A/N : Okay, this chapter focuses on Nami's relationship with the red-haired pirates, Luffy and Makino.
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, innuendo's etc are prone to appear depending on my mood, you have been warned
Chapter Fifteen
"Life's all about farewells", someone once said those words. But if that's all there is, then why did we meet to begin with?
All people are travelers, who meet and part in a never ending cycle. Each time they gain memories and new guiding lights
Come on, don't you look at me with those tearful eyes of yours.
Let me see your smile, I know that I'll see you again, someday, somewhere out there. Believe in the power of fate to bring us together.
I know that I'll see you again someday, so until then, don't you ever forget about me.
It's a promise!
(AKB0048, Yasusoku Yo)
"I'm not kidding, I'll show you!" Luffy promised
It was strange how Shanks and the red haired pirates didn't see the next event coming, of course Nami did courtesy of Luffy telling her himself about how exactly he was going to prove himself while Nami merely humored him by suggesting blood oaths, eye deal and things like that. In the end Luffy settled for stabbing himself under his left eye like Nami insisted. (Though he still didn't know why Nami insisted)
So here the two were on Shanks' ship. Nami at the deck with her stolen camera to take pictures and a first aid kit while Luffy stood on top of the ship's figurehead with a dagger, courtesy of Nami in his hands.
"I'm not joking this time! I've had enough, I'll prove it for you all to see!" Luffy declared holding up Nami's dagger
Nami merely flashed a photo of Luffy without saying anything.
"Dahahaha! Go for it!" Shanks encouraged "Let's see what you're gonna do!"
"You're a real case, y'know?" Nami muttered to herself shooting a glance at the yonko
"Luffy's going to do something stupid again?" Yasopp questioned standing next to Nami
"If you count proving himself by inflicting injury on himself something stupid, then yes" Nami answered, I missed breakfast for this? She questioned herself
Luffy then stabbed himself under his left eye with the dagger making the whole crew go into panic
"Idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" Shanks yelled
Nami took some quick photos for some blackmail material and her album before pocketing her camera and walking towards Luffy who was clutching his injury in pain yet willing himself not to cry. She sighed at the younger boy wondering why main characters always had to worry the people that care about them by doing something reckless as she placed first aid kit next to Luffy.
"Okay Luffy, get your hand out of the way or you might infect the injury with your bacteria. I'm sure you didn't even clean your hands after you went to the bathroom yesterday." she ordered through half lidded eyes going into doctor mode
"I did clean them yesterday!" Luffy protested but nonetheless removed his hand with a pout
"How about today?" Nami questioned opening the kit
"...no" Luffy confessed glancing away, his pout still on.
"Hmm, you should learn to clean your hands" Nami stated grabbing a bottle and some cotton balls, she dabbed a cotton ball with the liquid that was in the bottle and then grabbed Luffy's chin forcing him to look up
"Pirates don't clean their hands!" Luffy exclaimed
"Well good thing you're not a pirate yet, no? This is going to sting a little" Nami warned as she dabbed the cotton on the bleeding injury
"Ouch!" Luffy winced but Nami had a firm hold on his chin
"Now to close the injury..." Nami muttered as she licked her dry lips before going back to the kit deciding to sew the injury just like canon!Luffy had it
She grabbed her roll of black thread and needle already prepared, the only thing left was to sew the injury closed so she dabbed another cotton ball on Luffy's injury for good measure before sewing it back up "There," she said cutting the thread then letting him go with a grin reverting back to normal Nami "Now you look more like a pirate!" she happily said putting the thread and needle back
Luffy returned her grin "Really?" he asked
"Of course, I'd never lie to you Luffy" Nami assured with a soft smile
"Wow..." the two heard causing their attention to go back on the red haired pirates
"It seems the little miss who's only eight years old managed to keep a calm head and treat Luffy while this crew full of grown men panicked and ran around like headless chickens" Benn commented sending the grown men a pointed look
The crew had the gal to look sheepish but didn't object knowing he was right
"Since when did you know first aid ginger?" Lucky Roo asked
"How does she even know first aid? Are books really that amazing?" Yasopp questioned because if it is he really needs to start reading books
Nami just shook her head at them "This is just some basic stuff I learned under my village's doctor" she answered
"Navigating, medical knowledge, drawing, dagger, guns and swordsmanship..." Shanks counted on his finger, "Is there something else under your sleeves?" he asked in a sarcastic manner
"Well I can play poker too, if that counts" Nami shrugged
"I'm sure the little miss would learn something new just to mess with you captain" Benn said in amusement
Nami nodded at him with a smile "You know me so well!"
