Rating: K+
Spoilers: Nope
Timeframe: Post Alabasta, Pre Jaya
"He~ey, Robin." Nami slid into the chair next to the archeologist. She wore an overly-innocent expression that Robin would expect before the young thief liberated a rich man of his purse. Marking the spot in her book, Robin looked up and quirked an eyebrow.
"Miss Navigator."
"Robin," she repeated, smile widening until it was nearly blinding, "how are you this fine afternoon?"
"Perfectly content. The quiet is a welcome change," Robin murmured, gesturing to the empty deck around them. They had docked on the seemingly abandoned island earlier in the day, and the captain, swordsman, and cook were all out looking to replenish their dangerously low food supply. Long Nose and the doctor were in their quarters, working on explosives and medicines respectively. As a result the Going Merry was much subdued. It was a perfect afternoon for reading.
The navigator did not seem satisfied with Robin's answer. She huffed, then crossed her arms, fidgeting all the while. Amusing as it was to watch the younger girl struggle to figure out how exactly to interact with her newest crewmate, she was distracting. Robin waited for a few seconds, and when Nami still hadn't said anything decided to broach the subject herself.
"Was there something you wanted?"
The navigator perked up. "Yes, actually, there was! I was wondering…" she paused, seemingly having gone shy again before a shine of determination sparked in her eyes. "I was just thinking that we haven't gotten to spend much time with one another, you know, without the guys."
"Yes," Robin agreed, mildly puzzled.
"Well, I was wondering…since there is a refreshing lack of testosterone today…if you would want to do something together? You know, hang out?"
Robin set her book aside, intrigued despite herself. The navigator's idea of a good time involved either the ill-gotten gain or spending of money. The island they had landed on was rocky and desolate. It wasn't as if they could go shopping.
"I'm listening," Robin said.
Swinging her legs around so she was directly in front of Robin, the navigator leaned forward, the devilish look returning to her face. "What if I told you this was Ibez?"
"The island of lost treasure?"
"Yes!" Nami exclaimed, pointing to the barren landscape behind her. "Somewhere on that dust bowl is a frikkin' lost treasure, just waiting to be found. And lots of archeologic stuff, too, I'm sure." A wide grin cut across her face. "As a side note, do you know how nice it is that you know what I'm talking about without me having to explain? I don't think anyone else on the ship has even heard of the place."
Robin chuckled at the compliment. "You seem very sure. How do you know?"
"Wait here." Nami jumped up and ran in the direction of the woman's quarters. Robin waited patiently until she returned, wondering if it could possibly be true.
Well, from what she could see the island matched the legendary accounts of the lost civilization, which supposedly died out from infighting and drought. If so, the discovery would be monumental. The historical accuracy of the lost treasure was doubtful, but as Nami said there was a possibility for 'archeologic stuff' to be found.
It didn't take long before Nami rushed back on the deck, book in hand. She flipped through the pages, muttering to herself excitedly until she found what she was looking for. She pointed to the page in question victoriously. "See! Read this."
Robin scanned the passage before gently taking the book from the navigator's grip and rereading it again, this time more carefully. "Wherever did you get this? I don't believe I've ever read it before."
"I'll let you borrow it," Nami said, exasperated. "Later. After we've found treasure. Do you believe me yet, that this place is Ibez?"
Tracing the words tentatively, Robin's mind whirled. "…It could be," she allowed. "Miss Navigator, I would not be against a little exploration, but perhaps not today? It's already afternoon; we wouldn't get far before dark, and maybe we could have the boys help us if we held off until tomorrow."
"That sounds…so remarkably sensible," Nami said, sounding rather put out at the thought of waiting another day. Robin returned the book with a small smile of her own.
"Good things are worth waiting for."
The younger girl stuck her tongue out playfully. "We could do a little…I don't know…scouting. Nothing much," she assured, gauging Robin's face carefully, "but if I could get a lay of the land now then I could actually direct the idiots the right way. Except Zoro, he's hopeless."
Robin inclined her head in agreement. "That sounds sensible," she said, Nami rolling her eyes at the choice of words. "If you'll give me a moment, I need to collect a few things and we can be on our way."
