Title: Of Mikan and Men
Author: Eichiro Oda created One Piece. I only borrow the characters for a short while to amuse myself.
Author's Note: Remember! This story is based off the manga version of One Piece, not so much the anime. I have nearly no knowledge of the anime, so please bear with me. And thanks for all the great reviews. Oh, and the song I listened to while writing this part was Flogging Molly's "Devil's Dance Floor". Very pirate-ish. curly eyebrows forever
Sweet Deals
A few days later, Nami was standing on the deck of the ship, now wearing a heavy wool sweater and pants due to the recent drop in temperature over the part of the ocean they were passing through. She cupped her mitten covered hands together and blew into them, the tip of her nose red and nipped by the frosty air. Staring out at the endless expanse of sea before them, she wondered exactly how far it would take to reach the next island in the Grand Line.
The sudden patch of chilly weather worried her, but she knew that all normal climate patterns were nonexistent here in this portion of the sea. So long as she kept a close eye on the sky and sea, she would steer the Going Merry through all danger safely.
A nudge at her elbow brought Nami's attention from scrutinizing the skies to the person standing at her side. Sanji produced a tray from behind him with a flourish that only he was capable of, elegantly offering her a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "I thought you might be cold out here by yourself, Nami-swan! So I brought you something to warm you up, that is, unless you'd like me to keep you warm?"
She raised one eyebrow at him as she took the hot chocolate. He made no move to make good on the statement, which amused her. "Ah, Sanji, you're all talk. But thanks for the cocoa."
Holding the warm mug between her hands, she swung her gaze back out to the ocean in front of the ship. Constant vigilance was important, though she did yearn to laugh and scamper around like the rest of the crew did most of the time. Her position called for a little bit more self-control and a little less craziness than the others'.
After a few minutes, a tiny flicking noise brought her attention back to where Sanji had stood. He was still there, standing beside her, only the tray was now empty and under his arm and he was lighting a cigarette as he stared in the same direction she was. "You don't have to stay out here, you know. It's warmer inside, in fact, it's probably the warmest in the kitchen!"
He glanced at her sidelong and grinned, the cigarette held fast between his teeth. "I'm touched! Nami-swan… worried about me! I could faint from happiness."
Sighing, Nami rolled her eyes to focus back on their course. Nothing changed. It was still freezing, and it seemed to be getting even colder. "Ah, I really wish we'd hit land soon! I want to go shopping and buy something pretty…"
"And I want to go with you!" Sanji agreed, happily. "It'd be heaven to carry your bags for you, to watch you try on beautiful clothes!" He clenched his hands into fists that shook with joy as his eyes shone with hearts. "Mini skirts! True paradise!"
Shaking her head, she gave up on having a serious conversation with him at the moment, handing him the mug before she strode toward the mast. She scaled the hand and foot holds up the mast to finally swing into the crow's nest, where she found a pair of binoculars waiting. Whistling appreciatively, Nami scooped up the binoculars and swung her vision out to sea. Then she jolted in place.
Sanji, from his spot on the deck below, stared up at her as he puffed on his cigarette. "You see something, Nami-san?"
"Land ho!" Nami pointed in the direction she had seen the sliver of land appear through the binoculars. She couldn't see the island yet from regular vision, but with the enhanced vision these Usopp-made binoculars gave her, it was clear. Grinning, she decided that such a valuable tool shouldn't be left to the hands of just anyone, and thus she hung the leather strap around her neck and climbed back down the mast.
Everyone was now standing on the deck, gazing at her in confusion. They couldn't see the island yet, either. Luffy scratched his head under his wide, straw hat and asked, "Are you sure, Nami? I don't see anything…"
"Hey, now! Who's the navigator here? You?" She quirked an eyebrow at the clueless captain and crossed her arms. "No, I thought not. I say there's an island, then there's an island, even if you can't see it! Besides, the Lock Post is pointing in the same direction. So it has to be there."
