The Tale of Princess Nami

One Piece © Oda

Summary- Nami, a princess of the Kazeguruma Empire, is tired of living the royal lifestyle, especially when it is announced that she is to be betrothed to a suitor. Nami decides that she's had enough of being a princess and runs away from the palace, only to be chased by Akainu, the Demon Dog of Hell, and barely escape. The next day, she is found by Luffy, a farmer from the local village, and his dog Blizzard, and they take her home with them, unaware that she is royalty. There, Nami finds herself in a whole different world she had never known, and perhaps something more. AU. Luffy/Nami.

Prologue

The Kazeguruma Empire, a prosperous Feudal Era kingdom. The current rulers are Emperor Genzo and Empress Bellemere, and their two daughters: Princess Nojiko and Princess Nami. Nojiko is the eldest daughter and her sister Nami is the youngest. However, if one were to look at them, they'd believe that they were anything but sisters.

Nojiko always seemed more levelheaded and polite than her younger sister Nami, who always seemed to be getting herself in lots of trouble.

Take right now, for instance.

"Nami! Nami, where are you, young lady?!"

Empress Bellemere walked down the corridor that lead to the garden. There, she saw Nojiko (10 years old), sitting by the door.

"Nojiko," said Bellemere, "have you seen-"

"Outside, sitting in front of the Koi fish pond," Nojiko replied.

"Thank you," Bellemere answered before she opened the door and went outside. Once there, she found an eight-year-old Nami sitting in front of the Koi fish pond, throwing bread crumbs into the water.

"Nami!" Bellemere called.

Nami turned to look at Bellemere, but then sneered and looked away.

"Nami, don't you give me that look," Bellemere said. "Your sister told me about what you did, this morning, and I'm very upset with you! You know better than to beat up some little boy!"

"He called me a spoiled brat," Nami said.

"That's still no reason to get into some fight," Bellemere remarked. "You should've just walked away."

"He also said that your tangerines are nasty," said Nami.

"He said what?!" Bellemere questioned. "Oh, wait till I…" she then took in a deep breath and sighed, regaining her composure.

"Nami," she said. "You're a princess, and as such, you have to set a good example for your subjects. Why can't you be more like your sister?"

"If being a princess means that I can't stand up for myself," Nami started, "then maybe I don't wanna be one, anymore!"

"Now, Nami," Bellemere said, placing a hand on her head.

"…I'm not saying that being a princess isn't nice," Nami said. "I mean, we have lots of money and treasure and pretty clothes and stuff…but I wanna be treated like a normal person. I mean…I've never even been outside the palace walls! I've always wanted to see what the forest that grows around the palace looks like and see that village that lives close by!"

"Nami, you know you're not supposed to leave the palace," Bellemere said. "At least not by yourself, and especially to go into that forest. Now, if you want to see the village, that's fine, but you can't go into the forest. Besides, Akainu, the Demon Dog of Hell, lurks in there, and he could find you and eat you before you even knew it."

"Akainu's not real, Bellemere," Nami said. "He's some stupid fairy tale that grownups made up to scare little kids into not going into the forest."

"Oh, he's very real," Bellemere answered. "I know because I saw him once, many years ago, and I barely got away from him. He almost bit my leg off if your father didn't come to save me."

Nami rolled her eyes, but Bellemere smiled.

"I'll tell you what," she said. "If you really want to go and see what this village you're so interested in looks like, I'll take you, first thing tomorrow morning."

Nami seemed to light up at that suggestion.

"Will you, really?" she asked, beaming.

Bellemere nodded.

"Yes!" Nami cheered. "Thank you, Bellemere! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Bellemere laughed and pulled Nami into a hug.

XXX

Later on, Bellemere went to pay a visit to Emperor Genzo, her husband.

"Genzo," said Bellemere.

"Yes?" Genzo answered.

"Listen," said the Empress. "Nami and I are going down to the village, tomorrow."

"What?" Genzo asked. "Are you crazy?! Think of what could happen!"

"Oh, Genzo, you always worry about stuff like this," said Bellemere. "It's only a quick trip into the village. Nami's always wanted to see it. She's never been beyond the palace walls, before, and she just wants to see what it's like. Please, Genzo?"

"Absolutely out of the question!" Genzo said. "The princesses are not allowed to leave the palace unless an escort is with them! And don't say you'll be her escort, because that won't count!"

Bellemere sighed.

"You know, Genzo," she said, "don't you ever feel like Nami deserves to be happy?"

Genzo froze for a minute.

"Well…" he started, "I can't say that I haven't, but how can she unhappy? She has everything she could ever want! Riches, beautiful clothes, and of course, a family who loves and cherishes her. What more could she want?"

"How about letting her go to the village?" Bellemere asked.

Genzo sighed, and Bellemere smiled and embraced the emperor with a rather seductive look in her eyes.