"Well now time to go to the bar!" a random crew member declared
"Yeah!" most of the crew agreed,
"Let's drink up and celebrate!"
"To Luffy's craziness, Nami's medical skills and our awesomeness!"
Nami sweat dropped at the partying crew "You guys look for every single little thing to party about, huh?" she questioned in amusement bringing up some stolen sake to her mouth, she managed to take one sip before Benn took it away from her making her pout
"You're still underage little miss" he chuckled in amusement
"What are you my dad or something?" Nami grumbled
"Or something" Benn answered
"That wasn't-, oh forget it" Nami said rolling her eyes at Benn as he made his way to the rookies of his crew, probably to make sure they did their chores
"Shishishi! It didn't hurt one bit!" Luffy said earning Nami's attention
Nami sweat dropped seeing the tears welling up at his eyes "And that's probably why you're on the verge of crying" she snarked
"Liar! Don't do anything so stupid again!" Shanks yelled before turning to Nami "And don't stand by letting him do something stupid!"
"That's great advice" Nami merely stated knowing full well that even if she tried Luffy would manage to do something stupid, in fact preventing Luffy from doing something would be a miracle or maybe even as tough as going against gods
"I'm not afraid of pain at all, next time bring me to sea with you Shanks! I want to be a pirate too!" Luffy urged
"You can't handle being a pirate! Not being able to swim is a pirate's greatest weakness!" Shanks declared with a mocking laugh
"As long as he stays on the ship he'll be fine, you know? It's not like there's any other jobs Luffy can do besides being a pirate" Nami pointed out
"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed, "I've been training a lot, my punches are like pistol!"
"Wow pistol, really?" Shanks asked in a drawl bored tone
"Hey, what kind of tone is that?!" Luffy yelled at him
"Well to be fair, the name is a bit unoriginal" Nami stated
"You're the one who came up with it!" Luffy yelled at her
"I never said I was creative now did I?" Nami retorted puffing out her cheeks, "Besides you could just ask Shanks' crew to vouch for you" she pointed out
Luffy merely stared at her making her click her tongue "It means let them convince Shanks into letting you go" she explained noting how Luffy's mouth dropped into an 'o'
"Hey, that's a good idea!" one of the crew members exclaimed with the others nodding in agreement
"Well, then next time one of you get off the ship and let him take your place" Shanks stated
"We've said enough! Let's drink!" they all exclaimed turning away
"Hey! What kind of friends are you?!" Luffy yelled at them
Nami merely chuckled in amusement at the scene sharing a glance with Shanks, seeing the mischief in his eyes she nodded. She is his partner in crime for trolling Luffy after all.
"The most important thing is that you're too young, wait at least ten years and I'll reconsider taking you out to sea" Shanks casually said as Nami grabbed the glass in front of him
"Darn it Shanks! Let me tell you, I'm not a kid anymore!" Luffy yelled with a tick on his head
"Forget about Shanks and drink some juice Luffy" Nami said handing Luffy the glass filled with juice
"Okay, thanks!" Luffy thanked with a grin happily downing the drink making Nami and Shanks laugh
"Kyahahaha!" Nami laughed throwing her head back in amusement as Shanks also let out his unique laugh "Dahahahaha!
