Abandoned Notice

Dear readers,

You've probably figured this out already since I haven't updated anything in over a year now but I'm posting this letter to confirm what you've already assumed: this story is now officially abandoned.

I know at some point I promised that I would never abandon this story but I made that promise when I was a slacker college student that naively thought he could rewrite a series that has been going on for almost twenty years now. I made some decent headway through the series but at this point I no longer have the time or the motivation to continue writing this massive monster of a fanfic series. I spent a large portion of the last year attempting to rearrange my schedule to allocate designated writing time but I couldn't make it work without sacrificing sleep or my social life. Around November my failure to make any significant or quality progress with the next chapter was starting to frustrate me. That's when I realized that I was no longer enjoying writing this story.

I've always had this habit of dropping relationships that I've deemed 'cancerous'. These are relationships where I feel like I'm giving too much of myself and am getting too little in return. My relationship with Another Nakama sadly fell into that category. I was no longer enjoying the writing experience and the time requirements to continue were simply too demanding. So in a fit of annoyed rage I completely severed my relationship with fanfiction. This included setting a filter that sent any emails I received from this site to my spam folder. I apologize to anyone that sent me a PM or a review since the beginning of December. I haven't received them.

Following the 'breakup' I had a happy and much less stressful holiday. I started the year 2016 with no intention of going back to writing fanfiction. Then I saw Zootopia (and loved it). Nick Wilde reminded me of my own sly fox character. Then I saw the One Piece 'Adventure of Nebulandia' special. Foxy's reappearance and the Straw Hats going up against a Marine Tactician reminded me of the last two arcs that I completed in this story. I went back and reread those arcs and decided to give one final attempt at writing a new chapter. I succeeded. It took a night without sleep and completely abandoning some weekend plans that I had with my girlfriend but I finished the chapter that I had been struggling with for months. I was miserable the next day at work but I had finally managed it. I was all set to make my big return and post the new chapter but then I stopped and thought to myself… 'It took you this much time and effort to finish just one chapter. There are still hundreds more to go. There's no feasible way for you to possibly finish this gargantuan monster of a story.'

So it was with a heavy heart that I decided to stand by my earlier decision to cut ties with fanfiction. I owe a lot of who I am today to this last decade that I've spent as a fanfiction author. My writing has improved tremendously because of fanfiction (I still grimace at some of my early chapters). I got through college because of fanfiction (it's easy to write a seven page paper when you write twenty page chapters for fun). I got a part-time jobs as a night crew audio transcriber for a television series because of fanfiction (Of course I know what this job entails I write pages of dialogue word for word as a hobby). But now its time for me to put this stage of my life behind me and move on.

I'm posting this letter today exactly ten years after I posted the first chapter of my first story because I felt I owed it to my readers who devoted so much time reading this story. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this fanfic over the years. I'll consider myself accomplished if just one reader found enjoyment or inspiration from my work. But before I leave I'm going to take off the spam filter on fanfiction dot net. I realize that I left a lot unanswered and unfulfilled. So for my devoted readers who desire some completion… I'm willing to spoil this unfinished story for you. For the next month I'll publicly respond to reviews and answer any questions you may have about where I planned to go with this story. I'll be posting my responses here as I get them so be sure to check on this 'chapter' again in a month's time then I'll raise anchor and sail off into the sunset as I leave this part of my life behind.

Thank you for everything,

QPython

SPOILER CORNER:

Question from J0HNS1LVER: The fate of Ricky x Nami

Yes. They were eventually going to get together. The exact time is when they reunited after the time skip. I've actually had that scene written for two years now. I figured that I could spend the pre time skip part of the story building up to the relationship and the post time skip part of it actually having the relationship. However, before they get to that point Ricky and Nami were still going to have to endure their roller coaster of a relationship.

Question from J0HNS1LVER: My plans for Ayako

She and Ollie were going to go with Ricky to break Ace out of Impel Down. But after the war she'd be dubbed a wanted criminal and could no longer return to Alabasta. She joins the Straw Hats after they reunite post Time Skip. I'm disappointed that I never got to fully explore her character. But if you want to take a crack at it, go ahead. Its not like I own the rights to her. If you want to use the Ayako name or anything else I came up with about her feel free.

Question from SubZPhantomX: Ricky's Post Time Skip Appearance

Post-Time Skip Ricky would have complete control over his body and mind. To the point where he's mastered Kami-e and walks around in a compact Sketch Form. He stands at 6' 6.6" inches with an extremely defined frame that's almost pure muscles. He wears a pair of rectancular glasses with red lenses to make the Red Eye look more like a normal eye. His hair is still short and he's still clean shaven.

Question from Auguste the Clown via PM: Where does Kuma send Ricky?

Kuma sends Ricky back to Alabasta. I did this so I could check in with Vivi and the Baroque Works Agents at the Spider's Cafe. (Mana and Jun got together. She calls him 'Chocolate Bear'.) But mainly so Ricky could get 'Escape Artist' Ayako on board for his attempt to break Ace out of Impel Down. Captain Hina serves as their patsy. Jun and Vivi 'turn in' Red Eye Ricky and Hina takes him to Impel Down while Ollie, Ayako and Ricky's five Kung Fu Dugong's stow away on her ship.

Question from Auguste the Clown, 'Guest', 'A Reader' and Kjack223: Who is Ricky's father?

Whitebeard was a red herring. Ricky's biological father is Silvers Rayleigh. While Ricky's mother Mitsune was a nurse on Whitebeard's crew (and was the only one he'd actually listen to) before that she was on Gol D. Roger's crew. During that time she and Rayleigh had a relationship. Mitsune dealt with minor injuries but they brought on Crocus when Roger got really sick. That's why Crocus didn't mess around with Ricky. He recognized him as his former assistant's son. After Roger's execution, Mitsune joined Whitebeard's crew (with all his injuries she felt he needed the most medical help) and stayed on for a few years until World Government's attempts to eradicate Roger's bloodline died out. She stayed with Rayleigh at Sabaody briefly then nine months after Ace was finally born she ended up pregnant herself. She wanted to have her baby in peace so she left for the East Blue and moved in with her sister Makino. Nine months later, Ricky was born. Mitsune died three years later. Rayleigh eventually met Shakki and remarried.

Question from Nobody and Please Answer: Reactions to Ricky's father?

The Straw Hats have their usual mixed collection of reactions when Ricky learns that Rayleigh is if father. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Brook think its cool. 'No wonder why he's the best First Mate'. Zoro, Sanji and Robin are more or less indifferent. Franky plays it off like he doesn't care. 'That's not so super. You're still a stingy jerk'. Ricky isn't overly concerned. 'That doesn't change who I am now. But that does explain why Whitebeard laughed when Ace and I fought him together back when we first met.' Nami is thrilled but not for the same reason as Luffy and the others. 'You means that's what you're going to look like in forty years? HELL YES! All this damn waiting is gonna pay off!' 'You do realize that I take after my mother, right?' 'Shut up! Don't ruin this for me!'

Question from Anonymous: Ricky's involvement in the Summit War?

Ricky and Ollie go ahead of the others and join the Whitebeard Pirates before the war fully gets underway. Ricky leads the former Spade Pirates on a charge through the battlefield. They're eventually stopped by the Warlords until Luffy arrives. Things follow as canon, Luffy and Ricky get Ace free, the three brothers make their escape, Ace dies saving Luffy from Akainu. Akainu punches through Luffy and Jimbei then an angry Ricky sends him flying with a full-power Haki blast from the Eye. Law appears and Ricky gets Luffy and Jimbei to the submarine in time to see the Blackbeard Pirates kill Whitebeard. Law's submarine escapes the battle.

Question from Anonymous: Ricky's time skip training

Ricky stays with Luffy and his father on Rusukaina Island. Rayleigh is set to train them both in Haki but Ricky is stunted due to the fact that he still hasn't come to terms with Ace and Whitebeard's death yet since he was focused on making sure Luffy survived since Ace's last request was for Ricky to protect Luffy. Nami hijacks a cloud and pays Ricky a late night visit to check up on him. She helps him come to terms with the war casualties and knows that he's in no condition to get together at this point. Ricky tells her that he'll come back early and if she'll meet him in twenty-three months time... they can get together when they reunite. Nami leaves and Ricky begins the process of completely mastering his mind, body and spirit.

Question from Guest: Do Ricky and Nami settle down?

I don't know how One Piece is going to end. But I had plans in the works for a Next Gen fic where Luffy is executed as the Second Pirate King and on his execution claims he "Wants Peace". Ricky and Nami's daughter 'Kit'sune teams up with Luffy's son Monkey D. Ace and Robin's daughter Nico Olvia to form a crew and fight for peace as Warlords, walking the line between pirate and marine. Kitsune trains in swordsmanship by Zoro and would be the One Piece version of Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet by eating the Armor Armor Fruit which allows her to store various suits of armor inside herself in the form of various tattoos on her body.

Question from LightPurple96 and Random Fan: Fate of my other OCs?

Han dies during the Whitebeard War. Ollie completely breaks down after seeing everyone she cares about die. Marguerite looks after her at Ricky's request and patches her up during the time skip and she joins the Kuja Pirates. Devo refuses to be promoted due to his loyalty to Smoker and respect for his morals. His robot arm is upgraded during time skip to shoot 'beams' and lasers. He never made a move with Tashigi so they're still dancing around each other when the Straw Hats see them again at Punk Hazard. Devo and Tashigi are joined by a disgraced 'Black Cage' Hina to become Vice Admiral Smoker and G-5's infamous Three Captains. Hina was humiliated by 'Escape Artist' Ayako again during Impel Down and the Paramount War and ended up being demoted to Commander and lost most of her men (except Jango and Fullbody who love her too much to abandon her). Smoker covers for her like she used to do for him and allows Hina to join his marines. Hina spends the time skip being hypnotized over and over again by Jango until she develops an immunity to hypnotism. Working with Smoker, she's eventually promoted and regains her previous rank of Captain.

Question from Guest: Ricky-Red Eye reveal/Ricky's future bounties?

Ricky reveals to the world that he's Red Eye when he openly uses the Eye to keep up with Luffy during Enies Lobby. The World Government reacts by combining all his previous bounties. 20 million + 80 million + 100 million = 200 million post Enies Lobby bounty. Devo is extra disgusted by the revelation that Ricky is a deranged killer. He's extra dedicated to taking down Ricky during the Whitebeard War.

Ricky's post-War bounty goes up to 300 million berries. 'Escape Artist' Ayako's is 50 million and Ollie even manages to get a 75 million berri bounty.

Question from Guest: Ricky's split personality?

