Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. C'mon, we've been over this.
Nami looked up at the building before her. It wasn't as big or intimidating as she thought it would be. It was only two stories, with creamy beige colored walls, and—strangely enough—a large, wooden sheep's head was situated above the main doors. There were red and white curtains visible through the windows, and a few flowers scattered throughout the lawn. Overall, it had a very welcoming and cozy feel to it.
She looked back at her uncle and sister. Nojiko was staring at the sheep's head, and her Uncle Arlong had his eyes on Nami, a fake smile on his lips. Nojiko eventually drew her gaze from the head, and grinned at her, albeit without her usual enthusiasm. "'The Going Merry,' huh?"
Nami said nothing. Her uncle walked up to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. His smile widened into a genuine grin, showing his abnormally sharp teeth. Arlong was a tall man, with black hair and a strangely long nose. He had a tattoo on his left arm, and another one was visible on his chest, peeking out from the top of his shirt.
Nami was terrified of him.
"You remember the plan, right?" Arlong's grip on her shoulder tightened.
The orange-haired girl scoffed. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'll be done before you know it." Arlong's grip loosened and he let go.
The group walked up to the doors of the institution and entered. There was a gruff-looking old man behind the desk; he had white hair, glasses, and…
Nami's eyes widened in shock. He had flower petals at the back of his head. What the hell?
He looked up at them as they approached and narrowed his eyes. Arlong looked him over as he asked, "Are you the secretary?"
The man raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Nami's uncle opened his mouth to respond, but was prevented doing so by the man speaking again. "I'm Crocus. No, I'm not the secretary. She had to run an errand and forced me to cover for her until she got back." He muttered something under his breath, and Nami only caught the words 'manipulation' and 'witch.' He looked back up at them. "She told me to expect you, though." He looked back and forth between Nami and Nojiko. "Which one of you is Nami?"
The younger girl stepped forward. "I'm Nami."
Crocus nodded and looked at something on his computer. He turned back to them. "I'll just need your dad here to—"
"He's not my dad," Nami blurted. Arlong glared down at her, then put his fake smile back on before looking back at the old man.
"I'm her uncle."
Crocus nodded, but looked suspicious. The venom in the girl's voice when she denied the man as her father surprised him. "Well, I'll need your uncle to sign this form, then I can get Marco or Smoker to show you around."
As Arlong looked over the papers and discussed things with Crocus, Nojiko turned to her little sister.
"Don't do anything too reckless. Watch who you deal with. Make sure they're not dangerous."
Nami rolled her eyes, even if she was slightly afraid. The people here weren't in their right minds, after all. Who knew what could happen. "Nojiko, I'll be fine. I've been doing this for years." Nojiko's expression saddened at this comment.
"I know," she whispered. She pulled Nami into a hug. "I'll miss you."
Nami closed her eyes and hugged back. She held back the tears threatening to fall. She wouldn't see Nojiko for a long time. This only increased her determination to finish quickly, and get out of there, back to her sister. The sooner she got what she needed, the sooner Arlong would let her go back.
"I'll miss you too. You better be okay the next time I see you," Nami replied softly.
They pulled apart as their uncle walked back to them. He put a hand on Nami's head and ruffled her hair in supposed fondness. "See you in a few weeks. Take care of yourself." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't disappoint me." He walked away, and Nojiko reluctantly followed, glancing back at her sister.
Nami turned back and saw a tall, white-haired man walking into the lobby from a hallway to the right of the secretary's desk. He wore a thick jacket despite the warmth, and had two cigars in his mouth, unlit.
Crocus glared at him. "Smoker," he growled threateningly. Smoker glanced at him and glared right back. They kept eye contact for a few moments before Smoker sighed and took the cigars out of his mouth.
"Damn old man, they weren't lit."
"Don't care," was the curt response.
Smoker growled, but let it go and turned to Nami. "You the new patient?" When Nami nodded, he said, "Follow me."
