So, this started off as The Great Conjunction (chapter 2 in Mikans and Stolen Hearts) but I have changed it, and added stuff to it for what is now my LawNa sci-fi one shot series :) I hope you guys enjoy this. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece.
The Prophecy.
The orange haired woman often opted to sit outside during her break at work. The Baratie was always busy, and the cool evening air urged its customers inside, so she was free to admire the twilight alone, and she welcomed the peace and quiet.
She straightened her short black dress, then reached into her black leather satchel. Nami looked up to the sky, wondering about all the possibilities her future could hold while searching for her ultraviolet protection googles.
She could hear the clink of glasses as couples toasted inside, enjoying their lives, and laughing in ignorance of what the universe had in store for their world. The clatter of dishes being collected roused her memory of a conversation she had earlier with a group of the restaurants local patrons. 'Do you think the is prophecy real?' Nami recalled one of them asking her as she came to clear their table.
Nami put on her googles, and watched the binary sunset over the hazy horizon. The two stars danced about their barycentre battling for power; a fight that the blue star always one. Its gravity was so immense that it was slowly consuming stellar matter from its smaller companion, creating a red line from the crimson sun, that appeared in the sky like a tail. It trailed behind as the red sun as it ran in circles from the larger blue one.
'I wish there were more stars.' Nami found her self yearning as she basked in the last of the days light and heat. She loved the suns that gave life to the world. There was little she enjoyed more than bathing in their rays on lazy afternoons, but clear nights were certainly one of the things that appealed to her more. That was when her dreams were realised.
There were no stars in the night sky. The only ones she had ever seen were the two at the heart of the solar system, but they were obviously only seen during the day. At night, only the light reflected off other celestial objects could be seen. Beyond the immediate night sky, there was nothing but a terrifying emptiness. No light, no distant stars, nothing.
The solar system was encased in a dense dust cloud called the Calm Belt. It blocked out any possible light from their galactic neighbours. Leaving them with miles and miles of dark, empty space.
Nami had been drawing sky maps at the same time each night from being a little girl. Predicting and plotting where all of East planet's satellites would be, it was easy because they orbited the planet she lived on. The neighbouring planet, North, and its satellites were a bit more of a challenge.
Each moon in the solar system had a molten metal core, creating its very own electromagnetic field, but that was where the similarities ended. Things like tidal heating, and other cosmic processes, made every celestial body very much alive its own way, and also very deadly. They orbited their centre of gravity at different speeds, too. Just one of many reasons to add to the list of why they were so problematic.
Nami missed the routine of plotting sky maps. Life, and the desperate need for belli had gotten in the way. She knew the sky well enough that she didn't have to refer to the planisphere she was creating to know where most of the objects would be in the sky. The hazy atmosphere of Whisky Peak always gave that satellite away. Water 7 was the only visible blue moon in the sky.
She desperately wanted to plot where the other terrestrial planets were, and the satellites that orbited them. Nami had heard stories about them from various sources, but never gotten glimpses at two of the other planets. They were paired as opposites with her home world and North. Never to catch a glimpse of its twin as they maintained even distances from one and other along the same orbital plane. The binary stars at the centre of the solar system completely eclipsed the other two planets and their satellites. The dully named North and South shared the colder outer orbit, East and West shared the slightly warmer inner orbit.
Nami hated to imagine what the sky on North would look like. Being on the outer orbit, at night there would be even less to see, just more empty sky save for whatever few moons were in the hemisphere on that particular night.
"Nami-swan!" The restaurant's sous chef called out to her, making her jump as she roused from her thoughts.
"I'll be there in a minute." She informed him with a sigh, moving a few strands of hair from her face that had gotten dislodged in the gentle breeze. Nami wanted to watch as the suns disappeared from the horizon, and had no intention of returning inside until they had vanished.
"Okay~" Sanji cooed before returning to his work.
After a few moments her ears once again picked up the clatter of dishes from the kitchen, and Nami soon continued on the same train of thought. 'Do you think the is prophecy real?'
Their ancestors called it the Great Conjunction. The sky pirates of the modern 'New World' called it The Grand Line. A prophecy that predicted the celestial alignment of every object in the heavens, eclipsing half the solar system from its binary heart, and shrouding it in a terrifying darkness for an unknown amount of time.
The gravitation strain of the alignment was presumed to throw everything into chaos. People feared that the worlds would be torn apart, or tidally locked for all eternity. That fear, coupled with the promise of a lasting darkness had caused trouble to brew. Crime had began to increase as the populace slowly slipped into despair.
There were skeptic's, as there are with anything. There are also apostles; people who have such a fearful belief in the prophecy that they have prepared a military faction to maintain order during the chaotic time. They had named themselves The Worlds Government, and were bound by an accord to serve and protect the free peoples of the Four Worlds.
Nami had been a skeptic when she was young, she never believed in the prophecy until she started to plot her own celestial maps. Her calculations showed that the outer planet, North, moved across its longer orbital plane at a slightly faster pace than the East did. The planet was slowly etching closer to its neighbour, meaning the prophecy would come true. The two planets would move as one for a time, as would South and West.
