Barging outside onto the balcony with the rest of the group trailing closely behind her, Nojiko screeched, "NAMI!"
Her eyes darted around before her, however, her little sister was nowhere to be seen. The only thing her eyes fell upon was a devilish looking woman with a smug look plastered across her face and a frantic, teary-eyed Luffy.
Nojiko turned her attention to Luffy, coming to the conclusion that something bad had gone down.
"Nojiko!" bellowed the raven haired-man.
"Luffy. Where's Nami?"
The distressed man placed both his hands atop his head, squeezing it whilst he paced around, at a loss of what to do. "She ran off. Nojiko, I swear nothing happened. I was set up!"
With a huff, Hancock crossed her arms in front of her. "Luffy, I know you enjoyed it as much as I did."
Luffy was disgusted. "WHAT?! That's it!"
Before he could lunge at the raven-haired woman, Nojiko placed a firm arm in front of him, never taking her eyes away from Hancock, causing him to stumble backwards.
Nojiko too felt the most tempting course of action was to punch the woman square in the face, but she held off.
"Nojiko, what gives?! Let me at her!" he scowled.
"Don't worry, Luffy. You'll get your revenge once we get Nami back on your side-" Nojiko squinted, glaring murderously towards Hancock. "-This woman will learn the hard way that she has no future with you unlike Nami."
Hancock gawked back, her sisters walking towards the commotion to back her up. "What did you say?!" she snapped.
"You heard me, bitch!" Nokijo boomed.
Usopp and Chopper were unable to contain their giggles at the face Hancock was making. Her jaw almost fell off and Luffy suddenly snorted, unable to hold back his uproarious laughter in turn.
"How dare you talk to our sister that way! Who do you think you are?!" voiced Merigold.
Everyone eyed the scene with awe as they saw Nojiko approach the green-haired woman. They had never seen this side of her. Nojiko was typically a kind and cool-headed person... not when it comes to Nami however.
"Who do I think I am?" she repeated, getting in the woman's face. "Why, I'm Luffy's future sister in law. Something you'll never be."
At this point, the entire group broke out with petty laughter.
Hancock grew furious, balling her hands at her sides and stomping a foot upon the cement before bolting back inside with a scowl.
"Onee-sama!"
"Wait!"
That was beyond infuriating, not to mention pathetic. No way would Nojiko ever let anyone mess with her little sister. She shook her head in attempts to dispel the rage she felt. "Luffy." she snapped.
"Y-yeah?" he stuttered, being brought back to reality. He almost shuddered at the revengeful aura Nojiko was radiating.
"Let's go."
Confused, Luffy furrowed his brows. "Go? Go where?"
"To win Nami back."
"How do you know where she ran off to, Nojiko?" Luffy asked curiously as he buckled his seatbelt in the passenger seat.
Smirking to herself, the lavender-haired woman accelerated on the gas pedal, fully convinced of where she was going.
There's only one place Nami would run to and it happened to be nearby. The one place that throughout the time she's been in this city, has brought her an immense sense of peace and comfort.
The orchard.
The two sisters were wrapping up picking fresh oranges off their vines and storing them away in buckets to sell next weekend. Dusting the dirt off her apron, Nojiko smiled softly at her sister whom was sitting propped against a tree.
"Nami, you ready to go?"
Nami reciprocated the woman's smile."Not yet. Why don't you go ahead? I can take the bus back."
She looked puzzled. "Are you sure?"
Her smile only widened. "I'm sure. Every time I'm here, I can feel mom is with me so I don't want to leave just yet. You know... I'm certain that this would have been her favorite place in the world."
"Sister's intuition perhaps." she chuckled softly. "Listen Luffy, Nami is probably devastated right now because she doesn't know you were set up so just stay in the car and let me talk to her first, okay?"
Crossing his arms in front of him, the man merely glanced out the window, a sad frown tugging on his lips.
He wanted... no, he needed Nami to hear him out and take him back. She was his entire world and the woman he was absolutely certain he'd spend the rest of his life with. Nami is his first love and a huge part of his life so he hoped with every fiber of his being that she would take him back.
Luffy winced, distinctly remembering the tears that escaped her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He never wanted to see her cry that way ever again.
His heart hurt once more as he remembered the first time he ever told her that he loved her. In that moment, the raven-haired man wished on every single star he found in the obsidian sky, hoping something would save his relationship with Nami.
Suddenly, the car came to a halt when they arrived at Nojiko's orchard. "Okay Luffy, I'm gonna go talk to Nami so just-"
...
"-wait here..." she trailed to herself, noticing the passenger side door was left wide open.