Ricky's mind first split when he witnessed Sabo's 'death'. The split broke free when he overheard Blackbeard murdering Thatch. During Thriller Bark, Ricky confronts a physical manifestation of his evil personality which takes the form of a 10 year old Sabo with red eyes since 'his death caused my birth'.

Question from mslmob12 and anielgonzalez: Ricky's reaction to the zombies at Thriller Bark?

Ricky is terrified of the zombies. But he ends up facing that fear when he tries holding off Ryuma and Absalom so Nami, Usopp and Chopper can escape Hogback's mansion. Nami is ultimately kidnapped by Ricky's zombie so Ricky faces his fear again when he goes off with Sanji to rescue her.

Question from Fan: Ricky & Jimbei?

Ricky and Jimbei reunite during Impel Down when Ricky is thrown into Ace and Jimbei cell while Luffy's been poisoned. Ace is eventually taken away which leads to the awkwardness of Ricky and Jimbei being left alone. "I hear you're the one that kill my brother Arlong." "I hear you're the one that didn't do his job of keeping tabs on his pet monster which resulted in me having to clean up your mess." With nothing else to do, Ricky explains how the situation with Arlong went down. "I tried bartering with him but then he bit me. So it ended up becoming a fight to the death. He was hurting someone that means the world to me so I wasn't going to back down. I'm sorry it ended the way it did but he left me no other choice." Eventually, Ricky and Jimbei gain a mutual respect for one another during the War.

Questions from numerous guest reviewers: Ricky's involvement in future story arcs

I'm wrote the full spoiler and posted them below in addition to a final scene with Ricky and Nami reuniting Post Time Skip. That should at least give my readers a small sense of closure. Or as much as possible for an incomplete series.

Question from Guest: Ricky a Marty Sue?

That certainly didn't stop a great deal of people from enjoying the character and this story over the last five years. I'm not going to apologize for how I wrote him.

Question from Random Person: am I still taking questions?

Yes. But I'm waiting to respond to a bunch at a time. I'll respond to one more batch when I come back to post my final scene.

Question from GoldenLionShiki and Vergil Leonidas: final scene?

I'm not going to post the chapter that took me a year to write. Mainly because that's the official first chapter of the Water 7 Arc and I'd much rather leave off in between arcs than in the middle of one. Instead, I'll post the scene where Ricky and Nami get together Post Time Skip. That should at least give the readers a sense of closure. The last scene is now posted.

Question from Askdon'ttell: Does Ricky sacrifice himself for Luffy?

Yes. At the end of Thriller Bark Ricky tricks Zoro and knocks him out so he can take Luffy's pain. But he doesn't have Zoro's incredible pain threshold so it ends up killing him. He ends up in a white void where he meets the child-like Sabo-shaped manifestation of his evil personality. An angry Bellemere and a helpful Mitsune appear and help Ricky come back.

Question from Guest: What is Ricky's relationship with Franky and Brook?

Ricky and Franky become rivals similar to Zoro and Sanji. It starts when Franky steals the money from the Straw Hats which Ricky takes personally. Ricky is annoyed by Franky's boorish personality and blatantly perverted behavior and calls him things along the lines of "Big metal dumbass", "Pantless Pervert" and "Brainless Robot". In return, Franky calls Ricky "Stingy" and that's it. Which actually further annoys Ricky because his rival can't (more like won't) think of any more creative insults.

As for Brook, Ricky is initially terrified of the skeleton due to his fear of zombies. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a chance to interact much with the musician because after sacrificing himself for Luffy he ends up in a coma and only wakes up midway through the Sabaody Arc.

Question from Guest: How did Han die?

He was frozen by Aokiji and left there. But was then smashed by Akainu while he was going after Luffy, Ricky and Ace.

Question from Guest: Will Ricky meet Blackbeard again?

Yes. He confronts Blackbeard during the escape from Impel Down. He catches him off guard using the powers from the Eye and has Blackbeard at his mercy. But makes the mistake of sparing him. "I'm not a murderer anymore." But then Ricky gets to watch from Law's submarine as Blackbeard and his crew murder Whitebeard.

Question from Guest: Ricky's involvement in New World Arcs?

Who knows. The New World storylines haven't finished yet so I haven't finished writing Ricky into them yet. There were a couple things I had planned on for each arc like Ricky confronting Shyarly about killing her brother Arlong, Ricky and Robin switching bodies in Punk Hazard and learning use each others 'powers' while Nami keeps kissing the wrong one by mistake, and, of course, Ricky confronting Sabo during Dressrosa (he wasn't as happy as you'd think). But I never got around to fully fleshing those arcs out because I wanted to see how the rest of the storyline played out first.

Question from Guest: Ricky's reaction to Hancock?

Ricky isn't blinded by Hancock's beauty since a certain thief stole his heart so he's able to avoid the Mero Mero Beam every time Hancock tries it on him. Ricky is supportive of her pursuit of Luffy. Hancock comes along with Ollie and Marguerite to pick Ricky up from Rusukaina Island a month early. Hancock has a big plate of meat with her and insists that she's going to take Ricky's place on the island. Ricky replies, "Well if you're after Luffy you'd probably have better luck is you're wearing that meat."

Question from Fandom: Ricky's relationship with Sabo and Dadan?

Dadan actually likes Ricky because he's a competent thief and encourages him to hone his skills as an actual bandit.

Sabo and Ricky were really close which is why Ricky's mind cracked when Sabo died. Ricky was there on the beach when Sabo was 'killed' trying to 'escape'. Ricky dove into the water to rescue Sabo but could only find his top hat. That type of thing can be very traumatic to a nine year old.

Question from Guest: Ricky's relationship with Garp?

Garp blames Ricky for corrupting Luffy into wanting to become a pirate. He actually doesn't hit Ricky with his 'Fist of Love' and instead grabs him and throws him across the island "to remove the bad influence".

Question from Guest: Ricky's Japanese voice actor?

I don't know Japanese voice actors that well. Let's go with Megumi Ogata - Kurama's voice actor.

Question from Guest: Ricky's hat?

No. Ricky never finds a proper hat. It's running gag that he tries different ones but someone inevitably says the new one sucks so Ricky has to continue his search.

Or at least... that was the plan. I thought of something fitting and tweaked my final scene a bit.

Question from Guest: Other fillers?

I wasn't really planning on doing any other filler arcs.

Question from Guest: The other bets and final result of the RickyxNami pool?

Franky bets that they wouldn't get together out of spite because "Stingy's a prick." Brook, the most of his time with Ricky and Nami consisted of Nami sitting at a comatose Ricky's bedside, bets that they'd eventually walk in on the two and catch them together.

The original plan was for Mana and Robin to share the win. Mana's bet being that they'd get together when one of them wins the Swindling War. Robin's bet was that they'd get together when Ricky gains control of his mind.

But when I tweaked my final scene to make it my final post I changed things around a bit and someone else ended up winning. Read the last scene and you'll see.

Question from Guest: How does Nami win the Swindling War?

You'll see. That's the last scene I wrote for this story.

Question from Guest: Ricky and Robin?

Ricky and Robin never get together. They remain very close, really good friends. She's supportive about Ricky and Nami's relationship but isn't above teasing them.

Questions from Guest: More info about Kitsune?

I wasn't able to finish this story and since that Next Gen fic was still just in the planning phase we're just going to have to leave it as an untold story. It's best to put it out of your mind and move on. I'll never have the time to make it happen.

Question from Guest: What was the incident that caused Ricky and Ollie to become closer that only Ace knows about?

I had planned to include this as a flashback during the Impel Down Arc to add further development to Ollie's character arc. Back when they were the Spade Pirates the cook Treys enlists Ricky to search for some missing produce. He ventures below deck and finds Ollie 'using' a missing cucumber. Loud shouts and thuds from Ricky tripping as he tries to escape ensue. Ollie throws things which doesn't help matters. To the uninformed observer it sounds like a heated argument. A red-faced Ollie and Ricky attempt to smooth over the embarrassing incident. "You saw NOTHING!" "Right, right... but um... if you don't mind me asking... there are a number of attractive guys on this ship... why are you resorting to stealing produce? Ace has gotten really popular with the ladies ever since he got his powers and started walking around without a shirt on." "Maybe they're not my type. What about you? Have you ever even kissed a girl?" "Yeah but... y'know... no spark." "Spark?" "Yeah, the spark that sets of fireworks in your head and tells you that its the right person." "God, you're a bigger girl than I am. You make the spark yourself. Here... watch..." Ollie grabs him and kisses him. When Ricky starts to kiss back Ollie's eyes fly open and she studies his features for a few seconds then suddenly the kiss becomes a full on snog. "Huh... that... wasn't bad." "Still think I'm just a kid?" "You're making a convincing argument otherwise... but I think the matter requires further investigation." They resume their previous activity and Ace of course picks that moment to walk in on them making out. "Um... I'll come back later..." Keep in mind, at this point Ricky's bushy red hair (Kurama style) and big expressive eyes are just like his mother's. Their newfound closeness was a result of them sneaking off together to hide their unofficial not-quite relationship. They never have sex or go far beyond kissing. But the day when Ricky goes off to find the Dark Dark Fruit with Blackbeard, Ollie had planned on convincing Ricky make their status 'official'.

Question from Guest: How did Luffy and Ricky meet?

A young Luffy wanders into Makino's Tavern and Ricky takes him under his wing and introduces him to an old pirate that's currently drinking there. Together they manage to convince the old sea dog to tell them about a treasure hunt he went on. After that first story, Luffy is hooked on pirates and spends all his free time in Makino's tavern. He and Ricky become thick as thieves. Ricky had been enthralled with stories of pirates and treasure hunts ever since a man with a strange beard told him about a treasure hunt we went on back when he was three. The man with the strange beard is later revealed to have been Rayleigh following Mitsune's funeral. Anyway, then Shanks showed up and tells stories about the Pirate King Gold Roger and becomes a role model for Luffy and the type of pirate he wants to become.

