Authors' Note:
Darth: Huh. Been a while since we did one of these, huh? What happened again?
Con: You fell, hit your head, and lost all your memories, and then I had to build a whole new life for you, in which you were a traveling one man circus. o.o
Darth: I was wondering about the clown shoes.
Con: And you did ask me once why you only saw red...
Darth: Ah yes, I have been getting stared at when I go out into public.
Con: Yes, Buggy would be proud. So, how's that going for you?
Darth: Surprisingly, not being able to split myself in parts and attach blades to those parts doesn't help the intimidation factor I'm going for.
Con: Oh, very sad day for you. I did try. I even offered to cut off some limbs. Offer is still open, you know.
Darth: You see, the thing was, it wasn't the limb cutting that I minded. It was which limb you were offering to cut off.
Con: Oh come on! Don't be a spoilsport! I can assure you it would wow the crowds! Oda says that Buggy could do it, why not you too?
Darth: Buggy can reattach his. -_-
Con: :P
Darth: Also, wasn't there a horror/porno movie kinda like that?
Con: Gee Dart, I wouldn't know. What have you been indulging in? Come on, last chance to take up my offer. It can always been sewn back on. :3
Darth: FRANKEN-DICK!
Con: Not what I had in mind, but it could work. 0.o DUDE! THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER ATTRACTION!
Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you... FRANKEN-DICK!
Charmed
Chapter 9: He Fights Back
Gen looked around at the town as they stepped off the ferry, his deep frown evident under his thick mustache and said, "I hope that little bastard his here. My hands 'r itchin' to feel his neck in them."
"Me first," Nojiko said grimly.
"Ah, I will filet him for you dearest angel~!" Sanji swooned.
"Of course," Nojiko said as she rubbed her forehead. He was starting to wear on her nerves.
"In any case, let's start searching, but I guess we should find a place to stay," Gen said, looking around the place.
xxxx
Nami slammed her book shut. "Mmooh! This is stupid! I want to learn how to control this!" she said, tearing up a bit in frustration. "Well, anyways," she started blinking the tears away, "we should look for jobs too."
"Yeah," Luffy sighed, rubbing his stomach as it growled. Robin looked up from the book she was reading and laughed.
"Well, let's eat and then search for some jobs," Nami said, standing up and stretching out her back, which pushed her breasts over her bodice a bit. Luffy flushed and looked away from Nami's chest. He remembered how they felt from when they slept. So soft...
Giving a deep and heavy sigh, Nami then turned to Robin with a smile and said, "Maybe we can go back to the same place as yesterday."
"Yes," Robin said as she stood up, gathering the books. "They make several good dishes."
"Moh," Luffy whine, also standing up and stretching. "No meat?"
"I can ask if they have meat," Nami said with a snort and her back to him as she headed for the door, but again, she waited for them to follow first.
Robin placed the books back and led Nami out the door as Luffy followed them out. With a heavy and shaky breath, Nami stared at the front doors, looking a bit scared again. Robin walked ahead of them, and Luffy paused behind Nami. "It's alright," he said. "I'll be right behind you."
Nami blinked, looking at him over her shoulder, but then huffed, following Robin and muttered, "Not sure how that's much better."
He chuckled, following after her and said, "I'm not being influenced by your power."
"I never said my power had anything to do with it," she muttered a little more forcefully.
"But you don't have to worry about me losing my mind around you."
"No, but I gotta worry about other things," she muttered a little quieter.
Robin led them down the street back to the noodle shop. It was a different waiter than the last, and he greeted Robin kindly before laying eyes on Nami. His eyes changed to a bit unfocused and he bowed lower. "My lady, to have such a beautiful woman to serve, is indeed a great honor, and my complete and utter pleasure. Please, if there is anything at all that I can do for you, I will do all in my power to do so."
Taking a step back, which she only met with Luffy's front, her lips twitched a bit into a smile, and she said, "J-Just... take us to a table, please?"
Robin kept her expression neutral, though with a slight smile. Luffy stopped directly behind Nami, and glared at the waiter. The incident earlier in the day came back to mind.
"Yes, of course, oh fairest maiden," the man said, straightening out and leading them to a table. He set down the menus, but then went back to Nami and asked, "What would you like to drink, lovely angel?"
"Um," she sighed, deeply, "water... please."
"Yes, of course, and for your friends?" he asked, facing the other two.
"Water," Robin said.
"I'll have the same," Luffy said quickly before the man could leave.
"Yes, of course~!" he said, still offering them a kind smile before turning back to Nami. "I shall retrieve your drinks for you while you decide what to order. If you need anything, fairest angel, just call for me~! My name is Yuri~!"
"Yes, thank you," she said, smiling up at him a little more genuinely. He was actually much nicer than any other man she had come across that she affected. He had even paid attention to Luffy.
Luffy leaned back in his chair and said, "Finally, I actually got to order."
Robin laughed and asked, "You've been ignored before last night?"
Nami couldn't help the giggle that escaped and replied, "Quite a bit. They were... less than pleasant."
"Hmph," Luffy muttered. "The first guy was a real prick about it too."
Nami chuckled and said, "Yeah, he kinda was, but it was hilarious and well worth it to watch."
"You just like watching me suffer," he accused, yet he still smiled.
"Yes I do!" she replied quickly with a grin and another giggle.