Nami gave a shriek of girlish glee, and it was almost possible to see the bellies reflected in her eyes. Reaching over she gave Robin a quick hug, making the older woman stiffen at the sudden invasion to her personal space.
"Great! I'll tell Usopp while you get your stuff, and we'll be off!"
The trek was slow going. Treacherous footing made it easy to twist an ankle if not careful, and more than once Robin was forced to use her power to steady herself or the navigator. That wasn't to say it was entirely an unpleasant experience. Nami was short-tempered and a little overenthusiastic at the thought of treasure, but she was smart and capable as well. This was the young woman who defeated Miss Doublefinger and the main voice of reason on Straw Hat's ship. Robin almost found herself having…fun.
The feeling was an odd one, but, perhaps, not unwelcome.
"Well, crap," the navigator said, using her strange staff-like weapon to balance as the rocks shifted under her feet. "This has been a total waste of time."
Robin's lips curled into a coy smile and she adjusted the straps to her backpack. "Maybe not. At least now we know where not to look."
"Ha ha. Very funny." She looked at the sun critically. "Damn it, I know I should have waited for Luffy. Do you want to head back now or go a little farther?"
"A little farther. I think I see something up ahead. And what do you mean, you should have waited for the captain?"
"Oh, you know," she gestured helplessly. "Haven't you ever noticed? Luffy could walk around blindfolded and still stumble on something interesting. He's, like, the luckiest guy I've ever met. He beat me in a game of poker once, and I was cheating!"
That elicited a quiet chuckle. "The captain does have the hand of fortune upon him, doesn't he?"
They continued in silence for a while, until they come upon a ravine. It wasn't overly deep, but the drop was nearly sheer, cutting down at a sharp angle. Creeping to the edge Nami peered down.
"Huh. There's a small river there. If people ever did live here, I bet that was their main water source."
Joining her at the edge of the cliff, Robin looked at the winding river. Scraggly trees—the most life Robin had seen congregated in one area—grew along the banks, and a few birds could be heard in their branches. There was a sort of harsh beauty to the scene, not unlike the deserts of Alabasta.
"Most likely," Robin agreed. "I believe this area shows promise. We should start our search here tomorrow."
"Ye—EEAGH!" The ground beneath Nami's hands began to crumble away. Robin reached to grab her wrist, only to be pulled down as well. She maneuvered herself so that she slid on her back, her pack absorbing most of the force of the fall. The fall happened too quickly for Robin to use her Devil Fruit, and she sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to explain to the Straw Hats how their navigator broke her neck.
Just as abruptly as it started, Robin's descent into the ravine ended. She landed awkwardly as she lurched to her side, sending a sharp pain through her ankle. Carefully Robin rolled onto her back. The dust settled, and somewhere Nami coughed weakly.
"Ow."
Robin agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, it takes a whole lot more than that to bring me down. You?"
Tentatively Robin stood, testing her ankle. It was sore, but the pain wasn't bad enough to make her think it was sprained or broken. "I believe I'm fine as well."
"That's good. I'd hate to be the one who brought down the invincible Nico Robin less than a month after she joined the crew." Nami stood, smiling despite the dirt and grime that was plastered all over her face.
The statement hit a little too close to home, and Robin grimaced. "You're bleeding."
"Am I?" She looked down, noticing the rivulets of blood that trickled down her arm for the first time. "I guess I am. Well, you've got a nice cut on your forehead as well."
"Do I?" Robin put her hand to her forehead, and it came back wet and sticky with blood. She opened her backpack, digging until she found her small first aid kit. "Let me take a look."
"Oh, you're a doctor now, on top of everything else?" Nami said with a laugh, but came over nevertheless. The cuts were shallow, probably not even requiring stitches. Robin cleaned the wounds with water from their canteen and wrapped bandages around her arm with practiced movements.
When she finished, Nami waved her arm around, testing her range of motion. "Nicely done. You've done this before, haven't you?" she said, mostly to herself. Shaking her head, Nami looked up at Robin critically. "Your turn. That wound on your head looks nasty."
"Head wounds have a tendency to bleed, Miss Navigator. I can see to it myself."
