Love doesn't die with death. Love is like liquid; when it pours out, it seeps into others' lives. Love changes form and shape. Love gets into everything. Death doesn't conquer all; love does. Love wins every single time. Love wins by lasting through death. Love wins by loving more, loving again, loving without fear.
— Kate O'Neill
Nami set the safe aside, frowning at the lock before she pocketed the key and closed the wall panel to shut it from view. It wasn't the best place, she knew, but it would do until she could confirm for certain. She checked the foyer and bathroom before she went on her way, steps quickening when she saw Tama and Robin waiting at the corner. Zoro followed close behind as Nami took her daughter's hand, squeezing with a smile.
"Ready?"
Tama's little lip quivered. "But I don't wanna."
"Nobody wants to, Tama," she said. "But if we don't, Princess Vivi would be sad."
Her lips pinched so tight, Nami had to smile. Tama muttered, "I don't want that neither."
"Either, sweetie. We don't want that either, huh?"
She peered back at Nami, neck craning as she pouted, but finally, Tama nodded. "Uh huh!"
Nami glanced at Robin, nodding. "I can take it from here. Thank you."
Bowing, she ducked away while Nami guided Tama down to the courtyard with Zoro trailing. On the way, Bellemere and Nojiko joined their sides though nothing they said cheered Tama. She kept her pout, but Nami understood. Ahead in the courtyard where the delegation chatted, Vivi beamed at the sight of them at the top of the stairs, her robes swirling like liquid white as she raised her hand.
Below, Luffy smiled, his red cloak over one shoulder in a stylish slant. As Nami tried not to hurry, Tama ran ahead, and she suppressed a silly spike of jealousy. Yet, his eyes soaked in Nami until Tama ran into his leg.
He stroked her hair before he scooped her up. "What took you?"
Tama peeked at Vivi before she ducked her head into Luffy's chest. "I'm sorry!"
Sighing, Nami joined them while Luffy grinned and asked, "Is something wrong, Tama?"
Bravely, she shook her head, but she looked at Vivi again.
"Lady Tama, I'm so glad you came," Vivi said. "I'm going to miss you."
As Tama burst into tears, Nami patted her head. "Don't you have anything to say to Princess Vivi too?"
"I'm gonna come see your country too!" Tama pumped her fists into the air, and Luffy gaped before he grinned at her excitement. "So get your palace all ready for me! I wanna see you again!"
Eyes twinkling, Vivi giggled. "Of course! You're all invited."
When Luffy glanced at her, Vivi gazed back evenly with a smile while the delegation shifted behind her, but kept their silence. At his slow nod, unseen by Tama who only beamed at the princess, Vivi reached a hand to squeeze Nami's.
"I hope you all will be well enough to come visit."
Nami blushed, but she bobbed her head in a hard nod. "We will."
Smiles shared, hands held, Tama sobbed as Vivi left with the delegation and her entourage. They watched from the gates, refusing to budge as the carriages glittered down the streets.
"This feels different," Luffy whispered, a touch of awe in his eyes.
When she glanced at him, Tama now in her arms, Nami tilted her head and inspected him. The sun hit him in a radiant glow, his smile reflecting as if soaking it all in. He looked at her, and black eyes shone.
"Maybe we'll get to do this again before the end."
Tama peeked at him, pouting, and Nami bit her tongue before she said, "The end isn't a bad thing."
"No, it's not." As Tama pouted, glancing between them, Luffy ruffled her bun. "Right? If nothing ends—"
"Nothing begins." Tama finished, but her lips quirked into a smile. "Because we're gonna see Vivi again someday, right?"
"We'll all see each other again in the end," Nami said. "After we die too. Your mother and father. My mother and sister even if they marry."
"Even if I die," Luffy said.
Tama's little mouth fell open, and Nami held her breath, but she nodded. "Yeah! I'll find you two too!"
She released a slow breath while Luffy kissed Tama's forehead. Nami still didn't know if Tama was quite ready, but at least, his doctrine could help the matter. That had to be a good thing. If one could accept death as part of life, perhaps even Tama could understand when Luffy went with her.
It would have to be enough.
Finishing the touches on her hair, Nami smoothed the red velvet skirt over her white petticoats before she had to just nod at herself. Nothing else could be done about her appearance anyway. It wouldn't be about her either way. Still, Nami picked at the strand of hair that never stayed in place with a grimace before she sighed and swirled to face Conis.
"Well?"
"You're radiant!"
Nami sighed with a nod. She closed her eyes to brace herself. Tonight was the night at last, and all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed. This would be the best chance too for other things, so she wanted everything to go right. If it didn't, she would just become more worried as time shuffled along.