"How long until we reach port?" Chopper asked, his hooves clicking a tune as they betrayed his happiness. "Not that I care or anything! Just more humans, what's to see?"
Nami rolled her eyes and calculated their current rate of travel, along with the approximate distance of the island she had seen through the binoculars. "A little over an hour, I'd say. We should be able to see the island in less than thirty minutes… if this fog wasn't so thick we might even be able to see the outline from here."
They stood in place, staring at her for what seemed like whole minutes, until she finally snapped, "What are you waiting for? Come on, we've got work to do!"
Everyone ran in opposite directions for fear of their lives or at the very least, a painful retribution.
About an hour later, the Going Merry was indeed pulled into port and Nami was walking off the ship onto the solid, wooden dock. She grinned, though it was very cold still and the fog hadn't disappeared, but at least she was off that ship for a while.
As much as she loved the ship, it was a little small. Every now and then it was good to stretch her legs and feel the hard dirt under her shoes.
However, Nami didn't have long to reveal in the tiny wonders of life on dry land, because a familiar voice ordered from directly behind her, "Outta the way, Nami! I want me some meat and I want it now!"
Nami instantly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding Luffy's charge to get to the nearest restaurant. She clutched at her heart, eyes wide as she watched Luffy's figure disappear into the foggy distance. "Idiot… sometimes, I wonder how someone as dumb as him can lead a whole crew of people."
"It's good to know I'm not alone in my worries," another voice piped up from beside her. She knew without having to look that Sanji stood next to her, no doubt dressed to kill. He always took the opportunity to scout out the prettiest girls when in town, because who knew when he'd get another chance? Ports were few and far between in the Grand Line.
"Well, I'll see you when it's time to leave, Sanji," Nami smiled at him and started walking away.
"Hey, hey, Nami-san! So cruel!" he cried, making her halt mid-step. "You promised I could help you go shopping."
Now she did turn around, surprised that he hadn't been joking on the ship about carrying her bags. As usual, his elegant attire nearly made her gawk in amazement when he finally came within her sight.
He wore black pants that were loose enough to allow to easily leg movement, a button-up, long sleeve, dark blue shirt with grey tie under a jacket made of quality, black suede that stopped just above his knees. He wore black gloves and a dark grey, knitted scarf that wrapped around his neck twice though it still managed to trail down his back and near to his knees.
She realized she was staring when Sanji cocked his head to the side and smiled at her questioningly. Irritated at herself, Nami snapped out of her admiring stupor and huffed, "Fine, you can come. Try not to embarrass me too much, okay?"
Grinning widely, Sanji high-stepped after her, nearly singing, "Hai, Nami-swan!"
The city was covered in snow, as Nami had expected from so cold a climate. However, unlike the previous wintry town they had visited, this one was obviously prosperous and very beautiful.
The snowflakes drifted in glittery specks down to the ground, where it formed a thick layer of powder. Nami let out of a gasp of wonder as she stared up at the sky, her breath a puff of steam against the chilly air. "Wow, it's so pretty… I never noticed at the other winter town how nice the snow looks."
Sanji's expression darkened and his hair seemed to cover his face as he said, "Yeah, well, you know… you weren't really in the right state to appreciate the weather. You were pretty sick, Nami-san."
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they walked on in silence for a few more moments. Finally, his usual smile burst forth, calming her worries, as he continued, "But it's all right now! Chopper's teacher got you fixed up, no problem. In any event, we have Chopper on board now to keep everyone healthy."
Nami nodded in agreement, which Sanji took as a cue to keep talking. "And no one stops to think how badly everyone needs you, Nami-swan. But I do, you're the best navigator I've ever known, hands down. Beside that, you take care of all of us."
