One
Piece:
Truly For You, My Only Prince Charming
"…B-but…I think you sh-should." Chopper mustered the courage to say just that.
"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked while tilting his head in a curious fashion, needing to hold his hat to his head to stop it from falling off.
"…Well, you guys have been getting t-too many injuries lately. A-an-d I'm r-running out of medical supplies. If anything else, we need to stoke up on any necessities." Chopper tried to explain to the thick head crew he had once so willingly joined.
All the littlest member the crew wanted was to make sure everyone stayed healthy, as any doctor would. So he tried to use that liability to send them bed-ridden, doctor's orders. But…Chopper is not the best at giving people commands, especially when they're two or even three times his height. Of course he could just send them all to their cabins, but the rocking of the boat wouldn't help anyone. And the reindeer man was having difficulty keeping up with everyone. He need twice as much rest as anyone else, but he was almost scared to think he might not get it.
"…So, what your saying is that you're sending us all off to bed?" Nami asked for clarification.
"…Yes." He answered, regaining some of his cool since someone was listening to him and seemed to acknowledge his request.
"Meaning you'd be out on deck all by yourself?" Zoro grumbled out while he rested his jaw in his palm.
"…I g-guess so." Chopper became nervous again.
"So if anyone attacked, you'd be out here all alone, being the only one to defend the rest of us and protect us from any danger that appeared threatening?" Sanji's voice came from behind a nicotine-gray puff of smoke.
"I said you need rest, like a nap. You're not being quarantined!" Chopper squeaked.
"Well, if that's all, I agree with the little man." Zoro coughed out as he stretched his back.
"You would," the whole crew said under her breath.
"But the kid has a point." Sanji spoke louder, "I think we all need a good rest. Why not? What do you think, Nami-san? Where's the closest island?"
Everyone noticed then the slight shocked expression on Nami's face as she appeared to think about it. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished and she returned to her regular happy smile, "Oh, about five or six meters…North-East. Nothing to troublesome for our trip's trail. It just so happens it's the most relaxing and peaceful islands in all the Grand Line. It has everything from inns to restaurants. And of course many upon many stores. So many, last time I was there, I lost count."
"So you've been before?" Zoro asked the obvious question, well, to the others anyway. He seemed to be the only one to notice Nami was lying through her teeth.
"Y-yeah. And it's just beautiful. Especially in the evening, when the sun is setting. If you can get a spot on the island's center hill, it's the most beautiful sight to behold with human eyes." Now, she began to daydream.
"It can't be more beautiful than you, Nami-san!" Sanji squealed with his usual heart-y eyes.
"Oh, and the water turns a nice dark blue-purple color mix with gold with the morning sunrise. But my favourite sight would have to be the stars and moon. Never have they shined that bright. Really! So we should all go there! And only there because…no place is better. Don't you agree?…From what I told you, I mean." she asked her all-guy crew.
"Well, as long as there's a market…" Sanji let his sentence hang, waiting for an answer.
"Of course! I think about two fifths of all the stores are all different types of markets." Nami explained.
"Well, I'm bought. I could probably…"
"…Buy more MEAT!" Luffy exclaimed, "OH! Plus, get those things Nami likes. You know, those orange fruits."
Nami smiled whole-heartedly.
"Of course. Now, who's with us?"
"I'm in!" Usopp jumped and raised his hand.
"I started this, so I agree." Chopper raised his paw.
"I have set out to eat all the meat in the world, so as long as they got some, you'll find me there!" Luffy gave his trademark smile.
"I thought you set out to find One Piece and become King of the Pirates?" Zoro reminded.
"…And to eat all the meat in the world!"
"But once it's all gone, 'cause we know you can eat it all, what'll you afterward?" the swordsman questioned with a villainous smirk.
"…I don't know! Hmm…" Luffy let the real world to think inside his mind.
"…Anyway," Zoro sweat-dropped as he watch Luffy perform many scary faces as he began to think, "Even if I didn't want to go, I'd be out numbered, so I'm coming along."
"Whoopee…" Sanji muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and placed his cigarette back in his mouth.
Zoro glared at him, but decided to ignore 'Ms. White', since that was probably all he could come up with for the whole day.
"A-alright. So we all agree on the North-East island?"
Everyone nodded.
Except Luffy, who was still thinking up a solution to his latest problem.
"Good! Well then, now that that's settled, I'll see ya'll later! I gotta…check my maps." Nami ran out that door faster then Luffy did after meat.
Yes, you can gasp. It's true.
