Nami's Candle

How was 8 years old Nami going to collect 100 million beli and free her village? By throwing away her heart, that's how.

Chapter 1: Candle Seaweed

10 Years After THE END

"Selling Pirate Captain Don Krieg for 19 million beli! Very cheap price for a former pirate with a 30 million beli bounty!"

Nami was not pleased by the sudden appearance of a slave auction beside the shopping mall of Sabaody Archipelago.

She was enjoying herself immensely with shopping (she had found a line of her favorite designer, the Purple Bubble), when a loud cheering of a crowd had startled her. A closer examination revealed an auction of captured pirates, and Nami sighed as she made her ways to purchase piles of the latest fashionable garments. There were few more shops in the mall that she had her sights set on, but shopping when a pirate auction was taking place in the vicinity did not rest comfortably with her pretty heart. Especially not with 16 million beli to her own head, thanks to her idiotic captain picking a fight with the World Government itself. She had almost walked past the auctioning site, when the action master noticed the 20 bags in her hands from 'Lady & Life' that practically spelt 'I-have-lots-of-money-to-spend-on-clothes-I'll-wear-just-once.'

"Young lady with beautiful orange hair! Why, I do love the color orange so. Would you like to dabble at this handsome slave who will fulfill all your biddings?"

Nami's eyebrows burrowed in frustration, and she turned her shoulders and strutted away on her magnificent silver high heels. (I am Don Kreig! Not an item to be sold! I, who commanded 50 fleets of... Arrrgh) Being beautiful was the goal in her life (aside from creating a world map), but sometimes she was just too dam beautiful.

"Speaking of orange, there was this lovely lady with a lovely garden of oranges in East Blue. Oh my, our next pirate slave is quite charming. Pardon? Your name is Nami? How strange, I once knew a Nami, the most beautiful navigator I have ever met."

Nami couldn't understand why she suddenly stopped in her tracks. It might have been the mention of the best oranges in East Blue, a navigator named Nami, or the highly energized voice that was oddly familiar.

Either way, Nami obliged to the naggings of her heart and her head raced across her shoulders to find the owner of the voice. The twenty bags of Purple Bubble collection slipped from her fingers and her honey brown eyes grew wide in shock.

"Candle?"

Her hands dashed to cover her mouth, but the name that she had held secretly in her heart broke free. And she had found him, staring back at her with the same black eyes she had remembered.

"Auction Master? How much for this Nami whore?"

The crowd grew noisy, but Candle didn't pay attention. His mind drifted back into the past, where hope had lived, and the world seemed kind.

11 Years Ago

365 Days Before THE END

"Hello Mrs. Bell-mère, We're Seaweed family. Just moved in to Niceview village, and everyone's been telling us to visit the best oranges in the world! So here we are!"

Nami squinted as her concentration broke, thanks to some random strangers from another island. She was almost finished 'The Art of Conquering Through Navigating: Without Us, You Die', but the intruders were just too loud. Behind the loud black-haired couple with spectacles, a young boy who also wore large circular spectacles stood silently. It only took a glance at the boy with the shaking of the scrawny legs and hands for the 6 years old Nami to discover that he was small in stature, and even smaller in his confidence. Wicked thoughts came to her head, and Nami smiled evilly as she jumped off the high chair (women should always be high, even with chairs - said a magazine her mother read, whatever that meant) and ran to the boy.

"Hi, I'm Nami, what's your name?"

"Candle...Candle Seaweed."

"Okay Whatever. Did you know that King Money Bunny can jump three thousand feet and swallow five hundred humans in one bite?"

Nami didn't wait for a response.

"Oh! And it was just sighted between the passage of this village and Niceview. Genzo the chief says a boy lost his arms. If you see any shadow on the path, watch out for the BITE!"

Nami brought her hands up like claws and her eyes fierce as she screamed the last word. The boy fell back and shrieked in fear.

That's what you should get after ruining my reading time.

Pleased with her work, Nami trotted lightly back to her high chair.

"Well Thank you for your hospitality Ms. Bella! We'll Surely be back! And my, we love your hairstyle!"

The endless chatter of rather obnoxious visitors (My son got straight As in school in our previous village. Hoho! Oh your daughter is 7 years old as well?) had finally ended, and Nami smiled with delightful thoughts of quiet reading.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Seaweed, it was a pleasure. Nami! Come and say goodbye like a good girl. "

Nami sighed, then turned to answer, "Yes mother," wearing the most angelic face possible. (Oh My! Your girl is an angel!) She laughed evilly inside as she brought her book down as slowly as humanly possible.

The small black haired boy, who stood quietly after his girlishly high shriek, tapped Bell-mère and spoke to her.

"I understand why your oranges taste so good Ms. Bell-mère. "

The boy spoke, staring straight at Nami through his glasses.

"If your child is so horrible, at least your fruits should taste good. Otherwise, how can you live?"

Silence engulfed the small house full of oranges, and then Bell-mère exploded in anger as she tried to ram Candle down the wooden floor. It took both Mr. and Mrs. Seaweed to contain Bella. (I SWEAR IF I CATCH YOU MIDGET GEEK) Candle looked at Nami and stuck his tongue out; a finger stretched the skin below his eyes displaying the pink of eye socket. (YOU CALLED MY SON WHAT? HE'S JUST IN GOOD SIZE YOU BALD MANLESS WITCH)

Nami stood, frozen in shock. Nobody humiliated her like that in the verbal warfare. Only Najiko stood on even grounds, and even then Nojiko had few years. This boy was even smaller than her! Nami promised that the next time she saw this boy with black eyes, his caramel brown skin would also be covered in black. (The police chief Genzo came, but the fight went on) Nami didn't have to wait very long for vengeance however, as she would find him the very next day, in her very class of Windmill School.

"Class, this is Candle Seaweed. He's from Niceview Village, so please treat him kindly~."

Cocoyasi Village was located at the heart of Conomi Islands, and thus benefited from its location. Among other things, it was decided that the villages in vicinity would pool and invest in the best school to offer on Cocoyasi Village. Thus, children all over the neighboring villages poured down to Cocoyasi Village every sunrise for their education.

Candle looked around, and spotted the fuming orange haired girl. He smirked. Nami leaped out, lashing out her nails and the sentences she had heard her mother scream yesterday and other days.

And thus began the war that disrupted every class of 7 years olds in Windmill School. The teachers believed that this war would interrupt every moment of learning until they graduate. (Which was quite far in years)

But they were wrong.

Little did they know, of a band of fearsome fishermen known as Arlong's pirates, searching for the ideal land to conquer the 'inferior human species'. And the fact that Cocoyasi Village acted as the brain to many of the services for islands in its vicinity did not help to avoid its impending destruction.

For now though, the sun shone brilliantly on the beautiful Cocoyasi Village of East Blue, and the smell of delicious orange soup from Tangerine Grove filled every villagers with delight.

364 Days until THE END