She wanted to fly out into the sky, to turn to the 'Grand Line' and see every celestial object aligned, and to see the unnerving pitch black of the rest of the empty sky. She imagined herself there, a glimmering road of spherical lights before her, nothing either side.
Nami had never even left East, so her image of what the planets and moons might look like from space could be way off, but she knew that one day she would see it. Nami had once made a promise to a friend. She vowed that when the prophecy came true, when the Grand Line emerged, she would take to the skies and navigate for Luffy, so he could fulfil his dream of finding a dark world named One Piece, and she could fulfil hers and draw a planisphere of the solar system.
"You shitty little brat!" The owner, Zeff, shouted at Sanji, drawing Nami's attention. "I don't pay you to stare at our waitress..." He continued to reprimand at his apprentice. Nami took that opportunity to slip back inside unnoticed.
Her job as a waitress at the Baratie, was one of many. Nami ran a produce stall with her sister, Nojiko, and she also worked at garage called The Thousand Suns. The owner of the garage was an eccentric cyborg named Franky. He was a complete genius who could upgrade, maintain, or build a ship that was worthy of the night sky.
Nami usually worked the reception there, conning customers into purchasing upgrades they didn't want or need, or simply flirting with them until they requested the most expensive service for their vessel. Franky always gave her a cut of any of the transactions she handled, so she always tried to spent as much of her working day there as she could. Late afternoons, and evenings she would be at the restaurant. The Baratie was always open late, and the night shifts were always busier than the mornings, so the flow of trade suited her well.
A young man, about her age, named Usopp ran the bar in Zeff's establishment. He was constantly telling entertaining stories to the customers about places he had apparently been, and adventures he'd supposedly had. The more the patrons drank, the more they believed him.
He was telling one at that very moment, though Nami actually believed that this one to be true.
"I am the son of a great man, a great pirate!" Usopp boasted with a large grin, and his hands on his hips. "His name is Yasopp. He flies with 'Red-Haired' Shanks!"
She smiled at his expression as she watched and listened. He was earnest and proud, that's how she knew he was telling the truth. Also, her friend Luffy had confirmed the tale, something that Usopp was extremely grateful for.
Nami shook her head as Usopp continued. His words soon spiralled into a ridiculous fable, that was completely unbelievable. She laughed as she put on her apron, and began to clear one of the nearby tables.
"I'm glad you are able to laugh today Nami-ya, because I'm not!" A low, smoky voice drawled from behind her. She momentarily got chance to appreciate the dulcet tone of the man's voice before it dawned on her who it was.
'Shit' Nami thought to herself. Her heart began to race as she was momentarily frozen, a knot tightening in her stomach, and her brown eyes widening with fear. She dropped the plates she was holding. Her hand moved to cover her mouth as she whispered, "Tora-o."
The low chuckle she heard from the man behind her quickly thawed her body, and she ran for the kitchens as fast as she could.
"Don't you dare run from me, you infuriating woman!" Law shouted, then instantly captured her. He covered her mouth, and wrapped an arm around her waist to bind her. His tall frame made it easy for him to lift her from the ground, and carry her out of the Baratie.
Nami struggled against him to no avail, he was too strong and kept her bound against his body. She watched his surprised crew pass by as he marched her to his yellow ship which had landed in the nearest possible parking space to the restaurant. Hopefully, Sanji would see what was happening and come to her aid soon. She feared things were about to get out of control.
Trafalgar Law set her down in front of him. He kept her pressed close to his chest, his arm tightly around her waist. "What the fuck is this?" He demanded as he pushed a button on the outside of the airlock.
"Welcome." A familiar voice sounded.
"Well?" He growled. His lips brushed against Nami's ear, sending a shiver through her body. One that didn't go unnoticed by him.
She internally cursed herself for her body's reaction to him, the tried to regain her composer. "It's an audio program." Nami explained as she tried to turn her head to face him. She wanted to smile and bat her eyelashes at Law, hoping it would make a difference and he'd be a little more lenient with her.
"It is an audio program. One that talks every time I walk through a doorway on board my ship … every doorway!" He shouted at her as he spun her around to face him. Law then lowered his head to be level with hers, and lock eye contact with her as he continued. "I didn't ask for an audio program. I asked your cyborg friend to fix my hull, that was all! I wondered why it was so expensive until I heard that!"
Law's face was contorted with anger. The sort of anger she had seen before, the kind she knew could be quelled fairly easily with the correct approach. Softening his mood was definitely worth a shot. Nami did enjoy his scowling face, but his devilish smirk was much more appealing, and could warm her blood.
"Why are you confronting me about it? Franky is the owner, take it up with him!" Nami was bold enough to respond. She hoped she knew him well enough to believe that she wasn't in any sort of real danger. He was an extremely rich ex-government surgeon turned pirate, and had shown interest in her in the past when she had been keeping Luffy's company. Law was also close, albeit reluctant friends with him, and had been for a while. So she knew Law wasn't as bad as his reputation led people to believe, but she was perhaps a little too foolish to have crossed him.
