Pietrica had been watching the Straw Hat Pirates all night. They drank a lot, they ate a lot, and they laughed a lot. They seemed to be having the time of their lives. She envied them. She had forgotten what it was like to be so carefree and fun loving. Glancing at her twin brother sitting next to her, she noticed he was surveying another group of pirates in the bar. They were surrounded. They had just sailed into Port Orleans, the island known for partying and all sorts of fun and debauchery. The twin pirate hunters were supposed to be relaxing and enjoying themselves. Being encompassed on all sides by so many pirates caused lots of dollar signs to float in their weary heads. The lure of easy money made it difficult for them to let down their hair and have fun. While here, all of these pirates would be off their guard, drunk off their ass, and distracted by chasing ass which would make them easy pickings for the pirate hunters. However, there was an unspoken rule on the Island of Orleans: leave your shit at the dock whatever it may be and don't pick it back up until you're ready to leave. That so called shit could be settling a grudge, carrying out a mercenary mission, or arresting a pirate for a fat bounty. Everyone was on this island to leave all of that stuff behind so they could eat, drink, dance, and screw their cares away. It was an escapist's dream and that was what they were all here to do: escape their harsh realities and worries just for a little while.

Pietrica had left the thick stack of wanted posters in her desk on their ship. If she dared to guess, there was hundreds of billions of berries sitting around them. Oh, well. She sighed with overwhelming dejection. She should be trying to relax and have fun anyway. Picking up her drink, she finished off the awful tasting cheap liquor. Raising her hand, she hailed the overworked waitress. When the overwrought woman looked her way, she held up her brother's beer mug. She did not want another one of those pitiful excuses for a neat vodka. The beer would at least be cold.

"Come on, Sis!" Cary yelled over the music, hugging her by flinging his arm over her shoulders to pull her against his side. "Lighten up and have fun!"

Pietrica jerked away from him. He was hot and sweaty and gross. At least he was a prissy, pretty boy who used scented soap and a lot of cologne so he did not stink. Although he had bypassed wearing a shirt and was dressed in nothing but his loose black cotton hakata pants and sandals, he was still melting in the heat. The sweat on his body drenched her white gauzy shirt that she was wearing over her binkini top that was red with white flowers on it. In contrast to her skimpy attire on her upper half, she was wearing a floor length skirt comprised of several layers of the thin material like her shirt. She had kicked off her sandals soon after they had sat down. She hated shoes. Her toes clutched onto the bottom spindles of the bar stool as if they were talons and she was a great big bird.

"Here, honey!" the waitress yelled over the din of noise. Between the music, laughter, and many raised voices, there was a constant deafening barrage of sound in the bar.

Pietrica handed her the money, along with a big tip, for the drink. She sucked half of it down in one very long sip. Between the heat and smoke in the bar, she was dying of thirst. A pleasant warmth flooded her system as she imbibed the refreshingly cold beer.

"Hey, let's dance!" her brother suggested, grabbing her by the hand.

"No! Wait!" she protested, snatching her hand out of his grip. She swiftly pounded back the rest of her beer. "I'm not drunk enough for this yet!"

"You will be!" he hollered back, seizing her wrist to drag her out onto the dance floor.

"I forgot my shoes!" she screamed as he pulled her into his body to swing her around.

"Too late! Time to have fun!" He pushed through the sea of bodies, elbowing his way to the center of the tangled mass of limbs and sweaty torsos.

"You have a weird idea of fun!" She screamed and giggled as he twirled her around as if she were a ballerina. Her brother had always possessed the natural talent of being able to pull her out of the doldrums.

Zoro's eyes casually drifted over the mass of bodies that distinctly resembled a large, singular, wriggling sea creature. There was a shocking hair color, crimson, the exact color of blood, that caught his eyes. Sitting up, he leaned further across the table as if that would really help him get a better look. The seemingly useless gesture must have worked because the two people that bore the eye catching hair color came into crystal clear view.

"Oh, my god," he gasped, draining his beer mug.

"What? What is it?" Sanji asked, paranoid that his shipmate had spotted a nemesis.

"It's Scylla and Charybdis. What the hell are they doing here?" he murmured as if talking to him.

"The whosee whatsit now?" Luffy glanced around at his crew. "What the hell did he say?"

Everyone had ceased speaking and was staring at Zoro whose gaze was pinned to the couple on the dance floor. They followed his line of vision to the two redheads who where dancing as if they had just stepped out for the night from teaching their ballroom dancing classes. The pair was gorgeous, both with vermilion red hair that was pulled up into ponytails. The male was tall with bronzed skin and dark, seemingly black, eyes. The female was much shorter, barely reaching him midchest, with pale blue eyes that practically glowed which made their color easily visible from such a long distance.

"They're beautiful," Nami gasped, her eyes staying on the man.

"Brother and sister?" Sanji asked, hopeful that they were siblings so he would have a chance with the pretty girl.

"Yes," Zoro replied, squinting his eyes as he studied them. "I know them."

"Who are they?" Luffy inquired, cramming the turkey drumstick into his mouth.

"They're pirate hunters. They're known as Scylla and Charybdis," he said, grabbing the full beer that the waitress had sat down in front of him. He definitely needed a drink now. He had not seen them in years. As a matter of fact, he thought he would never see them again.

"Their nicknames...they're named after the sea monsters who shipwreck sailors, right? One is a big sharp rock and the other is a whirlpool?" Sanji questioned him curiously, lighting another cigarette. His eyes traveled down the woman's chest to her bared belly. Very nice. Her delicate peach colored skin reminded him of the fruit by the same name and tint.

"Yeah. You should see them take down a pirate for a bounty. It's quite remarkable actually. It's like watching two animals hunt down prey. Too bad we won't get to see them in action here," he muttered, turning up his beer glass for a deep swallow.

