Hey everyone, Shadowonthewall6 here bringing you not one, not two but three updates today! So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this new (and slightly delayed) chapter of Do You Believe in Magic
Chapter 6: Choices
Nami's eyes widened and she shivered with a shocked expression. Her face turned white. Robin and Zoro were silent and they turned to Nami and watched nervously as the orange haired woman remained frozen, shivering and shaking with baited breath. Luffy looked away from Nami and clenched his fists tightly. The mage's deep scowl was noticed by Zoro who could see the pain hidden behind Luffy's expression.
"This was the vision wasn't it?" the swordsman mumbled. The raved haired man gave a reluctant nod in reply. He hated this. Slowly, Luffy's eyes looked over towards Nami, who was shuddering and shaking uncontrollably. She looked as if she was going to fall to her knees any moment now.
"W-w-what?" Nami asked, glancing between Genzo and Nojiko "this is a joke right? You're pulling one over on me right? Payback for me being gone this whole time right?" Nojiko and Genzo didn't say a word but the truth was written all over their faces. Bellemere was indeed dead. Nami just stood there, her heartbeat dropping to almost a silent occasional bump in her chest. Her dark chocolate eyes were beginning to water. At first Robin stepped forward to comfort her, but Zoro stopped her with his outstretched arm. Without warning, Nami's legs gave way and she fell onto her knees. Genzo and Nojiko moved to help her but Nami didn't respond. Her eyes were watching the floor, focusing on the dark patches on the dirt made by her tears hitting the ground.
"No" she mumbled, starting to shake her head. This started off gently at first then, suddenly, she began shaking her head in a more frantic and desperate manner, beating the floor with her fist as she continued to voice her denial "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"
She couldn't believe it.
She WOULDN'T believe it.
Someone who she loved so dearly was dead.
Her own mother was dead.
Bellemere was dead.
Tears continued to fall from Nami's face, each droplet hitting the floor and scattering into the tiniest of water fragments.
She needed someone to comfort her.
She needed someone to hold her right now.
Genzo and Nojiko were of course gently embracing her on both sides but…
She didn't want them.
She was being selfish.
She wanted Bellermere to hold her, to comfort her and then to tell her everything was going to be alright.
But Bellemere wasn't here anymore and everything wasn't alright so the tears continued to fall, each one more resilient than the last.
"But…but how?" Nami asked, whimpering as she pounded the ground with her fist. Genzo was at first reluctant to answer but, eventually, he found the courage to speak, placing a reassuring hand on Nami's shoulder.
"Bellemere…and I were…attacked by two strange men and…"
Nami didn't need to hear the rest of the story.
She knew.
Suddenly that vision from the other day was no longer just a nightmare.
In a matter of seconds, she could feel it.
There was a feeling building up inside her.
Something was controlling the sadness; something was building on top of it, becoming stronger and stronger with each passing second.
It was rage.
In an instant, Nami was on her feet. The tears remained in her cold dark eyes, falling softly down her cheeks.
"WHO DID IT?" Nami shouted, turning to her with a scowl "WHY? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO HURT BELLEMERE? WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO THEM? WHY DID THEY KILL HER?"
"Because of you" the voice shocked everyone on the docks and they all turned to look at the person who had spoke. Luffy was staring at Nami, though no-one watching truly knew if he was because of the way the straw-hat on his head shadowed his eyes.
"E…EXCUSE ME?" Nami shouted towards the straw-hat vagabond. Luffy looked away as she met his gaze, feeling the full raw emotion of the rage in her eyes.
"Nami…I'm sorry" Luffy mumbled sadly "I wasn't fast enough…I didn't find you in time…"
"What are you talking about?" Nami asked, her lip quivering as Luffy spoke. She still hadn't stopped crying and Luffy was finding it painful to have to watch her tears.
"I told you remember? When I came here looking for you? Yami was sending some puppets here for you and that's why we had to leave? Well…they must have…looked around for you and failing that…they must have…done this"
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?" Nami suddenly yelled, strolling towards Luffy, glaring at him.
"…I thought they'd try and follow us…but I found out last night, from your nightmare that wasn't the case"
"So it's your fault?" Nami shouted once more, glaring accusingly at Luffy. He didn't reply "WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME HERE? NOTHING LIKE THIS EVER HAPPENED UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP HERE! YOU BROUGHT ALL THIS HERE!"
"They would have found you sooner or later and then you would be the one who was dead" Luffy explained, his eyes on the floor.
"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STAND AND FIGHT AGAINST THEM?" Nami protested.
"We couldn't take that risk. You're too important to lose" Luffy mumbled.
"AND BELLEMERE WASN'T IMPORTANT? WHO DECIDES THAT SHE'S NOT IMPORTANT? YOU?"
"You can't always save everyone" Luffy stated, looking upwards at Nami with a pair of sad eyes.
