A/N Hey everyone! This is going to be a LuNa fic, just to warn all of you… and it'll be a multi-chapter fic. I have a general idea of what's going to happen, but I hope that it'll come together nicely without too many mistakes or much editing. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer; I do not own One Piece. Heck, it's older than me, so there's no way I have any sort of ownership over it. I wish I did, but that honour goes to the amazing Oda. I own this story plot, however, and any OCs that will appear to push the story along. Don't steal, just enjoy!
Vacant Shores, a One Piece Story
Chapter One: The Lonely Return
" And after that?
You may wish me luck, or curse me for a
damnable pirate, but do not look for me.
I will be gone to parts beyond the sea."
-Pirates!-Celia Rees
Nami felt restless, pacing back and forth across the deck and scowling at her log pose. It had already set a long time ago along with the golden sun. Now, the stars filled the inky blackness of the sky and they winked and blinked down on her. The only sound on the still Sunny was the light tapping of her high-heeled sandals against the floorboards as she paced impatiently, awaiting her crew's arrival.
She made her way over to the railing of the ship and peered over the edge, staring at the empty boardwalks and docks. She growled, cursing her crew's inability to keep track of time while shivering as a light breeze skimmed over her slightly sunburnt flesh, causing her ginger hair to dance around her face. She felt the goosebumps that she had fought off for so long prickle her skin as she stormed up the stairs to the women's quarters, seeking out a woolly jumper to wrap around herself.
Still seething, the navigator gritted her as she pulled the fabric over her arms, hissing when the material agitated her tender, red skin. Nami pulled it off again before reaching out for a silken button-up pyjama shirt to soothe the burning in her arms. So what if it was a pyjama shirt? She didn't care, as long as it kept her warm without irritating her poor burnt skin.
Just as she buttoned the last fastener, she heard crashes and yells outside her room, these noises coupled with the sound of loud, irritating (though admittedly cute) laughter. Nami breathed a sigh of relief that they were finally back, safe and sound, but she put on her best scowl when she turned to open the door to silence, or at least quieten, her brash, idiotic captain.
"Oi, Nami!" Luffy began, but stopped short when he saw his navigator's angered expression. Usopp and Chopper, who had been giggling and chortling at Luffy's antics, stopped laughing with a gulp as they sensed the deathly waves of rage rolling off the orange-haired female. Nami made her way over to her captain, raising a shaky fist to bring it down again with force over Luffy's head. The raven haired teen yelped as his skull throbbed, snapping his head back into place. He rubbed the rapidly forming bump while pouting at Nami, confused at her behaviour.
"What time do you call this?! I was worried sick about you- about ALL of you, and you just dander in without a care in the world as if nothing is wrong! The log pose set ages ago!"
Nami swung at her captain again, but Luffy saw it coming and dodged it. Her fist continued its course, flying past Luffy and hitting a not-so-quick Franky. A grimace formed on her face as her fist connected with rock-hard steel, possibly crushing a bone or two in her hand, while Franky howled in pain. Chopper gasped and ran up to the two, trying to grab at Nami's hand to get a better look at his patient's injuries while ordering Sanji to get an ice pack for Franky.
Her hand hurt like crazy, but she wouldn't give Luffy the satisfaction of knowing that she couldn't attack him again. She shook off Chopper's concern as she aimed for Luffy again, and this time she hit the mark. Luffy was sent reeling and spinning across the deck into Zoro, who caught him with a grunt.
"I wanted to map this island before nightfall, you idiots! I'll have to wait until tomorrow now, and the rest of you will have to wait longer to leave! Hope you're happy!"
Nami stormed off, passing her shocked nakamas with an air of indifference. Luffy, despite his injuries, reached out an arm and stopped her in her tracks, pulling her towards him. He looked her in the eyes, an apology on his lips and his hands on her shoulders. Nami gasped at the intimate touch, feeling a blush crawl up her cheeks that she desperately tried to fight off.
"Nami, I'm really sorry. I guess we forgot that you wanted to see the island too. We were having too much fun to think straight, so your instructions completely slipped our minds. I sincerely hope that you can forgive us all, or at least tell us what to do to make it up to you."
She had to admit, it was touching to hear him apologise so profusely to her. She guessed that she could forgive them, but if they angered her again, she would be sure to bring it up in a debate and charge them all for it.
"Fine, baka. I forgive you."
With these words, Nami slowly eased herself out of Luffy's grip and pushed past him calmly, smiling at Robin as she passed her. Robin returned the smile and followed after her best friend as they made their way to the women's quarters. However, just as they reached her door, Nami heard Luffy utter the fateful words that would spell his impending doom.
"So, Zoro, how'd I do?"
Nami clenched her fist, ignoring the jolts of pain coursing up her arm from the action. She slowly turned her head, looking over her shoulder to glare at the rubber idiot. Luffy gulped, realising that he should have waited until Nami was out of earshot before even thinking of opening his mouth. To his surprise, Nami just turned back to the women's quarters before slamming the door shut on them.
A few minutes later, she opened the door again to reveal that she was fully changed for going out, with a bag slung over her shoulder. Without speaking to any of them, she walked on to the deck and hoisted herself over the railing, landing on the walkway below. Luffy followed her movements with his eyes, widening them when he noticed that she was leaving them. He leapt over the railing and hurried after her, calling out her name. He smiled when she stopped in her tracks.
"I'm going to map the island, Luffy, so leave me alone." Nami turned her head to him. "I need to be alone, for your safety and my sanity. So please, go away."
Luffy felt his mouth hang open in shock. He knew that he was in the wrong, but did he really make her that angry? Nami set off again, leaving a stunned Luffy in her wake. The Straw Hat captain could do nothing but watch her leave.
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Nami huffed as she left the Thousand Sunny behind, cursing her idiotic, immature and outright irritating captain for everything that had just transpired. Why did she have to be stuck with a twit of a leader? She continued forward, pushing past the late night strollers who roamed the only inhabited town on the tiny island. A couple of them grumbled, but she could care less. She needed time to think, space to breathe and somewhere to finish drawing her map of the island.
She didn't want to tell the others that she had already bought a map of the island at the last town they were at, because then she wouldn't have much to tell her crew off about. Sure, she felt a little guilty for hitting and scolding Luffy, but if she didn't keep him in line, who would?
Nami reached into her bag to grab her pens to start jotting down some notes on the new buildings that she encountered on her travels that weren't marked on the map when she froze. Her hands scooted around her bag desperately, searching for them, but she admitted defeat with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had forgotten them in her haste to leave the ship.
Scowling, Nami turned on her heel to start walking back to the ship. She hoped that the others would be sleeping by now, otherwise they would see her slinking back with her tail between her legs. She could already hear their smug laughter as they slapped her on the back, mocking her forgetfulness.
However, complete silence greeted her when she arrived at the docks. It was unsettling, because she was hoping that someone would have waited up for her to get back. Sneaking on to the ship, she didn't expect to see neither the tufts of grass uprooted from the garden deck, nor the doors either hanging from a hinge or completely destroyed. The rooms were empty, devoid of life.
It was obvious that a scuffle had happened, but why? And where were her nakamas? Nami looked over the ship again, searching everywhere for her crew, but no one came. Finding no clues to their whereabouts, the horrible, ugly truth hit her.
Her nakamas were missing. Gone.
Kidnapped.
