Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me, it belongs to Oda.
wickedgrl123 requested that I post a picture of what I was imagining for Nami's baro-bracelet. I couldn't find a picture online that was quite what I had imagined, so I decided to see if I could sketch it. It didn't take long for me to see why I get my creative fix from writing rather than drawing :P But I did manage to come up with something. I posted the link on my profile ( I couldn't figure out how to add it here).
Without further ado, here is the next installment! It's not very long, but I'm already working on the next section, so I should have another update soon.
Chapter 10:
When the ship finally pulled into port the entire crew was buzzing with energy. Nami drummed her fingers along the rail as she watched Chopper and Luffy chase one another around the deck. Two and a half weeks was simply too long to keep this crew confined to the ship. Even Robin was out on the deck, standing on her toes to get a better view of the busy city beyond.
Nami shaded her eyes as she gazed out at the docks. The narrow wooden pathways were crowded with bustling people. Heavy crates were dropped from towering merchant ships as fishermen shouldered brimming sacks of fish.
"Robin already volunteered to go shopping with Sanji to restock supplies." Zoro crossed his arms as he joined her in looking at the docks. "Franky and Chopper can go with them to help carry everything back. And I think Usopp was planning on going with Luffy to try to keep him out of trouble. Brook hasn't decided if he wants to scare the locals. If he doesn't, he'll stay on the ship with us."
Nami froze. "Stay on the ship? With us?"
She couldn't deny that she had seriously considered staying on the ship when they reached the island. Ironically, it was the horrible nightmares that convinced her she needed to go. She reasoned that if she faced some of her fears, she wouldn't have to worry about the rest of the crew facing them for her. And besides – she hated the idea that this bounty could keep her from living her life normally.
Zoro awkwardly scratched his neck. "Yeah. We can hang out. And just – relax."
Nami raised her eyebrows. "We just arrived at an interesting new island and you want to hang out." She paused for emphasis. "And relax."
Even as he nodded, a grimace crossed his face.
She shrugged, "Well I'm going into town. So you might as well come too."
The grimace transformed into a scowl. "No you're not. You remember what happened last time?"
She crossed her arms defensively. "I do remember. I still want to go."
"Are you stupid?"
Nami couldn't contain an angry cry as she smacked him on the arm. "I'm not stupid, stupid!"
"If you step a foot off this ship, you are stupid."
"Zoro! I want to go."
Zoro stepped in front of her, blocking her way off the ship. "Sanji and I talked about it. Believe it or not – we both agree that this is best." He stared down at her with hard eyes. His lips were set in a firm line.
Nami stomped her foot. "What about me? Does anybody care what I have to say?"
"Nope."
His smirk was infuriating. Nami spun on her heel; Zoro wasn't going to tell her what to do. It was time to try something new. As she approached the center of the deck, she allowed a few tears to well in her eyes. "Sanji-kun!"
She wasn't always proud of her tactics, but they usually got the job done.
Hearing her voice, Sanji turned, dropping the bag he had been preparing. Upon seeing her face, he flew to her side. "Nami-San! What's wrong?"
Nami rubbed beneath her eyes. "I want to go into town. I've been on this boat for weeks! Just like the rest of you." Nami's lip began a slight tremble.
Sanji dropped to his knees. He had an expression of agonized indecision. "Nami…"
Zoro's voice sounded from behind them. "Oi! No! Don't you go to Sanji!"
Nami ignored him and continued looking at Sanji with wide eyes.
"Don't you dare say yes, you shitty cook!"
Sanji's eyes were glassy and the side of his lip had developed a twitch. He began to stutter, "No – I mean – of course! – I mean, I mean..." Sanji's eyes remained glazed as he continued stuttering.
Zoro came to stand beside them. "Good job. You broke him."
Nami snapped her fingers in front of the cook's face. No response. She groaned as she turned back to Zoro. "You can't keep me here."
"Yes I can."
She clenched her teeth as she debated the wisdom of pulling out her clima-tact and baro-brace.
He frowned. "Why do you want to go so bad?"
