The Wonderful Wizard of Oda
OR
In Which Alastair Loses All Respect and Credibility as an Author
Raw Courage
He tried to smile at her, but she glowered, and stuck her nose into her book, looking up to glare at his grinning face so often that he was certain that she wasn't actually reading. Luffy scratched his head in confusion, watching her hide behind her upside-down book, and attempted to make sense of it. In his own honest opinion, he was innocent of whatever she was blaming him for, but Nami was still ignoring him.
Flopping onto the deck, he rolled onto his back, and continued to stare at her. She watched this, their eyes meeting and continuing to connect until her cheeks tinged into a new hue. Sitting up and turning around, he blinked at her and the pink in her cheeks before he leisurely grinned at her, and adjusted his hat. She hid behind her book. Luffy stood, smiling broader when she pressed the book closer to hide herself more as he approached.
A shout came from Franky at the helm, and they both looked at him, "Island ho!"
"An island!?" His lips stretched further in glee, and he ran past Franky to look over the figurehead, looking at the island's lush jungle and palms waving at them in the breeze. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at the sight, soaking it all in before he glanced at Nami when she joined them. He said, "Let's go!"
She stared at the island before she inspected him, and said, "Now just why would we get on that island?"
"Meat!"
"And it's all green," Franky said. "Aren't we looking for the Emerald City?"
"The Emerald City's made of emeralds!" Lifting up the eternal pose, she said, "And the log pose isn't even pointing at this island. We don't have any reason to-"
"Oi, Franky! We're going in!"
"Aye, aye!"
Nami grabbed Luffy shirt, shaking him a bit, "You're not listening!"
Eyes dancing, he swept her into his arms, and spun in place, "Island! Island! Oi, Nami, it'll be fun. It's our Adventure in the Search of Meat!"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, dealing a flushed glare at him, "We're going to the Emerald City, Luffy."
"We need meat to get there though. The fridge is locked, remember?" He frowned at her as if she was going absolutely insane.
"I told you that we aren't having any more adventures other than going to the Emerald City."
Luffy grinned, twirling with her again, and said, "Getting there is part of the adventure, Nami! Our adventure." Watching her face darken, his lips grew horizontally in length, "It's not much of an adventure without any meat."
"Straw Hat's got a point," said Franky as he steered the ship closer to the isle. "He's eaten almost everything you took aboard Sunny. You guys need to restock again, little sister. Me and the scarecrow don't need to eat, but the two of you do."
"What? You ate everything again!?" Squirming in his arms, she pitched a little fit, appearing to grow fangs in her anger, "I told you that you're the one that needs a brain!"
!#$&()+
Luffy was almost disappointed that nothing had happened on their trip. Though he was happy that Nami appeared to be feeling better – she had even been smiling at him again. Letting the others walk ahead, he dropped back to stroll beside her, a basket strapped to the side opposite of her.
"Oi, Nami," he said, and she smiled. "When we get back, let's go swimming again."
That little smile disappeared, and he wondered at its passing, trying to read the odd hesitation and shyness in her eyes. He could see quite plainly that she liked him – or at least was starting to like him more than usual. It was all fine with him, but he was curious as to why she was reluctant to do anything other than blush. She said, "After what happened last time, I don't think we should be swimming."
"Mmm? Because your top almost came off?" Her cheeks became red, and he said, picking his nose, "It just happened once. You shouldn't wear that little bikini thing anyway."
Lifting up her chin, she said, "Why, is there something wrong with looking fabulous? You seemed to like it."
Switching his finger to the other nostril, Luffy said, "Yeah, but that was when it came off."
Nami punched him, and he went down hard. Nowhere near to being done, however, she went to her knees, and started to beat on top of his head, saying, "You great, big, insensitive jerk! You owe me big time for that, you hear me? One hundre-"
Not quite willing to lose any more money that he just didn't have, he reached up to grab her shoulder – causing the pause in her tirade – and then yanked her down to his bloody face, kissing her soundly. She wavered just long enough that he granted himself a smile, but it was short-lived for a heavy shoe slammed into his head.
"You shit for brains!"
"Ah! Sanji-kun!" Nami rose to go to him, touching his arm to soothe him, "It's all right. Be careful or you'll catch yourself on fire again."
"I can't help the burning passion of my heart!"
"Oh!" Luffy rolled onto his feet, grinning, and pumping his fists, "Do it again, Sanji! It was so cool!"
"Don't encourage him!"
Something roared.
With her own shriek, she clung to Sanji's arm, looking back and around the jungle. Sanji said, "Ah, Nami-san, you're so cute when you're frightened!"
"What the hell was that!?"
Adjusting his hat a bit, Luffy and Franky glanced toward where the sound had come from, and the rubber man stepped up when something charged with a mighty snarl. Nami screamed, but it was cut short when Luffy merely slammed his fist on top of the creature's head. The lion – for it was certainly a lion, though it was rather small with dark fur – slumped to the ground with a rumble. Leaning over it, Luffy then turned to the scarecrow.
"Can we eat it?"
The lion said, "No, we can't!"
Blinking, Luffy looked down at him again before he grinned widely, "Usopp?"
"Owie …"
!#$&()+
"What a headache," he said, slowly waking up, and looking miserably out at the jungle.
