A Troubled Heart
Chapter 1: The Nightmare
By: Luffylover87
DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece! Eiichiro Oda does!
Summary: Nami has a nightmare and is writhing in the confines of her bed screaming…The question is, who is she screaming for? Will Luffy be able to comfort her or will she be just out of his reach? Read and Find out! (A/N: Oh BTW, Luffy is somewhat smart in here, I know lots of people prefer him to stay an idiot but I like him both ways! So beware! OOC-ness ahead for him and Nami!)
It was daytime aboard the Thousand Sunny and everything was normal…yes…Zoro remained up in the crow's nest lifting an ungodly amount of weight calling it 'training,' Sanji was busy kicking Luffy out of the kitchen and telling him to 'Go find someone else to bother!' Chopper was busy being amazed at Usopp's so-called 'manliness,' Brook was busy asking Robin to see her panties, and Franky remained below deck constructing some kind of new contraption…yes all was normal…
What about me you ask?
I had decided to stay in my room under the pretext of 'map-making;' however, all was definitely not alright considering it was the anniversary of the day my mother, Bellemere, was killed right in front of my eyes…The absolute terror I felt as I watched her hit the ground with blood seeping through the very clothes that covered her body; despair spread throughout my body like wildfire…I was useless…and just thinking about it, still to this day, makes my blood run cold. I understand that I now have nakama to support me and be there for me but I can't shake that feeling of dread that one day they, along with Luffy, will be taken away from me and I will once again be thrust into a world of darkness with no chance of recovery. People say wounds heal with time, but I beg to differ. Heavily inflicted wounds leave scars, and those scars ache over time as a constant reminder of a past that will continue to haunt me.
~*~knock~*~knock~*~
"Who is it?"
"Nami-swan! Lunch is ready!"
I could almost see the hearts in Sanji's eyes through the door of Robin's and my sleeping quarters. Unfortunately his happiness was short-lived.
"Sorry Sanji…I'm not really hungry right now, could you just leave it aside for me later?"
"Are you feeling ok? Should I call Chopper?" Worry was clearly evident in his voice.
"No that's not needed, I just don't have much of an appetite right now, I will be sure to eat later, please tell the others not to worry."
Sanji was hesitant for a moment before he complied and walked away saying that he would be sure to 'safeguard some for her so Luffy couldn't get his grubby little hands on it.'
"(sigh) Luffy, huh?" I was beginning to reminisce once more as I recalled how Luffy rescued me from my prison cell and managed to beat up the warden, Arlong. Years of being lied to and being wrapped around his finger, all for the sake of my village…all gone…in an instant. Luffy was my solid foundation in which I put my whole-hearted trust in. If fate was cruel enough to take even that away from me, I honestly don't know how I would be able to move on. I could feel tears involuntarily slip down my face as I began to think the worst…what cruel scars awaited me on this journey? Do I even dare to venture to find out? I'm scared…
I laid down and decided that I should just take a nap and try to rid my head of all of the negative thoughts that plagued my mind, little did I know that I would only be engulfed in total, utter despair…
~*~Nami's dream~*~
Everything was pitch black and I couldn't even see two feet in front of me…
"Where am I?"
"Hello?"
"Is any body there?"
All of a sudden I heard a voice I was not familiar with… "It's your fault you know…"
"…W-what is…?" I had no idea what he was talking about…unsure, I let the mysterious voice continue.
"That they're dead…" My eyes widened. 'They're dead…meaning more than one…who could it…it couldn't possibly be…?'
"What are you talking about?" I was once again unsure if I really wanted to know the answer to that question, thus I was not prepared for the reply that was to hit me not a few seconds later.
"Are you so blind as to not see your crew lying at your feet…lifeless…" My eyes slowly traveled to the ground and soon everything came into focus. All she could do was scream as she took in the scene before her.
Zoro lay there stabbed through the heart by his own swords.
"…Zoro…"
Brook and Franky were shattered to pieces and lying amongst the dead bodies.
"…Franky…Brook…"
Robin lye on the ground next to Chopper, both of them completely mutilated to a point where it was almost hard to recognize them.
"…Robin…Chopper..."
Sanji and Usopp's bodies were disfigured in such a way that shouldn't be humanly possible.
"…Sanji…Usopp…?"
'Luffy! Where was Luffy?' I started to panic…
Luffy was the last one…he lay there a few feet away from her, just barely breathing…
"Luffy…? LUFFY…!" I ran over to his side and cradled his head within my arms.
"Luffy! What happened here?" I was in a frenzied state of shock and hysterics. Luffy was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, deep gashes marring his body causing his blood to flow freely.
"Th..ey…got..u..s…" Luffy said just barely above a whisper.
"WHO got you?"
"…Ma…rin..es…"
"…..what...but…how?"
I couldn't even begin understand what Marines could manage to cause so much damage. 'Was it one of the Admiral's? Aokiji? It couldn't have been Garp! Who? Who did this?'
"Its..al..l..yo..ur…fault…" Luffy said as his hands slowly made their way up to her neck and slowly began to apply pressure. "All…m..y..naka..ma..are…de..ad..b..ecau..se...of..you…I..ha..te..yo..u!" His eyes were darkened and he was giving me the exact same look he gave to his worst enemies…pure hatred. All I could do was shutter at the intensity of which he bored into my soul.
His grip was becoming tighter and it was getting harder to breathe.
"Luffy…please listen to me…I..didn't…" My hands could only pull effortlessly as his grip tightened once more.
"SH..UT..UP! I…Hate…You…and I..will NEVER…forgive you!" With one final squeeze Luffy's hands finally fell from her neck and dropped to the ground beside him, his body becoming lifeless like that of his crew…
"Luffy…Luffy…LUFFFFFYYYY! Nooooo….." He was gone…her one pillar of support that she thought she had…vanished.
