Author's Note: Bah … this took me awhile … I'm definitely going to have to stop writing after I finish a couple of these … I just don't have the time and energy anymore … It takes way too long to complete these chapters … *Sigh* Anyways … enjoy.
P.S. Too tired to edit … Sorry … Maybe I still will … but meh … Just deal … ~.~ *Not in the greatest mood*
The Vanity Princess
Chapter 10: Radiance
Nami could only gape back at her captain, not having expected such things to come out of his mouth. This whole time, he had been very optimistic about the whole thing. He'd been confident that he would get his eyesight back. However, it'd been a few days already, but still nothing. It would seem … that even their captain could have his doubts. Or rather, he was beginning to doubt he'd get his vision back. She never would have thought he would think that. "Luffy, I-" she started, shaking her head a bit.
"I don't want … that to happen, Nami. But … if it does … I … I'd have to go home, and … I'd have to give up my dream. I wouldn't be able to continue like this. I just … hope all of you … try and continue your dreams," said Luffy, keeping his voice down. "Home," he whispered. "It's been so long since I've been there. I don't even know who's there anymore. Are they all still there?"
"Would … anyone be there … to take care of you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I … I don't know … I don't even know if it'd be okay to go home," he replied, his face dropping.
Watching him, she felt as a tear drifted down her cheek. What would he do if he never got his sight back? Who would take care of him? Biting her lip, she set down her book and reached out for his hands, taking both into hers, which made him suck in his breath and raise his head to look in her direction. "Nami?" he questioned, looking confused.
"Listen to me, Luffy," she said, her voice soft. "You're going to get your eyesight back, because you're right about one thing. You've never let us down. You always try so hard for us. You always do everything in your power to protect us and keep us together."
"Nami," he called quietly as his face softened.
"But," she started, pausing a bit to gather her strength and to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
"But?" he asked, starting to frown now.
"But … if … you don't … get your eyesight back," she continued, "I'll come with you. I'll take care of you."
Gasping softly, his eyes widened, continuing to stare in her direction, but both looking completely shocked. "What?" he whispered, not sure he heard her right.
"Wherever you go, I'll come with you, and I'll take care of you," she repeated, tightening her hold on his hands as her face flushed darkly.
She meant every word of it. Sure, her dream meant a lot to her, and she wanted very much to fulfill it. However, she also realized that he meant more to her than that dream. He probably wouldn't do the same for her, but this was her choice. She knew that Luffy wouldn't let anything stand in the way of his dream, but that was all right with her. However, this was different. He wouldn't be able to get passed his blindness. He needed someone to take care of him, and she cared enough to abandon her dream to do that, even if he wouldn't.
His brows slowly began to dip, really letting her words sink in. "No, Nami … You can't do that for me. You've gotta accomplish your dream. I can't let you give up your dream for me. I want you to keep going. I want you to see this through, to go with the others," he said, starting to shake his head.
"This is my choice to make, Luffy. I would never expect you to stop for me, but I'm all right with that. I wouldn't want you to do it for me either. I'm only on this journey to fulfill my dream because of you. I'm no one when it comes to your dream, Luffy," she said, smiling at him, even if he couldn't see it.
"No, Nami! My dream isn't more important than yours! I'm not more important than your dre-"
"Wrong," she said, cutting him off. "You … are far more important to me than my dream," she said, and she could have sworn some color had come into his cheeks, but he frowned and looked away from her.
"You can't do that, Nami. I … I don't wanna get in the way of your future. I want you to fulfill all of your dreams … I want you to live your life without having to worry about me. I know girls like to get married and have kids and all that. I don't wanna be a burden, your old captain off somewhere with you that you gotta take care of. I wouldn't wanna be a burden to your family or to your sister or anything like that!" he said, keeping his face turned away from her.
"Who says I would start a family like that-?"
"No! You can't, Nami!" he suddenly exclaimed, turning slightly back towards her.
