Authors' Notes:
Con: Huh... so... it would seem I finished chapter 12 YEARS ago... but just never posted it... I wonder why that is? o.o
Derek: Who are you again?
Con: Not sure I even know anymore. o.o And who's Derek? I thought I wrote this fic with some loser named Dart. ~.~
Darth: Ignore him, he's my evil twin.
Con: Huh... o.o *Stares* I'd say he's the good twin, but you're both still losers. o.o
Darth: Says the person who didn't realize they had this entire chapter edited months ago.
Con: Try years... o.o Touché... Not to mention, I was evil enough to leave it on such a cliffhanger... *Taps fingers together* My evil plan has been realized! Muwahahaha! X)
Darth: I can't even remember what this story was about anymore.
Con: Me neither... I read the first chapter, and then the 11th and 12th, before realizing, I never posted the 12th one. o.o I kinda remember, but would take too long to reread. *Plugs nose with pinky finger* Oh well... I guess I can keep going with it... I remember it had a cool ending... Wait, did we ever end it? o.,o
Darth: We did, but we kinda lost steam at some point…wait…I'm not supposed to tell them that.
Con: Whoa... o.o Too much information... I suppose I will have to rekindle it, once I get to that point... I suppose we should let them read chapter 12... It's been so long, after all... O.o
Darth: Yeah, if they even remember this thing exists.
Con: True... ._. Hope you guys enjoy it... X(
P.S. From Con: Hey guys, I did kind of a half ass edit job. ^,^ I hope you guys don't mind. :D Sorry for taking so long with this, but as you might already know, I've been super busy with my own book. X( Still am, actually, but just was in the mood to work on these fics a bit. :)
Charmed
Chapter 12: He Lives
Nami's eyes shifted to her lap, her vision beginning to blur, sure it was just the rain water getting in her eyes as she slowly brought her hands to her lap and whispered, "Idiot..."
Luffy's finger twitched.
Robin frowned, and looked away, leaving the girl to her grief.
The water started to soak into his dried body, the wrinkled skin and dried muscles filling up with the much needed moisture. Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes and ignored the pain in her chest, trying to brush it off as nothing. She had nothing to be sad for, right? He was just an idiot. His eyebrow twitched, reacting to the rainwater. His body was almost back to normal. He groaned, but the rain drowned it out.
Her fingers tightened around each other, the leather groaning a bit to the water and her hands rubbing against it. Why was it raining all of a sudden? Where did it come from? His eyes fluttered, and his hand slowly reached up and grabbed her hand.
Shrieking, she jumped up high before looking down at him wide eyed and in shock that he was back to normal. "Wha-Wha-Wha—?" she sputtered before scowling. "You-You-You… idiot!" she yelled, punching him on the chest. "You scared the shit out of me!" Was it just her? Or was the rain running down her face a little warmer than the rest, and why did her voice quiver when she talked? It had to be because she was angry.
Robin's head snapped around, and she gasped when she saw Luffy back to normal. "Owww..." he groaned. His whole body was tingling, as if it had fallen asleep and was now getting the blood flowing in it again. In fact, that was exactly what happened to it.
"What the hell was that, huh!?" she yelled, her voice still quivering as she hit him again. "Y-You can't go around losing like this so much, damn it! That... That's already twice!" She hit him again for good measure.
"Owww..." he sobbed and whimpered in frustration. "I...I can't move." His voice was hoarse, the body parts having literally just come back to life.
She blinked down at him, but then huffed. "M-Maybe... you-you're blood... isn't flowing right... I think... I have an idea of what happened," she said before taking his hand in hers and began to rub his arms to help his circulation. "Robin, help me!" she called over her shoulder.
Robin climbed off her horse and walked over to them. She crossed her arms and several arms appeared from the ground. She didn't want to risk Luffy's body by having them grow out of him, and started massaging his body. Luffy gasped out loud as his blood began to flow again.
After rubbing his arms, she then moved to his legs and began messaging those along with Robin's hands. "Can you move yet?" Luffy lifted his arms and clenched his hands into fists. He winced from the movement, his limbs still in searing pain. "Try standing up," she said, standing up and holding out a hand to him, the rain finally stopping suddenly, which she vaguely wondered about, but didn't get into deep thought about it.
Luffy took her hand, his limbs screaming as he stood up. Once he was standing, his legs faltered and he fell forward, grabbing a hold of Nami to keep his balance. His whole front was pressed into hers, his weight resting on her waist, where his hands had gripped, his face planted into the crook of her neck.
Stiffening with a gasp and her face burning with heat, she swallowed hard, but decided to let it slide just this once. "Um... a-are you okay?" Wait... he'd just landed on her. Would he fall asleep!? Now was not the time for that!? "O-Oi! L-Luffy! We have to go after the princess! Don't you fall asleep!" she said, trying to push him up and off to steady him.
"I..." He pushed himself away from her, managing to steady himself, but keeping his hands on her shoulders, "I don't think I have any strength left to face him now."
She frowned deeply and said, "Damn it, Luffy, we have to do this! It's not about the money anymore, right!? They have the princess! We have to get her back!"
"I... I know," he started, but swayed. "We have to..." He collapsed to his knees, panting, but pushed himself up.
"L-Luffy," Nami called, reaching down to help him up again and her frown softening a bit with concern, though why she was concerned for the idiot...
"Perhaps it would be best if you stay with him, and let him recover," Robin suggested. "I will continue and find where they are headed. Once we reunite, we can make a plan."
