Clink. Clink. Clink.
Nami was incapable prying her narrowed brown eyes from white-haired maiden that was Camille, who quietly sat in front of her while glancing in a different direction every so often. The frustration that Nami felt boiling inside her started to become more apparent on her face the longer she sat there, though it was not directed at the young woman sitting before her; at least, not entirely. The navigator, leaning back against her chair a bit, had one hand tapping an empty glass and creating a faint "clink" sound, while the other casually rested on her lap. Her short orange hair was kept back in a short ponytail, but there was that one strand that chose to stand out. Despite the look she had, Camille merely looked away, holding her glass of red wine that was only filled halfway after just taking a few sips from time to time. It was like she was completely ignoring everything that Nami may have been saying, but Nami knew better than to assume such a thing.
As the two continued to sit there in a comfortable silence, Nami could not help but recall why on earth she was there in the first place, staring down her comrade as if she had stolen berries right out from under her nose. She had no real reason to be frustrated with Camille, but more toward something – or in this case, someone – in particular.
Blinking, the navigator's head turned into the direction Camille was apparently looking at for quite some time, morbid curiosity beginning to take control. Immediately, she spotted the familiar blond hair of Sanji, the cook of the Straw Hats and quite possibly the most well-known womanizer she had ever met, standing at a table in the distance. His hand had fallen against the edge of said table, and a single cigarette was dangling from his lips. He was smiling, too, but that was because he was busy flirting with a brown-haired woman that had entered the bar by herself. A usual sight to see, Nami noted, whenever they had arrived on a new island. Before he left the two women, he said something about "giving the woman company," and from the looks of it, he was doing a damn good job at it. Despite that, Nami could not help but feel a little ticked off. The reason being, in her opinion, was Camille, who had been watching the two every so often and keeping an eye on them.
Looking back at the female mentioned earlier, Nami could not help but sigh, pausing her tapping of the glass. Camille, upon realizing that the tapping had ceased, looked at the navigator curiously. This gave Nami the brief opportunity to look her over once more. Camille's red-violet eyes stared at the navigator with confusion while two strands of her white swung from side to side caused by the breeze that entered through the nearby open window. The curls at the ends remained intact, as well, while the two black pins still kept her side-swept bangs separate and leaving a part on her left. The rest of it was held back in a low ponytail. Her pale skin was accentuated by the color of her v-neck shirt, which was a light blue color, and the bracelets that were on her wrists – four on her left, two on her right. Underneath the shirt was a bikini top with a mesh of blues, greens, and yellows from their time at the beach, though Camille never removed the shirt to reveal it; Nami knew this because she had seen it before Camille had changed that morning and made her put it on. It was different from the usual sleeveless dress that she commonly wore, as Nami could still see that she was very uncomfortable wearing the shirt and shorts, but the navigator was not going to let her walk off the ship without dressing her up a bit. It was the least she could do for her friend, especially someone as shy as Camille.
"I know you're jealous of her, Camille," Nami suddenly said out loud. The comment seemed to come entirely out of left field, so much so it almost threw Camille for a loop.
"What's that, Nami?" The explosives technician questioned, leaning forward a bit and revealing a bit of her cleavage unintentionally. Despite the small size, even Nami could tell that Camille had some size for her breasts, though that was the least of her concern at the moment. "It's hard to hear with all of this talking going on."
Nami mirrored the meek girl's actions by sitting up and leaning against the table, fixing her red tank top in the process.
"I said," she repeated, "I know you're jealous of that girl Sanji is talking to over there."
Camille's eyes widened a bit at that, only this time it was out of surprise, before looking back in Sanji's direction. Nami did the same, taking note of the woman laughing at something the cook said, before looking back at Camille. Her body had turned forward to face the navigator, but Camile continued to watch the two from afar, smiling as she did so; an odd thing to do when accused of being jealous of someone.
"Why would I be jealous?" Camille asked before looking back at Nami. Her smile still remained on her face as she continued, "I'm well aware that Sanji is flirtatious when he sees other women. I've known that for years." Her eyes closed again just as her fingers began drumming against the table, a trait Nami realized was a sign of anxiety.
"And yet, he doesn't do the same to you," Nami pointed out, crossing her arms.
