Chapter 4: Hidden
A pregnant silence engulfed the orange-haired navigator and feathered creature as Nami stared completely speechless into the ebony eyes of a friend she hadn't seen since Shiki's defeat. After the floating islands had returned back to the Grand Line and Shiki was arrested, their short-term ally had taken his leave to return back to his habitat, much to Luffy's disappointment. The electrical bird had not only helped Nami to escape from Shiki's clutches, but provided just the right amount of lightning to assist Luffy in bringing down the maniacal sword-legged pirate who had threatened to completely destroy the East Blue. To see Biri after a few months was definitely a pleasant surprise.
"Nami! I got the fire starte-woah!" Usopp's eyes doubled in size when he saw the broad bird being petted by Nami. His mouth dropped open for only a moment before tears clouded his eyes as he jaunted happily over to encircle his arms around Biri's neck. "Biri! You're back! Oh this is wonderfullll!" He sobbed into the bird's feathers, only to shriek as static from the tips of the golden wings shocked him and sent him jumping backwards.
"Ka!" Biri apologetically called out, his head hanging down in shame at having unintentionally hurt his friend. Sometimes he would spurt out little bursts of electricity whenever he felt threatened, upset or excited. It was something he still didn't entirely know how to control, though he'd definitely improved since Nami first met him.
Usopp raised his slightly charred fingers and forced a smile. "Aw it's alright! I'm happy to see you too!" Biri's spirits seemed to lift up as he tilted his head back and cried out happily, grateful that his long-nosed friend was at least alright.
Throughout the brief reunion scene, quite a few thoughts and ideas had filled Nami's head, along with some questions that she wasn't entirely sure would be answered. Still, certain things were starting to make sense, especially when she considered how unnaturally severe the storm was. She should've been able to know what do right away, yet her senses had been all jumbled up. She stared at her feathered friend, and at once realization dawned on her.
"You were following us, weren't you Biri?"
Both Biri and Usopp regarded the navigator in bewilderment. She placed her index finger beneath her lips as she fully considered the circumstances and how they'd made sense. "That explains why the storm and lightning were so unpredictable for me."
Biri hung his head in guilt, his feathers drooping downwards like a wilting flower. "Ka..."
Nami smiled and gave him a pat on the beak, causing his feathers to lift back up. "Hey, it's fine. We'll get back to our crew."
"As long as we find our way to the city we should be fine, right?"
"I suppose, but we'll need money once we get there. I can probably just steal and pickpocket until we're found again." Nami grinned devilishly, her eyes glowing with greed.
Usopp sighed, knowing she was already long gone in Thief mode. Biri spread his feathers out and cheered her on. " Alright, well we should at least eat first before going anywhere." As if on cue, his stomach loudly rumbled. "I feel like haven't eaten in years!" he wailed as he theatrically fell to his knees and clutched his stomach.
A light bulb seemed to suddenly go off in Biri's head, and he swished his head around to face the river with a determined expression. He waddled into the water, his movements followed by Nami and Usopp's inquisitive stares, and stuck his head up proudly. "KA!" A burst of electricity shot through his body and zapped the water, releasing a blinding flash that lasted only a few seconds before dissipating and revealing about five hefty fish floating belly-up. He spread his wings out and contently cawed to show off what he'd proudly accomplished.
Nami and Usopp gradually glanced at each other and then back at the dead fish. After a moment of shocked silence, their faces lit up and Usopp excitedly ran to grab their dinner. " Woo hoo! You're awesome Biri!"
"Ka!"
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By the time the sun was beginning to set, all five fish had been roasted and consumed. Nami was fine with only one, while Biri and Usopp each had two to satisfy their immense cravings. Feeling sluggish and sleepy, Nami urged that they find a place to rest for the night, preferably not out in the open in case any enemies were to cross their path. With a tired agreement, all three of them moved forward and kept their eyes open for any possible shelter.
After walking for almost 15 minutes, Nami suddenly paused and glanced over to her left. Usopp and Biri also stopped and questioningly followed her eye movement, for all they could see were just even more trees and bushes.
"What is it Nami?" Usopp's knees began to shake a little at the thought of possibly being attacked.
Nami raised a finger up to silence him before a smile crossed her face. "Do you hear that?"
Biting his lower lip in confusion, Usopp walked a little ahead of Nami and listened carefully. His eyes suddenly widened and he found himself grinning as he looked back at Nami, who nodded her head in confirmation. Biri wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he followed his two friends as they promenaded through the bushes and side-stepped around some trees.
