While Sanji is in the kitchen preparing lunch, Franky is working on an invention that came to him in a dream, and Nami is cleaning the various areas of the ship.
"Who in the hell ate all the fucking food?!" Nami furiously yelled at everyone on the deck, harshly slamming the kitchen door open that it could've bursted by the force.
Usopp and Chopper freeze and stay put in their spots, not daring to move even the slightest if it meant saving themselves from Nami's anger. They both slowly shift their focus onto each other and nod in agreement, knowing that Luffy would be the only one to gobble up every last piece of food. Usopp and Chopper stand next to each other, standing tall and proud as they both hand-saluted Nami like she was a navy admiral.
"Miss Nami," Usopp and Chopper yelled in sync, "Luffy did it!"
The captain's jaw fell all the way to the floor. Shock was written all over his face. Was it out of nowhere? Yes. But was it expected? Also yes... After all, Luffy did steal both Usopp and Chopper's breakfast right in front of their faces, and he certainly did not feel an ounce of guilt or regret (since he'll do it again).
"Hey, you guys can't do that!" Luffy barked at them with fumes coming out of his ears. Before he could say anything else to Usopp and Chopper, he felt an uneasy presence behind him and went pale.
He had completely forgotten that Nami was right behind him after his friends snitched on him.
"You really like pissing me off. Don't you, Luffy?" Nami questioned him with an eerie smile. He slowly turned his head to face Nami and her wrath. She looked calm. In fact, too calm...
While Nami began beating the hell out of Luffy for consuming all of the ship's food supply for two weeks, Usopp and Chopper had already started their fishing adventure to save themselves from Nami's angry beating.
Chopper sat on the ship's white railing and kicked his legs, patiently waiting for a fish to pull on his rod. While Usopp rested his elbows on the railing, whistling his favorite tune that his mom used to sing to him.
Usopp's fishing rod was pulled slightly, but he didn't really pay much attention to it since what they needed was a big catch. It pulled again, except a bit more harshly. Usopp closed his eyes and sighed, no longer ignoring the small potential catch. He began reeling it in until the pulling became more forceful.
Usopp tightly held onto his fishing rod, which seemed to pull so hard that it was practically attempting to drag him into the ocean. Chopper abandoned his rod and stood behind Usopp, pulling his leg away to prevent him from falling, although it doesn't really do much to help.
"Luffy! Come help us, please!" Usopp loudly begged his captain in fear of going overboard.
He looked behind his shoulder to see if Luffy had even heard him, but instead saw him lying on the deck, completely passed out from the beating he had taken from Nami. Usopp nervously yelled at the sight of his captain bruised up. Now he was absolutely petrified of unsuccessfully catching the ginormous fish he had managed to pull.
Usopp pulls as hard as he can, fighting the gigantic fish's strength. He decides that he'll give it one last push before letting it go, so he doesn't drown. His bravery was enough, and he's perfectly fine not dying.
"I got this..." he tells himself, just barely enough to whisper.
Usopp gives the rod one final pull with all of his strength. He falls back on his butt, and thankfully, Chopper got away before nearly being squished to death. Usopp's big catch flies up in the air, covering the sun in Usopp's vision.
"I got it! I got it!" he enthusiastically yells at the sight of his beautiful catch. He crawls straight to it to show it off, but instead sees a disgustingly vile, torn brown boot that looks as if sharks were playing tug of war with it.
In confusion, Usopp picks up the ugly brown boot with his two fingers. And in disgust, he throws it back in the ocean. He desperately tries not to gag and even covers his mouth to prevent it, but immediately remembers where his hands have been. Instantly running to the bathroom to scrub off every layer of his skin.
"Hey, Nami," Robin says with binoculars covering her eyes. "I think I can see an island." Nami walks over to the archaeologist and squints her eyes to try to focus on the supposed island.
"Can I borrow that real quick?" She asks Robin, giving them to her in response. She places the binoculars on top of her eyes and focuses back on the island her crewmate had pointed out.
It looked a bit weird. The island attracted bad weather, but it doesn't seem to affect the ocean after two miles. It was covered in grey, cloudy fog that practically looked as if it was going to pour harshly.
"What the hell is going on over there?" Nami murmurs to herself. She gives the binoculars back to Robin and walks towards the ship's steering wheel.
