Author's Note: I know, it took me a long time to come out with the second part, and it will most likely take me just as long to come out with the third. I'm also working on the last chapter for Forbidden Love, at the request of Dart. I had just a little extra time, seeing as I finished the rough draft for book 1 of our book series. I had to edit book 2 and combine it with 1! DX However, right now, I'm in Iowa with Ara, so we're going to be working again. We've a timeline to make! X3 So, it will be awhile before I come out with something again. DX Enjoy it while you can! DX And I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter! XD
Mad Hatter
Part II: The Mad Hatter
Gasping suddenly, Nami took a step back away from the strange man with the hat. She could actually see his whole face. There was something about it, something nostalgic about his face. "Y-Y-You," she whispered under her breath, just staring back at him.
"You came … Nami," he replied in a low voice, and she shuddered. It wasn't just a voice in her head. She could see his lips moving to each word he spoke, and hear them so clearing.
"Yohohohoho! This is wonderful~!"
Blinking to the other voice, Nami looked over and cried out, "Aaah!" Her arms came up to shield herself, her eyes bulging out to the black suit and blue cravat wearing skeleton seated beside the man with the hat. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that both were seated and lounging upon another man, who seemed to be sleeping. There was a bubble, growing and sinking in size to each breath he took.
However, suddenly, he groaned in question to the voices as his eyes slowly opened, and Nami blinked twice to one of his big, round, mossy green fur colored mousy ears twitching and the bubble coming from his nostril popped, "Aah?" However, he then realized that someone was sitting on his back, and his brow twitched as a vein popped onto his forehead. "Luffy, Brook … get off of me," he growled as he sat up, affectively knocking to two men off from him.
"Uwah!" Luffy exclaimed as he fell over backwards, disappearing from sight as he hit the ground behind Zoro, and Brook fell to the side both giving an 'Oomph'.
"Z-Z-Zoro!" Nami cried, staring at the moss color haired man, who still looked sleepy. She had bumped into him a few times, and had even found him sleeping in strange places back on campus.
"Ah?" Zoro questioned again, blinking sleepily back at her, but then he lifted a finger and said, "You."
However, suddenly both Brook and Luffy bolted to their feet. "Oi, Zoro!" Luffy cried, and both men grabbed Zoro's shoulders, and then they tried stuffing his head into a tea pot. There was a huge struggle between the three. Luffy was grinning broadly and snickering, while Brook laughed.
"Yohohohoho!"
"Oi, damn it! Let me go, you punks!" Zoro cried, though his voice was muffled within the teapot, and suddenly, a thin, mousy tail came up and wrapped itself around Luffy's throat.
"Guwah!" Luffy exclaimed, grabbing the tail and releasing Zoro, who was able to push Brook off and pull his head out.
"You bastard, Luffy! I'm gonna cut you down!" Zoro cried, pulling out a sword, which three were strapped to his side.
"Hooo~! Go ahead and try it!" Luffy exclaimed with a smirk as he leapt onto the table, causing a mess of the teacups and plates that were spread out about it.
It was absolute chaos. "This is crazy," Nami whispered, just gaping at them, but then she heard a squeal.
"What are you guys doing!?"
"E-Eh?" Nami questioned and gaped back at the little White Rabbit, whose jaw was dropped as he watched the fight unfold. "I-It's you," she said, and the little White Rabbit looked over to her.
"Oh, you again," he said, seeming to calm down despite the chaos. "I'm Tony Tony "The White Rabbit" Chopper. It's nice to meet you," he said, giving a bow. Just like the others, even the little rabbit, reindeer creature wore a little suit, which looked very cute on him. Even Zoro was wearing a suit, though his tie hung loosely around his neck, and the first couple of top buttons were undone.
"Y-You said before … that you were late … What were you late for?" she asked.
"Oh, that," he said, waving a hand before pointing towards Luffy. "He needed a band aid, because Zoro cut him."
"A – A band aid?" Nami asked, her expression blank as she stared back at the thing, which was starting to show some discomfort that she was staring back at him so hard. He then slowly hid backwards behind the table. "Backwards," she muttered with a blink.
"Ah!" he exclaimed before switching sides, still peeping an eye out to watch her.
However, a louder commotion than the previous commotion made Nami gasp and jump as she turned towards the three men, fighting. Luffy had slammed Zoro down and pinned him to the table, with a foot pressed into his back. "You can't beat me!" he exclaimed, but then Zoro just promptly fell asleep like that. "Aah, don't fall asleep on me, you bastard!" Luffy yelled, pulling him up and facing him towards him to give him a few shakes.
Zoro shoved him away with a scowl, and Luffy fell back to the ground and out of sight behind the table. "Get off me!" Zoro exclaimed before turning back to Nami, his gaze narrowing. "Hmm?" he hummed, staring back at her.
"Hah!" she exclaimed, becoming nervous as she took a step back and her hand came up to under her chin. "Wha-Wha-What are you looking at me for?" she asked in a nervous stutter.
