Chapter 3

I hummed as I poured water over myself. After a hot day, there really was nothing like a bath before bed. This had to be my pride and joy. I was really thankful for Franky for building a bath on our Thousand Sunny. I sighed, trailing my hands across the surface of the water and sinking in. I exhaled as I relaxed. Despite being a pirate, I felt like I was living the life.

There came a knock on the door. I lifted my head, glancing over. "Robin? Is that you?" No reply came. "If it's one of you guys, and you're here to peek, I'm charging you. And I'll want it up front," I called out. Silence still. Daringly, I asked, "Hancock?"

"That's empress to you!" She snapped through the door. Well, I knew Luffy wasn't around. I got up, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around me as I went. It was debatable as to whether I really wanted to open the door –well, it wasn't, I mean, I didn't want to at all. But I wasn't a demon -although the guys might say otherwise.

I opened the door and stepped aside, allowing her to come in. Well, I waited five minutes first before actually opening the door. Her being here shouldn't have to change the way I go about my day. She didn't, and won't ever, take priority in my books, and I wanted her to know that now. I closed and locked it behind her, heading back to the bath. I dropped my towel and stepped in, dipping down into the warm water.

"It's a nice bath," She commented.

"Yeah," I said, acting as she had earlier. She just stood there. After a pause I asked, "Are you getting in?"

"I don't usually bathe with anyone but my sisters," She said, hesitant in the first time speaking to me. Then she went on, and that hesitation disappeared, "Only great people should be able to see the beautiful, bare skin that I possessed." She was leaning back so that her face was aimed at the ceiling. I didn't get it. Was that supposed to be her looking down at me? I mean, all the rest of her body signs showed it, the arrogant stance, her hand lifted as she laughed loudly. It was just her head that was weird. I wanted to lean forward to see if anyone was trying to pull her head off from behind. I kind of wish someone would. I think I'd strip her of those golden snake earrings first though.

I didn't say a word about it though -even I thought there were some things better left unsaid. "Your loss," I replied. "The water is perfect."

I grabbed the soap and began washing up. By the time I reached my stomach, she was shedding her clothes.

"Turn around," She said, nearly undressed. I obeyed, though I didn't see why I had to. I continued to rub the soap against my skin. The water stirred as she got in. When I turned around, she was facing me, and I really had to wonder if she had been so shy, why was it alright now?

"You really have no relationship with Luffy?" She asked immediately.

I tossed the soap at her and leaned against the edge of the bath. She caught it, and looked at it for a moment before beginning with her shoulders. I faced towards the door, closing my eyes as I sighed.

"That's not really an answer," She muttered.

"That's not really a question," I retorted. "I do have a relationship with Luffy. I said earlier, we're nakama."

"But you're not romantically interested in him."

"Not necessarily," I opened my eyes the tiniest bit. It was so steamy in here. I was feeling tired. It really was almost time for bed.

"Not necessarily?" She repeated. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "There's no reason for me to like Luffy. He's our goofy captain. He's an idiot. He eats way too much, and that's where half of my precious money goes. He's always getting us into trouble. Besides, there'd be no point in liking him. The things he has on his mind are limited to food, adventure, beating all those bad and manipulating pirates out there and becoming Pirate King."

"A Pirate King and an empress would be perfect together," She sighed. I watched as she washed her long hair. She smiled slightly at the idea of being together with Luffy with such titles.

A Pirate King and an empress? Please. Empresses go with emperors, and kings with queens. That's the way the world worked. I rolled onto my back and lifted my leg into the air. I wiggled my toes before splashing it down. Water hit my cheek, making my close my eyes tightly in the slight fear of getting hit in the eye. I opened them slowly.

"What's that scar?" She asked.

"Scar?" I looked down to where she gestured. My arm, where my tattoo was. The knife I had dug into me, when I had been desperate to get rid of Arlong's tattoo, had left only the smallest of scars because that's how good the doctor of my village was. I was surprised Hancock had noticed it. My tattoo covered it, for the most part. Even looking in a mirror it was hard to see.