"You and your creepy facts!" she said with a shudder. "Robin, just me help. You might have a Devil Fruit, but it's kind of hard to see your own face."
In the end practicality won out. Robin sat on a rock and allowed Nami to clean and bandage the cut on her face. The navigator was surprisingly gentle, and Robin had a suspicion that she also had experience dealing with this sort of thing.
"We won't be able to make it back before the sun sets," Robin murmured. "I'm not sure it's wise to travel in the dark in this terrain."
Nami swore softly. "No, but I don't want to be caught out in the open, vulnerable to God knows what."
"I brought blankets," Robin said, gesturing to the backpack. "And food."
"Why am I not surprised!" Nami laughed, clapping her hands together.
"What about the boys? They're sure to be worried if you don't return. Sanji in particular will be distraught."
That deflated some of the elation. Then the navigator set her jaw stubbornly. "You know what? After all the crap they've pulled and all the grief they've put us through." She gave Robin a sharp look as she emphasized the pronoun. "They can handle a night without us. We're pirates, dammit, not damsels in distress!"
Course of action set, the women set about to making a camp for the night. As the sun set, casting deeper and deeper shadows, Nami went in search of suitable wood for a fire. With a few whispered words, Robin sent phantom eyes in all directions. After taking a moment to sift through the sensory input, she called the navigator over.
"I believe we are in luck. I've found a cave."
"Great! So long as nothing's living in it, that'll be perfect."
With the help of Robin's power, they carried the firewood over to the opening of the cave. Nami gathered rocks (easy to find, in this terrain) to mark the edges of their pit while Robin used her belt knife to make tinder out of the bark. They worked in silence, but it was surprisingly comfortable. For whatever reason the navigator did not fear spending time alone with Robin, and there was no reason to believe that the Straw Hats would leave the island without their navigator. And they would return to the ship first thing in the morning; the boys could survive one night without the steadying presence of the women. Hopefully.
"You don't suppose they'll come looking for us?" Nami asked quietly as Robin arranged a small pile of tinder and kindling sticks in their fire pit. "I don't want someone to break a leg because we're down here. I knew I should have picked up a baby den-den mushi when I got the chance!"
"Would they? Search for us, I mean," Robin asked. Satisfied with her work she used called up a few arms to begin digging around her backpack, pausing to throw Nami a sandwich she had pilfered from the kitchen.
"Thanks," she said, taking a large bite of the food. "Did you pack half the Merry in that thing?"
"It's good to be prepared," Robin replied with a shrug. One of the arms found what she was looking for: her fire striker. She actually hadn't needed to use it for several years—one of the perks of working under Crocodile—but the tool was one of the things Robin had in her emergency pack at all times.
"Anyway, there's not much we can do about it," Nami continued. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything. "I did tell Usopp what we were doing."
"Surely this isn't the first time someone's spent a night away from the rest of the crew."
"No," Nami admitted, "but usually it means someone's been captured by the marines, or made one of the locals mad, or…"
"Fallen down a ravine, unhurt but off schedule. It does no good to worry, Miss Navigator." One of the sparks caught, and with the ease of long practice Robin fed additional bits of tinder to the growing fire. "Tomorrow we will get everything sorted out, and it will be as if nothing happened."
She sighed. "You're right." Flopping onto the ground, the navigator looked out at the evening sky. A few stars dotted the horizon as the sun lowered, painting the sky in dark purples and blues. "At least the view's nice."
Robin nodded, although the younger woman probably didn't notice. Reaching into her backpack again she pulled out a sandwich for herself and the two blankets she brought (light ones, for there wasn't much room for anything better), handing one to Nami. "I've always enjoyed looking at the stars. That's the one thing I don't like about living in the city, all the light pollution."
"I never would have guessed."
"Oh, yes," Robin said. Satisfied that the fire was going strong, she laid out her blanket and sat on the ground, looking at the horizon. "There are countless stories that are told on the night sky. For example, I'm sure you've used Bella to navigate by before."
"Of course! It's one of the major stars on the celestial charts."
