Chapter 5: The City At Last

Nami's eyes fluttered open as she heeded bird calls, her sight blurrily focused on the cave wall in front of her. She could see particles of scattered golden light along the surface, and felt the ruffle of feathers pressed along her back through her shirt. She blinked a few more times before she forced herself to sit up, inwardly cursing at the stiff pain she felt in her spine. She yawned and stretched her legs out before rubbing her eyes and wearily turning to face the giant bird huddled down beside her. Biri lifted his head and turned to stare at her, resulting in Nami patting his beak before she stepped over him to exit the cave. She raised a brow and rolled her eyes when she noticed Usopp boisterously snoring with the tip of his nose pressed into the wing of their feathered friend. She shaded her eyes with her left hand as she peered through the waterfall to see just how high the sun was in the sky and possibly get an idea for what time it was. She estimated that the time was around eight due to the positioning of the shadows on the ground, which meant they needed to get moving in order to get breakfast and reach the city.

Nami stood over Usopp's slumbering form and kicked his foot, prompting the sharpshooter to merely grunt before he returned to peacefully snoring. When she kicked him harder, he grumbled and rolled his eyes before he shot the navigator an irritated glare.

"What is it with you and hitting me?!"

"I wouldn't have to kicked you if you'd just woken up in the first place!" Nami retaliated, uncaring if she had annoyed him. "We need to get moving if we want to get to the city." She combed her hair with her fingers the best that she could and placed her hands on the small of her back to push her chest out and relieve her spine of its sore rigidity. She could feel her stomach growl as she stepped out of the cave and into the sunlight, her eyes wincing at the bright sunshine. She was thankful that they were on a Spring island instead of Summer, otherwise the humidity would make things a lot more difficult.

"Kaa!" Biri stated as it pushed past Usopp, knocking the long-nosed pirate onto his back with a groan.

"Et tu, Biri?" Usopp dramatically whined before he pushed himself back onto his feet and followed the huge bird out of the cave to join Nami at the foot of the waterfall. He yawned and folded his arms over his chest. "So, which way now?"

"Well, the smoke came from the north, so that's where we should head," Nami responded as she pointed to their left. "We should reach civilization by afternoon if we hurry up. We need to find something to eat, too."

As if on cue, Usopp's stomach rumbled loudly, a look of utter despair crossing his face. "What I wouldn't give for Sanji's breakfast right now!"

"Oh, stop. We'll find something." Unwilling to put up with his childish behavior, Nami began her promenade through the forest with Biri trailing closely behind her.

"Hey, wait for me!" Usopp called out, his legs pushing him into a brisk stroll in order to keep up.

The pair strolled through the wooded area with their bird-friend, keeping an eye out for anything that appeared edible. Nami didn't admit it, but she also missed Sanji's cooking. It had been nice to wake up in a bed everyday and eat a well-portioned and delicious breakfast that always filled her up. She didn't just miss the food though; she missed their crew. Sure, they sometimes got on her nerves, but they were a close family. She enjoyed reading or working on deck and humming to Brook's songs, or teasingly kicking Zoro to wake him up, or talking with Robin or even watching Luffy make an idiot of himself with Chopper and Usopp. Having Franky around to be dramatic or make new inventions was also something she missed, as there had been many nights when they'd worked together in companionable silence in either the library or his workshop. She loved all of them, and to be away from them really saddened her. She was a pirate though, and she wasn't stupid, so she knew they would survive somehow.

After about an hour of walking and trying not to think about food, the trio arrived at a grassy clearing that was encompassed by an abundance of immense trees. Nami wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead and gazed up into the treetops, a smile lighting her face when she noticed clusters of fruit dangling among the tree branches.

"Usopp, look!" she pointed out, her friend's face breaking into a grin when he also noticed the fruit. "We just need to get up there and we can have breakfast."

"Guess that means it's up to you, Biri," Usopp stated as he patted the bird's beak. Biri cawed cheerfully and ruffled his feathers in pride at his friends having use for him.

"I'll fly up," Nami declared as she climbed onto the bird's back. "You stay here for a second."

Usopp looked almost offended. "What? Why?"

"Because both us and the food might be too much for him," Nami responded before she patted Biri's head, prompting him to leap up and spread his wings for flight. They soared up towards the tree tops while ignoring Uospp's protesting shouts. Nami held tightly onto the neck feathers and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as the gentle wind tickled her face and head. They flew for not even a minute before they landed on a wide branch that was completely enshrouded in bushels of fruit. She reached up and grabbed a round violet fruit with green circles on it, and dug her fingers into it. Juice dripped out as she struggled to open it, having success at last once she'd put an admirable dent into it. She smelled it before she took a small bite, her taste buds basking in the delicious flavor. Satisfied that it wasn't poison, she took another bite and waved down to Usopp.

"Hey, the fruit up here is great! I'll grab some!" she called down.

Usopp had just given her a thumbs-up when he suddenly froze. The bushes behind him had rustled, followed by the sound of what appeared to be a low growl. His legs shook as he hesitantly twisted his head around, only to see two wide brown eyes peering back at him from the shrubbery.

"N-N-N-N-N-Nami?"

Nami had turned back to picking more fruit when she suddenly heard Usopp scream. Switching her attention back down to the ground, her mouth dropped open and eyes widened in fear when she saw the beast that was preparing to pounce on her friend.

"Usopp! Watch out!"