!
Later that night, at the bow… !
(A/N:
That means the front of the boat, in case u didn't noe!)
She stared out at the sea with a pocket watch in hand. She couldn't remember how long she had had the time-keeper in her possession, but it was always there. It helped her time her movements and it helped level her head. Whenever she was really truly incredibly mad, she would listen to the tick-tocks in her head and count to ten. It didn't always work, as we all know, but it did save a few lives. Like Luffy's and Zoro's when the three of them first met.
"How long ago was that?" she whispered to herself once crossing the thought in her mind.
She once again used the paces of the clock to help herself remember.
…
"…I think almost two years now." She concluded.
Two years…
Wow, she was officially a lady. She could live on her own and maintain a business at her age. She could…
tick
even…
tock
be…
tick
"…Married." She sighed to herself.
tock
"Who's married?" she heard a husky voice ask in response to her statement.
…
Nami and all her senses froze. She stood on end at first, now feeling embarrassed for being caught talking to herself, but relaxed and exhaled, knowing who it was and feeling safe again.
tock
"Oh, no one," Nami replied as she turned around to face her eaves-dropper, "Why? You planning on anytime soon?"
"N-no! Just asking. You're the one who said it!" Zoro huffed as he scratched the back of his head.
Nami giggled at his position and face color.
"I know, I was just teasing ya," she admitted, "…so, what's up?"
"…Oh, yeah. I came here to talk to you." The taller man answered as he approached the navigating girl.
"About…?" she asked for him to fill in the rest as she used her hands to signal him on continuing.
"About your fantasy." He looked rather serious.
"WHA--?" Nami shouted as she jumped out of her skin and landed, hands gripped, against the boat's lining rail.
"You know, that island you were talking about earlier today. The one that you're so excited about, you didn't even feel like eating dinner." The look he now gave her confirmed he wasn't in the mood for any funniness.
She looked startled, remained frozen for almost a minute, before sighing and dropping her stance. Then she turned to the side and point the sun setting to her right.
"Do you see that, Zoro?"
"Yeah." He answered, sounding obvious, "So?"
"What do you think of it?"
"…It's shiny?"
"No. I mean, do you think it's beautiful?"
"…uh…"
"Is it breath-taking?"
"…Uh, y-yea…"
"If you couldn't answer properly, it's now amazing to you, is it? That's because you can't see what the sun can."
"What's that got to do with you not eating dinner and lying to the crew?"
"I want to see what the sun can. I remember a few years ago, about one and a half before I met you and Luffy, my request was answered and I got to see what I wished."
"…You died?" Zoro shouted in shock."NO! How could I possibly be here now if I did? ( exasperated sigh) Anyway, I sat on the tallest hill I had ever seen one afternoon to eat lunch."
"On your little fantasy island."
"Shut up and listen! I guess you and I are connected or something, because I ended up taking a nap."
Both smiled and let a laugh go.
"And by the time I woke up, the sun was setting. The only sound I could hear was the water rustling and a close by old oak tree's leaves fussing in the gentle breeze. So I stretched forward and sat up, only to stare at the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. I wish I had a pen and paper with me at the time. I would have loved to have drawn it. But…I don't think anyone would have been able to capture the magic I saw on paper, not even me. Even if they were the most amazing artist in the world, they wouldn't be able to measure up to it one tiny bit. So I just sat there until it disappeared on the other side of the water. I was mesmerized and…calm. I was so relaxed and fixated by the sight my mind was blank. I actually was able to forget about every single thing in my life, even myself, and smile for the rest of the night.
"I didn't sleep, I was too overwhelmed. So I just fell onto my back and stared up at the stars. And to my surprise, they were the brightest stars I had ever come across! I mean, when I used to travel on stolen ships, I would sit there for hours and make up my own constellations, to amuse myself. But none of my fiction could even compare to these shining diamonds in the sky. The moon was so close and so bright, at first I had to squint. But eventually and with so much energy, I ended up just staring at the sky all night and into the next day…"
"…Wow. I've never heard you talk like this before." Zoro admitted, still caught off guard by her tale.
"That's because I've had almost four years to think about it. The memory has started to fade, but as long as I can remember that I was happy, even when I was being tormented to Arlong, it's always given me a reason to keep living. Because even in those sad times, I was able to find something that made me smile. So that's why I believe in the saying, 'Every cloud has a silver lining' 'cause I know from the best experience ever that it's true. I confess, when I went back to Arlong Park, I felt cold again, and I know you felt it when you guys visited, but somewhere deep inside my heart I felt that feeling. And that's why it'll take me an eternity to ever forget or tell anyone where it is."
