Chapter 9 – Together At Last?
There seemed to be a little confusion as to who died last chapter. I read the ending, and I did word it a little awkwardly. It was Marco who died, not Sanji.
The Straw Hats buried Marco. They took him to the middle of the desert and buried him beneath the heavy shade of a cliff face where the sand was very cool and soft.
Surprisingly enough, it was Luffy's idea. "After all," he had said sadly after his rage had subsided, "he was just trying to follow his dream..." The others, naturally, didn't like the idea, especially Sanji and Nami. However, Zoro eventually took Luffy's side. "Look," he had said. "The boy was just trying to be the best he could be. I... even though he attacked us... I feel bad. He just wanted to be the best... like I do... And besides, Luffy is our captain and we do as he says. Got it?" The others had thought it was very interesting that Zoro had had a somewhat emotional moment, and they had not wanted to ruin it.
After they were done, they argued about what to do. "We should just stay on the ship and wait for the Log to set," said Usopp firmly, folding his arms as if his word was final. "No!" argued Nami. "I'd like to find out how long that would take! And besides, we need supplies. Right, Sanji-kun?" "Aaaah, yes, Nami-san, correct as usual!" Sanji crooned from Chopper's shoulder. Sanji was too badly hurt to move in Chopper's opinion, so he had transformed into the big, muscular reindeer-man and slung the injured cook over his shoulder to carry him around. Chopper shook his head. "So what do we do? Just go into the village? We just killed their Warrior; they won't be very happy with us..." "Oh, come on, we can make shit up," said Zoro dismissively. "They don't have to know he died." "But it's gonna be hard to convince them otherwise!" Chopper pushed his point. "I think we should do what Luffy-san says," Vivi piped up. "He is the captain." Everyone went silent and stared at Vivi, and then turned their gaze on Luffy. He took off his hat and scratched the top of his head. "Uh, I dunno," he said, placing the hat back on his head. "Do whatever Nami says." That answer surprised everyone, except Sanji, who pretended to be surprised so no one would suspect he knew anything about what was going on between their captain and their navigator. After the feeling of surprise subsided, Chopper and Usopp grumbled, Zoro smirked, and Sanji smiled dreamily at Nami, who had a victorious smile on her face.
They all walked back to the gate. A group of curious and very confused villagers were looking at the huge dent in their giant wooden fence surrounding their village. They looked up at the Straw Hats.
"Hey," one said suspiciously. "Do you have anything to do with this?" "Nope," Usopp replied right away. His face and tone of voice didn't even come close to giving anything away. "Well, did you see what happened?" "Yeah..." replied Usopp thoughtfully. "A strange kid with blue hair got really pissed off and threw a giant rock at the fence... He told us that he was leaving, and he stormed off. We haven't seen him since."
Usopp had them completely convinced. "Yeah, he does have a horrible temper," the villagers were muttering amongst themselves. The first man looked back at them. "So, what do you want?" "We came looking for supplies and a little info," Usopp answered truthfully. "Okay... Who are you?" "We're pi-" Luffy began, but Nami quickly covered his mouth with the palm of her hand. She laughed sheepishly. "Sorry... he has these outbursts..." Nami mumbled embarrassedly. Usopp went right with it. "Yeah... it's kinda sad, really..." Some of the villagers looked sympathetic. "Well... did Marco say when he was going to be back?" "Marco? Was that his name?" Usopp said curiously. "No, he didn't say... but I would guess not for a long time by the way he stormed off." "Any idea why he was so pissed?" "Something about a deadline?" said Usopp as if struggling to remember. The villagers looked at each other ominously, as if they had expected this to happen... It was obvious that they suspected absolutely nothing. "So... can you let us in?" asked Vivi sweetly. The man stayed silent for a moment, and then turned to converse with his fellows. While they huddled together and quietly discussed their decision, Luffy proudly whispered, "That's our liar!" "Sharpshooter!" Usopp hissed back at Luffy. "I'm the sharpshooter, not the liar!"
The man promptly turned back to the Straw Hats with a welcoming smile on his face. "Okay, come on in." He and a couple others opened the gate, and he led the guests into the village.