"I had been branded once," I told her. "A tattoo of a fishman pirate from the East Blue; he had me under his control for eight years –then Luffy showed up. I could have left at any time, but I would have only been saving myself. Luffy saved an entire island. Luffy saved my island." I paused. "Luffy saved me."

I got out of the bath a second time. I stretched before grabbing my towel and drying off. With it wrapped around me I headed over to where my clothes were, and began putting them on.

"I see," She said finally.

"Do you?" I murmured.

"It must have been hard for you," She commented. I turned to her, but she was facing away, her face looking down into the water as she made it ripple with the droplets that fell off her fingertips.

"It was," I agreed. I paused, "But that doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that they're safe now, and I can be here on the Grand Line without having to worry if they're all paying the taxes alright."

"So, you're indebted to Luffy," She sighed with relief. "So you really don't love him."

"No, right now he's indebt to me for a couple of thousand beli," I pulled my shirt over my head, bringing my hands underneath my hair to pull it above the fabric. I grabbed a dry towel and ran it over my hair a few times before laying it over my shoulders to keep my clothes dry.

"You make him pay back money even after he saved you and your island?" She made it sound like I was crazy.

"Mm," I grinned, heading for the door, strapping the log pose to my wrist as I went.

"Why?"

I paused just before I unlocked it, and glanced over at her. "Because the thing I love most in the world is money."

"Loving money makes for a lonely world," She called to me as I exited the room.

Those words made me stop for a moment. Not that I thought she was right. I mean, I love money now and I had my nakama. I balanced the two perfectly. Still, I clenched my fist, partially turning as I pulled the door shut. I told her, "And an unrequited love makes for a painful world."

And with that I left, my destination my bedroom. I glanced at the log pose, standing and facing the bow of the ship. It was a little off. I stopped all actions for a moment, just feeling the rocking of the boat. I headed to the main deck to check the wind and height of the waves. It was a strong wind. Pressure was changing. Sanji was smoking by the railing.

"Hey, Sanji," I called.

"Yes, Nami-swa~an?" His facial expression changed immediately.

"Seems like there's going to be a small storm early tonight. Raise the sail, won't you?" I asked. "I know we usually do it a little later, but if that storm hits us we're going to be blown pretty far of course. It's going to be a windy one, though not the worst we've experienced."

"I'll get right to it, Nami-swa~an," He said, dancing away.

I leaned against the wall, tucking my hair behind my ear and staring up at the starry sky. If I couldn't read the waves and weather so well, I'd say that it was going to be a clear and peaceful night. Or at least as peaceful as it could get when you had to share a room with an empress. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Nami," Luffy's head hung in front of me when my eyes snapped open. I hardly batted an eye. This stuff was so natural for all of us. He was a rubberman.

"Mm?" I followed his neck to the deck above me. I looked back down at his eyes. Although upside-down, those straightforward eyes were definitely, and always would be, Luffy's.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just fine, why?" I shrugged.

His hand stretched out to scratch his head, frowning slightly, "Just a feeling."

"Hancock's in the bath." I couldn't stop the words before they jumped off my tongue.

"Were you in the bath with her?" He asked.

"For a few moments," I tucked my hands behind my back, squishing them between me and the wall to prevent tight clenching. Just because I brought it up doesn't mean he had to be so interested.

"I'm surprised," His head snapped back, and he jumped down in front of me, bending deeply at the knees before straightening and turning to face me. "So you saw her naked?"

I could feel my eyebrow twitching. Stop it. I brought my one hand up to my forehead and rubbed it to calm it down. "I did, but I didn't –she made me turn around as she got into the water."

"I see."

A breeze swept over us as we stood there in silence. The hat that made us famous as pirates was resting on Luffy's back. It lifted as it caught the wind, but Luffy had it tied. He was looking off into the distance. He looked distant. I felt my hand reaching for him, as if to make sure he was standing right there, but his gaze snapped back to mine and he just laughed. Quickly, I put my hand behind me again.

"Shishishi." His gaze caught on something above us. "Oi! Sanji! What are you doing up there?"

"Raising the sails," I responded, although he hadn't asked me. "Small storm tonight. High winds. Already picking up."