Suddenly, he bolted across the table towards her, and then pressed the tip of his saya up into her chin. She yelped with a squeal, feeling cold fear as she kept her large, tawny eyes on him. He then began to pull back on the saya, forcing her to take steps towards him, and then he leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers with a smirk. "What brings you here?" he asked in a low, amused face as his smirk widened.
Breathing heavily in her fear of him, she could only just stare back at him. This was definitely not the Zoro she remembered from college. "I-I-I-I," she stuttered, not being able to form a coherent word, much less a sentence.
Suddenly, the same mossy colored mouse tail came up, moving towards her face, causing her to stiffen further, and then, suddenly, it flicked to push her hair from her face. Then he removed his saya from under her chin to use to caress down her face as he said, his voice deep and quiet, "What's wrong? Answer me. What brings you here?" However, then he said, "Maybe if I introduce myself first," his face came a little closer to hers, forcing a blush to blossom onto her face, "you might answer me. I'm Roronoa "The Dormouse" Zoro. Now … answer my question," he whispered.
"I-I was – I-I don't," she stuttered, still not able to form a sentence.
"Oi, Zoro, you bastard!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, jumping onto the table in a crouch and swiping a leg out to trip Zoro, but the man had leapt up off the table and flipped over Nami to behind her. He then returned his sword back into its saya, before replacing both back with his other two swords.
Turning around, he had a large smirk on his face as he looked back towards Luffy. "It's what you get for sitting on me while I napped," he said before moving back into the room and plopping down on a couch, almost instantly falling back asleep.
Giving a snort to say he didn't give a shit, Luffy then turned his attention back to her, his gaze even, though his eyes were a little less than half closed, and the rest of his face was just blank. However, he suddenly stood, walking across the table, kicking the contents off before jumping off and landing in front of her. "Welcome, Nami … to my Wonderland," he said, suddenly bowing to her, "a place where you can relax and just have fun." He straightened then, grinning back at her widely.
"Y-You're Wonderland?" she asked in a quiet whisper, still staring back at him.
"That's right, my Wonderland," he replied with a snicker.
"Okay, well I guess that answers one of my questions," she replied with a sigh as she rubbed her temple.
"And which question was that?"
"Where the hell am I?" she muttered with a frown. "And now my other question is, how the hell did I get here?"
"Isn't that obvious?" he asked in a low and amused voice as he chuckled low and deep within his throat.
"Obvious?" she replied back, completely unamused.
"Yes, obvious," he replied, smirking back at her knowingly, which made her shudder. She wasn't sure she liked the way he was smiling at her. "You are here," he paused, lifting his chin slightly as his eerie grin grew again, "because I brought you here, Nami."
She gave another shudder, reaching up to rub her arms, but then she asked, "Why?"
"Again, the answer is obvious, and as a matter of fact, I just answered that question," he replied, very amused now as he chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, starting to frown.
"Yup, he totally answered your question. Weren't you listening?" Zoro said sleepily as he yawned, slouching into the cough to nap.
"Answer your question he did. Did you just not hear him?" Nami gasped when a frown suddenly appeared beside her. However, when the rest of the body joined the teeth, she found that he was actually grinning. Only, he was floating upside down beside her.
"Yup, he answered that question already! Perhaps you just weren't paying attention?" Chopper exclaimed with a giggle.
"Yohohohoho! Young lady~! Why do you keep asking questions in which the answers are so obvious!?" Brook exclaimed as he laughed.
"You see?" Usopp replied with a snicker. "There are questions to your answers here as well~!" He then started to laugh as well as the others there.
Nami's lips started to purse, and her irritation was only rising. "Are you all making fun of me!?" she exclaimed, lifting her chin into the air.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Luffy replied quickly before taking her hand and pulling her to the table, roughly shoving her down into a chair. "Sit and have some tea with us."
Nami gasped, gaping in shock at the once destroyed table, which was suddenly neatly set with all the silverware and teaware in place, unbroken. She was sure he had destroyed the entire settings just but a few minutes before. "Oh wow," she breathed out before looking up at him as he sat across from her.
"Hmm?" he questioned, just looking up at her blankly.
"Um, no, nothing," she replied, shaking her head quickly. Was this a normal thing for them?
Brook then stood, calmly taking the teapot into his skeletal hand and poured her some tea before setting it down and sitting again. "Enjoy! Yohohohoho!" he said, lacing his boney fingers together.
"Thanks," she muttered, lifting the cup to sip, surprised to the good flavor. "It's very good."
"Ah, thank you very much~!" Brook exclaimed, bouncing happily.
"Cakes?" Luffy suddenly asked, holding out a plate to her, which was filled up with tiny cakes with decorative icings.
"Oh, thank you," she said, starting to smile now as she took one and took a bite out of it. "Oh, this is delicious."
"Isn't it?" Luffy asked with a grin.