-Hopefully that answers most of the important questions. The rest should be answered in my full spoilers below and the scene following it.-

-FULL SPOILERS-

WATER 7 - Ricky's outfit is a red version of Sanji's that Nami can't help but admit makes him look suave and sophisticated much to Sanji's irritation. Ricky manages to get the crew extra money when exchanging the Skypeia treasure. Around the time when Usopp leaves the crew Ricky and Nami completely implode. Ricky reaches his breaking point of how many of Nami's snarky comments and insults that he can take and Nami is furious that he keeps taunting her with something that she can never have. The big fight is further complicated by the fact that Chopper nearly breaks down in tears and tells Ricky that since he can't fix the situation with Nami that he's no longer talking to him. The Straw Hat Doctor then proceeds to 'ignore' Ricky by following him around and a pointedly reminding him "I'm ignoring you". Franky steals money from Usopp, and Ricky indirectly. Ricky takes it personally which sparks a rivalry similar to Sanji and Zoro. Ricky takes great joy in calling Franky 'Cutty Flam', 'Brainless Robot', 'Big Metal Pervert', 'Shameless Cyborg' and others. Franky always responds by calling Ricky 'Stingy' which further serves to irritate Ricky because his rival can't think of anything more creative to insult him with. Ricky manages to find his way to Franky's house and is with him and Usopp when the CP9 agents come for Franky. In his typical pattern of fighting all the villains at once, Ricky manages to take down Blueno and Kaku but ultimately falls to Lucci. Ricky is left for dead while the Agents leave with Franky and Usopp. He eventually reunites with the others and boards the Rocket Man.

ENIES LOBBY – Ricky reveals himself as Red Eye so he can keep up with Luffy as he rushes ahead at Enies Lobby. He stands aside and allows Luffy to demonstrate Gear Second against Blueno. Ricky decides to keep Jyabura occupied to give Zoro and SniperKing one less thing to worry about while they're handcuffed together facing Kaku. He gains some separation from the wolf-man and confronts Nami as she's going off to get the key to the handcuffs from Kalifa. Nami realizes that their fate rests on her winning a fight and that they could all die here so after a montage of all the pro RiNa advice she's received from all the other Straw Hats she decides 'the hell with it' and grabs Ricky and kisses him. "I still love you. I tried to kill those feelings but it just made me miserable. I'd rather have you in my life than not at all. If... if we live I'm willing to wait for you to pull yourself together. Because when I finally get you I want to have all of you." Ricky grins and kisses her. "I tried to let go of my feelings to for you... but I couldn't. You're too deep in my mind and heart. You're... you're my treasure. You're the reason I'm trying to pull my mind together. You're what I'm fighting for. I don't think I'll ever be able to give up on you." "Then I guess we'd better live," Nami resolves. "One more for good luck..." She kisses Ricky one last time then charges into the bathroom with her Perfect ClimaTact sparking with lightning. "ALRIGHT, BITCH, YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" She promptly slips in a puddle of water, slides across the room, and jams her stick into Kalifa's bath while she's still in it. Kalifa is left lying smoking, naked and electrocuted in her bath. "Who takes a bath in the middle of a battle anyway?" Nami quickly deduces that the key she's after is in Kalifa's clothes so the thief grabs them and runs off. Ricky - "That was fast." Nami - "I was properly motivated." She runs off to deliver the key to Zoro and Usopp only for a charred towel-clad Kalifa to come roaring out of the bathroom after her. Monster Chopper then bursts through the wall and showers the bubblefied Sanji with debris. He springs back into action and faces Jyabura, the newly free Zoro fights Kaku one-on-one, Nami finishes off the enraged Kalifa and Ricky is left to calm down the rampaging Chopper which he finally manages to do when he and Nami show the rampaging monster that they made up. When Garp shows up after everything, he grabs Ricky and throws him clear across the island like he used to when he was a kid, still calling him a "red headed bad influence ".

THRILLER BARK – Ricky is initially terrified of Brook. "AAAH! ZOMBIE!" Ricky goes with Nami, Usopp and Chopper. "Wait a minute… you didn't come along to keep us safe! You came along because YOU were scared!" Ricky's Eye allows him to 'see' Absalom and he fights him off (after getting an eyeful of Nami). Ricky confronts his fear of zombies when he holds off Ryuma and Absalom so Nami, Usopp and Chopper can escape Hogback's castle. His shadow is taken and planted in a vampire zombie with a body similar to Absalom's. The main animal characteristics come from a giant vampire bat. But Evil-Ricky leaves along with Ricky's shadow and takes over the zombie body. Now with a body of his own, Evil-Ricky aids Absalom in kidnapping Nami. He knows that Ricky will come for Nami and plans to kill him so he can take the Eye and Ricky's vampire sword. After Absalom is dealt with, Zombie-Ricky attacks Ricky and he finds himself facing a physical manifestation of his evil half. Ricky's evil half goads him into fighting without using the eye "Because you could never beat me without it." Ricky falls for the bait and is soon overwhelmed by Zombie-Ricky's superior animal muscles and bat wings that all him to fly. But then Nami appears still in her wedding dress and strikes Evil-Ricky with a bolt of lightning. "He's using his advantages. I think you should use yours. You've got me. And you always will." With Nami's help, Ricky manages to outsmart and overcome his evil half. After Ricky flashes Nami a sly grin, "You know... since he's over there... my mind's in one piece now. Do mind if I kiss the bride?" A very ruffled Ricky and Nami eventually arrive to aid the other Straw Hats in fighting Oars. Ricky uses the Eye to defeat his brother's zombie while Nightmare Luffy appears and defeats huge-zombie-Moria. Ricky scowls when his shadow returns along with his evil half. Then Kuma shows up and blows everyone away. Ricky tricks Zoro and takes Luffy's pain himself. But he doesn't have Zoro's pain threshold and dies. Nami is devastated. In a Harry Potter-esque afterlife, Ricky finds himself in a white void with his evil persona that resembles a demonic version of young Sabo. "I look like Sabo because I was born when Sabo died." They are eventually greeted by Bellemere who proceeds to beat the ever loving crap out of both of them. "DO YOU ENJOY BREAKING MY DAUGHTER'S HEART?" At some point during the beating Bellemere reveals that Ricky's mother Mitsune was supposed to greet him but lost to Bellemere in strip poker so she came instead. Mitsune eventually does appear wearing only a tan coat that she borrowed from Nico Olvia. Ricky's mother reveals that since his mind was split into two portions he couldn't handle all of Luffy's pain. Their two options are: 1. Put all the pain into his evil half and have that pass on instead of him. 2. Join the broken parts together and suffer through the pain as one. Ricky reasons that even though his evil half is evil it's still a part of him. Sending it off in his place would be taking the easy way out. He's been trying to pull his mind together not split it into pieces. Mitsune comments that Ricky is brave and smart just like his father. Ricky returns to the land of the living and tells Nami "Your mother says 'hi'" before he passes out and goes into a coma.

SABAODY - Nami has spent every waking moment at Ricky's bedside. (Her bed actually.) Robin eventually convinces her to leave the ship for a bit and explore Sabaody with her. But when Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Franky are left alone on the ship with Ricky... Ollie returns. Ricky's Vivre Card burned up and she rushed off to find him. She manages to revive him using a special herb/flower. Ricky, Zoro and Ollie arrive at the auction house in time for Ricky to temporarily suffocate Saint Charloss and win Camie at the auction house. (Having been informed by Zoro that Camie and Hachi are their friends now.) He pays on the spot and promptly removes her slave collar. Then states "This mermaid is under the protection of 'Red Eye' Ricky'. If any of you bastards lay a hand on her… I'll show you why they used to call me 'the Demon'." Ricky sees Law, Kid and Killer in the auction house but doesn't have a chance to interact with them or any of the other Supernovas. Charloss recovers and shoots Ricky. Luffy punches the Celestial Dragon in the face. Ricky wakes up after the Straw Hats escape the marines. Rayleigh immediately recognizes Ricky as Mitsune's son. Rayleigh reveals that Ricky's mother was actually a nurse on board the Oro Jackson. Her Hippocratic oath makes her feel that even pirates need medical attention. Mitsune spent years on Roger's crew patching up their various injuries. She had only joined Whitebeard for a short time after the Pirate King died. Through the explanation the other Straw Hats notice Ricky and Rayleigh exhibiting similar mannerisms. Eventually it's revealed that Rayleigh is Ricky's father and that he had fallen for Mitsune during the time she spent on the same crew. Ricky plays it off like it's no big deal. "I knew I had a father. But just because you're famous doesn't change that fact that I grew up without one." Rayleigh – "You know… we've actually met before … at your mother's funeral. You looked so much like her… seeing her face again and knowing you were so upset was devastating. Do you remember that pirate who cheered you up by telling you about that treasure hunt?" Ricky squints as he tries to bring up a distant memory from when he was three. "The man with the strange beard... That was you?" "Luffy! My old man is the one that got me into treasure hunting!" "COOL!" Nami smirks, "Thanks for that." Rayleigh continues, "I was in no state to take you. Especially to the Grand Line. So I left you with your aunt. It took me ten years before I was finally able to get over Mitsune. Shakky was there to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Take some advice from an old man, when you love someone… cherish all the time you have with her. You never know when it might be cut short." Nami, who had been sitting next to Ricky holding has hand slides closer and Ricky puts his arm around her. Then Kizaru, Kuma, Sentoumaru and the PXs show up. Ricky's Kuma injuries act up. Zoro gets sent flying when he tries to protect Ricky. Ricky and Nami try to stay together but are eventually separated and scattered like the others. Ricky is sent back to Alabasta. Ollie rushes off to find him again using the little bit of his burned Vivre Card that she has left.

SEPARATION: Ricky lands in Alabasta and is found by Laslow (Mr. 4) while he's out making a delivery. He brings Ricky back to the Spider's Café where Mana patches him up. She show him around the Spider's Café where all the former Baroque Works Agents are working together for their community service. Jun is visiting from his post in Nanohana and Ricky learns that he and Mana are together now when Mana calls him 'Chocolate Bear'. "You're never going to let me live that down… are you?" "Nope! And I'll be sure to tell the others when I see them." Ricky is sent off to Alubarna to reunite with Vivi and Ayako who have gotten much closer. Vivi informs him of Ace's capture and impending execution. Ayako immediately offers to help him since she wants to break Bentham out of prison. They return to the Spider's Café to find Ollie fighting her way through all the Baroque Works Agents. Ricky calms her down and clears up the misunderstanding. They all devise a plan to get Ricky, Ollie and Ayako to Impel Down. Vivi and Jun turn Ricky in to Captain Hina who serves as their oblivious patsy while Ollie, Ayako and Ricky's Kung Fu Dugong's stowaway on her ship.