Nami let out a shriek as she fell from her stool closing her eyes, but before she fell Shanks caught her and made her sit on his lap. She nodded in thanks with a blush not trusting her voice just yet but the captain merely grinned and ruffled her hair. "Plus fifty points..." she muttered making him chuckle
"What a dirty trick!" Luffy yelled at Nami who stuck her tongue out at him making him walk away in anger
"It's fun to mess with him" Nami stated as she and Shanks stared at Luffy
"His reactions are to die for" Shanks agreed
The two fell into a comfortable silence in sharing their joy of messing with Luffy or in Nami's case messing with people in general. They watched as Luffy and Benn talked about something before Luffy loudly said "I don't understand! Shanks and Nami both take me for an idiot!"
"Can't swim!" Nami and Shanks said in unison trying but failing in not laughing
"Captain, Nami-chan you two seem happy as always" Makino noted with a closed eye smile
"Yep!" Nami chirped
"Making fun of him is our joy" Shanks stated as if it was a fact while Nami nodded in agreement both radiating happiness causing Luffy to point at them giving Benn a deadpan look "They really are very happy..." Benn agreed with a deadpan
"Luffy, would you like to eat something?" Makino questioned politely, "You too of course Nami..." she added looking at the ginger head
"Okay, I'll pay you with my treasure!" Luffy readily accepted while Nami shook her head politely declining the offer
"What treasure? You're lying again" Shanks drawled out
"When Luffy becomes a pirate he's going to pay Liquors with the treasure he finds or at least that's the plan. He'll probably get caught up in the adventure and forget or something..." Nami shrugged leaning back using Shanks as a pillow with a very creepy smile which the others just saw as a sweet smile, her eyes dropping a bit
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed
"Hahaha, I'll be waiting" Makino laughed as she turned to go get the food
Nami let out a yawn "Damn...this isn't the time for a catnap..." she muttered to herself looking on as Luffy and Shanks talked to each other, she couldn't hear what they were saying because she simply tuned them out
It's almost time for me to leave...She thought to herself before letting out a sigh "Time sure flies..." she said aloud tuning the noises back in glancing around the room, her eyes landing on a small treasure box, That's...the..she didn't finish her line of thought as she jumped off of Shanks lap muttering an excuse about going to the bathroom, when Shanks continued talking to Luffy she made her way to the treasure box.
She glanced around the room noting how no one was watching before opening the box to see the rubber fruit in all its glory, she felt her heart beat faster and felt as if time just stopped. It was just her and the fruit, the very powerful fruit. She gulped, A devil fruit right in front of me...She couldn't resist as she made a move to grab the fruit
After all she really needed the fruit, she could either keep it for herself or sell it. If she sold the fruit Bell-mere's life was guaranteed and they could stop living in poverty for quite awhile.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." a voice stated making Nami blink, no longer was it just her and the fruit. She glanced to her left with a blank look to see Benn with an unreadable expression
"This isn't something I can let you steal" Benn stated closing the treasure box
"Rubber doesn't suit me anyway..." Nami drawled out in annoyance turning away to head back to Shanks and Luffy.
She was annoyed at herself, here she was talking about only idiots wanting to steal the fruit on purpose to prevent Luffy from eating it while she herself who supposedly knew better tried to steal the fruit. She ignored how her hands trembled in fear of herself for trying to steal something that rightfully belonged to her first friend without second thought.
She stood in front of Shanks with a bored look not bothering to act cheerful before climbing back onto Shanks' lap wondering what would make her want to steal the fruit. But she already knew the answer. She was tempted into stealing it.
The temptation was so strong...if it wasn't for Benn..she shuddered not wanting to think about what would happen if Benn hadn't stop her.
A loud slam snapped Nami awake, she blinked rubbing her eyes concluding that she must have fell asleep somehow turning to look at the person who arrived instantly recognizing him. "It's show time, huh..." she muttered to herself observing his movements through half lidded eyes.