With Chopper gone, Nami had gone into the infirmary to get some bandages to wrap the bump on Usopp's head. While she wrapped him up, Luffy just grinned, and said, "Shishi! I clobbered you good, Usopp!"
"Hmm …?" Usopp blinked a few times before he seemed to realize what was happening and where he was. "What … why'd you take me here?"
"I'm wrapping up your head, you big dummy," she said. "Luffy knocked you out when you charged at us." He lowered his head, and Nami frowned at the bump and his curly mane, "Just what do you think you were doing out there anyway? That's no way to greet people … even if you are a lion." She scratched her head in a bit of embarrassment, not realizing until she had said it how weird it actually sounded.
"I was just … trying to be brave," he said.
Tilting her head, she walked around so that she was standing beside Luffy, and tried to look at Usopp's face better, "Shouting at people doesn't make you brave."
"I … I know that!" He stood up straight, pumping a fist into the air, "I know that it doesn't make me any braver, but it's all I can do! Since I'm a lion, all I have to do is roar and all the jungle trembles at the sound of my voice! Because I am a fierce predator, no one dares to stand against me for I am the great and powerful king of the jungle …!" Deflating, his arms hung by his sides, and he said in a more normal tone, "But that's not courage. It's all I really want – to have courage."
"Ask the wizard guy," Luffy said, and Nami shot him a whithering glare. "What?"
"First brains and hearts. Now courage?" She shook her head, "You can't just ask the wizard for all of these things. None of them make any sense anyway!"
"Well, we're asking to go back to the Grand Line. Why couldn't he give them what they want?"
"That's totally different," she said. "You can't just promise things to people if you can't give anything back."
Luffy asked, "Who says that I can't make that promise?"
"It's a silly promise to make! You don't even know if the Wizard of Oda will give them those things. Why bother at all?" She said.
"Because I'll be King of the Pirates," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
Turning to Usopp, Luffy patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, the wizard guy's going to help all of us."
Nami nearly cried, "And stop changing the subject!"
"Time to swim!" Luffy picked her, slinging her over his shoulder, and gathered the plastic that she used for her shoes before he struggled to put them onto her kicking feet.
"What!? Damn it, Luffy, I'm not swimming with you!"
"No, it's not! It's fun!"
"You're not listening to me!" Just grinning away, Luffy finally managed to secure the plastic wrapping before he leapt over the railing with her in his arms. When the water settled, he wrapped his arms more securely around her. She huffed, glared, and then gave him a good kick under the water. She said, "You're not getting any cocoa this time."
He said, "What if I get another nosebleed?"
Nami grabbed the back of his head, and shoved his face into the water, "And what makes you think you'll get the chance to have one!?"
!#$&()+
Mmm … I think that I just wanted to introduce Usopp in this chapter. I apologize for it's brevity. So … has FanFiction Net been working oddly for any of you guys or am I just special? By the way … I think that I'm going to change my penname here to 'dirtmonkeyAL.' Just warning you in case I go through with it. I am still kind of attached to Alastair though …
dbzgtfan2004: :D Aw, thanks! And thanks for reviewing!
catho: It's just yellow water. –sees absolutly nothing wrong with this- ……… XP I think the story is about … halfway over? I'm not sure really … Thanks for the review!
Sonicmario: XP Indeed, it was fun – especially when it occurred to me. Aah … all the things I could have made Luffy do …! –gets shot- XP I refuse to respond to that! Thanks for reviewing!
Nehszriah: Thanks! And thank you for understanding – you know, that's part of what I like about most of the One Piece fans I've met. You're all really awesome no matter where you stand on how you view pairings. -salutes- I promise that I'll keep this as fun as possible! Thanks for reviewing!
Sheri-chan: Super! XP Aw, really? I thought that last one was a little on the lame side, but as long as you enjoy it, right? Thanks for the review!
Irenukia: Well, it's a pleasure to write them in character. I like to think of what I write as … kind of fillers. There's no point in writing about what you love unless it really is what you love. I'm so sick of all the stories that I can't stand reading because the characterization is all wrong … I'm writing what I want to read! Thanks for the review!
Random Anonymous: Thanks! Indeed, especially since I'm probably going to follow along the book a bit more than with the movie. Ending-wise, I mean. Thanks for reviewing!
CSI Kaizoku: Pfff! XP Maybe. That line was actually a spur of the moment thing. I realized what Franky sounded like he was saying, so Luffy – in my head – popped up with that on his lips! Thanks for the review!
Kuu-sama: XP Thanks! And thanks for the review!
Kaori-chan2: Thanks so much! I always pictured Luffy as Toto – I'm still surprised that no one mentioned the line that Alvida said in the first chapter … :D Sanji fits as the scarecrow though – especially with the hair. –lame excuse- Actually, taking into the account that the Scarecrow was a lot smarter than he took himself to be, he suits Sanji very well. Sanji's a sort of strategist, yes? In TheWonderful Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow was the same way, and when I remembered that, I had to cast Sanji as him. Thanks for reviewing!
wheathermangohanssj4: XP It's Makino! That poor girl – everyone forgets her name …! But yes, indeed, there are a great many people I could use for Oz's counterpart. Thanks for reviewing!
!#$&()+