IMPEL DOWN: The Dugongs are left outside while Ricky, Ollie and Ayako sneak into the prison using Ayako's new Colors Trap Boring Brown which is the opposite of Bullfight Red and makes everyone that sees it ignore whatever it's on. Ricky's group eventually meets up with Luffy's group. Awkward reunion between Ayako and Galdino. Happy reunion between Ayako and Bentham. They all fight their way downward together. Luffy is eventually poisoned by Magellan. Ricky and Ollie surrender. Ollie is thrown into level five with Luffy but smuggled some of her supplies in and tries to make an antidote for Magellan's venom. Ricky tricks Magellan into putting him in the cell with Ace and Jimbei. "We're here to rescue you!" "Oh… good job." Ayako and Bentham stage a rescue of Luffy and Ollie. Ollie gets injured along with Bentham trying to defend Luffy from the wolves. They eventually meet Inazuma and Ivankov. Bentham and Ollie are healed while Ivankov gives Luffy the healing hormone 'miracle cure'. Bentham and Ayako spend twenty hours cheering Luffy on. Ivankov has a revealing conversation with Ollie stating that she looks lost. "Some big-boobed thief stole the only guy I ever came close to loving. I'm doing all this for him. Risking my neck breaking into a prison, looking after his brother. We could've just joined up with Whitebeard and rescued Ace with them. But Ricky knew his brother would try something like this and insisted on helping him out. So naturally I came along. But it won't make a difference. He's still going to go back to her." Ivankov zeroes in on the 'only guy' bit. He suggests that part of Ollie's problem is that she sees herself as 'one of the guys'-and turns her into a guy. "GAH! I look like my father!" (Oliver Queen - Green Arrow) "TURN ME BACK! I spent YEARS trying to get that senile old man to call me a girl! This is NOT HELPING!" Ollie is turned back and Ivankov suggests that perhaps her lack of romantic success stems from the fact that she's been looking love in the wrong places." Ivankov concludes that Ollie is "confused". Ace is eventually moved and Ricky and Jimbei have an awkward conversation about Ricky killing Arlong. When Luffy wakes up he thanks Bentham and Ayako and invites them to join the Straw Hat Crew. Bentham passes, his dream has always been to train under Ivankov. Ayako doesn't get to answer. Luffy and Co eventually arrive and free Ricky, Jimbei and Crocodile then they all start to fight their way back out of the prison. Luffy, Jimbei and Crocodile take out the Demon Guards. Luffy fights Hannyabal until Blackbeard shows up. Ricky attacks Blackbeard and manages to catch him off guard using the Eye and at one point has Teach at his mercy. "I'm not a murderer anymore." Ricky slashes Blackbeard with his sword which has 'drank' some of Magellan's poison. "You can live if you manage to find a cure." Bentham goes off on his own to get the gate opened but Ayako sees him leaving and follows him. "I broke in here to get you out! I won't leave you." Ayako uses Betrayal Black on the guards to get them to open the gate then arrives in time to paint Luffy's wax armor while Ricky, Ollie and the others are off 'acquiring' a ship. Luffy, Ricky, Ollie, Ayako, Bentham, Jimbei, Ivankov, Inazuma, the Okamas, Crocodile, Daz Bones, Galdino, Buggy and Buggy's 'crew' all escape Impel Down together. Ivankov confronts Ricky in transit to Marineford. "You look familiar, boy. I met your mother once. And you when you were just a baby. There's a reason you look just like her. She asked me to manipulate your hormones so you wouldn't look like your father. After seeing how dedicated the World Government is to eradicating Gol D. Roger's bloodline… it seems like it was a smart decision." "I guess that's why I could never grow a beard…"

WHITEBEARD WAR: Ricky and Ollie go ahead of the others on the backs of Ricky's Kung Fu Dugongs. "I WAS CRUSHING ON YOUR MOTHER?" They arrive and join the Whitebeard Pirates just as the war is about to get underway. Ricky leads the former Spade Pirates in a charge through the battle field until they meet the Warlords. Doflamingo tries to control Ricky with his string but Ricky catches him off guard and sends him flying with the Eye. Moria unleashes some zombies so Deck and the single-digit Spade Pirates stay back to hold them off while Ricky, Han and Ollie continue onward. Han breaks off to face Kuma, Ollie goes arrow-to-arrow with Hancock and Ricky is finally stopped by Mihawk until Luffy finally arrives. Vista eventually relieves them and the two press on and free Ace. Luffy and Ricky free Ace and three of them run for it. Devo is furious at Ricky for being a savage killer and fights him relentlessly using lasers fired by his robot arm. But Ricky eventually manages beat him using his 'Mantra'. Ollie sees Hancock attack Smoker to save Luffy. "Wait… isn't that guy on your side?" "I do what I want. The Government will forgive me because I am beautiful!" Ollie smacks her in the face with her bow. "Maybe… but it takes more than a pretty face to beat me." Ayako and Bentham manage to get the better of Hina, Jango and Fullbody. Han gets frozen by Aokiji then is smashed by Akainu as he goes after Luffy, Ricky and Ace. Ace dies protecting Luffy and asks Ricky to look after their little brother. Akainu punches through Luffy and Jimbei then Ricky steps in to hold him off. "LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!" Ricky sends Akainu flying using a full-powered Haki blast from the Eye. Ricky makes it to Law's submarine with Luffy and Jimbei in time to see the Blackbeard Pirates kill Whitebeard. Angry Ricky has to be dragged back into the submarine by Law's crew. "I let him go once… that backfired… I will kill that man if it's the last thing I do!" Shanks shows up and they eventually make their escape.

POST WAR: Ricky has his hands full helping Jimbei calm down a distraught Luffy. Ollie and Ayako reunite with Ricky on Amazon Lily but then Ollie breaks down. "I JUST LOST EVERYONE I'VE EVER CARED ABOUT! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO! NOT AGAIN! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Ricky knows he has work to do if he ever hopes to survive in the New World. He leaves Ollie in Marguerite's care and goes off with Luffy and Rayleigh for Haki training. "I might not have been able to raise you... but I can give you the training you need to survive the next part of your journey." Ricky's training is stunted because he never had time to stop and grieve over everyone he's lost during the war. Nami visits late one night and helps Ricky come to terms with things. She spends the night in his futon then heads off early the next morning after they vow to finally get together when they reunite in twenty-three months at Sabaody. Ricky's eye is a Haki Enhancer. Now without his evil half working against him he's able to use it to his full potential like he did against Akainu. Ricky is a Color of Observation Prodigy. He doesn't just see one move ahead he can read an opponent and see their entire fight play out in his mind (like Sherlock Holmes). Ollie, Marguerite and Hancock come to pick up Ricky. Hancock has a huge plate of meat. Ricky suggests that she might have better luck with Luffy if she's wearing the meat. Ricky, Ollie and Marguerite leave Hancock behind on Rusukaina with Luffy for a month before Sandersonia and Marigold eventually come to pick up both of them.

-RINA Reunion-

Nami breathed a sigh of relief as she finally set foot on Sabaody Archipelago. It had been a long two years. Technically, it was almost two years. She and Ricky had agreed to come back a month early so that they could reunite on their own and FINALLY get together. Nami decided that she wanted to make Ricky wait for once and had come back three weeks early instead.

Now she was back and on a fox hunt. Nami stopped and stared at the sign overhead reading 'Shakky's Rip-Off Bar'.

"First stop, the future in-laws," Nami thought to herself as she went inside.

"Nami, you're back," Shakuyaku greeted her from behind the bar. The older woman was smoking a cigarette as usual. Unlike Nami, who was sporting longer hair and a more mature 'curvier' build, Shakky looked exactly the same as she did two years ago.

"Well, well," Silvers Rayleigh remarked as he lowered the newspaper that he'd been reading at the counter, "If it isn't the late night visitor."

"I figured you knew I was there," Nami noted, "But someone needed to check on Ricky. The last time he saw one of his brothers die his mind snapped in two. I had to make sure he was okay."

Nami was once again very appreciative of 'the Dark King's' muscular body. She had the weather scientists wrapped around her little finger in a mere week. They'd become doting grandpas, emphasis on the grandpa. It was nice to see an older man who wasn't wrinkled and didn't look like he was over a hundred. There was also once again the added benefit of looking into the future and seeing what Ricky would (potentially) look like in another forty years.

"Eh-hem," Shakky cleared her throat drawing Nami's attention away from her husband. "I suppose you're looking for Ricky. He mentioned that you had agreed to return a month early."

"Yeah," Nami confirmed, "is he here?"

"Not anymore," Shakky told her, "He stayed with us for a day before Ray kicked him out."

"You kicked your son out?" Nami accused the old man.

"No son of mine is going to be a twenty-year old freeloader living off of his parents," Rayleigh stated firmly. "I kicked him out and told him to get a job. I haven't seen him since."

"Lucky for you," Shakky said, "The girls came by and gave me the address of the hotel they're staying in over at Grove 72." Shakky handed Nami a card, "Their room number's on there too."

"The girls?" Nami repeated.

"Ollie and her funny blonde friend," Shakky explained.

"Ollie's here?" Nami questioned.

"She's the one that picked him up from Rusukaina Island," Rayleigh informed her. "But from the way I hear it… three people arrived at the island and three people left the island. If you do the math you'll come to the conclusion that Luffy probably isn't going to be doing much training for this last month."

The thought of Luffy with a girlfriend disturbed her. The thought of Luffy getting a girlfriend before she managed to claim her long sought after boyfriend disturbed her even more.

"Right, thanks bye!" Nami called out as she dashed out of the bar.

-x-

Nami's fox hunt brought her to Grove 72 where Ollie once again stood between her and Ricky. She raised her hand, took a deep breath then knocked on the door to room.

Knock Knock!

The door slid opened and Nami briefly saw a pair of slitted yellow eyes inside before suddenly… HIIIIISSSSS!

"YAAAAAAHHH!" Nami screamed and lurched backwards as a menacing green viper lunged out through the doorway with its fangs bared.

THUD!

Nami hit the opposite wall and covered her face, "OH GOD, DON'T KILL ME!"

"I told you to see who was at the door… not to scare them to death," Ollie voice came from the room. Nami lowered her hands in time to see the door pulled open to reveal the somewhat familiar green eyed archer.

"Oh, it's you," Ollie noted when she spotted Nami cowering against the wall. She looked down and smiled fondly at the snake. "Good girl."

Hssss… The snake hissed lightly then wrapped around the archer's arm before slithering up and coiling around her shoulders.

Nami studied the other woman with the snake wrapped around her. Like Nami, Ollie had undergone some changes over the last two years. Her previously short blonde hair had been grown out and was now braided into a ponytail that fell to her mid-back. Ollie's chest had remained its modest small size but her other muscles were a lot more defined and included an actual six-pack. The blonde was 'dressed' in a simple green bra and a pair of tight green boxers which showed most of her newly tanned skin. While Nami wasn't exactly one to talk about wearing skimpy clothing since she was in a bikini top and a pair of tight jeans, Ollie had always been a bit more conservative.

"You're late," Ollie's voice cut through Nami's thoughts.

