Ch. 4- The True Meaning

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

Luffy had went back outside into the blustering snowstorm. This time, because he had eaten and had gotten himself warmed up a bit, he'd be able to endure it. If he could fight through the Freezing Hell of Impel Down, then surely he could fight through this!

He had to…for the sake of Nami's Christmas spirit.

As Luffy continued to trudge on through the snow, wind, and ice, he saw something in the distance. He couldn't quite make it out, but as he walked closer, he saw that whatever it was, it appeared to be glowing bright enough for him to see through all this blurry snow.

"Light?" Luffy questioned.

He climbed up the hill to get a better look, and when he reached the top, he gasped at what he saw.

The Sunny…all lit up with bright, colorful lights!

He found it!

"The ship!" Luffy cried with joy. With newfound strength, Luffy slid down the hill and ran as fast as he could, as if the snowstorm didn't matter anymore.

All that mattered was getting back to his crew. His friends.

His Nami.

"HEY~!" Luffy called out. "GUYS! IT'S ME! I'M BACK~!"

On the Sunny's deck, everyone had heard the voice of their captain over the howling wind and looked up with hopeful faces. As they looked out to the island, they soon saw the image of Luffy appear from the snow, running to the ship with his usual smile.

"LUFFY!" Nami cried before she ran out to embrace her beloved captain.

"That son of a bitch!" Usopp exclaimed. "I knew he wouldn't give up so easily!"

"Hooray, Luffy!" Chopper cheered.

AROOOOOOOOO~! Blizzard howled loudly at his master's return.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!" chortled Brook. "I feel as if I may I cry tears of joy! Though I do not have tear ducts. Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho~!"

"Alright, Straw Hat!" Franky shouted. "Way to go!"

Zoro, Sanji, and Robin just grinned and chuckled.

Nami threw her arms around Luffy, who returned her warm embrace.

"Oh, Luffy," Nami whispered as small tears streaked down her face. "I'm so glad you're back, safe and sound! I was starting to think I'd lose you!"

Luffy grinned.

"Don't talk stupid, Nami!" he said. "You know that I'm not planning on dying anytime soon!"

Nami nodded her head.

A…a…ACHOO! Luffy sneezed, and Nami laughed.

"C'mon, captain," she said as she led him aboard the ship. "Let's get you inside and I'll have Sanji make you some hot soup."

"With meat in it?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah."

Luffy grinned.

XXX

Luffy sat on the lounge in the galley, his feet soaking in a bucket of hot water, a blanket wrapped around him, a damp rag on his forehead to keep his slight fever down, and a nice hot bowl of beef stew to warm up his tummy.

The snowstorm had since ended.

"Honestly, Luffy," said Nami as she next to him. "You had me really worried about you! Why would you go out there, on Christmas Eve, only to get caught in a snowstorm?"

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed. "We almost thought you were as good as frozen!"

Luffy simply chuckled and said, "Like I said, I was on a secret mission?"

"What mission?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, just let us in on it, already," Zoro added.

Luffy chuckled again as he reached into his sweater. However, his smile soon disappeared and was replaced with one of worry.

"Oh, no," he whispered before he started to search his person. "Where is it? Where'd it go? I know I had it!"

"Had what?" questioned Sanji.

"I must've dropped it while I was out in the snowstorm!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Dropped what?" Franky asked.

"Luffy, what are you looking for?" Nami asked.

Luffy looked up at Nami and heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" Nami asked him. "What's the matter?"

"I lost your Christmas present," Luffy answered.

Nami's eyes went wide and everything went silent.

"I got that kitty doll you've always wanted for Christmas," said Luffy, "but…I guess I lost it, now. I'm sorry, Nami. I guess you're not gonna get what you want this year, again."

"Funny," Zoro said. "I always thought she wanted a bigger wallet- OOF!"

Sanji nudged the swordsman in the side with his elbow.

"Be nice!" the chef barked. "It's Christmas!"

Zoro groaned.

There was a pause.

Just then, Nami embraced Luffy, once more.

"You're not upset?" Luffy questioned, confused.

"No," Nami answered, smiling.

"B-but why? You didn't get what you wanted, Nami!"

