Title: Storm
Pairing: NamiVivi
Warnings: Use of weapons.
Summary: Capturing Vivi was Nami's final mission as a bounty hunter. Her client would pay well, and the mission would ultimately save her village from the hands of Arlong. However, somewhere along the way, it seemed as if it was Nami who got captured by Vivi.
Author: Stopless [ladyquintessence Tumblr]
Beta: Atlanis Tumblr
Note: Written for the 2015 opbigbang.
Once they were in hyperspace, and the Carue was safely set to autopilot, Vivi went into the medbay. The new stock of medical supplies was a welcoming sight, as had been the rations in another section of the ship.
She carefully took off the gloves that Nami had given her, admiring the work and details of them. For a brief moment, she wondered if Nami had bought them for her in the first place.
Meanwhile, Nami watched the stars that passed by at an amazing speed for a few more minutes before opening up the a compartment of the ship. She took out the DenDen Mushi device and stared at it.
She didn't understand. Up until this point, all she wanted to do was to take advantage of everyone's situation. Everything had seemed to fall into place a few days ago. She had the plan of leading Vivi and those other bounty hunters to the Baroque Works leader. The reward would be amazing - Nami would gain my clients as a bounty hunter, and therefore more Beli that would buy her village from Arlong.
However, now that she knew about Vivi's relation to the Baroque Works leader, she was for the first time in a very long time, at loss. Vivi wanted to save her planet. Those concerned bounty hunters at the tavern were probably royal members who were set out to watch over Vivi. Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1 and Vivi's careful avoidance of that topic. All of the pieces suddenly fell together, and Nami's plan began to shatter in consequence.
Nami caught herself. No. It was a great opportunity to gain enough Beli. The freefrom of her village was more important the freedom of Alabasta… right? Yet that did not seem fair. It didn't seem right at all; especially how her recent actions involved saving Usopp's village from pirates. Had she expected reward for helping Usopp? Nami knew that she had not even once thought about the reward. She had just wanted more than anything to help her friend. Vivi's involvement in selflessly helping the villagers - Helping people she didn't even know awakened something inside of Nami that she thought she had buried away a long, long time ago.
With muddled thoughts, Nami put the DenDen Mushi away. She wasn't thinking logically about the situation. Once she had some rest, the storm inside of her heart would calm, and she would know the answer.
xxx
Days later, Nami activated the DenDen Mushi device, and relayed some information to Mr. 8 and a couple of her old friends.
xxx
The arrival to Yuba was met with surprise on Nami and Vivi's part. The moon was abandoned.
Inns that the moon had once prided itself in had fallen to ruins. The moon's geography had once flourished with streams of water, however it was now simply arid land. Little to no vegetation dotted the lifeless moon, and both Nami and Vivi wondered what had happened.
As they scavenged the land for useful tools and supplies, they came across an old inn with its lights turned on. Curious, they went inside.
They were met with an old man by the name of Toto, who they learned was the only one living on Yuba after three years of drought. The rest of the moon's inhabitants had moved to Katorea. His goal was to bring back hope for the planet by searching for a source of water. To abandon a civilization and all its history was incomprehensible for Toto. He spoke with Nami and Vivi as they walked to the outskirts of the moon's main city in order to continue digging his trench.
At the end of the conversation, Vivi made a promise to the old man. She said that she would do her best to bring life back to the moon. Toto met Vivi's promise with a toothless smile. "You truly are the princess of Alabasta."
After the conversation, Nami turned to Vivi as they walked back to the Carue. Nami's gaze was just as curious as it was conflicted, and Vivi couldn't help but look away. There was no going back now. Nami wasn't so uninsightful to accept the lie of Toto being delusional. And Vivi respected Nami's ability so far in the course of their travels and battles. It was time to tell the truth.
Vivi looked back at Nami, who seemed to be preoccupied with her own thoughts as she occasionally kicked the stones on the sandy ground as she walked.
"Hey-" Both of them said at the same time.
"You first."
"No, go ahead, Nami."
"You're the princess of Alabasta, huh?" Nami said. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," Vivi confirmed, quietly.
"And you have royal guards like Mr. 8 who is keeping watch over you." Nami continued. She chuckled. "Or at least trying their best to."
