Disclaimer : I do not own Nami nor One Piece nor any other shows I mention in this fiction.

Warning : SPOILERS are prone to appear in this chapter.

Chapter Eight :

Interludes

"A big sister's burden"

Nojiko wasn't always an orphan, no she used to have two loving parents.

Then it all changed when pirates attacked her original hometown. She can still remember the horror, the sounds of bullets piercing through the air, the fire stealing away everything, adults and children crying as everyone tried to evacuate and more importantly she remembered how her house caught on fire. Her mother pushing her away out of the door just in time before everything collapsed.

How her father was stabbed by a pirate, the blood...it was so terrifying.

In a span of ten minutes she had lost everything she ever cared about. When that realization struck her she wasn't even afraid of death anymore, in fact she wanted to die, because what was the point of being alive if she didn't have anything?

By the time she wanted to die it was too late, the battle had ended. There was no one there to put her out of her misery, so she walked aimlessly without direction, she was sure that she had step on a few corpses and even beat up a few pirate corpses in her anger.

Then she found a gun.

Her finger fully prepared to pull the trigger and end her misery, but a cry made her stop. A baby, her future little sister on a pile of rubble. It was an odd sight for Nojiko who had thought that no one else was alive. The baby gave her a purpose...she couldn't just let the baby die, she had to get the baby to safety. So she picked the baby up crushing away memories of when she begged her parents for a younger sibling as she started walking.

The way that the baby looked at her with calculating eyes as if knowing what was going on unnerved her, she was about ready to drop the baby then and there until the baby started speaking gibberish as if trying to cheer her up.

So her opinion of the baby changed, she now thought of the baby as just an innocently curious kid who was a bit more aware than most. Now the baby and her were alone.

Until Bell-mere came.

At first she was cautious about the marine but then when Bell-mere made the baby who gave her hope laughed she decided to trust the marine. And that was a good choice she made.

Bell-mere had taken her and the baby to her home village.

Nojiko was a bit peeved when Bell-mere said she was going to take them in, after all she knew she had a mother and she didn't want to replace her own mother. Bell-mere who seemed to understand her thoughts just waved her off telling her it was her own choice. Nojiko was glad for that, she didn't want to rush things.

Then Bell-mere asked her what they should name the baby. After a lot of discussing the two settled for Nami, a fitting name for the future navigator.

But Nojiko couldn't help but feel alone, as if no one understood her. She didn't know how everyone could just laugh when she just lost her parents, her friends...everything!

She was taken aback when she saw the same emotions she was feeling being reflected in Nami's eyes and realized how selfish she was being, at least she remember her parents and knew a mother and father's love.

Sissy

That simple little word had a lot of effect on Nojiko who became even more protective of her smart little sister. Oh, she knew Nami was smart. She knew Nami was insanely perspective, that the little girl was a genius...a prodigy. So she took it upon herself to make sure Nami knew that she was behind her one hundred percent and that she was still a child.

But then she realized something.

Nami seemed close to her and Bell-mere but the truth was that Nami was so far away, the distance between them was so big. Unlike Nojiko who would be content with a simple life Nami's eyes held ambition, held the longing for adventure and a longing for something else she couldn't describe. Sometimes Nami seemed so sad for some reason but then covered it all behind a happy mask.

She noticed how Nami would shoot envious look to people with nice clothes and how Nami seemed to never ask for something, the only time Nami seemed more selfishly childish was in June.

While she saw one thing Nami would see a completely different thing. They were so different despite being raised under the same roof. Nojiko wanted a simple life while Nami longed for excitement, for adventure. She didn't have any worries while Nami seemed chained down with worries and a huge burden.

Nojiko wanted to know what exactly Nami's burden was but Nami would never tell.

Then one day a man who seemingly understood Nami's burden came along bluntly telling her to stay out of it or she'll just get in Nami's way. She was mad that a stranger understood Nami more than her but then...Nami's smiles became more genuine, Nami started being more outgoing and would even take more days off after her intense training with Rex.

She backed down accepting that the man understood Nami better no matter how much it pained her, she wanted Nami to be happy after all and Rex had a good influence on Nami, he made Nami seemed more fearless and more open minded.

But then Nojiko realized...those genuine smiles weren't so genuine. Half of them might have been lies.

Nami became more smart, more calculating and more perspective. Her little sister seemed to think that everything was a game of chess, that everyone were pieces.

See, the shopkeeper is just the opposing King. Every prices of his doesn't match, every time you point it out his pieces gets taken away until he has no choice but to give you what you want and then checkmate.