Looking up at Robin with her frown, Nami then sighed, while closing her eyes and conceded with a nod. "All right..." Then she looked back down at Luffy.
"Catch up as soon as he is well," Robin said as she moved back to her horse. "I'm certain your horse is more than capable of doing so."
She nodded again. "All right, be careful, Robin," she said, looking up at her again as she knelt down in front of Luffy. "Oi, are you okay?" she asked, looking at him again, as Robin climbed onto her horse and took off after the kidnappers and the princess.
"I think... so..." he gasped. "Hard to breathe."
"Lean your head back a bit," she said, cupping the sides of his head to help him do so before pressing her fingers to her lips and muttering an incantation, but then she quickly cupped her hands under the cloud and said, "Open your mouth..."
He opened his mouth. "What are you...?"
She let her hands part a bit as the refuse water drifted out of her palms to the ground, but a small stream that she let filter through drifted right into his mouth. "Drink it. Your insides might still be dried out, which is why it's hard for you to breathe," she explained to him, watching carefully what she did.
The water was cold, and it stung as it trickled down his throat. Once inside, he felt his insides sting and a warm sensation. "Ah," he gasped, some water spilling out of his mouth, but he kept drinking.
"Try not to drink it too fast. I know it might be hard since it's all just draining in," she said, closing her hands a bit more to make the stream smaller, the rest pouring onto her since more was coming out over her palms, but she dealt with it. It was more important to get the water into him slowly. Besides, they were both still drenched from the earlier rain.
It felt like a balloon inflating inside of him as his body reabsorbed the liquid. After a while, the swelling feeling stopped, but he kept drinking. He felt he'd always be thirsty after this.
"Let me know when you think you've had enough, okay?" she said, still frowning down at him.
"'Kay," he muttered, and finally he felt like he wouldn't die if he stopped drinking. "I think I'm good..."
"All right, move away," she said and helped him a bit. Lowering a hand, the rain water kept falling before she muttered another incantation and swiped her fingers to the side and it disappeared.
"'Kay," he replied and moved away from her, resting his palms on the grass behind himself. He sat back, gasping for air and froze. He blinked and flushed as he stared at her soaking wet body. He looked at the ground, discreetly glancing up at her.
Sighing, she then looked down at him and asked, "You feeling better?"
"I think so," Luffy replied and cleared his throat. It was incredibly raw. He glanced back again. She was in pretty decent shape. The light shining off her stomach defined the lines of her flat belly, with a tantalizing hint of muscle underneath it. He could have cried.
She stood up then, those slight muscles flexing and moving as she did, not to mention she leaned forward slightly to push herself up, her cleavage bared to him more so for a few seconds. Reaching around to her back, she grabbed her braid and gave it a squeeze to get the water out. "Soaking wet," she muttered to herself with a frown.
Yes, thought Luffy, very, very wet. "Huh?" He blinked. "You're what?"
She looked down at him with a slight frown and said, "You're brain still dry too? Or maybe your ears got water in them? I said I'm wet!"
"Oh," he said and chuckled, which turned into a hacking cough.
Her frowned worsened, wondering what he'd been chuckling about, but glad he was now hacking up because of it. It couldn't have been good. She snorted softly before looking away and continuing to dry out her hair a bit more. Once the cough had finished, Luffy laid back onto the grass, wheezing.
"You idiot," she chided before looking behind her to Merry, who was just grazing and then looking back at him. How long was it going to take him? They couldn't waste too much time.
xxxx
After about fifteen minutes later, Luffy stood up, his strength somewhat returned and said, "We need to go."
Looking up at him, she frowned and asked, "Are you sure?" But she stood up anyways.
"No," he said and shook his head, "but we can't waste anymore time."
She sighed, frowning a little deeper before nodding and turning to Merry. "Merry, come."
Merry trotted over to Master and his...mistress...boss...slave driver?
Nami took his reins and smiled before petting down his nose and giving him a kiss on his head. "You're a good boy," she cooed in a soft voice. Merry snorted and nuzzled her shoulder. She smiled brightly with a soft chuckle before turning to Luffy, and the smile disappeared. "Come on, let's go."
"Dumb animal," Luffy muttered, walking over to Nami and the horse.
Nami blinked a bit, looking a bit confused. "Eh?"
"Nothing," he muttered, glaring at Merry, trying to climb on, not quite finding the strength.
Sighing, she reached up and grabbed him. "Hold on," she said before pulling him away and climbing up first. Then she turned and held her hand out to him. "Hurry up," she said, frowning down at him.
Luffy grabbed her hand and climbed on behind her. He felt weird, being in this position again, only this time it was more that he was behind the saddle, not in the saddle and with her in front of it.
Leaning down next to Merry's ear, Nami whispered, "Go, Merry, as fast as you can, please?"
Merry took off, faster than he'd ever done for Luffy. Luffy grabbed Nami's waist to stay on the horse, from the sudden acceleration. "Damn it!" he muttered with a pout to the horse.
Nami smiled, petting over the side of Merry's neck. "Good boy," she managed to say before just leaning forward and letting Merry do the work for them for now. But then she blinked, looking down at his arm holding onto her waist. She frowned a bit, but knew it might be harder for him to hold on when he was so weak. So, she would let this slide too.
Luffy tried to focus on regaining his strength, not on how good her body felt against his, he didn't want a repeat of what happened last time they rode like this. She only hoped that it wasn't too late to save that princess, even if she did annoy her for some reason or another...