"Thank you," she said. "Is he ready?"
"The Lord Conqueror has been waiting for—"
Gaping, Nami tensed. "He has!?"
Waiting in the foyer, Luffy smiled, decked in dark blue with a vibrant crimson cape over his shoulder. Nami rushed to his side before warmth touched her cheeks, and she glanced at Conis.
"You're dismissed for tonight, Conis."
While she bowed and left them in her apartments, Nami tried not to notice the little smile on Conis' lips. It wasn't like that in the least. He offered his arm, and she took it after plucking at this and that fold in his shirt and jacket.
"It's fine. Jimbei dressed me. He never lets me slack," Luffy said, eyes twinkling when she pouted at him.
"And someone does let you slack then?"
"Brook," he said, and she sniffed.
She pouted. "Well, you're handsome either way."
As he looked about the foyer, he hummed. "Do you need to stay here? You've been coming to—"
She smacked his chest, and he chuckled while she rolled her eyes. "I still have my little project, remember?"
Tilting his head, Luffy glanced at the office door before he shrugged. "So long as you think it's worth it."
"It is. Besides, you can take care of yourself anyway." She straightened his jacket again, smoothing folds that weren't there.
His hand closed over hers, and he whispered, "I can. Don't worry."
Hearing it eased her shoulders, but Nami still pouted at him. "I'm allowed to worry."
Luffy kissed her cheek. "Let's go."
Nami heaved a sigh and slung her arm through his elbow while he snickered. They strode down the hall, and Nami tried to match his gait. I'm a wreck tonight! She squinted at him. "How can you be so calm?"
He smiled. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
"Right …"
Nami averted her gaze, but she thought of the safe behind the wall panel in her office. Of a stake and hammer. She couldn't do it in the end of course. Nami loved him. So the stake and hammer would go unused for years yet until Nami finally parted this world herself. Her grip tightened around his arm as they reached the Grand Hall, and Luffy paused just out of sight of the guests.
When she glanced at him, wondering, he grasped her hand to kiss her fingertips. "Relax. It's your plan. Nothing will go wrong."
Flushing, Nami sighed before she said, "I'll just gain the ire of everyone that worships you."
Luffy grinned, and her face imploded while he hummed. "You don't worship me yet? I'll have to work on that."
"You most certainly will not!"
"I'll get you another pearl necklace."
"If you—!"
"Lord Conqueror? Lady Conqueror?" The manservant at the door cleared his throat, sweating harder when Luffy turned to him. "Would you like to be introduced to the Hall now?"
He only nodded, and the manservant nearly ran to get out of earshot.
"His Magnificent Highness, Luffy the Divine, King of Ruskaina, Lord Conqueror of the Realms, and his Lady Wife, Her Splendid Majesty, Nami the Golden, Apostle of the Living, Lady Conqueror of the Realms."
She blinked. She knew she had new titles, but to hear them all strung out like that stunned her. Nami bent her neck to him as subtly as she could when all eyes were on them. "'Apostle of the Living?'"
Luffy smiled. "You're the head of my religion."
Narrowing her eyes, Nami considered his feet. "So good of you to tell me after how long? I'm going to smack you so hard later."
"You can pray to me later too if—"
She pinched the inside of his elbow, and he twitched with a jump before he laughed. "Well, later."
In the Grand Hall with everything near full to bursting, a good quarter of their guests strolled through the garden that night. The dance floor undulated with a mass of couples switching in and out from the crowds awaiting their turn. But so many of the nobles and priests had stopped to watch his coming that the dance had to halt for a time until the music began anew.
"Are you ready?"
Startled, she tore her gaze from the dance floor. "Now?"
"I don't see why not."
Nami took a deep breath, but she shifted, eyeing him. "You're sure now is the time?"
"Whether now or later, it will still shock them. Best to do it now while you're young anyway."
She sighed. "Right. Better now than when I'm eighty-two."
Still, she watched the dancers with some envy. Nami had hoped for a little time to compose herself. Even knowing it was, hopefully, far in the future, she didn't enjoy dwelling on it. He squeezed her hand before he raised their joined hands to the ceiling. The music slowed to a stop and dancers shuffled for a few more steps before they joined in staring at Luffy and her. Nami wanted nothing more than to slip behind him, but she couldn't hide forever.
As he caught the Grand Hall's attention, Luffy smiled. "In celebration of our happiness, I have a message for both my people and followers."
Celebration!? Nami did fidget then, but she stilled her expression. All eyes would be on him, but she didn't want to distract from his words. Her heart hammered away anyway.