"You may be my captain now, but you can't order me about when it comes to my life! Luffy," she said, pulling her hands towards her and making him face her, though he still turned his face away. She could see it on his face. He was ashamed. "Luffy, it's not your fault you were blinded … You were trying to save me … Don't you see …? Maybe …" she paused, her cheeks starting to flush, "Maybe I was more important to you than your dream after all."
"Of course you are! I would never give you up for my dream!"
Gasping, she leaned back a bit as her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed harder. "Luffy ..."
"Your life is more important than my dream, but Nami, I'm not going to die. You don't gotta take care of me," he said, shaking his head a bit with a troubled frown.
"Well, too bad, because I am. And before you say anything!" she said quickly when he'd opened up his mouth and sucked in air. However, when she said that, he stopped, closing him mouth with a deeper frown. "You don't have to worry about my dream, Luffy. And you don't have to worry about … anyone else either … There … isn't going to be anyone else," she said, which made his frown become more confused. Watching him for a little while, she then slowly started the smile before finally saying, "When I said I would take care of you, Luffy, I meant … that I was going to take care of you. It's going to be … just you … and me."
His eyes started to blink a few times as if trying to accept the concept of her words, and his brows started to dip more as his jaw slowly dropped. "N-Nami," he called quietly, but then paused for a short time, "a-are you … sure … about this?"
"Yes, I'm sure. If you don't get your eyesight back … then Luffy … I'm going to take care of you. I'll come with you … wherever you want to go, even if we have to move around to keep from getting caught. I'll follow you, Luffy. And," she started, but then she bit her lip with a deep flush as she swallowed hard, "I … I won't need … anyone else … because … I'll have you."
His eyes slowly widened then, but his brows remained deeply knitted together. "N-Nami …?" he questioned, not really understanding, or maybe he wasn't sure if she meant what she said.
However, her flush deepened as she said, "B-But, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I!? I guess … I'm pretty full of myself to assume that I'd be who you want! I-It doesn't have to be that way! M-Maybe we'll run into someone else you would want to take care of you instead, and that's okay too! Th-Then maybe … I could go out and find the others or … j-just accomplish my dreams then or-" she cut off with a gasp when Luffy clutched her hands tighter and interrupted her.
"No!" he suddenly cried, pulling her hands towards him. "I won't find anyone else that I'd want to take care of me more than you, Nami!"
Staring back at him, her entire face turned bright red, and she even began to tremble a little in her nervousness. Her heart was also pounding so hard, that she could barely hear at all. However, she bit her lip hard, looking a little uncertain. After all, he had said that he wouldn't find anyone else he'd want to take care of him. He didn't say anything about just being with her. Still … she was okay with that. She wasn't really sure what had made her say that in the first place. But thinking back on it, she had been so sure that that was what she wanted. Was it what she wanted? Did she want to be with Luffy?
Thinking back on everything he had said to her and all that had happened the short few days she'd been reading to him, she really had grown an attachment to him that she hadn't realized had been growing up until now. She really felt that she had learned a lot more about her captain in just those few days than in all the time they had all been together. She also found that she had been quite enjoying their time together as much as it seemed he was. She had been okay with staying on the ship with him, instead of going on into town. She would like to go at some point, but she was okay with just waiting.
"N-Nami …?" questioned Luffy after awhile, his expression troubled since Nami hadn't replied back to him in quite some time.
"Oh, I-!" she started, trying to find words to say as her face flushed once again. "Then … it's settled," she finally said, "If … you never get your sight back … then I will take care of you, but … if you do … then … that's great. We'll get to continue on our adventures, right?" she asked, smiling a bit nervously, even though he couldn't see it.
However, she softly sucked in her breath when his eyes had slowly risen before resting in direct path of her own. She knew he couldn't see, but somehow, he had managed to get his eyes to stare right back into hers. "I can see you," he whispered so softly, that she could barely hear him.