Nami noted Ollie's clenched fists and imagined that the archer wasn't exactly pleased to see her. She knew that if they came to blows the muscular blonde would break her in half. Probably. Nami was reasonably sure she could outrun the archer.

"Wha-what the hell was that!?" Nami exclaimed.

"She is my snake Veleno," Ollie answered as she stroked the viper which now that it was coiled around Ollie seemed as docile as a kitten, "I spent the last two years on Amazon Lily. They're pretty good archers there and use trained snakes as bows. Veleno and I bonded and now she's my partner. Her name means 'poison' in an old language. You're lucky she didn't bite you."

"Ricky wouldn't like that!" Nami reminded her, "Speaking of… where is he?"

"What time is it?" Ollie asked.

"What does that matter?" Nami questioned.

"Well… depending on the time he's either at his morning job swindling people as a carney at the amusement park… or if its late enough he's moved on to his unofficial job of swindling people at that restaurant."

"It's almost four," Nami told her.

"Then he's at the restaurant," Ollie said.

Nami realized that Ollie was trying to make this difficult, "Okay…which restaurant?"

"The same one he bought out the night you were supposed to come back," Ollie growled.

"Excuse me?" Nami asked.

"The day you were supposed to come back… he bought out an entire restaurant for the night," Ollie stated, "He said he wanted your reunion to be memorable. He told me not to say anything but I had my fingers crossed and you didn't see how disappointed he was when you stood him up that night… and the next night. It wasn't until the fourth night that I managed to convince him to just reserve the one booth and not waste his money."

"If he has so much money why's he working two jobs?" Nami accused him.

"To keep himself occupied," Ollie answered. "He's Ricky. Tricking people out of money is what he does. Originally he was just a carney. But one night at the restaurant he challenged some fatass to an eating contest. Things snowballed from there and now there's usually a line of people that try challenging him. I'm happy for him. He needed something to do while he was waiting for you."

"Don't turn this around on me!" Nami snapped, "He made me wait two years!"

"That's what he said to me," Ollie told her, "'It's okay, Ollie. She had to wait two years for me. I had this coming.'"

"Then quit being a bitch and tell me where he is so I can go fix it!" Nami ordered.

"Quercia! Don't be mean!"

The door was pulled further opened and a slim but curvy girl with unruly blonde hair glomped Ollie from behind. Nami watched as Veleno happily rubbed her head against the new blonde's face and idly noted that the new girl's outfit was even skimpier than Ollie's and consisted of a yellow bra and panties set.

"Hi! I'm Marguerite!" the cheerful blonde greeted her. "Are you a friend of Luffy and Ricky's?"

"Something like that," Nami confirmed, "I'm Nami."

"Oooh! So you're Nami," Marguerite said as a wide smile spread across her face. "I've heard a lot about you. Can I come and watch?"

"Watch what?" Nami asked.

"She's from the Kuja Tribe," Ollie explained. "She's never been off Amazon Lily which is an island of women. The first man she ever met was Luffy so you can imagine the kind of standard that he set. She heard about your situation with Ricky and wants to see how a relationship between and man and a woman is formed."

Nami noted how the blonde draped over Ollie seemed to have wandering hands.

"You two seem… close," she noted.

Ollie glared at her. "I was in a really dark place after the war. I saw a lot of my friends die. Marguerite looked after me. She was… a ray of light in my dark world. It's thanks to her that I was able to get through my grief. After that we started training together and joined the Kuja Pirates together. It turns out that hitting my new Captain in the face during the war actually helped me with my audition. It's a welcome change of pace from the two predominantly male crews I was on previously. But before we set sail with our new crew I'm making one of Marguerite's dreams come true by showing her the world outside Amazon Lily."

"We saw so many interesting things!" Marguerite chirped, "Have you seen the amusement park yet? It's full of bubbles and rides and games! Oh! Quercia won a big stuffed bear for me at one of the game stands!"

"Popped thirteen balloons with only ten darts," Ollie boasted.

"Wait… Quercia?" Nami repeated.

"The Kuja Tribe are all named after flowers," Ollie explained, "When I joined them I took on a new name. 'Quercia' means oak which was my old hometown back in the North Blue. And with Veleno at my side we're—"

"Quercia no Veleno… Poison Oak…" Nami cut her off, "I get it."

Ollie looked back at her fellow blonde companion, "Put some clothes on. We're going to take her to visit Ricky."

"Yay!" Marguerite cheered as she danced off.

"You're taking me?" Nami questioned.

"She wants to see what a hetero relationship is like," Ollie stated, "And I know that your friends would never let me live it down if someone wasn't there to serve as a proper witness when you two finally got together."

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me where the restaurant is unless I agree to go with you," Nami reasoned. Ollie nodded. Nami sighed, "Fine." She smirked, "Hetero, huh?"

"It's an island of all women," Ollie replied, pointedly calm. "Some of them get curious. It's considered normal there."

"Does 'some' incl—" Nami trailed off when she looked passed Ollie and saw Marguerite bent over going through the drawers in the hotel-provided dresser. "What are you wearing? I've never seen panties like that before."

"Oh, do you like them?" Marguerite asked as she stood up and did a twirl. "Querica and I went… um…loungerie shopping yesterday. The very friendly salesman said it's called a… throng… or something like that. He offered to help me try on a bunch of different ones but then Quercia decided to see how far backwards she could bend his arm before it broke. After that he remembered he needed to be somewhere else."

"In my defense," Ollie stated as she folded her arms across her chest, "The sleezeball didn't actually work there."

"Right," Nami replied, "I guess that explains why two healthy young women are holed up in a hotel room together wearing very little clothing in the middle of the day."

Ollie glared at her again, "She's more comfortable like that," she insisted, "This is basically all they wear back home. But there's no way I'm letting her walk around outside dressed like that. People would start to notice the trail of crippled perverts we'd be leaving in our wake."

"Easy, easy," Nami reassured her, "No need to get defensive. I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you're adjusting well to your life."

"Right… I'm sure you are…" Ollie's agreement didn't seem completely sincere. "Gimme a minute to put some pants on and get her squared away. Then we'll go."

THUD! The hotel room door slammed in Nami's face. That had most likely been intentional.

"Well… that probably could have gone worse," Nami reasoned. "I could've called her a lesbian."

-x-

They attracted a fair bit of attention as they made their way through Sabaody. Ollie was wearing a belly-baring green crop top and a pair of dark green pants along with a quiver of arrows on her back. Marguerite was wearing a cute but almost indecently short floral print dress (and that was coming from Nami).

Marguerite didn't seem to notice the note that Ollie had slapped on her back which read: 'If you can read this… your life is in danger.' Personally, Nami felt the note was a bit redundant. The viper coiled around the excited blonde seemed capable of conveying that message herself.

"So what'd you get him?" Marguerite asked as she peered into the shopping bag that Nami had asked her to hold.

"It's a surprise," Nami answered. "But somebody seems to think I should apologize for standing him up. So I got him something he's been wanting for ages."

"I'm just surprised that you actually paid for something for him," Ollie confessed as she grabbed Marguerite's free hand and pulled her to her side.

"It's a small purchase that's going towards a long-term investment," Nami stated. She pointedly looked down at the blondes' still joined hands and cleared her throat. "Eh-hem."

"The second I let her go… she'll spot something she's never seen before and run off to investigate," Ollie stated, "Then some sketchy pirate will try to take advantage of her and I'll have to put an arrow in his eye. I'm holding her hand so I can keep an eye on her and avoid permanently disfiguring some pervert."

Nami leaned towards Marguerite, "Does she actually expect me to buy that?"

Marguerite smiled, "I prefer to think that Quercia just likes having me close by."

Nami nodded, "That I'll believe. Aaand now she's glaring at me again."

"Quercia's a little prickly when you first get to know her," Marguerite admitted, "But once you get passed that she's sweet and loving and will do anything for someone she cares about."

"Loving, huh?" Nami questioned with a teasing glance towards Ollie who went red. "I guess I'll take your word for that. I doubt I'll ever get to know her as well as you do."

"We're here…" a still blushing Ollie announced.

Nami took a moment to eye the restaurant. It could have once been called a fancy establishment but the seedy crowd of pirates outside dashed that image. "Doesn't look like much…"

"It looked a lot better before the posers showed up," Ollie informed her.

"Who?" Nami questioned as she followed them inside. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted the group of 'familiar' pirates that were seated a large table in the middle of the room. There was a large fat man wearing a tattered straw farmer's hat, a chubby green haired man with a beer gut and three swords, an old lady with a round face, pot belly and orange hair, a skinny blond man in a suit with his blond hair in a frizzy afro, a fox with a pink hat, and a small older woman with dark hair in a short bob cut. "Oh…"

"Hello ladies… would you care to join the Straw Hat Pirates for a drink?"

Nami's eyes widened as she surveyed the tall red-haired man standing in front of them. There were nearly a dozen different reasons that immediately jumped out at her and told her that this wasn't her Ricky. His hair stood up in spikes like Ricky's did when he used the Eye but it had clearly been styled that way. Also it wasn't even the right shade of red. It had hint of brown in it that almost made it appear auburn. His eyes didn't have Ricky's usual fox-like slant and his normal eye was just black not big expressive hazel. The marks around his 'red' eye had clearly been drawn on and the eye itself was normal black while the only red from some kind of irritation. Maybe eye drops? The man had notably high cheek bones and his chin wasn't pointed like Ricky's. Instead, he had a cleft in his chin and a visible five o' clock shadow that told Nami that unlike Ricky this guy had to shave daily. Finally, his voice was way too deep to be Ricky's. A skilled listener would notice that he sounded vaguely like Jimbei.

"I told you last time that I'm not into redheads anymore," Ollie stated as she guided Marguerite passed the imitation Ricky.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Nami couldn't help blurting out when the man turned his attention to her.

"I'm 'Red Eye' Ricky," the man boasted, "The former, Spade Pirate, Whitebeard Pirate and also known as 'the Demon' Red Eye. Now I'm First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates with an impressive bounty of three hundred million berries."

"Wait… Red Eye… the notorious murderer?" Nami questioned.

"That's me," the man replied with a cocky smirk. WRONG AGAIN! Ricky was subtle, hated that he was Red Eye and he never smirked he had a signature sly grin.

Maybe someone who had never met Ricky would've bought the display. But Nami had spent the last two years thinking about the real version.

"Sorry, not interested," Nami bluntly stated. "I'm meeting my boyfriend here."

"Boyfriend?" fake Ricky sputtered, "How could your guy have anything on me?"

"Well, for one," Nami said, "He's not an out-of-control killer." "At least not anymore." "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late."

