Chapter 7 – A Broken Moment
To my reviewer Enula: Useless rambling? What the hell are you talking about? That was one of the greatest reviews I have ever received! Thank you. You are right, and I will definitely go on with this story. : )
Luffy awoke with a huge yawn. He smiled sleepily and looked around the room. He froze. No one was there. And something smelled really good...
"NO! They started breakfast without me!"
He jumped out of his hammock and started making a mad dash for the kitchen. "I can't believe I overslept! I've never missed breakfast before...!"
Everyone was eating calmly for a change. Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper had no need to fight over food since Luffy wasn't there. It was always Luffy that started it, anyway. Nami and Vivi definitely liked the change, and Zoro was completely indifferent as he reluctantly ate Sanji's food.
And then, Luffy burst into the room. "GOMU GOMU NO PISTOL!" He landed a solid punch on Sanji's face. The poor, unsuspecting cook went flying into a wall. If there was only one thing that got Luffy truly angry at his nakama, it was purposefully depriving him of food.
"HOW COULD YOU? YOU BETTER WAKE ME UP FROM NOW ON!"
"Maybe," Sanji growled, standing up and rubbing his jaw, "maybe, it wasn't my idea. Maybe it was someone else's..."
"Don't go blaming me!" yelled Nami suddenly. "You're the one who decided not to wake him! I just said it would be kinda nice to have a quiet meal for once... That doesn't mean it was my idea!" Vivi nodded to confirm the truthfulness of Nami's statement, and Zoro sighed as he got up and left the table to train or nap; he hadn't quite decided yet.
"H-hey," said Sanji nervously. "Nami-san, I wasn't pointing any fingers... especially at you! I would never do such a thing to my sweet-" He was interrupted by Usopp's very loud outburst of uncontrollable laughter. "Oh, you think this is funny, do you?" Sanji growled threateningly. Usopp immediately stopped and cowered behind Luffy, who was still standing next to the doorway. "I-I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"
So, Luffy decided he would eat the rest of the food. No one had any objections. They didn't want him angry. (Besides), Nami thought, (it was a bit unfair to do that to the poor guy...) Everyone got up to do different things. The only ones left in the kitchen were Nami, Luffy, and Sanji. Sanji silently washed dishes as Luffy stuffed his face without a word. Nami was watching him fondly. Sanji turned to look at her and then quickly turned his head back so she wouldn't notice him watching her. (She isn't even gonna help me here, like she usually does? Oooooh...)
Nami suddenly realized she was daydreaming as she watched Luffy. She snapped out of it. "Oh, dear, Sanji-kun! I'm sorry I haven't been helping you clean! I was... lost in thought." She hurried over to Sanji and started drying the dishes and putting them away.
"I understand, Nami-san," Sanji muttered after a minute of awkward silence. "I know... how you feel." She quickly turned her head towards and stared at him in surprise. "I heard you and Vivi-chan talking before the storm hit..." "What?" Nami said somewhat angrily, her cheeks going slightly red. "You were eavesdropping on us, Sanji-kun? Shame on you!" "No!" Sanji lied defensively. "I overheard you, that's all." "Yeah, I'm sure," Nami muttered sarcastically. She turned back to the dishes, still blushing. Luffy was still stuffing his face.
After another minute, Nami spoke up. "Well... do you know... how he feels?" "I'm not sure, Nami-san," said Sanji. It was half true and half false. He had pretty much figured out that Luffy had some feelings for her, but that guy was so sporadic, he could suddenly start liking Zoro instead, for all Sanji knew. He shuddered at the thought. (A/N- Yes, I hate yaoi pairings. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am a guy and I am straight. :P) "Well..." Nami whispered, "are you sure you have NO idea?"
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"
Sanji and Nami nearly jumped out of their skin. Nami dropped a dish and it shattered, and Sanji instinctively tried to hit the person behind him with a powerful back kick. Luffy grabbed his foot. "Hey, whoa, calm down, I just wanna know what you're talking about." Nami blushed a deep red and started backing away from the two boys. "Um... nothing, Luffy. Really." And with that, she left the kitchen in a hurry.
Sanji spun and faced Luffy angrily. "What the hell do you think we were talking about?" he hissed. "The weather?" Luffy shrugged. "Maybe. The weather has been pretty crazy..."