"Well, it's part of the constellation The Maiden." Robin looked out to the star in question, surprised that she was sharing this and perhaps more surprised Nami seemed to be listening. "According to legend, she was in love with Davy Jones. Jones was equally infatuated, but was bound by an oath to live his life on the sea.
"Now Jones was supposedly an honorable man and kept his oath, and was miserable for it. The woman could not stand to be parted with him and summoned the Devil himself to give her the power to be reunited with her beloved." Robin paused, unable to resist a small laugh. "That woman is supposedly the first Devil Fruit user, and with her newfound power found Jones and begged him to allow her onto his ship.
"Moved by the lengths his beloved went to see him, Jones broke his oath and changed course for land. But there was a sudden storm, and the woman fell overboard. The sea, sensing that this was the one who led Jones to break his sacred promise, stole her strength and she drowned. Instead of going to the underworld, the woman was immortalized among the stars as a constant warning to oath breakers and Devil Fruit users alike."
"Huh," the navigator said softly. "Never heard that one before. Where I come from Davy Jones is a giant whale that eats overboard sailors and Devil Fruits are stories told to scare kids who don't eat their vegetables."
"You've spent most of your life in the East, haven't you?" Robin guessed.
"How'd you know?"
"The whale story is especially popular in that area."
"Well, you're right. I grew up on a little tangerine farm with my sister, although I did a lot of traveling around before joining Luffy." Nami turned around to face Robin, the dancing shadows of the fire making her impish grin look positively wicked. "There are a lot of pirates in the southwest region of the East Blue who are considerably poorer thanks to my efforts to, uh, appropriately redistribute the wealth."
Robin laughed and waited for the inevitable questions about her own past. Besides her one 'interview' with Long Nose, the Straw Hats had been remarkably nonchalant about allowing a former enemy into their ranks. Welcoming, even, with the exception of the swordsman, and even that didn't go past grumpy surliness. Robin didn't think they were feigning their attempts at friendship; this group wasn't the type to hide such feelings nor did they have the capability to fake emotion. It was to be expected that Nami would want to get to know her better, even if Robin couldn't allow herself to become attached.
But no questions came. Instead the navigator yawned contentedly. "I think you'd like Nojiko."
Recalling the picture of a young Nami and another young girl wrapping their arms around a woman who could only be their mother proudly displayed in the woman's quarters on the Merry, Robin frowned. "Your sister?"
"Yep. She helped keep my head on straight when…" Nami trailed off.
"Miss Navigator?"
"Hey Robin, you didn't bring anything in your backpack that would make the walls glow in the dark?"
"What?" Alarmed, Robin turned around to see what the navigator was talking about and gasped softly.
"I'll take that as a no then. Hoooly crap."
Certain areas of the cave wall, which had seemed perfectly normal in the daylight hours, were emitting a soft blue-green glow. Robin got to her feet, her ankle making a slight cry of protest, completely in awe. She hobbled closer to the light.
"It's the moss," she said excitedly, running her hand over the soft layer of plant matter. "The moss is bioilluminating. I had no idea it was possible for plants to do that. Certain animals, yes, but not plants…" Looking down the cave again through fresh eyes, Robin tried to piece the puzzle together. The patchy sections made sense; the moss didn't completely cover the walls. Indeed, she had hardly paid it any notice when she had discovered the cave in the first place. Fascinating.
"That is super creepy," Nami said, looking over Robin's shoulder. "You look like a ghost."
Robin looked down at her arms and chuckled. The flat light the moss emitted bathed her skin in an other-worldly glow. "I like it. Miss Navigator, I believe a little exploration is in order."
"Now?" she yelped.
"Of course. Who knows what other secrets we can find?"
"But now? Robin, you can't be serious."
"I am always serious," Robin said lightly, using her arms to carry her backpack over. Robin noted Nami's shock absentmindedly as she dug around for something to collect a sample of the glowing moss. To her delight she found a small glass jar—something Robin herself didn't remember packing—and carefully she scraped some of the moss off of the cave wall. "You're welcome to stay here if you don't want to come."
"By myself?" Nami asked, voice raising a half-octave at the prospect. For a moment Robin was reminded just how young she was, only eighteen. She was a brilliant navigator and world class mapmaker, capable of taking care of herself, but every once in a while it was easy to see to see a ghost of the child Nami once was.