Jinbe was in charge of controlling the Thousand Sunny's smooth sailing. After what had happened on Totto Land with Big Mom, he was perfect for the role of taking charge of the ship's movement with the tricks up his sleeve.
"Hey Jinbe," Nami greets him as he warmly smiles in response. "Is there something the matter, Nami?" He asks her.
"Yeah, there is. You see that island over there?" She points in the direction that Robin had notified her about. Jinbe turns his head and squints his eyes, barely seeing the island due to the massive amount of fog.
"You mean that foggy island? Would you want us to head that way?" Jinbe asks her.
"Well, yeah, I guess. But I'm not entirely sure," Nami replies. "The fog looks as if it's been there for a while now. Like, around 40 minutes, so it should've been raining heavily or maybe some thunderstorms. But the fog...it's just there!"
Jinbe notices how stressed and confused Nami was feeling. He understands the pressure of being the navigator. After all, it's up to Nami to ensure the ship and crew's safety as well as the best route to avoid harsh weather.
"Is there any other island nearby where we can anchor?" Jinbe asks her. Nami shakes her head in disappointment, her face written with frustration and stress that it's starting to worry him. Jinbe carefully pats Nami's back and softly smiles at her.
"We'll head to the island. I can reassure you that if something terrible happens, we have the tools to escape flawlessly."
Nami blankly stares at Jinbe. She smiles as she closes her eyes and sighs. "Alright then. Let's head to the island."
Jinbe steers the helm to the left, harshly rotating the ship to make its way towards the island. As the ship approaches the destination, the weather becomes more intense. Making it harder for Jinbe to control the wheel.
Usopp leaves the bathroom feeling refreshed and brand new, heading to the ship's deck to get a better view of the island that had just been spotted. However, he notices a couple of boats heading in the opposite direction, leaving the island they were going towards. Usopp stares dead into the sea, getting a bit worried, but nervously shrugs it off, hoping that it was just some random people.
"I'm surprised Luffy is still knocked out. I was kinda expecting he would suddenly wake up once he heard the word island," Usopp tells his crewmates on deck.
"Let's not jinx it, Usopp," Nami warned him, not wanting to deal with their captain's childish stupidity anymore.
The ocean's rough waves swept The Sunny to the right, causing the Straw Hats to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Now, in less than 300 feet were marine ships, also heading in the opposite direction.
"Woah woah woah woah," Franky quickly heads his way to Jinbe. "What the heck are you doing, man? We need to get to the island without a fight!" he yells to make sure Jinbe hears him.
"I know!" Jinbe yells back to also make sure Franky hears him. "I'm trying to steer the wheel, but despite my efforts, I cannot seem to control the helm under this severe weather!"
"Lemme try!" Franky yells to him. Jinbe steps aside to allow the shipwright to steer the wheel.
Franky attempts to turn the wheel to the left, but also finds himself struggling to control the mass. He looks to the ocean to check on the enemy ship nearby, which they had unfortunately spotted their ship already.
"Hey, Straw Hats!" The ship's loudhailer roared. "What the hell are you guys doing!? Get the hell outta here!!"
The crew on deck looked at each other with confusion.
What could be the possibilities of the Marines telling them to leave immediately? It was obvious that the weather itself was an obstacle, making it way too difficult to control any part of the ship. However, for their own enemy to warn them is a first.
"Don't listen to them, you guys!" Nami shouted to everyone on deck. "We need to keep going, so don't let those stupid Marines tell us what to do!"
Franky and Jinbe understood what to do and began trying to find solutions on how to control the ship. Robin, Zoro, and Sanji started easing the sails to make it easier for their two crewmembers who will control the ship. Chopper used his karate point to drag Luffy to his infirmary, who was still unconscious. While Usopp took hold of Brook so he wouldn't fly away.
With the help of Franky and Jinbe, the ship was able to successfully fight against the raging waters and strong winds. After a few seconds, the harsh weather slowly died down as The Thousand Sunny made its way to the secluded island.
"Land ahoy!" Usopp eagerly shouts with all his might, pumping both of his fists up in the air. In that same moment, Luffy bursts his way out of the infirmary, carrying a smile on his face.
"Land ahoy!!" he yells enthusiastically, also pumping his fists up in the air. Although he had stolen all of the ship's food, Luffy was already dangerously hungry and feeling ecstatic to try out the island's dishes. The Thousand Sunny slowly made its stop to dock behind a towering forest that could practically cover the ship's presence.