"I'm dying," he said, beaming.
Glass shattered at several points in the Hall, a silence so deep that Nami did not dare to peek out. Her eyes would stay on him. She would remember this moment and how he smiled so as he turned to her. The sun bounced through his black hair, highlighting browns and reds, but his eyes stayed a void, pulling her in while he stroked her cheek.
"I'm going with my wife when she dies. This is my last marriage and turn to guide you all." When he squeezed her hand, Nami's eyes stung. "My last love."
"You worried over nothing," Luffy said.
"Shut up," Nami mumbled into his chest with a sniff for his chuckle.
She didn't know if she would ever understand how ready he was for death. It terrified her. The only comfort it gave her was that he would no longer be searching, lost and blind, for a woman that had sacrificed everything to keep him alive.
So she would be the woman who would do everything to make sure he could stop.
On the next twirl in the dance, Nami lifted her head, but his smile had her hiding her face again. "Have you changed your mind?"
Taking a deep breath, Nami clutched his shoulders. "Thinking about it might be too much for me."
"I want you to think about me."
She twitched, glancing at him again, but he smirked until she smacked his arm. "I'm being serious!"
"I am too," he said. "Think about me until the end. I'll be with you even if your heart stopped right this moment. So think of me. Here. Now. The day you laid eyes on me. I … want you to find me. Because I might get a little lost."
Luffy clutched her hand tighter, and she gaped as a shot of fear froze her breath. "Luffy?"
"If we will see each other again after we die … I haven't died in a long time, so maybe I'll lose my way. Watch for me."
Nami's jaw unhinged, quivering before she whispered, "Idiot. Of course, I'll wait."
He kissed her fingertips, and Nami watched him relax just so, his forehead resting on hers as the music ended. She bowed to him for the dance, flushing as he pressed her close soon after. It was when they left the dance floor that she realized what he might have done, but she clung to his hand tighter. Some truth lay in his words. He didn't want to lose her. Enough of his wives had come and gone, and she would be his last.
If all I do is worry about him, he won't enjoy the rest of his life, she thought. I'd just drag him down. Her very bearing ached, but Nami smiled. She had to or else lose her mind.
When the crowd split as they left the dance floor, Nami noticed a similar if slower split approaching them. Luffy grinned. "And there he is."
"Lady Conqueror." Usopp leaned between a couple to reach them, dropping into a whisper. "A matter has arisen."
Nami raised her voice, covering her mouth while her eyes went wide. "Tama? Is she all right?"
He only blinked before his head bobbed furiously. "Please, this way, my Lady."
She gave Luffy's hand a squeeze, and he pouted, but only held her long enough to kiss her fingertips. "I'll be there soon."
Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to compose herself even while Usopp seemed to dance nervously when the music played again. She grasped her skirts and headed for the doors. "Lead the way."
He darted ahead of her, stopping now and then to let her trot after in her heels before he dashed off again. Sometimes, when no one else was about, he would wave her over in a hurrying fashion, and Nami rolled her eyes. She had her skirts and shoes to contend with after all. Usopp stopped at the doors where guards stood by, and Nami clutched a hand to her breast. Luffy's finest soldiers waited at both hers and his doors.
They all straightened when she approached. "Lady Conqueror, we caught the perpetrators red-handed!"
"Did you retrieve the items?"
A soldier approached with a jeweled rod and dagger, and Nami smiled tightly. "Thank you, sir."
Nami took both before she nodded to Usopp. "Come with me."
He followed her into Luffy's foyer where sat the prisoners, Zoro and Robin. As Zoro scowled at her, Nami tilted her head with a pout. He gritted his teeth. Just teeth. She wanted to laugh while he said, "What's the meaning of this?"
Robin answered though. "Very clever."
"We noticed them rushing to your chambers after the Lord Conqueror's … announcement." Usopp swallowed hard, his eyes bulging as if still processing the concept of a god's death. Nami had had enough of it.
"As you might have realized, these are decoys," Nami said.
Zoro's snort ripped the air. "And the Lord Conqueror set a ruse for us."
"I set a ruse. He told the truth. And you haven't answered me. What's the meaning of this?"
She dropped the jeweled items on the floor before them, narrowing her eyes when Zoro looked away. Robin raised her chin though. "As you see it, Lady Conqueror. We tried to steal some precious items."
"After my husband said he would die only when I do?" Saying it stabbed something inside, but she kept her face straight.
Robin's lips thinned, but she smiled. "The precious items we thought to find were not within, obviously."
Usopp jerked, looking between them in what looked like surprise. "You tried to steal these gifts that the Lord Conqueror gave to his ladyship!"