They walked through the hallway Smoker had entered from. Smoker showed her the layout of the hospital in true tour guide fashion. "That hallway leads to all the councilors' offices," he said, pointing to the first corridor they passed. "That," he stated as they walked by a pair of double doors, "is the cafeteria." Nami looked in through the door windows, and saw a large amount of people laughing and talking during their meals. She saw a black-haired boy run by the doors with a turkey leg in his hand, laughing. A taller, green-haired man chased after him, and Nami guessed he was shouting something at the boy. He looked ready for murder.
"We'll come back after I finish showing you around. Lunch won't be over for at least another half hour." Nami glanced back at the man and nodded. They continued her tour, and Nami learned where the lounge was—nicely furnished, she thought—and where her room was. The rooms were all on the second floor.
They walked back towards the cafeteria. "Breakfast is from seven to nine in the morning. After that, there's group therapy sessions until lunch, and you can hang around the lounge, or the gardens if you have an employee with you, whenever you don't have them. After lunch is social hour, then personal counseling. Once that's over, you can do whatever you like until curfew at ten," Smoker explained. "You can't leave your rooms after curfew. No sleeping in someone else's room."
Nami thought it was better than she expected. Sure there were rules, but she had more freedom than she'd expect from a mental institution. Then again, she always imagined people in straitjackets locked up in white-walled rooms.
They entered the cafeteria. Nami looked around and saw that the two teens from earlier were seated now, chatting comfortably. The smaller one looked up when they entered, and an impossibly large grin spread across his face. He stood up and bounded over to them. The other man began walking over to them as well, with much less enthusiasm.
The black-haired boy stood in front of Smoker.
"Smokey!"
Nami had to hold back a laugh at the white-haired man's irritated expression. "It's Smoker, brat."
The older teen finally reached them and smirked at Smoker in greeting. Smoker practically growled at the pair. The teen ruffled his friend's hair in a much friendlier manner than Arlong had done to her. "Leave Smokey alone, Luffy." He snickered. "He might bite."
Smoker glared then turned to Nami. "You should stay away from these two. Troublemakers to the core."
The boy, Luffy, looked hurt. "But Smokey—"
Smoker silenced him with another glare. "If you need anything, you know where my office is."
Luffy grinned. "Thanks, Smokey!"
"I wasn't talking to you!" Smoker left to room, mumbling under his breath. "Damn brat."
Luffy turned to Nami, his eyes shining. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He elbowed the green-haired man. The older teen grumbled and rubbed his side but said, "Zoro." Luffy seemed satisfied, and grabbed Nami's arm. He started dragging her over to their table. Nami was surprised. Who the hell did this kid think he was? She yanked her arm away and frowned at them. "What do you think you're doing?"
The boy looked genuinely confused. "Bringing you to sit with us."
"What if I don't want to sit with you?"
If anything, he only looked more perplexed. "Why wouldn't you?"
"Smoker said you're trouble."
Nami needed to keep a low profile. If she kept quiet, people wouldn't suspect her. These two seemed to attract a lot of attention; there was no way she'd go unnoticed if she hung around with them.
Luffy frowned. "So? Smoker has a stick up his ass, don't listen to him."
He grabbed her arm and started dragging her to their table again. Nami pulled away. "Why do you want me to sit with you so bad?"
Luffy looked at her as if she were stupid. "Why not?"
"I hardly know you—"
She stopped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Zoro was smirking at her.
"Give it up. When Luffy wants something, there's no stopping him."
Nami looked back and forth between them, and eventually gave up. She let herself be dragged over to the table. It was surprisingly easy to make conversation with them. Luffy was too cheerful and talkative to let things become awkward, and Zoro was friendly enough. Nami let herself relax and made comfortable conversation with the two boys.
After all, this was only momentary.
Nami's been introduced! I know plenty of people have asked me when the other Straw Hats will make an appearance, and I decided Luffy and Zoro have had plenty of time in the spotlight already. :) I just hope I wrote her in character.
What do you think of Arlong being Nami's uncle? I quite liked the idea.
Thank you for all the support! Your favs and follows make me happy, and the reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you.
To my guest reviewer, I'm happy to know that you like it! I hope you liked this chapter as well. Thank you for reviewing!
That's all for this chapter, I think. Oh! Also, classes start up again for me in a couple of days, so updates might not be so quick. I'll try my best though.
-Spoons