Nami slipped passed the man and casually counted the money she'd swiped out of his pocket as she walked up to Ollie and Marguerite. "Only eight million berries… like the real Ricky would carry around anything less than a hundred. Why does he put up with that piss poor imitation?"

"He thinks they're funny," Ollie answered. She turned and pointed to a line of five men that was leading to a booth in the back corner. "The real one's over there. I'll let him know you're here."

"He already knows."

Nami blinked and turned around to see a girl behind her. The girl's head and the magenta beret she wore on it came up to Nami's chin. She had a small mouse-like face, reddish-brown auburn hair with a streak of pink going through it. The girl wore a magenta sleeveless vest that matched her beret and a long dress with a rainbow wrapping around her and spiraling up it.

"Ayako?" Nami blurted out.

"Nami!" the artist greeted her and grabbed her in a hug. The other girl's shorter stature meant that her face was planted right in Nami's chest. Nami probably just imagined her rubbing her face back and forth in her chest.

"I… what are you doing here?" Nami questioned when the girl finally found her way out of her cleavage.

"I live here," Ayako answered. "Not here but in Sabaody. I work over at the amusement park but I'm on my lunch break now. C'mon… you probably wanna get on this line." Ayako grabbed Nami's hand and led her to the end of the line to Ricky's booth but they were stopped by a large man in a SniperKing mask and a skinny man with blue hair in an aloha shirt.

"You here to swindle Sabo?" the fake SniperKing mask asked.

"Sabo?" Nami repeated.

"Yeah," Ayako confirmed then turned to explain to Nami. "Their Captain is offering a thirty million berri reward for anyone that can beat him."

"You're welcome to try," the Franky impersonator stated, "But the only one who has been able to win any money from him in the last three days is our First Mate Ricky."

"Don't worry, she's a ringer," Ayako assured them.

The two imposter Straw Hats nodded and stepped aside, allowing them to take their place at the end of the line. Marguerite led Ollie passed the men a moment later. "I still want to watch."

"This line won't take long," Ayako said, "He'll blow through these guys now that he knows you're here."

"How does he know?" Nami asked.

"He's really good with his Observation Haki," Ayako told her. "Sometimes he calls it Mantra. This whole scam is just so he can test it on other people. I bet he sensed you the second you came within twenty feet of this place."

"And how do you know all this?" Nami inquired.

"Ricky told me," Ayako answered simply. "We work together. I helped him get his job at the amusement park. He scams people at the game stands. Two days ago he managed to trick one of the World Nobles into freeing one of his slaves."

"Oh… good to know he's still using his swindling for good," Nami reasoned.

"He started off doing the same thing here," Ayako told her. "He challenged Luffy over there to an eating contest. He said that Straw Hat Luffy was infamous for his appetite and if that guy could out eat the chef here… he'd pay for everything those Straw Hats bought. That fake got sick after the fifth dish and threw up. Then he came back the next day and set his crew on him. Ricky beat their Zoro in a drinking contest, made better riceballs than their Sanji, beat their Nami at cards, their SniperKing at darts and their Franky at arm wrestling. And he taught their Chopper a trick before their Robin could. That one was probably a fox thing."

"No wonder he thinks they're funny," Nami remarked.

"The Luffy poser is still paying for anything that Ricky or any of us eat here," Ollie chimed in. "But Ricky agreed to let the debt go if Luffy could find someone that could beat him at a game of chance. Thus the thirty million berri reward, thus the line and thus why we're still getting free drinks every time we come here."

"Then why am I on this line?" Nami asked. "Couldn't we milk this for another three weeks?"

"Now that you're here Ricky won't have to come here every day to wait for you," Ollie growled.

"Do you know how you're going to beat him?" Marguerite questioned. "Ricky's tricky."

"I think of something," Nami said as she fished into her pocket and felt her lucky coin. She turned back to Ayako. "So, you covered Ricky, what are you doing here?"

"I… after the war I got a bounty put on my head," Ayako explained, "Fifty million berries. I can't go home anymore. Vivi already covered for me once… I can't bring that sort of attention on her."

"You were living with Vivi?" Nami asked.

"I was her personal assistant for a while," Ayako replied. "The war took a major toll on her father. He seemed to age twenty years in a week and got really sick. Vivi ended up taking on a bunch of his responsibilities. She was under a lot of stress and I did anything I could to make things less stressful. But… having a wanted criminal on her staff would cause her even more stress. So I set up camp here and got my job at the park. I was hoping…"

"Yes?" Nami prodded when she trailed off.

"Um… well…" the mousy artist said, "During our break in at Impel Down… Luffy got poisoned by the Warden. It was bad enough that Ricky and Ollie both surrendered. Benny and I tried to stage a rescue…"

"Benny?" Nami repeated.

"Mr. 2," Ayako quickly clarified. "We ended up discovering Newkama Land on the secret level of the prison. The Okama Queen cured Luffy but the process was really long and really painful. Benny and I spent hours cheering Luffy on and encouraging him to fight through it… That was the loudest I've ever shouted. I tried to get him to think of you guys and his brother that we were all there to rescue. When he recovered… Luffy invited both of us to join your crew. Benny passed… his dream was always to meet the Okama Queen and to train under him. I never got to answer but um… there are still loads of things that I want to see… my new dream is to paint a masterpiece after seeing the entire world. But I can't leave this place on my own… so I was hoping to take Luffy up on his offer… if that's okay…"

"Aw, of course you can!" Nami called out as she pulled the girl into another hug. This time the artist didn't rub her face in her boobs. "So what have you been doing at the amusement park?"

"Well… I'm an artist," Ayako replied. "I draw. I paint faces… mostly for kids and draw portraits and caricatures of people."

"What's a caricature?" Nami

"A cartoon with exaggerated features," Ayako answered, "Here, look… I'll do one of you…" She pulled a pad and pencil out of the pink satchel on her back. Sksh-shish-sskssh… Ayako's pencil flew across the paper and less than a minute later she turned the pad around to reveal an extremely cat-like Nami. She drawing of her even had its hand/paw raised in a 'Nya' position. "I've also drawn couples together…" Sksh-skshh-skkiiisshh… Nami smiled when Ayako turned the pad around to reveal a fox-like Ricky holding the cat-like Nami from behind.

"Hehehehe… aaaw, that's cute," Nami remarked with a giggle.

"I've done a few sketches of those two too," Ayako added as she slipped the page to reveal a portrait of Ollie and Marguerite. Ollie was sitting with Marguerite across her lap and the other blonde kissing her on the cheek.

"HEY! YOU LITTLE!" Ollie exclaimed as she reached out and tore the page out of the pad.

But that only revealed a second sketch on the next place which showed that Marguerite straddling Ollie's lap and kissing her on the lips.

"Damn your photographic memory!" Ollie snarled as she ripped out the second page.

But like a flipbook it only continued with a sketch of Marguerite starting to remove Ollie's top.

"Alright, enough," Nami snapped as she snatched the artist's pencil and pad away. "You didn't have to out her like that. I figured it out myself."

Nami handed the pad and pencil off to Ollie who flashed Nami a quick look of gratitude before she grabbed Marguerite's hand and stalked off.

"But I still want to watch!" Marguerite protested as she was pulled away.

"I thought you two didn't get along?" Ayako questioned once Ollie and Marguerite were gone.

"We don't," Nami admitted, "But she's clearly still coming to terms with it. And Marguerite still has my present for Ricky."

"She's lucky," Ayako said. "She spent two years in a place where it's accepted."

Nami raised an eyebrow and looked over at the artist. The younger girl didn't look away. "Anything I could," she repeated.

"I guess that's not exactly something you can be public about," Nami reasoned. "But here you are wearing a rainbow dress."

Ayako nodded, "You should've seen some of the girls on Amazon Lily. They run around in barely any clothing and their leader Boa Hancock has boobs that are almost bigger than my head. Her younger sisters are bigger than her and they've got boobs that are nearly bigger than my whole body."

"I see you've filled out a bit," Nami noted as she glanced down at the pronounced swell in the front of the artist's magenta vest.

"I know, I blossomed," Ayako chirped. "They're Ds, wanna feel?" Suddenly Nami's hands were on the younger girl's chest.

"Right… I can see that," Nami said as she yanked her hands away. "Listen, I may have practiced kissing with my sister when I was younger but I'm on this line to bag a guy."

"Right, of course," Ayako replied. "You're next by the way. Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah but I'm going to need you to cause a distraction," Nami instructed.

"You want me to distract Ricky?" Ayako questioned warily.

"No, I'll handle Ricky," Nami reassured her. "I need you to distract everybody else."

"Oh, no problem," Ayako agreed. "I've been working on my Colors Traps these last two years. I've had loads of sketchy pirates to test them out on. My Bullfight Red's gotten really strong."

"Good," Nami said. "Sit nearby and I'll wink at you when I need you to go."

Ayako nodded and went over to an empty table across from the booth. A large muscular man that had been sitting in it stood up and stomped off.

"Next…" came a familiar voice that sent a shiver down Nami's spine.

Nami smiled as she slipped into the booth.

He was wearing a red and white vertically striped bucket hat that hid the top half of his face but really didn't fit him. The sly grin on the bottom half of his face that morphed in a wide smile was all that Nami needed to know that she was now dealing with the genuine article and not a half-assed knock off.

"Wow… you look great," Ricky remarked as he sat back and looked her over.

"Well… you know everything grows bigger on Sky Islands," Nami proudly replied as she puffed out her chest. She took a moment to eye Ricky.

He wore rectangular glasses with red lenses that did a halfway decent job of disguising the Eye and an open silver dress shirt. Nami's eyes scanned his bare chest. Ricky had been muscular before but now his muscles looked like they had been carved out of stone. Nami licked her lips then took a quick peak under the table, he was wearing loose black pants, black boots and a red sash around his waist. She also spotted the sack of treasure he had on the seat next to him. The money was obviously Ricky's winnings from his various bets for the day. It reminded her of why she was here.

"So… uh… you're Sabo now?" Nami recalled.

"That guy over there claims he's 'Red Eye' Ricky," Ricky replied. "The truth will reveal itself eventually but for now I needed new name. I didn't think Sabo would mind me borrowing his."

"And what's this about that loser winning money from you?" Nami inquired.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Ricky said before he turned across the room. "Hey! Ricky! She came! You owe me sixteen million berries."

"Son of a bitch…" the imposter growled.

"Two days ago when Luffy over there set his crew on me he bet met that the girl I was waiting for wouldn't show," Ricky explained. "I figured you'd show up eventually so over the next two days I offered him double or nothing that you'd show up. His Captain's still steamed about me swindling the rest of his crew so he forced the guy to agree. Now he's gotta give me back the eight million I paid him and another eight million of his own."