However, suddenly, she threw both the cake and the teacup she was sipping from into the air. "Why the hell am I calmly sipping tea and eating cakes!?" she exclaimed, suddenly looking irritated as she stood up.
"Mah?" Luffy asked with his mouth full of cakes.
"You listen to me, you weirdo," she started, pointing a finger at him, "I don't know what your game is, and I have no idea why you brought me here, but I want you to send me back home, right now!"
Luffy just stared right back at her, his cheeks filled completely with cakes as he chewed slowly, but then he said, "I awweawy to' you why I bwough' you heyaw."
"Don't talk with your mouth full!" she reprimanded, starting to scowl.
Swallowing it all down, he then grinned and said, "I already told you why I brought you here!"
"Right, right, to relax and have fun, but why!?" she exclaimed, frowning deeper.
"What do you mean why?" he asked, staring back at her blankly, though he did look confused.
"Why did you bring me here? Why me?" she asked, folding her arms under her bust.
Suddenly, he just grinned and jumped up onto the table. "We should do something fun!" he suddenly exclaimed, seeming to completely ignore her question.
"Yohohohoho! And what is it do you think that we shall do?" the skeleton asked, tilting his head to Luffy.
"Ah-Ah!?" Nami exclaimed again, turning white to the skeleton. She had almost forgotten he was there. He was by far the strangest thing she had seen there.
Suddenly, the skeleton popped a cake into his mouth and sipped his tea. Then he swallowed, lifted a leg, and ripped a good one before burping. "Ah, excuse me," he said before laughing again, "Yohohohoho! Please, pardon my rudeness. I have not introduced myself yet. I am The March Hare Brook," he said, bowing to her, and then suddenly, two brown floppy ears perked out from his afro and flopped to the front, and a big fluffy tail was exposed on his backside as he bowed.
"B-Brook?" she whispered, starting to slowly frown. Where had she heard that name before? And on a second thought, there was something nostalgic about his voice and laugh. "H-How did you … end up like that?"
"Ah, it's a long story," Brook replied while taking in a deep breath, but then he leaned towards her and said, "Young lady, might I ask to see your panties?"
"Hell no!" she yelled, punching him across the face.
"Yohohohoho!"
"Enough with that! Let's go and play!" Luffy exclaimed in irritation before jumping off of the table to stand before her. "Nami, come and play with us!"
"Why should I!?" she exclaimed, moving away from him.
"Because," he whined, starting to pout, "you're supposed to have fun and relax!"
However, just then, the door opened, and in stepped Robin. "Luffy, we've arrived. It's time," she said, smiling at him gently.
"Aah? Really? Already? Hmm, okay," he said, walking over towards the door as Robin turned to leave, and the others got up as well to follow him.
"Wha-What?" she asked, just standing there and watching as they all walked out, leaving her alone. However, she then quickly stepped forward to leave, but then gaped as she got outside. They were all just gone, leaving her completely by herself. "Wha-Wait a minute!" she cried, looking all around her and frowning.
Reaching up, she began to rub over her arms, feeling alone again. At least then, she had been surrounded with people, two or three of which she knew, but now she was alone again. She didn't like the feeling. However, she noticed that the ship had once again docked, and the harbor was a very nice one. As a matter of fact, the entire city was richly built. All of the buildings were beautifully designed, the roads were paved in brick, and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. Off into the distance, in the middle of the city, she saw a beautiful castle.
Deciding to find out where they all went, she headed down to the deck and over to the railings. Maybe The Chesire Cat would come back. Making her way off the ship, she then headed into the beautiful and clean city, the people friendly as they greeted her. Her eyes remained on the castle up ahead, and she frowned. It was quite a distance away. Sighing, she decided that's where she would go. Somehow, she knew if she went in the wrong direction, then that cat would come and take her to where she needed to go.
"Aah, it's very far away, isn't it?"
Gasping and jumping, Nami quickly turned to see said cat, floating beside her as he lounged. "Y-You, could you not do that!?" she yelled, her heart still pounding in her chest.
"Ah, my apologies, did I startle you?" he asked, grinning widely.
"Ugh, just forget it," she growled, facing forward again as she continued to walk.
"Are you really going to walk all the way there?"
"What choice do I have?" she exclaimed, pursing her lips. "I can't just mysteriously disappear like all of you seem able to do!"
"Can't you?"
"Don't play those games with me!" she yelled, scowling up at him.
"Hmm, well, if that's the case, why don't I take you there?" he asked, his tail flicking about as his grin widened.
She paused then to look up at him and blink. "You can do that?" she asked, actually looking to him with some awe.
"Of course~!" he replied, reaching out and suddenly snatching up her hand. Then he pulled as he moved up more into the air, taking her with him.
"A-A-A-Aah!" she cried in shock as the paved bricks started to get further and further away the higher up she went. "What are you doing!?" she exclaimed as her fear grew.
"I'm taking you," he replied, looking down to grin at her.