After a particularly large jolt, Luffy's hands brushed against Nami's breasts. Already weakened, he felt his eyes close. Gasping and stiffening, she looked down at where his arm had brushed before looking behind her, "Oi, don't you dare fall asleep!" If he fell off at that speed...
"Uh," he blinked, forcing himself awake, against all his instincts. But it wasn't going well.
"Wake up, Luffy!" she yelled over her shoulder, looking ahead a few times. "Just hold on, okay!?"
He sat up straight. "Right..."
"I wonder if we're close. How are we supposed to find Robin?" she whispered to herself with a soft frown.
Luffy tried to focus on how he could possibly beat that man. How did he keep him from stealing his water? How could he keep him from turning into sand?
"How are we supposed to find Robin!?" she called over her shoulder to him.
"Merry will find her," Luffy said. "He's... good like that." What was he supposed to do?
"Oh, right," Nami said, turning back to Merry and leaning forward again. "Find Robin for us, Merry~!" Merry kept running, following Robin's trail.
xxxx
Looking around, Gen frowned at the town they'd arrived at. Could Nami and that brat possibly be here? Then he looked over when he saw a group of men ride into the town with a young girl, his eyes narrowing slightly. Sanji's eyes followed Gen's, his brow twitched when he saw the girl struggling. He started walking towards the group.
"Wait," Gen said, putting a hand to his chest, "there's too many of them. Let's just wait and see where they go."
"There they are, Luffy!" Nami called over her shoulder, the town and Croc and his men coming into view. "Merry, slow down a bit!" she called down to the horse, and Merry obeyed.
Luffy glared at the kidnappers. Then he frowned. Where was Robin?
"Merry?" Nami questioned, "Did you look for Robin, or did you follow Croc instead?" She frowned softly, looking up at Croc before Luffy behind her. "Well, either way... he's there. We have to get Vivi back."
"Right." Luffy's heart began fluttering, his breath faltering in remembering what had happened last time. He squashed the feelings down. He wasn't afraid...
"It'll be okay this time. He can't do that again. We know that water brings you back. So, don't be afraid, okay?" she said, frowning a little deeper.
"Yeah..." He leaned back and cracked his knuckles. "I can take him this time..."
"Right, just keep thinking that. Follow behind them slowly, Merry. We don't want them seeing us just yet," she said, keeping her eyes on Croc, and Merry again obeyed her.
Luffy couldn't think of what he could do. The energy attacks, the stretching, nothing was working.
"Where are they going?" Nami whispered to herself as they rode up towards the town, but then Nami said, "Merry, stop." The group of men had stopped. "Now's our chance, Luffy."
"Gottcha." Luffy climbed down from the horse, walking towards the kidnappers. Without making a sound, he stretched his arm to punch the sand man in the head.
Being caught off guard, the punch hit its mark, sending Croc flying off his horse since he hadn't dismounted yet, and Vivi screamed, trying to keep a hold of the horse and cover her head at the same time.
Gen's eyes widened. Then he pointed at Luffy and yelled, "It's that bastard, who took Nami!"
Luffy's stretched arm grabbed Vivi and threw her to Nami as his arm snapped back. He placed himself between the girls and the kidnappers.
Nami's eyes widened as the girl landed on her and poor Merry. "Aah!"
"Kya!" Vivi screamed, but was fine regardless as Nami righted herself.
"What the—!?" Gen exclaimed, watching as he took the girl and moved her elsewhere. "He took another girl!" he exclaimed, still pointing at Luffy.
"That's it! I'm kicking his ass!" Sanji exclaimed as he started forward.
"Get Princess Vivi out of here!" Luffy called to behind him.
"R-Right! Merry, go!" Nami yelled down to the horse.
"Wait, did he just ...?" Gen questioned, gaping at Luffy. "Nah ... couldna been ..."
Getting up with a growl and spotting the blond man running at his prey, Croc's arm turned into sand before he whipped it out, ramming it into Sanji before rushing at Luffy and knocking him back far with his shoulder.
Gasping as she saw this, Nami's eyes widened before Merry could go. "Luffy!" But then she cried out when Croc appeared before her. "Luffy!" she cried a little more frantically while holding the girl down.
"Wait, that is Nami!" Gen yelled, looking down at Nojiko. "It has to be her!"
Luffy rolled with the blow and fired his gattling spell at crocodile. "Nami! Get out of here!"
Nojiko ran over to him. "Sanji-san, are you all right!" She could tell if he was badly hurt. She looked up, and saw Nami with the other girl. "Nami!"
"Nami!" Gen cried, running towards Nami, seeing that she was in danger.
"Merry!" Nami cried, feeling scared of the big man. Merry jumped backwards, several feet, when Crocodile burst into sand, and turned to run.
Nami and Vivi both cried to the horse actually jumping. The sand surrounded the horse, however, and lifted him up, and shaking off the girls before tossing the horse aside and at a tree. Both screamed, hitting the ground, and Nami looked up with a gasp. "Merry!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet to run at the horse, but sand quickly formed around her, making her scream again. "Kyaaa!" she cried, trying to struggle.
Suddenly, dark clouds began to roll in, rumbling with thunder as lightning coursed through it violently. "Let me go!" she screamed, her eyes glowing faintly to the magic and emotion stirring within her.
"What the—!?" Gen stopped and looked up at the sudden storm formation.
Before Merry could hit a net of arms grew from the surrounding buildings and trees, catching the horse.