"I tried to steal a weapon." Robin smiled tightly.
Nami sighed. "You gave me some advice, you know. I've held it close to my heart ever since."
When Robin bowed her head with her small smile, Zoro straightened in his seat. "You promised that you would—!"
"Zoro." Robin grasped his arm, and he winced.
"I know exactly what promises I made," Nami said. "I was the one that set them, remember?"
The maid's — the Apostle's — eyes narrowed before she smiled again. "Ah. Yes."
"Keep Tama safe. Where is she now?"
While Usopp tensed, Robin said, "She's safe in bed still. Conis was a dear and said she would watch her while Zoro and I could be alone." Zoro made a face at their own ruse. "Should we have procured it, we would have sent her to our comrades while we made our own plans, but the weapon took precedence as you might have guessed."
Nami beamed. "Good!"
Zoro growled. "And the other promise?"
"The when and how of that was my decision," Nami said while his eyes widened, and Robin's smile deepened. Somehow amused and proud. "And we made that decision together."
"I see. What will become of us and our theft then? Will we disappear into oblivion?"
Nami reached into her secret pocket through all the folds. The one Luffy had helped her put on between kisses on her thighs after Conis and Robin dressed her without it. "You kept the most important part of our bargain, so I have another deal for you." She slipped the stake and hammer out, watching eyes widen before her. "You have two choices. Either you die here, or you stay alive long enough to help Luffy."
The entire room jolted, Robin's jaw dropping from the curse even as Usopp sweated beside her. Behind her, the guards shuffled in disturbance.
Zoro twitched, brow furrowing before he asked, "'Help'? Him?"
"You heard what he said tonight. He's going to join me when I die. So I want you to help him." The swell of tears threatened to take her, and she failed to blink them back, cheeks stained while she squeezed the stake and hammer. "He's tired."
"I want to hear what he—"
Nami snapped, voice cracking them. "He doesn't owe you a damned thing!"
Biting back, Zoro leaned away with another snort, sweat finally rolling down his temple.
"This is white ash."
Robin's eyes widened, going still while Zoro shifted his feet as if bracing himself. When Nami turned, Luffy swept inside, his presence demanding to take control of the room instantly. Conquering it.
Luffy plucked the stake and hammer from her hands. Robin's mouth worked without sound, but Zoro spat out. "White ash grows around every shrine and altar!"
"It was sacred to us before." He smiled at the wooden pieces, turning them over in his grasp while he stared through them. "I still don't know why it works, but if you step out of this room alive, I expect you to kill me with it."
Eyes closing, Robin bowed her head. "I accept, Lord Conqueror."
Zoro's head whipped to her before he raised his chin. "You think I'd just believe you!?"
Cocking his head to the side, Luffy hummed before he shrugged. "I'm a terrible liar."
Nami smiled, resisting the huff of a laugh for that.
Her old bodyguard just squinted at him while Robin murmured, "We either believe or die. So long as our mission is finished, perhaps waiting a lifetime after centuries isn't so hard to do."
Zoro growled, but his head rolled back and forth as if dodging something before he bowed his head over his knees. "I'll wait! I'll kill you myself when she's dead!"
"Usopp," Luffy said, and the man jumped to his side, shoulders high as he stood straight.
"Lord Conqueror!"
"Keep these safe until it's time. Nami trusts you."
His jaw fell open as Luffy placed the stake and hammer in his hands, and Usopp gaped at the devises before he sagged like he might melt into the floor. Nami watched the stake and hammer disappear into his jacket somewhere in a pocket she couldn't imagine.
After Luffy bid them to rise, he placed heavy hands on their shoulders. "Should Nami go before her time, there won't be another attempt. I will erase Baltigo. Remember that I'm a bad liar."
Blood drained so quickly from their faces, Nami wondered if she saw two corpses walk now, nearly stumbling out the door while the guards escorted them out. She held her tongue though rather than ask. Whoever or whatever Baltigo was — it didn't matter. He was protecting her. For a time, Luffy stared at where they had sat. His head bowed once again, and she raised a hand, but held back at his shoulder.
"If anything happens to you, I don't know that I could wait again."
"You don't have to," she whispered, her hands looping to form around his elbow. "Besides, you've kept me waiting too long."
Luffy turned to her with a smile. "I wouldn't want to keep you then. Otherwise, you might go find someone else."
"I could dance with someone else, I suppose." When Luffy blinked, she said, "The ball? You're keeping me from dancing at the moment. So stop making me wait."
Barking a laugh, Luffy kissed her, sweet and brief, before he guided her back to the Grand Hall.