"If you let Nami go to the village with me," she whispered in his ear, "then maybe I'll give you a little reward."

Genzo's face became as red as a beet. Bellemere always did something whenever he was being, as she would say, "difficult".

The emperor sighed in defeat.

"All right, you win," said Genzo. "Nami can go to the village."

"I knew that you'd see it my way," Bellemere said as she hugged Genzo tighter, causing him to smile and kiss her affectionately on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Genzo."

"If it's for Nami, I'll do anything," Genzo said.

However, this was not to last. Later that night, during dinner time, something tragic had happened. Bellemere took a sip of her tea, but when she did, she keeled over onto the table not long after. Genzo, Nami, and Nojiko tried to awaken her, to no avail.

Empress Bellemere had died due to her tea being poisoned. She had become a victim of assassination.

A few days later, the assassin had been found: Arlong the Shark, a deadly hit man for hire who was jealous of the Kazeguruma Empire's vast wealth. He was actually targeting Genzo, hoping to force Bellemere to marry him in order to obtain the throne as well as the royal treasury, but Bellemere got Genzo's tea by mistake. Arlong was later arrested, charged for murder, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. However, the death of the empress hung heavily on the shoulders of the kingdom, but the emperor and the two princesses took it the hardest of all.

However, Nami still did not give her wish to see the village, but because of Bellemere's death, Genzo never let her or Nojiko leave the palace out of fear for their lives.

But meanwhile, not too far away, on the outskirts of the sleepy village of Fuschia, there is a farm, and on this farm lived a young woman, an old man, and three young boys…who should be in bed at this time of night.

A woman with long, black hair stepped out of the house, holding up a lantern while she clutched the edges of her coat closed. She seemed rather frantic for some reason.

"Ace?!" she called. "Luffy! Sabo?! Where are you boys?!"

XXX

In the middle of the forest, three young boys are walking through the underbrush, armed with nothing but steel pipes for staffs and pure spirits. The first is a boy of at least ten years with black hair and freckles, the second is a blond-haired boy of the same age, and the third is a rather smiley-faced sort wearing a straw hat upon his head and a tiny scar under his eye.

They are Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, and Monkey D. Luffy, three brothers who are known for causing mischief, and tonight was no exception. However, these three were about to find themselves in more trouble than they ever bargained for.

"So, Ace," Luffy said to his eldest brother, "why are we sneaking out of the house again?"

Ace sighed in frustration.

"Luffy, if I told you once, I've told you a thousand times," Ace said. "We're hunting Akainu."

"Oh," Luffy said. "But wait, why?"

"I gotta agree with Luffy on this, Ace," said Sabo. "Everyone knows that Akainu that lives in these woods. Why are we hunting him down, anyway?"

"To be legends, of course," Ace replied. "Think about it. Akainu's been terrorizing the village for years, right? If we hunt Akainu down and kill him, we'll be heroes!"

"But how are we gonna kill him?" Luffy asked. "I heard Akainu's bigger than a bear!"

"Why do you think we brought these pipes with us?" Ace asked. "We'll shove them into Akainu's mouth, so far down his throat that he'll choke on them. Then, I take this sword that I stole from Gramps' room," he pulled out a katana that had been strapped to his back, "and cut off his head and paws so that we can present them to the village!"

"Oh!" Luffy said, pounding a fist in his palm. "That makes sense!"

"I dunno," Sabo said. "I think we might be pushing our luck a bit."

"Hmm…you might be right," Ace said. "I mean, I didn't wanna bring Luffy, but he said he'd tell Mom if I didn't take him. If anything, he could hold us back."

"I will not!" Luffy spat.

"That's not what I mean!" Sabo remarked. "I'm afraid that Akainu might eat him. After all, Luffy is the smallest. He can't run as fast as we can and he seems like easy prey for that monster!"

"No I don't!" Luffy argued. "I can be just as strong as you guys!"

"Yeah, right!" Ace said. "Whenever you see something you think is scary, the first thing you do is try to act tough, but then you run away, crying like a baby, and clinging to Mom's leg, you little momma's boy!"

"I am not a momma's boy!" Luffy argued.

"You are too!" Ace spat back.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Sabo sighed. Ace and Luffy always seemed to having silly arguments like this, and somehow, he always wound up being the one trying to break it up.

"Okay, okay," Sabo said as he stood between his brothers. "Let's settle down, here, okay? Come on! If Akainu really does live in these woods, what if he hears us?"

SNAP! The boys froze up at the sound of a twig snapping.

"You hear that?" Ace whispered.

"You think it's Akainu?" Luffy asked a bit nervously.

"Maybe," Sabo said. "Get ready."

The brothers stood together, prepared to fight whatever best happened to leap out at them, but then…a little squirrel leaped out from the bushes, squeaking and chattering before scurrying away up a tree.