"YOU'D KNOW THAT BETTER THAN ANYONE WOULDN'T YOU!" Nami shrieked in return, tears dropping gently from her eyes as she spoke.
For a moment, there was complete silence.
Then, Nami turned on her heel and began to walk away.
"Nami…" Luffy called her name, walking forward and reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder, only for her to shrug it off.
"Just…just get out of my sight" Nami growled "leave this island and never comeback. Forget about me…because I sure as hell am gonna try to forget about you…"
"Nami, you know I can't do that" Luffy said, taking another step closer towards her "you're the…"
"THE WAVE? THE CHOSEN ONE? WELL, I NEVER ASKED TO BE!" Nami thundered in return, her voice straining as she yelled loudly "I NEVER WANTED TO HAVE THIS GREAT RESPONCIBILITY THRUST UPON ME, I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO PROTECT ME AND I CERTAINTLY NEVER ASKED FOR MY MOTHER TO DIE BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID PROPHECY AND A MAN IN HIS TATTERED STRAW-HAT! JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" With that, Nami turned around and began to run away. Luffy tried to run after her only for Genzo to stand in his way.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?" he yelled.
"I haven't done anything!" Luffy replied angrily "but those two murderers will if they find her! YOU HAVE TO LET ME TALK TO HER!"
"Luffy!" Zoro yelled, attracting the gaze of the raven haired man "let her go. She just needs time to calm down. She's lost her mother and she's not thinking clearly" At first, Luffy was silent. Then, he sighed loudly before reluctantly heading back over towards Zoro. As he reached the green haired swordsman, he stopped for a moment and looked back. The rest of the town was now glaring at him but Luffy didn't care. He could still see Nami walking off in the distance with a blue haired woman comforting her. Luffy sighed once more, turning away to help Zoro unload the supplies.
Zoro noticed the lone tear going down his cheek but said nothing.
Silence was always a bad thing to Nojiko. It was something she always hated. She liked things loud and bold. Not exactly chaotic noise but Nojiko liked the air to be filled with some sort of sound so it wouldn't seem empty. Right now, the air definitely felt empty. Nami was sitting at her kitchen table in complete silence, staring at the drink in her hands. She hadn't said a single thing after her fight with that straw-hat guy when she had come back home and it made Nojiko nervous. It had been a whole hour since she had said anything. Nojiko really wasn't too sure what to say. With a sigh, Nojiko finally sat down opposite Nami. It wasn't healthy for her sister to just hold all her feelings inside.
"So…" Nojiko finally started "where were you last night?" At first, Nami was silent at the question, her eyes still watching the swirling patterns in the hot chocolate in her hand. If there was one thing Nojiko was good at it was making hot chocolate and so far, despite the fact Nami hadn't taken a sip yet, she was enjoying the warmth it was giving off.
"Come on Nami" Nojiko said, frowning and looking at her sister's melancholy state "you can tell me right? I'm your sister. If you can't tell me, who could you tell?"
"Bellemere" Nami muttered. Nojiko's eyes widened and it took Nami a few seconds to realise what she had said "Nojiko, I'm sorry…I just…"
"You miss her?" Nojiko asked. Nami nodded her head. Nojiko made note of the fact that her eyes were still watering and sighed softly "how do you think I feel? I miss her too…"
"I know" Nami replied softly.
Silence once again flooded the room. It remained there for a moment before Nojiko spoke up once more.
"Nami, please, tell me…"
"His name is Luffy" Nami replied, wiping away the tears in her eyes with her sleeve "Monkey D. Luffy" Nojiko felt a smile come to her face. Finally, she was getting some answers.
"He didn't…do anything to you did he?" Nojiko asked carefully, her hand squeezing Nami's gently for support. Nami laughed at the question and smiled.
"No…" she said "Well, I guess if you don't count the kidnapping"
"Kidnapping?" Nojiko's ears perked up immediately at the mention of the word.
"Yeah…well, like he was saying before on the docks, he randomly appeared in my room and he kidnapped me to keep some dark entity from getting me" Nojiko nodded in confusion, beckoning Nami to continue "then, he took me to his ship where he introduced me to his crew"
"The green haired hottie and the chick with the black hair?" Nojiko asked for confirmation. Nami nodded.
"Yeah, that's Zoro and Robin. I met them and…wait, hottie?"
"Keep going Nami" Nojiko mumbled, ignoring the odd look her sister was giving her.
"Well…Luffy told me that I was some kind of chosen one and that I had to go with him…"
"If that is the kid's best pick up line, it's no wonder you left him" Nojiko joked with a grin. Nami growled angrily at Nojiko.
"Shut up!" she cried "he was telling the truth…at least, he seemed to think he was. He said I was destined to help him on his quest and defeat a great evil. He said he was my guardian"
"Again, horrible pick up lines" Nojiko noted before allowing Nami to continue.