"Nami..." Nojiko gasped, at her sister's glowing eyes and the storm whipping around as wind surged around them.
Luffy appeared behind Crocodile, his arms with bladed edges to them. "What she said!" His lower body was twisted up, and he released the tension, his bladed arms spinning and cutting into Crocodile.
"Guwah!" Croc called out, having not expected that attack either, his blood drenching Luffy's arms. Growling, he quickly turned around, and grabbed Luffy's throat, and the sand around Nami disappeared, dropping her to the ground.
"Aah!" she cried again before looking up and grinning, glad that Merry was safe. "Robin!" But then she looked over at Luffy and frowned. "Luffy!"
Robin smiled down at Nami, from the roof she was standing on. She had her arms crossed, and more arms appeared on Crocodile, prying his hands open. Luffy jumped away from Crocodile, punching the man in the face with his blood soaked hands.
"Guwah!" Croc cried out, looking a bit confused as he looked back down at Luffy while stumbling back. How had that hit him?
What the hell was going on here? Was Nami actually concerned for the brat? Who were all these other people? And most importantly of all... what the hell was she wearing!? Nojiko blinked. She'd have to ask Nami where she could buy an outfit like hers.
Luffy stared at his fists. How...? The he looked up at Crocodile. "Gottcha," he said and grinned.
Scowling and growling, Croc lunged forward to punch Luffy, catching his chin. Luffy flew back, flipping in the air, and punching Crocodile in the face again. "Gngh!" Croc grunted as he skidded back across the dirt.
Gasping, Nami quickly got up and ran for Vivi, taking her hand. "We need to get you away from here!" Seeing this, Croc's arm turned to sand and aimed it at Nami, hitting her against a tree. "Aaah!" she cried before hitting the floor.
"Nami-san!" Vivi cried, going to her side to see if she was okay.
Scowling a bit, Nami looked up at Croc and said, "I'm fine."
"Nami!" Luffy cried, but then glared at Crocodile. "That's it. You're going down." His hand formed into a blade. "If I can hit you, then I can cut you."
Robin made a chain of arms to pull Nami away from Crocodile. Gasping and her eyes widening as she was pulled away, Nami grabbed a hold of Vivi to get dragged away with her. "Aah...!"
Growling, Croc turned to sand and surrounded Luffy, but then appeared behind him and hit him away. Luffy's head hit the corner of a house and he blacked out.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, before turning to Croc with a scowl. "Damn it!" Standing up then, she ran straight for Croc.
"Nami, what the hell're you doing!?" Gen cried, but Nami couldn't hear him. She had brought two fingers to her lips and began to mutter a much more harsher incantation, the clouds once again forming around them and wind beginning to blow more roughly around everyone. "What the hell is going on!?" Gen yelled, staring at Nami before backing up towards Nojiko as the sky began to flash brightly with lightning.
Nami's eyes slowly began to glow with a soft blue, and the winds around her kicked up her thick braid and whipped at her flesh, but she did not seem to notice. She lifted her fingers into the air, and Croc scowled at her, starting to turn to sand. "Lightning Tempo!" she cried, cutting her arm down towards the ground quickly and aiming right at Croc. A bright light flashed as a crack of lightning came down, striking right where Croc was standing.
"Guwaaaaah!"
"What...? How...?" Nojiko stared at her sister in shock.
"What the hell!?" Gen exclaimed, gaping at where Croc had been standing before quickly looking over at Nami.
"Stay back Princess," Robin said, running towards Luffy and Nami. Arms grew out of her right arm, forming together into a larger hand, she punched Crocodile with it.
Croc cried out as he felt his skin crack and shatter a bit as he flew back. Looking down, he saw his skin shining. It had all turned to glass. "What ...?"
Robin smiled, and more arms grew out of Crocodile, pinning him down. As long as she could hold him until Luffy and Nami were ready, then she would have done her part.
Turning around with a frown, Nami ran straight for Luffy. "Luffy!" she cried, skidding to a stop and dropping to her knees. "Oi, Luffy, wake up!" she said, giving his cheek a smack.
"What... What is she doing? Sh-Shouldn't she be running away from the kid?" Gen questioned before breaking into a run towards her. "Na-chan!"
Stiffening a bit to the name, Nami quickly looked up, seeing Gen and her sister. "Gen-san! Nojiko! Wha-What are you doing here!?"
"Nami," Nojiko yelled. "Get away from him, we came to rescue you!"
Luffy's eyes snapped open. He stared down at his blood soaked hands. "Nami! I've got it! He can't turn to sand if he's wet... the blood on my hands. You have to make it rain on him!"
Blinking a bit at them, she then looked down at Luffy. "M-Make it rain? Wha ...?" Then she perked and smiled. "You're right! It has to be the water! Okay! But you have to get up first!" she said, standing up and turning to Croc, who was already getting up.
He made his skin crack away so it would turn back to sand, noticing the people to the side. Panting slightly, Nami said, "Nojiko, Gen-san, stay back!"
"Eh?" Gen questioned, but stopped and grabbed Nojiko's arm.
Nami then muttered a slightly longer incantation before pointing her fingers to the sky. "Rain Tempo!" The clouds that had already formed from her earlier attack opened up and poured rain down on everyone.
Robin's arms dissipated as Crocodile turned back into sand. Luffy pulled himself up and smirked when it started raining. He muttered an incantation and his fingers sharpened into little arrowheads. "Rubber Finger Bolts!" he yelled, stretching his fingers at Crocodile, the sharpened projectiles flying like crossbow bolts.