"Here are you drinks," he said, placing Nami's down first before placing one in front of Robin and then Luffy last. "Have you decided what you wanted to eat?" he asked, smiling at Nami.
"Mm, I'll let you decide," Nami said, not in the mood to really look.
"Of course, I shall do my best to choose just the right dish for you," he said before turning to Robin. "And for you, ma'am?"
"I'll have the linguini," Robin said, closing the menu.
"Whatever has meat in it," Luffy said.
"Meat?" the man asked, blinking down at Luffy as he took Robin's menu. "Well, we do have some steaks."
"Ooh, some steaks?" Nami asked, leaning forward a bit and resting her chin in her hand. "I'm sure he would like some steaks, right Luffy? A plate full maybe?" she asked, staring right at Luffy, though her eyes were lidded slightly and she had a touch of a smile on her lips.
"A ... f-few ... steaks ... I-I should ... have ... no problem ... with that ..." The waiter rambled as his eyes shifted to her cleavage, but then he turned and rushed off, leaving the rest of the menus.
"Uh...thanks..." Luffy turned away from Nami, trying to hide the flush on his face. He adjusted his legs, shifting in his seat, trying to adjust himself.
Robin just watched them, a smile on her face. Chuckling deeply, Nami leaned back again before picking up her water to take a sip. Luffy, avoiding looking at Nami, picked up a piece of bread and started nibbling at it. Nami shifted her eyes back to him and gave a sly smile. Did she not have any effect on him then? It rather seemed she did. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. She had said she wanted to test it.
Luffy glanced over at Nami, and quickly looked away. He was having a hard time being around her when she was acting all flirty. Luffy junior agreed. A hard time.
After awhile, the waiter came back with Nami and Robin's dish. Nami's dish looked incredibly delicious and well prepared. "The chef offers you the best he has, my lady~! Please, enjoy it!" he said, bowing to her, and then he bowed to Robin. "Enjoy~!" Then he turned to Luffy. "It's going to be awhile preparing so many steaks, but since the lady suggested it, they should be well prepared!" he said, bowing slightly before rushing off.
"Yeah, sure," Luffy muttered after the waiter and watched the women as they started eating their food.
"So," Robin said, casually sexy, because that's how she is, casually, effortlessly sexy, "what kind of jobs were you thinking of taking?"
Nami just shrugged as she took a bite of her food, but then closed her eyes with a moan and said, "Mmm... this... is really good. I'm glad I told him to choose for me." Meanwhile, all the men nearby went into a daze. "Well, anything that isn't too dangerous, but still pays good. No dragons…" she said, narrowing her eyes at Luffy while pointing her fork at him.
Luffy, who'd been glaring at the other men in the restaurant, turned back to look at Nami. "Spoilsport, all we need to do is make sure it's a guy dragon."
"And what difference does it make what gender it is?" she asked, still pointing the fork at him as she quirked a brow.
"Well, your power thingy worked on that ghost in the last town," he grinned. "Maybe it'll work on a dragon?"
"A dragon is much bigger than a ghost!" she yelled, opening her arms up wide, quickly, which made her bust bounce a bit.
His eyes flicked down to her chest, before shooting right back to her face, a light tint of red on his cheeks. "So? If you can control it..." Stars appeared in his eyes, as he realized exactly what he'd said.
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes further, her fork still aimed at him. "I don't think so. Not gonna happen," she said.
"But-But...controlling a dragon..." Luffy's starry eyes sparkled.
She snorted with her lips pursing further and said, "You're stupid."
"Oh come on," he insisted. "Don't tell me controlling a dragon wouldn't be awesome!"
"Of course no-Well, maybe, but," she said, looking away a bit, but then she sucked her teeth before looking back at him with a frown and said, "Of course not! Not if it's that risky!"
"But we could ride it. It'd be faster than a horse!"
"That would be horrible! I'm not flying on a dragon!" Nami yelled back, looking a bit nervous to the thought.
"But-But..flying..." Luffy pouted, cutely.
Nami's eye twitched to his expression before she huffed and looked away. "Not doing it," she muttered.
"Fiiiine..." Luffy sighed. "How about a griffon?"
"No!" she yelled, turning to frown at him deeper.
"Hippogriff?"
She pursed her lips further and said, "No monster what so ever!"
"How about a unicorn?" Luffy tried again, with a smile.
Nami snorted with her lower lip jutted out and her eyes narrowed as she looked away. "You're so stupid," she said, repeating the insult.
"Is that your way of saying you actually like me?" His smirk was light hearted and joking.
"Hah!" she exclaimed lightly and boredly as she offered him the matching expression. "You'd be dreaming then."
"Maybe," he smiled, "but it would be a nice dream."
Sucking in her breath, her eyes widened as she gaped at him, her cheeks flushing before she quickly replaced her surprise with a frown, but sputtering as she said, "Y-You're stupid! Y-You don't know wha-what're you're even talking about!"
"Don't I?" He grinned, resting his cheek against his fist. He was quite enjoying the turnaround from him being the flustered one.
"Hah!" she exclaimed, pointing at him, though her heart had begun pounding hard in her chest. "You're just doing that because I did it! Well... it's not working!" Liar…
"Isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes, giving a confident smirk.
She ground her teeth before just huffing and looking away. "No, it's not," she said, also crossing her arms under her bust, pushing them upwards.
Luffy's smirk faltered as he glanced down at her cleavage. His face flushed again, and he turned his head away. "Well, you just keep saying that..."