He spiraled up for awhile longer before straightening out and shot out right for the castle, with Nami squealing in fear behind him. "You're flying!?"
"Ah," he started before looking down, and then he snickered, "I suppose I am!"
"Y-You're all really starting to get on my nerves, you know!" she screeched, trying hard not to burst into tears. He wouldn't drop her, right?
However, he merely snickered as he continued on towards the castle. Once they reached the courtyard, he set her down carefully, but remained floating in place. "Here we are!" he exclaimed, snickering again.
"Oh, it's very beautiful here," she replied in an awed whisper as she looked at all the beautiful flowers and plants, but then she looked up towards the looming castle itself and bit her lip. She took a step, heading towards the castle. For some reason, she had a feeling she needed to go there, and now The Chesire Cat had brought her there. Turning, she said, "Thank y-" but he was no longer there. "Of course," she muttered with a sigh and just continued on.
She let her eyes drink in the beauty of the courtyard before coming up to the large door. Raking her teeth across her lower lip, she then reached up and knocked. After a moment, the door just creaked open, but then she blinked.
"My lady, right this way."
"Uh," she started before quirking a brow, "right," she muttered as she stepped inside, eyeing The White Rabbit Chopper. "Where is everyone else?"
"Please, right this way," he continued, ignoring her completely as he started walking down the hall.
"This is just ridiculous," she whispered under her breath, but she followed The White Rabbit anyway.
They walked through the long carpeted entry way, and then they came to another set of double doors. He pushed them open, and then bowed to her for her to enter. She rolled her eyes, and stepped inside, but then she froze. "What is this?" she whispered, looking about at all the people, sitting in pews with two large chairs facing them. There was a table set between the two chairs and the pews with a single chair set by the table, which was occupied by a man.
Taking a tentative step forward, she began to walk down the single aisle between the pews. Suddenly, the white rabbit appeared again, sucked in a breath, and announced loudly, "I bring to you … the King and Queen of Hearts!"
"King and Queen of Hearts?" she whispered, but then she took a seat in one of the rows, which happened to be empty.
A door opened towards the back behind the two large, now what she realized were thrones, and in stepped a woman with her head held high, and behind her, an idiot of a man, with hearts in his eyes, and Nami's head dropped. He was the King of Hearts all right. "Sanji-kun," she muttered under her breath with a groan. However, she then looked up towards the woman. Oh so high a mighty, "Hancock-sensei?" she muttered, her eyes widening slightly.
"Aah, my queen, please have a seat~!" Sanji exclaimed, wriggling in place as the hearts in his eyes pumped and his nostrils flared.
"Do not touch me, you lowly man!" she declared in a booming voice as she leaned all the way back to give him a serious look down and pointed a finger at him.
"Aah, I wouldn't dream of it, my dear~!" Sanji exclaimed, but then she took her seat, and he by her side.
Hancock seemed to regard the crowd, her chin held high, but then her eyes fell upon the single man, seated at the table before her. "You, Knave of Hearts shall pay for your crimes against me!" she suddenly exclaimed, her head tilting back as she pointed a finger at him.
The man merely smirked back at her and chuckled, lazily lounging in the chair with very bad poise. He wore a black suit with on an ankle resting on his opposite leg, completely slouched. Even though he was wearing a suit, he was wearing it incorrectly. The suit jacket and the black button up shirt he wore underneath were both unbuttoned and wide open, baring his hard and muscular chest. Around his neck, he wore a black neck tie, hung very loosely around his neck, decorated with flaming spades, and atop his head, rested a hat with two emblems on it, a smiley face and a frowning face.
"Listen, lady, I told you, you've got the wrong guy. I ain't the Knave of Hearts. I'm the Ace of Spades," the man replied lazily to her.
"Silence, you shit for brains! Do not speak to my queen in such a way!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes erupting into flames as he pointed down at Ace.
"You made off with my tarts, ate them all you did!" Hancock exclaimed, placing a hand to her forehead as she swooned back into her chair. "I was looking forward to them~!"
"How do you plea, Knave!"
"I told you, you got the wrong guy! I'm Ace!" Ace exclaimed, looking more and more amused.
"What the hell is this?" Nami whispered, looking all around to the other people, who just seemed to me staring ahead, even Robin, Franky, Brook, and Usopp, though Zoro was snoring soundlessly in a pew behind them.
"We have the evidence that it was you!" Hancock exclaimed, pointing to him again.
Suddenly, Chopper reappeared, carrying a tray with a tart set atop it, and he took it straight to Sanji, who took the tray from him. "The King of Hearts will now explain how to make a tart!" Chopper announced before walking off again.
Clearing his throat, Sanji then went into an elaborate and ridiculous explanation of how to make tarts, a lot of which was mostly flirtatious talk to the Queen of Hearts and a lot of nonsense. The Knave of Hearts, or the Ace of Spades, whichever he was, instantly conked out, snoring rather loudly as a snot bubble protruded from his nose. However, the bubble suddenly popped, and he sat up, scratching his chest as he blinked sleepily.