"Wha-What?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as her cheeks reddened deeply.
"Nami," he called in the same low whisper, "I can see … your energy."
"I … Y-You can?" she asked, sinking her teeth into her lips.
"It's … almost outlining her entire body …"
Her entire body flushed with embarrassment. "O-Oh …"
"But … you're not trying to attack anyone, Nami," he said, his voice higher than a whisper, but still low.
"N-No … I'm not," she said, shaking her head.
"I said … that … I could see … when someone was attacking … or if … they had … intense feelings. Nami," he started, but paused, not saying anything for awhile, but then he finally asked, "what are you feeling right now?"
"I-I-I," she stuttered, almost sweating with the heat she was feeling from her embarrassment, "I … It's … nothing …"
"Nami … this isn't nothing," he said, his eyes, shifting downward to her body, which made her shift about uncomfortably. She was completely mortified now. "I could see a bit of your energy when you said that you'd take care of me, but now … it's … a lot more visible … and the visibility just kept growing from there. What are you feeling, Nami?"
Why were tears starting to form in her eyes now? Blinking them away, she then shook her head and said, "Don't worry about it! It's nothing, really!"
"Nami?" questioned Luffy again, his brows starting to dip deeply. However, his brows shot up with a gasp when he saw a distortion run down her face and blotching out her energy a bit. His hand flew up to her face, his thumb running across her cheek to block the tears that had started flowing. Frowning deeply again, his other came up to do the same to the other side. "Nami, why are you crying!? What's wrong!?"
Gasping as well when he'd suddenly cupped her face and already as red as a rose, Nami just shook her head at him, looking confused herself. However, when he had asked her what she was feeling without knowing it himself, it had made her … upset. Not angry, necessarily, but her heart had dropped and tears had started to form. She was so confused as to what she was feeling. She felt sad, but didn't understand why she would be feeling that. "I-I … I don't know," she finally replied, still shaking her head.
"Nami, it's okay! You don't gotta watch me! Please don't cry! I won't make you watch me! Please don't feel as if you gotta watch me, Nami!" he cried, still trying to use his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
"No, Luffy … It's okay. I'm okay. It's not that. I want to take care of you, Luffy," she said, her voice soft and calm.
"But … I don't … understand. Why're you crying? What did I do? Did I say something?" he asked, looking frantic to make it right again.
"N-No … i-it's nothing … I … I don't even … Just ignore it," she said, but her voice quivered. It hurt, and she didn't know why. Of course he didn't feel anything different. He was Luffy. She didn't expect him to. However, it still hurt, and in thinking this, it made her want to cry more. It didn't matter, because … either way … she would be able to stay with him, and that … to her surprise … made her happy. Starting to smile and laugh softly, she reached up to gently clasp his hands and pull them down. "It's nothing, Luffy, I promise," she said, keeping a hold of his hands in her lap. She still felt confused though. Her thoughts were confusing her.
Her energy seemed to fluctuate, which confused him. He kept his soft frown as his eyes shifted between hers, and for an instant, it seemed to her like as if he could see again. However, she took a deep breath, feeling herself calming down considerably. When her energy started to disappearing, his expression slowly saddened. "Nami," he whispered, and his eyes started to lose focus, "I can't see you anymore."
Her expression matched his as she looked back at him. "How about … I just keep reading, Luffy?" she asked in a soft and quiet voice.
Continuing to blindly stare at her for awhile, he then finally nodded. "Okay," he replied just as softly as he sat back.
Lifting the book back up, she opened it and found their spot. "Okay, here I go," she said softly before continuing to read.
"Not me …?" asked Luffy softly, starting to show a little confusion.
"That's right, Luffy … I'm not you … You … always had a way of talking to her that neither Zoro nor I had. She always listened to you. She always did whatever you said-"
"Except for the day she chose that castle and everything that came with it over us …" interrupted Luffy with a scowl.
