Friends' Purpose
"What a small haul.." Nami whined as she dragged a small yet heavy back behind her and up the steps. The pain of her wound was still there, and very apparent, but every other part of her body operated just fine, so to be held back by such a small excuse would only make her upset at herself in the future.
She made her way up onto the theck, careful to avoid the damage Luffy had caused, so as to not fall or get a splinter. "I thought they'd have a little more treasure than that…" She pouted. "Let's see. Is the fight over now?" She poked her head over the large ship, though it didn't exactly look finished.
"Huh? Everyone's stopped… Does that mean it's over?" She commented. From her high perch, she couldn't exactly see the fear on the faces of the pirates, or feel the cold breeze that blew at their ankles. The only thing she saw were the pirates dropping down, like flies. There was no pattern. It was all too sporadic for Nami to predict.
"Why over there?!" Luffy shouted. It was him who was facing Kuro, so why was he coming after his own loyal crewmates.
A foggy purple mist erupted from the bottom of a rock, and with it came a long and deep scratch. "Now it's the wall!"
One by one, Luffy and Nami stared in disbelief as Kuro slashed his crewmates, despite their cries and pleads for him to stop.
"Please Captain Kuro! Please stop!" One person yelled into the void. He couldn't see him, so his only hope was yelling loudly
"It's no use! He attacks at random using his Pussy Foot Maneuver!" His crewmate yelled back, already accepting his fate. "Because of his speed, not even he knows what he's cutting!" Luffy overheard their whole conversation.
"So many crew members have fallen victim to–" One of the rugged crew mates would have easily finished his sentence, had he not been sliced by Kuro's fingernails
'W-What's happening? People are suddenly being cut!' Nami commentated in her head as the pirates dropped to the ground by a mysterious force.
Luffy stared at the coast in disbelief. Before his eyes, every second, another ten people were cut. He himself had also been viciously cut. Once on his chest, leaving behind a nasty red line of blood. Another time near his face, luckily just some strands of hair were affected, though despite that, nothing fazed him. His wide eyes continued starring, until Luffy had enough waiting in the wings. 'Show yourself, butler,' Luffy thought in his head. He grit his teeth with disgust. Again, Kuro had attacked Luffy, this time scratching his wrist, and causing some scratches on his red vest to appear as well, and again.
Even when he looked down, so as to not see the injured crew, the sound of the yells and the agony practically deafened him. He thought back to all that was important to him. His hat, the inhabitants of Syrup Village, Usopp, his hat, Zoro, his hat, Nami, Shanks and his sacrifice. Something had happened, like a kindling flame. He had enough with Captain Kuro and his stupid ideals.
"Who do you take your friends for?!" Luffy erupted. His voice boomed through the whole battle ground, even reaching Nami, high up on the Black Cat Pirate's galleon.
"Luffy…" Nami was left stunned and speechless by his question. For her, to see a pirate get so angered over another captain sacrificing his own men was life changing. Of course Luffy wasn't exactly like any other pirate she had ever known, from his behaviors, to the mere way he dressed, was a stark contrast to the stereotype Nami had constructed in her mind.
Sometime later, when Kuro was finally brought down, and the pirates returned back to their ship…
Nami had run off the ship as soon as she witnessed Kuro fall to the ground. She met with Luffy, who stood still, like a piece of wood as he stared at the ship in the distance, and the way the pirates used teamwork to swing themselves on board. It wasn't until Nami's face came into focus, that he felt his body go limp.
"Well done" She complimented as she cradled his torso with her arm, and his head with her shoulder. He hadn't noticed her tangerine scent when they sailed- the salty ocean hid the citrus fragrance- but in the position they were in, he could smell it perfectly.
She carefully set him down, making sure he didn't sustain more injuries on his way. He blandly stared up at the sky as the cloud's slithered through the blue. "I'd expect you to collapse… after all you've been through," She remarked as she joined him on the ground, sitting next to his spread out body. "Ne, what were you so mad about earlier?" Nami couldn't help but ask.
"I hate them. They're wrong" Luffy simply replied. Nami, herself, looked up as well to see the calming sight of the stratus clouds moving about "That's not how friends should act." He elaborated, his voice sounding huskier and more hoarse by the second.
"What are you talking about? Of course it's not." Nami took Luffy's straw hat that happened to be by her side, and placed her finger inside, balancing the entire hat with her index. "Pirates aren't the lovely things you make them out to be. I'd say Captain Kuro's more standard than you."
Luffy's eyes drifted over to her face. Had it not been for the sun's rays and the determined spark in her eyes, her face would have looked completely hopeless.
"I really want some meat…" Luffy said, lifting the tenseness of the conversation.
"Of course…" Nami sweat dropped, and lightly placed Luffy's hat over his face, blocking out any light.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I was planning on splitting it into two, but thought it'd be best to connect them. Please R&R!