She noticed how Nami became stronger.

"Nami, stop!" Nojiko yelled

"Why nee-chan? He said mom's tangerines were awful..." Nami pointed out as she pulled a bit more

"Nami." Bell-mere stated crossing her arms arriving just in time narrowing her eyes at the five year old who managed to take down an adult and was choking said adult

"Okay moooom" Nami drawled out letting the man go, she seemed disappointed as she turned away "I'm heading to Rex..." she announced already walking towards the junk store.

She noticed how Nami became faster.

"...Wait...a...second!" Nojiko panted out

Nami giggled still barely sweating "Pick up the pace slowpoke!" she bellowed

But then one day when Nami was five she changed again.

She acted more like a kid, she did train a lot but she didn't beat other people up or anything. In fact she became nicer and seemed sorry for her previous actions. And Nojiko believed her without noticing how she fell into the web of lies.

"A mother's pride"

Bell-mere loved Nojiko and Nami so much that she would gladly die for them.

That is a fact. The former marine loved the two, she saw them as her own children. She would rather die than say she isn't their mother, she loved them just that much.

They had given her a reason to live again when she lost all hope, she knew that Nojiko was suspicious of Nami but unlike Nojiko who thought that anything Nami told her was a lie she knew better. She knew that Nami never lied to them, instead Nami would tell them half the truth or not the whole story. Or maybe even something that could be true in another person's perspective.

Whatever the case is unlike Nojiko who tired to look underneath anything Nami does she looked at the surface and saw what Nami blatantly wanted them to see which was her love for them, the way she made sure they knew she thought they were family and looked out for them in her own way.

So when she saw Nami on the ground beaten to a pulp she saw wanted to kill the motherfucker who dared to touch her daughter, oh she didn't care if she went to jail she did have some connections to the marine ensuring herself to go out free after a short period.

But the man, a mere civilian managed to take her down. She still seethed in anger at the memory.

Oh, she noticed Nami's change thanks to the man named Rex. She also noticed how Nami didn't act as if the world would end the next day or how she laughed more freely now.

Honestly she was proud of Nami's progress and happily embraced it! The only problem she had with Nami's progress was...

"Huh?" Nami asked blinking at Bell-mere who sighed

"I said good job" she repeated

Nami stared at her in disbelief "I just beat a kid up and you say good job? What kind of parent are you?"

"An awesome parent!" Bell-mere said with a grin completely ignoring how Nami sweat dropped "The only thing that's missing is..." she said jabbing her finger at Nami's left breast "Heart!"

"Actually my heart is on my right...doc said it must have come from my biological parents" Nami informed missing the point

Bell-mere sweat dropped at her daughter "I meant it in a figurative way."

"How so?" Nami asked raising an eyebrow

"You don't seem to enjoy the fights you get into, which is a shame really. When you fight you calculate things too much, you fight like you're a robot without putting any heart into it." Bell-mere tried to explain

"...a robot...?" Nami asked having a thoughtful look

But after that accident Nami freely admitted that while knowing is half the battle, having fun and messing around appealed to her too.

"What's up doc?"

To doctor Noko however Nami was a prodigy. Especially since he read Nami's journal which she had lend him on devil fruit and how to have multiple devil fruits under your control.

Oh, he wasn't scared of her...in fact he had become more curios to what the girl would amount to. Nami took all the knowledge he could give her ranging from human anatomy, poison and even herbs to benefit her in an almost scientific way.

First coming up with ideas on how to make her muscles strong enough to break rocks with her bare fist by releasing haki at her tenketsu point at the right time. He looked forward to the day Nami unlocked her haki. Secondly making recipes for her own poisons to coat in weapons just so there would be no cure for them. Thirdly memorizing the human anatomy to know precisely where to hit people in order to do the most damage. The list can go on forever and Noko could say one thing for sure...

He pity anyone who dares to stand against Nami when she's older and better. After all Nami isn't even a decade old yet. Imagine when she's eighteen or so...suddenly the idea of her taking on the whole world didn't sound so unbelievable...especially after reading Nami's journal "Conquest for power"

The only two things that seemed to bother the man was Nami's insanity. He had ruled it off as her potential coming at the price of her sanity. Yeah, the girl was insane, but hey, at least she had common sense, right? Too bad he didn't know that she'd lose the common sense when a certain straw-hat becomes her captain.

The other thing that bothered Noko was Nami's inside joke that he still hasn't figured out...