"Please, Luffy … I'm begging you … They need her … Please … Please talk to her," pleaded Sanji as he looked up at Luffy, tears gathering in his eyes.
"I refuse," replied Luffy instantly before turning away from him. "Go back to the castle … I refuse your help as well," he threw over his shoulder as he started to hack away again at the corn stalks.
"That's enough, damn it! Enough, enough, enough-enough-enough-enough!" cried Sanji, slamming his fists down into the ground each time he screamed out each word, his frustration evident. He leaned forward more, touching his forehead to the ground as a soft sob escaped his lips. "I beg you! Please … I'm begging you!"
Staring down at Sanji, tears came to Usopp's eyes as his expression showed pain. He could see this man's pain so clearly. His eyes shifted to Luffy, who had gone still once again. He always knew Luffy as a good man. Luffy was a good man … So then why …? Why … was he not being one now?"I agree … He's not being a good man," whispered Luffy, staring down at the blanket sadly.
"Mm … I agree too," replied Nami in a very quiet voice.
"How could he forget the friendship they had so easily? They grew up together … They were probably like brothers too … and from what this Sanji is saying … he neglected his responsibility for the princess," he said, frowning deeply with contempt.
"Yeah, so it seems. This Sanji isn't much like our Sanji, is he?" she said quietly, staring back at the words on the page.
"Mm, no, not really," replied Luffy before closing his eyes and sighing. "You can keep going."
"Okay," she replied quietly before continuing on with the reading.
Turning back to Sanji, Luffy's temper fled. He was still causing his friend pain. He was right, after all, which was what was making him angry. Someone had to stay with her, and Sanji had been the one to do it, even though it had been his job. After awhile, he gave a heavy sigh as he slowly dropped to his knees. Hearing the motion, Sanji had slowly raised his head to look up at Luffy. Seeing him kneeling there with his head lowered made him lift his head higher.
"Please, Luffy … If she doesn't start eating soon … eating better … I'm afraid that she'll die," whispered Sanji, tears streaming down his face at just the thought. "I don't want to lose another precious friend."
Closing his eyes, Luffy brought his hands up to grab his head as he leaned forward. It hurt inside, almost unbearably. What should he do? Was she really in that bad of shape? Could he really leave her like that? Shaking his head, he slowly lifted it up and dropped his hands. He remained thus for awhile before finally looking up at Sanji and said quietly, "Take me to her."
More tears gathered in Sanji's eyes as he drooped in relief. Then he quickly bowed down again, touching his forehead to the ground and cried softly, "Thank you, Luffy!"
"Good."
"Mm?" questioned Nami, looking up at Luffy, but then she smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad he's going too, but we'll see how it goes," she said, sighing softly as she looked back down at the book.
"Yeah, hopefully, he won't be a dick," said Luffy with a nod.
Chuckling softly, Nami nodded again in agreement. "Yeah, hopefully," she said, bringing the book back up. "I'm going to keep reading."
Once he'd prepared his horse for travel, he mounted and slowly made his way towards where Sanji was waiting. After giving a nod, they both set out for the castle, with Usopp waving them off. He felt a little sick, but he ignored it as they finally made it to the castle gates. Sanji was greeted by the men there as they passed and all the way through until they reached the castle. When he dismounted his horse, Chopper ran up to them quickly, eager to greet Luffy, "It's great to see you again, Lord Luffy!" He had a rather large grin on his face.
"It's good to see you again too, Chopper," he said, ruffling his hair with a small smile.
"I'll take good care of your horse!" said Chopper, taking Luffy's horse's reins as well as Sanji's and leading the horses away.
"Thanks," said Luffy before following Sanji inside.
Sanji lead him all the way up the stairs and to where the princess' rooms were. Approaching the door, he gave it a gentle knock, and soon, it was opened by a handmaiden, whose expression showed deep concern. "Oh, Lord Sanji, you have finally returned," he said quietly as if not to disturb anyone. "Sh-She's … in her usual spot. She hardly moves from there," she said, moving aside to let him enter, but then gasped when she saw Luffy come in behind him.