"Alright, Luffy," Nami walks up to him, already getting irritated by his voice. "We get that you're excited, but you're going to have to stay on the ship."
"What!? Why?!" he yells in complete disbelief at the words that came out of Nami's mouth.
"Because you literally ate all of the food supply that would have lasted us for two weeks!? Do I really need to give you an explanation?!" She yells back at him.
"What!? That's not fair at all!" Luffy yells again as he frantically runs around the deck.
Keeping him away from an unknown island that he needs to explore is like an indoor cat wanting to go outside. Except Luffy would always go by his rules and do what he feels like.
"Alright now, let's settle down," Jinbe joins in on the conversation and grabs Luffy by the arms. "Luffy, it is only fair that you listen to Nami after your gluttonous decision. You being the captain means you must set a good example for your fellow crewmates."
"Okay, well, as the captain, I'm setting a good example by exploring the island and having some fun!" Luffy stretches his arm to the nearest tree and pulls himself, leaping into the air like a monkey. The crew watches him make his way into the heart of the town, already preparing themselves for the chaos that will be unleashed in just a few minutes.
"We barely even docked," Nami murmured as she massaged her temples and let out a fragile sigh.
Luffy swings his way into town, almost feeling nostalgic about the time he had spent playing with Ace and Sabo when they were little. However, reflecting on the past didn't quite help with Luffy's hunger pain.
He pulls himself into the air and grabs the top of the pine tree to get a good view of the restaurants. Even though Luffy was at the highest point of the island, it was rather the smell of the restaurants that had caught his attention. He jumps off the tree and continues swinging towards the food court.
"This is so much fun!" He laughs as he swings, "I wish Zoro were here, he woulda loved this!"
The forest was slowly becoming less of a forest and more like a park. So, Luffy ends his swinging-to-the-food-court adventure and starts his running-to-the-food-court adventure. Once he was there, he couldn't decide where to go. So what was his plan? To go to every single one of them.
Luffy began making his way to the first shop he spotted, a bakery. Its sweet aroma immediately caught the attention of Luffy's nose. The sweetness of each carefully made cake and bread practically seduced him. He began floating and followed the scent like he was a Looney Tunes character.
"Hey, chefs!" Luffy enthusiastically yelled at the people behind the counter, who were all too busy to notice the impatient customer. Luffy waited a few seconds for a response, then rang the obnoxious loud bell on top of the counter. He waited a few seconds more and rang it again, except this time he didn't stop and kept hitting the top of the bell repeatedly.
An annoyed 7-foot man turned his back and slammed his hand on top of the bell, not only breaking the bell but also the counter, to stop Luffy from ringing it again.
"What do you want?" he calmly asked the customer with a hint of irritation in his tone. Luffy placed a hand under his chin and carefully looked at the menu that the bakery had to offer.
"I want this!" He pointed to a faded picture of a black forest pastry. "And this! Also this! Oh no wait, I want this one too! You know what...nevermind. I want everything!" The tall man stared at Luffy for a hot minute with no expression on his face. Luffy stared at the tall man after picking his options with the brightest grin known to man.
"So," Luffy said as he looked behind the man to catch a glimpse of the bakers while still having a huge smile on his face. "When am I getting my order?"
The tall man grabs Luffy by the back of the neckline of his shirt and stomps out the door. He slams the door open and furiously kicks Luffy's butt out of the store. The man wipes his hands off using his pants and spits on the ground before going back inside the bakery and continuing his work as usual.
Luffy gets back up from another beating he took, mumbling things about how he just wanted to eat and now he's starting to feel so ravenous. He looks around the floor and spots his most desired treasure. Shanks' straw hat. He smiles at the sight of it and attempts to grab it, but the wind picks it up first.
It begins flying in different directions, from the food court to the fashion district, and then to the small local shops near the neighborhood. Luffy frantically chases after the hat, fearing that it will fly further away until it's completely out of his sight.
It didn't help at all that the local shops were way more popular than the shopping centre in the middle of the island. He bumped into multiple people, not even caring to apologize. All that mattered to him right now was his hat and retrieving it as soon as possible.
The wind that had picked up the straw hat slowly began dying. The hat was still flying, but not so high as before. Luffy uses his Devil Fruit to attempt to grab it, but it's of no use when the hat keeps dodging.