"A lot a good that cheap bond called 'friendship' did, huh?" The unfamiliar voice only managed to snicker at her misfortune.
"GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE THEM BACK TO ME!"
"NO! THEY'RE DEAD! ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR INADEQUACY AND INABILITY TO DO ANYTHING! THEY WILL NEVER COME BACK!"
"Robin, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Brook, Franky…LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFY! LUUUUFFFFFYYYY!"
"…mi…na..mi…Nami…" The voice got ever louder. "Nami..! Nami!"
~*~End of Dream~*~
"LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFY!"
"Captain-san! Do something please!" Robin was worried about Nami.
At first she was just tossing and turning while mumbling something incoherent that she couldn't quite hear, and then it eventually escalated to her screaming Luffy's name over and over. She had went to go and retrieve her captain, hence their current situation…
"Nami! OI! Nami wake up! It's just a bad dream! NAMI!" He began to shake her violently until finally, she awoke with a start tears lining her beautiful features. She looked over at Luffy…and before he even had a chance to say anything, she tackled him to her bed, her arms wrapped around his torso, crying into his chest.
Robin looked on, very concerned for her nakama's well-being.
Luffy was startled but eventually nodded towards Robin, telling her that everything was under control…Luffy then began to run his fingers through her short orange locks in attempts at calming her down.
"Shhh…everything's gonna be ok Nami…what was so frightening that it scared my navigator away?" Nami just continued to cry into his chest…the tears just wouldn't stop…
Luffy was getting kinda worried now; his normal, fearless navigator had been replaced with this fragile women trembling in his arms. 'What could have possibly scared her this much?'
"(hic)ou…(hic)ied…" Nami mumbled in between sobs.
"…what…? Oi, Nami I didn't hear you…" Nami then got up abruptly.
"YOU DIED! AND I WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED YOU!" The dam overflowed and the tears just kept falling onto her mattress, near Luffy's face. The little droplets coming from her eyes stunned him as he really began to take in what she just told him…he stayed silent…
"Everyone was gone…lying in pools of their own blood just staring at me with those lifeless eyes! Only you, Luffy, was I able to talk to before you departed from me too…and even then you told me…you told me-" She just couldn't finish it.
"Nami…" Luffy interrupted her but his voice was hesitant before he asked… "What did I say to you…?"
"…Please...no...I-" Nami pleaded.
Luffy sat up, took hold of her head with one hand and grabbed one of her free hands and placed it over his heart so she could see for herself that he was most definitely alive and kicking!
"Nami it's ok…everything is ok now…I'm here, right?…And I am very much alive…" Luffy looked directly into her coffee-colored eyes, his ebony ones not leaving hers so as to reassure her that he was with her and that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon… "What did I say to you..?"
*BA-THUMP* *BA-THUMP* *BA-THUMP* *BA-THUMP*
Nami could feel his heartbeat under her palm and was relieved somewhat…but having to tell him what he had said to her was going to be hard, considering it was very out of character for him to say something like that to one of his nakama…Surely he would be upset…
"(hic) You s-said that it was all my fault, (hic) that I w-was the one who took your nakama away and (hic) that you'll never f-forgive me…and then you slowly…put..yo..ur hands…aro..und..my..neck..and…"
Luffy then stopped her by putting a finger to her lips… "And tell me Nami…do you really believe I would do such a thing to you? That I would be able to go through with it? Killing you?" Luffy's eyes were shadowed by his bangs, no longer visible to Nami.
"…You never got a chance to…because you died right there in my arms…" She said barely above a whisper.
"…My only parting gift from you was the mark that your blood-stained hands had given me just a few minutes prior to your death…"
Luffy's eyes shot open as he looked at her…
"…I…died…in your arms…?" Luffy asked hesitantly.
Nami only managed to nod.
"Luffy…I'm frightened that one day everyone will be taken away from me and that I will be alone to suffer the consequences…just like when my village was taken away from me and I was thrust into a world of darkness, trying to stay alive.
Luffy could only pull her head slowly towards his chest, his hands caressing her orange locks, trying to apologize for his inadequacy to protect her and keep her safe.
"…I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you…it won't happen again…"
Nami nodded.
"Luffy…please stay here with me…I'm tired and I am scared that once I go to sleep, the dream will resurface and wreak havoc…for now…please…..just stay here…" Luffy only nodded and laid down with her, allowing her to get comfortable and pull the sheets over them. Placing his treasured straw hat up on the bedpost, he began to drift off, only to be interrupted by Nami pushing her body flush against his.
"Nami…what…"
"I just want to hear your heartbeat…so I can rest assured that you are alive…"
*BA-THUMP**BA-THUMP**BA-THUMP*
That was enough for Nami, hearing his strong, lively heartbeat. She then slowly began to drift off until Luffy finally heard her breathing even out and she was fast asleep, snuggled up against his chest. Luffy was lost in his thoughts, despite the extenuating circumstances that he found himself in.
'I can't even begin to imagine what that dream must have been like…everyone dead? Me trying to kill Nami? It must have been terrifying to lose people she loves all over again…but even more so than that, it seems my actions were the ones that caused the most damage. I...won't ever let that happen…rest assured Nami that you are safe here…' Luffy then drifted off himself, ready to face whatever came at him with an even greater resolve…
'I will protect everyone!'
A/N: So yeah this was my first fanfic…please tell me what you think…constructive criticism is most welcome! Should I keep going? Should I quit while I am ahead? Please rate and review! (^^) -Happy bird!