Can't remember his name, he wasn't that important after all. Just an arrogant bandit who kept announcing that he's a killer to the whole wide world with a bounty of about lower than Luffy's first one. In the end he was just a coward who gets eaten.
"Hehe, so this is what pirates look like, huh? This is the first time I've seen them, they look pretty dumb to me" the mountain bandit said blissfully unaware of just which crew exactly he insulted
"So does you're face..." Nami mumbled under her breath in annoyance at the man It's his damn fault that Shanks is gonna lose his arm...
Higuma merely walked over to the counter next to Shanks and Nami with an arrogant look "We're bandits" he stated rubbing his chin with an arrogant grin
Who cares? Nami thought rolling her eyes
"We don't want any trouble, we just came here to buy ten barrels of sake" Higuma explained
"I'm so sorry, but we're out of sake" Makino informed in an apologetic tone
"Oh? Then what are they drinking? Water?" Higuma asked glancing at the pirates
"It's sake" Makino confirmed "But it's all we have..." she explained
"I'm sorry, looks like we've finished up all the sake here, sorry about that." Shanks apologized sheepishly making Nami sigh at his very unique behavior for a pirate "Here," Shanks said holding up a bottle of sake "If you don't mind take the last bottle" he offered
Higuma looked at the bottle with disdain before swiftly punching it causing the bottle to shatter into pieces and the liquid to fall on Shanks and Nami who both didn't even flinch. Everyone in the bar looked on in stunned silence while Nami had to fight off the pout on her face, Mom's going to have my ass for coming home with an alcohol smelling shirt. Maybe I should replace it? But that would be a waste of money...
"Just who do you think I am? Don't take me lightly! One bottle isn't enough!" Higuma exclaimed in annoyance making Nami blink
She just noticed how her hair is wet, her eyes following a drop of sake which flew from her hair onto the floor. "Ah, the floor's all wet now..." she mumbled just at the same time that Shanks said "Uh no, now the floor's all wet..."
"See this?" Higuma asked holding up a wanted poster
"It's a bounty?" Nami questioned staring at the picture
"Exactly, know what it means little girl?" Higuma asked
Nami's face turned into a thoughtful look as she squinted her eyes at the picture, before her eyes widened making Higuma grin and Benn sigh "Your twin brother is a wanted man! That's why you wanted sake, so you could celebrate, right?" she questioned making some sweat drop while the others look at her as if she was insane
"No, try again" Higuma said, his arrogant face twitching in annoyance "I'll give you a hint, it's me"
"Hmm..." Nami thoughtfully hummed before she gave a mock gasp which only the red haired pirates picked up on "I've read an article about you before in the news! It said you killed about sixty? No, fifty six people in total and now you've got an eight million bounty on your head!" she said in mock fear inwardly laughing knowing that she's mingled with more dangerous *cough*red-haired-pirates*cough* before
Higuma nodded pleased that his infamous reputation is known even by a little brat not knowing that Nami made the whole thing up "Now that you know who I am, don't mess with us again. After all mountain bandits and sea pirates don't mingle well" he arrogantly said not noticing Shanks putting Nami on the stool
He placed his straw-hat on top of Nami's head ignoring the confused look Nami gave him as he crouched down to pick up the shattered pieces of glass
"Sorry about this Makino, do you have a mop?" the captain asked
"Ah..no it's alright, I'll clean it up!" Makino assured
Higuma drew his sword making Nami who already knew what he was going to do dive forward just as he hit the counter to avoid getting cut. "Well it seems since you enjoy cleaning you can do it more now" he said turning away to leave "Later you bunch of chickens"
"Are you alright captain?" Makino asked in concern turning to Nami too "How about you Nami-chan? Did any of you two get hurt?" she asked glancing between the two
"No, I'm fine" the two said in unison
Nami then chuckled "That was funny!" she exclaimed just as the crew started laughing
"Ahahah! Our captain looked so silly!"