"Nami-ya." Law sighed as he pressed the button again.
"Welcome." A very obvious digitization of her voice sounded.
"The fact that you ran from me says it all! Whose voice is that?" He inquired as he leaned in closer to her until their noses were touching.
She felt her face grow warm a the proximity, so Nami turned her head away from him, and pretended to feign ignorance, pursing her lips in a way she had seen Luffy do many times.
Law grabbed her chin and raised her face to his. "That is your voice Nami-ya. You recorded this audio program, and probably just to piss me off!" he accused. "I didn't ask for it, so do something about it." He ordered her.
Nami had gotten a huge bonus from Franky for this, so she wasn't going to back down and loose all that belli. "Just because you didn't ask for it, doesn't mean that you don't want it!" She said smugly before sticking her tongue out at him, claiming the situation as her victory.
Law's eyes were fixed then on the pink appendage protruding from her lips. She retracted it slowly, then seductively bit down on her bottom lip, hoping her femininity would help her escape with her belli if persuasion didn't prevail.
"I'll remember that line." He promised, casting his dark golden eyes down her figure before pulling away and taking hold of her arm.
Law escorted her inside his ship, to the maintenance panel just inside the cargo bay doors. "That wasn't there before." He informed her, pointing to what was obviously a finger print recognition plate. He sighed before he spoke again. "How am I meant to uphold my fearsome reputation as a pirate captain? I can't even exit my ship in front of my enemies, because the motion sensors prompt that fucking audio program, and your sexy voice sounds, bidding me farewell!"
"Sexy voice, hey?" Nami teased.
Law gave her a pointed look, letting her know that this was really not the time to be tormenting him.
"Okay. I see your point." Nami conceded. " You'll have to wait for it to malfunction, though." She explained.
"Really. How long will that take?" Law sighed in exasperation. His glare turning colder.
"It is Franky's work, so maybe a thousand years ..." Nami estimated with a smile.
"I want my money back!" He ordered, slamming his palms against the cargo bay walls, either side of Nami .
"Tough, it's my money now." Nami huffed, folding her arms across her body, continuing to stare up at him.
"Don't you know who I am? Don't you know my reputation?" He asked through narrowed eyes as he stepped closer, pinned her against the side of his ship.
"Of course I do." Nami said, unafraid. She pulled her arms free, and wrapped them around his neck and pressed herself closer to him to try and lessen his foul mood.
Law really was very attractive, Nami had been interested in him since she met him, so being flirtatious with him wasn't a chore, at all. She liked knowing that she was having an affect on him. His facial expression had softened, and to her delight, he now seemed more concerned about the idea of what was in front of him, than any of the money she owned to him.
Law smirked. He loved that she wasn't afraid of him, or was just simply too bold to admit it if she was. "Then you know what I'm capable of, and you know that I'll take what I want." Law threatened.
"You wouldn't dare!" Nami baited as she stared at his lips, hoping he was now referring to a kiss, and not her belli.
Law enjoyed the sound of that challenge. "Wouldn't I?" He purred before capturing her lips for a hungry kiss, something he'd wanted to do for months. He instantly pulled on her orange hair, his tongue darting into her mouth as he deepened their kiss.
Nami pulled away, slightly breathless from his tongue's pleasurable assault of her mouth. "I better get back to work." She quickly excused herself.
"Nami-ya!" Law said pointing to the maintenance panel.
"Fine!" She huffed and put her hand on the print recognition plate.
'Audio erased.' Appeared on the screen next to the panel.
"Thank you." Law sighed in relief.
"Did you like what it said when you went into your bedroom?" Nami asked. She hadn't recorded anything extra, but felt like tormenting him a little.
"What did it say?" Law questioned her immediately.
"Did you not go in?" Nami teased him again.
"No! What did it say?" He grabbed her shoulder to stop her from walking away.
"I guess you'll never know now since it's been erased. Maybe I confessed all my desires ... Who knows." She purred. Her eyes fixed on his, enjoying the way he smirked down at her.
"You can tell me those things." Law insisted, trying to pull her against him.
"Maybe I already tried." She winked and shook free of his grip to walked off.
"I'm picking you up after work!" Law shouted to her.
"No, don't. I need an early night. I'm running the fruit stall for Nojiko in the morning" Nami hollered back, half turning her head but not looking at him, knowing full well he'd be admiring her gait.
Trafalgar Law's eyes chased after her as she walked back into the Baratie, admiring the sway of her hips as she moved. If he wasn't going to get his money back from her, then he definitely planned to have her spend some time with him instead.
"Captain," One of his men shouted, drawing his attention but not his gaze. "Is the ship sorted?"
"Yea." He finally responded once Nami was out of view.
"Good. So where are we headed?" Penguin asked.
"Let's go get a drink." Law suggested.
"I don't think it's a drink you're really interested in."
Law smirked in reply, then headed towards the Baratie.
Already working on the next chapter of this, so I hope people are interested :)