Disclaimer: No siree bob.

Sorry this one took so long to update. I had a lot of problems with writing it. I had to rewrite it like two time already and am just barely satisfied with it.

Oh and also, I think I'm just going to post a new chapter each Sunday from now on. This one is the exception though. I had a busy Saturday and no time to check it over.

Thank you guys for all the reviews! I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter! Hopefully you'll like this one too. If not, maybe the next one! ^^


Let's back up. To the day after I passed out during lunch. Although I had lied about the exact reason as to why I was scared to Chopper, I decided to take the sleeping pills. I mean, I was having nightmares and maybe the pills could stop the noises too? It would be killing two birds with one stone.

And thus began my downfall to insanity.


The sun was a blinding coral as it hung in the blazing blue stretch of the sky. Just past lunch and already it was a dazzling shade of pink. Normally that didn't happen till late afternoon, or so my mind was telling me.

Beside me the mysterious witch as ancient as the sea was reciting a story. Of what about, I'm not quite sure. The amethyst jewels that were woven throughout the elegant twist of her midnight black hair were mildly distracting me. I felt a jealous twinge as I stared at them. If only my hair could be the beautiful.

Her violet eyes sparkled with excitement as she got further into her story, smile widening with each sentence. I couldn't really hear the words though.

There was a slight pause when she took a sip of her magic beverage. I closed my eyes and turned my head back toward the sky. I opened them to see that it was now a glaring teal. The clouds were a pale shade of yellow.

"Nami-san?" The witch questioned.

I blinked.

The sky was back to its regular blue. The clouds were missing.

Robin was sitting beside me in her lawn chair, sunglasses pulled to her head as she stared at me concerned.

"Yes Robin?" I asked as innocently as I could without it sounding too obvious that I hadn't been listening.

"You seemed to have dozed off again," she said politely. Although she didn't blatantly show it, there was a clear sign of worry in her eyes. For the past three days I had been slipping in and out of consciousness.

Ever since that time at lunch, I had been sleeping more than usual, even after a full nights rest. I didn't know how or when it happened, but one minute I was having a conversation or relaxing, or mapping and suddenly I was dreaming. Thing is, the dreams were of what I been doing only a few moments prior to me falling asleep with only a few alterations. The room might be green, the carpet orange, and instead of a map, I was drawing faces. Or, the conversation continues on normally, but Sanji might turn into an elephant and I won't even bat an eye! Or everything's normal and the conversation becomes senseless. One time already I had a conversation with Zoro on why his swords liked having tea parties with the crew.

It was only two o'clock and I already had taken three naps. How can a person take three naps in one day? They might as well just go to bed and stay asleep.

"Nami-san." My head jerked up towards Robin. She looked like she was waiting for an answer, her fingers quietly drumming against her book. If I had looked closely I would have noticed it was the smaller book she had been reading yesterday. It was a horror novel. About ghosts.

But I didn't, so I obliviously ignored the glaring hint in my face.

"What? Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said are you feeling alright?"

"Wha- Yeah! I feel fine. Why?

She just looked at me with a straight face. I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't really feel like confiding my possible insanity (especially with Robin. She wouldn't laugh, but she would definitely make a dark remark and that usually meant she didn't believe something), so I looked away again to the sky. The sun wasn't pink anymore. As usual, the birds were gone too. I still didn't know why. It suddenly occurred to me that I could ask Robin.

So, as nonchalantly as I could, I changed the subject. "Have you noticed the birds?"

She blinked for a second. Seemed like I caught her off guard.

"The birds. They haven't been flying by in a while," I said trying to clear up the confusion.

Her expression suddenly became unreadable. "We're in the middle of the sea, they don't normally stray too far from land."

"We aren't that far. We only have four days left till the next island."

"Not too many birds leave their nests for so long," she said with a bored tone as if trying to brush off the conversation as pointless.

"Sea birds do though. They practically live on the ocean," I said, ignoring her sudden indifference. She was making perfectly reasonable explanations, but for some reason none of them seemed right to me. There was something off. I knew there was.

"True. Maybe there aren't any on the next island," she suggested offhandedly. Her eyes slowly traveled to her book as her thumb started flipping a page. I took that as a sign that she wanted to stop talking and continue her book. I released a long sigh and got up to stretch. There wasn't any way to persuade Robin.

"I guess that makes sense. I'll be in the aquarium if you need me." She nodded her head distractedly as she brought the book back to her attention. Again, I was oblivious and didn't notice the title.

It's Haunted: Ghosts Around the Campfire if you're wondering.