"Are you sure you're okay, Nami?" He asked again, holding his chin and frowning as he accessed my behavior.

"Yes," I answered. "I'm just tired. I'm going to bed now. Excuse me."

"Nami," He caught my arm as I brushed past him, bringing me to a halt. Shivers ran up and down my spine. I looked at him, and watched as he waited a few seconds before bringing his eyes up to mine. "If you have any problems, I want to know. Nakama talk to each other when they're feeling down."

I relaxed, smirked, and peeled his fingers off of me, "Thanks, Luffy. But I'm fine. Really." His serious eyes started to shine as he smiled. He slapped my back, making me stumble forward. I fell to my knees, and I rolled into a sitting position, ready to hit him for treating me so roughly, especially when I had the log pose on me, but he was laughing, a hand resting on his stomach as he faced the sky. His laughter echoed on throughout the night.

"Luffy," I began, but he had tilted his head so far back that he hit it off the wall. I laughed at him as his laughter roared louder. It was contagious. I wiped the tears that came to my eyes as our laughter died into giggles.

He knelt down in front of me and grabbed my cheeks with his rubber hands and grinned wider. "Yosh! That's better!"

"What?" I asked, swatting his hands away.

"You're happy again," His smile didn't falter. "We're nakama. We're supposed to laugh and cry together."

"I'll keep that in mind," I rolled my eyes getting up. I looked up at the sky, as the clouds started to cover the stars. "It really is going to rain soon."

I saw Hancock standing above us, dressed normally. I couldn't read her eyes clearly in the darkness, but I was sure she was glaring at me. I beamed in the fact that I was still manipulating her, even now. But the moment was ruined when Luffy looked up at Hancock. He looked back down at me, and opened his mouth to say something.

"Luffy?" Hancock called. "You promised to talk to me after I took a bath."

"Hai," He nodded, glancing up again.

"Goodnight, Luffy," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Don't stay up too late."

"Shishishi."

My body felt heavy. That's how I felt the entire trip to my sleeping quarters. My feet moved slowly, and not a single thought really entered my mind. His response to my saying "don't stay up too late" was laughter. That pissed me off, but at the same time I could only see his distant face when he was speaking about her.

I opened my door, pausing when I saw Robin. She didn't smile when she lifted her eyes from the page. I closed the door and went and sat on my bed.

"Not a good bath?" She asked, turning the page.

"Great bath," I replied. "Until the precious empress entered."

Robin smirked. "What happened to manipulating her?"

"I'm still manipulating her," I said firmly.

"That," She closed the book and turned to face me, "Does not seem like a face that you, who thought of herself as winning, should be making." A hand appeared on my bed and slapped me lightly. "Chin up, Navigator-san. This is not the you your nakama adore."

"Adore?" I snorted. Talking like this made me feel more normal. I didn't get why Hancock irritated me so much. "Don't you mean fear?"

"Well, that too," She smiled, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hand.

"But you're not planning on leaving me alone with her tonight, are you?" I got up, checking the log pose one more before going and laying it where I usually did on my desk.

"Empress-sama will want a bed to sleep in," She commented lightly.

I rolled my eyes. "Let her sleep on the floor. Or with the dogs."

"Too bad the only animals we have on this ship are men," She replied, that sly smile playing on her lips again.

Shaking my head, I laughed, "But they're well-trained."

"In combat," She murmured.

"But?" I folded the covers back on my bed, bringing up and crossing my legs.

"No, it's nothing," She stood up. "If you find yourself unable to sleep, I'll be reading in the aquarium."

"Thanks, Robin," I called after her. She didn't reply. I smiled anyway. I slapped my cheeks and said into the empty room. "Okay! Bring on tomorrow."

However small the pep talk I gave myself was, it was enough to snap me back to the reality of the situation. This was my ship. These were my nakama. Luffy was my captain -as well as my savior - and no matter what she did, my position amongst everybody couldn't be shaken. Still, I couldn't help but feel frustrated when Hancock came in later. Much later. I closed my eyes tightly. Yes, tomorrow I would knock her down to where she stood on this ship. Shichibukai or not, no one messed with me on my own grounds.