Camille looked at her immediately and shook her head.
"Not true! He has flirted with me countless times before," she pointed out, taking a sip of wine.
"Not unless I'm around," Nami noted.
When she set down her cup, Camille's eyes became distant.
"Not true either," she stated. "eSanji did a lot of flirting with me back at the Baratie when we were closing for the night." She looked at Nami again. "Even now, when we finish dinner on the ship, he would do it while we cleaned the kitchen."
"If that's true, then answer me this," Nami started, leaning against the table again as her chin felt against her hand. "When was the last time that actually happened?"
Camille suddenly became silent, lips forming a slight frown, as she tried to think. After a moment, she smiled again.
"Does that really matter?" She questioned. "I don't mind if he doesn't do it to me often. It doesn't change anything about our relationship." She briefly paused, realizing what she had said before quickly continuing, "A-as friends, of course!"
"It does if I'm trying to prove a point," Nami answered with a mischievous grin. Camille, incapable of coming up with a response, unconsciously took a sip of her wine and shifted her gaze. The response caused Nami to giggle. "I figured as much, and that's why I dressed you up tonight. And you look great if I do say so myself."
After putting the cup down, Camille's brows furrowed curiously.
"You dressed me up like this just you could get Sanji to flirt with me more?" She inquired. Nami shrugged and nodded while Camille sighed. "I really don't see how that would be beneficial. It's not that big of a deal, really."
"It's not really for that, though that would be a plus," Nami explained, sitting up straight. Then, she winked devilishly. "It's more to...show off what you've got. Just a little."
Her comment only made Camille's brows furrow more than before, her body sinking into her chair a bit more, and her eyes widened ever so slightly. It was not out of confusion or curiosity, but bashfulness. A blush slowly began to form on her face, and it was hard for her to hide from the navigator due to her light skin.
Nami knew that Camille was extremely shy when it came to showing off her figure even though it was evident from the get-go she had one. It was something that Camille would never dream of doing, especially in front of a crowd of people. Nami assumed it was self-consciousness that made her think that way since she could see that Camille was fidgeting at the mere mentioning of showing off her body to anyone.
With that in mind, the navigator only just recently had thoughts of figuring out ways to break that self-conscious streak. Camille, however, was not so confident in that idea, especially if it meant showing off in public, let alone in a bar full of drunks who were more than capable of taking advantage of her before she could have a chance to say no. Nami considered it a phobia for Camille, but it was only the girl's sheepishness that bothered her. She did not like when people looked at her body and figure instead of her face and eyes, primarily when it was people she did not know. Sanji had done so a few times, as Nami had noticed, yet Camille did not seem mind in the slightest. Probably because she knew Sanji well enough to know how he acted in front women he found attractive. In this situation, Nami knew it was hitting two birds with one stone; not only would Camille hopefully break out of her shell a bit more, but also grab Sanji's attention at the same time.
Speaking of the cook in question, Nami could not help but steal a quick glance at Sanji to see what he was up to now. To her surprise, she had caught him stealing a glance in their direction before looking back at the woman he was conversing with. She could quickly tell that he was not looking her in particular, but more so at Camille. Maybe he sensed that her mood suddenly changed and wanted to make sure that she was doing alright. Whatever the case might have been, Nami decided that it was a chance to take while it was open.
"I think it's about time to start showing off what you've got, Camille," she told her as she looked back at the still blushing Camille. Her red-violet eyes looked at the navigator as she went on. "He's looking over here as if he knows you're getting nervous. Now's more than enough of a chance to strut your stuff."
Camille rolled her eyes.
"E-even if I wanted to," she started, "how would I do that in a shirt like this? It's not very revealing, especially for a body type like mine..." Nami grinned smugly, hinting at something that Camille would hopefully pick up on. After a few moments of giving her a questioning look, Camille's eyes widened in horror, and she sat up straight in her seat. "N-n-no! Absolutely not!" She exclaimed in a low tone to not attract others. "There are people here, men especially!"
Nami sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, it's no big deal," she pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone, "and besides, who cares what these people think about a girl like you taking her shirt off? People do that all the time."