I stayed there for a second longer waiting for a reply, noticing that one wouldn't be coming though I headed for the aquarium bar. I still wanted to stay outside, but I felt like I had just been dismissed. That is all Nami, you are free to go. This isn't an option. I really want you to leave. So go. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I shook my head. I had been doing that a lot lately. Talking to myself I mean.

It's not like I didn't like the aquarium or anything. I mean, I really did like it (and still do). Especially since the fish were nice to watch, their colorful scales sometimes caught the light and reflect onto the mast and the ceiling and the quiet sound of the water was soothing. Whenever the ship got too chaotic it was the best place to sneak away to. It was like a safe haven for members of the crew who just want some peace and quiet for a while.

See, I love the aquarium. It's just I love the sun too. So, I was a little reluctant when I started walking towards the room. I wanted to feel the suns heat for a little longer.

A though crossed my mind on the way. What if I fell asleep again? The peace and quiet of the aquarium would more than likely put me to sleep. I wouldn't really have anything to warn me of the fact I was sleeping either since I was alone. Even if the room did change slightly, I wouldn't notice. In a dream, everything feels too real, even if it's absolute nonsense. It wasn't until after the dream that I noticed something was off and by then I could have slept for three hours. I didn't want to spend any more of the day unconscious, I wasted five hours already. Well, something like that. I wasn't sure on the exact time.

I decided to take a quick detour instead. I would get a book from the library, a blanket from one of the closets, and then I'd go sit on the couch in the aquarium and read. If it was an adventure book, maybe navigation, or possibly something with a little romance, it wouldn't be too hard to stay awake. I liked a good book just as much as Robin. Okay, maybe not as much as her, but pretty damn close.


I was on the couch, snuggled in my blanket, book in hand, and very content. The soft red fabric of the blanket was warm against my skin and the book (A romance/adventure) was one I hadn't read yet so I most definitely wouldn't fall asleep. I was feeling proud of myself as I finished the first five chapters.

The story was pretty interesting from the get go. It caught my attention and even had me liking the main hero by the first sentence. A rare feat for someone like me. He wasn't exactly the smartest guy, but already he was shown to be loyal to his friends and a good fighter. He was even a bit, dare I say, cute when he screwed something up. But, the heroine was a little annoying. She was constantly nagging the hero about everything he did, though I could relate a little as to why she did it.

"Still bugs me though," I said out loud for the fish to hear. They didn't really seem to mind if I talked to myself.

I heard someone chuckle from far away. I snapped my head up to see a dark figure in the door way, a puff of smoke escaped from their cigarette. The green curtains by the door shaded the intruder with the little light given off by the lamps just barely highlighting the toothy smile of the figure.

"Talking to yourself?" they asked, their voice too high to be Sanjis. It sounded feminine and oddly enough, familiar too.

I shrugged off my blanket, cautious of the intruder. It was best to keep my arms ready in case they came closer as I didn't have my clima tact with me, and I really hadn't been expecting company. The only way out of the aquarium was through the doorway or around the back hallway. Unfortunately, the only way to reach it was to pass the curtains. Maybe if I played harmless they'd let their guard down and it'd leave me enough time to escape.

"Mm, maybe."

The figure laughed quietly as they stepped through the doorway and into the soft blue light of the aquarium, revealing themselves to be…

"Belle-mere…" I gasped. But, she was…I thought…how could…

I felt my eyes prickle with tears. One ran down my cheek slowly as I sat frozen on the couch, my hands still clutching the book. I was just barely aware that my knuckles were white from my hard grip and that my hands were shaking visibly. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

And then, before I knew it, I was leaping off the couch and running to hug her. My tear stained face was buried in her shoulder, my arms wrapped tightly around her back, hands trembling as I gripped her shirt.

I felt her hug my head closer to her and I could actually make out a heartbeat. Just the sound of the strong rhythm made me fill up with so many emotions. I was crying loudly and yet, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. My mother was back, alive and healthy and I was there to be with her and see her face to face. I was there to hear her breath, to hear her live!

She placed a gentle kiss on top of my head and whispered the words, "I'm here Nami. It's alright." And then she rested her head on mine and began to rock me like when I was little girl afraid of the scary thunderstorms. A comforting and familiar gesture that just made me want to never let go of that moment. I wanted to stay in her arms forever. I felt safe with her. I missed her.

But like all good moments, they come to an end and this was no exception. She slowly released me from her hold, but I held on. She rubbed my shoulder softly until I finally looked up at her to see the small smile on her lips and the happy twinkle in her eyes. Her cigarette was missing, but I didn't question it for too long, I was too distracted by the fact that my dead mother was alive and with me.