Her frustration finally came to a head. Nami whipped her head towards him, "I'm scared! Okay?" She turned away, purposefully looking back at the docks. "I'm scared of the bounty hunters and I'm scared that all of you are going to get hurt because of me. And I hate, hate, hate that some stupid bounty poster is making me feel this way." She swallowed. "And I feel like if I can just go out there, and face it even a little bit, I can still have some kind of control over my own life."
Zoro had stilled and his expression was unreadable. Nami waited for him to move.
After what felt like hours, he finally sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. His voice was resigned, "Love cook! Stop stuttering. We're going into town with Nami."
The effect on Sanji was instantaneous. As soon as the words left Zoro's mouth, the cook sprang to his feet. "Shopping with Nami-Swan! I will protect her while helping her find everything her heart desires!"
Nami was torn between a grin and a grimace as Sanji leapt away to finish his preparations. She turned to Zoro and placed a hand on his arm. "Thank you."
His gaze flicked down to her hand for the briefest of moments before he met her eyes. "We have to be careful."
She nodded sincerely, letting her hand fall.
The side of Zoro's mouth twisted up and she felt a change in his mood. "If you die, Luffy's gonna be pissed. Just so you know, if things do happen to go wrong, I'm blaming all of this on the shitty cook."
Nami winked. "Let's not let things go wrong then." She had turned to look for Sanji when a thought struck her. "If Sanji's coming with us, who's going to help Robin, Franky, and Chopper with the supply run?"
Robin spoke from directly behind them, "Don't worry. The three of us are more than capable of handling the supplies."
At the sound of her voice, both Nami and Zoro to jumped.
Robin looked at Nami, "I'm curious – since Chopper, Franky and I are already going to buy the supplies, what are you planning on shopping for Nami-san?" Her expression would have been innocent if it weren't for the crinkles at the corners of her eyes.
Nami tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned her eyes upward. "Well I have been meaning to update my wardrobe."
As soon as the words left her mouth, there was a heavy slap beside her and a split second later a thud sounded from across the deck. Nami lowered her eyes to see Zoro's hand plastered against his face and Sanji mildly convulsing on the deck.
It was at that moment that Brook poked his head out of the cabin. "Clothes shopping! I'll come help Nami find clothes! Though I don't have eyes to see them with! Yohoho!"
Zoro yanked his hand off his face. "You have to stay here. We can't afford to cause a scene with Nami there."
The skeleton heaved a disappointed sigh.
Zoro muttered under his breath, "One pervert is enough."
Nami was actually relieved. Having Brook repeatedly ask to see her panties as she tried on clothes was not her idea of a fun trip into town.
"Love cook! Let's go! I want to get this over with."
Nami grinned as she elbowed him lightly. "Aw, come on. It won't be that bad. You might even have fun!"
He stared at her darkly and Nami mentally amended her statement. Maybe he wouldn't exactly have fun, but he might have an okay time. She briefly considered if buying him a few new outfits would make it better or worse. She sighed. It would probably make it worse.
Sanji finally walked up. "I wanted to make sure that the bags were ready for Robin-Chan. I'm ready to go now." All traces of his previous seizure were gone.
Nami was bouncing with excitement at the prospect of getting off the ship and buying new clothes. It was only when she moved to step off the ship that her nerves returned. She glanced wearily around the docks. It was always possible that there was a bounty hunter or two out there.
Zoro and Sanji were already waiting on the dock. Nami took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She would not let fear – or the bounty on her head get the better of her. She looked at the men standing below her. She would show everyone that she was not afraid and that this bounty would not control her. And if it came down to it, she would prove to everyone that she was capable of defending herself. She refused to make them look after her forever.
With those final thoughts, Nami stepped off the boat and joined the men below. As she began to walk through the crowded docks, Nami found herself scanning the faces of those around her; as if she would be able to tell a bounty hunter from sight alone. She hadn't gone far when Zoro and Sanji shouldered their way through the crowd and proceeded to walk on either side of her. Nami craned her neck to look for shops, and pretended she wasn't relieved.
Once again, thank you for reading!