"They weren't pick up lines…at least, I don't think they were. He sounded pretty sincere…and he knew Bellemere's name, he said it was linked to some prophecy or something"
"He did his research" Nojiko mumbled "sounds like he really liked you and just wanted a date…"
"That's not it" Nami said, practically yelled at Nojiko "he knew magic and illusions and…I trusted him…" Nojiko didn't reply. She was a little shocked by Nami's outburst. Usually, Nami never got emotional about anything…though in hind sight, Bellemere had just passed away and her emotions were all in a mess.
"It'd be best if you got some fresh air" Nojiko said, gently tapping Nami's arm as she stood up "clear your head for a bit" Nami was still for a moment, before nodding.
"I…I guess you're right…" she said with a reluctant smile "a lot has happened over the past few days…" Nojiko took another glance at Nami before she headed for the door. Her little sister was still crying.
It was obviously going to take time for her to recover.
Hell, it was going to take time for everyone to recover.
Bellemere was an amazing person after all.
And she would be missed…
They had missed.
They hadn't found her.
They had made a compromise though.
They had found her mother and killed her.
Then they had split up, he had remained behind, whilst Hideki had supposedly left the island.
He had remained just in case...
And it had payed off.
At the sign of first light, he hadn't sense anything…
But as the day had gone on, he had started to sense it and it had gotten stronger and stronger as the day had advanced…
Until he suddenly smelled it.
It was her scent.
It smelled like good magic.
Without another hesitation, Arlong grinned and sprinted as fast as he could back to town through the trees.
She was here.
She was as good as dead.
Genzo was angry. He was having an incredibly horrible day. First off, he had watched his wife die right before his eyes. Then, his daughter had returned with a band of what he could only guess were pirates only to break down on the docks. Now, he had gone into the local tavern for a drink when he had noticed the three pirates who Nami had returned with. Angrily, he skulked over to the group. The green haired man and the woman looked up but the man in the straw-hat did not. Instead, his eyes were glued to the compass on the table. From what Genzo could see, it looked quite ornate, definitely an antique of sorts. The arrow was pointing forwards, but it looked as though it was moving gently to the left, as if it was following something. When Genzo reached the group, he gripped the raven haired man's shirt collar. Luffy didn't respond, his eyes still watching the compass.
"What are you doing here?" Genzo asked angrily.
"Waiting" Luffy replied simply, his eyes never once moving from the compass. Genzo growled at this reply. When did this kid get the idea that he could just ignore him? Was it that the straw-hat man thought he was better than Genzo? Genzo didn't know but he didn't care either.
"Waiting for what?" he yelled "I thought Nami told you to leave"
"Waiting for when I'm needed" Luffy replied "I'm her guardian after all"
"YOU'RE HER WHAT?" Genzo shouted, tightening his grip on Luffy's collar.
"Her guardian" Luffy repeated calmly "Do you have trouble hearing?"
"DO I HAVE WHAT?" Genzo asked, becoming more and more enraged by the second.
"Oh, so you do" Luffy muttered. Genzo's patience was just at its limit by now. Luckily, before he decided to do anything, the woman opposite Luffy gently gripped Genzo's arm.
"I'm sorry sir" she said with a smile "Luffy isn't really in the best of moods today"
"Just who are you people?" Genzo asked, blinking rapidly, as if finally looking at the two properly for the first time.
"I'm Robin and he's Zoro" Robin said politely, gesturing at the swordsman next to her "and you've already met Luffy" Luffy nodded from his spot, his eyes still watching the compass.
"Why are you here then?" Genzo asked Robin, seeing as she was the only one of the group talking. However, as it turned out, Luffy answered before Robin could speak up.
"Nami. She's important. That's why we are here" he said. Genzo now turned to Luffy.
"Why is she important?" Genzo asked. Luffy was about to reply when suddenly, his eyes widened. In that instant, Zoro and Robin twitched slightly, their eyes going to the compass. Genzo noticed this and glanced down at the compass as well. The black arrow on the compass that was pointing towards the west had begun to grow pale and was now a gray colour.
"What does that mean?" Genzo asked. Luffy didn't bother answering. Before Genzo could blink, Luffy was up on his feet and half way towards the door, running faster than Genzo could ever think possible.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" he yelled after him. Luffy didn't reply. Before Robin and Zoro were even out of their seat, he was already outside, sprinting along the street. Without any hesitation, Luffy looked down at the compass in his hands. The eternal compass was pointing straight in front of him. She couldn't be far away. She couldn't be. As Luffy continued to run forwards, he reached into his pocket, removing the box Nami had given him from Makino.
"You better work" he mumbled, taking out the contents of the box before flinging the box itself on the dirt.
As Luffy ran, the compass continued to turn paler…
"Don't worry Nami, I'm on my way…"
To be continued in Chapter 7: On my way
Until then I'm Shadowonthewall6 and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.
Please review. Positive criticism is welcome.