AN: I was working on chapter 2 of Downfall, but it wasn't coming out the way I wanted and I knew where I was going but I just got bored. I started working on another one shot that will probably be posted later today because I wanted to break away from Downfall and write something with LuNa, but that didn't turn out the way I planned. You'll see what I mean.
I wrote this is an effort to curb my urge to write some LuNa goodness, but it came out a little OOC and there's no where near enough LuNa than I planned. In fact, I think there's only LuNa in here if you squint and stand on your head. Do I just fail as a LuNa writer (Or a writer period?)? :( I was trying to fit this as a drabble, but it turned into this semi-monstorous thing. I'm just not capable of writing a few simple sentences.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. :(
Parchment and Ink
"I kicked their asses."
It was clear to Nami that he had done just that when she observed the damage on the secluded warehouse that she was sure, was very much intact before Luffy had come along. Gaping holes and debris now littered the area and she didn't doubt that the scene inside was probably ten times worse that what she was currently witnessing.
He was the future king of the pirates. If you were to have the chance to ask any one of the Straw-hat pirate crew, you would get an answer without a hint of hesitation or doubt. They knew they were traveling with the man that would be the Pirate King. Even enemies would grudgingly admit that this man was something to be feared, but it was doubtful anyone could ask without being sent to their grave for bringing up the man that had crushed their pride and served it back to them on a silver platter with a side of parsley.
It wasn't surprising that the Straw-hat pirates' infamy spread, although if you knew the details that the World Government did, you would hardly be able to call the acts anything short of heroic. However, they were pirates and pirates were outlaws and that's all people knew when they heard their names.
They were still young and their looks deceptive at first glance. They couldn't possibly be the devils that the World Government so vehemently attempted to bring down. With this belief foolish men and women would seek them out, mostly pirates but a few bounty hunters would manage to find their way to them. What they believed to be their good fortune in locating the Straw-hat pirates would soon turn to misfortune, as they all soon found once they found themselves in battle.
He had one of the strongest of crews at his command, but their numbers still fell just one short of reaching double digits which made them all the more unbelievable.
The first to join had a been the swordsman and current first mate, who had a made a name for himself even before he had met his captain.
There was his navigator who had taken up the hobby of stealing from pirates and had navigational skills that could be topped by no other.
They had a sharpshooter and although he didn't look like much, never did he miss his target.
Their cook was unrivaled by any other, but he was not one to idle in the kitchen as he had a fearsome fighting technique and never did the quality of his cooking fail to please his crewmates.
There was the strange animal that many had thought of as their pet, but he was a brilliant doctor and a reindeer. He was not a tanuki, as he would prove over and over again.
She was an enigmatic figure and branded as a demon for her knowledge and her ability to read the forbidden Poneglyphs, but never did her crew ever doubt her of her loyalty and she, in turn, did the same.
He was a cyborg and their shipwright and often mistaken as a pervert, but there was no mistake that he was a super guy.
The final member, thus far, was their fervently sought out musician, but his musical talents seemed to come only second to the fact that he had escaped death once and was currently an animated skeleton.
His crew was strong, he had no doubt about it and because of this there were endless lines of challengers for each of them. He let them fight their own battles because he knew that he would never want them to interfere with his own, that is, until their dreams were brought into question.
They all had their dreams and their reasons for following him. There was the unspoken agreement that as they followed him and supported him in his goal to become the Pirate King, he would be there to make sure that they never lost sight of theirs.
And that was why he stood before his navigator, covered in seawater that seeped into his many cuts, but he ignored the pain and continued to grin as he held out the battered map to her. It was barely even salvageable, but she took it nonetheless.
"The rest are okay." He referred to the bag at her feet as she clutched the rolled up parchment to her chest. "But that one took the most damage. That's the one you spent all week doing, right? Oh, and I got the rest of our money and supplies, but I'll need to get the others to help me carry it all."
The challenge today had been thrown at Nami. It was rare because it seemed that it wasn't a well known fact that she was their navigator and that her skills were something to be feared, but a few had come across this little tidbit. For Luffy, who could not navigate himself out of a wooden barrel, maps were meaningless without his navigator to guide him through it, but to any other pirate who had some sense; her maps could be the equivalent of even the most valuable of treasures.
When they found their ship ransacked, their treasures and supplies taken, Nami had been infuriated. For her easy going captain, it was nothing that couldn't be replaced and the rest of his crew seemed to follow his attitude, although it was still an insult that they were so easily hit.