"We have both been keeping secrets from each other. It's only reasonable," Vivi replied, digesting the information. She was relieved to know that Igaram was alive.
Nami voiced the question that had been in her mind for days. "Why do you do it? Help people you don't even know?"
"It's my duty."
"You can save your own planet, even Usopp's, however you cannot save them all, Vivi. That goes beyond your call of duty."
Vivi was surprised at how differently Nami seemed to be taking the new information than what she had initially predicted. Instead of anger and disbelief, Nami seemed to be almost sad and burdened. Vivi wanted to know Nami's thoughts. She wanted to know Nami's story.
"I can ask the same thing to you," Vivi replied instead.
"That's for another time," Nami said. "Let's solve the problem with Alabasta first, yeah?"
"... Yeah."
xxx
The trip to Katorea was a quick one, and once they left the Carue at the hangar, Nami went in search for Merry's friend while Vivi decided to find out the situation with Katorea.
When Nami and Vivi met up once more, both were heavy in their thoughts.
Nami told Vivi about how Merry's friend had met their death during the Skirmish in Nanohana, Katorea's sister moon. According to the locals, when Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger arrived at Nanohana to give the rebellion group weapons, Merry's friend, a new recruit, had accepted the weapons with ease. The skirmish, however, was not kind to new and inexperienced recruits.
Vivi confirmed the same information with Nami.
xxx
Their next location was Rainbase, and it was most logical for them to have the confrontation with the the boss of Baroque Works there. Nami observed that finding the boss would take some time despite of the fact that the entire moon seemed to be part of the base of operations. That, and her client was very cautious about their exact location. Nami opted for an interrogation session with an unlucky bounty hunter later.
As Nami watched Vivi put on garb that was more suitable for combat than robes, her thoughts wandered to the possibilities of the confrontation. If she was with Vivi upon arrival to the planet, then the element of surprise would no longer exist. The boss of Baroque Works was her client, and Nami was to be expected with Vivi.
A sinking feeling started to gnaw at Nami as Vivi talked about different plans on how to get into the very heart of Baroque Works' operations.
When Nami agreed to one of the plans, she had not listened fully on the details of it. She asked Vivi to repeat the plan to her.
"We do not know who is part of Baroque Works on this planet," Vivi told Nami. "So, we should not interrogate simply anyone."
"Then how…?"
Vivi smiled a bit hesitantly. "I can ask one of my contacts within Baroque Works," she said. "I'll try to see if they know anything."
"They are after you, yeah?"
"Word should not have spread so quickly," Vivi replied.
xxx
Nami shook her head. She wanted to tell Vivi that there was a simpler way to find out that information. Just saying that she was a bounty hunter personally hired by the leader of Baroque Works would be better than risking Vivi's well-being. However, Nami supposed that sending Vivi to her client wouldn't help much in the department of Vivi's well-being, either. She suddenly gave a dry laugh.
"What is it?" asked Vivi, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"From what I've experienced, Baroque Works members are pretty efficient," Nami replied. Her hand unknowingly touched her shoulder where she had been injured. "I think we should prepare for a few more fights."
Vivi shook her head, disagreeing. "I want to save my strength for the leader."
"Then we backup," Nami replied easily.
"Backup?"
"Do you remember Luffy and Zoro?" Nami asked.
Vivi nodded.
"I contacted them earlier. They will be helping us find the secret base without any trouble."
xxx
Vivi noticed the change in Nami, and decided that a small change in the plan wouldn't be so bad. Instead of heading to the boss of Baroque Works right away, they would spend a bit of time on the moon. A trip to the bar and a walk around Rainbase couldn't hurt. After she told Nami of this plan, claiming that the drinks and walk were necessary because of their inconspicuous information-gathering techniques, Nami only smiled a tired smile.
They arrived at Rainbase, parked the Carue, and made their way to a bar. It was late evening by now, with Alabasta's sun setting in the distance. The streets were illuminated by a pale, orange glow, and Vivi glanced at Nami as they walked the streets. The orange glow from the sun was brilliant, but against Nami's wind and sand-swept orange hair, there was no comparison.