However, upon spying the tart, he woke up instantly and sat up. "Oi, are you going to eat that? I'm still starving," he said, pointing towards the tart. "Those other tarts I ate did nothing for me."
"Ah? Oh, no," Sanji replied, moving forward to place the tart in front of Ace, who immediately began to eat it.
"What the hell?" Nami whispered, watching incredulously.
"I now call to witness, Monkey "The Mad Hatter" Luffy!" Chopper suddenly announced, and the back doors opened as Luffy stepped in, walking up the aisle and passed Nami.
However, when he spotted Ace eating the tart, he immediately stopped. "Aah! I want some too, Ace!" he cried, rushing over to attempt to take the tart away from the bare-chested man, but Ace immediately lifted up the tart and moved it away while shoving a hand in Luffy's face.
"No way, Wuffy! The tawt is mine!" he exclaimed with a full mouth.
"Aah, L-Luffy," Hancock called, her demeanor suddenly shifting to shy and quiet as she pressed her knuckles to her lips and looked away with a flush. However, then it instantly shifted again as she turned to Sanji, looking way down at him and pointing her finger at him. "You there, make Luffy as many tarts as he likes!"
"Aah, of course, my beautiful, benevolent queen~!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes turning to hearts again as he wiggled off towards a kitchen that had most definitely not been there before.
"Woot!" Luffy exclaimed, pumping his fists into the air. "Sanji, tarts!"
"You there," she yelled to Ace, keeping her position with her head bent all the way back, "how dare you deny Luffy what he wants! Off with his head! I find him guilty of stealing my tart! Look there as you eat it!"
"Mm?" Ace questioned, looking to her, but he didn't seem perturbed at all as he shoved Luffy away completely to finish his tart, deciding to ignore the woman.
"Wait a minute! What the hell is all of this? This is all ridiculous!" Nami yelled after bolting up out of her seat.
"Who dares speak to me in such a way?" The Queen of Hearts exclaimed, leaning back again. "I am the Queen of Hearts!" she declared loudly, looking haughtier and haughtier.
"And you're charging the wrong man for these crimes, and as for that tart he is eating, Sanji-kun gave it to him! He's not the Knave of Hearts. He's the Ace of Spades! Look at his tie!" Nami exclaimed, glaring back at the queen with her arms crossed under her bust, looking just as formidable.
"Ah, thank you," Ace said, smirking at Nami in his amusement and sucking on his fingers before licking the tart plate clean.
But then Nami muttered, "Even though you did just admit to eating them …" However, the man merely shrugged.
"You insolent little bit of a thing! How dare you speak to your queen in such a way!"
"You're not my queen!" Nami yelled, placing her hands on her hips. "You're the idiot accusing this man of stealing your tarts, and you couldn't even get his identity right!"
Luffy released a high pitched whistle, his elbows on the table and his chin in his palms as he watched Nami with a grin. "How dare you!" Hancock screeched, throwing her head back further than what seemed natural as she pointed down at her. "Off with her head!"
"H-H-Heeh!?" Nami exclaimed, gaping back towards her in horror as she began to sweat. Maybe she shouldn't have talked back to a queen. Suddenly, huge beasts began to file through every door that was big enough to admit them.
"Aah, it's the Blugori!" someone in the room cried, and Nami quickly turned to them. They were masked and dressed in blue, and on the face of the mask was a skull painted onto it. Each one carried a huge axe, and were all headed right for her. She gasped, taking steps back as she paled, gaping back at them.
"Wa-Wait a minute!" she cried, looking towards the others.
"Iyo!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, pushing off the table and leaping into the air. He landed right in front of Nami and quickly pulled off his coat and threw it aside before getting into a fighting stance.
Gasping, Nami surged back, tripping onto her own feet and falling into the laps of the people seated on the pews. "Oi!" they cried, trying to push her back up.
She clung to the back side of the adjacent pew as she gaped at the back of The Mad Hatter. "Ooh, is it fun time already?" Ace said, lifting a leg and kicking the table away from him before jumping to his feet. His hand came up to hold down his hat, which covered his eyes, but then he smirked and chuckled.
Sliding the hand across the brim, he then pushed it up with his finger, which suddenly caught on fire. "Well, then let's have some fun, Luffy!"
"Yosh!" Luffy exclaimed before jumping up and kicking the first Blugori to approach him.
Zoro was suddenly out of his seat, his three swords drawn as he began to cut up any Blugori near him. However, Sanji jumped from the platform with the two thrones, flying right at Zoro as his leg came down for a kick, but the swordsman crossed his swords to block it, each smirking at the other. "Just like old times, Marimo," Sanji growled as his smirk grew.
"Just like old times, Curly Brow," Zoro agreed with a chuckle in amusement before uncrossing his swords to attack, though Sanji was ready to block again.
"What the hell?" Nami whispered, so completely confused as the fighting broke out.