"Hey kiddo," she said warmly. Such simple words, but filled with so much love. She stared down at me with the kindest and most loving expression I had ever seen on her and it only made me want to hug her more.

"Hey Belle-mere," I said back. She released her hold of me and took a step back. I let my arms fall to my side so she could see me entirely. She looked down at my red tank top and brown capris. She nodded her head in approval.

"You've certainly grown since the last I saw you. When was that…?" Her face scrunched slightly in thought.

I felt a cold feeling come over me. "You mean when Arlong…" I trailed off.

She focused back on me and shook her head, a small laugh escaped her lips. "No, no. Not that. I mean when you left with those pirates."

I was surprised. She had seen that? Even from her…her grave? She was there the whole time? I knew I had felt something, but I wasn't sure, I thought maybe I was just being silly. That it was just me thinking like a kid and hoping beyond hope that that small breeze was really a sign of Belle-Mere watching over me.

"What were their names?" She tapped a finger to her chin, continuing her thoughts. "Oh yeah," she snapped her fingers. "Fluffy, Kanji, Fudopp, and Toro right?"

Even with the overwhelming emotions, I managed to let out a loud laugh. The names were absolutely ridiculous! "No," I giggled. "You got all of them wrong." I saw her smile through my blurry vision. Tears were clouding my eyes again, but these were happy tears. The kind you get from laughing too hard. An airy giggle escaped her lips before she started to laugh along with me. For some reason though, that giggle almost made me stop. I felt like I heard it before…but I didn't' let it bug me for too long.

When I could breathe again without trouble, I continued. "I think you meant Luffy, Sanji, Usopp and Zoro."

"Ah! Those were the names." She nodded her head.

She went for the couch and plopped down, patting a seat next to her as she looked up at me. I smiled and sat down next to her. The blanket looked sad and forgotten when I looked over at it. I reached over the cushion until I had it in my hands. When I wrapped part of it around my shoulders, I offered the other half to Belle-Mere. She gladly accepted it and greedily brought the blanket around her shoulders, taking some of mine in the process. I didn't say anything though. I was still in that foggy, happy state.

It wasn't until the blanket was secure did I notice my book lying in between us. Its spine bent upwards toward the ceiling, some pages bent at the corners. Before I could take it and fix the damage though, Belle-Mere had already brought it upon herself to repair it. She tsked quietly as she folded back the corners of the pages with a gentle touch. The spine was already too cracked to be saved. A sigh of disappointment escaped my lips.

When she did all that she could, she read the title. "Searching for the sky?" An eyebrow rose as she looked at me questioningly. "I thought you only like navigation books."

"I do, but I like other books too. You can't expect me to only read just navigation. And besides, that's a good book!"

She laughed. "Is it? What's the genre?"

"A romantic adventure."

"You, romance?" She asked only half joking.

I hit her lightly on the arm. "Not the sappy crap. I mean just a little bit of it."

"Mm-hmm. I think I might have to hear more of this. What's it about?"

So I told her the basics of the story. "It's about this world where the sky is clouded over by this evil magic or something. The hero over heard a way to fix it and his friend decided to come with him." I took the book back from her and looked over the summary again. "That's what I got from the first five chapters and the summary anyway."

"Sounds interesting enough…" she trailed off distractedly as she searched her pockets for something. "What're the characters like?" Her hands were still busy hunting in her pockets.

"The hero's pretty likable. His friends though…"

"Aha!" she pulled out a box of cigarettes from her back pocket and held it proudly in the air. She picked one out and brought it to her lips. "So, what's wrong with his friend?" She was now on a hunt for her lighter.

"Well for starters, she's a bossy, nagging brat and is constantly scolding the hero."

She didn't say anything, so I went on. "She has a bad tendency to yell a lot too. She seems to have a bad temper and over reacts too quickly when she misunderstands something."

A chuckled escaped her lips.

"What?" I asked.

"Sounds like you." She brought the lighter to her cigarette and I'm not sure if it was a trick of the lighting or what, but when the flame flickered on, her hair appeared to have a faint glow.

I blinked. Then it hit me what she had just said. I felt offended. "I am not nearly as bad as her!" I argued. My eyebrows furrowed into a frown as I glared at her. I brought my hand to her shoulder, not too hard but hard enough to know that I didn't like what she had said.

She looked at me pointedly, an amused spark in her eye. I looked at my hand then back at her. I sighed. "Okay, so maybe I might be a little hot headed."

A stream of smoke escaped her mouth as she let out another cheery laugh. With the subtlety of a pro, she changed the topic. "So how is you're captain? And his friend? The one with the nose." She tapped a finger to her nose and brought it out to make her point.