Slowly, the wind dies down, and the straw hat falls to the ground. Thankfully, there wasn't a crowd near the area where the hat fell. But to catch it is still a challenge.
Forcing your way out of the crowd, you noticed a straw hat and picked it up, staring at it for a bit until you looked up at a man with a scar under his left eye, who was yelling while sprinting towards you. Before you could even question if the hat could be his, he ran so fast to catch his hat that he collided with you.
"My hat!" Luffy said, immediately getting up. He grabs the hat from you, but notices the small yet noticeable blood stains on the edge of his hat. He looks at you, who he found strange yet interesting, covered in your own blood.
Scratches, bruises, and more blood on your right arm where your sleeve was torn off. With your spare arm, you held the other arm that was severely hurt. Your face, on the other hand, didn't seem to show any signs of pain, as if there was nothing to worry about.
"Hey, why are you bleeding?" Luffy curiously asked. But before you could even answer him, a man in the crowd began yelling ferociously.
"Y/n!" He shouted in a fit of rage, "Where are you!?"
The man pushed the civilians aside, looking in the crowd in hopes of finding the person he was looking for. He paused in his tracks and scanned his surroundings, ultimately finding the person he was looking for.
"You..." the man pointed to you, the person he had been looking for, as he gritted his teeth. Luffy looked around for a few seconds and stared at the dangerously furious man.
"Me?" he asked the man, pointing to himself in genuine confusion.
He doesn't bother acknowledging Luffy's question and immediately goes back to sprinting to his enemy. Luffy glances at you, attempting to run away using the shadowed alley that was near, but you weren't very good at it, considering the injuries you had.
Luffy looks back at the tall and heavy man, who is slowly starting to get closer, giving him chills. But it wasn't because he seemed scary or dangerous, but because he was lowkey kind of ugly. Without hesitation, Luffy runs into the shadowed alley to catch up to you.
Luckily for him, you weren't able to get too far and managed to catch up. He grabs your arm, placing it behind his neck, and uses his right hand to hold your waist to help out with your balance. For a brief second, you pause in your tracks to stare at Luffy, completely baffled by his actions.
"What are you doing?" you asked him, slightly annoyed by the interference and sudden touch.
"I'm helping you," he simply replied, making eye contact with you. He didn't even seem to notice the harsh tone in your voice.
"Thanks, but I can help myself," you snapped, getting a little bit more frustrated with how little time you had now.
"You're injured," Luffy stated, maintaining eye contact. His stern voice made it clear that he was serious about helping you; even if you demanded that he let you go, he wouldn't budge either way.
Luffy picked up where you both left off and began walking together to reach somewhere safe to hide.
"I have the best doctor in the world on my crew," Luffy proudly says with a smile on his face, breaking the silence between the two of you.
"Even though he's a weird talking reindeer, he can fix you right up, and you'll be healed super fast. Oh, yeah! That also reminds me that I have the most amazing cook on my crew too!"
The sparkle in Luffy's eyes only seemed to get brighter the more he talked about his friends. Although he rambled on about every crewmember on his ship, you didn't care to listen to what he had to say. Instead, you found yourself fascinated with the way Luffy's face lit up when he spoke so highly of his crewmates.
"Hey, wait," you interrupted him. Slowly making a complete stop in your guys' tracks. "Where are you even taking me?" you questioned him.
"To my ship, duh," he answered. "It's funny, you looked smart, but you clearly don't know anything, Y/n. Geez!" Luffy poked at you as he laughed.
"Okay, wait, hold on a second," you tensed up. "First of all, I am smart, and I don't need to prove anything to you. Second of all, how the hell do you even know my name?!"
"Well, that weird-looking dude seemed like he wanted to kill you. So, I figured your name was Y/n since he wouldn't stop saying it." Luffy grinned, still not breaking eye contact. He slowly began walking again so you both could get The Thousand Sunny before you were both discovered.
"Can I know yours?" you murmured to him, breaking eye contact to look down at your feet that felt so unbelievably heavy.
"I'm Luffy," he said. "And I'm gonna be king of the pirates!"
Your eyes instantly snapped when you heard the familiar name. Glancing carefully at him so he wouldn't notice, you felt that same twisting feeling in your stomach that always managed to make you feel nauseous.
"Monkey D. Luffy?" you cautiously whispered to yourself.
You had to be careful with your actions and words to make sure he didn't find out your plans. But how could he question you when he's willingly helping you? It was more strange that it was confusing.
