A/N: I decided to go for a sad take this time around. No particular reason. I just wanted to write something sad, because I don't all that often. And this, my awesome readers, is definitely sad. I cried while writing it. Well, the end part.

To be honest, this story idea came from one of my novel ideas. It's a touching story as an old woman goes through the long life she's lived, which has been filled with spirits and shapeshifters and the like. Naturally I rewrote the entire thing to fit One Piece :P And it's QUITE a bit in the future. And I didn't actually rewrite Nami's history... I mean, you all have read at least part of the manga -you should know her history :P Oh, and it might get slightly confusing, because while I name the great-grandchildren, I don't name Luffy's and Nami's actual children, for the sake of when I do the preggo fics that the outcome remains anonymous :P

And if any of you are reading "Down Under" and "No Danger Allowed", then I'm giving you all fair warning that I'm going to go on a week-ish long break :P I have my own novels that I've been pushing to the side to write fanfiction, and I have a pile of books that I want to read beside my bed, and lately I've been so lacking on sleep... Let me replenish my wells of liveliness and creativity :P I may throw a chapter in during the week though... because I feel guilty with two stories on the go and taking this pause in the middle of the two. Not even the middle. Like, a quarter of the way into the story. Well, you'll survive. There's so many other great fanfiction writers out there to keep you occupied during this time :P

Well, I hope you enjoy~ :)

Of Memories v2

The ship rocked back and forth, back and forth in the dock at Cocoyashi village. The citizens who had once had a fee imposed on their lives, ran around freely –happily –Arlong long forgotten. And what can I say? It's been fifty years –most of the villagers had passed away since then.

Hidden, deep in the forest, surrounded by tamed beasts and overgrown trees, was the house that Luffy and I lived in, out of sight to Marines and pirates who came around when Luffy and I were gone.

"Grandma!" Voices shouted as feet pounded the dock below. "Grandma, come tell us a story!"

My great-grandchildren were growing up so quickly. Kokuro, the oldest of the four, was sixteen, but he doted on me a lot. Amaya was the second oldest, at fifteen –and she was also Zoro's and Robin's great-grandchild as well. She had Zoro's passion for swords. Then there was Ayumi, the second youngest, three years younger than Amaya, and quite frankly she was just like Luffy –only with my orange hair. Finally, there was Yukino, only nine, who I felt resembled me –but with Luffy's hair colour.

"Which story would you like to hear?"

They all inched closer as I sat down on the chair on deck. Ayumi and Yukino rested their heads on my lap, and Kokuro held my hand as he sat on the arm of the chair.

"How about the story about you and Grandpa," Ayumi said, looking up with me with her big dark eyes. "From the very beginning, when you first met.

"From the very beginning?" I chuckled, resting my hand on their heads. I closed my eyes, feeling the motion of the ship. Back and forth…

"Do we have to call him Grandpa?" Yukino asked. "He still looks so young."

"I want to be called Grandpa, so long as you call your great-grandmother, Grandma," the man I had loved for so many graying years came out of the kitchen, with Sanji and Harumi following closely behind. The two of them came to stay at Cocoyashi village, neither having a real family or hometown to go to. Chopper and Brooke were with Robin and Zoro in Shimotsuki village, and Franky had gone with Usopp to Syrup Village –where Usopp had married Kaya, which to this day I still found sweet.

Luffy came towards me, his eyes just as soft as I remembered from our glory days –yes, I remember the day we met well. The kids parted as he reached us, and he bent down to pick me up, sitting down and setting me on his lap, treating me like a child.

He grinned that idiotic grin –"Between you and me, though, even today I could bounce off the walls."

Everybody laughed, watching as their grandfather kissed my cheek, "So tell us, Grandma, please?"

"We want to hear it too," my daughter called from the dock below.

Luffy stretched his arm and helped her up here, while her husband pulled himself up on his own. They, too, lived on this island. They hadn't always, only after their daughter, my granddaughter, had died out at sea –she too had become a pirate. Actually, all my grandchildren had passed away, leaving their children in their grandmother's care. The other two had died when a bomb had gone off too early. It brought a small tear to my eye just thinking about it, but no one seemed to notice, or otherwise ignored it.

"Go on, mom; tell us stories like you used to when we were younger."

"Shouldn't we wait for your brother to arrive?" her husband asked.

"Zoro and the crew just picked us up, so we won't be arriving for a while," a voice came through the den den mushi that I hadn't noticed before. Luffy must have brought it out at some point. "Start the stories, mom. Hopefully we'll arrive before you finish them all."

I smiled as the man I loved tightened his grip around my waist. I knew that he felt my lifespan ending too. It breaks him on the inside, I'm sure. He has years before he'll even near death –that rubber body of his more than likely going to last him quite a while. He kissed me once more before resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Let's see," I began, closing my eyes and feeling the gentle rocking of the ship. It was so peaceful. "From the very beginning, right? Well, you all know how I was a great thief. I had stolen a map from Buggy –leader of the Buggy Pirates…"

She closed her eyes slowly as her last sentence trailed off. I didn't need to check for a pulse –I knew I wouldn't find one.

"Mom?" Our children said tentatively.

"Grandma?"

As the realization came to them, tears rolled down their faces. I smiled sadly, blinking back tears fast. I have her one final kiss, then looked out to sea to see a ship approaching fast. It nearly ran into our ship, but with Franky's expertise it stopped short, and everybody hopped from one boat to another.

"We're too late," Robin said sadly, gripping tightly onto Zoro's arm. Her eyes glistened with tears. "Despite rushing, we were too late."

Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brooke were also crying, along with their own children and families, and Sanji turned his face away, hugging Harumi who sobbed loudly into his shirt. Zoro just looked straight ahead, seeing but not taking in what he saw. Finally, he moved away from Robin, coming over to me and offering to take her from me. I shook my head, "No, I have her."

"What are we going to do?" Our son and daughter asked, nearly simultaneously.

"The mikan trees," I said, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling down at her. She looked like she was sleeping. "We'll place her under the mikan trees, beside Nojiko and Bellemere. Zoro –if you don't mind, there's a shovel in the orchard."

"Alright," he said, walking to Robin and giving her a quick hug before hopping over the edge of the ship like he was still twenty. Somehow the others got the message I wanted to be alone, so they helped my great-grandchildren off the ship and slowly started back into town.

A tear slid down my face, and I quickly caught it. I wasn't supposed to cry. I knew this had been coming. I only wished we could have died beside the other, so neither one of us could have suffered the pain that was felt when the other passed on.

At least she was smiling. Did that mean she had led a content life? Had she been happy with me?

It was a stupid question. I knew she had loved me as much as I loved her. And all of those memories we made and shared –all those stories that she had recollected in the hours before her death –just showed how much we loved each other.

No. Correction. Love –present tense. We still love each other. The straw-hat pirates knew better than anyone else that the spirit still lived on on the planet.

So as I picked her up and headed for the orchard, I smiled like I used to when we were younger.

For Nami.