More and more of the Blugori entered the room and more and more people were pulled into the fight. Fire went every which way as the bare-chested man fought his opponents, pews were thrown every which way, and people were screaming or yelling. It was complete chaos.
Nami screamed as a large axe came down over her head, and she pushed herself off from the pew as it was severed to bits. The beast turned to her, raising his axe, and she gaped up at it in terror. Was she really about to die?
However, just then, Luffy came out of nowhere, kicking the beast in the back of the head, and sent it flying across the room and crashing into a few other pews. "Come on, Nami!" he cried, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to her feet with a grin. With a snicker, he then turned and started to run, punching any Blugori that came close, but … did his arm just stretch?
"What is going on!?" she cried, gaping at him, though she continued to run as he kept his hold on her hand.
"What a silly question, Nami!" he called over his shoulder as he laughed. Suddenly, he released a whistle and motioned his arm, and the others quickly followed him.
"Luffy!" Hancock called with a pout, but then she sighed, dropping into her throne.
As they ran through the long halls of the castle, Luffy laughed the whole way as they others ran behind him. "Well, that was definitely fun," Ace suddenly said as he snickered with a smirk.
"Aa, we should do it more often," Luffy replied over his shoulder and just laughed louder.
"I was in the middle of a battle, damn it," Zoro complained, having been pulled away when Luffy had called for him. However, looking over, he noticed Robin having trouble running with her dress, and so he grabbed her wrist and tugged, pulling her over his back.
She chuckled softly, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold on and said, "Thank you."
"It was scary!" The Chesire Cat Usopp exclaimed as he floated beside them, lazily.
"You think everything is scary," Zoro snarled, glaring back at the Cat, who merely gave him a catty smile.
"It was a little scary," the tiny reindeer rabbit said, though he now looked more like a reindeer as he ran on all fours beside them.
"It wasn't scary. It was fun!" Luffy exclaimed, bursting through the doors to the outside. "Iyo!" he exclaimed, jumping up high into the air, his grip tightening around Nami's wrist, who was just listening to all of their nonsense.
However, when she realized he wasn't going back down, she shrieked and grabbed a hold of his arm more tightly. Looking down, she noticed that the others had jumped and were now flying beside him, all spiraling around him and twirling through the air. "Woo!" Luffy exclaimed and the others joined in and laughed as they flew.
"This is all insane, crazy. I'm crazy. I'm going insane," Nami whispered to herself, about to cry from her fear as the ground grew further and further away.
"You're only insane if you believe these things and think you are not insane, but if you know these things not to be logical, and think you are insane, are you then only perfectly sane," Robin said, holding on tight to Zoro as she smiled gently to Nami.
"Wait, what?" Nami asked, looking back at her in confusion, but then she suddenly gasped when Luffy suddenly yanked her up and wrapped an arm around her. However, Nami blushed deeply and stiffened to how tightly and close she was pressed to his body. "Um," she started, but she couldn't form a coherent thought, thanks to her discomfort.
"Just hold on, Nami," he replied softly to her as they suddenly broke through the clouds.
Gasping loudly and clinging to him tightly, she looked about, not seeing much of anything except for the fluffy white stuff all around, even the others had disappeared. The only one visible to her … was him. Looking back at him, he was focused and looking up and ahead of him as they soared through the clouds. Suddenly, they broke through the top with the others back again, and then they all just stepped atop the clouds. Luffy set her down, but she gasped and clung back to him.
"It's all right, Nami. Look," he said with a grin, stepping down onto the cloud, which puffed out a little around his sandaled foot, but remained solid beneath him.
Blushing in embarrassment from having clung to him, she quickly pulled back from him, but with the unsteady ground, headed right back down again. She panicked and screamed as she tried to grab for him, thinking she might fall right through and to her death.
"Oi, Nami!" he cried, quickly stepping forward and grabbing her, pulling her to him once again.
Her lips formed into a thin line, the blush worsening, and she refused to look up at him. However, he then just laughed and said, "Relax, Nami. You'll be fine. You won't fall through or anything. It's solid!" he said, pulling away a bit, though he kept her hands in his and started to jump up and down. "You won't fall!"
Pulling her hands from his, she turned away slightly, completely mortified, knowing the others were watching her. She could feel their smirks and hear their snickers. She stepped back before giving them a slight glance and looking away again. However, she then whispered, "I want to go home. Can you just send me home now?"
"I can't do that, Nami."
"Why not!?" she exclaimed, looking back to the scarred man, who was no longer smiling. "You brought me here, didn't you!? Why can't you send me back!? If you couldn't send me back, then why did you bring me here in the first place!?" she cried, tears starting to come to her eyes. She just wanted to go home.
"I've told you why-"
"Don't give me that bullshit!" she cried, glaring back at him. "I'm tired of your riddles and games and nonsense! I want to go home!" she yelled, looking less than pleased.