"Oh… you mean this eight million?" Nami asked as she held up the money she'd stolen from the imposer. "You should've let me in on the scam. I could've come back a few days later in a wig and you could've won loads more."

"Nah, I think we've both waited long enough," Ricky replied as he flashed her a fond smile.

"But first things first," Nami reminded him, "We have a score to settle. How's this Swindle Sabo thing work?"

Ricky's sly grin reappeared as he recited the rules, "You name your game and your bet then if I accept your challenge you lose your game and you pay up."

"I didn't come here to lose," Nami retorted. She pulled out her lucky coin. "A simple coin toss. Two out of three wins. I win and I get however much is in that bag of yours. I didn't bring much money … but if you win then you can have…" Nami glanced down and smirked, "My top."

Ricky's eyes widened in surprise then he reached out and took the coin. He checked it to make sure it wasn't double sided then nodded. "Deal. But I get to flip it."

"Then I call it," Nami quickly agreed, "Heads for me, tails for you."

Ricky raised an eyebrow then flipped the coin up overhead. It flipped nearly a dozen times before it came back down and landed on the table.

Clink! Heads.

"Weighted coin?" Ricky guessed.

Nami nodded. "That baby won me anything I wanted up on Weatheria."

"So the trick is making sure you call heads," Ricky noted. "Or… find a way to cheat." Ricky flipped the coin and again it flipped nearly a dozen times before it started its decent. Nami saw a faint glint of red through Ricky's glasses as her coin fell.

Clink! Tails.

"You've gotten good with that thing," Nami observed, "You uh… fully in control now?"

"Now that I've pulled my mind together there's no problem," Ricky explained. "The Eye is just a Haki Enhancer. Haki is a spiritual energy that Luffy and I learned how to access and use over the last two years. With the Eye, I can send out blasts of my Color of Armament Haki. I can do delicate work like flipping a coin or I can send someone flying across the room."

"The way I hear it… you've got another type of Haki that you're good at," Nami noted.

"I'm something of a prodigy with Color of Observation Haki," Ricky told her. "Using the Eye I can not only predict what someone's going to do… but I can predict the next three things they're going to do. Eneru and Aisa may have been able to use their Mantra in a widespread area and predict what their opponent is going to do next but I've honed mine to the point where I can watch a fight play out in its entirety. I know every scam that every swindler that ever sat in your seat was planning to pull the second they sat down."

"So… you know what I'm planning to do?" Nami questioned.

"You plan to signal Ayako to cause a distraction," Ricky stated. "And then you plan on distracting me so I can't influence how the coin lands."

"Then if you know what I've got in mind…" Nami said, "The question you've got to ask yourself is… do you want to be distracted?"

Ricky raised an eyebrow again then flipped the coin. Nami quickly turned and winked at Ayako. The artist already had her red-coated paint brush out and sent out a red symbol.

Nami turned back to Ricky as the coin was coming down, grabbed her bikini top and pulled it up. Even though he knew it was coming, Ricky's eyes still went wide when she flashed him. She hit him with both barrels and he completely forgot about the coin.

Clink! Heads.

"Gotcha!" Nami crowed as she fixed her top. The score in their Swindling War had been settled.

Nami – 3, Ricky – 2

"Two years later and you're still keeping me on my toes," Ricky remarked with a fond smile. He slid out of the booth and stood up. Nami's finally noticed how tall he'd gotten. She'd had a growth spurt of the last two years but right had grown over a half a foot and now nearly a full foot taller than her. Ricky called attention to himself as Ayako dragged her foot through the red Colors Trap symbol she'd painted on the floor. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. This young lady…" Ricky motioned to Nami. It took her a second to realize that she was supposed to give a fake name.

"Oh… um… Nojiko," Nami stated.

"Nojiko has beaten me in a game of her choice," Ricky continued, "All good things must come to an end. So, as agreed, I now consider Straw Hat Luffy's debt paid in full and will be taking my leave from this establishment once Red Eye pays me my final winnings."

The reluctant fake Ricky gave the real Ricky the sixteen million berries from their bet. Ricky gave a jaunty bow then slipped out of the restaurant through the back door.

"So… I think someone owes me thirty million berries," Nami announced as she collected the money that Ricky had left behind in the booth.

"Wait… she's his girlfriend," fake Ricky protested.

"SniperKing and Franky still let me on the line," Nami pointed out, "And I believe the deal was that anyone who could beat him would get thirty million berries. I did so pay up."

The imposter Luffy eventually handed over Nami's reward. She quickly declined the offer to join his crew and then she left the restaurant through the same door that Ricky had gone through. She found him standing out back waiting for her.

"I think that went well," Ricky remarked. "All together we came away with nearly a hundred million berries."

Nami nodded then tossed her winnings aside and charged him as she swung her fist at him. For a moment he tensed like he was going to dodge the blow but then he shook his head and remained rooted in place.

POW! Nami slugged Ricky in the face. His glasses went flying off and he lurched backwards. Nami threw herself at him and tackled him to the ground. WHOMP!

"TWO YEARS!" Nami yelled down at the prone pirate under her. "I WAITED TWO YEARS! You know that wasn't what I had in mind when I told you I'd wait for you to sort yourself out back at Enies Lobby! And then your little friend tries to turn it around and blame me because I decided to take my time getting her and make you wait for once! I have half a mind not to start this relationship! Maybe then you'd have to chase after me for a while."

"If that's what you want to do… then I'll agree to it," Ricky replied. He rolled them over and quickly scrambled to his feet. "You've been more patient than I ever could have asked you to be. But it's like I told you when you came to visit me on Rusukaina… my mind is in one piece now. I have full control over my mind, body and spirit. I thought about you every day when we were apart. I love you and I'm ready and willing to start this relationship. However, should you decide that I need to wait for you … I'll understand. But you should know, the only thing that would be keeping us from finally pursuing a relationship like we both really want… will be you."

"I think I showed in there that you can't keep me from getting anything that I want anymore," Nami reminded him as stood back up and immediately stepped into his personal space.

"You do realize that I let you do that, right?" Ricky asked.

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you lost and I won," Nami insisted, "Now I can claim my real prize." Nami threw herself at him and enjoyed the sensation of his hard muscular body against her softer one as his arms wrapped around her. Nami's hand flew up and knocked off his bucket hat before she sealed her lips to his for a searing kiss. Ricky eagerly returned it and the two were instantly all over each other. The kiss was hungry, passionate and demanding as the two of them attempted to make up for two years of lost time.

"MmHm!" Nami let out a moan as Ricky introduced his tongue. But she quickly grabbed his shoulders then jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist before she deployed her own to counter. She felt his hands on her ass simultaneously fondling her and holding her up as he staggered backwards and slumped against the back wall of the restaurant.

They finally broke apart when they were starting to get light headed from oxygen depletion.

"I… love you," Ricky gasped.

"Love you… more," Nami retorted.

And then they were at it again. Kissing like there was no tomorrow with toe curling intensity. Ricky dropped to his knees then slowly leaned forward as he laid Nami on the ground. "HNN!" Nami growled into his mouth as she yanked him down on top of her. No skinny wrinkly old man here! This was the brilliant, muscular, hard-bodied pirate that she'd fallen in love with and had been dreaming of and waiting all this time for.

"NGH!" Nami grunted as she got tired of being flattened and rolled them over so she was on top. Her first act in the new position was to slide her hands up and run her fingers through is short red hair. He'd kept it short but she still enjoyed the feel of this thick red locks as they slipped through her fingers."MmMhhh!" Nami let out a contented mewl as she started to grind against him.

They broke apart again when the lack of air once again became a factor. But that didn't stop Nami from planting a quick kiss on his cheek, then his jaw, then his chin before she finally latched her mouth on his neck.

"Uuugh!" Ricky groaned as she sucked on his neck. Nami smirked when she finally pulled away and saw the dark ring that she'd left behind.

"See that?" Nami asked. "That means you're mine now. My boyfriend. MINE!"

"Got it," Ricky replied, "But only on one condition… if I'm yours… then you're mine."

"Deal," Nami agreed then she leaned in and kissed him again.

"Aaaawwww!"

"Seriously… are you guys actually going to have sex right here?"

"OOH! Can we watch that too?"

Nami let out a low hiss as she pushed herself up so she was sitting on Ricky's crotch then planted her hands on his hard eight-pack abs before she turned and looked back over her shoulder at Ayako, Ollie and Marguerite sitting on the edge of the restaurant roof.

"Enjoy the show?" she growled.

"I told you we needed to serve as witnesses," Ollie stated.

"ARE YOU TAKING NOTES?" Nami demanded when she saw the other blonde scribbling away on the note pad that she'd taken from Ayako.

"Uh-huh!" the oblivious blonde confirmed, "Wait until the girls back home hear about this! Here, I'll read it to you. Eh-hem… 'How to Form a Relationship with a Man' by Marguerite. 'The first step to forming a relationship with a male is to beat the man in a game of skill and chance. Victory can be achieved against even the most focused male by removing clothing. After taking all the man's money, the woman and man face off in a round of combat where the woman must beat the male into submission."

"…" Ricky, Nami, Ayako and Ollie went wide eyed at the Kuji Pirate's interpretation of the events that had just transpired.

"'A wily man will attempt to fight back and beg off by saying sweet and romantic things,'" Marguerite continued, "'It is at this point that the woman deploys her most devastating technique and seals her lips to the male's and proceeds to suck out his soul. Once the man has stopped resisting the woman brands him using her mouth. From here on, the male is now the woman's property and is referred to as 'her boyfriend'.'" Marguerite finally looked up from her notes and looked pleased with herself.

"…" the other four continued to stare in wide-eyed shock.

"What? Did I get something wrong?" Marguerite asked.

"I… um… sweetie…" Ayako was the first to speak up, "Don't play dumb. We all know that you know what a kiss is."

"That was a kiss?" Marguerite questioned. "It looked like they were trying to swallow each other at one point!"

"Sounds like Quercia needs to work on her technique," Nami remarked.

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY TECHNIQUE!" Ollie snapped at her. "Who do you think taught him that?"

Nami turned back to Ricky and raised an eyebrow. Ricky nodded. Nami took a deep breath, sighed then shrugged. "Oh well. Mine now." She stood up and helped him back to his feet. "Got that? You're mine and I'm never letting you go. Ever."

"Never, huh?" Ricky repeated.

"Damn right!" Nami retorted, "I've seen what you'll look like in forty years. And after waiting for so long you'd better believe that I'm in this for the long haul."