Croc quickly dodged to the side, knowing he wouldn't be able to change. They had figured him out already. Once she'd made the rain fall, Nami then ran over to Vivi. "Vivi, come on!" she said, taking her hand and running towards Gen, Sanji and Nojiko. "Gen-san, Nojiko, get her to safety!" she said, pushing Vivi towards them.
"What about you!?" Gen yelled, grabbing her arm, but she shook her head and pulled her arm back.
"No, I have to stay! I have to stay with him! You go!" she said before turning and running back to Luffy, leaving Gen blinking.
"What ...?"
"Nami..." Nojiko frowned. What was her sister thinking?
Luffy stretched his arms, missing Crocodile on both sides. On the other side, he wove his fingers together, the insides sharp, creating a razor sharp net that was coming right at Crocodile from behind. Surging forward towards Luffy instead, Croc's arm came up, ready to strike at him as his other came up from the bottom to ram into Luffy's gut, and then it came down over his head to slam him into the ground.
Coming to a stop, Nami gasped and stared at them. "Luffy ..."
Coughing up blood when he hit the ground, Luffy groaned, but then his fingers disconnected and his arms snapped back into place. "Spear!" he yelled, kicking Crocodile with both his legs.
"Ngh!" Croc grunted as he was sent flying into a building.
"Aaah! You're doing it again, you idiot!" Nami yelled at Luffy. "Can't you be a little careful, damn it!?"
"Careful?" Luffy jumped to his feet. "I'm in the middle of a fight here!"
"You're destroying the town, like you did mine!" she yelled, getting angry and the clouds returning.
He paused. "Good point... this really shouldn't be so hard. I've been getting plenty of sleep," he suddenly grinned, "which means I can probably do this!" He squatted, activating the full rubber body spell. His legs pumping, and his skin started to glow a deep pink. "Gear... Second!"
She blinked and asked, "Eh? Wha-What is that?"
He smirked at her and said, "Watch." Then he disappeared.
Gasping, she gaped at where he'd been standing. "L-Luffy?" she questioned before looking around for him with a softer frown. "Luffy!"
"Guwaaah!" Croc cried out as something hit him, but he couldn't see where the attacks were coming from.
"Wha ...?" Nami quickly turned to look towards him.
Gen and the others ran away from the scene with Vivi, but then turned back to watch. "What is she doing? They don't seem to get along, but why he she helping him? Why is she staying with him?" he said, frowning at her deeply.
"I don't know, and after he kidnapped her," Nojiko said, looking just as confused.
"Kidnapped?" Vivi whispered, her eyes growing wide.
Fists rained down on Crocodile, coming from impossible directions. It was as if he were encased in a dome of fists, all beating him to a bloody pulp. Croc screamed and cried out, having no idea what was happening or how to stop it, and soon, he couldn't think any long as he passed out. The moment Crocodile fell unconscious, Robin had him covered in arms, effectively cocooning him.
Grinning then and even looking a little impressed, Nami clapped her hands together and laughed, "Aha!"
Luffy kicked up a small whirlwind of dust and steam as he appeared next to Nami, a satisfied grin on his face. There was a sizzling sound as his skin started to turn its natural shade again. He took a deep breath and released it as steam. Then he turned and smiled at Nami.
Nami gasped, her face pickening a bit before she pursed her lips and slapped a fist into his head. "You were still careless!"
Seeing that the enemy was down, Gen took off running towards Nami. He had to get her away from that boy. Luffy collapsed to the floor. "Owww..." he muttered into the ground. He'd taken a lot of damage in the three battles, and with the strain of Gear Second, he was at the end of his strength.
Nojiko and Sanji ran after Gen, and Nojiko called to her sister, "Nami!"
Blinking, Nami looked over just as Gen reached her and grabbed her to pull behind him. "Now's our chance, now that he's weak!" Gen exclaimed, taking steps back.
"Wha-Wha-Wha—?" Nami stuttered, blinking at Gen's back.
"Let's get out of here!" Gen said, pushing Nami away from Luffy.
"Wa-Wait a minute, Gen," Nami said as she was pushed away.
"What do you mean; 'Wait a minute'?" Nojiko took Nami's arm. "We finally have a chance to take you home, and you want to stay?"
Sanji walked up to Luffy, scoffed, and kicked him in the gut. "Shitty kidnapping bastard," he muttered between his cigarette and closed lips.
Luffy groaned, but was unable to turn his head to see who'd kicked him. Was probably Nami anyway...
Seeing this, Nami stiffened and gasped, her eyes flaring for a split second before she ripped herself away from Gen. "Stop that!" she said, going over and shoving Sanji away. "He almost died, you know!" she yelled at him before squatting down next to Luffy. "Oi, are you still alive in there?"
"Unnnhhh..." he groaned. "You didn't kick me?"
She snorted and grinned down at him. "I wish it'd been me, but no, that wasn't me, you idiot. You probably over did it."
"What's the meaning of this, Nami!?" Gen asked, frowning down at her deeply.
Vivi frowned softly down at Nami and Luffy as she approached with the others, having seen the blonde man kick Luffy. What was going on?
"Thank you..." he muttered. "Didn't break the village this time... most of it..."
Nojiko frowned down at her sister. Then she blinked. No way...it wasn't possible...
Nami grinned then. "No, I guess not. You did good." Then she grabbed his arm. "Come on, you need to rest. Maybe we can find an inn somewhere," she said, trying to get him to stand.
