Disclaimer : I do not own Nami nor One Piece nor any other shows I mention in this fiction.
Warning :Spoilers, insanity, sarcasm, fan girling, emo-brooding etc are prone to appear depending on my mood, you have been warned
Chapter Nine :
Call of Sea
Cocoyashi village docks, ten years before the start of OP.
A now eight year old Nami walked in a leisure pace with a backpack and her bo staff only. Her goggles hung loosely at her neck as she gave out a yawn. She was wearing a simple white t-shirt with the words 'Why so serious?' sewn on it courtesy of herself along with a pair of brown shorts. She wore a pair of sandals which seemed to leave behind a trail on the sand. Her shoulder length orange hair bounced with every movement.
Hmm...next time I come back here I'll make sure to surf. It's been over eight years already after all. Nami, or rather Ashley loved the beach when she was little her grandparents would often take her there at a summerhouse which was amazing. She would fish with her grandfather and make diner with her grandmother. She could swim all day and then draw the scenery. It was just perfect to her.
"Why are you up at the crack of dawn koneko?" Rex asked
Nami jumped at the sudden voice sending a glare to Rex who stood amused next to her "Since when where you there?" she asked
"From the start." Rex answered, "Now answer the question"
"A little adventure..." Nami vaguely answered
"Tsk, lying with such an innocent face? If I didn't know better I would have fallen for it" Rex stated
"I did learn from the best" Nami grinned
"I feel flattered, now does Bell-mere or Nojiko know?" Rex asked as the two continued walking
"Nope~ I did leave them a letter though" Nami informed acting as if nothing was wrong
"How long have you been planning this?" Rex asked feeling curious
"Way before I met you" Nami answered
"Where?" Rex asked
"Wherever the sea takes me"
"How poetic, but frankly I asked for a destination"
"I did give you a valid answer. Though if you're asking where I'd like to go it would be Dawn Island, Zoro's home island or maybe even Ussop's. I do have the map, but frankly? I'm just going to get some money." Nami shrugged as they stopped at the far left of the shore, she walked over to the forest where a boat was hidden in plain sight
"How come no one noticed?" Rex asked in slight disbelief taking in the bottles of water and canned food
"I do specialize in hiding things in plain sight" Nami proudly said with a grin
"That's art lessons for you..." Rex grumbled crouching down to help Nami
Nami raised an eyebrow at him "Aren't you going to give me a speech about how I'm changing things I'm not supposed to?" she questioned
Rex sighed "Will that stop you?"
"No"
"See? There's your answer. I don't like wasting time" Rex easily said "Though I warn you, when you do something that wasn't supposed to happen those actions cause something less desirable or more desirable to happen. Screwing around with destiny is really a pain in the ass."
"I'm prepared for the after effects." Nami courtly said as the two placed the boat on the water.
"Hmm, just don't change things too much okay?" Rex asked
Nami was about to give a witty retort but stopped seeing Rex seem mildly worried "I promise" those two words made Rex relax knowing Nami would keep her words no matter what
"Good, get an autograph of Luffy for me, okay?" Rex asked
"How come you don't ask for my autograph?" Nami asked puffing her cheeks out
"Because frankly I've seen enough of you already." Rex retorted with a small smile as Nami glared muttering curses
"Well the sun ain't gonna wait for me, so...bye." Nami muttered loud enough for Rex to hear as she began to head to her boat
Only for Rex to grab her shoulder
Blinking she looked back to see an unreadable look on her mentor "Yes?" she inquired
"Before you go...I have something to tell you" he stated
Fully curious Nami turned around giving the man her full attention. "I'm all ears"
Rex muttered something under his breath
"Pardon?" Nami asked
"I said, I'll uhh..." Rex trailed of glaring at the sand
Nami's lips quirked up into a small smile "I'll uh..you too" she said with wink before turning quickly. No hesitating Ashley! She yelled to herself as she ran to the boat jumping on.
"I'll be back!" she exclaimed as the boat started taking her away
Rex merely smiled without her noticing "Yeah, I'll be waiting..." he muttered to himself "See ya Ashley!" he exclaimed making Nami smiled, she loved hearing her old name.
Dawn island is about a week away depending on the weather. Nami noted as she glanced at her supplies, which were barely enough for three days only. Although I could have stolen more supplies, this will have to do. If it comes down to it I can fish...
