Lifting Burdens
The strawhats all walked through the lows of the sand dunes to not waste any energy climbing over them, with the exception of Nami who rode Lashes. Everyone walked as if the heat didn't affect them at all, even Chopper who needed to be carried hours before, though even as the sun set and the temperature cooled, Usopp still clung to his walking stick, panting heavily with his tongue hanging out from his gaping mouth.
Ace, Luffy's older and more responsible brother who had joined them on their journey since they were heading in the same direction, had left, though not before bequeathing his younger brother with a small square of paper.
"Hey, Luffy…" The fatigued Usopp started
"Huh?"
"What did your brother give you?"
"I dunno" Luffy said as he studied the blank paper "It's just a scrap of paper"
"A scrap of paper?" Chopper chimed in. His voice was as high as ever and he didn't need to stop between his words to take large gasps of air like a certain someone.
"Lemme see that" Sanji ripped the paper from Luffy's grasp and held it up to the sun. "It really is just a scrap of paper. There's no note or anything." The only thing peculiar about the paper was how the end of it squirmed like it was trying to move into the direction of the sun- the same direction Ace had departed in- despite the total lack of wind, though no one paid that little detail any mind.
"A-are you serious?"Usopp dryly asked. He was expecting some heartfelt letter as a result of their not so emotional reunion. The contents of it, however, were totally underwhelming.
"I'm not really sure either, but…" Luffy began but a strong wind suddenly occurred, blowing everyones' hair and garb. It seemed Sanji's pinch of the corner of the paper wasn't strong enough either, because it flew out of his grasp, heading straight for Lashes.
The despicable yet helpful camel opened its mouth, welcoming the light snack and chomped down on it so only its now crumbled corner could be seen.
"Hey! Don't eat that!" Wasting no time, Luffy jumped up and gave a good punch to the back of the animal's head, causing him to spit out the paper that was still surprisingly intact despite the merciless way the camel chewed. Before any other mysterious wind blew, Luffy caught the paper. "Sheesh!" He childishly pouted with vex.
"Give me your hat, Luffy!" Surprised by Nami's sudden appearance, he almost took a step back, though his face stayed unfazed.
"Huh? This?" He pointed at his hat, the brim of which poked out from the baby blue headdress Vivi advised him to wear.
"If it's that important, I'll sew it to the underside of your hat ribbon" Nami shone a gentle smile as she spoke.
"Oh! Great! Sew it good!" An excited grin grew on his own face as he easily slipped the tagelmust off the crown of his hat and removed it to hand it to Nami, who happily received it. With his rustled black hair revealed, she felt the odd need to swipe her fingers through his medium length hair, somehow messing up his chaotic mess that he called hair even more.
"Hai hai "She conveniently pulled out a miniature sewing kit from the pocket of her lengthy and flowy coverup that protected any bare skin from becoming red with sunburn. Luffy stopped to watch as she worked her magic.
With ease, she slid the thin red thread through the hole of the needle and got to work.
With nothing else to distract him, he studied Nami's face as she worked.
Her eyes were downcasted and purely focused on her fingers. The golden sun, which still had yet to set, illuminated her bright orange tresses. One of her hands parted from her work for a quick moment to push a short lock of hair behind her ear, only for it to slide back out. Luffy couldn't help but think how the irradiant golden jewelry she wore that reflected brightly against the ball of fire paled in comparison to her dazzling face. Her fire-like hair. Her twinkling eyes.
He was so enthralled in his staring that he was sure that if Nami hadn't spoken, he would be forever stuck in his stupor.
"Okay! All done!" She pulled at the extra thin string, tightening the stitching so even her clumsy captain couldn't relinquish it from its tight sewed hold. She brought the hat up close to her face. She brought her lips to the ribbon and bit down on the string. She pulled away quickly, separating it so that the end of the string seemed to disappear. She flipped over the one section of the silk red ribbon and held it out for Luffy to take it.
"Here you go" She said with a jaunty smile.
"Thanks! Now I don't have to worry!" With the burden of Ace's card lifted thanks to a certain skilled navigator, now all he had to think about was kicking Crocodile's ass! He watched as Nami returned to Vivi's side. He hadn't heard what any of them said, but Nami started to laugh, which made him think she had just told a hilarious joke.
A slim finger wiped away a lingering teardrop that stuck to the corner of her eye. Her beaming smile lit up her face, and it made one of his own spread across his face. Even after she calmed down, her beaming visage remained in his head
There was no doubt about it… he was glad she was his navigator.
A/N: Okay there is something I'd like to clear up so there is no confusion: The part where Nami jokes around with Nami didn't happen at all. I just, for the life of me could, could not find a way to end this chapter, so I added that. Anyways, please R&R.
It's been a very long time since I've last watched the Alabasta arc, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are any other scenes in this arc. I will continue to watch on, however, that means a new chapter may not be posted for a little while. On top of that, I'm thinking of taking a very short hiatus once the arc is over, though nothing is set in stone. I'm sure once I stop writing, I won't ever pick it up again, so I'll do my best. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll hopefully come out with a new chapter sometime soon!
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I'm glad you are enjoying!