It was a small, modest town. It was nice and quiet. Everything was slightly dusty from the rock and sand. Some people stared at the odd assortment of characters; some smiled and waved. Even though the village was perfectly safe, Luffy walked close to Nami. He was determined to make sure nothing else happened to her. She was flattered by his sudden extra protectiveness. When no one was looking, he gave her an adoring smile, and her return smile was also filled with love. (I can't wait...) Nami thought happily. (We're going to be together... It's a dream come true...! I wonder how the others would react? Well, let's see... Usopp would probably be happy for us... good ol' Usopp. Sanji would be jealous, even though he completely knows about it and is prepared for it. Zoro wouldn't care. If anything, it would make him even more irritable. Chopper would either be happy for us or not even get it at all. And Vivi...) Her thoughts stopped there. She didn't want to have to think about Vivi's reaction. She would just deal with it when it came.
They got supplies while staying there. To her enormous relief, Nami found out that the Log would be set in Arabasta's direction by morning. They all wanted to stay at the hotel situated in the middle of town, but Chopper pointed out that they were pushing their luck, and he needed to get Sanji to the ship to give him proper treatment, anyway. Everyone grumbled their agreement, and by evening, they had reached the Going Merry.
They unpacked everything. They then got settled in for dinner.
"No!" said Chopper firmly. "I... I forbid it! You are in no condition to cook." "No," said Zoro, "he's in no condition to fight at the dinner table like usual." "Zoro's right, but you're wrong, Chopper," said Sanji. "I'm quite used to working with injuries. I was brought up by the pirate Red Shoes Zeff. He would kick the shit out of me for whatever reason and then expect me to do work. A lot of that work included cooking, so trust me; I can more than manage with just a few broken ribs." The poor little doctor stared at his almost-patient in silent horror as he walked out to cook for the crew.
Dinner was wonderful as usual, despite Sanji's injuries. He wasn't kidding; living with Zeff had taught him well. Before the dinner started, Chopper took a plate of food and showed it to his captain.
"You see this?" said Chopper. "This is Sanji's food. Please do not touch it, okay? He needs to eat, and he can't be fighting over food like usual... Actually, it would be best if he ate somewhere else..."
"DON'T push your luck, you shitty reindeer," grumbled Sanji. "You're lucky enough I'm letting you treat me at all... If we didn't have a doctor, I would just ignore my injuries, like I usually do..." "Oh, but Sanji-kun," gasped Nami. "Why should you have to go through such pain?" Sanji's eyes became hearts instantly. "Oh, my dear, dear Nami-san! You care about me! You care!" "Yeah, yeah, don't get carried away," Nami said quickly. She glanced at Luffy, who started to look annoyed. She had to try very hard to conceal her smile.
Luffy smiled. "Okay, Sanji, I won't touch your food, I promise." "Yeah... until tomorrow morning, right?" Sanji retorted. Luffy simply shrugged. "No, until Chopper says you're okay." "And," added Chopper dangerously, "if you don't watch yourself, I'll release you from my care really early..." Sanji was cornered. He knew he needed Chopper's rules and restrictions in order to keep his ribs from breaking again until they could fully heal.
Vivi kept making furtive glances in Luffy's and Nami's directions. She was suspicious, and Nami knew it. (Man,) Nami thought, (I really can't wait until I get to talk to Luffy privately... I need to make sure there's absolutely nothing going on between the two of them. I highly doubt it, but it's better to be safe than sorry, I suppose...)
Nami and Vivi were happy to do the dishes after dinner ended. Chopper insisted that Sanji go to bed early that night, so he convinced the cook that he would do the dishes while he slept. Sanji had no idea that the girls were going to do it, of course; he never would have allowed it.
There was a very awkward silence as Nami washed dishes and handed them to Vivi for drying and placing. That's why she was very grateful when she finally handed the princess the last fork. She left without a word, leaving Vivi to stare at her departing back.
They had a lot of fun that night despite the rising tension. They told jokes and stories, and after they got pretty drunk, they started a game of strip poker as Chopper watched on in disapproval. Drinking was bad for health no matter what, as far as the little doctor was concerned.