Shifting her eyes to him, she then snorted softly to his flush. "Ooh, what's this? Like that do we?" she asked, resting her arms onto the table, though her breasts were still rested on her arms, which pushed them up even further. However, all the men in the restaurant were also staring at her bust. Some of them, their noses burst forth rivers of blood.
Luffy refused to look at her, only glancing once before looking away determinedly. A small trickle of blood dripped out of his nose. Robin chuckled lightly, watching the two of them flirting. They may not realize that that's what they were doing, but it was quite clear to the dark haired woman.
Nami chuckled in satisfaction to seeing the trickle before sitting up again, ignoring everyone else. After awhile, the waiter finally brought out a heaping plate filled with steaks. "Aah, it's on the house again for you, doll~! Or so our cook says!" he said, beaming at Nami after setting the plate down. "And he offers this complimentary wine~!" he said, setting down a bottle.
"Oh ... thank you," Nami said, smiling up at him and taking the bottle to look at. "Mm, nice," she said before pouring a glass, and then she turned to smile at Robin. "Would you like some?"
"That would be wonderful," Robin said, smiling at Nami.
Luffy ignored Nami and started chowing down on the steaks. He ate one too fast and started coughing, choking on the food. Nami turned pursed lips and narrowed eyes on him. "Idiot, don't eat to fast," she said, moving his water closer to him.
He grabbed the water and swallowed it. "Thank you," he wheezed.
Robin smiled at how obviously Nami did care about the young mage. Huffing, Nami then took a sip of the wine and smiled. "Not bad at all."
"Mmh," Robin agreed. "This ability could be most convenient once you learn to control it."
Nami chuckled a bit, though she looked a little nervous and said, "Yeah, it could be."
After he'd finished his meal, Luffy looked at the wine the women were drinking. "Can I have some of that?" he asked Nami.
Nami pursed her lips and said, "It would be wasted on an idiot like you, and besides, you took away that one bottle from me."
"Oh yeah." Luffy pulled out the bottle from his robe. "This bottle?"
She pursed her lips further. How had she not felt it when she had the robe over her head? Magic maybe? "Yes, that bottle," she said, narrowing her eyes into a glare.
"Too bad," he stuck his tongue out at her and made the bottle disappear back into his robes. "I'm saving it for later."
"Hmph!" she exclaimed, looking away and taking another sip. "Not if I can get it first," she muttered under her breath.
"Feel free to reach into my robes anytime you want." He smirked.
Her cheeks flushed, but she refused to look at him and muttered, "Again... you'd be dreaming."
"Would I?" He took the offensive in their little game again.
Robin sipped from her wine, enjoying the new round in their flirting.
"Well," he toyed with the edge of his robe, "it's the only way you're getting your wine back."
She snorted and quickly turned her head away. "We'll see," she muttered and took another sip.
Luffy shrugged and leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "Well, we know there's nothing to be found in the library, so we should find some jobs and move on to the next city."
"Right," Nami said, leaning back herself and finishing her dinner. After she was done, she then stood up to leave, waiting for them to follow again.
Luffy, having already finished eating, stood up to follow her, and Robin joined them, watching them closely and keeping an eye on their interaction. Once she was sure they were behind her, Nami opened the door to leave, all the men throwing their farewells to the beautiful, orange haired Goddess~! Luffy glared at the men, keeping close to Nami. Seeing how protective Luffy was with Nami, Robin smiled, and then started heading back to her apartment.
"Mm, should we check for posts now while we're out?" Nami asked, looking from side to side cautiously. She didn't want any of them sneaking up on her. She had no idea how closely Luffy was actually guarding her.
"Yeah," Luffy said and turned to Robin. "Where do we have to go to find job postings?"
"Town Hall is just a few blocks from the library. I can take you there if you want," Robin said.
"That would be great. Thanks, Robin," Nami said, smiling at the other woman.
Robin led them through the winding streets to city hall. Once inside, she directed them to the job listings, and then stood to the side, vaguely watching things.
Luffy looked up at the job postings to see if there was anything appropriate and easy enough for them to handle. Nami looked through them as well, though she had no idea what she was looking for really. Shrugging then, she just let Luffy take a look, looking around at other things instead.
Luffy found one that piqued his interest. "Hey, Nami," he took the paper down, "look at this one."
"Hmm?" she questioned, walking over to him and taking the piece of paper to read it, but then blinked. "A princess?"
"Look at the pay." Luffy pointed at the bottom of the page.
"Ooh! Two thousand~! That-That's more than enough!" she said, beaming happily.
"Heh," Luffy grinned. "With that kind of money, you could rebuild your village, tear it down and build a palace instead."
She pursed her lips slightly and glared at him, but then shrugged. She was too happy to think about tearing anything down. "In any case, it's more than enough for me to take back and rebuild," she said, smiling once again. "Do you think we could do this?"
"Definitely," Luffy replied and looked down at the paper again. "They leave the day after tomorrow, so we can go apply for the job tomorrow."
"Yeah, all right, but shouldn't we go today, just in case someone else tries to take the job?" she asked, frowning slightly. She didn't want to miss this opportunity.
"Good point," Luffy said, and a grin formed on his face. "Of course… if there are too many people applying for the job... I might have a plan."
"Oh?" Nami questioned with an inquisitive brow. What idiotic plan could this idiot have possibly come up with?