Desperate to get away from the topic, Nami darted into the first clothing store she saw, making Sanji jolt in shock when he found her missing. He whirled around, confused as to where she could have gotten to so fast, but eventually decided to wait there in case she came back. He figured she probably saw a pair of shoes or some jewelry she wanted to buy. Or, dare he hope… a nice, slinky dress?
As he fidgeted happily, imagining just how sexy the dress would be, Nami watched him from behind the safety of the store window. Once she was sure he wasn't going to come in after her, she surveyed the selection of women's clothing the store had to offer. There were a few interesting pieces of clothing, though only one shirt caught her eye and demanded immediate purchase.
After the article was bought, wrapped and stowed in a paper bag, Nami left the store, swinging her shopping bag happily. Ah, the exchange of moneys was such a beautiful thing! More lovely than the snowflakes above her head!
She whistled a tune as she walked back to where Sanji was seated on a bench, waiting. Thrusting out her bag at him, he caught it easily and smiled. "A good purchase, then?"
"It was on sale, can you believe that?" Nami grinned and rested her hands on her hips. "They basically gave it away. But I guess they really stood no chance, haggling with me."
"Of course," Still smiling, Sanji held her bag in one hand and used the other to remove his cigarette from his mouth, flicking the ashes off onto the snow before placing it back between his lips. "Shall we continue, Nami-swan?"
She eyed him as he heaved to his feet. "Um, Sanji, not that I don't enjoy your company, but don't you have something to do before we leave?"
"Like what?" he asked. He seemed honestly confused as to what could be more important than spending time with her. "If you mean the grocery shopping, I'll get it done right before we leave. There's not much I have to buy, just some meat and grains…"
"No, no, not that," Nami waved his answer away. "I mean, like visit a bar or something. You usually head to a tavern with Luffy and Zoro when we're at port. You know, to pick up women."
His cheeks reddened as she finished speaking, and she was sure it wasn't from the biting cold wind. She stared at him, wondering why he was so flustered, but not pressing the point if he didn't want to talk about it. Finally, Nami smiled at him and shrugged, assuming she had guessed correctly. "Hey, don't get so uptight! If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I was just saying, you don't have to come along with me if you have something else you'd rather be doing. I can carry my own stuff."
When she moved to take her bag from him, not upset in the least, he suddenly held it up high, out of her reach. This irritated her. "What're you doing? I'm trying to be nice to you! It's okay if you don't want to hang out with me, just give me my bag back so I can keep shopping."
He held the bag up higher, standing up straight, and announced, "Nami-swan, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here! Those other women, well… you know how you like to have drinking matches to see how many drinks you can get down before passing out? I'm sort of that way about women."
Nami smacked her own forehead and groaned. "Sanji, do you even think before you speak? Do you know how bad that sounded?"
"Yes, I do, in fact!" he puffed out his chest and finally dropped his arms, but made no move to give her the bag back. "Now, let's continue on. You don't have nearly enough clothing to stop yet."
Nami shrugged and they walked down the street toward the next shop. With a grin, she asked, "So, Sanji, would you say your enjoyment of women is based on quantity or quality?"
"Nami-san! Why do you ask me these things? Do you enjoy tormenting me so?" he whined, blushing and squirming as they continued down the street. Nami's laughter rang out as they entered the next shop with Sanji still evading the question. "For that, you have to buy a skimpy dress to wear to dinner later!"
"Ha!" she tossed his words aside easily. "I was planning on it even before you said that. So don't think I'm doing it for you, pervert."
"Ah! Nami-swan, you cut me! You cut me deep!" Sanji held his hands to his heart, her bag hanging by the crook of his elbow. "Now add new stilettos to the deal for that insult!"
She quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned, leaning close to him, "You paying?"
He returned her smirk with one of his own and pulled out his wallet. "Of course! Anything for you."
Standing up straight, she nodded in satisfaction. "Right then. You got yourself a deal, cook. Skimpy dress with stilettos it is."
Sanji's eyes turned to hearts as she began searching through the racks of clothing for the perfect dress.