He wilted then, right before her eyes, and she felt a tug at her heart, feeling a tad guilty for having yelled at him. Then, suddenly, she remembered.
"Welcome, Nami … to my Wonderland … a place where you can relax and just have fun."
Swallowing down and taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. She had no idea why he had chosen her to bring her here, but he had obviously done this for her. He had been trying to help her to relax and to have fun. "I don't know why you chose me, Luffy, and I … I think you meant well, but … I'm not relaxing, and I'm not having fun," she said softly, taking a step towards him.
"You were," he muttered under his breath, but then he sighed, looking up at her again, and then he nodded. "All right, Nami," he replied quietly, but then he suddenly held out his hand to her, "dance with me, and I will send you home. Just this one last thing and I promise."
Flushing gently across her cheeks, her eyes drifted downward to his extended hand, but then she closed her eyes and sighed, extending her own hand to be placed within his. When she opened them, she gasped, looking down and seeing herself wearing the most beautiful and exquisite ball gown she had ever seen, colored in light blue and white. Looking up at him, he was smiling once again as he walked backwards, guiding her further atop the clouds.
Looking around her, she saw that the large cumulus clouds surrounded them, though it was their colors she noticed. So many different colors, purples, pinks, oranges, it was all so beautiful. Just through two clouds, she could see the setting sun, casting the beautiful colors over all the clouds. Looking back at him, her face flushed even further, but then suddenly, he started to move, guiding her into a dance, and as they did, she could hear the music playing.
It was almost as if it was playing in her mind, or as if she was hearing it from some far off place. With its violins, and piano and other instruments, the song was also beautiful, but there was something about it. It was … such a sad melody. They just waltz across the clouds, the others standing in a semi-circle as they just watched. Her heart began to pound in her chest, her body just moving like the flow of water across the clouds with him. It was all so flawless and beautiful, everything about it.
Her heart soared then, and in that moment, she felt truly at peace. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back, feeling the thrill rush up her body as they twirled around on the soft cloud, which seemed to make the perfect dance floor, and then very slowly, she began to smile. He had done his job. She felt so relaxed, and despite everything that happened, she really did have fun. It was all so exciting, thrilling, something she knew would never happen to her otherwise, but it did.
Opening her eyes slowly, staring up at the clouds hanging above her head, she then lowered her gaze back to him, and he was just smiling back at her. Her cheeks erupted into color again, but then she asked in a soft and relaxed voice, "Why, Luffy?" She hadn't realized that she said his name, nor had she realized that tears had suddenly begun to form within her eyes. "Why?"
His soft smile merely widened, though she could see something within his eyes that she understood; only she didn't at all. There was sadness there. What did it mean, though she knew exactly what it meant, only she didn't. Nothing and yet everything made sense all at once. She wasn't sure what was going on within her. "How? How did you do this?" she continued to whisper, but he still did not answer her, merely keeping the sad and soft smile.
She only became more and more confused as the tears finally started to fall, and she felt desperate for the answer to the question she didn't know. "Luffy, please, tell me," she whispered, more and more tears falling, but then he very slowly shook his head no. Closing her eyes, causing more tears to fall, she lowered her head, and still, they continued to dance, only slower now. After awhile, she looked up again, and then she whispered, "Luffy … who are you?"
Stopping their dance, he released her hand to bring his hand up to cup her cheek, while moving a little closer to her and wiping away her tears, and then he whispered, "Now that, Nami … is the question."
Sitting up with a gasp, Nami looked around her in confusion, breathing heavily as the tears flowed down her face freely. She was at the bottom of the hole, which had been dug into the ground on campus. Her arms instantly wrapped around herself, and she began to sob heavily, her head lowering further and further down. She drew up her knees, and just sat that way and cried, though for what reason, she had no idea.
"Nami-san!"
Gasping, her head shot up towards the top of the hole, and then a head suddenly appeared over the side. "S-Sanji-kun?" she asked in a rasp, looking confused as she began to remember the dream she had.
"Nami-san, there you are!" he cried, sliding down into the hole and going to her. "You didn't come to class, and some were worried, since you never miss class and didn't leave an explanation why you didn't go. We've been looking for you for awhile now. I was just barely told not but an hour ago, if that."
"Oi, did you find her?" a voice came from above, and another head peered down at them.
"Aa, I found her, Marimo. Give me a hand," Sanji said, helping her to her feet and holding her up for Zoro to take her hand and pull her up and out. Then Zoro reached down and pulled Sanji out of the hole. "Are you all right, Nami-san? You weren't scared or anything?"
"No, I'm fine," she said, feeling sheepish as she wiped away her tears, not wanting to give them the wrong idea, though it was too late for that. She had not been crying about being stuck at the bottom of the hole. "I-I think I just want to go home now. Thank you, Sanji-kun, Zoro," she said before turning and making her way off campus as both men just watched her leave.
xxxx
A week had gone by since she had that strange dream, and since then, she had not had another. She had not slept so well in so long, which made her feel much better and much more energized. However, as she made her way home for the day, she was quite exhausted. Still, she felt really good. With a smile, she boarded the train heading home and took her seat, setting her things down on the empty seat beside her.