"I'll tell you if we need it," Luffy said. He took the paper and showed it to Robin. "Do you know where this is?"
Robin looked at the paper and looked It over. "I think I know where it is, actually it's just a few buildings down."
"Great!" Nami said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get going~!"
Robin led them down to a fairly large mansion with guards stationed at the gates. Luffy walked up to them and handed one the paper. "We're here for the escort job."
"Servant's entrance, around the back." The guard looked at the paper and handed it back to Luffy.
"Oh, right," Luffy led them around to the back door, where another guard escorted them into a small room.
Nami looked up at the guards and tilted her head. Did that mean they were magic users? They seemed completely unaffected by her. Shrugging and rather glad for it, she followed after Luffy to the back entrance. After they were taken into the room, they were left alone. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. No one came for them or anything.
Nami pouted a bit, crossing her arms under her chest and asked, "How long are they going to make us wait?"
"I dunno," Luffy shrugged. Then his eyes narrowed, and he checked the corners of the room. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air.
Lifting a brow, Nami looked over to him and asked, "Something wrong?"
"Get behind me," Luffy muttered.
Gasping softly, Nami didn't waste any time in doing exactly as he said, clutching to him a bit, but keeping her chest off from him.
A panel in the ceiling crashed, and a masked man came flying at them, sword drawn. Luffy raised his left arm, casting a hardening spell, and blocking the blade. His right hand formed into a blade and the arm stretched, firing the blade at the attacker. The masked man barely managed to dodge the blade, but it still managed to cut the mask off. He had a pale face, with some kind of face paint on it.
Crying out slightly, Nami covered her head, falling to the ground, but then she looked up quickly to what was going on. "Luffy, what's going on!"
Luffy didn't say anything, instead adopting a defensive posture, placing himself between their attacker and Nami. Robin scoffed and crossed her arms. Hands sprouted on their attacker, bending him backwards. The sword dropped from his hands as he gasped in pain. "Perhaps you want to explain your purpose in attacking us?" she asked.
The man started laughing. "Well done." He winced. "You are quite powerful."
Blinking rapidly, Nami gaped at him before surging to her feet, hands on hips and a deep frown and yelled, "You mean to tell me that was a test!"
"Of course," the man winced. "Perhaps," he tried to look at Robin. "I could convince you to let me go?"
Robin smirked. "I might consider it."
"You scared the hell out of me!" Nami exclaimed, baring her teeth slightly before straightening herself out. "But I guess we could let him go ... I really want this job."
"Very well," Robin lowered her arms, and the limbs on the man disappeared.
Once he was freed, the man stood up. "My name is Pell," he said, dusting himself off, picking up his sword and sheathing it. "I am Princess Vivi's body guard. Captain Igaram has asked that all applicants be tested before interviewed. So far only one other has passed the test besides you. If you'll excuse me, I will summon Captain Igaram for the interview."
After the man left, Luffy still hadn't dropped his defensive stance and kept glaring at the door where he'd left. "Haah!" Nami huffed loudly, closing her eyes and crossing her arms under her bust. "So troublesome," she muttered to herself.
The man that came into the room had the largest hair Luffy had ever seen. "Whoa!" Luffy blinked, dropping his guard. "Cool hair."
"What're you impressed for!" Nami yelled, slapping the back of his head and huffing, "Mmooh!" He really pissed her off sometimes. "Now's not the time for your bullshit!"
"Indeed," the man said. "Now is not the time for... bullshit." He sat down behind the table that was between the two doors leading out of the room. "My name is Igaram. I am the Captain of Princess Vivi's guard."
Nami nodded then, crossed her arms and asked, "So, she just needs body guards, right? Where is it that she needs to go?"
"To the Capital Mariejoie." Igaram pulled out some papers from a briefcase he was carrying. "The route has gotten more dangerous of late, and we did not bring enough guards for the journey."
"So all we need to do is beat up anyone that tries to attack the princess?" Luffy asked, punching the air with his fist.
Nami frowned a little deeper as she stepped forward to take the pieces of paper from him and looking them over. "This is... rather far..." she said frowning even more deeply, "I mean ... I guess ... maybe a day or two's ride."
"If there are no delays then we should be on the road for two days," Igaram said. "Now, is the job request for all three of you?"
Nami straightened and looked over at Robin. "Oh, no ... J-Just two."
"Actually," Robin said, "I think I will be coming with you." She looked at Luffy. "Your guild is not too far from Mariejoie, is it not?" Luffy nodded. "I think I would like to see it for myself. I have something of an interest in mage guilds and would like to do some research on it."
"Eh? Really?" Nami asked, gaping at Robin, but then she slowly began to smile, and before long, it was a grin. She then clapped her hands together with a laugh, "Aha! This will make travelling with the idiot so much more bearable!"
"Oi!" Luffy frowned at Nami.
"And what guild is it you belong to?" Igaram asked Luffy, jumping on this new information.
"Ah, Devil's Fist Guild," Luffy said.
Igaram's eyes widened, and then he stood up. "I see. We are quite fortunate to have a Devil's Fist Mage in our employ then."
Nami snorted loudly and very inelegantly as she glanced to the side with narrowed eyes. Luffy stuck his tongue out at her and said, "You're just jealous that I'm famous and you're not."