Because of how badly injured you were, the two of you were only able to walk a mile away from the scene of the crime. And to add on to the list of misfortunes, the tall man was able to find both of you before escaping.
"Found you," he smirked before lunging at you guys. Without a second thought, you quickly pushed Luffy out of the way so he wouldn't be the one injured.
Usually, Luffy would be able to stop the attack before it could happen, but in his defence, he had genuinely forgotten who the man was because of how unpleasant he looked to him.
Saving Luffy from being attacked meant risking your life and your job. However, it didn't matter because he hadn't figured out what you worked as, but the man who was going to attack you did.
The tall man grabbed hold of your neck, choking you with his left hand behind your neck and his right in front of your neck. He pushed his weight onto his arms so you wouldn't be able to struggle. But what the man had not registered was that you carried a power that he didn't have.
A devil fruit.
With the power of the tele-tele fruit, you were granted the power of telekinesis. A power you had been forced to master since becoming a part of the organization you worked for, which must stay secret no matter what.
However, because you let yourself slip up just once, the brother of the man you had been assigned to kill has found out your secret and is out for vengeance for what you did.
"I'll kill you for what you did to my little brother!" the man choked between sobs. "Why couldn't you have shown him mercy?! He had only messed up once! Just once!"
The man's muscles begin to soften when thinking back to his brother. Although he was still choking you, he let himself vent his frustration, knowing that he would be able to avenge his brother.
What he had not noticed, though, was a large chunk of a torn roof that came flying towards him. It brutally hit his head, knocking him unconscious.
Right away, you sat up and sharply gasped for air. Firmly, yet shakily, you held your chest while trying to regain your composure. Although the air burned as you tried to catch your breath, you had to force yourself to get up and silence the man before he woke up.
Embarassingly enough, Luffy had finally realized why the man, who lunged at you, looked so familiar. He watched and listened to the scene unfold in front of him, trying to remember who the man was and didn't think twice about worrying for you.
He was not one bit concerned for your safety because he knew you could fight and end it without his help. However, now that he's taking a good look at you, he's noticing things that he should have noticed when trying to walk to the ship.
Your movements and balance were unbelievably slow, yet despite that, you forced yourself to fight. Now, he can clearly see that your injuries are starting to catch up to you.
You push yourself to get up and kill the unconscious man. Attempting to walk towards him, but only able to drag your feet while limping. Furthermore, your balance was completely off, which made you look clumsy and drunk. It was now clear to Luffy that you were in no position to endure any more physical strain, especially fighting.
He steps into the scene without hesitation. His usual carefree demeanor is nowhere to be seen as he approaches you to stop you from pushing yourself any further.
"You're hurt," Luffy states solicitously. He doesn't bother saying anything else or even pointing out the obvious.
You gazed at him, expecting him to express his disappointment with how quickly you had gotten so weak. But he didn't. Instead, Luffy bends down, lifting your thighs and carrying you on his shoulder.
You want to fight back. You desperately wanted to argue with him to put you down. But deep down, you know that your body has reached beyond its limit, and you can no longer move without that sharp pain hitting you from every angle.
"You don't have to do this," You say to Luffy, expecting him to say something. Anything. But he simply ignores you without a care in the world.
"You're wasting your time," you say to him again after a few seconds of silence from him. But still, Luffy doesn't say anything and ignores you, continuing to walk to his ship.
You realize that you probably won't get an answer from him, already getting annoyed with him again.
"You never listen, do you?" you mumble to yourself. But despite being so close to Luffy, he heard what you said. However, he's still silent even after what he heard.
"Once I'm healed, I'll leave. You won't have to deal with me anymore," you tell him, giving up on your weak protests. Luffy shrugs in response.
"Kay," he casually says. "You can leave if you want."
For a moment, you both stay quiet as Luffy continues walking as he enters the forest. It wasn't any trouble for him to get back to where the ship had docked, since a majority of the civilians on the island had evacuated because of your fight and a rumor that had spread all across the island.
"But I'm still helping you until then," Luffy says, interrupting the silence between them. Although he doesn't hear anything from your mouth, you softly smile in response. Finally letting your body get some rest and slowly let yourself fall asleep.
a/n: fun fact, I've been planning this story for like almost five/six months now 😭 I plan on finishing this series, but updates will be slow, especially since this is going to be a slow burn