However, when Nami found her study a mess and everything (her maps, log books, research, it was all gone,) was missing, the strength in her legs left her and she reached out to grab at the scraps of parchment and spilt ink on the hardwood floors of the ship.
"They even took the map of Cocoyashi." She didn't care that she had smeared ink on her face because she had never felt lower than she had at that moment. She would have to start everything from scratch.
So caught up in her grief that she didn't notice her captain standing just outside the doorway. No one saw as he dashed across the upper deck and disappeared over the side of the ship.
Nami had quickly cleaned up the mess, heading up to the bath house to clean her face and wipe away any remnants of tears before she returned to her crew and pulled out their emergency stash of money that she kept hidden. She was angry and took it out on the crew in the form of orders and commands. She knew it was wrong of her when they didn't know how badly she had been hit by the robbery, but she wasn't about to tell them. They had already decided to forget about the incident and continue with their lives and she wasn't about to force them into an all out attack all for her sake.
But they're not getting away with it, Nami thought darkly.
The crew left, Robin and Brook agreeing to stay behind to watch the ship, although they doubted anyone would return as there was nothing left to steal but the ship itself.
Before they went their separate ways, Nami managed to pull Chopper away and he became suspicious when she asked him if he could track down the scent of the people who had robbed them. Smoothly she lied to him that it was merely to make sure the others wouldn't cross paths and start up something when they had already agreed to let it go. Reluctantly he pointed in a direction of town that he claimed that the scent seemed the strongest, but soon found himself alone once he had divulged the information.
Nami knew it was very little information to go by and it was probably an even more foolish thing to go alone, although she had proved that she was more than capable of handling herself when she needed to. She was too angry to care. What they had taken from her was not just a bunch of parchment with ink markings. It was her dreams that they had taken. Her dreams to travel the world and create a map from the things she witnessed with her own eyes.
As the people became fewer and the buildings farther apart, Nami pulled out her Perfect Climatact. With every step the weight of her idiocy seemed to press down on her shoulders, but she couldn't back down now.
I can't let them take my dreams, she told herself firmly, putting together her weapon. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her weapon, making sure it was firmly in place. If I don't get it back with my own strength, how can I face the others who fight so hard to protect their own dreams?
With that final thought, Nami had been prepared to take back what was rightfully hers. Although she didn't have the strength to pull an all out attack like the others, she still had a plan that would make them think twice about stealing from her ever again.
Her plan fell apart, however, as did her resolve when she came across the battered warehouse and the sight of her captain walking away with a bag slung over his shoulder and a map clenched in his hand in such a state.
She unfolded the map and found the ink smeared from the water and blood stains his grip had left. Her hands tightened on the parchment, crumpling the already fragile map, her knuckles beginning to lose their color.
"They used seawater on me, I guess they knew I ate the devil's fruit." He continued as he hoisted the bag back over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "It really surprised me, but I-"
"Idiot!"
Startled by the insult, he dropped the bag, finally taking notice of his trembling navigator. He stepped back with a sharp inhalation when she brandished the map into his face, her expression etched with fury.
"It's ruined! Why the hell did you go to all that trouble for a useless map?" Nami shouted, crushing it in her hand and throwing it to the ground.
"Ah, but, I got the rest... of your... maps... " He trailed off, caught off guard by her unmistakable anger. It wasn't that he was expecting her undying gratitude, but he thought that she would be happy, at the very least, to get her maps back.
If anything, his statement only brought more heat to her gaze and he flinched, closing his eyes tightly as he waited for the impact of her fist. There was momentary impact, but it hit his chest and tightened around him, putting pressure on his bruises and pressing into his cuts,that forced his eyes open as he gasped. His eyes widened to find the arms of his navigator wrapped around him tightly, her face pressed against the material of his vest.
"Idiot... idiot..." Nami's voice grew softer, muffled against his chest as her shoulders shook. "You'd go so far for something this stupid? It's just parchment and ink."
"No," Luffy grinned when Nami looked up at him, tears threatening to spill over her eyes. "It's your dream, isn't it?"
"Idiot..." She buried her face against his chest again, tightening her grip when he proceeded to laugh.
"Hahaha--Ow, ow...That hurts, Nami!"
AN: I realize it was little confusing, but I also realize I just phail :x
D: I phail at drabbles. I phail at LuNa. I'm so sorry!