"You're wrong, Luffy. I did get what I wanted. What I wanted was for you to come back to me, safely, and here you are."

"But…but I don't understand. You didn't get your present."

Nami pulled away from Luffy with a smile.

"Luffy, don't you see?" she asked him. "Christmas isn't always about presents! It's not about the tree or the decorations, either! Christmas is about having you need, and about being with the ones you care about!"

Luffy thought long and hard, which was rare for him, but as he put two-and-two together, it slowly began to make sense to him, now.

"Yeah," he said, a smile appearing on his face. "Yeah! You're right, Nami! There were times on Christmas that I didn't get what I wanted, but I had what I needed! I had people I cared about and who cared about me! My Mom…Ace…Sabo…Gramps…Makino…Shanks…and now…" he looked up at his crew: his family, "I have you guys, too!"

Everyone smiled at their captain, their hearts touched by his words.

There was not one day that they ever regretted joining him, and this was one of the many reasons why: he just loved them so much.

Nami went back to hugging Luffy, again, and this time, the rest of the Straw Hats joined in on the embrace, turning it into a full-force group hug.

As the crew hugged, Luffy looked up at the clock and saw that it was midnight, and that meant only one thing: Christmas Day was here!

"Uh, Nami?" Luffy asked. "I know you said it's not about presents, and all, but since it's midnight, and that makes it Christmas, already…can we go and open our presents, now?"

Nami looked at Luffy in surprise, but then she heaved a sigh and said, "Okay, go ahead."

"WHOO!" Luffy cheered. "Let's go, guys! Present time!"

With that, everyone ran outside (except the girls), and excitedly went over to the Christmas tree to open their gifts.

"Wow! Meat! Just what I wanted!"

"Some new dumbbells and sword polish!"

"Awesome! It's the new pair of goggles that I've always wanted!"

"I got some new cooking utensils!"

"Wow! Jingle bells, and some medical books!"

"Some new history to add to my collection. How nice."

"SUPER! Some brand new tools and some oil for whenever my joints get a bit stiff!"

Blizzard got an econo-sized jar of peanut butter that he had always wanted since he was a pup.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! A harmonica! I'm so happy, I could die! Oh, but wait! I'm already dead! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho~!"

As for Nami, she just stood in the doorway of the galley. She was glad that everyone was happy getting their Christmas presents…but she was also sad, for it appeared that, once again, she didn't get anything…

Or so she thought.

"Hey, Nami!"

Nami looked up and saw Luffy bound up to the upper deck in front of her with a colorfully wrapped box.

"Check it out!" said Luffy. "Here's one for you, too!"

Nami's eyes went wide before she gazed at her gift. She took the box from her captain's hands, gently tore open the wrapping paper, and opened the box.

Inside was something that brought tears to her eyes.

It was the little kitty doll that she had always wanted!

"Oh, my God…!" the navigator whispered as she took the doll into her arms. "It's…it's beautiful!" She then threw her arms around Luffy in a tight hug, sobbing into his chest. "This has been the Christmas ever!"

Luffy smiled as he returned the hug, gently nuzzling his nose into Nami's hair. Then, he looked up, and his smile grew wider.

"Hey, Nami," he said. "Look!"

Nami looked up with Luffy and saw a single branch of mistletoe dangling above them.

She had forgotten that Sanji had tied it up there in the hope that one of the girls would kiss him.

Luffy looked down at Nami, who stared him back in the eye. Then, slowly, they leaned into each other, closing the gap between them until they captured each other's lips in a passionate kiss.

The only one who saw was Robin, who had her arms crossed and she chuckled warmly at the sight.

Luffy and Nami pulled away from each other and then let their foreheads touch.

"Merry Christmas, Nami."

"Merry Christmas, Luffy."

They went back to kissing under the mistletoe.

As they kissed, Luffy couldn't help but wonder how the kitty doll got here, and as he did, he could've sworn that he heard the sound of…jingle bells in the sky.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, and he decided that he wouldn't dwell on it. For now, he just cared about being with Nami and his crew for Christmas.

To him, that was all that truly mattered, now.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS~!

Well, that's it! It's over! Sorry that it was kind of short, but it was the best I could come up with.

I hope you enjoyed the story, anyway!

Review, please!