"No, I just feel sorry for the poor man, that he has no idea what kind of an idiot you are," she retorted with a sigh as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Well, if you'll just sign here." Igaram pulled out three contracts. "You will receive a quarter of the pay upon our departure, and the rest of it once we arrive at Mariejoie."
"Sounds fair," Nami said, approaching the man, but then she pursed her lips, remembering the last time she signed something. She turned and glared at Luffy.
"What?" He looked back at her, confused.
"Nothing," she muttered, grabbing a pen and signing the contract. Luffy took the pen from her once she was done and signed the contract, and then Robin did the same. Taking a deep breath, Nami then looked at Igaram and asked, "Now what?"
"Be ready to depart the morning after tomorrow." Igaram took the contracts and packed them away. "Make any preparations you need to, and come to this room before we depart."
"Right, thanks," Nami said, turning to the other two. "Well, I guess we should get supplies and such."
"Ee," Robin said, "I know of a place we can go."
"All right, well let's go shopping then~!" Nami said, already looking cheery. "You know, I need to buy a new outfit to replace the one that was ruined," she said thoughtfully as she walked out.
"Perhaps something more functional for the journey as well?" Robin suggested, leading the way out.
Nami nodded, heading out with Luffy behind her and said, "Yes, I shall look into it."
Once they were outside, Robin led them to a shopping district, where they could find supplies and clothing, as well as some traveling gear. "Here," Robin led them to a clothing store, "I need to buy some traveling clothes myself."
Nami beamed, going into the store and looking around. "Wow, not bad. These are some nice clothes," she said, going over to a rack filled with different skirts, dresses, blouses and bodices. There were also corseted blouses on another rack.
Luffy looked around. Not finding anything interesting, he decided to just stand to the side, while the woman finished their shopping.
"Ee," Robin said, "I've only been here a few times myself, but the clothes they sell are high quality and very durable."
"Durable is good," Nami replied quietly, her face losing its light as she looked through all the clothes. She chose a corseted blouse and a skirt, but also found a very beautiful red and white dress. "Ooh ... it's so beautiful," she breathed in awe, holding up the dress. "I want to try it on."
"They have some changing rooms over there." Robin gestured to the back of the store. She herself had already picked out several corsets, and some pants and skirt combinations.
"All right," Nami said, smiling once again as she headed for the rooms. Once inside, she dressed quickly and stepped out, twirling once for Robin's benefit, and actually forgetting Luffy was there. "What do you think?" she asked with a bright smile.
"It suits you." Robin turned to look at Luffy. "What do you think, Mage-kun?"
Luffy's mouth was opening and closing, like a fish gasping for air. He flushed and turned away. "It looks fine," he muttered, hardly hearing it over the sound of his own heartbeat.
Nami had turned pursed lips to Luffy, but then blinked and smirked to his reaction. Deciding to take this opportunity, she walked over to him slowly, hips swaying. "Ooh, just fine, is it?" she asked, letting her eyes droop and her lips to soften into the smile of a temptress.
"Yeah, fine..." He adamantly refused to look at her.
"Are you sure?" she purred, her voice sultry. "But you haven't even really looked yet."
Men outside of the store stopped in their tracks, their eyes in an unfocused daze.
Luffy's face didn't move, but his eyes shifted down to look at her. They quickly moved back to where they had been. "Yeah," he gulped. "I'm sure..."
She chuckled deeply from within her throat, the very sound itself oozing sexuality, and then she said, her voice almost husky, "Ooh, then I must have it. Will you give it to me?"
He took a deep breath and looked at her. "Sure," he said, "I can... give it to you." He focused on looking at her face, which he found just as arousing as the rest of her.
Her eyes slid closed a little more and her smile widened just slightly, but then it suddenly turned into a smirk. "Ha! I bet you would, asshole!" she said before whirling around with a haughty laugh. "I'm gonna go change back~!"
Luffy's eyebrows twitched, and he glared at her as she left. "Evil witch," he muttered, so she couldn't hear him.
"I heard that!"
"So what?" Luffy said, a little louder.
Robin laughed. The two of them would make incredibly entertaining traveling partners. Nami's smile was a big one as she entered into the changing room to change back. She didn't know why, but she was happy for some dumb reason.
"Did you find anything you liked?" Robin asked Luffy.
"Nah," Luffy shook his head. "I don't need anything. I've already got the robes I'm wearing."
"I see," Robin smiled, mysteriously, and sexily.
After Nami was changed back, she walked out with a smile, feeling lighter than air as she hummed to herself. Then she went in search of more dresses. After all, with the pay they were getting, she could afford to spend a little extra. She chose a beautiful black dress with red and gold mixed in, and a few pairs of travelling pants like Robin had chosen with more corseted blouses and a few bodices. She also picked out a few more skirts as well and even some new boots. "All right~! I think I'm ready," she suddenly called.
"Finally," Luffy muttered, standing up from where he was lounging.
"I am ready as well," Robin said. "Then let us pay and pick up a few more supplies."
"All right~!" Nami said, bright and cheery as she headed for the cashier to pay.
After they had paid, they left the clothes store, and after picking up some more supplies, they headed for Robin's apartment.
"Haah~! Man, I'm pretty tuckered out, but a little hungry. I bought a few things, and I thought I would give a try at dinner tonight," Nami said, smiling into the bag of groceries.
"You can cook?" Luffy asked, surprised.
She pursed her lips at him and replied pointedly, "Of course I can cook."