"What if we were the pirates they were after? It wouldn't be so great then would it?" the irritated blonde returned, puffing on his cigarette. "What a perfectly good waste of a beautiful woman. A damn pirate hunter."

"Why let a little thing like that stop you from hitting on her, Sanji? Nothing ever has before," Nami snorted, unable to miss an opportunity to poke fun at him and his lecherous ways.

"Shut up, Nami," he snapped, grinding his cigarette into the ashtray to put it out.

"Well, at least we know that they can't do anything here. It's against the rules and no one wants to get banned from the ultimate party place," Zoro said, sitting back against the wall to relax.

"Hey, where is Ace?" Luffy asked through his mouth full of food.

"Don't you ever pay attention, Luffy? He left to go to the hotel to sleep. He had already fallen asleep twice through dinner so before there was a third time he went back to the room," Nami replied, shaking her head with irritation.

Sweat trickled down Pietrica's back, soaking the waist line of her skirt. Her head swam as her brother spun her away from him then brought her back into his body before dipping her backwards. She stumbled, bumping into the person next to her not that it really mattered because there were bodies making contact all the time on the dance floor whether accidentally or on purpose. She laughed, shuffling forward to lay her head on her brother's shoulder. The heat and the alcohol had combined to hit her like ton of bricks. Her body felt heavy, clumsy, and way too hot.

"I've got to go. I need to get out of here," she mumbled as queasiness filled her gut. Covering her mouth, she turned away to run from the dance floor. Perhaps she had made a mistake by mixing hard liquor and beer.

"Pietrica!" Cary yelled, running after her. He was stopped by a cute girl with shoulder length orange hair and big brown eyes. He smiled at her as she blocked his way, pressing her small hand to his broad chest.

"What's your hurry, sailor? How about a dance with me?" she asked, giving him a charming, thousand watt smile.

"Sure thing, sweetheart. What's your name?"

"Nami."

"Nami, I'm Cary. Nice to meet you. I'll be happy to help you dance the night away."

"Great! I can't wait," she said, grabbing his hand to pull him back to the dance floor.

Pietrica ran out of the bar, halting just outside of the doors as the brisk night air blew across her face. She sighed with relief as the nausea immediately waned when her body cooled. Pulling her hand across her forehead, she wiped away some of the sweat before it could ooze down into her eyes. She lifted her skirt slightly, glancing down at her feet. They were bare. Dammit. She had forgotten her shoes. If she stayed on the sidewalk as she made her way back to the hotel, she should be safe. Only a few pedestrians were on the sidewalk, most of them like her, returning to their hotel rooms for the night. Entering the back courtyard of the Maison du Sommeil, translated as the House of Sleep, she could hear the sound of the water of the pool lapping at the cement sides. The thought of a quick dip to cool off was too tempting to resist. Glancing around the area that was dimly lit by gas lanterns on tall posts, she took of her skirt and shirt, neatly folding them before she lay them on the cement apron surrounding the pool. She was already wearing a bikini so she was appropriately dressed for the late night swim. Jumping in, her body sliced through the cold water before popping above the surface to bob lke a cork. With a groaning sigh of delight, she leaned back into the water to float on her back. Lazy paddling around, she stared at the stars in the sky above her. Now this was relaxing.

"Hey! Hey you!" a male voice yelled at her.

Pietrica raised her head up to see a man standing at the edge of pool. She could only see his silhouette. He was wearing a hat and was standing with his hands in his pockets; that was all she could see because the light from the lanterns was too feeble to illuminate him in detail.

"What are you doing in there?" he asked.

Pietrica bit her lower lip to refrain from unleashing her smart ass comment. "Swimming to cool off. It's a hot night," she responded politely, staying in the middle of the pool. If he jumped in to come after, she would have a fighting chance to swim away from him.

"That's for damn sure," he muttered, taking his hands out of his pockets. "Sure wish I could join you."

"Why can't you?" she questioned him, holding her breath as apprehension made her whole body grow tense. Wasn't this just typical? She had finally found where she could unwind and someone steps in to ruin it. A sharp inhale wrenched free from her throat when a small flame erupted from his thumb. As she watched in gape mouthed awe, flames appeared over his entire hand and coursed up his arm as if he was catching fire. Oh, god! As she looked into the dark eyes set above freckled cheeks, she realized she was looking at Fire Fist Ace. He would make a handsome addition to her collection of sensational pirate captures - not to mention the hefty bounty she would collect. "You'll drown if you come in, won't you?"

"Yeah," he responded, extinguishing the flames instantly. "Damn devil fruit. The power is nice, but it came at a great price."

"Come in with me," she invited, swimming to the edge of the pool where he stood. "I'll keep you from sinking."

"Hmph," he grunted, smiling down at the pretty woman. "Maybe another night."

"What if you don't see me again? This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity that you're passing up."

"I'll see you again. I'm sure of it."

Pietrica watched him walk away, staring at his back. Oh, he had a nice masculine shape. The enticing triangular made by his wide shoulders before narrowing down to a trim waist made her heart beat faster. He was so muscular that there were hard knots of toned muscle across his back. His long shorts hung so low on his waist that she had been able to see the dimples in his back that usually aren't too far above where a man's behind begins to round out. God. If only he hadn't been standing with the lights behind him when he was near her at the pool, she would have been able to see him so much better. But she had clearly seen his face. He had a gorgeous face and those damn freckles; so childlike yet so alluring on his lean tanned cheeks. There was no doubt she would be seeing him again because she meant to arrest him and haul him in to collect the bounty on his handsome head.

"Calm down, girl. Don't be a dumbass," she admonished herself, laying back into the water to float around some more. "Whatever you do, moron, don't fall in love with the pirate you intend to capture some day."