The noise they'd heeded grew louder and louder with each step they took until even Biri recognized it. All three of them at last emerged into a modest area that had a vast waterfall that loomed over their heads and fell into a small body of water beneath it like a silk curtain of cerulean. With trees encompassing their location, the area felt private and seemed to provide a sense of security.
Nami traipsed forward, and slid her aching feet beneath the water. She blissfully sighed and wiggled her toes, relaxing as the cool liquid massaged each foot. Biri plopped down next to her and stuck his beak in the pool, guzzling up the liquid in hefty amounts before he let out a little burp.
"Hey Nami, there's a cave behind here!" Usopp suddenly called out from behind the waterfall. The navigator pulled her feet out of the water and walked over to where he stood, her naked soles padding against the smooth-stoned surface that was like a marble floor surrounding a pool. A gentle mist tickled her skin as she peeked behind the column of water to get a better look at the inner space he'd discovered.
The cave was higher in stature than she was, and could easily fit five or six people. The entire space was a dull gray color with a smooth floor. It smelt strongly of moisture and plants, but it wasn't unpleasant, as it only matched the natural setting they were in and seemed to bring a sense of calm to their temporary home. Truthfully, she hadn't been expecting to find shelter, and was thankful that Lady Luck was on their side at the moment. "This will definitely work."
"Of course, the Great Captain Usopp never fails!" The sharpshooter had struck a pose with his finger pointed upward and a thumb jabbed into his chest, waiting to be praised for his magnificent find, only to notice after a few seconds of silence that Nami had walked off and not bothered paying attention to his prideful boast. He frowned and followed after her, mumbling to himself about people not knowing how great of a captain and warrior he was.
Nami sat at the edge of the pool once more and stuck her legs beneath the water before she slid in, shivering slightly as the cooling temperature caressed her body. The water went up to about her shoulders, and then down to the top of her chest if she stood on her tip toes. When she saw Usopp approach the pool, she splashed at him with a mischievous grin while he hopped over to the side in a defensive stance to avoid getting wet.
"Aww c'mon Usopp! Swim for a bit! You probably smell like body odor anyways," she teased with her tongue sticking out of her mouth.
He glared at her, and then looked over at Biri for any sort of support against Nami's blunt words, but the giant duck had also jumped into the water and was leisurely floating around. With a surrendering huff, Usopp took his shirt off, tossed it to the side, and jumped in.
"D-damn this is cold!" he trembled while feverishly rubbing his arms up and down. He stood on his tiptoes and began bouncing around to bring some warmth back, only to stop when he saw Nami standing beside him with a cocked brow.
"You're such a baby."
"A baby huh?" Usopp backed away slowly with an evil smile. "Can a baby do this?" He smacked his arm into the water and pushed forth a large wave. "In your face Nami!" he crowed in triumph.
Nami laughed and covered her face as a broad splash crashed against her. She submerged her head beneath the water and opened her eyes, viewing walls mixed with pebbles and dirt. Numerous red and violet fish covered in white or black stripes hastily swam away as she pushed her arms out and propelled herself forward to get a better look at the comestible creatures. Their beady eyes seemed to dart back and forth cautiously, like they were speaking their own language to each other through rapid eye movements. She decided to not bother them anymore, as she'd only wanted to try and guess what species they were, so she resurfaced, her head popping up next to Usopp. The sharpshooter had decided to float on his back with his arms and legs spread out like he was attempting to make a water angel. He shrieked in surprised as Nami vaulted up and pushed her hands down against his chest to dunk his body beneath the liquid surface. His arms flailed around before he popped back up and coughed out water like he was choking, all while Nami stood innocently nearby and watched him.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" The sniper croaked as he held his nose to try and lessen the burning feeling from his nasal intake of water.
"Aw, what do you mean Usopp?" She fluttered her eyelashes. "I don't know what you're talking about." She squeaked as he dove towards her and hurled walls of water at her face, accepting the challenge she had thrust upon him. Biri squawked in annoyance as his feathers grew damp before swimming over to one of the edges and hopping right out, shaking his head to fling off unwanted droplets as he made his way over to the cave and plopped himself down.
The two Straw Hats swam around, splashing and dunking each other like two children playing in a pool. In situations that sometimes felt hopeless, they'd learned that the best thing to do was make the most of it, no matter how scared or uncertain they felt. Nami didn't usually act childish, as she was the one often reprimanding Luffy and the other men about their immature and reckless behavior, but she honestly didn't mind. It was great to let go and have fun, especially when things seemed bleak, so as she smacked water into her friend's face and repeatedly dunked him, she found herself laughing and not thinking about the fact that they were separated from their friends and lost on some strange island.