"Huh? But you just told me how awesome it was. Why can't the rest of us see it? And aren't you taking us there anyway?" Zoro raised a questioning eyebrow.
That's where Nami's breath caught in her throat.
"…R-right. But none of you will see it like I did. I won't let anyone steal that spot and scene from me."
"You know, not everyone steals." Zoro sweat drop since Nami was making a fist and staring seriously up at the sky.
"Yes they do. It's how everyone gets what they want. No one will ever see it, so mm!" Nami stuck out her tongue at him.
But Zoro knew what she was doing. She had become embarrassed in front of him now because she realized she had acted so openly with him, which was something she rarely and was normally with Sanji and now Chopper.
"Well, who says I wanna see it?" He stuck his tongue out at her in return.
"WHAT? Were you even listening to me at all? Or do you have too much wax in your ears?" she insulted as best she could under the circumstance.
"Yeah, I was. But why should I want to see it if I can't?" he threw a loop at her.
And she had no idea what to say.
He couldn't help but laugh her childish fiddling as she tried to come up with something to fight back with.
"Never mind. But I'll ask you again, aren't you suppose to be leading us to this magical place you're so in love with?"
"Well…I kinda…"
"Lied?"
"NO! ….Just…exaggerated a little. The sun is still pretty,"
"What happened to beautiful?" Zoro was beginning to bug the red-head.
"They're the same thing."
"No they're not! Beautiful is a stronger word!"
"Nuh-uh! They are two different words with the same meaning!"
"Man, for a smart girl…"
"Fine! Prove it to me! What's the difference?"
"Pretty is the word you'd use when you would say "Look at that pretty flower", beautiful is something that is so physically appealing, you could lose your breath staring at it. Like your fantasy or even you…"
Again, where'd the ticking go?
Both blushed hard!
"…Uh, there! See? Now you can stop acting so childish and get over your shyness about being honest with me. So, tell me (clears throat) why can't we see this sight?"
"…Well, I don't know if two compliments in one minute are worthy of an explanation," she smiled at his spreading blush, "but…I guess…I just don't want to show you…'cause…it's mine, okay?"
"So you spent your money on buying property you'd never visit again?"
"Nope. Someone gave it to me."
"Who? A prince?"
"…The island owners. Like, the royal family of the district." She explained rationally.
"Seriously? So if it's yours, why not just go and visit your land?"
"…When have I got the time to…"
"Now is fine. We're head North-East, right? Where's this mystical island? I'll steer the boat in that direction for ya and will be there by dawn."
"…You sure?"
"If you're sure."
Nami paused, then nodded while holding the middle of her chest. Zoro found that a little strange, but ignored it.
"So, which way captain?" he asked jokingly.
It worked in making her smile and laugh.
"North, matey!"
"Alri—are you kidding? You realized we would have passed it, right? Like, we all would have seen it and most likely have gone there since it was closer than the island you mentioned?"
"Not if you were all sleeping right now."
"How late would you've stayed up to see it?"
"As long as I'd have to. Then I could have just watched it go by, maybe even sneak off for a bit and go visit myself."
"Oh, that's smart. Since we might leave the island and never see you again." he rolled his eyes as he went back to moving the boat's steering path delicately.
"Hey!" she whacked him over the head with her fist, "you can't talk to your captain like that!"
"Hmph, I like Luffy better! I can say whatever I want and he doesn't hit me!" Zoro puffed.
"Well, I'm a female captain and I don't put up with slander!" Nami couldn't say with a straight face.
"Aye aye, Great Nami-san!" he slumped to the floor after finishing up.
"Aw, zip it!" she coughed out through a giggle as she took a seat next to him.
Surprisingly to both, they weren't so jumpy around each other at the moment. They actually enjoyed the company they were in and stared up at the stars to together with smiles on their faces. Nami, after a while, pulled a bold move and rested her head on his shoulder. Zoro was indeed shocked at first by her action, but lightly shrugged it off and continued to stare upward.
"Say," Zoro piped up after who knows how long, "was there even an island we were heading toward?"
"Who knows."
Preview for the next chapter:
But they continued to go on and on, until…
"HALT!" someone screamed, which echoed off the walls of the town.
'Thank GOD!' The S.S. Merry Go crew thought in unison.
But there happiness soon faded into confusion when suddenly they heard,
"Can it truly be? Is that sweet and darling Nami-chan?"