That was a weakness, one Robin would have to take advantage of once the inevitable betrayals began.
"Either way I'm going. Who knows maybe this cave leads to the lost treasure…"
"I'm coming! There's no way I'm staying in this creep-tastic place by myself!"
With a small nod, Robin began to venture deeper into the cave. The farther they went the more prevalent the moss became, enhancing the lighting. The path twisted and turned, and after a while Robin noticed there was a gentle decline going deeper into the earth. Before long there was a soft carpet of plant matter that clung to every surface of the cave. She had never seen anything like it before in her life.
While the addition of the moss made walking easier, Robin felt a sharp pain in her ankle every time she took a step. It took considerable effort not to limp. She would probably regret not resting it later, but there were discoveries waiting to be made. What was a little pain compared to that?
Robin stepped on a rock the wrong way and it shifted under her feet. She couldn't help but hiss in pain as her ankle twisted. Nami was by her side immediately, concern flickering across her face.
"I thought you were hobbling back there. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Robin assured her. "Just a little sore."
The navigator snorted. "You're just as bad as the boys, aren't you?" Without waiting for an answer she drew the three sections of her staff and snapped the pieces together, before offering the weapon to Robin. "If you're going to insist on exploring with a gimpy leg then take this."
Robin turned and looked at the other girl sharply. The staff was the navigator's only weapon, and as far as Robin knew her only means of protection. Yet Nami was offering it without a second thought. To help her. Of all the things the Straw Hats had done in accepting her, this had to be the most foolish.
"That won't be necessary," Robin said, her voice a hair stronger than usual.
"Oh, come on! It's not a big deal. So far the most dangerous thing on this island has been the damn rocks. I highly doubt there will be any need to start throwing lightning around. Besides, we wouldn't even be down here if I hadn't insisted we go scout."
Nami shoved the staff in Robin's hands without giving her an opportunity to argue. Robin could only shake her head and accept, dumbfounded by the gesture. "Thank you."
"No problem," the navigator said. Then she grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "But, you know, if something does come out of nowhere and decide to try and eat us it'll be up to you to save our sorry asses. Just so you know."
"Duly noted."
They continued on, and after a while the tunnel widened, opening up into a cavern. Stalagmites and stalactites jutted out of the floors and grew up from the floor. Moss clung from every surface in a thick mat, washing the room the strange blue glow. The area was basically circular, and there were no other tunnels that branched off. It was damp and cold, but not miserably so. Cautiously Robin began to walk a circuit of the chamber. The navigator was close behind, looking jumpy and nervous.
"Okay, this is really weird," Nami whispered, as if she would disturb something by talking too loud. "I'm not really a plant person, but I'm pretty sure moss needs sunlight to grow. There's no sun down here."
"Puzzling, isn't it? I think I've found something, Miss Navigator." Robin walked carefully around a stalagmite to a raised section of ground. It was a single block of solid stone, and unlike everything else was not glowing, for no moss grew on it. The once-sharp corners were worn with age, and as she approached Robin noted writing on the top of the stone tablet.
"I think it's a monument of some sort," Robin mused, tracing the weathered engravings. "This isn't the same type of stone found on the rest of the island. Maybe that's why it hasn't been overgrown?" She shook her head in mild frustration. She was not a geologist by any stretch of the imagination. If only she could get her hands on the proper books…
But no. That was unfeasible at the moment. All Robin could do was make an educated guess.
"Can you actually read this?" Nami asked, peering at the writing.
"Sort of. The language is familiar, just archaic. But it's so worn it's hard to make out…Give me a minute, Miss Navigator."
Robin concentrated on the words in front of her. Minutes passed, and Nami grew shifty but did not interrupt. As Robin interpreted the ancient inscription a smile spread across her face, until she couldn't help but laugh.
"What is it? What's so funny?"
"Miss Navigator, I believe I've found your treasure."
"What? Where?!" Nami turned around, eyes darting in every direction.
Chuckling softly, Robin spread out her arms. "It's all around us."
"The glowy moss? You're kidding me," The navigator said flatly.