"Okay," he said and made an effort to stand up, but slipped on the wet cobblestones.
Gasping, she reacted, wrapping her arms around him to steady him, but completely forgot about her breasts which pressed into him. Luffy blinked before his eyes slid shut, unable to fight the call of sleep with his injuries, and he started snoring. Nojiko was surprised and asked, "Did he just...?"
"Oh, shit!" Nami cursed, trying to hold up his weight. "Forgot, damn it!" Then she looked up at Gen. "Help me carry him to an inn! I'll explain it once we get him into a bed!"
Robin laughed. "I'll take Scar-san to the authorities, while you take Mage-kun to an inn."
"All right, Robin. By the way, this is my sister, Nojiko, and this is Gen-san and Sanji-kun," she said, nodding to each as Gen helped her lift up the sleeping mage, but was frowning deeply. "You guys, this is Robin."
"Mellorine~!" Sanji twirled. "Please allow me to accompany you on your quest~!"
"Okay," Robin said, smiling.
"... Wait... really?" Sanji asked, blinking at her.
"Ee, you can carry him for me," Robin said with a chuckle as she turned and walked away. Sanji practically floated, as he lifted up Crocodile, still wrapped in Robin's arms and followed her.
Nami put her fingers to her lips and a shrill whistle sounded. Merry trotted to the group, from where, no one could quite be sure. Nojiko's eyes widened. "Fast horse."
"Merry's special. Aren't you, boy~?" Nami cooed, petting his head before she and Gen lifted Luffy over the horse "Follow me, Merry," she said, and Merry obeyed.
"Wow, he understands?" Nojiko asked, eyeing the horse with interest.
"Yup," Nami replied with a grin as she looked over her shoulder to Merry. "Anyways, I guess I can explain things now, instead of waiting to get to the inn." She then went on to explain about the deal they'd made about making money and even went into detail about the jobs and finding out she actually had magical abilities. "And actually," she started, "this was our last job. After this job, we'll have enough money, and I could go home, but... I... made a promise..."
"What kind of promise?" Gen asked, frowning deeply and not liking the sound of that.
"Just now... you saw how he fell asleep, right?" Nami asked, turning to them.
"Yeah," Nojiko replied and frowned. What did that have to do with anything?
Her cheeks erupted into a blush, and then she said, "Well... there's a problem with my magical abilities. You see... I—"
"Beautiful angel, are you hurt in any way?"
"Can I help you? Did that asshole hurt you?"
"I was here first!"
Sighing, Nami turned to them with a smile and said, "I'm fine. Please go away."
"Anything you say!" They ran off.
Sighing again, Nami said, "That's the problem... and... that's not all. He has a curse on him... Luffy I mean. He can't sleep at all."
"He looks to be sleepin' to me," Gen said, blinking at Luffy's sleeping form.
"That's because... he touched my breasts..."
"What!?"
Nojiko stared, and then she finally said, "I can't tell if that's meant to be serious... or if he's just really smooth."
"Ah, no... I'm very serious when I say that my breasts make him be able to sleep. It has something to do with my magical ability being able to nullify the curse. I promised I would help and let him find out why, and at the same time... he's able to sleep... while I'm around..."
"So..." Nojiko started, "is that why he didn't destroy the town this time?"
Luffy groaned and started to stir, muttering something. "S-Something like that-Ah, Luffy? You awake?" she asked, walking around to his other side. "You say something?"
"N..i..." he groaned. "W..ch...t..."
"Eh?" she questioned with a frown. "What?" she asked, but he didn't say anything coherent after that, slumping over again. Her frown deepened a bit, but was still soft before she shrugged, and then they finally found an inn. She checked in and she and Gen carried him up the stairs to lay him down. The rooms she'd asked for had two singles each and one with a double...
"Ooh, here we go!" she said as she and Gen placed him onto the double bed. Huffing, she dusted her hands off together before turning to Gen and her sister. "There's one more thing..."
"What's that?" Nojiko asked her sister. Things hadn't quite turned out how she'd thought. The man they'd planned on having to fight to free her sister was helpless, but instead it was Nami who refused to leave.
Nami cleared her throat, her cheeks flaring again, and then she said, "I have to sleep with him..."
"Whaaaat!?" Gen bellowed, his entire face reddening in anger as he scowled, and then he lunged forward to murder the boy in his sleep.
However, Nami threw herself on him. "Wait, Gen-san, don't!"
Gen suddenly blinked before smiling brightly and said, "Aww~! Little, Na-chan~! You're so cute~! Anything you say, little one~!"
"Eh!?" Nami blinked up at him. "You too!?"
"Him too, what?" Nojiko frowned. "Wait... Those men outside... You did that?"
"Not on purpose!" Nami said, frowning at her sister deeply. "And it only works on people without magical abilities. I-It got me into a lot of trouble at the last town, but... L-Luffy... he... he protected me... so... nothing happened," she said before looking up at Gen. "Look, we just sleep, okay? I promise. Nothing happens. He has to stay in contact," she blushed darkly, "with my breasts in order to stay asleep, or he just wakes up, and he needs the sleep in order to have more power."
"More power, huh?" Nojiko raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure he does."
Nami laughed nervously, though it came out as a bunch of 'heh's as her face reddened further. "Yeah, he is a pervert, but he keeps his hands to himself... mostly..." she said, shifting her eyes to the side.
"Mostly?" Nojiko crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up.