"Ha, I win again!" Sanji slurred triumphantly. "Vivi-chan, off with the shirt." She blushed while obliging. It was pretty shocking that she had gotten drunk, too, but she was also under a lot of stress, and people do crazy things to relieve stress sometimes. Zoro whistled at her when she revealed her pink, lacy bra. At this point, they were all missing several articles of clothing. The two closest to fully stripped were Sanji and Nami. Sanji only had his boxers and striped undershirt on; Nami only had her lingerie on. In fact, after the next round ended, Nami was about to take her bra off when she collapsed and started snoring. The game ended there. Everyone grumbled as they got up and swayed off to bed. Luffy picked up Nami, put her in her bed, and walked off to his hammock.
Nami opened her eyes. She felt the slight rocking of the docked Going Merry as she stared up at the dark ceiling. She grinned as she recollected how she acted drunk. She had been curious to see Luffy's reaction to her almost stripping. He had definitely seemed uncomfortable when he had picked her up to bring her to bed and she had slightly opened one eye to get a look at his face.
She smiled up at the ceiling. (I'll break him in soon enough.)
She could hear Vivi mumbling in her sleep. It was actually pretty loud, and Nami guessed it was from being drunk. Nami got up as she realized she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. She didn't feel like putting on any clothes, so she just slipped on a really comfortable silk robe she had bought from a shop in the village. She looked at the sleeping Vivi before leaving the room and taking a walk out onto the deck.
The night air was perfect. There was a slight breeze to ease the heat from the island's somewhat harsh climate. She leaned on the ship's railing and looked out at the sea. She realized she had been doing that a lot lately. She concluded that it was very relaxing and everyone needed some relaxing during such stressful times.
The breeze picked up a bit and blew her hair back a little. It felt so good on her face. She smiled serenely and gave a happy little sigh. She was thinking about Luffy again. He did his very best to protect her again earlier that day. She especially liked the part where Luffy had yelled at Marco for putting her up as a prize for their fight. He absolutely hated it when others didn't treat her like a person. It was another one of those endearing qualities Luffy had that made Nami want him so much.
As if right on queue, she heard another person walk onto the deck. The footsteps were slow and came to a halt behind her.
"Nami?" Luffy said tentatively.
Nami was surprised to see him so sober. Perhaps he had been pretending, too. (It's always so impossible to tell with this guy...) Nami thought fondly. "Hi, Luffy," she said warmly. "You can't sleep either?" "Nope." "Hmmm..." she said thoughtfully as she turned back to the ocean.
Nami stretched one of her arms out invitingly. "Come here, Luffy. Come watch with me." He obliged. He walked over to her and allowed her to wrap an arm around him. He greatly enjoyed the feeling. He wrapped an arm around her in return. "Watch what?" he asked curiously. She sighed and placed her head on his shoulder. "Just the ocean... It's so calm and peaceful... pretty romantic, too..."
Luffy was staring blankly at the ocean. "Hey, Nami? Do you really think I'll ever find One Piece?"
She was very surprised to hear him ask this question. (Why is he asking me this? He's always had the utmost confidence in himself! He's never doubted that he's going to be Pirate King before...) "Why, of course, Luffy! That's really an absurd question coming from you." Luffy smiled. "I know it sounded ridiculous, but it was really important to me that you answered anyway. Don't ask me why; I don't know. I'm just... going with the flow, I guess..."
Nami turned to face her captain. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her around the middle. He was so pale... "Don't be nervous," she whispered. She pressed a finger against his lips. He involuntarily trembled. "You're just going with the flow, aren't you? No need to be so nervous..." He finally was able to crack a grin. He gave her that huge smile she had come to love so much. "Going with the flow... is really the best I can do. And Nami, I'm really glad you're my navigator." Her smile grew wider at the comment. "I would never find One Piece without you," Luffy finished, sounding truly grateful. "And I wouldn't be living in freedom right now without you," she whispered. "So the feeling's mutual."