Ace heaved an annoyed sigh.

"It was just a squirrel," he said. "I can't believe we were freaking out over a little squirrel!"

Luffy giggled.

"It was cute!" he said.

"I wonder what that squirrel was doing though," Sabo added.

"Uh, hello?" Ace questioned. "It's a squirrel, dumb-ass! You see them all the time in the forest!"

"I know," Sabo began, "but…that squirrel looked kind of scared…like it was running away from something."

"Running away from something?" Luffy asked. "Like what?"

GRRRRR~! A ferocious growl was heard, and the boys went on high alert in an instant.

"I-I think I just found out," Ace said with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

Suddenly, THOMP! A giant paw slammed down into the ground behind Luffy, who slowly turned around, and the moment he did, he gasped in terror.

It was a dog, but not just any dog. A huge dog that stood about 15 feet tall with blazing orange eyes and fur as red as blood. His lower jaw had an underbite and showed a row of sharp teeth as thick as one's hand, and his claws were as black as coal.

The brothers gasped at the sight of the monster, for they knew it could only be one thing…

"Akainu…" Ace muttered.

GRRRRRRR~! The monstrous dog's growl rumbled in his throat, and the brothers stood in their place, staring up at the beast. Only Ace seemed to have the courage to raise his "weapon", and his brothers soon followed this gesture, although Luffy was shaking more than the elder two. Akainu growled at the brothers, ropes of saliva hanging from his lips. SWAK! He swatted the pipe right out of their hands with his paw. SHUNK! The pipes ended up getting stuck in the trunk of a nearby tree. Ace turned to Akainu before drawing his grandfather's katana.

"Stay back, you monster!" he barked. "Stay back, or I'll make you into dog sashimi!"

CHOMP! Akainu bit down on the steel blade and yanked out right out of Ace's grip.

"Ace…I-I don't think this is such a good idea, anymore!" Luffy said.

"I hate to admit it," Ace began, "but I think you're right, Luffy!"

"Then I guess there's only one thing to do," Sabo said. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

GRRROOOOOAAAAAAAARR~! Akainu let out a ferocious roar that reverberated throughout the forest. The brothers ran away as fast as they could, but Akainu gave chase after the trio.

"MOMMY~!" Luffy cried out.

XXX

Back on the farm, Star gasped as she looked to the direction the scream came from, and behind her stood Monkey D. Garp, the boys' grandfather.

"Was that Luffy?" Garp asked.

"Garp," Star said, "you don't think that they…?"

"If they did," Garp started, "then they'd be asking for more trouble than they realized."

Just then, the brothers emerged from the forest, their face contorted with panic.

"MOM!" Ace cried. "GRAMPS!"

"RUN!" Sabo exclaimed.

"AKAINU'S COMING!" Luffy added.

At that moment, the beastly dog appeared, still chasing after them.

"Oh my lord…!" Star gasped at the sight of Akainu.

"BOYS!" Garp cried as he charged at the demon with nothing but his bare hands alone. He rushed passed the brothers, and WHAM! He met Akainu, head-on! He held the beast's mighty jaws open, and then with great force, he threw him down to the ground with little to no effort!

"Come on!" Garp shouted at the monster. "Get up and fight, you damn beast! What's wrong?! Too scared to face Garp the Fist?! Afraid I'll rip that head right off your neck?!"

Akainu staggered to his paws and shook his head before facing Garp, growling viciously once more.

"Grandpa!"

"Luffy, no! Come back here!"

Garp gasped and turned to see Luffy running towards him and his mother and brothers chasing after him to get back him to the safety of the house.

"Luffy!" Garp cried. "No! Go back!"

GRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWRR! Akainu roared and dashed passed Garp, heading straight for Luffy, who gasped once he realized the danger he put himself in before turning back to run to the house, but he tripped on a rock and fell on the grass, just as Akainu drew ever closer!

"Luffy!" Star and Ace, cried.

"Luffy, get up!" Sabo called. "He's coming!"

"Run, Luffy!" Garp shouted.

Luffy stood up, but Akainu already seemed to be upon him, but then, Sabo came to his younger brother's side and pushed him away. Once he did, he turned and saw the beast…but there was no time for him to let out a scream. The only sound that could be heard was the screams of his brothers, Star, and Garp as Akainu brought his jaws upon his head and snatched him from the ground before fleeing back to the darkness of the forest, taking the boy with him.

After that night, Luffy and Ace never saw their brother again. Star died of a broken heart three days later, leaving Garp to raise the two boys himself, and ever since, the brothers came to despise Akainu, but because of the fear that the beastly canine had instilled in their hearts, the only thing they could do was pray that someday, instead of Akainu bringing death to his victims, the demon shall be the one to die.

Yep! It's gonna be one of those Princess Nami stories! Had this in mind for quite some time, now. :D

Review, please!