She held up her hands then, the nervous smile still there. "H-He hasn't hurt me at all though... so... H-He's... actually... pretty good about... protecting me... actually," she said, losing some of her nervousness then, but also her smile. Luffy's eyes blinked open. He groaned, shifting around in bed.
Perking a bit, Nami turned around to look down at him. "Ah, are you awake? You okay? I'm going to need to treat your wound's Luffy. And you should probably drink more water," she said, going over to his side more.
"Uhnn..." Luffy groaned. "Thank you..."
"Can you sit up?" she asked with a frown, reaching down to help him sit up, but then slid in behind him. "Just don't lean back," she said before helping him out of his robes. Nojiko and Gen could only stare at Nami, surprised with how careful of the mage she was.
"'Kay," he said and held himself up, breathing heavily. Once his robes slid off and his shirt was pulled off, he felt much freer. His body was covered in bruises, deep purple bruises, several which were almost black.
"Ouch, Luffy." Nami frowned deeply before looking up at Nojiko and said as she pointed to Luffy's bag. "Hand me that pack." Then she helped Luffy drink water from a cup.
Nojiko picked up the bag, which was heavier than it looked, and handed it to Nami. "Ugh," Luffy groaned and winced, but the cool water felt nice against his throat.
Setting the empty cup aside and taking the bag, Nami removed all the herbs and other weird ass stuff he had in there and mixed it together to make a medicine before applying them to his open wounds and bruises. Luffy winced on contact with her hands. "Cold," he gasped. It stung, burned, froze, but underneath that all was the soothing feeling of her hands massaging his bruises. "Mmmh..." he hummed.
Yup, he definitely seemed to be enjoying this, the little twerp. Nojiko frowned at him.
"Don't be such a baby!" Nami hissed, adding pressure to the wound she was currently adding the ointment to.
"Mmmh..." he hummed, the pressure hurt a little bit, but overall was very soothing.
"What're you 'mmmh'-ing about!?" Nami said, frowning even deeper at him. Then she wrapped him up in bandages. "There, I'm done. Now go back to sleep," she said, pressing her chest into his back before slipping out from behind him and letting him fall back into the bed.
When Luffy fell back onto the bed, he was already asleep. Nojiko laughed and said, "Holy crap. That really works."
"I told you," she said, smiling at her sister. "He used a lot of magic. So, he needs to sleep. Plus, he's not all caught up yet," she said, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Caught up?" She blinked. "His magic level was influenced by this curse?"
"No, the amount of sleep he gets influences his magic level, or so I think. I'm not really sure," Nami said with a shrug. "He told me the reason he was careless with our village was because he didn't have all his power, because he wasn't sleeping..."
"Really?" Nojiko said skeptically. "Then why the hell did he take the job if he wasn't at full strength?"
"Mm, I dunno." Nami shrugged, looking down at Luffy.
"Hmph," Nojiko grumbled. "He's got a lot to answer for when he wakes up." She uncrossed her arms, and punched her left palm with her fist.
Nami looked over at her and smiled nervously. "Ah... yeah... I guess so. In any case, after he rests, we need to get the princess back to Mariejoie. You can share one of the rooms with her, and Gen-san and Sanji-kun can share a room... Robin will probably get her own single... And... I feel like I'm forgetting someone... Oh! Zoro!" she exclaimed, running out of the room and down the stairs, but then paused when she saw a bloodied looking figure standing in the doorway of the inn, the host, looking quite terrified.
"Ah! Are you all right!?" Nami exclaimed, running up to him.
"Peachy," Zoro muttered, but then fell face first.
"Oh!" Nami said, a hand flying to her mouth before going to him.
Nojiko followed Nami down the stairs. "What's up with him?" she asked, coming up behind Nami.
"Ah, this is Zoro. We left him behind to fight another man. I was so wrapped up with everything that I completely forgot about him" she said, looking up. "Gen-san, help me, please."
"Aah, right~!" he said, going down to help her carry Zoro up.
"Oh, I guess he will need another room," she said, turning to the host, who nodded quickly and threw Nojiko a set of keys.
Luffy shifted in his sleep and groaned. He was having another nightmare. "Nami!" he suddenly yelled, sitting up in his bed.
"Eh?" Nami questioned with a few blinks before pursing her lips. "Idiot," she muttered before hurrying up and getting Zoro into the bed. Then she rushed off back towards the room. "What're you yelling about in here!?"
"Eh? Nami?" Luffy questioned. He was breathing heavily. "Sorry... I..."
"You just can't sleep at all when I'm not around, can you!? You're so hopeless, you idiot! I need to treat Zoro's wounds," Nami said, going over to his things. "I'll help you sleep after that," she said before leaving.
"Eh?" Luffy blinked. "Zoro's back?"
Going into Zoro's room, Nami then treated his injuries before leaving him to sleep, and then went back to Nojiko. "I'm... going to go ahead and go to bed. The idiot can't sleep long without me there," she said, flushing slightly and not meeting her gaze.
Nojiko, standing in the doorway, tried to figure out what was going on between her sister and her kidnapper. "Yeah," she nodded. "Good night."
Just then, Robin and Sanji walked into the inn, and Robin looked around, trying to find the rest of their group. Robin smiled, hearing them talking above and said, "Ah, up there." Then she climbed up the stairs to where she heard Nami.
Sanji frowned, walking up to them with Robin. Why was Nami sleeping with him? He glared. Nothing about any of this made any sense. Robin walked up to Nami and Nojiko. "I dropped off Scar-san at the authorities. His name was Crocodile. Turns out there was a bounty on his head."