Camille immediately shushed her as if she did not want people to hear her their conversation before saying, "I do! I'm not gonna go throwing off my shirt just so I could grab one man's attention. It'll attract everyone else's, and I'll...I'll look like some skank!"
Nami glanced at the woman Sanji was conversing with, taking note to the attire that was clearly meant for showing off her cleavage and a lot more skin than usual.
"So does she, but he's not complaining, and neither is anyone else," she muttered out loud. Camille blinked and looked over her shoulder in the same direction. However, it did not last long, as she suddenly gasped and looked away. Nami looked at her quickly, noticing the widening of her eyes again. "What's wrong?"
"That look in her eyes," Camille muttered almost unconsciously, her eyes staring into her drink as if there were another pair of eyes staring right back at her.
"What about it?"
"I recognize that look. That woman...she's planning on using him." At that point, her eyes suddenly narrowed. "She's just gonna toy with his emotions as if everything he's saying means nothing."
"I'm pretty sure other girls have done that before, Camille," Nami stated almost nonchalantly. "It shouldn't be a big deal. Even I do it every once in a while to get what I want, and Sanji seems to know it, too."
"But...at least you respect him as a person," Camille pointed out, her voice lowering a bit further. The grip around her glass tightened a bit. "But that woman is...different. It looks as though she not even paying attention to what he's saying." She paused for a moment before shaking her head a bit. "It's not true. I know he means every word, down to the period at the end of every sentence, even if he knows he'll never see them again." Her jaw locked while Nami simply listened, her eyes widening; she had not seen Camille so upset about anything before, letting alone about a nameless woman that Sanji had been flirting with since they got there. "The thought of that woman using him makes me so...so angry..."
When she heard that, Nami could not help but perk up and smile before leaning into the table. She had an idea.
"Then you know what you've gotta do," she told her, earning Camille's gaze within seconds. "I mean, if you want to, that is. After all," the mischievous look returned to her eyes, "you definitely look better than she does, and I'm sure Sanji will notice."
The anger in Camille's eyes disappeared slowly, clearly thinking about her words very intently. It was evident that she considering something she would most likely regret shortly. Just looking in her eyes was enough for anyone to notice that fact. However, Nami's gaze merely encouraged her into doing it. She would be more than happy with taking the blame for that later if she had to. For now, Camille just had to go with it, and that was precisely what she did.
As if under a spell, Camille stood up from her seat, inhaling a slow and shaky breath, before her hands fell upon the hem of her shirt. Nami sat back and glanced over in Sanji's direction, who had stolen a glance in her direction just at the right time. What perfect timing! When she looked back at Camille, her eyes widened just as she watched Camille pull her shirt over head, tossing it onto the table right next to her drink. Nami had to admit one thing: Camille was undoubtedly an attractive woman, and anyone that said otherwise had to be insane or blind. Apparently, other people in the bar noticed that as well.
The second it came off, the sound of catcalls and whistling from the drunk men in the bar was heard, freezing Camille in her spot. Nami smiled at her, a combination of assurance and mischievousness while Camille shut her eyes tightly. Her arms would have shaken violently were she not trying to hold it in and ignore the sounds around her. Nami could tell that it was incredibly nerve-racking for the technician, as they were sounds she did not get very often due to abhorring unwanted attention. However, as far as Nami could see, or at least in Camille's mind, she was only doing it to keep Sanji from getting his emotions played with by a stranger.
While all of that went on, Nami could not help but look over at Sanji, whose expression nearly made her laugh out loud. It was a look of complete surprise, the cigarette that was once on his lips gone as it fell to the ground, as he stared at Camille, who was growing visibly tenser than before. The woman in question stared at him briefly before looking in Camille's direction as well, a faint glare forming in her eyes. No doubt a few inappropriate names ran through her head; however, the navigator did not care about that and continued watching Sanji, whose face had turned to a slightly noticeable red shade. She knew that that would have been his reaction from the start and that the situation that was taking place would happen once Camille did as the navigator suggested. The question that remained, however, is what Sanji would do now?
Instead of watching to see what could happen, Nami looked back at Camille, noticing her tense to a point where she was unable to move a single muscle.