"That would be wonderful," Robin said, interrupting another argument.
Nami immediately smiled at Robin. "Great~! she said, walking up the stairs to Robin's apartment.
Robin opened the door and placed their bags on the table. Luffy did the same, pulling some vials of ink and scrolls and notebooks out of his. He then went over to the corner and picked up the book he'd been reading yesterday, and started making notes of the spells that had caught his eye.
Nami went straight into the kitchen and set to work on making their dinner. Despite herself, she'd even bought a few steaks for the idiot. She set down her spices and vegetables and sought out the utensils and things she'd need. Then she chopped, boiled and grilled up all the goods. After a long while, she then took the food out to them at the table.
"I hope you like it," she said, tossing down a plate of steaks and some vegetables for Luffy before setting down a plate in front of Robin. Going back into the kitchen, she grabbed the tea she had bought and some cups, going back out to set those down before going for her own plate and returning, again sitting across from Luffy.
"Hey," Luffy said, "this looks pretty good." He picked up a steak and started eating.
"Thank you very much, Nami-san," Robin smiled at the younger woman.
"You're welcome~!" Nami said, smiling at Robin before kicking Luffy under the table. He didn't even say thanks, and she slaved for him to be eating those steaks.
"Ow," he yelped. "What?"
She turned to purse her lips at him and demanded, "What do you say!"
"Huh?" He blinked at her. "Oh, right, thank you." He turned back to his food.
Her lips instantly curved into a smile then before beginning to eat herself. "Mmm ..."
After finishing dinner, Luffy stretched and yawned.
"Sleepy?" Nami asked, but she didn't look at him.
"Eh," Luffy shrugged, "I'm fine..." He still remembered what happened that morning.
"Good," she said, retrieving all the dishes to take into the kitchen to wash before going back and grabbing the book she'd been studying. She really needed to memorize these incantations, while Luffy went back into the corner to continue making notes.
Instead of reading them aloud, even as a whisper, Nami repeated each incantation in her head, repeatedly before closing her eyes and reciting each to memory. Once Luffy had finished making his notes, he set the book aside and yawned. Nami had the book on her lap and her eyes closed, her lips were softly parted with a completely relaxed face.
Setting his books aside, Luffy then stood up, heading for the bedroom. "I'm going to go lay down," he muttered. As he was walking by, he glanced at Nami and stopped. He was entranced by her peaceful expression, and found himself staring at her. She looked so beautiful, when she was at rest. It was such a change from her usual anger... mostly directed at him.
Robin looked up from the book she was reading, to find Luffy staring at Nami. She smiled to herself at the adoring look on his face. He may have abducted her from her home, but Robin could tell that even if he himself didn't realize it yet, the boy was starting to fall for the orange haired girl.
After a moment, Nami's chest rose and fell with a deep sigh, and she slowly opened her eyes, though she still didn't notice Luffy. Then her lips began to slowly move as they repeated the incantations, though no sound exited so as not to set the spell off.
Luffy blushed as he watched her lips moving, and then he turned away from her, scratching the back of his head, while glancing over his shoulder at her again. After a moment, she looked back down at her book, finally vaguely aware that he was still standing there, so she said without looking, "I'll be there in a minute."
"'Kay" he muttered vaguely, turning back to stare at her, before going to the bedroom.
"Mmm, damn," she muttered, frowning down at the book when she realized she hadn't gotten it quite right. She tried again a few times before sighing and closing the book. Standing up, she stretched luxuriously before going to grab her nightdress, and then heading for the bathroom. After preparing for the night, she then entered the bedroom.
Luffy was lying on the bed, his hands resting behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He was still thinking about how peaceful Nami had looked just before, and how he wished she could have that expression around him more, instead of being angry all the time.
Going to the other side of the bed, she then just climbed in, not bothering to tell him to turn around. After all, they still seemed to awaken in ridiculous situations in which she had no idea how they got that way. "Come here," she muttered, holding up her arm for him, though she was frowning.
"Eh?" He looked over at her, and stared at her arm, but he did as she asked and moved closer.
She dropped her arm none too gently, and then pressed her bosom into him. "Now go to sleep, stupid," she said, still frowning.
"Oof," he stared at her, and then smiled as his eyes started to close. "Thanks Nami," he said softly and sleepily before he drifted off to sleep.
Nami blinked at this, her cheeks tingeing pink, and then she pouted. "You idiot," she whispered before sighing and closing her eyes for sleep herself.
xxxx
When Luffy woke up the next morning, he tightened his grip around Nami and snuggled his face further into her breasts. Once he realized where his face was, he tried to pull back from her before she woke up, but found that her arms had a death grip on his head, and were keeping his face pressed into her bosom. Her leg was between his, pressing into his morning erection. He swallowed, and tried to get out again, knowing this position would put her in a bad mood, but no luck, she wasn't letting go.
Groaning to the disturbance of her sleep, Nami's face scrunched up into a bit of a frown, but then pulled his head even more into her breasts and sliding her leg more between his, pressing her core right into his erection. Her brow twitched to the sensation that drifted up to the pit of her stomach, and she groaned a little deeper, but frowned deeper as well.
Luffy tensed, groaning as her heat pressed against his erection. He wanted to sob. On the one hand, he was incredibly aroused; on the other, she was going to kill him. He started to pant quietly as the feeling of her pressed against his member became too much to bear.
