I should have been working on one of my numerous multi-part fics (the ones that aren't on very long hiatus, I mean). Or homework. But this just came into my head, and it seemed a shame to waste it. -Adali


If Only

When she was very small, Nami wished she had been born a boy. If she were a boy, no one would yell at her when she got in scraps with the village children because they made fun of her family's poverty. Boys didn't have to be nice or sweet, and they didn't have to take baths more than once a week. And if she were a boy, Nami could grow up to be a pirate, could go out and see the world and have grand adventures. Nami desperately wanted to be a pirate, no matter what Bellemere-san said.

When she was a little bit older, the Arlong Pirates came to Cocoyashi village. Nami no longer wanted to be a pirate, but she was one anyway. Now, Nami hated pirates. But she still wished she had been born a boy. If she had been, she would have been stronger. Maybe, if she were a boy, she would have been strong enough to protect Bellemere-san. Had she been born a boy, maybe things would have been different.

When she started to grow up, Nami stopped wishing she had been born a boy. Being a girl had so many advantages, once you learned how to use them. She could make more money by smiling and stealing than she ever could have by being tough and fighting. Men were weak to a dazzling smile and a bit of skin and, those that weren't, at least believed she was weaker than she was. Nami didn't mind being underestimated if it meant she could reach her goal. Maybe if she had been a boy she would have been too proud to use such tactics, and then the village would never be free. She didn't want to be a boy anymore, and she didn't want to be a pirate. But one she never could have been, and the other she couldn't escape.

Then she met Luffy, and things were different. It didn't matter if Nami was a boy or a girl, strong or weak, a fighter or a thief, as long as she was herself. And what she was, Nami discovered, was a woman and one of the best goddamn pirates in East Blue. No one yelled at her when she got into fights. She didn't have to be nice or sweet, but she could be if she wanted, and Sanji would always think she was, regardless of the truth. And she was a pirate, and she would go out and see the world and have grand adventures. She thought Bellemere-san might have been proud.

Omake