Sanji stared at him in disbelief for a good few seconds, then sighed and turned away. "Why do I bother?" He took out a cigarette and lit it. "Go," he said calmly. "Go talk to her. She wants to know how you feel." "What should I say?" asked Luffy. "I don't know," Sanji replied impatiently. "It's your feelings, not mine." "Good point," Luffy laughed. He strode purposefully out of the kitchen. Sanji sighed yet again and started cleaning up the sizable mess Luffy's feeding frenzy left behind.
Luffy decided to ask the worst person possible first: Zoro.
"Hey, Zoro, where's Nami?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at him as he continued his one-hand pushups. "You're... kidding me... right?" he grunted in between pushups. "How... the hell... should I know? I'm not... her babysitter..." Luffy nodded and laughed. "Well, I thought you were the observant one! Some warrior you are." Zoro stopped and growled at Luffy dangerously. "What did you say!" he said angrily. "Nothing, nothing!" Luffy chanted as he danced out of Zoro's reach. He started running. "Yeah, you better run!" the swordsman yelled at his fleeing captain's back. He shook his head and returned to his pushups. "Why the hell would he ask me that?" he muttered in annoyance.
The next person was Usopp. "Sorry, Luffy, I don't know where she is," he said curiously.
Chopper knew, though. "I just saw her down in her bedroom with Vivi when I was giving Vivi her medicine." "Thanks, Reindeer!" Luffy called over his shoulder as he ran to go below deck. Chopper smiled.
"So..." said Nami quietly. "You're feeling better?" "Yeah..." said Vivi. "I want to thank you, Nami. You know as well as I do how hard our trip will be without the Eternal Pose, and yet you're still willing to navigate this ship and hope for the best. Thank you so much..." Nami gave her a wan smile. "Well, we made a promise to you, right?" Vivi nodded.
They were silent for a while. "Also..." said Vivi slowly, as if dreading what was coming next. "Luffy saved my life again. Mine and Sanji's. He struggled up that mountain..."
"I know how it went," said Nami shortly, and almost irritably.
"Well," Vivi continued. "I know we both have feelings for him... so I'm going to tell you straight out. I really want to stay friends with you, but I'm gonna try hard to win Luffy over." Nami smirked. "That's exactly what I was thinking about telling you..." "It's important we stay friends, though, no matter what." "Hm..."
And that's the exact moment Luffy decided to walk in the room. "Oi, Nami, there you are," he said with a grin. "Hi, Vivi," he said politely. Vivi waved at him and smiled. Nami looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You were looking for me? What's up?" "Yeah, came and talk to me!" "Okay." She followed Luffy out. She looked over her shoulder and gave Vivi an honestly confused expression. Vivi shrugged in response. She watched them leave.
"Please don't let it be what I think it's about..." she whispered.
"So, what's up?" said Nami. They were leaning on the starboard side railing. They were completely out of sight from everyone else who were busy doing random chores around the ship.
"Well, I think I have to tell you... about my feelings."
Nami's heart leapt. (His feelings?) "What about 'em?" she asked as calmly as she could, forcing the trembling out of her voice.
"Um, Sanji said it was important I tell you. In fact, he told me a lot of things! We had this really long talk last night, and..."
He struggled to remember what Sanji told him to do when "expressing his love for someone." He turned and silently took her hands in his. She couldn't help but gasp. (Is this... for real?) she thought in disbelief, blushing deeply.
"Nami... I... like you. A lot."
"So do I," she whispered, out of breath. "I mean, I like you, too." Luffy smiled. "Good."
He wouldn't let go of her hands. "So... what do we now?"
Nami burst our laughing. She threw her arms around her neck. "Holding me would be nice," she said, smiling. He hugged her back. Nami could feel his heart beating like crazy.
(Wow... what did Sanji do to him last night? Well, whatever he did... I'm happy for it...)
"LAND HO!" called Usopp excitedly. Nami and Luffy broke apart. They averted their eyes from each other's faces.
"We can talk more about this later," Nami whispered. She silently cursed Usopp. (Damn, the moment's been broken! Well, it can't be helped...) "Come on, let's go see what Usopp's talking about." Luffy nodded wordlessly and rushed off, leaving her behind. She stood there for a little while longer.
A smile slowly crept onto her face. She finally started jogging to join the others.
Next chapter is gonna have some fighting in it. A mysterious young man challenges Luffy to a fight when they reach the unknown island... How will things turn up? You will find out soon enough!