Her brow twitched again with another groan before her eyes finally fluttered open. "Mmm ... what?" she questioned sleepily before looking down and blinked twice.
"Not my fault," Luffy said from between her breasts.
Gasping and realize everything, where his head was, her arms, his arms, their legs, and last but not least, the erection pressing right into her core, which to her horror was actually responding to the sensation. She screamed, releasing him and jumping out of the bed, though she got caught up in her nightdress and the blankets and instead, fell out of the bed with her nightdress flying up to just under her breasts and revealing her underwear and stomach, not to mention her bare legs.
Luffy's nose started dripping blood as he looked at Nami, prostrate on the ground. On the plus side, it helped divert blood away from his erection. "Need any help?" he asked her.
Screaming again, but with a bit more anger and frustration, she quickly pulled her nightdress down and stood up, but her face was completely flushed red. "No, I do not need your help! Damn it!" she screeched before rushing out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Once she had left, he laughed quietly. Well, this time she definitely couldn't blame him, and if she tried, he could easily call her on it. He climbed out of bed and started getting dressed.
Rushing out, still bright red, she quickly grabbed some clothes, but the fact that she was slightly aroused still made her angry. "Damn it! Damn it! Disgusting little weasel!" she muttered under her breath before going into the bathroom and slamming that door too. A nice hot bath should calm her nerves.
When Luffy left the bedroom, he went to the kitchen, where Robin was making breakfast. "Good morning," she greeted.
"Morning," Luffy said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Actually, yes," Robin said, gesturing to some plates and dishes. "You can take those to the table for me." Luffy carried the plates of food to the table, and sat down in his spot.
Relaxing in the hot water, Nami slowly smiled, already feeling herself relaxing. Sighing deeply, she pushed the morning's incident to the back of her mind. After washing herself good, still feeling a bit disgusted, she then stepped out, drying herself off, and dressing into her new leather bodice and pants. Looking into the mirror, she couldn't help a smirk. Let's see how the little rubber mage handled this outfit.
Nodding, she then put on the matching knee high boots. The bodice had no sleeves, and didn't travel all the way down, leaving her flat stomach exposed, each article of clothing skin tight. Turning, she got a good look at her own ass before giving it a smack. "Take this, asshole," she muttered before walking out. "This is what I call travelling clothes."
Luffy looked up when he heard Nami coming out of the bathroom. The fork he'd been eating with, not having waited for her to start breakfast, fell out of his hand, and bounced off his plate, falling onto the floor with a loud clatter.
Her lips curled up into a deep smirk as she jutted out her nicely rounded hip with a fist on her. "Ooh, I see you like it. I thought you might, you disgusting little weasel," she said before going to sit down, her buxom bosoms bouncing.
He frowned, his face still flushed, and cleared his throat. "Maybe I like it, but you're the one dressing like that." Don't think about boobs, don't think about boobs, had recently become his mantra.
"What? It's practical and good for travelling, and I can move freely in it," she said and gave him a wink.
Luffy smirked. "Well, you chose it, you put it on, don't blame me if I stare."
"Oooh~!" she said, leaning forward, but this time, she placed the tip of her finger into her mouth a bit as her bust hung low. "Are you going to stare at me, Luffy?"
"If you keep doing that, probably," he said, doing exactly that, then looking up at her face and smirking.
"Hmmm~!" she hummed, smiling a little wider, then she lifted her booted foot, which her leg was crossed over the other to trail up the inside of his leg. "And what're you thinking about, huh?"
He jumped in his chair, and frowned at her, before reverting back to his smirk. "You really want to know, do you?"
Nami burst into laughter and said, "You fail! You reacted first!"
He stuck his tongue out at her. "Fail, huh?" He stretched his leg out so that it wrapped itself around her legs, like a snake.
Gasping, she jumped as well, her chair scooting back a bit. "Luffy! You ...!"
He snapped his leg back into place. "Last laugh goes to me." He snickered.
"That doesn't count!" she exclaimed, scowling at him, but then she stuck out her tongue. "You reacted first!" she said, pushing her boot into his crotch and nearly knocking the chair over.
Luffy gasped and shoved his chair away from the table. His face inflamed and his breathing heavier. "So that's how you want it?" He frowned, his face still red.
"Hmm? Who said I wanted anything?" she asked, her brow quirked as she giggled. "So, who's the last laugh going to?"
He smirked and stretched his arm, grabbing her breast. However, the moment he did it, his eyes unfocused and he fell face down into his food, snoring. Nami squealed, ready to do bodily harm, but once he fell asleep and faceplanted into his food, Nami burst into laughter. "You idiot! God, you're so stupid!" she exclaimed, laughing harder and harder.
Luffy snored, spraying a light dusting of scrambled eggs onto the table. Robin laughed. "Never a dull moment is there?" she asked rhetorically.
Nami slammed her hand down onto the table several times as she continued to laugh. "Oh ... I am so not letting him live this down!"
"Poor mage-kun," Robin giggled. "He tries so hard."
Nami waved her hand in front of her face. "Sure he does! So hard, he puts himself right to sleep!" she said, going into another fit of laughter.
Robin hiccupped, and kept laughing. "Indeed he does."
Luffy snorted and sat straight up, smacking his lips. "I think I got egg in my nose."
This set Nami off into more laughter, holding her bared stomach. "Oh my God! It hurts!" she cried, but she kept laughing.