Vivi couldn't believe how lucky she was, and couldn't help but be thankful for all that Nami has done. She had worked with countless business partners throughout the years in order to further her training and goals, however Nami was the only one to go above and beyond the call of duty. It was Nami who didn't abandon her in favour of saving her own skin, and Nami who had never once uttered the words, "it's not my problem."
Once the confrontation with the head of Baroque Works was over, Vivi promised herself that she would repay Nami greatly.
The thoughts on Nami turned to Nami's goals. Before, Nami had mentioned the goal of taking someone of a high position down, however there had been no more mention of it. Had Nami forgotten about it? Or was it not Nami's goal in the first place?
Vivi rubbed her forehead in attempt to clear her doubts. Perhaps Nami simply wanted to bid her time, find the right moment to attack and collect her bounty.
They finally made it to a bar, and with those thoughts, Vivi entered the location with Nami.
xxx
"What is the occasion?" Nami asked as they sat down at a table. She flipped through the electronic pages of the bar's menu. Something caught her eye, and she couldn't help but smile softly.
"A thank you."
"You know," Nami's soft smiled turned into a sad one. "Someone used to always make this for me when I was little" She showed Vivi the image of tangerine sauce drizzled over rice.
"I know it looks plain," Nami continued. "But it was all we ever had… aside from each other."
She did not think twice about telling Vivi this little fact about herself. Perhaps it was because of the lighting. Perhaps it was because of Vivi's unknowing kindness. Perhaps it wasn't any of those things.
"I know what you mean," Vivi replied. "I used to get into fights when I was a child. My family did not approve, however the friends that I fought for belonged to humble families that gladly shared what little they had with me."
Vivi smiled softly at the fond memories of being patched up by some of friends' parents after getting into a fight and not wanting her own family to know what she had been up to. What was Nami's family like? Were the supportive, or disapproving and misguided? Vivi wanted to get to know Vivi a bit more, however she held her questions back. If Nami wanted to share, then she would tell the tale out of her own volition. And it wasn't like they were anything more than business partners at this point.
Their meal consisted of a delicious tangerine sauce drizzled over duck and rice, which Nami ate with a fond smile. The drink that came with it was Nihonshu, a strong, ceremonial drink brewed from rice. As Nami poured another small dish of the drink from its bottle, Vivi wondered if Nami was trying to become intoxicated on purpose.
xxx
It was silly, really. To think that drinking could wash away her problems. However as another gulp of Nihonshu burned her throat, Nami continued to try and lose herself in the subtle pain. If anything, she deserved it, for not telling Vivi about what she had planned.
Earlier, she picked up the DenDen Mushi and contact Mr. 8 and his group again. She told them of "Miss Wednesday's" conviction to find the head of the bounty hunter's guild, and about the location of the guild's base of operations. She had also asked of Mr. 8 and the group to be prepared for battle. It was the least she could do; give them all a fighting chance.
She looked at Vivi and Vivi grinned at something she said. She was giving a fighting chance for Mr. 8 and his group, however was she giving Vivi a fighting chance? Nami knew that answer to be no.
With one more gulp, the bottle of Nihonshu was finished. Nami, who had a high alcohol tolerance, was not fully intoxicated, however. She felt the a small, warm buzz inside of her, however she was able to concentrate on the situation.
After she and Vivi paid the bill, they walked on the streets of a starry night. The stars seemed to glow so much brighter to Nami for some reason. The pale glow of Rainbase's sister moons illuminate the streets, and the cool night air coupled with the sound of quietly chirping creatures made Nami want to fall asleep and not wake up.
In another universe, maybe, Nami wouldn't be a bounty hunter. However in the case with Vivi? She wondered if Vivi would still be the princess of a kingdom and selflessly aiding her people. Nami couldn't imagine another universe without Vivi's kindness. Helping people she didn't even know. Even going as far as subtly helping Nami herself with the invitation to a meal and a stroll afterwards. In another universe, maybe, this would be considered a date.
Their stroll in somewhat comfortable silence ended when they arrived at an inn. They quickly checked into the location, and headed to their temporary bedroom for the night.
The next hour was filled with chaste kisses and whispers of admiration they laid in bed, the confrontation of tomorrow at the back of their minds. It was so different from the first time they did it, and the realization made Nami push the thought further back.