"Well… in that case…" Ricky said as he slipped one hand into his pocket and took hold of her hand with his other. "I've got something that I want to ask you." He stepped back and dropped down on one knee.

"Oh MY GOD!" Nami squealed as she covered her mouth with her free hand and watched as he pulled small black box out of his pocket.

"Oh my God…" Ollie dead-panned.

"Oh my God!" Ayako squeaked.

"Wait… what?" Marguerite asked before Ollie quickly whispered in her ear. "OH MY GOD!"

"Dating is so that a couple can get to know each other better," Ricky stated, "You and I were living together on the same ship for months. It wasn't always been easy but I'd like to think that you and I know a great deal about each other now. I love you and the fact that you waited for me for two years proves that you feel the same way. This ring… is a symbol that represents that love and my commitment to spend the rest of my life making sure that your time waiting was worth it. I once promised my brothers that if I ever met a girl that could swindle me… I'd marry her. Nami… you're that girl. You're my treasure. Will you marry me?"

Ricky flipped the box open to reveal a ring with a white gold band that was encrusted with an intricate wave-like pattern of small sapphire and diamond fragments and a carefully crafted diamond that was carved into a swirl pattern with four arms that made it look like a pinwheel.

"I… you…" Nami stammered in shock. Well… she did say that she was in this for the long haul. "YES!" Nami threw herself at him. He stood up and caught her then swung her around him before finally setting her down in front of him. She watched eagerly as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger.

"I'm not going to rush this since we're about to embark on a huge journey," Ricky told her, "But… when I find the One Piece… I'll be sure to use part of it to make your wedding ring."

Nami grabbed the sides of Ricky's face yanked him down to her level and furiously kissed him. She had her eyes closed so she didn't notice Ricky's red eye glowing as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her fully against him. The Eye fed off of Ricky's feelings of love and utter bless and shot out an invisible wave in the form of enhanced Color of Conqueror Haki.

Ayako, Ollie and Marguerite might not have seen the wave but they certainly felt it when it washed passed them.

"EEP!" Ayako squeaked and crossed her legs. A blue haired princess flashed across her mind.

Ollie and Marguerite shared a quick look then scrambled to their feet and ran off together. Ayako was left as the lone spectator when Ricky and Nami finally broke apart.

"So… I think it's about time you took me shopping," Nami announced.

"Saw that coming," Ricky remarked.

"Yeah, well we're heading to the New World," Nami reminded him. "We need to stock up on supplies." Then she smirked on him. "Although… Marguerite told me about this new kind of underwear they're selling here… if you're good maybe I'll let you help me pick some out."

"Sold!" Ricky quickly agreed. He scooped up his glasses then went to grab his bucket hat so he could quickly replace his 'disguise'. But Nami stepped in front of him and stomped on his bucket hat. "I take it you don't like my new hat?"

"It's all wrong," Nami insisted. "The style doesn't fit you at all and the coloring doesn't go with your outfit."

Ricky sighed as he surveyed the crushed hat, "And so the search continues."

"Not quite," Nami replied with a smirk she turned and called up to Ayako. "Did Marguerite leave a shopping bag there?"

"It's here," the artist confirmed then lobbed the bag down to Nami.

Nami fished into the bag and pulled out a black sable fedora with a wide brim and a dark red band going around the base. (An alternately colored Indiana Jones hat) Nami smiled as she stood on her toes and placed the hat on his head.

"That's a proper hat for a treasure hunter," Nami proclaimed. The coloring of the hat went with his black pants and dark red sash and it just screamed 'adventure'.

Ricky flashed her a wide smile, "You know what? The shopping trip can wait." He fished into his silver dress shirt and pulled a roll of worn paper out from a hidden pocket. "I won this at the restaurant. The treasure's not too far away and we've got some time to kill. What do you say you and I go on a treasure hunt?"

"That's your idea of a first date?" Nami questioned.

"'Red Eye' Ricky... Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire," Ricky stated as he took another jaunty bow, "Accept no substitutes."

KA-CHING! Nami's eyes became berri signs. But she wasn't looking at the map. She was staring at her new fiance. "Jackpot."

The two quickly gathered up the money they'd won in the restaurant then the two of them joined hands and ran off together.

Ayako sighed to herself as she sat alone on the roof top. "I guess I'd better get back to work and tell them Ricky won't be in tomorrow." But then she froze at a sudden thought. "Wait… does this mean that Luffy won the pool?"

-Shakky's Rip-Off Bar-

"Hm…" Rayleigh looked upward as he sense the Haki Wave fly up into the sky and split into eight distinct parts that flew off towards eight distinct pirates. "It seems like she found him."

"You know what this means, don't you?" Shakky asked as she leaned over the counter.

"What?" Rayleigh asked.

Shakky grinned, "Grandchildren."

-Rusukaina Island-

A wide grin stretched across Luffy's face as the invisible wave washed over him.

"Something wonderful just happened," Luffy announced.

"Oh, did you like the meat?" Hancock asked as she laid nearby stark naked after Luffy ate the meat 'costume' she'd been wearing on Ricky's recommendation.

"Yeah, that meat tasted great," Luffy replied. "Thanks Hancock!"

"OH! LUFFY LIKES HOW I TASTED!" "Well…" the blushing Snake Empress replied as she spread her legs, "There's more where that came from…"

"Huh? I'm not gonna eat you! I'm not a cannibal!"

Hancock face-faulted and lamented over yet another failed attempt at ensnaring the thick-headed rubber pirate's affections.

-Kuraigana Island-

In Mihawk's castle, Zoro went stiff as he felt the wave pass over him.

"Something horrible just happened…" the swordsman realized.

"Huh? What's going on?" Perona asked as she floated over.

"Ricky and Nami finally hooked up," Zoro stated.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Perona questioned.

"NO!" Zoro snapped, "She'll have Ricky wrapped around her finger in no time! That means she'll have full control over all our money! I'll never be able to buy booze again!"

-Momoiro Island-

"GET AWAY, YOU FREAKS!" Sanji shouted as he ran from the Okamas.

But then Ricky's Haki Wave washed over him.

"Something horrible just happened." For the first time in two years Sanji stopped running.

"OOH! SANJI-BOY! FINALLY GIVING UP?" an Okama called out as they drew close.

"DAMN YOU RICKY! SOOOO ANGRY!" FWOOOOSH! Flames of rage erupted all over Sanji's body as he turned to glare at his pursuers. "Luckily… I've got volunteers to take that anger out on…"

"GAH! SANJI-BOY'S GONE CRAZY!" an Okama screamed.

For the first time in two years, the Okamas started running from Sanji.

-Boin Archipelago-

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Usopp stood up and laughed as he felt the wave wash over him.

"What's so funny Usopp'n?" Heracles asked.

"Something wonderful just happened!" Usopp exclaimed. "My friends that have spent ages dancing around each other finally got together!" The sniper smiled as he fished a black book out of his arsenal bag. "I wonder who won the pool. BOOKIE USOPP IS ON THE CASE!"

-Karakuri Island-

In Dr. Vegapunk's Lab, Franky froze when he felt the wave wash over him.

"Something… just happened," the shipwright stated.

"Is it good or bad?" Kitton asked.

"Don't know," Franky admitted, "Stingy finally hooked up with that loud girl of his."

"That sounds like a good thing," Kitton pointed out.

"Maybe…" Franky said, "If he's getting laid now and then he might be less stingy." Franky cocked his head to the side. "But on the other hand… he'll probably be so happy that it'll make me sick just to be around him." The shipwright nodded. "Something horrible just happened." The cyborg looked up and bellowed at the sky, "OI! SCREW YOU, STINGY!"

-Sandy Island-

"THANK YOU ALABASTA!" Soul King shouted as he finished yet another concert of his world tour.

"EN-CORE! EN-CORE! EN-CORE!" the cheering crowd shouted at the rock star.

The skeleton went stiff when he felt Ricky's wave wash over him. "Yohohoho! Something wonderful just happened!" He turned to address his adoring crowd, "You want an encore? How 'bout a brand new song that I just came up with? It's a love balled inspired by two of my friends. I call it… RINA!"

The Alabasta crowd cheered as Soul King began to play his new song. Princess Vivi and Mana looked on from nearby.

"How'd you hear about this guy?" the blonde café owner asked.

"Ayako recommended him in one of her letters," the Princess answered with a sad smile.

"Still miss your little assistant?" Mana inquired.

"Just because I've gotten used to preforming all my royal duties without her… doesn't mean I don't miss her," Vivi admitted.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Mana said as she patted the Princess on the back. "Anyway, that song of his is really pretty… I think I'll go find my Chocolate Bear and see if he wants to dance."

The blonde dashed off and left the Princess sitting on her own. Vivi sighed as she pulled out the letter she'd hidden in her grown and thought about the absent artist that had written it.

"I know you'll be safe if you're with them, Ayako. But when your voyage is over I want you to come home to me and show me all the pictures you've painted of all the amazing things you've seen in the New World."

-Baltigo-

Robin smiled and closed her book when she felt the wave wash over her.

"Something wonderful just happened," the archeologist informed her two companions.

"What happened, Robin?" Koala asked.

"My friends Ricky and Nami finally got together," Robin stated.

"Oh, that's nice," Sabo commented. "WAIT! WHAAAAT?"

"Oh my," Robin said, "I think he might have even proposed. I wonder if this means Nami won their Swindling War?"

The Second in Command tore out of the room. But his shouting could still be heard on the balcony. "OI! DRAGON! I NEED TO TAKE LEAVE SO I CAN PERSONALLY BRING ROBIN BACK TO SABAODY!"

"…" Robin and Koala shared a silent exchange.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHY'? MY BROTHER JUST GOT ENGAGED! I'VE GOTTA MEET AND CONGRATULATE THE WOMAN THAT SWINDLED HIM!"

-Torino Kingdom-

"Yay! Big Brother!" Chopper cheered in the library.

"What's wrong, raccoon-dog?" one of the heavy set human inhabitants of Torino asked.

"I've been telling you for two years I'M A REINDEER!" the doctor berated him. "And… my big brother and Nami are finally… together. And that's not all! They're going to have a wedding like in all the story books."

Chopper jumped off his chair and dashed to the bookshelf. He ignored all the medical texts and pulled out the one storybook that was on the shelf.

The reindeer opened the storybook and flipped to the last page. There the picture showed a bride and a groom kissing. Underneath the picture were the following words:

And they lived happily ever after. The End

-x-

There. I changed my original scene around a bit to have more of a conclusive ending.

I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you everyone that read this story.

Good bye,

QPython