Luffy pouted at her. "Laugh it up. I'll get you back."
"Sure you will! Oh," she suddenly said, her lips twitching, "do you want to grab my breast again? Come on~! Do it~~!" she said, squeezing them together.
Luffy glared, which turned into a smirk. He stretched his arm, his hand hovering menacingly.
"Ha! I dare you~! That is ... if you like snorting eggs!" she said, smirking back widely.
He grinned widely. "Who said that was what I was aiming for?"
Her brow quirked. "Oh?"
Luffy's hand shot towards her chest, but diverted and moved behind her, to pinch her bottom through the slit in her chair.
Gasping and squealing, she shot out of her chair. "You perverted jerk!" she exclaimed before storming over and slamming a fist down into his head.
"Ow!" He stood up, glaring down at her. "You're the one that started playing footsies with my crotch! Calling the kettle black again, aren't we, Miss Closet Pervert?"
"Pervert! A pervert has to enjoy what they do!" Though, she did enjoy it to a sense, but not in the sexual manner. "I don't enjoy touching you, asshole!"
"I dunno," he smirked. "That smirk on your face was telling me otherwise. Pervert."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" she yelled at him, beginning to scowl.
"Don't I?" He tapped her forehead with his finger. "You were holding my head to your chest pretty damn hard this morning; wouldn't let me go in fact."
"That doesn't mean a damned thing!" she yelled back, slapping his hand away, but her cheeks flushed slightly. "You probably buried your face there!"
"Hardly," he scoffed. "After how you always react in the morning? I was trying to get out of there. But nooo... you just didn't want to let go."
"Shut up, you stupid idiot! I'm sure you didn't fight too hard!"
"Of course I wasn't," he said. "I didn't want you waking up and blame me for it again!"
"I'm still blaming you!" she yelled back, getting into his face and scowling deeper. "It's always your fault, just like how you had your disgusting hard on pressed into me, you sick freak!"
"That one was your fault," he advanced, their noses were almost touching. "I know this, because I was awake when you pressed yourself onto it, and still unable to move. Besides," he smirked, "you liked it. You just don't want to admit it."
"Aaugh!" she exclaimed in disgust before shoving him away hard. "In your sick, fucked up dreams, asshole!" she yelled, turning away from him and sitting down. She had to fight a blush that was wanting to force its way up to her cheeks. "Now sit the hell down and eat before I put you to sleep to shut you the fuck up!" she said, shoveling food into her mouth and muttered, "Fucking idiot."
Luffy laughed. "Oh wow, this is so totally worth it. I don't think I've laughed this hard in years." He sat down at the table, and started eating his food again.
"Shut up, asshole!" she exclaimed before putting more into her mouth.
Once he finished his food, Luffy waited for Nami to finish eating. Once he was certain they were all done with breakfast, he started clearing the table. When he took Nami's plate, he leaned close to her, and whispered into her ear, his breath caressing her earlobe. "You better be careful, if you keep calling me names, I might start thinking you're actually interested." He snickered as he stood up and carried the plates to the kitchen.
Shuddering to his whisper, she then clenched her fists and bore her teeth before reacting without thinking. Grabbing a book, she chucked it at his head, hitting dead on, "Asshole!"
Luffy shrugged off the blow and kept walking to the kitchen. Arms grew from the floor and caught the book. Robin took it and placed it on the table. "Careful please."
"Aah!" Nami exclaimed, her lips curving up into a crooked smile. Nami flushed a deep red, having forgotten the older woman was there. Quickly turning to her, she held up a hand and said, "I-I'm sorry! I-I just- I-I didn't mean to!"
"You can throw anything else at him, just not the books." Robin looked over at Luffy, who was in the kitchen. "Though I don't think it will do you any good with him"
Nami clenched her teeth down, grinding them a bit and muttered, "Whatever, I'll make him pay somehow."
To Be Continued…
Authors' Note:
Con: You know, I didn't expect the crowd to scream in horror and run away...
Darth: I blame your writing.
Con: No, I was referring to the circus attraction...
Darth: You wrote the flyers didn't you?
Con: I did... ~,~
Darth: Ahah!
Con: I guess it was my writing. All it said was "Come one, come all! Come and feast your eyes upon the one man wonder... FRANKEN-DICK!" They came at least. I wonder why they screamed and ran away though. So, it couldn't have been my flyers.
Darth: Perhaps we need a smaller Franken-Dick? The massive size may have frightened most of them off. I did notice that most of the crowd were women.
Con: Well, we did stuff it with cotton. A few seemed appreciative, even some of the men. I suppose we could try again? *Ponders*
Darth: Yeah, those guys kinda creeped me out. Why did we let them in?
Con: They were paying customers.
Darth: Oddly enough, they were the ones that didn't run.
Con: Odd indeed... Oh my, we have not mentioned once about this chapter. o.o ... *Picks nose* Can I cut off your head and sew that back on?
Darth: Well, as long as you don't stake me in the chest first. That's right ladies, I'm a vampire.
Con: Sweeeet~! *Pulls out axe* Bend over that there stump. :3 This won't hurt a bit~!
Darth: I live!
Con: And sparkle~!
Darth: I will end you!
Con: Oh, and you have candy inside! *U*
Darth: All I have in me is the blood of my victims!
Con: Then you must have sucked some poor piñata dry... Poor piñata... You will be mourned... *Eats candy*
Darth: Hey, put that back!