With a fearsome roar, a hefty purple cat with massive paws vaulted out of its hiding spot and extended its claws towards the frightened pirate. Usopp bolted away as fast as he could with a high-pitched screech. He tripped backwards and landed on his back before he quickly turned himself over and took off running with his arms waving frantically in the air.

"Please please don't kill me!" he begged as he ran in a giant circle, the monstrous creature ambling right behind him. "Nami! Some help please!"

The navigator did not want to go anywhere near that fiend. She didn't have any weapons on her, and if Biri used his electricity powers while she was on him then she would also end up getting electrified. So she did the only sensible thing she could think of.

"You heard him Biri. Go get him."

Biri didn't waste any time. He had taken on monsters before that were even bigger than the one chasing Usopp, so he didn't feel any fear. He spread his wings and glided down from the tree, emitting his warning cry to try and get the creature to back off his friend. When the cat didn't listen, Biri's whole body went static with electricity and zapped the purple feline, causing it to whine like a little kitten before it got the message. With a whimper of defeat, the animal took off, and the bird landed proudly on the ground with his feathers sticking up.

Usopp fell to his knees and threw his arms gratefully around Biri. "Thank you Biri, thank youuuuu!" Tears dramatically dribbled down his face.

Nami sighed in relief that he was safe, but rolled her eyes at all the fuss he was creating. "Just hurry up and come up here!" Nami shouted. They could just eat the fruit from the tree and fly down together to save Biri from all the extra weight.

Usopp did his best to climb on Biri, his legs still trembling from the near death encounter he'd just had. He held on tightly as Biri took off and soared right back up to the tree where Nami sat waiting. He practically collapsed onto the branch with his arms spread open wide and chest heaving as if he'd just run a marathon.

"That was too close," he heaved out before he sat up and took an offered piece of fruit from Nami. He shoved half of it in his mouth and nearly drooled over how good it tasted.

"Oh please, you were fine," Nami told him as she bit into her fruit. "It was just a giant cat."

Usopp glared at her. "Yeah? Then why didn't you come down and face it?"

"I didn't want to humiliate you even further," she simply responded with an uncaring shrug. "Besides, how am I supposed to fight without any weapons? Last I checked, I don't have any special fruit powers."

The sharpshooters frowned but didn't say anything else. The two ate their fruit in silence as Nami gave Biri some while eating her own. Eventually all three of them were content with their fill, and it was time to once again resume their journey. Nami gazed out into the distance, a smile on her face as she saw they weren't too far off from their destination. Frankly, walking in the forest for another hour on bare feet wasn't the least bit appealing to her, so she decided to make use of another mode of transportation available to them.

"Let's see if we can fly up to the city without drawing attention," Nami suggested. She patted Biri on the beak. "That okay with you?"

"Caw!"

"Sounds good to me," Usopp sighed in relief. He really didn't feel like walking anymore, even though he should've been used to doing a lot of hiking with all the adventures him and the rest of the Strawhats went on. He couldn't wait to be around people again and sleep in a real bed.

Nami, on the other hand, couldn't wait to take a shower. Her hair felt disgusting and her feet were positively covered in dirt. She probably didn't smell that great either, and she was most definitely not okay with that.

Usopp sat in front while Nami seated herself behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold on. Biri took off and ascended higher in the sky to get a better look at where the city was. He stretched his wings out and glided towards the tall buildings, his passengers enjoying the breeze against their sweat-covered skin. Nami frowned as Usopp's hair flew into her face, causing her to swat it out of the way like the curls were annoying flies. Usopp was too busy enjoying the wind to notice what she was doing.

When the city was just far enough away to walk to, Biri landed so Nami and Usopp could get off. Nami patted Biri's beak and smiled at him. "Thanks for bringing us here. Find a spot nearby so we can find you when we need to okay?"

The bird wasn't happy about being separated from his friends, but he understood that the city's civilians would probably freak out if they saw a giant electric duck flying around. He cawed in agreement and took off to one of the nearby trees.

"He should be fine," Nami confidently stated as her and Usopp watched their friend disappear into the treetops. "There's plenty of food and he can handle himself." She turned and promenaded towards the city with Usopp at her side, both unsure as to what to expect. Usopp just hoped that the place wasn't as creepy as where they'd found Brook in the Florian Triangle. He shuddered at the unpleasant memories and kept up with the navigator.

[Avengers-Helicarrier]

The two found a sidewalk leading up to the city, and took it while being cautious of their surroundings. They went up a set of cobblestone stairs, walked under an arch and past two buildings before they were finally in the city itself. Smells of fresh baked bread infiltrated their nostrils as the stepped up right before the crowd form, and took in everything.

Massive complex structures surrounded them on all sides, some as tall as the trees in the forest. People strolled around in groups or by themselves, basking in the scenery of restaurants, buildings with ivy crawling up the sides, shops that sold nearly everything, and a vast water fountain with statues of flipping fish erected in the middle. What was most impressive though was the immense clock tower and the column of bubbles floating up to it. Individuals stood or sat in the bubbles like they were mere traveling vessels, which immediately captured Usopp's attention.

"That's incredible!" he gasped out, wanting to run right over to get a closer look. He knew that they needed to find a place to eat and rest first, so unfortunately his investigating would have to wait.

"This place is amazing," she breathed out, a smile on her face and twinkle in her eyes. There was a blended mixture of scents and an abundance of color with all the buildings. She heaved a sigh of relief and allowed her sore muscles to relax

They had finally reached the city.

[+]