"Think about it, according to legend the people of Ibez were warriors. What would a warrior prize?"
"Money?"
"Medicine," Robin said. She picked a bit of plant matter off of the ground. "According to the writing, this helps stop bleeding and prevents infection. Whether it was cultivated here or it grew naturally the moss would be an invaluable, especially in a land with few natural resources."
"What a complete waste of time!" Nami exclaimed. "I can't believe we fell off of a cliff for a fancy plant! Where's the gold or diamonds? All the stories say there's supposed to be treasure here!"
"But they didn't say what that treasure would be," Robin replied, amused.
Nami whirled, opening her mouth to argue. She promptly shut it again, unable to think of a response, making a sound of frustration. "You know, if One Piece turns out to be Gold Roger's favorite swim suit I'm going to be really pissed off."
Laughing (and surprised at the genuineness of the sound), Robin took one last sweeping look across the room. "Since we've found what we were looking for would you like to return to the campsite?"
"No," she said mulishly. "I want to be filthy stinkin' rich. But since the universe seems to be against me I'll settle for a good night's sleep."
Together they left the cavern. As they went back through the tunnel the navigator snorted, then let out a little laugh of her own.
"You know what, Robin? Besides the whole no treasure thing—which sucks horribly—this was kind of fun. Thanks for coming with me."
It took a few seconds before Robin was able to speak, and she could barely manage a weak smile. "It's no problem at all, I assu—"
"NAAAMI-SWAAN! ROOBIN-DEAREST! CAN YOU HEAR YOUR PRINCE? I'M COMING TO RESCUE YOU!"
"Sanji?" Nami said weakly. She brought her hands to her mouth and bellowed, "WE'RE FINE, IDIOT!"
More shouts echoed through the tunnel. The women looked at one another—Nami exasperated, Robin amused—and tried to go a little faster. When they turned the next corner they came face to face with the boys. The cook, predictably, was leading the way, along with the doctor in his full reindeer form. Usopp looked positively terrified, clinging to one of the swordsman's arms like it was a life preserver. Then there was the captain: confident, with an unnaturally wide grin stretched across his face.
"Nami, my sweet, you're safe!" the cook exclaimed as he launched himself at the navigator. She sidestepped, and he flew ungracefully into the wall.
After that there were several minutes of chaos as several people began talking at the same time. Robin let Nami explain their situation while trying to both avoid and reassure Sanji at the same time. It was eventually explained that after they didn't return the rest of the crew decided to put Chopper's nose to good use and search for them. The boys tracked them by scent, eventually finding their campsite.
For what it was worth, after Nami told why exactly they hadn't returned to the Merry things calmed down considerably, although Long Nose continued to mutter horror stories under his breath. In the end, Luffy adjusted the straw hat on his head, laughed and said that the 'mystery plant' was awesome, declaring the whole thing an adventure. He was also hungry and wanted Sanji to make a special post-adventure snack.
Robin smiled and allowed Chopper to lead her back to the fire so he could examine her wounds. This little group was just so odd. It would be easy to betray them, to destroy them from the inside out.
But she didn't want to.
After giving the doctor her jar of moss as a peace offering for worrying him so much, Robin returned the navigator's weapon with murmured thanks. Nami caught her eye and grinned knowingly. As the captain said, they had shared an 'adventure' tonight, and for better or worse were closer for it. Robin had anchored herself a little bit closer to the Straw Hat Pirates.
Robin did not return that smile. These people were changing her, something she would have thought was impossible. That had to stop; she had to leave them. The problem was—as she watched the Straw Hats dance around merrily, without a care in the world—Robin wasn't sure if she could.
AN: Okay, so the idea for fic was one of the stories I had basically finished when my computer crashed back in December. Because I have a pathologic aversion to writing the same thing twice I've only just now gotten around to rewriting it. Six months later. Sorry about that.
Anyways, while the concept is basically the same this ended up quite a bit differently. This was actually really hard for me to write for some reason and took much longer than usual once I decided to start. I don't know why, and I'm not sure I'm happy with the results. So feel free to review even if you think it sucks, but tell me why it sucks. I don't bite and would appreciate he feedback.
Until next time.