Before Luffy could even ask what mutual meant, Nami pressed her lips against his. The kiss was very soft, and at first Luffy didn't respond, but when their lips came apart, he gently took a hold of Nami's face in his hands and softly pulled her in for another kiss...
To Nami's great surprise, and pleasure, his tongue slowly, almost hesitantly, pushed its way into her mouth. After nearly a full second of being frozen with shock, she quickly responded with her own tongue. It almost eagerly plunged into his mouth. She gave a small moan, which encouraged him to deepen the kiss.
Then, without even thinking about what he was doing, he slowly started to slide his hand down the front of Nami's robe. In his mind, it was just another form of going with the flow. She didn't protest or try to break the kiss... She didn't even care they were out on the deck... This was what she wanted... She started to slide her own hand down Luffy's body...
"AHA! I knew it!"
Luffy and Nami quickly broke apart and whipped their heads around to see Usopp standing in the doorway leading down below the deck with a very triumphant look on his face. "I knew you two had something going on!" Then, his smile started to fade as he realized from where Luffy had pulled his hand out so quickly. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't... uh... interrupting something, was I?"
"N-no," mumbled Nami embarrassedly, her face beet red.
Luffy, however, looked completely unabashed. "Yo, Usopp," he said in greeting as if being caught making out with Nami was an everyday occurrence to him. "Whatcha need out here?" "Oh, just my bag," he answered. He walked to the other side of the ship where they had been playing strip poker, and to Nami's slight surprise, he wasn't lying. He came back with his trusty, beaten-up carrying bag. "Well, uh, sorry again to intrude..." He started to leave, but Nami called out his name. He turned. "Usopp, could you p-" He knew what she was about to say. "Don't worry, Nami, I shall not say a single thing. I am the trustworthy Captain Usopp; I would rather die than go against my word!" And with that, he went back to his hammock.
Nami looked at Luffy sheepishly. He just grinned. After another little kiss, she took him by the hand and started dragging him to the door Usopp just left through. "Come on..." she said longingly. "Where we goin'?" he asked curiously. She giggled. "To my room, of course."
Luffy stopped, not allowing Nami to pull him any further. Her suggestive smile faltered a bit. "What's the matter?" she asked playfully. "Afraid?" Her smile became sly. "I know where your hand was going, my dear captain... It wasn't just starting to fall down there by accident..." "No, that's not it," he answered. "I just don't think it's a good idea..." He remembered what Sanji told him about this kind of situation. Yes, crazy as it sounds, Luffy knew about sex, and he didn't feel quite right about it just yet. However, more importantly, a disturbing image had just come to his mind...
Nami raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't worry about Vivi," she said. "She's out cold. The drinks really got to her. She won't hear a thing..."
"No, really," said Luffy, his tone of voice hardening. "Just... not this time, Nami."
She pouted slightly. "All right then... I won't push you into doing anything." She sighed. "So... see you in the morning, then?" "Yeah," he grinned. She kissed him on the cheek, mumbled "Good night," and walked to her bedroom, swaying her hips more than usual as if to show Luffy what he was missing. He resisted a sudden urge to run up to her, push her up against the wall, throw that seductive robe off her luscious body, and give her exactly what she wanted... And that's when the image returned unbidden into his mind.
He was kissing Vivi, very fiercely, and he started ripping her clothes off... She smiled and moaned loudly at Luffy's none-too-gentle touch...
Luffy lay in his hammock, staring at the ceiling and frowning in thought. The image was especially disturbing to him because it had come up at such a weird time. It had been extremely hard to fight off those feelings Nami had enticed in him with that simple invitation... "Come on..." But when those feelings had come up, so had his image with Vivi... He had panicked. Luffy had never been so... aroused, and then that image had had to ruin it. Truthfully, he would not have refused the offer if it hadn't been for that...
Eventually, with much tossing and turning, Luffy fell into a deep and troubled sleep.
Yeah, I think the next chapter will have some serious lime content. Either this one or the next chapter. Just thought you ought to know. : ) And also, my parents are being bitches about my Internet "privileges", so I am only going to be able to post anything during the weekends. Sorry!