"Ah, wait!"
Gasping and stiffening, she stared down at the ground, sure she had heard that voice before. Suddenly, a young man ran onto the train, barely slipping in through the already closing doors and fell down to the floor of the train, making her quickly look up at him. He was panting heavily and grinning widely as he snickered from beating the train. "Yosh, I made it!" he cried before standing up and dusting himself off. The others on the train gave him an odd look, shaking their heads at him.
Nami had even stopped breathing, just staring up at him as he grinned to himself, and then moved to sit down, as if not even realizing she was there. Hadn't it just been a dream? None of it could have been real, and yet, there he sat, wearing the exact same pinstriped suit, straw hat and grin. He had the exact same scar, just below his left eye, and that same card sticking out of his hat. She wasn't dreaming again, was she? Or perhaps she had seen this man before, which was why she had dreamt about him. Perhaps he was a student she had seen in passing.
However, that would not explain why she had had such a dream about him. Though, since when had dreams ever been logical? Dreams were always such a chaotic mess, in which one never had control of the happenings, though there have been special cases. She, for one, was never able to control the flow of her dreams. Did he even really attend the college? There was definitely something nostalgic about him, but at the same time, she was pretty sure she had never seen him before that dream.
After a moment, he turned and immediately met her gaze with his, causing her to gasp, blush and turn away quickly. "Ah?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side in confusion. However, he then looked down at himself and grinned before looking back up at her. "Ah! It's the clothes, right!? Yeah, I know, they are kinda weird. I just came from rehearsal! I swear I'm not weird or anything!" he said before chuckling.
Turning to look at him from the corner of her eyes, she just watched him for awhile before turning completely towards him. "Rehearsal?" she asked quietly.
"Ah, yeah! I'm in a play at the college. Do you go there too? I think I mighta seen you once," he said, looking thoughtful for only a second before grinning at her again. "You should come and see the show! You know, help support us and stuff, if you're a part of the college! Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, bolting out of his chair and going right towards her, making her gasp and stiffen again.
However, he merely knelt in the chair beside her to look out of the window. "Looka that!" he cried, "There's a new ramen shop, opened up! I can't wait to try it!" He was grinning even wider, drooling at a billboard the train was passing.
Her eyes glanced towards him, but she kept perfectly still. Maybe if she was as still as possible, he might forget she was there. "Yeah, well, anyway," he suddenly said, still staring out of the window, "you really should come to the play and watch. We just did casting a few days ago, and I got the role of The Mad Hatter! I'm really excited! It's a production of Alice in Wonderland!"
"Alice in Wonderland," Nami whispered, slowly starting to frown. How strange. Come to think of it, the dream she had was a lot like Alice in Wonderland. She had actually forgotten about that book. She had only really heard about it, and not read it herself. It was such a coincidence that her college theatre club should be doing such a play. She must have seen or heard it somewhere.
"You know, you really should have joined the theatre club," he suddenly said, though he spoke quietly now, still staring out of the window, but then suddenly, his body shifted, and her eyes moved to the corners towards him, which it appeared he was looking down at her. "You would have been great in the play," he said very quietly now, and she watched from the corners as he leaned towards her, making her suck in her breath and stiffen further to his nearness.
Her eyes widened when she felt his hot breath so close to her ear as she held her own, but then he suddenly whispered into her ear, feeling as his hand clamp down on her shoulder, "You would have made a great Alice … Nami." She gasped loudly with her eyes shooting open wider as his hand clamped tighter onto her shoulder.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and an electrical surge that rocked the entire car as the lights flickered and buzz before popping, raining glass over the other occupants. The people on the same car looked over, and the two who had been there were no longer there, and from the spot in which they sat, more electrical currents surged over the seats, leaving them baffled and in shock as the train screeched to a stop.
xxxx
"How do two people just vanish off a train?"
"W-We have no idea, sir …"
"This has to be some kind of joke …"
"But sir, all the witnesses have the exact same story, and the train just suddenly lost power as if someone let off an EMP. Something strange definitely happened."
"Mmm, but what the hell did this guy want with a college student to have pulled off this … trick?" The police captain stared down at the card inside the evidence bag, pondering this mystery. "We gotta find this girl and this strange guy," he muttered before looking to his men. "I want a clue! Find me one! Anything besides just this!" he said, holding up the card. "Let's go!"
"Aye, sir!"
To Be Continued …
Author's Note: So, did you guys like it? X3 I know, you hate me for this cliffhanger, right? X3 I love writing cliffhangers! I am most definitely evil for this reason, but it's fun receiving all those hateful reviews! BAHAHAHAHA! You have to admit it though, cliffhangers are what keep a reader interested. ;) So, accept it! Cliffhangers will happen! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time~!