Nodding to herself she lay on her back and lazily looked at the clouds since there was nothing better to do. Well she brought her scalpels, so maybe later she can dissect a fish? It all depended on her mood. Or maybe she can even count clouds? Man she wished she packed a book with her. As her eyes slowly began closing for a nap she felt a shift.
She softly cursed snapping her eyes open. In the OP series cannon!Nami had an almost supernatural ability to correctly predict weather, right? Knowing this Rex had trained Ashley!Nami into being able to feel the weather changing, even if it's something like a mild rain. He had made sure that she could feel it from two hundred meters after their five year training noting that by the time she's eighteen she could feel the shift from a mile away.
"Just my rotten luck..." Nami muttered as it started raining, "Oh well, this is better than a storm."
As the rain continued to pour on the eight year old she became ever more bored with nothing to do, she didn't exactly want her thoughts to drift away knowing that she would think of her past and frankly she didn't like to think of her past. She wanted to just run away from it, but she knew she couldn't avoid it forever just like she couldn't avoid the present nor the future.
"Well, I always did love the rain..." Nami said with a small smile ignoring her shivering self as she placed her goggles on "It's so relaxing.."
Meanwhile at Rex's junk store in Cocoyashi village.
"It's raining..." Rex noted just as he finished his game of shogi against himself, the score was currently twenty to fifty.
He shook his head Of all the days it could have rained..tsk, you better not get into any trouble Ashley. He thought to himself as he grabbed a cigarette to smoke "I always hated the rain" he muttered to himself glaring at the rain from inside his shop. "It's so depressing"
"Hey, don't say that! If you say you hate the rain, it'll stop raining!"
"Oh, great. Now I'm hallucinating." Rex grumbled
He was bored, without Ashley!Nami around his life was just dull. Before he just lived without really caring at the repetitiveness but now? It was boring without the mischief caused by Ashley who he knew would make sure the villagers had something to laugh about by purposely getting caught stealing by Genzo or by playing pranks. They never did notice her facade...or did they? Oh, well. It didn't really matter since those actions were just meant to make them happy.
Rex remembered when he asked Ashley why exactly she was playing the role of an idiot while Noko, Bell-mere, Nojiko and even Genzo knew she was smart.
"Maybe...I just want a sense of normalcy? Besides being intellectual all the time is boring! Having fun on the other hand is fun."
Oh, he called her out for being a liar.
"Tsk, you can never just let a white lie slip, can you? The truth is that I'm leaving for good when I'm eighteen...is it wrong that I want to make some fond memories? To make sure that they would miss me? I know I'm being selfish but I'm joining Luffy's crew and I'm becoming a navigator so...can't I be selfish just this once?"
He sighed at the memory of Ashley's little confession mad at himself that he didn't have a reply for her, he was never good with kids nor women.
"REX!"
And here comes the most troublesome woman of them all. He thought plastering a fake smile "Bell-mere" he greeted
Bell-mere slammed a paper on the counter and crossed her arms. Taking this as a sign Rex grabbed the paper already having an idea of what it was
"Dear mom and sissy, if you are reading this letter it means that I have successfully managed to go away on an adventure. If I don't come back in about a year or so it means I'm dead. If I'm alive I'll be back in less than six months. And don't worry too much, okay?" Rex read aloud sweat dropping at the really small letter
That little-
"You probably knew of this, didn't you?" Bell-mere asked
"No" Rex easily lied
Bell-mere narrowed her eyes at Rex who had a poker face going on, then she clicked her tongue "What if...something happens to her? She's only eight...alone at sea.."
"Hey, it'll all work out in the end" Rex tried reassuring
The slap he got in his face made him remember exactly why he wasn't good with women. Caressing his cheek he could only think of one thing...
Lucky me that koneko ships Bell-mere with Genzo and not me. It was a valid thought considering Rex knew that Nami or rather Ashley would somehow manage to get those two together
"I need a drink..." he muttered
Chapter end
A/N: Short chapter I know, but she'll be meeting a certain straw-hat in the next chapter!
Zaralann :
Ah, she'll unlock her Haki before the she's eighteen. I already have an idea on how she'll unlock it so look forward to that.
MusicOfMadness :
Well I agree on that. The only time I get mad is when someone says they hate my story for some dumb reason or without any valid reason. I like constructive critics not childish hate. As for Rex getting drunk...I just wanted him to be a contrast of Nami who could hold her liquor.