"I think it's working," she informed the nervous girl with a small grin. "If you want, you can put your shirt on again. I think that's good enough for one day." Instead of complying and answering her, Camille remained unusually silent, her stance mirroring that of a statue while her head continued to hang and shield her eyes from view. It was not until another few beats passed that she mumbled something under her breath. Nami noticed that she had said something, and she could tell that something was very clearly wrong. "Camille?"
"I-I...can't...move..." She mumbled louder, enough for Nami to hear. The navigator's eyebrow raised slightly at that before Camille continued. "I-I...can't breathe..." She, then, raised her head ever so slightly, her eyes rounding out of fear and anxiety. "I-I'm too tense."
"Too...tense?" Nami inquired worriedly, ignoring another call from one of the drunk men nearby.
"E-everyone is...everyone is looking at me," Camille stuttered, closing her eyes again and clenching her noticeably shaking fists. "E-everyone is...l-looking at me. J-judging me. C-calling me...names..."
"W-what are you talking about? No one is saying anything about you." At that point, Nami was anxious herself; did she really cause Camille to panic and become self-conscious to the point that her body just shut down? "J-just pick your shirt up and put it on. It's really no big deal." Camille did not respond, repeating her words to herself as if she were a broken record. At that point, Nami became scared. "C-Camille, just put it back on. You're really starting to scare me."
Instead of responding, Camille continued repeating her words; it was like she was reliving a dark moment from her past and was incapable of moving an inch. In a way, it looked as though she had been trapped in an infinite loop of crippling anxiety, unable to escape no matter how much she tried to fight against it.
Nami was not aware that that the mere idea of being watched by everyone would bring back so many bad memories, and it started to scare her even more as time ticked away. She did not plan for Camille's anxiety to this point; she just wanted her to do something out of the ordinary and feel good about it in the end. The fact that the technician was so frightened over everyone looking at her, and in some cases judging her, made her regret the idea altogether. Had she known about this situation occurring ahead of time then she would have thought of something else, something that would have been a little easier on her and less panic-inducing. Just thinking about it only made her feel worse about doing suggesting it in the first place. Now, all she could think of was getting out of her seat, grabbing her shirt and pulling Camille right out of that situation and back to the ship.
However, someone else already had that in mind and acted first.
Within seconds, someone had come from behind Camille, wrapping their arms around her in something dark. It immediately caused both Camille and Nami to gasp in surprise, but the panicked Camille appeared more terrified. Nami did not have time to react to the stranger, but she soon realized just what the dark material was: a black jacket and a very familiar one at that. After a closer inspection, she realized who it belonged to before looking at the stranger. It was none other than Sanji; he was using his jacket to cover Camille and break her from her trance of anxiety.
Without a word to either of them, he grabbed her shirt and ran out of the bar, holding onto Camille's hand and leading her out without giving her a chance to look back. She did not say a word and followed him out with her head hanging low. No doubt she knew who it was, or else she would have made a scene right then and there. Nami stood up and watched them disappear through the door, possibly toward the docks and back to the ship.
Everything else seemed to return to normal with ease as if none of it had happened at all, yet Nami remained standing awkwardly, taking a moment to register what had happened for a moment.
She was not surprised by the fact that Sanji had noticed the actions Camille had taken, removing her shirt and revealing nothing but a bikini top in a bar full of drunks. What did surprise her, though, was that he knew Camille was becoming more and more anxious, and he knew she was placed in a grave situation. With that in mind, before she could even get out of her seat and get out of there herself, he was already there, pulling her out of the bar as if he read Nami's mind before she had a chance to think about her next move.
That made Nami think a little. Did a similar situation happen in the past, and he knew just how to handle it? Questions like that and others ran through the navigator's mind, yet she chose against trying to figure them out. As long as Camille was away from what made her nervous and scared, Nami felt a little more at ease. Plus, she was with Sanji now, someone both girls could trust...even if he was a womanizer.
Closing her eyes and sighing with relief, Nami slowly sat down in her seat again, staring at her empty cup for the longest time and ignoring any glances that people might have made after what happened. On the inside, she was regretting the whole idea altogether and prayed that Camille would be alright.
At that, she felt a small smile on her lips. It was just as Nami thought before: Camille was with Sanji now. She would be just fine.