For another ten minutes they played around in the water, their laughter and teasing yells bouncing off the surrounding trees and waterfall as night slowly fell upon them. At last, with tired limbs, soaked clothes, and wrinkled fingertips, they climbed out of the mini pool and collapsed on their backs, drenched and cold.
"So, I believe I just kicked your ass," Nami taunted with a grin.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure you're the one who was just dominated." Usopp stuck his nose proudly upwards, a content smile on his face. "Don't feel bad though; nobody ever faces me and comes out unscathed."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever you say."
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[Alice in Wonderland- Only a Dream]
They sat next to each other, the small fire Usopp had managed to start with a spark of two stones and fallen branches crackled behind them and warmed their backs as they faced the water. The onyx sky was splattered with milky dots that twinkled around the glowing full moon that poured forth its light onto the island nestled below it. They two pirates felt exhausted, but were unable to fall asleep yet. While Usopp had run around gathering materials earlier, Nami had shed her clothes and laid them out to dry. She'd hid behind Biri, using his feathers not only to retain privacy but to also dry herself, just as she'd done when Luffy had found her and Biri running around on the floating islands, with her wearing nothing but a damp bikini. Usopp had then built a fire next to her clothes, and called out to her when they were decently dry, and by that time the sun had fully disappeared beneath the horizon, bringing them to their current situation.
"You know what's weird?" Usopp looked at the navigator, an eyebrow raised questioningly at her sudden thought. "We usually end up together whenever we're separated from everybody else, and I wonder if it's just a funny joke fate is playing on us."
He scrunched his lips and stared straight ahead, focusing on the down pouring of the waterfall. "Now that you mention it, we do end up being in the same group a lot. Let's see, there was Thriller Bark," he began counting off his fingers, "Loguetown, Little Garden, Skypiea-"
" -When we first arrived at Water 7, when you and Chopper saved me from the explosion at Shiki's fortress, taking care of the Horn Eaters on the Island of Strange Animals-"
"-competing on Omatsuri Island, the caves on Woonan Island, and now on this strange island," Usopp finished, marking off his ninth finger. He looked impressed. "Wow, I guess that is a lot, huh?" He looked back at Nami. "But why is it like a joke?"
"Well, you and I are what others might consider to be the "normal ones" in the group." She made air quotations with her fingers. "We're not fantastic fighters like Zoro, Luffy, Franky and Sanji, and we don't have Devil Fruit Powers."
"Yeah, but we do have our own talents," Usopp pointed out. " I'm the best sharpshooter to ever exist, and your navigation and mapping skills always help us out!"
"Well, I'm not sure you're the best one to ever exist," she quipped, amused at his huff. "You are pretty good though, I suppose, not to mention I think I've done a pretty great job with the Climatact you made for me.''
He raised his hand up to indicate a high five. "We make a pretty great team, at least, I think so." He grinned.
She nodded, the corners of her mouth turned upwards as she slapped her palm against his, a smacking sound breaking through the silence of night. "Yeah, I suppose, even though you're kind of a wimp."
His mouth dropped open, his eyebrows furrowing. "Excuse me?! I am most certainly not a wimp! I just don't like death!" he sputtered. "Besides, you're the one who runs away every time you see a little defenseless bug!"
A chill ran up her spine as he mentioned the grotesque creatures she wished would just disappear from existence altogether. "Hey, bugs are gross! They pinch and fly and...ugh!" She shuddered in repulsion.
The raven-haired pirate suddenly stretched his arms upwards and let out a loud yawn, tears springing to his eyes as he squeezed them shut. The orange-haired pirate also yawned, and on that signal there seemed to be a mutual agreement that perhaps going to bed was a good idea. Usopp stuck his shoe in the water and then stomped on the fire to put it out, thin wisps of smoke welling upwards only a little before completely vaporizing into thin air.
The two of them walked back to the cave, trying to avoid the mist of the waterfall as they entered the spacious compartment and laid on their backs. Both of them placed their heads against the opposite sides of Biri, with Usopp being the one closest to the cave entrance while Nami was near the back wall. The bird didn't seem to mind the slight pressure added to his wings; he only continued to gently snore. They lay there in silence, both letting their eyelids grow heavy as the lulling sound of the waterfall helped them rise to meet sleep.
"Nami?"
She stirred, but kept her eyes shut. "What?"
"Everything will turn out okay, right?" His eyes were halfway closed, but he wouldn't be able to sleep without some sort of confirmation to ease the worries that had continued gnawing at the back of his mind since they'd woken up on the shore earlier that day.
Nami's eyes slowly opened, focusing on the wall in front of her. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. "I hope so Usopp, I really do."
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