"He fixed you up good captain!"
"The big bad mountain bandit had me shaking...of laughter!" Nami said throwing her head back to laugh just as Shanks started laughing as well
"Why are you all laughing?!" Luffy yelled silencing everyone as he walked to stand in front of Nami and Shanks with an enraged look "That was disgraceful! Why didn't you fight him! So what if he had more people? Who laughs after getting picked on?! You're not a man nor a pirate either!" he yelled
"Look," Shanks started "I know how you're feeling but it was just a bottle of sake, there's no need to get worked up" he stated trying to calm the seven year old down
"Yeah, it's not like what's his name bandit hurt anyone or something" Nami added but then blinked at the look Luffy sent her
Anger, hurt and betrayal? It made her flinch, she didn't want him to feel as if she was taking sides or anything because real friends are always honest with you, right? So erasing the shocked and hurt look on her own face she gave him an annoyed look "With that attitude you'll never be a pirate" she coolly said making everyone freeze in surprise, Nami would often mess with or make fun of Luffy but she'd never tell him something like that in that cold tone
Luffy also looked shocked before retorting "I'm more of a pirate than these prideless people!" he said referring to the red haired crew
"Oh really? All I see is a brat. A little brat like you who's always hot-headed will get his nakama killed someday when you face tougher opponents! And all because of what? Honor? Don't fuck with me! Those things aren't worth your life...! What do you think pirates are, saints? Ha! That's just some childish outlook you've got there anchor boy. Let me tell you the truth. Pirates are no fucking saints, they just do what they want when they feel like it without following any rules. You however seem to have them confused with marines!" Nami berated in anger feeling bitter at how Luffy just insulted Shanks
Oh, she knew he would figure this out sooner or later and become the awesome Luffy that was shown in the manga and anime but she wouldn't stand for his tantrum. Heck, she wouldn't stand for anyone's reasonless tantrums. She panted a bit out of breath glaring at Luffy just daring him to say otherwise, said person just looked stunned before returning with his own glare.
"I don't care what you think idiot!" Luffy yelled turning around to leave
"Nice comeback anchor boy" Nami insulted
Shanks who was too baffled to say anything up until then made a move to grab Luffy's arm planning on making the two reconcile "Oh, c'mon Luffy don't go Nami didn't-"
"I don't want to see you again, coward!" Luffy yelled in a stubborn tone
"Well Shanks isn't the one who's running away!" Nami retorted in anger stomping out of the bar knowing already that they'll discover that Luffy ate the fruit, but she didn't care. She needed to just calm down, she already knew it was idiotic of her for getting into an argument with Luffy over something so stupid!
But why did I argue with him over that? I've never gotten into an argument with anyone back home! She wondered to herself both annoyed at Luffy for bringing out the childish side of her and at Shanks for losing his arm later
She huffed walking away with no destination in mind gripping on the hat on her head
"It's bad that he ate the fruit but there's something more important you guys are forgetting!" Yasopp informed
"What?" Luffy asked as everyone turned to the sniper
"Nami" Lucky Roo informed with Yasopp nodding along
"Oh, right. You messed up Luffy" Shanks deadpanned at the boy
Luffy for his part merely looked angry "Like I care about that traitor!" he huffed crossing his arms
"When did she betray you?" Benn asked
"She sided with him" Luffy pointed at Shanks making everyone sweat drop
"She wasn't siding with anyone, she was just giving her opinion" Benn pointed out
"She chose Shanks over me! She's not my friend, she's Shanks'!" Luffy raged
"Oi, she thinks highly of you..." Shanks finally said "You're her first friend after all and isn't she your first friend?" he asked
"Was" Luffy corrected
"Are you going to end your friendship with Nami-chan over something so small?" Makino asked with a disapproving look
Luffy merely kept quiet giving them the silent treatment
Makino sighed "Captain, you handle Nami-chan and I'll handle Luffy, alright?"