Looking around the beautifully decorated room, Luffy then finally spotted Nami sitting in her window seat. She was facing away, just staring out of her window and in a specific direction. Glancing up through the window as well, he could see that the direction was towards his small village. Blinking his eyes closed slowly, he then turned to Sanji, who was looking back at him, worried he might leave. However, he turned back to Nami, taking a few more steps towards her. "I already said … Sanji … that I just want to be alone," she said in a quiet and weak voice.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not Sanji," said Luffy, frowning at her deeply.
Gasping loudly and visibly stiffening, she remained facing in the other direction, possibly too shocked to move. After awhile, she clutched tightly at her skirts before slowly and finally turning to look at him. Her skin was so pale, her eyes red and puffy, and she looked far too thin from not having been eating properly. She looked as if she never stopped crying, and watching her now, he could see her eyes already building with more tears. "Luffy," she whispered, the tears starting to over flow down her face. "What … Why are you here? How …?" she started, her voice hoarse from dehydration as she looked over to Sanji, who was regarding her with soft concern.
"Sanji said you weren't eating right and stayed in here all the time. He begged me to come here," said Luffy, though his voice was still hard, which brought more tears to her eyes, but they had softened as they remained on Sanji.
"Sanji …" she whispered, and he bowed to her. However, she then looked back at Luffy, his hard expression still there. "Wh-Why did you come?"
"Because Sanji was worried you would kill yourself," he replied, his tone and expression never changing.
Her lips quivered as more tears fell from her eyes. Because Sanji was worried … not because he was worried. He didn't care about her at all. Even though it didn't surprise her, it still hurt a lot. "I see," she said, her voice quivering greatly. She was trying hard not to break down into sobs. "Mmm, then you've wasted your time coming here," she said before turning away and covering her mouth with her hand to keep the sobs in.
"For once, we agree on something," said Luffy, clenching his fists before he turned to leave.
However, Sanji blocked his path, his eyes pleading. "Luffy, please," he whispered, and his voice sounded desperate.
"Well," started Luffy in a low and dark tone as his eyes darkened as well. "if you care so much about her … You should be able to do it just fine," he said, trying to walk passed him, but Sanji gripped his shirt and lowered his head.
"It's not like that …!" he whispered, but forcefully. "Can you honestly tell me that you want her to die?" he whispered, gripping his shirt tighter. Luffy's jaw flexed as he stared down at the top of Sanji's head. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't answer him right away, which made Sanji look up at him with an expression filled with pain. "Luffy …!?" he called pleadingly, giving him a shake.
However, Luffy just stared right back down at him, which made Sanji's face fall.
"Unforgivable!" yelled Luffy all of a sudden with a scowl on his face, and he'd even slammed a fist down on his other side, away from Nami. Even while angry, he'd remembered that he could have possibly hit her with his other fist, and so just kept it clenched.
However, the sudden outburst had scared her half to death, making her jump and cry out. "Luffy, you scared me!" she cried with a purse.
"Ah, sorry," he said, calming down instantly and placing his hands in his lap, which made her blink. His eyes had once again turned into the owlish set.
"N-No … it's okay. It really is unforgivable. I understand how you can be upset," she said, frowning down at the book.
He frowned once again and clenched his fists. "That's right! Completely unforgivable! I really want to kick his ass now!" he exclaimed with a hint of a growl. "How could he not answer that question!? And how could he not answer it with saying that of course he didn't want her to die!?" he continued, looking more and more upset about it.
"I don't know," replied Nami quietly.
"Keep going, Nami!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist now with some possible hope that the story's Luffy would speak up.
"Okay," she said before looking back down at the book.
"How could you possibly ask me that question? I came, didn't I?" said Luffy, looking down at Sanji, completely appalled.