"Ehh...what's up doc?" Nami asked biting a carrot using a strange accent

Noko didn't ever raise an eyebrow already used to the crazy girl's antics, he opened his mouth to answer only for Nami's laugh to cut him off.

He just didn't get it, he thought that nobody got it until...

"What's up doc?" Nami asked holding a carrot in her mouth

"You got the accent wrong kid." Rex stated grabbing the carrot from Nami "Bugs' says it like this...ehhh what's up doc'?"

"Oh!" Nami grinned as if finally realizing how to do it right

Honestly it's common fact in the village that Rex was crazy.

"The other visitor"

Rex wasn't interested in letting other people know about his past life nor his past in this life. It simply didn't matter to him, but what he didn't know was that he told Nami once when he was drunk.

He told her about his previous life..his parents were neglectful at best. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a teacher, so it was obvious that he would turn out smart. Yet the neglect made him feel lonely...so he became a delinquent. He craved for his parents' attention that it didn't matter if he had gotten it in a good way or not.

His delinquency eventually led him into starting up his own mafia. Those were the days he loved, his connection with the government courtesy of his father helped him in not getting into trouble. He outright confirmed that he didn't give a crap about others and enjoyed killing. He enjoyed bringing despair to others and even messing with them mentally.

Of course his mafia business got boring quickly but he knew it was too late to stop. Eventually he died in an ironic way..he was betrayed by his own father, his own gang, his own brother in all but blood...everyone and died a fool's death. That taught him a lesson about trusting others...

Only for that lesson to mean nothing in the face of his new parents. His father in this life was a craftsman who owned his own company while his mother was a seamstress. For the first time he felt parental love and he loved it. It was too bad that the damn marines arrested his father and mother.

Why did they arrest his parents? Simply because his loving parents had protected him and lied that they were the ones who invented the dangerous grenades and the newest version of a pistol. They died...all because of him and that regret took a huge toll on him as he swore never to create anything again.

How did he wind up at cocoyashi of all places? He got a bit too drunk for his liking while riding a cruise ship. Honestly, he should know by now that he can't hold his liquor.

To his luck he found out that he wasn't the only one who came to the OP world, oddly enough another girl named Ashley winded up in Nami's body. And if that wasn't enough...

"Then help obviously are smarter than me, you have more experience, you know how to manipulate others and I wouldn't put it pass you not to know how to fight"

The girl asked him to help her. And the truth to why he accepted so easily was something so idiotic that almost made him puke. It was because they way Ashley acted as if she needed him...in both this life and the previous life he had never felt as if someone needed him. Oh, he was harsh to the girl but it was his way of caring.

And he did care for Ashley who was witty, sarcastic, had a great sense of humor and shared a lot of things in common with him ranging from gaming to liking anime. In fact if he had met her in his previous life there wasn't any doubt that he would have fallen in love and eventually marry the girl. But it's too late for that now, the age gap was too big and somehow he knew Ashley wasn't the type to chain herself down to a man.

So he decided to help Ashley to the best of his ability.

Chest, lying, shogi, strategies, martial arts, fighting ideas, threw away unneeded morals, taught her how to fight dirty, how to play mind games with enemies, how to talk her way out of any situation, how to manipulate others...he taught her everything he knew except for being a craftsman or a seamstress because that hurt too much.

And the girl took everything he taught him. Sure she complained, nagged, questioned his sanity and even whined a lot but she was an amazing apprentice and he could find himself understanding how Shanks felt about Luffy or how Hawk-eye felt about Zoro.

He found a diamond in the rough just like they had, but he spent more effort into polishing her than they did. That's for damn sure.

Chapter end.

A/N : Okay now that those are out of the way...on to the next chapter!

Luscil L. L :

I am a huge fan of Sly Cooper! He's like my favorite gaming character ever. I've played all the games except for thieves in time~

Guest :

Oh, you're not weird at all. I imagine myself as the main character in other stories a lot too, not to mention I ship myself!MC with my fav male character from the story as well. To name a few examples...Lucy from Fairy Tail, Sakura/Ino/Hinata from Naruto, Maka from Soul Eater...

I'm weird.

davycrockett100 :

I'd like to thank you for reviewing almost every chapter of this story so far, it really means a lot.

MusicOfMadness :

Well I see where you're coming from and frankly I agree. I made Rex into being a really detestable character with some good points underneath his jerkass attitude. Mainly he's a sadistic jerkass tsundere.