Of course.
Luffy was never one to follow directions.
Damnit Luffy!
The man frantically scanned each row of the orchard, looking for Nami. He checked in between and behind every single crevice he came across with no luck. Desperation began taking over him.
Where could she be?!
His head finally sprung up once he heard sniffling nearby. Following the sounds, he was finally met with her saddened gaze which then quickly morphed into anger once she made out who the intruder was.
Nami jolted up, harshly wiping the fresh tears from her cheeks. "What are you doing here?!"
Luffy didn't respond. He merely stood there with widened eyes as he observed her delicate face which was covered in tears. Her nose was red and those beautiful chocolate brown eyes were swollen and puffy.
He felt... scared.
He didn't want to lose her.
Without thinking too hard, he began approaching her, gathering his thoughts to express himself in hopes she'd understand.
"Nami. I know you're probably really upset with me right now-"
"I'm furious." she quickly interjected, furrowing her brows.
How did he even know I was here?
"Yeah... but please hear me out? I was set up by Hancock."
"Set up?" she scoffed.
The man nodded furiously, feeling hopeful. "Yeah! Nami please, you gotta believe me!" he pleaded.
Taking a step closer to him with a visible glare on her face, she poked him aggressively against his chest. "Believe you?! Why should I do that? I know what I saw."
There was momentary silense and the man couldn't help but to swallow nervously. He had never seen Nami this upset before. A crushing weight caused his heart to drop to his stomach as he thought of what to say to convince her.
"Nami... please. Hancock led me to the balcony and threw herself at me when she saw you coming. You've got to believe me!"
No response.
Her brows were furrowed as she observed him and she was... confused. He looked desperate and tears began to well up in his eyes. Nami wanted to believe him but how could she? This is why she stayed away from love. This is why she avoided connections... it hurt too much.
"Luffy, I'm sorry but I-"
"NAAAAMMMMMIIIIII!!"
A high pitched yell suddenly erupted from a distance making them both jump. It was Nojiko, running towards them faster than she'd ever see her run.
"Nojiko?"
The woman stopped inches away from her little sister with a heaving chest.
Catching her breath, she placed a hand against her chest and took a deep breath in before starting. "Nami, it's true. Hancock set him up."
The orange-haired woman huffed. "Seriously, you too?"
"Yeah! Me too!" the woman snapped back irritated.
The action caused Nami to freeze and her eyes to widen.
"Why do you think those two girls led you to the balcony? Those were Hancock's sisters! Once they sent you on your way, they let Hancock know to go ahead with her sneaky plan knowing you'd be there to see them!"
Oh yeah...
Realization hit her.
She thought the entire ordeal was peculiar and forgot to think about how those two women happened to be there at the right time. "W-ait... so it really was a set up?" she turned her attention to Luffy.
Nodding slowly, he inched closer, taking both of her fragile hands in his. "Desperate times called for desperate measures in Hancock's case. Nami, I love you and only you. Hancock is irrelevant to me and you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. No one else."
At first she didn't know how to process this, but then recalled all the amazing moments she had spent with Luffy by her side. She wouldn't have known what true love was hadn't it been for him.
Yeah... she really loved him.
"Nami? Please I-"
Her warmth cut him off, and their lips rhythmically connected, causing the man's eyes to droop shut. Subconsciously, his hands moved to either side of her hips, pulling her a bit closer.
Nojiko smiled to herself, feeling victorious at the sight. Stepping back awkwardly, she made her way back to the car, giving those two their space to make amends.
Nami's breath hitched when she pulled away from the man and in turn, Luffy openly stared at her face with the dumbest look ever, causing Nami to erupt in a fit of giggles.
He's so cute. She thought.
"Does that mean you believe me now, Nami?" his lips twisted into a pout.
A wave of guilt overcame her. Luffy has always proved to her that he truly did cared for her and he'd do nothing to hurt her. The thing she feared the most... love, was now something she couldn't live without. Not just any old love though, no. The love Luffy showed her day after day. Unconditional love.
With delicacy, she placed the palm of her hand against his cheek. "Yes, Luffy. I'm sorry I didn't believe you sooner."
Suddenly, a stupid smiled etched across his face
"Hey, Nami?"
"Yes, Luffy?"
The man cheesed.
"Wanna get married?"
To be continued.
Hey guys! I'm so sorry I took soooo long to get this chapter out and I also apologize in advance for the shortness of it too. As I explained to some of you, my life has drastically changed for the better but it has also made me ridiculously busy. I promise I'll finish this story really soon. Thanks for being patient with me and let me know what you think of this one. Thanks! See ya soon!
:)