"Haah!" both Luffy and Nami exclaimed in relief, both of them drooping and leaning right against each other.
However, when Nami realized how close they were, she gasped loudly and quickly pulled away with a deep blush, causing Luffy to fall the rest of the way. "Gaah!" he exclaimed, hitting the deck.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she cried, helping up him, but the blush remained.
"Ah, Nami? You okay?" he asked, his brow quirking a bit as he looked in her direction and sat up straight with her help.
"Y-Yeah!" she replied quickly with a nervous laugh. "I just … um … I thought I saw something!"
"Ah?" questioned Luffy, looking around. "Really? Where?" he asked, but then he drooped. "Ah … I guess it doesn't matter. I can't see anyways …" However, then he straightened out again to face her direction. "So, what'd ja see?"
"Oh, well … It was … You know what? It was nothing," she replied, looking down at the book and even more embarrassed. She hated that she was glad he couldn't see her blushing face. She wanted him to be able to see. Closing her eyes, she felt the sadness coming back. It didn't matter, she would watch after him. She would be with him. She would take care of him.
"I can see you again, Nami …"
Gasping softly, Nami quickly raised her head with her jaw slightly dropped, and sure enough, he was staring right back at her with a deep frown on his face. "Oh! I … I," she stuttered, trying to think of something to say.
"It's because you're sad … I can see you when you're angry … and when you're sad. Stop being sad for me, Nami!" he yelled, making her gasp and jump in surprise.
"I … I'm sorry …" she whispered, but he only made her cry.
"Aah, damn it! Don't cry though!" he said, though he sounded irritated, but with himself as he reached out to wipe away her tears. However, her hand shot up to catch his, making him blink and look confused. "Nami?"
"I can be sad for you if I want to be!" she suddenly exclaimed with a deep frown, but her voice had quivered.
"N-Nami …?" he questioned, gaping back at her now.
"I can be sad for you, Luffy! I'm not pitying you! I'm just sad! Everyone is sad, Luffy. We all want you to be able to see again," she said, her voice starting to soften with her face as she clasped his hand with both of hers. "It's because we care about you, Luffy … It's because …" she stopped and bit her lip, not sure if she should say it.
"It's because what, Nami?" he asked, his voice quiet and calm.
"It's because," she whispered, but paused again as her expression softened further, but it also saddened. Could she really say it? Should she really say it? Closing her eyes, she brought up his clasped hand to gently press it up against her face, making him suck in his breath softly and his eyes to widen. He could see her even more clearly as the color swarmed all within her. The expression on her face, he could see it. His eyes were glued to it. The way it looked … It was … so beautiful … with all the color there. His other hand slowly reached out on its own with its own need to do so, just as she finally sucked in her breath to whisper, "It's because … we love you." And just as those words came from her mouth, his hand gently rested against her cheek.
Gasping softly, her eyes flew open to look back at him, and her eyes widened more when she saw that his own expression had softened. "Nami," he whispered, but then the expression saddened, when the color started to fade.
Tears suddenly came to his eyes, which made her jaw drop slightly. "Luffy," she whispered in turn, completely shocked, but her tears renewed, starting to slide down her cheeks.
"Nami … I want to be able to see you again …" he said, keeping his hand on her face. "Your face … is always so beautiful … but I can't see it anymore … I want to see it again. Just … seeing the bit of color … it's not good enough …"
'What? So suddenly? Why? Why was he saying these things all of a sudden? I thought that he … didn't …' Her entire face reddened with embarrassment, and her heart pounded relentlessly in her chest. Her expression softened, one of her hands releasing his to gently clasp the one over her cheek. Luffy's eyes widened again, seeing her energy come up again with a different kind or radiance. And as a matter of fact, he could even see his own energy glowing with radiance as his heart pounded. What was this?
"Luffy …"
To Be Continued …
Author's Note: Maaaw~! *U* So sweet~! I quite enjoyed this, just so you know. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed~! Until next time! XD