I paused before I replied, slightly thrown off by the sudden change in subject. "Where should I begin…? Well, they're idiotic like always. Just a week ago they learned a new game, a loud one, and I couldn't concentrate on my maps because of it. I had to punch them over the head in order to shut them up. I mean, seriously. Can't they be quiet for just one day in their lives? Not everyone has as much energy as they do!" I continued on a while longer with my rant until I notice the smug smirk on her face. I frowned only just understanding why she asked about them. "Shut up."

"I think you just proved my point." She cackled over exaggeratedly, trying to act like a villain who had just done a bad thing. I couldn't stay mad for too long and rolled my eyes. I had forgotten how silly she could be. A pang hit me in the heart. Of happiness or sadness, I wasn't sure.

"But still, I'm not as bad as her."

"Everyone has flaws Nami. Sometimes it takes someone else's to show before you see your own."

I pouted. "I don't have any flaws…"

"Nami," she said sternly.

"Okay, okay." I threw my hands up in the universal sign of 'I give up, I give in.'

She smiled. "So tell me about the hero."

Glad of the change to the more likable character and away from my self evaluation, I quickly went into describing him. "Well, he's not exactly the smartest guy but he makes up for that with his strength and loyalty. So far he's already saved like, three people and never once bragged about it."

"Kinda sounds like you captain," she released a puff of smoke as she spoke. "He seemed pretty selfless when he defeated Arlong."

"…What?" I asked. It took me a second to process that.

"When he beat the shit out of him and practically yelled to the whole world that you were his friend. He seemed pretty damn loyal there."

"Well, I guess but…"

"And no offence to him or anything, but he didn't seem very bright either. The whole thing with the teeth…" She shook her head and grimaced at me. I don't know why, but my face suddenly felt warmer. It might have been embarrassment or shame for my idiot captain.

"And like I said, he beat the shit out of Arlong. Strength. Bam. Bingo." She smirked at me. Before I could reply she started, "Now let me guess, the friend is the hero's love interest right?"

I felt a full blown blush explode over my face. I wanted to hide under the blanket. Why the hell was she saying that? I wasn't anything like the girl and Luffy wasn't anything like the hero. With all that nonsense she was spouting, it probably wouldn't leave my head for days which would result into very awkward and uncomfortable situations whenever Luffy came by. I hit the back of my head against the cough and groaned. "Beelleee-Merreee!"

When she laughed, her glowing hair began to shine brighter. It became a blind fluorescent pink and I had to squint in order to look at her.

It was when everything around me began to turn white that I started to worry. I saw the smile wipe right off her face and she quickly wrapped her arms around me. Before her face got lost behind my back, I saw worry.

"Nami, I don't have long," she whispered in my ear. "I only have a few seconds left."

I felt a trickled of sweat run down my face. A sudden sense of déjà vu came over me.

"I just want you to know," my eyes widened.

Please, oh God please, don't say it.

"I love you very much."

And the room around me became a blinding white and I was forced to shut my eyes.


When I opened my eyes, there were blue and green dots spotting my vision. I was outside in the warm sun, a gentle breeze pushing my bangs across my forehead. My lawn chair was soft underneath me.

"Nami-san." I turned my head to see Robin worriedly looking at me.

"Yes Robin?"

"You seemed to have dozed off again."

I looked at her weirdly. Why was she there? Why wasn't I in the aquarium? Where was Belle-Mere? My eyes began to sting.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, I began to cry. Like full blown out sobbing. My heart felt like it was ripped from my chest. I felt like I had lost a part of me. Maybe it was because I finally remembered that the log pose was broken. Or maybe it was because of my dream and the fact that I saw Belle-mere again. Maybe it was because it had felt so real and I finally got the chance to hug her and see her again and I wasted the precious time I had with her over arguing about a book. I had a chance to speak with her and it wasn't even real. I didn't even think of Nojiko and the guilt began to crush me. I sobbed harder.

My head hurt. My heart hurt. I just didn't want to be awake anymore. I felt a hand begin to stroke my hair in a smoothing pattern. It did little to comfort me.

I missed Belle-mere. I missed my mother.

I still do.


Welp, thar she is. Like I said, I had problems with it. It's a little rougher than the others but...meh. When I have time, maybe I'll go over it and make the proper corrections.

So now this is officially the longest chapter. Woo! Go me! Hope it made up for the longer wait even with its rough-ish-ness. : )

As always, feel free to correct the mistakes that are obviously there! Seriously, I had little to no time to fix the usual ones. Blah.