"Oh yeah?" Nami smiled. "Did you collect it? Ah, and there might be another man down the road, the one Zoro defeated. Zoro's resting in there," she said, thumbing into Zoro's room. "I haven't gotten a room for you yet, Robin. I didn't know if you wanted to share the room with Vivi and Nojiko. We could ask for a cot to be brought up."
"I think we can afford another room," Robin said and held out a bag.
"Ooh..." Nami exclaimed before beaming. "How much was he worth?" she asked, taking the bag and looking inside.
"Three thousand gold pieces," Robin said, smiling.
Nojiko's eyes widened. She'd never even seen that much money in one place. "That's great! That's like... seven hundred and fifty gold pieces each with Zoro too~!" Nami said, grinning happily down at the bag. "Plus we might get more for the other man, if he has a bounty." But then she frowned, looking back up at them. "Ah, but... do you mind going to tell the authorities about him? Luffy needs his rest and can't seem to get it unless I'm there."
"Of course," Robin said, heading back down the stairs, but then she turned to Sanji. "Coming?"
"Yes~!" Sanji exclaimed happily.
"Thanks, Robin, Sanji-kun~!" Nami said, waving them off before sighing and turning to her sister. "Well, good night. I'll see you in the morning."
"Ah ... I was wondering..."
"Eh?" Nami turned to see Vivi, her expression changing slightly. "Wondering?"
"I-If... Luffy-san was okay?" Vivi asked, wringing her fingers a bit with a soft frown.
"Oh, he's just fine... He ain't dead anyways... You should rest too," Nami said, walking passed the girl, but not really acknowledging her much in any way.
Luffy looked up when Nami came into the room. "Ah, ready for bed?" He smiled at her.
Nojiko patted Vivi on the shoulder. "Come, we should let them get their rest." She emphasized the word 'rest'.
Vivi flushed darkly as she watched Nami disappear into a room, which Luffy's voice could be heard inside. "Th-They... sleep together?"
"Apparently, he has a curse," Nojiko said. "He can only sleep if she sleeps in the same bed as him."
"Oh!" Vivi exclaimed, flushing a little harder.
Nami sighed before going to her bag to get her nightdress and said, "Yes, now turn around."
"'Kay," Luffy said, rolling onto his side, wincing at the pressure put on his wounds.
Nami quickly changed before going over to the bed and climbing in behind him. "All right, c'mere..." Luffy shifted over so that his back was in contact with her. "Good night, you idiot," she muttered before settling in.
"Night... scary lady," Luffy murmured, closing his eyes. "Thanks..."
She snorted, but smiled anyways and said, "Stupid pervert... you're welcome." Luffy was asleep. Sighing, Nami then closed her eyes, but didn't find it right away. Her body was sore.
Nojiko glance at the shorter girl after they passed Nami and Luffy's door. "Why do you ask anyway?" She smirked. "Jealous?"
"Ah, no! Of course not!" Vivi said, smiling nervously and holding up her hands.
"Really?" Nojiko asked and laughed.
"Mm, they're a bit odd, and they argue a lot, but ... they do seem to care about one another... in a weird... kind of way," Vivi explained, her cheeks still flushed.
"Very weird," Nojiko agreed. "Considering..."
"Considering?" Vivi asked, looking at her as they entered the room together.
Nojiko glanced down at the younger woman. She didn't know, apparently. "Well..." she debated if she should tell, but decided that she didn't owe the mage anything. "He did kidnap her from our home, after all."
Vivi froze, staring up at her in shock. She had thought she heard them right before, but hearing it now so bluntly, she didn't know what to think. "Wha-What?"
"We hired him to take out a sorcerer that was tyrannizing our village, but when he did so, he also destroyed our entire village. Nami refused to pay him, to make up for the cost of rebuilding the village, and when she did that he kidnapped her."
Vivi clamped her mouth down. "Mmm..." And then she frowned softly, "But," she lowered her head, "h-he seems nice though, and... she doesn't seem like... she's been kidnapped. And he did help me," she said, her cheeks flushing again.
Nojiko shrugged and fell into a bed. "All I know is that it's very complicated. Apparently, she doesn't mind him that much, and they made a deal to earn enough money together so that he could get his pay, and she has enough to help rebuild our village."
"Oh, well," Vivi smiled a bit, "th-that sounds more like him." But then she perked, blushing more as she held up her hands. "But, of course, I don't know much about him at all!"
"Oh?" Nojiko said skeptically. "You don't?"
She tucked a strand of her long blue hair behind her ear. "I-I... got to ride with him, and, um... I-I s-saw a bit. Maybe we should sleep, huh?" she said, turning towards her bed, beet red.
"Sure," Nojiko said, getting more comfortable on her bed and pulling the covers out from under her. "So you're a princess, huh?"
"Mm, yes," Vivi replied, turning her bed down for the night.
"I see," Nojiko said and yawned.
Vivi got into bed with a sigh. Oh well ...
Authors' Notes:
Con: Huh, so that's what happened... I know, at least, but you have no idea, do you? X)
Darth: Uh…maybe?
Con: Lies... Well, one things is for sure... We kept with tradition. They go to sleep at the end of the chapter, and then wake up in the next... Wonder how they will wake up this time... No, really, I do wonder, because I forgot. o.o
Darth: Yeah I can't remember at all. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Con: I guess so... Anyways, sorry for holding out on your guys. xD I got some requests to finish it, and so decided to give it a read.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)